DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-002, January 2, 2006 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 2006 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html For restrixions and searchable 2005 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid5.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 NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1299: Days and times here strictly UT Mon 1900 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1500] Wed 0030 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually but temporary] Wed 0100 WOR CJOY INTERNET RADIO plug-in required Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 UPDATED: Full schedule, with hotlinks to station sites and audio: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org WOR 1299 summary: http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1299.html [not yet] WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS Jan 3: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS. VU4, ANDAMAN AND NICOBA ISLANDS (Update on Hamfest). On December 30th, the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) sent out a press release (First Information Circular) detailing their upcoming "HAMFEST (VU4) INDIA - 2006" to take place between April 18-20th from Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum for presentation and discussion on the latest technology developments, Antennas & Propagation, Dx-peditions, HF & VHF Communications, Digital amateur radio, Emergency Communications, Promotion of amateur radio / open forum in the field of amateur radio communication. The conference will cover all interdisciplinary aspects of amateur radio in various sessions. The major attractions during the event include an arena for exhibitors to display and demonstrate amateur radio communication technologies as well as allow foreign hams to operate from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Local tours to exotic locations are also planned for participants and much more. The NIAR requests Amateur radio organizations and individual hams interested in operating from Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands to forward a letter of intent with details (E-mail only) to: niarhamfest @ gmail.com The complete press release with more details on requesting permission to operate from VU4 are available on the NIAR Web page: http://www.niar.org/hf_vu4_06.html (OPDX/BARF80/KB8NW Jan 2 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, R. Nacional Arcángel Sán Gabriel, Base Esperanza, logged on 27 Dec 1939-1955, Spanish, music; 14331, adjacent QRM de Greece [via Delano] 15485 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 11710, RAE (Buenos Aires). 29 Dec 2005, 0207-0304. First log of this station in over four years. Excellent program of Gaucho and Big Band Tango music mixed with news, sports, and a DX program by YL/OM in English. The English service ended at 0254 with a 10 minute string of IS, ID, and addresses. Reception hampered by static and poor signal quality (Jim Wood, TN, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) UT Thu 15344.55, RN, Jan 1, 2316-2357, man and woman announcers in Spanish, with program of classical music and operatic singing, BoH time pips, several TCs and IDs for Radio Nacional. Enjoyable listening, with a good signal (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 15820-USB, ASPEN CLASIC. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 0430- 0445 Dic. 28. Relay FM estación. "...ya sabes quienes somos, ahora conócenos Aspen Clasic 102.3..." Anuncios de Anuario 2005 Cinemania (Rafael Rodríguez R., Bogotá, Colombia, condig list via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 2310 kHz, VL8A, Alice Springs NT, audible on 27 Dec 1866-1909, talks in English; 15231, but better at 1934; inaudible on \\ 2325 VL8T. 2485 kHz, VL8K, Katherine NT, audible on 27 Dec 1858-938, talks in English, ABC newscast 1930, chat & phone-in program 1930; 35332 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So maybe 2325 is still off the air, and the 11880 fill-in service from Shepparton needs to continue even longer? (gh, DXLD) ** BENIN. STATE RADIO AVAILABLE STREAMED LIVE ON THE INTERNET Radio Benin, the main domestic programme of state-run Office de Radiodiffusion et Television du Benin (ORTB), can be accessed on a live audio stream from broadcaster's website at http://www.ortb.net This is available in both Windows Media Player and Real Audio formats. The website appears to be still under construction, as several hypertext links indicating other pages on the site actually point back to the home page. Radio Benin broadcasts in French and ethnic languages on 94.7 and 98.2 MHz in the capital, Cotonou. Mediumwave and shortwave transmitters on 1476 and 7210 kHz respectively are believed to be currently inactive, although the regional station at Parakou is regularly observed by BBC Monitoring on 5025 kHz shortwave. Benin, formerly known as Dahomey, was a constituent territory of the former colony of French West Africa, until achieving full independence in 1960. Source: BBC Monitoring research 2 Jan 06 (via DXLD) Interesting but this project has been underway for some time. I linked from the commfm site in France to pick up the live stream (loujosephs, 01.02.06 - 5:19 pm, Media Network blog via DXLD) Already listed by publicradiofan.com http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/station.pl?stationid=4554 But when I tried at 2150 UT Jan 2, ``connection refused``. Apparently an abandoned mp3 link, as the Real link from the site above connected immediately; sounds like a pickup off an AM radio with selective fading distortion, and a het of about 1 kHz! WRTH lists only two MW frequencies, 936 and inactive 1476; hypothesis: 1476 is back and it`s getting QRM all the way from Sabah, 700 kW on 1475, if it is on at that hour around sunrise; much more likely than the lowpower Bolivian or Peruvian. Or is there some African on 1475, or 1477 --- or 935 or 937? Or perhaps more likely the pickup is off 5025 with het from Uganda 5026 but that should not be on much after 2100! Program was a discussion in French of the Christianization of Burkina Faso. The label on the Real stream says ``ORTB (réalisé par le Project Cerco)`` Finally wrapped up this show at 2212: it came from RFI on President Kennedy Street in Paris; into music. ``In true shortwave sound`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DXLD) Thanks Glenn. This is definitely a different streaming operation from the previously-existing MP3 stream. At the time I found that MP3 link somewhere, there wasn't an official ORTB site at all yet (Kevin Kelly, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA PublicRadioFan.com, ibid.) ** BOLIVIA. 4409.8 kHz, R. Eco, Reyes, logged on 27 Dec 2256-2314, Spanish, LA rhythms & songs, ID+frequency announcement 2302, reference to a certain "programa navideño (...)"; 35242 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4498.1, RADIO ESTAMBUL. Guayaramerín. 2354-0020* Dic. 29. Mensajes y comunicados, "sigan con Radio Estambul..." ID: "Radiodifusora Estambul desde Guayramerín, Beni, Bolivia... desde el corazón sudamericano para Bolivia y el mundo en los 4496 Khz, banda internacional de 60 metros onda corta tropical..." Fuera del aire sin cierre a las 0020 (Rafael Rodríguez R., Bogotá, Colombia, condig list via DXLD) 4498.12, R. Estambul, Guayaramerín; +0945-1030+, poor on 05/12/30. Music (like ranchera etc.) program; sometimes heard IDs with TC. 0918 ID "Buenos días Bolivia, Buenos días Guayaramerín. R. Estambul, sintonía... R. Estambul, alegre .. de Beni... 4496 kHz, banda de los 60 metros onda corta..." (Hideki WATANABE, Radio Nuevo Mundo, JAPAN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 3385.0, R. Guarujá Paulista (tentative), Marília; 0642- 0800+, very poor on 06/01/01. I heard weak ZY music and TC on 3385.0 kHz. 0657 canned ID, I could not get station name due to weak signal, but heard the same chime as R. Guarujá Paulista. According to site; http://www.radioguarujaam.com.br/radio.html R. Guaruja Paulista has now 3 frequencies (1550/3385/5045 kHz). (Hideki WATANABE, Radio Nuevo Mundo, JAPAN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9615, R. Cultura, São Paulo SP, 28 Dec 2209-2236, cultural program "A Nossa Língua Portuguesa" (equivalent of RDPi's "Consultório Linguístico"... remember, Glenn?), with music and then the oldies program "Gramofone" 2230; 45444 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 6030, CFVP relaying CKMX (AM 1060), Jan 2, 0915-0950, C & W songs (``Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me,`` etc.), IDs: Classic County 1060, observed //1060, both weak (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Re upcoming CHWO 740 special: I have a question about this. First, assuming that TUC (temps universelle coördinée) is here the same as UTC, this means that this event will run from 1900 EST on the SEVENTH until 1859 EST on the evening of the 8th. This means that the optimum listening time in southeastern North America would be actually on the 7th and not the 8th, at least this far south, where my very few CHWO loggings have all been around 10 or 11 pm local time (03-04 Z). Anyway I think CHWO is an exemplary case of what radio should be all about. I wish them a lot of success and perhaps I'll be able to hear them here through the WQTM sportsbabble. Hope no one is caught off guard (Bob Tampa, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) Well, of course it starts on the Jan 7 local time; how is that a problem? (gh, DXLD) Oops, thanks Bob for that. I should know better by now. I guess the time should read 0500 UTC January 8th to 0500 UTC January 9th. As for TUC, blame faulty fingers (Brian Smith, NRC-AM via DXLD) Viz.: Time Change - CHWO 5th Anniversary QSL Please note time change to fit into the 0000 to 2359 EST of January 8th. Here are the details: Date: January 8, 2006 --- Time: 0500 UT January 8th to 0459 UT January 9th (0000 to 2359 EST - January 8th) [instead of 0000-2359 UT] Program material (at least 10 minutes of specific program material heard: i.e., name of announcer, commercials heard, news items etc.) Signal/sound report (a general overview of how well you heard the signal at your location and the sound quality of the program) The type of equipment and antenna you were using to hear the signal Your mailing address (Brian Smith, Jan 2, ODXA via DXLD) ** CANADA. RECOLLECTIONS --- THE VOICE OF CANADA, 1948 From Radio: ``The Remote Years,`` by Dick Halhed, a book about CBC Radio between 1941 and 1967 I stepped out of my Montréal hôtel and hurried along St. Catharines Street to report for duty with "The Voice of Canada" or the CBC International Service which I knew occupied a three-storey building on Crescent Street but was uncertain where that was. The sidewalks were thronged with office workers all in a mad rush. I managed to stop a man and, hoping I would be able to communicate in this French- Canadian metropolis, asked: "Pardon, m'sieur, s'il vous plaît, où est le Radio-Canada maison sur le rue Crescent?" He grinned and pointed. "Keep going for two blocks, turn left and it's half a block down." He added in traditional fashion: "You can't miss it." So much for my introduction to bilingualism. That morning I was destined to meet many CBC staffers who were fluent not only in English and French but in other languages. In fact, I found myself in the midst of men and women who had been hired because of their linguistic abilities. There were several language "sections" each with a head and a retinue of several writer-reporter-editor- broadcasters. Jack Peach, head of the English Section and my new boss, escorted me on a familiarization tour on which I met Jean-Marie Marcotte --- head of the French Section, Stuart Griffiths --- supervisor of all European transmissions, German Section head Eric Koch and Ruth Auersberg who looked after Austrian broadcasts. There was Maja Van Steensel, lady- in-charge of programming to Holland as well as the three Scandinavian chiefs --- Krabbe Smith who was Norwegian, Gunnar Rugheimer from Sweden and Henning Sorenson