DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-025, February 6, 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 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 1303: Wed 0030 on WBCQ 7415 Wed 1030 on WWCR 9985 FIRST SW AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1304: 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 DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS FEB 7: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html ** AFGHANISTAN. Afghanistan media, interesting study Hi Glenn, Following tips about new geographical area lists by the BDXC, I was browsing the "Near and Middle East" article. Afghanistan section seems to be missing information about Radio Khost 1602, which suits me well since the list covers SW frequencies only! Anyway, out of sheer curiosity (and since we heard Khost with Renato in Finland) I was googling around and came up with the following document about Afghan media "3 years later". I'm not sure if you have reported about it already (most likely, you did), it's not exactly fresh (mid 2005 I'd say). Just in case, here's the link: it makes an interesting read: http://www.altaiconsulting.com/dyn/monitoring-and-evaluation/projects/media-evaluation-reports.html (Andy Lawendel, Italy, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. 4950 kHz, RNA, Mulenvos, logged on 04 Feb 2336-2350, Portuguese, talks, program announcements, infos, music; 45333. I've been noting a similarly strong silent carrier on 4950 - transmitter problems at RNA? (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugual, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. This Sunday it was silly ballgame play-by-play, not opera on 15344.6, Feb 5 at 2321; fair signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Keith [Glover] did his show with passion. They even sent out airmail letters to tell you in advance when you were going to be called on the airwaves of Radio Australia. Those were indeed the days when distance had magic. I seem to recall a rock steady signal in the 25 metre band on a Sunday morning (Jonathan Marks, 02.05.06 - 8:43 pm, Media Network blog via DXLD) IIRC, RA`s main morning frequency to NAm when I started was 9615 --- that must have been even before VLW/VLX was even on 9610 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Listening to Keith and his mailbag program was one of my favorites every Saturday AM on 9580 kHz in the mid-'60s. RIP my friend, you were the best (Chris Lobdell, DX-plorer via DXLD) Likewise with me, Chris. I grew up listening to Keith. He, in my opinion, had the most sincere, down to earth style I have ever heard, and not replicated since. Perhaps Ian MacFarland came close. I don't think I ever missed a program, and it was at the same time you listened, Chris. In those days I lived in Toronto and was up early every Saturday morning preparing to go to Ukrainian heritage school. The little SW portable was always on the kitchen table, and with just the whip antenna, 9580 provided excellent reception. A few months back someone posted the very last Mailbag program on-line, and I listened to it again and again. Sure brought back wonderful memories of the more glory days of SW listening. Yep, you were the best, Keith (Walt Salmaniw, ibid.) I feel the same as Chris L. did -- he said it well. Keith read my name on the air during their "Listeners Mailbag" program in 1957. He was a regular during the early Saturday mornings at our house as I was growing up. A good friend to DXers, he will be missed. RIP, Keith (Dan Henderson, ibid.) With the passing of Keith Glover, I am reminded that his was the very first voice I ever heard on shortwave. I began DXing in the late 1950s with a KnightKit three-tube Ocean Hopper. The first station I heard was Radio Australia and the first voice happened to belong to Keith Glover. His voice will always be THE VOICE of shortwave radio. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (So passes away the glory of this world). (Jim Ronda, ibid.) A sad note in the march of time on shortwave. At http://www.ontheshortwaves.com [Articles, Research/Recordings] there is a recording of Keith Glover's last "Mailbag" program, broadcast on December 28, 1980. I would say that in the years when "Mailbag" was on the air Keith Glover probably was the best-known voice on shortwave. R.I.P. (Jerry Berg, ibid.) ** BELGIUM [and non]. NEW ZEALAND, 9870 kHz, RNZI, Rangitaiki, observed on 29 Jan /1300-..., IS, English, news; 33442, tremendous splash by RFranceI 's misadjusted transmitter on 9970! (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugual, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9970 would be Belgium, not France (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. A Rádio Capixaba, de Vitória (ES), foi ouvida, novamente, na freqüência de 4935 kHz. Em 1º de fevereiro, às 2133, a emissora apresentava a Voz do Brasil. Em seguida, às 2201, levou ao ar a identificação: "ZYF 651, 4935 kHz, ondas tropicais, Rádio Capixaba, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil". Vale o destaque, a título de informação, já que tal emissora é a única daquele estado brasileiro em ondas curtas e estava inativa um bom tempo! 73s! (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Prezado Célio, Confirmado. Ouvi a estação em 05/02 às 2045. Transmissão relativamente bem copiada, com QSB médio e QRM de outra estação ao fundo, podendo ser da mesma freqüência ou de 4945 kHz, esta com QSB fraco, mas com sinal muito forte. Abraços, (Geraldo de Bem, Pirassununga-SP, SW7600G, antena de ferrita, ibid.) ** CANADA [and non]. CONNECT 2 CANADA http://www.connect2canada.com On July 1, 2005 (now former) Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Frank McKenna launched Connect2Canada.com, a virtual network for Canadians and friends of Canada who live in the United States. Since that announcement, thousands have signed up to receive information on subjects as diverse as our global troop deployments, updates on BSE, Canadian events in the US, and the latest on our efforts to help out the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Many Canadians have told us how proud they are to be a Canadian in the U.S. Many Americans with links to Canada have also signed up to be a part of this network. They are emblematic of the proud and deep history between the people of Canada and the United States. Connect2Canada is a way to exchange news and ideas, and find out what is happening in the U.S. related to Canada. Members of the network can receive email notices on a range of topics of interest to them and can share their views with others. As the network grows, it will serve as a knowledge base and a ready resource for facts on the major issues in the United States and Canada today (via Sheldon Harvey, Greenfield Park, Quebec, Feb Radio HF Internet Newsletter via DXLD) ** CONGO DR [non]. 11890 - RADIO OKAPI - 1600 IS & ID 'Okapi' several times, continued with news by man in French (?), mentioning 'Congo' often. Good audio & signal. Sinpo 55444 (Feb. 4, 2006) (Lim Kwet Hian, Jakarta, Indonesia, HCDX via DXLD) Via SOUTH AFRICA ** COSTA RICA. Re 6-024: TIFC-Faro del Caribe QSL-correction! The partial-data portion should read, frequency and time. My mistake (Scott Barbour, NH, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. RHC Portuguese was in Spanish when I tuned in, 2308 UT Feb 5, but it was just a leader about to be translated, and at 2310 into Mundo da Filatelia; 17705 was running about one second behind // 15230, making us wonder further about the STL situation at this station; is it by way of two or three International Vacuum hops now? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also LIBYA [and non] ** CUBA. 1100 kHz, Cuban "wobulator" sounding like a Maytag on spin dry. All over and on top of Cleveland as I drove in this morning at 4:45 AM EST, 0945 UT. Cuban underneath as well, but our Jello shaking friend was loud and owned 1100 on a Saturn auto radio. No BFO in the car of course, and no BFO needed to hear this oddity that would give the late Major Armstrong pause (Brock Whaley, Lilburn, GA, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. QSL: CLANDESTINE (Eritrea). 15650, Voice of Delina: One week after sending a follow-up report, I received my report back with a personal note that they do not have QSL-cards at this time, and "please be assured you heard us." Signature not legible. My report was sent to Voice of Delina, c/o Tesfa Delina Foundation, Inc., 17326 Edwards Rd., A-230, Cerritos, CA 90703, following up a Mar 5, 2005 report for reception on that day. Site? At the time of this logging various sources suggested Bulgaria, although Russia is mentioned for more recent frequencies (Wendel Craighead, KS, DX-plorer via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 7165.12, Feb 4 1550-1605, Radio Ethiopia. Man with talk in Arabic or very similar, about "Afari Democrati", short local instrumental music, 1556 local songs, 1600 Xylophone music, English YL announcements, ``This is the External Service of Radio Ethiopia, broadcasting on 31 and 41 m and on 303 m on mediumwave``, news (very short), instrumental music, ID, program info, US pop song, ID, SINPO 33333-34333, best using the Dream software, in USB with a bandwidth of 2,6 kHz (Günter Lorenz, Freising, Germany, WinRadio G303 Dream Grahn loop, HCDX online log via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 9560.3 kHz, R. Ethiopia (?), Gedja Jewe, tentatively heard on 28 Jan 1730-1731, French, chimes at 1730 and just a few talks prior to abrupt sign-off, or transmitter malfunction; 33442. 9704.2 kHz, R. Ethiopia (tentative), Gedja Jewe, observed on 05 Feb 1112-1126, Talks in unidentified language; 14431, QRM de USA (WYFR in Spanish) 9705 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugual, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. A closer look at the just enforced IBB cuts makes me wonder how long the Biblis site will stay in operation at all. Most time of the day only a single transmitter (or nothing) is still on air there, with the exception of just 2.5 hours. Could well be the most underused shortwave site at least in Europe now. Is the 75 metres capability of Biblis still of importance for the IBB? If so it could also be a scenario to keep Biblis and instead decommission Lampertheim. And I can also hardly imagine that they will keep a "station" merely for audio routing and remote control purposes as it is the case with Ismaning now. Update from Berlin: 100,6 Motor FM got only a preliminary licence for February for the time being. It became clear not earlier than on Jan 31 that they will take over 100.6 as of Feb 1, primarily because the trustee of the bankrupt Hundert,6 did not want to keep the doomed station on air any longer. Recordings: Last live news with good-bye and weather on Hundert,6 on Jan 31 at 17:30 CET -- http://www.radioeins.de/meta/sendungen/apparat/060204_A1.ram Last ID drop ("through the night with Hundert,6" -- what a bad joke at this point) at 23:56 and switch to Motor FM at 23:59 -- http://www.radioeins.de/meta/sendungen/apparat/060204_A2.ram All the best (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See USA ** HAWAII. JOE MOORE DECIDES NOT TO RESIGN Erika Engle, Feb 6, Honolulu Star-Bulletin KHON-TV anchor Joe Moore is not going anywhere. Hawaii`s top-rated news anchor has decided not to resign in protest of the new station owner's plans to slash a third of the staff. Eight of nine managers resigned last week, citing their inability to support the staff-cutting plan and operational vision of California- based Montecito Broadcast Group LLC. Moore sent an e-mail to staff this morning explaining his reason for staying, a decision he reached after he ``searched my heart and conscience about whether to follow the courageous lead of our colleagues.`` ``Perhaps the most difficult question I had to answer in reaching my decision about whether to stay or leave was, `How could I possibly work for owners I do not respect?