DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-102, July 15, 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 EXTRA 69: Sun 0230 WOR WWCR3 5070 Sun 0530 WOR WRMI 9955 Sun 0630 WOR WWCR1 3215 Sun 0832 WOR WRMI 9955 [from WRN] Sun 2230 WOR WRMI 9955 Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 Wed 0930 WOR 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 NOTE: it has been five days since 6-101, so this issue necessarily cannot contain all the info from all the sources normally covered in the interim. We`ll hope to catch up in following issues (gh) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. 11665, 0235-0305, clandestine, 08-07, R Solh, via Dhabbaya, UAE. Pashto interview, 0250 folksong, talk about the Taleban, fanfare, folksong, talk about Kandahar 25333. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** ALBANIA. R. Tirana broadcasts two programmes, of 15 and 30 minutes in English, Mon-Sat. MONDAY: News Edition, Albania in a Week (the most important political developments during the past week), Cultural Activities TUESDAY: News Bulletin, A Note, Mail-Box, Sports Round-Up WEDNESDAY: News, Albania Under the Regional and European Integration Process, Light Entertainment Music THURSDAY: Albanian Economy on Facts, Focus on Albania FRIDAY: News, A Note, Albanian Outstanding Personalities Profile SATURDAY: News, The Mosaic of the Week, Folk Traditional Music (Richard G. Read, Radio World, July World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Source? Could it be from his own monitoring, or a something sent in the P-mail? It`s a rarity to see an axual programme schedule from R. Tirana. Not sure how accurate this is; odd that they would skip the News on Thursdays. Furthermore, how would all the same programs fit into the quarter-hour broadcasts? Each one cut in half?? The Media Network Hitlist shows http://www.rtsh.com.al/ as the website, but Can`t Be Displayed when I check, and I don`t recall ever seeing a website concerning the external service in particular (Glenn Hauser, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) R. Tirana can be heard to Europe at 1845-1900 on 7465 and 9920; 2000- 2030 on 7465. To NAm 0145-0200 and 0230-0300 on 6155 & 7455 (Radio World, July WDXC Contact via DXLD) Axually, they are on 6115 at 0145 and 0230 UT Tue-Sun. As for the other frequency, there has been conflicting info. The official schedule updated April 17, in DXLD 6-063 shows 7455, and we had pointed out previously that this was a bad choice due to RTTY, which is no doubt why US stations have avoided it. Then in 6-092 there was a report mentioning 7445 instead. At first I thought this was a typo, but then came another report of 7445 in 6-099. So did R. Tirana move from 7455 to 7445, and if so, when? Also note this from a recent issue of DX Mix News, about R. Pakistan: ASSAMI 0045-0115 7445.0 9340.4 BANGLA 0115-0200 7445.0 9340.4 HINDI 0215-0300 7445.0 9340.4 So 7445 could also have some co-channel QRM tho target areas are officially far apart (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hmm, it was there last time I checked (a couple of weeks ago I think). Was a fairly new site, to replace the one in Austria than has been in suspended animation since 2002 when the funding was not renewed. The new site was (is?) still not complete, with a lot of the links leading to blank pages. There was an embryonic section for Radio Tirana, but the only content is/was in Albanian. There was never a list of frequencies, either for the foreign service or domestic service. It could well be that the server is down due to technical problems or lack of electric power. I will watch it in the coming days, and if necessary flag it as inactive - which should ensure that it returns :-) (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 1156 UT July 8: R. Renacer, heard with fair signal on its harmonic on 3300 kHz (2 x 1650 kHz). (Moisés Knochen, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA [and non]. The het on 15345 heard earlier than usual, at 1355 check July 11; the only audio was from Morocco with Arabic music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn and all. I really feel bad about the situation on 15345 kHz, a longtime good frequency to hear RAE. Now it's been co-channelled by Morroco for several years. I know that there's been several discussions about this in DXLD. I just shake my head and think it's outright damned stupid to spend a lot of power on the same frequency. RAE was there first, so they have the right to be there, and surely Morocco could find an adjacent frequency and be happily heard worldwide, they too. What's the matter? Some moronic thinking? Now, writing this, at 2040 UT, July 11, 2006, 15345 is an unintelligable mess. 73/ (Johan Berglund, Trollhättan, Sweden AOR AR7030 50 m lw, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Nigel Holmes of RA says he is about to change the ABC NT relay nighttime frequency from 6080 to avoid interference. Will let you know the new one ASAP (Chris Hambly, Vic., July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. Dear friends, The Home Service of Radio Bangladesh was noted yesterday 12 July 2006 on 4750 at around 1430 UT (parallel to 693 kHz MW). Off by 1600 when I checked. They were testing this frequency and 4880 very recently along with 41 meter frequencies. With reference to Radio Bangladesh HS on 4750, they are also now noted in the mornings also, say 0130 UT. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS National Institute of Amateur Radio Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, July 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. BANGLADESH BETAR TO SET UP 1000-KILOWATT CAPACITY TRANSMITTER IN DHAMRAI SOON SAVAR, July 11 (BSS): A 1000-kilowatt capacity transmitter will be set up at Dhamrai soon at a cost of Taka 650 million (65 crore) aiming at further strengthening the transmission of Bangladesh Betar. This was stated by Information Minister M Shamsul Islam who was the chief guest while inaugurating a 100-kilowatt short-wave transmitter here. The information minister said the people of the country would be able to change their fortune if it is possible to reach accurate and objective information to them as information is considered as a vital force of democracy as well as development. Presided over by Director General of Bangladesh Betar AFM Matiur Rahman, the function was addressed, among others, by Information Secretary Muhammad Haidar Ali and Chief Engineer of Bangladesh Betar Delip Kumar Saha. Describing Betar as a powerful mass medium, Sahmsul Islam said still Betar is the most effective medium to reach information to people from all walks of life, specially those who are living in the rural areas. "Betar can play an important role in building a developed nation by airing different development programmes on family planning and use of modern technologies in agriculture to increase agri-products," he said. Recalling the past glory of Betar, he said this state-owned organisation became an inseparable part of our history by playing an important role during the country's War of Independence. The information minister said President Ziaur Rahman had guided the nation by proclaiming the independence of the country from Kalurghat Betar station, Chittagong during the country's War of Independence in 1971. He said the government has liberalised the transmission policy, as it believes in people's rights to know. This liberalisation policy has helped create positive competitiveness among the transmitting media, he added. The information secretary termed the information technology (IT) is an important thing in the present era of globalisation. We have to go forward with expertise in this regard to achieve the millennium development goals, he added, With the launching of this 100-kilowatt short-wave transmission, the listeners of Bangladesh Betar living abroad would be able to listen its programmes clearly. (via http://www.financialexpress-bd.com via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DXLD) ** BELARUS. Re 6-101: The schedule of Internet broadcasts is on this page http://www.radiobelarus.tvr.by/eng/prognet.asp ``So how much of that 22-hour-per-day program schedule in English is about programs in English? Zero?`` I believe the live Internet stream is in English. Radio Belarus has had a round-the-clock online-based English service for at least a year. The only new things about this "site" are its address and design. All content was available previously at http://www.tvr.by/eng/ (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, July 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Radio Fides, La Paz, is on air now, at 1340 UT, on 9624.82 with good signal! 73 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, July 15, HCDX via DXLD) I take it this is unusual ** BRAZIL. I chased the squirrels out of my radio last night and was pleasantly surprised by some DX. Anybody else getting anything? 1220, BRAZIL, ZYJ458, R. Globo, Rio de Janeiro (22-54S 43-14W) JUL 10 0017- 0035 - From Marc DeLorenzo tip that WRIB, Providence RI was off the air, I checked at 0017 and found Portuguese post World Cup discussion in progress and many Brazil and "Globo" mentions with time pips at 0030 and full ID and jingle. A surprise for this time of year at 4,780 miles. They were over/under an unidentified Spanish station at times (Chris Black, Cape Cod, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) Lookie here: ** BRAZIL. HARRIS CORPORATION TO DELIVER HIGH-POWER AM TO RÁDIO GLOBO IN BRAZIL --- Harris HD Radio-ready 3DX™ transmitters headed for sites in Brazil's two largest cities http://www.harris.com/view_pressrelease.asp?act=lookup&pr_id=1913 CINCINNATI, July 10, 2006 — Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS) today announced that Rádio Globo, a highly influential radio broadcaster throughout Latin America, has once again selected Harris technology and expanded its use of the Harris 3DX™ family of products for high- power AM transmission in Brazil. The transmitters, destined for sites in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, will also be outfitted with Harris DEXSTAR® exciters for HD Radio™ broadcasting. "As a leading radio company, it is crucial to have the right technology in place to ensure that our listeners can receive the best possible audio quality and content," said Rubens Campos, general director of Sistema Globo de Rádio (Rádio Globo). "Going digital, especially on the AM band, is the only way that radio can grow its audience. We believe that Harris offers the best combination of high- quality equipment, competitive prices and excellent customer service to help us move forward with HD Radio and offer a more attractive on- air product to our listeners and advertisers." Rádio Globo, a long-time Harris customer, decided to install additional, higher-power 3DX systems based on its familiarity with the transmitter's high audio quality, power efficiency and maintenance- friendly operation. The company currently has a 3DX™-50 transmitter at the Belo Horizonte site broadcasting analog and HD Radio signals since September 2005. Now, Rádio Globo Rio and Rádio Globo São Paulo will install 3DX™D-200 transmitters, the newest additions to the industry- leading 3DX family. Radio CBN Rio will also install a recently launched 3DX™D-100 transmitter, while Radio CBN São Paulo will add a 3DX™-50 to its family of transmitters. Redundant exciters and power supplies will be integrated, ensuring that each station will remain on the air at all times. Harris 3DX transmitters employ the company's Direct Digital Drive, high-power, AM transmission technology to improve signal linearity. The design drives each internal power amplifier module with low-level signals, eliminating the RF driver stage to conserve energy, reduce complexity and improve reliability — ultimately reducing operational costs. Rádio Globo will realize operational cost reduction benefits from the transmitters' 87 percent overall AC to RF efficiency. The transmitter features automatic reassignment of modules in the event of failure, and the design also allows engineers to perform maintenance, such as the replacement of PA modules, while remaining on the air. Each transmitter will also come with a comprehensive Harris eCDi® transmitter control and monitoring system, offering in-depth diagnostics and an intuitive, user-friendly interface via Internet protocol. Rádio Globo has also purchased three HT35CD FM transmitters for stations in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, three BMXdigital on-air consoles and one additional 3DX-50 high-power AM transmitter, originally installed at Radio Tiradentes in Belo Horizonte. "Rádio Globo's leadership and commitment to HD Radio is an excellent sign for the future of digital radio not only in Brazil, but throughout Latin America," said Nahuel Villegas, Harris Broadcast Communications Division's regional director of sales for Latin America and the Caribbean. "Harris has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to digital radio across the region, and has spearheaded HD Radio demonstrations in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, among other countries. The introduction of HD Radio in Brazil last September was a major step forward, and we are very pleased to continue growing our strategic relationship with Rádio Globo as they continue to push forward with digital radio." About Harris Corporation Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. With headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, the company has annual sales of over $3 billion and more than 13,000 employees — including 5,500 engineers and scientists — dedicated to the development of best-in-class assured communications™ products, systems, and services. The company's operating divisions serve markets for government communications, RF communications, broadcast communications, and microwave communications. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at http://www.harris.com HD Radio™ is a trademark of iBiquity Digital Corporation # # # (press release via DXLD) ** CANADA. CFRX, 6069.98 at 0314 with politics. Good signal but some adjacent QRM. No sign of Christian Voice, which is usually the only thing audible on this frequency at this time. //1010 with good signal (!), mostly clear (Liz Cameron, MI, July 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CHUM TO BECOME PART OF BELL GLOBEMEDIA : sources RICHARD BLACKWELL Globe and Mail Update Shares in CHUM Ltd. have been halted, pending a news announcement from the media organization. Sources said talks are in the final stages that will result in the company becoming part of Bell Globemedia, which owns the Globe and Mail. CHUM owns 33 radio stations, 12 local television stations and 21 specialty television channels...... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060712.wchum0712/BNStory/Business/home The History of CHUM http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060712.CHUM-historytimeline/BNStory/Business (via Wade Smith, NB, July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. CRI in English, July 11 at 1404 with news by American accent, fluttery and // 13740 Cuba. 13710 is Kashi site, 308 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Another check for Sound of Hope and jamming July 11 at 1355: nothing on 20 meters, but CNR1 on fluttery 17350 at 1357, // 15285. 17350 went off immediately following timesignal at 1400. Could not detect any sign of SOH there, not even a carrier. Jammer came back on at 1405 sharp and still there at 1445 recheck. Perhaps the jamming just keeps going on the same frequency if they can`t find SOH somewhere else. Of course, SOH could also play this game, by turning off their transmitter during the 5 minutes at hourtop too. Also not found on 20m at 1354 July 14 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. According to RFA schedule, Tibetan program on 5 frequencies can't be heard at all, monitored at 14 July 2006 at 1330- 1340, details as follow: 7470 mandarin language prg SINPO 33333 11590 mandarin language prg SINPO 43343 13625 trad chinese music SINPO 34332 13830 mandarin language prg SINPO 34232 15510 mandarin language prg SINPO 33332 Also the same with Mandarin program on their 7 frequencies, all of them (presume) were jamming.Monitored from 1605 to 1615 at the same day with details as follow: 9455 trad chinese music SINPO 55555 9905 trad chinese music SINPO 55555 11795 trad chinese music SINPO 55444 12025 CNR mandarin prg SINPO 55444 13675 trad chiinese music SINPO 45444 13715 trad chinese music SINPO 55444 15530 CNR mandarin prg SINPO 45343 So all of RFA programs can't be monitored all time long? (Lim Kwet Hian, Jakarta, July 14, HCDX via DXLD) We can only hope that the RFA signals are doing better in the target areas than in Indonesia. By trad Chinese music, I assume he refers to what we call Firedrake. The ChiCom really ought to make a greater effort to reduce their jamming strength abroad. The concept of being a good neighbor seems unknown to them (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. RHC was missing from 11760, July 11 at 1409, but 11805 with CCI and 12000 were on as usual with Fidel during this semihour. 11760 was back on at full force, July 12 at 1403 check, wrapping up the morning show which we notice always runs a few minutes past 1400. 1403 IS, ID giving 15230, 11760, 11805, 12000, 9550, 6000, and just before 1405 a time check for 10:06 am (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Estimados amigos: En la madrugada de este lunes 10 de julio falleciò en La Habana el querido locutor Ricardo Martìnez Vìctores, fundador de Radio Rebelde en la Sierra Maestra. Ricardo laborò durante varios años en Radio Habana Cuba. Si desean hacer llegar sus condolencias a su familia, este es su E-Mail: ricardom @ enet.cu (Manolo de la Rosa / Cuba via Dino Bloise, FL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) OBIT ** CUBA [and non]. July 12 at 1402, R. Martí open carrier was still on 7405, and so was jamming underneath, just in case RM try to slip in a further word after official closing on this channel (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC [non]. R. Praga relay resumed via WRMI [cf U S A], confirmed Sat July 15 at 1316 check on 9955; weak but no jamming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. I hadn't looked since the schedule changed on March 26, but RFI has further cut SW broadcasts in French to the Americas. The evening half-hour (U.S. time) has been eliminated. The only French broadcast in the morning is at 1130 UT, which consists of a 10-minute newscast, followed by "Meteo Marine." RFI's .pdf schedule lists a half-hour broadcast at 1300 on 15515, giving the impression it is in Portuguese. There remain five half-hour SW broadcasts in Spanish (1200, 1600, 1800, 2100, 0100). (Mike Cooper, GA, Jul 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mike, The 1300 of course being really at 1330 and in French; I noticed it briefly as I was tuning around before 1400, reconfirmed July 14. Creole is also being eliminated. Had been on this broadcast Sundays only (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also INTERNATIONAL VACUUM Glenn: Yep, that half-hour at 1330 on 15515 is in French. It threw me off that the printed (.pdf) schedule on RFI's Web site has that half- hour color-coded as Portuguese and listed as French/Portuguese on its program schedule. The "don't you believe" adage clearly applies. Curiously, they were off frequency when I tuned in, starting at 15514.8 and then moving up, briefly to 15514.9 and then to 15515 about 10 minutes into the broadcast. First time I've heard TDF make a transmitter frequency error like that (Mike Cooper, GA, ibid.) RFI has announced the end of creole programmes [effective in October]. In the meantime, RFI said Hausa (not new) and SWAHILI could start in the near future (sorry, it`s in French) http://www.mediaterre.org/caraibes/actu,20060712002103.html (Jean-Michel Aubier, France, July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Today the former GDR radio headquarters at Berlin, Nalepastraße, has been auctioned off. A specialist for cosmetic surgery obtained the property for 4.75 millions Euro. Nothing is known about the concepts of the new owner so far (he not necessarily intends to be involved himself in the management of the object at all). Back in last November the east German states sold the Nalepastraße compound for a mere 350,000 Euro to a company otherwise dealing with building equipment at a local level. This was a "let's get rid of it as soon as possible, no matter what will happen with it" action. Just a single point to illustrate what a scandal this was: The new owner claimed that he bought also all the studio equipment which in fact is property of the tenants (various audio production companies). It remains to be seen if the Nalepastraße complex will now, with a new owner, have a future as what it is, a home of the media and audio recording business. I have to notice that the east German states (away from Berlin since at least now they were concerned about these developments) treat the compound as irrelevant remains of an enemy station (Kai Ludwig, July 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. Re 6-101: Kai, I have to agree with Willi Paßmann, it's a sad and disturbing development. When GERMAN TV (ARD/ZDF/DW) stopped broadcasting in the US on Dec. 31, 2005 and DW-TV took over that channel on Dish Network, we didn't hear a word about future dropping of Internet broadcasting here. It's unfortunate that DW would yield to a pressure from a foreign company without even alerting its viewers. Could the same happen to DW-radio? I used to enjoy DW-TV in English, esp. its daily news Journal, as well as Faith Matters and drive it! car show. Now, many US viewers are cut off from this fine Continental news perspective. Fortunately, some can still watch the Journal subscription-free on their local PBS affiliate. Here, it's WYIN for NW Indiana and, via basic cable, greater Chicagoland. Another encouraging thing is that several English/German TV features from DW are still available for downloading on http://dw-world.de When it comes to free live English-language TV from non-English Europe I can think of only Russia Today at http://www.russiatoday.ru EuroNews at http://www.euronews.net used to be free but now requires a subscription of €17,50 per month (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, July 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) What could happen to DW-Radio in North America: First, on which platforms are they available at present? Internet and C-band satellite for both German and English, shortwave for German only, anything else? Who could make an offer interesting enough to cut either of these platforms? Perhaps the actual question is: Who cares for DW-Radio at all (speaking only about what former DW director Dieter Weirich used to call "deregulated markets" here of course)? One of the stereotypes about the USA here in Europe is that TV viewers are used to pay for TV services. If so it would be quite attractive for broadcasters, although over-the-air TV is always free- to-air in the USA. Not so anymore in the Netherlands once they will shut down the analogue TV transmitters. Afterwards a TV viewer will have to pay to a third party for access to the signals of the public broadcasters he has already to pay for: Pay either KPN for a DVB-T subscription or Canal Digitaal Satelliet for a subscription to their Astra package or pay a cable net operator. Apparently a political issue, considering that the shut-down of the PAL transmitters has been postponed only because the government of the Netherlands broke apart. Here in Germany the public broadcasters rigorously reject such constellations, demanding that their programming must be freely available without the audience having to make a deal with a gatekeeper (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) (USA) Meanwhile I received a comment from ARD engineering circles on the DW-TV matter: Said it's a bit thick that cable operators now sell DW-TV for the same money than previously German-TV. Also suspects that Pro7 Sat1 Welt TV could be involved in the whole matter (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also RUSSIA ** GUATEMALA. 