DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-091, June 24, 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 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1319: Sun 0530 WRMI 9955 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 2300 WRMI 9955 [from July 2?] Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 Mon 0500 WRMI 9955 [ending June 26?] Wed 0930 WWCR1 9985 Complete schedule including non-SW stations and audio links: 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 ** ALASKA. ALASKA TO EUROPE ON 6 METERS A forwarded message from ICDX about some interesting propagation. BTW, Tony Mann is the man who has received American UHF TV carriers via EME at Perth, Australia (Curtis Sadowski, IL, WTFDA via DXLD) Hi folks, Thanks to Ian G0FYD and Ruud for posting the news that NL7Z, Alaska worked into Denmark, Germany and Holland on 6m via multi-hop Es. This occurred 1130-1200 UT on 21 June (see reference below ). The distance is about 4500 miles. Some useful propagation indicators for Alaska are: 40.690 Alaska meteor scatter link (like 40.53 Pakistan) 55.239990-994 KTUU, Anchorage 100 kW (61 25, 149 52) 55.260016 ? KATN, Fairbanks 28 kW (64 51, 147 43) These 3 were received by JE7IDA in Morioka, Japan, as best I can tell, on at least three occasions recently, at distances of about 3200 miles. 40.690 was heard here in Perth via F2 in 2002, so it gets out well. There are other 40 something MHz meteor scatter transmitters in Alaska and the US; see http://members.datafast.net.au/~electronics/Meteor.htm Regards, (Tony Mann, WA, June 22, ICDX via Sadowski, WTFDA via DXLD) reference (from DX Summit): PA4PA 50115.0 NL7Z WOW! 1129 21 Jun 2006 OZ1DJJ 50115.0 NL7Z 559 tks 1141 21 Jun 2006 DL9USA 50115.0 NL7Z tnx new DXCC 1147 21 Jun 2006 IK4DRY 50115.0 NL7Z please leave Qrg 50115 qsy up 1149 21 Jun 2006 EI3IO 50115.0 NL7Z QSX 50.118 MHz 1151 21 Jun 2006 9A6R-@ 50115.0 NL7Z send dir.pls...tnx 1158 21 Jun 2006 9A6R-@ 50000.0 NL7Z SP or LP??? 1204 21 Jun 2006 SM6CMU 50115.0 NL7Z tnx 1212 21 Jun 2006 (via Sadowski, ibid.) ** ANTARCTICA. Hi Glenn, I heard Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel on 15476, verry strong for 15 minutes at the time 1910 UT, 23/6 [Friday]. Talks about Cuba and the European. SINPO was 45444 after 15 minutes. Signal was poor, with my brand new receiver NRD 535 and PR- 150 and external speaker from Sailor. My antenna LW 100m and MFJ 959b (Maurits Van Driessche, member DX Antwerp, Belgium, June 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Must keep trying, M-F 19-21 (gh, DXLD) ** ARMENIA. 25 June 2006, Finally a night appearance of V of Armenia, 9965 at 0236 in Spanish. Poor signal (Liz Cameron, MI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Checking the collision with Singapore on 6080, June 24 at 1259, could not hear Singapore, just ABC Local Radio, with a promo for barley; 1300 DJ talking, but no news. Apparently this is Saturday Night Country on timeshift for CAu. At first I thought it was // RA on 6020, with similar music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AZERBAIJAN. 6110.84, R. Dada Gorgud, Jun 17 1700-1706 23432-23431 English, IS from 1700, Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) Are they axually still using that ID? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** BAHAMAS. 1240, ZNS2, 1215 with long string of addresses read very slowly by om; 1223 into New Providence news items. Difficult signal to tune until antenna was modified. Imagine ZNS on 1240 kHz receives few reports as it is difficult to receive from my QTH, ten miles from the Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast coast of Florida. 73 de (Bob Wilkner, R75 and dipole, Pompano Beach, Florida, June 23, HCDX via DXLD) Bob, I'm just "up the road" from you and agree, of the three Bahamas AM stations, ZNS2 is by far the most difficult to hear. I'm a little closer to the ocean which might help me some. I am getting a fairly good signal from ZNS2 now at 1800Z, but not without some effort. Adjacent 1230 WBZT, only 25 miles away in Palm Beach, Florida, covers 1240 with splatter. Once that is removed with judicious tuning and use of USB, or better yet by nulling WBZT with an antenna phaser, ZNS2 can finally make it through. Certainly not the sort of signal any casual listener is going to hear, unlike ZNS1 and ZNS3 which are easily enjoyable here during the day (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (southeast) FL, [JRC NRD-535D; LFE H-800, M-601; Quantum Phaser] http://ScooterHound.com/WWWR/wobbler ibid.) ** BOLIVIA. BOLIVIA TENDRÁ 30 RADIOS COMUNITARIAS Y UN CANAL DE TV Fuente: http://www.voltairenet.org/article141096.html Lo afirmó Evo Morales. El presidente de Bolivia, Evo Morales, prometió instalar 30 emisoras campesinas y un canal de televisión. El primer medio comenzará a funcionar en Mojos, departamento de Beni. ``Si los empresarios tienen derecho a tener radios y canales ¿por qué no los campesinos? Vamos a tener nuestras radios y vamos a tener un canal de televisión", prometió el Jefe de Estado boliviano durante el cierre del XI Congreso de la Federación Única de Mujeres Campesinas Bartolina Sisa. "Los medios de comunicación tergiversan nuestras declaraciones y hemos decidido que en la primera etapa vamos a instalar 30 emisoras campesinas en toda Bolivia", confirmó Morales. Además hizo hincapié en que el objetivo será "educar" e "informar" y que ya consiguió el financiamiento para concretarlo el próximo año. La Dirección Nacional de Comunicación del Gobierno (Dinacom) firmó un convenio interinstitucional con la radiodifusión comunitaria en Bolivia, para llevar adelante una acción conjunta dirigida al fortalecimiento de la democracia a través del uso plural y participativo de los medios de radiodifusión comunitaria (via José Miguel Romero, Spain, DXLD) Could some of these possibly appear on SW? Unlikely (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Desde ontem, 23/06, retornou depois de vários meses fora do ar, os 4945 khz da Rádio Rural de Petrolina - PE. Segundo o Padre Bianchi, (87)3861.2874 e 3862.1522, gerente da emissora que pertence à diocese de lá, o problema era válvula. Ela voltou, mais com horario limitado. Só de 5 hs às 8 e das 16 às 19 [presumably local = 08-11 & 19-22 UT]. Informou tambem o Padre que é prá contenção de energia. Mais dei a sugestão a ele prá ficar direto junto com os 730 da média. Quem quiser reforçar (ISAAC ROSA, CRATEÚS - CE, June 24, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Reactivated station on limited schedule (gh) ** BRAZIL. Amigos da lista, hoje eu falei com um funcionario dos trasmissores da Inconfidência. O mesmo me falou que estão trocando as cinco válvulas do trans de 49m e que vai operar em 25 kW. O transmissor de om 880 está operando com 15 kW e vai entrar em manutenção em breve. O transmissor de 19m vai voltar ao ar em breve. Fone dos transmissores da Inconfidência, 31-33941388 SDS (Jaime Soares de Belo Horizonte, June 23, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Replacing tubes, about to reactivate on 6010 and 15190, the latter off the air for many years! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. More hand-wringing over at CBC SENATORS URGE OVERHAUL OF CBC --- Network should drop sports, ads; Stable, long-term funding urged http://makeashorterlink.com/?S1195415D (Details over Senate recommendations for Canadian media) CBC EXECS TRY DAMAGE CONTROL -- As Senate considers broadcaster's long-term strategy, programming chief says bumping The National is part of a 'huge opportunity' -- http://makeashorterlink.com/?G1293215D (Article about TV decision to move nightly network news for U.S.- based American Idol knock-off) (via Ricky Leong, June 23, DXLD) ** CANADA. CHTN soon to go dark and other news --- Driving to work this morning, just after coming off the Hillsborough Bridge from Stratford into Charlottetown, thousands of morning rush hour [don't laugh, it was bumper to bumper] commuters and myself were greeted by a bunch of Newcap Jocks, Jockesses and support staff waving signs reading "Ocean 100.3". I flipped over to 720 CHTN and a few minutes later the 8:00 a.m. news came on. Lead item is that Ocean 100.3 will replace CHTN in July and K-Rock 105.5 will also take to the air in July as Ocean 100.3's rock sister station. Ocean 100.3 will play music [likely AC] from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and today. K-Rock will be a hybrid between Classic Rock and current rock. http://www.ocean1003.com/index.asp?ObjID=4838 http://www.krock1055.com/index.asp?CP=BBAR_1 Meanwhile, CFCY has applied to the CRTC for a power increase, pattern change, and tower relocation. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Application No. 2006-0584-2 Application by Maritime Broadcasting System Limited relating to the licence of radio programming undertaking CFCY-FM Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The licensee proposes to change the authorized contours by increasing the average effective radiated power from 73,300 watts to an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts, by increasing the antenna height and by relocating the transmitter (non-directional antenna/antenna height to 253 metres). This undertaking was initially approved in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2006-89, 24 March 2006, CFCY Charlottetown – Conversion to FM band. To date, this undertaking has not commenced operation. The applicant advised that the proposed changes would be the result of the antenna being co-located on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's site which is 17 kilometres west of their initially proposed location. This change will remove the applicant's need to erect its own transmission tower. Licensee's address: 5121 Sackville Street Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 1K1 Fax: (902) 423-2093 E-Mail: mail@mbsradio.com Examination of application: 5 Prince Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Accordingly, the CFCY website talks briefly about the upcoming move to FM, but July [an original target month] is not mentioned: http://www.cfcy.pe.ca/ No mention yet as to when CKEC will move to FM: http://www.ckec.com/ Meanwhile, CKTO a.k.a. Big Dog 100.9 in Truro NS has yet to enter the age of the internet - still no website. The CJFX aka X-FM website has been refreshed: http://989xfm.supremeserver11.com/ And CIGO a.k.a. 101.5 The Hawk has a couple new jocks, a new newsguy, and a new jockess: http://www.1015thehawk.com/ Keep in mind that the CRTC normally allows simulcasting on the old AM site for up to 3 months. Rarely do stations use the full 3 months, unless the FM is having problems. CJFX went dark on AM about 2 months after the FM was upped from 2750 to 75,390 watts and CIGO ditched its AM about 6 weeks after its FM was on the air. So, my guess is that come September 1 or so, 720 CHTN will leave the air forever, the towers will come down, and we'll see a residential subdivision spring up on the site in a few years (Phil Rafuse, PEI, June 23, ABDX via DXLD) ** CANADA. A NEW very low-powered local on 89.9 Hi Glenn and all of you! I was in downtown Montreal today, in order to purchase CDs and to buy ticket for seeing the great African jazz performer Salif Keita who is at our International Jazz Festival, and while in the car, on the car-radio of course, picked up a strange station on 89.9. It was monaural with lots of Doppler effect fades and multi-path effects from the tall buildings, not very strong - good at best, generally poor-fair. It had a British accented announcer and I thought, with my big eccentricity, I had triple-hop sporadic-E FM DX toward the UK. Nope! The British man was followed by another man, a Quebecor-accented one this time, talking about the Formula One racing and its preparations. It seems to be a VERY low-powered station, as I can't get it at all here in Pierrefonds. Here, I only get a weakish "Hot 89.9" out of Ottawa via tropo-scatter. In the case you aren't aware yet, the Great Price of Formula 1 will start TOMORROW, despite a national celebration (the saint-John Baptist one - the "national" day of the province of Quebec). (Bogdan Chiochiu, QC, June 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So is it a pirate? (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. Re 6-090, UNIDENTIFIED: 14180 continues in AM in the middle of the very popular 20m ham band with Chinese programming at good levels at 0621 June 23rd, with some ham QRM. Seems to be a 24 hour operation? Wonder what gives here (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I did not hear it yesterday, but June 23 at 1310 quite audible on 14180. It`s // 15265 and 15285 jammers, so presumably CNR-1, but much weaker than they, and seems to be more in synch with 15285 than 15265. Just as CNR appeared abruptly in the hamband at 18160, causing quite a ruckus amongst hams, in order to jam Sound of Hope, the clandestine which chose to operate there, I suspect the same thing is happening here. Something needs to be jammed on 14180, tho it will be difficult for us to hear or even detect it. Are the intruder watchers up in arms yet? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Saludos Glenn, desde Valencia a las 1330 se aprecia señal en mandarín en 14180 con mucho ruido, apenas audible; parece emisión en paralelo por 15265 y 15285, con excelente señal, 44444. Se escucha a locutora en conversación telefónica con oyente, luego las cuñas de CNR, fáciles de reconocer por su peculiar sintonía (José Miguel Romero, Spain, June 23, ibid.) At 1542 the outlet on 9605 had closed but parallels were audible on 11710, 11765, 15495 (Jari Savolainen, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) June 24 at 1254 check, no sign of CNR on 14180 as heard the previous two days. Has its jamming target moved somewhere else? Checked the entire 20 meter band and did not find it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. ``Listeners Garden`` on CRI, Sat June 24 at 1345 had a segment on hutong, the residential alleyways which are fast disappearing from major cities such as Beijing; the word is Mongolian for well, as in water source. I found that the relay via Chile on 17625 was running 5 seconds behind the relay via Canada on 9650 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. TIRWR with DGS, still running here on 9725 at 1309 check June 24. Have not looked for the other frequencies lately, but this one is certainly still active. Could not hear the continuous crackling that is on the WWCR feed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, regarding your June 24 logs, I preferred to wait until 0000 of this June 25 to confirm what I noticed last night and you reported as well. TIRWR must be going through some technical problems or lack of maintenance there at Cahuita. 5030 // 6150 // 7375 are not signing-on for the last 24 hours but I`m suspecting this have been going for nearly a week. No problem with higher frequencies, that is 9725 // 11870 // 13750, that provide more long distance coverage, unlike the more low frequencies that I suppose won`t go too far due to its high elevation angle, am I right? I just have checked back 7375 // 6150 and now, 0015 they are late on the air, but no trace of 5030, that anyway is receiving a strong splatter from Radio Rebelde on 5025. So this is telling me that situation is back to normal after some repairs, probably made today (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. R. República no longer on WRMI 9955 at 16-21; new Cuban clandestine at 04-05: see U S A Any plans to change to a higher frequency than 5910 for R. República via Nauen? Seems too low for deep summer (Glenn to Jeff White, via DXLD) There are definitely no plans to change the RR frequency via T- Systems. I thought it sounded too low for summer too, but they insisted their propagation analyses showed it was necessary, and it sounds great, so I don't think there will be any changes (Jeff White, RMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. QSLs --- Gibuti, R. Djibouti 4780 kHz, Lettera QSL e adesivo in 107 giorni. E-rpt spedito a: rtdtech @ intnet.dj (Luca Botto Fiora, Rapallo (Genova) bclnews.it via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Saludos cordiales, un listado de estaciones de radiodifusión sonora de Onda Corta, actualizada en abril del 2006 por la Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones de Ecuador, puede descargarse en: http://www.supertel.gov.ec/PDF/onda%20corta.pdf 73 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Like many official lists, should not be taken to indicate what is actually on the air! Only one HCJB frequency makes the list, 3220! There are six frequencies in this missing from the WRTH 2006 listings for Ecuador. Some of these stations may still be licensed, but not active, so an occasional check for them would be in order: 3250, La Voz del Triunfo, Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Pichincha 3290, Radio Centro, Ambato, Tungurahua 3310, La Voz de la Frontera, Macara, Loja 4940, Radio Nacional, Quito, Pichincha 5010, Escuelas Radiofónicas Populares, Riobamba, Chimborazo 5060, Radio Progreso, Loja, Loja PWBR `2006` lists the 3290 and 5010 stations as if they are active, does not list any of the others (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos cordiales, un listado de estaciones de radiodifusión sonora de Onda Media, actualizada en abril del 2006 por la Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones del Ecuador, puede descargarse en: http://www.supertel.gov.ec/PDF/amplitud%20modulada.pdf 73 (José Miguel Romero, ibid.) ESCUELAS RADIOFÓNICAS POPULARES – RIOBAMBA 710 AM --- Carta QSL, adhesivos, carta personal. Mayo 02, 2006. V/s Bélgica Chela / Administradora (CESAR PEREZ DIOSES, CHIMBOTE – PERU, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. DRM Umfrage // DRM Poll // DW survey Global survey on audio and radio listening habits --- Deutsche Welle and its international partners are conducting a global internet study of audio and radio listening habits. It's fun, interesting and helps us serve you better! Go to: http://www.audiosurvey.de for more information. Thank your for your support! Weltweite Umfrage zum Hörverhalten Gemeinsam mit ihren Partnern führt die Deutsche Welle eine Internet- Studie zu Hörverhalten und Radionutzung durch. Machen Sie mit und helfen Sie uns, unsere Angebote für Sie weiter zu verbessern! Mehr Informationen zu dieser englischsprachigen Umfrage unter: http://www.audiosurvey.de Vielen Dank für Ihre Unterstützung (Deutsche Welle via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DXLD) ** GERMANY. Burg: Mast removed --- One of the two pipe masts at the Burg transmitter site has been brought down on Thursday (June 22) at 2 PM with explosives. This was rather tricky because the other pipe mast next-by had to be left untouched. Reportedly the Magdeburger Volksstimme newspaper published an illustrated article, probably available online. At present I can not get a connection to their server, but an URL to check out would be http://www.volksstimme.de/vsm/nachrichten/lokales/burg/ A copy of the Volksstimme report has been posted at http://forum.mysnip.de/read.php?8773,421696,422120#msg-422120 These pipe masts were originally meant for mediumwave transmission, but one of them (not sure if the now demolished or the kept one) had been modified for longwave after the actual longwave mast collapsed in 1976. I assume the other mast was after 1979 used for 657 kHz, from 1987 until 1990 with an almost forgotten relay of DT64 (which is widely believed to made a mediumwave debut in 1992, then on 1044 kHz via, you guessed it, the Wilsdruff transmitter west of Dresden). Three pictures with both pipe masts still standing: http://img159.echo.cx/img159/2252/burg1entr6tp.jpg -- Classical view from the station entrance http://img159.echo.cx/img159/1741/burg1pipes5wm.jpg -- The deteriorated condition of the now removed mast is quite obvious http://img159.echo.cx/img159/9100/burg1site7dy.jpg -- Station as seen from the town of Burg, with pipe masts, the new longwave antenna ("recycled" mast originally used for a mediumwave Franklin [Russian ARRT design]) and the 1575 kHz vertical incidence antenna By the way: T-Systems engineering meanwhile confirmed the power for Truckradio on 531 kHz as 10 kW (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hallo Wolfgang, in der Magdeburger Volksstimme ist unter folgendem Link was zu lesen http://www.volksstimme.de/vsm/nachrichten/lokales/burg/?em_cnt=111321 vy 73 (JAN Balzer, A-DX via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) Link works only with Java Script enabled at relaxed security level (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. RE 6-090, Glenn: Tell Kai that I can't find any pictures either, but I did find a reference on the web as to VOA's location near Xanthi dating back to 1999 (John Babbis, MD, USA, June 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [14] Residents protest against Voice of America facility in Xanthi Athens, 26/04/1999 (ANA) Hundreds of demonstrators formed a 'human shield' around a building used by US-government sponsored radio broadcaster "Voice of America" near Xanthi on Sunday, in a symbolic protest against the NATO bombings of Yugoslavia. VOA has used the Xanthi site as a base for decades, broadcasting in dozens of languages. Members of the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Committee for Peace, days after a bloody NATO attack on the state-run Serbian television's headquarters in downtown Belgrade, claimed the radio station was broadcasting "war-mongering and provocative messages against Yugoslavia and Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic." There were no reports of violence during the protest. Athens News Agency (via John Babbis, MD, DXLD) ** GREECE. Voice of Greece in English - Saturdays 1400-1500 when looking at: http://www.voiceofgreece.gr/en/omogeneia_ekpompes.asp?catid=148 they still broadcast Hellenes Around the World on Saturday at 14 UT. Guess we'll have to monitor what they actually are doing. 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, June 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Greece confirmed today (24th June) with their Saturday-only "Greeks Everywhere" programme in English from 1400 UT on 9420 and 15630 kHz. Both frequencies currently giving good reception in the UK (Dave Kenny, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hellenes Around the World in English heard 1410 today on 9420 15630, both strong here (Mike Barraclough, ibid.) Yes, I also heard it, JBA on 15630 around 1430 Sat June 24 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Waiting to hear Greeks Everywhere at 0200; I have a feeling that this will be a repeat of the 1400 Sat show. The same with the It's All Greek To Me. At 0000 the program now on is The Past Beautiful Years, not the Radionewspaper like the new schedule has it. We'll see what 0200 brings (John Babbis, MD, UT June 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Greece heard in English in Montreal, Canada, on 7475 and 9420 at 0200 UT on June 25th. Very good signal on both frequencies (Gilles Letourneau, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, it was on at 0206 check, interviewing an Aussie, better on 7475 than 9420, lower MUF trumping azimuth, inaudible on 17520 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At 0245z here in central Texas, about 500 km south of Enid, 9420 is a bit stronger with quiet, stable signals for both 7475 and 9440 (Jerry Lenamon, Waco Texas, ICOM R75 with sloper, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Poor editing or continuity coördination, though. The program ended at mid-sentence, followed by time pips and women with presumed news in Greek. 