DX LISTENING DIGEST 10-05, February 4, 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 1498, February 5-11, 2010 Fri 0200 WRMI 9955 Fri 1530 WRMI 9955 Fri 2130 WWCR1 7465 Sat 0900 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 9510 [second, fourth, fifth Sats] 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 4755 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Sun 1230 South Herts Radio 5835 Sun 1615 WRMI 9955 Sun 2000 WRMI 9955 Tue 1630 WRMI 9955 Tue 2000 WBCQ 7415 9330-CUSB? Wed 0230 WRMI 9955 [new] Wed 1630 WRMI 9955 [usually first airing] Wed 1930 South Herts Radio 3935 Wed 2000 WBCQ 7415 9330-CUSB? Thu 2000 WBCQ 7415 9330-CUSB? 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: Too much info has piled up to get everything processed as we would like for these compiled issues. Little info in this issue is post-Feb 3, and some info from pre-Feb 3 is not included; and only by late Feb 6 do we have editing finished and ready for distribution. My own monitoring and much other news has been published without delay in the dxldyg, but not to appear in DXLD until next issue 10-06. 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/ ** ALBANIA. 13640, R. Tirana, VG S9+12 signal for English to NAm at 1530 Jan 30: going from talk to music segment at 1543, and no problem from doomed Darwin transmission of CVC whose carrier was barely detectable on 13635; see AUSTRALIA. 1553 the music outro sounded like ``Dance with Me``, then another folk song with ululations, 1557 outro that as ``Folk edition musical program``, closing theme to 1558, IS until 1600 and open carrier until 1601*. Altho modulation level was good, modulation quality was as usual deficient, especially during the music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The quarter hour of Radio Tirana in English at 1945-1958 UT on 11635 kHz to North America surprisingly strong and excellent audio quality by the tube of the 2nd TX at Shijak, S=9+30dB superb, but on \\ 7465 kHz channel much poorer. Tonight to report like FIRST springtime propagation conditions on 19 mb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. New 15345.04, 2020-2040 24.01, RAE, General Pacheco, reactivated, Spanish talk on Saturday, very weak, 15111. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 15344.9, Radiodifusión Agrentina Exterior (General Pacheco?), 1935- 1950, 1/27/2010, Spanish. Argentine music. Canned IS/ID sequence played for 2 minutes starting at 1940. Talk by man and woman at 1942. Poor signal with het. Language appeared to be Spanish, but not certain due to het. Also not certain if site remains General Pacheco. Recheck at 2016 found music and talk with slightly stronger signal, still bothered by het (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, Random Wires (90' and 200'), ALA100M, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mercoledì 27 gennaio 2010, 1006, - 11710.6 kHz, RAE - General Pacheco, Giapponese, tk YL/OM. Segnale insufficiente: 1. Battimento con CNR1 11710.0; 2. Il 28/1 su 11710.7 (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, playdx yg via DXLD) ARGENTINA. Radio al Exterior [sic]; 15345, 2033-2040+, 26-Jan; M in French with folk music; 2035-38+ lengthy sked in French with targets. EiBi shows RAE in French 20-21 & Aoki in French 19-20. SIO=33-3-, local buzz QRM? Nothing on 11710. 15345, 1721-1728*, 27-Jan; M&W in German, mentions of Patagonia & tentative mentions of RAE. German listed at this time in Aoki, not in EiBi. SIO=422, strong Arabic QRM, Morocco(presumed). 11710 covered by Japanese -- no candidates in EiBi or Aoki. Argentina has JJ segments, but not at this time in either EiBi or Aoki. Heard pips at 1730 on 15345; whatever came on was weaker. 15345, 1658-1704+, 28-Jan; Tuned in to 8-note IS & RAE Argentina IDs by M&W in Spanish; 1700-1701 series of ID in many languages; English ID was RAE, Argentine Radio; into program at 1702 but too much Morocco(presumed) in Arabic to copy. Something on 11710, but too weak. (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW + 86 ft. coil dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11710.78, RAE, 0015-0110+, Jan 30, tune-in to Portuguese programming with talk and Argentine music. IS/ID sequence at 0056. Spanish ID announcements at 0100 and local music. Japanese talk at 0108. Fair to good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 15344.89...88 kHz by RAE Buenos Aires more than fair S=8 signal; on weekends in usual Spanish section at 1930 UT. Tonight to report like FIRST springtime propagation conditions on 19 mb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) While checking out Darwin, Jan 31 at 2201, also punched up 15345v, and there was R. Nacional with live sports, not 11710v as we were led to believe is used on Sunday evenings instead (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 2368.5, Radio Symban (presumed). 1440-1505, Feb 4. At tune in heard faint singing; hovering at threshold level; signal very slowly improved; by 1445 was able to confirm was Greek music I was hearing along with the singing; seemed to be non-stop songs, as I only noted a short break in the music at ToH and then more singing; unable to make out any announcer. This reception was just before my local sunrise (1507 UT) (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. VL8 survey Feb 4 at 1313: Strine M&W conversation about equal level on 2310 and 2325, but much worse on 2485 at least due to local noise around the latter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. I posted this early UT Jan 30 to the dxldyg whose members always get first shot at our perishable information: DXing doomed dismantling-destined Darwin The Cox Peninsula ``Darwin`` transmitter site is closing down as of January 31, and to be dismantled. CVC has not told us exactly when the last transmission will go on air, or whether any of the existing transmissions of its own or relays of R. Australia, and JCI (Japanese clandestines to North Korea) will have stopped earlier, but based mostly on Aoki, here is the full schedule we have been able to put together for all Darwin transmissions, in station, language, and then time order: 9585, 2200-2300 340 CVC Chinese 15170, 2300-0200 340 CVC Chinese 17690, 0400-0600 340 CVC Chinese 17635, 0600-1200 340 CVC Chinese 13685, 1200-1800 340 CVC Chinese 15535, 0930-1230 303 CVC English 13635, 1230-1830 303 CVC English 15250, 2300-0200 290 CVC Indonesian 17820, 0400-1000 290 CVC Indonesian 9890, 1000-1300 290 CVC Indonesian 11925, 1300-1700 290 CVC Indonesian ----------------------------------- 11825, 1300-1430 340 RA Chinese 12010, 2200-2400 317 RA English [except Burmese 2300-2330] 17665, 0000-0200 317 RA English [except Burmese 0100-0130] 11980, 1600-1700 317 RA English 9630, 2200-2330 290 RA Indonesian 15180, 0000-0030 290 RA Indonesian 0400-0430 290 RA Indonesian 0500-0530 290 RA Indonesian ----------------------------------- 9880, 1430-1530 3 JCI Japanese - Furusato no Kaze, alt 11995 9690, 1500-1530 3 JCI Korean - Nippon no Kaze, alt 11650 ----------------------------------- 17755, 0700-0800 317 TDP English DRM 17750-17760 This should be useful in monitoring which transmissions are still going or end as of UT January 30, 31, or even February 1; and attempting to get a historically-dated QSL Altho WRTH says Darwin has 2 x 100 kW, 3 x 250 kW, and 1 x 300 kW transmitters, all these are listed as 250, except for a semi-250 for DRM. As in 10-04, RA has already added Palau frequencies for some of its Darwin transmissions, presumably using both sites temporarily in transition. This schedule accounts for maximum of four transmitters, so perhaps the `300` is the fourth unit being run at 250 instead (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Then Kai Ludwig replied that the transmitter power info in WRTH and Aoki, HFCC? is all wrong: The situation is such that two of the three 250 kW Collins transmitters from 1968 (the only other site still using such equipment is Sackville) have been disconnected and replaced by two Continental 100 kW transmitters, brought in from somewhere else (does anybody know the details?). But it seems that these transmitters are mere stand-by units and never in regular use. The third old Collins is still operational but has to be tuned manually now, requiring 15 minutes for a frequency change. This transmitter covers the peak requirements when four frequencies are on air simultaneously. Otherwise the site has the Thomson transmitter originally installed in 1984 at Carnarvon, the provisional site that remained in use for two decades. After its final closure in 1996 the transmitter was moved to Darwin. Two further Thomson units were purchased and installed at the Darwin site in 1994. These three 300 kW Thomson transmitters are the core of the operations nowadays. So far only the lease of the station grounds to Christian Vision has been discussed, but which arrangements have been made in regard to the equipment? The antenna system must have cost millions, and the transmitters certainly also still represented a considerable value in 2000, when two of them were just six years old. Has all this equipment just been given away by the Australian authorities (the broadcasting distribution service, nowadays Broadcast Australia, was not privatized yet at this point), have they sold it to Christian Vision for a reasonable price, or is it not the property of Christian Vision at all and instead used under some other kind of arrangement?`` Concerning Radio Australia: What has not been moved to Palau has been moved to Abu Dhabi (Al Dhabbaya), reportedly English 1100-1300 on 17880, Indonesian 2200-2330 on 5935 and Burmese 2300-2330 on 5955, on air since Monday (had no chance to check it out yet), also in // to the existing Darwin frequencies (provided they are still on air). Concerning Christian Vision and their CVC: What will they do as of Monday? Continuing the existing transmissions from Uzbekistan without any changes would mean that Hindi is still on shortwave all day long, English only from 6 AM to 3 PM in India (now the only target area, for whatever rationale -- no attempts to cater for online recipients in the UK anymore?) while Chinese and Indonesian will be gone from shortwave altogether. Is shortwave still important in India but irrelevant in Indonesia now? I would be quite surprised if this is the case. Thus this apparent scenario does not appear to make terribly much sense (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not surprisingly, none of the listed Darwin frequencies were audible around 0600 Jan 30, altho in other yearparts, 17820 has made it here in the nightmiddle. I resumed trying to hear Cox Peninsula at 1541 UT Jan 30, when it is already Jan 31 in the NT, so quite possibly the last day on the air. Propagation was certainly not favorable, but I could detect carriers on 13635 and 13685 from CVC, vs. extremely stronger signals on adjacent frequencies such as Albania [q.v.] 13640, Farda 13680. Initially 13685 could be made out with a bit of modulation which sounded like English, but later Chinese. Perhaps language lesson. Or maybe not CVC: while the only station in the world ever using 13635 has been CVC Australia, on 13685, CRI via Mali is also scheduled at 13-16 in French, English and English. After Tirana closed at 1601* I could still detect only a carrier on 13635, likewise 13685, so CVC apparently still on. Meanwhile, Radio Australia was scheduled to start 11980 via Darwin at 1600, and this has been audible recently. From a few minutes before, only that blasted rapid clicking centered on 11982 was audible, and likewise after 1600, so Radio Australia seems to be gone already. See above schedule for resumption at 2200 or 2300 of several Darwin frequencies, if they still exist one more day. Is Darwin still on the air January 31? Yes! But it should be the last day ever. UT January 30 at 2159 I look for the three frequencies scheduled to start at 2200, 9585 CVC Chinese, 9630 RA Indonesian, and 12010 RA English --- nothing. But Maltilda is Waltzing on 15560, loud and clear from Shepparton; path from Darwin is rather different, but there should be some traces if on the air. Then at 2200 I find RA on 12040 in English, which is the new Palau relay, news running about 3.5 seconds behind 15560. Must be quite a circuitous feed route; since VTC is involved, to London and back? Finally at 2201 I am also hearing RA English on 12010, and that is Darwin, with a much shorter delay, less than one second or about one word behind 15560. It`s weaker than 12040. Must have come on a bit late, or at least without any prélude. By 2206 I check the 31m channels again, and now I am getting them fairly: 9585 with music which I assume is CVC Chinese service, and 9630 in Indonesian talk, soon music, which fits for Radio Australia. The fourth transmitter starts at 2300 with CVC Indonesian on 15250 (some sources say 15255), so here I repeat the full schedule showing that also at 2300 the 9585 service switches to 15170, and the 12010 service switches to Burmese (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Booming in here at 2335 UT, 15170 with "Let's Talk in English" after Chinese talk and "CVC" ID. 73 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, AB, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) CVC Darwin rechecked shortly after 2300 UT Jan 30: 15170 audible weakly, succeeding 9585, used only for the first hour of CVC Chinese; 15250 for CVC Indonesian (and 15255) totally blocked by Venezuela via Cuba, of course. 12010 R. Australia no longer // talk on 12040, 15560, but music presumably in Burmese service. UT Jan 31, surely the final day now, started checking at 1415: 13635 good with gospel rock or whatever they call such a format with indecipherable lyrix, just as well. At 1415 mentioned ``cvcradio.in``. 1418 YL DJ with Oz accent mentions this will be the final time on shortwave, so switch to mobile streaming (yeah, right). Then greeted countless Kumars by the full name of each, of the Cosmos Club in India. As usual fast-paced format suitable for those with deficient attention spans; you never know when they are going to drop in an ID as the music plays. Andrew Flynn of CVC HQ in England told me a few days ago that the SW transmissions via UZBEKISTAN for India would continue. He may have been referring only to the Hindi service, not the English service. Hindi: 0000-0400 6260, 0100-0400 9425, 0400-1100 13630, 1100-1400 9500. English: 0030-0230 7395, 0230-0630 11970, 0630-0930 15700. 1428 on 13635 she gives full website without the http which I always insert to assist hotlinking: http://www.cvcradio.in for song requests, or text 99-45-97-77-77. Will they play anything that is unChristian, or godforbid, off-format? I would have wanted to hear Stockhausen. At 1430 it`s local midnight in Cox Peninsula and Feb 1 starts, but that`s only incidental as it is already midnight in Queensland, and four hours away in India, so the broadcast goes on. By 1440 the signal is weakening considerably; by 1504 recheck still audible; 1542 just a carrier detectable, tho on Sunday there is no Tirana ACI from 13640. Meanwhile I was switching back and forth to CVC`s Chinese service on 13685, but paying less attention to it. At 1416 music presumably with a gospel element in Chinese; 1417 Chinese YL announcement. Fortunately, Habana has been missing from 13680 lately, but still some ACI from Farda Wertachtal, and just as much from very strong WYFR 13695, ever-increasing problems as 13685 weakened by 1504. I assume that English on 13635 will play on until final final QRT at the usual time of 1830, and Chinese 13685 until 1800. Also looked for the Kaze clands for North Korea, 9880 at 1430, 9690 at 1500, but nothing heard UT Jan 31, so already gone. I assume these will have switched to some other site(s). Monitoring Palau extensively, Hiroshi via Hasegawa reported as of Jan 29, only a different (?) one: 1530-1600 9965 JCIC Korean “Ilbone Baram”. S. Hasegawa says he has not been able to confirm 9690 or 9880 for more than a week. As for what becomes of the Darwin facility, this is totally unclear, other than that CVC will now start ``dismantling`` it and get out by the time its lease expires in June (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) International in English, 0930-1000 UT on 15535 (last transmission from Darwin txer) dated Jan 31, 2010. SIO 434. program "CVC digest" news from Chennai, India heard. Followed by "Back to back music", OM host, pop songs played. QTH- Kolkata (22 34' 11" North, 88 22' 11" East), India. RX- SONY ICF SW22 world band receiver, Antenna- SONY AN 71 Compact antenna attached to a telescopic whip. 73`s (Rajdeep Das, Kolkata, India, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) CVC Darwin is still on air at 1000+ UT: Chinese very good on 17635 and English 15535, but this one weaker. There is no trace of Indonesian 9890, but mighty splatter from RNW 9895 via Horby. CVC is still on air at 1130 + UT via 17635 and 15535, but still too much splatter from 9895 to hear anything on 9890. It will be interesting to find if 17635 changes to 13685 at 1200 and 15535 to 13635 at 1230. 9890 should go to 11925 later at 1300. Meanwhile, Radio Australia English is audible - and just about usable - on 17880 via DHA at 1100 (Noel R. Green (NW England), Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) At 1220 I found a faint, slowly fading carrier on 15535 which must have been Darwin/Cox. So they obviously kept this frequency on air until 1230 as scheduled. And yes: Shortly after 1230 a signal with pop music had appeared on 13635, just two hours before the transmissions would have to cease in order to not continue into Feb 1st. 17880 from Al Dhabbaya is with a portable indoors here again just a faint carrier. After 1400 the 13635 signal faded to a faint carrier here, which still appears to be on at 1435. Another carrier is on 11925, and this could be CVC in Indonesian. So I now guess that the swan songs of Darwin/Cox are 11925 til 1700, 13685 til 1800 and 13635 til 1830, i.e. transmissions could cease on Feb 1st at 4 AM local time. But this needs to be observed by monitors elsewhere, best in Asia. I have no detailled experiences with this, but do not expect 13 MHz to still propagate when the complete path from Australia to Europe is under darkness, which is almost the case already right now. ``When I retuned 13635, 13685 and 11925 again at 1420 there were no signals audible`` If one is content with carriers as evidence: There are still ones on all three frequencies after 1500. 13635, which is a bit stronger than the other ones (no surprise, since Europe is inside the beam), one more time faded up to audible modulation here shortly before 1500. But now a quick fading was present (I think indicating that the propagation is about to break down), so the peaks lasted hardly more than a second, only enough to say that talk in English had been carried (Kai Ludwig (Germany), Jan 31, ibid.) CVC-Darwin in Indonesian on 11925 kHz s/off at 1400 UT Jan 31. de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, ibid.) Wrong, CVC Indonesian still on air on 11925 along with English 13635 & Chinese 13685 (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, India 1529 UT Jan 31, ibid.) Thank you [to Hasegawa, supra]! Perhaps you can also tell for sure about 13635 and 13685? Meanwhile the website of CVC English no longer indicates that it ever was on shortwave. http://www.cvcradio.in/schedule/frequencies still exists but is no longer linked in the menu, and the top line no longer mentions a shortwave frequency, too (right now "13635 kHz" would have shown up). Are there comments concerning shortwave on their Facebook "wall" page? http://www.facebook.com/pages/wwwCVC-RADIOIN/87112642252 Yes, there is one: From Cottbus. See also http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=87112642252&topic=12409 All this strongly suggests that CVC English transmissions from Uzbekistan will not continue, either (Kai Ludwig, Germany, ibid.) And see this: http://www.cvcradio.in/blog/chatback/goodbye-sw-hello-mobile-streaming (gh, DXLD) I can't confirm 13 MHz in worst propagation. 11925 kHz were very bad, too. I can't confirm 9690 and 9880 kHz of JCI more than one week (S. Hasegawa, NDXC 1632 UT Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) CVC Indonesian 11925 off air at 1659, AWR Swahili signed on at 1700 (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, India, Jan 31, ibid.) Since we knew that the CVC English transmission around 1430 UT Jan 31 on 13635 was ``the last one on shortwave`` as announced, I made another routine check of Darwin frequencies at 2200 UT Jan 31, not expecting to hear anything, but the three of them were still on! Tune in 12010 at 2159 to find open carrier, and 2200 sharp, start modulating R. Australia news, as 24 hours earlier; slightly delayed compared to Shep 15560 and a longer delay on 12040 via Palau. On 9630, Indonesian had also started, R. Australia, and music on 9585, presumably CVC Chinese as previously scheduled. So where does that leave us? No clean break, depending on the station or language service, not all stopped at the end of January. It is now indisputably February everywhere east of Central Europe and West Africa. Then I heard from Craig Seager in Australia, that the scheduled Darwin frequencies ceased to be heard after 2400 UT, so the final final close-down apparently was timed according to the end of January according to UT. At 1515 UT Feb 1, no signals detectable on 13635 or 13685. But annoying clicking in the 13685-13690 range (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No Darwin reception in Tikizia around 2244 nor Shep 15560, just Palau with fair signal on 12040. 73s (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, No CVC Chinese on 15170 at 0005 1 Feb, nor Indonesian 15250. Only V. of Korea in Spanish on 15180, so RA via Darwin has departed also. Obviously working to UT for the cut-off. Rgds, (Craig Seager, NSW, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6260 [UZBEKISTAN] appears to be on air again this night. It is too weak here to really make out the programming, but no other transmissions are scheduled for this frequency at all, so it is quite unlikely that the signal I have is something else. Btw, CVC Hindi is labelled "The Voice Asia", so references to this brand explicitly point at the Hindi service. 7395 is empty. This observation is not sufficient to say definitely that nothing is on air, considering how faint 6260 is here, but at least it would fit all the hints about CVC India (i.e. English) leaving shortwave on Jan 31. And concerning Chinese as well as Indonesian it now remains to be seen what is really up. Indeed it can hardly be a matter of overnight transition when new transmissions start at 07:30 local time at the transmitter site. Of course this is the new day, not the night after the old one. The Indonesian website (the Chinese one produces only question marks here) is no help, it consists just of a single provisional page that acts as carrier of links to the live streams. As I already wrote: It would be rather implausible to keep Hindi on shortwave but cancel Indonesian. China is a different story, but it would be a surprise to me if shortwave is still much more important in India than in Indonesia. The figures of potential audiences differ not that dramatically, either (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Feb 2: 0700-1000 CVC Indonesian on 15725. "Furusato no Kaze" and "Ilbone Baram" changed a transmitting station in Palau from Darwin. De Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, ibid.) CVC-Indonesian can receive on 17820 kHz at 0830 UT, but is very weak. Does Darwin still live? (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, Feb 2!, ibid.) While 13635 English and 13685 Chinese ended UT Jan 31, some other transmissions may have lasted longer, but by Feb 4, CVC HQ assured me they were all closed from Darwin (gh, DXLD) Glenn: I recently posted a notice about this on my Facebook and myspace pages. Sad to see CVC lose its service to India. Alokesh had reported also the loss of this service now in another language. I assume they may be switching or purchasing airtime via Shepparton then? 73's, (Noble West, TN, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) CVC did not `lose` its service to India. It deliberately closed down the SW transmissions from Darwin with no intent whatsoever to switch them to Shep (gh, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Correlating with audibility of Cox Peninsula for the last time on 13 MHz, Morocco 15341 also had a strong het from HCJB Kununurra, Jan 31 at 1445 on 15340, but the Arabic audio was dominant as HCJB was scheduled just to have started English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1st Feb 2010 --- Strong windstorms at HCJB's broadcast site in Kununurra, WA last weekend damaged two of our antennas and put the East Asia broadcasts off the air. Until the antenna is repaired, programs for China and Japan will not be broadcast. At this stage, repairs could take about three weeks. Check this place for updates regarding restoration of East Asia broadcasts (from http://www.hcjb.org.au/ via Mike Terry, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://twitter.com/hcjbaustralia Photos here: http://www.hcjb.org.au/ (Andrea Borgnino IW0HK - HB9EMK, shortwavesites yg via Alokesh Gupta, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) According to their pdf program schedule http://www.hcjb.org.au/docs/B09_Schedule_HCJB_Australia_20091025-20100327.pdf ``East Asia programs for China and Japan must refer to these: 2200-0030 15525, 1030-1430 15400, partly in English. So all other broadcasts should still be on including 15340 in English at 1445-1530, tho we have not been able to detect it since the winds (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Something amiss with R. Australia transmissions, as English on 9475 at 1450 was much stronger than // 9590, discussing radiation hazards in space. Why? Because 9590 is registered as 30 degrees, and 9475 as 329 degrees, both from Shepparton, so 9590 is much closer to USward and normally is stronger. 9590 on low power, or one of them on wrong antenna? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. MY DREAM STATION FROM THE LAND OF MARSUPIALS! Australia is a fascinating country with marsupials like koala, kangaroos, wallabies and echidnas. The details of this Pacific nation left some good impressions in my childhood mind during 1990. When I got a Shortwave Radio during my eighth grade, I started listening to BBC. During one night while scanning through the bands I heard an interesting programme on forest fires and wildlife in Australia. To my surprise it turned out to be Radio Australia. My Philips Radio became my bedtime companion along with Radio Australia. I still remember waking up earlier at 5.30 in the morning to hear your mailbag programme 'Feedback with Roger Broadbent', 'Grandstand' with live cricket match, interesting shows like 'Sound About' and 'Charting Australia' based on India-Australia relation filled my room. During those days I was an avid programme listener. Later when I went to college, I left radio for couple of years and concentrated on my studies. During that period I came to read an article about DXing and corresponding with Radio stations for QSL Cards. I am hooked. I started listening again on my Philips analogue receiver. I heard many stations from Asia, Africa and Europe and QSL started flowing down. I searched for my ever favourite station with the voices of Roger Broadbent and Barry Seeber all over my analogue radio dial. But I didn't find them even after continuous search during early evenings. Further I don't have any exact frequency information about Radio Australia at that time. After many weeks of attempt, during one day at 2 am (midnight time!) I got something with just fair reception on the dial near 9500 kHz mentioning about Pacific news items. It turned out to be Radio Australia broadcasting on 9500 kHz confirmed by the frequency announcement and followed by the laugh of the great kookaburra! The next day I wrote a letter to them and waited patiently. Many weeks later I got a frequency schedule and programme information from Radio Australia, and I learned why I can't listen to them as easily as earlier. It states as 'Due to the closure of Radio Australia's high power transmitters at Cox Peninsula near Darwin, Radio Australia's reception has greatly weakened, where it was strong'. My heart sank down and I became much despair that I cannot hear my favourite station as easily as earlier. But with the aid of a Grundig Digital receiver and improved reception conditions later due to high sunspot period I started listening continuously to Radio Australia. Pacific beat, Roger Broadbent, etc. all became my favourite again. But I lost many exciting shows due to financial constraints over there. Frequencies like 21820, 17750, 9500 provided fair reception at certain times. The reception of Radio Australia improved when Radio Australia started leasing airtime from Christian Vision who bought the Cox Peninsula transmitters from Australian Government. Now Radio Australia became a leaser from a transmitter which it owned few years ago. However reliable reception provides us some relief. I am not a veteran and experienced Radio Australia listener from the era of the legendary Graham Hutchins or Keith Glover period. But I salivate by reading the memories of listening during that golden era of Radio Australia, especially in Radio Historian Jerry Berg's writing. I have plenty of QSL and post cards from my listening period of 20 years which provides golden memories of my listening. I can't forget my re-introductory listening on 9500 during midnight and also the coverage of Sydney Olympics over RA. My mobile ringtone is the Radio Australia call sign with the laugh of the kookaburra which always remind me of my favourite station from the Land of Marsupials. Long Live Radio Australia! The website is at http://blogs.radioaustralia.net.au/70/ (T R Rajeesh, India, Feb World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. Bangladesh Betar Home Service (Bengali) new schedule wef 1st Jan 2010: 0645-1500 UT on 4750 kHz (ex 0545-1400 UT) – (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, Jan 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM [non]. Re: TDP/ DRM test transmissions from TDF Montsinéry (French Guiana) to Florida on Jan 21 and 22, 2010, 17755 1900-2100 UT. Hi All! Thanks for sending your fine DRM reports from the United States on TDP transmissions from Montsinéry. Regarding comments on actual music content, it is up to TDP (Ludo MAES in Belgium) to decide about it. TDP could be, in the near future, the first commercial DRM broadcaster for TDF so no relation with RFI program in French, Spanish, Portuguese or English as RFI was not paying for those previous test transmissions (Jacques, F6AJW, Jan 22, drmna yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4699.98, 2215-2340 26+27.01, R San Miguel, Riberalta. Spanish religious talks, good audio Jan 27 mentioning Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and something sounding like "Dinamarca", but it was rather one of the many "Marcas" in Bolivia. 25332 - 35333 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4700, Radio San Miguel, Riberalta 1030 to 1045, "seis en la mañana", "en todo el tiempo", "en Bolivia hoy", rooster crows, "en la radio seis en la mañana". Much improved signal as returned to 4700. 2300 'Amigos en la misión" 27 January (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, Florida, Drake R 8, Icom 746Pro DL, NRD 535D, noise reducing antenna, 60 meter band dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 5045, R. Cultura do Pará, Belém, 0109-0138, Jan 29, English / Portuguese. "Live" concert featuring Cambridge, MA legends, Morphine. A few quick breaks for studio announcer with nondescript Portuguese comments; lengthy ID at 0137 and back to music; very pleasurable listening. Saw Morphine back in '94 at a WBCN sponsored fest with six other 90's-era bands (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, NH USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11815, R. Brasil Central, Goiânia, Feb 2 at 0623 with lively talk, 0624 TC for 4:24. Some music audible underneath, but as nothing else is scheduled, may have been receiver overload from RHC 11760, tho I could not get rid of it with attenuation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURKINA FASO. 5030v, 1910-1930 25.01, Rdiff. du Burkina carrier (tentative) drifting quickly around 5028.95-5031. 26, Afropop, French (tentative) announcement, 15331 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** CANADA. 12205, Radio Canada International; 2102, 26-Jan; Commentary in French & R.C. ID. SIO=3+3-3-, howl QRM. Spur or mixer from // 11845, S30, minor hiss QRM. Nothing on 11845 - 360 (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet Jan 29 via DXLD) Au contraire, it`s 11845 leaping over Sackville 12025 transmission of HCJB[non] Arabic at 2100-2145, another 180 kHz higher. BTW, that`s an indirect but certain way of confirming the transmitter site of the fulcrum, in this case well-known, but it would be nice if we could get Radio República 9810 involved in such a scenario. If RCI were still on 11845 at this time in the A-seasons, it could not happen since HCJB 12025 switches to UK site (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) I'd call that a "mixing product"... (12025-11845) + 12025 = 12205 (Harold Frodge, ibid.) That`s what I call it, leapfrog as a nickname for short (Glenn to Harold, ibid.) For those who still don`t get it, there are two other ways to compute these things: double one frequency and subtract the other, or find the difference between them and add or subtract that to get the spurious frequency. I find the latter easier to do and visualize as ``leapfrogging`` (gh) ** CANADA [and non]. Tonight to report like FIRST springtime propagation conditions on 19 mb. French of RCI Montreal to Africa higher-than-average on 13650, 15365, and 17790! And Skelton 11845 kHz relay too (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBC-only Radio: http://www.insidethecbc.com/ January 28, 2010 --- Designs for the CBC Science and Sons, a Toronto design shop is working on prototype of a radio that only gets two stations – CBC Radio One, and CBC Radio 2. The prototype is called ‘RADIO CANADA’, and is “a homage to the cultural significance of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.” The design was inspired by dedicated CBC listeners who are permanently tuned to CBC Radio. [illustrated] The prototype also acknowledges two different broadcast eras, on one side is an analogue tuning gauge, while the bottom has an electronic display and dial (via Harold Sellers, Jan 31, dxldyg via DXLD) How can this possibly work? CBC is on different frequencies all over the country. Must be programmed for each location? Or does it really have a full-band AM and FM tuner as implied by the wheel on the side, ``analogue tuning gauge``? Then how does it exclude non-CBC stations? Will only CBC stations transmit some secret code to `unlock` it? The mind boggles at the technological challenge. Long live the exploding pizza grill (Glenn Hauser, one of 25 comments so far appended to the CBC story, via dxldyg via DXLD) Right in Galcom's backyard, too. Science and Sons' website says: "After setting the radio to local CBC frequencies, listeners can toggle between CBC Radio One and CBC Radio Two without hearing the static in between." I'd link to it directly if their poorly designed website didn't prevent me from doing so. It's under 'Products' at scienceandsons.com Regards, (Joe Durso in Louisville, KY, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s a bit more straightforward than Steve`s fanciful digital un/blocking scheme. So can it handle two FM frequencies, rather than one AM and on FM? Or maybe it`s only FM and FM. Who cares about AM in Canada? But if you can tune it to any frequencies yourself, it`s hardly ``CBC- only``, and could be misappropriated to listen to any station(s)! This cannot be allowed (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Not seen the article, but theoretically it can work IF a) and only to some extent IF the station only has 1 frequency, then reception could be geared for that one frequency. No guarantees, when you take the radio to another country that might use the frequency for something else. This would be the very minimal cost option. As Glenn said, when the station operates on a number of channels, this would be impractical. b) the receiver is designed to pick out electronic station idents embedded within transmissions - DRM or RDS??? Practically and commercially - why would you want to do this? (Keith Perron, Taiwan, ex-Canada, ibid.) Yes, Glenn, CBC-1 and CBC-2 will encode a signal onto their CARRIER to be decoded at the receiver. Lets say CBC-1= "digital 01" and CBC-2= "digital 010". The receiver will ONLY decode signals that have a "Digital 01" or a "Digital-010". No OTHER signals will be decoded by the receiver, so as long as CBC sends the ENCODED signal as part of its carrier, the CBC tuner will ONLY decode CBC encoded signal. This AIN'T rocket science, It's going ONE STEP BEYOND! (Steven Wiseblood, TX, ibid.) Should be easy for other stations to hack and defeat such a setup (gh) They haven't seen fit to provide that level of detail. The wheel I think you referred to earlier certainly looks like it has AM FM markings. The Canadian authorities must draw a line. One day some ne'er-do-well will get a little crazy with the tuning knob, the next the streets of Prince Rupert will run red. Within a fortnight the 2e REP will be on St. Pierre to repel bandits affiliated with whatever warlord controls Newfoundland. We'll have to sit through PSAs and primetime specials enumerating the horrors of conflict syrup. I'd suggest assigning the grey market satellite TV enforcement squad to periodically check in on known owners. OK, OK, I've taken that far enough. Regards, (Joe Durso in Louisville, KY, ibid.) ** CANADA. CISL-650 to broadcast in Russian The CRTC has approved CISL-650's application to broadcast up to 20% of the time in Russian during the upcoming Olympics, Feb. 10-28. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-35.htm (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, WTFDA-AM via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) RUSSIAN RADIO COMES TO VANCOUVER FOR OLYMPICS "As Vancouver prepares to welcome the world, AM 650 prepares to welcome Russia’s Autoradio to its airwaves. From February 12 to 28, Russia’s leading music station, Autoradio, will be broadcasting live from Vancouver’s “all-time favourites” AM 650. "With a large contingent of Russian athletes here in the month of February as well as more than 60,000 Russian-Canadian residents living in Vancouver, this unique exchange program will give these individuals the opportunity to enjoy broadcasts in their native language." http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?aid=1000356356 (posted to Warren Cosford's email list) (via Fred Waterer, Ont, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) AUTORADIO WILL SEND DJS TO VANCOUVER FOR THE GAMES By Etan Vlessing Jan 28, 2010, 04:42 PM ET TORONTO -- Moscow radio music station Autoradio is sending on-air personalities to the 2010 Winter Olympics to broadcast to listeners of Vancouver radio station AM 650 and back home to Russia. Brad Philips, vp and general manager of AM 650-parent Astral Media Radio, said the deal will see Russian media group ProfMedia purchase air time from Feb. 12-28 for the live, simultaneous Autoradio broadcasts in Vancouver and Russia. Philips said he was initially approached by Yuri Kostin, vp of the international affairs department at ProfMedia, with the "out-of-the- box" station sponsorship deal. "I was for sure intrigued, and it didn't take long before I thought this is a great opportunity for our AM radio station to do something that's part of a world event and that's really exciting," he said. Astral Media this week secured an exemption from the CRTC, Canada's broadcast regulator, for AM 650 to broadcast Russian-language programming during the Vancouver Olympics. The temporary license amendment came with strings attached. Autoradio must comply with CRTC rules that include airing a minimum amount of Canadian music, in addition to Russian artists, during the February broadcasts back home, and adhering to Canadian taste standards. Autoradio, which beams its signal throughout Russia, will see its Moscow-based radio jocks broadcast from Science World in Vancouver, which will house the Russian 2014 Olympic committee during the 2010 Games. It's still our radio station. They (Autoradio) will play by our rules," Philips said. As a non-Olympics Games rights holder, Autoradio will also be restricted to covering the Games' atmosphere in Vancouver away from the prestige sporting events. The role of Olympics radio sportscaster will go to the Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, which plans to broadcast around 1800 hours of English-language Games coverage, including the opening and closing ceremonies, across 77 stations belonging to THE FAN radio network nationwide. And the French-language radio coverage of the Games will be done by 10 Corus Quebec radio stations, led by the flagship station CKAC Sports in Montreal. Source: http://bit.ly/bIrlcy (The Hollywood Reporter [sic] via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) RADIO PLANS ANNOUNCED FOR OLYMPIC COVERAGE --- The Canadian Press CTVOlympics.ca Posted Thursday, January 28, 2010 3:23 PM ET Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium announced its radio coverage plans for the 2010 Vancouver Games, and it includes 1,800 hours of live coverage across 77 radio stations. Live coverage of big events, such as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Team Canada men's hockey, and the highly anticipated men's and women's gold medal hockey finals, will air across radio airwaves nationwide on THE FAN Radio network. Highlights of the daily radio coverage will include an athlete of the day feature, a preview of the day's coming events, twice-hourly sports updates, and a nightly one-hour recap of the Olympic day that was. An Olympic edition of Bob McCown's afternoon syndicated show, Prime Time Sports, will be broadcast daily live from Molson Canadian Hockey House in Vancouver. McCown will be joined by hosts Stephen Brunt, columnist for The Globe and Mail and CTVOlympics.ca, and John Shannon, Hockeycentral analyst on Rogers Sportsnet. "THE FAN Radio Network is poised to deliver to Canadians an Olympic Games experience on radio unlike any previous offering in this country," said Nelson Millman, the consortium's executive producer of radio broadcasts, in a news release. "We are going bigger and better than ever before, offering fans throughout the entire country access to live event coverage, news and information, athlete interviews and opinionated analysis and commentary never before available at this level to Canadians." complete article http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=28424.html The following stations will air Olympic coverage. British Columbia 100 Mile House - CKBX-AM 840 Abbotsford - CKQC-FM 107.1 Castlegar - CKQR-FM 99.3 Chilliwack - CKSR-FM 98.3 Christina Lakes - CKGF-FM 93.3 Crawford Bay - CHNV-FM 91.9 Dawson Creek - CJDC-AM 890 Duncan - CJSU-FM 89.7 Fort Nelson - CKRX-FM 102.3 Fort St. John - CKNL-FM 101.5 Fort St. John - CHRX-FM 98.5 Golden CKGR-AM 1400 Hope - CFSR-FM 100.5 Kelowna - CILK-FM 101.5 Kelowna - CHSU-FM 99.9 Kelowna - CKFR-AM 1150 Nelson - CKKC-FM 106.9 Nelson - CHNV-FM 103.5 Osoyoos - CJOR-AM 1240 Prince George - CKDV-FM 99.3 Prince Rupert - CHTK-AM 560 Quesnel - CFFM2-FM 94.9 Quesnel - CKCQ-100.3 Revelstoke/Invermere - CKCR-AM 1340 Rock Creek - CKGF-FM 103.7 Salmon Arm - CKXR-FM 91.5 Smithers - CFBV-AM 870 Squamish/Whistler - CISQ-FM 107.1 Summerland - CHOR-AM 1450 Terrace - CFTK-AM 590 Terrace - CJFW-FM 103.1 Terrace - CFNR-FM 92.1 Trail - CJAT-FM 95.7 Vancouver - CKWX-AM 1130 Vancouver - CFUN-FM 104.9 Vancouver - CKLG-FM 96.9 Victoria - CHTT-FM 103.1 Victoria - CIOC-FM 98.5 Vernon - CICF-FM 105.7 Williams Lake - CKWL-AM 570 Williams Lake - CFFM-FM 97.5 Alberta Calgary - CFAC-AM 960 Calgary - CFFR-AM 660 Canmore / Banff - CHMN-FM 106.5 Edmonton - CHDI-FM 102.9 Edmonton - CKER-FM 101.7 Fort McMurray - CJOK-FM 93.3 Fort McMurray - CKYX-FM 97.9 Grand Prairie - CFGP-FM 97.7 Lethbridge - CJRX-FM 106.7 Lethbridge - CFRV-FM 107.7 Medicine Hat - CKMH-FM 105.3 Saskatchewan Regina - CJME-AM 980 Saskatoon - CKOM-AM 650 Yorkton - CJJC-FM 100.5 Manitoba Swan River - CJSB-FM 104.5 Winnipeg - CITI-FM 92.1 Ontario Belleville - CJBQ-AM 800 Hamilton - CHAM-AM 820 Kitchener - CKGL-AM 570 London - CJBK-AM 1290 North Bay - CKAT-AM 600 Ottawa - CHEZ-FM 106.1 Ottawa - CIWW-AM 1310 Ottawa - CISS-FM 105.3 Sarnia - CHOK-FM 103.1 Smith Falls - CJET-FM 92.3 Smith Falls - CKBY-FM 101.1 Stratford - CJCS-AM 1240 Toronto - CFTR-AM 680 Toronto - CJCL-AM 590 Wingham - CKNX-AM 920 Windsor - CKLW-AM 800 Quebec Montreal - CKGM-AM 990 Nova Scotia Halifax - CJNI-FM 95.7 New Brunswick Moncton - CKNI-FM 91.9 Saint John - CHNI-FM 88.9 (via Wade Smith, dxldyg via DXLD) ** CANADA. Application by CJOY-1460 Guelph ON to move to FM DENIED by CRTC --- The application by CJOY-1460 to move to FM was denied by the CRTC as it would result in the owner, Corus, owing more than the maximum two FM stations allowed in this small market: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-42.htm The Commission denies an application by 591989 B.C. Ltd. to convert CJOY Guelph from the AM to the FM band. Approval of the application would require an exception to the common ownership policy, and the Commission does not consider that an exception is warranted in this case. 73, (via Deane McIntyre, AB, Jan 28, DXLD) ** CANADA. 