DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-019, January 29, 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 SW AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1302: Days and times strictly UT. Sun 2229 WOR WRMI 7385 Mon 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0515 WOR WBCQ 7415 Wed 0030 WOR WBCQ 7415 Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 Full schedule, including AM, FM, satellite and internet, 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 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS Jan 29: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html ** AUSTRALIA. Chris Hambly, Vic., phoned to say that one of the NT services was missing from both day and night frequencies. I think he said it was Alice (Glenn Hauser, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM. Re 6-018, transmitters on air only for purposes of heating building: I had noted 1512/927 kHz on throughout the night for several days now, but not always very strong. 1512 may be using lower power at certain times, and possibly off Friday morning. 621 not heard and 540 not checked (Olle Alm, Sweden, wwdxc BC-DX Jan 28 via DXLD) ** BELGIUM. 9970.00, RTBF-La Première, Wavre; 1318-1401 29 January. Very good with French male DJ, pop songs including the Bee Gees "You Should Be Dancing" and Madonna "Hung Up" along with French pops, Première jingle just after 1400 (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURKINA FASO. [presumed] On 5030 rather excited French dialog between 2 men at 2356 UT on January 21. No mention of Burkina or Ouagadougou heard; they did mention Côte d`Ivoire a few times but no other countries or cities that I could catch. West African vocal and instrumental music at 2359:30 and anthem which sounded electronic at 2400. Fair strength until off at 2401:30. In checking my logs I notice the few times I have heard this one recently have all been on Saturday or Sunday. I wonder if it is weekends only. Or maybe only on weekends it stays on late enough to be heard at my location (Wendel Craighead, KS, DXplorer Jan 22 via BCDX via DXLD) ** CANADA. TV from IRAQ: q.v. ** CEUTA. Re 6-018: Ceuta would be the Spanish-language 1584 that is not parallel to SER net stations. They have been on the correct 1584.0 channel for quite a while now (over a year I'd say). When off-channel, 1583.65 was a characteristic frequency. Since they have occasionally jumped off channel after having been "corrected", I suspect that whatever "fix" the technician got in wasn't necessarily everything that had to be done. Like Azores occasionally jumping from 837 to 836, don't be surprised if this puppy jumps off channel again at some point. On Ceuta-1584 "RadiOlé" ID's are sometimes given between songs. Music is of a pop nature but may include Moorish-influenced songs that sound a bit Middle Eastern, also old-style semi-operatic folk Spanish music ('troubadour with steel guitar in the moonlight singing to lady on balcony' type stuff). Ceuta is unquestionably the top dog on 1584 here right at sunset (~ 2150 UT now), a good 10-15 dB better than co- channel SER-Spain. As evening rolls along, the SER synchros get closer in strength. The SER net has many channels for parallel checking with a radio (versus the invariably-delayed Internet method). Best here beside 1584 include 873, 1044, 1116, 1179, 1287, 1485, and (when not getting hammered by UAE and/or Italy) 1575. In the last few days conditions have been very good to the western Mediterranean area (but petering off a bit towards northern Europe). This should help with Ceuta. I don't think you'll have too much trouble bagging it. As noted above, right after sunset is best (Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA, NRC-AM via DXLD) Thanks, Mark, just not enough to be certain about Radiolé! It was talk. If there had been music I would have been looking for the slogan between songs, because in Newfoundland that slogan really jumps out. Reception quality seemed to be concentrated in the 1500-1600 range last night, so no other SER outlets were available to me. In any event, I got two new TAs last night --- sometimes that's all I get in an entire season! (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY, ibid.) ** CROATIA. Hi Glenn, I copied the letter of Ullmar Qvick (dxld) to the Technical Departement of HRT Radio Zagreb at Deanovec, Technical Director Nikola Percin_HRT, Telecom Ministry Croatia, TX provider OIV at Zagreb, Croatia (wb, Jan 21) So, in connection[?] to these complaints, Croatia stopped DRM transmissions on 594 kHz to limited daytime operation since Jan 25, reported (Patrick Robic AUT, A DX Jan 27) 594 kHz DRM. Gestern und heute keine DRM Sendungen aus Kroatien auf 594 kHz (Patrick Robic, Austria, A DX Jan 26) Wohl eher Zufall, denn mittlerweile rauscht es wieder. [later] Da muss ich mich selber korrigieren. Es scheint tatsaechlich so, als wuerde man sich in Kroatien mit den DRM-Sendungen auf die Mittags- und Vormittagsstunden beschraenken. Jetzt am spaeten Nachmittag ist die Frequenz wieder rauschfrei (Patrick Robic, A DX Jan 27; all via BC DX via DXLD) See also GERMANY, illegal broadcasts ** CUBA. Now here is item seven to today`s program --- our listening tips section of DXers Unlimited, today devoted to medium wave AM broadcast band listeners. At the request of many AM band DXers that want to pick up more Cuban stations, here are several frequencies and locations of rather easily heard Cuban AM band stations. On frequency 1220 kiloHertz, Radio Caribe, from the Isle of Youth is now on the air with its new 5 kiloWatt high modulation efficiency Chinese transmitter, capable of modulating up to 125 percent of the positive modulation peak. The station is sharing the same tower with the Isle of Youth Radio Progreso Relay on 730 kiloHertz, using a Cuban designed and built antenna diplexer for the folded monopole vertical that has proven to provide a very high radiation efficiency on both frequencies. So if you want to add not one but two new ones to your AM broadcast band log, look for Radio Caribe on 1220 kiloHertz and Radio Progreso`s relay on 730 kiloHertz. Listeners in Central America, the Caribbean, the United States of America and Canada will surely be able to pick up these two new transmitters and can ask for confirmation to Radio Caribe, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba, for the 1220 frequency and to Radio Progreso, PO Box 3042, Havana, Zip Code [sic] 10300 to the attention of Chief Engineer José A. Fuentes (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Jan 28 via ODXA via DXLD) Not that easy; plenty of QRM (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA [and non]. 530.00, FLORIDA AIRSPACE/CUBA; airborne Radio Martí, contrary to incorrect reports elsewhere, airborne Martí reactivated only last weekend (21 January), but was a no-show on 28 January. I checked at 2100 and 2200, but no Radio Rebelde "jammer" or Martí, just Radio Visión Cristiana present from 2130+. The facts: when airborne Martí is active, it is only on local Saturdays to date; Radio Rebelde (or Radio Cadena Habana audio patch) is not always active (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Hi, Martin, I received 2 Radio República QSLs today. I was very surprised to receive 2 QSLs today [Saturday, January 28] for Radio República. 10 days after I sent an e-mail to T-Systems/DTK for reception on 7160 I received a full-data ``Florida postage stamp`` card from Jeff White of Radio Miami International marked ``via Germany``. Also today I received a no-data Spanish & English letter direct from Radio República. It includes ``Thanks for reporting your reception ... & We hope you can continue listening . . .`` so I guess it`s a verification. This was 1 month after I sent a report of reception on 7110 to P. O. Box 110235, Hialeah, Florida 33011. Also included was a transmission schedule, which includes 6135, 6010, & 7110, and also 9555 in the English version and 9955 in the Spanish [WRMI?]. No mention of 7160. Also enclosed was a photocopy of a newspaper clipping which mentions WRMI`s airing of Radio Praga in Spanish and gives details of Radio Republica`s 10 hours of broadcasting per day (Wendel Craighead, Kansas, USA via Martin Schoech, CRW via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC [non]. ASCENSION ISLS, 11665, Radio Prague verified with a full data "Czech Spas: Frantiskovy Lazne, Western Bohemia" card without site (disappointing) from an illegible verie signer in 12 days. Included was a pocket 2006 calendar, letter opener with website identification and program schedule. In a sign of the times, the letter opener is called "e mail opener." (Rich D'Angelo, PA, DXplorer Jan 21 via BCDX via DXLD) ** ERITREA. DX TARGET: VOBME VOICE OF THE BROAD MASSES OF ERITREA Dimtsi Hafash --- By Richard A. D`Angelo [illustrated with map and QSL in original] Mass media can be a powerful, influential tool in a revolutionary movement. The Eritrean struggle for freedom illustrates this classic example when the Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea (Dimtsi Hafash) was established. Dimtsi Hafash played a central role in accelerating the pace of Eritrean independence. Radio Voice of the Broad Masses (``VOBME``) of Eritrea helped lead the people in their struggle against Ethiopia. VOBME was the prime mover in the country’s liberation movement. While a clandestine operation, constant jamming needed to be overcome since they were using transmitters only capable of between 200 and 750 watts output. Eventually, this clandestine radio operation became the legitimate state-run broadcaster that serves the independent country of Eritrea today. At present, the VOBME continues to operate on the shortwave bands making this DX Target an exciting way to log and verify the radio country of Eritrea. In the Horn of Africa oral traditions are strong. The spoken word, rather than the written word, has a remarkable influence upon people in this region. Therefore, radio can be a very powerful media tool in the hands of governments keen to rally public support. With our shortwave radios, we have an excellent opportunity to monitor what is going on in the Horn of Africa region. Background Eritrea was part of the first Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum until its decline in the 8th century. It came under the control of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, and later of the Egyptians. Italy captured the coastal areas in 1885, and the Treaty of Uccialli in May 2, 1889 gave the Italians sovereignty over part of Eritrea. The Italians named their colony after the Roman name for the Red Sea, Mare Erythraeum, and ruled it up until World War II. The British captured Eritrea in 1941 and later administered it as a United Nations (``UN``) Trust Territory until it became federated with Ethiopia on 15 September 1952. It was made an Ethiopian province on 14 November 1962. A civil war broke out against the Ethiopian government, led by rebel groups who opposed the union and wanted independence for Eritrea. The 30-year struggle for independence ended in 1991 with the Eritrean rebels defeating Ethiopian governmental forces. Independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 kilometer-wide Temporary Security Zone along its the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections. Meanwhile, the United Nation’s Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea, UNMEE, continues to monitor the 25 kilometer-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea. Location and Geography Eritrea was formerly the northernmost province of Ethiopia and is about the size of Indiana. Much of the country is mountainous. Its narrow Red Sea coastal plain is one of the hottest and driest places in Africa. The cooler central highlands have fertile valleys that support agriculture. Eritrea is located in Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea on the north and east, between Djibouti (109 kilometers) and Ethiopia (912 kilometers) on the south and Sudan (605 kilometers) on the north and west. The country is dominated by an extension of the Ethiopian north- south trending highlands, descending to the east to a coastal desert plain. The northwest is hilly terrain and the southwest is a flat-to- rolling plains The climate is hot, dry desert strip along the Red Sea coast and cooler and wetter in the central highlands with up to 61 centimeters of rainfall annually. Semiarid in the western hills and lowlands. Rainfall is heaviest during June through September except in the coastal desert. The country is 46,842 square miles, or 121,320 square kilometers with a population of about 4.5 million inhabitants. Its capital and largest city is Asmara with about 900 thousand inhabitants. The official languages of Eritrea are: Afar, Bilen, Kunama, Nara, Arabic, Tobedawi, Saho, Tigre, and Tigrinya. English is rapidly becoming the language of business and is the medium of instruction at secondary schools and at the university. The Economy The main problems affecting the Eritrean economy are an inadequate and war-ravaged infrastructure, a lack of hard currency to pay for imports, a weak tax collection system and the predominance of unproductive subsistence agriculture. Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. Economic growth fell to zero in 1999 and to - 12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. However during the war, Eritrea managed to develop its transportation infrastructure, paving new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. Unfortunately, erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of farmers from the military kept grain production well below normal, holding down growth in recent years. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills. The Station Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, the official national broadcaster in Eritrea, used to broadcast on behalf of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (``EPLF``), the victorious liberation movement. In 1980, the EPLF, fighting for the independence from Ethiopia, started the clandestine station Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea that also hosted the programs of other opposition forces in Ethiopia. When the Mengistu regime was overthrown by a coalition of opposition movements, the Voice of the Broad Masses became the national broadcaster in the Eritrean province. Upon Eritrean independence the station, Dimtsi Hafash, became the licensed government international broadcast station. Eritrea is the only African country to have no privately owned news media. There are no private radio or TV stations in Eritrea. The state-run FM network is Radio Zara. The state run Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea broadcasts in nine ethnic national languages on two different channels. The first channel is 945 kHz medium wave and 7100 kHz shortwave with a morning transmission from 6:30 AM to 11:00 AM local time, or 0330 to 0900 UT, and again from 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM local time, or 1400 to 1830 UT. These transmissions use five different languages. The second channel is 837 kHz medium wave and 7175 kHz shortwave with broadcasts in the remaining four national ethnic languages. The transmission times are 6:30 AM to 10:00 AM local time, or 0330 to 0700 UT. A second evening broadcast can be heard from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM Eritrean time, or 1300 to 1800 UT. The 100-kilowatt transmitters are located 15 kilometers south of Asmara. The station does verify listener reception reports on a sporadic basis, usually requiring above average patience. Berhane Gerzgiher, Director of Radio Engineering, replied on behalf of the station noting ``We are surprised by your letter. Really appreciate you because we didn`t expect our broadcast reach such distance.`` The letter closed asking to keep in touch with VOBME and ``Thank you very much for your great devotion on us.`` English language reception reports with return postage of US$1.00 or two International Reply Coupons can be sent to the station at the following address: Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea Ministry of Information Radio Department, Radio Engineering Division P. O. Box 242, Asmara, Eritrea Remember to send in those rare Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea logs to the DX Window edited by Anker Petersen and to Klaus-Dieter Scholtz for the Shortwave Tips column. Of course, QSL verifications should be sent to Andreas Schmid for inclusion in the QSL Corner. Good luck with this DX Target (Jan DSWCI SW News via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Re 6-018, V. of the Somali People: I feel sure this will be via Eritrean state broadcaster Voice of the Broad Masses 2nd Programme, which is on 837 kHz & 7175 kHz. Regards, (Dave Kernick, England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ah, 837 as above, instead of the supposed ``8037``! (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** EUROPE. MYSTERY RADIO, PIRATE, 29-01-2006, 1400-1425 UT, 6220 KHz, SIGNAL: VERY GOOD, ID IN ENGLISH, TECNO AND DANCE MUSIC (Francesco Cecconi, Italy, http://swli05639fr.blogspot.com/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wonder if it was on at the same time Saturday, Jan 28, and colliding with V. of Joy`s weekly broadcast --- and whether that is still on and will continue into February? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Croatian Radio, rapid-paced English newscast by American accent, frequently interrupted by stingers, as I guess the Croatian news would be pretty dull otherwise: at least they think merely speaking the news for a few minutes would not be adequate; tune in at 0301 UT Jan 29 on 7285 via Germany, and already wrapped up at 0306, back to Croatian music; 0330 Spanish news also full of stingers. VG signal, but a blatant violation of international law, broadcasting into Region 2 on a hamband. Hams in the Western Hemisphere have the right to 7285 free of high-power overseas signals beamed toward us (but not if they are beamed from somewhere else to somewhere else, but are still heard here, such as VOA 7295). Let us investigate in HFCC. Is this another service DTK/T-Systems pretends is for Iceland? From HFCC B-05: 7285 2300 0400 36 JUL 100 230 -10 218 1234567 301005 260306 DD HRT DTK 7285 0000 0400 17 JUL 100 300 30 216 1234567 301005 260306 DD HRT DTK 7285 0200 0600 17 JUL 100 325 30 216 1234567 301005 260306 DD HRT DTK Where are CIRAF zones 36 and 17? 36 is the east-central North Atlantic, with hardly any land area except Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, and 17 is --- Iceland! Of course, those slewed azimuths of 220, 330 and 355 degrees are really aimed at South America, eastern and western North America, respectively. Do they think we are too stupid to figure this out? To believe that Croatia really intends to broadcast to Iceland and Azores and nothing beyond? At the very least, such services ought to include token segments in Icelandic, and the Azorean dialect of Portuguese, for the sake of appearances. VOC itself is not pretending its emissions are not for the Americas! see http://www.hrt.hr/hr/glashrvatske/gh_eng.html --- ``It`s also available on short wave radio: - In South America between 8 pm and 01 am local time on 7.285 kilohertz - On the east coast of North America between 7 pm and 11 pm local time on 7.285 kilohertz - On the west coast of North America between 6 pm and 10 pm local time on 7.285 kilohertz`` Or is ``available`` the weasel word? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. This is quite a TV story --- Read the "on air" rant. Joe Moore has been the number one anchor in Honolulu since 1980! He and KHON channel 2 keep up a first class news department, even when KHON switched affiliations from NBC to FOX when bought by Savoy. Of course it has been sold a few times. Moore always made comments on the air about the program that was his 10:00 PM lead in. For example, he loved "Hill Street Blues," and during the early days of KHON's affiliation with Fox, he would ridicule their weak and stupid programing. But through it all, even when KHON ran syndicated programming between 9 and 10 PM, he remained the number one newscast. His comments below may be common by disgruntled jocks on the radio at times, but this led the number one 10 PM news in Hawaii. The story is by my good friend and reporter Erika Engle, and is in the Honolulu Star Bulletin (Brock Whaley, who lived in Hawaii and worked for Rick Blangiardi at KHNL-TV and KFVE-TV. A great General Manager who really cares about quality and his staff, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: SALE OF KHON COMPLICATED BY NEGLECTED PAPERWORK --- MOORE VENTS ON AIR ABOUT LAYOFFS http://starbulletin.com/print/2005.php?fr=/2006/01/27/business/engle.html A PAPERWORK lapse has Indiana-based Emmis Communications Corp. going an extra mile and an extra 60 days for its 112 employees at KHON, the local television station the company is selling. Emmis failed to timely file a required notice with the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations before telling its employees that 35 of them would be laid off by the end of next month. The station's sale to SJL Acquisition LLC, based in California, was to close at 12:01 a.m. today. Joe Moore, lead anchor at KHON, bid an emotional farewell last night to the station's departing senior vice president and general manager, Rick Blangiardi, at the end of the 6 o'clock news. Moore also railed against the "draconian" staff cuts that the new owners are planning to make. (Please see Moore's comments on Page C3.) Instead of receiving the labor notice 60 days before the completion of the sale of KHON, the state got the notice this week. This does not preclude SJL from terminating employees once KHON's new president and general manager, Joe McNamara, takes the helm on Monday, but it does create some accounting headaches for Emmis. Blangiardi led an extraordinary all-staff meeting Wednesday afternoon in which staffers were told that they will remain Emmis employees until March 31. After SJL takes over, on top of staffers' regular wages, Emmis will continue to pay employees their previously announced success bonuses, either over time or as a lump sum. Emmis also will continue to pay for employee health plans including the employees' contributions. Emmis did not divulge the cost of the paperwork faux pas. The workers can opt for SJL health benefits instead of continuing to be covered under Emmis. "It is our understanding that SJL will offer full benefits to all employees upon closing," said Kate Snedeker, Emmis' director of investor and media relations. It seems unlikely, however, "because they can continue on the Emmis plan and we'll cover the employee contribution." Officials at SJL, working to rebrand itself as Montecito Broadcast Group LLC, could not be reached. Customarily it is the seller of a business that notifies the Labor Department of a so-called plant closing, said James Hardway, assistant to labor director Nelson Befitel. "After it had been reported in the paper that they were planning to fire the employees within two months, Director Nelson Befitel directed staff to contact KHON and offer our services," he said. The purpose of requiring a plant closing notice, or in this case, partial plant closing notice, is to gear up the Labor Department's rapid response team to "go in and meet with employees and provide packets for employees as to what services we provide," such as unemployment insurance, job training and others, "to help them transition faster from the jobs they are losing, to, hopefully a new job," Hardway said. It is the first time in recent memory that a company has failed to file a notice, "but once it hit the papers, we became aware of it and our main consideration was to assist with employee transition," he said. The