DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-220, December 22, 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 1298: 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 1530 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 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 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 Mon 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0430 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 Mon 1900 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1500] Wed 0030 WOR WBCQ 7415 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 1298 (real high): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1298h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1298h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1298 (real low): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1298.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1298.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1298 (mp3 high): (download) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1298h.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO 1298 (mp3 low): (download) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1298.mp3 (lower download) http://www.piratedxer.com/worldofradio_12-21-05.mp3 (lower stream) http://www.piratedxer.com/worldofradio_12-21-05.m3u WORLD OF RADIO 1298 summary: http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1298.html WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml ** ALBANIA. As far as we know, no official explanation has been offered for the temporary suspension of the broadcasts (Media Network weblog via BDXC-UK via Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Andy, has been off on Dec 5th to 19th, due of budget 2006 cuts by 30%, probably. 160.000 US dollars. A technician guy at RT earns about 220 to 250 Euros monthly, latter when on shift duty. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, via DXLD) Radio Tirana Channel 3 Foreign Service back on air on 20 Dec 2005 from 1500 UT on Satellite, MW & HF as attached FYI, times in the attached RT document are in UTC +1 hr, = CET Central European Time. RT external service was silent between Dec 5th and 19th, 2005. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: HI, After its all of a sudden interruption from 5 Dec at 1500 UT, Radio Tirana Channel 3, Foreign Service is back on air on 20 Dec 2005 at 1500 UT on Satellite (for the first time), MW & HF as attached. All the best from a sunny cold December in Tirana, (Drita Cico, Head of Monitoring Center, ARTV-ALBANIAN RADIOTELEVISION, RADIO TIRANA) Viz.: Radio Tirana Kanali Trete, Tirane, me 22.12.2005 Drejtuar: Drejtorit te Departamentit Teknik ne Radio Tirana Zotit Gjergji Gjipali Lenda: Mbi ndryshimin e oreve te transmetimit per Kanalin e Trete Mbeshtetur ne Urdherin e Drejtorit te Radio Tiranes, zotit Gezim Podgorica, date 20.12.2005, Nr 667, ju njoftojme se: Emisionet per Bashkatdhetaret dhe gjuhet e huaja do te transmetohen ne vale te mesme (r/stacioni Fllake) dhe ne vale te shkurtra (r/stacioni Shijak), si dhe ne Satelit, ne keto orare: Gjuha Ora Stacioni Studio Shqip Bashkatdhetaret 0830-1000 Fllake + Shijak + Satelit TR4 Shqip Bashkatdhetaret (direkt) 1001-1100 Fllake + Shijak + Satelit TR2 Shqip Bashkatdhetaret 1600-1730 Fllake + Shijak + Satelit TR4 Turqisht 1730-1745 Fllake + Satelit TR4 Greqisht 1745-1800 Fllake + Satelit TR4 Italisht 1800-1830 Satelit TR4 Anglisht 1830-1900 Satelit TR4 Gjermanisht 2001-2030 Fllake + Satelit TR4 Anglisht 2045-2100 Shijak + Satelit TR4 Italisht 2100-2130 Shijak TR1 Frengjisht 2101-2130 Shijak + Satelit TR4 Gjermanisht 2131-2200 Shijak + Satelit TR4 Serbisht 2215-2230 Fllake + Satelit TR4 Shqip Bashkatdhetaret 2230-2400 Fllake + Shijak + Satelit TR4 Anglisht 2330-2400 Shijak TR1 Shqip Bashkatedhetaret 0100-0230 Shijak TR4 Anglisht 0345-0400 Shijak TR4 Anglisht 0430-0500 Shijak TR4 Ju lutem te merren masat qe urdheri i Drejtorit te Radios te zbatohet korrekt. Per Kanalin e Trete: DREJTORI Astrit IBRO (via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. ACMA website: The front page seems to be broken though it didn't ask me for a login. But if you just want to do licence lookups etc it worked going straight to this link that I have bookmarked http://web.acma.gov.au/pls/radcom/register_search.main_page (Richard Jary, Dec 22, ARDXC via DXLD) It's running IIS - the request for a username/password doesn't have a realm in it - see the request for 'Enter username and password for ""' (sorry for all the quotes). Send them an email and ask who stuffed up with protecting the wrong directory (although it may be too late for today). The "webmaster" has probably thought they were protecting a directory further down in the website structure - this gui [?] everything world makes making mistakes easy - give me a text file to configure programmes any day. Regards, (Wayne Bastow, ibid.) ** BOLIVIA. Radio Santa Cruz. Date: 26 June 2005. Time: 0120-0144. Freq: 6135 kHz. Received a full data letter stamped with the station seal and marked "Es Correcta" and a station sticker in 171 days for an English report, one IRC, $1.00 and an Applause Card (returned and sealed with the station seal). The return envelope had a very nice stamp of Pope Benedict XVI. V/S Ma. Yolanda Marco Escobar, Secretaria De Dirección. Station addy: Instituto Radiofónica Fe y Alegría, Casilla 672 y 3213, Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I am very happy with this one. My first and only log of a Bolivian station, and a tentative one at that, resulted in a QSL. Latin QSLs are scarcer that smart chickens for me (Joe Wood, Greenback TN, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) What`s an applause card? (gh) ** CANADA. CBC RADIO SPECIALS DEC 24-25 CBC's interactive online schedules have finally been updated to include the inevitable Christmas specials coming this weekend. Update are not available for the following weekend. These can be heard on CBC stations along the U.S. border, on the Internet, and possibly on the shortwave Northern Quebec service. Some of these shows are rebroadcast by RCI and maybe even on Sirius Satellite Radio. So here are the details. All times local (30 minutes later you-know- where). (My comments are between ** asterisks **) [NOTE: Times ignore news on the hour of 5 minutes, or sometimes more --- gh] 73 and Merry Christmas, Ricky Leong, Calgary, Alta. = = = = = = = = = = CBC RADIO ONE == Dec. 23 == LOCAL TIME 1830 -- As It Happens (The Shepherd) == Dec. 24 == LOCAL TIME 1000-1200 -- Go (This week on GO, don't even try to Ho Ho Hold Brent Bambury back. What would happen if Santa flipped us all the bird and decided not to show up on December 24? Curl up around the fire and listen in as Brent reads his very own Christmas story about a holiday in jeopardy. And of course, he's spinning the funkiest, most rockin' Christmas music ever made.) [see comments below] 1200-1300 -- Quirks and Quarks (This week on Quirks & Quarks it's the ever-popular, award-winning, crowd-pleasing, heart-warming, brain- teasing Annual Quirks Question Show. Find out whether blind people get motion sickness, why you can't put metal in the microwave, and why cold snow squeaks when you walk on it.) 1300-1700 -- DNTO (Hear special performances of holiday classics from Jason Collett, Sarah Slean, Jorane, Martha Wainwright, and more! And he's part pop culture encyclopedia, part man, but this week, he's all novelty songs, all the time. John Threlfall will be by to share some quirky classics.) 1900-2100 -- Vinyl Tap (It's going to be an all-Canadian Christmas Eve on Vinyl Tap. Randy gets all sentimental and plays tunes by Diana Krall, Frank Mills, Bruce Cockburn, Chantal and Avril, Sarah McLachlan, the Rankins and many more. There is an amazing amount of fine Christmas music made by Canadians, but how could you expect otherwise? After all, the North Pole is in Canada! Warm tunes for a cold season on Randy Bachman’s Vinyl Tap.) 2100-2200 -- The National Playlist (The Top Ten list gets hijacked for the holidays on The National Playlist Countdown Christmas Eve. Host Jian Ghomeshi brings you a Christmas Playlist that cuts across genres and eras. An eclectic melange of popular music that will more than fill your stocking.) 2200-0100 -- A Northern Christmas Eve: Special Holiday Edition (Join host Andrea Ratuski for three hours of great music for the holiday as well as seasonal poetry. Tune in for Anne Sophie von Otter and Elisabeth Schwartzkopf singing Swedish and German carols, respectively. The Choir of King's College, Cambridge will sing some traditional offerings and you'll also hear the Czech Christmas Mass by Jakub Jan Ryba.) == Dec. 25 == LOCAL TIME 0100-0600 -- Holly and Maple (Join Catherine Belyea in the early hours of Christmas morning for some very special music for the season, familiar and not so familiar carols, the Christmas Vespers by Praetorius, a celebratory Bach cantata, and the whirling finale from The Nutcracker ballet. You'll hear music inspired by shepherds from Slovakia, carols from Georgian England and French music including an excerpt from L'Enfance du Christ by Berlioz.) ** Pre-empts all of CBC Radio Overnight ** 0600-0800 -- Christmas Morning Weekender (Join Weekender host Peter Togni Christmas morning for some of the best Christmas music created over the past 1,000 years, packed into two glorious hours.) 0800-1000 -- CBC Montreal Christmas Sing-In (It's the 26th CBC Christmas Sing-In, from the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in Montreal. The church's Choir leads the singing, accompanied by organist Jonathan Oldengarm and a brass ensemble led by trombonist Guy Bernard. Julian Wachner conducts. Join host Eric Friesen in a garland of seasonal favourites, augmented by the voices of the 1,500 people who attended the event.) 1000-1150 -- I Hear Christmas Music (Keep your Christmas Day mellow with host Robert Harris on I Hear Christmas Music. It's three hours of the eclectic mix of musical styles that characterizes I Hear Music, with a pleasant Christmas Day feel. It's Robert's chance to play longer, more reflective cuts of music, but all chosen with the same care and insight he brings to his regular program.) ** Schedule has show only less than two hours, full show later on Radio Two ** 1150-1200 -- Queen's Christmas Message 1200-1300 -- Vinyl Café (Head for the Vinyl Cafe this weekend. Host Stuart McLean has a brand-new Christmas Concert, featuring a brand new Dave & Morley story. Imagine what could happen if Dave ended up driving a float in the Santa Claus Parade. With music from Arcade Fire's Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy), young New Brunswick slide wizard Joe Grass, and blues sensation Suzie Vinnick.) 1300-1500 -- Handel's Messiah (CBC/Radio-Canada and NPR join forces for an international broadcast of Handel's Messiah, featuring an American orchestra with a Canadian conductor and choir, plus a cross- border quartet of soloists. Bernard Labadie leads the LA Philharmonic, the singers of his hometown Chapelle de Québec, and four world-class soloists in an all-new performance of this holiday classic, recorded in the stunning acoustics of the new Disney Hall in Los Angeles.) 1500-1700 -- Winter Harp (Join Sheryl MacKay on Christmas Day as she presents a special Christmas concert performed by Vancouver's Winter Harp. Stories, music,laughter and tears combine in this magical journey that takes you deep into the heart of Christmas. Harps, flutes, chimes, drums and an array of medieval instruments chime in for your favourite carols along with some delicious musical surprises.) 1700-1800 -- Skylarkin (This Christmas Day, Andre Alexis celebrates the return of Skylarking with a show for those who distrust Christmas music. Join him for a refreshingly non-traditional Holiday treat, on Skylarkin.) 1800-2000 -- Joy to the World (Highlights from last weekend's day-long Euradio Christmas broadcast, featuring seasonal musical treats from many different countries.) 