``` ``After much deliberation, I reached this conclusion ... the owners are not KHON-2. We, the people who work here are KHON-2. I would not be working FOR THE OWNERS. I would be working FOR OUR VIEWERS, and WITH fellow employees I deeply respect. I have decided not to let our owners drive me out of KHON-2.`` (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) Like Mr. Keefer in "The Caine Mutiny." (Brock Whaley, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ICELAND. 9340-USB, AFN, Grindavík, logged on 29 Jan 1514-1544, English, talks, program announcements, songs; 43432, adjacent QRM; // 7590u also via ISL covered by unID (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugual, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Dear Friends, AIR Ranchi was noted today 6 Feb 2006 on 4965 rather than the normal 4960 from tune in at around 0115 UTC. It must be another "punching" error 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, dx_india via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Re: 6-024 "Lean and Mean" Regarding Andy Sennitt's assessment of the relative inefficiency of international shortwave broadcasting --- it depends, I guess, on how you define efficiency. I listen daily to a number of stations on SW and listen on the Internet only as a last resort (as I type, I'm listening to the NRK P1 stream since Norway is no longer on SW or, indeed, has an international service). For this I use my (very modest) amateur-radio station, though I know from past experience how much can also be heard with a simple portable receiver. Although I certainly don't have extensive knowledge of world affairs, what I DO know I've learned largely from radio. My three grown children listen to no international broadcasters, either on-air or online; their knowledge of world affairs is gleaned from the daily news cycle which, as we know, is skewed heavily toward wars and disasters. This, I submit, is not progress. There is simply no substitute for the everyday window on another country which an external broadcast service provides --- either good (like RN) or not-so-good (like, say, Pyongyang), all have something to offer. The Internet MAY be a viable alternative (tho I much prefer S9 static crashes to a hiccuping buffer), unless you live in China. The object of the game is international understanding, still our last best hope for world peace. 73 de (Anne Fanelli, WI2G, in (wintry again) Elma NY, Feb 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [and non]. IRAN DEMANDS HALT TO BROADCASTS FROM WEST; DUBAI COMPLIES --- SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Monday, February 6, 2006 http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/06/front2453773.023611111.html ABU DHABI — Iran has forced the United Arab Emirates of Dubai to halt live Persian-language television broadcasts. Western diplomatic sources said the broadcasts contained Western programming and discussed democracy. They said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his advisers regarded these broadcasts as part of a U.S.-led effort to foment unrest in Iran. "There were harsh messages sent to Dubai by the Iranian president personally," a diplomatic source said. "In the end, neither Dubai nor the central UAE government sought a confrontation." The broadcasts were meant to be beamed in Iraq in a project financed by Holland. Iran also pressured Holland to end support for the Persian-language broadcasts. The sources said Teheran awarded several major projects to the Netherlands in wake of its decision to withdraw support for the broadcasts. The United States has not supported the financing of opposition broadcasts to Iran. But Sen. Rick Santorum, a leading Republican, has introduced the Iran Freedom and Support Act, which has garnered support of nearly 50 members. Santorum's bill would increase support for a free media in Iran. This would include the beaming of anti-regime broadcasts from both within and outside of the United States. Copyright © 2006 East West Services, Inc. (via Bill Harms, DXLD) Whew: when I saw the headline I figured it referred to all those Christian gospel-huxters UAE is relaying on SW (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ITALY. RAI, 11860, in the skirts of WYFR 11855, Italian announcement at 1556 Feb 6 mentioning three wavelengths including, I thought, 25.68 meters, but that works out to approx. 11680, whilst 11860 is about 25.29m (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Re 6-018: I just noticed a typo in the frequency! Should read 21520, not 21570: Rai again presents its North American listeners with the squealing transmitter: Sat Jan 28 at 1537 on 21570, much stronger than // 21550 for elsewhere which as far as I could tell did not have a squeal. This was live play-by-play of something, presumably calcio. BTW, if calcio means football, how do you say calcium in Italian? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) & see LANGUAGE LESSONS below ** JORDAN. R. Jordan, 11690 doing well against RTTY, Feb 6 at 1555 with usual western pop music; 1600 timesignal and immediately into 96.3 FM news in English, mostly about King condemning cartoons and aftermath; news already done at 1603:30, back to music, Annie Lenox? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LATVIA. 9290 kHz, Radio Casablanca en alemán, 1100-1200 UT, 04-02- 06, Programa musical con identificación entre canciones, 45433. Se pueden escuchar tres audios del programa en: http://telefonica.net/web2/radioescuchadx/radio_casablanca.htm ¿Alguien conoce su e-mail? Receptor: JRC NRD-535 Antena: Watson PBX- 100 Lugar: Casco urbano. Saludos y buenos DX's 73 (José Bueno - Córdoba - España, HCDX via DXLD) ** LIBYA [and non]. Today another multi station theatre in range 17660 - 17670 till 1400 UT today against anti-Libyan clandestine Sawt al- Amal (17665 tent from Russland / TDP brokered) 5 TX, - plus AWR Vietnamese from Madagascar also 17670. 17660 UNID Arab / Sahel / Maghreb music tx, S=2-3 17665 UNID supposedly Sawt al-Am, S=2-3 17670 UNID Arab mx and Speech, S=9 +10 dB 17670 Libyan Bubble Jamming 17670 UNID Arab / Sahel / Maghreb music tx underneath. Ooooh - please Tarek help to identify ... !!!!!!!!!! 73 (wolfgang (Feb 6) Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos cordiales, chequeando las frecuencias de 17660 y 17670 hoy 6 de febrero, éstas son las observaciones: 17660, NO ID, 1250-1400, emisión de música árabe, probablemente emisión jammer de Libia, SINPO 55454. 17670, Al-amel, 1300-1400, escuchada en árabe, habitual programación con locutor y locutora con comentarios; se identifica al finalizar la emisión, prácticamente inaudible. Sólo templando en 17672 y en los silencios entre canciones de emisión NO ID con música pop africana, con canciones en francés y en idioma vernacular. Sufre también fuerte interferencia por ruido extraño, cómo de una sierra, probablemente jammer Libanesa [sic], SINPO 22331. 17670, NO ID, 1300-1315, emisión de música pop africana con canciones en francés y vernacular, SINPO 43343, cuando termina la emisión de Al- amel y la interferencia en forma de sierra, el SINPO 55454. [computer translation:] Warm greetings, checking the 17670 frequencies of 17660 and today 6 of February, these are the observations: 17660 UNID, 1250-1400, emission of Arab music, probably emission to jammer of Libya, SINPO 55454. 17670, Al-amel, 1300-1400, listened in Arab, habitual programming with speaker and speaker with commentaries, identify when finalizing the emission, practically inaudible, only warming up in 17672 and in the silencios between emission songs UNID with African pop music, with songs in French and language to vernacular. It also undergoes hard interference by strange noise, how of a mountain range, probably to jammer Lebanese [sic], SINPO 22331. 17670 UNID, 1300-1315, emission of African pop music with French songs and vernacular, SINPO 43343, when it finishes to the emission of Al- amel and the interference in form of mountain range, SINPO 55454 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, SANGEAN ATS 909, Radio MASTER A-108, dxldyg via DXLD) Saludos cordiales, la emisora NO ID en 17670 cuando son las 1506 sigue emitiendo música africana, reggae, etc, SINPO 55433. En días pasados ésta emisión terminaba a las 1430. Si se trata de un jammer de Al-amel es un poco extraño que una hora despues de terminar su emisión, ésta siga transmitiendo (José Miguel Romero, ibid.) A propósito, José Miguel, no quieres decir ``libanesa``, sino ``libia`` como fuente de jamming. No se trata del Líbano (gh) Solar-terrestrial indices for 05 February follow. Solar flux 76 and mid-latitude A-index 3. The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 06 February was 3 (34 nT). No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours (SEC via DXLD) Here are my observations on Monday, Feb 6: Tune-in at 1340 UT: nothing on 17665 except Cuban pulse jamming bleeding from 17670; very weak possibly unrelated carrier on 17660. Note above that hi-latitude propagation was below par on this occasion. All the action was on 17670: African hilife music with French (or Afro-French) lyrix, with only a trace of other programming underneath along with a slight SAH. Also lite Cuban pulse-jamming. This is presumably unrelated to the Libyan situation, as 17670 is a recently abandoned R. Martí frequency, tho it was never used by RM this early. We know it is common for Cuban commie jammers to run far beyond the actual schedule of their targets, both in terms of time, and of days! The music was quite enjoyable, never with any announcements, and long pauses between selections, probably mostly running album cuts one after another. There was an especially long pause, open carrier, 1357- 1359:30 or so. Music still going at 1410 but nothing audible under it now as Sawt Al-Amal had presumably wrapped up as usual at 1401; hardly any jamming was audible either. Noticed music at 1440 was Chaka Khan. At 1459 recheck, the Cuban jamming had come up much stronger, as RM used to open on 17670 at 1500. Now it was jamming the music jammer, barely audible underneath. Same situation still at my final recheck today of 1612 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. Re 6-024, LIBYA: ``17670 AWR Madagascar in Vietnamese language ? S=2 poor, 250 kW tx on even frequency, not 'wandering' 50 kW unit at MDG.`` Are they really on 17670 now? The RNW schedule at http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/practical/schedule051030.html (note new URL with entirely changed structure, I guess Andy has much fun with a new content management system at present) shows this transmission on 15595. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Looked for XEXQ a few times during the 2230 semihour Feb 5 on 6045, but nothing definite, and blasted away from 2300 by CRI relay on 6040. I did a new search for a website, and only came up with this: Home page with a few photos of transmitters: http://www.uaslp.mx/Plantilla.aspx?padre=1912 FM program grid: http://www.uaslp.mx/Plantilla.aspx?padre=1915 Probably not the same as AM and SW which might as well not exist, tho we previously heard a newscast segment on 6045 at 8 am = 1400 UT. Nothing much to be heard except the SAH on Feb 6 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XETRA-690 format change --- XETRA-690 is now running Spanish news (and talk?) from the "W Radio" network. One word of caution: "W Radio" is one of those networks that frequently mentions the call letters of various affiliates (last night they mentioned XECK-620 and XEDB-860, for example). Often, when a widely-heard station like XETRA picks up a network like this one, we get a lot of mis-IDs from DXers hearing the call letters of affiliates other than the one they are actually listening to. 73, (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, CA, Feb 6, ABDX via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 4830 kHz, Mongolian R, Altay, observed on 03 Feb 2232- 2245, Mongolian, orchestral arrangements; 35342. 