DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-222, December 24, 2005 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2005 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn For latest updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1298: 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: 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 ** ARGENTINA. RAE e-mail address. German section --- Rayen Braun, Sprecherin des deutschen Programms von Radio Argentina al Exterior (RAE) teilte mir folgende Email Adresse der Redaktion mit: raedeutsch @ yahoo.com.ar (Volker Willschrey, Germany, wwdxc BC-DX Dec 23 via DXLD) So I wonder if same format applies to all other languages, as e.g. raeenglish@ (gh) ** BOLIVIA. 4498.15, R. Estambul, 1006-1022, Dec. 19, Spanish, Music with solid ID at 1010. Various announcers over music at 1017. Poor/fair, noisy by tune-out. Pleased to log this for the first time! 4796.33, R. Mallku, 0953-1003, Dec. 22, Spanish, Continuous Spanish music with nice ID at 0956. Poor (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, MLB-1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. To anyone interested, I would like to commend programming at Radio Canada International at 10:05 a.m. each Saturday morning on 13655. There is a program of music and humor, sometimes extreme humor, called "The Vinyl Cafe." I have been listening for a number of years and find it has become one of the mainstays of my life (Al Whealton, DX398 yg via DXLD) And some of the best storytelling this side of Prairie Home Companion! (Gordo, ibid.) Agreed! In fact I`ll take it instead of PHC. I`ll bet Al is in the ET zone, since the time is really 1505 UT Saturdays on 9515, 13655 and 17820; that`s actually the CBC Radio 2 ET feed. It repeats on Sundays at 1605 UT on CBC Radio 1, which means you have four more chances to hear its webcast across Canada up to 2005+ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I'm in Winston-Salem, NC --- The only city in the U.S. with a hyphenated name --- The only city in the universe with two cigarette brands for a name (Alvah Whealton, DX-398 yg via DXLD) I think there are quite a few hyphenates: Wilkes-Barre? PA (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. Re 5-220, CBC Vinyl Tap blurb: ``After all, the North Pole is in Canada!`` Well, not exactly, unless Canada`s territorial waters (or slush) extend a lot further than I thought. I thought the NP (geographic) is in INTERNATONAL WATERS, altho the North Magnetic, and Geomagnetic Poles found themselves below Canadian land, but I think are moving out into the Arctic Ocean (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBC Radio specials Monday, Dec. 26 From CBC Hotsheets. My comments in ** asterisks **. Ricky Leong Calgary, Alta. [Dec. 25 specials already published] ========== 1. THE CENTENNIAL COME AND GO SHOW: Boxing Day morning, CBC Regina wraps up the Alberta and Saskatchewan Centennials by reviving an old prairie tradition: the come and go social. The Centennial Come & Go Show covers the yearlong parties in both provinces through music, talk and comedy. Drop in and listen to artists from Joni Mitchell to Corb Lund. Laugh at Peter Brown's comedy and learn how transporting clean underwear into a disaster zone became an essential part of one couple's centennial celebration. Then look forward with host Jennifer Gibson to another big centennial in the region: the City of Saskatoon's. It all begins at in most regions 5:30 local time (6 NT) and at 4:30 a.m. Eastern on Sirius Channel 137. 5. LOST AND FOUND: Lost and Found is about the search for things that have left you, and the discovery of things you never had. Today, Lives: the search for the identity of a man whose body was found in a block of ice in the waters off northern New Brunswick. A spiritual intuitive who helped find the body of a missing woman in Nelson, BC. Award-winning P.E.I. poet John MacKenzie with his poem "John Barker's Empty Sky". And a "hactivist" who used his know-how to keep tabs on child porn collectors by invading their computers with an invisible Trojan virus. Lost and Found, Boxing Day Monday at noon (12:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. 6. THE CIRCUIT: CBC Radio's Peter Brown spent the summer touring Canada's music festivals. He shared the stories and music he found on The Circuit: Your Summer Festival Pass, and he's back this holiday season with more. Today, he presents Scandinavian blues band GoGo Blues, recorded at the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, Australian a cappella group Coco's Lunch, who performed at Festival Vancouver, and Egyptian- Canadian singer Maryem Tollar at the Islands Folk Fest on Vancouver Island. The Circuit, Boxing Day Monday at 1 p.m. (1:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. 8. THE SECRET WORLD OF OG: Tune in to CBC Radio One this afternoon for a Christmas special titled The Secret World of Og, 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". The Secret World of Og, Boxing Day Monday at 4 p.m. (4:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. 9. BARENAKED LADIES HOLIDAY CONCERT: Tonight on CBC Radio One, hear one of Canada's favourite bands, recorded in Ottawa last month, playing songs for Christmas and Hanukkah as well as some of their most popular hits. The Barenaked Ladies Holiday Concert, Boxing Day Monday at 5 p.m. (5:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. [** CBC's online schedules might not be accurate, but they show certain regions of the country offering local/regional programming during the morning drive and part of the afternoon drive. **] (Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** CANADA. PARK RADIO REACHING NEW HEIGHTS (BANFF) PUBLICATION: Banff Crag & Canyon 2005.12.13 BYLINE: Sabrina Fabian Park Radio is hoping that their broadcast will be reaching more people by the summer of 2006. According to Laura Wade, producer for the local radio station, a new transmitter is in the works to strengthen the signal of Park Radio to reach beyond the park gates into Canmore, and as far as Lake Louise. Currently, cars passing through the park can only listen to Park Radio from the entrance of the east gates to Castle Junction. The purpose of Park Radio is to ``produce and broadcast entertaining, informative and educational radio programming about the natural and cultural history of Banff National Park and surrounding regions; and to inspire audiences to take an active role in the stewardship of their natural environment,`` according to its website. Park Radio, a branch of Friends of Banff, offers a variety of programming on both English and French stations, intending to appeal to the interests of members of the community of all ages, as well as to tourists. A survey was conducted over the summer to assess the listenership of the station, Wade said, with results indicating that 26.8 percent of the 254 people surveyed over a three-week period said that they listened to the station. According to the results of the survey, road signs on the Trans-Canada Highway are the primary means of communicating the radio station`s existence to the public: 42.6 per cent of those surveyed found out about the radio station from the road signs, whereas 20.6 percent discovered the station through scanning. Park Radio`s programming is intended to keep listeners informed on various important issues related to the park, such as weather, ski and road reports, Wade said. It is also a vehicle to inform tourists on topics surrounding wildlife in the Park, as well as ``eco tips`` and ``centennial moments.`` As Wade explained, ``Park Radio educates listeners about what makes Banff unique.`` Many of the programs are educational, and very helpful to people who are new to the area and are not aware of the regulations and general expectations of the visitors of a national park, she said. Rachael Kimola recently graduated from Mount Royal College in Calgary, with a BA in journalism and a diploma in broadcasting. She did an internship with Park Radio in the summer of 2004. Kimola said she recognizes the importance of the radio station in a place like a national park. ``It`s really beneficial to the community,`` she said, ``because a lot of people don`t know the common practices in the park.`` Jessica Green has been volunteering at the radio station for several weeks now, writing scripts, conducting research and doing the snow reports on-air. Green also advocates the role that Park Radio plays in the community. ``It`s really important for the tourists,`` she said, adding that the station provides valuable information to people of all ages. On a more personal note, Green, who is from England, is happy to be able to give her time to an important component of the Banff community. ``It`s been a great way to learn more about Banff and to be involved in the community,`` said Green, who has been in Banff for one year. For her part, Kimola is greatly appreciative of her experience at Park Radio because of the learning opportunity it provided for her. ``I got a lot more out of it than I was expecting,`` said Kimola, who is originally from B.C. ``I was able to do more than if I had been at a larger station. I did a lot of hands-on work.`` According to Wade, Park radio is a great way to get all members of the community involved, including children and adolescents, thanks to the variety of programs available, such as ghost stories from the Grade 7 kids at the Banff Community High School, as well as a kids` show every evening. Nine-year-old Banffite Thom de Bie hosts ``Kids in the Park`` daily from 7 to 8 p.m. [MST = UT -7]. There is also a music hour every day, featuring mainly folk music from 6 to 7 p.m. every day. The music hour showcases artists from around the Bow Valley. Friends of Banff has been running the station since 1998, and has turned the previously limited station into a station providing 24 hours of programming. The new transmitter, which is intended to be installed in the summer of 2006, will reach even more listeners. Listeners can tune in to Friends of Banff on 101.1 in English and 103.3 in French, both on the FM dial, or online at http://www.friendsofbanff.com/parkradio.html (via Eric Flodén, BC, who has worked at Banff, DXLD) ** CANADA. "THE GRINCH WHO STOLE A TV STATION" Star Ray TV receives a Yuletide Letter from the CRTC December 19, 2005 Press Release For immediate release, Toronto: Star Ray TV received a letter from the Grinches at the CRTC on Monday December 12, 2005. A scan of this letter can be found at http://tochat.tv/viewtopic.php?t=6 From what we can gather the so smart and so slick Grinches are using a bogus complaint by a fictitious person as justification to delay Star Ray's application one year. The CRTC would make the Grinch smile most unpleasant! The complainant "Mason Baxley" cannot be found in Canada by any Internet or phone directory search and used an anonymous Hotmail email account to deliver his complaint for channel 13 not even 15! Secondly the nimble, sly Grinches are reneging on their deal to allow SRTV to transmit non-programming material during the disposition of our application. This means the fibbing Grinches cannot be trusted to uphold their word but this is nothing new in Who-ville (Ottawa). Remember the CRTC Grinches hated Star Ray TV since 1997, this lastest Grinchy trickery is nothing new. Thirdly the sour, frowning Grinches had an Industry Canada Inspector inadvertently violate Jan Pachul's privacy rights by using information gathered during a request for assistance regarding an unrelated complaint. At no time was Jan notified that he was the target of Industry Canada's investigation. This is why a name is blacked out in the Grinchy letter; this name is withheld by Jan Pachul at the Inspector's request. We accept his explanation that was not aware that he was being used in such a grinch-ish-ly manner. Star Ray TV's reply to the slithering, growling Grinches can be found at: http://tochat.tv/viewtopic.php?t=8 Star Ray TV wishes everyone except the sneering CRTC Grinches a joyful holiday season and a happy new year! For more information, please contact Jan Pachul directly at (416) 693- 7400, email srtv @ srtv.ca, or visit the Star Ray web site at http://srtv.ca TM - The Grinch character is a trademark of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. 