DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-063, April 18, 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 NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRING OF WORLD OF RADIO Extra 66: Wed 0930 WWCR 9985 Latest edition of the above: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.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 FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1312: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415 Wed 2300 on WBCQ 18910-CLSB Fri 2030 on WWCR 15825 Sat 0400 on WRMI 9955 MUNDO RADIAL, abril-mayo, desde el 21 de abril, viernes y lunes 2113v en WWCR 15825; domingos 1030 en WRMI 9955; (corriente) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0604.ram (descargar) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0604.rm (descargar mp3 pendiente) http://www.obriensweb.com/mr0604.mp3 (texto) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0604.html DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS April 18: http://worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html ** AFGHANISTAN. 9344.997, 1610, Voice of Peace, Bagram with Afghan non-stop music and news together with politics every half hour. Weak. Israel and Holland usually cover this frequency. Bagram is rather stable on 9344.9974 kHz. SA (Stig Adolfsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin April 16, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. New updated A-06 schedule for Radio Tirana effective from Apr. 17: Albanian to West Europe 0630-0800 Daily 1458 FLA 500 kW / 338 deg 7105 SHI 100 kW / non-dir 0800-0900 Daily 1395 FLA 500 kW / 033 deg 7105 SHI 100 kW / non-dir 1400-1530 Daily 1458 FLA 500 kW / non-dir 2030-2200 Daily 6205 SHI 100 kW / non-dir Albanian to North America 2300-0030 Daily 7455 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg English to North America 0145-0200 Tue-Sun 6115 SHI 100 kW / 300 deg 7455 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg 0230-0300 Tue-Sun 6115 SHI 100 kW / 300 deg 7455 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg English to United Kingdom 1845-1900 Mon-Sat 7465 SHI 100 kW / non-dir 9920 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg >>> QRM BBC in Arabic 9915 2000-2030 Mon-Sat 7465 SHI 100 kW / non-dir >>> new time 2130-2200 Mon-Sat 7465 SHI 100 kW / non-dir >>> cancelled German to Germany 1800-1830 Mon-Sat 1458 FLA 500 kW / 338 deg 7465 SHI 100 kW / 350 deg >>> cancelled 1930-2000 Mon-Sat 7465 SHI 100 kW / 350 deg >>> new time Greek to Greece 1545-1600 Mon-Sat 1458 FLA 500 kW / non-dir French to France 1900-1930 Mon-Sat 9920 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg >>> QRM BBC in Arabic 9915 Italian to Italy 1900-1930 Mon-Sat 6225 SHI 100 kW / non-dir >>> new time 1930-2000 Mon-Sat 5995 SHI 100 kW / non-dir >>> cancelled Serbian to Serbia 1800-1815 Mon-Sat 6225*SHI 100 kW / non-dir >>> new time, QRM UNID station on 6220 2015-2030 Mon-Sat 1458 FLA 500 kW / 004 deg 6205 SHI 100 kW / non-dir >>> cancelled Turkish to Turkey 1530-1545 Mon-Sat 1458 FLA 500 kW / non-dir (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 18 via DXLD) ** ALGERIA. 702 MW RTA Chaîne 1, Djelfa (?), 50/25 kW (?), reactivated as logged 1841-..., 15 Apr, Arabic, talks on the Palestine, reports; feed delay relative to // 549 for instance; 45444. http://algerian-radio.dz/accueil.htm showing the map of Algeria and the existing & planned local radios, does not list 702 kHz which was last listed in the WRTH 2003 (p. 68) as a 50/25 kW local station. Maybe this outlet was the one used to carry the Polisario Front on occasions as the signal strength & bearing is pretty much the same. (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS. AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS MEET IN ANDAMAN Fifteen months after their heroic exploits in the aftermath of the tsunami that claimed several hundred lives and wreaked unprecedented havoc in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a team of amateur radio operators is back in Port Blair. Recognising the critical role played by the Hams in the emergency communication between Port Blair and the mainland after the earthquake-triggered tidal waves hit the islands, the government has agreed to sponsor the "Hamfest (VU4) India 2006" from April 18 to 20. The ministries of information technology and tourism are sponsoring the festival along with the Andaman and Nicobar administration. Lieutenant-governor Ram Kapse will inaugurate the event, which is also supported by ministries of defence, home affairs and human resources development. The chairman of the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Amateur Radio, Mr S. Suri, said the members of the "Dx-pedition" in Port Blair in December 2004 mobilised their resources to provide humanitarian service to support essential rescue and relief operations. "[Since then] several requests were forwarded to NIAR from international amateur radio organisations, ‘Dx’ forums and individual Hams to organise a suitable event in a befitting manner to highlight the benefits of amateur radio for social and scientific development," he said. "The services of these amateur radio operators were appreciated by several agencies at home and abroad," Mr Suri added. "The conference will serve as a forum for presentation and discussion on emergency communication and latest technological developments in amateur radio." A participant, Bharathi Prasad, told this newspaper from Port Blair that about 38 Hams from Italy, Germany, Japan, the United States, Poland and France are participating besides 60 Hams from India. She says one of the several objectives of the festival will be to promote tourism. Ms Prasad and four others, including her husband and son, were in Port Blair when the tsunami struck. Author: Ramesh Ramachandran Source: The Asian Age (via Jaisakthivel, Ardic Dx Club, http://www.dxersguide.blogspot.com dxldyg via DXLD) ** AZERBAIJAN. 18332.4 kHz, R. Azerbaijan (3 x 6110.8) IS & ID at 1058 April 16 (6110 blocked by brother stair) (Tim Bucknall, UK, Mobile, Icom R75 + CB Whip, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** BELARUS. Some changes for A-06 of Radio Belarus Minsk HS-1: 0400-0700 NF 11930 MNS 100 kW / 075 deg, ex 0400-0600 on 11735 A-05 0900-1000 on 11960 MNS 100 kW / 075 deg for A-05, cancelled Summer A-06 of Radio Belarus Minsk External Sce in Belarussian/En/Ge/Ru: 0100-0300 5970 MNS 250 kW / 255 deg 1900-2200 7105 MNS 250 kW / 255 6170 MNS 150 kW / 245 deg 7280 MNS 100 kW / 270 7210 MNS 100 kW / 270 deg 7290 MNS 150 kW / 245 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 18 via DXLD) ** BELARUS [non]. Re Radio Polonia FM broadcasts of ethnic Poles in Belarus: So 105.3 is the frequency, but what's the site?! Can't find any Polskie Radio transmitter that would match. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, April 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM. Tests ondas cortas RTBFi "Buenos días! Le mando este mensaje porque queremos mejorar la señal de RTBF Internacional en España, sobre todo en la cuenca mediterránea de donde nos llegaron muchas quejas el año pasado. Pensamos probar un nuevo transmisor y varias antenas en mayo. Estamos buscando radioescuchas dispuestos a escuchar nuestra señal (9979 [sic] kHz) unos minutos diarios para evaluar la calidad de la recepción. Aquellos radioescuchas que estén dispuestos a ayudarnos, por favor, que nos escriban. Muchas gracias por su ayuda. Saludos de Bélgica! Priscille CAZIN rtbfi@... [truncated by yg] (via Adiel Nunes, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Interesting that they write in Spanish to someone in Brazil about this, since they transmit in neither language (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL – Apesar de estar há muitos anos inativa nas freqüências de 11965 e 15135 kHz, a Rádio Record, de São Paulo (SP), obteve, no ano de 2004, autorização da Anatel para efetuar modificações técnicas em tais canais. Voltaria a emissora a reativar tais freqüências? BRASIL – Recentemente, por meio de seu diretor, Raimundo Filho, a Rádio Timbira, de São Luís (MA), informou que reativaria as freqüências de 4975 e 15215 kHz, em ondas curtas. Uma fonte ligada à radiodifusão daquele Estado, consultada pelo colunista, informou que dificilmente a Timbira voltará a transmitir em ondas curtas, uma vez que está completamente sucateada. A mesma fonte, no entanto, classifica o trabalho do diretor como exemplar. A emissora pertence ao governo do Maranhão e parte de sua programação está sendo administrada pela Assembléia Legislativa. Com o dinheiro do parlamento, muita coisa pode ser feita! BRASIL - O Senado é Mais Brasil é o programa que a Rádio Senado Ondas Curtas, de Brasília (DF), leva ao ar, de segundas a sextas-feiras, às 7h, no horário oficial de Brasília, [= 1000 UT] em 5990 kHz. Apresentado por Rita Coutinho e José Carlos Sigmaringa, leva ao ar músicas, notícias sobre as atividades do Senado, dicas sobre saúde, meio ambiente e legislação. O programa recebe cerca de 180 cartas por mês de pessoas que não têm acesso ao telefone e Internet. Confira o excelente trabalho de inclusão social da Rádio Senado Ondas Curtas acessando http://www.senado.gov.br/agencia/verNoticia.aspx?codNoticia=49820 (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX April 17 via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. RADIO BULGARIA CUMPLE SU 70 ANIVERSARIO A todos los amigos de Radio Bulgaria en Español, nuestra invitación. Estimados amigos: Este año Radio Bulgaria – que agrupa los servicios exteriores de Radio Nacional de Bulgaria – cumple su 70 aniversario. Las emisiones para el exterior desde esta capital Sofía, se iniciaron en 1936, un solo año después de inaugurada la emisora nacional. En ocasión de tan importante fecha nos dirigimos a todos Uds. para invitarles a participar, si lo desean, en nuestros programas especiales inspirados en la efeméride. Recibiríamos con sumo agrado sus mensajes grabados en casete que radiaremos en un programa dedicado a la audiencia del Servicio Hispánico. Los envíos deben llegar a Radio Bulgaria antes del 1 de septiembre de 2006. Recordamos que hoy Radio Bulgaria transmite en onda media y corta en diez lenguas para todo el mundo: albanés, alemán, búlgaro, español, francés, griego, inglés, ruso, serbio y turco. En mayo de 2004 se estrenó la página de Radio Bulgaria en Internet, presentada en todas las lenguas citadas más el árabe, con textos, material gráfico y programas de audio. Esperamos sus mensajes grabados, amigos de Radio Bulgaria en español. Cordiales saludos, Ludmila Petra, Radio Bulgaria en Español Radio Bulgaria, 4, Dragan Tsankov Blvd., 1040 Sofia, Bulgaria, fax (359 2) 8650 560 Tel: (359 2) 9336 678; http://www.bnr.bg E-mail: spanish @ bnr.bg; spanish @ nationalradio.bg 73. (via Dino Bloise, FLORIDA, EEUU, DXLD) ** BULGARIA. New DRM from Sofia to Europe, Sat & Sun with WRN programming: 09-14 on 13865, 18-22 on 11540 and 5820 (Bob Padula, Radio EDXP, on HCJB DX Partyline April 15, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Perhaps derived from one of the DRM schedule pages: http://baseportal.com/baseportal/drmdx/main http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/dossiers/drm_schedule.html Sat/Sun (only): 09-14 13865, 14-18 11540, 18-22 5820, but don`t you believe it. Seemingly skipped the separate 14-18 entry and put its frequency with the next entry. But this is not correct either. WRN confirms the current as of April 16 schedule, tho subject to change soon, is: Sats and Suns: 0800-1400 13865 1400-1800 11540 1800-2100 9310 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURMA [non]. Summer A-06 for Democratic Voice of Burma in Burmese: 1430-1528 on 15480 ERV 200 kW / 100 deg \\ 17625 MDC 250 kW / 055 deg 2330-0028 on 9490 WER 150 kW / 090 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 18 via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. Re CHNS Halifax moving from 960 to FM: That will certainly help clear up 960 here in the Northeast. Maybe Calgary can squeak in here sometime. This does bring up an interesting thought. When a Canadian station vacates a frequency, the CTRC does not remove the internationally-notified allocation. This prevents any US station from