106.7 MHZ COUNTRY STATION UPDATE I checked out 106.7 MHz late this morning while driving around the South Shore a bit. The signal is clear and solid copy in most between the Champlain and Jacques Cartier bridges. It tailed off a little beyond the Jacques Cartier and the St. Hubert Airport with a bit of wash-over from St. Hyacinthe 106.5 in areas along Highway 30 near St. Bruno. Just as I was returning home the station IDed again with something a little different. This time they were calling themselves this way: "You're listening to KKIC-FM The St. Lawrence Valley on 106.7 FM" (Sheldon Harvey, Jan 14, radioinmontreal yg via DXLD) Over the weekend it seemed like something happened technically to the country station on 106.7. They were either operating at dramatically reduced power, or there were some transmitter problems. At times, particularly on Sunday morning while driving into Montreal, it was difficult to tell if the station was actually on. However, yesterday, things seemed to be back to normal. I heard one new ID being used referring to KKIC as Kahnawake Keeping It Country (Sheldon Harvey, QC, Jan 20, ibid.) I hope you're ready for this one! The country music station broadcasting on 106.7 MHz, ID'ing as KKIC-FM now has its very own website. Doing some searching on the Internet the following site came up: http://www.kkicradio.com/ Click on the "Contact" tab and you'll see that they have a mailing address, telephone number and several e-mail accounts listed. They are streaming their signal through the webpage. They also have some apparent advertising appearing on the home page. You can even e-mail them to make a song request. Most interesting (Sheldon Harvey, Jan 26, ibid.) I noticed a link on the web site for le repertoire des artistes quebecois as well as a mention that they plan to support local artists. Are they trying to convince the CRTC that pirate radio isn't all that bad? (hattonandco, Jan 26, ibid.) Does the CRTC have the authority - or cojones - to go into the Kahnawake Mohawk Sovereign Territory and shut them down? We shall see. KKIC looks like something a lot more interesting, and a lot more in demand than that atrocity known as Radio Enfant (I base that assessment on what I have heard from their Gatineau station). I'll take it one step further: Given that 106.7 was the home of the hapless Aboriginal Voices Radio, which could never get its act together, doesn't it follow that a First Nations group who know how to run a station shouldn't get a shot at that frequency, especially since they are offering something nobody else in Montreal is? (Neal Ford, Jan 27, ibid.) Industry Canada and the CRTC may have already played their cards when it comes to a radio station located on Mohawk territory. CKON 97.3 FM in Akwesasne has been in operation since 1984. If you read the information about this station on the Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CKON-FM you'll discover that according to the CRTC, this station does not exist! I did a search of the CRTC webpage, looking for references to either CKON or Akwesasne. Both searches come up empty. But, as is mentioned in the article, the call letters CKON do not appear as being in use by any other radio station in Canada, yet they do not appear as available call letters for use by potential new stations or stations wishing to change callsigns. So, what does all this mean? To me it means that the CRTC and Industry Canada do not know how to deal with radio stations that decide to begin broadcasting from Mohawk territory without their approval. It should be pointed out however that CKRK in Kahnawake [with which Sheldon was associated] did go through the full application and licensing process with CRTC and Industry Canada for operating a Canadian broadcasting undertaking. They recently received the renewal of their broadcasting licence (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) I'll look into the one (CKWE) that runs on 105.9 in the Tyendenaga Mohawk territory next to Belleville. http://www.tyendinaga.net/kweradio/kwelive.htm (Neal Ford, ibid.) Hey, Neal. It looks like you may have found another one! CKWE FM, on the CRTC site, is listed as a Native station located in Maniwaki, Quebec operating on 103.9 MHz. The "KWE" (a Mohawk greeting) that the station at Tyendinaga is using looks like it might just be a slogan name. So, possibly another unlicensed operation? (Sheldon Harvey, Jan 28, ibid.) This whole story is fascinating. I've been following it on here for a while. The question everyone is asking, and for which we don't know the answer: Why didn't they pick call letters that at least to the uninformed ear would blend in with licensed stations. In a part of the world with all C call letters, and next to a part of the US with W calls, they chose a K call. I understand the country reference. However the country station I'm responsible for has WKXH for calls. Why didn't they blend in with the call letters like the other stations on reserves which were mentioned by other posts. That's all for now (Bob at WSTJ in Vermont, Robert W Welch, ibid.) ** CANADA. AM DXers: 690 AND 940 MONTREAL GOING OFF THE AIR If you're an AM DXer in the eastern part of North America, you'll be interested to know CINF 690 and CINW 940 Montreal are going off the air permanently as of 7 p.m. tonight (0000 UT Saturday). The two stations are victims of the recession, says the station's owner, Corus Quebec. There were eight layoffs at CINF and two at CINW. As of now, a press release and a recorded message from the station manager is all you get when you go to http://www.940hits.com/ The site for CINF http://www.info690.com/ redirects you to the homepage of Corus Quebec news. 73, (Ricky Leong, Calgary, 1706 UT Jan 29, dxldyg via DX WORLD OF RADIO 1498, LISTENING DIGEST) Hi all, wow, really stunned to hear Info 690 on Mediumwave here in Montreal going off the air. It was a question of time for 940, kind of a joke to have music station on mediumwave, but I really found that Info 690 was useful, 24 h news station, great way to have latest news. I would turn on the radio a couple of times a day 20 - 30 minutes to have latest news. So 940 and 690 khz are going off the air at 7 PM local time, 0000 UT Saturday (Gilles Letourneau, Montreal, Canada, 1749 UT, ibid.) CBC was absolutely foolish ever to relinquish these wide-coverage outlets, regardless of what they can do on FM (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Agree totally. Couldn't even be justified on cost grounds. How many additional FM outlets had to be funded, constructed and maintained to cover the same area that 690 and 940 (not to mention 740 Toronto and 1070 Moncton) covered. Lots of brain cells were lost during the drug-obsessed 60s and 70s. Seems like those that lost the most went into radio management (John Figliozzi, NY, ibid.) Hi Glenn, I agree, their coverage on FM is much worse, and being FM mono. They really should have stayed on those frequencies (Gilles Letourneau, Montreal, Canada, ibid.) I fully agree Glenn, and continue to feel frustrated when cruising around hundreds of miles away from Canada, and in daylight can easily hear 740 and 940. They would be great asserts for CBC. [Later]: and assets too :>) (Andy O`Brien, NY, ibid.) Hello --- Thought I would share this with you since I'm in the coverage footprint. Today, Corus Quebec announced the cessation of operations at their two AM stations in Montreal (you can find lots of stuff if you Google it). I caught the tape loops from both AM940 ("Montreal's Greatest Hits") and Info690 ("Info six quatre-vingts dix"... French all-news format) this afternoon and grabbed a recorder to catch it for history. After 7 pm EST tonight these will be silent. I'm not a big MW person but thought these recordings might be of interest to someone out there. Feel free to pass on. Cheers (Rich Burns, NT2W, Potsdam, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) AM940 closedown announcement http://paulc.fileave.com/940closedown.wav Recorded at 2200 UT (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, Scotland, IRCA via DXLD) View the announcement, read it or listen to it by going to http://www.940hits.com/ (Paul Walker, http://www.onairdj.com WTFDA-AM et al., via DXLD) Personally, when I hear about AM stations going off air and not being able to survive, it leads me to ask the simple question. Why? I think the answer is just as simple. The vast majority of corporate managers to these stations know nothing about radio, most are bean counters and lawyers. There are still a few personally-owned stations and they seem to be doing much better than any of the ones owned by some large group. If the owners and managers of these AM stations were maybe to go back to the simple basics of programming, they would be doing much better at surviving. Stop trying FM formats on AM like music. And if you do a music format on AM make sure it fits that band. Something most "radio programmers" don't realize is today`s music is just mixed for the digital medium. But if you go back a few years. labels would make up to 3 different mixes. 1 mix for LP 1 mix for tape 2 mix for radio If you, let`s say, take a recording from, as an example, Ray Conniff, on AM a Ray Conniff recording from a technical standpoint will sound much better than anything done in the last 20 years. The reason is simple, the final mix. Back in the early 90s, when people were saying CD sounds better than vinyl, it did. The record labels, to push the new format, were releasing LPs with poor quality vinyl for pressing, and the mix that was being used to issue on CD was mixed for digital sound, not analogue. It's only been in the last 10 years that new LPs of new recordings being issued have gone back to basics. 1, by using virgin vinyl for pressing and 2, doing a final mix that best suits the format. Since 2000, CD sales have been dropping, but yet vinyl sales have gone up by 15% in the US, 18% in Europe, 22% in Japan and 17% here in Taiwan (Keith Perron, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Pretty amazing but I rather doubt the channels will remain vacant for long. I look forward to the reports from those of you who have two nice new clean frequencies to play with (Pete Taylor, IRCA via DXLD) Shades of 1999! The original occupants, CBF and CBM, went silent in early 1999 (January and May, respectively, I think), and CINF and CINW showed up in November of that year. For the months in between, 690 and 940 were a happy hunting ground for AM DXers in the northeast. I had a total of 30 new loggings on those two channels during that period, but there's still lots more stations to look for... should be fun! (Barry McLarnon VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) AM INFO690 MONTRÉAL AND AM940 MONTREAL'S GREATEST HITS TO CEASE OPERATION ON JANUARY 29, 2010 Montreal, January 29, 2010 - Corus Entertainment announced today that AM Info690 Montréal and AM940 Montreal's Greatest Hits will cease operation on January 29 at 7 p.m. Despite the excellence and dedication of station employees, Info690 and AM940 are unprofitable. Corus Québec and its employees worked to grow audience and revenues on both these stations while operating them as efficiently as possible. It is clear that these two AM stations are not viable, particularly in the current economic climate. This decision affects 10 positions, including eight positions at Info690: three journalist positions, two traffic reporter positions and three operations positions. At AM940 Montreal's Greatest Hits, two positions were affected: one on-air host position and one technician position. The Info690 Montréal newsroom, known as CorusNouvelles, will continue its activities as part of 98,5 FM Montréal. CorusNouvelles will continue to invest in providing news content to the entire Corus Québec network and its clients. The majority of journalist positions from the Info690 newsroom (five of eight journalist positions along with three of five traffic reporter positions) will be retained. "We put tremendous effort into trying to find the right format and content to grow our audience base and operate profitably, but after years of effort it is clear these AM stations are not viable," said Mario Cecchini, Vice President, Corus Québec. "We would like to thank the employees affected by this decision for their hard work. We would also like to acknowledge the support of listeners and advertising clients of Info690 Montréal and AM940 Montreal's Greatest Hits." The operating licences for these two AM stations will be returned to the CRTC. Corus Québec employs 466 people in Quebec. About Corus Québec Corus Québec is an integral part of Corus Entertainment Inc. and the largest private content and information broadcaster in Quebec. Corus Québec reaches more than 4.5 million listeners each week and operates 96,9 CKOI Montréal, 102,1 CKOI Quebec City, 104,5 CKOI Eastern Townships, 98,5 FM Montréal, CKAC Sports Montréal, 92-5 The Q Montreal, 103,9 CIME FM Laurentians and the Souvenirs Garantis network: 102,9 FM Quebec City, 107,7 FM Eastern Townships, 98,3 FM Saguenay, 104,7 FM Gatineau/Ottawa and 106,9 FM Mauricie. According to comScore Media Metrix, Corus Québec websites are visited by over 525,000 French-speaking users and 3 million English-speaking users in Canada every month (CORUS PR via Anthony Markewicz, Winnipeg, DXLD) Hi from Montreal!? Yes, it's 100% true. Both stations started running the announcements at 10 am today and will pull the plug on both at 7 pm tonight. The announcements are basically identical, on 940 in English and on 690 in French. Both are Corus Entertainment owned radio stations. We're trying to get further information from the managers, but it seems that a single person has been appointed at the media spokesperson for these decisions. Waiting to hear more. Will report when I have anything new. In the meantime, get ready for DXing at 7 pm (eastern) this evening (Sheldon Harvey, Radio H.F. - Canada`s specialist in radio communications, http://www.radiohf.ca 1821 UT Jan 29, NRC-AM via DXLD) This also of course became the hottest topic on the radioinmontreal yg, starting with: Breaking News - 940 AM is no more! I just heard from Dave Melanson in Verdun that a recorded announcement has begun running on AM 940 at 10 am this morning. Corus has ceased programming on 940 at 10 am this morning and is announcing that at 7 pm tonight they will no longer be broadcasting. More to follow; obviously (Sheldon Harvey, QC, 1504 UT Jan 29, radioinmontreal yg via DXLD) 690 is also going off the air (Avrom Shtern, ibid.) Sounds like they're preparing to sell off the frequency. Quite possibly along with the 690 frequency. Could this be a sign that Rogers has made a deal with Corus and will soon begin operating a new pair of all news stations in Montreal? Or am I dreaming? (For the record I have no idea if the two companies have been in talks.) It just seems to me that if Corus was going to sell to anyone, Rogers with their experience with all news stations - would be a good fit. Maybe all this is - is the chickens coming home to roost. Neither makes enough money to keep running so; just pull the plug (Michael Dean, ibid.) Here is a link to Chanel 12 copy of the news release http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100129/mtl_940_690_cancelled100129/20100129/?hub=MontrealHome (Fred Arshoff, ibid.) Just a thought: Maybe it's time to lobby CBC to return to AM in Montreal? That would a great fix for persistent reception problems with CBME-FM and CBF-FM in fringe reception areas. CBC could keep 88.5 FM and 95.1 FM in Montreal metro. They could go back to simulcasting on 690 AM and 940 AM and give up 104.7 NDG and 101.9 Cowansville. Don't know if CBF-FM has added repeaters to make up for coverage deficiencies. In any case, I'm sure there would be no problem shortage of takers if those FM allocations were to be freed up. Out here in the prairies, CBC has chosen to keep AM to serve outlying areas and add FM to serve urban areas. The CRTC even clued in on this when they refused CBC's plan to give up CBU 690 in Vancouver but allowed them to simulcast on FM for Vancouver metro (Ricky Leong, Calgary, ibid.) Does anyone think CJAD or CKGM would want to grab one of these class-A frequencies. With CanWest's publishing division bankrupt, and now this, will someone wake up and see that mass media consolidation is a BAD thing? (Marc Guerard, ibid.) Great point! I was just thinking the very same thing. CJAD sat on their hands the last time these frequencies came up for grabs. Now's the time for AD to get off their butts to solve all of their coverage problems once and for all by grabbing one of these two clear channels. We brought this up to them when CBC left the frequencies in the past but got treated as if we were aliens from Mars for bringing up such a ridiculous proposal! Well, think of never having to change your pattern or reduce your night-time power again, and never having to worry about a chunk of your audience losing your signal each night. It makes sense to us but, remember, we don't know much...we're just a bunch of radio geeks! If it was me, I'd be filling out the paperwork for the CRTC as we speak (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) Hi all, Really surprised to see 690 go off the air also. I really enjoyed having a countinuous info station in French, was great to tune in 15 or 20 minutes to hear the latest news. Gonna miss that kind of station. I guess nobody listens to AM radio no more. Signal will be leaving the airwaves at 7 pm today (0000 UT Saturday) (Gilles LeTourneau, ibid.) Sheldon: I would send that message, pretty much as you wrote it, to Ian Greenberg today. Maybe, just maybe, with Astral things will be different than 11 years ago. Actually, CINF closing down is more surprising. This is a serious problem. There are now less venues with which to get information out. We're fortunate to have highspeed Internet connections but certainly not 100% of people have that. I don't blame the Internet, iPods, etc. for this. It's clearly a failure of too much being owned by too few (Marc Guerard, ibid.) The closing of CINF surprises me, too. Rogers has seemingly found a way to make all-news radio work in Calgary. Corus has done the same in Edmonton. Cherry on the sundae: Both of these are on AM. The Calgary and Edmonton markets are SMALLER than the Montreal Francophone market and there is just as much radio media saturation here as there is back east (Ricky Leong, Calgary, ibid.) Gazette Story About 690/940 http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/AM940+Info690/2499582/story.html (via Jon, ibid.) Good riddance. About time 940 AM as we know it ceased to exist. Their all-music format was obviously not the way to go right from the start of the switch. Apparently they only had two employees anyway. CJAD will not take the 940 signal; their view is that nobody switches their dial away from 800. Hopefully somebody will come though and buy out the station and will allow for some real competition for News/Talk Radio in Montreal (~Ryan Rider, ibid.) They are turning in their licences. You can't sell what you don't have (Ted Silver, ibid.) Well, they can't sell the frequencies, but they can sell the equipment. In fact, here in Montreal we now have two sets of transmitters and two sets of transmitter towers. The old 690/940 CBC site in Brossard/Laprairie still stands after so many years of inactivity. Now the site in Chateauguay with the CINF/CINW transmission towers will be standing there silent. To get the frequencies, the applications have to be filed with CRTC and the usual process followed. But, I believe that with the apparent lack of interest in AM frequencies in most of eastern Canada, CRTC might just practically rubber stamp anyone applying for them (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) I contacted Corus to try to get someone to appear on our International Radio Report program on Sunday morning on CKUT to talk about this. I got this interesting response. All inquiries need to go through this person: Casacom Annick Belanger 514-286-2145 ext 233 The rest of us will not be making public comments. I checked out Casacom on the net http://www.casacom.ca --- Seems they are some sort of P.R. firm. They call themselves "a house of communications and public relations". Bizarre! (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) Thank you Ted. I only learned that fact after I wrote the posting. Only learned of the CTV and Gazette articles afterward. So what will become of the frequencies? Lots of speculation or plenty of room for it. Given the economic climate and the debt the major players in Canada are dealing with - it will certainly be interesting to see if anyone looks to petition the CRTC for them and set up a new station or stations in Montreal. Maybe a private company? Among the majors - Rogers would make a good fit - I stand by that - but the company just recently announced layoffs within its television division. So who's to say if there's anyone out there who'd want the frequencies and can afford to set up a pair of new stations (Michael Dean, ibid.) Is it just me, or does anyone else find this a little distasteful that Corus announces that due to the economic situation they have decided to pull the plug on the two stations, yet they have the money to hire an outside communications/PR firm to handle inquiries about the decision? I sure these guys don't come cheap. By the way, I called the firm several hours ago and got voice mail. Haven't hear a word back from them yet. Maybe one of the staffers cut loose could have been kept on for a few more days to answer the phone and e-mail inquiries coming in regarding the decision! Oh yeah, right, once again we're just the radio geeks (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) Or what`s wrong if upper management such as Mario as VP Quebec takes the calls. To me its wasting money when you`re losing money, with a PR firm; they don't come cheap. They also have the PP; I'm sure she could have taken the calls no mention that she got the AX. She may have just been moved as ASST PD to the Q or 1 of the other stations on the French side (Fred Arshoff, ibid.) This is an interesting posting by someone identified only as "K.E." on the Southern Ontario/Western New York board. Anyone have an idea who this might be? It really is sad that, technically and historically speaking, 940 signing off marks the end of the the longest continuously running radio station, and the first, XWA (CFCF/CIQC/CINW and anything else it may have been called in its lifetime). It all comes to an end this evening at 7 pm with basically little fanfare. A sad day in history. (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) Viz.: Posted by K.E. on January 29, 2010, 4:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Montreal's Greatest....." Until Corus bought it, I wore 3 hats at "940 News;" P.D., Creative Director, News Director (briefly). Both the AM news stations were bloated and very expensive to run, mostly because they were unionized. It was kind of a nightmare scenario. They were never going to make real money. They were bought as pieces of a larger package and I'm sure many Corus execs have lost many nights sleep in the last few years trying to figure out how to get rid of the headaches. I'll bet those guys will have a beautiful night's sleep after surrendering the licenses. Of course, it's sad that the descendant of Canada's first license has gone dark. But the fact is, English radio over-all in Montreal has tepidly removed itself from relevancy in the market - and certainly AM radio is close to ringing the final bell if you aren't CJAD. These 2 stations will disappear without a trace nor whimper - the epitaph of radio's relationship with its market the last 15 years (via Harvey, ibid.) K.E. would be one Keith Elshaw an individual who "did" work for 940 News many years ago. One whose stay in the positions he mentioned were brief and no more than a footnote. I won't say more as I don't wish to attack an individual who isn't here to defend themself. Suffice to say he had no business working as a PD or a News Director (Michael Dean, ibid.) The two websites have now been updated. The old CINW AM 940 Hits http://www.940hits.com now presents you with the text of the press release from Corus and a link to the tape loop being played on the station. The Info 690 site http://www.info690.com now takes you to the CorusNouvelles site for 98.5 FM. History slipping away by the minute! (Sheldon Harvey, 2146 UT Jan 29, ibid.) The 940/690 Challenge Challenge: Find another station on this continent with 3.5 million and 600 thousand people where a 50 kW AM signal cannot survive yet thrive. Good luck! This says one thing: poor management, no vision, and no creativity. I like Dickie's 940's clip. "Turn to 92-5 for personalities...". Didn't they blow out Tasso and Suzanne because "people want music instead of personalities"? AM can make money. Look at 740 in Toronto. You need the right sales and programming with the corporate support to experiment (Brian P. McGlynn, ibid.) Well, that's it! They're off the air. I was tuned to 940 and according to my clock they went off a couple of minutes late, around 7:02 pm with absolutely no fanfare. I assume it was the same on 690. Now we'll check and see what's lurking behind them. In the meantime, why not reflect on their history by reviewing these two great pages from the Canadian Communications Foundation. The links may be too long to appear as live links in this posting. If so, just copy and paste them into your browser: CINW (XWA/CFCF/CIQC) http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listings_and_histories/radio/histories.php?id=492&historyID=243 CINF (CKVL) http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listings_and_histories/radio/histories.php?id=500&historyID=248 (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) I fully agree. It's all about the quality of the product you put on the air. If you're innovative and offer something unique, they will come. But if all you do is hook up an iTunes playlist to the transmitter, they will not come (Marc Guerard, ibid.) I agree with both you Gentleman, it's another sad day for Radio in Montreal. Those are by far some of the best clear channel frequencies in Canada. Corus has failed Montrealers once again and its partly the CRTC's fault. We need new and motivated independent ownership in Montreal. I knew it was coming and my Grandfather would be a sad man to see what is going on in this market today. Kind Regards to all, (Jordan Tietolman, ibid.) Jordan, tonight out here in the west, as a former employee of your grandfather, I raise a glass in his memory. Indeed sad in many ways - -- remembering CKVL and CFCF --- two greats, no doubt about it. (John Sykes, ibid.) Marc, Good statement, but it doesn't go far enough. I might suggest one could continue with the following: ..too few who are too fat, and interested in only one thing, that being pleasing the shareholders. NONE of the ownership of any English language station in this city is LOCAL (sorry Astral, simply having a head office here doesn't count since your Toronto holdings seem to take precedence). So how could one expect a corporate suit in T.O. or Calgary or wherever to show an iota of interest in pleasing the Montreal listener? That having been said, I'll repeat what I had posted some months ago. Not only has Corus helped to erode the quality and integrity of English radio in this city, they've also managed to accomplish a like feat on the French side. Note to Gilles Letourneau, it's not that nobody listens to AM any more. It's more like AM radio (or at least the entities running/ruining it) doesn't have much worth listening for. I'll echo Brian McGlynn's comment. Build it and they will come. Put something on the air other than idle, oft-times self-interested banter, and tired/worn music and people might just take notice. As in all broadcast endeavours, content is (or should be) king. Much of that has been lost on owners who see well paid staff as nothing more than an itch on the bottom line, and their Federal regulator who allows licenses to be shuffled about like some scam card game while showing little if any regard to the public it is supposed to be serving. Shameful (Al Randall, ibid.) Guys, it's time to get real. Content is what you find on the CBC (or Rad-Can, if you want to refer to the French side). A newscast that is longer than 30 seconds, and contains news from places outside the province of Quebec, music of all types, and, finally, actual programs on definite subjects, people who have brains being interviewed, on topics that are in the news, or, frequently, are not in the news. Listen to Daybreak interviewing, say, Jean Charest, when is the last time you heard an interview with ANYONE on private radio? As for private radio, what do we find? Advertising that is SHOUTED at the listener at a decibel level that is intolerable, ads that run into each other, ads that are narrated by the same guy who spins the records, so that you do not know who exactly he is working for -- the station or the advertiser? Between the ads, what do we have? The absolutely inane patter of the disc jockeys, yes, let's use that term instead of that silly morning man nonsense, the morning man is nothing more or less than a glorified deejay. The weather repeated dozens of times in a one-hour period, endless traffic reports, most of which are thoroughly useless because drivers for quite understandable reasons use the same route each day -- what you are going to change your route because the guy on the radio tells you that there is a traffic jam, and then you get lost so you get in for work a half-hour late, sure, that's gonna happen, and the music -- ah, yes, the music, which consists on most radio stations of rock and ONLY rock music,, could radio stations play something else, country, say, or the blues, or jazz, or worldbeat, or classical, ah no, that way they would be godforbid different, and who wants to be different, anyways, the CRTC might do something. Oh, and let's not forget the contests, ah, yes, the contests, dozens and dozens of them, all of them screamed at the listener at the same atrocious decibel levels as the advertising. In fact, come to think of it, YELLING is the sine qua non of private radio. If you are incapable of yelling at the listener, then you don't have any future at all in private radiio. (Dave Pinto, a confirmed CBC listener, altho even the CBC is declining, listen to the idiotic promos just before the news, ibid.) I did a bit of tuning on 690 and 940 kHz between 9 and 10:30 pm to see what might be making it through with the frequencies open. So far, I've IDed one station on each frequency. On 690 there is a Cuban station, with Spanish talk and music. It is called Radio Progreso. On 940 I'm hearing two stations but have IDed only one of them so far. It is WGRP in Greenville, Pennsylvania, playing country music. They are IDing as Classic Country WANR 15-70 and WGRP 9-40. The second station sounds like it might be a religious station, but not able to ID it yet (Sheldon Harvey, UT Jan 30, ibid.) I was listening at the very same time riding along Concord Avenue in St Johnsbury, VT. At a radio station's darkest hour, proving its immediate potential. Thousands of people in a multitude of places can be listening to the same radio station (Bob Welch, WSTJ St Johnsbury, VT, ibid.) In the car I was able to get WRKO quite clearly and what sounded like WBEN (Marc Guerard, ibid.) WRKO is from Boston on 680 kHz and WBEN on 930 in Buffalo, NY (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) I know there's a WGFP in Webster, Mass. at 940. Ironically, last summer they failed to power down one night and heard a high school football game on 940 here in St Johnsbury. I was hearing ads for Webster Savings Bank and a few sponsors south of Worcester where I grew up. It made me chuckle (Bob Welch, ibid.) I would imagine that someone will put in an application at some point for 690 kHz. The business case is tough to justify erecting a new towers, although the CBC could lease their old 690 transmitter plant as they did with 740 in Toronto. If the assets of 940 could be purchased for a reasonable price, a nice business could be set up with an Oldies or Music of Your Life format. The 50+ demographic is underserved, and grew up listening to music on AM. Plus, a format like that could be executed on AM since Montreal AM stations are not penalized like FMs with the 50% non-hit programming restrictions. It's sad to see a heritage resource for the community squandered away by mismanagement. Everyone loses. Corus lost money, Canada lost a piece of history. I'm glad to see that North America still has two heritage broadcasters alive. KDKA (1920) is hanging strong in the post-PPM world at #3 with a News-Talk format in Pittsburgh. In San Francisco, KCBS (1909) is #2 in the market with an All News format. Both stations are owned by CBS. CBS knows radio. It shows (Brian P. McGlynn, ibid.) WBEN stands for Buffalo Evening News, original owner. Unfortunately for you, the Red Sox games are on 850 WEEI now. Last year they were on 680 WRKO. Now that's a thought. They should've put the Red Sox games on 940. That would've kept the Northern tier of New England riveted. Can't forget the regional favorite WBZ. The most-listened to station in New England (Bob Welch at WSTJ, one of the many Red Sox radio stations, ibid.) Yeah. But I figured I'd try the adjacents, too. I'm also getting WLW 700 clear as a whistle. I don't have the right antenna but I wonder if the Mexican blaster XEWW 690 [latest call for Tijuana] would come through. A long shot but you never know (Marc Guerard, ibid.) Re: Survey period: Radio Meter 2008 – September 28, 2009 - December 27, 2009 -- Found it again here http://bbm.ca/_documents/radio_market_ratings/ppm_top-line_radio_data/montreal/top_line_radio_reports_-_montreal_01-07-2010.pdf (Ricky Leong, Calgary, ibid.) The idea of CJAD or Team 990 moving to 940 would be quite risky, especially for The Team. So much resources has been placed into building the "Team 990" brand over the years that I doubt that Bell GlobeMedia will spend the cash necessary to rebrand the station (Ian Smith, ibid.) Regarding "it's not that nobody listens to AM any more. It's more like AM radio (or at least the entities running/ruining it) doesn't have much worth listening for...", I agree but there are exceptions and I will miss Coast to Coast AM with George Noory that was on 940 AM between 12 & 6 AM. Back to WHAM, WBT, WWVA and WABC. If my memory is correct wasn't Coast to Coast the most listened to overnight show here in Montreal. If it was, I wonder now that Chris is PD at CJAD and brought that show to Montreal if he will bring to CJAD as it`s now available (Avrom Shtern, ibid.) I am surprised that no one else brought this up. The only two employees affected by the closing of 940 were the morning man+Jim Connel and and an operator. Those two salaries could be on annual basis be 80k. With all the staff that Corus has across the country and with the local staff of Q92, it`s very hard to believe that they couldn`t justify the expense of voice tracing the whole day or even using syndicated programming. The advertising needed to support this cost would be minimal if not trivial. This shutdown needs to be investigated by the DOT and the CRTC. If the union was responsible for this, they should be exposed as well. I think it`s time that the public hold these large corporations up to a higher scrutiny. The licence they have is more than a right, it`s a privilege (montrealman95, ibid.) I haven't seen the operating statements for the stations, but would imagine the costs to be significantly high for both properties. AM stations are much more expensive than FM to operate for one simple reason: the cost of transmission. AM stations require substantial real-estate for the tower arrays. With these arrays, comes the maintenance burden of painting, tuning, proofing, and paying the electric bill. On top of these costs comes the administration costs for payroll, billing, sales, and office space. It all adds up quickly on the off-air side. What happened with 690/940 is actually the best case. Corus was not successful on AM in Quebec, and now they've turned the licenses back into the CRTC where a new entity can apply for the frequencies. My guess is that they are tweaking the books for a possible sale of the entire cluster. By dropping less profitable operations, revenues may decrease but the operating margin increases making the properties more attractive. It would be nice to see a local entrepreneur pick up 940 and resurrect the CFCF or CIQC brand with Good Time Oldies or the Music of Your Life. CJAD's brand is what most likely killed 940 Montreal within the confines of the old diary-based measurement system. With the PPM, I would venture to guess that CINW's share in the all-news and talk days was substantially higher. Never underestimate the power of brand (Brian P. McGlynn, ibid.) CINW 940 / CINF 690 : The rest of the story There has been some speculation that Corus could be willing to sell CINW and/or CINF. Someone pointed out on another forum (radiowest.ca) that in at least one case (CJCA 930 in Edmonton, ca. 1993) the owner ceased programming and said that they were mailing back the station's license to the CRTC, but in the following months the license was in fact sold to a new owner, and the station went back on the air. Unfortunately, there are some reasons to believe that a CJCA-style scenario will definitely not happen. In an interview heard yesterday afternoon on 98.5 FM, Mario Cecchini, vice-president of Corus Quebec, did say that the licenses were being returned to the CRTC and that anyone could now apply for a new station on 690 and/or 940. Perhaps more importantly, he said that Corus had received a number of unsolicited offers for CINF and CINW, including a very recent one for CINW 940. He claimed that the amount offered was insufficient, and he also mentioned that Corus feared that any attempt to sell the stations would result in a lot of hassles, not unlike what happened in the sale of CHRC 800 in Quebec City. (The CRTC authorized the sale but with conditions that were unacceptable to the new owners, and Corus ultimately had to buy back the contracts of some employees in order for the sale to proceed.) Draw your own conclusions... (Paul Tremblay, ibid.) How could an offer be insufficient; they close it down and don`t receive a penny. What absolute nonsense. They do take us for idiots. Like I said earlier, there is some hankey pankey going on here, and hopefully someone with some intestinal fortitude will give us the "real story" (montrealman95, ibid.) Someone, who will remain nameless, suggested to me yesterday this could be a way of getting rid of the union - the evil villain blamed for the high cost of running these stations. A hypothetical conversation between Corus and a potential buyer could have gone something like this... Buyer: "Well we are very interested in buying up the stations but they cost to much to staff thanks to the union." Corus: "Let's do this then, we'll hand the licences back to the CRTC - you immediately petition for them and later down the road you give us stations X, Y & Z in markets A, B & C - no one will even notice!" Let's face it - if someone had simply bought the stations from Corus, they'd have been stuck with the unions (FTQ & CSN). This way the stations are no more and the union is out in the cold. Anyone picking up those frequencies now will be free to open two non-union shops and pay their employees next to nothing. Now, I'm not saying this IS what's happening or that such a conversation ever took place. I have no way of knowing - but it certainly would be one way of getting rid of the union and high wages & benefits. And let's not forget the valid points put forward by - I think it was Brian. The union wasn't the biggest problem plaguing 940 - not in the end at least. Hell, they only had two employees. 690 was a little differant but the expenses enumerated by Brian are a major factor as well. Management likes to target the high pay on-air employees but there's more to it than that (Michael Dean, ibid.) Now it can be told I'll break my own rule here for a moment and reproduce a segment of a posting by Brian, and follow it up with some comments. "Brian P. McGlynn" wrote: "If the assets of 940 could be purchased for a reasonable price, a nice business could be set up with an Oldies or Music of Your Life format. The 50+ demographic is underserved, and grew up listening to music on AM. Plus, a format like that could be executed on AM since Montreal AM stations are not penalized like FMs with the 50% non-hit programming restrictions." Brian, and a few others, brought up the subject of AM 740 in Toronto, called Zoomer Radio. This station was purchased by Moses Znaimer, a true Canadian entrepreneur. It's an independent station doing its own thing and filling a void in the Toronto radio market. They will never be number one but I believe that they will be able to generate a nice income for themselves, serving a segment of the population that everyone else seems to want to ignore. Some of you may know that I worked for 9 months in 2008 at K-103 in Kahnawake. One of the proudest accomplishments of my time there was the creation, with Michael Sky, of a program called "The Bingo Lounge", Friday nights from 6 to 8 pm. It's a weekly mixture of oldies, popular standards, big bands, light jazz vocals and instrumentals, etc. We've managed to build up a music library of over 3,000 songs by over 850 different artists, spanning almost 100 years worth of music. Much of this music is just not heard anywhere on the radio any more --- and people really appreciate it. With Montreal radio in desperate need of something different and unique, I prepared a detailed proposal for Brian DePoe at Corus looking to put a similar program on the air on either Saturday or Sunday evenings on 940 AM. With the right publicity and marketing of such a program on a station and frequency that could reach out far and wide, I truly believe that a substantial audience could be built for this sort of programming. If this was given a chance to develop and succeed, I believed that there might be the possibility of 940 converting to a popular standards station like Zoomer in Toronto. After all, what did Corus have to lose with 940. It would at least be worth a try. With CJAD having a stranglehold on the AM radio and knowing who makes up a large percentage of their audience, I believe that this type of programming could put a substantial dent into that audience, offering up a unique and appealing alternative. The growing popularity of standards and light jazz artists in the music world today such as Diana Krall, Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr., and the like, a new young audience is being drawn to this standards music, both new and old. This combined with the growing popularity of dance competition shows like So You Think You Can Dance, etc., and the growing number of dinner/dance clubs featuring this music in and around the Montreal region, I feel the time is now for something like this. Seeing 940 searching for some sort of audience and identity, this is something that has not yet been tried here, but has already showed some success with stations such as 740 in Toronto. Lots of people have said that music won't work on AM. Well, the popular standards genre of music was first heard on AM and still suits the medium well. I am firmly convinced that such a station featuring such a format of music, combined with live and entertaining on-air personalities who know the music and the times that the music comes from, that a small, niche-market operation could be created and comfortably survive in our city. DePoe indicated that he liked the proposal and would consider it, however he indicated that Corus was seriously looking at what they would be doing with 940 and 690 in the New Year. At that time I didn't feel that shutdown was going to be one of the options. Obviously with yesterday's developments, the proposal has died a quick death. However it is encouraging to see a number of you talking about this format as something that might work here. We need another Moses Znaimer (or perhaps the same one!) to step forward and take a chance with it here in Montreal. In the meantime, I'd at least encourage you all to tune in Mike Sky on K-103 on Friday evenings to listen to the Bingo Lounge from 6 to 8 pm and see what you think. We even have a Facebook page (Search for The Bingo Lounge) for the show where each week's playlist is posted together with other related material. Check it out and you'll see the great and unique selection of music being offered up each week. I think you'll enjoy it. If you can't hear K-103 on the air, you can tune in K-103's streaming through their webpage at http://www.k103radio.com Mike and I would be most interested to know what you think of the show (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) Look for WOKV 690 to boom in with talk just before its pattern change at Jacksonville, FL sunset (Brock Whaley, HI, Sent from my iPhone, NRC-AM via DXLD) January: 1230-2245 UT; February: 1215-2315 UT (from http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/srsstime?dlat=30&mlat=7&slat=56.00&dlon=81&mlon=42&slon=0.00&tzone=A via DXLD) Corus closing 2 Montreal AM stations Media company says AM Info 690 and AM940, being shut Friday, are not profitable or viable Read the full article online at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/corus-closing-2-montreal-am-stations/article1449183/ (via Doug Copeland, MB, DXLD) CINF and CINW recordings. Hello All, I just posted some recordings on the Web Archive, at http://www.archive.org/details/Cinf690AndCinw940FinalMomentsOnAirJan.29th2010 I managed to get CINW as it went off the air, also recorded station announcements in the hour before the stations went off (Curtis Sadowski, Paxton, Illinois, Jan 30, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) A very good case can be made for CINF being, until today, the oldest operating broadcasting station in the world. They started as XWA on longwave 250 kHz in the fall of 1919 (Marconi experimental broadcasting station) then became 9xx (forget the exact call) in 1920, then CFCF in 1922. Yes, I know about the 1909 claim of KCBS. 73, (Deane McIntyre, AB, VE6BPO, IRCA via DXLD) KCBS started as an experimental station in San Jose CA in 1909. Licensed as KQW in 1920-1921, moved to San Francisco and then became KCBS. They were #1 on the air in US, but not the first licensed by the FRC (Mike Hawkins, ibid.) The only AM station in Montreal really drawing any major audience is the English station CJAD on 800 kHz. The two stations being closed down today are basically bottom-feeders in both the English and French ratings wars in Montreal. 