9420 by far the better frequency here in upstate NY. It is nice to have another English language program on the Saturday night (Sunday morning UT) schedule (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, ibid.) I heard the same transmission on 9420 with strong signal. Didn't check //s. Despite editing problems, this was a nice and rare treat. 73/ (Liz Cameron, ibid.) Not so rare henceforth, we hope; unlikely now to be pre-empted by silly ballgames at 5 am local (gh, DXLD) ** GREECE. ERT S.A.: THE VOICE OF GREECE A06 SHORT WAVE TRANSMISSION SCHEDULE [reworked version] Effective from 06/21/06 to 10/28/06 (00:00) UTC Avlis 1 Avlis 2 Avlis 3 EUROPE 0000-0100 7475 9420 Gr except Eng (Mon) 0100-0200 7475 9420 Gr 0200-0300 7475 9420 Gr except Eng (Sun) 0300-0500 7475 9420 Gr 0500-0600 12120 *7475 9420 Gr 0600-0700 12120 15630 9420 Gr 0700-0900 12120 15630 9420 Gr 0900-1000 12120 15630 9420 Gr 1100-1200 15630 Gr 1200-1800 15630 9420 Gr 1800-1900 *15630 9420 Gr 1900-2400 7475 9420 Gr Foreign Language Transmissions 1300-1900 666 AM MEDIUM WAVE Gr,Ar,D,Rus,E,R,Tr,Sc,Bg,Al,F,Pl,Eng CANADA 2300-0000 9420 Gr 0000-0100 9420 Gr except Eng (Mon) 0100-0200 9420 Gr 0200-0300 9420 Gr except Eng (Sun) 0300-0600 9420 Gr INDIAN OCEAN 2300-0000 15650 Gr 0000-0100 15650 Gr except Eng (Mon) 0100-0200 *15650 Gr 0200-0300 17520 Gr except Eng (Sun) 0300-0500 *17520 Gr ATLANTIC OCEAN 0000-0100 7475 9420 Gr except Eng (Mon) 0100-0200 7475 9420 Gr 0200-0300 7475 9420 Gr except Eng (Sun) 0300-0600 *7475 9420 Gr 0600-1000 12120 15630 9420 Gr 1100-1200 15630 Gr 1200-1900 *15630 9420 Gr 1900-2100 9420 Gr 2100-2300 7475 9420 Gr 2300-2400 7475 9420 Gr NORTH AFRICA 0500-1000 12120 Gr JAPAN 2300-0000 15650 Gr 0000-0100 15650 Gr except Eng (Mon) 0100-0200 *15650 Gr AUSTRALIA 2300-0000 15650 Gr 0000-0100 15650 Gr except Eng (Mon) 0100-0200 *15650 Gr 0200-0300 *17520 Gr except Eng (Sun) 0200-0500 *17520 Gr NORTH AMERICA 2300-0000 7475 9420 Gr 0000-0100 7475 9420 Gr except Eng (Mon) 0100-0200 7475 9420 Gr 0200-0300 7475 9420 Gr except Eng (Sun) 0300-0600 *7475 9420 Gr BRAZIL, ZONE PANAMA, NORTHWEST AFRICA 2300-0000 7475 Gr 0000-0100 7475 Gr except Eng (Mon) 0100-0200 7475 Gr 0200-0300 7475 Gr except Eng (Sun) 0300-0600 *7475 Gr (*) Transmission ends 10 minutes earlier Gr=Greek, Eng=English, Al=Albanian, Ar=Arabian, Bg=Bulgarian, D=German, F=French, E=Spanish, Pl=Polish, R=Romanian, Rus=Russian, Sc=Servocroatian, Tr=Turkish (John Babbis, MD, USA, June 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. INVESTIGAN A DOS DIPUTADOS POR RADIOS PIRATA --- Marcelino Moscut y Sergio Celis figuran en las pesquisas realizadas por el Ministerio Público en 343 casos. --- Edgar López Siglo21 Los diputados Marcelino Moscut, del bloque integracionista, y Sergio Celis, de la UNE, son investigados por el Ministerio Público (MP) por su vinculación con radiodifusoras ``ilegales``. Moscut figura en el proceso porque preside una asociación de radiodifusoras ``comunitarias``. Celis representa a una que opera en Sumpango Sacatepéquez. Ambas estaciones transmiten desde las residencias de los parlamentarios. Los aludidos no niegan la sindicación. Celis afirma que tuvo relación con la firma, pero que ya no la opera. . . CUATRO AÑOS AL AIRE La frecuencia 93.1 FM Sumpango, tiene cuatro años de operar. Es una de las más escuchadas en el municipio de Sumpango, Sacatepéquez. El representante y fundador es el diputado Sergio Celis, de la Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza. Las instalaciones están ubicadas en el segundo nivel de la residencia del congresista. Siglo Veintiuno constató que cuentan con al menos 20 patrocinadores, los que pagan Q250 por ser anunciados seis veces al día. . . [much more] http://www.sigloxxi.com/index.php?link=noticias¬iciaid=1218&PHPSESSID=188051bf22829c9b9159bfb1fc80a0c2 (via José Miguel Romero, dxldyg via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 3250, Radio Luz y Vida, 0432-0439, 24-06, comentarios en español, locutor, señal muy débil, sólo audible en LSB. 14321. 3340, La Voz de Misiones Internacionales, 0440-0458, 24-06, canciones religiosas en español, comentarios, locutor y locutora, identificación: "Misiones Internacionales". Cierre a las 0458. 24322. 4819.2, HRVC La Voz Evangélica. Esta emisora parece estar fuera del aire últimamente, pues en las últimas semanas no he logrado escucharla, ni siquiera puedo captar su portadora (Manuel Méndez, Escuchas realizadas en Friol, 27 Km. W de Lugo, España, Antena de cable, 10 metros, orientada WSW Grundig Satellit 500 y Sony ICF SW 7600 G, June 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. Shortwave radio in the 1956 Hungarian Uprising remembered June 22, 2006 BUSH HONORS HUNGARY'S FAILED 1956 UPRISING AGAINST SOVIET RULE By Ron Hutcheson, Knight Ridder Newspapers, Budapest, Hungary Four-year-old Andras Simonyi thought Budapest had been hit by an earthquake when the ground trembled outside his home. "No, my baby," his worried mother told him. "Something strange is happening." They looked out the window and saw something even more alarming than a quake: Soviet tanks lumbering through the Hungarian capital. Fifty years later, Simonyi, now Hungary's ambassador to the United States, was in the audience Thursday as President Bush paid tribute to Hungary's heroic but doomed bid for freedom. The Soviet invasion in the early morning hours of Nov. 4, 1956, crushed a 12-day revolt against communist domination. . . http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/14879067.htm (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDIA. All India Radio Chennai celebrate the 25th week of Vanoli Ulagam (Radio World). Dear Dxers. All India Radio Chennai celebrate the 25th week of Vanoli Ulagam (Radio World). This special program will broadcast on 02 July 2006 (Sunday). In addition, AIR published the special limited edition QSL:3 and Pennant. Those who are wanted to get it don`t miss to listen the 25th program. The 24th part of (25-06-2006 Sunday) Tamil DX program Vanoli Ulagam (Radio World) going to broadcast like this. In the First, segment some details about the Auroral Zone. In the second, segment History of radio in Eritrea with their Signature Tunes. In the third part, WRTH and AIR 90 Meter details, CVC to Middle East details, High way Advisory radio details and VOR, CNN and DW start the Arabic service details. Fourth part with the DX Logging in English. The Fifth segment for DX Book review: In this week edition we review the Tamil Book called `Pulam Peyarntha Thamilarkalin kelvikalukku Yazh sudthakarin pathilkal` (A Tamil Radio announcer Question and Answers) In the six part of that day program, we give the detail review of the http://www.dxasia.com web site Those who are want to get the special limited edition World Smallest QSL card (6 x 3.5 CM), send your Reception Report with 1 New IRC to the following address. Indian listener must send Rs.10/- mint stamps for return QSL. N. C. Gnanaprakasam, Program Executive, Vanoli Ulagam Thiraikadal Adaivaram Thamiizh Naatham All India Radio Kamarajar Salai Chennai 600004 Tamilnadu, India The schedule of the Tamil DX Program `Vaanoli Ulagam` (Radio World) is as follows: Sundays between 1115-1215 UT (for about 10 minutes) To Sri Lanka: 1053 kHz Tuticorin 15260 & 17860 Delhi (Kingsway) 15050 Delhi (Khampur) To SE Asia: 13710 Bangalore 15770 Aligarh 17810 Panaji 73`s, (Jaisakthivel, Producer and Presenter, Chennai, dxldyg via DXLD) Beware. I have seen no QSL reported so far. A friend of mine complained and received an emailed picture of the QSL. Additionally, my friend was told that letters to the addressee arrive without any enclosures (Henrik Klemetz, HCDX via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 7289.86, RRI-Nabire Jun 20 0759-0813* 24442-34443 Indonesian, ID at 0759, 0800 Jakarta news relay, 0813 sign off (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Sirius to drop BBCWS, BBC Mundo and PRI? The channel update Sirius sent out to its receivers on Monday morning has led to worried speculation online that the company may be planning to drop its channels dedicated to BBC World Service News, BBC Mundo and Public Radio International. This update did not actually add or delete any channels - it was issued to install a new codec that improved audio quality on various channels - but in the process, there were three minor changes made to station names: "BBC News" became "News", "BBC Mundo" changed to "HispNews", and "PRI" became "Talk". Since PRI is responsible for distributing all three of these channels to Sirius, many are worried that the contract between Sirius and PRI may be scheduled to run out at the end of the month, and Sirius has simply gone ahead and given the channels generic names in preparation for a July 1 switchover to different programming. One poster on Sirius Backstage who has worked in public radio provided an extra bit of circumstantial evidence, noting that PRI's fiscal year ends on June 30; whether or not that automatically means their deal with Sirius also runs on the same cycle, I can't say, but the coincidence hasn't made Sirius subscribers breathe any easier. Needless to say, nobody at Sirius, PRI or the BBC has said a word about any of this, and it's possible that there may be an entirely innocent explanation for the strange decision to change those there channel names ... but I doubt it. Beyond the issue of the major disservice this would do to Sirius subscribers, there's also the question of how the loss of Sirius would affect the World Service's vaunted claims that it reaches more listeners than ever before despite having shut down most of its shortwave operations. Sirius is still projecting 6.2 million subscribers by the end of 2006; that would be an awful lot of people to instantly lose access to BBCWS (Aaron Dickey, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Gee, and just three weeks after I bought a new Sirius radio! I wonder if the BBC would "pressure" Sirius directly on this since they have a direct relationship via the deal to carry BBC Radio One. If they drop the BBCWS, I would be off to XM in a flash! (Andy O`Brien, ibid.) Well, one thing that could happen is that everyone who does not want to see PRI and BBC removed should tell Sirius in no uncertain words that they will immediately cancel their subscription if such an event takes place. Then follow through. It is my observation that Sirius has become much less "listener- friendly" of late. I posed this question directly to customer care two days ago and have not received a reply despite the claim in their generic e-mail that responds initially to your question that they will respond "within 24 hours". This also happened when I questioned them about the situation with their aborted world music channel -- The Globe. I will try to take this up with Sirius' press relations people, but they too have become less and less responsive with time (John Figliozzi, Monitoring Times, ibid.) Channels 136 and 140 --- How do YOU spell relief? :-)) I just received this message from Customer Care at Sirius which would seem to put to rest at least any immediate concern that PRI and BBC might be removed from the Sirius line-up. This seems like a direct answer to me. These channels are not leaving (John Figliozzi, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Begin forwarded message: Dear John, Thank you for contacting SIRIUS regarding Talk // Channel 136 and News // Channel 141. We understand you are wondering about the name change, and if we are getting ready to take it off the air. We are happy to help you. We have not been informed of the reason behind the name change of those channels. Don't you worry, John, we have no intention of removing those channels from our programming line up. We apologize if this has caused you any frustration. We are committed to providing you with the best in customer care. If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact SIRIUS Customer Care. For your convenience, we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at: 1-888-539-SIRIUS (7474) As well as by email at: http://www.sirius.com/customercare Sincerely, Debra G, SIRIUS Customer Care (via