increasing power to take advantage of this. I wonder if it would be possible for the US station to "lease" this coverage from the Canadian station? This lease could be a standard business arrangement that could be terminated by either party on appropriate notice. The Canadian station would notify the CTRC of this. The US station would apply to the FCC for an STA to relax coverage toward the now-dark Canadian station. If the lease were terminated, the STA would become null and void, and the US station would return to it's previous power and antenna configuration. The Canadian station could make some money, and the US station could gain some coverage. Win-win, from what I can see (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, April 12, IRCA via DXLD) I'm thinking no, and here's why: The Canadian licensing scheme is significantly weirder than ours (which is saying something!) There are actually two agencies involved: the CRTC, which determines who's qualified to be a licensee and handles all programming-related matters, and Industry Canada, which is responsible for the spectrum. It is actually possible in Canada (indeed, it happened just last week) for the CRTC to license a station without granting it a frequency. (In last week's case, the CRTC granted a new FM signal in Toronto but rejected its proposed use of 98.7, sending the licensee back to Industry Canada to find another workable frequency, if there is one.) Here's the fly in the "Healy Plan": When a station like CHNS moves to FM, what's really happening is that the CRTC is issuing a new license for what's considered a new FM station. At the end of the (usually) three-month transitional period, one of the conditions of the new FM license is that the AM license be returned to the CRTC for revocation. So the former AM licensee has no AM coverage to "lease" to a US station. Once the old AM license is gone, Industry Canada continues to notify its former facilities to the FCC and other international regulators, and even though that notification (at least in the FCC's database) carries the former station's callsign, the old licensee has nothing at all to do with it. Now, if Industry Canada wanted to work out some sort of arrangement, that might be feasible... s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) OK. Substitute CRTC or Industry Canada for "Canadian station". I don't think it really matters who signs the lease or gets the check in Canada. It's a way to make some money and promote better use of the spectrum. My first job in radio was with WSAR-1480 in Fall River, MA in 1970. At that time they were DA-2 with a null around 40 degrees nights to protect a Canadian station that wasn't on the air. For some reason, that allocation was deleted. WSAR was able to eliminate that null and go DA-1. There must be dozens of these situations, all potential revenue sources (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) ** CANADA. Creating my own DX targets --- Just a quick note to let the group know that as of April 3rd, I'm now in charge of Weatheradio Network Design & Planning for all of Canada --- so I'll be the guy suggesting where the new VHF stations (and some LPFM & AMs) go and on what frequencies. Kinda like creating your own DX targets (and pests!). We're adding SAME codes this year and continuing to expand. Any QSL requests for DX receptions of Weatheradio Canada stations can be passed on to me. PS: After 3 years, we're finally getting close to getting 102.5 Britt on the air. It'll be up on a 364 foot tower. But don't ask about 103.7 Algonquin Park - I got a year extension from the CRTC - but we're having some bigtime behind-the-scenes difficulties that I am not able to divulge. Cheers, Bill (William Hepburn, Grimsby, ON, CAN, April 12, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CANADA. Internet Radio/Southern Ontario FM --- ``All Night Live`` will now be regularly heard on a computer near you (and shortly a radio near you, plus maybe some radios not near you). The show runs LIVE, Monday through Thursday night (midnight) `till 3 am (for now). Eventually it will continue all night. So that`s really Tue through Fri morning. [EDT = 04-07 UT] Tune in. Listen. And (hopefully) enjoy. Better yet, if you have the nerve, call in. 416-495-7745. We`ll give an 800 number on air as well. If you`d like to chat about your cat, discuss music, or just can`t sleep and need companionship, by all means be part of the show. We`d love to have you on board (because the host gets very lonely if he`s left alone all night). We`d love to share some good memories with good friends, and perhaps, just maybe, create an audio community for everyone to feel ``at home`` with. Enjoy the music. Make suggestions as what kind of music you`d like to hear more of. We even welcome complaints about what kind of music you don`t want to hear, because we`re trying to tailor the music right now to address two different objectives. It will be slow to start, but we`re very excited about the possibilities of live radio at night. Honestly? We do appreciate feedback of any kind. So feel free to make notes and discuss. OH. And tell your friends too ;-) Many thanks. For more details... http://www.lg73.com --- Don Andrews Don Andrews is a long time radio broadcaster in the Toronto area. He has done shows at CKFM and CHWO AM 740 among others. Much of the programming on lg73.com is intended to be on the new FM station coming to Caledonia, which should begin testing soon. I`m not sure what kind of power they intend to run but it should reach Hamilton and region. With any luck, it will reach Niagara because this reporter is enjoying the mix tremendously. The LG73 feed originates in Vancouver and attempts to replicate in spirit CKLG 730. ``Somehow, Phil Kushnir managed to get permission to try and keep alive the music format that CKLG was famous for. He even managed to acquire the old CKLG jingles, which we use today. It would not be unlike 1050 CHUM moving to all sports, but some enterprising person wanted to try and keep the memories of the old CHUM alive.`` (Don Andrews) The internet has become a great source of information and programming. I have referred to my PC many times as a ``world-band radio``. Much internet radio is extremely professional --- the internet acting as a relay station, if you will. Some ``stations`` and programs are essentially hobby sites, some guy in his basement playing DJ. Not that there`s anything wrong with that. Some great undiscovered talent may be, and is, hiding out there. Internet radio reminds me of the early days of radio when a young guy (oh say, my father) could walk into a radio station like CFQC in Saskatoon, get an audition and shortly thereafter have his own* show on the air. I think it`s great to discover these hidden gems --- sometimes they are painful to listen to, but then that`s the case with anything. I love prowling the net to find these shows. Very much like DXing (Fred Waterer, Ont, Programming Matters, April ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** CANADA. Robert Rabinovitch's message to Employees on CBC and Accountability --- Here's an email all CBC employees received today from Rabinovitch April 11, 2006 CBC/RADIO-CANADA TO COME UNDER ACCESS TO INFORMATION LEGISLATION The Government today tabled the Federal Accountability Act, which includes strengthening access to information legislation. Specifically, the Act will expand the coverage of the Access to Information Act to certain Agents of Parliament, Crown Corporations and foundations created under federal statute, including CBC/Radio- Canada. CBC/Radio-Canada fully supports efforts to promote a culture of openness, accountability and accessibility. We have been working with Government officials over the past year to develop proper safeguards to enable the Government to meet its objectives, while at the same time preserving the journalistic, creative and programming independence that is fundamental to a successful national public broadcaster. As tabled, the amended Act affords us News and programming protections, which have been afforded to other public broadcasters like the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation under similar legislation. Specifically, Article 68.1 stipulates: ``This Act does not apply to any information that is under the control of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that relates to its journalistic, creative or programming activities, other than information that relates to its general administration.`` As we understand it today, the Bill will be examined by a legislative committee in May. In the meantime, under Pierre Nollet`s leadership, the Law Department will carry out a thorough analysis of what this change means for CBC/Radio-Canada, including what people, processes, education and training we will need to put in place to adapt effectively. Rest assured, we will keep you apprised of developments, both with respect to the Bill itself and to what it means for all of us here at CBC/Radio-Canada. === Robert Rabinovitch President and CEO (via Ricky Leong, AB, April 12, DXLD) ** CHINA. 18200, CNR at 1029 UT April 16 (Tim Bucknall, UK, Mobile, Icom R75 + CB Whip, harmonics yg via DXLD) 18200 not likely to be a true harmonic; latest Sound of Hope channel to be jammed? (gh, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. Re 6-054, Raúl Saavedra on MW stations of the past: I saw this item a few days ago but went on vacation, so just getting to respond. I looked up this time period since I have all my reception reports beginning with Jan.1, 1962. Sure enough, I sent a report for a reception of Radio Omega, TIXE on 16 April 1975 at 0051 UT on 625 kHz. I had the power listed as 10 kW but don't know why. I sent a taped report and 3 IRCs but do not have any details written on a rough draft as I usually do and I guess I did not make a copy of my original report that accompanied the recording. I did not receive a reply. On this same night about an hour later, I also wrote a report to Radio Sonora which was on 675 kHz, also sending a taped report. They did verify the reception --- in 12 days! I sent another report to Radio Omega for a reception on 4 February 1976 at 0026 UT --- this time with a taped report and mint stamps (again no written details on a rough draft). No reply again. In the mid-1980s, I verified Radio Rumbo on 530 kHz (I think they had just recently moved from 535 kHz), so I have verified 2 stations in Costa Rica, but eliminating the splits certainly hindered chances of hearing Latins up here using a dipole antenna geared towards shortwave at the time. 73- (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY (reception in Bedford Hills, NY at that time which is 15 km south of Mahopac), April 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Noted a Cuban style bubble jammer 4/13/06, from 0200 to 0235+ on 5980. The Cubans jam Radio Martí scheduled 0700-1200 UT but there isn't anything on now that seems to make sense to jam. Radio Guarujá from Brazil and RT Malaysia are listed at this time, but don't seem likely targets. Pretty early to be burning kilowatts to jam nothing. However, these are the Cubans who are not known for precision in their jamming habits (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also TURKEY ** CUBA [and non]. Si amigos, you are listening to almost 45 years old Radio Havana Cuba, and I believe that we are now among the five oldest Latin America short wave stations. Yes, we can be heard also via satellite on the Hispasat I D, transponder 79, vertical polarization, in English from 05 to 07 UTC, and I can assure you that the sound coming from that satellite feed sounds exactly as if you were seating at the studio's control room !!! Nice HF propagation conditions, with solar flux figures going now down from a peak of around 105 units. Here is ASK ARNIE part two: several listeners from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland want to know what's their best option to pick up Radio Havana Cuba in Europe. Well amigos, at present we are not broadcasting to Europe from Havana. We are relying on the streaming audio fed to the Internet. BUT, radio is radio, and in radio things never happen exactly the same way, not even twice. So, YES, sometimes