DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-028, February 10, 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 1304: Sat 0900 on WRN 15735 DRM via Bulgaria Sat 1700 on WWCR 12160 Sun 0330 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0400 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0730 on WWCR 3215 Sun 1400 on WRMI 7385 Sun 2230 on WRMI 7385 Mon 0400 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0515 on WBCQ 7415 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 ** AFGHANISTAN. Both the 400 kW MW transmitters --- R. Afghanistan on 1107 and IBB on 1296 --- are strong enough to put a daytime groundwave signal into Islamabad. RA now also remains on 1107 during the evening, rather than switching to 1278 at 1400 as was once the case. 9325, 9345 and 9365 were checked regularly for the reported US psyops transmissions, but none were heard (Chris Greenway, Pakistan, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Radio Solh/Radio Peace PsyOps transmissions --- Latest known schedule was: 0200-1200 on 11675 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg to WeAs in Dari/Pashto 1200-1500 on 15265 RMP 500 kW / 085 deg to WeAs in Dari/Pashto 1500-1800 on 9875 RMP 500 kW / 080 deg to WeAs in Dari/Pashto in Dec 2005. Changed this service in the meantime? US Forces PsyOps transmissions very seldom reported in DX press. And WRTH 2006 doesn't mention any contact address (wb, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 8 via DXLD) ** ALASKA. Re 6-027, Richard Wood`s unID on 1240: KOJE lists CP for KFSH Seward U1 at http://www.diccons.com/radio/koje2.htm 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No further details other than it`s in the Alaska timezone. Perhaps this info from DXLD can eventually reach Richard Wood via P-mail; BTW, it would be less confusing if he were abbr`d REW and leave RW for that California DXer. 73, (Glenn Hauser, IRCA via DXLD) Glenn, I'll put a copy of this in with his next bulletin. 73- (Doug Pifer, IRCA via DXLD) There was an old CP for Seward AK for 1240 some years ago, but the last time I heard anything, it was dead (Patrick Martin, OR, ibid.) There is this from the FCC DB gttp://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/reports/index.cfm : --------------------- DKFSH AM 83652 1007 WEST 32ND AVENUE US AK SEWARD 1007 WEST 32ND 00001240.00000000 M PRCAN 12/22/2000 ANCHORAGE, AK 99503 Online License Data NORTHERN TELEVISION, INC. Page 1 2/10/06 Frequency: 00000001.24000000 State: AK Callsign: DKFSH The formatting is all screwed up from the copy/paste operation; best to look at original record. Link to this is: http://tinyurl.com/bf4m3 (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (southeast) FL, IRCA via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. No English on Radio Australia --- I noticed today (Thursday February 9th) from 2100 UT that Radio Australia is carrying different language programming (presumed Vietnamese) on their normal English frequency of 15515. Their downloadable program schedule has not changed so I wonder if this is a freak or a change in policy (Mark Coady, ON, ODXA via DXLD) Most likely a computer error, Mark (John Figliozzi, NY, ibid.) Hi John. The same thing happened when 17795 came on the air but had been corrected by midnight UT when 17715 started up (Mark Coady, ON, ibid.) Mark: I've relayed your findings to Roger Broadbent at RA who responded as follows: "I have checked our off-air logger which records each output line. Line C provides the programming which is heard on 15515 kHz. I listened from 2100 UT on Thursday (8am Friday morning here) and heard only English right through until 2300. There are no language broadcasts scheduled between 2100 and 2130 UT. The Indonesian service begins at 2130 and is carried on 15415 and 11695. Is it likely that Mark was tuned to 15415? The Vietnamese service is no longer heard on shortwave. It's programming is relayed to Vietnam by satellite." At this point, Mark, it's a mystery (John Figliozzi, ibid.) Are you sure you guys aren't hallucinating? With this week's news from VOA, and earlier cuts by the BBC, it would be understandable if you start imagining you can't hear English on shortwave any more :-) (Andy (just trying to raise a smile) Sennitt, ibid.) Hi Andy. I wish I was, but at 2200 and 2300 there were the Radio Australia fanfares on 15515 and 17795 respectively, then ID and into news in a South Asian language. As for Roger Broadbent asking if I could be listening to 15415, I could accept that if I was listening on an older receiver but 15515 is programmed in memory on my Satellit 800 as is a host of other RA frequencies. Obviously a mistake on the part of RA's transmission engineers but they might not want to admit to it (Mark Coady, ibid.) Well, it may or may not have been. I believe Radio Australia uses digital playout, as we do. I don't know what their internal procedures are, but at Radio Netherlands the producers have the responsibility to ensure that all the playout information is correctly entered into the database. If someone makes a typo in a filedate or time, for example, the computer will not know it's a typo, and follow the instruction it's given. We have sometimes carried the wrong language or programme due to such errors. The transmitter engineers are only responsible for ensuring that the correct audio feed goes into the transmitter - what's on that audio feed is the responsibility of the playout centre in Melbourne (Andy Sennitt, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. [Re 6-027, RA`s new Breakfast Club]: Well, there was the old VOA Breakfast Show from the 1960s and 1970s, but it was not target-specific and it was pre-recorded. Later was VOA's "Daybreak" for Asia, which was live. And VOA's immensely popular "Daybreak Africa," still on the air (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Like all of you, Keith Glover was loved universally. He was one of the finest broadcasters. If someone said sincere, I agree completely. In the 60s and up to the point he went off the air I would rarely miss a Mailbag Show. On my wedding day he greeting me and my wife and together with many members of the staff sent me a beautiful stainless steel tray with signatures engraved. I can hear Keith's voice ring in my mind along with the call of the Kookaburra. A wonderful voice and a great person who made Radio Australia become No. 1 for a number of years. May he RIP (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, 4S7VK, DXplorer Feb 6 via BCDX via DXLD) ** BELARUS [non]. POLISH RADIO TO START BROADCASTS TO BELARUS ON 15 FEBRUARY | Excerpt from report by Polish news agency PAP Bialystok, 10 February: Radio Racja from Bialystok has been making preparations for the launch of broadcasts for Belarus that will start on 15 February. Work on outfitting a studio has already started. Belarusian journalists, who are to work with reporters from the old Radio Racja, are already there. Oleg Latyszonek, representative of the Belarusian Association in Poland who is also on the assembly of partners of Radio Racja, told PAP today that the station would start broadcasts next Wednesday on medium wave. The programmes, which will initially be broadcast for up to two hours, will be transmitted from a transmitter in Warsaw, and audible in central and eastern Belarus. Soon afterwards Radio Racja is to begin broadcasts on FM - on the frequency that was allocated to the radio by its franchise. Latyszonek added that procedures connected with renewing this franchise were continuing. Transmissions on this frequency will be audible in Podlasie where there are large Belarusian ethnic minority groups and around border areas with Belarus. Programmes will be made by journalists from Poland and Belarus - five people for the time being. Two journalists from Poland used to work for the old Radio Racja, while the Belarusian journalists have come from Minsk and Hrodna. [Passage omitted]. Towards the end of January a German consulting Media Consulta company, whose collaborators include Polish partners - the European Radio for Belarus, won the tender for broadcasts to Belarus that would be financed by the European Union. [Passage omitted]. It cannot be ruled out that Radio Racja and the European Radio for Belarus could reach an agreement in the future about running the radio jointly. Such talks have already started. Source: PAP news agency, Warsaw, in Polish 1419 gmt 10 Feb 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK?? ** BELGIUM. [Re MW transmitters on all night for room heating:] This is probably to avoid having to switch them on from cold during the cold weather. They may operate at low power during this overnight extension (Jeff Weston and/or Dave Kenny, MW Report, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** BELGIUM [non]. Re 6-026, GERMANY, T-Systems changes, 17580, 21565, 13590: To put it in plain text: RTBF cancelled its transmissions via Juelich as of February 1st (Kai Ludwig, Germany, BCDX Feb 11 via DXLD)) Vielleicht gibt das Budget nichts mehr her? Mal sehen, ob sie den Standort wechseln (wb, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 7, ibid.) Hi Herman, there are rumours in Belgian's French community, pensioners in S Europe or fraters in Congo-Burundi again ?? (wb, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 7, ibid.) Hi Wolfgang, I may have an answer for you. Since 1 February the RTBF is using a second satellite (the first was Astra 1H). Due to this second satellite (NSS-7) RTBFi can now be heard 24h a day in the whole of Africa, next to Europe of course. Since 1 February RTBF is using one single frequency for both Europe (Mediterranean area) and Central Africa: 9970 kHz. So all this may be the reason why several transmissions were canceled. Hope to have been of help (Herman Boel, Belgium, http://www.hermanboel.be via wwdxc BC- DX Feb 9 via DXLD) [U.K.] 9790 VRT Brussels via Skelton in Dutch to pensioners in southern Europe and Canary Isls, S=9 at 0835 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 5) ** BOLIVIA. 4732.3, Radio Virgen de Remedios, Tupiza, 1045+, January 27, Spanish, religious talk, 24432 // 5744.2 with 34443 4733.4, Radio Virgen de Remedios, Tupiza, 0240+, January 27, Spanish, ID, 24332. 5983.7, Radio Cooperativa, Huanuni, 1116+, January 26, Spanish/Aymara, Complete ID as: "con carácter experimental, en transmisión, Radio Cooperativa, en 5980 khz, banda internacional de 49 metros, desde Huanuni, Oruro, Bolivia". Other ID in Aymara language. Local ads: "Atención Huanuni, se viene el Primer Festival de la Música del Norte de Potosí... en la Cooperativa La Salvadora". More Ads. At 1121 with tropical songs non stop, 34433. 5983.8, Radio Cooperativa, Huanuni, 1055+, January 27, Aymara/Spanish, talk by female in Aymara, Andean songs, ID as: "...Radio Cooperativa", ads. Cooperativa La Salvadora, Ann. & ID as: "...Radio Cooperativa, una voz al mundo... una identidad minera, desde Huanuni, en el departamento de Oruro, Bolivia". Ads, Universidad Nacional Siglo XX. ID as: "Con carácter experimental, Radio Cooperativa, desde Huanuni, Oruro, Bolivia", 33433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Villa Giardino, Córdoba province, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** CHINA. Many strong stations are audible on SW and MW. Massive signal after dark on 1422 causing severe QRM to BBC Oman on 1413, which also has co-channel Chinese QRM (Chris Greenway, Jan, Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** CHINA. Another new frequency for CRI, 7130, in English from 0000 Feb 11, next to Russia on 7125, // 6020 Albania. Suppose a site in China (Joe Hanlon, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. 