Figliozzi, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Second newspaper report on Samara/Jefferson connection --- From a further report in today`s New Orleans Times Picayune: A spokeswoman for Worldspace Inc. said the company has provided documents to the Virginia grand jury that is investigating Jefferson and that CEO Noah Samara has turned over records and given testimony. Jefferson reported on his annual House financial disclosure report that Samara had lent him between $50,001 and $100,000. Although the loan was just recently disclosed by Jefferson, Worldspace spokeswoman Judith Pryor said that it was actually was made in 2001 and had a three-year term. She said it was extended one year and remains unpaid. Samara and Jefferson have declined to say what the loan was for. In 2001, the year the loan was made, Jefferson was named chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the fund-raising and philanthropic arm of the 43-member African-American caucus in Congress. Samara was named to the board of directors and donated money to the organization. All this may well be affecting the share price, now at a 52 week low of $3.85. Full report: http://snipurl.com/s658 (Mike Barraclough, UK, June 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Saludos cordiales, cuando son las 2008 se puede escuchar por la frecuencia de 11585 música en concierto de Pink Floyd, excelente señal. No tengo identificada la emisora (José Miguel Romero, Spain, June 22, dxldyg via DXLD) Otra vez las referencias en línea deben actualizarse! Consult DXLD --- ISRAEL. Re 6-074, IBA frequency changes as of May 1: I went back and checked the official A-06 schedule and see that there were also changes for the nighttime Hebrew service, 9400 and 9345 moving up to 11 MHz, marked by the @ symbol, changed to UT here: 2000-2300 N. America/W. Europe 11585 2300-0330 N. America/W. Europe 11590 0400-0500 N. America/W. Europe 11590 Also some changes in Spanish shown, no others in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-075) Saludos cordiales, identificada la emisora, se trata de Kol Israel, también en paralelo por 15615, a las 2041, locutor en hebreo, ID "Kol Israel", magnifico concierto con los temas de sus dos primeros LP´s. También El Muro (José Miguel Romero, ibid.) Yes, for the past few weeks, Reshet Bet and Reshet Gimel (and I guess 88 FM) have been advertising the Roger Waters concert would be broadcast live. (Although over time, the physical venue changed to Neve Shalom.) Reshet Gimel (the Israeli music only radio station) broadcast the pre-show concert live. The pre-show concert included the singer David Broza and band Machina. The Roger Waters concert itself (as it's not Israeli music), was broadcast live on Reshet Bet and 88 FM (network). Reshet Gimel and 88 FM have live webfeeds, but no shortwave relays. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1150885827741 "As tens of thousands of people swarmed to Neveh Shalom on Thursday to attend Roger Waters' concert, heavy traffic jams were building up along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway Route 1, as well as Route 3 on the way to Latroun. ``Some 50,000 tickets, costing upwards of NIS 375 each [about $85], have been sold for the concert. Leading Israeli musicians David Broza and Micha Sheetrit, as well as the popular rock band Mashina performed ahead of the lead singer of Pink Floyd..." (Doni Rosenzweig, June 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Radio Voice of Israel, Kol Israel, no longer confirms reception reports. Most likely it broadcasts around the clock in Arabic only and the station was heard in Sofia around 0055 hours on 5915, 1026 and 1206 kHz. You can get Israel confirmed if you send a report to the Military Radio Galei Tzahal, which was heard in Sofia between 00 and 01 hours on 6973, 1287 kHz and between 6 and 16 hours on 15785 kHz. Its address is: Galei Tzahal, Military Post Office Box 01005, Israel [sic] (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX June 23 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ITALY. R. Maria on 26000: see DIGITAL BROADCASTING ** JAPAN. To Japanese radio watchers! KDXC released frequency and address lists of Japanese radio stations including FM. Please visit, http://www10.plala.or.jp/azwave/ (Japan Premium June 23 via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. Dear Wolfgang/Glenn, During net surfing, I found an interesting text and picture on the following address: http://www.bbg.gov/reports/05anrprt.pdf [4.3 MB] Actually, that is a "BBG 2005 Annual Report", and I quote: "A fourth shortwave transmitter began service from the IBB Kuwait Transmitting Station to expand broadcast capacity to critical audiences in Afghanistan and Central Asia." [page 26 or 22] ==> So, that is a confirmation that transmitter KWT - 04 is indeed operational (Dragan Lekic from Subotica, Serbia, June 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See U S A ** LAOS [non]. Hmong Lao Radio is still on 11785 via WHRI, checked Sat June 24 at 1306, not 11940 as published by DX Mix News, Bulgaria (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA [and non] / FRANCE. 22 Junio --- En el día de hoy la situación ha sido de la siguiente manera: a las 1200 comienza emisión musical de La Voz de África en 17665; por otra parte La Voz de África comienza hoy con un boletín en inglés de tres minutos y en francés de unos cinco minutos aproximadamente en las frecuencias de 17670 y 17685, luego en árabe hasta las 1300. Las emisiones en Swahili por 17610 y 17725. A las 1300 cesa emisión en 17670 y pasa a 17695 en paralelo por 17685. Sawt Al-amal se la escucha en 17690 aproximadamente a las 1325 y la emisión jammer musical comienza en la misma frecuencia a las 1333. Hoy la propagación no es buena y hay mucho ruido por medio. 23 Junio --- Novedades en el día de hoy: chequeo a las 1158 y escucho en 17695 fin de emisión de La Voz de África en árabe; se identifica y tras tonos horarios comienza otra vez la emisión. Entonces en paralelo por 17670 y la emisión musical en 17665, todas hasta las 1300 en que cesan emisiones en árabe de 17670 y 17695 y las emisiones en Swahili de 17610 y 17725. Entonces se escucha a Sawt Al-amal en 17690 sin problemas hasta las 1316 en que comienza emisión musical jammer. Realizo un chequeo por las demás frecuencias a las 1322; sigue sin emisión La Voz de África en Swahili ni en árabe, tan sólo las emisiones musicales en 17665 y 17690 tapando a Sawt Al-amal. También cesó la emisión de RFI en 17620 en francés. Durante la primera hora, RFI saturaba incluso en 17630 tapando a África Nº 1 de Gabón (José Miguel Romero, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The African music jammer was on 17685 June 24, checked at 1345. Nothing else audible of the Afternoon Visitors club (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 6050, Asyik FM (tent.) via RTM-Kajang (site presumed) (ex-6025), June 24, 1131-1233, program of local music and singing/ chanting, ToH news, 1215 DJ with pop songs (phoned-in requests), many singing station ID jingles and spoken IDs for what tentatively seemed like ``Asyik FM``. Fair-poor. This was the strongest Malaysian heard today. Both 6175 and 9750 totally covered by strong stations, nothing heard under them. Received this e-mail from Alan Davies: I heard Suara Islam signing off with the Malaysian national anthem Negaraku at 1700 UT yesterday (23 June) on 6050 and 6175 kHz, both signals with similar signal strength. 6050 went off air at 1700, but 6175 continued with Suara Malaysia in Malay. There was no Malaysian signal audible on 6025, so it certainly looks as though 6050 is via Kajang ex-6025. I believe 9750 was parallel with 6175 throughout, but 9750 was difficult to confirm because of poor propagation and co-channel interference. As I recall, I last heard Sibu on 6050 around April 2004, when it was carrying local programmes in various languages including Malay and Iban from RTM Sibu all day with the ID 'Sibu FM'. Best regards, Alan Davies (Surabaya, Indonesia). Thank you Alan for your input! (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XEXQ, 6045, active again Sat June 24 at 1256 check must have been the station with ``Out of my dreams, into my heart``, tho less classical then usual. About the same weak signal as always, despite the last few meters of my longwire having broken off, the portion running N-S (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA. RFA Khonkhor 7460 kHz, Cartolina QSL in 89 giorni. E-rpt spedito a: qsl @ rfa.org V/s: A.J. Janitschek (Luca Botto Fiora, Rapallo (Genova), Italy, bclnews.it via DXLD) But surely no site specified, as this is top secret. That would be the Korean broadcast at 21-23 (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. TUESDAY 27 JUNE *** EuroQuest *** "European Communication Breakdown" Today, many French people remain suspicious of the EU's direction and what they see as its free-market policies. The upside is Eurosceptiscm seems to be putting an end to a generation of political apathy in France. Meanwhile, the Belgian government is deeply unhappy about the growth of coffeeshops, where marijuana is sold, all along the Dutch/Belgian border. Traveling through a European airport this summer, you might well come across some weird and wonderful sounds and languages in story form. That's thanks to a new EU-backed project to whet people's appetites for European languages. And, Esperanto Radio from Poland - Hélène Michaud meets Wojtek Vsakiewicz or "Adalberto" of Radio Polonia's Esperanto service. She asks him about the world of broadcasting in a so-called constructed language. Broadcast times on SW (UT): 1027 (SE Asia/Far East), 1127 (Eastern N America), 1430 (South Asia), 1827 & 2000 (Africa), 0027 (Eastern N America), 0127 (Central N America), 0427 (Western N America), 0627 (New Zealand), 0727 (Australia); Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa); Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa) (RN weekly previews via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Official Opening of Radio Nederland's New Studios, 11 October 1961 --- Many SWL's know that Edward Startz used to "clink" a spoon against his tea cup, while playing the song "Nice Cuppa Tea".....(that was his trademark on the Happy Station.) Now you can watch Eddie perform this time-honored ritual on film from the Polygoon Holland Nieuws newsreel of 11 October 1961, entitled "Officiele opening nieuwe studio's Wereldomroep.`` Click here for streaming video: http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/ibg/sn063012-sb.wmv?title=Offici?opening nieuwe studios Wereldomroep;embed=1 Copy and paste the two lines in your browser's window if the link results as broken due to the formatting of this message. (source: mark, n9iwf in thehappystation yg via Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, Jun 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) And clips of vintage RN broadcasts in other languages (gh, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI, 15720 (AM), June 24 at 0458 went from some interesting native music fill to frequency change announcement, ``retune to 9615``, and then the bell-bird IS. Trouble is, at 0500, 15720 remained on the air with timesignal, news, and nothing to be heard on 9615. When checked June 24 at 1839, http://www.rnzi.com/pages/listen.php confirms RNZI is still very confused about its own schedule. The one effective 11 to 25 June gives 15720 (AM) until 0650, and no use of 9615 at any time. Just below it is another schedule dated 4 June to 2 September, with 15720 (DRM!) changing to 9615 (AM!) at 0458. Apparently in the studio (or in the automation) they don`t know or care that the former schedule is actually in effect (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. For some weeks, I have spotted an intriguing title in the TV listings for OKC, ``The East Is In``, Sat 10 am CDT on KSBI channel 52. An intercultural show about East Asia, and/or OKC`s vibrant Asian community? No! Finally checked it June 24, and it`s an infomercial about real estate on the east side of OKC. I should have known. While checking the KSBI website, I see they say that their additional LP station, ``KXOC, Channel 54 has moved to Channel 41. We strive to serve the viewers of central Oklahoma with a higher tower location and more power.