DX LISTENING DIGEST 10-03, January 20, 2010 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 2010 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html For restrixions and searchable 2009 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid9.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 SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1496, January 21-27, 2010 [note WRMI is off the air or on reduced power/schedule] Thu 2000 WBCQ 7415 9330-CUSB? Fri 0100 WBCQ Area 51 5110-CUSB Fri 0200 WRMI 9955 Fri 1230 WRMI 9955 Fri 1530 WRMI 9955 Fri 2130 WWCR1 7465 Sat 0900 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 9510 [2-weekly? Not Jan 22] Sat 0900 WRMI 9955 Sat 1430 WRMI 9955 Sat 1730 WWCR3 12160 Sat 1900 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 6170 Sat 2000 WRMI 9955 Sun 0330 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Sun 1230 South Herts Radio 5835 Sun 1615 WRMI 9955 Sun 2000 WRMI 9955 Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 Tue 1630 WRMI 9955 Tue 2000 WBCQ 7415 9330-CUSB? Wed 1630 WRMI 9955 [usually first airing] Wed 1930 South Herts Radio 3935 Wed 2000 WBCQ 7415 9330-CUSB? Thu 1300 WRMI 9955 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 or http://schedule.worldofradio.org or http://sked.worldofradio.org For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://193.42.152.193/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN: http://www.wrn.org/wrn-listeners/world-of-radio/ http://www.wrn.org/listeners/world-of-radio/rss/09:00:00UTC/English/541 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org EDITOR`S NOTE: this issue has been delayed longer than usual due to the overwhelming amount of material concerning Haiti. Much of it was distributed without delay on the dxld yg. Tho not ready to publish until Jan 22, most of the material herein goes thru Jan 20 only. DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD, which seems to be coming out less frequently? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg without delay. When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and location. Those who do not, unless I recognize them, will be prompted once to do so and no action will be taken otherwise. Here`s where to sign up: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** AFGHANISTAN. LIVE FROM AFGHANISTAN ON BFBS RADIO "Goooood Morning, Afghanistan!" BFBS Radio is live on air from Afghanistan, broadcasting from Camp Bastion to British Forces on Op Herrick and to their families and friends in the UK on DAB Digital Radio. Click here to watch the footage of the launch day on BFBS Reports. http://bfbs-tv.com/pages/extranet/bfbs-radio-station-in-afghanistan---dur-357-i-2619.php "Good Morning, Afghanistan!" rang out in the cookhouses, corrimecs, tents and ablution blocks as British Forces woke to face another day on Op Herrick. "Being on the ground with our Forces, living cheek by jowl with our audience, is what BFBS Radio is all about," said NICK POLLARD, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF SSVC, the charity behind BFBS Radio. "Today is particularly special as it is the first frontline operational station to open since we launched on DAB in the UK earlier this year - so for the first time in our 65 year history we are connecting the troops in theatre live and direct with their families at home." GROUP CAPTAIN MARK HEFFRON, DACOS J1 at PJHQ, responsible for welfare provision on operations, said: "This is absolutely key to the welfare provision for our boys and girls. It's an essential part of what we call the morale component of our fighting force." BFBS Radio listeners across the Forces world were asked to choose the first song played on the new station. The Top Ten 'First Songs' --- * 1. Boo Radleys - Wake Up Boo! * 2. Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms * 3. X-Factor - Hero * 4. Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills * 5. Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire * 6. Guns'n'Roses - Welcome To The Jungle * 7. Clash - Rock The Casbah * 8. The Soldiers - Coming Home * 9. It Bites - Calling All The Heroes * 10. Status Quo - Rockin' All Over The World It's easy to send a dedication to a loved one on Ops. Phone: 01494 372 786 and leave a message E-mail: ops @ bfbs.com Text: 07740 377 377 starting your message with OPS and a space Website: Submit a message at http://www.bfbs.com/messages Write to: BFBS Radio, BFPO 786 And now it's much easier for troops in Afghanistan to send a message back home. BFBS Radio has been on DAB digital radio in the UK since April 2009 so friends and families can listen from Lossiemouth to Plymouth. If you're on Ops, send a message by calling a local number from a military red phone, click www.bfbs.com/messages or, better still, pop in and see the BFBS Radio team at our studio in Bastion 2 (right next to the NAAFI). UK-based listeners can also tune in via their TV on Freesat Channel 786, or Sky Guide 0211. Our Afghanistan shows are on DAB, Sky and Freesat from 0200-0700 UKT and 1200-1300 UKT Monday to Friday. So how did we get here? Anyone based at Bastion will have noticed that a new landmark appeared on the skyline in September. BFBS built and shipped a radio studio in 2007 but had nowhere to put it. Two years on, we finally got a site for the radio station and the first job was to get some comms up and running, which meant erecting a 4.5m VSAT dish - the biggest dish on camp! BFBS engineers began the daunting task of reviving sensitive broadcast equipment that had been abandoned for so long in the heat and dust at the FRV. They were anxious to get some temporary power and find out if their studio-in-an-ISO-container would actually work, so powering up for the first time was an anxious moment. Miraculously, it turned out to be in pretty good working order! Want to get involved? Come and see us in Bastion 2, next door to the NAAFI! The 4.5m VSAT dish is erected with the aid of a crane, forklifts, some very big spanners and lots of sweat! [caption] Source: http://www.bfbs-radio.com/pages/extranet/live-from-afghanistan-i-1401.php Listen Live: http://www.bfbs-radio.com/streaming/bfbs1.asx (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. New IBB service R. Mashaal: PAKISTAN [non] ** ALASKA. 6890, KNLS better than usual during English hour, Jan 19 at 1406 ID and 2-minute segment on stamp collecting, US plans for 2010 issues, Year of the Woman. A bit of an echo, backscatter? 1408 Postcard from Alaska, about Glacier Bay starting with bird SFX. Now they`ve got listeners hooked with innocent secular stuff, at 1412 hit `em with gospel-huxtering: ``True Stories from the Bible in Contemporary English``. Still, every state should have its own SW station promoting tourism, even if it`s produced in Tennessee (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. 6100, Radio Tirana; 0439, 16-Jan; English program Outstanding Albanian Personalities; ID at 0442 into music. SIO=4+44- (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7430, R. Tirana in English, Tue Jan 19 at 2113, Klara presenting mailbag with letters from USA, Sweden, UK and one recognizable name, Christopher Lewis. Later music fill and off the air at 2127*. Good signal, adequate modulation, no QRM tho there was something weaker on 7425 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Tirana with much improved modulation and audio in general, at 1945 on 7465, 1/18 and also this evening on 7430 at 2100 1/19. On both occasions, the opening announcements are always low, which leads me to think that they were recorded at a lower level. Best wishes (Chris Lewis, England, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13640, R. Tirana English to NAm, tune-in Jan 13 at 1530 to find IS still playing until 1532 opening broadcast with schedule; fair signal and modulation, no QRM. Fortunately, RT can be flexible about the timing, as it`s less than a full 30 minutes long, and there is no broadcast immediately following at 1600 anyway (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGUILLA [non]. 6090, Jan 17 off the air; at 0332 heard two stations on slightly lower frequency; probably Brazil and Nigeria (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I would say probably Brazil and Ethiopia, Nigeria [q.v.] not on that early. WRTH says *0430 for it (gh) ** ANTARCTICA [non]. 14199/USB, K5TR Austin TX; 1910, 16-Jan; Calling CQ Contest; blocking Antarctica DXpedition freq 14200. (Frodge-MI) 21295/USB, W6TA Rolling Hills CA; 1908, 16-Jan; Calling CQ Contest; blocking Antarctica DXpedition freq (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ASIA [non]. Updated winter B-09 schedule of Radio Free Asia: Burmese 0030-0130 on 12115 13710 15700 1230-1400 on 7595 11795 12105 1400-1430 on 11795 12105 1630-1730 on 7570 Cantonese 1400-1500 on 5810 7280 2200-2300 on 9570 11740 11775 Khmer 1230-1330 on 13725 15160 2230-2330 on 9355 11850 Korean 1500-1700 on 1350 5860 7210 9385 1700-1900 on 1350 5860 9385 2100-2200 on 1350 7460 9385 12075 Lao 0000-0100 on 11830 15535 1100-1200 on 9355 15120 Mandarin 0300-0600 on 11980 13710 15150 15665 17615 17880 21540 0600-0700 on 11980 13710 15150 15665 17615 17880 1500-1600 on 5810 7445 9440 9905 11945 13725 15495 1600-1700 on 5810 7415 7445 9455 9905 11945 13725 1700-1800 on 5810 7415 7445 9355 9455 9905 11945 13670 13625 [sic, out of order] 1800-1900 on 5810 7385 7415 7445 9355 9455 9905 11790 11945 13670 1900-2000 on 1098 5810 5990 6095 7385 9355 9455 9875 9905 11790 11945 15510 2000-2100 on 1098 5810 5990 6095 7355 7495 9355 9455 9875 11900 11945 2100-2200 on 1098 5810 6095 7355 7495 9355 9455 9875 11945 13745 2300-2400 on 7540 11775 11975 15265 15430 15550 Tibetan 0100-0300 on 7470 9670 11695 15220 17730 0600-0700 on 17515 17715 21500 21695 1000-1100 on 9690 15140 17750 1100-1200 on 7470 11540 11590 15375 1200-1400 on 7470 11540 11590 13625 15375 1500-1530 on 7530 9410 11500 15145 1530-1600 on 7470 7530 11500 15145 2200-2300 on 5820 7470 9835 2300-2400 on 6010 7470 7550 9875 Uyghur 0100-0200 on 7480 9480 9645 9690 13605 1600-1700 on 7470 7510 11720 11730 Vietnamese 1400-1430 on 1503 5855 7515 9990 11605 12130 13865 15195 1430-1500 on 5855 7515 9990 11605 12130 13865 15195 2330-0030 on 5855 11605 11965 15135 15565 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 14 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 2485, VL8K, Jan 19 at 1345 with some talk audible, but not on weaker NT carriers 2310, 2325. At 1346 I could almost imagine there was a carrier on 2368.5 from R. Symban, but too much LSA beacon harmonic --- see U S A (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 9475, Jan 17 at 0708 English discussion of PINs, ATMs, apparently the Innovation show. Did not realize RA started this early on frequency, but indeed 9475 scheduled from 0700 and a good thing it is, tho 329 degrees from Shep, nowhere near USward: not // 9660 and 9710, the latter split off for stupid ballgame coverage on a Sunday afternoon. RA in discussion of giving birth at home, 9580, rudely interrupted amid at 1358* Jan 18 as that frequency had to close with no retune/courtesy announcement at all, continued on // 9590 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. TAIWAN: 11550.1, Radio Australia; 2239-2300+, 13- Jan; Language lesson, English and sounded like Arabic. Usual weird collection of phrases such as; "She doesn't smoke cigarettes; she smokes cigars." and "Instead of playing tennis, let's play badminton." How many English learners are likely to use badminton often? English program closing at 2259 to ID and continued in Arabic? SIO=353- Tnx Glenn for QTH (Harold Frodge, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Indonesian service; Taiwan relay is always off-frequency, e.g. hets WEWN in the morning. Maybe not badminton, but there is a smoking epidemic in Indonesia, I hear, the poor fools. That reminds me of a TFRL I haven`t quoted in too long a time, not picking on Indonesians in particular: ``Anyone who smokes is a fool. Anyone who smokes in public is a dangerous fool. Anyone who traffics in tobacco is a merchant of death.`` BTW2, I am not pleased that Sigourney Weaver, portraying a scientist a sesquicentury hence is not smart enough not to smoke in Avatar, which must have got paid off by the tobacco lobby to have her do so; but I am pleased that rating info for the movie, like rough language, nudity(?), also mentions smoking as a specific negative factor (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. I confirm that T8WH Palau relays Burmese and Indonesian of R. Australia from Jan. 19. 0100-0130 Burmese 15655 // 17655 AUS 0400-0430 Indonesian 15785 // 11550 TWN, 15180 & 15415 AUS 0500-0530 Indonesian 15590 // 11745 TWN, 15180 & 15415 AUS It is the first time that a program of R. Australia is relayed by Palau. de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, Jan 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) As replacement for Darwin? The story of this site got out of sight somewhat, but gossip from Australia has it that a shut-down of Darwin (or, rather, the Cox peninsula station) could be imminent, probably due on Jan 31 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 19, ibid.) At least no CVC anymore. I listened to their Internet stream last half hour and it definitive says: No more shortwave from 1.2.2010 anymore. Only internet streaming is going on to India. So probably the next 10 days are the last chance to catch CVC from Australia on shortwave. 73, (Stephan Schaa, Germany, Jan 19, ibid.) T8WH-Angel 4 New Schedule 2200-2400 12040 Radio Australia, English 0000-0030 15225 Radio Australia, Indonesian //15180, 15335, 15415 0100-0130 15655 Radio Australia, Burmese // 17655 0400-0430 15780 Radio Australia, Indonesian // 11550, 15180, 15415 (Jan. 19 on 15785 kHz) 0500-0530 15590 Radio Australia, Indonesian // 11745, 15180, 15415 1300-1430 9890 Radio Australia, Chinese // 9475, 11660, 11760, 11825 1600-1630 9965 Radio Australia, Chinese http://www.mediacat-blog.jp/usr/hiroshi/t8whb09_2010jan.gif de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, Jan 20, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, ibid.) - but what is on between 0530 and 1300? On 9930 I usually hear Chinese (Mandarin), but today at 0930 I heard World Harvest R in English --- and FROM WHERE?? 73, (Erik Koie, Copenhagen, ibid.) Dear Erik, 9930 kHz at 0930 are T8WH-Angel 3. All schedules: http://www.mediacat-blog.jp/usr/hiroshi/t8whb09_2010jan.gif FB DXing & 73. (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, ibid.) Nice graphic chart From the latest EiBi list: 9930 World Harvest Radio 0700 1500 English Medorn Palau FE /PAL USA EiBi The latest Aoki list (1/20 0400G) has a long list of individual programs in English for the 0700-1500 period (Dan Ferguson, ibid.) http://www.whri.com/Frequencies.cfm shows T8WH site, angel 3 (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) There is time of off air unlike a schedule of Angel 3 of web. (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, ibid.) Yesterday I checked the new Radio Australia via Palau relays first reported by Sei-ichi Hasegawa on Monday. Here's what I found: 15655 - at 0059 on 20 Jan opened abruptly with World Harvest Radio feed, mention of Palau and address for reception reports. At 0100 cut to Radio Australia feed ending English, then kookaburra and RA ident in Burmese, followed by familiar news theme intro. Fair to good signal with parallel 17665 Shepparton very good. 15780 (not 15785 as reported elsewhere) - at 0411 on 20 Jan found English/Indonesian language lessons here with fair to good signal. Transmission slightly delayed compared with parallel freqs: 15415 & 15180 from Shepparton - both very good; Taiwan relay on 11550.11 was only poor. Language lesson ended 0429:30 with 'Good Bye Listeners' and Palau went off, whereas Taiwan 11550.11 continued with closing announcements and identification in Indonesian. 15590 - at 0459 tune-in on 20 Jan found WHRI ident & address, then at 0500, ABC (Australia) news theme and into Indonesian news with Haiti the lead item. Poor signal. Parallel freqs audible - 15415 & 15180 from Shepparton both excellent, 11745 via Taiwan was poor (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, Northland, New Zealand, AOR7030+ and EWEs to the Americas, 36.11.70 S, 174.56.70 E. dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. 15340 in English Jan 19 at 1455 with big het from perpetually off-frequency Morocco on 15341. Must be HCJB Kununurra, only thing scheduled, and CVC Cox Peninsula (still on the air) was making it well with gospel rock on 13635, neither reliably audible here over night-path. At 1458 Morocco went off, about to shift to 15345, so could hear 15340 at 1500 closing Spotlight, easy English program with e-mail address. Now the problem is splatter from Radio Martí 15330, and nothing much further audible from HCJB-Au, which is supposedly in English daily 1445-1530, after lots of other S Asian languages from 1145, all aimed 307 degrees from WA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 6230/USB, VMW Wiluna, Australia; 1137-1140:45*, 17-Jan; M in English with marine weather; ID at s/off. Good, // weaker 8113 / USB; 2056, 4149, 12362 & 16528 not heard (never heard). (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Sad News --- I received a shock reading through today's obituaries in this morning's paper. Ted Carter, who was once VK7EC has died after a long illness. Ted was a long-time SWL and monitor for various international stations such RN, DW and the VOA. I first met him whilst attending a local amateur radio club meeting almost 50 years ago. He was more interested in listening than transmitting. In fact I got my first copy of the WRTH from him when I told him I heard a Philippine station on 570 kc/s when 2YA went off the air. That was in 1961 and reception would have been better if the persistent frying noise had gone away. It was Ted who told me it was fluorescent tubes. I was only 13 or 14 then. Ted was always a very private person and was a lecturer at the local General Hospital nursing school and continued on for a while after nursing was upgraded to university level. I was fortunate once to visit his listening post at Legana when we started a local branch of the then Southern Cross DX club and his set-up was modest. Ted was a member of the ARDXC and Southern Cross DX Club and probably the two NZ DX clubs before the Australian clubs came into existence. I last saw Ted in the early 90's and he was frail then. He died from a long illness and has been privately cremated. No cards or condolences please (Robin Harwood VK7RH, Norwood, Tasmania 7250, Radio Monitor SWLR-KS001, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) obit ** BAHAMAS. 810, ZNS3, Freeport, 0451-0515 UT 1/16/10, at first just brief hints of another station here besides WHB and XERI. Gradually came up, and by 0500 I caught a Bahamas ID by accented M then into a short newscast by an unaccented W. Local weather forecast at 0502 - low temp tonight of 66 degrees with light winds. Possible jingle after that and directly into a couple of cool tropical vocal selections. Gradually losing them, and by 0515, they were history. No copy of them on 1540. I couldn't count the number of times I've attempted to hear this one both here and in Oklahoma (Kirk Allen, Pasadena, TX, ULR SRF-59 with SAT, IRCA via DXLD) ** BHUTAN. BBS Bhutan was noted back on 6035 during the last few days after not being heard for some time (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India, UT Jan 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBS is still using 50 kW old transmitter. Waiting for the Thomson guys to repair the new 100 kW (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Jan 17, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. Had not checked former VOBI transmission for a few weeks, which was Fri 19-20 on WHRI 15665, but just in case did so Jan 15: nothing heard, tho at 1930 I happened to be in a rather noisy parking lot with a portable. Website http://www.biafraland.com/vobi.htm still shows no broadcasts since Dec 11 as far as audio files (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Background: Nigeria has a long-year interior conflict between the (radical) Muslim provinces in the North, merely [barely?] industrialized, but already having the Scharia, and the mostly Christian South with most of the resources of oil and gas as well as industry and infrastructure. Biafra is one of the southern provinces (states) which want more of the profits of the resources, mostly disappearing in the pockets of corrupt (central) state employees. The integrating president is deadly ill, the war of the "Diadoches" is becoming worse (Walter Eibl, Jan WWDXC DX Magazine via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5952.45, Radio Pio XII, Siglo Veinte, 1040-1055, Jan 16, Spanish talk. Some Bolivian music. Poor in noisy conditions and adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BOLIVIA. 6134.79, Radio Santa Cruz, 0933-0945 Jan 10, With a signal that was barely audible, noted a male in Spanish language comments. At about 0940 music is heard. Signal was really threshold during this period. Checked back at 1015 and noticed that the signal had improved with music that was actually audible. 6155.32, Radio Fides, 1019-1030 Jan 14, Another threshold signal here where I noted a person in Spanish comments. Can't distinguish whether I am hearing a male or female announcer. Signal was very weak (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston FL, NRD545, 26.27N 081.05W, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I generally avoid such logs with no significant details; except Chuck does give us precise frequencies which we can only hope match the stations assumed (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** BRAZIL [and non]. Record 1000 kHz com 200 kW? Nos últimos anos, a emissora considerada canal livre em vasta extensão de alguns milhares de kms, vem apresentando queda no desempenho do sinal. A noite, a mesma acaba sendo interferida por uma emissora do Paraguay que opera no mesmo QRG, deixando a emissora de São Paulo (SP) de "fundo". Pelo que sei, sua potência seria de 200 kW dia e noite, mas parece nem estar com a metade (Edison Bocorny Jr., Capão da Canoa- RS, Jan 13, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Says R. Record, SP on 1000 kHz listed with 200 kW day and night, is underneath QRM from Paraguay, so doubts Record is running even half of 200 kW. The Paraguayan is listed in WRTH with only 1 kW at night, 10 kW day (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A potência dela seria 200 kW, anunciam, mas nunca conseguiram colocar mais de 120 kW, ou seja 60 em cada transmissor (Ariovaldo Lobrito, Jan 14, ibid.) Em Rondônia nem sinal da Record nos 1000 kHz. Escuta regular nas noites somente a Globo 1220 e a Tupi 1280 kHz, ambas do RJ (Rozek, ibid.) A Tupi 1280 tem um sinalaço, um diretivo para o continente e 100 kW na ponta do bambu, diplexada com os 900 kHz da Tamoio com 50 kW. py2ari p.pte (Ariovaldo Lobrito, ibid.) A emissora paulista com melhor sinal à noite por aqui sem sombra alguma de duvida, a Globo 1150 kHz [sic, must mean 1100?], que opera com 50 Kw (noite), melhor que a a Record 1000 e Capital 1040 (100 kW), e sem fading (Edison Bocorny Jr., Capão da Canoa- RS, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL: 4865, Rádio Alvorada; 1046-1058+, 17-Jan; Portuguese preacher with sermonizing & tunes--mostly music; ID at 1058 and religious program continued. SIO=3+22+, rapid pulse (2/sec.) QRM. (Frodge-MI) 5045, Rádio Cultura do Pará; 0037-0045+, 17-Jan; Wide variety of Portuguese pop somes [songs?]; ID promo at 0044+, "...Brasil, Cultura." SIO=3+43- (Frodge-MI) 9565.2, Rádio Super Deus é Amor [sic]; 0028-0101+, 16-Jan; Preacher in Portuguese really straining; lotsa shouting; W apparently near the microphone was giving him a run for his money with her share of moaning. No break at 0100, but break-away R. Deus é Amor (without Super) at 0100:34. SIO=322 with odd buzz QRM & QRN crashes. // 9585, SIO=2+43-; 6060 covered by Cuba & 11725 not heard. (Frodge-MI) [odd buzz QRM, could be leftover Cuban jamming against Martí -- gh] 11815, Rádio Brasil Central; 0102-0111+, 16-Jan; W in Portuguese with low-key vocals; RBC promo at 0110:30. SIO=2+33; // 4985, SIO=352 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Onda tropical, 5035 kHz - Rádio Aparecida --- Prezados Colegas, Eu não apareço, mas estou sempre lendo os e-mails. Quanto aos 60 metros, 5035 kHz da Rádio Aparecida, o Padre Inácio Medeiros, informa que o sistema de onda tropical foi retirado do ar devido às fortes chuvas e inundações na ârea do sítio transmissor da referida Rádio, que fica pertinho do Rio Paraíba (Edvaldo P. de Sousa, Uberlândia - MG, Jan 12, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Temporarily? See also 6135 below ** BRAZIL. 5940, Brasil, R. Paz no Valle via R. Voz Missionária, Camboriu. January 15, 0855-0900. Sertanejo music with religious lyrics in program “Alvorada Sertaneja”, male “o melhor da música gospel, R. Paz no Valle, muito mais música para abençoar sua vida”. 45434. 73's (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5940.01, Radio Voz Missionária, Florianópolis, 0747-0805+, Jan 17, Portuguese talk with announcements, promos, jingles. “Radio Voz Missionária” IDs. Religious music. Fair signal but poor after 0800 due to adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL. 6135.08, Rádio Aparecida, Aparecida, São Paulo. 2259-2306 January 18, 2010. A het on the BBCWS, and once they abruptly closed at 2300, this was good with ID, then five short time sounders (no long) at 2300:15, brief talk, vocal (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) R. Santa Cruz, Bolivia is also around 6135, not on this time? See 5035 above (gh) ** BRAZIL [and non]. 6185, apprehensively enjoying nice Mexican music on XEPPM, 6185, Jan 19 at 0625 now clear of Catholic clash from Vatican, and already at *0629 on comes Brasília overriding it. Feb 21 cannot come soon enough, when Brasil goes off DST and this should start cutting on sometime between 0730 and 0800 UT instead. Inexplicably, RNA shifts programming and transmission one hour back and forth due to DST in Brasília even tho there is no DST in target Amazônia! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9505, 2144 28 Nov, R. Record, presumed, OM in Portuguese. Not 100% as Cuba and Portugal listed at this time too, SIO 252 (Steve Calver, Herts, Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Listed where??? Cuba has been gone from 9505 for several sesquiyears, and Portugal? Not that I ever recall (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 10000/AM, PPE, Observatório Nacional, Brasil, time station; Portuguese ID every 10 seconds; clear under WWV; best heard in several weeks. 2247, 11-Jan (Harold Frodge, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Caros amigos, A transmissão do Observatório Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, em 10000 kHz, aqual foi vítima de severas críticas de minha parte quando foi retomada; atualmente está me surpreendendo pois não apresenta mais o sinal interferente que apresentava no início e está tendo excelente captação durante o dia e á noite, aqui em Barbacena. E, observado nas listas, que eles também estão sendo captados por dexistas da Europa e EUA. É uma questão de "Dar a Cesar o que é de Cesar"... pois atualmente, os relógios de minha residência estão sendo acertados pelos Observatório Nacional... Aquele pessoal está de parabéns, pois para mim, que estava acostumado a captar a WWV, é muito reconfortante ouvir a hora certa, naquela agradável voz femnina, falando em português. Um abraço a todos, (Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, Barbacena - MG - Brasil, Membro do DX Clube do Brasil, http://www.ondascurtas.com Jan 15, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Bom dia! Aqui em Americana ainda não consegui sintoniza-la em 10000 kHz. Eu também gosto muito dessa emissora desde que era Rádio Relógio Federal, ao final de todas informações o locutor falava "Você sabia??" na minha infância ouvia com meu avô todas as manhãs na hora do café antes de ir a escola, na faixa de 49 metros, no Holiday da década de 60 que hoje está comigo, desde que ele falaceu ... Como aqui na cidade tem a Radio Você em 580, é impossível sintonizar, mas no final do ano fui a Poços de Caldas e lá sintonizei, mas com programação da Igreja Internacional da Graça e hora na voz feminina entrando por cima, em OC tb é esta programação?? 73, (Adriano Mansette, Americana-SP, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 10000, re 10-02, NOT Indian timesignals ATA, off the air for years: ``Larry, Were there time announcements too? You did not say so. If not, this may have nothing to do with any timesignal station. What format, what timezone? Are you talking about voice only, or was there some code? The new Brazilian timesignal station on 10000 is Observatorio Nacional, but it`s very low powered. Surely whatever it was would not really be saying QRX. I don`t understand what you mean by ``off frequency but still on 10000``. What frequency was it really on? Glenn`` Hey Glenn, I am trying to download my file on the station I heard on 10 MHz but seems to slow down on this ship's system, after hearing the recording the words QRS National and then some other words but later there is a tone at the end of the voice, it`s hard to make out as the WWVH station is on the same frequency. I tuned both sides of this 10000 khz remembering some Russians might be a few khz off but no, it`s exactly on 10 and no changes in voice or frequency. I wish we stayed in port longer and I had the laptop set up to record this but were enroute to another port with our cargo, I plan to go on vacation sometime this month and will add logs as often as possible, haven't been there in 8 months. Great programs and I listen through I tunes when I can (Larry Fields, civilian, Jan 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Subject: [SWL] In response to my ATA tone or National [see INDIA] Some time back I posted a comment of the reception of a station on 10000 kilohertz which I thought was ATA as the words National were constant and repeated over and over for several moments. I had the problem responding to this due to ship`s movement. We left Guam and now sitting near Pusan, Korea. I posted a copy of the video/audio of that reception on my website, http://www.myradioworldandcatches.blog.com Please check this out and let me know your opinions on the station. I had the opinion at the time it was ATA as I didn't figure it to be Russian, as I tuned to 9995 and 10005. No change in signals and was still strong on the 10000. My location was between two shortwave stations KTWR and AWR which I figured wasn't from them. Hope to listen more and going on vacation soon (Larry Fields, N6HPX, 18 Jan, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Larry, If we had heard this earlier we would not have had an interesting thread about the history of ATA India, which is certainly defunct. Your clip is clearly in Brazilian Portuguese, timechecks every 10 seconds, ID as ``Observatorio Nacional``. It`s the new (as of last year) time signal station in Rio de Janeiro, thought to be 1 kW or less and a very nice catch way out there in the Pacific. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Thanks, Glenn, I am surprised to hear this station, especially in the Pacific. I checked around the internet but never saw the end results of the ATA station. I bet now I can collect on that QSL and will listen for it from Manila next month. Thanks again for the reply. 73 de (Larry, n6hpx/mm, ibid.) See also INDIA ** BULGARIA. R. Bulgaria`s DX programme is now in the Saturday transmission at 0730 UT on 5900 and 7400, not Sunday, noted 21 and 28 Nov (Edwin Southwell, England, Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Thru the miracle of P-mail it took two months for this info to reach us, but http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html has now been corrected (gh, Jan 21, 2010, DXLD) ** BURKINA FASO. 5030, R. Burkina, Ouagadougou. January 14, 2219-2229 male talks seems in French, 2225 slow Afropop music. When music, better signal level, 24222 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. HAITI ON RADIO-CANADA Just noticed tonight Radio-Canada is doing multi-platfom simulcasting in relation to the earthquake crisis in Haiti. A live overnight news/talk/call-in program originating from Radio-Canada's all-news TV network (RDI) is being simulcast on the main French broadcast TV network and on Première Chaîne radio. RDI has also reactivated its web feed for the duration of the crisis. I first caught the show on the car radio as I was driving home from work. By the time I got home, around 0030 MST, the host was welcoming TV viewers in British Columbia. I've since heard they've been doing this since Day 1 and it will continue tomorrow overnight, too. One of the Radio-Canada Internet folks who appeared on the show reported the audio portion of their program was being relayed to Haiti via local FM stations in the Caribbean, although I didn't catch which stations he mentioned. And RCI in all this? Nothing that I know of. Shortwave could be the perfect vehicle right now for this kind of special programming broadcast, especially with the extreme lack of information within Haiti itself right now. 73, (Ricky Leong, Calgary, early Jan 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well --- ** CANADA. Special transmissions of RCI in various languages from Jan. 16: 1200-2000 on 15260 SAC 250 kW / 189 deg, maybe to Haiti 2000-2400 on 9510 SAC 250 kW / 189 deg, maybe to Haiti (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via DXLD) But --- Nothing heard on 15260, Jan 18 at 1725 --- contingency? Did not think to check for it further or on Jan 19, but at 2315, nothing on 9510 either. Haven`t looked for it since (Glenn Hauser, OK, Jan 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. MAPLE LEAF MAILBAG ROCK N' ROADSHOW! HELLO EVERYONE! AS A REGULAR LISTENER TO RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL'S "MAPLE LEAF MAILBAG" I WANT TO PROMOTE THE STATION WEBSITE. CHECK OUT THE JUST RELEASED "ROCK N' ROADSHOW", BY CLICKING ON ENGLISH, THEN SELECTING THE LINK. THIS IS A REALLY COOL VIDEO ABOUT A TRIP ACROSS CANADA'S PROVINCES! A DIFFERENT SEGMENT WILL BE FEATURED EACH SUNDAY, SO CHECK IT OUT! HOST IAN JONES BLENDS A GREAT SELECTION OF CANADIAN MUSIC WITH ANSWERS TO YOUR LETTERS AND TOPICS ABOUT CANADA. THE VIDEOS MAY ALSO BE DOWNLOADED TO REALPLAYER. http://www.rcinet.ca 73's (Tim Marecki, Jan 17, ptsw yg via DXLD) OKAY OKAY ** CANADA. 6159.97, CKZU - Vancouver, 0303, Jan 14. What a difference 24 hours makes! Yesterday Newfoundland was stronger than Vancouver, but today Vancouver back to normal with a much stronger signal. The reason there is now no echo produced by both stations running the same CBC news is that Vancouver has their own local news and weather; changed probably due to Olympic Winter Games (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. RICHARD SYRETT BACK ON TORONTO RADIO. Hello Glenn: A few months ago I've heard you announce that Richard Syrett, who use to host his own show on CFRB 1010AM Toronto of conspiracies and paranormal activities, was taken off-air. Glad that you did since I'd wondered what happened to his show. I actually thought his program to be better than Coast To Coast AM anyways. Well, apparently Richard Syrett is back. Sunday nights at 11 PM - 1 AM EST with The Conspiracy Show on Toronto's 50 kW CFZM 740AM. Go to http://zoomerradio.com for info on CFZM. Appreciate your time and programing (Phil Schoenthal, N2MDV, Western New York, Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CFRX, 6070 was audible today (Jan. 19) at 0820 at weak to fair strength in parallel with much stronger CFRB 1010. It was their usual talk-in show at this time. There was a co-channel on 6070 that I assume would be BLR, and the ever present splash from D. Welle 6075 via WOF at this hour. And CFRB 1010 was again mixing with WINS New York, but mainly on top (Noel R. Green (NW England), Jan 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. FEDS SHUT DOWN CANADIAN PIRATE RADIO STATION FOR THIRD TIME Digital Home January 15, 2010 http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=26 In a case of Déjà Vu [sic – why is that capitalised?] all over again, Industry Canada and the RCMP are reported to be trying to shut down a pirate radio station which has been operating in Ottawa since October. The Ottawa Sun is reporting that just before noon today, federal officials were outside the Saade International Hotel where the station originates attempting to shut it down. This is third time that Industry Canada has tried to shut down the station which is being run by fourteen year old Jayhaed Saade and his father Georges out of the father`s strip club/hotel. In the first two instances, the Saades shut down for a short period of time but then began broadcasting again. The station, which bills itself as MIX FM, and operates from 91.7 FM has been operating non-stop since Christmas morning. When contacted by Digital Home last week about the illegal radio station, a clearly agitated Jayhaed would only say that he would continue to operate the station and complained about being hounded by "stupid Canadians". Jayhaed told Digital Home that he had spent $80,000 from an inheritance in order to purchase the equipment necessary to operate the station. According to the Canadian Radiocommunication Act, the operator of an illegal radio station is liable to a fine of up to five thousand dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) There's been some discussion of this on the Southern Ontario - Western New York radio discussion board in past few months http://www.sowny.ca It seems awfully sophisticated for a 14 year old. He's either a latter-day Ted Rogers, Sr., or there`s more to the story. He's got phone numbers in multiple cities, plastering Ottawa with posters, web presence. Almost seems to be taunting Industry Canada to shut him down. Lots of free publicity for his dad's strip club too (Fred Waterer, Ont, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hey Fred, Thanks for the link to http://www.sowny.ca so and can read about this interesting pirate. The digitalhome.ca link given in Mike`s earlier post won`t allow non North Americans to visit the conversation. We get taken to a page that says digitalhome.ca is for North Americans only and that international readers are not given any access as they are spammers! I know that some North Americans can be a strange lot, but I didn't realised that some segments of Canadian society were locking themselves in away from the rest of us that are living on the other islands that form this planet :-) Cheers, (Mark Fahey, (Sydney, Australia), Jan 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ?? Mike Terry is not a North American, shhh (gh, DXLD) News Weird --- TEEN'S PIRATE RADIO SILENCED --- AGAIN By KENNETH JACKSON, QMI Agency Last Updated: 15th January 2010, 3:14pm http://www.torontosun.com/news/weird/2010/01/15/12483031.html A worker disables a transmission tower that was used by a 14-year-old to operate a pirate radio station. Kenneth Jackson/Ottawa Sun [caption] OTTAWA - An Ottawa youth's pirate MIX FM 91.9 radio station went off the air --- again --- today after authorities searched his father's hotel to find the transmitter. RCMP and Industry Canada officials returned this morning to the Saade International Hotel on Bank St. in Gloucester attempting to shut it down. The unlicensed station is operated by 14-year-old Jayhaed Saade and has been on and off the local airwaves for the last couple of months. Jayhaed had hidden some of the equipment and would not tell police --- or even his father Georges Saade --- where it was located. Georges Saade said the RCMP called pretending to rent a room, because the hotel door was locked at 9 a.m. He said the Mounties had to call in a locksmith to gain access. Jayhaed was mad, yelling at the police and was crying at one point, he said. George Saade said he was told no charges would be laid but the RCMP and Industry Canada wanted all the radio equipment. A technician also scaled a transmission tower outside the hotel to render it inoperable. Jayhaed Saade has received two orders from Industry Canada to turn the station off. The first time, Dec. 3, he shut down the broadcasts for a day. He went off the air again Dec. 14 only to go back on Dec. 24. The station has been broadcasting ever since. Apparently, it`s still operating online (via Fred Waterer, ibid.) ** CANADA [non]. See CHECHNYA [and non] Canadian on TV ** CHAD. 6165, Chad, R. N'Djamena. January 19, 2113-2124 male outside talks with studio female in French. 24232. 73's (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHECHNYA [and non]. CANADIAN MODEL UNLIKELY NEW FACE OF CHECHEN TV Chrystal Callahan calls her job ''a dream come true'' and says she has never regretted her decision to trade the catwalk for a career on Chechen television. January 13, 2010, By Claire Bigg Chrystal Callahan likes shopping, designer clothes, and fine cuisine. Much of her weekly television show, "Highlights of the Week with Chrystal Callahan," is devoted to beauty and fashion, with a sprinkling of folk culture and music. From her job description, one would never guess the Canadian model- turned- anchor is broadcasting from Chechnya, a region still reeling from two devastating wars. Although the conflict is officially over, thousands of civilian war victims are believed to still be buried in the dozens of mass graves that dot the Russian republic. Kidnapping and murder are rife in Chechnya, which remains one of the most deadly places in the world for human rights activists. But the Toronto-born former model says she feels at ease in her adopted land. Speaking to RFE/RL by phone from Grozny, she acknowledges life in the Chechen capital can be dangerous. But she insists the risks are now no worse than those in crime-troubled Western cities like Chicago or Mexico City. "I feel completely safe. I think the problem with many people and why they might feel so frightened about coming to Chechnya is because of all the negative press," Callahan says. "There's usually never any good stories coming out of Chechnya that are covered by the media, so I think that's what the problem is." much more at: http://www.rferl.org/content/Canadian_Model_Unlikely_New_Face_Of_Chechen_TV/1928764.html (via Fred Waterer, Jan 13, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM IN HAITI - Galrahn, Som Post: "One topic kept popping up today among many observers: why is China kicking the State Department's ass in strategic communication in Haiti? It doesn't look good when somehow the Chinese can get a fully loaded plane into Haiti all the way from China before we can get many of our own search and rescue teams in from the US. I sat dumbfounded watching CNN this afternoon seeing a big red Chinese flag waiving [sic] in the background, and became frustrated when I saw a different Chinese flag an hour later behind an NBC reporter in a different area. There cannot possibly be that many Chinese in Haiti already, and they did bring humanitarian supplies and not flags, right? What the heck is going on? This is soft power; symbolism and perception matters a lot to achieving strategic objectives in disaster recovery and humanitarian response operations. In the opening hours of crisis, the people are still in shock. The first 48 hours is the calm before the storm, and every detail in public communication and ! public diplomacy matters. I was seriously impressed when I saw State Department folks engaged in an actual conversation on Twitter today, but every element of government needs to get organized a bit better in the online space." (via John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review Jan 15 via Drita Çiço, Albania, DXLD) Maybe Chinese were already in Cuba? (gh) ** CHINA. 4220, PBS Qinghai, Xining. January 14, Tibetan (listed) 2308-2314 Chinese music with slightly different style than that traditional of China, 2310 male and female talks. 24232 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 4940, Voice of Strait, 1550-1600*, Jan 13. In Chinese; poor reception due to stronger AIR Guwahati. Still no sign of VOS on former 4900 or 5050. 4940, Voice of Strait, 1510, Jan 17. The Sunday program “Focus on China” (scheduled 1500-1530) was not heard today; instead they had comedy show in Chinese; almost fair without much AIR QRM (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. 7280, CLANDESTINE (China), Sound of Hope – Tanshui, Taiwan, 1220-1238 Jan 11, woman with Chinese talk accompanied by chip monk [sic] sounding tunes. Discussion by two women from 1232. Fair to good. // 7290 was poor (Rich D’Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 35, Ten-Tec RX-340 and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially south and 250-foot wire essentially east for the RX-340 and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Aoki shows SOH on 7280 at this time but not on 7290, instead CNR1. Therefore, since they were //, you were really hearing CNR1 as a jammer on 7280, not SOH, and CNR1 as a non-jammer on 7290. These misIDs happen again and again, attesting to the effectiveness of this ChiCom jamming tactic in disguising what is really happening, even from experienced DXers who don`t understand Chinese or consult Aoki properly. They see SOH listed on a frequency they are hearing, and ignore that little a*terisk which means it is (always) jammed by CNR1 which does not have a more detailed entry of its own, and would make it clearer that something besides SOH is on there. The odds are, that even when it`s a 300 kW SOH frequency (and most of them are not), you will be hearing the jamming instead, so to claim SOH you need to get a definite ``Xi Wang Zhi Sheng`` ID or ask a Chinese friend to listen to a clip, as Jorge Freitas did: (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. Glenn. Escuto nesse momento, 2357 UT de 16/Jan, em 6280 khz uma transmissão em chinês que as listas apontam como sendo a SOH, mas não há nenhuma interferência do firedrake chinês, apenas OM falando. Estou gravando e disponibilizarei em meu blog. Será realmente a SOH sem firedrake? Um abraço, (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jorge, This is a 300 kW transmission via Taiwan, so unlike the other SOH frequencies such as 8400, 9000, it may have a chance of overcoming the jamming. Look at the last line of Aoki: * means frequencies such as 6280 are jammed by CNR1, CNR2 or CNR3 programming, not Firedrake, so that could be what you heard, not SOH. 73, (Glenn to Jorge, via DXLD) Glenn, Já disponibilizei a gravação em meu blog http://www.ipernity.com/doc/75006/7102252/ No final tem o que deve ser a ID, se puder me ajudar na identificação eu agradeço. Muito obrigado pela resposta. Um abraço, (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana BA, ibid.) My Chinese is not that good to make anything out of the announcement. Sounds like the closing theme music, which you were talking over at 2359 would be something identifiable by listening to other SOH transmissions or maybe audio archives if they have them (Glenn to Jorge, ibid.) Glenn, Sim, pode ser jammer da CNR, mas a lista Aoki não é específica quanto a informação do "*". Ela pode identificar jammer pela CNR, geralmente das transmissões da VOA e RFA e firedrake para os casos da SOH. A lista EIBI anuncia como sendo firedrake chinês em 6280 kHz. Bem, o certo é que pode ser qualquer uma realmente, mas duvido que a SOH consiga superar os poderosos jammer ou firedrake chinês por completo sem se ouvir nenhuma QRM de fundo. Muito mais provavelmente o jammer da CNR por completo na frequência ou uma falha dos chineses. Um abraço, (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana BA, ibid.) 6280 16/Jan 2352 TAIWAN, Xi Wang Zhi Sheng SOH(?), em chinês, desde Tanshui. OM fala. Geralmente as transmissões da SOH são interferidas pelos potentes firedrake chinês, que são transmissões de apenas músicas folclóricas chinesas, mas hoje não se ouve absolutamente nenhuma outra interferência sobre essa frequência, não se ouve outra modulação de voz e nem musical. Será realmente uma transmissão da SOH sem o firedrake chinês? O sinal chega moderado apesar da modulação está mais baixa que o normal para uma transmissão. As 2359 UT YL fala, talvez a ID, uma curta música instrumental e fim da transmissão. Gravação disponível no meu blog http://www.ipernity.com/doc/75006 Os firedrakes chineses são ouvidos as 0111 UT em 8400, 9000 kHz, 10970, 11300 kHz com sinais de fracos a moderados e em 10210 kHz não é ouvido. 35433 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 19 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I already tried to explain to Jorge, according to Aoki --- see the very bottom of the file explaining *, the 6280 SOH transmission, as well as others on the high power Taiwan transmitters (this is 300 kW), are generally jammed by CNR1, CNR2 or CNR3 programming, NOT by Firedrake like the 1 kW out-of-band transmitters. Tho there could be anomalies. So not hearing Firedrake on 6280 does not necessarily mean you were hearing SOH. It could be the non-Firedrake jamming. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Colegas. Abaixo o motivo pelo qual gosto tanto do dexismo e o classifico como sendo um passatempo único que consegue remover as barreiras políticas, geográficas e lingüísticas do mundo. Tendo dúvida a respeito de uma escuta que fiz em 6280 kHz da SOH, se era realmente ela ou o jammer chinês da CNR, perguntei a um colega que mora na China e visita o meu blog no ipernity se poderia me ajudar na identificação. Enviei a pergunta em português mesmo, pois sei que os chineses tem uma grande admiração pelo Brasil e algumas universidades até ensinam o nosso idioma. Ele respondeu que não fala português e usou um programa tradutor para poder entender a minha mensagem, pede desculpas pela tradução, mas confirma que a escuta é da SOH. Sim, cultura, amizade e diversão salutar sem fronteiras, essa é a bandeira de nosso apaixonante passatempo. Abaixo a mensagem do colega Xien: "" Re: 6280 kHz Jorge Freitas: Olá, Eu não sou Português, através do software de tradução, intercâmbio e você não pode expressar plenamente o significado precisamente, você poderia por favor me perdoe. 6280 kHz é, certamente, Xi Wang Zhi Sheng SOH. Xien CAO"" Uma outra mensagem de Xien: "" Sim, você recebeu é TAIWAN, Xi Wang Zhi Sheng SOH. Parabéns a você, receber a estação de DX"" A página no ipernity do colega Xien: http://www.ipernity.com/home/113792 (visitem e vejam fotos do colega montando antenas e em encontros dexistas) Na verdade é uma transmissão de 300 kW, portanto não é uma escuta difícil. O problema é que geralmente os jammer e os firedrakes chineses não permitem a escuta das transmissões da SOH e esse é o motivo da alegria na escuta, ouvir a SOH sem interferências. A gravação da escuta está em meu blog http://www.ipernity.com/doc/75006 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana Bahia, Brasil, dxclubepr yg via DXLD) Someone in China listened to his clip and confirmed it was SOH rather than a jammer (gh) ** CHINA. 7105, again Jan 13 at 1418 with YL talking in unMandarin- sounding language with lots of rising intonations; 1420 QRM from intermittent carrier, probably annoyed ham, also QRM from ``running water`` mode, longer pulses, 1422 with music, short beeps interfered. I was still thinking it must be Madagascar, as reported Jan 12, but Ron Howard, CA, was also monitoring this today and says ``7105, PBS Nei Menggu, 1448, Jan 13. Indeed they have returned here again with fair to good reception; still heard at 1602 (scheduled for 1605*); // 9520. Also heard the spurs on both 7095 and 7115.`` WRTH 2010 had removed 7105 and all other ChiCom channels 7100-7200 as they were supposedly evacuating, or already had done so. Besides 9520, other Nei Menggu frequencies shown are 6040, 7270, 7420, 9750, all at 2150-1605. They have two separate networks for Chinese news and Mongolian news, but WRTH does not says which ones are on which SW frequencies. Aoki does, already updated as of Jan 12 to show 7105 again for the Chinese net, also on 7420, 9520, while Mongolian is on 6040, 7270, 9750. So I must defer that the language heard on 7105 is Chinese, presumably meaning Mandarin rather than some other version? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7105, PBS Nei Menggu, 1448, Jan 13. Indeed they have returned here again with fair to good reception; still heard at 1602 (scheduled for 1605*); // 9520. Also heard the spurs on both 7095 and 7115 (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good Morning Glenn, PBS Nei Menggu heard at 1403, Jan. 14 on 7105, along with spurs on 7095, 7115 and 7125. Unable to hear the 7085 spur, but then again that was the weakest spur that I heard last July when they were here. Please note the attached short audio clip (MP3 - 142 KB). Best regards, (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7105, PBS Nei Menggu, 1403, Jan. 14. Heard the spurs on 7095, 7115 and 7125. Unable to hear the 7085 spur, but then again that was the weakest spur that I heard last July when they were here. 7105, PBS Nei Menggu, 1438, Jan. 16. Off the air today. Have they already abandoned this frequency again? (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nei Menggu PBS on 7105 kHz (Jan. 14-16), QSY to 7420 from Jan. 17. 