DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-163, September 14, 2005 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2005 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1287: Wed 2200 WOR WBCQ 7415 [first airing of each edition] Wed 2300 WOR WBCQ 17495-CUSB Thu 1000 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Thu 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [maybe still 1286] Thu 1800 WOR KLC [NEW from Sept 15] Thu 2030 WOR WWCR 15825 Thu 2300 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Thu 2330 WOR R. Veronica 106.5 Fri 0000 WOR WTND-LP 106.3 Macomb IL Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream [repeated 2-hourly thru 2400] Fri 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Fri 2000 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Sat 1600] Fri 2105 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 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 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1400] Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually but temporary] Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ON DEMAND [from Fri]: 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 or http://wor.worldofradio.org WORLD OF RADIO 1287 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1287h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1287h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1287 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1287.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1287.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1287.html WORLD OF RADIO 1287 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3 (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_09-14-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_09-14-05.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO 1287 downloads in studio-quality mp3 [soon]: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1287h.mp3 (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1287.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (1282, 1283, Extra 59, 1284, Extra 60, 1285, 1286, soon 1287) ** AFGHANISTAN. AFGHANISTAN'S INFOTAINMENT REVOLUTION, THANKS TO INDIA [including SW] | Excerpts from a report on http://www.newkerala.com By Gurinder Randhawa, Kabul As a part of the $550 million reconstruction assistance provided by New Delhi to Kabul, India has set up a new earth station at the Afghanistan Radio and TV Centre here and provided a free transponder on the INSAT-3-A to transmit Kabul TV signals to 10 provincial TV centres where Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) have installed downlink facilities. The remaining 23 provinces will soon get the facility with the completion of the downlink set up as a part of the $550 million reconstruction assistance provided by India to Afghanistan. "Uplink and downlink facilities executed by India will bring the country together like nothing before," said Abdul Rehman Panjshiri, director of international relations at the Afghan Radio and TV. "The 100-KW short-wave transmitter with seven antennas being installed by India at Yakatoot in Kabul is being completed this month. It will enable Kabul Radio programmes to be heard in South East Asia, South Asia, Africa and Europe. "The people in remote areas in Afghanistan who remain cut off during the harsh winter months will now be able to follow the happenings in Kabul and other areas of the country through the programmes beamed on this short-wave transmitter," Panjshiri added. BECIL has also set up a full-fledged TV studio with ultra-modern facilities at the Jalalabad TV centre to produce quality programmes and local news and encourage talent of Nangarhar and neighbouring provinces of Kunar, Nooristan and Loghar. India is also replacing the existing low power TV transmitter in Jalalabad by a high power one with a 1,000-watt capacity, which will enhance the signal quality and enlarge the TV coverage area enormously. TV relay stations are also being set up there to extend coverage to the shadow areas in the second most populated province after Kabul. Full report at : http://www.newkerala.com/newsdaily.php?action=fullnews&id=22172 (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Sept 13, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DXLD) Yakatoot, spelled differently, was the site of the original R. Kabul/ R. Afghanistan SW. Where else, for a country prefixed YA? (gh, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4781.3, Radio Tacana; Tumupasa, Sep. 13, 0107-0114 UT, Snippets of songs with brief announcements by male speaker in Spanish. At 0108 talk, with time check and a couple of clear IDs. Romantic music at 0110. 23332 Receiver: ICom IC-R75; Antenna: Wellbrook ALA- 1530 loop. 73, (Mark Veldhuis, the Netherlands, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Certainly the hot Bol right now (gh, ibid.) ** CANADA. WEEK 5: WHO IS STEERING THE CBC SHIP? September 13, 2005 (la version fran‡aise suit) By Lise Lareau, President, Canadian Media Guild The lockout at the CBC is entering its fifth week because no one in senior management is directly responsible or accountable for their actions. Consider this: CBC president Robert Rabinovitch approved the plan to lockout 5,500 people as a way to force extreme concessions - namely a staff structure with far more reliance on temporary work. Based on the emails to Rabinovitch that are copied to me and based on general media coverage, I don't think this approach is resonating with Canadians, even the most conservative of them. But who exactly can redirect Rabinovitch? There's the rub. The CBC's Board of Directors is the body that is meant to be accountable directly to the Canadian public for the way the CBC is run. It should provide sober second thought on major management decisions, particularly when the plan has had such disastrous consequences. But the board has not had a chair since Carole Taylor left abruptly in March. That means Rabinovitch has been temporarily holding two positions, both chair and president, and so there has been no check and balance in the structure. The Board has not had adequate leadership during the CBC's biggest crisis in memory. Unfortunately, the problem is exacerbated because eight of the twelve CBC board members are new this year. This unprecedented turnover took place between February and April this year. Many of these people are totally new to broadcasting and the CBC culture. And they've had no one to look to for guidance, except Rabinovitch. This brand new board has not even met since the lockout began and, based on my information, has not yet asked the tough questions of Rabinovitch that it was appointed to ask. If I were on the board, I would want to know precisely how much more "flexibility" is really needed that is not achievable now (with real examples) and precisely what's missing in the current collective agreements. I would want to know whether the gamble of taking away service to the Canadian public for many weeks to achieve this still-undefined goal is really worth it. And I would ask if Plan A-the Big Gamble -- is not working, what's Plan B? Last week, Heritage Minister Liza Frulla told reporters that the problem with the CBC wasn't about its funding, but "governance." She's right. Days later, she confirmed that Guy Fournier is the proposed new Chair of the board, subject to a hearing process by the Heritage Committee. It's about time! We urge the Heritage Committee to confirm Fournier QUICKLY. It is time for someone to step up and take responsibility for the CBC. Ottawa doesn't think it has a direct role, even though it appoints the president, the chair and the entire board of directors. Paul Martin has been mum on the crisis, even though word from him to Rabinovitch would probably end it. The board - whose members were appointed to represent the public - has been kept in the dark. And CBC management? After shutting down acceptable service to most of the country, CBC is continuing to get its parliamentary funding. It seems there are no consequences to this disastrous lockout to anyone in particular, except the audience and the staff. And people wonder about the future of the CBC? How can any institution - no matter how worthy or beloved -- survive with such benign neglect? *** le 13 septembre 2005 LA 5E SEMAINE: QUI EST A LA BARRE DE LA SRC/CBC? Par Lise Lareau, pr‚sidente, Guilde canadienne des m‚dias Le lock-out … la SRC/CBC entame sa cinquiŠme semaine parce que personne, au sein de la haute direction, n'est directement responsable de ses actes. Pensez-y : le pr‚sident de la SRC/CBC, Robert Rabinovitch, a approuv‚ le lock-out afin de forcer des concessions majeures, soit un modŠle d'emploi bas‚ en plus grande partie sur des postes temporaires. Selon les courriels envoy‚s … M. Rabinovitch que l'on me fait suivre, et selon les articles de presse, il me semble que les Canadiens, mˆme les plus conservateurs, n'appuient pas cette approche. Mais qui peut changer la strat‚gie de M. Rabinovitch? Voil… pr‚cis‚ment le problŠme. Le conseil d'administration de la SRC/CBC devrait ˆtre responsable du fonctionnement de la Soci‚t‚ envers le public canadien. Il devrait examiner calmement les d‚cisions majeures de la direction, surtout quand les cons‚quences d'une strat‚gie s'avŠrent tellement d‚sastreuses. Mais le conseil d'administration est sans pr‚sident depuis le mars dernier, alors que Carole Taylor d‚missionnait pr‚cipitamment. Depuis, M. Rabinovitch cumule deux postes au sein de la Soci‚t‚, soit p-dg et pr‚sident du conseil, et il n'est imputable … personne. Le conseil d'administration est donc sans leadership ad‚quat … l'occasion de la crise la plus importante … survenir … la SRC/CBC de r‚cente m‚moire. Malheureusement, la situation est empir‚e … cause du fait que huit des douze membres du conseil d'administration sont nouveaux de cette ann‚e. Ce taux de renouvellement sans pr‚c‚dent a eu lieu entre f‚vrier et avril derniers. Beaucoup de ces nouveaux membres d‚butent dans le monde de la radiodiffusion et dans la culture de la SRC/CBC. Et il n'y a que M. Rabinovitch de disponible pour les conseiller. Le nouveau conseil d'administration ne s'est pas r‚uni depuis le d‚but du lock-out et, selon mes informations, n'a pas encore pos‚ … M. Rabinovitch les questions difficiles qui relŠvent de son mandat. Si j'‚tais membre du conseil, j'aimerais savoir exactement ce que cherche la direction en matiŠre de ``souplesse`` qui n'existe pas d‚j… (avec des exemples concrets), et pr‚cis‚ment ce qui manque dans les conventions collectives actuelles. J'aimerais savoir si l'interruption pendant des semaines du service destin‚ au public canadien, afin d'arriver aux fins de la direction qui n'ont jamais ‚t‚ pr‚cis‚es, en vaut vraiment la peine. Je demanderais quelle est la strat‚gie alternative si la premiŠre strat‚gie ne fonctionne pas? La semaine derniŠre, la ministre du patrimoine, Liza Frulla, a d‚clar‚ que le problŠme de la SRC/CBC relŠve non pas de son financement, mais plut“t de sa ``gouvernance``. Elle a raison. Quelques jours plus tard, elle a confirm‚ que Guy Fournier sera le prochain pr‚sident du conseil d'administration, … condition d'obtenir la confirmation du comit‚ du patrimoine. Il est grand temps! Nous exhortons le comit‚ du patrimoine … confirmer M. Fournier dans le plus bref d‚lai. Il est grand temps que quelqu'un assume la responsabilit‚ de la SRC/CBC. Le gouvernement f‚d‚ral ne croit pas avoir un r“le direct … jouer, mˆme si c'est lui qui nomme le p-dg, le pr‚sident du conseil et tous