who was responsible for broadcasting to Denmark. Walter Schmolka ran the Czech Section. There was a sizeable Latin-American Section directed by Hugh Morrison with the Spanish broadcasters headed by Eugenio Llano and those programming in Portuguese by Jose Hughes de Oliveira. Kenneth Brown produced programmes in English which were beamed to the Caribbean islands several times each week while Neville Friedlander did a twice-weekly transmission to Australia. These shortwave broadcasters I soon came to know well were a colourful lot, each with a distinctive accent and all transmitting news, political and other commentaries and human interest stories about Canada to eager listeners far beyond our shores. The shortwave schedule was rounded out with newscasts in English prepared by Patrick Waddington and his editors and with musical programmes featuring Canadian talent under the supervision of producer Patricia Fitzgerald --- one of whose "stars" was Montreal folk-singer Alan Mills. "The Voice of Canada" was financed by special parliamentary grants and functioned under the critically concerned eye of the Department of External Affairs while the actual programming and engineering were the responsibility of the CBC. In the light of the seriousness with which Canada's foreign transmissions were regarded, the senior I.S. executive spent a day each week in Ottawa conferring with the bureaucrats in "External," doubtless haggling over budgets and matters of policy. Policy was so important to the operation of the International Service that in the Montreal plant there were two people who gave it their undivided attention. Sally Solomon was the queen of policy while the crown prince was Robert McBroom. She was an iron maiden while he was equally resolute but somewhat less overpowering. Both devoted their lives to worrying that something objectionable might go out over the air and to making certain that it did not. Whenever an editor was the least concerned about a topic in which government policy or controversy or good taste caused some doubt, a visit to Sally's office was in order. Any story with an unfortunate phrase or a wrong slant might stir up a hornets' nest overseas. Sally was the supreme arbiter in such matters. If she said a certain phrase bothered her, it was changed. If she disagreed with the treatment in a script and the writer insisted there was nothing the matter with it, a battle ensued. Being a master at arguing a point and proving herself correct, it usually was a battle of short duration. The chastened reporter returned to his or her office and the required changes were made. Some months after I joined I.S. a number of additional language sections were added: Slovak, Hungarian, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and Finnish and the new programming to eastern Europe added considerably to the headaches of Miss Solomon and Mr. McBroom. There was one more department we called the Script Pool where, under Will Hankinson's supervision, most scripts were translated from the original languages into English or French and copies were circulated to sections which might want to translate them into their own tongues. If this seeming duplication of effort suggests that paper was one of our chief operational commodities, it was. From Montreal, programmes were routed by landline to our giant transmitters five hundred miles to the east on the Tantramar Marshes near Sackville, New Brunswick where they were given a boost of 50,000 watts and "beamed" shortwave to Britain, Europe, the Caribbean, South America and Australia. The effectiveness of our transmission system and the popularity of our programmes were evident from the mail we received from listeners abroad. Especially in those countries which had been politically strangled before, during and after the war and where freedom of speech and freedom to listen was non-existent, The Voice of Canada was a constant source of hope, a reason for optimism. My particular job was editor of "Canadian Chronicle" where I shared the work with another editor-producer --- Ruth Dobrescu. "Chronicle" was, as the formal on-air introduction explained, "a daily survey of people and happenings in Canada. It was the responsibility of "Chronicle" editors to keep abreast of all the news (we subscribed to most Canadian dailies for clipping purposes), decide which topics warranted special reports or interviews and assign these to staff announcers or to freelance journalists across Canada. We would monitor items as they were fed in two evenings a week via a closed circuit (to be recorded on disc in the recording- room and finally select the most topical and appropriate stories for the two or more daily transmissions, write the scripts and go into an allocated control-room and produce them "live to air." Ruth or I would be in the control-room with a technician while the announcer in the studio might be Earle Fisher, Charles Gursky, John MacCrea, Ken Davey, Weldon Hanbury, Ken Haslam or Gordon Jones. We had another semi-courtesy duty --- to acknowledge in writing each report filed with us; if we felt the reporter had not turned in a first-class story, if there was a weak spot or if the voicing was not up to standard, we would point out the failings constructively. Thus, we maintained a high calibre of reporting. All this correspondence kept secretary Muriel Kirby busy with her pot-hooks and typewriter throughout the day. We also despatched two cables daily to the BBC in London to advise them what would be on the 'menu' of each show since they often recorded certain of our stories for rebroadcast on their domestic service or overseas service. (CBC and BBC were friendly and co- operative rivals!) These cables always began with the term "Sackwaving" which indicated that we would be "broadcasting from Sackville on shortwave" a number of specific items which we would list as succinctly as possible. We knew what we meant, BBC knew and the cable company accepted the term as a good Anglo-Saxon word. It did not infer that we were going to wave a sack at anyone. Besides CBC staff announcers, reporters and commentators at all our main centres across the country, "Canadian Chronicle" utilized the skills of many distinguished journalists who also did some radio freelancing. To name just a few: Blair Fraser and Peter Dempson of Ottawa, Idabelle Melville-Ness of Saskatoon, Ernie Mabee of Saint John, Steven Brott and Roy Kervin of Montreal, Hugh Boyd of Winnipeg, Ruth McClintock who was a Reginian and Don McDermott --- a native of Calgary. There was Eric Axelson of Toronto, James K. Nesbitt of Victoria and Florence Whyard up in Yellowknife. We received occasional reports from the Rev. Canon Harold Webster whose location was Coppermine in the Northwest Territories. Our stable of correspondents was large, with newcomers being tried out on a speculative basis every few weeks. It is unlikely that any "Chronicle" reporters grew wealthy doing stories for us but they seemed to enjoy the association. The going rate for "a three-minuter" was $15.00. "Canadian Chronicle" had as its theme at open and close of the quarter-hour show a band arrangement of "The Maple Leaf Forever." Even in those days, it was just as well that the lyrics about Wolfe the Dauntless Hero were not used --- not that anyone in Canada normally would be apt to pick up our signal but some of our Francophone technicians might have raised their eyebrows (via Jan ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. The Canadian view of TV --- 2006: THE NEXT TV REVOLUTION --- THIS YEAR MARKS THE START OF A REVOLUTION THAT WILL TRANSFORM AN ENTIRE INDUSTRY By BILL BRIOUX -- Toronto Sun http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2005/12/31/1374821.html You say you want a revolution? Hold onto your remote. In 2006, the TV revolution is set to explode. Everything appears to be in play -- advertising, programming, delivery, technology, ratings -- even the concept of TV networks. Listing magazines are disappearing like, well, neighborhood video stores. Among the changes to look for in 2006: Programming: Remember how networks steered away from drama after 9/11? So-called "reality" shows roared to the forefront as viewers lived vicariously through exotic island adventures, instant millionaires and romantic rose-powered escapades. Well, aside from Survivor, American Idol and The Amazing Race, reality programming has been snuffed like a Tiki torch. Even The Apprentice is about to be fired. This winter, the U.S. networks all have end-of-days dramas in development; scary, Blade Runner-ish shows that portray a ravaged post-war America. After five years of orange alerts, mounting body counts and armed conflicts, the networks say bring it on: Let's take that worst-case scenario and throw it into living rooms. Among the concepts: CBS has the plague drama Four Horsemen, ABC has Resistance and Red And Blue and Spike TV is looking at an apocalyptic vampire series based on the Blade movie hits. We'll know next May whether these and other new post-war epics get picked up for fall '06. Bye bye, analog: Still receiving TV from an antenna? Enjoy it while it lasts. The U.S. (and, inevitably, the Canadian) government is pulling the plug from your old analog TV set. Originally, Washington set a date of Dec. 31, 2006 to end analog signal transmissions and switch all TV signals to the newer digital band. The feds said they wanted some of the old analog channels for national security broadcasts ("This is George Bush. Don't panic, but everybody down in the basement, now!"). [see below] Any leftover analog licences would be auctioned off to help pay for the total digital transfer. What all this means is that, without a digital box connected to your TV set, you will no longer be able to watch TV. No more free ride, TV boy. By the end of 2006, the feds figured 85% of America would be digital homes. Not even close. Now Congress is debating a more realistic cutoff date of late 2008/early 2009. But make no mistake: The end of analog is coming. There are too many electronic media giants lobbying Washington to turn back the clock now. Hi-def is here: Finally, after a decade of hype, hi-definition programming is happening. More than two dozen hi-def channels are already available to satellite and cable subscribers in Canada. CTV is pushing to convert their entire news operation to a total hi-def setup by the end of this year. CHUM is doing it now. The sports channels already offer plenty of hockey and football in the new and improved format. Even Hockey Night In Canada is finally making the switch. Disappearing networks: Could The WB follow its recently dumped mascot, Michigan J. Frog, into history? Massive layoffs at Time Warner have cut into the fledgling network, with 40 WB staffers pink-slipped right before Christmas (100 more employees were slashed from sister stations at MTV networks). In its 11th year, The WB is famous for serialized family fare like 7th Heaven, Smallville and Gilmore Girls. But the network has been in a slump, slipping below UPN in the ratings. There's talk that The WB could drop one or two of its nights or just pack it in altogether, selling shows to other networks (like they do, for example, with NBC's My Name Is Earl). With shrinking ad revenue and Gilmore Girls and 7th Heaven winding down, it may be time to fold The Frog. Which brings us to... Advertising re-think: While conventional TV advertising is far from dead (last spring's "upfronts" pulled $9.3 billion US for the six major broadcasters, up slightly from the year before), advertisers are starting to experiment and take a hard look at the effectiveness of traditional TV commercials. No wonder. The cost of a 30-second ad on ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XL is $2.6 million US. With North American car companies in a nosedive, how effective are those ads? Major advertisers such as Procter & Gamble have already announced they will reduce their upfront buys in the future. Other have said they'll buy either Super Bowl, Olympics or Academy Award ads -- but not all three. The fragmentation of the marketplace is mainly to blame. One show or network can no longer