DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-103, July 16, 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 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: we are still not caught up, so some news mostly from July 14 and 15 is still not included. We`ll hope to catch up in following issues (gh) ** ARGENTINA [and non]. Following Andrew Brade's recent reception of Radio Guaviyú I decided to record overnight on 1610 kHz, and was rewarded by surprisingly good signals and a nice ID as early as 2300, with the station audible all night. Here is the link direct to the clip: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clashmoreradio/1610_Guaviyu.mp3 1610, R. Guaviyú, Argentina; LA music, Spanish announcements, ID at toth "En el ... argentino, en la ciudad ...transmite El Guaviyú ... En la ... Radio Guaviyú, en la ... su compañia"; not quite so strong at 0000, when playing what I take to be chamamé music and songs right through the hour, then same ID as above at 0004; weak around 0100, no IDs heard; ID in Weak peak at 0203; ID at 0302 on Fair peak; Fair peaks, ID at 0403; Weak peaks and ID at 0501; tnx to AB for the tip on this one. W/Fpks [starting at] 2256 10/7h 1610, Caribbean Beacon (presumed); English talk, first appearing at 0213; Fair peaks, occasionally on top of R Guaviyú at 0257, 0400; Fpk 0213 11/7. There may have been another Spanish speaking station mixing around 0300 and 0400, though this may simply have been Radio Guaviyú with Spanish talk over accordion music and songs. 73s (Martin A. Hall, Clashmore, Scotland, NRD-545, RPA-1 preamp, beverages: 513m at 240 degrees, terminated; 506m at 290 degrees, terminated. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clashmoreradio/index.html MWC via DXLD) Hoy a la mañana escuché con muy buena señal a Radio Guaviyú, de Gregorio de Laferrere, en los 1610 Khz (nueva frecuencia de onda corta [sic]). 73 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, July 15, condig list via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA [and non]. Re 6-102: I agree with Johan that RAE has been using 15345 for a very long time and should be able to 'stake a claim' to this frequency. BUT, take a look at the current HFCC registrations and you won't find Argentina or Morocco registered there. At least, not on the public site. The latest RTM [MOROCCO] sched on 19m that I have seen shows: 15340 (Nador) 0900-1500; 15335 1100-1500 (I assume Briech but not stated) and 15345 (Nador) 1500-2200. I get the impression that engineers don't seem to be SW listeners and so it may be that neither station knows of the other`s presence on 15345. Nador could easily re-tune but can the older unit at General Pacheco do so? D. Welle registers 15335 at 1400-1600 but I don't see it in their schedule so why not move Nador to 15335 at 1500-2200 and then we can hear both ARG and MRC clearly - and BSKSA via ARS using 15345 at 1600-1700 for Bengali would have a bit of peace and quiet too! But who am I to tell them something as simple as that? (Noel R. Green (NW England), July 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RAE transmitters are not tunable; they can broadcast exclusively on 6060, 11710 and 15345 (Roberto Scaglione http://www.bclnews.it ibid.) Not only you, Noel. Altho not everybody here, many of us got that right impression that engineers not necessarily are SW listeners and the ones who take decisions on this are not indeed SW listeners, unless station managers seat at table with the HFCC and discuss the problem. Do you think that those engineers at Radio Damascus, Radio Cairo, TIFC and TIRWR to name but a few, are aware of what's going on with their stations in charge? As simple as I can't find any reason --- don't go telling me you're not on the same train --- why a SW transmitter got to be functioning so bad with lots of carrier and poor audio, distortions and all that. For what we call in Tiquicia "consuelo de tontos" (a fool's relief), there was no het yesterday when I checked 15345 at 2300 and RAE was coming weak but audible. I use to detune to 15347, not relying much on that 2nd hand sync detection of the ICF 7600GR (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ASIA [non]. R Free Asia`s Technical Operations Division is proud to announce the release of the company`s eleventh QSL-card in honour to the Father of Radio, Guglielmo Marconi. This card is scheduled for distribution from July 1 to August 31, 2006. Please look at DSWCI website for more details http://dswci.org/news/0607/rfe_qsl.pdf RFA schedule on RFA website (Andrew Janitschek, DC, Jul 11, DSWCI DX Window July 12 via DXLD) ** BAHAMAS. Add Bahamas to the intense skip. I never thought I'd get Bahamas. It's in the 600-700 mile range. 102.9, 96.1, 104.5 97.5 and 101.9 are in. 101.9 is fighting with the RTC station; 94.9 isn`t getting over WKSJ Mobile, AL -- yet (Randolph Zerr, KW4RZ, grid EM60qk, 1643 UT July 16, Fort Walton Beach, Florida "The Emerald Coast" - between Pensacola & Panama City --- FM DX - Denon TU-1500RD with 150/110kHz IF filter mod and Onkyo T-450RDS with 150kHz mod 8 element log periodic antenna 15ft http://www.geocities.com/kw4rz WTFDA via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4796.47, R Mallku, Uyuni, 2212-0032*, Jun 30 and Jul 07, Aymara, Indian songs, talk, closing ann mixed with instrumental music, then closing with Bolivian guitar music to 0031:45 end of program - carrier stayed on for at least 3 minutes afterwards; 35343. During early period adjacent QRM from China 4800 with a punching audio. (Churchill in Dxplorer via DX Tuner in Sweden, and Gonçalves, DSWCI DX Window July 12 via DXLD) Also heard 0945-1040 fade out, Jul 01 and 07, truly exotic flute solo, high pipe flutes and drums, uninterrupted for ten minutes, announcement: ``...60 metros de Bolivia... onda corta`` (Robert Wilkner, FL, ibid.) ** CANADA. 6070, CFRX Toronto ON; 1638-1655+, 10-July; Toronto At Noon call-in pgm; News-Talk 10-10 CFRB. SIO=353+, //1010 CFRB about same quality. CFRX seems weaker than usual for past month or so. (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** CANADA. Editorial:: CBC TELEVISION TUNED OUT OSSIE MICHELIN The Labradorian http://www.thelabradorian.ca/index.cfm?iid=1563&sid=11493 It was once the role of CBC television to be the voice of Canadians, but after years of in-house fighting, budget cuts and an expanding reliance of advertising, it has turned that voice into a whisper, drowned out by the yelling coming from down south. CBC Radio has done an excellent job over the years of keeping up with advancing technologies, representing local interests and offering entertaining Canadian culture at home and abroad. Its airwaves are on par with the best of public radio around the world. CBC television, however, has not been so fortunate, and fighting with the more sophisticated mediums of media, the radio cannot carry the burden of our shared identity alone. If television is the most widely consumed form of media on earth, then why isn't this adequately represented in our public broadcaster? Over the last decade, CBC radio has managed to make great improvements with innovative programs and specials like Canada Reads, the National Playlist and the Vinyl Cafe as well as tried and true classics like Definitely Not the Opera and the now defunct Roundup (RIP sad goat, you are widely missed). CBC radio is not perfect, but it is definitely on the right track. The potential for CBC television is great. It just has a lot further to go than its radio counterpart. The talent pool in Canada is huge; we have more comedians and rock bands than we know what to do with. Many American programs are even filmed in Canada because it is cheaper and we have top quality production companies. Vancouver is commonly known as Hollywood North and has the greatest number of films and TV shows being produced in North America after New York and LA. The most important thing the network needs to do is eliminate advertising, which cannot be done until the federal government agrees to fill the gap of advertising revenue. The CBC is the only public broadcaster on earth that relies on public funds and advertising income. Robert Robinovitch, CBC president and CEO, stated in a 2005 interview with the Toronto Star that, "CBC [television] is funded, from a public-broadcasting point of view, in the worst possible ways." This is because the broadcaster is not only confined to the whims of dwindling government funding, it also at the mercy and the scrutiny of advertisers. Over the past two decades the CBC has faced the growing need for a stronger Canadian voice with repeated budget cuts from Ottawa. The broadcaster was expected to do more with less - less money, less [sic] employees, less regional focus but gain a larger audience. The result of course, for the latter part, was also less. CBC television has abandoned its regional focus unlike its radio, which has a strong base of regional programming. The television station cut its Labrador News in the late 1980s along with dozens of other local news programs across the country, leaving CBC Radio to pick up local representation, which it did quite well. Consistency is another obstacle facing CBC television. Program lineups are constantly shifting; viewers don't know what they are going to get when they turn on the TV. The Monday Report with Rick Mercer was moved to Tuesdays and renamed the Mercer Report, the Street Cents' timeslot has been passed around for years, and along with its fellow Halifax based This Hour Has 22 Minutes. They even moved the syndicated 5 o'clock staple, The Simpsons to 4:30, replacing it with Fraser. In a recent controversial decision, the CBC is now going to bump their flagship news show, the National, from 10:00 to 11:00 to make room for an American reality TV program. CBC Radio has stuck with a more stable schedule and it has paid off. Audiences know when to turn on the radio to listen to their favourite shows. CBC Radio has also progressed with developing technologies now offering online archives, downloadable radio podcasts, Internet and satellite radio. CBC Radio 3, which is only available online, in podcast form, via satellite and during a couple of hours each week on CBC Radio 2, is gaining international recognition for its promotion of Canadian musicians. CBC television needs to take a lesson from the radio. It needs to maintain a solid schedule starting with the core Canadian programs that is does right, such as The Nature of Things, The Fifth Estate, Land and Sea, Hockey Night in Canada, national and international news, and top notch children's programming like Mr. Dressup. Ottawa needs to increase funding to CBC television so that it will not be reliant on advertising like its radio cousin and be free to nurture its fading voice so that it may once again shout out at the highest of standards and be a facilitation of Canadian pride and culture. Canada needs the CBC television. We need it to share our common experiences with each other. We need it to show the world what Canada in the 21st century is like. We need to be heard. OSSIE MICHELIN, Summer Reporter, The Labradorian (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CANADA. CTV to buy CityTV --- The owner of CTV has made a bid to buy all of the CityTV stations in Canada (CITY-57 Toronto, CKAL-2 Lethbridge, CKEM-4 Red Deer, CKAL-5 Calgary, CKVU-5 Courtenay, etc), and sell the A Channel stations (CKVR-3 Barrie, CHRO-5 Pembroke, CHMI- 6 Dauphin, etc) This would be yet another major reorganization of TV networks in Canada. . . http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060712/bellglobemedia_chum_060712/20060712?hub=TopStories DX Web Site: http://home.cogeco.ca/~dxinfo/ Tropo Forecast Maps: http://home.cogeco.ca/~dxinfo/tropo.html (Wm. R. Hepburn, July 12, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CANADA. An application has been submitted to the CRTC for a new X- band AM station in Brampton ON (1650 kW, 1kW ND - U): http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Hearings/2006/n2006-7.htm#22 I believe that most of the programming will be in various East Indian languages. 22. Brampton, Ontario Application No. 2005-1584-3 Application by S.S. TV Inc. for a licence to operate an English- language AM commercial (ethnic) radio programming undertaking in Brampton. The new station would operate on frequency 1,650 kHz (class C) with a transmitter power of 1,000 watts day-time and night-time. By condition of licence, the applicant proposes to direct ethnic programming to a minimum of 7 cultural groups in a minimum of 5 different languages per broadcast week. 73, (Deane McIntyre VE6BPO, July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Several Canadian AM stations have applied to the CRTC to move to FM: CFAB-1450 Windsor NS applies to move to FM (92.9 MHZ, 47kW): http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Hearings/2006/n2006-7.htm#12 CJRC-1150 Gatineau Quebec applies to move to FM (104.7 MHz,11 kW): http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Hearings/2006/n2006-7.htm#18 Application for CKRS-590 Saguenay Quebec to move to FM (98.3 MHz, 51 kW): (note that the city of license for this station is Jonquiere in the Industry Canada Database) http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Hearings/2006/n2006-7.htm#19 Application for CHLT-630 Sherbrooke Quebec to move to FM (102.1 MHz, 5.8 kW): http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Hearings/2006/n2006-7.htm#20 Application for CHLN-550 Trois-Rivières Quebec to move to FM (109.9 MHz, 60 kW): http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Hearings/2006/n2006-7.htm#21 73, (Deane McIntyre VE6BPO, July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. Chinese uitzendingen op 18160 en 14260 of 14180 of 14310 Hoi, 02 juli jl. hoorde ik om 1227 op 18160 (en later //14310 om 1419) chinees gebrabbel in AM in de amateurbanden. Een week later waren zij er ook en deze week dacht ik eraan eens te zoeken op internet. Het blijkt een bekend issue te zijn, zie ondermeer: - http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/?p=5517 - http://www2.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/07/05/102/?nc=1 De VERON heeft als motto: "Intruder gehoord? Rapporteren". Nu ben ik geen lid meer van de VERON dus ik ben wat verstoken van info. Iemand aan boord die meer weet? De signalen zijn niet bijster hard maar wellicht is het een leuk moment om eens een QSL rapport te sturen. Hoewel ik niet wil dat ze hier nog lang zitten is het wel leuke gelegenheid eens een rapportje te sturen voor een broadcast station buiten de gebaande broadcast banden, voor de liefhebbers lijkt me zo. Ik hoorde iig in de id iets van Peking. Op 2 juli was het wk voetbal nog in volle gang en werden er blijkbaar wat uitslagen gegeven van wedstrijden compleet met achtergrondmuziek "we are the champions" HI. 73, (Robert Joosten, July 15, BDX via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. Now there is a different kind of noise on TIRWR DGS 9725 at 0547 July 16: a scratching which accompanies modulation peaks, not like the previous continuous crackling which grew unbearable on WWCR, which BTW was still clean on 5935 at same time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 750 Progreso pretty good here of late, wobbling intermittently, way above 730 Progreso, Isla de los Pinos - who cares what don Fido renamed it? - which previously was good. Our Fidel is always full of surprises. 690 Progreso a whisper, all but disappeared. Watching 790 and 950 R. Reloj. Poop sheet from one Arnie Coro announced new solid state 20 kW mitters but levels same here as always, both good. Stay in touch, roof beacons lit, listening through daily sparks. =Z.= (Paul Vincent Zecchino Manasparks Key, FL BT, July 12, IRCA via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 7270, Radio Cairo (with modulation that was quite nice -- it has been a dog's age since I've bothered to listen to them, and even with the heavy accent on the announcer, I could STILL understand the station! quite a pleasant surprise -- how long has this station had their audio fixed?) BRIEF English newscast; into Mid East pop music, military march sounding anthem & off. 0315-0325* 8/Jul SIO 444 (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) 11950, Radio Cairo; 2310-2335+, 9-July; The Holy Kor`an & Its Meaning; Pips, anthem and news at 2315; Ancient Egypt feature at 2334. Several IDs. All in English except Arabic vocals 2329-2334. SIO=553+ Much better modulation than the usual fare on 9990 (Harold Frodge, MI, ibid.) ** FINLAND. Muy buena QSL recibida por un colega local: FINLANDIA --- 11690, Scandinavian Weekend Radio (Virrat Finlandia) P. O. Box 99 FI 34801 Virrat Finlandia - QSL + Calco + Folleto Turist 123 dias (Hector Goyena, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina via Arnaldo Slaen, condig list via DXLD) A fantastic QSL, which should have resulted from a fantastic 100-watt DX catch; why was there no report of the catch in the first place? We would at least like to know the date and time. Don`t think I have seen any reports of this from SAm before, tho SWR could tell us more (gh, DXLD) ** FRANCE. Superloustic (Paris 999 MW and Marseille 675 MW) is no longer on the air. They stopped broadcastings on Jun 14. They want to broadcast in DRM Mode, so they have to cancel AM operations and they now ask new authorisations to be in DRM (Christian Ghibaudo, France, Jun 27, DSWCI DX Window July 12 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Radio Fritz --- I ran across a tape I'd made of Radio Fritz off shortwave in 2000 and wondered what had become of them. I knew this was Love Parade weekend in Germany and found the Fritz Web site. They seemed to be doing the same thing they'd done in 2000 -- blocks of techno music with various DJs planned all weekend. Every year I hope they might do another shortwave broadcast (Mike Cooper, GA, Jul 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. It has been confirmed by German DXers that the parasite signals on 1359 and 1503 kHz come from the Voice of Russia relay transmitter in Dresden-Wilsdruff (1431 kHz, 250 kW), Germany. On the A4 highway Leipzig-Dresden which runs very close to the transmitter site the strength of all three signals is equal. In more distant areas the parasite on 1503 kHz is weaker than the one on 1359 kHz (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), MWC via DXLD) ** GREECE. Once again this UT Sunday, July 16 at 0200, VOG did not air Hellenes Around the World, but played music instead, on the webcast http://tvradio.ert.gr/radio/liveradio/voiceofGreece.asp --- which will anyway also have a direct audio link in the next revision of our Monitoring Reminders Calendar (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3291.13, Voice of Guyana, GBC, Sparendaam, 0735-0810 fade out, Jun 30 and Jul 03, BBC sports news in perfect synchronization with same programme heard on 535MW, GBN, St. George`s, Grenada. Obviously not parallel, in the true sense of the word. Enjoy radios with A/B VFOs (Robert Wilkner, FL, DSWCI DX Window July 12 via DXLD). Really? Then what does parallel mean? (gh) ** HONDURAS. 4819.2, HRVC La Voz Evangélica Tegucigalpa, Tegucigalpa, 1045, Jul 06, La Palabras [sic] de Dios programme, after an absence for about six days. Signs of transmitter problems on Jun 30 (Robert Wilkner, FL, DSWCI DX Window July 12 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 9680, RRI Jakarta, July 16 (Sun.), 0958-1018, Kevin and Caroline present KGRE program #5202, which is a repeat of July 12 (Wed.); ``KGRE Newsroom``, with Fiona commenting about TV in Indonesia; Rebecca from "Asia Calling" (a news program about Asia, in English), ask listeners to "call 0811178026" if they want it aired on their local radio station and gives website http://asiacalling.kbr68h.com/ Malaysian pop singer with ``Tak Tahu``. Enjoyable program (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Seemed to me I read a Ron Howard posting a couple of days ago, referring that he reported RRI that terrible het 9525. And that's what we got to do with SW stations, altho not expecting that all of them will reply. At least RRI had the decency to respond Ron's inquiry, they got note on that and AFAIK, I can tell 9525 was off the air when I checked this Sunday 16 at 1300 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also missing here around same time (gh, OK) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. WEBCASTING LIKELY TO BE HIT BY INCREASED ROYALTIES. --- State of Webcasting Industry As you may know, there is a threat to the webcasting industry today. This thread has been around for some time, but it's escalating with the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) arbitration currently in progress. The outcome of this arbitration will set the royalty rate and structure, and will indeed have far reaching implications for the future of the webcasting industry. We do not know what the outcome will be or when it will be announced; however, if a new, higher royalty is imposed, it could destroy the internet radio industry. Live365 is committed to the principles of Freedom of Expression, Fair Use and Fair Compensation to artists and copyright holders. We will keep you appraised of any developments as they unfold. Thanks for your continued support, Betty Ray and the Live365 Team (via Andy Cadier, UK, July 11, BDXC via DXLD) In an ironic kind of way, maybe this "threat" to webcasting is actually an "opportunity" for conventional radio? But it all seems rather illogical to me. Perhaps somebody ought to point out to CRB (perhaps another kind of Criminal Records Bureau :-) ) that RF signals have been penetrating international borders for years, theoretically breaching copyright. The only difference is, propagation is responsible rather than an ISP (MARK SAVAGE, BDXC Moderator, ibid.) Which is one of the reasons why digital tv & digital radio are being pushed so much ... it gives the broadcasters (and governments) greater abilities to limit who can watch/listen (Mark Hattam, ibid.) This is all American, isn't it? Live365 does not pay licence fees to PRS or PPL as far as I know (Paul Golder, ibid.) I'm not sure, but think you may be right, Paul. Apologies --- I probably would not have put this through had I known (Mark Savage, ibid.) The following from the PRS website suggests that fees will be the same wherever you either live or broadcast from. As internet entertainment grows and the big boys and their money move in, it is inevitable that any irregularities in collecting these fees would come under scrutiny. I am not entirely sure if Live 365 broadcasters pay their dues to the USA's copyright collection agency or have an option of obtaining a licence in the country where the programmes originate? 73 (Andy Cadier, ibid.) Broadcasting. MCPS and PRS issue blanket licences to cover the use of their members' musical works in the creation of television and radio programming and subsequent broadcasts. With reciprocal agreements in place with other copyright societies around the world, our licences open up a worldwide repertoire. Whatever type of service you are offering, there is a licence available to fit your requirements. The Alliance has a team of expert Broadcast Consultants who can assist you (via Andy Cadier, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Border Radio: The Great Big Jukebox in the Sky --- Between the 1930s through the 1960s [sic], mega-watt "border blaster" stations set up just across the Mexican border to evade U.S. broadcast regulations, and beamed programming across the United States and as far away as Europe. For the first time, American listeners heard race music, rhythm and blues, and a diverse span of music from hillbilly to gospel that carried the voices and sounds of Mexico and the Southwest to a vast audience. Best of Public Radio brings you: Border Radio: The Great Big Jukebox in the Sky: An hour-long music special on the story of Border Radio. Lots of good toe tapping music from hillbilly, western swing, Mexican conjunto and contemporary, rhythm and blues, and good ole rock and roll. This is webcast at 16-17 UT Sunday July 16 on KUT, http://www.kut.org and is a separate show from the one repeated last week, Border Blasters and Outlaw Broadcasters (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) First one Glenn lists is available for on-demand webcast here: http://www.prx.org/pieces/8821 Second one listed is here: http://www.prx.org/pieces/11083 You have to be a member of Public Radio Exchange to listen online; membership is free. Apparently there are no unique qualifications to join PRX as a "Peer Review" member, but individuals are encouraged to write reviews. For more details, visit http://help.prx.org/index.php/Membership#Listener_Membership to find out more about being a listener member. To fill out a membership application, visit http://www.prx.org/membership/ You'll recognize some content here. Radio Netherlands has 199 pieces available for listening. Many interesting, independently-produced public radio programs are posted here. Even though 723 pieces are classified as "International", only those from RNW are from a broadcaster we'd consider as an international broadcaster. Selections from the CBC's "Vinyl Cafe" and "Outfront" are also available here. Others are invited to look for other interesting finds (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) ** IRELAND. Re 6-102, Sligo European Radio, 9330, July 16: Has anyone ever heard this station? I've tried when they say they are on air but nothing has been heard so far. It is now 0710 UT on July 16 and there isn't a suggestion of any signal on 9330 or adjacent to it. I have a very strong but fluttering signal from Skelton on 9915 at 180deg (this beam passes more or less over my location) but maybe 9 MHz is not open to locations further west? (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Noel, No sign of life on or around 9330 in Wembley either. 9915 is quite weak here, but there are some powerhouses on 9 MHz, including a God-botherer on 9800 from somewhere, and DW radio on 9545, with a much weaker signal from that service on 9480. So, nothing which can be identified as coming from the west, although transmitter locations in the quoted examples are not known to me (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, United Kingdom, ibid.) ** ISLE OF MAN. Long wave radio 279 kHz --- I contacted the Manx Examiner newspaper to ascertain whether they were aware that the Long Wave Radio web site for the station had closed down. They too had noted that the web site was not active and contacted the station organisers. They were told that a new web site was due to be activated and that the station still hoped to commence broadcasts on 279 kHz Long wave "later in the month" They had every intention of closing the current web sites (John Williams, July 9, MWC via DXLD) ** ISRAEL [and non]. I have confirmed that both of the WRN broadcasts (7:30 PM, 1 AM ET / 2330, 0500 UT) are the 1900-1925 UT transmission from Reshet Hei (Israel Radio International). Sirius direct satellite radio and WRMI shortwave, amongst other sources, use the WRN feed (Doni Rosenzweig, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Kol Israel, 9400 actually put in a pretty usable signal here during their English broadcast at 1900-1925. 11590 was unusable. Yesterday, 11590 was very marginal and 9400 was useless (Steve Lare, Holland, Michigan USA, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. TV Channel 33 will broadcast the Home Front Command instructions every hour on the hour." From ynetnews.com http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3276916,00.html "Haifa: Quiet radio station broadcast on 92.7 FM Haifa municipality announced that it will activate a quiet radio station starting at 10 PM until 6 AM on 92.7 FM. The station will remain silent all night long and will come online in an emergency and broadcast instructions to the public. (Ahiya Raved)" From the Jerusalem Post: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150886008650&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull (via Doni Rosenzweig, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KASHMIR. CLANDESTINES ---- 5109.9, Jammu Kashmir, 1400, Jun 18, strong but with hum, 333 (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, DSWCI DX Window July 12 via DXLD) Rarely reported! (DSWCI Ed) ** KOREA NORTH. SUMMER SCHEDULE FOR VOICE OF KOREA, P`YONGYANG: 0700 Japanese 3250 9650 11865 0700 Korean 7140 9345 0700 Russian 9975 11735 13760 15245 0800 Chinese 7140 9345 0800 Japanese 3250 9650 11865 0800 Russian 9975 11735 13760 15245 0900 Japanese 3250 6070 9650 11865 0900 Korean 7140 9345 9975 11735 13760 15245 1000 English 11710 11735 13650 15180 1000 Japanese 3250 6070 9650 11865 1000 Korean 7140 9345 1100 Chinese 7140 9345 1100 French 11710 11735 13650 15180 1100 Japanese 3250 6070 9650 11865 1200 Japanese 3250 6070 9650 11865 1200 Korean 7140 9345 11710 11735 13650 15180 1300 Chinese 11735 13650 1300 English 9335 11710 13760 15245 1300 Korean 9325 12015 1400 French 9335 11710 13760 15245 1400 Korean 11735 13650 1400 Russian 9325 12015 1500 Arabic 9990 11545 1500 English 9335 11710 13760 15245 1500 Russian 9325 12015 1600 English 9990 11545 1600 French 9335 11710 13760 15245 1600 German 9325 12015 1700 Arabic 9990 11545 1700 Korean 9335 11710 13760 15245 1700 Russian 9325 12015 1800 English 13760 15245 1800 French 7100 9975 11535 11910 1800 German 9325 12015 1900 English 7100 9975 11535 11910 1900 German 9325 12015 1900 Spanish 13760 15245 2000 French 13760 15245 2000 Korean 7100 9325 9975 11535 11910 12015 2100 Chinese 7180 9345 9975 11535 2100 English 13760 15245 2100 Japanese 3250 9650 11865 2200 Chinese 7180 9345 9975 11535 2200 Japanese 3250 9650 11865 2200 Spanish 13760 15245 2300 Japanese 3250 9650 11865 2300 Korean 7180 9345 9975 11535 13760 15245 0000 Chinese 13650 15100 0000 Korean 7140 9345 9730 0000 Spanish 11735 13760 15180 0100 English 7140 9345 9730 11735 13760 15180 0100 French 13650 15100 0200 Chinese 7140 9345 9730 0200 English 13650 15100 0200 Spanish 11735 13760 15180 0300 Chinese 13650 15100 0300 English 7140 9345 9730 0300 French 11735 13760 15180 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 11 via DXLD) Any changes since last one? ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Halfway into this week`s Meet the Press on NBC, Newt Gingrich said he thought ``we`` broadcast only 90 minutes a week into North Korea. Where does he get such info? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. SUMMER SCHEDULE FOR KBS WORLD RADIO Arabic 1900-2000 15365 2000-2100 7150 Chinese 1130-1230 6065 9770 1300-1400 1170 5975 6135 7275 2000-2100 5975 2300-2400 5975 7275 9805 English 0200-0300 9560 11810 15575 0800-0900 9570 9640 1200-1300 9650 1300-1400 9570 9770 1600-1700 5975 1900-2000 5975 7275 2100-2130 3955 French 0800-0900 15210 1600-1700 7150 1800-1900 15575 1900-2000 6145 German 0700-0800 15210 2000-2100 3955 Indonesian 1200-1300 9570 1400-1500 9570 2200-2300 9805 0000-0100 9805 Japanese 0000-0100 11810 0800-0900 5975 7275 1100-1200 7275 1200-1300 1170 5975 6135 1400-1500 5975 7275 Korean 0100-0200 15575 0300-0400 11810 0700-0800 9535 0900-1000 15210 0900-1100 9570 9640 1000-1100 1170 1200-1300 7275 1400-1500 9650 1600-1800 7275 15575 1700-1900 5975 7150 7275 9515 2100-2300 5975 Russian 1100-1200 1170 5975 6135 1600-1700 9515 1800-1900 15360 1900-2000 7150 9515 2000-2100 7275 Spanish 0100-0200 11810 0600-0630 6045 0700-0800 13670 1000-1100 9580 1100-1200 11795 2000-2100 9515 Vietnamese 1500-1530 9640 1230-1300 9770 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 11 via DXLD) Any changes since last one? ** LIBYA [and non]. LIBIA vía FRANCIA 10 Julio -- Comienzan las emisiones de La Voz de África a las 1200, la emisión musical en 17665 y las emisiones en paralelo por 17660 y 17670, a Sawt Al-amal con débil señal por 17635. 11 Julio --- A las 1158 se escuchan las emisiones de La Voz de África en 17660 y 17670 con el final de retransmisión; tras tonos horarios y sintonía inician otra transmisión a las 1200. También inicia la transmisión musical en 17665; por otra parte las transmisiones en Swahili de 17610 y 17725 están en portadora y no inician transmisión hasta las 1202. A las 1212 cesa emisión en 17660 y pasa a 17685; se identifica y retransmite largos segmentos musicales. A las 1303 cesa emisión en 17670 y pasa a portadora en 17690 que inicia emisión a las 1304. 12 Julio --- A las 1158 se inicia la emisión de La Voz de África con el final de un boletín de noticias en inglés en 17660 y 17670. A las 1200 inicia emisión musical en 17665; por otra parte las emisiones en Swahili en 17610 y 17725 están en portadora hasta las 1202. A las 1204 cesa emisión en 17670 y pasa a 17630 colisionando a África Nº 1 de Gabón. A las 1304 cesa emisión en 17660; hasta las 1400 sólo emisión en 17630 y emisión musical en 17665. He podido chequear con el DX tuner; tienen disponible un receptor en Suecia y compruebo que con cuatro segundos de diferencia también se escucha las emisiones en 17630 y 17665, así cómo a Radio Solh en 17700 con buena señal. [JMR2`s July 13 and 14 reports already appeared in 6- 102 -- gh] (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOLDOVA. Radio Moldova International announces a competition for its listeners for the best knowledge about Moldova titled ``Discover the Republic of Moldova``. The competition will take place during July 1-August 27, 2006, when we mark 15 years since the declaration of independence of the Republic of Moldova. The competition has 15 stages. Twice a week, 3 questions of the competition will be announced in the Monday and Friday programmes which will be also available at our website at http://www.trm.md The first two questions will focus on general information about Moldova, while the third one will refer to stories, broadcast during the two stages. Please send your answers to the questions by email to moldova- international @ mail.md within a week time. Each answer will be scored from 0 to 3 points, depending on correctness and complexity. The participant who gained the biggest number of points will win the competition. The management of the Public Company Teleradio Moldova decided to award the winner of the competition a 3 day visit to Moldova, during the Wine Festival, held traditionally in October each year. The winners of the 2 and 3 place will get nice presents - craftsmanship works, CDs with moldovan music and souvenirs from Moldova. Do not miss the chance to visit Moldova! Participate in the competition ``Discover the Republic of Moldova`` http://www.trm.md/radio/conc_en.html (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** MOROCCO. Discussion of collision on 15345: see ARGENTINA in this issue and 6-102 ** NETHERLANDS. Re 6-102 under GERMANY: Kai Ludwig's description of the future situation regarding public TV in the Netherlands is correct as far as it goes, but he totally fails to mention two salient points: over 90% of Dutch households access TV via cable, not via terrestrial transmitters. There is also no licence fee for public broadcasting in the Netherlands - public broadcasters are funded from general taxation, so in that sense nobody can claim they paid x amount of euros for their public TV and radio services, as it has the same status as schools, hospitals and other services - the government decides the amounts. There is a relatively small number of Dutch viewers still watching the terrestrial analogue transmitters, mostly people living in remote farming areas. The cost per viewer of keeping these transmitters switched on is very high. It's only a political issue in the sense that parliament has to approve the switch-off before it can be enforced. The public broadcasters want the switch-off as soon as possible to save millions of euros a year. Kai is correct in saying that, as it stands, the people without access to cable will in theory have to pay extra to receive the public broadcasters. But I don't think we've heard the end of the story - I fully expect some solutions to be found. The fall of the previous government has delayed this, but soon after the general election in November I expect to see this issue back on the agenda (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It just slipped by my attention that the licence fee in the Netherlands has been abolished effective Jan 1 2000. Frankly, I just can't recognize a "total failure" on my side here when the very first Google hit leads to a page "The Dutch media landscape" on the website of a Maastricht-based journalism organization, still claiming that "the public system is financed by an annual licence fee payable by all owners of radio and/or television sets". Not so, as I found out now. For those interested in this topic: See this paper http://www.cvdm.nl/documents/april_2002.pdf and, last but not least, a comment from Andy on the consequences of licence fees being replaced by state subsidies: http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/sce050519.html (Kai Ludwig, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. KOSU ADDING TULSA-BASED FREQUENCY 107.3 FM Chase Carter Staff Writer http://www.ocolly.com/read_story.php?a_id=30223 OSU`s nationally-recognized public radio station KOSU is once again expanding its service with a new broadcast tower to serve the Tulsa metro area. 107.3 FM is the fourth new frequency KOSU has added since it began a five-point effort in January 2005 to broaden its services and reach for Oklahomans and surrounding states. ``If we left KOSU as it was, the station in the long run would fail, simply because there wasn`t a large enough audience size to support it,`` said Craig Beeby, director and general manager of KOSU. The station, now in its 51st year of operation, was the first to offer national public radio in the state, according to the KOSU Web site. It has received more than 250 awards for excellence and outstanding programming since its inception. The new Tulsa station will join the 91.7 FM station in Oklahoma City, 107.5 FM in northeast Oklahoma and 101.9 FM in Okmulgee. ``All of these efforts are to expand the resource to people`s accessibility throughout the state,`` Beeby said. In the near future, enhancements will be made to the existing service in north-central Oklahoma as well as the addition of high-definition service, a technological breakthrough that Beeby and the station are very excited about. ``That will be exciting for our listeners because it will open up new services that we¹ve been frustrated to get to them since we only had one option with one signal,`` Beeby said. No university funds were used to construct the facilities, Beeby said. Instead, tax-exempt bonds and funds from the nonprofit Public Radio Capital organization were implemented to expand the KOSU system. ``We`ve been very successful to this point,`` Beeby said. ``Our signal goes from Chickasha to Joplin, Missouri, and covers a four-state area.`` KOSU currently has the potential to reach 4 million people, a figure greater than the population of Oklahoma. It`s a growing number of listeners that Beeby hopes will benefit from the many services KOSU has to offer. ``KOSU provides a lifelong learning resource to Oklahomans,`` Beeby said. We are a resource and an institution that provides culture, entertainment, news and information, commercial-free.`` Cami Stinson, a public relations senior, has been working at the station for three years and considers it a great benefit for the university and Stillwater. ``I think KOSU is a hidden treasure on campus,`` Stinson said. ``The students that know about it and listen to it love it.`` Stinson said she believes many students think that classical music and news is all KOSU has to offer. ``There are a ton of programs on National Public Radio that KOSU airs that really cater to many interests,`` Stinson said. ``There are many students who would be interested if they just tuned in and listened for a day or so.`` Now, more than ever, students and citizens in Oklahoma have the opportunity to experience something great, something that Beeby said he`s been working toward for a long time. ``The station and I have grown up together,`` Beeby said, referring to his 29 years at the station. ``We`re here to make a difference in people`s lives`` (Daily O`Collegian, OSU Stillwater via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Re: 1430 KTBZ IBOC --- Hey, they may as well announce the other frequencies they're completely obliterating anyways --- not like you'll be able to hear anything on them. And you know how these big companies like to "sound big". That's why they love throwing in all kinds of city names in with their legal ID's. Now they can just announce 3 or 5 frequencies since they took them over with their hash anyway. MJR n WYO (Michael J Richard, ABDX via DXLD) They should triple the announcers' salaries, since they're now being heard on 3 frequencies - right MJR? 73, (Tim Hall, CA, July 10, ABDX via DXLD) LOL!!! Better yet --- and YOU WATCH, this WILL happen --- they'll want more money because their voices are being DIGITIZED! Isn't that what the RIAA complained about with stations streaming music? That it was against the "Digital Millennium Copyright Act" because you were digitizing music! Hey now, shouldn't companies like CCrane lower the price of their radios since they are built for receiving far away stations (DXing) and us DXers won't be able to receive nearly as many stations??? Here here! Vote MJR for Congress! :-P MJR n WYO (Richard, ibid.) Note below that the other OK station on 1430, KALV in Alva has had license cancelled; it had a null toward Tulsa & Enid, so I have not yet confirmed by monitoring it be really gone (Glenn Hauser, Enid) KAKC-1300 "Business Talk" now apparently running IBOC, junk heard this evening 11 JUL 06 around 1800 CDT on the car radio overwhelming 1290 and 1310. KAKC doesn't appear in the spring Arbitron ratings for Tulsa at all! Maybe IBOC will improve their ratings?? My other new IBOC "friend"- KTBZ-1430 - shows at 1.1 in the spring Arbitron rating (Bruce Winkelman, AA5CO, Tulsa, OK, Antennas unplugged with t-storms to the NW, IRCA via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Broadcast Actions 7/12/2006 PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 Twelfth Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20554 News media information 202 / 418-0500 Recorded listing of releases and texts 202 / 418-2222 REPORT NO. 46275 STATE FILE NUMBER E/P CALL LETTERS APPLICANT AND LOCATION N A T U R E O F A P P L I C A T I O N Actions of: 07/07/2006 AM STATION APPLICATIONS FOR LICENSE TO COVER LICENSE CANCELLED P 1430 KHZ OK, ALVA LICENSE TO COVER: License cancelled, and callsign deleted by letter dated 7-7-06 1800B3 JDB OK BL-19780901AD DKALV 43280 MM&K OF ALVA, INC. P 1600 KHZ OK, CUSHING LICENSE TO COVER: License cancelled, and callsign deleted by letter dated 7-7-06 1800B3 JDB CIMARRON VALLEY BROADCASTERS, INC. OK BL-4586 DKUSH 11201 AM STATION APPLICATIONS FOR RENEWAL LICENSE CANCELLED P 1240 KHZ OK, IDABEL RENEWAL OF LICENSE. GRANT WITH CONDITION: License cancelled, and callsign deleted by letter dated 7-7-06 1800B3 JDB OK BR-19970203V5 DKBEL 14759 HAROLD E. COCHRAN P 1560 KHZ OK, SALLISAW RENEWAL OF LICENSE: License cancelled, and callsign deleted by letter dated 7-7-06 1800B3 JDB TEDDY BEAR COMMUNICATIONS, INC. OK BR-19970421YB DKKUZ 26910 FM STATION APPLICATIONS FOR LICENSE TO COVER LICENSE CANCELLED P 95.5 MHZ OK, HUGO LICENSE TO COVER (BPH-880429IA) FOR CHANGES: License cancelled, and callsign deleted by letter dated 7-7-06 1800B3 JDB OK BLH-19890828KC DKITX 26159 K95.5, INC. P 96.7 MHZ OK, IDABEL LICENSE TO COVER (BPH-920723IE) FOR A NEW STATION: License cancelled, and callsign deleted by letter dated 7-7-06 1800B3 JDB DKBEL-FM HAROLD E. COCHRAN 14758 OK BLH-19950110KB E 104.7 MHZ OK, PONCA CITY License to cover: License cancelled, and callsign deleted by letter dated 7-7-06 1800B3 JDB MUR-THOM BROADCASTING, INC. OK BLH-20020830AEE DKIXR 47064 FM TRANSLATOR APPLICATIONS FOR LICENSE TO COVER LICENSE CANCELLED P 97.1 MHZ OK, OKLAHOMA CITY LICENSE TO COVER (BPFT-961211TA) FOR A NEW STATION: License cancelled, and callsign deleted by letter dated 7-7-06 1800B3 JDB MICHAEL A. BROOKS / DBA JIME'NEZ COMMUNICATIONS DK246AF 84743 OK BLFT-19971204TE P 97.5 MHZ OK, NEWCASTLE License to cover: License cancelled, and callsign deleted by letter dated 7-7-06 1800B3 JDB LATINO CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, INC. DK248AN 82708 OK BLFT-20000508AAX (via Ben Dawson, DXLD) These pdf documents are difficult to reformat for DXLD; the deleted callsigns have a D immediately preceding the K. Not sure what the P or E notation signifies (gh, DXLD) ** PACIFIC. PACIFIC RADIO AT THE CROSSROADS - RADIO DOCUMENTARY A message from the folks at the non-profit Radio Heritage Foundation about our latest radio documentary now available for download via Radio New Zealand International Pacific Radio at the Crossroads -- 'Just staying on air is a struggle' The latest radio heritage documentary from the Radio Heritage Foundation examines the current state of radio broadcasting in the Pacific region, and concludes that 'just staying on air' is a struggle. Issues facing radio stations across the region include natural disasters such as cyclones [hurricanes], volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis [tidal waves], human interference such as riots, coups, intimidation of staff and corruption, as well as resource problems such as skyrocketing oil prices, old equipment and the lack of trained technical staff. Hear vivid examples of these issues, and more! 'Solar powered panels don't last long in cyclones'! The Pacific Plan calls for a study into the current state of radio broadcasting in the islands. It wants to see internet technology, satellite services and other ICT options introduced to provide more services for targeted groups such as rural and women listeners. However, as the documentary explains, these answers by themselves may not be enough to rescue Pacific island radio broadcasting from a precarious future. 'Bureaucrats get involved'! Worse still, the listeners, the stations, program suppliers and others are being seemingly ignored by the deskbound bureaucrats behind the Pacific Plan. The already fragile nature of daily broadcasting by highly dedicated staff seems likely to be irreparably damaged - not enhanced - by the bureaucratic structures promised by the Pacific Plan. ZCO Tonga 'nose-flute' Interval Signal Heard Again The documentary includes rare station ID's, cyclone alert announcements and jingles from stations such as Radio Tonga, Sunshine Radio Niue and Radio Cook Islands. The program also features the original ZCO [Tonga] Call of the Friendly Islands station interval signal played on a traditional nose flute. Listen to this documentary today by visiting http://www.rnzi.com clicking on 'more audio' and then clicking on the July 9 Mailbox MP3 file. Available until July 23 when our new documentary 'Babyboomer Radio' with the original pirate Radio Hauraki airs. For everyone interested in broadcasting in the Pacific, this documentary from the Radio Heritage Foundation shows that even contemporary radio can sometimes be more endangered than radio from the past. Issued by: (Radio Heritage Foundation, Wellington, New Zealand http://www.radioheritage.net July 12 2006 DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Novedades de Cusco --- Estimados amigos de Sintonia DX, les escribo desde Radio la Hora, Cusco, Perú en mi condición de director de frecuencias, primero para informarles que está listo nuestro nuevo banderín de la estación y la nueva tarjeta QSL para los oyentes que nos envíen sus reportajes de sintonía en la frecuencia de 4855, banda de 60 m. Por otro lado, el Ministerio de Trasportes y Comunicación ha restituido el permiso a Radio Universal de Cusco para que opere en 6090 kHz y los está asicnedo [¿asignado?] con su nuevo trasmisor de un kilovatio y medio en el siguiente horario de 6 am a 9 am de lunes a sábado, bajo la dirección de Luis Villasante, director gerente. Estamos para servirlos a Uds. para interceder con las QSLes, puesta esta emisora es amiga de Radio La Hora. Cordiales 73, atentamente, Carlos Gamarra Moscoso, Av. Garcilaso 4ll, Distrito de Wanchaq, Cusco, PERU (via José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, July 13, condig list via DXLD) More detailed original version of the item in 6-102 (gh) ** RUSSIA. PUTIN'S SILENCING OF AIRWAVES By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | July 12, 2006 http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/07/12/putins_silencing_of_airwaves/ IN EARLY 1990 I visited Eastern Europe for the first time, traveling in Hungary, Romania, and what was then Czechoslovakia just a few months after the revolutions that had freed them from Communist dictatorship. One indelible lesson from that trip was the remarkable role that had been played by the US government's broadcast services -- Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty -- in providing a lifeline to people trapped behind the Iron Curtain. Several times in private homes I was shown the shortwave radio on which a family had for years picked up the American-produced programs that were their only reliable source for news and analysis, especially about events in their own country. Naturally the Communist thugs who ruled in Budapest, Bucharest, and Prague -- and the thugs in Moscow who ruled over them -- hated these American voices of freedom. ``One of the most fervent wishes of the KGB," Anatoly Kuznetsov, a Soviet author who defected to the West in 1969, remarked years ago, ``is to destroy Radio Liberty." Today, the KGB no longer exists. But at least one former KGB agent, Russian President Vladimir Putin, is apparently still pursuing the old vendetta. The Washington Post reported last week that, under pressure from Moscow, scores of radio stations have stopped airing the Russian- language news programs produced by Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. With hundreds of journalists across the country, and a combined network of more than 70 affiliates airing their stories and commentary, the US-sponsored broadcast services have been among the largest and most independent news organizations in Russia. ``In a country where the news media increasingly avoid controversial subjects," the Post noted, ``millions of Russians had made the broadcasts a listening staple." But over the past year, the number of stations carrying their broadcasts has collapsed, sinking from more than 70 to just nine. Beginning last September, regulators from the Ministry of Culture descended on the stations, warning them that they were likely to lose their broadcast licenses if they continued airing material from Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Nearly all of them capitulated. The few stations still carrying their shows are mostly in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where their influence is minimal. But in the far-flung regions beyond Russia's two biggest cities, where they were an essential source of information, they are no longer being heard. So it goes in Putin's Russia, where the stifling of independent media voices is now routine. Since coming to power in 1999, Putin has seized control of the country's major TV channels, all of which are now under the thumb of the government or its allies. Local media outlets rarely challenge local governors, most of whom are Kremlin loyalists -- especially since Putin abolished the popular election of regional officials two years ago. A bill now before the Russian Parliament would broaden the crime of ``extremism" to include media criticism of public officials. If convicted, journalists could be imprisoned for three years and their publications closed. Yet crimes already on the books are not always prosecuted zealously: Since Putin became president, 12 journalists have been murdered in contract-style killings, including American Paul Klebnikov, the 41-year-old editor of Forbes Russia. To date, no one has been brought to justice in any of the murders. The rollback of press freedoms is of a piece with Putin's deepening authoritarianism. Nearly all serious opposition to Putin has been broken or marginalized. Prominent businessmen unwise enough to oppose him have been prosecuted and imprisoned, or forced to flee the country. Neighboring countries have been outrageously bullied. Putin has even gone out of his way to defend Soviet-era crimes like the occupation of the Baltic states in 1941. ``Just as in the old days," Garry Kasparov, the chess champion and Russian democracy activist, wrote in a New York Times column on Monday, ``Moscow has become an ally for troublemakers and anti- democratic rulers around the world. Nuclear aid to Iran, missile technology to North Korea, military aircraft to Sudan, Myanmar and Venezuela, and a budding friendship with Hamas: These are the West's rewards for keeping its mouth shut about human rights in Russia." The West ought to find its voice -- particularly the American president who keeps saying that the promotion of freedom is the cornerstone of his foreign policy. The G-8 summit in St. Petersburg this weekend is supposed to be a gathering of democratic allies, but Russia is no longer a democracy, and it doesn't act like an ally. Putin is counting on the West not to embarrass him by making a fuss about his creeping dictatorship. As a rule, guests are not supposed to scold their hosts. This is one time when that rule should be broken. (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Re: Perviy Kanal --- So it is now clear why they encrypted the domestic version: It's about rights issues, just as is the case with satellite transmissions of so many other public broadcasters here in Europe. Nothing about ITU etc. here. I recall how some people here believed that they picked up a transmitter from the USSR when they caught the Soviet TV -- but it was just one of the outlets in Czechoslovakia. Later Czech Television had to fall back on these transmitters when they lost one of their full-coverage networks to the commercial Nova TV in the early nineties. Re. Sofia: The WRTH for 1995 suggests that Ostankino-1 was on ch. 36 (2 kW) while TV-5 Europe went out on ch. 41 (200 watts). But of course this information is not necessarily reliable. And you're correct about the knowledge of Russian in the GDR, despite extensive teaching at school. Personally I'm happy about having at least some access to this language, sufficient to find out how outdated the Russian teaching on GDR schools in fact was, with no idea about real-world Russian. It is also most likely correct that Soviet TV would have been rather unattractive also beside the language aspect. How much western movies and other foreign stuff, if any, did they broadcast in the eighties? On GDR TV such material became rather common after a thorough but not announced reformatting in 1982/1983. This reformatting also meant "put aside the poor GDR reality, all the stuff about culture and so on, bring on the Hollywood movies". By the way, it is said that the technical quality of Soviet TV was rather good, almost on a par with the French outlets. GDR TV was probably the poorest SECAM outlet of the world, with one of the reasons being way too many conversions from SECAM to PAL and back. Other reasons included things like terrible 16 mm footage or worn-out pickup tubes in cameras. Finally a picture: Soviet KT-116 camera in use by GDR TV . . . http://www.ddr-fernsehen.de/3heitere_dramatik/img/6regen_traufe.htm After the wind-up of the former GDR TV in 1991 the youth program "Elf99" continued for some time via RTL. And so even RTL got to broadcast programming produced with Soviet studio equipment, specifically KT-132 cameras. I guess that nobody at RTL ever knew this. (One could tell from the pictures that they originated from Soviet cameras, but it were subtle characteristics, no quality issues.) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. LA SEPI Y LA DIRECCIÓN DE RTVE LLEGAN A UN ACUERDO CON TODOS LOS SINDICATOS SOBRE EL PLAN DE SANEAMIENTO Finalmente SEPI ha aceptado las últimas modificaciones. El documento de acuerdo ha sido firmado por los cuatro sindicatos con representación en RTVE (APLI, CCOO, UGT y USO) ACUERDO PARA LA CONSTITUCIÓN DE LA CORPORACIÓN RTVE. . . Para leer el documento completo pulsar en esta dirección: http://rtve.publica.tv/index.php?name=UpDownload&req=getit&lid=638 (José Bueno, Córdoba - España, July 12, playdx yg via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. UNKNOWNIWAN: 15690, Radio Taiwan International; 1658- 1706+, 10-July; LL [unknown language] music to English ID/news at 1700. SIO=253-, QRN/QSB. From Taiwan or just lousy sig from Okeechobee? Per web page, target is South Africa (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) France, as reported a few times here (gh, DXLD) ** U K. I wanted to listen to Charlie Gillett's World of Music on BBCWS Euro webcast, when it had been scheduled at 1532 UT Sunday, but instead got a political talk show. It seems per http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/programme_times/a_d.shtml CGWOM airings have been reduced to: Europe: Sat 0932 rpt 1332, Mon 0032 Americas: Sun 2332 rpt Mon 0332 Australasia: Fri 2332 rpt Sat 0532, 1032 East Asia: Sat 1932 rpt Sun 0732 South Asia: Sat 0932 rpt Sun 0532, 2232 East Africa: Sat 0832 rpt 1332, Sun 2132, 2332 West Africa: Sat 1032 rpt 2232, Mon 0232 Middle East: Sat 0732 rpt 1332 Anyhow, playlist and ondemand weekly at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/charlie_gillett.shtml# (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOA CENTRAL AFRICA SERVICE MARKS 10TH ANNIVERSARY PRESS RELEASE - Washington, D.C., July 13, 2006 - Voice of America's (VOA) Central Africa Service, created following the Rwanda genocide to provide news and information to the Great Lakes region of Africa, remains highly popular among listeners as it approaches its 10th anniversary. Created on July 15, 1996, the service broadcasts radio programs in the Kirundi and Kinyarwanda languages to Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In recent years, programming has included interviews with major public figures from the Great Lakes region, such as Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and Paul Rusesabagina who inspired the movie "Hotel Rwanda," a story about the 1994 Rwanda genocide in which some 800,000 people were killed. "We're very proud of the role of VOA's Central Africa Service in assisting the people of this region during such an important time in their history," said VOA Director David S. Jackson. The Service also gives a voice to ordinary listeners by airing in-depth features on HIV/AIDS patients, orphans, single mothers, medical professionals, NGO leaders and separated families. "The Service's health, conflict resolution and human rights segments have proven very valuable in a region trying to recover from years of civil conflict," said Service Chief Robert Daguillard. "But I'm convinced the crown jewel of our special anniversary broadcast on July 15th will be an interview with families that have been brought together thanks to our family reunification segments." VOA has also earned praise for Ejo Bite?, its popular program aimed at young refugees. The 30-minute weekly program, which translates as "How About the Future?," is financed by the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Started in