DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-153, September 2, 2005 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2005 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1285: Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream [repeated 2-hourly thru 2400] Fri 2000 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Sat 1600] Sat 0800 WOR WRN to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar Sat 0855 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 1000 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 & WPKM Montauk LINY 88.7 Sat 1600 WOR R. Veronica 106.5 Sat 1600 WOR CJOY INTERNET RADIO plug-in required Sat 1730 WOR WRN to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sat 2100 WOR WRMI 7385 Sun 0230 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0630 WOR WWCR 3210 Sun 0730 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sun 0830 WOR WRN to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sun 0830 WOR KSFC Spokane WA 91.9 Sun 0830 WOR WXPR Rhinelander WI 91.7 91.9 100.9 Sun 0830 WOR WDWN Auburn NY 89.1 [unconfirmed] Sun 0830 WOR KTRU Houston TX 91.7 [occasional] Sun 1300 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1400 WOR WRMI 7385 Sun 1730 WOR WRN1 to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sun 1900 WOR RNI Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually closer to 0418-] Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1400] Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually] Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 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 1285 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1285h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1285h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1285 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1285.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1285.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1285.html WORLD OF RADIO 1285 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3 (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_08-31-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_08-31-05.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO 1285 downloads in studio-quality mp3: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1285h.mp3 [beware; original high version had only half the program! OK now] (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1285.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (currently available: Extra 58, 1281, 1282, 1283, Extra 59, 1284, Extra 60, 1285) ** BHUTAN. Last chance to get Radio Bhutan! 6035 kHz -- Hi, This was forwarded from another mail list because I thought it might be interested to folks here. 73 de (Phil KO6BB Atchely, CA, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Viz.: For the readers of Popular Communications Sept. 2005 issue, the time to receive Radio Bhutan is running out because the funding is coming to an end on Dec. 31, 2005. Now the trick here is to get the right frequency to listen. Pop'Comm stated 5035 kHz but the only frequency they have ever transmitted on lately is 6035 kHz. A typographic error no doubt. Luckily users of SWLog can verify their frequencies quite easily and accurately through the multitude of databases on here. Transmissions in English are from 0100-1600 GMT/UTC. In view of the 50 kW transmitter located in Thimphu it is not an easy catch. Good luck DXers (via Atchely, ibid.) More wrong info: we had a schedule in 5-140 showing Bhutan Broadcasting Service, not ``Radio Bhutan``, 6035, on the air from 0100 to 1300 only, with a mid-day break except on Sundays, and English only at 05-06 and 08-09, in the daytime when we are very unlikely to hear it. The best chance should be around sign-on and sign-off, with help from the grayline, but QRM from e.g. Martí and dentroCuban jamming on 6030 will not help. That said, I have not seen a single logging of it for several months, even from Asia, so it may already be off. Some confirmation of this is needed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. R. Santa Cruz, 6134.79, 2308-2325+ Aug 25, tune-in to possible Spanish news with many mentions of Santa Cruz. 2311 ID, adstring and jingles. 2318 another ID, local pop music. Fair-good and in the clear (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. R. Cultura, São Paulo, 17814.93, 2325-2340+ Aug 25, romantic Portuguese ballads, Portuguese announcements. Very weak; better on // 9614.98 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. Re: DXLD 5-152, CBC vs BBC ```CBC President Robert Rabinovitch said: "Some ask why the CBC is not more like the BBC. The answer is simply that CBC/Radio-Canada is annually asked to do in two languages with $950-million in public funding, what the BBC does in one language with almost $7-billion."``` Is that reference to the BBC right? They broadcast in 50-some languages (or did until recently), right? Is the $7 Billion (Canadian $) really for just the English-language part? Is this domestic BBC only, not the Worldservice? If so, does the CBC $ figure include RCI? Also, what about First Nations languages? CBC should be more than two if they are counted. Nitpickingly, (Will Martin, MO, Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The World Service is separately funded from the rest of the BBC. I think Rabinovitch is trying to compare like with like, but I don't know if his figures are accurate. My best advice is to go to http://www.bbcgovernors.co.uk/annreport/index.html and download the annual report for 2004/05 which will contain the figures you're looking for (Andy Sennitt, ibid.) ** CANADA. CHOI FM to go off air - CRTC COURT UPHOLDS DECISION TO CLOSE CHOI FM --- Canadian Press http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1125598716274_121007916/?hub=Canada OTTAWA --- The Federal Court of Appeal has rejected a Quebec radio station's attempt to overturn a regulator's decision not to renew its licence. A three-judge panel said the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission acted within the rights given to it by Parliament when it denied CHOI-FM a licence renewal 13 months ago. However, the radio station, owned by Genex Communications, will be allowed to operate for at least 20 days until decisions are made whether to make further appeals. Genex owner Patrice Demers has said in the past that he would appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada if he lost the federal court case. "The power to issue, revoke or renew a licence has been expressly and exclusively given by Parliament to the CRTC,'' said Thursday's 99-page decision, written by Justice Gilles Letourneau. "We cannot appropriate that power to ourselves.'' The court can only set aside CRTC decisions based on issues of law and no such issue exists in this case, it said. Even if one had, the most the station could have hoped for was a new hearing before the commission. The CRTC refused to renew CHOI's licence after the radio station repeatedly aired insulting and offensive comments. The commission said it received numerous complaints "with respect to the conduct of the hosts and the spoken word content that is aired, including offensive comments, personal attacks and harassment.'' Lawyers for Genex said the CRTC decision not to renew the station's licence amounted to censorship, but the court, which also included Justice Marc Nadon and Chief Justice John Richard, said freedom of expression had nothing to do with it. "This appeal, contrary to the apparent belief and desire of the appellant, does not give rise directly or in general to a comprehensive debate over freedom of expression,'' Letourneau wrote. "The issue is, and remains, whether the CRTC's discretionary decision not to renew (CHOI's) licence was made judicially and in compliance with the rules of natural justice, the standards of procedural fairness and its own procedures.'' The CRTC's rightful exercise of that power, he added, "cannot be transformed into a crusade for freedom of expression without substantially distorting it.'' The court also noted that Genex and CHOI were not challenging a decision that deprived or stripped the radio station of a right. "The appeal has to do with a decision not to renew a privilege that had been granted to the appellant,'' it said. Such privileges are usually accompanied by agreed-upon conditions that are subject to penalties for non-compliance, "including possible non- renewal or loss of the privilege.'' "The real issue in this appeal proves to be much more concise and limited than it appears to be at first sight,'' Letourneau wrote. The court dismissed the appeal with costs to the federal attorney general but not to the CRTC, classifying it as an intervenor in the case even though it was named in Genex's appeal. Earlier this year, a Quebec court awarded $340,000 to Sophie Chiasson, a television weather presenter whom controversial morning man Jean- François Filion targeted for ridicule over her physical appearance and sex life. Another CHOI host suggested psychiatric patients should be euthanized and that African students at Laval University are "the sons of plunderers, cannibals.'' (via Kevin Redding, AZ, Sept 1, ABDX via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 6139.78, Radio Líder, Sept 2, 0550-0613, noted again after an absence of some months, many IDs, nice program of Spanish ballads, fair. Nice to have them back again (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340, with T2FD antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Since early June, R. Líder, Bogotá, Colombia was not heard in Japan, but now with good signal on 6139.8 kHz around 09-10 UT. 73 & FB DXing! (Kenji Takasaki in Mie pref, JAPAN, with JRC NRD-545/535D/525/515, 0957 UT Sept 2, HCDX via DXLD) ** DJIBOUTI. RTD Djibouti, 4780, *0300-0325+ Aug 27, sign-on with local instrumental music. 0301 vernacular talk, 0302 Kor`an, 0311 vernacular talk, 0320 Horn of Africa music. Good. Appears to be irregular; not heard every night. Occasional ute QRM (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. SWR's 2-3rd September transmission starting. Postal address for reports is SWR, P O Box 99, 34801 Virrat Finland. Do not forgot handling cost of 2 Euro for QSL's. More info can be found: http://www.swradio.net/fin/kesis.htm Programe schedule (UT +3h): 00-02 TrickyTrevs Party time anything goes. 02-04 JarióJiriBand-illanvietto. Vetäjinä dj J4 & Wsi M -0,5 04-08 Yökyöpeli - Nightowl by Häkä 08-09 Science corner by Esa. Latest science news from NASA. 09-10 Rock'n Roll Radio History II osa. 2. lähetys 10-11 Studiossa dj Janne 11-12 SWR crew 12-13 MSDXK Lost Tapes osa II. 2. lähetys 13-14 Kesä-Esan suomirokki show 14-15 SWR crew 15-17 60s & 70s, Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll. 17-18 Progressive rock and other strange things by Esa 18-19 Studiossa dj Janne 19-20 SWR crew 20-21 Wolfman Jack Show 21-22 Saunan lämmitys by häkä 22-23 Levyraato by Peeveli 23-24 Closing seremony by Häkä Frequencies in use are: 1602 kHz, 5980 kHz, 5990 kHz, 6170 kHz, 11690 kHz and 11720 kHz. [very low power --- gh] 1602 kHz 24 hours 5980 kHz 21-06, 11-17 and 18-21 UT 5990 kHz 20-21 UT 6170 kHz 06-11 UT 11690 kHz 06-11 and 18-21 UT 11720 kHz 21-06 and 11-18 UT (Alpo Heinonen, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, Sept 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE [and non]. Last night, there was nothing on 9420 from Avlis 3 at 0000-0400. So far today, nothing yet either. At 1600, Delano on 17705 is SINPO 55555 (John Babbis, MD, Sept 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA. Thanks to the Solar activity, conditions to Africa have been exceptionally good. Heard two stations from Guinea August 31: R Rurale, Labé on 1385.9 kHz at 2150 UT and RTG Conakry on 7125 at 2110- 2130. Signal was pretty strong, S8-9. Reception of Conakry was ruined by the sign-on of R Tirana 2130 on 7120 in English (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII [and non]. BATTLESHIPS TO AIR V-J DAY MESSAGE Two historic battleships will communicate via radio today to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. http://www.ussmissouri.com --- The battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, plans to call its sister http://www.battleshipnewjersey.org/ battleship, the New Jersey, in Camden at 3:08 p.m. EST [sic!] today. That call will replicate the radio message about Japan signing the surrender on the deck of the Missouri 60 years ago today. Both Iowa-class ships are now museums run by nonprofits. The call to the http://www.nj2bb.org/ Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Club will be made at 9:08 a.m. Hawaii time -- the time the signing began. [that was 1908 UT --- gh] "This is a great commemorative event that will be shared by both ships and guests may get the opportunity to talk to the Missouri," said Jack Willard, vice president of marketing for the Camden museum. World War II veterans and ship volunteers will speak at a 2:30 p.m. ceremony on the New Jersey, the nation's most decorated battleship with 19 campaign stars earned from 1943 to 1991. World War II veterans are invited for the ceremony and free ship tours today at the Battleship New Jersey Memorial and Museum on the city waterfront. Story continues below World War II crew members of the New Jersey were disappointed their ship was not chosen for the signing. Instead, President Truman issued an executive order selecting the Missouri, the ship named for his home state. The New Jersey had just been outfitted with the latest communications equipment even though its sister was the newest to be launched. It also had more battle stars and had been fighting in the Pacific Theater longer than the Missouri. The New Jersey arrived in Tokyo Bay Sept. 17, becoming the communications and command ship for the occupation of Japan until early 1946. http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050902/NEWS01/509020360/1006 Friday, September 2, 2005, 2:00-8:00pm, KH6BB Special Operations = 0000Z - 0600Z (continuing throughout the weekend according to their calendar. KK) September 2, 2005 marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Japanese surrender papers on board the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, formally ending World War II. Missouri will be holding extensive ceremonies on board September 2, and the ship's club station KH6BB will be on the air as well September 1-3. On CW we will be using the original Vibroplex key that was used on board in 1945 to send the first news of the surrender signing; the key has been loaned to KH6BB for the event by the Maritime Museum of Monterey CA, with permission to use the key on the air. Operations may start earlier than 0000Z and may end earlier than 0600Z depending on propagation. Since Missouri's hull number is BB-63, the primary operating frequency will be 14.063 MHz CW. Depending on propagation, alternate frequencies will be 18.073 and 21.063 MHz. There may be combined SSB/CW operations on 14.260 (note change of frequency to avoid Katrina traffic), 18.163, or 21.363 MHz. QSL direct (SASE please) to the KH6BB address on QRZ.COM. http://www.kh6bb.org/ (via Ken Kopp, dxldyg via DXLD) The latter refers to UT Sept 3??? Please be explicit! (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Hello Glenn, This is the link to know some of this month's competitions of different broadcasters: http://www.geocities.com/ysrc_india/Competitions.htm Regards, (Hari Madugula, Young Stars Radio Club, Hyderabad http://geocities.com/ysrc_india Sept 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Re 8/29 DXLD, Canadian Satellite Radio Hi Glenn: I read the item in regards to my friend John Bitove, Jr (I know him from the Toronto 2008 bid) and his efforts to get satellite radio into Canada. All he is doing is responding to what _Canadian consumers want._ I don't think those on the border towns that have had the "grey market" subscriptions (w/a US address) give a flip about how much Francophone or Canadian content there is (although I do realise the law mandates certain percentages.) For the CRTC to say that they want to "revisit" the decision does no one any good, and maybe this is the symbol of a much larger problem: the CRTC not letting the market decide what is right, instead of the government (reminds me of the saying "I am from the government and I am here to help you." -NOT. If the CRTC wants to "revisit" anything, how about by throwing out the Canadian content/Francophone regulations ENTIRELY. Canada had 95 percent of its population having English as their primary language. It doesn't take rocket science to know this is a case of "good intentions gone bad" and you now thus have the situation with the dogfight up in Canada regarding the future of satellite radio in that country. To hell with the Francophones and the Canadian content. Let the market decide --- it's the only right way. PS: Thanks for the kind wishes about Ken-he starts radiation next week and we are being set up with a chemo doctor also (Maryanne Kehoe, GA, Aug 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SATELLITE RADIO PLAYERS DEFENSIVE --- SIRIUS TO ADD MORE FRENCH- LANGUAGE SATELLITE RADIO SERVICE TO APPEASE CABINET By John Ward, Canadian Press, Article published: Aug 30, 2005 OTTAWA Satellite radio provider Sirius Canada Inc., is scrambling to increase its French-language programming in the hope of staving off a cabinet-ordered review of its licence approval. Heritage Minister Liza Frulla is working on a proposal that will ask her cabinet colleagues to order a review of a CRTC decision that awarded three licences for satellite radio service. Some Liberal MPs complained that the June decision short-changed francophones. The cabinet has until Sept. 14 to approve, reject or send the licence decision back to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for a review. Kevin Shea, CEO of Sirius, said he hopes his company can address the complaints and avoid a review. "We're well aware of the fact that Mme. Frulla does have some concerns with respect to the equality of French service, meaning the number of francophone Canadian services," he said Monday. "What we are busy working at now . . . is to try and see if we can address some of those issues and quickly." The preferred solution is to beef up French-language offerings, he said. Other concerns, such as Canadian content and financial commitment were addressed over a lengthy series of CRTC hearings, he added. The subscription radio licences issued to Sirius Canada Inc., and Canadian Satellite Radio Inc., require the satellite providers to produce eight original channels in Canada and one francophone channel for every three English-language stations. Most channels will be American. A third licence was issued to a consortium of CHUM Ltd. and Astral Media Inc. They complain that their business model will not work against the Sirius-CSR plan to beam hundreds of channels of radio content from U.S.-owned satellites to Canadian subscribers. CHUM-Astral launched their own appeal against their competitors. There was no word if CSR will try to expand its French-language offerings to help appease the cabinet. Company president John Bitove has said a review would delay the introduction of satellite radio for years. That would hurt automakers General Motors and Daimler-Chrysler, which want to factory-install digital receivers in some 2006 models. The digital radio decision sparked controversy from the moment the CRTC gave its approval. The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting enlisted a number of cultural and labour groups, ranging from the Canadian Conference of the Arts to the Canadian Auto Workers, to send a petition to cabinet to set aside the decision. The petition said the Canadian-content rules for the subscription services were well below levels required for conventional broadcasters. The concern was that these broadcasters would demand similar treatment at licence renewal time, watering down Canadian content overall (From http://www.canadaeast.com via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) SIRIUS EXPECTED TO BOOST FRENCH-LANGUAGE SATELLITE SERVICE --- By RICHARD BLACKWELL Thursday, September 1, 2005 Updated at 5:42 AM EDT At least one of Canada's nascent satellite radio companies is expected to boost its French-language content today, to assuage Quebec politicians who want the licences nipped in the bud by the federal cabinet. Sirius Canada Inc. president Kevin Shea said yesterday the firm will announce in Montreal that it will increase the number of its French stations to four, matching its proposed number of English Canadian stations. . . http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20050901.RSIRIUS01/BNStory/Idx/ . . . (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) Seven out of ten Canadians support CRTC in granting licenses to Canadian satellite radio providers http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/August2005/29/c3898.html (via Sandy Finlayson, PA, Aug 30, swprograms via DXLD) SIRIUS CANADA PLEDGES TO BOOST FRENCH CONTENT Things continue to heat up on the Canadian satellite radio front. Sirius has committed to a 4th French channel - equalling the number of English channels. Meanwhile XM's Canadian initiative, CSR, hired a major Quebec music personality to handle its French programming. Both moves are to head off any Cabinet-level repeal of the CRTC decision. That repeal needs to happen by September 14th or the repeal option goes away. See http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050901/RSIRIUS01/TPBusiness/Canadian or http://tinyurl.com/bhhev if that URL is mangled (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Sept 1, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. RADIO ESSEX 40TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION The planned boat trip that was intended to replace the normal shore based celebration nearly never happened. Just a day before our intended departure the skipper of the Greta, a motorised sailing barge, had an accident in which he fell off a ladder aboard his vessel and was taken to hospital with a broken pelvis and fractured ribs. Fortunately another craft Celtic Voyager capable of carrying 12 passengers was found; however this was not a slow trip in a barge but a large speedboat capable of 55 knots! In fact most of the time we travelled at a more sedate speed, only accelerating whilst manoeuvering in major shipping lanes. We took in the new offshore windfarm that is now almost complete, these wind turbines are awesome at close quarters. Soon we were slowly circling the Shivering Sands forts, still showing a faded sign "Radio City 299". Next the familiar sight of Knock John was sighted in the distance, a closer inspection revealed a lot more rust holes and increased decay of the reinforced concrete legs, but still standing there defiantly against the elements. The temptation to sail the light craft between the forts two legs had to be aborted because of strong currents causing the boat to swing sideways beneath the structure. The return trip was along the Kent coast from Margate, past Reculver, then we viewed the offshore remains of Herne Bay pier and finally back to Whitstable harbour. The trip took just over 4 hours and thanks to the perfect weather conditions offered very comfortable travelling and excellent photographic opportinities. I suspect some of the pictures will appear on Bob Leroi's radio website. Details of the craft we sailed in are available at http://www.seabournelogistics.co.uk/11meter.html There are several other "powerboats" operating from Whitstable as they are also used to service the nearby offshore windfarm. We all agreed this was the best reunion yet! (Andy Cadier, Aug 31, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** IRELAND [non]. ALL IRELAND HURLING AND GAELIC [football] FINALS Glenn, Some slight good news! RTE are broadcasting the All Ireland Hurling and Football finals on shortwave --- but to Africa only!! What listeners and supporters in other areas of the world are meant to do is unclear or perhaps RTE is not really interested in them? (Paul Guckian, Ireland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: RTÉ is please to announce transmission details for transmission of the All Ireland hurling and football finals to the continent of Africa. In line with our continued commitment to those Irish people overseas, particularly in geographically or technically isolated areas, RTÉ will be providing transmission of both games on the 11th and 25th of September [Sundays] from 2 pm until 6 pm (Irish time) on the following Shortwave frequencies: Target Irish Time Transmitter site Frequency Eastern, Central and Southern Africa 14:00 - 18:00 Woofferton 21730 kHz [13-17 UT] West Africa 14:00 - 18:00 Ascension 17680 kHz [13-17 UT] East Africa 14:00 - 15:30 Meyerton 15255 kHz [13-1430 UT] Central Africa 15:30 - 18:00 Ascension 15255 kHz [1430-17 UT] (via Paul Guckian, Co Clare, Ireland, Sept 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY [non?]