730 CKAC and 990 CKGM are two basically all-sports stations, French and English respectively. We have some other minor players in the market; ethnic stations on 1280, 1450 and 1650; the Haitian station on 1610 and Concordia University's 1650 kHz. station. There is a French language country station on 1040 kHz. Of all of these stations, the only one that has any substantial audience is CJAD on 800. Everything else is over on the FM side (Sheldon Harvey, QC, Jan 29, NRC-AM via DXLD) That's what I also heard on CBC/SRC. They leave the air for good at 7 pm EST. Corus pull the plug after losing too much money. Most of the staff will work for the other Corus stations and they will continue to feed all their stations, but about 10 people will be laid off. It is not related to the union-management negociations. From a local point of view, it is sad. They had lots of problems off and on-air, but it liked the all-day traffic reports and the "new" 940 format. From a DXer point of view, it opens new and interesting possibilities. I wonder who will move (or apply) to fill in the gap. Both frequencies are clear channel and I hope the new stations will use them properly, not just an amateurish local station who will just take an available opportunity. My quick-made mp3 recordings: [very loud and noisy] http://www.barraclou.com/media/radio/cinw940_100129_closure.mp3 http://www.barraclou.com/media/radio/cinf690_100129_fermeture.mp3 The contents is the same in English and in French. The radio signals and the websites broadcast the same loop. CINF went silence the same way at 0003 UT (Jeff, Mtl, Jan 29, ABDX via DXLD) Closedown loop of AM 940 recorded here at 2200 UT: http://paulc.fileave.com/940closedown.wav (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, Scotland, ibid.) You can access this file at the URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ABDX/files/Captures/cinf_cinw_closure.mp3 Regards, (Bogdan Chiochiu, ABDX via DXLD) local-quality The only Cuban on 690 is Radio Progreso. See if it is // their main outlet on 640 (which WRTH 2010 shows with two Progreso transmitters, plus one Rebelde in the east). 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Progreso ID heard a few minutes ago. 690 is starting to get interesting. Some English floated up minutes ago, and I recognize the program as "As It Happens" - gotta be CBU! There is also a US station in the mix at times, heard running ads, but no ID yet (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, 0240 UT Jan 30, ibid.) Also heard in the past few minutes: R. Progreso, with ID at 2131 EST, unID US station running ads, and most surprising, CBU, running As It Happens, surfacing at times (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, IRCA via DXLD) Someone with oldies bubbled up briefly, but presumed Cuba seemed to dominate here once Info 690 signed off for good. At 11 pm WIST-LA was on top but at least 2 others are fighting with it. Should be an interesting frequency to watch (Brett Saylor, Central PA, ibid.) I heard the last death throw [sic] of CINW. As I was tuning around on my SRF-49 I heard the last words from CINW on 940 kHz as the station management apologized for their going of the air. I was shocked to hear it come out of the muck of interfering stations for the last minute of operation at 2359 UT. It makes my first station in the Quebec, Province, Canada. It's too bad that it was as the station was driving the last nail while boarding up the windows. :( But a notable one for the logbook (Alex N8UCN / KOH8IG / SWLR-RN037, ibid.) In Springboro OH (ARRL Lookup) Mark Connelly predicts a Latin American feeding frenzy, but I doubt it based upon current conditions, at least here at my inland location. For example 720 is essentially a clear channel here as WGN Chicago is rather wimpy, yet the Canaries and Portugal seem to be the only regulars - no Latin Americans here. Conditions toward Mexico have been poor too. Even reception of Cuba has been poor lately. I would predict that transoceanic signals on 693, 936, and 945 will be the primary beneficiaries of 690 CINF and 940 CINW being silent. Both CINF and CINW blanketed 680-700 and 930-950 with their 10-kHz wide hi- fi audio. I will miss CINW though, as I've often enjoyed the oldies on the car radio during the morning and evening commutes. Now there's no longer any good music stations available on AM. 1370 WFEA is too starchy for me, and 1350 WEZS has lousy 5 kHz audio. The Spanish tropical stations 800 WNNW and 1400 WLLH suffer from too much interference during sunrise/sunset commuting hours. I expect 693 will be dominated by BBC Five in the evening as usual, but 693 could be an interesting prospect at sunrise for Japan or other transpacific action. Anything goes on 936; Italy at s/on-off, Morocco, Egypt, and Spain, maybe Ukraine 2100 s/off at a coastal site. 945 might yield something interesting through typically dominant France; maybe Romania, Greece, Angola, or Botswana? You guys on the Cape may have better luck with Latin American DX on 690 and 940, but I'm not expecting much here other than Cuba and Mexico re-logs. What we really need is a good old-fashioned aurora (Bruce Conti, NH, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) I just heard KTSM with an ID at 0000 EST, for my first new 690 logging in nearly five years. Methinks there's no way they could be on their night pattern for them to be heard here (1872 miles away). Not that I'm complaining, mind you... :-) (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON 0518 UT Jan 30, IRCA) KTSM = El Paso TX CANADA'S FIRST RADIO STATION GOES OFF THE AIR Canwest News Service, By Mike King, January 29, 2010, Montreal Canada's first radio station fell silent on Friday night, as Canadian media and entertainment empire Corus Entertainment Inc., pulled the plug on two Montreal AM stations. . . http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2501508 (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2010/01/29/qc-corus-closes-stations.html I heard the announcement a few times and then it went away. This waterfall shows it: http://dx.3sdesign.de/temp/Spectr-100130-0104-CINW-950-closedown.jpg CJGX remains as a weak carrier. 940 is tough here due to my local R. Bremen-936. CINF was even rarer, also due to BBC-R5 on 693. Seeing a very weak carrier of 0 Hz, tent CBU? (Jurgen Bartels, Suellwarden, N. Germany, Winradio G305 & Perseus, 300m beverage & dual-feed 30x4m EWE pointing 320 , http://dx.3sdesign.de/station_list.htm MWDX yg via DXLD) Wow! This is a unique shot for sure! (Sylvain Naud, Portneuf, QC, ibid.) "Corus closing 2 Montreal AM stations" at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/corus-closing-2-montreal-am-stations/article1449183/?service=email (via Doug Copeland, MB, DXLD) It was of course CFCF on 600 that moved to 940 and became CINW when CBM (which itself started as CRCM in 1933) moved to FM. CBF started in 1937 and was on 910 at first, moving to 690 in 1941 and to FM 95.1 MHz in 1998. CRCM started in 1933 on 1050, moved to 960 in 1937 and to 940 in 1941 then to FM 88.5 MHz as CBME-FM in 1998 CINF started as CKVL on 990 in 1946. Moved to 850 later then 690 in 1999, changing calles to CINF at that time XWA started in 1919 on 250 kHz longwave, then changed calls to 9xx (have yet to find the reference to the actual call) in 1920 I think. Became CFCF in 1922 when they moved to 440 meters (683 kHz). Moved to 1030 later then 600 in the early 1930's where they stayed until they moved to 940 in 1999 changing calls to CINW. Lots of good info on Canadian broadcasting history at http://www.broadcasting-history.ca 73, (Deane McIntyre, VE6BPO, IRCA via DXLD) Some history here too... http://www.oldradio.com/archives/international/canada2.htm (Mike Hawkins, ibid.) Corus shuts 2 Montreal AM stations --- Long, and now the author of the blog (working at Montreal Gazette) hears Plattsburg more clearly (see twitter sidebar) Linkname: Corus shuts down AM stations Info 690, 940 Hits - Fagstein URL: http://blog.fagstein.com/2010/01/29/corus-shuts-down-cinf-cinw/ Last Mod: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:48:54 GMT size: 431 lines (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) ** CANADA. Gary Siegel asked me privately if I had noticed that CFZM- 740 [Toronto] had changed its music so that, during the time slots other than evenings and Sunday nights, the music seemed to be a little more current than it had been. Yes, I had noticed it as well, but thought it was more because it seemed too much more Canadian artists than before, chalking it up to the requirements up there for Canadian based content. Sunday night, of course, is the big band program with George Jonescu and 7-10 pm [EST] Monday thru Thursday [= 0000-0300 UT Tue-Fri] is Sentimental Journey with Frank Proctor. Both are great shows. It’s fun listening to George doing the weather because he doesn’t like Celsius and says he prefers to use it only in giving his age. That is a live program, by the way, on Sunday nights. For conspiracy buffs, they now have a two hour show at 11 pm Sunday nights. I am not into that type of show but I did listen to one they had on John Lennon -- at the 20th anniversary of his death -- which wasn’t bad. CFZM also runs two old radio shows from 10 to 11 pm Mon thru Thurs evening which can be interesting. Dragnet was real fun to listen to as I remember the old television shows. First show is drama while the second show on the half hour is a comedy. Last month, I got to listen to Jack Benny doing his Christmas shopping (Richard C. Evans, Indianapolis IN, IRCA DX Monitor Jan 30 via DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. Re 10-04, Firedrake on 10400 or 10440? FAT FINGER -- Mine was logged as 10400, so typo (Harold Frodge, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Whose finger, whose typo? I still can`t tell whether 10400 or 10440 was correct (Glenn to Harold, via DXLD) As stated, 10400 is correct (Harold Frodge, ibid.) OK, tnx, but you did not state that (gh, DXLD) 7585 again bearing Firedrake against unknown target, Jan 28 at 1455; good signal but heavy flutter, while 8400 was very weak and not positive it was //. Only thing listed on 7585 at this time is Vatican in Tamil via Tajikistan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake Jan 29 at 1426: poor on 10210, very poor on 8400, only a het on 9000. Nothing on 7585 at this time, but did not check closer to 1500 when Firedrake has been inexplicably there previous days. Firedrake music jamming, Jan 30 at 1532: good but fluttery on 8400; poor on 10210; just a het on 9000 and nothing on 7585. Firedrake Feb 3: at 1403, open carrier on 8400, and music modulation resumed at 1404:40 tho not at the level I expected for strength of carrier. Nothing audible on 9000, 10210, 11300 or vicinity. After a few days of not checking for the mystery Firedrake on 7585, did so Feb 3 at 1452 and there it is, better than 8400, and something weak detectable underneath. Still nothing listed in Aoki except Vatican via Tajikistan in S Asian languages 1430-1550 (Sunday -1558), with Tamil at 1450-1510. Why would the ChiCom be jamming Vatican in such languages? There could be something more sinister before 1430 on 7585 but I haven`t noticed it or any jamming that early (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 4940, Voice of Strait, 1500-1530, Jan 31. A full half hour Sunday “Focus on China” program; finally made out their starting ID: “This is the Voice of Taiwan Strait News Radio”; then “This is the Voice of Strait. Fuzhou, China"; news items about China (“The first high-speed passenger railway in western China, which links Xi'an with Zhengzhou, finished trial operation Thursday, the designer said. The trial train finished the 505 km journey in 1 hour and 48 minutes at a speed of up to 352 km/h [219 mph], said Bai Cuncang, the railway's chief engineer. The line will help shorten the travel time between the two major cities to less than two hours from current six hours”, etc.) (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6060, CRI Easy FM, 1613, Jan 30. Mostly in English with the “China Drive” show; segments “Chatter Box” and “Media Scan”; was surprised to hear John Gordon as one of the announcers, as I had listened to him for many years when he was on “English Evening” via CNR-2/CBR. // 7435, 9570 and 9600; all good. Seems they have expanded their schedule into the weekend. http://english.cri.cn/ce_easyfm/program-chinadrive.htm (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 7245, CNR-2/China Business Radio, 1430-1500, Jan 28. “English Evening” program; pop songs; commentary on fashion, Beijing having cold weather, etc.; business news; small amount of Chinese used; // 6065, 6090, 6155, 7315, 7335, 7370, 7375, 9775 and 9820 (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 7410, Pekin Hoso, the CRI Japanese service, VG at 1431 Feb 4, lively talk and music with drumming, Afro-Cuban beat; 1434 fanfares and talking about Shanghai. Then found // much weaker on 7400, which would seem to be redundant, but: 7410 is 500 kW, 59 degrees from Jinhua site; 7400 is 500 kW, 73 degrees from Xi`an site So presumably emphasize northern and southern Japan, and indeed 7410 is closer to USward (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 9480, CNR 11 (Baoji), 0008-0012, 1/27/2010, Tibetan. Talk by man and woman. A few bars of Chinese music at 0011, then more talk. Poor but steady signal, keeping above noise level, but difficult to understand (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, Random Wires (90' and 200'), ALA100M, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. 30 JAN 2010, 1540, KGBC TX Galveston; noted back at 2030z with M DJ in English, "This is Butterboy coming from Beijing's West-side" Lite-rock vocal music, mostly from the 70's and 80's, Note the daytime pattern-here: http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/1156353-96616.pdf Its uses 4-towers to funnel its 2.5kW mostly toward downtown Houston. This is 260-miles from me as the crow flies (Steven C. Wiseblood, Brownsville TX, (2 miles from Boca Chica Beach, GULF of MEXICO), Radio Shack DX-399, Grundig G-8, 150' center fed LW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. [6.5 hours after CINF Montreal QRT; see CANADA] 690, HJCZ Radio Recuerdo, Santa Fé de Bogotá, JAN 30, 0628 UT - ranchera, "Los bailados de siempre están en Radio Recuerdos", then a classic cumbia track. Poor-fair, but dominant over apparent Cuba which was IDed earlier and residual hash. SINPO 22332. NEW! Colombia #8. I have HJKL-610, HJKH-650, HJAJ-760, HJJX-770, HJCY-810, HJIJ-1070, HJCG-1070, so this is indeed my 8th Colombian on mediumwave. First new Colombian in ages! In WLW-700 null! It's hard to null out WLW-700 without also semi-nulling Colombia, but a semi-null is better than a total null! This is what a clear channel can do during non-auroral conditions. Imagine if WLW-700 was HDless or if there was some auroral enhancement! May the good DX be with you! (Bogdan Chiochiu in Pierrefonds (Montreal's West Island), QC, Heard on the Sony CFS-6000 / PK AM loop combination, An MP3 will follow tomorrow! HCDX via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA [and non]. Tnx to Jim Evans tip from Tennessee on WORLD OF RADIO 1497, I made a point of looking for the harmonic on 2980, which he heard at 0647 Jan 26. Yes, Jan 29 at 0611 definitely something on 2980.0, very weak music vs QRN level now including lite T-storming close enough to propagate but not nearby. Still just barely audible at 0630, never heard anything but music. He had an ID at 0650 for R. Vida Nueva. Will keep trying. WRTH 2010 says it`s HJAY, Barranquilla with 5 kW on 1490, slogan ``te acerca a Dios``, so the music should be nothing but religious. It had also been reported months ago, but not lately. I`m sure that the other active MW harmonic, R. San Carlos, Costa Rica, 2859.8 would be much stronger if they would only stay on the air past 0200v. The harmonic on 2980 making it all the way from Colombia speaks well for the technical standards of the hundreds of US stations on 1490. Decades ago, one could depend on there being a few harmonics audible at any given time on 2 x graveyard frequencies, 2460, 2480, 2680, 2800, 2900, 2980, and the probabilities are still highest on those channels (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USA: 4050 2980.00, Radio Vida Nueva, Barranquilla, 0620-0655, Jan 30, 2nd harmonic. 2 x 1490. A mix of Spanish religious music, slow ballads, and more lively Spanish music. Several Spanish announcements. Threshold signal but occasional peaks up to a very weak level. IDed by comparing it to their web broadcast which was running parallel at http://www.radiovidanueva.net/ I first heard this harmonic back on April 9, 2009 and IDed with the help of Henrik Klemetz at that time (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** COLOMBIA. 6034.98, LV del Guaviare, San José Guaviare, 0053-0301*, Jan 29, local pop music. IDs. Spanish announcements. Local folk music. Sign off with National Anthem at 0259. Poor with adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** CONGO DR. RICHARD & KATHY McDONALD TO RECEIVE NRB INTERNATIONAL IMPACT AWARD For Immediate Release January 19, 2010 Contact: Robert McFarland 703-330-7000 http://nrb.org/index.php/mediacenter/latest_news/richard_and_kathy_mcdonald_to_receive_nrb_intern/ Manassas, VA - Richard & Kathy McDonald, founders of Radio Kahuzi, will receive the prestigious NRB International Impact Award during the March 1st International Luncheon at the NRB Convention & Exposition. "This dedicated couple has been broadcasting the Gospel from Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1991. They have faced amazing challenges, but have remained faithful to God's call on their lives," said NRB International Committee Chairman Bill Blount. "To the original FM station, a tropical band short-wave was added in helping them reach a large portion of Central Africa and beyond with a potential audience of an additional 10 million listeners. The McDonalds have created 200 local Radio Kahuzi Clubs with over 8,000 members and are impacting the quality of life and the health of thousands more with their ministry. We are thrilled to honor Richard and Kathy McDonald for their steadfastness in proclaiming God's truth throughout Africa." Richard and Kathy McDonald have uniquely impacted Congo through establishing the first non-government, Christian broadcasting network utilizing FM and Shortwave (along with distribution of 15,000 Galcom pre-tuned radios), text messaging, cell phone and live streaming via satellite programming. Radio Kahuzi was named for Mt. Kahuzi, well-known home of the Silverback mountain gorillas in the Kahuzi National Game Park, which is the highest peak in Kivu Province. The International Impact Award is presented to a U.S.-based NRB member having a global impact for the cause of Christ through electronic media. About The NRB Convention --- The annual Convention & Exposition is the largest nationally and internationally recognized event dedicated solely to assist those in the field of Christian communications. The dynamic Exposition consists of nearly 300 companies and is an active marketplace for those seeking tools and services to expand their ministries. NRB 2010 is being held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, TN, February 27 - March 2, 2010. For registration and other Convention information go to: http://www.nrbconvention.org (via Hansjoerg Biener, Germany, DXLD) ** CROATIA [non]. Dear Glenn, I was informed V. of Croatia will be testing from England (WOF) Feb. 02-05 only 0300-0500z on 7385 kHz towards America. 7375 kHz from Germany will be in //. 73 (DrAgan Lekic, Serbia, Feb 1, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx to a tip from Dragan Lekic, V. of Croatia heard testing new 7385 via Woofferton UK, Feb 2 at 0309, YL with weather report in English, then something about recipes. This was // only a slight echo behind usual 7375, which is Wertachtal 100 kW at 300 degrees plus Nauen 100 kW at 325 degrees. But stronger signal from the Germans. Evidently VTC, or whatever it is called this week, is making a bid to take business away from DTK, or whatever it is called this week. Dragan says this test on 7385 is for four nights only, UT Feb 2-5 at 03-05 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. RHC has been missing lately from 13680 in the mornings. That`s one of the hi-power signals normally // 13780 until 1500 and producing leapfrogs on 13880 and weaker 13580, so those are also absent, e.g. Jan 31 at 1416 as I am monitoring CVC Darwin Chinese final broadcast on 13685. Lacking RHC helps that a lot, but soon moot. All is not lost: RHC 13770 is still leapfrogging over CRI relay 13740 to land on 13710 QRMing India. 13680 was back later on with the weak daytime transmitter for Aló, Presidente; see VENEZUELA [non]. Routine check for weekly Esperanto service at 1500 Sunday on 11760: Jan 31 at 1503 only open carrier, off and on for several minutes, but at next check 1513 the Esperanto program was underway. 11930, DCJC pulsing against nothing, Feb 2 at 0622, long before/after Radio Martí is on this frequency, currently scheduled only at 13-22. The jamming bothers more R. Bandeirantes, Brasil on 11925v. Meanwhile RHC 11760 was super-strong causing overload in its vicinity; see BRAZIL. Now that Prague has killed its morning service to the Americas on 13580, RHC leapfrog has the frequency to itself, Feb 2 at 1453 in Spanish, mix of 13780 over 13680 which is back on the air. Well, not quite; now on 13580 it QRMs CODAR or vice versa. RHC, 11760, 11690, etc., Feb 2 at 1557 had Arnaldo Coro talking about Cycle 24, in his sci/tech segment in Spanish. DCJC pulsing on 11600 against nothing, Feb 3 at 0610, while RHC had VG signal on 11760. At 0620 looked for other Cuban jammers against nothing, and found them on 11930, 9955 and 9565. But jamming against something, 5745, Feb 3 at 1354 as R. Martí is still running there until 1400, and could be heard underneath. 7365, DCJC lite pulsing against nothing at 0629 Feb 4, right between Vatican IS on 7360 and Romanian IS on 7370. 9885 also had residual DCJC pulses at 0631 under VOA English via South Africa, tho originally on this frequency to block VOA Spanish (NOT R. Martí) at 00-01 and 1230-1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Re Commando Solo: Would seem to make more sense to set up a ground based transmitter in the Dominican republic or somewhere nearby. I hear from a reliable source a week ago that a 250 and 500 kW AM transmitter (allegedly built by Continental [and vintage gear too]) was on the way to Cuba, ostensibly to be used for jamming. It (the transmitter) headed to Cuba could be better put to use for a humanitarian purpose, this most certainly would be one of them (Colin Newell, Victoria, British Columbia, IRCA via DXLD) ** CUBA [and non]. Regarding the Cuban jamming of WRMI: Jeff may not have the resources to do it but it seems reasonable to me that if he could secure a second 31 m frequency (9970 is now available) he could use the new frequency for all programs not in Spanish. Then the Cubans would have to switch to the new frequency too, something they might not do since it wouldn't be in Spanish. If the transmitter channel could be easily switched, the antenna would probably be OK with a very minimal SWR (Jerry Lenamon, Waco, TX, Jan 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good idea in principle, except I would not want to be any closer to powerhouse WWCR 9980 when that is on, i.e. all day. Also, there is a lot of mixture between Spanish and non on the current schedule, so would involve a lot of switching back and forth (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Glenn: Does Cuba jam your program in retaliation to be upset about Arnie own program? I don't think WRMI would want to secure another frequency as much as they had trouble using 7385 on the 50 kW Wilkinson transmitter (which Jeff bought From Radio Clarín) 73 (Noble West, TN, ibid.) Noble, The Cuban jamming is not targeted towards WOR, it's towards WRMI. If it was towards WOR, I think they would jam any transmission of the show that's picked up in Cuba. It has nothing to do with cold- war Arnie's feelings about Glenn. One solution with the Cubans (meaning government) would be to bombard Cuba with frequencies on every part of the spectrum and to cause interference with their own local stations, also to have some high- powered transmitters tuned to RHC frequencies (Keith Perron, Taiwan, ibid.) Much easier solution would involve a frequency change for WRMI. Better yet, combine that with getting rid of anti-Cuban broadcasters. Cuba doesn't jam WRMI as such but obviously it doesn't like those pesky "anti-revolutionary" programs (Sergei S., somewhere, ibid.) Changing frequency may not be so easy depending on the license Jeff has. The "anti-Cuba" programming pays the bills. I say turn around and jam Cuba just to get a reaction and see if then that sh**** org the ITU will take jamming as a serious problem and not just calling it radio interference (Keith Perron, ibid.) I guess frequency change doesn't help much. If Cuban monitoring is awake, like e.g. Ethiopia, Iran or let's say China, discovering a new frequency and jamming it again is just a matter of minutes/hours or a few days if monitoring is really lazy (Jari Savolainen, Finland, ibid.) The original point of Jerry`s suggestion was having a different frequency with no Spanish on it. The DentoCubans would have no reason to find it and jam it (unless they were REALLY out to get gh, punish WRMI no matter what, but they may not be that crazy.) I think WRMI tried this for a while with 7385, i.e. English-only. Trouble is, most of their business was and is for Latin America (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Oops, I should have read the discussion more carefully (Jari, ibid.) That`s OK; it led to this further pertinent reply: (gh) The Cuban jammers aren't as good as Iranians. And forget about the jamming superpower, China. It takes Cubans long time to react to frequency changes. Often Cubans jam the channels with no stations on them. And their monitors don't pay any attention to programming changes. That's why they routinely jam the WoR and lots of other - politically innocent - programming. I remember when WRMI just started using 7385 for NA coverage; Glenn correctly suggested not to put any anti-Castro broadcasters there, to keep the frequency clean. Well, WRMI isn't using 7385 anymore (Sergei S., ibid.) ** CUBA [and non]. Is beautiful music a dead format here in America? The only beautiful music station (on AM or FM) I can hear is Radio Enciclopedia [presumably 530]. There are 8 rock stations (hard rock, soft rock, classic rock and oldies rock) and 4 country stations here in Atlanta but no beautiful music stations (Lou Johnson, KF4EON, GA, Jan 28, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. LA REVOLUCIÓN DE INTERNET SE ABRE PASO EN LA CUBA CLANDESTINA | cuba-noticias | NOTICIAS_ TOMADO DE _La Nueva Cuba - http://www.lanuevacuba.com/main/20100128794/noticias/cuba-noticias/la-revolucion-de-internet-se-abre-paso-en-la-cuba-clandestina.html (via Oscar de Céspedes, Jan 28, condiglist yg via DXLD) All the crap and expense the poor DentroCubans have to put up with to get little bits of Internet, e-mail at least (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. 15330, as I tuned across R. Martí, Feb 4 at 1439 it was giving horoscopes for Sagitarios, Acuarios. And our tax dollars are paying for this crap? Hardly what the DentroCubans need to hear. At least it`s being jammed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS. OTH radar rapid pulses, presumed from here, Feb 1 at 1518 ranging 15700-15755 as I was checking the extent of the Sa`udi buzz; more pulses below 15495 merging with the buzz and not to be confused with its edges. OTH Radar pulsing, presumed from here, but could be from somewhere else in Eurasia, Feb 3 at 1423 from 15450 to 15475. No broadcasters audibly affected here tho several are listed. Please get this noise OUT of the broadcast bands! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS. 6105, BBC, 0336-0349, Feb 1. In English; congratulating Egypt on winning the African Cup of Nations and other news from Africa; fair to poor (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also UK [non] ** CZECHIA [and non]. Radio Prague schedule from 1 February Radio Prague has published its new shortwave schedule effective on Monday 1 February. It’s as follows (all times UT): Czech 0930–0957 11600 SW Europe 1030–1057 21745 W Africa 1200–1227 9880 N Europe 1330–1357 6055 C Europe 1630–1657 5930 W Europe 1830–1857 5930 W Europe 2030–2057 5930 W Europe 2200–2227 5930 SW Europe 0030–0057 5930 S America 0230–0257 7345 N America 0330–0357 7345 N America German 0730–0757 5930 W Europe 1100–1127 7345 C Europe 1300–1327 6055 C Europe 1600–1627 5930 W Europe 1730–1757 7285* W Europe English 0800–0827 7345 NW Europe 1000–1029 21745 W Africa 1130–1157 9880 N Europe 1400–1429 11600 S Asia 1700–1727 5930 NW Europe 1800–1827 5930 NW Europe 2100–2127 5930 NW Europe/N America 2230–2257 7355 C & W Africa 2330–2357 5930 N America 0100–0127 7355 N America 0200–0227 7355 N America 0400–0427 7345 N America 0430–0457 9855 E Africa/Middle East Spanish 0900–0927 11600 SW Europe 1500–1527 11600 SW Europe 1900–1927 6200 SW Europe 2000–2027 5930 SW Europe 2130–2157 5930 SW Europe/S America 0000–0027 5930 S America 0000-0027 7420** S America 0130–0157 7355 C America 0300–0327 7345 S America French 0700–0727 5930 W Europe 0830–0857 11600 SW Europe/W Africa 1430–1457 11600 SW Europe/W Africa 1730–1757 5930 W Europe 1930–1957 6200 W Europe 2300–2327 5930 N America Russian 0500–0527 5980 E Europe 1230–1257 6055 E Europe 1530–1557 5930 E Europe Transmitters at Litomysl, 100 kW except: *) Relayed via Sines, 250 kW **) Relayed via Ascension, 250 kW Selected programmes of Radio Prague are also relayed by Radio Miami International from Miami, FL, USA on 9955kHz. The complete programme schedule of WRMI can be found here (Source: Radio Prague) January 29th, 2010 - 15:50 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) Related story: * Radio Prague continues on SW with one transmitter 3 Comments on “Radio Prague schedule from 1 February” 1. #1 SRG on Jan 30th, 2010 at 15:27 The Russian service is going to lose one broadcast and all frequencies targeting the Asian parts of the Russian-speaking world. Not good. 2. #2 Kai Ludwig on Jan 30th, 2010 at 21:46 The terminated transmission of the Russian programme used the Orzu site in Tajikistan. Contrary German via Sines and Spanish via Ascension have been kept, which I find somewhat surprising. But the DRM tokens are apparently gone, too. I wonder if the kind of arrangement they still maintain with Cheské Radiokomunikace is really cost-effective. It calls for being provided one Pohodlí transmitter (fictionary, i.e. it is not necessarily always the same physical transmitter) around the clock. Thus every transmission now uses only a single frequency but the excessive number of repeats has been kept. Shouldn’t it be cheaper to lease one slot per programme and target area from another transmission provider who does not require purchasing a cow when just some glasses of milk are wanted? 3. #3 Glenn Hauser on Jan 31st, 2010 at 20:45 Unfortunately the “complete programme schedule“ [of WRMI] linked is far from complete, quite out of date as a number of shows listed have been canceled, including all the Cheetah Radio ones, Aventura Diexista, and complete times are not shown, anyway. Jeff White told me Jan 29 about the Prague relays: “At the moment, it looks like it will be 0300-0400 and 1000-1100 UT seven days/week, first half hour English, second half hour Spanish; plus the French program from 1200 to 1230 UT Monday-Friday.“ [but still also 1500] As for Prague direct, it`s too bad they are eliminating the 1400 broadcast to North America on 13580, which has had fine reception here, but it must look good on paper, with only one English broadcast left for South Asia, and several in the afternoon/evening for NAm. We would gladly dispense with one of the latter for retaining the former. (Media Network blog comments via DXLD) El Esquema a partir de 1 de febrero de Radio Praga: http://www.radio.cz/es/static/acerca-de-radio-praga/frecuencias-nuevas#es The Scheme from February 1, Radio Prague: http://www.radio.cz/en/static/about-radio-prague/frequencies-new Cordialmente, (Tomás Méndez, QTH: El Prat de Llobregat-Barcelona España, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I see WRMI is missing from their new schedule, so are all or any of the relays on 9955 being cancelled (or: except for when you are filling with WRN, including incidentally Prague?) (Glenn to Jeff White, Jan 29 via DXLD) Glenn: They are going to put a note about certain programs from Radio Prague being heard on WRMI on 9955 in their upcoming schedule, with no specifics. At the moment, it looks like it will be 0300-0400 and 1000- 1100 UT seven days/week, first half hour English, second half hour Spanish; plus the French program from 1200-1230 UT Monday-Friday (Jeff White, WRMI, Jan 29, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13580, R. Prague gone around 1515 Feb 1; used to be Spanish to America, but one of many frequencies canceled so they can use only one transmitter at a time; also applies to English at 1400, but both still on 11600, along with French intervening. That is often audible here before the Cuban jamming starts at 1600. English at 1400 on 11600 is for S Asia now, but 13580 had been a good reliable morning English broadcast for us; we`ll miss it. North America still gets English on five transmissions between 2100 and 0427, but we would gladly swap two of them for retaining one in the mornings. Furthermore, R. Prague relays via WRMI are being reduced, apparently no longer English at 1500 on 9955, once the NW antenna and the 50 kW transmitter are back in service, which Jeff White expects to be soon. He says Prague in English is to be scheduled daily, only at 0300 and 1000 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DEUTSCHES REICH. NEW BBC ARCHIVES COLLECTION: LORD HAW HAW "William Joyce, a.k.a. Lord Haw-Haw, was a notorious broadcaster of Nazi propaganda to the UK during World War II. His announcement 'Germany calling, Germany calling' was a familiar sound across the airwaves, introducing threats and misinformation that he broadcast from his Hamburg base. In 1945, Joyce was captured and returned to Britain, where he was later hanged for treason. This collection features some of his broadcasts and interviews with those who knew him. Wartime documents reveal the fear caused by Lord Haw-Haw and how the BBC worked to counteract his propaganda." 15 radio programmes and 11 documents in the collection, not only Lord Haw Haw recordings, which are available on the net, but many BBC radio programmes, including ones from 1940 and 1943. Due to rights issue list members outside of the UK may only be able to access the documents however last November in the Facebook group Jim Sangster said in response to a question about viewing the videos: "...unfortunately the video content is only available in the UK...for rights reasons. We're in the process of clearing our radio content for worldwide use though, which we hope to be able to unveil in the New Year." http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/hawhaw/index.shtml (via Mike Barraclough, England, Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780, Radio Djibouti (presumed); 2028-2102*, 27-Jan; Afro music to brief comments by W in French at ToH then anthem; covered by ute burst at 2101+ and gone when ute quit. SIO=322 with OTHR [CODAR?]. French not listed at this hour and recent logs show Arabic at this time, plus continuing past 2100, though both EiBi & Aoki show them going off at 2100 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW + 86 ft. coil dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4780, Radio Djibouti, *0300-0330, Jan 31, sign on with National Anthem. Arabic talk at 0301. Qur`an at 0302. Talk at 0313. Rustic local music at 0325. Poor to fair with CODAR QRM and noisy conditions (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) Now vs 4775 WWCR ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Any progress in the DR? [re R. Discovery, 4780 getting on the air] (Glenn to Jeff White, WRMI, via DXLD) Not yet. We've been concentrating everything on Miami for the moment (Jeff White, WRMI, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also vs WWCR 4775? ** ECUADOR [non]. HCJB GLOBAL-UK BEGINS PRODUCTION OF RADIO PROGRAM THAT TEACHES ENGLISH - Source: HCJB Global (written by Harold Goerzen) Starting earlier this month, HCJB Global-UK assumed production of the “Spotlight” radio program, designed to serve users and learners of English as a foreign language around the world. FEBA-UK was the founding partner for this innovative program. But now because the ministry is shifting away from direct program production and focusing instead on its work with national associations, “Spotlight” was due to cease production in the U.K. at the end of 2009. “We were approached, and after prayer and discussion felt that it was right to take this on,” said HCJB Global-UK Director Colin Lowther. Spotlight’s senior editor, Mike Procter, is on loan to HCJB Global-UK, overseeing production of the program from the studios in Bradford. “Spotlight,” a cooperative effort with U.S.-based Words of Hope and Reframe Media, is aired primarily in areas where people want to learn or improve their English. The program goes out on more than 60 stations around the world, including some of HCJB Global’s partners in Latin America, Asia Pacific and North Africa/Middle East. Most of these are local FM stations, but some are external (shortwave or satellite). “Radio audience size is impossible to know in the context we operate,” explains Lowther. “Most are operating in places where no audience survey figures exist. However, Spotlight does not pay the stations for airing so the stations carry it because their managers believe it serves their audience well. Station managers have given us positive feedback.” By contrast, Internet numbers are easy to quantify, he adds. “Our website receives 42,000 visits per month (up 50 percent from last year). Our largest single country is Vietnam where we’re not on the radio at all. Other concentrations occur in Eastern Europe, and we’re pleased to see steady increases in Taiwan, Brazil and the Middle East.” To receive regular updates about Spotlight via e-mail, send a request to or visit http://www.spotlightradio.net (HCJB Global News Update for Week of Jan. 25-29, 2010 via DXLD) Spotlight remained the only English program on HCJB after English was canceled, and probably still is on 6050. Schedule was UT Tue-Sat 0330- 0345, but not reconfirmed lately. HCJB has continued to pretend it does not broadcast in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR [non]. / CHILE: HCJB continua emitiendo en lengua portuguesa, vía las facilidades de CVC La Voz (Santiago, Chile); diariamente entre las 2300 y 0045 UT, por los 11920 kHz. La emisión comienza siempre con el programa “Você na HCJB”, programa de cartas de los oyentes. QTH: HCJB, Apartado 17 17 691, Quito, Ecuador. E-mail: hcjb @ hcjb.com.br (José Moacir Portera de Melo, Pontes e Lacerda, Brasil, Conexión Digital Jan 31 via DXLD) Also on constant spurs 11900v and 11940v, why don`t you mention? And preceded by Kulina indigenous language 2245-2300 (gh, DXLD) ** ECUADOR [non]. Here is the final edition Jan 30 of HCJB`s Aventura Diexista, and archive of previous January shows: http://programasdx.com/aventuradiexista.htm Later: now I have listened to it, no it is not, but the penultimate until ``hoy en 8 días`` according to their peculiar way of calculating time intervals. Some contributors were saying their goodbyes, but this file, the current one labeled Jan 30 is not the very last one just yet (Glenn Hauser, circa Feb 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, R. Africa, Bata, 1552-1611, Jan 29, English. M & occasional W announcers with religious talk, straight thru ToH, re Matthew & other Bible stuff; no ID noted; poor & noisy (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, NH USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6030, Radio Oromiya, 1522-1529, Jan 29. Probably I just missed their *1520. Amazed to hear their distinctive, repetitive xylophone like IS at this time period; 1531-1539 indigenous music and singing; QRM mostly from CNR-1, but also some from Calgary; reception much stronger than I have heard at their *0320v. Very pleased to have caught this sign on! (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6030, Radio Oromiya, *0322-0329, Feb 1. Heard repetitive xylophone- like IS. 0418-0424 HOA music mixing with C&W songs from Calgary. Think maybe I had been giving up on them too early. I usually tune away after the IS, as I cannot hear much after 0329, but I should have stayed with them, as they are clearly here after 0400 (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 7110.07, Radio Ethiopia, 2035-2101*, Jan 31, variety of local pop music and Western/Euro-pop music. Amharic talk. Sign off with National Anthem. // 9704.19 - both frequencies fair to good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. via Nauen, Germany, 11830, Ethiopia Adera Dimtse Radio, *1700-1759*, Jan 30, presumed with talk in listed Amharic. Some local Horn of Africa music. Poor to fair but some QRM from weak noise jammer. Sat only (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** ETHIOPIA/ERITREA. The usual trio of 41m stations heard with well above normal reception; 1512, Jan 29. 7110 with pop music; 7165 in vernacular; 7175 with indigenous chanting (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. PIRATE. 7610.05, Radio Amica, 0040-0055, Jan 31, pop music by Madonna and others. Italian ID announcements. Poor. Weak (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** FRANCE [and non]. Nothing heard in Germany of WRN 6230 kHz Liverpool v Bolton English football live commentaries in Chinese via Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Rather data signal of G2D/G7D CODAR format interferes? ITU Monitoring List shows Quimper - Brest in France location, due of cross finding by monitorings in Klagenfurt Austria, El Casar in Spain, and Baldock in U.K. http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/terrestrial/monitoring/files/pdffiles/324.pdf wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6229.50v ** FRANCE [non]. 