DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-143, September 24, 2006 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2006 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1329: Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Wed 0930 WWCR1 9985 Latest edition of this schedule version, including AM, FM, satellite and webcasts with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: 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 ** ALBANIA. When Big L signed off at 1800 UT, Albania signed on with a measured frequency of 1394.821 kHz! 10 minutes later it was 1394.820 (Tony Hudson, UK? Sept 22, MWC via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. FEEDER, 15820-LSB, Radio Diez, Buenos Aires (// 710 kHz), 2246-2250, September 23, Spanish program: "Qué mas se puede pedir", talk about "Cold Mountain" movie, ID as: "Estás en Radio Diez", 44444 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARMENIA. V. of Armenia Schedule is: 4810 1100-1200 Armenian 1200-1215 Georgian 1215-1245 Armenian 1245-1300 Fri/Sat Azeri 1245-1315 Sun-Thur Azeri 1300-1330 Fri/Sat Turkish 1315-1330 Sun-Thur Turkish 1330-1400 Kurdish 1400-1800 Armenian 1800-1830 Arabic 4810 [S=3] and 9960 kHz 305 degr to EUR [S=9 +40 dB, at Stuttgart GER] 1830-1850 French 1850-1910 German 1910-1930 English 1930-1959 Armenian 4810 and 9965 kHz, latter 255 degrees towards Latin America. 0200-0230 Armenian 0230-0245 Spanish 0245-0330 Armenian (Wolfgang Büschel, BCDX Sept 22 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. MORE INDUSTRIAL ACTION PLANNED AT ABC http://au.news.yahoo.com//060808/2/102da.html ABC programming will return to normal on Friday after a mass strike threw live programming into chaos on Thursday. But unions have warned rolling industrial action will continue until an agreement over pay and conditions is reached with management. ABC union members around the country went on strike for 24 hours from about 3.30 am (AEST) Thursday, leaving a skeleton staff to present Aunty's normal line up of live news and current affairs. Some programs, including The 7.30 Report, were not broadcast at all and others were patched up with international feeds, while ABC online was updated less frequently. More than 2,500 of the ABC's estimated 4,000 staff are members of either the CPSU or Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance. About 75 per cent participated in a secret postal ballot conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission, a requirement of the government's new workplace changes, and ninety-one per cent voted to take the protected industrial action. Unions claim the ABC offered a wage increase of three per cent, or 3.5 per cent if workers traded away penalties and other benefits, but inflation was running at four per cent. The strike follows 10 months of failed negotiations. ABC management want to find a balance between paying staff a fair and reasonable salary and putting unsustainable pressure on the broadcaster's ability to deliver quality programs. Management said they hoped negotiations could quickly resume after the strike (AAP Friday September 22, 02:31 AM via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. It seems that the special transmissions for Darwin from Shepparton on 11880 have ceased - they have not been heard for the past two mornings at my location. Instead I hear a weak signal from China Radio Int in English. I assume it's this one 11880 0500 0900 41NW KAS 100 209. (Noel Green, UK, Sept 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. As soon as I tuned across 13830 [via GERMANY], Sept 23 at 1339, heard ID in Russian as ``Vy slushayete Radio CVC`` with the letters pronounced as in English. Typical heavily produced show with musical stingers, a tactic which will doubtless lead to converting more Russians to Protestantism. Ever notice how all these Protestant gospel huxters rarely if ever call themselves Protestant? They`re just ``Christian`` but they sure aren`t Catholic or Orthodox. In the case of CVC, even ``Christian`` is downplayed, witness stealthy abandonment of its original name Christian Voice, for the corporate abbr. BTW, if you search on ``stealth evangelism`` you find that altho I thought I had coined it, the term arose independently with lots of hits both in a pejorative and positive sense (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. Could those in a position to monitor these (ENAm, Eu if awake) please confirm whether the Belarus broadcasts in the middle of the night, which were also sort of a NAm service, are really gone? (English only here:) Primetimeshortwave now has this: Belarus R. Belarus 0300-0330 Eu,M-Sa 5970, 6155, 7210 Belarus R. Belarus 0330-0400 Eu,Su 5970, 6155, 7210 But those were winter timings! WRTH A-06 supplement showed: MTWTFS Eu 0200-0230 5970 6170 7210 [i.e. daily except UT Sunday] ILG has yet another version for A-06: 0200-0230 Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat 5970 6170 7210 0230-0300 Sun 5970 7210 (Glenn Hauser, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) According to: http://radiobelarus.tvr.by/eng/progwaves.asp they are ONLY in English between 22.00 and 00.00 Belarus time = 19-21 UT. 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, ibid.) Yes, I know that`s what they say, but what stations do, does not always correlate; thus my desire for confirmation by monitoring. If it is deleted that takes care of all the contradictory info! (Glenn, ibid.) Radio Belarus heard, Sept 23, ending German at 1858 and starting English service at 1900 on 7105. SINPO 33443. Heard again at 2028 with 'Letters to Editor' (their mailbag show), SINPO 44444 // 7390, SINPO 34443. 'Muddy' speech modulation but music OK. No mention of service to NAm (Roger Tidy, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 5580.31, Radio San José, San José de Chiquitos, 2235-2245, September 23, romantic songs in Spanish (non stop), very strong signal, 35433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4924.87, R. Educação Rural via Tefé. Apparently now *0930, ex-*1000. Had been hearing this one before 1000 lately, so decided to try around 0930. Sure enough, 9/23 carrier came up at 0931, and audio came on mid-stream 0931:30, during newscast previously heard at *1000. I think this is national and/or network news, and I believe is from Brasília. Terrible night for reception on 60-m.b., but even despite static crashes from nearby thunderstorms, this one was coming in fairly good; usually puts in a good signal just about every morning, also eves up to 0200*. I've also been trying to log the 500-w. R. Difusora, Taubaté, SP on 4925 for a couple years now, but nothing ever noted, not even a het against the slightly-off Tefé station, or anything overnight, as Taubaté is supposedly 24-hours. Does anyone know for sure if the Taubaté station is indeed still on SW? Perhaps some of our Brasilian friends, especially who live in or near SP state, could verify if indeed it is still on the air? I remember finding a website for them several months back, and no mention of SW on it. Very good opening to Brazil the same time on 31-m.b., though. At 0940 check, Brazilians on 9505, 9515, 9565, 9615, and 9630 all starting to fade in well. R. Marumby on 9665 (also see following) with fairly good signal, but suffering from splatter from R. Canção Nova on 9675, which was fairly booming in! R. Marumby 9665: Heard 9/22 between end of 'A Voz do Brasil' program and next program 2259 with ID by OM simply as "Marumby," and also mentioned 9 and 11 MHz frequencies. QRM from a co-channel station made speech a little hard to make out, so I didn't hear the exact frequencies, but assume 9665 and 11750. And it looks like I was in the ballpark when I heard them on 11750 a few weeks ago, and thought they were running relatively low-power, perhaps 1 kW or less. Looks like according to your sources in Brazil, Glenn, that they are running only about 500 Watts on this frequency. Haven't been able to hear them recently, though; the Chinese station (I believe it's CNR1), dominates from about 2200 on, on 11750 (Alex Vranes, WV, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA. 9300, R. Varna, 0037-0048, Sept 18, Bulgarian/English, Pop ballads in English. Quick "R. Varna" ID at 0043 then right back to music thru tune-out. Fair (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, DTS-4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UT Mon ** CANADA. Re: CBC head quits after defecation, bestiality remarks Not very savory topics --- but I couldn't help but wonder if the guy was any good at running the CBC. Shouldn't that have been the criteria that determined whether he would stay on the job or not? Perhaps it was, but it didn't sound that way in the article. Also, I couldn't help but wonder if the odd remarks might have been taken out of context. One other thing to consider is that in general, Canadians aren't as prudish about such topics as we are in the U.S. Maybe the conservative government up there is copying the boys down here and ferreting out people who don't have what they consider to be acceptable "values". A sidebar --- I know there have been massive budget cuts throughout the Corporation (CBC) and it certainly shows in the quality of presentation of their local Manitoba newscast. I watch it every evening, and it's a pretty sorry specimen compared to the product in the same time slot as recently as three or four years ago (Tom Bryant / Nashville, Sept 21, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) ** CHINA. Re: [udxf] 10200 kHz unID Chinese Music Is this not the same "Chinese music jammer" that is often heard on several (broadcast) frequencies? Been around for years. Seems that it has lately attracted the attention of hams (by intruding into their bands) and they have given it the name Firedragon [sic] http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/prcdragon.pdf Plays a repeating fairly long piece/s of instrumental music to try to jam whatever real broadcast station is on that frequency; presumably that is what the voices were. I listened earlier to 10200 and it sounded right for this jammer, although it was pretty weak here at the time (yeryry_uk Sept 17, UDXF yg via DXLD) Yup, that's it. Thanks for the good link. I remember the Chinese jamming, but wasn't aware it was now chasing Sound of Hope all over the bands. VOA has some good recordings of these guys posted somewhere. I remember the music being extremely overmodulated and with a huge 50-Hz audio hum, and this time it was if anything a bit undermodulated. Some of the drumming was actually pretty good. The thing finally peaked around S6, and dropped carrier at 2100. Frequency dead at 1800 today (Hugh Stegman, Sept 18, UDXF yg via DXLD) Firedrake (how is this getting transformed to Firedragon in amateur publications?), Sept 23 at 1335 on 13970 good signal // poor 10400. However at 1420 recheck it was inaudible on 13970, still audible on 10400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Chinese jammer 'Firedrake' was reported recently on 10200 but now seems to have moved to 10400. Noted here at 1410 Sept 23 with a good signal. The jammer took a break from 1500 to 1505 and then continued (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake observations for Sept 23. 1800 on 9355 and 10400. 1900 on 9355, 9905 (latter mixed with Tehran in French on same frequency) and 10400. 2000 on 9355, 9905 and 10400. 2200 on 6280 (Roger Tidy, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello, 17560 continuous Firedrake at 1100-1530 UT against V. of Tibet via Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with some program time breaks in between. 