. R. Mi Amigo, via IRRS, 15725, 1140-1200* Aug 27 [Sat]. Continuous oldies pop music. 1156 R. Mi Amigo IDs, Beach Boys music. 1200 sign-off with IRRS IDs. Weak, but in the clear (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Italian Radio Relay Service - Times and Channels Radio MiaMigo [sic] (music - 60s to the 90s) Saturday from 0800 UT onwards on 15725 kHz E-mail - radiomiamigo @ amserve.com Saturday and Sunday on 13840 kHz at 0900-1400 CE[S]T Daily on 5775 kHz at 2100-2230 CE[S]T (sign-off at 0000 CE[S]T on Fridays & Sundays) [= UT +2] Please check our latest program and frequency schedules online at: http://www.nexus.org/NEXUS-IBA/Schedules Reports by E-mail are very much appreciated. Please E-mail reports @ nexus.org Thank You. (via Tom Taylor, Sept 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. R. Veritas, 5469.96, 2245-2303* Aug 27, African hi-life music, English talk, 2256 religious talk, 2301 ID and closing announcements. Very poor in high noise level (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA [non]. Updated A-05 for LJBCorp via TDF transmitters according to monitoring: 1100-1200 21695 ISS 500 kW / 140 deg carrier+test tone 1000 Hz 1200-1300 21695 ISS 500 kW / 140 deg Swahili 1300-1400 21695 ISS 500 kW / 140 deg English 1200-1300 21675 ISS 500 kW / 153 deg Swahili 1300-1400 21675 ISS 500 kW / 153 deg English 1600-1700 17870*ISS 500 kW / 153 deg French [what means * here?? gh] 1700-1800 17870 ISS 500 kW / 153 deg Hausa ||| new freq, ex 17880 1600-1700 17695 ISS 500 kW / 185 deg French 1700-1800 17695 ISS 500 kW / 185 deg Hausa 1600-1700 15660 ISS 500 kW / 204 deg French 1700-1800 15660 ISS 500 kW / 204 deg Hausa 1800-1900 15660 ISS 500 kW / 185 deg carrier+test tone 1000 Hz 1800-2000 15205 ISS 500 kW / 153 deg carrier+test tone 1000 Hz 1700-1800 11615 ISS 500 kW / 185 deg Arabic 1800-1900 11615 ISS 500 kW / 204 deg Arabic+nx in Fr/En 1900-2100 9590 ISS 500 kW / 185 deg Arabic+nx in En/Fr, co-ch RRI Ge till 1956 2100-2200 9590 ISS 500 kW / 185 deg Arabic 2200-0400 7320 ISS 500 kW / 185 deg Arabic+nx in French/Hausa/ English/Swahili DELETED FREQUENCIES: 1000-1100 21695 ISS 500 kW / 140 deg Arabic 1100-1200 21675 ISS 500 kW / 153 deg Arabic 1400-1500 21675 ISS 500 kW / 153 deg Arabic 1700-1800 17880 ISS 500 kW / 153 deg Arabic 1100-1230 17695 ISS 500 kW / 185 deg Arabic 1700-1900 15615 ISS 500 kW / 140 deg Arabic 1100-1230 15610 ISS 500 kW / 204 deg Arabic 1900-2030 11715 ISS 500 kW / 140 deg Arabic 2000-2130 11635 ISS 500 kW / 153 deg Arabic (Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 2, via DXLD) ** LUXEMBOURG [non?]. Following a recent posting by Mike Barraclough on the uk-radio-listeners e-group I surfed on over to http://www.radioluxembourg.co.uk but I heard nothing except for one solitary jingle. I made 2 separate attempts to visit the site around 1920 UT on 2 September. I can only hope this is because the tests are not continuous, but the original message appeared to come from the Media Network blog (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, United Kingdom, Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The "solitary jingle" is a short audio file embedded in the Web page. To hear the streaming output you have to click on one of the audio links. Not all of them are working at the moment, but the 128 kbps Winamp stream was working when I listened earlier today, though there was a brief interruption so it's not guaranteed. It's working fine as I type this. Superb audio quality (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, ibid.) ** MEXICO. Le paso la información que tengo de Radio Huayacocotla Huayacocotla, Veracruz, México OC Call kHz Indicativo kW 2390 XEJN Radio Huayacocotla 0.5 kW FCEAC Lunes-Sabado 1200-1600, 2100-0100 UT FM MHz Indicativo kW 105.5 XHFCE Radio Huayacocotla ST 10 kW FCEAC (FCEAC) Fomento Cultural y Educativo A.C. Gutiérrez Nejera s/n, 92600 - Huayacocotla, VER Apartado Postal 13, 92601- Huayacocotla, VER WWW: http://www.sjsocial.org/Radio/huarad.html Tel: (774) 758 0067 Coordinador: Pedro Ruperto Albino. (Héctor García Bojorge, DF, via Dario Monferini, DXLD) ** MONACO [non]. Again DRM tests from Fontbonne, this time on 7160 instead of previously used 6150, cf. http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=1163 7160 is an old standard for the Evangeliums-Rundfunk transmissions via Fontbonne (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Now where is Fontbonne?? It is not on the HFCC site list (Glenn to Kai, via DXLD) This is the old transmitting station above Monte Carlo [therefore, really in France], ``MC`` in HFCC. The description in the first link is of course no longer true, since TWR moved most of these programs to other, apparently cheaper sites (primarily Albania and Jülich): http://perso.wanadoo.fr/monte-carlo-radiodiffusion/anglais/ocan.htm http://perso.wanadoo.fr/tvignaud/galerie/am/06fontbonne.htm http://mcstory.free.fr/antennes.html All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Changes to RNZI frequencies --- Hi Glenn. Radio New Zealand International is publicising some frequency changes on its website. The changes will be effective between 04th September & 30th October 2005 and are as follows: 1100-1259 UT broadcast, currently on 9885 will be aired on 9520 from 04/09/2005 1650-1850 UT broadcast to NE Pacific, Fiji, Samoa & Cook Islands on 6095 will be split into two separate broadcasts on different frequencies: 1651-1750 UT to Fiji, Niue, Samoa & Cook Islands on 6095 1751-1850 UT to NE Pacific, Fiji, Samoa & Cook Islands on 9630, not 6095 The directional antenna for the latter two broadcasts will be moved from 0 (zero) degrees to 35 degrees. Other times & frequencies remain unchanged (via Dave Harries, Bristol, England, Sept 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The 9630 change is in addition to the 9520 change we previously had. Possibly that will give RNZI greater range during that hour (gh, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. New frequency schedule of Radio New Zealand International from Sep. 4 0459-0705 11820 / 000 deg to All Pacific, also heard in Europe, and mid-west USA 0706-1059 9885 / 000 deg to All Pacific, also heard Midwest USA 1100-1305 9520*/ 325 deg to NW Pacific, Bougainville, PNG, Timor, Asia 1306-1650 6095 / 000 deg to All Pacific 1651-1750 6095 / 035 deg to NE Pacific, Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands 1751-1850 9630^/ 035 deg to NE Pacific, Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands 1851-2050 11725 / 000 deg to All Pacific 2051-0458 15720 / 000 deg to All Pacific * on same freq VOA in English via KAV 250 kW / 105 deg to ME til 1200 ^ on same freq BBC in Swahili/Somali via SEY 250 kW / 285 deg to EaAf (Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 2, via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. There was little rain during the three day ordeal, only 0.060 inches. BUT, the wind was terrific. 80 mph gust and a steady 35 to 40 mph wind, makes living a mobile home somewhat scary. We lost two of our big trees out back of the house and a large number of limbs from many more. But, over all, all is fine. But, all considered, we came through it great. As others in Tennessee did not. The eye of the storm moved to the west of Chattanooga, between here and Nashville. They are the ones in TN that got the most rain. The really bad part is that I lost my 147' long wire. Yesterday, I found it wrapped in the remaining tree branches, with the lead in wire still attached. Today I began to try and unwrap as much of the wire as I can. BUT, I am with out an antenna to DX with. I reported the reception of 1640 in Enid, OK at 0300 on the morning of the 31 August. I now know the I was receiving the station with the antenna wire wrapped around the branches in the trees. Maybe I should have left the wire in the trees??? (Willis, WB5KHD, Monk, Old Fort, TN, ABDX via DXLD) ** OMAN. Radio Sultanate of Oman in Arabic again on SW. Monitored schedule: 0400-0600 on 9515 SEB 100 kW / 320 deg to ME, co-ch CRI in Arabic 0500-0557 0600-1400 on 13640 SEB 100 kW / 320 deg to ME 2000-2200 on 13640 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu 2200-2400 on 13640 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu, additional time to WeEu 1400-1500 on 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu in English 1500-1800 on 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu, co-ch AIR in Russian 1615-1715 1800-2000 on 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu, additional time 1400-1800 on 15375 SEB 100 kW / 240 deg to EaAf Registered, but not active frequencies: 0200-0400 on 6085 SEB 100 kW / 320 deg to ME 2000-2400 on 6085 SEB 100 kW / 240 deg to EaAf 1800-2000 on 6190 SEB 100 kW / 240 deg to EaAf 0000-0200 on 9760 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu 0200-0400 on 15355 THU 100 kW / 220 deg to SoAf 1800-2000 on 15355 THU 100 kW / 220 deg to SoAf 2200-2400 on 15355 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu 0400-0600 on 17590 THU 100 kW / 220 deg to SoAf 0600-1000 on 17630 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu (Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 2, via DXLD) ** PERU. R. Altura, 5014.50, 0315-0330+ Aug 27, OA folk music, Spanish talk, IDs; weak (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWITZERLAND. RADIO SUIZA CUMPLE 70 AÑOS. Radio Suiza Internacional, transformada hoy en swissinfo, cumple 70 años. Un amplio dossier relata la historia de la emisora – nuestra historia. http://www.swissinfo.org/ses/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=6050728&cKey=1125576393000 Información proporcionada por el amigo Velásquez Jean (via José Miguel Romero2, Sept 1, Noticias DX via DXLD) ¡LA VOZ DE SUIZA EN EL EXTRANJERO NO DEBE SER ACALLADA! El 21 de marzo de 2005, el consejo de administración de la Sociedad Suiza de Radio y Televisión SRG SSR idée suisse anunció la desaparición de swissinfo en su forma actual, poniendo fin a la oferta periodística en nueve idiomas y terminando con unos 80 puestos de trabajo. De acuerdo a los planes, sólo siete capacidades del servicio anglófono permanecerán, junto con un periodista de cada una de las lenguas nacionales: francés, alemán e italiano. El español, portugués, chino, árabe y japonés desaparecerán. Estos servicios, además de su valor informativo para la divulgación de la actualidad helvética, contribuyen a la comprensión entre los pueblos. Con la reducción radical de swissinfo se perderá una parte importante de la presencia de Suiza en el mundo. Ayúdenos a impedir este desmantelamiento a través de http://www.vivaswissinfo.org/ página creada por el personal para presentar las informaciones sobre el estado de los esfuerzos a favor de swissinfo y las reacciones ante la decisión de terminar con la voz de Suiza en el exterior. Una petición en línea para que swissinfo siga viva espera su apoyo. Con nuestros mejores saludos y agradecimientos, Mariángeles Helfer swissinfo/Swiss Radio International Mariángeles Helfer Multimedia Spanish Giacomettistrasse 1 CH-3000 Berne 15 Phone +41-31-350 95 75 Telefax +41-31-350 96 67 E-Mail: mariangeles.helfer @ swissinfo.ch (Información proporcionada por el amigo Velasquez Jean via José Miguel Romero2, Sept 1, Noticias DX via DXLD) SWISS RADIO INTERNATIONAL, NOW OPERATING AS SWISSINFO, IS CELEBRATING ITS 70TH