2000-2200 -- On Stage ("A Child's Christmas" this week on OnStage, presented from Old Almonte Town Hall by Almonte in Concert and CBC Radio Two. The program features the Toronto Children's Chorus, with tenor Colin Ainsworth and harpists Lori Gemmell and Jennifer Swartz. The Honourable John C. Crosbie narrates. A selection of seasonal music to make the spirits bright, combined with readings from Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales. Winnipeg author Ian Ross reads William Kurelek's Northern Nativity, Christmas Dreams of a Prairie Boy.) 2200-2300 -- Sunday Showcase (This week on Sunday Showcase, a Christmas special titled The Secret World of Og, adapted from Pierre Berton's enchanting 1961 children's book by acclaimed playwright Beverley Cooper. It's the story of five children, a missing baby brother, and a magical adventure in a strange underground world beneath their playhouse, filled with rivers, mushrooms and a community of green people who know only one word, "OG".) 2300-0100 -- Jazz Beat (This week on Jazz Beat, Pianist Miles Black presents a Christmas gift of new tunes, played by his Trio in a Vancouver studio session. In Hour Two, the romantic Perfection of pianist Fred Hersch, with tunes from Ellington to Porter to Monk, to help you leave the sometimes-frenzied Christmas vibe behind, and let the lovely music of enrich this special night.) CBC RADIO TWO == Dec. 24 == LOCAL TIME 1000-1100 -- Vinyl Café [AS ABOVE] 1200-1330 -- Sound Advice (This week on Sound Advice, Rick Phillips has his annual Holiday special but with a twist. He'll feature male choirs, female choirs and the Lutheran Mass for Christmas Morning by Praetorius. He'll also have a feature on orchestral versions of Christmas carols.) 1930-2200 -- Holiday Pearls of Christmas (David Wisdom brings his vast and eclectic record collection to the airwaves this Christmas Eve, with Holiday Pearls of Christmas. Musical treats that won't pad your waistline or leave you feeling too full. He's engaging, unpredictable the perfect companion no matter how you plan to spend your Christmas Eve.) 2200-0100 -- A Northern Christmas Eve: Special Holiday Edition ** Looks like simulcast with Radio One ** [AS ABOVE] == Dec. 25 == LOCAL TIME 0100-0600 -- Holly and Maple ** Looks like simulcast with Radio One [AS ABOVE] 0600-0800 -- Christmas Morning Weekender ** Looks like simulcast with Radio One ** [AS ABOVE] 0800-1000 -- Choral Concert (This week on Choral Concert, A Canadian Christmas Carol Sleigh Ride: Christmas carol favourites from Canadian choirs across the country.) 1000-1200 -- Handel's Messiah (CBC/Radio-Canada and NPR join forces for an international broadcast of Handel's Messiah, featuring an American orchestra with a Canadian conductor and choir, plus a cross- border quartet of soloists. Bernard Labadie leads the LA Philharmonic, the singers of his hometown Chapelle de Québec, and four world-class soloists in an all-new performance of this holiday classic, recorded in the stunning acoustics of the new Disney Hall in Los Angeles.) 1300-1550 -- I Hear Christmas Music [SEE 1000 ON RADIO ONE] 1550-1600 -- Queen's Christmas Message 1600-1700 -- Skylarkin [SEE 1700 ON RADIO ONE] 1700-1800 -- Root & Wings (For Christmas Day, Philly Markowitz has an hour of Christmas music from around the world, including gospel from the Blind Boys of Alabama and early Celtic Christian music from La Nef. Also, an Incan carol and Christmas music from Galicia, Sweden and the Republic of Georgia.) 1800-2000 -- CBC Montreal Christmas Sing-In (It's the 26th CBC Christmas Sing-In, from the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in Montreal. The church's Choir leads the singing, accompanied by organist Jonathan Oldengarm and a brass ensemble led by trombonist Guy Bernard. Julian Wachner conducts. Join host Eric Friesen in a garland of seasonal favourites, augmented by the voices of the 1,500 people who attended the event.) 2000-2200 -- Joy to the World (Highlights from last weekend's day-long Euradio Christmas broadcast, featuring seasonal musical treats from many different countries.) 2200-0000 -- Two New Hours (This Sunday, Two New Hours celebrates Christmas with the premiere broadcast of a new production of A Midwinter Night's Dream by Harry Somers on a libretto by Tim Wynne- Jones. The cast includes mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, tenor Michael Colvin, baritone James Westman, with the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus, conducted by Anne Cooper Gay. The program also features host Larry Lake in conversation with conductor Ann Cooper Gay, librettist Tim Wynne Jones and with Robert Cram about the Harry Somers recording project. You'll hear Somers' Gloria, and his collaboration with poet P.K. Page called The Children's Hymn.) (via Ricky Leong, DXLD) I have to say that I've had the opportunity to sample "Go" two or three times and it is thoroughly awful program. I realize it's an attempt to entice a late teens/early twenties audience to public radio. But the effort even falls flat there. Last week, for example, Mr. Bambury spent considerable time asking a female professor at a Vancouver university if she realized how "hot" her male students thought she was. This, of course, after asking a number of students who the "hottest" instructor on campus was. Pure nonsense, not to mention a topic of questionable judgement. Certainly not the kind of fare one expects to hear from the national public broadcaster (John Figliozzi, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Perhaps instead of "opportunity" the operative word should be "misfortune..." (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) ** CANADA. 6070, CFRX Toronto ON; 1930-2000+, 20-Dec; News-Talk 10-10 CFRB; call-in show with Christina. S15 sig, //1010. Do they ever insert CFRX IDs anymore? Been ages since I hrd one of those. (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) I have been wondering that too; hard to listen to them for 30-60 minutes straight to find out, with all the QRM. Can anyone at ODXA tell us? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** CANADA. I had thought that low-power CJML 580 Winnipeg was going to be back on around Xmas, but nothing about that yet at http://www.cjml.cjb.net/ (Glenn Hauser, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CANADIAN AMATEURS TO LOSE 220 - 222 MHZ Effective 25 January, 2006, despite the protests and the efforts of Radio Amateurs of Canada, the Canadian Amateur Radio Service will lose the 220 - 222 MHz portion of the 220 - 225 MHz band. Details are contained in Canada Gazette Notice DGTP-004-05, "Proposals and Changes to the Spectrum in Certain Bands Below 1.7 GHz" available on the Industry Canada web site at: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf08494e.html Source: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/december2005/canadian_amateur_loss.htm (via Southgate Amateur Radio Club via Trevor M5AKA, monitoring_monthly yg via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 6010, La Voz de tu Conciencia, Calle 44 No. 13-67, Bogotá D.C., beautiful QSL card full data in two months. I sent my reception report to contacto @ fuerzadepaz.com The station sent me a pretty pennant and a greeting card signed by the DXer Rafael Rodríguez R too. V/S: Martin Stendal (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, playdx yg via DXLD) ** CUBA. RHC was extremely distorted and unlistenable on 9550 in English around 0630 UT Dec 22; rechecking same frequency in Spanish at 1440, only moderately distorted, but also splattering. Beware, XEYU: RHC will use 9600 whenever it wants outside the scheduled 0000-0200. Dec 22 at 1909, 9600 was inbooming // but reverbingn so not exactly synched with 11875 in Spanish, apparently something special involving the hoarse-voiced Dr Fidel Castro Ruz in a discussion. I believe RHC is not normally on the air during this siesta time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Radio República site speculation --- After reading all the glowing references to the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, etc. sprinkled throughout various pages on the Directorio Democrático Cubano's English URL, I have to wonder if this may be via R. Prague. Odd that DDC feel the need to flip frequencies when target Cuba is currently in the dark nearly the entire broadcast time. If the intent is to avoid jamming, they missed the boat (err, raft). All channels in use are the old, traditional in-band as well for whatever that's worth (Terry Krueger, FL, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I really don`t think it`s from Czechia; too strong here. Finally on Dec 22 I was standing by on 6135 for opening of transmission at 2200, just in case there would be a giveaway fragment of the RCI, DW or BBC IS; but no. Came on abruptly about 15 seconds ahead, with opening announcement already in progress, accompanied by light bubble jamming underneath, which I had not detected before, but probably would have with the BFO on. Listened to the first seven minutes during which Orlando Gutiérrez repeatedly referred to this as ``primera emisión`` and ``programa de presentación``, implying that this was their first and introductory broadcast. Entire schedule in local time was given twice for 9955, tho WRMI was never mentioned. Never any mention of 6135/5965/7110, where it is not the first broadcast either, since we know they have been on at least since Dec 18. He also mentioned God and Jesus Christ several times, and even paused for a prayer. Apparently the Directorio is not only a political but a religious organization which would like to turn Cuba into a theocracy; that would hardly be an improvement over its present plight. Finally started an interview program about 2207, in which it was even clearer that this was a recording of their initial broadcast, which would have been many months ago, on 9955. Are they replaying this same stuff every day on the three new frequencies? That would indicate quite a lack of new programming, or a lack of a real-time program feed to the transmitter site, and all this could be just experimental. Still roughly an hour before sunset here, 6135 was by far the strongest signal on the band above 6 MHz, even stronger than Martí 6030 plus its much heavier jamming, but was roughly equal to BBC via French Guiana on 5975, and WYFR in Chinese on 5950. Since there was so little direct from Europe audible on 49m at this time, just much weaker signals on 5800 and 6025, I am now leaning more to a North American/Caribbean site at least for 6135. These observations were made on a portable ATS-909 with whip only, battery cells almost dead, standing outside in the yard in nice 60+ degree weather, to avoid the computer noise inside (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Strong on 6135 at 2200-2230+ Dec 21, gave frequency as 9955, address as P. O. Box 110235, Hialeah, FL, 33011, program "Alternativa" at 2230. See http://www.radiorepublica.org/ (Jerry Berg, MA, DXplorer Dec 21 via BCDX via DXLD) Just heard opening on 6135 kHz at 2200 UT on Dec 22nd. S=2 level, but much weaker than present VT outlets on 5875 via Rampisham and Skelton, and weaker too - than NHK Skelton relay at 2200 UT. So, if an European background I would tend and point up to DTK Germany Juelich and Wertachtal relay sites, even though situated in dead zone around Juelich or Wertachtal. 