4895 kHz, Mongolian R, Murin, observed on 03 Feb 2233-2246, (same as on // 4830); 35332 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugual, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. NEW-LOOK RADIO NETHERLANDS WEBSITE NOW ONLINE Radio Netherlands has re-launched its websites today with a new look. For the English site, the URL http://www.radionetherlands.nl is now operational. As some of you know, my own role at Radio Netherlands has changed, and as a consequence the media section will in future be focusing on news and background analysis. We have therefore "retired" a number of sections that have not been updated for several years, including the Receiver Shopping List. Some of the sections that remain online are not yet linked on the Media Network home page: this will be done in the next few days. You can access the Hitlist and other links pages at http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/links/ Please bear with us while we move into our new home. There's still some unpacking to do. # posted by Andy @ 11:37 UT Feb 6 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. RADIO NETHERLANDS NOW IN DRM AT 1400 UT ON 15735 Jan Peter Werkman of Radio Netherlands' Programme Distribution Department notes that our 1400-1500 UTC English transmission is now available in Europe via DRM on 15735 kHz. This is the new DRM service operated by WRN via a transmitter at Kostinbrod, Bulgaria. The registered frequencies for this service are: 0600-0800 UT 11545 kHz 0800-1600 UT 15735 kHz 1600-1800 UT 11535 kHz 1800-0600 UT 5760 kHz Jeff Cohen of WRN told Glenn Hauser in DX Listening Digest that the service will initially carry WRN English for Europe, but "within a short time will carry other content as well." Mr Cohen also noted that the service "will not at the start run 24/7", though he didn't specify what the exact hours will be. The WRN website hasn't yet been updated to include mention of the new DRM service. The schedule of WRN English for Europe is here. http://www.wrn.org/listeners/schedules/schedule.php?ScheduleID=1 Addendum: There seems to have been a technical problem, as shortly after Jan Peter reported that the signal sounded good, it lost modulation and then the signal disappeared altogether. # posted by Andy @ 14:18 UT Feb 6 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. [Re USA below, WWKB dropping oldies]: I felt your pain not too long ago when KOMA (1520 - Oklahoma City) quit playing oldies and went News/Talk. Strike one hit me when their AM Stereo went away in the early 90s. Strike two when they got an FM in OKC (about 1994 or 95) and started simulcasting and all of a sudden their signal that covered half the country wasn't big deal anymore. Strike 3 when they quit simulcasting the oldies and went News/Talk. (2 years ago I think). That really sucked and I imagine a lot of you guys up there are gonna feel the same loss :( (Michael n Wyo, Richard, ABDX via DXLD) ** PALESTINE. HAMAS LAUNCHES TELEVISION NETWORK by Eric Westervelt, Morning Edition, February 3, 2006 After a sweeping victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections, the militant Islamist group Hamas has launched a new TV network. Its programming includes ideologically tinged children's shows, strident news talk, and religiously inspired entertainment. . . Listen to this story... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5186883&ft=1&f=3 (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) WTFK? ** PERU. Radio Oriente, Yurimaguas, Peru, has a new website at http://www.radiooriente.org/ - where you can for example listen to the station online. In 2002-2006 Radio Oriente had a website that I created and hosted on DXing.info. I have been happy to be able to help, and wish all the best for the station and their new website! (Mika Mäkeläinen, Finland, Feb 6, dxing.info via DXLD) WTFK? 6188v ** PETER I. 3Y, PETER I ISLAND. Probably by the time you read this the 3Y0X DXpedition should be on the air. Activity is expected to start Monday, February 6th, and last for about 12-14 days. This is probably the biggest DXpedition to hit the airwave to date. As this was being written, the 3Y0X Web page reported "Our current ETA at Peter I is Sunday, Feb. 5th at 2300 hours. Our first reconnaissance flight will be at first light on Monday morning about 0700Z weather permitting!" It also reports, "First four men ashore will be Erling/LA6VM, Bob/K4UEE, Ralph/KØIR and Bob/N6OX. The plan is to set up OP B and make it self-sufficient before building the main camp. This way if WX deteriorates, we will have a 'foothold' on the island with two stations QRV. If WX is OK, we will proceed with building the camp before going on the air." This operation should be fun to work with 9 stations on and with activity on 160-10/6/2 meters and 70cm. QSL via N2OO (Please read the note under QSL INFO AND NEWS...). Don, N1DG, Chief 3Y0X Pilot Station, states, "For up to the minute news on Peter I including videos from the Island the best source is the Peter I Web site.... There will be no releases by the team other than what we post as news on the Web site on a daily basis." The Web site is: http://www.peterone.com (KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 Feb 6 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) Planned frequencies: SSB: 28475, 24987, 21295, 18145, 14190, 7093, 3750, 1842.5 CW: 28023, 24893, 21023, 18073, 14023, 10103, 7023, 3523, 1822.5 (3Y0X website via DXLD) Hi folks, I just received this news release from QRZ-DX: Hello DXers: A new update posted on the web site at 2100Z: 2100 UT: We took a recon flight about 90 minutes ago and flew over the tip of the peninsula. The area where we want to camp is further toward the mountain and still socked in. As we look now at that area, it is looking better. When we can be sure of at least 5-6 helicopter loads we will go -- hopefully tonight! Safety is the primary consideration at this point. They will get on the island as soon as they can do so SAFELY. GL/73, Carl, N4AA (via K1XN, Feb 6, GOLIST yg via Joe Talbot, Feb 6, DXLD) ** SAINT HELENA. Folks, below is the final installment regarding efforts to resurrect Radio St. Helena. Below is Robert Kipp's e-mail to me (and Joe Talbot), and below that I've copied the text that was sent as a pdf file. Now, I'm unable to vouch for the UK and European addresses, but I can assure all of the North American contributors of the legitimacy of Rich D'Angelo whom I have personally met, and know that he is a firm advocate for RSH. Perhaps others in the UK and Europe can vouch likewise for the contacts there before any funds are sent. Let's hope that RSH gets back on the air, and who knows, perhaps a transmitter for Tristan da Cunha could also be considered!!! Please remember, folks, that I'm just the messenger here and have no direct connection to the process. I'm just an avid SWL/DXer as you are! (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Feb 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: At 01:34 PM 2/5/2006, you wrote: Hi Joe, Hi Walter, here is Part 4 of the 4 articles about the "Revive RSH Day" Project. I am enclosing the PDF version of the file. This is the most important part of the 4 articles because this one has the bank account information for donations. We are totally dependent upon generous donations from all Friends of St. Helena, and the entire island is hoping that this project succeeds. When you publish this info, you might also mention our RSH internet pages (made by the well-known Mr. John Ekwall): http://www.sthelena.se/radio (about our project) and http://www.sthelena.se/radiosth.htm (about the RSH Day 1999), and also http://www.sthelena.se/index/index2.htm for other articles. John Ekwall initiated the very first RSH shortwave broadcast in 1990 and was responsible for setting up the RSH Day programs starting 1992. With very best thanks and greetings, Robert Kipp Radio St. Helena : The Reality In order to revive the international, interactive shortwave programs from Radio St. Helena, we, the Friends of RSH and radio friends everywhere, need to provide a lot of help in the way of donations and sponsorships. Our "Dream-Project" most surely can become reality! We are hoping for the donation of two used amateur radio transceivers such as the Yaesu FT-757GXII or similar. For equipment donations and sponsorships please contact me by email. In the unlikely event that, in the end, we are not able to finance our "Dream-Project", all donations will be given to RSH to support the very much needed repairs and replacement of equipment for the RSH medium-wave station and studios, so that at least the people on the island of St. Helena can continue to enjoy the programming designed by Ralph Peters especially for all the "Saints". PLEASE contribute as you are able to any of the following accounts. PLEASE REMEMBER that we are totally dependent upon your donations for this project. EURO's: Account name: Radio St. Helena Fund Kipp Account number: 0360304070 Bank: Commerzbank, Langen, Germany BLZ (Bank number): 50840005 IBAN: DE45 5084 0005 0360 3040 70 SWIFT Code: COBA DEFF 012 Pounds Sterling: Account name: Martyn Phillips, G3RFX Account number: 60613487 Bank: Barclays Bank, Bristol, England Bank Sorting Code: 20 – 13 – 34 Note: If donating by cheque, please send the cheque directly to Martyn Phillips, G3RFX, 17 Richmond Hill, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1BA, England. USDollars: For donations in USA Dollars by check, cash, or money order: Please make money orders payable to: Radio St. Helena Fund Please send your check, cash, or money order directly to: Richard A. D'Angelo c/o Radio St. Helena Fund 2216 Burkey Drive Wyomissing, PA 19610, U.S.A. Let's do it! Let's build "our own" shortwave radio station together with RSH! With sincere thanks for your help and best wishes, Robert Kipp, Special Assistant to the Station Manager of Radio St. Helena Email: RDC-Roberts-Data @ t-online.de (via Walt Salmaniw, BC, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SAO TOME. Finally got a QSL from VOA for the São Tomé relay today, almost four months to the day. Report was sent to the DC address 4 months ago via snail mail, and three weeks ago via the web site. Not sure which one elicited the response (Russ Lay, NC, Feb 6, HCDX via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. HQS, 15435.2 much stronger than // 15315.0 at 1506 Feb 6, muezzin (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SINGAPORE [non]. AWR Wavescan provided fine reception this week from 2234 tune-in to 2259 UT Sun Feb 5 on 11655 via KSDA Guam. This time the only DX news was in the opening segment from JSWC. Actually, not DX news, but loggings --- there is a difference, and is it exactly the same stuff as on DX Partyline? Rest of show contained a lengthy feature on Bhutan, with a sidetrip to Nepal, both accented on first syllable, concluding with a summary of the week`s news from Bhutan; then another Japanese contributor from Aomori, at the northern end of Honshu, which is --- you guessed it! Japan`s largest island. He let slip he is a minister, so probably gets on the show thru Adventist connexions, but he talked about photography. Then about three letters from listeners, and Bridge Over Troubled Waters to fill out the time. This is getting to be a rather strange show, less and less radio- orientated. Of course, photography involves light waves, but WTFK? Nothing was said about their ångströms. And I hear that Bob Padula is pissed that this edition did not include his supposedly weekly DX contribution. O well, Bob, remember they execute Australians in Singapore (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. SENTECH RESTORES 702 TALK RADIO http://www.filmmaker.co.za/edition/news_page.