ANNIVERSARY This special dossier tells its story - from short wave to internet. The anniversary is tinged with sadness, as the continued existence of the organisation hangs in the balance. "This is Switzerland calling: 70 years in the service of information", published in four languages, was produced to mark this special milestone. The broadcaster came into being in 1935 with the advent of shortwave radio. The new technology enabled a Swiss voice to be transmitted over great distances, reaching the entire world. It became possible to reach the Swiss population of 200,000 compatriots abroad using radio. But the audience was wider than that... During the second turbulent half of the 20th century Swiss Radio International (SRI) reached beyond the Swiss diaspora. The station offered another view of the world to anyone with the curiosity to tune in. There are photographs of General Guisan in the Bern studios of the Swiss Shortwave Service and of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at the SRI microphone. Nelson Mandela is photographed by a journalist visiting South Africa. Then there are the everyday scenes of SRI employees at work. The voice of Swiss president Rudolf Minger is heard during the first shortwave broadcast on August 1, 1935. The voices of the writers Thomas Mann, Blaise Cendrars and Friedrich Dürrenmatt have also been recorded for posterity. Louis Armstrong is interviewed in the bathroom of his Bern hotel and the members of Deep Purple tell the story of how they wrote Smoke on the Water at Montreux. We look back at television ads and the genesis of the SRI jingle. A compendium of French out-takes produced in 1995 provides the laughs while a group of journalists and technicians are captured in the middle of a jam session in a studio. In five chapters - "From short wave to hypertext", "The Swiss voice in the world", "Culture and music", "Highlights from the archives" and "Image gallery" - the dossier tells the story of swissinfo/SRI. We bring you the memories of those who shaped the history of Swiss Radio International, reliving their time in this Swiss Tower of Babel. It is a place where many languages are heard in the corridors; from French, German, Italian, English, to Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and, more recently, Chinese and Japanese. From short wave to the web This dossier tells the story of international radio, which became an extension of Switzerland. During the war years, SRI assumed the heavy responsibility of being the only free media service in continental Europe. Benefiting from the Swiss reputation of neutrality, SRI later represented a strong voice in the context of Cold War Europe. As Switzerland did not have a colonial past, SRI was also widely listened to and appreciated by diverse audiences in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Alongside the shortwave service, SRI developed a "transcriptions service", programmes produced on cassette, then on CD, and broadcast by radio stations throughout the world. In the same way, television stations broadcast Swiss World, also produced by swissinfo/SRI. The radio service and later the website provided a wealth of information on elections and referendums delivered directly to Swiss living abroad, many of whom are also registered to vote. With the 1990s came satellite and the internet. Swiss Radio International became a multimedia platform, developing its website. As its identity changed, it changed its name to swissinfo. The final shortwave programmes were broadcast in October 2004. The move away from radio in favour of the web has been variously regarded as courageous and as reckless. An uncertain future There were 200,000 Swiss abroad in 1935. Today, according to the latest figures, the Swiss community abroad comprises more than 623,000 people. Although the target audience has grown, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) announced the radical restructuring of swissinfo in March 2005 with the loss of 70 to 80 jobs out of 120. This followed the axing of 26 jobs in 2004. Despite the disappointment and objections voiced by the Swiss abroad and in political circles, the SBC has not altered its course, as confirmed in its publication Portrait, from August 2005. "Soon, the TV and radio websites of the SBC will fulfil the mandate of spreading information abroad and swissinfo/SRI will supply special dossiers for the Swiss living abroad to complement the content along with an English-language service (...) The decision still has to be endorsed by the Federal authorities," the publication states. This SBC is sticking to its project although parliament has yet to give it the go-ahead. Many politicians have voiced their support for swissinfo/SRI's work. The biggest hurdle for the service's survival remains how it should be financed. "This is Switzerland calling: 70 years in the service of information" has been compiled as a way of reflecting on the important anniversary. The near future will tell us whether this special dossier is the end of the story or just the beginning of a new chapter. Until then, those loyal to Swiss Radio International and swissinfo will be able to immerse themselves in the 70-year history of a media service which has thrived and still thrives thanks to its coverage of current events at home and abroad. "Swiss Radio International, at the heart of Europe, to the rhythm of the world", the message once broadcast on short wave still has resonance today (swissinfo, Bernard Léchot http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=201&sid=6039318&cKey=1125557086000 via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** TURKEY. Frequency changes for TRT Voice of Turkey to WeEu/NoAm from Sep. 4 with kW / degrees azimuth: 2100-2155 Turkish NF 7300 EMR 500 / 325, ex 9460 CAK 500 / 313 2200-2255 English NF 7300 EMR 500 / 310, ex 9830 EMR 500 / 310 2300-0655 Turkish NF 7300 EMR 500 / 325, ex 9460 CAK 500 / 313 (Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 2, via DXLD) ** UGANDA. Thanks to the Solar activity, conditions to Africa have been exceptionally good. R. Uganda, Kampala, 5026 kHz heard August 31 closing down at 2105 UT with S9 signal. Reception was really good. Played nice local music, also language was local. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Mark Tully on the BBC ad-libbing and FOOC http://media.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5276524-111190,00.html BBC VETERAN CALLS FOR RETURN TO 'WELL-WRITTEN' NEWS STORIES Tara Conlan, Friday September 2, 2005 MediaGuardian.co.uk From Our Own Correspondent veteran Mark Tully has called for TV and radio news to return to "well-written stories", rather than "dangerous ad-libbing". In an interview to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Radio 4's weekly posting from the BBC's foreign correspondents, Tully applauds the fact that FOOC has remained unchanged. "One of the beauties of FOOC is that it's completely unchanged. I wish we could go back in time in television and radio too and have less of this dangerous ad-libbing and news presenters talking to commentators. Tully added: "I would much rather have many more well-written stories. FOOC is one of the last programmes you will hear well-written and well-produced stories." Reflecting on the enduring popularity of FOOC, Tully said: "It allows you to give a flavour of a country - to record historic events in a way you can't elsewhere. One of the key things about radio is to be accessible, otherwise you are unintelligible. "One of the features for FOOC was, and still is, its accessibility; we were encouraged to make it a good listen. One of the nice things is it still allows veterans to do pieces of interest to them. I've just done one on the Indian army in the second world war." At times though FOOC has got its correspondents into trouble. Tully said he was once reprimanded in the Pakistani parliament over a piece he'd done on the kind of clothes worn by Pakistani and Indian diplomats. Tully said that in India, in particular, FOOC was vital. "It was hugely important. We were the only alternative source of news and had a huge audience." To commemorate the 50th anniversary of FOOC, the show's long-serving producer, Tony Grant, has written a book recalling some of the programme's highlights. The book ranges from the early years - when Douglas Stuart's Suez crisis report explained carefully the meaning of jihad - to the 2004 American elections - when Justin Webb became an unwitting supporter of the Bush campaign. It also includes a terrifying account of being locked up in the Congo after the 1960 coup to, on a lighter note, Juliet Hindell's experience of bathtime in Japan. Tully is currently making three radio programmes on the Indian army, in addition to Something Understood on Sunday mornings. He is also writing a semi-autobiographical book on the effect of India on his life and the west (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) The following is from the weekly BBCWS newsletter: From Our Own Correspondent - 50th Anniversary http://er.bsysmail.com/go.asp?/bBBC001/q3DAQW1/x02R09 Special daily programmes this week feature interviews with correspondents past and present. Among them, Allan Little describes the dying days of Congolese President Mobutu's regime, Brian Barron remembers the fall of Saigon, Fergal Keane talks about the importance of good storytelling and Michael Elkins explains why he was called to account by Israel's Prime Minister Golda Meir. From 5 September (Mon-Fri) - programme times (GMT): Australasia: 0732 rpt 1932; East Asia: 0030 rpt 1032; South Asia: 0732 rpt 1132; East Africa: 1032 rpt 1432; West Africa: 1132 rpt 1432; Middle East: 0732 rpt 1432; Europe: 1732 rpt 2132; Americas 1232 rpt 1732 For information about the regular weekly programmes, visit the From Our Own Correspondent website [not the same as above] http://er.bsysmail.com/go.asp?/bBBC001/qU4A8W1/x02R09 73, (Peter Bowen, swprograms via DXLD) Why is it not at http://www.bbc.co.uk --- Another outsourcing?? (gh) Nowadays the Radio 4 version of FOOC is podcast; wonder if they'll offer all these as well (Richard Cuff, Allentown, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. Late night radio in the afternoon Radio review --- OH, WHAT A NIGHT Elisabeth Mahoney, Friday September 2, 2005, Guardian http://media.