1957 and is used herein as a parody. Star Ray TV 186 Main Street Toronto, Ontario Tel: (416) 693-7400 (Star Ray TV, Dec 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Re 5-221: [Here is a Xi`an schedule, but we`re not sure if it is absolutely up to date with new transmissions:] 5955 1000 1100 44,45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 5955 1500 1600 44,45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 5985 2200 2300 45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 6010 1600 1700 49E XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 6020 1800 1900 28SE XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 6040 1400 1500 54 XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 6145 1900 2000 28E XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 6150 1700 1800 27,28 XIA 500 317 CHN CRI RTC 6165 1600 1700 39N XIA 500 292 CHN CRI RTC 7105 2200 2300 13,14 XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 7110 2000 2100 28S XIA 500 317 CHN CRI RTC 7120 2000 2100 28SE XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 7120 2100 2200 28N XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 7130 1300 1500 45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 7130 2000 2100 28S XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 7150 1200 1300 45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 7150 1900 2000 28NW XIA 500 317 CHN CRI RTC 7160 2000 2100 28SE XIA 500 317 CHN CRI RTC 7160 2200 2300 37NW XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 7190 1500 1600 45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 7190 1800 1900 39N XIA 500 292 CHN CRI RTC 7200 1100 1200 45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 7205 1430 1530 49 XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 7215 1300 1400 54N XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 7220 2300 2400 49E XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 7245 1700 1800 27,28 XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 7265 1700 1800 39N XIA 500 292 CHN CRI RTC 7265 1800 1900 28SE XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 7325 1600 1700 39N XIA 500 292 CHN CRI RTC 7325 2100 2200 28S XIA 500 317 CHN CRI RTC 7335 1600 1700 28E XIA 500 306 CHN CRI RTC 7345 1900 2000 39N XIA 500 292 CHN CRI RTC 7360 1500 1600 49E XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 9410 1200 1300 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 9415 0800 1000 44,45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 9435 2300 2400 45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 9440 0900 1100 45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 9560 1400 1500 49E XIA 500 145 CHN CRI RTC 9685 1300 1400 49E XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 9685 1400 1500 49E XIA 500 195 CHN CRI RTC 9730 2330 0030 41SE XIA 500 252 CHN CRI RTC 9785 1130 1430 49 XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 9870 1300 1400 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 9870 1400 1600 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 11640 0100 0200 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 11640 1200 1300 54N XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 11790 2300 0100 49 XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 11845 0000 0100 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 11885 0000 0100 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 11885 0100 0200 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 11980 1200 1300 49E XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 11990 1100 1200 49E XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 12070 1100 1200 50 XIA 500 145 CHN CRI RTC 13610 0700 0900 45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 13645 0600 0800 49,54 XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 13655 0000 0700 45N XIA 500 73 CHN CRI RTC 13680 0000 0100 49E XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 13720 1000 1200 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 13730 0700 0800 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 15145 0700 0800 49,54 XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 15340 0900 1100 49,54 XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 15425 0100 0300 49,54 XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 15435 0200 0300 40 XIA 500 292 CHN CRI RTC 17505 0400 0500 49,54W XIA 500 200 CHN CRI RTC 17740 0400 0600 49E XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC 17740 0600 0800 49,54 XIA 500 190 CHN CRI RTC (via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. After reading the various correspondence (all from the Americas?) concerning Radio Republica I decided to try for it via 6135 on the 23rd and I heard a good signal at around 2245. I didn't hear a positive ID but the language was "Cuban Spanish" and the subject matter appeared to concern Cuba so I think I must have heard the station I was looking for. The signal was a good one and an easy copy but with a unidentified co- channel same time. I couldn't hear any Cuban jamming signals. I wouldn't like to even guess if the signal was from this side of the Atlantic or the Americas side as both should propagate at that hour - and Euro signals can sometimes sound like more distant ones at this time of the year. 73s from (Noel R. Green (NE England), Dec 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DESECHEO. Kam, N3KS/KP5 and Dave, K3LP/KP5 [425DXN 763] became active from Desecheo around 04.30 UTC on 16 December. According to first hand information collected by The Daily DX, this was a working trip and the two had received "formal permission to activate FCC approved radio communications on a 'time permitting' basis" and "official landing permission from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service". Although Kam and Dave expected to stay on the island for a minimum of 48 hours, they went QRT at 1730 UT on 17 December. The reasons that brought them to a halt are unclear. The Daily DX reports that "the Police served the KP5 team some kind of official documentation" that supposedly "came from Washington DC demanding the KP5 team leave the island immediately". Kam and Dave made about 7,300 QSOs in about 44 hours (total QRV time between the two operators). QSL to W3ADC. Read the various updates issued by The Daily DX on http://www.dailydx.com/kp5.htm (425 DX News via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** DIEGO GARCIA. 4319(USB), AFRTS/AFN, Dec 24 and 25, fading in about 0045 till fading out about 0108, mostly fair. Only about three minutes separate DG sunrise from my sunset, for good Grayline reception. On 24th ``Sports Byline USA`` with Ron Barr interview with Nate Thurmond; on 25th ``Focus on Racing Radio,`` 0057 full ID ``This is American Forces Network, an activity of the U.S. Department of Defense,`` gives Riverside, Calif. address, National Anthem played both days at 0059, ToH AP Radio news (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 1. EDITORIAL --- Estimados amigos lectores: Las primeras líneas de nuestro editorial están dedicadas a evocar a Bjorn Malm, nuestro querido amigo y colega sueco que desde hace muchos años estaba radicado en Quito, Ecuador. Bjorn falleció el pasado 29 de Noviembre y este hecho impactó profundamente a la comunidad diexista en general. Bjorn se hizo muy querido con su permanente participación y colaboración desde el epicentro de la actividad radial andina. Siempre prestó su ayuda desinteresada ante cualquier duda o inquietud acerca de las emisoras del área. La página web que creo, desarrolló y actualizó durante los últimos años es un legado permanente para todos los que amamos esta actividad. Profundo fue, reiteramos, la impresión que este hecho desafortunado produjo entre todos nosotros. Uno no está preparado para perder a alguien querido, bueno y que ingresó, de alguna manera, en nuestras propias vidas. Desde estas páginas virtuales, Bjorn, queremos decirte que nos enorgullecemos de haber podido conocerte. Tampoco queremos dejar, a pesar de la tristeza que nos embarga, de evocar la fecha que se aproxima y por eso, todos quienes hacemos Conexión Digital semana a semana, deseamos de todo corazón desearles una Feliz Nochebuena y una hermosa Navidad. Hasta cada momento (Grupo Editor, CONEXION Digital, Dec 24 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. Cland, 5500, V. Tigray Revolution, Mekele 1830+ Dec 22 with folk songs and short commentaries by YL in local language; S7, low modulation and dull, 35333 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Once again, this is not considered clandestine; apparently the Tigray Revolution has been accomplished and now it is considered just another domestic station, on page 212 of the WRTH 2006, as well as in previous editions. See also USA for complaints against VOA (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** GREENLAND. NDB SF/Kangerlussuaq, 382 kHz. 500 Watt, coverage 100 NM Answered with a nice letter in November; Kangerlussuaq Airport, Chief of Air Traffic Control, ATC, P. O. Box 1006, DK-3910 Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, [so Kalaalit Nunaat still has Danish postal codes?!] I quote: ``Dear Tor-Henrik, enclosed with this letter you find a QSL verification. We don´t have any preprinted QSL-card, so I have made this one. If you want it at a normal cardsize, you will have to cut to the right size. Kangerlussuaq is a former US Airforce Base, built in 1942. On the 1st October, 1992 it was handed over to the Greenlandic Homerule and the US Airforce left Kangerlussuaq. Kangerlussuaq is the main airport in Greenland. It can handle any size of aircraft. Most of the other airports are smaller with runways less than 1000m. Kangerlussuaq is just north of the Arctic Circle, only 20 kms from the icecap and the weather is therefore dominated by the high pressure which normally is over the ice. This means that the winters are usually cold, average temperature around -20 to -30 C, but now and then dropping to –40 C or even less. The summers are sunny and warm with temperatures between 15 to 20 C, and now and then up to 25 C. But it feels warmer because of the low humidity. Kangerlussuaq is a small town. Here live around 500 people and most of them have a job related to the airport and connecting services. I`ve been here for about 3 years, but before that I lived here from summer 93 to January 98. I`ve been working as air traffic controller since 1983. It`s a bit of surprise that our NDB is heard that far away, but I guess that is because of atmospheric interference of some kind. Once when I worked at Aalborg in Denmark I could hear Oslo talk to aircraft on the ground in Gardermoen Airport near Oslo. That was on VHF frequencies. About a year ago I received a similar letter from a guy in Savonlinna, who had also been listening to SF. (a very good friend of mine, Ed.!) Thank you for your card and I hope you`re satisfied with the QSL-card. – Best regards, Mogens U. Christensen, Chief of Air Traffic Control, Kangerlussuaq Airport, Greenland`` This NDB is located 3594 km from my QTH!!! (Torre Ekblom, Espoo, Finland, Utility Shack, Dec DSWCI SW News via DXLD) ** GUYANA. 