DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-119, August 8, 2006 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2006 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRING OF WORLD OF RADIO 1324: Wed 0930 WWCR1 9985 FIRST SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1325: Wed 2200 WBCQ 7415 Wed 2300 WBCQ 18910-CLSB Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 [WRMI schedule still in flux; see U S A] 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 DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS August 8: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html ** AFGHANISTAN. AIR 2005-2006 Annual Report (see INDIA), page 72, says the 100 kW SW project here is in the final stages of completion, on pdf page 33 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. Hi Glenn: Mrs. Drita Cico, Monitor of Radio Tirana operations, just informed us about the decision of the Technical director of Radio Tirana Mr. Arben Mehilli to change two Radio Tirana FS frequencies due to complaints from Portugal and in compliance with ITU regulations. Noel Green, myself and others have checked the proposed frequencies and found them free from interference. Changes from August 9th: 1800-1815 from 6225 to 5920 kHz in Serbian 1900-1930 from 6225 to 5920 kHz in Italian 2030-2200 from 6205 to 5910 kHz in Albanian Those who like Albanian music are recommended to check the last part of these transmissions (Ullmar Qvick, Sweden, Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I forgot to mention that as far as I could tell, both RT frequencies in English to NAm, 6115 and 7450, were missing again around 0245 UT Sunday August 6; it`s UT Monday when they take a day off (gh, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Re 6-118: RAE, 15345.41 at 1850 UT, Aug 7 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. LR3 La Nueve 50 (950 kHz) presentó su sitio en la web, http://www.la950.com desde donde se puede escuchar toda su programación online. La emisora capitalina lanzó también una importante campaña publicitaria con afiches en la vía pública en distintos barrios de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. La Nueve 50, emisora que dirige Jorge Héctor Santos, es la actual denominación de la ex Radio Belgrano. Las figuras más importantes que componen la grilla artística de La Nueve 50 son: Fabián Gianola, Anita Martínez, María Belén Aramburu, Moria Casán, Viviana Canosa, Franco Bagnato y Lionel Godoy. (28-07-06) (de http://www.amplitudmodulada.com.ar via Nicolás Eramo, Aug 8, condig list via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 4910.0, 2135-2150 fade out. 26-07, VL8T, ABC Tennant Creek, English news with interviews, 35233 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS with a 28 metre longwire antenna, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4835, VL8A, Alice Springs, Still on and quite reasonable with ABC news at 0931 2 August. Someone must have forgotten to change the frequency. Not on at 0956 recheck though (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Aug 7, HCDX via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 9785 at 2235-2330z Aug 6. Tuned in at 2235z to language lesson with English and another language. Male and female voices. Listened and dozed with no idea of who it was until 2300z when I heard the Radio Australia signature tune. Program ended at 2330z. HFCC A06 shows Indonesian from Darwin, 250 kW at 290 degrees. Another one I suspect to be long path. The short path (about 9300 miles) is fully in daylight. The long path is about 15700 miles, but about 13000 miles in the dark. More clues, I have two slopers, one at 315 degrees, the other at 45 degrees. Radio Australia is usually better on the 315 degree sloper. This signal was better on the sloper at 45. Also the transmit beam at 290 degrees is only about 45 degrees off the long path azimuth to Texas whereas the short path is off the back of the antenna with even less power to overcome the daylight absorption (Jerry Lenamon, Waco, Texas, Drake R8B with sloper, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. NACE RED DE RADIOEMISORAS PATRIA NUEVA (ABI).- El Presidente Evo Morales Ayma presentó hoy la red de radioemisoras comunitarias Patria Nueva, un sistema de comunicación que enlazará a 30 emisoras en distintos puntos del país. La fundación de medios de comunicación del Estado es parte de las transformaciones que vive el país por cuando estos medios tendrán una función educativa. La radioemisora estatal continuará con el denominativo de Radio Illimani en La Paz, pero para el resto del país la red asumirá el nombre de Patria Nueva. Según Morales, los medios estatales ya no estarán al servicio de algunas familias de la elite sino de todo el pueblo boliviano. El director nacional de Comunicación Social Gastón Núñez precisó que integrarán la red 30 emisoras distribuidas equilibradamente en todos los puntos geográficos del país. Las primeras cuatro emisoras están ubicadas en Orinoca (Oruro), Independencia (Cochabamba), Riberalta (Beni) y Sabaya (Oruro). "Próximamente inauguraremos emisoras en Tarabuco y Mojocoya (Chuquisaca) y posteriormente en Totora, Lauca Ñ (Cochabamba) hasta completar la red", informó Núñez. Ocho repetidoras de Radio Illimani serán parte de los instrumentos técnicos de la nueva red radiofónica Patria Nueva, que emite su señal en las frecuencias 94.1 MHz, FM en La Paz, El Alto, Achacachi y Laza (Sud Yungas) y en 94.3 Mhz, FM en Sucre, Cochabamba, Potosí, Tarija, Trinidad, Cobija, Montero y Yacuiba. También se puede acceder en 1020 KHz. AM y 6025 Khz, OC banda internacional de 49 metros. La red Radio Patria Nueva transmite sus emisiones en Internet en audio.comunica.gov.bo:9836/illimani Los oyentes podrán ingresar a la red Radio Patria Nueva a través de Winamp o Windows media, desde Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP. Fuente: http://www.bolpress.com/sociedad.php?Cod=2006080609 (Cortesía de Mauricio Aira) (via Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, Aug 8, condig list via DXLD) Another story said Morales is having his birthplace declared a national monument. Another megalomaniac (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. Recibida confirmación QSL vía e-mail Radio de Pio XII 5952.5, Radio Pio XII, Siglo XX, recibida confirmación, vía e-mail a un informe de recepción, enviado por e-mail y por carta (con 1 US $) de una de sus transmisiones del día 5 de Julio de 2006, entre las 2228 y 2257 UT. La escueta confirmación es un "reply" a mi informe enviado por e-mail el 28 de Julio y dice lo siguiente: Subject: Re: Informe recepción Radio Pio XII ``Señor Mendez evidentemente usted escuchó radio Pío XII. Agradezco su informe. José Blanco" El informe se envió a la siguiente dirección: e-mail: rpiodoce @ entelnet.bo Dirección postal: Radio Pio XII, Casilla 434, Oruro, Bolivia Ante esta escueta confirmación, he enviado dos nuevos mails al Sr. José Blanco, primero uno, y luego al ver que no contestaba, otro, solicitando si me podía enviar una confirmación QSL por correo ordinario, teniendo en cuenta que yo también había enviado un informe por carta, junto a 1 US $ para ayuda del sello de retorno, pero no respondió. Guardó silencio absoluto (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. R. Guarujá, Florianópolis [nom. 5980] --- Aqui em Cochabamba, entrava con sinal forte, mas pessimo audio; apenas dava para entender que era em português e espalhava muito (Rogildo F. Aragão, Bolivia, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Caro Rogildo, O áudio está realmente saturado espalhando-se para frequências adjacentes ATRAPALHANDO A AUDIÇÃO DE OUTRAS EMISSORAS. Horrível. Cadê a Anatel????? Fazem o que bem entendem, ninguém da emissora checa o áudio, se está ou não bom --- Torre de Babel nas ondas curtas (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira -sp-, 7-8-2006, ibid.) ** CANADA. Radio Canada? [NOT] --- Recently a Center for Media Studies contributor was on vacation in Victoria, BC. While on vacation he visited the town of Saanich, an industrial and lower middle-class residential neighborhood adjacent to Victoria on the the island of Vancouver. While listening to 14275 kHz, our contributor tracked the on-air signal of someone identifying as "Radio Canada" using direction-finding equipment. Fortunately for us, he happened to have his camera and recorder along and he was able to take some excellent shots of the studios of "Radio Canada" while the station was in full operation. A 5 element monoband antenna http://host.picturewizard.com/2005%2D7/357648/madera/Radio_Canada1.jpg A very modest shack http://host.picturewizard.com/2005%2D7/357648/madera/Radio_Canada2.jpg The left coast http://host.picturewizard.com/2005%2D7/357648/madera/Radio_Canada5.jpg The attic shack http://host.picturewizard.com/2005%2D7/357648/madera/Radio_Canada6.jpg We had no idea "Radio Canada" was so down on its luck. The shack (literally) is in very poor condition, in dire need of paint and a new roof, and the construction standards of the tower and attachments look as though they were designed by a smoke detector salesman from Maine. In truth, the small and seedy studio operation looks more like a shotgun shack deep in the "hollers" of West Virginia than the home of a respected international broadcaster. When our contributor attempted to verify the address of the shack, he was not surprised to find that the address is not affiliated with Radio Canada at all, but rather, it is in fact the home of Karol F. Madera, the subject of this page. http://host.picturewizard.com/2005%2D7/357648/madera/ (via Brian Crow, K3VR, DXLD) ** CHINA. The China National Radio-CNR - Dear OM. CNR Service and Name CNR-1 China National Radio 1st Service "Voice of China" on MW/SW/FM. CNR-2 China National Radio 2nd Service "Voice of the Economy" on MW/SW/FM. English ID as "China Business Radio" CNR-3 China National Radio Music Service "Voice of the Music" on FM only. English ID as "Music Radio" CNR-4 China National Radio City Service "Voice of the City" on Beijing FM only. CNR-5 China National Radio 1st Taiwan Service "Voice of Zhonghua" on MW/SW. CNR-6 China NatiOnal Radio 2nd Taiwan Service "Voice of Shenzhou" on MW/SW. CNR-7 China National Radio Zhujiang Delta Area Service "Voice of Huaxia" on MW/FM. CNR-8 China National Radio Minorities Service "Minorities Radio" on MW/SW. CNR-9 China National Radio Literary Service "Voice of the Literary" on Beijing MW only. cf: http://www2.starcat.ne.jp/~ndxc/ CNR A06 Schedule. (NDXC-HQ controler: S. Hasegawa Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So Firedrake we may designate CNR-10. Or more appropriately, CNR-0! No sign of Firedrake around 1330 UT August 7 on the 14, 17 or 18 MHz bands. And it wasn`t even making it on 15285 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Solar-terrestrial indices for 06 August follow. Solar flux 70 and mid- latitude A-index 3. The mid-latitude K-index at 1200 UTC on 07 August was 6 (129 nT). The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 07 August was 4 (67 nT). Space weather for the past 24 hours has been moderate. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G2 level occurred. Space weather for the next 24 hours is expected to be moderate. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G2 level are expected (SEC via DXLD) Radio China on 14260 and // on 18160 kHz Hi folks, yes, there is no allocation for the BC-Service on 14... MHz. The Chinese BC seems to be a so called "Firedragon"-jammer with its typical program. Also, just now, in a break between 2100 and 2105 hrs local I have monitored the QRG 14260 kHz when the Firedragon was QRX. There was a small carrier exactly zero-beat, and the beam heading was for "direction N.Ea". So this could be the Clandestine Sound-of-Hope from TWN. However the station was very weak. Today, again, I have alerted the Chinese Embassy in Berlin by fax, email and phone and have protested against this "attack" on an exclusive Amateur Radio frequency. Also, again, I have contacted the German telecoms. authorities "Bundesnetzagentur" in Konstanz, Lake of Constance. They will again take bearings of the offender together with other telecoms. authorities abroad to get a perfect FIX of the tx-er site. Have you already informed your telecoms. authorities for an Official Complaint? If not: Do it at once, pse! Best regards, (Uli, DJ9KR, Vice-Coordinator of IARU-MS Region 1, and Coordinator of DARC-MS URL: http://www.iarums-r1.org Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We already know where they are transmitting from. We already know why. We already know best approach to resolution. Why you lot not listening? Bigger fish to fry out there - I suggest moving on as now just wheel spinning. BY will not stop this until BV acts. Why BV not acting? No point in saying since nobody here listening (VU/VR2BrettGraham, [India/Hong Kong], DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. CHINESE GO FURTHER, FASTER AND HIGHER WITH MEDIA CRACKDOWNS TWO YEARS BEFORE BEIJING OLYMPICS 7.08.2006 - Exactly two years before the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing, Reporters Without Borders calls on Olympic committees and journalists` organisations to put pressure on the Chinese authorities to improve the situation for the press in China. The organisation points out that a crackdown on journalists is being stepped up and fears it could also be applied to foreign journalists who come to cover the games. . . http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18483 (Reporters Without Borders, via DXLD) ** CHINA. WIKIPEDIA-STYLE ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA CLOSES UNDER GOVERNMENT PRESSURE --- http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18487 Reporters Without Borders voiced regret today that the editor of e- Wiki, a Chinese collaborative encyclopedia on the Wikipedia model, felt obliged to close down his website to avoid problems for his contributors. Local Internet sources say the decision was linked to articles on Taiwan and on James Lung, the head of the Hong Kong-based Southern Democratic Alliance. ``It is regrettable that government threats forced e-Wiki`s editor to censor himself,`` the press freedom organisation said. ``We understand that he felt in danger in the current context, as the authorities have significantly stepped up their control over online publications, and many sites have been closed down by force in recent weeks.`` Radio Free Asia reported on 4 August that e-Wiki stopped functioning at the end of July, a few weeks after posting an article about Lung describing him as a politician close to the Falun Gong spiritual movement and outspoken in his criticism of the Communist Party of China. Another recently-posted article referred to the Taiwanese authorities as the ``government of the Republic of China`` and said they were not ready to give up their sovereignty and autonomy as regards mainland China. Access to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that is written and edited by its own users, has been blocked in China since October 2005. To fill the gap, the Chinese web portal Baidu launched a censored version called Baidupedia in April (Reporters without Borders Aug 7 via DXLD) See original for linx ** CHINA. CRI INTERNET DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION CRI English Service now is holding an Internet Digital Photography Competition. The competition is divided into two categories, and two periods. Two categories: China's Natural Landscape & China's People and Culture. Two Period: Submission Period (August 1st-October 31st, 2006) & Voting Period (November 1st-November 30th, 2006). It's open to all photographers and all of the photos are asked to be digital copies. You are welcome to take part in it. Please Email your photo related with China's natural landscape or China's people or culture to us at photocontest @ crifm.com Moreover, you should log on to the website we give below to download the entry form. After filling in it, Email it to us with the photo. Thanks. More information about the competition please log at http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/travel/events/photography/index.htm Best wishes, Yours sincerely, YingLian [collective name], English Service, China Radio International http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/ (via Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India, dxldyg via DXLD) ** CONGO DR [non]. 11690, *0400-0415 via South Africa, 01-08. R Okapi, Kinshasa, via Meyerton French news and reports after opening with Congolese music 25332. 11890, 1605-1659* AFS, Sunday 30-07, R Okapi, Kinshasa, via Meyerton, all in French reports from election polls on day of first presidential and parliamentary election in 46 years! 1609 jingle about "Election", 1612 ID 23432 best heard in LSB due to strong QRM from 11895 R Liberty in Turkmen via Lampertheim (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS with a 28 metre longwire antenna, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** CUBA. RHC was still on at 1502 UT August 7, on 11760, 12000, and weak 9550, 11805, but they had two program feeds mixing; underneath was a children`s show, judging from the hi-pitched voices; atop was what was billed at 1505 as résumé of yesterday`s ``Alo, Presidente``, Hugo and Evo stuff about Bolivia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also VENEZUELA [non]; BOLIVIA ** CUBA. A couple writers to the NASWA Flashsheet had the following comments regarding RHC's programming: --- Also some very interesting listening on Radio Habana Cuba this past week! Very obvious attempts to downplay Castro's recent hospitalization and maintain a semblance of normalcy. Monday - 2030 News headlines in English only commented on Fidel's hospitalization following 15 minutes of other world news (mostly the Middle East crisis). 2045 - Ed Newman read Fidel's proclamation (translated into English) issued the previous day. RHC should continue to provide historic listening in the days and weeks to come! (Shemanski – NC) Radio Habana Cuba has only about 5 minutes of greetings and wishes of goodwill for Fidel from around the world (mostly from fraternal countries I noticed). As usual for Sunday night ­ there is a lot of good Cuban music while I have been editing this. So far, nothing on Fidel`s condition or Raul`s great leadership (Mark Taylor, WI) (via Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. Re 6-118: Possible errors in he Spanish version. The aircraft is allegedly a 'civilian' (right) Gulfstream G1 (Terry Krueger, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: FROM "THE MIAMI HERALD" MiamiHerald.com | 08/07/2006 http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15214847.htm MEDIA --- TV MARTÍ BOOSTS BROADCASTS TO CUBA -- With Castro ailing, TV Martí has increased broadcasts to six times a week by using a civilian aircraft as part of $10 million in funding. By NANCY SAN MARTIN TV Martí broadcasts to Cuba have increased to a six-times-a-week schedule by using a private aircraft, officials say, setting in motion a key component of the Bush administration's plan to accelerate a transition to democracy on the communist-ruled island. The transmissions from the civilian aircraft, contracted by the U.S. government and flying out of Key West, come as Cuban leader Fidel Castro remained out of the public eye since he underwent surgery. The new flights, which will take place Monday through Saturday evenings, are part of a $10 million allotment by Congress for an airborne broadcasting project that would make it more difficult for Havana to jam the U.S.-funded TV Martí programs. ''The transmission from this plane is the fulfillment of the president's commitment to break the Cuban dictatorship's information blockade on the Cuban people, and will increase their access to timely and accurate information that they need at this critical time,'' Pedro Roig, director of the agency that runs TV and Radio Martí, said in a statement. BLIMP WAS DESTROYED A U.S. military C-130 aircraft had been broadcasting the TV signals for only four hours a week since hurricanes destroyed the broadcasting blimp in Cudjoe Key. The new airplane was described only as a twin- engine G1. ''No special equipment is necessary'' to receive the station's signals, said Alberto Mascaro, TV Martí's chief of staff. ``It's an over-the-air signal so all that is needed is a television.'' The addition of broadcasts, which had been expected at the end of the month, was speeded up because of Castro's health crisis. A statement read on Cuban TV Monday said Castro, who will be 80 on Aug. 13, had undergone ''complicated'' surgery to stop intestinal bleeding. He has since been reported to be on the mend, but has not been seen in public. ''I'm very happy over these news transmissions, and I believe they are a great example of the Bush administration's compromise in the fight for liberty and freedom in Cuba,'' said Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Congress last year allotted $10 million for the new aircraft, on top of $28 million to cover operating expenses for Radio/TV Martí. The private aircraft likely will replace a Pennsylvania National Guard Commando Solo C-130 that has been transmitting to Cuba. SIGNAL JAMMED Cuba was largely successful in jamming the U.S. signals since the radio opened in 1985 and the TV station followed in 1990. The new broadcast aircraft currently is being used only to transmit TV Martí, but a future generation of the plane possibly will be outfitted with an FM band transmitter for Radio Martí, Mascaro said. ''Our hope as an agency is to be able to send messages of freedom, democracy and hope,'' he said. ``We want to provide Cubans with a free flow of media, which they do not enjoy.'' Havana has long argued that Radio/TV Martí, even though it broadcasts from U.S. airspace, violates international regulations by aiming its signals at Cuba (via Terry Krueger, and Oscar de Céspedes, FL, DXLD) U.S. STEPS UP TV MARTÍ TRANSMISSIONS TO CUBA LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, Hispanic Affairs Writer http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/breaking_news/15219392.htm MIAMI - The United States beefed up its television transmissions to Cuba over the weekend through its Miami-based TV Martí station in response to reports that Cuban President Fidel Castro temporarily ceded power to his brother. On Saturday, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting unveiled a new G-1 twin turbo propeller plane, which will increase the transmissions from one afternoon a week to six, said Alberto Mascaro, chief of staff of the broadcasting office. The new privately owned plane was set to go up in mid-August, but TV Martí pushed the date forward after Castro transferred powers to his brother Raul Castro July 31, citing intestinal bleeding and the need for surgery. Neither Castro nor his brother have spoken publicly since then. Congress approved $10 million in its 2006 budget to develop airborne TV broadcasting and counter the Cuban government's mostly successful efforts to jam the transmission. "We have some reports already of people in Havana and the Matanzas area seeing it, but we just started out on this so we're getting information as we go along," Mascaro said Monday. TV Martí, which began broadcasting in 1990, includes four-and-a-half hours of newscasts, as well as programs about public affairs, culture, music, sports, and entertainment in Cuba, the U.S. and around the world. The Cuban government has called it U.S. propaganda. Since 2004, the station has transmitted programming Saturday afternoon and evening via an Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane. During that time, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting has received 1,000 recorded testimonies from those on the island who were able to see the programming, Mascaro said. "It's difficult to know. It's not like in a place like Cuba you can take a public poll," he said. Previously, the station transmitted programming using blimps, which were damaged by hurricanes. The Office of Cuba Broadcasting has been transmitting programming to Cuba via Radio Martí since 1985. The radio station was established by Congress under the now defunct U.S. Information Agency. Today, it broadcasts 24-hours a day, seven [sic] days a week. Both the radio and TV stations are overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent federal agency, and have a combined budget of $28 million. On Friday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sent a message to the Cuban people via the Martí television and radio stations, imploring them not to flee the island for Florida because of political uncertainty. Radio and TV Martí are not the only U.S.