11605, good in rapid-paced French morning program, Jan 28 at 0655; sounded like commercials, but surely not on RFI, which is scheduled here via SOUTH AFRICA, 0500-0700 but only 100 kW at 345 degrees, consequently USward as well. 0700 time signal about 7 seconds late, 8 am timecheck in Paris, news, but cut off abruptly at 0702* --- another example of sloppy operations at SENTECH, Meyerton (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE [non]. While R. Martí was missing from 7365 at 0100 UT Feb 4, instead something very strong in Spanish on 7360, which I assumed I could look up later --- but nothing listed. So I went back and monitored from 0115 to 0125. Interview about some art exhibit involving Iceland, but not until 0124 did they give me a clue, ``aquí en París``, which is just what I had figured, as RFI has Spanish at 0100-0130 on 5995, except that frequency is now missing. So it`s Guiana French on 7360 replacing it, another February change by RFI. These February changes are normally planned at the beginning of the B-seasons, and published in asterisked RFI schedules, but I haven`t seen any this season; perhaps buried somewhere on the RFI website. Not here: http://www.rfi.fr/actues/articles/073/article_100.asp which still shows 5995, but has admittedly not been updated for almost a year! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) later: must have been a mistake, not changing frequency from YFR relay on 7360 until 0100 ** GREENLAND. 3815, 2059-2213*v 24+25+27.01, KNR, Tasiilaq (USB), Greenlandic talks and choir songs, 2130 news, 2200 Danish news and reports fading in and out with SINPO up to 33443 Constant CWQRM morsing a callsign + occasional French conversations and Russian Airport calls (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** GUAM. 11955, Feb 2 at 1530, ``KSDA, Agat, Guam; the following program is in --- on 11955 kHz``, poor but clear, opening with classical fanfare, into S Asian language, then ethnic music. The answer in Aoki: Malayalam, daily 1530-1600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA. 7125, Radio Guineé, 2352-0001*, Jan 29-30, local Afro- pop music. French talk. Abrupt sign off. Fair to good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 7125, African music at 0644 Feb 4, 0645 ID as ``Radiodiffusion Nationale de la République de Guinée, à Conakry`` and news headlines from around the continent, with drumming underneath, potted up between them (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAITI. COMMANDO SOLO BROADCASTING TO HAITI ON 1030 KHZ AM The U.S. military has begun airborne broadcasts as part of the relief effort to help earthquake victims in Haiti. Broadcasts are conducted by "Commando Solo" aircraft of the Air Force Special Operations Command's 193rd Special Operations Wing, based in Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, AM transmissions are aired on 1030 kHz AM, as well as on 92.4 and 104.1 MHz FM. In coordination with the government of Haiti, the U.S. Joint Task Force-Haiti (JTF-Haiti) is broadcasting news and information on public health, safety and aid distribution. CNN reports that also messages discouraging Haitians from trying to flee to the United States have been aired. CNN, citing U.S. authorities, says that broadcasts last five hours daily, but no schedule has been published. Commando Solo's frequency of 1030 kHz is the same as that of Radio Ginen in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. The office building of Radio Tele Ginen collapsed in the earthquake, and it remains unclear whether 1030 kHz is still on the air. Jim Solatie and Håkan Sundman in Finland were the first DXers to pick up Commando Solo tentatively on January 19 on 1030 kHz, with a relay of Voice of America programming. According to the 193rd SOW, three C-130 aircraft are involved, but only one serves as a flying radio station, while the other two transport cargo. The aircraft are "staged at locations outside the devastated area," says a press release by the 193rd SOW. In practise this would most likely mean Guantánamo or Puerto Rico. The aircraft left their home base on January 14 and 15. The Air Force is also delivering 50,000 hand-held receivers for distribution to survivors of the recent earthquake. The receivers are distributed by Joint Task Force Haiti. The small emergency radios are both solar-powered and hand-cranked and don't require batteries (DXing.info, January 24, 2010 via DXLD) This station was heard by Håkan Sundman and Jim Solatie here in Finland approximately week ago on 1030 AM (Markku Jussila, Karper?, Finland, Jan 27, IRCA via DXLD) Here`s a report that 1030 was heard in Finland --- at least something relaying VOA --- was it in Creole? : http://www.dxing.info/news/index.dx#haiti Jim Solatie and Håkan Sundman in Finland were the first DXers to pick up Commando Solo tentatively on January 19 on 1030 kHz, with a relay of Voice of America programming (via gh, ABDX via DXLD) Hi Mika, Could you forward detailed logs of this to me, preferably in English? I have not seen the original reports and don`t know where they appeared. Thanks, (Glenn to Mika via DXLD) Hi Glenn, As far as I know, they have not appeared anywhere else than DXing.info. I got the info directly from Jim Solatie. 73 (Mika, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mika, So he did not give you any details, such as time, language, program content? // SW? We are especially interested in the time. Maybe you could ask him. Or maybe they have heard it also since then. (Glenn to Mika, via DXLD) Glenn, I am forwarding your request to Jim. 73 (Mika Mäkeläinen, DXLD) I am trying to get details of their alleged logs, notably what time? Language? // SW? But Mika did not have any details, and they have not answered my inquiry (gh, DXLD) Later: Jim just got back from China and sent me audio clips: it was just before 2300 UT, and I could hear the Creole Lavwadlamerik ID, same as on SW (gh) 1030 French now --- I'm hearing French [or Creole?] program on 1030 since 0130 UT with the Wellbrook array beamed south -- same as I would for the Caribbean (Bill Whitacre, Alexandria, VA, 0134 UT Jan 30, NRC- AM via DXLD) Maybe the old 4VEH in Cap Haiten on the north coast of Haiti has been revived? It was 10 kW non directional on 1030 (Jerry Kiefer, Roswell, NM, ibid.) Alluding I assume to Commando Solo over Haiti with VOA and/or other programming which should be in Creole, not French. Quick, try to // it with VOA 5960 7465 before 0200, 7465 and 7590 afterwards until 0300. But I suspect Bill already knows this. 73, (Glenn Hauser, IRCA via DXLD) It's not // the on-line stream and there's a large delay [>10 seconds] between the on-air broadcast and on-line. Having a heckuva time nulling/phasing WBZ at the moment. Thanks for the schedule! Saves me looking it up. ;-) I think I'll go back to trying to dig something out of 690 and 940 now that the Canadians are off (Bill Whitacre, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Here in FL we used to hear Solo relaying Radio Martí on 530 Sat. afternoons. They would be up for maybe 4 hours, once per week, flying down from PA, laying over at Navy base in the Keys, then flying a course north of the Havana area while operating. They were only audible during daylight and would become lost in QRM when RVC would start to fade in. This was maybe 3 or 4 years ago, summertime, and went on for a few months. The big Cuba signal on 530 was a response to this. We could hear variations in sig strength that seemed to be related to the course the a/c took, probably from the way the weighted wire swung around, and I always thought this was heard by groundwave. I personally would doubt they would be operational at night, especially to propagate westward (i.e. all of the US/Canada) but to propagate as a 'sunset skip mode' to EU seems reasonable. But you never know. In 1998 at my first Airfest at MacDill AFB one of their C-130's was parked on the tarmac and open for interior tours, and I met one of the ops who was familiar with the Grenada-based Spice Island Radio on 990 which was operational after the shooting stopped In Grenada back around 1982?. They had started with flying a/c, then built a 5 kw ground station, which I did hear, and have a tape of, somewhere (heard from LI NY). (A nearby NY state 990 had been silent then). Here in Lakeland, today, I see a lot of C-130 traffic, and last week had a visual sighting of an AWACS, and a C-17 which I believe I coming into/from Sanford FL. I think the AWACS (with big round dome on the top of the fuselage) was sent to control the initial relief tfc to P-a-P. The receive location then was northwest Tampa, where I then lived. Several Cubans would be heard with good signals all day long (groundwave) but from transmitter locations in/west of the Havana area. Nothing from Matanzas eastward could be heard in daylight because the land mass of SW FL was in the way. I should mention that the apparent drop-off in Martí signal as the afternoon went on was probably due to the a/c heading eastward and then being blocked by land. There were some variations (small, in minutes) of signal strength, as well as a gradual slow loss of signal, which I am guessing was the eastward flight path. That's why I took it to be groundwave. If the flight operates at night then skywave should be possible, I would think, but maybe not very effectively. Here, the Orlando area signal is pretty strong and I am not optimistic. Naturally I don't hear anything from Cuba in the day here. 73 (Bob Foxworth, FL, ABDX via DXLD) Here`s a rather slanted story; first of all, no one is calling it Radio Free Haiti except this writer for Wired, and he also calls VOA ``propaganda`` (gh) ** HAITI. RADIO FREE HAITI, ON THE GROUND AND IN THE SKIES Danger Room --- What’s Next in National Security By Nathan Hodge * January 26, 2010 | * 3:04 pm | http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/01/radio-free-haiti-on-the-ground-and-in-the-skies/#ixzz0e9hIXNgh Amid the tragedy, we’ve seen stories in Haiti of astonishing luck: Think of the man who survived for 11 days in a collapsed grocery, subsisting on beer, cookies and Coke. The story of Signal FM, Port-au- Prince’s surviving radio station, is another example. Help Haiti Recover At the new Haiti Rewired, Michael Calore flags an NPR report about the station, which has become has become an information lifeline for survivors. Signal FM’s building and transmitter remained intact after the quake, and the station has been working round-the-clock to broadcast everything from survival tips to information on missing persons. It’s not the only radio outlet bringing news and information to Haitians. An Air Force EC-130J “Commando Solo” plane is also relaying news and information to survivors from the skies over Haiti. These specially modified aircraft, which are operated by Air Force Special Operations Command’s 193rd Special Operations Wing, can broadcast their own signal over AM and FM radio, UHF and VHF television bands. (They can also also “drown out” existing signals­, something they did during operations in Bosnia and Iraq.) As Noah reported during the campaign against the Taliban in 2001, these “psychological operations” aircraft play a crucial role in reaching people who may not have phones, and who need basic information for survival. Mike Ahlers of CNN accompanied a Commando Solo crew on a recent mission; his report, and the accompanying video, are worth checking out. Freeform radio it ain’t: According to CNN, Commando Solo is relaying live broadcasts of Voice of America call-in shows in Creole, Haiti’s national language. During breaks in the live programming, the plane broadcasts pre-recorded public service announcements. Some of those spots are practical advice — information on emergency sanitation, for example — but there is also some propaganda: Pre-recorded warnings discourage Haitians from trying to attempt a dangerous ocean crossing to Florida. Comments: Posted by: lwatcdr | 01/26/10 | 3:58 pm “but there is also some propaganda: Pre-recorded warnings discourage Haitians from trying to attempt a dangerous ocean crossing to Florida. How is that propaganda? Really? There is a big worry that desperate people will get ripped off or try to make a very dangerous crossing to the US. Lots of them could and do die trying to make that crossing. That is not propaganda. Here is the definition of propaganda. “1 capitalized : a congregation of the Roman curia having jurisdiction over missionary territories and related institutions” So not that. “2 : the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person” This one is at best a reach. Helping an institution, a cause, or a person? Well maybe helping Haitians to not die on the open sea or not get ripped off. Maybe helping the Coast Guard from not having to intercept them or save them at sea. It is propaganda the same way that telling people to wash their hands is propaganda. “3 : ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect” This is the most common definition and unless you really want to say controlling the us boarders an not having people die at sea is a cause it is still a stretch. Posted by: CapnVan | 01/27/10 | 8:13 am: Given that the current plan is to send any intercepted refugees to Guantanamo, I’d call it a cause. It’s going to be embarrassing to try to explain why desperate earthquake survivors are being interned in the same place that has become synonymous with illegal and indefinite detention, torture, etc. Public opinion, both domestic and foreign, are likely to take a hit. Which would sure seem likely to injure several institutions. Posted by: nusscom | 01/27/10 | 9:17 pm: What the military is broadcasting is not propaganda. The message this story refers as propaganda is a message from the Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. to his own people making recommendations not to leave Haiti to his people for their own safety. This is just a case of irresponsible journalism taking a good thing and trying to make it into a bad thing. Nathan Hodge either fails to fully research a story before he submits it or he just outright lies in an attempt to besmirch the reputation of his own country. Perhaps WIRED needs to vet their journalists and their stories better? This is a hit on the credibility of this publication. Whatever the case it is a shame when freedom of the press is abused by reporting untruths. Criticism is fine as long as it is fact-based. This is not. Nathan Hodge, you have no credibility or, apparently, any loyalty to this great nation of ours (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Score (finally)! 1030 Kc/s, since 0014 tune-in, February 2, 2010, fading up and down in the mix (the WONQ, Oviedo, Florida Hispanic station being the biggest co-channel), nicely parallel 7590 when audible. Nonstop Kreyol telco- ish quality talk, though all seems to be studio-originated. Best audible on the recently-acquired vintage 70's Aqua Guide 705 Marine Direction Finder tabletop, donated courtesy of Dr. Paul V. Zecchino. Rotatable antenna pointing right at Haiti. So, I've heard them on this deployment, and the last one (1995, when on 1035 kc/s). QSL'ed the latter. Hopefully this one too, be it via mail or (if they should appear), at MacDill Airfest coming up in a month or so. I was really beginning to think this one was going to get away from me. ************************************************************** 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. ************************************************************** (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I need to log off and move along on things post-work (including something for eventual dinner). But, I tried to parallel anything Kreyol or Spanish on 1030 vs. VOA Spanish shortwave from 0100+ (as well as 1180 Marathon). All shortwave channels are clobbered badly by the Cuba jammers (though definitely Spanish programming there). Nothing on 1030 parallel, or in Kreyol making it now. 1180 is all out- of-sync Rebelde's. I will say, WONQ airs some damn good traditional Cuban vocalsa. Right up there with the best of the Cuban stations. Wish it was my local (on a channel I didn't need to DX). (Terry Krueger, later, ibid.) ** HAITI. ARBITRON SENDS RADIOS TO HAITI Inside Radio January 28, 2010 Working with radio manufacturer Eton, Arbitron says it will send 1,000 solar powered, crank powered, multi-function radios to Haitian earthquake victims. "Radio is the lifeline keeping Haitians informed and connected during this tragedy," new Arbitron CEO Bill Kerr says. "Sources have indicated that Haitians are depending on radio for information on where to obtain medical help, food, supplies, and locating missing loved ones." http://www.insideradio.com/ (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** HAITI [and non]. [Re Axelrod`s comments 10-04]: Why don't you just tell those who don't agree, too bad, it's your site and you can do whatever you want. As for the alleged no press coverage, a single Google key words search shows the below links (just two examples). And our local FOX affiliate aired a report this morning regarding a US medical team that returned to Tampa Bay last night, a team that worked side-by-side with Cuban doctors. Some people need to learn how to research topics before making false statements. There are community college classes that offer basic Internet navigational skills, for instance. A look at foreign quake aid for Haiti http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HAITI_EARTHQUAKE_AID_GLANCE?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-01-22-00-03-03 Disaster may thaw Cuban-American relations http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100125/FOREIGN/701249801/1002/rss (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR UPGRADES ITS MW NETWORK On Dec 3rd, 2009 AIR has placed contract for 2 x 1000 kW MW transmitters to BECIL (Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd). BECIL & Thompson were awarded to supply the 2 x 1000 kW MW transmitters including auxiliaries, commissioning & testing. The new 1000 kW transmitters will replace old existing transmitters of same capacity at Chinsurah & Rajkot. The Rajkot transmitter is located about 450 km north-west of Mumbai. The transmitter at Chinsurah, 35 kms north of Kolkata will be a dual frequency transmitter with automatic frequency change. Both transmitters are equipped with DRM & can operate on analog, on simulcast or on full power digital with automatic change over between the 3 operation modes. Details of S7HP LW/MW (300 kW to 1200 kW) Radio Transmitters http://www.grassvalley.com/products/s7hp Data Sheet http://www.grassvalley.com/assets/media/2092/DRM-S7HP_V3.pdf (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, India, Jan 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WTFK? WRTH 2010 shows 1000 kW Chinsurah on 594 and 1134 kHz; are they presently sharing one old 1000 kW transmitter, partially for external services, so never both on the air at same time? With a new 1000 kW transmitter would this remain the case, or would they be able to operate at the same time with one using the old transmitter? A megawatt of DRM on MW would be a terrific noise source. WRTH shows Rajkot A on 810 kHz, but only 300 kW, and no Rajkot B on the list (gh, DXLD) ** INDIA. 4850, AIR Kohima, 1326-1334, Jan 28. Usual segment of indigenous singing/chanting during this time period; assume in vernacular; tuned away at 1334 and found off the air at 1337 check. Victor A. Goonetilleke (Sri Lanka) also heard them today about 1300. Surprised to still hear them here after their special Republic Day broadcast. 4850, AIR Kohima, 1308-1315, Feb 2. Weekly “local talent” show; 1315- 1340: Naga program starts and ends with indigenous theme music; 1340- 1400: news in vernacular, followed in English (Amar Singh and Jaya Prada expelled from party due to anti-party activities, two days of competition started today “local time” for Naga style wrestling, etc.); 1400-1440: “Hello Nagaland”, into music request show playing some Grammy winning songs, the next session of this show will be on “Thursday at 7:30” (1400 UT); 1440-1445: English talk show “The success of NREGA in Nagaland”, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act guarantees a hundred days of wage employment; 1453 suddenly off the air; heard IDs with new format: “You are now tuned to the Kohima station of All India Radio”, plus heard the usual “This is All India Radio Kohima”; mostly fair, at times good. Great to hear all their local programming and IDs! (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA [and non]. 9690, AIR GOS with perpetual big hum, Monday Feb 1 at 1430 tune-in, time for mailbag Faithfully Yours, which was pre- empted last week by Republic Day speech earlier in the hour. Hosted by main announcer Sanjit --- and a co-host whose name I could not catch. First up was mail from someone in China who reported on several AIR English frequencies (not mentioning that AIR`s Mandarin frequencies are jammed). Someone referred to it instead as ``Sincerely Yours``. Next a letter from Hannover, Germany, in November! Emphasized that no return postage is wanted, IRCs or money, as the Indian Government pays the postage, and any such enclosures risk the letter being stolen. Also pointed out that 11620 to Europe has been replaced by 6180 at the end of October, and another new frequency is 7550; please try them. This is sounding VERY familiar. I am afraid AIR GOS is playing back an old FY I already heard several weeks ago. Yet another old letter from 16 November, Hiroyuki Okada, 38, electrical engineer in Japan who reported on 9690. They get lots of mail from Japan, and another one dated 20 November. 1445 on to film music programme. Not only did I waste my time hearing a rerun, but I completely forgot to check again this Monday whether REE`s Sephardic service was back on the 15385 air at 1425-1455, as it was missing last week! I could ask if anyone else noticed, but I am afraid there would be no responses (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR National Channel, Feb 4 at 1333 with YL speaking in Hindi on 9425 and weaker // 9470 which leads 9425 by a split second. 9470 Aligarh also has a lite long-path echo, while 9425 Bengaluru does not. The echo is not so pronounced, as from a site that far away, there is not so much difference between short and long path distances, unlike North American stations (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. IN TOUCH WITH TIME - THE STORY OF CHRONOHERTZ STATION ATA A few weeks back, international radio monitors in India drew attention by email to the old chronohertz station ATA located in New Delhi, and the question was asked: Is station ATA still on the air? Another email message made request for a Station Profile. So, as a result of these queries, we decided to take another look at this old chronohertz station that was on the air several years ago from a location on the edge of New Delhi in India. It is true, some recent radio publications still show station ATA on the air. However, we would state at this stage: No, radio station ATA fell silent long ago, and it is not on the air these days; well, not at least the original chronohertz station. Our topic today, is, In Touch with Time. It was way back more than four thousand years ago that people in the old middle eastern world were measuring time with what we would call today, shadow clocks. That is, as the shadow from a fixed object moved as the sun appeared to move, then an approximate calculation of local time could be gauged. According to current historians, the first known specific reference to a sun dial, that is, in the old concept of how they were made, is found in the Bible. It is stated that King Hezekiah was familiar with the progress of the day with a sun dial, and that was back around 700 BC. It is probable that his sun dial was actually a part of the palace structure in his capital city. A QSL card issued by All India Radio in New Delhi back in the 1980s shows a picture of a similar structure known as Jantar Mantar. This structure, located on Parliament Street quite close to the long time headquarters of All India Radio, was constructed by Maharajah Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur in the year 1724, though some historians had mistakenly given a date a few years earlier. A cluster of buildings at Jantar Mantar, large and small, was designed in such a way that the time of day, right down to a second, could be accurately measured from the shadow of the sun as it moved across one of the buildings. All of the fourteen geometric structures at this location were designed to accurately predict the movement of planets and stars, as well as to predict eclipses. However, as time went by, other methods of measuring time more accurately were needed. It was back in the year 1368 that the first public clock was made in England, and it was more than a century later when the first domestic clock was made in Germany. The first watch was made in the year 1510. In our more recent electronic era, more accurate methods of time keeping are required, and it was in 1937 that the American chronohertz station, WWV in Washington DC, began to broadcast time signals. It was in 1955 that the atomic clock was invented in England. Now, back to the story of the Indian station ATA. Just one year after the infinitely accurate atomic clock was developed in England, plans were formulated to establish a chronohertz station for India, based on a concept similar to the American station WWV. Three years later, the new ATA was inaugurated at the National Physical Laboratory on Hillside Road, Kalkaji, New Delhi on February 4, 1959. A Westinghouse transmitter began a temporary experimental service with 2 kW on exactly 10 MHz, using a horizontal dipole antenna at the height of one wavelength. However, as time would tell, another sixteen years passed by before another transmitter was installed. This was a 5 kW unit that was rated at 10 kW PEP, and this took over the broadcast service on 10 MHz on August 1, 1975. It is probable that this new transmitter that replaced the original 2 kW Westinghouse unit, was made by Marconi in England. The third transmitter at station ATA, another 5 kW unit, likewise probably made by Marconi in England, was inaugurated almost a year later. The schedule for this transmitter was part time on 5 MHz and part time on 15 MHz. Back some thirty five years ago, there was a nice co-operation between the old DX program from Adventist World Radio in Asia, Radio Monitors International, and the chronohertz station ATA. Each year in the DX program, ATA Day was conducted to commemorate the service rendered to the radio world by ATA. In addition, a QSL card was designed, and changes and developments at ATA were announced over the air in the AWR DX program. However, as Jose Jacob, VU2JOS at the National Institute of Amateur Radio in Hyderabad tells us, station ATA left the air some time around the year 2000, due to ailing equipment. The time signal and frequency service was transferred from radio to satellite and the telephone system. During its more than 40 years of on air service, station ATA utilized just three shortwave transmitters, not four, as previously thought. The original 2 kW Westinghouse unit was on the air from 1959 - 1975; and the two later units were inaugurated in 1975 & 1976, and withdrawn from service in the year 2000. Initially, QSL letters and prepared QSL cards were issued during the first era of on air activity from station ATA. Subsequently, just one batch of QSL cards was prepared for ATA usage, and these were in black print on yellow card. So, even though there has been some conjecture in recent time that chronohertz station ATA may be back on the air again, this is not correct. However, we should remember that the callsign ATA has at times been in use from other stations in India. For example, the callsign ATA has been in use on shortwave by the meteorological station in Delhi with weather information. Then too, the amateur callsign prefix in use for the Indian Antarctic Expedition a while back was also ATA. HISTORIC BACKGROUNDS - MEASUREMENT OF TIME ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Date Event Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3000 BC Usage of shadow clocks Wikipedia 700 BC Sun dial, progressive elevation 2 Kings 20:11 @ Isaiah 38:8 1368 Making of large public clocks began in England Howardmiller 1490 Making of domestic clocks began in Germany Howardmiller 1510 Making of watches began Howardmiller 1710 Incorrect date attributed to Jantar Mantar in Delhi Wikipedia 1724 Correct date for construction of Jantar Mantar in Delhi Wikipedia 1937 Jun WWV began the broadcast of time signals Wikipedia 1955 Atomic clock invented in England Howardmiller 1981 Mar 17 Allahabad AIR MW QSL card shows Jantar Mantar Original 1981 Aug 10 Varanasi AIR MW QSL card shows Jantar Mantar Original 1986 ATA callsign also in use for Delhi meteo station G2US 2.259 1986 249 ====================================================================== The ATA Story [RMI = Radio Monitors International, Wavescan predecessor] ------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Date Event Reference ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1956 Long range plans for chronohertz station for India RMI54 1959 Feb 4 1st broadcast from ATA RMI54 1974 Atomic caesium clock installed RMI54 1975 Jan 14 AMP heard ATA 1st time, 2 kW Westinghouse 10 horizontal dipole, 1 L RMI54 1975 Aug 1 Old transmitter, less than 2 kW, replaced by new unit at 5 kW RMI11, Mathur letter 1976 Feb 2 Increase in hours, now on 2 SW channels, 10 & 15 MHz RMI47, Mathur letter 1976 May 12 2 new transmitters on air Mathur letter 1976 Mid 2nd transmitter installed, 8 kW 15 MHz (Marconi?) RMI54 19xx ATA NPL, Hillside Rd Kalkaji, New Delhi 110012 28 33 36 N, 77 18 48 E ATA Document 8 kW PEP 10 & 15 MHz, 8 hrs daily working days, 0900 - 1700 IST 1976 Jul 11 Station Profile on ATA in Radio Monitors International RMI54 1976 Nov Seminar at ATA WS476 1976 Nov 15 ATA service on 5 MHz commenced, increased hours RMI84, Mathur letter 1978 Dec 10 ATA Day, arranged by RMI & DX clubs in Southern Asia RMI177 & 180 1978 Dec 10 New QSL card designed by AMP RMI180 1979 Oct 28 2nd ATA Day RMI226 1980 Sep 7 3rd ATA Day RMI271 1981 Nov 29 4th ATA Day RMI336 1985 Aug 4 ATA Station Profile, re-run of RMI180 RMI530 & NA45-528 1988 NPL began satellite transmission for standard time & frequencies PC 1-04 65 1988 Marconi equipment to be installed at National Physical Laboratory ODXA 1988 19xx Greater Kailash, atomic caesium clock, horizontal folded dipole, 5 10 & 15 MHz ATA Doc 11 hours Mon - Sat, also Sun; NE - SW 110 & 290 deg 2000 Station ATA closed, ailing equipment JJ [Jose Jacob] 2003 Sep 9 Email message, ATA closed 3 years ago, 2 transmitters at 8 kW PEP JJ 2003 Sep 12 Email message, ATA closed 2 or 3 years back, intermittent, old equipment JJ 2004 ATA has ceased shortwave transmissions PC 1-04 65 2004 Feb 15 Station Profile WS476 2010 Queries about ATA Emails 2010 Located previously at 28 33 10 86 N & 77 14 28 33 E JJ Email ====================================================================== ATA QSLs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Date MHz kW Unit Card Print No Holder Country Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1975 Jan 14 10 2 W1 Postal Rubber 1 AMP Sri Lanka Original 1975 Aug 4 10 5 M1 Fawn Rubber 2 AMP Sri Lanka Original 1975 Aug 5 10 5 M1 Fawn Rubber 2 AMP Sri Lanka Original 19xx 5 M Letter JJ India Original 1976 Nov 25 5 5 M2 Postal Rubber 3 AMP India Original 1976 Nov 25 10 5 M1 Postal Rubber 3 AMP India Original 1976 Nov 25 15 5 M2 Postal Rubber 3 AMP India Original 1976 Dec 10 10 5 M1 Yellow Black 4 AMP India Original 1976 Dec 10 15 5 M2 Yellow Black 4 AMP India Original 1978 5 M Yellow Black JJ India Original 1979 May 28 15 5 M2 Yellow Black MW LoTSS 84.47 1980 33 1980 Sep 9 10 5 M1 Yellow Black 5 AMP India Original 1980 Sep 9 15 5 M2 Yellow Black 5 AMP India Original ====================================================================== (Adrian Peterson, IN, AWR Wavescan script Jan 31 via DXLD) Adrian includes such reference material from his own notes, but we usually don`t reproduce them as reformatting is difficult (gh, DXLD) ** INDONESIA [and non]. VOI, 9526-, Jan 28 at 1459 was on causing heavy het to CRI 9525.0 via EAST TURKISTAN, and also still at 1508 when CRI was trying to talk to us in English. RRI, 9680 much better in the clear at 1459 Jan 28, good with gamelan orchestra and singing. This continued right thru hourtop until 1504 when switched to a bit of Western orchestral music and then cut off the air at 1504:30* without any ID, announcement or sign-off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4869.93, RRI Wamena (presumed), 1050 Talk by W and M in language. Music from 1057 to 1100, then same W announcer, possible news to 1109, but couldn't copy as it was too weak. Music bridge, then more talk features with same W and M until 1122, then into pop music program. W again at 1159, music bridge, then very short signature of some sort, and W once again. Was still in at 1316. Never got quite good enough for ID. Have noted this for some time but haven't seen any loggings reported. (30 Jan) (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Perseus with preamp and T2FD antenna, HCDX via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) 4870, RRI-Wamena, -1000-1400* Daily. Poor modulation. Local news at 1100 and Jakarta news at 1200. -2100- (*2000-) -2000- on Jan 25. - 2100- on Jan 27, 28, 30, 31. Tentative. Poor modulation. Jakarta news at 2100 (Atsnori Ishida`s Indonesian monitoring website via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. RRI doing well on 75 and 60 meters Jan 29: 3995 at 1342 with music whenever the SSB-senders would pause, i.e. Kendari. 4750, Makassar, best in quite a while at 1345 with semi-classical piano music, talkovers, still at 1413 when singing and violin had been added. SSOB except for 5025 Cuba at the outset. 9526-, VOI Jakarta, unusually on the air at 1534, since CRI East Turkistan 9525 had a het on it; CRI English dominated, but VOI probably also in English. 3995, RRI Kendari, Sulawesi, nice signal at 1353 Feb 1 song with piano, occasional weak hets presumably from NAm hams. 1359 Indonesian announcement, and singing ID (?) jingle. Makassar 4750 also in well, but not much else. 9526-, VOI with no het from CRI Kashgar, East Turkistan, Feb 2 at 1546, undermodulated dialog in Indo/Malay, drama? Usually VOI is off the air during this hour, or if on, it`s in English. And normally CRI has at least enough signal on 9525.0 to produce a het; propagation must be favoring Indonesia this date. Unfortunately, Atsunori Ishida has not updated his site http://www.max.hi-ho.ne.jp/a-ishida/ins/ since Jan 25, but in the previous week, only on Jan 21 did he find VOI on the 9526 air at this time, when it was Indonesian straight thru from 1404 to 1600. 9526-, VOI in Indo/Malay, Feb 3 at 1408, but cut off the air at 1409* before I could check the frequency for sure. Atsunori Ishida has updated his Indonesian monitoring page http://www.max.hi-ho.ne.jp/a-ishida/ins/ and also had them in Indonesian past 1400 on Jan 26, 28 and 30, until unknown closing. I heard RRI continuing on 9680 with Indonesian pop songs at 1412. 9526-, VOI at 1332 Feb 4, soft Indonesian song with piano, good modulation during presumed English hour. Off the air when rechecked about an hour later (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. RELATIVELY EASY-TO-GET, HARD-TO-GET COUNTRIES: Algeria; 153 & 252 long-wave; they share both frequencies with other broadcast stations; listen for Arabic. Azores; 5598/U, 8906/U Santa Maria ATC Greenland; There are several long-wave beacons in our Log Summary, but none are what you'd call reliable; the fishing fleet utility station on 3815 has also been heard in MI, but very rarely. Iceland; 189 long-wave broadcast station Rikisutvarpid Ireland; EIP Shannon Volmet; 3413, 5505, 8957, 13264, all USB; they usually ID as Shannon Volmet every 10 min. Luxembourg; 234 long-wave; listen for French Senegal; 6535 Dakar ATC; listen for aircraft calling Dakar-Dakar St. Kitts; 555, listen for Caribe music; always bad 550/560 QRM (MARE Tipsheet Jan 29 via DXLD) ** IRAN. 7320, Voice of Revolutionary Iran / IRIB (Sirjan), 2008-2018, 1/28/2010, English. News by woman with usual emphasis on Iran, Iraq, and Middle East. Occasional musical bridges between stories. Talk by man at 2015. Poor but steady signal. Noted threshold level parallel on 6010 (Kamalabad). (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, Random Wires (90' and 200'), ALA100M, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Did they really use that slogan? Normally it`s Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran (gh, DXLD) ** ITALY. After hearing Northern Ireland on 21290 [see UKOGBANI], I tuned a bit more on 15m. Mostly nothing, but just down on 21285, matching DW 15285, was another USB calling CQ from northern Italy, Dom, IW2CLM, Jan 31 at 1453 and soon in contact with someone in ``north central Oklahoma`` who was weaker here but audible, evidently by groundwave, so not far from Enid. Could not catch his call but his name was Dan. QRZ.com shows: IW2CLM Domenico Bova Via G.B. Rota 22 Bergamo, 24124 Italy (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY [non]. IRRS, 31 January 2010 at 1900 sign on, 6170 kHz. Interval signal picked up at 1858 UT, followed by ID at 1900: "This is IRRS (pronounced I double R S) shortwave signing on," followed by "Word to the World" religious program with Earl Bailey. Program of music began at 1929 UTC. Noted that at 1932 UT female ID: "This is Free Press Radio News," but the program of music continued instead in this time slot. Another ID at 1945: "IRRS, the Italian Radio Relay Service." Postal address in Milano, Italy given, per WRTH 2010. Nice signal, SINPO=45434 (Ed Insinger, NJ, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) If he can hear this in NE America on a Sunday, WORLD OF RADIO should also be audible on Saturdays at 1900, weekly. The other IRRS broadcast Sat 0900 on 9510, alternates with other programming; WOR supposedly second, fourth and if any, fifth Saturdays [not first and third as I said on WOR] (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** JAPAN. 3925, R. Nikkei-1, 0830-0900, Jan 30. "Let's Read The Nikkei Weekly"; only on Saturdays; in English and Japanese; announcers: Noriko Tada, Gregory Clark and Jeffrey Swiggum; oriented towards Japanese politics and business English; “This program has been presented by the Society for Testing English Proficiency, Inc.”. Website http://www.radionikkei.jp/LR/ // 6055 and 9595 (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3925, Feb 1 at 0648 ``Claire de Lune`` on piano, pretty clear with hams avoiding the frequency, thanks very much. JOZ, Radio Nikkei. I am a bit startled to be hearing it this early, 1548 JST. Again audible at 1352 UT shortly before closing, S9+20 with guitar or ukulele strumming but SSB hams nearby. 3925, R. Nikkei, G signal at 1317 Feb 4 with medley of US film music from the 30s or 40s; same at 1327 on 6055 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JORDAN. 9830, Radio Jordan (Al Kharana), 2025-2036, 1/27/2010, Arabic. Man talking with woman, who appeared to be on the telephone or a low fidelity connection. Local pop music bridge at 2032 followed by talk by man over music. Another apparent call-in discussion began at 2034. Good signal with very heavy RTTY interference (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, Random Wires (90' and 200'), ALA100M, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR. 4760.00, *0210-0250 fading out, INDIA, 30.01, R Kashmir, Leh. Vernacular announcement 0212 after AIR Interval signal and "Vandi Mataram" hymn, drums, 0215 talk (news in Laddakhi ??), 0245 news in English, 25222 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** KASHMIR. (INDIA), 4950, AIR Srinagar heard at surprising level Feb 1 at 0135 tune in with Qur`an recitation, man announcer, local music (vocal/instrumental), man announcer, more local music with man talking to past 0200. This station is rare here on long path but S. Asian stations have been above average on 60 mb in the past week or so. SINPO 2+5443, with slow fade starting after 0200. Station sched is nominally 0120 to 0215. Best this station has been heard here either short path (local sunrise) or long path (local sunset). Have heard Kashmiri stations (Leh, Jammu and Srinigar) from Global Tuners (usually UK-based) but here in SoCal these three stations are rare at best. The Perseus SDR receiver was a real enabler for this as there was a strong het about 150-200 Hz below Srinagar (perhaps Angola?) that I was able to completely remove by shifting the 3.28 kHz passband up in frequency. My Wellbrook loop was aimed at India which also boosted the signal level (Bruce Churchill, Fallbrook CA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) So you are sure it was long-path? Grayline shortpath should also work at that time (gh, DXLD) 4950, R. Kashmir, 0201-0215*, Feb 1. Recently they had been running a little bit past their scheduled 0215 sign-off. This DX season I have heard this one semi-regularly, a first for me! Best in USB to get away from Angola carrier (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 3973, noise jamming of the NK style centered here, Jan 31 at 1335, almost BFO-ing the Breakfast Club net with a number of US hams in the Midwest checking in, some also mentioning the unusual noise but not knowing its provenance. Sort of like an airplane engine revving as the pitch continually varies up and down. Breakfast Club is in the final Nets to You of April 2007, as daily 1000 UT (0900 summer) on 3973. Apparently it goes on for hours and hours. Nothing is known on 3973 needing jamming, but Aoki shows a 5 kW Wonsan transmitter of KCBS/Pyongyang BS on 3970, so perhaps that is out of whack, or repurposed for jamming as needed. Usual NK jamming on 3985 mixing with Echo of Hope, Korean talk audible; and similar noise on 3912 against Voice of the People. Louder jamming on 3480 against KNDF, but not much signal from the 90m N Korean non-jammers, as checked until 1340. 7140, Feb 3 at 0700 with VOK IS and anthem, poor, but better than Guinea 7125. Aoki shows this as 200 kW, non-direxional from Kujang site at 0700-0757 among many other times, from an outlaw nation continuing to intrude in the hamband (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 5910, Shiokaze - Sea Breeze via Yamata, 1402, Jan 28. Surprised to hear them with English on a Thursday; scheduled *1400 to 1430*; tuned in to the usual information about COMJAN; personal data about Japanese abductees believe taken to N. Korea, starting with a 1967 abduction; this format is usually carried on Wednesday; heavy jamming, which was noted before 1400 and still going at 1454. So will Friday be a second day in a row of English? (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5910, Shiokaze, Friday Jan 29 at 1410 with heavily accented English headlines from earlier in January about North Korea, interrupted by their newsy stinger every minute. F-G signal via JAPAN, no jamming audible. Ron Howard found them also in English on Thursday, which is unusual. Shiokaze, 5910 via JSR JAPAN, Tuesday Feb 2 at 1425 with YL speaking Chinese slowly and clearly over usual piano bed, and also whoop-whoop oscillating Juche jamming, which is usually inaudible here, but at least we know the DPRK considers Chinese a language worth jamming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5910, Shiokaze - Sea Breeze via Yamata, 1413, Feb 4. Another Thursday in English; scheduled *1400-1430*; personal data about Japanese abductees believe taken to N. Korea. Heavy jamming, which Glenn was still hearing today shortly after Shiokaze signed off (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) JAPAN: Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) in Japanese, 2030-2100 UT on 6045, (transmitter Yamata?) dated Jan 31, 2010. SIO 322. Sign on 2030 with tune + station ID "..shiokaze desu..". Talk (OM & YL)+ music (instrumental). Station ID heard at 2045. Music variety till 2055 followed by station ID (YL) and sign off 2100. Blank carrier co- channel from 2055 to 2058 noted. QTH - Kolkata (22 34' 11" North, 88 22' 11" East), India. RX- SONY ICF SW22 world band receiver. Antenna- SONY AN 71 Compact antenna attached to a telescopic whip. 73`s (Rajdeep Das, Kolkata, India, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 5910 with whoop-whoop oscillating jammer at 1443 Feb 4, no doubt left over from the Shiokaze transmission which ended at 1430, and now disrupting Iran`s Bengali service via Kamalabad, tsk2. It was a good morning for Juche jamming. Noise type also noted on 5890 vs VOA; 3480, 6003, 6015, 6518, 6600 vs various clandestines (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Current sked via TAIWAN, PALAU: Furusato no Kaze in Japanese 1333-1357 9775 via TWN (ex 9950) 1430-1500 9950 via PLW (ex 9880 via Darwin) 1600-1630 9780 via TWN Ilbone Baram (Nippon no Kaze) in Korean 1300-1330 9655 via TWN 1500-1530 9975 via PLW (ex 9690 via Darwin) 1530-1600 9965 via PLW --- de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, Feb 2, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. V. of the People, from S to N Korea, big signal with music as I tuned across 6600 Feb 1 at 1407, S9+15 atop jamming, // 6512 almost as good. Usually the jamming is atop here. 6348, Echo of Hope, from S to N Korea, also atop jamming, with music at 1407, but 6003 had nothing but noise jamming audible. Same jamming on 6015 against the month-old KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, 100 kW ND from Hwaseong, S Korea, as per Aoki, itself inaudible. XEOI managed to squeeze in between; see MEXICO (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. Video of Thomson rotatable shortwave antenna system at IBB Kuwait, Phase 2. http://www.shortwaveradioreceivers.com/shortwaveradioantennas/rotatable-shortwave-transmitting-antenna/ (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, India, Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. 