you can pick up Radio Havana Cuba's English language broadcasts in Europe from around 00 [sic] UTC to around 06 or even 07 UTC on the following frequencies, 6000 kilohertz, 6060 kilohertz, and sometimes the 11760 kilohertz frequency can be picked up between 2100 and 2200 hours UTC [you mean 2030-2130] (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited April 8 via Conexión Digital April 8 via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. QSL from Radio Anacaona. Replied quickly with email and promised as well to send various stuff, hope that will reach me in due time. Veriesigner Dr. Manuel A. Bello, Director Ejecutivo (Kenneth Olofsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin April 16, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Presumably for the harmonic 2240, further endangering its perpetuation (gh) ** ECUADOR [and non]. Surely you monitor HCJB, and have heard of their surrendering English; last DX will apparently be May 6! I'll miss the DX, but never appreciated their "english" on religion, but they did have a dignity about it that gets rarer. Have been running into them since high school on my old HOWARD (Howard Box, Oak Ridge TN, April 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Doug Weber`s gist, interviewed by Allan Graham: English broadcast stream comes to an end May 6. Affected by Pifo changes discussed a couple weeks ago? No, a separate coincidental thing. A philosophical/ ministerial decision. Has only been 2.5 hours a day, and not getting much response, but gets more from some ESL programs. Refocusing more on that, via other outlets, mostly Spanish. Personnel issues, too; catalyst is losing more and more producers, Jeff Ingram moving to S Pacific region; he coordinated a lot of our programming stream too. No specific plans for further changes, but evaluating all ministries in all languages, to emphasize what we are doing well. Still looking at options of how can continue on SW after we have to close our Pifo site. That will determine how much SW we can do in future. English language service from Quito concludes May 6. Will DXPL continue? We do have a Spanish version, still quite useful in this region. Still trying to determine exactly what the future of the English version will be, and talking with partner stations about it. Sat May 6 at 1330 UT, almost 75 years of English language programming will come to an end. Doug is director of radio for HCJB`s Latin American region (HCJB DX Partyline April 15, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) In lamenting the total termination of English from Ecuador, we are being somewhat chauvinistic about language, since after all they will go on in Spanish and other tongues. Most of us have fond memories of HCJB being one of the first SW stations we heard, thanks to its formerly dominant signals from the tropics. But those of us capable of independent thought eventually realized that all the DX and other seemingly secular or musical entertainment programming was merely designed to lure impressionable young listeners into the WRMF`s wacky evangelistic agenda, typified by the creationism they still push, even tho even among believers only a fraction buy into it, those with no true understanding of science. DXPL was the last show worth listening to on HCJB, and only fragments of it at that. Rarely has there been any genuine DX news on it for years, and when there is it has been about developments at HCJB itself. Lately gobs of time have been filled by pulling stuff out of the archive from decades ago, as if there were not enough genuine news each week, and there are always those ``Tips for Real Living``, the real purpose of the show, around which the flypaper is spread. So I for one will not be begging HCJB to reconsider cancelling English. It has gone on far too long already. Whatever success it has had in converting listeners to WRMF`s worldview has been at the expense of rational progress in human thought (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) May 6 will certainly be a sad day for me considering that HCJB has long been a favourite station - especially before the cutbacks. I remember listening to "Música del Ecuador" and writing the hostess - her husband, who I met at ANARC 82, said it was the only fan mail she ever received. Anyone remember HCJB's own DX club, ANDEX - from back in the 80's? There used to be a regular bulletin and members got their QSLs sent via airmail. One of my prized QSLs was for their 40 watt ham transmitter feeding the quad beam antenna (Mark Coady. Editor, Your Reports/Listening In Magazine Co-Moderator, ODXA Yahoogroup. Ontario DX Association via DXLD) VOICE OF THE ANDES BEGINS ANTENNA REMOVAL, SCRUTINIZES SHORTWAVE`S ROLE --- April 8, 2006 press release Even as HCJB World Radio has begun dismantling shortwave radio antennas at its Ecuador broadcast site in Pifo, strategic opportunities for spreading the gospel via radio are emerging for the mission. To accommodate new international airport construction near the capital city of Quito, missionary engineers and national staff have lowered a two-antenna curtain array that Radio Station HCJB, the ``Voice of the Andes,`` formerly used to air programs to the South Pacific and Europe. In 2003 the mission switched to local and regional AM and FM broadcasts in these regions while refocusing its Ecuador-based international shortwave outreach on Latin America. Other antennas will also be dismantled in accordance with the mission’s late-December agreement with the Quito Airport Corporation (CORPAQ) which is compensating the mission for labor, but not providing funds for new site construction. ``We know that 30 towers at the Pifo site have to come down by December 2007,`` explained Jim Estes, director of HCJB World Radio`s Latin America region, referring to antenna systems that could obstruct the approach of landing planes. Pifo is a town about 15 miles east of Quito. Of 48 towers sustaining 32 antenna systems on the 110-acre site, another 18 lower-height antennas --- whose signals do reach Latin America --- will not impede approach. But those too will be dismantled by the time airport operations are expected to begin in 2009. Mission leadership has determined that the station will not risk potential radio interference to future air traffic communications once commercial flights begin. Barring unforeseen circumstances, all transmissions from the Pifo site (including Spanish, Portuguese, German, Low German, English and various indigenous languages, including Quichua) are expected to end sometime in 2009. Beyond that, Estes and Radio Director Doug Weber are considering various options, including the idea of building a new, smaller site in Ecuador as the mission reviews how shortwave radio in Ecuador fits into its objectives of reaching the world for Christ. Other options include buying airtime from other broadcasters or placing transmitters at other sites owned by likeminded missions. ``We`re going through a process right now with our engineering crew of studying all three of those options to see what the cost is,`` Estes said. ``And cost is one of the issues for us. We`re trying to be as economical as we can be.`` A 100-kilowatt transmitter has already been shipped from Pifo to HCJB World Radio-Australia’s shortwave site at Kununurra. That facility began transmissions in mostly Asian languages (in addition to English) in January 2003. Staff at the Australian site expect the transmitter to be on the air by early April. Ten shortwave transmitters remain in Ecuador where Radio Station HCJB began broadcasting from Quito in 1931. The international transmitter site was later moved to Pifo in the early 1950s. Four of those transmitters were designed and built at the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., including a powerful 500,000-watt unit. Changes at Pifo are not expected to diminish the mission’s participation in the World by Radio (previously known as World by 2000) effort begun in 1985 whereby Christian international broadcasters committed to make gospel broadcasts available in all the world’s major languages. Of the 28 World by Radio languages involving HCJB World Radio, those that once aired from Quito have since been shifted to other locations, including a shortwave site in the U.K. that reaches the Euro-Asia and North Africa/Middle East regions. Of more than a dozen languages that air from Australia, two --- Bhojpuri and Chattisgarhi, both spoken in India --- are World by Radio languages. Still other World by Radio languages are aired by local stations and networks worldwide. ``We`re involved in radio all around the world, but our involvement is much different than what we’ve done historically here from Ecuador,`` Estes said. ``It`s more of an involvement where we’re helping local people develop their radio ministries to reach their own people. ``Here in Latin America we’ve helped [radio ministries] everywhere from Buenos Aires up to Havana with such things as studios, equipment, technical advice and training on how to do radio,`` he added. ``It`s quite exciting to see.`` Since the 1990s the mission has aided local Christian radio endeavors in some 300 cities in more than 100 countries while facilitating network programming via satellite in all but one of its five global regions. Assistance to local partners is facilitated by the engineering center, and the center’s pioneering work in digital shortwave radio also presses on, with continued development and testing of Digital Radio Mondial (DRM) equipment --- digital broadcasting for the shortwave transmitters produced there. The Pifo site is part of that project, said Weber, who also heads the DRM task force for HCJB World Radio. ``We have participated in DRM tests from down here with the DRM consortium, and we will continue to do tests over the next few years,`` he explained. ``We are very much monitoring DRM in its development in Latin America, hoping that we can eventually use that technology and be a pioneer within Latin America, not only in digital shortwave but in digital AM.`` An announcement 10 years ago had alerted the mission’s engineers that Quito`s long-awaited new airport might be built just six miles from the mission`s shortwave facilities at Pifo. Impending changes looked more certain by mid-1997 when aviation authorities said that due to potential interference, HCJB needed to dismantle its Pifo installations. Subsequent plans to dismantle and move the Pifo installation to Ecuador`s coast were first tabled in 2003 by mission leadership, and later scrapped due to concerns about increased energy costs. Electricity for the high-powered transmitters has been generated at a mission-built hydroelectric plant in nearby Papallacta. For more information contact: Communications Director Jon Hirst HCJB World Radio 1065 Garden of the Gods Rd., Colorado Springs, CO 80907 (719) 590-9800; fax: (719) 590-9801 jhirst@hcjb.org (via Harold Goerzen, HCJB World Radio, DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. GUINEA ECUATORIAL, 15190, Radio Africa/East Africa/Africa 2, 1000-1130, 16-04, Inglés, varios programas religiosos, cambiando cada media hora y anuncian varias direcciones en USA "P. O. Box 933...". "Half hour of music and inspiration". Interferencia de China Radio International con programa en inglés en la misma frecuencia hasta las 1059. A partir de esa hora no interferencia. SINPO: hasta 1059: 32332 desde 1059: 34333 (Manuel Méndez, Spain, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GUINEA ECUATORIAL, 15190, Radio Africa/East Africa/Africa 2, 1000- 1130, 16-04, inglés, varios programas religiosos, cambiando cada media hora y anuncian varias direcciones en USA ``P. O. Box 933...``. ``Half hour of music and inspiration``. Interferencia de China Radio International con programa en inglés en la misma frecuencia hasta las 1059. A partir de esa hora no interferencia. SINPO: hasta 1059: 32332; desde 1059: 34333 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, @tividade DX April 17 via DXLD) ** EUROPE. 