February 2003, the program is reported and produced by young refugees in camps along the Burundi and Rwanda borders. The refugees, trained by professional journalists, produce reports on health, conflict resolution, life choices, HIV/AIDS awareness, education and social issues. VOA's Central Africa Service broadcasts seven hours each week at 0330-0430 UT to the Great Lakes region on shortwave, as well as on VOA's own FM frequency in Kigali, Rwanda. VOA also broadcasts on FM through Radio Publique Africaine in Bujumbura, Burundi and Radio Kwizera in Ngara, Tanzania. Visit our website at http://www.VOANews.com/centralafrica for more information. The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages. For more information, call the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail publicaffairs@voa.gov (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) WTFK??!! Geez, missing a golden opportunity to include WHEN and WHERE actually to listen to said broadcasts! But no! Too many horrible NUMBERS would be required. OK, they did include a weblink, but still (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Frequency changes of Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Voice of America 1100-1300 RL Russian NF 11700* ex 11705 >>> *co-ch R. Bulgaria Fr/En/Bulgarian 1600-1700 RL Uzbek NF 12150, ex 11875 KWT, to avoid CRI Russian 2230-2330 RFA Khmer NF 7520, ex 9490 1400-1500 RFA Vietnamese NF 9310, ex 11680 2330-0030 RFA Vietnamese NF 7525, ex 12110 1730-1800 VOA Azeri NF 7595, ex 7125 1130-1200 VOA Burmese on 11850 15215 17820 >>> cancelled 1430-1530 VOA Burmese on 9330 11910 12120, ex 1430-1500 on 5955 12015 12120 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 11 via DXLD) ** U S A. 12180, WWRB, Manchester TN; 1835-1903+, 11-July; Republic Broadcasting Net program Investigative Journal; ragging on our Satanic leaders and the news media for not reporting the Satanic origin of crime; it's all a plot by the Free Masons, Mormons and the Skull & Bones. (Hard to believe they didn't drag the Catholics into this conspiracy.) You can't buy a ticket to entertainment this good! ID at 1900 and program continued. SIO=453+, QRN (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. Re new SWBC station: I'd not paid attention until I saw it in latest Contact magazine from WDXC (U.K.). Did a quick search and found something: Smyrna Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla., applied to FCC for SW transmitting license recently. I now notice this long-standing item in Terry Kreuger's list: 93.5 MHz (LPR) Smyrna Baptist Church, Pensacola; per the Pensacola News Journal, April 27, 2004: this station was closed by the FCC for operating without a license (allegedly applied for an LPFM license]. Located on US 29, south of I-10, with a range "from Molino to north Pace and throughout much of Pensacola." Seems like this would ensure they won't be getting a SW license, even under the Bush administration (Mike Cooper, GA, Jul 15, DXLD) Really? I can think of at least one former pirate that got a SW license. Of course there are R&R about FM pirates not getting LPFM licenses, etc. (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. Voice of the M/S Katie Returns --- On Wednesday, July 12, 2006, at 5:00 PM eastern time (2100 UT), The Voice of the M/S Katie will return to shortwave! Join us this afternoon for a special broadcast live from WBCQ's radio ship. This broadcast will be also be webcast live from http://69.93.242.138:8022/ (Larry Will, WBCQ the Planet, 1805 UT July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) However, when I called WBCQ that afternoon to be sure WOR was ready to go at 2200, Allan answered the phone; apparently the Katie broadcast was not live, but recorded previously (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Frequency change for WYFR Family Radio in English from July 2: 1900-2000 NF 7370 MDC 250 kW / 320 deg, ex 7395 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 11 via DXLD) Madagascar ** U S A. There is no info currently at the NY Philharmonic This Week webpage, as linked on MONITORING REMINDERS CALENDAR, http://nyphil.org/attend/broadcasts/index.cfm?page=broadcastsByMonth which means nothing on demand, but if you listen to one of the numerous broadcasts on the schedule, such as we did to KOHM, UT Sun July 16 at 0100, you will find that they are filling the summer with selexions from the extensive NYP discography, as the Orchestra is not performing in NY. One place they go for a few weeks each summer is Vail, where I would dearly love to be too, amongst other high- elevation summer music festival sites (Glenn Hauser, sweltering OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. TEXAS PUBLIC RADIO CHIEF TO SOON BID LISTENERS FAREWELL By Mike W. Thomas San Antonio Business Journal Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET July 9, 2006 Joe Gwathmey will wrap up a 36-year career in public radio later this year when a nationwide search for his replacement as president and general manager of Texas Public Radio is completed. Gwathmey came to San Antonio 18 years ago to help establish a unique dual-station format for public radio in the Central and South Texas area. In 1988, San Antonio became one of just a handful of cities in the nation to have two public radio stations when the Federal Communications Commission granted a dual license to the group that was then operating KPAC 88.3 FM. . . http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13796113/ (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Some daytime groundwave loggings from a few days in the Chicagoland area last week: TIS/HAR --- 800, WTTJ283, IL, Chicago - 7/9 1608 UT - just out of range of WBBM- 780 IBOC crud with ID as "the city of Chicago Department of Aviation would like to welcome you to Midway International Airport. You are tuned to Midway Airport information radio WTTJ 283". More than enough IBOC slop to go around: WSCR-670, WBBM-780, WGRB-1390, WRLL-1690, just to mention a few! ((Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, Grundig YB-400PE, midday DX from Grant Park on Chicago waterfront, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. TIS/HAR/EAR --- 1630, Midland MI, Dow Chemical Co.; 11:50 AM ... 1:10 PM [EDT], 11-July; Moved from 1610. 1630 sig noticeably cleaner than it was on 1610. Same loop as hrd last week, including IDs as AM 16-10 Dow Radio (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. LOCAL RADIO GIVES LIBERAL TALK THE BUSINESS --- AIR ATLANTA SIGNS OFF --- By Alyssa Abkowitz Published 07.12.2006 Air America has signed off in Atlanta, with few immediate prospects for finding a new home. J.W. Broadcasting, which purchased the Atlanta affiliate that broadcast Air America, has launched a business talk format on WCFO-AM 1160. "After doing some research, I realized [Atlanta] was the only top 10 radio market without a business talk station," says Jeff Davis, vice president/general manager for J.W. Broadcasting. "It was needed." The decision comes as a letdown for local liberal listeners and Air America execs. Until J.W. Broadcasting purchased its second area station in late January, the 1690 dial had served as the home of Air America, the only liberal AM talk radio in a market saturated by conservative talk show hosts such as Neal Boortz and Laura Ingraham... http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=96071 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. KKOB / 770 in Albuquerque has had a synchro in Santa Fe for many years. It only operates when the main site is on night pattern. When the Albuquerque site switches to directional coverage at night to protect New York, nearby Santa Fe is left in the null. The synchro uses a 230 watt transmitter, located near the center of Santa Fe, to provide coverage in that community. The call sign of the synchro is KKOB-AM1. According to CE Mike Langner, in 2003 I became the first person to ever QSL the synchro. I did this by parking near the synchro antenna as sunset approached and listening with a radio with no antenna so that I couldn't hear the Albuquerque transmitter. When the synchro came on I was close enough to receive it with no antenna. KQUE / 1230 in Houston is another AM station with a synchro site. The FCC lists it as "experimental" for some reason (Patrick Griffith, Westminster CO http://community.webtv.net/N0NNK/ http://community.webtv.net/AM-DXer/ IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. I have had tours of Citadel, CCC and KIVI the last 2 months. We have a HISTORY OF IDAHO BROADCASTING formed. See http://www.historyofidahobroadcasting.org/ (Frank Aden, N7SOK, July 12, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC FORFEITURE WATCH - RECENT PIRATE ACTIONS Notice of Unlicensed Operation, 87.9 MHz, to Prime Apartment Properties II, LLC, San Francisco, CA: http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-266233A1.html Notice of Unlicensed Operation, 87.9 MHz, to Pastor Néstor Morales, San Jose, CA: http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-266333A1.html Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, $10,000, to Adam Troy Venters for operation on 100.9 MHz in Okeechobee, FL http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-266328A1.html The last case (above) is particularly interesting because a detective from the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office was the field investigator, not the FCC. (CGC Communicator July 12 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** VATICAN. VATICAN RADIO RULES OUT ADVERTS Vatican City July 12 2006 Ansa.it The Vatican's large radio network has no intention of broadcasting adverts even though the media operation weighs heavily on Vatican accounts, officials said on Wednesday. Vatican Radio, which employs 200 journalists and transmits in five continents, does not have the right sort of audience to broadcast advertising, network chief Father Federico Lombardi said. . . http://ansa.it/main/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2006-07-12_1126346.html (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. East Coast MWDXers: 1180 [unk] [US East Coast or Cuba] The off-frequency station which is on 1180.07 (+/- 5 Hz) appears to be WFGN, Gaffney, South Carolina. DFs about the right direction and is within groundwave distance of Greenville, NORTH Carolina (where I am). 7/12 at 1400 EDT tune-in, WMYT Carolina Beach, North Carolina was off air, leaving 1180.07 and something very weak on 1180.000. Bert New, can you hear this station and can you get a rough frequency measurement on it? Please pass this to the NRC (Charles A. Taylor, NC IRCA via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Dear Glen[n], On Friday [July 14], around 2115z, when tuning to [Equatorial] Guinea on 5005, I noticed a weak station in the background with a program in English. At 2140, the station was gone. A new African station/relay? Nothing heard last night (Saturday). Any info? Receiver was AOR7030+ and ALA-100 Wellbrook loop antenna. Location south-east of France. Kind regards, (Pat [Vignoud] - French Alps, near Chambery (Savoie - 73) 'NDB List' Administrator 'REU' Co-Editor Visit REU : http://www.classaxe.com/dx/ndb/reu The most current NDB Database on the Web Last update : 15-Jul-2006 19:00 UTC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Pat, No ideas here, other than it could be a mixing product or receiver image. If you hear it again you might look for parallels on 6 MHz band. 73, (Glenn to Pat, via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ For the continuation of the good information on the World of Radio website (David Gleason, ex-NRC, IRCA, NNRC, NZDXA, IRCA etc with a PayPal donation) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ DXER PHOTOS Hi, back from great trip to Cuba - but had no receiver with me. I have no DX news yet but thought I'd tell you that I have added old and not so old photos of well-known dx-ers to my website to those interested. And a few new links to clandestine stations, all mentioned on the initial page. 73's (Finn Krone, http://www.krone-web.dk and http://www.lollandfalster-links.dk HCDX via DXLD) FOUND ONLINE: UNINTENTIONALLY WACKY JAPANESE "DX" RECORDING http://10mam.jp/bcl.htm There are a bunch of common interval signal recordings taken off a record, but at the end (#23) is a special treat --- the guy does his vocal impressions of several of his favorite SWBC stations. Worth the trouble just to hear his rendering of the Radio Australia kookaburra. Enjoy! (Al Quaglieri, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: http://10mam.jp/bcl/bcl23.mp3 DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: see FRANCE IBOC: see also OKLAHOMA ++++++++++++++++++++ PERMANENT IBOC RULES NO LONGER ON TODAY'S FCC AGENDA Well, it would seem that those who felt a last-minute Ibiquity submission was meant to delay FCC action on permanent IBOC rules may have been right. The Commission has removed IBOC from the list of subjects to be considered in today's meeting: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-266383A1.pdf The .doc version, at least, is missing the FCC logo and appears to have been rather hastily prepared. That leads me to believe this removal was a VERY last-minute decision (Doug Smith, W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN, EM66 http://www.w9wi.com July 13, WTFDA via DXLD) Hardly any engineers I know like IBOC. Of all of the engineers I have spoken to in the past few years, I can only think or one or two that were for it. I think in both cases, both stations were PBS/Educational stations. They are getting a free ride for the most part. They buy the equipment with tax and donated money and then being non profit, they run IBOC for free. No fees to pay. But the general feeling is that IBOC on AM will be short-lived (Patrick Marion, Seaside OR, NRC-AM via DXLD) I have to say that the majority of AM engineering types that I have talked to lately seem to be supportive of IBOC. At least one local AM station (KPOF) has a promo vehicle equipped with an IBOC receiver that has been appearing at special events in the area for a couple years to demonstrate and promote HD technology. KPOF was the first Denver area AM digital authorization. I've heard the demo, switching between analog and digital, and the difference is amazing. There are presently 12 AM stations in the Denver market authorized for digital (Patrick Griffith, Westminster CO, IRCA via DXLD) I talk to a lot of engineers, too. The opinions I hear are not as unanimous as Patrick makes them out to be. There's certainly more enthusiasm for FM IBOC than for the AM system. It's no great exaggeration to say that at this point, FM IBOC has become an established reality in most large markets. I was in New York City a couple of weeks ago, and nearly every major FM signal there now has not only an HD1 channel but also an HD2 subchannel - and even one HD3. I will not be at all surprised to see the FCC take that side of the dial from experimental status to licensed status tomorrow. Even in smaller markets, FM HD's coming on fast. I spent the morning yesterday watching the 32-year-old antenna for WXXI-FM come down from our tower, to be replaced (if the rain ever stops) with a new interleaved antenna that will handle both analog and digital. Just a few days earlier, another new antenna went up on a nearby tower to do HD for two commercial stations in town. By the end of the year, most of the FMs here in market seventy-something will have HD. AM is another story. My experience so far is that the engineers who've actually gotten their hands on the system have been pretty positive about it. There is also a great deal of fear and loathing out there, much of it potentially justified. If you read the engineers' mailing lists, as I do, and as I know Patrick does, you know that for every group of five engineers, there are six opinions about IBOC right now. We can do all the speculating we want, but until more stations actually turn the system on fulltime, we won't know just how bad the impact will be. It may be as bad as we all fear, in which case the system probably won't succeed - or it may be that the industry as a whole is prepared to sacrifice distant listenership and tolerate a certain amount of increased interference in exchange for going digital. After living with HD Radio (on both AM and FM) for several months now, and having had the chance to listen in several markets (NYC, Boston, here in Rochester, Chicago, Milwaukee), I still have my doubts about the "improved" audio quality of AM HD. The current codec sounds much better than the first attempts that I heard up at WOR a few years ago, but it still has a thin, artificial quality to it that's not comfortable (at least to my ears) for extended listening. Having said all that, I simply do not know whether or not the system will succeed in the long term. I'd like to be able to be as sure as Patrick, who seems to post pretty often (here and elsewhere) predicting the impending failure of the system - but I'm also seeing a LOT of money being invested in replacing transmitters, studio- transmitter links and processing and in cleaning up antenna systems to pass HD. Those investments aren't just going to be tossed out overnight because we, as DXers, want them to be. There are other factors that are beyond the direct control of broadcasters, too, including the availability of receivers, which has been a thorn in the side of the system for several years now. One more thought to end this long-winded post: there's not a single "PBS" station going IBOC. PBS is public television. And as a part-time employee of my local public broadcaster, which operates both a television station that's a PBS member and several radio services that are members of NPR, I can tell you nobody's getting the "free ride" you allege. While there are several federal grant programs that provide some matching money toward the costs of digital upgrades for both public TV and radio, WXXI here in Rochester has spent far more money going digital than it's received in government funding. We've been fortunate to have some prominent local donors who have made large gifts toward that cost (including rebuilding studio facilities that were built in the mid-70s and were far out of date) - but most of the considerable cost of going digital is being borne by our individual members and underwriters. Call me biased, but I think we're doing some pretty serious public service with our digital signals. A portion of the bandwidth on WXXI- DT is being used for a new program (developed right here in Rochester, and being rolled out to other public stations around the country) to provide emergency datacasting to firefighters, police officers and other public safety personnel. Our engineers have deployed a data network that now links all the fire stations in Monroe County, using the DTV signal to carry that data. It's pretty cool stuff, if I do say so, and I can't imagine most commercial broadcasters freeing up the scarce resources to develop a system like this. Once WXXI-FM goes digital, later this fall, we'll be using the HD2 and HD3 channels to expand the reach of our other radio services. Our AM 1370 signal (which carries NPR news and talk, while 91.5 is all classical) suffers from a nighttime DA pattern that misses many fast- growing parts of the market. We have a lot of listeners who'd like to hear the programming after sunset and can't right now. We want to change that. The HD3 will be used to bring our "Reachout Radio" reading service to a much larger audience, with better audio than the current analog SCA can provide. I don't know whether or not they'll go HD on 1370 itself, if the programming can be provided more efficiently through the WXXI-FM digital bandwidth. We'll see down the road, I guess. (I should note here that I do not speak for WXXI, just for me.) It's entirely true that public radio has been in the forefront of engineering development for HD Radio, especially FM multicasting - but it's also true that the engineering work that's been done in the NPR realm has been shared (at no cost) with the commercial radio world. To the limited extent that I've been able to see any of it from the inside, as it were, I'm pretty impressed. s (Scott Fybush, Rochester, NY, July 12, NRC-AM via DXLD) This is what it looks like now. IBOC in hybrid mode, with the digital sidebands each set far enough away from center to allow the existing analog sidebands to survive. The plan is to eventually sunset analog, and then the digital sidebands will be pulled in next to the carrier. Then the On-Channel part of "IBOC" would become more meaningful. One fellow on the radio-tech list thinks this could all happen in 5 years. This would make every existing analog BC receiver useless. Many think this would take decades, if ever. I think AM IBOC will fail due to lack of public acceptance. It is not the answer to the problems of AM, which may well now be un-savable. I think that implicit in this plan is the idea that the number of AM's will be drastically reduced, as the small independent operators either can't afford the cost of upgrading, or have facilities that cannot be upgraded for technical reasons, even if cost was not an issue. Some may feel that this is desired by the big chain operators, who will get a bigger slice of the revenue pie, as the weaker competitors fall away for economic reasons and go dark. Whether this is a design goal of IBOC (endorsed by NAB who as we know, act in the interests of the big chain operators) or, is just an unintended side-effect, is left as an exercise for the reader. The concept that a governmental agency can now force legislation that will make many broadcasters' investment become worthless, should lead to some interesting legislation. But as we see in the Kelo case at SCOTUS (New London land grab), the courts now cannot be depended on for any meaningful relief for the small person in the US. It's all about the big guy now (Bob Foxworth, FL, sent at 1807 edt July 12, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) FCC & iBLOC; 11 2325Z JUL 06; PVZ HD's Nocturnal Jam Session is delayed. TeamBLOC filed a de minimus w/FCC. Why do those who would smear public spectrum with Strooblebury Jam now stall for time? Since when does a junkie forego a fix? TeamBLOC's admits it's weak. It refutes those who chide us for not earlier objecting. Don't believe the undersigned snark. Sniff the source. TeamBLIGHT stinks of fear. TeamBLOC hid HD from the public, denied obvious problems and cooked books in its favor. Time passed. Superior innovations arrived - and prevailed. TeamBLOC can't prove HD's alleged virtues. It will never fix its fatal flaw - interference. Strooby flees from this leaky colostomy bag of toxic RF waste. He admits the 'inevitable digital future' isn't. He admits amBLOC is infested with problems - as is a rat with lice. He implies the future is bright - for litigators representing stations ruined by HD jamming. TeamBLOC well knows skywave interference will finish this scam for good. Predators reveal their fears by what they do. What does TeamBLOC do? DX'ers are accomplished listeners. Surely we listened past TeamBLOC's noisy bluster and heard the underlying insecurity, fear and intrinsic dishonesty? TeamBLOC by its own actions admits it's on thin ice. And summer's barely begun. When one's opponent is down, it's polite to keep him that way. Our influence counts. Let's use it. Big Boys want HD? So what? Big Boys have big Achille's Heels. Truth hamstrings them. =Z.= Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manasota Key, FL BT "You've got to get these drug dealers down and kick them in the nuts." - Lt. Col. Jaime Ramírez Gómez, 1939 - 1986, Colombian National Police, legendary hero. [slightly later:] TeamBLOC's misuses Games Theory. Well known example: 'when carjacked, light the wicks, head for a cliff, give carjacker his last ride'. Why does TeamBLIGHT use twisted Games Theory? Because it dreads the same being used against it. Rather than protest night HD, why not write FCC and your reps - they are very sensitive during election years - and endorse fulltime full power HD? Go all the way! Give HD the passenger seat, slam the throttles, head for a cliff. Full time full power HD will without fail enrage the public and finish it once and for all. Predators do to others what they most fear experiencing. Ask, what does TeamBLOC do? Identify it. Do it to them. Safe, legal, summer fun for the whole family. =Z.= (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manasota Key, FL, BT, July 11, IRCA via DXLD) AM engineering types are anything but supportive of HD after hours when free to speak their minds. Check their chat boards. They increasingly express doubt and outright cynicism. Many speak of the trillion dollar 'tax' when all must buy new radios. Eastern Bloc nations jammed during the Cold War. HD Scammers jam. What does that tell us? iBLOCkers are stealing our airwaves and radios. Doesn't that concern you? This isn't a done deal. CartelBLOC's overblown claims and reactive attacks upon anyone who dares mention interference shows how dishonest, weak, feckless, craven, venal and vulnerable they are. They have no clothes. Like their jamming, TeamBLOC is all noisy bullshale. TeamBLOC's shrill false claims show us they are a house of cards in wait of a breeze. Engineers are under tremendous pressure to 'make HD work'. Isn't this upside down? HD is typical 'cross a camel with a porpoise and call it a tractor' 90's hippie-burnout thinking which flowed from Washington downhill like polar bear vomit from an iceberg. Engineers now must make the 'unworkable work' as they frustratedly state. Many admit that which is crooked cannot work much less be made straight. They are publicly supportive because to be otherwise is to be immediately unemployed. Ask yourself, where is this coercion coming from? Why? If HD is such a good product, why are engineers and listeners alike being coerced into acceptance? I won't nor will many others. HD Bund's message is 'go HD or hear nothing'. Fine. They can take their sleazy larcenous offal and eat it. Why buy a con artists' reinvented wheel? Because The Big Boys want even more money? Absurd. =Z.= (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manasota Key, FL BT July 13, IRCA via DXLD) One telling fact about all this. The new WiFi iPod from Apple and the competing product from Microsoft are anxiously awaited by consumers and the techie media. It's not even up to the ho-hum level of excitement for any HD Radio equipment. The iPods are so versatile, and the HD radio does one thing, and not even all that well when you look at it. Somebody said IBOC has this year to get it's act together. We're halfway through, and consumer acceptance is at a near dead stall. AM Stereo redux, anyone? I connected my JVC HDR-1 HD receiver to a good outside antenna. I can't get any of the powerhouse NYC HD signals, yet in analog they are perfectly listenable. Even semi-local WBZ is spotty to the point of being unlistenable consistently in HD. Big coverage sacrifices (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) Vern Geberth advocates we latch onto a case and use every legal method and advanced technology to bust it. Above all he exhorts us to follow our gut instinct. If we sense smoke then fire surely awaits discovery. Some surely consider me vitriolic. They may perceive a crankiness if not congenital, at least stemming from having been dropped as a baby. They are correct. They prove Geberth's wisdom re following hunches. But beyond iBLOC, you'll not hear me criticize much else. Why? Simple. Three broad secular issues interest me: 1. Liberty. 2. Preservation of wealth. 3. Freedom to travel. Relevance? iBLOC, as Estimado Healy among others note, is not only backward-incompatible, it's backward-destructive. iBLOC is The Big Boys denying you your choice. I reject HDAlliars and so has the public. N.B: Twelve plus years and still HD jams? That's no flaw, that's a scheme. Feckless Chamberpot of Cronies can prattle all it wishes, interference is still illegal. If not, then every Pirate Broadcaster take note: HD's license to spew RFlatulence all over the spectrum gives you an Affirmative Defense to the charge of causing illegal interference. There was a case years ago in which the government was held liable for defective safety broadcasts, death resulting. Sooner than later will come the day when iBLOC's insolent noise denies someone vital information, resulting in injury perhaps death. Martin well expressed it, in that photo of he and some morbidly obese NAB glutton - I'm being charitable - posing on a love seat, with respect to interference: "The public will come after you." Whatever next occurs, I'm sure we'll all have a lot of fun. Best as ever, =Z.= (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manasota Key, FL, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ HOLLYWOOD WANTS TO PLUG THE "ANALOG HOLE" The Big Picture --- The people who tried to take away your VCR are at it again. Hollywood has always dreamed of a "well-mannered marketplace" where the only technologies that you can buy are those that do not disrupt its business. Acting through legislators who dance to Hollywood's tune, the movie studios are racing to lock away the flexible, general-purpose technology that has given us a century of unparalleled prosperity and innovation. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) filed the "Content Protection Status Report" with the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, laying out its plan to remake the technology world to suit its own ends. The report calls for regulation of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), generic computing components found in scientific, medical and entertainment devices. Under its proposal, every ADC will be controlled by a "cop-chip" that will shut it down if it is asked to assist in converting copyrighted material -- your cellphone would refuse to transmit your voice if you wandered too close to the copyrighted music coming from your stereo. . . http://bpdg.blogs.eff.org/archives/000113.html (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) HOWARD STERN: FM TRANSMITTER "INTERFERENCE" [Re 6-102]: Good work, Aaron. A big part of the problem is that much of the population is not technically astute enough to have the slightest clue about what could be happening. OTOH, they are bombarded with continual warnings about spam, viruses, and the like plus other aberrant behavior that is amplified by the 24/7 media, so they've come to believe that anything out of the ordinary must be the result of nefarious actions. So, they call the local station (more likely the source of their satellite fed programming) to tell them what happened. They probably feel slightly foolish once they are told that nothing untoward was transmitted from the station so they begin their letter/calling campaign. And this from a group of people that tends to write/call at a higher percentage than the rest of us. I suppose the FCC could ban the sale of such devices except for a couple of problems. One, the antenna lead is nearly impossible to get to in a modern vehicle. Two, not many factory radios have a cassette player anymore. A maximum permissible radiation standard may need to be enforced on some of these devices. Even at that, we know how far a Part 15 signal can be heard. I expect the problem and the media attention to continue, especially since it concerns Howard Stern. It's always possible that this issue is the result of Sirius/Stern trying to stir up some publicity. Nawww! :-) 73, de (Nate Bargmann, -- Wireless | Amateur Radio Station N0NB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) SIRIUS MINI-TRANSMITTERS DRAW MORE FCC FIRE According to Radio World, automobile equipment maker Directed Electronics received a letter from the FCC stating that the Sirius ST2 and Sirius S50-C wireless devices are out of compliance with emission limits or the applicable operating frequency range. In an SEC filing, Directed Electronics said the Commission seeks information regarding the certification, manufacturing, importation, and other matters relating to these radios. Further information at: http://www.rwonline.com/dailynews/one.php?id=9314 (CGC Communicator July 12 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) PLAN WOULD PUT A WEATHER RADIO IN EVERY HOME By Curtis Krueger and Aaron Sharockman July 13, 2006 St. Petersburg Florida Just about everyone keeps a smoke alarm in the home, so why not a hurricane alarm? That was the gist of the conversation Wednesday with a business executive who met with city officials to discuss distributing free weather radios to every household in St. Petersburg. Bruce Thomas, a spokesman for the Midland Radio Corp., stressed the idea is purely in talking stages. Major details such as who would pay for the radios and distribute them have not been worked out. . . http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/13/Tampabay/Plan_would_put_a_weat.shtml (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) WORLD OF TELEPHONY ++++++++++++++++++ LISTENING TO RADIO ON THE TELEPHONE A friend of mine has a phone number to call where she can hear KDKA. She was wondering if there are other stations that can be heard on the telephone. Can anyone help? Thanks, (Tom Dimeo, NRC-AM via DXLD) If the number starts with 412-575 or 412-392, it's probably an internal number at KDKA, and your friend probably isn't supposed to be using it. These "IFB" numbers are usually set up by stations to allow remote broadcasts to dial in and hear station audio and (often) cues from the producer. It's generally a bad thing when you try to call in from a remote and find that the line is busy because someone else has called in and is tying it up. Before the coming of the Internet, many stations also had private "listen lines" meant for ad agencies and the corporate office to dial in and hear station audio. With the arrival of streaming audio, most of these numbers have fallen by the wayside. The good news is, with the arrival of the next generation of wireless phone service, you'll probably soon be able to use your wireless handset to get streaming audio from anywhere in the world, which is kind of like hearing radio on the phone, I guess... s (who knows the listen lines at WBZ, but isn't telling...) (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Besides ad agencies and the corporate office, "listen lines" are also used by programming consultants so the consultants can do whatever it is they do. (Don't turn this thread into a rant against consultants. They're just like DJ's, GM's and PD's. Some are good. Some are not.) (Blaine Thompson (not a programming consultant), NRC-AM moderator via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ REVIEW OF ACE-HF PROPAGATION MODELING SOFTWARE For those SWLers interested in the new ACE-HF version (version 2.05) that includes the HFCC database of International Shortwave Broadcaster transmitter information, and has specific SWLing features, I've reviewed it in PopComm over several issues. I've posted part of that review at the following page: http://hfradio.org/ace-hf/ace-hf-swl-review.html : Propagation Editor for CQ, CQ VHF, Popular Communications : : Creator; live propagation center http://prop.hfradio.org/ : : Associate Member of Propagation Studies Committee of RSGB : : 122.93W 47.67N / Brinnon, Washington USA CN87 CW/SSB/DIGI : : 10x56526, FISTS 7055, FISTS NW 57, Lighthouse Society 144 : : Technical Writer for http://entirenet.net (Microsoft KB) : 73 de (Tomas, NW7US, Hood ( http://ic-discipleship-ministries.org/ ) swl at qth.net via DXLD) ###