4780.0, 0130-0250* 04 and 07-07, R. Cultural Coatán, San Sebastián de Coatán, Chuj ann, ancient folksongs with drums, 0200 Spanish announcement, rancheros and marimba. From *0245 some QRM from "Counting lady" sending spy messages. 34343 AP-DNK (Anker Petersen, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** GUYANA. 3291.2, GBC, Sparendaam, logged on 3 Jul, 0750-f/out 0810, English, BBC WS relay; 25432. Had been logged on 29 Jun, 2206-2226, English, newscast till 2216, music; 54343, adjacent utility QRM as usual (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. July 8 at 2130 on 7250 kHz I could hear the Spanish Service of Radio Budapest with a very strong signal (SINPO 55343) despite being directed to Europe. Perfectly audible even with the external antenna disconnected and the telescopic antenna entirely closed! (Moisés Knochen, Cuchilla Alta, Uruguay, Sony ICF-7600DS with 15-meter external antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 3315, AIR, Bhopal, 4 Jul, 2117-2136, Hindi (tentative) +English, Italy vs. Germany World Cup football match in Germany, final comments 2130, talks; noted on 5 Jul at 1930; 45332 (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Re: [dxld] Still AIR Chennai in 4920 & 7160 only [June 20] Dear Glenn, Sorry for the delay. I was away from my normal place and could not check this email. May be it is clear now. As you say the info on 7270 was correct at that time (viz May 4) moving from 7275 at 0025-0430. After a few days they changed to 7275 again. This is for your kind info. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, July 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Dear friends, Yesterday 14 July 2006 in the evening on AIR Home Service frequencies of 9575 and 9835, External Services were heard. 9575 had English at 1330-1500 (parallel to 9690 etc.) 9835 had Pushtu, Dari etc. around that time (parallel to 7410 etc.) However from 1600 normal Home Service was noted. Might be switching error. Anyway must check it up in the coming days. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS National Institute of Amateur Radio Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. Dear friends, The terrible terror bombs five hours ago in four commuter trains in Mumbai have resulted in extended broadcast by AIR Mumbai on 4840. Audible here in Denmark now at 1745-1800 with a phone-in programme in Hindi or Marathi from people who have been overtaken by the tragedy. A single short interlude of Indian string music in between the many calls. 35333. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, 1802 UT July 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. HAM bailed city out of mobile mess George Koshy CNN-IBN Posted Updated Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 22:40 http://www.ibnlive.com/news/ham-bailed-city-out-of-mobile-mess/15488-3.html Mumbai: Did you notice that your cellphone is not working when you need it the most. When Mumbai was attacked on 7/11, cellphone connections failed but there was an alternative that Mumbaikars turned to - the Ham radios. As the news of serial blasts across Mumbai trickled in on July 11, the first reaction was to reach for the cellphone and ring up the loved ones. But with 85 lakh cellphones fighting for a small patch of bandwidth, networks crashed. "If the base station's capacity is less, even the network is probably under-provided for. It is better therefore to try and send SMSes to avoid putting any pressure on the network," says Secretary of Bombay Telephone Users' Association, Achintya Mukherji. Had the mobile phones worked in those crucial hours, maybe precious lives could have been saved and precious time could have been saved. If SMS was used instead of calling, six times more contacts would have been made and networks would have stayed up. Also it would have been easier to reach outstation numbers. So maybe that uncle in Bangalore could have passed on the message to mom in Bandra. But with mobile phones on the blink, it was the turn of a new set of people to 'Help All Mankind'. HAM radio operators dug out their walkie talkies and came to the help of the city. "I love Mumbai. We consider it a moral duty to sign on to the AIR when disaster strikes. In fact, we carry our hand-helds and rush to the nearest spot of crisis," said Zyros Zend, a Ham radio enthusiast. Radio fans not only passed on news across the world to near and dear ones, they also helped agencies like the BMC to pick up information across the entire city. While mobile operators keep promising updated infrastructure with increasing consumer traffic, what every Mumbaikar can do is thank the good samiratan, that lone Ham operator who makes sure the right information reaches the right person when it is needed the most. (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dx_india via DXLD) Can`t say I`ve ever heard ``Mumbaikar`` used on US media, or British? (gh, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Re 6-092, I said I was linking to a MIDI of ``Under the Double Eagle`` but there was no link. I just now noticed this on reviewing that issue; did no one else? Or maybe no one cared. Here`s one, not the one originally planned, and certainly a different arrangement than heard on VOI: http://home.wanadoo.nl/bruch/lullaby/doubleeagle.html You can find others by searching on ``Under the Double Eagle`` MIDI (Glenn Hauser, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. VOI, 9525, Hi Glenn, what has happened to their transmitter? Their usual strong signal is still on, but totally messed up with a horrific het/hum, which very much distorts the audio. When I first heard it July 12, at 1024, thought there was another strong station on top of them with an open carrier, but the het/hum continued on and is still here July 14, during the English segment from 0838- 0900. This segment had a strong signal and would have been good reception except for the het/hum. VOI has been here regularly now for over a month, which is one of the longer periods of continual activity for them. Hope that this is fixed soon, as we both seem to enjoy this one a lot (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, July 14, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOI, 9525, July 15, not on at their usual time. Checked after 0835 a few times but VOI off the air, frequency in the clear. At 0911 noted their strong het again, with distorted programming (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ron, Have you contacted VOI and let them know there's a problem with their transmitter? Maybe they don't know of the het they seem to be producing? It's bad here in South Central Florida too (Chuck Bolland Clewiston, Florida, ibid.) Hi Chuck, Yes, I sent off an e-mail notifying them of the problem. Hope they can fit it before too long. Their signal has been very strong recently, even as early as their English segment before 0900 UT, so it is unfortunate not to be able to enjoy listening to them (Ron Howard, CA, ibid.) Yes, VOI 9525 had a loud continuous tone interfering, at 1310 July 15; unlistenable. Possibly audio filtering could get rid of most of it but the audio remaining sounded distorted. Seems to be coming out of the same transmitter rather than QRM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Links to classical webcasting stations: http://www.penguinradio.com/music/classical/ Penguinradio also has other categories. Need to check out some of the links, e.g. KHFM in Albuquerque which I thought was not webcasting for years now. Sure `nuff, dead link (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. RFI's latest printed/.pdf schedule claims that RFI offers a mix of RFI Afrique; RFI in French and Spanish; and Radio Monte Carlo medium wave on the satellite Intelsat Americas 5 for listeners in the U.S. and Mexico. I've found such a feed in MPEG on IA-5 (Ku band) but the only thing heard is RMC in Arabic for a few hours a day. Otherwise, the channel in silent. Before RMC appeared, the channel was airing a few hours a day of RFI. It would be nice if RFI made some of its programs available in this fashion. Curious to note that RFI English is not one of the services included. RMC's Web site indicates that RMC is available on IA-5 during 0400-0930, 1030- 1200, 1300-1400, 1430-1500, 1630-1800 and 1830- 2030 UT (Mike Cooper, GA, Jul 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. 7235, V. of Justice/VOIRI, 0156-0210, July 11, English, Usual news items deploring GW Bush and US actions in Iraq, including an interview with a member of US academia. (Is there an endless supply of these twits?) Poor, need to use LSB to avoid het on the high side (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, DTS- 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. Hoy 14 de Julio en la frecuencia de 15260 escucho a las 1228 el final de la transmisión de La Voz de la Rep. Isl. De Irán en hebreo; a continuación comienza un nuevo servicio en idioma ¿asiático? Desde las 1230 a 1258, se entiende algo parecido a `Program en Laotian` y finalizan con algo parecido a `Irán Actualitá`. No he encontrado referencias en VOIRI a ningún servicio en Laotiano, pero desconozco a qué idioma puede tratarse esta transmisión; tampoco he encontrado ninguna referencia de transmisión de VOIRI en 15260 de 1230-1258 ¿Estamos pues ante un nuevo servicio o una transmisión accidental? (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) They just started that Hebrew broadcast, a.k.a. Kol Davud? ** IRAN [non]. The Lithuanian relay of IRIB on 7540, usually very strong here during English programme at 1930-2030, was not heard on July 10. Appeared to be off air throughout the evening. IRIB's English from Iranian transmitters heard as normal on 6205 and 7205, the former giving the best reception (Roger Tidy, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST via dxldyg) So is it there today 11th? (gh) Saludos Glenn, cuando son las 1901 sin emisión en 7540 de VOIRI en inglés. Cuando son las 2033, la emisión en español también está fuera del aire; por otra parte hay una emisión E10 en inglés deletreando JSR. 73 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, July 11, ibid.) So, test time via Lithuania is over [not]. It's time to tell them your reception report on previous IRIB Lithuania relay broadcasts. Powerhouse signal reached here at Stuttgart Germany. Send your mail to all these persons in charge: iribworld @ irib.com englishradio @ irib.com englishsection @ irib.com germanradio @ irib.com achgari @ web.de sw @ irib.com javadsheikh @ yahoo.de and especially to Mr. Mahmood Kamany kamany @ irib.com the frequency manager at IRB Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcast. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, ibid.) However, when IRIB German service revealed the origin of 7540 they talked about a test period of two months. Transmissions started on June 10, so actually they should have run all the way until early August. So which of the two parties cancelled them already now, and why? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 12, ibid.) In German now (1730 UT July 12) (Jean-Michel Aubier, France, ibid.) And 11555 was on air today in Italian (July 13) at 0630-0730 at usual very good strength (Noel R. Green (NW England), ibid.) Iran via Lithuania was back on 7540 last night (July 13) after being silent for two days (Roger Tidy, dxldyg via DXLD) ** IRELAND. Join The Summer Party At SER --- Hello everybody! Well, the hot weather has finally arrived in Ireland, and the folks at Sligo European Radio certainly are celebrating, and what better way to celebrate the glorious weather than by having a party, at which we'll be playing all your favourite golden oldies. It'll be a great party, and you're all invited. Just tune your short wave radio to 9330 kHz in the 32 metre short-wave band between 06.45 CET and 10.00 CET and enjoy the party atmosphere. Reception Reports are welcomed to our usual e-mail address at sligoeuropeanradio @ hotmail.com For more information about Sligo European Radio, log onto our website at: http://www.geocities.com/sligoeuropeanradio (SER July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Forgot to mention the day and date! But website shows it for Sunday July 16; in UT: 0445-0800 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ISRAEL [non]. Interpolated from a posting on today's DX Listening Digest [see U S A]: WRMI (Radio Miami (Florida) International) is changing its schedule as to when it relays WRN (which formerly stood for World Radio Network). As a result, once again, Kol Israel English news will be on WRMI at 9955 kHz at 0500 UT Monday through Friday. That's 1 AM Eastern Time. The 9955 transmitter is aimed towards the Caribbean and Latin America. This is a pre-recorded Kol Israel broadcast. WRMI also streams their audio via the Internet. Yes, this is the same WRN North American feed which is on Sirius channel 140 and other sources, such as those listed on WRN's website. WRN also has a 2330 UT / 7:30 PM ET pre-recorded broadcast of Kol Israel English. This broadcast is not picked up by WRMI, but is on Sirius and some of the other sources listed on WRN's website (Doni Rosenzweig, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is the 0500 broadcast the one originally at 1900 UT? Seemingly so, since all the others, such as 0330 are only 15 minutes. That`s a 10- hour delay, so don`t expect any late-breaking war news. One might also wonder at what point the potential audience via WRN, if not WRMI, compared to SW direct would demand that KI provide live news at 0500 as long as that be when the WRN transmission is scheduled (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. U.K.(non), Updated schedule of Radio Sea Breeze/Shiokaze via VT Communications: 1030-1100 on 9855 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg to KRE Korean Sun/Wed 1030-1100 on 9855 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg to KRE English Mon/Thu 1030-1100 on 9855 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg to KRE Japanese Tue/Fri 1030-1100 on 9855 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg to KRE Chinese Sat 1900-1930 on 9780 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg to KRE Japanese, addit. txion 2000-2130 on 9785 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg to KRE Japanese, ex 2030-2100 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 11 via DXLD) ALREADY OUTDATED, viz.: 9855, Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) via TAIWAN (presumed site), July 10; checking for their usual *1030-1057* but nothing heard from 1027-1103; another new schedule or a one day event? Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) broadcasts to North Korea and is presented by the independent investigating organization: ``Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea`` (COMJAN website: http://chosa-kai.jp/indexeng.htm I watched a story this past Sunday on ``60 Minutes``, about Charles "Robert" Jenkins, an American soldier who deserted to North Korea in 1965. In 1980 the North Koreans brought a 21-year-old Japanese woman to him and they were married. She was Hitomi Soga, and she had been kidnapped from Japan. Turns out that North Korea was abducting ordinary Japanese citizens and forcing them to teach Japanese to North Korean spies. In 1978, Hitomi was kidnapped by North Korean agents on a road on Sado Island, Japan. In 2002, to improve relations, the new leader of North Korea, admitted to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that North Korea had in fact kidnapped some Japanese citizens. Watching this program makes listening to Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) all the more relevant: as most of their ``News Flash`` items deal with No. Korea and their reading of the many names of the Japanese abducted makes for interesting programming (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Quite a story on 60m; altho it was an arranged marriage, they loved each other, had children. She was then returned to Japan and he eventually got out, turned himself into the US military, served a short sentence for desertion, reunited with his wife; and made it back to the US in time to see his 90+ year-old-mother (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9485 (new frequency), Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) via TAIWAN (presumed site), July 11 (Tue.), *1300-1330* (new time); program in English, reading the names of abducted Japanese, 1326 sign-off announcement over piano music. Poor-fair. They have changed their schedule as of July 10, to try to evade the jamming: 1300-1330 UT, on 9485 [10 PM- 10:30 PM JST] (ex-9855, 1030-1100 UT). No change for 9785, from 2030- 2100 UT [5:30 AM-6 AM JST]. Believe we can expect them to be in a constant state of flux, as they try to out run the jamming (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9485, Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) via TAIWAN (presumed site), July 12 (Wed.), *1300-1330*; program in English (for two consecutive days); ``News Flash``, with stories about the North Korean missiles tested last week, 1326 sign-off announcement over piano music. Poor-fair. (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9855, Shiokaze (Sea Breeze), QSL, f/d blue & white ``RESCUE! Abductees by N. Korea – Shortwave - Shiokaze`` COMJAN card. Date, time and frequency hand written, as the printed frequency is their newest one (9485 kHz). Received from Tokyo, in 13 days for an e-mailed report, in English, to chosakai@circus.ocn.ne.jp (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9485, Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) via Taiwan. *1300-1330* July 12th. Heard with opening ID as 'This is Shiokaze, from Tokyo, Japan. Shiokaze means Sea Breeze. This is a radio program broadcasting Japanese private organization Comjan, with the support from many People'. Gave schedule and frequencies, with programs called "News Flash", "Special Story" and "Editorial Study". Gave web site: http://www.chosa-kai.jp and e-mail address: chosakai @ circus.ocn.ne.jp (which was the best I could tell on the phonetics; the announcer kept saying dot .. dot after each segment of letters. Thanks to Ron Howard who pointed out the proper pronunciation of the e-mail address.) Signal was strong, a solid S7 or better. There was some very slight interference from unidentified station (which could be CRI underneath with time pips 3+1 at 1300 with unidentified Language) but other wise a good copy at this time period (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA [and non]. African music jammer, good signal on 17695, July 11 at 1402 and 1444 checks, altho did not notice it earlier in the 1300 hour. Somewhat weaker than ANO on 17630. July 14 at 1355, found the African music on 17680 and causing heavy CCI to CVC Chile, producing a 4 Hz SAH (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos cordiales, resultado del chequeo a Sawt Al-amal y las emisiones jammer de Libia con la particularidad de hacerlo con un receptor en Valencia (España) y vía DX Tuners con otro receptor en Suecia. 13 Julio a las 1145 se aprecia portadora sin señal en 17665 y un minuto después desaparece, apareciendo a las 1151 en 17670. A las 1158 inicia emisión La Voz de África en 17670 en Hausa o Swahili, Sawt Al- amal en 17685 y a las 1200 comienza el boletín de La Voz de África en inglés y luego en francés. También aparece en 17665 la emisión musical; a las 1204 comienza emisión en 17685 y en paralelo con 17670. A las 1318 consigo sintonizar vía DX Tuners con receptor en Suecia a Sawt Al-amal en 17685; sin embargo desde Valencia con Sangean en esa frecuencia sólo se escucha a La Voz de África. A las 1320 cesa emisión en 17670 y pasa a 17690 y en paralelo con 17685. Por DX Tuners se escucha fuerte interferencia a Sawt Al-amal, desde Valencia imposible. 17685, Sawt Al-amal, 1318-1335, escuchada el 13 de Julio vía DXTuners en árabe con sintonía, cuña de identificación y canto del Corán, locutor con comentarios, SINPO 34443. SANGEAN ATS 909 Antena Radio Master A-108; DX Tuners ICOM R-75 Antena HyGain DX-88 Suecia (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia) España, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos cordiales, segundo día de chequeo a Sawt Al-amal y emisiones Jammer de Libia con receptor desde Valencia en España y DX Tuners con receptor en Suecia. 14 Julio: En el día de hoy comienzo a chequear a las 1207 y aprecio en 17665 la emisión musical de La Voz de África, también a La Voz de África en paralelo por 17670 y 17695. Con esta situación se llega hasta las 1332 en que desaparecen las emisiones de La Voz de África a excepción de la musical en 17665; entonces se escucha en 17680 la emisión musical afro-pop. No consigo conectar con DX Tuners hasta las 1341, pero se aprecia a Sawt Al-amal con excelente señal y débilmente interferida por la emisora musical, desde Valencia con Sangean imposible escuchar a Sawt Al-amal. La emisora musical con un SINPO 44444; a las 1352 se aprecia en la misma frecuencia señal de burbuja. (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot, (Valencia), España SANGEAN ATS 909 Antena Radio Master A-108, ibid.) ** MALTA. WHY BLAME ME? SAYS WASTREL FORMER VOM CHIEF AS MINISTRY DEMANDS EXPLANATIONS. Voice of Mediterranean National Audit Office report Defending himself against the damning report detailing his extravagant spending spree in the three years he headed the now defunct Voice of the Mediterranean, Richard Muscat insisted he was not bound by government regulations when he issued direct orders including an annual Lm36,000 contract to his son. Contacted at his office in Ireland where he is Maltese ambassador, Muscat said he had "many objections" to the National Audit Office (NAO) report tabled in parliament last week investigating his running of the Maltese-Libyan shortwave radio station, but was happy that "no impropriety" was blamed on his part. Yet the NAO did accuse him of "problems and irregularities" in the operations of the radio station, with the major contracts and investments carried out by direct order. His response is that he has been turned into "a scapegoat" Full article with details of Muscat's spending: http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2006/07/09/t19.html (Mike Barraclough, July 10; also via Kim Elliott, Mike Cooper, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Times of Malta [follow-up] http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=230572 The Foreign Ministry has summoned Richard Muscat, Ambassador to Ireland, and Gaetan Naudi, Ambassador to Spain "for further clarifications" over the auditor general's report on the operations of the Voice of the Mediterranean radio station and statements made by the two diplomats in reaction to the findings. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Mr Muscat and Mr Naudi will be in Malta next week. The Labour Party on Monday called for the resignation of the two Maltese ambassadors in the light of the report. Mr Muscat is a former VoM managing director and Mr Naudi held the post of permanent secretary within the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The auditor's report found a number of shortcomings in the way the radio station was run, ranging from the way management awarded major contracts related to the station's expansion and refurbishment by direct order, to hospitality expenses claimed by the managing director in excess of his employment entitlement contract. The shortwave radio station ceased to broadcast on December 31, 2003 after a spell of 20 years when the Libyan government - which was a shareholder in the company - informed its Maltese counterpart it no longer saw a function for the station (via Mike Terry, July 13, dxldyg via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 4830, Mongoliin R, Altay, 8 Jul, 2136-2150, Mongolian, light music; not parallel to Murun 4895; 35433 (Gonçalves) 4895, Mongoliin R, Murun, 8 Jul, 2134-2147, Mongolian, orchestral arrangements; not parallel to Altay 4830; 45433 (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOROCCO. 7308, RTM-"C", Sébaa Aioun, 6 Jul, 0950-, Berber, songs; 25433. Harmonic of 1044, the strongest MW outlet carrying programs in Berber (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. See GERMANY ** PERU. 4950.0, 0145-0200* 07-07, R. Madre de Dios, Puerto Maldonado Spanish talks by man and woman, jingle, ads, telephone number: ... 0148, 0154 time announcement, ID, pop song, 0157 Peruvian National anthem by orchestra and chorus, 34343 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** PERU. Según informa Carlos Gamarra desde el Perú el Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones ha devuelto la licencia a Radio Universal en la frecuencia de 6090 kHz; sus emisiones por el momento son de tres horas, de 0600-0900 [hora local? = 1100-1400 TU]. Al frente de la emisora se encuentra el señor Luis Villasante como director y propietario. Los informes de recepción a través del señor Carlos Gamarra Moscoso, director de frecuencias de Radio la Hora, Av Gracilazo 4II, distrito de Wanchag, Cusco, Perú (José Miguel Romero, Spain, July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Must be Catholic ministries are more tolerant, as you wouldn`t expect a Christian station playing secular songs, with the exception of ambivalent DGS ministry, filling between teachings with rock and roll and sometimes blues music. If You Leave Me Now, the classic Chicago song, presumably a cover sung by its former singer Peter Cetera, was on the air at 2313 from Radio Veritas Asia in its Indonesian service with very good signal on omnidirectiontal 9505 // 11820 with bubble jammer (what for?). Not the first time for the Philippines at this early hour here on the 31 mb, when propagation from the Pacific is even hard to get in the 19 mb (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, July 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Noted VOR in Hindi on 15550 // 15605, July 11 at 1328 and 1254 recheck. Per HFCC, both these are from Moscow site, 500 kW but 15550 is 140 degrees and 15605 is 115 degrees. Is there really any significant difference in reception between these in eastern and western India, or would one frequency aimed halfway between with a sufficiently broad beam suffice? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Re: USA: DW blockout demanded by Pay TV operators The main Russian TV channel "Pervyj Kanal" blocked access to its site http://www.1tv.ru for the US visitors today. I hope it's a temporary measure but who knows. I am not sure if site is still available in other countries. It is easily accessible in Russia (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, July 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Perviy Kanal --- 403 - Forbidden also when trying to get access from Germany (T-Online). Probably related to their new policy to no longer air the domestic version of their program FTA via satellite? Radioagenstvo-M, the brokerer of airtime on RTRS facilities (and operators elsewhere in the CIS), blocks out unauthorized persons as well, letting their web server greating potential customers at least from Germany with a giant "Forbidden". I assumed so far they would have something to sell? http://www.radioagency.ru By the way, Ostankino-1 was the first satellite program in Europe at all. They put in on in the early eighties when "western" satellites were still used only for feeds but did not continuously relay TV programs yet. In the late eighties and early nineties they used a C- band spot beam on a Gorizont bird at 11 deg. West, so powerful that a dish of just 90 centimetres diameter was sufficient for reception in Germany. Most likely this was the strongest C-band beam ever used. It was on 3.675 GHz, and the new Express A3 satellite on this position still maintains this outlet, but now using a global beam, so no longer putting the giant signal of the old Gorizont into Europe. It's now DVB-S, acc. Lyngsat carrying the US version of Pervyj Kanal, RTR Planeta, Radio Rossii and Mayak, allegedly FTA . . . The old Gorizont signal contained Ostankino-1 in SECAM plus Radio Rossii on a subcarrier, during the early nineties apparently used by Radio Volga as source of Radio Rossii, with the proprietary Soviet compander system working not that well (probably the receiver used by Radio Volga is to blame, since a straight relay via a transmitter at Zossen near Vyunsdorf on 891 kHz had no obvious audio quality issues). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Starting today, July 14, the site http://www.1tv.ru is again available for viewing from outside of Russia. No reasons were given for earlier blockage. However, the site http://www.radioagency.ru is still blocking the access from foreign-based IP-addresses. Kai, thanks for an interesting history excursus. In the early 80s the channel was known in USSR as "Pervaja programma" (the First Program of the Central TV). During Yeltsin's time it was called Ostankino-1. Two or three years ago it became known as Pervyj Kanal (Channel One). This channel has the largest audience in Russia. On May 25, 2006 Pervyj Kanal upset many of its overseas (esp. CIS) viewers by starting to decode its home stream signal, "in accordance with demands of international law and ITU." Now the channel runs three external streams: for CIS, Europe and the Americas. More official info about the controversy can be found at http://www.channelonerussia.com/ (in Russian). Curiously, the site's e-mail form includes a request not to bother them with questions about signal encoding (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, ibid.) From here in Germany http://www.1tv.ru works again as well. Is it possible to point out the differences between the domestic and foreign versions of their program (presumably means in particular: what the foreign versions are missing)? Another historical note: During the eighties low power transmitters carrying Pervaya programma were put in operation across the GDR on Soviet forces garrisons, presumably with the mentioned Gorizont satellite as signal source. I assume that these transmitters were owned and operated by the GDR postal office, like the Radio Volga longwave transmitter (which in 1994 cost the Russian forces 80,000 DM per month) and the short-lived Radio Rossii relay at Zossen-Wünsdorf in the early nineties. In Czechoslovakia Pervaya programma was even on high power transmitters, from a direct microwave link across the Ukrainian-Slovakian border I speculate. Apparently the GDR side hesitated from doing this and instead kept the third network for own use at a later time (it was finally put on air in 1990 with ZDF programming). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The foreign versions of Pervyj Kanal don't have movies, foreign-made TV series and international sports. Yes, Pervaya Programma of Soviet TV used to have a well-developed network in Czechoslovakia with powerful relays in the major cities. Every Sunday the Czechoslovak Service of Radio Moscow would carry a special broadcast highlighting the most interesting TV-programs of the new week. (BTW, the First Program of Czechoslovak TV could be quite often received in Moscow during the e-skip propagations.) PP was relayed in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, as well. The Soviet channel was turned off there in the end of 1991 or beginning of 1992. If I'm not mistaken the French TV-5 was put on the air instead. Some people in Sofia weren't very happy about that. - Most Bulgarians at that time could perfectly understand Russian but only few knew French. Perhaps, PP didn't go "full power" in GDR because not too many east Germans knew Russian well enough to enjoy the Russian-language TV. (The linguistic situation was different in Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria whose languages are close to Russian.) Besides, I suspect the general quality of the Soviet TV was lower than that of GDR TV (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, July 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Re 6-101, Intruder Watch. The BSKSA, Riyadh, intermodulation mixing products, 21370.7 and 21410.6 monitored in the 15m hamband around 1300 UT, were incorrectly attributed: the fundamental frequencies on the air at that time are 21460, 21505, 21600 and 21640. 21370v would be a 135 kHz leapfrog from 21640 over 21505; and 21410v a 95 kHz leapfrog from 21600 over 21505. Any and all other combinations in the 21 MHz area are likely (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. Received when spending a few days at Cuchilla Alta, Uruguay; Receiver: Sony ICF-7600DS with 15-meter external antenna. July 8 At 1359 UT on 12055 I heard FEBA's interval signal; at 1400 suddenly changed to the Russian National Anthem and The Voice of Russia signing on with its World Service. According to my log the same thing happened on May 22nd. Is FEBA transmitting via Russian transmitters? (Moisés Knochen, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re 12055: schedules show that at 1315-1400 Vatican Radio in Vietnamese is on 12055 via Novosibirsk. Before 1300 and after 1400 it`s VOR via Chita. Are you sure it was FEBA and not VR? Yes, FEBA does broadcast via Russia now, but not on this frequency at this time, it seems. Possibly there was a feed mixup (Glenn, to Moisés, via DXLD) He then sent a clip, and it was certainly FEBA, with a bit of ``Was für ein Freund, haben wir mit Jesus``, rather than Vatican with ``Christus Vincit`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SURINAME. 