DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-020, January 30, 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. Wed 0030 WOR WBCQ 7415 Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 FIRST SW AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1303: Wed 2300 on WBCQ 7415 Thu 0000 on WBCQ 18910-CLSB Thu 2130 on WWCR 7465 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 ** ALASKA. Hallo mensen, Ik heb een begin gemaakt met enige MP3 files van de ontvangen stations van onze DX-pedite op internet te zetten. Er volgen er nog vele meer..... zie: http://home.planet.nl/~bkorbeeck/ Geniet ervan, Groet, (Ben Korbeeck, BDXC via DXLD) Including: KBRW, Barrow, AK; 680 --- KBRW maintains its broadcast studios on donated land at 1695 Okpik Street in Barrow. The station, which began broadcasting at noon on December 22, 1974, is the only radio station serving an approximate area of 88,000 square miles. It started modestly with a $180,000 grant from the State of Alaska and after 22 months of planning, KBRW began broadcasting with 1,000 watts of power and programmed music shows, hosted by a cadre of community volunteers. That signal was strengthened in the villages starting in 1988 with a series of 5 translators, one for each out- lying village served. In 1992, KBRW began broadcasting around the clock with a new more powerful 10,000 watt transmitter and a higher 400-foot tower, about seven miles from town. Later the next year, KBRW permanently joined National Public Radio and Public Radio International. The FM service, heard only in Barrow, began in 1995 and proved it's worth in being the only contact with the public when the AM transmitter building burned down in late 1996. In just 38 days, KBRW- AM was back on the air, and with both stations, provides two distinct services for the people of the North Slope. KBRW Public Radio from the Top of the World - Barrow, Alaska http://www.kbrw.org KBRW, Barrow, AK; 680 Khz.mp3 [DX audio clip linked] (via DXLD) ** ANGUILLA. Another missing US SW station, for all intents and purposes: nothing Jan 30 at 1533 on 11775, which is normally audible despite the splatter from WHR 11785. Never mind: Defunct Gene Scott heard at 1651 recheck; but this operation is somewhat irregular (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. BELCONNEN -- John Volpato in Canberra brings us up to date on this historic radio site. ``The only antenna infrastructure remaining at the site today are the three, 600 ft towers which supported the Marconi T antenna for 44 KHz. The last HF transmissions were made about 6 months ago, but during the last 6 weeks they have removed all the HF antennas {Full sized rhombics, Biconical Monopoles, a Granger - spider web, Vertical log periodics and 3 giant [Hy-Gain brand] Rotatable 4 - 30 MHz Log Periodic} From what I could see, it was all done with angle grinders, probably all went to scrap! The giant earth mat. (I mean HUGE} is still there from what I can see, be a great place to buy a house in the future, excellent earth! Anyway the land is still all vacant and I understand there is a heritage order in place so I don`t know how that will pan out`` (Utility DX, Jan/Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. Re 6-019: Hola Glenn! Disculpa la demora en la respuesta. Sí, he intentado escuchar la emisora [Radio Logos, 6165, Santa Cruz] desde Villa Giardino, desde la cual la recepción de estaciones andinas era excelente. Fíjate que sin problemas capté la nueva Radio Cooperativa, simultáneamente con otra media docena de estaciones bolivianas en 49 metros que llegaban con excelente señal al mismo tiempo. Sin embargo, tanto después de las 0200 UT (sé que no es la mejor hora) como a partir de las 0900 hasta después de las 12 UT mis intentos fueron absolutamente infructuosos. Igual, seguiré con los intentos desde aquí. 73 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Jan 29, condiglist via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5580.6, RADIO SAN JOSE, San José de Chiquitos, 0220-0330 Enero 28, Música sin parar de varios ritmos. No dan la hora, ni presentan anuncios comerciales. Solo una escueta ID a las 0301, "...transmite Radio San Jose, en San José de Chiquitos, Departamento de Santa Cruz, Bolivia..." 5744.1, RADIO VIRGEN DE REMEDIOS. Tupiza, 2258-2340 Enero 29, Transmisión en vivo de la Misa. Antes de finalizar en los anuncios parroquiales mencionan La celebración de la Virgen de la Candelaria y varios actos en Tupiza. Al finalizar la misa, música instrumental hasta desvanecerse la señal (Rafael Rodriguez R., Bogotá, Colombia, condig list via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. BOLIVIA TO GET VENEZUELAN AID TO SET UP COMMUNITY RADIO NETWORK | Text of report by Bolivian newspaper La Razon website on 25 January To stamp out illiteracy over a three-year period. This is the main goal of a network of radio stations - some 109 stations - that the government plans to set up in all of the country's provinces, with the help of the Venezuelan government. Strategically speaking, however, the network has an even greater goal: that of making this future giant network of radio, and possibly television, stations an option that will allow a "democratization" of the communications system and a way to keep control of the media from remaining concentrated in "a few hands". This information was provided by the Government Palace's brand new Communications and Press Director Alex Contreras, who was sworn in last night. While explaining that the project is going to "receive support" from the Hugo Chávez administration, Contreras said: "We have a project that in reality already has been approved. Technicians from the Bolivarian government of Venezuela are going to arrive over the next few days to provide us with support for this project." He added that "in three years, by means of both radio and audiovisual communications, (we hope) to eradicate illiteracy. This has to be one of the goals of the community media." Contreras explained: "We are talking about community media. Throughout the electoral campaign the president committed the Bolivian people to this project, which deals with installing community radios in all of the country's provinces." Asked about the network's characteristics, Contreras said that the project took the country's 109 provinces into account and that "in all provinces the goal is to have one radio station in the network". He claimed that, in addition, this system of dissemination and communication will allow us to "democratize what is being said. In order to democratize communications one cannot allow communications to remain in just a few hands." This project is being announced after Evo Morales recently came out against a media terrorism of sorts. Source: La Razón website, La Paz, in Spanish 25 Jan 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. R. Botswana: Have spoken to Mr. Kingsley Reetsang of the station; they are currently implementing a comprehensive network of FM transmitters all over the country. Once these are in place he will do the necessary measurements and assess the situation. If the FM and AM networks do not cover Botswana 100%, a return to SW will be considered; otherwise the SW broadcasts will be abandoned permanently (Vaclav Korinek, RSA, DX-plorer via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. R. Clube do Pará, 4885, QRM from VENEZUELA: q.v. ** CANADA. Conditions were quiet enough Jan 30 that 100-watt CFVP, Calgary, could be heard on 6030 at 1445 with country music, English announcements and ads, tho I did not get a definite ID this time; also a SAH of approx. 10 Hz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. New government in Canada: ``With the Conservative Party in control with more seats, what does this mean for Canada? Is the new Prime Minister going to be more or less pro American? Any effect on the CBC?`` While Mr. Harper is promising closer ties with the U.S. in areas such as border security and repairing relations with the U.S. that had become strained under the Trudeau/Chrétien/Martin Liberals, don't expect Canada to send troops to Iraq or break off relations with Cuba. Don't think there will be any immediate effect on the CBC/Radio- Canada; no plans to privatize the network or to scrap the Canadian- content regulations. All bets are off on whether they will provide the funding for Radio Canada International to maintain Canada's shortwave presence. Though they dropped the "Progressive Conservative" monicker, the Conservative Party of Canada would barely qualify as such stateside. BTW, as in the UK, the Conservatives are also known as "Tories". You may have heard that term used on Canadian radio, along with "Grits" for the Liberals. André Arthur could be as much of a loose cannon on the floor of the House as he was on CHOI-FM. The Conservatives might need his vote, along with the support of the NDP and/or Bloc Québecois to avoid losing a vote on a government bill and forcing another election. Although Harper was elected from Alberta, he was actually born and grew up in Toronto. Nonetheless, not one Conservative MP was elected from Toronto. Not a one representing Canada's largest city, though there were a handful elected in the suburban 905 fringe. The Conservatives were also shut out of Montreal and Vancouver. But the mayor of Toronto does not have a fraction of the power of a Bloomberg or Daley to wield influence on federal politicians. In fact the last Canadian municipal politician to have any national influence was probably Jean Drapeau in the 1960s and 70s; who more than anyone else was responsible for Montreal obtaining the Expo 67 world's fair, the now-departed Expos and the 1976 Olympics. 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, (DID NOT VOTE CONSERVATIVE!!), Jan 25, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CHINA. 8375, Numbers Station. BEIJING. Heterodyne tone until 1500 then following ``Quanguo shoutingtai`` (x3), ``Beijing hujiao`` (x2), ``Xianzai wubao`` (x1). ``All stations in the country``, ``Beijing calling``, ``Nothing to broadcast at this time`` --- Repeated in this format until 1505. Closed with ``Zaijain`` (Goodbye) (Edwin Lowe of Revensby, NSW, Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) ** CHINA. Update - English Evening/China Business Radio Happy Chinese New Year --- On Fri. (27), at the English Evening sign-off, John indicated he and Cynthia where on the air Mon. to Fri. Checked 6065 // 6155 on Jan 28 (Sat.) and heard Chinese comedy (no English) at 1311, but on Jan 29 heard Alan Spear(?) and Joy hosting English Evening from 1300-1400, wishing people a Happy New Year and a good 7 day Holiday. Fair reception. Some Asian stations have recently been especially good around this time period (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. I had the news about CRI in Kenya, but figured it was just another relay. Is it being locally programmed? (Glenn to Kevin A. Kelly, http://www.publicradiofan.com via DXLD) No or almost no. There appears to be 5 minutes of African content four times a day, at the end of News and Reports, probably :25-:30. Likely even that's produced from Beijing. There's also a two-hour "Afternoon Concert" program at 1105-1300 UT that I've not seen on any CRI schedule before. http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/radio/schedule/radio_nairobi.htm It's a multilingual feed (3 h. Swahili, 2 h. Mandarin, rest English), and some of the English programs are time-shifted from when they're available on the other existing streams (apparently an effort to shift programs to the appropriate time of day for Kenya, such as "China Drive" during Nairobi drive-time). (Kevin A. Kelly, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA, PRF, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: CHINA LAUNCHES RADIO STATION IN KENYA January 29 2006 http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=vn20060129105600279C256270&set_id= China's push for influence in Africa went audio last week as the vast Asian nation's only overseas radio broadcaster