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1139241258&archive=&start_from=&ucat=5 Sentech restores 702 broadcast service Sentech has restored 702 Talk Radio's broadcast service on the 540 kHz after a fire at the Sentech broadcast station located in Ga-Rankuwa in the North West Province. Allan Bester, Executive: Operations and Maintenance of Sentech, says the service was restored within seven hours after the transmitter went offline at 4 pm on Saturday the 4th of February. "Our team pulled out all the stops to get the 702 programme up and running as quickly as possible. By 11pm on Saturday evening, with the approval of ICASA (the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa), we were able to restore the service on 540 kHz," he says. The Sentech transmitter facility in Ga-Rankuwa, where 702's medium- wave signal is broadcast from, is secured by guards and fencing and initial investigations after the fire was extinguished showed no signs of intrusion, Bester says. Explaining the damage Bester added that there were two transmitters of 50 kW (kilowatts) each, one of which was destroyed by the fire, while further investigations are being done to determine whether the other one can be repaired. "It is too early to tell when normal broadcasting will resume until further investigations have been completed. However, the station will be able to continue its service on 540 kHz in the meantime," says Bester. Editorial Contacts Pranill Ramchander, Portfolio Manager: PR & External Communication Tel.: (011) 691-7256 E-mail: Pranill @ sentech.co.za Source: http://www.sentech.co.za 06 Feb by Editor (NRI yg via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. Tho reception was quite poor today Feb 6, as far as I could tell, R. Sweden was back on frequency, no longer 700 Hz low: 11550.0 at 1450 and 15240.0 at 1505 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Memory Lane: Some callsigns of BBCWS, or rather BBC GOS frequencies which are still in use, altho in many cases from sites outside the UK now, as of 1947y: 6110 GSL 6195 GRN 9410 GRI 9600 GRY 9825 GRH 9915 GRU 11750 GSD 11955 GVY 12095 GRF 17790 GSG 21470 GSH As in the World Radio Handbook 1947, which the present publisher so kindly sent me in PDF on a CD. I wonder if GR- stood for Rampisham, and GS- for Skelton even back then? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Dear Glenn, The controversy continues over the BBC's plan to cease playing the 'UK Theme' on Radio 4 at 0530. Perhaps others can confirm my recollection that its introduction in the 1970s was to mark the inauguration of new transmitters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to carry the renamed nationwide 'Radio 4 UK'. Before that time, and for several years, Radio 4 had only been transmitted in England, because its former transmitters in, what the BBC called the 'National Regions' had been taken for the new stations Radio Scotland, Radio Wales/Cymru and Radio Ulster. By the way a very thorough history of the AM transmitters in the UK is to be found at http://www.bbceng.info/Technical%20Reviews/Development_of_the_BBC_AM_Transmitter_Network4.pdf Sincerely, (Jeff Cohen, Feb 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. DEATH OF VOA ENGLISH ACCELERATING This appears to effectively announce the impending end of VOA broadcasts in English, although it remains unclear exactly what VOA English broadcasting will consist of on the road to the end. This has wide implications also for the decades-old VOA news operation. For example, will the reporting of VOA correspondents be aimed exclusively for the consumption of remaining VOA language broadcast services, and will the reporting that does continue to flow from correspondents be "dumbed-down" to adjust to assumptions made about the ability of people in target areas to absorb it? Of course, the wider questions continue to be asked -- why is VOA broadcasting in English being destroyed using the "War on Terror" as the excuse? (A VOA source, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS ON THE BUDGET REQUEST FOR FY 2007 Date: Mon, 06 Feb 2006 10:29:59 -0500 From: IBB Notices Administration Today, the President`s budget request for fiscal year 2007 has been sent to the Congress. In light of all of the press reports about the tight budget environment, you are all aware of the pressures on the discretionary budget and the post-Katrina and Iraq conflict requirements that have helped to shape it. In spite of this difficult budget environment, the Administration`s FY `07 request contains a 4.3 percent increase for the BBG – and a 5.3 percent increase for the Voice of America. This increase specifically recognizes the importance of VOA`s broadcasting to Iran and Afghanistan as well as the role television increasingly plays in what we do. In a clear vote of confidence in the role of VOA`s satellite television in the war on terror, the President`s budget provides close to $10 million to upgrade VOA`s television production facilities. The budget funds FY `06 expansion of VOA television to Iran --- where Persian television news programming is being increased from 30 minutes to four hours --- and radio and television expansions in Afghanistan. The FY `07 budget continues radio broadcasting to Zimbabwe (previously funded by USAID) and adds a Spanish television news magazine show that would air five days a week. To fund these and other war-on-terror related enhancements, we will be facing significant reductions in other areas. With increased emphasis on television and the continued drop in shortwave radio listening worldwide, we foresee a significant reduction in transmission operations devoted to shortwave broadcasting. The budget projects elimination of News Now English radio broadcasting in FY `07, but Special English and English to Africa will not be affected by the cuts, and VOA`s popular Internet site will become the major English outlet for our worldwide news-gathering operation. Other proposed program reductions include the elimination of VOA Croatian, Turkish, Thai, and Greek. VOA Georgian and VOA and RFE/RL radio broadcasts in Macedonian would also be eliminated. VOA would continue to broadcast in Macedonian via television, and RFE/RL would maintain its radio broadcasts in Georgian. This budget request also proposes that VOA pursue a television-only strategy in its Albanian, Bosnian, Serbian, Russian and Hindi services. RFE/RL would continue to serve radio audiences in Albanian, Bosnian, Serbian and Russian. However, RFE/RL would eliminate six hours of its Russian radio broadcasts as it realigns to pursue an UKV (FM) broadcast strategy in Russia. None of the VOA reductions would take place until fiscal year 2007. The proposed language service reductions are not a reflection of the quality of the programming of these services. In many cases, these programs are better than ever. And not all of the proposed budget cuts would come at the expense of the language services. More than half of the budget reductions assumed in the FY `07 request result from reductions in IBB support and engineering. This budget is about positioning our international broadcasting effort for the future. In order to set VOA and other BBG services on a path for growth and enhanced impact, we must respond to changing viewing habits, adopt new technology, and efficiently respond to the nation`s most immediate and vital national security challenges. The Administration`s FY `07 request for $671.9 million for the BBG will fund technological innovation as well as highly visible programs in support of the war on terror, and it continues to cement international broadcasting`s key role in the overall U.S. foreign policy effort. These are programs where VOA`s successful implementation will be highly anticipated and, as it has in the past, we are confident that VOA will succeed. We know that this budget will also bring hardship to the agency. It assumes a loss of positions in parts of the agency, and gains in others, in 2007. To address some of the hardship of realignment, we will try to implement personnel reductions by voluntary means as much as possible. We are seeking buyout authority and early out authority to try to soften the impact on affected employees. We would like to stress, however, that there will not be any elimination of VOA positions associated with this budget until fiscal year 2007. As you know, the submission of the President`s budget request to the Congress is just the beginning of this process of charting the agency`s course for FY `07. Of course, none of the proposed reductions may be implemented until the agency`s final budget is fully vetted by the Congress and signed into law. Until that time, agency management will do its best to keep you informed of our progress in gaining personnel authorities necessary to help moderate the potential impact of the proposed budget reductions inherent in the budget request (via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GERMANY BROADCASTING BUDGET TARGETS WAR ON TERROR BBG Press Release Washington, D.C., 02/06/2006 The proposed fiscal year 2007 budget for U.S. international broadcasting calls for an overall increase of 4.3% from fiscal year 2006 targeted to the war on terror and new technology. While proposed increases go primarily to Middle East Broadcasting Networks and Voice of America (VOA), non-war on terror related language services would see reductions and/or eliminations. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson said, "In the post-Katrina budget environment, I believe we are fortunate to get an increase that strengthens our role in the war on terrorism. The '07 proposed budget of $671.9 million follows a 7.5% increase for fiscal year '06." In recent years, the Bush Administration and Congress have wiped out the 40 percent cut in spending for international broadcasting during the 1990s following the end of the Cold War. For fiscal year 2007, the budget proposal calls for a 13% increase for Middle East Broadcasting Networks and a 5.3% increase for Voice of America. The Board of Governors' proposed $671.9 million budget includes a number of new initiatives, enhancements and a continuation of initiatives begun in '06. They include: ? Expanding service to Iran with a daily four-hour prime time VOA Persian television lineup and enhancing the Radio Farda website. ? Increasing Middle East television news coverage (Alhurra) from 16 to 24 hours a day and adding customized local news content and coverage for Radio Sawa. ? Adding a one-hour television program for Afghanistan in both Dari and Pashto, and enhancing transmission for VOA Pashto programming to the people of Afghanistan along the border region while adding additional FM and medium wave capability. Faced with the increased costs of expanding critically needed television and radio programming to the Arab and non-Arab Muslim world, the Board has had to make some painful choices. As a result, the budget proposes reductions in English language programming, by eliminating VOA News Now radio while maintaining VOA English to Africa, Special English and VOA's English website. The budget reflects the Board's commitment to English language programming in the medium of the future, the Internet, and for excellence in Special English programming. Research shows that millions more are benefiting from Internet programming than from shortwave transmission, which VOA News Now relies on. Other proposed reductions include the elimination of VOA broadcasts in Croatian, Turkish, Thai, Greek and Georgian. VOA radio broadcasts in Albanian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Serbian, Russian and Hindi would end while television programming in these languages would continue. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty will continue radio programming in Russian and Georgian while eliminating radio programming in Macedonian. "Every member of the Board of Governors regrets the loss of VOA services proposed in this budget," Tomlinson said. "The men and women who provided these services for many years served with distinction and provided programming that were critical to this nation's interests. However, the Board believes that the priorities reflected in this budget proposal represent the best allocation of funds." The BBG is an independent federal agency which supervises all U.S. government-supported non-military international broadcasting, including the Voice of America (VOA); Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL); the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN); Radio Free Asia (RFA); and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB). Through its broadcast services, the BBG provides the United States and its leaders direct and immediate access to a worldwide audience of over 140 million people. BBG broadcasts reach this audience in 56 languages via radio, television, and Internet. All BBG broadcast entities, including the grantees, adhere to the broadcasting standards and principles mandated by the International Broadcasting Act of 1994. Nine members comprise the BBG, a presidentially appointed body. Current governors are Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, Joaquin Blaya, Blanquita W. Cullum, D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, Edward E. Kaufman, Norman J. Pattiz, and Steven Simmons. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice serves as an ex officio member. For more information, contact Larry Hart at (202) 203-4559 or Joseph O'Connell at (202) 203-4959 (via DXLD) In addition to the press release issued by the BBG, this internal memo went out Monday to VOA personnel, from Alex Belida, a former VOA correspondent who has been acting as Managing Editor of the VOA News: By now, you should have all seen the notice issued by the Board of Broadcasting Governors about the 2007 budget request sent to Congress for VOA and the other U.S. funded, non-military broadcasters. Although there is more money for VOA, it is mainly targeted at Iran and Afghanistan. VOA will also take over funding of the Zimbabwe broadcasts, previously financed through USAID, and there will be an expanded Spanish TV news show. There will be cuts. None involve the News Division. The biggest one indirectly affecting us is the elimination of VOA News Now radio broadcasts. At a meeting of Division Directors this morning, David Jackson also indicated the English TV projects will also be phased out. Special English and English-to-Africa will be unaffected. Several other language services are being eliminated: Croatian, Turkish, Thai, Georgian, and Greek. Other services will drop radio and continue only in TV: Macedonian, Albanian, Bosnian, Serbian, Russian and Hindi. Of course, this is all part of a proposal, which must still be debated by Congress. So nothing is yet final. In no case will any reductions take place until Oct. 1, 2006. We have no additional details at this time. I would just urge all of you to continue concentrating on producing the best possible news products that you can, remembering the needs of our client services and understanding there are certain things that Central News alone can do for the house (via DXLD) In some ways I'm not surprised by this, particularly the reduction in English hours. My reasoning is that the need for an alternate English language voice isn't all that great outside of Africa, if you analyze, country-by-country, the openness of various countries' media marketplaces. However, there is a unique role that VOA should play in English -- something I'll call "American Voices". This would be a program modeled after DW's "Insight" or the BBC's "The Interview", and appears to roughly exist today as "American Profiles". My thinking is that "American Voices" would be a moderated focus group in concept, where an issue of global interest is discussed through an American perspective. Perhaps you keep a half-hour current affairs program -- then this "American Voices", plus two weekend-only features for each day, and you have an hour in English that would have general global appeal. Perhaps we should be pushing Congress at the same time to alter the VOA's restrictions on targeting an American audience (Smith-Mundt), in order to create more interest among Americans in how our tax dollars are being spent. Discussing this here within swprograms without turning up the heat in US embassies abroad (or in the legislative branch in the USA) won't accomplish much (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. More VoA [budget] changes: English 11835 1500-1700 LAM 100 108, extended. 13735 1500-1600 IRA 250 65 additional 15445 1600-1700 IRA 125 255 additional 9780 2230-2300 PHT 250 349 additional 11655 2300-2330 UDO 250 30 delete, but remains 2330-2400 UT. Russian 6105 1800-2000 LAM 100 55 additional 9520 1900-2000 KAV 250 26 delete Chinese 11665 0700-0800 TIN 250 297 delete, but remains 0800-1200 UT. Portuguese 15545 1700-1730 BOT 100 350 additional 9805 1730-1800 BOT 100 10 additional 9805 1800-1830 BOT 100 10 additional (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. FM lift - RFE/RL on 89.3 in Reading: I've just heard the end of a VOA programme on 89.3 in Reading, with usual "This programme has come to you from the Voice of America, Washington". After a few seconds of silence, at 1500 gmt, I heard a full "Radio Svoboda" ID, "Novosti" announced by OM followed by some news headlines. It didn't stay long, and as I type it has practically disappeared. Any ideas where this could be coming from? I can't be entirely sure of the language, other than it was obviously a Russian or South Slavic language. I did sound more Russian to my ears. It was coming in fairly strong on my Degen DE1102 with wire antenna around the window, sandwiched between a few BBC Radio 2's and an usual phantom BBC Radio Berkshire (Stephen Howie, (Reading, UK), Feb 5, BDXC-UK via DXLD) This sounds a very impressive piece of reception. I presume that you have had a look on the Internet? I have, and there are stations in Europe on that frequency that relay those programmes but it needs a lot of looking into (Andrew Tett, Shoreham-by-Sea, ibid.) Great catch, Stephen, wherever it's from! A Google search throws up an RFE relay on 89.3 in Lazarevac, which is in Serbia, though not at that time and one would not expect it to be in Russian. Even less likely is another RFE relay listed in Romania on 89.3. But assuming it is from eastern Europe - and wherever else can it be from? - what a distance for tropospheric reception! Still on FM - I passed through central London last night and the band was heaving with pirates, barely a spare channel audible anywhere (Chris Greenway, ibid.) Chris and Andrew, thanks for your replies. I've had a really busy day, so I haven't had the chance to look into it yet. However, I'll do just that now. This reminds me of one late summer afternoon back home in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire - I think it was in 2000. The FM band just came alive with stations - many of them from Croatia and Serbia, and I kept listening as it moved to the Czech Republic and Germany, then France and the Netherlands before fading out. It was my first true experience of tropo FM reception, and I wasn't disciplined enough to attempt to ID many of the stations, being tempted to continue to scan up and down as much as possible. All that was with a telescopic aerial on a Grundig YB 400. Wolfgang B tells me that the only RFE/RL downlink satellite stream (to relay sites, affiliates) that is live at 1500 gmt, according to the IBB schedule, is Russian. Like you say Chris, this doesn't seem to fit with the likely candidates. It might be a case of sending off a reception report to all the possible stations, hoping that 1) they respond; and 2) my log matches their schedule. I only wish I could've taken down more details. Cheers, (Stephen Howie, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Are you quite sure it`s tropo? We have had some off-season winter sporadic E openings over here persisting into Feb and into FM (Glenn Hauser, North America, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, hope you're well, I don't think I once said it was tropo reception. To be honest with you, I'm no expert in this type of FM reception (usually an MF/HF man), so I wouldn't know how to identify tropospheric reception compared to Sporadic E (incidentally, if you could enlighten me then I would be very grateful). As I said to Ian Kelly off-list, what I heard wasn't a "ping" of reception - definitely a sustained period of reception over a few minutes, a fade of around 30 seconds, and another fair peak for a few more minutes. Luckily, this second peak fell over the top of the hour, allowing me to positively ID the VOA and R Svoboda broadcasts. After another fade of over 3 minutes or so, I had to leave due to other late commitments, so I couldn't stay with it. Something I did note at the time was that this unusual reception wasn't reflected across the FM band. In fact, besides a few distant BBC R2 and R3 transmitters fluttering in, and an odd appearance of BBC R Berkshire at an usual frequency (mostly likely my rx overloading), nothing else seemed to be unusual. Hopefully some of what I've said above helps to identify the type of reception. I've thoroughly studied the FM affiliates details of most languages on the RFE/RL website, and nothing positive came up on that frequency at that time. Take care, (Stephen Howie, Reading, ibid.) Stephen, If you didn`t say it was tropo, that was the assumption in the responses, I thought. We don`t use the term ``lift`` like that over here, but I also thought that applied to tropo; perhaps I have misunderstood that. From this great distance, it seems to me your log has all the earmarks of a sporadic-E opening. These climb up from lower to higher frequencies, and don`t necessarily affect the entire FM band. In fact, more often they do not. The Band I TV channels would have been open (if there were any stations operating in the affected area any more!) but not higher FM or Band III. The fade in and fade out is also typical of Es, rather than tropo, which can last for hours at a time when there is an inversion or a duct. Except in the case of a very selective tropo duct, there should also have been many other and closer stations coming in at the same time if it were tropo. (Of course it seems we still don`t know for sure what you had and how far away it was.) A typical Es FM skip distance is about 1500 km, but can easily range from 1000 to 2000. Sporadic E is entirely an ionospheric phenomenon, and relates to ``short skip`` openings on the higher HF, whilst tropo is entirely a weather-induced phenomenon at a much lower atmospheric layer. That`s just the basics. No doubt there are websites where you could read up on this at much greater depth. The least IBB could do is provide an accurate listing of all frequencies including FM! 73, (Glenn to Stephen, via DXLD) Hi Glenn, Thanks for your response. It was probably my fault for using the word "lift" in the wrong circumstance - I think I've always used the term when it comes to any long distance reception of FM or TV, but obviously it isn't always technically correct. From what you said in your explanation (and many thanks for that) it seems fairly certain it was a Sporadic E opening. And, in fact, most other times when I've heard FM stations from the continent it would have primarily been due to a Sp-E opening. As far as tropo reception goes, I remember once hearing Heart 106.2 from London at my university halls of residence in Stafford (20 miles or so north of Birmingham) - I'm guessing at a distance of around 100 miles or more from the transmitter. This lasted for almost two weeks, and coincided with the same period of heavy fog in the area. Soon after the fog lifted, the station disappeared. I'll make a point of doing some reading on it when I have a bit more time. Actually, one of my colleagues produced a fairly thorough technical document on Sporadic E, which I really should spend some time looking at. It certainly wasn't an easy task going through the RFE/RL affiliates city by city! Later in the week I'll have another look at the options, shortlist them and perhaps contact them with the hope of a verification. Thanks again for your help, (Stephen Howie, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://stephenhowie.blogspot.com/ ** U S A [and non]. Looking around for AFN frequencies at 2305 Feb 5, the only one found was 9340, but very weak in SSB, unseems silly ballgame, and at 2312, stronger co-channel 2-way SSB QRM in English; one of the IDs may have been Charlie November Two (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re 6-024, 10320: I have not been hearing it in the mornings on 10320 and I often tune through that radio preset on my way to 5446.5. Not hearing any sign of 5446.5 was my first surprise. To hear 10320 at that time was a second surprise (Pete Costello, NJ, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5446.5, 7811, and 12133.5 all heard here today at 2210 so whatever problem they had has apparently been fixed (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, Feb 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 950, KJR Seattle WA, has supposedly announced that it will go off of the air during the Super Bowl (Robert Dybas, Feb 5, IRCA via DXLD) Fascinating! The carrier is there but there is no audio. I have never heard of anything like this being done before (Pete Taylor, Tacoma, WA, ibid.) ** U S A. Not sure if this has been promoted by NRC/IRCA but tonight KEVT-1030 will be testing on their daytime power of 10 kW starting at midnight Mountain Time. Programming is Spanish but there are legal IDs on the hour and they are in English (Paul Lotsof, AZ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, it has been publicized widely, and by me, but this will be a reminder, UT Monday 0700-1300 on 1030. However, according to the new NRC Pattern Book, the daytime pattern is not non-direxional. At night it`s normally 1 kW direxional south with a null toward the north (or really Casper?), but daytime pattern has three unequal lobes, the least of them NNE, the middle-strength one SE, and the largest toward the SW, while the nulls are toward the NE, S and NW. If the site is actually at the city of license, Cortaro (I haven`t checked), that is NW of Tucson on the highway to Phoenix, so that explains some of the lobes. There is also a new website dealing with such DX tests (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://www.dxtests.info Please check it out and let me know what you think! (Brandon Jordan, IRCA via DXLD) Glancing thru subsequent reports, it seems KEVT did not make it out very well against all the QRM, including Mexicans also in Spanish (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. KSVY 1550 SPOKANE: DEATH OF A STATION MOIST MEMORIES LINGER AT DEFUNCT AM RADIO STATION Tom Lutey, Staff writer, February 6, 2006 Every year about this time, the old radio grounds of KSVY-AM flood with several feet of water. Overnight, the 10-acre parcel on Thorpe Drive becomes a bird sanctuary, colorfully peppered with cackling mallards and Labrador-sized geese too fat to fly south for the winter. The upper reaches of the stream that floods the grounds contain some fish, and so, naturally, trout grace the station's submerged parking lot. In the center of it all, the KSVY utility trailer sits on stilts like some misplaced Venetian single-wide. There's a rotten boat dock on Thorpe's southern edge, which once harbored the eclectic radio station's gondola. There's a crackle in the air from the electrical lines overhead, though the utility trailer no longer pulses with KSVY's 10,000 watts. If it did, what a song it could sing. Rising up from the muck of flooded Chester Creek, KSVY was one of only two Spokane Valley radio stations and probably the only station in the Inland Northwest located in a seasonal pond. "The water made the signal better," said Art Mackelvie, a broadcast veteran who worked for KZUN "The Cousin," Spokane Valley's other AM radio station. KSVY was managed by local sports radio phenom Dick Wright, a friend of Mackelvie's and the broadcasting "voice" for about every local athletic team worth listening to. KSVY's main office was on the southwest corner of Sprague Avenue and Pines Road, not in the equipment trailer at the base of its tower, built in 1981. Copper guide [sic] wires for KSVY's 400-foot tower trailed into the flood pool, which better grounded the station. And it wasn't unheard of in the driest months of the year for KSVY to get calls from listeners on the outer reaches of its transmission who were losing its signal. But not that many people were listening. The real story behind the station was how few people it served. KSVY was a reincarnation of 1550 KXXR-AM, a station that tried every format but hard rock and country disco, failing at them all, eventually. The station's radio signal was powerful enough to reach north Spokane in the daytime, but at night when KXXR had to lower its signal to 2,500 watts and change its direction using a shorter tower so as not to interfere with other stations, its roar became a peep. A creditor by the name of Harold Orr wound up owning the station and tried to shut it down because it was hemorrhaging money. Radio wasn't Orr's forte. He owned 115 H&R Block offices in Oregon and Washington, a leasing company and several other enterprises but had nothing to do with broadcasting. The Federal Communications Commission quickly informed Orr they'd revoke KXXR's license if the station was shuttered. Orr responded by putting the business back on the air as KSVY, an intentional money loser, with no real format and few commercials, if any. With Wright's influence, KSVY's new format became opera and sports in 1990. "We had classical music all day long," said Jerry Anderson, a former KSVY program director. "But we did a lot with Northeast B basketball and baseball games, and we had University of Idaho football. We'd have a lot of calls, and we'd have to explain that the revenue from sports supported classical music." KSVY had an odd signal pattern. Anderson said the station would get reception complaints from listeners in the Shadle Park area and then get a letter from Sweden where low-signal radio fanatics were picking up KSVY by hooking a large radio antenna to a farmer's wire fence. But everyone lost KSVY's signal in 1996 when teenagers broke into the utility trailer on Thorpe Drive and smashed the station's equipment. Orr didn't bother to fire the station up after the vandalism. He paid for years to light the beacon atop KSVY's towers so they wouldn't be an airplane hazard, and then he dismantled the towers last year. And the old KSVY trailer, boarded up and packed full of smashed electronics, is all that's left (source? via Kevin Redding, Feb 6, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. WWKB 1520 Buffalo changes format --- So much for the oldies, after three years and a week. It flips to progressive talk at 3 PM ET. The last song, playing right now, is "Yesterday's Gone" by Chad and Jeremy - and now there's NO oldies station audible here in Rochester. s (Scott Fybush, NY, Feb 6, ABDX via DXLD) So much for the oldies on Buffalo's WWKB (1520) - after a three-year run with the format (almost to the day, actually), they're gone, as of 3 PM Monday, replaced with liberal talk. And that means two liberal talkers in Buffalo, unless Entercom's pre-emptive strike on 1520 knocks WHLD's plans out before the new station can even get out of the gate. Much more next week! (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch Feb 6 via DXLD) That sux, Scott. I hate seeing oldies stations going down the tubes. Especially for a great station like this that wanted to give it a go on AM. If there's one music format that can make it on AM I think it's oldies, especially since much of the demographic listened to them originally on AM. Anyways, I didn't know this was coming. At least they gave it a 3-year run. That's a longer "chance" than many big corporates give any format these days (Michael n Wyo Richard, Evanston, ABDX via DXLD) The Grinch stole the music. I'm ticked. I listen to them a lot after dark. I know I don't show up in their ARB's, but I'm royally ticked. My two favourite stations for nighttime errand runs were WWKB and WTTM. First, my Bollywood music in stereo was taken away from me, then oldies with just a pilot. Of course, on Saturday night there is WABC, followed by CINW with 'Naughty Nights with Eena'. So now, its down to 1560 WQEW Radio Disney. But I turn green with the thought of "The Hamster dance". What is radio coming too? Guess I gotta run a ground radial from Iowa City [KCJJ] to PEI (Phil Rafuse, ibid.) see OKLAHOMA This is sad to hear. Will they be changing call letters? I assume by progressive talk, they are an Air America affiliate (Lawrence Stoler, NRC-AM via DXLD) I expect the calls will stay the same, but you never know. They are NOT an Air America affiliate. AAR is showing up next Monday on a smaller station, Citadel's WHLD 1270, which is being leased out to a local group that will program a mix of AAR and local talk. Entercom's flip of WWKB today was purely a pre-emptive strike against the WHLD flip next week. KB is using a bunch of shows from Jones (Bill Press in mornings, Buffalo native Stephanie Miller in middays, Ed Schultz in afternoons) and whatever else it can fill the schedule with. They're rerunning Stephanie now (7 PM). At 10, supposedly, is Lionel from the WOR network, followed by Joey Reynolds (a holdover) overnight. There are a few progressive talkers out there now that aren't using Air America at all. That's probably a healthy thing - if the format's going to succeed, it needs a variety of program providers. s (Scott Fybush, NY, NRC-AM via DXLD) Actually, the format is doing very well -- on NPR, but left-wing radio people are not AM people, unlike conservatives without whom AM radio would cease to exist. Notice there is no such thing as "liberal talk", only "progressive" talk. This is because even liberals are embarrassed to call themselves liberals (Rick Shaftan, NJ, ibid.) And obviously Conservatives are incapable of embarrassment (Kevin Olson, ibid.) Hey, there's a good idea - let's start a political flamefest, just when the list was settling down to a fairly peaceful stasis. I shouldn't even waste my time addressing Rick's attempt to lump the aggressive, pointed political back-and-forth of Air America and the other liberal talkers with the long-form news and subdued, thoughtful talk of public radio, or to try to tar it all with an imagined smear on the word "liberal." If his research is any good, he knows that his GOP bosses in Washington listen to WAMU and WETA just as much as their colleagues across the aisle do. Here in Rochester, where that NPR news and talk happens to be on AM (WXXI 1370), "left-wing radio people" and, er, non-left-wing radio people alike have been tuning into AM for 20 years now. Same old story - give listeners what they want to hear, and they'll go to at least a little bit of trouble to find it, regardless of which side of the dial it's on. Conservative talk listeners will move to FM and abandon AM, too, if the programming's made available there - as witness WTKK in Boston, WPGB in Pittsburgh, and so on. But that's not politics, it's just programming. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) ** U S A. WKBR-NH is on 1249.5, low enough below the channel that audio can be heard clearly in lower-sideband free of 1250 QRM. This should be an easy way to log New Hampshire (Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA, 2304 UT Feb 6, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Mattapan MA 1640 and 105.3 pirate: http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-260406A1.