4990, R. Apintie, Paramaribo, 5 Jul, 2215-2226, Dutch, talks, seemingly news; 14241, some splatter de Brasil 4985 (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE [non]. Radio Ukraine International now put modulation on the already activated slot on Sirius 2 at 5 degrees West. Obviously it is the feed on that also goes out on shortwave to CEu/Siberia, with the English and German programs: -----Original Message----- Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 14:25:06 +0200 Subject: [A-DX] Ukraine auf Sat jetzt aufgeschaltet From: "Dietrich Hommel" To: "ADX Liste" Hallo Liste! Radio Ukraine International unter der Kennung "RUI2" auf dem Satelliten Sirius 5 Grad West auf 11766 horizontal, 27500, 3/4, hat jetzt Programm aufgeschaltet. Zu hören sind unter anderem die deutschen und englischen Programme von RUI parallel zur Kurzwelle. Empfang ist mit 60 cm Schüssel ohne Probleme möglich. Meiner Meinung nach wäre RUI ein guter Kandidat für WRN Deutsch, die Programmzuführung dürfte ja jetzt kein Problem mehr sein. Wichtig ist natürlich, daß bei allen neuen und sinnvollen Übertragungswegen die Kurzwelle erhalten bleibt. Dietrich (via Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U K. The two-month Promenade Concert season has just started! Webcasts via BBC Radio 3, details from here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whatson/index.shtml Standard but variable start-time is 1830 UT, from Friday July 14. Many repeat weekdays at 1300 UT, but not the very next day. Sometimes there is a double concert in evening, so the first one starts earlier. Also four new Saturday afternoon concerts at 1400. On-demand for one week, tho certain concerts do not have rights for this, so watch out. I shall be enjoying as much of this as possible, and hope you will too (Glenn Hauser, OK, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. UNIONS BALLOT BBC STAFF OVER STRIKE ACTION Stephen Brook Monday July 10, 2006 5pm update MediaGuardian.co.uk http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1817298,00.html The BBC faces potential strike action after the four broadcasting unions agreed today to ballot members working at the corporation over job cuts, pensions and the annual pay offer. Members of the four unions - the National Union of Journalists, Bectu, Amicus and the Musicians' Union - will be balloted over industrial action from July 21. Union officials said their members were angry about large pay rises for senior BBC managers, revealed when the corporation's annual report was published on Friday, at a time of sweeping job cuts. They are also angry about planned compulsory redundancies, a 2.6% annual pay offer and proposed changes to the BBC pension scheme, which would see staff having to work to 65, instead of 60. "BBC managers cannot be surprised by the immense anger with which their actions have been met by hard working staff," said the NUJ general secretary, Jeremy Dear. "Whilst hundreds of journalists were hard at work on one of the busiest news days of the year, BBC managers where celebrating huge pay awards," he added. "The fact that money can be found to reward managers who have axed jobs, cut programme budgets and presided over a pensions fiasco, but cannot be found to save vital jobs in current affairs show where the current BBC management's priorities lie." Union officials are writing to the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, to demand a meeting to discuss pay and pensions. In May last year BBC staff staged a one-day strike over Mr Thompson's redundancy plans, which caused widespread disruption to TV and radio news programmes (via Dan Say, DXLD) BBC FACES STRIKE OVER 'GREEDY' RISES FOR EXECUTIVES AS THOUSANDS LOSE JOBS * Grade claims senior staff worth big increases * Corporation 'losing touch with young viewers' Owen Gibson, media correspondent Saturday July 8, 2006 The Guardian http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1815747,00.html Handout image from the BBC shows Michael Grade launching the corporation's annual report. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/Getty BBC radio and television names could be forced off air by strike action for the second year running after furious unions yesterday criticised "greedy" executives for accepting large pay rises as thousands of staff were being made redundant. The corporation's annual report revealed director-general Mark Thompson, the architect of an ambitious restructuring plan aiming to save £355m a year by removing 6,000 jobs, was awarded a 8.7% pay rise in his basic salary to £619,000. But he refused to take a bonus for the second year, because it "wouldn't have felt right" when so many employees were losing their jobs. Last year 1,132 posts were closed with more than 2,000 more staff set to leave over the next year. The BBC also revealed that the three-year programme would cost £241m to implement. The governor's review of BBC services, although broadly positive, warned that it risked losing touch with a whole generation of TV viewers. BBC1 had lost a million viewers overall during the year and the rate of flight was even faster among those who have grown up with multichannel television and the internet. Other senior executives also received substantial boosts to their salary as part of a scheme introduced last year to bring them into line with average salaries in the commercial sector while slashing potential bonus payouts from 30% to 10%. The director of television, Jana Bennett, saw her pay rise from £334,000 to £353,000, while Jenny Abramsky, director of radio and music, got a rise from £304,000 to £322,000. Overall, the 10-strong executive board was paid £3.72m. "The governors believe the BBC's executive pay policy now properly reflects our combined duty to licence feepayers and our responsibility as employers," said chairman Michael Grade. The broadcasting union Bectu complained the rises were "extremely arrogant" when staff had been made redundant, the final salary pension scheme had been closed to new staff and a below-inflation pay deal of 2.6% had been offered. "It's just flat out greed. I assume they're just prepared to brazen it out and hang on to their fat cat salaries. The pension situation is grim, the pay rise is insulting and they pile this on on top of it," said Bectu supervisory official Luke Crawley. The National Union of Journalists complained that executives had increased their pay by between 25% and 30% over three years. Union leaders will meet on Monday but said it was "extremely likely" that a ballot for strike action would follow, with possible action in August. Last year, Mr Thompson came to an agreement with the unions following a one-day strike and extensive negotiations designed to reduce the number of compulsory redundancies to no more than a handful. Mr Thompson said the report proved his Value for Money programme was delivering savings to reinvest in programming, with an extra £129m being released during the year. He is also lobbying for a 2.3% above inflation rise in the licence fee, the income from which topped £3bn for the first time last year. Mr Thompson will use the money to fund the move of several departments to Salford and finance his Creative Future vision for the digital age in which he sees licence feepayers accessing programmes on demand. The BBC iPlayer that will provide access to any BBC TV or radio programme from the previous seven days would launch "within months". He hoped staff would start to see "the creative upside" now they could see where the savings were going. The group finance director, Zarin Patel, said the corporation was on track to end its charter period debt-free and exceed the £3.3bn cumulative self-help target set at the time of the last licence fee deal. The publication of the annual report marks the beginning of a crucial week in the debate over the level of the licence fee for the next seven years. On Monday, the Commons will debate the future of the BBC ,with Mr Grade and Mr Thompson due to face the culture, media and sport select committee on Tuesday. Governors' verdict BBC Television While containing less outright criticism than in previous years, the report warned that audiences to BBC1 (cost: £840.4m) and BBC2 (£374.1m) had fallen but BBC3 (£92.9m) and BBC4 (£46.9m) had not made up the difference. Meanwhile, younger viewers continue to desert the channels faster than their parents when households switch from analogue to digital. Coming in for praise was ambitious BBC1 fare such as Bleak House, left, Doctor Who and Planet Earth. BBC2 was warned it was losing touch with younger and ethnic minority audiences, while BBC3 was charged with taking more risks. BBC Radio The governors dismissed claims that Radio 1 (£17.7m) and Radio 2 (£24.1m) are too commercial, praising the former for breaking new music and bringing news and documentaries to a young audience and the latter for its range. On Radio 3 (£31.1m), The Beethoven Experience and Bach Christmas experiments were praised, while Radio 4 (£71.4m) should continue to evolve. Radio 5 Live (£48.9m) had a "good year editorially" but saw audiences slip by 0.3m. BBC new media The future of broadcasting looks increasingly to lie "on demand", said the governors. A forthcoming internal restructuring, set for July 19, is aimed at changing the commissioning structure so that programmes work across various platforms. The BBC.co.uk website (£72.3m) had increased its reach to 13.7m from 10.6m but must continue to engage with external producers. BBCi (£18.2m) missed a commitment made last year to improve access times, while education service BBC jam (£35.5m) was launched successfully. BBC News With audiences to traditional bulletins on BBC1 falling, the governors said the move to place News 24 (£23.1m) at the heart of the television news operation was paying dividends but that the rolling news service must be more analytical, more international and more diverse than its competitors. Central newsgathering (£89.5m) was praised for coverage of the July 7 bombings, Hurricane Katrina and the general election. But BBC News was also challenged with developing new formats to connect with the young, those in digital homes and those in lower socioeconomic groups (via Day Say, DXLD) ** U S A. Veteran journalist Helen Thomas has a new book out entitled "Watchdogs Of Democracy? The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed The Public," which briefly mentions the VOA. "The Bush administration also took control of the greatly respected Voice of America, which once prided itself on high journalistic standards despite being government-run, and tried to transform it into a propaganda arm in the Middle East and elsewhere," Thomas writes. (Mike Cooper, GA, Jul 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Last half-hour of today's "Talk To America" on VOA is supposed to be a discussion with a scholar on VOA's charter. (I know you probably won't get this e-mail before it airs in 25 minutes, but maybe you can get it on demand.) (Mike Cooper, GA, 1335 UT July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] After promising at the beginning of the program that the last half of "Talk To America" would be devoted to the 30th anniversary of the VOA charter, the subject was relegated to the final 4 1/2 minutes of the broadcast with no explanation. The guest by telephone was Professor Nick Cull, director of the Master's in Public Diplomacy program at the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy. Cull said the VOA charter "hasn't worked every time. There are always people who want to spin the news." "The charter has been a rallying point within the Voice," he said. "I wish more elements in public diplomacy were protected by that charter." Cull's biography at the USC Web site says he is author of a forthcoming book about the history of US public diplomacy during the Cold War entitled "Selling America: US Information Overseas, a history of the U.S. Information Agency" (Cambridge University Press 2005). However, a search of the Cambridge University Press shows no Cull books as published or forthcoming (Mike Cooper, GA, Jul 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. Re 6-098: ``Another transmission problem at WWCR: July 5 at 1842, DGS on 13845 was quite overmodulated with noisy skirts extending to 13840 and 13850 (but DGS Germany 13855 was in clear); at first it seemed like a DRM transmission was co-channel. The noise could also be heard on 13845 itself. Not an uplink problem, since DGS Anguilla 11775 was clean. 13845 was extremely strong at that time, tnx to Es, as was 15825 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` I meant to say that 13855 was Brother Scare via Germany, not DGS (gh) DGS, 13845 via WWCR, July 11 at 1407 had only lite crackle, a great improvement over previous days. Finally on July 12 at 1321, DGS on 13845 absolutely without crackle! Has he been fixed for good? But Anguilla 11775 at 1405 check had some lite crackling still audible. BTW, did anyone notice whether the same problem applied to the nite frequency on WWCR, 5935? Still no crackle on 13845 July 14 at 1352 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The Power Hour is on WWCR [3215] at 0341+. The hosts now promote legalized marijuana. The reason it is illegal is because there's huge corporate conspiracy, etc. etc. The Right Perspective was on Friday (Sat UT) - not on their sked anymore. Their latest sked is unnecessarily confusing. The times are listed in CST [sic --- for Sasketchewan??]