7145, Lao National Radio with relay of 97.25 MHz FM, 1353- 1435*, Jan 29. Format of a typical pop FM station: sound effects, ads, DJs, pop/EZL songs and singing station jingles; in Laotian; poor to almost fair; causing QRM for hams. Usually they relay the FM programming after the end of their English broadcast and normally go off the air about 1400, so today was a real treat for me to hear this extended broadcast! (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7145, Lao National Radio, 1341, Feb 4. Local news in English; ID; “We have now come to the International News”; 1353 relay of FM programming in Laotian; 1358*; poor (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS [non]. UNITED STATES. From the 1/28 New York Times, an item on Hmong-language station KJAY in Sacramento, using radio for its highest and best purpose: It even answers the question, WTFK? (Chuck Albertson, Seattle WA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FOR HMONG HUNTERS, A GUIDING VOICE IN THEIR NEW HOME Yia Yang, who hosts a Hmong radio show about hunting, and an on-air guest, Capt. Roy Griffith, who runs California’s hunter education program. [caption] By MALIA WOLLAN Published: January 27, 2010 Sacramento Journal SACRAMENTO — Along the barren airwaves of AM radio in Northern California, somewhere between gospel music and traffic updates, Yia Yang can be heard telling his devoted listeners to always be aware of their gun muzzles. A 50-year-old Hmong immigrant from northern Laos, Mr. Yang is the host of a regular all-things-hunting program on KJAY 1430-AM. The station serves one of the nation’s largest Hmong populations — one for whom the link between hunting and survival is still palpable. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/us/28sacramento.html (via Chuck Albertson, DXLD) ** LIBERIA. [continued from VANUATU] I have also just finished a 2500 Watt transmitter for Liberia on 4025 kHz, but won't be putting them on for a month or so. I just want to add that this web site is fantastic, and will be joining when I get back. I need feedback from listeners, as I am not able to put antennas up where I live currently. I build about 15 stations a year, and would love feedback on how they are being heard. Thanx, JAMIE (via Ralph Brandi-NJ-USA, DXplorer Jan 28 via BC-DX Jan 31 via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) What station in Liberia?? ** LIBYA. 21695, Voice of Africa, OSOB, Jan 29 at 1508 in English, but better on // 17725, ``dawn of a new age thru the African Union``, 1511 outroing a talk on ``the devolution of Al-Fatah``, or so it sounded to me; 1512 ID ``Voice of Africa from the Great Jamahiriyah`` and then hilife music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 5009.95, 1925-2210* 25.01, R Nasionaly Malagasy, Ambohidrano. Malagasy excited football reports with occasional shouting from audience, interviews and a few African songs - prolonged schedule that day, 35333 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. Hi Glenn, Outstanding propagation today! African reception was extraordinary and low noise level on the 41m band. 7105 // 6134.90v, RTVM, 1456-1506*, Jan 29. Not very often I can confirm all three parallels; both off at the same time; // with 5010 in USB + carrier mode with fair reception and continued on past 1511; both 7105 and 6134.90v were weak, but clearly all were parallel (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR [non]. 15670, Radio Mada International via Pridnestrovye. *1530-1600*, Jan 30. I finally remembered to check again for this on the weekend. Yes, they are still here with fair reception; sounded like Malagasy; interview in studio; segment with interviews with a lot of background noise from a large crowd; 1555 played nice African ballad till suddenly off with no announcement; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) via Pridnestrovye, 15670, Radio Mada International *1530-1600*, Jan 31, test tone started at 1523. Sign on with opening announcements at 1530 and talk in presumed Malagasy. Local music at 1555 to 1600 sign off. Poor in noisy conditions. Sat, Sun only. Thanks to Ron Howard tip (Brian Alexander, PA, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX Listening Digest) Oh oh, new frequency of Miraya FM, Sudan, via IRRS via SLOVAKIA, back to SUDAN, 15670 collides with this (gh, DXLD) No curtain antenna available towards Africa at Grigoriopol Maiac. Most probably the revolving antenna at 47 15 48.82 N 29 24 01.08 E in use. (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Jan 31 via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA/SARAWAK [non]. 5030, Sarawak FM via RTM, Jan 31. Noticeably off the air today during checks around 1430, but Glenn did hear them the next day, so no major problem (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: 5030, RTM Sarawak, 1403 Feb 1 announcement and song, fair against splash from Cuba 5025 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. It looks like XEPE-1700 has changed its format to Sporting News Radio as it was heard this morning with "XX-1090" (Bill Block, Prescott Valley, AZ, 31 Jan, IRCA via DXLD) Schedule still shows talk during the week (Barry :-) Davies, UK, ibid.) At 9:50 AM Sunday Pacific time XEPE was not //XEPRS-1090. It was running "Meet the Press". TOH ID at 10:00 was "San Diego's 1700" then the call letters and city of license in Spanish. After that they changed to //XEPRS. In April of 2008 I took a couple of photos of the XEPRS transmitter site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3981675768/in/set-72157622413948943 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3981676876/in/set-72157622413948943 73 (Dennis Gibson, CA, ibid.) ** MEXICO. 6010, XEOI during talk block, Feb 1 at 1409 with roundup of political news from BCN to QR, poor strength but clear in between the Juche jammers on 6003 and 6015 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. 6104.8v, Jan 28 at 0724 the irrepressively peppy upbeat music XEQM plays in the nitemiddle for insomniax, several sex of dead air, then YL DJ and produced IDs mentioning 95.3, ``la más grande``. Good at peaks revealing somewhat distorted modulation, but usual deep fades. 0728 she gave timecheck for 1:29 over music, then also put phone caller on air. 0729-0731 a carrier went on and off a couple times on 6105.0 causing het: probably TWR tuning up prior to its 0745 start via Nauen (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6104.76, XEQM, Candela FM, Merida, 0635-0710, Jan 29, Spanish talk. Local ballads. Local pop music. Fair signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** MEXICO [and non]. 6185, XEPPM eclectic/freeform music brought us enjoyable tangos, Feb 4 at 0632, breaking for announcement by live DJ mentioning today`s date ``jueves, 4 de febrero``; nice and clear until *0642:30 RNA Brasil cut on 6185 putting an end to it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Since WWCR was inbooming on 15825 the morning of Feb 3, at 1419 and 1528 UT chex, I knew there was a sporadic E opening (and other off-season ones had been reported the last few days by WTFDA monitors). So as soon as I could, connected my VHF antenna directly to analog TV set on channel 2. Signs of activity, but only a few brief fade-ins at 1612, 1640 and 1651 UT. At 1640 there was YL talkshow in Spanish; at 1651 promo for ``Info 7``, i.e. the Azteca-7 network from somewhere in Mexico. Unfortunately that`s not enough to go on, since on channel 2 according to http://www.w9wi.com/channels/2.html there are five full-power Azteca 7 relays, 10 but mostly 100 kW, in Campeche, BCN, Chihuahua, Durango and Tamaulipas plus one low-power 1.5 kW in Sinaloa. Campeche is the most likely here, then Tampico, as the opening was only affecting the eastern part per the 6-meter DX map showing at the time via http://www.vhfdx.net/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&Map=NA In fact the main Es patch the last time I looked was over northern Alabama, no good for Mexico from here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONACO [non]. Hello, Persian transmission of TWR Europe broker ceased Jan 1st? 7430 Moosbrunn and 5965 Wertachtal at 1729-1759 UT left. I asked Pastor Dr. Hansjoerg Biener to find out the reason for (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA [and non]. 9665 with audible het Feb 1 at 1531, and a bit of music, as VOM`s English broadcast is scheduled. Trouble is, P`yongyang was already on this frequency long before, or rather never quite on it, with imprecise transmitter. What genius at VOM picked this channel? I suspect the music I could hear was from NK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. The Happy Station Show with special guest Kamahl [1600 UT Jan 28] has been uploaded. Many of our listeners down under will know him for sure as well as our European listeners. The show can be heard at http://www.pcjmedia.com There is poll that has just opened at the PCJ Media website. The question is: Who is your favorite Happy Station host? 1. Edward Startz 2. Tom Meijer 3. Pete Myres [sic] 4. Jonathan Groubert 5. Keith Perron Come and cast your vote and see the results. Regards, (Keith Perron, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I just got my first complaint about Happy Station and PCJ. I have no idea who it was sent from as it was anonymous with the email not shown. It was written in Chinese. Below is the translated text. Translation: Please be informed that Taiwan Province is an integral part of the People’s Republic Of China. Do not refer to Taiwan as the Republic Of China and do not play the national anthem of the KMT. This is an insult and hurts the feelings of all the people of China including our compatriots in Taiwan Province who wish to join the motherland. LOL. Regs, (Keith Perron, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Happy Station: Keith Perron has announced new frequencies: Europe 5835, 9305; Asia 21890; South America/Latin America 11550 kHz (Facebook) (via Mike Terry, Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Some more details would be helpful. http://www.pcjmedia.com/schedule mentions under "Affiliates" also "EUROPE 5835 kHz, Sundays from 1300 to 1355". Well, two hours too late for this week. What's all this? The OOB frequencies do not point at any of the usual suspects (MB, TDF, VT, Lithuania, actually also not RTRS or other CIS facilities). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, ibid.) 5835 is pirate South Herts Radio, very low power, but the others? (gh, DXLD) They are from South Hertz [sic!] Radio on Sundays http://www.southhertsradio.com (Keith Perron on face book) (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, India, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Frequency page http://www.southhertsradio.com/frequencies.html says: ``We operate occasional shortwave broadcasts to beam SHR around the world and across South Hertfordshire on AM. Channels and times vary and other stations may relay us. Frequencies we may use are 3935, 5110, 5835, 5990, 6055, 6140, 6170, 6205, 6255, (6925 USB), 7290, 7325, 7335, 7415, 9290, 9305, 9330, 9510, 9770, 9955, 11550, 12255, 15420, 21550 & 21890 kHz.`` Hmmm, some of those must allude to: WBCQ, IRRS, WRI, any USA pirate, WRMI, where SHR certainly has no regular slots (gh) So do tell us, Keith, where 9305, 21890 and 11550 come from and at what times(s)! BTW, if you say Latin America, you do not need to say South America, since all of the latter is part of the former. Well, almost all. Glenn I was informed a while ago that there was a problem so the SHR SW frequency did not pan out :(:( (Keith Perron, dxldyg via DXLD) I did ask for the detail. Gary at SHR just informed me that this past weekend they would be using these frequencies from 8 am to 8 pm UK time. Then last night he send me an email to say a problem came up and it didn't pan out, but I didn't ask the details (Keith Perron, ibid.) It's time for me to step in here and put the record straight. Nobody else is to blame. The SHR website has been updated to reflect what is now set in stone. There have been a few problems with false promises made to us but all is now correct. South Herts Radio will broadcast on-line via the live web cast most Sunday's from 08.00 - 20.00 UTC. We cannot promise every Sunday but we will do as many as we can. The web cast will be relayed on FM by participating parties in various locations via low power legitimate FM and WFM devices. Shortwave will now be subject to agreement of other stations relaying us. Times and days of SW broadcasts will vary but they can only be on Sundays when our live stream is on air. Some of the frequencies that we MAY be carried on are published on the frequencies page http://www.southhertsradio.com/frequencies.html I would like to thank everyone who tuned in yesterday to the live stream although it did start rather late at 10.30 UTC. This may happen sometimes. We are a hobby station and it is not our intention to mislead anyone. The team at SHR will continue to support world of radio and other DX programs. We tested low power SW transmitters but without much success it seems. Buying airtime is too expensive and what we published was not a publicity stunt even though it might seem that way. When our live stream is down we will relay Laser Hot Hits on our web player and all shows we put out are available to listen again http://www.southhertsradio.com/again.html Keith is doing a great job with the happy station and we will also keep broadcasting it most Sundays. I hope that redeems us. Sorry Folks (Gary Drew, SHR, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. RTM [TWR 800] no se escucha en absoluto en OM. Antaño cuando XEQM 810 kHz operaba de 0500-2200 hora local, era posible siquiera escuchar un poco de música por la noche con identificaciones hasta en español "ésta [es] Radio Trans Mundial, la emisora del mensaje diferente" y sólo casi una hora antes de la señal de la emisora local y a veces en ausencia de ésta tan tarde como las 6 y 7 de la mañana, pudiendo captar el fin del segmento en español (había dos horas de retraso horario respecto a Bonaire). En algún lugar tengo arrumbados algunos fragmentos de grabación en audio cinta KCT y que pienso en un futuro cercano pasarlos a mp3 para compartirlos (uno de mis propósitos de año) junto con mis QSL enviados por el locutor Daniel Camporini y otros. Hasta hace dos años pude captar en un pequeño radio de transistores marca GPX, el inicio de su segmento matutino, aunque ya muy interferida por una emisora de la provincia de Chiapas. El horario de verano tampoco me es de mucha ayuda, pues el dichoso "adelanto de hora" también hace que XEQM empiece antes. En fin, espero que mi información le sea de utilidad. Atte: (Ing. Civ. Israel Gónzález Ahumada, M.I., Mérida, Yucatán, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 15120, strong at S=9+10dB level at 1935 UT. Modulation amplitude for music segment was too high. But talk audio from studio was superb "clean" tonight. Music selection from West Africa sound was excellent. Tonight to report like FIRST springtime propagation conditions on 19 mb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. [Pirate]. 6925 USB, Outhouse Radio, 0043-0053, Jan 29, country music. Pop music by Madonna. IDs. Poor to fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** NORTH AMERICA. A friend passes on a twitter tip that The Crystal Ship is about to start another Sunday evening broadcast on 5385 AM, so I try it at 2337 Jan 31. Yes, there it is with ID mentioning ``freedom of the airwaves``, e-mail tcsshortwave @ gmail.com Axually closer to 5385.4, signal around S9+12 but with quite a bit of deep fading. I need to turn off local noise sources to increase its S/N ratio. 2338 on to ID in Spanish with echo. 2343 ``last briefing before atomic detonation; three things: blast, heat, radiation``. 2349, song ``Don`t Fear the Reefer``. (Did not hear any of the music identified on air.) 2354 unreadable child`s voice, then Tarzan yell, ID mentioning ``in glorious AM``, e-mail address again. 2355 song ``Big Muddy``, sounds like an early Pete Seeger. 2358 song ``The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence``, by Gene Pittney. Now into UT Feb 1: after 0000 I am paying less attention as 60 Minutes is starting on CBS-TV. Seems to be more music now, fewer announcements but there is one at 0008; 0031 ``Official Voice of the Blue States Republic``, music with steel drums(?). 0039 ``El Paso`` by Marty Robins; 0058 still music audible, but not heard after 0100, off? Enjoyed the familiar but seldom-heard tunes, creativity of the comedy and IDs; pse QSL (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6925+ USB, pirate playing music at 1446 Feb 4, a familiar surfin` song with heavy drumming, what else but Wipeout! 1448 pauses for ID as Radio Gaga. There is a little bit of carrier, but it`s hard to zero-beat with the dense music playing. Still going at 1502. Please QSL (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Five Oklahoma translators (K54CM, K55BQ, K57BB, K60CK, K68AU) already have permits to move their analog facilities to the new channels. I suspect the analog permits will not be built, that they will go directly to digital on channels 31, 30, and 15. Several of the Oklahoma translators which have switched from analog to digital operation have also significantly increased power in the process. For example, K56AY in Beaver went from 836 watts as an analog station on ch. 56 to 15,000 watts as a digital station on ch. 34. Nowata 25 KGCT-LP DC 60w; has already filed to reduce power to -12.1 kW (grin)! KGCT-LP appears to have filed to reduce power to -12 kW. It is in fact impossible to do so – there is no such thing as negative power. The FCC forms expect power to be entered both in kilowatts (KW) and in decibels above/below one kilowatt (dBk). KGCT got the kW and dBk figures swapped; 61 watts is equal to -12 dBk. Power change granted: Oklahoma City 7 KOCO-TV >65.7 kW / 451 m Permit granted for new station: Oklahoma City 9 KWTV 19.4 kW/ 418 m (aux) (Doug Smith, TV News, Feb WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) As of Jan 29 check, KWTV is STILL operating simultaneously on RF channels 9 and 39, equally good here on my antennas, and seldom breaking up. 9 becomes 9-1 and 39 becomes 9-2 on remapping. Does the above permit mean that 9, the original, analog channel and continuing to be the identity for KWTV, will be turned off except for backup? It would seem they cannot continue running full service on both channels indefinitely, or can they if willing to foot the extra power bills? At least they will retain access to RF 9 by getting it granted as a ``new station`` aux. BTW, there have never been any subsidiary channels visible from KWTV (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The application for the aux on RF 9 was filed in November 2008; the application to move their permanent facility back to RF 39 was filed last December. I might guess they failed to ask the FCC to dismiss the aux application; so when it came up in the queue (and turned out to be technically correct), the FCC granted it. Since the post- transition RF 39 petition hasn't yet been acted on, there really wasn't a basis for the FCC to dismiss the RF 9 aux application on its own motion. (Indeed, KWTV doesn't yet have an application on file to move their permanent DTV facility back to RF 39; they've had the channel reallotted but there needs to be a separate application to get their facility moved. Their current operation on RF 39 is under Special Temporary Authority.) That's only a guess. I'm not sure what will happen with RF 9 in the long run. **I would think** that once the license-to-cover is issued for channel 39, the channel 9 license would cease to be valid. WLS in Chicago, when they filed to move from RF 7 to RF 44, also filed to reactivate *the same RF 7 facility* as a DTV Replacement Translator. That operation would GREATLY exceed the normal maximum permissible power for a VHF translator (300 watts); WLS' facility on RF 7 was running, and would run as a translator, 4.75 kW. The FCC has not yet acted on that request. I think they're a bit worried about opening that can of worms. Interesting that they're operating 39 as 9-2. Obviously they have two stream multiplexers. (WTVF here in Nashville broadcasts an identical datastream on both their transmitters -- the main on on RF 5 and the Replacement Translator on RF 50 -- both come up as channels 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3 -- if you receive both transmitters, you get two 5.1's, two 5.2's, and two 5.3's. Presumably WTVF has one stream multiplexer and feeds its output in parallel to both transmitters.) (Doug Smith, TN, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. KFOR ADDS JUVENILE ARCADE NOISES --- For about a year now, KOCO --- 5, has had these adolescent video arcade noises inserted between their stories. You know. Noises like swish, boom, zing. They presume that you are ill focused and somewhat of a moron. Are you? Do you really need to be entertained with pac man noises to be a well informed citizen? Are you as dumb as they think you are? Well, about two weeks ago KFOR -- 4 -- has started to assume the same stupid things about YOUR attention span. They too have added the childish video arcade noises to all their field stories. Don't be manipulated by their presumption about your intelligence and focus. This is yet another reason to get your news from newspapers or newspaper coverage online. . . [+ thread also about sponsored choppers, general sorry state of local TV news and who`s to blame] http://www.okctalk.com/arts-entertainment/20470-kfor-adds-juvenile-arcade-noises.html (via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. 1640, KFXY, OK, Enid, 01/15 0625 [EST = 1125 UT] “The Sports Authority For Oklahoma, 1640 The Score.” (Jeff Steffes, Watertown, MN, Kenwood R-2000, Quantum QX Loop, Domestic DX Digest- West, NRC DX News Jan 25 via DXLD) That is so true, Enid being the Authority Capital of Oklahoma and all (Jim Tedford, Bothell, WA, ed., ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. LAW WOULD KEEP FCC OFF LOW-POWER RADIO Posted By Andrew Griffin On January 27, 2010 @ 5:20 pm http://www.scribd.com/News-Law-Would-Keep-FCC-Off-Low/d/26086807 OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Charles Key wants state law to stop federal interference with low-power radio stations. The Oklahoma City Republican submitted House Bill 2812 to allow low-power broadcast despite Federal Communications Commission authority effective Nov. 1. The “Communications Freedom Act” would give stations that are not interfering with existing signals authority to broadcast without federal license. “The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma declares that: A transmission of energy, communications or signals by radio originating inside the State of Oklahoma, that has not been proven and adjudicated by the Oklahoma court system or the Federal court system to specifically be causing, or to have caused quantifiable harm to, or interference with the transmission or reception of energy, communications or signals from: a.) within Oklahoma to any place beyond its borders. b.) any place beyond the borders of Oklahoma to any place within Oklahoma, or c.) or to places beyond the borders of Oklahoma; is not intended to be involved in interstate commerce.” It specifies “a transmission of energy, communications or signals by radio” that is noncommercial is “not intended to be involved in interstate commerce” or is not meant to affect interstate commerce. “How can the FCC regulate something under the interstate commerce clause (of the U.S. Constitution) when (low-power FM) is neither interstate nor commerce?” asked James Lane, an Oklahoma City-based activist with We Are Change Oklahoma. Lane noted that low-power FM should be embraced by states and communities. A great example, he said, is the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans-area radio station crews left the area and low- power station personnel stayed behind to broadcast public service information. “We’re making this an issue of standing up to the federal government which we believe is overstepping its Constitutional boundaries,” Lane said. Key has supported other bills in the past, including one reaffirming the 10th Constitutional amendment reserving to states and the people all powers not specifically delegated to the U.S. or prohibited to the states. When contacted by Oklahoma Watchdog on Tuesday, Key said he suspects the federal government doesn’t like the “free speech aspect” of low- power FM radio and may view it as a threat. “The federal government is out of control. It’s violated it’s [sic] role in regards to the Constitution. The government has become a predator of sorts and it’s become a law until itself.” Key said the bill will go to the Rules committee first and then to the full House. Oklahoma Watchdog is looking to confirm if the bill has Senate support. By Andrew W. Griffin, Oklahoma Watchdog, editor, Posted: January 27, 2010, Copyright 2010 Oklahoma Watchdog (via DXLD) Friendlier link to same: http://oklahoma.watchdog.org/2010/01/27/law-would-keep-fcc-off-low-power-radio/ (via Benn Kobb, DC, DXLD) Plus comments including this: 2:23 am on January 29th, 2010 ---- Is Senator Key aware that the FCC is poised to open another window for low power radio permits, most likely this year? A low power FM bill, H.R. 1147, has already passed out of subcommittee, full committee and the House of Representatives. On the Senate side, a similar bill, S. 592, has cleared the select committee and is pending a vote on the floor very soon clearing the way for it to be signed into law. LPFM bills have come up for years, unsupported by the Bush administration FCC, and resisted by commercial radio interests as well as NPR, who worried LPFM transmissions would interfere with their signals. This prompted millions of dollars to be spent and years wasted to research these claims which were found to be insignificant. Not everyone seems to be as enthusiastic about local radio as State Senator Key. Four months ago, Glenn Beck referred to “localism and diversity”– two hallmarks of community radio–as part of a “diabolical” plan to transform media. On the same program, Rush Limbaugh called localism and diversity part of the growing tyranny of the left. Lou Dobbs would add diversity means “more liberals on the air.” Liberal or conservative, and regardless how you feel about government in general, if you want more voices to be heard over the airwaves, encourage your Senators to vote yes on S. 592 for expanding low power radio. James Moore General Manager KRUU-LP 100,1 FM http://www.kruufm.com Fairfield, Iowa (as above, via Kobb, DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Hi Glenn, Radio Pakistan has announced the re-launching of Tamil, Nepali and Sinhala Services w.e.f. February 01, 2010. The decision is bizarre in view of poor condition of 100 kW transmitters of Radio Pakistan through which these transmissions were earlier broadcast. These foreign language broadcasts were discontinued a few years back in view of poor reception and no listenership. The frequencies and timing of the relaunched language services have not been announced. Regards (Aslam Javaid, Lahore, Pakistan, Feb 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO PAKISTAN TO LAUNCH NEW LANGUAGE SERVICES TO NEPAL AND SRI LANKA | Text of report by official news agency Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) Radio Pakistan is launching Nepali, Sinhala and Tamil language programmes from its external services from 1 February. The new programmes of half an hour duration in each of these languages will comprise different segments covering news, commentaries, socio- economic development and cultural activities of the South Asian Region, said a press release here on Thursday 28 January]. Radio Pakistan's external service is already broadcasting programmes in seven languages including Bengal, Hindi, Chinese, Gujrat, Pushto, Dari and Farsi. The external services programmes mainly focus on projecting Pakistan policy objectives in the context of regional and international issues besides forging close relations with the world community. The launching of new programmes will help promote mutual understanding and cooperation with Nepal and Sri Lanka. Source: Associated Press of Pakistan news agency, Islamabad, in English 28 Jan 10 (via BBCM via DXLD) 1 Comment on “Radio Pakistan to launch new language services to Nepal and Sri Lanka” #1 Aleksandr on Jan 28th, 2010 at 16:21 Radio Pakistan aired programmes in these three languages until January 5, 2008 and now it launches them again… Arabic, Russian, Turkmen and Turkish services were also shut down on this date (Media Network blog comments via DXLD) Perhaps the previous scheduling will reappear if we can find it (gh) Hi Glenn, I will check the frequencies used in the past by Radio Pakistan for external services for finding/monitoring the re-launced ones. They might reschedule the existing broadcasts as well. What a waste till new transmitters and API-9 are operational! (Aslam Javaid, Lahore, Pakistan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I monitored the Pushto and Dari Language services of Radio Pakistan on 30-01-2010 on 6235 kHz. The Pushto broadcast was monitored from 1300 to 1400 UT. The signal was poor, SIO rating was 333. Modulation was bad. The programme content was below average as usual. Except a five minute news bulletin and three minute news commentary, rest of the transmission consisted of Pushto Music and Quran recitation. Dari service commenced at 1430 UT on the same frequency with a weaker signal. It directly commenced with Quran recitation without opening announcement. SIO rating was 242. The transmitter was very buzzy; at 1455 UT the signal faded away. Both frequencies were again monitored on 31-1-2010 but no signal of Radio Pakistan was noted from 1300-1500 UT. Nowadays Pakistan is facing electricity shortage; there might be some long power failure or some frequency changes to accommodate new transmissions of Tamil, Sinhala and Nepali languages. Regards (Aslam Javaid, Lahore, Pakistan, Feb 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Frequency manager of Radio Pakistan informs me that they will once again broadcast in Nepali, Sinhala and Tamil from February 1st. The existing schedule between 0900 and 1330 UT via API-3 & 4 will be replaced with: 0900-1000 Bangla 1000-1030 Nepali 1045-1145 Hindi 1145-1215 Gujrati The proposal is to use 11580 and 9345 kHz for all of these, but I informed him that both frequencies would probably receive co-channel interference. So the final choice is not yet known. At 1230-1300 UT Sinhali and 1300-1330 UT Tamil is listed for 11580 kHz (this may be changed) and 15630 kHz. Their services in Pashtu and Dari are scheduled from 1300 UT on one - or maybe both - of these transmitters, so it is possible that these services will start at 1345 UT instead via 6235 kHz. I have no positive information about this (Noel R. Green-UK, Jan 25, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 30 via DXLD) ** PALAU. Angel 4 Monitoring on Jan. 29 at 2200(Jan 28) to 1630 UT. 2200-2400 12040 R. Australia, English 0000-0030 15225 R. Australia, Indonesian //15180, 15335, 15415 0030-0100 off the air 0100-0130 15655 R. Australia, Burmese //17665 0130-0300 off the air 0300-0400 [WTFK?] Shepherd's Chapel http://www.shepherdschapel.com/ 0400-0430 15780 R. Australia, Indonesian //11550, 15180, 15415 0430-0500 off the air 0500-0530 15590 R. Australia, Indonesian //11745, 15180, 15415 0530-1300 off the air 1300-1430 9890 R. Australia, Chinese //9475, 11660, 11760, 11825 1430-1500 off the air 1500-1530 9965 Lester Sumrall Teachings 1530-1600 9965 JCIC Korean “Ilbone Baram” 1605-1630 9965 Radio Australia, Chinese ! ! 1630-2200 off the air http://ndxc.org/aoki/binews/au/t8wh-20100129-1555_9965.mp3 de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, dxldyg via DX LISTENNING DIGEST) Angel 4 Monitoring on Feb. 1 at 2200(Jan 31) to 1630 UT. 2200-2400 12040 R. Australia, English 0000-0030 15225 R. Australia, Indonesian //15335, 15415 0030-0100 off the air 0100-0130 15655 R. Australia, Burmese 0130-0300 off the air 0300-0400 [WTFK?] Shepherd's Chapel http://www.shepherdschapel.com/ 0400-0430 15780 R. Australia, Indonesian //11550, 15415 0430-0500 off the air 0500-0530 15590 R. Australia, Indonesian //11745, 15415 0530-0700 off the air 0700-1000 15725 R. Australia, Indonesian 1000-1300 off the air 1300-1430 9890 R. Australia, Chinese //9475, 11660, 11760 1430-1500 9950 JCIC Japanese "Furusato no Kaze" (ex 9880 via Darwin) 1500-1530 9975 JCIC Korean "Ilbone Baram" (ex 9690 via Darwin) 1530-1600 9965 JCIC Korean "Ilbone Baram" 1600-1630 9965 R.Australia, Chinese 1630-2200 off the air de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3385, R. East New Britain Rabaul, 1126-1139, Jan 26, Tok Pisin. M announcer with brief talks between choral-like music selections; fair with "hum" of sorts (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, NH USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3315, R. Manus, 1226 talk by little girl, then into pop song. 1231 studio M program host with song announcement, mention of "album", then "local news". Back to music program. 1251- 1258 messages with mentions of names and Manus, "OK, this record especial ubla", "goodnight now until morning Papa", Saturday night, "all the listeners ?? good morning." Music to 1301, W with NBC news promo, and more music. More messages at 1305. Still going at 1316. Best signal in the half hour after sunrise (1230-1300). Other 90 mb PNGs on this morning included 3275, 3290, 3225, 3365, and 3385 (QRMed). (30 Jan) 3275, R. Southern Highlands, 1236-1316, island and pop music program with M host. 1245-1249 messages by M mentioning "11 o'clock -- number one station service program", and "tomorrow -- radio broadcast [bi]long Papua Southern Highlands Province.". Then a number of songs in a row over ToH, and M finally returning at 1309. Nice to see this one still on. (30 Jan) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Perseus with preamp and T2FD antenna, HCDX via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 90m check at 1355 Feb 1 found signals with at least some audio, non-// music on 3365, 3345, 3325, 3315, all PNG frequencies; altho due to a great breakdown in regional frequency management, 3325 and 3345 are also active Indonesian frequencies. Nothing on 3385 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. RADIO SICUANI, 4826V, SW LICENSE REVOKED, UP FOR GRABS Hola Colegas, Gracias al correo electrónico informado por el amigo Rubén Guillermo Margenet por medio del cual tuvo contacto con la Radio Sicuani, 4826v radiosicuani @ hotmail.com en los recientes acontecimientos sucedidos por las lluvias en la region del Cusco y la presencia de sus hijos en esta zona. Pude contactarme por primera vez con esta emisora, luego de varios años de intentos infructuosos por via postal, y haber tratado con algunos correos electrónicos que en su momento salieron por medios DX e incluso por el informado en la página web de la emisora. Recibí una atenta carta y algunas fotos de los estudios y los periodistas, además del logotipo de la emisora en formato .jpeg ; lo realmente triste es la noticia donde señalan que su emsión en la onda corta se encuentra suspendida indefinidamente por orden del Ministerio de Transporte y Comunicaciones del Perú; ante mi pregunta en un posterior correo me cuentan los siguiente: "Nuevamente agradecerle por su mensaje y la fotografía enviada; en lo que respecta al problema con el Ministerio de Tansportes y Comunicaciones, ha sido un descuido de la anterior administración que ha descuidado esta parte de la renovación de licencia; motivo por el cual el Ministerio ha optado por suspender nuestras transmisiones en onda corta; cabe indicar que ahora las frecuencias se licitan en el Perú, es decir, al mejor postor. Estamos en ese trámite de solicitar la reconsideración de la misma; pero lamentablemente en el Perú hay mucha burocracia y estos trámites duran de 3 a 5 años. Ojalá que pronto podamos restablecer nuestras transmisiones en onda corta." Ojalá así sea, pero sabiendo de las burocracias que habitan en nuestra América Latina, no me permite ser muy optimista. Buen DX (RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ R., Bogota D.C - COLOMBIA, Jan 28, via Yimber Colombia, Noticiasdx yg via DXLD) Muy mala noticia, Rafael y Rubén. Radio Sicuani era una de las emisoras peruanas que mejor llegaban por el centro del país. Mientras esperamos el restablecimiento de la señal en onda corta (si es que vuelve) pueden escuchar a Radio Sicuani en : http://www.radiosicuani.org.pe/web2/www/index.php (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Jan 30, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 5485.472, R. Reina de la Selva. End of song then M announcer at 0012. More music for 2 minutes, then fast-talking M in slight echo effect including several IDs. Back to nice lively OA campo music at 0016. M returned again at 0020. (30 Jan) (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Perseus with preamp and T2FD antenna, HCDX via DXLD) Glenn: I heard this tonight and was not able to identify, but I know Radio Reina de la Selva was listed on this frequency a number of years ago. I have not seen any recent listings for this frequency, so thought I'd bring it to your attention. UNID, 5485.5, 0030-0100, Jan 31, Sounded like a Peruvian station. Regional music and lots of echo on announcer's mic. I don't speak Spanish, and not able to an ID. Fair signal strength (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Based on above and following logs, I think we can consider yours identified (gh) Feb 3rd, On at the moment: 5485.45, Radio Reina de la Selva, Chachapoyas very strong at 0000-0015, OM vocal, Dave Valko original tip and log (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Feb 5th 0100 to 0115 Band Scan [includes]: 5485.45, Radio Reina de la Selva, Chachapoyas, excellent signal with many IDs by om. 73s de Bob (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, HCDX via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 15285, R. Pilipinas/VOP, 0201, Feb 3. In English; half hour “Dateline Malacañang” program with segment “Mindanao Update”; followed by “From the News Center of Radio Pilipinas, this is the P-B- S news”; almost fair; above average reception (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND [non]. 5980, PRW in Polish 2200-2300 UT via Al Dhabbaya changed the antenna in order to strengthen the broadcast. 49 mb outlets from DHA always have poor to fair only results here in Europe, - in past decade. Power changes of PRW relays. Russian service strengthen, Ukrainian and German services lowered. 7390 PRW in Ukrainian at 1600-1630 UT down to 125 kW, maybe to preserve co-channel Belarus. 9850 PRW in German at 1230-1300 UT down to 125 kW. 17715 PRW in Russian at 1200-1230 UT now 500 kW powerhouse (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PRIDNESTROVYA. MOLDOVA: Radio PMR, la emisora que transmite desde Tiraspol, la capital de la República Moldava de Pridnestrovia, puede ser reportada con bastante aceptable señal aquí en Sudamérica en su frecuencia de 6240 kHz, que [forma] parte del centro emisor de Grigoriopol, Moldova (500 kW) en estos horarios e idiomas: Domingos a Jueves: HORA UTC KHZ IDIOMA 2230-2245 6240 Inglés 2245-2300 6240 Francés 2300-2315 6240 Alemán 2315-2330 6240 Inglés 2330-2345 6240 Francés 2345-2400 6240 Alemán QTH: Radio PMR, ul. Pravdy 31, MD-3300 Tiraspol, Moldova. E-mail: radiopmr @ inbox.ru (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Argentina, Conexión Digital Jan 31 via DXLD) For quite a while they were running only one of the hours above, and now that is outdated (gh, DXLD) I've noticed that English on Pridnestrovie's Radio PMR has moved up to 2300 from 2315. French seems to be on from 2215 to 2230; 2245-2300; and 2330-2345. German is on 2230-2245 and 2345-0000. A possible Russian sounding language has taken the former English slot from 2315- 2330. You can add English from 2200 to 2215 to the schedule. I noticed this just today (February 3). (Mark Coady, Ont., NASWA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) I wish these guys would make up their minds. English was back on at 2315 today (February 4th) in addition to 2200 so I guess we can assume the 2200 transmission is a permanent addition? (Mark Coady, NASWA yg via DXLD) Radio PMR (PRIDNESTROVIA) heard today in French at 1943 followed by German one minute later on 6240 kHz (and probably English at 1915?) New transmission to Europe? Regards (Jean-Michel AUBIER, France, Feb 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Gestern brachte man das gerne gehoerte analytische Informationsprogramm: Englisch 1800-1815 UT Franzoesisch 1815-1830 UT Deutsch 1830-1845 UT Englisch 1845-1900 UT Franzoesich 1900-1915 UT Deutsch 1915-1930 UT Franzoesisch 1930-1945 UT Deutsch 1945-2000 UT (Christoph Ratzer, Austria, OE2CRM, A-DX Feb 3 via Wolfgang Büschel, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) Evidently; seems fluxy; while 6240 at 20-22 remains YFR relay (gh) ** ROMANIA. 15235, Jan 28 at 1525 SW Asian language talk and music, lively show but could not catch ID. Did not think it was Arabic, until uplooked later and found RRI is scheduled in Arabic 15-16 on 15235, 247 degrees from Tiganeshti. Maybe that`s what Arabic sounds like with a Romanian accent (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. 6075, R. Rossii, Pet/Kam, Feb 3 at 1357 tune-in to check for 8GAL three minutes later; see UNIDENTIFIED 6074. This RR transmitter is again in very bad shape with severe motorboating; that is, unstable carrier producing noise against its own modulation even without BFO on. Who would want to listen to that for content? With BFO on, too unstable to zero-beat, but heard a few IDs in passing, mixed with music until timesignal 5 seconds late at 1400 and carrier stayed on another minute. After it and 8GAL were finished, could still detect a very weak carrier on 6075, much weaker than CFRX 6070 and Australia 6080. Aoki no longer shows any Taiwan on this frequency, and consequently no jamming. However, there is CRI Urdu via Kashgar, East Turkistan, somewhat more likely than DW via Woofferton at this hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAIPAN. IBB transmitter on 9725 is upacting again, Jan 30 at 1537 with Vietnamese from VOA, putting hash up to 9735 but apparently not to the low side. It could have been far worse as in previous logs, but needs tweaking now to prevent further deterioration (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. From 15435 transmitter, Buzzing Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, checked again Jan 29 at 1502: full brunt of huge buzz interfering with numerous other stations ranged approximately 15380-15680, with the 4-per-minute pulsing at the edges 15680-15780, and 15350-15380. Strong signal from Portugal on 15690 was still not enough to overcome the pulsing. Then the upper pulse range became 15480-15780, instead of full brunt up to 15680. Exact ranges vary from minute to minute; at 1518 check, full brunt was 15300-15650, bad news for Greece on 15650, while 4x/minute pulsing reached 15650- 15770 and 15240-15300, conveniently short of QRMing the // BSKSA Qur`an channel 15225. Since SA won`t do anything about it, a precision air strike could take it out, but probably not without also destroying several other transmitters at the same Riyadh site. ITU ought to have its own air force for such situations. Buzzing Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bad as it was Jan 29, got even worse Jan 30 at 1522 check. Now the horrible buzz from 15435 transmitter even QRMs its own // Qur`an service on 15225, as the full brunt covers roughly 15205-15500, with 4-per-minute pulsing edges reaching down to 15115 and up to 15940! At first the upper boundary between brunt and pulses was around 15500, but by 1526 it shifted up to 15840. The only signal in this entire range which was strong enough to overcome it was Portugal on 15560; all other stations suffering harmful interference which is totally unnecessary, but will a single one of them complain? How about at HFCC A-10 imminent in Kuala Lumpur? If any Saudi reps are there, they should get an earful, e.g. from Jerry Plummer representing WWCR and all private US stations. Will a single one of victims` would-be listeners complain? How many of them would figure it`s a local noise problem rather than callously transmitted from Riyadh? Those who believe in the Qur`an might consider boycotting Sa`udi Arabia in any way possible including suspending their Hajj. Wolfgang Büschel in Germany was also monitoring this and reported at 1601 Jan 30, neatly/nearly matching our obs: ``Top record, BSKSA Riyadh on 15435 kHz heavy BUZZ signal super wide in 15108 to 15938 kHz range. Scheduled 15-18 UT.