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5276177-111190,00.html The most obvious pleasure of the BBC radio Listen Again facility online is the chance to listen to your favourite programmes at a time that suits. But it also brings with it a more secret thrill: access to programmes you would never ordinarily listen to because of where they sit in the schedules. This week I've been tuning into Alex Lester on Radio 2's very early morning show - a show that goes out so early (3-6 am) that it could also be described as going out very late. I, however, have been listening on the laptop in the garden in the afternoon sun. It's a slightly odd experience, sneaking a daytime listen of broadcasting so clearly made for the dark still of the small hours. There is something very emphatically of the night about Alex Lester's show. And there is also something of Ronnie Corbett about Lester's intonation, rendered extra-bouncy, one suspects, to keep his audience awake. His delivery also echoes the trademark Radio 2 morning mode of quirky perky. "I'll tell you what makes Britain great," Lester declares just after 3am on Monday. "Sausage rolls. And tartan at all the service stations, not just in Scotland." You can imagine Wogan or Ken Bruce delivering those same lines. The show bristles with interactivity, all the better to ward off listener somnolence. Many of the programme's challenges - to make a bat conservation officer's job easier, or to make junk mail more fun - are strange enough to have you pinching yourself, and that's before you hear what the so-call prize might be. "It's a pair of socks with eyes on the soles of the feet", Lester explains at some ungodly hour on Tuesday. What it does best is to be bullish about a slot others might shy away from, calling it the "best time of the day" so often that it's now a subtitle for the show. In the harsh light of day, some of its preoccupations seem bizarre (Wednesday's show contained a lengthy consideration of why hat-wearing went out of fashion) and Lester is undeniably of the old school. "It's a fab double-excellent prize" he froths at one point before moving on to sound genuinely excited by "the latest from Simple Minds". But the show makes much of its intense link with those nocturnal listeners. Lester has a fond name for them ("halflings") and even offers a loyalty card for members of the audience actively promoting "Night times as the right time". While most of us snooze unawares, this programme is all catchphrases and in-jokes, merry banter and palpable sense of connection. "We can do it, between you and me," says Lester, revealing the junk mail challenge. Listening to this in the daytime, I felt really rather left out (via Dan Say, DXLD) ** U K [and non]. BBCWS and WRN DRM plans: see DIGITAL BROADCASTING ** U S A. WJIE has been active lately on 7490; Sept 2 at 1346 some guy talking about God, somewhat distorted, and with CCI under from FE; intermittent het from a carrier around 7491. WJIE may be next to be ordered off its OOB frequency. Only IDs heard are for WJIE-FM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WEWN Rosary for victims at 1300 UT --- Wednesday through Saturday (August 31-September 3), EWTN Radio will broadcast a live Rosary from the EWTN Chapel, for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, at 9:00am Eastern. Please continue to pray for the hurricane victims. (Catholic Radio Association newsletter, Charleston SC, Aug 31 via DXLD) That would be on 5850, 11645, 13615. CRA is the successor to Catholic Radio Update, edited by Mike Dorner, whose home is in Mandeville, near Slidell. Mike tells us that Mandeville escaped catastrophic damage, and he and his family had evacuated to relatives` in Lafayette (gh) ** U S A. Talk to America Focuses on Hurricane Katrina`s Aftermath Talk to America continues to update listeners around the world about the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, and the continuing humanitarian and emergency relief efforts underway. Friday’s program will begin with Lt. Jody Vasquez of the U.S. Northern Command. VOA correspondent Greg Flakus will report on the conditions and rescue operations in New Orleans, and Jake Corbell of KSLA-TV in Shreveport, Louisiana, reports on the evacuation of storm refugees and local conditions. Along with these updates, Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, will discuss the hurricane’s effect on energy supplies and the U.S. economy. Allen Pitts from the American Radio Relay League discusses the role shortwave radio operators have played in the emergency response. For the latest on the effects of Hurricane Katrina, visit VOA`s special web page at http://www.voanews.com/english/katrina.cfm Keep connected to Talk to America, weekdays at 1600 UT. To listen online, or get more information, please visit the program's web page at http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/talktoamerica.cfm (via gh, DXLD) VOA director David Jackson has directed that I not appear on VOA's Talk to America on 2 September. However, Allen Pitts of the American Radio Relay League is still scheduled to be the guest. He will discuss the role of amateur radio in the Hurricane Katrina recovery. Listen at 1600 UTC (noon Eastern), or later via the audio stream (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) BREAKING NEWS! KIM ANDREW ELLIOTT TAKEN OFF TALK TO AMERICA During the past year, Kim Andrew Elliott has been heard on the first Friday of each month on VOA's Talk to America, when the topic is international broadcasting. Just hours before the Talk to America on 2 September, VOA director David Jackson ordered the Talk to America staff not to include Kim in the programme. Kim's scheduled guest, Allen Pitts, spokesman for the American Radio Relay League, will still be on the programme to discuss the role of amateur radio in the Hurricane Katrina recovery. Talk to America is broadcast at 1600-1700 UTC and is available as follows: To Asia on 6160, 7125, and 9760 kHz shortwave plus 1170 kHz mediumwave. To Europe/Middle East/North Africa on 9700, 9825, 15195, and 15445 kHz shortwave, plus 96.9 MHz FM in Kuwait, and via Hot Bird 3, transponder 76, HB15. To Africa on 4930, 9850, 15410, 15580 kHz shortwave, plus 909 and 1530 kHz medium wave. Listeners in the Americas, try 15580 kHz and perhaps other frequencies. And worldwide via the live audio stream at http://www.voanews.com/english/Webcasts.cfm (Media Network blog via DXLD) We've now received a bit more background information, so the Media Network Weblog item has been changed to read as follows: During the past year, Kim Andrew Elliott has been heard on the first Friday of each month on VOA's Talk to America, when the topic is international broadcasting. Just hours before the Talk to America on 2 September, VOA director David Jackson told the Talk to America staff not to include Kim in the programme. Apparently this has to do with the transformation of Talk to America from a "talk" program to a "news" programme. Kim's scheduled guest, Allen Pitts, spokesman for the American Radio Relay League, was still heard on the program, interviewed by TTA's host Doug Bernard. Listen on-demand at http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/TTA-New-Past-Shows.cfm (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The ham angle started about half an hour into the show at 1635 UT, with Doug Bernard mentioning that Kim was supposed to participate, and played Kim`s recording of SATERN net from 2300 Thu. Doug kept stumbling over the 20m band frequency with which he was obviously unfamiliar. Then ARRL guy interview, apparently live. I think there were no call-ins heard nor solicited. Rename the program?? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That move from "talk" to "news" is probably by necessity as the program wasn't receiving very many calls anymore. Stands to reason-- I certainly can't hear it on sw anymore and relatively few elsewhere probably can either given the drastic reduction in sw frequencies available to VOA English. Yes, I know that TTA is carried on MW and FM; but apparently that hasn't resulted in people burning the lines up to talk (John Figliozzi, NY, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. SW TALK-SHOWS & REALITY Has anyone been monitoring the range of SW talk show people who had all along been predicting the downfall of civilization in circumstances like Y2K or nationwide economic collapse and how they are addressing the post-Katrina situation, and especially the events in New Orleans? I'm wondering if they are crowing with a "we told you so" attitude or are projecting a different viewpoint. One specific example that comes to mind is that I repeatedly heard dire warnings in past years that FEMA had all these sinister plans for "camps" in which the dissidents and resisters would be imprisoned; well, now we NEED those camps for the refugees and no one seems to have them, or any prospect for quick construction of such facilities. We're using sports stadia and other inappropriate buildings instead. The nearest to this has been an on-air mention that the San Antonio area has a lot of military bases and thus might be able to set up a lot of tents fairly quickly, but this wasn't official and more of a supposition than a plan. I wouldn't be surprised if there were not many such tents available; I'm sure the vast majority of such supplies are in use in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military resources are stretched thin now anyway. To cope with this disaster in a large but limited area of the country may well be beyond our actual capabilities, and thus give the lie to the idea that the sinister government conspiracies could take over the entire nation and enforce martial law and repression. How are James Lloyd and the "Christian Media" people in their compound up in Oregon addressing this? Their SW transmissions were reduced in time over recent months and I haven't heard much from them, due I suppose to listening-time conflicts. It's also a little hard to wade thru the uninteresting parts and the irritating speaking style to extract some meat from the rhetoric. 73, (Will Martin, MO, Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: [dxld] WBCQ News Feed: Fox seems an odd choice for WBCQ, but maybe that's only my impression... (John Figliozzi, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Lest you think Allan be really a classic Liberal (gh, DXLD) We lack a succinct term for the disaster area, mainly in three states, so here is what I come up with: Al-La-Miss --- or to keep our priorities straight, even better: Lou-sip-bama. If you want to include FL: Lou-sip-bam-ida. Hyphens optional. You`re welcome © (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune are simply awesome. A good number of them rode out the storm, 'embedded' on the 3rd storey of their New Orleans office, despite damage all around them and to their own building. Finally, with flood waters rising, they had no choice but to evacuate. Last I heard they were in Baton Rouge at a paper I recall as being The Advocate. Anyhow, would you believe they didn't miss a beat, and managed to keep publishing? Albeit as PDFs on the web, but there's a good size 'paper', complete with lifestyle features, the crossword and the comics. Not to mention very detailed, investigative-style reporting on many facets of the crisis. They are using a web portal which is simply the best resource available online for anything to do with New Orleans and surrounding areas. It's fully interactive, and it's THE place to ask your question [Rene Tetro`s about the fate of WLNO]. http://www.nola.com I am floored by what these pros have managed to do despite circumstances that outrival a war. The staff have lost their homes, their possessions, their normalcy for months if not years to come. And they've produced incredible journalism. I am often the last one to praise the media. I think these people deserve a team Pulitzer and then some. I hope the station's staff are safe and sound. I know a few journalists down that way, including one of the Times-Picayune reporters that was 'embedded', and have heard from all of them via a journalism list-serve we're on. Pretty it hasn't been (Saul Chernos, ON, Aug 31, NRC-AM via DXLD) I just came back from a linux SIG meeting, listening to WWL on the road around 2300 EDT, fady, mixed with Reloj, with typical Au flutter on the Reloj signal (especially noticeable was a warbly "rr" code and some choppiness on voice). Interesting to hear this effect on a signal with its ionospheric-hop this far south, as well as this late at night. Cubans present on a lot of frequencies. I'd bet a lot of out- of-town listeners trying to follow the New Orleans news from WWL are being somewhat frustrated by the annoying Reloj noise. Appreciate the magnanimous gesture from el barbudo viejo to silence that thing as a small gesture of goodwill. Oh wait, that never happened. If WGUL [860] had gone IBOC, and it was running at night, no one in this area would have a chance of hearing news from WWL (Bob Foxworth, Tampa FL, 0348 UT Sept 1, ibid.) Howdy, For those who want a bit more local slant on the hurricane, WWL continues to stream its news on the internet. http://www.wwltv.com/perl/common/video/wmPlayer.pl?title=beloint_wfaa&props=livenoad Looks like they are currently broadcasting from the LPB studios in Baton Rouge. Today, they finally have "real" graphics; yesterday they had really primitive text up on the page. They must be streaming on a pretty big pipe, as I've had no trouble with buffering or anything as I've been watching them here at work. I wish one of the Gulfport/Biloxi stations would do the same, as that's where my (missing) relatives are (Dave Williams, Redmond, OR, WTFDA via DXLD) They're operating from two sites: the LSU communications school in Bâton Rouge (separate facility from LPB) and from the transmitter in Gretna. If you see the cheesy looking desk with