3921.17, GBC, 0140-0204, Dec. 18, English, OM with music program. Talk re various musical artists and holiday greetings. Fair/good (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, MLB-1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 4960, AIR-Ranchi, 1135-1203, Dec. 20, Vernacular, Talks by OM and YL between Hindi music bits. Ads featuring "doorbell" effects and URL I couldn't fully copy. Hindi ballads at 1150. Nice ID at 1200 then "doorbell" ad again. Music intro and OM at 1202. Fair at tune-in then slowly fading (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, MLB-1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR Thiruvanthapuram was noted yesterday night (Xmas eve) at 1745 hours on 5010 kHz will a special transmission of live broadcast of Xmas Mass from Church. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Dec 25, dx_india via DXLD) ** IRAN. 3945, VOIRI, 0207-0216, Dec. 19, Vernacular, Announcer with numerous mentions of "Islam", musical bridge followed by talk re "Iraq". Fair. Need USB to avoid LSB chatter (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, MLB-1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Per WRTH 2006, this is Urdu via Zahedan. BTW, did you realize that VOIRI does NOT broadcast in Persian on SW? Neither external nor domestic service, according to WRTH 2006. Yes, I looked both under Farsi and Persian; unless you will settle for Dari or Tajik. This is confirmed in the ADDX B-05 sorts by language via drop down at http://www.addx.de/Hfpdat/plaene.php So if you hear something on SW in Persian, you can be sure it`s NOT IRAN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. DAILY SAYS IRAN BROADCASTING "SHOULD BRACE FOR NEW CHANGES" | Text of report in English by Iran News website on 24 December "IRIB should brace for new changes" President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad, who according to the Constitution is also head of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, has recommended 23 strategies to boost the quality of the Iranian television's programs. The preamble of his statement noted that according to guidelines of the late Imam Khomeini, television should be a public university and should play a major role in social, cultural, and economic developments as the most important mass communication media. Supervisory Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) is overseen by the heads of the three powers of the government and plays an effective role in supervising policies, strategies and approaches taken to television programs. The presidential statement has stressed attention to Islamic values and justice, perseverance, promotion of Islamic behaviour, encouraging the youth to engage in various professions, increasing skills needed to improve the nation's lifestyle, environmental protection, avoiding publicity for extravagance, especially in television series and commercials, and observing Islamic cultural norms when purchasing foreign serial programs and films. According to current practice in Iran, ratification of such supreme councils override those of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) and the Guardian Council has frequently rejected Majlis approvals that was in conflict with what was passed by such councils. Although the president's move has been considered strange by some in the print media, it in fact is in line with his authority as defined by the Constitution. What has been mentioned in the statement is not totally unexpected. Foreign news agencies have paid more attention to certain parts of the statement which refer to preference of traditional Iranian music over Western music, and have ignored the rest of the statement. Expectations from state television and radio in the Islamic Republic of Iran are quite different from other countries. These expectations conform to views of the late leader of the Islamic Revolution who believed that the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting should be a place for training people. The IRIB is expected to both observe religious and national occasions and produce entertaining programs to fill the people's leisure time. Many analysts believe that IRIB has failed to meet those expectations, though it has tried over the past years to present programs that suit special audiences. The Iranian elite, however, expect IRIB's programs to have positive effects. They maintain that the state television has failed to achieve this goal. They say many social serial programs contain scenes of violence and are also harmful to public culture and Persian language. IRIB officials should pay close attention to the needs of their audience as well as cultural interests of the country. IRIB officials better pay urgent attention to what has been mentioned in the president's statement. Source: Iran News website, Tehran, in English 24 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) I`ll bet a lot of Iranians who voted for this lunatic because he was a ``man of the people`` are feeling as chagrined as a lot of Americans who voted for Bush, another thinly disguised theocrat (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. This may be of interest to those in Mexico and outside that try for Radio Educación on medium wave (Roger Chambers, Utica NY) Viz: Parece ser que la emisora que transmite en el puerto de Veracruz XETF- AM que emitia en los 1250 kHz cambió a la frecuencia de los 1060 kHz. Emitiendo la señal del grupo Radio Formula. Ojalá nos confirmen esto, los amigos del Municipio, Puerto y Estado de Veracruz. Si esto es cierto, se acabó el canal libre de XEEP-AM 1060 kHz Radio Educación en el país. Atentamente, (Roberto Edgar Gómez Morales, México, club diexista mexico Dec 24 via Roger Chambers, DXLD) ** NICARAGUA [and non]. I'm crazily working on the NEW and IMPROVED Mexico & Central American fm radio station directory, now having some days off (and I don't want this project to take all winter). BTW, I do now have a new name for the book (but I'm keeping the name under wraps for now). Anyway, I was able to gain access to the 'FCC' equivalent files for ALL of the licensed FM radio stations in Nicaragua - I'm 'like' blown away by the details they have in their files - México needs to learn something from them. Listed, besides calls, slogan, wattage, city of license, is exact lat/lon of the transmitter and any repeater transmitter sites, as well as the watts and lat/long of the STL!! Now the funny part - they give directions to every radio station studio in Nicaragua, even if there ISN'T an address. Take for example - radio station YNFAVT 104.1 in La Trinidad "Estéreo Vida La Trinidad". Translating from Spanish, the studio directions read, "Locate the Texaco Gas Station in La Trinidad, then proceed four doors to the west and you're there." Ha ha! I just finished with the OFFICIAL directory of Panamá FM radio stations and have only to verify some formats for that list. It`s moving along nicely and I am shooting for early March (maybe the 1st). (Jim Thomas - wdx0fbu, Milliken, CO - 40 mi N of Denver, WTFDA via DXLD) Certain LAm countries, in particular Nicaragua, do not have explicit numbered street addresses like we do, so follow the quaint practice of explaining locations by reference to known landmarx (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Actually this is the traditional way that Nicaraguans give addresses. Many, perhaps most, offices and residences in Nicaragua do not have house numbers. Regards, (Fred Laun (Counsellor for Public Affairs, American Embassy Managua, 1986-1987), WTFDA via DXLD) PANAMA ** ** POLAND. 11850, R. Polonia, 1318-1336, Dec. 19, English, News re Polish politics. "News from Poland" program. Contest at 1326 re traditional Polish Xmas dinner. Correct answers via e-mail win Xmas "goodie bag". Music/talks featuring Henryk Goresky(sp-?). "Soundcheck, 20 minutes of Polish music" at tune-out. Poor/fair (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, MLB-1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 5960, RS Tikhiy Okean, *0935-1000*, Dec. 23, Russian, IS, Usual format reported by others with OM ID, YL with talks, occasional OM and music. Poor with 5955 slop. Too weak to detail at my location (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, MLB-1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Voice of Russia. Russian World Service. Relay via SW transmitters of Russia. 30/10/2005 - 25/03/2006 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kHz UTC kW Moscow 5810DRM 1400-1800 035 5900 0000-0300 500 5985 1500-1900 250 6000 1630-1800 250 6130 1600-2100 250 6145 1600-2200 250 7230 1600-2100 500 7260 0200-0400 500 7290 1800-2100 250 7305 1800-2000 250 7320 1600-1900 250 7330 0000-0400 500 7330 1700-2200 250 7360 1500-1900 250 7365 1300-1600 250 7380 1600-1630 250 7390 1800-2200 250 7400 1700-2100 250 7420 1800-2100 250 9470* 1500-1800 250 11985** 1500-1800 250 12025 1200-1600 500 12055 1300-1600 250 12060DRM 0700-1300 035 15460* 1200-1500 250 17570** 1200-1500 250 Sankt-Petersburg 5860 1800-2000 200 5895 1500-1800 400 5910 1600-1700 200 5940 2100-2230 200 5950 1900-2100 400 6045 1700-2000 200 6060 1800-2000 400 6090 1600-1900 200 6195 0100-0300 500 (800) 7130 1700-1800 400 7340 1600-1800 200 Kaliningrad 5895 1800-2200 160 5920 1630-2000 160 7445 1500-2200 160 9720 1000-1100 160 Samara 5905 1700-1900 250 5920 2100-2200 250 5935 1500-1700 250 5940 1500-2000 250 6000 1800-2230 200 6175 1800-2000 200 6185 1300-1700 200 7215 1600-1700 200 7315 1400-1700 250 7355 1900-2000 200 7370 1700-1900 200 7380 2000-2100 200 7390 0000-0300 500 (2x250) 7390 1600-1800 250 9900 1300-1500 250 Krasnodar 5925 1500-2000 100 5945 0100-0300 500 5950 1800-1900 250 (500) 6005 1500-1800 100 7150 0200-0600 500 7240 0200-0400 500 7300 1600-1900 250 (500) 9800 1200-1600 500 11655 1300-1500 250 15540 1000-1100 250 Novosibirsk 5940 1200-1500 200 5945 1400-1800 500 7300 2000-2200 250 (500) 7305 1200-1400 200 7305 1400-1700 500 7310 1800-2100 500 9865 1200-1300 500 Irkutsk 5910 1700-1900 250 5920 1000-1400 100 5995 1500-1900 100 6095 1000-1100 100 6115 1200-1300 100 9770 1300-1500 500 17805 0600-0900 250 Chita 6205 1200-1300 500 6205 1400-1600 500 7335 1700-2000 500 7350 1200-1600 500 Vladivostok 3955 1000-1100 100 3955 1200-1300 100 3955 1400-1500 100 5930 1100-1500 100 7260 1300-1700 500 15425 0200-0600 500 Khabarovsk 6145 1100-1400 100 7220 1100-1500 100 Komsomolsk-na-Amure 6005 1300-1500 250 9495 1300-1500 250 12010 0200-0600 250 15475 0200-0500 250 17665 0600-1000 250 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy 5995 1200-1500 250 7415 1500-1900 250 9840* 0400-0600 250 13665 0200-0400 250 15595 0200-0400 200 15595** 0400-0600 200 * = Till 04/03/2006 ** = From 05/03/2006 (Nikolay Rudnev, Belgorodskaya oblast) Voce of Russia. Russian World Service. Relay via SW transmitters abroad Russia. 30/10/2005 - 25/03/2006 -------------------------------------------------------------- kHz UTC kW Armenia / Gavar 7250 0200-0400 500 11510 1700-2000 500 Moldova / Grigoriopol 6170 1900-2100 500 7125 0000-0600 500 7180 0100-0600 500 Tajikistan / Orzu 7510 1500-2000 200 7570 0000-0300 500 9945 0200-0300 500 11500 1200-1500 500 17495 0800-1000 500 Tajikistan / Yangiyul 4965 1300-1500 100 4965 1600-1700 100 4975 1300-1500 100 4975 1600-1700 100 9885 1300-1530 100 9885 1600-1700 100 China / Xian 9660 1500-1600 100 Vatican / S. Maria di Galeria 7170 2100-2130 250 7350 0200-0600 250 Germany / Juelich 5965 2000-2200 100 5975 2000-2200 100 5990 2100-2200 100 5995 0200-0400 100 6175 2300-2400 100 9555 1500-1600 100 (Nikolay Rudnev, Belgorodskaya oblast, Rus-DX Dec 25 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Saturday morning (Christmas Eve) BBC 1260 and DW 1188 via St. Petersburg were off the air, but in the evening they were back on, both in Russian at 1700 (Olle Alm, Sweden, Dec 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAINT KITTS [and non]. 