filing of such notices "is required by law, but there really aren't any penalties attached to it." KHON personnel officials have not yet scheduled a Labor Department session with employees because, as it happens, the employees don't yet know who's going to be laid off. Their identities are on a list prepared by SJL and delivered to Emmis, which was to let the employees go before it took over under the terms of the sale. Blangiardi notified Emmis of his intention to step down from his leadership post at the close of the sale, rather than carry out SJL's vision. Moore expressed hope on behalf of employees that the new owners would also change their minds about the "drastic" cuts and focus on service to the Hawaii community, rather than increasing advertising revenue with a staff that is already performing above industry standards. Cuts at TV stations SJL has purchased from Emmis in Portland, Ore., and Wichita, Kan., have been across the board and have included on-air staff. Despite the uncertainty of their future employment, KHON staffers gave Blangiardi a standing ovation during the Wednesday afternoon meeting, according to an attendee who asked not to be identified. Contacted for comment, Blangiardi described it as, "a great final meeting. A great parting, although regrettably." Moore said he carefully considered his on-air remarks "before, while and after I wrote it and delivered it, but I don't know; there is a time when you just feel you have to take a stand and say what is right, and needs to be said ... no matter the consequences." MOORE VENTS ON AIR ABOUT LAYOFFS KHON anchor Joe Moore's on-air comments last night: "This has been a difficult day for most of us here at KHON2. It was the final day on the job for our general manager, Rick Blangiardi, who refused to carry out the mass firings of over one-third of our station employees, as ordered by our new owners, who take over tomorrow. "The firings are not a matter of cutting excess fat to improve efficiency; they will be a butchering of an already lean work force that will remove muscle, bone and vital organs. "A small percentage of people will be replaced by automation. The rest will severely reduce our ability to serve the community in the manner in which you, and we, have become accustomed. "The new owners recently changed the name of their company from SJL to Montecito. It is a virtual company with no office building, that specializes in buying and selling TV stations. "Their business plan for KHON2 calls for an immediate, drastic, across -the-board reduction of personnel in order to slash the payroll. ... "In short, it is not a plan used by a quality broadcast company to foster a long-term commitment to its employees or the viewers it is charged with serving. "It is the sincere hope of all of us who have worked long and hard to make this TV station what it is today, that the departure of Rick Blangiardi -- who stood up for us, while he was standing tall for quality television -- it is our hope that his departure will not be in vain, and that our new owners will reconsider their draconian plan, and pledge to the people of this state that operating KHON in the best interests of the people of Hawaii is not only their No. 1 goal, but also their No. 1 priority." (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ON-AIR CRITICISM LANDS KHON'S MOORE IN HOT WATER --- THE STATION'S NEW OWNERSHIP DISPUTES CHARGES OF LOST QUALITY --- by Erika Engle http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/28/news/story02.html The new owners of KHON are not happy with their top-rated news anchor. At issue are remarks by Joe Moore at the end of the 6 o'clock news Thursday evening, reprinted in yesterday's Star-Bulletin and repeated by Moore yesterday during the also top-rated "Perry and Price Show" on KSSK-FM 92.3/AM 590. "What was said last night was not the truth," said Sandy Benton, chief operating officer for Montecito Broadcast Group LLC, which has changed its name from SJL Acquisition LLC. "I need to address it with Joe." Moore had said Montecito "is a virtual company with no office building." Benton said there is a home office. "Of course there is. It's in Montecito (Calif.)," she said. Montecito's founder, president and chief executive officer, George Lilly, lives in Montecito. He could not be reached for comment. Regarding the 35 job cuts the company has announced for KHON, Moore said, "A small percentage of people will be replaced by automation. The rest will severely reduce our ability to serve the community in the manner in which you, and we, have become accustomed." Benton countered, "We have every intention of serving the community to the same degree it has been served in the past. If somebody had asked, we would have told them that. In fact, we did tell them that." Asked if the commitment could be maintained with one-third less staff, she said, "I think you continue to forget that a good percentage of (the job cuts) will be automation." It has not been announced who will be laid off at KHON. Benton said she is aware that Moore has a track record of being outspoken. "I don't mind that he's outspoken, but I don't want to see inaccuracy flying out of here like that. I don't know if our airwaves is the place to be outspoken," she said. Moore has four years remaining on his contract. Wrapping up the 10 o'clock news Thursday night, Moore thanked the 6 p.m. viewers who had communicated support to the KHON newsroom during the night. He declined further comment yesterday afternoon. Emmis Communications Corp., which announced last year it was selling KHON and three mainland television stations to Montecito, completed the sale of KHON yesterday. Emmis still owns and operates KGMB in Honolulu, WVUE in New Orleans and WKCF in Orlando, Fla., stations for which it is seeking a buyer. © 1996-2006 The Honolulu Star-Bulletin (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** HONG KONG. 1545 UT, 6679 kHz, Hongkong Volmet giving Asia weather, S-5 at times. Still heading north and heading for Dubai soon. 73's from (Larry Fields, n6hpx/mm, Jan 28, swl at qth.net via DXLD) USB? ** INDONESIA. 3231.8, RRI Bukittinggi, 1634 Jan 9, primitive sounding woodwinds and Arabic vocals with two male announcers in Arabic. Frequent voice over comments by announcers, as music continued with wailing, chants, and exotic flutes. Sudden change in music at 1658 with upbeat xylophone tune, then male announcer in Indonesian with "RRI Bukittinggi" and mentions of frequency. Into SCI and off at 1700*. Very good signal. I'm pleased with this catch, as I've not heard Bukittinggi for a while (Guy Atkins/OCSP, WA, DXplorer Jan 21 via BCDX Jan 28 via DXLD) I suppose the only reason a domestic Indo station would be broadcasting in Arabic would be something to do with Islam, if not axual Qur`an, right? (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. RE: Slovakia/Radio Tatras International Further to the erroneous report from Germany, it also says "Auch die geplante Satellitenabstrahlung wurde bislang nicht realisiert." That means the planned satellite service has not materialised. True, and neither has ours (Radio Netherlands). Both RNW and RTI are in the queue for a listing on the Sky EPG, along with about 50 other radio stations. Sky has now begun downloading the software upgrade to digiboxes, and will officially launch the new EPG on 28 February. It was originally planned for late 2005, but they've had some problems with the software. It doesn't make a lot of sense to operate on the Sky platform without being on the EPG, as it means the only way you can receive the signal via a digibox is to program in the transponder information manually, and most people don't bother to do that. So most stations (apart from Radio Caroline and a few others) prefer to save transmission costs and start up when people know they're there. It will still take some months before all the new stations are added, so we still don't know exactly when the RNW service will start (Andy Sennitt, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Just when I thought I'd seen everything, I came across this: NASA TO LAUNCH EXPERIMENTAL SATELLITE: A SPACE SUIT By VOA News 29 January 2006 The U.S. space agency, NASA, says it is preparing to launch an unusual satellite: an empty space suit. NASA says Russian scientists thought of the idea to hurl an empty suit out of the International Space Station on February third - arming it only with batteries, temperature and power sensors, and a radio transmitter. The suit, nicknamed SuitSat, will allow researchers to understand how conditions in space affect the suit for the two or three days its batteries last. As the suit orbits the Earth, it will send out radio transmissions that can be heard on short-wave radio [sic]. People can find out on the NASA Web site when to tune in to a certain frequency (145.990 MHz) to hear the space suit broadcast a pre-recorded greeting in several languages (English, French, Japanese, Russian, German and Spanish). [Wonder if they're issuing QSL cards for this :-)] (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DXLD) "SuitSat" --- One of the strangest satellites in the history of the space age is about to go into orbit. Launch date: Feb. 3rd. That's when astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) will hurl an empty spacesuit overboard. The spacesuit is the satellite -- "SuitSat" for short, and could be heard on 145.990 FM. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/26jan_suitsat.htm?list168132 (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) DISEMBODIED SPACESUIT SET TO ORBIT EARTH While the "Suitsat" may be audible during any pass of the International Space Station (as its orbit will be fairly close to the ISS) the following table indicates when the ISS should be visible, over the week following the Suitsat's planned "launch", so that you can look up and listen. These times are for visible passes of the ISS and are configured for Bridgenorth, ON but should be generally good for most of Southern Ontario and Western New York. The altitude is in angular degrees above the indicated horizon. The duration is the length of the transit from when it appears to when it disappears. The date and time is in UT (subtract 5 hours for EST) and indicates the start of the transit. DATE, TIME (UT) DURATION START ALTITUDE MAX ALTITUDE FINAL ALTITUDE Sat Feb 04 1039 1 min. 22 above NNE 22 above NNE 13 above NE Sun Feb 05 1002 3 min. 22 above NNW 22 above NNW 11 above NE Mon Feb 06 1025 4 min. 15 above NNW 19 above N 11 above NE Tue Feb 07 1017 1 min. 16 above NNE 16 above NNE 13 above NE Tue Feb 07 1149 5 min. 10 above NW 22 above NNE 12 above ENE Wed Feb 08 1040 2 min. 19 above NNE 19 above NNE 12 above NE Thu Feb 09 1103 4 min. 18 above NNW 22 above N 10 above ENE Fri Feb 10 0955 1/2 min. 10 above NE 10 above NE 10 above NE Fri Feb 10 1126 5 min. 12 above NW 34 above NNE 12 above E Sat Feb 11 1018 2 min. 20 above NE 20 above NE 11 above E Sun Feb 12 1041 3 min. 31 above N 34 above NNE 12 above E Remember to tune your scanner or two meter transceiver to 145.990 MHz (Mark Coady, Editor, Your Reports/Listening In Magazine, Co-Moderator, ODXA Yahoogroup, Ontario DX Association via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. IRAQ/CANADA: FIVE CHANNELS NOW AVAILABLE VIA SUBSCRIPTION | Text of press release by Canada-based JumpTV on 25 January As the eyes of the world continue to focus on the rebuilding efforts in Iraq, a truly independent media marketplace is emerging for the first time in the country's history. Five of the independent national broadcast television stations in Iraq have announced an exclusive partnership with JumpTV http://www.jumptv.com the world's leading online television network. The stations carried by JumpTV include Al Baghdadia http://www.albaghdadia.com Al Fayhaa http://www.alfayhaatv.net Alsumaria http://www.alsumaria.tv and Beladi TV, along with the previously announced AldiyarSat http://www.aldiyartv.net