the BR skyline behind it, that's coming from LSU. The two chairs against a white wall with a WWL logo behind them are at the transmitter site (you can actually hear the blower fans going behind them there.) They're uplinking the video to sister station KHOU in Houston and it's being streamed from there. Same deal with WDSU - as best I can tell, the WDSU broadcast is going from New Orleans via the DirecTV uplink, being picked up off DirecTV at WESH in Orlando and streamed from there. Yesterday I saw someone change the channel in Orlando and got a glimpse of some WESH promos via the stream. The only Biloxi TV station that had local news was WLOX, and they're gone - transmitter is apparently OK, but the studio was trashed when the roof came off and the STL tower fell on it. WTOK in Meridian is apparently off the air but streaming news; that and WKRG in Mobile are probably the closest functioning TV news operations at this point. The Biloxi Sun Herald is functioning - they're on the web and printing a limited run of copies at the Columbus GA Ledger-Enquirer. That might be a good place to start looking. We'll be keeping your relatives in our thoughts here... s [Later:] Actually, Dave was ahead of me on this one. WWL moved from LSU to LPB on Thursday morning and is now operating from LPB. Another reminder that the situation down there is ever-changing (Scott Fybush, ibid.) WWL isn't the only one... so are: WDSU http://www.wdsu.com WGNO http://www.wgno.com - they're broadcasting from WBRZ in Baton Rouge, LA, but the link to the live audio can be easily found on WGNO's main page. WKRG http://www.wkrg.com [Mobile AL] WJTV http://www.wjtv.com [Jackson MS] WAPT http://www.wapt.com [Jackson MS] WTOK http://www.wtok.com [Meridian MS] I think that's it. (anon., ibid.) Warner Cable (Houston) is running WWL TV on Ch 76 & another in the 300 range for the last 3 days. It's still there today (Robert M. Bratcher, Jr., Sept 1, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) Monitoring WWL 870, at 0545 UT Sept 2, the IDs now go something like this: ``United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans, a service of WWL, Entercom Communications, and the Clear Channel New Orleans family of stations``. At 0551 also mentioned the website http://wwl.com had been reconstructed, now with message boards (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) By the way, I heard on WWL the on-air announcer say that the night before, about 9 PM, he had thought that he'd get a break for a few hours and was getting ready to lie down when the management called him and told him to "pack up"; they were moving the studio to Baton Rouge. So they're broadcasting from there for now. Last night, there was a very interesting item from Jefferson Parish giving instructions to evacuees on what to bring with them when they come back in beginning when they're allowed to at 6 AM on Sep. 5 (Labor Day). Note that they DID change the original instruction that people would be allowed to come in (with proper ID) but then would HAVE to leave again; now they say that returnees do NOT *have* to leave, but that they will probably want to, due to the uninhabitability of the parish. Returnees are to bring: 1) Cash. With no electricity, credit cards are no good, checks can't be verified, debit cards don't work, etc. People are to get cash where they are now and carry it in with them. 2) Disposable cameras. If they have good regular cameras with them, that's fine, but don't expect to rely on any camera you left at home to be in working condition, and you'll want to document your damage for the insurance company. They even said to just give the used-up cameras to the insurer and let them do the development. (Digital cameras were NOT even mentioned.) 3) A full tank of gas. Top up your tank at the last moment on the way in because there are no working gas stations in the parish. 4) Bottled water. They emphasized "screw-top" bottles but I never heard just why those, but I suppose most are that design anyway. 5) Either a supply of water for flushing toilets or a container to use to dredge up water from a swimming pool, creek, etc., to use to flush. The sewage system is working but the water-supply system is shredded. They described it as "an archaeology exercise, like something from Pompei." 6) Clean clothes. Wash the clothes you have with you before you return; there's no way to wash them inside the parish, and you cannot rely upon any clothes you left to be wearable & clean. 7) A claw hammer and heavy pliers. Buy those where you are now. When you get back, you'll need these tools to pull up any carpeting you have that got wet and drag it outside; hopefully you'll get it out and the house floors dried out before the mold gets a foothold. Then go around the house with the hammer and knock out all the drywall up to the water line, drag it outside too. The same anti-mold rationale applies here. (Expect that all this trash will NOT be picked up for a *long* time, so arrange it artistically so that you can live with it as-is; a touch of gallows humor there...) I really don't remember them mentioning food; that seems obvious, I guess. If others heard this and can add anything I missed, please do. They said that they'd be repeating this periodically over the next days. They figured that few people would want to stay because it is very hot and there is no A/C and no power even for fans, unless you bring in a generator and fuel for it. 73, (Will Martin, MO, Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) HELPING THE VICTIMS OF KATRINA... A Call to Action from American Atheists "All we have is each other..." AMERICAN ATHEISTS urges all fellow nonbelievers to contribute to the rescue and other humanitarian efforts in the devastating wake of Hurricane Katrina. A number of secular, non-religious aid organizations are active in this relief campaign. They do not incorporate a religious message in their operations, discriminate on the basis of religion, nor do they proselytize to those vulnerable people currently in need. AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS (Founded by Deist-Unitarian Clara Barton) http://www.redcross.org UNITED WAY OF AMERICA http://www.unitedway.org NETWORK FOR GOOD (has numerous listings for helping groups, both religious and secular) http://www.networkforgood.org HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES! (Our winged and four-legged friends need help, too!) http://www.hsus.org * OTHER CHARITIES will be listed as we learn about their legitimate participation in the relief effort. Everyone contributing should be aware of scams; unfortunately, not all "charities" are legitimate and have a proven track record. Also, there are "religious" outreaches which do not proselytize as part of their efforts to help others. If you have a suggestion for an established, reputable secular humanitarian group that is worth of our support and would like to see it listed here, contact webmaster @ atheists.org and we may be able to include it in this list which will be found at http://www.atheists.org (AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.) (AA Newsletter Sept 1 via DXLD) Touching video of the reality in New Orleans. This is a thought provoking 8 minute documentary that someone has already put together on Hurricane Katrina. It is something that really causes you to stop and pause a moment to grasp what is currently going on in that area and how fortunate most Americans are. The video was distributed in a news group. It loads into Windows Media Player. http://wnharrell.com/hurricanekatrina/katrinadocumentary.wmv (Katrina! Pierce, via . . . via . . . via Greg Hardison, DXLD) I've spent the past week doing almost nothing but tracking radio and TV along the Gulf Coast for 100kw.com/Inside Radio/M Street Journal. In a nutshell: ON right now are WWL 870/WSMB 1350/WQUE 93.3/WYLD 98.5/WLMG 101.9/KHEV 104.1, all part of the "United Broadcasters of New Orleans" cooperative effort by Entercom and CC. Also on is WDVW 92.3, simulcasting Citadel's WIBR from Baton Rouge. Also ON are WWL-TV 4 and (sometimes) WDSU 6. I have unconfirmed reports that WGNO 26 is back on with coverage from WBRZ in Baton Rouge. No other TV is on. Confirmed OFF are WBSN 89.1/WWNO 89.9/WWOZ 90.7/WTIX-FM 94.3/WTKL 95.7/WRNO 99.5/WNOE 101.1/KMEZ 102.9/WKBU 105.3/KKND 106.7, also WTIX 690 and WBYU 1450. It's a pretty good bet that the rest of the AM dial is also silent. The news is less clear from the Mississippi gulf coast. WCPR 97.9 is confirmed on, as are an unspecified "four of six" CC stations out of their Biloxi cluster. I'm trying to get more info. WTOK 11 in Meridian is off; WLOX 13 in Biloxi is on and struggling from heavily damaged studios. s (Scott Fybush, 1351 UT Sept 2, ABDX via DXLD) Saludos cordiales, en la siguiente dirección web se pueden escuchar así como leer los textos en español que el servicio publico remite via radio en caso de emergencia. http://www.fema.gov/spanish/media/serviciopublico.shtm Están extraídos de la web de FEMA, Agencia Federal para el Manejo de Emergencias. http://www.fema.gov/spanish/index_spa.shtm (José Miguel Romero, Spain, Noticias DX via DXLD) Ed Bruette, N7NVP, the SM for Western Washington sent along some non- ham frequencies to monitor for possible hurricane traffic. Of course, these are outside the ham bands, and all we should do is listen. All are in Upper Sideband. USN/USCG hurricane nets are on 7507 and 9380 KHz. American Red Cross also uses Upper Sideband for disaster communications on 2802.4, 3171.4, 5136.4, 5141.4, 6859.5, 7550.5 and 7698.5 KHz. 7550.5 is the primary frequency. Hugh Stegman, NV6H has put together a list of hurricane recovery frequencies at http://www.ominous-valve.com/hurricne.txt (QST de W1AW, Propagation Forecast Bulletin 37 ARLP037, From Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, WA September 2, via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) Stegman`s list tries to be inclusive, so a lot of frequencies not relevant to the current situation. It begins: 2005 Hurricane Frequencies By Hugh Stegman NV6H (Last Update 1 Sep 05) MAJOR REVISION Please delete older copies of this list! KATRINA FREQUENCIES ADDED AS HEARD. ALL IN SCREAMING CAPS! WLO TOOK DAMAGE IN KATRINA, BUT IS MOVING SOME TRAFFIC. SLIDELL RADIO (NOW A GLOBE NODE) BADLY DAMAGED AND DOWN AT LAST WRITING (via gh, DXLD) This may be of interest during the current disaster operations. Want to hear the ops from a scanner in Louisiana? Some chilling stuff. http://www.shoutcast.com will do the trick. From the main page type "scanner" in the search box. Then click on which access you desire (via Pete Kemp, Sept 1, NRC-AM via DXLD) i.e.? Scanner audio from Louisiana --- You can tune into live scanner audio from some of the affected areas. Many internet feeds are available other than those listed below: Take your pick: http://64.5.58.149:8000 http://209.121.78.178:8000 http://66.255.148.51:8000 http://67.15.74.93:12345 http://216.22.26.45:8002 http://209.133.8.188:8000 http://205.134.173.10:8088 If you find more, please share them here. 73 (David Ross, ON, Sept 1, ODXA via DXLD) NOT HEARD FROM: FATS DOMINO, IRMA THOMAS, ERNIE K- DOE'S WIDOW Before NBC, MTV or anyone else puts on a telethon to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, they might want to explore some ancillary issues. To wit: New Orleans is a city famous for its famous musicians, but many of them are missing. Missing with a capital M. To begin with, one of the city's most important legends, Antoine "Fats" Domino, has not been heard from since Monday afternoon. Domino's rollicking boogie-woogie piano and deep soul voice are not only part of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame but responsible for dozens of hits like "Blue Monday," "Ain't That a Shame," "Blueberry Hill" and "I'm Walking (Yes, Indeed, I'm Talking)." Domino, 77, lives with his wife Rosemary and daughter in a three-story pink-roofed house in New Orleans' 9th ward, which is now under water. On Monday afternoon, Domino told his manager, Al Embry of Nashville, that he would "ride out the storm" at home. Embry is now frantic. Calls have been made to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco's office and to various police officials, and though there's lots of sympathetic response, the whereabouts of Domino and his family remain a mystery. In the meantime, another important Louisiana musician who probably hasn't been asked to be in any telethons is the also legendary Allen Toussaint. Another Rock Hall member, Toussaint wrote Patti LaBelle's hit "Lady Marmalade" and Dr. John's "Right Place, Wrong Time." His arrangements and orchestrations for hundreds of hit records, including his own instrumentals "Whipped Cream" and "Java" are American staples. (He also arranged Paul Simon's hit, "Kodachrome.") Last night, Toussaint was one of the 25,000 people holed up at the New Orleans Superdome hoping to get on a bus for Houston's Astrodome. I know this because he got a message out to his daughter, who relayed to it through friends. Also not heard from by friends through last night: New Orleans's "Queen of Soul" Irma Thomas, who was the original singer of what became the Rolling Stones' hit, "Time is On My Side." Let's hope and pray it is, because while the Stones roll through the U.S. on their $450-a-ticket tour, Thomas is missing in action. Her club, The Lion's Den, is under water, as are all the famous music hot spots of the city. Similarly, friends are looking for Antoinette K-Doe, widow of New Orleans wild performer Ernie K-Doe. The Does have a famous nightspot of their own on N. Claiborne Avenue, called the Mother-in-Law Lounge, in honor of Ernie's immortal hit, "The Mother-in-Law Song." Ernie K-Doe, who received a 1998 Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, died in 2001 at age 65. Dry and safe, but in not much better shape, is the famous Neville family of New Orleans. Aaron Neville and many members of the family evacuated on Monday to Memphis, where they are now staying in a hotel. But most of the Nevilles' homes are destroyed, reports their niece and my colleague at "A Current Affair," Arthel Neville. She went down to her hometown yesterday and called me from a boat that was trying to get near town. "This isn't like having two feet of water in your basement," she said, holding back tears. "Everything is destroyed. I am just so lucky to have been born here and to have had the experience of New Orleans." She confirmed that there had been rumors of dead bodies floating around her Uncle Aaron's house yesterday. So far, the Nevilles are unannounced to participate in Friday's TV telethon. And still there are plenty of other famous musicians associated with New Orleans who would probably like to be on TV if they're high and dry. The Marsalis family comes from the city, and they've played at most of the well known clubs like Tipitina's, The Maple Leaf, Preservation Hall and Muddy Waters. New Orleans is also one of the few cities with a House of Blues. And Jimmy Buffet's Margharitaville Café chain has a local franchise that is still an attraction. New Orleans' trademark sounds are Cajun and Zydeco. So far none of the listed benefits have named an act that plays that kind of music. -- King Daevid MacKenzie, WLSU-FM 88.9 La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA heard weekdays at http://whiterosesociety.org "There is Christian and there is Elvis-from-the-waist-up Christian." JAMES NEIBAUR (via the AM 740 yahoo group via Fred Waterer, ON, Sept 1, DXLD) Fats Domino`s agent says he was rescued from his home on Monday. He`s OK but stressed out (Jim Lehrer, Newshour, PBS, 2207 UT Sept 2, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) New Orleans media and... Fox News (cable/sat) has interviewed (twice today) a newscaster at New Orleans' TV WVUE (Channel 8). He said they are off the air. The tower is in the swamps north of the city, near where the Battle of New Orleans was fought. He also said that several of the AM stations still on the air are relaying one big AM'er (I can only guess WWL). No way to confirm the relays from here, though. And... why do we not have "Radio Recovery" activated (last used post- Hurricane Andrew, 1992 in Homestead, FL at 1610 kHz), operated by the US Army PsyOps division? It would have been a logical way to get some organized information out. WINZ (940) even rebroadcast "Radio Recovery" segments for a few days to enhance the coverage, which WWL could have (be) doing. OK, I'm thinking logically, not like a Federal jackass in Washington, DC (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, 2034 UT September 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As usual, NPR is shining as a source of information. I work for a commercial TV station -- but TV is useless. I'm getting most of my news from WPLN-1430 and http://cbc.ca (even though the latter is on strike & offering limited service...) I'm not aware of any damage to any Tennessee stations resulting from the storm. I wonder how many New Orleanians will not be returning to the city --- and how many of the city's radio stations won't find reason to rebuild? (Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, Sept 2, NRC-AM via DXLD) See also OKLAHOMA ** U S A. Would someone please explain, in detail if need be, the differences between the U.S. public radio services NPR, APR, and PRI? (Peter Bowen, Canada?, Sept 1, swprograms via DXLD) NPR - National Public Radio, headquartered in Washington DC. Largely funded under grants from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. Not directly related to PBS, the Public TV network but some of the same people sit on both boards and there are news and information sharing agreements between the networks. APR - American Public Radio founded in 1983, a division of Minnesota Public Radio it split into 2 entities, APM and PRI in 1994. PRI - Public Radio International, a production co-operative between local Public Radio stations and also a public radio network that is basically in competition with NPR, however many PRI programs are distributed by NPR to their affiliates. PRI was made up from the network radio side of APR and The Christian Science Monitor's defunct radio network. BBC World Service programs are distributed by PRI which leads me to believe that they also have a chunk of it. APM - American Public Media is the production arm of Minnesota Public Radio. It produces programs such as "The Prairie Home Companion", "Marketplace", and "As It Happens" [sic], all of which are distributed by PRI (Steve Coletti, ibid.) All three organizations produce public radio programming and distribute that programming to stations who pay fees for the airing of this programming. I. NPR NPR is its own entity, headquartered in Washington, DC. It's the largest public radio production organization in the USA. It does not own or manage any stations. From its website: "NPR was incorporated in 1970 pursuant to the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, but it is not a government agency. NPR is not a radio station itself nor does it own any radio stations, but NPR programs can be heard on more than 780 public radio stations across the United States." NPR distributes programming that it produces, and also distributes programming that individual stations (e.g. WNYC, WHYY) produce. II. PRI / APR PRI was founded by Minnesota Public Radio and a group of other stations and was originally named "American Public Radio". PRI sees itself as an alternative distribution channel for public radio programming. Like NPR it does not own its own programming. Most PRI- distributed programming is produced by individual production companies and public radio stations. The only program PRI produces itself is "The World", which is also co-produced by the BBC World Service and WBGH in Boston. PRI historically has distributed "This American Life", produced by WBEZ in Chicago; I am not sure exactly how that relationship works now. PRI also funds programming development, but by and large it doesn't produce any (except what I noted above). PRI distributes BBCWS and CBC programming in the USA -- meaning it has the satellite space for these programs. PRI claims more affiliate stations than NPR. Both services charge a basic membership fee -- based on market size, signal strength, and similar metrics. Both then charge for individual program carriage. As far as I know, if stations subscribe to any BBCWS programming, they can then air it all at no extra cost. III. APM You didn't ask, but this is also relevant. APM is "American Public Media", which is wholly owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). MPR owns a bunch of public radio stations in, natch, Minnesota, and also operates KPCC in Pasadena, CA. Several programs that were produced by Minnesota Public Radio and distributed by PRI have had their PRI distribution pulled; APM now distributes these programs. These include "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Marketplace". From APM's website: "American Public Media is the national production and distribution arm of St. Paul-based Minnesota Public Radio®, one of the nation's premier public radio organizations. Some 20 national programs and specials, including A Prairie Home Companion®, Marketplace® and Saint Paul Sunday® comprise the American Public Media portfolio. Currently, nearly 700 stations reaching 13 million people carry our programs each week. "Launched in July 2004, American Public Media replaced an arrangement with a third-party distributor [which was PRI - RDC] of Minnesota Public Radio's national content. The new distribution system increases contact with our primary stakeholders and encourages more meaningful relationships with affiliated stations and their listeners." Other comments on US public radio: Public radio stations in the USA are generally independent, nonprofit entities that are funded by some government dollars, some local public sector dollars (e.g. Pennsylvania Arts Council) and individual / corporate donations. Public radio stations produce some of their own programming, but many acquire programming from PRI, NPR, APM, and other independent producers. An interesting new development -- the Public Radio Exchange, http://www.prx.org/ was set up as a marketplace for independently produced programming that is not distributed through these other aggregators. Individuals can listen to much of the content offered there free of charge, a rather nitfy feature. Individual listeners can write "peer reviews" (see http://www.prx.org/reviews/3985 for an example). Radio Netherlands has quite of bit of its programming posted at PRX for stations to acquire; 126 individual programs from RNW are listed at the PRX website, including many of the documentaries, Vox Humana, and Euroquest. I suspect that a piece of the licensing fee charged to stations is how PRX makes its money. So, hope this short description was useful. There is a chance I've made a couple factual errors, but I believe most of this to be correct. Another useful website is http://www.current.org/ a web version of a public radio station-focused newsletter. It looks like NPR and these other folks are launching a new podcast service, in beta version, as of today -- see http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php Even more distribution options to muddy the waters (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Sept 1, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. Uncomplimentary Air America article in Fortune magazine: http://www.fortune.com/fortune/articles/0,15114,1096677,00.html?promoid=cnn Not terribly detailed, but the upshot is that Air America's corporate management behavior is giving the conservative talk show hosts plenty to talk about (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Sept 2, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. 960 KQKE CA, San Francisco, received a HUGE promo package which cost them $3.95. Included was a t shirt, mug, 3 different colored KQKE whistles, a bunch of bumper stickers and cards, key chains, pens. One of the cards was made into a QSL card, with the QSL info on the back. MW QSL #2912. They never replied to my earlier report where I enclosed a cassette. The f/u had a CD. Apparently that did it! No v/s, just signed "The Quake", but it was from the Promotions Dept. For the record, KQKE is another Clear Channel station. Clear Channel continues to be great QSLers! Address: 340 Townsend Street, San Francisco CA 94107. This made my day!!! 