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Surprise, surprise: Pubcasters may have another federal funding crisis on their hands. President Bush's $2.77 trillion budget for 2007, released earlier today, cuts CPB's 2007 appropriation from $400 million to $346.5 million and includes none of the $65 million pubcasters requested for digital transition and satellite system funding... http://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/leadership/statements/harrison/060206fy07budget.html It also would slightly cut Ready to Learn funding, from $24.5 million in 2006 to $24 million for 2007, and includes no money for either Ready to Teach ($11 million in 2006) or the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program ($22 million in 2006), a valuable grant source both for hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast pubcasters and for smaller stations still completing digital build-outs. "If enacted, these FY 2007 funding levels would represent a 24.7 percent reduction from CPB's FY 2006 levels, and would be felt in all CPB programs, including station CSGs, "CPB President Pat Harrison said in a statement. ". . . Needless to say, we at CPB are very disappointed by the funding levels for public broadcasting recommended in the President's budget." The White House also proposed a $50 million cut to CPB's $400 million 2008 appropriation and, as has been typical for this Administration, called for no advance CPB funding--the Public Broadcasting Act mandates that CPB appropriations be set two years in advance. "Rather than embrace the overwhelming, bi-partisan majority who supported public broadcasting a few months ago," APTS said in a statement, "the Administration is charging ahead in laying the foundation for the elimination of public broadcasting in America." ... http://www.apts.org/ [so will eventually disappear from homepage; to archive??] Congress will take the President's budget recommendations under advisement as they begin writing budget bills in a few months. FY 2007 begins Oct. 1, 2006, but federal budgets are rarely finalized before the beginning of the fiscal year. The 2006 budget, for example, wasn't completed until last December. CPB's budget request to Congress, which it will send to the Hill this week, calls for a $430 million advance appropriation for FY 2009; and $40 million for digital conversion, $36 million for television interconnection, and $32 million for Ready to Learn for FY 2007. posted at 6:00 PM EST (Current Feb 6 via DXLD) ** U S A. Al Lewis, who played Grandpa Munster on television's The Munsters and hosted a show on Pacifica's WBAI-FM in New York, died Friday at the age of 82, reports USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-02-04-al-lewis-obit_x.htm Today's Democracy Now featured an excerpt of a 1997 interview with Lewis: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/06/1432209 posted at 11:43 AM EST (Current Feb 6 via DXLD) Thanks also to Michael McCarty for an AP story on Lewis; I had no idea he was a WBAI guy too. I was looking for stories about him to link to, so here they are (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. DISNEY TO MERGE ABC, CITADEL RADIO --- Details at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060207/ap_on_bi_ge/disney;_ylt=AmUTg2WxhNgLxS6dOxytvZms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGI2aDNqBHNlYwM3NDk- (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, Feb 6, NRC-AM via DXLD) Viz.: DISNEY TO SELL ABC RADIO STATIONS, NETWORK By GARY GENTILE, AP Business Writer 2 hours, 2 minutes ago LOS ANGELES - The Walt Disney Co. said it will sell its 22 ABC Radio stations and network to Citadel Broadcasting Corp. in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.7 billion. The transaction gives Disney shareholders about a 52 percent stake in a new company, called Citadel Communications, which combines Citadel's stations with Disney's ABC assets. The deal does not include Disney's ESPN and Radio Disney network. The transaction gives Citadel 177 FM stations and 66 AM stations in the country's top markets, making it the nation's third largest radio group. The complex deal is structured to be tax free to Disney shareholders. Disney also reported higher earnings in its first quarter despite a plunge in profits from its studio division. The media conglomerate said net income rose to $734 million, or 37 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $666 million, or 33 cents per share in the same period last year. Revenue rose slightly to $8.854 billion from $8.666 billion in the same quarter last year. The current quarter includes a one-time gain of $70 million, or 2 cents per share, related to the sale of assets. The results of 35 cents per share after the one-time gain beat estimates from analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, which had expected earnings of 30 cents per share on revenue of $8.791 billion. Disney's studio profits fell 60 percent during the quarter on lower box office results and home video sales. The quarter suffered from a difficult comparison with last year, which saw the theatrical release of "The Incredibles" and "National Treasure." The company said it expects higher revenue from the studio next quarter when its theatrical hits "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and "Chicken Little" are released on DVD. Profits rose 51 percent at Disney's theme parks on the success of the yearlong promotion marking the 50th anniversary of its Disneyland park in Anaheim. Attendance at the company's two domestic parks and its parks in Tokyo and Paris grew by double digits. Disney's newest park in Hong Kong saw strong attendance over the Chinese New Year. The park sold out on four consecutive days during the holiday period, the company said. Advertising revenue at Disney's ABC television network and cable properties, including ESPN, grew by double digits in the quarter and remain strong, the company said. ABC is benefiting from strong ratings growth from hits shows such as "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy." Disney has said for more than a year it was looking to sell its ABC radio group. The company said Monday that owning the radio stations was not important to its core goals of creating popular shows, using new technology and expanding internationally. "With this merger we have a unique opportunity to offer Disney shareholders ownership in a new radio leader that will be well positioned for long-term success," Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said. Citadel CEO Farid Suleman will lead the new company. Disney will borrow between $1.4 billion and $1.65 billion, using its ABC radio holdings as collateral. It will then either spin off or split off the stations in a transaction — depending on market conditions and other factors — that would require Disney shareholders to swap shares for shares in a new entity. Disney would then merge the new, temporary, holding company with Citadel in a transaction that is structured so Disney shareholders won't have to pay taxes on the sale. The debt would then be transferred to the new entity. The rest of the value of the deal comes from Disney's share of equity in the new radio company. Disney shares rose 2.1 percent in after- hours trading. Earlier, the shares fell 5 cents to close at $24.96. The stock has traded between $22.89 and $29.99 over the past year (yahoonews via DXLD) Do you think ABC/Disney will allow Citadel to keep the radio calls like WLS and WABC that ABC/Disney uses on their TV stations? Should I get ready to pencil in "WENR or WBKB" in my log? (Brock Whaley, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. VR IS with very good signal on 9600 at 2314 Feb 5; then at 2315 opening in Latin and Vietnamese. HFCC says this is 500 kW beamed 72 degrees from Santa Maria di Galeria, but you`d think it was aimed right at us (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [non]. On this occasion, RNV AI was operating on a Sunday, 13680 at 2319 Feb 5, Venezuela mentioned in Spanish; undermodulated. Not the case with 17750, 11875 and 11670 for Aló Presidente, briefly checked earlier around 1500 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. Has anybody already heard the announced German broadcasts from the Voice of Vietnam? Some reports indicate that they will start not earlier than on March 1st. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. Voice of Tanzania-Zanzibar, 11735, up again today at 1715 tune-in. So English should be available at 1800-1810 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, Feb 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. Radio Zimbabwe, 3306 & 6612 heard again this evening from within Zimbabwe. The signal on 6612 is a rocketing +90db level. The signal on 3306 much weaker around S9 level. DXers in Europe and the East Coast of the US should check out 6612 tonight until say 0400 UT; I'm certain that Radio Zimbabwe can easily be heard (David Pringle- Wood, Harare, Zimbabwe, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [and non]. Re 6-024: Kari's stations. 3330 is rather commonly heard harmonic from 666 Lithuania transmitter [x 5]. I don't know if the programming heard matches with 666. And yes, lots of harmonics around here from those pirates in the 1600+ channels. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Finland, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 3960 / 3962 CORÉIA DO NORTE, Chagong Radio (tent.), ??, 29/01 0242, longos cânticos acompanhados por um instrumento musical de uma só corda (continuados toques sequenciais numa só nota musical). OM: talks em idioma desconhecido. 0259 ausencia de sinal. 25432 RWG (Rufolf W. Grimm, SP, @tividade DX via DXLD) That`s mid-day in Korea North, extremely unlikely. I would guess a Mideast clandestine much further west and still in darkness, or around local sunrise (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4556, espanhol, 27/01 2351, OM: talks e canções românticas. 25222 RWG (Nota: Nenhuma referencia a emissoras sul- americanas nesta freqüência no WRTH 2006 e PWBR 2006). (Robert W. Grimm, São Bernado SP, Brasil, Conexión Digital via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Glenn, I'm beginning to crack the riddle. On 11825 I am still hearing this old VOA Mandarin channel at 0900-1100 now carrying only the jamming in the form of CNR Voice of China. There is no signal behind the jammer so I assume VOA has left as it promised - why jam nothing?? Have they caught this bad habit from Cuba? On 12010 I need help. I still hear loud Firedrake jamming but I can definitely hear music and mandarin talk UNDERNEATH it. Is VOA Mandarin still on at 0700-1100? If not, who? Maybe a Mandarin speaking contributor can clarify who is broadcasting, as well as firedrake. 73's (Dan Goldfarb, Brentwood, England, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ I have the Passport to World Band Radio but the service you provide is a lot more timely than something published once a year. I'm sure this takes a lot of work and your efforts are appreciated by a lot of people. Now if my SW Radio would just arrive I could actually use this stuff I'm reading about. 73s (Marshall, ShortwaveSWLAntenna2nd yg) That group was set up because the original one has been distributing spam I'm still wondering how on earth you're managing to extract so much out of the international radio medium when most of us think it's close to an untimely death. Maybe because you treat domestic, still potentially DXable, radio as well. Oh, well (Andy Lawendel, Italy, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wonder what is that Jihad-DX referred as a source in some items of DXLD? (Jari Savolainen, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is my name for Cumbre DX (its former name too), since Hans Johnson is carrying out a jihad against me. I was hoping I would not have to explain this. 73, (Glenn, ibid.) Glenn, you explained this anyway. I am sad to see this kind of things in the DX bulletins. What I understand it's the issue of giving credits to original sources of information. And sharing the info with other bulletins. As my native language is not English, I may put this in wrong wording. But, to what I've learned during last years with internet DX-info, the most important thing is co-operation in exchanging DX-information. If some bulletins refuse to mirror some news or puts limits to relay their news, a lot of DX'ers don't get those news. This results in numerous loggings etc. about unID stations, which could have been solved very early, if co-operation existed. I'll leave the forum free for discussion about the possible global DX bulletin and online-logging (logging is already available at HCDX but not much used; this is not a commercial). Maybe my writing does not make much sense, but I wrote it anyway. I'm putting this also thru to Cumbre-DX and HCDX. I haven't got Bob Padula's address here; maybe someone can fw. The best 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) Thanks loads, Jari, for cross-posting this to other lists, tho I`m sure you meant well. I figured it would be unproductive, so here comes Hans` reply (gh, DXLD) Hi Jari - For many years, I asked