DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-202, November 24, 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 For latest updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO Extra 63: Thu 2200 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Fri 0030 WOR R. Veronica 106.5 Fri 0100 WOR WTND-LP 106.3 Macomb IL Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream [repeated 2-hourly thru 2400] Fri 2000 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Fri 2100 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Sat 1700] Sat 0500 WOR VoiceCorps Reading Service, WOSU-FM subcarrier, cable Sat 0900 WOR WRN to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar Sat 0955 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 1100 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 & WPKM Montauk LINY 88.7 Sat 1700 WOR R. Veronica 106.5 Sat 1830 WOR WRN to North America [including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140] Sun 0000 WOR Radio Studio X 1584 http://www.radiostudiox.it/ Sun 0330 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0600 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sun 0730 WOR WWCR 3215 Sun 0930 WOR WRMI 7385 [from WRN] Sun 0930 WOR WRN to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP [including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140] Sun 0930 WOR KSFC Spokane WA 91.9 Sun 0930 WOR WXPR Rhinelander WI 91.7 91.9 100.9 Sun 0930 WOR WDWN Auburn NY 89.1 [unconfirmed] Sun 0930 WOR KTRU Houston TX 91.7 [occasional] Sun 1400 WOR WRMI 7385 [not 1500 as expected] Sun 1400 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1830 WOR WRN1 to North America [including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140] Sun 2000 WOR RNI Sun 2230 WOR WRMI 7385 [temporarily] Mon 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0430 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 Mon 0515 WOR WBCQ 7415 Mon 1900 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1500] Wed 0030 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually but temporary] Wed 0100 WOR CJOY INTERNET RADIO plug-in required Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 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 Extra 63 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx63h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx63h.rm [Extra 63 is the same as COM 05-09; high version adds WOR opening] WORLD OF RADIO Extra 63 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0509.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0509.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0509.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 63 downloads in studio-quality mp3: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx63h.mp3 (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx63.mp3 MUNDO RADIAL NOVIEMBRE-DICIEMBRE: Desde el 25 de noviembre: en WWCR 7465 los viernes y lunes a las 2215v; WRMI 9955 domingos 1130, y: (corriente) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0511.ram (descargar) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0511.rm (descargar mp3 para difusoras) http://www.obriensweb.com/mr0511.mp3 (guión) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0511.html ** ANTARCTICA. Re 5-201: No, sign-off is at 2100. Mea culpa - one could say I failed to detail my report: my continuous observation was 1900-1950 (during which they also announced the address, etc.), then I rapidly checked prior to 2100, thence the somewhat unclear text (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ANTARTIDA ARGENTINA [sic]: 15476, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Antártica Esperanza, 2010-2025, November 21, Spanish. Folk songs (chacareras). Identification by male as: "Desde la Base Antártica Esperanza, transmite LRA36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel --- para todo el mundo", 34433 At 2025, abrupt audio cut until 2100 UT Sign-off (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. R. La Red, 11133-LSB, 0150-0205+ Nov 19, Spanish talk, phone talk, ads, jingles, ID; fair (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11133-LSB, La Red, 0200 Nov. 24: Fútbol match between local Vélez Sarsfield vs. UNAM from México with final tied 0-0 score. Very poor. (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. VMC, 6507-SSB with Australian coastal marine weather, male robot with Oz accent, 1405 UT Nov 24 --- much better than the female robot I heard a few minutes earlier up the band from WLO/KLB who besides misinterpreting the text, was extremely choppy, pauses in wrong places, unlike the much smoother Oz robot. Previously reported in 5-152 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BIAFRA [non]. Just happened upon V. of Biafra International, good signal on 7380 via South Africa at 2158 Nov 24 as they were signing off with ID in English. Just in time before WRMI carrier came up on 7385. VOBI is Wed & Sat only at 21-22, and this is very much the best time of year to hear it out here. I`ve put it on my Monitoring Reminders Calendar (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 5940.22v, Rádio Guarujá Paulista, Guarujá Paulista, SP, 2027-2035, November 21, Portuguese, reactivated on this QRG! Talks by male and identifications. Best reception on 5940.32 at 2056 UT, 23432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Translation of 5-201 item: RADIOBRÁS about to conclude an agreement with the DRM consortium and UnB so as to test R. Nacional`s digital transmissions on both MW & SW. FM would have a test on 26 MHz [unclear sentence]. The tests started in January. That`s all I know. I shall pass the info as soon as I gather more data. Up to now, the authorized MW & [VHF-]FM stations use the IBOC system (Lucio Haeser) (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Já agora, e apesar de nenhum de ambos ter sido o autor desse artigo sobre a DRM no Brasil, o que é que se pode entender sobre a frase "FM teria um teste em 26 MHz"? Aparentemente, não faz sentido, já que o tema é DRM. Teste de DRM em 26 MHz? Se sim, por que razão se alude a "FM"? Não deixa de ser curioso que no DXLD e no BC-DX (a/c Wolfgang Büschel) costumem aparecer textos noutros idiomas que não o inglês - ainda bem! -, mas o facto é que há muitos leitores não pertencentes ao mundo de língua inglesa e tão-pouco compreendem essas tais notícias, no caso vertente, em português. Bons DX e melhores 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, to Carlos Felipe & Samuel Cássio, via DXLD) ** CANADA. Glenn, From the current B05 schedule, RCI is already set up to accommodate 60-minute Spanish broadcasts: 2300-2329: 11990/250 kW/176 deg, 13730/250 kW/176 deg 2330-2359: 11990/250 kW/176 deg, 13730/250 kW/176 deg 0000-0029: 9640/250 kW/212 deg, 11990/250 kW/176 deg 0030-0059: 9640/250 kW/212 deg, 11990/250 kW/176 deg 0100-0129: 6100/250 kW/240 deg (Maybe this could be extended by 30 minutes?) (Ricky Leong, AB, Nov 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHILE. Voz Cristiana, 17680, Nov 23 at 2213 was accompanied by spurs at plus and minus 7-8 kHz on each side, hard to pinpoint with no specific carrier, a rapid ripple and distorted modulation. Heard on two different receivers and also about half an hour later. Looks like these old transmitters have their problems (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHILE. Edicion especial de La Rosa de Tokyo el proximo domingo "LA ROSA DE TOKIO" (LS11 RADIO PROVINCIA) Recuerden que el Grupo Radioescucha Argentino está colaborando con LA ROSA DE TOKIO, el programa de DX y comunicaciones que se irradia por LS11 Radio Provincia, La Plata, Argentina, en la frecuencia de 1270 Khz, con 56 kws! en su horario habitual de 13 a 14 hora argentina (1600 a 1700 UT) y también en Internet, en http://www.radioprovincia.gba.gov.ar La temática que se desarrolla cada domingo consiste en la investigación y análisis de la situación radiofónica en un país. Se revisa su historia, su actualidad política y social y, por supuesto, se analizan sus emisoras de radio y TV más representativas. La emisión correspondiente al domingo 27 de Noviembre de 2005 de La Rosa de Tokyo estará dedicada a revisar la historia de la radio en Chile. El programa se dividirá en dos partes. En una, se revisarán los primeros años de la radio en el vecino y hermano país. En la segunda, se analizará la radio durante los años 70, antes y después de la caída del gobierno de Salvador Allende. No se pierdan las grabaciones históricas que se incluirán en el programa. Para la realización de esta edición de La Rosa de Tokyo, se ha contado con al colaboración directa de los amigos chilenos Hugo López, Gabriel Iván Barrera y Rubén González Valderrama; de Pancho Rodríguez, desde Moscú, Rusia y Henrik Klemetz, desde Suecia. El programa contará con la participación del columnista Arnaldo Slaen, desde Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Este será el primero de una serie de programas dedicados al estudio yu análisis de la radio en Chile. No dejen de escucharlo!!! (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Nov 24, Noticias DX via DXLD) A lot of listeners may not be aware that GIB is Chilean, tho long resident in Argentina (gh) ** CHINA [non]. I`ve found CRI at 0100 to NAm in English on 6005 with heavy splash from Cuba 6000; 6020 good; 9570 very good; 9580 very good. 6005 and 9580 are sometimes in parallel; 6020 and 9570 in parallel. But on Nov 20 all foUr were the same (Bob Thomas, CT, Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6005 = Canada, 6020 & 9570 = Albania, 9580 = Cuba ** COLOMBIA. Quito 24/Nov/2005 11:29. Latest Recording: Thursday edition. 2620.26, Micrófono Civico, Palermo, Dpto Huila. Harmonic from mediumwave 1310.13 kHz. Comments, photos and recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. Marfil Estéreo, 5910, 0810-0900+ Nov 19. Variety of Spanish pops, romantic ballads and local ranchera music. Spanish announcements, ID. Good, strong, but voice announcements slightly distorted (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. FUERZA AÉREA COLOMBIANA BOMBARDEA UNA EMISORA DE RADIO DE LAS FARC http://www.unionradio.com.ve/Noticias/Noticia.aspx?NoticiaId=152616 EFE - Miércoles, 23 de Noviembre de 2005 --- La Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (FAC) bombardeó una estación de radio de la guerrilla de las FARC en las selvas del sur del país, dijeron hoy en Bogotá portavoces castrenses. Un campamento contiguo a la emisora fue también destruido en la misma misión militar, informó la institución armada, que precisó que las instalaciones rebeldes se hallaban en la zona rural de Mesetas, localidad a unos 300 kilómetros de la capital colombiana. La estación formaba parte de "La Voz de la Resistencia", red de radio de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), y fue ubicada mediante tareas militares de "información técnica y humana", según precisó la fuente en un comunicado. La Fuerza Aérea dijo que la emisora bombardeada era operada por los frentes 26 y 40 de la organización insurgente, y que tenía alcance sobre los departamentos del Meta y el Caquetá. La Fuerza Aérea no informó de muertos o heridos en la operación aérea. (via Henrik Klemetz, DXLD) WTFK? FM? ** CUBA. [and non] Re 5-201: date on the 1180 pileup log should have been 23 Nov, not 22 Nov (Terry L. Krueger, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello Glenn, A couple of questions: 1. Are all those Cuban "stations" on 1180 from different sites? How would someone count those in a log book? (I've long ago stopped counting individual Cuban stations, just frequencies, but if there is more than one station on at the same time...) 2. With Castro's edict on higher energy fees for Cuban citizens, will there be any effect on the radio stations there? Thank you as always! (Eric Loy, Champaign IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Eric, 1. I guess they are from different sites. As long as they could be distinguished by direction, programming or audio delays, I would count each individually (but I don`t count stations at all any more). 