125 kW via WER? (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX Dec 22 via DXLD) Could this have anything to do with the one-night Dec 10 test at 0200 on 7160 from DTK for RMI? Anyway the frequency selection indeed could point at T-Systems; did VT ever dare to use a frequency between 7100 and 7300 for transmissions towards the Americas? All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jeff White already said the additional República broadcasts were news to him. He hopes to find out more from them shortly (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DIEGO GARCIA [and non]. (or GUAM?) 4319 USB, AFRTS (Barrigada, GUM, or DGA?) noted on 20 Dec 1850-1926 and well beyond that, English (well, what else?) program, Paul Harvey's News & Comments, NPR (National Public Radio) News 1900, talks, announcing http://www.npr.org/world page, feature All Things Considered much later; 32431 and improving, though not achieving a fair-like quality; adjacent RTTY QRM. I finished observing this at 1926 and resumed observing around 2135, when the reception conditions were already somewhat more tollerable despite the omnipresent RTTY QRM. 7811 USB, AFRTS, D. García (or Key West FL, USA?), observed on 19 Dec 2242-2302, NPR News feature All Things Considered, news 2300; \\ 4319, 5446.5; 45343 best via the elevated K9AY, so again, possibly not emanating from the western hemisphere (>Diego García?). (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) All Things Considered starts at 2100 UT. I don`t see any reason to doubt 4319 is DG and 7811 is Saddlebunch Key FL as listed (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780, RD. Nationale de Djibouti, Doraleh, audible on 15 Dec 1921-1939, chantings; 44332, occasional adjacent utility QRM only. Djibouti was a lot better via 1431 kHz R.Sawa, Arta! (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EASTER ISLAND. 280, IPA, is now being heard fairly well. -1030 12/17 0420 UT (Dave Tomaszko, MI, MARE Tipsheeet via DXLD) I think the ``-1030`` has something to do with the tones or frequency offset, NDB DX lingo (gh, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Adiós Sr. Malm --- Aunque no lo conocí ni siquiera en foto hasta este momento, quedé sacudido con la repentina desaparación del apreciado colega sueco Björn Malm. Cosa que puede ocurrir a cualquiera de la noche a la mañana al margen de la edad que ahora tengamos, pues sólo necesitamos estar respirando, como yo mientras escribo estas líneas o ustedes mientras las están leyendo. Una sensible pérdida para esta Familia Mundial Dxista, que nos arruga un tanto esta temporada festiva, lo que a la vez nos invita a estar preparados; creo que la mayoría de los que aquí quedamos, sabemos cómo (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Dec 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) On a sombre note, a few weeks ago our group became smaller by one with the untimely passing of our member in Quito, Björn Malm. We will miss his enthusiasm, his experience, and his wonderful willingness to help (Jean Burnell, RealDX yg via DXLD) Sua notícia deixa toda comunidade dexista de luto, o dexismo perde um grande amante do rádio. Bjorn Malm deixa uma legião de admiradores do seu trabalho em prol do rádio e do dexismo! 73, (Wilson Rodrigues, Itaúna/MG, radioescutas yg via DXLD) SIENTO MUCHO LA MUERTE DE BJORN MALM... Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. Acabo de enterarme del lamentable fallecimiento de uno de los diexistas más activos y famosos del mundo, el colega Bjorn Malm. Perdida física que entristece al mundo del DX y las ondas cortas. Mi más sentido pésame a su esposa y demás familiares. "De Escandinavia al centro del mundo había un lazo Lazo radioeléctrico que abrazaba al orbe inmenso Tu devoción avasallante por el Sur se filtraba por los transistores Y se desplegaba en el frecuencímetro para recordarte la misteriosa América Amor por América y por sus cientos de hijas del jardín hertziano Esas a las que adorabas escuchar mientras regabas sus pétalos radiales Vigilante de ellas informabas de las aperturas y cierres de sus capullos Ahora todas te extrañarán porque no las acompañarás en el paseo madrugador De Escandinavia al ombligo del planeta hay un lazo que trasciende la muerte Un vínculo que nos unió a todos en la devoción por el campo de flores sureñas Un lazo de ondas que va de la tierra al techo del cielo vasto De Escandinavia a América el ruido cósmico gritará esa unión al infinito". Al colega Bjorn Malm, Paz a su alma (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. Pirate, Mystery Radio, 6220.12, 0640-0647* Dec 16, pop music, canned ID, abrupt sign-off; poor, weak (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So both this and LHH are still fighting over 6220: (gh) ** EUROPE. EUROpirates --- 6220 kHz, Laser Hot Hits, site?, observed on 14 Dec 0820-fadeout 1045, English, music & songs; \\ 7459.6. 7459.6 kHz, Laser Hot Hits, site?, noted on 14 Dec 0819-fadeout 1045, English, music, phone-number announced; 35343, good peaks but mostly noise-covered (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) When one might hope to hear Polisario (gh) ** FINLAND. SCANDINAVIAN WEEKEND RADIO'S XMAS BROADCAST 24.-25.12.2005 Programming of first Christmas day are responsability about SWR crew elves with quest elve appearances. Elves are e.g. RadioJack, Dj Lasol, Esa, Pasi, Uncle Ben, Janne and others who maybe lost in the site. In the broadcast there are traditionally SWR's wine-and cheese tasting judgement with Christmas and not so Christmas wines and cheeses. In additional with earlier mentioned there are xmas news round the world. We also recall passed year happenings. We play Christmas music less than other stations. So at the usually way we have lots of different kind of music, classics, progressive and pop tunes. You can send to us your Christmas wishes for broadcast via e-mail info@ (look below) or SMS-messages during broadcast number +358 400- 995 559. You can phone to that number during broadcast, also. As other xmasses, You can receive special-QSL about this xmas broadcast. So remember report to our broadcast! During our Xmas broadcast at 22-07 UT 25 mb antenna will be redirected to North America Reports (with 2 Euros) to: SWR, P.O.Box 99, FI-34801 Virrat, Finland More info of SWR can be found on our new web-pages: http://swradio.net With best Season wishes, Alpo Heinonen Scandinavian Weekend Radio (via DXLD) ** GABON. R. Gabon, 4777, *0600-0645+ Dec 18, abrupt sign-on with French talk, Afro-pops; presumed. Fair-poor with occasional ute QRM (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Now we know when it signs on, and sign off is around 1700. Wonder if 4777 is on continuously thru the day (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. Dear Wolfgang/Glenn, do you know something about a future of closed IBB mediumwave site Ismaning near Munich, Germany. The site was closed in March 2005 (Thales 300 kW transmitter operated on 1197 kHz VOA & RFE/RL programs for the Balkans). Will it be moved somewhere in the Middle East, or somewhere else? Best regards & many 73s! (Dragan Lekic from Subotica, Serbia, Dec 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi dear Dragan, I tried to phone Mr. Schott at the IBB tx site in Munich Ismaning. But he is out of office at present. See some pictures of the Ismaning tx plant, when I visited that installation in 1999 and 2002. 73 (Wolfgang to Dragan, via DXLD) Dear Wolfgang, Thank you VERY VERY much for nice pictures. I appreciate that. Thank you for trying to find an answer about IBB Ismaning. Please informe me if you succeed. Frohe Weihnachten und ein Gutes Neues Jahr! (Dragan via Wolfgang, DXLD) Dear Dragan, I phoned Mr. Schott at IBB Munich Ismaning transmitter plant on Dec 19th already. VOA 1197 kHz - the Thales mediumwave unit is dismantled already and moves/moved to Near East / Middle east area. [Kuwait? Bahrain? wb.]. More details n o t available! Same discreet confidential procedure like in the 1593 Holzkirchen unit restitution case, [RFE/RL unit which moved to Kuwait IBB MW plant later in 2004]. By all means the MW unit will n o t go to Tajikistan, were another Thales unit will be [or does still?] erected on 972 kHz, replaces an old USSR era unit by IBB facilities. Two older RCA 150 kW tube type MW units have been dismantled/ shreddered at Ismaning at least in 1994, when the Thales unit came into service. IBB staff in Germany liked to replace the Thales unit by a latest fashioned allmode/DRM-mode mediumwave installation, with lower main power consumption, but higher ranking dept. units declined that matter. All four MW masts of 1949year are still STANDING. Chief technician Mr. Peter Stefke is already in retirement. He was a keen technician and had a lot more knowledge of the French made Thalès unit than engineers from Paris headquarter. I asked Mr. Schott about IBB USA licenses of 1197 [Ismaning] and 1593 [Holzkirchen] kHz channels in Germany. He doesn't know anything about disposition or procedure restitution to German department authorities, like Bundesnetzagentur(FCC) or Landesmedienanstalt(Bavaria - or North Rhine-Westphalia the former 1593 kHz location at WDR Langenberg). IBB Holzkirchen-Oberlaindern site has been officially closed on Dec 31, 2003. Word is that the station grounds have been sold for 7 million Euro to the municipality of Valley the Oberlaindern settlement (situated about 3 km east of Holzkirchen). It was intended to establish a golf course there. All best wishes on Christmas eve and for a proper year 2006 in Serbia. 73 wb (Dec 19) Heute morgen habe ich mit Herrn Schott bei den IBB Anlagen in [Muenchen] Ismaning telefoniert. 1197 kHz - Der Thales Mittelwellensender ist abgebaut und geht nach Nahost/Mittelost [Kuwait? Bahrain? wb.]. Einzelheiten waren nicht zu erfahren! Jedenfalls geht er nicht nach Tajikistan, dort wird auf 972 kHz ein anderer Thales Sender durch die IBB installiert. Die zwei RCA 150 kW Röhrensender wurden schon 1994 in Ismaning verschrottet. Die Errichtung eines DRM fähigen Senders auf 1197 kHz wurde zwar in Deutschland gewünscht, aber wohl höhererseits [in USA? wb.] verworfen. Die vier Mittelwellenmasten in Ismaning stehen noch. Aus den Ausführungen von Hr. Schott klang etwas Bedauern, dass die Niederlegung noch nicht geschehen ist. Der Techniker für den Thales MW Sender 1197 kHz Peter Stefke ist bereits in Ruhestand gegangen. Lizenzen für 1197 und 1593 kHz. Über den Verbleib bzw. Prozedur einer Rückgabe dieser Mittelwellen-Lizenzen durch die USA an Deutschland/Bayern konnte Hr. Schott nichts sagen. 73 wb (Dec 19) (all via Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. Russia shuts down DW's relays: see RUSSIA ** GUATEMALA. Glenn, Radio Cultural, TGNA 3300 kHz: Full data, signed "Telling the Good News Abroad" QSL with the Quetzal (national emblem of Guatemala) in full color. Also received pamphlet on TGNA Radio Network, pamphlet with staff photos, "Greetings from beautiful Guatemala!" letters in Spanish and another letter in English both signed by Heidy Chávez. Large Radio Cultural pennant. Color pamphlet with photos and a map of Guatemala and a receipt for the US $ I sent with the reports. Received in 1,022 days with a follow up report sent 452 days ago. I was very surprised to receive. Been so long I'd actually forgotten. TGNA address: Radio Cultural TGNA, PO Box 601, 01901 Guatemala, Central America or http://www.radiocultural.com 73, (Kraig Krist, Manassas, VA, KG4LAC -- Amateur radio, KDX4KWK -- All-Band Radio Monitor, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. V. of Guyana, 3291.17, 0830-0915+ Dec 18, tune-in to English religious inspirational talk. Religious music, ID. 0845-0849 Kor`an and more English inspirational talk [Christian or Moslem?]. Fair-good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3219.17, Voice of Guyana (presumed); 0520-0531+, 18-Dec; BBC World econ news. BBCWS News promo. BBC continued after 0530 with news. All in English. SIO=3+53, slightly cleaner in USB (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheeet via DXLD) From West to East in a matter of seconds, and from Johnny Mathis singing some classic carols like The First Noël and Greensleeves until 0830, changing after a brief male announcer to some kind of East Asian music for the next 15 minutes sounding like Qur`an recitations closing this block, at 0845 when clearly heard "This is National Radio of Guyana", followed by a country ballad about Diana, next Gerry & The Pacemakers' "You'll Never Walk Alone", rarely played on radio, and a female singer with "Do You See What I See". This give us an idea of the great variety of programming they have. Yes it was Guyana on 3291, which I heard before but not so clear till this wee hours of Dec. 22 with a SINPO of 25322 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA [and non]. 