7420kHz double transmission of same as 6125 (ex 5030 kHz), too. http://www.mediacat-blog.jp/usr/hiroshi/7420_0116_1105.gif de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 7445, CNR-8/Voice of the Minorities, Lingshi, 1304-1331, 17 Jan'10, Kazakh (listed), talks, music; 25231; \\ 9420, 9630 both fair, but deteriorating (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 9170 weak with music around 1359 Jan 13, no doubt the only station known to use this far out-of-band frequency, but missing at next check 1425. Aoki shows it as the Beijing 491 transmitter site, with CNR6 network in Chinese and Amoy, at 1100-1805 and 2055-0105. I consistently do not hear it after 1400, suspected real closedown time. On page 150 of WRTH 2010, CNR6 is identified as ``Shenzhou Easy Radio`` in Chinese, Amoy and Hakka at 2055-0105, 0355-1805 on MW/SW, i.e. 50 kW on 9170 and 6165 night, 11905 and 15710 day (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 5930, *1500 28 Dec, site? Chinese Firedrake music until 1530, 44544 (Edwin Southwell, England, Jan World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Who knows? But the jammee is VOA in Uzbek via Wertachtal, during this semihour only, per Aoki. A*terisked which normally means the jamming in CNR1, but the ChiCom may switch to Firedrake if they feel like it, as substitute or whatever; and I belive jamming Uzbek was its original motivation (gh, DXLD) Firedrake scan, 0239-0255, Jan 14. All //: 10970 (good), 11300 (fair), 13970 (good), 14430 (poor) and new 16270 (ex: 16700?) (fair); would all seem to be against SOH (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake Jan 14 at 1437: poor on 8400, nothing on 9000, 10210 or 11300 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 8400, 2034 16/01/10, Firedrake, CHN, Mx tipica com canto e tambores 44444. Att (Eduardo L. Castaldelli, Mairiporã- SP- Brasil, Grid Locator: GG66qq http://www.radiodx.qsl.br radioescutas yg via DXLD) JAMMERSTAN: 8400, Chinese Music Jammer; 1337, 17-Jan; also on 9000 & 10440, about equal and weaker than 8400 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake check Jan 19 at 1526: fair on 8400, not heard on 9000 or anywhere in the 10000-11500 range (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. Strong OTH radar pulses 5750-5830, presumed from here, Jan 13 at 1411, peaking around 5800 and QRMing strong broadcaster on 5810, much weaker one on 5825, i.e. R. Free Asia in Cantonese via TINIAN, and YFR in Nepali via UZBEKISTAN, respectively, per Aoki, which shows no ChiCom jamming on 5825 until 1500 when RFA switches to Mandarin. Same pitch of OTHR but much weaker at 1416 on 6910-6990. OTH radar pulses presumed from here, Jan 19: at 1402, 5760-5810 QRMing AFN Guam 5765 with AP Radio News ID at 1403, denoting an optional cutaway to affiliates for whom even 5 minutes of news is too much to swallow; and also QRMing the hugely stronger IBB Tinian in Cantonese on 5810. Also OTHR at 1406 covering 6770-6820 but no broadcasters to bother (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. La Voz de Tu Conciencia, 6010: ``Another tremendous answer to prayer is that the jamming from Havana Cuba has stopped and our shortwave frequency 6010 (The Voice of Your Conscience) is now completely in the clear with new antennas which boost the signal about five times what it used to be. Pray that we will be able to make the same type of antennas for our other shortwave station on 5910 so that we can hit all of Venezuela and Ecuador with a strong signal at this most critical time. All we lack are six special telephone poles, some special coax cable that has to be imported and a few other odds and ends plus some money to pay the engineers`` (Russ Stendal, Colombia Para Cristo newsletter 13 Dec via Jerry Berg, Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ?? Cuba stopped jamming 6010? They weren`t ``jamming`` CPC deliberately, just indifferent to other broadcasters, which is only slightly less sinful. And RHC is STILL using 6010 with a very strong signal at 0500-0700 in English, sometimes later, when you may forget about hearing HJDH or anything else on the frequency. HJDH supposedly runs 24 hours, but if they now quit at local midnight, then they could pretend that ``Cuba stopped jamming``. And RHC is influenced by prayer? I don`t think so. As for the antennas, 6010 supposedly changed to a vertical incidence one concentrating signals close-in and also reducing QRM to Mexico, and indeed we seldom hear LVC any more; but relatively clear 5910 was supposed to keep trying to reach out further; changed their tactical objectives now due to leftism in Ven and Ec? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5910, HJDH, Marfil Estéreo; 0325-0330+, 16-Jan; M in Spanish with Afro-sounding & Latino music; ID at 0328:30. SIO=2+22+ in AM due to ute; SIO=243+ in LSB. (Frodge-MI) 6035, HJOY, La Voz del Guaviare; 1225-1231+, 17-Jan; M in Spanish with music; Heard HJ & Colombia; W commentary in Spanish near BoH. Buried, but copyable peaks in LSB (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6034.99, LV del Guaviare, San José Guaviare, 0040-0104*, Jan 16, reactivated with local pop music. IDs. Sign off with National Anthem at 0103. Early sign off. They use to sign off at 0300. Poor to fair in noisy conditions and occasional adjacent channel splatter. Also heard at 1050-1140 with local music, ID, Spanish talk with a poor to fair signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** CONGO DR [non]. Radio Okapi in French and Lingala to Congo via VT Communication: 0400-0500 on 11690 MEY 250 kW / 340 deg, ex 0400-0600 on same frequency (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. 2859.82, Radio San Carlos, 0115-0204*, Jan 16, 2nd harmonic. 2 x 1430v. Spanish talk with crowd noise. Ads. Jingles. Abrupt sign off. Poor in noisy conditions. Occasional peaks up to a fair level (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 2859.8, Radio San Carlos; 0000, 17-Jan; M in Spanish with ID at tune- in, ``Ésta es San Carlos``, into lite Spanish pop music. SIO=3+52. Spanish religious program (Sunday morning) at 1211, 17-Jan (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2859.8, R. San Carlos --- seems the only times I hear it are when checking something else quickly on the portable, in the cold outdoors on a clip-on antenna away from the household noise sources --- there it was definitely in Spanish vs noise level still high, Jan 19 at 0150, two times 1429.9. Wish they stayed on later, or all night (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. 15170, REE at 1323 Jan 17 talking about Chile, Ukraine, in Spanish with good modulation for a change. I wonder if this means one of the new transmitters is now in operation? It`s also DRM- capable, so watch out next season. Strangely, no co-channel audible from RRI in Romanian, tho should be on; it was colliding after 1400, however. REE // 15125 also CR relay considerably weaker (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 6060, RHC still running English past 0700 as usual in reality contrary to schedule, UT Wed Jan 13 at 0715 amid DXers Unlimited, Arnie talking about MOPAs, also an odd time for that show usually in the second half of whatever hour. 6140 was also still on but in Spanish along with 6150, 6120 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6220, Radio Habana Cuba; 0431, 16-Jan; Spurs et al; M&W in Spanish with news & sports. SIO=343+ with ute trill; // 6140 S30; // 6120 SIO=443+; // 6110 S20; // 6060 S30; 6420 might have been there but didn't check -- heard some weak Spanish there later. (Frodge-MI) 6220, Radio Habana Cuba; 0614, 16-Jan; Ed Newman English news. SIO=433 with buzz QRM; // 6010 SIO=533; // 6060 S40; // 6140 S40 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So what were the S-readings on 6220 itself? Leapfrog of 6060 over 6140 (gh, DXLD) RHC UT Jan 16 at 0713 had English still running not only on usual 6060, but also still on 6010 and much weaker 6140; while Spanish was on 6120 and 6150. As frequently noted, 6140 is sometimes in Spanish, sometimes in English. 11760, RHC missing at 1454 Jan 16 while 11730 and 11800 continued. 11760 probably was in processing of switching transmitter/antenna, as it was back on by 1500. RHC missing from 6140, Jan 17 at 0650 so we can`t know if it would have been in Spanish or English this time. At 0700 surprised to hear RHC opening Esperanto on 6110 as I tuned by looking for XEQM, much weaker than Spanish on 6120, but I think this time, 6110 was receiver overload, as it appeared to go away with attenuation. But it could have been a leapfrog mix, as both 6010 and 6060 were still on with that weekly language. Soon they announced schedule for Esperanto starting with ``6000`` at 0700 Sundays, so the speakers haven`t a clue about the frequencies they are really on and did not attempt to copy the rest of it. At 0730, 6010 and 6060 went right back to RHC English, with ``news`` item saying ``allegedly`` to raise doubts about US relief to Haiti: could it be that the US is using this as an excuse to take over another country? Yeah, sure, just what we need. Always a negative spin on the US from RHC: now what is Cuba doing to help Haiti? RHC, 0609 UT Jan 18: Spanish, ending Figuras en la Historia on 6120, 6150; music during English service on 6140, // 6060, 6010. Has anyone noticed anything unusual from RHC in Creole? They allegedly have only one half-hour program daily which doesn`t leave much time for anything but propaganda. The `official` sked e-mailed out after B- 09 began claims Creole is only at 0100-0130 on 13790 to Rio de Janeiro! And that matches the transmission schedule currently presented on the website in Spanish. I think they are known to substitute French for Creole, anyway. It seems their service in that language has atrophied. The YouTube visit to RHC a few years ago showed a gringa(?) non-Haitian lady in charge of it. Is she gone? [see below] There seems to be no Creole page at all on the RHC website, but looking at French, the transmission schedule there is years out of date, claiming Creole is: 2130-2200 9505, 2230-2300 9505, 0100-0130 9550 --- both frequencies abandoned long ago. If Cuba really wanted to help, they would have greatly expanded their Creole service by now, like VOA, BBC, RFI. Not to mention actually delivering aid, doctors from that paragon of medical excellence. But having to submit to US air traffic control?! Instead they and Chávez bitch about US aid generously given to Haiti as some kind of opportunism to take over the country (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You`re referring to Anna Pareault who use to be the head of the Creole service. She is originally from Montreal and has been living in Cuba for many many years. She retired a few years ago. Her husband is a sound technician that helps with the English, Quichua, Portuguese, and Esperanto language services (Keith Perron, Taiwan, ex-RHC, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11600, DentroCuban Jamming Command still grinding away on this frequency for no perceptible reason. There is nothing on any of the online schedules after Slovakia finishes at 1600, and no victim can be detected under the jamming, such as 2055 UT Jan 19, but bothering DW German via Rwanda on 11605. 11600 jamming diminished after 2100 but irregular pulsing could still be heard. The DCJC must be convinced something needs to be jammed on 11600, or maybe there was a typo in Arnie`s monitored schedule. Or could it be, or have been, a never-discovered daytime broadcast of Radio República or some other clandestine with a signal too weak to show up? Checked RHC frequencies in case they have resumed something Creole, Jan 19 at 2130 but found them all in Spanish, except 11760 with English running late, about a joint Cuban/Venezuelan clinic in Haiti which was apparently already there when the quake hit. 2132 theme and transition to French (not Creole) also on 11760, partly about what Cuba is doing in Haiti. Here`s one story about that on their website: http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/a_sugerencias/enero/10/etica.htm And another, in English, always with as negative a spin as possible toward the USA, claims 400 Cuban doctors are in Haiti: http://www.radiohc.cu/ingles/a_comentarios/10/enero/ene18.htm On the French broadcast one item was slightly positive, that Cuba is allowing US aid flights to overfly eastern Cuba, or as found on their website: ``Le communiqué rappelle que le gouvernement cubain avait autorisé, tout de suite après avoir reçu la demande, l’utilisation de l’espace aérien sur l’Est de son territoire, par des avions étasuniens à destination d’Haïti pour faciliter l’envoi d’aide humanitaire.`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. R. Martí confirmed with the ``Arte Latino`` show at another time it appears on their unreliable program grid: Sat 2130. At least, that was the show in progress at 2150 Jan 16 on 13820, about a Nicaraguan, 2151 brief produxion credits for that segment and on to another about Tico Valdés, 10.1.21-26.6.95, of sonora matancera fame. Also on 11930 and 9565, but much better on 13820 due to signal vs. jamming level (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. 7210-LSB, Cuban exiles hams in Spanish on their favorite frequency, Jan 14 from 1439 tune-in; at 1446, musing why Cuba has not attempted to make Haïti a socialist state --- not worth it? Usual counter-revolutionary remarx such as assertions that any disaster aid to Cuba gets sold instead of reaching victims. One of them IDed as N4RAU in Miami and that chex out at ARRL callsign lookup as: Oropesa, Raul L, N4RAU (Extra) Miami Dade, FL 33175 Previous call sign: KI4QQR I wonder if Cuba will invade Haiti with any disaster relief, risking running into yanquis et al. From 1445 could hear music in the background, as some broadcaster must have begun on this shared band? Nothing scheduled to start then, so maybe just not audible or noticed before then. Aoki presents these possibilities: 7210 CRI 1400-1457 Chinese 150 95 Beijing CHN 7210 VOV1 2145-1700 Vietnamese 20 ND Daclac VTN 7210 VOBME1 (Dimtsi Hafas) 1355-1600 Kunama 100 ND Asmara-Selae Daro ERI (Glenn Hauser, OK, Jan 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS. [c.f. BC-DX TopNews #946] 1323, Zyygi MF Antenna. BBC Zyygi 1323 kHz 200 kW 150 degrees. I have twice visited the site, once when I was commissioning the IBB antenna at Cape Greco, and once when I was making measurements of the coupling between the Ladies Mile antennas for filter design. I took a number of pictures of the MF antenna because, as far as I am aware, it is the highest power slant wire fed MF antenna in operation anywhere, and one of the few DA's with slant wire feed (although, as noted from VT, the second element is a grounded parasitic). I was told that the masts are from a no longer used curtain array, so it wasn't originally designed as an MF antenna, but modified for that purpose. The feed arrangement is very elegant, using a group of roughly \\ wires for minimization of surface voltage gradient. Benj. F. Dawson III, P.E. Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers, LLC and The dTR/H&D Joint Venture, Consulting Engineers 9500 Greenwood Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103 USA (Ben Dawson-WA-USA, Jan 9, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 16 via DXLD) ** CYPRUS. BBCWS on new 5875: see UK {and non] ** CZECHIA. I was very pleased to receive today a lovely Radio Prague T shirt, my prize from the listener competition. Thank you Radio Prague and good luck to all future participants. Please show your support for the station by contacting them; there is useful information at the "Save Radio Prague" Facebook group (Mike Terry, England, Jan 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Prague after Feb 1 --- According to the French web pages : « the bad news is that reductions will appear in the schedule because the only remaining transmitter will be Lytomyšl » ? If they keep Lytomyšl on the air, most of the current transmissions could continue. Do they mean « only one transmitter at Lytomyšl » http://www.radio.cz/fr/actuel/courrier (Jean-Michel Aubier, France, Jan 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) R Prague to stay on shortwave! --- Radio Prague 17 January 2010 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124078 Once again, thank you - all of you who have written in in the last few months - so much for expressing your support. As we announced several times, our shortwave broadcasts are to continue according to the current schedule until the end of January. Radio Prague's management is now working on a new schedule starting on February 1st but the great news is Radio Prague will keep its shortwave broadcasts. There will be a certain reduction but it will not be substantial and the majority of our listeners should not be affected by it. Radio Prague will need to find other ways to save and make ends meet with the slimmer budget for 2010. This is the result of intensive negotiations between Czech Radio and the Foreign Ministry and we hope this is good news for you just as it is for us here at Radio Prague (via Jonathan Murphy on the Save Radio Prague Facebook group via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) 5930, 17/Jan 2018, CZECH REPUBLIC, R Prague, Spanish, desde Litomysl. OM e YL apresentam notícias. Mais uma emissora que adia o fim das transmissões em ondas curtas, essa semana divulgou a permanência durante esse ano de seus serviços. As 2023 UT uma notícia a respeito da situação do Haiti. As 2024 UT finalização com ID. 35433. 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I just wanted to tell you about a feature on today's Radio Prague English program. Interview with consultant Jonathan Marks and other shortwave and media authorities about the current situation with shortwave. I found this very interesting, and thought you would too. Check out the 2330 UT transmission to your part of our world, on 5930. (Chris Lewis, England, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ** CZECHIA [and non]. TALKING POINT --- END OF THE ROAD FOR SHORTWAVE? 19-01-2010 12:44 | Chris Johnstone [8:43 audio available] http://www.radio.cz/en/article/124187 In this week’s Talking Point we examine the future of shortwave broadcasting. Shortwave has undoubtedly been on the retreat in developed countries, forced to share its former primacy with upstart mediums such as the internet and satellite radio. But are its days numbered even in the developing world? The topic for this week’s Talking Point is one that is close to home for the staff of Radio Prague and for a large number of its listeners. It is the future of shortwave. Shortwave is our main broadcast medium with feedback from listeners suggesting that this is the way we reach around half of you. But shortwave transmission has also been one of the station’s main costs, representing 13 million crowns out of a budget of just under 65 million crowns last year. And with demands from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for severe cutbacks, the whole future of shortwave broadcasting by Radio Prague has been under threat. Station director Miroslav Krupicka describes the latest situation. “Radio Prague’s budget for this year has been reduced by 15.0 percent. It is a little bit more than we expected but we have to come to terms with it. It still makes it possible for us to continue shortwave broadcasts. What we have to do is to close one of the two short wave transmitters that we have in Litomyšl. We will be able to cover basically more or less the same territory we have been covering so far, which means the whole of Europe, North Africa, let’s say the Middle East and parts of North and South America. We won’t be reducing very much the area that we cover so far.” Those economy measures almost halve the shortwave transmission bill to 7.0 million crowns a year. But other broadcasters have already taken the step of chopping shortwave services or dropping them altogether. The golden age when the crackly signal seemed to be the hallmark of the Cold War era are definitely gone. Jonathan Marks has 25 years in the broadcasting business and now runs his own global media consultancy company out of the Netherlands. He outlines some of the changes. “Major broadcasters like the BBC have actually stopped broadcasting to Europe on shortwave along with France. Denmark and Norway have gone off the air, as has Austria and Slovakia. The list goes on and on. There are a lot of transmitter facilities that are at the moment standing idle. And frankly I do not think they will ever come back to the glory that we knew say 20 to 25 years ago.” He adds that one of shortwave’s main problems is its expense. “In terms of short wave broadcasting, you need huge powers — electricity costs — in order to make just one signal. And if you are spending hundreds of dollars to keep a 100 or 250 Kw shortwave radio transmitter on the air, that may have been physically possible 10 years ago when oil was 50$ a barrel but when it becomes 100$ a barrel it becomes a very, very expensive way of sharing an idea.” But Radio Prague’s Mr. Krupicka believes shortwave still has a major role, especially in those parts of the world where the internet has not advanced so far and so fast. “Shortwave is one of the basics of international broadcasting. That is what I think and what I want to fight for. Because despite all of the digitalisation and all the new platforms and so on and modern means of communication, Internet and so forth; international broadcasting, very much especially outside Europe, is based on short wave.” Even so, Radio Prague has not been putting all its eggs in one basket. Although hopes that digital shortwave would provide a cheaper, higher quality option have faded out, other technological options have come along and been grabbed. Mr Krupicka: “There are, of course, other means of broadcasting which we have been using for years. It is satellite broadcasting; it is internet broadcasting, both live streaming and on demand, and pod casting. Podcasting seems to be one of the ways, very modern and very effective ways, of spreading audio. The number of podcasts downloaded from the Radio Prague website is about 500,000 a month. It is a great number and it is growing. So I am very much in favour of pod casting and investing in podcasting and I see it as one of the very important platforms for the future for broadcasting audio content.” Another big broadcaster out of Prague is the US-financed station Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty broadcasting to 20 countries. Julian Knapp describes how shortwave fits into its options to get the message across. “Like everywhere, we adapt to our consumers. As consumers move more towards the internet, television, towards online video and towards these media, we adapt. So shortwave is on the decline overall. But in some markets such as Afghanistan where we have 50 percent listeners in the country — it is still very much a radio nation and radio market— shortwave is still popular although we do have FM and other wavelengths. But in some rural areas you can only reach with shortwave. So in these countries shortwave still has a big role.” He adds that shortwave came into its own when the Georgian government starting blocking other broadcasting during a state of emergency in 2007 and in contemporary Russia. There, local stations have been leaned on to discontinue re-broadcasting arrangements so shortwave is again in vogue. If shortwave is still part of the broadcasting picture for the moment, the question seems to be how long will that continue to be the case? Simon Spanswick is the chief executive of the Association for International Broadcasting, an industry group covering radio and television. He sees an ever declining role. “It is still very useful in some parts of the world. But a lot of the world has moved on, immensely far. And if you walked outside Czech Radio or go down into Wenceslas Square and asked half a dozen people when they last used a shortwave radio and then repeated that in Dubai or in Accra, Ghana, I think you will find a very small proportion of the people you ask respond positively about shortwave. Increasingly people want easy access to news, information and entertainment and shortwave radio is not the easiest to tune into, whereas a local FM station blasting out of small transistor radio is a lot more easy to find.” Consultant Jonathan Marks believes the trend is away from stand alone radio, television and text in favour of whatever medium can deliver all three. “I think that in some parts of the world people are increasingly using video. The good news is that the costs of making video has dropped dramatically. It used to be 10 times the price of making a radio programme. It is now probably about double the cost. Basically there is no future for radio, television and the web as it were. But there is a huge future for audiovisuals and text. And that will indeed mean to say that to many countries the way to receive that material will be through the web.” One of Radio Prague’s problems precisely knowing who it is getting through to. It cannot afford the extremely expensive research carried out by major broadcasters but must try to get a picture of its audience from feedback in the form of letters and e-mails. That for the moment seems to be a strong enough of an argument for the paymaster, the Foreign Ministry. But for how long? Mr Krupicka: “At the time of the economic crisis, of course people start to look at things slightly differently. This could become another field for argument. It has not happened yet. But it could happen this year when negotiating the budget for next year. We will use the same arguments again and I do not know what the conclusion will be.” (via Alokesh Gupta, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) This is an interesting analysis (even though the weblink took forever to load...). One of the better-reasoned observations on this space in recent years. Lest anyone panic, the answer - for Radio Prague - is "no, it isn't [yet] the end of the road for shortwave." Nice to see Jonathan Marks liberally quoted. Thanks, Alokesh, for flagging it! (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) I agree, Rich. It's an accurate picture of current reality and puts shortwave in a realistic place of importance, as far as I'm concerned. Shortwave broadcasting will continue for a long time yet, but how it is used and why it is used today are not the same as 40, even 20 or 10 years ago. Things change! (Harold Sellers, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** DIEGO GARCIA. 4319, BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY. AFN/AFRTS (Diego Garcia, Chagos), 0013-0034, 1/16/2010, English. Sports Line program with man discussing top sports stories of the week. Air Force radio news at 0030 with male and female announcers. Very weak signal, just above the noise, with utility interference. Becoming stronger after 0030. Key West parallels noted on 5446.5 and 7811 with strong signals (7811 became much weaker after 0030). (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, R8B, IC-R75, E1, ICF-SW7600G, Random Wires (90' and 200'), ALA100M, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DIEGO GARCIA. 4319/USB, AFN/AFRTS; 0005, 17-Jan; Financial call-in program. SIO=3+23, RTTY QRM; Only 7811/USB via Key West on, SIO=354; 5465.5, 5765, 10320 & 12133.5 not on (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780.00, 0315-0435 16.01, Rdif. TV de Djibouti, Arta, Afar (presumed) religious talk and singing by man, mentioning Allah and Israel, 0333 jingle and woman ann, another man reading news about Haiti, 0340 children singing, a reggae song and songs from Djibouti by the same singer 44434 occasional disturbances from Voice of Iranian Kurdistan (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on the AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4780, Radio Djibouti, 2040-2101*, Jan 16, Arabic talk. Local Horn of Africa music. Sign off with National Anthem at 2100. Weak but readable. CODAR QRM (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 6025, HIIJ, Radio Amanacer; 0210-0230+, 0250- 0303+, 17-Jan; M in Spanish with Spanish barbershop quartet style tunes to 0230. All female vocalists at re-tune 0250 to ID at 0303. Fair in LSB to reduce 6030 jammer QRM, jamming nothing (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. Updated winter B-09 of Radio Cairo 0700-1100 on 15800 ABZ 100 kW / 250 deg Arabic GS WeAf 1015-1215 on 13860 ABZ 250 kW / 090 deg Arabic N/ME 1215-1330 on 17835 ABZ 250 kW / 090 deg English SoAs 1230-1400 on 15710 ABS 250 kW / 106 deg Indonesian SEAs 1300-1600 on 15080 ABS 250 kW / 241 deg Arabic WeAf 1330-1530 on 11510 ABZ 100 kW / 070 deg Farsi WeAs 1300-1600 on 9285 ABZ 250 kW / 070 deg Pashto AFG 1500-1600 on 6270 ABZ 250 kW / 330 deg Albanian ALB 1500-1600 on 9250 ABZ 250 kW / 050 deg Uzbek UZB 1530-1730 on 17810 ABZ 100 kW / 170 deg Swahili CEAf 1600-1700 on 15285 ABZ 100 kW / 160 deg Afar ECAf 1600-1800 on 6270 ABZ 250 kW / 090 deg Urdu SoAs 1600-1800 on 12170 ABZ 150 kW / 195 deg English SoAf 1700-1900 on 6860 ABS 250 kW / 005 deg Turkish TUR 1700-2300 on 9250 ABZ 250 kW / 180 deg Waadi e Nile EaAf 1700-1730 on 15285 ABZ 100 kW / 160 deg Somali ECAf 1730-1900 on 15285 ABZ 100 kW / 160 deg Amharic ECAf 1800-1900 on 6270 ABZ 250 kW / 330 deg Italian WeEu 1800-2100 on 9990 ABS 250 kW / 241 deg Hausa WeAf 1900-2000 on 6270 ABZ 250 kW / 330 deg German WeEu 1900-2000 on 6860 ABS 250 kW / 005 deg Russian RUS 1900-2030 on 11510 ABZ 100 kW / 250 deg English WeAf 1900-2400 on 6290 ABS 250 kW / 315 deg Arabic GS WeEu 1900-0030 on 11925 ABZ 100 kW / 160 deg V of Arabs CEAf 2000-2115 on 6270 ABZ 250 kW / 330 deg French WeEu 2000-2200 on 6860 ABZ 250 kW / 110 deg Arabic AUS 2030-2230 on 9280 ABS 250 kW / 241 deg French WeAf 2115-2245 on 6270 ABZ 250 kW / 330 deg English WeEu 2215-2330 on 9360 ABZ 250 kW / 245 deg Portuguese SoAm 2300-0030 on 7580 ABZ 250 kW / 330 deg English NEAm 2330-0045 on 9360 ABZ 250 kW / 245 deg Arabic SoAm 2330-0045 on 9250 ABS 250 kW / 241 deg Arabic SoAm 0000-0700 on 6290 ABS 250 kW / 315 deg Arabic GS NoAm 0030-0430 on 7580 ABZ 250 kW / 330 deg Arabic NEAm 0045-0200 on 9915 ABS 250 kW / 252 deg Spanish SoAm 0045-0200 on 6270 ABZ 250 kW / 315 deg Spanish NoAm 0045-0200 on 9360 ABZ 250 kW / 245 deg Spanish SoAm 0200-0330 on 6270 ABZ 250 kW / 315 deg English NoAm (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via DXLD) Seems we have had a few updates to this, but what exactly has really changed? (gh, DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 5005, Radio Nacional, Bata, 2200-2254*, Jan 15, Afro-pop music. Spanish announcements. Sign off with National Anthem. Weak. Poor in noisy conditions (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 6250, Radio Nacional; 0608-0614+, 16-Jan; M in Spanish took phone call & mentioned Malabo -- long o and accented last syllable. SIO=3+22+, ute blasts; 5005 not audible (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, R. Africa, 2238, Jan 15. Assume them with a strong open carrier, but no hint of any audio; off by 2258 check. Not sure which is worse: hearing Tony Alamo preaching or this open carrier! (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 5060.00, 0402-0435 16.01, R. Bana, Asmara, Tigrinya (presumed) news, talks, jingles and short pieces of Horn of Africa music, 23232 improving to 33333 CWQRM (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on the AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) See ETHIOPIA [non] below, 5060 reported as V. of Oromo Liberation. Are you sure of the ID or do we have another radio war here? (gh, DXLD) ** ERITREA. (?) 7175, Voice of the Broad Masses (presumed), Asmara, 1455-1540, 11 Jan '10, Vernacular, music, announcements, news (?) at 1500, HoA songs, talks; 35433. This is usually on 7165. 7175, Voice of the Broad Masses, Asmara, 1835-1905, 16 Jan'10, Arabic, talks, Arabic songs, news (presumed) at 1900; 45433 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6030, Radio Oromiya, *0324-0329, Jan 13. Faintly heard the IS (distinctive, repetitive xylophone-like music) through the jamming and R. Martí. At 0320 Calgary was briefly heard with ID and C&W music, but gone by 0324. At 0330 Martí played some music which completely covered Oromiya. So the reception is routinely poor, but the distinctive IS can often be heard (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6890, Radio Fana, 2050-2100*, Jan 16, local Horn of Africa vocals. Talk in listed Amharic. Poor in noise. // 6110 - poor, mixing with several other stations including Cuba (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** ETHIOPIA. 7110, R. Ethiopia-Home Service, Geja Dera, 1802-1903, 16 Jan'10, Vernacular, news, talks, different vernacular at 1830, news bulletin, music, announcements, news again at 1900; 35433, but improving (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 5060, V. of Oromo Liberation, 1530 4 Dec, OM talk in Oromo, jammed, 22432 (Michael L Ford, Staffordshire, Jan World DX Club Contact via DXLD) See ERITREA above, 5060 reported as R. Bana. Are you sure of the Oromo ID, or do we have another radio war here? ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 15665, 17/Jan 1935, USA, WHRI Cypress, English, desde Furman-Noblesville. OM apresenta sermão religioso com diversas menções a Jesus. Na mesma frequência e desde os USA transmite a V of Ethiopian Orthodox, com uma transmissão semanal, mas devido a tx da WHRI Cypress, não é ouvida. Gostaria de saber como se comportam essas duas emissoras na mesma frequência nos USA. 35444 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I suppose you are referring to Aoki, which includes outdated info. Ethiopian Orthodox was originally on WHRA, but now that has been replaced by WHRI, and no Ethiopian programs are currently on the WHR online schedule from transmitters 1 or 5 which target Africa -- just other programming in English every day of the week at 19-20 on 15665. EXPUNGE NOBLESVILLE! IT`S DEAD AND GONE FOR YEARS AS A TRANSMITTER SITE. I have said this again and again. Aoki??? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FAROE ISLANDS. 531, KFÚ, Akraberg, 2205-2220, 16Jan'10, Faroese, talks, local & international pops; \\ web; 32441, QRM de ALGERIA + SPAIN (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. 15300, RFI at 1611 18 Nov, RFI, two transmitters or multipath, // 15315, SIO 141. [see also TURKEY [and non]] 15315, RFI at 1611 18 Nov, RFI, two transmitters or multipath with echo, French talk, SIO 141 (Tim Bucknall, Cheshire, Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Same anomaly we were observing around then on 7265 at 0500 (gh) ** FRANCE [non]. There was an indefinite report somewhere that RFI would have special broadcasts for Haiti, around 1310? Seems to me an expansion of the 13640 1130-1300 via Guiana French would be a good possibility if not elsewhen. Presumably only in Parisian, as they abolished a token service in Creole years ago. No sign of anything about that on their website either. Later: I check Media Network and find this; evidently SW is not involved, so all the listed FM terrestrial channels still exist? BTW, I meant to say 13640 is normally scheduled only at 1130-1200, not - 1300, tho we have heard them occasionally on past 1200, by mistake? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RFI LAUNCHES DAILY PROGRAMME TO HAITI Starting today, Radio France International has launched a daily transmission to its Haitian listeners in French and Creole, at 1310- 1400 UTC. The programme is called “Ansanm ansanm avek Ayiti” (Together with Haiti). RFI operates on FM in Haiti as follows: * Port-au-Prince : 89.3 FM * Cap-Haïtien : 105.5 FM * Gonaïves : 90.5 FM * Las Cayes : 106.9 FM * Jacmel : 96.9 FM * Jérémie : 92.7 FM (Source: RFI) (January 18th, 2010 - 14:14 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog Jan 18 via DXLD) ** GREECE. Daily monitoring reports by John Babbis show that VOG 9420 is still missing between 2200 and 0300 as of Jan 19, i.e. one transmitter is still down, altho 9420 may be in use at other dayparts when a different frequency is missing (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. D DAY FOR THESSALONIKI --- Yesterday 15-1 2010 is the D-day (digital day switchover) though in pilot stage for nationwide TV channels relaying in Thessaloniki. . . http://sites.google.com/site/zliangas/digea (Zacharias Liangas, ibid., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND. For the first time I got 3815 KNR Greenland here in Milano city. 3815, 9/1 2120, KNR, USB, man talks, at 2129 music, 2130 news read by a woman & a man, later a lot of local noise, I could hear some slow music again at 2143 for few minutes. Very weak signal. The solar flux index moved up to 82 from 77, may help (Giampiero Bernardini, RX: AOR AR7030, SDR-IQ, Drake R8 (ANT: T2FD) QTH: Milano, Italia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM. 15320, AWR, 2239-2259*, Jun 15. In English; religious songs; sermon ending with prayer; gives address in India; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Some interesting pics of transmitter sites at Guam. my radio world and catches http://myradioworld andcatches.blogspot.com/ (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) By Larry Fields, of KTWR, AFN and KSDA (gh, DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. R. VERDAD, GUATEMALA FACES MORE FRUSTRATION - To Radio Truth’s Friends: We’ll be grateful if you spread this information. Third Attempt to Repair Radio Truth’s Transmitter [4052.5 kHz] On Thursday January 14th, 2010, we made a third effort to repair the two modules of Radio Truth’s Short Wave transmitter, which were destroyed by an awful lightning on the 22nd of September 2008. We thought we would succeed this time, because, on the previous occasion, we had corrected the great short circuit we discovered on the antenna’s sparker, and there only two transistors hot. We replaced them by two new elements, and tried out, but it wasn’t enough. We replaced all transistors and integrated circuits, including the 12 power transistors, however, we didn’t even get to come on the air. This time, we got to enter ever into the last or high voltage phase, but, the radio frequencies didn’t flow. We consider this situation thoroughly difficult, almost impossible. We worked all day on it, up to eleven o’clock at night, without any satisfactory results. Under such situation, we had to give up. We don’t find a solution to this problem, except to order the construction of two new modules in the United States, or buying a new transmitter, but, that is extremely expensive, and we don’t have the capacity of financing it, because Radio Truth is a TOTALLY NON PROFITABLE institution. The two modules we need, belong to an Omnitronix 1000SW transmitter, with a code: Omnitronix 1998 B313110 REV 1 799 WT Power Amp Módules Older Side The 2 incorporated cards on each module have the following code: B313115 Your comprehension, please! In the meantime, tune our signal through Internet in our Web Site: http://www.radioverdad.org or in our Blog: http://radioverdadguatemala.blogspot.com (Dr. Édgar Amílcar Madrid, Manager and Director, Jan 15, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA. 7125, R. Conakry, 2303, Jan 15. In vernacular; 2322 start of a music show with nice selections of Hi-Li music; 0000 into French; 0005 (Jan 16) suddenly off in mid-sentence; started out poor, but almost fair by the time they went off the air (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7125, Radio Guineé, 2350-0005*, Jan 15-16, local Afro-pop music. Tribal music. French talk at 0000. Good signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** HAITI [non]. For items concerning Haiti from broadcasters elsewhere see: CANADA; CHINA; CUBA; FRANCE [non] RFI; UK [non] BBC; USA [and non] VOA. Below we have tried to group news concerning Haiti as follows, tho there will be some overlap, possibly duplication. If you want to jump to any of them, try searching on the three ***: ***Items concerning communications, mostly ham*** ***Items concerning helping Haitians listen to SW from abroad*** ***Items concerning Commando Solo temporary, airborne? Broadcasts*** ***Items about streaming broadcasts from Haiti and Haitian stations elsewhere*** ***Items concerning Haitian broadcasters and efforts to get back on the air*** ***Items about Haitian pirates and non in the USA*** ** HAITI [and non]. ***Items concerning communications, mostly ham*** HAITIAN AID FREQUENCY REFERENCES [2-way, military, government, amateur, not broadcasting] Pessoal, No link abaixo, uma relação das frequências que podem vir a ser utilizadas no apoio ao Haiti após o terremoto: http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Haiti_Earthquake_2010 73's – (Gustavo Maia, Goiânia - GO, Membro do DXCB http://fmtvdx.wordpress.com/ http://dxswl.wordpress.com/ Jan 13, radioescutas yg via DXLD) EMERGENCIA HAITI Emergencia para informação sobre Haiti para Portugal e Brasil, colegas em Linha para emergência.via ecoçink. Janela aberta radioamadores Brasil /Portugal Conferencia IRESC em emergencia via ecolink. Na onda curta: 40m Frequencia 7047 KHZ 80m frequencia 3720 KHZ Informação do colega Brasileiro PY2PF --Nelson (CT1AXZ Manuel Jesus, http://www.sitesmaisuteis.pt/ ibid.) Bom dia a todos, Aos interessados em acompahar as frequência de apôio que estão sendo operadas no Haiti. 3977 and 14267 (PY1AHD ALEXANDRE GRIMBERG, QRP-BR yg Jan 13, via Renato Strauss, Brasil, ibid.) From The CQ / WorldRadio Online Newsroom: All radio amateurs are requested to keep 7045 kHz and 3720 kHz clear for possible emergency traffic related to today's major earthquake in Haiti. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region II Area C Emergency Coordinator Arnie Coro, CO2KK, reports that as of 0245 UTC on January 13, nothing had been heard from radio amateurs in Haiti, but that the above frequencies were being kept active in case any Haitian hams manage to get on the air, and in case of other related events in surrounding areas, including aftershocks and a possible tsunami. The following is from an e-mail from CO2KK: A few minutes after the earthquake was felt in eastern Cuba's cities, the Cuban Federation of Radio Amateurs Emergency Net was activated, with net control stations CO8WM and CO8RP located in the city of Santiago de Cuba, and in permanent contact with the National Seismology Center of Cuba located in that city. Stations in the city of Baracoa, in Guantánamo province, were also activated immediately as the earth movements were felt even stronger there, due to its proximity to Haiti. CO8AZ and CO8AW went on the air immediately, with CM8WAL following. At the early phase of the emergency, the population of the city of Baracoa was evacuated far away from the coast, as there was a primary alert of a possible tsunami event or of a heavy wave trains sequence impacting the coast line at the city's sea wall ... Baracoa could not contact Santiago de Cuba stations on 40 meters due to long skip after 5 PM local time, so several stations in western Cuba and one in the US State of Florida provided relays. CO2KK as IARU Region II Area C Emergency Coordinator, helped to organize the nets, on 7045 kHz and also on 3720 kHz, while local nets in Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa operated on 2 meters. As late as 9:45 PM local time 0245 UTC we have not been able to contact any amateur or emergency services stations in Haiti. Amateurs from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela were monitoring the 40 meter band frequency, that I notified to the IARU Region II executive Ramon Santoyo XE1KK as in use for the emergency, requesting that 7045 kHz be kept as clear as possible.. We are still keeping watch on 7045 kHz hoping that someone in Haiti may have access to a transceiver and at least a car battery to run it. All information that has so far come from the Cuban seismologists tell us of a very intense earthquake, and also of the possibility of other events following. Following the advice of the geophysicists, we are keeping the 7045 and 3720 kiloHertz frequencies active until further notice. (via Southgate http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2010/earthquake_net_frequencies.htm via Mike Terry, Jan 13, dxldyg via DXLD) AT LEAST ONE HAITIAN HAM STATION ACTIVE From the CQ / WorldRadio Online Newsroom: Some ham radio activity from Haiti is beginning to be heard, following yesterday's devastating earthquake. Father John Henault, HH6JH, in Port-au-Prince, made contact late Wednesday morning with the Intercontinental Assistance and Traffic Net (IATN) on 14.300 MHz, the IARU Global Centre of Activity frequency for emergency communications. Based on relays monitored at W2VU, Father John reported that he and those with him were safe, but had no power and no phone service. He was operating on battery power and hoping to get a generator running later in the day. He asked the station copying him, William Sturridge, KI4MMZ, in Flagler Beach, Florida, to telephone relatives with information that he was OK. The following frequencies are in use for earthquake-related traffic and should be kept clear unless you are able to provide requested assistance: 14300 (IATN), 14265 (SATERN); 7045 (IARU Region II) and 3720 (IARU Region II) kHz. Additional frequencies may be activated on different bands at different times of day, so be sure to listen carefully before transmitting to make sure you are not interfering with emergency traffic. We will continue to provide updates as information becomes available. The editors (via Alokesh Gupta, India, 1645 UT Jan 13, dxldyg via DXLD) Port Au Prince, Haiti phone patch Recording ~ 5 PM January 13, 2009 1 File (3066KB) * Haiti.mp3Haiti.mp3 A very dramatic phone-patch between Jean-Robert Gaillard, Port-au- Prince, Haiti (HH2JR) and Frederick J. Moore, 7500 E Pocono Dr, Inverness, FL 34450 (W3ZU) in Florida. Hundreds dead, no power, no electricity, no hospital. Jean-Robert Gaillard reports 30 aftershocks since the main earthquake, saying "everything is chaos, dead bodies all over the place." This conversation was captured via amateur (ham) radio a few moments ago. Jean-Robert becomes very emotional at the end of the conversation when he's informed there is a Coast Guard Cutter on scene in Port Au Prince, a Hospital ship on the way, and 3 more Cutters enroute (Brian Crow, K3VR, 2234 UT Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The 26-minute recording was immediately posted to the DXLD yg (gh) Bom dia a todos, Aos interessados em acompahar as frequência de apôio que estão sendo operadas no Haiti. 3977 and 14267 (PY1AHD ALEXANDRE GRIMBERG, QRP-BR yg via DXLD) HAITI EARTHQUAKE: SOME HAM RADIO ACTIVITY FROM HAITI IS BEGINNING TO BE HEARD --- RSGB News 14 January 2010 Father John Henault, HH6JH, in Port-au-Prince, made contact late Wednesday morning with the Intercontinental Assistance and Traffic Net (IATN) on 14300, the IARU Global Centre of Activity frequency for emergency communications. Frequencies for amateurs in use for this disaster are now 14300, 14265, 7045, 7265, and 3977 kHz http://www.rsgb.org/news/ (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) The big news, of course, is the earthquake in Haiti. Paul Dobosz passes along the following communication from W1AW: QST de W1AW Special Bulletin 2 ARLX002 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT January 13, 2010 To all radio amateurs SB SPCL ARL ARLX002 IARU REGION 2 REQUESTS FREQUENCIES BE KEPT CLEAR AFTER MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES HAITI On Tuesday, January 12 at 4:53 PM Haiti time (2153 UTC), a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince, the island nation's capital. Communications in and out of Haiti have been disrupted. No word has been received as of yet from any of Haitian Amateur Radio operators. The ARRL encourages US amateurs to be aware of the emergency operations on the following frequencies: 7.045 and 3.720 MHz (IARU Region 2 nets), 14.265, 7.265 and 3.977 MHz (SATERN nets), and 14.300 MHz (Intercontinental Assistance and Traffic Net). The International Radio Emergency Support Coalition (IRESC) is also active on EchoLink node 278173. IARU Region 2 Area C Emergency Coordinator, Arnie Coro, CO2KK, is coordinating a multi-national response by hams. There are organized nets on 7.045 and 3.720 MHz; amateurs are asked to monitor the frequencies, but to also keep them clear of non-essential traffic. Amateur Radio operators should also be aware that emergency traffic pertaining to the Haitian earthquake is expected on the SATERN frequencies of 14.265 MHz, 7.265 MHz and 3.977 MHz, according to SATERN's leader, Major Pat McPherson. The Salvation Army is accepting health and welfare traffic requests on its Web site. "As late as 9:45 PM local time (0245 UTC), we have not been able to contact any amateur or emergency services stations in Haiti," Coro said in an e-mail. "Amateurs from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela are monitoring the 40 meter band frequency. We are still keeping watch on 7.045 MHz, hoping that someone in Haiti may have access to a transceiver and at least a car battery to run it," but so far, no HH stations have checked in. Check all the above frequencies for a different view of how things work in a disaster zone. Having seen this from the ‘inside’ after the 2007 Tornado in Williamston, it does give a different perspective! We never had widespread loss of landline or cell phone service, however emergency communications were decidedly the ‘weak link’ of the situation. Haiti is not so lucky as we were here (via Mare Tipsheet, via DXLD) Next week [UT Jan 21] Happy Station will present the first of the DX specials for 2010. The first special of the next year will focus on SATERN and other emergency radio networks and the work that is done when earthquakes and other natural disasters hit (Keith Perron, http://www.pcjmedia.com Jan 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) SPECIAL PCJ TRANSMISSION DIRECTED TO HAITI I'm working on a special broadcast which will be directed to Haiti. This special show will include messages from the Haitian communities in Europe, US and Canada. The details can be found at: http://www.pcjmedia.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/56-relief-to-haiti-happy-station-show The date for the broadcast is being worked out, but it will air after January 26th. This week`s Happy Station Show will focus on the ham radio work that is being done to make contact with other hams in the country. My guests are: Major MacPherson from SATERN Mary & Roy Pickette two radio hams that have volunteered to to help Bill Sturridge from the Maritime Mobile Amateur Radio Network Thomas Witherspoon from Ears To Our World who will tell us about a shipment of self-powered radios that will arrive in Haiti this week First transmission will be UT Thursday January 21 at 0200 on 9955 kHz. The webstream can be heard at http://www.wrmi.net If you want more information on the other airtimes of this special go to http://www.pcjmedia.com Regs, (Keith Perron, Jan 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) HAM RADIOS HELPING HAITI COMMUNICATIONS NBC26 Green Bay Wisconsin January 14, 2010 http://www.nbc26.com/global/category.asp?C=171398&clipId=4457305&topVideoCatNo=146343&autoStart=true (via Mike Terry, UK, Jan 15, dxldyg via DXLD) Dave Catalano, but they don`t even give his call! Shows him tuning around 7265 and 14300 (gh, DXLD) Re: VOA Creole service: >>Cesar says shortwave technology, which dates back to the 1920s, is one of the best ways to reach people in Haiti during a time like this, when most local radio stations are unable to broadcast.>> Gosh, guess I'll get in my Stanley Steamer and fire up my spark-gap transmitter and do some good old fashioned communicating. How did we ever get along before Facebook and Twitter!! It's really sad how much these media morons know. Ham Radio has been the backbone of disaster communications worldwide for decades and continues to be the most reliable and cost-effective (can you say "free") way to establish an instant communications infrastructure from 5 to 5 thousand miles (Wonder why the Baja 1000 race and multi-state bicycle events, etc., use Ham Radio for support instead of cell phones, and I have been involved with many such events as well as setting up impromptu networks for search and rescue in very remote places). I actually had some local official tell me one time that he didn't need any Ham Radio operators because in the event of a disaster we could just use cell phones. Of course, forgetting about physical damage to the phone system, if just 10% of phones go "off hook" the system goes down. Before retiring to the Cape and becoming a full-time DXer, I spent many years in Ham Radio emergency communications. Many do not know that every local city, town, whatever has an emergency disaster plan in place and it most always includes local Ham Radio operators who can fill in for a damaged official communications network. These operators train regularly with the Public Safety officials and participate in drills and SAR operations. One time in Oregon, the 911 system went down and we sent Hams to shadow senior police and fire people so they could stay in communication. I am sure that the Hams In Haiti are very busy relaying messages throughout the world. It's too bad they don't get much credit from the "lame-stream" media. They are completely self-contained and can setup anywhere with no need for power (and if you are wondering what happens when their battery runs out, the answer is that there are plenty of wrecked cars all over the place in any disaster). Hams also train with and support all branches of the Armed Forces, operating their own equipment on Military frequencies with special call signs via the MARS programs, which I also participated in for many years (Chris Black, Cape Cod, Jan 14, ABDX via DXLD) And don't forget to check the unofficial 11m call channel, 27455 --or is it 27555 USB just above the CB band. I used to copy a lot of mail from Australia to Austria, including the Caribbean, way back in the day (Ron Gitschier, FL, ibid.) Glenn, UPDATE and INFO --- Most of the health and welfare traffic out of Haiti via radio is on 14300 Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) and 14265 Salvation Army (SATERN). Only two amateurs (of seven active) in Haiti have been heard from, as far as I know (Brian Crow, PA, 1628 UT Jan 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Brian copies to us all this info until the next Brian credit line: Guys, I spoke with Jean-Robert's cousin Ariel a few minutes ago (11 AM EST Saturday). She spoke with Jean-Robert (HH2JR) via radio again on Thursday afternoon, but nothing since. He was still ok, at that time, but still without phone and power. She will let me know the next time she speaks with him. Brian YouTube video with audio (edited for length) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqaKzIkyBug *************** Also, be advised: MM0NDX Just heard that Jean is using a faulty IC-706. There is no readout on display so any traffic passed has to be done on the freq he transmits on; he can’t QSY. Please be aware of HH2JR on any frequency. 