-based stations seen and heard on the island. A small number of people in Cuba have satellite dishes and can pick up commercial TV stations. Some Miami commercial radio stations can be heard in the western provinces. The nonprofit Cuban Democratic Directorate also maintains the radio station Radio República, which is beamed via shortwave into the country (via Artie Bigley, Aug 7, Mike Terry, Aug 8, DXLD) Presumably the aircraft operates over the Florida Keys, a good 150 kilometers or more from its Cuban viewers. Even with an airborne transmitter and an all-water path, that is a long stretch for the VHF and UHF frequencies used for television. After traveling that distance, the TV Martí signal will be sufficiently attenuated so that jamming transmitters on Cuban soil will probably have the upper hand. The high altitude of the TV Martí transmitter does mean that the Cubans will have to use higher power for their jamming to succeed, and they will need more than one terrestrial transmitter to jam throughout western Cuba. The best medium to overcome jamming is shortwave, because on shortwave frequencies, the more distant broadcasting transmitter is often received with a stronger signal than closer jamming transmitters. It's uncertain, however, how many Cubans own shortwave radios these days. And the number of shortwave transmitters available to Radio Martí is receding. One of the two International Broadcasting Bureau sites near Greenville, North Carolina, has been mothballed. A recent post to rec.radio.shortwave mentions that another key IBB shortwave site used by Radio Martí, near Delano, California, might also close (Kim Andrew Elliott, Aug 7, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Viz.: I just heard a rumour from an inside source in IBB engineering that management is planning to close the Delano relay station in California by next February. Cheers (Rich LaDieu, May 27?, rec.radio.shortwave via ibid.) ** CUBA [and non]. CUBAN ALLIES URGE U.S. NOT TO INTERFERE WITH ISLAND AS FIDEL CASTRO RECUPERATES --- VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press HAVANA - Cuba's allies urged the United States not to interfere with the communist country during Fidel Castro's absence from power, while the U.S. beefed up its television transmissions to the island and President Bush encouraged anti-Castro activists to push for change. Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon warned that the United States would face "hell" if it meddled with the Caribbean island. "We demand that the government of the United States respects Cuba's sovereignty," said a letter released Monday at a news conference in Havana by 400 leftist intellectuals and human rights activists. "We must prevent a new aggression at all costs." U.S. officials have repeatedly said they will not invade Cuba, and only wish to see democracy on the island. "Our desire is for the Cuban people to choose their own form of government," Bush said from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. . . http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/15220686.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp (Miami Herald via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** DENMARK [non]. See ITALY ** ECUADOR. HCJB`s English service is not daily as I had thought. On Monday Aug 7 at 2345 on 11720, instead of language lessons, a preacher kept on going in Spanish about how awful music like reggaeton is, as well as ``El Día Libre de Ferris Bueller`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. See NIGERIA [and non] ** FINLAND. Dear DX-friends, This is what I heard recently in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with a 28 metre longwire antenna: 6170, 0935-1035 05-08, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat, Finnish heard // 11690, fading out 24122 QRM Croatia 6165 AP-DNK 6170, 1910-1915 05-08, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat, Finnish ann, Finnish pop songs // 11690 23433 QRM Croatia 6165 AP-DNK 11690, 0935-1100* 05-08, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat, Finnish lecture at FDXA summer meeting in Korpilahti // 6170, unusual good reception! Finnish and English pop songs, ID 1058 34444 CWQRM and Hum from weak station on 11690 AP-DNK 11690, 1740-1910 05-08, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat, Finnish ann, pop songs // 6170 33333 fading out, QRM Middle East stations AP-DNK 11720, *1100-1615 05-08, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat, Finnish DJ ann, pop songs, interview from FDXA summermeeting, good reception up to 35444, periods with BCQRM. Next broadcast on 02-09! (Anker Petersen, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Burg 1575 kHz press release http://www.oldiestar.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=21 Summary: Oldiestar Radio is on air via Burg 1575 in DRM mode for 12 hours a day as an engineering experiment; 0800-1400 UT with 20 kW, 2200-0400 UT with 100 kW, the remaining time will be used for AM transmissions of Voice of Russia for the duration of this experiment. Oldiestar CEO Oliver Dunk says: This is the most powerful digital mediumwave transmitter in Europe [sic], we are eager about the performance of the new [sic] vertical incidence antenna and expect the industry to launch DRM receivers immediately, we will make a decision for expanded airtime and a regular service if an acceptable amount of receivers is on the market. Medienanstalt Sachsen-Anhalt has authorized this engineering experiment on July 19, their head Christian Schurig says that he is delighted about Sachsen-Anhalt being the first state of Germany with digital mediumwave transmissions [sic]. Comments by klu: "Engineering experiment" in the German understanding just concedes that it is no regular transmitter lease, and it is quite obvious that only the deal with the Russians made it economically possible to put the (already existing) transmitter on air at all. The mentioned power levels of course refer to the DRM output, AM carrier power for the VOR relays may well be higher, although it not exactly sounds like full 500 kW at night. The performance of the DRM signal via the vertical incidence antenna could indeed become an interesting story, considering all the distortion from selective fading / multipath reception one can note in AM mode. Just remember 3995 which is basically a disaster, apparently never run at more than 14.5 kbps since otherwise it would not work. Perhaps some reports will appear in this already opened thread: http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1466 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GOA. QSL: (INDIA), 11715, AIR Panaji, 2 nice f/d cards with site included in 9 weeks from v/s Y. K. Sharma at AIR Headquarters. A nice complement to the e-mail QSL received direct from the station earlier. Think this is country verified #213 according to the NASWA list, although there may be one or two more that I haven't added!! 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Aug 7, HCDX via DXLD) See also INDIA ** GREECE. I tuned in The Voice of Greece at UT 0000 Monday expecting to hear the "It's All Greek To Me" program in English. Instead it was the second repeat of the "Greeks Everywhere" program in English with Katerina which was fine with me because it was worthwhile listening to her and her guests again (John Babbis, MD, Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR 2005-2006 ANNUAL REPORT Hi Glenn, There is no direct link, try this link ..... http://mib.nic.in/informationb/audiovideo/frames.htm Then go to : - Policy papers & documents - Click on "Annual Reports" - Then click on 2005-2006 english - Part 4 is for radio & tv. You can download the pdf file from there. Regds (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This seems to be the penultimate link, before selecting part 4: http://mib.nic.in/informationb/POLICY/ar/arE05_06.html It`s 36 pages, starting with TV (DD), illustrated including maps of the TV and radio networks. Not much about SW, but on page 36 something about testing DRM on one SW transmitter. See also AFGHANISTAN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Map of AIR stations as on 31st Dec 2005 - shows 222 stations http://www.geocities.com/alokeshgupta/AIR_STNS.pdf Source : Ministry of Information & broadcasting Annual Report 2005-06, Govt Of India (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dx_india via DXLD) I could not get the pdf to copy but a lengthy post from this has wound up in the dxldyg and on the unrestricted HCDX list, soon in the 2006 archive at http://www2.hard-core-dx.com/archive/2006/ including the paragraph about DRM: Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) To study the DRM system, the project named "Experimental Studies on Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)" has been undertaken. This study will cover the most appropriate features of DRM such as Coverage Area, Spectral Efficiency, Improvement in Audio Quality, Delivery of Value Added Services viz. data, text etc. The study of DRM implementation in one of the existing short-wave transmitter is on hand (via Alokesh Gupta via Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India, HCDX via DXLD) see also GOA ** INTERNATIONAL. CRISIS IN CUBA, INDONESIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST August 7, 2006 | Episode #25 Global Crisis Watch calls Miami, Jakarta and Jerusalem, and tackles the end of Castro with George of TheRealCuba.com, the fear of an annual terror attack and increasing radicalism in Indonesia with the Indcoup blogger, and the latest developments in the Middle East with Nir Boms of the Center for Freedom in the Middle East and Leah Soibel of the Israel Project. Link: http://www.ClandestineRadio.com/gcw/gcw_060807.mp3 29.5 minutes | 13 Megs ---------------------------------------------------------- Global Crisis Watch is an independent and weekly [?] 30-minute current affairs and news podcast focusing on the Global War on Terror, the War of Ideas, and indigenous pro-democracy efforts around the world. Hosted by Richard Lafayette in Minneapolis and co-hosted by Nick Grace in Washington, DC, the show features interviews with brave activists and journalists about terrorism, democratization, and indigenous efforts to promote freedom and liberty (Martin Schoech - PF 101145 - D-99801 Eisenach, CRW via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Glenn, streaming audio over the internet is becoming a popular means of broadcasting. However, unlike true radio, it has several disadvantages, such as the possibility of limiting access to those who will pay for the service, censorship, and finally the number of streams the server can support is limited. Does somebody know how many streams a "typical" server can support, i.e. how many listeners can listen to the transmission simultaneously? For "typical" I mean that of a major radio corporation. I have no idea, but have experienced that under some situations I could not listen to a given station because the server had reached its maximum capacity. I can imagine what would happen for instance under a catastrophe situation, with everybody trying to access an internet "radio" to listen to the latest news and the server (plus its IP connections) collapsing because of the high demand. It happens with normal HTML pages, what could happen to a stream that consumes a lot of bandwidth? 