command a dominant share of the market. Advertisers are experimenting with product placements, outright show sponsorships and new media tie-ins to reach buyers. And if the ad community is in play, networks have to evolve or risk falling behind. Timeshifting: No wonder listings magazines are going the way of the horse and buggy. Technology has made it far easier for viewers to set their own TV schedules. Today, viewers can pretty much watch what they want when they want (as well as where they want -- in their cars, on their computer screens, even on their phones). Digital set-top boxes allow viewers to store programs and watch them at their leisure. Higher-end cable packages allow viewers to timeshift to the East or West coast if they want to catch a second window on a show they've just missed. That is good news for quality rookies like My Name Is Earl or Everybody Hates Chris, both dropped into killer slots on Tuesday and Thursday but both still emerging as hits thanks to the many ways viewers can now catch shows on highly competitive nights. More CRTC headaches: All of the above changes will hit Canadian networks like a Tie Domi bodycheck. The old private network model of buying Yankee hits and turning on the money tap is in jeopardy. What if Canadians can bypass CTV, CHUM or Global and just download shows from the Internet or from direct-to-home on-demand providers? It's coming and it has Canada's private broadcasters in a panic. No wonder BellGlobemedia recently sold a chunk of CTV to Torstar: As one of North America's most dominant broadcasters, the property will never be that valuable again -- especially if the entire concept of network TV vanishes in the next three to five years. Welcome to the TV business, suckers! The good news for Canadian viewers -- not to mention actors and producers -- is that Canadian networks will finally be motivated to ramp up their homegrown productions. Where the CRTC failed, dollars and cents will dictate. Content is king and one Falcon Beach a year is not going to cut it anymore. If you want to stay on this TV island, you better form a stronger alliance with TV viewers -- now (via Kevin Redding, AZ, Jan 1, ABDX via DXLD) [Re remark about Bush]: Somebody please tell Bill Brioux, and the Toronto Sun, that people tend to take your arguments more seriously when, ya know, you get your damn facts straight. Tip for rational living: don't let your ideology overwhelm your grasp of objective reality (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, ibid.) ** CHINA. 6060, Sichuan PBS, Jan 2, *0959-1132. At 0953 noted RAE (Argentina) IS and ID. Sichuan abruptly on with youngsters singing, into program of light pop songs in Chinese and one rap song in English (``We Like It``), reference to ``FM,`` comments on the New Year being here and many different people giving wishes for a happy New Year and wishing everyone good health, ToH ``This is the Voice of Golden Bridge,`` 10 minutes of news(?), into program of traditional Chinese songs and music, 1130 musical fanfare, man and woman with Chinese ID, followed by man with: ``This is the Voice of Golden Bridge.`` Seems they still give frequency as 5900 or 5990 short wave, just as Alan Davies heard in Aug. 2001, so they must still have the recorded ID from a long time ago. Seems they also have a Chinese reference to something that translates to ``Life, Travel and City Service.`` Reception fair to poor, with RAE QRM a factor at times (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. CRI noted with some new transmissions: Spanish 0600-0700 on 17680, Japanese 2300-2400 on 9695, Mongolian 0000-0100 on 11875, English 0300-0700 on 15120 (Beijing 500 kW 322 to Central Asia) (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Last one could be a problem for Nigeria if it wants to resume 0500 on 15120 (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. One of Cuba`s squealing transmitters is carrying CRI in Portuguese, easily recognizable with its funny accent, on 13650 at 2313 January 2; trace of something underneath, which would be NHK Warido direct from Japan to Thailand (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA. SPECIAL AWARD/EVENT. During 2006, the Croatian Amateur Radio Association will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great inventor and scientist Nikola Tesla, who was born near Gospic in Croatia, on the 10th of July 1856. Look for special event station 9A150NT to be active on all bands and modes from Croatia during the year of 2006. ADDED NOTE: The special station 9A150NT will be active each month from a different Croatian county. Also, the Croatian Amateur Radio Association will issue a special event "Nikola Tesla Award", commemorating that anniversary. QSL 9A150NT via 9A6AA. More details about this special callsign (approx. operating schedule) and the "Nikola Tesla Award" can be found on the following Web page at: http://www.inet.hr/9a6aa/9a150nt Note: Contacts with 9A150NT will also be valid for the Worked 9A Counties Award (OPDX/BARF80/KB8NW Jan 2 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. More Radio República monitoring with a rotatable log- periodic, following up items in 6-001: Jammer on 7110 was waiting for them a few minutes early. Sign-on was at 0159:42 again and audio on 6010 dropped just before that. Radio Sweden came on 6010 right after with a slightly better signal. 7110.0025 carrier peaked about S9+25 db in the direction of Europe --- very roughly since it had a fast flutter and fading that made anything more precise impossible. The carrier had fast reductions of around 20 db; on occasion they sounded almost repetitive over several seconds, but likely just the nature of the path to Europe. The jammer peaked ESE as usual but wasn't bothersome here unless beamed at it. 73 (Don Moman, near Edmonton AB, UT Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At 0230, heard here best as Don mentioned ENE of here. Jammer well under. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, also with a log-periodic going down to 7 MHz, ibid.) Many tnx; that pretty well clinches it from Europe, and not North America or Caribbean. If you can refine the bearing later or get more from other clues such as precise frequencies, that will be great. So we know it is coming from Europe (surely not Africa further beyond). Professional operation, switching frequencies in only a few seconds. Obviously high power. Some have maintained that it is not VT Merlin or DTK. Sines denies. What does that leave? TDF Issoudun, where we know there is plenty of spare capacity, 500 kW with ALLISS antennas, and a policy of secrecy, but known to have a variety of shady customers, from Libya to PRC to Taiwan, and some other clandestines. How about the politics? Would Spain or France be more likely to OK this, if the secret could be kept? Flevo would be another possibility as far as spare capacity at this hour, but getting rather far north. Four 500 kW are idle there during all these hours, except when needed to back up downtime at Bonaire or Talata. But probably reluctant to start an overnight shift just for this. So only a theory. Andy, will RN deny involvement? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: The hamband intruder watchers also ought to be interested in that last one; have you heard any rumblings? Tnx and 73, and HNY, (Glenn to Don Moman, near Edmonton AB, Jan 1, via DXLD) Glenn, Happy New Year! I let the ARRL HQ and our ARRL Georgia rep. know as soon as 7110 appeared a few weeks ago. I was asked to forward info to the ARRL "band intruder" specialist. I hope you don't mind, but I referred them to DXLD's for updates. This of course over the holiday weeks, but they know. Nothing at arrl.org yet (Brock Whaley, WH6SZ/4, GA, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) There must be plenty of hams with direxional rotatable antennas who could help to DF this, and get an exact fix (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Bienvenidos colegas al 2006!!! Caigo en la cuenta que no se podía permanecer indiferente sobre algo que no había querido yo meter la cuchara. Y efectivamente anoche me sorprendió el señalón que pega a la 0100 Radio Suecia en 6010, lo que obliga (porque con ésta sí no pudieron) a ese nuevo adefesio propagandístico llamado Radio República a correrse a 7110 para seguirle jodiendo la vida con sus estupideces a los que deseamos oir Etiopía después de las 0300. Con esta forma de expresarme sobre RR estoy haciéndome eco del razonable descontento del cuate Julián Santiago, sobre algunas emisoras que tranquilamente y sin decir "agua va" se apropian sin haber hecho solicitud ni recibir permisos, de las frecuencias que les viene en gana para descontento de los DXistas. Y ya lo cuestioné yo también con anterioridad: en qué están la HFCC o la ITU? --- Pintadas en la pared? Yo estimo que ya hemos tenido suficiente de esta lata que nos quieren imponer con tanta basura radiofónica tanto el gobierno gringo en este caso, como igualmente lo hace el cubano con sus jammers para evitar que ciertas verdades, a la vez cargadas de bastante mentira, lleguen desde Florida a los "dentrocubanos". Un poco de esta misma crítica le cae a Radio Martí, de cuyas inútiles transmisiones se queja buena parte del pueblo estodounidense que ve cómo se desperdician sus impuestos. En lugar de reforzar y mejorar las alicaídas transmisiones de la VOA en español, derrochan miles (si no millones) de dólares en tanta tontería politiquera. Qué se gana con esto? Sacar a Fidel del poder? Ahí se les va a congelar el infierno esperando un cambio a la impuesta mentalidad comunista. Y conste que no soy comunista pero de igual modo detesto la cochinada de política internacional que quiere imponer el gobierno gringo, cuyo pueblo sí he admirado desde chiquillo. Yo no le veo en que tanto puedan ayudar esta vez nuestras protestas para que RR desaparezca con su inmundicia de 6010, que sigo creyendo un derecho por años ganado por Radio Mil, muy a pesar de los esfuerzos que dice poner en práctica La Voz de tu Conciencia para evitar interferirla. Y ya ven, compas, tras cuernos palos, con la aparición de esta PLAGA radiofónica de RR. Quiero disculparme si mis expresiones resultaron algo ofensivas, pero es mi forma de deshago y a la vez de protesta por ciertas desconsideraciones de que somos objeto los radioescuchas fiebres de la onda corta. Reiterando mi saludo por un Nuevo Año pleno en bendiciones y prosperidad (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Jan 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DEUTSCHES REICH [and non]. Re 6-001: A few words about Charlie and His Orchestra. There have over the years been at least two documentaries about the band on Radio 4 (the last was broadcast less than a year ago). There is still, though, some mystery about the Nazi radio's use of jazz in its overseas services. Before "Charlie" started broadcasting there was a band known as "The Bremen Boys" which broadcast the same sort of material to North America (and possibly also to Britain). Later, on "Jerry's Front Radio", which was beamed to American and British troops in Europe, there was a band called "Bruno and the Flying Tigers" (named, no doubt, after the Wehrmacht's famous Tiger Tanks). These last two bands are not mentioned in Bergmier and Lotz's book but I suspect that they were identical to Charlie and His Orchestra. If anyone in the UK is interested in hearing "Charlie's" recordings, many of them can be heard at the Department of Recorded Sound at the Imperial War Museum in London. By the way, concerning the article by the Ulster gentlemen, it is quite wrong to say that it was illegal to listen to Lord Haw-Haw. It was, however, illegal to spread rumours about Haw-Haw, and several people were prosecuted for doing so. Of course, the name "Lord Haw Haw" was a little confusing. Although, Joyce was eventually announced as "William Joyce, otherwise known as Lord Haw-Haw", the name, at least early in the war, was used indiscriminately for virtually any male broadcaster on the British service (Roger Tidy, UK, Jan 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DIEGO GARCIA. Re 6-001: SSB power