les membres du conseil. Paul Martin n'a rien dit au sujet de la crise, mˆme si un mot de sa part aurait probablement incit‚ M. Rabinovitch … mettre fin au lock-out. Le conseil d'administration, dont les membres devraient repr‚senter les int‚rˆts du public canadien, demeure dans l'ignorance. Et la direction de la SRC/CBC? Elle continue de recevoir son financement public aprŠs avoir interrompu les services presque partout au pays. Il semble que, outre l'auditoire et les employ‚s, personne ne subit les cons‚quences de ce lock-out d‚sastreux. Les gens se pr‚occupent de l'avenir de la SRC/CBC. Comment une institution - mˆme aussi importante et appr‚ci‚e - pourrait-elle survivre … un traitement aussi n‚gligent? Canadian Media Guild --- La Guilde canadienne des m‚dias 144 Front Street West, Suite 300, Toronto, ON M5J 2L7 144, rue Front ouest, bureau 300, Toronto, ON M5J 2L7 (416) 591-5333 1-800-465-4149 http://www.cmg.ca http://www.laguilde.ca (via Ori Siegel, ON, Sept 13, ODXA via WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. Role of public broadcasters --- I'd like to share this message from Tod Maffin, a locked-out CBC employee. It is from his widely-viewed website "CBC Unplugged": http://cbcunplugged.blogware.com/blog "Public broadcasters need to rethink their model for content distribution. "We Tell Stories. PERIOD. "We do not ONLY make audio that goes out on transmitters. We can and should continue to broadcast terrestrially, but we need to rethink our role as public storytellers. We can tell the stories of our nation through radio, podcasts, print, television, digital, and much more. "We have been fixated on distribution in the last 30 years and that's a mistake. We need to fixate on STORYTELLING and then use whatever means of distribution are available. Distribution will always be there and will always reinvent itself. We need to embrace everything that comes along from a technical standpoint, but invest in investigative research and storytelling skills." He's got a point, except that more means of distribution usually means higher costs --- and what manager wants to hear that? Surely, there's a happy medium somewhere. (Pun intended.) (Ricky Leong, Calgary, Alta., Sept 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good observations here. This gets back to the whole "content vs. transmission" debate, just using better words. While fans of radio won't like this observation, radio can be seen as the culprit in this distribution debate -- because it costs as much to put out a 10 kW signal if 10 people listen as it does if 1 million people listen. To reach a younger audience, one has to use other means than "just" radio, because said younger audience listens to the radio less than their older brethren. You could look it up. Paradoxically, this "happy medium" Ricky hopes for can be seen as the crux of the CBC lockout debate. Management, recognizing the higher distribution costs required, then look to find more "efficient" ways to do everything -- from reducing those distribution costs (i.e. get someone like Sirius to do that for you) to reducing production costs for storytelling -- i.e. "improve productivity" or get by for less. This is because no one will give them more money without a fight. And it's the change in status quo that comes with techniques for reducing production costs -- for example, by making it easier to terminate people or change their duties by making them contract workers vs. salaried, seemingly tenured, workers -- that appears to be the lightning rod for the lockout. I agree with Maffin (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. Re 5-162: A possible solution for CBC's money and labour woes: Overall Solution At least 90% of current CBC staff must be laid off. CBC has been profoundly ruined by people working at CBC for too long. CBC works best [and has always worked best] when it is staffed with people that are interested in radio and TV broadcasting. At least 90% of current CBC management must be laid off. CBC has been profoundly ruined by people working at CBC for too long. CBC works best [and has always worked best] when it is staffed with people that are interested in radio and TV broadcasting. [Sorry for the text repeat.] CBC North CBC North must be separated from CBC, and possibly attached to [and managed by] Radio Canada International (RCI). The northern services have been unnecessarily and wrongly punished by this CBC lockout, and past CBC-SRC labour disputes. The two services (CBC vs CBC North) have little in common with respect to serving their respective audiences. This conflict of interest must be stopped. The CBC lockout [and past disputes] have nothing to do with the news and information needs of Northern Canada. Due to issues of remoteness, RCI could better carry out managing the state funded northern radio and TV services -- possibly on behalf of the government department that manages northern affairs as a subcontractor. Canada's private radio & TV networks are economically able to absorb former CBC staff and managers. The US broadcast networks can benefit from this The US terrestrial TV broadcast networks massively overpay their current national newscast newsreader staff -- this is a substantial problem for the television network shareholders. Ratings for US national newscasts continue to decline, in spite of the manufactured celebrity for US national newscast newsreaders. Substantially replacing 60% of NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS and ABC national news staff with Canadians on short run contracts (eg: less than 3 years) could save many millions of dollars for US terrestrial networks news divisions. Having news staff that is 40% Canadian can substantially remove the glaring hatred and ignorance of the 'rest of the world' that is still persistent on all national US TV news broadcasts (M. Hackett, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. ANALYSIS: CANADIAN GOVERNMENT BACKS SATELLITE RADIO LICENCE DECISION | Text of editorial analysis by Simon Poysden of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 14 September Questions surrounding the issuing of Canadian satellite radio licences have created a deep divide in the Canadian government, broadcast and entertainment industries. On 31 August, the CNW news service reported on a rally supporting the recent issue of satellite radio licences in Canada. The rally was triggered by media reports that government may be considering reviewing the controversial Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision to grant satellite radio licences to Sirius Canada and Canadian Satellite Radio (CSR). The issuing of the licences has been met with mixed feelings, though enjoying support from Canadian artists and the Canadian vehicle industry. The Toronto Star on 7 September cited the dream of rural Canadians, being able to listen to static free, commercial- free satellite radio broadcasts, finally becoming a reality. With around one-third of Canadians living in small towns or rural areas, satellite radio will provide entertainment parity with their urban counterparts. CNW on 31 August quoted General Motors Vice-President David Paterson as saying that new vehicles in the US have come equipped with satellite radio technology for some time and that Canadian customers are asking dealers for this capability. He warned that unless acted on quickly, an opportunity to equip new Canadian models with this technology may go astray. In the same press release, Gregg Terrence of Indie Pool Inc said: "Satellite Radio will help new independent artists gain critical mass by reaching a truly North American audience, an audience that conventional radio simply cannot deliver and does not have the format to support." The satellite company's jubilation at the decision to issue licences, however, seems to be premature. The Globe and Mail reported on 6 September that Heritage Minister Liza Frulla, addressing concerns of Liberal MPs from Quebec and Atlantic Canada, is championing the fight against the issuing of these licences by supporting an appeal by the CHUM media group and Astral Media of Montreal, which claims that the plans contravene Canadian programming content rules. Chum-Astral had proposed to offer digital services in urban areas through conventional technology. CSR and Sirius Canada want to stream scores of US stations to Canada and distribute Canadian content in the US. However, the percentage of Canadian content (10 per cent) imposed on the eight licensed stations is less than the 35 per cent required of conventional radio stations, giving the grounds for the appeal. Ms Frulla has also raised concerns regarding insufficient French programme planning. Supporters of the CRTC decision, including some Canadian artists, claim it is ridiculous that Canadian content rules be applied to satellite services that will be broadcast across North America. In response to Ms Frulla's concerns Sirius has confirmed with CRTC that of the eight channels licensed, four will be French language stations, and has made the undertaking to maintain the 50/50 ratio if future channels are launched. CSR President Stephen Tapp, also offered the split, adding that it would also apply to the 33m Canadian dollars they are putting up for French and English talent development. According to the CNW report, figures cited would suggest that satellite radio in Canada will invest as much as 57m Canadian dollars (48m US dollars) in developing Canadian talent equally across both language groups. Kevin Shea, president and CEO of Sirius Canada maintains that the CRTC is fulfilling its mandate to bring new services and technologies to Canada. John I. Bitove, chairman and CEO of Canadian Satellite radio, concludes that the new services will give access to a diversity of programming to rural and urban Canada and will give Canadian artists exposure to a potential 300m subscribers in the US. On the other hand Ms Frulla and the CHUM/Astra alliance maintain that in providing these services, Canadian content law will be contravened. The question that really needs to be answered is not so much whether the proposed services contravene Canadian content law but whether or not Canadian content law is applicable to Canadian satellite broadcast services, the anwer to which may suggest to Ottawa that a review of the Broadcasting Act is due. For an industry already reeling under the dispute between management and staff at the public broadcaster CBC, the answer needs to come sooner rather than later. In a bid to resolve the issue, Sirius/CSR offered more Canadian content and boosting of French-language services. On 9 September, the government announced the upholding of the CRTC decision. The government welcomed the companies' request to have their licences amended, and Ms Frulla was quoted as being happy with the new offers. Source: BBC Monitoring research 14 Sep 05 (via DXLD) ** CANADA. CJML web site is claiming they will be returning to the air November 6 to 26, 2005; see their website http://www.cjml.cjb.net/ for further updates (Shawn Axelrod VE4DX1SMA, Sept 14, dxing.info via DXLD) That`s the 99-watt special events station in Winnipeg on 580 (gh, DXLD) ** CHAD. 6165, Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne; N'djamena-Gredia, Sep. 13, 2017-2025, Very nice signal on top of Croatian Radio. Male speaker in French, Afropop. Full ID at 2020 UT. 43444 Receiver: ICom IC-R75; Antenna: Wellbrook ALA-1530 loop. 73, (Mark Veldhuis, the Netherlands, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Yet another