DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-017, February 8, 2007 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 2007 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html For restrixions and searchable 2006 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid6.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1346 Fri 1130 KAIJ 5755 [NEW] Fri 2000 KAIJ 9480 [NEW] Fri 2130 WWCR 7465 Sat 1330 WRMI 7385 Sat 1730 WWCR3 12160 Sat 2230 WRMI 9955 Sun 0330 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Mon 0400 WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0515 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Mon 1330 WRMI 7385 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 ** AFGHANISTAN. 6700, 07/02 0135, Radio Solh (Radio Peace), presumed, talks man and woman, like reports, at 0148 folk music. Signal affected by slow fading going from poor to good. Rx used: CiaoRadio H101, SDR- 14, Winradio G33EM, Drake SPR-4 ant: T2FD. Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. ALBANIAN INTERNET PROVIDER`S HOME PAGE AT URL OF NATIONAL BROADCASTER A routine check of the inactive URL of Albanian national broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar http://www.rtsh.com.al produced an old Home Page of Albanian Internet provider Pronet. An item dated Wednesday, 12 January 2005 but headed ``Latest News`` says ``The ProNet website is going through some major changes. Please visit us again in a few days.`` For many months, checking this URL has produced a ``page cannot be displayed`` message. Possibly this indicates that the broadcaster is planning to reactivate its website. 2 Responses to ``Albanian Internet provider`s Home Page at URL of national broadcaster`` Sergei Says: February 7th, 2007 at 15:42 e It seems to me that the site’s registration run out and another company (ProNet) simply took over it… Andy Says: February 7th, 2007 at 15:44 e That could also be the case. Time will tell, I guess. (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 6214.2, R. Baluarte, Puerto Iguazú, 1531-1600 and 2150- 0118, Jan 25, 29 and 31, Reactivated! Religious songs in Portuguese, short announcement in Portuguese, canned announcement in Spanish, 34443 (Samuel Cássio, Brasil; John Herkimer, NY and Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) See also BOLIVIA ** AUSTRALIA. Major reorganization at the ABC today which impacts Radio Australia including departure of director: (Rob de Santos Columbus, OH, Feb 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ABC BOLSTERS ITS COMMITMENT TO INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING --- 07/02/2007 http://abc.net.au/corp/pubs/media/s1842867.htm The ABC will strengthen its commitment to its international broadcasting efforts under measures announced today by ABC Managing Director Mark Scott designed to maintain the ABC's position as a leading player in Australia's digital media. Mr Scott announced that the ABC's International division would now include Radio Australia, Australia Network and International Projects. "There are opportunities to improve the effectiveness of our services to Asia and the Pacific through greater collaboration and this new division will help to achieve that", Mr Scott said. "Our aim is to both grow our own audiences; and to ensure the ABC makes a positive contribution in working with other broadcasters to develop effective media in the region. "This division will build on the success of Australia Network and Radio Australia in delivering content to international audiences that builds an awareness of Australia and Australian attitudes. "Radio Australia continues to increase its reach with a launch into India scheduled for 2007, while Australia Network reaches in excess of 12 million viewers per month, with its mix of news, current affairs, education, lifestyle, drama and sport now available in 20 million homes across Asia, Pacific and the Indian sub-continent. "This division will also be accountable for the ABC's increasing role in the delivery of support for broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific regions through specialist advice and technical assistance, mentoring and training activities. The most significant of these activities are funded by Australia's development assistance agency, AusAID. "Clear accountability for these contracts, and Australia Network contract with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will be maintained under these new arrangements." Mr Scott said the new division of ABC International, Corporate Strategy and Governance would also be responsible for other corporate strategy and governance support functions. "I am pleased to announce that the current Director, Corporate Strategy and Communications, Murray Green, will become Director, ABC International, Corporate Strategy and Governance,"Mr Scott said. Mr Scott also announced that the current Chief Executive of Australia Network, Ian Carroll will become the Director, ABC Innovation. "I congratulate Ian on his efforts and welcome him into this new position. Ian is a distinguished journalist and senior ABC executive who has led Australia Network into a period of unprecedented audience growth, with the service now available in 41 countries. Ian's background in television and news and current affairs, along with his work as the Head of ABC Digital Television where he established ABC Kids and FLY, will be invaluable in this new role." Mr Scott said the current Head of Radio Australia, Jean-Gabriel Manguy had indicated his desire to stand down from the leadership of Radio Australia in order to take up another senior role with the Corporation in the region, details of which would be advised in due course. "Jean-Gabriel has been the Head of Radio Australia for ten years. During his leadership Radio Australia has been vital in strengthening the ABC as an international broadcaster, which is enjoyed by millions of listeners in six languages across Asia and the Pacific. The expansion of the service can be attributed to the single minded focus and leadership of Jean-Gabriel. I pay tribute to his efforts and wish him well in his future endeavours, "Mr Scott said (via Rob de Santos, dxldyg via DXLD) The ABC Of Digital Media Evolution http://abc.net.au/corp/pubs/media/s1842869.htm (via Rob de Santos, ibid.) ** BELGIUM. DRM-News --- 2/6/2007: DRM tests from RTBF Wavre on 9950 (from http://baseportal.com/baseportal/drmdx/main Feb 7 via DXLD) Strangely enough, if you re-sort the above page by frequency, you get a different selection of DRM News, at the bottom, all old, from 2006. I did that to see if there were any further details about the 9950 tests, such as time span, but they are not even on the schedule! (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. Acabo de captar en los 6214 kHz a las 2240, Radio Amor de Dios, El Alto, La Paz, Bolivia transmitiendo en idioma Quechua (no date, Alfredo Cañote, La Molina, Lima, Perú, Conexión Digital Feb 4 via DXLD) Also heard at 2346 causing heterodyne with Argentinian [q.v.] R Baluarte, recently reactivated after a month of silence (but which I believe persists with modulation problems). (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay in DXplorer via DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) El Alto means "The High". It is an expanding city of 800,000 poor Indians living in slum on a mountain ridge to the East of La Paz and 400 meters above it. I passed El Alto by bus an evening last November and saw its magnificent view over the Bolivian capital. By the way, the Indians in El Alto mostly speak Aymara, not Quechoa which is a completely different language (Anker Petersen, Denmark, ibid.) ** BULGARIA. Please welcome the newest member of the EU! Along with Romania, Bulgaria officially joined the EU on January 1st, 2007, marking a major transition for both of these countries. In 2001, former king Simeon II was returned to power as Prime Minister (through elections, this time), a post he held until 2005. This mountainous nation on the Black Sea is home to 7.8 million people and is served by over 130 domestic radio stations; the public broadcaster, BNR, is also responsible for the external service. Bulgarian National Radio – Radio Bulgaria (BNR): http://bnr.bg/ Of the eleven languages listed on the main webpage, click English unless you have another preference. On the English homepage, you’ll find links to the various languages down the left-hand side, below which are links to internet radio (MP3 format), again in various languages (twelve, this time). Down the centre of the page are briefs and links to the day’s news and weather, followed by a Program Guide complete with frequencies and a Reception Report page, with downloadable form and instructions on how to receive all six (!) BNR QSL cards. The right-hand side of the page features a few colourful buttons linking to prominent features, below which are “Categories” such as Bulgaria and the World, Life in Bulgaria, Profi les (of people), Culture, and DX Program. Each of these categories links to a huge list of articles carried on the BNR website over the past few months or even years, and many of the stories are complemented by photos and/or archived audio of the original broadcast. The DX Program content currently goes back to late October 2006. One final tidbit: each page features a search box, plus Site Map, Help, and Contact Us buttons, all in the top right-hand corner (Paul E. Guise, St. John's, NL, Click, Feb ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** CANADA. I noticed that this week's broadcast of Age of Persuasion is shorter than before. Previously, the Thursday broadcast was 28:00 and the Saturday show was 30:30 in length. This week, they were both 27:30. The extra 30 seconds on Thursday went to Promo Girl and Talking Books gained three minutes on Saturday. From a production (and cost) viewpoint, it makes sense to have both airings of the show identical in length, but to lose three minutes of material from one of the best shows on the network doesn't seem to be the best way to go about it. Archie (Y Know, Feb 4, alt.radio.networks.cbc via DXLD) If this is the case, it's more likely that the CBC asked them to make the show 30 seconds shorter, to make room for the inane promo girl. I doubt budget cuts are to blame though, it's more likely that they just wanted a slightly shorter show to air. I'm sure O'Reilly and the team aren't getting paid any less to make a 30 seconds shorter show (Day, ibid.) Maybe it was a deliberate example of how advertising encroaches on content. The promos may not be commercial, but they do cut into the program (Michael Black, ibid.) You could write to Pirate Media and ask. Address: 260 King St. E., Suite 507, Toronto ON M5A 1K3 Main Phone: 416-594-3784 Main Fax: 416-360-1789 Website: http://www.pirate.ca [Horrible Flash pages not ready for blind, or the radio ] They have certainly been forthcoming with the credits lately (The theme music wasn't credited in first series). To contact CBC Audience Relations please call: 1-866-306-4636 or 416-205-3700 for Toronto-area residents Linkname: Canadian Music Week 2004 Biog of O'Reilly URL: http://www.cmw.net/cmw2004/spterry_oreilly.htm Linkname: O'Reilly on Advertising - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O'Reilly_on_Advertising And when do we get the Lennonist series on CBC? Linkname: Pirate to release Lennon radio show URL: http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20051004/pirate.html (Dan Say, BC, ibid.) ** CANADA. CJMS (Saint-Constant, Québec) is one of the off-channel stations near 1040. I measured it as being on 1040.12 or 1040.13. Format is country gold with some songs in English and some in French. It is the dominant here on 1040 during "normal" conditions (Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA, USA, Feb 6, NRC-AM via DXLD) Viz.: 1040.12 | CANADA | CJMS, St. Constant, QC, FEB 7 0120 UT - noted 120 to 130 Hz high of nominal 1040 with audio