launched its first FM transmitter outside Chinese territory in the Kenyan capital. State-run China Radio International (CRI) will deliver 19 hours of programming per day in Chinese, English and Kiswahili to Nairobi's three million residents, it said. "By listening to our station, listeners will be able to learn the latest developments in China's economic construction, social development and cultural life," CRI director general Wang Gengnian said in the station's inaugural broadcast. Until Friday, CRI which was launched in 1941, broadcast only from transmitters in China, although its offerings were available on the Internet. "The launch of the station signifies a major step to consolidate and strengthen the great friendship between the governments and people of China and Kenya," said Tian Jin, deputy director of China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. But as Beijing increasingly looks to Africa as a market for trade and source for natural resources, particularly oil, officials said CRI intends to expand its presence beyond Kenya on the continent where foreign media giants like the BBC, Radio France Internationale and Voice of America have long dominated. CRI plans to set up another FM station in Tanzania next year, officials said. China has boosted financial and commercial ties with African nations in recent years and earlier this month unveiled a new "strategic partnership" policy for the continent during a visit to west Africa by Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. East Africa, notably Sudan and Tanzania, but also Kenya, has not been exempt from the phenomenon with bilateral trade between Kenya and China jumping 46 percent since 2003. In 2005, Kenya became an approved destination for Chinese to visit and the two nations signed several trade-related co-operation agreements during a state visit to China by President Mwai Kibaki on which he also inaugurated a Chinese version of the Kenya Tourism Board's official website. - Sapa-AFP (This article was originally published on page 12 of Cape Argus on January 29, 2006). (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) CHINESE RADIO BEGINS TRANSMISSION IN KENYA By Cathy Majtenyi, Nairobi, 27 January 2006 State-run China Radio International Friday launched its FM station in the Kenyan capital. The move is seen as a way for the Asian country to have a greater influence in Africa. The station is transmitting 19 hours of programming in English, Kiswahili (the language widely spoken in East Africa) and standard Chinese. China Radio International director Wang Gengnian said in a statement the station will broadcast the latest news from China and around the world and "the latest on friendly exchanges between China and Kenya." Kodi Barth is a journalism lecturer at the United States International University in Nairobi and writes a column about the media in one of Kenya's daily newspapers. He tells VOA that he believes the new radio station is connected with China's increasing economic activities and interests in Kenya and the rest of East Africa. Barth says Kenyans may initially tune into the station out of curiosity, but will have trouble competing with Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and other foreign heavyweights. "Historically Kenyans seem to identify with the BBC," he said. "I think they occupy a market that's hard to beat, maybe because of Kenya's history with Britain. The Voice of America also, Kenyans tend to turn to VOA when they're looking for what they regard as independent analysis of their country. Now I don't see that happening with the Chinese radio, maybe because Kenyans haven't perceived the Chinese as interested in democratic space or independent views." China has been steadily increasing its influence and economic activity in Africa over the past years. The Trade Law Center for Southern Africa estimates trade volume between China and African countries in 2005 at over $37 billion (U.S.), a record high and a sharp increase over the previous year's less than $30 billion (U.S.). Much of this was due to increased exports of oil to China, particularly from Sudan. The Trade Law center adds that in the period, China imported more goods and services from African countries than it exported to them and that Chinese investment in Africa is also expanding rapidly. Official statistics show that in the first 10 months of 2005, Chinese companies invested a total of $175 million in African countries. Investments went into a wide range of areas, including trade, resource development, transport, agriculture and processing of farm products. Kenya and China signed a number of agreements during Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's trip to China in August last year (from http://www.voanews.com/ via Mukesh Kumar, MUZAFFARPUR, INDIA, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. Re 6-017: Hi Thomas: Radio Dos 99.5 indeed was the first one to implement RDS here, but it's not functioning right now, so it isn't clear from when you got this info, or if you have vacationed here recently. The only station running RDS at this very time, since December'05 is Super Radio 102.3 with classic oldies format in which I have been running my "Variaciones en Pop" show (trying to play some obscure tracks with the required explanation, OTOH of regular oldies that could be played back to back without DJ interventions) for the last 18 years, since this station started. The difference with our competitor Radio Dos is that you can listen them on real audio, and that's not our case. See Thomas, I'm not so technically minded but as far as I understand on what you mean by skip I don't think this effect takes place here among F.M. stations using the same frequency for relays, because this is such a small country (around 50.000 square km) using low power transmitters and relying on the heights of Irazú Volcano for linking relay stations on our rugged terrain. Of course it would be funny if this condition were given because we'll have what we call "desfase" what goes for "flanging", which with some music has an attractive effect (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. R. República is on a new frequency, 7205, found Jan 31 at 0015, weak but clear with discussion in Spanish about Cuba, communism. This could be a move from either 7160 (Germany) or 6010 (presumably UK). At this time, conditions from Europe are poor, and RR is not audible on either as full-bore jamming continues on both. Let`s hope it`s finally a replacement for 6010, as R. Mil has been pressing for. How many weeks did it take to accomplish this? A mixed blessing, of course, as this gives us one more illegal broadcast to the Americas on the 40m hamband, and no doubt soon to be jammed. How much longer would it take the dentrocubanos to close all the jammers on 6010? Other monitors please check all three frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7205 heard here at 0030 with an excellent signal, no jamming noted. Checked 7160 and 6010 and only heard weak jamming on both, but no Radio República (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. CANAL HABANA --- NUEVA OPCIÓN DE LA TELEVISIÓN CUBANA Informativo-cultural-variado, dedicado a las dos provincias habaneras, podrá ser captado por la frecuencia 27 --- Antonio Paneque Brizuela El Canal Habana, una de las más caras aspiraciones de los televidentes, en particular de los de las dos Habanas, saldrá al aire hoy 28 de enero a las 4:30 p.m. por la frecuencia 27 como nueva opción de la Televisión Cubana y en homenaje al aniversario 153 del natalicio de José Martí, se informó ayer en conferencia de prensa. Con sede en los estudios del antiguo local de Mazón y San Miguel, donde hace 55 años (24 de octubre de 1950) fue fundada la Televisión Cubana, y tras una remodelación capital del local, el Canal Habana aumenta los horarios de transmisión, introduce cambios e intensifica la competencia entre canales y telecentros del país. Unas 20 instituciones, entre ellas la ECOA-20, los canales educativos 1 y 2, Cubavisión Internacional, el Ministerio de Informática y Comunicaciones, la Empresa de Restauración y Monumentos y la Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad, han intervenido en la puesta en marcha de este Canal, el cual suma experiencias de 15 años de CHTV y aplica estudios como los del Centro de Investigaciones Sociales del Instituto Cubano de Radio y Televisión (ICRT). Se trata de un "canal martiano desde los sentimientos", según palabras de la directora de CHTV y coordinadora del proyecto, la periodista Amada Montano, quien refirió que saldrá al aire de lunes a viernes desde las 4:30 p.m. por la frecuencia 27 y por Tele-Rebelde hasta las 6:00 p.m. y los sábados y domingos desde las 6:00 p.m., en todos los casos aproximadamente hasta las 12:00 de la noche. Dotado de modernos equipos, actualizada y atractiva presentación, entre cuyas características figuran colores identificativos habaneros como el azul marino, celeste y el amarillo de construcciones coloniales y otras edificaciones y entornos, la programación de este nuevo canal tomó en cuenta estudios sobre gustos, costumbres, tradiciones e idiosincracia de esta población occidental. Aunque en territorios de La Habana inicialmente no tendrá un alcance similar al de la Ciudad de La Habana, lo cual será mejorado en etapas futuras, el contenido de la programación asume aspectos innovadores, introduce atrevidas opciones y enriquece la televisión nacional, como en el caso de sus tres espacios dedicados a películas (uno de ellos infantil) y otro sobre comentarios cinematográficos. Entre sus valores especiales tendrá la difusión y exaltación de figuras e intérpretes de la música hasta ahora poco o nada difundidos mediante el programa Música del mundo, en el cual tendrán protagonismo profesionales de la difusión del género como Gille Vilar, o los del cine, con la asistencia de Edilia Cabrera, asesora de espacios cinematográficos y guionista de programas como Somos multitud y Sala siglo XX. Fuente: (Diario Granma Edición Digital via CLAUDIO MORALES, Argentina, condig list via DXLD) Do the mean CHANNEL 27? (gh, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Radio Quito en 4918.95 kHz, el 26/01, fue captada con señal respetable. Hablaban de cómo evitar la violencia durante las protestas. SINPO 33433. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 5500, Voice of Tigray Revolution, *0350-0416 Jan 28, open carrier until 0350 when musical IS was noted. Echo announcement by a man at 0400 followed by flute music and another man with ID and opening announcements in Tigrinya language. A man with the news was next. Horn of Africa music from 0404 with some brief talks. Fair but // 6350 was poor (Rich D'Angelo, Wyomissing, PA 19610, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B, Lowe HF-150, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, RF Systems Mini- Windom, Datong FL3, JPS ANC-4, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** EUROPE. Re 6-019, Mystery Radio, 6220: Has anyone ever found an address for these guys, a suspected location, or anything else about them? I've caught them several times putting a huge signal into coastal North Carolina. Seen some published email addresses but letters to them have come bouncing back. I assume the location to be Europe, but it seems strange that such a powerful pirate would be so totally anonymous and averse to listener contact (Russell Lay, Nags Head, NC, Jan 29, HCDX via DXLD) It was in Sep 2005 when I got an e-mail message from Mystery Radio kinda verifying my reception. It was from mysteryradio --at-- googlemail.com I have no directional antenna, but to me it seemed this was not coming from West European station, I'd say more from South Europe. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) ** EUROPE. Pirate, 6276.75, Alpha Lima at 0645 with S7, 3544 [sic] and 0651 with 25434. At 0710 QRM from operator. Again 15075.43 AL at 1508 with bumping signal at S* [sic] and pop songs, 35544. At 1530 on 15074.95, same at 1600. Possibly drifting oscillator? Both on 29 Jan (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, using R75 receiver and SBC HL135 headphones, 2 x 16 m inverted V antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM. AFN, 5765, not with talk, but country music --- there must be a better mode for this than USB ---, Jan 30 at 1441; quite good signal. Also checked for the new outlet from somewhere on 4156, as in 6-018, but no broadcast audible between 4100 and 4200 except the local third harmonic of KCRC on 4170 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SINGAPORE [non] ** GUYANA. The Voice of Guiana, inactiva el 24, el 25/01 y días subsiguientes. Sólo la portadora de una utilitaria en 3291v. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 3579, presumed RSPD Maluku Tengah (located in the town of Masohi, also referred to as Amahai on some maps, on the island of Seram in the Moluccas), 1230-1430 Jan 28 recording (this would be 2130-2330 E. Indo. Time, UT +9). This is close to Ambon, which is on a neighboring island. Signals were a decent S2, occasionally peaking to S2+ to S3 with periodic RTTY-type ute QRM. Checking back through an old WRTH (2000), this ID/QTH agrees with current entry for this frequency in the 2005 PWBR, even though 2005 WRTH shows an ID of RSPK Ngada at QTH of Bajawa, Flores on Timor for this frequency. I guess the only way I'll ever find out is to send a report to Masohi and see what happens! Anyway, SINPO 24432. Man announcer 1230, vocal/instrumental piece to 1234:30, man with what sounded like news 1235-1249:30, another man to 1251:30, instrumental music to 1253:30, man announcer to 1301, another vocal/instrumental pop song to 1305:30, and so on. Recording was remarkably consistent through the 2 hours. Nominal sign-off is around 1410-1415, but signal still going at 1430, although starting to fade. No sign of RSPK Ngada on nominal 3517 or RPD Manggarai on 2960 (Bruce Churchill, CA, DX- plorer via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 729v, 0830 RRI Nabire?, Papua (Irian Jaya). I`m suspecting this is RRI Nabire, I`m 99% sure it`s a Papua station judging by the propagation of this one. In the early evening around 0830-0900 would carry call to prayers but no IDs on the hour at 0900. Noted one evening with SCI at 1200 then RRI ID & Jakarta news but no local province noted, other times there is dead air just before 1200 & then straight into Jakarta news. On Dec 11, 12 & 14 was on 729.0 but on Dec 13 & 15 was on 728.25. Usually very strong but fights it out with powerhouse JOCK. 774, 0925, RRI Fak Fak, Papua (Irian Jaya). Strong but usually so is powerhouse JOUB too! Call to prayers then into RRI ID on half hour. This one can usually be heard at midday on the car radio when I’m parked on the edge of the beach! Dec 11. 810, [no specific time applicable], RRI Merauke, Papua (Irian Jaya). Much like 585, this is a wonderful exotic non-Aussie station heard all day long and clearly at midday driving around Nhulunbuy on my car radio – very cool. Merauke is on the south coast of Papua & I`m 572 km directly over a water path. Shows the power of the coastal site and water path, for instance Katherine is 546 km inland from me and they put in feeble signals in at night and obviously nothing during the day. To view an extended version of this story which includes a variety of photos, please visit http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/nhulunbuy_2005_12.dx (Craig Edwards, Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Jan/Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Re 6-019, BOYCOTT GOOGLE OVER BPL "We need to boycott MSN search, Yahoo, and Google, for various reasons, so what search engine shall we use? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD)" For the most accurate list of search engines, go to: http://searchenginewatch.com/links/ The major search engines are listed and described at http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156221 (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) My suggestion: Google, etc., don't make their money from searchers but from advertisers. So, use the search engine whose policies you may disapprove of (supporting BPL, kowtowing to China, etc.) but boycott any companies that advertise on their site. You can then contact such companies and say that you might start using their products/services if they removed their advertising from Google/whatever. Also, you could sign-up to gmail and fill up your account with very large files, thereby forcing Google to spend money on storing such files. If a lot of people did that, and regularly sent the files to each other, it would help to clog up Google. BTW, as Google monitors all of us, will this posting put me on their black list? (Chris Greenway, Pakistan, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. FACEBOOK.COM : OWELLIAN COMMUNITY CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t34949.html Big Brothers, Big Facebook: Your Orwellian Community (via Eretz Sus Lavan, enidalternative via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. INTERNET FREEDOM UNDER FIRE: ACT NOW The CEOs of the largest cable and telephone companies are hatching a scheme that would give them control over what content you can view and what services you can use on the Internet. Their plan would do away with the principle of "network neutrality" and shut down the open roadway we've come to expect on the Internet. If big media companies are allowed to limit the fastest services to those who can pay their toll, upstart Web services, consumers, bloggers and new media makers alike all could be cut off from digital revolution. When large media companies are left to their own devices, the result is always content and services that serve no one but themselves. An open and independent Internet is the antidote to these predatory practices. Join tens of thousands of activists who are standing up to protect our Net freedoms. Tell the CEO's to stop treating our Internet as their fiefdom. Select Your High-Speed ISP . . . http://www.freepress.net/action/neutrality (via KUNM via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Welcome to 2006 and another year of the Satellite Television and Radio section. December and January have been very busy months on the satellite scene with many new channels being received across Australia and New Zealand. There is just too much news to fit into the print edition of this section of the magazine so please visit the larger extended edition online at http://www.satdirectory.com/--adxn.html and then click on the 2006 tab (Mark Fahey, Freemans Reach NSW, Satellite Radio & TV, Jan- Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. SCIENCE | January 28, 2006 By JOHN SCHWARTZ GIMMICK IN THE HEAVENS: AN ORBITING SPACESUIT WITH TRANSMITTER Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will release an empty spacesuit and amateur radio operators will be able to listen to its transmissions. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/28/science/28suit.html?emc=eta1 (via David Cole, OK, DXLD) An interesting event will be taking place this week. OPDX readers may want to drag out the old 2 meter HT for this event. Bill McArthur and his crewmate, Valery Tokarev, are scheduled to do a space walk on February 3rd and will release "SuitSat-1". As the "ARRL Letter" states, "--quite possibly the most unusual Earth satellite ever. SuitSat consists of a surplus Russian Orlan space suit converted into a transmit-only satellite with an FM downlink frequency of 145.990 MHz. Using the callsign RS0RS, it will transmit voice messages, telemetry and an SSTV image on a nine-minute cycle as it orbits Earth. The batteries powering the satellite are expected to last about a week, and SuitSat's free-floating, decaying orbit should cause it to re- enter Earth's atmosphere after some six weeks in space. The SuitSat signal should be strong enough to hear using a VHF transceiver or scanner and a simple antenna." For more details on this event and pictures of SuitSat, please visit the following Web pages (Plenty of interesting reading!): http://www.suitsat.org http://amsat.org http://www.issfanclub.com/ http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/BauerSuitsat/index.php http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/26jan_suitsat.htm (KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 Jan 30 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) I might add that transmissions from the Shuttle itself are quite readable on a hand-held receiver, so they aren't exaggerating when they say you should be able to hear SuitSat on a similar receiver. There shouldn't be anything else transmitting on or near 145.99, so if you don't want to worry about figuring out when it'll be overhead you can simply leave a receiver on that frequency. The article doesn't say anything about QSLs for adults, but if a kid hears it in the USA they can QSL via ARRL, 225 Main St., Newington CT 06111. Addresses for other countries are in the article. (Doug Smith, W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN, WTFDA via DXLD) It`s not that far to LEO, and it`s line of sight, not really DX (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Re WB/UPN merger: ``Was/is the WGN feed the "Superstation" national feed (which does not contain WB network content) or the Chicago local feed (which does)?`` It is the Superstation version. ``If it's the former, then it won't matter anyway. (And were these feeds in the clear?)`` No, all of the remaining superstation feeds are encrypted except WPIX- 11 which has been in the clear since December. KWGN-2 Denver left a few months back when the Denver stations were removed from AMC 7. WSBK-38 left a year or so ago and WWOR-9 left in 2000, but if you're a DISH subscriber like me, you can still get all seven (Jeff Kitsko, WTFDA member since 1994, WTFDA via DXLD) ** IRAN. 3945, Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran - Zahedan, *0125- 0227* Jan 27, sudden on with man talking followed by music until opening of Urdu program at 0130 with ID, Kor`an recitation and news. Program mainly of talks with short musical interludes. When they opened the amateurs on frequency said, "Here comes Omar again." Fair with some ARO QRM (Rich D'Angelo, Wyomissing, PA 19610, Ten-Tec RX- 340, Drake R-8B, Lowe HF-150, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, RF Systems Mini- Windom, Datong FL3, JPS ANC-4, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** KENYA. See CHINA [non] ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Cland, JAPAN / N COREA, 5890, Shiokaze, 1900 29 Jan with talks in Japanese and quite low signal of about S3. Very strong QRMs from Rome Meteo on 5888, 5885 Vatican and 5895 VOR in French. Best at 1910 on AM narrow. On 30.10 at 1437, S6 max with some QRM from Rome Meteo. Shift to +2 kHz with AM-N makes clear audio, 34332, "fading of 1 Hz and 4S units" (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, using R75 receiver and SBC HL135 headphones, 2 x 16 m inverted V antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. Cland, 7590, Denge Mezopotamia with strong signal S9+10 on 1520 29 Jan, ID at 1529 "Denge Mezopotamia". 1530 with clock and headlines (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, using R75 receiver and SBC HL135 headphones, 2 x 16 m inverted V antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. 6130, LNR, friendly laser-printed English letter in 3 months for CD and $1. V/S Inpanh Satchaphansy, Head of External Relations, thanks me for my report and says will send me "later our station detail. It is still under the printing house." I'm not sure what this means -- maybe a QSL or station brochure. Asks for more reports in future. Address: P. O. Box 310, Vientiane, Lao PDR. http://www.lnr.org.la (John Herkimer, NY, DX-plorer via DXLD) ** LIBERIA [non]. 