screwup: Sept 14 at 1430, I found 13740 not with China Radio International relay in English, but with RHC in Spanish, opening Formalmente Informal, complete with the usual squeal on this transmitter. Quick tunearound to other RHC frequencies did not find CRI on any of them instead. There was a one-minute break at 1432 which I figured might lead to fixing the input, but no. Upon recheck at 1450, CRI was back on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. Radio Nacional Malabo has been received in Sofia between 17 and 18 hours on 5005 kHz with emissions in Vernaculars and once an identification in Spanish was heard at 1745 hours. It is rare to obtain a QSL card from the station, but you can try to the address: Radio Nacional Malabo, Apartado 195, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX program Sept 9, via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) Malabo on 5005? (Robert Scaglione, Sicily, ibid.) Bata 5005 has, I think, been known to relay Malabo at times (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY. Re 5-162, language? Test transmissions of CVC International in ENGLISH via DTK T-Systems on September 12-17 via WER 500 kW / 180 deg to NoCeAf: 1500-1700 on 17545 (34443); 1700-1900 on 13820 (34443); 1900-2000 on 9775 (55555) (Ivo Ivanov, Observer, Bulgaria, Sept 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Due to interference from KSDA on Guam Island, [R. Philia], which means Friendship, has moved to the new frequency of 7475 kHz. The emissions in English are on the air from 1830 to 1900 UTC on 7475 and 666 kHz (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX program Sept 9, via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ex-12105 (gh) ** GUAM. Re Barrigada site, 5-162: Basically, I am trying to do just that, find out two things 1. Who actually owns the antennas and 2. If I can see the station up close. This has taken almost 2 or 3 years to get this close. The antennas are directional dipoles, and I know I forgot to mention this yesterday when I posted the comments. There are at least 20 that I could see at the time. I did drive up to what appeared to be a transmitter site but no one was around to chat with, not even a car. Unless you count a tractor. But the place did sound like there was a generator running inside. I haven't given up on locating someone and have even emailed AFN to find out if they own the antennas. Will let you know sometime as soon as I find out; one thing to all, these are not curtain arrays and I know for sure they are directional dipoles. I plan to visit again on Friday as we got underway for a 2 day cruise. I am hoping to get a better set of pictures of the antennas as well. 73's and will let you know what I hear (Larry, n6hpx/kh2, Fields, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ** INDIA. The reports that India will no longer use the 90 meter band do not seem to be true, as on August 20 were heard All India Radio Shimla on 3223 kHz, All India Radio Bhopal on 3315 kHz and All India Radio Delhi on 3365 kHz (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX program Sept 9, via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) The reports, if you had read them completely, were that the change would take place with the B-05 season, so of course they are not `true`, yet (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. See CANADA ** ISRAEL. Re "[From] ...Sept 11 to Sept 17 we will broadcast between 0930 to 1030 UT at 17600 and the next 7 days Sept 18 to Sept 24 between 0930 to 1030 UT at 15760." I confirmed with Moshe Oren that the Kol Israel tests to Asia are an attempt to see if reception to Asia is better at 0930, instead of the current 0330 UT. He said that if anyone in Asia receives the broadcast, they should send him an email to report the reception: MosheOr @ bezeq.com (Doni Rosenzweig, Sept 13, WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Re INTERNATIONAL, DST listings, 5-162: ISRAEL CLOCK CHANGES THROUGH 2011Y As long as the new 'permanent' law doesn't change again, here are the times when Israel will change their clocks, from 2005 to 2011. All dates are local Israel Time. The clock changes at 2 AM local Israel Time. 2005 Apr 1 D [already passed] Oct 9 S 2006 Mar 31 D Oct 1 S 2007 Mar 30 D Sep 16 S 2008 Mar 28 D Oct 5 S 2009 Mar 27 D Sep 27 S 2010 Mar 26 D Sep 12 S 2011 Apr 1 D Oct 2 S This information was copied out of the output of dst-israel.el, which is a GNU licensed, GNU emacs based program: ftp://ftp.cs.huji.ac.il/pub/tz/software/dst-israel.el This program creates output meant for the Linux ZIC utility, but is human readable enough. Of course, the program could be trivially modified to make the output more user friendly. To run the program, you will need emacs, which is available for MANY platforms, including windows, to use this program. The cal-hebrew library is included as part of the standard emacs distribution. So there is no need to track it down seperately. http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html#Obtaining The dates match the Hebrew only listing on Hebrew Wikipedia: http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki http://timeanddate.com doesn't go far enough into the future (Doni Rosenzweig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 4810, XERTA, Radio Transcontinental de Am‚rica, recibida una gruesa carta conteniendo: tarjeta QSL a mi nombre, firmada por, v/s, Victor Rosas, carta de agradecimiento firmada por el Director de XERTA, Licenciado Rub‚n Casta¤eda, as¡ como una carpetilla conteniendo una colecci¢n de 8 tarjetas postales de Ciudad de M‚xico con fotograf¡as de: - Volc n Popocat‚petl en erupci¢n y la Iglesia Virgen Remedios en Cholula. - Xochimilco - Teotihuac n, Pir mide de la Luna. - El Angel de la Independencia. - El Palacio de Bellas Artes. - La Catedral Metropolitana. - Vista panor mica de la Ciudad de M‚xico. - Vista general de la ciudad y sus puntos de inter‚s. Tard¢ en llegar 40 d¡as y el informe de recepci¢n, adjuntando 1 US $, se envi¢ a la siguiente direcci¢n: XERTA, Radio Transcontinental de Am‚rica Plaza San Juan n§ 5, Int 2, Col. Centro M‚xico, D.F., MEXICO Tambi‚n me informa que "transmitimos s¢lo los fines de semana por la onda corta debido a que todav¡a no nos legalizan la estaci¢n para que ‚sta pueda transmitir de manera comercial, en, dado el caso que no nos lo autoricen, pediremos una autorizaci¢n para ser una estaci¢n de orden permisionado." XERTA transmite las 24 horas del d¡a los fines de semana, pero por las condiciones de propagaci¢n en la banda de 60 metros, solo se puede escuchar a cierta distancia durante la noche. En 4810 kHz siempre hay bastante ruido, as¡ que, yo, para poder sintonizarla, tengo que poner la radio en banda lateral inferior (LSB) y de esa forma se escucha por encima del ruido. Lo mismo hacen colegas norteamericanos, seg£n he leido en sus logs. Prueba durante la noche, s bados y domingos y si tu radio tiene banda lateral, util¡zala, ponla en LSB, pues de otra forma, tal vez no puedas escucharla. Aqu¡ son ahora las 20.37 horas y todav¡a no se ha hecho de noche, lo har  m s o menos en 40 minutos (Manuel M‚ndez, Lugo, Espa¤a, Sept 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I don`t understand what transmitting on weekends only has to do with ``not being legally authorized for commercial transmission`` (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Subject: BIG L 1395 --- Whilst at IBC in Amsterdam today, I was surprised not to hear 1395 this morning, can anyone confirm if its been on the past 2 days (David Thorpe, Sept 13, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Milan (2300 utc 13/9) no signal from Big L 1395 Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, ibid.) DUTCH MEDIUMWAVE TRANSMITTER ON 1395 KHZ OFF THE AIR The Dutch mediumwave transmitter at Trintelhaven on 1395 kHz which usually carries the programmes of BigL - Radio London has been off the air for over 24 hours now. On the station's Web forum, a message from the site administrator says that "Seagulls have been landing on the wires...". Media Network understands from sources here in the Netherlands that there is a financial dispute with transmission provider Nozema which the station is calling "a misunderstanding." The programmes of Big L are continuing normally on satellite and via the station's website (Andy Sennitt, Media Network, 1754 UTC, 13/9 via BDXC-UK via DXLD) The 1395 kHz transmitter is switched off air on purpose because there are financial problems. RadLon have each month to pay an amount of 20,000 Euro for broadcasting on the 1395 kHz AM. This have I read in a message of Rob Olthof in the yahoo group nl.radio.zeezenders Greetings of Nico from Gouda, the Netherlands (Anoraknation.com via Mike Barraclough, BDXC-UK via DXLD) BIG L - RADIO LONDON EXPECTED BACK ON 1395 KHZ SOON It's reported that Big L - Radio London will resume broadcasting on 1395 kHz in a few days' time via the Dutch mediumwave transmitter at Trintelhaven. The financial dispute was over the amount of a bill received from transmitter provider Nozema Services, which the station said should have been discounted because the transmitter was on reduced power for three months. Because the bill had not been paid, Nozema Services switched off the transmitter. Big L - Radio London says it will now pay the bill in full in order to get the transmitter back on the air, but will continue to pursue its claim for compensation over the power reduction. # posted by Andy @ 12:10 UT Sept 14 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [non]. I see at http://www.publicradiofan.com that there is now one radio station webcasting Charlie Rose audio, PBS interview show, for Oklahomans and anyone else prevented from getting it on their PBS stations: 0300-0400 WGVU CHARLIE ROSE Tu-Sa http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wgvu/ppr/wgvu.pls Program site with current guests: http://www.charlierose.com/ And you have to pay to get archives later. UT Sept 14 it was the Emir of Qatar, patron of Al-Jazeera (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU [and non]. Latest Recording. Quito 13/9 2005 Tuesday Edition: 1590.00 Radio Huaynarroque Juliaca, Regi¢n Puno (Per£) and much more! My Equipment: Ten-Tec DSP Receiver RX 350D MFJ-616 Speech Intelligibility Enhancer MFJ-1025 Phaser, LW x3 + Magnetic Longwire Balun Sharp Digital MD Recorder 73s (Bj”rn Malm, Quito, Ecuador http://www.malm-ecuador.