1100-1145, 1215-1345, 1430-1515. Sorry, maybe V. of Tibet via Dushanbe, Orzu, Tajikistan instead (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Sept 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) mixed up with Libyan jamming? See GABON ** COLOMBIA. Just as I was falling asleep at 0600 Sept 23, tuned to 6140 and immediately heard R. Líder ID, VG signal, no het, and would not have known it was off frequency but others measure it on 6139.8. Typically has spurts of activity lasting only a few days, then gone for weeks or months. Prove me wrong this time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6139.8, R. Líder, 0943-0957 23 Sept, Lively LA Pops, 0946 canned ID promo then ad, and back to music. News at 0955 with IDs as "R. Líder Bogotá" during. Nice full canned ID with vibraphone at 1008. Huge signal. Drifting within 30 Hz a little (Dave Valko, PA, HCDX via DXLD) Among new audio clips at José Miguel Romero`s site: 6140, Radio Líder, español. 23 Sep 06 http://dxprogramas.multiply.com/music/item/245 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia) España, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6139.8, R. Líder, 1013-1027, Sept 23, Spanish, OM with music and talks. Nice ID announcement at 1019. Fair though dramatic surge in static at 1027 (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, DTS-4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) R. Líder, 0509 Sept 24, G with music, this time measured and indeed on 6139.8. Between 05 and 06 there is ACI from WHRA on 6145; the only time they use that frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6139.9, Radio Líder, Bogotá, 0520-0600, 24-09. De nuevo en el aire. Una alegría volver escuchar esta emisora con muy buena música. Programa de canciones latinoamericanas y españolas, canciones de Julio Iglesias. Identificación entre canciones: "Radio Líder, la música", "Radio Líder". A las 0556 identificación completa: "Desde Bogotá, Colombia, transmite Radio Líder, 730 AM, el canal preferencial HJCU, Radio Líder, otra potente emisora de la Cadena Melodía de Colombia". A las 0557: "La Cultura comienza con la información, ultimas noticias en Radio Lider". Noticias. A las 0559 completamente eclipsada por DW con programa en inglés en 6140. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, en casco urbano de Lugo, España, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Líder on about 6139.8 was pushing DW 6140 aside around 0715 but no trace of Marfil Estéreo 5910 today. 6010 as usual had Belarus and hets (Noel Green, NW England, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. I didn't hear an ID - or don't think I did - on 6060 this morning (23/09) but this frequency was heard to continue in Spanish till past 0800. Normally it goes off at 0700 after English. Between 0710 (tune in) and 0725 I heard what sounded to be a "travelogue" type of programme telling about various places in Cuba. After five minutes of music what might have been La Hora Cultural started. Much of what I heard was soulful jazz - 'Coming Home', 'Georgia', that sort of thing. I had to leave it at about 0810 but on returning at 0825 there was no trace of the signal. Twice I heard mention of Radio Cubano - but perhaps it could have been a part of some other announcement. I checked other known channels but didn't hear a parallel, and 5025 was doing something else. Could it be an extended weekend external transmission? (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Probably Radio Musical Nacional CMBF network which they often run after 0700 for some reason (Glenn, ibid.) Frequency 6060 was not on today (Sunday Sept 24) but 6000 was, and carrying a Spanish language programme. I did hear RHC mentioned (in full), but could not tell in what context. This was a musical programme until about 0725 when only a carrier. 6000 is usually slightly weaker here than 6060 and suffers the LUX [DRM] crud from 5990 and splash from Berlin 6005. There was a preacher on 6060 which I guess came from Brazil (Noel Green, NW England, ibid.) ** CUBA. RHC has added a 13 MHz channel for its morning broadcast, VG on 13750, Sept 23 at 1341 with talk about the Juegos Centroamericanos, then ``Agenda 21`` segment, ecological report about rehabilitating DDT to fight malaria, per OMS (WHO) report. Also still heard on // 6000, 9550, 11760, 11805, 12000, 15230. At 1359 I compared it to 15230 and found they were not precisely synchronized, a reverb apart, so different sites or program feed routings. At 1353 the OC for CRI relay on 13740 was already on 10 kHz away with its perpetual squeal but 13750 was strong enough to withstand it. 13750 probably runs from 1100 to 1500 with Despertar con Cuba. Have not yet caught a frequency announcement to confirm whether they know about it in the studio or it is permanent rather than experimental (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Then I found this: Radio Habana Cuba 13750 KHz --- Saludos: Aprovecho la ocasión para darles a conocer que a partir del pasado dia 20 de Septiembre Radio Habana Cuba ha comenzado a transmitir diariamente en los 13750 kiloHertzdes de las 1100 a las 1500 UT (programa Despertar con Cuba). Estamos utilizando uno de los nuevos transmisores adquiridos en la República Popular China de 100 kiloWatts de potencia, con tecnología de modulación por pasos de impulsos, el cual es muy eficiente desde el punto de vista del consumo de energía eléctrica. La antena utilizada es una Cortina de Dipolos normalizada UIT HR, 4,4, 0,8 dirigida en el acimut 340 grados , lo que nos da una cobertura de la zona central de América del Norte con una ganancia en la banda de 13 MHz estimada en casi 20 dB. Para los amigos oyentes de la region central de America del Norte, a partir de aproximadamentelos 30 grados Norte, ésta será, sin duda, una excelente opción para disfrutar de nuestra programación matutina. Atentamente (Prof. Arnaldo Coro Antich, Radio Habana Cuba, Sept 23, condig blog via DXLD) RHC on new 13750 in the mornings until 1500, but that collides with their previous usage of 13750 for ``Aló Presidente`` from 1400 on Sundays. The latter wins out on Sept 24, as 13750 was in the AP service instead of the main RHC service on 11760, 11805, 12000, 15230. 13750 much better than // 13680, and also on 11875, 11670 at 1404 starting ``Siete Días`` run-up to AP which announcer said would axually start at 11 am = 1500 UT. 11875 was slightly behind 13680 and 13750, different program feed routing. And the squealing CRI relay on 13740 was missing today. Earlier: RHC using one of its squealing transmitters on 6000, in English at 0510 Sept 24. Usually these are reserved for CRI relays. Almost unlistenable (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Following up my observations the previous night, R. República was doing better against the DentroCuban Jamming Command on UT Sept 23 around 0025 check, with 7205 quite readable atop the jamming, and also audible on 5910; just variations in propagation from Europe, I assume. Both would doubtless be more effective and less variable if transmitted from some 250/500 kW US site (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 5040, LV del Upano, 1000 22 Sept, NA sung by men, then usual canned ID by M with QTH, power, frequency, and phone "Señoras y señores, ?? santo ??, HC??, R. Difusoras Católica Cultural, La Voz del Upano, transmite desde ??, capital de ?? en la República del Ecuador, América del Sur...". Canned announcement by W followed. Very strong signal but horribly undermodulated (Dave Valko, PA, HCDX via DXLD) 5039.97, (Presumed), LV del Upano, 1011-1032, Sept. 22, Spanish, Preacher with "Santa María's" repeated by congregation. Musical bit then format repeats. Continuous through tune-out. Whisper-quiet but clear (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverages, MLB- 1, DTS-4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 3735 kHz, Radio Cairo. Sept. 14 at 2033-2100. SINPO 35433. Kor`an recitation till 2037, then talk in French. Arabic songs at 2040. News after music & ID at 2100 (Iwao Nagatani, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ??? Very strange frequency. A typo? If not, French is scheduled only on 9990. Cairo is notorious for radiating mixing products, but does not work out as plus or minus 3735 from that, which would be 13725 or 6255. Ideas? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It's probably 9735 kHz (the frequency of the African service of Cairo) 2030-2230 in French (Jean-Michel Aubier, France, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) O, yes (gh) Yes, it's a typo... 9735 2030-2230 (Roberto Scaglione http://www.bclnews.it ibid.) ** EGYPT. Noted at 1520 Sept 23 on 15670 a strong signal with horribly distorted audio, impossible to make out anything beyond the circumstance that this was once a human voice. Must have been Abis, and so 9990 is not the poorest signal from there (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Scheduled 1430-16 in Pashto (gh) September 23rd, 2200 UT, R. Cairo over modulated 9990 kHz. Program with female announcer. Difficult to understand due to overmod. Severe QRM from WWCR 9985. SIO 422 (Kraig Krist, VA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA ECUATORIAL. 5005, Radio Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial, Bata, 2210-2215, September 23, Spanish, talk about social security in the country, 34433. 15190, Radio East Africa, Malabo, 1010-1020, September 24, English, very nice reception!!! Religious talk by male, Christian song at 1015 UT and other talk, 35433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. See SOUTH CAROLINA [non] ** GABON. RTVG, 4777, French music at 0514 Sept 24, only African signal making it on 60m (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON [and non]. Came at 1445 across the Moyabi jamming service against Sawt al-Amal, spooling up its endless row of Afropop songs with rather low modulation (but compressed audio, so it's not just a plain CD player output or so) on 17695. Did continue also after 1500 but now accompanied by a station I did not bother to identify on 17700 [R. Solh via UK?] and a really matching Firedrake on 17685, // 17560 but with different fading patterns, indicating different sites. What are the Chinese actually jamming on these frequencies? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17700 is Radio Solh via Rampisham and 17685 at 1500-1530 is VOA in Uzbek which is HFCC registered via Lampertheim. I've no idea what 17560 is though (Noel R. Green (NW England), ibid.) See also CHINA Thanks! Just to make sure, it was indeed the music feed they set on 17560. And re 17685: I did not consider VOA Uzbek as target of Chinese jamming in the first place. But when thinking about it I seem to recall some reports about China jamming Uzbek broadcasts because native speakers of Uighur can understand Uzbek as well. And the circumstance that the 17685 jammer was not there around 1445 suggests that it was indeed meant to destroy VOA's Uzbek service, not just to jam a frequency accidentally used in some channel hopping by Voice of Tibet (or rather their transmission provider). Anyway one thing is sure: Meanwhile I developed a strong aversion against both Peking opera music and the slick, relaxed, cool talk one can hear on CRI broadcasts today (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not to imply that Solh 17700 was jammed, right? (gh) ** GERMANY [and non]. While tuning around I stumbled at 1455 over a production music well known to me on 15595. Yes, of course Deutsche Welle, with to-be-abolished Turkish via Wertachtal. They continued with a competition, then over to a Robbie Williams song they finally faded out, IS played once and Wertachtal carrier almost seamlessly replaced by Moosbrunn, signing on this frequency for AWR. Noted before 1500 also Kigali with a strong signal on 15275, carrying German with SBG live coverage (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Glenn: Katerina is back on the Internet and 15630 with SINPO here of 45444 with "Greeks Everywhere" on Voice of Greece on Saturday at 1400-1500 UT. http://tvradio.ert.gr/radio/liveradio/voiceofGreece.asp (John Babbis, MD, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOG, 15630, good reception, better than usual at 1400 Sat Sept 23 opening Hellenes Around the World, a.k.a. Greeks Everywhere, one of the interviewees to be from Haifa, about what else, Hellenic studies. If only this weren`t on at the same time as Vinyl Café from CBC. But checking the 0200 UT Sunday webcast, no HATW, just music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Katerina: Your "Greeks Everywhere" repeat of the 1400-1500 UT Saturday show did not make it to 0200-0300 UT Sunday on 7475 and 9420 (not audible here on 17520). For about the fourth time, the Voice of Greece played the "It's All Greek To Me" program with George hosting the "Musical Program in English"; not my style of Greek music, and very little English (John Babbis, Silver Spring MD, to ERT via DXLD) ** GUAM. 2130 UT, 13089 kHz, US Coast Guard Guam tracking Super Typhoon Yagi near Iwo Jima, 45555. Hope to active tomorrow as my shift on the ship changes daily. 