2. Who knows? Broadcasting, especially in order to block nasty foreign stations, seems to be a high priority. 73, (Glenn to Eric, via DXLD) ** CUBA. RADIO HAVANA CUBA CONTEST --- Hi All, Today I received an envelope from RHC with an announcement of an upcoming contest that they're running, along with a nice New Year`s card. I decided to scan the contest announcement and see if it would OCR (convert to a text document) well. It did, all I had to correct were a few non standard items that printed as trash. Below my signature is their announcement. ****************************************************** 73 de Phil, KO6BB If it's over 1dB above the Noise Floor, "IT AIN'T DX"! THE BEACONEER'S LAIR: http://www.geocities.com/ko6bb/ QSL GALLERY: http://photobucket.com/albums/y123/KO6BB/ Merced, Central California, 37.3N 120.48W CM97sh ****************************************************** CONTEST --- The International Olympic Committee has announced that Cuba will be the host of the 11th World "Sports for All" Contest to be held in Havana from October 31st to November 3rd, 2006. The main theme will be "Physical Activity: Benefits and Challenges." Radio Havana Cuba, the Cuban Olympic Committee and Cuba's Ministry of Tourism invite you to participate in this contest by answering the following questions: 1. How important is massive sports for a nation where everybody can participate? 2. What other nations have hosted previous World "Sports for All" Congresses, sponsored by the International Olympic Committee and in what year were they held? The first two winners will travel to Havana free of charge and participate in the 11th World "Sports for All" Congress. In addition, there will be ten special prizes for the best answers. All entries must be received before August 31'st, 2006. Send your answers to: Radio Havana Cuba P .0. Box 6240, Havana, Cuba Fax. (537) 836-5810 E-mail: radiohc @ enet.cu (via Phil KO6BB Atchley, swl at qth.net via DXLD) RHC never makes clear whether they would ever let a Yankee win one of their contests, even one who professes to be sympathetic to The Revolution --- and if one did, would she be allowed by imperialist forces to travel to Cuba! BTW, the journalists and others unjustly imprisoned in Cuba surely don`t get enough physical activity. Ever notice how RHC`s ``contests`` are always set up so the judging is totally subjective, and thus political correctness is always in play (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. QSL-RADIO DJIBOUTI --- Hola, compañeros, ésta es la primera QSL de este año, parece mentira pero es así, pero por lo menos ha valido la pena, esperar después de muchos informes enviados a emisoras este año. Esta es la única que me ha verificado, pero vale la pena, ésta es RADIO DJIBOUTI, 4780 kHz, carta QSL, tiempo de demora 138 días; el informe lo envié por e-mail y me han contestado via postal como les dije. También me han mandado una pegatina de la emisora. Solo por esta QSL ha valido la pena esperar este año a que me verifiquen algo. Saludos desde Cartagena (España) de vuestro compañero (JOSE HERNANDEZ MADRID, Noticias DX via DXLD) Aquí los detalles que faltaban: E-mail rtdtech @ intnet.dj WEB http://www.rtd.dj --- Radiodiffusion Télévision de Djibouti, 1, Avenue Saint Laurent de Var - B.P. 97, Djibouti, Rep. of Djibouti (Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** FRANCE. Hi Glenn and all, 1278 kHz, Nov 24 at 1030. Radio Alsace/ France Bleu is really not a DX-station here, heard in daylight undisturbed in Alsatian/French. But I highly recommend language buffs to try the frequency, because Alsatian is indeed a nice mix of German and French and vice versa. Songs and talk are in Alsatian, French and German, and I have not discovered any pattern showing what language is used when. SINPO 35544. 73 (Johan Berglund, Trollhättan, Sweden. AOR AR7030 K9AY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND. Just today I got a second verification for my report to Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa, Greenland, broadcasting over utility station Ammassalik Radio (OZL) on 3815 kHz. Earlier --- http://www.dxing.info/community/viewtopic.php?t=1898 --- I got an eQSL from KNR, and today an eQSL from Ammassalik Radio (OZL), v/s Gerda Vilholm, email OZL @ tele.gl writing in English. Best regards, (Mika Makelainen, Editor, DXing.info, Nov 23, via DXLD) ** GUYANA. 3291.21 --- Reception has been rather good for the past while from the Voice of Guyana. Heard at 0650 tonight with a nice S7 to S9 signal, only minimally affected by an ever present ute exactly 4.8 to 5 kHz below. BBC programming when I checked earlier in the evening, but nowhere near as strong. Local programming now with Latin American sounding music with English announcements. Slightly muffly. Fun to watch the Icom's spectrum scope with the ute and Voice of Guyana's transmitter fighting it out, with the ute usually much stronger. I'm expecting a local ID at the top of the hour. Best ever heard out here! (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, 0656 UT Nov 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. Radio Perla, 1590 kHz, Nov 19 --- Hi all, I noticed that two mwc members reported clear IDs from Mexican Radio Reloj on 1590 at 0700 and 0730 approx. on Nov. 19. This is odd --- for just north of Göteborg on the SW seashore of Sweden, Odd Påg, a veteran Swedish DXer, was having Radio Perla in Honduras with an emergency broadcast; poor signal at 0627 then building up to fair-to-good and devoid of fading. The signal reached northern Finland, too, but at a rather poor level, at 0640, where Jari Ruohomäki reported the station as an UNID. I have heard both clips, and I am impressed by the stability of the signal at Odd´s QTH. Odd´s recording comprises a period in excess of 30 minutes and on the clip I can hear no Mexican QRM. The emergency situation was created by another hurricane, Gamma, ravaging the Honduras Atlantic Coast that morning. I don´t think Radio Perla has ever been reported by anyone [before] (Henrik Klemetz, Nov 19, MWC via DXLD) {but see 5-204} ** HONG KONG [and non]. NO ACCESS TO HONG KONG RADIO WEBSITE IN CHINA | Text of press release posted to the HKSAR website headlined: "Access to website of RTHK in the mainland" by Hong Kong government website on 23 November Following is a question by the Hon Mr Andrew Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, (in the absence of the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology), in the Legislative Council today (November 23): Question: It is learnt that since February last year, Internet surfers in the Mainland have been unable to access the website of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). Hong Kong residents in the mainland are therefore denied access to the information on the website. In this connection, will the government inform this council: (a) whether it knows the reasons for Internet surfers in the mainland being unable to access RTHK's website; (b) whether RTHK, the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau and the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing have reflected the problem to the relevant mainland authorities; if so, which of the above has/have done so, and of the mainland authorities to which the problem has been reflected, the views conveyed and the responses received; and (c) whether it will discuss with the relevant mainland authorities ways to resolve the problem; if so, when the problem is expected to be resolved; if not, of the reasons for that? Reply: Madam President, We understand that Internet surfers in the mainland are unable to access the website of RTHK. RTHK and the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing have approached the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and the Information Office of the State Council for information about the situation. We are awaiting the authorities' reply. We will continue to reflect the problem to them and seek information about the situation. Source: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government website in English 0000 gmt 23 Nov 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. I can't figure out why international broadcasters (Deutsche Welle, Radio Nederland, etc.) who now broadcast to North America on shortwave don't simply forget that DRM nonsense, shut down their transmitters for North America, and instead buy airtime on XM/Sirius. There are many more people who listen to satellite radio than shortwave in North America, and it says a lot about the dead-snake-stubbornness of most international broadcasters that they refuse to even explore the satellite delivery option for North America. Or are the engineering/transmitter facility unions that strong at such broadcasters??? (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX, EL19 http://futureofradio.typepad.com/ ABDX via DXLD) ? A whole lot of them are on WRN and thus also on Sirius (gh, DXLD) ** ITALY. Either Rai is gone or propagation is problem. Not heard at 0055 on 11800 in English to NAm (Bob Thomas, CT, Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [and non]. Possible Japan LF beacons to listen for I hear a couple of Japan-area beacons more or less regularly, if propagation is favoring that direction, during the fall-winter season, very rarely during the summer. But remember that they're running at most 1 kW or less, and at best are not in the least strong, at least at my inland location [where??]. It's unlikely you'll hear them in AM mode; you'll need CW mode and the narrowest filter you can select, to try to maximize the effective sensitivity of the radio. I always use very narrow outboard audio filters, in addition to the 250 Hz IF filter in the radio. My present homebrew opamp [?sic] audio filter has 8 Hz bandwidth and really digs down into the noise for the faint beacons. Good luck! As with MW TP signals, the closer you are to the Pacific Ocean, the better your chances of hearing a TP LF beacon. All Japanese beacons have a several second or longer dash after the CW ident -- quite distinctive as only North American Canadian beacons use a dash (called "DAID"--dash after ident). All have a nominal +/- 1020 Hz modulation from the unmodulated carrier. (French beacons that I also hear, from places like Polynesia, also use a DAID, sometimes 30 seconds or more, but you won't be hearing them at this time of year, generally -- they're summer beacons.) 209 MQ, Miyako. I hear this quite often. 343 ML, Minami Tori Shima (an island quite a distance from Japan proper). I hear this one the most of all. 360 OX, Iwo Jima. I've heard this frequently for the past month or so. Those are the most-frequently heard ones here. Others I've heard very infrequently include 360 KC, 373 PQ, 390 HKN, and the new one heard this morning 398 ON. For practice, I'd try for 353 LLD, Hawaii. That's the strongest Pacific beacon heard in North America, and the closest. If you can't hear that, then it's doubtful you'll hear any of the Japanese-area beacons, which are much weaker in comparison. It's been heard once or twice from as far south and east as New Mexico and Colorado, and once under very unusual conditions in Illinois (Steve Ratzlaff, Nov 23, IRCA via DXLD) ** LATVIA [and non]. EMR this Sunday 15725 and 9290 kHz --- European Music Radio is on the air this Sunday the 27th of November at 0900 to 1000 UT on 15725 kHz; also 1500 to 1700 on 9290. This weekend relays [meaning 9290, presumably]: Sat 26 November Radio Six 0700-0800 UT RWI 2300-0000 UT Sun 27 November RWI 0800-0900 UT Radio Six 1200-1300 UT [EMR 1500-1700 as above] Good Listening 73s (Tom Taylor, Nov 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Six is from Scotland, Radio Waves International from France; EMR on 15725 would be via IRRS ``Italy``, presumably Bulgaria. Why am I always having to elucidate and clarify this info? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. R. Educación, 6185, is on again in the daytime, Nov 23, noted from 1527 past 1600 with discussion in Spanish, English segments. Tnx to low solar angle, reception possible here 1.9 megameters away; if you`re not too far, give it a try (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It was about digitalization of the station`s archives; there were bits of music, and at 1536 someone speaking briefly in English but soon overridden by voiceover translation. This gave me the only definite ID as he mentioned Radio Education, and also Finland; maybe where he was from? Here is the program guide entry which doesn`t say much: 09:00 SU CASA Y OTROS VIAJES 1:00:00 Productor: DEPARTAMENTO DE CULTURA En Vivo Also Nov 24 at 1905 there was an open carrier on 6185, possibly XEPPM but gone a few minutes later (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOZAMBIQUE. Re 5-201: I managed to open the site via a fast ADSL connection but the page is rather slow to react and certain links herein don`t work, e.g. ``História da Radiodifusão`` [not ``rádiodifusão``, by the way; similar spelling mistakes and language mistakes of other sort are also present here and there]; under ``Emissores Provinciais`` (10 of them), I tried one at random - Zambézia [not ``Zambezia``] to check the frequencies and it didn`t work; their webstream was not working either --- says server is busy (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. Hello from Hilversum, some news from colleagues here at Radio Netherlands: Special RNW Dutch transmission on Friday 25 November This Friday, 25 November, there will be a special live programme in Dutch on Radio Netherlands to mark the 30th anniversary of independence in Surinam. The programme will be aired at 1400-1500 UT, and will be carried on European frequencies normally on the air at this time only at weekends: 5955 kHz to W Europe 9895 kHz to SW Europe 13700 kHz to S and SE Europe The programme will also be on 15315 kHz for listeners in Surinam (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter Nov 24 via DXLD) ** PERU. R. San Andrés, Cutervo, 5544.65, 0205-0300+ Nov 19. OA folk music, Spanish announcements, ID. Weak, poor in noise (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Lucky Philippinos get HD Radio PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT OFFICIATES BE HD RADIO DIGITAL BROADCAST http://www.broadcastbuyer.tv/publish/article_6305.shtml 17th November, 2005 --- Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo officiated HD Radio broadcasts in Baguio City on November 9, after Broadcast Electronics turned on the country¹s first HD Radio station during a conference in the city. Operating under a special license by the Philippines` National Telecommunication Commission (NTC), Broadcast Electronics installed an HD Radio hybrid system. Both the analog and digital signals are being transmitted by a Broadcast Electronics FXi 60 digital FM exciter. The HD Radio sign-on coincided with the opening of the Kapisanan Ng Brodkasters Pilipinas (KBP) Top Level Management Conference held in Baguio City, during which President Arroyo gave the keynote speech and listened to HD Radio broadcasts at a Broadcast Electronics in-vehicle demonstration. ``To Broadcast World and their technology partners, Broadcast Electronics and Orban, as well as our NTC and KBP, thank you for making radio history this day,`` said President Arroyo. Since September, Broadcast Electronics has introduced HD Radio to broadcasters and listeners in New Zealand, Thailand and Brazil, and has announced it will begin HD Radio transmissions in Switzerland. ``By introducing BE HD Radio to the Philippines market we¹re making sure that our radio stations here have the same advantage as other stations around the world,`` said Desy Kelly, President Broadcast World Systems, Broadcast Electronics` representative in the Philippines. Broadcast Electronics offers turnkey transmitter packages for analog FM and medium-wave as well as for HD Radio at a variety of power levels, representing 45 years of radio innovation as the largest radio-only manufacturer of studio and transmitter products in the United States (via Kevin Redding, AZ, Nov 20, ABDX via DXLD) Puff ** PORTUGAL. Re 5-201: I can imagine that particular extra broadcast started no sooner than 1900, and the transmitters were already off around 2130. This means, of course, the registered slots are actually meant to safeguard at least part of the actual time used. The only means to know when such an extra broadcast takes place is listening, contacting or perhaps checking http://www.rtp.pt (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. I can`t find a decent signal for Bucharest to get a sked - -- OK, patience pays off! RRI English hour at 0100 quite good on 6150, minor splash from 6145, some splash from 6155 (Bob Thomas, CT, Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. ANALOGUE TV SWITCH OFF BY 2010 - Russian minister | Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Tokyo, 21 November: The Russian Ministry of Information Technology and Communication is planning to solve by 2010 the whole complex of problems related to the transfer to digital television in Russia, IT Minister Leonid Reiman, who is a member of the Russian delegation on an official visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan that was launched on Sunday, told ITAR-TASS in an exclusive interview on Monday [21 November]. The minister expressed "full support" to European countries' decision to stop analogue broadcasting by 2010. According to Reiman, Russia "has little-by-little" started the implementation of the project for the transfer from analogue television to digital. The minister said trial systems of digital television broadcasting have been operating in Moscow, St Petersburg and Vladivostok for three years. Work to start the system in Khanty-Mansiisk is underway and it is planned to begin it in Kaliningrad as well. According to Reiman, Russian suppliers are thinking about the manufacturing of signal converters that will be applied for analogue TV sets in order "not to make the subscriber replace his television set at once, but to do it gradually, stage by stage." The Russian IT minister recalled that the DVB-T standard of digital television was approved at the state level in Russia, which was laid down in a corresponding governmental decree. Reiman expressed the desire to create a more up-to-date MPEG-4 network, "because the possibilities it provides are better from the point of view of both high definition and the occupied broadcast band." Reiman withheld comment on the volume of funds the transition to digital television will require in Russia. The minister pointed out the process of transition will be carried out by private companies. "We hope very much that they will do everything in an optimal way and invest minimum funds, but not necessarily," the Russian IT minister admitted. Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 0952 gmt 21 Nov 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. RUSSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS FEAR RETURN OF RADIO JAMMING Russia’s human rights groups have voiced concerns over the Defence Ministry’s plan to establish a new combat force responsible for radio frequency jamming devices, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily reported today. The paper quoted its well-informed sources in the defence agency as saying that the plan to establish a new radio-electronic combat force has already been drawn up and awaits approval by the President. The new force, the source reported, will be responsible for radio- electronic destruction of enemy’s targets in space, on land or sea, and protection of troops and installations. The radio-electronic combat department has already been set up at the General Staff of the Defence Ministry, headed by General Andrei Osin, who will most likely take over the command of the new force. Commenting on the ministry’s plans, a prominent human rights advocate, Lev Ponomaryov, has voiced fear that the initiative could amount to restoration of the Soviet-era practice of jamming foreign radio and television broadcasts. "It appears that our country is sliding back to the times when jamming devices were introduced in the Soviet Union. Measures taken against public rights groups will soon lead to their closure and dissidents will be working in their kitchens. Impeding dissemination of information via the Internet and radio will become the next logical step," Ponomaryov told the paper. (Source: MosNews.Com) # posted by Andy @ 14:01 UT Nov 24 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SENEGAL [non]. SENEGAL/WEST AFRICA: PRO-DEMOCRACY WADR REGIONAL RADIO LAUNCHED A new pro-democracy and human rights radio station has started broadcasting from Senegal. BBC Monitoring heard West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR) on 16 November. WADR began broadcasting on 14 November from its studios in Dakar, Senegal on 12000 kHz and 94.9 MHz. It was also heard on 21 November on 15260 kHz shortwave. It broadcasts for two hours in English and French between 0700-0900 gmt daily. The station has a bilingual website at http://www.wadr.org which includes recent news features. Streaming audio features were not operational when checked between 16 and 23 November. The programme featured west African news and current affairs, music and a youth programme. It featured reports on the Liberian presidential election; the arrest of former Chadian President Hissene Habre; the dismissal of Sierra Leone's anti-corruption head; the US pledge to cotton farmers in the Sahel region and the Guinean workers' strike. The following is a summary of the radio programme broadcast on 16 November 2005. English programme 0700 (all times gmt) Presenter welcomed listeners to Radio WADR, broadcasting from Dakar, Senegal on 12000 kHz shortwave and 94.9 FM and said that in the next two hours listeners would hear news and developments as they affect the region. This would be in English and then in French, an hour later. 0701 An unnamed presenter welcomed listeners in French, which repeated the English announcement. 0702 A music jingle announced WADR, saying that the station was promoting dialogue. Presenters [in English] welcomed listeners to WADR and introduced themselves as Kumar Refofana [phonetic] and Agnes John. The presentation swapped between the two and there were some recorded audio inserts. Headlines Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is officially the president-elect of Liberia; former Chadian President Hissene Habre has been arrested in the Senegalese capital Dakar; the head of the country's anti-corruption commission in Sierra Leone has been dismissed, the US government has pledged several million United States dollars to cotton farmers in the Sahel region and Guinean workers go on strike for improved pay and living conditions. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the president-elect of Liberia. The National Elections Commission yesterday announced the final result of the November 8 run-off election that gave Mrs Sirleaf 60 per cent of the vote, in spite of allegations of fraud by her rival George Weah. Mr Weah's Congress for Democratic Change Party has threatened to boycott their seats if the allegations are not investigated. Former Chadian President Hissene Habre, wanted by a Belgian court for crimes committed during his rule, has been arrested by Senegalese authorities. Mr Habre, who has spend the last 16 years in exile in Senegal since being ousted by rebels in 1990, is blamed for the killing and torture of hundreds of thousands of people during his reign, including some Belgian citizens. Mr Habre's arrest follows and international arrest warrant issued on him earlier but he has also been accused by Italian courts of crimes against humanity. Journalists are among the thousands Mr Habre is alleged to have tortured and killed. Kumar Refofana interviews Gabriel Baglo, the African director of the International Federation of Journalists, who. says leaders from now on will be very careful about how they manage our countries and is only sorry Habre is not being tried in Africa. This is followed by a discussion about journalists in Africa and press freedom. 