73, (Moisés Knochen, Montevideo, Uruguay, Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I am not sure there is any such thing as ``typical`` but I think capacity is constantly being expanded. There are different ways of doing this, some of which allow capacity to be multiplied, but I don`t know the details. Since I got broadband, I have rarely run into any ``server full`` or similar error messages. Either I get a streaming connexion (which I usually do) or there is simply no connexion for reasons unknown. I expect your scenario during an emergency could indeed still happen. One thing is sure: radio transmissions, including SW, are not ``sucked dry`` by too many radios tuned to them! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, let's say the BBC, the VOA or any major local station in the USA. I think that having a broadband connection at the listener side does not avoid the "radio" server being saturated if too many people try to listen to the same station. Broadband (or the lack thereof) only makes things easier or worse for the listener. I have indeed received Real Audio messages of "server reached its maximum... etc." despite having a 10 Mb/s line at my job. Yes, it happened when trying to listen to R. El Espectador, Uruguay, which at that time had a modest server (now they have outsourced it with a pay-per-listen system). BTW if you wonder why would anybody on earth want to use the internet to listen to a local station - the answer is interference from fluorescent lights. There will be few problems as long as the stations keep abreast of the demand, but what will happen when millions of people use customarily the internet for radio listening? ``One thing is sure, radio transmissions, including SW, are not `sucked dry` by too many radios tuned to them!`` Agreed! That was my point! 73, (Moisés Knochen, Uruguay, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. P2p distribution of songs to radio stations? Request for information (USA). This from a lawyer representing individuals who are being sued by the Recording Industry Association of America for downloading songs online: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/#115386694459509892 Tuesday, July 25, 2006 --- Urgent Appeal for Information from All People in the Radio Business!!!! Urgent appeal for help from our friends in the radio business... For one of our litigations we are collecting information on *_the use by the major record labels of peer-to-peer file sharing technology to make song files available to radio stations_*. Please circulate this to anyone you know who is in, or may know people who are in, the radio business. Anyone who has information is urgently asked to communicate it to Ray Beckerman, 212-763-6809, rbeckerman @ vanfeliu.com or Ty Rogers, 212-763-6838, mtrogers @ vanfeliu.com Thank you. Ray Beckerman (via Earl Higgins, DXLD) ** IRAN. Updated A-06 for Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran (VOIROI/IRIB): ALBANIAN 0630-0727 13810 15235 1830-1927 9545 9570 2030-2127 9535 11830 ARABIC 0230-0427 9685 9935 13790 0330-0427 9610 11875 "Voice of Islamic Palestinian Revolution" 0430-0527 9935 13790 13800 0530-1427 13790 13800 15150 1430-1627 15150 1630-0227 9935 ARMENIAN 0300-0327 12025 0930-0957 9695 15260 1630-1727 7230 9780 AZERI 0330-0527 13710 1430-1657 6200 BENGALI 0030-0127 5955 7135 0830-0927 11705 1430-1527 9520 9810 12090 BOSNIAN 0530-0627 13750 15235 1730-1827 7295 9860 2130-2227 7305 9810 CHINESE 1200-1257 13735 15190 17535 17635 2330-0027 11785 11975 13715 DARI 0300-0627 11910 13740 0830-1427 9940 13720 1430-1457 9940 ENGLISH 0130-0227 7235 9495 "Voice of Justice" 1030-1127 15600 17660 1530-1627 7370 9635 1930-2027 6205 7205 7540 9800 9925 GERMAN 0730-0827 15085 15430 1730-1827 7540 11855 15085 FRENCH 0630-0727 13710 15430 1830-1927 7540 9905 13755 15085 HAUSA 0600-0657 17810 17870 1830-1927 9925 11930 HEBREW 0430-0457 9610 11875 1200-1227 13685 15260 1900-1927 3985 5970 HINDI 0230-0257 15165 17635 1430-1527 11695 13805 ITALIAN 0630-0727 11555 13770 15085 1930-1957 5910 7380 JAPANESE 1300-1327 13755 15555 2100-2127 9670 11990 KAZAKH 0130-0227 7270 9795 1300-1357 11665 13615 KURDISH 0330-0427 7255 11920 Sorrani dialect 1330-1427 5990 Sorrani dialect 1430-1627 5990 Kirmanji dialect MALAY 1230-1327 15200 17555 2230-2327 5945 7310 PASHTO 0230-0327 7130 9605 0730-0827 11990 15440 1230-1327 6175 9790 11730 1430-1527 7270 1630-1727 6000 7195 RUSSIAN 0300-0327 9650 11925 0500-0527 9855 11870 17595 17655 1430-1527 7165 9315 9580 9900 1700-1757 3985 7175 1800-1857 6205 7260 1930-2027 3985 7175 SPANISH 0030-0227 9655 9905 0230-0327 9905 0530-0627 15530 17785 2030-2127 7300 7540 9650 SWAHILI 0330-0427 15265 15340 0830-0927 15240 17660 1730-1827 7165 9655 TAJIK 0100-0227 6185 7285 1600-1727 5945 5955 TURKISH 0430-0557 11685 13640 1600-1727 7165 9870 URDU 0130-0227 7205 9480 9845 1330-1427 6000 9665 11695 1530-1727 7270 1730-1757 6175 7220 UZBEK 0230-0257 9740 11945 1500-1557 5945 5955 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Aug 7, via DXLD) Not specified, but don`t forget that some of these are experimental relays via Lithuania, which may or may not continue after the 2 month test period is finished shortly in August: 7540, 9315 and 11555 (gh) 7235, Voice of the Islamic Republic, 8/1/06, 0140-0201 in English. News consisting entirely of lengthy diatribe by OM/YL against the US and Israel in connection with "Zionist" aggression supported by the US; 0149 "Commentary", 0155 "US in the World Media" ("GWB has made the world more unstable"). Fair (Clem J. Shemanski, NC, Grundig Sat 700, NASWA Flashsheet Aug 6 via DXLD) No ID as V. of Justice? (gh, DXLD) Great Listening! Station: Voice of Justice, Islamic Republic of Iran Time: 0153 UT. Heard on: 7235 kHz. Target: North America Location: Sirjan, Iran. Listen LIVE here: http://www.irib.ir/worldservice/ US conspiracies, expansionist policies, Zionist aggression, sinister objectives... "The Franco-American draft resolution is another tool of the US and its allies to help the Zionists violate the rights of the Lebanese nation. The US sponsored resolution is designed to waste time in order to give the Zionist regime more time to continue its atrocities in Lebanon." Iran's right to develop nuclear weapons, coming up... (Brian Crow, K3VR, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. IRANIAN MEDIA REPORTING OF EVENTS IN LEBANON 8 AUG 06 Nearly one month after the start of the war in the Middle East, Iranian media continue to be preoccupied with the developments in Lebanon and Israel. However, news stories about the war no longer lead radio and television news bulletins unless there is a major development such as the bombing in Qana. At the same time, calls by the newspapers on Muslim and Arab states to support Hezbollah have been replaced by criticism of their reluctance in the face of what is happening in Lebanon. Radio and Television Middle East developments still feature prominently in the daily coverage of state radio and TV. However, reports of the war are now lower in the running order, coming well after top domestic developments such as President Ahmadinezhad's provincial visits or the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i's father's day speech. On the other hand, Lebanon and Hezbollah invariably get a mention in both leaders' speeches. After the first week of the war, the Iranian TV correspondent in Tyre was no longer able to send video footage, and the TV showed his still picture over a report sent by mobile phone. He was recently replaced by another correspondent. Another Iranian TV reporter reported from Beirut for the first two weeks of the war but then stopped altogether. He too has just been replaced. However, these reporters' accounts of events were no different from what had already been broadcast by the international media. The Iranian rolling TV news channel, IRINN, tried to remind its viewers of the war by featuring a "Breaking News" caption underneath its main frame; but the captions became increasingly low-level. News agencies The conservative Fars news agency has the most coverage of the issue, followed by ISNA, IRNA and ILNA following. However, while in mid-July the war accounted for nearly 50 per cent of its output, the figure now stands at 20-30 per cent. Iranews.org news website is the only Iranian news website apart from the official news agencies to send reporters to Lebanon. It has featured a number of highly emotional accounts of the bloodshed and human tragedy. Weblogs The most emotional reactions to the war in Lebanon and Israel have appeared in the blogosphere. Iranians and a few Israelis blogging in Persian universally spoke about the human tragedy of the war. Many Iranian bloggers link to photos that do not feature on TV or in newspapers because of their extremely graphic nature. The well-known Iranian bloggers living abroad such as Sibil Tala http://sibiltala.blogspot.com/ and Khorshid Khanom http://www.khorshidkhanoom.com/ have called for anti-war demonstrations while Cafe Ginsburg http://cafeginsburg.blogspot.com/ an Israeli blogger writing in Persian, wrote that it was not fair to forget about the ordeals of the Israelis. Bloggers writing from Iran, however, mainly expressed boredom with the Iranian media's excessive coverage of the war. Newspapers The Iranian press is the only platform where readers can find some analytical accounts of the conflict. Conservative dailies such as Keyhan, Resalat and Jomhuri-ye Eslami have published at least one editorial on the issue. Some, like Resalat, have carried several every day. However, compared to the pro-reform newspapers such as Sharq and Aftab-e Yazd or moderate dailies such as Kargozaran and Mardom Salari, the conservative press's accounts of events in the war have contained little analysis and much stereotyping and editorializing. The hard- line Jomhuri-ye Eslami, for instance, spoke of "Israel's defeat" on many occasions. The conservative dailies speak about "Israel's crimes" and keep counting Hezbollah's missile as they are fired. A recurrent theme in these editorials is the criticism of the United States. On 8 August Jam-e Jam daily wrote: "Attacking Lebanon was a pre-planned plot designed by America and Israel in order to remove Hezbollah from Lebanon and the region. The plot started with the UNSC's ratification of Resolution 1559, which obliges Hezbollah to disarm. If the Islamic countries do not react actively to this plot, the crisis will expand in the whole region and it will be beneficial for America and Israel." This criticism of the United States is also shared by pro-reform papers. For example, Etemad-e Melli wrote on 5 August: "After Hamas came to power, the Americans were forced to portray their inherent contradictions in their words and deeds. The crisis in the region is like burning coal under the ashes waiting for an opportunity to flare with the first wind. The Americans thought that the smoke of the fire would not blow towards them and the Zionists. Therefore they turned a blind eye to the crimes in south Lebanon and gave Tel Aviv a green light." In fact, apart from the coverage of the war, the other impact of the developments in the Middle East on the Iranian media, particularly radio and television, has been a visible drop in the coverage of the Palestinian issue in news and commentaries. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 8 Aug 06 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ. YI, IRAQ. Richard, SP8HKT, will once again be in Iraq as YI9KT. He will be in Diwaniyah from now until January 2007. He is going to use an IC-735 with 100 watts into a 7 band vertical antenna (GP-7, 40-10m) and a Delta Loop at 85m for 80m. Richard will be active during his free time: 0800-1000z, 1300-1430z, 1700-2000z, sometimes on low band only with North America between 0200-0330z and 0500-0630 local time. His activity on 160 and 80 meters depends on the possibility of assembling his antenna. QSL via SP8HKT, only direct (OPDX Bulletin Aug 7, KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80, via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** ITALY. 9780, Rai, 7/30/06, *1957-2021* in Danish. IS until 2000 when musical opening was heard. A woman announcer gave station ID followed by the Sunday program with news. Closed with ID and IS. Fair (Rich D`Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Danish? Danish? Someone is still broadcasting in Danish? Yes, this is the very last and only Danish SW broadcast per ADDX`s by-language schedule at http://www.addx.de/cgi-bin/hfp.cgi --- 2000 2020 I RAI Rom Di, Do, So 6110 9780 So it is Tue/Thu/Sun only, alternating as I recall with other Scandinavian languages. I imagine the Danes will be very grateful to the Italians, and will do everything possible to preserve this service. One must also wonder if the Danish service staff at Rai is made up of Italian(s) who learnt Danish, or actual Dane(s). Furthermore, this raises a broader question. Are there any other Danish language broadcasts outside Denmark (or Greenland) on air or on line? Public Radio Fan language search gets only stations in Denmark, but of course does not cover commercial and/or non-webcasters. Perhaps some Danish pocket in North Dakota has 15 minutes a week on some little AM station. Or an ethnic commercial or university station in Canada or a major US city; SBS in Australia? How about missionary broadcasts? Surely there are some Danes who still need to be made Protestants! A research project for Erik Køie once he retires perhaps, if not sooner, or Anker Petersen (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Antenna VHF --- A Bocca di Magra (La Spezia) ho installato una nuova antenna per le VHF (e UHF). Una piccola discone della Diamond, la D150, che copre dai 50 ai 1300 MHz. Ha il vantaggio di essere molto compatta (lunghezza totale 1 m circa). Mi pare anche discreta, almeno come antenna omnidirezionale. L'ho scelta pensando in particolare alla banda marina (156 Mhz), senza dimenticare la banda OIRT. Solo che su quest'ultima non sono riuscito a testarla durante una ES. Grazie alla tropo sul canale 16 (156.8 Mhz NFM) sono riuscito anche ad ascoltare Mazara e Lampedusa Radio e pure le Baleari. Interessante in banda aeronautica l'ascolto perfetto (seppure con segnale debole) del volmet di Milano Linate (126.6 MHz AM), che supera l'Appennino. Osservati durante le prove anche alcuni feeder FM, MHz: 52.52, Radio Bruno 58.20, Studio 3 58.45, Radio Maria 59.27, Radio Mater rx usati: Icom R-7000, AOR 3000A. Il sito della Diamond: http://www.diamond-ant.jp/ama2/eng_ama_2_5_1.asp (Giampiero Bernardini, Avvenire, Milano, Italy, playdx yg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 9785, *2030-2130* CLANDESTINE 26-07. Shiokaze, via Taipeh Japanese talk and slow piano music, short interlude of violin music, songs, announce website and address, 33333 QRM RFI in French 9790 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS with a 28 metre longwire antenna, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) Once again this Monday could not hear Shiokaze on 9485 at 1325 check; do they take Mondays off, or is it just bad propagation, as the K was 6 at 1200? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LEBANON. See IRAN ** MADAGASCAR. New 4999.74, 1825-1835, 28-07, R. Nasionaly Malagasy, Ambohidrano (tentative), ex 5010 Vernacular talk, music, nothing heard on 5010 or 3287, no carrier after 1900, QRM Time signal 5000 14121 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS with a 28 metre longwire antenna, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MONTENEGRO. 4O6, MONTENEGRO. It was reported today by Joe, W8GEX, that he and four other members from the SouthWest Ohio DX Association are going to Montenegro on August 13th for a 7 day operation at the Sky Contest station. Check out the Sky Contest Club at: http://www.yt6a.com/?page=3Dskycc YT6A owns the club station, and they will be operating from on top of a mountain. The location is about 1000 ft high with a very nice station and building. They should arrive at the station late on August 13th. By the time they get up the hill (a very rocky road that will take a hour to climb the 1000 ft. in a 4x4 Land Rover), they should be on the air on the 14th, GMT. Their callsign will be 4O6DX. Team members are Wayne/K8LEE, Janet/W8CAA, John/ KP2A, Jim/W9VNE and Joe/W8GEX. The group will be on 160-6 meters, CW, SSB and PSK. The group would like to thank their sponsors, ICOM for the Pro III radios; N3FJP for their logging program; Dave/W5BXX and SEDCO for their support. They would like to give a special thanks to Ranko, YT6A, who has coordinated the trip since shortly after Montenegro became a new DXCC entity. QSL to K8LEE - SASE PLEASE. (OPDX Bulletin Aug 7, KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80, via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE GOES ON A GLOBAL SEARCH FOR THE 'NEW' REMBRANDT As part of the celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the birth of Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn, AIB Member Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) has launched an international competition under the title 'Inspired by Rembrandt'. Artists around the globe are invited to submit their entries via the official website http://rembrandt.rnw.nl They will compete for a place in a special workshop at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, a leading Dutch art institute. The best submissions will be shown at an exhibition in the Netherlands. Artists can enter their paintings or photographs until 30 September 2006. A jury of experts will then select 10 semi-finalists, whose entries will be posted on http://rembrandt.rnw.nl A voting form on the website will allow the general public to pick the winning piece of art from 15 October to 30 November. Celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt's birth are being held in the Netherlands throughout the 2006. In its capacity as an ambassador of Dutch culture, Radio Netherlands Worldwide is providing an international multimedia platform for this 'Rembrandt Year' through radio, television and the internet. Earlier this year Radio Netherlands Worldwide released the radio drama 'The Edges of the Night Watch' in Dutch, English, Spanish, Indonesian, French and Italian. There is much more about Rembrandt on the website at http://www.radionetherlands.nl/specialseries/rembrandt2006/ (AIB via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Maybe same situation as Raúl noted on 15315: Aug 7 at 1425, DW 15445 spattering plus and minus 20 kHz or so. After 1500, when site changed, no such splatter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Oh Glenn, I forgot to mention, and this must be good news for Andy. Splattering on 15315 from RNW Spanish remained on [UT] Sunday 6th 0000 transmission, but curiously it didn't happened for this Monday 7th. So it seemed it was fixed in a day-off. What to think? (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Problem with 9845 kHz 8/8/06 --- Hello to folks at Radio Netherlands! Wanted to report a problem that happened with the 0000-0200 UT transmission from Bonaire to North America on 8/8/06 on 9845 kHz. Basically the entire transmission was unlistenable. I left the radio on that frequency from before 0000 all through the period; there was no signal at all until after 0100 UT. It came up at 0109 for only 2 minutes of clear audio. That cut out and there was no signal until 0113. While that was understandable at first, the distortion increased and it turned into a whistle-tone at 0117 UT. Audio returned at 0135 but it was so distorted as to be non- understandable. The transmission ended as usual shortly before 0200 UT. What's particularly irritating about this is that it happened on a Monday [UT Tue], the day you transmit what I consider to be your best feature program, Research File. As I recall, there have been a number of past problems with this transmission; perhaps the transmitter you use for 9845 kHz has more problems than the others? If there's anything you can do to remedy this, it would be appreciated. Regards, (William Martin, Saint Louis, Missouri USA, to RN, cc to dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGER [and non]. At around 1810-1825 UT heard three signals around 9704-9705 kHz. 9704.16 seemingly Gedja-Ethiopia. 9705.0 seemingly Niamey-Niger. And a hefty DATA dittering signal centered at 9708.2 and 4 peaks nearby. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Aug 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Only Ethiopia on 9704.18...20 here in south Italy at 1530 UT. 9705.0, ID at 1855 then news in French, again ID at 1926 then music (Davide Tambuchi in Como and me in Palermo, Roberto Scaglione http://www.bclnews.it Aug 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Niger (presumed): 9705 at 2115-2200z Aug 6. Tuned in to weak signal at 2115z to oldies music, male announcer with chatter between tunes. Did anyone else note "Love Me Tender", female singer at 2125z? Off exactly at 2200z after what sounded like a reading from the Koran and playing of an anthem. No positive ID heard (Jerry Lenamon, Waco, Texas, Drake R8B with T2FD, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGER. Niger's public broadcasting organization, Office de Radiodiffusion du Niger (ORTN), has a new website at http://www.ortn-niger.com . . . http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/?p=5804 (August 8th, 2006, 09:42 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. Monitored schedule for Voice of Nigeria on August 4, 5, 6: 0500-0700 English on 15120, co-ch CRI in Chinese, ex 0630-0700 0700-0800 French on 15120 0800-0900 Hausa on 15120, ex 7255 0900-1000 Fulfulde on 15120, ex 7255 1000-1200 English on 15120 1200-1300 English on 15120, co-ch RL in Kazakh 1300-1400 English on 15120, co-ch VOA in Russian 1400-1500 English on 15120, co-ch RL in Turkmen 1500-1530 Swahili on 15120, co-ch RL in Turkmen, ex 1600-1630 on 7255 1530-1630 Fulfulde on 15120, co-ch RL in Turkmen till 1600, new txion 1630-1700 Arabic on 15120 1700-2100 English on 15120 2100-2200 French on 15120, ex 7255 2200-2300 Hausa on 15120, ex 7255 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Aug 7, via DXLD) I would still keep an ear on 7255 in case they change again, and to identify what was there until 2300 (gh) ** NIGERIA. DREAM COMES TRUE --- After years of planning and study, the dream of a new shortwave broadcasting center in Nigeria is coming true. Voice of Nigeria has contracted Thomson and its local partner for the supply of a DRM turnkey station close tO the capital Abuja. The project will be implemented in two phases, whereby the supply of the first phase includes: 250 kW digital [sic] DRM transmitter, Thomson Type TSW2300D Cirrus, the Thomson DRM Multi-Program Multiplexer Stratus, the Thomson DRM Versatile Modulator/RF Exciter Thomson fix curtain antenna New transmitter building, access and service roads, mains supply, fresh water supply, etc. The second phase will include two additional transmitters and a rotatable antenna system. With the implementation of this ambitious new project, VON will have a highly modern, efficient and fully flexible broadcasting solution [sic] at is disposal, thus re-instating its roll [sic] as a leading shortwave broadcaster in Africa (Thomson Summer 2006 jpg via Wolfgang Büschel, retyped by Glenn Hauser for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. FRCN TO INTRODUCE NEW PROGRAMMES, CURTAIL REGIONS - paper | Excerpt from report by Nigerian Kapital FM radio on 4 August The acting director general of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria [FRCN], Mr Kelvin Ejiofor, has described as ridiculous and lamentable the report on the front page of today's edition of Daily Trust newspapers on the FRCN. The paper had reported that the federal government had taken steps to curtail the operations of FRCN Kaduna National Station by redeploying all its correspondents to headquarters in Abuja. Reacting to the publication at a news briefing, Mr Ejiofor said the re-designation of correspondents as network staff was a management decision and should not be ascribed to the federal government. Correspondent Linus Okpeh was at the briefing. [Begin recording] [Okpeh] Mr Ejiofor said management at a meeting in Lafia in May this year took far-reaching decisions to improve on the service of the corporation including introduction of new programmes. The re-designation of correspondents as network staff was to ensure improved productivity and contribution to network programmes, which all stations were obliged to take. [Passage omitted] [Okpeh] According to the director general the letter conveying the deployment which was sent to all executive directors and directors of the corporation, correspondents were to remain in their stations to serve network, national stations, and the FM stations. The salaries of the correspondents would as from this month come from the headquarters. [Ejiofor] All national stations were directed to effect the transfer of FRCN correspondents, mark the word FRCN correspondents in all the 36 states of the federation to headquarters in preparation for new programmes which FRCN was designing and one of which would begin on the 1st of September 2006 and this programme would be called "Nationwide at Noon". It's a new programme, it's being in the works for a long time but its form and its current shape as we are designing it is new. It would be the first complete full hour news programme is going to ever broadcast and it is specifically designed to reach down to the grassroots and report affairs and happenings throughout the federation especially as they concern the ordinary people of Nigeria. [Passage omitted] Source: Kapital FM, Abuja, in English 1700 gmt 4 Aug 06 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. RADIO GUAIRÁ CUMPLE HOY SU 56 ANIVERSARIO Asunción, Paraguay, Domingo 06 de Agosto de 2006 Arte y espectáculos Radio Guairá de Villarrica cumple hoy 56 años. Se inauguró oficialmente el 6 de agosto de 1950. Es la primera radio en el interior del país y la primera FM que inició su programación ininterrumpida y sigue marchando dentro del territorio nacional con sus tres emisoras: AM, FM y onda corta. La dirección es de la Lic. Lidice Traversi, acompañada de sus hijos e hijas. En la década de 1930, se inició la afición por la radiofonía de Enrique Traversi Vázquez, practicando con la famosa galena, que luego fue la base para el descubrimiento del transistor. Vio la necesidad de fundar una radioemisora en Villarrica. Inició el diseño y la construcción de un transmisor de 500 vatios y puso sus conocimientos de ingeniería de radio y electricidad. Y los estudiantes de Villarrica empezaron a realizar locución, porque en esa época eran muy pocos los locutores y operadores. Es loable consignar que adquirió gran popularidad al emplear el guaraní en las locuciones comerciales en el interior del país. http://www.abc.com.py/index.php (via José Bueno, Córdoba - España, Noticias DX via DXLD) SW?? WRTH 2006 has it inactive with 1 kW on 5975, and I don`t recall it being reported for years! See 2-176, where this was also discussed: PARAGUAY. There's a list of licensed Paraguayan radio stations at: http://www.conatel.gov.py/licenciatarios.htm No frequencies, unfortunately. On shortwave there are listed a.o. Emisoras Paraguay (6015 kHz) and Radio Guairá (5975 kHz). I don't recall seeing any loggings of those recently. Are they inactive? On the website of Radio Guairá http://www.galeon.com/radioguaira/ the SW frequency is mentioned. Radio América is not on the short (sic) short wave list (Pentti Lintujärvi, Helsinki, Finland, hard-core-dx via DXLD 2-176 via 6-119) ** ROMANIA. RRI August 6, 2006, 2130-2155 UT, 11940, SIO 352 "Radio Newsreel", "Focus" and "All That Jazz". RRI August 6, 2006, 2300-2332 UT, 9645, SIO 453, "Radio Newsreel", "Focus", "Sunday Studio" and "Letter From Bucharest". 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, Manassas, VA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA. Radio Mogadishu reportedly under Islamists’ control http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/?p=5796 (Media Network blog via DXLD) Not on SW, anyway ** SOUTH AFRICA. SOUTH AFRICA'S INTERNATIONAL RADIO SERVICE http://www.channelafrica.org/portal/site/menuitem.8096b118824ac796280407505401aeb9/ Since the advent of the new democratic dispensation in 1994, Channel Africa, the international radio service of the SABC has been engaged in the process of redefining itself and repositioning itself so that it is in line with the new democratic values underpinning the new South Africa. During this period, Channel Africa was faced with the task of formulating a vision and a mission that would cast the station as a major role player in the field of continental and international broadcasting. WORLD CLASS PLAYER Although the preceding years have seen much effort to bring about this turn around (above), it is only in the past three years (since 2001) that significant strides have been made towards the realization of these objectives. In its vision, Channel Africa states that it is committed to the production of "world class programmes by a professional staff" and will strive to be "the number one international broadcaster in Africa." In its mission statement, Channel Africa pledges "to be the broadcaster of first choice, providing accurate, impartial and authoritative programming" to the rest of the continent. WINDOW TO SOUTH AFRICA As a station based in South Africa, Channel Africa recognizes that it has the responsibility to provide a window into the new democratic South Africa as well as a role to play in showcasing the democratic dispensation in the country. This also entails promoting a culture of respect for human rights as enshrined in our constitution. In the globalising world of today, the role of communication is pivotal to the survival and progress of the developing countries. As an African broadcaster Channel Africa is in the forefront of this struggle for development and the promotion of the ideals of the African renaissance. COMMITIMENT TO AFRICA'S RENAISSANCE It is in this context that Channel Africa states in its mission that "it is the voice of the African Renaissance guided by the values of UBUNTU" and that it will endeavor in its programming "to reinforce Africa's dignity, pride and sense of self worth." Channel Africa, as a role player in the field of international broadcasting has been thrust onto the forefront of the struggle for Africa's development and revival. BROADCAST PLATFORMS Channel Africa broadcast live on three platforms; Shortwave, Satellite, and Internet. Its broadcasts are in Chinyanja, Silozi, Kiswahili, English, French and Portuguese. The Satellite broadcast is via PAS 10 and is accessible through SENTECH's vivid decoders. The Shortwave broadcast covers the south, east, central and west Africa. The Satellite broadcast covers the sub-Saharan region although it can be picked as far as London. The Internet broadcast covers the entire world (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Ahá, there`s that Voice of the African Renaissance slogan I heard them give. What`s Ubuntu? Disambiguation is necessary, says Wikipedia, since this strange word has two entirely different meanings: Ubuntu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ubuntu (ideology), a humanist ideology from Sub-Saharan Africa; Ubuntu (Linux distribution), ... Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 17585, OMAN. Darfum Salaam, 8/1/06 [Mon], 1722 in Arabic. Native music with male lead singer with children backup quite lively music. Fair signal. 17660, ENGLAND, Sudan Radio Services (Woofferton), 8/1/06, 1716 in English. Male anchor in a program that was trying to get in touch with relatives to state they were OK; there was native music, then ID for station sign off. Fair signal (Brant Hunt, Aiken S.C. 29801, Drake R8A, Par antenna, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SWAIN`S ISLAND. KH8SI NOW QRT. The KH8SI operation went QRT around 1900z, August 2nd. Some interesting details about the operation should be forthcoming. According to KH8SI pilot station JA2JSF: QSL via JA1BK: Kan Mizoguchi, 5-3 Sakuragaoka 4 Chome, Tama City, Tokyo 206- 0013, JAPAN. Please send all QSL data (multi QSOs) on one QSL. There has not been an announcement about online logs. LAST MINUTE UPDATE. Visit Kan's, JA1BK, Web page to see some of pictures of the KH8SI operation and information about how hard it was to get transportation to Swains Island. His Web page is at: http://www.iijnet.or.jp/JA1BK/ (OPDX Bulletin Aug 7, KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80, via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. Frequency change for Radio Taiwan International in German: 2000-2100 NF 15695 YFR 100 kW / 044 deg, ex 2100-2200 on 18930 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Aug 7, via DXLD) ** U A E. Re 6-118: ``Re new 800 kW on 1539: but checking the Thalès website, lists no such info and it does not list the Summer 2006 RadioNews. Odd! (Steve Whitt, UK, MWC via DXLD)`` Fresh issues of "RadioNews" are distributed only by postal mail; the pdf-files on the website are added much later. The RadioNews bulletins are already labelled "Thomson Broadcast & Multimedia" rather than "Thalès Broadcast & Multimedia" unlike the website http://www.thomson-bm.com Thomson was going to acquire this division from Thalès. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) More: ** U A E. NEW MAJOR TURNKEY PROJECT IN ABU DHABI Not Sadiyat Island but Dabiyah [sic] is the new location of the third high power medium wave station to be contracted by Emirates Media Inc. (EMI) of Abu Dhabi since 2000. EMI have chosen Thomson and its local partner Bin Jabr TRS Est for the supply of the new broadcasting center Dabiyah III. The new multi-million dollar turnkey broadcasting solutions for the Dabihay III station includes: 800 kW MW transmitter type S7HP directional 2-tower antenna system for 1539 kHz auxiliary equipment, new transmitter building, access and service roads, mains supply, fresh water supply, etc. Dabiyah III is scheduled to go on air end of January 2007 (Thomson Summer 2006 jpg via Wolfgang Büschel, retyped by Glenn Hauser for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. At last, 11675! After five days absent as announced for Aug. 1, I finally heard the 11675 Greenville relay for BBCWS` new Caribbean schedule, this Sunday after 2100, with strong and steady signal all hour long, turning fadey and noisy toward 2200, when audio was gone, exactly with time pips, no extra second. Half a minute later the carrier signed-off. The audio quality from Greenville is not so clean as that one we from Cypress Creek. Ageing VOA facilities? (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Aug 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Pirate Radio Skues now on Listen Again --- The three hour Monday night BBC Eastern Counties Pirate Radio Skues programme is now available on Listen Again. With a few exceptions, Keith features records which were played during the 1964 to 1967 offshore radio era. He often plays audio recordings of offshore radio shows or documentaries during the last hour. Last night`s programme is now available; at 2 hours 17 minutes in, there is a recording of David Sinclair on Radio 390 which runs for the remainder of the programme. First time I have heard 390 on the show; usually features Caroline or London. The programme is available via the BBC Radio Norfolk page; click on Listen Live Listen Again which launches the live feed and the programme is on the Listen Again menu: http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/local_radio/ (Mike Barraclough, Aug 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Delano relay to close by next Feb? See CUBA [non] --- and I think we also had a brief item about this some time ago (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Frequency change for Radio Free Asia in Cantonese: 1400-1500 NF 11595, ex 11715 \\ 9780 Frequency changes for RFE/RL - Radio Farda in Persian: 1900-2100 NF 7580, ex 9760 to avoid CRI in Czech 2000-2130 NF 5830, ex 7190 to avoid CRI in English 2100-2130 NF 7580, ex 9960 Additional frequencies for RFE/RL - Radio Free Afghanistan PASHTO 0230-0330 on 11820 DARI 0330-0430 on 11820 0430-0530 on 17815 0530-0630 on 17815 0630-0730 on 17815 0730-0830 on 17815 0830-0930 on 17815 0930-1030 on 17815 1030-1130 on 11805 1130-1230 on 11805 1230-1330 on 11550 1330-1430 on 11550 Additional frequencies for VOA - Radio Ashna: PASHTO 0030-0130 on 7590 DARI 0130-0230 on 7590 1430-1500 on 15090, 17840 1500-1530 on 15090, 17840 1530-1630 on 15090, 17840 1630-1730 on 15090, 17840 1730-1800 on 11565, 17840 1800-1830 on 11565, 17840 1830-1930 on 7590 1930-2030 on 7590 Some frequency changes for Voice of America: English 1800-2100 on 11975, deleted 2100-2200 on 1530, 6080, 15580 additional transmission for Africa French 2030-2100 NF 15185, ex 15730 Sat/Sun Hausa 1500-1530 NF 13750, ex 13745 to avoid Gospel For Asia 2030-2100 NF 15185, ex 15730 Mon-Fri Persian 1730-1930 NF 11925, ex 11740 to avoid R. Cairo En till 1800 & BSKSA Ar from 1800 Serbian 1930-2000 NF 9530, ex 9705 to avoid La Voix du Sahel ? Turkish 1030-1045 NF 17740, ex 1030-1100 on 17670 to avoid CRI Cantonese \\ 15205 1830-1900 on 11865 and 15235, retimed, ex 1800-1900 on same (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Aug 7, via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. RUSSIA, Family Radio in new language, Gujarati: 1400-1500 on 12080 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg Additional txions for WYFR Family Radio via VT Communications: 1600-1700 on 15445 ASC 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAf in Portuguese 1830-1930 on 9845 ASC 250 kW / 085 deg to CeAf in French Frequency change for WYFR Family Radio in Arabic: 2100-2200 NF 18930 YFR 100 kW / 044 deg, ex 2000-2100 on 15695 ** U S A. 5925.9, WBOH, This turned out to be a spur of 5920. Heard at 0100 3 Aug with M announcer. Strong spur but very weak audio. 'Carrier' seemed to be wavering a little by about 10 Hz or so approximately every 30 seconds. Heard next morning again at 0840. Found a spur on the other side at 5914 as well. I'm disappointed it wasn't R. Minería, but I'm glad to solve this mystery (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Aug 7, HCDX via DXLD) ** U S A. On 11175-USB, August 7 at 1428, a YL with very slow phonetic message, concluding with ``Andrews, Out``. In the next minute, someone tried to do a radio check with Andrews at least thrice, but no response. I think his ID was ``Wyandotte`` or something sounding similar (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn: Unfortunately, the Cubans are still juggling the schedule around a bit, so what we did last weekend will not be exactly the same this coming weekend. I am still trying to confirm a few things even for the weekdays, but in general I would say that at this moment the new Cuban transmissions have pre-empted everything that has been on between 0500-0900 UT 7 days a week. We can hopefully place some of the programs that were on during this block at other times throughout the schedule, but I hesitate to provide any exact times and days yet until I get a few more things confirmed. Hopefully that will be within another day or two (Jeff White, WRMI, Aug 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. RADIO PIONEER IN THE BOSTON GLOBE AND THE PATRIOT LEDGER Hi Glenn, Thought you could use this for your historical section of DX Listening Digest. Keep up the good work. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There was a celebration for Reginald Fessenden last Saturday (8/5) on WATD, 95.9 MHz FM in Marshfield. Fessenden was supposedly the first person to transmit non-code over the radio. He transmitted music on Christmas Eve in 1906. So I assume this means the first amplitide-modulated (AM) transmission (as opposed to Marconi who had been using spark-gap transmissions and code) Supposedly lots of ships in the Atlantic equipped with radio equipment heard the transmission. Fessenden's transmission was from Brant Rock (in Marshfield), MA. Hence, the local interest. There was an article in the Patriot Ledger, which is still on-line as of Monday morning. Check out: http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/08/03/news/news10.txt The column Radio Tracks in the the Boston Globe (8/3, p. E9) also mentioned the event, and the WATD radio show, and a "gala cocktail party" which presented the inaugural Fessenden Award to WBZ newsman Gary LaPierre. It mentions the website http://www.radiosfirstvoice.com Having historical fun, (Paul McDonough, Natick, MA, Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: CELEBRATION OF RADIO - BROADCAST BIRTHDAY BASH: WEEKEND EVENTS TO FETE FORGOTTEN AIRWAVE PIONEER --- By JOHN ZAREMBA, The Patriot Ledger MARSHFIELD - While at sea in the winter of 1906, the crews on U.S. Navy vessels in the Atlantic and the fleet of the United Fruit Co. got a message from Reginald Fessenden, the man who had built their ships’ radios: Tune in on Christmas Eve for a surprise. They did, and for the first time, their radios transmitted something other than the dots and dashes of Morse code. They heard Handel’s ‘‘Largo.’’ They heard Fessenden play ‘‘O, Holy Night’’ on his violin. They heard him read from the Bible, then wish them a merry Christmas and a good night. It all came from a tower in Brant Rock, and in an instant it became history. Long before radio played host to top 40 hits, cerebral NPR think pieces, corny drive-time disc jockeys and vitriolic talk-radio screeds, it was the medium for Fessenden’s modest broadcast, thought to be the first use of radio for entertainment. And this weekend, Marshfield’s yearlong celebration of the largely forgotten pioneer continues. The Reginald A. Fessenden Centennial Celebration begins tomorrow night and runs through Sunday. ‘‘This weekend is really just kicking off the whole remainder of the year for different events to celebrate Marshfield’s status as the birthplace of broadcasting,’’ said James Cantwell, the chairman of the committee that planned the celebration. ‘‘Any time people are talking on their cell phone, it is directly from that first broadcast.’’ The events begin Friday at the Isaac Winslow House. From 3 to 5 p.m., ham radio users will perform demonstrations and there will be face painting for children. Admission is free. A free outdoor concert will take place at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, the celebration moves to the Daniel Webster Estate. Tours will be available from noon to 5 p.m. and WATD will host a live broadcast during which Boston-area broadcasters will talk about their experiences and love for their medium. ‘‘The whole idea really is to build an oral history of broadcasting,’’ WATD owner and general manager Ed Perry said. ‘‘If you don’t get the recollections of the people, you have no history.’’ The show will close with a radio play by the Massasoit Radio Players. A silent auction, dinner and dancing will follow until 10 p.m. Tickets are $75 and proceeds go to the Daniel Webster Estate Preservation Trust. Sunday’s events include a chowder festival, live music and an antique car show at the Webster Estate from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free but there is a $5 charge to sample the 11 chowders. Further events are planned throughout the year, including a Dec. 24 re-creation of Fessenden’s broadcast (via DXLD) ** U S A. Hello, I was AM DX'ing and on (either 640 or 650 kc/s - older non-digital readout RX) was an Arabic Islamic station. At the top of the hour was the ID slogan "Radio Behara". I don't know if the spelling is correct. Also mention of Allah and water lapping sounds. I'm sure this is in IA or MI or WI someplace but don't see it in the NRC log. They of course didn't give a callsign during this TOH ID. Anybody know who this is? Thanks (Greg WDX9KHY Harris, Icom R75, Quantum Loop, Venerable Panasonic RE6289, mwdx yg via DXLD) Why is it some of the most intriguing unIDs have the fewest details? Could you at least give us the time and date? Please try for it on the R75 at the same time another day and note the exact frequency. There is nothing with that name or similar in the EMWG, but it reminds us there is BBC Cyprus, mostly in Arabic, and not quite 24 hours, on 639. Agreed there is nothing that looks likely in the NRC AM log. As for Bogdan`s conclusion that is has to be Saudi Arabia 648 --- I have news for you: unlike Canada, in the US, stations are free to broadcast whatever language and religion they like, not a condition of their licensing. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) I listened to it again next day, Grand Rapids MI kept getting mentioned among the Arabic sounding language. As I recall there is a station on that frequency in Zeeland MI. So, nothing exotic. Just another format change I expect (Gregory Harris, ibid.) So that would be 640, WMFN, which was UC/AC format, 24h, ``smooth vibes``, in NRC AM Log now a year old. Per FCC AMQuery, calls are still WMFN. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** U S A. "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" (yes, we cross borders at times) latest updates are: 1620 kHz (LPR) "Radio Sandy Springs" Georgia (NEW ENTRY) 1640 kHz (LPR) "Surfside 1640 Radio" South Strand, South Carolina (NEW ENTRY) Click on one of the below links to reach the above latest entries. http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html http://www.geocities.com/geigertree/flortis.html (Terry Krueger, Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi Glenn, heard the little part 15 radio station "ramsey 25 mw kit" in Clearwater yet? Highland & Bellair Rd area. Run by kids, they do a great job. Weekdays 6-9pm, weekends 12-10 pm, news at 9 pm. Check it out when you get a chance. Thanks, (Rodger Baker, August 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) EDT = UT 22-01, 16-02, 01 respectively (gh) Hi Rodger, If you mean Clearwater, Florida, not likely since I am in Oklahoma. Perhaps you have seen stuff from Terry Krueger in Clearwater, who would be very interested so I am forwarding this to him (Glenn to Rodger, via DXLD) Sorry Glenn, I thought you were here. Yea I know Terry real well he has tracked and seen the transmitter, Terry is a great person. Take care, e-mail you with other updates later (Rodger, ibid.) ** U S A. Old calls don't die --- they just get recycled. Equity's RTN (Retro Television Network) flagship station has once again changed calls. KKYK (known best for the callsign of a popular Little Rock radio station on 103.7 FM in the 1970's and 1980's) is the new call for channel 49 (Camden, AR), and also for its relayer KKYK-CA ch 20 in Little Rock. A decade ago, KKYK-LP (then on channel 22) was the original WB affiliate for Little Rock. Comcast cable did not take the station, and WB programming was still being relayed from WGN Superstation in Chicago. This did not stop Equity Broadcasting from attempting a local newscast in 1997. After about a year, including *paying* Comcast to carry the station (the station was except from the Must Carry provisions since ch 49 was not yet on the air), and losing several thousand dollars, Equity pulled the plug. Equity later acquired now KWBF-42 from Paxton Communications (which was a PAX O&O) and changed networks to The WB. KYPX was the original call of Ch 42, then briefly to KLRA, then to KWBF. Channel 22 went to KYPX-LP then vacated ch 22 for KATV-DT and became KYPX-CA on ch 20. KYPX (ch 49) in Camden started operations as a WB affiliate (mostly to use the Must Carry provisions since Camden was barely, but just in the Little Rock DMA), then became a PAX affiliate, then last year with the demise of PAX to the upstart RTN service (which is many of the smaller Equity stations use). Now, KKYK is back as a ch 49 in Camden, a Class A (ch 20) in Little Rock, and a digital subchannel on KWBF-DT ch 44 (42-2). However, "42-2" is only showing a blank screen and no audio as I'm typing (while 42-1 is // with KWBF in SDTV). Fritze, Star City, AR (F H Prentice, Aug 7, WTFDA via DXLD) How`s that again? ** VENEZUELA [non]. RNV via Cuba, on new 15250 at 2300 Aug 7. Unlike my first and previous log of this, now it`s an excellent signal, barely a fade, with excellent modulation. 2258 tune-in to open carrier, 2300 opening, greets listeners as ``usuarios y usuarias`` (male users and female users); program previews explained what was going on in Bolivia yesterday: Aug 6 is their national day. Mentioned book by James Hatfield about GWB, ``Nerón del Siglo XXI``. 2303 with E-mail address as internacional @ rnv.gov.ve, web site as http://www.rnv.gov.ve then special program ``La Nueva Historia de Bolivia``, starting with a bit of Evo Morales` speech calling for the elimination of imperialism and neo-liberalism! Then some Bolivian folk music which helped me take a nap. 2341, Apartado 3979 P-mail address, despite many reports that mail bounces from it. // 13680 was quite strong too, roughly equal level with CRI via Canada, slight SAH as they took turns dominating. Never heard any times or frequencies announced, altho they may have done so before the hour was over (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. 11705, MADAGASCAR. Radio Voice of the People of Zimbabwe via Madagascar, 8/1/06, 1732 in English. Male anchor giving the local news and the dire situation in Zimbabwe. Poor signal (Bran[d?]t Hunt, Aiken SC 29801, Drake R8A, Par antenna, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ?? This used to be on 11705, I think, but currently per RN online schedule is on 7120: 1700-1800 Madagascar 7120 265 50 V of the People Zimbabwe so have they moved back, and BTW, are these VOP broadcasts still months-old repeats courtesy of RN, while the VOP staff is awaiting trial and can`t produce new material? And there is something else on 11705, but I find nothing in English which this might be confused with; EiBi says: 11705 1700-1720 USA Radio Liberty AV Cau /MRC 11705 1720-1740 USA Radio Liberty CHE Cau /MRC 11705 1740-1800 USA Radio Liberty CI Cau /MRC I.e. R. Liberty via Morocco in Avar, Chechen and Circassian. Or could this really be VOA`s Studio 7 (for Zimbabwe) which is also in English at 1730, on a convenient new frequency? Not according to the current online sked: 1730-1800 UTC 909 4930 13755 17730. Yet another theory: VOA got its program feedlines crossed again, and the Zimbabwe service went out on the Morocco transmitter for Caucasia (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Hi, I don't do much AM DXing anymore, but I hear a "tone" on AM 1530 (both day and night IIRC) here in south FL. Any idea where this is? Cuba maybe? If this has already been discussed, I apologize. Sincerely (Christopher Dunne, Aug 6, dxing.info via DXLD) Christopher, Could you describe it? Steady pitch, or wobble? Is it a carrier on the high or low side of 1530? Can you get an approximate bearing on it? I have not seen any reports lately of Cubans off that frequency, but something new and strange is often happening there. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Glenn, All I know is it's a monotone like the old TV test patterns. I tend to think it's *not* Cuba coz I've been to the Keys & don't remember it being louder. Sincerely (Christopher Dunne, Aug 7, ibid.) [Later:] Here's what I know. It's here in daytime too, beam SW/NE, toward Keys/La Habana to SW, to maybe Ft Lauderdale or Freeport, Bahamas to NE. My thinking is, it's possibly a low powered TIS in Broward County testing, or a pirate AM testing. Sincerely (Christopher Dunne, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 5486.7, 2350-2400* 06-08, spur Arabic? non-stop Qur`an reading, no announcement before abrupt sign-off, not // MTN 4845 or ISR 5915 15322 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS with a 28 metre longwire antenna, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ QSLs Few DXers do QSL anymore for various reasons. One has been the return rate just is not there. The days of sending out a written report and expect a reply on the first time is getting a lot harder than it once was. I know quite a few CEs that are Hams and even they are hard to get a QSL out of. I know these people too! The interest in distant reports does not seem to be there like it once was. Also the station CEs are so busy trying to maintain several stations. In some cases, the policy of the station is that the CE should not deal directly with the public. I still QSL and I will always, but getting that QSL today is tougher. No doubt about that. The ppc seems to work in many cases. In fact several CEs have asked for that. "Is there something I just sign?" As far as e mail QSLs go, I have a few along with a couple of FAX QSLs too. But the e mail QSLs have not caught on as yet. Some DXers do get e mail QSLs. Like ppc's, I only use them when I have to. I would rather get the verie letter if possible. They do make a great present from a station and is a nice piece of history. I have many QSLs where I was the first to ever QSL them. I have many through every call change. Stations that no longer exist. Many of the Australians, which I have over 200, a lot of those stations have moved to FM, as well as many of the Canadians. QSLs you could never replace. I am very pleased and happy with the nearly 3,000 MW QSLs I have received in over 41 years now. Each one has a story to tell. As Ernie Cooper used to say "QSL's are very nice to look through on a rainy day". I think he had about 4500 when he passed on. 73, (Patrick Martin, OR, IRCA via DXLD) BES Newsletter [India] Broadcast Engineering Society publishes a quarterly journal "BES Review" containing articles on latest developments in the field of broadcasting and related sciences. The journal is provided FREE to Hon. Fellows/Life Fellows/Life Members & / Affiliates. Others can obtain a copy of the journal at a subsidised rate of Rs 50/- per copy or Rs 150/- for four copies published in a year using following address: The Secretary, Broadcast Engineering Society (India), 912, Surya Kiran Building, 19 K. G. Marg, New Delhi-110001, phone: 011- 41519895, 41519896 ; Fax: 41519897 ; Mobile No. 9810267447, E-mail: bes @ nda.vsnl.net.in The January-March 2006 issue of the Review can be downloaded from this link : http://www.besindia.com/Review(march)final.pdf [47 pages, illustrated, but very low resolution on photos; adequate on text and other graphics --- gh] The Society also publishes conference proceedings for its international conference organised at the time of BES EXPO in February every year. The Proceedings contain papers presented by eminent speakers and panelist from India and abroad. The proceedings are priced at Rs. 500/- per copy. Requests for Proceedings should also be directed to The Executive Officer, Broadcast Engineering Society (India). The Society has published a book on Broadcast Service Planning. The book presents extensive design calculations and signal strength predictions required in planning broadcast services encompassing MF, HF, VHF etc. The book is priced at Rs 500/- per copy and can be ordered by sending a written request to The Executive Officer, Broadcast Engineering Society (India). (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, Aug 6, dx_india via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1939 NATIONAL RADIO CLUB, ERIE PA; WHO ARE THEY? Here is s scan of a postcard I have of the 1939 NRC convention. This scan is about 78k so it should load quickly. http://www.chowdanet.com/nrcconv1.jpg If you want the ability to enlarge it to get a more detailed look, I have the full scan at the URL below. Beware! This file is 22 MB in size, and can take many minutes to download, even with a DSL or cable modem. Click at your own (time) risk. http://www.chowdanet.com/nrcconv.jpg I would be curious to see if any of these folks can be identified (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, IRCA via DXLD) One thing that jumped out at me in the postcard of the 1939 NRC Convention Craig Healy brought to us this morning is the large number of 'young' faces in attendance. DX was addictive in those days. I recognized Pat Reilley & Pop [Ray] Edge but most are unclear to me without further comparisons (Don Kaskey, CA, ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DRM [see also GERMANY; INDIA; NIGERIA] Re DRM study: I think it depends much more on where you´re living, than analog signals. I´ve also seen some reports of good results from Germany, but all about 800 kilometers away from my hometown. 3995 kHz in analog mode in past received with SINPO 55555 all night long, but now in DRM mode I have problems to receive it with good quality. I am trying from time to time within the last 1 1/2 years to receive DRM signals, but O=5 signals I had only 3 or 4 times. Especially on mediumwave the situation is very bad. The analog stations are heavily interfered by the DRM signal, but there is no chance to decode the audio signal properly. The interesting (European) frequency 1485 kHz is nearly unusable for DXing because of German low-power DRM transmitter. 73, (Patrick Robic, Austria, Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IBOC Big IBOC article in Post and Courier Business Section --- There was a big writeup with graphics today in our local Charleston Newspaper on "The New Side of Radio...Broadcasters going digital, but will listeners follow?" - by AP Business Writer Seth Sutel. Interesting how they said that one of the broadcasters is holding off doing AM IBOC since the technology "still has a few bugs in it". Quite an understatement IMHO (Fred Nordquist, Moncks Corner, SC, Aug 6, WTFDA via DXLD) The same article appeared today in the Sunday Republican with the title "Digital radio hopes appeal grows". I guess it's hype time. The article starts off talking about WKTU in New York, which runs country and then tells you how they did it (HD radio and digital compression). Then they mention that HD radio claims to have CD-like sound on FM, and FM-like sound on AM and compares that with DVD video to videotape. Next it mentions that only a tiny number of units have been sold so far (tens of thousands), but that number hasn't stopped stations for adding HD. The next paragraph begins with this: "The changes come as radio is facing brutal competition for listeners' time with iPods, the internet and satellite radio." Maybe right here, Craig Healy can talk about his post on the IRCA list, which mentions that car manufacturers are adding stuff to new car radios like the ability to run your iPod into it, and nowhere in the article does it mention iboc at all. Hmmm. Makes you wonder. Later on in the article they talk to Bob Neil, CEO of Cox who says "Like everything else in the world, things move faster now. I think we're looking at a FIVE YEAR HORIZON before it gets on the radar for consumers and 10 YEARS before it becomes any kind of major factor in listening." A lot can happen in ten years, can't it? A lot can happen in five. The caps are mine. The last paragraph says that the trick to HD is getting people to tune in and that wall street is worried about radio's long term prospects. That's about it (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ AURORA SURPRISE Space Weather News for August 7, 2006 --- A solar wind stream hit Earth this morning, sparking a geomagnetic storm. The arrival of the stream was unexpected, but [sic] the auroras it produced were a pleasant surprise. Bright, colorful lights appeared over Canada, while "photographic auroras" descended as far south as Colorado. See pictures of the event at http://spaceweather.com (via Art Blair, CA, IRCA via DXLD) See also CHINA for SEC report ###