555, ZIZ, Basseterre DEC 24 0245 - with calypso tune // http://pointers.audiovideoweb.com/asxfiles-live/nj45winlive9786.asx Good to weak with very minor splash from the 550 which included poor residual CHLN, WEVD and probable YVKE with the radio perpendicular to the South-South-East. The more or less great great music was more pleasant to listen to and had a more exotic flavour on my Sanyo, than on the Net stream. I think the TP DXers found the island music more esthetic and with a bigger amount of local flavour in adjacent domestic splash than if they could hear Tahiti-738 over the Internet. + DEC 24 1002 UT - Caribbean English young male with apparent greetings. Poor, but with very minor 550 splash ! It's 6:02 in St. Kitts and Nevis! My latest reception of them! They are very regular this season (Bogdan Alexandru Chiochiu, Pierrefonds (Montreal's West Island), Quebec, Canada H8Y 3M9 (514) 685-0714; Equipment: MW: Sanyo MCD-S830 AM-FM boombox with ferrite bar antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SAINT KITTS & NEVIS: 555, ZIZ, 15/12/05, 0440, Charlas con oyentes en idioma inglés con acento particular. Cortinas musicales de música moderna, 33322 (Miguel Castellino, Godoy Cruz, Provincia de Mendoza, Argentina, Conexión Digital Dec 24 via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA [non]. 7115, IBC Tamil, 0022 Dec 23 with phone-ins, ID at 0028, news, 0038 YL mentioning names which possibly are encoded message (?) 55555 ? (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, anything at all could possibly be an encoded message. Why do you say that about this? A Sinhalese accusation? (gh, DXLD) ** THAILAND. 8743U, Bangkok Meteorological Radio, 1224-1247, Dec. 19, Thai/English, Weather forecasts in Thai (2 to 6 minutes in length) and English (2 minutes in length) with 2-minute(+/-) IS between segments. Several ID announcements with schedule and frequencies. Poor/fair (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, MLB-1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKMENISTAN. Program about: see U K ** U K. BBC BULGARIA BIDS GOODBYE WITH A SMILE http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=57008 Politics: 23 December 2005, Friday. The Bulgarian section of the British broadcaster BBC went silent December 23 after airing its last one-hour program at 6 pm local time. In an attempt to match the Christmas mood across the country, the journalists from BBC Bulgaria decided to bid good-bye to their committed audience without sadness, but with a smile. It was with the conviction that what they did was truly independent journalism that memories from the times of the Cold War and the transition to the democratic changes in the country were revived. BBC Bulgaria listeners had the opportunity to hear interviews with journalists from these turbulent and interesting times and learn more about the highlights of the radio's 65-year history. The closure of BBC Bulgaria is part of a 30 million pounds restructuring of BBC World Service and will fund the launch of an Arabic-language television service. The channel will initially broadcast 12 hours a day and will be the BBC's first publicly funded global TV service. Broadcasts in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovene and Thai will cease by March 2006. The World Service so far provided news in English and 42 other languages and is funded by a Foreign Office grant. ---- BBC BULGARIA AIRS LAST PROGRAM Politics: 23 December 2005, Friday. BBC Bulgaria will air its last one-hour program on Friday at 6 pm local time. BBC Bulgaria listeners will have the opportunity to hear interviews with journalists from the times of the Cold War and learn more about the highlights in the radio's 65-year history. The program will also focus on the history of the Bulgarian section of the BBC established in February 1940. December 23 will also be the last for the web site of BBC Bulgaria. After that it will no longer be renewed. At the end of October BBC World Service announced 10 foreign language services, including the broadcast in Bulgarian, will be closed next year. Broadcasts in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovene and Thai will cease by March 2006. The World Service now provides news in English and 42 other languages and is funded by a Foreign Office grant. (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) ** U K. While North America was able to listen to FONLAC live, Xmas eve morning at 1500 UT via numerous public radio stations, in Britain itself, the Bach marathon on BBCR3 kept right on going, and instead Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols appears as soon as Bach is relaid to rest, Sunday Dec 25 at 1600 UT. That is just as well for those of us who missed the original broadcast. [correxion: see below] FONLAC was also live on the BBCWS Eu and Am streams at 1502 UT Saturday, and repeats at the same time on Sunday, not much help for North Americans where there is no loud and clear SW frequency at that hour; and there are no repeats at other times of day, unlike previous years. A few US public radio stations do repeat it later. See our holiday specials page links: one such is KCSC in OK, UT Mon Dec 26 at 0100. BBCR3 is also repeating a few of last summer`s Prom concerts beginning Dec 25 at 1830. These continue thru January 6, tho not every day, generally at 1930; for details see http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/proms2005highlights/pip/archive/ Later on BBCR3 Sun Dec 25, 2215-2400: Andy Kershaw Christmas in Ashgabat Turkmenistan is a curious, little-visited place where the months of the year are named after the President's family, beards are illegal, and there's a public holiday for the honeydew melon. Andy substitutes his traditional seasonal fare for a glass of Presidential Vodka, a Christmas kebab, and a generous helping of Turkmen national folk music, in the first British documentary made inside one of the world's most autocratic states (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glen[n], the 24 December airing of FONLAC was, as scheduled and as usual, on BBC Radio 4 at 1502 UT. The 25 December repeat will, as it has been for the past few years, be on Radio 3 but at 1700, not 1600. Radio 3 has *never* broadcast FONLAC on 24 December, but it has always aired on Radio 4 and its predecessor, the Home Service (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, United Kingdom, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Oops ** U K. BBCWS PREVIEWS, from Monday Dec 26, final week of 2005y: TSUNAMI TESTIMONIES In June, to coincide with the six month anniversary of the Tsunami, BBC Radio launched a special project, the Tsunami Audio Memorial. BBC World Service, Radio 4 and the Asian Network invited listeners to contribute the sounds and stories they associate with the tsunami- affected region. The idea was to compile an historic audio tribute to the region and its people. ``We received lots of personal accounts from those caught up in the tsunami, many of them very moving,`` says Sue Ellis, the project co- ordinator. ``People seem to find telling their story quite cathartic.`` Now, to mark the one year anniversary of the tsunami, these sounds and stories are captured in five programmes from Monday 26 December to Friday 30 December. Each programme has a different theme. One is an audio diary made by Mr Paramesvaran, an engineer from Chennai who lost his three children in the tsunami. Others focus on the environmental/natural sounds and stories from the region, children`s stories, and religious sounds and ceremonies from the area. ``The project was about capturing the essence of a region rich in sound,`` says Sue Ellis. ``Many people phoned, e-mailed or wrote in to talk about songs or pieces of music they associate with the area. Natural sounds, too, evoked memories. One contributor sent in a soundscape of recordings he`d made of birds, mammals and insects in Indonesia.`` Presenter/Producer/Sue Ellis Tsunami Testimonies: 5 x 15 minute programmes Monday to Friday 26 December to 30 December: [now referred to as Tsunami Reflections, on Off the Shelf] [European stream & webcast]: M-F 0445, 0845, 1245 [American stream & webcast]: M-F 0445, 0845, 1345, 1945 WORLD BOOK CLUB – PHILIP PULLMAN Famous authors from around the world discuss one of their best-known books with a global audience in World Book Club. In monthly sessions chaired by Harriett Gilbert, writers talk about the chosen work, give a reading from it, then throw themselves open to questions and feedback from a studio audience and letters, phone calls and e-mails from readers worldwide. Philip Pullman discusses Northern Lights, the first in Pullman`s His Dark Materials trilogy in World Book Club on Monday 26 December. Consigned to the care of the Fellows and Scholars of a Gothic Oxford College, Lyra - a wild, vivid, resourceful, mendacious, and captivating heroine - is drawn first into her father`s academic intrigues and then into a conspiracy of kidnapping organised by the terrifying ``gobblers.`` Lyra escapes from her mother`s clutches, lives with the gypsies of the rivers and fens, participates in a reckless rescue mission to Lapland, befriends an exiled warrior from the kingdom of the polar bears, experiences an Auschwitz-like medical establishment from the inside, and designs and participates in an ingenious palace coup. Along the way she learns to use a compass that measures Truth, meets witches who act as flying archers in battle and discovers a city visible in the Aurora, the Northern Lights of the book`s title. The entire trilogy – Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass – was rated as the third most popular book among British readers in the BBC`s Big Read poll of 2003 – one of the biggest polls of its kind in the UK Presenter/Harriett Gilbert, Producer/Bella Bannerman World Book Club: 1 programme x 30 minutes Monday 26 December [European stream & webcast]: Mon 1032, 1532, 2032, Tue 0232 [Americas stream & webcast]: Mon 1532, 2232, Tue 0232 Listen online http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/index.shtml (BBC Press Office via Rich Cuff via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ETHIOPIANS URGE VOICE OF AMERICA, GERMAN RADIO "STOP AIRING FALSE PROPAGANDA" | Text of report in English by Ethiopian news agency ENA website Jimma, 24 December 2005: The inhabitants of Gimbo Woreda [District] in Kaffa Zone [southwest of Addis Ababa] called up on the Amharic services of the Voice of America and Deutsche Welle radio to stop airing false propaganda about Ethiopia, the Woreda information office said. Publication and information professional with the office Yitagesu Tenagashaw told ENA over the weekend [24-25 December] that the over 1,000 residents requested the services to refrain from broadcasting false propaganda bent on inducing riot and instability in the country. In a resolution they passed at the conclusion of a meeting they held to discuss the prevailing situation, the inhabitants said the services were responsible for human casualty and property damage caused as a result of the recent violence in Addis Ababa and others towns. They also stressed the need to take measures on private press engaged on fuelling the riot instigated by anti-people forces. Source: ENA website, Addis Ababa, in English 24 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) TEN ETHIOPIAN DISTRICTS ACCUSE VOICE OF AMERICA OF AIRING "PROPAGANDA" | Text of report in English by Ethiopian news agency ENA website The Bure Woreda [District] Council members have called on the Amharic services of the Voice of America and Deutsche Welle to refrain from disseminating unbalanced information regarding Ethiopia. Council representative Anteneh Yenealem told ENA that the members denounced the services for airing unbalanced information bent on instigating violence in Ethiopia. In a resolution they passed at the conclusion of a two-day meeting, the members said the information in which the stated services broadcast would promote intolerance and sow seeds of discord among nations and nationalities. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of 10 woredas [districts] in Kaffa Zone have denounced the stated media for disseminating false propaganda about Ethiopia. They called up on the services to stop to broadcasting false propaganda and file information, which are deemed necessary for the enhancement of peace and democracy. Source: ENA website, Addis Ababa, in English 24 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) One is tempted to dismiss such accusations against our VOA, which surely adheres to high American standards of objectivity and good journalism --- but then, how much oversight is there, really, of the various foreign language services of VOA and its clones? Is any American of non-Ethiopian background in charge, who nevertheless understands Amharic and the other Ethiopian languages, and is thus able to detect any unwarranted biases? It`s not unusual for the head of a particular language section at VOA not actually to speak that language! And if they do speak the language, they probably have cultural, family and even political connexions with the home country, whether they are American citizens now or not. It could also be that those complaining would not accept any objective news not in accordance with their point of view (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also ETHIOPIA ** U S A. AIRLINE TRANSPORT COMMUNICATIONS, INC Greetings: The FAA and FCC have licensed the new VORTAC (used for aircraft navigation) located here at the WWRB transmitter facility the call letters are : WQEB 572 Airline Transport Communications is installing a: NDB, LOCALIZER, GLIDESLOPE and Marker beacons (a full ILS). What is very interesting they are building a Runway here at the WWRB transmitter facility hard surfaced and long enough to operate a business jet. I am the Chief Pilot for ATC so I will be doing a lot of flying this year, both piston and jets: they are working on many projects related to aircraft NAVAIDS and Communications services (Aeronautical En route). As an aside, ATC is purchasing WWRB shortwave this year (Dave Frantz, WWRB, Dec 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Re V. of Joy, scheduled Sat Dec 24 at 1400-1600 on 6200 via FSU site, brokered by WRN: Sorry, nothing heard here on 6200 kHz in 1400-1500 UT slot. Only V of Islamic Republic of Iran with usual Azeri program co-channel, thiny and poor, and some adjacent channel QRM by BBC Farsi from BBC Skelton on 6195. [thiny = tiny + thin??] 6200 1430-1700 29S,40NW SIR 500 338 TURKI-AZ IRN IRB 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi all, Nothing heard from Voice of Joy today on 6200 at 1400. At 1430 VOIRI was really strong on the frequency. "Voice of Joke" or ??? 73 from (Björn Fransson on the island of Gotland, Dec 24, HCDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Re 5-221: 1710, Radio Top Inter, Hyde Park MA Yes, the Haitian-format pirate is on 1709.976, give or take a Hz or so. Big signal here. These guys must be running some serious power! (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, 0354 UT Dec 24, IRCA via DXLD) I'm getting it with a strong signal (the Haitian station with a male speaker) drifting a little bit around 1709.96/97, at 2235z. I'm getting a strong image from WHAM 1180 on 1710 (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY (near Buffalo), Dec 23, ibid.) 1938 EST, DEC 23, 1710, R. Top Inter - slogan heard when the announcer greeted a caller. Lots of "Bon Soir"s. I never would have figured this out if Saul hadn't gotten the slogan earlier (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) I would never have gotten the slogan either had my contact not repeated it four times and then spelled it out over the phone. I will have further conversations with them next week and will ask about power, programming, and such (Saul Chernos, ibid.) Recorded 1709.97 overnight; the station was audible here in Pennsylvania all night after midnight. The very best reception came in around local sunrise this morning (6 am [1100 UT]) with almost perfect readability, a mix of French talk over Caribbean music. Thanks all for the tip, (Brett Saylor, R8 w/ 100' E-W sloper, Central Pennsylvania, IRCA via DXLD) Hyde Park, a Boston neighborhood. 1710 is parallel 98.9 FM. Heard with IDs as Information Radio (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, WTFDA via DXLD) Yup, I heard it myself the other night. There are also FM pirates in and around Boston on 88.7, 89.3, 91.3, 102.1 (2 different ones), 102.9, 105.3, and 107.5. (I probably missed some) They all broadcast in foreign languages, mostly Haitian (Jeff Lehmann, Hanson, MA, ibid.) I have two carriers here. One at 1709.967 and another at 1709.969. There is also barely detectable carrier closer to 1710. On occasion, I have some audio from the second station. The Brooklyn station is off, so it is yet someone else. Last season, I had as many as five or six carriers on this frequency. I wonder where the other stations are located (Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, 0833 UT Dec 24, IRCA via DXLD) 1710 Haitian Pirate --- I have this now in central Jersey at 2123 ET Dec 24, with male talking in French and music. Rough copy but audible (Dave Hochfelder, Highland Park, NJ, Drake R8B, Kiwa Loop, ibid.) ** U S A. Les, I want to personally thank you for all your hard work organizing tests, and promoting those organized by other dedicated DXers. While I do note tape my AM DX, and I do not have mp3 facilities, and I stopped QSLing many years ago because I simply couldn't afford the cost of the postage, it's simply wonderful to have these tests to listen to, as they often provide an opportunity for DX that I might not otherwise enjoy. It's great to be part of such a great community - I sure wouldn't be doing this hobby alone, in the vacuum of solitude. I am grateful to people like Les, and to clubs like the NRC, the WTFDA, the ODXA, and the many clubs to which I don't belong, for the sheer thoughtfulness in facilitating all of this! The hobby isn't perfect - the bands are nowhere near as open as they were 20 years ago - but there are new advantages, and the challenge and the people are still there. What more can I want going into 2006! Best of the season to you all (Saul Chernos, Burnt River ON, IRCA via DXLD) In my case, I feel very fortunate that the CE would run the test for KAVT. He is over-worked like most Chief Engineers, engineering quite a few stations. The rules of today and much different than the rules of yesterday. Programmers such as Radio Disney has strict rules on what they will allow and not allow. Station engineers today are under a lot more pressure. The corporate heads today in many cases lay down the rules. Some CEs cannot even have any contact with the public regarding the station they work for. This has all evolved over the past few years too. That is another reason QSLs are getting a lot harder to get. We should feel very fortunate on any DX test we get. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KAVT Reception Manager, IRCA via DXLD) [Continuing the thread from 5-221, is Curt Deegan getting close?:] Your original understanding of "pattern" is correct. The distinction here is between "pattern" as we understand it, and "database record," as the FCC now handles things. Nondirectional is nondirectional, so a station like KAVT has the SAME pattern day and night. The only difference is in the way the FCC's CDBS database system expects to see an application. It wants both a day and a night record, even if they contain the same data. Older data, from before CDBS was introduced in the late nineties, wasn't modified for the system, so there are still plenty of "ND1" and "DA1" records in there. But any time any of those stations files for any sort of a change, the system wants to see both a day and a night record. Take NYC as an example - of the three former I-A clear channel AMs there, two (660 and 880) last applied for any sort of modification way back in 1979, so they're listed as 50 kW ND1. But WABC applied for a change of some sort in 2000 (something minor, as I recall - possibly even just a correction of its coordinates), and so it now appears in the FCC database as 50 kW ND2. There's NO difference, technically, between the "ND1" operation at WFAN and WCBS and the "ND2" operation at WABC. It's all just how they appear in the FCC records. (And no, a subsequent correction wouldn't make it an "ND3," thank you very much... :-) Where this has the potential for confusion for DXers is that it eliminates the useful distinction between "DA-1" and "DA-2" listings in the FCC database itself, since any new application, even if it applies for identical day and night operation, still gets filed as a "DA2." You now have to actually look at the pattern (on fccinfo.com or AMSTNS or whatever database viewer you prefer), or pull out the NRC Log or WRTH, and see for yourself whether that "DA2" is actually the same pattern day and night, or whether it's different. (Anything that was listed as "DA1" under the old system, or whatever the NRC Log equivalent is - I never did get the hang of those "U3"s and all that - would, however, have had to have had the same power level day and night. Otherwise, it would have shown up in the FCC database with two records even before CDBS required two records for everyone. In practice, I can't really think of any stations that change power levels, but not pattern, at sunset.) Again, none of this changes anything in the real world - it's just a reflection of how the FCC's database system processes new applications. s (Scott Fybush, NY, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. Re WQRZ, the LPFM station in MS; I got to wondering how many other -Q-- calls there might be which would match ham radio Q-signals, at least the better-known ones, so I check the NRC AM Log call sign cross reference, AM stations only; can hams have had a hand in picking these? WQRX 870 Valley Hood AL WQSN 1660 Kalamazoo MI WQST 850 Forest MS [did ARRL sign off on this?] WQSY 1490 Cordele GA [not on air] WQTH 720 Hanover NH [is this on air?] Can it only be coincidence that most of these are in the Deep South? None of the KQ-- calls on AM match common Q-signals. Of course there could be many more on the FM side, but we are lacking a handy listing in callsign order for that; and we could extend it further by including obscure Q-signals (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. UT Tuesday Dec 27: 0400-0500 WNYC-FM: NEW SOUNDS #2230 --- new Music for Hanukkah, featuring the Klezmatics, the Abayudada project of Jewish music from Uganda, and more. Hear selections from a unique collection of African-Jewish music, rooted in local Ugandan music and infused with rich choral singing, Afro-pop, and traditional drumming with song texts in Hebrew, English, and several Ugandan languages. Also on