`` It`s also remapped as 52-2 on KSBI-DT 51 (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Visiting OKC again June 23 (to see movies AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH --- a must!, PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, and OVER THE HEDGE), found that the 107.1 pirate was still on, but barely audible with lots of interference, overload most likely from the NE OKC antenna farm, when checked near NW 122 & May Avenue, further from downtown than I was previously. Heard them talking about being on WWCR and trying to get more SW time there, so no doubt still Republic Broadcasting Network still being relayed by Radio Free Austin via the pirate in OKC (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. STARTING WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28 NEW 107.3 FM SERVING TULSA METRO --- KOSU announced the installation of a new signal 107.3 FM serving the Tulsa metropolitan area. The new 107.3 FM in Tulsa provides the opportunity to improve the signal strength into a major metropolitan area adding additional high quality Oklahoma produced programming. ``The expansion initiatives are part of KOSU`s commitment and leadership toward extending public service to all Oklahomans,`` said Craig Beeby, Director and General Manager of KOSU. The frequency is part of a five-point effort begun in January of 2005. Since that time several initiatives have been undertaken by the Oklahoma Public Radio network. The new services include 107.5 FM serving northeast Oklahoma, a new 91.7 FM facility serving the Oklahoma City metro and central Oklahoma, 101.9 FM serving Okmulgee and now 107.3 FM serving the Tulsa metro. The station`s ultimate goal is to improve service in all directions. The next Oklahoma Public Radio service expansion initiatives include developing the new High Definition ``HD`` technology, which will allow for additional programming options for listeners, and improving the signal strength in north central Oklahoma, says Beeby KOSU Newsletter http://www.kosu.org June 24 via DXLD) Surprised at this, as the new full-power relay in NE OK on 107.5 is heard in Tulsa like a local, or at least a semi-local. The 107.3 must be only a low-power translator. We still hope they will improve service in this direxion (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PANAMA. Saludos cordiales, un listado con las concesiones vigentes en radio y televisión de Panamá puede descargarse en: http://www.enteregulador.gob.pa/radiotv/registrofrecuencias.pdf Fué actualizado en Febrero del 2005. 73 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, June 24, 2006, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) This one is in frequency order and looks quite thorough. Not a single SW station, of course, but at the bottom after regular TV channels it has TELEVISION PAGADA – BANDA MMDS, from channel A-1 thru F2, all run by a single entity thruout the country. What frequencies are we really talking about here? Scrambled on-air service? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND. R. Polonia`s Esperanto service featured: see NETHERLANDS ** PORTUGAL. Rádio Club Português* to become a news station as from September, 2006. According to the news at http://www.diariodigital.sapo.pt/news.asp?section_id=468&id_news=233028 the new station format in September will start by introducing continuous newsreels during the morning period only. *) RCP was a music station airing mainly oldies. Just a few months ago, that changed a bit when the owners introduced talk programs when the station began identifying solely as "Rádio Club." If the plans go ahead, then RC(P) will be competing with news station TSF, a VHF-FM local station in Lisboa whose programs are relayed continuously by the Northern Network (cf. WRTH) and by a few other local VHF-FM stations on southern mainland and in the Açores and Madeira during a few hours daily. On MW, it's aired via R. Comercial transmitters: Belmonte 1035 kHz 100 kW (prone to problems) and Canidelo 783 kHz 10 kW (to be replaced by Avanca, Estarreja, 100 kW, this Summer). Both 100 kW units are Thales and DRM capable. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, June 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Russian International Radio, 7125 at 0057 25 June in Russian with nonstop techno. Strong signal. A regular but I hardly see logs for this. 73/Liz Radioblonde's Pink DX Blog Shortwave, Mediumwave, Scanner Michigan Logs http://radioblonde.blogspot.com (Liz Cameron, MI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Buryatiya Similar, that new frequency - 3955 kHz. Today at 1230 gmt (21.30 local) Accepted on R.Rossii's this frequency with the good signal comparable to that, that was earlier on 4795 kHz. It shall be necessary to check up at o'clock of a local announcement. In the morning and has proved to be true in the evening, that 3955 kHz is a new frequency Buryat GTRK from Ulan-Ude, instead of former frequency 4795 kHz. I heard a local announcement (Feodor Brazhnikov, Irkutsk / "open_dx", via Rus-DX June 25 via DXLD) Ahh, machine translations (gh) ** RUSSIA. 15720, V. of Iranian Kurdistan via Russia Jun 17 1256-1259* 45444 Kurdish, Kurdish music, ID at 1259, 1259 sign off, As it is the same carrier, V. of Joy just began at 1300. 15720, V. of Joy via Russia Jun 17 [Sat only] *1300-1400* 45444 English and Japanese and Korean, 1300 sign on with ID, IS, Music, A topic of WC soccer from 1305, 1305-1331 Japanese, 1331-1355 Korean, (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium June 23 via DXLD) How do you know these are via Russia? I doubt it. Can`t find any previous report of VOIK on 15720. And that does not sound like Voice of Joy programming at all, which is in English, dedicated to Christian music. Perhaps a feed mixup? See 6-064 for V. of Joy schedule confirming that June 17 was supposed to be a 15720 day: (gh) The new transmission details are: Destination: Day: Time: Frequency: A = to Middle East plus parts of Europe and Africa Saturdays 1900-2000 UTC 6220 kHz B = to Asia, Australia and Africa Saturdays 1300-1400 UTC 15720 kHz 22-Apr: B, 29-Apr: A, 06-May: A, 13-May: B, 20-May: B, 27-May: A, 03- Jun: A, 10-Jun: B, 17-Jun: B, 24-Jun: A, 01-Jul: A, 08-Jul: B, 15-Jul B, 22-Jul A, 29-Jul A, 05-Aug B, 12-Aug B, 19-Aug A, 26-Aug A [in other words, the 15720 broadcasts at 13-14 replace the 6220 broadcasts at 19-20 only on these Saturdays: 22 April, 13 & 20 May, 10 & 17 June, 8 & 15 July, 5 & 12 August --- gh] (DXLD 6-064 via 6-091) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Log for 24 June 2006: BSKSA on 15275 at 0420 in Turkish (heavy Arabic accent). First time heard since it was on 15060 years ago. Chants on 15170, all gone before 0500. 73/ (Liz Cameron, MI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SEALAND. Sealand on fire --- BLAZE AT OFFSHORE MILITARY FORT Fri Jun 23, 2006 8:25 am (PST) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5110244.stm A man was airlifted to hospital after a fire broke out on an old sea fort off the coast of East Anglia. The blaze started on Friday at Sealand, an inhabited former military platform, which is about seven miles east of the Suffolk-Essex coastline. Thames Coastguard said the platform was surrounded in thick black smoke. A coastguard spokesman said it was believed a generator caught fire. The one person on board was airlifted to Ipswich Hospital. Harwich lifeboat were also called to the scene. 3 minute report on BBC Look East news this evening spotted by Geoff Toon on the Radio Anoraks group, starts 3' 30" in, has comments from Roy Bates and current and past footage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/realmedia/lookeast/cambs_tvbull.ram Starts 3:30 mins in (Mike Barraclough, BDXC via DXLD) SELF-PROCLAIMED INDEPENDENT STATE OF SEALAND IN RUINS AFTER BLAZE June 24th, 2006, 10:42 UTC by Andy The former wartime fortress known as Sealand, once home to offshore station Radio Essex and now a self-proclaimed independent state, is in ruins following a fire yesterday that forced the evacuation of the fort. The ‘Principality of Sealand’ lies six miles off the British coast between Felixstowe and Harwich. The fire started in a generator, and spread to other parts of the fort. Thames Coastguard, Harwich lifeboat, Felixstowe Coastguard rescue teams, firefighting tug Brightwell, and the RAF rescue helicopter from Wattisham were all called into action to tackle the blaze. A team of 15 offshore firefighters from the National Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG) were also assembled but after a reconnaissance of the area from the air it was decided it was too dangerous to land. A spokesperson for Suffolk Fire Service confirmed the fire was left to burn itself out and was under control by 3.10 pm. (Source: East Anglian Daily Times) Official website of the government of Sealand http://www.sealandgov.org/ (Media Network blog June 24 via DXLD) More info and a very interesting clip here. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5110244.stm http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/realmedia/lookeast/cambs_tvbull.ram (Starts at 3mins 30 seconds) (Gerry, June 24th, 2006 at 12:55 ibid.) Now (perhaps) the Marines can go out and (finally) remove it! (Ray Woodward, June 24th, 2006 at 16:46, ibid.) ** SINGAPORE [non]. AWR Wavescan continues to be heard at the unscheduled time of Sat 1300 on WRMI 9955; ran across it June 24 at 1313 with Mr Dolar`s segment in S Asian accent of DX news, loggings, and QSL info. Acknowledged a string of people who have encouraged him, including gh/WOR. This part of the show was peculiar in that all the pauses had been edited out, or perhaps used one of those speed-up- without-changing-pitch devices. Left me breathless, but I suppose he wants to squeeze as much info as possible into the time allotted. 1316 on to show`s version of Tips for Real Living, ``Inspirational Thought to Live By``, MEGO so tuned away for a few minutes. After that was the brief mailbag segment, and well before 1325 they were into music fill, tho claiming it is a half-hour program. WRMI has run it at this time before, Jeff White telling me that it was just filling in for something else. Does not appear on the latest DX Program schedule he issued (see U S A) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also AUSTRALIA ** SLOVAKIA [non]. In the uncertain event that WRMI keep relaying WRN, which is their default fill when a few hours of time goes unsold, R. Slovakia International will still be on SW, as we heard it Saturday June 24 starting at 1633 on WRMI webcast, presumably // 9955. This of course will be thru no effort of RSI itself whatsoever. Or will it? At 1638, Katarina (sp?) introduced the ``last`` Saturday edition of Slovakia Today, ``so we`ll try to make the best of it``. Then are they shutting down program produxion from July 1 even if continuing on non-SW outlets? She said her final good-bye at 1659, ``going off the air``. Maybe it`s just that she is one of the staff made redundant, cutting from four to two for each language (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Brother Scare back on WRMI, ex-WRN: see U S A ** SPAIN. Amigos de la Onda Corta well-heard Sat June 24 at 1805-1830 on 17595, a less congested timing than Sun 0105. It may be for SW friends, but not a single frequency mentioned, not a tidbit of axual DX news. It`s another communications magazine, with general media news instead. Brief mailbag segment at the end reaffirmed that REE will not QSL, for financial reasons, but still very much welcomes reception reports. Cake & eat it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. RTI`s English service is looking for more monitors around the world. If you are interested in becoming one of our official monitors and are committed to sending reception reports on a regular basis, please send us a postcard, letter or email with the phrase ``I want to be an RTI monitor.