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) Buncha 1590 stns (gh) ** ST. KITTS. Radio ZIZ, 555 kHz, St. Kitts, 9:30 pm EDT - Coming in the best so far this season with S7 signal, Caribbean music, fading in to great signal and back to nothing every few minutes. Great to hear this one again, (Brett Saylor, Central PA, R8 w/100' sloper, Sept 14, ABDX via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. The Second Programme of Radio Saudi Arabia [sic] can be heard from 3 to 9 hours on 9675 kHz, and from 6 to 17 hours on 11855 kHz. The frequency of 9580 kHz is announced for broadcasts from 3 to 6 hours and from 17 to 22 hours, but these have not been received in Sofia (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX program Sept 9, via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. THE SATURDAY SHOW REVISITED ON RADIO SWEDEN'S WEBSITE The Radio Sweden Saturday Show was born one rainy Saturday night back in 1967. In the dungeon laboratories of (what later became, briefly) Radio Sweden International, Dr Roger Wallis was hard at work, dressed in his usual blood-splattered white coat. A bat knocked over the wrong tune and - Presto! The Saturday Show was born! With help from Sydney Coulson and, from 1968, 13 years of hindrance from Kim Loughran, the Saturday Show became one of the top entertainment programs ever on short wave, second only to the annual potato crop statistics from some unidentified central European station. Over the years other voices joined in: Jonny Mair, George Wood, Fanny Francke and a cast of several others whose names have been withheld to protect the guilty. The whole mess was put together by an ace team of sound technician engineer people, including G”ran the Giant, Luvan, and Bengt "Flash" Gorton. If you're too young to remember the Saturday Show, or want to re-live your youth, the Radio Sweden website now has a collection of Real Audio files from the Saturday Show cassette issued as the programme went off the air in 1981, The Saturday Show Record (pre-1975) and the Alice in Swedenland sketches written by George Wood. The Saturday Show 1967-1981 http://www.sr.se/cgi- bin/International/nyhetssidor/artikel.asp?nyheter=1&ProgramID=2054&artikel=632642 # posted by Andy @ 14:30 UT Sept 14 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SWEDEN [non]. Glenn, Re 5-162, DRM test at 1815-1845 on 15120 from Sackville: As if there wasn't enough noise on the bands already, this DRM signal is really eating up the bandwidth. I can't hear anything from 15112.78 to 15124.68 kHz. It's very alarming to think that someday just a few of these DRM signals could cover the entire band they are on (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO SWEDEN DRM TESTS TO EUROPE MAY BE EXTENDED Radio Sweden is currently conducting DRM tests from Sackville (Canada) to Europe in English on 15120 kHz at 1815-1845 UTC. The station says it has received reports of good reception from different parts of Germany, and as far away as Athens. The tests, which started on Monday, were originally planned for four days, but may be extended because propagation conditions have worsened temporarily due to the effects of Sunspot 798. # posted by Andy @ 14:24 UT Sept 14 (Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DXLD) ** U K [and non]. NPR OMBUDSMAN COMPARES BBC TO NPR COVERAGE OF KATRINA --- Very interesting perspective. Definitely worth a read. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4845302 viz.: . . .For the most part, BBC reporting has been, as is usually is, eminently clear, comprehensive and thorough. It adds a unique and useful voice to public radio in America. The BBC also has a journalistic overview of seeing the "big story" that fits in well alongside NPR's more detailed reportage from an American perspective. For the most part, I am glad the BBC and other foreign media are reporting this story. But occasionally, I have heard BBC reporting on my local public radio station that sounds odd -- even at variance with the tone of NPR. A Very British View of Katrina Specifically, the BBC appears to be focusing on the oddities of American culture and politics. There have been numerous interviews with spokespersons that seem to represent a view of America straight out of movies like Deliverance or In The Heat of the Night. They don't sound like anything that would be heard on NPR. The BBC also seems to portray aspects of Southern culture in a less than flattering light, especially in its interviews with local religious leaders who see Katrina as divine retribution for New Orleans' "sinfulness." Knowing Glances and Smirks? I am sure that the BBC is not inventing these interviews. But the effect is that it sounds less like reporting than like caricature. Public radio listeners likely understand what is going on -- that BBC cultural assumptions about the United States remain mired in a reflex European opposition to American foreign policy. But what comes through the radio sounds mean-spirited and not particularly helpful; it probably evokes knowing glances and smirks among editors and producers back in London. There is more right than wrong in the BBC's coverage. But when it comes to portraying certain American cultural expressions, the BBC seems to have a tin ear. Listeners, I suspect, may be left wondering how to reconcile the differences between NPR and the BBC that they hear from their public radio stations. --- Opinion: Mr. Dvorkin should realize that the concept of "states' rights" is something that runs counter to the Federalist tendencies in most European countries --- that's why the BBC seeks to better understand and explain the structure of US government (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Swprograms mailing list, via DXLD) ** U K [non]. Big L, 1395 missing: see NETHERLANDS ** U S A. Voice of America - The Prequel LOCAL ARCHITECT UNLOCKS SECRET HISTORY OF BROADCASTS - BEFORE WORLD WAR II --- Wednesday, September 14, 2005, The Pulse Journal The Voice of America was the first federal, government-sanctioned radio station to broadcast anti-Nazi war news to Europe during World War II, right? Wrong, says West Chester Twp. architect and history detective Jim Fearing. Fearing has researched and uncovered a "prequel" to official Voice of America history, a chronicle that indicates southwestern Ohio was on the front line of the war of ideas up to a year - possibly two - before our nation officially entered World War II. Fearing is president of Fearing and Hagenauer Architects, Inc. in Cincinnati, and president of the West Chester Historical Society. He has collected documents, memorabilia and publications that indicate Powel Crosley's WLWO transmitter in Mason broadcast daily anti-Nazi news to Europe and South America as early as May 1940, in German, Italian, Spanish, French, Portugese and English. He has serendipitously uncovered a mystery linked to two of the passions in his life: architecture and history. In 1999, when Fearing's firm began work on a $48 million development plan for the Voice of America Park and Museum, he began a research journey to clarify his vision for the project that led him along a fascinating yet convoluted path of rhombic antennas and shortwave transmitters, e-mail streams from VOA historians and friendships with former VOA employees, amateur radio buffs and the widow of an anti- Nazi radio announcer. What he was unprepared for was the sheer emotional pull of the project. He was puzzled when he spoke to former VOA employees who became teary-eyed when they talked about their jobs, but he slowly began to understand just what VOA-Bethany meant to these men and women. He sees the VOA as an attempt by the FDR administration to build a "fifth column" to fight World War II through words - and a belief by engineers, broadcasters and writers that words could incite oppressed people to fight the Nazis and end the war. They believed, according to VOA historian Holly Cowan Shulman in her book The Voice of America, Propaganda and Democracy, 1941-45, that "the war was being fought to create a new world of peace, democracy and freedom." Shulman's father, Lou Cowan, was the second director of the VOA, after John Houseman... See more of this article at http://www.pulsejournal.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/09/14/pj0915voaM.html (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. Altho IBB has not been responsive to my inquiry, I expect that they have a contingency plan to replace as many Greenville transmissions as possible with Delano, or European/African sites, should hurricane Ophelia require Greenville to close down, due to loss of power, flooding, wind damage, or possibly lowering some antennas to avoid wind damage. 15445 was still on Sept 14 around 1920 UT check, but lacking transmitter site IDs, figuring out any such changes will be difficult (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Since Sept 10th I get a lot of white noise. WBCQ which usually booms into Montreal is nothing but hiss, even last night. I get CUBA, China, Taiwan, Europe but no longer 7415.0 and United Broadcasters of New Orleans is all hiss as well. I don't hear all kinds of cracks, pops and static - just white noise. Montreal. (Roy Berger, thanks, Sept 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We keep getting solar flares disrupting reception; see PROPAGATION. URBONO often drops out here too despite 250 kW(?) from SC. Chances are the signals you are still getting are relays from even further south, not so affected by auroral blockage as WBCQ is (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The following is the Final 30 October 2005 to 26 March 2006 High Frequency Schedule for Family Stations, Inc., WYFR. Freq (kHz) Time (UTC) Az(Degrees) Zone(s) Power 5745 0500-1000 181 11 50 5810 0500-0800 44 27,39 100 5810 0800-1200 160 14 100 5810 2000-2300 44 27,28 100 5950 0300-1200 285 10 100 5950 2100-0300 355 4,5,9 100 5985 0445-0700 315 2 100 5985 2000-0445 181 11 50 6065 0100-0445 355 4,5,9 100 6085 2245-0100 355 4,5,9 100 6085 0945-2000 181 11 100 6105 0800-1100 142 15 100 6855 0300-0900 355 4,5,9 100 6855 0900-1300 355 4,5,9 100 6855 1945-2245 44 28 100 6890 0900-1300 355 4,5,9 100 7355 0300-0745 44 27,28 100 7355 1045-1345 315 2 100 7455 0700-1100 315 2 100 7520 0100-0400 142 13 100 7520 0400-0800 44 27,28 100 7570 0045-0400 160 15 100 9355 0400-0800 44 27,28 100 9355 1845-2300 44 27,28 100 9495 0500-1000 222 11 100 9505 0000-0445 315 2 100 9525 0100-0400 285 10 50 9555 0800-1400 160 16 100 9575 0900-1200 160 15 100 9605 0800-1100 142 13 100 9605 1100-1300 222 12 100 9680 0145-0800 315 2 100 9680 0800-1100 140 13 100 9690 2145-0045 142 13 100 9705 1100-1245 285 10 50 9715 2345-0100 285 10 50 9715 0400-1100 285 10 50 9985 0100-0500 151 15 100 9985 0500-0900 87 37,46 100 11530 0500-0800 44 27,28 100 11530 1200-1400 160 13 100 11565 1345-1700 315 2 100 11565 2000-2145 44 27,28 100 11580 0400-0900 87 47,52,57 100 11665 1945-2300 44 27,28 100 11720 2245-0145 142 13 100 11725 1100-1600 222 11 100 11740 2145-2345 315 2 100 11740 0145-0500 222 11 100 11740 0800-1600 151 15 100 11825 0045-0300 160 14 100 11830 1100-1300 140 13 100 11830 1300-1700 315 2 100 11855 1300-1700 355 4,5,9 100 11855 2000-0500 222 11 100 11885 2300-0145 140 13 100 11970 1145-1345 285 10 100 13615 1200-1600 160 15 100 13695 1300-1945 355 4,5,9 100 15115 1700-2100 87 46 100 15130 1245-2345 285 10 50 15170 2245-0045 160 15 100 15210 1400-1600 160 14 100 15215 2300-0400 160 16 100 15355 1245-1400 222 12 100 15355 1400-1600 142 13 100 15400 2300-0100 151 15 100 15440 1945-2100 355 4,5,9 100 15440 2145-0300 285 10 100 15565 1800-1945 44 27,28 100 15565 2100-2245 87 37,46 100 15665 1600-1700 44 27,28 100 17510 1400-1600 160 13 100 17510 1700-2145 285 10 100 17535 1700-2200 315 2 100 17575 1700-2245 140 13 100 17690 1600-1945 87 37,46 100 17760 1345-1700 285 10 100 17760 1700-2000 44 27,28 100 17845 2300-0045 160 14 100 18930 1600-1845 44 27,28 100 18980 1600-1945 44 27,28 100 21455 1600-2000 44 28 100 21525 1945-2245 87 47,52,57 100 21745 1600-1745 44 28,29 100 (Evelyn Marcy, WYFR, Sept 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. U.S. LACKS UNIFIED EMERGENCY RADIO SYSTEM 9/13/2005, 2:58 p.m. CT By MATTHEW FORDAHL and BRUCE MEYERSON The Associated Press http://www.nola.