`` 15435 The Buzz, checked Jan 31 at 1539. Did not sound as loud as usual around 15435, but nevertheless full brunt could be heard down to 15300 or so, and 4-per-minute pulses down to 15140, so yes, again also QRMing BSKSA`s other Qur`an channel 15225 plus countless other stations. On the hi side, however, full brunt lasted only until 15470, and could not hear 4-per-minute pulses up from there, other stations seeming in clear, altho by now some TVs are on adding their own swish QRM possibly disaudiblizing the weaker pulses. But who says this monstrosity has to be symmetrical? Every little bit helps. 15435 buzz check Feb 1: at 1455 I started listening to Farda music on 15410, but blasted by the buzz from *1456. At 1518 I monitor its range today: not nearly as bad as last few days, but I suspect this is no sign of deliberate tightening up; rather due to random and/or propagational variation. Brunt covers only 15400-15475 and BBC can still be heard on 15400. 4x/minute clicking not audible beyond either side; 15435 itself metered just(?) S9+12. Covering *only* 75 kHz is of course totally unacceptable too, an improvement only by comparison to its usual range. Patrolling 15 MHz band around 1500 UT Feb 2, I was braced for another blast of buzz from Riyadh 15435 transmitter, but it never happened! At 1506 I checked 15435 itself and there was BSKSA, but it`s been fixed, (or transmitter substituted), no buzz at all, and occupying normal bandwidth not exceeding 10 kHz!!! But not totally healthy as it does have a lite whine on it. Apparently BSKSA finally got an earful at HFCC Kuala Lumpur, or somehow, that they had a slight problem for the past year. By 1548 recheck, 15435 was weakening with flutter, now in Arabic talk rather than Qu`ran recitation, still stronger than // 15225. Let us hope the buzz be gone forever, but it`s too early to count on that. See also UNIDENTIFIED 15360, 15380 Since the Buzzing Service was fixed on February 2, I was eager to hear how 15435 would sound on Feb 3. At 1500, Arabic talk heavily marred by pulsing carrier shifts plus hum. Several times per second irregularly we would hear chirps. With BFO on, it seems the transmitter is putting out spurious carriers a kHz or two off main channel, interfering with it. Fortunately this does not cover the entire 19m band, like the buzz did, but only bleed up to 15450, neatly meeting the OTH radar pulses (see CYPRUS); and not significantly downward from 15435. With or without BFO on, the chirps now sound like video game SFX, denoting gunfire! What a way to exhibit piety in the Moslem world, as Qur`an starts at 1502. At 1509 all we can hear are the sound effects. By 1532 the chirps have stopped so we can hear some intentional Arabic. The BSKSA engineers are obviously finally working on this transmitter, trying to get it into whack, but not yet very successfully. Never a dull moment on 19m in the mornings. Standing by for BSKSA 15435, Feb 4: cut on abruptly with modulation in progress at *1456, spirited Arabic conversation, or rather lexure, as one guy was doing all the talking and the other was murmuring assent, briefly interrupted for announcement at 1500, and then at 1501 full ID from Riyadh, Idha`at al-Islam, into Qur`an but with audience responses. No chirping today and certainly no buzz, almost back to normal, only marred by a slight hum and whine, and occupying proper bandwidth only, so congratulations are in order (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, R. Happy Isles/SIBC. Horrible Rebelde splatter until about 1113, then pop music plainly audible for some reason. Took phone callers on air with dedication requests. 1154 reggae version of "One More Time" by Phil Collins. Impossible at the 1200 ToH due to Rebelde`s +/-20 khz splatter. (30 Jan) (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Perseus with preamp and T2FD antenna, HCDX via DXLD) ** SOMALIA [non]. New targeted broadcast for SOMALIA --- A request for those who watch upcoming HF registrations to keep an eye out for any new bookings of transmissions for Somalia (or the registration may be for the whole Horn of Africa region - CIRAF zone 48). A new station targeting that country is due to go on the air soon, perhaps as early as next month. It will definitely use shortwave. I may have more details next week (Chris Greenway, UK, Jan 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 17860, pleased to hear a bit of Bokmakirie birdchirping surviving from the old Radio RSA days, Jan 30 at 1459 as Channel Africa was about to open Swahili service with IDs also in English. Don`t often hear this transmission which is not aimed USward, of course, but 19 degrees from Meyerton (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 9385, WWRB with Brother Scare, extremely strong as usual, Feb 2 at 1545, but also with considerable CCI from station in Korean, producing rippling SAH since WWRB is off-frequency. Went from a wild non-BS preacher to BS himself at 1546 pushing some giveaway concerning ``the inevitable destruxion of the USA``. Tnx for letting us know! We may as well stop trying to make anything better. The station under would have been perfectly good without WWRB. It`s RFA, 325 degrees via Saipan at 15-17. Let`s hope the poor North Koreans do not get enough of this BS to bother them: WWRB azimuth is 340 degrees per Aoki, i.e. toward them also, but that was B-08 info. FCC and HFCC B-09 list 45 degrees. Since it`s such a blast here, I would have gone with 340, tho we are closer to 270 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. 15385, Feb 3 at 1533 some beautiful a cappella harmonies by YL singer, then joined by a trio? Or choir. Hard to place language, but not Castilian. Did not sound African either, but this was just an interlude before going to phone interview at 1535 with Yolanda Álvarez of TVE who has made several trips there, about how bad things are in Africa. According to the B-09 REE program grid here http://programasdx.com/principal_archivos/parrillareeb09.pdf the M-F 1530-1600 program is África Hoy, but not on all frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. España: Una emisora para el islam en español UN JEQUE CONSERVADOR SAUDÍ LANZA DESDE ANDALUCÍA EL PRIMER CANAL MUSULMÁN --- IGNACIO CEMBRERO - Madrid - 31/01/2010 Decenas de canales televisión vía satélite, generalmente en árabe, divulgan versiones conservadoras o tolerantes del islam en el mundo entero. En ese panorama faltaba una cadena en español Ese nuevo canal saldrá al aire el 11 de agosto y se llamará, probablemente, Córdoba, la capital del Califato (siglos X y XI) que los teólogos musulmanes añoran porque se corresponde con la época de mayor esplendor de su religión. Su sede estará en Andalucía, en Granada o en Córdoba, aunque también dispondrá de una delegación en Brasil para elaborar algunos programas en portugués. El día de verano en que inicie sus emisiones coincidirá con el comienzo previsto del Ramadán, el mes de ayuno islámico. . . Fuente: http://www.elpais.com/articulo/Pantallas/emisora/islam/espanol/elpepugen/20100131elpepirtv_2/Tes (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. 9650, Jan 30 at 1536, immediately identifiable tnx to DW riff, and S Asian language, flutter. I bet this is via Trincomalee. Yes, Aoki shows Bengali at 345 degrees, while before 1530 it`s Hindi at 15 degrees. Now, why wouldn`t they aim Bengali toward Bengal, instead of further west than Hindi?? Probably they do, as HFCC shows them both at 15 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. 7200, Radio Omdurman (Omdurman), 0532-0540, 1/27/2010, Arabic. Sudanese vocal music. Announcements by man at 0535 including mention of "Omdurman" and "Sudan Radio". Kor`an recitation by man. Talk by man over/around music at 0539. Good signal with some fading (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, Random Wires (90' and 200'), ALA100M, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. via Slovakia, 9825, Miraya 101 FM, 1500-1600, Jan 29, IDs at 1500 & English news. Gave mirayafm.org website. Sports news at 1507. IDs as “Miraya 101”, “Miraya FM” and “101 Miraya FM”. Canned IDs. Extended English programming to 1545 with occasional short vernacular talks. Into Arabic at 1545 with talk and local music. Usually goes into Arabic around 1513. Fair signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) Miraya FM relay via IRRS via SLOVAKIA is back on 19m, without notice, a new frequency, 15670, Feb 2 at 1508 when I wondered what`s this? English and Arabic dialect mixed together, axualities and voice-overs. Reminded me of Libya 17725 but not //. Nor // SRS via Portugal 17745. At 1510 headlines alternating with stingers, ``end of news, [www. but lost to fade], FM news, 101 Míra FM`` (that`s the way it`s pronounced, almost dropping the -ya, so I must stop saying Miráya). Somewhat rough modulation, probably a feed input problem rather than a transmission problem. This broadcast at 15-18 had been on 9825 so far in B-09, where we could not hear it, so welcome back! Furthermore, IRRS found a clear frequency this time instead of resuming 15650 where it collided for months with Greece despite our advice. Ironically, Greece was missing from 15650 at the moment, but was back at 1528 check. At 1553, 15670 still audible but weaker, and again mixing English with Arabic. 15670, Feb 3 at 1421, continuous hilife music, no announcements heard, and a segué at 1445. Nothing scheduled, but this must be the Míraya FM relay via IRRS via SLOVAKIA, which we found on this new frequency the day before, except that transmission supposedly starts at 1500. Kept listening and already at 1457 M&W talk in English started, mentioning South Sudan. But signal is weakening by now and hard to follow; very poor by 1532. So are they now starting at 1400, or thinking about doing so? Altho there was no QRM today or yesterday, checking the 15670 listings, we are reminded that there would be a collision on Sunday and/or Saturday, when Madagascar clandestine Radio Mada is on 15670 via Pridnestrovye at 1530-1600! I don`t know about Jan 31, but Ron Howard confirmed that was still in service on Jan 24, so something may have to give. 15670, Feb 4 already on at 1407 with African music, chanting, poor signal but presumably Miraya FM via IRRS via SLOVAKIA as IDed yesterdays, so starting at 1400? Homepage http://www.mirayafm.org/ still claims to be on 15650! What do they know? Searching the site for 15670 gets 0 results --- but so does 15650 even tho it is showing on the very same page. When will Fondation Hirondelle ever get its act together? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 13800, Feb 2 at 1535 in Arabic, but also a tone test producing SAH. Source of latter unknown, but the former per Aoki is R. Dabanga, 250 kW, 330 degrees via MADAGASCAR at 1530-1627. Apparently it now has an interference problem; possibly Bulgaria or Iran which may be using the channel at other times (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SURINAME. 4990, R. Apintie, 0039 long live talk by M in Sranan Tongo with mentions of Surinam and what sounded like SRS. 0043 soft instrumental music. 0048 banter by studio W and M. Again, a mention or two of Surinam. Seemed // to their web site radio audio, but about two minutes behind 4990. Best at tune/in and getting very fady later. (30 Jan) (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Perseus with preamp and T2FD antenna, HCDX via DXLD) ** SYRIA. 9330, Radio Damascus, 2132-2201*, Jan 29, tune-in to English news about Haiti earthquake and Middle-East peace efforts. IDs. Local pop music. Talk about plans to preserve Old Damascus. More news at 2150. Anthem at 2200 and off the air. Back at 2202 sign on with Spanish programming. Good, strong audio but slight hum. 12085 not heard (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** TAJIKISTAN. RUSSIA. 4975, VOR via Dushanbe-Yangiyul, 1508, Jan 28. In English with “News and Views”; the strongest I have heard them here (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TATARSTAN. Voice of Tatarstan (Tatarstan Awazy) 11915 kHz 0910z The audioclip is available here: http://blog.libero.it/radioascolto/8314461.html 73's (Francesco Cecconi, Jan 28, playdx yg via DXLD) ** THAILAND. The BBG station in Thailand now does accept reception reports by e-mail. That's for any programs (including Radio Thailand) carried by the transmitters at the Udorn site as well as the medium wave site (1575 kHz). QSLs are usually received in North America within a week or two. E-mail reports to: manager_thailand @ tha.ibb.gov (Mike, OH, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hmmm, suppose one could also try other sites with e-mail addresses in same format (gh, DXLD) ** TIBET. New 4905, 2250-2305, CHINA, 26+27.01, Xizang PBS, Lhasa, Tibet. New English broadcast until 2300, talk about Tibetan history, music and song, 2300 Tibetan news // 4920, 5240, 6110, 6130, 6200 and 7385 45344. 4905, 2120-2250, CHINA, 28.01, Xizang PBS, Lhasa, Tibetan/English. Tibetan announcement, Tibetan songs, talks and phone-in, orchestral music, 2230 "Holy Tibet" in English at new time, news and Tibetan songs 45344 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) 4905, Xizang PBS-Lhasa, 1530-1600, Jan 31. “Holy Tibet” program in English; enjoyable music show with New Year songs; “You are listening to Sunday’s edition of Holy Tibet and China Tibet Broadcasting Company. First of all you will instantly going to hear song: Auspicious Tibetan New Year”; mostly fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. VOT is still a total mess with its English broadcast at 1330-1425v. Yet again Feb 3 at 1414 I find 12035 with decent S9+8 signal, tho fluttery, but just barely audible modulation, Turkish music at the moment during a break within Live from Turkey [not: see Feb 4 report]. I am long done with trying to help them by pointing out such problems to TRT directly, as they have ignored my advice too many times in the past. Instead they will be deservedly ridiculed as incompetents: just another 500 kWh wasted today (axually slightly less than one hour; but no transmitter is anywhere near 100% efficient, so axually a lot more than 500 kWh wasted). Meanwhile at 1415, TRT in Turkish on 11815 had usual good modulation, and also usual collision atop REE via Costa Rica causing a rippling SAH. Double my kWh wastage comments. At 1424 I checked the // English frequency, 15300, as usual colliding with France in French, discussing the situation in Guinée-Conakry, which was using this frequency long before TRT mispicked it for B-09. TRT was still on, closing in English, then IS variations 1425-1427* later than usual, which probably caused them to be late coming up on the next frequency. Triple my kWh wastage comments, since 15300 tho adequately modulated is a total loss too, colliding with France. France and Turkey were roughly 8 Hz apart causing a `fast subaudible heterodyne`. For SAHs in this range, the way I estimate them is to count rapidly 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 as I watch the seconds ticking by on my watch; if my counting stays in synch, that`s the SAH I read. This doesn`t work much above 10 Hz. Slower ones can be counted directly over a 10, 12, 15, or 20 second period, and then multiplied by 6, 5, 4 or 3 to get the number per minute, then divided by 60 for the Hz. This method is of course more accurate. Another check of VOT`s English hour at 1330, Feb 4 at 1409: 12035 is just barely audible but I can tell there is some modulation on it this time. 15300 modulation seems OK, but as always is under RFI producing a fast SAH. It`s Thursday so this must be Live from Turkey, with some other program heard the day before. BTW, when there is near-zero modulation from a transmitter on one frequency, chances are the same happens on many other broadcasts from the same unit, multiplying the MWh wasted (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TRT Emirler 500 kW sender festival. 15350 often known as the most bad transmitter at Emirler, produced some sideband spurs today Febr 4th at 0700 to 1400 UT. Covered more space on the 19mb segment. Spurious signals on 15332 to 15368 kHz range, as well as two sidebands at 15284 - 15292 and 15407 - 15416 kHz. Much better and cleaner signals from TRT Emirler site on 11795, 13690, and 15480 kHz, as well as Çakirlar site on 11955 and 15480 kHz, at very same time (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Feb 4, harmonics yg also to ex-TRT engineers, via DXLD) I often hear 15350 just before closing at 1400, good for Turkish music, but yet to hear the spurs from it (gh, OK, DXLD) ** TURKMENISTAN. Feb 2nd at 1430 noted a weak station on 4930. Mode was carrier plus lower side band, just like Turkmen Radio usually had in the past. Too weak to get an ID. Today the 3rd at the same time the signal was a bit better and the language sounds Turkmen. The buzzy AIR signal on 5015 prevented me to check that frequency and I forgot to check it after AIR s/off (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKS & CAICOS. Nothing new in the T&C with 1020. South Caicos [530] remains the big oven element, running good power into the long wire 30 feet off the ground. Talk of the new tower construction is yet to materialize. Thanks (Jerry Kiefer, Roswell NM, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. 5830, Radio Ukraine International (Kharkov), 2343-2400, 1/27/2010, Ukrainian. Choral music. Talk by woman at 2345, sometimes joined by man. Identification by man at 2358. Announcements by man and woman. Piano music. Interval signal at 2400 followed by start of German program. Moderate signal (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, Random Wires (90' and 200'), ALA100M, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9950, R. Ukraine International, Khar`kov, 1205-1212, Jan 29, English. News re Ukrainian politics and elections; ID and "Ukraine Today" program re government support for small business; fair (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, NH USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U A E. UNIDENTIFIED [non]. 15520, open carrier at S9+5, Feb 3 at 1422, still at 1430, 1451, 1500 but not afterwards. At the latter times I turned it up and thought I heard some very weak modulation upon it, but could have been crosstalk/overload from something else on 19m. What is scheduled here? YFR in Hindi via UAE, 14-15! Wake up in Dhabbaya! Refund needs to go to Oakland. It`s only fair, but NOT to be taken as any endorsement of the Camping Anti-Church Cult (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) OK next day: see also USA [non] ** U K. LISTENING TO THE WIRELESS LONG AGO - Armed forces on the European continent in 1944-45 had their own radio station (AEFP of the BBC) transmitted from Start Point, Devon, albeit, 50% American, 15% Canadian programming with the remaining 35% produced for British forces or taken from London. Of the news on the hour, each hour, three main slots were taken from the BBC followed by an appropriate commentary usually recorded live. For a while on some occasional mid-evenings there was an half an hour with the Glenn Miller band playing at the Corn Exchange, Bedford after their quick exit from London during attacks by V1 missiles. The band crossed the county border on numerous occasions with concerts at one of the cluster of Northamptonshire US 8th Strategic Air force airfields, but it is doubtful if any were ever recorded. With no female vocalist - one evening in the autumn of 1944, Miller with a big American style build-up introduced Anne Shelton as a guest. Anne replied with thanks saying as she was under contract to Mr Ambrose she would be unable take up a vocalist role with the band. Furthermore, Mr Ambrose always set her vocals in E-flat (as I seem to remember). Miller's response was 'you just sing honey and we'll get on just fine'. Anne sang and under Miller's discipline America's top musicians of those days drifted in with perfection supposedly without rehearsal. The other appearance Anne made with an American, one that I never heard, was from the hotel balcony with Bing Crosby singing to a massed audience in the streets below during the victory celebrations on VE night. There were at least two other London female vocalists who I never heard who made guest appearances with Glenn Miller and the American Band of the AEF. During the autumn when transmitting was moved from Start Point to Crowborough, Sussex, Miller learnt a little German whilst making a series of recordings for propaganda introduced by the mysterious Ilsa with Johnny Desmond singing lyrics in German. What listeners to the propaganda broadcasts (if there were any) made of "Is you Is or Is you ain't My Baby" in German is anybody's guess. By the end of 1944 with Miller gone the band was on the continent based in Paris and split into four groups seldom playing as a full unit. 'Strings with Wings' was the concert orchestra; Jerry Gray led the rest of the musicians with Johnny Desmond and the Crew Chiefs with the vocals; the small Up-Town Hall gang for a time opened with "My Guy Has Come Back"; while the "Swing Shift" opened in song "This is Sergeant Ray McKinley saying "How do you do" and the fellows in the band say "Howdy too" with each musician being introduced with a musical description until "That's it. Fellows let's go" and straight into their first number. They all recorded or played live until AEFP broadcasts ended in August 1945 being replaced by AFN and BFN but by that time the American Band of the AEF was on its way to Cherbourg and the States. I heard numerous broadcasts by these bands which were looked on as something not to miss but from thereon American music was on platters - V-discs (Arthur Ward, Feb 2010y World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** U K [non]. 9580, Feb 2 at 1439, good signal in Vietnamese I had not noticed before, way stronger than Iran plus and minus 5 and also than Australia 9590; mentioned BBC, and clinched at 1444 with ``BBC London`` and BBC vamp music, off at 1444.5. This is a quarter-hour broadcast via SINGAPORE at 13 degrees, tacked on to the end of the half-sesquihour Burmese service from 1345 at 340 degrees. Axually, to my surprise, this is the ONLY BBCWS Vietnamese service remaining on the radio, per WRTH 2010, daily 1430-1445, also on 1503, 6135 and 7315. Seems like a token to me, and likely destined for deletion. As we know, all Vietnamese sport hand-held devices lacking SW tuners (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. As I was checking Lavwadlamerik on 5835 and 7590, Feb 4 around 0010, I also punched up 13725, which LVA uses at least until 2300, but instead heard a good signal with news in English. That`s BBCWS via Thailand, incidentally USward at 25 degrees, used during this one hour only, and not supposed to be overheard by Americans, targeted for China and North Korea. Hmmm, are there yet more English speakers, however imperfectly, in China than in North America? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. 5875, the BBC English via Thailand clash with BBC Arabic via Cyprus is still audible here, the latter surely via long-path, Feb 4 at 1443 but English` From Our Own Correspondent atop, A. Johnston introducing a report from Kenya (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. Last week for BBC's Creole broadcasts "I’ve been in Miami for almost a week now working with my BBC World Service colleagues, on getting out daily broadcasts of Connexion Haiti. ... This is the first time ever that the BBC is broadcasting in Creole, Haiti’s national language and it’s been crucial for us to respond to this terrible disaster in a Haitian voice. Tomorrow, when Connexion Haiti goes into its final week, I will leave for Port-au- Prince with the producer Nick Miles, and will report back." Lisa Robinson, humanitarian programme manager at BBC World Service Trust, 28 January 2010 (kimandrewelliott.com via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) I.e. has been 1232:30-1252:30 UT daily on 9410 via WHRI, 11860 via Guiana French; presumably will revert to music fill during that period, classical on M/W/F, rock on Tue/Thu, and back to WHRI programming if any on weekends (gh, DXLD) ** U K O G B A N I. Nice to hear some USB on 15m hamband, Jan 31 at 1449 on 21290, English with an Irish accent soon IDed as MI0JAT, mentioning that ``people don`t realize the band is open``; how true. He was in contact with a K4 or a W4. Hmm, are there any MI5-prefixed hams? QRZ.com says: MI0JAT Joey Mc Goldrick 23 Lettercarn Rd, Co Tyrone Castlederg, N Ireland, BT8 17QY, Northern Ireland Hadn`t noticed any significant signals on 13m SWBC band, so searched again, and barely audible Spain on 21570, 21610; better Libya on 21695, all those with incomparably greater power than any ham, yet inferior results (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See ITALY ** U S A. I hear from a confidential source that the Greenville transmitting station of VOA will be closing on September 30, 2010. What this will mean for the broadcasts it still transmits, Radio Martí, VOA English, Special English, recently expanded Creole, Hausa, Portuguese, Spanish, RNW relay is as yet unknown (Glenn Hauser, February 1, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks to kimandrewelliott.com we have a link to: Broadcasting Board of Governors FY 2011 Budget Request http://www.bbg.gov/reports/documents/BBGFY2011CONGBudgetSubmission-ForInternetPost.pdf We have found pertinent excerpts from the 119 page document concerning Greenville, EMPHASIS ADDED WITH CAPS; et al.: PROGRAM CHANGES: * The BBG proposes the following reductions in the support area: reduction of contracting costs by 4 percent throughout the Agency through efficiencies; sale of a former transmitting site in Erching, Germany [which one is that by a name we recognize?]; CLOSING THE GREENVILLE TRANSMITTING STATION; restructuring operations at overseas transmitting stations; reduction of IBB Engineering support positions and IBB general operating expenses; and reduction of BCI maintenance and repair budget. (page 24) FY 2011 Program Decreases Transmission The BBG proposes restructuring operations at some of its overseas transmitting stations. The BBG will retain ownership of these facilities; however, it would turn over operations of these sites to a third party on a fee-for-service basis ($1.5 million). THE BBG ALSO PROPOSES TO CLOSE ITS GREENVILLE TRANSMITTING STATION ($3.2 MILLION). In addition, the proposed FY 2011 reductions to and eliminations of language services will reduce transmission costs by ($.91 million). Operating Expenses and Contractual Services The FY 2011 request for Engineering and Technical Services includes a reduction in positions and operating expenses ($2.3 million) as well as a reduction in contractual services through improved practices ($.8 million). (page 75) Engineering and Technical Services Summary of Increases and Decreases FY 2010- FY 2011 ($ in thousands): FY 2011 Net Program Changes + (3,135) Program Decreases - (8,710) Reflects the following reductions to base operations: A) TRANSMISSION NETWORK REDUCTION (GREENVILLE STATION) ( 3,149) b) Reduce support positions and operating expenses ( 2,330) c) Consolidate services at BBG transmitting stations with other Western international broadcasters ( 1,500) d) Eliminate VOA Croatian, VOA Greek; reduce VOA Persian News Network; end MBN Alhurra Europe (910) e) Reduce Agency contract costs by 4% through improved efficiencies (821) (page 77) Engineering and Technical Services Summary of Funds FY 2009 - FY 2011 ($ in thousands) 2009 2010 2011 Increase or Actual Estimate Request Decrease (-) Domestic Transmitting Stations Greenville 4,496 4,874 1,812 (3,062) Tinian 7,974 8,875 9,008 133 Total, Domestic Stations 12,470 13,749 10,820 (2,929) Overseas Transmitting Stations Afghanistan 1,809 3,885 3,031 (854) Botswana 1,660 1,945 2,066 121 Germany 9,144 11,237 11,417 180 Kuwait 4,485 4,940 5,121 181 Philippines 5,721 5,747 6,026 279 Sao Tome 3,189 3,392 3,706 314 Sri Lanka 2,991 3,043 2,419 (624) Thailand 3,931 3,882 3,310 (572) Total, Overseas Stations 32,930 38,071 37,096 (975) Monitors 1,098 1,249 1,291 42 TOTAL, ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES 169,630 189,839 190,724 885 (page 78) (extracted by Glenn Hauser for WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is interesting to note the last item above, that BBG spends over a megadollar per year on Monitors, i.e. paying some names you would know as DXers to be official monitors; how many of them are there, for an average salary? They also get perqs such as monitoring equipment, occasional visits to the USA. You will note that there are still some funds for Greenville; of course the site will need to be maintained in some form for a while once it is off the air, until it can be disposed of (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Lavwadlamerik, checking the 0200 UT transition between overt and covert broadcasts to Haiti: Jan 30 at 0159:30, 5960 started playing ``Yellow Bird`` and it was shortly overlain by NHK IS via Canada starting Japanese trihour as Greenville went off. After 0200, LVA continued on 7465, but not heard on 7590 which was previously back on // until 0300. Unfortunately, I did not get around to checking for it later in the hour in case it was just late upcoming. Lavwadlamerik, VOA Creole at 2200 Jan 31 on 13725, but // 11905 did not cut on until 2102:45, par for the course at Greenville (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also UNIDENTIFIED 15390 ** U S A. VOA and Radio Martí have started a ``co-production``, one- hour Spanish broadcast at 0100-0200 UT weeknights. The two former rivals are now coöperating! There were reports recently that VOA would start to have access to RM`s produxion facilities in Miami. This could also be the beginning of the end for Radio Martí, starting by merging it back into VOA, as there is considerable congressional pressure just to kill RM. Without any advance publicity that I know of, I first found this in progress at 0114 UT February 2 on 11625: a station in Spanish talking about Chávez, in the hour after VOA Spanish normally closes on different frequencies, 5890 and 9885. At 0100, I was tuned to 9885; it was still on and announcement seemed to be starting another hour, but cut off before 0101. This made me wonder if programming was continuing on some other frequency, so started bandscanning from 5745 upwards. At 0118 an ID on 11625 gave the full frequency list for this, 11625, 9415 and 7340. I quickly found the lower two were much stronger here and continued to listen on 7340. They were all in synch, and no doubt Greenville B, which is doomed to extinction at the end of FY 2010, 30 September as just came out today. Gee, what will BBG/IBB/VOA do if they need to start another ``surge`` broadcast after then? There was too much jamming on regular R. Martí frequencies to tell if they were //, i.e. 6030, 7365, 9825, but suspect not, since only the new frequencies were announced --- and with no jamming at all on the new ones --- yet! Usual DCJC noise jamming was audible also on 9810 at 0111 against República, and at 0113 on 9715 --- another stray, against nothing? Since this is a brand-new, previously unknown service, I monitored it attentively during the remainder of the hour. At 0118 they were quoting El Nuevo Herald, Miami and some European papers about Cuban/Venezuelan relations. 0123 ID as ``A Punto (?) en La Voz de América y Radio Martí``; 0126 with schedule as 8-9 pm [EST] M-F, i.e. 01-02 UT Tue-Sat, again with the three frequencies, ``una co-producción de La Voz de América y Radio Martí``. And ``El Mundo del Espectáculo`` segment about the Grammy Awards last night. 0130 co-hosts in Wáshington and Miami briefly discussed their respective weathers, rather divergent. Rest of hour called in correspondents from several Latin American countries for a few minutes each, starting with Bolivia, concern with contentious Morales. 0137 news from Venezuela about protests in various cities against the banning of RCTV even from cable. 0139 about the political campaign in Costa Rica. 0141 about the IMF from Buenos Aires. 0143 corresponsal Federico in Bogotá, Colombia. 0148 interviewing a UCR professor about the situation in Honduras. 0153 Nicaragua, on the sale of Canal 8 TV to Ortega/Chávez, leaving only one independent TV station, Canal 2. The program seems to concentrate on what`s going on in hostile Latin American countries, and will likely be labeled ``propaganda`` by them, but it seemed to me the analysis was balanced. A bigger question arises: will Radio Martí gain credibility or will VOA lose credibility with this joint venture?? Name of the program was mentioned every few minutes. To me, sometimes it sounded like ``A Fondo``, meaning in depth or background; sometimes ``Apunte`` which means abstract or notes. Looking around the VOA Spanish and Martinoticias websites, I see nothing yet about this service. I suppose they wanted to slip in under the radar, or the usual bureaucratic delays. Nor is there any press release about it yet at the VOA site, the latest one being from Jan 27 about Creole. I recorded some excerpts, and was all set to get the sign-off before 0200, but 7340 just cut off at 0159:30 while show was still in progress. Then tuned to 9415 and heard it for a few seconds longer, I think a sign-off. Then tuned to 11625 and heard only a very weak signal, but that proved to be in English after 0200, sounded like VOA. Nothing scheduled then either, and may have been something else, and not necessarily Greenville. I was also bandscanning on another receiver during this hour, to check out among other things, Lavwadlamerik`s Kreyòl service, which had also been at 01-02 – and discovered two very interesting things. Besides 5960, it was also // on new 5835 first noted at 0105. Another frequency VOA refuses to publish on its A-Z language schedule. Are there too many frequencies now during this hour for all of them to come from Greenville? We remember that 5835 was once a World Harvest Radio frequency, but that`s no proof it`s the site now. The other //, 7465, is now clashing with WWCR, which has just extended its broadcast on that frequency until 0200, ex-3240! At the beginning of the hour, WWCR was atop, but before long by 0110 it was losing out to LVA, and by the end of the hour I could not be certain WWCR was still there underneath, but probably, as it was still missing from 3240. LVA`s additional Creole hour at 01-02 had been on 7465 since shortly after the quake, as we have been reporting, but apparently WWCR did not notice. Since it fades out anyway, WWCR should not have extended 7465 another three hours past previous close at 2300, tho one or possibly two hours would have worked. This collision has to be resolved ASAP. Altho we lose WWCR here, the situation may be quite different in Haiti and elsewhere. At 0200 LVA had left 5835 as well as 5960 which it must due to NHK/Sackville, but continued on 7465; still no 7590 had come on by 0205, so apparently that has been dropped during the final hour, at least. During this hour I also checked MW 1180, but as usual could not pull anything out of Marathon. And MW 1030 where Commando Solo is making it into Florida from Haiti. Dominating that frequency at 0124 was some not // talk in Spanish, looping roughly east/west, so most likely WGSF Memphis, per NRC AM Log listings (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Following up our discoveries the night before of a new VOA/Radio Martí service, new frequency of Lavwadlamerik, collision with WWCR, I was ready for some intensive monitoring early UT Feb 3. First, at 2304 Feb 2 I reconfirmed that the secret LVA fill-in frequency 7590 was still on the air. I did not think to check 5835 at that time, but at 0026 Feb 3 both of them were running, so 5835 starts either at 2300 or 0000. WWCR hasn`t decided on a replacement for 7465 at 0100-0200 when LVA is there, but at 0059 promoted the next program at the top of the hour on 5070, and then announced that it would be ``performing technical adjustments``, to resume in one hour, but did not say on what frequency (presumably 3215). Then 7465 went off. However, no LVA to be heard there yet. At 0101 comes on the 7465 carrier, but no modulation until that started to fade up at 0103:45, but faded right back down to carrier only. By 0107 the LVA modulation seemed back for good, but not at full level. Meanwhile, 5835 had continued uninterrupted, and 5960 was on at 0105 check, weaker than 5835 and don`t know exactly when 5960 started. 7590 had gone off as usual by 0100. I haven`t caught any LVA frequency announcements on air lately, but I sure hope they know about 5835, which is the best, least interrupted one in the evenings. All the new VOA/RM Spanish frequencies were late coming up, considerably past 0100. Perhaps the Washington/Miami studios should be notified to hold off starting the service for 5 minutes or so until all the frequencies can be up and running. Fat chance; that would imply shortwave is a priority rather than an afterthought. First to appear, joining ``A Fondo`` in Spanish progress was 7340 at 0102 after about a minute of open carrier from *0101. At 0103 still nothing audible on 9415 or 11625. At 0104.5 I was finally hearing a carrier on 9415, and at 0106 modulation. These may have started slightly earlier as I was not monitoring that frequency constantly. At 0106 I could also hear a much weaker signal on 11625, not sure when it started. Why don`t they start on time? Management has imposed an impossible task on the engineers at the site. Or maybe it`s just one engineer, night shift, after all. No one could possibly do that with only two hands, unless just pushing buttons and even that would be difficult. He has to switch frequencies, antennas, and audio inputs on about six transmitters, ideally in half of one minute in order not to miss much significant programming. At least there are six running after 0100: 5835, 5960, 7340, 7465, 9415, 11625, assuming they are all really from Greenville, plus three more for Martí which don`t make any change at 0100 --- 6030, 7365 and 9825, plus 9895 for RNW Spanish relay ongoing 0000-0157 for a total of ten. Make that eleven, since Special English, weeknights only is still going on 7405 at 0145 check Feb 3, while its other frequency, 5960, has been turned over to LVA. So are there eleven usable transmitters at Greenville-B now? No, there are only nine. Do we have some secret relays from somewhere else, like Furman? There is no sign of this on WHRI`s Angel 1, 2, 5 and 6 program schedules, but we know how reliable those are. I haven`t been able to confirm all the Radio Martí frequencies during the 01-02 hour due to continuous heavy jamming, so it could be that two of those are really moved to the A Fondo service for one hour. After all, otherwise RM would be competing with itself. But is the A Fondo program also on the remaining one, unannounced? Before 0100 these are in use for VOA Spanish, Radio Martí, Lavwadlamerik and RNW Spanish: 5835, 5890, 6030, 7365, 7465, 7590, 9825, 9885, 9895, a total of only nine. Check. What happens at 0200? A Fondo: 9415 is playing standard VOA sign-off, and carrier stays on a couple minutes, VG signal now. 7340 is already off, clearing 7335 for VOR Spanish via GUF. 11625 too weak to track. LVA after 0200: 7465 still on, 7590 does not come back by 0215 final check, and 5835 is off; however, by 0203 we notice that 5835 is back on. Perhaps there has been some site/antenna switch but it is to continue during the final hour instead of 7590. I am still wondering whether 5835 is really from GB. After 0200, WHRI has somewhat better signals on 5850 and 5875 than LVA on 5835, and now the upper pair are // in English with discussion of Haiti relief --- except 5875 is running about one second behind 5850; why? WWCR was also banging the steel drums at 0200 starting up on 3215 after the hour of rest. This report has been somewhat updated and modified from the original post sent to the dxldyg only. So if quoting, use this one. I am spending entirely too much time on my own monitoring and reporting, falling further and further behind in keeping up with everyone else`s input for DX Listening Digest and World of Radio, so during this report I was not paying any attention to content, just tracking the frequencies. Or: am I spending entirely too much time on DXLD and WOR? Since I was not sure when new 5835 starts with Lavwadlamerik, I checked again Feb 3 before 2400 and not on yet; waited and waited past 0000 UT Feb 4 and it finally popped on at 0004.5, and 7590 also in use during this hour. A late join-in-progress like that is of course typical of Greenville. What happened at 0100 UT Feb 4: A Fondo was on 9415 already at 0100; 7340 came up at 0102:30 or so; 11625 weakly audible by 0104. LVA at 0100: 5835 continued; 5960 weaker with fast SAH and Chinese QRM; 7465 on shortly. 5960 QRM must be Urumqi, 100 kW non-direxional with PBS Xinjiang in Chinese from 2330 to 1800 except for the usual Tue & Thu 08-11 siesta, per Aoki, but should be fading out as the sun rises over East Turkistan. R. Martí frequency 7365 had lite jamming on it but no trace of Martí, so I think this transmitter had shifted to one of the A Fondo channels. Not sure about 6030, still heavily jammed. 9825 also jammed but signals on this band weakened anyway. Just as well to be off 7365, as there is now a very strong Spanish station on 7360, which I assumed I could look up later --- but nothing listed. See FRANCE [non]. What about WWCR, 7465 to avoid colliding with LVA at 0100? Tuned in at 0058, and announcement started, ``At this time, WW--`` but cut off the air before anything more could be said. Probably like last night, taking an hour off for ``technical adjustments``; at least, a few minutes later not to be found on 3240, 4755 or 4775, while 5070 was still running. 0215 check: WWCR ops normal on 3215, 5070, no 4 MHz frequency. But at 0325 it was again on 4775 instead of 5070. The transmitter schedules page at the website has not been updated, but the homepage http://www.wwcr.com/index.html says: ``WWCR's Transmitter #3 will broadcast on 4775 from 0300 to 1200 UT until further notice`` I did not realize the hours were that long: means that the Saturday night airing of WORLD OF RADIO, 0330 UT Sundays may well be on 4775 instead of 5070. Please spread the word. What`s wrong with 5070? No interference problems that I know of, and 295 kHz isn`t going to make much difference versus falling nighttime MUFs. WWCR 4775 blox reception in North America of, and perhaps interferes in their own areas, according to Aoki: 4770, Kaduna, Nigeria from 0430; 4775, AIR Imphal, India, from 1030; 4775, R. Tarma, Perú until 0600 and from 1000; 4775, TWR Swaziland, from 0340; 4780, Djibouti, from 0300 . . . As I was checking 4775 on the portable, could not hear the mixing product on 7095, but is anyone else hearing 4775 audio mixing with 5935 audio there? Or on 7005, mix of 4775 and 5890? We`ll see what happens on the main rig after 0600, when we were hearing 7095 last night (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Lavwadlamerik still going with morning Kreyòl service Feb 4 at 1327 on 6135 via Bonaire, 9505 Greenville, but both rather poor toward end of transmission. Bonaire has been changing antennas on this (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Some updates and additions: Yimber Gaviria found this brief announcement about the VOA/Martí program, correctly called A FONDO, but do they mention the frequencies? Of course not! http://www1.voanews.com/spanish/news/A-fondo-83291037.html Dragan Lekic, Serbia, says: ``New VOA & R Marti joint new service can be downloaded at [RM file, 9.1 MB]: ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/real/voa/latam/span/span0100a.rm When you open the file in Real Player and click to "Clip Info", you get this: ============================================= SPANISH_VENEZUELA_RADIOSURGE 01:00 To 02:00 VOA-SPANISH_VENEZUELA_RADIOSURGE Public Domain (02/02/10) ============================================= So, it is a program intended mainly to Venezuela! Since it is "Surge", probably will be cancelled in the future?