11960, Star Radio - Ascension at 2110 on 1/23; poor with male talking in vernacular. English ID at 2120 as "This is the news on Star Radio" with male announcer. PWBR has it on 11965 but I definitely heard it on 11960 (Ray Bauernhuber, Whitestone, NY 11357- 3102, Yaesu Frg-100B, 50' wire + MFJ-956 Tuner, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Shifted some weeks ago (gh) ** LIBYA. Re 6-019, Re IDLE transmitters. Libya once erected 9 x 500 kW Thomcast/ABB/BBC units, and RIZ Zagreb Croatia once delivered 10 x 100 kW units to Libya in 1991, according to TDP (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So they have kept them in reserve for any jamming that may be needed? (gh, DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. 11635, Voice of Africa, 1925-1928 January 22, OM presenting news from the "Voice of Africa" on mostly violence in Iraq from Saturday & Sunday. Three minutes of news and then into another language, Arabic if I am correct. SINPO= 43343 (Chris Campbell, OSU Campus, Columbus, Ohio, Grundig Satellit 800 with RF Systems EMFantenna+random longwire with coax feed, MFJ-959B antenna tuner/matcher, Grove SP-200 speaker/filter, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) via FRANCE ** MALAYSIA. Today (30 Jan) and for the past few days, RTM's domestic service in Tamil, Minnal FM, has been relayed for part of the local afternoon and evening on 15295 (from before 0930 UTC, with distorted audio) and 11885 (from around 1020 UT), both frequencies continuing past 1040. The shortwave frequencies normally carry the external service Voice of Malaysia in Malay on 15295 only until 1030, then in Chinese 1030-1230 on 15295 and 11885. Time will tell whether this is a permanent change or just a temporary suspension of the external service programmes during the Chinese New Year period. Voice of Malaysia in Indonesian is still heard signing on as usual at 1000 on 6175 kHz. Minnal FM, then called RTM Radio 6, used to be relayed 24h on 4845 kHz but that frequency has been inactive for several years now. Regards, (Alan Davies, visiting Kuala Lumpur, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15295, Suara Malaysia, 1011 30 Jan with Indian programming and Hindi songs, S4. Strong QRM from RFI at S20 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, using R75 receiver and SBC HL135 headphones, 2 x 16 m inverted V antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS [non]. Minivan Radio`s return to SW last week was supposed to be for one week only, so are they now off again? What`s the prognosis? (Glenn to Jeff White, RMI, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: Yes, they're off again. I have no idea if they'll be back. Last week was a series of special broadcasts because of a high-profile trial that was going on and some protests that were called for. If things heat up again, maybe they'll decide to do some more broadcasts. But there's nothing scheduled at the moment (Jeff White, RMI, UT Jan 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 1700, XEPE, Tecate; with both Spanish call ID and ``Cash1700`` 0834 15/1. Have used a new antenna the last few month, a BoG of RG58 cable, 360 meters pointing in 120 degrees. With three transformers it can be used both directions 120/300 degrees. A very low-noise antenna almost eliminates the powerline noises which is present on all other antennas! Maybe a little weaker signals than on a wire up in the air but definitely much better S/N ratio (Bernt-Ivan Holmberg, Möklinta, Sweden. NRD545 / R75mod, MW News via DXLD) ** MEXICO [and non]. El Pais acquires programming rights for U.S. market... Hi Glenn, I just posted this on my blog and thought it would be of interest to you. http://madridkid.blogspot.com/2006/01/el-pas-to-enter-us-radio-market.html Cheers, (Madridkid, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: El País, Spain`s leading daily, announced that its parent company Grupo PRISA has acquired the rights to programming on XETRA-AM, which broadcasts in Spanish to listeners in southern California. The Federal Communications Commission has approved Grupo PRISA´s petition to take over the station´s programming, which had been under control since 1980 by Clear Channel Communications through its affiliate Citicasters. Grupo PRISA paid $28 million or €22.8 million for the programming rights, according to El País and XETRA`s website. "This operation represents for Grupo PRISA, publisher of El País, a major step in its proposal to develop a radio network with a presence in the U.S. hispanic market," the newspaper reported Friday. XETRA, which broadcasts on 690 kHz, is located in Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico but serves Spanish-speaking listeners in San Diego, Calif. Last year, the FCC determined that broadcast stations that operated in Mexico´s border front and transmitted programming to the United States are to be considered part of the U.S. market. Under the rules, no U.S. company or its affiliate can control more than eight stations in the same market and no more than five broadcasting on either the AM or FM band. At the beginning of 2005, Clear Channel controlled eight stations in the United States and five in Mexico that were serving the San Diego/Tijuana market. posted by Madridkid @ 11:52 AM Jan 27 (via DXLD) ** MEXICO. CLANDESTINE. 5999.96, R. Insurgente, 2104 Jan 27 with M&W format and same YL as last week, 2110 shouting and crowd noises, mention of "Yucatán" and "más noticias," many songs, "programa de..," marching music, drums, vocal chorus ending with man shouting one word and off 2146*. Signal difficult to tune, weak and fading out at times; reminiscent of La Voz Popular, Guatemalan rebel station of many years ago. La Voz Popular was DFed to be in rural Guatemala. Would not be surprised if R. Insurgente proves to be located in rural Mexico. Seems low power transmitter (Bob Wilkner, FL, DX-plorer via DXLD) ** MOLDOVA. Dear Glenn, Heard Radio DMR from Pridnestrovye. 5960 in English at 1705 UT. Would have been a good signal but co-channelling with RAI. Just managed to get enough program details for a reception report, after winding the tape back and forth several times! All the Best (Christopher Lewis, England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not sure what you mean by co-channel Rai. Co- means on the same frequency. EiBi shows them on 5960 until 1655, but then on both 5955 and 5965 after 1700. Is this correct? (Glenn to Christopher, via DXLD) Dear Glenn, I heard the Netherlands on 5955, but did not check 5965. I just heard RAI on 5960. It was quite possible that it might have been a splash from 5965, it just appeared co channel. I'll re-check tomorrow. I would have liked to have heard the program easily, because that area in the world interests me a lot. I watched an interesting documentary, one that showed Pridnestrovye and its border with Ukraine (Christopher Lewis, ibid.) ** MONGOLIA. 12085, Voice of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. Good level signal of pleasant music, both western and indigenous, presented in English. Better audio than when heard last time, 1010 8/1 (Charles Jones, Castle Hill NSW (Icom R75, 7m vertical), Australian DX News via DXLD) ** MYANMAR [non]. It`s hard to imagine how anyone in Asia, let alone North America, could hear the English broadcast from Yangon on 5985.9, since as usual Jan 30 at 1443 check, RCI via Japan in French to Asia was occupying the frequency with barely a het audible from Myanmar (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NAMIBIA. NBC: Mr. Mike Evans told me that the board has not made yet any decision about the future of SW (and MW). All equipment is still in place, but being over 20 years old, some spares and repairs would be needed. NBC is likely to take the decision in the next three months or so, but Mike pointed out that NBC are financially very strapped at the moment (Vaclav Korinek, RSA, DX-plorer via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Hi, Another Radio New Zealand International DRM test for those of you with DRM capable receivers (Mark Nicholls, Editor, New Zealand DX Times, New Zealand Radio DX League, Jan 30, ripple via DXLD) Viz.: DRM TEST ON TUESDAY 31 JANUARY --- that is Monday 30 if you are on the other side of the dateline. 1415-1430 NZDT 15720 16Q 11.48 kbps [0115-0130 UT] 1430-1445 NZDT 15720 64Q 14.5 kbps [0130-0145 UT] 1445-1500 NZDT 17675 16Q 11.48 kbps [0145-0200 UT] 1500-1515 NZDT 17675 64Q 14.5 kbps [0200-0215 UT] If you can hear the transmission please tell us the SNR rating. Thanks (Adrian Sainsbury, Technical Manager, Radio New Zealand International P O Box 123, Wellington, Web: http://www.rnzi.com via Nicholls, ibid.) Actually the UT date as well must have been Tue Jan 31 (gh, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Ute: 8297, Tampo radio, with weather news and many mentions of NZ, 1535-1545 29 Jan, 13432. Didn`t find on 30th (info per DX handbook and Klingenfuss) (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, using R75 receiver and SBC HL135 headphones, 2 x 16 m inverted V antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. What are the chances of getting a QSL from Voice of Nigeria? The last two or three I sent never got replies; mail is getting lost somewhere. All the Best (Christopher Lewis, England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Don`t know; check the QSL Information Pages (gh) ** NIGERIA. 4770, R. Nigeria, Kaduna, 2130 28 Jan, again with nice audio and possibly news (water supply a song), 45423 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, using R75 receiver and SBC HL135 headphones, 2 x 16 m inverted V antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4769.95, Radio Nigeria - Kaduna, UT Sun 01/22, 2158-2231. Country and pop tunes, mostly of the 1970's variety, including Elton John's "Candle In The Wind." Good signal but grossly undermodulated with male announcer almost impossible to understand (muffled voice) until, luckily before signoff with "The English Service of The Voice of Nigeria" and upcoming schedule. Nigerian folk song at close, and off. Haven't heard this one in some time (Ross Comeau, Andover, MA, Drake R-8 + 75-ft. Longwire, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. KGYN 1210 missing? I was listening to 1210 last night because KGYN seemed to be nowhere. They are usually blasting me outta here with their C&W music. I wonder what's up? (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DM65uv), "Los Alamos" is Spanish for "More than one Alamo" -- Dave Barry, Online logbooks: http://dxlogbook.gentoo.net?account=mikew Jan 29, ABDX via DXLD) Getting ready for the big move to OKC? At least that's what I hear is going to happen, right? MJR n WYO (Michael J. Richard, Evanston, ABDX via DXLD) Last night there was no sign of KGYN 1210. Tonight I note KGYN back in Spanish! Heard " .. doce-diez de Guymon Oklahoma..." between songs. – (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O Los Álamos, New Mexico (DM65uv), Jan 29, NRC-AM via DXLD) KGYN back on the air tonight, but in Spanish! I thought I might be listening to KQTL, but my jaw dropped when I heard ".. doce-diez de Guymon, Oklahoma .." during a break between songs. That was about 6 PM MST. Seem to be off again right now 8:40 PM (Mike Westfall, Jan 29, ABDX via DXLD) They threw me off a few years ago. They carry Spanish often on weekends. Hopefully they will be less of a pest once they move to OKC. I do not believe they use proper nite pattern http://www.am-dx.com/bmp/kgynni.gif 73 KAZ Barrington IL (Neil Kazaross, ibid.) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 93.9 **** Wantok Radio Light Port Moresby ****. Heard from 0558 through till 0712 26/12 with sponsorship announcements and Christian programmes. In stereo at times and was really a surprise to hear this at 1700 miles distance! Various other signals were present but PNG occupied most attention (John Schache, Bathurst NSW, Little Johnny's Summer FM DX Season, Australian DX News via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Radio Nacional del Paraguay inactiva desde hace un tiempo en 9737v. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5544.6, Radio San Andrés, 0203-0312* Jan 26, program of continuous OA vocals. At 0246 a man announcer talked in Spanish with a TC. More music with occasional announcements until ID and sign off announcements at 0300. After a brief segment of vocals there was dead air from 0303 until carrier cut at 0312. Poor with some ute QRM (Rich D'Angelo, Wyomissing, PA 19610, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B, Lowe HF- 150, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, RF Systems Mini-Windom, Datong FL3, JPS ANC-4, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SENEGAL [non]. Cland, 17860, WADR, 1026 30 Jan, a phone in about music. Two IDs at 1030, then a health program featuring talks with doctors about epidemics and ill women, with short music interval at 1048 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, using R75 receiver and SBC HL135 headphones, 2 x 16 m inverted V antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is it really proper to classify this as Clandestine? ** SINGAPORE [non]. This Sunday, UT Jan 29, AWR Wavescan via KSDA 11655 started off with good signal at 2230; I rolled tape and imagined providing it on web myself for less fortunate listeners. But reception progressively deteriorated into the noise, becoming quite poor by 2250 amid Bob Padula`s report --- in his own voice! Talking about unusual daytime mid-summer mode propagation from Asia. This show began with a feature about Brunei Darussalam, and if anything at all was said about broadcasting there, I missed it. That took almost 10 minutes. Then there was the first DX report from a contributor in Bangladesh, whose name sounded like Salaam bin-Dular, who said he is 20 years old and had been SWLing since 1994. His first DX news item concerned: AWR! Also mentioned RVA Bengali service, and said he would be back next week (let us hope with news of some non-Christian stations). The announcer said WS also includes productions from India, Japan, and: Adrian Peterson, tho I have not yet heard anything attributed specifically to him. Finishing up listening to my tape of the previous week`s show, there was a segment billed as ``Australian DX news edited by Bob Padula``, an unfortunate choice of words, read by John Lo(?), but it was actually about the upcoming DX-pedition and ham conference in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) AWR with Wavescan on KSDA at 2230 with good and clear signal, SINPO 35433, featuring Brunei Daru Salam topics by female presenter, next DX tips from Bangladesh corresponsal (whose name is as messed as trying to say Raúl Saavedra for Bangla people) followed by Bob Padulah loggings and finally some inspirational tips. [11655] I came across to find KSDA ending Wavescan to East Asia at 2155, clashing with Star Radio, Liberia [q.v., 11960]. I guess this situation started with B-05 sked so you can hardly listen to one or the other now, at least in Tiquicia, as they go off the air near the top of the hour, altho this time the Monrovia station wasn't clipped abruptly and they IDed properly (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA [non]. RADIO TATRAS INTERNATIONAL SAYS IT IS NOT DROPPING MEDIUMWAVE The Director of Pan-European radio station Radio Tatras International (RTI) has rubbished a story from an online source in Germany which says that "Due to a lack of funds at Radio Tatras International, the RTI relays via Kuldiga, Latvia on 1350 kHz (provided by Krebs TV) will end on 1 February." Eric Chilvers says that the author of the item (which was uncredited and unattributed) has not spoken to him or the Chairman of RTI, and points out that RTI is a 52% shareholder in KrebsTV. In fact, RTI has just signed a new 12 month contract for the use of 1350 kHz, which Chilvers describes as a "marketing tool." Furthermore, funding is not a problem at RTI, and the station has just invested in a new studio complex in Slovakia. http://www.rti.fm/ (via Mike Terry, mwdx yg via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Ikwekwezi FM has migrated to FM frequencies at Pretoria and Johannesburg, and the Medium Wave transmitters at Ga- Rankuwa and Welgedaght has been switched off permanently (Callie Tydeman, Sentech Ltd, via John Plimmer, 24 Jan 06) The number of MW stations in South Africa is diminishing with 1098 and 1404 Ikwekwezi FM now permanently off air from South Africa; the remaining stations are: kHz Location kW kHz Location kW 567 Cape Town 25 1287 Johannesburg 2 576 Meyerton 50 1422 Johannesburg 1 657 Meyerton 50 1485 Johannesburg 1 702 Pretoria 100 (curtain array to SW) 1548 Johannesburg 10 846 E. Cape 100 omni dir Not much left, eh! The tragedy is that there are lots more broadcasters who would like to go on MW but our regulating body ICASA has such strict rules no one can get a license. But still more stations in Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland (John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa, mwdx, 29 Jan 06 via Medium Wave News via DXLD) What has the ``curtain array to SW`` to do with 702? (gh, DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Hello Glenn, Heard Brother RG, on 5785, around 2000 UT, and the signal sounded pretty sickly weak in my location. It is listed as 100 kW. The reception was a bit rough in general, but 5785 sounded particularly bad. Best Regards (Christopher Lewis, England, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bulgaria, I suppose (gh, DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. Radio Taiwan International. By chance, while scanning the bands, I tuned in to 11850 at about 1725 UT, Monday January 23, to hear a very strong signal in English with Australian accents and referring to Asia Pacific and Radio Australia. I looked up my Radio Australia schedules but no mention of 11850 at this time. I immediately concluded that it was a new frequency for Radio Australia. Then to my surprise at 1745 began "Let's Learn Chinese" from Radio Taiwan International. I have been checking every day since and today, Monday January 30, there they were again with the Weekend Edition of Asia Pacific from Radio Australia but broadcast by RTI. I checked the RTI website and see that Asia Pacific is on every Monday at 20 minutes past the hour on all English transmissions. The moral of this story is don't believe everything you hear, check things out carefully before jumping to conclusions as I almost did. Incidentally, on Tuesday January 24, the 1700 transmission to Africa on 11850 announced that "today's English programming has been cancelled due to technical difficulties. Music only was on with occasional apologies (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I reported the same transmission in 5-215, q.v. for the real site (gh) ** U K. Re 6-019: I hear Charlie Gillett on Friday at 10:30p ET (PA USA) --- that's 0330 UT Sat, on 5975 kHz [Delano]. If I miss him then, I catch him on the weekend repeats via Sirius (Scott Walker, swprograms via DXLD) O yes, one of those shows which gets some additional play besides the original day of week, Wed +UT Thu: On the Ams stream that is the only odd airing, UT Sat 0332; and there is also one on the Euro stream, Sunday 1532 (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** U S A. This week`s missing US SW station: WBOH. Nothing audible on 5920 Jan 30 at 1440, and also had been missing the last couple of evenings when it ought to be audible no matter what. Sibling station WTJC still going on 9370, splattered by WWRB/Scare 9385 but that closed abruptly at 1530. Their website http://www.fbnradio.com/ mentions specifically an FM station`s technical difficulties, but SW? Of course not! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WRMI continues to put in a much better signal with its new NAm antenna on 7385; Jan 30 with sign-off announcement at 1557, usual contact info, but did not refer to next frequency, 9955. Off at 1557:30 so I quickly retuned to see what happen. Lite jamming pulses were already running, and an open carrier plus het totaling 10 over 9, about the same reading as 7385 had. At 1559:30 add bubble jamming, but after 1600 still no R. República audio detectable (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re: FCC gets "tough" on one of the Boston X-band pirates This is actually "old news" as it had been reported in the Boston newspapers that the FCC shut down WRNM R. Nouveauté on 1640 kHz last year. However, to see that the FCC is pursuing a $10,000 fine is new news. I wonder if it will have any impact on the number of unlicensed stations still on the air? R.Nouveauté seems like "small potatoes" compared to what's on the air now. "Choice 102.9" has been especially aggressive and sounds like any professional commercial station, complete with hourly ad strings, listener contests, 24-hour operation with regularly scheduled programming, and now at http://www.choice1029.com with streaming audio. This is unlike any of the others which apparently run considerably less power than Choice FM, typically with substandard audio and irregular schedules, except the 105.3 Brazilian jazz station which runs 24-hours but only continuous music without announcements or commercials. Anyway, it's going to be interesting to observe any repercussions on the Boston unlicensed airwaves from this latest FCC action. Thanks for the info, Scott. By the way, in some respects I'd hate for Choice FM to leave the airwaves. It's actually a very entertaining radio station. I've been enjoying "The Conductor" with his "Love Train" R&B/soul music show early mornings, "The Selector Empress" reggae and soca "Breakfast Show," and "The Soca Bashman" afternoons with his high intensity Trinbago music show. It's original programming and worth a listen, especially if you enjoy African Caribbean music (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, Jan 26, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. THE JOURNALISTIC RIPPLES OF A RADIO DEAL By Deborah Howell, Ombudsman, Sunday, January 29, 2006; B06 Several readers have raised questions about The Washington Post Co.'s business deal with Bonneville International Corp., which is shaking up the local radio airwaves and will create a new station featuring Post content. A few are upset that classical music station WGMS-FM now has a weaker signal in much of the Washington area and several wonder about The Post's independence in covering the Washington Nationals now that the team's games are to be carried on the new station, WTWP. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/28/AR2006012801063_pf.html (Washington Post Ombudsman`s column via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. KEVT 1030 kHz Cortaro, AZ Maintenance Test Date(s): February 6, 2006 (Test starts late Sunday night, February 5th). Time: Midnight to 06:00 AM MST (0700-1300 UT) Modes of Operation: 10 KW, Day Patten Programming: Spanish language programming. TOH ID's in English. Station promos and ID's at other parts of the hour KEVT uses a Spanish slogan which is "La Raza Diez Treinta A.M." which means, "The Race Ten Thirty A.M.". Notes: This isn't a "test" per se, but rather a maintenance operation at full power (10 kW) to test transmitting equipment. Reception reports are desired via e-mail. Please send them to Chief Engineer Frank Luna. Fluna1030 @ yahoo.com Thanks Frank Luna for this test. IRCA member Paul Lotsof was responsible for letting us know about this maintenance period! Our special thanks to Paul for this and for all the tests he helped to arrange in the past! ================================================= WJTO, 730 kHz, Bath, Maine DX Test Date(s): February 12, 2006 (Test starts late Saturday night, February 11th). Time: Midnight to 01:00 AM EST (0500-0600 UT) Modes of Operation: 1KW, Non-Directional Programming: Morse Code ID's, Sweep Tones, Voice ID. Notes: Test will consist of a twenty minute audio CD prepared by the BTC. CD contains Morse Code ID's, phonetic voice ID's, various NRC Sweep Tones, etc. Reception reports are desired via e-mail (first choice) and snail mail (only if e-mail is not available) Station would prefer to receive written reports only. No cassettes or recordings needed. Submit reports to: Jibguy @ aol.com Please put "WJTO DX Test" in the subject line. All standard mail reports should go to: WJTO Radio 730 P O Box 308 Bath, Maine 04530 Thanks to Bob Bittner for this test! Special thanks to member Paul Walker, Jr. who helped to arrange this test and is working with us to set up many more to come. http://www.walkerbroadcasting.com ================================================= WDAB, 1580 kHz, Traveler's Rest, SC Maintenance Test Date(s): February 27, 2006 (Late Sunday Night, early Monday Morning) Time: Midnight to 01:00 AM EST (0500-0600 UT) Modes of Operation: 5 KW, Non-Directional Programming: Morse Code ID's, Sweep Tones, Voice ID. Notes: Reception reports are desired via e-mail (first choice) and snail mail (only if e-mail is not available) Station would prefer to received recordings of the test (MP3, CD, or cassette). Submit reports to: les @ highnoonfilm.com Please put "WDAB DX Test" in the subject line. All standard mail reports should go to: Les Rayburn High Noon Film 100 Centerview Drive Suite 111 Birmingham, AL 35216 Thanks to the staff of WDAB for this test! Special thanks to member Paul Walker, Jr. who helped to arrange this test and is working with us to set up many more to come. http://www.walkerbroadcasting.com (Les Rayburn, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [and non]. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA. El 25/01, Radio Clube do Pará sufrió los embates de Radio Amazonas (distorsionada) en 4885.2 kHz. Desde las 2230 UT y aún interferida a las 0004 del 26/01. Luego el 28/01, Radio Amazonas se corrió hasta 4887.5 y sin embargo hacía imposible la escucha de la brasilera en 4885v, a las 0018. Muy distorsionada la señal de Radio Amazonas, cuya frecuencia real es 4939.67 kHz. Días antes pude captarla en 4855.1 (19/01), con el tema del merenguero venezolano, Roberto Antonio, titulado "Ay cariño". SINPO 44433. Distorsión total. Atención ingenieros de Radio Amazonas. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. 6612, 0004- Jan 30, Radio Zimbabwe. A presumed logging just above threshold level, but gradually improving as my local sunset approaches. Mostly music. I'm unable to hear any talk as I've monitored the past 45 minutes, but I suspect I wouldn't hear anything anyway. S6 to S7 on my 7030+, but that's mostly noise, I think. Signal is visible on the Icom 756Pro2, but the 7030+ in AMS is beating the 756 without a doubt. My Harris RF-590 is performing almost as well, with the Collins HF-2050 a poor third, and the NRD-535D hearing essentially nothing. Fun to rate the various receivers! Take home message: AMS is very useful, especially on very weak signals, if it can sync! Nothing on so-called fundamental of 3306. Continues to improve as I type this at 00:12 with African high-life music (Volodya Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I may be wrong on this, and welcome clarification, but I think that African Hi-life music refers mainly to Nigerian, and perhaps other West African type music styles. A more broad question...what's the best way to denote African pop-music when the listener/dx'er is unsure of the name of the local or regional style? I know some people use Afropops (David Goren, HCDX via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. LAWYERS GROUPS ATTACK ZIMBABWE POLICE USE OF HOSTAGE TACTICS --- Zim Online Fri 27 January 2006 HARARE - Southern African and international lawyers' groups have criticised Zimbabwean police for clamping down on media freedom and using hostage tactics to secure the arrest of President Robert Mugabe's critics. Police this week arrested and charged five trustees of the independent Voice of the People (VOP) broadcasting firm and charged them with violating the country's tough media laws. But the police first detained two private workers of one of the trustees, Arnold Tsunga, and refused to release them until their employer surrendered himself. In a letter to Attorney General (AG) Sobuza Gula Ndebele dated January 24, the International Bar Association (IBA) said: "We strongly condemn the renewed clampdown on media freedom and the unlawful use of the state's powers of arrest during policing operations relating to the investigation of VOP. "We refer in particular to the unlawful and unacceptable arrest and prosecutions of Anesu Kamba and Charles Nyamufukudzwa that was clearly directed at securing the co-operation of their employer, VOP Trustee, Arnold Tsunga." The arrests of Tsunga's workers followed the arrest on December 15 last year of Maria Nyanyiwa, Nyasha Bosha and Kundai Mugwanda, reporters with the VOP, who were detained for four days and subsequently released without charge. Their arrests and detention was apparently made in order to persuade the executive director of VOP John Masuku to hand himself over to the police for questioning. "We are gravely concerned at what appears to be an emerging pattern of illegitimate use of arrest as a device to secure the presence of suspects. We call for the respect for the rule of law and of basic human rights standards in all criminal investigations," the IBA said. The IBA criticised Harare's Broadcasting Services Act which it said was being used to suppress media freedom in contravention of the government's obligation under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter which both require the government to uphold the freedom of expression. The broadcasting Act prohibits Zimbabweans from operating radio and television or even owning broadcasting equipment without permission from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. Those convicted of breaching the Act face up two years in jail. The state accuses the VOP trustees and directors of operating a broadcasting service without a licence. They deny the charge. In a separate letter to Gula-Ndebele, the Southern African Development Community Lawyers Association expressed concern that the Harare government was using the broadcasting Act and other media laws to arrest journalists although it had undertaken to review the harsh laws. The association said: "We are concerned that the police are alleged to be implementing the media laws which the government of Zimbabwe itself recently formally advised the African Commission on Human and People's Rights were under review. "It being conceded that they violate fundamental human rights and freedoms, we request that the police should respect their human rights, including the rights to liberty." The VOP, which broadcasts on shortwave is one of two independent radio stations transmitting into Zimbabwe from outside the country in an attempt to circumvent Harare's tough laws and regulations. The radio station's programmes are in the two main vernacular languages, Shona and Ndebele, enabling it to reach out to remoter parts of the country, inaccessible to Zimbabwe's few remaining independent newspapers. Zimbabwe has four radio stations and one television station all controlled by the government. The southern Africa country, which has laws providing for the imprisonment of journalists for up to 20 years for publishing falsehoods, was ranked by the World Association of Newspapers as one of the three most dangerous places in the world for journalists. The other two countries are the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. - ZimOnline (via David Pringle-Wood, DXLD) There is absolutely NO mention in the local media of anything relating to this station [V. of the People]. Also since when does using the internet to relay programming to an abroad state for rebroadcast, come under the broadcasting laws that pertain to those within a country?? Only in Zimbabwe it seems!! (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1630, Basque fishing vessels operating simplex in USB on this unusual frequency; Fishermen heard speaking Euskera (Basque) and throwing in Spanish (castellano) insults, which is something very common apparently for Basque speakers (help from Herman Boel identifying the language); F 1857 16/1 (Steve Whitt, UK, MW News via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 6060, apparently a new Perúvian per Arnaldo Slaen- Argentina: Argentina dominates, at least on weekdays, at 0900-1000+, on 6059.96. On several days lately I have heard another station coming on the air around 6060.9, one day around 1000, another day 1035. Frequency drifted down to around 6060.83. Mediocre level overall, fadey with peaks, definitely Spanish, mostly fast talk, a little music, has a Perúvian feel to it. Not Tupi, which is on 6060.0 but well on its way out by 1000 (Jerry Berg, MA, Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 6165, 0936-1000 Jan 30. Hearing Chinese(?) music with some Chinese comments from a woman. Don't know who this is? No silent period before the hour as is the usual format for CRI. On the hour, however, a possible live ID given by a woman who is joined by a man. At 1001 back to music and comments. Signal was threshold prior to 1000, but improved to poor after 1000. No check in from the supposed new Bolivian reported here (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, NRD545, Dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Counter-pirate: 6878, expecting to listen to the Italian pirate, I heard a Serbian pirate at 1433 29 Jan with 24332. The Italian pirate seems not to transmit any longer! (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, using R75 receiver and SBC HL135 headphones, 2 x 16 m inverted V antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sure it`s not really the same transmitter? Previously reported with Slavic music (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ ARABIC ARTICLES Post readers help bring needed changes to the paper. Reader and former Post reporter Tom Lippman complained two months ago that The Post's style for rendering Arabic names is inaccurate. When an Arab name is transliterated from the Arabic alphabet (there is no single approved method to do that), The Post does not use the article "el" or "al" before a name, as is common in the Arab world. Lippman, a former Post stylebook editor, said: "We would never refer to Delaware's former governor as Pete Pont without the 'du' or the great German conductor Herbert Karajan without the 'von.' So why does The Post do this only to Arabs? I have tilted at this windmill for more than 20 years, but your arrival brings the opportunity to raise the issue anew." The copy desk chiefs and the Foreign Desk looked at the issue again and decided last week to begin adding the article to Arabic names when it can be determined accurately and if the person being identified prefers it. This will take effect in a week or two. Thanks for bird-dogging this, Tom. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/28/AR2006012801063_pf.html (Deborah Howell, Washington Post Ombudsman via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Q DOES NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE FOLLOWED BY U The correct spelling for this town is Iqaluit (it used to be called Frobisher Bay). According to the web page http://www.cornerstoneword.com/wbrn/geo/geo.htm "Iqaluit (is) from an Inuktitut word meaning where the fish are. Like Arabic words, Inuktitut words often have q's that are not followed by u's. This is especially important in this case, because according to Ken Weber's Did the Corinthians Ever Write Back, the word iqualuit means unclean buttocks." (Bruce Portzer, IRCA via DXLD) DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ CARIBBEAN BOAT TRIP REPORT - BOB FOXWORTH A few weeks ago Pat told me she located a decent price on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean trip on what arguably can really be called a ship. A huge, hulking ship that travels 22 MPH, is loaded with restaurants, (you only get to use one at a time, though) and is actually a rather quiet MW RF environment, not to mention visiting interesting places with unusual radio stations. I said, "sign us up". We left Miami on Saturday the 14th, the same day that the cold wave blew in, and literally followed us for the next couple days eastward. We drove down from Tampa to Miami, a 4 hour trip in chilly 30 mi/hr gusts. I'd think the poor people just arriving home that day were mildly (!) surprised, probably having nothing warmer than a suit jacket, packed away in a giant suitcase. At least we had a chance to plan for this, bringing jackets that we needed. Fla. winter weather is always a gamble. On plotting our expected course, I was dreaming of being in near- visual range of exotic low powered Cubans. On leaving. I soon found out that there are actually a couple ways this trip could proceed. Our voyage (on the Carnival Triumph) was sked to visit San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten on three consecutive days, then return. The logical course would seem to skim the north coast of Cuba and Hispaniola; however there is a different route in which we depart Miami and head roughly east (about 85 deg.) and thread through the Bahamas, coming out between Abaco and Eleuthera (in the N.E. Providence Channel). Then, passing north of San Salvador, Mayaguana, and Turks and Caicos and straight into San Juan. The return trip was nearly identical. This is a busy ship channel but it obviously keeps us several hundred miles away from Cuba so only the stronger stations are heard by day. Nonetheless the sea-water path provides many interesting targets for daytime listening. At night many domestic channels have nasty hets and there are not a lot of clear signals to work with. This effect seems to be governed partly by the direction being faced. We had a cabin with window on deck 2 (ranging from zero to 11) port side aft but near the middle. Around 1745 local time outbound we were facing north and I was hearing all the big NE USA stations, out to KDKA, WTAM, WHAS, Michigan on 1220 etc with good signals. One of the best was WINS 1010 which I have never once heard from Tampa, but here in east Bahamas they were s-9 and very clear on the second night. By contrast on the return trip, everything heard was from LA/SA, on the 19th and 20th and I think the shielding of the ship behind me was what governed this. This could be good guidance for the ambitious DXer wanting to build a large shielded device for land use to get directional rear shielding. All my night listening was from the cabin window, to avoid curious stares, but daytime was no problem and only one person asked about my GPS. Use of radios with headphones (only) is OK when outside on the decks (to avoid noise complaints from others who want quiet). I tried listening from the outside deck aft but the buffeting of the wind and the noise of the diesels makes it rather challenging, even with a headset, and using a "non-typical" radio always gets unwanted attention. I used my DX-398 which is enough to deal with. There was almost zero electrical noise and only when forward I could hear the tiniest "thwip" from the Atlas radars on MW. I concentrated almost all of my efforts on MW. However there must have been FM tropo on the 15th at 1555 EST northeast of Mayaguana (23 deg 16 N, 72 deg 27 W) FM was full of rock EE as well as SS and I IDed (via RDS) "102-Jamz" on 101.9 with 407-area code ADs, and "amor 107" on 107.5 (unID) out of a total of about 20 good FM signals. Florida AMers were clear out this far, as well, and WJNA-640, and 850, 940 and 1080 from the Miami area were well heard. I heard a single Reloj-950 signal, at the time the ship heading was 120 degrees and I was getting a null on the receiver of 125 degrees relative to the ship`s course; this points to the Camagüuey/Holguín area as a probable source of the other 950 Reloj but there are just too many uncertainties at that distance. There seems to be no Habana signals that far east, due likely to the bulge of north coastal Matanzas shielding out to about 80 deg., just as when in Tampa, we can't hear east of Habana by day due to land near Sarasota. On the way down I asked* casually if we would be taking the "other" route back (clearly marked on big charts in lobby walls) and the reaction is like "why do you ask" It seems that today's traveller is concerned solely with "when we get there" and (except for me) not at all with "how we get there", and once you mention going near Cuba then the eyebrows really start wiggling. *The purser's office is good at knowing the casino hours. As for the route, well... Ironically that same ship's very next trip was a Western Caribbean run, out of Miami, and making Ocho Rios, Cayman, then Cozumel. This is the one that the student of Cuban radio wants to take, as you literally circle the island at close range. At this range your handheld TV will work, and you too can see films of Fidel touring decrepit old farms, as I did a few years ago on a Cozumel trip that skirted Pinar. If you make this run, take a handheld GPS to track position and heading, as I did. Take some navigation maps and a 360-degree plastic compass rose to get rough bearings (if feasible). You can get the ship heading from GPS and then turn the receiver to align with the deck planking and add the values. However at our far range, DF values I got are just rough approximations. If your interest is in recording IDs, you should definitely consider having several small receivers, each with a patch cord and small recorder. You can pre-build Y-cables that let you record the headphone jack output and bridge a headset on the feed. Target several good signals, and record across the hour on each one. ID times vary and you can waste a TOH ID opportunity by being on the "wrong" frequency. Since you're listening to "locals" the receiver quality can be just ordinary. You'll want to spend the $ to get a cabin with a window, of course. Our ship's windows were about 4 foot square with a nice ledge for holding gear. Upper decks have balconies, at some added cost. Put your gear away when the cleaning crew comes. Not a theft issue, but you don't want to risk drawing any attention from inquisitive cabin stewards who think you're sending messages back to the Mother Ship, or to el Barbudo for that matter. On such a trip there's lots to do, and the time available for playing radio is less than you'd expect, and in that time frame generally just a few decent IDs can be had. And while in port, we enjoyed the port. We had just 5 hours in SJU (evening, time for a walking tour of the old city and a couple of mojitos.) The other ports were 11 or 12 hour stops, and naturally when in SXM we headed straight to Orient Beach for a few hours. There are $60 taxis available but we took the 10- passenger van that cost $5/person for this half-hour trip. Gasoline costs over 4 dollars/gal but is sold by the liter (1.95 NA guilder/liter; a ANG guilder = 56 cents)(The Euro is used on the French side). Everyone takes US dollars though. One (my) suggestion: don't bring back ANY tobacco products. Your 5 liters of V.I. liquor is not a problem. They are watching for Cuban cigars. In part 2 I'll detail some of the particular loggings I made. sent 1429 est Jan 30 (Bob Foxworth, Tampa FL, IRCA via DXLD) Part 2 of 2 - Miami - East Caribbean - Bob Foxworth Stations heard 15 Jan between Miami FL and SJU-SXM-return January 2006. Location 23 deg 38 min N, 073 deg 00 min W., hdg 130 deg, 22 mi/hr. North of Mayaguana Is., BAH. Local time 1400, listening from aft deck. DX398, no ext. antenna. 1380 Cuba strong, mention Camagüey. 1540 Nassau good. 640 WJNA good, 1 Hz SAH with unID. 740 Sp. béisbol not // 770. 850 Palm Beach good, newstalk. Sp. 880 and 890, muddy audio. Sp. 910 clear and good // weaker 930. 1020 Reloj on top w/100 Hz het. 940 WINZ decent, nulls 180 deg to ship. Cuba 1040 // 1050 equal levels, nulls 135 deg to ship (mid-Cuba). 1240 ZNS2 poor, gospel, "station for nation" ID at 1430. 1180 noisy het, null 140 to ship (E of Habana but a vague, unreliable DF). 810 a noisy Sp. talk, mx, no sign of ZNS3/C6B3. Check of x-band, it's empty except for trace on 1660 (Marco or PR?). 600 Cuba exc, beisbol. null 130 deg to ship (nr. Camagüey) // weaker 590, 610, 620, the 610 o/WIOD. 580 good at 1500 from D. R. w/loud R. Monte Cristi, call ID "HIAF". Now 640 showing null of 160 to ship, Sp. o/u WJNA, 1 Hz SAH, // 630. 770 Rebelde loud, béisbol, null 125 deg to ship. 790 w/buzzing QRM, reloj audible on high side. Heard this buzzing on other Cuban freqs, sounds like an unstable light dimmer. 950 Reloj decent, 125 deg to ship, not Habana, time as "4:20" at 1519 EST. Heard a couple other presumed HI including a 1330 ID as // RVC 530 in Sp. Never heard any Wobbler activity. At 1520, I tuned FM - 89.7 fuzzy Sp. rel; 89.9 Sp rel; 91.3 Eng. rock; 92.1 Sp. content indicates Dominican; 93.1 rock, 93.9 Eng. rock; 94.5 Aretha Franklin song; signals on 94.9, 96.3 (strong but sloppy pgmg), 97.9, 98.1 Sp., 98,3 Sp. Salsa, 99.9 Sp. salsa, 100.3 and 101.1 for which I have no notes. 101.9 Eng requests, "102 Jamz" with 407-area code (Orlando FL) and lit RDS, 102.1 Eng. rock, 105.7 Sp, 107.5 "Amor 107" on RDS with Sp. good level, unID, and then found jazz mx on 88.1 missed earlier, at 1540 local time. LW band tuned, no noise but no beacons found. RFI on ship amazingly not present, at least ID'able RFI. At 1547, 840, rel. vocal grp. then Fr. talk, tubby audio, good, surely Cap-Haïtien, had Cuban here earlier, decent signal. At 1555, loc 23 deg 16, 72 deg 27, hdg 134 deg, 23 mi/hr. (per GPS) directly N of Haiti. At 1740 listening from cabin window on 2nd (low) level, port side (view north), excellent signals from NYC on 660, 710, 770, 880, 810 WGY, 1010 WINS, 1220 Cleveland., 1500 WTOP, 1030 WBZ. WOND atop 1400 amid QRM. Possible WHN 1050 and WTIC 1080 in QRM. No time, again, for further checks. Choice: Eat, or DX? (on a cruise ship that's a no- brainer!). I had a bit of Don Bosco 1640 but quite weak. 16 Jan, 0800, 710 "Radio Isla" WKJB good. 850 "Wah-Bah" WABA good. 600 good with "WKAQ" ID (nx feed to a half dozen relay stations). Buzzing QRM atop 570 and 760. 1390 "RPR" (have to check tape), ID from WCMN on 1280, 1230 fair Camuy? // 1120. 1340 Aguadilla always playing nice music, "Radio Uno trece cuarenta", many ad strings, at 0940. On 1230 // 1120 ID as "Radio Once", Arecibo. At 1130 EST at 19 deg 17 min, 66 deg 51 min, 130 deg, arrive due at SJU 1630 for 5-hour stay. FM dial in SJU: 87.75, 88.1, 88.9, 89.3 weak, 89.7, 90.5, 91.3, 92.5, 92.9, 93.7, 94.1, 94.7 (was // 94.1), 95.1, 95.7, 96.1, 96.5, 96.9, 97.3, 97.5, 97.7, 98.3, 98.5, 99.1, 99.9, 100.3, 100.7, 101.3, 101.9, 102.5, 102.9, 103.3 (//102.9), 104.1, 104.7, (//99.1), 105.1, 105.7, 106.1, 106.5, 106.9, 107.3, 107.7. This is well over twice the number I thought I'd hear. Needless to say, all I could do was log active frequencies. Of the above, the following ID'ed with RDS: 94.1 "REGG 94", 94.7 (which is // 94.1) lit RDS but no text showed, 95.1 "LA MEGA", 99.1 sequencing "758/1105/SAN/JUAN/KQ105/LA/PRIMERA/787/758/1105...." about 8 seconds per bit, then 100.7 "LA X", 104.7 "KQ105" ( // 99.1). I did catch WIPR 940 with old style mx, tangos, very nice. Eng. was hrd only from WOSO 1030 and WBMJ 1190. Did not do any real radio survey in St Thomas (was here once before), caught a bit of WGOD however. Next day, I did not do a good FM survey when in St Maarten. AM survey showed no surprises (new/unk's). 555 sounds good and clean, about hour before sunset (and sailing), 895 weaker, good audio but less punch, and IDs as "VON" (soundalike to Vaughn), not as V-O-N. 640 ORTF a good signal, Fr. variety. PJD2 1300 P'burg sounds all comcl now. Used to be relig ("Proclaim Jesus' Deliverance To [the West Indies}), interviews about upcoming elections. Heard one "PJD2" call ltr ID. 1610 Anguilla there but not much of a signal. In this area one of the outstanding signals is 1480 WMDD Fajardo PR. Of note is the Antigua station on 620, fair (not as loud as expected). Had thought it was a class op'n, but some nut-job has gotten in there with one of those bass extenders that kids put in cars, music they play is full of distorted, clipped bass that flatlines and don't modulate but just distort. Really awful. There is at least one local Fr. Lang FM in St Maarten all the shops had turned on but I didn't catch details. 