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/business-6/1126641841316372.xml&storylist=technology (AP) -- After surviving Hurricane Katrina's initial blow, the radio communications system for the New Orleans police and fire departments dissolved as its radio towers lost their backup power generators in the ensuing flood. Some of the equipment could have been brought back up quickly, except that technicians were blocked from entering the submerged city for three days by state troopers who were themselves struggling with an overwhelmed radio system from a different manufacturer. "I didn't get a chance to plead my case," said Jan Edwards, service manager for the New Orleans radio system's maker, Tyco International Ltd. subsidiary M/A-Com Inc. While Edwards and his team were detained on its outskirts, emergency workers inside the city were mostly limited to a handful of CB-like "mutual aid" radio channels, which were quickly overwhelmed. Four years after the 2001 terror attacks exposed the need for more robust, interconnected communications during such calamities, with nearly a billion dollars appropriated by Congress for the task last year, the United States still lacks uniform systems that can keep all emergency responders in touch. "We're no better off than we were then," Louisiana state Sen. Robert Barham said last week. With regular phone and cellular service knocked out in Katrina's wake -- the New Orleans mayor's office had to cobble together an Internet phone link with the outside world -- first responders were simply unable to share essential information. Federal emergency management officials claim they didn't know for days about thousands of people camped out, thirsty and hungry, at the New Orleans convention center. Rescuers in helicopters couldn't talk to crews patrolling in boats. National guard commanders in Mississippi had to use runners to relay orders. On Tuesday, Democrats on Capital Hill urged Congress to devote $5 billion a year to upgrading communications equipment for the nation's first-responders. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said the hurricane exposed a "totally failed communication system." But many experts say doling out federal monies is far from enough. Some advocate creating a national wireless data network -- with its own dedicated emergency frequencies -- that police, firefighters and all other responders could plug into immediately after a catastrophe. Such a system wouldn't be immune to damage but could be quickly repaired, says one of its advocates, Reed Hundt, who chaired the Federal Communications Commission from 1993 to 1997. "You drive the new antenna in on the back of a truck or you carry them in on choppers if they're knocked out or drowned and you can get your network back up in hours," he said in an interview. Hundt says he's suggested such a project, but the White House has ignored it. The Department of Homeland Security did not return phone calls seeking comment on the issue. Since 2001, the federal government has given $8.6 billion to states for equipment, first responder training and disaster exercises. Last year, DHS gave the states $2.1 billion, of which $925 million was spent on or earmarked for communications equipment upgrades. The department, however, does not tell states what to buy, though it stresses that any system deployed in the field should be able talk to another agency's system, known as "interoperability" in industry parlance. Complaints of difficulties in communicating across agencies have been frequent after major disasters -- including the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, the 2001 terror attacks and the southern California fires of 2003. Other reasons emergency responders have trouble talking to each other include turf wars among agencies and interference from cell phones on some frequencies. But one of the biggest hurdles is time and money, said Adrienne Dimopoulos, spokeswoman for Motorola Inc., a longtime public safety radio supplier. "It takes a long time to design them, it takes a long time to implement them. They're costly," she said. New Orleans bought the M/A-Com system in 1992. Four years later, Louisiana State Police bought its statewide system from Motorola Inc. The two systems have occasionally been bridged to integrate communications during major, planned events such as the 2002 Super Bowl. The statewide system did stay up after Katrina hit on Aug. 29, while New Orleans' was off the air just a few hours later. In addition to generators disabled by floodwaters, the city network's primary tower, located atop the Energy Center building, was knocked out when debris struck a radiator, springing a leak. That forced local agencies to communicate over a handful of "mutual aid" channels. "There might be two or three channels for the area, and there are 4,000 people trying to talk," said Chuck Shaughnessy, M/A-Com vice president of operations. "It tries to be controlled chaos, but it's usually not very controlled." According to documents posted on the Louisiana State Police Web site, officials were long cognizant of the interoperability problem with New Orleans' police and fire departments and formed committees to come up with a "totally interoperable" system. Planning had barely progressed, however, when Katrina hit. But system compatibilities in emergency communications alone cannot fairly be blamed for delays in rescuing the flooded or getting food or evacuation to stranded refugees. The much-criticized federal response to Katrina shows that even the latest equipment is no guarantee of smooth communications, said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org. "They had all the radios in the world. They had complete interoperability," Pike said of federal emergency officials. "That was not a hardware problem. That was a people and procedure problem." ___ Associated Press writers Stacey Plaisance in Baton Rouge and Jennifer C. Kerr in Washington contributed to this report (via Mike Cooper, WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DXLD) "U.S. LACKS UNIFIED EMERGENCY RADIO NETWORK" And, in other news, the Pope is Catholic. I don't mean to make light of a serious matter, but this shouldn't be a shock to anyone familiar with radio communications. As long as you have communications systems that depend on landline power sources, land-based antennas and towers, and terrestrial repeaters, they are going to be highly vulnerable to disruption by hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, etc. It doesn't matter how much money is poured into terrestrial emergency communications equipment and systems if those systems can be taken out of service if the power grid and antenna structures fail, as they did in Hurricane Katrina. The best "place" to put a next-generation emergency communications network is above us, in outer space. Motorola's Iridium system was a commercial failure, but it is the template for the sort of emergency communications system the United States desperately needs. Posted on September 14, 2005 (Harry Helms, futureofradio blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DXLD) See also UK ** U S A. FCC Katrina website --- "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has created a Web site http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/katrina/ to provide crucial emergency information for consumers, communications industries, and state and local governments in the areas affected by the hurricane. Information is broken down by consumers, industry, and federal, state, tribal and local Government resources. You have received this e-mail because you registered to receive information updates from the Federal Communications Commission when you signed up at our website www.fcc.gov/cgb (via Doni Rosenzweig, Sept 13, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. So from what I gather, what needs to happen is that amateurs need to embed themselves in local emergency preparedness operations so they can work alongside the officials. As I recall this is what Victor Goonetilleke did so effectively in Sri Lanka last December. Do local amateur radio clubs do this? It would seem the Katrina disaster would open a window of opportunity for local hams to approach their state and local emergency preparedness agencies and lobby to be included in the process. I will leave the argument as to the protocol (CW, phone, packet, psk31, whatever) to others. There was a very interesting article in the Wall Street Journal last Monday (I think) that detailed the communications challenges faced by New Orleans political leaders. They managed to communicate in the early going primarily via Vonage Internet-based telephony using equipment "borrowed" from Office Depot in the early hours of the storm. There was no mention of the role of amateur communications in any aspect of this article -- computer hobbyists (today's hams?) played a bigger role (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, Sept 11, swprograms via WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DXLD) Richard, You have once again hit the nail squarely on the head. You captured the gist, the core of my comments. For example, Nagin and Blanco should've felt like they had hams epoxied to their right hips. When they had questions for others, hams needed to already be contacting the ham attached to the appropriate person. I am clearly envisioning a role I haven't seen hams in since the '70's. It's not as if they don't have the technology. No power? No problem. Toss a few special "care packages" up on the roof of the Superdome, each with a little repeater (on a different frequency pair} and plenty of battery power. The military is already literally throwing little ROVs into nasty situations. Why not repeaters? The role I imagine would require some hams to be real "portable" and dedicated. Others, like me, could be useful either as intelligent "hubs" gathering and dispensing info or as mobile repeaters (my batteries can run a radio for quite a while, and I've been known to even mount a generator on my wheelchair. See what I mean about technology existing?). (Scott Royall, Conch Republic, ibid.) ** U S A. HOUSTON ASTRODOME RADIO 95.3 SET TO LAUNCH AT 12 CENTRAL TIME --- After a Week of Struggle, Radio Station Will Serve Thousands of Displaced Families Contact: Tish Stringer, 713 478 4559, tish @ rice.edu Contact: Renee Feltz, KPFT, 713 906 0407, news @ kpft.org Contact: Hannah Sassaman, Prometheus, 267 970 4007, hannahjs @ prometheusradio.org After a week of waiting, relief volunteers and independent media organizers in Houston, Texas, have finally launched Katrina Aftermath Media Project radio -- KAMP 95.3. This 6 watt radio station, which received a license to serve the people and families currently living at the Astrodome and adjacent buildings, will celebrate its official launch at noon central time [1700 UT], on September 13th. The radio volunteers, led by community media organization Houston Indymedia, worked with a pack of volunteer engineers and technicians from all over the United States to get this station on the air. The FCC permit that the group is now using is the second permit the FCC approved for the emergency relief station. The first never went on air, after Harris County staff at the Astrodome and attendant buildings chose to deny the organizers of the station access to the Astrodome facility. Spokeswoman for the Astrodome's Joint Information Center, Gloria Romer, told Renee Feltz of KPFT Local News, "The demands they required to do this we could not meet. Electricity supplies, phone lines, internet, chairs and computers, we could not accommodate that." "Though the communications office of Harris County claimed that they didn't have the facilities to accommodate us, and that giving our producers regular access to the facilities would pose a security risk," said station organizer Tish Stringer. "But the