`` Kim Elliott follows up on this: "A Fondo": new VOA/Radio Martí co-production for, apparently, Venezuela. http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=8250 And translates ``A Fondo`` as ``thoroughly``. Media Network follows up: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/voa-radio-marti-launch-joint-news-programme#comments BTW, the UTC originally published, 1500-1600, is totally wrong. Kim Elliott has followed up on this, partially quoting us: BBG budget plan includes closure of Greenville transmitting station, last IBB shortwave facility in the US. http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=8252 Kai Ludwig in dxldyg suggests that Greenville may not really close until the end of October, A-10 season, rather than end of Sept, FY 2010. Media Network also follows up on this: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/more-on-the-ibbs-plans-for-fiscal-year-2011 Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg, says the Erching, Germany IBB site refers to the former longwave 173 kHz facility. Finally: WWCR and IBB are working on resolving their collision on 7465 at 01-02 (Glenn Hauser, 1905 UT Feb 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. "It's nice to see the 'Commando Solo' story getting wide news coverage. That's the U.S. government's plane that's acting as a radio station over Haiti 10 hours a day. ... Voice of America news and information in Creole is transmitted by the plane. ... The story reminds me of my time at VOA, writing and announcing the English news as part of a daily program broadcast in Creole and English to Haiti. After dictator Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier was overthrown in 1986, VOA scrambled to increase the hours of programming transmitted to the island nation. At the time, the Russians were transmitting several hours each day of propaganda there, and the U.S. was trying to keep pace. ... We changed the frequencies we broadcast on each day to try to outwit the Russians, who were jamming our broadcasts." Leslie Stimson, Radio World, 28 January 2010 (via kimandrewlliott.com via DXLD) The Soviet Union was jamming VOA broadcasts to the Caribbean? More likely, Radio Moscow, with its many, many transmitters, was all over the dial and causing incidental or semi-incidental interference to VOA. Radio Moscow never had, I think, a Creole Service, but another Soviet external broadcaster, Radio Peace and Progress, did, as did (and does) Radio Havana (Kim Andrew Elliott, Posted: 31 Jan 2010, ibid.) It`s incredible how people, even working in international broadcasting, can have such a warped misunderstanding of what goes on in regard to jamming. Maybe --- in the case of RHC, not confirmed lately and when they had it, was aimed at Rio de Janeiro, of all places (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 445 12th STREET S.W. WASHINGTON D.C. 20554 News media information 202-418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov (or ftp.fcc.gov) TTY (202) 418-2555 Friday January 29, 2010 Report No. IHF-00094 RE: ACTIONS TAKEN / INTERNATIONAL HIGH FREQUENCY The Commission, by its International Bureau, took the following actions pursuant to delegated authority. The effective dates of the actions are the dates specified. For more information concerning this Notice, contact Tom Polzin at 418-2148; Thomas.Polzin @ fcc.gov; TTY 202-418-2555. IHF-C/P-20090901-00001 P Date Effective: 01/04/2010 Grant of Authority Construction Permit Westenberger-Jordan, Inc. Application for Authority to Construct or Make Changes to an International or Experimental Broadcast Station located in Nashville, TN KTMI IHF-LIC-20081117-00006 P Date Effective: 01/28/2010 Grant of Authority License Transformation Media International Limited Partnership Application for an International Broadcast Station License located in Albany, OR (via Benn Kobb, Jan 29, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) Tom, Yes, I would like all further available information about these items: What changes WWCR(?) wants to make, and about KTMI actually being constructed, evidence for which has so far been lacking. Thanks, (Glenn Hauser, to Tom Polzin, FCC, via DXLD) Glenn, WWCR is modifying the location on their existing site of 2 existing antennas. [any real changes, or coordinates correxions? -gh] KTMI is claiming construction is complete and ready to operate. Thanks - Tom Polzin, FCC, Jan 29, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Saw the below news item posted on WWCR's website: Beginning 31 January, WWCR will cease to operate on 3240 kHz. WWCR's Transmitter #1 will broadcast on 7465 kHz from 2100 to 0200 UT. 73, (J. D. Stephens, Hampton Cove, AL. USA, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7095, oh oh, a new mixing product, fair signal with two audios clashing at equal levels. One of them is soon identified as PMS, // WWCR 5935 and Anguilla 6090. Let`s see, 7095 minus 5935 = 1160. That does not fit anything; MW mixes at WWCR with WNQM are 1300 kHz away. The ham intruder-watchers are not going to be happy about this! Checking WWCR`s other frequencies, PPP on 5890 is not the source of the other audio, nor whoever is on 3215. What about 5070? It`s missing! Finally at 0644 I come across a huge signal on 4775 --- so WWCR-3 is there instead of 5070, talking about Monsanto. And guess what, it`s 1160 kHz below 5935, so that explains the mix on 7095: 4775 leapfrogging over 5935. Or if you insist, 2 x 5935 minus 4775 = 7095. The same continued past 0700. What`s WWCR doing on 4775 again, a frequency tested some weeks ago? But that was with the WWCR-1 transmitter, instead of 3240/3215/7465, not the WWCR-3 transmitter now instead of 5070. I don`t see how this could relate to the WWCR-1 collision on 7465 at 01-02. That`s when they need a replacement frequency as long as Lavwadlalmerik is on there. I have no idea how long WWCR had been on 4775 tonight, as I was not monitoring between 02 and 06. However, a DXLD monitor in South Carolina also caught 4775 at 0600 with Alex Jones, instead of on 5070. And Noble West in TN noticed 5070 was off already at 0430. Regarding the mix on 7095, the trouble with going to any new frequency with four powerful transmitters right next to each other and sharing an antenna field is that the new frequency will produce new mixing products which have to be dealt with individually, filtered or suppressed. If WWCR keeps running 4775 and 5935 at the same time, 7095 will have to be removed. There could also be a mix with the 5890 transmitter by the same formula which would also land in the 40m hamband, 7005; I did not notice anything there, but I did not compute that frequency until the next morning, so it needs to be thoroughly checked too next time, if there is one. 15825, WWCR was inbooming for a change Feb 3 at 1419 during Inspirations Across America, black gospel music hour. Still strong at 1538 with preacher sadistically discussing boiling crabs alive with some relish, ``joy to the Lord``, also boiling frogs by slowly heating water they are in. When WWCR inbooms on 15825 at our too-close one-megameter distance, it has to be a sporadic-E opening, and indeed this tipped us off to TVDX from Mexico [q.v.] on channel 2 later in the morning (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WWCR on 4775. Clearing it can receive it from +0900 UT in Japan. However, QRM of AIR-Imphal from 1030 yesterday Feb. 3 (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WWCR-3 on 4775 instead of 5070 for reasons unknown, 0300-1200 UT until further notice, says their homepage. UT Feb 3, a leapfrog mixing product with 5935 was first heard on 7095, but glad to note it was lacking 24 hours later at 0626 check Feb 4, so apparently suppressed, as I was only hearing an SSB ham QSO in Spanish about antennas and receivers, Mexicans? WWCR fundamentals were pretty strong but it could also be they were sufficiently weaker to put the spur below threshold (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Convicted and sentenced child sex criminal evangelist Tony Alamo is still preaching on WINB, as I tuned across 9265 Feb 4 at 1330 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Welcome to Oklahoma, Tony Alamo! ALAMO MOVED FROM ARK PRISON TO TRANSFER CENTER IN OKLAHOMA From The Associated Press January 28, 2010 TEXARKANA, Ark. — Convicted evangelist Tony Alamo has been moved from an Arkansas jail to a federal prisoner transfer center in Oklahoma. Alamo was sentenced in November to 175 years in prison for child sex abuse. The Federal Bureau of Prisons Web site said Thursday that Alamo is in Oklahoma City awaiting transfer. Typically, federal prisoners are first taken to the staging center in Oklahoma before being moved to the unit where they will be housed. Alamo left Texarkana on Tuesday. At sentencing, Alamo’s defense team asked that the court recommend placement in a medical unit because of his age and health problems. Alamo, whose given name is Bernie LaZar Hoffman, was convicted by an Arkansas jury in July of all 10 counts listed in a federal indictment accusing him of bringing five young girls he’d wed as children across state lines for sex. He remained in a downtown Texarkana jail because of a Jan. 13 hearing scheduled to address restitution the government sought for his victims. U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes ordered Alamo to pay each of the five Jane Does $500,000 for their suffering. However, Barnes agreed to hold off payment while Alamo appealed his case. “I am innocent! I will prove it in the Eighth Circuit. The girls lied,” states a recent post on Alamo’s Web site. Last week the government filed a motion asking that Alamo, 75, be compelled to remit now or at least place the money in the court’s registry because of fears he and his followers will take steps to “dissipate” assets. In addition to the $2.5 million in restitution, Alamo also owes a $250,000 fine and $850 in court costs (Enid Eagle Jan 29 via DXLD) ** U S A. 13845, PMS via WWCR, Feb 2 at 1455 with heavy swish QRM from WEWN 13835 spur, a constant unresolved problem from at least one of their transmitters; how bad it is heard depending on relative propagation. Shortly WEWN moves its spurs to 15600 and 15620, clearing 13845 after 1500. WEWN dirty spur from 11520 transmitter, Feb 3 at 0611 against Harold Camping on 11530. If these two don`t care enough to fix this problem, why should I? They deserve each other (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also U A E ** U S A. Hi Glenn, On 28 January 2010, I heard two separate test broadcasts from WTWW. The first occurred from 0117 to 0122 hours UT, with a program of music and an ID at 0120: "This is WTWW coming to you from the upper banks of the Cumberland River in Lebanon, Tennessee performing equipment tests." Then at 2357 on the same day, I heard additional music by the likes of The Doors, Beatles and Elton John, as well as another ID as listed above at 0115, before the signal left the air abruptly. Very good signal into New Jersey, SINPO = 45444 on NRD- 525 + PAR End-Fed Z EF-SWL antenna. No mention of e-mail or postal address was given during these times. First time I have heard their tests. I wonder if they will keep this great music when regular programming starts? 73's, (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No Glenn: I just tuned 5755 and am hearing WTWW conducting equipment tests on 5755 at 0000 UT with The Doors, Ricky Nelson; before that, ID by Ted Randall at top of the hour and abruptly off. If it comes on again will report further. 73's, (Noble West, Clinton TN, Sangean ATS818ACS and Radioshack Pocket SWL Antenna 23 feet on pole, UT Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DXers: I found an interesting link for the CEI 418F transmitter similar to the one used by WTWW which has carried out tests on 9475, 9480 and 5755 kHz. http://www.contelec.com/pdf/418F_Brochure.pdf 73's, (Noble West, TN, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. DX'ers: Jeff White informs me WRMI is currently working on their 50 kW Wilkinson transmitter in Miami. Once the problems are fixed, they will resume a normal sked. It will be a few days according to Jeff White. See the below message: Thanks for your message and your comments. We're working on the technical problems, and hopefully it will only be a few more days before everything is back to normal here, and you should then be able to hear us as well as you usually do. In the meantime, perhaps you can listen on the Internet at http://www.wrmi.net All the best, Jeff, WRMI Radio Miami International Jan 27 (via Noble West, TN, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGESTE) Our engineer is coming in from Panamá on Monday afternoon and has the parts we need with him, so we should have the main transmitter back on by Tuesday with any luck. He'll also be working on the North American antenna next week, and hopefully we'll have that back to normal as well (Jeff White, WRMI, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jeff White advises that the main 50 kW WRMI transmitter is back on 9955 the morning of Feb 4, but I am still not hearing it after 1500 or 1600, so must be on the SSE antenna instead of the NW one previously in use during this bihour. Listened to Happy Station on webcast from 1600, but audio quality awful, much worse than usual. A new program schedule from WRMI is very much needed as there will have been many changes with the cancellation of Aventura Diexista and most of the R. Prague relays, for example (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. World of Radio is heard very loud and clear on 9510 right now (IRRS via Slovakia, from 0900 UT, Sat). A much better reception than we usually get in Moscow. I'm using a rather primitive radio with a telescopic antenna here (Sergei S, SW Germany, Jan 30, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) But unfortunately not every Saturday morning; supposedly first and third [sic: meant second and fourth; sigh], and fifth if any, but subject to other pre-emptions. Saturday evenings is supposed to be every week at 1900 on 6170 (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) See also ITALY [non]. ** U S A. 17760, WYFR at 1525 Feb 1 with a bit of ``Onward, Christian Soldiers``, not the WHR version which has a monopoly on that as theme, but any missionary station is free to threaten Moslems in this way, marching as to war. And into Bible reading in English. This frequency had very heavy flutter on it, like trans-polar or sometimes trans-equatorial, but the path from Okeechobee is neither, and I have noticed this before. Less than two megameters away, we must be on the edge of the skip zone at this time, not getting full signal altho not too far off the 285 degree WNW beam toward northern Mexico. Perhaps backscatter mix is involved; another possibility is meteor scatter, causing a Doppler effect so the WYFR signal interferes with itself. Since YFR in Hindi via UAE [q.v.], 15520, lacked modulation on Feb 3, I checked again Feb 4 at 1406. Only a very poor signal today but I could tell it was modulated for a change. Of course, Dhabayya may not be to blame for the failure; it could have been anywhere along the line from Oakland, so who has to make a refund can only be determined by those in the know. Even FR HQ itself may have failed to get the audio out (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15550-USB, WJHR (Milton, FL), 1805-1815, 2/3/2010, English. Talk by preacher. Very poor signal, just strong enough to identify the language and basic content (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, RX-340, IC-R75, Random Wires (90' and 200'), ALA100M, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Back after more than a month off (gh, ibid.) ** U S A. KJES is back! Not reported for almost two months, but on 11715, Feb 2 at 1449 I am hearing some off-key singing, a dead giveaway, 1450 into OM intoning verses, undermodulated and mixing badly with at least two other stations, i.e. R. Liberty in Uzbek via Lampertheim, and ChiCom jamming, probably CNR1 (tho Aoki does not show it as jammed, we know they jam other Uzbek services). This mess quit at 1459, but now there is an open carrier as Vatican is about to start relaying RVA Philippines in Tagalog/English back to the jobless Catholic Filipino Gastarbeiter stuck in the UAE et al. Can`t make much out of KJES while this is on, but at 1518 I think I can detect KJES still under there. Finally at 1559 frequency is clear for KJES, monotone OM preacher in English with robokidsinging off-key in background. 1559.5, kid ID in English with usual ``please let me know if you can hear me`` but not ``and get me out of here!``, 1600 into Spanish as scheduled. Still very undermodulated and must strain to copy. Now there is increased ACI from music on 11720 which is RFA in Uighur via Saipan plus ChiCom jamming; also squeezed on lower side by weaker N Korea. Since KJES had been making a lo het with co-channel stations, I determine it is slightly off-frequency to the low side, but probably not as low as 11714.90. Now we need to check its other scheduled transmissions to see if they are back too: 1900-2100 on 15385, 0200-0330 on 7555. For starters: yes, 15385 with kidchoir at 1905 Feb 2, doing its best against Greenville 15390 Lavwadlamerik. All three KJES frequencies supposedly rotate the LP antenna to different azimuths at top of each hour, tho I did not notice any difference at 1500 and 1600. Long ago, I believe they had problems with it being stuck in one direxion. Even when active, their broadcasts were sporadic, and some listings show KJES as M-F only. Having heard KJES reactivated on 11715 and 15385 on Feb 2, I checked their third frequency, 7555, UT Feb 3 at 0205, and yes, back there too, but poor in Ave Maria with guitar accompaniment. This is at 0200- 0330 only; if you hear Catholic stuff elsewhen on 7555, it`s WEWN, currently scheduled only in Spanish at 0500-1300. Feb 3 at 1538 on 11715 I could make out the robokids underneath RVA Philippines in Tagalog via Vatican, with KJES causing low annoying het. 11715, KJES atop the QRM, Feb 4 at 1412 with Bible passage about Jesus` trial; brings to mind ``Jesus Christ, Superstar`` but we`ll never hear anything from that on KJES! Fairly good reception and KJES` frequency offset causes the other station to sound off-key for a change. Can`t let an hour go by without a performance of Ave María by these Marian cultists, and so that was heard at 1436, when KJES had less of an advantage over Lampertheim (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9369v, Arabic at 0111 UT Tue Feb 2, fair signal, obviously from WTJC. Does their program schedule at http://www.fbnradio.com/new_page_copy%281%29.htm yet show Arabic anywhere around 8 pm ET? Of course not! In fact there is no Arabic anywhere on their schedule, any day of the week, altho there used to be a bit somewhere. Not to be confused with IBB`s Deewa Radio in Pashtu via Lampertheim, GERMANY, also scheduled on 9370 during this hour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ESTADOS UNIDOS: Después de un breve período de inactividad, la KVOH La Voz de Restauración, se encuentra emitiendo en idioma español de acuerdo al siguiente esquema: HORA UTC KHZ 0100-0800 9975 1300-1500 9975 1500-0100 17775 QTH: La Voz de Restauración, P.O.Box 56320, Los Angeles, CA 90056, USA. E-mail: kvoh @ restauracion.com Web: http://www.restauracion.com (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Argentina, Conexión Digital Jan 31 via DXLD) Says who??? I have not heard it on 9975 for YEARS, if ever, despite KVOH always being registered on this frequency, and have not seen any other reports of it either except for one mistaken list-log a few months ago. 17775 is often inaudible here, but because of the skip distance and marginal propagation on 16m, we can`t be sure whether that operation is really irregular (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Both KSM and K6KPH will return to their normal operating schedule this Saturday 1/30. KSM will begin press and weather broadcasts in CW at 1000pst, 1800gmt on HF and MF. RTTY broadcasts will begin at 1100pst, 1900gmt on 8Mc and 12Mc. The KSM traffic list will be sent at 1300pst, 2100gmt. A repeat CW weather broadcast will begin at 1330pst, 2130gmt. See http://www.radiomarine.org for KSM frequencies. K6KPH will guard its calling frequencies beginning at about 1200pst, 2000gmt. Those frequencies are 3550kc, 7050kc, 14050kc and 21050kc. K6KPH is open for general amateur traffic including KSM signal reports (via Paul Dobosz, MARE Tipsheet Jan 29 via DXLD) Sic: they are trying to be retro, referring to `kc` and `Mc` --- but there is no such thing and never was. The terms are totally meaningless without a time constant, per-SOMETHING, such as per second, kc/s, Mc/s = kHz, MHz. Me, I prefer Megacycles per hour = MegaHausers, MHs (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. Having heard the harmonic on 2980 from Colombia, q.v., I was motivated to look again for the third harmonic of KWMO, 1350, ``The Mouth``, Washington MO on 4050, Jan 29 at 0616: yes, intermittent bits of US talk in English, but mostly ute QRM. Since there was any signal at all from presumed KWMO, probably another instance of running day facilities at night. Still no Truth from Guatemala on 4052.5. 4050, looking again for the KWMO third harmonic from Washington, MO, Jan 30 at 0606, traces of country music, a bit better at 0614 with YL DJ talking about who would sing the NA at the Superbowl. Just barely audible tho S-meter displayed S9; trouble is, the noise level on a clear frequency was S8. 0621 more country music peaking. This matches the format when I heard them some weeks ago with a definite ID, but none this time. As for ``The Mouth`` slogan I mentioned yesterday, that has not been heard but listed in the NRC AM Log 2009-2010, when they had a talk format, probably outdated now. Day power is 500 watts, night power 84 watts on fundamental 1350. Compared to inbooming AM hams on 80 meters as far away as New England, who could not be running more than 1000 watts, I could now believe the extremely weak KWMO signal on 4050 is really just a fraxion of the night power, not necessarily the day power (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. I often hunt for LSA, the 338 kHz NDB in Lamesa TX which puts a seventh harmonic on 2366, during my 06-07 UT bandscans, but never hear it then, so suspect it is not 24h. Did hear it again Feb 4 at 1311 on 2366, negative keying making copy difficult but still possible with careful BFO tuning. I wonder if this airport has a regular flight coming in around sunrise, but none around midnight (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. Loran closing down - did anyone miss this news? Spare a thought for the noble LORAN network. It helped bombers and ships across the Atlantic in WWII and, since then, has served as a reliable system for helping sailors, domestic and otherwise, to find their position. Of course, now that everybody and their kid cousin has a GPS receiver in their back pocket the need for limited, complex, radio-based geolocation is somewhat reduced. So, the US government is killing it off, shutting down most of the towers on February 8, with those that stay online over the summer going decidedly offline this fall. The savings? $190 million over five years. The cost? No backup for our GPS system. Here's official confirmation from US Coastguard SPECIAL NOTICE --- SUBJ: TERMINATION OF ALL U.S. LORAN-C SIGNALS 1. IAW THE 2010 DHS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, THE U.S. COAST GUARD WILL TERMINATE THE TRANSMISSION OF ALL U.S. LORAN-C SIGNALS EFFECTIVE 2000Z 08 FEB 2010. AT THAT TIME, THE U.S. LORAN-C SIGNAL WILL BE UNUSABLE AND PERMANENTLY DISCONTINUED. THIS TERMINATION DOES NOT AFFECT U.S. PARTICIPATION IN THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN OR CANADIAN LORAN-C CHAINS. U.S. PARTICIPATION IN THESE CHAINS WILL CONTINUE TEMPORARILY IN ACCORDANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS (Source? Via Steve Whitt, UK, Jan 28, MWCircle yg via DXLD) Sic, all caps, and therefore portentous. So that`s what IAW means (gh) ** U S A. Driving around Enid Jan 28 near low noon, which is always 1832 UT, still some X-band daytime skywave DX tho the sun is zenithing higher every day as spring oncomes. (Snow did not start until 2100 Jan 28; plenty snow into midday Jan 29 but no significant icing or power outages here unlike further south in OK.) Tuning around the X-band in the daytime is always interesting as propagation conditions vary widely. A music station weakly on 1690 around 1815 UT, audible when propagation peaks matched increasingly rare low-noise spots in the city. And again at 1912 when a Radio Disney ID made it. Therefore it can only be KDDZ in Arvada CO as the only dizzy outlet on frequency, and the only other station normally heard here on 1690 is talker WVON in the Chicago area. Denver`s other X-bander, Spanish KBJD 1650, might have accompanied KDDZ if it were not for splash from our local KFXY- 1640. No other significant skywave signals on X-band during this hour, not even KXTR-1660 Kansas City KS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NEW OVERNIGHT TRUCKING SHOW ON KRVN Bill Mack, Fred Sanders, and Dave Nemo would be proud... KRVN-880's "Big Al" Weekley begins a new program on Monday morning February 1st called "Overnight Ride" that is geared primarily at the trucking industry's audience. The show, which will air ONLY on Monday mornings from Midnight to 5 a.m. Central Time, will feature nationwide weather forecasts, updates on interstate lane closures and detours, news solely about the trucking industry, and -- in an effort to recapture the spirit of the old Interstate Radio Network and the Midnight Cowboy Radio Network -- LOTS of country music, especially songs about trucking. The last aspect of Weekley's program is especially noteworthy, as it is apparently in response to both America's Trucking Network (heard on WLW) and Midnight Trucking Radio Network (on WJR and KXEL), shows that have become increasingly talk-heavy in recent years, alienating many all-night drivers who yearned for something that resembled the old programs hosted by Mack, Sanders, and Nemo. My personal two cents -- I'm thrilled to see Weekley undertaking this endeavor, although it's a bummer that the eastern half of the nation won't be able to hear this, since KRVN throws so much of its power to the west at night. :) 73, (Rick Dau, Omaha, NE, Jan 30, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Up the dial at 99.5, WBAI celebrated its 50th anniversary as a Pacifica-owned noncommercial signal yesterday with a ten-hour broadcast full of archival material from the station's turbulent history. Missed it? Catch it again at the station's excellent http://archive.wbai.org/ WBAI Archives site, which provides audio files from several weeks' worth of everything the station broadcasts. (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch Jan 11 via DXLD) ** U S A. GEORGE JELLINEK, WQXR OPERA HOST, DIES AT 90 By JAMES BARRON Published: January 19, 2010 George Jellinek, a former music director of the New York radio station WQXR and the host of a weekly program on opera singers and singing that ran on the station for 36 years, died on Saturday. He was 90 and lived in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. . . . http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/arts/music/20jellinek.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. You may remember a few months ago, the story of a firm called “PMCM” trying to move two TV stations from Ely, Nevada and Jackson, Wyoming to Middletown Township, New Jersey and Wilmington, Delaware respectively. PMCM seems to have expected the stations to operate from the Empire State Building and Philadelphia's Roxborough antenna farm. PMCM cited the “Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982” which arguably obligated the FCC to approve the request of any commercial VHF station willing to have its channel reallocated to a state having no such station. In 1982, WOR-TV channel 9 New York took up the offer, moving to Secaucus, New Jersey. With the DTV transition, WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV) opted to remain on RF channel 38. Which means New Jersey again is without a commercial VHF (no Philadelphia station ever took up the offer to move to Delaware). The week before Christmas, the FCC issued their ruling. They decided this “reallocation” meant a channel moved from one place to another place where both allocations could not be used simultaneously (without causing interference). Obviously, channel 2 can be used in Wyoming and Delaware simultaneously without interference! However, the Act had another provision. This provision required the FCC to allocate new VHF commercial channels to states not having them, if it was technically feasible. In 1982, it was not technically feasible. Today, with most stations having abandoned lowband VHF, it is technically feasible. And to that end, the Commission has, on its own motion, proposed to allocate one new low-band VHF channel to each of the two states not already having one. Channel 4 would go to Atlantic City, New Jersey; channel 5 would go to Seaford, Delaware. These towns almost seem to have been chosen with the idea of making it impossible to use the channels in New York or Philadelphia (Doug Smith, TV News, Feb WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) ** U S A. FORMAT AND SLOGAN CHANGES: NY, New York, 87.7, WNYZ-LP Is silent; ends the simulcast it was running with WPTY-FM 105.3 (Bill Hale, FM News, Feb WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) Fans of dance music in NEW YORK City are once again without a radio station. After less than three months, JVC Broadcasting abruptly pulled its "Party FM" dance/hip-hop format off the audio carrier of Island Broadcasting's WNYZ-LP (Channel 6) on Thursday, raising questions along the way about the future of the "Franken-FM" stations that have been using channel 6 LPTVs as pseudo-FM stations heard at 87.7 on the dial. "It's hard to invest in a radio station when you don't know if the government will shut it down tomorrow," said JVC CEO John Caracciolo in a statement announcing the end of the simulcast. Caracciolo says it's not clear how much longer the FCC will continue to allow analog LPTVs to continue without converting to digital, a move that would make the channel 6 audio unavailable to analog FM listeners. "Party" continues to be heard on Long Island, via parent station WPTY- FM (105.3 Calverton-Roanoke) on the East End and once again via translator W268AN (101.5 Plainview), which had been carrying JVC sister station "La Fiesta" WBON (98.5 Westhampton). As for WNYZ, it was off the air for a bit after the end of the "Party" simulcast, though it returned, at least briefly, with a simulcast of New York's WCBS-FM. An unsourced item on WNYZ's Wikipedia entry claims that the station will be leased out to Idaho-based CSN International for its religious programming, but we've been unable to confirm that. And as for those dance fans, it's been a tough year for them - first last October's shutdown of the always financially-shaky "Pulse 87" operation that had been leasing WNYZ, and now this. Will there be a third try somewhere down the road? (Scott Fybush, Northeast Radio Watch Jan 25 via DXLD) ** U S A. The final collapse of New York-based Air America Radio made big industry headlines at week's end, but the bankruptcy liquidation of the pioneering progressive talk network won't affect many timeslots on any NERW-land radio stations. There were no full-time Air America affiliates in the region, and hadn't been for several years, and even in New York, Air America was only being cleared for a few hours a day on nominal flagship WWRL (1600): Montel Williams' mid-morning show was delayed to 3-6 PM, followed by Ron Reagan Jr. 6-8 PM, and three overnight hours were filled with a delayed Rachel Maddow rebroadcast and "Clout with Richard Greene." There's no word yet on what programming will now be heard during those hours on WWRL. Ithaca's WNYY (1470) was carrying Air America's Lionel in morning drive, and has now replaced him with Dial Global's Bill Press. The only other weekday AA shows on WNYY were an hour of Norman Goldman at night, replaced by Montel Williams, and an hour of Rachel Maddow early in the morning, replaced by the Wall Street Journal This Morning show. In Buffalo, WWKB (1520) wasn't using any of Air America's weekday shows in its lineup (a relic of the brief competition between 'KB and former AA affiliate WHLD 1270 a few years back), but it will have to replace some of the weekend programming it was getting from the now- defunct network (Scott Fybush, Northeast Radio Watch Jan 25 via DXLD) ** U S A. WABI-5 in Maine is swimming against the stream of DTV stations moving from VHF to UHF. WABI proposes to go the other way, from RF channel 19 to channel 13. They told the FCC the move would reduce their annual electricity costs by more than $100,000. And they're not worried about viewers with UHF-only antennas: the other two full-power commercial stations in Bangor are on RF channels 2 and 7 respectively (Doug Smith, TV News, Feb WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) More TV news: see OKLAHOMA ** U S A. Format changes: 1340, KSSR, Santa Rosa, NM, SS (Wayne Heinen, NRC DX News Feb 1 via DXLD) FORMAT AND SLOGAN CHANGES: NM, Santa Rosa, 95.9, KKJY > Spanish: The Lion // KSSR-1340 (Bill Hale, FM News, Feb WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) ?? Does this mean that there is evidence that KSSR 1340 is really back on the air?? KSSR also appears on an affiliate listing for basketball, New Mexico Lobos, Albuquerque NM, Mountain West Conference in NRC DX News Feb 1 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Jerry, It`s been almost a sesquiyear since we discussed KSSR 1340 Santa Rosa and at that time you confirmed it was off the air. It`s showing up again in NRC and WTFDA info as in Spanish, and on the Lobos BKB network, so I wonder if you can confirm whether it is really on the air now. Tnx, (Glenn to Jerry Kiefer, Jan 29, via DXLD) Hey Glenn, I can confirm now that KSSR is on the air. The gentleman out of ABQ who owns the FM is running it but I don't know if he has bought it. It's on the same 150 ft tower, co-located with the FM on old 66 (US 84) which parallels interstate 40 to the south. Of note, the FM now has a CP to go up to 50 kW but reduces tower height at the same time. Center of radiation should be well less than 150 ft. The AM is Spanish and the FM a blend of AC/rock and AOR (Jerry Kiefer, Roswell NM, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Albuquerque's KALY (1240) - one of the "Radio Disney 6" - goes silent >From Radio-Info.com: This T-R-I Newsletter has been following the progress of Disney's six sell-off markets since last November and had identified Albuquerque as one of them. Now the New Mexico Board of Radio-Info.com says that KALY was literally turned off last week. The first Radio Disney sale was Wichita (KQAM/1480), then this week West Palm Beach (WMNE/1600) and Norfolk/Tidewater (WHKT/1650). Sounds like Albuquerque is next. Disney bought the 1-kw fulltimer in 2003 for $650,000. Based on the haircuts it's been willing to take in Wichita and the other markets, it won't get $650K when it sells it here in 2010. At last year's convention KALY-1240 was one of our studio tours. The Station Manager was very nice and she spent a lot of time showing us around and answered all of our questions. She's been in radio a long time and told us about the many stations she's worked at all across the country. Hopefully the new owners will keep her on so she won't have to move again. Not surprisingly I took a few photos of that tour. Most of these have only been viewed a few times so have a look (BIG HINT; clicking on any photo will enlarge it): http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3949618192/in/set-72157622443302904 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3949619874/in/set-72157622443302904 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3948841749/in/set-72157622443302904 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3948842689/in/set-72157622443302904 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3948843521/in/set-72157622443302904 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3948844717/in/set-72157622443302904 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3949624928/in/set-72157622443302904 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/3948847947/in/set-72157622443302904 Here's my set of 35 photos of the towers of Albuquerque: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/sets/72157622287895203/detail http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcgibson55/sets/72157622287895203/show Several of the photos show KALY's tower; they share a tower with two other stations. It's a four tower array and being a graveyarder they are ND and only use one of the towers. I don't know which one it is. Diplexing is quite common in Albuquerque. As of January 27 their application to the FCC for "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA" has been "Accepted for filing". Their "Justification for Request" is at the bottom: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi- bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?conte xt=25&appn=101354774&formid=910&fac_num=59687 73 (Dennis Gibson, Jan 28, IRCA via DXLD) 1650 PORTSMOUTH SILENT? I just read that Disney has taken 6 of their O&O's silent pending sales. Apparently the mouse is bleeding. One of them is 1650 out of the Virginia Beach market. If so, that's a big chance for us east coasters while this pest is off. A deal to buy has been filed the at FCC for it, so it won't be long. RADIO DISNEY has taken some of its owned-and-operated stations silent and has asked the FCC for authority to remain silent while the stations are sold off. Among the filings are requests for silent STAs for KMUS-A/SPERRY, OK; KALY-A/LOS RANCHOS DE ALBUQUERQUE, NM; WCOG- A/GREENSBORO; WRJR-A and WHKT-A/PORTSMOUTH, VA; and WMNE-A/RIVIERA BEACH, FL (Bruce Collier, York, PA 722ft ASL, FM19px, Jan 28, WTFDA- AM via DXLD) Who is their target audience? People under 18 who don't know what AM is? (Rick Shaftan, NJ, ibid.) 100000watts confirms WHKT is silent, as does listening. Unfortunately that leaves CHOU dominant to battle with Iowa, and of course Ft. Smith is also silent, so there's no joy here (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ), [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia], ibid.) So I have two stations on 1650. One is Montreal and the other is music, not sure if English or not because when Montreal went into music they killed the channel. IA is sports, so who is left?? CINA?? Hmm, just heard a commercial in EE with a 800 number. I hear this on the flag which is directional eastward, so I have no clue (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, R75 tonight with the flag, ibid.) Wow. Clear Channel's KYHN in Fort Smith, Arkansas has been silent since the Spring 2008 floods inundated the transmitter site [in OKLAHOMA, 1650]. If Disney's WHKT is off as well, the only US interference east of the Rockies would be KCNZ in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This would give those of us outside the Northeast a good shot at the Montreal and Toronto stations. [ten minutes later] Tuned to 1650 and CINA in Mississauga is very conspicuously mixing with KCNZ's weak talk! Strong enough on peaks to line up their Bollywood vocals with the webstream, running 15 seconds or so behind the AM signal. WHKT is indeed off. Thanks, Bruce!?? (Steve Francis, Alcoa, Tennessee, NRC-AM via DXLD) So that's why local KMUS-1380 is off. Thanks for the information (Bruce Winkelman, Tulsa, OK (Ice-storm Central), Jan 28, NRC-AM via DXLD) 1650 DX targets --- And don`t forget the three Argentines on 1650; a CP in the Dominican Republic. KDDZ-1690 CO is still on, at least, heard midday. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1498) ** U S A. 1620 WDND South Bend IN - is it on-air? On Sun Jan 24 at 1412 EST heard big band music strongest on the sw wire from just north of Toronto. WDND has been reported off-air (and I've been getting a strong Nebraska in its place, largely). Is WDND back on the air with this format? Has anyone here in the northeast been working the channel? (Saul Chernos, Burnt River ON, Jan 28, IRCA via DXLD) WDND (1620am) is on the air. Its sister station WPNT (1490am) is off the air (Blaine Thompson, IN, ibid.) ** U S A. 1660, not a sign of classical KXTR Kansas City, Feb 1. Home page http://www.kxtr.com/pages/1447847.php? which is what you get if you merely enter www.kxtr.com, does not have any announcement about antenna work, as it did for some weeks in December, January, that it would be off the air weekdays, but it must be missing this afternoon, as I am mobile around Enid with nondirexional caradio. At 2018 UT, 1660 exhibits only a very weak SAH between two other stations, no doubt ND and TX, and furthermore, KC-area stations on 1250-Spanish, 1090-Catholic were inbooming by skywave already. 2027 the same. At final check of 1660 at 2153 UT, heard an ESPN station with an ad for Morehead, i.e. KQWB West Fargo ND. Furthermore, at 2025 UT I was hearing a ``Radio Disney`` as IDed in passing atop 1190 before fading, ending some teeny-bopper music, kid on phone in quiz. The only R. Disney on 1190, per NRC AM Log 2009- 2010, is KPHN Kansas City MO, day power 5 kW, but a new one to me. That`s strange, as it`s non-direxional, and has been on the air more than 31 years, tho under different calls before March 3, 1997. At 2019 I was gettin` a surfin` song on 1010. Uplooked later, among adjacent-state stations, format matches KCHI Chillicothe MO, yet another near KC, but there are too many other 1010s around to be sure. Another check for KXTR, 1660, Kansas City KS, which was missing the afternoon of Feb 1: On the caradio at 2015 Feb 3 I am only hearing some talk station, but about half an hour later some classical music is making it thru, must be KXTR, but why is it so weak for 10 kW, non- direxional at the top of the band? Nearby KYYS, Spanish on 1250 is much stronger by skywave already. I still think of it as a 5-kW regional as it was when WREN Topeka, but I must not, as it`s now 25 kW in the daytime, and with a large main lobe aimed 257 degrees. That`s considerably north of here, and we are on its edge but not in a null, so apparently its ERP Enidward is still more than 10 kW ND from KXTR --- but I still have doubts KXTR is running full power (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re 10-04: KSLG 1380 Once Again Caught Simulcasting KTXR 101.3 --- For the second time in three weeks, KSLG, 1380 kHz in St. Louis, MO, has been caught simulcasting KTXR, 101.3 MHz in Springfield, MO. This was noted on January 28 at 0015 Central Standard Time (0615 UT). KSLG is the local affiliate for Missouri State University basketball play-by-play broadcasts, which originates from KTXR's studios in Springfield. The station is entirely run by computer; no one is on the premises during the evening and overnight hours. Instead of hearing Fox Sports Radio, which KSLG usually schedules in the overnight hours, I was once again hearing a mix of Jazz and Adult Contemporary music, complete with Springfield commercials and CBS News updates (which is sure to raise the ire of KMOX, 1120 kHz). KSLG is apparently failing to properly maintain its computer automation. I had that happen several times when I was working at WSIE, 88.7 MHz in Edwardsville, IL. (NOTE: An audio clip is attached.) 73 and Good DX from (Eric Bueneman, Amateur Radio Station NØUIH, Registered Monitor KDXØSTL, KMOØCN, Hazelwood, MO-Grid Square EM48ts, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1710, Radio Soleil International --- French-language pirate with Radio Soleil International ID from Boston MA audible here on 1710 at 0800 (haven't checked other times yet) (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, Scotland, Jan 28, MWCircle yg via DXLD) Hi Paul, I suspect I heard same last night, for the first time I've recovered audio on 1710. Between 0120-0140 UT I had a man & woman talking in French - sounded a bit like phone dialogue. But very weak. 73 (Steve Whitt, England, ibid.) ** U S A. FCC SHUTS DOWN TWO ERIE PIRATE FM'S Press & Tower, Erie, PA January 28, 2010 http://www.pressandtower.com/2010/01/fcc-shuts-down-two-erie-pirate-fms/ Turns out that Erie pirates are easier to catch than the Somali kind. An agent from the Federal Communications Commission's field office in Buffalo came to Erie Wednesday, located and ordered the shut down of two pirate FM radio stations that were operating within the city limits. According to a very reliable source who spoke with the agent while he was in town, the agent found a signal at 89.5 emanating from a retail business on lower Parade Street. My source said that the signal which played urban and hip-hop music had been broadcasting for more than a year on the frequency. The other pirate broadcasted gospel music at 90.1 FM and was found in the Little Italy section of the city near Walnut Street. The operators of both stations were given verbal warning to immediately cease transmission, with official Notices of Violation to follow. According to my source, no fine will be issued unless the operators fail to comply with the shut-down. If they were to resist the FCC, fines can amount up to $10,000 for illegal transmission of an unlicensed station. Hats off the prudent P&T commenters for actually instigating the FCC visit to our fine city! (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. PIRATE RADIO PAIR GOING LEGIT WITH NEW STATION BY SUSAN SCAFFIDI, Contributing writer | Wednesday, Jan 27 2010 03:35 PM Last Updated Wednesday, Jan 27 2010 05:09 PM For years, Bakersfield residents Jake Chávez and Greg Looney have kept one step ahead of broadcast regulators with their "pirate radio" stations -- low-wattage broadcasts operating without a license. Now the pair are making it legal with a fully licensed station they hope will be on the air within the year. . . http://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/local/x113241219/Pirate-radio-pair-going-legit-with-new-station (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. WETS MAKES A CHANGE AFTER 36 YEARS WETS has been sending music and news across the airwaves for 36 years but soon they will change over to almost completely news content. 