the only television station in the world broadcasting gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. For a monthly subscription of between 9.95 US dollars and 19.95 US dollars, subscribers to JumpTV can watch any of the Iraqi stations, anytime, via any internet-enabled device. "Independent television channels sprung up quickly after the fall of Saddam Hussein and the Baath party, responding directly to the thirst for independent and credible sources of news and information," said Inam Abdul Majeed, production manager, Al Fayhaa. "Not only do the people living in Iraq want timely and accurate information, but the millions of Iraqis and Arabs living outside the country crave access to Iraqi content as seen through the eyes of their countrymen. With JumpTV and a high-speed Internet connection, those citizens now have entree to affordable, real-time TV from their home country and region." JumpTV's global distribution network broadcasts live, high-quality television signals from over 100 channels from nearly 50 countries via its website. "JumpTV is committed to broadcasting the best television content possible and providing every expatriate around the world access to television from home via the internet. This bundle of stations gives viewers their choice of the latest in political, cultural and entertainment programming from Iraq. We anticipate that anyone interested in Iraq will turn to JumpTV for access to unfiltered information broadcast from the source," said Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, president of JumpTV. "There are millions of people of Middle Eastern descent living around the world who want to follow the trial of Saddam Hussein, the results of the recent elections, and other local programming from independent Iraqi channels," said Amir Hegazi, regional director of Middle East and North Africa for JumpTV. "This is the first country-specific channel-package we are bringing to market, and we plan on rolling out many more country and regional packages in the near future." Source: JumpTV press release, Toronto, in English 25 Jan 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Many thanks for this latest IBA schedule and it more or less confirms what I had been monitoring. Like you, I find that the highest frequencies fade out quite early and it's difficult to know if they are really in use. Somebody should tell the Iranians that 9985 doesn't carry Persian every day it seems a ridiculous decision to use 9985 for Russian on odd days when on others it carries Persian. And I will guess that Ladino on Sats will also get jammed. I think 9390 is clear at 1600 and it's a frequency that the IBA has used (Noel R. Green UK, wwdxc BC DX Jan 23 via DXLD) ** ITALY. Hola companero Bogdan, la nueva emisora Radio Giovanni Paolo II en los 1620 kHz ya no funciona; emitiò solamente 3 dias al final del anyo pasado. El problema es los piratones griegos que rompen las pelotillas entre los 1615 y 1710 kHz, y también unos "boludos" "borracheros" piratones de Holanda que pero por suerte no utilizan los 1620 kHz (Dario Monferini, Milan, to Bogdan Chiochiu, playdx via DXLD) ** JAPAN. ANALYSIS: JOB CUTS CENTRAL TO JAPAN PUBLIC BROADCASTER'S REFORM PLAN | Editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 26 January Japan's public broadcaster NHK this week announced plans for cost- cutting that will see staff numbers drop by 1,200, or about 10 per cent, over three years. NHK is also considering reducing satellite broadcasts. The restructuring, aimed at rebuilding public trust in the broadcaster, follows a sharp fall in revenues from the compulsory viewer fees, after several scandals involving NHK staff since mid- 2004. Founded in 1926 and modelled after the BBC, NHK derives much of its revenue from viewer fees paid by all Japanese residents who own a television. These are currently about 14 US dollars a month per household. After revelations of generous benefits system for NHK employees under then president Katsuji Ebisawa, "many angry viewers refused to pay the viewing fee", the Daily Yomiuri newspaper recalled on 26 January. Some reports put the number of households who stopped paying the fee in 2005 at more than one million. The Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported: "Fee revenue for fiscal 2006 was projected at 594bn yen [5.13bn US dollars], 47bn yen [406m US dollars] less than fiscal 2004's level, NHK said. It hopes to rebound to 614bn yen [5.3bn US dollars] by fiscal 2008." Media analysts in Japan say the plan also emphasizes the need to maintain the broadcaster's independence from the government and promote stronger, more accountable self-governance. NHK expects to start implementing the changes in April 2006. Plan fails to impress critics According to the business plans announced on 24 January, NHK will: - Cut 1,200 staff, or 10 per cent of its workforce, in the next three years - Reduce its bureaus from 26 to 20 by integrating or abolishing bureaus - Introduce a performance-evaluation system for leadership positions - Recruit executives from outside NHK. During the three-year implementation period, NHK expects to maintain its five TV channels, three domestic radio channels and an international shortwave radio service. But it will carry out feasibility studies to reduce the number of satellite TV channels it operates. At a news conference, NHK President Genichi Hashimoto said the two main points of the three-year plan were to balance the budget by increasing viewership and "drastically reforming the organization to cope with changes in the new media age," according to the Daily Yomiuri. Critics of the plan said it lacked clear proposals to revitalize the public broadcaster. An unnamed NHK executive told the Daily Yomiuri that "the prospects were not entirely rosy". The number of affiliated companies and organizations are "certain to be reduced" as part of the regrouping, the three-year plan stated. "But it stopped short of offering concrete target figures because doing so likely would invite labour-management tension, " the Daily Yomiuri added. Other critics of the plan suggested NHK could further streamline itself by reducing the number of channels it operates before the completion of the phased introduction of digital terrestrial broadcasting in Japan. As for NHK's proposed on-demand service in which viewers would pay for selected programmes, the Tokyo newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on 25 January that this posed the broadcaster with the challenge of how to pursue areas distinct from its traditional public broadcasting offerings. Top NHK executives, meanwhile, insisted that the three-year plan stressed the broadcaster's accountability while protecting its self- governance. In an interview with the Asahi Shimbun, NHK Executive Vice-President Taeko Nagai cited the example of the BBC as a public broadcaster that consistently asserted its independence from political forces, and made it a rule to explain this to the public. "Our attempt at reconstruction has some similarities with that of the BBC," Nagai said. Source: BBC Monitoring research 26 Jan 06 (via DXLD) ** LIBYA [and non]. After listening to my recording (and doing a little bit to [improve] its quality) I can withdraw my reservation concerning 17660 yesterday at 1200: Of course it was Sawt al-Amal, signing on with lots of ID's. http://www.radioeins.de/meta/sendungen/apparat/060128_A1.ram Quite interesting that they were heavily jammed already today, since I think that by then the information about the correct airtime (1200- 1400 rather than 1700-1900) was still not in the public domain yet. Intensive monitoring in Libya or just betrayal? Also leads to the question about the shortwave facilities at hand in Libya. Are they really in a state of disrepair, as it could appear years ago when the transmissions from Sabratha became more and more irregular until they finally vanished? But on the other hand there were the ominous test transmissions they did over years, during daytime on 6155 and other frequencies, driving the ROI guys mad by airing a 1000 Hz tone one day after another. So Sawt al-Amal started on Hotbird and the uplink got jammed by Libya, but WTFK? Best match to the reports appears to be transponder 94 (that's 12.597 GHz vertical), uplinked from the Brookman's Park teleport of GlobeCast. This transponder also carries various radio stations from the shortwave scene, so to speak (RCI, Radio Sweden, Family Radio, AWR, WRN), so it is quite a surprise to me that the disruptions went by widely unnoticed. The following transmissions via Telstar 12 were on 12.608 GHz horizontal, so Sawt al-Amal became a bedfellow of VOA and Radio Farda, and the other way round these BBG stations were subject of collateral damage when Libya managed to jam this transponder again, although the reception antenna of the satellite points at North America (uplink station at Hauppauge). Sawt al-Amal or Sowt Alamel helds a proper Ofcom licence: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/sat/RLCS043.htm (Kai Ludwig, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For 95 years! (gh, DXLD) 17660 - TDP brokered, originate via - supposedly - Moscow or Samara, Russia relay site. Typical frequency by GFC FMO, which used that channel in past decades. But lack of coordination between HFCC file, TDF/GFC Titov, and DTK FMO's (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 27, BCDX via DXLD) Saludos cordiales, resultado del chequeo de la emisora clandestina Al- amel hoy 29 de enero del 2006. 17660, Al-amel, 1300-1332, escuchada el 29 de enero en árabe a locutora con comentarios; se escucha de fondo emisora con música árabe. La emisora Al-amel sufre desvanecimientos hasta desaparecer; a las 1304 desaparece completamente e irrumpe con fuerza emisora jamming; a las 1308 reaparece la emisora, se sigue escuchando a la misma locutora con comentarios y jamming de fondo, pero a las 1310 vuelve a desparecer, la emisora jamming parece hacer efecto, SINPO 22421. Pueden escucharse dos audios de la jamming de Al-amel en Valencia DX: http://es.geocities.com/jmromero782004/ (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, dxldyg via DXLD) Sawt al-Amal, first checked here Sunday Jan 29: at 1340, 17660 had the mix of a woman talking in Arabic, and continuous Arabic music, mostly vocal, about 2 Hz apart, and roughly equal strength. One could still make out much of what was being said on al-Amal, but then I am not in Libya. Some have wondered how Libya got the jamming up and running so swiftly, lacking suitable transmitters of its own? Basic propagation theory tells us that jamming from the target country on a higher band like this cannot be very effective, since groundwave is so limited, and the skip zone around the transmitter site is so large --- maybe 1500 km or so. If the jammer, and it sounds like there is only one of them so far, is near Tripoli, that leaves the other coastal cities and most of Libya unreached. Hmmm, Libya already has a deal for relays of its broadcasts via France, and from that distance a 17 MHz signal can cover the whole country. Using ``programming`` -- music to jam, rather than sheer noise would give TDF as well as the Great Jamahiriyah, deniability that they are involved in jamming. We know how the Chinese employ this tactic. The jammer cut off at 1400:00 sharp, while Sawt al-Amal went one more minute in the clear (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17660.00, LIBYA jammer; 1408-1430 29 January. Big, pulsing jammer (joined a little later by a weaker, more grinding one). No audio making it through from the intended target, Sowt Al-amel. At least they found a reason to use their mostly idle shortwave facilities (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ?? As reported above, I was listening until Al-Amel went off at 1401, a minute after the music jammer. Maybe this was some other situation, as Al-Amel has not (yet?) been reported operating after 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. Traxx FM is still on 7295, but with bad transmitter and audio problems. They were heard 27 Jan around 0800 with strong open carrier and a few hours later with heavily distorted and clipped audio. 