0710 Report about the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone receiving a blow last week when the head of the country's Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) Valentine Collier was sacked. WADR correspondent reports from Freetown, saying that Sierra Leone's economic wars over the years have been blamed mainly on corruption which has eaten deep into the fabric of society. He says it is little wonder the popular masses celebrated when a commission was established six years ago to fight corruption. Valentine Collier's appointment to head the commission at the time was welcomed by many. But relations between Mr Collier and the house of parliament have been strained after he is said to have described parliament at a civil society forum as a "lame dog institution paying lip service to the concerns of the masses, with parliamentarians pre-occupied with securing contracts". A supreme court judge and former law professor of the University of Sierra Leone Henry Jokosmart [phonetic] has been nominated to succeed Valentine Collier as head of the Anti-Corruption Commission. 0712: Presenter says that in tomorrow's edition we will hear a reaction to that development from a civil society advocate. The Mano River Women's Peace Network (Marwopnet) held a meeting in the Guinean capital Conakry. It follows the election of a woman as president in the region and the end of war in all free member countries. A WADR correspondent in Conakry attended the meeting and sent in the following report which is read in the studio. 0713 Studio report: Some 30 women from across west Africa are meeting in the Guinean capital Conakry to discuss ways of peacefully resolving and preventing conflict in the continent. Initiated by the Mano River Women's Peace Network, Marwopnet, the meeting discussed the establishment of national branches in their various countries. They also agreed to set up a female leadership mechanism for conflict prevention at community level in west Africa. The meeting hailed the successful role playing by Marwopnet in helping resolve the conflict in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, a role the participants want replicated in other parts of the sub-region. The organization is planning to set up a radio station for the Mano River Union countries. 0714 Contemporary west African musical interlude 0716 Report on the disagreement between cotton farmers in west and central Africa and the United States government over subsidies paid to American cotton farmers. The subsidies are believed to be badly affecting African cotton farmers who cannot compete with their counterparts in America. The US trade representative at the Wall Street Organization and the agricultural secretary met last week in Ougadougou with west African ministers and representatives of cotton farmers. At the end of the meeting the US government announced a seven million dollar fund to support improvement in the cotton sector in Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Senegal and Chad. 0726 Report on the Guinean workers' strike. Report from correspondent in Conakry with the spokesman of the trade union consideration of Guinea about the reason for the strike, living conditions of the workers after the increase in the price of petrol. Nothing has changed since the negotiations between the workers and the government on 11 June 2005. Workers are asking for a 100 per cent increase in pay. The strike will last for 48 hours. [English superimposed over French]. 0728 End of news and development programme, News Link. Presenters sign off. 0729 Youth Programme, News connection. 0730 Discussion with three foreign students from Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso studying in Dakar, speaking about their experiences at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar. Language barriers. 0740 Music 0743 Resumption of youth programme interview with foreign students studying in Dakar. 0752 Repeat of WADR station identification followed by music. 0754 Return to youth programme and interview with foreign students. Talking about daily life in their home countries. 0759 Youth programme ended. Presenter said goodbye to listeners. 0800 Trailer for WADR Programme in French Announcer announced duration of programme and the wavelength. Headlines Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the new president of Liberia; former Chadian president Hissene Habre has been arrested; Sierra Leone head of anti- corruption commission has been dismissed; the US has pledged seven million dollars to cotton farmers in the Sahel region and Guinean workers go on strike for improved pay and living conditions. 0802 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is confirmed as the president-elect of Liberia, despite allegations of fraud from her rival George Weah. 0803 Former Chadian President Hissene Habre, who has been wanted by the Belgian authorities for crimes committed during his time in power, has been arrested by Senegalese authorities. Repeat of the English news story followed by a telephone interview with Gabriel Baglo, the African director of the International Federation of Journalists. 0807 Sierra Leone: report about the dismissal of Valentine Collier, the head of the anti-corruption commission in Sierra Leone. Correspondent's report from Freetown. 0813 Report on the meeting of women of the Mano River Women's Peace Network in the Guinean capital Conakry to discuss ways of peacefully resolving and preventing conflict in the continent. Correspondent reports from Freetown. 0816 Presenter says you are listening to West Africa Democracy Radio. Followed by music. 0817 Report about the subsidies given to cotton farmer in the United States disadvantaging farmers in Africa. The subsidies are believed to be badly affecting African cotton farmers who therefore cannot compete with their counterparts in America and the meeting between the US trade representative at the Wall Street Organization and the agricultural secretary met last week in Ougadougou with west African ministers and representatives of cotton farmers. At the end of the meeting the US government announced a seven million dollar fund to support improvement in the cotton sector in Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Senegal and Chad. Report from correspondent. 0818 [End of recording] The broadcast in French was essentially a repeat of the English one. Source: BBC Monitoring research 16 Nov 05 (via DXLD) Here on the east coast of the US, we have two chances of hearing this, slim and none as Cuba seems to have taken over 12 megs (Bob Montgomery, PA, swprograms via DXLD) Surely not at 0700, RHC on 12000. WADR has added 15260, not that either would propagate very well at that hour over here. So far I haven`t heard 12000 thru my birdie (gh, DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. Sudan Radio Service, 15575, *1500-1659* Nov 18. Sign- on with local music, IDs, sked. 1504 ad for termite killer made in Kenya. 1505 English news, local music. 1530 Week in Review program. 1556 check, vernacular talk to 1659* // 11665, both good. SRS also on 11705, 1715-1759 Nov 18. Tune-in to vernacular talk, local music, IDs; good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. After Nikkei closes at 1500, something else is on 6055 --- Nov 23 at 1526, VG signal in Turkic language with Russian words, such as krasniy --- we know what that means. Continued mostly talk with occasional music bits, finally starting to fade down at 1549, and barely audible at 1559 for VOA sign-off Yankee Doodle. I enjoy trying to figure these out before firing up the computer and consulting online listings. VOA was holding up in English on 6110; and English lessons for Vietnamese on 5955 and 7150. These are all listed in HFCC B-05 as Tinang, Vietnamese at 275 degrees but 6055 at 1500-1600, 332 degrees is R. Liberty, not VOA, in Kazakh. NDXC contradicts, claiming this hour is via Kavala, which seems quite unlikely propagationally. Meanwhile there was Special English on 7175 during this semihour, which would be Udorn at 18 degrees. As we get into latest sunrises, it`s fun to find how late 6 MHz band will stay open, in this case about 0930 LMT; see also MEXICO (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. Voice of America and Greenville A/B Sites (GA/GB) Dear Wolfgang/Glenn, I hope you will put on WWDXC Top News/DXLD pages following information. From B05 beginning (10/30/2005) VOA does not use GREENVILLE, NC "A Site" (GA); it uses only "B Site" (GB). I know GA is totally silent, and the transmissions were moved to GB (not the transmitters, just the airings). I only presume it's because of too little broadcasts from GA in A05 season. GB Greenville, NC - "B Site" complete B05 transmissions Freq Time(UTC) Az. Broadcaster Language Days 5745 1000-1400 205 OCB Spanish 5890 0030-0100 190 RTG English 5890 0100-0200 190 RTG Thai 5890 0430-0500 094 VOA Portuguese 5890 0530-0630 094 VOA French Mon-Fri 6030 0000-0400 205 OCB Spanish 6030 0400-1000 205 OCB Spanish Tue-Sun 6030 2200-2400 205 OCB Spanish 6035 0500-0630 094 VOA English-Africa 7365 0000-0400 164 OCB Spanish 7405 0130-0200 176 VOA English-Special Tue-Sat 7405 0300-0400 184 OCB Spanish 7405 0400-1000 184 OCB Spanish Tue-Sun 7405 1200-1500 183 OCB Spanish 9480 0430-0500 091 VOA Portuguese 9480 0530-0630 091 VOA French Mon-Fri 9525 2200-2230 164 VOA Creole 9535 1100-1230 164 VOA Spanish 9535 1230-1300 164 VOA Creole Mon-Fri 9565 2000-2200 164 OCB Spanish 9575 0400-0500 094 VOA English-Africa 9670 2200-2230 183 VOA Creole 9775 0130-0200 183 VOA English-Special Tue-Sat 9805 0400-0700 183 OCB Spanish Tue-Sun 9885 0100-0200 183 VOA Spanish 11775 0000-0400 184 OCB Spanish 11775 0400-0700 184 OCB Spanish Tue-Sun 11890 1100-1230 164 VOA Spanish 11890 1230-1300 164 VOA Creole Mon-Fri 11930 1300-2400 184 OCB Spanish 13715 1200-1230 176 VOA Spanish 13820 1300-1930 184 OCB Spanish 15265 1100-1230 174 VOA Spanish 15265 1230-1300 174 VOA Creole Mon-Fri 15330 1400-2000 174 OCB Spanish 15385 1730-1800 146 VOA Creole 15390 2100-2130 174 BBC English Mon-Fri 15580 1900-2200 094 VOA English-Africa 17565 1730-1800 174 VOA Creole 17565 2000-2200 174 ERT various [i.e., Greek!] 17580 1830-2000 094 VOA French OCB = Radio Martí, Miami FL (Office of Cuba Broadcasting) RTG = Radio Thailand, Bangkok VOA = Voice of America, Washington DC BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation, London ERT = Voice of Greece, Athens I've carefully looked at VOA schedule on http://www.voanews.com and I've found several large mistakes: AFAN OROMO 1730-1800 Mon-Fri 7245 11690 "13800" ==> The correct frequency is 13790 kHz! 7245 MOR 099 deg 11690 KAV 172 deg 13790 MOR 108 deg AMHARIC 1800-1900 7245 11690 "13800" ==> The correct frequency is 13790 kHz! 7245 IRA 279 deg 11690 KAV 172 deg 13790 IRA 275 deg GEORGIAN " 1630-1700 11685 11895 13645 " ==> The correct schedule is 1530-1600!: 11965 KAV 095 deg 12005 IRA 324 deg 13790 MOR 067 deg INDONESIAN 1400-1500 11760 11985 13660 "daily" ==> NOT DAILY, only Thu-Sat! KINYARWANDA/KIRUNDI 1600-1630 Sat 11675 11965 "11785" ==> The correct frequency is 17785 kHz! 11675 KAV 172 deg 11965 SAO 100 deg 17785 MOR 132 deg SHONA 1700-1730 4930 9830 12080 17785 "daily" ==> NOT DAILY, only Mon-Fri! TIGRIGNA 1900-1930 Mon-Fri 7245 11690 "13800" ==> The correct frequency is 13790 kHz! 7245 MOR 099 deg 11690 KAV 172 deg 13790 IRA 275 deg Also I have some remarks about VOA stuff: As you could notice, as of Oct. 30th, 2005, VOA SERBIAN breakfast show is no longer 30 minutes, It's now only 15 minutes long (0630-0645 UT). I always listen to VOA Serbian programs, and they told listeners about this change on airwaves first on Sunday, Oct. 30, not before! AND ALSO I called by phone on Monday, Oct. 31st a VOA local affiliate station YU-Eco Radio, here in Subotica, Serbia with a question did VOA inform them about this cut. The station's engineer told me they don't know anything about that cutting AND ASKED ME why VOA reduced the length of the show. Of course, I don't know why. The most interesting thing is that VOA, which regularly updates IBB satellite schedules on website, actually forgot to put this transmission into web schedule: http://www.voa.gov/afl/pdf/hotbird.pdf The program is on air on Hotbird Satellite 0630-0645 VOA SERBIAN on HB12 channel. (on website(pdf file), it's a blank space!) P.S. I'm translating a complete VOICE OF CROATIA (Glas Hrvatske) program schedule - from Croatian to English. It will be finished in about 10 days. I'll EMail it to you then. Best regards & many 73s! (Dragan Lekic from Subotica, Serbia, Nov 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx, Dragan, good piece of research. I had not noticed GA had vanished. I wonder if it is being permanently mothballed. Would make an excellent and much-needed relay site for a number of foreign broadcasters if IBB has no use for it (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WWRB shortwave press release --- WWRB has used frequency 5085 kHz every night for the last 9 years. During the above time period, WWRB shortwave never received any complaints from other users on 5085. Approximately 5 months ago, the FCC ordered radio station WWRB to vacate 5085: period. WWRB asked the FCC why WWRB was ordered to vacate 5085. FCC replied that they received an report that WWRB was QRMing a fixed service user on 5085. WWRB asked for more specific details; the FCC would not provide any details. WWRB asked the FCC to allow WWRB to reduce power to 50 KW, change antenna Azimuths to mitigate the QRM. The FCC would not allow WWRB to try to co-exist using 5085 nor would the FCC provide any assistance to WWRB in any form whatsoever. WWRB shortwave asked the FCC to put the above information in writing; the FCC refused. The FCC ordered WWRB to vacate 5085 or face suspension of its broadcast authorization. WWRB shortwave complied with the FCC order. The FCC order caused serious disruption to WWRB, caused serious economic loss, and loss of broadcasting clients. During WWRB's shortwave usage of 5085 our power levels were 50 and 100 kW. Within 5 months of ordering WWRB off of 5085, starting in October [sic] 2005 another shortwave station, WEWN began using 5085. WEWN transmitter power is 500,000 watts. WEWN is using 5085 during the SAME time periods that WWRB shortwave used 5085 for the last 9 years (Dave Frantz, WWRB, Nov 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ! Can`t have the FCC playing favorites like that (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WLC ROGERS CITY MI --- Hello Glenn, I just learned that you may have audio of the last transmission from WLC Rogers City. Take a look at http://www.imradioha.org I would love to be able to put that audio on the WLC page when it is further developed. Any chance of that? =========================================================== Visit the Inland Marine Radio History Archive at: http://www.imradioha.org Talk with me - I'm Maczad on Skype and K4ZAD on Echolink Regards, (Tom McKee, Archivist, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tom, Very interesting site. I`m afraid I don`t recall having such audio, tho it`s possible. My ``archives`` are not catalogued. Who suggested I might have such? Possibly I put it on my World of Radio show back then, but again, retrieving something as recent as 1997 could be difficult. Regards, (Glenn Hauser to Tom, via DXLD) WOR summaries at http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wormid.html only go back to January 1998! (gh, DXLD) Glenn, Thanks for the response. I can't recall just who mentioned it, but they did say that it was on your World of Radio show. I believe that the last WLC voice transmission was on 11/28/97. I understand the difficulty of retrieval from that far back, but should you run across it keep the Inland Marine Radio History Archive in mind. The site can now be found via Google, Yahoo and MSN. Just put in "marine radio" "great lakes" WLC, and it will be on the first page. Regards, (Tom McKee, ibid.) ** U S A. HOLIDAY SPECIALS ON WEBCASTING PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS Once again this year I am collecting station websites specifically listing special holiday programming, already starting T-giving week but then pausing until early December: consult http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html#holiday (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Gang, Is there a web page with a list of all of the radio formats, and a description of them? There seem to be a zillion names, even though when you tune across the dial, especially on FM, it seems as though there are only about a half a dozen or so stations repeated over and over. Thanks, (Steven Hawkins, Nov 23, IRCA via DXLD) Format names are often self applied by stations to give advertisers out of the market an idea of what they do. There is no standard for format labels. To get an idea of what stations that play current music (as opposed to only hits of the past, like Jack, Oldies, Standards, classic rock, etc.) look at http://www.rronline.com and inspect the charts for the various format types. That will give you an idea of what each format might play. But within a format, there are regional and station based differences as every market has a different competitive array and that influences what is played and what is not. Many differences are subtle. Adult contemporary has multiple divisions, including rhythmic (more up tempo and even disco tunes), gold based (soft, more 70-s and 80-s songs) hot (more currents, less gold, more borderline pop and rock sounds and alternative ("lite" alternative rock sounds, less wimpy stuff). To someone who does not like AC, they sound the same, but to the listener they are highly differentiable. Many classify all Spanish language stations as "Spanish." Yet if a station is not in Spain, it is not Spanish and cannot be Spanish. There are at least a dozen Spanish language formats that the listener can distinguish differences in being done in the US! You won't find a directory of them, either. Keep in mind that format labels are used, mostly, for ad sales. Very few formats use the industry name on the air. Oldies does, classic rock does, but no station calls itself "Adult Contemporary" on the air! So keep in mind that the labels are pretty arbitrary and vary from station to station. Jack is being used as a "format descriptor" in the industry to describe the "mile wide, one inch deep" multi-decade adult hits format that is in nearly every large rated market now. Most listeners don't know what CHR, Jack, regional Mexican, Churban and many other format descriptors mean. Very few are really used on the air, like "soft jazz" and "classic rock" and "country" yet each of these is enormously broad and covers may variations. Internally, we describe the format on Recuerdo in LA, Fresno, Dallas, McAllen, Phoenix and elsewhere as "Jack" because people understand that to mean broad in decade and in genres. Like the commercial for Outback: No rules. Jack is a trademark. There is a Jill in LA, and a bunch of Bob, Fred, Ben and such clones. In essence, all are broad and shallow on music. Lots of year-span, but not very deep in any one year (David Eduardo Gleason, ibid.) ** U S A. With local sunset at 1730 EST, I think it's safe to say that at 2000, WWNN 1470 Pompano Beach, FL, is breaking the rules by still running IBOC. From what I can tell, close to me as they are, they may still be on day power – 50 kW vs 2.5 kW -- as well. Anyone what to try for nighttime IBOC skip? (Curt Deegan, FL, Nov 22, IRCA via DXLD) Coming in at fair levels without IBOC around 0100 EST. May be still on full power as WLAM Lewiston ME usually occupies 1470 on this side of the pond (Barry Davies, UK, ibid.) 1470, WWNN, Pompano Beach FL; America Overnight talk show, IDs "AM 14- 70 WNN" & "WWNN Pompano Beach WBSR Boca Raton." F/G (IRCA reports cheating with 50kW day power!) 0605 23/11 BD (Barry Davies, UK, MWC via DXLD) Barry, I monitored WWNN until about 0130 EST last night. They never dropped IBOC and definitely were on day power. I determined that today when I could see there was no difference from last night. It is interesting you found no IBOC signal. I don't think anyone has any idea what will happen with the skywave component of the IBOC sidebands. That was my reason for posting the WWNN screw up last night, thinking maybe someone might hear something. Since there are virtually no HD radios, I didn't expect anyone to actually be able to try to listen, but hearing the IBOC hiss interfering with adjacent channels on skywave would have been an interesting event. As my tests show -- link below in signature -- the IBOC sidebands drop off very fast compared to the analog part of the hybrid signal when looking at ground wave with antennas of varying gain. Others have reported a similar rapid drop off of the IBOC sidebands with increasing distance, more so that the analog component of the signal. This would seem to indicate a usable HD ground wave signal will cover less of a range than a normal analog signal. It remains to be determined what happens to the skywave and what if any damage it will do without the hope of actually reaching any potential audience (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (Southeast) Florida http://ScooterHound.com/WWWR/radio/sefliboc.html ibid.) Very interesting. So if US stations go IBOC 24/;7 the possibility of TA DX is not lost after all hi! Thank you for the feed back which I will pass on to the MWC UK list (Barry Davies, ibid.) That conclusion might be a bit premature. It should be noted that there is a great diversity in the distances at which the hiss of the IBOC signal on the adjacents as heard on an analog receiver can be noted. Several cases of hiss several hundred miles away at night were noted from various stations which have tested or left the IBOC on overnight given 50 kW signals. Still other cases find the distance negligible. This is heavily dependent on equipment, proper tuning, directional array and half a dozen other factors I'm sure other could add. I am located about 7-10 miles from most of the local AM IBOC stations, and those with weaker analog signals here naturally also provide the least hiss on the adjacents. I'd suggest that a prior statement (Curt's) that no one really knows what will happen with long-distance skywave propagation of IBOC signals (or hiss for that matter) still applies (Russ Edmunds Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ) [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia], ibid.) At 1745 est 11/23, WWNN 1470, Pompano Beach, did drop IBOC and to their assigned nighttime power. The failure last night to comply with the terms of their license was apparently a one time event. Sorry, no night IBOC DXing (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Ratón, (Southeast) Florida, Nov 23, ibid.) More IBOC discussion below under DIGITAL BROADCASTING ** VATICAN [non]. You would not know it from the WEWN program grid, but two minutes of news in English from VR were heard at 2200 Nov 23 on 7560. With the British accent and seemingly secular content, I wasn`t sure what it was at first, but 2202 into hymn from EWTN. I suppose they do this at other hourtops too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ SHORTWAVE MUSIC BLOG After more than a two-month hiatus, Myke Weiskopf`s intriguing site of SW clips has resumed as of Nov 12, with new mp3s including WYFR/numbers, Lincolnshire Poacher, Cairo, Bulgaria http://shortwavemusic.blogspot.com/ (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UTILITY STATION INFO Esta es la lista con direcciones donde podemos encontrar valiosas informaciones sobre el mundo de las utilitarias; espero que sea de utilidad para todos los colegas diexistas. Cada semana trataremos de agregar alguna nueva dirección para tener un buen compendio de informaciones sobre este tipo de transmisiones. http://www.aer-dx.org/diexismo/dxutilitarias.htm http://arieldx.tripod.com/manualdx/variantes/utilitarios/dxutilitario.htm http://mx.geocities.com/diexismo73/dxute.html http://www.gratisweb.com/utilitarias/utilitarias.html http://webs.demasiado.com/CA1WAU/elmundx.htm http://anas.worldonline.es/tarabicu/eminum.htm http://www.guiadelaradio.com/utilitarias.html http://www.mundodx.net/vercontenidos.asp?titular=Emisoras+de+Señales+Horarias http://www.mundodx.net/vercontenidos.asp?titular=Emisoras+Utilitarias http://www.mundodx.net/vercontenidos.asp?titular=Volmet+y+Maritimas http://www.wunclub.com/ http://www.ea1uro.com/utilitarias.html http://www.ea1uro.com/index2.html Hasta la próxima semana, queridos amigos. Atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, Conexión Digital Nov 20 via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING [also: BRAZIL; INTERNATIONAL VACUUM; PHILIPPINES; ++++++++++++++++++++ RUSSIA; USA WWNN] LOW-BAND DTV ELECTIONS Except where noted, these channel elections are approved by the FCC and would appear to be final. It is possible other stations will yet find themselves in the same position as KPXB -- having their elections of high-band or UHF channels disallowed and forced to remain on low- band. WOAY's election of DTV channel 4 was disapproved by the FCC; WOAY has not yet filed a new election. Channel 2: KTNL AK Juneau WDIQ AL Dozier KNAZ AZ Flagstaff KREX CO Grand Junction WCES GA Wrens WLBZ ME Bangor WWMT MI Kalamazoo KNOP NE North Platte KVBC NV Las Vegas KOTA SD Rapid City KUSD SD Vermillion KBEJ TX Fredericksburg KJWY WY Jackson Channel 3: KYUK AK Bethel KIEM CA Eureka WDLP FL Key West KYUS MT Miles City KBJN NV Ely KDLO SD Florence WBRA VA Roanoke Channel 4: KJNP AK North Pole WHBF IL Rock Island WDKY KY Danville WSKY NC Manteo WBIJ WI Crandon WOAY WV Oak Hill election DISAPPROVED by FCC. May remain on ch. 50 Channel 5: KYES AK Anchorage WABW GA Pelham KGTF GU Agana WOI IA Ames KIDA ID Sun Valley WBKP MI Calumet WGVK MI Kalamazoo KXLF MT Butte KHAS NE Hastings WLMB OH Toledo KOBI OR Medford WMC TN Memphis WTVF TN Nashville KPXB TX Conroe = 2nd choice. First choice (ch. 49) DISAPPROVED by FCC, elected to remain on ch. 5 instead. WCYB VA Bristol WDTV WV Weston Channel 6: KRMA CO Denver WEDY CT New Haven KBSD KS Ensign KTVM MT Butte WRGB NY Schenectady WPVI PA Philadelphia KPTW WY Casper -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com Nov 22, WTFDA via DXLD) Doug, Has there been any empirical research as to the benefits and problems of DTV on the various bands? Sure, I have heard anecdotal evidence of what works best, but do we have any real data on VHF v. UHF, etc.? Just wondering (Peter Baskind, J.D., LL.M., N4LI Germantown, TN/EM55, ibid.) I suppose "it depends", on what you're trying to accomplish. Seems to me watt-for-watt low-band VHF is more efficient; also more susceptible to interference. For stations that rely on cable carriage and are close enough to the head-ends that E-skip isn't going to be a serious problem, I suppose low-band will make sense. For those that expect to have significant OTA viewership or will feed distant cable systems, high-band is probably a better idea. Co-channel interference from other stations (whether low-band, high-band, or UHF) will also enter into the mix. FWIW... Band Original DTV Original NTSC Final DTV 2-6 2.24% 16.54% 2.56% 7-13 8.83% 24.54% 24.78% UHF 82.77% 57.71% 72.67% none 6.15% 1.22% This indicates that a (very) small number of stations elected to move their DTV operations from some other band to low-band VHF; a significant number elected to move from some other band to high-band VHF; and a significant number elected to move from UHF to some other band. (in fact, I can find only three stations that elected to move their DTV operations from high-band to low-band: WDIQ 11->2, KYUS 13->3, WBKP 11->5. Five stations - KBEJ, KBJN, WBIJ, KIDA, and KPTW - have only one channel assignment and on low-band.) -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) Having just received Doug Smith's TV News column for December, I read his report on DTS. Here's a teaser: "Also, the Commission has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on "Distributed Transmission System Technologies", or "DTS". DTS means the replacement of a single DTV transmitter with several transmitters on the same channel. It's similar to the "booster" service currently offered to analog stations, except that it's felt DTS will work in situations where one receiver can "see" more then one transmitter. In analog, such a situation results in severe ghosting." Which makes me wonder if this will present difficulties to the TV DXer. Let's say a Northeastern city with really hilly terrain has a full power station plus three DTS boosters running 50kw each. According to Doug, it might be possible to have a DTS booster 20miles from the primary station. Since these are all on the same channel, will there be a way to tell each one from the other. Would the PSIP give you the information?? Or will DXers just log the station as the primary. You'd think, being digital, somehow the PSIP would be able to ID the individual booster. That wouldn't be hard to do, wouldn't you think? (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT ICQ# 33-140-101, ibid.) ``DTS`` is already in use to mean Descriptive Television Service (gh) {O, I was thinking of Descriptive Video Service, DVS -- but DTS is already something else, what?} Mike, As of August, Tribune has been conducting a one year test using two transmitter sites for WTTK-DT, Kokomo, IN. The Kokomo site is near Windfall, IN, transmitting just .37 kW at 479 ft., and the second site in Indy using sister-station WXIN's tower with 2 kW at 850 ft. Greg Barker and I discussed the same point you brought up about determining which transmitter we were actually receiving. I sent an email to local Tribune engineer Rick Poling, asking him about this. Here's my email along with his reply (Steve Rich, Indianapolis, IN, ibid.) ....................................................... Rick, Greg, the DXer in Greensburg, and I were wondering if there is any way you could make a slight change in the PSIP readout between the Indy signal and the Windfall signal so we would definitely know which signal we are receiving. Apparently it's not possible or you probably would have set it up that way from the start, but thought I'd ask. Steve ................................................ Steve - You have hit on a problem that the DTx fathers anticipated, but we haven't implemented in this experiment. No, you can't put different PSIP on each transmitter, as that would totally confuse the receivers in the middle which theoretically receive both signals and combine them using their ghost-cancelling circuits. The DTx fathers proposed a "watermark" in the video somewhere that wouldn't upset the receiver but could be detected by special demod equipment (yet to be developed). Otherwise, the only way to really tell out in the field which transmitter you are receiving is to turn them off one at a time. The attached map is the theoretical coverage of this experimental system. It is pretty easy to tell from this map which transmitter is being received at a given location. Note the orange band that runs through Arcadia; that is the overlap zone, where a viewer will receive both transmitter, and they will be close enough in time that the receiver can use its ghost-cancelling to sort everything out and reception should be possible. We have yet to verify that the timing of the two transmitters is correct and stable. Also we are wondering if there are issues with the Indy antenna, we ourselves have noted some unexpectedly low readings off that antenna out in the field. A big part of this experiment is to simply verify this map. So far, from what I am hearing from viewers, the interference zones are bigger than expected. However, this map is based on an antenna with a 6 db front-to-back ratio mounted outside (probably at 30'). So, any variation from that will alter the results. I also have reports from locations that seem far enough south to get the Indy transmitter but aren't getting any reception. I wonder if some of these folks really know how to add a new station. The most interesting cases are a couple of guys in the Kokomo area. They have high-gain antennas on towers with rotors, pointed at Indy. They have lost reception from WTTK-DT. My theory is that with their antenna systems pointed at Indy they amplifying the Indy signal and attenuating the Windfall signal. If they amplfy and attenuate enough, the two signals become close enough in strength that the receiver will see both of them, and since the signals are way out of time at their locations, they get no reception. We'd be interested in any observation you may make (Rick, via Steve, WTFDA via DXLD) CCU SWITCHES 200 STATIONS TO HIGH-DEFINITION RADIO http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=14569&hed=Clear+Channel+Tunes+HD+Radio§or=Industries&subsector=EntertainmentAndMedia Clear Channel Tunes HD Radio --- With satellite radio breathing down its neck, radio leader switches 200 stations to high-definition radio. November 21, 2005 --- Clear Channel Communications, the largest radio conglomerate in the United States, said on Monday that 200 of its radio stations will be airing high-definition (HD) digital broadcasts by the end of the month. The San Antonio-based company announced earlier this year it would upgrade 65 of its stations to HD capability during the same time frame. ``Clear Channel Radio`s accelerated rollout of HD digital radio is helping create a market for superior services both for radio listeners and advertisers,`` said Jeff Littlejohn, Clear Channel¹s executive vice president of distribution development. The company said it is on track to air HD digital radio broadcasts on 95 percent of its stations in the top 100 markets by the end of 2007. ``Our momentum in rolling out HD digital radio, which is ahead of schedule, is an indicator of the company`s enthusiasm about the higher-quality listening experience, strengthened by the data services and multicasted programming available only through HD digital radio,`` said Mr. Littlejohn. HD digital radio is a technology developed by IBiquity Digital of Columbia, Maryland. iBiquity Digital¹s In-Band On-Channel technology is at the heart of HD radio. The technology provides for enhanced sound fidelity, improved reception, and new wireless data services. The digital enhancement to the AM and FM bands takes a lot of the static out of terrestrial radio and makes it more like satellite radio, a competing technology. XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio have poached on-air talent from terrestrial radio, including Howard Stern, the self-styled king of all media, who will debut on Sirius in January. HD Sound Enhancements HD technology offers superior audio, with AM radio sounding like FM, and FM radio that is CD-quality. It also adds multicasting to individual radio stations. With multicasting, a station can send multiple streams of information simultaneously. HD radios can pick up multicast information such as station call letters, song and artist identification, stock and news information, local traffic and weather, and more. This technology allows broadcasters to use the current radio spectrum to transmit AM and FM analog simultaneously with new, higher-quality digital signals. The listener needs a specially equipped radio to receive the signal, but there is no subscription necessary. Currently HD receivers are priced in the hundreds of dollars, but backers of the technology say the price will decline quickly as more radio stations adopt the technology (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) IBOC/HD THREAD FROM IRCA CONTINUES Re: ``1. Kahn is hardly "not of radio." He invented the first analog AM. 2. Kahn's rejection of the FCC AM stereo decision and his lengthy legal 3. Kahn was contentious long before IBOC / HD were even dreamed of.`` No real argument there. Had Kahn been better at people skills and promotion, and better funded, it would have been very different. ``4. AM HD sounds very, very good. In fact, it sounds "near FM" quality`` There is no question it does sound better than existing AM radios. However, open up the bandwidth to where it could be, and use technology such as the new Motorola analog chip, and the difference is much less. I would love to hear it compared to the WLW hifi transmitter of years past and a really good analog radio such as built in the late 30's. I would bet the difference would be much less. Even the old Western Electric rig and a good Zenith floor console would likely give it a run for the money. ``5. FM HD sounds better than analog FM, in part because it does not have the pre-emphasis curve which was an answer that worked in old technology that, unfortunately, is not one we could eliminate because of, precisely, those billion radios.`` It would have been much better to eliminate the preëmphasis and move the pilot up to 76 kHz. That, at least, would have left the old radios able to receive in mono with a tweak of the treble control which most have. Partial compatibility is better than none. Again, the JVC will decode to about half the useable radius of a good analog signal. I think where we differ is our definition of "good analog signal". My benchmark is where the audio is pretty much noise free. One of my clients is nearly top rated in Providence from a transmitter site 30 miles east. HD Radio would simply not decode there. Were they to go HD, the signal would miss most of their target market. And that's without any other stations' signal intruding on top of their digital sidebands which would reduce it further. My experience is that external noise, be it ignition or power line, blocks the decode. One great thing I can see out of all this is if the NAB makes a concerted effort to lean on auto manufacturers and utilities to actually comply with Part 15. The proprietary nature of the codec and data stream trouble me, and apparently Bill Gates. If this were released to public domain, it would accelerate things a lot. And we have yet to see if any lawsuits will be filed against the interference. All it takes is one in federal court to bring the whole rollout to a screeching halt. I still see big problems, and from reading Radio World, others are starting to grumble (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, IRCA Nov 22 via DXLD) For me, not a technical person, it just boils down to the incredibly sad fact that a precious and finite resource, the electro-magnetic spectrum, is being raped and pillaged. And for what? So the snake-oil salesman's pitch is supposedly better heard? Maybe in a laboratory setting, the sound is better, but in the car, where most people listen to the radio, with all the other noises, I doubt that most 50 plus year old ears could notice any difference. But no use beating the proverbial dead horse. Corporate greed has stopped us again; what else is new? All I can say to those who were given ONE channel and decided to take THREE is, "shame on you". I am probably spending as much time now on Aero NDB beacons as MW or FM. Lets hope they don't figure out a way to 'IBOC up' that band too. Hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving. All the best to all in the club from Cape Cod (Chris Black, ibid.) Start with a false premise and much damage can be done, Chris. Less than 30% of radio listening is done in the car. Not "most" but less than a third! Both in-home and at-work listening make up more, individually, than in-car. And this is nothing new. As to the snake-oil reference, keep in mind that radio in the US has been commercial for over 8 decades, and the enormous diversity of formats and offerings we have in the US differs wildly from places where the government once controlled or still controls most broadcasting. My AM and FM experience with IBOC / HD covers multiple markets, including stationary and mobile reception of our own stations in both bands. In all cases we find the AM HD signal is clear and interference free beyond the reliable analog range (due to noise levels consuming the AM even within the 10 mv/m countour in big cities) and the FM has no trouble within the 60 dbu contour --- well beyond where most listening takes place, in fact. IBOC is a costly transition. It will, ultimately, give many more channels to the consumer for free. It will also protect the jobs of the 125 thousand or so of us who work in radio, and guarantee free radio for the future and compatibility with existing receivers. It is not perfect, but it necessary for radio to continue to compete (David Gleason, CA, ibid.) It's about 33-34%, according to sources such as Arbitron and MobilTrak. I'd be interested in what the percentage was five or 10 years ago (Tim Kridel, ibid.) Mobiltrack is car only, and does not measure length of listening, so it can not show the comparison with in home and at work, as they have no frame of reference, either for location or for listening span. Arbitron shows the highest in-car at 31% in LA, naturally, and the lowest major market as NY with 25%... small markets are all way below 30% as the commutes are so short. It is definitely not 34%, as no market, individually, is that high in in-car usage. Places like El Paso, a typical short commute market, run around 27% to 28% in car listening. Chicago, with long commutes, is 31%. McAllen is 26%. Very definitely, "most radio listening" is not done in the car (Gleason, ibid.) Here's where I got the 34% figure: http://www.arbitron.com/newsroom/archive/10_02_03.htm The full study is at http://www.arbitron.com/newsroom/archive/10_02_03.htm but I haven't read it. Could be some interesting data in there, although it's two years old (Tim Kridel, ibid.) Can we feel the projection? "Start with false premise and much damage can be done...', even more effective when solemnly intoned. IBOC is the definitive false premise, king of all grifts. -Z.- (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manaspottingfalsepremises Key, FL BT, ibid.) I'm not trying to be argumentative here, but I see that Craig Healy is reporting results on AM with his HD receiver that imply somewhat less reception range. I don't think that operator skill is able to have any effect, positive or negative, so it seems likely that there is either a difference in the ability of different receivers to decode the AM HD signal, or there is some other environmental factor involved, and this in theory could relate to noise, interference from other signals, differences in receiver design/revision levels of the codec, what else could be a factor? Are these stations transmitting a different HD signal? What would happen if these receivers were reversed geographically? What kind of comparison can be done in any market to try and run down these differences? Would David's receiver decode WOR in Providence during the LSS/1800 window? Right now the sample range for either receivers or stations is too small to be very useful (Bob Foxworth, Tampa FL, 1326 est Nov 23, ibid.) Beautifully expressed, Chris - IBOC is greed in extremis. Rape, pillage, plunder for profit of greaseball monopolycasters hiding behind quack techno-scumpany. Broadcasters outraged at being seen as fools with false reassurances about 'theoretical noise'. Broadcasters note HD also masks assigned frequency with noise as well as adjacents, and wonder who ultimately benefits? Analog station owners irate re interference which would earn them stiff fines and possible revocation OK under HD double standard - so long as you pay off HD crime syndicate. This won't last. IBOC shills' tedious non-answer responses betray desperation underlying their smooth talk. Your excellent point - surely missed by corporate sleazoids - citizens don't tolerate rip-offs. Never mind they may not buy HD radios, they might tune elsewhere or simply, out. Broadcasters agree with you, most listening occurs under less than optimal conditions, so-called digital audio matters not one whit. Proof again that compelling programs, not vapid techno-glitz, is what grabs and holds audiences. HD shills blat disingenuous non-answers to simple questions, plop heaps of dull impertinent stats atop digital dungheap, and remark the obvious - HD is a scam. Within every scheme lie seeds of its own demise. Avarice, lies, coercion, cronyism, may prevail and for short time even seem invincible. In the end, always comes to nothing. =Z.= (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manasyndical Key, FL, BT, ibid.) Your observation re Radio World grumblings signifigant, Craig. After all, despite their claims to contrary, RW has for some time seemed to be HD/IBOC syndicate's version of Pravda. All those years of hinting, cagey promotions, dodges, propagandizing and then, when The Big Fat Edsel of the Airwaves is rolled out? Broadcasters realize claims re emperor's new clothes are, well, a tad overblown. -Z.- (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manawelldressedman Key, FL, ibid.) I'm sure you have been on I-80 between San Francisco & Sacramento, or even on to Reno. Or I-5 from L.A. to Sacramento. Even from 10 am to 3 pm those interstates are jammed and my guess is not many are commuting and I'd bet at least half of them have their radios on. This applies throughout the country, so do not limit yourself to 'commute times' when you are measuring how many vehicles have their radio's running. (Don Kaskey, CA, ibid.) How many times must it be stated? IBOC HD is a high profit scheme to steal radios by rendering them worthless, ruin spectrum, bankrupt non- payoff compliant broadcasters, and yoke all to avaricious claque of monopolycasters. And all arguments to contrary are, false, misleading, deserving no reply. They know what they're doing and saying. They hope citizens won't catch on. We have. Broadcasters note this techno-blot not only ruins adjacents with jamming, it masks one's own signal. Mr. Lucania would be so proud...... =Z.= (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manabunkbusting Key, FL BT, ibid.) Good points, all. Keep in mind that no station putting HD on the air is looking for anything except audience in their immediate local groundwave coverage area. There is literally no revenue for audience outside a station's own metro (save maybe tow or three exceptions) so the fact that HD seems to cover the clean signal area better than analog in many real world test situations supports its usage. In several tests I have been a part of, the usable HD signal extends beyond the usable analog area, so this is a very big thing for us (David Gleason, ibid.) How are you defining "usable analog" and "usable digital" signals? (Bill Harms, MD, ibid.) Hola Curt - They don't know what will happen when IBOC splatters night skies and they don't care. Noise, noise, noise. Jam, jam, jam. Wreck spectrum, leave one way out - "Come to Papa IBOC". Imagine profits to be had in perpetual software updates, glitch-fixes, and licensing shakedowns for broadcasters and listeners alike? Talent? Compelling programs? Who cares? Monopolycasters and their techno-tinsoldier beard corpse-oration call Broadcast Stations "platforms". Most revealing. Also why growing numbers legitimate broadcasters are outraged. =Z.= (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manapurityofspectrum Key, FL BT, ibid.) [in reply to something Gleason said, privately or previously?] You wish to place words into my mouth? Consider well kind counsel. Do so gingerly, best not at all. Neither undersigned nor professionals in review note any such allegations made against you. My writings reflect concerns and terms used by broadcasters upset by HD's deleterious effects & Team IBOC's callous dismissal of same - as you well know. Those in review do note your publication of private information, including characterizing undersigned as somehow at odds with government. Puzzling to local officials, with whom undersigned enjoys good rapport. As surely you know, such false descriptions can prove troublesome for those so portrayed, given today's political climate and spirit of malice and malingering with which they were drawn. Having earlier decided against apprising you, am so doing now, in light of your actions, in hope you may act for the good. Your apparent dislike of others' exercise of First Amendment Rights seems curious in light of your occupation. As published writer and radio personality, many note I relish honest debaters, brook no quarter to those disingenuous; steadfastly seeing thru to completion that which others may unwisely initiate. I've been grifted by the world's orchids, to quote an old friend. Twenty million dollars stolen by 90's cabal of lawyers, crooked HMO, smarmy day-care center for rich brat's kids, and usual gang of long- lost & suddenly found "relatives". So, you're offering to do what, precisely? Whenever concerns are published about 'relatives' - anonymous group of couple hundred people - same two individuals long seen as complicit - tediously, predictably, object. Why? What are they telling us about themselves? With all due respect, they're hard act to follow, given forgeries, obfuscation, two known murders, all committed to satisfy appetite. Yes, that's my name atop building seen by those negotiating Thurber's Avenue curve, I-95, Providence, RI. Not name of whom HMO claims it to be. Those seen as complicit behave much as those denying stinky little noise problems. You say there's no masking? Really? Listening to it presently. Wipes out three adjacent stations, all considered local. How interesting. =Z.= (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manasota Key, FL, BT, ibid.) You specifically called names to anyone who thought HD was a good idea. Quote: "And all arguments to contrary are, false, misleading, deserving no reply." Your words. Your accusation. If I believe, ergo, I am a liar. Perhaps you amuse some with your drivel, but I was always taught that clarity of expression was to be desired over intentional efforts to impress with assumed erudition. Your sidestep into HMOs and such is bizarre, to say the least. Irrelevant. Returning to radio, you do nothing to debate (which you say you cherish) the issues of compatibility with existing radios and infrastructure and the need for analog radio to reinvent itself. 95% of all Americans listen to terrestrial radio each week. It is not about content in this context. It is about using a delivery system that is perceived as not being antiquated. Analog is perceived as antiquated by the consumer. Clinging to old systems and models is not an option. That is my opinion, and that of most leaders in the industry (David Gleason, ibid.) Just curious, on what are you basing this conclusion? (Bill Harms, MD, ibid.) The comparison is based on research I have done and that done by other researchers as to attitudes towards different entertainment delivery systems. AM is considered "dead" by nearly anyone under 35, and "not cool, hip or relevant" to anyone under 25. "Digital" is perceived as being good, anything that is not digital is not (David Gleason, ibid.) That is entirely consistent with what I've determined from unscientific research, except that I'd push the ages up about 5 years or so. But the most interesting thing is what I've maintained all along -- and what most people with any experience in advertising or media also know -- that perception frequently trumps reality, and therefore presenting the thing as 'digital' creates a certain aura which can transcend whatever elements of reality may be known. But that aura could in fact wear off rather easily when either the individual with the perception decides that there's too much distance between perception and reality, and/or the next cooler thing comes along (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Put a frame around those comments! Very nicely stated, Russ. Perception is reality, or why would people prefer the ultra compressed audio on an iPod to CDs and FM? It's because it's an iPod and it's digital! (David Gleason, ibid.) No, it`s because a person can program exactly what they want on the iPod (Kevin Redding, AZ, ibid.) It doesn't have anything to do with digital, except as a means to an end. It is their play list, not someone else's, that's why they like it (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Ratón, (Southeast) Florida, ibid.) There is definitely an element of "it's my list" but the fact is, extensive research showed the average number of songs on an iPod is 300 and they closely mirror the playlist of the radio station the iPod user listens to. The key issue is that carrying an iPod is cool, while a (analog) radio is not. iPod = cool. Digital = Cool. Make radio digital, it is cooler than it was and moves up in image among entertainment choices (David Gleason, ibid.) AND their hearing is destroyed (Powell E. Way, ibid.) Which is no different than from a common walkman, be it analog radio, tape or CD! (Russ Edmunds, PA, ibid.) And what we have here then is a difference between your perception and mine of what that really means. Once again reducing it to classical advertising concepts, you seem to be viewing this thing in the context of how many potential listeners can the industry get to give it a try, whereas I'm looking at it in terms of how many of them they may keep. If (and having had no opportunity to hear it firsthand, I have to say 'if') there is a sufficiently-noticeable quality improvement, and again if the coverage is at least roughly equal to the same stations in analog, then I strongly submit that it will also be necessary to do something to make the content more attractive. And since we agree that the probability of HD making major turnarounds on AM are small, the practical discussion actually comes down to FM vs. satellite. And since satellite audio is also not better than analog FM, it is then a combination of whatever coolness satellite radio has, coupled with content, coupled with extended geographic range which is what's driving satellite (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ), [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia], ibid.) David, On this one, I believe you are missing one thing. The consumer has no idea IBOC a.k.a. HD exists. Most of them have no idea what the difference is between analog and digital is. Fix the programming, move MW stations to music if you have to destroy things with IBOC and you might have listeners (Kevin Redding, ibid.) We know the consumer has no real idea about HD. The design specs for the mass manufacturers and chip fabs in Asia just went out last month. There is no sense in marketing something that is not yet available. What we do have is a growing perception, especially in certain age groups, that digital is cool. A 128 kbs MP3 on an MP3 player is somehow better than a clean analog FM station, not because it sounds better (it does not) but because it is digital. Radio needs a solution, and the most equitable one is HD. There will not be much music of mass appeal on AM, ever, I believe. The chance for this to happen was killed in the AM stereo debacle in the late 70's when AM still had more listeners than FM. the lesson being that we need to move to digital now, not later, as AM stereo proved. AM will be a band for sports, news, talk, niche programming and some ethnic where the respective community is small but economically viable. There is nothing wrong with the programming, as 95% of Americans will attest. The real issue is revitalizing an old, old delivery system in an era of digital devices. Note that the AM stations with good signals do have listeners. The ones with defective signals don't. In some markets, there are only one or two good signals. Except for 550 and 620, Phoenix has no other AM capable of competing in the entire market, and that is why the rest have horrible ratings and are forced into niche, brokered or "format of the day" programming (David Gleason, ibid.) Seems strange that no one other than IBOC advocates have been able to verify this superior coverage area. Strange also that observations possible without HD receivers -- since there are no practical ones available -- also do not seem to support this notion. I'll be more inclined to believe this superior coverage when real listeners, versus advocates, begin to experience it. I just hesitate to believe that saying something over and over makes it so. I know politicians do that, and I learned long ago what their facts are worth (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Ratón, (Southeast) Florida, ibid.) The only people much interested in the subject at this point are the people who are actively installing HD systems. They have the receivers and can do the tests, as Craig's differing results shows. I will give you the results on KTNQ in LA. KTNQ is unlistenable outside about its 15 mv/m daytime contour due to noise (same applies to all LA stations). We get no diary returns now or in the last 10 years from outside this contour or from people who live outside but listen at work ZIP codes that are in the contour. The HD signal is usable in car radios beyond the KTNQ 15, so the coverage on HD devices is likely to have greater potential due to greater effective coverage. I understand that Tom Ray's experience in NY is very similar. And other AM operators I have spoken with, including engineers, agree that the HD signal is more robust than originally suspected to be. In the case of KTNQ, we are talking about a roughly $50 to $60 million dollar facility. No one endangers such lightly. And this is just one of the several thousand stations that have committed to HD in a half dozen countries, with hundreds already on the air. I think the fact that Intel has taken a significant investment position is indicative of the kind of momentum the system is gathering (David Gleason, ibid.) It was my reading of Craig's comments that he found HD coverage less than the analog signal. This would seem to me to be counter to your assertions? And my point is exactly that with few exceptions, only people who advocate HD, have radios with which to make coverage claims. That some radio technician can drive a car with HD radio beyond some limit declared inadequate for analog, and find a listenable HD signal, is still advocates reporting what they want to have reported. Craig's results are the only ones I've seen from a disinterested party, and he reported just the opposite of what you would have people believe. If HD is so good, why aren't promotional radios being offered to random parties so they can sing the praises of the system? When only the salesmen are telling the good news, I am suspicious. And by salesmen, I include those who have already blown big bucks on a product and don't want to be made to look the fool (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Ratón, (Southeast) Florida, ibid.) Rich Wood got a Kenwood HD on loan from Michael Bergman of Kenwood and gives similar range results as Craig. He gave a VERY unflattering report of the audio on both AM and FM HD. If interference is that bad, I'd be screaming at the FCC and my elected national officials to get that noise abated. (Like what good it would do, but I'd make them feel like they were walking barefoot on a wide open hotplate.) ``I understand that Tom Ray's experience in NY is very similar. And other AM operators I have spoken with, including engineers, agree that the HD signal is more robust than originally suspected to be.`` The CC ones I know don't think so. The money Intel tossed in was pocket change for them. I measured all the AM's at my location. WVOC 560 and WISW 1320 put in strength around 30 mv/m days with WISW being stronger ONLY because they are about 3 miles and WVOC 6 miles. At night I'm not so lucky. WISW might do maybe 10 mv/m and WVOC 12. I need to borrow a FIM to do a check. The only AM that did well on skywave was WLAC. I've seen their signal that probably was above any daytime signal I get here. If what I am hearing from folks [is right?], I may not have ANY AM band HD decoding at night, then. WLAC and WCKY are going to have SERIOUS nighttime decoding failures in hybrid mode. Their second adjacent IBOC interference was amazing in the COL's. And since their HD signals will be atop each other, I expect only core mode very close in. UGH (Powell E. Way, III, Columbia SC, ibid.) TO BE CONTINUED ###