`` Send it to P. O. Box 24-38, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. postmarked by July 10th, or email to rti @ rti.org.tw Official monitors will get a certificate and a souvenir as a small token of our appreciation. We look forward to hearing from you soon. +++++++++++++++++++++ Source: http://english.rti.org.tw/Content/WhatsNewSingle.aspx?ContentID=16693 +++++++++++++++++++++ (via Jaisakthivel, http://www.dxersguide.blogspot.com HCDX via DXLD) ** TUNISIA. Re: ``The only other African team left in the competition is Tunisia and their next game is versus the Ukraine on Friday June 23 kick-off 1400 UT. Possibly this game will be broadcast via RTT on SW - 12005 is a frequency to check if they do.`` -- Noel Green RTT Tunisia didn't come on air until scheduled 1500 on 12005 and 9720 and both are carrying the above commentary. Unfortunately 12005 is co- channel with Voice of Russia also in Arabic. Africa #1 17630 is also carrying the same match commentary but in French of course (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re 6-090, VOA SAVED? --- The Continuing Relevance of Radio The United States House of Representatives acknowledged the importance of international radio broadcasting by refusing to go along with the Broadcasting Board of Governors requested cuts by making a budget recommendation that restored the VOA radio broadcasts in: English (yes, incredibly the BBG wants to end the VOICE of AMERICA's global English language radio broadcasts at a time when lawmakers are trying to make English the official language of the United States), Albanian, Bosnian, Hindi, Macedonian, Russian, and Serbian. The Bill also restored the VOA Services broadcasting in: Croatian, Georgian, Greek, Thai, and Turkish. One insidious cut has managed to fly under the radar. The BBG is determined to eliminate the VOA radio broadcasts in Persian to Iran! The Board plans on doing this by replacing the radio broadcasts with TV simulcasts. This is a remarkably stupid idea since TV simulcasts on radio have been tried before and failed. TV on radio creates one thing -- bad radio. The opposite has proven effective in some cases such as simulcasting radio talk shows or interview shows on TV. This is a relatively inexpensive thing to do. AFGE Local 1812 has never been against broadcasting on TV. However, it should be done only after careful planning, narrowly focused, and not at the expense of radio broadcasts. The BBG's approach of eliminating radio broadcasts in order to fund slap-dash TV projects is a monumental mistake (and several may actually run afoul of the law). TV is expensive and easily interdicted. This is not a new lesson for the BBG. Also, TV is an arena that is new to the VOA. The competition is large and it will take years to build an audience. VOA is already a leader in international radio broadcasting so the audience is there and the competition is limited primarily to other government broadcasters. But the BBG still blindly goes the wrong way down the one way road of entirely eliminating the VOA radio broadcasts in order to convert the agency to TV. The fight over the FY 2007 budget is not over. You can bet that the BBG will be making every effort to reinstate its requested cuts and the Board has already eliminated many radio frequencies and transmitters. They have set up a situation in which it will be very difficult to maintain an audience. They will use this, if not this year then in the years to come, to justify cutting more radio broadcasts. The trick is in exposing their tactics and explaining them in plain language to lawmakers (President`s Page, AFGE Local 1812, June 22, via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. In the BBG 2005 Annual Report [see KUWAIT], there is one nice big picture of many antenna towers at one IBB site. Not mentioned precisely, but I think it's Delano, CA or perhaps Briech, Morocco. You can easily see desert sand [page 27 or 23]. P.S. I don't know why, but I can confirm that IBB Biblis Transmitting Station, Germany NEVER broadcasts interval signals neither before nor after the shows. Just an open carrier for 2 minutes, or DCI (drop carrier immediately). Best regards and MANY 73S! (Dragan Lekic from Subotica, Serbia, June 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I believe Delano is in a farming area, not a desert (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Program change --- Radio República is no longer on WRMI from 1600 to 2100 UT on 9955 kHz. We are now airing World Radio Network during this time slot (Jeff White, WRMI, June 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: Speaking of program changes, things have literally changed from one day to the next. Late this morning I got a call from Brother Stair, who was looking for some airtime to reach Central America. He is taking the 1600-2100 UT block daily except Saturday (which we had been filling with World Radio Network). He started immediately today. We will try to keep WRN in that block on Saturdays (Jeff White, WRMI, June 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So that means WORLD OF RADIO is back on 9955, Sat at 1732; attention, DentroCuban Jamming Command: you may turn it off then. Jeff, Apparently there has been another change. I am not hearing WOR at 0400 UT Sat on webcast, but something Cuban in Spanish, which sounds very much like it is picked up from a SW feed, non local. What is this??? Is this a permanent change? Perhaps you could review the current complete sked for WOR and MR on WRMI (Glenn to Jeff, via DXLD) Glenn: Yes, that's another change. We've just sold the 12 midnight slot (0400 UT) to a Cuban group called MRR (Movimiento de Recuperación Revolucionaria) Monday-Friday nights [UT Tue-Sat]. So I've moved the DX programs that were on from 0400-0600 to 0500-0700. It's a mystery to me too. They bought equipment and downloaded software to record on Audacity and give us mp3 audio files. But in the end, they recorded the first 13 programs on standard cassette and the audio quality is abysmal. But the producer left us the tapes and went on vacation for a few weeks, so we're stuck with these cassettes to air until he returns. I imagine they were recorded on a boombox with condenser mike (Jeff White, WRMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX Programs on WRMI As of Jun 26, 2006 Monday 0500 World of Radio 9955 Monday 0530 DXPL 9955 Monday 0545 Aventura DXista 9955 Tuesday 0530 Wavescan 9955 Saturday 0500 World of Radio 9955 Saturday 0600 DXPL 9955 Saturday 0615 Aventura DXista 9955 Saturday 0630 Wavescan 9955 Saturday 1230 World of Radio 9955 Saturday 1430 World of Radio 7385 Saturday 1732 World of Radio 9955 [from WRN, added by gh] Saturday 2345 Aventura DXista 9955 Sunday 0500 DXPL 9955 Sunday 0530 World of Radio 9955 Sunday 0630 Wavescan 9955 Sunday 0700 La Rosa de Tokio 9955 Sunday 1030 Mundo Radial 9955 Sunday 1045 Aventura DXista 9955 Sunday 1430 DXPL 7385 Sunday 1445 Aventura DXista 7385 Sunday 1500 Wavescan 7385 Sunday 2230 Aventura DXista 9955 Sunday 2300 World of Radio 9955 (Jeff White, WRMI, June 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I was also hearing Wavescan Sat June 24 at 1300+ on unjammed 9955; maybe just a temporary placement again. Since this is not in effect until June 26, presumably the Sun 2300 does not start until July 2, and the old Mon 0500 may finally air UT June 26 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KRSN Los Alamos --- our local graveyarder will soon be back on the air! While driving today, I pushed the button for 1490 on my car radio and there was KRSN, running the WaveStation test loop. I stopped in at the studio to see what's up. I talked to the new owners, David and Gillian Sutton, who are lifelong residents of Los Alamos. They told me they have until July 5 to get the radio station back on or return the license to the FCC. Today, they were trying to get a kill switch installed at the transmitter site, which the previous owner had neglected to do. Also, they have installed a "Digital Transfer Line" for their STL to replace the horrible double-hop microwave link that was always going out. Format is to be local programming! Yay! Local interest programs and news in the mornings and music the rest of the day, plus local high school sports and county council meetings, etc. They bought a library of 4500 popular songs spanning the fifties through the nineties, and are interested in any suggestions for programming from the community. New web site is http://www.krsnam1490.com but there's nothing there yet. If you hear the station, email david @ krsnam1490.com and let 'im know! Unfortunately, I forgot to ask about AM stereo, but I assume that didn't get installed. Next time I visit the studios I'll make a gentle suggestion (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DM65uv), "Los Alamos" is Spanish for "More than one Alamo" -- Dave Barry; Online logbooks: http://dxlogbook.gentoo.net?account=mikew June 22, ABDX via DXLD) John Lyles, originally from Winnsboro SC and who works at Los Alamos has been helping them some (Powell E. Way III, SC, ibid.) Hi Powell, I don't know Mr. Lyles, maybe I'll meet him one of these times. I went back to the station today to see how things were going. Mrs. Sutton, a very friendly and talkative lady tells me that they finally have everything installed and fixed up to allow the station to go on the air legally, and expect to do so on Monday or Tuesday next week. Interestingly, I noted the transmitter was on as I drove to the studio, and I could hear various Windows beeps and clicks as someone was operating the Wave Station computer. When I informed them of this fact, Mr. Sutton was surprised, as was sure he had shut off the transmitter. So he uses his cell phone to call up the remote control equipment at the transmitter, and sure enough it reports six hundred and some volts being output! He still doesn't believe its really on, because he is sure he turned it off. The Suttons don't really know much about running a radio station, but their hearts are in the right place and really want the station to serve the local community, and they are getting help from various people who do know a little (one of 'em probably being the above mentioned Mr. Lyles). A few years back, the station had to vacate their transmitter site because the owner of the land wanted to develop an apartment complex there. So the previous station owner negotiated with the DoE to locate the transmitter on National Lab land near the community of Whiterock, and got an STA for it. Of course, the STA expired 3 or so years ago, but the station kept right on operating anyway. The funny thing is, the transmitter is loading up a short cell phone tower with cell phone antennas all over it. I had thought the radio tower was an adjacent red and white painted tower that looks like an AM radio tower, but no, I was informed today that it is the cell phone tower! No wonder the station can't cover the main townsite after dark. The Suttons are negotiating with the county to locate a new tower on county space up here on top where the main townsite is, in exchange for running county PSAs. Meanwhile, they have gotten a new STA for the current transmitter site. I hope I can get a recorder set up to capture the official sign on next week. Read my blog: http://mesamike.gentoo.net (Mike Westfall, ibid.) ** U S A. Re 6-090, KNME, radio station battle for airwaves ``If a typical 10.7 MHz IF were involved, 100.7 would put an image on 79.3 MHz, right smack dab in the middle of channel 5, 76-82 MHz.