28 Jan at the same times there was a strong warbling noise, and barely discernible audio in the background parallel with their FM network. Regards, (Alan Davies, visiting Kuala Lumpur, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOROCCO. See TANGIER ** NORTH AMERICA. 6924.97, USA (PIRATE) Undercover Radio; 2332-2358 28 January. Rather weak, with Dr. Benway babble. Intentionally QRMed by the Voice of the Rodent from around 2345+. I e-mailed Dr. Benway, and he confirms there is bad blood here. AM mode. 6925U/V, USA (PIRATE), Voice of the Rodent; 2345-0005 28 January. Came up atop Undercover Radio with the double-speed "chipmunk" voice, and kept looping Pink Floyd "Another Brick In the Wall" along with "Peter Cotton Tail" between short announcements, one exchange between a faux Dr. Benway and (I guess) The Bunny. Very strong, blowing Undercover away, though drifting (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [non]. 1520, WWKB, Buffalo NY, 23/1, 0828, promo "call 866500-Mega for affordable health insurance, home office Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, not available in all states", "This is Buffalo 50000 Watts KB-Radio"; O=5 (Michael Schnitzer, Vorupor, Denmark DX Camp, 450m Beverage to North America http://home.arcor.de/mschnitzer/ HCDX via DXLD) Whew! So hearing OKC mentioned on 1520 does not mean you are hearing KOKC! (gh, DXLD) ** OMAN. R. Oman [tentative] Tuned Sony ICF-6500W to 15140 at 1434 UT on January 28, 2006. Heard what sounded like today's popular music being played (unfortunately, didn't recognize any of the songs). Tried the Sync lock and obtained a better signal until the signal faded into the ionosphere around 1446. Didn't hear an ID, but programming matches what I've read recently in DXLD. Using built-in whip antenna on the Sony ICF-SW7600G receiver. Looking forward to putting up outside antenna this Spring. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, W. Krist, Manassas, VA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Noted here at 1400 sign-on, though slightly off frequency, about 15139.95 or so (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, Jan 29, ibid.) 15140.00, Radio Sultanate of Oman; 1635-1705 29 January. Thanks Crawford tip (though I missed the English), very good with Arabic vocals, Arabic commercial string at 1655, chimes (late) at 1700:25, ID and news headlines in Arabic by man. No parallels located (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Re 6-017: There is nothing "unusual" about the transmission on 4835. At the risk of repeating previous information, these transmissions come from the Islamabad (Rewat) station and from transmitter API-3 100 kW. At 1330-1400 the transmission is in Turki at 270 degrees and at 1515-1545 the transmission is in Dari via 260 degrees and obviously towards Afghanistan. There is no parallel frequency for either service, and there is no connection with the transmission on 5102 that I'm aware of (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PETER I. The 3Y0X Dxpedition to Peter I Island February 6 - 20, 2006. More people have flown in outer space…than have set foot on Peter I. For those who may have missed the information in our previous DX Program here is a summary: The sea container containing all of the equipment, and most of the expedition`s personal gear is aboard the vessel DAP Mares which is now in the South Shetland Islands. The twenty-two-man international team of experienced and dedicated DXers will be reunited with their equipment and gear on or about February 2nd to begin the four-day voyage to Peter I Island. Their contract calls for a stay of 16 days on the island, which means 12 to 14 days on the air. The team has been assigned the special Chilean Antarctic call sign of XR9A for use to and from Peter I and will have two stations on the air from the vessel operating /MM. Ultimately, the team will have nine stations on the air and a complement of 23 antennas. This doesn`t include the recent decision to make a real effort on 6 meters, 2 meters and 70 cm EME – moon bounce. One of the goals of the Dxpedition is to do what they can to help the DX community feel a part of this 3Y0X experience. They`re going to be enjoying once in a lifetime adventure, and although it will at times be tough and maybe a little scary, the adventure is something that motivates every member of the team. They want you, the DX community, to enjoy more than just a contact or two, but to be able to live this adventure along with the team. In an effort to do that, the team are planning daily updates from the island along with photographs of what they are experiencing. In addition, with the technology of Iridium Satellite, they are hoping to provide periodic videos from the island as well. Through Iridium, radio ham operators all over the world will have an opportunity to log calls to the station. The Iridium satellite phones will allow the team to stay in touch with home, obtain weather forecasts, provide daily uploads of log information and updates from the island. Updates will include photos and possibly video clips, which the Dxpedition group will post to their website. This may be the most expensive DXpedition ever! QSL via N2OO (via Dimiter Petrov, LZ1AF, R. Bulgaria DX program Jan 27 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** POLAND. 9525.00/11850.00, Radio Polonia; *1259-1313 29 January. As with my log two weeks ago, these channels are still making it to Florida. Interval signal alternating with male ID, English news by man till 1303, weather, then political talk by lady. Both transmitters still have the horrible rumbling audio, with 9525 pretty weak, 11850 good (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TANGIER [and non]. MOROCCO --- Re the comments about Morocco/Tangier in BC-DX TopNews bulletin #744. I did a lot of research with Henrik Klemetz about the stations in Tangier International Zone and Moroccan era (until 1960). Got a lot of help from many persons, including you and Dr. Adrian M Peterson. Henrik's article about Tangier stations is published in German in the 2006 Sender und Frequenzen book. Mine, in Finnish, will be published in the early 2006 issues of the Finnish DX Association monthly Radiomaailma. To put it short, there were only three commercial stations in Tangier after the WW2. 1) Radio Africa (program channels R Africa Tanger, R Africa Maghreb and R Eurafrica which later became R Inter Africa. IBRA Radio used the facilities of R Africa. Also DUX R was transmitted via R Africa for couple of years starting 1952. In December 1959 the transmitters and towers of R Africa were quietly packed and transferred away from Tangier. After a couple of years R Antilles in Montserrat was born, using these MW and SW transmitters. 2) Radio Tanger/R International with two program channels. These shortwave transmitters were also used by Voice of Tangier (WIET, WTAN). Also such commercial programs as Danmarks Reklame Radio, Dux R, IRCO, etc., came via R Tanger. Two 10 kW and one 2.5 kW shortwave transmitters were located at Beni Makada on the eastern outskirts of Tangier city alongside the MW transmitter. In the beginning of 1960 RTM took over the site and used both SW and MW there. 3) Pan American Radio, two program channels, one on MW, the other MW/SW. In the end of 1940's also RCA communications station in Tangier International Zone relayed on SW United Nations Radio programs, until VOA Tangier in the beginning of 1950's started to relay these programs. In the end of 1950's there were some listings of RTM Tangier on SW with 50/100 kW but these were, I believe, relays via VOA Tangier. About RTM and VOA Tangier SW sites. Old VOA Tangier is listed as 35N41 005W56 VOA Briech 35N34 005W58 (some 13km? apart) The old site was donated to Morocco in 1993 and RTM used it couple of years more or less actively. But before that, there are some (maybe inaccurate) locations in the WRTH's given for RTM SW sites in Tangier area: 35N45 005W40 35N45 005W50 35N36 005W58 And finally, about VOA Algiers SW. According to AMP, two SW transmitters were used. One was the former French TPZ2 of 50 kW and the other one from W2XE WCBX Wayne, NJ 10 kW unit relocated west of Algiers and upgraded to 50 kW. AMP doubts that these went to VOA Tangier or at least ever used there. Best 73, (Jari Savolainen, Finland, wwdxc BC-DX Jan 24 via DXLD) ** THAILAND. R. Thailand, 9810 kHz, 1240 UT January 29, 2006 in English with "National News" and "You're listening to the news from R. Thailand" by a male announcer. SIO 333. Using Sony ICF-SW7600G with built-in whip antenna. 73, (Kraig W. Krist, KG4LAC, Manassas, VA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. It appears RUI is considering accepting my suggestion of 5880 as a replacement for the interfered 5910 to North America, including English at 0100 & 0400. On the DX program UT Jan 29 at 0418, Alex Yegorov said, ``if you don`t hear us on 5910, try 5880``. But nothing definite and 5910 is still announced at closing. I was, admittedly, listening instead to the webcast which is lo-fi, but adequate except when music is played. He went on that Volodya Salmániw had found there are several open spots between 5800 and 5900, but not above there. Walt also recalled the good ole days when RUI was relayed via Russian Far East, and had better reception in WNAm. Now, a relay via Delano would do the trick, as Greece and Thailand are already doing. Alex said this might be possible if RUI could get on a US satellite. On the mailbag which followed, one listener asked why there are so many repeats of the Saturday programs. Reasons include a staff shortage, and a lack of access to the recording studios. They hope soon to be able to provide new shows every fortnight (instead of every month?). I also learned that the highest mountain in Ukraine is in the Carpathians, and only slightly over 2 km elevation, but the area is very scenic, and prices are much lower in ski areas, than in neighboring countries or the Alps. But there is not so much snow at Ukraine`s lower elevations (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. 11710: Noted a scratchy audio signal of NHK Skelton Cumbria relay this morning, 34 kHz wide from 11693 to 11727 kHz. Scheduled 0800-1000 UT, 300 kW, 70 degrees (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Jan 29, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** U K. I'm having my seasonal problem of finding Charlie Gillett`s program, from your MONITORING REMINDERS page it seems to be on shortwave at 0132 UT Thursdays but what frequency? I usually listen to 5975 but it goes off the air at 0100. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, (Joe Ringer, location unknown, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You have just hit the brick wall of BBCWS scheduling to keep you from listening on SW to anything but news and public affairs. The 0100-0200 hour is a black hole as far as North American coverage is concerned. The other airtimes on the American stream are Wed 1432, 2032 and Thu 0632 when --- guess what, there is also no North American coverage, if that is where you are. The European stream has the world music show, Wed at 1332, when you might get 15575 or 17640; also at 1932, Thu 0132. Another possibility would be the African stream, Wed at 1432 on 17830. That`s about the best we can do if you insist on listening via SW rather than webcast! 