easily separable from other 1040 stations on R8A with 1.8 kHz IF bandwidth, upper sideband. Programming: old-fashioned American and Canadian-French country music. Strong and often-dominant signal (Mark Connelly, Billerica, MA, USA (GC= 42.5332 N / 71.2205 W) (= 42 32' N / 71 13' W) (home) Drake R8A receiver, DXP-6 phasing unit, dual-feedline Flag antenna (11.5 m horiz. by 5.5 m vert., base height 7 m, east - west axis), NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CANADA. CANADIAN RADIO NEWS For January 2007 (February 1 2007) : CALL LETTER DATA: 1070 NB Moncton CBA Will become CBAM (when flip to 106.1 occurs). (Dan Sys, Canada, IRCA via Steve Whitt, MWC via DXLD) ** CANADA. Jeff Healey's My Kinda Jazz --- Some/Many of you in Southern Ontario may already have been aware of this, but it was rather a nice discovery on my part, quite by accident. Years ago, during the summer, Jeff Healey (one of my favourite musicians btw - his version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps is one of the few cover versions I prefer to the original...and as a Beatles fan that says something that I prefer the cover, but I digress) would sit in once a week during Peter Gzowski's program and present an hour of great Jazz, usually vintage recordings from his own collection. The program was called My Kinda Jazz and I just loved it. Tuning around the dial Monday night, lo and behold, I discovered Jeff doing "My Kinda Jazz" on Jazz FM 91.1 out of Toronto. Fabulous vintage recordings from the early days of Jazz and probably others. You can hear it on Sunday mornings at 7am, and Monday nights at 9pm. Not in Southern Ontario? No worries. Its on that internet thingy. You may have heard of that. You can bet I'll be listening, or recording it every week! http://www.jazz.fm/content/view/141/93/ http://www.jeffhealey.com/home.htm Jeff is fighting a so-far successful battle against cancer; he's a really remarkable man. I'm really "jazzed" about re-discovering this show (Fred Waterer, St Catharines, ODXA via DXLD) ** CROATIA. Glenn, I've been a regular reader of your DXLD for several years now but never thought I had anything interesting to contribute. I'd describe myself as a casual Dx'er/SWL. I have been listening for over 35 years, I still have the spring/summer 1971 issue of Popular Communications with a photo of you in Thailand in it. I am a member of NASWA & CIDX . Anyway I did hear something that I haven't seen listed anywhere in quite awhile which might be of interest to you so I'll try to list the details in a format as close to the one you use that I can get. Hrvatski Radio via Deanovec, 6165 with a live band concert just following the news at 1905 on Feb. 4. Concert originated for a venue in Zagreb; seemed like it was from a club rather than a theater setting, and was an American band playing big band/jazz style music similar to what you would have heard in the 1930's-40's. Not quite swing but more Cab Calloway. The band members were interviewed in English and this was translated into Croatian. Conditions were fairly clear but the signal wasn't very strong. Some fading and slight static, along with my home`s electrical noise caused by the heat cycling on and off, (it`s only 20 degrees today), made some of the dialog difficult to understand. The music came thru excellent and that was the best part of the program. Very enjoyable listening on a cold Sunday afternoon (Steve Wood, South Yarmouth, Cape Cod, MA. Drake R8B 140 foot dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Arnie Coro says he is now aware of the RHC mixing product on 6300 which has arisen since a transmitter was put on 6180, and is working on suppressing it, but it was still there, Feb 8 at 0637 check in English. After 0700 it was gone as was 6180, allowing Brasília to boom in (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. In January Prof. Arnaldo Coro Antich, R Havana Cuba, sent me the following request: "Wonder how do you receive R. Rebelde's Tropical Band station on 5025 despite the fact that the antenna is a NVIS system, designed for optimum coverage of the Cuban archipelago! The transmitter power is 50 kW output, and the antenna is omnidirectional, but with a very high primary take off angle... Anyway, minor low angle lobes seem to produce some nice DX pick ups too !!!" (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) 5025 is always one of the best signals here, early to fade in and late to fade out. You would never know it is NVIS. Perhaps another NVIS system which does {NOT} really work as it should in theory. It can also be heard all day long in the SE USA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. NUEVAS AGRESIONES RADIOTELEVISIVAS CONTRA CUBA LOURDES PÉREZ NAVARRO http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2007/02/05/nacional/artic01.html La permanente agresión radial y televisiva de los Estados Unidos hacia Cuba ha ido en aumento. A mediados de diciembre directivos de Radio y Televisión Martí alquilaron espacios en la estación televisiva WPMF- 38, propiedad de TVC Broadcasting que transmite programación de Azteca América, y en Radio Mambí WAQI 710AM, de la cadena Univisión. Cada año el gobierno estadounidense invierte millones de dólares en transmitir programas subversivos por Radio y Televisión Martí, dirigidos a desestabilizar a la Revolución cubana. El uso del canal también permitirá a la estación gubernamental estadounidense el acceso a las transmisiones por satélite de Direct TV, "las cuales se captan mediante parabólicas ilegales en la Isla", según reportó El Nuevo Herald. Con esto pretenden lograr nuevas vías por las cuales sus injerencistas y subversivos mensajes, destinados a desestabilizar a la Revolución cubana, sean vistos y oídos en nuestro país. Nadie se engañe. No por gusto las recomendaciones contenidas en el capítulo uno del plan anexionista de Bush incluyen la distribución de computadoras, radios de onda corta, platos de satélites, decodificadores, fax y fotocopiadoras a sus mercenarios residentes en Cuba. La mayoría de estos medios que se cuentan por miles, han sido introducidos ilegalmente por la SINA amparándose en la valija diplomática. Para ello, y para continuar financiando la subversión interna en nuestro país, el gobierno estadounidense ha decidido destinar 80 millones de dólares adicionales en los próximos dos años, y no menos de 20 millones anuales en lo sucesivo, hasta lograr el sueño de derrocar a la Revolución. En ese afán ya se han gastado - y despilfarrado en malos manejos - 73,5 millones de dólares entre 1996 y el 2005, de acuerdo con recientes investigaciones realizadas por la Oficina de Auditoría del Gobierno, órgano del Congreso de los Estados Unidos. Paradójicamente las nuevas vías para realizar las transmisiones llegan en momentos en que la estación TV Martí, con sede en Miami, enfrenta una ronda de críticas por invertir 10 millones de dólares anuales "en producir programas que rara vez ve la audiencia a los que van dirigidos en esa isla del Caribe", como refirió un despacho de la agencia AP. Desoyendo las múltiples denuncias realizadas por Cuba en foros internacionales, el gobierno estadounidense va en busca de cualquier ruta por la que pueda lograr audiencia radiotelevisiva para los programas subversivos emitidos desde su territorio con destino a un país subdesarrollado y bloqueado. Con tal actuar violan importantes preceptos de la Constitución, del Convenio y del Reglamento de Radiocomunicaciones de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT). Estos estipulan que el objeto de sus estados miembros es el de "facilitar las relaciones pacíficas, la cooperación internacional entre los pueblos y el desarrollo económico y social por medio del buen funcionamiento de las telecomunicaciones". Ante la reiterada oposición cubana a que se cubra su territorio con señales de radiodifusión por Ondas Medias, Fre-cuencia Modulada o por canales de Televisión, pues esto limita el desarrollo de sus servicios nacionales, la Oficina de Radiocomunicaciones y la Junta del Reglamento de Radiocomunicaciones han solicitado a la Administración norteamericana que cesen las mismas. Por toda respuesta, oídos sordos. Subiendo el ritmo No es nada nuevo. La permanente agresión radial por parte de los EE.UU. contra Cuba se inició en la década del 60 y ha ido escalando hasta nuestros días: Desde suelo estadounidense se han llegado a emitir en una semana más de 2 300 horas por diferentes servicios y bandas de frecuencias; para ello se han empleado desde medios clandestinos, amparados por las autoridades, hasta servicios comerciales y del propio gobierno de esa norteña nación. La agresión adoptó carácter oficial en 1985 cuando salió al aire una emisora de Ondas Medias del referido gobierno. Ubicada en territorio de ese país con antenas dirigidas a Cuba, transmite programas cuyo contenido es desestabilizador, injerencista y subversivo. En 1990 el gobierno de esa nación, miembro de la UIT, puso en servicio un transmisor de televisión a bordo de un aerostato cautivo a 3 000 metros de altura en uno de los cayos al sur del estado de la Florida, para cubrir parte del territorio nacional cubano con el mismo tipo de programación. Esto causó, además, interferencias perjudiciales a los servicios de televisión de Cuba, cuyas estaciones están debidamente inscriptas en el Registro Maestro de Frecuencias. Una nueva modalidad de las mismas transmisiones de televisión se produce en el mes de mayo del 2004, y luego periódicamente a partir de agosto del 2005, al emplearse una aeronave militar del tipo EC-130, perteneciente al Comando Solo de una Unidad de Guerra Psicológica de las Fuerzas Armadas de ese país. Insolentemente a ambas emisoras les pusieron el nombre del Héroe Nacional José Martí. Haz lo que yo digo... Mientras tales cosas suceden, hacia el interior de Estados Unidos la situación es bien distinta. Así lo muestran recientes reportes. Javed Iqbal y Saleh Elahwal, dos ciudadanos estadounidenses, fueron arrestados por el FBI, el primero en agosto y el segundo el 20 de noviembre del 2006, y serán sometidos a un proceso judicial en el que podrían ser condenados a 110 años de prisión. ¿Qué crimen cometieron? Ambos habían instalado antenas parabólicas que les permitían, a ellos y a otras personas, captar las transmisiones de Al Manar, el canal televisivo de Hezbollah. Estados Unidos considera que ese canal de televisión es "una organización terrorista". Por consiguiente, la justicia estadounidense considera que ver ese canal de televisión o contribuir a su difusión son hechos que constituyen una forma de complicidad con una organización terrorista. El juicio tendrá lugar en Manhattan y permitirá al público saber si Estados Unidos está dispuesto a llevar hasta sus últimas consecuencias la lógica aberrante que ha adoptado sobre la cuestión (Publicado en Rebelión, 30 de noviembre del 2006). El Nuevo Herald dio a conocer el caso de diez empleados de correos que fueron arrestados en Miami por piratear la señal de satélite de una empresa de distribución de canales de televisión, por lo que enfrentan ahora unos 30 años de cárcel. La piratería de la señal del sistema Direct TV, dijo, comenzó hace tres años cuando Edward John De Salle, empleado en una oficina del servicio postal de Estados Unidos del suroeste de Miami-Dade empezó a cobrar a colegas de trabajo unos 30 dólares por el acceso al servicio de televisión que tenía en su casa. De Salle contrató un servicio que le permitía tener acceso total a todos los canales de Direct TV y después pidió a la empresa que le enviara varias cajas de decodificadores para supuestamente instalarlas en su propiedad. Sin embargo, las entregó a sus colegas de trabajo que las colocaron en sus respectivos hogares. Los hombres están acusados de "asociación criminal" y "conspiración para formar una asociación criminal". Según el reporte las autoridades encontraron en poder de uno de los acusados los programas de computación necesarios para alterar y falsificar las tarjetas de acceso a los servicios de satélite de los decodificadores. Portavoces de Direct TV, afirma, no devolvieron llamadas sobre el caso. Graves delitos, complicidad con organizaciones terroristas, severas sanciones --- Solo si hechos similares se ejecutan en tierra estadounidense y perjudican su política gubernamental. Si van dirigidos contra la nación cubana es harina de otro costal. En nombre de su tan traída y llevada "lucha por la democracia", y pisoteando las normativas internacionales, esta potencia mundial no escatima en utilizar todo su poderío tecnológico y militar contra un país en vías de desarrollo que no hace otra cosa que defender sus principios y su soberanía. Las autoridades de nuestro país, con el apoyo de la inmensa mayoría del pueblo, toman y tomarán las medidas necesarias para que los planes diversionistas de la administración Bush no tengan éxito. Una vez más esos propósitos se estrellarán contra la voluntad popular de enfrentar cada agresión con madurez y decisión. Aviones, aerostatos, sistemas satelitales clandestinos, radios presintonizados, no doblegarán nuestra conciencia. Los que se prestan a multiplicar el mensaje agresivo y soez contra la Revolución cubana fracasarán en sus intentos (via Alexis Castillo López, Cuba, Tercer nivel de Rei Ki tradicional, Feb 5, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** CUBA. The XYL got me on a cruise for a week around the Caribbean. Like any good DXer, I came armed with a radio for bandscans. In particular, I'll be reporting on Cuba, Caymans, Jamaica and Haiti. The boat trip is from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico to the Cayman Islands then Ocho Rios, Jamaica and back. The information below should be useful to DXers within range of Cuba. I know I've only gotten a few Cubans. I suspect most of these Cubans are fairly low power. Most of the Havana stations have RDS, but not outside Havana. [gh edited out all but Cubans or unIDs in Spanish] FM, 20 miles NW of Havana South side of boat with blockage to N. 87.8 Ch. 6 Havana [should be 87.75] 90.3 R. Progreso, Havana RDS PROGRESO 91.7 R. Coco, Havana RDS COCO 93.3 R. Taíno, Havana RDS TAINO 94.1 R. Enciclopedia, Havana RDS ENCICLOP 94.9 R. Ciudad Habana, Havana RDS CIUDAD H 95.5 R. Rebelde, Pinar del Rio? 96.7 R. Rebelde, Havana, RDS REBELDE 97.5 R. Rebelde, Pinar del Rio? 98.3 R. Metropolitan, Havana RDS METROP 98.7 R. Musical, unknown location 99.1 R. Musical, Havana RDS MUSICAL 99.9 Unid SS 100.3 R. Rebelde, unknown location 101.5 R. Reloj, Havana, No RDS 102.3 R. Enciclopedia, Pinar del Rio? 102.7 R. Enciclopedia, Pinar del Rio? 104.7 R. Rebelde, unknown location 105.3 R. Rebelde, unknown location 106.3 R. Progreso, Pinar del Rio? 106.9 R. Habana, Havana RDS HABANA R. North Side of boat with blockage to S. 90.3 R. Rebelde, Havana [but above it was Progreso] 93.3 R. Taíno, Havana 94.1 R. Enciclopedia, Havana 95.5 R. Rebelde, Pinar del Rio? 96.7 R. Rebelde, Havana 97.5 R. Progreso, Pinar del Rio? 99.9 WKIS, Miami/Unid SS 102.3 Unid instrumental station 102.7 WMXJ, Pompano Beach/Unid SS sounded like R. Fon AM, South side 530 R. Cadena Habana 590 R. Musical 640 R. Progreso 670 R. Rebelde 710 R. Rebelde 730 R. Progreso 790 R. Reloj 820 R. Ciudad Habana 880 R. Reloj 910 Cuban station playing Doors, could not parallel to FM 950 R. Reloj 980 R. Reloj 990 R. Rebelde 1000 Unid SS 1020 Unid SS 1080 R. Cadena Habana 1100 R. Cadena Habana 1120 R. Cadena Habana 1140 R. Cadena Habana 1180 VOA/R. Coco [did not realize COCO was used to jam now --- gh] 1320 R. Rebelde 1450 R. Ciudad Habana 1500 R. Rebelde 1550 Wobbler (Rick Shaftan, Feb 4, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. RUSSIA/FRANCE, 5920 RFI-English to Asia. I cannot receive RFI-English via Chita-Atamanovka on 5920 kHz at 1400-1500 from Feb 1. Now carrying Family Radio English at *1400-1600* UT. QRT or QSY or mistransmission ? (S. Aoki, Japan, via Sei-ichi Hasegawa, NDXC via wwdxc BC-DX Feb 6 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) Dear Wolfgang, RFI does not use 5920 from Feb 1st (but http://www.rfi.fr/langues/statiques/rfi_anglais.asp still has it) and therefore WYFR relay is a correct new one (Mikhail Timofeyev, Russia, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 7 via DXLD) ** FRANCE [and non]. Noticed WHRI, 7315, Feb 8 at 0628 with CCI, SAH at almost equal level in African vocal music with ululations. The latter went off abruptly at 0630 without announcement. Per EiBi B-06, this is RFI in English to Africa, via France as scheduled (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. I couldn't observe Gabon yesterday, but managed to do it this morning, and the results are: 4770 kHz R. Gabon 0745, 08 Feb, carrier was barely detected, then gone 0758, to emerge on: 7270 kHz, *0759-0851, 08 Feb, French, newscast till 0810, with many items on other African countries, songs, talks later; 24341, adj. QRM only, then blocked by DRM signal 0900. I'm sure the quieter conditions down on the SW coast mean reception is a lot better (Carlos Gonçalves, Lisboa, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Afropop music distraxion, Feb 7 at 1503 check was on 17675. Feb 8 at 1505 it was on 17620 colliding with RFI; ANU was on 17630 as usual. I also found similar-sounding Afropop on 17725, Libya via France, but it was not // and soon at 1509 went back to talk in a weak, unID language, supposedly English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. 9525, External Service of Polish Radio via T-Systems facilities at Wertachtal verified in 2-4 days from Walter Brodowsky, T-Systems Business Services, Media and Broadcast, Business Unit Broadcasting, Account and Product Manager for shortwave broadcast for an e-mail report sent to T-Systems. Walter was surprised that the signal could be heard at fair quality level in North America. Also, he indicated that ``Ralf Weyl is no longer part of our team``, so he should be dropped from any e-mail concerning shortwave broadcasts (Rich D’Angelo, PA and Ron Howard, CA, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 183 LW, R. Europe I, has been broadcasting in French language towards France daily 0300-2400, since year 1954. But this superpower longwave station of 2000 kW is located on Saarland soil just across the French-German border WITHIN GERMANY soil (but main power company told insider a reduced energy bill of R-EU-I in past year, so seemingly power less on 500 to 1000 kW range? now). Because Saarland was really autonomous - but in practice economically occupied by French government - from 1945 to 1959 year. Since Jan 01, 1957 local people voted political back to Germany. See WRTH 2007 page 209, 210, and 222 left column. On Google Earth imagery: 49 16'51.62"N, 06 40'42.45"E you may be able to see their 4-mast - main lobe 220 degrees towards central France. Screened towards East and North-East, whole Germany screened in practice, resulting in distorted audio signal (Wolfgang Bueschel, Stuttgart, Feb 4, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. I've now received a reply from Deutsche Welle which confirms the closure of their English service to Europe on 6140 kHz. Seem somewhat premature to abandon a perfectly good AM service when there are so few DRM receivers around yet. 73s (Dave Kenny, Feb 7, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Viz.: ----- Original Message ----- From: Margot.Forbes @ dw-world. de Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 1:07 PM Subject: Antwort: WG: Fw: Deutsche Welle 6140 kHz English service missing ? Many thanks for your e-mail. You are quite correct, we no longer broadcast our English language radio programmes on 6140 kHz. We are available within Europe per DRM transmissions and we are also still available online and per satellite. Please find our satellite information attached. You will find our DRM transmission information on our website: http://dw-world.de - then go to DW radio and choose English. Regards, (Margot Forbes, English Service, DEUTSCHE WELLE RADIO, DW-WORLD:DE via Kenny, ibid.) As in 7-016 ya. At least 6140 is clear for R. Líder, Colombia, 6140v at 0600 whenever it comes back. BTW, I haven`t noticed DW DRM at same time on 6130 lately either, but maybe too weak (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Dear Wolfie, bitte einige Beobachtungen fuer BC-DX, 73s, (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Feb 6, via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) GREECE: Observed on January the 2nd, I thought it was a spur, but checking in several times in Jan & Feb with different receivers it seems really Greece has 4th transmitter on SW: *0600-1000* UT on 9420, 12105 and 6210 kHz in Greek (only on Sundays // MW 729 with Orthodox Liturgy) and on 15630 and MW 666 kHz - daily as is known: 0600 in Albanian; 0704 in English; 0804 in French and 0904-0956 in Spanish - observed 15630 on Febr 4th. Only on Sunday there are short news in above language and music almost 50 minutes in each program in Albanian, English, French and Spanish (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 6 via DXLD) Glenn, ERA5 spurious: Rumen told me about that strange outlet on 6210 kHz few times before in December and January. But today I did the usual formula calculation: 15630 minus 9420 = 6210 kHz. Maybe that spurious appears around the transmitter in Greece and Bulgaria, around 1000 km distance? The symmetrical spur should appear on 21840 kHz also, if the prop condition permit it. 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello Wolfgang, Currently (at 1450) the additional ERT sender appears to be using 15630 - it is suffering continuous carrier 'drops' off air. And it is not as strong as 17525. This is exactly how you recorded it earlier this morning on 11645. Audio quality - when on air - is better than it was. Assuming there is no ionospheric disturbance there appears to be more fading than normal too. 17525 and 9420 are peaking to 20dB over 9 but 15630 only to 9. And 9935 is also to 20 over 9 (with Firedrake QRM x 9930). Let us hope ERT will eventually give us some details about this new sender. Best 73 from (Noel Green, NW England, via Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Google Earth Imagery. GRC_former_IBB_VOA_Thessaloniki_Peraia_now_ERA3 40 degr30'45.32"N 22 degr56'34.88"E low resolution unfortunately. wb.] Listen to the attached distorted Thessaloniki Peraia sound around 1000-1030 UT today Feb 7th [11645]. Schedule seems like this at present, all broadcasts end time approx. xx.46 to xx.57/.59: 0000-0550 5865AVL 7475AVL 9420AVL 0550-0700 5865AVL 9420AVL 15630AVL-Alb 0700-1000 9420AVL 11645THE 12105AVL 15630AVL-En, Fr, Sp maintenance break at Avlis til approx. 1100/1130 UT 1000-1146v/1157v 11645THE 1000-1100 9420AVL-only carrier on air 1100-1200 9420AVL 1100-1650 9935THE-Makedonias program ERA 3 1200-1550 9420AVL 15630AVL 17525AVL 1600-1950 9420AVL 15630AVL 1700-2250 7450THE-Makedonias progr ERA 3 2000-2300 7475AVL 9420AVL 2100-2300 5865AVL 2300-2400 7475AVL 9420AVL 12105AVL [latter not checked, too late] (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Feb 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: I believe that it is ERT 3 for Radiophonikos Stathmos Makedonias. ERA 1=News, talk, current affairs; news every hour except... ERA 2=Mainly music; news every hour; foreign language news... ERA 3=Classical music, arts and drama ERA 4 (Sport) News=News every half hour; Sport News every hour ERA 5=Fifth Program (Voice of Greece) --- At least that is what it was in WRTH 2001 (John Babbis, MD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) John, Thanks for correction of ERA3 / ERT 3 Maybe 15630 - at 1200-1550 UT only ! - is via THE 250 kW former IBB RFE Continental unit ? >> 1200-1550 9420AVL 15630AVL 17525AVL ???????? 15630THE and 1100-1650 9935THE-Makedonias program ERT 3 is via old Collins 35 kW units at THE ?? Public information level of Greek broadcast authorities is very limited. 73 wolfy df5sx (Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear John, The transmissions of the last 15 days are in the form of tests for technical reasons only and have no relation with the formal transmissions. Regards (Babis Charalampopoulos, ERA, Feb 8, to John Babbis, MD, via DXLD) ** GREECE. This is my reception report for Wednesday and Thursday UT February 8, 2007 WEDNESDAY 2/7 THURSDAY 2/8 2000 2100 2200 2300 0000 0100 0200 MHz. Az. Kw. Tr Station 55455 55555 55555 XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX 7450 323 100 AVL 1 ERT 3 XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX 00000 00000 00000 00000 12105 292 100 AVL 1 VoGreece 55555 55555 55555 55555 52555 55555 55555 7475 285 100 AVL 2 VoGreece 55555 55555 55555 55555 00000 00000 00000 9420 323 170 AVL 3 VoGreece 00000 SWEDEN 00000 45344 45344 45344 45344 5865 ??? ??? ????? ???????? Regards (John Babbis, Silver Spring, MD, USA, to ERA via DXLD) GREECE GRC ERA 5 / ERT 3 AVL / THE ERA 5: When switched on the receiver this morning around 0645 UT, 5865 kHz outlet was on USB mode, and lasted till close-down at 06.59:28 UT. ERA 5 11645 kHz came on air at 0724 UT in USB mode too. But switched to AM mode around 0730 UT. Schedule seems like this at present: 0000-0550 5865THE 7475AVL 9420AVL 12105AVL 0550-0700 5865THE 9420AVL 12105AVL 15630AVL-Alb 0700-1000 9420AVL 11645THE 12105AVL 15630AVL-En,Fr,Sp maintenance break at Avlis til approx. 1100/1130 UT 1000-1146v/1157v 11645THE 1000-1100 9420AVL-only carrier on air 1100-1200 9420AVL 1100-1650 9935THE-Makedonias progr 1200-1550 9420AVL 15630AVL 17525AVL 1600-1950 9420AVL 15630AVL 1700-2250 7450THE-Makedonias progr 2000-2300 7475AVL 9420AVL 2200-2300 5865AVL 2300-2400 5865THE 7475AVL 9420AVL 12105AVL (Wolfgang Büschel, Feb 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And this morning (Feb. 8) 11645 was on air at 1000 UT when all Avlis were off air. Audio was cutting on/off - very quick breaks - but the carrier stayed on - unlike yesterday when everything went off. I noted a pause in programming at 1055 when IS was played and ID given in English and Greek. This stopped at 1059 and carrier dropped at 1102. And at 1105 15630 has come up, and in USB-SSB(!) followed by a readjustment to DSB. Audio quality is somewhat muffled in AM and better using SSB - could it be a form of compatible AM?. Signal strength is varying widely from S-1 to S-9+. The transmitter managed to stay on air to begin with but is now dropping audio and carrier when the announcer stops speaking. I noted that Wolfgang reported hearing SSB earlier today - are the former Collins or Continentals used by the IBB capable of this type of operation? Avlis senders on 9420, 9935 and 17525 all came up at around 1100 - 9935 is the less strong of the three of them. There is co-channel on 17525 from a weaker unID. 73 from (Noel Green, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17525 kHz is used by RFI Paris via Meyerton AFS at 1100-1200 UT. And latter was ALONE on Feb 7th, when ERA 5 17525 started later at 1200 UT. 9935 and 7450 Makedonias regional seems an older unit like Collins 35 kW ancient. But carrier is xx.00 kHz, different from odd frequencies in late 90ties, when v9934.93 and v11595.32 kHz. 73 wolfy 1999 history: GREECE v9934.93 and v11595.32 ERT Thessaloniki in Greek, but terrible overmodulated signal, hardly to understand spoken words. (WB, Dec 28, 1999) 2001 History: ERT S.A. MACEDONIA STATION, Greek 1100-1950 9935, 2000-2250 7430. ERA 5 'THE VOICE OF GREECE' Messogion 432, 15342, Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, Tel +301 6066308, 6066297, Fax +301 6066309 Macedonia Radio Stn: Angelaki Str 2, 54621 Thessaloniki, Greece. Tel:+3031 244979, Fax:+3031 236370 General Direction of E.RA (Engineering Div.): Messogeion 432, 15342, Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, Athens, Greece Tel +301 606 6257 Fax +301 606 6243 (ERA/ERT via Feodor Brazhnikov-RUS, BC-DX Oct 31. 2001 ; updated by ed.) (Wolfgang Büschel, Feb 8, 2007, DX LISTENING DGIEST) I was checking ERA 5865 around 0500 last Wednesday 7 and found transmission constantly breaking, almost less than every 10 seconds. Signal was audible but not so strong as those I use to receive on 9420 and 7475 for this same time period (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Feb 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) V. of Greece testing from mystery transmitter site, which some speculate is Thessaloniki with one of the long-dormant 250 kW transmitters the USA gave to Greece when Glória, Portugal site was closed years ago. Feb 7 at 1458, 15630 was // 9420, but 15630 carrier was cutting off the air every few seconds. After 1500 it seemed to be OK, but at 1520 recheck it was cutting off again. Feb 8 at 1502, 15630 still had occasional transmitter breaks, but not so frequently. It was // 9420 and 17525, but 15630 was a reverb-echo apart from them in Greek talk, indicating different feed routes and/or different propagation routes (long vs short path?). Another transmitter is supposed to be on 9935, but not audible here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND. Ms. Ivalu Sovndahl Pedersen, the Communications Assistant from KNR in Greenland, who was kind enough to answer some reception reports last year, apparently is no longer at the station - an e-mail to her last week was returned as nondeliverable by KNR's e- mail server (Bruce Churchill in DXplorer, Jan 24 via DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) ** GREENLAND. Last night I was cruising the dial on the freshly re- tubed R-390A using the venerable 70 foot wire antenna while trying to get baby Timmers to sleep. Lots of electrical interference, but 700 WLW was unusually strong, as was 710 WOR. Checked out 720 to get WGN and got a very strong Greenland [which also rode over the buzzing and other interference that made me chuckle that the neighbours were running a jammer] with WGN in the background. Lots of talk in Greenlandic, and then they played a song with the pan flute. Talk about timing, as I got Greenland just before they vanished at 9 p.m. AST. [0100 UT] Last time I got Greenland it was just after CHTN-AM went dark [early to mid November 2006] - driving home after picking up the kids. Fairly good on the car radio. Went inside, fired up the Zenith Royal 2000 Transymphony nekkid and got it fairly well. A little later WGN took over. But last night on the R-390A it was really strong and kicked WGN pretty much aside. Maybe the really cold weather we have been having the past week or so helped (Phil Rafuse, Stratford PEI, Canada, Having used a block heater for the very first time! Little snow, but very cold, Feb 6, ABDX via DXLD) ** GUIANA FRENCH. Altho heard earlier this week, DRM test on 17870- 17875-17880 was absent again Feb 8 at 1508 check (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. Re 7-016: ``Regional studios of the Hungarian Radio: They broadcast the Kossuth Rádió programmes except when they broadcast their own regional programmes" So according to Tibor´s list the regional studios in Szombathely and Nagykanisza don´t exist anymore? 73, (Patrick Robic, Austria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ICELAND. 13865, reduced carrier SSB, Rikisutvarpid, Reykjavik, *1430-1456*, Feb 03 and 04, still on the air, but at new times! news in Icelandic read by man and woman, 23443 with same strength as RFA, Iranawila underneath in Vietnamese (Glenn Hauser, OK and Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) See DXLD 7-015 for the portion of this merged report which is really from me (gh, DXLD) I received an excellent full data QSL folder depicting antique radio sets of Iceland (from 1920's-50's) from Rikisutvarpid for a 2005 reception report in more than 600 days. The verified frequency was 12115. The details were hand written and signer of the card is Mr. Gudrun Eyberg. So do not miss your opportunity to obtain the very last (perhaps) SW QSL from Rikisutvarpid (T. R. Rajeesh, India, Feb 1) Did Gudrun really sign as ``Mr. ??`` Gudrun is a woman`s name. Of course, one would only have to guess about the gender of a ``T. R.`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Re 7-016: If most of your letters are from QSL hunters who aren't interested in listening any longer than absolutely necessary, that is a commentary on your programming, and a damning one when you think about it. To all international SWBCers who didn't get the memo: it isn't the obligation of listeners to be interested in your programming; it's your obligation to produce programming that will interest and engage listeners other than QSL hunters (Harry Helms, W5HLH Smithville, TX EL19, ABDX via DXLD) THIS IS FROM THE AMEN CORNER! AMEN AND AMEN!!!!! This also applies to local domestic broadcaster here in the U.S. If it wasn't for DX I would trash my radio and TV. The programs on 99% of all TV stations and radio sucks (Willis, Old Fort, TN Monk, IRCA via DXLD) This should not be taken as a criticism of AIR in particular. But QSL hunters are more likely to be writing in, feigning interest. Many regular listeners who appreciate the programming may never be heard from, because the programming does hold their interest, and that is not taken to be out of the ordinary (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA [non]. Bible Voice test for India --- Dear shortwave listener, We are testing a new shortwave broadcast to India on Friday Feb 9th in English and Saturday Feb 10th in Bengali on 7105 on the 41 meter band at 0030 UT - 6:00 a.m. local India time. We would be interested to know how it sounds in your area. If you are able to listen we would love to hear from you and would be glad to send you a QSL. Please send your response to reception @ biblevoice.org Thank you so much! Mrs. Marty McLaughlin, International Ministry Coordinator, High Adventure/Bible Voice Broadcasting http://www.biblevoice.org 1 800 550 4670 (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dxldyg via DXLD) Site? ** INDONESIA. VOI is usually audible with big open carrier and some low noise on it in the 1400-1530 period. Feb 7 at 1554, during the gamelan music 6:24 loop with IDs in English, I measured the frequency about 9525.9 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9525, Voz de Indonesia, 1730-1750, escuchada el 7 de febrero en español a locutor con ID ``La Voz de Indonesia en Jakarta`` presentando el programa ``Música de Indonesia``, temas musicales pop local e internacional, sin emisión por los 15150. Hay que templar en 9526 para intentar evitar interferencia de Radio Liberty en ruso vía Alemania, cuña de ID en inglés, SINPO 33322 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. Re 7-016: Measuring around 6010 with RF Space SDR- 14, I also made it. BW resolution: 0.21 Hz. 08/02 at 0030 it was possible to see 6 carriers: 6009.4936 La Voz de tu Conciencia - audible 6009.8087 Radio Parinacota ? - soon disappeared not audible 6010.009 Belarus - audible 6010.0491 Inconfidencia - later disappeared not audible this night 6010.117 Radio Bahrain - audible Rx: CiaoRadio H101, SDR-14, ant: T2FD. Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s five; did you leave one out? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Mexico? You are right, there was a carrier so close to Belarus, but I had no idea, Ciao (Giampiero, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. BBC World Service --- I know one regular listener the BBC WS has gained in the USA despite the discontinuance of SW broadcasts to North America. My wife is a public affairs and politics junkie. She has XM radio in her car, and her presets include CNN, CSPAN, MSNBC --- and the BBC WS. She would never put up with the audio, fading, interference, and frequency changes of SW. Early on in our relationship, I demonstrated the wonders of SW radio to her (she was curious what all that stuff on my desk were for) and her reaction was "How can you stand to listen to that? It sounds awful and you can barely understand them!" But when we drove into Austin today, the BBC WS via XM kept us company for much of the inbound ride. No fading, no interference, sounds as good as a MP3 file, always on preset button #6 day and night all year round --- a terrific listening experience for the average person instead of radiohead. I'd bet anything the BBC WS now has more listeners via XM and Sirius in North America than it ever did via SW (Harry Helms W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, ABDX via DXLD) My wife has very little tolerance for interference, fading etc. By contrast, I find the sound of fading soothing, like the sound of waves at the beach. Timmers is the same way, and a sleeping baby has made my wife appreciate the bizarre assortment of gear, both ancient and relatively modern, in the shack. DXing is very good for encouraging careful listening - being able to sift through the noise and "lock" onto the desired signal, even if it isn't as loud as the noise (Phil Rafuse, PEI, ibid.) Funny this has been brought up. My Wife, Bless her, puts up with my Radios on at night, as she says I am "listening to static" most nights as we go to sleep. It was a few months ago that I realized I sleep much better with a Radio on, most likely on a DX Frequency or maybe on "Coast To Coast". Maybe listening to an FM Broadcast from my Sirius receiver. I sometimes turn it off in the morning, or first bathroom break in the middle of the night, it just depends. The Radio, for me anyway, is an important part of sleeping. I also need a fan on to sleep, Summer, Winter or whenever. I know --- weird (Juan, Ft. Pierce, Gualda, ibid.) ** IRAN. Hi Glenn, Today I received an 8 1/2 x 11 parcel via Air Mail from The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, P. O. Box 19395/6767, Tehran. Included within were the following: a one page program schedule, a Dear Listener letter, thanking me for writing and explaining that letters from listeners were appreciated, a New Years greeting card and a copy of the November 2006 issue of The Islamic Family Magazine. This was in response to my reception report dated 22 April 2006, requesting a QSL. However none was enclosed, despite the size of the parcel, and surprisingly enough, not one piece of literature mentioned matters of politics, which I expected. 73's (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ 07901, Feb 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. 3880, Voice of Communist Party of Iran, 1728-1734, Feb 01, instrumental music, 1729 comment, announcement twice just like "Sede-ye Hezbe-Kommuniste Iran". Nice group song and tune, 1731 female host comment, mention "communist-e-Iran" "Radyo Komaleh", 1733 instrumental music again, 35443. Jamming started from *1734. Same type of jamming also noted on 4360, 3920, 6420. Whistle like jamming noted on 4625, all probably originates from Iran (T. R. Rajeesh, India, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) ** JAPAN. Surprised to hear R. Japan, NHK Warido in English on 9505, Feb 8 at 1457, and at 1459 wrapping up the 44 Minutes show. This frequency is not supposed to start until 1500, to North America from Yamata, but there is English scheduled at 1400 on other frequencies, 7200, 9875, 11840. I wonder how early 9505 came on? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. RADIO JAPAN: STILL ROLLING ALONG Radio Japan largely stays under the radar as a broadcaster, primarily because it doesn’t seem to be under threat of imminent closure, hasn’t totally reorganized its programming, hasn’t changed its mandate, and hasn’t threatened to leave shortwave. [see below] As a matter of fact, Radio Japan is probably the biggest international broadcaster that does not make most or all of its content available via Internet streaming or download. This is changing somewhat – perhaps half of its content is now available on-demand or as a podcast, but you’ll still need a shortwave radio for some selections. Radio Japan has long been a user of Radio Canada International’s Sackville transmitter facility to increase the audibility of its broadcasts in North America, and this reciprocal arrangement continues today. Thankfully, this means Radio Japan remains a true Easy Listening broadcaster. Programming In some ways Radio Japan is a frustrating station to listen to: as a country, I’d love to know more about how Japan is adapting to its changing role in the global economy; it has weathered a decade-long economic recession as its role as a manufacturing powerhouse has considerably weakened. Japan is not feared as an economic competitor to the USA nearly as much as it was; I would be interested in the attitudes of Japanese people as the stature of their country on the world stage has diminished. However, Radio Japan doesn’t seem too interested in taking a critical look at the struggles of the country, or the issues faced by its citizens as the 21st Century begins; one tends to find a relatively kind, gentle broadcast that delves into Japanese culture and current events without deep investigation. However, there’s still much to like, especially if you want to learn more about the country and its people. Radio Japan is a part of the state-sponsored NHK radio & TV organization, and in recent years these two services (radio and TV) have merged their activities. As a result, part of what you hear on the radio broadcasts actually is the audio for programs that air over NHK television. I’ll highlight those examples below in this list of selected programming. Japan & the World 44 Minutes can be considered the weekday flagship program on Radio Japan; it’s a magazine program presenting “the realities of Japan and the rest of the world today.” The program tends to limit itself to a couple of subjects on a given day and features interviews with knowledgeable people. Often times a subject will be split into multiple parts and spread over several days. For example, the en masse retirement of Japan’s baby boomers was covered in a two- part program on February 1st and 2nd. As the program indicates, it’s 44 minutes long. Japan & The World is also available via on-demand download, though only approximately 30 of the 45 minutes are available. A week’s worth of programming is available; look for the link to “Weekly Program” to access the on-demand content. News leads off each hour on Radio Japan; it’s a 10-minute broadcast that is also available in a live multi-lingual web stream and a frequently-updated on-demand webcast. The stories have an Asian focus, including both domestic and global issues. World Interactive is a weekly listener contact program that substitutes for Japan & The World on weekends. Special segments include Haiku, DX information, Japanese history, and Life in Japan -- a first hand look at Japan from foreigners living in the country. DX information is presented by Toshi Ohtake from the Japan Short Wave Club; Ohtake-san frequently joins us at the Winter SWL Fest and normally brings us schedules and other information from Radio Japan. World Interactive is available for on-demand webcast for one week after initial broadcast. Weekend Japanology is a weekly program bringing often-neglected aspects of Japanese society and culture into light, a breakaway from stereotypical images of Japan and its people. This is an NHK TV program also made available via radio, but is not yet available via live or on-demand streaming. Insight & Foresight is a relatively new weekly short feature that features guest commentaries covers on issues from Japan's politics and economy to culture, society and science. There are separate radio and TV versions; neither of which are available via live or on-demand streaming. Basic Japanese For You and Brush Up Your Japanese are language lesson programs; each program runs approximately 30 minutes on air, but only 10 minutes of the lesson is available via on-demand streaming. An inventory of more than 10 editions of each program is available on- demand. J-MELO, Pop Joins the World, Japan Music Scene, Japan Music Archives, Japan Music Travelogue and Countdown Japan are various music programs that air on Radio Japan; J-MELO is actually a TV program, with the audio aired over shortwave. None are available via the web at this time. Shortwave schedule While Radio Japan airs English to North America via shortwave for 9 hours each day, most of these are easily audible primarily on the west coast, as 5 hours of transmissions originate from transmitters within Japan. As mentioned earlier, Radio Japan does make extensive use of relays; I’ll highlight relays intended for other regions that may, as propagation allows, be audible especially on the east coast of North America. 0000-0100 6145 via Canada 0100-0200 17825 direct, 11935 via Bonaire for South America 0500-0600 6100 via Canada 0600-0700 11690 direct 1000-1200 6120 via Canada 1500-1600 9505 direct 1700-1800 9535 direct 2100-2200 17825 direct, 11855 via Ascension for Central Africa Radio Japan has four different hour-long versions of its daily schedule; I’ve summarized each below, according to the hours that schedule goes to air. Every hour begins with 10 minutes of news. The hours relayed via RCI’s Sackville transmitters are underlined. [make that asterisked here --- gh] 0000*: Mon, Weekend Japanology, Japan Music Scene; Tues-Sat, A Song for Everyone, Japan & The World 44 Minutes; Sun, World Interactive 0100: Mon, World Interactive; Tues-Sat, A Song for Everyone, Japan & The World 44 Minutes; Sun, J-MELO, Pop Joins the World 0500*, 1000*, 1700: Mon-Fri, A Song for Everyone, Japan & The World 44 Minutes; Sat, World Interactive; Sun, Weekend Japanology, Japan Music Scene 0600, 1100*, 1500, 2100: Mon-Fri, Asian Top News; Mon, Japan Music Archives; Tue, Basic Japanese For You; Wed, Japan Music Travelogue; Thu, Brush Up Your Japanese; Fri, Countdown Japan, Insight & Foresight; Sat, J-MELO, Pop Joins The World; Sun, Weekend Japanology, Japan Music Scene For More Information Radio Japan’s website is http://www.nhk.or.jp --- click on English to reach the main English content; be aware you may need to visit both the TV and Radio sections of the website for details on all programs. Click on the Contact Us link to e-mail the station; my experience is that E-mails receive a prompt response (Rich Cuff, Easy Listening, Feb NASWA Journal via DXLD) However, Rich seems to have overlooked reports such as in DXLD 6-109 July 25. And I think there were one or two other stories about making plans for the closure of English on SW to NAm more definite at the end of A-07. Meanwhile we can expect more program changes or cutbacks with the new fiscal year from April 1 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA [non]. V. of Africa, 17725 via France, Feb 7 at 1525 had English talk on African geography; no hum, but lo modulation. Feb 8 at 1505 was playing Afropop music for a few minutes very similar but not // to the Gabon distraxion which at that moment was on 17620; see GABON (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 9599.30, XEYU, Radio Universidad, Mexico City. Program with modern classical music, time 0950 UT, 8/2, sinpo 23333. RX NRD 545 +EKD300 +EZ100, antenna LW100m. +ALA1530. Gr (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, HCDX via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. Delighted to receive full data QSL Card, schedule and personal letter from Ko Ko Htway, Myanma Radio and TV. This QSL was for a 1998 report. I have been trying to QSL this station for over 30 years. According to schedule transmission times are as follows : 576/7185, 0030-0245 (Sat. Sun. to 0300) 576/9730, 0330-0730 576/5990/5040, 0730-1600 (Patrick Cody, Nenagh, Ireland, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) 5990? Has been varying slightly below 5986 for years, which I assumed was nominal 5985 (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. Hello from Hilversum, The Netherlands is experiencing its first heavy snowfall for more than a year as I type this. Most people were well-prepared, as we had a weather warning in the early evening yesterday. But the websites that are most needed during such conditions again failed to cope with the demand. The website of the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) was giving a 403 (forbidden) message. The website of our regional newspaper said "Too many incoming http:// requests". And the website of Dutch Railways was also producing errors, though they have now replaced the main site by a temporary page giving essential information. Just imagine if Radio Netherlands' radio signal became weaker, and eventually inaudible, as more people tuned in! There's still some way to go before the Internet becomes a reliable source of information in abnormal situations (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter Feb 8 via DXLD) Later: Since 1500 today (8 Feb 07) possibly earlier, 1314 Kvitsoey is back on carrying RNW Dutch. I am too close to tell whether it is at 600 or the full 1200 kW 73's (Dan Goldfarb, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RNW Dutch service on 1314 and 5955 kHz until 1800 UT --- The heavy snow that has affected the Netherlands today is moving north. As part of our service to Dutch truckers via the programme ‘Onderweg’, we are again using 1314 kHz (via Norway) as well as 5955 kHz from 1500-1800 UTC. Tomorrow, the Onderweg programme will be extended in connection with a live broadcast from the trucker’s restaurant at Joost-Hazeldonk, near the Belgian border. There will be live performances by several Dutch artists. The programme will be on the air at 0900-1100 UT on 5955 and 6035 kHz, and from 1300-1600 UT on 5955 and 6120 kHz. 2 Responses to “RNW Dutch service on 1314 and 5955 kHz until 1800 UTC” Joe Hanlon Says: February 8th, 2007 at 16:06 e I wonder if the performers in the live show are actually Dutch country artists? In the US, especially in the South and in Texas, overnight “trucker’s radio” shows are very popular with long-haul “18-wheeler” truckers in need of entertainment while on the road, and country music is part of the programming. Andy Says: February 8th, 2007 at 16:10 e Funny you should say that. On our Intranet, it’s mentioned that one of the artists, Bert van Reemst, is “the Dutch John Denver”, so I guess the answer must be ‘yes’ (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. NEW ZEALAND RADIO HISTORY --- This is a chronological look at the history of broadcast radio in New Zealand. Information is taken from a special edition newsletter published by The Radio Network called "Planet Radio" (Edition 7, August 1996.) Read the full story here: http://www.oldradio.com/archives/international/nzp.html (Paul ---, HCDX via DXLD) SW barely mentioned, but not all pirates either; curious (gh, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. DRM Service Suspended --- We regret to advise there is a major fault with one of our transmitters. We are waiting for spare parts to arrive from Europe. Meanwhile there will be no DRM Service for about the next 2 weeks. We will email again when the DRM service resumes. Please note the AM service will be the only service available. Regards. Adrian Sainsbury, Technical Manager, Radio New Zealand International P O Box 123, Wellington, Tel: +64 4 474 1430 Fax: +64 4 474 1433 Mobile: +64 (0) 274 504 578 Web: http://www.rnzi.com (via Christopher Rumbaugh, OR, Feb 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL DRM SERVICE CURRENTLY OFF AIR Radio New Zealand International says on its website “Please note there is no DRM service at present. We expect to resume DRM transmission 21 February 2007.” No reason is given for the temporary suspension of the service. (Source: Radio New Zealand International) (February 7th, 2007 - 13:37 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) RNZI says they have a major fault with the analogue transmitter so using the new DRM transmitter in its analogue mode. Tot ziens / regards (Tom DF5JL, ibid.) Seems I noticed it on 9890 last night, or was it the night before. What if in the New Age of DRM, one has thrown away that old useless analog equipment? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 107.1 is off the air. It is off now. I wonder if the FCC came to town or not? (Givers, « on: February 02, 2007, 02:59:24 pm » radio-info.com OK board via DXLD) Their myspace is still up: http://www.myspace.com/radiofreeok (Milton77, Feb 4, ibid.) Op is a 36-year-old single male Capricorn who supports Ron Paul for President. Now we know. That`s the pirate allegedly at 1211 NW 31 St, OKC, per previous post (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. 5080.25, R. Pakistan, Rewat, Islamabad, 1515-1737, Jan 28 and Feb 03, garbled talk in Urdu by alternating male and female. Very bad modulation, 24322 (Franck Baste, St. Bonnet de Rochefort, France, and Finn Krone, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) ** POLAND [non]. Polish Radio External Service. Exceptionally good reception in English on 6015 (from Wertachtal?) from 1828 UT tune in to 1900, Thursday, Feb. 8. An interesting twenty minute discussion at 1830 on the state of Christianity today in a united Europe. Many interviews with Polish immigrants in Ireland. Off at 1900 in the middle of a musical item. ID with the new name heard twice. Parallel 7130 (from Issoudun?) was very weak (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. 6115v, RRI English 2130-2200 UT on odd channel 6112 kHz today Feb 7, next to the DRM 'noise' flank of Taldom Moscow 6105 kHz. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. R Singapore/Mediacorp, 7170 from 0028 to 0058. Fair. PWBR says in Tamil, which indeed sounded like it. (The linguist in me lives.) Both ham QRM and weaker signal by 0043 and nearly gone by TOH. (tentative) 73 (/Liz Cameron, MI, UT Feb 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. REE, 17595, Feb 7 until 1455, caught with the tail end of a feature on the 70th anniversary of RNE; wish I had intuned earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [non]. Espacios DX --- Hola, En la visita a Madrid de Sonia Cho, de KBS World Radio, no sólo se reforzó la amistad entre la emisora internacional coreana y la AER, sino que se acordó una intervención cada tres semanas de la AER en el programa diexista 'Antena de la Amistad'. Dicha colaboración comienza el día 10 de febrero y pueden ser escuchada en directo vía onda onda corta y a través de la web de la emisora: http://world.kbs.co.kr/spanish/ y, en diferido, también en la web de la emisora http://world.kbs.co.kr/spanish/ en la web PROGRAMAS DX http://es.geocities.com/programasdx/ así como el fragmento realizado por la AER en http://aer-dx.org/espaciosdx/antena.htm Por otro lado, la larga amistad entre Manolo de la Rosa y Malena Negrín, de Radio Habana Cuba (anteriormente trabajadores de Radio Moscú -ahora La Voz de Rusia-), con la AER fructifica en una intervención mensual para el programa diexista 'En Contacto' que a partir del día 18 de febrero se podrá oir en directo por las onda cortas de la emisora y su página web http://www.radiohc.cu en diferido en la web PROGRAMAS DX http://es.geocities.com/programasdx/ así como el fragmento realizado por la AER en http://aer-dx.org/espaciosdx/encontacto.htm La AER continúa su intervención en 'Aventura Dixista' producido po HCJB LA VOZ DE LOS ANDES, que puede ser escuchado en directo por las ondas cortas de la propia emisora HCJB y en WRMI Radio Miami Internacional, asi mismo en diferido en la web PROGRAMAS DX http://es.geocities.com/programasdx/ así como el fragmento realizado por la AER en http://aer-dx.org/espaciosdx/aventura.htm Todas estas informaciones así como los guiones audio/texto, los esquemas de emisiones y de los programas dx mencionado están disponibles en http://aer-dx.org/espaciosdx/ Un saludo cordial, (Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España, Feb 6, COORDINADOR GENERAL coordinador.jd@aer-dx.org AER http://aer-dx.org/ general @ aer-dx.org ¡¡¡NUEVA!!! Noticias DX via DXLD) ** SUDAN [and non]. "The radio station for the UN Mission in Sudan, which it is hoped will soon include the troubled Darfur region, is planned to be the largest UN radio operation ever attempted. Plans call for perhaps as many as 40 FM transmitters, with MW terrestrial coverage as well as "out-of-mission" transmissions generating a "shortwave blanket" over the vast African country. But all of these plans are still under scrutiny by Sudanese officials and it has been slow going to set up broadcast operations." But there is a flagship FM station in Juba called R Miraya (Jeffrey Heyman, KG6SVK, "United Nations Peacekeeping Radio Stations -- Propaganda FOR Peace," Monitoring Times, Nov 2006, p. 9. via DXplorer via DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) R Miraya ("mirror") should be on SW in March, but via a leased time arrangement rather than its own transmitters (Al Muick via Berg, Feb 05, ibid.) ** TAJIKISTAN. BBG TO INSTALL A SHORTWAVE TRANSMITTER IN TAJIKISTAN The US Broadcasting Board of Governors/International Broadcasting Bureau’s (BBG/IBB) Office of Engineering and Technical Services says it intends to negotiate and award a non-competitive contract to Systems Control, Inc (SCA) to supply BBG with a 10kV voltage regulator for the shortwave transmitter to be installed in the Tajikistan Government’s Teleradiocom broadcast facility in Orzu, Tajikistan. SCA provided a similar voltage regulator in 2006 that was installed in the BBG’s mediumwave transmitter in Orzu. More details http://www.fbodaily.com/archive/2007/02-February/01-Feb-2007/FBO-01221680.htm (February 7th, 2007 - 12:12 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) I believe we had news of such plans some time ago, lacking VR (gh) ** TURKEY. VOT, Live from Turkey, Thu Feb 8 at 1420, just caught the last few minutes, talking about the PKK. This time the relative reception of the two frequencies matched theory, with 12035 beamed NW much better here than // 11735 beamed E, which was weak, fluttery and echoey. I have also listened to the Tuesday 1950 edition of this show, or parts of it, the past couple of weeks on webcast. It`s mostly the hosts railing against the Kurds, and how Europe doesn`t treat Turkey fairly, etc., etc. Haven`t heard David Crystal from Israel in several weeks, tho Christopher Lewis from England did call in once (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBCWS: see INTERNATIONAL VACUUM ** U S A. MORE VOA LANGUAGE SERVICE CUTS IN 2008 FEDERAL BUDGET PROPOSAL. VOA to eliminate, while RFE/RL keeps, Uzbek. Both VOA and Radio Free Asia will drop Cantonese. See chart for reductions and expansions proposed for FY 2008. http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/bbg_2008_reorg.html Proposals for cuts and reductions in FY 2007, not yet implemented, remain in effect, except that VOA Turkish is reprieved. See updated FY 2007 chart http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/bbg_2007_reorg_updated.html (kimandrewelliott.com Feb 6 via DXLD) ** U S A. Here`s how AFGE Local 1812 covered it: THE BBG'S FY 2008 BUDGET REQUEST TO BE RELEASED FEBRUARY 5TH DATELINE: Washington, 02/01/07: Upper level management of the IBB and the VOA will brief Union leaders on the details of the BBG's FY 2008 budget request, Monday, February 5th. All indications are that it will include draconian cuts. In the meantime, the FY 2007 budget request was rolled into an omnibus budget bill in the House of Representatives. That bill will keep funding at the FY 2006 level but will add funding to cover employee raises and colas. The bill does not include earmarks. It must now go to the Senate which may add earmarks. If the Senate changes the bill it will have to go to a conference committee. THE BBG ANNOUNCES MAJOR CUTS DATELINE: Washington, 02/05/07. The Broadcasting Board of Governors is seeking once again to eliminate VOA radio broadcasts in Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Hindi, Georgian, Greek, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and incredibly the VOA Global English broadcasts. All these services were targeted in the BBG's FY 2007 budget request but the Board was prevented from making these cuts since the FY 2007 budget was never passed by Congress. The BBG will apparently operate for the rest of FY 2007 at FY 2006 spending levels. The only service previously targeted in the FY 2007 budget to survive the cuts is the VOA Turkish Service. Television broadcasts will remain in Albanian, Bosnian, Hindi, Macedonian, Russian, and Serbian. Added to the list of cuts in the FY 2008 budget request is the elimination of the VOA Cantonese and Uzbek services. The VOA Ukrainian, Tibetan, and Portuguese to Africa services will be severely reduced, almost certainly the radio broadcasts will be eliminated. According to a high ranking IBB official, no RIFs will occur until the FY 2008 budget is passed by Congress and signed by the President. For a non-copyable joint letter from Tim Shamble, Pres. Of 1812, and Gary Marco, Pres. Of AFSCME Local 1418 see http://www.afge1812.org/Content_Page_1.html WE WILL NEED TO INFORM APPROPRIATIONS MEMBERS OF THE ILL ADVISED CUTS PROPOSED BY THE BBG. A LIST OF THE MEMBERS FOR BOTH THE HOUSE AND SENATE SUBCOMMITTEES CAN BE FOUND ON THE PRESIDENT'S PAGE (AFGE 1812 via DXLD) ** U S A [non?]. Feb 8 at 1440, very strong and distorted Korean language broadcast on 9555, splattering up to 25 kHz above and below. No sign of RHC which normally dominates with its own dirty signal on 9550, so I think it must have been off. 9555 was VOA, and so strong that I would have guessed it was Delano, which I suppose is remotely possible as a backup for scheduled Philippines at 1400-1500 for this service which after a VOA Washington ID at 20 over S9 went off about a semiminute before 1500, and still no sign of RHC. HFCC B-06 says this is Tinang at 21 degrees, which means it is also aimed at NAm, and I suppose propagation from there was just well above average today, as 9760 English was also good. Korean begins at 1200, and comes from three different sites, one after another: 1200-1230 Saipan, 1230-1400 Thailand, and 1400-1500 Philippines. HFCC also shows Biblis at 1230-1400, which I guess is backup for Thailand, tho it`s a long overland haul from Germany (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Unfortunately, WRMI played last week`s WOR 1345, Thu Feb 8 at 1433 on 7385, altho there was a new edition 1346 available. Fortunately, altho it did start late, after Vatican Radio in Spanish, it did not end early, lasting almost until 1502 when R. Prague in English started late. Would appreciate some feedback this week on how WOR is received from its new outlet, KAIJ, Friday at 1130 on 5755, 2000 on 9480. (Two airings, not four, as I misimplied on 1346) (Glenn Hauser, OK, Feb 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. I get KNBR on 940 here. At first I thought I was getting Bend OR at 3 pm until I realized it was KNBR. Where you are, also look for KFAX on 1000 and KGO in various places (Mike Hawkins, CA, Feb 7, IRCA via DXLD) Spur probably isn't the right word, since that would refer to an actual off-frequency transmission coming from KNBR, and they run a pretty clean shop there. More likely, I'd suspect, is a simple case of receiver front-end overload, which is creating these images on frequencies where they don't really exist. s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) KNBR on 940 would be a leapfrog mixing product, as I like to call them On SW, of 680 over KGO 810, a further 130 kHz. Are the KGO and KNBR sites close enough to interact? It could be an external mixing product, not necessarily receiver-produced front-end overload. 73, (Glenn Hauser, OK, ibid.) This is a classic example of a sum-and-difference spur. These can be caused by interaction between transmitters close in both frequency and proximity; from re-radiation from any number of possible metallic objects in the local area; or from problems at the receiving site, which could be in the receiver or in the antenna system. If one is using a loop, antenna system problems are less likely, and if the spur is nullable, it can be nulled toward the transmitters, indicating the first option, or elsewhere, indicating the second. If it isn't nullable, that's usually indicative that it's at the receiving end (Russ Edmunds Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ), ibid.) Glenn, I think you're right. KGO is strong enough here (8 miles directly north, over water, in their beam) that they take out 800 and 820 and still heavily distort 790 and 830. I am also about 10 miles SSE of KNBR with their 50KW ND antenna. Needless to say, there's a bunch of non-existent things on the radio in this location (Mike Hawkins, CA, ibid.) Hi Glen[n], KGO's transmitter site is by the Dumbarton bridge, and I believe that is in Newark California, and the KNBR transmitter site is in Belmont, I do believe, but I had heard it was by the San Francisco international airport, but maybe I'm confusing them with KGEI on short wave (Marti Rimpau, ibid.) Long-gone KGEI was in Belmont (gh, DXLD) KGO is on the Newark side of the Dumbarton Bridge, virtually surrounded by water. KNBR is in Belmont, just east of US 101. They are about 10-12 miles apart. I live in Campbell, just southwest of San José. While both stations are very strong there, there is no interaction between them and no unusual byproducts. I work in Mountain View, in the shadow of NASA Ames' wind tunnel. There, KGO is incredibly strong. KNBR does not seem any stronger (a highly untechnical measurement), but there are definitely KNBR artifacts on several frequencies, the most noticeable being on 940. I also note that in Mountain View at 3:30 pm, I can get San Diego, Los Angeles, Tijuana with ease. Not so in Campbell (Mike Hawkins, out of work again as of Friday, dammit!, ibid.) For those who have Scott Fybush's calendar, February 2007 has a fantastic shot of the KGO site. What a beautiful shot. I would have bought the calendar for that pix alone. No wonder I hear them up here at nearly 600 miles during the day! 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) Hi all, on 540 in the daytime, I get what appears to be a harmonic of KNBR, but a friend of mine theorizes this as being a translator, and wonder if this is a translator, or a harmonic of 680? 660 has a harmonic of KSFO, in the day time, and I wonder if this too is a translator, or a harmonic of 560. This from my location in Oakland with the GE Super Radio 3 (Marty Rimpau, ibid.) Third order mixing products, Marty. (2 * frequency of local #1) plus or minus (frequency of local #2); you sometimes hear only one of these locals, but it's the combination of the two that causes it. The mixing occurs either in your radio, or at some external point, possibly where there is corroded metal that is acting like a diode. In the 540 case (2*610) - 680 = 540 660: (2*610) - 560 = 660 Is KEAR (I think; still KFRC in what passes for my mind) close to you? Best wishes, (Nick Hall-Patch, Victoria, B.C., Canada, ibid.) ** U S A. TOWER POWER --- By: Barb Bierman Batie 02/07/2007, Lexington Clipper Herald KRVN FM’s new 1,000-foot tower is one of the highest in central Nebraska. The Nebraska Rural Radio Association partnered with two radio stations in construction of the tower. Their antennas are shown in the photo. LEXINGTON - When the directors of the Nebraska Rural Radio Association began construction of a new 1,000-foot radio tower south of Lexington last summer, it was not without some trepidation. The tower, designed to improve the signal for KRVN FM, was to be built on the same site where much shorter towers had fallen. "We've lost four FM towers on that site in the last 40 years, two of which were 600-feet tall," notes KRVN general manager Eric Brown. The latest, a 300-foot tower is still standing and will be used for backup. However, newer construction technology and more solid anchors, plus the fact the tower has already survived one of the worst ice storms in 30 years, leave Brown optimistic for the new tower's future. "The tower base is 16-by-16 feet and 10-feet thick to support the 113,186-pound tower. There are 3.9 miles of guy line with six anchor points that have reinforced steel cages that are 8-feet high and 6- feet wide and 54 inches long. All in all there are 8,000 pounds of steel in those anchor points." It probably doesn't hurt that KRVN also partnered with two Christian radio stations to build the tower. Bott Radio Network (BRN), headquartered in Kansas City, broadcasts at 104.5 FM with 100,000 watts of power and is one of the partners, along with Horizon Communications, headquartered out of San Diego. KRVN FM 93.1 switched to their new tower on Jan. 17 and is already receiving positive feedback from listeners. . . [more] http://www.lexch.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17817102&BRD=284&PAG=461&dept_id=558509&rfi=6 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) NRRA sounds like a nonprofit, but isn`t (gh) ** U S A. WQYK, UNIVISION AFFILIATE HIT WITH FCC FINES Tampa Bay Business Journal - 11:31 AM EST Wednesday, February 7, 2007 The broadcast towers that climb beyond the top of the Park Tower building in downtown Tampa are under scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission, costing two local broadcasters $35,000 in fines. The FCC has issued a $10,000 fine against Infinity Broadcasting Corp. of Florida, the licensee of WQYK-FM, and $25,000 against Entravision Holdings LLC, licensee of Univisión television affiliate WVEA-Channel 62, for not properly informing visitors to Park Tower's rooftop that the broadcast towers there exceed the maximum permissible exposure of radio frequency radiation. While it is not illegal in itself to exceed radiation standards, areas that do exceed those limits have to be properly restricted only to those trained in dealing in such environments, who can properly manage their exposure, the FCC said. The fines were a result of a series of visits the FCC made to Park Tower between May and October 2004, where officials found that despite radiation levels being above normal levels, appropriate signage to warn of such exposure didn't exist. FCC officials said they informed both Infinity and Entravision of the lack of signage, but that neither company properly remedied the situation. Infinity officials told the FCC in a written response that they were actually victims of Entravision's violation, since a majority of the radiation overexposure came from their tower, according to FCC findings, while only 5 percent was generated by WQYK. Entravision, on the other hand, issued written a written response claiming that the rooftop of Park Tower was not a public area, and was not required to meet FCC rules on controlling areas that could be accessible to the general public. The FCC rejected both arguments (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. Gracias a un correo del colega Tore Larsson de una escucha en la frecuencia 620 AM, me puse a chequear esta frecuencia y he podido grabar la identificación de una emisora venezolana identificándose como: 620 AM Provoca. Será alguna de las dos emisoras venezolanas en esta frecuencia que ha cambiado de nombre, me refiero a Radio Fe y Alegría Los Llanos y a Radio Libertad o será una nueva señal en otro punto de Venezuela. Bueno, mientras seguimos investigando disfruten de su identificación. Esta grabación la hice el dia martes 6 de Febrero a las 0133 UT. http://sintoniadx.multiply.com/ atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hola Amigo José, Esta emisora es la Radio Fe y Alegría Los Llanos desde Guasdualito; es una de las estaciones venezolanas que con mayor frecuencia puedo escuchar; el colega y amigo Henrik Klemetz hace algunos días me habia consultado por lo mismo; a mi paracer es un slogan que están utilizando, aunque no sé qué "provoca". También he escuchado que están en la celebración del 15 aniversario, incluso tengo un audio donde una intérprete de música llanera hace un homenaje" a la quinceañera que provoca ". Un saludo (Rafael Rodríguez R., Bogotá - Colombia, Feb 7, condig list via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tnx to the following who sent checks in the mail to Glenn Hauser, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702: ROD SCRIBNER, Maine, ``IN MEMORY OF ROCKY`` and PETE BENTLEY, New York, ``JKDI`` (gh) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ LIZ`S SHORTWAVE OBSESSION We are glad to see that Liz Cameron has revived her website which vanished from geocities quite some time ago. Especially check out her info on languages and religious broadcasters, something you are not likely to find anywhere else: http://www.geocities.com/alera1/ (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MW PATTERN MAPS FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD For those who like maps, have a look at http://www.fmmap.de You can display e.g. single frequency maps for MW (AM) for your favorite geographical area or around your listening place (Gunter Lorenz on the MWoffsets list, via Nick Hall-Patch, BC, IRCA via DXLD) Now I can start to speculate about those 7 carriers on 828 kHz this morning. Works for the Americas too (Nick Hall-Patch, Victoria, B.C. Canada, ibid.) This is periodically rediscovered; we`ve mentioned it before (gh) Hey, This is a great database, even if it just uses ITU submissions. It`s easily accessible, seems to pick up at least some directional patterns and can be searched not only by frequency but by network. I don't know if this will clear up and of the PAL Unknown Location sites in China, for instance, but it`s sure worth checking. Excellent resource. Thanks Nick! (John Bryant, OK, ibid.) Same: Very useful bit of online software I've used this website for the first time tonight http://www.fmmap.de and found it very interesting. Has this been discussed previously? If so apologies. However at my first glance I was impressed by the capability and speed of this mapping tool/database. I rather liked the facility that generates a complete bandscan for any location, calculating direction and distance to all the transmitters in range. Despite the website having FM in the name it covers both AM & FM - allegedly WORLDWIDE. I suspect the biggest problem is maintenance of the underlying data. Try it out and share your comments. 73 (Steve Whitt, MWC via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES / DIGITAL BROADCASTING +++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++ DRM: see also BELGIUM; GABON; GERMANY; GUIANA FRENCH; NEW ZEALAND; ROMANIA 2007 FEST FORUMS - UPDATE Direct from Kulpsville, PA, the winter capital of radio throughout the world! (For more info, check http://www.swlfest.com frequently.) 2007 SWL Winterfest Activity Schedule (updated 2/6/07 and subject to change): (All times EST. All forums 60 min. unless otherwise indicated. Registration, Raffle Ticket Desk and Exhibit Room hours to be announced. Exhibits/Demos/Club Tables to be announced. Raffle Prize List to be announced.) Thursday, March 8 0900 - Registration Table Opens*/Exhibit Room Opens 1030 - Satellite Broadcast DXing (incl. antenna issues)/ Tracy Wood 1130-1330 - Lunch on your own 1330 - GPS—A New Radio Hobby? / Skip Arey 1500 - Zenith’s Mexican Connection--Cespedes Marin / Harold Cones 1630 - A Survey of Radio Control Software / Tim Lemmon 1730 - Dinner on your own 1930 - Thursday Swap Meet Opens Friday, March 9 0800 - Registration Table Opens*/Exhibit Room Opens 0900 - Radio on the Road / Janice Laws & Steve Karlock 1030 - Digital Radio Forum/Rob de Santos & Daniel Srebnick 1130-1330 - Lunch on your own 1330 - DXing Worldwide / Dan Henderson 1500 - The Year in Pirate Radio / George Zeller 1630 - The Listening Lounge Daytime Edition / David Goren & Myke Wyskopf 1730 - Dinner on your own 1800 - Vintage Radio Collection Tour (location to be announced) 1930 - Friday Swap Meet Opens 2100 - The Listening Lounge Evening Edition / David Goren & Myke Wyskopf (as late as it goes) Saturday, March 10 0800 - Registration Table Opens/Exhibit Room Opens 0900 - Faith and Shortwave / Allen Graham 1000 - Silent Auction Opens 1030 - Scanning with The Scum / Tom Swisher & Skip Arey 1200 - Salad & Pizza Lunch 1240 - Remarks by Allan Loudell, Anchor/Reporter, WDEL 1315 - 1988-2007 Receiver Market Review / Alan Johnson & George Zeller 1430 - Broadcasters’ Forum / Ian McFarland (90 min.) 1600 - Exhibit Room Closes 1615 - Silent Auction Closes 1630 - Time Reserved for Club Meetings, etc. 1800 - Cash Bar 1900 - Banquet (After Dinner Remarks by Jacques Bouliane of RCI/DRM) 2130 - The Grande Raffle 2400 - The Voice of Pancho Villa (John Figliozzi, coörganizer, Feb 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) SHORTWAVE BROADCASTERS AND DRM GROUP TO MEET IN ELKHART, INDIANA The National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB) and the USA DRM Group will hold a two-day joint annual meeting in Elkhart, Indiana May 10 and 11, 2007. The meetings, which are open to broadcasters and other interested parties, will be hosted by the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart. HCJB operates a large shortwave station in Quito, Ecuador and various other radio and health care missions around the world. Its Global Technology Center is involved in engineering, research and development, training and technical support for these worldwide operations. The Center has been in the forefront of research and development on DRM -- Digital Radio Mondiale, a revolutionary technology that gives shortwave and AM radio signals an FM-type quality. On the agenda for the two days of meetings are tours of the HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart and the world headquarters of LeSea Broadcasting in nearby South Bend, Indiana. LeSea operates shortwave stations WHRI in South Carolina, WHRA in Maine and KWHR in Hawaii. Speakers at the meetings will include Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott, audience research officer at the Voice of America; Dr. Adrian Peterson, coordinator of international relations for Adventist World Radio; Allen Graham from HCJB's shortwave station in Ecuador; and various persons involved in DRM broadcasting on shortwave and other bands. Presentations will range from technical topics to programming and audience research. NASB member Assemblies of Yahweh, which operates shortwave station WMLK in Bethel, Pennsylvania, will sponsor a banquet for the groups on the evening of May 10 in South Bend. This is the first time in the two groups' history that their annual meetings have been held outside of the Washington, DC area. Jeff White, NASB President, explained that "we thought it would be good to meet in a different part of the country this year, and we had an invitation from HCJB, which has been an associate member of NASB for many years." NASB and the USA DRM Group are separate organizations, but they have many common members, since some of the strongest supporters of DRM technology have been shortwave broadcasters. The FCC has officially authorized U.S. shortwave stations to broadcast in DRM. Broadcasters, manufacturers, consultants and academics are invited to participate in the NASB and DRM meetings in Elkhart. Local students and shortwave listeners are also invited to participate as observers. Pre-registration is necessary, but is free of charge. For more details, see the meeting webpage, http://www.shortwave.org/meeting.htm or e-mail nasbmem @ rocketmail.com For more information, contact: (Jeff White, President, National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB), c/o WRMI Radio Miami International, 175 Fontainebleau Blvd., Suite 1N4, Miami, FL 33172 USA. Tel +1-305-559-9764 Fax +1-305-559- 8186 E-mail: radiomiami9 @ cs.com http://www.shortwave.org Feb 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ MEDIUMWAVE PROPAGATION VS FREQUENCY Vertically polarized MW groundwave signals travel along with their lower end connecting with the ground. As they radiate outward, the ground absorbs more and more of the wavefront's energy. The equations that predict the attenuation versus distance have a factor for frequency. This factor plainly predicts that an LW signal will travel further than a MW signal. Also, ground conductivity has a strong influence on the distance- versus-attenuation behaviour of signals. Groundwave signals above about 2 - 3 MHz attenuate so rapidly that they are essentially useless for broadcast purposes. What you receive at VHF and UHF frequencies are direct waves that don't involve the earth. While the earth attenuates a LW or MW signal, it also provides a means for their propagation. If the earth were perfectly conductive, then signals would travel much further than they would if they were travelling through space. Also, horizontally-polarized signals are effectively short-circuited by contact with the earth. That's why horizontal antennas are not used at LW and MW frequencies. Yes, horizontal antennas have been used by MW stations; but usually as a top-loading for a vertical member that radiates the vertically- polarized signals. This all partially explains why sea paths propagate MW signals much more effectively than lands paths: sea wave is vastly more conductive than earth. I hope this adds to your understanding. If you want more explanation, just let me know. 73 de Charlie ----- (Charles A Taylor, WD4INP, Greenville, North Carolina, ABDX via DXLD) The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to minor storm levels at middle latitudes, while high latitudes experienced quiet to severe storm levels. A recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream disturbed the field during 29 January – 01 February. Activity ranged from quiet to minor storm levels during the disturbance with major storm periods detected at high latitudes (severe storm conditions also occurred at high latitudes on 29 January). During the disturbance, solar wind speeds reached maximum velocities of about 720 km/s early on 31 January, while the Bz component of the IMF fluctuated between +/- 18 nT midday on 29 January. Activity decreased to quiet levels during the latter half of 01 February, and remained so for the balance of the period. By 30 January, the IMF Bz relaxed, and did not vary much beyond +/- 5 nT for the remainder of the period. Solar wind speed gradually decreased after 31 January, and ended the period near 325 km/s. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 07 FEBRUARY - 05 MARCH 2007 Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels during 11 February, 13 – 24 February, and again on 26 February – 04 March. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to major storm conditions. Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected during 01 – 10 February. Unsettled to major storm levels are expected during 11 – 14 February due to another recurrent coronal hole high speed stream. Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected on 15 – 24 February. On 25 – 27 February, a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream is expected to produce active to minor storm periods. Quiet to unsettled levels are expected for the remainder of the forecast period. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2007 Feb 06 2124 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2007 Feb 06 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2007 Feb 07 85 5 2 2007 Feb 08 80 5 2 2007 Feb 09 80 5 2 2007 Feb 10 80 5 2 2007 Feb 11 75 20 4 2007 Feb 12 75 20 4 2007 Feb 13 75 25 5 2007 Feb 14 75 15 3 2007 Feb 15 75 12 3 2007 Feb 16 75 8 3 2007 Feb 17 75 5 2 2007 Feb 18 75 5 2 2007 Feb 19 75 5 2 2007 Feb 20 75 5 2 2007 Feb 21 75 5 2 2007 Feb 22 80 5 2 2007 Feb 23 85 5 2 2007 Feb 24 85 5 2 2007 Feb 25 85 20 4 2007 Feb 26 85 20 4 2007 Feb 27 90 15 3 2007 Feb 28 90 10 3 2007 Mar 01 90 5 2 2007 Mar 02 85 5 2 2007 Mar 03 85 5 2 2007 Mar 04 85 5 2 2007 Mar 05 80 8 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1346, DXLD) ###