. For example The Power Hour is listed as 10 pm. But you have to scan down the page to where it says 3215- Saturday. Their skeds have always been confusing but this is the worst. It's the same mess in three formats. I wonder why they can't simply use UT. 73/Liz (Liz Cameron, MI, July 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) At least now we know what they are smoking at The Power Hour! I guess that explains everything --- No wonder those guys were kicked off WHRI! (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, ibid.) ** U S A. Jeff, Today Wednesday at 1402, 7385 was audible. Sounded like some other station in English. Are you also running WRN again on 7385; schedule? STILL longing for a complete program schedule, (Glenn to Jeff White, WRMI, July 12, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, we're now running WRN Mon-Fri at 1400-1600 on 7385. And we're planning to start running WRN Mon-Fri early mornings from 0500 to 1100 UT starting tomorrow morning (on 9955). This will unfortunately pre- empt the WOR at 0500 UT Monday, but we are also going to maintain "permanently" WRN on Saturdays from 1600-2100, and I believe there's a WOR in that block [1732]. We also have WRN scheduled for Saturday and Sunday 0800-1000 [so THAT includes another WOR airing, Sun 0830, or is it 0832 -- gh] I have posted a complete program grid on the website, under "Current Schedule." http://www.wrmi.net/schedule.php [page down]. It has a few gaps in it yet, and disregard the WRN Mon-Fri from 1330-1400. I'm not sure what that's going to be yet. You will see some Radio Prague relays in English and Spanish that should begin any day now -- maybe phased in between now and next week sometime. We are working on the final details of a relay agreement with them which will run through the end of this year (Jeff White, WRMI, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And let`s pull out the significant programs from the above grid, with the provisos Jeff mentioned: WORLD OF RADIO Sat 0500-0530 9, Sat 1230-1300 9, Sat 1430-1500 7, Sat 1732-1800 9, Sun 0530-0600 9, Sun 0830-0900 9, Sun 2230-2300 9 MUNDO RADIAL Sun 1030-1045 9 AWR WAVESCAN Sat 0630-0700 9, Sat 1330-1400 9, Sun 0630-0700 9 DX PARTYLINE/AVENTURA DXISTA Sun 0500-0530 9, Sat 0600-0630 9, Sun 1430-1500 7 AVENTURA DXISTA Sat 2345-2400 9, Sun 1045-1100 9, Sun 2215-2230 9 LA ROSA DE TOKIO S/S 0700-0800 9 GLOBAL CRISIS WATCH Mon 0400-0430 9 VIVA MIAMI Sat 0530-0600 9, Sat 1500-1530 7, Sun 0600-0630 9, Sun 1530-1600 7 WORLD RADIO NETWORK M-F 0500-1100 9, M-F 1430-1600 7, S/S 0800-1000 9, Sat 1600-2100 9 RADIO PRAGUE Daily 1400-1430 7 RADIO PRAGA Daily 0430-0500 9, Mon-Sat 1300-1330 9 RADIO VATICANO Sat 1015-1030 9 LA VOZ DEL MRR Tue-Sun 0400-0430 9 RADIO REPUBLICA M-F 1100-1300 9, Sun & Mon 0200-0400 9 Note that RR is still on but greatly reduced. We have also skipped Brother Scare, Christian Media Network, various preachers and other exile programs (extracted by Glenn Hauser for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KVOH, 17775, missing at 1445 check July 11, but there at 1600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NCE FM Application Window --- According to notices released by the FCC, its flurry of activity in clearing up mutually-exclusive applications in the NCE band (88.1-91.9 MHz) and comments made by some of its staff, it is very likely that the FCC will open an application window in late 2006. Now is the time to begin engineering studies, site location, etc. Once the window is announced applicants will only have a limited amount of time to complete all of the required aspects of the process (CRA newsletter July 14 via DXLD) Non-Commercial Educational, which hardly should apply to religious stations (gh) ** U S A. The CE of Columbus Radio Group tells me that contrary to the report in 6-096, the towers of silent WVKO 1580 have not yet been demolished, and will not be until August or September when a new AUX tower for WSNY is up at a different location to replace the one that is now part of the old WVKO site. WVKO had a lease agreement with the Columbus Radio Group and the time is now up. For the latest on WVKO AM attempt to get back on the air from a new site click here: http://www.columbuspost.com/news/headlines188.html Click here for a photo of WVKO's old site: http://www.fybush.com/sites/2004/site-040219.html (scroll down)[or directly at:] http://www.fybush.com/Tower%20Site/040219/wvko.jpg NOTE, THE SELF SUPPORTING TOWER IS WSNY'S AUX tower. What the CE is saying (I think) is that one of the towers that is part of the old WVKO site is also WSNY's aux tower site. They want to have the NEW aux tower up (I'm not sure where it is) before they have the tower crew take down the three WVKO towers. That land where the towers now sit has been sold to the city of Upper Arlington and they want to make a park out of the land. THEY HAVE NO REASON TO WAIT FOR WVKO to get back and running. The new owners still don't have zoning approved for their new 1580 AM site yet and the city doesn't look like they want to grant them a waiver for towers to go on that site because they have many questions about why they went dark in the first place. This came out last week: http://www.columbuspost.com/news/headlines188.html I have yet to see this site and I've been in Columbus for seven years now (Artie Bigley, OH, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VANUATU. R. Vanuatu, 3945 kHz heard July 8 from 1034 UT onwards with SINPO 35232 to 35333. Talks and Polynesian style music. According to WRTH this frequency should be inactive. Also the transmission continued past 1115 UT which supposedly is the time when the station closes down (Moisés Knochen, Cuchilla Alta, Uruguay, Sony ICF-7600DS with 15-meter external antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3945 is often reported. Even seemed to be alternating 7260 day to day (gh, DXLD) ** VATICAN. Re 6-094: ``Vatican Radio. 0038-0100 June 29. Noted a woman in comments. Believe the language was Vietnamese. Comments filled the half hour except for a minute or two of religious music. At 0057, the Italian NA theme was presented until the hour when the signal dropped off the air. Over all, the signal was good here in Clewiston, Florida. Vietnamese is scheduled between 2300 to 2400 in all of the current reference material I have on hand for this station. None scheduled for the 0001 hour (Chuck Bolland, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` Just noticed, frequency missing. Maybe was only on the subject line. Everybody, please include all pertinent info in the body of your reports. WTFK? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Glenn, the frequency was 9600 kHz during that period 0001-0057 for Vatican Radio. I didn't find the frequency listed anywhere if I remember correctly? (Chuck Bolland, July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. Seguidamente ofrecemos el esquema anunciado por Radio Nacional de Venezuela (Antena Internacional), el servicio exterior en idioma español de esta emisora a través de los transmisores de Radio Habana Cuba: Lunes a Viernes: HORA UTC KHZ 2000-2100 9550, 13680 2300-2400 13680* Nota: (*) Emisión destinada a Sudamérica. (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Argentina, Conexión Digital July 9 via DXLD) So their announcement finally matches what we have axually been monitoring --- no more broadcasts at 19, or 21, nor on weekends. 13680 still collides with China via Canada (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. Saludos desde Pueblo Llano, estado Mérida. El presente tiene como finalidad dar a conocer el más reciente suceso de una estación de radio en Maracaibo, estado Zulia, occidente de Venezuela. Se trata de la emisora RADIO MUNDIAL ZULIA, 1070 AM, perteneciente al circuito YVKE MUNDIAL, la cual en dos oportunidades ha sido sacada del aire, esto motivado al vandalismo o a personas que están con el actual gobierno de HUGO RAFAEL CHAVEZ FRIAS. De tal manera que el pasado martes 12 de junio dieron a conocer cierto suceso, la cual dañaron totalmente la torre y antenas de transmisión [de la] emisora que cubre parte del occidente de Venezuela y el Caribe. ATENTAMENTE (HENRRI GONZALEZ SANTIAGO, Mérida, Venezuela, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1548, BBC WS in English, 2231-2233, 6 Jul; 22441, QRM de Polisario Front, 1550. I suppose this may emanate from some BBC relay station or then from some domestic station carrying the BBC at certain times, e.g. R. Saint Helena (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, DX ISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1650 kHz, Relevance? Radio, 0604 UT 29 jun, SINPO 34332, lugar ?usa? ssb-lsb / OM menciona a boston, religiosa. ID "This is relevance radio" (relevant?) a oido relevans. Grabación revisada varias veces (Héctor Álvaro [Gutiérrez], Lima-Sur, Peru, Sony Icf -Sw 7600 G, Ant. : Ewe + potenciometro 5 k.ohm (opcional 2 k.ohm ) Acs, Conexión Digital July 9 via DXLD) Don`t find that slogan for any listed US stations on 1650. It`s a Catholic talk net. There is one on 1660, however, in Naples FL, per http://www.relevantradio.com/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=204&srcid=534 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4865, 8 Jul, 2211-2227, American English, religious program, songs, hymns; could this be Bolivia or one of the Brasilian stations airing some special religious program in English? 23341. Best 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 10446, Spanish YL 5-digit numbers. Occasionally broke cadence, but mostly in usual lockstep, 1332 July 12, strong (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 13650, open carrier aside RCI, July 12 at 1321 until at least 1330. Both VOK and CRI are supposed to be on 13650 during this hour, but this was rather too strong. Nothing obvious nearby coming up after 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ FCC DROPS HD RADIO ITEM FROM OPEN MEETING AGENDA That FCC open meeting agenda item on the effect of HD Radio on terrestrial radio got the ax shortly before the meeting's start on THURSDAY. The item, which was geared towards reopening the issue of IBOC digital interference and nighttime HD use, was pulled from the agenda THURSDAY morning and awaits rescheduling (via D. Peter Maus, AllAccess.com via Steve Lare, July 13, DXLD) FCC CUTS HD RADIO ITEM /July 13, 2006/ By Katy Bachman, Mediaweek http://www.billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/news/business/leg_reg/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002838831 The radio industry will have to wait a bit longer before legislators resolve the remaining issues surrounding the industry’s transition to HD radio. The Federal Communications Commission deleted the item from its Thursday morning agenda, just minutes before going into session. The Commission was expected to examine the effect of HD radio on terrestrial radio and take up nighttime AM HD radio issues, currently on hold pending the resolution of interference issues. For now, several aspects of HD radio remain unregulated, including the status of multicasting sidechannels and AM HD radio. Currently the only stations broadcasting in HD are FM stations. Of the more than 700 stations broadcasting in HD, more than 170 are broadcasting a second channel (via NAB via Ben Dawson, DXLD) see also BRAZIL! RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ HOWARD STERN: FM TRANSMITTER "INTERFERENCE" Has anyone conducted any field tests or challenged the