residents of the Astrodome kept working with us, telling us the struggles they faced in getting the information they needed. So we didn't give up." The Federal Communications Commission approved a second license that broadcast from the parking lot of the Astrodome complex this past Sunday. This license, while broadcasting from outside the Astrodome rather than right inside, will reach the thousands of residents spending time in the parking lot outside the Dome, as well. "A lot of the people don't know that they can come register for FEMA aid at the Tech Center rather than waiting in line all day," said Ad n Medero, a volunteer working inside the Astrodome. "A radio station would help to get that message out, because the paging system is not working very well. A lot of times you can't hear it. So this would be great if the radio would do that for folks in the Astrodome." "Katrina Aftermath Media Project -- 95.3 -- is an essential tool for families who really need communications right now," said Hannah Sassaman, an organizer with Prometheus Radio Project, a group which builds and supports community radio stations. "We will organize in Congress to build more Low Power FM stations for every big city and small town in the country." To listen to audio from 95.3 FM, visit http://evacuationradioservices.org or http://houston.indymedia.org To learn more about Low Power FM radio, visit http://www.prometheusradio.org (via Ray T. Mahorney, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DXLD) Not to be confused with the REAL KAMP-LP, which is in St. Michael, AK, on 92.9! Since the one in Houston is actually licensed, what is ITS real callsign? Per evacuation website, live streaming not yet activated (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nice pix of the station at http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/43351.php (Clistensprechen, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Here's a follow-up story, linked below, about low power radio finally getting the go-ahead to air in Houston for those still in Dome City. http://tinyurl.com/78rws 73, (Village Voice via John Wesley Smith, KC0HSB, Sept 14, WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. CITY OF ROCKPORT OBTAINS EMERGENCY RADIO FREQUENCY http://www.rockportpilot.com/articles/2005/09/14/news/news00.txt The City of Rockport [Texas Gulf coast] has a new radio station, but residents won't hear country, rock or news talk when they tune in. The new low-watt (10-watt maximum) Alert AM Emergency Advisory radio station, also referred to as a travelers information station, is licensed through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). It carries enough power to reach listeners in a three- to five-mile radius of the station site at the Peninsula Oaks water station. Installation of the station was completed on Aug. 26. Aransas County residents and visitors can now tune their radios to AM 1610 for pertinent messages during emergencies. The station was obtained by the City of Rockport. When listeners tune in to 1610 AM, they will hear a short introductory statement, along with NOAA weather broadcasts. The new station may transmit only non-commercial information. Its primary purpose is to broadcast a variety of public interest information, in particular, emergency- and public safety- related messages. Through emergency advisory radio listeners can receive up-to-the- minute reports, alerts and instructions with the level of timeliness and detail which makes these types of broadcasts invaluable. During non-emergency periods the station can provide information about subjects such as street repairs, upcoming local events, public notices and topics of interest to tourists. Rockport City Manager Tom Blazek said, "We are in the process of getting state approval for signs at all entrances to the city publicizing the radio station." He also noted the station will be a companion to the Reverse 911(r) system which will not be in place until after this hurricane season. "We are currently rebroadcasting NOAA weather radio from 40 miles away (Corpus Christi airport)," said Blazek. Rockport Mayor Todd Pearson said, "We are very pleased to have another method of communicating with our residents, especially in times of emergencies. As we've seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, communication is critical." (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Callsign??? (gh) ** U S A. RADIO STATIONS BAND TO COVER NEW ORLEANS NEWS By Associated Press September 13, 2005 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/entertainment/article/0,1299,DRMN_6_4075360,00.htm Radio and TV stations in the New Orleans area are trying to follow an audience that's dispersed but still hungry for information about home. Thirteen radio stations owned by Clear Channel Communications and Entercom have banded together to run a broadcast out of Baton Rouge, La., with personalities from powerful New Orleans news station WWL-AM taking the lead. The New Orleans television station WDSU-TV, an NBC affiliate, signed a deal with Paxson Communications to have its signal carried through today on the Pax television station in Houston, which has absorbed many evacuees. And CBS affiliate WWL-TV is having its signal carried on Yahoo and several digital cable outlets across the country. "We know that the people who are evacuated want to know about what is happening to their home," said Terry Mackin, executive vice president of Hearst-Argyle Television, WDSU's corporate owner. The ad-hoc United Radio Broadcasting Group took shape the day after the hurricane struck when Gabe Hobbs, senior vice president of programming at Clear Channel, called Ken Beck, his counterpart at Entercom. That's sort of like the managers of the Yankees and the Red Sox working together. Using personalities from all 13 stations, they broadcast a continuous stream of news updates, take phone calls and try to help locate missing people. "It's a perspective that you'll hear nowhere else," Hobbs said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing a generator and fuel to help keep the station going, he said. In addition to an audio stream online, the signal has also been picked up by broadcasters in Mobile, Ala.; Beaumont, Texas; and Lake Charles and Jefferson, La. It will continue for "as long as it takes," Hobbs said. "We're still weeks away from not doing it."  Listen to an audio stream of New Orleans news from the ad-hoc United Radio Broadcasting Group at http://www.stormaid.com (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. WWL 870 --- They've reportedly gotten power restored at their transmitter site and are back to the full 50 kW. Nicely audible here in Rochester at 2:55 AM ET, too... s, up too late (Scott Fybush, NY, 0655 UT Sept 14, NRC-AM via WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DXLD) 870 WWL LA, New Orleans. As others have reported, WWL sounds like they are back with full power. On top of the jumble with news on storm affected areas, Into ID and CBS News at 0500 EDT 9/14. Drake R8 MW550P preselector 1500' Eastern beverage (Patrick Martin Seaside OR, ibid.) ** U S A. KNX and KFWB in Los Angeles did a great job yesterday of covering a blackout that left a million people in the dark, including those two radio stations. They remained on the air, but Don Barret's laradio.com reports they didn't have air monitors. They may have even kept their online feed running with little or no interruption. It certainly was there when I checked, and I don't think commercial power had been restored yet. Gave both the generators and the reporters good workouts, and both came through with flying colors. Coverage itself was well-done, too -- a bit better on KNX, which has a more flexible clock (Rick Lewis, AZ, Sept 14, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** U S A. Gather.com" to become a social networking site for public radio fan --- Minnesota's American Public Media has invested in Gather.com, will launch in December 2005. See http://www.startribune.com/stories/459/5600286.html Interesting that the eldest age typically participating in social networking websites is 34. APM figures that by creating a public radio home in gather.com they'll help improve the younger demographic for public radio (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Sept 14, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) See also CANADA [and non] ** U S A. Ciao! WCNZ 1660 kHz - 5043 Tamiami Trail East - Naples FL 34113-4127 - USA con e-mail da bladd @ relevantradio.com in 10 giorni. v/s Bob Ladd Station Manager / Chief Engineer. Inviato rapporto cartaceo allegando 1 IRC. Roberto Pavanello Roberto, Thank you for your QSL concerning WCNZ 1660 AM licensed to Marco Island, Florida, USA. At the time of your reception, WCNZ was operating with 1,000 watts nondirectional from a transmitter site five miles East of Marco Island. We employ a 190 foot high tower, part of a four tower directional array for station WVOI at 1480 AM also licensed to Marco Island. If you find WCNZ is coming in well you might want to tune 1480 WVOI to see if you can pickup both stations at the same time. We do not print QSL cards; however, I hope this verification of your reception will serve as an adequate replacement. Good luck DXing the world. Bob Ladd, Station Manager/Chief engineer (via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** U S A. Re Philadelphia pirate: And they may actually have been at a different frequency previous to 95.3. I heard the same thing you were talking about, with the wide array of jingles, on 99.3 about 2 weeks ago near where I work in Roxborough. Didn't listen long enough to get any feeling on the signal (Nick Langan Florence, NJ, Sept 14, WTFDA via DXLD) Yes, I caught them on 99.3 also. It was 8/24 and I had it at about 85 degrees from here - I'd guessed Warminster or so. And in the late- breraking-news dept, the signal on 94.9 was gone when I left work this afternoon after having been there both this noon and this morning. Wasn't on 95.3 either. I also didn't hear the Caribbean-music pirate on 106.5 this afternoon although that one's been sporadic anyway (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ) [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia], ibid.) ** U S A. Many stations -- some for over 50 years -- have built an identification as channel 5, TV17, etc. -- and don't want to lose that identification. TV GUIDE and other schedule publications usually use the station's broadcast channel in the listings. Also, a station is likely carried on several different cable channels on different cable systems. However, some stations do use cable channels as their identification (Palm Springs, CA and Ft. Myers, FL are examples). Local KTLJ-43 Fox in Topeka at first ID'ed as "Fox 6" their Topeka cable channel. They also operate three translators and are on different cable channels in the area. The Topeka newspaper was using channel 43 in the listings which may have caused them to decide to use channel 43. The use of channel 6 also confused on-air viewers who didn't know where to find them. Cable subscribers have conversion guides. I wish stations would use their digital channels and some do mention them. Before I retired from KTWU-11 I was aware of some viewers with DTV sets who were trying to receive KTWU-DT 23 using VHF antennas (Dave Pomeroy, KS, WTFDA via DXLD) ** URUGUAY. Re 5-162, INTERNATIONAL, DST dates: Nothing heard here in Uruguay about that Sep 18 change to DST. If it happens, any change would be announced via