5985 - have been doing some monitoring on what the possibility of hearing AIR-Ranchi on this frequency from my location. Here is a brief survey: 1300 -1400 - VOA Thailand in Korean in this time slot. Complete dominates this frequency. Interesting there is a heterodyne from Myanmar (Burma) from 5985.8o.at the same time. 1400- 1500 - RCI Canada Broadcast in French. There is also a 800 hertz test tone at 1450 from a possible Russian Transmitter keying up. 1500- Needs further monitoring but by this time daylight enhancement is on the down swing. 4960 for the pass several moorings has been totally in the noise level (1330-1500). Needs a 'good' morning for a nice propagation path (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, Canada, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. And your purpose is? Under financial and political pressure, some international broadcasters are in danger of becoming purely PR and propaganda outlets for their respective countries, and no longer a means of sharing cultures and ideas. Is it time to switch off? http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/rev051222.html?view=Standard (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL: Re Leap Second: This adjustment will affect UTC and all time scales based on UTC. Loran-C and GPS will not be adjusted physically, however. Times of Coincidence for LORAN-C are available on the Web Page http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/loran.html For GPS, the leap second correction, contained within the UTC data of the navigation message transmitted by satellites, will change. After the leap second GPS will be ahead of UTC by 14 seconds (ARRL via W0WOI, and via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) On a normal day, the one second that follows the second beginning at 23:59:59 is the one that begins at 00:00:00 (and which begins the next day). In this case, the leap second is the one that begins at 23:59:60, and the second following that one will begin at 00:00:00 (Bob Foxworth, FL, HCDX via DXLD) WWV announcement can be heard at, minute 16 every hour, just so you know (Sean Traverse, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hmm, wonder why they changed it from 04? (gh, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. IBA in Hebrew, 7545, good signal at the rather early but solsticial hour of 1905 UT, best signal on 40m band except WWCR 7465, and 7545 better than WBCQ 7415 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. 1620.00, 0215 18-12-05, Radio Papa Giovanni Paolo II, Veneto - ID "Ascolta anche tu la radio dei Giovanni, ascolta Radio Papa Giovanni Paolo II" with repeating story of Pope JP II, lots of "Habemus Papam", 34333 (Guido Schotmans, Belgium, BDXC via DXLD) We would call this ``stunting``, assuming this will not be the sole programming format into the future, but merely to draw initial attention, or to keep on the air with something until a new format is in place (gh, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. NORTH KOREA ASKS SOUTH TO CLOSE DEFECTORS' RADIO STATION | Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR- TASS Pyongyang, 22 December: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has requested South Korea to close down a radio station that was launched by North Korean defectors for broadcasts beaming at North Korea. An article published in the latest issue of the Tongil Sinbo weekly magazine said the Free North Korea Radio broadcasts "imperil inter- Korean relations" and are "an obstacle to a reunification of Korea". "All the same, our people will not listen to those broadcasts. However, we request that the radio's broadcasting be discontinued, for it jeopardizes bilateral relations," the magazine emphasized, referring to the radio station's broadcasts as "running counter to the spirit of the Joint Declaration", which the leaders of the two countries had signed in 2000. At that time, the sides had agreed to make efforts towards reconciliation, rapprochement and, in the end, reunification of the North and South of Korea. The article also stressed that following the historic summit in Pyongyang, the DPRK had fully terminated propagandistic radio broadcasts beaming at South Korea. The Free North Korea Radio shortwave half-an-hour daily broadcasts describe in glowing terms the North Korean defectors' life in the capitalist South Korea. Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 0748 gmt 22 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** LATVIA. Auf 9290 kHz. Ulbroka praesentieren sich im Einzelnen : 1. Radio Six in english aus Schottland 24.12.05 0700-0800 UTC und 25.12.05 1200-1500 UTC Programmdirektor Tony Currie beantwortet die Post selbst, Kontakt ueber: Radio Six, P.O.Box 600, Glasgow G41 5SH, Scotland oder letters @ radiosix.com Infos auf: http://www.radiosix.com In der regelmaessigen Samstagmorgen-Sendung moderiert von Tony Curris- werden zur Musik Schottischer Gruppen die Hoererbriefe bestaetigt. 2. KWRN-Radio Nordland 25.12.05 0900-1000 UTC Die Weihnachtssendung von OP Felix ist waehrend der Sendung zu erreichen ueber Tel.: +49 [0] 163 / 6227837. Weitere Kontaktmoeglichkeiten: SRS Deutschland, Postfach 10 11 45, 99801 Eisenach oder kwrn @ freenet.de 3. Radio Q103 Deutschland 25.12.05 1000-1200 UTC Auch Juergen und Volker melden sich zum 1. Weihnachtstag. Nach dem Oldie-Countdown vom Juli lann man auf neue Aktivitaeten neugierig sein. Kontakt moeglich ueber: Radio Q 103-Germany. Postbus 27 02. NL-6049-ZG-Herten oder 4. Radio Marabu 24.12.05 1000-1600 UTC Radio Marabu praesentiert wieder sein Musikspecial zu den Weihnachtstagen. Die Station ist ausserdem taeglich fuer eine Stunde ab 1800 UTC auf Radio Waddenzee 1602 kHz. und in der Nacht ab Mittwoch 0000 UTC via Radio Carolione zu hoeren, sowie ueber lokale FM-Sender. Kontakt ueber: Radio Marabu, Postfach 11 66, 49187 Belm oder marabu @ radio-marabu.de Homepage: http://www.radio-marabu.de (Klaus Fuehrlich-D, A-DX Dec 22 via BCDX via DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. R. Vilnius, 9875, 0030 Dec 16, opening music and English ID announcements, 0031 news, weak but readable; also on 7325 at 2330- 2400 Dec 17, English news features about Lithuania; fair level and in the clear (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA [and non]. Thanks to Alan Davies, Tony Ashar and T. C. Patterson for clearing up the situation on 1475 kHz. Voice of Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu is broadcasting in Tagalog irregularly between 1300-1530 UT instead of the previous 1030-1300 slot. The sign-on today was at 1245 and frequency varying between 1475.002 and .006 kHz. There's another station from Indonesia, R Khusus Daerah Tingat Dua, Karawang on a bit lower frequency of 1474.990 kHz, also variable +/- 5 Hz. S/off variable, around 1700. On 1476 kHz Tony Ashar heard Ramona Radio (Mauno Ritola, Finland, mwoffsets Dec 17 via BCDX via DXLD) ** MALI. 4782.4 kHz, R. Mali, Kati, observed on 15 Dec 1924-1940, tribal tunes; 45443 (this reflects the bare signal, not the content of the carrier or the actual info), but a terribly low, useless audio; \\ 5995 also with weak audio (+ adjacent QRM). As requested by Wolfgang, I've been observing 9635v, but the fact is that "no things Mali" can be traced (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MAURITANIA. 7245, R. Mauritanie, Nouakchott, observeed on 13 Dec 1156-1226, Arabic, talks, jingle prior to the 1200 newscast; 33442, adjacent DRM QRM (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 6010 kHz, R. Mil, Cd. de Méjico (that's standard Castilian spelling), audible on 13 Dec 0835-fadeout 0950, advertisement for the international car show at Hipódromo de las Americas, songs, frequencies; 34432, adjacent QRM de Colombia 6010.1 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Los canales que cuentan con el sistema SAP (Secondary Audio Programming) en la ciudad de Mexico son: Canal 4 XHTV (Televisa) Canal 5 XHGC (Televisa) Canal 7 XHIMT (TV Azteca) Saludos (Hector Garcia Bojorge, DF, condig list via DXLD) This followed a garbled press item that Azteca had just started SAP. What about all their network relays? Does SAP pass thru them? (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. "Radio Netherlands would have been quite happy to carry on hiring 1512 [Belgium] but when RVI closed shortwave they stopped making it available for hiring (Mike Barraclough, swprograms via DXLD) A head-scratcher why RN cannot or will not somehow obtain one hour in the evening on one of the high power MW transmitters in Holland itself. Probably could if it were a higher priority (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)" Actually, what Mike says is not quite true - RVI would be happy to continue carrying Radio Netherlands, but they want us to pay for it. The use of 1512 was a contra-deal, and RVI got an hour on shortwave. When they decided they no longer needed shortwave, we were told that we would have to pay for the use of 1512. The budgeting for programme distribution is extremely tight, and in order to pay for 1512 we would have had to cancel something else, on top of the 40% cut in transmitter hours we had a couple of years ago. So we looked around for an alternative contra-deal, and Sweden was the only viable option. But if you're going to expect someone to stay up till 1 o'clock in the morning to listen to your broadcast, the very least they should expect is to hear a decent signal carrying the advertised programme. When it became apparent that the we could not deliver that, we decided it was better to look for an alternative to mediumwave. We are ready to provide a 24-hour feed of the English service on the Sky Digital platform, but Sky is having some technical problems with its new Electronic Programme Guide and there is a huge backlog of radio and TV stations waiting to start. We are in the queue, and hope to be on the air early in the New Year. Regarding the comments by GH, my colleagues spent many hours in contact with various broadcasters to find a solution. It's not a case of priority, but a case of finance. In any case, there's only one high power transmitter in Holland that covers the UK and is available to public broadcasters - 747 kHz. We are closely following developments, and I have pointed out that 747 might in the future be available - but again, we still have to pay for it. It all looks very simple to those who don't actually have to balance the books (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands (expressing my personal opinion), Dec 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES [and non]. [Re 11845 report:] A message from my colleague Jan Peter Werkman of Radio Netherlands' Programme Distribution Department: "Maybe you can ask those who report DRM transmissions (especially from Radio Netherlands) to DXLD and other mailing lists if they are willing to post their reception reports in the forum on http://www.drmrx.org This is really the central collection point for DRM reception reports and I know that all broadcasters use it to improve their planning skills and to get an idea on the reliability of the DRM signals. I would very much appreciate it if they can post it there. We particularly need more reception reports on our North American transmissions. We use low audio quality because of the low power. It's no problem to use higher bitrates but then you will get more audiodropouts. The better the SNR, the better the audio quality which can be used." (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I doubt the reporter in question will ever see this; I never hear from him directly (gh, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. This week VON was more or less back to the standard 2005 schedule on 7255 and 15120, but sometimes bad modulation and not always regular programming (Thorsten Hallmann, Germany, Dec 22, dxing.info via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. I don`t often tune around the MW band in the daytime any more, but at solstice did a mandatory bandscan around local noon to see if there were any daytime skywave. Not much, but I did notice telltale IBAC buzz surrounding WWLS 640 Norman, ``Sports Animal`` which also has a state network. It was slightly louder just below 630 and above 650. So much for ever hearing KHOW or WSM in the daytime again. Perhaps WWLS IBAC is nothing new, but I was not aware of it and am pleased that I `discovered` it before looking up the iBiquity OK page and finding it there: http://www.ibiquity.com/cgi-bin/liststations?state=OK The only other AM on the list is KTLV-1220 OKC (used to be MWC), which is very weak here anyway, and is doomed by the planned KGYN-1210 move- in. KOA-850 is too weak here in daytime to detect its IBAC. On 1260, no sign at 1855 of KWSH Wewoka, usually easily audible; off the air? Ex-WREN from Kansas on 1250 was in well, in Spanish, and it used to be marginal. Above site also says one OK FM station is multicasting already, KCCU in Lawton, Manager tells me they are indeed, but only experimentally so far on the Lawton and Wichita Falls transmitters only (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. RUSSIA SHUTS DOWN DW'S RELAYS http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0,2145,12356_pg_6,00.html Sorry that the link is in German; the English link is broken, leading to a report on EU fishing quotas. (Worse, I tried to use DW's online form to send them an email to let them know the link was broken, but was told on submitting the message that "Ihre Daten sind fehlerhaft!") Quick summary: The shutdown affects DW and BBC relays on medium wave; the Russian government is claiming "frequency and licence problems"; while the Editor-in-Chief of DW-Radio says he hopes the interruption only lasts a few days (Ted Schuerzinger, Dec 22, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) DEUTSCHE WELLE'S RUSSIAN MEDIUMWAVE RELAYS SWITCHED OFF Radio Netherlands news, quoting German news agency DPA, is reporting that, in addition to the BBC, Deutsche Welle has also had its mediumwave transmitters in Russia switched off. The Russian authorities are claiming it's due to a difference of opinion about the licence, but German members of parliament are talking of an attack on freedom of speech. Deutsche Welle, which broadcasts in German and Russian via the transmitters (10kW on 693 kHz in Moscow and 1188 kHz in St Petersburg), frequently carries items critical of developments in Russia. However, it seems more likely to be a problem with the licence of the Russian transmission provider, as with the BBC. The editor-in-chief of DW-Radio, Miodrag Soric, says he hopes that the interruption will only last for a few days. The German Foreign Office in Berlin is involved in intensive contact with the Russian authorities to work out a solution. posted by Andy @ 17:28 Dec 22 (Media Network blog via DXLD) BBC'S MEDIUM-WAVE BROADCASTS SUSPENDED IN THREE RUSSIAN CITIES | Text of report by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 22 December: On Thursday [22 December] the BBC suspended its medium-wave broadcasts in three Russian cities - Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. "At the moment we are not broadcasting on medium- wave. We regard this as a purely technical problem," the chief producer of the BBC's Russian Service in Moscow, Vera Leontyeva, told Interfax. "The BBC has a licence for medium-wave broadcasts, and we expect to resolve this problem with our providers shortly." Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1327 gmt 22 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) BBC'S BROADCASTS IN RUSSIA SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF LICENCE PROBLEMS | Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Novosti Moscow, 22 December: The BBC's medium-wave broadcasts in Moscow have been halted because of the expiry of an operating licence. "Our operating licence has expired," the managing director of the TV and radio operating company Octode, Grigoriy Kliger, explained. "In order to renew it, the law on telecommunications stipulates that we have to submit a specific set of documents, which include a legally verified copy of the broadcaster's licence, which we do not have," Kliger told Ekho Moskvy radio. He said a resolution of the situation now depends on the communications regulator, a subordinate structure of the communications ministry [Ministry of Information Technologies and Communication], and also on the Russian Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications, which issues broadcasting licences through tender. The managing director of the company says that at the moment it is hard to say when the BBC's broadcasts will resume. "At 0200 hours this morning [2300 gmt 21 December] we switched off (the broadcasts), which caused quite a stir," Kliger observed. "We for our part have no legal right to operate, because our licence has expired. Source: RIA Novosti, Moscow, in Russian 1334 gmt 22 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) BBC DESCRIBES SUSPENSION OF BROADCASTS IN RUSSIA AS "TECHNICAL HITCH" | Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Novosti Moscow, 22 December: The BBC Russian Service hopes that medium-wave broadcasts will resume in the next few hours, Yuriy Goligorskiy, director for BBC development in Russia, has told RIA Novosti. He confirmed that the BBC had suspended its medium-wave broadcasts but it was not connected with the termination of the BBC licence. "Yesterday we received a broadcasting license at a competition but our operator - the M radio agency and the Octode TV and radio operating corporation - have lost their technical licence," he said. According to Goligorskiy, the BBC Russian Service regards this situation as a technical hitch. "We hope that it will be resolved in the next few hours. Although there is no medium-wave broadcasting, we continue broadcasts on short wave," he said. Source: RIA Novosti, Moscow, in Russian 1402 gmt 22 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SAAR. Intermodulation 1422 / 1179 / 936 / 1665 kHz. Dass Antenne Saar neuerdings auf 1179 zu hoeren ist, hat sich wohl herumgesprochen. Zurzeit (0745 UT) ist die Station aber ebenso auf 1665 zu empfangen. Seit wann darf sich eine ARD-Station im X-Band breit machen? (Michael Schnitzer-D, A-DX Dec 21 via BCDX via DXLD) Gerne stehe ich mit meinem Aldi-Taschenrechner zur Verfuegung. Oder kann irgendein a-dx-Rechenkuenstler nachweisen, dass wir es hier mit einem Mischprodukt zu tun haben? Aber ja doch. Am Standort Heusweiler steht naemlich noch ein MW- Sender: Der des DLF auf 1422 kHz. Die Differenz beider Sender (1422 - 1179) betraegt 243 kHz. Demnach koennen durch Intermodulation folgende Frequenze entstehen: 1179 minus 243 = 936 kHz und, wie von Dir gehoert: 1422 + 243 = 1665 kHz (Juergen Martens-D, A-DX Dec 21 via BCDX via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Very odd BSKSA HQ 15435.28 kHz, this unit varying 300 Hertz at least in past 12-18 months, unit never checked against standard frequency counter by the technicians? (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX Dec 18 via DXLD) ** SINGAPORE [non]. Dear Radio Colleague, Here is the complete schedule for the new Asian edition of the AWR DX program, Wavescan beginning Sunday January 1, 2006; UT Sundays:- UT kHz kW Station 1130 11915 100 KSDA 1200 15110 250 Abu Dhabi 1530 9530 250 Abu Dhabi 1600 9585 100 KSDA 1630 11980 100 KSDA 1730 9980 100 KSDA 2130 11960 100 KSDA 2230 11855 100 KSDA 1600 12065 100 KSDA (Adrian Peterson, IN, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is that last one at 1600 on some other day, or just out of order? Since it is not transmitted from solely from Guam, we`ll go back to filing this under SINGAPORE [non] (gh) ** SLOVAKIA. Saludos cordiales, espero estén bien; acabo de tener una conversación telefónica con Radio Eslovaquia Internacional, redacción en español. Según me comunican tienen garantizado las transmisiones hasta Marzo del 2006. De los 55 millones de Coronas eslovacas necesarias para su continuidad, el estado sólo ha aportado 10 millones. El motivo de que se encuentren sin director general es que ningún partido político quiere apoyar firmemente a ningún candidato ya que no se sabe quien gobernará en las próximas elecciones, que se efectuaran en el verano del 2006. Esta situación de precariedad se mantendrá pues hasta que haya nuevo gobierno, y la continuidad de las emisiones en onda corta dependen de la actitud política que las distintas formaciones tengan al respecto. Los que gobiernan no actúan porque no saben si continuarán y la oposición no puede sin saber si gobernará (Jose Miguel Romero, Spain, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [gh translates for once:] I just had a phone conversation with RSI Spanish desk; they tell me that transmissions are guaranteed until March 2006. Of the 55 Slovakian megacrowns needed to maintain it, the state has provided only 10 mega. The reason why RSI is without a director general is that no political party wants to firmly support any candidate, since it is not known who will win the upcoming elections in the summer of 2006. This precarious situation will remain until there is a new government and the continuance of the SW transmissions depends on the political stance of the various parties. Those who are governing are doing nothing now since they don`t know if they will remain in cointrol, and the opposition cannot either without knowing if it will be ruling (Jose Miguel Romero, Spain, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO ESLOVAQUIA INTERNACIONAL RECIBE SÓLO UNA PARTE DE LAS FINANZAS QUE REQUIERE El día de ayer el gobierno dio luz verde una ``inyección`` de diez millones de coronas para la transmisión internacional de la Radio Eslovaca. Así lo anunció el ministro de cultura, František Tóth, al término de la reunión del gabinete. El gobierno así reconoce su obligación de apoyar la transmisión internacional de la radio estatal. El ministro sin embargo no olvidó anotar que la ley sobre la radio no estipula el monto del apoyo que el estado debe prestar a Radio Eslovaquia Internacional (RSI). Según las palabras de la gerente económica de la Radio Eslovaca, Hilda Gajdošová, este año la transmisión costó 54 millones de coronas. ``El resto tendremos que cubrirlo con recursos propios, es decir con dinero de las licencias.`` Agregó: ``El año entrante tendremos que adoptar medidas orientadas a reducir costes. Es posible, que de nuevo se vea amenazada la existencia de la transmisión internacional.`` En tal caso los oyentes de RSI podrían acceder a su programa únicamente vía satélite o por Internet, lo que reduciría sustancialmente su número (Noticia extraida de sú página web: http://www.slovakradio.sk/rsi/ via José Miguel Romero, ibid.) GOVERNMENT`S SUBSIDY FOR RADIO SLOVAKIA INTERNATIONAL The Government approved the 260 thousand euro subsidy for this year foreign broadcast of the Slovak National Radio – Radio Slovakia International. This was confirmed by the Minister of Culture Frantisek Toth after the cabinet meeting yesterday. The government this way approved its responsibility for supporting the foreign broadcast. Frantisek Toth later added that the law however does not set what sum should the government allocate for this broadcast. According to the economic director of the Slovak National Radio, Hilda Gajdosova the cost of this year foreign broadcast was almost 1.5 million euro (http://www.slovakradio.sk/rsi/ via José Miguel Romero, ibid.) ** SUDAN [non]. Sudan Radio Service, via UK: 15575, *1459-1535+ Dec 16, sign-on with IDs, sked, Nairobi address, e-mail address and phone numbers. 1505 English news. 1515 ``Education for Development`` program; local music. Good; Mon-Fri only. Also, on 11705, *1700-1800* Dec 16, sign-on music and multi-lingual IDs and into vernacular talk, local music; good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No V. of People/Zimbabwe jamming co-channel? (gh, DXLD) See also PUBLICATIONS ** SWEDEN. RADIO PANORAMA SE DESPIDE DE SUS OYENTES http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/International/programsidor/index.asp?ProgramID=2202 Jueves 22 de diciembre Tras 25 años de labor, el programa en español en F.M., de Radio Nacional de Suecia, Panorama, deja de existir. En este programa reflexionamos sobre lo que significa el cierre para nuestros oyentes. Alberico Lechini y Cecilia Mora, reflexionan en este programa sobre lo que este espacio ha significado para la colonia hispanohablante en Suecia durante sus 25 años de existencia. También analizan, junto con Carlos Vidales, catedrático de la Facultad de Español de la Universidad de Estocolmo, Carlos Décker Molina, ex- jefe de redacción de Panorama y la escritora Ana Valdés, sobre el desarrollo del idioma español en este país y la función que cumple una emisora en lengua materna en un país multicultural como Suecia. Tanto Carlos Vidales como Carlos Décker Molina y Ana Valdés, consideran que un programa en lengua materna es muy importante para el proceso de identificación de las generaciones de ascendencia hispanoamericana en el exterior. ``Sin un referente cultural, es muy difícil lograr la integración del inmigrante a la nueva sociedad`` expresa la escritora Ana Valdés. Carlos Vidales y Carlos Décker Molina concuerdan con ella. Un programa de Alberico Lechini y Cecilia Mora (via José Miguel Romero, Spain, Dec 22, dxldyg via DXLD) ** UGANDA [non]. R. Rhino International, via Germany, 17870, *1500- 1530* Dec 16, local music, IDs; 1505 English news about Uganda, local music, talk about Uganda politics; a lot of local music. Fair; Wed & Fri only (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. 5840 1800-0100 27,28 KHR 100kW 290deg UKR/E/G UKR RUI RRT is also poor at present in W Europe, looks like a third of their nominal power. And 5830 kHz not existent at 1400-1800 UT too (Wolfgang Büschel, BCDX via DXLD) ** U K. BBC WORLD SERVICE PROGRAMME PREVIEWS: PLAY OF THE WEEK, Sat+ Dec 24: The Arabian Nights The beguiling collection of Arabic, Persian and Indian folk tales – The Arabian Nights - is a special festive treat on Saturday, December 24. After his wife is unfaithful to him with a slave in his court, courageous King Shahrayar swears he will only ever be married for one night. After a 1000 nights, 1000 young girls have perished. To save the daughters of the city, the beautiful and talented Sheherazade asks her father if she may marry Shahrayar. She has a plan. She will use her incredible gift for storytelling to save her life and the future of the city’s young women. And so she begins, with the story of Ali Baba. And every night, as dawn is about to break, she leaves her tale where the King cannot bear it to end. This production is adapted by Dominic Cooke from his original adaptation for London’s Young Vic Theatre. The director is Marion Nancarrow. Play of the Week: 60 minutes, Saturday 24 December [European stream, webcast]: Sat 1830, Sun 0201 [Americas stream, webcast]: Sat 2201, Sun 0201, Mon 0601 Listen online http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/index.shtml (BBCWS Press via Rich Cuff, via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. Time was when HM The Queen's Christmas broadcast would air on BBC domestic radio at 09:00am local time on 25 December. However, in the last few years the earliest time we have been able to hear her anywhere is 3:00pm, its traditional first TV air-time. However, that would already be well into 26 December in most of Australasia and, given that both Australia and NZ are within the Commonwealth, HM would presumably be heard *much* earlier than 15:00 UTC. So, I seek to find out the earliest time at which we can hear HM's Christmas message on the web. I am aware that BBC WS is due to air the message at 08:06 on at least one stream, but not including either Europe or the Americas, hence not live the web, so I guess it will be down to domestic stations in Australasia (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, United Kingdom, Dec 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The online schedule says 1006 in the East Asia service... which is the usual time for FOOC. Plugging that time & program into the Public Radio Fan database yields: SHRS, Taiwan - visit http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/wrap.pl?s=mms://192.192.159.137/AM or http://makeashorterlink.com/?P28E35B5C for the live webcast (which was up as of 0400 UT on 23 December). You might also want to check Sunday 1306 UT on ABC NewsRadio -- visit http://www.abc.net.au/streaming/newsradio.ram FOOC is shown at that time, and -- who knows -- they might substitute the Queen's Message. No guarantees (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) Are wagers riding on what she will say? (gh) ** U K [non]. Alistair Cooke`s bones stolen: see U S A ** U K [non]. BBC's medium-wave broadcasts suspended in three Russian cities: see RUSSIA ** U K. BBC EAST EUROPE VOICES SILENCED http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4550102.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4550102.stm The Slovak section of the BBC World Service has fallen silent after 66 years on air - the first of eight European language sections to do so. On Friday the Polish section will deliver its last broadcast - all part of a major BBC restructuring plan. The sombre song The End by the 1960s group The Doors has featured in the Polish section's final broadcasts. The BBC is cutting 10 language services to pay for a new Arabic TV channel, shedding more than 200 jobs. Change in strategy Eighteen jobs are being axed at the Slovak service. The Slovaks' last transmission, at 2030 GMT on Tuesday, included personal farewells from journalists on "a very emotional day," BBC World Service producer Kristian Klima said. SERVICES BEING AXED Bulgarian Croatian Czech Greek Hungarian Kazakh Polish Slovak Slovene Thai The journalists - some of whom had arrived in the UK as exiles from communist Czechoslovakia - described their feelings about working for the BBC. "Some described how the BBC had helped them build a new life here," Mr Klima told the BBC News website. Announcing the cuts in October, the director of the BBC World Service, Nigel Chapman, said that the European services were a beacon of free and independent information during the Cold War, but were now in decline. The Slovak and Polish journalists said they would spend a few weeks after the final broadcasts archiving tapes and CDs. Polish service chief Marek Cajzner said some of his team's material would be passed on under licence to Polish radio. Their last broadcast will follow the normal format, he said. "We don't want to appear weepy, just professional to the end." Asked to comment on the closures, he said "obviously I'm not happy about it". He described the BBC's assessment of the central European media market as "somewhat optimistic", but added that central Europe "is not the greatest geopolitical need at the moment". "My greatest fear is if something that replaces us turns out to be a flop," he added. Over the years, the BBC has served as a training ground for European journalists, who have - in a number of cases - gone on to make significant media careers in their home countries, BBC Europe analyst Jan Repa says (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) ** U K [non]. FM [sic] STATIONS CARRYING BBC IN THE CARIBBEAN reposted from rec.radio.shortwave. I suspect most of these carry only the BBC News, but in any case it's a possibly-handy list of Es targets down there. Anguilla Radio Anguilla: 95.5 FM Antigua Radio ZDK - 97.1 FM / 1100 AM Caribbean Relay Station - 89.1 FM Family FM - 89.9 FM / 92.9 FM Caribbean Radio Lighthouse - AM 1160 / FM 90 Aruba Hit 94FM - 94.1 FM Bahamas Cool 96 FM - 96 FM ZNS Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas - 104.5 FM / 810 AM Barbados VOB - 92.9 FM / 790AM BBS - 90.7 FM Barbuda Family FM - 88.9 FM/ 92.9 FM Belize Love FM - 95.1/ 88.9 FM / 98.1 FM Bermuda Bermuda Broadcasting Co Ltd - 94.9 FM / 1230, 1340 AM Radio VSB - 106 FM / 1450 AM Cayman Islands Radio Cayman - Radio 1 - 89.9 FM; Radio 2 - 105.3 FM Dominica Dominica Broadcasting Corp - 88.1/89.5/103.2/103.6 FM, 595 AM Joy FM - 88.7 FM and Sat TV Channel 59 Kairi FM - 93.1 / 107.9 FM ZGBC - Voice of Life Radio, 90.7/102.1/106.1 FM, 740 AM Grenada Grenada Broadcasting Corp - 105.5 FM / 540 AM [sic! It`s 535. Are other frequencies in this rounded off?? --- gh] Guyana Guyana Broadcasting Corp - Hot 98.1 FM Jamaica BBC 104 FM - 104.5 / 104.7 / 104.9 FM Love FM - 101.1 / 101.2 / 101.7 FM Hot 102 FM - 102.9 FM RJR - Radio Jamaica - 94.0 FM, 720 AM KLAS FM - 89.0 FM Radio Mona - 93.1/ 93.5/ 93.7 FM IRIE FM - 107.7 / 107.1 / 105.5 / 105.1 FM Montserrat Radio Montserrat - ZJB Radio, 91.9 / 95.5 FM Family FM - 89.9 / 90.9 FM Dutch Antilles [which one??] Soualiga Broadcasting Service - 99.9 FM Nevis Family FM - 98.3 FM St Kitts Radio ZIZ - 96.7 FM / 555 AM Family FM - 98.3 FM St Lucia Radio St Lucia - 97.3 / 97.7 FM Radio Caribbean Intl - 98.1 / 101.1 FM St Martin Radio St Martin - 101.5 FM St Thomas WVGN - 107. 3 FM (Sat-Sun 05:59AM Mon-Fri 04:59AM) St Vincent NBC Radio - 89.7 / 90.7 / 107.5 FM FIRST Radio - 100.5 FM Trinidad Radio News Network - 104 FM Turks & Caicos Radio Turks & Caicos - 94.9 / 105.9 FM US Virgin Islands WSTX - 100.3 FM / 97 AM WRRA - 103.5 FM / 1290 AM -- (via Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com Dec 22, WTFDA via DXLD) But what was the actual original source? rec.radio.shortwave in itself tells us nothing and is notoriously unreliable. This also may be outdated; overlooks the widely-reported BBC relays (not just news) on WDHP-1620 USVI (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Very interesting and useful list. Just one caveat. With BBC on satellite radio, there is a possibility one might hear BBC pop up on an FM modulator. Don't be fooled (Peter Baskind, J.D., LL.M. N4LI Germantown, TN, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Dear Glenn, I was hoping that you might include the below paragraph into your newsletter, which is due to go out tonight. It is regarding a new client of ours, called Voice of Joy. Voice of Joy, a new Christian station that advocates the power of music in religion, will start transmission of their music show to the Middle East on 24th December. The first show will be a two-hour Christmas special aimed particularly at serving US troops in Iraq. It will go out at 1400 to 1600 UT (that is, 1700 to 1800 in Iraq) on 6200 kHz in the 49 metre band. On subsequent Saturdays it will be just 1400-1500. Transmitter site is FSU. Voice of Joy would appreciate any reception reports. Please email Dean Philips at deanph77 @ comcast.net Many thanks and best wishes for the holiday season, WRN > TRANSMITTING SUCCESS T +44 20 7896 4154 F +44 20 7896 9007 WRN provides the broadcast industry with: digital and analogue satellite transmissions short wave and medium wave broadcasting Internet services content hosting broadcast consultancy studio facilities Visit us at http://www.wrn.org (Sophie Wilson, Client Services Assistant, WRN, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wonder from which of many FSU sites? This of course is the same programmer we discovered in October on Sackville 9530 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5446.5 kHz USB, AFRTS, Florida (or somewhere else?), observed on 19 Dec 2236-2304, English, NPR News feature All Things Considered, newscast 2300; 45444, best via the elevated K9AY loop, not via the inverted V beamed to CAm/S India, which makes me wonder whether this is really FL or Diego García [q.v.] as recently been commented (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Al Franken time now on AFN: M-F 1706-1800 UT, only the first hour of the three-hour show, but that`s something (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1298, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 2315 kHz, WWCR (Nashville, TN). Date: 19 Dec 05. Time: 0600- 0610. Don't know if this was a spur or not. OM in EE with ID, frequencies and skeds. Stated frequency was 3215 kHz. Program "Rock the Universe" featuring oldies rock music on the Rainbow Records label. Music included "Rocking the Universe," and "Yes Sir, That's my Baby." VG // 3215 VG (Joe Wood, TN, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) Obviously a receiver-produced 2 x IF image 900 kHz away from real frequency. How can we get this basic fact over immediately to every new SWL and DXer? I explain this over and over. Of course, some of them would rather not read and participate in DXLD, for reasons best known to themselves (gh, DXLD) WWCR + WNQM mixing product peaking at 10 over 9, Dec 22 at 1906 on 8765 = 7465 + 1300. 7465 signal is so huge, that it drags along with it what may be a greatly suppressed but still audible spur. Nothing audible however on 7465 minus 1300 = 6165, altho propagation much poorer there at this time of day (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I write, I have WWCR on 7465 kHz on at 2132 UT 12/22/05 and they've just started playing WoR #1297. Sad to me because I had to miss the WBCQ 5 PM local airing yesterday due to being away from home and I was hoping to catch the new WoR today. Saturday night will be tied up with Xmas-eve celebrations, of course. With luck, I'll catch it at one of the other airings sometime... (I'm surprised you didn't have an Extra aired during this holiday week; I'd think a lot of people will end up missing WoR this week.) Have a happy solstice season! 73, (Will Martin, MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I noticed that too, on the carradio where I could do nothing about it. Seems WWCR didn`t get my message in time that WOR 1298 mp3 was available. There is plenty of news this week, and I am not taking a break, so no reason to go to an extra. 73, (Glenn, ibid.) ** U S A. WWRB, 15250, quite strong for a change with Bro. Scare, Dec 22 at 1926 and // 9320. WWCR 15825 was equally good, and I expect there was some sporadic E between Tennessee and here to help out (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WMLK, 9265, Dec 22 at 1910 check was mainly open carrier, measuring 10 over 9, along with hum, crackle, and a trace of talk modulation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Alistair Cooke's 'bones stolen' By Guto Harri, BBC News, New York http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4552742.stm Alistair Cooke was mourned on both sides of the Atlantic [caption] An investigation is under way in New York into allegations that the bones of the late broadcaster Alistair Cooke were stolen before his cremation. Mr Cooke, known for the Letter from America he broadcast for the BBC, died almost two years ago, aged 95. According to the New York Daily News his bones were stolen by a criminal ring trading body parts. They were later sold by a biomedical tissue company now under investigation, the paper claims. This is a grim and ghoulish tale which has understandably appalled everyone who knew Alistair Cooke. When he died of cancer in March 2004 his body was taken to a funeral home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Two days later the family received his ashes. Dental implants As tributes were paid on both sides of the Atlantic to this iconic broadcaster, his family grieved. Now they have been told that body snatchers allegedly surgically removed his bones and sold them for more than $7,000 (£4,000) to a company supplying parts for use in dental implants and various orthopaedic procedures. The US attorney general's office in Brooklyn is investigating an elaborate ring involving funeral directors, surgeons and entrepreneurs. Alistair Cooke's daughter, Susan Kittredge, said she was shocked and saddened. And, as the cause of his death was at least partially bone cancer, she was equally appalled that patients in need of healthy transplant pieces could have received these diseased bones (via Terry Krueger, DXLD) And here`s the original story: TV HOST COOKE'S BODY PLUNDERED BY GHOULS By WILLIAM SHERMAN, NY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER The ghoulish body parts for sale ring stole the bones of "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke just before he was cremated, the Daily News has learned. The celebrated broadcaster and actor died March 30, 2004, of lung cancer that spread to his bones. The next day, without permission of any family members, body snatchers surgically carved out the 95-year- old's diseased bones. The bones were sold for more than $7,000 to two tissue processing companies for eventual transplant procedures, sources told The News. "I hope those guys burn in hell for what they did," said longtime Cooke family attorney David Grossberg. The alleged leader of the body-snatching ring is Michael Mastromarino, whose operations are under investigation by the Brooklyn district attorney's office. Mastromarino ran Biomedical Tissue Services Ltd., a tremendously profitable tissue recovery business that sold body parts, including bone, skin and cardiac valves. After processing, Cooke's bones could have been used for dental implants or numerous orthopedic procedures including dowels for damaged spines. Cooke's remains were sold by Mastromarino to processing companies Regeneration Technologies Inc., of Alachua, Fla., and Tutogen Medical Inc., of Paterson, N.J. A spokesman for Tutogen did not return a telephone call. A spokesman for Regeneration Technologies had no comment. But Cooke's daughter, Susan Kittredge, who learned what happened to her father only last week, told The News she was "shocked and saddened that following his death, parts of his body were illegally sold for transplant." "That people in need of healing should have received his body parts, considering his age and the fact that he was ill when he died, is as appalling to the family as is that his remains were violated," she said. The use of cancerous bone for transplant is a violation of Food and Drug Administration regulations and the use of body parts from the aged also is against transplant protocol. But in paperwork given the two processing companies, Mastromarino allegedly changed Cooke's "cause of death" to heart attack and changed his age from 95 to 85, according to sources. Mastromarino, along with his former partner Joseph Nicelli, an embalmer, are being probed for allegedly forging hundreds of such records in their business, which ran from 2000 until October 2005, when The News first disclosed the details of the Brooklyn probe. Mastromarino routinely paid funeral directors for each corpse provided to his company. Cooke's corpse was picked up at his Fifth Ave. home by the New York Mortuary Services Inc., a private funeral home at 2242 First Ave. Kittredge said she got what she believed to be her father's ashes two days later. Timothy O'Brien, head of New York Mortuary Services did not return calls. His attorney had no comment. Originally published on December 22, 2005 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Another version: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/23/ncooke23.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/12/23/ixportal.html (Telegraph, via Bruce MacGibbon, DXLD) ** U S A. 750 update: The growl on 750 is gone. KOAL has moved from 750.0879 down to 749.9996 kHz. Heard with Utah Jazz/Boston Celtics basketball game at 1814 PST 12/21/05 (Albert Lehr - Livermore, CA, Allied A-2515 receiver Homebrew external sync detector, frequency measurement system Two 35 ft. Ewe antennas at 218 and 293 degrees, 6 ft. outdoor loop, Dec 22, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A [and non?]. Results of mandatory solsticial midday MW bandscan for possible skywave, Dec 22 1847-1935 UT, or 1215-1303 LMT - -- why doesn`t anyone else report their logs in Local Mean Time when propagationally significant? Unfortunately besides IBAC surrounding 640 [see also OKLAHOMA], a lot of the band is still blemished by other local noise sources I cannot pinpoint. 800 had a fast SAH when OKC nulled at 1849. I would like to think this was XEROK, tho there is also low-powered KDDD in Dumas TX, also at a good null angle, and another station in AR. 880, besides dominant KRVN, had two other signals causing a 3-way SAH, at 1935. We don`t get much groundwave from AR here, but I see there is now a 50 kW near Little Rock, KGHT, and maybe the 10 kW from Conroe TX, KJOJ, was the other. 1140 had a not so fast SAH with OKC nulled at 1853. There are several possibilities around but I suppose the most likely is KLTK in Southwest City MO, at a right angle, rather than KSOO Sioux Falls which may be too close to the reverse bearing to OKC. 1500 had a SAH of slightly over 3 Hz, whether or not weak KPGM Pawhuska OK was nulled, at 1903. Could be the closest Texan, KJIM Sherman, but could also be KSTP skywave, which I have previously been able to DX in the daytime (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. While watching KASA-2 [Santa Fe NM] earlier this evening I could hear a news story from KQTV-2, a semi-local from St. Joseph MO. It was something to do about A/B switches and how to watch channel 2 over-the-air if you are a cable subscriber. I checked their website and indeed St. Joseph Cablevision is planning to drop KQTV at the end of the year as their retransmission agreement expires. KQTV wants a penny per day per subscriber and Cablevision refuses to pay anything. Unfortunately for KQTV, KMBC-9 (the Kansas City ABC affiliate) is on the St. Joseph Cablevision system. When I was at KTWU-11 I convinced them not to drop KTWU, but we were not asking for any payment. KQTV does a fair amount of local programming including a decent local newscast. I can't imagine subscribers would want to without "KQ2." They are pretty important in St. Joseph for local weather which is not available from Kansas City or Topeka stations. It will be interestin to follow this story. The only other St. Joseph TV station is KTAJ-16, a TBN station that does local programming but no news (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, Dec 22, WTFDA via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. R. Tashkent, 7190, *1200-1210+ Dec 17, IS, English sign-on announcements with IDs; 1202 news, local music. Weak, poor with co-channel QRM (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UZBEKISTAN. (?) 9500, Christian Voice or CVC, (presumed), 1155-1235 Dec 22. Noted Hindi type music until the hour, then comments in Hindi by man and woman. Back to music at 1206. At 1210 man in long discourse with mentions of the "Bible" in English often. This broadcast isn't active every day. I usually check for it once or twice each morning and I have only heard it on this frequency (9500) on Sunday and today (Thursday). According to the PWBR, this transmission is produced in Australia and transmitted from Uzbekistan. At this time, I am getting excellent copy with a power house signal. Should I, if being transmitted from Uzbekistan? I checked url http://www.cvc.tv for any info on this station using 9500 and found nothing! Although I don't understand Hindu, there were a number of addresses given in the broadcast and they all ended with the word "India". At about 1235, the signal began to fade somewhat at my location (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, NRD545, dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I don`t see why not. Per HFCC the azimuth from Tashkent for this is 152 degrees, and this is more or less grayline-time. You may be getting longpath or off-the-back (gh, DXLD) Glenn, why can't I find any reference on their web page for 9500 or the Hindu language? Also, I hear India mentioned a lot when giving addresses? Just wondering? (Chuck Bolland, ibid.) Chuck, They must be one of many stations who fail to give their own schedule completely and accurately on their own website. All too common. So they have an address in India. Lots of foreign broadcasters do, to save listeners extra foreign postage. 