evidence related to the claims that uncensored radio programming from Sirius and/or XM satellite broadcasters in the USA , is being picked up by motorists as they drive by other cars using the low powered FM transmitters that feed the audio to the car's radio and speakers ? These FM transmitters have been used for several years; I find it very suspicious that the recent press coverage of complaints follows the move of "shock jock" Howard Stern to Sirius Satellite radio. I think the chances of a person picking up a "transmission" that just happens to be tuned to Howard Stern, at a time that he uses offensive language, are extremely remote. FYI, truly offensive language by Stern does not happen every minute. For example, last I listened (a month ago) he used clearly unacceptable language about 5 times in the hour, lasting less that one minute, total. So, what are the chances that some one's FM radio just happens to be tuned to the VHF frequency that the Stern listener has selected to use in his/her car, and they magically are within the 20-30 feet at the time a "bad" word is used? I do have one of these devices (although I prefer feeding my car audio system via the tape head rather than FM transmission). I think I will do some testing of their range. By the way, contrast the reaction of the media and FCC on this issue compared to the reaction I received when I complained about offensive language on TV. A right-wing network broadcast the word "fuck" when it was uttered by someone yelling in to their microphone during a live news shot. I do not find the language substantially offensive, and feel the FCC's crackdown on the networks is unreasonable. However, I wanted to see what would happen if a right-wing network was the cause of a complaint versus the supposedly "liberal" CBS (liberal my ***) that receive reactionary wrath when a pop star briefly displayed a breast, or when radio DJs make lewd comments. I filed a complaint with the FCC, a complaint with the network, and sent a copy to a newspaper that had gleefully complained about CBS TV's "irresponsibility" when the breast was exposed during a live sporting event. The network never responded, the newspaper never covered the issue, and the FCC sent an email response acknowledging receipt of the issue but did not act on my compliant Andy O`Brien, NY, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Some of these do get out far beyond the cars, to hundreds of feet. They aren`t installed properly and/or are defectively designed and marketed with too much output, as the satellite radio services and manufacturers have conceded. FM DXers have several times reported being faked out by satellite radio relays, especially on the low end of the FM band, including reception at home. If you are on a highway or freeway with lots of parallel traffic at about the same speed, there`s a good chance of being `next` to one for a considerable distance. I looked for this the last time I was on I-35, and got some `pings` from traffic going in the opposite direxion. Since I never listen to Stern, I have no idea how much he swears, but I agree the Stern angle is overplayed. Of course ANY such signals interfering with public radio reception is to be condemned. As for your complaint, heavens, a double standard? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) I have done some informal tests with a Sirius unit, specifically the Starmate R, which is designed to be moved back and forth from car to house so that the user does not have to pay for two separate Sirius subscriptions. And in my opinion, there is indeed some merit to the claims being made. I've done two tests, (neither particularly scientific, I admit). In the first, I left my Sirius unit in its usual position in my bedroom (tuned to BBCWS, so I'd be assured of an all-speech signal), but left my car radio on 93.1 FM, the frequency on which I usually have the unit's transmitter set. Then I simply measured how far I could drive from my house before losing all traces of the signal. Under normal conditions, in a setup where the unit's antenna is most definitely not positioned for maximum distance, I can usually get about 1/5 to 1/4 of a mile away from my house before the signal becomes totally unintelligible. A couple of times, when conditions were a bit more optimal, it got a little better than 1/3 of a mile. The signal is somewhat directional, but it definitely carries surprisingly far no matter which side of the house I'm measuring from. As I come home on a nearby one-way road, about two side streets-length to the north, I can pick up the signal, weakly, as I pass my house's position. In the other test, I drove around town in areas of heavy traffic during rush hour, and simply flipped around amongst the frequencies from 87.7 to 88.7. Most subscribers to XM and Sirius don't do anything except turn their units on and leave them set to the first frequency that the unit offers which their car radio can also receive, which means the vast majority of them are set to 87.7, 87.9 or 88.1 at worst. Now, in my town we have a college station on 88.1 with a very close transmitter site, so I figured that there'd be a lot of users here that bumped their unit's transmitters to 88.3 or 88.7 (we have an out-of-town station with a so-so signal on 88.5). But to my surprise, there were a lot of people who kept their transmitters smack on 88.1. So that was my first indication that not too many people were suffering from weak transmitters in their units. Anyway, as I drove around, I picked up plenty of transmissions from other peoples' cars, and usually we would have to get at least 3 to 5 car lengths apart before I'd lose the signal. Of those people who had Sirius units instead of XM units, I'd say well over half of them were indeed listening to one of Howard Stern's two channels. (A noticeable plurality of XM owners were listening to their "shock jocks" Opie & Anthony.) And even when the transmitters were on 88.1 and the local station was on the air, they tended to overwhelm the local station for about 2 car lengths. I definitely noticed that Sirius units tended to have stronger transmitters than XM transmitters. I've seen discussions on satellite radio boards about this, and apparently there's something about the design of XM's units that are somehow supposed to piggyback onto a car's own antenna system, whereas with Sirius units, it's merely a matter of brute force transmission. (I do not own an XM unit - I listen to XM via online streams only - so I can't say for certain how XM's transmitters work.) I can only offer conjecture as to the hows and whys of the sudden increase in media coverage of this issue. My guess is it's simply a matter of the huge explosion in the number of such transmitters in use over the last 18 months or so, combined with the fact that religious stations tend to be located down at the left end of the dial. Regardless of what Howard Stern might be discussing at any given moment, and whether or not that discussion might include profanities, I don't think there's much question that if a given driver is expecting to hear a sermon and instead gets Stern mentioning much of anything, the driver is going to blow a gasket and start complaining about it to anyone he can think of (Aaron Dickey, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Aaron, thanks for sharing this most thoughtful experiment. I have the Sirius Sportster Replay. I will see what my experiments bring; I am in a rural area, though. I may park next to the local Interstate highway and see what I find (Andy O`Brien, NY, ibid.) MUSEA +++++ ALEXANDRA PALACE TV HERITAGE FACES DESTRUCTION John Thompson, curator of the Alexandra Palace Television Group's museum, believes the single most important place in world TV history may be destroyed by the Alexandra Palace Trustees' actions. . . http://www.southgatearc.org/news/july2006/alexandra_palace.htm (via Trevor, M5AKA, monitoring monthly yg via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to minor storm levels. Solar wind speed ranged from a low around 280 km/s late on 03 July to a high of 640 km/s early on 05 July. The period began with a wind speed around 330 km/s with the IMF Bz not varying much beyond +/- 3 nT. The geomagnetic field remained quiet until 04 July when a coronal hole high speed stream moved into geoeffective position. Total magnetic field increased to 18 nT, while the IMF Bz fluctuated between +/- 12 nT. Wind speed increased to around 640 km/s. The geomagnetic field responded with unsettled to active periods midday on 04 July. Early on 05 July, active to minor storm periods were observed at middle latitudes, while active to major storm periods occurred at high latitudes. By midday on 05 July, the IMF Bz relaxed, not varying much beyond +/- 4 nT, and by midday on 06 July, the solar wind speed was in decline. Two periods of minor storming was observed at high latitudes midday on 06 July before returning to quiet to unsettled conditions. The geomagnetic field was mostly quiet until the end of the period when a shock was observed at the ACE spacecraft around 09/2045 UTC. The shock was associated with the 06 July CME and caused the wind speed to increase from 350 km/s to 440 km/s, while the IMF Bz fluctuated between +7 nT to -5 nT. A sudden impulse of 48 nT was observed at the Boulder magnetometer at 09/2137 UTC. The geomagnetic field at middle latitudes observed an active period due to this shock, while high latitudes only observed quiet conditions. The period ended with the solar wind speed around 420 km/s. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 12 JULY - 07 AUGUST 2006 Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 12 – 19 July and again on 02 – 05 August. The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly quiet to unsettled for the majority of the forecast period. Recurrent coronal hole high speed wind streams are expected to rotate into geoeffective positions on 12 July, 25 – 26 July, and again on 31 July – 01 August. Active to major storm conditions are possible on 12 July, while active to minor storm periods are possible on 25 – 26 July and 31 July – 01 August. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2006 Jul 11 2223 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2006 Jul 11 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2006 Jul 12 75 30 5 2006 Jul 13 75 10 3 2006 Jul 14 75 10 3 2006 Jul 15 75 8 3 2006 Jul 16 75 5 2 2006 Jul 17 75 5 2 2006 Jul 18 75 5 2 2006 Jul 19 75 7 2 2006 Jul 20 75 5 2 2006 Jul 21 75 5 2 2006 Jul 22 75 5 2 2006 Jul 23 80 5 2 2006 Jul 24 80 8 3 2006 Jul 25 80 20 4 2006 Jul 26 80 15 3 2006 Jul 27 80 10 3 2006 Jul 28 80 8 3 2006 Jul 29 80 5 2 2006 Jul 30 80 8 3 2006 Jul 31 80 15 3 2006 Aug 01 80 20 4 2006 Aug 02 80 10 3 2006 Aug 03 80 8 3 2006 Aug 04 80 5 2 2006 Aug 05 75 5 2 2006 Aug 06 75 5 2 2006 Aug 07 75 8 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via DXLD) ### THE KN4LF DAILY LF/MF/HF RADIO PROPAGATION OUTLOOK #2006-010 has been published on 1900 UTC Friday July 14, 2006 at http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf6.htm --... ...--, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, Lakeland, FL, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ You may have seen an item from David Newkirk a few issues ago. David was the editor of the technical column in REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING for a number of years. He went on to work for ARRL, but that turned sour, and he not only quit but eventually turned in his ham license. David refers us to this web page which is really what he is all about: DAVID NEWKIRK WRITINGS --- http://home.comcast.net/~dpnewkirk/ Start with the introductory essay, then read the invocation, then the poems, beginning with the latest and then going backward (David Newkirk, NJ, July 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###