a specific government decree. So UT remains -3 till further decision that it hasn't happened (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, Sept 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. New schedule for Vatican Radio from 4th September Since 4th September, 7335 kHz is used instead of 12055 kHz at 0025- 0200 with Urdu at 0025, Hindi at 0040, Tamil at 0100, Malayalam at 0120, English at 0140 UT (from http://www.dxasia.info/html/news.html#Vatican2 11 September 2005 via Alokesh Gupta, dxldyg via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. SIGUEN LAS AMENAZAS CONTRA GLOBOVISION --- Conatel notific¢ a Globovisi¢n la apertura de nuevo procedimiento administrativo Este mi‚rcoles funcionarios de CONATEL visitaron las instalaciones de Globovisi¢n para notificar la apertura de un nuevo procedimiento administrativo alegando que no se han usado frecuencias asignadas. El director general de la televisora, Alberto Federico Ravell, se¤al¢ que se abre un procedimiento por no usar frecuencias que han sido asignadas, pero a las que realmente no se han dado acceso, a pesar de que, curiosamente, tambi‚n ha sido solicitada en varias oportunidades la renovaci¢n de esos permisos. Explic¢ que es como sancionar por ver una pel¡cula sin que siquiera hubieran permitido entrar a la sala de cine. Ravell indic¢ que es absurdo el procedimiento y ratific¢ a CONATEL que Globovisi¢n est  interesada en la asignaci¢n de m s frecuencias para ampliar su se¤al. El director de Globovisi¢n destac¢ que en los £ltimos seis a¤os, luego de hacer m£ltiples solicitudes, el organismo que regula las telecomunicaciones no ha otorgado una sola frecuencia al canal. Por su parte, la representante legal de Globovisi¢n inform¢ que se inicia el procedimiento y el canal cuenta con varios d¡as para hacer su defensa. JMS, Globovisi¢n, Publicado el 14-09-2005 (via Jorge Garc¡a Rangel, Venezuela, DXLD) Nota: Es simplemente pase de factura por haber cubierto de manera amplia de la confiscaci¢n por parte del gobierno chavista de la Finca "La Marquse¤a" de la Familia Azp£rua y los Silos de almacenamiento de Ma¡z de las Empresas Polar. Como ven la propiedad privada aqu¡ en Venezuela ha sido abolida. ­Viva el Comunismo! (Jorge Garc¡a Rangel, ibid.) Ahora son las amenazas contra todos los canales que no le son afectos al r‚gimen CONATEL INFORMO SOBRE APERTURA DE PROCEDIMIENTOS ADMINISTRATIVOS A 7 CANALES DE TV CONATEL, en voz de su presidente, Alvin Lezama, inform¢ este mi‚rcoles sobre la apertura de procedimientos administrativos a siete canales de televisi¢n. Refiri¢ que estas acciones forman parte de una pol¡tica que va a comenzar a implementar CONATEL en el £ltimo trimestre de este a¤o. Los canales afectados son Puma TV, TVO, Tel‚xito, Telecaribe, Globovisi¢n, Televiza y Ni¤os Cantores. Estas televisoras tienen 15 d¡as h biles para presentar sus alegatos, 15 d¡as despu‚s la directiva de Conatel tomar  la decisi¢n. Lezama no quiso ahondar el procedimiento administrativo sancionatorio a Globovisi¢n cuando se le pregunt¢ al respecto. Indic¢ que corresponder  a las partes presentar sus respectivos alegatos. Asegur¢ que con esa acci¢n solo se busca regularizar la utilizaci¢n del espacio radioel‚ctrico. MGC Globovisi¢n.com (via Jorge Garc¡a Rangel, Venezuela, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. In listening back to my UNID French Islands on 729, I still have not caught any ID. Either a new station, or someone moved. DU CX were very good this morning. Tahiti 738 was there, I did not hear New Caledonia on 666, but I don't always. Vanuatu is a possible I guess, but I have not seen anything listed. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, Sept 12, HCDX via DXLD) Patrick The NZ government recently gave Vanuatu funds for two new MW transmitters. The projected on-air date was September. The old transmitters operated on 1125 and 1179, although there could have been a frequency change as part of the deal. I don't have a current e-mail address for Radio Vanuatu, but it would probably be worth inquiring. Maybe someone in Queensland can check the channel (Bruce Portzer, WA, ibid.) Re Patrick Martin's catch on 729 last night, and Bruce Portzer's suggestion it's Vanuatu. From what I can gather, VBTC technicians were at Luganville on Santo in Vanuatu recently working on a local relay of CCTV [China], and a relay of VBTC [Radio Vanuatu] programs over Halo FM, a local station there. Given that two new MW transmitters are due on air in Vanuatu in mid-September [part of a NZ Government Aid Program], that VBTC broadcasts in French [part of the time] and the presence of VBTC technical staff in Luganville these past two weeks, I'd speculate that Patrick has heard VBTC Luganville, Santo, Vanuatu on 729. However, this is only speculation for the moment. Warm regards (David Ricquish, Radio Heritage Foundation, http://www.radioheritage.net HCDX via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMIONIALS +++++++++++++++++++++++++ As is almost always the case, Glenn Hauser's World of Radio program, his website http://www.worldofradio.com and his yahoo news group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ were, and are, the place to keep up-to-date on media aspects of this story. Thanks to tips from the DX Listening Digest yahoo group, among others, I was able to follow preparations in a deceptively bright and sunny New Orleans. And once the storm made landfall, it was riveting to listen and watch various broadcasts. During past storms I have availed myself of the available media --- mostly radio. . . (Fred Waterer, Programming Matters, Sept ODXA Listening In via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ "Broadcasting in Chicago ~ 1921-1989" Radio in the Windy City. http://www.richsamuels.com/ (Raymond Bauernhuber, Website Wanderings, IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ re: ``Currently, 40 European broadcasters send more than 500 hours of programming daily using the system.`` -- DRM I counted 28 having checked both DRM schedules lists including non European broadcasters such as Radio Australia, Radio Taiwan International and Radio Korea International who use 9770 one day a week for a total of 2 and a half hours. This also counts TDP Radio broadcasting two hours a week on DRM whose other broadcast is a 24 hours a day internet stream of dance music. The 500 hours matches the schedule at the the DRM site but includes 96 hours from the 100 watt TDF, biteXpress, Campus Radio Dillberg and Campus Radio Nuernberg shortwave transmitters, only heard over a very small area, and seems to also include the low power UK 1386 24 hour tests. ``The choice is limited but ever-increasing: Radio Luxembourg has just relaunched an English service using DRM.`` Limited indeed, if a choice is limited it does not take very much for it to be ever increasing. The RTL English service they mention launched today, the webstream was cutting out and the 7145 DRM frequency is not working; recently over the transmission period a reporter in Kent to the drmrx forums has received as little as 9% and 35% of audio and on one day no audio at all. Have just checked the webstream and it is still constantly cutting out, "The Legend is Back" as the jingles tell us with unimaginative format of familiar classic rock tracks. The DRM is using 10 kHz parametric stereo which sounds very artificial and tiring in my opinion, having checked the sound samples at the DRM web site, particularly the higher frequencies. The webstream on launch day had a maximum of 38 listeners at any one time. Broadcasters, such as the BBC and DW who know more about propagation, are using single or multiple frequency networks, allowing receivers to switch to the most suitable frequencies; indeed BBC R&D have developed a unit to be added to AM transmitters to enable receivers to switch to an AM signal if the DRM one fails. Just because the system is digital does not mean you have to put music on it. The term digital quality sound I have heard Peter Senger and DAB promoters use, is meaningless because the quality can vary, the term is used by people marketing digital systems to impress people who know nothing about the subject. Sound is essentially analogue and anything digital is an approximation to it. The broadcasters behind DRM were speech broadcasters and should have confidence in their format, the number of devices, other than a radio, to listen to music in the home or car is increasing so, in my opinion, radio needs to develop its speech based formats which fit better into a 10 kHz DRM system anyway (Mike Barraclough, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Re: Hybrid radios set for take-off This bastard (it`s been in the Oxford dictionary since the 30's) child will be still-born as it`s far too expensive and offers no real advantages to Mr and Mrs Average who don't spend their lives monitoring the audio frequency response of their radios etc., and often use the radio (even their TV's) as background rather than, as our fathers and grandfathers did - sit looking at the wireless or in a darkened room staring at a 9" screen. The saying 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink' comes to mind when one reads the blurb put out by the (failed) advertising boys and girls whose eventual maturity is sadly doubted, where sales of normal AM/FM receivers outweigh DAB and certainly DRM by a huge percentage, in a market where wide screen TV has never really taken off and even now the large majority buy UHF TV - perhaps with the aim of a small black or silver unit feeding in sound and vision from dish or 'golden angel' on the chimney stack. It seems no real market research has been done on either DAB or DRM and that's the obvious reason it's failed. The implied fallacy that AM fails to cross borders DRM will, shows how little technical reality exists in the minds of the DRM lobby and the thought that people of limited income and therefore spending ability can afford over œ90 for a DAB or DRM receiver when œ3 AM/FM radios are available, is fantastically na‹ve (Rog Parsons (BDXC 782) Hinckley, Leics., ibid.) INTERESTING DRM WRINKLE: SYNCHRONIZED SINGLE-FREQUENCY TRANSMITTERS (DEUTSCHE WELLE) Problem: What is a single digital transmitter drops out too often to be useful? DW solution: Two transmitters, syncrhonized to the millisecond. Hmmm... I thought that DRM was supposed to reduce transmitter power requirements, not increase those requirements. Anyway, DW experimented with synchronized transmitters as part of the IFA, but it appears these tests are still underway. No idea if these can be heard at all in the USA. See http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1689149,00.html. (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) Just because it is digital does not mean it is immune to propagation and interference. The BBC WS DRM service to Europe is a network including AM 648 which has an AMSS encoder fitted to it allowing a signal to be added to the analogue transmission, this very low bit rate signal uses a low level of phase modulation to provide station name and alternative frequency information thus enabling the receiver to switch to it if it cannot find a suitable DRM frequency. The other requirement DRM needs is some form of monitoring system so that the bandwidth and robustness of the system can be altered at times of unfavourable propagation, albeit at the expense of audio quality (Mike Barraclough, UK, swprograms via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BBC R&D - Recent papers on effect of PLT on