20 Jan 0830 return, E. of San Salvador, 24 deg 05, 74 deg 00, Cubans, 1110, s-8, no ID. WVCG 1080 weak s-2 but clear, but at 1400 an s-7 Cuban on 1080 unhrd earlier. 950 Reloj s-6, 940 WINZ s-3, Cuban on 910 s-7 with 2 Hz SAH, 890 Rebelde s-9 but low audio, 820 Reloj s-3. Buzzing again on 790, 570, 1520, 1380 and 1140. Not sure if this is local noise or not, but seems to squarely cover these particular freqs. From this far out, 1540 Bahamas s-7 and 1240 s-3 and no QRM. I discovered a mid-afternoon talk show by fe. who used the "Zed-N-S-2" ID several times, but not hrd on "official" IDs, just the "station for the nation" ID. Weak Cuban on 1490 (was too far off shore). 1180 choppy, hum, unlistenable. Weak Cubans on 1120 and 1150, tedious to trace w/time available. The 1040-1050 pair again, 1040 s-5 and 1050 s-3. 930 s-4 with phone guests, s-4, mention Matanzas. 910 with m/w talk, ment. R. Cadena Agramonte at 0923. At 0930 a good signal on 740, thought "Radio Riberón" by woman, at 0945 def. ID as "Radio Ecos de Sagua" and ID as town Sagua de Tanamo (in Holguín)* (appx. 75 deg 17 W., 20 deg 34 N) 0952 gave date, praise to F. Castro Ruz, mention of Rebelde network, detailed wx, all local pgm, good production values and content, probably one Cuban most unlike "typical" content and a real surprise from this out-of-the-way place. By 1000 EST was a trace of Eng. behind, surely WBSR, faint. Much was not covered, or missed; nonetheless I hope this is of interest and possibly value. * Sagua de Tanamo, previously unknown to me, is on my "Kuba" 1:850000 map, published by Monda Medien, 37154 Northeim, http://www.netpaper.de 20060128_b_trip (Bob Foxworth, Tampa FL, sent 1430 est Jan 30, IRCA via DXLD) Great article, Bob - thanks! As I'm sure you have heard before, WOND- 1400 is dominant during the day on the south side of Cape Cod - their 1 kw really gets out! (Marc DeLorenzo, So Dennis, MA, ibid.) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ MEXICAN NATIONAL DX MEETING Welcome to the 12th National Mexican DX Meeting The DX clubs of Mexico are pleased to welcome DXers from all over Mexico, the United States and worldwide to the 12th National DX Meeting ``Ascension 2006,`` which will take place July 28, 29 and 30 in the city of Ascension, state of Chihuahua. The Meeting will take place in the Parrish Meeting Room, located on one side of the Ascension Parrish headquarters and in front of the main plaza in the center of Ascension. . . [much more] http://www.wrmi.net/program.php?id=49 (WRMI via DXLD) Now, dontcha head off to the South Atlantic, hear? (gh, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ TAKASHI WORLD BAND RADIO I picked up an interesting little radio today, found in the clearance bin at discount retailer A. J. Wright for $7.99. The Takashi World Band Radio is a minimal palm-sized "pocket radio," covering MW, SW, and FM/TV, and includes a digital alarm clock. It's not a receiver of DX standards, but how can you go wrong for the price? Frequency display is digital, but the tuning is by an analog-feel rotary knob. Unique is the continuous FM tuning from 64.1 to 108.3 MHz. The MW tuning covers 520 to 1620 kHz. SW is covered in 9 bands, 3.35 to 22.6 MHz approximately. The frequency display on my radio is about 2 kHz off on the high side for MW. A green LED lights when tuned into a good signal. It's powered by two AA batteries. Specifications: FM 64-108 MHz @ <20 db, SW 3.6-22.2 MHz @ <30 dB, MW 530-1600 kHz @ <80 dB, s/n ratio >40 dB, power output 150 mW. The telescopic whip antenna extends to 19 inches in length. It has jacks for headphones and external 3 VDC. If you see it, buy it. At $7.99 it's worth it, if nothing else then for the novelty (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, Jan 26, ABDX via DXLD) Bruce, Do you have a website for the A. J. Wright company? 73 and GREAT DX! (Stephen Ponder, N5WBI Houston TX USA, ibid.) No. I thought it was a national discount chain, but maybe it's regional. The radio is probably a one-of-a-kind type of sale, only available on store shelves anyway (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) Might also be one of those little radios made in china that has several different brand names. Looking on Ebay in "Shortwave radios" several of them are labeled "World Radio" but have different "manufacturers" but look similar and kinda cheap. Bruce, did you say if yours was analog or digital tuning? I forgot. MJR n WYO (Michael J. Richard, Evanston, ibid.) LCD, digital frequency read-out, but tuning knob feels analog with no encoder-like detents. It is self-described, "Takashi World Band Radio, FM/TV/MW/SW Hi-Sensitivity, Mini-Digital 12 band receiver, with alarm clock." (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ THREAT TO HF DXing & AMATEUR RADIO With experimental transmission of data over power lines to domestic and business premises continuing, the following item from Malcolm Pitt should be of interest. With BPL operational in Burnie, Tasmania, these comments from an Amateur operator friend of Malcolm’s should alert readers of what the future may have in store. ``I went to the `Launch of BPL` in Burnie the other day. It was an invitation only meeting with the big bosses of Aurora Energy, Mitsubishi, Tas Tel, the Mayor of Burnie, Bryan Green MHA etc. I did not have an invitation but my business card was good enough to get me in. What a biased presentation was put on. It was just that BPL was the greatest, interference issues have been solved, we are ready to roll out state wide, etc etc. They did not mention that Tas Tel ‘phones will not work if the power goes off. And they are pushing the ‘phone aspect. Next day I drove along Malonga Drive, Burnie and the RF noise was wiping out reception on all the HF bands 3 - 30 MHz in the street. I have written to the State Government members Brett Whitely and Bryan Green as well as to ACMA, BPL is a dirty system, polluting the spectrum like a smoky fire would pollute the air. I just hope the trials fail. There are better systems coming, fibre optic to the home, but wireless broadband on 2 or 3 GHz would be better. Time will tell`` This goes to confirm other comments from monitors about this interference on HF. Against this however, are the resources of the lobby supporting BPL. In a recent issue of a respected engineering journal I read that, ``the objections from Amateur Radio and like interests should be dismissed as BPL would give everybody much less costly access to broadband``, etc. A prominent contributor of technical articles to A.R magazine recently suggested to the writer that all amateur operators should spend as much time as possible on HF to counter the broadband signals. Now, after 30 years as a licensed Amateur operator, for the first time, a HF rig is sitting on the shelf at this QTH; now some thought has to be given to antennas to suit! (Allen Fountain, Vic., Utility DX, Jan/Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ HD COMES TO WYOMING PUBLIC RADIO Found this site by accident while searching for something in Rock Springs. Apparently HD is already on the air in many parts of the state. http://www.wyominghdradio.com/ (Michael n Wyoming Richard, Jan 29, ABDX via DXLD) HD IN HARTFORD Just noticed WTIC has super strong IBOC sidebands. Everybody now has their IBOC turned on in Hartford except WRCH, and that one could happen any time now. My rotor is out of sync and I can't sync it. I may need a new rotor. Hmm... with all this iboc I may need a new hobby instead. – (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT USA, Jan 30, WTFDA via DXLD) And here is what Mike and I can look forward to from Clear Channel HD2 streams locally !!! Hartford - Launching February 1st WHCN-FM | Rock Variety | HD2 Channel: Deep Tracks WKSS-FM | CHR | HD2 Channel: Gay Radio / The Pride WPHH-FM | Urban Contemporary | HD2 Channel: Classic Hip-Hop WWYZ-FM | Country | HD2 Channel: Classic Country Springfield, MA - Launching March 31st WHYN-FM | Hot AC | HD2 Channel: New CHR WPKX-FM | Country | HD2 Channel: Americana Other markets also listed: http://www.clearchannel.com/Radio/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=1502 (Bill Nollman, Farmington, CT, ibid.) One hopes we don't see too many listeners duped by the promise of HD2. One of two things is going to happen here. - Sales manages to convince advertisers there are enough people with HD radios to make it worthwhile advertising on the HD2 channels - and they end up cluttered with 3-minute commercial breaks like we're getting on the analog stations, or: - Sales doesn't succeed in duping anyone into advertising on HD2; management sees they're spending good money on extra storage space and music dubbing to pull ratings from their commercially-successful main channels to a non-commercial HD2 channel, and decides to drop the HD2 streams. Certainly the HD2 channels will not last in their current form. IMHO it's probable they won't last at all. (with the possible exception of non-commercial stations) Kinda off-topic, but... I took a ride over to Lebanon, Tenn. on Saturday. There's a new AM station on the air there on 1490. Yes, it *is* trashed by WLAC-HD [1510 Nashville]. During the day. Within the city of license. Within five miles of the tower. (i.e., IBOC *is* causing QRM within the protected contours of existing stations) – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SPORADIC E IGNORED IN NICARAGUA When I was working in Nicaragua the peak Es seasons there were April and October, and principal Es destinations were Mexico on one side and Ecuador on the other, so there's a lot going on down there that isn't reported because there aren't any DXers of the FM BC band there. Or at least none that know about systematic reporting to an organization like WTFDA (Fred Laun, Temple Hills, MD, WTFDA via DXLD) DAYTIME SUMMER ASIAN MODE TRANS-EQUATORIAL DX TO NEW SOUTH WALES 7235, R. Singapore. Daytime opening, Malay service, news 0255, ad 0259. RRI Palu also listed here, but Singapore seems more likely, given the format and conditions, 22/1. 9730.08, R. Myanmar, Yangon. Summer Asian mode, no ID heard but confident is this, Burmese songs 0305, annouoncement 0310, then more music. No sign of North Korea, co-channel. Have tried for this over many years without success. Came up again 0404, same format, very rare here, 22/1. 9750, Suara Malaysia, Kajang. Booming signal with open carrier 0235, into programming 0300 with MM ID, Kor`an, and English external service. Rare at this time, 22/1 (Craig Seager, Bridle Track, north of Bathurst NSW, Australian DX News via DXLD) WHAT A LONGWAVE NIGHT! Jan. 30 UT. All I can say is wow! Ireland, Germany, Algeria on consumer (European) portables on longwave. Great recordings on 252 of Ireland and the Algeria s/on at 0400 made on the DX set-up, but as I write at 0600 UTC, signals are still on the portables with no external antennas. On the DX set-up (longwire-tuner-2010) the LED meter is still pegged on most LWBC frequencies. The best part was France (Monte Carlo) on 216, and BBC on 198, as they are in the same direction from me as the high powered beacons on 216 and 198 in North Carolina. Truly huge signals despite the beacons tonight. At times, Ireland on 252 sounded like a local MW station. Fifteen minutes later, Algeria did. At last, a good recording of the soon to disappear "music medley" that opens BBC radio 4 (after the World Service) at 0530, followed by the shipping forecast. Alerted a friend nearby via two meters, who is also floored by the longwave signals tonight/ this morning, both on ferrite bar portables, and his NRD. I have been DX'ing for forty years now (WPE4IPK), and never heard a night like this on longwave. I'm glad the audio highlights are now on CD, and that a good friend could hear a number of European LWBC stations (Brock Whaley, WH6SZ, Lilburn, GA, UT Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###