requirements --- Hi Jari and others, Yes, this "one quarter of required power for SSB compared to that required to AM" is theory only, but it gives some idea about the difference between these two modes. This theory, however, can be seen (in a way or another) in many regulations concerning radio amateur maximum power limits: with suppressed carrier and only one side band the hams are able to use four times more watts. As per receiving, I prefer listening with USB/LSB as my receiver (Drake R4-C) seems to produce audio more easily out of weak signals using SSB (a question of sensitivity). Also finding a carrier is more easy with SSB (the "whining" when dialing "across" a signal). Happy DXing this year, 73 (Matti Ponkamo, Naantali, Finland, HCDX via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 4909.22, R. Chaskis, Otavalo, nice Spanish ID at 1035 Jan 1, gave frequency as 4910, all OA music with several nice announcements/IDs in between. Announcer definitely asked N. Am and European listeners to "escríbanos" and gave the Calle Bolívar 805 y Juan Montalvo postal address and radiochaskis @ hotmail.com E-mail address. Maybe this is a Sunday morning "international listeners" program? Audio stopped before 1100, started again after about 15 minutes, some kind of audio problem. Sometimes IDs as R. Chaskis "del Norte." Not a bad signal (Jerry Berg, Lexington MA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Is R. Cairo still on 11885 in English to North America at 2300, despite co-channel WYFR? Yes, ERBU has ignored my E-mail two months ago advising them of this severe problem. Jan 2 at 2305, I could detect traces of Cairo under WYFR. Rechecked at 2315 just in time to hear 5+1 timesignal a couple seconds fast, and shortly Cairo`s unmistakable news theme; could not really understand anything, despite mentally tuning out insofar as possible the nonsense WYFR was spouting in Portuguese (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. 7270 kHz ? This has been reported as of late, and should be audible here, but nothing so far, unless they're using this irregularly &/or at odd times, but then again it should have been detectable during the past week at the SW coast site (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GAMBIA. 648 kHz, GRTS, Bonto, noted on 29 Dec 2210-2225, English, news bulletin (which even included weather and temperatures in the UK!); 53443, co-channel QRM de E+G [Spain & Great Britain] (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [and non]. Re 6-001: Correct version below, please cut and paste into your files, for some reason I sent out the unamended file yesterday; think I need a break from club work for a couple of weeks :) GERMANY D WELLE 0000-0100 sAs 1548l 6030l 7290w GERMANY D WELLE 0400-0500 Af 6180k 9710w 15445l GERMANY D WELLE 0500-0600 Af 7285w 9565k 12035k 15410d GERMANY D WELLE 0600-0700 Af 7225s 7225w 11785w 15440k GERMANY D WELLE 0600-1600 Eu 6140j (1000-1300 DRM) GERMANY D WELLE 1600-1700 As 1548l 6170l 9795l 11695w GERMANY D WELLE 1900-2000 Af 11865s 12025w 15470s GERMANY D WELLE 2000-2100 Af 6145k 9735w 9830k 12025w 15410l GERMANY D WELLE 2100-2200 Af 7280w 9615l 11690k GERMANY D WELLE 2200-2300 As 6000l 6225 Alma Ata GERMANY D WELLE 2300-0000 As 6070l 9555k 9815l (Mike Barraclough, Jan 2, WDXC via DXLD) So what were the changes, axually? (gh, DXLD) DAVID CRYSTAL notes that his Deutsche Welle monitors schedule shows some differences from the English schedule published in TAFIE which was the original planned version. This has been confirmed checking the Deutsche Welle website updated November 29th. Please amend details for these broadcasts: 0000-0100 7230w now 7290w 0600-0700 15410k now 15440k 1600-1700 7225l now 9795l 2000-2100 5960k 9660k 9675w now 6145k 9735w 9830k 2100-2200 7345w now 7280w 2200-2300 6180l now 6000l 2300-0000 9865k now 9555k (Jan World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4780, RADIO CULTURAL COATAN. San Sebastián. *1030-1050 Dic. 30. Himno Nacional y apertura: "...es como la luz de la aurora que va de aumento en aumento hasta que el día es perfecto... Desde San Sebastián Coatán en el Departamento de Huehuetenango en Guatemala, Radio Coatán 4780 Khz en onda corta inicia su transmisión de hoy para llevar a usted música y palabra de Dios..." (Rafael Rodríguez R., Bogotá, Colombia, condig list via DXLD) I love those florid LA openings and closings and welcome further quotations! (gh, DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 3249.7, R. Luz y Vida, San Pedro Sula; 0612-0911, poor/fair on 06/01/01. Suddenly P`yongyang was shut down at 0910. I heard the great signal and canned ID. "... Santa Bárbara para Honduras y el mundo. Transmite R. Luz y Vida, HRPC..." then P`yongyang came back (Hideki WATANABE, Radio Nuevo Mundo, JAPAN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 4819.15, LV Evangélica, Jan 2 0335-0408+, preaching in English as usual for Monday mornings at 0335, back to Spanish at 0357 recheck. Apparently reactivated (David Yocis, Harper's Ferry WV (about 40 miles/65 km NW of Washington DC), R8B, longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ICELAND. 189 kHz, RÚV, Gufuskálar, nicely received on 27 Dec 2225- 2254, Icelandic of course, talks & interview; 54454, adjacent QRM only. And for a daytime observation: 31 Dec 1333-1352, classical music; 24453, adjacent QRM de Deutschland 183 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 15050, All India Radio, 1154-1215, Dec 27, Tamil, S-5 signal level at tune in. Female in Tamil language with news items at 1155. Rapid fades or flutter. As news items went on female announcer was speeding right thru in very fast talk. Several mentions of India. Back to music at ToH. Missed ID. Having problems with record player skipping. Finally changed to different tune at 1202. Dead air at 1208 but back by 1210. Lots of program failures. Faulty records. Female with comments several times. Audio muffled at 1212 with what sounded like the station schedule. 1213, F announcer in English saying "Bye for now". More music. 1214 dead air. Carrier still present past 1220 (Bob Montgomery, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) How unprofessional ** INTERNATIONAL. Our Favourite Voices --- Here's something I think should be a fun way to kick off the New Year. Compile a list of our favourite voices on shortwave radio. Maybe we should make it a maximum of three current and three past voices. I'll start us off with whose voices I really like and look forward to hearing and my version of the Hall of Fame of voices on shortwave. CURRENT 1. Danusia Szafraniec - Radio Polonia - announcer, reporter, and host of "Around Poland" 2. Deborah Friedman - Deutsche Welle - host of "Hits in Germany" 3. Roger Broadbent - Radio Australia - staff announcer HALL OF FAME 1. Ian MacFarland - RCI - DX Digest/SWL Digest 2. Margaret Howard - BBC - Letterbox 3. Alistair Cooke - BBC - Letter from America (Mark Coady, Editor, Your Reports/Listening In Magazine, ODXA via DXLD) Is this rating the quality of their voices, or their overall personality? (gh, DXLD) ** IRAN. IRANIAN NEWS AGENCY WILL PRODUCE OUTPUT IN ENGLISH | Text of report by Iranian Fars News Agency website Tehran, 2 January: Fars News Agency has started to produce its output in English to develop its activities and promote its effective presence among regional and international media. After going through an experimental period to remove all possible bugs and problems, this section will officially and constantly present the most important news about Iran and the world in English for the benefit of its English-speaking readers. From now on, Fars News Agency users can receive the most important political, social, economic, cultural and sports news of Iran and the world in English on http://www.farsnews.com/English. Source: Fars News Agency website, Tehran, Persian 1438 gmt 2 Jan 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Kol Israel --- The new frequency of 13855 (see DXLD 6-001) was heard again on Monday Jan. 2, starting at 1500 UT and continuing to 1625 with excellent strength. My copy of a schedule shows Persian (Farsi) at this time and 13580 is listed as an alternative or reserve frequency. The Kol Israel IS was heard from 1625 to 1630 then music to 1645. Time pips at 1645 and mention of Kol Israel, then music and talk (in presumed Hebrew) to 1655. I couldn't find any parallel frequencies. After 1655 and to 1800 the same as reported Jan.1 but fading caused signal to be very weak (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also quite good here (gh, OK, DXLD) ** ITALY. Re 6-001: 26000 kHz, 0240 Dec 31, R. MARIA-ERBA, px mx religioso, Suff (MAURO GIROLETTI, IK2 GFT - SWL1510, 45 25 ' N - 9 6 ' E, rx- JRC 525 NRD / LOWE HF 150 - Filare 10 mt, bclnews.it via DXLD) So how far is that from the 26000 site? (gh, DXLD) Less than 100 km (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {O, this was supposed to become DRM, but apparently still analog} ** JAPAN. Happy New Year Glenn, Unfortunately, I have to begin 2006 with the disappointing news that Radio LavaLamp webcast has closed down. Myself and a small group of regular volunteers + an array of occasional program producers kept the station going from May 6, 2000 to December 28, 2005. We did so without any financial backing, so I consider the 5-year project to be a success. Recently, lack of funds for new, non-commercial music & programming coupled with decreasing hours of volunteer availability made updates more irregular. It was decided to end the free radio service rather than continue a sporadic & haphazard effort. I thank you for making WOR available during the station's existence. Should I get involved in a future radio endeavour I will surely let you know. Sincerely, (Ralph Famularo, Osaka, Japan, Jan 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sorry to hear that; it was one of the early and better such internet stations (gh, DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. Re 6-001: Happy New Year. Thanks Glenn. But, have you actually gotten any of the Kyrgyz streams to play? None of them have worked for me either last night or this morning (Kevin Kelly, Arlington, MA, PublicRadioFan.com Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I had not actually tried; too common for such publicity to jump the gun (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LATVIA. Relays on 9290: Sat January 7 Radio Six 0700-0800 UT Radio Joystick 0900-1000 UT Radio Casablanca 1100-1200 UT Sun January 8 RTN 0900-1000 UT Radio Six 1200-1300 UT Relays on 945 kHz (317m) to Scandinavia: Radio Six 6 2000-2100 UT on the 6th, 7th and 8th January 2006 and every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Jan 2006. Good Listening (Tom Taylor, Jan 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA [non]. 