73, (Glenn, swprograms via DXLD) Yeah, I'm in Baltimore. Guess I'll try the European stream but will probably end up listening to the webcast. That was the last shortwave program that I listened to on a regular basis, DAMN. Thanks, (Joe Ringer, ibid.) ** U K. RADIO WAVES: PAUL DONOVAN: CAUSE AND EFFECT Radio 4 is sometimes guilty not of dumbing down but dulling down, particularly with programme titles. Lift up Your Hearts became Thought for the Day. The Week's Good Cause was renamed Radio 4 Appeal. (And the UK Theme, a musical medley that has been waking us up for 33 years, is to be replaced by yet more news, as if Today, the World Service and Five Live don't provide quite enough of it already. Could it be that, with its Men of Harlech, Scotland the Brave, Londonderry Air and Rule Britannia, it is just too redolent of our white, Anglo- Saxon, Protestant, imperialist past, and inadequately reflects the bustling diversity of modern Britain?) Anyway, that second show, the charity slot that also does its bit to rouse Radio 4 listeners at the weekend, is 80 years old this month. When The Guinness Book of Records was a more serious volume, it was listed as Britain's longest-running radio programme, having begun on the Home Service in January 1926 and continued ever since. It gets little publicity, but has an importance out of all proportion to its length, which is three minutes. Charities, of which there are now more than 160,000 in England and Wales alone, vie with one another to appear on it and get the exposure it provides. This is a much bigger activity than most people think: the total annual income of registered charities is £35 billion (yes, billion, not million), of which £8 billion is donated by the public. And some of it is in response to this weekly radio appeal, which goes out twice on Sunday and again on Thursday. Cleverly, it uses well-known people, usually linked to the cause they are publicising. Michael Rosen, who lost his teenage son to meningitis, championed the Meningitis Research Foundation. Trisha Goddard, whose schizophrenic sister killed herself, spoke of Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide. Lord Carrington talked about the Digestive Disorders Foundation, of which he became patron after his own pancreatic cancer scare. And so on. The amounts raised, however, vary enormously - and always have done. Last year, the Mines Advisory Group's broadcast raised £42,000 while that for the Miscarriage Association managed only £1,500. The average amount raised each week in 2004 was about £10,000, the highest for a decade. "Sometimes it's the person, sometimes the subject, sometimes a combination of the two," says Andrew Caspari, the commissioning editor for Radio 4. "It is not easy to say why it varies so much. But a small sum to a small charity can often make more of a difference than a big sum to a big one. It can determine whether a member of staff stays on or not." Following the Human Rights Act and a rethink by the Charity Commission, bodies that campaign for "equality and diversity" can now qualify as charities. But a charitable organisation is not automatically eligible to mount a Radio 4 Appeal. "Being a registered charity is a necessary but not sufficient condition," says Caspari. "Our key rule is that nothing they do or say should compromise the BBC's impartiality. Ultimately, we have to make choices, because there are always more applications than slots available, and we retain editorial control." (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. WBCQ: Glenn, Allan confirms that Rod Hembree is now on 9330 seven days a week starting at 1500, having recently added two hours daily. He is now on 9330 from 1500 to 2000 weekdays, Saturday from 1500 to 0400, and Sunday from 1500 to 0000. The Wednesday hour-long broadcast of Rabbi Spivak's show at 0000 was a true anomaly; Allan says that this was due to operator oversight and that WOR should return to Wednesday 0030 next week. Regards, Lw (Larry Will, WBCQ Anomaly, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WRMI, 7385, Sunday Jan 29, adequate reception on Caribbean antenna with WORLD OF RADIO ending at 1428, so must have started around 1359; the WRMI ID before DX Partyline at 1428:30 was still noticeably louder than the audio from WOR. It was also bothered by Chinese music, Firedrake? From 7390. The WOR repeat at 2230, er, make that 2229, is on the NAm antenna and should come in better tho it is gradually receding into more and more daylight on the path (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KTBN is finally back; not heard on Jan 28, but booming in Jan 29 on 7505 at 1429 check with TBN ID (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: The preachers are back on KTBN in Salt Lake City, Utah; on the weak side at 1200 UT, but full blast later on 7505 and 15590 (John Babbis, MD, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The latter from 1600 (gh) ** U S A. URBONO QSLs --- Glenn, thanks for clarifying the recent remarks from Rumen Pankov of Radio Bulgaria DX regarding URBONO QSLs. Thus far I have received about 40 reports from listeners in the USA, Canada, UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. No reports thus far from Latin America or Africa. The majority of reports have been for WHRI reception but there have also been a few TA reports for WWL 870 kHz. I will continue to issue QSLs for the foreseeable future and look forward to receiving any additional reports. Thanks for your help in publicizing this effort (Jim Pogue, URBONO QSL, P. O. Box 3777, Memphis, TN 38173 USA, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jim, I saw a report that the QSL was signed by someone actually at WWL, rather than you; is this correct? Are you sending the reports on to them, or really making the QSL decisions yourself as manager? It will be interesting to know if you ever get any valid reports for any of the other AM or FM stations (Glenn to Jim, via DXLD) The cards are printed with the name of Joe Polett, Chief Engineer at WWL (with his permission). I will eventually send the reports and all the recordings, picture postcards, etc., listeners have sent on to him, but he is so busy putting WWL back together I doubt that he would ever have the time or patience to do the QSLing himself. After listening to WWL every day for the 2-1/2 I was in the New Orleans/ Bâton Rouge/ Lake Charles area (and being interviewed by the station a couple of dozen times personally), I feel pretty confident in being able to recognize a valid report. So far, I've only received reports for WWL and WHRI. I keep hoping I'll receive some reports for the other stations but nothing yet (Jim Pogue, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 940.00, FLORIDA, WPTI814, Pinellas County Emergency Management, Largo; very annoying: for the past week if not longer, this transmitter has been running in open carrier mode 24/7, which may result in an FCC complaint this week. The Florida State Fair (US-301 at I-4, Tampa) is scheduled February 9- 20. The TIS on 780 kHz will hopefully be activated (it is one of the few TIS's active for such a short span I have ever encountered). Signal typically is audible on good rigs and antennae throughout most of Hillsborough County, and threshold Pinellas County, presumably bordering counties as well. I never understood why they don't activate this during other major events at the Fairgrounds, as there are many. Visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html or: http://www.geocities.com/geigertree/flortis.html (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Jan 28-29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 96.7 MHz FLORIDA (PIRATE), unidentified, Clearwater; 1705- 1725* 28 January. This one reappeared (he's very sporadic) with the usual rap songs, no announcements. Seems to be very close to me, I think northwest. I began driving the signal using the car radio and Pro-60 scanner, but transmitter abruptly off at 1725 and did not return per several checks over the next hour. Visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html or: http://www.geocities.com/geigertree/flortis.html (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. According to the PDX Radio Group, KKSL 1290 Portland OR is supposed to sign off for good on Jan 31/06. They signed on 1640, five years ago, so 1290 will be shut down. So anyone looking to nab 1290 KKSL, go for it before the end of the month. This station used to be the old KLIQ for many years. They run 5 KW. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, Jan 28, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. PORKY CHEDWICK IS BACK ON THE AIR IN PITTSBURGH Pittsburgh radio legend Porky Chedwick joins Broadcast Communications Oldies WKFB-A (770 KFB) JEANNETTE, PA. This is a Pittsburgh suburb. He'll be heard every Saturday from noon to 3 pm along with KFB morning host Frankie Day. [EST = 1700-2000 UT] Chedwick started his radio career at WHOD/Homestead, PA in 1948 before moving on to Pittsburgh outlets KQV, WAMO, WWSW, and others. "He will turn 90 next year, and he's still going strong," says WKFB PD Clark Ingram. "We're delighted and proud to have this living legend join our team of Oldies air personalities on 770 WKFB" (via Pete Kemp, NRC-AM via DXLD) Long but good piece on Porky: http://www.440.com/_pchedw.html (Steve Francis, Alcoa, Tennessee, Jan 27, ibid.) ** U S A. Re UPN/WB merger into CW: I'm pretty confident we'll see some kind of sixth network. There are a pile of stations left unaffiliated by this move. Sinclair and Fox are probably the biggest groups affected, and they're not exactly small-potatoes companies. Sinclair doesn't have much of a record producing programming or new channels, but Fox does. Besides, we're only looking at two hours of primetime and no news. There are new cable channels launching all the time. Seems to me that's all the effort and expense that would be involved in launching a sixth broadcast network (Doug Smith, W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 WTFDA via DXLD) Brilliant idea: why not turn an existing cable network into a broadcast network. Open for nominations (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Given the combination of the demographics of heavy TV watchers, cable penetration, and the overall market penetration nationally these 'lost' stations would present, I can't see why that would be any improvement in terms of financial viability over the long term (Russ Edmunds Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Although somewhat overlooked on this forum, in regards to the effect this merger has caused: In the C-band (big dish) market, KTLA (Los Ángeles) and WPIX (N.Y.) are both discontinuing transmission on C-band effective 1/31/06. WGN (Chicago) has not yet announced any changes. All 3 of these are WB networks. There is some talk of them possibly going digital and still being available to those with a Digicipher Sat receiver and or Dish network, should they choose to keep them (Rich Wertman, ibid.) Rich, Was/is the WGN feed the "Superstation" national feed (which does not contain WB network content) or the Chicago local feed (which does)? If it's the former, then it won't matter anyway. (And were these feeds in the clear?) s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) WPWR jumping the gun? Was flipping through the channels today and came across this: http://www.electroblog.com:8090/~electrode/power50.jpg That's WPWR 50 Gary/Chicago, currently a Fox-owned UPN affiliate as mentioned in a recent post. Though they are still using their "UPN Chicago" logo in promos, during non-network programming they've replaced the corner bug logo with this one, with the slogan "Power 50". Looks like they're a little ahead of schedule... (Wish I could have gotten a better shot, but this evening's cross-lake opening isn't all that great, only had the DT in for a few minutes and they weren't the right minutes) (Joe, KD8ATU Veldhuis, Grand Haven, MI - 42:59:40N 86:7:27W - EN62wx - 615' ASL, 120 miles NE of Chicago, Tvfmdx mailing list via DXLD) Joe, Good catch. At least in part, here's why this Fox-owned station has already pulled the UPN logo. This is from Broadcasting & Cable: "For stranded stations, salvation may come from one of the most affected station