DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-144, September 26, 2006 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2006 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRING OF WORLD OF RADIO 1329: Wed 0930 WWCR1 9985 FIRST SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1330: Wed 2200 WBCQ 7415 Wed 2300 WBCQ 18910-CLSB Fri 2030 WWCR 15825 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 DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS Sept 26: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg. When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and location. Here`s where to sign up http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** ANTARCTICA. Este viernes y el fin de semana estuve en Cuchilla Alta y aproveché para escuchar un poco de radio, ya que allí la recepción es mucho mejor que en Montevideo. Afortunadamente rindió bastante. El viernes 22 pude finalmente escuchar LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel desde la Antártida, en 15476 kHz. La encontré a eso de las 1945 UT con locutora y música melódica. La recepción era aceptable, SINPO 35333, con desvanecimientos profundos esporádicamente. Me confunde el tipo de modulación empleado ya que no parece ser exactamente ni AM ni SSB. En AM el audio se oía un poco distorsionado. Al usar el BFO logré mejorarla bastante. Pienso que emplean cierto grado de supresión de la portadora, pero no creo que sea SSB. Escuché la identificación pregrabada por locutor a las 2030 y nuevamente a las 2038. Me llamó la atención que en la identificación parece decir "...Arcángel San Gabriel Español". ¿Habré escuchado bien? ¿O diría "...en español"? ¿Alguien puede confirmar? Lamentablemente la grabación la hice en un cassette bastante malo que no ayuda mucho y justo esa parte no está muy bien. La locutora tenía un acento regional que no pude identificar, por ejemplo cambiaba algunas "s" por "j" aspiradas, las "ll" no las pronunciaba como en el Río de la Plata (es decir no adolecía de yeísmo). Los escuché hasta eso de las 2040 donde aún seguían pasando música. La programación se podría catalogar de cultural, con bastante música melódica y folklórica en los distintos bloques, historias de leyendas populares, etc. En próximos mensajes les comento otras escuchas. 73, (Moisés Knochen, Montevideo, Uruguay, Rx = Sony ICF-7600DS con antena exterior de hilo largo de 15 m, Sept 24, condig list via DXLD) It`s just reduced carrier USB, also used by WBCQ on some frequencies, etc., tho the amount of carrier reduction may not be the same (gh) ** ARGENTINA. Ampliando los datos oportunamente consignados sobre la nueva HOSANNA AM 1640 (1640 kHz), vale decir que la misma es operada por la Iglesia Pentecostal Cristo El Rey, con QTH en la calle Coronel Isleño 1918, de la localidad de Gregorio de Laferrere, Partido de la Matanza, Provincia de Buenos Aires; todo ello, según anuncios del locutor. Datos sobre QTH de la emisora aún no confirmados (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires, Sept 25, condig list via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. Q. Is there a danger of relying on local relays given the plan in Indonesia to restrict or stop relays by local FM stations of international broadcasters` output? A. We haven`t been affected by this. We`ve been aware for the last two or three years of this piece of legislation [in Indonesia] and of course we were concerned. But it became clear that this legislation didn`t have total endorsement and there were ways, perhaps by instituting a short delay of a few seconds [to our programmes], to get round the legislation; indeed, this was the advice given to us by Indonesian politicians. Earlier this year we had a visit from the Indonesian broadcasting authority and they also provided reassurance that relays and rebroadcasts would be OK (Jean-Gabriel Manguy [originally from Brittany], head of R. Australia, from a much longer AIB Interview, ``Life`s a beach``, The Channel, July 2006, via DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. 4750.0, 0035-0120 fading out, 22-09, Bangladesh Betar, Khabirpur, Dhaka Bengali announcement, local songs, 0100 news, weak heterodyne 34333 at first. AP-DNK (Anker Petersen, Denmark, @tividade DX via DXLD) Previous report had this as far off as 4753 (gh) ** BELARUS. Radio Belarus schedule --- Hi Glenn: Checking both the Radio Belarus website and actual broadcast I can give the following schedule of Radio Belarus: Belarussian 1600-1800 UT 7390, 7440 kHz and from 1720 also 7105 kHz German 1800-1900 UT 7390, 7440, 7105 kHz English 1900-2100 UT 1170, 7105, 7390, 7440 kHz Russian 2100-2300 UT same frequencies. I recommend especially the following programs: Hits of the Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk (Music festival program) Tuesdays 2040-2100 z. Letters to Editor by Larisa Suárez Saturdays 1920-1940 z. Voices of the Century (Folk music) Sundays 2040-2100 z Programs can also be heard on the web: http://www.radiobelarus.tvr.by/eng/ Programs mentioned above are repeats of previous webcast transmissions (Ullmar Qvick, Sweden, Sept 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL – Retificando informação publicada na edição anterior, as mudanças dos Municípios de outorgas da Rádio Marumby, em 9665 e 11750 kHz, são de Florianópolis para Camboriú e não Balneário Camboriú, ambos no estado de Santa Catarina. De acordo com o jornalista Carlos Netto, de Americana (SP), oficialmente o grupo Gideões Missionários da Última Hora não se manifestou a respeito da mudança ou da aquisição da outorga da Marumby. ``O fato é que toda estrutura dos Gideões está em Camboriú, onde são gerados os programas evangélicos da instituição e a mudança visa facilitar essa estrutura``, informa. O site da emissora é o seguinte: http://www.gmuh.com.br/radio/radio.htm BRASIL – Faz alguns dias que duas freqüências de emissoras brasileiras não estão sendo captadas em ondas curtas no Sul do Brasil. Em Novo Hamburgo (RS), Edson Bocorny Jr. constata que a Rádio Globo, do Rio de Janeiro (RJ), não está sendo ouvida em 11805 kHz. Da mesma forma, a Rádio Record, de São Paulo (SP), está muda em 9505 kHz (Célio Romais, Brasil, Panorama, @tividade DX Sept 24 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 3480, 22/09 0245, R. Norte (3 x 1160), Londrina/PR, ad "Tele Sena" 45454. Receptores: Icom IC-R75, Kenwood R-2000, Sony ICF- SW7600GR, Sangean ATS-803A. Antenas: Longwire 100m, T2FD, Stoner Dymek DA-100E (Ivan Dias - Sorocaba/SP, Membro do DX Clube do Brasil, Junte- se à nossa família http://www.ondascurtas.com radioescutas via DXLD) ** CANADA. Not certain if anyone else has mentioned this or not but yesterday I had checked 6070 for CFRX and they were not there. Checked today as well and not there again. Normally they are S9+ here through the day (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, Sept 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CFRB/CFRX QSL signer Steve Canney told me on September 20th that CFRX was off the air then. The chief engineer was looking for the problem, but hadn`t found it. So it appears that the repairs were either too extensive or he ran out of time and it must wait for another visit to the transmitter site. BTW, new QSL card has just been printed and is now in use for CFRX and CFRB reception reports (Harold Sellers, Ont., Sept 24, ODXA via DXLD) ** CANADA. Can`t help but notice a disparity in the title of CBC`s new comedy show on Saturday and Monday evenings: in print, online schedules it`s ``The Debaters`` but if you axually listen to it, they call it ``Master Debaters``. I wonder why? Or is that all one word? Can`t be too careful (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Big signals from CNR1, presumably that network, on both 7310 and 7330 at 1336 Sept 25. 7310 jams Sound of Hope, and 7330 jams BBC Mandarin via Vladivostok, per EiBi listings. Firedrake with good signal Sept 25 at 1337 on 10400, presumably against SOH; not audible on 13970, 15265 or 15285, but the higher frequencies were not making it from the FE. Chinese talk on 5030 at 1308 Sept 25, which would be CNR1 Beijing, blocking Malaysia. Next day Sept 26 at 1320 check, 10400 was weakly audible with Firedrake, and possibly something co-channel, SOH? 10330 India was much stronger (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 6140 kHz (approximately), Radio Líder, from 0909 to 1025 UT. Frequent time checks UT -5 (e.g. cuatro de la mañana y diez y siete minutos en Radio Líder,`` news, soccer scores with many Colombian cities mentioned (Cúcuta, Bogotá, Pasto, Tolima, etc.), various airport reports on weather and temperatures. Several times over the hour, ``Una pausa en las noticias por un minuto musical,`` followed by light pop songs, world news headlines, with a longer item on the controversy over the reported death of Osama Bin-Laden by Saudi and French sources, regional news on economy and regional (Ecuador to Central America) energy issues, ``en Radio Líder, quince para las cinco.`` Good solid signal, SINPO 33333 for over an hour, peaking at SINPO 44444 0915-0935 UT, September 25. Heard on Grundig YB400 PE with random long wire (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. Radio Djibouti, 1539 kHz, Sep. 25, 2050-2105, heard fairly well with Mainflingen co-channel, nulled very effectively by K9AY. neAfr (Afro-Horn) non-stop tunes till 2100, then into news (in Afar, I guess), since 2105 seemingly turned into Arabic. // 4780 kHz. (V. Titarev, Kremenchuk, Ukraine, 7030+K9AY, mwdx yg via DXLD) DXing Djibouti the hard way; 50 kW on 1539. Believe this was upgraded by IBB as part of the 1431 Sawa relay deal (gh, DXLD) ** EGYPT. Re 6-143, 3735 kHz Radio Cairo in French: I'm sorry that's my typo. The correct frequency is 9735 kHz. Sorry (Iwao Nagatani, Kobe, Japan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No problem; thanks for confirming this. Whenever an odd frequency like that pops up, it attracts attention, especially in the case of stations like Cairo which really could be radiating far from nominal channels (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. DW foreign-language schedule for B06 (only until Dec. 31, after which some language services will no longer be heard on SW) can be accessed at: http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_pdf/0,,1820289,00.pdf (Joe Hanlon, NJ, Sept 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. [continued from INTERNATIONAL] Probably it went by a little bit in the Wertachtal story, so here's again what we figured for DW foreign language services after Dec 31: Polish, Croatian, Serbian, Albanian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish (including the relay of Romany from RBB on Sundays) will be taken off shortwave. The other languages will continue on the same frequencies (probably with a few exceptions), with Wertachtal being replaced mostly if not entirely by either Woofferton (in a few cases Skelton or Rampisham instead) or Nauen. And it remains to be seen if a core service (six frequency hours per day) of German via Sackville, Sines and Kigali to North America will remain, probably with little publicity, similar to the BBC's practice. (Sorry, I have to quit now and no time to check out their meanwhile posted winter schedules about that.) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 24, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GUAM. 13089 kHz, 2130 UT, US Coast Guard Updates on Typhoon Yagi 38n x 144e enroute to possibly Japan, the storm is 380 nm from Tokyo 75 knt winds with Gusts of 90. Comments on 2nd storm in the Pacific forming at 17 north x 110 East 73's from (Larry Fields, n6hpx/kh2, Sept 24? Cetti Point, Guam island, this point is between KTWR and AWR, swl at qth.net via DXLD) 13089 USB, 2130 UT, US Coast Guard section Guam with comments on Typhoon Yagi located at 33.8 north by 147 east still packing winds at 75 kts and gusts at 90 kts, 2nd possible storm at 16.2 n by 144 east with winds at 35 kts, gusts at 50. Attn: Glenn it is amazing this side of the world is already up to the Y's but I was really surprised and pleased they named this storm after a famous antenna and inventor. 73's from Guam Island (Larry Fields, n6hpx/kh2, Cetti bay inlet, Sept 25, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Axually I thought I was kidding and the name probably came up for some other reason (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** HUNGARY. El amigo Hugo Longhi de Argentina nos envía la siguiente carta recibida de Sergio Pérez en Radio Budapest. Estimado Hugo: Lamentablemente, Hungría ha sido noticia mundial, aunque creo que gran parte de la población no quería que las protestas por el engaño cometido por el Primer Ministro desembocaran en los disturbios que has podido ver en televisión. A pesar de que los desórdenes y perjuicios han sido causado por elementos radicales, nacionalistas y hoolingans de equipos de futbol, la tensión en la población ha crecido considerablemente y de momento no podemos hablar aún de calma y tranquilidad. El martes 19 hubo un intento de tomarse también la radio, pero fueron rechazados violentamente por la policía, aunque causaron algunos danos en la calle Brody. Como los disturbios comienzan después de las 10 de la noche, la dirección de la radio nos ha pedido abandonar el edificio a más tardar a las 7, quedando solamente en el lugar el personal de turno. Ahora la radio parece un complejo militar o policial, ya que nos topamos a cada momento con policías en el patio y en los pasillos. La calle Brody, ha sido cerrada al tránsito vehicular, ya que el miércoles quisieron lanzar una bomba molotov desde un automóvil. Sin embargo, el personal está en calma y trabajamos con relativa tranquilidad. Estoy preparando el Correo del Aire del domingo, donde espero agradecer a todos los que nos han escrito, preguntando por la actual situación. Un fuerte abrazo, Sergio (via Hugo Longhi / Argentina, Conexión Digital Sept 24 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. R. Australia not concerned about being blocked: q.v. ** INDONESIA. Braved the local HNL to try for 60m stations Sept 25 and was pleasantly rewarded by three of them. 4605 Serui, at 1253 with ``South Seas`` music, then with guitar and flute; 1300 Indonesian announcement mentioning Jakarta and almost a semiminute late into warta berita by YL. At 1303 had SSB QRM but not zero-beat; as we get into morning daytime, the MARS and other nets fire up on the tropical bands; cf U S A 4825. 4750, RRI Makasar presumed, about equal signal to 4605, but not // at 1300 Sept 25 with bird chirps and talk; seemed there was another carrier, maybe Bangladesh. Yet WRTH has 20 kW for this and 1 kW for Serui; suspect 4605 has increased power. Axually both these were very slightly low in frequency, as determined by zero-beating the YB-400 BFO to WWV and then keying up and down 1 kHz from these frequencies and noting slightly lower pitch on BFO when on the low side. Chuck Bolland`s logs two hours earlier this morning confirm this nicely with actual measurements of 4604.95 and 4749.93. 4790, at 1304 Sept 25 with Qur`an, but 1306 into Indo talk and music, so RRI Fak2. Enough S/N to identify, but too much local noise to enjoy listening to these. Rechecked the next morning, Sept 26, 4605 had a romantic song by male singer in English running across hourtop 1302+; 4750 and 4790 also audible each with different programming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: 4604.95, RRI Serui, 1108-1120 Sept 25. Noted man chanting Kor`an during period. Signal was poor. 4749.93, RRI Makassar, 1112-1120 Sept 25. Noted a man and a woman in Indonesian language comments. Signal was poor. 4874.58, RRI Sorong, (Tentative) 1115-1130 Sept 25. Don't know if this is Sorong or not? Usually I hear them around 4871; however caught this signal here on 4874.58 this morning. Nothing heard on 4871. Noted typical pop music and a woman between musical segments with Indonesian comments. Signal was fair (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. "SHORTWAVE-RADIO ERA LOOKS SHORT-LIVED" By Doreen Carvajal, International Herald Tribune September 24, 2006 Paris http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/24/business/radio25.php Perhaps it is fitting that a 50-second video clip of an ear-shattering explosion of 13 shortwave radio antenna towers on the Spanish Costa Brava is getting viewers on the Web site YouTube. It took 32 pounds, or 14.5 kilograms, of dynamite to fell the massive antennas, which long relayed news from the United States to the former Soviet Union. But the most powerful force behind the demolition was the rapidly shifting landscape of radio, where listeners are migrating toward MP3 players, Internet radio and podcasting. The felling of the towers was the latest noisy outburst of a cost- cutting trend that is silencing the familiar and crackly shortwave voices that leap across the globe through the clear night sky in times of crisis and Cold War, tsunami and Thai coup. In January, the Finnish public broadcaster YLE will end all of its shortwave broadcasts with the goal of saving money and diverting resources to online news services. Next month, Germany's public broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, will end its German-language shortwave broadcasts aimed at Canada and the United States. The Japanese public broadcaster, NHK, and the Korean Broadcasting System are also reducing shortwave services. The leading international broadcaster, the BBC World Service, is pursuing a diversification strategy that regards the future in stark terms. "Audience needs are changing and technology is moving rapidly," reads the news service's explanation of its strategy through 2010. "Shortwave is also declining at a fast pace and if we don't change, we will die." Critics of the retreat warn, however, that shortwave is the most reliable communications medium of last resort. They point out that it can allow determined broadcasters to reach across borders even when repressive national regimes halt FM broadcasts, block Internet sites and jam television programming. "Shortwave does not respect boundaries and reaches the rich and poor," said Graham Mytton, former head of the BBC's audience research unit and now a media consultant. "Most international broadcasters think things are driven by technology, but not entirely. They're driven by politics and local media circumstances. Their mistake is they downplay shortwave because they're living in developed societies. But they don't go to rural areas like Nigeria, where everyone has a shortwave radio." Smaller international broadcasters with more limited resources are phasing out shortwave entirely. Slovak Radio silenced its shortwave programming in July, and Swiss Radio International ended shortwave broadcasts two years ago to transform into an online news service, http://www.swissinfo.org In the meantime, all of the world's largest international broadcasters, from the United States, France, Germany, England and the Netherlands, are cutting back or reviewing precious resources devoted to shortwave radio. "The future of shortwave radio is quite clear," said Guido Baumhauer, director of strategy and distribution for Deutsche Welle, or DW, in Germany. "It's all going down when it comes to the consumers." With the average age of its shortwave listeners hovering at about 50, DW expects to save more than [Euro?]?10 million, or $12.78 million, a year by reducing shortwave services, according to Baumhauer, who said the money would be invested in other services like Internet radio and podcasting. The state-subsidized broadcaster is phasing out shortwave programs for North America and the Balkans and reducing daily transmissions of shortwave programs to 160 hours from 200. "In the U.S., if people are really into German they have so many other ways to get consumer information," Baumhauer said. "Considering the costs related to the transmission, there's no point in continuing." The history of shortwave radio dates to 1927, when Philips Laboratories of the Netherlands transmitted shortwave broadcasts from Eindhoven to the Dutch East Indies. The BBC trailed behind with the founding of the BBC Empire Service in 1932. Shortwave radio provided a vital alternative voice in wartime Europe. Radio Oranje, for example, was set up in London after the German occupation of the Netherlands to broadcast uncensored news. Through the Cold War years, international broadcasters used shortwave to shout over the Iron Curtain. While held in his luxury villa during an attempted coup d'état, the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev listened to shortwave transmissions of the BBC and Voice of America. But after the Berlin Wall fell and new media forms flourished, there was less need for shortwave transmissions in developed countries. International broadcasters like RFI of France and the BBC started striking hundreds of partnership agreements with local FM stations to rebroadcast their programs with clearer sound. With the advance of technology, it has also become increasingly difficult to say what a radio is, since it can be distributed through digital television, mobile phones, computers or satellite radio, according to Michael Mullane of the European Broadcasting Union for public broadcasters in Geneva. The BBC eliminated its North American shortwave transmissions in 2001, when there were still an average of more than two million listeners. But with FM rebroadcast agreements with local stations, the BBC now has five million listeners in Canada and the United States, according to Michael Gardner, a spokesman for the BBC. The BBC is constantly reviewing its expenses in connection with shortwave radio, he said, but in the meantime, the news service still reaches two-thirds of its weekly 163 million radio listeners through shortwave. This year, the BBC actually posted an increase of about five million shortwave listeners in rural areas of Africa and Asia, but Gardner says the increase amounted to existing listeners who were surveyed for the first time in Myanmar. David Hollyer, former managing director in Spain for the U.S. government's Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, is wistful about the long-term consequences of mothballing and destroying shortwave transmitters. The transmitters in Spain, he argued, could have been deployed to broadcast to Central Asia to reach a Muslim population. Instead, with the changing political climate, U.S. authorities closed the station in 2003, ended its lease, and turned over the towers to Spain. When Hollyer watches the amateur YouTube video of the familiar towers crumbling in clouds of smoke, it reminds him of an Edwin Markham poem. "To paraphrase," he said, "the towers went down with a great shout upon the hills and left a lonesome place against the sky." (via Mike Terry, dxldyg and via Artie Bigley, Mike Cooper, DXLD) I will go one step further. I submit that international broadcasting is the one that is dying and that the retreat from Shortwave is just symptomatic. If international broadcasters think that technology is going to help get them more listeners, they are foolhardy. In the beginning, some of their faithful listeners may follow them to the new technology, but in the end, they will have fewer listeners anyway as their voices fade into the cacophony of what is available with other technologies. The same thing is happening with traditional AM, FM, and TV broadcasters albeit perhaps at a slower rate. Sure they will have listeners, but not with the same numbers they had in the past. Before you get me wrong, I am an avid radio DXer and love picking up different stations. I have a fairly good sized QSL collection and library of audio clips. I just see the writing on the wall (Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I agree with that, and I would like to add that it sounds familiar to me. More or less the same could be heard already 10, 15 years ago, just referring to satellites as the bright future of international broadcasting. Instead Deutsche Welle simply shut down its programs in Danish, Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian. Even more interesting: Their French service now officially aims at Africa only, although it's still available in Europe via satellite and Internet. In my humble opinion this circumstance speaks volumes. By the way, did you note that the statement from Guido Baumhauer does not mention DRM at all? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 24, dxldyg via DXLD) Continued at GERMANY I think all of us recognize that diversification of media delivery is a must today and a decline in the use of shortwave is an inevitable by-product of this. However, Mr. Gardner's observation about the new five million demonstrates a clear bias that many of us have been pointing out for a while now. Research that appears to support the altogether pall-mall rush toward the new technologies is accepted and touted uncritically, even when it clearly flies in the face of common sense. But that which goes against the grain is quickly discounted and explained away. Human nature, perhaps; but scientifically and logically unsound all the same. The first thing repressive regimes do when things get rough is shut down their domestic relays of foreign broadcasters -- just when they are needed most by the regime's population. It's happened countless times in the last five years alone. The proponents of the new have no answer for this, so they ignore it as if it's someone else's problem. It's even a problem in commercial circumstances where (arguably) the regimes are not repressive. For example, even in the USA, BBC World -- the international TV news service that excels where CNN and Fox fail - - can't obtain channel space in the virtually unlimited bandwidth universe that is digital cable. Why? Maybe Time Warner which owns CNN doesn't want the competition. If the BBC can't get traction on US cable systems, what chance does Al Jazeera have? (John Figliozzi, ODXA, via DXLD) Internet broadcasting is a good deal cheaper than SW to set up. I am sure this has come into play with some of the decisions. I am also sure that it being a low period of sunspot cycles did as well. It does not excuse abandoning the core of listeners all over the World. Cheap computers don't last as long as radios usually and certainly provide a lot of waste needing taken care of. A computer is tied to a phone line or cable unless you have a very good wi-fi. How many of these people would have this? We all know that answer. Phone lines and cables go down in bad weather at times where radio is still there. Radios also don't get trojans, viruses, internal program glitches, have to be disk cleaned and defragged. Computers do require an internet connection with enough bandwidth to get and hold a program. The radio costs x amount and then you need electric or batteries. The computer requires a monthly fee for the connection plus electric and/or batteries, expense for programs and update programs and parts. The radio way is far more cost-effective for the listener. The core of the listeners who really need and enjoy shortwave are being abandoned for those who can afford to "connect". However, think further. Denial of service attacks and hacking can damage the Internet broadcasting. From a privacy standpoint for the listener, radio is the way to go. On the Internet, the listener can be intercepted and logged in someone's database. Seems to me like a lot of things are coming into play here. Yes, technology can be a wonderful thing. Radio always has been and still is. It may be old, but it is still the best to reach the majority who need those transmissions. I am sad to see things going the way they are. The Internet is great as an information tool, but it cannot truly replace shortwave radio (Michael McCarty, OH, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I`m afraid, I have to disagree with Graham Mytton that ``everyone in Nigeria`` has a shortwave radio. Just back from the region, while it is true that multiband portables including shortwave can be found in local markets for 5 Euro or less (made in China), the majority of them are permanently tuned to local FM radio stations which do something that even the mighty BBC cannot do - provide local news in local languages. Africa has 2000 languages and over 900 million people spread over 54 countries. Some countries are naming the date when they will end analogue FM radio. And shortwave stations? (Jonathan Marks September 24th, 2006 at 17:28, Media Network blog via DXLD) A few years ago I got the idea that shortwave could be revived all over the world by broadcasting recordings of (Dutch) sex-phonelines for free. It just isn`t my cup of tea to organize regular transmissions with such content. But maybe this could be an idea for a group of shortwave-radio-manufacturers? The transmitter doesn`t need to be to powerful, as long as the radios that are being made, are sensitive enough. Im sure quite some people would buy shortwave-radios again if such content would hit the international airwaves (Herbert Visser, September 24th, 2006 at 20:49, ibid.) Ending short wave is short sighted. FM relays only cover a few conurbations and are seldom 24/7, often giving little more than headlines at obscure times. Internet is fine if you have an expensive fixed terminal and a subscription (or an even more expensive laptop and expensive mobile subscription) but when there`s a 9/11 type of incident, it crashes just when it`s most needed. Neither FM relays nor uncensored internet access can be guaranteed to survive oppressive regimes. Only short wave can reach everyone via a device which is cheap to buy and even cheaper to run. What else works when the local grid fails? With energy efficient DRM transmissions becoming more common and DRM receivers starting to become available, ceasing shortwave would be a very illogical move (Gerry, September 24th, 2006 at 21:33, ibid.) Perhaps the greatest danger is not that shortwave will not be used at all, but that it will be given over to end-times radio reverends, paranoid conspiracy theorists, and racists posing as preachers. All this and their worthless sponsors --- the snake oils to cure whatever ails you, hucksters selling gold, and other garbage. I don't want people around the world to be getting this as their picture of American life! (Dan Malloy, Everett, MA, USA, ODXA via DXLD) Er, such has been going on for many years now already. The damage is already mounting (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) THE DEATH OF RADIO --- PODCASTING AND MORE ARE THREATENING COMMERCIAL RADIO. John Dvorak - PC Magazine Sept. 25 - Over the weekend, a story appeared about various shortwave-radio towers along the Spanish Costa Brava being blown up. Obviously, they were no longer needed or wanted. Even YouTube has a clip showing the Voice of America towers near Munich, Germany being destroyed. The article, which ran in the International-Herald Tribune and elsewhere, reminisced about the short-lived shortwave radio era that begin with the first installation in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, by Philips in 1927. It was used so the folks working in the Dutch East Indies could get their daily dose of local news and feel connected. Shortwave evolved into a clever technique to broadcast beyond borders, because the signal essentially bounces like a basketball between the Earth and the ionosphere for unimaginable distances. Apparently, this technology is no longer needed. I suspect that whatever is left of shortwave will be relegated to fringe use, mostly by missionaries and the underappreciated amateur/ham radio community. What's overlooked in all this is that it's not just commercial shortwave that is over. Commercial radio itself is under the gun. It's no coincidence that the shortwave era is ending with the advent of podcasting. Podcasting is a much bigger threat to normal radio than it is to shortwave. In fact, radio is being assailed from every angle you can imagine. Why? Perhaps I should get to the point here: Commercial radio sucks. Seriously. It genuinely stinks. It has been deteriorating since the 1980s and now is just dreadful. —Continue reading... http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/print?id=2488856 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Hello all! I have been listening to Sirius radio using the gift cards from eBay, Radio Shack and Target for about a year. All of a sudden, in the middle of a Steelers game and only a couple of hours after I had supposedly "successfully" redeemed a $50 gift card (and then unsuccessfully redeemed a $30 card from the same Target store) my radio cut out with a message that all channels were unavailable. After an unpleasant discussion with an employee, I learned that one can only listen to Sirius if one has a credit card! I have never had, and will never have a credit card! I am very sad because I sang as a soloist (under the name Emily Hastings) at the Metropolitan Opera during the 1980's) and I feel compelled to write to my friends at the opera house since Sirius has now begun a relationship with the Met, to let them know that in spite of their attempts to bring opera to "everyone", "everyone" means those financially able to own a credit card! XM has NEVER required a credit card for service, and has accepted many other means of payment. I just wanted to let you know (Emily KB3MKQ Keene, Middletown, NJ, Sept 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Emily, There is an option that will work for you. At almost every bank, you can purchase a Visa and charge it with an amount of money of your choice. You can then use that as a credit card to pay Sirius. That said the policy does suck (Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. According to an e-mail message from Sirius called "Behind the Mic", PRI has been dropped from the Sirius line-up. No explanation whatsoever given. It should be mentioned here that Sirius now apparently outright lies to its customers. Here's a June 24 e-mail I received from Sirius Customer Care stating unequivocally that PRI was not going to be dropped. ``Dear John, Thank you for contacting SIRIUS regarding Talk // Channel 136 and News // Channel 141. We understand you are wondering about the name change, and if we are getting ready to take it off the air. We are happy to help you. We have not been informed of the reason behind the name change of those channels. Don't you worry, John, we have no intention of removing those channels from our programming line up. We apologize if this has caused you any frustration. We are committed to providing you with the best in customer care. If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact SIRIUS Customer Care. For your convenience, we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at: 1-888-539-SIRIUS (7474) As well as by email at: http://www.sirius.com/customercare Sincerely, Debra G, SIRIUS Customer Care`` So much for that. Evidently Debra G. was not clued in by Sirius management which gives her the protection of plausible deniability, I suppose. Perhaps "Customer Care" should change its name to "Customer Manipulation". Previously, it had promised over the period of a year that "The Globe", a world music channel, was going to be introduced "shortly". It never happened and no explanation was ever provided. When a Sirius press relations representative, Rebecca Schnall, was contacted for explanation, she not only declined the opportunity to do so but directed this reporter in future to contact customer care only -- which could not provide an explanation because they were not supplied one by management. Why press relations will not explain its programming decisions to a reporter is a mystery to me. What escapes me further is how a service that charges its customers monthly for service does not feel it owes them even a cursory explanation for the decisions it makes-- apparently in a vacuum. I've been a subscriber since almost the beginning of the service and have never once been polled about my preferences. BBC Mundo has also been dropped in favor of the lesser regarded CNN in Spanish. Eight other services have been added including a second all Catholic network (!?) and several channels that had been available only in Canada. The Metropolitan Opera channel replaces Classical Voices. If you detect a certain frustration in the tone of this message, you are most perceptive (John Figliozzi, Monitoring Times magazine, Sept 25, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) A long thread about this from swprograms will probably appear in next DXLD. Can only look on in some bemusement, as I never bought into satellite radio, having plenty to listen to without it on real radio, SW and otherwise, internet, and piles of timeshifting tapes (gh, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Hoy he podido escuchar Kol Israel en español a las 1945 en 9400, después de las emisiones en inglés y francés, en paralelo con 9345 y 11590. En 11585 no pude escuchar nada. No he seguido las últimas novedades de esta emisora así que no sé si se trata de una nueva frecuencia o ya la venía usando últimamente. Paz y Dx (Ignacio Sotomayor, Segovia, Castilla, España (40º56'35,14''N, 4º07'04,30''W), Rcvx: SONY ICF -SW7600, Anx: KIWA Pocket Loop, Noticias DX via DXLD) Yes, schedule at http://www.iba.org.il/doc/shortwaves.pdf shows 11590, 9400 and 9345 for 1945 Spanish. BTW Oct 2 is Yom Kippur, when all Israeli broadcasting takes a day off, right? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. Continuous African hilife music on a lower frequency than usual, 17605, Sept 25 at 1404 and still going at 1433 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XEPPM may have been off 24 hours earlier, but Sept 25 around 0515 music on 6185 seemed to be thence. Squeezed by CRI via Canada 6190 and VOA via Morocco 6180, both in English. Per EiBi, Vatican is taking a semihour break between Bulgarian and Latin (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. EXIGEN DESALOJAR EMISORAS DE OAXACA. Los radiodifusores del Estado exigieron al Gobierno federal la aplicación de "medidas drásticas" para recuperar las cinco estaciones de radio que, desde hace 25 días, opera la Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca (APPO). "Esperamos que haya una intervención, pero no sabemos si ésta habrá de darse en realidad", se quejó Isauro Cervantes, presidente de la delegación local de la Cámara Nacional de la Industria de la Radio y la Televisión (CIRT). La operación ilegal de cinco emisoras era un hecho inédito en la historia de la radiodifusión en México, juzgó el dirigente sectorial. Las violaciones a las leyes federal de Telecomunicaciones y de Radio y Televisión son flagrantes, acusó. Los empresarios afectados, Alberto Márquez Rodríguez y Roberto Lagunes, presentaron sendas denuncias ante la delegación estatal de la Procuraduría General de la República, sin que hasta ahora hayan sido citados, siquiera para ratificar. Los dos acceso de la calle de Gómez Farías, donde están las instalaciones de la Organización Radiofónica de Oaxaca (ORO), están bloqueados por barricadas. El consorcio tiene las frecuencias XEX de AM, XHUT y EXA FM, donde ahora los oaxaqueños pueden sintonizar "Radio Cacerola" y "Radio APPO". Mientras que en dos frecuencias, la 710 de AM y la 100.8 de FM, se escucha ahora "La Ley del Pueblo de Oaxaca". Además, la APPO mantiene sitiadas las instalaciones de Radio Universidad y la Corporación Oaxaqueña de Radio y Televisión (CORTV). Con 22 horas de programación diaria, Radio Cacerola y Radio APPO incluyen contenidos de distintas organizaciones sociales. Las transmisiones inician a las 4:00 horas, con un análisis de las noticias diarias, publicadas en los medios impresos y electrónicos locales y nacionales. Al mediodía, los niños tienen un programa en el que se les leen cuentos y resuelven dudas en las materias de la currícula escolar. Después intervienen estudiantes del Instituto Tecnológico de Oaxaca, los organismos de mujeres producen una radionovela, La Otra Campaña difunde su ideología; y durante la madrugada, a partir de las 24:00 horas, se deja el espacio para monitorear las barricadas. En la Mesa de Diálogo de la Secretaría de Gobernación, los funcionarios federales han definido a la entrega de las estaciones de radio como una de las "señales de distensión" necesarias para solucionar el conflicto. Sin embargo, el movimiento popular ha descartado tal acción y, en cambio, ha llamado a la instalación de un "Consejo Ciudadano" que defina los contenidos y la programación. "En la radio no se manipula, sino se orienta y se organiza sensatamente", sostienen sus conductoras. Desde el pasado 13 de septiembre, "La Ley del Pueblo de Oaxaca", "Radio Cacerola" y "Radio Plantón" se enlazan diariamente entre 8:00 y 9:00 horas para transmitir "Oaxaca al Alba". Ésto, "para que en una sola voz se dé la información real y objetiva", de acuerdo a la plenaria de la APPO. Entre las tareas impuestas en la última asamblea, según el acta de acuerdos, están que las radiodifusoras asuman "de manera seria y responsable" sus programaciones y que incluyan en éstas barras para niños y jóvenes. Publicado en el Diario de Oaxaca (source? via Héctor G. Bojorge / México DF, Conexión Digital Sept 24 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND [and non]. In tuning across the 7 MHz band I came across VK7GK on about 7153.95 in contact with other hams in western Europe at 0715. He was complaining about "digital interference" - no doubt from RNZI 7145 that I could also hear loudly, although not showing much signal on the S meter (Noel R. Green (NW England), Sept 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. I am getting pretty fed up with your last minute rescheduling of PBS primetime programs. It`s painfully obvious that you have not the guts to broadcast programming for adults at the same time as any other PBS station (Glenn Hauser to OETA, via DXLD) ``Marie Antoinette`` originally scheduled at 8 pm CT Monday was replaced by an old episode about Willa Cather. Nothing against her, but according to crawler, we can`t see the new M.A. episode until 12 midnight, when it normally would have been replayed. It seems OETA is scared to death to broadcast anything touching on sex before 10 pm, even tho it is still on the PBS national schedule at 9 pm (ET) (gh, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. ESTADOS UNIDOS: NEW YORK TIMES BUSCA VENDER UNIDADES DE RADIO Y TV The New York Times Co. ha anunciado un plan para poner a la venta su grupo de medios de radiodifusión, incluidas las nueve estaciones de televisión que tiene asociadas. El objetivo es centrarse en impulsar sus negocios en prensa e Internet. "Son estaciones que generan beneficios sustanciales y están situadas en mercados atractivos. Creemos que desprendernos de ellas nos permitiría centrarnos en desarrollar nuestros periódicos e impulsar el crecimiento de los negocios digitales y las sinergias entre ambas. Así aumentaríamos el valor de la compañía para nuestros accionistas" , afirma el presidente y CEO del grupo, Janet L. Robinson, en un comunicado difundido en su web. El grupo de radiodifusión de The New York Times Co. incluye, afiliadas, cadenas de televisión como NBC en Iowa y Oklahoma; CBS en Tenesse [sic] o ABC en Illinois y Pensilvania. Representa cerca del 4% de los ingresos totales que obtuvo la empresa en 2005. Para 2006, el Grupo espera que esta unidad registre ingresos por valor de 150 millones de dólares, con ganancias operativas cercanas a los 33 millones de dólares. The New York Times anuncia que ha contratado a Goldman Sachs & Co. para que asesore la venta, aunque no tiene garantías de alcanzar un acuerdo. En un comunicado, el Grupo asegura que no va a facilitar información sobre las diferentes ofertas y negociaciones. Sólo se darán datos en el caso de que se cierre una transacción. N.Y. Times Co. edita los periódicos 'The New York Times', 'The International Herald Tribune', 'The Boston Globe', además de otros 15 diarios. Además, posee nueve estaciones de televisión afiliadas, dos estaciones de radio en Nueva York y 25 sitios web, incluidos NYTimes.com, Boston.com y About.com (extraido de El Mundo, España via Arnaldo Slaen / Argentina, Conexión Digital Sept 24 via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. SEPIK GOVERNOR ORDERS REMOVAL OF NBC CAR http://www.thenational.com.pg/092506/nation11.htm EAST Sepik Governor Peter Wararu Waranaka last Friday ordered the seizure of a new provincial government vehicle donated to Radio East Sepik over allegations of misuse and maladministration. He also threatened to refer certain senior NBC staff to Wewak police this morning for the misuse of K20,000 allocated for the relocation of a transmitter from Boram in Wewak to Mt Mirau in Boikin along the west coast. ``We have confirmed that about K15,000 of this amount was used at a hotel in Wewak; and NBC technicians in Port Moresby cannot travel to Wewak to relocate the transmitter,`` a spokesman for the governor said from Wewak last night. ``Mr Waranaka would also make a formal complaint to NBC managing director Joseph Ealadona to have these officers transferred, or changed.`` Sources said all these frustrations came to a head when Mr Waranaka discovered that his 31st Independence anniversary message to the people of East Sepik, delivered to the station, was not aired. In its place, they claimed, items and election propaganda from intending candidates for next year’s general elections were used. He then instructed that the only vehicle used by the station be seized and locked up at the government yard, following numerous complaints of it being abused for drinking purposes. Meanwhile, NBC staff have threatened to walk off their jobs to protest the actions by the governor. ``We view this as a direct political interference in the media. The action by the governor is not acceptable,`` a senior staff in Wewak said. The staff claimed that they could not get hold of Mr Waranaka for his independence message. ``Even his office was locked and his electoral staff members were not around,`` the staff said (The Nation via DXLD) ** PERU. Re 6-143, new station: Con respecto a la nueva emisora de Perú - La Voz de los Andes, tuve la oportunidad de escucharla gracias a llamada telefónica que me hiciera César Pérez Dioses el dia jueves 21 de septiembre. La frecuencia que me indicó es la de 5602 kHz. Y trasmiten de 6 a 9 pm hora local (2300 a 0200 UT). La recepción es muy buena (César Rojas Gordillo, Chimbote - Perú, condig list via DXLD) Investigando un poco sobre esta emisora encuentro una referencia en el Dateline Bogotá 1998 que realizó el amigo Henrik Klemetz durante su estadía en mi país y señala en los 5602.7 kHz a Radio La Voz del Campesino desde San Miguel de El Faique con la escucha de varios programas en distintos horarios durante junio de ese año. Curiosamente señala un comunicado para la aldea de El Higuerón. Además menciona que al cierre de la emisión mencionan al Sr. Alberto Soto Santos como Gerente-Propietario. Indica también que esta emisora la descubrió el colega Pedro F. Arrunátegui hacia febrero de 1997 cuando operaba en los 4004.9 kHz. Así parece indicar que se trata de un nuevo empredimiento del señor Soto Santos (aunque yo entiendo "Toco"); ojalá en esta oportunidad se mantenga mucho más al aire. Para referencia ver http://hem.ektv.nu/~ekt035221/Dateline.htm Un saludo (Rafael Rodríguez, Colombia, Sept 25, condig list via DXLD) ** PERU. 6115 kHz, Radio Unión, from 1025 to 1035 UT, alternate male and female announcers, ``. . . en Perú.`` A band fanfare at 1030, then ``Radio _____ Peruana presenta . . .`` SINPO 22222, strong QRN from Radio Japan, Sackville on 6120; and weaker unidentified classical music on 6110 kHz. Poor overall, September 25. Heard on Grundig YB400 PE with random long wire (Roger Chambers, Utica, New York, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. PROGRAMAS RECOMENDADOS ---------- o0o ---------- "CLUB DE OYENTES & RINCON DIEXISTA" (( Radio Rumanía )) --- Club de Oyentes & Rincon Dxista programa semanal que produce Victoria Sepciu para Radio Rumanía Internacional donde se hace un habitual repaso de las cartas recibidas de los oyentes y noticias sobre la escucha de emisoras de onda corta. Club de Oyentes / Rincon Dxista se emite los domingos. Área de recepción: UTC Frecuencias Europa / España 20:00-21:00 11940, 15465 kHz Sudamérica / Argentina 22:00-23:00 9575, 11940 kHz Caribe 00:00-01:00 9775, 11970 kHz Sudamérica / Argentina 00:00-01:00 9760, 11935 kHz Centroamérica / Mexico 03:00-04:00 6155, 9645 khz Sudamérica / Argentina 03:00-04:00 9700, 11725 kHz. * En internet podran escuchar haciendo "click" en: http://www.rri.ro/index.php?lmb=11 * Página Web del programa: http://es.geocities.com/programasdx/rincondiexista.htm * Además desde Programas DX, en cualquier día y a cualquier hora: HTTP://ES.GEOCITIES.COM/PROGRAMASDX/ Radio Rumanía Internacional 60-62 Calle General Berthelot Bucharest, RUMANIA. E-Mail: span @ rri.ro (Conexión Digital Sept 24 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Russian beacons: Hier is het complete lijstje. Cluster beacon slots: .7 "D", Sevastopol .8 "P", Kaliningrad .9 "S", Severomorsk .0 "C", Moscow .1 "A", Astrakhan? (in ieder geval daar vlakbij) .2 "F", Vladivostok .3 "K", Petropavlovsk Kamchatskiy .4 "M", Magadan http://home.luna.nl/~ary/chmarker.htm Gr, (Ary Boender, BDX via DXLD) Much more detail there, frequency lists, explained in English (gh) ** SAINT HELENA [non]. Re 6-143: Listened to the entire DX segment on R. Japan`s World Interactive, on demand, starting almost 15 minutes into file. Toshimichi Ohtake also mispronounces it, but ``Mr Kipp`` in his interview knows how to pronounce it; people should pay attention to him (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 1521 kHz, The Sa`udi powerhouse is pounding in here tonight, with audio fairly decent even without phasing WWKB at 2220 EDT. They seem to be on in advance of the usual 0300 UT sign-on time tonight [UT Sept 23]. Other big hets on 1134, 1341, 1377, etc. (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF Ottawa, ON, NRC-AM via DXLD) 1521 kHz, presumed Sa`udi Arabia very strong signal at 2306 UT Sept 23 with Arabic pop music and talk (Bob Young, Millbury, MA, SP-600/ (2) 400' LW, Quantum Phaser, NRC-AM via DXLD) Obviously on late for the Ramadan holy month which has just begun - normal sign-off time is 2302 UT. Also, Bob, if you check for the SW parallels at 9555 & 9870 kHz you can eliminate the word "presumed" - it's definite! And even with no knowledge of Arabic you can hear frequent mentions of Sa`udi Arabia which sounds like "Sah-oo-DEE-yuh Ar-a-BEE-yuh." (Marc DeLorenzo, So. Dennis, MA, ibid.) ** SCOTLAND. FOOTBALL COMMENTARY IN GAELIC TO RETURN TO RADIO By Murdo Macleod 24 September 2006 http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1410742006 Gaelic-speaking soccer fans will be able to hear commentary of international matches in their own language for the first time in more than a decade. BBC Scotland's Gaelic radio service, Radio nan Gaidheal, will broadcast live commentary of next month's European Championship qualifying game between Scotland and France. Radio nan Gaidheal last provided live coverage of a Scotland match in 1992. Although the commentaries were popular with listeners, they were scrapped as part of a schedule shake-up. During this year's World Cup, Gaelic-speaking listeners had to settle for commentary on the night in English, with match analysis in their own language on the radio next morning. Ironically, since the last heyday of Gaelic radio football commentary in the 1980s, the language's word for that most important soccer word - goal - has been officially changed by Gaeldom's top scholars. Commentators once used the English word, but have since opted for the word tadhal, from the traditional word for a goal in the Highland sport of shinty. Margaret Mary Murray, head of Gaelic at BBC Scotland, said: "We are delighted that live football commentary is returning to our output. It is one of the most important Scotland games for years." (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Pronounced taaaaaaaaadhaaaaaaaal? (gh, DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. R. Singapore International, 6080, in the clear Sept 25 at 1330 with ID, news in English, as Australia has apparently finally quit the duplicative Darwin relay from Shepparton. But I was faked out once before when it was missing, then came back (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. MCOT EXECUTIVES RESIGN EN MASSE The Board of Directors of MCOT Public Company Limited (MCOT Plc), Thailand`s leading broadcast media, announced their resignation en masse today to take responsibility for the ``September 19 incident``, the company`s board chairman announced. MCOT`s media sway effectively includes television channel 9, 62 radio stations and the Thai News Agency. A state enterprise `privatised` two years ago, MCOT remained about 65 per cent owned by the Thai government through the Ministry of Finance. MCOT President Mingkwan Sangsuwan and the board of the privatised but still state-owned media organisation decided to leave. The resignation will take effect tomorrow. In a statement read by MCOT board chairman Rawat Chamchalerm, all 11 members of the board of directors agreed unanimously to resign together to show responsibility for the ``September 19 incident``. MCOT`s Modernine television (TV 9) was the only station that aired the speech by then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from New York where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly. In the statement relayed from New York, former premier Thaksin attempted to declare a state of emergency in Bangkok and tried to dismiss Army commander General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin. Mr Thaksin said he was ordering the transfer of the nation`s army chief to work in the prime minister`s office, effectively suspending him from his military duties, but the speech was abruptly interrupted during transmission. The military Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) led by General Sonthi and other armed forces commanders later staged a bloodless coup d`etat to overthrow the caretaker government then under the control of Mr Thaksin (Source: MCOT) (September 26th, 2006, 15:10 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) So MCOT could have prevented the coup?? See also U K, USA (gh) ** TRINIDAD & TOBAGO. 730 kHz, Inspirational 7-30, AM, Port of Spain, Trinidad (presumed); earnest Caribbean-accented YL with gospel style programming and lots of "Alleluyas"; mention of possible "Tobago in Demand" at 0528; only peaking occasionally and briefly above R. Líder; heard on and off until about 0623; in the noise at 0600; Fpks 0509 23/8 mah 730, Inspirational 7-30, AM, Port of Spain, Trinidad (presumed); YL with gospel ``Jesus Christ, and this is why we are here on this radio station every Wednesday and every Tuesday, not only us, but ... Alleluyah! proclaiming the Word of God to you ..``; phone-in at 0540 ``on the line is caller …23 73 01 is the number to call … phone numbers in Saint Paul in the group numbers … 609 65 38, … 677 695 … 242 329, … 23 73 21 … good morning, you`re on air, good morning``; heard for much of the listening period between 0450 and 0726, but didn`t catch any IDs; generally under R. Líder, but on top from time to time; need to do some investigation on the phone numbers! Fpks 0450 24/8 mah (Martin A. Hall, Clashmore, Scotland, Oct MW News via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. Glenn, this log of a rare station might be interesting for you. It was sent on the Russian-language open_dx group today. It translates as follows: "Sat. 23 September 2006 0742-0800* 11980 3 5 3 2 2 UKR Radio Dniprovska Hvilya (Recently it is audible towards the end of the broadcast. Now a clear ID (male voice) was heard at 0755, I didn't hear an address)" (Sergey Nikishin, Moscow, Sep 25, 2006 on open_dx) All the best, (Eike Bierwirth, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. Re: 5820 evaluation from Oklahoma --- Hello, Glenn Hauser! Thank you for the info. Friday, September 22, 2006, 6:52:52 AM, you wrote: GH> Hi Alex, from my latest report: Maybe it`s OK on the east coast, but I am afraid 5820 for RUI is just not working here in CNAm. Unfortunately, our transmission is directed to East of North America 314 or even 309 degrees. GH> Sept 22 during English ID at 0020, there was too much splash from super-strong WEWN 5810. When I listen to RUI via internet-controlled receiver in Reston, VA - there were no interferences from WEWN. But I have no addresses of such receivers in other regions of NAm, except in Syracuse, NY. GH> At 0033 recheck RUI appeared to be off the air, no carrier detectable; 0043 it was back but even worse relative to WEWN. Sometimes the Tx has interruptions, but now they have also numerous audio breaks maybe for satellite feed problems. I noted this to them. Last Sat-Sun night the magnetic storm has broken propagation. GH> Meanwhile, during this hour I found there were no signals between 5820 and 5890, and for that matter not between 5745 and 5810 either. And how is with this on 5835, 5850, 5865? Maybe there is a dead zone from them in CNAm region. I think that further and at winter season the dead zone from WEWN will become much bigger. So the splashes will be minimized. But I have doubt about good reception in Canada. GH> From our point of view RUI could greatly improve its audibility by moving anywhere in this range further from WEWN, but there are no doubt many European/Asian collisions that have to be avoided. Mainly European and utility stations, which we can interfere here. GH> And the situation may be different during the 0300 English hour, not to mention the entire 2300-0400 span if RUI must absolutely stay on a single frequency to NAm. The reason is that our Txs is not easily operated, so many time is needed to retune it to another frequency. -- Best regards, (Alexander Yegorov, RUI, via DX LISTEINING DIGEST) Checked RUI September 26, 2006 0000 UT 5820 for source of slight QRM previously reported. Yes, it is WEWN on 5810. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, VA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Re 6-142: No Ukrainian via Skelton anymore ? 11740 1600-1700 s.....s BBC Skelton 300 95 Ukrainian UKR HR 4/4/0.5 11740 1630-1700 .mtwtf. BBC Skelton 300 95 Ukrainian UKR HR 4/4/0.5 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Sept 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See http://www.bbc.co.uk/ukrainian/institutional/rebroadcasters.shtml Yes, they put the shortwave frequencies on the page with their rebroadcasters, and it says that the Mon-Fri only morning broadcast runs on shortwave 7:00-8:00 "sa Kievom" (= 0400-0500 UT) on 9560, 9895 and 11770, alongside "Good evening from London" Mon-Fri 21:00-22:00 (1800-1900 UT) on 9605, 11990 and 13745. And the very last paragraph on this page says: "English lessons on shortwave can be heard Mon-Fri at 19:30-20:00 in Kiev. Frequencies: 9535, 11740, 13675 kHz." So apparently the shortwave transmissions on Saturdays and Sundays were cancelled, and the Mon-Fri 1630-1700 slot no longer contains content from the Ukrainian service but now "English by Radio" instead. A rather considerable downsizing, and I'm delighted that this random observation brought it to our attention (sorry, could not resist). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. BBC RADIO JUMPS THE GUN IN CLOSING THAI SERVICE http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/bbc-radio-jumps-the-gun-in-closing-thai-service/2006/09/25/1159036472309.html September 26, 2006 --- BANGKOK: The BBC has been criticised for closing the Thai language arm of its World Service, months before the military seized control of Thailand, in the belief that democracy was thriving and the media were more free than most in the region. Since the Thai leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted last week, military rulers have begun censoring television and the internet and hundreds of community radio stations have been closed. Those who formerly would have turned to the World Service for independent Thai-language reporting are now acutely aware of its absence. "It was very up to date and very accurate," Chuan Leekpai, Mr Thaksin's predecessor as prime minister, and a regular listener, said on Sunday. The websites of Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party and an anti-coup group, among others, have been closed, as has the political discussion board on Pantip.com, Thailand's most popular chat site. Clicking on a BBC analysis headlined "Thailand's revered king continues to play a key role" leads to a blank page. "If there are alternatives like shortwave [radio], people who would like to hear something different will find a way to listen," said Supinya Klangnarong, the secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform. A BBC spokesman said the corporation had closed its Thai service because it had been making "minimal impact in the region" and that the BBC services were heard through partner stations - which have been closed down – Telegraph, London (via Dan Say, Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) ** U S A. But no VOA editorial yet about events in Thailand. Posted: 26 Sep 2006 (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Can`t afford to offend whoever winds up in power, with all that IBB investment in Udorn and elsewhere (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. VOA Korean via Marianas, 5890, Sept 25 at 1325 with clips of Sen. Spector and others undergoing translation; good signal far off target (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. My morning bandscan of 31 meters stopped short Sept 26 on 9330, when at 1314 I could not believe my ears: Karol Madera`s foul- mouthed rants were being played, each one repeated several times, complete with expletives. I suspect this came from a web archive of recordings posted as evidence against him. This was a very strong signal, and full carrier, or almost so, but rather distorted. Never any announcements or IDs but lots of open carrier dead air as time went on. Break from 1319 to 1320 but carrier stayed on; then novelty song ``Stinky Boots`` also distorted audio. 1324-1326 OC. 1326 about a minute of ham QSOs with lots of QRM, and couldn`t make much out of it. 1327-1332 OC. 1332 orchestral ``Star Spangled Banner`` played thru after 2 or 3 false starts. 1334-1353 dead air, carrier still on. 1353 joined a Rod Hembree show with his usual drivel. I can only assume this was all coming from WBCQ, one of the ops playing around before starting regular(?) programming, perhaps in observation of its ``Free Speech Radio`` motto (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. On 4825-SSB, ``Iowa Seven Delta One Charlie Training Net`` of Navy MARS with NCS NNN0TUL at 1304 Sept 25. Chit-chat about weather, etc., but formally directed. Apparently secured after 1313. Only Google hit on call is at http://www.ominous-valve.com/feds.txt but tells us nothing we don`t already know. 7D1C got lots of hits but apparently nothing relevant (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WTMC-1380 Delaware Wackiness --- The Delaware Department of Transportation runs WTMC-1380 in Wilmington with a listed 520 watts day and 10 watts at night. It's basically a glorified TIS, running traffic and public safety ads all day. It puts a good signal into Central Delaware during the day. They also announce a transmitter on 1380 in Rehoboth Beach which is a true 10-watt TIS. I've not heard the Rehoboth station. Today, at lunch (I work just south of Dover, in Camden DE), I tuned into 1380 and heard two different signals from WTMC that were out of sync. There was a VERY strong version with another, much weaker version of WTMC's audio underneath. I was hearing two different WTMC audios. I immediately thought I had the Rehoboth TIS as the weaker station under the much stronger Wilmington transmitter, but I realized that the dominant signal was very strong, almost too strong for a 500-watt station at 40 miles in Wilmington. I doubted I was hearing both the Wilmington and Rehoboth stations dueling it out on 1380. A quick check of the FCC database shows another Delaware DOT TIS on 1380 in Dover, probably at the DelDOT yard in south Dover, WQSF238 with 10 watts. Was DelDOT running another signal on 1380 from Dover? They aren't announcing it. They announce transmitters in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, but they do not mention any station in Dover. But I think DelDOT is running a third transmitter on 1380 as what I'm hearing is too strong to be the Wilmington station, and certainly way too strong to be the Rehoboth TIS. On the way home from work, I listened to 1380 through Dover and DelDOT was very strong but the signal was much weaker by the time I got to north Dover, showing that the dominant station I was listening to in the Dover area was low powered. I think now that DelDOT is running 3 stations on 1380. WTMC, the main station in Wilmington, the 10-watt TIS in Rehoboth, WPQK925 and a 10- watt TIS in Dover. If so, they are not running in sync, at least the Dover and Wilmington stations aren't. The long and the short of it is I think I have a new station in my log - #501. :) (John Cereghin, Smyrna DE, Sept 25, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. 1620 kHz, WPQE514, Richmond Area, VA. Heard in the din with tourist information about the Richmond Area. Heard a mention of whitewater rafting, the Richmond International Speedway, and some other local attractions. Second new non-local TIS logging in as many days (Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, UT Sept 25, R8B, K9AY, 300 meter longwire, Quantum Phaser, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Time? 1640, WPLT248, New York City Area, NY (six possible sites listed with this call) Heard call letters in the clear at 1855 EDT 9/25 by male announcer. He also provided a web site address. Poor but clear over the channel din. This is my third non-local TIS in three days. http://philcobill.com/sounds/01640-20060925-1855-WPLT248.mp3 (Bill Harms, Elkridge, MD, R8B, K9AY, 300 foot longwire, Quantum Phaser, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. SEASIDE, Oregon - NERW's on the other side of the country this week, attending the International Radio Club of America convention in this most scenic resort town, and we bet some of the folks at NEW YORK's WOR (710) might like to be this far from home at the moment too, after a breakdown in communications led the heavily- promoted demolition of the station's old three-tower antenna array to be indefinitely postponed at the very last minute. We were there last Wednesday (Sept. 20), having flown down for the day, and we've never seen so many people so excited to watch a bunch of towers fall down. WOR threw a party for its clients at its new transmitter site, about half a mile north of the old site, and many engineers from the city's other stations showed up to see the action as well, as did plenty of TV and newspaper reporters from New York City and north Jersey. Right up to the scheduled demolition time at 10 AM, excitement at the site was running high. Cameras were trained on the old 689-foot towers, waiting for the moment when the tower crews would cut one side of guy wires on each towers, letting the guys on the other two sides pull the towers down in a matter of seconds. Then --- nothing happened. After about an hour of rumors, word emerged that the Lyndhurst police department had called a halt to the demolition - and after another half-hour, Lyndhurst police chief James O'Connor appeared at the new site (in neighboring Rutherford, N.J.) to tell the gathered reporters why he'd stopped the demolition. O'Connor says he only learned about the demolition at 8:30 that morning, and he was worried about what would happen when drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike (which runs alongside the old site, in full view of both the towers and the Manhattan skyline to the east) suddenly saw the WOR towers come tumbling down. WOR engineering director Tom Ray, who'd hoped that the demolition would provide a celebratory cap to the years of work that have gone into the station's relocation, says the responsibility for notifying O'Connor and other public safety officials rested with "another party." (NERW believes that other party would be the developers behind Encap, the huge golf resort project that will eventually use the old WOR site.) Will there be lawyers involved? No doubt - and in fact the lawyer for WOR's owner, Buckley Radio, was already huddling with station management when we left the site Wednesday morning. No date has been set for a second attempt to bring the towers down, and Chief O'Connor says he's going to make sure all the appropriate permits are obtained before the demolition can go forward. (O'Connor says he also wants to meet with other emergency agencies and the area's news media to make sure that the public is fully informed and that the demolition doesn't cause any panic on the Turnpike or in the areas around the site.) (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch, illustrated, Sept 25 via DXLD) ** U S A. Topband: 600 m operation --- As many of you are aware, a group of us has begun experimental operation on 600 m (505-510) kHz. I am on the air at 506 kHz operating in the beacon mode. The message is: VVV VVV VVV VVV VVV DE WD2XSH/20 WD2XSH/20 K After each transmission there is a 40 second pause and then the message repeats. The planned operating times will be 0100Z to 0430Z every day possible. No doubt there will be some exceptions but I will do my best to be regular for the next 3-4 weeks. I have up a 130' vertical with a 300' top loading wire and am running the maximum allowed power so I should be audible over much of the western USA. I would appreciate any signal reports. Please send them to me off this reflector at: rudys @ ordata.com This will be a very interesting experiment and we all hope it results in a new MF band for hams. That of course is very much for the future. Right now we need to see what we can accomplish with this experimental license. Thanks everyone and 73, (Rudy N6LF, Sept 22, Topband mailing list via Nick Hall-Patch, Victoria, B.C., Canada, MWC via DXLD) So where is this? Probably where N6LF is, per ARRL Lookup: SEVERNS, RUDOLF P, N6LF (Extra) PO BOX 589 COTTAGE GROVE, OR 97424 And just what is the power? Is this MCW or CW? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It appears that Rudy's (N6LF) transmissions must come from COTTAGE GROVE, OR, (NL 43-42-14; WL 123-02-19), since the construction permit from the FCC lists the station locations, with coordinates, for all 23 amateurs permitted to use the call: "WD2XSH". Since Rudy states he will use the maximum power allowed, it must be ERP: 20 watts (the maximum allowed for this license). In addition, "The 500 KC Experimental Group for Amateur Radio"'s site: http://500kc.com/ mentions the emission modes for these experiments as being CW and PSK31 (Mark Vosmeier, N9IWF, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So the /20 refers to 20 watts, or the twentieth station using the same call? (gh) ** U S A. BUS RADIO ON SLOW ROAD TO MASHPEE [Massachusetts] By STEPHANIE VOSK, STAFF WRITER MASHPEE - There may be music playing on some school buses, but it's definitely not coming from Bus Radio. School business manager Ira Brown was surprised yesterday morning to learn the radios have not yet been installed, despite making comments at a recent school committee meeting that students didn't appear to be listening to the new service. The school district signed a contract in June with Needham-based Bus Radio Inc. to play the age-appropriate radio on all of its buses. The school district will split 5 percent of gross advertising sales with the company, but officials have said it's more about making students behave than making money. Brown met with Matt Braga, site director for the Mashpee terminal of the Cozy Bus Co., and a representative from the Bus Radio company in late August. At that meeting, it sounded as though things were on track to have the radios installed by the start of school, he said. When he asked a bus driver after the first day of school how students liked the radio, the driver said riders were paying little attention, so he assumed Bus Radio service had been put in place, he said. ''What I should have done is I should have followed up with Matt and not with just asking the bus driver,'' Brown said. ''I assume full responsibility for miscommunicating this information to the school committee and the public.'' Special radios need to be installed to pick up the broadcast in the 15 regular-route buses. Some miscommunication with the Bus Radio company toward the end of the summer led to the delay, Braga said. The radios are now set to be installed at the end of the month. Bus Radio broadcasts, which include music, public service announcements and advertisements, are supposed to help with behavior problems on the buses, the company says. The program was piloted in Woburn schools last year, and since then has been spreading to other districts in and around the state. In Mansfield, however, school committee members recently rescinded their vote to try the radios after parents spoke out. The Taunton School Committee also wavered on its decision to adopt the radios before voting to approve a two-year contract at a meeting Wednesday night. Concerns surrounded the type of advertisements that would be played, committee chairwoman Christine Fagan said. ''We're going to closely scrutinize the whole program and if there's any concerns with it, we can choose to discontinue at any time,'' Fagan said. Barnstable school officials decided in August to let Mashpee be the Cape's guinea pig for the program before trying it themselves. Barnstable Supt. Patricia Grenier voiced concern at the time about the school making money from the program while bus fees are in place. Several activist groups have also spoken out against the service. (Published: September 22, 2006) (Cape Cod Times via DXLD) ** U S A. LAWSUIT SEEKS PROTECTION FOR ANTI-BARNEY PARODY Originally published in Current, Sept. 11, 2006 By Karen Everhart http://www.current.org/ch/ch0616barney.shtml Is Barney fair game for online parodies by adults who love to hate him? A lawsuit filed in a New York federal court last month contends that he is. It says lawyers for Barney`s owners should stop threatening Stuart Frankel, publisher of a web page that makes evil fun of PBS`s big purple dinosaur. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the firm Akin Gump Strauss filed the suit on behalf of Frankel, who since 2002 has received a series of saber-rattling e-mails and letters from a lawyer representing the Lyons Partnership, owners of trademarks to the Barney character. The communiqués declare that Frankel`s website violates copyright laws and threaten to demand that his Internet service provider remove it from the Web. Frankel`s site http://dustyfeet.com is a relic of the Web`s early years when Barney-bashing was in vogue. One link, labeled ``evil,`` takes visitors to a page claiming that the children`s TV character ``drains the life forces from the unwary`` and is ``primarily concerned with selling itself.`` The site presents an image of Barney as a demon. The complaint, filed Aug. 23 [2006] in the U.S. District Court in New York, argues that noncommercial parody of Barney is fair use of the character`s image. ``The misuse of intimidating cease-and-desist letters for censorship is a growing problem online,`` said Corynne McSherry, staff attorney for EFF, a nonprofit defender of individual rights online. ``We regularly monitor the Web and search for our characters` names to make sure our brands aren`t associated with violence or sexually suggestive messages,`` says Danielle Web, spokeswoman for Barney`s keepers, Hit Entertainment and Lyons. They want to protect his young fans from inappropriate and upsetting images, she says (Current via DXLD) ** U S A. KTFL, channel 4 in Flagstaff, Ariz. has been deleted. Presumably this was at the request of the licensee. The license wouldn't have expired until the first of this month. I'm not aware of any enforcement proceedings against KTFL, and if any violations were outstanding that were severe enough to result in revocation of license, we'd have heard about them! As I read it, this deletion also affects the KTFL-DT permit on channel 18 (Doug Smith, Oct VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) ** U S A. CW Network Affiliates: Location Ch Call AL Bessemer 17 WDBB AL Florence 15 WHDF AL Gulf Shores 55 WBPG AL Homewood 21 WTTO+ AL Opelika 66 WLGA AL Tuskegee 22 WBMM AR Pine Bluff 38 KASN AZ Phoenix 61 KASW+ AZ Sierra Vista 58 KWBA CA Eureka 17 KUVU-LP CA Los Angeles 5 KTLA+ CA Palm Springs 2 KCWQ-LP CA Sacramento 31 KMAX-TV+ CA San Diego 69 KSWB-TV CA San Francisco 44 KBCW+ CA Sanger 59 KFRE-TV CO Colorado Springs 57 KXTU-LP CO Denver 2 KWGN-TV+ CT Waterbury 20 WTXX DC Washington 50 WDCW+ FL Clermont 18 WKCF+ FL Fort Pierce 34 WTVX FL Jacksonville 17 WCWJ FL Miami 39 WSFL-TV FL Naples 46 WTVK FL St. Petersburg 44 WTOG+ FL Tallahassee 24 WTLF-DT GA Atlanta 69 WUPA GA Baxley 34 WGSA+ IA Ames 23 KCWI-TV IA Burlington 26 KGCW-TV IA Des Moines 56 KDMI-DT* IA Iowa City 20 KWKB* ID Caldwell 9 KNIN-TV ID Pocatello 15 KPIF IL Chicago 9 WGN-TV+ IL Decatur 23 WBUI IN Bloomington 4 WTTV IN Kokomo 29 WTTK IN South Bend 25 WCWW-LP KS Wichita 33 KSCW KY Campbellsville 34 WBKI-TV+ KY Madisonville 19 WAZE-TV+ KY Murray 24 WQTV-LP KY Paducah 9 WQWQ-LP LA Alexandria 41 KBCA LA Baton Rouge 21 WBRL-CA LA Minden 21 KPXJ LA New Iberia 50 KLWB LA New Orleans 38 WNOL-TV MA Cambridge 56 WLVI-TV MA New Bedford 28 WLWC MD Baltimore 54 WNUV ME Portland 51 WPXT MI Bay City 46 WBSF MI Detroit 50 WKBD MN Minneapolis 23 WUCW+ MO Kansas City 29 KCWE MO Springfield 15 K15CZ MO St. Louis 11 KPLR-TV MS Magee 34 WRBJ MT Helena 10 KMTF NC Asheville 62 WYCW NC Belmont 46 WJZY NC Lexington 20 WCWG NC Raleigh 22 WLFL NE Lincoln 51 KCWL-TV NE Omaha 15 KXVO NM Santa Fe 19 KWBQ+ NV Las Vegas 33 KVCW NV Reno 27 KREN-TV+ NY Buffalo 23 WNLO NY New York 11 WPIX+ NY Schenectady 45 WCWN NY Syracuse 14 WSTQ-LP OH Akron 55 WBNX-TV OH Chillicothe 53 WWHO OH Portsmouth 30 WQCW+ OH Springfield 26 WBDT OK Muskogee 19 KQCW+ OK Oklahoma City 34 KOCB+ OR Salem 32 KRCW-TV+ PA Jeannette 19 WPCW+ PA Lancaster 15 WLYH-TV PA Philadelphia 57 WPSG PA Scranton 38 WSWB PR Aguadilla 30 WSJP-LP SC Columbia 47 WZRB SC Florence 21 WWMB SD Rapid City 27 KWBH-LP SD Sioux Falls 36 KWSD TN Cleveland 53 WFLI-TV TN Crossville 20 WBXX-TV TN Memphis 30 WLMT TN Nashville 58 WNAB TX Austin 54 KNVA* TX Dallas 33 KDAF TX Fredericksburg 2 KCWX TX Houston 39 KHCW TX Longview 38 KCEB TX Odessa 30 KWWT TX Wolfforth 22 KLCW-TV+ UT Ogden 30 KUCW+ VA Ashland 65 WUPV VA Lynchburg 21 WWCW VA Portsmouth 27 WGNT VI Christiansted 39 WCVI-TV WA Spokane 22 KSKN WA Tacoma 11 KSTW+ WA Walla Walla 9 KCWK WI Janesville 57 WBUW WI Milwaukee 18 WVTV WI Suring 14 WIWB WY Casper 26 K26ES+ My Network TV Affiliates Location Ch Call AK Anchorage 5 KYES+ AK Juneau 17 K17HC AL Birmingham 68 WABM AL Troy 67 WRJM-TV AR El Dorado 43 KEJB AR Fort Smith 10, KFDF-CA, KPBI-CA AR Harrison 31 KWBM+ AR Little Rock 42 KWBF AZ Phoenix 45 KUTP+ AZ Tucson 18 KTTU-TV CA Bakersfield 45 KUVI-TV CA Eureka 33 KEMY-LP CA Fresno 53 KAIL+ CA Los Angeles 13 KCOP-TV+ CA Palm Springs 50 KPSE-LP CA Redding 21 KRVU-LP CA San Francisco 4 KRON-TV CA Stockton 58 KQCA CA Sycamore 2 KOTR-LP CO Denver 20 KTVD+ CO Grand Junction 27 KGJT-LP CO Sterling 3 KUPN CT New Haven 59 WCTX DC Washington 20 WDCA FL Fort Myers 4 WEVU-CA+ FL Fort Walton Beach 35 WFGX FL Lake City 11 WMYG-LP FL Miami 33 WBFS-TV FL Orlando 65 WRBW FL Palm Beach 43 WTCN-CA FL St. Petersburg 38 WTTA GA Atlanta 36 WATL HI Honolulu 5 KFVE+ IA Davenport 26 WBQD-LP IA Des Moines 56 KDMI* IA Iowa City 20 KWKB* ID Twin Falls 43 KTWT-LP IL East St. Louis 46 WRBU IL Peoria 59 WAOE IL Springfield 49 WCFN IN Evansville 63 WTSN-LP IN Gary 50 WPWR-TV IN Marion 23 WNDY-TV IN Salem 58 WMYO IN South Bend 69 WMYS-LP KS Hutchinson 36 KMTW KY Lexington 62 WBLU-LP KY Paducah 49 WDKA LA Baton Rouge 46 WBXH-CA LA Opelousas 62 KLAF-LP+ LA Shreveport 45 KSHV LA Slidell 54 WUPL MA Pittsfield 51 WNYA+ MD Baltimore 24 WUBT ME Lewiston 35 WPME MI Detroit 20 WMYD MI Grand Rapids 15 WXSP-CA+ MI Jackson 18 WHTV MN Bemidji 26 KFTC MY Minneapolis 29 WFTC+ MO Columbia 11 KZOU-LP MO Kansas City 62 KSMO-TV MS Vicksburg 35 WUFX MT Great Falls 26 KLMN NC Durham 28 WRDC NC Greensboro 48 WMYV NC Greenville 38 WEPX ND Grand Forks 27 KCPM+ NE Omaha 24 KKAZ-CA NH Derry 50 WZMY-TV NJ Secaucus 9 WWOR-TV+ NM Albuquerque 50 KASY-TV+ NM Hobbs 29 KUPT NV Las Vegas 21 KVMY+ NV Reno 21 KAME-TV+ NY Binghamton 10 WBPN-LP NY Buffalo 49 WNYO-TV+ NY Corning 39 WJKP-LP NY Rochester 40 WBGT-CA NY Syracuse 43 WNYS-TV NY Utica 11 WPNY-LP+ OH Cincinnati 64 WSTR-TV+ OH Lorain 43 WUAB OH Toledo 48 WMNT-CA* OK Oklahoma City 43 KAUT-TV OK Tulsa 41 KMYT-TV OR Bend 50 KUBN-LP OR Eugene 23 KEVU-LP OR Medford 48 KFBI-LP PA Philadelphia 17 WPHL-TV+ PA Pittsburgh 22 WPMY PA Williamsport 53 WQMY SC Anderson 40 WMYA-TV SC Charleston 36 WMMP SC Rock Hill 55 WMYT-TV SC Sumter 63 WKTC+ SD Rapid City 24 KKRA-LP TN Kingsport 36 WAPK-CA+ TN Memphis 50 WPXX-TV* TN Nashville 30 WUXP-TV TX Abilene 54 KIDZ-LP+ TX Amarillo 33 KCPN-LP TX Austin 54 KNVA* TX Beaumont 22 KEBQ-LP TX Corpus Christi 21 KTOV-LP TX Dallas 27 KDFI TX Houston 20 KTXH TX Kerrville 35 KMYS TX Longview 58 KLPN-LP TX Lubbock 14 KMYL-LP TX San Angelo 49 KIDW-LP TX Victoria 41 KXTS-LP TX Wichita Falls 35 KJBO-LP+ UT Salt Lake City 14 KJZZ-TV+ VA Norfolk 33 WTVZ-TV VT Burlington 39 WGMU-CA+ WA Seattle 22 KMYQ+ WA Vancouver 49 KPDX+ WI Appleton 32 WACY+ WI Ashland 25 WAST-LP WI Milwaukee 24 WCGV-TV BN Tecate 49 XHDTV-TV ON Toronto 52 CKXT-TV* + indicates station is relayed by one or more translators * indicates station has a secondary affiliation with some other network (Doug Smith, Oct WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN [and non]. 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). Kai Ludwig Yes, the Chinese do jam Uzbek as heard here on 17685 and 17630 (BBC). I haven't checked the parallel frequencies of either service but they are: The // SW frequencies for VOA Uzbek 1500-1530 are listed as 7555 (don't mistake the ute for jamming), 11780 & 15390. And BBC Uzbek at 1600-1630 is also jammed on 17630. Others listed in // are 12090 (Moscow), 11945 (Oman) and 9615 (Singapore). (Noel R. Green (NW England), Sept 25, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. Marketing of the station is done by word of mouth. Jackson and her colleagues are on the phone to Zimbabwe every day, telling people what the station will be broadcasting, getting out to ordinary Zimbabweans the message that SWRadioAfrica [sic] exists and getting it talked about. Every day there`s a call-back programme, allowing ordinary Zimbabweans to air their opinions and tell their stories about life in the country and to exchange news and views --- a dialogue between people in the country is the only way to get through the crisis that currently engulfs the country, Jackson believes. SWRAdioAfrica provides a roving mobile phone for people to use and then rings them back to put them on the air, ensuring that their voices get on the air --- a simple, but important, technique, because ordinary Zimbabweans simply can`t afford the cost of calls to the station (from ``Rocking on for the good of the people``, about Gerry Jackson, Station Manager, SW Radio Africa, AIB The Channel, July via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. JUDGE DISMISSES CASE AGAINST RADIO STATION September 25 2006 at 02:37PM By Fanuel Jongwe http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1159185420774B251 Harare - A Zimbabwean judge on Monday threw out a case against 10 staffers of an independent radio station charged with breaking the country's tough audiovisual laws after branding the dragging trial a "circus." Magistrate William Bhila turned down a request by state prosecutors for a further adjournment against the employees of the Voice of the People (VOP) radio station until November 9, saying: "This is becoming a circus." "This matter has already been postponed three times. There is no reason to keep the accused on remand. Remand is refused," he said. Repressive media laws Beatrice Mtetwa, representing the accused, hailed the decision and said her clients were victims of a government clampdown on critics. "This is clearly a case where the state abuses the prosecution process for political reasons," Mtetwa said after the ruling. "There was no basis in the first place to bring them to court and all these things they say the want to establish, the police should have established first even before the arrests" she said. Seven directors and three other employees of the VOP radio station were arrested in December and January and detained at Harare's main police station, accused of possession and operation of transmission equipment without a licence. Zimbabwe passed tough media laws in early 2002 which have been invoked to expel foreign correspondents and muzzle the country's once-vibrant independent press. On Monday, the prosecution played for more time, saying it wanted to withdraw the charges against the 10 individuals and instead charge the radio station. "It is the prosecution's considered view that proceedings have to be against the company, VOP Trust, and not the accused in their individual capacities," prosecutor Albert Masamha said. But the lawyer for the accused strongly argued against the move on the ground that they had suffered enough. "One of my clients has travelled from the United States where he is studying only for the trial to be postponed again. One of them is based in South Africa. There will be absolutely no prejudice to the state if the accused are removed from remand," Mtetwa told the court. The seven directors are Arnold Tsunga, Millie Phiri, Isabella Matambanadzo, David Masunda and Nhlanhla Ngwenya, Lawrence Chibwe and John Masuku. The shortwave radio station is one of only two independent broadcasters which have managed to circumvent Zimbabwe's repressive media laws by using transmitters outside the country to carry their programmes on shortwave. Most of VOP's programming is in the two main languages - Shona and Ndebele - placing it among the few independent media able to reach the large rural population who have no access to newspapers. Zimbabwe has four radio stations and one television station all controlled by the government. Plainclothes police in December ransacked the radio station's offices in central Harare, arresting staffers Maria Nyanyiwa, Takunda Chigwanda and Nyasha Bosha and held them in cells for four days. Under the strict broadcasting laws passed in 2001, radio stations are required to register with a government-appointed board. A breach of the laws attracts a 20-dollar penalty or a jail term of up two years. VOP broadcasts into Zimbabwe on shortwave from its transmitter in Madagascar. Its offices were firebombed in August 2002. - Sapa-AFP (Independent Online, RSA, via Mike Cooper, DXLD) So now will they get to resume new program produxion? All along has remained on RN`s schedule: 1700-1800 Madagascar 7120 265 50 V of the People Zimbabwe (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ZIMBABWE: CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST VOICE OF THE PEOPLE EMPLOYEES New York, September 25, 2006 -- The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the decision of a court in Zimbabwe today to dismiss charges of broadcasting without a license against 10 employees of independent news production company Voice of the People (VOP). A court in Harare threw the case out, calling it a "circus," after the prosecution asked for a fourth postponement, according to defense lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and one of the defendants. "We are quite thrilled," Arnold Tsunga, a VOP trustee who is also director of the Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights, told CPJ. But he said there was a risk that the state might now try to press charges against VOP as a legal entity, rather than against the individuals. The prosecutor had asked for another postponement in order to pursue this possibility, Mtetwa confirmed. "This is not a prosecution, this is a persecution," said Mtetwa, who received an International Press Freedom Award from CPJ in 2005. Several of the defendants were initially detained and released on bail. Tsunga said VOP was trying to resume operations but had been virtually incapacitated in Zimbabwe since security forces raid its premises in December and confiscated equipment. "While we welcome the court ruling, we deplore the government's censorship of VOP and the persecution of its trustees and staff," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "We call on the authorities to return VOP's equipment immediately and allow it to resume its independent news production without fear of reprisal." VOP produces radio programs in local languages on community and political issues but does not broadcast directly within Zimbabwe. The programs are broadcast on shortwave from overseas. Those charged along with Tsunga were fellow trustees David Masunda, who is VOP's chairman, Isabella Matambanadzo, Millicent Phiri, Lawrence Chibwea and Nhlanhla Ngwenya; VOP Director John Masuku; and three VOP staffers. (c) 2006 Committee to Protect Journalists. http://www.cpj.org (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. There was an interesting situation on 6015 this morning (26/09). At tune in 0650 Radio Nederland was heard in Dutch (via Flevo according to sched), and 'underneath' there was a loud DRM signal causing them much QRM. RNW closed at 0657 leaving the DRM signal on air past 0700. I heard the DRM on Monday morning - but after 0700 - and didn't realise that it was on air same time as RNW. My "copy" of the latest DRM sched doesn't show any such transmission on 6015 - anyone else know what it is? (Noel R. Green (NW England), Sept 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi dear Noel, Unfortunately I heard the RNW Dutch stations at around 0720 UT, 5955 HOL and Hoerby-SWE 6035, the latter also a powerhouse. See the B06 coordinated registrations: WER will send TDP in Dutch in DRM mode[Sats only, 60 kW 315 degrees] on 6015 kHz from 0700 UT; maybe there are SIMULCAST tests at present on air at Wertachtal. ?? 6015 in winter at \\ Hoerby-SWE is coordinated in pure FM [sic] with 350 kW, daily 0700-0757 for RNW. 6015 0700-1000 27 WER 60 315 7=Sat N=DRM Dut TDP 6015 0700-0757 27,28,37N,39NW HB 350 190 1=Sun D=AM Dut S RNW 6015 0700-0757 27,28,37N,39NW HB 350 190 234567Mon-Sat D=AM Dut S RNW 6015 0700-0800 27,28,37N,39NW HB 350 230 daily D=AM RNW/Dut S TER 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Re 6577, 6-143: No doubt it's Coalition Maritime Forces. The words are just same as heard earlier on various frequencies. Earlier the languages were English and Somali (also now?). Marlo tel. in Bahrain is +973-17-85-3925 Web http://www.marlobahrain.org/ (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Had thought the phone prefix was 972; more likely this (gh) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++ Dear GH, I have been listening to World of Radio on your internet stream for a few years since the short-wave signals are unreliable. I listen every week and enjoy it very much. I even listen to the programs that I miss (Mike Dukin, Hayward, Wisconsin, Sept 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ULTRA WIDEBAND Estimado Sr. Hauser - I saw the item about UWB at the end of DXLD 6- 142. While ultra wideband does indeed use spread spectrum, it won't pose a problem for casual listeners or DXers. UWB systems will operate in the GHz range with bandwidths of several hundred kHz and transmitter powers measured in picowatts; most will have effective ranges of under ten meters. In other words, the interference potential from UWB will be about the same as, say, from mobile phones. 73, (Harry Helms W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, Sept 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING see INTERNATIONAL; NEW ZEALAND; UNIDENTIFIED 6015 ++++++++++++++++++++ WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ RAMADAN Hello DXers, YES, it's Ramadan already; here in Egypt it started on 24/9/2006. It started on 23/9/2006 in some other Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria and some parts of Iraq. Happy Ramadan everyone :) yours (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, Sept 25, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ciao ! differenti --- opinioni sull'inizio del Sacro Mese del Ramadan --- In ogni caso se provate 4845 kHz la Mauritania trasmette tutta notte --- nel periodo del Ramadan --- e siamo sicuri che è iniziato (Dario Monferini, Italia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ A TEXTBOOK DEFINITION OF COWARDICE Keith Olbermann comments on Bill Clinton's Fox News interview SPECIAL COMMENT By Keith Olbermann Anchor, 'Countdown' MSNBC Updated: 8:29 p.m. ET Sept. 25, 2006 The headlines about them are, of course, entirely wrong. It is not essential that a past president, bullied and sandbagged by a monkey posing as a newscaster, finally lashed back. It is not important that the current President`s portable public chorus has described his predecessor’s tone as ``crazed.`` Our tone should be crazed. The nation’s freedoms are under assault by an administration whose policies can do us as much damage as al Qaida; the nation’s marketplace of ideas is being poisoned by a propaganda company so blatant that Tokyo Rose would’ve quit. Nonetheless. The headline is this: Bill Clinton did what almost none of us have done in five years. He has spoken the truth about 9/11, and the current presidential administration. . . [video available] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15004160/ (via DXLD) URL will probably change and you may need to hunt for this later (gh) ###