73's from (Larry Fields, n6hpx/kh2, maritime mobile, ``mid-Pacific-Rim``, Sept 23, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Yagi? They are already down to Y; not many typooons are named after antennas (gh, DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4052.5, Radio Verdad, Chiquimula, 0451-0500, 23-09, Inglés, canciones religosas, comentarios religiosos por locutor, identificación y dirección: "Radio Verdad, P. O. Box 5, Chiquimula, Guatemala, Central America". A las 0457 canción de cierre y cierre a las 0500. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Escuchas realizadas en Friol, 27 Km. W de Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 y Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Antena de cable, 10 metros, orientada WSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 4799.673, Radio Buenas Nuevas, excellent at 0930 16 Sept, but by 1230 transmitter was broadcasting distorted noise; 2345 back to normal (Robert Wilkner, FL, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** GUYANA. 3291.16, V. of Guyana, 2310-2335, Sept. 20, English, OM with music countdown program. Music sounded like Hindi "pop". Fair (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, DTS-4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 3340, Radio Misiones Internacionales, 0447-0535, 23-09, locutor, español, programa religioso: "Acompáñenos todos los fines de semana, transmitimos la palabra de Dios". Identificación: "Radio Misiones Internacionales". Canciones religiosas. Anuncios comerciales a las 0503. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Escuchas realizadas en Friol, 27 Km. W de Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 y Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Antena de cable, 10 metros, orientada WSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. Spanish service from Radio Budapest at 0330 on 3975 has been doing well in Tiquicia nightime, but // 6025 is flanked by two powerhouses, namely Radio Martí on 6030 and CRI on 6020. No chance for me on 7285 till Winter season arrives and sked changes from 2130 to 2230. And no problem with 0330 moving to 0430 on 3975 and maybe we’ll have good luck on // 6025 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Webcaster Alternate Focus --- this was brought to my attention by a posting on the PBS discussion board. From their About Us page: Who We Are --- The three founding directors, a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim, are working together for peace and justice by offering the American public media which shows another side of Middle Eastern issues. AF has over twenty producers who help with every aspect of video production, broadcasting, and dvd distribution to libraries and schools. Several independent video producers are affiliated with Alternate Focus and make their documentaries available to us for broadcast. Nationally recognized organizations are working with us as suppliers of content and as distributors. We continue to seek affiliation with producers, distributors, and interested organizations. Our Mission --- We are dedicated to offering the American public media that provides balance to existing coverage of Middle East and related issues. http://www.alternatefocus.org./index.php (via Clara Listensprechen, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. 15430, IRIB Tehran, 0730-0830 27,28 SIR 500 kW 310 degrees Die deutsche Sendung aus Tehran ueber den Sender Sirjan auf 15430 kHz hat heute[?] ein technisches Problem. Jedenfalls ist die Audio voll mit Kratzgeraeuschen unterlegt, die wohl aus der Satellitenzufuehrung des Signals herruehren, ein daneben abgestimmter Empfangskanal oder einem nicht genau ausgerichtetem Dish. Die \\ Frequenz 15085 liefert ein sauberes Signal (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX Sept 21 via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. CLANDESTINE, 6245, Radio Zamaneh, via Armavir, Russia, 2050-2100, September 23, Farsi, talk by male, music, other talk or news (mentions of "Iran", "Hezbollah"), announcement by male & female, song at 2100, 24432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [non]. This weekend`s ``World Interactive`` on NHK Warido Radio Japan has a feature on upcoming R. St. Helena special. Tuned in too late Sat Sept 23 on 6110 via Canada at 0536 as Toshi Ohtake segment was ending, but then they played a song, ``Isle of St. Helena`` by an Irish singer. She pronounced it correctly, huh-LEE-nuh, but both M&W hosts, one before and one after, pronounced HELL-uh-nuh, as if they didn`t even listen to the song. Is this show made up of pieces edited together by someone else rather than flowing along in real time as it seems? Numerous repeats into UT Monday if one intunes earlier in the hour or OD. If R. St. Helena accomplishes nothing else, we can hope that correct pronunciation of the island will spread; sure (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. The German service of KBS World Radio said in its mailbag show today that they are searching for FM or AM outlets in the big cities of Germany. A possible curtailment of the shortwave transmissions is under consideration, specifically the direct morning transmission of German on 15210 could go because reception in Germany is always poor. Only a few listeners use the online services of KBS, the German pages get the least hits at all (Paul Gager via A-DX, responding to a posting by Harald Kuhl who noted that all the big stations would like to get FM frequencies in the capitals of the world and to shut down shortwave as soon as possible, may DRM be a success or not) (summary translation by Kai Ludwig, Sept 23 for dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non?]. IRAN/IRAQ UNIDS: Cf. BC-DX 771, was and is 4044 kHz, the new frequency of "Eira Dengi ... K-na Iran", according to the ID and jammed by Iran. Sept 14 (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, wwdxc BC-DX Sept 22 via DXLD) K-na meaning ``Kurdistana``, I assume. Must we abbr. e-thing? (gh) ** LIBERIA. 5470, Radio Veritas, 2202-2207, 22-09, música, locutor, inglés, comentario. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Escuchas realizadas en Friol, 27 Km. W de Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 y Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Antena de cable, 10 metros, orientada WSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA [and non]. 22 Septiembre --- Hoy se aprecia a las 1158 una portadora sin emisión en 17690; a las 1201 inicia emisión Sawt Al-amal con sintonía, identificación, canto del Corán, horarios y frecuencias, locutor en árabe con comentarios y segmento musical. Se mantuvo la emisión sin problemas hasta las 1311 en que cambia a 17695; se mantiene la emisión hasta las 1331 en que cortan bruscamente. No se apreció en Valencia ninguna emisión de interferencia a Sawt Al-amal; la emisión de África Nº 1 en 17630 en francés, se escuchó con aceptable señal, no sufrió variación, emitió música pop y afro-pop, acompañada por comentarios por locutor (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, SANGEAN ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, Sept 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also GABON ** MALAYSIA. 6049.65, Asyik FM (RTM), Sept 22, 1048-1100, heard with a distinctive chanting/singing program, IDed with a singing Asyik FM jingle at 1055 and the chanting/singing continuing till ToH. In the past I have only heard pop music on Asyik FM and think it is good they are now playing some indigenous music for a change. John Wilkins has also noted this same type of chanting/singing program several times on Wai FM (RTM), on 7270, around 1206 to 1300 (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340, with T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. No trace of Mexico 6185 - is it off? (Noel Green, NW England, circa 0715 UT Sept 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENIG DIGEST) Seemed to be missing when I checked a couple hours earlier, but always badly squeezed by 6180 and 6190 before 0600 (gh, OK, DXLD) 6185, 0050 UT 24/9, R. Educación, México, ID and program "la cultura" in Spanish. 44444. Rx AOR7030 and NRD 535, antenna lw 100m (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, HCDX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Hi, On some DX lists people have been noticing that 690 can`t seem to make up its mind what its call letters are now. They were heard IDing as XEWR (which is actually 1110 in Juárez), and then back to XETRA. Earlier this year it was XERA in English and XETRA in Spanish. My theory is that they just make up callsigns which have no legal standing. Just like any other `slogan`. Wonder if you could get to the bottom of this identity crisis? Tho I don`t see much in SDRadio about Spanish language media. Tnx, (Glenn Hauser to SDRadio.net, via DXLD) ** MICRONESIA. Sun. September 17th: Praise God, Pohnpei, Micronesia got their license after waiting over a year. Pray for guidance as they move ahead with this project. Sat. September 30th: Pray for Pastor Norbert & Silvia Kalau, in Pohnpei, as they work out final details to install a Short Wave radio station (Galcom Prayer Bulletin, via DXLD) WTFK? That`s in the Eastern Caroline Islands. Not clear if these two items are related. There are some AM & FM stations in Pohnpei already, per WRTH, such as V6AF, 104.0 belonging to Calvary Christian Academy in Kings Mountain NC. Looks like beyond FCC jurisdixion they get to use ``even`` FM channels, whoopee! Car radios OK with that? Or are there no cars? Here`s an old story about Norbert, and his Pacific Missionary Aviation: http://www.newsflash.org/2003/05/ht/ht003957.htm In fact, the only hit on him, besides duplicates, in a Google search. The GALCOM prayer bulletins for Sept thru Nov are now posted; this is the only significant mention of SW, tho many other radio projects are covered. Nothing in this quarter`s edition about plans for a SW station in remote northern Ontario. Has God nixed it? In any event, no prayers required. Galcom is that purveyor of fixed-tuned radios allowing victims to hear only approved missionary broadcasts (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOLDOVA. IN CYBERSPACE, TRANSDNIESTER DOESN'T LOOK THAT BAD By Luke Allnutt Often criticized as a gangsters' paradise and Soviet theme park, Transdniester is on a charm offensive -- at least in cyberspace. Take a look at one of a handful of new English-language websites showcasing the breakaway state and you'll get the impression of a forward- thinking young democracy. If the country's young people aren't break dancing, a reader is led to believe, they'll be blogging or attending an environmental demonstration -- all while enthusing about Transdniester's drive for independence. Pridnestrovie.net is one such site. With savvy writing and a slick design, the site aims to challenge popular notions of Transdniester as dreary, corrupt, and run by a repressive regime funded by arms and people trafficking. The websites quote a number of Westerners marveling at Tiraspol's new football stadium or saying Transdniester is the French Riviera compared to Moldova proper. Irishman Des Grant is one of those quoted on visitpmr.com. He says he first came to Transdniester in the early 1990s as part of a humanitarian aid mission, and has been visiting ever since. "It's an absolutely beautiful country. The people there have a spirit that you don't really get in many Eastern European countries," Grant says. "I've visited probably 20, over 30 countries in the world, in fact, and I have to say that this place really sparkles. There is a warmth and an energy in that small place. If I was to compare it with anywhere in Western Europe it would have to be Switzerland." 'Tiraspol Times' Grant is also the founder of the "Tiraspol Times," an online newspaper that professes to be "committed to the truth." Grant says his intention is to help the free press in Transdniester. But at least one journalist has questioned the methods of the "Tiraspol Times," whose content is largely dedicated to effusive praise of the government or endorsing independence. Tom de Waal, a London-based journalist and author, was outraged to see an article under his name appear on the "Tiraspol Times" website. The article, which the site says was "adapted" by a journalist named Michael Garner, appears to support Transdniester's claim to independence. "I've certainly never been to Pridnestrovie, Transdniester, or Moldova, and I am certainly not arguing, as is written under my name, that Pridnestrovie has a better case for independence than Kosovo," de Waal says. De Waal says that the publication grafted material onto an article he had earlier written about parallels between Kosovo and Georgia's breakaway territory of Abkhazia. He said he had never heard of Michael Garner, and did not even know his byline had appeared on the "Tiraspol Times." Confronted with this information, website founder Grant said he had no knowledge an error had been made, but that it would be rectified if it proved to be the case. Mysterious Think Tank It isn't just young European hipsters that Transdniester is targeting in its image campaign, but also the more serious-minded foreign-policy community. An August report in the U.K.-based "Economist" magazine looked into a group called the International Council for Democratic Institutions and State Sovereignty. The council is credited with producing a report in support of Transdniestrian independence. But journalist Edward Lucas, who wrote the original "Economist" story about the organization, says he could find little information about the think tank. "What's really remarkable is that nobody's been able to produce any credible proof or verifiable proof that they have any existence," Lucas says. All but one of the alleged authors of the report have since denied involvement in the study. The case has provoked suspicions among Western officials like Louis O'Neill, the head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. "It even quoted my former colleague at the [U.S.] State Department, who, of course, was never consulted, never said the things he was said to say and generally was distorted," O'Neill says. So who is behind the sudden crop of polished promotional websites? And who is responsible for the report by the International Council for Democratic Institutions and State Sovereignty? And where, Lucas asks, is the money coming from? "I think that the extreme conspiracy theory that the entire thing is run from Tiraspol is quite hard to sustain. I think it's much more likely that it's a mixture of some money from Tiraspol, which might either be government money, money from Mr. [Vladimir] Antyufeyev's State Security Committee, or possibly from one of the wealthy trading companies there," Lucas says. No doubt, tracking the money is likely to be tough. Grant is vague about the funding of the "Tiraspol Times." In a telephone interview, he says the publication receives no funding whatsoever. But later, in e-mail correspondence, he says the website is funded by unnamed "directors." Despite the images of cloudless days and young people dancing in the streets, Transdniester may well have to do a little more to shake off its dubious reputation in the West. (RFE/RL correspondent Eugen Tomiuc contributed to this report. Originally published on September 15.) (RFE/RL Reports via DXLD) So beware of R. PMR ** MONACO [non]. Re 6-142, TWR: Oh dear! Checking their schedule just now I see that at 0745 they have an item called "Way to Life". I was probably not listening carefully and imagined I had heard Wavescan. The announcer had a rather plummy accent but it really was my fault to misinform you. Sorry (Morrison Hoyle, Australia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONACO [non]. Re 6-142, DRM 6175: Strano l'off alle 1028, prima c'era un break tra le 1100 e le 1200, quando la trasmissione cominciava alle 0900 e finiva alle 1600. Ora dovrebbe essere 0600-1000 (Roberto Scaglione, Sicilia, bclnews.it via DXLD) ** MOROCCO. RTM via the Briech transmitters used to have quite sorry audio, distorted and with lots of crackling. But today I found that both faults are gone now. Listened before 1500 on 15335 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 5985, Myanmar Radio & TV, good looking, colorful folder card with stylized map of Burma, globe and flag on front, full-data and sked on inside, V/S Ko Ko Htway, Dir. of Radio Broadcasting, Myanma [sic] Radio & TV. Also a station folder. Return address: Ko Ko Htway, Dir. (Broadcasting), Myanma Radio & TV, Pyay Road, Yangon. For reception in Hawaii; received by registered mail, two years total for CD report and $1, no follow-ups. A nice surprise (Jerry Berg, MA, DXplorer Sept 9 via BCDX Sept 22 via DXLD) Same v/s as in 6-008 ** NIGER. 9705, La Voix du Sahel, Sept. 20, 2220-2257* --- On an off day from work, (I get those at times), tried to see if any further signals from this station could be heard. I noted this station at this hour during very enhanced conditions from Africa. Tuned into a variety program with requests, the music ranging from traditional 'dance' type to modern techno 'rap'. The comments where in French by the announcer and noted several 'good' IDs at 2229 & 2250. At 2250 the announcer proceeded to gave some details of tonight's broadcast, and mentioned 'one more to close this program' (in English!). At 2252 with Qur`an recitation verse (the signal at this point was coming in a good solid level). What was strange was at 2257 the station went off the air. It did not appear that a fade-out occurred so I took it as a early sign- off (without the traditional NA of Niger to 2301*). This was the case, on the 16th with much poorer signal (2250-2301*). The signal ranged from fair (initially) to very solid copy (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Sept 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 7255, V. of Nigeria, *2100 Sept 22. Usual massive signal. Instrumental music at sign-on, then W with French ID, lively instrumental music bridge, then program rundown by W. Continuous music and ID followed by news (Dave Valko, PA, HCDX via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. R. Pakistan in English was heard: 1530-1600 on 4790, 5080 (Sep 2nd). 1600-1614 on 5022, 11570 (Sept 2-9) and on 4790 on Sep 2nd. (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Sept 14, wwdxc BC-DX Sept 22 via DXLD) ** PERU. NEW STATION; 5602.6, RADIO LA VOZ DE LOS ANDES --- Transmitiendo desde el Centro poblado El Higuerón en el Distrito de San Miguel de El Faique, Huancabamba. Notada ayer (23-09) con programación musical desde las 2220 a 0103* Anunciando transmision en MW, FM y SW pero sin mencionar las frecuencias "...Radio La Voz de los Andes, la radio que ya está en tu corazón; no te dejes sorprender, sigue con nosotros, somos la nueva radio; Radio La Voz de los Andes..." A las 0100 cierre anunciando como Gerente-Propietario al Sr. Alberto Toco Santos y transmisión en MW desde las 1300 a 0100 y en SW de 2200 a 0100. "...Radio LV de los Andes, una voz que integra al país y al mundo..." Radio La Voz de Los Andes, Centro Poblado El Higuerón, Dto. San Miguel de El Faique, Provincia de Huancabamba, Piura; PERU A los amigos colegas que quieran escuchar esta emisora; por este medio les puedo enviar algunos archivos de audio para que los disfruten (Rafael Rodriguez R., Bogotá - Colombia, Sept 24, condig list via DXLD) Er, I think that name is already taken (gh, DXLD) ** POLAND [and non]. Another Radio Polonia clash: Russian 1430-1455 on single 7180 has Voice of Turkey in Greek co-channel, audible underneath with fast SAH. I could imagine that it will be a problem in parts of Russia (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL [and non]. Checking out ``A Guitarra Portuguesa e o Fado`` show on RDPI webcast, Sat Sept 23, scheduled at 1708 but did not start until about 1712, and unfortunately included a lot of talk rather than music. Clashes timewise with ``La Bañera de Ulises`` on RNE Radio 3, which also talks too much, but as it happened, started out with Portuguese music anyway (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 7201, R. Rossii-Yakutsk, 1034-1049, Sept 22, Russian, Various announcers with talks and music. May have been a radio drama of sorts. Fair/poor. // 7345 Yakutsk-fair, // 7320 Arman-good (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, DTS-4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Unusual propagation Sept 23 around 0530, when the usual Eurafrican signals on 7 MHz were weak to missing, while 7320 in Russian was inbooming from Magadan, lively mix of talk and music, where it is prime time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [non?]. Landing at 1538 on 11635 brought me a sudden flash- back to ten years ago, since there was Voice of Russia (presumably in Persian) with lots of reverb and the old-fashioned gate, sounding just like the old Radio Moscow. It turned out to be a trailer, apparently still recorded in the old studios. The HFCC file shows as site for this transmission "Kishinyov" = Grigoriopol. However, the modulation was not Grigoriopol-like, and the gate still in place points at a site around Moscow, still getting audio through the old circuits. And before 1600 VOR English run some stuff from the old studios as well, noted on strong 7370 (this one may indeed be Grigoriopol as listed) and even stronger 11980 (Tbilisskaya; what a pity that they replaced this powerhouse signal for German by a poorer Samara outlet). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAINT HELENA. See JAPAN ** SAO TOME. Came at 1530 across "this is the Voice of America signing off" on 13750, with some other station underneath until the VOA transmitter finally cut its carrier after some YDD. Apparently it carried VOA Hausa, moved to here from 13745 to avoid Gospel for Asia via Wertachtal. Trouble is that GFA via WER continues at 1530 on 13750, so an immediate carrier down should be practiced for this VOA transmission (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Found before 1500 all three programs scheduled for the high power transmitters on air as they should: General program on 21640 and Holy Qur`an on 17895 with bassy audio, together with French on 21600 with an announcement for "Radio Riyadh". And after 1500 Call of Islam was on 15435, accompanied by a buzzy hum (or was it a hummy buzz?). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SINGAPORE. 7235, R. Singapore Int'l, 1041-1103, Sept 18, Vernacular, OM and YL with music and talk. ID at 1100 then presumed news. Poor, fair at best. "Ham" slop via 7238L at ToH (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, DTS-4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Malay listed ** SLOVAKIA. Re 6-142: José Miguel, la verdad es que esta cosas de la radio parece que fueran cortadas con la misma tijera en todas partes. Siempre la misma vaina y el mismo peo, colocan funcionarios que no saben nada de radio ni de TV a dirigir estos medios, que tristeza. Aquí es cuando tu comentario cobra más valor por lo directo que fuiste. Te aseguro que de repente esos funcionarios ni saben que Slovaquia tiene un servicio exterior de radio. Discúlpame por las palabras usadas pero me doy cuenta que esta vaina es igual en muchos países. Recibe un fuerte abrazo y de nuevo presento disculpas por las palabras empleadas (José Elías, Venezuela, Noticias DX via DXLD) Saludos cordiales José, pues sí, pero en este caso encima tienen la honradez de reconocer que no tienen ni idea, que desconocen el medio en que trabajan y por supuesto que ni idea de que tenían un servicio internacional; patético, pero así es la vida política, en Eslovaquia, Venezuela, España, etc, etc, etc. Un abrazo, atentamente (José Miguel Romero, Spain, ibid.) Those in charge know nothing about SW (gh) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Brother Scare Sabbath-only broadcast inbooming via Guiana French, 17810, already in progress at 1355 Sept 23; so not clear when it starts. Still nothing about this transmission on the Overcomer website. BBC Ascension QRM barely detectable underneath. It`s so sad: to think, RFI could be using this very facility to bring to North America its English hour at 1400; instead France insults us by throwing this crap back in our face (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [non]. Besides the low modulation level of the Cariari relay, REE 5965 Sept 24 at 0510 was under an open carrier producing a fast SAH. My guess is Cuba, which uses 5965 at other times (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWAZILAND. In the absence of Radio Djibouti last night and tonight on 4780, once again TWR Mpangela 4775 was heard in English, 9/22, at 0444 with religious weak and noisy signal. But German is running for weekends, as I began to tune them at 0400, 9/23. Yes gentleman, I can`t hardly believe that I am such a lucky guy, but at the same time a lonely wolf on this, that nobody else seems to log (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. 9745, (Presumed), V. of Han, 1054-1110, Sept 22, English/Mandarin, English cover of "Mr. Sandman" at tune-in, YL and OM in Mandarin followed by English cover of chorus from Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" (That was different) at ToH. Announcers over music followed by soundbites and presumed news. Fair (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, DTS-4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET [and non]. Jamming of V. of Tibet: see GABON [and non]! ** UKRAINE. No new language services --- Time and again news about Radio Ukraine International extending its services (like adding Polish, Russian, French, Spanish, Arabic) circulate on the web. But unfortunately word from the Ukraine is that this is not true. Indeed attempts were being made to establish a Polish service and the editors were already prepared to launch it, but then all these preparations were terminated, apparently due to lack of money (Dietmar Birkhahn, who produces a DX programme for RUI German, Sept 23, A-DX, via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) Viz.: Subject: Re: [A-DX] Gute [sic] Nachrichten aus der Ukraine From: Dietmar Birkhahn Hallo Dietrich, Hallo Liste... Es wäre zu schön gewesen, aber leider ist diese Info, so wie aus der Ukraine zu hören ist, falsch. Offenbar geistert diese Info immer wieder mal durchs Netz... Es gab wohl mal den Versuch ein polnisches Programm zu starten, die Redaktion stand hier schon bereit, aber dann wurde alles wieder eingestampft, die Finanzen sind wohl schuld. 73 ! (Dietmar Birkhahn, http://www.wellenforum.de QTH: Lindlar, 30 km east of Cologne, A-DX via Ludwig, DXLD) ** UKRAINE. Radio Ukraine International heard, Sept 23, with its Saturday 'Hello from Kiev' programme. The presenter spoke about the difficulties under which the station is working, saying that there was a staff shortage in the English department and the pay was 'miserable'. Ukraine had plenty of good English speakers but they preferred to work in the commercial sector. Programmes, he said, were recorded on old tapes long past their 'sell-by date'. There should, however, be an improvement soon when they go over to digital recording. Also heard on Saturday was DX Club. Transmission heard in UK from 2100-2200 on 5840, SINPO 45444 to 44444. Variable audio quality (Roger Tidy, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX Club? You mean ``Whole World on the Radio Dial`` preceding HFK? (gh, DXLD) September 24th, 0000 UT, R. Ukraine International, 5820 kHz, SIO 444. Programs included News, "Ukrainian Diary" and "Hello From Kiev". By 0030 UT signal not as strong, SIO 343 (Kraig Krist, VA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So what caused the I to = 4? WEWN 5810 or something else? Or do you take 4 to mean perfect (gh, DXLD) ** U K. Surprised to hear ``BBC`` chimes on 17870 at 1429 Sept 23, and into Burmese. O, this is a Saturday-only quarter-hour per sked in WRTH A-06; via Rampisham. I wonder how many Burmese in CNAm know they can hear this? I wonder how many Burmese there are in CNAm, for that matter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. SCISSORS, VELLUM, STONE Mian Ridge, Friday September 22, 2006, Guardian You can keep up with the Archers via the internet in China and listen to the latest News 24 headlines on your mobile while running in the gym. But the BBC's royal charter, which guarantees it another 10 years of funding - securing the onward roll of this technological revolution - has to be written on vellum: a smooth, hairless animal skin that was used in lieu of paper hundreds of years ago. . . http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329583022-103680,00.html (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) ** U S A. ESTADOS UNIDOS, 9955, WRMI-Radio Miami Internacional, Miami, 1035-1045, Septiembre 24, Español, Informe DX por Glenn Hauser, desde Oklahoma, Estados Unidos: informaciones de actualidad sobre emisoras de onda corta, ID en inglés: "This is WRMI..." y en español "Ésta es WRMI...", 25442 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ah, love that I = 5 which means we were not being jammed, or at least not detectably in the Cono Sur; not so ``actual``, I`m afraid, as this dates from July, early August as we take a break in September. Starts at 1030, Sundays. Also: confirmed on webcast Sept 24, the `temporary` Sunday 1530+ airing of WOR is still going on 7385 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Dirty signal from WBOH on 5920 kHz. Bleeding up and down the band. Also very distorted on 5920. Anyone else? 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, VA, circa 0100 UT Sept 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WBOH, 5920, severely out of whack, Sept 24 at 0510 with preacher in English battling against communism, liberalism and worst of all, humanism! Oh oh, I am a human, unlike him, apparently! Extremely distorted spurs peaking around 5890, 5905 were much louder than 5920 itself. Not matching on the high side. // 9370 WTJC was in better shape at the moment (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Sept 23, 2339, WWCR, 9985 kHz, SIO 555. Same lyrics of song "Eve of Destruction" being played. Sounded like good imitation of original version of song by Barry McGuire. Announcer then begins talking about "guilty, dirty bird bastards" and into religious talk. Glad my kids were NOT listening with me! (Kraig Krist, VA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. QSL: 9840, Truth for the World via WHRI Angel Two transmitter. A very nice full data verification letter, which included the transmitter site / power outputs. In the letter, the V/S apologized for the delay 'due to a change in the staff'. He also confirmed my report and stated that the broadcast via Taiwan (7220) ended in August of 2005. An outdated (which still listed the broadcast via Taiwan) schedule was sent along with a information pamphlet. Reply in 10 months and 7 days (without a follow-up). V/S: Don Blackwell, Dir. of Broadcasting (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Sept 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Radio Farda, coming in with strong signal via Iranawila on 13870, ran at 1528 a trailer with statements on Iran's nuclear program, starting with one from president Bush. Now I would have needed to understand Persian for making out the message: Was it about Radio Farda fighting against Iran's ambitions, or was this trailer just meant to ensure a reliable reporting on this matter? Afterwards 13870 went off inmidst song at 1529. By the way, where should Radio Farda be filed anyway? To my knowledge the editors of Radio Farda are working at RFE/RL in Prague, but they transfer their content to Washington where the actual playout (with music and jingles) takes place (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ``IRAN [non]`` of course (gh) ** U S A. RADIO Y TV MARTÍ DEFIENDEN SU ÉTICA PROFESIONAL COPIADO DE El Nuevo Herald | 09/22/2006 | Posted on Fri, Sep. 22, 2006, GERARDO REYES El Nuevo Herald El director de la Oficina de Transmisiones a Cuba (OCB, por sus siglas en inglés), Pedro Roig, defendió ayer los principios éticos de esa entidad federal al criticar un artículo de The Miami Herald, que denunció a varios periodistas cubano americanos del sur de la Florida por recibir pagos de la OCB, según lo reporta ese periódico en su edición de hoy. Roig dijo que convocará a un debate nacional para discutir si los periodistas que trabajan para medios privados están incursos en conflictos de intereses al colaborar con el gobierno. . . http://www.miami.com/mld/elnuevo/15578542.htm (via Óscar de Céspedes, FL, condig list via DXLD) ** U S A. Who Is Warren Bell? FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mary Boyle, Common Cause, 202-736-5770 Tuesday, Sept. 12 http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=810365&content_id={491AFAD9-0DBF-4288-9CBA-0E268FFDDDE4}¬oc=1 WASHINGTON, DC - The White House this summer quietly nominated three people to serve on the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the non-partisan body that distributes federal funds to public broadcasters and has faced criticism in recent years for its secrecy and ideological bent. One of them has said the following: I would "reach across the aisle and hug Nancy Pelosi --- except this is a new shirt, and that sort of thing leaves a stain." "I support a woman's right to choose what movie we should see, but not that other one. I am on the Right in every way." On his practice of using TiVo to block condom ads on television he does not want his children to see: "A little vigilance is all it takes - well, that and a couple hundred bucks for a TiVo. Sorry, poor people, your kids are going to be asking you awkward questions about condoms." The nominee who made these unfortunate remarks is Warren Bell, who would replace another embattled former CPB member, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, who was found by the CPB inspector general to have made improper hires at CPB and tampered with programming decisions. (Late last month the State Department Inspector General found that Tomlinson, in his role as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America, hired a friend to do consulting work for the agency without having the legal authority to do so, and ran his horse racing operation out of his government office.) Bell, a writer and producer of situation comedies and a columnist for National Review Online, has no discernible background in public broadcasting, education, or public service. But he has left a trail of inflammatory comments in his wake. His extreme partisanship makes him an inappropriate candidate for the board of the CPB, an institution charged with insulating public broadcasting from partisanship and political pressures. Common Cause today is asking its members to contact Senators on the Commerce Committee and ask them to oppose Bell's nomination to the CPB. Common Cause also is sending its members a brief white paper on Bell. Bell's unsuitability for this job stands out in contrast to the other two nominees to fill vacancies on the CPB board, who have distinguished careers and a track record of public service. David Pryor is a former U.S. Senator and governor of Arkansas who has been a professor of political science at Harvard University. Chris Boskin is a successful publishing executive who serves on the board of KQED- FM/TV in San Francisco, and is active in many philanthropic causes, including the Laura Bush Foundation for American Libraries, and the School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the wife of Michael Boskin, who served as head of the Council of Economic Advisors under former President George H.W. Bush. "Public broadcasting is just beginning to recover from the missteps of Ken Tomlinson," said Common Cause President Chellie Pingree. "The CPB cannot afford to replace Tomlinson with Warren Bell. He is the wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time." Click here to read more about Warren Bell: http://www.commoncause.org/WhoIsWarrenBell Warren Bell is undoubtedly a vocal conservative, but does he support federal funding of public broadcasting? Conflicting accounts of the CPB Board nominee's views on pubcasting influenced the Senate Commerce Committee to drop Bell from today's nomination hearing, according to the Los Angeles Times. posted at 9:47 AM EST Sept 21 (Current via DXLD) Viz.: NOMINATION ON HOLD FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING POST --- TV PRODUCER WARREN BELL'S CONSERVATIVE VIEWS RAISE CONCERNS OVER HIS SUPPORT FOR THE AGENCY. By Matea Gold, Times Staff Writer September 21, 2006 NEW YORK — Television sitcom producer Warren Bell's appointment to the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting appears in jeopardy after the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday abruptly pulled him from a nomination hearing scheduled for today. A spokesman for Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, the committee chairman, said Bell was removed from the agenda because several senators on the panel had concerns about his nomination. Hearings for two other CPB nominees — former Arkansas Sen. David H. Pryor and Chris Boskin, a board member of San Francisco's public broadcasting TV station KQED — are still going forward today. Bell, executive producer and show-runner of ABC's "According to Jim," was tapped by President Bush in June to serve on the board of the private, nonprofit corporation that distributes federal funds to local public television and radio stations. The selection of the outspoken conservative disquieted many public broadcasting officials, who were troubled by partisan comments Bell has posted on the website of the conservative National Review magazine. His sharp opinions caused some broadcasters to fear that Bell would rekindle the fierce political debate that engulfed the corporation last year under the leadership of former Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson . . . http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bell21sep21,1,6883925,full.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true (via Current via DXLD) ** U S A. HISTORIC CHICAGO RADIO STATION MAKES CHANGES By Harry Porterfield September 22, 2006 One Chicago radio station is making some big changes. WVON is now higher on your AM dial and for good reason -- it has more power to reach its listeners who have been tuning in for more than 40 years. Watch the Video via http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=community&id=4589613 For 43 years, WVON's signal did not reach much further than the city limits. But with 10 times the power, the dawning of a new day took place this week at the station. With 10,000 watts it began broadcasting at 1690 AM. "People are excited, they are excited we are able to reach so many more people in the listening audience. We're getting calls now from Bloomington, Illinois. One guy calls in, he said he's at the Indiana/Ohio border," said Melody Spann-Cooper, president and general manager. Now on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week with an all-talk format, the station now operates on a frequency leased from clean channel communications. "Growth is the reason why we moved. I had to move. WVON was the only station in the entire country that shared a frequency with an entirely different radio station. How long can we do that and stay in business," said Spann-Cooper. Along with enjoying a new frequency, the station is preparing to enjoy a new location. Currently work is underway on a studio being constructed in the former Softsheen headquarters on East 87th Street. "I think this radio station is one of those institutions in Chicago that is just meant to be and when I'm long gone WVON will be around. If I can survive a 1,000 watt part-time radio station and still make money, kept people employed, wasn't bouncing checks, I am going to do well with 10,000 watts 24 hours a day," said Spann-Cooper. (via Artie Bigley, DXLD; Mike Terry, dxldyg) WRLL 1450 Cicero/Chicago --- If I had to guess, Midway Broadcasting is hoping that Migala Communications (the family that owns WCEV) will pony enough $$$ to buy up the remaining hours they don't currently have. Alternatively, Midway Broadcasting could themselves attempt to sell brokertime broadcasting which is what WCEV is. What makes all this even more confusing is that I believe that Midway owns the 1450 transmitter which is housed at the current WVON broadcasting site on south Kedzie Ave. in Chicago. WVON is supposed to soon be moving into new studios/offices on East 87th Street in Chicago. WVON's move to 1690 is a lease arrangement with Clear Channel with the former having 5 years to purchase the frequency. Depending on how that goes, or what opportunities Clear Channel offers Midway ownership in its company, Midway might just want to hang on to 1450 as a fallback measure in the event things don't work out. So there are a lot of loose ends here which still have to get sorted out in some way. Because of its limited signal, 1450 is not exactly a good fit for WCEV either as many of its ethnic audiences have moved into the suburbs where a nighttime 1450 would be filled with a lot of interference (Mike Pietruk, Sept 23, IRCA via DXLD) As most of you are aware, WRLL AM 1690 Berwyn, Illinois recently switched formats. Oddly enough, the original format continues online: http://www.realoldies1690.com/cc-common/streaming_new/launchpage.html As far as I can tell, it's just music with a station announcement now and then. I assume Clear Channel is keeping this going as a secondary HD program stream (Curtis Sadowski, Paxton IL, Sept 23, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. COLUMBUS RADIO ADVERTISING STATIONS SAY `JIHAD` CAR SPOTS GO TOO FAR Saturday, September 23, 2006 Tim Feran THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/09/23/20060923-D1-04.html Some Columbus radio stations have rejected as insensitive an advertisement for a car dealership that invokes Islamic references. The general manager of the dealership, though, says the promotions --- which he called "tongue-in-cheek" --- will air on some stations beginning next week. In the spot, Keith Dennis of Dennis Mitsubishi talks about "launching a jihad on the automotive market." Sales representatives "will be wearing burqas all weekend long," the ad says. One of the vehicles on sale "can comfortably seat up to 12 jihadists in the back." "Our prices are lower than the evildoers` every day. Just ask the pope! " the ad says. "Friday is fatwa Friday, with free rubber swords for the kiddies." Jeff Wilson, general manager of Radio One stations WCKX (107.5 FM), WJYD (106.3 FM) and WXMG (98.9 FM), doesn`t intend to air the spot. "We won`t play that," Wilson said. "With no disrespect to their creativity or their desire to build business, everything we`re about is promoting the values of diversity. To air things of that sort would go against our mission statement." Representatives of WSNY (94.7 FM), WBNS (97.1 FM), WWCD (101.1 FM), WJZA/WJZK (103.5/104.3 FM), and WODB (107.9 FM) also said they won`t air the ad. But Aaron Masterson, general manager of Dennis Auto Point, which writes and produces its own commercials, promised that the commercial will air. "It starts next Friday morning," Masterson said. "As far as I can see, the top 10 stations --- minimum --- in the market. We made it very clear we wanted market saturation to get the point across." The dealership was a little surprised by the hesitation to run the ad, Masterson said, although he noted, "According to the people who have heard it, it is the most controversial commercial they`ve heard in the last 15 years." Calling the commercial aggressive, Masterson said, "This is one where we feel we`re taking a bull`s-eye on terrorists. After all the nonsense that the terrorists put the public through, they`re fair game." The president of the Columbus chapter of the Council on American- Islamic Relations, doesn`t think terrorism is to be taken lightly. Asma Mobin-Uddin said she is concerned the ad`s tone and imagery are "mocking and disrespectful to many different areas. One is Islamic faith and Islamic culture." "Using that as a promotional pitch when so many are dying from the criminal activity of suicide bombers, that`s not funny," Mobin-Uddin said. "I don`t think it`s appropriate when it causes real pain. It exploits or promotes misunderstanding in terms already misunderstood or misused. That type of ad does nothing but promote discord in a very difficult time. The timing is just amazing. Maybe that`s part of the shock value." When Dennis previewed the commercial Wednesday for radio executives, Masterson said, "everybody in the room thought it was very funny, extremely aggressive." Yet executives did have some concerns. "We talk about the pope, fatwa, terrorists. You hear one of these words, and their minds froze on it," he said. Nonetheless, he said, the company plans few changes (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) & just in time for Ramadan! ** U S A. BANKRUPT WVKO-AM SIGNS OFF UNTIL THE FALL [sic] Thursday, September 21, 2006 [two days before fall] By RANDY NAVAROLI ThisWeek Staff Writer Columbus [OH] City Council approved a zoning variance request Sept. 11 that moves WVKO (1580 AM) one step close to returning to the airwaves from a new home in Northland. The station's owner and Columbus Urban Growth Corp. finalized a lease agreement for the nine-acre site at 2708 Morse Road the next day, Sept 12. Urban Growth owns the Morse Road property that WVKO hopes to move its operation to some time this fall. --- Click here for the rest of the story: http://www.thisweeknews.com/?sec=home&story=sites/thisweeknews/092106/Northland/News/092106-News-225991.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. TIS DX lives on! Interesting conditions tonight. I just heard my first new TIS station heard on skip for at least 6 years. 1620, WPTK490, NY, Syracuse area (The FCC lists three possible transmitter sites in the Syracuse area). Heard a weather forecast, highs in the 70's, tones and a clear ID by a male announcer. Oddly, there were several other TIS's in the mix but no broadcast stations. My local on WQCQ947 had its usual OC and once every 2.5 minute announcement, but it was posing almost no [problem] with the reception. Boy, am I happy with this one.(Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, K9AY, 300 foot longwire, Quantum Phaser, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. DESAPARECIÓ LA GRAN CADENA --- Por: Martín Berrade/Miami, FL RadioNotas 22 Agosto, 2006 - Desde el Lunes pasado a las 10:02 de la mañana [EDT = 1402 UT], La Gran Cadena, la red de estaciones radiales de SBS [Spanish Broadcasting System] que se escuchaba en Key West (Florida), Managua, el interior de Nicaragua y Cuba dejó de emitir su señal. Su estudio estaba ubicado en el edificio de SBS en Coral Gables, donde funcionan Clásica 92.3 FM, El Zol 95.7 FM y Romance 106.7 FM. Luego del cierre de la emisora, destacados locutores perdieron sus empleos. Es el caso de Leobardo Rueda, Salvador López, Iber Marino, Mariela Rosales, Pedro Vizcaíno, Aníbal Núñez, Roberto Suárez, José Luis Nápoles y el reconocido técnico Oswaldo Meza. En tanto, Mayi Salas y Bárbara García, muy buenas locutoras que laboraban en La Gran Cadena, seguirán siendo locutoras de WRMA Romance 106.7 FM. La compañía no ha explicado públicamente los motivos de la drástica decisión aunque analistas presuponen que cuestiones económicas relacionadas con el déficit que producía la ambiciosa propuesta radial fueron determinantes para ocasionar el cierre de la estación. Por otra parte, técnicamente la señal no era buena en la ciudad de Miami. Vale destacar que en el extremo sur de la península floridana, en Key West la recepción era óptima. . . http://www.radionotas.com/portal/hgxpp001.aspx?55,17,38,O,S,0,PAG;CONC;4;3;D;12383;1;PAG;, (Radionotas.com Sept 22 via DXLD) Because they had a relay in KW (gh) ** U S A. PILOTS RESISTING PLAN FOR NEW KFI RADIO TOWER By Mike Sprague, Staff Writer Whittier Daily News California La Mirada September 24 2006 http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_4388274 Nearly two years after an airplane collided into KFI-AM's radio antenna and sent it tumbling to the ground, the station is seeking to rebuild the tower. However, KFI officials are meeting with fierce opposition from the aviation community, which believes the tower could pose a hazard to planes flying out of nearby Fullerton Municipal Airport. In the middle of the dispute is the city of La Mirada, which must grant a permit before any new antenna tower can be built. The proposal was scheduled to go to the city Planning Commission Thursday, but the hearing was postponed to give officials from the two cities and KFI time to meet. Further meetings are scheduled, but so far there has been no resolution. KFI wants to rebuild the 58-year-old former 760-foot tower at a reduced height of 684 feet. The station still has a 204-square-foot [sic] tower, but that antenna's signal reaches only Los Angeles and Orange counties and it is spotty in places, said Greg Ashlock, general manager of KFI. The previous antenna's signal covered much of the Western United States, Ashlock said. "It was a clear channel signal, but in order to maintain that classification, the minimum height would be about 680 feet," Ashlock said. When the signal was at previous strength, KFI reached about 18 million people, he said. "It's more than just a tower," Ashlock said. "We're a station that is a primary service provider for the [state] Office of Emergency Services." But members of the aviation community say a taller tower poses a flying hazard. "The tower is an obstruction to aerial navigation," said Rod Propst, manager of the Fullerton airport. "In the past two years it has killed two people, and in the 1970s it killed one person." Propst was referring to a December 2004 accident in which a Temple City couple died when their Cessna 1892 severed a support wire on the tower. In 1970, a pilot was killed when his plane flew into the guy wires of the tower. "[The tower] is only 13/4 [sic; 1.75?] nautical miles from the airport," Propst said. "It is just in a terrible place to put something that will be 680 feet high." Ashlock responded that, unlike the previous tower, the new one will have a dual lighting system - white flashing lights during the day and red flashing lights at night. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration has made a determination that the new tower would pose no more of a hazard than the previous one, he said. The FAA is requiring the additional lights. And with those, the agency believes the tower will be safe, Kevin Haggerty, manager of obstruction evaluation services for the FAA, stated in a letter. "It is the view of the FAA that the cumulative effect of the reconstruction of the KFI broadcast tower to a maximum height of 684 feet will have no greater substantial adverse effect upon airspace utilization by any parties than did the previous structure that occupied this site," he stated. But Ron Bolyard, aviation environmental planner for the state Department of Transportation, said the statement means a new tower is just as hazardous as the old one. "Broadcast towers in the same location have been hit by aircraft twice in the past with accidents resulting in fatalities," Bolyard stated in a letter to the city. "[Caltrans] feels strongly that the FAA determination is inaccurate at best," he stated. "The radio broadcast tower without a doubt is a hazard to air navigation, even at the reduced height, as has been proven twice in the past." (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. PAY TO PLAY --- ALL THE 'NEWS' THAT'S FIT TO CHARGE $19,000 FOR --- Paul McLeary Sep. 22, 2006 - 1:14 PM The stories about the prevalence of "fake news" just keep coming, and now it looks like CNN has been fingered by the Buffalo News as a news organization that runs paid content dressed up to look like an actual news report. The News' Thomas J. Dolan reported yesterday that a Buffalo-area company -- the Amherst Industrial Development Agency (IDA) -- paid a Florida production company a "licensing fee" of $19,000 in order to be featured in a "Pulse on America" segment scheduled to be aired on CNN's Headline News network in October. The executive director of IDA, James J. Allen, told the News that "I make no apologies. This is a great move for us. Do you know how much it would cost to produce something like this?" Allen claims that the $19,000 he shelled out to a production company wasn't a factor in getting the company profiled in the segment, while expressing "no concern," according to Dolan, "that the final product, while appearing to be a news feature story, will be, effectively, paid advertising." The production company that put the piece on IDA together, the Platinum Television Group, describes itself on its Web site as helping "companies from around the world gain exposure via nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems." Now, there's nothing wrong with an outside production group providing content to a news organization, but what is wrong with this picture is that Platinum Television Group is producing friendly pieces, for which it collects a fee, for CNN, without CNN ever acknowledging that it's running what in effect is an infomercial for a particular company. (CJR Daily called CNN for comment, but after being put on hold for 20 minutes, decided to forget it.) The News' Dolan writes that not all of Platinum's "selections" have panned out, however. The village of Libertyville, Ill., for example, "turned down Platinum's offer for an infomercial touting the village on its Best Places to Live program. The program was intended for broadcast on the ABC Family Channel." Why was the offer turned down? Seems the licensing fee of $19,700 was too high. Whatever "licensing fee" means, it sounds more like Platinum pitched a service to the town, and the town wouldn't pay the fee to be featured on a "news" segment. Doing a Google search of "Pulse on America" and "CNN" turns up all manner of press releases from companies "selected" by Platinum to be featured on "Pulse on America." What the press releases don't say, however, is that after having been "selected," they presumably had to pay a large "licensing fee" in order to get their message out to CNN viewers, who think they're watching a straight news segment. It's time that CNN come clean on this practice, and let viewers know what it is they're watching: content that has been bought and paid for by interested parties that presents itself as news, but is anything but (CJR Daily via DXLD) ** U S A. 'NY POST' RADIO WRITER MAINELLI LEAVES AFTER CONFLICT OF INTEREST CITED By E&P Staff Published: September 22, 2006 12:35 PM ET http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003155683 NEW YORK John Mainelli, a writer who has covered the radio industry for the New York Post for nearly eight years, has left the paper after a dispute over consulting relationships with radio stations and owners that have been cited as a conflict of interest. The conflict of interest was first cited by representatives of Sirius Satellite Radio shock jock Howard Stern. Stern was reportedly upset about Mainelli's article Tuesday about rumors that the talk show host would return to terrestrial radio. In response, Stern's PR agents got word out about Mainelli's lucrative industry consulting, and brought up the conflict. According to a report on Radar magazine's Web site Friday, Mainelli was then given an ultimatum by the paper's editor, Col Allan: stop consulting or leave. Mainelli told Radar that he only had one choice. "I consider myself fired," he was quoted as saying. "I can't live on what I earn from the Post." The consulting relationships that are now cited as a conflict were not exactly a secret, according to Mainelli. He is quoted as saying his editors knew about his sideline, and that he was careful not to write about anything that would pose a conflict. The article quotes a Post spokesperson as saying that Allan was not aware to the consulting jobs, and that he would have put an end to them if he had (Editor & Publisher via DXLD) More: Mainelli, a legend in radio programming who brought Rush Limbaugh to ABC radio in New York, said he had made no secret of his consulting relationships and has always excused himself from stories that might involve a conflict of interest. The Post claimed Allan was unaware of Mainelli’s outside work. On Tuesday, Mainelli cited a report on Inside Radio, an industry trade, that Stern was considering a deal to return to terrestrial radio. But Stern chose to blast Mainelli on the air, rather than his source — probably because Mainelli spiced up his story with other damaging details, such as a rumor that Stern was having trouble booking high- profile guests and had lost popularity as an Internet search term. Stern’s Howard 100 news team called attention to Mainelli’s consulting ties on the air, and their reporting was picked up by the journalism Web site Buzzmachine.com. "I`m very disappointed, and I`m really p***ed at Howard Stern,`` Mainelli told Radar. "From now on, anything I write about him will have to have a disclaimer: John Mainelli has an ax to grind against this man.`` (Newsmax.com via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. My QSLs from last week --- 9730 kHz, Radio the Voice of Vietnam, full data QSL-card (excluding transmitter site). Card shows Vietnam and the TNVN logo. no v/s. Also nowhere mentioned that this was for the new German service. The envelope also contained a large pennant with station logo and flag. The In 42 days for a report in German with no return postage to Voice of Vietnam, 58 Quan Su Street, Hanoi, Vietnam (MARTIN SCHOECH, Eisenach, Germany, RX: Sony ICF 2001D, ANT: Sony AN 1; QSL Information Pages: http://www.schoechi.de/qip.html 23 September 2006, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. Si en días anteriores hemos escuchado árabe, hoy Viernes 22/9 estoy sintonizando a la Radio Nacional Saharaui a las 2315 en español en su nueva 7425. Tengo que aplicar el sync detector pues tengo una pareja de radioaficionados en USB, aunque dichosamente WBCQ no causa splatter desde 7415. La calidad de su señal es pobre comparada con la que recibíamos antes de su prolongado receso en este mismo horario en 7460 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Límite de la banda de radioafición: 7300 (gh, DXLD) Saludos cordiales Raúl, ésto pues confirma mi escucha del mismo día, a las 1700 R. N. Saharaui comienza emisión con el Himno Nacional, se identifica en árabe, locutor y locutora con horarios y frecuencias, canto del Corán y un segmento musical, la emisión fué en árabe; tan sólo pude chequearla hasta las 1722, el SINPO 34433. Ésta emisora todavía no tiene muy clara las emisiones en español, quizás está realizando pruebas???, abrá que estar pendiente los próximos días para ver qué camino coje. Un abrazo, atentamente (José Miguel Romero, Spain, ibid.) Maybe the schedule is different on Fridays only; in fact, I believe Carlos Gonçalves has noticed that, at least in mornings (gh, DXLD) ARGELIA, 7425, Radio Nacional República Árabe Saharaui, 1836-1920, 22- 09, árabe, locutor, canciones árabes. Buena señal. 44444. En paralelo con 1550 con señal débil e interferida por Capital Gold, England en 1548. SINPO 22222 variando a 11221. Inaudible en 700 (Manuel Méndez, Friol, España, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7425, Radio República Árabe Saharaui (presumed), 2223-2230, September 23, Arabic, long talk by male, local music at 2230 UT, 25432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. The CW mentioned by Erik Køie on 5930 was tentatively the one I heard around 0720 - too fast for me to copy any letters though. I made the frequency closer to 5929.35 I think (Noel R. Green (NW England), Sept 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Axually, it is I who have been reporting the 5930 spy letters MCW station, identified by the ENIGMA group as from Cuba. It`s active after 0700 on Sundays (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Noting lately a het on DGS Anguilla 6090, such as 0535 UT Sept 23, along with some QRMing audio. There are a few LAm stations or it could be or Nigeria, but which? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Hello everybody, Can anyone help me ID a strange taped message on 6577 kHz USB mode? Was there at 2200z, ended around 2234z. Taped message both in English and Arabic, OM saying in English something like "punish for your crime", "stop your illegal actions now or..", "we know who you are it is only a matter of time". Also there was a telephone number, something like 00972178129??? (00972) is Israel -- I think. Signal strength very-very low (my QTH Crete, ~7m of "long" wire). Any ideas? (Arrrch... I missed E10a HNCS on 6575 kHz by composing this mail!!!!) (Manolis Petrakis, Sept 7, UDXF yg via DXLD) Sounds interesting as a PSYOPS/black-ops catch (Brad - NP4AI - nr Denver/KAPA/KBKF, ibid.) i.e. ``Information Radio`` (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Another mystery digital signal was very loudly heard on about 7230 - or maybe slightly lower - at 0730. I'm as certain as I can be that it wasn't DRM (Noel R. Green (NW England), Sept 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7590 spy station check: At 1435 I found on 7591.0 (plus/minus less than 50 Hertz, so apparently meant to be on 7591) an otherwise open carrier with a hum on it. Was gone at 1440 recheck (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ I sincerely hope you don't hang up your boots Glenn as, apart from the fact that you are too young, listening to your show has become the habit of my lifetime, you could not be replaced. Hang on in there please! (Mike Terry, Bournemouth, England) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: CUBA; KOREA SOUTH; MONACO; UNID 7230 ++++++++++++++++++++ KJR 950 SEATTLE non-IBOC I asked Dave Grytness, our KHHO tour guide, why KJR wasn't running IBOC while sister station KHHO was. Those of you who are technically inclined I am sure will appreciate his response. I don't recall that the issue of stations 50 kHz or less apart has come up before (Pete Taylor, Tacoma ICF2010 + Kiwa loop, IRCA via DXLD) Viz.: As for KJR, there is a shunt filter tuned to 1 MHz on the common point which keeps KOMO from getting into the KJR system. Because of the filter the necessary bandwidth for IBOC transmission would not be symmetrical on both the lower and upper sidebands. The upper sideband would get into the lower slope of that filter making IBOC a no go. I believe the filter covers 970 to 1030. The Q is pretty sharp but still around 970 it would interfere with any IBOC on KJR as IBOC at that point in the USB would be 20db down from the carrier and the filter would be just kicking so it would dump some of the IBOC to ground on its way out meaning VSWR. Also receivers like to see symmetrical sidebands for proper digital decoding. Dave (via Pete Taylor, ibid.) I suspect that if CCU were sufficiently desirous of running IBOC on KJR, they could do it. A filter with characteristics symmetrical to those of KJR's 1000-KHz KOMO-reject filter but tuned instead to 900 kHz ought to solve the symmetry problem. And with a sufficiently complex topology in both filters (that is, the 900- and 1000-kHz filters), the attenuation and phase shift from 925 to 975 could probably also be made acceptable for IBOC on 950. The problems are that such filters would be large and costly and would doubtless require painstaking tweaking to work acceptably. Actually, instead of a pair of filters (either two band-reject filters, one for 1000 and the other for 900, or one lowpass and one highpass both with 950 in the passband), a better approach might be a bandpass filter tuned to 950 with transmission zeros at 900 and 1000. I think this problem is theoretically solvable; though the solution might not be practical. Also, not only is KOMO nearby but so are 820 (uses the same towers as KJR) and 770 and 1090 are diplexed with each other and are also on Vashon Island. Presumably any solution that worked for 950 and 1000 could relatively easily be modified to work for 770 and 820. -- Dan Strassberg, AC 707, NRC-AM via DXLD) This is from the KJR/KHHO engineer and is in response to Dan Strassberg's comments: The poster is correct. What he says is possible but not practical. The filtering would cost more than the IBOC! There are officially no plans for IBOC on KJR. the existing KOMO filter is 7 feet tall, five feet wide, five feet deep and very expensive. No room for more of those! It is not desirable to have any more filters than absolutely necessary. There are many bandwidth limited AM facilities around the country that won`t play IBOC, probably the majority of AM's. The decision to put IBOC on a particular AM is made on a case by case basis. The critical factors being engineering costs and the actual technical feasibility of upgrading the plant to a condition which would pass IBOC. It is much more than a "marketing" decision to add IBOC to an AM. In many cases it would take rebuilding an entire antenna system and these days you don`t just put up new AM antennas! (via Pete Taylor, ibid.) Gents, if IBOC *needs* so much bandwidth for transmission, are all of the receiver manufacturers making their receiver I.F. strips of similar width, with similar phase and amplitude flatness? I am fairly sure that the usual receiver uses a couple of two (or four) pole ceramic filters of rather narrow bandwidth. If that is the case, how can the IBOC signal get through such a narrow crack? Something just isn't adding up here (Jim Tonne, ibid.) The IBOC receiver will be designed with a different IF filter to achieve the necessary bandwidth. I haven't see the schematic for my Receptor HD but I strongly suspect it uses digital signal processing - that it has no ceramic filters, that the output of the mixer is connected directly (or through a relatively wideband amplifier) to an analog-to-digital converter. I suspect most selectivity is accomplished digitally, in software (Doug Smith, W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) Makes sense to me. Thanks for the reply. I suspect that *some* selectivity in hardware might be used to assist in overload problems and so on (Jim Tonne, ibid.) Absolutely - the word "most" in my reply was carefully chosen! There generally is a "roofing filter" to keep receiver response somewhere reasonably close to the desired band (Doug Smith, ibid.) Jim - I'm probably going out on a limb when I say this but, part of your statement is true in that manufacturers make their receivers with similar I.F. strips but, that doesn't necessarily mean that they control bandwidth. I'm not sure what kind of receiver we're talking about here because I don't know what you are using but, here are some guidelines. If you have one of the portables such as the GE Superadio III, any of the Eton, Grundig, and others you should be able to find a switch that will be marked "local/distance" or maybe "local/DX" and this switch will control the bandwidth to some extent allowing you to select a wide bandwidth for local or strong signals and a narrow bandwidth for weak or distant signals. If you have an older communications receiver such as Drake's SPR-4, or any Drake for that matter along with National, Hammarlund, Collins (R390, 392)to name a few it probably has a "Selectivity" switch on the front panel that will be marked something like 8 or 6 kHz (used primarily for AM), 2.3 or 1.4 (primarily for SSB) and probably .6 or .3 (for CW work). If you have one of the newer receivers like the ICOM R75, Kenwood, Yaesu and others, you will have some sort of selectivity built into the receiver but, to have the full range of selectivity mentioned above you will have to have purchased accessory crystals installed. These are an option that are usually purchased when you buy the receiver or, if you bought a used receiver and it doesn't have them and it's a model and current production then you can buy the accessory filters and either install them yourself, or have someone to install them for you. The word of warning here - these filters are expensive and run about a $150 each so you might ask yourself if the extra selectivity is really worth it. I can't speak for the other receivers but on the ICOM R75 that I have came with the standard filters built in. To access them you have to read the manual and see how it's done (Bob Ruggley, Chicago, IL, Editor, Answerman Column, DX News, National Radio Club, ibid.) Bob: My main receiver is a 51J4. I run it barefoot for casual double- sideband listening or I switch in the 3.1 kHz mechanical filter if the going gets rough. My comment was based on observation of the sharpness of the usual consumer-grade AM receiver, along with the wide bandwidth taken by the IBOC transmissions. If the receiver uses the usual cheap ceramic filters to get its selectivity it would seem that trying to squeeze the IBOC signal through such a narrow strip would be marginal. For IBOC to be successful one of the requirements will be to have a $50 to $100 price tag on the radio. And to get the price down will require minimum component count and software for selectivity. A probable byproduct of such an approach will be poor resistance to overload along with spurious responses. Doug had the answer: a bit of selectivity (hopefully wide enough to pass the entire IBOC spectrum) backed up by digital processing (JimT, ibid.) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ Is it Ramadan, already? CALCULATION OF RAMADAN'S START DIVIDES SOME MUSLIMS By Tim Townsend ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 09/21/2006 This year, the beginning of Ramadan will be less of a mystery than usual for some American Muslims. That's because an official national Islamic legal authority has declared the first day of Ramadan ahead of time - using astronomical calculations instead of relying on the traditional sighting of the new moon. . . http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/6F50EFE73EF498B5862571F10016DBA9?OpenDocument (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Just after local sunset here, around 0040 UT Sept 24, I searched for the New Moon but could not spot it; unfortunately there were some clouds along the western horizon, not to mention trees, houses, etc. If only I had a minaret! So I went ahead and had supper (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Apparently so. It takes me by surprise too, but according to http://www.30-days.net/islam/ramadan.htm Dates for Ramadan 2006 (or the Islamic year of 1427) are 24 September thru 23 October (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DXLD) According to the news from the Danish Radio this Sunday, some of the Iraqis start Ramadan today, while others wait until tomorrow. 73, (Erik Køie, Sep 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The 30 or so Ramadan RSLs here in the UK this year have already started their broadcasts. Most are licensed from 22nd September until 23rd or 24th October. The main RSL frequencies are 87.7 and 87.9 MHz, but a few stations use other FM frequencies such as 101.4 and 106- 107.8 MHz (Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###