the show are the unpredictable, yet groovy sounds of accordionist Ted Reichman's latest project, "Émigré", where zithers meet laptops and banjos meet the TR-808. Plus, Hanukkah music by the Klezmatics (WNYC website via gh, DXLD) Not 24 hours earlier as originally posted, and the UT Sat listing should have been UT Sun, the UT Sun listing should have UT Mon (gh) ** U S A. ON ALL-CHRISTMAS-SONG STATIONS, LITTLE IS SACRED --- By Marc Fisher, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, December 25, 2005; N08 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/23/AR2005122300303_pf.html By today, we are more than ready to usher Burl Ives and Andy Williams back into the celestial vault where they await the start of each season of Christmas music. In stores, in the car and at work, the songs of the holiday seem a jarring intrusion when they first appear, minutes after the kids finish trick-or-treating. By now, we cannot wait for our Christmas favorites to be silenced. But in between, Christmas, whether Holly Jolly or White or Happy or Merry Little, washes over us and, at least according to the radio industry, we are glad of it. With each passing year, more and more stations drop their regular formats to go all-Christmas music, all the time, from about Halloween till New Year's. The ratings often reward such decisions with higher numbers than those stations win the rest of the year. And what we're listening for in the way of holiday music is happy, sweet numbers that shy away from the religious. An analysis of the most-heard Christmas songs played on 50 all-Christmas stations across the country, compiled by the research firm Media Monitors, shows that the most popular tunes were Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song," Ives's "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas," Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." Not a single carol or traditional religious song appeared in the Christmas Top 10. Instead, the tunes that really get us in the holiday mood (or out to the stores) are classic pop and rock numbers by the Carpenters ("Merry Christmas, Darling"), Johnny Mathis ("It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas") and John Lennon and Yoko Ono ("Happy Xmas [War Is Over]"). Lennon's 1971 hit is the most recent recording in the Christmas Top 10; we like our holiday songs time-tested. Eight of the Top 10 are from the 1940s through the '60s. The Media Monitors study finds that although stations are wary of sacred songs, they do get some airplay. The most frequently spun traditional songs were "Do You Hear What I Hear?" in the Whitney Houston version, and "O Holy Night," as interpreted variously by Josh Groban, Celine Dion and Michael Crawford. But as much as we cling to Frank Sinatra, the Ray Conniff Singers and good old Bing at this time of year, there's enough variety in the holiday music biz that the two satellite radio companies, XM and Sirius, offer multiple channels of Christmas music. Sirius has holiday classics on one channel and Christmas country tunes on another, while XM does the holiday big time, with five all-Christmas streams: holiday hits, traditional songs, country, classical and a channel called Special Xmas, which programs more holiday exotica than you ever dreamed existed. Lou Brutus, a former rock deejay at the late WHFS who now toils as XM's punkmeister, presiding over its channel called Fungus, has been collecting Christmas novelty records since he was 10. His collection of more than 10,000 CDs contains many hundreds of weird and wacky holiday tunes that stretch far beyond the obvious gimmicks from the Chipmunks; the barking, caroling dogs; and the song stylings of Cheech and Chong. "People like to hear the good favorites like John Lennon's 'Happy Christmas,' but they are also a little tired of hearing a lot of bad Christmas music," Brutus says. "They need to hear the nasty stuff." We're talking "Father Christmas" by the Kinks; a bracingly bizarre piece of proto-rap by the actor/comedian Art Carney, doing a jazz- inspired recitation of " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" accompanied only by a drum; a dance remix of Crosby's "Happy Holidays"; and the always strange Leon Redbone vamping through "Baby It's Cold Outside." Every year, Brutus wins the everlasting loyalty of his friends by producing a Christmas CD of the oddest of his oddities. The disc includes some of the raunchiest and most foul-mouthed holiday recordings, such as a 45-second masterpiece from the band Fear (the title cannot be printed in a family publication but consists of an imperative to do to Christmas what Vice President Cheney once told a senator to do to himself). Brutus, perhaps running contrary to the spirit of Special Xmas, is a sappy Christmas obsessive. "We do three trees in my house," he says. In that house, the holiday tunes you're most likely to hear are the Vince Guaraldi jazz combo pieces recorded for the "Charlie Brown" TV Christmas special, songs by guitarist Steve Vai, Redbone's "Christmas Island" album, and the Beatles' novelty "Christmas Time Is Here Again." Christmas somehow brings out the corny and the crazy in many artists, providing Brutus with a wealth of material such as Woody Phillips's album of holiday tunes played on power tools, the cult legend Del Rubio Triplets and their saccharine renditions of the favorites, and of course Weird Al Yankovic, who once produced a song that you will never again hear on the radio. It was called "Christmas at Ground Zero," and was recorded long before 9/11, though it did have to do with a nuclear attack on Christmas Day. Still, the title renders it unplayable, which Brutus laments, "because it's a great song." "If the radiation level's okay," Weird Al sings, "I'll go out with you and see the all new mutations on New Year's Day." The worst holiday recording of all time, Brutus contends, is Elmo and Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." "Anyone who plays that song should have boiling eggnog poured into their ears," he says. "I will personally come to their homes and drive a stake of holly through their brain." If by this stage of the season you require haute tastelessness, Brutus has just the recipe for you: "For true family holiday horror, you can't go wrong with the Brady Bunch or Partridge Family Christmas releases." Be good, for goodness' sake (c) 2005 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. When major format changes happen, it is very unusual that the general staff know about them. In fact, frequently it is only the GM, the GSM and maybe the OM if there is one to know. I know of many format changes that were total secrets until hours before the change... I know of very few that were broadly announced. Why don`t they tell anyone? 1. It makes advertisers antsy. 2. The competition can react even before the change. 3. Staff changes may require confidentiality. 4. People who are going to be fired often do swansongs on the air, destroy equipment, etc., out of spite. Old staff is usually let go minutes before the change. 5. Surprise enhances the impact. So, a station staff may not know of a change, yet the change might be just hours away (David Eduardo Gleason, CA, radio-info.com NM board via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC has been busy busting pirates lately: FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ENFORCEMENT BUREAU WESTERN REGION Los Angeles Office, 18000 Studebaker Rd., Suite 660, Cerritos, CA, 90703 December 14, 2005 Miguel Andrade, Reseda, CA 91335 NOTICE OF UNLICENSED OPERATION Case Number: EB-05-LA-320 Document Number: W20063290003 The Los Angeles Office received information that an unlicensed broadcast radio station on 104.9 MHz was allegedly operating in Reseda, CA. On November 21, 2005, agents from this office confirmed by direction finding techniques that radio signals on frequency 104.9 MHz were emanating from 18854 Hart St., Reseda, CA. The Commission’s records show that no license was issued for operation of a broadcast station at this location on 104.9 MHz in Reseda, CA. Radio stations must be licensed by the FCC pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 301. The only exception to this licensing requirement is for certain transmitters using or operating at a power level that complies with the standards established in Part 15 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 15.1 et seq. Your operation on frequency 104.9 MHz was measured at 106,346 microvolts per meter (µV/m) at 51 meters. This exceeds the allowable unlicensed limit of 250 µV/m at 3 meters established in Part 15. Thus, this station is operating in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 301. . . . [exactly same wording follows in all notices, reproduced once below] You may contact this office if you have any questions. Catherine Deaton, District Director, Los Angeles Office December 14, 2005 John F. Martinez, Los Angeles, CA 90033 NOTICE OF UNLICENSED OPERATION Case Number: EB-05-LA-332 Document Number: W20063290004 The Los Angeles Office received information that an unlicensed broadcast radio station on 104.7 MHz was allegedly operating in Los Angeles, CA. On December 4, 2005, an agent from this office confirmed by direction finding techniques that radio signals on frequency 104.7 MHz were emanating from 1718 Bridge St., Los Angeles, CA. The Commission’s records show that no license was issued for operation of a broadcast station at this location on 104.7 MHz in Los Angeles, CA. Radio stations must be licensed by the FCC pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 301. The only exception to this licensing requirement is for certain transmitters using or operating at a power level that complies with the standards established in Part 15 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 15.1 et seq. Your operation on frequency 104.7 MHz was measured at 85,619 microvolts per meter (µV/m) at 47 meters. This exceeds the allowable unlicensed limit of 250 µV/m at 3 meters established in Part 15. Thus, this station is operating in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 301. . . Catherine Deaton, District Director, Los Angeles Office FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ENFORCEMENT BUREAU NORTHEAST REGION New York Office, 201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014 December 6, 2005 Tex Callender, Brooklyn, NY NOTICE OF UNLICENSED OPERATION Case Number: EB-05-NY-287 Document Number: W20063238004 The New York Office received information that an unlicensed broadcast radio station on 94.3 MHz was allegedly operating in Brooklyn, NY. On September 24 and November 5, 2005, agents from this office confirmed by direction finding techniques that radio signals on frequency 94.3 MHz were emanating from your property in Brooklyn, NY. The Commission’s records show that no license was issued for operation of a broadcast station on 94.3 MHz at this location in Brooklyn, NY. Radio stations must be licensed by the FCC pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 301. The only exception to this licensing requirement is for certain transmitters using or operating at a power level or mode of operation that complies with the standards established in Part 15 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 15.1 et seq. The field strength of the signal on frequency 94.3 MHz was measured at 6,991 µV/m at 905 meters, which exceeded the maximum permitted level of 250 microvolts per meter (µV/m) at 3 meters for non-licensed devices. Thus, this station is operating in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 301. Daniel W. Noel, District Director, New York Office December 6, 2005 Kacy Rankine, G. City, Inc., Irvington, NJ NOTICE OF UNLICENSED OPERATION Case Number: EB-05-NY-301 Document Number: W20063238005 The New York Office received information that an unlicensed broadcast radio station on 90.1 MHz was allegedly operating in Newark, NJ. On November 5, 2005, agents from this office confirmed by direction finding techniques that radio signals on frequency 90.1 MHz were emanating from 373 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103. The Commission’s records show that no license was issued for operation of a broadcast station on 90.1 MHz at this location in Newark, NJ. Radio stations must be licensed by the FCC pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 301. The only exception to this licensing requirement is for certain transmitters using or operating at a power level or mode of operation that complies with the standards established in Part 15 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 15.1 et seq. The field strength of the signal on frequency 90.1 MHz was measured at 3,240 µV/m at 765 meters, which exceeded the maximum permitted level of 250 microvolts per meter (µV/m) at 3 meters for non-licensed devices. Thus, this station is operating in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 301. December 6, 2005 Frantz Fortune, Brooklyn, NY NOTICE OF UNLICENSED OPERATION Case Number: EB-05-NY-312 Document Number: W20063238006 The New York Office received information that an unlicensed broadcast radio station on 90.9 MHz was allegedly operating in Brooklyn, NY. On November 10, 2005, an agent from this office confirmed by direction finding techniques that radio signals on frequency 90.9 MHz were emanating from your residence in Brooklyn, NY. The Commission’s records show that no license was issued for operation of a broadcast station on 90.9 MHz at this location in Brooklyn, NY. Radio stations must be licensed by the FCC pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 301. The only exception to this licensing requirement is for certain transmitters using or operating at a power level or mode of operation that complies with the standards established in Part 15 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 15.1 et seq. The field strength of the signal on frequency 90.9 MHz was measured at 6,236 µV/m at 264 meters, which exceeded the maximum permitted level of 250 microvolts per meter (µV/m) at 3 meters for non-licensed devices. Thus, this station is operating in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 301. You are hereby warned that operation of radio transmitting equipment without a valid radio station authorization constitutes a violation of the Federal laws cited above and could subject the operator to severe penalties, including, but not limited to, substantial monetary fines, in rem arrest action against the offending radio equipment, and criminal sanctions including imprisonment. (see 47 U.S.C. §§ 401, 501, 503 and 510). UNLICENSED OPERATION OF THIS RADIO STATION MUST BE DISCONTINUED IMMEDIATELY. You have ten (10) days from the date of this notice to respond with any evidence that you have authority to operate granted by the FCC. Your response should be sent to the address in the letterhead and reference the listed case and document number. Under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(3), we are informing you that the Commission’s staff will use all relevant material information before it to determine what, if any, enforcement action is required to ensure your compliance with FCC Rules. This will include any information that you disclose in your reply. You may contact this office if you have any questions. Daniel W. Noel, District Director, New York Office (FCC public notices, all via Terry Krueger, DXLD; excerpted) ** U S A. SENATE CONFIRMS FCC APPOINTEES --- The US Senate this week confirmed the White House nomination of Republican Deborah T. Tate and the reappointment of Democrat Michael J. Copps to the FCC. Tate, 49, most recently served as director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. She will fill out the remainder of the term of former FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell, which expires June 30, 2007. Powell departed the FCC last March. A former Senate staffer, Copps, 65, has been on the Commission since 2001. His new term will expire in 2010. Under Powell's successor, Chairman Kevin J. Martin, a Republican, the FCC has been operating with four members for most of 2005 and with just three members since the December 9 departure of Republican Kathleen Q. Abernathy. News reports say the Senate approved the nominations of Tate and Copps by voice vote during a late-night session. President George W. Bush still must fill the remaining opening on the five-member FCC with a Republican nominee to succeed Abernathy, who never was appointed to a full term. During confirmation hearings before the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this month, Tate reportedly offered few specifics on key issues facing the FCC but touted herself as a mediator. Copps said his objective would be to ``help bring the best, most accessible, and cost-effective communications system in the world to all of our people`` wherever they live and whatever their status (Media reports; FCC via ARRL main page December 23 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. NBC UNIVERSAL INCREASES CONTROL OF MSNBC NBC Universal has bought a controlling interest in the cable news television channel MSNBC that it jointly set up in 1986 with Microsoft Corp. It was a 50-50 partnership with the software giant, but Microsoft has sold the majority of its shares to NBC Universal which now holds 82 per cent, with an option to acquire the remaining 18 per cent in two years. The deal does not affect the MSNBC.com website, which continues to be shared 50-50 between the two companies. NBC Universal plans to integrate MSNBC into its other news operations. It has been a poor third in the all-news ratings after Fox News and CNN. The website, however, has fared much better and ranks ahead of most of its competitors. A spokesman for Microsoft said his company would now focus on growing the online services. # posted by Andy @ 11:31 UT Dec 24 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** URUGUAY. SODRE, PESIMAS CONDICIONES DE HIGIENE Tirón de orejas de Sacomani a los funcionarios de radiodifusión "Hago un llamado a recuperar el respeto y la dignidad por uno mismo, porque será la única forma de lograr que alguien nos respete. No más basura, no más muebles y sillas rotos, no más papeles pegados o pinchados por todos lados, no más pedazos de cosas tirados por ahí durante días, no más chorretes de refresco o yerba (mate) tirada que nadie limpia. Por favor: recuperar la Dignidad, recuperar la Dignidad". El mensaje forma parte de una circular interna enviada por el director de Radiodifusión Nacional, Sergio Sacomani, a los funcionarios de las emisoras estatales." http://www.elpais.com.uy/Registro/Login.asp?refacc=0&vurl=%2F05%2F12%2F20%2Fpnacio%5F191438%2Easp&erracc=99&url_qs= (Via: Horacio Nigro / Uruguay, Conexión Digital Dec 24 via DXLD) ** YEMEN. 9799.88, Republic of Yemen Radio, 1945-2005 [date missing], Arabic, OM hosting phone-in program. Pips/ID at 2000. Fanfare followed by OM. Poor, whisper quiet signal (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, Dec 24, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, MLB-1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. 11735, RTZ, 1922-1943, Dec. 20, Vernacular, Music at tune-in, News at 1927 with mentions of Uganda, Malawi and Dar-es Salaam. Music at 1932 with YL between selections. Booming! (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, MLB-1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11735, Spice FM via RTZ, Dec 24, 1759-1810, in English; drums, 5 + 1 pips, ``The time is now 9 o`clock ... The news from Spice FM`` with stories about Nairobi, Cairo, Tehran, Washington, etc.; fair (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Who can tell me what was on 6324.44 at 15.40-16.15 and fading out today on Christmas Eve? "This is "R.W.I" (?) and "... Independent Music Radio" (?). 73 from (Björn Fransson on the island of Gotland, HCDX via DXLD) I heard Radio Brigitte International on 6325 around 1400 today. Same station? They announced an email address of radiosunflower @ hotmail.com 73s (Dave Kenny UK, ibid.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hello Glenn, A Merry Christmas and all the best for the year 2006. Thank you so much for the huge work you do for the DXing community. And thanks for the good cooperation. 73s (Ydun Ritz, with an Xmas card from the Royal Library of Denmark) Don Guillermo, Cuando faltan pocas horas para la Navidad, en nombre de mi familia y de este humilde servidor, deseo que pase junto a todos sus familiares y amigos una FELIZ NAVIDAD y un PROSPERO AÑO NUEVO 2006, lleno [de] salud, felicidad, amor, y sobre todo algo muy importante: "Noticias DX"; para quienes junto a Ud. sentimos a la radio con pasión hasta el úl timo aliento de nuestras vidas. Reciba un fuerte abrazo de este amigo y humilde servidor venezolano, (Jorge García Rangel, Barinas, Venezuela) Glenn, I have been a listener to WOR (that's Enid, not NYC) for many years. WOR is an excellent program and much appreciated. Regards, (Alan Furst, Round Rock, Texas, Dec 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks for all your hard efforts in bringing the latest news to us. Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year (Alan Johnson N4LUS, NV, with a PayPal transfer) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ TWO+ DAYS IS NOT EVEN ENOUGH Re previous rant about even online TV listings failing to include acting president Bush`s Sunday night address, I have just been watching an old tape of Lou Dobbs from CNN, where the plans for the address had just been revealed by the press secretary. Therefore, there was more than 50.5 hours` notice, not just 24 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ HDTV TUNER DEALS For those of you who love a bargain, but are lacking the time and energy to wade through the sea of online deals, CNET News.com is now highlighting just one great offer on a daily basis. The price on this high definition tuner is about $50 less than the lowest price we could find elsewhere. What: RCA ATSC11 HD tuner How much: $109.99 Shipping: $11.42 Where: Buy.com http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buy.com%2Fretail%2FProduct.asp%3Fsku%3D202041205%26adid%3D17662&siteId=3&oId=2110-1041-6004267&ontId=1040&lop=nl.ex via TechDeals.net http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.techdeals.net%2F&siteId=3&oId=2110-1041-6004267&ontId=1040&lop=nl.ex When: Now until unknown (Bob Cooper, NZ, via Mike Bugaj, CT, Dec 24, WTFDA via DXLD) Thanks to Bob Cooper for digging up that deal. This is a very good tuner for DX. When it locks on a signal, the very first thing it displays is the call letters. It does store channels, but it can be cleared with 6 button presses --- about 2-seconds. I'm getting good at it :-) I notice that the E-Bay sellers have cheap prices on this tuner also (Greg Barker, Greensburg, IN, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ETONS AND OTHER RECEIVERS I have collected several radios over the years such as the Grundig 800, Sony 2010, 7600 G and SW 77 and others. Recently picked up the Eton 1, 10 and 100 and still use a Panasonic 2200. The little Eton 100 often surprises me with its ability to receive distant signals. It's a great pocket radio for listening while waiting for the wife at the mall. The Eton 1 has many nice features, but a very sloppy whip that falls down taking some of the fun out of the radio. However, it is the only radio I've heard KNX Los Angeles and KNBR San Francisco on from here. A good external antenna could make a nice difference. I spent thirty years working in commercial radio here and overseas and find myself spending much more time with shortwave these days. Shortwave programming certainly gives one a different view of the world than Fox TV provides. It is too bad more of the programs aren't heard by more people here in the US (Alan Furst, Round Rock, Texas, Dec 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO: A CHRISTMAS GIFT TO THE WORLD --- by Christine Gibson http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/web/20051224-radio-Morse-code-Marconi-Fessenden-General-Electric-alternating-current-telegraph.shtml As a Christmas Eve radio broadcast, it was pretty run-of-the-mill. A Handel Largo, a live violin rendition of ``O Holy Night,`` and a man announcing, ``Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will. Merry Christmas to all.`` But then the man added, ``Will those who have heard these words and music please write to R. A. Fessenden at Brant Rock, Massachusetts? We will speak to you again on New Year`s Eve.`` Reginald Fessenden, the announcer, can be forgiven for his trite holiday program choice. He was making the first radio broadcast that ever went out to the public and included speech. It happened 99 years ago tonight, on December 24, 1906. He transmitted from Massachusetts and was heard as far away as Norfolk, Virginia. He made the broadcast at a time when the rest of the world was still marveling over the dit-dahs of the Morse code Guglielmo Marconi`s wireless radio system transmitted. But, then, it was Fessenden`s lifelong blessing and curse to be ahead of his time. Born in 1866 in what is now Quebec, the precocious minister`s son was hired at 15 to teach math at the Bishop`s College School in Lennoxville in return for a free ride at the college. He left at 18 without a diploma, but by reading Scientific American and Nature in the school library he had already begun to teach himself the principles of physics and engineering he would later use to revolutionize radio. He continued his self-education while employed by Thomas Edison, working his way up from helping lay electric light mains in 1885 to running Edison`s chemistry laboratory in 1889. He broke up his 11-hour workdays by reading physics textbooks during his lunch hour. During these midday study sessions he became interested in the science of electromagnetic waves. He continued his studies at the Newark public library when, after Edison was forced to close his lab in 1890, he went to work for a year as an electrician for Westinghouse. His first paid work on radio technology came in 1900, when the U.S. Weather Bureau lured him away from an electrical-engineering professorship at the Western University of Pennsylvania (later renamed the University of Pittsburgh) to develop a wireless network for communicating meteorological data. He quickly grew convinced that radio technology needed a complete overhaul. Marconi`s system --- indeed, all radio systems at the time --- generated radio waves using a spark gap: They ionized a gas with a high voltage, creating a spark that emitted a pulse of radio-frequency energy. But Fessenden knew that spark-gap technology was a dead end. He was the first, and for several years the only, person to conceive that the transmission of speech might be possible. But to send speech over the airwaves would require an entirely new approach --- using a continuous radio wave rather than the short, discrete bursts of energy created with the spark gap --- and completely new technology. The equipment to create and receive continuous waves was not yet available, so Fessenden set out to invent it. His three biggest hurdles would be generating a continuous wave, converting radio waves into audible sound that faithfully reproduced the original signal, and building a detector sensitive to the subtleties of speech. His first breakthrough came with the detector. Marconi`s system used a coherer, a glass tube filled with metal filings, to detect radio waves. When waves reached it, the filings clung together and completed a circuit, which then activated the telegraph buzzer. Fessenden found so many shortcomings with the coherer --- it was either fully on or fully off, and thus not sensitive enough to respond to subtle variations in the signal, and the filings had to be manually tapped out of line before they could detect a new signal --- that he developed his own, more sensitive detector, although his success came quite by accident. His first attempt, a length of platinum wire mostly coated in silver, was no more sensitive than a coherer. But one day in March 1902, when he was etching the silver coating off a wire with nitric acid, he accidentally let the acid eat clean through the wire and found that the ends left in acid detected radio waves much better than a complete wire. After some refinements he patented what he called the ``liquid barretter`` that same year. His next innovation underlies all radio technology to this day, but it hardly made a ripple at the time. He needed a way to turn sound waves into radio waves for transmission and then convert them back into sound at the receiving end. He named his solution the heterodyne (meaning ``different power``) principle. Simply stated, he found that if he sent out two high-frequency waves, one bearing the music or voice he wanted to transmit and the other held at a constant frequency, they could mix to create a wave within the audible range that recreated the original signal. But to do that he would need to create two continuous high-frequency radio waves, which no existing machinery could do. He decided to try to generate radio waves with an alternating-current generator, most often used for electric light and power. Contemporary alternators generated electromagnetic waves well below the frequencies he needed, so, true to form, he designed his own. It was built by General Electric and shipped to him in August 1906. Its top frequency, 76 kHz, was less than he had hoped, but it was still a triumph: It could generate a continuous radio wave. The final piece was in place. Fessenden had of course continued experimenting in the interim. He had first transmitted voice through the ether in December 1900, when he sent a signal one mile between two 50-foot masts. ``The character of the speech was not good,`` he reported, ``and it was accompanied by an extremely loud and disagreeable noise.`` Nevertheless, he had proved that voice could be sent via radio, if only over short distances. An accident several years later showed how much his subsequent inventions improved on the 1900 system, which he called ``just a toy.`` After quitting the Weather Bureau in the midst of a patent- rights squabble, he acquired the backing of two Pittsburgh businessmen. Under their aegis in January 1906 he built the first two- way wireless telegraph network across the Atlantic: radio towers 400 feet high in Brant Rock, Massachusetts, and Machrihanish, Scotland. In September, one of the operators in Scotland sent him a letter claiming to have heard through the radio equipment one of the American operators giving instructions to an employee. The Massachusetts station had accidentally broadcast a radio signal 3,000 miles across the ocean. Fessenden kept that news quiet as he prepared for his Christmas Eve broadcast. He notified Navy and merchant ships in the North Atlantic to listen for the transmission. He originally expected that his wife or employees might take the microphone that evening, but, he later said, ``on Christmas Eve I could not get any of the others to talk, sing, or play, and consequently had to do it myself.`` When he signed off, he wasn`t sure anyone had heard him. But within days he began receiving postcards from sailors excited to have gotten actual voices through their headphones for the first time. A second broadcast on New Year`s Eve reached as far as the West Indies. Fessenden would go on to create a turboelectric drive for ships, a system for underwater signaling, and an early television set, but the 1906 broadcasts were the high point of his radio career. His working life was characterized by short bursts of success between the static of legal feuds and personal animosity. He could be combative and irascible, and in 1910 he clashed with his Pittsburgh backers, who naively expected quick profits from an almost nonexistent industry. Their relationship ended in a legal battle for the company`s assets that would drag on for almost the rest of his life. In 1928 he finally won a $2.5 million settlement, four years before his death at 66 from heart failure. Today, few non-engineers remember Fessenden`s name. But he, perhaps more even than the more-famous Marconi, was the father of modern radio. He could never understand why people didn`t flock to buy his inventions, when he had solved so many technical challenges. But his ideas were simply too far ahead of their time. It would be years before the state of the art caught up enough to turn his innovations into marketable products. In the meantime the public, satisfied with Marconi`s system, was perhaps not prepared to believe radio could accomplish even more. Fessenden alone saw its potential, and if posterity hasn`t rewarded his vision, his vision has certainly rewarded the generations of air and sea travelers, ambulance patients, cell phone users, music lovers, and everybody else finally ready to take advantage of it. Christine Gibson is a former editor at American Heritage magazine. (via Kevin Redding, Dec 24, ABDX via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ HF RADIO PROPAGATION POWERPOINT PRES Alan Dujenski, KB7MBI of Woodinville, WA sent a link he found to an interesting PowerPoint presentation on propagation. It is a little easier to give the URL for the main page of the site, which is http://arrl-sc.org/, the web site of the ARRL South Carolina section. You can find the presentation in both PowerPoint and Word formats by clicking on "Technical Presentations by N4UFP." In addition to other interesting presentations, you'll find one titled "HF Radio Propagation." Click on that link, and you will be taken to the link that Alan sent. and F2 IONOSONDE DATA Red Haines, WO0W (the second character is an O, the third is zero) of Minnesota sent in some links to ionospheric maps created with ionosonde data. Red wrote: "Look at http://www.ips.gov.au/HF_Systems/4/3 and its links for maps of ionospheric condition, foF2 etc, derived from ionosonde data. These maps are experimental and they map foF2 to the MHz, not very high resolution. They display the locations of the ionosondes from the data for the maps are derived." He goes on to say, "Look at http://www.dxers.info/reports/noaa/na_foF2.php and its links for data, foF2, foFes, and more, from individual ionosondes. Data is, of course, history by the time we can read it. In this case, it is 40 minutes or more old. This site identifies the 'sondes from which the above referenced maps are derived." Red continues, "While these sites are specific to North America, the links connect to similar products for the rest of the world." He reminds us also that MUFs based on prediction techniques are forecasts, while the actual ionosonde readings tell us what really happened. The forecasts tell us what might happen, and what is probable (Propagation Forecast Bulletin 54 ARLP054, From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA December 23, via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ###