DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-027, March 3, 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 1348 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 NETS TO YOU March: http://www.w4uvh.net/nets2you.html ** ABKHAZIA [and non?]. 9495: A common frequency for several stations from Caucasus. Radio Sochi in Russian, noted at 0730 on 10/02. Apsua/Abkhaz Radio at 0445 in Abkhaz on 2/2 and // to 9535. Weekdays from 0710 is Radio Kuban, Krasnodar here in Russian regularly heard. 9535 is used only in time 0400-0900 when Abkhaz radio is on the air only (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF-2001, Longwire), March Australian DX News via DXLD) But I thought this was all from the same transmitter, which is slightly off-frequency (gh, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Presumed Radio Solh heard here February 27th on 6700; when I first tuned in at 1620 I heard a man with what seemed to be one side of a utility conversation, then silence. Recheck at 1630, the station was playing Afghan music, poor to fair strength but easy copy as clear channel, audible in AM as well as USB and LSB. Appeared to be a carrier on the channel as well, perhaps the reported second station which was silent at the time? (Mike Barraclough, England, March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. R. Solh, 15265, plays some great music which we often listen to until 1500* But there is a lot of repetition; must have a limited library. One song we hear over and over ran again March 1 until 1457 for about 5 minutes. It has a rapid and increasing beat, with clapping and shouting, refrain played on an accordion-like instrument, the performers obviously having a great time. Sure would like to get this off a webcast if there were any, but I wonder if anyone knows more about it, or could even translate the lyrix, at least give us an idea of what it`s about. It reminds us of an Irish reel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. Hola. 28/2 2050 UT, 15476, LRA36 Base Esperanza, Antartica, Music + ID, suff. 73 GOOD DX (Mauro Giroletti, Italy, - Swl1510- -IK2GFT- -JRC525Nrd-Lowe HF150- -Eavesdropper SWL Sloper 11mt to 120mt Band- March 1, playdx yg via DXLD) Back again on 15476, SINPO full 4. Gr (Maurits van Driessche, Belgium, 1911 UT March 1, BDX via DXLD) 15476, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza, 2016-2100, March 01, Spanish, Folk songs ("chacarera") ID by male at 2020 UT as: ``LRA36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel... para todo el Mundo" Long talk by female about different places in Salta province, in Argentina´s North-West, Folk song selections of different Argentina´s places. Ann: "...nos vamos con la seguridad de que nuestra programación... en un lugar tan inhóspito, como deslumbrante ...desde la Base Esperanza, en los 15476 kHz...", Sign-off: "Hasta aquí transmitió LRA36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, desde la Base Antárctica Esperanza, en la Antártida Argentina", SINPO: 34433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 15820 kHz-LSB, R.Continental, B. Aires, 2017-2026, 25 Feb, talks, music, but no copy thereof; 13431, adjacent QRM de WWCR on 15825 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) R. Continental? En estos momentos (desde las 2000 hasta las 2055 UT) escucho una estación argentina en la frecuencia de 15820.2 kHz, en LSB. Al parecer se trata de una emisora de AM retransmitida por la ESTACION UTILITARIA ARGENTINA LTA, DEL BATALLON DE COMUNICACIONES 602, desde Buenos Aires. No he conseguido identificar el nombre de la emisora; la señal es bastante débil, pero a ratos es audible. ¿Alguien ha escuchado estas transmisiones? Saludos (Tomás González, La Laguna, Canarias, March 1, Noticias DX via DXLD) BTW, he didn`t put the accents on his name. If he were to spell it Tomaz Gonzales, none would be needed (gh, DXLD) Saludos Tomas. espero te encuentres muy bien. Querido amigo, he puesto la frecuencia que dices y se trata de Radio Diez. Acaban de identificar a las 2130 UT. Me imagino que irán a trasmitir el juego de Boca Junior vs Ciensano (José Elías, Venezuela, ibid.) Guess it has been a good date for propagation from Argentina on 19m, as I found good signals at 2230 from RAE 15345 as well as Radio 710 on 15820 LSB mentioning traffic situation "Son las 7:33 y la temperatura 21 C...Radio 710...710". Sorry, I missed LRA 36 today. Maybe other guys were so lucky! Comments? 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, March 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 5050 ARDS, Humpty Doo. Mainly noisy, but some periods of clear reception. Discussion about petrol sniffing, switching between English and vernacular. Heard at 1955 on 14/2 (Dennis Allen, Milperra NSW (Icom R75, Dipole), March ADXN via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 7999, VH2RGC. From 0645 two OM both mobile (Mobile 2 & 5) QSO discussing farming operations & radio equipment; from remarks both obviously licensed Amateur operators. At conclusion of QSO one signed off with VH2RGC Mobile 5 Out”. Made it very easy to check with ACMA data base and also confirmed that the 6820 kHz log ‘Unid’ in this column last month is the same group, the only license to share both frequencies. Licensed to a Wagga2 address and may be similar operation to the VKQ group on 8093.5 (ALLEN FOUNTAIN, PAKENHAM VIC 3810, Utility DX roundup, March ADXN via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. David Hermges R.I.P. http://oe1.orf.at/inforadio/73727.html?filter=1 David Hermges dies. The long-time head of the shortwave service of the Austrian Radio and Radio Austria International, David Hermges, has died in Vienna following a lengthy illness. He was 78. Born in England in 1928, he came to Austria after the war and was based in Carinthia. He then returned to England to study at Cambridge (Philosophy and Modern Languages) and also spent some time at the Sorbonne. He returned to Austria and later began to work for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation. His voice was known to generations of listeners at home and abroad from his English news bulletins on the first programme of the ORF, his announcements for all broadcasts from the Salzburg Festival and last, but not least the ORF's English-language news and current affairs programme Report from Austria. David is survived by his wife and one son (ORF via Hubert Kubiak and via Herbert Meixner, Austria, A-DX March 2nd via Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) Andy Sennitt adds: This is sad news. I was lucky enough to meet David on a number of occasions in the 1980’s at conferences of the European DX Council. I always thought of David as the typical “English gentleman”, both from his demeanour and his perfect accent and diction. Many shortwave listeners will remember David from his many years as producer/presenter of Austrian Shortwave Panorama. He always gave great encouragement to younger people launching a career in broadcasting - which in the 1970’s included a young Jonathan Marks, who spent some time at Austrian Radio before starting his career at Radio Netherlands. Our condolences to David’s family and friends (via Mike Barraclough, March 2, swprograms via DXLD) OBIT Re the passing of ORF announcer David Hermges: if you've never heard him when he was an announcer/producer at ORF/Radio Austria International up until he retired in the early 90's, there are two clips at http://www.intervalsignals.net in the AUSTRIA heading, with his voice announcements: "Austria Calling" in English (ORF Shortwave Service, c. 1965) Opening theme music and David's announcement of "Austrian Shortwave Panorama" (ORF Shortwave Service, c. 1995) [really? that recording must be from the late 70's or early 80's] (Joe Hanlon, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA. Hello Mr. Hauser, Usually I am only reading the newsletter you write with a lot of interest. I decided to post reception report about Radio Bulgaria, since for some time they are booming here in Moscow with the Russian service. Excellent reception changed from very poor before, since December 2006, on 13600, 1100-1200 UT and 7400 / 7500 before, after 1500 UT. Both S9+ with clean audio (sometimes lacking high frequencies only). Continuously checked 11600 and 9500 (also Russian service) the same timings which provided only muffled audio. I wonder if 13600 and 7400 transmitter has been replaced with newer or just a condition trick - could not be a condition I think, since it just boomed in one day in December, so it is good for 3 months since then? According to HFCC both frequencies shall be Sofia/Kostinbrod? - so wondering if 1950's transmitter airing 13600 and 7400 has been replaced there.... Definitely, 13600 and 7400 are making the program of Radio Bulgaria more enjoyable, and it`s the first time I can hear the Russian Service with so good modulation. 9500 and 11600 are just scrap. Anyone else to confirm the same observations? No information given at http://bnr.bg web site either for transmitter changes, but they do not answer reception reports I am sending them - hopefully they know at least that they have the first valuable outlet at 13600/7400 for years. Best 73! (Viktor Iudin, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CJAD Montreal --- Hi Glen[n]: In reading your notes I see that the old station from Sherbrooke is closed. I used to live in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. I have a BT DMP and need the CJAD streaming URL in order to get the data into the DMP. Can you or a reader help me? Thanks (Dave VE7REV Findley-Price, revdave @ shaw.ca DX LISTENING DIGEST) If a reader understands what he is talking about ** CHINA. Haixia zhi Sheng - Voice of Strait News Channel 2225-1700 (not Wed 0400-0955) 11590(0000-1200)/4940(2225-2400, 1200-1700) 666MW (daily 0550-0600 "Happy English", Sunday 0500-0530, 0800-0830 English "Focus On China") Entertainment 2225-1700 (not Wed 0400-1000) 7280 (0000-1200)/5050(2225-2400, 1200-1700) 90.6 FM Amoy 2225-1700 (not Wed 0400-1000) CHINA HUAYI BROADCASTING COMPANY 6115 873 (English) 6185 2230-1700 2130-1900 FM 107.1 MHz, AM 783 kHz Except 0400-0800 every Wednesday. (DX program named " BCLer's Sky" every Saturday 0730-0830 UT) China Huayi Broadcasting Corporation, PO Box 251, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China 350001. Voice of Pujiang 1155-1600 5075, 4950, 3280, FM 97.7 (NDXC via March ADXN via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. TIRWR, 5030, was distorted and splattering plus and minus 10 kHz, at 0739 March 1, bothering Rebelde on 5025, which normally has no problem with it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA. Voice of Croatia heard February 27th with Croatia Today in English 1700-1730 on 9830, news, sports and weather till 1720, local music and back into Croatian 1730 (Edwin Southwell, England, March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Croatian Radio Zagreb Deanovec 6165 missed this morning March 2nd yet, but \\ 9830 is still on-the-air. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Radio República: Checks UT 3/3/07 6100 kHz: 0300 Sign on with ID to program of commentary. SINPO 34333 (Sackville) 9630 kHz: 0304 W mentioning Radio República. SINPO 13442. (Sackville) 5970 kHz: 0306 M and W talking. SINPO 33233. (Wertachtal) (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) CBC says they prefer 9735 because of the QRM to 9625 in the summer. They say it doesn't matter in the winter because 9625 is too high to give good service to northern Canada. So it looks like we'll go with 0100-0400 on 9735 (Jeff White, RMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I.e., in A-07 R. República via RMI via Sackville moves from 0200-0500 UT Tue-Sat on 9630, to 0100-0400 UT Tue-Sat on 9735 (gh, DXLD) ** CYPRUS TURKISH NORTHERN. 6150, Radio Bayrak, Cyprus. Program with songs by Bob Marley & W-s [?] and DJ Lady talking in English, demodulated sound like Pakistani sounds, on 9/2 at 0535-0555 in the shadow of Austria on 6155 (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF- 2001, Longwire), March Australian DX News via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Cervantes, like Einstein, would turn over in his grave if he knew that HCJB were quoting him every day to further its Protestant evangelical mission, in connexion with totally erroneous frequency announcement in ``el idioma de Cervantes``, as heard March 2 at 1429:30 on 11960 claiming to be on 11760 and 9745 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Hi Glenn, re 7-026, UNIDENTIFIED [non]: 849.94, HCVS2, R. San Francisco, Guayaquil see: http://www.paxcc.org/radiopaz/inicio.html and http://www.radiopaz.org 73s and regards (from Brasil, Eduardo R. Heinrich, São Paulo-SP, PY2- SWL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. Station subsequently identified via Chris Greenway, DXLD as Voice of the Tigray Revolution heard in Ukraine on 9650, signs on at around 0400. Closing between 1730 and 2000. At least one daytime break noted late morning. Daytime reception is affected by Deutsche Welle DRM on 9655 (Vlad Titarev, DXplorer via DX Window via March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 15455, R. Mustaqbal, Feb 27 0637-0702* 33433-34433 Somali, Theme song at 0637 and 0659, Talk and somali pops, Closing music, ID at 0701, 0702 sign off (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** FALKLAND ISLANDS. Unidentified station carrying BBC World Service heard on 530 kHz from around 0230, March 2. Clear BBC ID at 0300. Poor reception (QRK 1-2). The channel was clear since La Voz de las Madres (Buenos Aires, Argentina) seemed to be off the air. Could it be Falkland Islands Radio Service? Rx: Sony ICF-7600DS + TG-34 active loop antenna, Degen DE-1103. 73, (Moisés Knochen, Montevideo, Uruguay, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Very likely. You have an enviably clear and relatively close shot at it, QRM permitting (Glenn, ibid.) ** FRANCE. Feb 25 was a schedule change date for RFI, as originally published with the B-06 schedules, back in DXLD 6-170, but has just passed by with little notice. Here is that info now showing what are supposed to be the new frequencies replacing the old ones for English broadcasts. Except for 1400, these are all for four different sectors of Africa, not much point in trying to keep them separate here. Any confirmations or contradixions are needed. 0400-0430 7315 9805 0500-0530 13680 ex-9805; 11995 0600-0630 9765 ex-7315; 9865; 15160 ex-11995; 13680 0700-0730 15605 ex-11725 1200-1230 15275 21620 1400-1500 5920 for Asia [but this was already replaced by WYFR; no fqs at all now?] 1600-1700 9730; 15605 ex-11615; 15160 1700-1730 15605 ex-11615 This was extracted from the pdf schedules at http://www.rfi.fr/radiofr/statiques/grille_programmes.asp which I have not rechecked now --- DO NOT rely on the English schedule info on RFI`s English service page, years out of date (Glenn Hauser, March 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. RADIO MONTE CARLO-MIDDLE EAST RENAMED, NEW WEB ADDRESS BBC Monitoring observes that the former Radio Monte Carlo - Moyen Orient (Middle East) now identifies on air as "Monte Carlo Doualiya" (International), which is reflected in a new website address: http://www.mc-doualiya.com The station broadcasts in Arabic to the Middle East and North Africa on mediumwave 1233 kHz via a powerful transmitter located in Cyprus. It is also relayed on a network of FM transmitters situated throughout the region, on 5925 and 7135 kHz shortwave (0500-0600 gmt only) and on a live audio stream accessed from their website. Monte Carlo Doualiya is part of the French state-owned Radio France group. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 28 Feb 07 (via DXLD) ** GABON. Africa #1, 9580 at 2010+ 1 March with English and French interview. Woman guest talked about equality in English with African accent. Announcer spoke English and French almost at the same time, translating very quickly. Moderate signal, usual for this time. Gospel music at 2018. Different than the usual. 73/Liz (Liz Cameron, dxldyg via Metro Detroit, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15475, África Nº 1, 1740-1802, el 1 Marzo a locutor en francés con programa musical; he podido escuchar canciones afro-pop y latinas, las mismas que una y otra vez se emiten por la emisora afro-pop en 17660 con destino a interferir a Sawt al-Amal, las canciones son “Del africano” y también Ismael Miranda, SINPO 55544. Audio: http://valenciadx.multiply.com/music/item/480 (José Miguel Romero, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. 17660, UNITED KINGDOM, Sudan Radio Service at 1529 with music then abruptly off at 1530 (Poor, Jan 24, MY, March ODXA Listening In via DXLD) No, it isn`t. This is obviously the Afropop music distraxion from Gabon. Logging from an old list when SRS used to be on 17660? (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. Usage of T-systems shortwave transmitter site at Nauen near Berlin by Deutsche Welle will end on April 30th. From May 1st Deutsche Welle will predominantly use VT Communications sites. Former Nauen schedule will be switched to facilities in Ascension, Al Dhabbaya but mostly to Rampisham, Skelton and Woofferton as well as Deutsche Welle sites in Sines and Kigali. Deutsche Welle DRM programmes will be carried then by a new 100 kW unit at Woofferton from March 25th. Other Deutsche Welle DRM transmissions will be via Moosbrunn, Moscow, Sackville and Sines (Wolfgang Bueschel, March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Deutsche Welle A07 English Sched 0000 - 0058 07245 TRINCOMALE 250 105 South-East Asia 13730 KRANJI 250 013 East Asia 15595 KOMSOMOLSK 250 213 East Asia 0300 - 0400 11695 TRINCOMALE 250 345 South Asia 13810 DHABAYYA 250 085 South Asia 0400 - 0457 07245 KIGALI 250 295 West Africa 07225 RAMPISHAM 500 180 East & Central Africa 12045 DHABAYYA 250 225 East & South Africa 15445 TRINCOMALE 250 270 East & Central Africa 0500 - 0530 05945 SINES 250 180 Central & South Africa 09700 KIGALI 250 295 West Africa 09700 KIGALI 250 190 South Africa 0600 - 0630 07310 SINES 250 180 West Africa 15275 KIGALI 250 295 West Africa 0900 - 1000 15340 KRANJI 250 025 East Asia 17770 TRINCOMALE 250 045 East Asia 1600 - 1658 06170 TRINCOMALE 250 015 South Asia 09485 TRINCOMALE 250 345 South Asia 15640 NAUEN 500 090 South Asia 1900 - 1930 09895 ASCENSION 250 114 East & South Africa 15620 NAUEN 500 150 East & South Africa 17820 TRINCOMALE 250 255 East & Central Africa 2000 - 2057 07130 KIGALI 250 190 South Africa 11795 NAUEN 500 175 East & South Africa 11865 RAMPISHAM 500 140 East & Central Africa 15205 RAMPISHAM 500 125 Central & South Africa 2100 - 2157 15205 KIGALI 250 295 West Africa 09735 NAUEN 500 155 West Africa 11865 KIGALI 250 295 W Africa (March Australian DX News via DXLD) Too bad their template only permits 10 characters for sites, perpetually misspelling TRINCOMALEE (gh) Deutsche Welle has released their A07 schedules today. Note that the first part of the new schedule runs until April 30, when the last of DW's transmitting stations, the Nauen site which veteran DXers recall was used by Radio Berlin International for many years, will end transmissions. From May 1 the Nauen frequencies will be replaced with more usage from VT sites, such as those in the UK and other VT-owned facilities. English schedule: http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_pdf/0,,2035782,00.pdf German schedule: http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_pdf/0,,2035783,00.pdf Foreign language sked: http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_pdf/0,,2035779,00.pdf DRM schedule: http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_pdf/0,,2035777,00.pdf (Joe Hanlon, NJ, March 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see NETHERLANDS [non] ** GERMANY. 11890, Feb 28 at 1502 I heard a British accent in news and noted it as BBC. Caveat: it was really VOA per schedules, Lampertheim at 108 degrees. Notable anyway because I was hearing a short/long path echo on it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. 5013 harmonic, Radio Okto. Pirate in Greek, songs and TC at 2030 on 8/2. It is 3rd harmonic of fundamental 1671. Strong signal on 5013 (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF-2001, Longwire), March Australian DX News via DXLD) ** GREECE. 6310, R. Odyssey, Greek pirate, from around 2110 17/2, poor-fair, fady signal. Pop and rock music, frequent IDs between songs as "You are listening to Radio Odyssey." A man sometimes gave the same ID. At 2200 the announcer said, "Good evening everybody, this is Radio ____," and he also mentioned "Saturday evening." "Wake Me Up Before You Go Girl" (at 2110) "Radio Ga Ga" (2119), and "I've Been waiting For A Girl Like You to Come Into My Life" (2149). They left the air at 2205, then carrier returned with no programming until it went off for good at 2207*. Tnx to John Herkimer for help with the ID. Quick e-mail received that it was them, promises a QSL (Jerry Berg, Lexington, MA, USA (Drake R8 & Eton E1-XM receivers; 19, 41 & 90 mb dipoles, March Australian DX News via DXLD) ** GREECE. Hellenes Around the World, on VOG, Sat March 3 at 1407 was audible poorly on Avlis 17525, so I checked // relay via SVO 15630. Barely audible there so I switched on BFO to look for carrier dropoffs. Yes, one happened in a few seconds. Audio on the two was unsynchronized, an echo apart due to the different transmitter sites and/or feed routes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA. While on Feb 26 around 0730 I was hearing R. Nederland in Dutch on 7125, on March 1 at 0732 it was hilife music, going on for at least 10 minutes, surely RTG; maybe RN was somewhere underneath it. Nominal sign-on for Guinea is 0600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA [and non]. 7125, R. Guinée, a.k.a. R. Conakry, Sonfon[i]ya, reactivated, and observed 2218-2238, 25 Feb, French, political talks, Vernacular at 2230; 44322; slightly better y/day 27 Feb at 2312, but still plagued with fast QSB (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7125, R. Guinée/R. Conakry, Sonfonya, active during daytime too, e.g. today 2nd Mar, audible till noise became heavier than the station signal itself, at around 1200, i.e. in "Lisbon terms" (=noise) so to speak for I'm pretty sure I'd be able to keeping listening till much later or, in other words, until the band gets crowded which is also what plagues reception of other African stations on 41 m, viz. MTN 7245, BFA 7230, NIG 7255, CAF 7220 (irregular) and more recently even GAB 7270 despite its lousy signal (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. Glenn, Tonight I got my first confirmed reception of the Voice of Guyana in several months. They were coming in with a fair signal at 0337 UT on 3291.1. The usual utility QRM was causing some problems along with a good amount of static. The program consisted on funeral announcements and messages to relatives regarding the death of a loved one. Somber music was played between announcements. An ID followed at 0359 then into BBC news at 0400. I hadn't heard of the return of this station so I was a little surprised to hear them when I did a quick frequency check. Great to hear them again (Steve Wood, S. Yarmouth, MA, Drake R8B, 140 foot dipole, UT March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3291.14, V.O.G. 1015 28 Feb, program outro by M in English. Steel drum music, unreadable ad by deep-voiced M followed by baking soda ad, then ID by W "You're listening to the Voice of Guyana, it is ??". Promo for "The Breakfast Show", 1020 "I Had a Dream" by Abba cut off a minute later. Strong but noisy. Nice to see this one back on. Tnx to Bob Wilkner`s persistent monitoring!! (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, HCDX via DXLD) ** HUNGARY. HUNGRIA: Hoy 28 de Febrero casualmente he podido escuchar los diez últimos minutos del servicio en italiano de Radio Budapest; la despedida ha sido emotiva y difícil. He podido entender que Radio Budapest continua en español; la cuestión es por cuánto tiempo (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Budapest: last transmission in Italian language. Date: 28-02- 2007. Time: 1740-1800 UT. Frequency: 6025 khz. Signal: good. Program: farewell from the people of Italian department of Radio Budapest. Last letters from Italian listeners. Audioclip available on http://swli05639fr.blogspot.com/2007/02/radio-budaest-last-transmission-in.html#links 73's (Francesco Cecconi, HCDX via DXLD) link correct without the p Francesco Cecconi reports that the Italian service of R. Budapest aired its final transmission today. I don`t see anything about the same fate for English, on their website, but it might pay to make a point of listening tonight anyway (Glenn Hauser, Feb 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) There was again an English broadcast tonight at 2000. It was followed by German at 2030, announced as program for March 1st, so this was no repeat but indeed a current production. (3975, 6025 of course.) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 1, ibid.) SPIRITOSISSIMI UNGHERESI RADIO CELENTANO 3975 & 6025 kHz. Ciao! Non per nostalgia, ma solo per curiosità, mi sono sintonizzato su 3975 kHz alle ore 1830 Italiane e Adriano Celentano mi ha accolto con AZZURRO, ovviamente in Italiano, seguito da 24000 BACI. Mi chiedo a che gioco stanno giocando i CAPI della Radio Ungherese ???? Chiudono il programma Italiano per non pagare i collaboratori esterni e poi trasmettono canzoni Italiane? Mi sembrano un po PIRLA (Dario Monferini, Italy, March 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I gather that there was still something in Italian after all on March 1. Would anyone care to interpret what Dario is saying? (gh, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Today Italian music instead of Italian program, but transmitter regularly on (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, March 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Reception of AIR DRM test transmission is very good here in Europe, especially in the first hour of the transmission. I have reported this also to the mentioned E-Mail address of the spectrum manager. Best wishes and many thanks for your information about this test transmission (Michael Bethge, Germany, via Alokesh Gupta, dx_india via DXLD) i.e. 1945-2230 on 9950, only thru March 5? (gh) ** INDONESIA. VOI Heard February 18th with English identification almost every minute from tune in 1533 to start of Arabic 1600, 9525 had CRI English and nothing on 15150 (Tony Ashar, Indonesia, March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Presumably refers to 11784.9, the frequency mentioned in the item ahead of this; the 6:24 loop of gamelan music and English IDs we used to hear on 9526v. 11785 just doesn`t make it at all to this part, or any part? of NAm (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. WRN on the Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 140 has recently had to undergo some changes which affect our listeners at some times of the day. Sirius' own sports coverage from the NCAA, NBA and NHL will now replace WRN content at certain evening and weekend times. WRN is endeavoring to reschedule some of the affected programming and this will take effect in the coming weeks. If you have any comments about these revisions make your views known to Sirius Satellite Radio, full details can be found at: http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CatchedPage&c=Page&cid=1019257316790 Or you may email Sirius at customercare @ sirius.com or write a letter to: Customer Care, Sirius Radio, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 36th Fl, New York, NY 10020. These changes only affect the WRN channel on Sirius Satellite Radio and not those who listen to WRN via the Galaxy 25 satellite (formerly IntelsatAmericas 5), via the internet, or any of the FM and other relays across North America (WRN Feb 28 via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Letter from Sylvia Rapoport, Kol Yisrael English news said: ``Thank you for your reception report. Unfortunately it cannot be verified because the engineers of Kol Yisrael radio no longer use listener reports. I am returning, enclosed, two postal coupons that you included with your letter`` (Richard Read, March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) They have had this policy for some years I believe (Mike Barraclough, ed., ibid.) ** ISRAEL. Kol Israel notes: [also applying to INTERNATIONAL VACUUM] Remember that the US changes the clock next week, on March 11. Israel changes their clock on March 30. == The IBA reception site says that they will be moving from analog to digital satellite. It will be on the Amos satellite at 4 degrees west, using DVB. Further details as the process progresses. No dates for the migration were given. As expected, no impact to the customers of Israeli cable (HOT) or Israeli direct broadcast satellite (Yes). The announcement was posted Feb 26. The Hebrew announcement is here: http://www.iba.org.il/reception/index.asp?classto=TedarimKlali&type=hodaot&entity_code=186548 When they move to digital on the Amos satellite, they will no longer be broadcasting on Hotbird. As a result, the IBA TV and Radio (Kol Israel) satellite coverage will shrink to only cover Israel and a small surrounding area. === The Kol Israel English news has been on the Mobile Broadcast Network for a few years. This was a service where you can listen to radio broadcasts, via your cellphone. Well, the Mobile Broadcast Network is now UpSnap http://www.upsnap.com and the current business model is to charge $4.99 a month, to listen to up to 10 distinct stations. === There is a new program called PAL http://www.adondo.com which allows you to stream Windows Media from your home PC to any phone. It also has many other features such as weather, traffic, the reading of newspapers (text to speech) and Outlook information. The portion of the program which allows you to stream Windows Media (traffic, weather, newspapers, etc.), is free for 2007. You are required to leave your PC on and need an SIP VOIP phone number. In a few weeks, Adondo is going to have a similar service running on their servers directly, so that you wont need to leave your PC on. So, you may want to keep your eye on the Adondo website, even if you don't want to leave your PC on for the PAL software (Doni Rosenzweig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. This is not new and has been published in DXLD before, but as a reminder that the clock is ticking on R. Japan SW broadcasts (gh) We have ultimately had to review the shortwave transmissions of Radio Japan, and make a number of tough decisions. RADIO JAPAN PLANS TO END ITS SHORTWAVE SERVICES TO NORTH AMERICA, HAWAII, AND EUROPE (EXCLUDING THE RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE SERVICE). RADIO JAPAN ALSO PLANS TO END ITS MALAY, ITALIAN, GERMAN, AND SWEDISH-LANGUAGE SERVICES. THESE CHANGES ARE DUE TO TAKE PLACE IN OCTOBER 2007. Until then, we hope, of course, that you will continue to enjoy listening to Radio Japan. Regrettably, we cannot fully express our gratitude for all of the encouragement and support you have provided to Radio Japan over the years. We trust you will understand the painful decisions we have been forced to make, and continue to show an interest in NHK. We look forward to your continued support of NHK World. Regards, NHK World (via “Tom. K”, rec.radio.shortwave via March ADXN via DXLD) A look at the Three-Year Corporate Plan on the NHK website reveals the commitment towards reducing the size of the workforce by 10% and to investing in a digital/internet future. It is unknown at this time whether shortwave relays of Radio Japan via Sackville will be terminated in October (Dr John Barnard, Signals Unlimited, March CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. I must send off a reception report to the VOK, I picked up an excellent (quality, that is, not much else in terms of contest) broadcast from Pyongyang. They were celebrating the Dear Leader’s birthday (which is the same as mine, Feb. 16, only I don’t get stadium parties thrown for me!). They have sent some interesting stuff to me in the past, wonder if it will work this time. 73, (Sue Hickey, NL, CIDX Forum, March Messenger via DXLD) ** LAKSHADWEEP ISLANDS. Dear Friends, The March 2007 special issue of NIAR Ham News containing information on the Lakshadeep Hamfest is now available in: http://www.niar.org/hamfest07/hamnews_mar07.pdf 73 (Jose VU7MY/VU2JOS Jacob, March 2, dx_india via DXLD) ** LATVIA. This weekend relays on 9290 kHz Sat March 3rd Radio Six International 0700-0800 UT Latvia Today 0800-0900 UT Radio Joystick 0900-1100 UT Radio Casablanca 1100-1200 UT Sun March 4th Latvia Today 1300-1400 UT Good listening (Tom Taylor, March 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA [non]. MOLDAVIA, 17627, Sawt al-Amal, 1315-1320, escuchada el 28 de Febrero en árabe con sintonía, ID, música y locutora con comentarios, SINPO 45444. 17637 Sawt al-Amal, 1315-1320, escuchada el 28 de Febrero en árabe a locutor con comentarios, invitado, música, SINPO 45444. A las 1357 se aprecia que la emisora Afro-pop está emitiendo por los 17660, en 17663 se aprecia una fuerte portadora y otra en 17693; un chequeo posterior a las 1416 se observa que siguen estas portadoras (Jose Miguel Romero, dxldyg via DXLD) As indicated by other reporters, Sawt al-Amal is now using frequencies between the standard channels. Today Feb 28 it was first on 17622.5, then 17627.5 and finally 17637.5 (measured using an NRD 535 in SSB position). The Libyan bubble jammer could only tune in full kHz steps, so caused a 500 Hz beat with Amal. The TDF jammers were barely audible today due to poor propagation, but seem to park on the 5 kHz channels adjacent to each side of Amal. 17660 with Afropop was active as usual with about normal signal strength. 17630 is a mess with DW and (presumed) ANO mixing. Nothing on 17725 1200-1400 today, but on other days Libya in Swahili has been there with audio quality similar to 17660, not the usual buzz via TDF (Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) José Miguel Romero monitoring at the same time did not report any split-kHz frequencies, but instead 17627, 17637, 17663, 17693, which I suppose were rounded off. SAA using frequencies exactly halfway between 5-kHz channels would be more advantageous if the jammers could not get closer than 2.5 kHz, but at 0.5 kHz the jamming would be just as effective unless some of the Libyan audience have receivers with very narrow selectivity. Earlier, Moisés Knochen, Uruguay, did estimate them at 2.5 kHz off (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LUXEMBOURG. Radio Luxembourg has cancelled their English DRM Service to the UK on 7295. The webcast is still available at http://radioluxembourg.co.uk and they are also using 25795 for local DRM reception. Reception in the UK had proved less than reliable; Kevin Ryan in Monitoring Monthly reported 80% reception in Reading using a Morphy Richards receiver. The programming also received much criticism in online forums. In November RTL`s vice president Dan D`Aversa said of the service in The Independent: ``For us it is a test though. We have relaunched the station as an experiment. Historically Luxembourg was the biggest commercial station, so in the future who knows what will happen.`` The closure of the shortwave frequency for the UK has not been announced on their website and it is claimed in online forums that messages about this have not been allowed to appear on their online forum which is pre-moderated. Emails from Dan D`Aversa quoted on the Digital Spy forums says that the transmissions were stopped for ``technical reasons`` and that they are ``currently working on various options.`` There were problems with the transmission chain from Luxembourg to the leased transmitters in Nauen, later switched to Wertachtal. The French and German DRM broadcasts continue on 5990 and 6095 from RTL`s own site in Junglinster (Mike Barraclough, March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. 4845, R. Mauritanie, Nouakchott, off on 1st March and today, 2nd March; it's been rather poor on the parallel 783, but Tartus in SYR is, on the other hand, a strong presence daily, so Nouakchott is hard to track (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XEYU noted here on 9599.3 February 27th at 0847, classical music and occasional announcements, poor to fair strength but easy copy as low noise level and no interference (Mike Barraclough, March World DX Club Contact via DXLD) 9599.47, Radio UNAM, Mexico DF, 2320-2340, February 27, Spanish, Interviews, Program “Al Pie de las Letras”, Identification very clear by female at 2334 UT as: “Radio UNAM”, classic music, 13421 (best in LSB mode). Strong QRM from Radio Vaticana, on 9600 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) XEYU, R. UNAM, 9599+, amazing S9+20 signal in the middle of the night at 0730 Feb 28 with cello/piano sonata (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MICRONESIA. Pacific Missionary Aviation is testing its new SW transmitter on 4755.16 to 4755.17, as discovered in Japan by H. Yokoi and S. Hasegawa, first as an unID, heard there as early as 0830 and as late as 1300; only 500 watts. It`s in the UT +11 timezone, so darkness hours are approximately 07-19 UT. Frequency seems to be clear so should make it beyond Pacific Rim; too high noise level here so far. This is a new SWBC radio country! (Glenn Hauser, OK, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: UNIDENTIFIED. Dear OM, I had received on 4755.16 kHz at 0845 on Mar. 2. Light music and announcement by male and female in English. Audio File de Sin. Hasegawa (Yokohama) at 0828 UT on Mar. 2: http://www.ndxc.org/imgbbs/img-box/img20070302172429.mp3 I can receive it even if over 1300 UT (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I listened to the audio file over and over about 15 times, and I'm certain of a few things mentioned, and fairly certain about a few others. The announcement is by M in English and definitely mentions "our FM frequency of 88.5 megaHertz and our shortwave frequency of 4755 kiloHertz." At the beginning of the announcement, it seems that he mentions "Pacific Christian," which could be why it was mentioned that it was a S. Pacific station. He also mentions a couple of times that if they're heard clearly to e-mail or call and mentioned twice an e-mail and phone number, which seemed to be a 7-digit #, starting with 320. The e-mail address seemed to start with something like cma (Christian Missionary Alliance or Association, or something like that, maybe?), and ended with something like @mail.fm or @mail.fn. If indeed located somewhere in Oceania, maybe the last two letters are the extension for the country/island where it's located? This is kind of exciting; maybe new country active on SW? (Alex Vranes, Jr., WV, ibid.) Yep, no doubt. The audiofile mentions Pacific Missionary Aviation, and gives phone number and e-mail, which I believe are 320 2496 and pmapohnpei at mail.fm These fit perfectly with PMA. Congratulations, great catch! (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) .fm = Federated States of Micronesia. Look in WRTH and see 320- phone numbers for other stations, this one not listed. This must be it. Here are the MICRONESIA entries pertinent from DXLDs in the past several months! (in reverse chrono order) (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Viz.: MICRONESIA. Tue. 5 Dec: Continue to pray for Pastor Norbert & Silvia Kalau, Micronesia. The radio station equipment has arrived and is ready for installation (Galcom Prayer Bulletin via DXLD) No mention of shortwave per se in this quarterly edition Dec-Feb, but I looked thru all entries for anything pertinent; see also CONGO DR (gh, DXLD 7-007) MICRONESIA. Re 6-177: ``Re 6-172: Pacific Missionary Aviation, Pohnpei, SW plans: More info at http://www.pmapacific.org/projects/radio_station.php The tower for the antenna is 110 feet high (Mike Barraclough, England, Nov World DX Club Contact via DXLD) FM tower, that is. Axually there is nothing on this or related PMA pages I can find about SW, just AM and FM. The SW mention came from the Galcom Prayer Bulletin quoted in 6-143, with follow-ups in 6-149, 6-159. Jari, any further info on their SW plans, and are we sure they really mean tropical band/SW? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` Shortwave mentioned here: Mission News Update October 2006 http://www.pmapacific.org/info/mission_news_update/read_archive_5.html POHNPEI, MICRONESIA --- We thank God for good weather on Pohnpei as they poured out cement on the foundation for the radio station’s tower. The project is going slowly but surely and we are praying that soon the radio station (an FM and shortwave one) will be up and running. There still is much to be done, but we are relying on God’s perfect timing and provisions. We are excited that God’s word can soon go forth to the remote islands of Micronesia. Our dream will soon be realized, thanks to your prayers, your generous donations and most of all to our God who has made all these possible. To Him be glory and honor! "May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." 2 Thess. 2:16-17 --- Melinda R. Espinosa, PMA Headquarters (via Mike Barraclough, Dec 26, DXLD) Still extremely vague. As if God`s word were not already blanketing all the remote islands of Micronesia via numerous other and no doubt more powerful SW signals. Each gospel huxter always acts as if no one else is capable of doing the job. Vanity, vanity (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-190) MICRONESIA. Pacific Missionary Aviation, Pohnpei, SW plans: More info at http://www.pmapacific.org/projects/radio_station.php The tower for the antenna is 110 feet high (Mike Barraclough, England, Nov World DX Club Contact via DXLD 6-172) MICRONESIA. What service will the PMA use the frequency for? I guess aviation usage? Also do you know what frequency and when they will be on air Jari? (Robb Wise, HRi Radio, Oct 25, dxing.info via DXLD 6-159) No info about the frequency here yet. No aviation, it will be broadcasting. They'll probably simulcast their FM station (under construction) for the outer islands. 73, (Jari Savolainen, Finland, ibid.) MICRONESIA. Micronesia shortwave --- PMA - Pacific Missionary Aviation, Pohnpei Micronesia shortwave. Nob Kalau of PMA in Pohnpei told me today that the shortwave will be 500 Watts "tropical wave". They just start pouring the foundation for the tower and the foundations that the 40' container radio building will sit on. The first tip about this shortwave project was published by Glenn Hauser in DX Listening Digest a while ago (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Oct 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-149) WTFK??? MICRONESIA. Sun. September 17th: Praise God, Pohnpei, Micronesia got their license after waiting over a year. Pray for guidance as they move ahead with this project. Sat. September 30th: Pray for Pastor Norbert & Silvia Kalau, in Pohnpei, as they work out final details to install a Short Wave radio station (Galcom Prayer Bulletin, via DXLD) WTFK? That`s in the Eastern Caroline Islands. Not clear if these two items are related. There are some AM & FM stations in Pohnpei already, per WRTH, such as V6AF, 104.0 belonging to Calvary Christian Academy in Kings Mountain NC. Looks like beyond FCC jurisdixion they get to use ``even`` FM channels, whoopee! Car radios OK with that? Or are there no cars? Here`s an old story about Norbert, and his Pacific Missionary Aviation: http://www.newsflash.org/2003/05/ht/ht003957.htm In fact, the only hit on him, besides duplicates, in a Google search. The GALCOM prayer bulletins for Sept thru Nov are now posted; this is the only significant mention of SW, tho many other radio projects are covered. Nothing in this quarter`s edition about plans for a SW station in remote northern Ontario. Has God nixed it? In any event, no prayers required. Galcom is that purveyor of fixed-tuned radios allowing victims to hear only approved missionary broadcasts (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-143) [end of historic DXLD entries] Dear OM, Thanks for many information. According to [garble] S. Wakisaka received e-mail from PMA-Guam: Dear Sir or Madam Thank you very much for listening to our shortwave station and for sending us an email. We are still experimenting with our radio. We'll update our webpage soon with new information on the radio station. Unfortunately we do not have a QSL card yet. In the meantime, thanks a lot for your encouragement, we'll send you another email when our webpage is updated on the radio station. Thank you very much, Pacific Missionary Aviation, Roland Weibel (via S. Hasegawa, NDXC, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear readers. Now I listen only music station on 4755 kHz. Any idea? - - _/_/ (IWATA Gaku. Chiba, JAPAN. editor of _/_/ http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~vz6g-iwt/ March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sent him the above info (gh) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. RADIO NEDERLAND WERELDOMROEP - NUEVAS FRECUENCIAS PARA LAS EMISIONES EN ESPAÑOL POR ONDA CORTA El próximo domingo 25 de marzo entra en vigor un nuevo esquema de frecuencias. Desde ese día emitiremos a las siguientes horas y frecuencias. Casi todas las emisiones se difunden a través de la estación repetidora de Bonaire, Antillas Neerlandesas. Para el esquema A07, así denominado por los ingenieros, dejaremos de utilizar para nuestras emisiones en español, la estación repetidora de Radio Nederland en Madagascar. 1100-1127 TU hacia el Caribe por B6165 kHz (49 metros). Abandonaremos en este horario la frecuencia de B6110 kHz. 1130-1157 TU hacia el Norte de Sudamérica por B6165 kHz (49 metros), en sustitución de B9715 kHz destinado a Centroamérica. 1200-1227 TU hacia el Noroeste de Sudamérica, por B9895 kHz, en sustitución de B6110 kHz. También a esta misma hora agregaremos la frecuencia de B9715 kHz (31 metros) para nuestros oyentes en Centroamérica y México. 2300-2357 TU hacia Sudamérica (especialmente hacia la zona SUR), la frecuencia de B15315, será reemplazada por la nueva B17605 kHz (16 metros). 0000-0157 TU hacia el Sur de Sudamérica seguiremos empleando los habituales B15315 kHz. Para cubrir el Norte de Sudamérica dejaremos M9895 kHz (vía Madagascar), para operar por S6165 kHz (49 metros). Como gran novedad operaremos desde la estación repetidora de la Deutsche Welle en Sines, Portugal. Radio Nederland Wereldomroep mantiene desde hace años intercambio de horas de emisión con otras colegas de la onda corta, como Radio Canadá Internacional, Radio Suecia y la Deutsche Welle de Alemania, entre otras. 0200-0357 hacia México, Centroamérica y el área del Caribe emitiremos por la nueva frecuencia de B9590 kHz. Y a través de Sines, Portugal, por S6165 kHz. Por lo tanto desde el 25 de marzo dejaremos de operar por M9895 kHz. ESQUEMA DE EMISIONES EN ESPAÑOL POR ONDA CORTA DE RADIO NEDERLAND WERELDOMROEP B06 (29 octubre 2006 hasta 25 marzo 2007) Programa Radio Enlace http://www.informarn.nl/programas/programassemanales/RadioEnlace (via José Bueno, Córdoba - España, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I heard an announcement about this on Radio Enlace. A first, I think, for RN to use Sines, at least for American target, and four hours straight in Spanish. 6165 Bonaire has been excellent here, and reception for us from Sines will suffer. Sines is still very much in business with lots of other relays. Meanwhile, RN English at 00-02 should remain from Bonaire on 9845; not sure about 0400 or 0500 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For Sines we had even reports about plans to expand the site by two further transmitters as part of DW's strategy to break away from T- Systems Media&Broadcast (btw, I saw nothing definite so far, but reportedly Media&Broadcast is indeed amongst the businesses Deutsche Telekom plans to sell off). To my knowledge RNW via Sines will indeed be a first. It will also be the first transmission of other broadcasters than DW and RDP via Sines for years (at least five years I think), if I do not miss something. In return DW will again be on air via Bonaire, of course not with transmissions to North America anymore. It seems that some Sackville usage by DW will continue as well, whatever the arrangements may be now (so far it is obviously an airtime exchange, with DW providing Nauen/Wertachtal slots to RCI in return). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Re 7-026, RNZI`s current schedule as still given at http://www.rnzi.com/pages/listen.php 26 Feb 2007 - 26 Mar 2007 UTC kHz band Target Azimuth Days 0559-1058 9870 31 Pacific 0 Daily 1300-1750 5950 49 Pacific 0 Daily 1751-1850 9765 31 NE Pacific, Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands 35 Daily 1850-1950 11725 25 Pacific 0 Daily 1950-2258 17675 16 Pacific 0 Daily 2259-0558 15720 19 Pacific 0 Daily 2259-1259 13840 21 NW Pacific, Bougainville, PNG, Timor 325 Daily Appears to contain an error, which I did not notice at first. See the final entry for 13840, which implies unusually that this frequency is on the air for 14 hours straight, and for most of that time duplicated on another frequency. This would mean they do have both transmitters going, but still not resuming DRM. What I now think axually happened is that the 2259-1259 entry should read 1059-1259, neatly filling the gap at the top of the list between 9870 and 5950. (I have inserted line spaces.) I got to thinking about this further when I found no trace of 13840 at 0723 Feb 28 even tho Australia was audible on 13630. So this also corrects what I say on WOR 1348 (Glenn Hauser, OK, Feb 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Rechecked at 2140 UT March 3, 13840 had been corrected to 1059-1259! ** OKLAHOMA. HD Radio Programming --- High-definition radio is here. More and more stations are developing a high definition radio stream and KOSU is no exception. We have recently developed a second stream of programming that is only available on high-definition radios. Some of the programs on KOSU's second stream include Talk of the Nation and Day to Day. When the main channel is broadcasting classical music, the secondary stream is playing news, and vice versa. KOSU will soon begin broadcasting live feeds of the secondary channel on the Web site. Streaming will allow you to listen to the specialized programming even if you don't have an HD radio. To stream current programming, heard on a standard radio, click here. http://www.kosu.org/listenLive.html This is an exciting development and one we hope you will use and appreciate! (OPR March newsletter via DXLD) I`ve also noticed that KOSU 91.7 consistently runs about 7 or 8 seconds late. Fortunately they don`t do timesignals, but classical music teasers at hourtop start late, and so does NPR news at 01:08 or so. Is this some necessary digital delay? Could this have anything to do with HD KOSU is about to start, or does Craig have his finger on the button in case anything needs to be bleeped? Do other public radio stations do this? The rest of them I am listening to online, so can`t be sure of the original exact timings. However, visiting OKC I could also hear KROU direct, and indeed it was on time while KOSU was late (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Pirate in OKC on 107.1 was reportedly busted, so March 2 around 1830 UT I drove up to the address reported on okctalk.com Indeed there was a pole behind the house maybe 10 meters high, with no elements on it, and no signal on 107.1. House has US flags prominently and permanently displayed. Here`s a fuzzy photo of the alleged location: http://www.w4uvh.net/107.1.jpg However, later that day when I was driving on I-44 some miles west in its fringe area, 107.1 was back on the air with GCN, Genesis Communications Network, paranoid adstring at 0225 UT March 3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Your ``one moment please`` slide ought to include this message: turn on your closed captioning and read what you are currently missing. This was the case at 6:05 pm Thursday [Nightly Business Report] while video was gone, and audio was replaced by music. If you can still broadcast the closed captioning, it`s strange you have lost the rest of the video and audio (Glenn Hauser, message sent to OETA March 1, via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Oklahoma QSO Party -- Phone/CW/Digital, sponsored by the Oklahoma DX Association (OKDXA) from 1400Z Mar 10 to 0200Z Mar 11 and 1400Z-2000Z Mar 11. Frequencies (MHz): SSB -- 3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360; CW -- 3.545, 7.045, 14.045, 21.045, 28.045. Categories: SOHF-HP, -LP, -QRP, MS, Rover (OK only). Exchange: signal report and OK county or S/P/C. QSO points: Phone -- 2 points; CW/Digital -- 3 points. Score: QSO points × OK counties (OK stations use OK counties + S/P/C) counted only once. For more information: http://www.okdxa.org Logs due April 30 to logs @ okdxa.org (ADIF or Cabrillo format preferred http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/rules-all.html - cabrillo) or OKDXA, PO Box 2591, Claremore, OK 74018-2591 (QRZ? Ham Radio Corner, March ODXA Listening In via DXLD) More than a `corner` now, expanding to occupy 15 of the bulletin`s 68 pages (gh) ** PAKISTAN. If you want a QSL card from Radio Pakistan write to this address: Radio Pakistan, 303 Peshawar Road, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, (different than WRTH-2007). (Alican Yasar, March 3, HCDX via DXLD) ** PERU. 3329.61, Ondas del Huallaga, 1050 3 March. Nice lively Huayno song, then W with canned promo, next song starting out with owl and cricket SFX and M voice-over with ID and mention of noche and "más música", and continued song. 1058 canned ID/promo and a long ad block going past 1105. Decent signal but CHU QRM of course. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, HCDX via DXLD) ** PERU. 4790.14, Radio Visión (presumed); 0344-0420+, 0510-23+, 25- Feb; Preaching to break at 0404. New preacher at 0408 sounds like an auctioneer. More preaching at 0510 mentioning Peruana. Break from preaching 0516-21 mentioned Lima, Perú; 0521 back to preaching. All in Spanish. Never heard a clean ID. Heavy swiper QRM (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. R. Nederland via Sines from A-07: see NETHERLANDS [non] ** SAUDI ARABIA. BSKSA English confirmed here on 15250 kHz at 1000- 1200 UT over the past couple of days. Clear channel but very weak signal here (Dave Kenny, Feb 28, BDXC-UK via DXLD) English service heard here on 15250 March 1st from 1115 tune in, pop music followed by talk on foreign investment in Saudi Arabia, good strength on clear channel. Again good strength at 1015 March 2nd, China is on the channel till 1100 but was barely audible under BSKSA (Mike Barraclough, World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Feb 28 I started monitoring 17660 at 1435 to find out when I could first detect a subaudible heterodyne on Afropop music distraxion, Gabon, from BSKSA on its new frequency in French. That happened at 1452, probably shortly after they turned it on. However, this date, hi-latitude propagation was poor on higher frequencies, lacking Greece 17525, Libya 17725, even Morocco 17750 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It was hard to make out in the noise floor, but I think at 1707 check Feb 28 there were indeed traces of a carrier on 17660, probably the Riyadh transmitter still on air after 1700. 21600 did aim at Western Africa rather than Europe and apparently 17660 again does, so the frequency selection could still be appropriate for this target area, not prone to fade out there (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BSKSA. Friday, March 2, on 17660, English heard under WYFR Portuguese 1600 to 1700 UT. Difficult to make out much but at 1700 it was in the clear with technical talk, computers, etc. At 1703 a woman announces the end of "Technology in Saudi Arabia" for this week. At 1704 a male announced "...the English... of the Broadcasting Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", Followed by a short prayer then religious readings/history to 1718. A woman followed, heard "Radio Riyadh" announced but reception was deteriorating so couldn't make out the words too much. Still on at 1730 but unintelligible. The programming reminds me very much of UAE English that we used to hear, with lots of history of Islam, etc. Later: checked again at 1755, reception had improved. A singer, in English, at a live concert, audience cheering and screaming. Music (concert) continues to 1830 but very poor reception. Time pips at 1830 followed by march music then blocked by WYFR French. So it looks as though English is on from 1600 to 1900 (Bernie O`Shea, Ontario, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SERBIA [non]. International Radio Serbia will extend its programs from Monday, March 5, 2007. This new schedule should improve reception in Europe, at least during daylight, before sunset (for example English 1400-1430 UT). INTERNATIONAL RADIO SERBIA -------------------------- UPDATED B06 SCHEDULE, EFFECTIVE AS OF MARCH 05, 2007 All broadcasts via Bijeljina-Jabanusa, Bosnia, non-directional [UTC] 1400-2200 6100 kHz 250 kW 1400-1430 ENGLISH 1430-1500 SERBIAN 1500-1530 SPANISH 1530-1600 ARABIC 1600-1630 RUSSIAN 1630-1700 FRENCH 1700-1730 GERMAN 1730-1745 MANDARIN 1745-1800 ALBANIAN 1800-1815 HUNGARIAN 1815-1830 GREEK 1830-1900 ITALIAN 1900-1930 RUSSIAN 1930-2000 ENGLISH 2000-2030 SPANISH 2030-2100 SERBIAN Sun-Fri 2030-2130 SERBIAN Sat 2100-2130 GERMAN Sun-Fri 2130-2200 FRENCH This new schedule is also issued on their website: http://www.radioyu.org/KT_eng.htm Best regards & many 73s! (Dragan Lekic from Subotica, Serbia, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA [non]. 7175, V. of Somali People, via Asmara. Noisy presentation of groups singing/shouting to the accompaniment of drums. Not the pleasant music expected from HoA region. Signal at only fair level. Closed without announcement at 1800. 1755 14/2 (Charles Jones, Castle Hill, NSW (IcR75 and 70 m. ant), DXpedition at Ellalong, in the Hunter Valley, NSW, March ADXN via DXLD) ** SOUTH AMERICA. Transmisiones de Radio Piraña Internaciónal [sic] Amigos! Esta semana tendremos nuevas emisiones através de los 6307 kHz desde nuestro centro emisor en Sudamérica. En esta oportunidad con una programación de 90% en español. También tendremos saludos para los que nos enviaron informes de recepción o mensajes por nuestras transmisiones de enero. El esquema es como sigue: Desde mañana miércoles 28 de febrero hasta el lunes 5 de marzo (terminando el 5 marzo a las 09 UT). Horas de transmisión: 2200-0900 UT (sáb y dom hasta las 11 UT). Como ya mencionado la frecuencia es la de 6307 kHz y una potencia de 20 vatios. Dentro de 2 semanas más o menos, estarán ya en vuestras manos las QSL's por los informes de enero. Saludos de (Jorge, Feb 27, condig list via DXLD) PIRATE, 6307, Radio Piraña Internacional, from anywhere place in South America, 0006-0020, March 02, Spanish, talks by male, many IDs as: “...a Radio Piraña Internacional...”, romantic songs, 24332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Captaciones de Ernesto Paulero: A continuacion las escuchas del amigo Ernesto Paulero desde Argentina. Ubicaciòn : 34º,5' Lat.S - 58º,5' Long.O 28 Feb 2007, 2216 UT por 6307 R Piraña Internacional idioma español SINPO 32322 (Tormenta local) 02 Mar 2007, 0107 UT por 6307 R. Piraña Internacional idioma español SINPO 54333 (via Dino Bloise, FL, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. UAE, 13720, Sudan R. Service via Dhabayya, Feb 21 0554-0559* 35433 English, Talk, ID at 0557 and 0559, 0559 sign off. Also Feb 27 0551-0559* 35333, English, Talk, ID at 0559, 0559 sign off (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** TURKEY. Re ``El programa DX debe aparecer también en la otra emisión el sábado a las 18 en 9780`` (Glenn Hauser, RN Radio Enlace March 2 via DXLD) Saludos cordiales Glenn, en efecto el programa Mundo Diexista se emite los Sábados para Europa, el programa se emite cada quince días, el próximo será el 10 de Marzo. Atentamente (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. REPORTING CHINA: ACCESS DENIED (to BBC) | Media | MediaGuardian.co.uk Monday February 26, 2007 The Guardian http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2021124,00.html Frustrated by government jamming and dwindling audience figures, staff at the BBC's China service are worried about an increasingly uncertain future. John Plunkett reports on the dilemmas facing the corporation At the height of the protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989, a group of students paraded through Beijing with a banner reading "Thank you, BBC". Foreign radio stations, and the BBC World Service, in particular, were one of the few places where demonstrators were able to get any reliable information. It was graphic evidence of the influence of the BBC World Service. Fast-forward 18 years and the World Service in China is facing an uncertain future. Frustrated by the Chinese government's tactics of blocking its short-wave radio broadcasts and website, World Service management is to "reallocate" its resources in a wholesale review of its multimedia services for China. No one is predicting a closure - 10 of the World Service's other foreign language services were shut down last year - but staff past and present fear any watering down of its Chinese proposition will send the wrong signals to China and the rest of the world. "I think the BBC needs to think carefully about what it's doing," says one former Chinese service producer. "Yes, there is a big technical conundrum over getting the Chinese-language product to the audience. But whatever the audience research figures may say, the BBC does have a significant, almost intangible, presence in China. There is a distinct awareness and nervousness among officials and those in positions of power. You can sense an almost audible recoil on the other end of the line when you ring people up, asking for interviews. "So given that the Chinese government is making efforts to tighten media control, what kind of signal are you sending out if you cut back the Chinese service?" The BBC is not the only media organisation to be frustrated in China, one of the world's fastest growing economies and host to next year's Olympic games. Rupert Murdoch revealed at the 2007 Media Summit in New York that he was switching his attention from China to India. "China is immense [but its government] is not opening it up yet," said Murdoch. "[India] is a working democracy with rule of law. We find it most exciting." The World Service currently broadcasts about four hours of output a day in Mandarin, split roughly equally between news and features programming. It also broadcasts news bulletins in Cantonese. But awareness of the BBC has dwindled in China in recent years, presumably as a result of government filtering. The radio station has a Chinese audience of about 850,000 - 0.1% of the population. Its website, BBCChinese.com, gets 8m page impressions a month despite being heavily blocked. Listening online is as popular as listening via short-wave radio. However, the corporation has been encouraged by its English learning site, which is growing rapidly with 13m page impressions a month. The latest changes to the World Service are not restricted to China, with the Russian-language service also being scrutinised by management. This comes a year after Bush House axed 10 foreign language services, part of a shift in emphasis in which more resources were pumped into a new Arabic TV channel, which is due to launch this autumn. The World Service's Thai-language arm was closed just months before a military coup in the country last September. But some World Service staff claim management is preoccupied with reaching a Muslim audience at the expense of other parts of the world. "The World Service is becoming the BBC Islam service," argues one journalist. It is a claim rejected by World Service management. "It is right to view the Middle East as an important priority, but to concentrate all your resources there is short-sighted because it is clearly not going to be the only significant axis around which world affairs revolve in the next few decades," says a former producer. "At the other end of the spectrum, away from politics, many Chinese might feel miffed at the suggestion that the BBC appears to be downgrading the country's importance at a time when everyone else seems to be moving in the opposite direction. "Parallels with the world of business suggest that if you have a position in the China market, you don't cut back, hoping to regain your foothold at some point in the future." Further details about the changes to the Chinese service are expected within the next two weeks. Sources said BBC management wanted to act more strategically in order to reach a bigger audience. "In the past they have tried to use softer material in the hope that would slip through [the government restrictions]. It has worked in some markets but not in others," said a source. But World Service sources have indicated that the reorganisation will see the axe fall on features output - music and lifestyle programming - rather than news and current affairs. A World Service spokesman said the latter would remain "sacrosanct" in the imminent shake-up of the Chinese service. "The Middle East, China, Russia and the wider Islamic world are among the key priorities for the BBC World Service," he said in a statement. "In a fast-moving international media marketplace with rapidly changing technology and audience demands, BBC World Service constantly looks at its services to ensure they are relevant, have the right mix of services, offer value for money and, importantly, have impact with audiences. "The principles that underpin and shape our thinking are that news and current affairs are important and any possible changes will be designed to enhance the impact of our multimedia services for each language service." World Service director Nigel Chapman met union representatives last week. The Chinese service employs about 39 journalists - 49 people in total, according to the National Union of Journalists - and some job losses are thought to be inevitable. Pierre Vicary, one of the NUJ's two lay officials at the BBC, said the Chinese service had undergone a number of organisational changes in recent years. "Clearly as a union representative I would not be happy with any job cuts," he said. "But if the strategy is finally clear and the service is properly resourced, then security for 35 people is better than the existing uncertainty for 39." But the fear remains that the service may suffer a death by a thousand cuts, with staff whittled down over a number of years until it is no longer tenable, at least in its present form (via Dan Say, DXLD) Read the article http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/?p=7387#comments Jonathan Marks Says: February 26th, 2007 at 17:03 e Since the BBC WS is taxpayer financed, it makes it essential that all languages are continuously reviewed for effectiveness. If you look at the mobile and satellite TV market in China, you’ll see it is huge compared to the microscopic SW market. Bet they will simply change the emphasis of the department - more towards a news service and less like the current mix of features they do now. Further down the road, BBC World TV with Mandarin subtitles might be a better bet to revive. Radio Rob Says: February 26th, 2007 at 18:07 e Presumably FM relays in key Chinese cities is out of the question. (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** U S A. Greenville VOA Site A is history --- Group, The IBB (VOA) Greenville Transmitting Station Site A (nearest Williamston, North Carolina) is now defunct. The transmitters and antennas are being "cannibalized" to support Site B. Site B hasn't too many years to survive, either. Millions of USD, wasted (Charles, WD4INP, Taylor, Greenville, North Carolina, March 1, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. CANADA, RCI, was the only signal on 6100 from 0135 to 0200 in Spanish when I got to the radio tonight (UT 3/3/07). VoA was still running co-channel on Monday (2/26/07) 0100-0200, also in Spanish, but the clash seems to be gone tonight. I've been busy the other nights this week, and could not check (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. 15120, Feb 28 at 1458, unID language and what I noted as hilife music until 1459:30* without further announcement; such precision does not point to Nigeria. This is really listed as R. Liberty in Kazakh, via Morocco (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. R. Martí, 15330, Sat March 3 at 1400 just after opening this frequency plugged TV Martí which they said could now be seen on channel 20 with ``La Semana`` week in review about Cuba and the world. Yeah, sure, except in Cuba and anywhere else. Has anyone in the USA been able to TV-DX TV Martí on channel 20 or any other UHF channel it may have used or may be using? Gulf tropo, and the spring season is almost upon us, propagates other Florida signals all the way to Texas, but I don`t recall ever seeing a report of TV Martí. Would those who have seen it beyond the Keys, please say so with details? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KAIJ`s program schedule has been revised; see http://24.151.207.180/k/kaij/pages/programs.php and keep an eye on it for further changes. WORLD OF RADIO on 9480 has been moved to Thursdays at 10 am CT = 1600 UT March 8, but 1500 UT from March 15 once CDT is in effect. The other airing on 5755 remains for the time being Friday at 5:30 am CT = 1130 UT now, 1030 UT during DST. But all subject to change if airtime is otherwise sold. From March 11, the frequency switch from 9480 to 5755 will remain at 2100 UT, i.e. 4 pm CT instead of 3 pm. Also new on the latest schedule are Ted Randall Interviews, Fridays at 4-5 and 10-11 am CT; e.g. Jack LaLanne who is in his 90s now (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Jeff, So how is your antenna repair going. On Friday at 1432 I found 7385 with an S9+10 signal but the usual undermodulation during DXPL. 73, (Glenn to Jeff White, WRMI, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: Unfortunately we are at the mercy of our consulting engineer and the antenna manufacturer at the moment. The manufacturer is a family operation in central Florida, and they are in Germany right now. Our consultant is probably coming tomorrow to see what he can do to improve the situation. We are still using the dipole right now, but hopefully we can get the regular boom back up and running soon, even if it's only a temporary fix until the manufacturer can build us a new boom, if that's what's required (Jeff White, WRMI, March 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. How propagation can vary; one night on 7455 I am hearing WYFR way on top of WEWN, and another night, Feb 28 at 0731, WEWN was way over WYFR, as the shorter skip distance was favored. Hey, maybe they are coöperating in an experiment or a competition to see who wins the frequency, not to mention the RTTY! Totally different propagation conditions from one night to the next for the 7455 collision. Feb 28 it was WEWN on top, but March 1 at 0730 check it was WYFR on top with WEWN barely detectable under it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9015, WEWN, Birmingham AL; 2115-2155:30*, 26-Feb; 2M in Spanish with religious discussion -- not preaching. 2133 took phone calls; one from Colombia; several mentions of Cuba; ID at s/off. SIO=222, but with good peaks; roar QRM; USB takes out 9011 ute. At 2045-2100+, 27-Feb, found 9015 // 9885 & 15745; again in Spanish; Radio Católica Mundial. Mixing product? Tnx Glenn Hauser. I notice that 9885 - 9015 = 870, THUS, I'm sure it must be WKAR's IBOssssssssss causing this (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) à la my mixing product of WEWN + KCRC in Enid (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Tricities changes --- Glen[n], As of 2-26-07, AM 640 is now WXSM the extreme sports monster. Local morning show, then ESPN radio stuff, and long time running Sportsline at 3-6 pm, then live local games, with ESPN radio overnites. The former WGOC is now on 1320, ex WKIN. They are classic country, via the bird. Take care, (Loyal listener, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Who gives neither name nor location. Well, 640 as WGOC was in Blountville TN; 1320 as WKIN was in Kingsport TN, per the NRC AM Log 2006-2007 (gh, DXLD) The CDBS indicates WGOC is, indeed, on 1320. So WKIN is orphaned. So much for the FCC updates! Thanks and 73, (BILL Hale, NRC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KHKE BACK ON AIR AT LOW POWER --- Early Saturday morning, the top half of our KHKE tower collapsed due to extreme icing and high wind. Portions of the tower also fell across our power-line feed wires and the arc surge may have damaged the transmitter and other equipment at the site. Neither the tower or the antenna is repairable and it will likely be sometime this summer before they can be replaced and we can resume broadcasting at full power. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are currently broadcasting at low power in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo metro area at 89.5 FM and still broadcasting in the Clear Lake/Mason City area at 90.7 FM. You can still hear KHKE's programming via our live web stream. View photos of the ice storm and resulting damage: http://picasaweb.google.com/leonard.tomkins/Feb24IceStorm?authkey=mzEZ5Tx-alA (KHKE website March 1, via DXLD) ** U S A. "The recent ice storm caused a collapse of electrical transmission lines to our transmitter site near Dysart. According to officials from Alliant Energy, service may not be restored before Sunday, March 4th." -- Dennis Lowe, KXEL Operations Manager – (KXEL website still on March 3, via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. For those following the movement of KTRB - 860 to the San Francisco Bay Area, an accurate historical account of the station can be found in Bob Wien's column in the the March 3, 2007 issue of DX Monitor and "soft" DX MONITOR. I was born and raised in Modesto and my cousin, Milt Hibdon, began his radio career at KTRB. He often talked about the station -- a clear channel station that maintained its regional programming and appeal for many years, and one that he was proud to have been a part. Bill Bates was a local figure, had an AM program which I listened to back in the 50's while getting ready to go to school. Bill provided programming for the community. Whether it was involving downtown Modesto, the Portuguese community of the West Side (broadcasting in the Portuguese language), local sports, weather information, lost children, lost animals (and the occasional wandering cow), he tried to provide something for all listeners. Years ago, KTRB conducted a DX Test for the IRCA and NRC. When I approached Cal Purviance, PD and part-time CE, about the test, he enthusiastically agreed. KTRB was a part of the community and never forgot its roots. My cousin, Milt Hibdon, went on to be GMs at several stations. His last GM position was KORL-650, in HI, years ago. After KORL, he was assigned to corporate HQ in New York where he passed away in 1989 (Mike in Jacksonville, NC, Hardester, March 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. HIGHWAY ADVISORY RADIO IN NORTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA An article in the February 24 edition of the Record-Searchlight (online), by Ryan Sabalow, states that CALTRANS (California Department of Transportation)will be increasing the number of Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) stations in Northeastern California. Specifically, the area includes Shasta, Trinity, Tehama and Siskiyou counties. Currently, there are 17 units in operation and an additional 8 HAR stations will be added. Although the frequency of 1610 AM (kHz) is mentioned in the article, other frequencies may be used. Source: http://www.redding.com/news/2007/feb/24/traffic-center-will-expand (Mike Hardester, NC, Feb 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WGTO Big 54 --- WGTO started life as a two tower DA daytimer licensed to Haines City in 1955. Studios in the arcade of the Haines City hotel. The owner was KWK Inc out of St. Louis. After less than a couple years Dick Pope who owned Cypress Gardens came up with the idea of moving the station to Cypress Gardens. About that time Stanley Hubbard (of KSTP fame) bought the station. The FCC had a problem with the city of license issue as Cypress Gardens wasn't a city. In steps Pope's old buddy US Senator from Florida Spencard Holland, and magically Cypress Gardens gets it's own post office. No problem now says the FCC. Take a look at a map of Florida some time and look for state route 540, ironically it passes the entrance of Cypress Gardens. It took some series influence to pull that off. The late Dick Pope could pull a rabbit out of his hat. The custom built GTO studios weren't a trade, we paid a dollar a year, but on the other hand Cypress Gardens dropped 10 grand a year on spots, 40 years ago. The transmitter was north of Lake Alfred on WGTO road, a four tower parallelogram. The day pattern looked like a Gemini spacecraft with the heat shield facing east, nulls NW and SW. In the 60's GTO got 50kw midday with four towers but retained the 2 tower array with 10kw for critical hours. All this time the station was a daytimer with no pre sunrise. That came about 1974 with a 6am sign on and 230 watts. I remember hearing WDAK out of Columbus, Ga on the air monitor in the winter while it still dark and we were on pre sunrise power. About the same time we got 50kw across the board and dropped critical hours. A few years later came 1kw until the sale and move to Pine Hills. Did it talk? You could hear it during the day from Valdosta, Georgia to Key West. GTO...Gulf to Ocean (Jerry Kiefer, Roswell, NM, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. UD Flyers Baseball on 1610? FOLLOW THE FLYERS ALL SPRING ON RADIO --- Dayton Baseball and Softball To Have Home Games Broadcast on Local Radio and http://www.DaytonFlyers.com Feb. 26, 2007 DAYTON, Ohio - Two area radio stations will team up to broadcast University of Dayton baseball and softball game this season. The games can be heard locally on 1610 Information Radio and Flyer Radio as well as http://www.DaytonFlyers.com 1610 Information Radio and Flyer Radio are scheduled to broadcast on 26 different dates of baseball and nine different dates for softball. In addition, Flyer Radio will host a weekly coaches show with Head Baseball Coach Tony Vittorio each Monday from 6-7 p.m. ET. Each baseball game can be followed with a simulcast on 1610 Information Radio and Flyer Radio as well as www.DaytonFlyers.com. All softball broadcasts will be aired on 1610 Information Radio and http://www.DaytonFlyers.com 1610 Information Radio is a not-for-profit station that can be heard in Kettering, Ohio by tuning to 1610 AM. The 2007 season will be the third consecutive season that 1610 Information Radio has broadcast Dayton baseball. The station has also broadcast UD women's basketball games for the past two seasons as well as other Flyer athletics events. Flyer Radio serves as the campus radio station for the University of Dayton and can be heard locally by tuning to 99.5 FM or 98.1 FM. Sports Director Chris O'Donnell and Aaron Moores will co-host the weekly call-in show with Coach Vittorio each Monday and will also be part of the broadcasts along with other students on campus. There is a chart schedule of games at this website http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/stories/022607aai.html Information Radio 1610 is WPVW207, and runs ten watts from Kettering, OH. A couple of years ago, that station was getting out very well, with DXers from all over the Midwest reporting hearing it. I even managed to hear and QSL them. They sent me an actual QSL card. But I thought TIS stations weren't supposed to carry "Live" programming (Eric Berger, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. NC AM Gets FCC Waiver, Will Use FM Translator OUR THREE SONS BROADCASTING will switch its FM translator W232AX/ROCK HILL, SC to rebroadcast Talk WRHI-A/ROCK HILL, SC on 94.3 FM on FRIDAY (3/2). OUR THREE SONS was granted the original construction permit in 1994 to rebroadcast Country WRHM (INTERSTATE 107)/LANCASTER, SC and filed a request on JANUARY 29 for a waiver to allow it to rebroadcast the AM station instead, claiming that WRHI's 1340 AM signal no longer can cover its community of license. The Commission granted Special Temporary Authority for the move on JANUARY 31, expiring on JULY 31 (From allaccess.com via Brock Whaley, GA for DXLD) Floodgates? (gh) ** U S A. HISTORY CHANNEL PROGRAM ON "GODLESS" DARK AGES HISTORICALLY INACCURATE, INSULTS ATHEISTS & OTHER NONBELIEVERS An Atheist civil rights group is protesting advertisements for a program slated to air this Sunday night (March 4, 2007) on the History Channel dealing with the period referred to as "the dark ages" that describes the period as "600 Years of Degenerate, Godless, Inhuman Behavior." In fact, a more accurate description would characterize the time as the beginning of the Middle Ages; and "godless" had little to do with the period. Historians have noted the strong Christian religiosity of those times marked by stern public piety (coupled with outbursts of dissolute behavior), the power of religious feudalism, and the pervasive role played by ecclesiastical institutions. "Godless? I don't think so," said Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists. "This is not only about an inaccurate description of the Middle Ages in European history, it concerns the reckless and unfair association of the label 'godless' with brutality and ignorance." Johnson called upon the History Channel to alter its description of the program's subject matter. Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists, said that the term "godless" was being used by many nonbelievers. "It's totally wrong from both an historical and modern perspective to characterize that chaotic period in human affairs as 'godless,' " said Mr. Silverman. "Those times certainly were not characterized by what we mean by the term. "Godless" means that in the absence of god, you must rely on reason, logic and compassion in building a society based on rationality, not blind faith." AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy. AMERICAN ATHEISTS, INC. http://www.atheists.org http://www.americanatheist.org For more information, please contact: Ellen Johnson, President (908) 276-7300 Dave Silverman, Communications Director (732) 648-9333 American Atheists, Inc. P. O. Box 5733 Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733 Tel.: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402 (AA press release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 3, 2007 via DXLD) ** U S A. The only segment of the Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno I try never to miss is Headlines, usually on UT Tuesdays, but sometimes such as this week bumped to UT Wednesdays. It`s great fun, but I can`t help but feel that the wild laughter from the audience results from ``sweetening``, to put it politely. It just doesn`t ring true. How sad that one of our top comedians doing a show in front of a live audience still has to beef up the laugh track (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. 4940, R. Amazonas International, f/d computer generated card in Spanish with 2 personal letters, one in Spanish, the other in English, with apologies for the delay due to computer problems where the QSL design was stored. This in 419 days for $2 and an English report. V/S, Sr. Jorge García Rangel, QSL Manager. C/V-#115. Address: Sr. Jorge García Rangel, QSL Manager, Calle Roma, Qta: Costa Rica No. A-16, Urbanization Alto Barinas, Barinas 5201, Venezuela (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [and non]. One more checking in. I too was in the US Navy, and in the spirit of the topic, must admit it was as an officer. Not a ships officer though, but rather a member of the Navy Civil Engineer Corps. With my education in electronics and my Navy assignment in the CEC, a construction oriented organization, I enjoyed the position of being the guy all that weird electronics project stuff went to. My peers did construction and had no desire to be bombarded by the strangeness of NORAD Switchboards, Motor-Generator Uninterruptible Power Systems, Wollenweber Antennas, PERT/CPM analysis of construction project schedules, and least of all building a radio network. I had modest associations with such projects as: Early planning for a proposed DOD Office Building (another Pentagon but shaped like three overlapping bananas, no snickers please) -- which died on the drawing boards. Refurbishment of the Naval Academy at Annapolis -- which did proceed. Project Saguine/ELF -- downsized, built and recently decommissioned. Navy Receiving Station construction at Sugar Grove W. Virginia -- later to become notorious as an NSA electronic spy center. Navy Deep Submergence Lab testing of a high pressure pump -- actually performed at a desert rocket test site in the event the pump blew (it was a big mother). Several other computer/ radio/ technology projects around the world as a Washington based design and construction administration officer. My last major assignment was as the on-site design and construction officer for the Vietnamese Radio Network. A project funded jointly by the US Army and US Agency for International Development, and overseen by the USN as were all construction projects in SE Asia. Comprised of four sites, each with two AM stations, the network was to cover South Vietnam for both civilian and military (ARVN) broadcast needs -- underway until US politicians turned tail and ran. It was a challenging and rewarding time. I've often thought I should write an article about the Vietnamese Radio Network -- the stations that were planned, the mixture of electronics and blast proofed bunker construction, other tidbits of the project -- though the ultimate outcome of it is unknown to me. Another should'a done. I also wish I had taken pictures of the existing Saigon transmitter site. There, in a monsoon-prone subtropical climate, in a building open to the elements on all sides, sat the high power transmitters, protected from water that ran in covering the floor during heavy rains, only by a small cement berm that surrounded their base. I feared of electrocution every time I was in the place. I never questioned the wisdom of building new facilities (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Ratón, (southeast) Florida, USA, Feb 26, IRCA via DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. CLANDESTINA, 1550, Radio Nacional República Arabe Saharaui, *0700-0710, 27-02 Inicio de la transmisión con cánticos del Corán y comentarios en árabe por locutor. En cambio parece que sigue inactiva en la onda corta, ya que no se escucha entre los 6200 y los 7500 kHz en donde habitualmente suele encontrarse. 23322. También *0700-0715, 28-02, mismo programa, cánticos del corán y comentarios en árabe, con mejor señal hoy. 34333. Sin rastro en la onda corta entre 6200 y 7500 kHz (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Escucha en casco urbano de Lugo, Sony ICF SW 7600 G, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CLANDESTINE, 1550 kHz, Polisario Front, Tindouf, Algeria; I've been observing this one on a daily basis, and it pretty much seems this is their single audible frequency for the time being, as observed y/day, 27 Feb at 1908-2305, Arabic till 2300, then Castilian; 54544, occasional adjacent QRM de G [UK] 1548 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CLANDESTINE, 1550, Polisario Front still on this frequency alone both mornings & evenings (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, March 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. ZIMBABWE INFORMATION MINISTRY CONFIRMS JAMMING OF VOA BROADCASTS By Blessing Zulu, VOA, Washington 28 February 2007 A senior Zimbabwe Information Ministry officials confirmed in parliamentary testimony Wednesday that the government is jamming Voice of America broadcasts. Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga, responding to a question from opposition legislator Willas Madzimure, confirmed that Harare is jamming VOA's Studio 7. He said authorities were generating electronic interference to prevent reception of Studio 7 broadcasts because the programs contained propaganda. Reached later Wednesday by a Studio 7 reporter, Matonga declined to comment. Madzimure told reporter Blessing Zulu of Studio 7 that he is perplexed that Harare is jamming the Voice of America program when broadcasts by Zimbabwe's national broadcast system are failing to reach citizens in some parts of the country. Jamming of Studio 7 broadcasts began in June 2006 and continues. Broadcasts of the London-based private broadcaster SW Radio Africa are also being jammed. Studio 7 has been providing radio news reports to Zimbabwe since 2003 (Via David Pringle-Wood, Harare, DXLD) ZIMBABWE ADMITS JAMMING PRIVATE RADIO BROADCASTS By Violet Gonda 1 March 2007 http://www.swradioafrica.com/news010307/jamming010307.htm The Zimbabwean government has admitted for the first time that it is jamming radio frequencies by private broadcasters. Bright Matonga, the Deputy Information Minister, made the disclosure in parliament on Wednesday. He was responding to a question from Tsvangirai-MDC MP for Kambuzuma Willas Madzimure on why the government was jamming foreign- based radio stations. Matonga said authorities were generating electronic interference to prevent reception of the broadcasts. SW Radio Africa, Studio 7 and Voice of the People were forced to broadcast from outside the country because independent radio is not allowed by the Mugabe regime. There is only one broadcaster in Zimbabwe and that is the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Cooperation, which is 100% controlled by the state. There was also pandemonium in parliament when Mutambara-MDC MP for Harare North Trudy Stevenson was ejected from the House after heckling the Deputy Minister. She had attempted to defend the freedom of the airwaves in Zimbabwe. Matonga told parliament he was glad that the opposition had noted that government had the power to jam “the broadcasts of propaganda” and also pleased that people who received those broadcasts were no longer able to do so. He boasted: "We cannot allow foreigners to invade our airwaves without our authority. We will continue to do it. We need to protect our sovereignty. If you go to England you will not receive any foreign radio station." The statement was challenged by Stevenson who told him that on the contrary the UK received broadcasts from thousands of foreign stations. At this point more opposition MPs joined in, which resulted in the acting Speaker of Parliament, Kumbirai Kangai, singling out the Harare North MP and throwing her out of the chamber. The Mugabe regime has over the years closed down the democratic space by clamping down on the opposition, civil society and the media. Just before parliamentary elections in March 2005 SW Radio Africa was jammed for the first time. Information we received indicated that the jamming equipment and expertise was Chinese. This meant many people, especially in the urban areas, were unable to tune in. A year later the government extended the jamming to include the signals of Voice of America’s Studio 7, in clear violation of international laws. MP Madzimure said that the actions by the government confirm it does not want people to be informed about what is happening. He added: “But my biggest concern is that yes you can try to jam other radios even though it is unlawful, but what are you doing to make sure that Zimbabweans get even Radio Zimbabwe? They are doing nothing. Wasting money to buy equipment to jam other stations but they are doing nothing to improve the situation.” We were not able to get a comment from Deputy Minister Matonga. Source: SW Radio Africa website (via David Pringle-Wood, Harare; Alokesh Gupta, India, DXLD) Zimbabwe admits jamming anti-government broadcasts http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070301/wl_africa_afp/zimbabwepoliticsmedia (Yahoo! News via Scott Morgan, DXLD) This is another step towards censorship (Scott Morgan, DX LISENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. Zimbabwe Clandestine mentioned on As It Happens tonight --- Just caught Barbara Budd, previewing As It Happens on the local Toronto CBC drive show. It seems one of the people she will be talking to tonight is a woman behind (I assume) SW Radio Africa broadcasts to Zimbabwe and her efforts to get around jamming and get news to Zimbabweans. As It Happens is heard on CBC Radio One and online. 6:30pm local time (Fred Waterer, Ont., March 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ZIMBABWE PHONE JOURNALIST Duration: 00:08:38 For years, the government of Zimbabwe -- led by President Robert Mugabe -- has cracked down on all private or independent news reporting. The newspapers of the country are state-controlled, forcing local journalists to tow the government line. But some ex-pat journalists have found creative methods of relaying the truth to the citizenry. Gerry Jackson is a Zimbabwean journalist living in London, and is the founder of SW Radio Africa. When the government of Zimbabwe blocked her short-wave radio broadcast in the country's major cities, she started transmitting the news via text-message. We reached Gerry Jackson at her office in London. Audio is already available: http://www.cbc.ca/radioshows/AS_IT_HAPPENS/20070301.shtml Ha, I tried playing part 2, and the real audio file lasting 23:49 starts running, but the trouble is, it is silent except for an occasional click. Is this standard procedure while the program is still current? Then I bring up a live feed from Thunder Bay. Zimbabwe item is at the start of the second part at 5 past the hours. [Later:] Answers question previously raised about who pays for the text-messaging news service: not the recipients, and SWRA faces the problem of how to pay for it, as they have 2000 subscribers already and 40 to 100 new requests daily. Subs may have to be limited. Accomplished by using bulk SMS handlers (Glenn Hauser, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6095, big open carrier at 0734 March 1, aside DGS Anguilla 6090. Possibly WHRI which has used this before as WSHB, and now in use at 11-12 for BBC Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 9152, Feb 28 at 0728, spy letters in groups of 5 on MCW, or A3, no carrier breaks. Extremely strong signal S9+25 overloaded receiver and I also heard it above 9.5 MHz unless that was a real spur (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 9240, Feb 28 at 1505, big open carrier, S9+22, at 1507 starting 5-digit Spanish YL numbers, but 1508 switched briefly to MCW letters, back to open carrier, 1510 MCW again but cut to continuous wailing tone continuing past 1530. If not from US, must be Cuba, and at these hours plenty of RHC transmitters are available. With such huge signals it`s hard to believe they aren`t broadcast transmitters in the 250 kW range (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: See ETHIOPIA; GERMANY; INDIA; LUXEMBOURG; NZ ++++++++++++++++++++ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ ARNIE CORO’S DXERS UNLIMITED HF PLUS LOW BAND VHF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST And now amigos, as always, at the end of the show, when I am here in Havana next to my solar telescope. The spring equinox is just around the corner now, and I am already seen some equinoctial propagation conditions at this moment. Be ready for what well may be an outstanding AM broadcast band and Tropical Bands equinoctial DX season if solar activity continues to be as low as it is right now. Solar flux around 75 units and rather steady, almost no chances of sporadic E short skip openings, and terminator line propagation is going to be better and better as we approach the spring equinox (Arnie Coro, RHC DXers Unlimited March 3, HCDX via DXLD) ###