2010 January 16 Steve Toupin I can confirm this information as Jean told me about his equipment troubles during our eyeball QSO in the CONATEL building while asking for my HH licence last november. VE2TKH http://dx-hamspirit.com/2010/01/hh2jr-news/ Thank you Brian! 73, Julio, WD4R -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- Julio Ripoll Architect WD4R WX4NHC Amateur Radio Asst. Coordinator http://www.wx4nhc.org National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- Subject: RE: Permission of Release of an Audio Clip From HH2JR Please use it Rob; that's why I recorded it. Hopefully it will raise public awareness of amateur radio as a viable means of communication "when all else fails." Here's Bill Pasternak's (NewsLine) use of the clip: The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio responds as an earthquake ravages Haiti, Sweden pulls interference causing B-P-L gear off store shelves, the FCC appears headed toward an extreme makeover and the sound of heavy and light iron will be taking to the air the weekend of February 7th. Find out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline™ report number 1692 coming your way right now. ** RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO FIRST RESPONDERS ACTIVATE FOLLOWING HAITI QUAKE A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of Haiti. The tremor hit on Tuesday, January 12th at 2153 UTC. According to the US Geological Survey the epicenter was about 10 miles south-west of Port- au-Prince and hit a magnitude 7.3 on the Richter Scale. The first tremor was followed by two aftershocks with magnitudes of 5.9 and 5.0. Soon after the first jolt amateur radio first responders were activated in Cuba to listen for any distress calls from is Caribbean neighbor. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with more. -- HH2JR: " I am able to communicate for the first time. I hope you are copying me OK. The situation is chaotic and I am only alive thanks to god. Over." -- That’s just part of a conversation captured by Newsline listener Brian Crow, K3VR, on Wednesday, January 13th as hams in quake ravaged Haiti began returning to the airwaves. Jean-Robert Gaillard, HH2JR, was one of the first and with Fred Moore, W3ZU, running the patch he described what Haiti was like when he finally was able to get a chance to view the devastation first hand: -- HH2JR: "Yesterday was really bad but I managed today to go and visualize -- myself and a couple of friends. We took some pictures and its really chaotic. I've never been through a war but its what a war (signal fade). Dead bodies all over the place and dead bodies (signal fade) to be buried." -- HH2JR also described the aftershocks: -- HH2JR: "I'm OK and my house is OK and that’s all I can tell you. (signal fade) We have had thirty aftershocks, Repeat three zero aftershocks since the big one yesterday at ten (minutes) to five in the afternoon. Over to you." -- That contact was among the first of the personal ham radio on scene accounts of living through a killer quake but not the first ham radio response to this disaster. Soon after the quake hit, CQ Magazine editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, put out an e-mail alert that quoted IARU Region 2 Area C Emergency Coordinator, Arnie Coro, CO2KK. Corro said that he was already coordinating a multi-national response by hams with organized nets on 7.045 and 3.720 MHz. The net control stations were identified as CO8WM and CO8RP located in the city of Santiago de Cuba. According to Corro these nets were in direct contact with the National Seismology Center of Cuba located in that city. CO2KK asked hams world-wide to monitor the two net frequencies, but to also keep them clear of non-essential traffic. International Radio Emergency Support Coalition is also active on EchoLink node 278173. On Wednesday the ARRL put out a notice saying that amateur radio operators should also be aware that emergency traffic pertaining to the Haitian earthquake is expected on the Salvation Army SATERN net frequencies. According to SATERN's leader, Major Pat McPherson, those frequencies are 14.265, 7.265 and 3.977 MHz. The Salvation Army is accepting health and welfare traffic requests on its Web site. As to the health and welfare of hams living in Haiti. Part of that was covered in the January 13 edition of The Daily DX newsletter. It reported that the Reverend John Henault, HH6JH, made contact late Wednesday morning with the Intercontinental Assistance and Traffic Net on 14.300 MHz. This is the IARU Global Center of Activity frequency for emergency communications. HH6JH said that he was safe, but had no power and no phone service. Also that he was operating on battery power and hoping to get a generator running later in the day. The newsletter also noted that Pierre Petry, HH2/HB9AMO who was in Cap Haitien about 140 km north of Port-au-Prince is okay. Petry is in Haiti working for the United Nations World Food Program. Daily DX also reports that members of two ham radio groups from the neighboring Dominican Republic, the Radio Club Dominicano (RCD) and Union Dominicana de Radio Aficionados (UDRA) are preparing to go to Port au Prince. Once there the team will be installing an emergency radio communications station operating as HI8RCD/HH and a mobile station. The team of Dominican Republic Amateur Radio operators includes HI8PGG, HI8FLB, HI8CJG, HI8DBF, HI8SAR, HI8JLH, HI8ROD and HI3TEJ. The situation in Haiti is still chaotic and literally changing from moment to moment. The most important thing is to keep 3.720, 7.045, 7.265, 14.265 and 14.300 clear for emergency and priority traffic and quake relief nets on these frequencies. We will post updates in text form on our Newsline Facebook web update page as they become available. To access it just go to facebook.com and friend Amateur Radio Newsline. And for the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los Angeles. Don -- Haiti's ambassador to the United States is Raymond Joseph. He called the quake a major catastrophe, telling the various news services that he is calling on friends of Haiti to come to the country's aid. (ARNewsline™, CQ, ARRL, SATERN, Daily DX. Audio supplied by K3VR) Subject: Permission of Release of an Audio Clip From HH2JR Dear Brian, My name is Rob Macedo, KD1CY, and I'm an Amateur Radio Operator in Eastern Massachusetts affiliated with the Amateur Radio Emergency Services as Section Emergency Coordinator and other groups. I received a copy from Julio Ripoll-WD4R of an audio clip between Haiti and the states. I've had a number of media outlets looking for what Ham Radio Operators are doing to help Haiti including media outlets saying to find their local Ham Radio Operator for help in communicating with Haiti. Would it be possible to use this clip for the media and ARRL? It would be made clear who the source is and where it came from and any other particulars you may want. We could keep you copied on all correspondence with any media/ARRL that I distribute it to and have them contact you directly if you would like. Whatever you would like to do would be fine as this is your clip. The only thing as I'm sure your aware with media is even though you tell them certain things, they could 'slant' or 'bias' the story but I can assure you if allowed to move the clip to the media, I'll do whatever is in my control to honor your wishes with the clip. Thanks! 73, Rob-KD1CY. Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator (all via Brian Crow, Jan 16, DXLD) HH2QCS LOCATED AND ON-AIR WITH SOLAR POWER! Latest re: Hams in Haiti. Items in brackets are mine. From: W3ZU To: K3VR Subject: Status Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 Brian, Been in touch with Jean-Robert several times today. Still no fuel available. Made contact with [ David Farquharson ], HH2QCS today who also knows Jean-Robert ... [ David's report of January 14 here http://saweatherobserver.blogspot.com/2010/01/report-from-radio-amateur-in-haiti.html ] so we now have an additional link into Haiti. He has solar power so he may hold up longer for communications. Thanks for your continued interest and support. 73, Fred w3zu (via Brian Crow, K3VR, 2130 UT Jan 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Telephone contact wth Jean-Robert Gaillard (HH2JR) in Port au Prince Sunday, January 17, 2010 7:34 PM Thank you for this message Steve; I'll distribute this to the radio community. I'm sure they'll be interested to hear the news from their friend Jean-Robert. Fred Moore, W3ZU has been able to maintain contact with Jean-Robert on 14.300 when Jean-Robert's internet connection is down. He's done an excellent job passing traffic from HH2JR and HH6JH, and today he made contact with David Farquharson, HH2QCS, who also knows Jean-Robert. Fred told me David has solar power and supplies and he's safe. I'm praying the video we made and the pictures we distributed will help locate your missing friends in Haiti. Best regards, Brian ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Steve Toupin VE2TKH To: Brian Crow K3VR Subject: Status Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 This is my press release, you can send it everywhere you want. Steve Toupin VE2TKH After 5 days of several phone calls towards Haiti, finally someone was on the other end, and answered my desperate call minutes ago. It was our friend HH2JR, Jean-Robert himself, in his house in Petionville. I have 2 phone numbers for him and I asked him if he was using his landline or cellphone. He answered that I reached him on his cell. According to him, his landline phone is not working at the moment. The house is ok but he is really concerned about it. He lost two people in his large family. Two other aftershocks happened again on Sunday… The main thing he told me was, French first before I forget what he said, then I’ll translate: ”Je vais bien dans les circonstances, je ne pensais jamais que vous réussiriez a me rejoindre. Merci de votre appel mon ami.” I asked him how is the situation now there? (HH2JR: I am ok in the circumstances, I wasn’t expecting your call at all. Thank you very much for your call my friend). And I told him about what we learned here in Canada and over the internet about the situation in Haiti. He replied to me: ”Ici, l’arnarchie s’est installée avec tous ces voyous qui se sont évadés des prisons. Des coups de feu sont entendus régulièrement et des personnes se sont faite descendre depuis que cela a débuté. Avez- vous entendu parlé de la rumeur que 2 humanitaires qui distribuaient des vivres ont été abattus?” (HH2JR: Here, it’s anarchy everywhere with all these prisoners who escaped from their jail. We hear gunshots regularly and people are killed since it started. He asked me: ”Have you heard about the rumour that 2 humanitarians were shot while distributing rations?" I said no, but I told him about one looter that was shot in the head by Haitian Police, and that he died. I asked and offered him if he was in need of any messages to be sent to relatives in the USA, or anywhere in the World; he kindly said: ”No, thank you”. But he had this message to the international community and for U.S. radio amateurs: ”Soyez prêts et bien préparés lorsque vous viendrez ici distribuer l’aide, je veux dire qu’il y a tellement de voyous et de criminels qui vous descendront a la moindre occasion simplement pour survivre ou pire, juste pour voler vos choses. Vous devrez (troupes militaires) tirer les premier, être très alertes et réagir rapidement. Ils ne vous laisseront pas de chance. C’est la loi du plus fort ici en ce moment Steve, même ici a Pétionville, mais nous les surveillons de près puisque la police est totalement désorganisée. Nous nous organisons nous mêmes! Sachez tous, que lorsque vous viendrez, venez en grand nombre (troupes militaires et aide humanitaire), soyez bien armés (militaires) et préparer vous mentalement a éliminer certains malfaisants qui s’en prendront a vous ou préparer vous a leur tirez dans les jambes, pour ensuite pouvoir prendre le contrôle des choses et rétablir l’ordre dans la ville et la population.” (HH2JR: Be aware and well prepared when you come here for aid distribution, I mean there are so many looters and criminals that will kill you as soon as they can, only to survive, or worse, just to rob you. You’ll [military troops] have to shoot first, be aware and react quickly. They won’t give you a chance. Right now Steve, it is the law of the survival of the fittest here, even here in Petionville, but we are keeping an eye on them carefully because our Police forces are totally disorganized. We do it on our own! I want that you all know that when you come here (military troops and humanitarians) come in numbers, and well armed (military) and be prepared mentally to eliminate some criminal interference that will attack you, or be prepared to shoot them in their legs. After that, you’ll be able to take control of the city and the population. Order here will be established in that way.) I asked him about the internet signal quality. He told me that the network is in very bad shape, and not reliable now. I asked him about his cell phone batteries, and he told me that he is charging them with the help of his neighbour by 30 minutes sessions or so when it is possible. He told me he ran out of gas, and that people are starting to fight for just few drops of it. He told me that among good people, the mutual aid is really strong. (It was already like that before the quake, but now it is multiplied by hundreds.) After that, I told him I want to go there but that it is really complicated, for safety purposes, and many other reasons. He replied to me that I must be prepared to come here only once I can be sure I am safe, and that the military and peacekeepers have control everywhere. This he didn't tell me, it is my own opinion: I think 5,000 troops as stated by the UN is not enough. I was there recently, I know the area, and I think that 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers will be needed, which would be far better for the security of everyone. This number could be reduced in some weeks, or months, but we should start with a lot of people to be sure we can do it right and help the deserving. It is my own opinion. -Steve Our call lasted about 20 minutes, or so, and before ending, I told him I’ll try to call again and stay in touch. I gave him 2 cell phone numbers to try to obtain news from my girlfriend, relatives, and friends. I have my fingers crossed that he can help me; he will remain ok, etc. Steve Toupin VE2TKH (ALL via Brian Crow, DXLD) TECHNOLOGY COMES TO THE RESCUE IN HAITI By Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service International aid workers are scrambling to rebuild communications in Haiti following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, while people outside the country are using high-tech means to raise money for relief. The quake, which leveled much of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, also cut off many forms of communication in the country, according to an eyewitness report provided to IDG News Service by the United Nations Foundation on Friday. That organization, along with the World Food Program (WFP), Telecoms Sans Frontiers and other organizations, are bringing in new equipment to reconnect citizens and aid workers with the rest of the world. Communications links are critical for people in the area to check in with loved ones, and for aid groups to coordinate within the country and send word about current conditions. The initial quake shut down landlines and a satellite telecommunications system used by the WFP, as well as GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) service, according to a comment posted on an internal WFP message board. The message was posted Thursday morning by Pierre Petry, a senior ICT (Info-Communication Technologies) specialist at the World Food Program, who was working in the northern city of Cap-Haitien when the earthquake struck near Port- au-Prince. "The Port-au-Prince VSAT (very small aperture terminal) is out of order, the landlines and GSM phone lines are dead. Port-au-Prince Country Office can not be reached anymore even by e-mail or Lotus Notes, as the FoodSat (VSAT satellite unit) is probably damaged," Petry wrote. Trying to reach the WFP station in the capital, he finally was able to get through using HF (high-frequency) radio. HF radio is similar to shortwave. The day after the quake, Petry found an unused satellite communications device called an iDirect BitSat at the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti in Gonaives, also in the northern part of the country. In the comment, Petry wrote that he planned to take that device to Port-au-Prince in the south, under a military escort from the mission. Several other international groups also quickly responded to the disaster with communications equipment and assistance. The ITU (International Telecommunication Union) said Thursday it was immediately deploying 40 satellite terminals for basic communications, along with 60 other terminals with satellite broadband capability. The agency said it would also set up a Qualcomm Deployable Base Station, a complete cellular system in a compact, self-contained unit. Telecoms Sans Frontiers, an organization that provides communications for citizens and aid workers in areas of crisis around the world, said Wednesday it was deploying two emergency response teams to Haiti and would be offering free two-minute phone calls anywhere in the world so people in the country can talk with their loved ones. Most Haitians have relatives in the United States. This is the group's fifth deployment to Haiti since 2003, including missions following hurricanes Gustav and Hanna. Haiti cellular provider Voila reported Friday that its network was up and carrying a high volume of local and international calls. It had been restored by midnight Thursday, according to Voila, which is owned by the U.S. company Trilogy International Partners. The company said its next step is to finish restoring wireless data service with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution). Meanwhile, mobile-phone users in the U.S. donated more than $10 million to earthquake relief within 36 hours by texting "HAITI" to the short-code 90999 from their phones. By late Friday, more than 900,000 people had donated $10 per text message, according to mGive, which is operating the donation drive for the American Red Cross. Verizon Wireless and other service providers will fast-track the funds to the relief effort, and 100 percent of the money donated goes to relief, according to mGive. Aid organizations have also successfully solicited donations via social-networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The full text of Petry's message, posted Thursday morning, reads as follows: "I was in Cap-Haitien sub office located in the north of the country giving the "GVLP Driver Training" when we felt the earthquake for about 15 seconds. Everybody rushed outside the old building. Some minutes later, we learned that Port-au-Prince was badly hit by an earthquake. We tried to contact the WFP country office by FoodSat phone, mobile phone and landlines without any success. Finally we got in touch with the HF radio on 3.xxx Mhz. The Port-au-Prince VSAT is out of order, the landlines and GSM phones are dead. Port-au-Prince (PaP) Country Office can not be reached anymore even by e-mail or LotusNotes as the FoodSat is probably damaged. The following day I travelled from Cap-Haïtien to PaP, but the WFP security officer denied me and my driver access to the capital. So we drove back to Gonaïves sub-office. Fortunately in Gonaïves I found an unused iDirect BitSat. It was used for the Inter Agency cybercafe in 2008 during the "Ike cyclone" emergency. It was installed in the MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission) base. With the help of local staff we took down the antenna and the router, loaded the equipment on an old M6 truck and got the security clearance for PaP. Now we are ready to go tomorrow morning to PaP with an MINUSTAH military escort." Comments: DogPatch1149 posted Sat Jan 16 12:37:49 PST 2010 HF isn't just similar to shortwave - for all intents and purposes, they're one and the same, and the terms are used interchangeably. HF is 3-30 MHz, and all shortwave bands except 160 meters are within that range. source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/187042/technology_comes_to_the_rescue_in_haiti.html (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Jan 17, DXLD) From: Steve Toupin VE2TKH Subject: J'ai eu des nouvelles!! I had news!! Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:17:05 +0000 Monday January 18th 2009, 03:21UTC I was so surprised to receive a phone call from my lovely Andromaque directly from her cell phone minutes ago. She told me that she is ok, and everybody is ok!! Wow, a miracle! Their home is still standing, they sleep outside and only go during day time for a quick shower in the bathroom. I told her to remain like this and keep avoiding long visits inside the building. They are tired and it is difficult to sleep for them she told me. I asked why she can now call me with the cell phone? She answered me that her campany Digicel gave 200 gouds credits to all its customers to allow them free calls (NDLR other companies are Voila and Haitel). She told me they are in STRONG need of water and food!! But, sometimes the people from the Belgium consulate that are very close to them, are coming with few food and water. I gave her infos about the international help gathering at PAP Intl airport and that they have big problems with the security concerns and to use the roads from the airport to the city. I also told her about the bad shape of their port for ships that are waiting anchored before delivering their help. I also told her to spread the word to others about these facts I informed her, but she told me that they all already know that because the radio station, at least one, is still broadcasting. I suggested that some good hearted Haitians can do something to help international aid to reach them, but she told me that the situation is really bad and getting worst every hour that is passing by and even if they want to do so, the villains will block them. She had the same bad news for me as Jean-Robert HH2JR had 5.5 hours ago when I reached him on his cell too. I mean about the criminality rising all around. I was telling her the story of the HI hams that are now in Jimani and suddenly we lost the communication. We lost it not because of bad conditions of equipment there due to the earthquake (in fact it was far better than when we used to talk last fall before I visited her, it was crystal clear communication), but because of her money credits from Digicel gift were empty. I won’t complain here as it was the best news I ever received from a phone call in all my life. Unfortunately, I tried to call back and it was not working. :-( We hope international forces will act quickly… Steve Toupin VE2TKH (via Brian Crow, Jan 18, DXLD) Amateur radio info, also concerning Dominican Republic aid: http://aren.ie/news/ and http://www.satern.org/ (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, Jan 18, DXLD) Checked the two emergency 20m channels for Haiti: 14265-USB, Jan 19 at 1503 NCS was NB7PX, listening for Haiti, DR, calling Barbados but no traffic at the moment. 14300-USB, Jan 19 at 1506 NCS WA1RKP, open for relief effort traffic, several talk-overs by hams who apparently could not hear each other. Both nets were bothered by stronger SSB signals on the low side. A reminder that TWR Bonaire 800 kHz says it is relaying 4VEH from Cap- Haïtien starting at 0315 UT until 0700. Let`s have some monitoring reports of that; not likely around here with OKC on 800 (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Much more concerning Haiti: CUBA; U S A CNN ARTICLE ON AMATEUR EFFORT http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/20/haiti.amateur.radio/ (via Crow) http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/20/haiti.amateur.radio/index.html?hpt=Sbin (this version via Terry Krueger, Mike Terry, DXLD) Good article by John Sutter, CNN writer/producer. He got almost everything right. I told him Fred Moore, W3ZU was passing the bulk of traffic via radio, and that I was communicating with the larger amateur community and the media about the traffic from Haiti. Fred was interviewed for CNN radio a couple of days ago. I can't say enough about Fred's dedication in this effort. Fred's maintained a radio watch on 14.300 almost continuously while the band has been open. He's passed traffic from HH2JR (Jean-Robert Gaillard), HH6JH (Father John Henault), and HH2QCS (David Farquharson) and he's established several phone patches for Jean-Robert Gaillard (HH2JR). Overall it's a very positive article regarding the amateur effort. Fred's phone patch with Jean-Robert (audio and pictures) has over 5,000 views on YouTube (so far). (Brian Crow, Jan 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAITI [and non]. ***Items concerning helping Haitians listen to SW from abroad*** HELP HUMANITARIAN RADIO IN HAITI Hello, Radio Friends: Thank you for letting me pull this discussion group off topic for a moment. For those of you who don't know me, I'm the founder and director of a newly formed non-profit organization called Ears To Our World (ETOW). ETOW's mission is to send self- powered shortwave radios to schools in the developing world--you may have seen us recently featured in the Dec. 2009 edition of Popular Communications. You can check us out at: http://earstoourworld.org Many of you have been watching and listening to the reports coming out of Haiti in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. As you can imagine, the need for information in Haiti is urgent and that means, of course, that radios are needed. In light of this crisis, ETOW has decided to temporarily broaden our mission; next week we will send a substantial number of ETOW radios (donated by Eton/Grundig) to Haiti via our partner, Operation USA. We are preparing our radios for shipment as rapidly as we can. As shortwave listeners, DXers and amateur radio operators, you know well the power of radio. If you'd like to help, please do what you can. Even a few bucks can help with our expedited shipping costs to get our radios to Haiti. Donations can be made via PayPal on our website http://earstoourworld.org or you can send a check made to Ears To Our World at the address below. And if you have contacts or resources there, please contact me off list at: thomas @ earstoourworld.org Let's all do what we can to help these folks. Thank you & 73, Thomas, KF4TZK (Thomas Witherspoon, Executive Director, Ears To Our World / PO Box 3230 / Cullowhee, NC 28723 / USA, Jan 14, HCDX via DXLD) By Thomas Witherspoon, December 16, 2009 ETOW has had an incredible first year-from the donation of our first radios to their distribution in seven countries on three continents, from Eastern Europe to Africa and Haiti-we've seen healthy growth in our young organization. We're delighted and encouraged by our many empowering partnerships, as well, which have truly made our successes possible-such as that with the Empower Campaign, a stellar organization which is helping to build much-needed schools in Uganda, and which is now distributing ETOW radios to these same schools. Our cover feature in December's international magazine, Popular Communications, sums up our year with hope for a bright future. See pages 14-19 for our story, Greg Majewski's excellent supporting article on page 22, and editor Edith Lennon's wonderful editorial on page 4. Full story at http://earstoourworld.org/?p=390 (via Ears To Our World Facebook group via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** HAITI. ***Items concerning Commando Solo temporary, airborne? Broadcasts*** LOCAL AIR GUARD MEMBERS SENT ON MISSION TO HELP HAITI http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Local-Air-Guard-Members-Sent-On-Mission-to-Help/8_GHQom2SUuYYJl6IkoGhA.cspx http://tinyurl.com/yc3pxt8 So, what frequency(ies) are they on? Nothing detected here, thus far. I would use 1030, 1035, or 1610. But bet they will use 530 to add to the existing c*u*t*r*u*k. Or maybe FM only? Larry King: "Ted, have you ever been to Haiti?" Ted Turner: "I have not. I've been to Jamaica." ~ The Larry King Show, CNN, January 13, 2010, discussing the Haitian earthquake relief efforts with Ted Turner. [tagline] (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, 2130 UT Jan 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From the fine people who brought you psyop airborne broadcasts to Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, etc., the 193rd SOW from Harrisburg PA (gh, DXLD) Since it appears the bulk of the damage and affected population is concentrated in the P-a-P area, it would seem the EC-130 could simply transmit on a couple of FM and one AM channel from the ground. Maybe not? Recall, post-Hurricane Andrew, that the US Army Psy Ops set up a mobile unit tagged as Radio Recovery for a few weeks on 1610 kHz. I'm surprised that type of operation hasn't happened, or maybe it has and we haven't received wind of it yet. So much for communications (Terry Krueger, FL, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) U.S. MILITARY DELIVERS SELF-POWERED RADIOS TO EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs Courtesy Story Date: 01.19.2010. Posted: 01.19.2010 08:15 http://ow.ly/Yz5K HOMESTEAD ARB, Fla. - A U.S. Air Force C-130 is delivering 50,000 hand-held radios for distribution to Haitian earthquake survivors by the recent devastating earthquake. The radios will be distributed by JTF-Haiti and are expected to arrive later this week. The small emergency radios are both solar-powered and hand-cranked and do not require batteries. Radios are being distributed in order for affected citizens to receive news and important information concerning international relief efforts. In close coordination with the government of Haiti, JTF-Haiti is currently broadcasting news, public health, safety and information regarding relief efforts via a military aircraft equipped with FM and AM broadcasting capability. Public safety messages are broadcasting in the following frequencies: 92.4 FM, 104.1 FM, 1030 AM. The role of U.S. military forces during this humanitarian assistance and disaster relief effort is to rapidly respond with critically needed supplies and medical services in those areas the Haitian government deems necessary. U.S. Department of Defense forces are part of a larger, unified United States federal response to the Government of Haiti's request for humanitarian aid. U.S. Southern Command is working with the Department of State, USAID, the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance and others to aggressively provide life-sustaining services to the people of Haiti. ***************************************************** Anderson Cooper in Haiti: 'I can't imagine being anywhere else' ***************************************************** (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, Jan 20, DXLD) So, my prediction of 1030 as the most likely MW choice was spot-on. And since I heard the 193rd several times while operating over Haiti in 1994 (then on 1035 kHz), I should be able to pull them again, co- channel notwithstanding. And if I can locate the time slot they are flying. Late afternoon-early evenin has always been the time used on all past missions. OR --- could it be terrestrial, if this station really exists, and is active after the earthquake? (Terry Krueger, ibid.) i.e. Ginen: Haiti News & Articles RADYO GINEN PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI RADIO GINEN HAITI 92.9 FM 1030 AM http://www.ayitinou.com/article-posts/29-haitian-articles/455-radyo-ginen-port-au-prince-haitiradio-ginen-haiti-929-fm-1030-am.html http://www.radyoginen.com/ [this website is mostly black but with linx] (via Terry Krueger) RADIO STATION IN THE SKY WARNS HAITIANS NOT TO ATTEMPT BOAT VOYAGE By Mike M. Ahlers and Mike Mount, CNN January 19, 2010 -- Updated 2315 GMT (0715 HKT) Residents of Port-au-Prince leave the city from a small port area, destination unclear. STORY HIGHLIGHTS * Message warns Haitians they'll be intercepted and sent home if they attempt ocean voyage * U.S. Air Force plane broadcasts message five hours a day along with Voice of America news * Department of Homeland Security planning response to potential mass migration * Haitians who have valid visas can fly to the United States on commercial flights Washington (CNN) -- A U.S. Air Force plane serving as an airborne radio station is broadcasting messages to Haitians urging them not to attempt ocean voyages to the United States, saying they will be intercepted and turned back home if they do. The plane is broadcasting recorded messages from Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the United States, and announcements of where earthquake victims can go for food and aid. "Listen, don't rush on boats to leave the country," Joseph says in Creole. "If you do that, we'll all have even worse problems. Because, I'll be honest with you: If you think you will reach the U.S. and all the doors will be wide open to you, that's not at all the case. And they will intercept you right on the water and send you back home where you came from." The EC-130J Commando Solo, a large transport aircraft, is flying and broadcasting five hours a day over Haiti, authorities said. In addition to the message from Joseph, it is broadcasting news from Voice of America and instructions on hygiene procedures to prevent disease. "We are sending public service messages ... to save lives," said State Department deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid. "It is part of the U.S. effort to help keep Haitians safe. We don't want people to endanger their lives by taking risk to try to get to the U.S. at this time." Haitians who have valid visas can come to the United States on commercial flights. Video: U.S. choppers bring aid Video: Looters a new Haitian problem Video: U.S. troops distribute water Gallery: Haiti's children survive after quake Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has activated a task force to review plans on how to respond to a mass migration from Haiti if necessary. But officials stressed that the measures are being taken out of an abundance of caution. "We're actively looking for signs that the citizens of Haiti [are migrating by sea] but right now there's no sign," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Christopher O'Neil. "The only movement of people we've seen has been all inland." O'Neil said a sea migration is unlikely "if for no other reason than there's this massive federal government presence [in Haiti] trying to deliver humanitarian relief." "We've probably never had this great of a situational awareness of what's going on in Haiti as we do right now," he added. Full coverage | Twitter updates The U.S. Coast Guard has five cutters off the Haiti coast focused on delivering humanitarian assistance, and is moving more into the area. Past mass migrations were sparked by geopolitical circumstances rather than natural disasters, O'Neil said. The federal government created a mass migration plan in 2004 after an uptick in migration from the Caribbean, and it regularly exercises the plan. More than 55 agencies participated in the last full-scale exercise, he said. "Attempts to enter the United States by sea are inherently dangerous," he said. Migrants typically use crowded, poorly built boats and "put themselves at the mercy of smugglers. "It's simply a prudent measure [to activate the task force]," he said. "Given the situation and not wanting to be caught unprepared, it makes sense to at least look at the plan and make sure that the people in the appropriate agencies are ready and able to execute the plan if it's warranted." Search list of missing and found The phenomenon of Haitian migration in small boats and rafts dates back at least 35 years, according to a Congressional Research Service report. Most notably, an estimated 25,000 Haitians were among the mass migration of more than 150,000 asylum seekers who arrived in South Florida during the Mariel boatlift, an exodus of mostly Cuban migrants in 1980 (CNN via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** HAITI [and non]. ***Items about streaming broadcasts from Haiti and Haitian stations elsewhere*** STREAMING FROM HAITI AND US HAITIAN STATIONS JAN 13 http://www.remax-caribbeanislands.com/images/map_haiti.jpg Hola Amigos, Como sabran hoy en Haiti hubo un terremoto de magnitud de 7,0 en la escala de Richter, aunque en ese momento estaba descansando, me di cuenta al levantarme a la 1600z. Emprendi una busqueda del streaming de Haiti. En algunos casos positivos, otros con problemas. Bueno, quiero compartir con ustedes como me fue. Bajo la salvedad de que se mejore la conexion. o en su defecto, continue sin novedad. Algunas emisoras el audio era desde EE.UU (me imagino que eran las que se escuchaban) las que salia de Haiti tenian problemas Muchos 73 de Yimber Gaviria, Colombia ...Esten pendientes de los enlaces Radio Television Caraibes Ch. 22 /94.5 FM St Caraibes FM http://caraibesfm.com/ Escuchar http://caraibesfm.com/caraibes3.asx Siendo las 1623z con charlas en Frances, emitiendo noticias en frances de RFI Radio Métropole. http://www.metropolehaiti.com/ Escuchar http://www.metropolehaiti.com/metropole/live.php Message: Suite au séisme, nous rencontrons actuellement un problème de liaison entre haïti et nos serveurs de streaming, nous travaillons à régler le problème. Mensaje: Tras el terremoto, actualmente estamos experimentando un problema de vinculación entre Haití y nuestros servidores de streaming, trabajamos para resolver el problema Radio Soleil D´Haiti The 24 hour Haitian Radio station in New York! http://www.radiosoleil.com/radiosoleil.htm Escuchar http://www.streamaudio.com/Player/Player.aspx?Station=WRSH_IR&filename=&Optin=# con locutores en Creole Radio Lumiere - Port-Au-Prince, Haiti http://winstreams.net/radiolumiere2.htm Escuchar mms://74.208.7.100/winstreams Sin audio Signal Fm 90.5 Live from Haiti http://www.signalfmhaiti.com/ Escuchar http://www.signalfmhaiti.com/webplayer.html http://www.server79.sitegenial.com/tunein.php/signalfmhaiti/playlist.asx No dio audio Radyo Ginen Haiti http://www.radyoginen.com/ Escuchar mms://64.71.145.131/radioginen No dio audio Radio 4VEH http://radio4veh.org/ Desde 1950 al servicio del pueblo Haitiano. Escuchar: Atraves de este enlace se escucha sin problema http://www.radio4veh.org/radio_plus/radio_4veh.html En este otro enlace no quiso funcionar http://www.barnabasroad.com/wfrn_dial-up-3.m3u Radio Leve Kanpe Haiti 100.3 FM en Hinche, Haiti 94.7 FM en New Jersey, USA La Radio favorita de todos los Haitianos http://www.radiolevekanpehaiti.com/index.php Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_levekanpe_b/?stream.sitegenial.6408=true http://server79.sitegenial.com/tunein.php/levekanpenj64/playlist.asx No funciono el audio por ninguno de los dos enlaces. (Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, 2225 UT Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos Amigos, Ayer estuve con el navegador Google Chrome, ahora estoy usando el Mozilla Firefox v.3.5.7. navegando con el Chrome me pedia mucho Plug-ins para el Firefox Media Player. Repase nuevamente los enlaces de ayer (http://bit.ly/5jxDJJ) en la entrada: Haiti: Streaming de Haiti 13 enero 2010 Ahora con mas informacion. Espero sea de su interes, si quieren seguir lo que pasa en Haiti. Yimber Radio caraibes FM http://www.caraibesfm.com/communication.html 1330z con audio. Radio Metropole http://www.metropolehaiti.com/metropole/live.php La señal en vivo aun no esta disponible. Radio Soleil D´Haiti http://www.streamaudio.com/Player/Player.aspx?Station=WRSH_IR&filename=&Optin=# 1336z locutor en Frances. Radio Lumiere Tienen nueva pagina web. http://www.radiolumiere.org/ Este es el mensaje en la entrada... Welcome to our new Radio Lumière web site! While it is still under construction we trust you won't mind the clutter and will browse around and see what we have to offer. Of course there will be many more new features to come. So stop in often, stay awhile, and of course be sure to tune in live to your station, Radio Lumière! Ademas incluyen... Earthquake News Our Radio Lumiere web site is back on line. Last night after the earthquake we had so many visitors it overwhelmed our servers! Sorry for the inconvenience. Unfortunately we do not have the live feed from Haiti so you can listen to your radio station. The good news is that the studios in Cote Plage are still standing and nearly all the personnel are accounted for. The bad news is that the installations on Boutillier are down. So Radio Lumeire is still not back on the air. We will try to keep you posted as things progress. Be sure to sign up on the left to receive our email updates. -Pegue la direccion en WMP, en Archivo, Open URL, y OK mms://74.208.7.100/winstreams Pero aparece El reproductoro de Windows Media no puede conectar con el servidor. Es posible que el nombre del servidor no sea correcto, que el servidor no este disponible o que la configuracion del proxy no sea correcta. Tiene un mensaje: Did you know it costs RL $1.00 every time you tune in?! Creo se debe tratar de eso...Estan pidiendo donaciones. No la he podido escuchar. Signal Fm 90.5 24 horas en linea Para escucharlo en el web player: http://www.signalfmhaiti.com/webplayer.html Para escucharla con el windows Media player: http://www.server79.sitegenial.com/tunein.php/signalfmhaiti/playlist.asx no me dio audio, probe con me Windows Media Classic Escuchar con Quicktime: http://www.server79.sitegenial.com/tunein.php/signalfmhaiti/playlist.qtl Escuchar con Real Player: http://www.server79.sitegenial.com/tunein.php/signalfmhaiti/playlist.ram Escuchar con Winamp: http://www.server79.sitegenial.com/tunein.php/signalfmhaiti/playlist.pls Radio Scoop FM 107.7 FM http://www.scoopfmhaiti.com/ Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_scoopfm/?stream.sitegenial.1077=true Radio Kontak Inter http://www.radiokontakinterhaiti.com/ Escuchar http://www.radiokontakinterhaiti.com/webplayer/?stream.sitegenial.94.9=true Radio Musique FM 96.9 mfm.musiquefm@yahoo.fr Tels: 22620005 / 22620006/ 37288409 http://www.radiomusiquefm.com/ Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_mfm/?stream.sitegenial.969=true Me dio audio, con musica local Radio Haiti Focus http://toutmounfocus.com/focus/ Escuchar http://www.toutmounfocus.com/dashboard.html Radio Levekanpe HT 100.3 http://www.radiolevekanpehaiti.com/ Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_lkdh/?stream.sitegenial.1003=true Charlas en Creole. Radio Levekanpe NY 94.7 Desde Nueva York http://www.www.radyolevekanpe.com/ Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_levekanpe/?stream.sitegenial.6408=true Radio Intermix 97.7 http://www.radiointermix.com/ Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_intermix/?server79.sitegenial.977=true Con charlas en Creole. Radio Tele Paradis 104.7 http://www.radioteleparadis.com/ Escuchar: http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_paradis/?stream.sitegenial.1047=true Radio Panou Inter 95.7 http://www.radiopanouinter.com/ Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_panou/?stream.sitegenial.256=true Directo desde Nueva York http://www.radyopanou.com/english.html Website no encontrada. Radio Atlantik 92.5 http://www.atlantikhaiti.com/ Escuchar: http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_atlantik/?stream.sitegenial.925=true Completamente en Creole Radio Tele Cocktail 103.9 FM http://www.radiotelecocktail.com/index.html EN Vivo desde los EE.UU Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_cocktail/?stream.sitegenial.202=true Charlas en frances. Radio Inspiration FM 103.7 http://www.radioinspirationfm.com/ Escuchar: http://www.sitegenial.com/player_inspiration_fm/?stream.sitegenial.1037=true Voix Ave Maria 98.5 FM Radio Confessionnelle (Catholique) http://www.radiovoixavemaria.com/ Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_voixam/?stream.sitegenial.985=true Radio Nouvele Generation http://www.rnghaitilive.com/ Pagina en Construccion Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_nouvelle_generation/?rnghaitilive.server79.sitegenial.com=true Radio Digital 107.9 http://digitalfm107-9.com/ Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_digital/?server79.sitegenial.107.9=true Radio Tête à Tête 102.9 FM La Radio del Pueblo http://www.radioteteatete.com/ Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_teteatete/?server79.sitegenial.102=true Con audio en la misma pagina Radio Papillon FM http://www.papillonfmhaiti.com/ Pagina en Construccion Escuchar http://www.sitegenial.com/player_radio_papillon/?server79.sitegenial=true 73 de Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, http://yimber-gaviria.blogspot.com (Jan 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) HAITI RADIO ONLINE "Our Radio Lumière web site is back on line. Last night after the earthquake we had so many visitors it overwhelmed our servers! Sorry for the inconvenience. Unfortunately we do not have the live feed from Haiti so you can listen to your radio station. The good news is that the studios in Cote Plage are still standing and nearly all the personnel are accounted for. The bad news is that the installations on Boutillier are down. So Radio Lumière is still not back on the air. We will try to keep you posted as things progress." http://www.radiolumiere.org R. Kiskeya streaming audio via Live365 is down, but the web site contained earthquake photos and news of one radio station on the air. "SignalFM et CaraïbesFM émettent en duplex: Sur les ondes de SignalFM, le cinéaste Arnold Antonin s'est fait l'écho de la société civile haïtienne pour exiger du gouvernement haïtien en général et du président Préval en particulier de venir s'exprimer à la nation sur la seule station encore en diffusion SignalFM. Il a fait état de nombreux cadavres qui jonchent les rues et qui à court terme vont poser un sérieux problème de santé publique." http://www.radiokiskeya.com CaraïbesFM streaming audio is on the air with news/talk. http://www.caraibesfm.com SignalFM streaming audio is on the air with music, and the web site features a slide show of earthquake images. http://www.signalfmhaiti.com Radio 4VEH web site is down. http://www.radio4veh.org (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, 1215 UT Jan 15, http://www.bamlog.com mwdx yg via DXLD) Checked 4VEH website at 1221 UT - It now seems to be online Regards (Tony Magon VK2IC, Sydney, ibid.) Thanks, guys. I actually found the Radio 4VEH page on Facebook (and as a result in a roundabout way I'm now a member of Facebook). Kate Michel, the 4VEH representative on Facebook, indicated that 4VEH was temporarily off line, but the Cap Haitien site was otherwise largely unaffected by the earthquake. Kate Michel also confirmed that CaraibesFM and SignalFM were the only two stations in P-au-P known to be on the air after the quake, the only two P-au-P stations that I could find streaming live (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, 0404 UT Jan 16, mwdx yg via DXLD) ** HAITI. ***Items concerning Haitian broadcasters and efforts to get back on the air*** The quake struck while an HCJB Global engineer was in Port-au-Prince to repair an automation system for partner radio station Radio Lumière. The engineer and three other technical workers, including two volunteers from the U.S., escaped injury. Operated by the Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti, Radio Lumière is a radio ministry with a network of nine stations that reaches 90 percent of Haiti’s population. Radio station 4VEH, operated by cooperating ministry One Mission Society (formerly OMS International) in Cap-Haitian, was not damaged by the temblor (from an HCJB Global Radio press release Jan 14, otherwise not about radio, via DXLD) HCJB has quite a medical operation in Quito HCJB GLOBAL UPDATE JAN 15: . . .The 7.0-magnitude quake struck on Tuesday, Jan. 12, even as an HCJB Global Voice engineer was in Port-au-Prince to do technical work for partner ministry Radio Lumière. The engineer and three others (two from the U.S.) escaped injury. World Gospel Mission (WGM) is sending Paul Shingledecker to Haiti on Saturday to assess the damage at Radio Lumière, get it back on the air and meet with church and radio leaders to begin building a long-term strategy for assisting Haiti. Shingledecker, who served as a missionary in Haiti for 23 years, will also be checking on radio staff members, some of whom are feared dead. “The station is still standing,” said Tim Rickel, WGM’s vice president for communication. “It is structurally sound, although many things have fallen off the shelves. All of the radio towers are also standing.” He said the station has back-up generators to supply electricity, but they are dependent on diesel fuel which is in short supply. Radio Lumière, a WGM partner ministry operated by the Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti, consists of nine radio stations and a television station. It covers 90 percent of Haiti with the message of Christ’s love. Another HCJB Global cooperating ministry, radio station 4VEH, operated by One Mission Society (formerly OMS International) in Cap-Haitien, was undamaged. “We want to be able to show the face of Jesus as we work with our hands. We trust the name of Jesus will be lifted up in all that we do,” said Steve Nelson. Support of HCJB Global’s efforts will help provide medical supplies and basic necessities such as sleeping bags, flashlights, tents and emergency water filters. Plans are under way to send additional teams in the weeks to come. The most recent news can be found at http://www.twitter.com/hcjbglobal In order to donate to the relief efforts, please visit http://www.hcjbglobal.org (via DXLD) OFFERING FAITH AMIDST MISERY IN HAITI TWR Airing Timely Hope to the Hopeless in Earthquake-Ravaged Country CARY, NC, January 14, 2010–As the beleaguered nation of Haiti suffers from mass devastation caused by Tuesday’s earthquake, international Christian media ministry TWR will provide Creole language messages of hope into Port-au-Prince by radio. Beginning tonight and continuing indefinitely, TWR will provide a simulcast of local Christian programming from Haiti’s Radio 4VEH via TWR’s 100,000-watt AM outlet on the island of Bonaire. Broadcasts of Radio 4VEH’s live Internet audio stream will be aired from 10:15 p.m. until 2 a.m. local time in Haiti. “Two solid Christian stations on Haiti are Radio 4VEH and Radio Lumiere,” explains TWR Americas International Director Tim Klingbeil. “Since Radio Lumiere is off the air due to a damaged transmitter facility, we believe broadcasting Radio 4VEH’s programs from Bonaire will reach people who currently are not able to receive much-needed gospel messages.” Radio 4VEH is located on the northern part of Haiti, and broadcasts do not effectively reach listeners in Port-au-Prince. According to sources from Radio 4VEH, the station plans to make adjustments to its regular programming in an effort to address the needs of those who are suffering and looking for help. “Our thinking is that we will continue providing simulcasts at least until Radio Lumiere is able to go back on the air,” Klingbeil says. TWR has established a Haiti Earthquake Response Fund, which initially will handle airtime and program production expenses. The ministry plans to produce additional programming in Creole to be aired later and will also offer disaster-related broadcasts “Growth Through Hardship,” a series of upbeat radio spots that focus on how believers can respond during the aftermath of natural disasters. “The key is to provide ongoing help once the immediate crisis passes and people begin to realize the reality of the situation,” says Klingbeil. Klingbeil adds: “Please pray that God will use TWR’s Bonaire signal and the programming from 4VEH to bring comfort and hope to the Port- au-Prince area during this challenging time.” To give to TWR’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, please visit https://www.twr.org/projekt/967) (via Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, Jan 16, mwdx yg via DXLD) HAITIAN BROADCASTERS GETTING BACK ON THE AIR Internews’ Country Director Philippe Allouard reports that at least 12 radio stations broadcasting to the Port-au-Prince area and one national radio broadcaster are back on the air in Haiti. In addition, Internews is bringing in a 300-watt transmitter that is expected to be able to broadcast up to 30 miles around Port-au-Prince. Internews is currently working with the French government and relief organizations to send the transmitter from Paris to Port-au-Prince through the humanitarian aid corridor. Internews is also attempting to contact the 41-member network of community radio stations, RAMAK, with whom it has worked in the past in order to assess not only their safety, but also the state of their station’s infrastructure and broadcasting capabilities. One station has responded that the “situation is unimaginable and worse than anyone can predict.” Internews will continue to provide updates on the operational status of Haiti’s media as it becomes available. (Source: Internews) (January 18th, 2010 - 13:45 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) 5 Comments on “Haitian broadcasters getting back on the air” 1. #1 Jonathan Marks on Jan 18th, 2010 at 15:45 So it looks like the relief agencies are working on an FM strategy, assuming locals with access to battery driven radios will not find the special broadcasts from BBC et al on shortwave. 2. #2 Bobby Ewing on Jan 18th, 2010 at 17:20 New high resolution pictures on the destruction from the 2010 Haiti Earthquake have been posted from on the ground in Port-Au-Prince and Jacmel http://www.jlaforums.com/album.php?search=haiti&search_cond=Pic%20Description&sort_order=&start=0 http://www.jlaforums.com/album.php?search=haiti&search_cond=Pic%20Title&sort_order=&start=0 3. #3 ruud on Jan 18th, 2010 at 19:39 Just checked out some Port-Au-Prince stations on Internet. Could pick up 3. Signal FM, R Caraibes and R. Vision 2000. Signal FM gave info non-stop, including calls for help, the others played -serious- music. For Signal Fm: http://www.signalfmhaiti.com Click Ecoutez. It is all in French and the local version of French. 4. #4 Lou Josephs on Jan 18th, 2010 at 20:07 SW broadcasting in times of disaster is OVER, that ship has set sail. Considering that Twitter has owned this from the start and that cable news and sat news channels are also spending lots of time with the story. Why FM, because the transmitters can be low power and they are easy to setup and keep running. You don’t need megawatts of power to cover 20 or so km…and most important of all FM IS Local. 5. #5 Lou Josephs on Jan 18th, 2010 at 20:12 more notes: Ham radio which used to be a major way to get the news from a disaster zone also appears to have retired like most of the ham operators. Sad but very true. Most embarrassing coverage from France via the 24 hours news network. Also bad has been VLAD tv aka Russia Today. ALJ ENGLISH has not done very much with this as it’s doesn’t involve any Arab countries. So as you can watch the TV sat channels you will notice how niche it’s all become, something Roger Wallis predicted years ago in the Known World of Broadcast News (MN blog comments via DXLD) I added my monitoring of VOA Creole to demonstrate that SW is NOT passé (gh) THE Media Association Jamaica Limited (MAJ) yesterday offered to help Haiti in establishing an emergency radio broadcasting system in the earthquake-wrecked capital, Port-au-Prince. . . http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/maj-offer--jan-15--2009_7329009 (all via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, Jan 18, DXLD) ** HAITI. ***Monitoring of broadcast stations direct from Haiti, or relays*** I was hearing the Haitian station on 840 last night - they appeared to be just running their usual religious programming, but they're located on the north coast, a long way from Port-au-Prince (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON, Jan 14, IRCA via DXLD) 4VEH Some postings to the 4VEH Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#/radio4veh?ref=mf Before the Earthquake: Radio 4VEH, The Evangelistic Voice of Haiti Big day for OMS ministries in Haiti today as the new Emmaus Biblical Seminary campus in Sakanvil is dedicated, after four years of hard work. Every building and resident on the campus will be dedicated full-time to the training of Haitian pastors to take the Good News throughout Haiti! Mon at 3:09pm *** PLEASE PRAY for the people of Haiti as a 7.0 earthquake hits near Port-au-Prince Tue at 6:13pm *** Earthquake seems to have been focused on Port-au-Prince area, though shocks were felt elsewhere. It appears there was no damage in the north, around Cap Haitien, where Radio 4VEH is located. Pray that Radio 4VEH can be a comfort to listeners across Haiti at this time Tue at 10:08pm *** Aftershocks from yesterday's earthquake felt in Port-au-Prince until 3am. Pray today as people face the devastation around them. Pray for our fellow broadcasters at Radio Lumière based in Port-au-Prince - no word about them. Pray as we minister to listeners who are desperately waiting for information about loved ones. Yesterday at 9:18am *** Good news that Radio Lumière in Port-au-Prince is standing, but off the air because of electricity. Yesterday at 2:18pm *** Pray for all those still concerned about loved ones in Port-au-Prince. Phone lines still down. Pray for all radio stations now on the air, that information will flow and people will hear some good news. 5 hours ago (via Fred Waterer, Jan 14, ODXA yg via DXLD) HELP BRING COMFORT AND HOPE TO THE PEOPLE OF PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI It's difficult to quell the emotions when viewing the images of or reading about the devastation that has hit the people of Haiti. The outpouring of support from countless individuals, organizations, churches and governments has been tremendous. Many emergency reponse teams are either on the ground already or are en route to bring much needed relief in the form of clean water, food, medical supplies and treatment for the survivors. To address the spiritual and emotional needs of the people of Haiti, TWR has partnered with Haiti’s Radio 4VEH to rebroadcast its local Christian programming over our 100,000-watt AM station on the Caribbean island of Bonaire. Since Radio 4VEH is located in the northern part of Haiti it was not severely impacted by the earthquake. But because its broadcasts do not effectively reach listeners in Port-au-Prince, Radio 4VEH has agreed to allow TWR to rebroadcast its live Internet audio stream, in the local language of Creole, into Port-au-Prince. Sincerely in Christ, Lauren Libby, President (via Dino Bloise, FL, Jan 15, DXLD) Just got this press release from TWR: [as above]. No times of relays are given (Sergei S., 2210 UT Jan 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Have had a look at TWR website https://www.twr.org/news/offering_faith_amidst_misery_haiti It advises that the relay will be from 2215 to 0200 Haiti local time. On my calculations that would be 0315 to 0700 UT on the presumed frequency of 800 kHz. Regards (Tony Magon VK2IC, Sydney, NSW, ibid.) Good luck tuning 800 kHz! The non-tunable radio concept is a source of constant amusement: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20100113/NEWS01/301130008/Battle+Creek+man+hopes+he+helped+Haiti (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: BATTLE CREEK MAN HOPES HE HELPED HAITI The Enquirer • January 13, 2010 After Tuesday's devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked the nation of Haiti, Battle Creek's Mark Lambert is hoping his work is helping comfort victims. Lambert and his wife, Stephanie, traveled to Haiti in 1999 to help distribute almost 250,000 solar-powered, fixed- frequency radios into the hand of the poor. The radios are tuned to listen to Radio 4VEH [840], a religious, non- commercial station which Lambert said provides a valuable service to the country. "They have a program where they read messages from people," Lambert said. "I just imagine today people huddled around solar-powered radios." Lambert said emergency services were virtually non-existent in Haiti, regarded as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The Associated Press reported today that the death toll is likely to be in the thousands. "What must the country be like in times of chaos? My heart goes out to them, and my prayers," Lambert said. (via DXLD) DISCLAIMER FOR ANY LW/MW ITEMS, INCLUDING ALL TIS; MIS; PIRATE; AND LPAM ENTRIES, OR ANYTHING THAT CAN BE LINKED BACK TO A LW/MW REFERENCE: No portion of the below may be reproduced in any format and/or redistributed by the National Radio Club and/or their editors without my expressed written permission, which will then be swiftly -- and we do mean swiftly -- denied. Editors receiving this directly from me are excluded, provided this entire disclaimer is included once where any of the aforementioned items are first reproduced. 800 UNIDENTIFIED January 20, 2010. I thought it was inconclusive tonight, someone in (mostly) Spanish dominating with talk, not parallel Progreso (Cuba) 640; and a domestic English sat-fed talker in the mix. Maybe the Spanish is an XE? Or TWR-Bonaire? By 0315, nothing French or Haitian kreyol audible. But at 0321, someone in definite Haitian kreyol faded up; a low-key male preacher. Still OK level at 0325, but mixing with the Spanish just after, and lost by 0332 in the mess. Maybe briefly up at 0341, for a few seconds. Nothing else through 0350 tune-out. No idea if this is the reported Radio 4VEH relay via Bonaire. Or, if my log of Haitian kreyol at 0216, January 19 was the same source. If so, that would be an hour earlier than the alleged relay begins, as Glenn points out (Terry Krueger, Clearwater FL, UT Jan 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Terry, However, I don`t see any French Caribbean or Haitian station listed on 800, so if you heard Creole there at 0216 it may have been PJB anyway an hour earlier than publicized, whether relaying 4VEH or not. Or, any chance it was Palatka? (Glenn to Terry, via DXLD) Doubt WPLK, unless they flipped formats. It's been awhile since I pulled them, but they were just a (rare) friendly small-town, mostly live and local station. On 800 now -- at 0...2..5...3 -- someone domestic in English and a pile-up of others. Not a good channel, of course (Krueger, ibid.) SAQUEOS Y LINCHAMIENTOS, RADIO CARIBE ES UN MILAGRO Pese a la tragedia, Radio Caribe sigue transmitiendo desde Puerto Príncipe durante casi todo el día, como si nada hubiese ocurrido y convertida en uno de los pocos enlaces entre las familias partidas y separadas por el sismo. La radio puede transmitir porque su antena sobrevivió al sismo, aunque el edificio de la emisora sufrió daños estructurales y los locutores debieron instalar una mesa de edición junto a una carretera. En ese intercambio entre necesitados, docenas de transeúntes, aprovechan el generador de Radio Caribe para recargar los teléfonos móviles. La otra emisora que ha sobrevivido es Radio Melodie, que continúa transmitiendo esencialmente música en la frecuencia 103.3 FM desde un pequeño estudio. Muchos oyentes colaboran con la emisora aportando bidones con combustible para sostener el generador en funcionamiento. Estoy muy orgulloso de toda esta solidaridad", afirmó Nikkie Ethealt, director de la emisora. GAT Fuente: http://www.ansa.it/ansalatina/notizie/rubriche/mundo/20100117194135012695.html (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) Para Escuchar a Radio Caraïbes FM http://www.caraibesfm.com/communication.html (ANSA via Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, Jan 18, DXLD) RADIO STATIONS GETTING BACK ON THE AIR IN PORT-AU-PRINCE Source: Reporters sans Frontières Date: 20 Jan 2010 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/19/haiti.broadcast.warning/ Work is slowly resuming at Radio Métropole," one of its young reporters, Gaby Saget, told us. "Most of the staff were not hurt in the earthquake but they have been affected like the rest of the population," said Saget, winner of the 2009 RFI-OIF-Reporters Without Borders Francophone prize. "Our director, Richard Widmaier, got us to go back to work on Monday despite the lack of human and financial resources." One of the leading Port-au-Prince radio stations, Radio Métropole initially resumed broadcasting only online, as did Radio Kiskeya, another of the most popular radio stations in the capital, which had around 50 stations before the earthquake. Signal FM, Caraïbes FM and the local branch of the French public station RFI were the only three stations that managed to keep going immediately after the earthquake. But thanks to the help of foreign technicians and news media, including Radio France, a total of 20 stations are now operating, a week after the quake. They include Vision 2000, Radio Lumière, Radio Solidarité, Mélodie FM, Radio One and Radio Boukman, which is based in Cité-Soleil, the capital's biggest slum. The UN mission's station, Radio Minustah, was back on the air on 18 January. The same is unfortunately not the case with Radio TV Ginen, Radio Soleil, Radio Ibo and Tropic FM, and many other small community radio stations, all totally destroyed. Radio Nationale, the state radio station, is broadcasting via its sister TV station. The Agence France-Presse office was destroyed but the agency has resumed operating from new rented premises. The premises of the capital's two leading newspapers, Le Nouvelliste and Le Matin, were spared by the quake. But for the time being they are unable to print and the staff are not working. Le Nouvelliste has nonetheless been posting some reports on its website. We have been told that the premises of the 12 radio stations based in the southwestern town of Petit-Goâve were not destroyed but equipment was badly damaged. Some are broadcasting. In Léogâne, a town nearer to the capital, five of the nine stations are able to broadcast although 85 per cent of the buildings were destroyed or badly damaged (Via Artie Bigley, DXLD) HAITI RADIO FILLS INFORMATION VOID IN DISASTER By TAMARA LUSH / Associated Press Writer Published: January 19th, 2010 10:29 PM Last Modified: January 20th, 2010 06:05 AM PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The caller from Boston was desperate. She had just received a text message Tuesday from a friend trapped in the rubble of a Port-au-Prince school and needed to get the news to rescuers, the Haitian government, the world. She called the right place: Signal FM, the only radio station in the city that has broadcast nonstop during the earthquake. Its building, transmitting equipment and antennas escaped damage, and the station has been a key source of information since the magnitude-7 temblor wrecked Haiti a week ago. . . http://www.adn.com/1030/story/1100929.html (via Terry Krueger) ** HAITI [non]. ***Items about Haitian pirates and non in the USA*** HAITIAN CRISIS ON LOCAL HAITIAN BOSTON AREA RADIO STATIONS Hi BAD folks [Boston Area DXers], Last night, I tried listening to the local Haitian Creole radio stations in the Greater Boston area online (I can't hear them at night in Natick.) The station that seemed to be most active was Radio Energy 1620 kHz AM http://www.radioenergyboston.com The announcer kept taking phone calls and giving out phone numbers. Eventually, around 11 pm local, the station started relaying Radio Canada (I assume because it was French). Radio Canada had a lot of coverage of Haiti, so the announcer let the program run for quite a while. Now, at quarter to 1 pm on Wednesday, Radio Energy is still taking phone calls by frantic callers. Not really happy listening, (Paul McDonough, 1753 UT Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Presumed WJCC-1700 Miami L&C 0625 EST with Creole teletalk - no doubt on full 10 kW day power and discussing the situation in Haiti following yesterday's earthquake (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1142 UT Jan 13, IRCA via DXLD) HAITIAN RADIO INFORMS SOUTH FLORIDA ABOUT EARTHQUAKE WPTV Palm Beach County, FL By Angela Sachitano January 13, 2010 South Florida Haitian radio stations are fielding hundreds of calls from people hoping for answers. Host Lesley Jacques hasn't slept in 24 hours. There is no time. As the main host and owner of 980 AM WHSR - Radio Haiti- he is literally the voice of his people. "It is crazy," Jacques said. "Because we have Haitians everywhere calling, wanting to know what the situation is." About a quarter of the tens of thousands of Haitians in South Florida don't speak English, so stations like his are their only source for information. Radio Haiti is a family affair. Jacques's sister mans the phones and his son keeps Facebook and Twitter updated by the second. "Whatever news we can get, we compile it and try to make it somewhat relevant to people who just want to know where their families are," son Chris Jacques said. The news coming in - even for a station well connected - is sparse. Jacques lost all communication with his correspondent on the island late Tuesday night. He is relying mostly on e-mails or tweets. The station also relies on the Internet sites of Haitian radio news outlets. "It's just a terrible, terrible tragedy," he said. "Haiti has never seen anything like this." A tragedy with no doubt epic proportions. An island barely sustainable on its own before the earthquake. Now going on 25 hours straight - Jacques and his family will continue to take calls, disseminate the news, and be a sounding board for frightened and frantic families. He says the commitment to one another is the Haitian way. http://www.wptv.com/content/news/southpbc/bocaraton/story/Haiti-radio-station-Jacques-earthquake-wptv/qlvTtwEEo0y4Pcw45q1jXA.cspx (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS HELP WORRIED KIN GET NEWS OF LOVED ONES By Simone Weichselbaum, Jake Pearson and Samuel Goldsmith January 14, 2010 Phone lines are down. Internet connections are spotty. Cell phone towers sit in piles of rubble. Faced with no way to reach loved ones on the island, desperate Haitian immigrants in New York have turned to community radio broadcasts for the latest news. Several so-called "pirate" stations broadcasting on a special frequency have been running nonstop since Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake. The stations, which broadcast on a frequency called SCA, can be heard only with special $50 radios that pick up the small frequencies. "My mother, I don't hear nothing at all. She is 78 years old," Harlem resident Shirley Diop told Radio Panou 101.9 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, yesterday. "I am hoping someone can help me hear from her," said Diop, 40. "It is very sad. My only hope to hear from her is the radio." Diop was one of thousands who called the stations broadcasting out of Brooklyn and Long Island, where large numbers of Haitian immigrants live. "They are relying on the radio to give them news about their families," said producer Ronald Baptiste, 34, of Radio Optimum 96.3 in East Flatbush. "The biggest challenge is they can't get through to loved ones." Radio Panou stayed in contact with its sister station in Haiti to provide some of the most detailed coverage from the ground. "Today we're giving news all day long," said Acelus Etienne, 52, owner of Radio Eclair 88.9 in West Hempstead, L.I. "People are calling from all over the tristate area, even from Miami," he said. "They ask, 'Will you please ask if anyone has spoken with someone I know in Haiti? Can they call me and tell me if they're okay?'" Etienne didn't know the fate of his mother and father until a listener called to say he had heard from someone who saw them alive. "Lucky for me, somebody told me they saw my parents and they're okay, and that gives me some relief," he said. A frantic dad from Queens called Radio Panou yesterday looking for news about his two teenagers in Haiti - neither of whom has been in touch since the quake. "I can't get in contact with my daughters," said Jonathan Phillips. "I try to connect by phone, but I can't get through. I am depressed. Can you help find them?" Deejay Lynch Garbard fought back tears as he fielded calls from the studio in Flatbush. "There are a lot of phone calls, and everybody is crying," he said. "They can't find their families." He, too, was searching for loved ones. "I got a call and heard I lost everything in Haiti," he said. "I am missing most of my family. I don't know if they died. I'm not dying, but I feel like I am." http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/01/14/2010-01-14_earthquake_kin_get_help_from_local_radio.html#ixzz0ccPQx1St (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Are these writers confused. SCA = subcarriers are not pirates! Unless in the unlikely event the main frequency is a pirate in the first place, but it`s hard to imagine an FM pirate also running, or needing to run subcarriers. This is referring to stations in the USA. In Haiti they would surely not have bothered with subcarriers requiring special receivers, much less start using them under these circumstances (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The news networks, needing a backdrop for stand-ups early in the Haiti earthquake aftermath, were reporting from Brooklyn, in front of Radio Soleil, a Haitian-centric station. They said the station was low- powered, but legal. I have no reason to doubt them, of course. But, for the life of me, I can't find a listing. So, what's the deal on this station. Frequency? (Peter, N4LI, Baskind, J.D., LL.M., Germantown, TN, 901-624-5295, Jan 18, WTFDA via DXLD) I'd be willing to bet that it was in fact an illegal pirate station. Here at least, some of the Haitian AM stations try to claim that they're legal, but they get out WAY too far for any kind of legal part 15 operation. There's been several articles about these stations in recent days here in Boston, where we have possibly dozens of them. At least the articles I've seen have not listed the frequencies that these stations broadcast on, but there's people leaving comments on the articles asking why. http://www.wbur.org/2010/01/14/haitians-wait http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/01/16/venting_sorrow_seeking_hope_haitians_here_turn_to_radio/ (Jeff Lehmann - N1ZZN, Hanson, MA FN42NB, ibid.) I'm straying even farther into AM territory, but it's to a point made on this list. My impression has always been that R Soleil is from MA (Boston area) and not NY (NYC). I've heard these pirates from my various DX sites in ON on 1620, 1640, 1670, 1690, 1700, 1710. My east wire has been my best performer at least on most if not all of these, and that wire heads pretty straight to Beantown (Saul Chernos, ibid.) Radio Soleil is on the 67 kHz of WSKQ 97.9 New York, while another Haitian is Radio Tropicale on the 92 kHz SCS of WFME *94.7 Newark NJ. I have sold special radios to listeners to the two stations, one was a boombox with intricate 67 and 92 kHz SCS adapters in it. I think both are relayers of popular Haitian stations, either FM or AM (Bruce Elving, MN, ibid.) There are many illegal Caribbean pirate stations here in New York City. I've counted as many as two dozen on a weekend evening. However, Radio Soleil is not one of them. They have broadcast legally since 1992 on one of the subcarriers of 97.9, where I've heard them many times, and yes they are often the go-to media backdrop for stories about Haiti. Most of the illegal stations are not so high profile (David Goren, ibid.) Good to see something helpful come out of pirate stations. In markets like Boston or other big cities, I actually support these pirates. Something tells me the FCC, even if they knew about the locations of them, wouldn't act on shutting them down. They serve a purpose and mainstream / most licensed radio stations generally suck and we all know it. It's all about financial gain, therefore it goes to hell (that's kinda the norm). But these pirates aren't usually for financial gain, but more gain of... knowledge of just plain public interest. That's how it should be. (On this note, I must add from a DXers perspective, pirates are... well, we all know, tough to ID and fill up our open frequencies!). Radio Concorde's website says they've been in existence for more than 16 years. Impressive. I wasn't even aware there were pirates on AM! (Chris Kadlec, Icheon, Korea, 35 miles se of Seoul, 150 miles se of Pyongyang, http://www.beaglebass.com/dx WTFDA via DXLD) Most of these pirates here are very much commercial operations. I'm not sure about Radio Concorde (1580 AM), but others like Touch 106.1, Vibe 105.3 (with RDS), Choice 102.9, Big City 101.3, and especially Hot 87.7 have just as many commercials as any legitimate station. The FCC has given notices to most of these stations, but it obviously does no good. The only one I can remember actually getting shut down recently was a 103.1 (first adjacent to 103.3 BTW) in Brockton, which apparently had such a dirty transmitter that it was interfering with air traffic control in Boston. In the Boston/Brockton area, there are now pirates on 87.7, 88.5, 89.3 (3 TX simulcast), 90.1, 91.7, 94.9, 96.5 (2), 98.9, 99.7, 100.3, 101.3, 102.1, 102.9, 103.7, 105.3, 106.1, 107.1, and 107.5. On AM, there's at least another dozen. If it was one or two running 10 watts or so, not selling commercials, I'd probably accept it. As it is now, the situation is totally out of control (Jeff Lehmann, ibid.) The FCC only takes action on pirates when there are one or more legitimate complaints of interference to other broadcasters, whether those are broadcast stations or aeronautical or whatever. They haven't had the kind of resources to pursue pirates on a wholesale basis for more than 20 years. This is because their revenues come from tax dollars, and their budgets are determined within a political context. The FCC doesn't care - nor probably even know - whether or not they serve a purpose, and whether or not they serve a purpose is a very subjective judgement, which the FCC wouldn't be inclined to make (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) NEW SOUTH FLORIDA PIRATES Palm Beach Co FL/Lake Worth FL Pirates all Creole except as noted 88.7, new with EE "Haitian Family" Show 91.1, hip hop/X-rated EE 91.5, 92.5, 96.3, reggae EE 99.9, new killing Boca Raton and bleeding to 100.1 101.1, 101.7, 104.7, occasionally 104.9, 107.3, (Ken Simon, Jan 20, WTFDA via DXLD) ** ICELAND. Re QSL policy: Try to ask for Mr. Kristján Benediktsson. In Winter 2007 he showed me the technical facilities of RUV and told me he is radio amateur. You might have success. Regards, (Christian Milling, Germany, Jan 15, HCDX via DXLD) ** INDIA. Hi, I wonder if someone could help me; I`m trying to send a reception report online to All India Radio using their website. It keeps saying I`m not authorised to use the server. I also tried a few email addresses but my email gets returned. Is there another way of contacting AIR without using snailmail? Regards (RAY KELLY, Canada, Jan 15, dx_india yg via DXLD) Dear Ray, You can send email report of any All India Radio station to spectrum-manager @ air.org.in About reply QSLs, well, it depends upon your luck! 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, ibid.) ** INDIA. Annual Report of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India for the year 2008-2009 is available for download using this link: http://tinyurl.com/ygyuepv (Size: 84 MB) (Alokesh Gupta, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA [and non]. 4920, Jan 20 at 1346 with flutter, YL talking in Hindi, AIR Chennai until 1400 dialog, maybe commercial with music mixed, 1401 seemed like 3-pip timesignal but probably not, into singing. During the talk there was weak music under, probably Lhasa, the only two stations active here, discounting Biak. There were weaker signals on a number of other 60m AIR channels (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 4940.00, 0005-0045 17.01, AIR Guwahati, vernacular talk and traditional Indian songs, 0030 Hindi ID: "Akashvani" and news from Delhi, 0034 "Akashvani" and 0035 English ID: "This is All India Radio" and news from Punjab; education to counter illiteracy; cold weather down to 2 C; Haiti emergency help, 0040 vernacular ID: "Akashvani Guwahati" and talk, 45434 (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on the AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 5040, AIR Jeypore, 1616, Jan 13. Assume live coverage in progress from the stadium in Bangladesh of the presentation ceremonies after the end of the India vs. Sri Lanka cricket match; in English; several players interviewed; 1623 back to the studio for discussions in Hindi and English regarding the game and fans calling in; frequently went off the air for 1-2 minutes; fair-poor; at times coverage was // 4880 and 5010 (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 5050, AIR Aizawl, 1612, Jan 16. Program of slow tempo songs (religious?); similar to hymns; 1627 sign off announcement; 1630*; no QRM from Guangxi Beibu Bay Radio, as they had signed off earlier; poor to almost fair. Strongest AIR heard today was Jeypore on 5040, which was still on at 1633 with subcontinent music (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 6155, All India Radio, 0335-0400. Under all of the noise and splatter, heard a female in comments. Urdu is listed. At about 0337, heard typical music - which I can't explain. Anyway, the music gave away the source. Signal was poor and at times covered by splatter (Chuck Bolland, January 14, 2010, NRD545, 26.27N 081.05W, Clewiston FL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) AIR scheduled on 6155 until 0430 --- but BBC Arabic via Cyprus is also on 6155 from 0300 to 0500, so are you quite sure based just on the music? The Bangalore antenna at 330 certainly favors us vs 170 from Cyprus, but 0400 is getting pretty far into daylight in S India (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** INDIA [and non]. Monitoring Observations at Hyderabad of 49 & 41 Meters during partial Solar Eclipse : Jose Jacob Partial solar eclipse was there at my location in Hyderabad today 15 January 2009 at 0600-0945 UT (10.30 am to 3.15 pm IST). During the time of solar eclipse, it was like cloudy weather here and I monitored the broadcast bands. Enhanced reception was noted on 49 and 41 Meter bands and stations not heard usually at the time were also heard. Here are some monitoring observations of 49 Meters: (kHz Station, SIO) 5770 Myanmar 151 5915 Myanmar 252 5935 Unid 151 5965 Unid 151 5970 Unid 151 5990 Unid 151 6020 AIR Shimla 252 6035 Bhutan 151 6040 AIR Jeypore 555 (off air till 0823) 6100 AIR Delhi DRM 6110 Chinese 444 6130 Chinese 151 6175 Unid 151 6190 AIR Delhi Hum 251 6200 Chinese 151 Important observations of today on 7 MHz are as follows: 7230.4, 242, Voice of Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Movement (with lot of hum). Pakistan sign off at 0841 after Allahoo Akbar (from tune in at 0753). It is scheduled at 0745-0850 as per WRTH 2010 but not heard lately. 7230, AIR Kurseong is not heard for many days now. After they left, Chinese station was heard on 7230. 7250, 0800 Koran recital, Dhaka? after AIR Gorakhpur left air at 0800. Live commentary of Total [? sic] Solar Eclipse was noted on 7290 Thiruvanthapuram in Malayalam & 7380 Chennai in Tamil. AIR Port Blair was also not heard on 7390. AIR Guwahati was noted testing with Hindi Film Tunes on 7420 from 0930 when my local station AIR Hyderabad left the same frequency. Other air Channels were noted as usual on the usual 7 MHz frequencies but with a little better reception as was Malaysia on 7295 (Jose Jacob, Jan 15, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. Here are my monitoring observations on AIR stations. 6090, Delhi? Noted with sound track of Doordarshan TV programs yesterday 18 Jan 2010 around 0900 to 1200. 7255, unidentified AIR station (?) with Earth Link program produced by Radio Nederland and AIR on 14 Jan 2010 till 0613. AIR Aligarh ? 7420, Guwahati noted for several days now with only Hindi Film tunes instead of regular programs. 15040, Sinhala noted till sign off at 1500 instead of 15050 yesterday 18 Jan 2010. Kurseong, 4895, 7230 kHz noted off air for several days now (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad 500082, India, UT Jan 19, dx_india yg via DXLD) Jose Jacob informs AIR Kurseong 4895 & 7230 not heard lately. Called them just now, SW transmitter is off air due to repair. Parts sent for repair, still awaited back. Regards (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Jan 17, dx_india yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) I had visited AIR Kurseong in year 2005, shared some moments with a senior staff there, (can't recall name, must be in my old notebooks), Got a brochure from them. Have digitised it recently & uploaded in box.net account, you might find it interesting Check it here http://www.box.net/shared/fx6nrg95og (Partha Sarathi Goswami, Siliguri, India, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 9425, AIR National Channel, Wed Jan 13 at 1449 woman speaking English with considerable accent, but clearly enunciated so mostly understandable here, about NAI = non-accidental injuries (the Indians are so fond of acronyms and initialisms), i.e. battered children in the US and experimentation on animals, with lots of statistics, apparently in opposition to such conduct. Could tell 9470 was // but much weaker and uncopyable there (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9425, AIR National Channel, 2130, Jan 15. News in Hindi; followed by news in English; subcontinent music; 2230 news in English; followed by news in Hindi. 9445, AIR GOS, 2141, Jan 15. In English; subcontinent music; ToH news; “Today’s Commentary”; “Radio Newsreel”; schedule; 2230*; fair; // 7550 (poor-fair) (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Seems the AIR Aligarh transmitter on 9470 is upacting again after a couple months of calm: Jan 18 at 1359 music // stronger National Channel via Bengaluru 9425, but 9470 accompanied by buzz, more on the lower than the upper side tho maybe suppressed by RA signal on 9475. 9425 at 1435 ending newscast, introducing English feature program on this Monday with music, ``Old Black Magic``, segué to Celine Dion`s ``My Heart Must Go On``, the connexion between them not being clear; 1442 talk with biography of someone born on 1.23.1897. 9470, AIR National Channel via Aligarh, again exhibiting problems, but at least not jumping to lots of other frequencies as it used to. Jan 19 at 1333, Hindi talk // clear 9425 Bengaluru, but 9470 with motorboating, warble, hum (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Re 10-02, ATA [non]. Sir, Please find attached a copy of ATA QSL and Datasheet. Obtained before I went into a radio-hibernation. ATA is no longer heard these days. Regards, (Sudipta Ghose, Kolkata, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks; very interesting --- document quite a relic now, from 1976y on a badly misaligned manual typewriter, old even then, yet claimed frequency and time interval accuracy both of plus or minus 5 x 10 to the minus 10th power. Here it is: (gh, DXLD) Thanks to veteran dxer Sudipta Ghose from Kolkata for kindly sharing these docs related to ATA : ATA QSL Letter dated Feb 27, 1976 http://tinyurl.com/yapd7wu Station Profile of ATA (which gives the co-ordinates & other details) http://tinyurl.com/yc4jw7b (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, India, dx_india yg via DXLD) Re co-ordinates --- Real former location of ATA seemingly further 6 kilometers towards the west, close to Okhra, Nehru Place, Kailash, Kalkaji. 28 33 26/36 N 77 18 48 E both locations are midst on the Yamuna river. Wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) See BRAZIL: PPE ** INDIA [and non]. FM DX and audio clips in fog: see NEPAL [and non] ** INDONESIA. 3325, (Kalimantan), RRI Palangkaraya, 2203-2231 Jan 11, Jakarta news with a man announcer. End of news at 2210 into local program hosted by another man announcer. Series of female vocals until 2229 when a brief instrumental selection, time pips and talk by the man announcer. Weak with deep fades (Rich D’Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 35, Ten-Tec RX-340 and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially south and 250-foot wire essentially east for the RX- 340 and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) 4750, RRI Makassar, Jan 19 at 1352 continuous YL talk in Indonesian, with ripple presumably from one of the other 4750 stations on a slightly different frequency, likely CNR1. Also some music on 3325 at 1349 but can`t be sure it was Palangkaraya as Atsunori Ishida http://www.max.hi-ho.ne.jp/a-ishida/ins/ says Buka, PNG often QRMs past 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. Re: DXLD 10-01 Voice of Indonesia live streaming Glenn, Please try mms://74.86.99.112/voi streaming It's working OK for me right now in English. Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England, UK, 2259 UT Jan 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The streaming of contents same as 9526 kHz can be heard from http://id.voi.co.id --- not http://en.voi.co.id or mms://live.voi.co.id/ As for the streaming which can be heard from http://en.voi.co.id English has been always audible. de. A. Ishida (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, ibid.) ** INDONESIA. 9526v, Jan 13 at 1358, VOI still on with music, but as usual missing shortly after 1400. 9526-, VOI carrier weakly detectable but not any modulation, Jan 19 at 1340 during presumed English hour. RRI HS on 9680 also weak, but some music audible. 9680, RRI Jakarta at 1454 Jan 14 with ``Indonesian opera``, soprano et al., with gamelan orchestra, continued past 1500 instead of previous cutoff at 1457; finally at 1504, 9680 went to talk, 1507 more music now a pop ballad. Went off sometime during the next semihour as gone at next check. 9526v VOI was already off after 1400. 9526, VOI in English Jan 17 at 1316, YL with an historical talk concerning the 1930s, undermodulated, but at least the English hour still exists (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9526, Voice of Indonesia. What a surprise! They finally have their act together: fair signal along with good modulation/audio level. 1439, Jan 17 heard in assume Malaysian; pop songs; V.O.I. IDs with slogans (“Let’s make the world great”, “The sound of dignity” and “Be the first. Be the first being the best”); 1502*; adjacent QRM stared before ToH (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9526, no signal at 1357 Jan 18, so VOI presumably off if it were ever on this date, despite having resumed Malay hour at 1400 and on until 1502* the day before per Ron Howard. [and non]. 9680, RRI at 1420 Jan 20 with QRDRM noise, and more of same against something else on 9670. Not much audible on 9675 itself, but must be emanating from VOR via Moscow site, with DRM centered there, 100 kW, 260 degrees at 14-18 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. BBC JOINS INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS AGAINST IRANIAN TV INTERFERENCE Media Guardian reports that the BBC says it is “actively supporting” a formal complaint to the ITU about “deliberate interference” from Iran. The ITU confirmed it had received representations from regulators in France, home to Eutelsat, owner of the Hotbird 6 satellite, which suspended BBC Persian TV’s (PTV) transmissions last month. The BBC says it is “determined” to carry on broadcasting PTV and is telling viewers how to adjust their satellite dishes to receive programmes via a different satellite, out of range of jamming from inside Iran. According to Media Guardian, Eutelsat says PTV was removed from Hotbird 6 “in agreement” with the BBC, though sources close to the affair say the BBC caved in to commercial and legal pressures from other customers broadcasting on the same transponder. Another Eutelsat satellite, Hotbird 8, provides capacity to Iranian state broadcasting channels, including the English-language Press TV, which has offices in London. “We had to make a business decision,” a Eutelsat spokeswoman said. * Read more in Media Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/14/bbc-joins-iran-tv-protest Related story: * BBC Persian television broadcasting despite interference from Iran http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/bbc-persian-television-broadcasting-despite-interference-from-iran (January 14th, 2010 - 14:49 UTC, by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) 2 Comments on “BBC joins international protests against Iranian TV interference” 1. #1 Kai Ludwig on Jan 14th, 2010 at 15:51 One detail in this otherwise excellent report needs to be corrected: Indeed BBC Persian uses another Eutelsat satellite now. But this is not Telstar 12, which is not operated by Eutelsat but by Loral Skynet instead. Until a few days ago (8 Jan 2010 it seems) both BBC Persian and VOA TV Persian used Telstar 12 via an uplink in the USA, since it cannot be jammed from within Iran. It appears that they have been taken off simultaneously, for whatever reason. The Eutelsat satellite now in use by BBC Persian instead is W3A on 7 East. Here on 7 Jan 2010 a dedicated Iran multiplex has been put on air, including also Simaye-Azadi Iran National TV from London and some Persian Channel One TV from the USA. This multiplex is also carried on Eurobird 3 (33 East). It appears that the footprints of this satellite do not reach Iran, so this should be a feed to the uplink site of the W3A transmission, probably some remote location as part of a special configuration, designed to making it more difficult to jam from within Iran. Remarkably VOA TV Persian has been taken off Hotbird as well. This is particularly remarkable because the International Broadcasting Bureau is the sole user of the concerned multiplexes, so pressure by other customers can be ruled out. It is my impression that the IBB decided to not put its program distribution in Europe (for rebroadcasters, shortwave transmitters of Media Broadcast etc., just all partners without giant C-band dishes) at risk, no matter that this move certainly contradicts the appeal by the Broadcasting Board of Governors to the satellite industry. At the same time the IBB introduced new Eutelsat solutions as well, but using other satellites, Atlantic Bird 4A (7.2 West) and Eurobird 2 (25.5 deg. East). Perhaps this has its background in the circumstance that these satellites are co-positioned with DTH platforms of Nilesat and Arabsat, respectively. (Notice: I had no time to further observe this matter since Monday, so this posting does not reflect possible developments in the last days.) 2. #2 Andy Sennitt on Jan 14th, 2010 at 16:01 Thanks. I just changed it to ‘a different satellite’. As you say, details are subject to change (Media Network blog comments via DXLD) ** IRAN. VIRI with same music/IS on 9575 and 9585 Jan 13 at 1428 as about to start Russian and Hindi services respectively, both via Sirjan site and equally poor signals but 9575 somewhat louder modulation. 1430 to anthem not quite in synch, 1431 different opening announcements. 9575 was first to get to Qur`an, shortly 9585 too but different segment. Another check at 1448 found 9575 in Russian undermodulated with hum, but no hum on 9585 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Additional frequency of Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran in Arabic: 1430-1727 on 9830 KAM 500 kW / 178 deg to N/ME, co-channel CNR-1 in Chinese (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. USA (non): R Farda via Sri Lanka (IRA), 5810 at 2245z, // 7520 // 9925. Still not listed in Aoki, EiBi or HFCC but shown in my just arrived WRTH. I've heard this new channel for several weeks but was unable to guess the source. (My first guesses were Tinian, NMA or Tinang, PHL. Wrong on both). At this time of year Sri Lanka is almost all dark to south central USA (Jerry Lenamon, Waco Tx, Drake R- 8B, Wellbrook, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGESET) ** IRAN [non]. Clandestine: The two stations IDing as Voice of Iranian Kurdistan, currently observed: VOIK on 75m 3932 kHz daily *1250-1433* and *0250-0431* VOIK on 80m, in range 4767-4794v *1257-1426* and *0255-0440* but irregular on Sat and Sun. These two remind me of the Turkish communist party station Bizim Radio (Our Radio), in the 60s-80s when thre were two stations wth the same name --- one came from GDR studios and the other from Romania (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, 1-27 Dec., Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) But in either case were namesakes at odds with each other? (gh) ** ISRAEL. 5000, Galei Zahal (tentative), 1527-1555, Jan 14. Seemed to be the Israel Army Radio station; this was just about a grayline reception (their sunset 1458, my sunrise 1520); played some music; seemed to be in Hebrew. Poor; tough copy due to timesignal stations here; first time I have heard them here. Website http://glz.co.il/ (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15785, 18/1 1327, Galei Zahal, in USB (not AM mode as other times), phone call, ID, news, good (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. LE TRASMISSIONI VIA WEB DI RADIO CREATIVA - DIFFUSIONE MUSICA CLASSICA --- SONO INIZIATE Radio Creativa è una emittente che trasmette musica classica libera da copyright o regolamentata da una licenza Creative Commons, per cui non infrange le leggi o gli interessi economici di nessuno, diffondendo musica di ottima qualità. Il programma sperimentale ha la durata di circa sette ore, va in onda, a ripetizione, 24 ore su 24, e comprende musiche di Beethoven, Vivaldi, Mozart, Verdi, Rossini, Mendelssohn- Bartholdy, Bach, Strauss e altri. Tra gli interpreti, Von Karajan, Toscanini, Glenn Gould, Lara St. John e l'Ensemble American Baroque. Potete ascoltarla da subito linkandola all'indirizzo: http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/mini.cgi?station_name=valeriodistefano Potete farmi avere (e ve ne sarei grato) via posta elettronica (valeriodistefano at valeriodistefano dot com) o attraverso l'apposito modulo presente nella pagina della radio, pareri, suggerimenti, e, naturalmente, rapporti di ricezione che saranno regolarmente confermati con cartolina QSL. Per quanto possibile, vi prego gentilmente di diffondere questo avviso. Valerio Di Stefano Mail : valeriodistefano (at) valeriodistefano (dot) com Web : http://www.valeriodistefano.com/ Phone: (+39) 340 0685260 --- "Non devi spiegare tutto ai tuoi amici e i tuoi nemici non ti crederanno comunque." (Valerio Di Stefano, Jan 19, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Watch out for too-loud Live 365 promos between selexions. Has music announcements in English from Magnatune, which tries to sell you subscriptions, but Italian announcement by Valerio also heard (gh) ** JAPAN [non]. NHK Radio Japan Urdu Frequency Change wef 18th Jan 2010: 1430-1515 UTC on 6200 (ex 9795) via UZB (Gautam Sharma, Abhayapuri, Assam, India, via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Jan 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UZBEKISTAN/JAPAN, Frequency changes of Radio Japan NHK World: 1300-1345 7400 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg, ex 15215 Bengali >> from Jan. 11 1345-1430 7400#TAC 100 kW / 163 deg, ex 9585& Hindi >> future change 1430-1515 6200*TAC 100 kW / 170 deg, ex 9795@ Urdu >>>>> from Jan. 18 # China Radio International in Japanese from 1400 on same * strong co-ch Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran in Azeri & to avoid QRM BBC in Burmese 1345-1430 on 9580 @ to avoid China Radio International in English till 1457 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Observed the start of three different programmes in Korean languages at 2301 UT as follows: Home Service 1 on 2850 and 9665 kHz; Home Service 2 on 4450, 6250 and 6399 (there were jammers on 6250 & 6399!) kHz. Voice of Korea on 3560, 6280, 7180, 7570, 9345, 9975, 11535, and 12015 kHz; also Voice of Korea in Japanese on 9650 (and seems the poor signals on 3250, 4405, and 11865 kHz are also in parallel?), or generally 14 or more frequencies (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Jan 9, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 16 via DXLD) 11710, VOK in French, Jan 13 at 1435 with continuous beeps in background at the rate of 24/minute. Impression was that they emanated from same transmitter rather than QRM. // 9335 VOK did not have the beeps but did have SAH from CCI, i.e. IBB Kuwait at 70 degrees, registered at 1130-1830 as if IBB were unaware VOK is also on 9335! With NK an outlaw nation refusing to participate in HFCC, IBB may pretend at its own peril that VOK is nowhere. Kuwait is running all the Dari/Pashto services, VOA, Radio Ashna, Radio Azadi while VOK is 27 degrees USward (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. Jan 19 was a good calm morning for reception from here, first checking 2850, at 1344 with Korean talk, deep fades from S9+8 peaks. Weaker at 1348 on 3250, 3320, jammer on 3480. Looked for more Juche jammers at 1516: exactly same noise sound on 5890 vs VOA as on 6003 and 6015. 6003 is against Echo of Hope, but 6015 is new, per Aoki 0654-0004 against the reactivated South Korean channel, some audio of which was audible under at 1524: ``6015 KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1 0350-2400 1234567 Korean 100 ND Hwaseong KOR 12659E 3709N KBS b09 Jan. 1- // 972, 117[0]`` At 1521, similar jamming noise on 6600 with victim audible and 6518; different sound with faster pulsing on 6350. 6285 in Russian which is VOK. 6250 had noise jamming pulses instead of Pyongyang BS – a mixup at the transmitter site or are the South Koreans retaliating? 3560, weak signal in French, Jan 20 at 1405, no doubt feeder of VOK as on 9330, 11710 but did not try to //. Other NK signals: best on 2850, also 3250, 3320, 4450 jamming, but nothing jammed or not on 3480 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 5910, Wed Jan 13 at 1409 I log-noted ``JJ no JJ``, i.e. in Japanese and no Juche jamming heard, for Shiokaze via JSR JAPAN. 5910, Thu Jan 14 at 1426, Shiokaze via JSR JAPAN was concluding Japanese broadcast with usual sad piano music background; but also a fast SAH from some co-channel QRM not noted before. Uplooked later, maybe it was Iran`s Bengali service scheduled for 1430 via Kamalabad, and they ordinarily do come on a few minutes early, so Sea Breeze should still be clear for most of the broadcast from 1400, aside from Juche jamming, none audible today. 5910, Shiokaze via JSR Japan, Jan 16 at 1426 in Korean, fast SAH again from co-channel station about to start at 1430. The latter just too weak to tell if similar to or // Iran on 9575 Russian or 9585 Hindi, but 5875 is listed as VIRI Bengali. Occasional CW QRM such as at 1440 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN. 4770.95, *0300-0340, CLANDESTINE, 12.01, Voice of Iranian Kurdistan, Salah A-Din, Iraq. Kurdish announcement and songs, 0337 jumped to 4980.00. 23332 jammed. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) Did you mean jump to 4780? 4780.00, *0358-0402* and *0420-0427*, CLANDESTINE, 16.01, Voice of Iranian Kurdistan, via Salah Al-Din [IRAQ], Kurdish. very distorted talk jumping here and disturbing Djibouti 33433. The Iranian jammer stayed on 4770.97 all the time 0315-0435 QSA 3, but the clandestine could not be heard while jumping to the latter frequency (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on the AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) So I guess his previous report of jumping to 4980 was indeed a typo. See also IRAN (gh) ** KUWAIT. 15110, Radio Kuwait. *1300-1445 January 10, 2010. Abruptly up at 1300 with Arabic news in progress, mid-eastern fill music, female, mention of "kiloHertz" and shortly thereafter, into radio play. Qur'aning away at 1400, Arabic pop-ish vocals later. Non parallel 11630, which is presumably the Qur'an Service and was mostly poetry. 15110 listed as *1305 per Ulrich Wicke via dxldyg, but actually pops on at the top-of-hour here (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. 7145, 18/Jan 0021, Lao National Radio, em Cambodian, desde Vientiane. YL fala. Moderada a forte QRM de radioamadores. Hoje com o áudio bem melhor apesar das diversas QRMs de radioamadores. O que acontece é que quando a propagação melhora na banda, os radioamadores também aproveitam a oportunidade para contestes (mas uma vez lembro que a frequência está na faixa reservada ao uso dos radioamadores). As 0027 UT pop local música. As 0028 UT OM em curta fala (talvez a ID) e nova música. As 0030 UT fim da transmissão (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS [non]. Hmong Lao Radio missing again this weekend, Jan 16 at 1415 check of WHRI 11785 --- not on the air. However open carrier was up at 1455, prior to Hmong World Christian Radio at 1500 Saturdays only. Website http://www.h-lr.com/ still has no audio files since Jan 2 and 3 but continues to mention 11785 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MACAU. TDM IS LOOKING FOR JOURNALISTS http://portugues.tdm.com.mo/ TDM invites applications for english language journalists. for more information contact: inf @ tdm.com.mo A TDM, Teledifusão de Macau S.A., é a concessionária do serviço público de Rádio e Televisão em Macau. Está por isso vinculada a princípios de equilíbrio, isenção e rigor (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Jan 19, DXLD) Well, it`s a radio country, anyway, but being a ``journalist`` in ComChina is a bit of a contradixon (gh, DXLD) ** MALAYSIA/SARAWAK. 5030, Sarawak FM via RTM, 1506, Jan 12. In vernacular; the “RTM Kuala Lumpur” news; DJs playing pop songs and with on air phone conversations; off at 1600. Good reception; 100% readable! Bruce Churchill (CA) also commented to me about their good reception and wrote: “Hard to believe this is a 10 KW transmitter!” and I certainly agree with him, as their reception has improved day by day since CNR-1 left them in the clear (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5030, RTM Sarawak, Jan 13 at 1457 DJ talking over song, Cuba 5025 no problem, 1459 studio M chatting with W on phone, 1+1 timesignal at hourtop was again three seconds late as easily compared to WWV 5000 one minute later; so Sarawak remains behind the times. Then M starting news mentioning ``R-T-M`` letters as in English. WRTH 2010 page 263 indicates Wai FM is mostly in the Iban language rather than Malay. At 1511 Cuban 5025 signal had resurged, again problematic for 5030. 5030, RTM Kuching, Jan 14 tuned in time to monitor the 2-pip timesignal at 1500 --- this time it was close to correct rather than 3 seconds late, no doubt having noted my previous observations (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5030, Sarawak FM via RTM, 1444 + 1517, Jan 16. In vernacular; heard the usual Saturday format of repetitive indigenous music accompanied by chanting/singing; seems to be the only day with this type of music; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 7295, Traxx FM; 2226-2301+, 16-Jan; English pop oldies; Radio Malaysia FM promo at 2246; Traxx FM spots at 2256 & 2300, The best music on Traxx FM; into news at 2300; all tunes & announcements in English. SIO=333 when adjacent hams not on -- which was most of the time noted; mucho QRM at 2300 when Chinese stations came on 7290 & 7300! Best ever recall hearing them here (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALI. 5995, RTM, Jan 13 at 0705 discussion in French, mentioning ``dans les rues de Bamako,`` ``Agence Nationale de Securité``, good signal as usual. Thorsten Hallman, Germany as of Jan 7 said 7285v and 11960 were inactive, only heard on 9635 at 08-18, but apparently 5995 is the corresponding near/night frequency from same transmitter still active (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5995.00, 2355-2400* 16.01, R. Mali, Kati. French ann mentioning Mali, Rap melody and martial National Anthem, 43443. At *0000 TWR, Dushanbe signed on in Bengali, QSA 5 (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on the AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) Radio Mali is missing on 7285v for quite some time. Radio Prague uses 7285 since December until 1757 s/off for the German service. In a mailbag program in German on December 15th they stated, concerning the heterodyne from Mali, that this was "a locally limited problem that could be resolved". The latter is, in fact, the case now, but I doubt that Radio Prague has played an active role in this development, as well as the "local" nature of such interference (Robert Foerster, Germany, Jan 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9635, RTVM, *0759-0830+, Jan 17, sign on with opening French ID announcements & flute IS. Local tribal music & vernacular talk at 0800. Rustic local tribal music. “Radio Mali” ID. Fair to good. 7285 not heard (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** MAURITANIA. I checked 4845 and 7245 kHz for Radio Mauritanie this morning, January 15th. They were on 4845 until 0909 and started on 7245 at 0915. Fair signal on 41 metres, usual programming style in vernacular and Arabic language (Robert Foerster, Germany, Jan 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4845, RTV Mauritaine (Nouakchott), 0040-0048, 1/16/2010, Arabic. Local, chant type music by two men with others in background along with local instruments. Good signal, improving in strength, with slight het and occasional utility interference (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, R8B, IC-R75, E1, ICF-SW7600G, Random Wires (90' and 200'), ALA100M, DX LISTENIG DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 730, dominating the channel for a few minutes from 0445 UT Jan 16 on the nondirexional caradio, not XEX, the onetime clear- channel leader, but instead Radio Viva-something, serving Chihuahua and Durango, which fits since it`s XEHB at Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, right on the Durango border. Despite many repetitions of the ID, it was hard to tell what the second word was. WRTH 2010 shows XEHB on 730 as Radio Viva Vida, 50 kW day and 1 kW night, so suspect it may be on day power. Uplooked later in the new ``Quick & Easy`` MWList, http://www.mwlist.org/mwlist_quick_and_easy.php?area=3#kHz730 it`s not there! They still have XEHB under its previous identity on 770 whence it moved and where we first heard it long ago. Then checking another source, Fred Cantú`s Mexico Radio site: http://mexicoradiotv.com/listchih.htm We get a different name, Radio Viva Villa! I`ll bet his version is correct since there is a graphic of the logo, very small which needs to be blown up; unfortunately no hotlink to a website. That name presumably means ``long live Pancho Villa``, a local hero. I wonder what the new IRCA Mexican log shows? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [IRCA Log shows:] "Radio Viva Vida", 1000/300, CoL San Francisco de Oro. Obviously more monitoring is needed! (Paul Swearingen, Topeka, NRC-AM via DXLD) They've been on 730 since at least as early as Mid-August as I had them, perhaps with a sign on as had address and 50 kW mentioned at 1100 UT one morning when looking for DU [down under] on the Phased BOG [beverage on ground] System aimed WSW. Having no IBOC on WGN helped. 73 KAZ Barrington IL, (Neil Kazaross, ibid.) Whoever suggested "Radio Viva Vida" made a twofold mistake. 1. In Spanish the definite article is required, "Viva la vida". 2. Not understanding that Villa is the match reveals unsufficient [sic] knowledge of history. Pancho Villa means something to 120 million Mexicans, and to many non-Mexicans (Henrik Klemetz, Suecia, mwdx yg via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 830, XEITE, Distrito Federal, 0712 UT 1/16/10, monitored this freq most of the time from 0530 to 0730, and this is the only positively ID'd sta I could get here besides WCCO. Two clear "Radio Capital" IDs heard between 0700-0730 UT. I think this one was mostly all talk. VP copy. 830, 0530-0730 UT 1/16/10, Also two tentative loggings here during this time frame. Not quite enough details to claim either one. Possibly XETLX (Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca) hrd with "La Poderosa" ID. Also XEIK (Piedras Negras, Coahuila) here with Grupo Fórmula mentions. Will follow up on these ASAP. Anyone else hearing these two stations in your area? 770, XEQRV, Veracruz, VE, 0911-0930 UT 1/16/10, playing some pretty good Spanish R&R music as well as one song in English. Heard a station promo sounding like a few bars of at least 4 or 5 pop songs with some uncopiable talk afterwards. Finally caught a slogan ID at 0930 exactly as in Callarman's Mexican Station list, "Ultra 7-70, La Radio." Stiff competition from XEACH (Kirk Allen, Pasadena, TX, ULR SRF-59 with SAT, IRCA via DXLD) Just a little listening here tonight. I mainly wanted to follow up on 830 kHz because of Friday night's session. One more new station was identified there. Heard on SRF-59 with SAT. 830, XEVQ, Culiacán, Sinaloa, 0627 UT, 1/17/10, heard a lot of pop type music being played. After struggling to catch any announcements for 30 minutes, this one faded up for an ID by M at 0627. Heard a vy clear "La Grande de Sinaloa" ID. Station is definitely not just a daytimer anymore. Wishing everyone a good week. Best of DX to all, (Kirk Allen, Pasadena, TX, ibid.) 5/1 kW (WRTH 2010 via gh, DXLD) ** MEXICO. 6104.8, XEQM made another appearance Jan 16 at 0713, modulation somewhat distorted with frantic music for the nightmiddle, good on peaks but fades down to nothing, including at 0716 when an announcement was starting. By 0725 had apparently decided to stay outfaded. 6104.8, XEQM 0637 Jan 17, DJ a YL for a change on this UT Sunday, including live TCs, phone number, taking a call-in putting listener on air, feedback but good signal, soon fading down (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6104.8, XEQM Candela FM, Mérida; 1116-1133+, 17-Jan; M in Spanish taking phone calls; super-peppy to slow tempo LAm tunes; Candela promo at 1129. SIO=322+, LSB helps with 6110 Cuba splash in Spanish; Spanish? also on 6100. Also heard tentatively in Spanish at 0438 & 0600, 16-Jan (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Es Mexico --> IN at 1610 EST A strong ch. 3 from Mexico affiliated with Televisa and has a big "3" in the upper right corner surrounded by a yellow-orange rectangular box with a vertical blue box next to it which might contain call letters. The program appears to be called "NX" with lots of various interviews (Steve Rich, IN, Jan 13, WTFDA via DXLD) Steve, I wonder if this channel 3 could be XHPN-3 [Piedras Negras, Coahuila] with a new *modified* logo. Mexico independents change logos/IDs so often that it is difficult to keep up with changes. Was the vertical box to the right of the three (like XHPN's logo on tvdxtips.com? NX is a national program. You or some other DXer will likely see the station again in the months to come, so we will know the ID soon. Logs here last night: XEPM-2 Cd Juárez, local news XELN-4 Torreón COAH, 4 logo upper right XEWO-2 Guadalajara, TVT upper right XHP-3 Puebla, TV3 logo upper right (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, Jan 15, ibid.) Danny, the logo at http://tvdxtips.com/mexlogos.html for XHPN is exactly what I saw, except for the different colors I mentioned. I was using a 9" color monitor so the logo was quite small, but when it came in strong a few times I thought I could make out some of the call letters, like X and P. Thanks. If this station had been digital instead of analog on channel 3, and the signal had been as strong as this one was from time to time, this one definitely would have decoded and the call letters would have popped up with the PSIP. Trying to ID some analog stations drives me crazy compared to DTV (Steve Rich, Indy, ibid.) ** MYANMAR. 5915, Myanma Radio, 1512, Jan 13. Perhaps a change in their schedule! Heard in vernacular with a lecture till 1517; started segment of non-stop indigenous music and songs till 1529; assume sign off announcement; 1530*. Noted the usual CRI QRM. This format is consistent for their Educational Service – Distance Learning programming, which since mid-2009 ended at 1245, followed by indigenous music and songs till 1300 (see DXLD 9-051). This needs more monitoring to see if we can hear any lectures in English, as heard in the past (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5915, 14/1 0040, Myanma Radio, Burma, nice Oriental music, fair (note: on 5770 the signal of Army radio instead was low) (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, RX: Sony CRF-5100 Earth Orbiter (sold 1975-1981); AOR Ar7030; SDR-IQ, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7200.09, 0030 27 Dec, Myanma R., Burma. Start of broadcast with slow music, female talk, slow, long song, rel[igious?] style. ID heard at 0106, fair, fading (Giampiero Bernardini, Italy, Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** NEPAL [and non]. FM Logs --- Heavy fog on 2nd Jan, 2010 in northern India paralysed the road, train & air traffic, caused 3 train and numerous road accidents and tripped the regional electricity grid resulting in no electricity for the large parts in northern India for 6 to 7 hours but also produced some excellent VHF conditions, listed below are some of my logs. Meanwhile foggy conditions continues in Northern India & its time to take your FM receivers out !! New FM stations logged: 91.9, Radio Mantra, Agra 94.0, Krisnasar FM, Nepalgunj, Nepal (Not listed in WRTH 2010) 98.6, Radio Bheri, Surkhet, Nepal 100.2, AIR Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh Here are few stations logged on 2nd & 3rd Jan 2010: 91.9, Radio Mantra, Agra 94.0, Krisnasar FM, Nepalgunj, Nepal 98.6, Radio Bheri, Surkhet, Nepal 99.4, Shuklafanta FM, Mahendranagar, Nepal (Listed 94.4 in WRTH 2010) 100.2, AIR Patiala, Punjab 100.2, AIR Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh 100.4, AIR Bareilly 100.7, AIR Lucknow 101.3, AIR Aligarh 101.5, AIR Sawai Madhopur 102.1, AIR Mussourie 102.3, AIR Hissar 103.0, Radio Nepal, Buditola 103.1, AIR Chandigarh VBS 107.2, AIR Kasauli Audio Files (Mostly ID's) : Krishnasar FM, Nepal ID1 94.0 2 Jan 2010 http://tinyurl.com/ye247dt Krishnasar FM, Nepal ID2 94.0 0349 UTC 2 Jan 2010 http://tinyurl.com/y93hbja Radio Bheri FM, Surkhet, Nepal (500 watts) 98.6 http://tinyurl.com/yzky6kc AIR Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh 100.2 0140 UTC 2 Jan 2010 http://tinyurl.com/yd9nbkp AIR Sawai Madhopur 101.5 1740 UTC 2 Jan 2010 http://tinyurl.com/ybbefa8 AIR Hissar 102.3 1512 UTC http://tinyurl.com/ybrttv6 AIR Bareilly ID1 100.4 0659 UTC 2 Jan 2010 http://tinyurl.com/y9pj2q4 AIR Bareilly ID2 100.4 0201 UTC 3 Jan 2010 http://tinyurl.com/y9yhbfx (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, Jan 18, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 9670, Jan 17 from tune-in at 1257 a story was being told in English, but cut off incomplete at 1258*. What in the world was that? Aoki soon provides the answer: 9670 R. NEDERLAND 1230-1257 1234567 Dutch 250 267 Tinian Island MRA So it is yet another case of non-coördination between program feed and transmitter, as we have heard before via IBB NMI and Philippines: RN feed in Dutch ends at 1257, and then switches to English, but they leave the transmitter on one minute longer, not caring what may be modulating it. Must add RN`s one-minute English service to schedules (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. RNW TO BROADCAST DUTCH RADIO FUNDRAISER FOR HAITI On Thursday 21 January, a number of Dutch radio and TV stations will join together for a day of fundraising for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The radio stations, including a number of the most popular commercial stations as well as public networks 3FM and Radio 2, will broadcast a joint programme between 0500 and 2000 UT identifying as Radio 555. The giro number 555 is used in the Netherlands for donations to charities belonging to the coordinating organisation SHO. The action is a repeat of one held in January 2005 following the tsunami in Asia. Seven national Dutch radio stations - 3FM, Radio 2, Radio 538, Radio Veronica, Q-music, Radio 10 Gold and Slam!FM - will be carrying Radio 555. RNW will also carry portions of the programme to Dutch expats on all the regularly scheduled frequencies beamed to Europe, and the programme in its entirety will be carried via the RNW1 Satellite/Internet streams. In addition, some frequencies will be on the air for extended hours: * 5955 kHz at 0600-1800 UTC * 9895 kHz at 0600-1700 UTC * 1296 kHz mediumwave (via Orfordness, UK) at 0900-1700 UTC The Radio 555 website will go live on Wednesday. The playlist will reflect the music played on all the participating stations. News will be supplied by NOS, and read by newsreaders from the different stations. Reporters will be out and about giving live updates from different parts of the country. Stations not carrying the special programming will be supporting the fundraiser with specially recorded spots. The line-up of presenters/reporters will be as follows: * 0500-0700 UT: Sander de Heer (Radio 2) and Menno de Boer (Slam!FM). Reporter: Gijs Staverman (Q-music) * 0700-0900 UT: Giel Beelen (3FM) and Edwin Evers (Radio 538). Reporter: Bert Kranenbarg (Radio 2) * 0900-1100 UT: Tim Klijn (Radio 538) and Jurjen Gofers (Slam!FM). Reporter: Jeroen Kijk in de Vegte (Q-music) * 1100-1300 UT: Erik de Zwart (Radio Veronica) and Ruud de Wild (Q-music). Reporter: Lex Gaarthuis (Slam!FM) * 1300-1500 UT: Coen Swijnenberg (3FM) and Frits Spits (Radio 2). Reporter: Marlous Loffelman (Veronica) * 1500-1700 UT: Rob van Someren (Radio Veronica) and Dennis Ruyer (Radio 538). Reporter: Michiel Veenstra (3FM) * 1700-2000 UT: Rob Stenders (3FM/Radio 2) and Jeroen van Inkel (Q-music). Reporter: Niek van der Bruggen (Radio 538) In the evening, public TV channel Nederland 1 and commercial channels RTL4 and SBS6 - the three most-watched channels in the country - will present a joint TV programme (January 19th, 2010 - 11:45 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Next week`s edition of the Happy Station Show will be a special on the relief work that is being done by organizations like SATERN http://www.satern.org (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network), which has been very busy the past few days trying to establish contact with the ham radio operators on the island to contact family and friends that have been affected by this disaster. At the same time Thomas Witherspoon from Ears To Our World http://earstoourworld.org will join us to talk about the 100+ self powered radios being sent to Haiti next week. During this special show we will have some messages from people in different Haitian communities in North America and Europe who are trying to locate family. The messages will be in Creole. This special edition of the show will air to all regions PCJ broadcasts to including our partner stations. The first transmission of this special will air January 21, 2010 at 0200 UT on 9955 which will be directed to Latin/South America and the Caribbean. To find out all other broadcast times go to http://www.pcjmedia.com Regards, (Keith Perron, PCJ Media, Happy Station Show, Jan 15, dxldyg via DXLD ``Latin/South America`` is not correct, and Keith is not the only one to misuse this expression. Does he mean Central/South America? C & SAm are separate, but Latin America is a broader term encompassing all of South America already, as well as Mexico, Central America and Caribbean, unless you wish to exclude once British and Dutch (but not French) colonies, which do not have a Latin heritage (gh, DXLD) Just to let you know, this week I will be on Radio Taiwan International's Hear It In Taiwan this Thursday or Friday to talk about the special PCJ Media show for Haiti. You can go to http://english.rti.org.tw/default.aspx to find out all the ways to listen to this show on shortwave or internet stream (Keith Perron, Taiwan, Jan 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) KAMAHL TO BE MY SPECIAL GUEST ON HAPPY STATION Hi Everyone, Just wanted to let you all know next week [UT Jan 28] we are continuing our January specials. My special guest is someone that many of our listeners in the US may not know. In 1969 he gave Eddie Rabbit his first hit song which was number 1 in Australia. The song was Sounds Of Goodbye. Our European listeners will know a song that was a hit called The Elephant Song. For the complete broadcast schedule of The Happy Station Show goto http://www.pcjmedia.com and click on schedule and partner stations to listen in your area. I leave you with his first hit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvBDp1M0hgE Kamahl’s http://website is http://www.kamahl.com (Keith Perron, Taiwan, Jan 19, dxldydg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEWFOUNDLAND [and non]. 6159.97, CKZN, 0203, Jan 13. Heard two stations with different news in English; was not sure who the stronger one was until 0205 noted a PSA for the libraries in Newfoundland and Labrador, so had to be Vancouver that was underneath; 0305 promo: “this Friday, ‘On The Go’. The show starts at 4:00. 3:30 in most of Labrador”. In the past they both carried the same CBC news (causing an echo), but seems to no longer be the case. Also in the mix with Vancouver was R. Rossii via Monchegorsk (site per Aoki); heard at 0257 clearly // 7140 and 7230, with 7200 being off the air (only heard reciting from the Qur’an). 5940 // 7320 both carrying the usual “Govorit Magadan” (Magadan speaking) from 0210 to 0300; then into R. Rossii news (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Re 10-02, RNZI Power --- Hi Glenn, yes, as RNZI replied: The transmitter is run at 100 kW. However as the transmitter feeds two antennas for much of the time, this *effectively reduces the power to 50 kW per beam*. When the beam is in one direction on one antenna the power is 100 kW. But as Gordon Brown points out, there are other similar situations and all (bipolar for example?) cases are not mentioned that carefully in HFCC, so it is simpler to list the combined power. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, WRTH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 6090-, Jan 17 at 0638, Anguilla off, uncovering big but distorted signal from assertive speaker in African language. Has to be R. Nigeria, Kaduna, probably in Hausa. Slightly off-frequency to the low side compared to MW 1090 on the FRG-7, and with BFO on, at least one more carrier nearby, probably Bandeirantes/Brasil making lo het. This is the rumble we normally hear under DGS/PMS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: 6089.847, NBC Kaduna in Haussa, SIO 342 (schlechte Modulation!) http://web.me.com/nils.schiffhauer/Website/Monitoring/Monitoring.html (Nils Schiffhauer-D, DK8OK, A-DX Jan 9 via BC-DX Jan 16 via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) Time? ** NIGERIA. Re new VON transmitters at Abuja with antennas covering 5.9-26 MHz: Strange they apparently won`t also cover the tropical bands, which I would have thought would be useful in Africa (Dave Kenny, Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. [Pirate]. 6925 USB, WEAK Radio, 2210-2225+, Jan 15, punk rock music. IDs. Fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) [Pirate]. 6924.7 AM, MAC, 1630-1645, Jan 16, “MAC” IDs. Oldies pop/rock music by Jan & Dean, Beatles, Beach Boys and others. Good signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) Haitian FM/AM pirates: see U S A ** OKLAHOMA. FACILITY AND PARAMETER APPLICATIONS AND GRANTS ((A) = application, (G) = grant) 1210 new Bixby, OK 7.5/7.2/250 DA-2 This amendment to a current application adds the critical hours operation at 7.2 kW to avoid interference to Philadelphia. It also adjusts the tower co-ordinates to 35-59-38/95-49-52. (A) (Lee Freshwater, Broadcasting Information, IRCA DX Monitor Jan 16 via DXLD) I had missed this one in the worx --- Bixby is a suburb SE of Tulsa. If this comes on under any circumstances, it will mess up coverage of KGYN 1210 in Guymon, which reaches Enid on daytime groundwave, tho as we have frequently observed lately has been degraded due to some problem at the transmission end, low power? Stuck on direxional westward nite pattern also in daytime? (Glenn Hauser, Enid) ** OMAN. 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman; 1430-1442+, 16-Jan; English headlines & news to ID at 1439, then lengthy program notes/sked. SIO=152 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Islamabad-Rewat has reactivated the 250 kW transmitter that had been off air since some time last year, although there still appears to be a problem with the modulation level at times. So these services can now be heard on two frequencies once again: [World Service in this case means mostly in Urdu] World Service to SEAsia 0045-0215 on 11580 and 15490 World Service to Gulf & ME 0500-0700 on 15100 and 17835 World Service to WEu 0830-1105 on 15100 and 17700 (includes English news at 1100) Chinese service 1200-1300 on 9390 and 11510 World Service to Gulf & ME 1330-1530 on 7510 and 11565 English news to M.E. 1600-1610 on 7535 and 11565 (also listed via 15100 via API-3 100 kW to EAf) World Service to WEu 1700-1900 on 7535 and 9340 (Noel R. Green (NW England), Jan 19, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17700, 1040 5 Dec, R. Pakistan, dance/film music, in Urdu 35333 (Alan Roe, England, Jan World DX Club Contact via DXLD) 17700, 1100 12 Dec, English news, poor audio, 53343 (Chris Shorten, Norwich, ibid.) 17700, 1100 6 Dec, YL news in English, cricket report, NA, 45544 (Michael Beesley, Romsey, UK, ibid.) 17700, 1100 21 Dec, time pips, news in English, poor modulation, 44444 (Mike Barraclough, England, ibid.) ** PAKISTAN [non]. US-FUNDED RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY BEGINS BROADCASTING TO TRIBAL REGION OF PAKISTAN http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jnPrM5k4Md2IBjzzlVGsiQz75wmQ http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/01/14/general-eu-czech-radio-free-europe-pakistan_7275209.html By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (CP) – 2 hours ago PRAGUE, Czech Republic — U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty says it will start broadcasting to the tribal areas of Pakistan to provide an alternative to Islamic extremist stations. The broadcaster says in a statement that its new Radio Mashaal will broadcast in the local Pashto dialect into Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan. The first programs will be aired Friday. The network said Thursday that Mashaal, or Torch in Pashto, will broadcast from its headquarters in Prague while its reporters operate from a new bureau in Pakistan. The network broadcasts in Pashto to Afghanistan, but these will be the first broadcasts to Pakistan. Radio Free Europe is a private, non-profit corporation that broadcasts in 28 languages to 20 countries, including Iran (via Zacharias Liangas, Greece, Jan 14, DXLD) Whoopee! Yet another surrogate service, courtesy IBB. WTFK? Not to mention the times? (gh, DXLD) RFE/RL LAUNCHES RADIO STATION IN PAKISTAN'S PASHTUN HEARTLAND Radio Mashaal Logo January 14, 2010 http://www.rferl.org/content/Press_Room_Press_Release_Radio_Mashaal_Launch_/1929887.html (PRAGUE, Czech Republic) On January 15, RFE/RL will begin broadcasting in the local Pashto dialects to Pakistan and the border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The new station - called Radio Mashaal ("Torch" in Pashto) - will offer an alternative to the growing number of Islamic extremist radio stations in the region. "There is an urgent need for accurate, objective news and information in Pakistan's tribal areas," says U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. "Radio Mashaal's commitment to professional journalism in the local language will be an important contribution toward peace, reconciliation and democracy in the region." Veteran Pakistani journalist and author Ahmed Rashid says he hopes Radio Mashaal "will provide people the kind of information they need to make the right decisions about their lives." One surprise in store for listeners will be the reappearance of Haroon Bacha, a popular Pashtun singer who fled the region last year amid death threats from the Taliban. The 36-year-old recording artist - whose dozens of albums, music videos and television appearances made him one of the most famous entertainers in the region - will be hosting a cultural affairs show for Radio Mashaal. [see The New York Times: "U.S. Refuge for Singer Fleeing the Taliban," 10/12/08] There is an urgent need for accurate, objective news and information in Pakistan's tribal areas The first broadcast will air live on January 15 at 4 pm local time. Radio Mashaal's correspondents will be covering local and international news with in-depth reports on terrorism, politics, women's issues, and health care (with an emphasis on preventive medicine). The station will feature roundtable discussions and interviews with tribal leaders and local policymakers in addition to regular call-in programs aimed at giving listeners the opportunity to be heard. Radio Mashaal will operate out of a new bureau in Pakistan and broadcast from RFE/RL's Prague headquarters. The station will share a frequency with VOA's Radio Deewa and transmit via FM and shortwave. Online, Radio Mashaal's website will provide a live stream of its broadcasts. http://www.mashaalradio.org/ (RFE/RL press via gh, Zacharias Liangas, DXLD; Via Arnaldo Slaen, dxldyg via DXLD) That URL goes nowhere yet on our browsers! Hunting thru the RFE/RL website, we find Mashaal on a list at http://www.rferl.org/howtolisten/PK/ondemand.html but of course no programs just yet. Judging from similar pages, there should be added a WAVES button displaying the times and frequencies. So far there is only an AFFILIATES button which shows 100.5 FM for three cities in Afghanistan, not Pakistan; Gardaiz, Khost, Kunar, at 16-18 local time [11-13 UT]. But the press says it will be on SW too (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Schedule is 1030-1230 [not] UT on 9395, 11605, and 13700 shortwave. I'm sure Radio Mashaal will do a good job. But it will do much the same job that VOA's Deewa Radio is already doing, in the same language, to the same target area. Put together the talent from these two stations, and US international broadcasting would be in danger of achieving excellence. This was not the idea of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Some senator put some language in some appropriations bill, and Radio Mashaal was created. Such shards of bad legislation have made US international broadcasting the archetype of bureaucratic inefficiency. (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) If it`s really ``4 pm local time``, (1600), 1030 UT would make that a UT +5:30 zone, i.e. India or Sri Lanka, not Pak which is currently UT +5:00 (1100 UT as we assumed), or Afghanistan which is UT +4:30 (1130 UT). Why in the world don`t they just give the time in UT in the first place, about which there can be no confusion? (Glenn, to Kim via DXLD) Hi Glenn, Go to this page... http://www.rferl.org/howtolisten/PK/ondemand.html Then click on "Waves" to get the 15:30 - 17:30 schedule as "local broadcast time." Yes, UT should be there also. [later:] Glenn: Just confirmed that the schedule is 1100-1300 UT on 9395, 11605, and 13700. 73 (Kim Elliott, Jan 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Say, do the bad guys constantly crossing the border keep resetting their watches by a semihour? Or when Pak is on DST by an absurd sesquihour? At 11-12 13700 and 11605 are Sri Lanka; at 11-13 9395 is Thailand (gh, DXLD) A check on 9395 11605 and 13700 at 1045 today Jan. 15 reveals only the CNR-8 network in Chinese on 13700. But at about 1100 this went off, and now there is lively Afghan sounding music and song in // 11605 and 9395. Talk followed. 13700 is the best signal and peaking to 7 on my S meter. I'm still waiting to hear/copy the ID (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Mashaal confirmed started at 1100 UT on 9395 kHz on Jan. 15. I can often hear ID of "Daa Mashaal Radyo" in Pashto (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, ibid.) January 16 I heard best on 13700, 1105 President Barack Obama's speech and other news read by OM. Jingles, several times ID and presumed interviews with many mentions of engineer Abdul Rahim. At 1200+ reception increased, also 9395 and 11605 [with slight splash from 11600 CRI presumably]. (Tony Ashar, West Java, Indonesia), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hola Amigos, Ya esta funcionando la página de Mashaal Radio al igual que el audio. http://www.mashaalradio.com/audio/ondemand/PK_60_20_20100115110000_1.html [Beware: embedded player autolaunches ---gh] El traductor de Google aun no traduce del pashto al español. Estoy buscando las frecuencias en la onda corta, aun no hay reporte. 73 de (Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, Jan 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also look at: http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-based-rfe-rl-launches-broadcasts-to-pakistan-border-areas/421307 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\01\15\story_15-1-2010_pg7_23 http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1103ap_eu_czech_radio_free_europe_pakistan.html http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/provinces/14-us-radio-free-europe-launches-in-pakistans-tribal-zones-zj-07 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/us-funded-pashto-radio-a-new-weapon-in-war-against-taliban/article1433624/ (Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) USA(non), RFE/RL launches radio station "Radio Mashaal" in Pashto dialects to Pakistan and the border regions between Afghanistan & Pakistan. Schedule: 1100-1300 on 9395 UDO 250 kW / 300 deg 11605 IRA 250 kW / 340 deg 13700 IRA 250 kW / 340 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) New 13700, 1250-1300* 16.01, Mashaal R, via Iranawila (New IBB broadcast in Pashto 1100-1300), Pashto phone-in "Hello - Shalaam Aleikum", talk about Pakistan, song from Pakistan and abrupt s/off, 55555 // 9395 (Udon Thani 35233) and 11605 (Iranawila 45434) Best 73, (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on the AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** PALAU. New relays of R. Australia via T8WH: see AUSTRALIA [non] ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3260, R. Madang, 1335, 1/11/10. Pop music for extended period peaked S6-7. Lots of atmospheric band noise. 3385, R. East New Britain, 1329, 1/11/10. Pop music peaked at S-6 (Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA, Drake R8B, Wellbrook 330S & ALA-100 Loops, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3385, Radio East New Britain; 1305-1334:56*, 17-Jan; W in Pidgin with low-key pop tunes including Bob Seger's Against the Wind; Knocking on Heaven's Door (not the Dylan version); announcements at 1314+ & 1329 mentioning PNG; instrumental anthem 1331-1332:48 DA, but back in few seconds with more music & abruptly pulled the plug at 1334:56. SIO=352 at tune-in improving to 3+53 by 1315 to s/off. Only PNG audible and far best heard in ages (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 3329.47, Radio Ondas del Huallaga, 1045-1100 Jan 15, With a very tough tuning procedure, noted a person under CHU in Spanish language comments. Tuning the signal in required notching out CHU's carrier and tuning Huallaga's signal in precisely to the smallest possible spot. At 1053 the signal improved slightly and a female was heard commenting. At 1054 canned promos presented (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston FL, NRD545 26.27N 081.05W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4746.94, OAZ5B, Radio Huanta 2000; 0010-0020+, 17-Jan; Lengthy ad/promo string with some mentioning Huanta (accent on last syllable); ID as Radio Huanta (without 2000) at 0018. SIO=342, best in USB with ute trill (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4996, 0208 2 Dec, R. Andina, Huancayo, presumed, OM in Spanish, fair, reactivated? (Richard W Parker, Pennsburg PA, Jan World DX Club Contact via DXLD) No other reports of it for longtime (gh, DXLD) 5030, 0534 24 Nov, R. Virgin de la Gracia, La Libertad, OMs talk in Spanish, excellent (Richard W. Parker, Pennsburg PA, Jan World DX Club Contact via DXLD) 5030v, OAZ2A, R. Virgen de la Alta Gracia, Huamachuco, LL, 2.5 kW (WRTH 2010 via DXLD) But no other reports of it lately. LADX shows no LAs active on 5030, but in the archive list last reported in July 2004: ``5029.98 PRU * R Los Andes, Huamachuco [*0953-1636/2327-0138*](.1- .99) Jul04 A *1003 (r)AM1030/FM103.1 (skd Oct03 1100-1300/1730- 1930/2300-0100)`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Bom dia à todos! Logs feitos na data de 16/01/2010, utilizando receptor Tecsun S2000 e antena NB-9G. 5602, 0035 16/01/10, R San Francisco, S, PRU Prog. com loc. Fem em espanhol 14433. Elc Att (Eduardo L. Castaldelli, Mairiporã- SP- Brasil, Grid Locator: GG66qq, http://www.radiodx.qsl.br radioescutas yg via DXLD) Haven`t seen this reported elsewhere in longtime; WRTH 2010 only has a different station on 5603, Radio la Voz de los Andes, Huancabamba under PERU but missing from the worldwide frequency list in the back. Nothing LA in Aoki circa 5602. Not in the DSWCI DBS of May 2009. Plenty few hits on 5602 in DXLD issues of 2009y, in fact only one from 9-054, an Anker Petersen, DSWCI list of stations which had closed down in 2007-2008 including: 5602.6 - R La Voz de los Andes, El Higueron Peru OCT07 [last date reported] and one in 2008. However LA-DX has this current entry: 5602.4v PRU R San Francisco, San Miguel de El Faique [2210-2340](0.0- 2.8) Aug08 B SS ex RLVdl Andes (a)"...tu emisora favorita" --- But shows it last reported almost a sesquiyear ago And EiBi B-09 has this: 5602 2230-0200 PRU Radio San Francisco S PRU (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** PERU. 6019.3, OAX4Q, Radio Victoria; 1101-1115+, 17-Jan; Religious program in Portuguese to 1109, then into Spanish religious program; at end of Portuguese program, announcer read list of stations in Brasil with Monday Night Football theme music; in Spanish programm, mentioned at start, La Capital Federal Lima. SIO=3-22 in LSB; // 9720 OCX4C, SIO=343 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 15285, R. Pilipinas/VOP, 0215, Jan 14. In English; many program IDs: “Mindanao Update”; BoH: “From the presidential palace, Dateline Malacañang"; into “From the News Center of Radio Pilipinas, this is the P-B-S news” (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES [non]. 11715, RVA via VATICAN, Jan 18 from *1500 in the clear, still no sign of KJES, YL devotional talk in presumed Tagalog, and I thought I heard her referring repeatedly to ``allah``, tho you`d think they`d use the Spanish term ``dios`` instead. Perhaps Philippines is more tolerant of such cross-religionism than Malaysia. The monotheist Abrahamists have more in common than they like to admit (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND [and non]. RADIO MARYJA'S FOUNDER ON A US FUNDRAISING TOUR Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, controversial founder of the ultra-conservative Radio Maryja, is touring the US and Canada in a bid to collect funds for his media group. After visiting Toronto, Rydzyk went to Chicago, where a significant number of Polish ex-pats live. Last Sunday, the Redemptorist from Torun was concelebrating a mass in St Hyacinth's Church. "I asked Polish ex-pats in Toronto what is Polish in Poland: banks, factories, mass media? The answer is - churches. Do you realize that out of all mass media in Poland only half a percent is Polish and Catholic?" Rydzyk said at the end of the mass. After the mass almost 400 faithful who belong to the Radio Maryja Family attended a Christmas meeting. For an admission fee of 35 dollars, Rydzyk's followers shared a holy wafer, queued for several minutes to shake hands with the Polish priest and had supper. For drinks they had to pay extra 7 dollars. The controversial religious media mogul reportedly surprised parishioners by repeating a racist joke that he told during a ceremony in Jasna Gora sanctuary in July. While the rector of the Chicago parish was publicly greeting Dorothy Brown, black chairwoman of the District Court, Rydzyk said: "Look, she hasn't washed herself". (mg) Source: Gazeta Wyborcza 15.01.2010 via thenews.pl (via Sergei S., dxldyg via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. Re 10-02: 15560, RDPI with weekend transmission to NAm, Jan 9 at 1511 was giving periodic but seemingly randomly scheduled detailed frequency/schedule announcement, including satellite info. Squealing slightly audible during pauses, but VG signal. SW included 21655, 15560, but added that because of technical problems, there would be no ``extraordinary`` transmissions to Africa after 2000, or weekends after 1700, i.e. silly ballgame specials. Perhaps Carlos can explain exactly what the cause is --- one transmitter or antenna out of order, or the usual lack of personnel available to make manual switching changes beyond 9-5? If they are still extending broadcasts to other targets, those should certainly be mentioned as audible in Africa for backup. But SW stations where people do not actually listen to SW, tend to think they have discrete targets with no overlap (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is the exactly the same issue I included in recent report: a problem with the frequency memory setting at one of the 300 kW transmitters, viz. the 1989 AEG unit. So, again, regardless the day of the week, if there is need to change the QRG on that particular tx after the end of the only shift, and nobody is there to do it manually, one target area loses its HF signal, and Africa has been the case for months on end. Until the memory setting is fixed, this will continue. I believe the announcement you mention is the same I heard once; they do not even suggest listeners should try their other QRGs, particularly that for WAfr + EASAm perhaps because they infer reception can be very difficult. A word about "extraordinary" broadcasts; as the word suggests, it's a complementary, an extended broadcast, and certainly not to be inferred as in the adjectival sense of remarkable, rare, surprising. I am aware you know this given your knowledge of our the language, but many out there may think otherwise --- even if the content of those broadcasts, generally being football match reports, may, in the end, turn out as "extraordinary!" or "fantastic!" for the fans of the winning team, if there is one (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Jan 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PRIDNESTROVYE [and non]. Re 10-02: >> And I wonder what ``Sgdra rotation A-31A`` means << This description appears to be slightly messed up. SGD-RA are dipole arrays on fixed constructions, as opposed to the usual wired curtains. But Grigoropol has also a rotating antenna that runs on rails. It is being referred to as PA A30/31. It remains a bit unclear if this is the type number of this system, A30/31 could also be a specific Grigoriopol equipment designator. Here it is: http://www.novosibdx.info/grigoriopol.html http://maps.google.de/?ie=UTF8&ll=47.263472,29.400508&spn=0.002672,0.004774&t=k&z=18 Of course the system has been placed away from the other installations to minimize the azimuthal range it can not reach. North of this system are the other shortwave antennas and transmitters. It is pretty obvious how the transmitters are placed in two groups. The first one consisted of three PKV-500 transmitters and went on air in 1973, the second one with two further PKV-500's followed in 1975. Around 1986/87 two of the transmitters from 1973 have been replaced by new Kondor-1 units, rated at 2000 kW but apparently never run at more than 1000 kW. The other three transmitters have been upgraded into a 1000 kW variant called PKV-500-M. East of the shortwave facilities is the LW/MW complex that went on air with three Buran model transmitters (1000 kW) in 1971, later followed by a Shtorm-S (150 kW) that has been moved in from somewhere else. The long row is the travelling wave antenna (Zarya) for 1548 kHz, the four masts are a configurable antenna (Kvadrat) that should be in use on 621 kHz. The "thick" one of the three ND masts is a configurable cage antenna (ARRT) for 999 kHz. The missing mast was a 350 meters tall antenna (AM-350) for 234 kHz that crashed in 1997, not disrupting an existing service because 234 kHz had been closed down already some years before due to the slow decline of Radio-1. http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2753512 Some of the other shortwave equipment: SGD-RA antennas (the closest ones aiming at South America), background left curtains aiming at North America, background right the 1973 transmitter complex. Check out also the Padarsko photos; this is identical equipment [BULGARIA]: http://www.predavatel.com/bg/3/plovdiv.htm#pad (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 17, dxldlyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA [and non]. 9660, Sunday Jan 17 at 1320 RRI in German discussing QSLs, good signal as usual, since altho obviously destined for nearby German-speaking countries, it`s on a 307 degree azimuth from Tiganeshti, exactly the same as for North America a bit further on. How about the vertical takeoff angles --- do they make the same azimuth steeper when serving Europe instead of North America? Unseems so due to consistently good signals here on Euro transmissions. Since VOA Creole has been expanded a semihour on weekdays until 1330, this will produce a collision on 9660, whereas before, VOA went off before RRI went on. I suppose Greenville can override RRI in Haiti, but it`s not a pretty scenario. The new VOA Creole // at 1230-1330 M-F is Bonaire on 6135 which should be in the clear altho I have not yet heard it. BTW, if there were any weekend when a little overtime would be justified to keep the Creole service going daily, this is it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Initially clashed, then VOA to 9505 ** RUSSIA. Moscow --- Changes in the schedule "Voices of Russia". In the schedule of an output(exit) in an ether of the program "Club DX" have taken place small Changes. The ether of the program is returned on Sunday, on Monday There will be repetitions. Since the nearest Sunday the schedule will be such: Sunday 1433 UT Monday 0333 UT Monday 0933 UT Monday 2333 UT In frequency the schedule since January 18, also there will be changes. A part Frequencies of the International Russian radio it will be transferred (handed) to Russian service, Except for that on the program of Russian service the announcement on average will extend Waves in Germany. Details in the nearest release of the program "Club DX". The database on the Portal is already updated (Vadim Alexeyev, Moscow http://www.dxing.ru/content/view/1127/1/ via RusDX 17 Jan via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. The schedule of R. Rossii on SW is rather complex. There are four programs named Dubl 1, 2, 3 and 4. Usually a common segment in all streams is at xx58-xy00 h and xy11-xy-13 h, and almost every hour with news xy00-xy10 h. There are interruptions for the local programs of R. Kamchatka, Magadan, Sakha, Tuva, Buryatia, Krasnoyarsk(?), Arkhangelsk, Murmansk(?). Presumed schedule is: Dubl 1 - 1800-1900 4050, 1800-1400 5935 6075, 2000-1400 7320 Dubl 2 - 2000-1600 6150 7140(?) 7200 7230(with echo maybe due to two transmitters not in synch) Dubl 3 - 2200-1800 6085 6100 6195 (in B08 observed also as 3945), 0000-1800 4050 Dubl 4 - 0200-2200 5930 6160, 1900-2000 4050 Via Abkhazia on 9495: irregular Mon-Sat 0600-0710, M-F 1600-1800 but times vary Via Moscow: 0500-0800 9840, 0825-1300 12075, 1325-1600 7315, 1625-2200 5905 (Compilation of obs from several sources by Rumen Pankov, Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) What odd timings on that last one --- must take 25 minutes to retune old transmitter? Regardless of programming interruptions (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 6085, Radio Rossii via Krasnoyarsk, 0312-0320, Jan 17. Music program in Russian; // 5940, 6075 (QRM), 6160 (QRM), 7140, 7200, 7230 and 7320. Not all that often I hear 6085 and 6160 (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. 6160 had a fair signal in Russian only - I assume Arkhangelsk and parallel 5930 where Monchegorsk resides. There was no trace of CKZN. Yakutsk 7200 and 7230 were good signals by 0830 with traces of 7140 but mixing here with another - Pyongyang perhaps. But of Magadan there was no trace on either 7320 or 5940 (Noel R. Green (NW England), Jan 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [non]. Frequency change for Voice of Orthodoxy in Russian: 1530-1600 NF 7430 A-A 200 kW / 312 deg to RUS Tue/Fri, ex 7435* * to avoid China Radio International in Pashto (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 14 via DXLD) Originates in FRANCE ** SAINT HELENA. Interesting item on BBC Radio Four "Today" programme this morning at 07:20 which links into a news story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8465785.stm The programme will be available on Listen Again. (Mike Terry, Jan 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Truly interesting indeed, that BBC article. But what about an even greater isolation that's not a continent away from Stª Helena: try Tristão da Cunha and enjoy their climate... 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, ibid.) ** SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES. Amigos, tive a grata alegria de receber mais um e-mail QSL da Nice FM, 96.7 MHz (Saint Vincent & Grenadines). Dessa vez o e-mail veio com todos os dados confirmatórios. 73! 96.7, Nice FM, Kingstown - VCT - Recebido e-QSL com todos os dados confirmatórios. 3 dias. Douglas de Freitas (CEO Nice Rádio). Informe enviado para os seguintes e-mails: bdsnice @ caribsurf.com e bdsnice @ gmail.com QTH: Nice Radio, BDS Company Ltd, P.O. Box 324, Dorsetshirehill, Kingstown, SVG, WI (Rubens Ferraz Pedroso; Bandeirantes - Paraná - Brasil, Jan 12, dxclubepr yg via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. BSKSA still noted on 9714.95, e. g. around 0845 on January 11th with Koran. Only S 2, but more or less clear channel. 73s and good dx, good week-end (Robert Foerster, Germany, Jan 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SERBIA [non]. Re DXLD 10-02: Hi, I checked 6100 Serbia several times at the 1930 timeslot. The broadcast should be in English, but it was in Serbian. The program schedule from their website says 1930 English. Regards (Alex Wellner, Australia, Jan 10, WORLD OF RADIO 1495, DX LISTENING DIGEST)" I haven't checked this recently, but today, 14 January, Serbia was in English at 1930 on 6100 with news and feature, and ended with their regular programme "Musical Heritage". The Spanish programme followed at 2000 (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) International Radio of Serbia noted today in English at 2200-2230 on 6190 (ex-6100) with a strong, clear signal with a Tourism feature (at tune-in at 2210), followed by "Pop Flash" programme (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, 17 January, ibid.) A switching error? According to: http://glassrbije.org/E/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=21&Itemid=34 they should first switch to 6190 at 01 UT. 73, (Erik Koie, Copenhagen, ibid.) Hi Erik, Yes - I think you're probably right. Serbia was back on 6100 today 18 January at 2200 (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK) Hi Glenn, I noticed International Radio of Serbia using 6190 kHz at 1930 and 2200 UT instead of the usual 6100. Checked the online schedule and no changes noted there. Is this just a Sunday thing? 1/18/10, Best Wishes. Checked International Radio of Serbia again the subsequent day, and back on scheduled 6100 khz in amongst all the interference (Chris Lewis, England, Jan 19, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. UZBEKISTAN, Frequency change of FEBA Radio in Bengali from Jan. 17: 1500-1530 NF 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg, ex 7365 to avoid CNR-1 in Chinese (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, SIBC; 1359-1407+, 16-Jan; Peppy promo to 1401 -- probably not BBC, into BBCWS News in English at 1401. Tough copy; LSB helps with 5025 Rebelde (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. MAKING RADIO IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS, REMOTE SIBC GIZO Let's take off to the Western Province in the Solomon Islands for a taste of the sea and a tour of a Solomon Island Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) radio station. My name's Julia Harris and I'm the cross media reporter for ABC Western Queensland. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to take some time off work to visit the Solomon Islands. While I was there, I visited the SIBC radio station at Gizo, (the largest town in the Western Province), (about two hours by small plane from the capital, Honiara). I thought it would be interesting to compare a remote SIBC radio station to our ABC Local Radio station here in Western Queensland. Adrian Gina, is the manager of the SIBC station in Gizo, he has three full-time and one part-time staff members. One small studio, one small editing booth, one portable audio recorder, at least one computer that hasn't worked for five months and a motorbike for transport. http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2009/12/22/2778655.htm?site=westqld (ABC Jan 10 via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 16 via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 11750, 17/Jan 1953, SOUTH AFRICA, Adventist World Radio, em Ibo, desde Meyerton. African mx, provavelmente gospel. As 1955 UT OM fala. A portadora chega com bom sinal, mas com um zumbido de fundo (causado por batimento de portadoras) e uma outra modulação de emissora não identificada (pode ser a Voz Missionária), prevalece a AWR. As 1957 UT ID por OM e fim da modulação, somente a portadora. As 2000 UT fim da portadora e confirma-se a QRM como sendo da Voz Missionária que passa a ocupar a frequência. 33433 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. U.S.A.: 3215, WWRB Manchester TN (presumed); 2311, 19-Jan; B.S. sez that women are giving him a hard time over how he treated a caller (wish I'd heard it). Sed that no man knoweth the hour of tribulation. Hey B.S., Harold droning knoweth it: 5/21/11. Aha! maybe Harold droning is an alien, and not a man. S20 (Harold Frodge, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [and non]. After catching REE Sephardic service foulups on Dec 21 and 28 when the modulation feed was far out of coördination with the transmission time of 1425-1455 Mondays on 15385 --- program started 20 minutes late and only 10 minutes of it could air --- I missed checking on Jan 4 and 11, so made sure to tune in Jan 18 from 1420. By now they are no longer SNAFUd, with IS starting at 1423, sign-on at 1425 but STILL giving wrong frequency 15325! 1448 with ``España Hoy`` segment about opening of Wagner`s ``El holandés volante`` in Madrid, ignoring the composer`s anti-Semitism. 1453:30 standard sign-off again giving frequencies for this and the two other judeo-español transmissions UT Tuesdays; yes ``15325`` by an announcer who never monitors her own broadcasts and no one in-house bothers to inclue her. Contact info to the six-digit P O box, or to sefarad @ rtve.es then fanfare and off at 1455* sharp (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Had not reconfirmed REE`s M-F 1340-1355 ``co-official languages`` segment for some weeks, so barely got to it in time on Monday Jan 18, on 15170 via Costa Rica under Romania, at 1354 upwrapping the Basque segment with genuine Basque-language closing announcement after giving weather in Castilian like the rest of that 5-minute token service which is not really in Basque at all (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also COSTA RICA ** SRI LANKA. SLBC 9770 not heard for many days (English 0100-0330). The parallel frequencies of 6005 & 15745 are heard. 7190 & 11905 continue in Indian languages as usual (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India, UT Jan 14, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. THE TAMILS WERE CRUSHED. NOW WHAT? [some background] Best Columns - International • Thursday, December 17, 2009 Sudha Ramachandran, Asia Times (Bangkok) Attempts to cash in politically on the Sri Lankan army’s defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have triggered “an ever-widening rift at the nation’s highest levels of power,” said Sudha Ramachandran. Neither democracy nor the nation’s Tamil minority will benefit. By taking sole credit for defeat of the Tamil Tigers, President Mahinda Rajapaksa angered the popular war hero Gen. Sarath Fonseka, who played a crucial role in anti-Tiger campaigns. Spooked, the president “promoted” Fonseka from army boss to the “powerless, ceremonial post” of chief of defense staff, from which he then resigned in disgust. Now backed by an opposition party, Fonseka is running for president, threatening to split the Sinhala-Buddhist vote, and Rajapaksa is no longer assured of the easy election victory on Jan. 26 that his party had hoped for. But essentially Rajapaksa and Fonseka are “cut from the same cloth” and neither inspires confidence among the Tamils, having both been part of the violence unleashed on them. Critics claim that democracy would falter under Fonseka, but “democracy in Sri Lanka has been dying for a while,” and it has been a succession of democratically elected governments, rather than the generals, that have been “strangling it.” (The Week, Dec 25 via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. USA (non) Frequency change for VOA Hello Darfur in Arabic to Sudan: 0300-0330 NF 7275 SAO 100 kW / 052 deg, ex 9585 // 9845, 11855 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. 9825, at 1500 28 Dec, Miraya FM, via Slovakia. Sign- on, ``This news comes to your form 101 Miraya FM``, 1510 discussion in English, SIO 333 (Dave Kenny, England, Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 9825, 1500 01/01, Miraya FM, via IRRS, ID, "Miraya 101", news, English. Very good. 73, (Michele D`Amico, ascolti invernali effettuati dalla casa in collina a San Marco la Catola (700 metri s.l.m.), in provincia di Foggia, Italia. Con me il Perseus, connesso ad una filare ad "L" invertita lunga circa 15 metri, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. PORTUGAL: 17745, Sudan Radio Service (presumed); 1608- 1630+, 16-Jan; M in English with patriotic talk over Afro music. SIO=344, minor Chinese splash from 17735 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CRI Sackville ** SYRIA. 9330, Radio Damascus, 1910-1933*, Jan 16, French talk. Local music. Pulled plug abruptly at 1933. Slight hum in audio but overall good signal with good modulation. Threshold signal on // 12085 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 9330, 17/Jan 1902, R Damascus, French, desde Adra. Sinal fraco com ocasionais falas em francês de YL. Vou monitorar as outras transmissões para ver o nível da modulação (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. KOUHU - HUKOU VILLAGE --- Here's a new Panoramio image of a net style LOG periodic at or near the RTI Kouhu site. I didn't know RTI utilised any log periodics SW antennas at any of it's sites?? Perhaps this antenna is used by a different organisation adjacent to the RTI site?? I'm really not sure - more investigation needed. http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/27688867.jpg Below is the link to the previously seen RTI MW antenna at Kouhu. http://www.panoramio.com/photo/16781350 Regards (Ian Baxter, Australia, Jan 17, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 11550.58 at 1045 22 Nov, RTI, Chinese style music, rock music, Indonesian, IS, 1059 ID, SIO 252 (Alan Pennington, Berks, Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Always off-frequency, also when relaying AUSTRALIA, qv; and hets 11550.0 stations like WEWN (gh, DXLD) ** THAILAND. 9680, R. Thailand, 0000 1/11/10. ID at TOH, "Radio Thailand, English language service." OM & YL stated their names and news headlines. OM started national news. S8 signal (Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA, Drake R8B, Wellbrook 330S & ALA-100 Loops, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9725, G signal, better than usual during 1400-1430 English broadcast toward Australia, Jan 20 at 1421 but only music, none of usual talk features, so apparently lost feed and filling with this. First was solo piano recital, 1423 dead air for a while, then false starting and restarting native orchestral music featuring drum and flute, joined by soprano with Thai song; 1427 seemed to re-restart same song until interrupted at 1428:30 bell IS, ID as ``HSK9, Radio Thailand World Service from the Public Relations Department``, bells and re-ID cut off air at 1429:30 before completed. Studio/transmitter coordination so often an insurmountable challenge in SWBC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET. 4905, Xizang PBS-Lhasa, 1542, Jan 12. “Holy Tibet” program in English; a repeat of yesterdays show; almost good reception (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TUNISIA. RTT, still on 7335 at 0800 Jan 16 with Arabic news, after nice selexion of Arabic music until then. Official sked shows 7335 on until 0910, but since it also shows // 7275 until 0730, but really closes at 0627, does 7335 also go off earlier than scheduled? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In a recent mail Glenn mentioned Tunis 7335 as believed active until 0910. It's actually 0810, or thereabouts, as noted here today the 19th Jan (Noel R. Green (NW England), Jan 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. 41 and 31m mostly dead except for some African relays, 0609 Jan 15, but on 9700 Turkish music with YL ululating and string instrument had fair signal, 0610 announcement. This is VOT Turkish, Emirler site at 310 degrees to Europe but also USward at 05-07. 12035, usual somewhat distorted modulation from VOT, Jan 15 at 1422 with multi-lingual ID time-filler, then sign-off announcement in English, 1424 IS which kept running instead of turning off transmitter to QSY; 1427 as usual starts inserting IDs in language to follow, amid IS variations, still not sure what it is, but it is definitely not Russian, one of the 1430 languages on the schedule, as it went ``Turkiye ---- Radio``, which points to one of the many Turkic languages. 1430 6-pip timesignal ending 1 second late compared to WWV, opening program mentioning website partially www.trt. Kept running until abruptly cut off at 1433:35 when the operator woke up and starting moving to the frequency where this is supposed to be, as previously discussed, most likely Kazakh on 9785. The Slavic influence I previously heard would be apropos (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) La transmisión de La Voz de Turquía en español de 0200 a 0300 UT está llegando con muy buena señal por esta zona en su frecuencia nominal de 9410 kHz. Sin embargo no dejan de llamar la atención los súbitos saltos de frecuencia hacia y desde 9400 kHz, los que ocurren en cualquier momento de la transmisión y por cualquier periodo de tiempo, habiendo llegado a iniciar su transmisión en 9400. La primera vez que lo noté pensé en error de operación pero a esta altura parecería más bien una falla del equipo. 73, (Moisés Knochen, Montevideo, Uruguay (temporalmente en Cuchilla Alta), 1557 UT Jan 18, condiglist yg via DXLD) Y nosotros creíamos que ese fenómeno solamente podía pasar con Emisora Chaná... ¿No será la nueva onda de las emisoras en bandas internacionales? hi! RGM (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, ibid.) ¡No se me havía ocurrido verlo de ese modo! El "frequency hopping" es una técnica usada en comunicaciones militares para evitar la intercepción ¿Será que no quieren que los escuchen? :D (Moisés, ibid.) ** UGANDA. 7194.98: see UNIDENTIIFED ** UKRAINE. Radio Ukraine International Scolding --- Hi Glenn - RUI on 17 January 2010 at 0145 on 7440 - quite strong and clear with "Hello from Kyiv." A stern (and well-deserved) rebuke delivered to a Texas listener who had addressed mail to "RUI/Kiev/Ukraine/Russia." "After the word Ukraine you may add 'Europe' or 'Western Hemisphere' or 'Planet Earth", for that matter - but you must NEVER NEVER add the word 'Russia.'" If the writer was listening, he won't forget it soon. Cheers from Rhode Island, (Jim Garman, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. 5875 is a BBCWS English frequency we can hear fairly well in our mornings, despite its official destination 25 degrees from Thailand to most of China, North Korea. But Jan 14 at 1425 as I tuned by, noticed some ute QRM, sounded like TADIL-A. Next at 1427 that was gone but instead was hearing mix of English and something in Arabic which was somewhat atop! The latter also had ``that BBC sound``, and at 1332 while English was wrapping up news headlines before Crossing Continents, Arabic ran BBC sounder, so tnx to WRTH 2010, easily looked up listed Arabic frequencies during this hour, and sure enough, 5875 was // Cyprus 9915, and also // 15790 but an echo apart. BBCWS vs BBCWS on 5875! Possible explanation: another Cyprus transmitter is scheduled to take over from Thailand with Persian at 1600 on 5875. Maybe it got turned on much too early with the Arabic programme feed. Or equally SNAFU`d, possibly double programme audio feed input to Thailand transmitter, nobody noticing. 5875, BBCWS still QRMing itself as first noted Jan 14. On Jan 16 at 1425, English and Arabic mixing with Arabic somewhat stronger. English is via Thailand, which used to be clear on this frequency. There is some fading, but hard to tell if propagational or subaudible heterodyning from slightly different frequencies. By 1459 both signals much weaker, but could make out BBCWS sounder, ID in English and timesignal. Where is the Arabic coming from and why has BBCWS decided to collide with itself? Do not find the latter listed anywhere. 5875, BBCWS in English via Thailand, poor but no QRM at 1355 Jan 18 with report from Haiti. Next check at 1445, English again mixing with another language, but atop it, presumably BBCWS Arabic as before, with phoner. EiBi update Jan 17 and Aoki Jan 18 still have no listing for the Arabic. 5875, BBCWS in English via THAILAND, Jan 19 at 1404 with optional cutaway cue ``World News from the BBC`` for benefit of affiliates for whom three minutes of news is plenty; atop co-channel in Arabic we have been noting for several days now. A little birdie [Dan Ferguson, consulting a VTC schedule update] tells me this is indeed BBCWS via Cyprus site: 5875 BBC 1400 1600 Arabic Cyprus smtwtfs Arabian Gulf 300 121 VTC 1/18 Tho I was hearing it before January 18. BBC assumes they can double up on this frequency without significant self-QRM in respective target areas, which may be true, and at the same time as a bonus make BBCWS 5875 unlistenable by undesirable North Americans who have no right to hear it any way on SW (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. BBC WORLD SERVICE BROADCASTS SPECIAL ‘LIFELINE’ PROGRAMMING FOR HAITI --- PRESS RELEASE London, 15 January 2010. BBC World Service will be broadcasting special lifeline programming for listeners in Haiti in the French, Spanish and English languages from tomorrow – Saturday 16 January. Special programmes about the crisis will be broadcast this weekend between 1200 and 1300 GMT on shortwave on 11860 kHz (25 MB) and 9410 kHz (31 MB). The BBC is expecting the programmes will also be available on the local FM network via the BBC’s partner station, Radio Lumière. The special programmes will come from the BBC Afrique (French for Africa ) and BBC Mundo (Spanish-language) networks, as well as BBC World Service’s flagship English-language news programme, Newshour. Special programmes in Spanish and English were also broadcast today. BBC World Service Director, Peter Horrocks, says: “This is a humanitarian crisis on a huge scale, and good quality information is a vital but scarce commodity there. So far, we’ve had lots of information from the country by Skype and Twitter. So we’ll be using the same tools to inform people that we are broadcasting these special services as well as the NGOs on the ground, websites and any other means possible.” Ends// (BBC press release Jan 15 via Alokesh Gupta, gh, DXLD) Dear Mr. Hauser, Minutes ago, I saw this in BBC Caribbean Service website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/institutional/frequencies.shtml "Shortwave frequency for Haiti: BBC World Service has ended its broadcasts in short wave to the Caribbean. However short wave broadcasts in English were reinstated due to the situation in Haiti. You can can tune in to BBC programmes from 1200 GMT to 1300 GMT on 11860 kHz (25 m.b.) and 9410 kHz (31 m.b.) Sat 16th - 12:00:00 - 13:00:00 Sun 17th - 12:00:00 - 13:00:00 Mon - Fri (next week) - 12:15:00 - 13:00:00" These are the frequencies and time that BBC uses to broadcast in Spanish to Cuba. Also BBC Mundo, Spanish Service of BBC, says that the World Service will broadcast special programmes in English, French and Spanish about Haiti during the weekend, but I haven't more information about that. Yours, (Eduardo Peñailillo Barra, Santiago, Chile, 1923 UT Jan 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note time specified as 1215-1300 on M-F above --- the weekday 12-13 `Spanish` hour was in reality nothing but archival/music fill for the last half-sesquihour after new news, so it took an earthquake to get BBC to occupy that time with something more actual (gh, DXLD) Re BBC on 9410, 11860, 12-13 UT, changing to English: But this wasn't effective until today Tuesday 19. Yesterday BBC Spanish was still running on both frequencies. Regular BBCWS program was heard this morning until 1258 when the announcer made a slight reference to British citizens with relatives in Haiti, giving e-mail and phone numbers. 1300 sign-off from Cypress Creek left the Oman transmitter in the background (Raúl Saavedra. Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9410, BBCWS in English via WHRI, Sunday Jan 17 at 1254 with Newshour discussion of US politix, ending at 1256 in time for a sports capsule. The 12-13 hour M-F had been the only BBC Spanish left on SW, but after the earthquake, it was announced that BBC was switching this transmission to English, expanded also to weekends, and // 11860 via Guiana French. A contradictory report said the hour would be partly in Spanish and French (not Kriyol, but close enough?), but this is the first time I have monitored early enough to hear any of it. Has anyone noted French on this? Seems to me that breaking up Newshour to insert other languages would be inconvenient, but do the Haitians really need to hear about US politix in English at the moment, let alone cricket or rugby? Anyhow, this change takes care of any chance to hear DXing with Cumbre where it used to appear at 1200. Speaking of rugby, that`s what ``Invictus`` is about, secondarily Mandela; be warned, tho still a good movie. According to this tale, black and white South Africans` passion for the stupid violent ballgame made it a significant factor in overcoming racial tensions, enhancing national pride and unity, and getting Mandela off to a good start as leader (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC broadcasts special lifeline programming for Haiti in Fr/Sp/En 1200-1300 on 9410 HRI 250 kW / 152 deg 11860 GUF 250 kW / 305 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) 9410, BBCWS via WHRI, Jan 21 at 1241 apparently Newshour going from an item on how to dispose of bodies, to one about an ornate elephant-and- dragon clock at the Science Museum. Unsolid signal with flutter, and at 1247 check, better on // 11860 via GUIANA FRENCH. Perhaps they have French if not Creole at 1215-1230 after Spanish? This setup replaces all-Spanish during the hour, the last half- sesquihour of which was archival or music fill anyway, certainly expendable but it takes a 7.0 earthquake for BBC to get knocked into broadcasting something more timely within its last remaining Western Hemisphere SW broadcast. Don`t get used to it, since likely to revert to the old pattern once the aftershox are over. And we can resume hearing classical music fill after 1233 on M/W/F. 17780, just as I tuned in at 1414 Jan 21 heard a couple words from BBC in English before it cut off. Mistake? No, Hausa is scheduled here via Ascension at the odd time of 1345-1415 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. From Jan. 1, 2010 BBC Bengali Service is going back to Standard Time of Bangladesh (UT +6h) and the revised schedule is: 0030-0100 on 6065 NAK 250 kW / 325 deg 9510 SNG 250 kW / 340 deg 11750 SNG 250 kW / 330 deg 0130-0200 on 9510 NAK 250 kW / 325 deg 11995 SNG 250 kW / 330 deg 0330-0430 on 9440 NAK 250 kW / 300 deg Mon/Tue 11995 NAK 250 kW / 305 deg 13790 NAK 250 kW / 300 deg 1330-1400 on 5835 NAK 250 kW / 325 deg 7550 DB 100 kW / 125 deg 11850 SNG 250 kW / 330 deg 1400-1500 on 7550 DB 100 kW / 125 deg Sunday only 11915 SNG 250 kW / 330 deg 1630-1700 on 6155 NAK 250 kW / 325 deg 7205 SNG 100 kW / 340 deg, co-channel CRI in Arabic 9650 SNG 250 kW / 340 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. BBC INDONESIA RE-LAUNCHES AS MULTIMEDIA BROADCASTER http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/01_january/18/indonesia.shtml 18 January 2010. BBC World Service has re-launched its Indonesian service as a multimedia operation. The redesigned website, bbcindonesia.com, now becomes the key method for delivery of the BBC Indonesia output. . . The launch of the new multimedia service means readjustment of the BBC’s services for Indonesia . It will affect the radio schedules, as resources are directed on to other platforms. From Monday 18 January, radio broadcast at 20.00 WIB (Western Indonesian Time) will be reduced from 30 minutes to five minutes. While there is no change in the duration of the morning broadcasts at 05.00 and evening broadcasts at 18.00 WIB, there will be no radio broadcasts on Saturdays and Sundays. (conclusion of this BBCWS press release, via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) More SW cutbax; even the Indonesians are being driven to listen online, not onradio (gh) ** U K [non]. ASCENSION: 11810, BBC; 2031, 15-Jan; News Hour, BBC News, BBCWS, in English. SIO=454- (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K O G B A N I. Call Sign GI3 GGY Next on: Sunday, 13:30 on BBC Radio Ulster Synopsis --- Jimmy Porter, a radio ham for over 70 years, tells Paul Moore about his passion which led to an incredible life involving U Boats, Hollywood actors and recordings of Bloody Sunday. Broadcasts 1. Sun 17 Jan 2010 13:30 BBC Radio Ulster 2. Sun 17 Jan 2010 13:30 BBC Radio Foyle 3. Thu 21 Jan 2010 19:30 BBC Radio Ulster http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00q0h42 (via Fred Waterer, Ont., Jan 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ``7 days left to listen`` (until Jan 24), or would that be Jan 28 from the 21 Jan repeat? (gh, DXLD) There have been two previous shorter features on Jimmy Porter on BBC Radio Foyle. They are still available to listen to on their archive. Among other things he was the RSGB's first newsreader for the GB2RS service in 1954 and did that for over 50 years, he used a 90 foot high log periodic which was originally at a nearby US base, also involved with Radio Free Derry. As it says in the new programmes preview during that time he took recordings of the British Army's Bloody Sunday communications that were played when he gave evidence to the Widgery enquiry. The archived features are here as well as 5 photographs, including one of his antenna. http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/radiofoyle/features/jimmyporter.shtml (Mike Barraclough, ibid.) ** U S A [non]. New frequency change for Voice of America in Tibetan from Jan. 8: 1400-1500 NF 9315 LAM 100 kW / 075 deg, ex 11695 LAM, re-ex 15530/17520 BIB (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 14 via DXLD) Re 10-02, ``15770, Jan 12 at 1510, tonal African dialog mentioning Abuja and Nigeria, no doubt VOA Hausa as scheduled, but whence? Aoki says São Tomé, EiBi says Botswana (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` BOTSWANA, 350 DEGREES. 73 (Dragan Lekic, Serbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. 15225, 17/Jan 1909, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES, VOA, French, desde Bonaire. OM apresenta um programa musical, bom repertório. Sinal constantemente interrompido em frações de segundos, tanto durante as músicas quanto na locução. Essa situação não é nova e já foi relatada por mim anteriormente. 45443 (Jorge Freitas-B) [modulation had constant dropouts for split seconds; we heard too, gh] 15580, 17/Jan 1925, BOTSWANA, VOA, English, desde Selebi-Phikwe. OMs conversam. As 1929 UT ID. Sinal moderado sem QRM. As 1930 UT fim da tx e início da tx também em inglês, mas desta feita desde United Arab Emirates e com sinal bem mais fraco (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BOTSWANA: 11975, Voice of America; 2021-2030+, 15-Jan; M&W in English with African Beat music program -- great tunes; ID at 2030+. SIO=354 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. New R. Mashaal for Afgh/Pak border: see PAKISTAN [non] ** U S A. VOA Creole service: see also ROMANIA [and non] VOA’S CREOLE SERVICE REACHES MILLIONS IN HAITI WITH SPECIAL NEWS REPORTS; COMMENT LINE Messages from comment line will be broadcast into Haiti Washington, D.C., January 13, 2010 – Haitians, cut off from the world by a devastating earthquake, tuned in to special shortwave and satellite radio broadcasts from the Voice of America's (VOA) Creole Service to learn the latest news and information. Hours after Tuesday's earthquake struck near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, VOA broadcast a 90-minute special program to the people of Haiti. The program included statements of support from President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; updates from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Red Cross, the United Nations and Haitian geologists; and interviews from Haiti. Up-to-date information is also available around the clock on http://www.VOANews.com/creole VOA also set up a special call-in number – 1-202-205-9942, mailbox 42 – for people to leave messages that will be broadcast to Haiti. Facebook and Twitter accounts are also being created. Today, the service broadcast 30 minutes of news, including an interview with Haitian Ambassador Raymond Joseph. Another show is scheduled for 12:30pm EST/1730 UT. "In times of crises, VOA is a lifeline of information," said VOA Director Danforth Austin. "Because of our technologies, we are able to reach people in their own languages when disasters strike. Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti, and we'll continue to give them the latest, accurate news." Ronald Cesar, chief of VOA's Creole Service, said it was difficult for people to get telephone lines out of Haiti. In addition, damage was severe to one of the VOA's FM affiliates, Radio Guinen. “I talked with the manager and he said his tower was down,” Cesar said. VOA is the leading international broadcaster in Haiti, with a weekly audience reach of 50% (VOA press release 1503 UT Jan 13 via DXLD; also via Drita Çiço, Albania, and via Dragan Lekic, Serbia; and via John Babbis, MD, and via Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, DXLDyg via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Voice of America Creole service has extended its broadcasts to Haiti following the earthquake there. New schedule effective Jan. 14, 2010: 1230-1330 on 6135 BON 250 kW / 341 deg, additional frequency Mon-Fri 9660 GB 250 kW / 164 deg, ex 1230-1300 1730-1930 on 15390 GB 250 kW / 174 deg, ex 1730-1800 Daily 17565 GB 250 kW / 174 deg, ex 1730-1800 2200-2300 on 11905 GB 250 kW / 168 deg, ex 2200-2230 Daily 13725 GB 250 kW / 183 deg, ex 2200-2230 15390 GB 250 kW / 174 deg, ex 2200-2230 0100-0200 on 5960 GB 250 kW / 174 deg, additional transmission Daily 7465 GB 250 kW / 183 deg, additional transmission (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 14 via DXLD) Special broadcasts to Haiti from VOA Creole (updated). "As rescue operations accelerated to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti, correspondent Brian Wagner flew into Port-au-Prince Wednesday to begin covering the story for VOA." VOA News, 13 January 2010. Update: "Creole Service programming on shortwave and satellite radio has expanded from 1.5 hours daily to 5 hours. Programs now air at 7:30-8:30 am EST (1230-0130 UT); 12:30-2:30 pm EST (1730-1930 UT); 5:00-6:00 pm EST (2200-2300 UT); 8:00-9:00 pm EST (0100-0200 UT). The evening programs can also be heard on 1180 AM from a transmitter and tower in Marathon, Florida, pre-empting Radio Martí at those times." VOA press release, 14 January 2010. Schedule below shows AM 1180 kHz during the day, also. Will it reach Haiti during daylight? Weekday schedule for now --- 1230-1300 UT 9660 adding 6135 1180 1730-1800 UT 15390 17565 adding 1180 1800-1930 UT adding 1180 15390 17565 2200-2230 UT 11905 13725 15390 adding 1180 0100-0200 UT adding 5960 7465 1180 VOA Creole is normally Monday through Friday, but weekend hours will be added. "The Haitian broadcast of the Voice of America went into expanded service, even though its main transmitter in Haiti was destroyed in the quake." PBS Newshour, 13 January 2010. Meaning local FM affiliate. Unless they have been restored for the Haiti emergency, there are no VOA English transmissions to the Americas, except 30 minutes per weekday of Special English. Posted: 14 Jan 2010 (from http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=8150 via DXLD) Note Creole on Marathon 1180 instead of Martí during specified hours! I.e. 22-23 and 01-02 UT. Now will the DentroCuban Jamming Command relent to let the VOA Creole service thru to Haiti? As for SW, who cares what the frequencies are? Fortunately, we already know, and most of them are the same as previously used so we hope the Haitians also know (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I understand VOA's Creole program is now airing from the Marathon MW transmitter at Marathon, in the Florida keys, during the times the Creole program is broadcast. I presume that includes the daytime Creole, though I wonder if 1180 would reach Haiti in the middle of the day. Anyway, this provides an opportunity to hear VOA, rather than Radio Marti, via 1180 Marathon. I'm not sure when this was last possible. Maybe 1985? Yeah, I think I hear it in there on 5960 and 7465, so presumably also on 1180, but I can't tell from here in the Myrtle Beach area of SC (Dan Ferguson, 0107 UT Jan 15, NASWA yg via DXLD) HAITIANS USE RANGE OF TECHNOLOGIES, OLD AND NEW, IN EFFORT TO REACH RELATIVES --- Alex Villarreal | Washington 14 January 2010 Photo: AP === A girl and her mother watch from across the street as workers dig looking for possible earthquake survivors through rubble of a collapsed building in Port-au-Prince, 14 Jan 2010 Communication in and around the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince is at a standstill after Tuesday's devastating earthquake. With cell phone service and landlines down, Haitians around the world are seeking out any means possible to reach their families. Their efforts have shown the importance of both old and new technologies in getting the word out. When Tuesday's massive earthquake made communication by phone virtually impossible, many Haitians turned to the Internet. Social- networking sites like Twitter and Facebook quickly became a bridge between those inside the country and their family members on the outside. Haitian-American Yves Colon, a journalism professor at the University of Miami, says the sites proved crucial for him and many others during the first hours of the disaster. "The only thing that was working, spottily even, was Internet, and a few people were sending out messages to Twitter. That was the only way really for us to get a sense of what things were, what the situation was like and how people were and who was hurt and who was not hurt," he said. With many local sources of information paralyzed, others turned to Haitian radio stations outside the country for answers. Hundreds of people have reached out to stations in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania looking for news about their relatives. Broadcasters, like VOA's Washington D.C.-based Creole Service, which airs in Haiti have been able to maintain contact with the country using shortwave radio frequencies. Ronald Cesar, the chief of the Creole Service says he received several calls for help. "I got several calls from Haitians in the Washington metro area asking me how they could send messages to their relatives in Haiti, because communication is down, not too many people can call a number or reach a number in Haiti," he said. The Creole Service has now set up a hotline to help Haitians both inside and outside of the country communicate with their loved ones. "The way it works, we have set up a phone number, and it is toll free, we accept all the charges. The number is 202-205-9942 and they have to press number 42, and then they will hear a greeting and they can leave their messages. What the Creole service does once it gets those messages, we play them in our broadcasts so that people everywhere can hear them," he said. Cesar says shortwave technology, which dates back to the 1920s, is one of the best ways to reach people in Haiti during a time like this, when most local radio stations are unable to broadcast. VOA and other news outlets are also using pages on Facebook and Twitter to share information, further demonstrating that when it comes to communicating in a disaster, all types of technology are critical. http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Haitians-Use-Range-of-Technologies-Old-and-New-In-Effort-to-Reach-Relatives-81603597.html (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) VOA CREOLE BROADCASTS TO HAITI NOW ON MULTIPLE RADIO FREQUENCIES Coverage adapts to changing circumstances Washington D.C., January 17, 2010 – Voice of America (VOA) Creole- language broadcasts to earthquake-stricken Haiti are now being heard throughout that country on multiple radio frequencies, many delivered by transmitters aboard a U.S. Defense Department-sponsored aircraft that began flying Saturday. The added service features a five-hour afternoon FM program providing news and disaster relief information for the Haitian people, struggling to cope with that country's worst natural disaster in over 200 years. Since the January 12 earthquake, VOA has increased its Creole programming from 1.5 hours to 10.5 hours Monday through Friday and from 1 hour to 9.5 hours Saturday and Sunday. "We are very gratified to have the direct FM transmission to complement our shortwave and AM broadcasts in response to the crisis in Haiti," said Danforth W. Austin, VOA director. "These broadcasts demonstrate how U.S. Government agencies can work together when disaster strikes." VOA Creole is covering the relief efforts in Haiti with VOA correspondents and Haitian stringer reporters on the ground, as VOA Washington headquarters and Miami bureau staffs work the crisis around the clock. Public service announcements are airing hourly to provide information about public safety and availability of water and food and other disaster assistance. VOA has also set up a call-in line to broadcast messages from family members and friends to Haiti, along with Twitter and Facebook accounts. VOA Creole has long been a trusted source of news and information in Haiti and is the most popular international broadcaster in the country with a weekly audience reach of just over 50% of the adult population, according to independent survey research. Stories, audio reports, photos, video and survival information are posted on VOA's main website, http://www.VOANews.com (VOA press release 2207 UT Jan 17 via DXLD) Multiple, but WTFK? We heard FM frequencies announced 23+ hours later; see below (gh) GH, I had the Kreyol on 1180 a couple of nights ago, crappy of course, with the multiple and out-of-synch Rebelde's on 1180. Indeed, the usual unanswered questions: what frequency(ies)? Is the EC-130 actually flying? It would seem a waste of aviation fuel. Why not simply transmit from the tarmac? Have you heard 4VEH via TWR 800 yet? I have not had a chance to check that, either. If it's this difficult for the diligent DXer to dig up details, how can anyone expect a homeless Haitian with likely no radio to be expected to "find" all these broadcasts? Oh, I guess they can just Tweet. ***************************************************** Anderson Cooper in Haiti: 'I can't imagine being anywhere else' ***************************************************** (Terry Krueger, Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wonder how many if these stations are still active? This is one difficult language to try to read, BTW. http://author.voanews.com/creole/Patne-Ki-Releye-Emisyon-Nou-Yo.cfm (Terry Krueger, FL, Jan 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That URL lists a bunch of Haitian stations mostly FM which were relaying VOA, and one in Guadeloupe (gh) DISCLAIMER FOR ANY LW/MW ITEMS, INCLUDING ALL TIS; MIS; PIRATE; AND LPAM ENTRIES, OR ANYTHING THAT CAN BE LINKED BACK TO A LW/MW REFERENCE: No portion of the below may be reproduced in any format and/or redistributed by the National Radio Club and/or their editors without my expressed written permission, which will then be swiftly -- and we do mean swiftly -- denied. Editors receiving this directly from me are excluded, provided this entire disclaimer is included once where any of the aforementioned items are first reproduced. 1180, FLORIDA, Voice of America, Marathon. 0127-0140 GMT January 16, 2010. Haitian kreyòl talk pieces coming in, parallel 5960 and 7465. Not an easy copy though, with the usual (at least) three Radio Rebelde transmitters -- all out-of-synch, of course -- dominating. This is the first time that I can recall Marathon not transmitting CLANDESTINE Radio Martí programming since Martí replaced the VOA in Spanish here, April of 1990, if I recall correctly. Supposedly 0100- 0200 GMT, if I am reading the schedule correctly (amongst other times). Regardless, it's nice to have the VOA back home in Florida after all these years. I know I've told this story before, but not in quite as much detail (enough time has passed): a huge flashback to visiting this site, when it was still in the old Cold War silver metal portable trailer, me with my mother on the way down to Key West. I had to leave my particulars, including Social Security number, with the engineer on duty. He told me he would phone in a security clearance to Washington, DC and it would take 2-3 days for clearance. Perfect, since we were on our way down to Key West for 2-3 days. I called a "special" number he gave me the morning of our Key West departure, and he said to ring the bell and he would let me in. I got the grand tour, and got to play with the monitoring rigs scanning Cuba MW, and photographed the site (albeit with the engineer specifically staying out of the lens). The MW logs were documented on a hardcopy logbook during almost-always boring time by the engineer (per orders) and the results sent back to the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (CIA) daily via radio fax. The engineer, by the way, was an older gent who rode a bicycle across the Seven Mile Bridge to/from work every day to his home somewhere south of Bahía Honda. Now that's energy. Good times, and something that could never happen, post 9/11, again. I do have nice OCB/Radio Martí gate signage photos from a year ago on file, the closest a commoner can get now. Would love to live in the new-built house next to the gate. Then again, the RF would probably drive me crazy (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) One of VOA`s known Kriyol SW frequencies, 13725, heard on the air earlier than scheduled *2200, Jan 18 at 2134 tune-in but nothing yet on the other SW channels 15390 or 11905. Announcement at 2138 mentioned only this SW frequency after three FM frequencies, 92.?, 93.3 and 105.1 --- which had been unknown before and not specified in press releases. Presumably some or all of them are airborne from the psyop SOW which flew in from Harrisburg PA. Then at 2140 started putting callers on the air trying to find out about relatives or contact them. Surprised to hear the first one in English, from a woman in Martinique seeking her father, gave her own phone number, but all the others were in Creole almost until hourtop. Then I started looking for the other SW frequencies. As usual, they were late coming up as news on the hour had started on 13725! At 2201, open carrier on 15390, modulation from 2202. At 2201 no carrier on 11905, but on and modulating at next check 2204. I suspect 13725 may have been on for hours before I ran across it. More below. Rechecking toward end of the scheduled 22 UT hour, at 2254: 15390 inaudible, presumably just faded out; 13725 weak and fading, but 11905 still very good; 2259 a bit of dirge classical music, standard VOA sign-off in English. These are all Greenville, of course, aimed close to a right angle from OK. [Later, Jan 19:] Expanded hours for 13725 still do not show on the C- page of the A-Z frequency schedule: http://author.voanews.com/english/about/frequenciesAtoZ_c.cfm and if you click on Creole for that service`s page, you may find lots of interesting info in fraxured french at http://www.voanews.com/creole/ but if you then click on Frekans, you go right back to the A-Z schedule presented in English. Nor do I see anything on either page about the three new airborne(?) FM frequencies I heard announced today. At 0145 UT Jan 19, I tried the new nighttime Kriyol transmission at 01-02 on 1180, 5960 and 7465. 5960 was fair but fading, and 7465 JBA. 5960 was previously the Tue-Sat Spe-cial Eng-lish channel at 0130- 0200, along with 7405, where nothing is heard now, so suspect the latter Greenville transmitter has also been pre-empted, or co-opted, but on 7465 instead. It so happened that at 0147 they were playing back the same caller in English from Martinique that I had heard at 2140, otherwise Kriyol. I thought I might be able to detect 1180 audio from Marathon // 5960, but no, just too much QRM from multiple US/Mexican transmitters if not Cuban audible here; I have no reason to believe the Cubans are turning off their jamming during the VOA/Creole hours on 1180. (Terry Krueger in FL says there are at least three unsynchronized Rebelde outlets on 1180.) I was also wondering if Marathon might have loosened up or modified their direxional pattern during the Haiti hours to maximize the signal there, and possibly change its backward radiation too, normally extremely suppressed. Looked for VOA Creole`s expanded morning transmission Jan 19: tune in 6135 at 1326 but nothing audible, scheduled Bonaire relay from 1230. It`s a bit late for propagation, 9:26 am local, but expected to hear at least something. Maybe they had to close a bit early. The other expanded frequency, from Greenville, 9660, was VG running a USG editorial in Creole, 1329:30 English sign-off. During open carrier could hear RRI in German, now colliding for a semihour. IBB uses 13725 from Tinian until 1700, but then it`s open, not registered by anyone. But at 1757 Jan 19, the midday Creole transmission expanded to 1730-1930 is on VG 15390 and fair 17565, not yet 13725, tho it was certainly running well before 2200 the day before. Maybe picks up at 1930? After hearing VOA Creole earlier than scheduled the day before on 13725, I started looking for it much earlier on Jan 19, before the expanded midday transmission until 1930 was over on 15390 and 17565. I was not monitoring constantly, rather checking 13725 once per half hour, but nothing. Finally a more comprehensive bandscan found 15390 still/again on the air at 2052 with VOA Creole --- no other frequencies found on 9, 11, 13, 15 or 17 MHz bands. No thanks to VOA for not publishing their full correct frequency schedule in Creole. Interview in progress kept on going right past hourtop 2100, but 15390 abruptly cut off the air at 2100:30*. I could imagine the operator at Greenville hustling to manually retune the old beast to 13725, meanwhile missing programming in progress from Washington. Finally 13725 carrier came on at *2002:15, and it took almost another minute for modulation to be applied, phone-ins now. At 2105 it was the anomalous English-speaking woman from Martinique, same recording I have now heard three times at random tune-ins, seeking her father Michel Kenetry (? No idea how to spell his surname, something like that, but she never spelt it). Also copied her phone number but not to be put here as she does not need any extraneous calls. (If in the extremely unlikely chance someone in Haiti really needs to contact her after reading this here, ask.) At 2129:30 programming on 13725 paused with ``has come to you from VOA, Washington``, but not a sign-off as Ronald César resumed from studio at 2130 with news about the situation. Another day trying to determine what VOA is really doing with its expanded Creole service since they won`t post their own schedules accurately: In morning bandscans I have not noticed any unpublicized frequency between 1330 and 1730, but could have missed it. Jan 20 at 1929 when the midday broadcast officially ends, I tuned to 17565 and 15390. The usual mid-hour pause of dirge music, and then 17565 switched to the VOA French service to West Africa, while after a bit of jazz, 15390 continued in Creole. Both are contrary to known schedules. Per A-Z VOA schedule, French is supposedly on 17550 and 17580 at 1830- 2000, but nothing audible on either frequency. Apparently at least one of those was the Greenville transmitter turned over to Creole on 17565 until 1930, and they did not remember/bother to switch it to correct 17580 for what was left of the French sesquihour. But at next check 1958, 17565 was already gone, still no 17580 but WYFR overpowering on 17575 and elsewhere in the 17.5`s. 15390 in classical music, 2000 continuing in Creole. The other French frequency, 15225, scheduled 1830-2000 via BONAIRE, was being heard all along, but continued past 2000 with French VOA ID, and then switch to country music in English with audio dropping out/skipping severely. At 2008, 15225 still on with lively Franco- African DJ, same weak signal as earlier, so Bonaire site prolonged? The VOA A-Z schedule for French shows a gap at 2000-2030, but Aoki knows better, showing 15225 Bonaire lasting until 2030. At 2059 Jan 20, checking to see if same happened as 24 hours earlier: almost. VOA Creole 15390 had a caller on the air, but cut off at 2100:00 sharp for frequency change. So I QSY to 13725 and wait for it. Finally *2101:50 both carrier and modulation with no further delay amid another caller: no news on the hour this time, and no built-in break to accommodate such switches like they do on the half-hour, strange. At 2107 there was another caller in English, Marie – Duran in the 407 area code, which is around Orlando FL, seeking someone; shortly into an interview about aid (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On Jan 21 I turned on and tuned in early enough to check the new, temporary(?) VOA Creole relay via Bonaire on 6135: at 1236 good signal. At 1244 got to 31m in bandscan and before I could reach 9660 to confirm // from Greenville, found it already on new 9505! Ex-9660. As we outpointed early on, extending 9660 past the original 1300* would collide with RRI Romania in German, and evidently IBB eventually reached the same conclusion. 9505 in the clear is an echo apart from 6135 due to satellite delay. At 1301, RRI German was unimpeded on 9660, tho ACI from 9655 CRI. At 1326, 6135 had weakened a lot into the daytime, but still audible vs T-storm noise between here and there as spring is oncoming (there was even a tornado watch in OK last night and local lightning made us close down for a few hours); giving phone numbers and e-mail addresses. 1328 VOA jingle, 1329 a snippet of ``We Are the World``, VOA English outro until 1329:30, open carrier and off at 1330, exactly the same instant as 9505 did so. [change to 9505 was not in time to mention on WOR 1496, still referring to 9660] We still don`t find any fill-in frequency between 1330 and the next scheduled Creole broadcast at 1730, but checking http://author.voanews.com/english/about/frequenciesAtoZ_c.cfm the Creole schedule for 1230-1330 has been changed to 9505. It still refuses to show the afternoon transmissions we have axually been monitoring the past week, 1930-2100 on 15390, 2100-2200 on 13725! Are they secret, perhaps put on by Greenville as a public service without informing Washington? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [before continuing with US SW stations, more items concerning Haiti:] ** U S A. BROADCASTERS RESPOND TO HAITIAN CRISIS Radio World January 14, 2010 http://www.rwonline.com/article/93160 U.S. broadcasters are responding to the massive earthquake Tuesday, to both cover the news and to help Haitians. The National Association of Broadcasters announced a voluntary initiative aimed at boosting relief efforts. "NAB is working closely with the American Red Cross and the Ad Council to distribute critical earthquake relief information." It said radio and TV PSAs featuring First Lady Michelle Obama will be available for download on its public service Web site Friday. It also asked stations to produce localized PSAs. NAB designated Monday Feb. 1 as "Broadcasters for Haiti Day." The association hopes radio and TV stations will "roadblock" specific times of day for fundraising, telephone banks, radiothons and telethons. NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith stated, "Broadcasters are uniquely positioned to mobilize the masses." The Federal Communications Commission waived a ban on fundraising by noncommercial TV and radio stations so that they can accept funds to help victims. National Religious Broadcasters President/CEO Dr. Frank Wright said NRB was one of the non-profit organizations that asked the agency for a waiver. "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" will broadcast live from Port-au-Prince Friday and set up Internet access for citizens there to contact family and friends. The broadcast will include reports from journalists in the country, according to show executives. The affiliated site BlackAmericaWeb.com planned to set up Internet access during Joyner's four-hour morning show to provide free online communication to displaced citizens needing to contact family and friends. Turner Broadcasting Chairman Ted Turner donated $1 million to help with reconstruction and humanitarian needs. Also, Turner's United Nations Foundation and the Vodafone Foundation are "supporting the immediate deployment of two emergency response teams who will work to rebuild the communications infrastructure crippled by the earthquake," Turner said in a statement. "These teams, from the World Food Programme and the UN partner Télécoms Sans Frontières, are deploying to provide emergency communications systems that will enable relief workers to coordinate the delivery of life-saving aid and supplies." Radio personalities on Dial Global shows are urging listeners to text the word "Haiti" to 90999, which will donate $10 to the Red Cross relief fund. The messages will be heard on the company's 1,900 format affiliates plus 275 stations affiliated with live shows. NPR and commercial radio networks are airing coverage of the quake and relief and rescue efforts its aftermath (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) FCC LIFTS BAN ON RADIO FUNDRAISING FOR HAITI RELIEF [that is, now permitting it on non-commercial stations beyond for own selves] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358039,00.asp (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, Jan 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GOOGLE CRISIS RESPONSE: http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/ (via Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, DXLD) MORE HAITI RELIEF INITIATIVES FROM RADIO, FCC January 15, 2010: As relief and rescue workers continue their labors after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, radio and other media outlets are adding to their fundraising efforts. Univisión Communications is partnering with the American Red Cross to help support relief fundraising, using its radio, TV, and online outlets to reach Hispanics who want to contribute. "The people of Haiti have suffered unimaginable devastation and are in dire need of assistance," Univisión President/CEO Joe Uva said. "We have partnered with the American Red Cross to inform the caring and generous Hispanic community in the U.S. on how they can contribute to the disaster relief effort." Univisión's 68 radio stations will be airing PSAs, while its TV outlets will have PSAs along with special reports live from Haiti and Haitian communities in the U.S. American Red Cross President/CEO Gail McGovern said, "We are rushing supplies and disaster management staff to Haiti in the aftermath of this earthquake, and are very grateful for the support of Univision for our humanitarian mission." ABC News Radio is set to simulcast January 22's "Hope for Haiti" telethon, a TV special airing commercial-free on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, BET, CNN, and other networks. The two-hour show will benefit the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam America, and other groups, with Facebook and MySpace partnering on the social media side. On the local side, Carter Broadcast Group's KPRS/Kansas City will air a "Heart for Haiti" radiothon on Monday from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. The radiothon, broadcast from a Wal-Mart Supercenter, will benefit Heart to Heart International. Listeners can donate money, assemble care kits, or sign up to volunteer (via Radioink via MWN editor, Jan 16, MWCircle yg via DXLD) ** U S A. WBCQ with the first SW broadcast of WORLD OF RADIO 1495, Wed Jan 13 at 2005 check on 9330-CUSB, much better signal than // 7415, but 9330 modulation a little rough. I hope they left 9330 on for the rest of the semihour, but did not get it rechecked before 2030, as I had already heard the show. You never know whether 9330 will be on at this time, as committed to use 7415 only, Tue/Wed/Thu 2000 for WOR (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15420.1, 2045-2059 16-Jan; English preacher in sing-song cadence. Sig from arm-chair to zilch; dropped way down about 2054 & gone by 2059. WBCQ? May have been in USB only (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Certainly WBCQ, Global Spirit Proclamation, a regular here (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn: I just tuned in WTWW Shortwave at 1930 UT, "Performing" equipment tests on 5755, with announcement by George, and a varied assortment of pop songs, frequent ID's, etc. Great signal, all fives across the board! Try for them as soon as you can. If they announce QSL info, I do hope to verify as I did with WWCR! This is a historic day in DX'ing for me! 73's, (Noble West, Clinton TN, Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s not George doing the ID (gh, DXLD) Dear DX'ers: I am pleased to announce that I succeeded in receiving station WTWW in Lebanon, Tennessee, on 5755 at 1930 UT on Wednesday, January 13 with a great signal from their Continental transmitter, giving legal ID's, and test announcement, playing "The Twist" by Chubby Checker and other tunes before dead air at 2000 UT. This truly is a historic day for us. George finally is getting the testing underway on his new station. I hope when programming is finalized, "World Of Radio" will be heard on this new station! One could only hope! I heard WTWW Testing at 1930 on 5755 in English with classic songs with full ID, presumably by George or the old KAIJ announcer. Good Signal with fives across the board till off by 2000 on Wednesday, January 13. RX: Sangean ATS818ACS, ATX: Belden RG-6 Coax 100 feet length mounted in tree one end, other on pole. 73's, (Noble West, TN, DXLD yahoo group via DXLD) WTWW was testing with music on 9480 UT Jan 14 around 0030, but propagation had dropped out here, so weak and fading. At 0045 came up on 5755, much better signal with music, S9+15 on the FRG-7 but that`s just slightly above the local noise level with computer on. Much better than 5745 station, presumably WWRB. Modulation seems good but still not a solid signal. Don`t know how much longer they will be on tonight. 5755 rechecked at 0117, MUCH stronger signal S9+22 or so, now solid, as if they turned up the power but were supposedly full power earlier, so maybe we had just hit a propagational hole then. Still much stronger than Brother Scare on WWRB 5745, and much much stronger than WWCR PMS/DGS on 5935. WWCR 5890 PPP does not start until 0200. Comparing signals to these neighbors should be helpful. 0120, 0124, 0130 IDs, apparently between each tune, say ``Coming to you from near the banks of the Upper Cumberland River in middle Tennessee, this is WTWW, Lebanon, Tennessee, U S A, performing equipment tests``. Mod seems a bit distorted now and/or with selective fading distortion. Disappeared at 0126:30 or so, back on at 0128. Here`s the ID recorded around 0134 UT Jan 14 on 5755, the final one before went off at 0136: http://www.w4uvh.net/WTWW.rm (Glenn Hauser OK, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: I just turned on my receiver, and yes, WTWW is testing on 5755 at 0132 UT Thursday, January 14. Fair modulation and little static and then abruptly off by 0137 (Noble West, TN, ibid.) WTWW, 5755, 0100+, 1/14/10. "Suzi Q" - long version, 0104 full ID, "Tell me what you say" ID 0107, "American Woman". S7 signal with the ID's weaker than the music (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, E1 & Radio Master R 30 indoors, ibid.) I'm hearing this with a fairly solid signal from Central Ohio: 0058-0117+ 01/14/2010, 5755.00, WTWW, Lebanon, Tennessee, USA, with rock songs (Free Ride, Suzie Q, Love Me Two Times, American Woman, Help Me Rhonda) with recorded IDs by male announcer between most songs. IDs mention "Near the banks of" some river, "Lebanon, Tennessee USA" and end with "performing equipment tests." As Mark Taylor mentioned, the IDs are a bit quieter than the music, but this should be audible widely tonight (Larry Cunningham, Gahanna, Ohio USA, ibid.) WTWW is on again (and off) at 0142 UT Friday on 5755, music and ID tests like last night (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Glenn: Weak carrier on 5755 at 0223 UT. Is this WTWW? I am hearing different music, on UT Friday, January 15,2010. Some noise like a screeching sound which may be my other stuff I may need to unplug for better copy. Some fading at 0225. Will keep checking (Noble West, TN, Sangean ATS818ACS with 100 ft. coax dipole and leadin, ibid.) 5755, WTWW testing again UT Jan 15 around 0142 and 0147 with same ID and probably same music loop as before. Carrier and modulation off and on several times as needed: 0213 off, 0218 OC, 0219 not audible. George McClintock tells me that altho problems are being worked out, a lot more full-power testing is needed, especially on 9480 which would be on the air Friday afternoon. Does not plan to finalize programming until after HFCC, which is Feb 1-5 in Kuala Lumpur. He`s also too busy now to verify reception reports but will eventually have a QSL card; there is no contact info on the website http://wtww.us (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5755, 0152 16/01/10, R. WTWW, USA, Inglês, Tennessee Prog. com locução masculina música, e ID 44344 elc Att (Eduardo L. Castaldelli, Mairiporã SP- Brasil, Grid Locator: GG66qq, http://www.radiodx.qsl.br radioescutas yg via DXLD) Dx'ers: WTWW on 9480 now --- I just heard WTWW testing at 2353 UT on UT Sunday January 17, 2010, playing "In The Summertime" by Mungo Jerry, followed by a Ted Randall plug, giving contact information after the test announcement. Fair with fading and little noise on their Continental 100 kW transmitter in Lebanon TN. I will be updating my blog to include this entry. 73's, (Noble West, TN, dxldyg via DXLD) Também chega muito bem por aqui a transmissão da WTWW tanto em 5755 como em 9480 kHz, tocando rock anos 50 e 70 e OM com curta fala e freqüentes ID. Um abraço, (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana BA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) O sinal da WTWW estava muito bom nas duas freqüências, mas já encerraram as transmissões, vou disponibilizar o áudio mais tarde. Um abraço, (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana BA, 0129 ut Jan 17, ibid.) Glenn. A transmissão da WTWW em 5755 kHz continua e com um SINPO 35444. Já em 9480 kHz ouço apenas o jammer chinês sobre a RFA. Sim, são 0144 UT de 17/Jan. Um abraço, (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana BA, ibid.) 5755, 17/Jan 0030, WTWW, EE, desde Lebanon, Tennessee USA(?). A mesma emissora de 9480 kHz, porém com programação diferente, se bem que ainda estão em fase de testes e transmitem apenas música e OM com curta fala e ID. Enfim, a transmissão é diferente da de 9480 kHz e não é por diferença de tempo por algum relay. 35443 (Jorge Freitas-B) 9480 17/Jan 0012 WTWW, EE, desde Lebanon, Tennessee USA(?). Música dos Beatles e OM diz ID. As 0013 UT nova ID e nova sequência musical de rock anos 60 e 70. Saiu doa ar as 0015 UT e voltou as 0016 UT. As 0018 UT nova ID e segue rock antigo. Geralmente se alterna entre uma música e OM fala e diz a ID. 35433 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia. Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 19 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1, ibid.) Jorge, you seem to be implying that you were hearing WTWW on 5755 and 9480 at the same time? But they have only one transmitter, so that is impossible. I have not heard all their tests, but I doubt the test music and IDs are different on 5755 and 9480 (Glenn, ibid.) A ID era clara e estão gravadas já em meu blog http://www.ipernity.com/doc/75006 No momento em que trocava de frequência via teclado as transmissões não eram exatas. Nesse momento, 0246 UT, ela está com um bom sinal em 5755 kHz, mas não mais transmite em 9480 kHz. Vou monitorar novamente amanhã (Jorge Freitas, ibid.) Glenn, I'm very pleased to report that last night (17th January), at 0138 GMT, on 5755 kHz, WTWW made it to my shack, in Aosta, north- western Italy. Please, find attached a 5 minutes recording. ID starts at 26 secs. At 30, comes "This is WTWW". Signal wasn't blasting, but overall not bad. I think, from what I read on DXLD, they're still on a setting phase, and I think something must be fixed in their modulation (especially when music is broadcasted, there is a sort of "muffled" atmosphere), but making it here is a first achievement that highights, in my opinion, a successful start. I read also you're in touch with the station owner/manager. Since there is no contact info for them, so far, I'd be glad if you could relay him this reception. If he's interested, I can forward the full .wav file of the recording. Thanks in advance, and thanks also for everything you do with World of Radio, and related. Reading of a "new birth" in HF made me happy. Receiving the new station, made my day. Ciao! (Chris, Italy, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5755, WTWW, Lebanon TN, 0133-0150, Jan 17. “Performing equipment tests”, “This is Ted Randall from the QSO radio show” requesting reception reports; old rock songs; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I last heard them yesterday evening on 9480 playing the looptape and IDs from our old friend Ted Randall! 9480 seems erratic at best. Last Friday they came in good on 5755 at times. I am happy for George McClintock. Ted is now adding a promo about the QSO show on WTWW! It was heard UT Saturday during he 0100-0230 time slot. Good Signal as observed. I hope they will soon be active. 73's, (Noble West, TN, Jan 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Haven`t heard WTWW testing the last few days on 9480 or 5755, so I asked George McClintock how things are going. He says a long test period is scheduled for Saturday Jan 23, times here changed to UT: 1600-1900 9480 1900-2200 9475 2200-2400 9480 0000-0400 5755 [UT Sunday] ``All this assumes that we have no problems. This will be a test to see how the transmitter and other equipment hold up with extended transmission time.`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5070, WWCR generally holds up with large signal at night, but Jan 17 at 0643 it was weakening, non-solid as `skip was long` and/or MUF was low over path from Nashville during talk show discussing CES Las Vegas. Not much was making it on 7, 9 or 11 MHz either, except Australia 9660, and New Zealand 11725 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3240, WWCR Nashville TN (presumed); 2317, 19-Jan; Survivalist ads; GCN Radio Network; interviewee sez that we're all going to be herded into small enclaves via a gov't program called Agenda 21. S35 + strong hum; putting out weak spur on 3255.6; nothing on 3224.4 (Harold Frodge, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15550-USB, still no trace of WJHR at 1725 check Jan 18. In fact, the last date I definitely heard it was Dec 20, tho others reported it last on Dec 30. So has it been completely silent since then, or just brief tests we have missed? I wrote to G S Mock asking him about this. He replied Jan 19: ``WJHR had an antenna failure. High rf caused melting in the wires. This is good news though! A new antenna is being installed as soon as the weather permits. I hope to have the station up and going in a few days if all goes well. The new antenna is a quality log periodic which should put out a substantial signal. Thankyou for your your concern and keep listening. We will continue to be on this frequency during the A10 season. G.S. Mock wjhr @ usa.com`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. We can say goodbye to R. Cultura do Pará, 5045, as VG big signal from WWRB was rampant from 5050, Jan 13 at 0709 with ``Wonderful Words of Life`` hymn, 0710 ``Treasure of Truth Broadcasts`` from Church of Christ in Altamont TN. FCC updated sked Jan 7 shows WWRB on 5050 only between 21 and 05, but what do they know? Also on 3185 as usual with Brother Scare, but not registered on any other frequency after 0500, so was this a mistake or a new schedule? It`s rather pointless to consult the WWRB website where online schedules are obviously outdated, but ``Global 2`` shows ``leased to Churches of Christ`` daily 9 pm only until local midnight on 5050, and still shows long-abandoned 12180 as day frequency for that transmitter! http://www.wwrb.org/schedule/global_2/combined.pdf See also SOUTH CAROLINA [non] 5050, WWRB on the air after 0700 Jan 13 must have been a fluke (or a make-good?), as it was gone again 23+ hours later at 0622 check Jan 14, with R. Cultura do Pará again in the clear on 5045, as always playing nothing but pop music, never classical as one might expect (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn: Wavescan for NEXT week (not to begin this coming Sunday) will include a feature on radio broadcasting in Haiti. WRMI is on air using the auxiliary transmitter, but we don't want to push it too much (as it might overheat), so we are not running fulltime yet. Still working on the other problems and hope to have everything back to normal as soon as possible (Jeff White, WRMI, Jan 15, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9955, Jan 16 at 1533, no jamming, weak signal with lo modulation, and fast SAH, presumably WRMI, which Jeff White tells me is temporarily on the 5 kW backup transmitter, but not running full hours. Sounds like preacher which fits for Zion Teacher scheduled; the other being YFR via Tainan, Taiwan in Russian (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. JUDGE ORDERS $500K FOR EACH OF PREACHER'S VICTIMS Jan 13, 4:01 PM (ET) By JILL ZEMAN BLEED Associated Press http://apnews.myway.com//article/20100113/D9D739301.html TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) - Five young women who testified last year that evangelist Tony Alamo took them as "wives" and sexually assaulted them when they were minors are entitled to $500,000 each from his multi-million-dollar ministry, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes ordered restitution after a government witness said the women suffered physical and mental pain at the hands of Alamo, who is serving a 175-year prison sentence for taking the women when they were underage across state lines for sex. In his ruling, Barnes noted that each of the victims were assaulted by someone they regarded as a pastor and prophet. "The defendant has truly, truly damaged these five young girls and I don't think amount of money this court can order can replace their loss," Barnes said. Prosecutors said they were confident Alamo, 75, could afford the $2.5 million judgment even though most of his assets are held in his followers' names. He will not have to pay the restitution until his appeals are exhausted. "The challenge is going to be uncovering them and finding what names they're placed under," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyra Jenner said. Alamo lawyer Don Ervin said he was disappointed after arguing the five were not entitled to any restitution. He said claims of longterm pain and suffering were speculative and based on medical or health issues that had not yet emerged. Ervin also argued each woman should have been evaluated separately and received compensation based on their own history. The government had sought $2.7 million per woman, or a total of $13.5 million. Dr. Sharon Cooper, a retired Army colonel and developmental and forensic pediatrician, told Barnes the women continue to suffer chronic back pain because they were forced to give Alamo massages every night while they were kept at his compound near Fouke in southwest Arkansas. Each woman, now aged 18-33, also suffers persistent and painful menstrual cramps associated with sexual abuse, Cooper said. All five suffered mental health problems, included post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. One suffered vision loss in one eye because she said she'd been repeatedly punched at Alamo's orders, Cooper testified. Cooper testified that the victims had been sexually abused and exploited, falsely imprisoned by Alamo and suffered neglect. "When you add all of this together, these would be considered over the top in terms of adverse childhood experience," said Cooper, who evaluated the women at her clinic in North Carolina last September. At last year's trial, the women testified that Alamo kept firm control over everything at his complex. Cooper said his five victims were undereducated - none had a high school diploma - and all lacked insurance. Without treatment, Cooper said, the victims will "struggle mightily." Alamo, who scowled and sighed during Cooper's testimony, presides over a church that claims 100-200 members. Trucking companies, residential property and a number of other ventures fund the ministry's work, including a printing operation that prints church paraphernalia that blames the government or the Vatican - or both - for his and the world's problems. Alamo once owned a Nashville, Tenn., clothing store that catered to celebrities desiring his elaborately decorated jean jackets. His home at Dyer included a heart-shaped swimming pool, but followers who lived on the grounds kept sleeping bags in meeting rooms. At a bond hearing in 2008, an FBI agent said businesses produce a "substantial amount" of income controlled by Alamo but that none of the property shows up in the minister's name - though he couldn't provide an estimate of Alamo's worth. In the 1990s, Alamo, who was shackled at the ankles as he sat at the defense table on Wednesday, spent four years in prison for tax evasion and the IRS laid claim to millions of dollars in back taxes. Among items sold at auction were the plans for the studded jacket Michael Jackson wore on his "Bad" album. (via Ray T. Mahorney, Jan 14, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) Over two months after he was sentenced to 175 years in prison for child sex abuse, convicted evangelist Tony Alámo is *still* broadcasting on WINB, where criminality is no problem, noted Jan 19 at 2050 with distorted modulation on 13570, plus splattery spurs down to 13530 and up to 13595, with further peaks around 13500 and 13635 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. 11855, Jan 13 at 1438 was clear of Camping, who had been camping on this frequency a few minutes earlier with his WYFR English broadcast supposedly 1300-1600; meanwhile WYFR in Spanish as usual on 11830. But it`s not the end of the world, due to multiple redundancy Family Radio employs from countless frequencies, times and sites (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) New additional transmission of WYFR in English via VT Communications: 1600-1800 on 6225 MEY 100 kW / 076 deg to SoAf (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 14 via DXLD) Updated winter B-09 of WYFR Family Radio via TRW=TV Radio Waves: 1400-1500 on 5825 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg to SoAs Nepali 1500-1600 on 5825 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg to SoAs Marathi 1100-1200 on 5900 IRK 250 kW / 152 deg to SEAs Illocano 1200-1300 on 5910 VLD 250 kW / 220 deg to SEAs Cebuano 1100-1500 on 5995 P.K 250 kW / 244 deg to EaAs Chinese 1900-2000 on 6000 MSK 250 kW / 240 deg to SoEu Italian 1200-1300 on 6005 K/A 250 kW / 213 deg to EaAs Korean 1600-1700 on 6070 ARM 250 kW / 110 deg to SoAs Punjabi 1100-1500 on 6115 IRK 100 kW / 110 deg to EaAs Chinese 1400-1600 on 6150 ARM 300 kW / 110 deg to SoAs Urdu 1400-1500 on 6225 TAC 200 kW / 131 deg to SEAs English 2000-2100 on 6240 KCH 300 kW / 285 deg to WeEu French 2100-2200 on 6240 KCH 300 kW / 309 deg to WeEu English 1000-1100 on 7265 NVS 250 kW / 085 deg to EaAs Japanese 1600-1700 on 7295 NVS 250 kW / 195 deg to SoAs Urdu 1200-1400 on 7340 IRK 250 kW / 180 deg to SEAs Vietnamese 1100-1500 on 7415 P.K 200 kW / 275 deg to EaAs Chinese 1800-2000 on 7490 ERV 300 kW / 305 deg to WeEu German 1300-1400 on 7560 A-A 200 kW / 132 deg to SEAs Burmese 1400-1600 on 7565 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to SoAs Urdu 1800-1900 on 7590 ERV 100 kW / 330 deg to WeEu Polish 1200-1400 on 9310 A-A 200 kW / 132 deg to SEAs Tagalog/English 1200-1300 on 9320 DB 100 kW / 024 deg to CeAs Russian 1200-1300 on 9450 NVS 250 kW / 155 deg to SEAs Thai 1000-1200 on 9460 IRK 250 kW / 110 deg to EaAs English/Korean 1200-1400 on 9485 IRK 500 kW / 180 deg to SEAs Indonesian 1400-1500 on 9485 IRK 500 kW / 180 deg to SEAs English 1200-1300 on 9720 NVS 250 kW / 125 deg to EaAs Cantonese (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 14 via DXLD) WYFR has added a bit of reverb to Brother Camping`s audio, so now he sounds like he`s at the bottom of a barrel, which is appropriate considering the nonsense he spews: same sound on // 5950, 6915, 7455 at 0713 Jan 17, all with VG signals. I`m afraid this makes him no more hip, but may appeal to those easily impressed by reverb (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) But reverb not heard later; anomaly? (gh) Heard Family Radio with Brother Harold Camping, "Open Forum" 'phone-in programme yesterday (Sat 16-Jan) at 2015 UT and again this evening 2048 UT on unscheduled 6260 kHz (// weak 15195). Very strong powerhouse signal here on 6260 SIO 555. Anyone know the site for this frequency which I can't see scheduled - it`s strong enough to be somewhere like Moldova? (Alan Pennington, Caversham, UK, AOR 7030+ / longwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Family Radio heard on 6260 khz at 2000-2100 in English. New transmission, maybe a test. Good signal here in UK with some frequent fades, audio a bit rough this evening. Any idea which site? (Chris Lewis, England, 1/18/10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Were they still on 6240 from Moldova? Altho supposedly French at 20, English not until 21. I see that 6260 is CVC Hindi via Tashkent until 20 so that may have been extended. Glenn Glenn, Checked 6240 this evening (18-Jan) at 2045 UT and was carrying talk about the Bible in French - presumably Family Radio as scheduled via Moldova. Strong signal on 6240 similar strength to English on 6260 which was there again this evening. Those Moldovan transmitters really put good signals into the UK on 6 MHz in the evening! (In contrast, CVC via Tashkent on 6260 has always been fairly weak when I've heard it here). (Alan Pennington, Caversham, UK, AOR 7030+ / longwire DXLD) Re 6260 kHz. Maybe a punching error at Grigoriopol Maiac Moldova site? YFR nominal on 6240 kHz at 2000-2200 UT with 300 kW, at 285 and 309 degrees. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Nope, it's not a punching error. According to IBB Monitoring, WYFR is TESTING from Grigoriopol 2000-2100z on 6260 kHz from Jan. 14. You can hear reception samples by visiting http://europe.ibbmonitor.com/rmsweb/ui/sound_query.php and choose: YFR; TEST; - All -; - All - (all dates, or desired) and then click Submit... 73 (Dragan Lekic, Serbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks DL, only 14 til 17 Jan. No reception at nearby Bucharest and Vienna monitoring, due of dead skip zone. Malmoe files not so strong than London monitoring (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, ibid.) 6940, WYFR Family Radio spur/mixer (spurxer?); 1133, 17-Jan; about equal mix of WYFR in English on 6890 and in Spanish on 6915, both with S40+ sigs. 6915 - 6890 + 6915 = 6940. At 1223 check, 6915 gone, only 6890 there & nothing on 6940 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Leapfrog 9440, Jan 18 at 1405 talk in unID language, probably S Asian, and now accompanied by buzz similar to AIR on 9470. This buzz is the same thruout the bandwidth of the signal, however, and not loud enough to blot out the intentional modulation. Around 1415 had giveaway YFR jingles. We first heard this new transmission Dec 18 when it was YFR in English, and per Aoki was: ``9440 FAMILY RADIO 1400-1500 1234567 English 250 195 Novosibirsk-Oyash RUS 08341E 5529N WYFR b09 Dec. 24-`` And our last log of it on Jan 8 was still in Campinglish. As often with YFR, they start a new transmission with English fill until they are ready to attack a new minority group and then switch to that language; but which? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9440, YFR in unknown Asian language, Jan 20 at 1418 along with big buzz, something you would expect from India rather than listed Novosibirsk, RUSSIA; Aoki still shows this as English, the initial language on this new transmission. At 1430 was spelling out Family Radio URL. Meanwhile at 1415, Camping still in English, Open Forum on 9485 with more flutter but no buzz, and that is due south from Irkutsk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 11715, KJES, 1600 8 Dec, OM ID, religious chanting, fair in Spanish (Richard A D`Angelo, Wyomissing USA [sic], Jan World DX Club Contact via DXLD) This may turn out to be the final log of it before vanishing; at least the latest I have found. There was a 4 Dec log on 15385 in DXLD 9-084 (gh) ** U S A. 7505.7, WRNO New Orleans LA; 0244-0249+, 0303-0306+, 17-Jan; Jeezus pop music; WRNO Worldwide ID at 0306. SIO=322+, buzz/pulse QRM from a7510 -- got weaker after 0300 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. CBS RADIO IN PHILADELPHIA ON SHORTWAVE During the radio era before World War 2, there was quite a movement in the United States, and in other countries throughout the world also, to establish shortwave relay stations in an endeavor to give wider coverage to the programming from a local mediumwave station. At the time, television was an experimental concept and not a reality, and FM radio was still a distant dream. The standard mediumwave band was not overcrowded at the time, though the mediumwave signal generally gave only local coverage, particularly during the daylight hours. However, it was understood that shortwave transmissions could give wide area coverage within the country, and even internationally on a much larger scale. Many mediumwave stations in the United States established shortwave relay transmitters during the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s to carry their programming to distant listeners. In fact, printed documents from this era indicate that there were several hundred of these shortwave relay stations on the air in the United States during the past eighty years. Some of these shortwave stations were quite large, while many were quite small and temporary. One of these shortwave relay stations that held a high reputation back during those early years was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This station was launched on behalf of the co-located mediumwave station WCAU, under the experimental shortwave callsign W3XAU. And again, even though a casual glance at the callsign might seem to indicate that it was an amateur radio station, this was not the case. Station W3XAU was indeed a professional station, relaying the programming from the mediumwave WCAU. The X in a pre-war shortwave callsign indicated an experimental station, either amateur or professional, and in this case, indeed quite professional. The mediumwave station WCAU was launched in 1922 as a very small operation located in the back room of a small radio shop in Philadelphia. Ten years later, following a couple of intermediate migrations, WCAU was established in a professionally built studio complex, the first building in the United States that was constructed specifically as a radio station. This facility was located at 1622 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. Now, at the same time, a new 50 kW mediumwave transmitter was under construction also, and this was installed in a new transmitter building out at Newtown Square. The initial broadcast from this grand new, and we might add, quite powerful, WCAU was on September 19, 1932. Before we leave the mediumwave scene and take a look at the shortwave events in Philadelphia, just a touch of humor from a re-run of the TV series, “Gilligan’s Island”. On July 5, 1992, Gilligan and his six fellow castaways on a lonely and unidentified tropical island somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean tuned in their radio receiver and they heard a broadcast from a radio station that gave the identification announcement as “WCAU”. At the time, the real WCAU in Philadelphia had undergone a callsign change to WOGL, and so there was no real radio station on the air with the callsign WCAU at this stage. And now back to the story. Not only was there a new suite of studios and offices, and a new transmitter facility back in 1932, but the relatively new medium of shortwave broadcasting was also under development. Early in the year 1930, a small locally made 1 kW shortwave transmitter with the callsign W3XAU was co-installed with the regular mediumwave unit in Philadelphia. It is claimed that this was the first license issued by the FCC for an international shortwave broadcast station as a commercial operation. However, two years after the Newtown Square facility was inaugurated, a re-built version of the same 1 kW shortwave transmitter was installed alongside the huge 50 kW mediumwave unit. All of these developments took place during the era when the innovative William Paley of later CBS fame was at the helm. Four years later, this same transmitter was re-built to a 10 kW capacity and two V type antennas were erected to provide coverage into Europe and South America. Station WCAU became even more ambitious for a truly international outreach with the erection of two large curtain type antennas for coverage into the same two areas, Europe and South America. At the same time, they made a request to the federal licensing authorities for 50 kW operation on shortwave. In fact, on several occasions in the late 1930s and early 1940s, CBS lodged similar applications, but on each occasion the request was denied. With war clouds looming over Europe in 1939, the FCC took a hard look at the international shortwave scene in the United States and they issued a set of three new rules. This edict, issued on May 23, 1939, required that:- 1. All shortwave callsigns should be regularized 2. The power output of each shortwave transmitter should be increased to a minimum of 50 kW 3. Directional antenna systems should be installed As far as the callsigns were concerned, this edict gave time for consideration and negotiation regarding desired call letters. Initially, the first new callsign chosen to replace the experimental call W3XAU was WCAI. This new callsign for the shortwave outlet, WCAI, proved to be only temporary. With information derived from a contemporary issue of Time Magazine, FCC news releases, and several other sources, it is learned that this temporary new callsign was in use for a little less than two weeks, beginning in mid August, 1939. The FCC subsequently ruled that all callsign changes for the shortwave stations should become effective on September 1, 1939. However, some stations introduced the new callsign prematurely, and at least a couple were a little tardy in implementing the change. As far as W3XAU was concerned, the change from the initial WCAI to the subsequent WCAB was implemented on August 26, one week before the official date. It is probable that the call WCAI stood for “WCAU International” but there is no known logic for the subsequent call, WCAB. As for the directional antennas, they were already in place. And the power increase to 50 kW? CBS Philadelphia had already applied on several occasions and had been denied. However, there was another factor involved; a new shortwave station for CBS was already under construction at Brentwood on Long Island. Initially, the concept was for WCAB Philadelphia to supplement the new Brentwood facility. However, in view of the power restriction imposed by the FCC upon the Philadelphia transmitter, CBS finally considered it best to close this Pennsylvania station in favor of the new high powered facility under development on Long Island, New York. Programming from the Philadelphia shortwave station was initially a tandem relay from mediumwave WCAU, though separate identification announcements were given over the air. However, when the station became a genuine international broadcaster, much of the scheduling was specifically prepared for the target areas, Europe & Latin America. Programming in foreign languages was taken on relay from the CBS sister shortwave station W2XE in Wayne, New Jersey, and programming in English was often taken live from the CBS national network. This shortwave station was heard quite frequently throughout the Americas, over in Europe, and also in the South Pacific. The first new transmitter at the new CBS shortwave station at Brentwood was officially inaugurated on January 1, 1941, and just one year later, the 10 kW unit in Pennsylvania was finally switched off. This nostalgic event took place at midnight on December 31, 1941. However, that is not the end of the story. You will hear the sequel to this story here in Wavescan next week; and it is just as thrilling as any spy story you can read in any spy story book (Adrian Peterson IN, AWR Wavescan script Jan 10 via DXLD) Spoiler: the Wayne and Brentwood stations soon morphed into VOA transmitters, both called WDSI, which lasted into the 1960s (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. 2366 kHz, ``LSA`` longwave beacon from Lamesa TX again audible on seventh harmonic of 338 kHz, Jan 17 at 1305, the Symban- spoiler. VL8 carriers were barely audible at 1314 on 2310, 2325, 2485, so no chance for Symban here anyway. Altho it`s A2 with continuous carrier and modulated Morse code, as heard on 2366 the LSA keying was negative, as I kept trying to position the BFO to make it positive. So weak that BFO essential to make it audible at all vs noise level. Could not detect it on x 9 = 3042. I have no doubt I am hearing this propagated seventh harmonic but am curious why no one else has reported it. 2366, Lamesa TX NDB on seventh harmonic of 338 kHz, stronger than recently at 1346 Jan 19, so with BFO was able to recopy definite Morse ID as ``LSA`` despite negative keying on A2 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Navy MARS net on 5004.5-USB, intruding into the worldwide exclusive standard frequency band 4995-5005, and indeed first noted as QRM to WWV, Jan 13 at 1501, NCS NNN0ENS opening a net, calling Oklahoma stations, then East Texas, et al., with many check-ins, usually mentioning local temperatures. Group or net callsign/designator frequently mentioned is 6X2B, always with proper military fonetix. I could have copied countless station calls, but a few of them were NNN0AHH, NNN0WKH at 1509; NNN0HZN, NNN0FPA a few minutes later, no reply heard from the last one. After informal comments, at 1520 NNN0ENS started to close the net, and had NNN0AHH echo the closure, until 1521* Google searching on calls: NNN0ENS got two hits including http://www.navymars.org/national/cmi/CMI26-08.TXT showing he is Hal, somewhere in OK. NNN0AHH is revealed as KD5ILA, JACK R CLEAVENGER, JR, BARLING, AR 72923 on his qrz.com listing. Search on 6X2B leads to this neat and complex grid http://www.qsl.net/mddcmars/NEA%20FREQUENCY%20ALLOCATIONS.pdf updated in December 2009. Trouble is, it does not show any frequencies! Just many alfanumerix cryptically designating them like 6X2B, and deals with the Northeast Area, not including OK and AR. But the only two entries for 6X2B are under 1500Z. Getting back to the point, we insist that Navy MARS QSY out of the Standard Frequency band! (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. Hi Glenn, I have been listening to New York Radio (aviation weather) since 0100 on 3485 kHz. Aviation weather given for Newark, NJ, New York Kennedy, Boston, Baltimore and Washington Dulles. Interestingly, at 0115 there was a special weather report and San Juan, PR was mentioned, presumably due to the earthquake in Haiti today (13 January 2010), since mention was made of volcanic ash. 73's (Ed Insinger, NJ, 0129 UT Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ed, What volcanic ash? I have not heard about any eruptions. But I`m too busy preparing World of Radio to follow all the latest news about the quake. Does NY Radio never give San Juan weather ordinarily? (Glenn, 0154 UT Jan 13, ibid.) Glenn, Yes, New York Radio provides weather from San Juan. However, tonight I just happened to notice that all the other weather reports were stateside. Then at 0115, they mentioned San Juan and specific reference to volcanic ash, so I thought about their proximity to Haiti. However, no connection to a volcanic eruption, unless some particulates from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused particulate matter? 73's, (Ed, 0227 UT Jan 13, ibid.) Hi Glenn, A follow-up to my report of New York Radio last evening (13 January), regarding the aviation weather from San Juan. Tonight, 14 January 2010 at 0215 UT on 3485 USB, I once again heard: "Aviation weather, San Juan," mentioning volcanic ash cloud and the co- ordinates, which I could not copy. A check of NOAA NWS web site mentioned this: AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 252 PM AST WED JAN 13 2010 AVIATION...VOLCANIC ASH SHOULD BE DIFFUSE AS IT PASSES TISX ON WEST NORTHWEST COURSE. EXPECT SAME CLOUD TO PASS TIST ARND 13/21Z-14/02Z. I hope this sheds a little light on the logging that I reported yesterday. 73's, (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, Heard on JRC NRD-525 with PAR End-Fed Z EF-SWL antenna, 0258 UT Jan 14, ibid.) Ed, More light: Monday 11th January 2010, Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat Large pyroclastic flows occurred at Soufrière Hills volcano at 2:49 pm on 8th January 2010. The pyroclastic flows were caused by a collapsing tephra column, similar to the events in the summer of 1997. The flows traveled northeast down Whites Bottom Ghaut and reached the sea. The flow which moved down Tuitts Ghaut stopped a few hundred metres from the sea. Pyroclastic flows also traveled northwest down Tyers Ghaut and into the Belham valley. The event lasted 11 minutes and was not preceded by seismic activity. Ashfall occurred on the northwestern side of the volcano. Residents said it was one of the largest eruptions they have witnessed at the volcano, since its reawakening in 1995. At 1:28 am on 10th January there was another explosion at the volcano. The seismic signal lasted 7 minutes. The eruption produced pyroclastic flows which traveled rapidly northeast down White Bottom and Tuitts Ghaut. Flows also moved northwest down Tyers Ghaut and down the Gages valley towards Plymouth. A third smaller explosion occurred at 8:27 pm on 10th January. Scientists don't believe there was a major collapse of the dome, but a significant amount of material was lost. Hazard level 4 remains in place around the volcano, which means there is no access allowed in zone C, and only daytime access to zone B (from http://www.volcanolive.com/news.html via DXLD) This volcano has been active for many years, and Montserrat is quite a distance from Haiti, so I would not assume there was any direct correlation with the earthquake. This was just to explain why NY VOLMET was mentioning it (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. 99.5 FM, WHERE BOARD MEETINGS MAKE THE BROADCASTS SEEM TAME Mitchel Cohen, the WBAI board chairman, foreground, was mocked by a board member: “This from a so-called revolutionary.” [caption] By MICHAEL POWELL, Published: January 15, 2010 Comrades, comrades. WBAI, 50 years old and still innovative in its programming, has suffered management coups and countercoups in the past decade, and assailed some of its own journalists as running dogs. Alex Steinberg, a late-middle-aged self-described revolutionary Socialist in a pullover sweater, attempted to bring to order to the board of WBAI, also known as “free-speech radio.” And even better known as New York City’s last FM outpost of lefty, vegan, hip-hop, poetry-reading and — often but not invariably — conspiracy-minded radio. His efforts did not go terribly well. “You’re a reactionary fraud, Alex!” “Why don’t you resign, you scab?” ... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/16/nyregion/16wbai.html (via Ricky Leong, AB, DXLD) A slightly dysfunxional station ** U S A. KUNM is one of the great public radio stations, at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Tho it carries some NPR programs, there is a lot of local produxion, especially music of many varieties, not much classical. These days, far too many public radio stations amount to little more than NPR/APM/PRI relay sites. Now KUNM has added a 2-week on-demand archive of all programming, which makes it a lot more convenient to hear programs of interest, especially when the live streaming is down as it was Thu Jan 21 at 1504 UT when we wanted to hear the weekly one-hour Call-in, dealing with NM issues. See http://kunm.org/listen/archive/ First, rather like CKUT, you have to know and enter the original start and stop times of the desired show, in MST = UT -7 or in mid-year, MDT = UT -6. I wonder if this is an additional application of an internal logging program instead of large reels of slow-moving tape. This presumably does include national programs, some of which might be difficult to access otherwise ondemand. Here is the date-by-date program schedule: http://kunm.org/programs/programs.php?typ=html Here is access to Zounds, the monthly pdf program guide which is now paperless, including a full-week grid, and highlights by date: http://kunm.org/zounds/ Our KUNM favorites include, besides the Call-in: Public Affairs, rotating mostly locally-produced interviews, etc.: Fridays 1500-1530 Specials, Sundays 1800-1900 Other Voices, Other Sounds, UT Mondays 0400-0600 Global Music, UT Tuesdays 0500-0800 Fresh, Fridays UT 0500-0800 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The station in Walkersville, Maryland, on 700 is on the air as of 3:50 P.M. January 13, 2010. Some of the songs I've heard are, Lucky Lips by Ruth Brown, Rocky Top by The Osborne Brothers, You Can't Hide Your Lying Eyes by the Eagles, and a legal ID at 4:00 P.M. Anyone know what's going on with the station? Thanks, (Tom Dimeo, Jan 13, NRC-AM via DXLD) It's back on to save the license, or as we say in broadcasting, "Keeping the license warm". It went dark in February of 2009 and needed to come back on before the 1 year silent dead line. It went dark in a dispute with local management, so the music is just a placeholder to keep something on the air until they turn it back off or find someone to lease the station (Paul Walker, IL, ibid.) Shall we reveal its callsign? FCC AM Query says Facility 19235 is WDMV, 5 kW daytime only, direxional, with an app for 50 kW: WDMV AM 700 kHz DAD Daytime D B LIC WALKERSVILLE MD US BL-19950921AC 5.0 kW 19235 BIRACH BROADCASTING CORPORATION (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. Many of our favorite local personalities have been pushed out the door over the past decade --- including yours truly last July. Radio started becoming unlistenable at the beginning of the decade; there aren't very many listenable stations now. Ten years ago, we had five stations broadcasting in AM Stereo; now, we have none. "HD Radio" came to St. Louis on AM at KFUO 850 in 2002. We lost six good daytime and sunset channels in 820, 830, 840, 860 and 870. When KMOX 1120 began broadcasting in "HD", we lost seven channels during the daytime: 1090, 1100, 1110, 1130, 1140, 1150 and 1160; at night, we can no longer hear DX on 1110, and KWKH barely makes it through the digital QRM from KMOX at night. When WSDZ 1260 began broadcasting in "HD" in 2004, we lost 1250, 1270 and 1280; the digital QRM drove KYRO 1280 Potosi, MO off the air. I get digital interference to WTAX and KFMO on 1240 during the daytime. KATZ 1600 also tried "HD", but got interference complaints from WBGZ 1570. [I had been hearing IBOC 1590/1610 in Dec and thought it as KATZ. Is this definitely non-IBOC now? --- gh, OK] AM "HD" wastes at least 40 kHz of spectrum, depending on power. KFUO 850, near its transmitter site on the campus of Concordia Seminary, wipes out 100 kHz of spectrum; while KMOX 1120, with its transmitter in Pontoon Beach, IL, wipes out most (if not all) of the AM band near their transmitter site. Also, the Chicago 50 kW stations that broadcast in "HD" are up to 50% weaker than they were when they were analog-only. The FM "HD" stations waste 600 kHz of spectrum, and blocks out nearby adjacent channel stations. Besides the spectral inefficiency of "HD" and all other digital radio systems (even DRM), "HD Radio" was approved without consumer input. "HD Radio" receivers have not sold very well at all. The spectrally efficient C-QUAM AM Stereo system never reduced station coverage, like the engineers at Clear Channel and predecessor Jacor claimed. The AM Stereo count has hovered around 300-400 stations throughout the decade, including several on the expanded AM band. KXEL 1540 was smart enough to add C-QUAM in 2009. As for AM stereophonic broadcasting, the industry should abandon "HD", or IBOC, and return to the C-QUAM standard. The problem has never been with the transmission quality, but with the receivers, especially the lack of DSP in consumer home and mobile receivers. It looks like the Canadians are abandoning AM in smaller markets; I don't think they'll abandon AM in that country's largest markets, like Toronto or Montreal. If there is a future for AM, it should include ending digital operations, allocating a separate digital radio band for corporate interests so companies like CBS and Bonneville can move their interests off AM (and FM), requirements for the hiring of at least 60% local talent for on-air positions, a permanent ban on the practice of "voice tracking", and eliminating the policy of "it's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know", which has long been a barrier to entry for many who want to get into radio. The FCC also should be the final word for format changes, just as the CRTC is the final word for format changes in Canada. What we need is more regulation; regulated environments seem to be more friendly than deregulated ones. 73. (Eric Bueneman (NØUIH), Hazelwood, Missouri 63042-1347, IRCA DX Monitor Jan 16 via DXLD) ** U S A. I'm buzy with my new AM Stereo toy, a Sony SRF-A1 walkman bought from Ebay 890, WLS, Chicago, IL, JAN 15, 2018 EST - Heard Emerson Lake and Palmer "welcome back my friend to the show that never ends, come inside, come inside..." symphonic progressive-rock gem on the right ear and the talkshow host on the left ear! Yes, and with NO platform motion effect, in null of WCBS-880 HD QRM! Excellent, almost local- like! I got today the Sony SRF-A1 walkman from EBay. With the attempt to a terrorist attack, the postal service has been dramatically slow, so I'm happy it finally made here, but not only happy, VERY enthusiastic about it! At first, I was disappointed --- Using the Sanyo MCD-S830 / PK AM loop in order to listen to the regular monaural reception of fringe semi- local WIRY-1340 (in null of the stronger semi-local WMSA in Massena, NY), they were fading in and out and mixing with two other "graveyarders". I was too excited to let this down and tryed anyway to put the passive PK AM loop close to the Sony SRF-A1 and surprise, the kicked in with tune, not perfect, some platform motion, but still (for me!) a beautiful Hi-Fi sound with nice and almost clean stereo separation ! Without the induction-ready PK AM loop, the signal was too weak to trigger the stereo beacon on my Sony SRF-A1 ! I just can't wait for the summer days when everything groundwave is heard with no daytime skywave QRM ! Its hard to tell how it works, has anyone ever used a Sony SRF-A1 successfully for fringe AMS DXing ? This report is brought to you by Bogdan Alexandru Chiochiu, DXing from Pierrefonds (Montreal's West Island), QC using his Sony SRF-A1 walkman, both barefoot and aided by the PK AM loop. Also using the Sangean ACS-818 CST / PK LW loop. Last, but not least, the Grundig G5 ULR is doing a fine job with the PK LW loop on 153-225 kHz as well ! May the good DX be with you ! (Bogdan Chiochiu, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. RECOLORING THE TV SPECTRUM GRAB Per NAB SmartBrief (1/13/10) -- "The FCC is trying to establish a "voluntary marketplace" for reclaiming digital spectrum from broadcast stations to meet an expected shortage in wireless bandwidth, according to an FCC staffer leading the effort. He said a plan to require stations to surrender their spectrum was no longer on the table -- but did not rule out taking such a step in the future." http://tinyurl.com/SpectrumGrabRecolored (CGC Communicator Jan 18 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Below is a link to the FCC website for Public input. It's new and has about 5 comments posted on it. http://reboot.fcc.gov (Dennis Vroom, Salmon Creek, WA, Jan 13, IRCA via DXLD) The FCC is opening a blog to improve "citizen interactions" with the agency. Read about the new service (first URL), then get your feet wet (second URL): http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-295545A1.doc http://reboot.fcc.gov/home (CGC Communicator Jan 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. KEVT La Raza 1210 test Looks like KEVT-1210 will be testing early on Thursday morning with 10 kW non-directional starting at about 12:30 a.m. Pacific time or 1:30 a.m. Mountain Time. [0830 UT]. Programming is mostly Mexican Music but there could be some English IDs. You might pass this on to anyone who might be interested. Paul Lotsoff, Tucson AZ I don't know anymore about this, as Paul just sent the e mail (via Patrick Martin, OR, Jan 12, IRCA via DXLD) Just got word of this. I won't be able to verify anything with the station as I am on the road all day today - without a computer. I will get to Burnt River site tonight to give a listen. I think I had a tentative on this one a few years ago under similar circumstances. If anyone can contact the station and post something, that would be appreciated. Otherwise, I guess folks should just give it a try. (Saul Chernos, Ont, Jan 13, Courtesy Programs Committee, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) Luna from KEVT wrote: "I wanted to let you know that I'll be doing repairs on the transmitter in a couple of nights and I'll be broadcasting at a Full 10 kW on the morning of Fri. Jan. 15 between the hours of 1:00 and 5:00 AM MST [0800-1300 UT] and the "test" audio will be in English and, if I get the disc in time, the "top of the hour station ID" will be in Morse Code. Again, sorry for the short notice; as mentioned before, it's been pretty busy around here." Go for it, good luck (via Patrick Martin, Jan 13, IRCA via DXLD) KEVT is in Sahuarita AZ (axually Tucson), 10 kW day non-direxional, 1 kW night direxional south. So the later info is that it will be Friday morning instead of Thursday morning, but now you know in time to check Thursday just in case (gh, dxldyg via DXLD) I have yet to review the Perseus recording, but after nulling & phasing as best I could 'Coast to Coast' and 'Midnight Radio Network' on 1210 kHz, I found Latin music and stuck with it for awhile. At 0926:30 I heard several K calls, including what I'm pretty sure was KEVT, in English. We'll see if there's any CW at the TOH. You know, after trying hard not to listen to 'Coast to Coast' I'm pretty sure I was 'visited' by an alien while DXing! ;-)) (Bill Whitacre, VA, Jan 15, NRC AM via DXLD) According to Paul, the test ran with sweep tones, but several hours after it was supposed to. I gave up and went to bed (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) Thanks for the info, Patrick. I recorded 1210 from 0255 to 0405 EST or 0055-0205 MST and heard VERY little under always loud WPHT. Just occasional bits and pieces of vocal music, possibly C&W. That's it. Better luck next time. Thanks to Paul Lotsoff for informing us of the test (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, ibid.) With the tip of possible Morse Code ID's near TOH I recorded from :02 minutes to to :05 past from 01:00 to 05:00 MST. At two minutes past 3 AM MST I heard (on two separate radios) what appears to be fast code resembling the word "TEST". Does someone out west and closer (away from potent WPHT, KGYN and IBOC from ?WOAI?) have a clear recording around this time? This occurred during WPHT news clip about year ago crash landing of aircraft in Hudson River. Used a Drake R8A with Quantum loop aimed to diminish WPHT slightly and on a YB400PE setup 30 feet away. There was no hint of any sweeps, staircase waves or EE ID's during those 7 minute periods, just WPHT and KGYN (Tom Jasinski, Shorewood, IL, IRCA via DXLD) Tom, I was listening here in NoVa at about 1-2 am MST/ 3-4 am EST and I heard WPHT Philly for sure, then some Mexican music broken by a man talking but could not get anything out of him. I also heard a "religious station" under all of it with some guy talking about bibles; was that KGYN? Who would the Mexican music be? I did not hear code IDs', but did think I heard some "sweep tones" periodically, similar to what we used to hear years ago when a Michigan station would do their monthly frequency tests, with a what I would call a "warbling tone" up and down. Did anyone hear them for sure? (George in Virginia Santulli, ibid.) That's strange - I checked my recording for the period around 0302 MST (0502 EST), and did not hear any code, but I don't hear any clip from WPHT about the crash landing story either; are you sure about the time? A quick check of other recordings revealed some Spanish talk and Mexican-type music under WPHT at times, but nothing ID'able. If sweeps or code were sent, it sure would be helpful to know when; didn't anybody out west record 1210 overnight? Other than WPHT and mediocre conditions, the major problem here was IBOC noise coming from 1200, probably from WCHB in Michigan. I have a local on 1200, so I couldn't use LSB to reduce the hiss (Barry McLarnon VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) The info came from the CE for the test and I was in contact with Paul Losoff during the period and KEVT did not sign on with the test for hours later. Paul did not say exactly what time. I was at the dials until nearly 0600 EST and I went to bed. The test did happen, but much later (Patrick Martin, OR, ibid.) In an e mail from Paul Lotsoff, the test started 3 1/2 hours late; Sweep tones & morse code were used (Patrick Martin, ibid.) Paul LOTSOF. I know him and have spoken to him by email quite a few times, he owns enarby 6000 Watt "Cave FM" 97.7 KAVV Benson, AZ (which is outside of Sierra Vista) (Paul Walker, IL, ibid.) I let the SDR-IQ run all night and spot checked the recordings this evening. So far it's been a mix of KTBK Auburn WA in Spanish (dominant, semi-local), CFYM Kindersley SK w/oldies, and KHAT Laramie with sportstalk IDing as "ESPN for SE Wyoming" at 1000 & 1100 UT. No sign of Morse code or sweep tones so far (Bruce Portzer, WA, ibid.) Bruce, Before I went to bed, KEVT was not on, all I got is Auburn, Rocklin & presumed Fowler CA (Vietnamese) (Patrick Martin, OR, ibid.) Saturday January 16, 2010, Tom et al, Do you know what KGYN was running at the time of the test? I heard someone talking about a bible. Was that KGYN? I thought they were C&W? Also heard Spanish music loud at times, but no ID's; some male voices between songs (George in Virginia, IRCA, via DXLD) Hi. Guymon has the occasional religious program. I remember because of another 1210 DX test not heard a year or two ago. 73 (Todd, ibid.) Spanish religion on 1210 could be the HCJB-related station in the RGV (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. If you hear talk on 1200 in the future it may not be WOAI! This item from NERW:- It was a long time coming, but it appears those rumors will soon be reality. Last year, WKOX completed its upgrade, changing city of license from Framingham to Newton and powering up to 50,000 watts fulltime from the rebuilt transmitter site in Newton's Oak Hill neighborhood that originally belonged to WUNR (1600 Brookline). And last week, Clear Channel announced that it will soon swap calls between WKOX and sister station WXKS (1430 Everett), ditching the "Rumba" Spanish tropical format now on 1200 in favor of a talk lineup drawn heavily from Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks (via Barry :-) Davies, UK, Jan 19 MWCircle yg via DXLD) ** U S A. 1710, Radio Soleil International, Boston MA (presumed); Pirate. OM YL talk in French and music. Earlier (0400) KB reports good signal with IDs. Sadly I wasn’t recording at the time. W 0700 1202 (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, Scotland, mwcircle yg via DXLD) ** U S A. HELP US FIND A MYSTERY AM SIGNAL Southern California observers suspect that an AM station assigned to 1410 kHz is operating about 1,380 Hz low in frequency. Local Spanish language station KCAL(AM), Redlands, is only about 3 Hz low in frequency, so they are not the culprit. Burt Weiner and Bob Gonsett have both listened to the mystery carrier at their labs in Los Angeles and San Diego counties and report hearing weak signals during daylight hours (no definitive measurements have been made at night). There are no 1410 kHz stations listed in the FCC's database for Arizona, Nevada or Baja California North. Therefore, if the mystery signal is originating in California, it is probably coming from one of these 1410 kHz stations: KERI, Bakersfield KSMA, Lompoc KRML, Carmel KMYC, Marysville You can hear a strong beat tone (about 1,380 Hz) against KCAL (or KERI) in a mobile receiver along Route 14 from about Santa Clarita to Acton. There is some evidence to suggest that the frequency of the offset transmitter is drifting. Good luck in the hunt, and let us know your findings (CGC Communicator Jan 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) MORE ON THE MYSTERY SIGNAL NEAR 1410 KHZ The following story from yesterday's CGC Communicator newsletter has attracted more than the usual amount of attention. The story reads as follows: Southern California observers suspect that an AM station assigned to 1410 kHz is operating about 1,380 Hz low in frequency. Local Spanish language station KCAL(AM), Redlands, is only about 3 Hz low in frequency, so they are not the culprit. Burt Weiner and Bob Gonsett have both listened to the mystery carrier at their labs in Los Angeles and San Diego counties and report hearing weak signals during daylight hours (no definitive measurements have been made at night). There are no 1410 kHz stations listed in the FCC's database for Arizona, Nevada or Baja California North. Therefore, if the mystery signal is originating in California, it is probably coming from one of these 1410 kHz stations: KERI, Bakersfield KSMA, Lompoc KRML, Carmel KMYC, Marysville You can hear a strong beat tone (about 1,380 Hz) against KCAL (or KERI) in a mobile receiver along Route 14 from about Santa Clarita to Acton. There is some evidence to suggest that the frequency of the offset transmitter is drifting. Good luck in the hunt, and let us know your findings. NO FINDS YET -- COULD IT BE KERI? No one has found the mystery signal so far, but some pieces to the puzzle are coming together. Reader Terry says, "Just did a freq measurement of KERI, Bakersfield @ 1:30 AM [on 1/11/10] and found them to be no more than 3 Hz off frequency." Asked if a daytime measurement could be made, Terry replied: "Same TX. It's a Harris Gates One 24 hrs a day. Their RCA standby is out of service." COULD IT BE KSMA? "As the owner of KSMA, 1410 AM in Lompoc, I am curious as to findings of the noise on channel.... I don't believe [we] would be the mystery culprit." "Please keep me posted as to any developments." Shawn Knight, iradio (at) me.com KSMA/KUHL/KRAZ/KSYV Knight Broadcasting Inc. Santa Maria, CA [CGC has suggested that Shawn run a specific test that would hopefully eliminate KSMA from the list of possible suspects. -Ed] MAYBE IT'S A SPUR --- Reader Steven points out that the mystery signal could be a spur from another AM station, an intermod mix, or even a parasitic from some other type of radio service. MORE EARS LISTENING "I've also put word out on the nationwide Frequency Measurement Test group that I'm a part of. Let's see what happens." Burt I. Weiner, biwa (at) att.net (CGC Communicator Jan 12 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ZEROING IN ON THE MYSTERY SIGNAL NEAR 1410 KHZ Very early Tuesday morning, Dennis Gibson wrote to the CGC Communicator with the following clue as to the spurious signal that we've been discussing. Not only was he hearing an audible heterodyne against the 1410 kHz stations, but he said, "I'm hearing an almost identical (in pitch) het on 1390 at the same time as 1410 including during the day in the two cars Monday in Goleta, driving home at 4:30, and after midnight at home in Santa Barbara...." Wow, two heterodynes of almost identical pitch (1,380 Hz according to our earlier measurements) against stations on both 1390 and 1410 kHz. That could mean that a station on 1400 kHz was radiating spurs at 8.62 kHz on either side of its carrier frequency and causing 1.38 kHz (1,380 Hz) heterodynes against its first adjacent channel neighbors. Tom Koza was party to a private e-mail trail on Tuesday morning where all of this was being discussed. He listened on both 1390 and 1410 kHz while driving into work along Route 14. Tom confirmed hearing near identical pitched hets on 1390 and 1410 and also noted that the hets got stronger in areas where the 1400 kHz station was stronger. He was the first person to identify the 1400 kHz station as KKZZ, Santa Paula (a full time 1 kW non-D facility). Tom said, "It's a good bet" that KKZZ is the source of the mystery signals. CONFIRMING THAT KKZZ CAUSED THE SPURS Burt Weiner picks up the story from here. Burt, Tom Koza and Bob Gonsett had been corresponding about the situation Tuesday morning, and Burt brought Chuck Hastings into the loop since Chuck provides engineering services for KKZZ and a number of other stations in that area (Chuck is a very experienced engineer and is also a veteran CGC Communicator subscriber.) Here, then, are Burt's remarks from his letter time stamped 5:45 PM on Tuesday, January 12, 2010: "A few minutes ago Chuck Hastings and I were able to confirm that KKZZ on 1400 is the source of the mystery signal. Chuck turned the KKZZ 1400 kHz transmitter off and back on several times and at my location in Glendale I could hear the mystery signal go off and on accordingly. "Now for a little history: The KKZZ NRSC proof done in 2007 showed two spikes/sidebands at approximately 8.7 kHz on each side of the carrier, which obviously puts the two sidebands approximately 1.3 kHz from the first adjacent neighbors at 1390 and 1410 kHz. Several tests were made at that time and it was determined that the problem was originating in telephone company equipment that is used for the KKZZ STL. The phone company was able to do whatever it is they do and the problem completely disappeared. It now appears that the problem in the phone line has reappeared. Telephone company carrier systems can produce a birdie in the 8 kHz region. "As you have seen in e-mails from earlier today, the issue that was experienced back in 2007 has numbers that add up to what we've been observing [lately]. Chuck also tells me that KKZZ recently had problems with the phone line and that the phone company replaced the line. He's going to call the phone company and get them to come out and resolve the problem." CLOSING THOUGHTS FROM BURT "The first real clue was given by Dennis Gibson, WB6TNB, in Santa Barbara. Dennis noted that he not only heard the signal when tuned to 1410 kHz, but also when tuned to 1390 kHz. Based on that observation, Bob Gonsett suggested that it might be a spurious pair of sidebands coming out of a signal on 1400 and proceeded to list several possible stations one of which was KKZZ in Ventura. "The little wooden wheels in my head started to turn and when the smoke cleared I recalled the telephone line problem at KKZZ back in 2007. Coincidentally, Hal Williams, N6TZ in Camarillo, and Richard Rudman in Santa Paula, had been following the drama. Both took a listen from their respective homes and heard the two sidebands centered around KKZZ. I advised Chuck Hastings about this possibility in an e-mail and Chuck promptly called me and we proceeded to confirmed that it was indeed KKZZ. "This is why it's wise to do NRSC Proofs!" CLOSING THOUGHTS FROM CGC Another mystery solved thanks to alert and cooperative broadcast engineers. There was no need to mount a time-consuming direction finding expedition and the FCC was not asked to get involved. The real hero in this case is Dennis Gibson. It was his clue that turned the tide and concluded the hunt on short order. If you enjoyed reading about this case, you might drop him a note at . Job well done! (CGG Communicator Jan 13 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Good job, Dennis!! I heard that het yesterday here at my QTH, but today it's gone from 1390/1410. They have always had an issue with hets appearing from time to time on their sidebands over the years. KKZZ used to be stereo when they had a different setup (microwave STL) in the early 90's, but when they moved their studio, a mountain became an obstacle, and they had to move to using a phone-line STL. A good streaming stereo IP-based setup wouldn't cost but a few dollars more a month and eliminate any possible problem with the hets, while also adding stereo and data transfer/ remote control functions on one connection - they ought to think about that route, as audio-balanced phone connections are quite pricey for what they can actually deliver compared to IP streams (Darwin Long, Simi Valley, CA, ABDX via DXLD) REPAIRS ARE UNDERWAY AT KKZZ -- SEE CGC #985 Chuck Hastings is continuing to work with Verizon ("telco") to permanently resolve the 9 kHz spurs transmitted by KKZZ(AM). The problem has been traced to a faulty (RF sensitive) telco program line equalizer in the transmitter building, as aggravated by an unbalanced telco line, and further aggravated by a 'compromised' (moisture sensitive) multi-pair telco cable. The 9 kHz problem was temporarily eliminated last Wednesday by turning off the telco equalization switch which of course negatively impacted KKZZ's frequency response. By Thursday, telco provided KKZZ with another line and claimed that the problem was solved, but it was not completely solved. The equalizer is still RF sensitive. So Chuck is holding telco's hands to the fire and insisting that the equalizer be replaced with an RF-immune unit. Following is a copy of a KKZZ RF spectrogram from 2007 showing the 8.7 kHz spurs that were present and fixed at that time (the station was known as KUNX then). Telco did "something" to resolve the problem -- we do not know just what was done. It appears that KUNX passed the Rule 73.44 mask test in 2007 but was wasting considerable power by transmitting the useless spurs -- and that is undoubtedly the reason the station wanted the problem fixed muy pronto. This time around, KKZZ wants the problem solved once and for all. http://earthsignals.com/add_CGC/Images/KKZZ_sgraph.jpg THANK YOU Thanks for the nice write up [in CGC #985 concerning my clue as to the station causing the 1410 kHz heterodyne]. As background information, I'm not an engineer of any kind, just a DXer who was curious about why this was happening. Dennis Gibson, wb6tnb (at) cox.net January 12, 2010 (CGC Communicator Jan 18 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. KSLG 1380 Caught Simulcasting KTXR 101.3 Around 0555 UT on January 13, I noted a mix of adult contemporary music and jazz on KSLG 1380 St. Louis, MO. Normally, Fox Sports Radio runs in this time slot on KSLG. I listened to this attentively; when it came time to ID around 0600 UT, I got this slogan: "Timeless Love Songs, 101.3 KTXR". The station is located in Springfield, MO. As a former broadcaster, the first thing I thought was: "What could be going on here?" The first thing I noted was that KSLG and KTXR have separate ownership. KSLG is owned by Simmons Communications of Salt Lake City, while KTXR is owned by Meyer Communications of Springfield. I also heard Springfield ads, a promo for a Christian program that aired on Sunday mornings, and even a CBS News Update. That, I thought, would raise the ire of the local CBS owned-and- operated station in St. Louis, KMOX 1120. KSLG carries the basketball games of Missouri State University in the St. Louis market; KTXR is the flagship station for Missouri State University's major sports programming. They were back to local programming when I rechecked around 1245 UT. Just after 1700, I got off an E-mail to John Tudenham in Joplin, MO, informing him of the situation that happened the previous night. He forwarded my note to Jamie Turner, an on-air personality at KTXR. He said that he would inform his superiors. John got a reply from Jamie's uncle, Jeff Boggs, who also works for Meyer Communications. He noted that KSLG is totally automated when it's not running local programming, and probably did not receive a sub-audible tone from KTXR to force the on-air automation at KSLG to return to Fox Sports Radio, whose programming continued on WESL 1490 East St. Louis, IL. This should come as a lesson to those in radio; someone has to be on the premises 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even if you have to pay that person minimum wage. 73 and Good DX from (Eric Bueneman, Amateur Radio Station NØUIH, Registered Monitor KDXØSTL, KMOØCN, Hazelwood, MO, Grid Square EM48ts, Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Mystery on 1640 kHz --- Last night I noted a repeated CW message on 1640 along with a recorded loop audio message in English. I'm still trying to decipher my recording but would appreciate help with the attached CW. Many thanks (Steve Whitt, UK, Jan 19, MWCircle yg via DXLD) DE WTNI AM BILOXI (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, ibid.) Hello Steve, You heard the following (not complete): "DE WTNI AM BILOKI MS " Nice ID! 73! (Ruud Voss, Netherlands, ibid.) The CW message reads: DE WTNI AM BILOXI MS USA Hope this helps :-) Were they running a DX test? -- vy 73 + gd DX, ENDBH & NANDBH editor http://ndbchangeblog.blogspot.com (Michael Oexner, Roschbach, Germany, ibid.) At last I caught a verbal ID! (WTNI). The station website is still up. And is up to date in that it has links to donate to Haiti. However the live webstream is not working and the program schedule is missing. I think the special transmission last night will be for one night only. As far as I can make out from the audio message something is happening at "4pm central standard time on Tuesday January 19th" - i.e in about 1 hr 40 minutes hours time from now. 73 (Steve Whitt, ibid.) I'm having difficulty transcribing the audio loop because of Radio Disney co-channel. Message includes an address, refers to 1000 watts of power and a date & a time. I think this may indicate a forthcoming change in programming. 73 (Steve Whitt, ibid.) I think the announcement mentions 10,000 watts. There was a time when WTNI was strong every night here and I suspect that at that time they were being naughty and using 10 kW night time (Paul Crankshaw, ibid.) ** URUGUAY. Emisora Chaná, Tacuarembó. En estos momentos (0110 UT del 14.01.09) paseando por los 5790.73 kHz. Hace tres minutos había trepado más allá de los 5793 pero volvió a bajar. Si se desea un audio regular hay que mover la perilla del dial hacia donde la emisora quiera pasear (Rubén G. Margenet, Argentina, condiglist yg via DXLD) El paseo de Chaná --- Yo también la escuché desde Cuchilla Alta más o menos a la misma hora y hasta bastante tarde, y noté la misma deriva. Resulta bastante pintoresca no solo por eso sino también por la publicidad tan local :-) Recibida con señal regular tanto con Degen DE-1103 como con Tecsun PL- 380, ambas con sus antenas telescópicas (mejor con la Degen), con algunos picos de intensidad. La verdad que si son 30 W no se le puede pedir más (Moisés Knochen, ibid.) 5794.1; 5795.9; 5796.3; 5796.5; 5797.1, Emisora Chaná, Tacuarembó, 0115-0140, January 11, Spanish. Different songs: romantic, tangos, zambas. Many local ads: “….Centro Estético….”; “Semanario…..al servicio de Tacuarembó”; Provisión El Altillo, Herrería Cheché, Transporte Nahuel; Celulares 18; Taller Manzanito; Pilo Pelo, Taller 19, Diario El Avisador. ID as: “Emisora Chaná, Ciudad de Tacuarembó”, 35332 (Arnaldo Slaen, DX Camp Chascomus, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5765, 2357 16/01/10 R. Chaná Taquerembo Uruguai Prog. com loc. fem. seguida de mxs e diversas propagandas 24332. elc. 5776, 0901 17/01/10 R Chaná Taquerembó Uruguai Prog. com mx em espanhol com instrumentos acompanhada de coral e instrumentos, propagandas variando a frequencia 24332. elc Att (Eduardo L. Castaldelli, Mairiporã- SP- Brasil, Grid Locator: GG66qq, http://www.radiodx.qsl.br radioescutas yg via DXLD) Siendo las 2330 UT, R. Chaná se escucha con señal regular a buena en 5754v kHz. Cada vez más abajo... de seguir así, terminan transmitiendo en onda media!! Ojalá reciban pronto el famoso cristal. Aunque después ya no sería tan divertido (Moisés Knochen, Cuchilla Alta, Uruguay, Degen DE-1103, randomwire 15 m, 2340 UT Jan 17, ibid.) Moises: Por acá ya anda en los 5752.12 con la mejor señal que he podido obtener hasta ahora... Las mismas voces -femenina y masculina- siguen difundiendo abundante publicidad. De golpe subió a 5753.56 como si le hubieran dado un palazo, justo se identificó: 2343 UT "Emisora Chaná, ciudad de Tacuarembó". En USB llega con señal S=3 (TRES). Me encanta el aviso para perros "Pelo- Pelo". .. Ha durado bastante en 5754.17 Khz, ahí lo dejé y con el uuuuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu del vaivén de la señal se hace cada vez más particular esta vedette de los 49 metros. Saludos (Rubén G. Margenet, 2348 UT Jan 17, ibid.) Por la terriblemente calurosa Buenos Aires está llegando por 5754.6 (y sigue bajando de QRG) con una tanda de avisos comerciales de Tacuarembó leídos por YL, algún anuncio y SINPO 34422 (hay que diferenciar entre el QSB y el corrimiento de QRG) (Arnaldo Slaen, 2351 UT Jan 17, ibid.) Ahora se fue a los 5754.87 con QSA 4. Ahora con chamamé. Llega mejor acá que en Chascomús!!!!! Por favor Rubén --- no me hablés de perros (Arnaldo Slaen, 2351 UT Jan 17, ibid.) Bom dia! À pedido do Dexista Sergio Partamian, estou postando nas listas informações sobre a escuta da Radio Chanã. O Sergio ouviu a emissora em data de 15/01/2010 e pediu para informar:- 5757 0611 15/01/10 R. Chanã Taquarembó Uruguai Prog. com locução feminina, com sequencial de musicas, propagandas, id da radio. Escuta feita das 0611 as 0635 utc com arquivo de áudio. Obs: O Sergio, informa que esta emissora está variando a frequencia, e que durante a escuta, foi preciso acompanha-la para não perder o sinal. Ontem pude ouvi-la em duas oportunidades, contudo já em outra frequencia com fortes variações conforme segue: 5765, 2357 16/01/10, R. Chanã Taquerembo Uruguai Prog. com loc. fem. seguida de mxs e diversas propagandas. Durante a escuta a frequencia variou da seguinte forma: 5763, as 0009 utc com id da radio 5763.2, 5762.3, as 0013 5762.8, as 0016 5763.0, as 0017, abaixo neste momento, era claro sinais de radiocomunicaçã o abaixo do sinal da emissora, que logo parou 5761.9, as 0017 chegando o som da mx 5763.5, as 0020 com mx 5764.5, as 0021 com mx 5763.2, as 022 Hoje pela manhã em 5776 as 0901 de 17/01/10 Prog. com mx em espanhol com instrumentos acompanhada de coral e instrumentos, em seguida da mesma forma variando a frequencia conforme segue: 5774.4, as 0907 com mx 5778, as 0910 com mx 5777.7, as 0914 com mx 5776.5, as 0930 com mx Todos os horários são UTC. Att, (Eduardo L. Castaldelli, Mairiporã- SP- Brasil, Grid Locator: GG66qq http://www.radiodx.qsl.br Jan 17 radioescutas yg via DXLD) 5785v, Emissora Chaná, Tacuarembó. January 20, 0147-0209 female ID “Emissora Chaná, Uruguay”, female ads announcements on music, 0154 local music selections, 0204 return of female ads announcements on music. 35533, 73's (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** URUGUAY. 6045, R. Sarandí, Montevideo. January 16, 0733-0743 male outside “movimiento agrario”, mentions of “Montevideo, Uruguay” returning studio talks. QRM presumed from KBS, some saturated audio 32432. 73's (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VANUATU. 3945, R. Vanuatu, Port Vila. January 15, 0838-0850 male talks in unidentified language. 25232 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. Re 10-02, SSB discussion, about 4005? Yes, they are both referring to 4005 which I use to receive as Roberto Scaglione indicates, and like Madagascar does, though not all the time, on 5010, i.e. usb+reduced carrier. However, is the average listener able to adequately take advantage of this? (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Jan 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11850, VR in Hindi audible with mass, Jan 13 after 1430, but WYFR dumped off 11855 removing its adjacent-channel QRM, so VR in the clear at 1439 by which time it had shifted to S Asian music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN CITY. Frequency change of Vatican Radio in Italian: 1300-1330 NF 5965 SMG 100 kW / 310 deg, ex 11740 // 7250, 9645, 15595, 21680 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. CONATEL REINICIÓ MEDIDAS DE CIERRE A EMISORAS DE RADIO Tropical 88.5 FM de Miranda y Ríos 95.3 FM de Barinas salieron del aire El cierre de emisoras de radio sigue en 2010. En lo que va de año, la Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Conatel), ha dejado fuera del aire a dos estaciones en Frecuencia Modulada (FM), que se suman a las 32 clausuradas en julio de 2009. La primera emisora que interrumpió sus transmisiones este año fue Tropical 88.5 FM, que se escuchaba en los Altos Mirandinos. Según un comunicado de Conatel, la emisora estaba funcionando sin contar con la debida habilitación administrativa, por lo que se le abrió un procedimiento administrativo sancionatorio. No obstante, en vez de esperarse los resultados del referido procedimiento, se acordó la aplicación de una medida cautelar con carácter provisional, de suspensión de las actividades y la incautación de sus equipos. La salida del aire de la emisora se produjo el viernes 8 de enero, cuando una comisión de Conatel se apersonó en la sede de la estación, ubicada en San Antonio de los Altos, para aplicar la medida. Tropical 88.5 FM tenía apenas un mes en funcionamiento, y constituye la tercera emisora que ha sido sacada del aire en los Altos Mirandinos por resolución del Gobierno. Las otras fueron Máxima 98.5 FM y Metropolitana 97.1 FM. El caso más reciente de cierre de una emisora se produjo el martes pasado, cuando representantes del ente rector en materia de telecomunicaciones se presentaron en la sede de la estación Ríos 95.3 FM, ubicada en Ciudad Bolivia, municipio Pedraza del estado Barinas, para notificar la apertura de un procedimiento administrativo sancionatorio en su contra. Al igual que en el caso anterior, se procedió a la incautación de los equipos y, por consiguiente, al cese de las transmisiones. Según Conatel, esta emisora tampoco contaba con la debida habilitación administrativa y concesión para operar. No obstante, de acuerdo al periódico regional De Frente, un grupo de dirigentes del Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) se habían quejado ante Conatel de los conceptos emitidos en su contra, por el director de la emisora, Hender Ovalles, durante la transmisión de su programa Buenos Días, Pedraza. La Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones indicó que "para resguardar el derecho a la defensa y al debido proceso", se les otorgó a las dos emisoras 15 días hábiles para exponer sus alegatos y cinco días para oponerse a las medidas acordadas. -- Reyes Theis. EL UNIVERSAL Fuente: http://politica.eluniversal.com/2010/01/16/pol_art_conatel-reinicio-med_1726218.shtml (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. ``Aló, Presidente`` finally nominal Sunday Jan 17 at 1715 check via CUBA: on all five scheduled frequencies, arranged here from strongest to weakest: 13750, 12010, 17750, 11690, 13680. El Hugazo pontificating. Meanwhile RHC itself with music on 11760, et al. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. VOV-1 confirmed that extended broadcast at 1900 UT on Jan. 13 on 7435 and 9635 for Gulf of Tonkin. Probably it seems that 24 hours service. First noted on Jan. 3 at 1935 on 7435 kHz. Other frequency on 5975 at 1700*, 9530 and 11720 unknown (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, Jan 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. CLANDESTINE, 1550, Polisario Front, Rabouni, ALGERIA, *1659-, 17 Jan'10, tone signal, "national anthem", ID and immediately into prayer as usual; 44444, adjacent QRM de 1548 for a little while, improving fast; \\ 6297 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YEMEN. YEMEN TO LAUNCH MORE STATIONS, INCREASE PROVINCIAL REACH | Text of report by state-run Yemeni news agency Saba website Information Minister Hassan al-Lawzi inaugurated work in Wednesday in ten radio stations within the second phase of project to strengthen and expand the public radio coverage area. The project, which costs Euro 2.2 million, consists of ten radio stations within the (FM) band; capacity of each station is 5 kilowatts and equipped with broadcasting antennas and its accessories in provinces of Dhamar, Marib, Taiz, Dalei and Amran. The project's engineers gave al-Lawzi a detailed explanation on the project's components and the area relied on to cover the radio broadcasting with FM system throughout the country. Al-Lawzi pointed out that inauguration of these ten radio station is one of the most important achievements of the third five-year plan to reach an inclusive national coverage and present good public information services to the citizens. The coming months would witness opening radio stations with mid- capacity of 600 kilowatts and 50 kilowatts to strengthen the broadcasting programs in the public radio station and the local stations in a number of provinces and Soctora Island, al-Lawzi added. Source: Saba news agency website, Sanaa, in English 13 Jan 10 (via BBCM via DXLD) Soctora? I guess they mean Socotra, or more Araby-spelt, Suqutra, the island off the NE tip of the Horn of Africa/Somalia, about which we have not heard much since it was part of Aden. Altho the report is supposedly about FM, the last graf mentioning 600 kW likely refers to mediumwave, already the rated power of Sana`a 1008v kHz in WRTH 2010, so this implies there will be others? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. AFRICA ONE RADIO via CVC, Lusaka, 9430 at 0511 Jan 14. WOW, this was a "Boomer". I actually did paper work while listening. The banter between the announcers, the music and the "fun" made me forget this is a religous broadcaster --- I must admit I enjoyed it. SIO 544 (Rob Kivell - WDX5FAA - NW FL, R-75 & MLBA-MK1, NASWA yg via DXLD) That`s 1Africa, not to be confused with Africa 1, Gabon (gh) ** ZANZIBAR. 6015, 17/Jan 0333, TANZANIA, V of Tanzania Zanzibar, em Swahili. Música instrumental, às 0335 UT OM e YL se alternam na fala. Moderada a forte QRM não identificada, sinal moderado. 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 19 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. 4828, Voice of Zimbabwe, Gweru. January 15, 2134-2212 male talks in don’t identified language, 2147 African music, 2151 female in English talks “every friday”, then male “political”, alternating short music, 2204 female in English talks “today”, African music. Het, enhancement along this listening, 22322 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Music on 1710 --- 1:15 Central time. Location, West Houston - possibly a pirate. Rough bearing - E/W (Bruce Carter, Jan 16, ABDX via DXLD) Just wondering if this might be some type of special setup broadcasting to the Haitian immigrants of Houston? (Steven Wiseblood, Boca Chica Beach, TEXAS, ibid.) No - I doubt they would be playing music. It is still there. At first I thought it might be some sort of mixing product from a neighbor's radio, but 455 kHz below, there is no such station. Also - Haitian radio would probably be French or English - this is Spanish (Bruce Carter, Jan 19, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 1710 kHz, 1211, 17-Jan; At least two stations there; one is English Gospel, so not likely the Haitians or the Jews -- something new. Poor (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re RUSSIAN Programming on 1710 --- Yes, the Russian- language station on 1710 is indeed still on the air. My son works in Everett and checked it out when he got in the car and was getting a very loud signal. When I tracked it down six months or so ago, as I recall, the transmitter was 10+ miles south of Everett. Perhaps they moved it or put up a second transmitter. The P O box for it is in Mount Vernon. At the time of previous research, someone said it couldn't be heard there. I did write them a letter inquiring about the facility but didn't hear back (Pete Taylor, Tacoma, WA, 12225w 4719n, Jan 18, IRCA via DXLD) Pete, I am not surprised you did not hear from them. They may realize that the transmitter(s) are running more than legal power. I heard one of the MA French pirates on 1710. I got an e mail from the manager, to send the CD, but no reply from that and none after that first e mail. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 4850, RE: DXLD 10-01. Walt Salmaniw’s comments have proved to be correct! The carrier being heard is unrelated to AIR Kohima. Jan 12 at 1446 + 1524 and Jan 13 at 0147 + 0239 heard the same strong open carrier, but noted on 4850.90-.95v (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4895, 1835-1855*, 17 Jan'10, Central Asian like language, talks, pops; 34332. This is almost certainly the result of an external mixing spur. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. It`s always a tough decision over what to monitor at 1400, but Jan 13 it was back to 6074 to see if I could detect 8GAL`s V/CQ marker on CW. Russia 6075 carrier still on and motorboating worse than usual, and could barely make out 8GAL already in progress, just barely audible. By the time it finished, Pet/Kam had gone off leaving a much weaker carrier from something else (Glenn Hasuer, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6140.0, 2-way Spanish SSB intruders Jan 20 at 1348; 1351 discussing camionetas which means station wagons or more likely pick- up trux. One of them had a lot of background noise. No broadcaster to be blocked at the moment (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ### UNIDENTIFIED. 6927, as I tuned by Jan 19 at 1519 heard some distorted music on SSB, no doubt a pirate, but before I could be certain of the frequency it was gone (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Jan 13 around 1520 noted a station in unID language on 7194.98 with talks and phone-ins. Local noise here, but the music had an African flavor. Transmitter was dropping off at times for long periods and the modulation was weakish. They had news in English at 1703 and transmitter went off again at 1712. Possibly Uganda that Martien Groot has been monitoring on this split. No sign of them on 4976 at this time (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7195 kHz aus Afrika? vorhin durchkaemmte ich wieder mal das nun "freie" 41-m Band zw. 7100 und 7200 kHz. Alle ueblichen Verdaechtigen mit O=4 (7200, 7175, 7165 und 7110). Auf 7195 kHz war mit O=2-3 um 1520z eine Station in einer dem arabischen aehnlichen Sprache zu hoeren. Als ich wieder auf die 7195 ging, gegen 1533z war eindeutig Afropop zu hoeren. Um 1535z spricht ein Mann in franzoesisch mit starkem Akzent durchsetzt mit einer anderen Sprache. 1536z Telefongespraech das Wort "Ja" auf franzoesisch faellt mehrmals. Ab 1539z nur noch der Traeger. Um 1539'30z wird der Sender abgeschaltet! Wer oder was koennte das gewesen sein? Kann morgen zur selben Zeit wieder reinhoeren (Hans Pammer, Austria, Jan 13, A-DX via BCDX Jan 16 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. UNKNOWNISTAN: 8930, 1838, 16-Jan; Spur blob (splurb?); 2 signals; one sounds like a huxter. Poor, in/out (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. 9525, 1800 4 Dec, site? R. Ekho Kavkaza, tentative, OM talk, *1800-1900* in Georgian, SINPOI 15431 (Michael L Ford, Staffordshire, Jan World DX Club Contact via DXLD) RFE/RL, Lampertheim, Germany, 100 kW, 92 degrees in Russian since Nov 2 (Aoki via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 10107, 2-way SSB in Spanish a surprise on this CW-only hamband, Jan 19 at 1527. Probably the usual narco/poacher intruders rather than Mexican hams (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11845, fast pulsing until 1529* Jan 16, covering only 11840-11850. Maybe OTH radar. No broadcaster on 11845 to be victimized; and doubt it was residual Cuban jamming, since R. Martí has been off 11845 since the end of A-09, which should be long enough for the DCJC to realize they can let up too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. UNKNOWNISTAN: 15800, 1347-1402:02*, 17-Jan; Only played series of Abba tunes; no announcements. SIO=344, weak trill QRM (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. TTFD + 500 ft. NE-SWish unterminated bev, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IBB Greenville test? UNIDENTIFIED. 17630, fairly strong open carrier Jan 19 at 1446-1447:30 and noticed back on before 1452. Would like to think it`s Africa Numéro Un, Gabon, reactivating its long-missing second transmitter, and propagation was possible from there, but pretty steady and I fear it`s only another IBB Greenville warmup on an otherwise unused frequency. In between, could hear weak CRI Mali, so if ANO does reactivate, they should really come back on a clear frequency! And that goes for 15475 too vs Antarctica (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Finally a bit of winter sporadic E reaching channel 2 analog: 2317 UT Jan 14, commercial slides reading INFORMATION and then DIRECT BUY, therefore English and in all probability Canadian. 2323 another brief fadein, looks like a cooking demonstration, maybe Rachael Ray show. Checked online skeds and does not match for Thunder Bay or Regina, two of our most likely skippers (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 55250 kHz plus or minus 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ EARLY SHORTWAVE QSL CARDS It was back in the mid 1920s that shortwave radio broadcasting stations located in several different countries began to appear on the radio dial. Back in that era, these stations were quite experimental, and in many cases the programming was taken on relay from the parent mediumwave station. In other cases, special programming was produced for the benefit of listeners in distant countries. Way back then, when the extent of the coverage area was largely unknown, the operators of these shortwave stations encouraged listeners to send in reception reports, for which a QSL card would be issued. You can imagine just how pleased the staff at a shortwave station was to receive a flow of mail from distant listeners, and you can imagine even more so, how pleased the listener was to receive a QSL card in acknowledgement of his reception report. The earliest shortwave QSL cards in the Indianapolis Collection date back to the year 1928 and they are from shortwave broadcasting stations in Australia, not the United States. Our very oldest shortwave QSL card verifies a reception report dated December 15, in that year, 1928. This card was issued by the New South Wales Broadcasting Company Limited who owned and operated mediumwave stations 2FC & 2BL at the time, even before the formation of the ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Commission. This 81 year old shortwave QSL card states quite clearly in the pre- printed text that 2FC can be heard on shortwave at intervals, on 28.5 metres, which corresponds to 10525 kHz. It was issued to a listener living in Auckland, New Zealand, and the postage stamp is missing. Apparently it was removed and placed into a Stamp Album. Another card from Australia, dated in the following year 1929, verifies the reception of the Melbourne shortwave station 3LO. This card shows the very large shortwave transmitter which was located at Braybrook and installed behind a wire cage for safety. Our earliest QSL card from the well known Australian shortwave station in that era, VK2ME, is dated in 1930. This card is not the more familiar card showing the map of Australia in yellow with the Kookaburra superimposed. Instead, this card is printed in red and black and it shows a map of the Pacific Rim. A careful examination of the VK2ME QSL cards showing the yellow map and Kookaburra, reveals that there were at least seven different printings of this particular design. Our earliest QSL card from an American shortwave station is dated in 1930, and it was issued by W9XAA in Chicago, at the time when the transmitter was located on the Navy Pier on the edge of Lake Michigan. This 79 year old card does show its age; the ink has faded and the card is torn. Other early American cards verify the reception of, for example:- 1930 W9XQ, also in Chicago 1934 The famous KDKA shortwave outlet W8XK in Pittsburgh 1934 W1XAZ in Boston 1934 W3XAU in Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1935 And the Schenectady twins, W2XAD & W2XAF. Our earliest QSL card from a shortwave broadcasting station in New Zealand is dated in 1931. This card was from station ZL3CW, in the city of Greymouth, which was on the air with a program relay from the mediumwave station 3ZR. During this era, there were half a dozen shortwave relay stations in New Zealand, all on the air with very low power. Interestingly, back in the year 1931, the BBC in England was issuing QSL cards verifying their broadcasts from the shortwave station G5SW. At the time, experimental shortwave transmitter G5SW was owned and operated by the Marconi Company in Chelmsford England and it was on loan to the BBC for a relay from the famous London station 2LO. Our earliest Canadian shortwave card is also dated in 1931 and it was issued by station VE9GW which was located at Bowmanville in Ontario. This was in the era when the station was owned by the commercial company Gooderham & Worts, before it was taken over by the Canadian Radio Commission, the fore-runner to CBC Canada. Other very early QSL cards during this long-ago era, are from:- 1935 HJ4ABE Colombia 1935 PMA & PLK Island of Java 1935 EAQ Spain 1935 HAS & HAT Hungary 1936 VPD Fiji 1936 TFJ Iceland (Adrian Peterson IN, AWR Wavescan script Jan 10 via DXLD) TINY TRAP +++++++++ Early in its quake coverage, some airheadess on CNN referred to Haiti as a `tiny country` (or was it ``tiny island?``), and in the same breath mentioned its population of millions (gh) On Colbert Report UT Jan 15, Secretary of HHS Kathleen Sebelius referred in passing to Haiti being in the southern hemisphere! If that`s where it is, we must be too. But how come I can see Polaris? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ CURRENT WORLD TIME MAP Duvidas com Fusoráio [sic]? Eu tenho uma idéia! Em caso de duvidas com conversão em UT, eis aqui uma página que te quebra teu galho: http://24timezones.com/map_pt.htm (Glauber Gleidson Peres, Rua dos Jasmins 126 Vale das Acácias, Pindamonhangaba São paulo 12440.290 (12)3637-5922, dxclcubepr yg via DXLD) Hover to find out current time in many spots. Seems quite accurate to the second, as I checked out a few places which might be confused by DST. Also has some other displays and you can switch to English or other languages if really necessary (gh, DXLD) MUSEA +++++ WELCOME TO THE MUSEUM OF RADIO & TECHNOLOGY in Huntington, West Virginia. This is quite a place: http://tinyurl.com/DandyMuseum http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~postr/MRT/index.htm (CGC Communicator Jan 18 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ NUMBERS STATION BINGO Hey check this out! Play bingo with Numbers Stations!!!!! http://kevan.org/bingo.php Cheers, (Mark Fahey, ARDXC via DXLD) ROTATABLE ANTENNA VIEWS UAE --- Did you see the new Thalès AHR rotatable antenna at Al Dhabbaya? Same type like new at Sines-POR, new at Radio Kuwait, new at TRT Cakirlar and Emirler. And soon at refurbished Radio PAK Karachi site. G.E. 24 11 17.22 N 54 14 54.26 E see page 3, photo on left column, and page 4 on right column on sheet The newly developed Rigid Dipole Technology combines design principles as implemented in rotatable shortwave antennas with the advantages of curtain antennas. Additionally, the Thomson Rotatable Curtain Antenna system is the most flexible available, covering a 360-degree angle. It has all the highlights of the rigid dipole antenna and in addition offers all frequency bands of the shortwave broadcasting range, electric control logic, smooth starting and breaking, high rotation speed of 1 degree per second, high positioning accuracy of less than 1 degree, and monitoring and remote control. And on the right side of Al Dhabbaya the two new MW masts (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 9, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 16 via DXLD) ITU RECOMMENDATION TO CONTROL VOLUME VARIATIONS IN TV PROGRAMMING A new ITU standard on audio levels for broadcast television is on the table aimed at putting an end to annoying variations in sound volume between programmes and advertising breaks. Many viewers are irritated when changing channels or cutting to a commercial break leads to a significant variation in the audio levels accompanying the picture. Viewers generally adjust the sound to their liking when they settle down to watch their programme, only to find that changing channels or interrupting the programme for an advertising break requires them to adjust the volume control all over again. ITU’s proposed new measuring technique will bring more uniformity to loudness in international programme exchange and make television viewing more pleasurable. Loudness variation has become more noticeable with the advent of digital broadcasting because of higher sound quality, so this development is expected to be eagerly received by industry and viewers alike. Viewers often erroneously blame differences in loudness on careless sound technicians or deliberate policies on the part of broadcasters and advertisers. In fact, there are a number of technical reasons for differences in ‘loudness’ which are not currently easily controlled at the broadcast studio. When sound is measured on a technician’s VU meter, the equipment registers the strength of the electrical sound signal, which is not itself a direct measure of how loud the TV sound will be to viewers. Volume is also affected by other things such as the range (or degree of compression) of the sound. To rectify the problem, broadcasters need a monitor or meter which displays ‘loudness’ (rather than electrical signal strength), and an agreement on a standard setting level for loudness, so that sound technicians everywhere can make the same adjustment. The draft new ITU-R Recommendation suggests how sound levels should be measured and set in international programme exchange to maintain more constant volume for viewers. At its meeting in November 2009, Study Group 6 of ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) agreed a draft new Recommendation for the standard audio setting in an internationally exchanged TV programme. This setting is termed the ‘target loudness’, and the new Recommendation establishes a numerical value. Entitled ‘Operational practices for Loudness in the International Exchange of Digital Television programmes’, the draft Recommendation will now be submitted to national telecommunications administrations for approval. The new standard complements existing Recommendation ITU-R BS.1770, which describes features of the ‘loudness meter’ that should be used by broadcasters to measure loudness. Work is underway to enhance BS.1770 with ‘gating functions’ in order to eliminate periods of silence or low-level signals that do not appreciably contribute to the perceived loudness of a programme, and this should be advanced at the next meeting of ITU-R Study Group 6 in April 2010. (Source: ITU) (January 18th, 2010 - 13:39 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) 2 Comments on “ITU recommendation to control volume variations in TV programming” 1. #1 Mark on Jan 18th, 2010 at 21:21 I have noticed a somewhat similar problem on radio channels with classical music. Usually the announcers’ loudness will be as high as the fortissimo from the music. This is a problem because of the high dynamic range of the music. Listeners feel the need to reduce the volume when the announcer or newscaster starts talking, and then increase it again when the music starts. I wonder if this is also due to technical reasons beyond the control of the sound technicians. 2. #2 Kai Ludwig on Jan 18th, 2010 at 23:55 This is the inavoidable result of running speech and classical music at the same audio level. As a rule of thumb the levels should be set to 0 dBr for classical music and -8 dBr for talk. It is the other way round for pop music, here the rule of thumb is to run the talk at full 0 dBr and the music at -6 dBr. Roughly speaking: This is what the faders on a studio console are for, and it is up to the console operator to balance the loudness of each program element against each other. Of course here lies a problem when this operator is an announcer without audio engineering background. A possible solution would be to set up the console accordingly, i.e. when the mic fader is at “0? it in reality is at -8 dB. More experienced operators still have the fader’s headroom above 0 dB at their disposal for adjusting the levels (which can be properly done only by listening, the mentioned rules of thumb are really just this, given as a good starting point). The problem discussed here is of course already subject of research by broadcasting organizations. The German IRT published various papers about this topic (MN blog comments via DXLD) EE.UU: SISTEMA LORAN DE NAVEGACIÓN PARA MARINEROS LLEGA A SU FIN 17 de Enero de 2010, 04:35pm ET ---PORTLAND, Maine, EE.UU. (AP) - El sistema de navegación por radio que durante décadas fue el favorito de los marineros en aguas estadounidenses ha quedado en desuso. Al surgir en los últimos años el sistema de posicionamiento global (GPS, por sus siglas en inglés) de bajo costo, el sistema LORAN-C se ha vuelto obsoleto y ya no se necesita para la seguridad en la navegación, informó el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional. A pesar de las protestas de algunos senadores estadounidenses y otras personas que dicen que el sistema LORAN debería mantenerse como respaldo para los sistemas GPS, se tiene previsto apagar la mayoría de las torres de transmisión del LORAN para el 8 de febrero y el resto para el 1 de octubre. . . Fuente: http://www.univision.com/contentroot/wirefeeds/usa/8122778.shtml más... LORAN (del inglés LOng RAnge Navigation, navegación de largo alcance) es un sistema de ayuda a la navegación electrónico hiperbólico que utiliza el intervalo transcurrido entre la recepción de señales de radio transmitidas desde tres o más transmisores para determinar la posición del receptor. La versión más moderna es LORAN-C que funciona en frecuencias del espectro electromagnético entre 90 y 100 Khz. El sistema LORAN es utilizado en muchos países, entre ellos los Estados Unidos de América, Japón y varios países europeos. Rusia utiliza un sistema casi idéntico llamado CHAYKA, que usa la misma banda de frecuencias. El uso de LORAN está decayendo rápidamente siendo reeplazado por GPS. Sin embargo, se está estudiando la posibilidad de mejorar y volver a popularizar el LORAN...Wikipedia (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/LORAN) eLORAN in Operation --- eLORAN operational diagram http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/the-return-of-loran-eloran-101/ (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) = enhanced LORAN. English original: PLUG BEING PULLED ON DECADES-OLD NAVIGATION SYSTEM Published - Jan 17 2010 02:05PM EST By CLARKE CANFIELD - Associated Press Writer In this photo made Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010, a GPS unit on a lobster boat displays Loran coordinates, in Portland, Maine. The Loran-C radio navigation system, that for decades had been the preferred choice for millions of mariners, has become obsolete and is being shut down. PORTLAND, Maine — The plug is being pulled on a radio navigational system that for decades was the preferred choice of mariners in waters off the U.S. As low-cost GPS has emerged in recent years, the LORAN-C system has become obsolete and is no longer needed for navigation or safety, the Department of Homeland Security says. Over the protests of some U.S. senators and others who say the LORAN network should be maintained as a GPS backup, most of the nation's LORAN transmission towers will be turned off Feb. 8, with the remainder being shut down by Oct. 1. . . http://www.columbus.rr.com/news/topic/article/rr/1110/10059945/Plug_being_pulled_on_decades-old_navigation_system (via gh, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See COSTA RICA; INDIA; INDONESIA; USA: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ St. Louis market: passing references DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See GREECE; USA Spectrum Grab ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC see also USA: St Louis market +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL POSSIBILITY Bell Labs has a research project to drop the power level of digital communications such as networking. Their design is to pick the 1's and 0's out of a data stream more efficiently. This means that they will need less power to pull data out of the noise. They claim it will take very little change to do so. If this could be applied to IBOC, the potential coverage of the digital portion could be significantly greater without any power increase. In fact, the digital sideband power may be able to be decreased to match the current analog coverage. From a DX perspective, we may be able to hear more distant stations digitally than by analog. It's sort of a paradigm shift in the hobby, but... The story is on the Popular Science web site. http://www.popsci.com/ I would also have to wonder if this could somehow be applied to the DSP chips in ULRs. Now THAT would be interesting (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, Jan 17, IRCA via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SOLAR ACTIVITY IN THE OFFING Space Weather News for Jan. 19, 2010 http://spaceweather.com FARSIDE SOLAR ACTIVITY: Over the past two days, NASA's STEREO-B spacecraft has detected two eruptions from an active region just behind the sun's eastern limb. The source of the blasts appears to be old sunspot 1039. The sun's rotation will begin turning the spot toward Earth this week, so there could be some Earth-directed solar activity in the offing. Check http://spaceweather.com for movies and updates (via Mark Coady, Jan 19, NASWA yg via DXLD) GOOD NEWS FOR PROPAGATION Old sunspot 1039 is crackling with solar flares. Over the past 48 hours, it has produced five M-class eruptions... This sequence of flares signals a sharp upturn in solar activity. Before this week, the last time the sun produced even a single M-class solar flare was in March 2008--almost two years ago.. . Yesterday's M2-class solar flare bathed Earth's upper atmosphere in X- rays and caused a wave of ionization to sweep over Europe. This actually improved the propagation of low-frequency radio signals, which use the ionosphere as a reflector to skip over the horizon. A SID monitor operated by Rudolf Slosiar in Bojnice, Slovakia, recorded the surge in signal strength... More at http://www.spaceweather.com/ (via Mike Terry, Jan 20, dxldyg via DXLD) Geomagnetic field activity was at predominantly quiet levels during the entire period. There was an isolated unsettled and active period observed at high latitudes on 11 January due to the arrival of a coronal hole high-speed stream. Observations from the ACE spacecraft showed solar wind speed varied between a low of 281 km/s at 11/0233 UTC to a high of 549 km/s at 11/1501 UTC. The density peaked at 10 p/cc at 11/0630 UTC. The southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) ranged between +9 nT and -8 nT. A second coronal hole high-speed stream arrived on 13 January with little effect to the geomagnetic field. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 20 JAN - 15 FEB 2010 Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels for the forecast period. Isolated moderate activity is possible from 20 January - 01 February with the return of old Region 1039 (S29, L052). No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal levels through the period. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at predominantly quiet levels for the forecast period. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2010 Jan 19 2221 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center # Product description and SWPC contact on the Web # http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2010 Jan 19 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2010 Jan 20 82 10 3 2010 Jan 21 83 5 2 2010 Jan 22 84 5 2 2010 Jan 23 84 5 2 2010 Jan 24 86 5 2 2010 Jan 25 86 5 2 2010 Jan 26 84 5 2 2010 Jan 27 83 5 2 2010 Jan 28 82 5 2 2010 Jan 29 80 5 2 2010 Jan 30 80 5 2 2010 Jan 31 80 5 2 2010 Feb 01 82 5 2 2010 Feb 02 84 5 2 2010 Feb 03 86 5 2 2010 Feb 04 87 5 2 2010 Feb 05 87 5 2 2010 Feb 06 88 5 2 2010 Feb 07 89 5 2 2010 Feb 08 89 5 2 2010 Feb 09 89 5 2 2010 Feb 10 88 5 2 2010 Feb 11 87 5 2 2010 Feb 12 86 5 2 2010 Feb 13 85 5 2 2010 Feb 14 84 5 2 2010 Feb 15 83 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1496, DXLD) ###