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KAVT Reception Manager, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Weird pirate with political ad --- Lake Worth FL, 090105 0900 EDT: 92.5, one of the stronger and constant Creole Pirates here ran an English political advertisement! Any comment? (Ken Simon, Sept 1, WTFDA via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. ZNBC, R. Zambia, 6165, 0243-0259+ Aug 26, tune-in to fish eagle IS, 0250 instrumental NA, 0252 opening English announcements. Separate programming on 4910. Fair level and in the clear, but covered by R. Nederland *0259 [Bonaire] (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Is it little wonder that DX Listening Digest is a must read when you print the lyrics to Wolf Creek Pass? William Fries is C.W. McCalls' real name, he's one of the organizers and driving forces behind the Mannheim Streamroller that does the great Christmas music CD's (Jerry Kiefer, FL/DR, Sept 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ COORONG DXPEDITION REPORT G'Day Guys, The Coorong DXpedition report of the Booze Brothers - Dave Onley and Craig Edwards from July 2005 has now been published at http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/coorong_2005_07.dx Cheers (Craig Edwards, South Australia, Sept 1, HCDX via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ EUROPEAN FM MAP GENERATOR While trying to gig up information for my soon-to-be-released report on FM DX from Madeira I came across this web site that allows the user to point at a location and generate a map of FM stations. Does not work for North America, but pick a European location and observe what it does. http://www.ukwtv.de/fmscan/form.php?act=fmmap (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY, WTFDA via DXLD) Try this one which someone clued me into a couple of years back: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Welcome.aspx (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (360' ASL), ibid.) I found this one a few weeks ago for the US; it`s especially interesting how they integrate Google maps/satellite images to show where FM transmitters are. http://www.findradio.us/index.php For example WSJO, you can zoom right down to the point where you can see the transmitter building and the shadow of the tower (NJ has statewide high resolution) http://www.findradio.us/displayradio-57357.htm In other parts of the country and even for others in NJ some towers are actually visible. For those of you with Google Earth software you can zoom in even further... As for actually using GE to find stations, there an option to add layers, however the closest I've found for radio stations is a layer showing a bunch that stream online. So there isn't one showing transmitters, yet. The closest you can do now is either enter in the lat/long or finding the towers yourself, which defeats the purpose of a search (Michael Temme-Soifer, Egg Harbor City, NJ, WTFDA via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ LIGHT DIMMERS WITH RFI SUPPRESSION Leviton Decora Sureslide No. 6621-PW [that's the white one, an off white is also available]. Leviton makes some other shapes too including one that looks just like a conventional toggle except it is continuously variable. Looks nice, really nice, as in spouse approved appearance. No round dimmer switch knob to fly across the room either. Don't expect websites etc. to promote the RFI issue. To regular folks, this is a "non-feature". To us, it`s pure gold. The info is on the back of the package: RFI Filter - Suppresses radio frequency interference. Essentially, its just an approved capacitor inside I'm sure, but hey, it works! Essentially, as I remember, dimmers use a triac or something like that to pulse the power, switching it on and off. The dimmer the light, the longer the "off" spaces between pulses. It`s all about switching. The capacitor takes the RF component and "shorts" it to ground, while having no effect at 60 HZ AC. It`s made in China, and gives both USA and Canadian Levington addresses, so it should be available in the USA too. These are the little things we can do to decrease RF pollution which helps make things better for the DX hobby. Each one by itself is a baby step, but the more that are done, the merrier! I'm sure there are other brands, but Levington is the biggie around here and all their nice looking dimmers mention about the RFI Filter somewhere in the packaging fine print. For the budget-conscious [or those with lots of dimmers] I think they make a round dimmer with RFI filtering too. But if the package doesn't mention it, chances are it does not have it. I'm sure it would be possible to retrofit a safety cap to an existing dimmer, but this brings up code and insurance issues and one never wants to give them an extra chance to say, "sorry, it`s not covered...". But adding a safety cap inside a receiver, or inside a box extension cord should be OK if you know what you are doing. If appropriate, I can post a link to a good supplier of safety caps for those who are interested. These are the X/Y type caps that are UL/CSA approved and will not catch fire even under the worst circumstances. They have been creeping into my boatanchors with good results (Phil Rafuse, PEI Canada, Sept 1, ABDX via DXLD) Excellent! I found the 6621-W at homedepot.com, and it's got the RFI protection too. Only $9.75. I guess the -PW just adds mechanical presets. Thanks - looks like I'll be making a stop on the way home. This dimmer looks exactly like the one I have now. If I'm really sneaky, I could probably switch it out without the wife even noticing ;-) (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA DX-398 / RS Loop, ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ 693, Sep 2, 2220-, Germany: Voice of Russia via Germany. In Arabic. Terrible noise caused by the DRM simulcast; I wonder how this sounds at the 'target area'? (Mauno Ritola, FINLAND, HCDX online log via DXLD) see also MONACO DRM / IFA / DW Messeradio Digital Just started monitoring DRM / IFA Berlin trade fair / DW LIVE program via 15440 Sines-POR in DRM mode, at the opening day of IFA trade exhibition. In German of course. The lady announcer isn't much professional and hectic, said Trade Fair Radio Sines 15440 Frequency as "15 Hundered four_hundred_fourthy", or RFI FM 106 MHz as shortwave 106 kHz, a bit strange odd. Mr. DRM Peter Senger will join the DW Fair Radio Digital this afternoon. A little selection of the "Smooth weather" broadcasting time at late morning/noon: SNR signal noise ratio 17-18 3995 DW, many drop outs due of short distance to WER tx site. 17-22 5990 RTL LUX 17-28 jumping 15440 DW Sines, but much weaker on 15545: 14-19 jumping 15545 DW Sines 15-17 15780 R Moscow Taldom 17-21 6095 RTL LUX 24-28 9470 BBCWS Kvitsoe, super power signal !!!!!! 14-19 jumping 7135 FIP Issoudun 11-15 jumping 7310 RFI Issoudun, too close to ISS tx site, only 400 kms away. Signal jumps over my head. 7240 and 7320 via Rampisham-UK only SNR 6, location outside lobe towards Berlin. In peaks up to 12-14 dB, text portion decodes, but not audio. 21675 kHz from Trinco Sri Lanka too weak, only -50 dB, no decode. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, 0952 UT Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRN UNVEILS ITS DRM PROJECTS INCLUDING INNOVATIVE LOCAL TEST BROADCASTS FOR LONDON ON 26 MHZ PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY WRN LONDON, 2ND SEPTEMBER 2005 WRN, THE LONDON-BASED INTERNATIONAL TRANSMISSION SERVICE COMPANY, TODAY ANNOUNCES ITS PLANS FOR BROADCASTS TO LONDON AND EUROPE USING DRM (DIGITAL RADIO MONDIALE), THE digital AM radio system with near-FM quality sound. THE FIRST PROJECT WILL TEST TRANSMISSION OF DRM AT 26 MHz in London whilst the second project offers broadcasters European regional DRM coverage. LONDON DRM WRN’s test and development project for London will assess the potential coverage of DRM transmissions at 26 MHz. It will provide important data on the penetration of the signals into various types of building and other urban situations as well as gauge audience reaction to the broadcasts. WRN will create a full test and development schedule for submission to Ofcom and the DRM Consortium. The transmission site is the world famous Croydon broadcast tower, situated in South London and operated by Arqiva (formerly NTL Broadcast), WRN’s DRM transmission partner for this project. Arqiva provides transmission services for most UK commercial radio stations. Croatia’s RIZ-Transmitters has supplied the Yagi antenna and transmitter for the duration of the project. TIM ASHBURNER, WRN’S TECHNICAL DIRECTOR SAYS: ``THE London analogue spectrum is unable to support new FM services and the possibilities for more stations on DAB Digital Radio are becoming very limited. The audio quality of analogue AM is not up to the standard that is expected by listeners today. The answer may be local DRM services using the presently unused 26 MHz band, which could support up to 50 new stereo radio services. THIS PROJECT WILL ALLOW US TO RIGOROUSLY TEST DRM in a local setting using one of the most ethnically diverse, cosmopolitan and technically challenging cities in the world. If it works in London then local DRM can work anywhere`` EUROPEAN REGIONAL DRM WRN’s regional DRM service offers broadcasters comprehensive coverage of Europe using DRM sky-wave transmission and directional antennas. Furthermore, the service can be used to reach specific key target areas with frequencies that provide higher reliability in urban areas from the transmitter site located in South East Europe. Telefunken has supplied the modulator and exciter for the service. Gary Edgerton, WRN’s Managing Director says, ``DRM OFFERS FM AND STEREO AUDIO QUALITY ON THE BANDS UP TO THOSE NOW USED BY AM STATIONS AND IT WILL REVITALISE THESE BANDS FOR LOCAL, NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING. We are inviting broadcasters to discuss with us their participation in all aspects of our DRM projects and to be part of the revitalisation of international broadcasting.`` WRN will encode both DRM services at its central London headquarters, providing the flexibility to generate a pre-mixed DRM stream that will then be fed to the respective transmitter sites. WRN will also add data for receiver display utilising custom created software. - ENDS - FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Ayris, Marketing Manager, WRN: (Sept 2 via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) SW DRM to UK from SE Europe? Who has DRM capability there? Bulgaria? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBCWS DRM Service to Europe I am pleased to announce that on the 30th of August, we commenced a DRM "Phase 1" service to Europe for the BBC World Service. This service is timed to co-incide with the official launch of consumer DRM receivers at the world's largest exhibition for consumer electronics, the IFA in Berlin from the 2nd to the 7th of September. The service comprises of 12 hours per day from Rampisham on Shortwave, targeting Germany and 16 hours per day on Medium Wave from Orfordness, (to be extended to 18 hours per day from the beginning of the winter schedule), targeting Benelux during daylight hours and Western Europe during hours of darkness. The BBC have also separately hired 12 hours per day from Norkring's site at Kvitsoy, Norway to provide an extended coverage area including France, and to some extent, create a multi frequency network. While this service is very much a precursor to the fully managed DRM service to Europe, which is under continuing discussion with the BBC, it nevertheless marks a significant milestone in the development of DRM as it evolves from a test and develop phase into a "real" service targeted at the radio listening public. (John Emmerson, VT Communications, via Mike Barraclough, dxldyg via DXLD) So why doesn`t he go on and give the schedule?? (gh, DXLD) ###