11965, ASCENSION IS., Star Radio good at 2105 12/31 with Star Radio personal messages program in English/ French/ Vernacular, several Star Radio IDs; into "Ask the Expert" program at 2110 with an interview of a boxing coach; still good at quick 2128 recheck. This is the best I've ever heard Star Radio; [his brand new Etón] E1 provided the cleanest signal (Jim Ronda, Tulsa OK, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** LIECHTENSTEIN. Tom, DL2OBO, is expected to be active as HB0/DL2OBO from "Chalt Barsüla" cottage between 1600z, January 2nd and 1200z, January 7th. Activity will be on 160-10 meters with an emphasis on the lower bands. He states that if you need a sked for anything, call by telephone at 00-423 262 68 54; anytime you like (between the above hours only), and also during the night (OPDX/BARF80/KB8NW Jan 2 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010, RTV Malagasy, 0156-0244 Jan 1, fair and mixing with presumed co-channel India at tune-in, music program, low keyed vernacular M announcer. Signal started to pick up around 0220 when nearly alone on frequency with version of Peter Frampton's "Baby, I love Your Way." Very few announcements but lots of music variety with everything from slick R&B to solo man with drum. Good at 0244 tune- out. Assume extended New Years sked (John Herkimer, Caledonia NY, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS [and non]. PRO-DEMOCRACY PROGRAM TO THE MALDIVES TEMPORARILY CLOSES --- By Nick Grace, CRW Washington January 2, 2006 The cause of freedom and democracy in the Maldives has suffered a blow with the temporary closure of Minivan Radio, an independent and non- partisan radio program that has broadcast into the archipelago for the past 16 months, and the popular MinivanNews.com Web site. Both services, which began in September 2004, were put on hold on January 1st. The closure follows a visit to the Minivan office in Sri Lanka by eight members of the Interpol division of the Sri Lankan police, according to Dave Hardingham, founder of the Friends of Maldives in the United Kingdom and whose group sponsored the broadcasts and Web site. In an interview on the ClandestineRadio.com podcast, Global Crisis Watch, he said that the visit stemmed from accusations by the Maldivian regime of sedition - that Minivan Radio was broadcasting without a license within Sri Lanka - and that its journalists were involved in an attempt to smuggle arms and weapons in the Maldives. "After they searched the property and found no guns," Hardingham said, "the (Minivan) team was able to reassure them that nothing like that was taking place... It's basically the long arm of the Maldives police reaching over and trying to intimidate Minivan Radio and Minivan News to shut down." Despite the accusations of sedition by the government of Maumoon Gayyoom, a dictator who has been in power since 1978, independent monitoring of Minivan Radio indicated that the program was broadcast from high-powered transmitters in Germany - not from Sri Lanka. "They thought that we're broadcasting from (Sri Lanka) to the Maldives and obviously I don't think they quite grasp the technology behind short wave broadcasts," Hardingham said. "The team told them that this was where we produce the programs and it's then e-mailed on to another part of the world where it is broadcast... One of the team (members) there said, 'Look, as far as we are aware sending e-mail is not against the law.'" Closure of the Minivan Radio program has been a priority for the regime. Within days of the daily one-hour program's launch in 2004 the regime unleashed two mobile high-frequency jammers in Male', the capital city, to block the signal. Despite the jamming, the radio program continued to be heard and listened to in Male'. The accusations of sedition and gun running against Minivan are a sign of the effectiveness of the radio program. According to Hardingham, "Minivan Radio is listened to by a large percentage of the population. They listen to it every evening. It gives them international news. It gives them local news that's unbiased and independent... It`s the like of which has never been seen before in the Maldives." The Web sites of Minivan Radio and http://MinivanNews.com continue to be blocked from access inside the country. Under pressure by the international community to institute political reforms last year, the government permitted Minivan to publish a newspaper in the Maldives, Minivan Daily, but has since arrested its journalists on drug charges. The cases are still pending. The regime has also arrested many high- profile and popular members of the pro-democracy opposition, the Maldivian Democratic Party. Baseless accusations to intimidate the government's opponents and insulate the regime from both internal and external pressure is a frequent ploy used by Gayyoom and his circle. The regime in early 2005 accused this author of participating in an attempted coup in Male' and being a member of al Qaeda, according to sources in the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka, based on the coverage of Minivan Radio on ClandestineRadio.com. The government is frequently cited by human rights groups for the deficit of freedom in the Maldives and has even been cited by the U.S. Department of State for "serious problems" and its "poor human rights record." Hardingham is optimistic that Minivan Radio and MinivanNews.com will resume operations soon. The service in the name of freedom and democracy, he said, is far too important and the loss of the evening short wave programs will have a strong negative impact on the regime's credibility inside the Maldives. The interview with Dave Hardingham can be found at this location: http://www.clandestineradio.com/gcw/gcw_060102.mp3 Global Crisis Watch, Clandestine Radio Watch and ClandestineRadio.com's weekly current affairs podcast, brings listeners to the front line on the War of Ideas and interviews people who are fighting tyranny and terrorism with the pulse of freedom (Clandestine Radio Watch Jan 2 via DXLD) Haven`t listened to it yet, but I don`t get it from the above why this intimidation caused them to suspend. Have they been charged with anything in Britain??? [Later:] Listened to it; the first segment of the show. Still no answer to this question. Second segment is about Bolivia/Cuba, nothing really to do with broadcasting, ditto the third about Venezuela, Latin America (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It may well have gone off shortwave - I couldn't hear it on 11800 kHz at 1600 UT today - but today's broadcast (and the previous 393!) are available on-demand on their website! See http://radio.minivannews.com (Dave Kernick, 01.02.06 - 9:12 pm | # Media Network blog via DXLD) ** MALI. Re 6-001: ``4782.4, R Mali, Dec 15, 1924-1940, tribal tunes; 45443 (this reflects the bare signal, not the content of the carrier or the actual info), but a terribly low, useless audio; // 5995 also with weak audio (+ adjacent QRM). [no credit, probably Anker Petersen, ibid.]`` This is my text, not Anker`s, and it was e-mailed to Wolfgang Büschel for BC-DX on 22 Dec, and used in his BC-DX nº 740. The entry is clearly marked ``(Carlos Gonçalves – POR)`` (Gonçalves, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) & another: 7284.4 kHz, R. Mali, Kati, observed on 28 Dec 1115-1445, Vernacular, tribal songs, etc.; 34443, adjacent QRM de DRM signal 7290 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MAURITIUS. RADIO BROADCASTING IN MAURITIUS --- Introduction The Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is the national public broadcasting service of the Republic of Mauritius and its outer islands including Rodrigues. It was established as a body corporate on 8 June 1964 under the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation Ordinance no. 7 (1964). Prior to that date it operated as a Government Service under the name of Mauritius Broadcasting Service The objects of the MBC and the parameters within which these objects are to be achieved are spelt out at Section 4 of MBC Act no. 22 of 1982, which broadly are to ensure broadcasting services of information, education, culture and entertainment The MBC is administered and controlled by a Board of seven members. The execution of its policy and its day-to-day control and management rest with the Director General who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation and who has under his direction an establishment of about 500 employees. It is estimated that the number of Radio and TV sets (Mauritius and Rodrigues) as at 30 June 1999 was 450,000 and 265,000 respectively. The MBC derives its income mainly from licence fees and advertising. A monthly licence fee is payable by all domestic electricity consumers (Act no. 56 of 1954) possessing a TV set - this accounts for 60% of its total income. Advertisement on Radio and TV contributes to about 35% of its income. Radio and TV programmes cover a wide range of subjects and are broadcast in different languages including French, English, Hindustani, Creole, Chinese and a host of other Indian languages. The programmes are mostly purchased from foreign suppliers whilst a fair proportion is produced by MBC and another slot is relayed on the Corporation's channels following bilateral agreements with broadcasting organisations concerned. News bulletins including local and foreign items are broadcast daily at specific times. The Corporation also ensures broadcast on both Radio and TV of educational programmes devised and produced by the Mauritius College of the Air. Live Broadcast (Radio and TV) of local events is carried out on regular basis. The MBC maintains close and cordial relations with a number of Broadcasting Associations. MBC is a member of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Asian Broadcasting Union (ABU), and the South African Broadcasting Association (SABA) and of the Conseil International des Radios- Télévisions d'Expression Française (CIRTEF) History Radio Broadcasting in Mauritius started on a private basis on 9 August 1927 by one Mr. Charles Jollivet with a Medium Wave radio transmitter of 1 kilowatt assembled by himself, two manual record payers and a carbon granule microphone. The station was lodged at his residence in Beau Bassin and was known as "Radio Maurice". It was later transferred to the attic of the Plaza Theatre in Rose Hill. The daily programme consisted mainly of music and news and lasted for 2 hours. A second station under the aegis of the "Société des Radiophilles" set up by one Mr. P. Adam came into operation around 1937. It was originally located at his residence in Forest Side and was later moved to the Town Hall in Curepipe. The broadcast was made using a Philips transmitter of 60 watts on a wavelength of 42 metres. It was mainly used to send messages to the members of the Société. In the wake of the Second World War hostilities in 1939, the British Ministry of Defence took over the control of these two stations. About the same time, delegated by General de Gaulle, Mr. H. Montocchio together with Mr. F. M. d'Unienville operated another Radio Station known as "France Libre d'Outremer" located near the Highlands sugar factory. The equipment used was a second hand short wave transmitter of 1 kilowatt purchased from the South African Broadcasting Company. By the end of the Second World War, "France Libre d'Outremer" was taken over by Government and was merged with the "Société des Radiophilles" of Curepipe. This was the prelude for the birth and development of a national broadcasting station, for as from 1st July 1944 the Mauritius Broadcasting Service (MBS) was set up as a sub- department of the Government Public Relations Office, then managed by Mr. H. Ardill and Dr. Vaughn - Head of Information Services. Transmission was done from the studio in Plaza, Rose Hill until 1946 when the station was transferred to the then Teachers' Training College at Forest Side - now PSC building. Three segments of programmes (Morning, Midday and Evening) were broadcast daily using a second hand Short Wave transmitter converted to a Medium Wave - 225 metres wavelengths. At about the same time the Globe Reuters News Service, formerly the Government Press Service was annexed to the MBS and administered jointly. Over the years broadcasting expanded considerably in terms of structure (building and equipment), broadcast hours and variety of programmes both in content and languages. Radio Mauritius --- Short wave The Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation was transmitting on SW on 4.85 MHz and 9.71 MHz from Mauritius using a 10 kW Philips transmitter. They ceased transmission for more than a decade due to aging transmitter and scarcity of spare parts. This SW transmission was meant for Rodrigues Island mainly. MBC now have a MW-AM transmission on 1206 kHz at Citronelle in Rodrigues, So SW transmission from Mauritius is not a priority. Moreover the SW transmission is very expensive and erratic. Medium wave (AM) Radio Mauritius currently broadcasts only on MW and FM. Radio Mauritius RM1, Radio Maurice broadcasts on 684 kHz with 10 KW, mostly in French. They relay KOOL FM during daytime and Radio France International during local nighttime with hourly news relays from MBC. There is an English service broadcasts on this channel at 0500-0515. Deutsche Welle with its English service can also be heard at 0700-0730 UT. RM2 Radio Mauritius broadcasts on 819 kHz in Indian languages round the clock. The 10 KW transmitter is located at Malherbes. There is a BBC World Service medium wave relay station located at Biagra broadcasting on 1575 kHz with 2 KW. Radio Rodríguez - MBC broadcasts for the Rodrigues Island is known as Radio Rodríguez. The station broadcast on a frequency of 1206 kHz with 1 KW with a radiating mast as transmitting antenna. The transmitter is located at Citronelle. Radio Rodríguez mostly carries RM1 programmes with a local programme slot from 1400-1415 utc. Verifications Verification Cards are available from MBC for DX reception reports. During its short wave era, many Dxers around the world logged Mauritius and obtained their QSL. Now it is only possible to DX Mauritius through sky wave propagation. MW Dxers in Australia, New Zealand, and South Asia logged this station during favourable seasonal conditions. Rodrigues being an exotic island and due to its low power, the logging of Radio Rodríguez is a rare event among Dxers. Reception Reports and inquires may be directed to: Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation, 1 Louis Pasteur Street, Forest Side, Mauritius Reference: 1. Website of MBC 2. World Radio TV Handbook Compiled by T. R. Rajeesh for World DX Club (R E P O R T F R O M I N D I A, news, views and comment, Jan WDXC Contact via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 1260.0, XESA, La Mexicana, Culiacán; 0623-, poor on 05/12/31. Heavy QRM/JOIR on co-channel. 