`` Except we're talking about interference to TV sets, whose IFs are in the 41-47 MHz band, and in both the case of a FM radio and a TV set the local oscillator - and as a result, the image response - is above the desired frequency, not below it. The image response of a TV set tuned to channel 5 is 168.75 MHz. According to Item #3 under Tech Box on http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=100554314&formid=346&fac_num=55545 K23FE gets its feed on channel 36. There are two KNME translators on channel 36: K36FD in Thoreau 35-28-06N/108-14-26W, and K36FQ in Wagon Mound 36-00-19N/104-42-12W. Wagon Mound is to the northeast of Albuquerque - nowhere near Thoreau or Gallup. I think *Thoreau K36FD* is where the problem lies. This site lies between Sandia Crest and Gallup -- and it seems the KXXQ transmitter is at the same site as K36FD (and some distance to the east of K23FE) The only application K36FD has ever filed electronically is a license- to-cover, so I don't have information on what the input channel is. I suppose if K36FD directly picks up KNME from Sandia Crest then front- end overload of the translator from the high-powered FM station at the same site could be a problem. If K36FD picks up another translator then a harmonic could be a problem. Harmonics are well-suppressed in modern FM transmitters but when the transmitter is on the same site as the receiver they can still be a problem. I'm sure KNME is on DirecTV. Whether that's a suitable source for a translator I don't know (it could be the strong KXXQ signal would also preclude DirecTV or other satellite reception...) As I understand it, a new radio (or TV) station is responsible for addressing any complaints of "blanketing" - overload from extremely strong signals - within the area very close to their tower, for the first (year?) of operation. I would imagine that rule would be applicable here. It does not appear a lawsuit is yet necessary, and I'd bet KXXQ can find a way to fix this, once they're formally informed they need to! -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) And that area (as is most of New Mexico ) is very poor. That area also is exceptionally remote. Many people don't even have sat. I forwarded this to a friend of mine in Candy Kitchen. He's south of the area at 7600 feet, about 55 miles from either Gallup or Grants. He has no over the air TV unless we put up a VERY large antenna and a small tower, and then it's IFFY (Powell (2000 miles east of Candy Kitchen) E. Way III, SC, ABDX via DXLD) Re `` Why in the world write a story like this and not explain exactly what is happening?`` -- gh We're being a bit unfair. I doubt there's a newspaper in America that has a reporter on staff who would KNOW what might be causing the alleged interference. The reporter contacted both parties in an effort to find out, but apparently the stations in question were unable to give the reporter (I don't know if Zsomber is a male or female name) any explanation, let alone one that could be translated into terms the average reader would understand. If I were the editor of the newspaper, or the reporter in question, I would in this case welcome an e-mail from a knowledgeable engineer who could theorize what's happening and give the reporter some knowledgeable questions to ask the engineers from both broadcasters. Doug Smith's explanation sounds reasonable ... If I were the editor or reporter, I'd welcome having those questions to ask. People with specialized knowledge sometimes get testy with reporters who have no knowledge but are trying to find out. I tried to teach my reporters this, and to suggest to them that they tell a "testy" source that "If I sound dumb to you, I'm trying to understand so I won't make a dumb mistake in front of (X number) of readers." The Krumudgeon (John Callarman, TX, ibid.) Would that there were more such reporters and editors. In my role as "broadcasting expert," I talk to a wide range of reporters. Some are almost obsessively interested in making sure they understand the details of what I'm telling them. I was quoted last winter in an NPR "All Things Considered" piece about a fight over noncommercial FM licenses in Massachusetts, and I think I spent at least five or six hours over several months on the phone with that reporter, answering numerous questions and giving her what amounted to a crash course in FCC licensing procedures. That story is still online at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5181109 In connection with the same story, I also talked to several local newspaper reporters, who glossed over most of the details in very brief interviews and (in some cases) ended up getting key facts wrong. There is NOT a hard and fast connection between the size of the newspaper and the quality of the reporting. Some of the most conscientous reporters I've talked to have been from papers with circulations barely in the tens of thousands. Some of the worst have been from some very big name-brand papers. And then there's my local paper, which NEVER wants to hear from me when they get basic facts about broadcasting wrong, which is often. There are some personal issues there, I think... s (Scott Fybush, Rochester NY, ibid.) ** U S A. WESTERN STATES TIS/HAR UPDATE AVAILABLE I've just returned from a 2 week car trip with my wife and dad. We spent most of our time in NV, UT, WY, and northern AZ. An update of TIS and HAR activity in these areas can be found at: http://members.cox.net/tim_hall_dx/Radio2006.xls (note: This URL is case-sensitive) About 80 stations are listed in this update. I was also able to record about 40 of them (using a handheld digital recorder held up to the car radio speaker) and hope to post these audio clips to the web as well. Many of these stations are widely heard; for example, the weather station in Elko, NV has been logged from San Diego to Alberta. I'll be driving back and forth from San Diego to Corpus Christi in the next week or so. I'll update this spreadsheet at that time. 73, (Tim Hall, CA, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. Re 6-090, CBS Radio Affiliates URL List --- and WNIS News Radio 790 Norfolk Va is now FOX news. Looks like someone at CBS radio is slow on updating the websites (Bob Carter, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. WWKB is now a Liberal chat station. Apart from the TOH ID I didn't hear any mention of 'WWKB' at all - just "1520 AM - Buffalo's Left Channel". Remarkably good signal around 0200. 1520, WWKB, Buffalo, NY; G 0200 24/06 PC ``A new voice, a new choice, and 50,000 watts to back it up. This is Buffalo’s Left Channel – WWKB Buffalo``. Recording: http://tinyurl.com/hqs28 (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, UK, June 24, MWC via DXLD) ** U S A. NAB SAYS "NO" TO LOW POWER FM AMENDMENT June 22, 2006 According to the NAB, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will present an amendment to a telecommunications reform bill that involves Low Power FM stations (LPFM). The legislation would eliminate ``third adjacent channel interference protections`` which help keep radio signals clear and sharp. The amendment could be introduced to the Senate Commerce Committee as soon as this afternoon. The NAB has posted a recording of audio from Washington, D.C. stations when these protections are lifted (which can be heard here: http://www.nab.org/xert/corpcomm/pressrel/mixdown.mp3 The recording has been sent to the Senate Commerce Committee and the NAB is urging members to fight against the bill. Sen. McCain has lobbied for LPFM in the past, though issues with signal interference have always been a sticking point (fmqb.com via Brock Whaley, DXLD) I presume this is a NAB press release? A few points... - Reportedly, recordings previously provided to Congress by the NAB in an attempt to maintain 3rd-adjacent protection were fabricated - word has it that engineers listening to the recordings said that's not what adjacent-channel interference sounds like. - Also reportedly, the technical surveys commissioned by the original LPFM legislation showed no significant interference caused by 3rd- adjacent LPFM operation. - 3rd-adjacent - and even 2nd-adjacent! - operation is already authorized for FM translators. Stations which may be even more powerful than LPFMs. An example I use is an authorized FM translator on 90.5 in West Memphis. 3rd-adjacent protections would prevent the use of 90.5 for a LPFM, that originates its own programs, at that site. However, an FM translator - which is prohibited from originating its own programs, and must relay a St. Louis station - is perfectly legal with the same transmitter, on the same frequency, and at the same site. It simply makes no sense from an engineering standpoint. Either a 90.5 station here causes interference or it doesn't, if the programming source is different from that of either of the 3rd- adjacent stations (and it is, in either case) then it doesn't matter what that programming source is. (of course, we all know the difference is the fact that translator owners are far more politically connected than LPFM operators) - 3rd-adjacent LPFM operation is allowed in Canada, and in some cases even 2nd-adjacent. In Toronto, Canada's largest market, there are: 88.9B, 89.5B, 89.9D, 90.3B 91.9D, 92.5C1 93.5B, 94.1C1 95.9A, 96.3C1, 96.9D, 97.3C1 100.7C1, 101.3B1 103.9D, 104.5C1, 105.1A 106.5B1, 107.1C1 Not listed are suburban-licensed stations. For example, the 103.9 is second-adjacent to a co-owned 103.5B licensed to a suburb (so again, if second-adjacent operation caused interference this low-power station would be interfering with its owners' own station...) Certainly the radios being sold in Canada don't have that much better adjacent-channel rejection than those sold south of the border! Less-than-800 kHz spacing is also common in other countries, especially in Latin America where 400 kHz seems more the rule than the exception. – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, Doug. I must agree. With all the "move-ins" and "rim shots", 800 KHz FM broadcast spacing is still on paper, but not in reality. Here in Atlanta, 97.1 and 97.5 are marketed and considered Atlanta stations, and despite transmitter separation, both put decent signals (and get ratings) into downtown. So do 107.5 and 107.9, and to a lesser extent, 92.9 and 93.3. We all know that auto radios, and to some degree, clock radios and Walkmans are much more selective then the FM radios that were manufactured when the 800 KHz rules were written. On a side note, maybe I have missed something in this entire debate, but I do not see any mention of IBOC adjacent channel transmissions in the argument. Now, I do not own an HD radio, but if local 107.5 has upper IBOC information on 107.7, and local 107.9 has lower IBOC information also on 107.7, then what happens? Regards, (Brock Whaley, ibid.) In theory, it should work. 107.5's IBOC data only spreads halfway into the bottom of the 107.7 channel, and 107.9's only halfway into the top. There's a small guardband between them. So the transmitted waveforms shouldn't overlap. But that's depending on perfect selectivity in the receiver. Of course, no receiver has perfect selectivity. Your set may only *need* to receive data halfway up the 107.7 channel to get 107.5's IBOC, but in practice it probably receives data even higher, high enough to get some of 107.9's. It's unclear to me whether IBOC reception requires the sidebands on both sides, or only on one side. – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) And just a historical note: In the original 40 MHz FM broadcasting band, stations in the same area were spaced just 400 kHz apart. In New York City, The Columbia (WABC) FM outlet, W67NY was of course on 46.7 MHZ, while the Bamberger (WOR) FM station, W71NY was on 47.1 MHz. In fact, and I know Scott is writing a book on New York FM history, in 1942, the New York metro had cp's or stations on 43.1, 43.5, 44.7, 45.1, 45.5, 45.9, 46.3, 46.7, 47.1, 47.5,47.9, 48.3, 48.7, 49.1, and 49.5 MHz. Philly and Hartford squeezed on the 200 kHz channels in between (Brock Whaley, ibid.) Not only that, but when FM was kicked "upstairs" in the late forties, the original allocations plan put stations just 400 kHz apart there as well. Here in Rochester, WHEF (WHEC) was on 98.5, while WHFM (WHAM) was on 98.9. NYC had a whole run of stations with 400 kHz spacing. The entire FM spectrum was refarmed again within a year or so, with stations being spaced out to 800 kHz in each market. An interesting historical note - as best I can tell, only one station still operates on the same channel on which it was first placed when FM was moved to the current band. That's 98.9 in Rochester, which remained WHFM until 1985 and has subsequently been WZKC, WKLX, WBBF-FM and WBZA. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Scott, Just in Rochester you mean? There are others that never moved. Educational stations like Atlanta's WABE-90.1. In Chicago, WENR-FM, WLS-FM, WRCK, WLS-FM, WZNN always on 94.7, owned by Blue/ABC. Same with KECA-FM, KABC-FM, KLOS on 95.5 in L.A. Even WJLK 94.3 in Asbury Park. Regards, (Brock Whaley, ibid.) It's true that none of those stations moved. But it's also true that none of them date back to the old 40 MHz band. While they're old, they're not THAT old. Of the stations that began on 40 megacycles and were moved "upstairs," I believe my statement holds, nationally. The only other contender is WWSW 94.5 in Pittsburgh, but I believe it may have ceased operations and resumed later under a new license. Here's Jeff Smith's 1946 list: http://members.aol.com/jeff560/1946fm.html In 1946, WABE, WENR-FM, KECA-FM and WJLK didn't exist yet. NYC had 94.5 (WNYC-FM), 95.7 (WAAW - WAAT), 96.1 (WGYN), 96.5 (WBAM - WOR), 96.9 (WABC-FM), 97.3 (WEAF-FM), 97.7 (WQXQ - WQXR), 98.5 (WABF), 98.9 (WFMN - Armstrong), 99.3 (WHNF - WHN) and 99.7 (WGHF). PS - By 1948, the dial had settled into a MUCH more familiar configuration: http://members.aol.com/jeff560/1948fm.html A quick glance shows at least a dozen or so stations still operating with the same calls and frequencies now as in 1948, including Doug's hometown WIBA-FM 101.5. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) ** U S A. Go take a look at this video http://video.wandtv.com/player.cfm?ClipID=1773 It was sent to you by Curtis Sadowski. Curtis Sadowski said: A video station tour of WAND-TV channel 17 Decatur, Illinois. You'll need broadband to watch this one (via WTFDA via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Broadcast tips. New stations on short wave. On June 17 between 1650 and 1755 hours on 4680 kHz a new station was monitored in Sofia, being jammed by Iranian jammers. To escape jamming, the station used to change its frequency from 4660 to 4690 kHz. Not listed in the International Reference Books (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX June 23 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) If he had access to DXLD --- can one use a computer freely in Bulgarian public libraries? --- he would have seen reports of V. of Free Kurdistan, e.g. 6-087, 6-085, on 4675v during this hour (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. June 17, between 0045 and 0100 hours on 4790 kHz was received a station with a Christian religious program in English. Not listed in the International Reference Books (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX June 23 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) Nor online, tho Azad Kashmir Radio does open at 0045 on 4790. Can we imagine them with such programming? Maybe TWR Africa QSY? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Saludos cordiales, cuando son las 1758 se escucha una extraña señal en la frecuencia de 8708 kHz; se desconoce la procedencia, también el modo, no es FSK, ni RTTY, ni nada parecido, incluso es audible en AM, ésta señal ya fué escuchada ocasionalmente ayer noche, no le dí importancia. Sin embargo acaban de reportarla desde Francia Michel Milac y me ha llamado la atención (José Miguel Romero, June 22, bclnews.it via DXLD) XM backwards music or Whales: DATE: 23-06-2006; TIME: 2124 UT; FREQUENCY: 8708 KHz; SIGNAL: VERY STRONG. Audio clip available on http://swli05639fr.blogspot.com/ 73*s (Francesco Cecconi, bclnews.it via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 14180, Broadcast in hamband 1424 UT June 22: see CHINA UNIDENTIFIED. 15650: hoy 24 de Junio estoy escuchando en la frecuencia de 15650 kHz, desde las 1545 a 1617, una emisión sin identificar, ¿Oromo?, comentarios y segmentos musicales de música folklórica. Se publicó un servicio para esta frecuencia, Voice of Oromo Independence, pero el horario era de 1500-1530, sin embargo no encuentro para esta frecuencia otro servicio; ¿de qué emisora puede tratarse? 73 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) O yes, forgot to remind and check for that new weekly broadcast. Don`t find anything else reported on 15650 since A-06 began, except Greece which abandoned it during this time period. May be another Ethiopian cland service, as they tend to proliferate (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: That's not one of ours, and I'm not aware of anything else on that frequency following our broadcast (Jeff White, RMI, June 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ FLIES & RADIO Today's Globe & Mail column has much info about flies. Here is one connected to radio: *Flies Canada* --- In the fall of 1976, flies attacked Canadian culture when a swarm of the insects knocked a CBC outlet, Toronto radio station CBL, off the air several times one morning. Technicians retrieved two bushels of dead flies from the transmitter. URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/socialstudies (via Eric Floden, June 23, DXLD) That's funny, as we just had something vaguely similar happen at KSMU -- our satellite reception suddenly went wonky Thursday morning. Seems a colony (or whatever they are) of paper wasps was busily building a nest in the feed horn of our main dish -- the one that was live to air at the time! Apparently this sort of thing happens a lot, according to the folks at the NPR satellite depot, though we hadn't seen this problem in a number of years (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, IRCA via DXLD) NAB STUDIES FM-MODULATOR INTERFERENCE The NAB recently studied emissions by "Part 15" FM modulators of the type used to transmit satellite radio and MP3-player signals to FM radios and has written a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin enclosing its report. The NAB purchased 17 FM modulator devices and found in its tests that 13 out of the 17, or 76%, exceeded the field-strength limits set by the FCC. According to the NAB, one device transmitted a signal that was 20,000% stronger than allowed by FCC rules, and six devices were found to exceed the FCC field-strength limit by more than 2,000%. Meanwhile, the study found that many devices transmitted signals that were substantially wider in bandwidth than the 200 kHz-wide FM channel. That, says the NAB, could potentially result in interference not only to the signal in the channel to which the FM modulator device is tuned, but to first- and second-adjacent channel signals. The NAB's letter to Martin says, "From the results of these tests, it is reasonable to conclude that many, and perhaps most, such devices in the marketplace are violating the FCC rules. Moreover, it is also reasonable to conclude that these devices are causing disruptive interference to FM broadcast stations' signals." The letter concludes, "The NAB urges the commission to vigorously enforce its Part 15 rules with regard to these devices and, in so doing, protect consumers' use and enjoyment of the free over-the-air radio broadcast service." The NAB also wrote to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens and co-Chairman Daniel Inouye asking the Senators to consider the FM- modulator study as the Commerce Committee discusses legislation on "white spaces," or unlicensed-device operation in the television spectrum. The letter says, "This study shows an existing problem with unlicensed devices in the radio spectrum and may foretell the state of things to come if we proceed too quickly on white-space proposals." --- Brida Connolly, R&R Technology Editor (radioandrecords.com via Brock Whaley, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ iBiquity Guru Appears on KUSP Ever heard of Digital Radio? It's available in more and more markets, including the Central Coast's own KAZU and KSQL. What is it, why is it interesting, and what can we expect from digital radio in the future? Multiple programs on one frequency, time-shifted radio, intelligent integration with car electronics? get the jump on what? coming soon. Join the Geeks and Desmond Fuller, tech guru for iBiquity, Saturday morning at 10 am on GeekSpeak. Visit http://www.hdradio.com or http://www.ibiquity.com for more information and a station locator tool. [ Audio 24kbps mp3 ] http://geekspeak.org/shows/2006/06/17/ (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s last week`s show archived, not this week`s. Fuller segment starts about one quarter of the way into the file. The host doesn`t even know that iBiquity is doing IBOC on MW! Yet claims to know a lot about how radio works! Fuller is not challenged about interference issues, or the open-source alternative of DRM! One may gain some insight however into iBiquity`s thinking (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IBOC: see also U S A 26 MHZ SPORADIC E RECEPTION Radio Maria in Italy running 25 watts noted here with a fairly steady signal for the past 15 minutes, much stronger than the DRM tests on the same frequency, this is the low end of the sunspot cycle! The question is how is this affecting reception within the service area of the 26 MHz tests which I believe is within the M25. Thanks to Noel Green for the tip-off (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, Fri Jun 23, 2006 11:32 am (PST [sic]), BDXC via DXLD) Radio Maria also audible here still with very good reception just after 1900 UT (8 pm), currently carrying mass in Italian. Thanks to Mike & Noel for the tip (Dave Kenny, Caversham, Berks, ibid.) Sporadic E reception is not related to sunspot numbers in the same way as normal F-layer reception. Sporadic E can be wonderful even at the low end of the sunspot cycle. It will be a really interesting band for DXers if it is adopted for local use - totally unsuitable for this in my opinion. Anyone who has used CB will know what it is like during a big SpE outbreak or at Sunspot Maximum would know this (Andrew Tett, Shoreham-by-Sea, June 24, ibid.) You mean R. Maria is STILL in analog rather than DRM? (gh, ibid.) Yes (Tim Bucknall, ibid.) Yes, still in analog, was there again this morning (Mike Barraclough, UK, ibid.) DRM: GERMANY; NEW ZEALAND; PORTUGAL PROPAGATION see also ALASKA; DIGITAL BROADCASTING above +++++++++++ WEST MICHIGAN LAKE INVERSION AFFECTS CELLPHONES Interesting note of how DXing affects the public NON-DXers: A large number of visitors at the restaurant I work at asked to use our landline phone. Their cellphones had no signal whatsoever and were showing Central time zone times. Their phones were tapping into Milwaukee towers almost 90 miles away. My phone did the same and was outside my area, despite a local cell tower a half mile away. With the sand dunes on one side and the lake on the other... this makes it easy for the cell phone signals to be easily affected by tropo. I had to constantly explain to these people -why- this was happening. It happens only on days of strong cross-lake tropo... which is... all week. I'm looking for more on cellphone signals and how far they travel, etc. If anyone knows anything interesting relating to this... please send me a mail!! I've never been able to find a person who has experienced such cell phone signals/problems as we do here. For more on this... http://beaglebass.com/dx_fm_index.htm (Chris Kadlec, in Grand Haven, Michigan, June 24, beaglebass @ beaglebass.com amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ###