DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-018, February 10, 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 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. Feb 7 and 8 when checking presumed R Solh, Afghanistan around 1600 UT, the 6800 frequency has been empty. But instead there are now two stations with different programming on 6700 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jari, Are they both USB, reduced carrier, or AM, SAH?? (Glenn, ibid.) AM, carrier and both sidebands, no SAH I could detect, so pretty well at the spot. Someone with spectrum analyzing system hopefully can find two carriers. These fade up and down (rapid and deep fades) with similar pattern to former 9345. And fade ins and outs are different with each program feed (Jari, ibid.) These two 6700 stations are 8 Hz apart, measured by Mauno Ritola in Finland. Thanks (Jari Savolainen, Feb 10, ibid.) Hi Glenn, Parked on 6700 Feb 9th at 1530 and 1615 heard Afghan music; 1628 talks, 1641 mention Bagram and an ID for R. Ulumati information Radio. It has been reported that there are 2 Afghans on this frequency R. Solh and Information radio maybe? (Stuart Austin, Blackpool, England, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. Hearing what might possibly be Angola on 7216.7 at 2100. Extremely weak and right down in the mud. 10 February 2007 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. For readers in English: while on vacation now, LRA36 is inactive according to my monitoring during this past week. Estando de licencia anual, he tratado de monitorear a LRA 36, en el horario esperado y puedo decir que no está activa. 73 (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, Feb 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BARBADOS. 92.9, Voice of Barbados, P. O. Box 1267, [Bridgetown?] Barbados, QSL letter full data in two years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! V/S: Ronald L. H. Clarke, Programme Director Gospel FM & Hott FM. The station sent me two reviews about Barbados: "Barbados Holiday Guide" and "Barbados". They sent me the station history too. I listened to this station two years ago, in January 2005, at the Ilha Comprida DX Camp (Brazil) with the DXers and friends of DX Clube do Brasil. VOB has a transmitter fed 5 kW into 4 element antenna!!! This is a new radiocountry for me!!!! (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DXLD) Yes, but you can`t count it as shortwave, even tho T-E FM DX is a greater achievement. Or so it seems from this vantage point, altho a lot of it in SSAm is DXed with nothing more than whip antennas, and happens repeatedly. Is there a similar TE FMDX path between Europe and Africa? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4728.2, Unidentified, 1055+, January 20 and following days. Spanish, Andean songs and folk songs of Santa Cruz de la Sierra department all days. One day, I could hear a male in Spanish announcing TC as UT -4. I believe it´s a new Bolivian station!!!!!!!! 25422. Some days, the station signs on at 1035 UT and other days at 1050; On January 22 ID by male as: ```...Buenos días en Radio...????`` (Arnaldo Slaen, Villa Giardino, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Estimados amigos: Reciban mi más cordial saludo; estoy en Antofagasta, "la perla del norte", en el norte de Chile. Ésta es mi ciudad natal, donde viví hasta los 25 años, tiene 300000 habitantes, y un clima de maravillas. Estoy haciendo uso de mis vacaciones, y he realizado algunas escuchas radiales. [see also CHILE] Les cuento que he escuchado una que otra radioemisora boliviana en las bandas de 60 y 49 metros, y se escuchan súper bien entre las 2100 y 2230 aproximadamente. Entre éstas, escuché una radioemisora en la frecuencia aproximada de 4750 kHz, la cual no dio señal de identificación, pero, mientras la escuché entre las 2200 y 2215, estaba en el programa llamado "la hora de las provincias"; ¿alguien tiene algún registro similar? Les saluda con un gran abrazo desde Temuco, (Patricio De los Ríos, Chile, Feb 10, Noticias DX via DXLD) At the outset he says he is reporting from Antofagasta, but when he closes it`s from Temuco. His frequencies are so analogically approximate that ``4750`` could easily be the 4728.2 above (gh, DXLD) Viz.: He escuchado en los 6100 kHz aproximadamente, la Radio Patria Nueva, ¿saben más datos de esta radioemisora? Espero sus respuestas; escríbanme con copia al correo "patatorios @ vtr.net" Agradeciendo su atención, les saluda con un gran abrazo desde Temuco, (Patricio De los Ríos, Chile, Feb 10, Noticias DX via DXLD) That`s the new name of Morales` Radio Illimani, really on 6025 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** CANADA. Censorship series --- Press release here: http://www3.cbc.ca/sections/newsitem_redux.asp?ID=4509 Full program details here: http://www.cbc.ca/censorthis/ (Ricky Leong, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Feb 18-24, a bunch of different CBC programs all on this theme (gh) ** CANADA. How can I describe Canada to a largely Canadian readership? Well, it’s a big country (second only to Russia, as you know), but most of us live just a short drive from the US border (you already knew that too). That border facilitates the largest trading partnership in the world (yep, that too). We are internationally renowned for our beautiful scenery, relative affluence, and our peaceful, multi-ethnic population, but also for living in igloos/teepees, saying “eh”, and being sort-of-American (!). Our nation of 32 million is well served by various print and electronic media; RCI is the international broadcaster. Radio Canada International (RCI): http://rcinet.ca/ RCI’s homepage features a tasteful graphic combining the name Radio Canada International (repeated in each RCI broadcast language) with a map of Canada and the surrounding countries, which looks a bit like a map of United North America (wonder where these stereotypes come from?). Below this are links to the RCI website in each broadcast language, followed by the same links in French, and then again in English. While it may sound a bit redundant, the layout seems to facilitate users with a widely varying range of computer equipment. Clicking on any of the English links loads the RCI English main page and should open a second window, with streaming audio from “RCI viva” of The Link, a two-hour news and current events program. On the main English page there are simple headings on the left-hand side, such as News, Schedules and Frequencies (all in PDF format), and About RCI. Other headings include Programs, which includes text and audio archives of now-discontinued programs (going back several years, in some cases), Podcasts, which is now for the single program “The Link”, Reception Report, and Language Courses, which are excellent English- and French- language learning modules, aimed at children and hosted on the parent Radio-Canada website. The middle of the page is occupied by a “Pick of the Day”, news, weather, and “Columns”, which appear to have been weekly items last updated September 25, 2006. Other items include a link to RCI viva web radio (if it didn’t open automatically), a box for signing up to RCI’s daily Cyberjournal email (a summary of Canadian and international news), and two government-related ads. All in all, an attractive and easy-to-use website (Paul E. Guise, St. John's, NL, Click, Feb ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** CHILE. ¿Alguien ha recibido en onda corta Radio Parinacota? Espero sus respuestas; escríbanme con copia al correo "patatorios @ vtr.net" Agradeciendo su atención, les saluda con un gran abrazo desde Temuco, (Patricio De los Ríos, Chile, Feb 10, Noticias DX via DXLD) 6010, R. Parinacota, Putre, ads "...Carnaval Andino en Putre...", "Parinacota, la emisora altiplánica..." música latina, 0230 8/2, 44444 (0250 9/2 54444). (Rogildo Aragão, Quillacollo, Bolivia, Sony 2001D, LW 25m, HCDX via DXLD) See also INTERNATIONAL ** CHINA. Another of those strange midnight pipeline openings you would not expect unless you tune around the `dead` bands: Feb 9 at 0639 I found CRI English on 17710, fair but with deep fades. No other signals of consequence on the 16m band, and on the 19m band the only SOCs were R. Australia on 15515, 15240, 15160. Looking it up later in HFCC, 17710 is listed as Beijing site, 500 kW at 193 degrees to SE Asia at 04-08 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. China is a country so vast and so little understood in the western world that I’ve chosen to illustrate it through comparisons. China is the most populous country on earth, with roughly 1.3 billion inhabitants, yet its territory is slightly smaller than that of Canada. China’s booming economy has resulted in an enormous appetite for fuel, such that the country is now the second-largest consumer of oil --- behind the USA, which has ¼ the population. China has over a billion television viewers and well over 100 million internet users, yet state controls over the media remain both extensive and, generally, effective in limiting access to unapproved foreign content (western nations claim not to do this, but a quick sweep of the television dial leads one to wonder…). China Radio International is the staterun external service. China Radio International (CRI): http://chinabroadcast.cn/ or http://cri.cn/ Prepare to be intimidated – CRI’s website is available in 45 different languages! As usual, we’ll focus on the English version also known as http://crienglish.com/ This is a very large, very comprehensive website, so I’ll only mention a few things. The main page features a vast number of links to news items, weather, and a variety of features. There are also several “Listen Live” links, apparently to CRI programs and/or stations, but none of these would work for me, despite repeated attempts. At first I could not find any information on CRI’s shortwave broadcasts, only AM/FM relays around the world. The shortwave broadcast schedule was eventually located on the Webcast page, by clicking on the Ways to Listen > Via shortwave button down in the bottom right-hand corner of the page. I ultimately gave up on the CRI website, which I found slow, cluttered, and very difficult to navigate, and only vaguely related to CRI’s excellent shortwave service (Paul E. Guise, St. John's, NL, Click, Feb ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** CHINA. 6060, Sichuan PBS-2, from 0957-1022, Feb 8, Chinese programming; pop song, ToH 5+1 pips, no VoGB ID, ads, Chinese ballad, OM and YL in conversation, // 7225, both fair. Rechecked 6060 at 1100 to clearly hear 5+1 pips and their usual canned program ID, which consists of a musical fanfare, followed by an ID in Chinese (giving frequencies for both 954 kHz. AM and 5900 kHz. shortwave and ending with an ID in English: “This is the Voice of Golden Bridge”. Fortunately R. Nac. de Venezuela, via Cuba, did not sign-on till 1101, which then completed buried them. The Sichuan People’s Broadcasting Station broadcasts from Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, located in southwest China. Sichuan PBS has two sets of programming. The 2nd set of programming is currently heard on both 6060 & 7225. Sichuan PBS-2 includes the “Voice of Golden Bridge” program (known as their “Life, Travel and City Service” program). The canned ID is fairly old, as the reference to 5900 kHz. must be pre-2001, when Alan Davies heard this same ID. For the past year I have been monitoring this and have often heard their canned ID at 1100 UTC (7:00 PM local time in Chengdu). A timetable for the various programs that comprise Sichuan PBS-2 is located at - - http://www.sc.cninfo.net/tanfo/radio/radio06.htm - - . The “Voice of Golden Bridge” is listed as being aired for 30 minutes, twice a day (seven days a week), from 7:30-8:00 AM and 12:00-12:30 PM Chengdu Time (2330-0000 & 0400-0430 UT). These listed times do not correctly correspond to the times when I have hear this program. Have also occasionally heard their program ID at 1045 and 1130, but not as consistently as the 1100 ID (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) How much of the Golden Bridge show is in English beyond the ID? (gh) ** CUBA. The transmitters of Radio Cuba are also used by Radio Rebelde Cuba, Radio Nacional de Venezuela and China Radio International. Radio Rebelde broadcasts from 23 to 01 hours on 5025, 6000, and 6180 kHz; from 11 to 14 hours on 9505 kHz; from 12 to 14 hours on 5025 and 11655 kHz; from 17 to 19 hours on 11655 and 15570 kHz (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Feb 2 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) Sort of, but misleading, as 5025 runs R. Rebelde 24 hours, and we have already reported three additional frequencies at 17-19. I don`t think 6000 and 6180 have RR at 23-01 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** CUBA. Not only has RHC abandoned 15230 at 11-15, but also in the afternoon. Feb 9 at 2153, found RHC on 15190 with feature on a Cuban composer, // 9550 but the two a reverb/echo apart as so often happens with RHC frequencies. 15230 was open, so the move was not really necessary until 2200 when R. Australia came on 15230 where the two had also been clashing for a very long time, so the RHC move also solves that. Until 2200, 15190 did have some ACI from YFR Ascension. Has this update been made on RHC`s own transmission schedule at http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/frecuencia/frecuencias-espanol.htm --? Of course not! Still shows 15230 at 11-15, but neither 15230 nor 15190 at any other time. Aoki had 15230 at 21-23, and EiBi at some other times, but not 21-23. However on Sat Feb 10 at 2230 check, RHC was not to be heard on 15190, or 15230. BTW, 9550 was again missing Feb 9 at 1454 when the VOA Philippines Korean service on 9555 was not so extrusive as the day before. Feb 10 at 1450 RHC 9550 was back and VOA 9555 was weaker. At 2240 Feb 10, 5990 was already on with open carrier plus squeal, not scheduled until 2300 with CRI relay (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. CUBA WARNS SATELLITE TV PIRATES By JOHN RICE Associated Press Writer February 8, 2007, 2:40 PM EST HAVANA -- The U.S. government strives mightily to stamp out intellectual property theft all over the world -- except for Cuba, where it tries to broadcast anti-communist messages to anyone able to see U.S. programming through illegal satellite dishes. Now the Cuban government is striking back, warning TV signal pirates that they face stiff fines and jail terms. The Communist Party newspaper Granma dedicated a full page Thursday to an account of the discovery and prosecution of four men who sold or maintained the sort of jerry-built satellite TV systems believed to be hidden on thousands of rooftops across Cuba. It came three days after Cuba denounced a U.S. government strategy that began in December to use Florida television stations to get around Cuban jamming of TV Marti -- a move that has made the U.S.- funded station, aimed at undermining Fidel Castro's government, accessible to thousands of Cubans who could never see it before. By law, TV Marti is barred from broadcasting propaganda inside the United States, but anti-Castro advocates believe they've found a loophole, and that the Florida stations can be used to reach the island as long as any U.S. viewing is "inadvertent." At any rate, Cubans themselves aren't saying much about the programs. This may be due to the fact that several households typically share a single antenna and decoding box; all must watch the same program, and most prefer the same sort of shows that are popular anywhere else -- music, soap operas, comedy, drama and movies. Commercial U.S. signals provide a rich alternative to the thin programming on Cuba's four state channels, whose offerings include courses in mathematics, nightly 90-minute pro-government debates and local baseball games. Miami-based commercial Spanish language stations are particularly popular, and their news and political programs -- many of them created by Cuban exiles -- are often as stridently anti-Castro as TV Marti's programming. Granma said Thursday that many of those U.S. channels, along with TV Marti, transmit a message that "is destabilizing and interventionist and forms part of the Bush administration plan aimed at destroying the revolution and with it the Cuban nation." There is a government-approved satellite television service in Cuba, but it's offered only to resident foreigners, tourists and a select group of officials, and subscribers need a special license to receive the Florida programming. Under the new U.S. plan, officials pay commercial stations in Florida to carry TV Marti programs. The stations are included in satellite TV packages picked up by the clandestine receivers in Cuba. Granma's story reflected the grass roots nature of satellite piracy in Cuba, where private business is tightly restricted to promote social and economic equality: Three culprits were caught in a small bicycle tire repair shop in Havana where satellite dishes were made. Also seized were materials to build 30 satellite dishes, metal-cutting equipment, coaxial cable and paint. Another man who allegedly reactivated satellite reception cards was found with 14 satellite dishes and fined $44,390 -- a hefty figure in a country where many official salaries are as low as $14 a month. All face prison terms as well. In 2004, U.S. officials estimated there were roughly 10,000 satellite TV dishes in Cuba. Many dishes serve several homes at once and their influence spreads as people tape programs and rent them around the neighborhood for a few cents. But few Cubans talk openly about the dishes: They're strictly banned for homes and police raids periodically are staged to confiscate illegal antennas hidden in water tanks, behind windows or in air conditioner boxes (The AP via Brock Whaley, GA DXLD) INTERRUMPEN TELEVISIÓN SATELITAL CLANDESTINA Noticias de Cuba / Cuba News - CubaNet News http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y07/feb07/08a4.htm LA HABANA, Cuba - 7 de febrero (Juan Carlos Linares Balmaseda / La Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR), en coordinación con la Empresa Telefónica de Cuba S.A. (ETECSA) y otras organizaciones pro- gubernamentales, iniciaron una fuerte operación contra la señal televisiva satelital norteamericana DIRECT, conocida como televisión por cable entre los cubanos. "Dos patrullas de policías y una docena de empleados de ETECSA venían peinando la calle Pérez y cuando detectaban un cable sospecho trasmisor de la señal clandestina lo cortaban", denunciaron Rafael Carlos Núñez y Nelson Herrera, vecinos de la barriada capitalina de Luyanó y testigos del suceso. También se reportaron otras operaciones simultáneas a esta en otras localidades de la capital. La señal DIRECTV sólo se permite en determinados hoteles propiedad del estado y para el turismo extranjero. La señal se interrumpe en el horario en que se transmite por los canales estatales de Cuba el programa Mesa Redonda. Algunas fuentes coinciden en que la operación policial se debe a que el gobierno norteamericano anunció que TV MARTI sen transmitirá a través del satélite, lo que le será más difícil al gobierno de la Habana interferir dicho canal (via Oscar de Céspedes (Miami, FL), condig list via DXLD) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780, R. Djibouti, *0300-0320+ Feb 3, sign-on with NA, 0301 Arabic talk, 0302-0313 Kor`an. Arabic talk. Poor, difficult reception due to ute QRM on frequency (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 5009.77, R. Cristal or Pueblo, Santo Domingo, *1053-1105+ Feb 2, abrupt sign-on with Spanish music. 1059 ID and Spanish talk. Poor signal; I could not understand if they said Cristal or Pueblo in their ID due to noisy conditions (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 4918.99, R. Quito, Quito, 1033-1045+ Feb 2, Spanish ballads, 1043 ID. Strong but somewhat distorted audio (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 9650, V. of Peace & Democracy Eritrea, Feb 08 *1417-1429 25432 Tigrigna, 1417 sign on with IS, Opening announce, Talk and Eritrean pop music, New frequency (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) Is this really the station name? (gh, DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. The Voice of Delina (produced by Tesfa Delina Foundation, Inc) appeared with a new website: http://vodm.asmarino.com and under a new name: Voice of Meselna Delina (B. Trutenau, Lithuania, Jan 19, 2007 in DXplorer-ML via CRW via DXLD) Yes, but have a look at this from 2005 http://zete9.asmarino.com/index.php?blogid=1&catid=17 where it is also called Voice of Meselna Delina. I wonder, what's the story? (F. Krone, Denmark, Jan 19, 2007 in DXplorer-ML, ibid.) Yes, they have been using this expanded name since quite a while already, unnoticed by the DX press and not changed on the TDP schedule website (B. Trutenau-LTU Jan 23, 2007 in DXplorer-ML, ibid.) Not completely unnoticed; we have it in Sender & Frequenzen 2007 ;-) (H. Kuhl-D Jan 23, 2007 in DXplorer-ML via CRW via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 7280, Andenet Ledemocracy Feb 08 *1700-1715 33443- 34433 Amharic, 1700 sign on with opening music, ID, Opening announce, Talk and Ethiopian pops music (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) That was Thursday; blocked in Europe by Vietnam (gh) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 9820 Radio Xoriyo, 1641-1643, escuchada el 9 de febrero con música de sintonía, sin embargo en la intervención hablada se aprecia una muy mala modulación que la hace incomprensible, SINPO 45442 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, dxldyg via DXLD) Samara, Russia site? ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 11900, Tensae Ethiopia V. of Unity, Feb 07 *1500- 1510, 35322-35333, Amharic, 1500 sign on with opening music, ID, Opening announce, Talk. 11900, Tensae Ethiopia V. of Unity, Feb 08, *1500-1510, 35222-35322, Amharic, 1500 sign on with opening music, Opening announce, Ethiopian pops music and talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** GABON. Afropop music distraxion was on 17640, Feb 9 at 1457, for a change not QRMing anything else. And on Feb 10 at 1506 on 17655 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GAMBIA. The Gambia (our holiday) --- Now home now from our wonderful week in Africa - guaranteed sunshine, incredible people, fascinating countryside, animals, birds and beaches, and all at a very comfortable 90 degrees. I am pleased to report that there are some excellent FM and a few AM stations to be heard in The Gambia, some with wonderful ethnic Gambian and Senegalese music. On Monday we cruised with the dolphins in a luxury catamaran up the River Gambia and I was thrilled to shoot some pictures and movie footage of the hulk of the MV Cheetah off Banjul. I had to ask the local guide and captain to point out the wreck (there are many) which they gladly did and they seemed interested when I told them more about its history (with my anoraky enthusiasm!) Most of our fellow English tourists thought it was a joke but I managed to convince some. On our return the tide was lower and the pelicans that had covered it earlier had flown so the photos were better. I quote from Wikipedia - "The fascinating history is that Radio Syd (pronounced Sud) started to broadcast from a ship to Sweden to give the Swedish people a musical entertainment channel. Broadcast on VHF (FM). In charge was ex-beauty queen Brit Wadner. Mrs. Wadner was jailed at least once for breaching Swedish broadcasting law. In early 1966 the second ship the mv Cheetah 2 broadcast the British station Caroline South for a few weeks after the mv Mi Amigo ran aground at Frinton. After this service ceased, the ship was sold and moved to the Gambia, where she eventually sank. Brit Wadner Settled in The Gambia and for many years operated the Wadner Beach Hotel located about a mile from Radio Syd. Radio Syd was eventually set up in The Gambia just outside the capital Banjul, broadcasting to The Gambia and Senegal on medium wave, the station ceased transmitting in 2001 when the antennae came crashing down. The station was run by Connie, daughter of Brit and her partner Bennie... Extracts from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Syd lots more at http://www.offshore radio.co.uk/odds31.htm (Mike Terry, Feb 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Welcome back, Mike; we missed you at Reading last Saturday and obviously the question was asked whether you were able to take a radio and recorder with you to the Gambia? If you didn't, I'm sure your tales of skulduggery and intrigue above are just as fascinating. Maybe you can tell us more about your brief adventures in West Africa at a future Reading or Twickenham meeting? Thanks anyway, for trawling out those fascinating titbits (quiet at the back there!) from Wikipedia about Radio Cyd/Sud (Mark, Savage, BDXC-UK moderator via DXLD) ** GREECE. Glenn, seems that same ERA transmitter I heard cutting off constantly on 5865 ended transmission at 0550 and went to 15630, and you heard it around 1500 last Wednesday on 15630 with the same problem, which is a little hard to believe since Greek has been going regularly well for quite some time on that 19m. Interesting would be to know if some our European colleagues heard something irregular on that frequency, say around 0900, while those are wee hours for American continent (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello Raúl. Yes, something "irregular" has been heard via the Greek mystery transmitter. Wolfgang noted it first and I've heard it too. When changing frequency, transmission resumes in true SSB - USB. I heard it Feb. 8th and again today the 9th at around 1105 UT when the frequency changes from 11645 to 15630. Today transmission remained in true SSB mode for a longer period, and there were no breaks in transmission, but when adjusted to AM - DSB the breaks began. These appear to occur when the announcer stops speaking - the transmitter goes off air momentarily until speech resumes. And the transmitter seems unable to cope with musical items and is on/off continuously. I have also heard audio/modulation breaks only as Kai writes, but this isn't how the transmitter is working currently. And re the suggestion >>Just to throw in a possibility: How about Kostinbrod?<< Was IRRS via this site when they were broadcasting in compatible AM, or did that only come via their Milano transmitter? 73 (Noel R. Green, (NW England), Feb 9, ibid.) 9935 and 9420 were // last Saturday (Feb 03) at 1615z. Mistake or intended? (Jerry Lenamon, Waco Texas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jerry - Although 9935 mostly has its own programme I don't think it would be a mistake - they do broadcast the same programme as the external service from time to time, especially when sport is on air (Noel R. Green, (NW England), ibid.) Hello John, Nice to hear from you, and thanks for your schedule of ERT. I'd just like to point out that 11645 stays on air during the "silent period" between 1000 and 1100 UT. It is on air - or at least it's trying to stay on air - as I type this at 1030. There are continuous breaks of both audio and carrier, and I think it's only we SWL enthusiasts who would listen to a signal like this. To make it truly worthwhile the fault needs to be repaired. If a 115 degree azimuth is in use, then this might account for the VERY variable signal strength that I am noting. Fading is continuous (no steady periods as on other frequencies) and there are deep fades off the S meter scale (below 1) and peaks up to S9 or over. I will check again today when the frequency change is made to find out if transmission starts in SSB as it did on Thursday at 1105. It will be most interesting If/when we find out where this signal originates from. 73 from (Blackpool (NW England), Noel Green, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi, Makedonias was alive and well on 7450 at 2108 in Greek with music. Best Greek signal heard so far this afternoon/evening. Observations on ERT thus far, based on Wolfy's sked: 2000-2300 Checked on and off during these three hours. 7475 fair, // 9420 weak. (Usually both are strong.) At 2200-2300, 5865 was weak. Checked at 2315 or so. 5865 at weak S2, 7475 moderate to good at S6, 9420 barely audible at S1. No trace of 12105. From 2450 to 0100+ I hear something on 5865, presumably Greece. There's something on 9420, presumably Greece. Again 12105 not audible. But on 7475 there's some sort of jammer (!). Don't know who that's for. 73/Liz (Liz Cameron, Metro Detroit, MI, Feb 9-10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks to Liz too. I couldn't check the 23-24 UT slot here, because of poor propagation. The [Thessaloniki] believed slight breaking unit is about 1/8 to 1/10th second BEHIND usual Avlis outlets. 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) So, here is the latest ERA5/ERT3 schedule, according to observations of various contributors: ERA 5 / ERT 3 AVL=Avlis / THE=Thesaloniki Peraia. 0000-0550 5865THE 7475AVL 9420AVL 0550-0700 5865THE 9420AVL 12105AVL 15630AVL-Alb 0700-1000 9420AVL 11645THE 12105AVL 15630AVL-En,Fr,Sp [11645THE sometimes starts at 0724 UT, sometimes on USB mode, then switched to AM mode at 0730 UT] maintenance break at Avlis til approx. 1100/1130 UT 1000-1146v/1157v 11645THE 1000-1100 9420AVL-only carrier remains on air 1100-1200 9420AVL [and sometimes also 17525AVL starts irreg. at 1100 UT too, underneath is RFI relay via Meyerton-AFS co-channel] 1100-1650 9935THE-Makedonias program, different unit 1200-1550 9420AVL 15630AVL 17525AVL 1600-1950 9420AVL 15630AVL 1700-2250 7450THE-Makedonias program, different unit 2000-2200 7475AVL 9420AVL 2200-2400 5865THE 7475AVL 9420AVL (Wolfgang Büschel, Feb 8/9/10, ibid.) The ERT signal on 11645 via the additional transmitter was managing to stay on air for most of the time today (Feb. 10) at tune in 1000. There were only very occasional audio breaks. But signal strength was less and audio quality worse. Frequency change was at about 1058 today and 15630 came up in SSB - USB again, and remained so for several minutes. Audio quality in this mode was good, but when adjusted to "AM" it became muffled. I'm not sure what the actual mode currently is - there are two sidebands. The LSB is less strong than the USB though and all becomes muffled during fades. Signal strength is better on 15630 and peaking to 10dB+ over 9 but still with occasional deep fades. And now strangely LSB is stronger than USB and audio dropouts are occurring. Is this really a broadcast transmitter or something else? (Noel R. Green (NW England), ibid.) VOG`s mysterious test frequency, 15630, Feb 10 at 1456 concluding Hellenes Around the World, was OK except for occasional brief audio dropouts, no longer carrier dropouts too; // 9420 and 17525. At 1600, 15630 going from music to ID and directly into spor yelling, no dropouts heard. Noel Green and Wolfgang Büschel have noted these test frequencies, also 11645 and 5865, starting out in SSB as each transmission opens, but then tweaked into AM, more or less. I`d say this gives away that the transmitter was originally a utility unit. They and John Babbis guess it may be Thessaloniki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Because of the contradictory announcements in the DX press, the emissions of Radio Friendship were checked and heard in Sofia between 6 and 10 hours on February 2, 3 and 4. The program in English is on the air also Saturday and Sunday from 0704 to 08 hours on 15630 and 666 kHz (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Feb 9 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GUIANA FRENCH. You never know with these DRM tests, but Feb 9 at 1457, 17870-17875-17880 was back on with its big buzz. Feb 10, Saturday it was gone again at 1557 check (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SOUTH CAROLINA [non] ** HUNGARY. Re 7-016, also 7-012, 7-010, 7-009: Hungary ends broadcasts in the OIRT FM band, starts new minorities program --- The name of satellite is not correct. Hotbird 8 replaced Hotbird 3 at 13 east in the end of last year. If you give information about satellites, it's important to say symbol rate (Ilea Klepko, Ukraine, shortwave yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. Excerpts from Indian television interview Jan 31 of A S Guin, engineer-in-chief at AIR on digitalisation plans of AIR: http://us.indiantelevision.com/interviews/y2k7/executive/AS_Guin.htm Would these channels be available on the normal radio sets we use today? No, that technology is not available so far and even in the west, it is very costly, about $80 for a digital radio handset. New technology will always remain in the public domain, because of the sheer scale of operational costs, which the private sector would find very difficult to match. This will completely take away perhaps the only joy of millions of poor Indians who are totally dependent on AIR for news and entertainment, besides the public services as on health and agricultural advice. Well, the decision to go digital, across the world, has been taken, so this will have to happen. In any case the cut-off date set by the government for transition from analogue to digital is 2015. But then, as demand goes up, the prices will come down. A normal radio handset now costs Rs 200, and these sets will cost something like Rs 500, at the most, with cheaper technology coming in. But do remember that the audience will have a choice of seven channels. Any other benefits on offer for this costly technology? Interactive broadcasts and a number of value-added services will be possible. Well, one of the most important things will be the pro- active role AIR will get to play in disaster management. We will introduce a system all across the channels on the coastal belts, which will be integrated with the early warning systems. Thus, whenever an early warning is triggered off the computer linkage with the radio stations will ensure that the channel would automatically switch over to transmitting the warning, with the ongoing programme switched off. Once the warning has been issued, the radio station would switch over to the normal ongoing programme. This will give a huge lead time for people to evacuate… Who are you looking to as technical collaborators? You see, the US has HD radio, and Korea uses DMB but that is mostly for TV. China uses DRM technology for external services. We have spoken with China about DRM. It has shown a keen interest and once the two countries collaborate, the prices of receivers would dramatically come down. China would have to collaborate to set up factories in India, because if we have to import, prices would be very high. What are the network plans? The digitalisation process would start with all the studios. It would be the SW transmissions that would go digital first. Each state capital would have one Short Wave transmitter and there will be three transmission complexes with five transmitters per complex for national digital radio coverage. These complexes will be suitably located. Each complex will transmit five digital channels across the country, including regional language channels. This will mean that these channels will be accessible across the country. So, a Bengali in Mumbai would not have a problem if he wishes to hear All India Radio Kolkata… AIR is proposing digital FM in the near future, using DRM+, or DAB or HD Radio technology. But forget replacing the existing transmitters, even initial investment will not be easy for the private entrepreneurs, unless the receivers for digital broadcasting become low cost and catch the imagination of the public (via Alokesh Gupta, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) It is amazing how far India has come on this complicated technological field and I wish your country all success in its further development. It is evident that within a certain timeframe our regular listening to AIR regional SW-stations using analogue technology is going to cease. For us DX-ers in Europe it is a big question, if the future DRM transmitters will be audible here on DRM receivers. Time will show. But it is high time to report the stations! (Anker Petersen, Ed, DSWCI DX Window Feb 7 via DXLD) ** INDIA. I&B FORMS GROUP TO REGULATE SPORTS SIGNALS NEW DELHI, Feb. 8: The ministry of information & broadcasting has constituted a joint group of experts to identify the technical parameters and propose a course of action for suitably regulating the sports broadcasting signals. Mr Brijeshwar Singh, DG, AIR, will head the 12-member group of experts. Other members are: Mr KRP Verma, CMD, Becil, Mr AS Guin, engineer-in-chief, AIR/DD, Mr LV Sharma, chief engineer, Mr ES Issac, DD (sports), Mr Lalit Modi, vice-president, BCCI, Mr IS Bindra, president, Punjab Cricket Association, Mr H Rajshekaran and Mr Digvijay Singh of Nimbus, Mr RC Venkateish, MD, ESPN Software (India) Pvt Ltd. and Mr Jawahar Goel, Zee Sports. Mr Rajat Bhargava, ADG (F&A) in All India Radio will be member-convener of the group. It will submit its report within a month from its constitution (Statesman News Service via Mukesh Kumar, The Cosmos Club, Muzaffarpur, INDIA, dxldyg via DXLD) ??? what in the world is this about, ``regulating sports broadcasting signals``? Why do they need regulating? Ah, the mysteries of the Indian bureaucracy (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9525 kHz, Jakarta, 1528-1601, an ID tape in English, a woman saying, "From Jakarta, you are listening to the voice of Indonesia," I heard good IDs at: 1539; 1540; 1542, 1543 (twice); 1544; 1545; 1546; 1548; 1549, etc., 3,3,5,3,3 (John W. Davis, Ohio, WJ-HF- 1000A, and a 435' longwire antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9743.36, RRI-Sorong, Feb 08, 0610-0635, 25442, Indonesian, Talk and music, ID at 0631 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) Seldom reported from NAm; probably daytime only (gh) ** INTERNATIONAL. Re 7-017: After my initial monitoring of 6010 kHz with Spectrum Lab on Feb 6th, I had assumed that Radio Parinacota was probably inactive since I did not detect any likely carrier. During further monitoring on Feb 7, at 0130 UTC I noticed a weak carrier drift up a few Hz from under Radio Mil's dominant carrier on 6009.96. The carrier began to fade rapidly at 1055 UTC and was gone by 1125 UTC. Sunrise at the Putre transmitter was at 1027 UTC, which leads me to believe that this was very likely Parinacota and practically co- channel Radio Mil. I had no visible carriers on 6009.80 during monitoring this frequency from Feb 6-8. 73, (Brandon Jordan, Memphis, TN, WinRadio G313e, Wellbrook ALA330S, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. Re 7-017 latest DXLD comments: I also have to say that I'm one of those who needs radio sounds (comfortable and at convenient low volume) when I go sleeping at night. Sometimes the sounds had interacted with my semidormant brain and I have had dreams connected with their argument, but "freely translated". :) P.D.: Y sobre los comentarios leídos en DXLD último... yo también soy uno que no puede dormirse sin ponerse los audífonos escuchando alguna trasmisión confortable y que induzca el sueño. Muchas veces ha pasado que he tenido ensueños basados en sonidos o palabras que el cerebro recibe inconcientemente. :) (Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. IRAN RADIO BROADCASTING NAHJ-UL-BALAGHA IN ENGLISH TEHRAN, Feb. 3 (MNA) - Iran's international radio network Seda-ye Ashna (Familiar Voice) launched a program broadcasting recitations of excerpts of Imam Ali's Nahj-ul-Balagha in English on January 22. Entitled "The Bright Way", the program is produced by Mohammad-Hassan Rahmani and is narrated by Hamid Yasamin and Nushin Tajdari. Seda-ye Ashna was the first international Persian-language radio network in Iran. It was established in 2004 and targets the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The program is also accessible via http://www.sedayeashna.ir MMS/HG END MNA http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=442978 (via Alokesh Gupta, India, DXLD) The sedayeashna website doesn`t work. And Familiar Voice has not been on SW for some years now: no Persian from Iran, so I guess none of this English either (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. 9 FEBRERO FUERTE ACTIVIDAD DEL MOSSAD --- Saludos cordiales, el día 9 de Febrero se apreció una fuerte actividad en las emisiones del Mossad, gran cantidad de frecuencias activas y un cambio sustancial a la hora de emitir mensajes; se aprecia que los mensajes son más cortos. Terminan con el habitual “END OF TRANSMISION” y comienza otro grupo de letras. 9 Febrero a las 1700 UT 3415 4880 5091 5435 6270 Emisión en paralelo con el Enigma ULX, grupo corto de emisión de letras, “END OF MISSING, GROUP GROUP”. [``end of message?``] 1800 UT 6485 Emisión de números, grupos de 5. 6850 Emisión en código alfa, inglés. 2000 UT 6270 E10 ULX 2 6840 E10 EZI 6959 Emisión de números en grupos de 5. 9130 E10 Emisión en código alfa, 2300 UT 6840 E10 EZI 2. (José Miguel Romero, Sacañet (Castellón), España, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Supongo que debe tener que ver con los enfrentamientos entre palestinos y policías israelíes ocurridos en la víspera, en Jerusalem. 73 (Arnaldo Salen, Argentina, condig list via DXLD) ** JAPAN [non]. NHK Warido, R. Japan, 11970 via Gabon, Feb 10 at 0628 in German with strange accent making me wonder at first if it was Low; some hum and distortion on Moyabi, which isn`t what it used to be; 0629 going into French (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. JAPAN [non], 9855, Shiokaze International Communications, Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) broadcasts to North Korea and is presented by the independent investigating organization: ``Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea`` I sent my reception report by email and received my QSL Card full data in 18 days QSL, f/d blue & white printed: ``Rescue! Abductees by N. Korea – Shortwave - Shiokaze`` COMJAN card. Date, time and frequency hand written, as the printed frequency is their new frequencies 9645 & 9950 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Via TAIWAN ** LATVIA. RELAYS ON 9290 KHZ THIS WEEKEND Sat February 10 Radio Six International 0700-0800 UT Latvia Today e-mail info @ radioswh.lv 0800-0900 UT Radio City 0900-1100 UT Sun February 11 Latvia Today 1300-1400 UT Good listening (Tom Taylor, Feb 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LATVIA. RADIO CITY SCHEDULE Radio City - The Station of the Cars [sic] relays Saturdays: February 10: 0900-1100 March 19: 0900-1100 April 08: 1100-1300 May 12: 0900-1100 All transmissions will be 100 kW via Ulbroka Transmitter 9290 kHz. All times UT (Radio Strike, Feb 9, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) And did you take into account summer time shift after March? (gh, DXLD) ** LATVIA. LETONIA, 9290, Radio City, 0911-1000, escuchada el 10 de febrero en inglés a locutor con ID, dirección web y emisión musical de varios estilos, rock, pop y melódica, SINPO 45544 (José Miguel Romero, Sacañet (Castellón), España, Sangean ATS 909 Antena hilo de 7 metros, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) LITHUANIA [sic] 9290, Latvia Today, Ulbroka, 0840-0900, February 10, English, long talk by female, music, s/off, 25432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina) 9290 Radio City, Ulbroka, 0900-0906, February 10, announcement by female, music, 15331 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Noticias DX via DXLD) That does it. Either Latvia or Lithuania has to change to a completely different name (in all languages), as these two neighbors are constantly being confused, and not just by DXers. {The problem is worse in Spanish where Latvia is called Letonia instead, and that is too much like Lituania. I don`t understand why ``Latvia`` is not the accepted name in Spanish} (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. Sawt al-Amal (presumed) in Arabic heard again on two frequencies shortly after 1300 UT, Friday, Feb. 9 (cf. DXLD 7-015). Strong on 17635 and weak on 17625 (with even weaker Afro music jammer). At 1333 check, still on 17635 but second frequency now 17640, both equally strong. The latter on top of BBCWS English. As usual off at 1400. During this half hour no sign of the jammer (also ANU on 17630 was off and back on at 1400, together with the jammer on 17640). (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GABON ** LITHUANIA. 6255, KBC Radio via Sitkunai, *2200-2240+ Feb 3, sign-on with test tones and canned IDs followed by US pop music of the 60s, 70s and 80s. Many canned IDs. ``Mighty KBC``, ad for KBC Imports. Gave Holland address, E-mail address and website. Good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saturday only ** MALAYSIA. 5965, Klasik Nasional FM (RTM), 1601-1703, Feb 9, in vernacular; Anthem, news (not // to 6050), reciting from the Qu’ran, Islamic news, singing “Nasional” jingles and also ID for “RTM Kuala Lumpur”, ads (some of the same ones I have heard in the past on Asyik FM [RTM] on 6050), fair (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6050, Suara Islam/Voice of Islam (RTM), 1601-1700*, Feb 9, in vernacular; news, reciting from the Qu’ran, songs and Islamic music/Middle East type music, IDs “Radio Suara Islam FM”, choral anthem at sign-off, reception was amazingly good. Traxx FM (RTM) was heard on 7295, with hard rock music, but reception was poor (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7295, Traxx FM (RTM), 1530-1552 & 1603-1633, Feb 10, programming in English; several promo’s for the Ghost Rider Convey this Sunday, riding thru Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, “sponsored by Traxx FM”, played segment of “Born To Be Wild”, DJ with pop songs, 1552 suddenly off in mid-song. Re-tuned 1603 to hear sports news from the “News Center in Kuala Lumpur”, DJ playing more pop songs (“Heaven Is A Place On Earth”, "Love Will Find A Way”, etc.), fair. Noted Suara Islam (6050) with great signal and Klasik Nasional FM (5965) was fair. Reception for Malaysia has recently been outstanding! (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALI. Radio Mali broadcasts in French and local languages on different frequencies on short wave. In Sofia it was received on February 3 with a program in English from 1904 to 1921 hours on 4835 kHz, as well as on 5995 kHz, however, this frequency was interfered by a DRM signal. Most likely, the program is aired only on Saturday. The QSL address is: Radio Mali, English Service, B. P. 171, Bamako, Mali (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Feb 9 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** MEXICO. XEYU, Radio Universidad, Ciudad de México heard for the first time with good signal on 9599 this Friday late afternoon, with economics issue. No ID at TOH, 2300, but no way to miss that Mexican Spanish accent. SINPO 35543. 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Feb 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I continue to hear it just about any time during the daytime, either audible or as het against 9600, but not in the 0600+ period. Wish they played more music and less talk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On 9599.25, XEYU, Radio Universidad, Mexico City, 0855 Feb 10, program with classical music fagot (bassoon). At 0900 female talks in Spanish. After 0901 no signal, I think end of the transmission. NRD545 and EKD 300 +EZ100, Antenna 100m. LW Gr (Maurits Van Driessche from Belgium, HCDX via DXLD) Received R. Unam this morning, Classical choral and classical music, 9599.22, Feb 9th at 0825-0910 above the local noise at last (Stuart Austin, Blackpool, England, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 4810, XERTA/Radio Transcontinental de America, 1206-1251, Feb 10, Spanish programming; EZL vocals and instrumental music, many ID’s for both XERTA and Radio Transcontinental de America, website given. Fair, with light CODAR swishing. Since mid-February 2006, after they changed the location of their antenna, this has always been poor to very poor, so this reception was a pleasant surprise (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. USA pirate: 3275.69, The Crystal Ship, 0355-0410+ Feb 2, music by Elton John, Debbie Boone & ABBA [how do you make backward Bs?]. ID, poor, weak in noise. USA Pirate: 3275.94, MAC Radio, 0625-0646* Feb 4, Bob Seger, Bob Dylan music. IDs, E-mail address, sign-off with NA followed by VOA`s Yankee Doodle song. Fair (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Talking House, 2602 W Broadway, Enid, 1690 kHz, Feb 9 at 2130 UT, barely audible, and slightly off-frequency mixing with broadcast station already in by skywave, most likely WRLL. I am claiming a worldwide distance record for this Part 15 outlet of almost exactly one mile from my HQ QTH. Having spotted a sign on the street, a few minutes earlier at 2110 I drove by and monitored it at local range; an informal loop pitch by Bo Ginder of Remax, who says it will sell quickly in the low 60 kilobux, so phone him at 580-884-9050. A short cable visible in front of the house may have been the antenna, if it wasn`t just a cable TV line; did not get out to inspect. On the insensitive car radio it was already weakening a block away, losing at two blox, and gone at three. No legal ID given (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 6114.87, Radio Unión, 1050-1105 Feb 10. Noted music followed with Spanish comments and ID, "... Radio Unión ...", and ads/promos. At 1056 NA of Peru presented. Signal was fair. QRM blocks this frequency at 1058 when a couple of "Boomers" start broadcasting on 6120 and 6110, but a retuning helps (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, NRD545 http://www.orchidcitysoftware.com/Painting.html DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 5780, spurious of V of Russia in Arabic 1900-2000 UT Feb 9. But to calculate the symmetric formula, fundamentals puzzle me: 140/280 kHz apart are outlets of two different sites: -- 5920 Moscow -- 6060 St. Petersburg (Arabic). 1900-2000 Arabic 7230MSK, 6140ARM, 6060St.P English 6175ARM French 6130MSK, 6090St.P Greek 7155, 5985MSK, 5975St.P, 1431, 1413 Russian-SC 648, 1026, 1503, 1494, 5940MSK, 7285 Russian-IR 7310, 1170to1930, 1143, 936 1930-2000 Slovak 6030St.P(x6160), 6045St.P, 1170ARM (Wolfgang Büschel, harmonics yg via DXLD) So this may be evidence that the two are now from the same site (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** RWANDA. 6055, R. Rwanda, Kigali, 2025-2101* Feb 3, audible after Turkey signs off at 2025. Fair signal with French talk, French pops, Afro-pop and Afro-rap music. ID. Co-channel QRM at 2100 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAINT HELENA. It is too bad you gentlemen do not collect amateur radio (ham) logging, because on February 4, 2007, I heard ZD7AFC on 14247.0 kHz, you know, St. Helena Island. The station was in USB and working hams in North America at around 2111 UT. 73s and Good Dxing JWD (John W. Davis, OH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, too bad ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Brother Scare`s Sabbath Service, Sat Feb 10 at 1550 via Guiana French 17810 was running 4 seconds ahead of // WWRB 9385, and much better audio from GUF (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. The Midnight News on BBC Radio 4 reported plans for a 24-hour strike of NUJ and BECTU members at the BBC on 26 February 2007. The dispute centres around a dozen or so compulsory job losses and other financial cuts made by the Corporation, and the Unions say there will be a serious impact on programming. Doubtless if the strike goes ahead we will hear repeats and perhaps have the chance to hear programmes we never heard first time round (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, United Kingdom, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC TO TRIAL DRM ON MEDIUM WAVE FROM PLYMOUTH --- BBC Radio and National Grid Wireless have announced a trial of a new transmission technology which will allow the two organisations to assess the practicality of digital radio services in the medium-wave bands. The trial, which will last for a year, will be centred on Plymouth. From the end of April, the BBC and National Grid Wireless will re-use a current medium-wave frequency in the Plymouth area to broadcast a trial digital service using the digital radio mondiale [sic, not capitalised --- gh] (DRM) standard. DRM is an emerging technology which has been designed to facilitate digital radio at frequencies below 30 MHz. The BBC, which has been involved in the engineering research and development of the standard over the last few years, already makes the BBC World Service available on short-wave using the technology to some parts of western Europe and north Africa. The trial will broadcast BBC Radio Devon using the technology from the existing medium-wave transmitter in the city. An audience panel will be recruited from listeners to Radio Devon and users of http://bbc.co.uk/devon Members of the panel will be given radios which are capable of receiving DRM as well as the existing FM and DAB transmissions. The BBC intends to conduct research with the panel over the following year to explore their experience of DRM and help inform its future digital radio strategy. The trial will be the first of its kind in the UK using medium-wave to provide DRM to UK listeners. National Grid Wireless will supply, commission and operate the transmission equipment needed for the trial, as well as being involved in the engineering measurement of the transmissions and validation of the results. The two companies intend to publish the results of the trial by mid-2008. John Allen, Head of New Services for BBC English Regions, said: "The trial will help us understand whether DRM has a role to play in the all-digital future for BBC Local Radio in the UK. We're really excited that BBC Radio Devon is going to be involved in this trial, as it confirms that BBC Local Radio is no stranger to technological innovation." John Ward, Director of Network Operations and Engineering at National Grid Wireless, said: "We have a track record of being at the forefront of new developments in broadcast technology and this trial maintains our commitment to innovation. Importantly this trial will enable us to explore the practicalities of establishing domestic DRM broadcasting that could, in the future, complement existing radio services." The trial will be broadcast on 855 kHz (BBC Press Office via Mike Barraclough, BDXC-UK via DXLD) This article on the BBC Website says that Radio Devon will be trialling DRM for about a year on their 855 kHz service from this April: http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/devon/content/articles/2007/02/09/digital_trialfeature.shtml (Andrew Tett, Shoreham, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Seems to me that ``trial`` as in the headline or ``trialling`` just above is not acceptable as a verb in American usage. What do they say in Oxford? How does this differ from ``trying``? (gh, DXLD) As per the BBC Radio Devon news report, the Plymouth service of Radio Devon is also broadcast on FM 95.7 MHz so any MW listeners will be able to switch to FM while the DRM tests are in progress on 855 kHz. I presume they chose Plymouth because the service is duplicated on MW and FM. For the full news report follow the link given in Andrew's posting (Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK moderator, via DXLD) See also the Guardian blog discussion of this: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2007/02/09/bbc_to_trial_digital_radio_mondiale.html (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) ** U K. RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP BBC RADIO --- I have just found an excellent site dedicated to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. I myself had contact with Desmond Briscoe, Brian Hodgson, Dick Mills and others whilst at the BBC and still find it a rivetting and revealing read. There is a TV programme repeated tonight, over I think now, from BBC 4 about the same. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/whitefiles/b2_h/4_radiophonic_workshop/rws/pgs/a_toc.htm (Keith S. Knight, The Wireless Waffler, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U S A. BRITNEY VS. THE TERRORISTS By Robert R. Reilly Friday, February 9, 2007; Page A19 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020801679.html?referrer=emailarticle In the spring of 2003, across a field of rubble in Baghdad, a young Iraqi journalist accosted me and demanded: "Why did you stop broadcasting substance and substitute music?" The year before the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the government entity in charge of radio broadcasting, had shut down the Voice of America's Arabic service, and it ended most of its Farsi service in 2003. Voice of America had been broadcasting features, discussions of issues and editorials reflecting U.S. policies. But now it filled 50 minutes of each hour on Arabic-language Radio Sawa and most of the time on Persian-language Radio Farda with Eminem, J. Lo and Britney Spears. This change in format provoked other angry questions: Are Americans playing music because they are afraid to tell the truth? Do they not have a truth to tell? Or do they not consider us worth telling the truth to? We did not fight communism with pop music. In fact, during the Cold War, America used its government media institutions to broadcast its ideas and beliefs. So why are we not refashioning those successful broadcast strategies and trying to spread our ideas in the Muslim world, the breeding ground of much of the world's terrorist threats? Members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) have shared their answer: Radio Sawa's progenitor, media mogul Norman Pattiz, was still serving his Clinton-appointed term in 2002 when he told the New Yorker that "it was MTV that brought down the Berlin Wall." (Not Ronald Reagan, Lech Walesa or Vaclav Havel, of course.) President Bush's appointees did not improve the board's outlook. In October 2002, Ken Tomlinson, then the board's new chairman, approvingly quoted his son as saying Spears's music "represents the sounds of freedom." It seems that the board transformed the "war of ideas" into the battle of the bands. So, is MTV winning the "war of ideas"? After years of the United States broadcasting Britney Spears to the Levant, the average radical mullah has not exactly succumbed to apoplexy or come to love democracy. A State Department inspector general's draft report on Radio Sawa (the final report was never issued) found that "it is difficult to ascertain Radio Sawa's impact in countering anti-American views and the biased state-run media of the Arab world." Or, as one expert panel assembled to assess its value concluded, "Radio Sawa failed to present America to its audience." The BBG has achieved part of its objective in gaining large youth audiences in some areas of the Middle East, such as in Amman, Jordan, where it has an FM transmitter. But as the Jordanian journalist Jamil Nimri told me: "Radio Sawa is fun, but it's irrelevant." We do not teach civics to American teenagers by asking them to listen to pop music, so why should we expect Arabs and Persians to learn about America or democracy this way? The condescension implicit in this nearly all-music format is not lost on the audience that we should wish to influence the most -- those who think. Some, of course, suspect that the United States is consciously attempting to subvert the morals of Arab youth. Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes told columnist Cal Thomas in December that our "view of freedom is sometimes seen as licentiousness. . . . And that is only exacerbated by the movies and the television and some of the music and the lyrics that they see exported from America." Especially, Hughes might have added, since the BBG, on which she sits as an ex officio member, promotes this very image. Becoming a caricature of ourselves is bad policy and bad public diplomacy. The job of U.S. international broadcasting is to present, before we are attacked, what much of the world saw only after Sept. 11 -- the sacrifice, bravery and piety of the American people -- as part of a complete picture. By presenting this aspect of our culture, we might even prevent the miscalculations of those who believe they should attack the United States or can do so with impunity because we are a weak, irreligious, morally corrupt country. We need radio broadcasting in the "war of ideas," but it has to deal in ideas to be effective. The "MTV message" is something that commercial broadcasting can do and would do better than government- funded radio. Government broadcasting is needed when the United States must communicate a message to a key audience that that audience otherwise would not hear. Music may have a role in this kind of broadcast mission, but only if it is part of a larger, idea-based strategy. Where are the ideas that will help us win this war, and why are they not being deployed by all available means to the places that most need to hear them? Isn't it time to change our tune? The writer was the 25th director of the Voice of America and was senior adviser to the Iraqi Ministry of Information during Operation Iraqi Freedom (Washington Post via David Cole, OK, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. GLOBAL VOICE: BRITAIN'S FUTURE IN INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING is introduced by Richard Sambrook, director of BBC Global News. Its eleven essayists include Joseph S. Nye Jr. and Nicholas J. Cull, who writes, "Audiences are hurt by the disappearance of international voices from their media market. As Americans and their broadcasters once lobbied to preserve British international broadcasting so British voices should now be calling for the protection of Voice of America in English and the full breadth of America’s international broadcasting." The 114 page publication is available as a .pdf document at Mr. Sambook's personal SacredFacts blog, 5 February 2007. http://sambrook.typepad.com/sacredfacts/2007/02/global_voice.html (kimandrewelliott.com 10 Feb 2007 via DXLD) ** U S A. KAIJ, 9480, Feb 9 at 1451 in The Power Hower, but guess who could be heard in the background? Yours truly with World of Radio 1346, and at 1453 starting over with WOR theme. Recheck 1533 could still hear myself underneath so notified KAIJ studio. Apparently their production line was bleeding into their program feed line, or the automation decided to play WOR when it wasn`t supposed to. WOR did appear at 2001 on 9480 in the clear. Rather weak here, but past the skip zone doing OK in Michigan, Ontario, and VG in San Francisco, says George Poppin, closer to the 320 degree azimuth of this outlet, while not making it to Germany, says Wolfgang Büschel, as was to be expected. Wayne Bastow in NSW could not hear anything at 1130 on 5755, so was KAIJ off the air? Thanks to KAIJ for adding WOR and improving our coverage especially to the W and NW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: I checked KAIJ 9480 at 2000 and found them to be running WOR 1346 starting at about 2001. KAIJ at S5-7 on an R8 with a 70' wire running N-S (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, bid.) Glenn, WOR 1346 on 9480, 2000 UT Feb.9 averaged 7dB/4 on my signal indicator. Some fading and lots of atmospheric noise. Fair to good but much better than WBCQ, Wed. on 7415 at 2300 which has been very very poor here recently. WWCR, Friday, Feb.9 at 2130 on 7465 is booming in. Clear, excellent, reaching 40dB/10 at times as I type this (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST) S=0.0 dB in Germany, so sorry. A very tiny, tiny carrier only detected. 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, ibid.) Hi Glenn, Heard WOR on 9480, from 2015-2031*, Feb 9, fair reception, with a few deep fades. BoH cut you off before you could give the WOR number. ID “The new KAIJ. The Big D” (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Congratulations !!!! You are coming in LOUD AND CLEAR on 9480 at 2000 UT, today 9 February 2007. No two ways about it --- that valuable DX information should be heard by King Neptune himself. I wish you continued success with this EXCELLENT reception of 9480. Take five (George Poppin, San Francisco, DX LISTENING DIGEST) World of Radio is supposed to be on a new station at a new time, which may work well to Australia. Would appreciate some checks of 5755, Friday at 1130 from KAIJ. Thanks, (Glenn Hauser, Feb 9, ARDXC via DXLD) Glenn, Only heard noise here (Wayne Bastow, Wyoming NSW, ibid.) Hmmm, wonder if off the air; do you ever hear KAIJ on 5755 around this hour? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. 12160, WWCR Nashville TN; Cowboy Church of Hot Springs, AR at 2133. Sked sez that the Nashville Cowboy Church is on from 2100 to 2130. Good C&W music. A Google church turned up this URL: http://www.arkansascommunities.com/Hot%20Springs/cowboychurch.htm (Liz Cameron, MI, 7 Feb, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 25950 FM, KOA studio link, 1009, Feb 9, At 4:09 AM local time I noted WWV on 15 and 20 MHz with strong signals, so checked the KOA studio link which was coming through full quieting with their mediumwave feed. This link makes for a good sporadic e indicator. Rapid fade out at 1012. The signal was gone in a matter of seconds (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KCRW, *89.9, Santa Mónica CA, reports its online streaming exceeds its on-air audience. The Wall Street Journal says some of the online listeners aren`t even aware they are hearing an actual radio station broadcast (Bruce Elving, Feb FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. KROM, San Antonio TX, ``Estéreo Latino``, used to broadcast where immigration checkpoints were in South Texas. This drew a petition to deny the station license, but the FCC refused to get involved, noting the license has changed to Univisión from Hispanic Broadcasting. The Border Patrol can breathe easier, since those announcements have gone away (Bruce Elving, Feb FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. WMLB, 1690, Avondale Estates GA, calls self ``The Voice of the Arts``, and plays a diverse blend of music from Beethoven to Jimi Hendrix and Hank Williams. Jeff Davis, manager, claims to give special consideration to arts groups, and will put their announcements on for free. Even since acquiring the station in June, 2004, Joe Weber`s JW Broadcasting has stuck to the artsy route. The station took over the 1690 frequency from its predecessor, which aired Air America programs. From 8 pm to 6 am weekdays the music is commercial-free (Bruce Elving, Feb FMedia! via DXLD) 0100-1100 UT ** U S A. WEGP, 1310 [sic], Presque Isle ME, holds a CP for 50 kW D, 10 kW N, direxional antenna nights. Applying instead for 25 kW D, nondirexional, in an effort to keep down its power bills (Bruce Elving, Feb FMedia! via DXLD) You mean to operate only as a daytimer? This is one of the most oft- reported US MW stations from Europe. Axually it`s on 1390, and I think the CP is also for 1390. BTW, NRC AM Log shows Allan Weiner`s WREM 710 (CP for 780) duplicates the programming of WEGP, but apparently under different ownership (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. LIBERAL TALKER FORMS POST-FRANKEN TICKET BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist, February 7, 2007 http://www.suntimes.com/business/feder/246478,CST-FIN-feder07.article With Al Franken stepping down from Air America Radio to run for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota, Chicago's progressive talk station has unveiled its new daytime lineup. Starting Feb. 19, Randi Rhodes will air live from 2 to 5 p.m. weekdays on Newsweb Corp.'s WCPT-AM (850). Rhodes, who has been airing on tape delay, caps a lineup of syndicated liberal talkers that includes Bill Press from sign-on to 8 a.m., Stephanie Miller from 8 to 11 a.m., and Ed Schultz from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. [CST = UT -6] New to WCPT will be Thom Hartmann from 5 p.m. to sign-off and Mike Malloy, a former evening host on ABC-owned news/talk WLS-AM (890), who'll be heard online at http://www.wcpt850.com from 8 to 11 p.m. "Al Franken is the Johnny Appleseed of our format, helping to spread the seeds of progressive talk throughout the country, and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude, said Harvey Wells, vice president and group station manager. "However, the progressive talent pool has grown dramatically over the past couple of years, and this new lineup will give us a chance to offer our listeners more live programming." (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR ART BELL Greetings. I just recently heard that Art Bell (who is mainly known for his work as a host of the syndicated radio program "Coast To Coast AM") is to be the recipient of a Talk Radio Lifetime Achievement Award. Additional details can be found at http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2007/01/20.html In regards to an earlier thread about radio hosts, I personally prefer Art Bell over George Noory as a host. Particularly during the "open lines" portion of the C2C. When a caller is telling their story, Noory has a tendency to interrupt the caller to ask a question that really isn't important like "Was it raining that night?" or, "What color car were you driving?". OK, so the questions aren't usually as bad or irrelevant as that. I just can't remember a specific example at the moment. Still, the questions Noory asks tend to interrupt the flow of the story a person it trying to relate and he sometimes goes off in a different direction with the caller so the caller never gets to finish the story they started out trying to tell. -- Cheers! (Kevin Cozens, ve3syb, Feb 8, ODXA via DXLD) I discount both Bell and Noory because I can't stomach their content. They appear (by reputation) to be good as hosts, but I am not interested in what they talk about. I would not be a good candidate to vote on talk radio achievement awards (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA. USA, ibid.) Yes, unfortunately after sampling the content, I am tempted to characterize the term "talk radio achievement" as oxymoronic. :-)) (John Figliozzi, NY, ibid.) Actually, those I've spoken to who enjoy the program listen after midnight and suffer from insomnia. Either they can enjoy anything that time of night or sleep deprivation enhances their appreciation. Come to think of it, I found myself wandering around the house late one night sleepless and rather enjoyed the bizarre topics. Maybe it's a cult thing (Dave Griffin, N2CHI, ibid.) I think that both Bell and Noory are whack jobs of the first magnitude. Both apparently don't belive in scientific evidence, vis-à- vis members of the O.J. Simpson jury, who also do/did not believe in scientific evidence. If everyone wants to go back to an age before antibiotics, general anesthesia, indoor plumbing, keep promoting guys like Bell and Noory, who under the guise of quality radio, should be kept in a cave somewhere or under the same rock from which they appeared (Larry Cohen, WA2TVN, ibid.) Somehow, seeing OJ Simpson and "whack job" within two adjacent sentences seems plausible... ! BTW...speaking of indoor plumbing, there was an interesting segment on indoor plumbing on the ABC Radio National program "By Design" recently (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, USA, ibid.) My favorite memory of the show was when I was working at a water treatment plant during the summer while in university. I often worked the nightshift alone in a very large, yet mostly abandoned building which was not well lit. Picture the industrial places you see in a horror movie... this was it. Anyway, there were speakers that past workers had installed throughout the building so they could listen to the radio that was in the control room. I enjoy talk radio, but listening to Art Bell talking about the living dead, aliens who abduct and other unexplained phenomena while in this environment sent some shivers down my spine! I became known as the guy who walked around with a sledgehammer during nightshifts (ISADUDE, Canada, ibid.) While most of the content is silly at best, Art and George have both conducted some very memorable interviews. Art interviewed a NY fireman who was the last man out of the twin towers on Sept 11 and wrote a book about it; fascinating story. George did a special on the Edmund Fitzgerald. That was compelling too. The whacko Area 51 stuff is funny sometimes and it`s often quite amusing to see some of these people with the tinfoil helmets go on a riff about something. Given the right guest it can be quite a good listen (Fred Waterer, Ont, ibid.) Someone suggested that Art & George may be preferred to Stern. There simply is no comparison to Stern. Both Art & George are very good interviewers and can hold your attention even with the wackiest topics. That is a skill few interviewers possess. I'm one of these post midnight insomniacs and have listened to a lot of Coast To Coast over the years. I must say that since George Noory has taken over the main hosting duties, the topics are a little less wacky than in Art's days. There seems to be a lot less paranormal stuff, a lot fewer shadow people, etc., etc. I once read an interview with Art Bell in a magazine and he was asked how much of the paranormal stuff he believed. He never directly answered but did say that he wanted to provide an environment where people for whom this stuff was real and serious could share without being made fun of. I used to get a kick out of some of Art's replies to the most weird stories. It would simply be: ....... Reeeally! :-) (Peter Van Harmelen, ibid.) Dear Group, There is no point in belaboring the point. But, as I see it, once anyone starts handing out Lifetime Achievement awards to these guys, then they demean the award itself. If, on the other hand, The "Free Area 51 Now Society" wants to give Bell and Noory an award, I would accept this. Or, possibly the "Association of Those That Have Been Abducted by Space Aliens" would like to give these two broadcasters an award, then fine. But, with AM Broadcast radio in such precarious hands as it is, Life Time Achievement awards to a couple of nut cases will continue the demise of serious AM radio. Doesn't' it strike anyone a bit odd that nothing these guys say or do on the air has any basis in fact or reality? (Larry Cohen, WA2TVN, ibid.) My view on awards is to not think about them. They are nothing more than a way to bring attention to the industry giving the award. I am amazed at the animated arguments some will make for their favoured candidate for an Oscar. Cheesy stuff. There are exceptions, when a non-commercial (and non-patriotic) motive arises to celebrate a truly worthy life or act. But these seem to be few. Signed, ef, Winner of the Best Bicycling, Kitsilano-based Radio Hobbyist, Two Years In A Row! Thanks to Mom, Dad, Arnie, Glenn, etc. (Eric Flodén, BC, ibid.) Perhaps should have filed under PHILIPPINES [non]; or is Art Bell still operating remotely from there? (gh, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Re 7-017, 620 AM Provoca: Hola Rafael, hola a todos. Con tu permiso, Rafael, quisiera explicarles a todos los no colombianos de la lista lo ambiguo de la frase "la quinceañera que provoca". En Bogotá, cuando alguien dice "te provoca tomar un tinto?" simplemente quiere decir "te apetece tomar un cafecito?". No está preguntando al otro si el vino le hace daño o si le causa malestar. Así las cosas, el lema de Fé y Alegría puede entenderse de dos maneras, una ortodoxa y la otra, picante (Henrik Klemetz, Suecia, condig list via DXLD) Amigos lo que yo entiendo es que esta emisora se identifica ahora como 620 AM Provoca, ya que así dicen en su promoción que justamente grabé hace unos pocos dias y me parece que Fe y Alegría ya no lo usan más. En cuanto a Provoca, entiendo que quieren decir es que: provoca escucharla, provoca sintonizarla, provoca disfrutarla y por supuesto también provoca lo que dice Henrik jejejejejeje. Rafael, tu has escuchado en estos dias que han nombrado a Fe y Alegría????? La grabación del 06 de Febrero está aquí: http://sintoniadx.multiply.com/ Un abrazo, Henrik, para tí (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, ibid.) Amigo José Elías y colegas: Buena esa grabación. Con un anuncio así la oyó el colega finlandés Jim Solatie a fines de diciembre. En cambio, hace un año, en febrero de 2006, Gert Nilsson la oyó decir "En un mundo de diferencias, la tolerancia marca el respeto por el otro: Fé y Alegría provoca". No sé si lo de la quinceañera se había presentado antes o si vino después. A propósito amigo José Elías, "¿te provoca un aguardientico o te hace daño?" ;-) Cordial saludo, (Henrik Klemetz, ibid.) ** VIETNAM [and non]. The ``Letter Box`` Program of Radio Voice of Vietnam was heard in Sofia last Wednesday, announcing the new schedule of its half-hour broadcasts in English as follows: To America at 01 and 0230 UT on 5970 kHz and at 0330 on 6175; to Europe and Central Asia at 16, 19 and 2030 on 7280 and 9730 and at 18 on 5955; to other world regions at 1030, 1130, 1230, 1330, 15, and 23 hours on 9840 and 12020, at 11 and at 15 hours also on 7280, at 16 and at 2030 hours on 7220 and 9550 kHz. The QSL address is: Voice of Vietnam, 45 BA Trien, Hanoi, Vietnam or http://www.vov.orgvn [sic] (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Feb 2 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) Note that first one, 0100 and 0230 on 5970 --- that would be the Sackville relay which for years has been on 6175 like the 0330 broadcast --- but now bothered by that huge new signal from Cuba on 6180 at all three times --- Commies vs Commies! I checked 5970 a few evenings ago before 0100 and as usual only heard R. República, via Germany, and Cuban commie jammers. So we have Cuba inadvertently jamming Vietnam! If VOV has moved the first part of its Sackville relay starting at 0100 to 5970, it was done in ignorance of what is really on 5970 already, not to mention RHC also adjacent here, on 5965. Please check out this new apparent 3-way-collision UT Sat, as the RR 5970 relay is weekdays only. You`ll recall that DTK moved RR there on the mistaken assumption that Ukraine was really on 5910, instead of 5820 (now 7440). As for the VOV address, WRTH 2007 says it is 58 Quan Su Street, Hanoi. PWBR gives both with 58 Quan Su being the transmission facility, and 45 Ba Trieu the studios, but either may be used for QSL (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "58 Quan Su Street" is the address of the VOV broadcasting house rather than the "transmission facility"; it is also given on the footer of the VOV website: http://www.vov.org.vn/?lang=2 Cf. DXLD: 4- 136: "The same day, VOV held a ceremony to mark its founding anniversary at its headquarters at 58 Quan Su Street in Hanoi..." 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [later:] Guess what: at 0100 UT Saturday Feb 10, I can hear something in English on 6175 buried deep in the splattery sideband of RHC, and no sign of VOV in the 5970 jamming/República mix. So it seems VOV has not (yet?) moved to 5970 as reported by Pankov. Checking the website, once a dot is inserted between org and vn so it`s http://www.vov.org.vn we find some English but nowhere any shortwave transmission schedule, obviously a medium not worth mentioning (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 6300, R. Nacional de la RASD, 0825-1000* Feb 2, Arabic talk, many mentions of Saharaui. Local pop music. Abrupt sign-off. Also heard at 2300-2400* in Spanish with ID, local pop and local folk music. Sign-off with NA; very good. Also heard Feb 4 at *0700 with NA, 0701-0710 Kor`an, then Arabic talk and music (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ARGELIA, 6300, Radio Nacional Saharaui, 2301-2310, escuchada el 7 de febrero en español a locutor con presentación y segmento musical, SINPO 34433 (José Miguel Romero2, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) R. Nacional de la RASD seems to have gone or moved again. Not heard here on 6300 the past two days. 73 (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, Feb 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos cordiales, la emisora Radio Nacional Saharaui que venía transmitiendo por los 6300 se aprecia inactiva en esa frecuencia tanto ayer 8 cómo hoy 9 de Febrero, varios chequeos entre 6200 y 6995 no han dado resultado por el momento. [luego]: A las 1808 se aprecia una emisión en árabe en 6380, débil señal fuertemente interferida por estación utilitaria, probablemente RASD (JOSE MIGUEL ROMERO ROMERO, Feb 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGST) Estimado José Miguel: La última vez que escuché la Radio Nacional Saharaui en español fue el miércoles pasado (día 7 de febrero), en su horario habitual de de 2320 a 2345 (UT), en la frecuencia de los 1550 kHz de la onda media. Personalmente, no he logrado sintonizarla en onda corta; siempre lo hago en amplitud modulada donde en ocasiones suele escucharse con buena potencia aunque con un importante ruido estático. Supongo que por cercanía al vivir en Granada me es más fácil captarla. No sé si la captaste tú este día que señalo. Espero que la información te sirva de algo. Con los mejores deseos, (Álvaro López Osuna, Granada, España, Feb 9, Noticias DX via DXLD) Gracias Álvaro, en MW siempre emite por esa frecuencia, la cuestión es que en SW está cambiando constantemente y ni ayer ni hoy se encuentra en SW; en fin, seguiremos buscando. Un abrazo (José Miguel Romero, ibid.) ALGERIA, 6300, RASD Tindouf again on air tonight. Missed yesterday Feb 9, and also off on past Friday Feb 2nd. So, seems now regular OFF air on Fridays ? (73 Wolfgang Büschel, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Feb 10 at 2237 on 6300, I could hear some WAf string and vocal music, but almost continuous ute QRM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) South Africa. ``Short Wave Radio Africa`` has been reported in Sofia between 17 and 19 hours on 6485 kHz. [sic] Algeria & Sahara. Radio ``Sahar-Arab Democratic Radio`` broadcasting from Algeria has changed its frequency again and now can be heard on 6485 kHz from 6 to 8 hours and from 17 to 24 hours with emissions in Arabic and Catalun Spanish (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Feb 2 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) The South Africa item must be a mixup with the following item which really was on 6485 for a while. Catalun Spanish? Catalan is not Spanish and would be very surprised if RASD used it; perhaps he meant Castilian. Except in the sense that as REE uses it, Catalan is a `co- official`` Spanish (i.e. pertaining to Spain) language to Castilian, Galician and Basque (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. 3396, R. Zimbabwe, 0135-0210+ Feb 3, Afro-pops, hi-life music, talk in English and vernacular. Poor in rapid pulse-like noise (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 10000 AM, NO ID, 0030-0046, escuchada el 10 de febrero en idioma árabe. Comienza la emisión con el canto del Cor`án, cuñas y noticias; probablemente emisión accidental ya que no encontré frecuencia de reemplazo. La señal era muy fuerte para tratarse de una emisión fantasma; audio disponible en Multiply mañana, SINPO 44444 (José Miguel Romero, Sacañet (Castellón), España, Sangean ATS 909 Antena hilo de 7 metros, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ What do "non" and "+non" mean in the DXLD index? I can't see anything on worldofradio.com that could be a glossary to these and other abbreviations in use (Reynir H. Stefánsson, Iceland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) `non` after a country means the item to follow is about that country, but not transmitted from that country. Such as involving a relay station abroad; or on the other hand, clandestine or target broadcasts into that country from abroad. If it is `+non` it means the item is both about broadcasts from and to or relayed from the country. Or +non can also mean that the item also mentions broadcasts from other countries (usually briefly and not worth breaking up the item to file separately under the proper country). Sometimes they are whimsical, as in KENYA [non] in a recent issue. Occasionally something is labeled `non non` which means it was previously non, or thought to be, but it not any longer. The double-nons disappear, however, in the contents. Sometimes it`s a toss-up where to file a certain item, e.g. we had a QSL from R. Marabu (originating in GERMANY), via IRRS (ITALY), axually transmitted, tho IRRS never admits it, from BULGARIA, where I finally placed it, but don`t count on that next time. It could also have been GERMANY [non], or ITALY [non]. The items in the index are meant to match the individual headings in DXLD issues, altho sometimes I realize too late that an item should have been `non` but not originally entered as such, usually because other editors do not make such a distinxion. This logic is necessary when compiling material in country order, and taking into account the complexities of international broadcasting on shortwave. That is, if one cares where broadcasts are actually coming from and going to. It is true I don`t have a glossary, but hope that people will figure things out from context; this also does not deprive them of a chance to enjoy bulbs lighting up above their heads from their own insight. Occasional inquiries such as yours give me a chance to explain also for others who may be wondering. Regards, (Glenn to Reynir, via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DW REBATE ON DRM RECEIVER [see also GUIANA FRENCH; INDIA; MALI; UK] Glenn, Apparently the DW will give you a 10 Euro rebate when you buy a DRM receiver from the T-online shop. I don't know whether this applies to buyers outside Europe. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2167822,00.html Regards, (Martin Gallas Jacksonville, IL 62650, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Even if we could get it, negotiating or converting 10 Euro over here would probably wipe out most of it (gh, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ SAFE HAVEN FROM RFID IMPLANTATION Wisconsin became one of the first states to ban the forcible implantation of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags into humans. The act states that no person may force another to have a microchip implanted in his or her body. Violators face fines up to $10,000 per day until the device is removed (Bruce Elving, Feb FMedia! via DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ INDIANA COUNTY MOVES TIME ZONES --- AGAIN By Associated Press February 7, 2007, 3:12 PM EST WINAMAC, Ind. -- Don't be surprised if people in Pulaski County are confused about the time. Early last year, the northern Indiana county won federal approval to shift from Eastern time to Central time. But when four of its neighbors to the south and east made the same requests, they were denied. That left Pulaski "the odd man out," state Sen. Thomas Weatherwax said, so the county asked to shift back to Eastern time. The U.S. Department of Transportation this week approved the switch, and local officials are "thrilled to death," he said Wednesday. For residents, it will mean setting their clocks ahead two hours, rather than just one, when daylight-saving time resumes March 11. Much of Indiana, like Hawaii and parts of Arizona, had long ignored the twice-a-year daylight-saving time clock change. That changed after Gov. Mitch Daniels lobbied for reform in 2005, saying having the entire state observe daylight-saving time would eliminate confusion and increase commerce. This year, for the first time, most of the nation will begin daylight- saving time on the second Sunday in March. Previously, it has begun on the first Sunday in April (The AP via Brock Whaley, GA, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ ARNIE CORO’S DXERS UNLIMITED’S HF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST Solar flux is hovering around 75 units and the A index was still a around 6 units, and it is going to move up later in the week. Solar flares are not expected during the rest of the week. But propagation conditions will take a turn for the worst because late on 11 February UT day, a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream is expected to become geoeffective with periods of active to minor storm levels possible. Predominantly unsettled to active conditions are expected on 12 February due to the coronal hole. Sporadic E openings are going to be very rare, but do monitor the low band TV channels for them [which] start to come in as the opening starts (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Feb 10 via ODXA via DXLD) 13 METER WATCH I check 13 meters most days around 1500 to see how propagation is doing. Usually not much, or just traces, but Feb 10 BBC Ascension was quite listenable on 21470; by 1555, tho it was inaudible, and some other signals with varying amounts of audio were: 21695 Libya via France, 21655 Portugal, 21610 and 21570 Spain. There must be other factors, but let`s check the flux and K index at this time: Solar-terrestrial indices for 09 February follow. Solar flux 77 and mid-latitude A-index 6. The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 10 February was 1 (07 nT). No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are expected for the next 24 hours (SEC) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###