0623 ID "Éstas son las ... XESA La Mexicana, estamos transmitiendo los impactos musicales más .. [re]presentativo de esta tierra en Calzada Insurgente 346 Sur. Con 5,000 watts de puro sabor, La Mexicana 12-60 AM, teléfono en cabina 9-92-12-60; La Mexicana, La que alegra, una estación [del] radio sistema de Culiacán." 970.0, XEJ, La J Mexicana, Ciudad Juárez; 0607, poor on 05/12/31. 0607 ID "La J Mexicana, .. México." (Hideki WATANABE, Radio Nuevo Mundo, JAPAN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Saludos cordiales y Feliz Año Nuevo; en la página web de R. Insurgente http://www.radioinsurgente.org//index.php?name=archivo ya se puede escuchar un nuevo programa emitido el 30 de Diciembre del 2005. Sigue la duda de si transmiten en Onda Corta. Anuncian reaunudar sus transmisiones tras varios meses de ausencia (José Miguel Romero, Spain, Jan 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOROCCO. 1637.9 kHz, RTM-"A", Rabat, noted on 27 Dec 1848-..., Arabic, tunes, talks; harmonic of 818.95 kHz; 33432, QRM de Greek pirate station (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOROCCO. 7190.22, R. Liberty in Belarussian, Jan 1 0412, many Radio Svoboda IDs, wandering up to 7190.30 by 0516. Transmitter tying one on for the New Year? Still off frequency at 7190.30 Jan 2 at 0410 (David Yocis, Harper's Ferry WV (about 40 miles/65 km NW of Washington DC), R8B, longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 4770 kHz, R. Nigeria, Kaduna, noted on 27 Dec 1924-1932 airing talks in English; 55444, but this denotes the signal only, for the audio was so dreadful that it was completely useless, though better on 28 Dec at 1955. This frequency used to carry some really bad audio at times (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 15120, Voice of Nigeria, 1721-1745, Dec 31, English, a long time since last heard. Fairly nice signal at this time with some slight channel cross chatter. S-3 signal level in English. Male announcer with ID at 1725. Last interview on phone done at 1727. Continued with previous recording. Started to weaken a bit with muffled audio by 1745. Sports news at 1752. Soccer scores (Bob Montgomery, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. Voice of the Islands: Jan 2 - 06, 0030 UT. Just re- tuned a vertical and am now doing (7:30 PM EST) a test transmission at 200W on 6910 kHz. Will QRT if any neighbors call-in an RFI complaint. Will try to be on again at midnight (05Z). Tomorrow Jan 2 will repeat 2 hour transmission on 13888 kHz from 15Z to 17Z. Regards, 73 & happy new year, (via Jerry Coatsworth, Canada, ODXA via DXLD) Hi Glenn, Heard here in central California, Jan 2, 1633 UT, with satire on "Alien Registration," "Recruiting for the Air Force," "Straight People," etc, fair-poor, in AM mode (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Around 1500 I noticed just noise on 13888, so didn`t stay with it (gh, DXLD) ** PERU. 5070.7, ONDAS DEL SURORIENTE. Quillabamba. 2205-2220 Dic. 28. Anuncios de Colegio Konrad Adenahuer. Sorte El Cumplidito, Festival Samarai. ID: "Integrando a nivel nacional e internacional, Radio Ondas del Suroriente, amplitud modulada 1400 kHz, onda corta 5070 Khz, banda de 60 metros y la gran cadena nacional via satélite, 96.5 frecuencia modulada estéreo..." 5486.7, RADIO REINA DE LA SELVA. Chachapoyas. 2231-2302* Dic. 29. Música tropical. Anuncios de International Language Center, Bodega Bazar La Amiga del Pueblo. Programa: Explosión Tropical. "Atención, a la hora 5 de la tarde con 37 minutos continuamos a través de los 101.5 de Radio Reina de la Selva..." Fuera del aire sin cierre a las 2302. 5700, RADIO FRECUENCIA SAN IGNACIO (Tentativo). San Ignacio. 0031- 0052* Dic. 29. Música de diferentes estilos, Salsa, Merengue, etc. Sin anuncios o identificaciones. Fuera del aire sin cierre a las 0052, notada también en Diciembre 30 (Rafael Rodríguez R., Bogotá, Colombia, condig list via DXLD) ** PERU. 6188, Radio Oriente, 1116-1135 Jan 2. Noted with steady MOR until 1129 when a couple of canned promos heard and possibly an ID. Back to music immediately afterwards with canned ID's over music every once in awhile. Signal was fair (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, NRD545, Dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Already on Saturday 31 Dec, Yakutsk 7200 was back to the usual fluttery carrier frequency, so the correction did not last any longer than on previous occasions. Krasnoyarsk 6085 has also been back to a buzzy and off frequency carrier for several days now. It is to be found above the nominal 6085, but it is not possible to get a frequency reading (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Voice of Russia What`s New http://www.vor.ru/English/Exclusives/what_new.html OUR HOMELAND. In the next two editions of OUR HOMELAND weekly feature, which will go on the air on January 2nd and 9th, we will be telling you about the Civil war that broke out in Russia following the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. We invite you to tune in to OUR HOMELAND weekly feature on Monday at 0430, 0930 and 2030, Tuesday 1630, Wednesday 0530, 0830 and 1830, Thursday 0330, 0630, Friday 0830, 1530 and 2030, Sunday 0230 and 2030 UT [add a sesquiminute to all times] (via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. I remember hearing Joe Adamov late at nights when I started shortwave listening in the 1960's on the North American service of Radio Moscow using, as it still does now, several frequencies in the North American 40 metre amateur radio band. At that time Radio Moscow had separate English services and the UK service's Moscow Mailbag was hosted by Doris Maxina and Tom Williams. The questions from North American listeners I heard always seemed more direct than those read out on the UK version as were Joe's answers. After the fall of Communism it was refreshing to hear Joe being able to talk frankly about life in Russia including during Stalinist times. Like all great broadcasters I will remember him particularly for his distinctive and radio friendly voice (Mike Barraclough, Jan World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. RADIO LIBERTY LOSES MEDIUM WAVE BROADCASTS IN ST PETERSBURG | Text of report by Russian Ekho Moskvy radio on 2 January Radio Liberty broadcasts on medium wave have been stopped in St Petersburg. A correspondent of the St Petersburg Radio Liberty office, Tatyana Valovich. [Valovich] It's the medium waves, unfortunately. We were told a long time ago that we would lose this that transmitter. It was supposed to be from 1 July, but they must have brought it forward to 1 January. Unfortunately we weren't warned about it here in the St Petersburg office. It affects St Petersburg. The FM broadcasts stay, but we have lost the medium wave broadcasts. This is a contract agreement, rebroadcast for us by Radio Baltika, there's nothing political in it. It's quite normal, it was envisaged. [Presenter] Tatyana Valovich said that the Radio Liberty management, which is in Prague, did not officially warn the St Petersburg office that medium wave broadcasts were to be axed. Source: Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow, in Russian 0900 gmt 2 Jan 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. I listened to Radio Sudan with excellent reception here in Tallahassee, Florida on 7120 kHz, between 0405-0500 UT sign off. Programs were in Arabic, but there was a lot of interesting African music featured! A clear id mentioned several times as "Radio Sudan" and during closing as "Sudan Radio Service". They have a website, which mentions the following address: Sudan Radio Services c/o EDC P. O. Box 4392, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya. Date of reception: January 1, 2006 (Tim Marecki via Dan Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave Jan 2 via DXLD) SRS is from outside Sudan, US-sponsored, UK-transmitted, one should note. This transmission is M-F only, and if you had tuned in at 0300 you would have heard English; repeated at 1500 on 15575 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TANZANIA. 5050.1 kHz, R. Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, noted back on 28 Dec 1937-1954, Swahili program, talks, African pops; 35332, some audio distortion, and rated 45333 at 1935 on 30 Dec despite its spurs on 5037 & 5063.2 kHz, both at 25342 and with heavy distortion (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY [and non]. Hello Glenn, Just tried 9780 (9779) kHz, to see what reception was like for Yemen radio at 1800 UT [English]. Seems that Voice of Turkey is on 9780 in Spanish, between 1730 and 1830. I can't recall having heard this clash before now. Nasty Co channel hum. Regards (Christopher Lewis, England, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TRT frequency management obviously has not been doing their homework. First, new Italian broadcast colliding with Vatican on 6185; now this. 9780v has been Yemen`s main SW frequency for ages. And the Jan 1 schedule was already planned and published at the beginning of B-05; see 5-188. Spanish broadcast was already on 9780 but ending at 1755, now extended to 1825 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Turkey started a new service in the Italian language. The first transmission was heard on Sunday, January 1, at 1730-1755 UT, here in Milan with good signal but with interference by Vatican Radio, around 1740, with their interval signal and a program in an unID language. In central and south Italy instead the reception was reported very good by many DXers (Giampiero Bernardini, Avvenire Milano, Italy, Jan 2, HCDX via DXLD) Ciao! segnale accettabile qui nel nord Italia --- ma presenza di un forte segnale su 6185 kHz che ha limitato l'ascolto. Mi chi cacchio gli ha scelto questa disgraziata frequenza?? E poi alla stessa ora modula anche Radio Budapest --- in Italiano pure lei; possibile che non potevano fare dalle 1700 alle 1730 UT (....salute !!!!) (Dario Monferini, Milano, Jan 1, playdx via DXLD) Per Eibi, Vatican starts 6185 at 1710; but the seeming start at 1740 is probably due to one of their unspecified pauses between languages. The VOT could sneak in under Vat`s skip zone, but not good from: 6185 1710-1740 CVA Radio Vaticana R EEu 6185 1740-1800 CVA Radio Vaticana UK EEu (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. 30 year rule exposes BBC radio role over TV in event of nuclear war --- BBC NEWS | POLITICS | NUCLEAR SECRETS OF 1975 REVEALED http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4565880.stm Cabinet papers from 1975 detailing the government's plans in the event of nuclear war are among new documents released by the National Archives. They reveal that government bunkers would be manned by civil servants, emergency legislation would be passed, and hospitals would be emptied. TV was to close down, and the BBC to begin a wartime service on radio. However, the papers showed art treasures from London and Edinburgh would be saved by being sent to slate mines in Wales. The information is among a raft of unseen material that has been revealed in government records from 1975, now released to the public at the National Archives in Kew, south-west London..... Hear the planned 1970s BBC nuclear war broadcasts http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4565880.stm (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) ** U K. ISWL DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY (Special Event). SWL Pete Rayer, Hon. Life Vice President of the ISWL, informs OPDX that the "International Shortwave League" (ISWL), celebrates it 60th (Diamond) Anniversary in 2006. The ISWL was founded in 1946 and caters to Licensed Amateurs, Broadcast Band and Amateur Band SWL's and Air Band Listeners around the world. (Plus many more aspects of their great hobby). Please visit the following Web for more details at: http://www.iswl.org.uk During the celebration, look for special event station GB60SWL to be used at 12 public events throughout 2006. The first event will be on January 22nd from the RAF Montrose Heritage Centre in Angus, Scotland. Also, look for special event station GB6SWL to operated on weekends and public bank holidays from various locations around Great Britain. Full details can be found at the above Web page or on QRZ.com. QSL both operations to: Alan Loveridge, c/o ISWL QSL Bureau - 29, Courtiers Drive, Bishop Cleave, Cheltenham Gloucestershire England, UK (OPDX/BARF80/KB8NW Jan 2 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** U S A. 25950, KOA, 1632-1645, Jan 1, English, Audible at 1632. Radio 850 KOA ID heard at 1633. Deep fades in and out. Some of the fades lasting over a minute. Talk show in progress with female and male announcer. Mostly gone by 1645. Rechecked at 1700, back. ID heard at 1717 and again at 1719 as 850 KOA. Lots of ads at 1720. Better reception at this time with fewer drop outs. Several mentions of Boulder callers with what they did New Years Eve. ID again at 1722 as 850 KOA once again. Best in narrow FM format (Bob Montgomery, Levittown PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Hmm, wonder if he was tipped by first item on this week`s WOR 1299? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Fred, is WLIO-TV ch 35 in Lima OH still carrying WRN on SAP? (Glenn to Fred Vobbe, via DXLD) It's on all the time except when we have local news. Those local news times are ... [EST = UT -5] 06:00 - 07:00 (Mon-Fri) "First Edition" 12:00 - 12:30 (Mon-Fri) "Noon Edition" 18:00 - 19:00 (Sun-Sat "WLIO News" + "NBC Nightly News" 23:00 - 23:30 (Sun-Sat "WLIO News" (Frederick R. Vobbe, W8HDU, Lima OH, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So that still includes WORLD OF RADIO, Sat & Sun 1830 UT and Sun 0930 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Did anyone hear WOR on WBCQ 7415, UT Mon Jan 2 at 0515? No signal detectable here, but nothing from CHU 7335 either, so may have been auroraed out; southern 7 MHz signals such as WRMI, WHRI and WYFR were still in (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WBCQ Anomalies and Recent Observations Monday, January 2, 2006 http://www.zappahead.net/wbcq/anomaly.php Noticed the Kracker Radio New Year`s Special in place of Tom`s Lost Classics. Also, at 0547 on 7415, after Glenn Hauser`s World of Radio ended, a WBCQ ID and another play for this show. SIO 333 with deep fades. A WBCQ ID, Auld Lang Syne, then the WBCQ sign-off message and off at 0618 (via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) WBCQ photo album: http://www.wbcq.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=listarticles&secid=4 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 4865, WWCR ~ (Nashville). Date: 27 Dec 05. Time: 0553-0600. Ultra conservative program with mentions of suspected terrorists cells in Northeastern Tennessee, USA. Ads for videos, water filtration systems, and diet supplements. ID at TOH as ``From Nashville, Tennessee we are WWCR.`` Good (Joe Wood, TN, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Another receiver-produced image, 900 kHz down from 5765. Why am I the only one pointing this out? He also reported WWCR on its real frequency a few minutes earlier! (gh, DXLD) 5765, WWCR, 27 Dec 2005, 0535-0540. 2 OM in English talk about private citizens ``assisting`` the US Border Patrol in its duties on the US/Mexico border. Mentions of real time internet access to videos showing airborne surveillance of border. Good (Joe Wood, TN, ibid.) ** U S A. You`d think a station would have enough self-respect to either fix it or turn it off, but not KVOH: 20 over 9 signal on 17775 Jan 2 at 2311, but low modulation and extremely distorted during hymn in Spanish. Can`t imagine anyone being attracted to rather than repelled by this frequency. Fortunately, was not accompanied by spurs all over the 16m band and beyond as often happens (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re URBONO QSL: Jim, can you clarify something? Are the reports that are being requested only for reception of the listed stations in the IMMEDIATE aftermath of the hurricanes, or are they good for CURRENT loggings as well? (Randy Stewart, Battlefield MO, IRCA via DXLD) Good point - the period that URBONO operated ran from Sept. 2 through Nov. 4, 2005 and the special QSLs are for that time period. The cards are NOT intended to verify current loggings. Thanks Randy (Jim Pogue, ibid.) Received this today: Please let me clarify - the special QSL cards will only be issued for the period during which United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans was actually in existence and in operation. This period runs from Sept. 2 through Nov. 4, 2005. The cards are not intended for current receptions. My apologies for any confusion. Jim Pogue (via Steve Lare) Unfortunately those of us who didn't take notes earlier will not be able to get the special QSL (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NORTH EAST RADIO WATCH YEAR IN REVIEW 2005 BY SCOTT FYBUSH: http://www.fybush.com/nerw-yir2005.html Note especially his closing rant about the outlook for radio as we know it (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. re 6-001, FCC: This is all too true. For many years, the public and politicians have been chanting the "less government is better" mantra. During the same time period, we've seen tremendous growth and changes in telecommunications, the internet, digital broadcasting, and more, all of which have greatly increased the FCCs workload. Under the circumstances, I find it hard to fault the FCC too much for lax enforcement of some of rules. They're getting squeezed between two conflicting forces. The lack of enforcement activity is a symptom of the government's efforts to cut spending. Ultimately, something has to give in cases like that. In that respect, we as citizens should be grateful (I say that somewhat tongue in cheek....). This isn't to say there haven't been some really dumb decisions made by the Commission in recent years. That's a separate issue (Bruce Portzer, IRCA via DXLD) ** VATICAN. Collision on 6185 with TURKEY: q.v. ** VENEZUELA. 4934.4, RADIO AMAZONAS. Puerto Ayacucho. 2135-2200 Dic. 28. Programa: La Parranda con Lucho Campo. ID: "Desde Ayacucho, capital del Estado Amazonas, Venezuela; patria de nuestro libertdaor Simón Bolívar, transmite Radio Amazonas AM 1130 KHz; SW 1 4940 onda corta señal internacional cubriendo toda Venezuela y el mundo..." (Rafael Rodríguez R., Bogotá, Colombia, condig list via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. CI de RNV, 13680 via Cuba, in the clear at 2316 Jan 2 with ID, Efemérides, concerning anniversaries of important events on various dates in December. Good clear modulation unlike so many other Cuban frequencies, but only fair signal. This is supposed to be for NAm, but it must be one of their lower powered, or lower gain combos (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA. S0, WESTERN SAHARA. Radio-Noticias magazine reports that a group of operators during their Sadiki Expedition will transmit from different locations from the Sahara, within the territory of the Arab Republic Democratic Saharaui between January 7-13th. Activity will be SSB on the following suggested frequncies: 3675, 7085, 14310, 21175 and 28975 kHz. Their activity also includes 27425 kHz (11 meters, YES the CB Band!!). Details are available on: http://www.radionoticias.com (OPDX/BARF80/KB8NW Jan 2 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** YEMEN. 9780, Rep. of Yemen Radio in English. Brief news at 1855, into ??? lang. at 1900, what sounded like a call-in talk show. Fair, steady signal, 12/27/05. Believe it or not, I'd never heard Yemen before - new country for me after all these years! (Tim Davisson, Norton OH, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) See also TURKEY, now blocking 9780 earlier in the hour (gh) ** ZANZIBAR. 11735, Spice FM via RTZ, Jan 2, 1803-1810, news in English, about Caracas, Beirut, Nairobi, Lusaka, Kampala and Jakarta, ID ``This news is coming to you from Spice FM,`` exceptionally good signal. So when Scott Barbour says it`s ``Booming!`` in, I now have a good idea of what he means, hi (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 5100, 27 Dec 2005, 0540-0547. OM in English with sports followed by an YL in English with news and several mentions of Johannesburg. Very Faint. Any ideas? (Joe Wood, TN, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Another DX-390 receiver-produced image, Habana 6000 minus 900 (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Shortwave Numbers Station. Dear Glenn, I got this from the "Spooks mailing list" Via E-Mail. http://mailman.qth.net/ In a German movie there is a recording of a Numbers Station. The web adderss below has the clip. http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/page494.htm Enjoy (Paul Armani, Denver CO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Plus screen shots from the movie, and commentary upon it (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Howdy Glenn: Thanks for another great year of DX info! All the best for 2006! 73, (Mike Beu KD5DSQ, Austin, Texas, Jan 2, with a PayPal donation) LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ KIEV OR KYIV? TURIN OR TORINO? By Blair Shewchuk, CBC News Online This is a tale of two cities — or, rather, of two cities' names. And it reveals how we sometimes have a dickens of a time spelling foreign nouns in English. . . http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/words/kiev-or-kyiv.html (via Fred Waterer, Programming Matters, ODXA Listening In via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ RADIOS FROM THE 1940s Hello gang – spent some quality time with old radios last night. I THINK if I remember right, it IS technically within the CME since the CME started at midnight UTC. Nonetheless I had fun. Too much to post here on the list. Includes pictures of me with the old toys. I just made a web page instead. Check it out here at: http://www.cajuncomp.com/dxing.htm I think you`ll like it. Michael n Wyo (Michael J Richard, Evanston, Jan 1, ABDX via DXLD) QUADRAPHONIC FM STATIONS Hey everyone, Does anyone remember FM radio stations in the 70s that broadcasted quadraphonic 4-channel sound instead of 2-channel stereo? I know WBCN in Boston broadcasted quad for a while in the 70s but other than them, I'm not really sure of others. My main questions are: 1. Did anyone actually ever listen to any of these stations in quad? 2. Did you actually need a quadraphonic FM radio receiver to hear the quad, or was it like quad LPs where you'd just hook a regular stereo unit into some kind of quad decoder that could decode the back channels? 