73, (Glenn, ibid.) Glenn, I agree. If you get anything else on this, please keep me > in mind (Chuck Bolland, ibid.) Chuck, exactly what page were you looking at? Go to http://www.christianvision.com/graphicsite/christianvisiongraphicsite/schedules/schedules.htm hover over Hindi and their schedule appears including 9500. But they don`t like to go into transmitter site details (Glenn, ibid.) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. CLAND or W. SAHARA or ALGERIA --- 1550 kHz, Polisario Front, Tindouf, observed on 16 Dec 0851-0904* with Arabic program, chantings, national anthem played at 0902 after which the carrier remained on for a very brief period; 55544; their 7460 outlet is still silent (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 4965, Voice Africa/Christian Voice International, Lusaka; *0030-0155 December 23. Per D. Crawford tip, tentatively the one with tones till abruptly up at 0030 with short gospel vocal opening a US- produced "Five Minutes of Sunlight" program with US-accented male preacher, gospel songs. From 0100, either local programming or African-produced with gospel, most songs having a reggae flavor, accented English female. At 0027, seemingly "Radio Christian Voice" by man, though not sure if that was an actual ID. Listed as *1700-0400* in the WRTH-2006. Mostly fair level (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. R. Tanzania-Zanzibar, 11735, 1759-1820+ Dec 16, tune-in to local drums. 1800-1809 English news; 1909 ID as ``Spice FM`` and into Swahili talk. Fair-good in quiet conditions (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Am Freitag, Dez. 16, 13.xx UTC auf 9714 (6 x 1619 kHz) vermutlich (Musik, Klang) eine solche Station mit O=2/3 gehoert. Vielleicht hoert sich ein mazedonischer Musikpirat auch so an. Nur AM- Empfang moeglich. Kein USB/LSB (Herbert Meixner, Austria, A-DX Dec 16 via BCDX via DXLD) There was also an off-frequency Saudi c. 9715 (gh) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ DXLD Contribution via PayPal: Note: Glenn, For the service you provide to DXers. Regards, (Wayne Bastow, Australia) Well, Glenn, here we are again at this point in history, and you see till this very minute, we have been blessed to enjoy entering another Christmas season, cheering this great world community linked by the airwaves. For the memory of Björn Malm, is my wish everyone of us remain healthy and if God will, we could be sharing an even huge amount of DXing (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ RADIOREFERENCE.COM This is an awesome site, you got to look around on it. You can even find the pl tones for the cops as well as the frequencies and maps showing where the antennas are. Go to the database, click state and you are on your own ! http://www.radioreference.com (Rich Line, MARE Tipsheet Dec 22 via DXLD) WAR AND FAITH IN SUDAN (Eerdmans, 2005), by Gabriel Meyer, with photographs by James Nicholls, will take you there. The book is available on-line at http://warandfaithinsudan.com Unlike socio-political books with their overview approach, the narrative of War and Faith in Sudan is energized by Meyer's life among the Nuba people. He lived in a number of Nuba villages and traveled the rugged countryside with them, seeing first-hand the effects of the vicious warfare that the Government of Sudan waged against its people (Maria Sliwa of Freedom Now Communications, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ HFCC A06 TO BE HELD IN HAINAN, CHINA. Click to see details: http://www.hfcc.org/hainan.html (John Babbis, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We already referenced this, but some of the sections are labeled NEW in red. Trouble with this is, NEW since when? At least Kim Elliott now makes clear what me means by NEW. Looks like coördinating frequencies is quite a luxurious business, if your organisation is paying for your travel and accommodations (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DTV ELSEWHERE Setting aside the apparent decision to turn off USA analog(ue) in 2009, it might provide some relief to know the balance of the world is in no better shape regarding digital transition. Only the UK appears to have a precarious handle on it (2012) and their justification is the rapid take-up of what is called "FreeView" - 30 + channels of digital TV, FTA (free to air). Australia's conversion has been - is - a disaster - under 6% after four years. Sweden and Denmark claim to be doing better but they are handing out STBs willie-nillie. New Zealand continues to debate the merits of transferring everything to satellite digital rather than rebuilding several thousand (!) terrestrial analog transmitters for digital (for a country of 4 million, we have the most TV transmitters per capita in the world - because of the very rugged terrain and the frequent use of 10-100 watt translators each of which requires its own AC powered mountain top/side site). Japan, India, China - everyone is in a state of indecision. Scott is dead right - the government logic in each case is by abandoning present analog space, and selling it on the open market, all will be well at the end. What I fear is that with compression algorithms improving each month or two, that bandwidth as we know it will disappear as a commodity long before such sales are actually held. Certainly here in NZ spectrum planners retain an analog mindset about bandwidth during a period in history when data crunching into more and more efficient "packets" is improving at a logarithmic rate. An example: Our local ambulance, police and fire services have for decades all operated individual VHF-FM (160 MHz region) FM systems for two-way and for this volunteer supported area (fire, ambulance) sending alerts to supporters. Now they are combining their need into a single 160 MHz transmitter (which coincidentally is to be side mounted on our FM transmitter tower in my side yard) using digital packets. They calculate under 2% total time use meaning the same RF system will support dozens of similar transmitter-share users without priority problems since a typical fire or ambulance (10-20 word text) call alert for example takes 0.4 seconds to go to all pagers connected to their system. This is where we are all headed - data packets shared between divergent users freeing up significant chunks of spectrum worldwide (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, via Mike Bugaj, Dec 22, WTFDA via DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ A 'BAH, HUMBUG' FROM ATHEISTS By Stephen Boykewich Staff Writer Thursday, December 22, 2005. Issue 3322. Page 1. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/12/22/003.html An ocean away, the traditional holiday debate rages: Have shopping malls and iPods taken the Christ out of Christmas? But if you ask Alexander Nikonov, the less Christ in Christmas, the better. "Religion divides people. The task of Soviet society was to carry out a policy that made it as improper to talk about religion as about salaries or syphilitics," Nikonov said. "Every religion makes a claim to have the absolute truth, and when you have the truth, you can do anything, including kill." While murderous priests and syphilis discussion circles are not a national problem, Nikonov has no mixed feelings when it comes to Christmas. "On the official, governmental level, the holiday shouldn't exist," he said. In another country, he might have added, "Bah, humbug." Nikonov is not an average Christmas skeptic. He's part of the anti- Christmas elite. As head of the Moscow Atheistic Society, Nikonov kicked up a storm in November when he asked the Constitutional Court to remove the word "God" from the national anthem, saying it violated the constitutional separation of church and state. For him and other nonbelievers, official recognition of the Jan. 7 Orthodox Christmas, which started in 1990, is just as bad. "We can't fail to see how one of the so-called traditional religions - - in other words, Orthodoxy -- is making a claim with the gracious agreement of the authorities to a monopoly on Russia's civic life and culture," said Valery Kuvakin, professor of philosophy at Moscow State University and president of the Russian Humanistic Society. "This is why, in violation of the Constitution, the official Christmas holiday was introduced as a day off." If the willingness to complain about a day off is a sign of principle, Kuvakin clearly believes what he says. He stressed, however, that he did not begrudge believers their beliefs. "I think it's fine when Christians celebrate the day, believing that Christ was born on this day (in fact no one knows)," Kuvakin said by e-mail. "I bear no ill will toward these people, but for me personally it's one of the manifestations of THE TYRANNY OF IGNORANCE." The emphasis is his. Kuvakin and Nikonov are clearly in the minority -- and not just in resenting days off. Since the Soviet collapse, the percentage of Russians defining themselves as Russian Orthodox has climbed drastically, from 31 percent in 1991 to 59 percent this year, according to polls by the Levada Center. Exactly what that self-definition means is open to dispute. Only a fraction of those calling themselves Orthodox attend church regularly and, as with Christians worldwide, Christmas and Easter are the most common times they do so. About 3 million Russians attended Orthodox Christmas services in 2004, including 118,500 Muscovites, according to state figures. Skeptics say that packed churches are more about diversion than salvation. "In little towns the numbers are higher, but there are fewer worldly forms of entertainment there than in the major cities," Mikhail Yeliseikin, who manages the web site Atheism.ru, said by e- mail. "Following 'the path of the cross' is a way to pass the time 'meaningfully.'" Though Yeliseikin has no Christmas plans himself -- "asking an atheist how he'll spend Christmas is like asking him how he'll spend his next day off," he said -- the occasion will keep him busy on Jan. 8 as he collects church attendance statistics for his web site. The irony of an atheist busy with church matters is hardly a rare one. A tour of Yeliseikin's site and related ones such as Ateist.ru and Ateism.ru shows a community as obsessed with religion as the population of a monastery -- if considerably less respectful. The theme of Christmas provoked readers of www.ateism.ru to write semi- scholarly articles tying Christmas traditions to ancient pagan festivals and jokes about Jesus walking into a bar. Nikonov said there was a long Russian tradition of poking fun at religion. "In Russian folk tales, the priest is always a negative character -- sneaky, fat, greedy, vicious," Nikonov said. "Our great poet Pushkin wrote 'The Tale of the Priest and His Servant Balda.' The tale has a cheery, happy ending: The priest is killed." But the good old days of priest-murder tales may be gone forever, Nikonov said, as the government seeks to use Orthodoxy as a unifying national idea. "Now, on state television you see all the government bureaucrats crossing themselves. It's open propaganda for religion," Nikonov said. "Even in official events like the president's speech to the Federation Council, the patriarch sits up front and the other religious leaders have to sit in the back. It's a way of showing that all the animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." If the holiday plight of local atheists were not dire enough, even Western Christmas is making headway here, as some Russians begin to celebrate on Dec. 25 and keep the party going for two solid weeks. Even Yeliseikin was planning a big 25th. "I'm going to celebrate Western Christmas as the day before a great atheist holiday -- the seventh anniversary of the launch of the Scientific Atheism web site," he said. Somewhere, Karl Marx smiled (Moscow Times via Gerald T. Pollard, NC, DXLD) ###