530, Air Martí --- While returning from St. Petersburg (Banana's vinyl records shopping followed by El Cap's for a classic greaseburger), Gerry Bishop and I noted two Spanish stations on 530 around 2235 GMT, Friday, 10 Feb. One of course was Radio Visión Cristiana; the other turned out to be Radio Martí. Clear ID by man at 2255. So, for the first time, airborne Martí has appeared on a day other than local Saturday. Fair at peaks on GB's Chevy Suburban radio (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. Re 6-027, CRI via Mali heard instead of ANO at 1500 on 17630: ANO scheduled 0700-1600 on 17630; appears to be a regular break in transmission 1030-1100 (Tony Rogers, England, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via dXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. ITU GE75 addition #113. Some of you may already know, but to be sure I'll mention it: Supplement 113 to the 1975 Geneva plan is out, dated 7 Feb. http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/publications/brific-ter/index.html (Olle Alm-SWE, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 9) Click GE75 (Wolfgang Büschel, BCDX Feb 11 via DXLD) Thanks dear Olle for this piece of LINK information. 1593 kHz --- last week a German DXer visited WDR Langenberg transmitter site, and has got the information from the technicians, that frequency restitution from IBB Holzkirchen Bavaria, Germany, to once registration holder WDR Cologne (800 kW) has happened. Two 100 kW (DRM mode also available) MW transmitters have been ordered at Telefunken Berlin Comp. and will be available around June 2006, when soccer World Cup starts. (720 kHz 63 kW, and 1593 silent at present). 1593 MW antenna is still available. So this new 1593 kHz entry at (80 kms west of) Rennes-France shows 50 kW power on co-channel at daytime, and will hurt WDR signal during Nov-Feb winter months even at noon in Ruhrgebiet target! [Like 1593 Romania does] 1593 kHz France ADD HJ SAINT GOUENO 002W33 48N18 5 9 50kW 17.4dB A 50 30 A/112 daytime ADD HN SAINT GOUENO 002W33 48N18 5 9 5kW 7.4 A 50 30 A/112 nighttime (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 9 via DXLD) ** GREENLAND. 3815, 2056 UT 21 Jan, Ammassalik R., Tasiilaq, presumed, sign-on 2059 after OM song and announcement. Mix of speech and music. Weak, frequent communications QRM; SIO 141 (Nick Rank, Buston, Derbyshire, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** INDIA. INDIAN TV PLANS TO BROADCAST TO DIASPORA IN US | Text of report by Indian news agency PTI New Delhi, 9 February: Indian diaspora in the US can watch four more Doordarshan (India's national TV network) channels from next month as public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is all set to make these channels available there. "Prasar Bharti is poised, hopefully by the end of March 2006, to broadcast four TV channels of DD into the USA - DD India, DD Punjabi (language spoken in North Indian state of Punjab), DD News and DD Bengali (language spoken in East India's West Bengal)", Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma Thursday [9 February] said here at the Broadcast Engineers Society. Prasar Bharati had earlier invited bids for distribution of four DD Channels through Cable TV Network and Direct-to-Home service. [are these names of axual companies? Why are they in caps? -- gh] Sarma was also bullish on the Free-to-Air DTH service of the corporation. "The free-to-air DTH service of Prasar Bharati has now reached over five million homes and the service is so popular today though we have a capacity of putting 33 TV channels, 60 private channels wanted to be on our platform at the earliest", he said. "By the end of May, we will have capacity for another 21 TV channels on DTH", he added. Sarma said in Delhi now all the cars and moving vehicles can watch TV and the Digital Terrestrial telecast and this facility could be extedned to three more metros. He called for early setting up of content as well as broadcast regulator. Earlier federal I&B Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said even as broadcasting engineering skills progress, individual privacy should be respected and encouraged. Source: PTI news agency, New Delhi, in English 1743 gmt 9 Feb 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. Radio spaceshuttle upcoming Freqs Betreff: Spaceshuttle on air --- Ok, Radio Spaceshuttle might have some LowPowerAction during this weekend.. Times and frequencies to try are: Saturday and/or Sunday: ~08-11 UTC 9280 kHz (range of alternative frequencies ~9260-9315 kHz). Maybe also on 22mb 13810 kHz or 19 mb 15800-10 kHz ~10-13 UT. All response welcome. And happy times with your "MusicPirate of Space" Dick http://spaceshuttleradio.freeservers.com DR Tim DE (via NRI yg via DXLD) ** IRAN [and non]. Is Farda jammed? Has it ever been? In DXLD 6-027, Jim Renfrew, reporting his QSL from Radio Farda on 1575, quotes the station's News Director as saying (presumably very recently), "Wish Iranian people were able to receive it without jamming." Given that various DXLD contributors have recently questioned whether Farda is indeed jammed (and I heard no jamming on 1575 when recently in Pakistan), this suggest one of three possibilities: 1. Farda once was jammed, but is no longer, but the station's own staff haven't yet heard about the change. Is that scenario likely? I hadn't noticed any recent warming of the Iranian government's attitude towards the USA. 2. The station IS still jammed, but the jamming is so erratic and/or half-hearted that it can't be heard outside the country. Again, is that likely? We know that when the Iranians do put their mind to jamming, we certainly can hear it. 3. Farda never was jammed, but somehow the impression was allowed to gain ground that it was. Number 3 is the most disturbing possibility. Making incorrect allegations of jamming undermines efforts to tackle genuine cases (Chris Greenway, UK, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DGIEST) Interesting. No doubt 1575, R. Farda was jammed earlier. But now that you wrote your message, I checked 1575 surroundings at 1900 UT (10 Feb) and it seems there is no jamming audible at my location in Finland. R Farda ID at 1900. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) I raised this question some time ago, but I was referring only to the R. Farda shortwave frequencies, which when I hear them have no detectable jamming over here. The MW relay of Farda on 1170 via UAE was obviously jammed for a while by an Iranian transmitter 1 kHz off frequency, which was widely reported by DXers. (Now it`s been changed to Sawa, so I assume Iran does not bother to jam it, tho the Ahwaz situation might be a reason.) I have no personal experience of Farda via satellite, but I recall a number of press reports that it had at least intermittent jamming. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) The Broadcasting Board of Governors has stated in press releases that Radio Farda is or was jammed: November 19, 2003 "That Radio Farda has a 7 percent listenership is likewise remarkable considering the intense jamming of our radios by the Iranian government," said BBG Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson. June 17, 2005 "The Broadcasting Board of Governors today announced it is using a third satellite to help overcome jamming of Persian-language news broadcasts during Iran's election period. "The broadcasts affected include Voice of America's (VOA) direct-to- home Persian-language satellite television news programs, Radio Farda, and VOA English. The three are carried on the Eutelsat Hotbird satellite and Telstar 12. Today, the BBG Office of Engineering added a third satellite transmission. This additional signal makes it more difficult for Iranian authorities to block the broadcasts in many locations." (Andy Sennitt, ibid.) ** IRELAND. Re 6-027: The statement is at: http://www.gracefellowship.ie/silent.htm and includes thanks to: ``The Russian Federation and their Regulators - who allowed us to use their Frequencies of 549 AM and 846 AM - during the past 10 years for Christian Broadcasting to Britain and Ireland, and who have not objected to the transfer of these frequencies to Ireland, on ICB's initiative in 2002, for the purpose of Christian Broadcasting in Ireland UCB for providing us with a EU Regulated and Licensed Christian Service, which we could 're-transmit' in Ireland, while the prohibition on Christian Advertising exists and there continues to be an absence of licensed Christian Services available in Ireland. `` Of course Russian regulators cannot assign frequencies to other countries and UCB always claimed that they did not authorise these relays (Mike Barraclough, BDXC-UK via DXLD) But, but, Christians always tell the truth, don`t they? (gh, DXLD) ** ITALY [non]. Hi Glenn, Just happened upon a new frequency for IRRS. Programming in English was heard at 1920 UT, ending at 1930, on 9380 kHz. The signal was strong. Here is what I heard: "This is IRRS Shortwave, operated by NEXUS International broadcasting association in Milano, Italy. On shortwave, we are transmitting to Europe and the Mediterranean in AM compatible reduced carrier singleside band, which can best be received by using your receiver's synchronous detector or upper sideband mode, especially in distant areas" Will keep monitoring this. All the best (Christopher Lewis, England, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAMAICA. JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT WARNS FM BAND NEARING CAPACITY | Text of report by Caribbean Media Corporation news agency website on 7 February Kingston, Jamaica: The Jamaica government said Tuesday [7 February] that prospective media entities seeking broadcast licences would now have to consider using amplitude modulation (AM) instead of the frequency modulation (FM) band. Information Minister Burchell Whiteman said the availability of spectrum to broadcast on Jamaica's FM band is almost exhausted, and as such, prospective media entities seeking broadcast licences should now instead consider airing on the AM frequency. But he said the overall thrust must be the move towards digital broadcasting. Addressing key media industry players at a briefing convened by Phillip Paulwell, the commerce, science and technology minister, Whiteman said that up to December last year, only two FM bands remained available to be granted licences by the government for island-wide broadcast. Whiteman said the list of prospective applicants and those who have shown an interest in obtaining broadcasting licences far exceeded the available spectrum. The minister told the media executives that the Spectrum Management Authority (SMA) presented a paper to the Information Committee of cabinet last November outlining the exhaustive capacity on the FM band. Subsequent to the submission of the paper, he said a working group was set up, including senior management personnel from the key regulatory agencies, the SMA, and the Broadcasting Commission. To date, he said the working group has examined "the assignment of the limited remaining spectrum using additional transparent criteria, consistent with the law and consistent with the national interest". Additionally, the group also looked at the short-term measures to optimize the use of the current available spectrum and also the long- term solution to Jamaica's spectrum availability problems. Given the limitations of the almost exhausted FM band, the information minister proposed that the AM band, which currently had 90 unassigned channels, could serve as an alternative in the short term. While noting that the SMA acknowledged that there were technical challenges associated with AM, the band could be used to address some of the demand. "The government fully recognizes the need to facilitate private sector participation and entrepreneurship, while reforming existing policy and regulatory arrangements where possible," he advised the media executives. Whiteman said 31 March has been designated as a deadline, at which time the government would make further decisions about granting broadcast licences. He said the government would also be examining a number of factors regarding the digital audio broadcasting (DAB). These factors, he said, would include, "the standards that we are going to adopt, the appropriate reference models, and the timeframe and model for transition to digital broadcasting". Whiteman stressed that as the digital revolution kept apace globally, it was incumbent on the government and the media to work together to use the technology to their benefit. "Our goals must include increased access to the Jamaican and Caribbean content at home and abroad as well as continuing to foster local innovation and entrepreneurship," he said, adding that another important goal was ensuring that Jamaica and Jamaicans benefited from the use of the best technology to enhance such daily aspects of their lives in such areas as education, commerce and health. Source: Caribbean Media Corporation news agency website, Bridgetown, in English 2221 gmt 7 Feb 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** JAPAN. PREMIER SAYS NHK SHOULD AIR MORE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PROGRAMMES | Text of report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo Tokyo, 10 February: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday [10 February] that Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) should offer more English-language programming in Japan for the benefit of foreign residents, according to Administrative Reform Minister Koki Chuma and Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe. At Friday's Cabinet meeting, the prime minister said more programmes in English could be aired, "considering that NHK possesses a good number of channels including the main channel, another one for educational programmes, satellite TV and FM and AM radio channels". Koizumi told reporters Friday that more foreign-language programming should be offered to people outside Japan to let them learn more about the country. He said he has instructed Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka to study the matter. Koizumi's comment followed his talks Thursday night with well-known foreigners working in Japan, in which they said NHK, the public broadcaster, should dedicate at least one of its channels to programming designed specifically for foreign residents, instead of the simultaneous translations of Japanese-language broadcasts, Chuma said. Koizumi responded positively to the idea, the minister said. At the Cabinet meeting, other ministers also said NHK should do more to inform foreigners about Japan. Science and technology minister Iwao Matsuda said, "Japanese who take part in international conferences are not disseminating sufficient information about Japan". Foreign Minister Taro Aso said, "The British Broadcasting Corp. receives advertisers' sponsorships for its overseas programmes and NHK should do so if necessary". At present, bilingual NHK news and other programmes offered in Japanese and a foreign language total 11 hours a week on the broadcaster's main channel and the figure is 81 hours for its satellite BS1 channel. English and Spanish-language news programmes are also available on NHK's No 2 radio channel. Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0523 gmt 10 Feb 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KASHMIR [and non]. Azad Kashmir Radio heard at various times on three frequencies --- 792, 936 and 4790. All three at times have separate programing. 4790 was heard as early as 0300 and closes after relaying 1700 Radio Pakistan news (but not on continuously between those times). 936 closes after relaying 1800 Radio Pakistan news. Listed 7265 not heard. V. of Jammu and Kashmir Freedom, 5102 heard closing as scheduled at 1430. Very strong signal, suggesting from Islamabad site, as indicated in WRTH 2006 page 527. Usual poor Pakistani modulation (Chris Greenway, Jan, Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. RUSSIA, 5880, [Clandestine to N Korea] R. Free North Korea (presumed) at 1500-1520 on Feb 8. Heard jammer-free with KR talks by man and woman to 1520 tuneout. Still have not been able to pick out an ID, since the signal is not very strong. The talk is laid- back and not strident in tone. Today (Feb 9) the jammer was back in full force at 1500 UT with nothing else heard on the frequency (John Wilkins, CO, DXplorer Feb 9 via BCDX via DXLD) via Irkutsk, Russia (wb, ibid.) ** KOREA NORTH. SOUTH DAILY ON AUDIENCE FOR OPEN RADIO FOR NORTH KOREA | Text of report in English entitled: "Young Howard, executive director of Open Radio for North Korea: "North Korean audience for Open Radio for North Korea", published by South Korean newspaper The Daily NK website on 8 February It's been about two months since Open Radio for North Korea (ORNK) was launched. "Is there anyone who listens to the broadcasts in North Korea?" This is one of the questions I have frequently been asked since I started ORNK. Actually, this was also the most important question to me while preparing to establish ORNK, as there would be no use to broadcasting without an audience. Because information from outside is strictly banned in North Korean society, official statistics on the size of the audience that listens to foreign radio broadcasts are not available. The only way to get this information is to estimate based on the number of North Korean refugees who claim to have heard foreign radio broadcastings. Fortunately, a survey conducted by three broadcast companies who broadcast in North Korea-Radio Free Asia, Voice of America and the Social Education Broadcasting of KBS-shows the ratio of listeners among North Korean refugees. This survey verifies that there are people who listen to foreign radio broadcasts. However, I can't entirely quote the results, since the survey was conducted by the broadcast companies themselves. It is theoretically reasonable to think that they might overestimate the numbers out of public relations considerations. However, more reliable survey was recently released. The Korean Press Foundation conducted a survey of 319 North Korean refugees who made it to South Korea within the last two years. [Three hundred and four] 304 respondents provided valid responses. Among these 304 respondents, 13 people, 4.27 per cent, have listened to foreign short wave radio broadcasts and 34 people, 11.2 per cent, have listened to foreign medium wave radio. This is quite a significant proportion. Considering the possibility that North Korean refugees had listened to radio more often than other North Korean citizens, let's assume that one per cent of the North Korean population listens to foreign programmes. Out of a total population of 20 million, it means that there are 200,000 listeners. We can't say this is a small number. Then how do North Koreans get radios? The radios recently sold in North Korea are made in China. Most Chinese radios have a function to receive a short wave, since countries with a huge territory usually use short wave. By contrast, a country like South Korea with a small territory does not need to use short wave. FM or AM is enough. As a result, short wave radios are hard to find in South Korea. Big countries such as Russia, China, and the US use short wave to send signals over long distances. Therefore, it is easy to find short wave radios in those markets. Short wave radios in China are currently flooding into North Korea. Can North Korean citizens listen to shortwave ORNK? The broadcast is only two months old. Is anybody listening to it? Fortunately, I confirmed there were listeners of ORNK. I was informed that people in three cities in Ham-kyoung Province were listening to the broadcasts and the quality was good enough for them to understand its contents. I can't reveal my source of this information for their safely, I believe readers would understand it. Listeners make broadcasters become more energetic. In this regard, it is very encouraging and exciting that ORNK already has an audience within two month of its founding. I believe workers at ORNK will be greatly encouraged by this news and that it will invigorate their efforts to produce better programmes. Source: The Daily NK website, Seoul, in English 8 Feb 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** LAOS. 4678.2, Radio Luang Prabang, Luang Prabang, 0952-1002, January 27, Laotian, very nice song, announcement by female at 1000 UT, bulletin news by female, 25342 (Arnaldo Slaen, Villa Giardino, Córdoba province, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) 4678.01 kHz, Radio National Lao at 2305-2335 UT on Feb 9. Laotian music program. Ax (f) at 2330 UT, 25332 (Wolf-Dieter Behnke, Germany, A-DX Feb 10 via BC-DX via DXLD) Ax? ** LAOS [non]. Radio Free Laos? Former CIA head James Woolsey counsels Royal Lao Government in Exile "to strongly pursue its plans for a radio program to be broadcast into Laos, citing the success of Radio Free Europe in undermining a totalitarian regime, the Soviet Union, by spreading truth and information." RLGE press release, 8 February 2006 http://i-newswire.com/pr56088.html (kimandrewelliott.com Feb 10 via DXLD) Viz.: (I-Newswire) - HOW TO PEACEFULLY BRING DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM TO LAOS WASHINGTON, Feb 8 – Chairman Khamphoui Sisavatdy and other leaders of the Royal Lao Government in Exile sat down with Mr. James Woolsey, former U.S. ambassador and head of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1993 to 1995. He counseled the RLGE to strongly pursue its plans for a radio program to be broadcast into Laos, citing the success of Radio Free Europe in undermining a totalitarian regime, the Soviet Union, by spreading truth and information. ``Regime change does not have to be violent,`` an advisor to the RLGE, explained. ``By spreading information, by inspiring the people to ask questions and slowly demand rights, a government can be forced to change by its own people.`` In the afternoon, the RLGE delegation sat down with Freedom House, an independent organization that has seen great success helping to expand political and economic freedoms worldwide. The Freedom House took great interest in the issue of elections in Laos, especially since they showed many of the hallmarks of quite clearly not being free and open elections, as well as the overall goal of the RLGE to spread freedom and democracy to Laos. ``The question really becomes,`` one executive from Freedom House asked, ``how do we turn phony elections into real elections?`` In the evening, the Government in Exile met with several leading staff members of the International Republican Institute (IRI), which has done tremendous work in monitoring election processes in nascent democracies around the globe. The IRI expressed strong support for the goals of the RLGE and its work to shine light on the dubious election this coming April 30. The RLGE is working tirelessly to bring attention to the corruption and control the communist Lao government exerts over its people. The Government in Exile believes that with pressure from the international community and scrutiny of the election and political process, the Lao government will be forced to change. 888 16th Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006 - (202) 349-9843 Fax: (202) 833-2263 (via DXLD) ** LIBYA [and non]. Today Feb 9th in 1205-1240 UT span: 17660, still again non-stop Libyan songs. S=3 (like Tarek Zeidan reported: ID "Idhaat Aljamaheyia al Ozma", Great jamaheryia Radio). 17670, two weak stations, one carrying French/Arabic speech [Issoudun, FRANCE?], one Arabic music. Fair S=3. And also fair: AWR Vietnamese via Madagascar from 1300 UT. 17680, Strongest is a jamming Bubbler with three peaks on 17677.2, 17680, and 17683.3 kHz. Parked before 1210 UT on 17667.34, S=9 +30 dB Second in row in signal strength is the well known W. African-Cuban song station, S=9 +10 dB when bubble jammer is silent. Third in signal level: supposedly "Sout Alamal" in Arabic speech, conversation comment (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Feb 9, BCDX via DXLD) I was away this Feb 10th, til 1440 UT, when I heard the well known W Afro-Cuban music transmission on 17655 today, but weak propagation conditions this afternoon (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, ibid.) AMAL AND THE AFTERNOON VISITORS, FEBRUARY 10: A different situation than the day before: 17680: at 1335 something seemed to be mixing with Voz Cristiana, but not when rechecked a few minutes later. It`s hard to tell as VC often is running a music bed under their own talk segments. 17675, 17670, 17665: nothing at all on these. Until 1501 recheck when the Cuban jammer was on 17670 against ghost Martí, and still at 1539. 17660: non-Arabic talk and presumably Somali, the weekly R. Waaberi via Germany, from tune-in 1335; mostly talk by M and W. Mostly clear but from 1345 there was lite siren jamming on it. I think it was distinct from the jamming on 17655, but not certain. Jammer bleedover to adjacent frequencies can have a different sound than on the main frequency. Has Waaberi ever been subject to jamming itself, before the Libyan situation intruded? 1358 with a bouncy tune, 1359:30 ID mentioning kHz, and off at 1400* sharp. 17655: this is where the action was on this date, unlike the day before. From 1335 tune-in, Arabic music and talk, SAH and QRM from a second station, plus machine-gun jamming. At 1354 I decided there were 3 stations here, a man in Arabic, a woman in Arabic, and African hilife music as jamming; vocal music at the moment. One of these must have been Saut al-Amal, and the others on the same frequency to block it. At least they (almost) left Waaberi alone on 17660 this Friday. After 1400 some machinegun jamming lasted a few more minutes, but otherwise the African hilife music was in the clear past 1500, and we enjoyed listening to it; gone at 1539 recheck. The above was written before reading what Tarek Zeidan and José Miguel Romero reported today, so I am pleased that it matches what they report (Glenn Hauser, OK, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: SAUT AL-AMAL MOVING TO 17655 KHZ AND LIBYA ON 17680 KHZ! Hello DXers, checking what's going on on 17660 and around it today 10/2/05 - with 2 different receivers - I noticed the following : 17660 kHz, sign on 1200 UT with the national anthem of Libya and ID by a YL, ``Idhaat al Jamaherya al Ozma`` - The Great Jamaherya radio, followed by some songs about the leader; of course we all know who is he. Mainly songs and nothing but songs. There was no trace of Saut al Amal on 17680 today, BUT on the other hand I found a station broadcasting the Friday Prayers. I was a bit confused, `cos according to the time frame, the only Islamic country praying around that time is --- YES, Libya. So I waited till they finished, and I was right. After the prayers, the ID followed by some reading of the Green Book, followed by an ID by an OM; 1235 UT the news in Arabic, mainly African issues (different network of course than the one on 17660 kHz). As there was no trace of Saut al Amal on 17680 kHz, I tried to check different frequencies around 17660. 17655 kHz around 1213 UT: I heard a guy reading poem with the Libyan accent followed by an ID Saut al Amal by a YL followed by an OM. There was a severe jamming on the same frequency but I could hear a program called The Press Under the Gaddafi Regime, followed by an ID 1238 UT, ``Saut alamal daar alidhaat al libya fil mahgar`` - Voice of hope, home of the Libyan radio in exile. 1240 UT they went off the air suddenly. All I could hear was the splash from 17660 kHz. 1241 UT, sounds like something is wrong with the transmitter or they are trying to adjust the frequency as they keep going on/off the frequency, but back to normal around 1244 UT, another ID by the same YL and OM. Different program contents than the one I heard on 27/1/06. It's 1250 and it's really a mess around here on this part of the 16 M band. More to come. Hello again DXers, 1300 UT, I noticed that Libya is on 17655 kHz as well. // 17680 kHz. So Saut al Amal is really suffering to get through now. The program content is the same as 9/2/05. 1303 UT on 17655 I could hear a YL talking about the current situation in Libya and how she's fighting for freedom. I heard the same program as well on 9/2/2006. R. Waaberi is coming loud. I was going to say and clear; here in Cairo around 1335 UT on 17660 kHz with a very bad splash of the jammer on 17655 kHz. All the best (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note: I do the usual editorial fixing up, including capitalization, but try to avoid re-spelling Arabic words. There is a lot of inconsistency in rendering Arabic into our alphabet, especially concerning vowels. I think some glottal stops (`) ought to be in certain places, but it seems Tarek skips them (gh, DXLD) Saludos cordiales, desde Valencia en España a las 1435 por 17680 se escucha la Voz Cristiana, a locutora con comentarios y segmento de música rock, SINPO 44333, pero a las 1448 la señal se pierde y es prácticamente inaudible; por otra parte la emisora con música afro-pop está establecida en 17655 con su habitual repertorio musical, SINPO 55544 (José Miguel Romero R., Spain, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Solar-terrestrial indices for 09 February follow. Solar flux 75 and mid-latitude A-index 1. The mid-latitude K-index at 1200 UTC on 10 February was 1 (08 nT). The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 10 February was 0 (04 nT). No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours (SEC via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Radio Insurgente broadcasts from 2045 / 2100 [has been heard signing on at both times] to 2147 on 5999.9v on Fridays. It has been logged in South Florida, Mexico [DF], Mississippi and Pennsylvania. 73's de (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, South Florida, 1742 UT Feb 10, HCDX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. MEXICO/USA: HARRIS CORPORATION EXPANDS DIGITAL TV PRESENCE IN MEXICO | Text of press release by Harris Corporation on 8 February Cincinnati, 8 February: Harris Corporation's Broadcast Communications Division today announced that Grupo Televisa SA, a leader in TV broadcasting throughout Mexico, has purchased eight Harris DiamondCD(r) high-power DTV [digital television] transmitters as the broadcaster prepares to complete its ATSC [Advanced Television System Committee - the technical standard chosen for digital terrestrial TV in Mexico] digital television launch in four metropolitan regions. The transmitters were delivered and installed during the fourth quarter of 2005. Televisa will begin transmission of DTV programming to populations in and around Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara and Tijuana in early 2006. "2006 is shaping up to be milestone year for digital television in Mexico," said Dale Mowry, vice-president and general manager of Harris Broadcast Communication's Television Broadcast Systems business unit. "We are delighted that one of Mexico's leading broadcasters has selected Harris for the provision of digital transmitters as it completes phase one of its DTV launch." "The introduction of DTV services in Mexico is without any doubt an historical television milestone in Latin America and confirms Televisa as a leader in entertainment products for our audience and viewers," said Felix Araujo, vice-president of Televisa Regional. "Our relationship with Harris ensures that our DTV network will include state-of-the-art equipment, and that our signals and services are fully reliable for the benefit of society in and out of our country. Harris and Televisa will share experiences and learn together through joint steps in this new adventure called digital convergence through the DTV conversion." Mexico formally adopted the ATSC standard in October 2004 following years of DTV testing. The Mexican government last year issued an 18- year deployment table that lays out specific DTV transition plans for both public and private broadcasters over six, three-year periods. The first three-year segment of this plan targets major cities, especially those closest to the US border, with private broadcasters launching ahead of public broadcasters. The Harris DiamondCD transmitters, at 1.8 kW, enable Televisa to maximize coverage in each region. Televisa selected Harris DiamondCD transmitters as part of its initial launch following positive technical evaluations, also pointing to Harris' market-leading US share and depth of experience in digital terrestrial transmission. DiamondCD transmitters have been among the most popular transmitters employed for the US digital TV rollout, with more than 300 deployed in the US at power levels from 1.8 kW to 35 kW. Harris outfitted each transmitter destined for Televisa with its market-leading ApexTM advanced digital TV exciter. The Harris Apex exciter continues to build on its DTV market success with more than 400 installations since its 2002 introduction. Televisa is also outfitted with Harris' eCDiTM enhanced transmitter network monitoring and control system to enable remote operation of the transmitter from a central location in Mexico City. "The structural design of the Harris DiamondCD transmitter allows comfortable access for our technicians to perform preventive maintenance tasks and further optimizes air flow for proper temperature control. One can observe that the product's construction and assembly includes high quality components throughout the design to optimize performance," says Arturo Mignon, director of transmission. "The operating side also features a nice monitoring system that shows on-screen the status of each component of the transmitter chain and a drill down menu with electrical diagrams, pictures and tables for control, operation, learning and in the future, failure correction." Harris will support Televisa in a variety of ways throughout its DTV launch. Televisa's awareness of Harris' in-country customer support, 24/7 x 365 technical support in Quincy, Illinois, and various training programs were also factors in its decision to install Harris transmitters. "Harris is extremely pleased to announce that Televisa has put its trust in Harris transmitters to play a major role in its initial DTV launch," said Nahuel Villegas, Harris Broadcast Communications' regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean. "Televisa's DTV launch is a major step forward for digital broadcasting not only in Mexico, but throughout Latin America as neighbouring countries look ahead to a digital future. Harris will continue to promote the value of digital television throughout Latin America and guide customers through an economical and technically sound digital transition." Source: Harris Corporation, Cincinnati in English 8 Feb 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** NEPAL. NEPALESE MEDIA GUIDE - FEBRUARY 2006 The collapse of peace talks in November 2001 has drawn the Nepalese government into a war against the Maoist rebels. Following increasing violence, the government introduced a state of emergency in November 2001, which had a damaging impact upon the media. The state of emergency was allowed to lapse in August 2002, but by then more than 130 journalists had been imprisoned and many others either harassed or assaulted. In February 2005, in a move to intensify the fight against the rebels, King Gyanendra imposed a direct royal law restricting the media. This law prohibits any criticism of the government and army. In addition, the media was also told not to publish anything relating to the Maoist insurgents unless the information came from the army. Journalists risked being accused of producing Maoist propaganda if they publicize abuses by the security forces or attempt to present the Maoists' perspective. According to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), soldiers and police carry out their own justice against journalist found disobeying this law. In a statement on 8 January 2006, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists said that the government has begun a new wave of attacks on the press. RSF strongly condemned the continuing harassment of the independent press by the security forces in which at least six journalists have been threatened, attacked or detained since 1 January 2006. But it is not only the Nepalese authorities which threaten journalists; they are also harassed, kidnapped and sometimes killed by the Maoist rebels. Maoists forced the closure of a publication that failed to publish their press release. They also destroyed a TV relay station in April 2005 and a Radio Nepal relay station a month later. It is against this background that the Nepalese media now operates. Press The 1990 Constitution guaranteed a free and independent press, allowing its rapid expansion in the years that followed. The majority of the press is edited and published in Kathmandu. The total print run of all daily and weekly newspapers printed in the city for any day of the week is said now to exceed 350,000. The growth in the press is also due to the county's improved transport infrastructure, the increase in numbers of literate readers (now about 45 per cent of adults) and the increasing involvement of private institutions, NGOs and government bodies. The expansion of the economy, particularly since the late 1990s, has increased advertising revenue, also encouraging growth of the press. The Nepalese press is now dominated by the private sector, but the government continues to publish two newspapers, the English-language The Rising Nepal and Nepali-language Gorkhapatra. However, in the face of competition from other broadsheet dailies, their influence has now fallen. Weekly publications are privately owned, have a broad political perspective and their analytical content is said by observers to play a significant role in shaping Nepalese democracy and influence on the county's politics. They are said to be popular, but the government no longer provides advertising revenue which has hit some of them financially. Many are run by those close to political parties, but their contribution to the nation's political debate puts them in the mainstream of Nepalese media. Censorship of foreign press has been recently reported. Local governmental administrations have removed pages or banned the import of Indian newspapers publishing reports covering Nepal's democratic movement. Despite the growth in the country's print media, there is only a small political-financial elite in Nepal who invest in the broadsheets, and those who do are politically well connected. According to experienced observers, this fact together with a shortage of well-trained qualified journalists (although this is said to be improving), does not promote investigative journalism, an area in which Nepali press is said to be weak. Main daily press Kantipur: Nepali-language independent daily, circulation 80,000 to 100,000. This was one of the first independent newspapers and is said to be the most influential newspaper. It is strongly supportive of the pro-democracy movement and also has an on-line version. The same media group publishes The Kathmandu Post and operates the radio station Kantipur FM 96.1 and Kantipur TV. Samacharpatra: Nepali-language independent daily, circulation about 40,000. Online version available Gorkhapatra: Nepali-language daily, circulation 30,000 to 40,000. It supports government policies and programmes and is a semi-official publication of the government-owned Gorkhapatra Corporation, which has until recently been the only significant player in Nepali print journalism. Online version available. Kathmandu Post: English-language independent daily, circulation about 15,000. Also one of the first independent newspapers. It has the second highest English-language newspaper circulation with good regional and national news coverage. Also a strong advocate of a free press and firmly challenges the government, particularly on issues of state control of the media. Online version available. The Rising Nepal: English-language daily, circulation about 10,000. Supportive of government policies and programmes and a sister publication to Gorkhapatra. Online version available. Other significant publications The popular independent magazines, with an estimated circulation of 10,000 to 25,000 each, include: Nepal Weekly: English publication with political interviews, analysis and regional news. Online version available, but not recently updated. The Nepali Times: English weekly, focuses on politics, economics development and environmental issues. Online version available. Samaya Weekly: Political analysis, regional news. No on-line version found. Deshantar Weekly: Regional news and politics. Sympathetic towards the ruling Nepali Congress party. No online version found. Drishti Weekly: Political analysis, interviews, regional news. Tends to support main opposition party. Online version available. New Business Age: English-language business magazine. Online version available. Punarjagaran, Ghatana ra Bichar, Saptahik Bimarsha: All considered to have close connections to the ruling Nepali Congress Party. Bimarsha online version available through http://nepalnews.com Chalphal, Dristi, Jan Astha, Budhabar, Ekaisaun Satabdi and Nawayug: All considered close to the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist-Leninist, CPN-UML. (See nepalnews.com for links.) Jana Ekata, Hank: Close to the Communist Party of Nepal. No online version found. Mulyankan and Nawa Yuba: Nepali monthlies read extensively by left activists, workers and youth. No online versions found. Janadesh: Used to function virtually as a mouthpiece of the Maoist Communist Party of Nepal (Maobadi), but has been closed by the government after the imposition of emergency in late November 2001. Time, Newsweek, Asian Age, Times of India and Navbharat Times of India are foreign publications bought mainly by bureaucrats and businessmen. Some of the major international dailies are also available for tourists. Radio In recent years the growth of independent FM radio has been remarkable, now numbering about 50 stations across the country. The content of some of the independent stations has come into conflict with the laws restricting the media introduced in 2005 which has lead to enmity between the state and broadcasters. (See BBC Monitoring report headlined "Analysis: Nepali government gags independent radio" dated 25 October 2005). On 9 October 2005, a new media law was announced by the Ministry of Information and Communication in an attempt to force independent stations to abide by the February 2005 ruling which greatly limited the amount of news that could be broadcast by the independent stations. The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) describes the law as "draconian". It affects all privately-owned domestic media, but especially commercial and community radio stations. However, the former director of national broadcaster Radio Nepal, Shailendra Raj Sharma, called for the effective implementation of the law to manage radio broadcasting, which he described as witnessing "aberrations and discrepancies". In a further move to restrict broadcasters, the government is proposing to establish a broadcasting authority. This is also being strongly opposed by journalists. The government also plans a large increase in FM licence fees, another move seen by independent stations as an attempt to curb their activities. Restrictions to news broadcasting were overturned by the supreme court on 30 November 2005. The number of radios per 1000 people in Nepal is approximately 30, compared to 40 in nearby Bangladesh, 100 in India and 320 in China. Main radio stations Radio Nepal: This state-owned network continues to be the most influential medium in the country, in part due to the broadcaster's nationwide (and international shortwave) coverage, but also as a result of the county's relatively low literacy. Audio feeds available online. Kantipur FM: This private station was established in October 1998. According to the research done by AC Nielsen, Nepal, it is especially popular in the eastern region of Nepal. Programmes include news and current affairs. This station was amongst those having equipment confiscated by the government. Audio feeds available online. Sagarmatha FM: Opened in 1997, this station was the pioneer in independent radio. Programmes are predominantly in Nepalese, including news and current affairs. The station rebroadcasts some BBC Nepalese Service programmes. In recent months journalists from this station have been arrested and the station temporarily closed by the authorities. The station filed a case challenging the government's radio news restrictions, the outcome of which resulted in the supreme court overturning the ban on independent stations broadcasting news. Audio feeds available online. A BBC audience research poll in 2000 gave the following percentages of listeners who tuned into the station any given week: Radio Nepal: 97 per cent Kantipur: 87 per cent Radio Sagarmatha: 74 per cent All India Radio: 37 per cent VOA: 14 per cent Clandestine Radio Watch presently lists three Maoist radio stations as operating from within Nepal, all said to be broadcasting on FM from mobile transmitters. No frequencies are listed: Seti-Mahakali Broadcasting Service: Achham District in western Nepal Bheri-Karnali Broadcasting Service: Bheri-Karnali region Radio Janabadi Ganatantra: Western Nepal Television In contrast to the rapid expansion of radio, little has changed in the television sector, although state controlled NTV is selling advertising slots to NGOs and commercial organizations and is now also available on satellite. However, the government has opened up the television sector and a number of commercial stations are now operating. In a poll of national television viewers run by Image Channel, about 45 per cent of voters thought both Image and Kantipur were "best channel". All other channels were listed as favourite by less than 5 per cent of voters. Satellite television is widely available in the cities and the BBC and CNN is carried by cable operators. In January 2006 the Nepalese Ministry of Information and Communication ordered cable television to stop relaying Indian channels which were covering Nepal's pro-democracy protests. The number of television receivers per 1000 people in Nepal is about four, compared to five for Bangladesh, nearly 60 for India and 300 for China. Channel Nepal: This satellite channel is run by cable operator Space Time Network, the first private television station in the country which is also beamed via satellite to Asia and the Pacific. KTV: Kantipur Television is part of the Kantipur Media Group and at present only available in Kathmandu. KTV it is licensed as a national terrestrial TV broadcaster and was launched on 13 July 2003. The channel's website says its programming consists of 40 per cent news and current affairs and 60 per cent general entertainment. It is also an affiliate channel of CNN in Nepal. Not yet available on satellite. Image Channel: On 13 January 2006 this commercial terrestrial channel also became available on satellite. Its website says it is now available in Asia, Africa, Europe and parts of Australia. NTV: State-run Nepal TV opened in 1985 and now covers 65 per cent of the population. It has news in English and Nepalese with national stories supplied by the state-run news agency, Rastiya Samachar Samiti and CNN. NTV programmes are available via satellite across large parts of the Middle East and Asia. NTV-Metro: This is the second state-run television channel and was launched in 2004 for viewers in the Kathmandu Valley. Not yet available on satellite. Licences to operate via satellite have also been granted to Shangrila TV and Avenues TV although they appear not to be broadcasting yet. Internet Internet use is very expensive in Nepal since it depends on satellite connection via Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. Service providers pay at least 2,500 to 3,000 US dollars per megabit in addition to taxes. The internet is available throughout major cities in Nepal, but access is generally limited to internet cafes and business use. Home connectivity is expensive, but available to those who can afford it, costing between 85 and 140 US dollars per year depending on connection speed. The number of users is estimated to be between one and five per thousand population, and has grown by 250 per cent since 2000. http://nepalnews.com --- A news portal with links to many Nepalese daily, weekly and monthly publications. http://ekantipur.com --- The online news portal of the Kantipur Media Group. http://newslookmag.com --- This is Nepal's first online newsmagazine, started in 1999. The owner is a lecturer in journalism at Georgia Southern University, USA and says it is the largest online news archives on Nepal. http://worldlink.com --- A major internet provider in Nepal. News agency Nepal's national state-run news agency, Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), has been in operation for 40 years, providing news in English and Nepali. It has a monopoly on news distribution within Nepal and is used by all publications, as well as the national radio and television services. RSS has 104 reporters around the country and ties to AFP, PTI and AP. It also maintains an agreement with the Chinese news agency Xinhua. Source: BBC Monitoring research 10 Feb 06 (via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. R. Nigeria, 7275, 0630-0640+ Feb 3, English talk, ID, Afro-pops. Poor in noisy conditions. Caught an ID but reception just too poor to hear any further program details. Covered by Tunisia prior to 0630. V. of Nigeria, 15120, *1629-1735+ Feb 3, sign-on with opening theme music. 1630 into Arabic, 1631 Kor`an. 1700 English. F-G reception during the Arabic programming but English was barely audible. Strong carrier but very weak modulation (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Quetta listed on 5027v was heard around 5023-5024v. Recent reports say it has been as low as 5022 and as high as 5033. Other Radio Pakistan domestics heard on 5080, 6065 and unlisted 5925. Radio Pakistan external services are in a bad way. Some listed transmissions not heard at all, others pointless, e.g. 1330-1400 scheduled Turki (Turkmen) --- only listed frequency 4835 ``heard`` with strong carrier but no audio except a loud hum! The only remaining English transmission, 1600-1615 was heard on 6215 and 9375 (not listed 9385) with very poor audio, barely intelligible to me just down the road from the transmitter site. Urdu to Europe at 1700 heard on 7530 and 9365 (not listed 9360). Some but not all external services are relayed on FM 90.1 (Chris Greenway, Jan, Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. 5080.3, Radio Pakistan, Rewat, Islamabad, 0245+, January 27, Vernacular, bulletin news or talk by male, 25332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Villa Giardino, Córdoba province, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** PALAU. Re 6-027: The regular schedule seems to be very limited: 15725 0900-1000 Vietnamese 15725 1000-1100 English 9965 1000-1400 Chinese The English program at 1000 is announced simply as "Gospel Radio", no mention about either KHBN or T8BZ. In the end these addresses were given: aprilchowradio @ hotmail.com --- CPO P.O. Box 6804, Hong Kong. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn and all, I found http://www.state.gov/r/rpa/ei/bgn/1840.htm among many other sites and it's from the US State Department. It explains a lot, but not exactly what the "Compact of Free Association with the United States" includes. This is the whole text [with my comments in brackets] : HISTORY [this is what interests me most] Palau was initially settled more than 4,000 years ago, probably by migrants from what today is Indonesia. British traders became prominent visitors in the 18th century, followed by expanding Spanish influence in the 19th century. Following its defeat in the Spanish- American War, Spain sold Palau and most of the rest of the Caroline Islands to Germany in 1899. [I knew vaguely there was a Spanish-German connexion.] Control passed to Japan in 1914 [Japan sided with the entente cordiale between Britain, France and Russia in the First World War] and then to the United States under UN auspices in 1947 as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. [The United States conquered Palau in the Pacific War in September, 1944.] Four of the Trust Territory districts formed a single federated Micronesian state in 1979, but the districts of Palau and the Marshall Islands declined to participate. Palau [formely also known as Belau] instead approved a new constitution and became the Republic of Palau in 1981, signing a Compact of Free Association with the United States in 1982. After eight [!] referenda and an amendment to the Palauan constitution, the Compact [agreement] went into effect on October 1, 1994, marking Palau's emergence from trusteeship to independence. So far the web, which is fantastic, and really too much at times. Something, I really don't know what, sparked my interest. Now I rest satisfied with what I have learnt, so let's leave the matter.73/ (Johan Berglund, Trollhättan, Sweden, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PALESTINE. WEST BANK AND GAZA: HAMAS CALLS TIME ON WESTERN-STYLE BROADCASTS In a recent report by UK based More4 TV, highlighting the implications for the broadcast media following January's Palestinian elections, the victors, Hamas, have begun to exert their authority by applying "social pressure" that may compel radio stations currently airing modern, western-style programming to adopt a strictly Islamic-based format. At the core of this battle of the airwaves is Gaza FM, a fledgling independent popular-music focussed station, broadcasting on 100.9 MHz. When interviewed, presenter Jayyabu Abu Safia said "The new rules brought by Hamas will ask us to play the Koran for hours". Fearing retribution by Hamas, the station's managers have responded by pulling Jayyabu's programme and no longer play any Western music. When asked to comment, Fadhi Hamad of Hamas responded by saying "We'll hold discussions with all radio stations to request they stop this kind of [Western] music and, God willing, we'll succeed. A large number have already been persuaded, and we hope the rest will follow". The presenters at the defeated Fatah party's radio station continue to play music by popular Arab artists, in defiance of Hamas. Ahmed Zoghbor, Fatah radio manager said "Hamas will be punished if they tamper with our rights, our freedom of _expression. Palestinians will understand what they're doing is wrong and punish them." Following its programmes, Gaza FM regularly receives phone calls from fundamentalists. Jayyabu has said that he would be prepared to leave the country because he was in fear of the death threats that he and his colleagues have had to endure since Hamas took control. Source: More4 TV, London, in English 2000 gmt 7 Feb 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** PERU. 3329.7, Ondas del Huallaga, 0234+, January 27, Spanish, ID as: "Transmite desde Huánuco, Ondas del Huallaga, en sus tres frecuencias, ...Radio Ondas del Haullaga, para todo el Perú", 24332. 3375.2, Radio San Antonio, papua [?] de Callalli, 1010+, January 27, Quechua, local ads, huaynos, 22432 with QRM from Radio Educadora, Guajara Mirim on 3375. 4486, Radio Frecuencia VH, Celendín, 0215+, January 27, Spanish, international pops, announcement & ID as: "estamos escuchando esta canción en Radio Frecuencia VH...", 25342. 5486.7, Radio Reyna de la Selva, Chachapoyas, 1050+, January 26, Spanish, greetings by male, TC as: "5 de la mañana con 53 minutos", 23432. QRM from bus communications in the same frequency (Arnaldo Slaen, Villa Giardino, Córdoba province, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) ** PETER I. The band opened up here for me at about 1230. 3Y0X heard on 14195 at 1236 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 12025 kHz, Radio Pilipinas. Jan. 29 at 0213-0300 in English. SINPO 45444. Music program consisted of Philippine popular songs. People in the news from 0258. // 15120 kHz (45444), 15270 kHz (inaudible). (Iwao Nagatani, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) Very seldom reported from NAm (gh) ** RUSSIA. 7200, R. Sakha, Feb 01 0910-0925, 44444, Yakut and Russian, News, ID at 0910 and 0913 etc, ID as "Radio Sakha", Local program from 0910 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 9545: For the second evening in a row (local time) I am hearing SIBC Honiara interfering with DW on 9545 kHz, 0700-1100 UT. It is in \\ with 5020, but the modulation sounds "over the top"! It is supposed to be a daytime only frequency. I suppose that DW in Europe is too strong to hear this? (Barry Hartley, NZ, Feb 7, wwdxc BC-DX via DXLD) ** SOMALIA [non]. R. Waaberi, 17660, Feb 10 logs: see LIBYA [and non] ** SUDAN [non]. Sudan Radio Service, via UK: 7120, 0410-0425+ Feb 3, tune-in to vernacular talk, ID. Occasional local Afro-pop music. Good but slight adjacent channel splatter; M-F only. 15575, *1500-1659* Feb 3, English sign-on with sked, IDs, address, phone numbers, station promos. 1505 English news, Afro-pops. 1530 ``Week in Review`` program. 1545 into vernacular to 1659 sign-off with multi-lingual IDs. Good; M-F only. 11705, *1700-1710+ Feb 3, Sign-on with opening theme music and vernacular talk, Afro-pops, IDs. Good; very weak co-channel station heard under Sudan. M-F only (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Presumably V. of People via Madagascar to Zimbabwe, no longer off-frequency (gh) ** THAILAND. THAI COMMUNITY BROADCASTER JAILED FOR ILLEGALLY OPERATING STATION | Text of unattributed article from the "General News" page headlined: "Verdict deals severe blow to community radio stations" in English by Thai newspaper Bangkok Post website on 8 February Ang Thong: Community radio operators were dealt a severe blow in their fight for the right to use the public air waves yesterday when an Ang Thong broadcaster was convicted of breaching the radio telecommunications law and sentenced to four months in jail. Sathien Chanthon, operator of 92.25mHz station in Chaiyo district, was found guilty of illegally operating the station and possessing a transmitter. The provincial court initially jailed him for six months, but reduced it by two months because he cooperated during the trial. He was also fined 40,000 baht. The radio station was up and running on 15 July 2002, only to be shut down a few months later by the Public Relations and Post and Telegraph departments. In his defence, Sathien argued that the station operated in line with article 40 of the constitution and cabinet resolutions issued on 16 July 2002 and 24 June 2003. Article 40 says radio and television transmission frequencies are national resources for use in the public interest and the resolutions empower the PRD to regulate all radio stations and promote them as community learning centres. Sathien said the station functioned as a learning centre and never aired commercials. It was funded through the government's Social Investment Fund. He said PRD officials failed to warn him he was breaking the law and give him advice when he set up the station. The court, however, ruled that despite article 40 an organic law on broadcasting was not yet in place and the station still came under the 1955 Radio Telecommunications Act. The ruling is bad news for community radio nationwide. Of the 3,000-4,000 community radio stations nationwide, Sathien is the only operator to have been prosecuted for illegally running a station. Others faced closure for failing to comply with regulations limiting antenna height to 30 metres, transmission power to 30 watts and broadcasting range to 15 km. Sathien said he would appeal the verdict, adding some community stations were told not to cover the Feb 11 rally by Sondhi Limthongkul under threat of closure. Supinya Klangnarong, a media activist fighting a multi-million-baht lawsuit filed by Shin Corp, was at the court and posted surety for Sathien's bail. Ms Supinya said the ruling would have tremendous repercussions on community radio stations and urged operators to press the government for a clear-cut policy. Source: Bangkok Post website, Bangkok, in English 8 Feb 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** TIBET. New for me was the ``Holy Tibet`` English program from Lhasa at 1630-1700 on 6130, very strong (Chris Greenway, Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** TUNISIA. RTT in Arabic observed during January: 0300-0400 9720 (also 12005?) 