3. If you had to use a decoder, does anyone know what matrix system stations used, if there was a standard at all (SQ, QS, CD-4, something else?) I'd imagine that they just used some kind of a matrix system like LPs that encoded the quad into a normal stereo signal that way if your radio wasn't hooked into a quad decoder, you could still enjoy a 2- channel stereo signal. Any info that anyone has would be appreciated! Thanks! (Shawn De Cesari, Providence, RI, K1VSR, Jan 1, WTFDA via DXLD) Yes. I worked at WAAF in 1971 and installed a quad setup. It was a pretty simple adapter that went before the main audio processing. There was no real four-channel path. It was indeed a matrix system, but I don't remember what kind. It's been a while. I think it may have been a Sansui brand name, but I could be wrong. We had a receiver, and now and then you could hear something different front to rear, but not all that often. I don't remember when it was discontinued. I left in 1972 to work for a station in Providence. The hour commute one way was starting to wear me down (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) Hi Craig and crew! I remember when WAAF was touting their new "4- channel Stereo" signal when they had increased their power in late 1971-early 1972. (I remember hearing the "Nutrocker" on 'AAF and the new ID's "WAAF/Worcester.... The ROCK of NEW England!") I recall in mid November, 1971, WAAF's transmitter site (on the old WJZB/Channel 14 tower) was broken into, vandalized and was off-the-air for most of that day. News of the break-in to the site made it on to all of the local Boston area Radio and TV newscasts. Did this damage to the 'AAF transmitter site delay the process of getting WAAF it's power increase and switch to Quad? I recall that prior to this, 'AAF's signal barely made it out of the Worcester County area. Then all of a sudden, WAAF was coming in full Stereo like gangbusters in areas all around Boston and the suburbs. I do recall that prior to 1972, a much weaker powered WAAF was a Stereo version of WAAB/1440 (Top-40) but with its own schedule and jocks. 73, (Peter Q. George, ibid.) I worked at KLZ-FM, Denver in the early '70s (both on-air and as an engineer). We used the Sansui quad encoder. We had two normal turntables and a third just for the quad encoded LPs. I don't recall all the details, but we had two Fairchild reverbs that added ambiance to the rear channels when we were playing normal stereo records. The reverb was bypassed when a quad record was playing. We had a nice Sansui quad receiver in the studio, and the quad version of 'Whole Lotta of Love' by Led Zeppelin would knock your socks off. If done right, quad was impressive. But alas, it turned out to be yet another technology that never quite caught on (Girard Westerberg, http://www.DXFM.com Lexington, KY, ibid.) For the listener, another problem was that it was somewhat touchy in terms of speaker placement to actually get the effect. And of course you couldn't get it at all with headphones . But the effect on that particular cut (which is impressive enough on just regular stereo using good phones) was just amazing! (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) The BBC over here transmitted some "Quad" programmes for a while. As I remember it you listened to both the hi-fi's "normal" stereo speakers and on stereo headphones. There was no special decoding equipment for this, though if you wanted a 4 (or 5) speaker system there probably was. One programme was a radio play with scenes underwater, and it was very impressive with sounds coming (apparently) from all around you. Total immersion! Come to that the BBC also used to transmit simulcasts of things like rock concerts, pictures (and mono) on TV, plus stereo on FM. That was back in the days when there was no digital encoding lag! That died out too when we got NICAM digital stereo for the TV soundtrack (Mark Hattam, UK, ibid.) WAAF: The PD at that time was Judd Corsey. No idea where he got to, though he was from Mississippi, IIRC. A local kid put a pipe bomb in there. It destroyed an audio processor, and left nail holes in the wall. Chewed up some wiring, too. I got there about 11 pm or so and worked all night to get it back on. Ben Bartlett was CE in those days. It was some years later that the kid was caught, and then only because he bragged. They had applied for a power increase, and had an AEL rig on order. 20 or 25 kw, I believe. I don't think the bombing affected the schedule very much. That's when they went to full Class B status. The coverage map that the consulting engineers produced looked like a pizza dropped on a map of New England. I think it was the 54 dbu contour, and it went from near the NY border to about the Cape Cod Canal. We used to get calls from all over the place. NY, CT, VT, NH and occasionally further. Wish I'd kept a log of where it was heard. Much more free form. I did occasional afternoon fill-in work, and could play pretty much what I wanted. We did stick to a list for the most part. That's the last time I was on the air in any regular fashion. It was a lot of fun in those days. Something that is in very short supply in the industry now. I find my non-broadcast commercial clients are often more interesting places to work. Sad, really (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) Apparently one potential feature of IBOC is the ability to carry surround sound, presumably at least four channels and probably six. (I suppose NPR and stations carrying sporting events are the only ones likely to have any surround program material available) This was common in the States as well; I remember helping arrange to get the audio of WISC-3's production of Handel's Messiah microwaved over to the then-WILV (now WOLX) 94.9 studios in the Pyare Square Building for stereo broadcast over their transmitter. I believe that continued for at least the next year after WISC converted their transmitter for TV stereo, as stereo TV receivers were still pretty rare for a few years. BTSC stereo (on analog TV stations in North America) doesn't have a digital coding lag. ATSC digital TV does, and the lag is unpredictable. Even if there wasn't, if any FM station involved was running IBOC there'd be coding delays *there*... – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) In the early 70's I was still living in Kokomo, IN and attending college. A fried of mine bought a quad receiver system and set it up in a large recreation room in his house. I don't remember what brand it was but it did sound quite good with certain FM broadcasts or with some of the quad records he bought. I don't remember any of the Indianapolis stations going quad, or at least promoting the fact, but the two main FM stations in Fort Wayne, WMEF 97.3 (now WMEE) and WPTH 95.1 (now WAJI), both went quad and promoted the fact quite extensively. Some of the music from these stations sounded very good coming from 4 speakers. In the summer of 1975 I purchased the Realistic STA-250 AM-FM Stereo Receiver, which I still own. It has Quatravox. The manual describes it this way: "Built-in Quatravox provides simulated 4-channel sound for your records, tapes or another stereo signal --- just add a second set of speakers to enjoy this 4-channel effect." I remember trying it out then but I never could hear that much difference like I could with my friend's system (Steve Rich, Indianapolis, IN, ibid.) GPS COMPETITOR The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched the first of its Galileo global positioning satellites, Giove A, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Wednesday atop a Russian Soyuz-Fregat rocket. It is the first in a series of satellites that will form a competitive platform to the US's GPS system. The full story, thanks to http://www.universetoday.com is available below: The first Galileo demonstrator is in orbit, marking the very first step to full operability of Europe's new global navigation satellite system, under a partnership between ESA and the European Commission (EC). Giove A, the first Galileo in-orbit validation element, was launched today from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, atop a Soyuz-Fregat vehicle operated by Starsem. Following a textbook lift-off at 0519 UT (06:19 CET), the Fregat upper stage performed a series of manoeuvres to reach a circular orbit at an altitude of 23 258 km, inclined at 56 degrees to the Equator, before safely deploying the satellite at 0901:39 UT (10:01:39 CET). "Years of fruitful cooperation between ESA and the EC have now provided a new facility in space for improving the life of European citizens on Earth" said ESA Director General Jean Jacques Dordain congratulating ESA and industrial teams on the successful launch. This 600 kg satellite, built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) of Guildford, in the UK, has a threefold mission. First, it will secure use of the frequencies allocated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for the Galileo system. Second, it will demonstrate critical technologies for the navigation payload of future operational Galileo satellites. Third, it will characterise the radiation environment of the orbits planned for the Galileo constellation. Formerly known as GSTB-V2/A (Galileo System Test Bed Version 2), Giove A carries two redundant, small-size rubidium atomic clocks, each with a stability of 10 nanoseconds per day, and two signal generation units, one able to generate a simple Galileo signal and the other, more representative Galileo signals. These two signals will be broadcast through an L-band phased-array antenna designed to cover all of the visible Earth under the satellite. Two instruments will monitor the types of radiation to which the satellite is exposed during its two year mission. The satellite is under the control of SSTL's own ground station. All systems are performing well, the solar arrays are deployed and in- orbit checkout of the satellite has begun. Once the payload is activated, the Galileo signals broadcast by Giove A will be carefully analysed by ground stations to make sure they satisfy the criteria of the ITU filings. First step for Galileo A second demonstrator satellite, Giove B, built by the European consortium Galileo Industries, is currently being tested and will be launched later. It is due to demonstrate the Passive Hydrogen Maser (PHM), which, with a stability better than 1 nanosecond per day, will be the most accurate atomic clock ever launched into orbit. Two PHMs will be used as primary clocks onboard the operational Galileo satellites, with two rubidium clocks serving as backups. Subsequently, four operational satellites will be launched to validate the basic Galileo space and related ground segments. Once this In- Orbit Validation (IOV) phase is completed, the remaining satellites will be launched to achieve Full Operational Capability (FOC). Galileo will be Europe's own global navigation satellite system, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. It will be inter-operable with the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass), the two other global satellite navigation systems. Galileo will deliver real-time positioning accuracy down to the metric range with unrivaled integrity. Numerous applications are planned for Galileo, including positioning and derived value-added services for transport by road, rail, air and sea, fisheries and agriculture, oil prospecting, civil protection activities, building, public works and telecommunications (via Mark Coady, ODXA via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ MID WINTER ANOMALY, ON MEDIUMWAVE Do AM conditions stink or is it just me? Hmmm. Let me re-word that statement. No TAs heard the past few days. No carriers even. Even Central and South America seems down. Heck, even Chicago is down. I wonder if my antennas are still up. Have a Happy New Year! (Mike Bugaj, CT, Jan 2, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) This is the classic Mid-Winter Anomaly. Excellent TA conditions in September & October. Deteriorating to mediocre conditions November thru January. Picking up again February thru April and then fizzling out altogether in mid-May. It has been the pattern for many years and this year (thus far) is no exception. So, hang in there - conditions will improve (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, ibid.) ###