owners: News Corp.'s Fox Television Stations unit. At last week's NATPE convention, TV executives were buzzing that Fox may create a second programming service to power its nine UPN outlets that lose their affiliation. Already Fox has begun to remove mention of UPN from the stations. A ``Fox II`` service could be first-run shows, such as Twentieth's proposed English-language telenovelas, news from sister Fox News Channel or reruns of Fox shows. The prospect of such a network has other groups, including LIN Television, which owns several endangered UPN affiliates, slightly more upbeat." Locally, WNDY-23/DT-32 (UPN) is owned by LIN Television. This new network might become the programming source for this station since it appears that WTTV/WTTK (WB), owned by Tribune, will become the local CW affiliate station (Steve Rich, Indianapolis, IN, ibid.) WWOR-9 didn't take long to purge the UPN slogan --- new slogan is 'Get in on 9" with a logo which includes 9 (but no call letters) (Joe Fela, NJ, Jan 29, ibid.) Fox already has a network. What's the point for them to undermine their first one by starting a second, even if in collaboration? Seems they'd be better off selling those excess stations or trading them for markets where their current network might need presence or an upgrade (Russ Edmunds? Ibid.) Well, they started FX, and it's still around... Univisión's had the same idea in the last year or so - I suppose the jury is still out on Telefutura. I have to suspect this is not a good time to be selling a TV station that's losing its network affiliation. What I'm thinking of is not so much a network as we know it, but a program-buying cooperative. These ex-WB and ex-UPN stations are going to have to acquire new programming to fill the space left by the networks; might it not make sense for groups to cooperate in buying this programming? At that point it's not a particularly significant extra expense to cooperate in producing some commonly-branded promotional material as well (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) Is FX available OTA at all? I'd understood it was cable-only. I understand the point though, even though you're also right that the jury is still out probably on both FX and Telefutura. Yes, that would make sense - but I think we have yet to see any evidence to support that even a 5th OTA commercial network is viable, and I think the current situation is sufficient proof that 6 is a real stretch (Russ Edmunds, PA, ibid.) ** U S A. ON POLITICS, RELIGION, PBS YOU AND NOW The Ombudsman Column By Michael Getler, January 23, 2006 . . . PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler endorses viewers' requests that PBS return Now to its original hour format, and agrees that programmers should evaluate the recent spate of Christian-themed PBS programs. "Is religious content being elevated these days? If so, why is that happening?" . . . http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2006/01/on_politics_religion_pbs_you_and_now.html (via Current via DXLD) ** U S A. Former KCRW commentator Sandra Tsing Loh weighs in on the Chris Douridas affair: "[I]f there is a silver lining for Douridas, it's that at least Ruth Seymour is not avowing his mentally (sic) instability directly to the press, and that she does not consider him, as she did me, a public danger." . . . http://cathyseipp.journalspace.com/?entryid=707 (via Current Jan 26 via DXLD) ** VATICAN [non]. Re 1530-1550 daily As/Au 9310 ta [Taldom, Russia? *] 11850 13765 --- *rather Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 100 kW 130 degrees (Wolfgang Büschel, BCDX via DXLD) So Uzbekistan is in the rather odd position of preferring to SW broadcast RCC propaganda, rather than its own Radio Tashkent; as well as numerous other foreign relays on SW (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** VIETNAM. Re 6-018: Radio the Voice of Vietnam in German program launched from 1st Jan. 2006, the schedule follows; 1530-1600 UT 7280 kHz, 9730 kHz 1800-1830 UT 7280 kHz, 9730 kHz; added 2130-2200 UT 7280 kHz, 9730 kHz (Hukunaga Mituhiro, Kyushu, Japan, Jan 28, dxing.info via DXLD) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS US [and non]. 1690, NEW, VI, Charlotte Amalie - This expanded band allotment for U1 10000/1000 was initially granted in 1997 to Three Angels Corporation, owners of WGOD-1090. It was subsequently rescinded by the FCC in 2000 because France had filed an objection on behalf of its territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe. The French claimed that the original proposal by Three Angels for operation on 1690 kHz at Charlotte Amalie did not comply with Section 1.2 and/or 1.3 of Article 5 of the Final Acts of the Regional Administrative Radio Conference, Rio de Janeiro 1988. In follow-up discussions with the Commission staff, Three Angels was informed that despite the fact that 1690 kHz was allotted to Charlotte Amalie with the assumption of Model I facilities (power of 10 kW daytime, 1 kW nighttime using non-directional antenna), due to proximity to other Region 2 countries facilities in excess of the standardized parameters specified in the Rio 1988 agreement could not be authorized without the consent of the affected countries. Three Angels is now requesting U1 920/920 from the 1090 tower (AM Switch, NRC E-DX News Jan 31 via DXLD) Three Angels is code for a faction of Seventh Day Adventists. But, but --- are there any broadcast or other stations now or planned, on or near 1690 in these parts of France? Or is that beside the point? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 9136.10-USB, 1251-1256 29 January. UnID Central or South American net here, holding the channel open with an unID radio station relay, mostly reggaetón mixes, male Spanish DJ, abruptly cut 1256. Good (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WRTH 2006 If you have a Borders or Barnes & Noble nearby, just order from them and let them pay the shipping. It's what I do every year and more with the WRTH and PWBR. Plus, they generally are less banged up vs. when shipped individually (Terry L Krueger Clearwater, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BOYCOTT GOOGLE OVER BPL Glenn. I was listening to your number 1302 January 25 broadcast via the internet and noticed that you mentioned Google several times. FYI Google was one of three companies that together invested $100,000,000 in BPL last July. Although they have been informed of the detrimental effect of BPL on ham radio and shortwave listening, they have decided to proceed and are now in testing and in the process of expanding to 2 million households. Because of that I, many other hams and shortwave listeners have been boycotting Google. The particular BPL version that Google invested in notches out the ham bands so the ARRL has not opposed it and has been unable to interest groups that will be interfered with in their findings. IMHO, BPL is the electronic equivalent of toxic waste dumping. If we all do not do anything to stop it, WOR will be internet only and unfortunately a real short program. (Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm @ mendelson.com N3OWJ/4X1GM, IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838 Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) We need to boycott MSN search, Yahoo, and Google, for various reasons, so what search engine shall we use? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ NEW DRM SCHEDULE [see also CROATIA] Hello Radio friends! On January 23, 2006 HFCC have issued a new schedule of DRM transmissions on short-wave. It is available at http://www.hfcc.org/data/B05drm.html Enjoy whatever you are listening! 73 (from Treviso, Italy, Nino Marabello http://web.tiscali.it/ondecorte/ swprograms via DXLD) USA TODAY ON HD RADIO Listen up for data on digital's latest DJ domicile: HD radio I've been passionate about radio since I was a kid. I'd listen via shortwave to the English-language propaganda broadcast over Radio Moscow and Radio Peking. On any given night, you might find me twisting the AM dial as I tried (with mixed success) to tune in faint signals from an out-of-town ballgame. Now, I have Sirius Satellite Radio in one car, XM Satellite in another. I'm receptive to all new forms of radio. I've been sampling what backers hope will elevate the medium to the next level: HD (digital) radio. While it's too early for me to unconditionally recommend rushing out to buy the pricey receiver required to pick up digital broadcasts, HD radio is potentially appealing. . . http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2006-01-25-hd-radio_x.htm (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) I suspect I'd already own the WOAI-1200 and KTSA-550 "most distant IBOC/HD listener" records if I had an IBOC/HD receiver. I just wish there was the IBOC/HD equivalent to the C Crane radio at the same price, around $200. That's still too expensive for the general public, but DXers and other radio junkies would snap them up. As for the Boston Acoustics set and other IBOC/HD radios at that price level, sorry, even I'm not that stupid! (Harry Helms W5HLH Smithville, TX EL19, ibid.) First thing we have to see is a HD radio for less than $500. I want one but not at that price. I have heard very bad things about the HD Recepter and about its terrible deafness (Kevin Redding, ibid.) I had lunch today with Lou Frenzel, a contributing editor for "Electronic Design" magazine who lives in Austin. Lou is working on an article on IBOC/HD for "Electronic Design," and they've been trying without success to get a loaner IBOC/HD radio out of Ibiquity for testing. The Ibiquity PR people claim there are no portable/home IBOC/HD radios currently available! Ibiquity's marketing/PR people should be lined up against a wall and shot. Am I speaking figuratively? Well, lemmessee. . . (Harry Helms, W5HLH Smithville, TX EL19 http://futureofradio.typepad.com/ ibid.) WILL LPTV BE LEFT OUT IN THE COLD? DTV TRANSITION COULD THREATEN FUTURE STATUS OF STATIONS --- by James E. O'Neal http://www.tvtechnology.com/features/news/2006.01.25-n_will.shtml FALLS CHURCH, VA: Although low-power TV stations have been around for more than two decades and outnumber their full-power brethren, channel selection and limits on interference could spell the demise of a number of these stations when the transition is scheduled to end in 2009. LPTVs have been around since 1982 and now number in excess of 2,700. By comparison, there are approximately 1,750 VHF and UHF licensed full-power stations. Contrary to the beliefs of some that LPTV stations are "mom and pop" operations existing to serve niche markets, many are affiliated with the major networks and offer their viewers the same mainstream programming being carried by their full-power equivalents. LPTVs with ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX affiliations exist within some Nielsen-rated markets. The designation "low-power" television is somewhat of a misnomer, as ERPs can run up to 150 kW in the UHF spectrum. Further, there are no restrictions on antenna height, provided that the tower structure is FCC registered and the station does not produce interference in the coverage area of a full-power broadcaster or to other licensed LPTVs or TV translators. Also, there is no limit on the number of LPTV stations that one individual or group can own. There are no channels set aside for LPTV use. Since the dawn of low- power, the prospective licensee has been required to locate an operating frequency on a non-interfering basis. The FCC makes the final determination and issues a license accordingly. 