Glenn Hauser to stop making crazy statements and negative comments about others in Cumbre DX. No matter what I tried, nothing worked. About a year ago, I was receiving emails from numerous DXers saying that they were reluctant to contribute to Cumbre because Glenn was making such comments. They were afraid that if they made a mistake they would be made fun of by Glenn. I realized that having Glenn as part of Cumbre DX was discouraging the participation of others in what is, after all, a hobby. His comments had hurt people for a number of years and I was simply fed up with it. I concluded that having tried for years to get Glenn to stop making such statements was never going to work. So I ended Glenn's membership in Cumbre. I also asked him repeatedly not to run Cumbre items in his publications as we did not want to be associated with what he was doing. Glenn has simply ignored that request, but that is hardly a surprise. Glenn's latest statement demonstrates that what I did was absolutely the right course of action. PS Bob Padula will get this as he receives Cumbre DX. 73's (Hans Johnson, HCDX via DXLD) Since I am being maligned, I have to reply. As I told Hans at the time he expelled me, I have no particular need to contribute to Cumbre, and would be happy to refrain from doing so, but maintain an ``exchange`` relationship, whereby some Cumbre news would be available to the wider DXing community thru DXLD. This was rejected. I had thought I was being helpful by answering questions on that list, or clarifying mistakes so they would go no further. Apparently, Cumbre is the home of the thin-skinned who take such natural discourse to be ``making fun of``. BTW, long before that, when I started posting DXLD issue notifications on numerous lists, Hans made it clear those were not welcome at Cumbre. WHY? I have a sneaking suspicion there is more to this than Hans admits to, such as intolerance of my political/religious views. On the other hand, I WELCOME correxions or clarifications when I make a mistake, and even correct myself frequently. Yes, it`s a hobby, but is it not important to do it well and to learn as one goes along? Apparently with Cumbre it is better to let mistakes and inaccuracies go, and stay in the dark. As a collector of DX info to Digest, when I see something newsworthy from Cumbre which has been quoted by another publication with which I have an exchange agreement, (and which copies info freely from DXLD), I feel free to use it (always credited, of course). It is also galling that since access to DXLD is totally unrestricted, Hans and anyone else at Cumbre has access to it, while I, and my readers, are denied direct access to Cumbre. But that`s one of the drawbacks of a free vs a controlled press we shall have to live with. The situation with EDXP is similar but not identical. Both lists are restricted, and the object is to keep info from getting out to the great unwashed DXing masses, at least for a while. This does not keep them from using open lists such as HCDX to publicize their own projects, but not for actually sharing DX news! Bob runs EDXP in such a way that info from EDXP is not to be reproduced in open-access bulletins such as DXLD. Yet as Bob admits, apparently to his consternation, EDXP membership keeps falling into the low double-digits, as he tries to micromanage how everyone behaves. It`s also clear that Bob cannot take being corrected, which is a shame, since he does make a lot of mistakes. I think it is extremely sad that both these individuals have a lot of knowledge, expertise and experience in DXing which they could share with all of us, but choose not to (Glenn Hauser, HCDX, slightly amended for DX LISTENING DIGEST) I should add that despite all this bad blood, I have a standing offer on my website to let bygones be bygones should either of them decide to resume cooperation, which did go on for many years before the split, which THEY INITIATED (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) My comment on this [actually replying to Jari`s reply above]: I feel so well to input sources in any message I eventually relay among lists that I can't believe there would be problems like these happening. The ethic code of DXers http://members.tripod.com/~bpadula/ethics.html would include a line on this nowadays. I personally comply with the full data provision of sources in a natural way, every time I need to (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, Feb 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BTW, Hard-Core-DX.com policy is very clear: you can use the material on our mailing list as you wish. BUT: if you use it, you are not allowed further restrict distribution of the material. Anybody claiming that the material they use from HCDX can not be distributed is in violation of our license. Please see the licence in http://www.gnu.org/licenses/dsl.html 73! (Risto, W6RK, Kotalampi, HCDX list owner via DXLD) LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ CALCIO ETYMOLOGY Dear Glenn, I don't think the Italian noun "calcio" is related to the element calcium, no way. There is this elastic substance called latex usually made of a plant called Hevea brasiliensis, and the subsequent industrial processing produces rubber, which used to be termed "cauchu" or "caucho" in Portuguese. So, the Italian equivalent is most probably just that. I have no Italian dictionary to check how they term. But, I'd like to know this for sure. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Your recent calcio-football-(or rather soccer) thread should go back to Latin and Greek words for heel-bone ("calcagno" in Italian; remember "gn" sound corresponds to ñ in Spanish) and usage thereof, as in kicking ("calciare"; "calcio" as a sport is really a shorter form for "gioco del calcio", kicking game), treading ("calpestare") etc. Incidentally, calcio is also the butt of a weapon. Likewise, a footnote in Italian is a "nota in calce". As for the element ("calce", besides "calcio", would correspond to your mortar) it should be related to the Greek "chalis", small stone, gravel (Andy Lawendel, Italy, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ DX HANDBOOK 2006 OUT Glenn, Salvo Micciché has just released a first 2006 version of his well renowned "Dx Handbook", a free PDF publication with extensive, colour coded listing of most recently reported frequencies on LW-MW- SW, Utilities, NDBs plus other goodies and aids to radio listeners. Instructions for download are promptly provided by visiting Radioascolto.org DX Handbook section (or clicking on the front page DXH icon) at: http://radioascolto.org/html/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=23 whereby an automated request will be mailed to Salvo. Thanks (Andy Lawendel, Italy, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ NEW YORK RADIO IMAGE ON 9859 I could hardly believe my ears when I heard weather from aeronautical New York Radio in SSB on 9859, Feb 6 at 1540. This was // 13270 and 10051 USB. I have to be vigilant as my FRG-7 is subject to overload from extremely strong SWBC signals, which can make strange things happen. I probably have too much antenna, but it comes in handy on weak signals! The Frog does not have an RF gain control, just a two- position attenuator from the normal position to ``DX`` (some attenuation) and ``LOCAL`` (max attenuation). One can also detune the preselector for some more attenuation, rather than peaking it as one normally would. The 9859 signal was still there on DX, but disappeared on LOCAL. I soon figured out how it got on 9859: leapfrogging the super-strong WEWN signal on 9955, from 10051 at 96 kHz intervals! NYR went off at 1550 as much weaker Gander took over in the half-hourly cycle, not enough to image on 9859 too. NYR was OK, but not by any means extremely strong, on 10051. By 1600 when NYR would come back, WEWN had signed off 9955, so that`s the end of this curiosity for now. I suspect the 9859 image had the SSB reversed so it was LSB, but could not check it on my other receivers with LSB/USB differential. WWCR also puts a very strong signal on 9985, so I also looked for a similar leapfrog on 9919 at 66 kHz intervals, but no sign of that, altho WWCR and WEWN themselves produce an image at 9925. Note that since the 9859 signal was not really there, I am NOT filing this as a USA log (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ FM DX IN EUROPE, SPORADIC E VS TROPO: see U S A [non] above SOLAR MIN MEANS BEST MEDIUMWAVE DX Saul, funny that you think TA reception improves as one goes South. I have the feeling that it improves as one goes North! Actually I guess it depends on many factors. I have always considered that the better TA reception is along the Northeast coast but that it does extend inland along the St. Lawrence into the Great Lakes. Apparently when conditions are at their best it also extends over the Pole into the Pacific Northwest. Also under the best of conditions it gets over the Eastern Mountains into the Central states. And it seems that what we in the East hear varies considerably from one area to the next. Right now we all seem to be hearing plenty of good stuff (Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, PA [SE corner PA, 3 miles from the Delaware River, 50 miles from the Atlantic], NRC-AM via DXLD) So would we say conditions have been good lately? Average? Outstanding? I have had hets every night, and now something in audio just about every night. Though not always very strong, I have to work on that noise level / get phasing installed, etc.. Farda was pretty good on peaks last night! But later after the Super Bowl when I checked, things were flat again (Greg Coniglio, Alden NY (Buffalo), ibid.) I would definitely say conditions have been good lately. I'm sure we are nearing the sun spot minimum which means that once every 10 or 11 years the relatively little sun spot activity allows exceptional long distance reception including TAs and TPs. It should last a year or two, so enjoy! The audio will of course vary from night to night and usually each night from hour to hour. I really don't think you can make it do anything different. I often get lots of carriers but only a few strong ones. Lately I've been getting 80 or 90 a night, but not all with good enough audio to talk about. You never know! (Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, PA, ibid.) Greg, I've lived in Byron [NY] since 2000, and I'd have to say that TA conditions have been outstanding compared to any of the last five years. I used to think one new TA a year was a pretty good effort, but this year I've logged about 16 new ones. And many of those previously logged have much stronger signals. For example 621 Canarias was a tough catch splitting it off from 620 domestics, but last week it has been easy to hear. Although December was very flat, before and after that have shown TAs or hets nearly every night. In my quiet environment LW signals have been good ever since I moved here, and are often available in the summer, at least 162 and 183 which are the strongest ones. I've had a 1000' wire every season I've been here, along with a Drake R8 or R8B, so I'm comparing apples to apples in comparing seasons. For twenty five years I lived in Rochester and DXed TAs with a Radio West or Space Magnet ferrite bar "loop" and that was much tougher, a noisier environment with neighbors' TV's and fluorescent lights, plus being right in the main lobe of all the locals (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY, ibid.) The Coastal vs. inland is clear from many DX'ers' experiences. The degradation of signals even 10-20 miles inland is noticeable. Whether it's better as one goes north or south is highly variable depending on the state of the auroral zone, the paths in question, local interference, and of course distance from the shoreline. As one goes up or down the coast of ECNA, the distance of a given signal path will vary. At some points a given path will become non-viable due to distance. In that case, it may indeed be better to be somewhat further north (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) ###