1700-1900 7225 9720 12005 0400-0510 7275 9720 12005 1900-2010 7190 7225 9720 0510-0630 7275 2010-2110 7190 7225 1600-1700 9720 12005 2110-2310 7190 (Tony Rogers, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. Some of you may already know, but to be sure I'll mention it: Supplement 113 to the 1975 Geneva plan is out, dated 7 Feb. It contains a good deal of interesting Ukrainian information. http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/publications/brific-ter/index.html (Olle Alm, Sweden, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 9) Click GE75 (Wolfgang Büschel, BCDX Feb 11 via DXLD) ADD HJ LUCH 032E12 46N49 9 16 1200kW 34.0dB A 132 3 UKR daytime ADD HN LUCH 032E12 46N49 9 16 1200kW 34.0dB A 132 3 UKR nighttime (via wb, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 9 via DXLD) 1431 UKR LUCH 1200 kW means Mykaliev, Ukraine? (wb, ibid.) Re Luch: Luch (means a ray) appears to be the village where the station personnel have their homes. And yes, this is the Mykolaiv site (Olle Alm, Sweden, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 9 via DXLD) ** UKRAINE Can anybody else report reception of Radio Dniprovska Khvylia on the new 5830 kHz? I found it after 0700 UT with UR1 relay, but the signal was extremely weak (open_dx - Sergey Nikishin-RUS, RUS DXsignal Feb 5 via BCDX via DXLD) Here comes a weakish signal, buried under heavy noise. No recognizable audio at all. Therefore, reception is very tentative (open_dx - Igor Danilevych-UKR, RUS DXsignal Feb 5, ibid.) Not even a carrier here in Moscow (open_dx - Pavel Mikhaylov-RUS, RUS DXsignal Feb 5, ibid.) ** U K. BBC 12095 kHz to Europe has been noticed to be off the air Feb. 9-10 1830-31 UT. Any change in frequency? (Enrico Oliva, East Northport, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Now that you mention it, I have not been hearing it afternoons when I used to; difficult to get accurate up-to-date BBCWS scheduling and changes. SW sked for C & SE Europe shows it 16-19, from 15 on Sats; http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/schedules/internet/800/radio_frequen cies_western_europe.shtml for WEu shows it 15-19, from 14 on Sats! North Africa has it closing at 18 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Some soul and R&B coming your way --- Hey man, I saw that you'd signed our guestbook back in November. And you were asking for some more soul &/or R&B? I know we go heavy on the 60s psych stuff lots of the time, but tomorrow night, and next week (being that this is black history month here in the U.S.) we're going heavier on the soul, R&B, blues type action. You might want to dig it. Catch it live from the studio feed on our "Listen-Up" page at our website, Friday nights 10:00-11:00 pm Eastern U.S. time or later on our Archive. Hope you catch it. Dig, JimE. Check out The Lost Discs Radio Show on the web - http://lostdiscsradioshow.tripod.com/ (via Raúl Saavedra, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi fellas. For those of us DXers who really dig the rare stuff of Soul R&B music, here's an invitation from JimE forwarded to me as I want to share with you for tonight Friday or UT Sat 0300 on WBCQ 7415//5110. Regards (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1020 in Roswell is back on the air. We're changing the calls back to KCKN (after 1340 in KC gave them up for the 2nd time) although it won't be official till Monday, the format will be classic country off the bird with morning and afternoon drive live. We're running a ten minute continuous tape tease over the weekend. We plan on going religion about 8 or 9 at night. I'll keep you posted when we do some after midnight non directional testing in the future (Don Niccum, operations manager, KINF 50 kW U4, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The next Paul Harvey: SENATOR TO TELL REST OF STORIES By JOHN MAINELLI --- EXCLUSIVE FORMER U.S. senator and "Law & Order" star Fred Thompson is the leading contender to succeed legendary radio commentator Paul Harvey, The Post has learned. Thompson met with ABC Radio execs late last year, and several insiders say he's at the top of a short list to take over the top-rated 87- year-old broadcaster's three daily "news and comment" programs. Harvey, who attracts 17 million listeners a week and is heard locally on WABC (770 AM), appeared frail last November when he accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His trademark pause-for-effect style retains its crispness and color, but his vocal delivery doesn't have the vigor and vinegar it once did --- indeed, a throat virus kept him off the air for three months in 2001. Harvey, who's in the middle of a 10-year, $100 million-dollar contract, is extremely valuable to ABC Radio and its owned stations, all of which were just sold by Disney to smaller-market broadcaster Citadel Communications. "We believe that . . . Harvey is responsible for generating nearly all of the network's $25 million in estimated annual [earning]," said Banc of America Securities analyst Jonathan Jacoby. Some wonder whether Thompson --- the actor and former U.S. senator from Tennessee --- can have advertisers waiting in line to get on the air like Harvey does. "What makes Harvey special is he can get Farmer John with two worn-out Ray Conniff LPs to buy a Bose music system," an ABC insider told The Post. A spokeswoman for Thompson referred calls to ABC Radio, whose spokesman said, "We have spoken to Sen. Thompson, but we talk to talent all the time about many different roles. There's no replacing Paul Harvey." (NY Post via Brock Whaley, Feb 10, DXLD) ** U S A. 100S OF RADIO STATIONS IN PAYOLA PROBE --- FCC COMMISSIONER: EVIDENCE OF 'SYSTEMATIC BETRAYAL OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BROADCASTERS' --- By BRIAN ROSS, RICHARD ESPOSITO and VIC WALTER Feb. 9, 2006 ‹ - Hundreds of radio stations are under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission in the payola scandal rocking the music industry, ABC has learned. "The FCC staff is working with voluminous evidence right now. It's a complicated and wide-ranging investigation." FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein told ABC News in an exclusive interview. "This is potentially the most widespread and flagrant violation of FCC rules in the history of American broadcasting," Adelstein said. "We've never seen evidence of such a systematic betrayal of the responsibility of broadcasters." . . . http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/print?id=1600966 (via Kevin Redding, AZ, ABDX via DXLD) follow-up to 6-026 ** U S A. CAMPAIGN FOR BETTER IDs It is rare, perhaps unique, when a columnist writing daily for about half of all America's newspapers, a household name read by all, and with a readership and circulation far greater than any political or current- affairs commentator, carries an appeal for something which, if heeded, would be to the immediate benefit of all DXers, especially domestic AM DXers in North America. Not only that, but the recommendation might help reverse a negative trend widely commented on by DXers, most notably by James Niven in his IRCA Slogan List 2005- 2006. Jim says "In recent times, it has become increasingly difficult to identify the station one is tuned to." For the reasons and details, read Jim's introduction. Now, Dear Abby to the rescue! Yes, everyone's favorite advice column, Dear Abby, written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips. Abby's column published in my local newspaper on Saturday January 21, 2006, and given the excellent banner headline "Driver hopes for more directions on radio" (date and heading may vary among different newspapers, so check your local back files) says in relevant part: "Dear Abby: I have recently returned home from a 3,000-mile driving trip. Why don't radio stations give their city of origin when they give their call letters / numbers? This would greatly help travelers who are driving through the area when it comes to traffic or weather problems. Sometimes a station will report a bad accident... but... what city? Am I approaching it, or is it behind me? The same could be said about weather... (w)hat city is reporting... a traveler has no way of knowing if it's ahead or behind where he or she is driving. Please help to get the word out regarding the safety value of this one=second addition to these broadcasts. Thank you on behalf of travelers everywhere."- Frustrated Traveler, Mansfield, Ohio. All DXers should write Dear Abby at http://www.DearAbby.com or P. O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069 and thank her, adding their own examples and reasons for agreeing with, or even expanding upon, the above. They should emphasize public safety, public service, FCC regulations, whatever it takes. They could mention the DXing hobby, too, in an educational way. I won't provide a model form letter. I'll leave it to each DXer to write. In some cases, letters on the same subject to local newspapers, newscasters and weathercasters would be appropriate. Please let me know of any responses received, or publish them here. 73 (Richard E. Wood, HCR3, Box 11087, Keaau, Hawaii 96749- 9221, IRCA Soft DX Monitor Feb 11 via DXLD) ** VATICAN. As I was tuning in Ukraine on 5880, I was surprised to hear Vatican on 5885 concluding an interview in English, sign-off, to return tomorrow at same time, until 2400* UT Feb 10; SIO 333 (Joe Hanlon, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Unscheduled time for English and 5885 had been closing at 2300, per EiBi B-05 (gh, DXLD) ** VIETNAM. 4739.75, R. Son La -1400* Feb 10 with nice Vietnamese music. Close down at 14 UT. Signal strength S4 and overall reception poor to fair. Same time Voice of Vietnam, Xuan Mai was heard on 5925 kHz with pretty strong co-channel QRM by CNR 5, Taiwan Service (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, Rx: AOR 7030+, Ant: 95 m lw to E, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YEMEN. Sana`s observed with a very good signal on 28 January, in Arabic on 9779.5, until it went abruptly off at 1638 UT. Returned at 1640 on 9779.8 but much weaker. Seems to switch transmitters, as suggested by Wolfgang Büschel. Had also been heard with an excellent signal on 9779.5 on 26 January up to 2205*, but a few days before on 23 January was barely audible at sign-off; het disappeared at 2217 (Tony Rogers, UK, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4756.8, 0009 UT 19 Jan, noise of a stringed instrument being plucked with no speech. It was tuneless. Not sure if a test or some sort of utility station. Not a sound that I had heard before --- but I seldom stray outside the Tropical Bands! Any ideas? Not heard since; SIO 333 (Kevin O`Daly, Rickmansworth, Herts, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. HF NOISE INCREASING --- Hello from Ireland. I would like to draw your attention to two things that are affecting shortwave reception (AM mode at least) here in western Europe, neither of which are getting much publicity. First of all is the on-going appearance on the higher frequencies of a very wideband and at times high level of pulse-type interference. It appeared first about 18 months ago and it took me some time to realise that it was not coming from local electronic equipment, as I was able to hear it from a number of locations. The pulses are not unlike those of the 9995 kHz Russian time/frequency transmitter, slightly slower, about 4 pulses per second. I have not yet had the chance to put them on a `scope so don’t know what the duty-cycle is. Anyway I hear them at best in the afternoons ca. 1300-1800 UT and they can be heard over a very wide range of frequencies simultaneously, about 13 to 22 MHz. On a Sangean ATS909 wide AM, they can fill half the LCD signal bars at each pulse. At times the pulses can be heard from ca. 8 MHz right up to 25 MHz. What kind of power level can do that? WHY HAS NO ONE NOTICED THEM YET? I had a letter published in RSGB Radcom magazine but only reply thought it might be a HF Radar at Cyprus (British base) but I think not. Surely they would not pollute many MHz of HF in that way. Amateurs, broadcast, marine aero all get it. Whilst on holiday in S E Spain, ALICANTE, I HAVE HEARD THE SAME PULSE but with different times, sometimes right through the night, on otherwise dead HDHF frequencies. (By the way, is HF propagation steadily declining? I ask as I seem to think that 11 and 15 MHz were open much better and longer into darkness hours 30+ years ago.) It would be interesting to hear what other listeners experience of the terrible HF pulse interference in other countries. It varies with varying HF propagation of course. Who is at it? What RF power? For what purpose? Paranoids would say weather or mind manipulation --- probably military surveillance. The other noise source on the HF bands is dreaded DRM (Dreadful Radio Menace?). Its rectangular, strong 10 kHz-wide spectrum plays havoc with adjacent AM stations. Really, even with good selectivity, an AM channel must be 10 kHz from DRM centre so each DRM effectively occupies 20 kHz of channel spacing. Very little left in the 49 or 41 official bands after 4 or 5 DRM are bashing out the noise. Some too seem to have an appreciable noise floor spread. I seems that transmitter ops have to be very linear like AM TV. Really DRM should be given exclusive allocation to play around with. What will fading DRM on shortwave sound like --- terrible I think. Remember SSB (HCJB had it) was mooted some years ago for the future of shortwave. Maybe local 25 MHz DRM might take off, but full blooded fading HF, I think not. That’s off my chest now. Hope it might be of some interest. Regards (DES WALSH. E-mail des.walsh @ iaa.ie Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Keep up the awesome work. You make this hobby so much better. Yours truly (Bill Patalon, Baltimore MD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DRM: See GERMANY; UNIDENTIFIED; CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES DTV: See MEXICO CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ FRENCH DRM BROADCASTS TO BE SHOWCASED ON THE LATEST MULTI-STANDARD, DRM CONSUMER RADIOS AT LE RADIO! IN PARIS, FEBRUARY 12-15 For Immediate Release: February 9, 06 Contact: Siriol Evans, DRM, pressoffice @ drm.org Paris – French commercial radio stations and public broadcasters will demonstrate their DRMTM broadcasts on the latest multi-standard, DRM- capable consumer receivers at Le Radio! in Paris next week, February 12-15. Le Radio! is France`s largest radio show, which is held annually at the Paris Expo. In conjunction with the national DRM coalition called DRM France, DRM members RTL Group, Europe 1, Radio France, RFI and TDF will transmit live DRM programs during Le Radio!. Joining them will be RMC, MCR, Littoral AM, RNT, Radio Télérama, CIEL AM, Superloustic, Radio de la Mer, Loisirs FM and Radio Orient. In addition, the temporary radio station for the event, ``La Radio du RADIO!`` will broadcast in DRM. DRM France brings together French broadcasters, network operators, retailers and manufacturers involved in DRM implementation. International DRM broadcasts from several DRM members will also be available, including BBC World Service and Deutsche Welle, which are participating at the DRM stand. ``Le Radio! 2006 is DRM`s first opportunity to give the French radio industry its own, close-up look at the exciting, new, DRM-capable, multi-standard consumer radios,`` says DRM Chairman Peter Senger of Deutsche Welle. ``Deutsche Welle sends regular DRM broadcasts into France, and we are delighted to participate at Le Radio!.`` ``France is a priority market for DRM`s commercial launch, and DRM is well-positioned for market success in alliance with DRM France,`` says Michel Penneroux of TDF, who is the Chairman of DRM`s Commercial Committee. The broadcasts will be demonstrated at the DRM Stand (Hall 5.3, L120) on the latest consumer radios by Roberts, courtesy of DRM member RadioScape. The receivers have DRM/DAB/FM/RDS capabilities plus analog short-wave, medium-wave/AM and long-wave. They use DRM member RadioScape`s RS500 module, and DRM member Texas Instruments` DRM350 multi-standard digital radio baseband. Interested consumers will be able to order DRM-capable radios online in the coming months. Consumers are advised to stay tuned to http://www.drm.org as well as DRM`s national Web sites including http://www.drmfrance.com for product availability bulletins and ordering information. Stand visitors can also learn about the latest DRM-related developments. These include: AMSS, a new signaling system developed under the auspices of DRM and now being broadcast by the BBC World Service. AMSS allows new digital receivers to identify the broadcast when tuned to AM and put the station label on the tuning menu, as if it were digital. SMS+, in which you can send a message from your cellular phone to the radios at Le Radio! - just dial 06 86 28 47 35 to see your message displayed on DRM-capable receivers broadcasting in 26 MHz. (Visit the DRM stand to obtain the DRM code prior to sending your SMS+ messages.) A new service for news headlines via DRM, called ``Fils Info RSS.`` (Siriol Jane Evans, DRM, also via Andy Lawendel, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ SHORTWAVE TO THE RESCUE, MAYBE We of the North American Shortwave Association know that the best way to get a signal in to Cuba is shortwave, by which, thanks to physics, signals from afar are often heard better than closer jamming transmitters. But Radio Martí’s shortwave service was not mentioned at all in the LA Times piece. And one of the IBB shortwave transmitting sites capable of reaching Cuba, Greenville A, was recently put into ``caretaker`` status. Shortwave is still a way to get international broadcasts into countries where FM and television relays are yanked off the air, satellite dishes banned, and websites filtered. The problem is that radios with shortwave bands are not as common as in previous decades. Many countries used to use shortwave for domestic broadcasting, to reach their non-urban areas. Now networks of cheap FM transmitters cover much of that territory, so the incentive to buy or sell radios with shortwave bands has diminished. Governments intent on restricting the information their own people receive are perfectly content with this development. The DRM digital radio technology is often touted as the savior of shortwave. But how will DRM do in target countries where shortwave is most needed, where jamming could be a factor and incoming stations do not have access to close-in relay transmitters? My experience so far is that DRM is much less forgiving than analog shortwave when degradations such as fading and interference occur. And governments can restrict the sale of DRM receivers much more easily than they can confiscate all the old analog shortwave radios in their country’s households. There are few promising alternatives to shortwave for getting content into restricted countries. E-mail is one possibility, using the techniques of the spam industry -- which would be countered by the dictatorship using anti-spam software likely manufactured in the United States. Also, within the internet realm, proxy websites and peer-to-peer techniques have also been employed, so far producing mixed results. Gray market satellite receivers are another means people in restricted countries use to receive information from abroad, although larger numbers of people are interested in using satellites to get entertainment from abroad. Many people in Iran seem to be doing this, and some receive VOA Persian television and various Iranian exile channels. Some Chinese also risk owning illegal satellite dishes to get entertainment from Taiwan and other foreign channels. In Iran, China, and other countries, enforcement of satellite equipment bans tends not to be constant, but is exercised from time to time, and in some localities more than others. To be sure, most media consumers prefer television to radio, and the clear signal from satellites to the variable signals on shortwave. They just hope they don`t get caught (Kim Andrew Elliott, standard disclaimer, Feb NASWA Journal via DXLD) RNW'S "RECEIVER SHOPPING LIST" --- STILL ALIVE, BUT HIDING! In a recent post, Andy Sennitt states that the "Receiver Shopping List" has been retired. This announcement might cause many to conclude, as Glenn did (quite understandably): "Radio Netherlands has removed this once-valuable reference from its website; see NETHERLANDS (gh)" Does this mean that the list is intended to be "unavailable", "not as readily available", or "soon to be unavailable"? The only real change that I have found (to date), is that there is no `shortcut' found for these reviews in the "media" department site of RNW. However, the information for all 58 receivers can still be found at the current RNW site by clicking: http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/productreviews/receivers/rx_sort1.html Question: Since the reviews are in the system, why not restore the `shortcut' link? The information can't be taking up too much space --- after all, it is still there, (just without a clearly spelled out link). Should this information disappear altogether at the current RNW site, there is one other way to dredge up these receiver reviews – through the following "Internet Archive's Waybackmachine" site: http://web.archive.org/web/20050220015721/www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/productreviews/receivers/rx_sort1.html At this site, all of the receiver information appears to be intact, but placed in the older-style RNW website graphics. Déjà vu. 73, (Mark Vosmeier, N9IWF, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Receiver Shopping List is no longer supported. The HTML pages may still be physically on the server at the moment, but they may be taken off at any time, probably quite soon. The process of archiving old material is still ongoing. The information regarding price, availability etc. may no longer be accurate. You are welcome to make use of the information as long as you can access it, but Radio Netherlands cannot accept responsibility for decisions made on the basis of old material which we no longer support. Nor can we answer questions that may arise as a result of using this unsupported information. Websites, like radio stations, evolve and change as time goes on. If we never remove anything, we haven’t the space to add new things. If we still had the budget, staff and time to keep the Receiver Shopping List up to date, we would do so. But I do not want to see out-of-date and no longer accurate information being credited to Media Network (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###