'SECONDARY' STATUS The status of LPTV operations is deemed "secondary" by the FCC. This means that the station may cause no interference to a licensed full- power spectrum user and has to endure any interference caused by such "primary" operations. This can be the undoing of an LPTV operation, as the full-power broadcaster can bump the LPTV if interference or reduction of coverage is proven. As a result of this secondary status, there may be no room at the inn once former analog full-powers settle into their permanent digital channel berths and the FCC auctions off the remaining spectrum. One early FCC estimate indicated that 35 to 45 percent of the present low- power television stations would either have to find new frequencies or go dark to protect full-power stations in the DTV transition. For this reason, there are no guarantees that all LPTVs can continue to operate after the 2009 hard shut-off. Some LPTVs are not secondary. In 1999, Congress enacted the Community Broadcasters Protection Act, creating a new subset of LPTV players. Qualifying stations are termed "Class A" and are afforded a special level of protection for their signal contours. Existing LPTVs could qualify if certain programming and performance requirements were met. Class A stations still have to respect existing full-power analog grade B service contours, as well as those of all full-power DTV allocations and service areas of existing translators and non Class A LPTV broadcasters. Class A status is not always a safety net, as at least one LPTV broadcaster discovered. Robert Suffel started a low-power operation in Sacramento, Calif. in 1994. When the opportunity to go Class A opened up, he applied for, and was granted this level of protected operation. However, there were no guarantees. Suffel's assigned channel was needed for full-power digital expansion and an alternate LPTV frequency could not be readily identified. He spent nearly two years and thousands of dollars in engineering and legal fees before giving up and watching his KBTV-CA go dark. "The FCC could not approve a replacement channel and we went dark in the spring of 2000," he said. "At the time the FCC released their proposed DTV channel allocations, I noticed that if they had simply switched my assignment with one in San Jose they could have saved two LPTVs. However, the FCC said they didn't have the resources to make exceptions." (After Suffel's station signed off, another Sacramento LPTV started up with the KBTV-CA call. Suffel said that this didn't happen until after the new operators put a lot of money into engineering work in order to make it possible.) Making changes to accommodate the changing full-power landscape can get expensive too. Greg Herman, president of WatchTV Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based owner of 19 stations in Washington and Oregon, said that over the last several years, his group has spent millions to accommodate the digital channel assignments made to full-power broadcasters. "About 70 percent have had to be re-channeled," he said. "We spent a great deal of time, effort and money in putting all our channels into the core. It's not for the faint of heart. "And it's not just the hardware costs, but also the challenge of maintaining an identity and moving our viewers. People don't often reprogram their TV receivers after they first buy them. There are costs in trying to inform viewers about changes. The word 'hardship' is putting it mildly." NO ANALOG SHUTOFF Sometimes overlooked in the current round of hard cutoff dates and set-top box legislation, is that for now, LPTV stations are exempt from the 2009 mandate. Even though NTSC broadcasting may end at full- power stations, individuals without set-top decoder boxes won't have a permanently dark TV receiver if they are within range of a LPTV transmitter. Currently, LPTVs cannot request a digital expansion channel. This could change, as the FCC is expected later this year to begin accepting applications from LPTVs that want to add digital. However, the onus will be upon the LPTV licensees to locate suitable channels for DTV. Jason Roberts, president of the Community Broadcasters Association (CBA), said the commission has been "pretty generous" in authorizing LPTV operations. However, the situation could change with the channel shuffling and annexation going on. "I think that some of these stations will be allowed to operate until interference problems surface, but there is a chance that some LPTVs will be squeezed out," he said. Dr. Byron St. Clair, a Colorado-based LPTV engineering consultant and one of the driving forces in the creation of LPTV service, was encouraged about the eventual digital shakeout in the low-power industry, explaining that on the whole, digital transmission would benefit LPTV broadcasters. "A digital signal is watt-for-watt worth more than analog," he said. "A DTV signal is about 12 dB more effective than current analog transmissions." St. Clair added that present LPTV power levels will drop by a factor of 10 once digital broadcasting is initiated. "Three hundred watts for VHF and 15 kW for UHF, these are the digital LPTV power levels," he said. However, St. Clair is not overly optimistic about low-power operations rushing to make the digital switch. "LPTV stations will have to put out a substantial amount of money before they can start operating digitally," he said. "Most LPTV players are going to be hard put to see any business sense in DTV broadcasting until there are more sets out there." St. Clair said that at present, no more than "a handful" of LPTV stations are broadcasting digitally and those that are performed flash cuts on their own volition. Most would rather not flash cut, as they are fearful of losing audiences. WatchTV has already laid the groundwork for DTV as part of its rechanneling efforts. All of the group's transmitters are now digital- capable. Herman expects that upwards of $30,000 will have to be spent at each station for the remaining equipment. "We're trying to set aside funds for this," he said. "Because of the relocations, we're a bit ahead of the game. For stations who are not prepared, we estimate that it will cost somewhere between $85,000 to $175,000 to make the move to digital." BRIGHT FUTURE What is in store for LPTVs as the nation gets closer to digital-only broadcasting? Herman thinks that despite the costs and inconvenience, the future is indeed bright. "Digital will be much better for LPTV than analog--if we can survive the trip," he said. "All we want is a level playing field. People will start to realize just how good over-the-air TV really is." Roberts also remains upbeat about the future for LPTVs. "I think right now it's an exciting opportunity for our industry. It gives the ability to add a second channel to ease the transition. The primary concern for us is, that as secondary status broadcasters, we have very limited cable must-carry rights. Without cable, the stability of the industry could be hurt." When asked about converting LPTVs to digital, Roberts expressed the opinion that it would probably be no different than with full-power broadcasters. "Some will go kicking and screaming, while others will go quietly." In Sarasota, Fla., Burt Sherwood has brokered LPTV transactions for more than 20 years through his business, Burt Sherwood & Associates and The LPTV Store, and believes that the future is bright. "It's going to be a wonderful future for anyone going into the next round of television with six MHz of spectrum as his own," he said. "There's a lot of money out there for LPTV players. We're looking at multicasting, data transmission. There's so much you can do. This is the last of the free spectrum. Once the new DirecTV boxes (with terrestrial reception capability) are out, LPTV will give cable one hell of a hard time." In spite of his optimism, Sherwood admits that some players could come up short when the digital transition does occur. Also, he acknowledges that a LPTV flash cut may not be the best thing to do right now. "I have a totally digital station for sale--no nibbles in the last seven or eight months. Sometimes a station sells in a matter of days or weeks, maybe a little longer. Right now the average guy isn't going to spend this kind of money for digital station," Sherwood said. "He's thinking that the majority of his audience has analog TV sets." (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ CARADIOS REPLACED BY ``AUDIO SYSTEMS`` According to my files it`s been more than a year since I last mused, although a number of museable items have occurred during the interim. The most recent was the purchase of a Toyota Corolla LE on November 30. I thought that it had a radio from the appearance of the knobs and buttons on the dashboard, along with an 18-inch antenna on the roof. However, when I looked in the index for the car`s Owner`s Manual, I found no reference to a radio system. It took a scan of the index to reveal that the dashboard device was actually an ``Audio System``, complete with a CD changer of unspecified capacity. The manual does say that ``DISK FULL`` is displayed when the changer`s capacity is reached. The device has six radio station preset buttons, and they can store one AM or two FM stations per button. The radio will automatically switch to the Radio Display System while receiving FM, and display the type of program for stations with that feature if you push the ``TYPE`` button. Another button I didn`t expect is marked ``TRAF``, and is supposed to enable a search for FM stations with traffic information. In our area it locks onto a Rock & Roll station I can`t stand, so I don`t wait for traffic details. The antenna is mounted on the back section of the roof, centered above the rear window, and is only 18 inches in length. I wondered about its effectiveness on the AM broadcast band, but found that I could copy WSM-650 at noon in early January, so there`s no reason to wonder now. I suppose all modern cars have these and even more elaborate ``audio systems``, but this car replaced a 14-year-old Geo Prizm that didn`t even have a cassette deck, so these features are ``gee-whiz`` items for me (Perry Crabill, Winchester, VA 22602, w3hqx, Musings of the Members, Jan 31 NRC E-DX News via DXLD) CAR BATTERIES, contd. Have used several lead acid type batteries over the years to power DX Rigs. One was a motor cycle sized battery - it did not last long - less than a year. I yanked an old car battery from our 86 Chevy before junking the car and it lasted several years. I also yanked the radio from this car (early digital set that tops out at 1610 kHz) and it worked well this way. About 10 years ago, before buying the R8A I used a 12 GelCel to power my FRG7. It was a small battery (I believe 2AH and would last a few hours before becoming unusable. I also used batteries to power my R8A and found out that this set will cease to work around 11V+/- or so. As the battery voltage drops the R8A audio starts to get distorted and eventually the radio is unusable. Someone with either a variable voltage power supply or storage battery can prove this out by powering up an R8 series set to see how low in voltage you can go before the set starts to generate either RF or Audio distortion. I don't have a battery or suitable power supply to try this out now (Tom Jasinski, Shorewood, IL, IRCA via DXLD) To anyone who would suggest putting two 12-V batteries in series to power an R8 or and SPR-4, I would avoid it. It could damage the power supply regulator. Especially the SPR-4. Perhaps overheat the pass transistor. Instead, put a 12-V battery in series with a 6-V battery. And some types of batteries should be exercised regularly, so power up your set on the battery from time to time. I have read about those power packs for emergency recharges to a low car battery. If anyone tries one and tests for length of time running a set satisfactorily, we would like to know about it. I would rather look at a power pack sitting next to my set than a car battery. BTW, you can use fairly thin leads to connect your favorite set to your favorite battery and be OK. Since the power demand of the set is low, #16 AWG wire would be OK for up to 50 feet, I think. That's for anyone who thinks a heavy set of cables from battery to set is necessary. 73 de (Charlie Taylor, NC, IRCA via DXLD) ###