broadcast reception Two recently published papers online: CO-EXISTENCE OF PLT AND RADIO SERVICES - A POSSIBILITY? J.H. Stott http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp/whp-pdf-files/WHP114.pdf Power Line Telecommunications (sending data over mains wiring) unfortunately gives rise to unwanted emissions that can interfere with the operation of radio services, currently predominantly those in the HF range used for long-distance radio communication. Setting a simple emissions limit is bound to fail: no level exists which could permit PLT to operate while also protecting radio services. PLT and radio services simply cannot operate at the same time, in the same part of the spectrum, in the same place. But that does not mean that co-existence is impossible. One possible solution is for the PLT system to avoid using parts of the radio spectrum that are locally occupied by radio services. This paper discusses such a possibility, including some experimental results that support its feasibility. THE EFFECTS OF POWER-LINE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ON BROADCAST RECEPTION: SECOND TRIAL IN CRIEFF --- S. Fleming, J.H. Stott, J.E. Salter http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp/whp116.shtml A visit to Crieff in June 2004 is described, in which measurements were made to assess the emissions of a Power-Line Telecommunications (PLT) system and its propensity to cause interference to HF radio reception. The PLT system was developed by the Spanish company DS2 whose representative unfortunately prevented measurements being made in a way that was either comparable to tests made on other systems in 2002 or of obvious relevance to normal radio reception. All measurements were outdoors whereas normal radio reception takes place inside listeners' homes. This was unfortunate, especially as DS2 makes claims of significant advances in reducing interference which it would have been good to confirm. Nevertheless it was possible to demonstrate that significant interference was still caused to reception at the outdoor locations and it would be reasonable to infer that this would apply with at least equal force to reception indoors. The DS2 system had some capacity for inserting notches in the used spectrum which was explored in the tests. Notching was seen to mitigate interference substantially in the bands where it was applied. Some audio recordings demonstrating the effects of interference and the benefits of notching have been made available for download and are described in the document. The measurements, their limitations, and what can nevertheless be inferred from them are discussed at some length. There remains a clear need to perform an unencumbered assessment of this PLT system (and any future ones also claiming improvements in interference mitigation) so that the threat from PLT to reception of HF broadcasting can be properly assessed (via Mike Barraclough, Sept 13, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2005 Sep 13 2326 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/weekly.html # # Weekly Highlights and Forecasts # HIGHLIGHTS OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 05 - 11 SEPTEMBER 2005 Solar activity ranged from low to very high levels. Solar activity began the period at low levels. However, numerous CMEs were observed from the far side of the southeast limb in early September, indicating a very active region would soon rotate into view. On 06 September, activity increased to moderate levels as a very long-duration M1 flare and CME erupted from near S12 on the east limb. A large, complex sunspot group rotated into view on 07 September and was numbered as NOAA Region 808 (S09, L=232, class/area, Fkc/1430 on 09 September). Activity increased to high levels on 07 September as Region 808 produced one of the largest flares of Solar Cycle 23. The X17/3b proton flare at 07/1740 UTC had associated a 27,000 sfu Tenflare, Type II (1860 km/s) and Type IV radio sweeps, and a very large and fast CME. Region 808 was the return of old Region 798 (S12, L=225, class/area, Dkc/680 on 23 August), which was responsible for significant solar and geophysical activity during its last passage on the visible disk. Activity levels were high to very high from 07 - 11 September as Region 808 produced 14 M-class, and 7 X-class flares. Flares of note included the X5/2b flare on 08/2106 UTC, an X6/2b on 09/2004Z, and an X2 flare on 10/2211 UTC. Region 808 contained a strong beta-gamma-delta magnetic configuration. The region exhibited some decay towards the end of the period; however, the dominant central penumbral sunspot still contained a strong delta. Solar wind data were available from the NASA Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft during most of the summary period. Solar wind speed at ACE was elevated at the beginning of the summary period at 650 km/s. By 06 September wind speed had decreased to background levels with the IMF Bz fluctuating between +/-5 nT. These conditions continued until 09 September when the first shock from a CME hit ACE. Bz spiked to approximately -15 nT and fluctuating around +/-10 nT until the second shock from a later CME hit early on 10 September. The IMF Bt increased to around 20 nT while Bz fluctuated between +20/-10 nT for six hours before returning to -5nT for several hours. From the latter half of 09 September to almost midday on the 11th, Solar wind data from the ACE SWEPAM instrument was unusable due to contamination from the energetic proton event. A greater than 10 MeV proton event began at 08/0215 UTC as a result of the X17 flare from Region 808. Soon after, a greater than 100 MeV proton event began at 08/0405 UTC. It is extremely rare to see 100 Mev protons from a source on or near the east limb. Further enhancement of the proton event on 09 September was due to subsequent flare activity in Region 808. The greater than 10 MeV proton event reached a peak flux of 1880 pfu at 11/0425 UTC. The greater than 100 MeV proton event reached a peak flux of 7.9 pfu at 09/1920 UTC and ended at 11/0545 UTC. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at high levels for the entire period 05 - 11 September. The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to severe storm levels. Predominantly quiet to unsettled levels persisted from 04 - 08 September. However, sudden disturbances (magnetic crochets) of 82 nT and 41 nT occurred in the geomagnetic field on the 7th and 8th following the X17 and X5 flares. A sudden impulse of 30 nT occurred on 09/1359 UTC. This was likely due to the CME associated with the X17 flare on 7 September. Mostly active conditions ensued with some storm periods at higher latitudes. A second shock was observed on 10/0300 UTC assumed to be associated with the X5 flare and CME on 08 September. Periods of southward IMF Bz and very elevated solar wind plasma measurements resulted in active to minor storm periods at mid latitudes and major storm periods at high latitudes. Another strong shock was observed early on the 11th. This was likely associated with the X6 flare of 09 September. Severe geomagnetic storm levels were observed at all periods following this shock passage. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 14 SEPTEMBER - 10 OCTOBER Solar activity is expected to continue at moderate to high levels until Region 808 departs the visible disk on 21 September. Region 808 has shown some signs of weakening over the last 24-48 hours; however, it still maintains potential for significant solar flares. There are no other active regions of concern on the visible disk. The greater than 10 MeV proton event in progress since 08 September will likely end on 13 September. A new influx of particles can happen at any time if more major activity occurs in Region 808. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 14 - 19 September, 21 - 26 September, and on 29 September - 03 October. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to severe storm levels. New flare activity occurring at the time of this writing may produce severe storm levels on 15 September. Active to minor storm conditions are possible on 20 - 22 September, and 28 - 30 September due to recurrent coronal hole high speed wind streams. Region 808 will be located near center-disk for the first few days of the forecast period. Further major flare activity will likely result in a significant geomagnetic response. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2005 Sep 13 2326 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2005 Sep 13 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2005 Sep 14 115 30 5 2005 Sep 15 110 20 4 2005 Sep 16 110 15 3 2005 Sep 17 105 15 3 2005 Sep 18 105 12 3 2005 Sep 19 100 10 3 2005 Sep 20 100 15 3 2005 Sep 21 95 10 3 2005 Sep 22 90 10 3 2005 Sep 23 90 10 3 2005 Sep 24 90 8 3 2005 Sep 25 90 8 3 2005 Sep 26 85 10 3 2005 Sep 27 85 10 3 2005 Sep 28 80 15 3 2005 Sep 29 80 15 3 2005 Sep 30 75 10 3 2005 Oct 01 75 10 3 2005 Oct 02 75 10 3 2005 Oct 03 80 10 3 2005 Oct 04 85 5 2 2005 Oct 05 90 5 2 2005 Oct 06 95 8 3 2005 Oct 07 95 10 3 2005 Oct 08 95 10 3 2005 Oct 09 95 10 3 2005 Oct 10 95 10 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1287, DXLD) SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY BULLETIN #05- 11 2005 September 14 at 11:30 a.m. MDT (2005 September 14 1730 UTC) Official Space Weather Advisory issued by NOAA Space Environment Center Boulder, Colorado, USA **** MORE MAJOR SOLAR FLARES EXPECTED FROM ACTIVE NOAA REGION 808 **** NOAA sunspot Region 808 continues to produce major solar flare activity as it rotates to the center of the visible surface of the Sun. On September 13, this sunspot region produced three solar flares that resulted in strong (R3) radio blackouts. A large Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted during one of these flares, and is expected to create a significant geomagnetic disturbance late today or early on September 15. A moderate (S2) radiation storm is in progress following yesterday's flare activity. Active Region 808 has decayed slightly over the past 48 hours; however, it is still a large and complex sunspot group capable of producing major flares. Because of the current position of this region on the Sun, further flare activity has greater potential to impact Earth. Major flare activity over the next few days may result in significant geomagnetic and radiation storms. The threat of significant solar activity from Region 808 will diminish as it rotates to the far side of the Sun on September 21-22. Agencies impacted by space weather storms should continue to closely monitor space weather conditions during the next week. Data used to provide space weather services are contributed by NOAA, USAF, NASA, NSF, USGS, the International Space Environment Services and other observatories, universities, and institutions. More information is available at SEC's Web site http://sec.noaa.gov (SEC Sept 14 via DXLD) SEVERE GEOMAGNETIC STORM LOOMING Sunspot group #10798/10808 unleashed an X1.5 solar flare and attendant geoeffective (Earth facing) coronal mass ejection on Tuesday 09/13/05 at 1927 UTC. The CME is screaming along at 1500 km/s and should hit Earth's magnetic field later this evening or early tomorrow morning UTC. I expected a more prolonged severe geomagnetic storm (Kp-9) this time around and low latitude visible aurora is more likely this time. 73 & GUD DX, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, Retired Meteorologist & Space Plasma Physicist, Lakeland, FL, USA, Sept 14, dxldyg via DXLD) ###