6274.99, 15.4 0635, Laser Hot Hits on new frequency, English broadcast with lots of IDs, frequency-announcement, and also mentioned both e-mail and the usual postal address, heard // 4025.34 and 6219.01 kHz. 23222 BV (Bjarke Vestesen, Denmark, SW Bulletin April 16, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. Hi everyone. Sligo European Radio will be making their Easter special broadcast on Easter Sunday morning between 0800 and 1100 BST [0700-1000 UT] on 9330 kHz on the 32 metre short-wave band. The presenters on this broadcast include Jon Seabrook, Stephen McLeod and Chris Jensen; we'll also be remembering the 42nd anniversary of the first broadcast of Radio Caroline in 1964. Reception reports, which can be accompanied by a short mp3 file of our reception at your location, can be sent to us at: sligoeuropeanradio @ hotmail.com alternatively you will find our website at: http://www.geocities.com/sligoeuropeanradio (SER, April 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re Sligo European Radio --- there isn't even the faintest trace of a signal on 9330 at 0930 UT at my location. Maybe I'm too close to them for decent propagation, or is it just conditions today? 73s (Noel R. Green, Blackpool, England, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is with deep regret that, due to unforeseen technical problems, Sligo European Radio was unable to broadcast as planned today on 9330 kHz on the 32 metre short-wave band. The staff of Sligo European Radio would like to thank everyone who made the effort to tune in with the intention of listening to this morning`s broadcast, but to due a major problem with RF feedback at our new transmitter site, Sligo European Radio was unable to broadcast its monthly 3 hour programmes as previously advertised. We deeply regret this non appearance and wish all our listeners a very happy Easter and we shall return as planned, with all our technical problems hopefully solved, on May 21st 2006. Yours sincerely (Chris Jensen, Jon Seabrook, Steven MacLeod and all our technical staff at Sligo European Radio, April 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Version 2:] The presenters and myself Chris Jensen, owner of Sligo European Radio, wish to apologise to all our listeners and our growing army of loyal fans, for the non-appearance of our scheduled programmes on Sunday 16th April 2006. The non-appearance was caused by major technical problems at a new transmitter site we were trying out, and was caused by severe RF feedback which produced a loud audible hum on our transmitted signal. The problem was so severe and was not immediately rectifiable, leaving us with no alternative but to unfortunately cancel our planned broadcast. However, Sligo European Radio shall return on Sunday 21st May 2006, with all our problems solved and extended transmission times, lasting from 08.00 BST until 13.00 BST [0700-1200 UT]. Fight For Free Radio 73's (Jon Seabrook, Steven MacLeod and Chris Jensen, April 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. "The voices of America", an article written for the Tagesspiegel newspaper by John Kornblum who was from 1997 til 2001 US ambassador in Berlin: http://www.tagesspiegel.de/medien/archiv/09.04.2006/2452919.asp Well, I was away on Saturday evening, so I don't know if IBB pushed it so far to celebrate a last hurra from 9 PM to midnight. Anyway here is a recording of the handover from Star FM to VOA on Friday (April 14) at 9 PM for the last regular overnight transmission of VOA Music Mix, with Star FM announcing that they will go 24/7 from April 16: http://www.radioeins.de/meta/sendungen/apparat/060415_A1.ram Noisy and mixed with another station (MDR Figaro), but that's what one will get from a 1 kW FM station 120 kilometres away while apparently nobody at Berlin cared at all. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, April 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. Some DTK T-Systems changes: Bible Voice Broadcasting Network (BVBN): 0000-0200 6140 WER 125 kW / 120 deg Fri-Mon ME English, ex Fri only 1800-1830 13810 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg Fri-Sun EaAf Somali, ex Sat/Sun New schedule for Brother Stair (TOM) from Apr. 11 0900-1100 on 6110 JUL 100 kW / 290 deg to WeEu 0900-1100 on 13810 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg to WeAs/ME, cancelled 1100-1200 on 6110 JUL 100 kW / 290 deg to WeEu on Sat, cancelled 1200-1400 on 6110 JUL 100 kW / 290 deg to WeEu 1200-1400 on 13810 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg to WeAs/ME, cancelled 1400-1600 on 13810 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg to WeAs/ME, additional 1900-2000 on 9860 JUL 100 kW / 140 deg to Ce/SoAf 1900-2100 on 13810 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg to WeAs/ME, additional Deutsche Telekom from Apr. 10 to May 10: 0600-0700 on 5972 JUL 040 kW / 340 deg to NoEu in DRM mode 1500-1600 on 5972 JUL 040 kW / 240 deg to SoEu in DRM mode [with what programming?? Note the split frequency! --- gh, DXLD] WYFR (Family Radio), additional transmissions from Apr. 1: 1500-1600 on 15750 WER 500 kW / 150 deg to EaAf in English 1600-1700 on 15750 WER 500 kW / 150 deg to EaAf in Amharic 1700-1800 on 15750 WER 500 kW / 150 deg to EaAf in Swahili 1800-1900 on 15750 WER 500 kW / 150 deg to EaAf in English Bible Christian Association/BCA/ from March 26: 1530-1550 6015 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg Sun SEEu Bulgarian, ex Polish 1550-1600 6015 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg Sun SEEu in Greek, ex in Polish Adventist World Radio (AWR) from Apr. 12: 2000-2030 NF 9770 WER 250 kW / 090 deg to WeAs in Persian, ex 9515 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 18 via DXLD) ** GHANA. 4915, GBC Ghana, 1941 April 16, program with easy listening songs, talks in English and other, ID at 1947 Ghana then, with songs like 'Suddenly' and 'Careless Whisper', S9 45444 on 16th; 1918 with S5? but much QRN April 15th (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Had been reported inactive since February. Always be careful to distinguish it from Kenya on same frequency, three timezones eastward, should that be active (gh, DXLD) I noticed recently that no-one, including myself, seemed to have logged Radio Ghana on shortwave (4915 kHz) for some months (perhaps many months), so I made some enquiries with friends at the GBC, and they now report: "Our transmitter for the 4915 kHz was off air for some time because some spare parts had to be changed. We had the spare parts about a week ago and they have been fixed. At the moment there is a test transmission going on and all will return to normal very soon. Management is even contemplating buying a brand new transmitter and also another one with the view of resuming our External Service." (Chris Greenway, UK?, April 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hola colegas: Last 13 Apr I could listen to it, exactly on 4914.75 from 1942 to 1952 with SIO/443 in vernacular. Best regards (Ignacio Sotomayor, Spain, ibid.) ** GUATEMALA [and non]. Sunday, April 16 ~ 11:00 am-Noon [CDT] "Después de las Guerras: Central America After the Wars" Part 3: Immigration, Media and The Rule Of Law in Post-War Central America Throughout history war has been a powerful magnet for international media coverage. But what happens when the fighting stops and the news teams pack up for the next high-stakes conflict? In Central America the world stopped watching once the peace accords of the 1990's brought an end to the region's bloody civil wars. Has the past decade brought peace and democracy to Central America? And what is the legacy of the Central American conflicts–for the region, and for the United States? GraciasVida Productions, in partnership with Texas Public radio, NPR's Latino USA, Radio Bilingue, Latinos in Public Radio, and Youth Radio's International Desk, has assembled some of public radio's most talented reporters and their Central American colleagues to produce the most comprehensive coverage of Central America in years. "Después de las Guerras: Central America After the Wars" is an ambitious, 4-part radio documentary series that provides an unprecedented look at the social and political costs of war in Central America, both for the region and for the U.S. http://www.afterthewars.org (KGOU website via gh, DXLD) This episode, especially in the second half is about radio stations, notably the late lamented Voz de Atitlán, 2390. Check the website; confusingly, there are actually 12 (or 13) segments, not four, and this one is numbered 12. There are ``listen`` links only for the first 4, so perhaps the others will be added eventually (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Hi all, Who knows what should I write in the Location field on the AIR online reception report page http://www.allindiaradio.org/recepfdk.html Is it >- AIR transmitter location (such as Aligarh or Panaji), or >- my location conditions (urban, suburban, countryside, etc), or >- my geographical coordinates (eg. 49 E / 56 N) --- Thanks in advance, (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia, April 16, HCDX via DXLD) Hi Dmitry and any other interested in this matter, I have sent numerous reception reports online to AIR, without any answer at all. So I think you can write anything you want, without complications other than a non reply. It seems on-line reports are as good a lottery as the ordinary postal way to AIR. Who is this month's lucky winner? You? Me? None of us? 73 from (Björn Fransson, Sweden, ibid.) Hi Bjorn, hi all, Thanks for your response, Bjorn! Today I asked nearly the same question in our Russian-speaking open_dx list, with a small addition: Who has ever got a QSL for reports sent to AIR electronically? Dmitry Kutuzov (from Ryazan, Russia) answers (translation is mine): = = = = = I've got QSLs from AIR in 2003 and 2005. Both reports were sent by e- mail to spectrum-manager [at] air.org.in. QSL of 2003 is for 15140 kHz, broadcast in Russian. Card of 2005 came for my reception on 9425, via Bangalore relay. = = = = = Well, now we see who has won the lottery :-) And I've seen some similar QSL reports on Martin Schoech's QIP. So the spectrum manager's electronic address is worth trying. I've got about 120 radio countries verified, but no QSLs from India so far... 73, (Dmitry Mezin, ibid.) ** ITALY. Ciao, thanks for your logs. Nice ones from Latin America. You are in Milano, what is your reception quality of IRRS Milano shortwave station? It would be interesting to know if any of the scheduled transmissions from IRRS is very strong at your location - because maybe they use other transmitters also, but they don't tell us. I'd like to know if they use the Milano transmitter at all. Parlo anche un poco l'italiano. Adesso vado a casa per seguire le notizie sulle elezioni! Grazie. 73, (Eike Bierwirth, Germany, April 11, HCDX via DXLD) Dear Eike, I had this info from Dario Monferini: the old transmitter of IRRS based in Cassano d'Adda (30 km east Milano) is no more in use. They use other TX places cause they cost more cheaper than the 7 kW Telefunken (yet repaired many times). The IRRS programs are regularly heard in Milano. Good Italian elections --- but it is a real mess. Hi! like IRRS. Hi! Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, ibid.) I think they still have a working transmitter in Trezzo d'Adda, in spite of they use Sofia-Konstinbrod for their customers (Roberto Scaglione, http://www.bclnews.it ibid.) ** KUWAIT. Summer A-06 for IBB via KWT 250 kW / 070 deg: 0030-0130 ASH Pashto 12140 0100-0300 RFA Tibetan 9365 0130-0230 ASH Dari 12140 0230-0330 AFG Pashto 12140 0330-0430 AFG Dari 15615 0430-0530 AFG Pashto 15615 17670 0530-0630 AFG Dari 17670 0600-0700 RFA Tibetan 17780 0630-0730 AFG Pashto 17685 0730-0830 AFG Dari 15615 17685 0830-0930 AFG Pashto 15615 17685 0930-1030 AFG Dari 15090 17685 1000-1400 FAR Persian 7125 1030-1130 AFG Pashto 15090 1100-1200 RFA Tibetan 17855 1200-1400 RFA Tibetan 11590 1130-1230 AFG Dari 15090 1230-1330 AFG Pashto 15090 1330-1430 AFG Dari 15090 1400-1500 AKD Urdu 9510 1400-1500 VOA Tibetan 11975 1430-1500 ASH Pashto 12140 1500-1530 ASH Dari 12140 1500-1600 RFA Tibetan 11550 1530-1630 ASH Pashto 12140 1600-1700 RFE Uzbek 7555 1630-1730 ASH Dari 12140 1730-1800 ASH Pashto 7555 1800-1830 ASH Dari 7555 1830-1930 VOA Persian 5860 1830-1930 ASH Pashto 7555 1930-2030 ASH Dari 7555 2030-0030 VOA English 7555 2300-2400 RFA Tibetan 7500 AFG=Radio Free Afganistan AKD=Radio Aap Ki Dunyaa ASH=Radio Ashna FAR-Radio Farda RFA=Radio Free Asia RFE=Radio Free Europe VOA=Voice of America (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 18 via DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. Hi Glenn, Re. DXLD 6062 - Libya (the subject of fax and telephone numbers of Voice of Africa), I am attaching an mp3 file with part (ca. 1 minute 20 seconds) of the recording I made while receiving Voice of Africa on 17670 kHz, which I reported in the same DXLD. What I hear is: fax: 44 49875 phone: 44 49106, 44 49206, 44 49872, 44 40112 I don't know whether Ignacio Sotomayor might be still interested in the numbers, if you want please feel free to send him my recording and/or interpretation of the recording, with my greetings. The PO Box, phone and fax numbers are given in French later (not within this recording). 73, (Moisés Knochen, Montevideo, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Muchas gracias, Glenn. Se escucha mucho mejor que mi grabación y está claro que es un jingle que se emite cada cierto tiempo. Lo que desconozco es si estas frecuencias emiten en paralelo. ¿17670 es desde Francia? Estoy seguro que 1251 es desde Libia. Aún así trataré de escucharlo en los próximos días. Un saludo (Ignacio Sotomayor, ibid.) Sí, como no, (casi) todas las frecuencias ``libias`` de OC se transmiten vía Issoudun, Francia (gh, DXLD) ** LIBYA [and non]. NUEVA ESTRATEGIA CONTRA SAWT ALAMEL 13 Abril --- En el día de hoy a las 1218 se aprecia a Sawt Alamel emitiendo por la frecuencia de 17670 junto a La Voz de África que a su vez está emitiendo en paralelo por la frecuencia de 17680; en 17685 con buena señal a Radio Free Afganistán. A las 1300 Sawt Alamel cambia a la frecuencia de 17675 y poco después se inicia una señal de pulso; a las 1310 comienza la emisión de música afro-pop. 14 Abril --- En el día de hoy Libia inicia una nueva estrategia contra Sawt Alamel, a las 1200 comienza por la frecuencia de 17660 la emisión musical de La Voz de África; por las frecuencias de 17670 y 17680 una emisión de ésta emisora, con noticias en hausa, inglés, francés y árabe. A las 1231 tras acabar la emisión de Radio Free Afganistán se inicia en 17685 una fuerte señal de pulso que anula incluso la emisión de 17680, pero a las 1235 cambia a la frecuencia de 17680. A las 1305 termina la emisión de La Voz de África en 17670 y pasa a 17685 emitiendo en paralelo por 17680; a las 1307 se inicia emisión de música afro-pop y deja de transmitir La Voz de África, lo cual se inicia una señal de pulso en 17680 y la musical en 17685, en el día de hoy no e conseguido escuchar a Sawt Alamel. 15 Abril --- Hoy Libia repite la estrategia contra Sawt Alamel; a las 1200 comienzan las emisones en 17660 con música y en 17670 y 17680 la emisión de La Voz de África con noticias en hausa, inglés, francés y árabe. Sawt Alamel se la escucha en la frecuencia de 17680, sufre interferencias de la emisora libia pero sin anularla, lo cual hace que a las 1204 se inicie una señal fuerte de pulso. Conviven las tres señales hasta las 1300; entonces Sawt Alamel cambia a 17685, a las 13:18 se inicia la emisión musical en paralelo con la señal de sierra en 17680. Sawt Alamel se la escucha con mucha dificultad; los libios emplean en el día de hoy hasta seis señales diferentes para anular a Sawt Alamel, dos emisiones musicales, dos emisiones de La Voz de África y dos señales mas de interferencia, una de pulso poco efectiva y una nueva de sierra, muy potente que no dudan en emplear incluso para anular tanto a Sawt Alamel cómo a La Voz de África en una de sus emisiones en paralelo (José Miguel Romero, Sacañet (Castellón), España, April 16, SANGEAN ATS 909, Antena de hilo de 7 metros, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sierra = hacksaw ** LITHUANIA. Below are the regular relay schedules of Radio Baltic Waves (RBW) and Radio Baltic Waves International (RBWI). Vilnius 612 kHz 100 kW (RBW) 0300-0500 RFE-RL, Belarusian 0500-0600 European Radio for Belarus, Belarusian 0600-0700 --Break-- 0700-0900 VOR-Russkoye Mezhdunarodnoye Radio, Russian 0900-1300 VOR-Radiokanal Sodruzhestvo, Russian 1300-1500 VOR-Russkoye Mezhdunarodnoye Radio, Russian 1500-2100 RFE-RL, Belarusian 2100-2200 Radio Polonia, Belarusian Sitkunai 1386 kHz 500 kW (RBWI) 1902-2000 China Radio International, Czech 2000-2100 China Radio International, Chinese [see next item for Sunday 21-23 with ``50 kW`` on 1386] Bubiai 1386 kHz 7 kW (RBWI) 1400-1700 RFE-RL, Russian Sitkunai 1557 kHz 150 kW (RBWI) 1500-1600 Radio Polonia, Belarusian [starting 15 Apr] 1600-1700 Radio Polonia, Polish [starting 15 Apr] 1700-1800 Deutsche Welle, Russian/Belarusian 1800-2000 China Radio International, Russian 2000-2100 China Radio International, Polish 2000-2200 China Radio International, Chinese All times are UT. Excluded are short-term, temporary relays (like Radio Mi Amigo on 1386). (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, April 15, mwdx yg via DXLD) Then how do you account for this? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** LITHUANIA. MI AMIGO 1386 --- Hi Glenn, I had the following response from RADIO MI AMIGO heard on 1386 kHz on Sunday Apr 9. Email address: miamigo1386 @ amserve.com "Thank you for your reception report. Mi amigo 1386 is indeed the same station that was relayed by IRRS, however we are no longer broadcasting on shortwave. Transmissions are now being made every Sunday 2100 to 2300 UTC on 1386 kHz from a 50 kW transmitter in Lithuania. For QSL response please send an SAE to Mi amigo1386, 23 Alwinton Gardens, Gateshead, NE11 0AP. Kind regards. Neil Gates. Mi amigo 1386." I'm guessing this is via RADIO BALTIC WAVES. 73s (Paul Watson, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, UK, April 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The was distributed via MWDX on 4 April: --- quote LITHUANIA Radio Baltic Waves International is again rebroadcasting the UK online radio station Radio Mi Amigo on 1386, this time via a 50 kW transmitter in Klaipeda, each Sunday 2100-2300 UT. The last transmission of the current cycle will be on 30 April (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, ibid.) ** LUXEMBOURG. "208 - It was Great!" Dick Offringa's Radio Luxembourg site http://www.offringa.nl/bailey.htm contains an extract from a forthcoming publication '208 - It was Great! An affectionate anecdotal journey between 1958 and 1975 by studio engineer and producer Alan Bailey'. In the extract, Alan tells of his first Luxy programme, where he gram-operated 'Italy Sings' with Keith Fordyce, a quarter-hour programme sponsored by the Italian State Tourist Office. No 'self-op' in those days and the records played at 78 rpm! Alan lists some of the numerous recording stars he met in the course of his career and how he ended-up making his own sound effects for a Monty Python recording. http://www.radiolondon.co.uk/kneesflashes/happenings/aprilmayjune06/aprilmayjune1.html And finally --- "The very last broadcast of the great 208 was in December 1991 from the Telefunken transmitter at Marnach and the last satellite broadcast was in December 1992. It was live from the station, with live links from London, and many of the past presenters paid their respects in those final hours - a very sad day indeed. My days and memories of Luxy were the best times of my young life in which I saw the many innovations and entertainers turn the whole of British radio on its head. I was extremely proud to have played a small part in it. It brings a little quote to mind, "The moving finger writes and, having writ, moves on, nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line nor all thy tears wash out a word of it." I certainly wouldn't cancel any part of it. As for the tears? Well, The future... The good news is that with the advent of digital radio, it looks like Radio Luxembourg is again coming to the fore. R.T.L (Radio Tele Luxembourg) has plans afoot to launch an English speaking service on one of their many digital European transmitters. The word is it'll be based loosely on the old '208' format with some of their old well known names guiding and presenting the new digital station." http://www.offringa.nl/bailey.htm (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** MALI. 11960 R. Mali, Kati, observed at 1157-1207, 16 Apr, French, talks on education, IS, frequency announcement ("7285, 9635 and 11960"!), Vernacular 1200, talks; 34432, weakish audio; stronger adjacent QRM starting at 1200. Their sole daytime frequency has been 11960 for quite some time now while 5995 is the only audible outlet evenings. I shall try to catch a frequency announcement in the evening to see which outlets they mention (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MAURITANIA. 7245, R. Mauritanie, Nouakchott, in the clear, as noted at 1231-..., 17 Apr, in Vernacular, with tunes & talks; 25342, but weakish audio (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. 9870, RNZI, Rangitaiki, observed 1109 to fadeout 1145, 16 Apr, news, National R. program announcements, weather report, talks and music; 25332, and barely audible at 1145. Conditions have been dreadful lately (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I had a station on 7145 with nothing but nonstop rap music and no ID or anything whatsoever. Any ideas? 7145 UNID 1310 playing rap music for an hour without ID. 4/15/06 (Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Surely Radio New Zealand International, their latest frequency change, from 1300. One would expect better programming from them. Perhaps plugged in, even by mistake, to some domestic network. There have been lots of disruptions as they are installing their second SW transmitter, DRM-capable, supposedly about ready to start. Two mornings later, April 17 at 1315, 7145 was carrying an apparent BBC documentary, which I was following closely until it was rudely interrupted before it had finished, so that Mailbox could start at 1330; no Myra Oh, just Adrian Sainsbury with propagation, David Ricquish with clips of Australian ID jingles, and musical ads from the 1960s to the 1990s. So was the preceding programming only filler? Mailbox has been known to start a bit late on other occasions, but now perhaps automation dictates such uncalled-for precision. I realized that for the entire 20 minutes I was listening, there was no ham QRM, CW or SSB at all, tho North American hams have every right to tune up nearby or even on the same frequency. Anyhow, I decided to postpone hearing the rest of Mailbox to a convenient ondemand time (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Viz.: RARE AUSTRALIAN RADIO JINGLES AND MORE HEARD AGAIN -------------------------------------------------- The latest Radio Heritage Foundation documentary from Radio New Zealand International features a 20 minute collection of very rare Australian radio promotion jingles and old radio adverts mainly from the 1960's and 70's. The program tours each state and the ACT, visiting 'The Young Generation' at 2CA Canberra [1962], the 'Snob Mob' at 2CH Sydney [1970], 'Townsville, I'm coming home' from 4AY [1980] and others from 3EE Melbourne, 5AD Adelaide, 6PR Perth and 7HO Hobart. All of the promo ID's are in long form, some running well over 3 minutes and of a kind rarely heard today. In between each station promo jingle, you'll hear popular radio adverts of the same era, including the Morris 850 car [1962], Peters Ice Cream [1961], the brilliant 'We love football, meatpies, kangaroos and Holden cars' from 1975 and others. It's probably the only time you'll hear an advert for Loveable Bras on Radio New Zealand! These are all one of a kind station jingles, and give a unique idea of what listening to Australian AM radio was like 25-45 years ago. Listen to the Mailbox program via shortwave or live streaming from Radio New Zealand International, or visit www.rnzi.com, go to 'more audio', click on Mailbox and then listen to the program for April 16 2006. Several of the stations featured in the documentary also appear online at www.radioheritage.net along with other interesting news and items about Pacific radio heritage. Enjoy! (David Ricquish, Radio Heritage Foundation, Wellington, New Zealand http://www.radioheritage.net DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. Replying to a thread about ``KPSU`` being heard on KBPS 1450 Portland OR: "For the past 10 years, KPSU has leased 73 hours of airtime each week on KBPS 1450 AM, the frequency run by Benson High School's communication-studies program. KPSU pays Portland's biggest school district $46,000 a year to rent the station on evenings and weekends." From Willamette Week, 10/13/04, http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3050/5591 The PSU students use their own studios and the KBPS transmitter. Betcha lunch at Seaside this September that you hear a "KBPS Portland" legal ID every hour when "KPSU" is operating at 1450. There is no carrier-current 1450 operation at PSU, as best I can tell - it would be overwhelmed by the KBPS signal, and in any event they do have the unlicensed 98.3 signal to cover campus, more or less. s (Scott Fybush, IRCA via DXLD) I must point out that the REAL (FCC-licensed as such) KPSU is at Panhandle State University, in Goodwell, OK. On 91.7, low power. Unfortunately they don`t have a website or a webcast. If you search on KPSU you are likely to find this confused with the fake KPSU. I even found a site with a list of stations, this one labeled KPSU Goodwell OK, linking to audio and website from KPSU Portland. This is not the only such case of an Oklahoma college radio station having its call usurped by rogue west coast students. KCSC, the classical station in the OKC area, named for Central State College (now University), has to call its website http://www.kcscfm.com since Chico State in California has a ``KCSC`` of it own http://www.kcscradio.com/ which claims to be internet only now, previously on 102.5 FM, dating back to 1951. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid, IRCA via DXLD) ** PERU. Hola amigos, Gracias a la oportuna comunicación del amigo Alfredo Cañote sobre la información que anteriormente envié de la peruana en 4620.4, Radio Espacial, en la que me comentaba que el No. telefónico que reporté no correspondía; revisé y digitalicé el audio, y luego de mucho escuchar saque en limpio la dirección y teléfono de la emisora; así corrijo y es: RADIO ESPACIAL. QTH: Jirón Bolívar No. 130. Otuzco - Perú; Tel: 51 + 44 436236. Para constatar esto, llamé y muy amablemente fui atendido Maritza por la secretaria de la emisora quien me confirmó los datos; además fui entrevistado al aire ante la sorpresa de la llamada. Manifstaron el interés de conocer sobre oyentes fuera del Perú (Rafael Rodríguez R., Colombia, April 15, condig list via DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. WBCQ 7415 signed off at 0445 UT April 17, so I wonder if Bro. Scare is gone again? 73, (Glenn Hauser, OK, to Allan Weiner, via DXLD) Stair is gone on overnights. Cheers, (Allan Weiner, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GERMANY [non] ** SPAIN. ESPANHA – Mudanças na programação da Rádio Exterior da Espanha. O excelente Mundo Solidário, tradicional espaço que fala de solidariedade internacional, passou a ter 30 minutos de duração. Para compensar, são feitas duas edições distintas. Uma das edições vai ao ar entre 0205 e 0230, com boa sintonia, no Sul do Brasil, em 9620 kHz. Em seguida, até 0300, é irradiado o espaço Nuestro Sello, com o melhor da música clássica. Uma das novidades da Rádio Exterior da Espanha para este novo período radial é o programa La Hora de Ásia. Dirigido por Eloy Ramos, o segmento aborda as relações entre a Espanha e os países asiáticos em temas como o esporte, economia, cultura e comércio. É transmitido, nos sábados, entre 1000 e 1050, em 21610 kHz. Também aos domingos, pela mesma freqüência, a partir de 1300. Dois novos programas, com 25 minutos de duração, foram inseridos na grade da Rádio Exterior da Espanha. O primeiro deles é El Vestuario, apresentado por Ricardo Peralta. O segundo é Paisajes y Sabores, dedicado ao turismo e gastronomia, apresentado por Manolo Méndez (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX April 17 via DXLD) Quando? ** SUDAN [non]. Summer A-06 Radio Nile Arabic/English Sat-Tue to EaAf: 0400-0458 NF 9905 MDC 250 kW / 325 deg, ex 15320 for A-05 \\ 12060 MDC 250 kW / 335 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 18 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. RTI A06 Update from April 20 for South Asian English --- Starting April 20 (Taipei Time), 6170 kHz from 1700 to 1800 UT to South Asia will be cancelled. The new frequency for South Asia will be 11550 kHz from 1600 to 1700. Happy Hunting (Ashik Eqbal Tokon, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, April 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET [non]. Summer A-06 for Voice of Tibet to SoAs: 1055-1355 & 1430-1518 17550*DB 100 kW / 131 deg Tibetan & Chinese 1400-1428 & 1530-1558 NF 17550 MDC 250 kW / 045 deg Tibetan, ex 17505 *17525-17570 range. All frequencies jammed by China (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 18 via DXLD) ** TURKEY. Good morning Sedef and Kiymet, Last night at 03-0400 UTC I positively identified the severely cochannel station on 6140 kHz as SPANISH speaking. I heard unidentified mumbles on the same frequency, same hour, the night before. I note that 9460 at 0400 UTC demonstrates a FAST needle but zero audio. ( 3+ 1 1 n ) Best wishes. (George Poppin, San Francisco, April 7, to Voice of Turkey, via DXLD) Dear George, Thank you very much for your monitoring reports. According to them we analysed the situation on 6140 kHz between 0300- 0400 UT. There is Radio Cuba [sic] there and it affects our signal in North America. Since they are not a member of any Coordination groups they do not coordinate. We wrote to each other e-mails last season. So, the solution is changing the frequency. We are moving to 5975 kHz on 23 April between 0300-0400 UT. Best Wishes. (Sedef Somaltin, TRT, via Poppin, DXLD) Ha, 5975 where BBCWS via Delano was in B-05; I guess it is clear during that hour now. Should not have been surprised to find RHC on 6140 if they had consulted DX publications such as this (gh, DXLD) Frequency changes for Voice of Turkey English from Apr. 23: 0300-0350 NF 5975 EMR 500 kW / 310 deg to NoAm, ex 6140 1230-1320 NF 15450 EMR 500 kW / 310 deg to WeEu, ex 15225 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 18 via DXLD) ** U K. Hi Glenn and Andy, just one thought on your discussion about the BBC WS: Who says that they informed VT any earlier than RNW (and TDF, in regard of Montsinéry) about quite a lot of transmissions being "not required" anymore? And concerning the question whether or not it was a short-term decision: Could be that one day in March the suits stepped into the conference room and afterwards the record documented a decision to cancel all these transmissions. But even if so the idea must have been older, so I don't think that it makes much of a difference. In my opinion the actual point is the communications strategy, since I note a quite obvious change here. So far BBC WS used to make a big deal themselves about cancelling shortwave services, no doubt with the aim to sell this as proof for the BBC WS being up-to-date, not an old- fashioned shortwave broadcaster but (insert more blah-blah here). But apparently this has changed: No announcements in advance anymore, even partners will be notified as late as possible, and afterwards transmissions are just gone, only a tiny note on the schedule pages will reveal that they were cancelled. Quite interesting. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, April 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Kai, That was exactly my point. I have the impression the decision was communicated to VT at the last minute. We have very close relations with VT - several of the non-RNW customers are placed on our transmitters by VT. If they knew anything earlier, they would have told us, even if it was just a proposal. One cause for the late decision may be connected with the closure of Antigua, which involved the BBC and Deutsche Welle. There were some issues, which I was told about but I cannot put in the public domain, which complicated the situation. 73, (Andy Sennitt, RN, ibid.) ** U K. RADIO WAVES: PAUL DONOVAN: ALL SHIPSHAPE The Sunday Times April 16, 2006 One week to go for the UK Theme, that early-morning medley of Rule Britannia and other nationalistic tunes whose removal by Radio 4 has caused such angst. It will be heard for the last time a week today, at 5.20 am [0420 UT]. Or, to be more precise, that is the last time it will go out, for it is already on sale as a single (in the charts at No 39 at the time of writing) and, from April 24, will also be available to listen to on the BBC website. One of the things replacing it from the very next day has attracted less publicity but is possibly more important: it may save lives. The dawn Shipping Forecast, now at 5.36 am but moving to 5.20 am from April 24, the first of the four daily broadcasts of this hallowed institution dating from the 1920s, will be extended from seven to nine minutes. The extra two minutes comes from an expansion of one part of the Shipping Forecast at this time, the inshore waters report. If you have ever heard it - and thousands have, whether sleepless, worried, early risers or mariners at whom it is aimed - you know you have been up early, for the inshore waters goes out only once a day, in this 5.36 am slot. . . http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2101-2131323,00.html (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Err, no Mr Donovan actually! The Inshore Waters forecast has been aired for many, many decades in the pre-closedown slot of 12.45 a.m, just before Radio 4 hands over to World Service. In fact, this slot actually carries more information already than the new report will- the early report only carries a forecast for inshore waters, whereas the late one even gives a report on current conditions at a number of inshore met. observations stations. Notably, Ronaldsway on the Isle of Man, with the enigmatic condition of "smoke" frequently reported. At present, though, the morning forecast appears merely to be a repeat of that broadcast some 4 1/2 hours earlier, hence I guess the "valid for the next eighteen hours" statement given at the start of it. Incidentally, although it's now seen as something of a Radio 4 institution, in fact many years ago it used to be broadcast by Radio 3 when they had an AM/Medium Wave outlet, and the main shipping forecast used to be on Radio 2 when they held 198 LF (1500 Metres back then). Personally, I will still be very sad to see the Radio 4 UK theme go, but I suppose there's a certain irony that it's being despatched from the airwaves on St George's Day/Shakespeare's birthday. Clearly, a lengthened and informative shipping forecast has to be a good thing, but it's still a pretty lame excuse for dropping a music punctuation point to the radio day. It could easily have been retained just by starting at 5.15 rather than 5.20, a logical suggestion which seems to have escaped Mark Damazarr. A very Happy Easter to you all, and God Bless (middlesexmark, ibid.) ** U S A. Re 6-062, Senators` letter on VOA --- Letter is "not copyable" because it is a picture file, available directly at: http://www.afge1812.org/images/sen.jpg and http://www.afge1812.org/images/sen2.jpg (Mike Cooper, Apr 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. This week`s WOR messup on WBCQ: Tuned in 7415 at 0435 UT Monday April 17, and was pleased to hear a good signal with WOR Extra 66. But it ended at 0437, and two minutes later the previous week`s 1311 started, only to be cut off for sign-off at 0445. This makes me wonder whether X66 started on time at 0415, but not at the beginning of the tape? Or did it start early at 0409? There have been a number of other instances where one WOR runs out, and then another one starts, either from beginning, or tail end, as if the later one were recorded over the older one on the same tape without erasing it first. Maybe one is on each side of a tape with an automatic reverse playback (Glenn Hauser, to Allan Weiner, via DXLD) Dear Glenn, Gee, don't know. The tapes are clearly labled. Jade must have started the tape without a full rewind (Allan Weiner, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SOUTH CAROLINA ** U S A. Good morning, Mr. Hauser. It was brought to my attention that World of Radio did not air this past Friday afternoon at 3:30 [2030 UT on 15825]. Please accept my apology for this oversight. I had changed one set of logs and not the other. Please know that you are on the program guide in this place, and it is our intention to air WoR at this time slot. In His service, (Cathy Soares, Program Director, WWCR, April 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WRMI, 9955 continues to be wildly variable here, depending on the prevailing prop conditions. UT Mon April 17, nothing but a carrier could be detected at 0500 when WOR was scheduled, and little else was making it on 31m, not even RHC 9550. UT Tue April 18 around 0430, inaudible when Wavescan was scheduled. However, April 17 and 18 around 1310, 9955 with anti-Castro programming in Spanish was audible, altho poorly, with no jamming detectable; Dentro-Cuban Jamming Command must have slipped up (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re 6-061, 6-062: Talking billboard 1680 kHz, North Hollywood, CA I'm not sure how long it's been here, but I noticed a new Talking Billboard on Sherman Way, just east of Laurel Canyon, in North Hollywood. This is a couple miles from my house, and is barely audible here - though it does get out well up to about a mile from the billboard. It's a billboard advertising the Honda Element, and the loop, which is on 1680 kHz is a "conversation" between a hermit crab and a Honda Element. Maybe I should have gone into advertising. I'm sure my ideas would be at least as intelligent as this (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA (GMT -0800 [sic]), DX-398 / RS Loop, April 10, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Honda X-band in Baltimore http://www.dcrtv.org/mb0603b.html This site's March 7 mailbag has a gem in it about Honda commercials: You might already know this but Honda is taking over the airwaves in Baltimore. There's a billboard on 95 South right before 695 that says something to the effect of, "what do a Honda Element and a Platypus have in common ... tune to 1640 AM to find out". I turned off my XM to hear and this bizarre commercial for the Element was on with talking animals! Another note: This is part of the Element and Friends campaign of ads, and it's radio/TV. I've seen the TV crab one tons of times here in Phoenix. I wonder if one of the Honda dealers here might have an X- band loop: there are no X-banders in the whole state. -Tracker (via Raymond Humbert, DXLD) ** U S A. Hi Glenn, Found this on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/QSL-Card-South-Dakota-USA-1935-Signed-Stamped_W0QQitemZ6621823574QQcategoryZ29833QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem From a station W10XFN or WI0XFN noted as experimental from the National Broadcasting Company and "the ground station of the 1935 Stratospheric flight." Any ideas as to origin/frequencies of this one? Surely has to be a rare QSL. Thank you! (Eric Loy, Champaign IL, April 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, must be an interesting story behind that. Too bad the QSL was not f/d (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA RETURNS TO RADIO AFTER A DECADE PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Philadelphia Orchestra, which has lacked a regular presence on national radio for nearly a decade, will have a series of concerts on NPR. All or part of 26 previously recorded concerts from the orchestra's 2005-06 season will be broadcast on the programs "SymphonyCast" and "Performance Today." The agreement is for one year, but is expected to be renewed. The programs come after the orchestra and its unionized musicians agreed on fees for the broadcasts, which will be produced by NPR and Philadelphia-based WHYY-FM. The orchestra, now led by Music Director Christoph Eschenbach, has not been heard regularly on national broadcasts since the 1997-98 season. Philadelphia was the first orchestra with its own commercially sponsored national radio series, beginning in 1929 on NBC. ------ On the Net: The Philadelphia Orchestra: http://www.philorch.org National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org (APn 04/13 1631 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. WITH A NAME LIKE THAT --- We couldn't help but note this year's Peabody Awards, doled out annually by the University Of Georgia's media educators. PubCaster WNYC/820 picked one up for its "Radio Rookies" series, which allows NYC area teens into the studio to produce and pontificate. Canada's CBC picked up one in English for an 8-part series: "The Wire-The Impact Of Electricity On Music", and one in French for a Radio-Canada' report on global warming. But what you gotta love are the Peabodys going to two diverse TV shows, "South Park" and "Battlestar Galactica". Of course, the efforts of New Orleans' WWL-TV/4 also were honored, in the wake of Katrina coverage. What's NOT so lovable, is the way the Awards Committee thoroughly ignored the United Radio Broadcasters Of N.O., helmed by Entercom's WWL/870 and a bunch of local Clear Channel properties, and URBONO's role in literally keeping some afflicted folks alive, thanks to a stupendous and dramatic effort. So you know, WWL is once again being simulcast at 105.3 FM, former home of Oldies WTKL in the New Orleans area, thus resurrecting and making permanent an arrangement first seen in the immediate wake of last year's Hurricane Katrina disaster (Greg Hardison, CA, Broadcast Band Update April 17 via DXLD) The full UD appears in the dxldyg ** U S A [and non]. ART BELL - SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT What you missed last night on Coast to Coast AM --- Art spent the first hour of the program explaining that the reason he has been missing from the show the past couple of weekends is that he went to the Philippines and married a young Filipino girl (in her early 20s) who he recently met on the Internet. You may recall that Art, who is about to turn 61, became a widower when he lost his wife Ramona in January. Art said that a ham radio friend, who lives in the midwest, set up the Internet meeting between him and his new bride. The ham radio friend also accompanied Art to the Philippines and married the sister of the girl that Art married in a double wedding ceremony. Art also announced that he will be leaving Pahrump, Nevada, at the end of April and moving to the Philippines! He will continue to do the weekend Coast To Coast program from there. He praised Clear Channel for being supportive of him and said that they are working to establish an ISDN line back to the US from his new residence on the 19th floor of a building in Manila. Art said that he will likely sell his 5 acre ranch in Pahrump, Nevada, which he described as having two luxury houses and the biggest ham radio antenna of its kind in the country. He also plans to sell most of his possessions including several cars, his motorhome, ham radio equipment, several plasma TVs, and other electronics. He offered a fax number for contact with the person who has power of attorney for the sale of his property. Art said he will retain ownership of KNYE-FM and has hired a new GM to run it (Bob Carter - KC4QLP, Mid-Atlantic- Engineering-Services of Utica NY / Elizabeth City NC, April 16, ABDX via DXLD) ** URUGUAY. URUGUAI – A Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo, que emite da capital uruguaia, foi captada, em Porto Alegre (RS), pelo colunista, em 14 de abril, às 1755, pela freqüência de 9650 kHz. A emissora apresentava uma espécie de rodeio. O sinal era excelente (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX April 17 via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Asunto: Sobre Radio Amazonas. Hola Jorge, como veo que últimamente estás poniendo mucha y muy buena información en Noticias DX, sería intenteresante nos informaras en este foro, sobre Radio Amazonas, que en los últimos dos meses no la veo reportada en los foros y no sé si estará fuera del aire. Además, meses antes había estado variando bastante de frecuencia. Yo la escuché hace unos meses en su frecuencia habitual, pero desde aquel entonces no la pude captar más. Tú, antes eras el encargado QSL de la emisora, no sé si lo sigues siendo y tienes noticias de la misma. Sería una pena que, la única emisora venezolana que queda en la onda corta dejara de transmistir en este medio. Un abrazo (Manuel Méndez, Spain, April 11, Noticias DX via DXLD) Saludos! Manuel, Muchísimas gracias por tu correo-e, vale la oportunidad ya que fui asignado desde hace unos años como QSL Manager por parte de la familia Pérez, propietarios de Radio Amazonas, y Radio Continental - aquí en Barinas. Es que el transmisor de Radio Amazonas ha tenido serios problemas técnicos por los constantes cortes de fluido eléctrico en la región - sur de Venezuela en los últimos meses. Tanto es así que esas fallas de voltaje ha perjudicado seriamente su transmisor. Es por ello que cuando sale al aire, a veces su señal se escucha regada en diferentes frecuencias. Esta información no la quería divulgar antes, ya que se esperaba la llegada de un técnico en las próximas semanas a la ciudad de Puerto Ayacucho, Capital del Estado Amazonas, y después de que fuese totalmente arreglado el transmisor, con una excelente señal darles la buena nueva. Sin embargo por el momento de acuerdo a lo que determine las circunstancias, es posible que capten de manera esporádica la señal de Radio Amazonas cuando los estudios allá en Puerto Ayacucho lo consideren. Respecto a la confirmación de QSL, y esta información sí deseo que la hagan llegar a todos los foros diexistas en diferentes idiomas, es que el envío de QSLes está "Temporalmente" suspendido. La razón es que la demanda ha superado a la oferta de las codiciadas QSLes. Se están mandando a imprimir más QSLes, así que agradecemos a todos los colegas diexistas que nos han enviado sus reportes de recepción en los últimos meses, y los que estan por hacerlo que tengan "MUCHA PACIENCIA". Lean bien: "TODOS, ABSOLUTAMENTE TODOS QUE ENVIARON SUS REPORTES DE RECEPCION" a mi dirección, le serán confirmados con su correspondiente "TARJETA DE VERIFICACION QSL" y más aún aquellos diexistas que incluyeron su importe en cupones IRC´s o su equivalente en efectivo. Puedo garantizarles en nombre de la radio y en nombre de este humilde servidor, que todos los informes recibidos serán "CONFIRMADOS" debidamente. Sí les agradezco por favor "PACIENCIA", y tengan la seguridad que recibirán como es debido sus valiosos reportes de recepción. Muchas Gracias! Manuel. Quedo atentamente, (Jorge García Rangel, Barinas, Venezuela, ibid.) ** VENEZUELA [non]. 9505, Radio Nacional de Venezuela, via Habana, Cuba, 1143 Slogan ID caught in passing, in Spanish, strong. 04/10/06 (John Callarman, Krum TX NRD-525 80-foot inverted L, ABDX via DXLD) Previously unknown transmission, unless this was just something on R. Rebelde, which is scheduled at that time (gh, DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA. RTM-711 --- Laâyoune? Dakhla? From some months ago I have been reading DX reports placing this Saharan station in Dakhla (Villa Cisneros when it was part of Spain) instead of Laâyoune (El Aaiún in its Spanish times). I think this is not correct. Laâyoune-El Aaiún is/was the main city of the territory. RNE placed there the main radio station with a second station (mainly a relay) in Dakhla-Villa Cisneros. For the record, the ITU "International Frequency List", 4th edition Volume I, 1-Feb. 1967 only shows the Laâyoune-El Aaiún station: AOE EAJ203 651.5 kHz 100 kW. So the EAJ202 station in Dakhla-Villa Cisneros had to be registered later. Morocco invaded the western Sahara in 1975 taking the control of RTVE stations. Historically these stations have maintained its respective frequencies (with minor changes to agree with the ITU plans). But ever Laâyoune around 700 and Dakhla around 1000. Laâyoune powerful (it is the Capital)and Dakhla lower (it is a smaller city). Then, why it seems that they have interchanged now? I have found some references to a RTM web site giving that information. But I have not found that site! Anyway I think (really: I`m sure) that info is not correct. A simple typing error probably. You can check the official RTM- Radio Laâyoune site to discover that nothing has changed. They announce its traditional MW frequency: 711 kHz and 91.1 FM. You can find the schedule for its programs in Spanish too. http://www.radiolaayoune.ma/carte.htm (Mauricio Molano, Salamanca, Spain, April 12, mwdx yg via DXLD) ** ZANZIBAR [and non]. TANZANIA, 11735, R. Tanzania, Dole, Zanzibar, "surfaced" at 1555 on 16 Apr right after Turkey sign-off in Arabic, becoming nicely audible for a few moments' time until 1600 when adjacent QRM ruined reception; Swahili program, Arabic music, TS for 1600, local ID, news; 43433 was the rating after 1600 while 45434 was the one 1555-1600. R. Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, was also noted yesterday, 16 Apr, on 5050.1, but very poorly. I wish I could have observed this on the SW coast! 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. Another version of the story by an anonymous VOP person: THE SILENCING OF THE COUNTRY'S LAST INDEPENDENT RADIO STATION. By a staff member of Voice of the People radio On December 15 last year, police raided Voice of the People, VOP, radio offices in Harare. I was out of town on private business but the news was relayed to me on my mobile. When I saw that message, I smelt big trouble. . . http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=296&cat=3 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Music station noted on April 17: 1400-1900 on 6220 (55544) (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 18 via DXLD) Surely Mystery Radio, pirate probably from Italy (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ NUEVO ARCHIVO DE LA UIT Saludos cordiales, un nuevo archivo de la UIT está disponible en: http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/terrestrial/monitoring/files/pdffiles/309.pdf Comprobación Técnica Internacional de las emisiones (José Miguel Romero, Spain, DX LISTENING DIGEST) These are their monitoring reports, broadcast and utility bands, rather hit and miss, but can be a useful reference. Meanwhile, 3 weeks after A-06 began, still no sign of the public HFCC frequency schedule (gh, DXLD) DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ SOUTH AFRICAN DXPEDITION [MW on the Indian Ocean coast] Our latest DXpedition can be viewed at: http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/jongensgat_2006_03.dx (John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa, mwdx yg via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DRM in this issue: BULGARIA; ECUADOR; GERMANY; NEW ZEALAND IBIQUITY WEBSITE Hi, Ibiquity just added a separate homepage for HD radio. The map they show for coverage areas is either laughable or scary, depending on what it truly represents. Take Oregon for example: what are those blobs in Eugene and Medford? They don't show anyone licensed in those areas. Deals which don't show up yet? And also, the size of the coverage circles is just nuts. They show Portland HD as being receivable all the way out on the Coast, 60-100 miles away. Something tells me that you're not going to be able to receive an HD signal all the way down I-5 from Portland to Medford, but that's what the map indicates. Reception in Southwestern Oregon is terrible for Analog already and it's hard to imagine HD doing well outside the cities themselves. I also note that you can now receive HD radio in every single location in Alabama and Ohio. Why do I find this a little bit doubtful? Oh well. At least I'm still sitting out here in the land of no HD. I'm sooooooo glad that all of our FMs are locally owned (and no, this is not a slam at Clear Channel or any of the other large groups - just a notation that in DMA 196, in the absence of deep- pocketed owners, it's unlikely we'll see IBOC here too soon). (Dave Williams, Redmond, OR, April 12, WTFDA via DXLD) JVC HD RADIO INFO FROM GLEN HALE I got a chance to really test drive the JVC KD-HDR1 HD radio over the weekend with a trip to the Chicago area. Overall, the analog portion of this radio is quite good -- even better than I originally thought. The analog tuner is a single digital chip, offering continuously variable selectivity, depending upon receiving conditions. FM Selectivity is great on this unit. There is no problem receiving a weak analog beside a strong analog signal, and most times you don't even hear a hint of the adjacent station. On the HD side of things, it is fairly sensitive. I was able to hold on to WJMK 104.3 Chicago's HD signal down to mile marker 230 on Interstate 65 -- roughly the edge of the outer circle on the radio- locator.com map. The analog signal held on for another 40 miles -- down to mile marker 190. That's the best analog performance I've seen with any of my car radios on that same trip and band conditions didn't play a role. It was much better than the Pioneer and Blaupunkt receivers that use a similar digital chip technology. I could DX the adjacents to stations with IBOC from Naperville -- about 30 miles from the Chicago towers. The HD signal is pretty resilient. I could still decode WUSN's HD signal on 99.5 despite a very strong analog signal on 99.3. Generally I could still decode the HD signals if at least one of the adjacents sounded clear, no matter what was going on with the other adjacent. I could also decode the HD signal if very weak analog signals were present on both adjacents. Anything stronger would keep the HD station from decoding, but I could still frequently get the text ID of the station's call letters, even if the HD signal didn't decode. AM HD signals are pretty susceptible to the static on the band. Lightning crashes caused WBBM 780 to jump from digital to analog mode numerous times during a storm, only 20 miles from the transmitter. As for sound quality, stations that don't multicast can sound great. A couple of the suburban Chicago stations don't multicast and those sounded rich and full, with little evidence of compression. Multicast stations didn't sound as good. My ears aren't great, but I noticed a tinny sound on both HD-1 and HD-2 on all stations. HD-2 signals are just about unlistenable to me, clearly bit-starved (Glen Hale, via Mike Bugaj, WTFDA via DXLD) FWIW, as I understand it all FM-IBOC stations have equal bandwidth. Adding a HD-2 channel does NOT make the station any wider, it just takes bandwidth away from the main program. Just like DTV, where a station transmitting six standard-definition programs does NOT use any more channel space than one transmitting a single SD program. So on an analog receiver, a station with only HD1 should sound just like one that also has HD2 (Doug Smith, W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ETON E100'S AT HEARTLAND AMERICA In case anyone is interested, the discounter/closeout catalog merchandiser Heartland America has reconditioned Eton E100 SW radios at $69.99. Here's a link to their website page: http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?product=eton-e100-pocket-radio&PIN=40396&GUID=0EEFEA29-4910-446D-A4FE-D3F06DDE0A09&BC=S&DL=SEH1 I saw it in a paper catalog first that said "Free Shipping" (but there is a $2.99 per-order "processing fee"). In that, the stock number is D5-94812, just in case you need that to get the free shipping. 73, (Will Martin, April 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ TEMPORADA DE LAS BANDAS TROPICALES Entendemos por temporada de las bandas tropicales el período más adecuado para la sintonía de emisoras que transmitan por las bandas de 60, 90 y 120 metros y también por la banda tropical ``europea`` de 75 metros de la onda corta. Para los escuchas en el Hemisferio Norte hay dos períodos propicios. El primero se extiende del 20 de marzo al 20 de mayo, y, el segundo, del 15 de septiembre al 30 de octubre, aproximadamente. Para los oyentes del Hemisferio Sur esos períodos se inician 6 meses después. En la temporada de las bandas tropicales aparecen condiciones para captar señales radiales a muy grandes distancias, en las bajas frecuencias. Los momentos más adecuados se producen en los minutos poco antes de amanecer y así, en días esporádicos, los oyentes europeos podrán captar emisoras de América Latina. No hay que olvidar que estas emisoras son imposibles de sintonizar en la mayoría de los meses del año. Continuaremos con este tema en nuestro próximo espacio. Por Rumen Pankov -- Versión al español: Mijail Mijailov (Espacio diexista 16042006 por Radio Bulgaria via José Miguel Romero, dxldyg via DXLD) MORE LONG-HAUL TRANSEQUATORIAL FM DX, NORTHERN TO SOUTHERN S AMERICA Note that these catches are from slightly further south than the TE DX previously reported from Santa Catarina or Paraná, Brasil, tho Jachal is at the same latitude, slightly beyond 30 degrees south, as Porto Alegre RGS; and the DX received is from N South America, rather than the Caribbean (gh) DX CAMP DE JACHAL, SAN JUAN, ARGENTINA MARZO 2006 Con Martín Gremoliche nos trasladamos a Jachal ciudad que se encuentra a 153 km. de la capital de la provincia, donde nos alojamos en la casa de unos tíos de Martín (que nos atendieron magníficamente) distante unos 10 Kms. de la ciudad de Jachal. Este lugar realmente es un paraíso DX, alejado de ruido e interferencias y con una diafanidad del aire y ausencia de luces artificiales que permiten contemplar un sinnúmero de estrellas invisibles desde las grandes ciudades. La estrella del DX Camp fue la caza de emisoras en FM, dado que Jachal es un lugar ideal por la escasa cantidad FM locales, las condiciones antes mencionadas y la propagación transecuatorial que se verifica en esta época del año. A continuación compartimos con Uds. algunas escuchas: 26/03 entre las 0100 y las 0300 [presumably UT] 27/03 entre las 0030 y las 0300 88.1, No Identificada Música Reggaeton (Martín Gremoliche) 89.3, Eros "La superestación", San Cristóbal, Venezuela, Boleros y Música Llanera (Martín Gremoliche) 89.5, No Identificada. Vallenatos (música típica colombiana) (Martín Gremoliche) 89.7, No Identificada, Música Pop (posiblemente Venezuela) (Martín Gremoliche) 90.7, No Identificada, Salsa (Martín Gremoliche) 91.1, Líder, San Cristóbal, Venezuela (Martín Gremoliche) 91.7, Caracol Radio, Colombia (Martín Gremoliche/Miguel Castellino) 92.1, Calor 92.1, Venezuela, Salsa, pop, Merengue y Vallenato (Martín Gremoliche) 92.7, R. Tiempo (Martín Gremoliche) 94.1, Soberanía (Martín Gremoliche) 94.7, Olímpica Stereo, Cúcuta, Colombia, música Tropical (Martín Gremoliche) 95.1, No Identificada, Salsa por grupo Niche (Martín Gremoliche) 95.7, No Identificada, Salsa (Martín Gremoliche) 101.3, Colombia Stereo, Tame, Arauca, Colombia (Martín Gremoliche) 105.9, Fiesta FM, Acarigua, Venezuela, Música Salsa, por Frankie Ruiz (Martín Gremoliche) 107.3, Romántica, San Cristóbal, Venezuela (Martín Gremoliche) Equipamiento: Degen 1103, Sony ICF7600G, Antena monofilar, Antena yagi para FM (Conexión Digital April 16 via DXLD) SEC USER NOTES Issue 52 April 2006 Contents • Loss of Important SEC Service Announcement • Student Conference on Career Opportunities in Space Science and Industry • Space Weather Week 2006 • Space Weather for Aviation Service Providers web page • Space Weather Impacts on Commercial Aviation and Power Distribution • International Living With A Star (ILWS) Workshop • Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) HMI/AIA Science Teams Meeting • National Research Council Committee on Solar and Space Physics Meeting (CSSP) http://www.sec.noaa.gov/user_notes/UN52.html (SEC April 17 via DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ PARTING THE RED SEA No big deal for the Deity, but: wouldn`t the seabed be really, really, muddy, impossible to trek thru? And how about chasms, etc.? Pretty handy that there was a clear path from one side to the other. Unclear exactly which part of it was allegedly crossed by the Moses crowd, but the Red Sea itself is very deep in the middle; maybe just the Gulf of Suez which is much shallower and averages only 40 km wide. Can scholars point to any more specific geographic references about this myth? If they were going to Sinai it would surely be the Gulf of Suez, not the Red Sea (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###