0 Ratings | 72 Video Views Post a Comment or Rate this Video Related Links --- The full schedule of programs on WETS-FM is available at http://www.wets.org. Information provided by ETSU media relations Published: January 25, 2010 Updated: January 26, 2010 JOHNSON CITY – On Monday, February 1, WETS-FM (89.5 MHz) will undergo a significant transformation. The non-commercial public station licensed to East Tennessee State University will change its weekday programming to news and information. That means that classical and Americana music will not be heard weekdays on the radio station. “We have examined programming options for WETS for more than two years,” said Wayne Winkler, station manager. “WETS has been a vital part of our community for 36 years, and we feel this change will best fulfill the mission of the university and of WETS-FM. We feel a new approach to programming is in the best interest of the station, its listeners, and its financial future.” With this change, the evening news program All Things Considered will air for an additional two hours, from 4-8 p.m. The station will also add the BBC World Service from 9-10 a.m. and from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Other new programs include The Diane Rehm Show from 10 a.m. until noon, Talk of the Nation from 2- 4 p.m., and Bob Edwards Weekend on Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon. Most weekend programming, including Car Talk, A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, American Routes, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, and the locally-produced Studio One and Ritmo Latino, will be unaffected, although some programs will be heard at different times. Winkler said the changes at WETS-FM reflect the evolving radio marketplace. “More and more, people are turning to radio for news and perspectives rather than music. Today, people tend to program their own music choices with CDs and MP3 players; fewer people depend on radio for music.” Winkler also cited the need for dependable news sources as a motivating factor in the change. What follows is a Q and A session submitted by East Tennessee State University explaining the change in programming. Q: What will change? A: We will change our weekday evening and weekend schedule to some degree, although Morning Edition and All Things Considered will be heard at the same times. (All Things Considered will be extended to 8 p.m.). On weekdays, we will add BBC World Service at 9 a.m., The Diane Rehm Show at 10 a.m., Talk Of The Nation at 2 p.m., and BBC World Service from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Fresh Air will move to noon, and Democracy Now! will be heard at 1 p.m. On Saturdays, there are few changes; we will now broadcast American Routes at 3 p.m. and Out On A Limb from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. On Sundays, The Thistle and Shamrock has moved to 6 a.m., and Celtic Clanjamphry is heard at 7 a.m. Bob Edwards Weekend has joined our Sunday lineup at 10 a.m., and New Dimensions has moved to 9 p.m. Q: Why are you making this program change? A: In looking at listener preferences, there are additional opportunities to improve our public service and increase the number of listeners to WETS-FM. We believe this program change is in the best long-term interest of WETS in terms of both listeners and fiscal stability. Q: How exactly do you measure a program’s performance on WETS? A: We receive data and research from several different companies. Arbitron is the company that collects the initial information. They issue diaries to radio listeners in the Tri-Cities market and ask participants to track their listening. The company uses the accepted practices of sampling and polling to determine radio listenership. Over time, patterns emerge. Ratings only inform our decisions. They are not the reason we decide to change programming. Furthermore, we take a long-term approach and usually give a program every opportunity to succeed before we even consider removing it from the schedule. Q: Why didn’t you take a poll or survey of the members to see what programming they want to hear? A: The data collected from Arbitron, over time, translate to thousands of listeners. This is the most accurate indicator we have of listener preferences. Also, our semi-annual fundraisers provide a good indication of which programs are listened to and supported. Q: Is this research available to the public? A. You can make an appointment with Larry Mayer, WETS-FM’s Program Director, or Wayne Winkler, WETS-FM’s General Manager, and they will be happy to give you an overview of the data. The information is proprietary, so we are forbidden from sending it out or making it available on our website. Q: Does the WETS-FM programming change follow a national trend among public radio stations? A. Yes. Although we made the changes for other reasons as well, we know that, for the past decade, public radio stations around the country have been switching to mostly news and public affairs programming on their primary channels. In fact, by 2000, the number of public radio stations broadcasting news and public affairs programs exceeded those with mixed news-music programming. News-talk radio programming has become most preferred among listeners of all radio formats around the nation, outranking country music for the first time, according to the latest Arbitron report. Recently, stations in Nashville, Winston-Salem, Fort Myers, Birmingham, Hartford, and Vermont have made this change. Most stations make the switch because it boosts listenership, membership, and revenues. Typically, stations see an increase in the number of listeners as well as contributions and underwriting revenues. Q: Why not offer some music on weekdays? A: The most effective way to program radio is to stick with a single programming type. Currently, NPR News and information is the single most effective programming we can offer in terms of audience growth, listener and underwriting support and is the best public service WETS can provide (from http://www2.tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/wets-fm_to_change_programming_to_news_and_information/40086/ via kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Here`s the new program grid heading the Q&A above: http://www.wets.org/index.cgi?&CONTEXT=cat&cat=10276 Another `public` station chickens out from arts and culture. Carrying ATC for four hours on weeknights means the two hour-program gets run twice in a row! except for news updates. And as anyone who listens to NPR news hour after hour, those replay a lot of individual stories. What a cop-out, but it`s the in-thing for so-called public radio stations to do (Glenn Hauser, ex-east TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. EE.UU: MEDIOS HISPANOS BUSCAN PLAN DE RESCATE Logo de Spanish Broadcasting System Los medios en español que solicitan el paquete de rescate controlan cientos de emisoras de radio y televisión. Marcia Facundo, BBC Mundo Los Ángeles [no video or audio; or English?] http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/economia/2010/01/100127_2348_medios_hispanos_rescate_gm.shtml Emisoras de radio y televisión que transmiten en español en Estados Unidos le pidieron al gobierno un plan de rescate económico similar al que se le otorgó en 2009 a la industria automotriz. La solicitud cuenta con el respaldo de los bloques hispano y negro en el Congreso, ya que la demanda incluye emisoras de propiedad afro- estadounidense. El grupo integrado por más de una docena de consorcios de medios en Estados Unidos enviaron una carta al secretario del Tesoro, Timothy Geithner, en la que le piden asistencia financiera para esta industria, seriamente afectada por la recesión económica. Los medios en español que solicitan el paquete de rescate controlan cientos de emisoras de radio y estaciones de televisión locales. Los comunicadores explican en la misiva que "la recesión y presente crisis económica está teniendo un desastroso impacto en todos los sectores de la economía, pero las emisoras propiedad de minorías están a punto de convertirse en una especie extinta". La carta señala que aún en tiempos de una economía saludable, las estaciones de radio y televisión de minorías "han tenido dificultades históricamente para tener acceso a los mercados de capital". Medios "saludables" Los medios hispanos -unas siete corporaciones que firman la carta- desean que el Congreso apruebe un plan de rescate de decenas de miles de dólares similar al que le otorgaron a la industria automotriz. Los medios de difusión de radio y televisión han estado saludables por muchos años y, tras una recuperación, podrían ser prontamente restaurados a un camino de crecimiento con alguna asistencia temporal Grupo de medios en EE.UU. En la carta que enviaron a Geithner, los comunicadores resaltaron que, contrario a lo ocurrido con los fabricantes de automóviles, "los medios de difusión de radio y televisión han estado saludables por muchos años y, tras una recuperación, podrían ser prontamente restaurados a un camino de crecimiento con alguna asistencia temporal". Los comunicadores de minorías cuentan con un respaldo sustancial en el Capitolio. Líderes clave de la Cámara de Representantes también escribieron a Geithner pidiéndole prestar atención a los propietarios de emisoras de radio y televisión hispanos y negros. "Es particularmente preocupante que el porcentaje de propiedad minoritaria en la industria de la comunicación actualmente llega a cifras de un sólo dígito (...) Las ejecuciones financieras desharán décadas del trabajo realizado por el gobierno federal para incentivar que se dejen escuchar más voces de las minorías en la industria de la radio y la televisión". Diversidad Los comunicadores de minorías cuentan con un respaldo sustancial en el Capitolio. En el pleno de la Cámara, el grupo de legisladores le pidió al Departamento del Tesoro que apoye a los medios de minorías con la promulgación de un instrumento de inversión similar al programa otorgado a la industria automotriz, entre otras medidas financieras. Un portavoz del bloque de legisladores hispanos (CHC, por sus siglas en inglés) le indicó a BBC Mundo que "los medios de comunicación propiedad de minorías agregan una importante diversidad a nuestras ondas, lo que garantiza que nuestro espacio comunicativo refleje una amplia gama de puntos de vista culturales". Entre los medios en español que solicitan el plan de rescate figuran Bustos Media, Entravisión Communications Corporation, Multicultural Broadcasting Companies, Spanish Broadcasting System, Gaytan Broadcasting Media, Lazer Broadcasting Corp. y Norsan Media. (BBC Mundo Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Jan 28, DXLD) Summary translation: Spanish-language broadcasters want a bailout like the auto industry! (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** URUGUAY. VISITA A BANDA ORIENTAL EN URUGUAY 6155 Banda Oriental, Sarandí del Yi, Departamento de Durazno está actualmente inactiva. Días pasados tuvimos ocasión de visitar la emisora juntamente con mi querido amigo Rubén Guillermo Margenet y fuimos amablemente atendidos por la Directora de esa casa radial, la señora Nora San Martín. La funcionaria nos informó que desafortunadamente parte del equipamiento para onda corta quedó inutilizado por una grave inundación que afectó la planta transmisora que la estación comparte con las otras radioemisoras hermanas: CX155 Radio Sarandí del Yi y 88,3 Scala FM. Sin embargo, Nora San Martín nos aclaró que su intención es reactivar próximamente la frecuencia de Banda Oriental a fin de llevar a todo el mundo el acontecer de Sarandí del Yí, especialmente las realizaciones de sus poetas y músicos y también los raids hípicos, los cuales constituyen un verdero acontecimiento en la región. Ella, su esposo, José y sus tres hijos, trabajan en las diferentes estaciones que conforman este emprendimiento familiar y consideran a Banda Oriental como una parte o pieza necesaria ya que al ser tanto la Sra. San Martín como su marido radioaficionados, conocen perfectamente no sólo la importancia sino también el alcance que la onda corta permite a las transmisiones radiales. Como curiosidad es importante señalar que Nora San Martín es argentina pero de muy pequeña sus padres la llevaron al Uruguay. Actualmente, la empresaria, se desempela también como edil en la Junta Departamental. Los estudios de Banda Oriental (compartidos con Radio Sarandí del yí y Scala FM) están ubicados en calle Sarandí 428, Sarandí del Yí. La vía de contacto telefónica es el 9155 (la característica de Sarandí del Yí es 0367).- El multimedios está también integrado por Boreal FM, que transmite desde la cercana localidad de Villa del Cármen. Esta emisora opera en los 106,5 Mhz con estudios en Ruta 14 y F. Fonterosa, Villa del Cármen, los cuales también visitamos. Cada uno de los hijos varones se ha hecho cargo de cada una de las dos emisoras de frecuencia modulada. Sarandí del Yí es una localidad de Uruguay ubicada al sudeste del departamento de Durazno a 96 kilómetros de la capital departamental por la ruta nacional N 14 hacia el este y a 200 kilómetros de Montevideo por la ruta nacional N 6 al norte, en el limite con el departamento de Florida. Es la segunda ciudad del departamento. Tiene una población estimada de 6.659 habitantes (2004).Fundada a iniciativa de Doña Dolores Vidal de Pereyra en el año 1875 es hoy una de las tres ciudades en el mundo que fue delineada antes de comenzar con la edificación (Rubén Guillermo Margenet y Arnaldo Slaen, en visita a la emisora, Jan 29, dxldyg via DXLD)) ** UZBEKISTAN. 9500, CVC Tashkent, 1223-1228, Jan 29, listed Hindi. Pop-ish, choral-like music at tune-in; ad/promo string with phone number; wiped out by huge splash via VOA Greenville 9505 s/on at 1228; fair (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, NH USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOA 9505 Creole since Jan 19 ex-9660 (gh) ** VANUATU. From: "Jamie La Badia" --- Dear Sir, I am a Shortwave Broadcast Engineer, and would like to know if a station I designed is being heard here in the U.S. The station is RADIO VANUATU, on 3945 kHz. I finished building the transmitters and antenna systems around the middle of July, 2009. They are running half power, (5000 watts) temporarily until I get back for the finishing touches this weekend. I will be updating some portions of the equipment, and adding a second frequency. Either 5055 kHz or 7260 kHz, depending on the testing. I am leaving for Vanuatu on Sunday, the 31st. I should be testing the 5055 kHz frequency by the second week in Feb. Here is a little tech info about the system. It's a Solid State, broadband operating in Class E. Modulation is Pulse Width. The 3945 antenna is a 180 foot long fan dipole, around 60 feet high. The 5055 antenna is about 90 feet long, and up about 45 feet (via Ralph Brandi- NJ-USA, DXplorer Jan 28 via BC-DX Jan 31 via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) Continued at LIBERIA ** VATICAN [non]. 7585, VR IS fair-poor Feb 4 at 1429; at 1430 flute music, Laudetur Jesus Christus, Vatican Radio ID and into S Asian language. This frequency has had inexplicable Firedrake ChiCom music jamming on it before, but not today at rechex 1450, 1457 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Noted very strong V Of Venezuela in Spanish on 15290 kHz via Quivicán Cuba at 1900-2000 UT. Tonight to report like FIRST springtime propagation conditions on 19 mb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Quick check for ``Aló, Presidente``, Sunday via CUBA at 1656 UT Jan 31 found it running but the speaker at the moment unsounded like El Hugazo, perhaps a press-conference plant, on all five usual frequencies in order of increasing signal strength: 13680, 11690, 17750, 12010, 13750 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. 3396, Zimbabwe BC, 0022, Hi-life Afro music. Continuing at 0028 and 0058 checks. Went over ToH with music. Some nasty noise started on the frequency around 0115 which rendered a canned announcement at 0120 inaudible. Finally in the clear again at 0132 (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Perseus with preamp and T2FD antenna, HCDX via DXLD) Date of log missing, probably 30 Jan 3396.00, 0150-0210 30.01, ZBC, Guineafowl, Gweru. Vernacular announcement, African singing, 35333. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4828, presumed ZBC Gweru, 0320, Jan 29. Strong carrier with audio at imagination level; nothing but noise on 3396 (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, NH USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3396, R. Zimbabwe. This DX season had been a disappointment to me, what with the complete absence of this station here. Recently noted reports of their return and sure enough, heard them from 0218 to 0306, Feb 1; nice, mostly non-stop Hi-Li music, in vernacular. Played the usual canned English ID from 0300 to 0304, with drums, list of cities and FM frequencies, plus the SW schedule. 4828 not heard. Am very happy to hear this one again :) (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1040 wandering het: who is it? Driving home a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a strange het on 1040. Its pitch rose & fell very slowly (spanning a couple of musical notes over a minute), through roughly an octave either side of middle C (in other words, maybe a hundred Hz up to several hundred), with no apparent pattern, just a gradual rising and falling. Kinda like a very, very slow moaning. The aimless frequency drift reminds me of an old tube oscillator with poor voltage regulation and no temperature compensation! Listening over the past 2 weeks, I hear it all the time, weak during daytime and very strong during critical hours and at night. This might reflect that it has only a weak station to beat against during the day -- WZSK at 100 miles distance -- versus strong stations to beat against during CH & at night -- WHO, WYSL (250 miles away) and WPBS (500 miles away). I hear it equally well from my home in Waynesburg, PA (40 miles S of Pittsburgh) to my dayjob in Morgantown, WV. At both locations, it direction-finds to roughly SE-NW. My Sony 7600 valiantly tried to sync the signal when I set it to 1041 kHz, which tells me that the station's frequency is always above 1040. My guess is an unhappy TIS, not too far away. I can't find a trusty TIS directory online -- anyone know of one? Is anyone else hearing this, especially DXers in PA, OH, MD, WV? Any ideas who/where it might be? Thanks (Fred Schroyer, Waynesburg, PA 15370, (40 air miles S of Pittsburgh, 20 N of Morgantown, WV), Jan 28, IRCA via DXLD) Well, I've been hearing the past several nights in southwestern Missouri, and like Fred says, the pitch of the het rises and falls very irregularly. I've tried repeatedly to resolve some audio from it without success (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, ibid.) It might be interesting to take a look at the carrier with Spectran and see if there is any additional information that can be discovered. Use SSB and tune 1 kHz low for USB, or 1 kHz high for LSB and see what the traces of the carrier look like. I'd use a slow waterfall speed. The carriers on the channel will be clustered around the 1000 Hz audio tone. You might discover some clues that would help ID the carrier. I'll try to take a look later from Michigan and see what I turn up (Rick Kunath, Jan 28, ibid.) Sounds like a Cuban wobbler, but not to PA in the daytime. I thought I had publicized this list, which includes TIS stations, but no guarantees how current or complete it may be: http://www.mwlist.org/mwlist_quick_and_easy.php?area=3&kHz=1040 Only shows four on 1040, and only one outside California: USA WPEI224 Hanover, MD 0.01 dept of transportation hdqtrs 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Thanks, Glenn. I've been a DXer since the 1960s, altho today I'm very ltd, lacking time & serious equipment. But I learned the hobby as a teen, so I know the nuances that one hears on AM during the 24-hr cycle. But this 1040 signal has me stumped. It HAS to be fairly close to me, since it is quite audible throughout the daytime. Yet it seems to be much stronger at night. Another DXer here in Waynesburg hears it too. We spent the weekend about 30 miles away (Moundsville, WV), and the signal is essentially identical there daytime. And only a TIS is likely to be that badly maintained, that it would be high by several hundred HZ, and worse, drifting like an unregulated oscillator. Randy Stewart in MO reports hearing it, or something similar . . . but no one else has mentioned. So I strongly suspect that it is pretty local. Surely others in PA, WV, OH, MD would hear it, but no repsonses. I'm bewildered! Best regards, (Fred Schroyer, Waynesburg, PA 15370, (40 air miles S of Pittsburgh, 20 N of Morgantown, WV) DXLD) Fred, I thought Hanover MD would be a good fit for what you are hearing, but do you think it is too far away? I thought I had heard of Hanover but it`s not in indices of any of my (older) print atlases. Google finds it in Wikipedia, of course: ``Hanover, Maryland, is a locality in unincorporated northwestern Anne Arundel County, Maryland in the United States, located south of Baltimore near the Howard County line. It is located approximately at the intersection of Maryland State Highway 100 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area and is located just southwest of the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (commonly known as "BWI"). Hanover was largely unknown prior to the opening of the Arundel Mills mall in November 2000. Since then, the area has seen explosive growth; shopping centers and housing developments have popped up along Arundel Mills Boulevard (Route 713), which links the B-W Parkway and Route 100 to Arundel Mills. There is currently an effort to fight[1] the placement of a Video Lottery Terminal casino at the Arundel Mills Mall. The Maryland Department of Transportation is headquartered at 7201 Corporate Center Drive, which has a Hanover address.[2]`` ==== Since Randy has also heard this in SW MO, maybe it could be as far away from you as Hanover MD. Am not too surprised about the lack of response, as our own mysteries may not necessarily interest too many others. Of course there certainly could be more 1040 TIS than the few in the list I referenced. FCC does have a search funxion for such transmitters at: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/General_Menu_Reports/engineering_search_out.cfm?service_select=LP&radio_service_select=PW&state_select=&begin_freq=1040&begin_freq_type=K&end_freq=1040&end_freq_type=K&polar=B&radio_ch0=PR&lat_ddd=&lat_mm=&lat_ss=&ns_radio_ch1=N&lon_ddd=&lon_mm=&lon_ss=&ew_radio_ch1=W&radius=&distance_type=K&lat_ddd2=&lat_mm2=&lat_ss2=&ns_radio_ch2=&lon_ddd2=&lon_mm2=&lon_ss2=&ew_radio_ch2=&ACCESSIBLE=NO&soundex_select=&begin_grant_date=&end_grant_date=&begin_expiration_date=&end_expiration_date=&sortstring=%2C+callsign%2C+lic_name&limit_select=2> which turned up the same station Maryland (only, no Californians or anything else for 1040 search nationwide) which leads to: http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=1232725&__newWindow=false You could try contacting them if all else fails. Also if you really want to track it down, you should get bearings on it for a fix from different locations. Triangulation. Like nulling out the signal with a directional portable with ferrite antenna (at least) and adding/subtracting 90 degrees. Apparently you did not do that when you were checking on it in Moundsville. About direction-finding, I should add that if it is really close to you as you think, you should get significantly different bearings from home and the other town (unless it happens to be directly between them or on the same axis); while if it is off in Hanover MD or somewhere else, the bearings would be only slightly different (Glenn to Fred, via DXLD) Many thanks, Glenn! Hanover is about 200 air miles from me, way too far for a 10 Watt signal to scare up a good het here during the daytime. Nighttime, yes, but not at lunch! So I'm hard pressed to think it is them. Randy says he heard it in SW MO, but I'm wondering if he heard the same thing. From his description, yes. But... I had tried that same search of the FCC database, and the Hanover TIS was all it showed. That's why I was wondering if I could trust the completeness of the FCC database. I have used triangulation, which is why I was hoping I could get some fellow DXers to DF the signal, so we could assemble the picture — much like was done a couple of years back for the 1610 military tester, which turned out to be in VA, as I recall. But so far, only 2 DXers tell me they are hearing it: Randy in MO and a fellow DXer here in Waynesburg. When in Moundsville, I had only the car radio, so could not DF the signal. All I can say is that it sounded identical to what I'm hearing in Waynesburg & Morgantown. Here is what it resembles: imagine a 500 or 1000 W station 125 miles away. As you drive around in a 30-mile radius from town to town, the signal fluctuates, but basically stays its same, weak self. That's what this 1040 het is like. It does grow generally louder at night, but then it is beating against more & stronger carriers from Avon NY & Des Moines. I may repost my query, specifically asking Dxers in PA, OH, WV, MD to take a listen . . . that should tell us a lot! Thanks again for your help — I much appreciate your thorough research & your valuable knowledge! (Fred Schroyer, Waynesburg, PA 15370, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks to folks who responded to my recent post about this odd, drifting het. Several suggested the 10 W TIS in Hanover, MD, but that is 200 miles away, so it's unlikely to generate the weak het I hear in SW PA at midday. It's much stronger at night, beating against WHO -- in fact, at 2100 EST tonight, it's just plain loud, and DFs to NW/SE of here. What about DXers in PA, MD, OH, WV -- can any of you hear it? Can you DF? I'm really curious to discover who/what this might be. Thanks (Fred Schroyer, Jan 31, IRCA via DXLD) Or it could be one of several broadcast stations in the NE on 1040. And I think subsequent discussion I still haven`t caught up with led to one (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1710: The Russian from the Puget Sound is back in tonight with soft music. The first time I have heard audio out of this for a couple months. Maybe they cranked up the power again. Drake R8 / NE EWE. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, 0223 UT Jan 30, IRCA via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4750, 1148-1200, Jan 26. Hindi-like vocal music; continuous thru ToH; barely audible under band noise; very poor and at imagination level by 1200 in ECCS-LSB. If I had to guess who, I'd say Bangladesh (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, NH USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4760, from 1603 to 1618, Jan 31. Recently have been hearing two stations mixing together; one weak (possibly AIR Leh [Kashmir] with talking in assume vernacular) and the other one stronger (possibly AIR Port Blair with chanting/singing). Earlier (about 1330 to 1500) there was only one station heard here (assumed to be AIR Port Blair) (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Have not looked for 8GAL mystery CW marker at 1400 UT on 6074 for a few weeks, so it`s time for another check as we usually lose it sometime during February. Started monitoring the motorboating R. Rossii 6075 [see RUSSIA] at 1357 Feb 3. Before its 5-seconds-late timesignal could finish, the 8GAL marker started with standard text in slow CW: VVV CQ CQ CQ DE 8GAL 8GAL 8GAL K. It finished shortly before Pet/Kam turned off the 6075 carrier at 1401*. Splash from CFRX 6070 was a bit of a problem. I happened to be at the breakfast table before 1400 UT Feb 4, so turned on the insensitive DX-390 which only has a reel-out clip-on antenna around the room, and with BFO on punched up 6075 as a lark, not expecting to hear 8GAL. But, a good thing I started at 1358, since its V/CQ marker on 6074 did too at 1358:50, more than a minute early, overlapping the motorboating R. Rossii, Petropavlovsk / Kamchatskiy, and finished about 1359:40 well before the 5-second-late closing timesignal from RR. 8GAL was totally clear copy (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7130 / 7160 / 7190 / 7220 --- On 27 Jan at 1615 UT tune- in noted a station with endless Qur`an reciting on 7130. No ID at all at any time. Strong signal and nice, clean AM modulation. Audio went off at 1700 but the carrier stayed on until 1714. A minute or two later I noted them back with Qur`an, now on 7160. This lasted until 1755 when they switched to 7190. And at 1858 they jumped to 7220. Then I had to leave my radio. All I could hear was that Qur`an recording without ID. Sounds like someone testing, but who could this be (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11471-USB, 2-way Spanish contact at 1343 Feb 4, but I could only hear one side, so duplex? As usual, no IDs heard, and due to idiomatic country accent, I have trouble understanding what he is saying, other than ``puta madre``, which amounts to a general expletive like the F-word, not necessarily referring to a specific person having a whore for a mother and consequently being a bastard. Also whistles into mike, sure sign of a non-professional radio user (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 12000.8, strong and steady open carrier, Feb 2 at 0620. It makes a het with the 12000 birdie in the FRG-7, but it stands alone on the YB-400. Something new, possibly of local origin? But the band is certainly open at this hour, as far as Brazil, q.v., 11815. Is anyone else hearing it? Next check at 1447, still there, but now the open carrier is intermittently interrupted by digital data bursts. And still at 1536, interfering with CODAR. BTW, this is a BROADCAST band where such utility signals should only be subtracted, not added (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 13630, open carrier, noticed when checking doomed Darwin on 13635, Jan 31 at 1439; nothing remotely near this time scheduled in HFCC, Aoki or EiBi; not strong enough to detract from Darwin. Someone else might want this or 13635 from Feb 1 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15160, beautiful performance of the Qur`an, by OM tenor cantor [what else? Inferior YLs aren`t allowed], Feb 1 at 1505, much stronger and clearer than BSKSA`s version on 15225; still going at 1535. I was thinking I had logged this recently, but not so, and unlisted, so it`s something new. One thing for sure: it`s not AWR via Austria as in PWBR 2009! Nothing shows in current Aoki, EiBi or HFCC. Must be one of the major stations (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15360, qontinuous Qur`an, Feb 2 at 1456 aside WYFR Spanish 15355. Fortunately, no RHC on 15360, perhaps just having closed to QSY. Qur`an qeeps going thru hourtop, no break until 35- second pause within the 1504 minute, when they could have easily inserted a full ID! But that might have broken the mood. Meanwhile at 1459 some lite CCI developed on 15360. The only thing scheduled on 15360 is RFI Persian via Issoudun at 1430-1500, previously heard with QubaRM, but not today, perhaps also off at least 4 minutes early. Or the 15360 transmitter in France has been turned over to the Algerians for a new schedule, or new tests from elsewhere? Periodically, RTA`s Qur`an service tries other sites a few weeks, perhaps for competitive bidding or comparative propagation evaluation. So far in B-09, Algeria via France relays have been using only the 5, 7 and 9 MHz bands, but TDF is known for making mid-season changes at the beginning of Feb, also for RFI broadcasts. This performer sounds like the same one heard the day before on 15160 around this time, and there is nothing there today! Except splash from REE/Costa Rica plus/minus 15 from 15170 as noted before 1500, gone after then. A good bet that 15360 Qur`an is the same transmission trying another frequency, tho 15160 was quite a bit stronger. Where will it be Feb 3? However, by 1548 Feb 2, 15360 is gone, and I am hearing an even weaker Qur`an on 15380 versus clicking circa 15382 and Spain 15385 splash. So is 15380 the same transmitter as 15360 in yet another shift? Nothing scheduled now, but Sa`udi HQS is shown on 15380 until 1355, so maybe that was extended. No, I don`t think it was // 15435. However there are two separate Sa`udi programs in Arabic. WRTH 2010 says 15435 and 15225 are the general program, not the HQS, even tho most of the time they too are reciting. Perhaps related is Jari Savolainen`s observation above: ``UNIDENTIFIED. 7130 / 7160 / 7190 / 7220 --- On 27 Jan at 1615 UT After hearing the Qur`an tests on 15160, 15360 and 15380 the days before, suspected Algeria via France, I looked for them again Feb 3, but nonesuch anywhere on 19m in the hour or more following 1427 when I tried to hear anything under Cuba 15360; by 1451 there was some other talk audible there, presumably scheduled RFI in Persian (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15390, open carrier briefly at *1525 Feb 1, presumably VOA Greenville testing its Kreyòl frequency, as often noted before around this time. Would it be too much to ask to add some IDs or Yankee Doodles? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15500, a bit of SSB caught my ear at 1505 Feb 3 as I was engrossed in monitoring other 19mb activity, weak and intermittent so not sure if Spanish, but probably another intruder (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 17565, open carrier and intermittent tone test, Feb 3 at 1430, most likely IBB Greenville tuning up a transmitter used from 1730 in Creole; but why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. ``The station that reaches the beaches`` - 89.3 --- Heard this by meteor scatter back on July 25. On 89.3 ... "The station that reaches the beaches". Does this sound familiar? (Saul Chernos, Burnt River ON, 27 Jan 2010y, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) Stations reaching the beaches is what most of my DX life is based on, DXing lake inversion on the beach for so many years. I remember that post. The first place that would come to mind is Central Florida. I remember a slogan like that for a station that reached both shores (most of them do), but that could have been anyone. Surprised the West Michigan stations (aside from WNMC - Traverse City isn't in West Michigan) don't use a slogan like that. But the people who run half the stations in Grand Rapids don't know what they're doing anyway. More likely possibilities, although chances are it's really none of these anyway... would be the following: - WPRO-AM in Providence is most famous for that slogan for many many years. They're on 99.7 I think too, but I heard they may have recently stopped using that slogan. - WNMC 90.7 Traverse City... "the station that reaches the beaches with the Super Sound Survey from 11PM to 2AM EST" --- looked on Michiguide but didn't find anything that indicates they're on 89.3, so doubt it's them! - WMMS Cleveland uses that slogan starting on Memorial Day. Len Goldberg used to say "The station that reaches the beaches, shakes the lakes and rocks the rivers!" But too close for MS. - CKLW-AM Windsor used it too. Apparently they meant the far off beaches down south, being AM and all. [? Lake St. Clair, lotsa beaches in Ont and Mich --- gh] - WMMR Philly uses it too: "the station that reaches the beaches and rocks the shore." And when all else fails, you can always turn to Family Guy's Stewie: "HEYYYYYYYYYYY, WHAT'S UP, QUAHOG?! From the station that reaches the beaches, you're listening to Dingo and the Baby!" Alas, none of these that I know of are on 89.3 (Chris Kadlec, Icheon, Korea, http://www.beaglebass.com/dx WTFDA via DXLD) Wow, is this an example of adroit googling, or an incredible personal memory bank? (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Malaysia: 6th GLOBAL SHORTWAVE COORDINATION CONFERENCE Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1-5 February, 2010 The 6th Global Shortwave Coordination will be held from 1 to 5 February 2010 at the Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur. Participants of the three coordination groups, namely The High Frequency Coordination Conference (HFCC), the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) Coordination Group and the ABU-HFC Coordination Group, representing around 90% of the shortwave broadcasters in the world, will take part in this conference to coordinate shortwave frequency schedules for the A-10 (summer) season. As you are aware, the frequency channel situation for shortwave radio is always changing because of the 11 year solar cycle and seasonal effects, as well as because of new or changed frequencies of shortwave broadcasters around the globe. The Coordination Conference provides you and your organisation with a valuable opportunity to coordinate your frequencies directly with the frequency managers of other broadcasters and prevent interference occurring in your radio services. If you or your organisation is not present at this conference, elimination of interference in your shortwave services and preservation of your shortwave frequencies cannot be ensured. Therefore, we strongly suggest that you consider participating in this conference on behalf of your organisation. We are delighted to invite you and your organisation to actively participate in this conference. Please also copy this invitation to all your colleagues and to those who may be interested otherwise. Source: http://bit.ly/ad5Bq3 (ABU via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Jan 29, DXLD) Also linx to lots of documents OFFICIAL INVITATION TO THE EDXC CONFERENCE IN ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 30 -- OCTOBER 3, 2010. Dear DX -- Friends, Shortwave Radio Listeners all over the World ! The EDXC (European DX Council, the Umbrella Organisation of shortwave clubs, DX -- Clubs in Europe ) cordially invites you all to the next EDXC Conference, September 30 -- October 3, 2010, in Ankara, Turkey. We kindly ask you to make your hotel reservation already NOW ! Venue of the Conference : HOTEL DEDEMAN, ANKARA. Address : Akay Cad. Buklum Sok No. 1. ANKARA 06660, TURKEY. Phone : + 90 312 416 88 00. Fax : + 90 312 418 13 86. Homepage : http://www.dedeman.com Room reservation you send to : Mrs. Ozlem Gollu, E - Mail : ozlem.gollu@dedeman.com Single Room : EUR 91,80 / night, including VAT and Full Breakfast. Double room : EUR 113,40 / night, including VAT and Full Breakfast. If sharing the Double room you only pay : EUR 56,70 including VAT and Full Breakfast. The hotel accepts the following Credit Cards : Visa, MasterCard, Eurocard, American Express and Diners Card. PLEASE MAKE YOUR ROOM RESERVATION ALREADY NOW ! First you write : The special Password for this Conference Reservation : EDXC Conference in Ankara. Then you write your family name, your Christian name, your arrival date at the hotel, your departure date from the hotel. The hotel needs your credit card number at the time of reservation to be able to confirm your room. PLEASE OBSERVE : When you reserve your room, please inform me about your name (s), because I am producing the Name--Tags, and I have to know, that you are coming. The preliminary programme of the Conference looks like this : Thursday, September 30 : Arrival at the hotel, Registration from 12.00 Hours Ankara Time. Informal gathering in the bar / restaurant of the hotel from 19.00 Hours Ankara Time. Friday, October 1 : After breakfast at our hotel Visit at the Voice of Turkey, External Service in Ankara. Visit at the different studios, different languages. Lunch in the canteen of the Radio. Possible visit at the Shortwave Transmitter Antenna either in Çakirlar or in Emirler. This visit is subject to the permission from the Radio Management. Back to the hotel, late afternoon or evening free. Saturday, October 2 : After breakfast at the hotel : EDXC Conference in the Conference Room of the hotel. Internal EDXC matters and interesting lectures. If you would like to give some interesting lecture, please let me know -- as soon as possible. Lunch at our hotel. After the lunch : Sightseeing in Ankara with English speaking guide. Back to the hotel and in the evening the traditional Banquet Dinner at the hotel restaurant. Sunday, October 3 : Departure home or Tourism in Turkey. Please do not forget : This year Istanbul is one of the European Cultural Capitals. The Conference Fee is : EUR 96,-- per person. The Conference Fee EUR 96,-- per person you pay to me at the Regitration Table in the Hotel when you arrive on Thursday, September 30. This fee includes : Use of Conference Room at the hotel, relevant papers like Conference Covers, Name--Tags, Lunch on Saturday, Sightseeing Tour in Ankara and also includes the Banquet Dinner. For further information please do contact : Tibor Szilagyi, EDXC Secretary General, E -- Mail : tiszi2035 @ yahoo.com. Written on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 08:00 Hours U T. With very best wishes and greetings from Stockholm, Sweden, (T i b o r S z i l a g y i, EDXC Secretary General, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MUSEA +++++ PIONEERS WHO SHAPED THE SOUNDS OF RADIO Lee De Forest, Edwin Armstrong, David Sarnoff, William Paley and Edward Murrow helped develop the broadcast industry. Transcript of radio broadcast, 30 January 2010: http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2010-01-30-voa1.cfm Download (MP3, 3.6 MB): http://www.voanews.com/mediaassets/specialenglish/2010_01/audio/Mp3/se-pia-radio-pioneers-31jan10_0.Mp3 (via Dragan Lekic, dxldyg; via Yimber Gaviría, DXLD) BBC MONITORING EQUIPMENT U.K. BBC history. These Tatsfield photos at last provided with texts http://www.bbceng.info/Operations/Receivers/receivers_Top.htm http://www.bbceng.info/Operations/Receivers/Tatsfield/tatsfield.htm http://www.bbceng.info/Operations/Receivers/Crowsley/crowsley_park.htm (Vaino Lehtoranta, Finland, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 30 via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ A field test report on PLT prepared by Communications Research Centre (CRC) Canada has been submitted to the FCC as part of a recent ARRL response. The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) contracted the Communications Research Centre (CRC) to carry out Measurements of Electromagnetic (EM) radiation from Power Line Telecommunication (PLT) devices operating in a residential environment. The document describes the test procedure and results for the measurement of EM radiation to determine the extent of potential interference from PLT devices to broadcast services operating in a residential environment. The tests were carried out by CRC from November 2008 to January 2009. The report, Measurements of EM radiation from inhouse Power Line telecommunication (PLT) devices operating in a residential enviornment, can be viewed at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7020358568 The ARRL submission regarding ET Docket No. 03-104 and ET Docket No. 04-37; Broadband over Power Line Systems, can be viewed at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7020357803 Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) Docket Comments http://www.fcc.gov/oet/info/docket_comments/ Amendment of Part 15 Regarding New Requirements and Measurement Guidelines for Access Broadband over Power Line Systems (Current Systems, including Broadband over Power Line Systems - ET-03-104) http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/proceeding/view?name=04-37 (Southgate http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2010/canadian_plt_report.htm via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See also AUSTRALIA; BELGIUM; CANADA; ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CZECHIA; INDIA ``Is there anything we can do collectively to restore something of a bouquet of broadcasts to us via Sackville, Montsinery, Bonaire and Greenville?`` I don't know the economic or political case that supports SW broadcasting to the U.S. So John, is this a DRM question or a SWBC question? The Greenville transmissions were supposed to be tests of hardware that would eventually be used in other countries, IIRC (that's If I Recall Correctly not International Reply Coupon :-) > 4.) Is there anything afoot in the movement (now seemingly dormant) to try out DRM on MW frequencies in the U.S.; or in the 11 meter band with low power? Since I was one of those promoting the 11m concept, I'll take a swing at answering. When we started floating the idea of domestic DRM at 26 MHz, it was not clear that LPFM was going to be released from the legislative restrictions that artificially restricted the expansion of this type of station. We thought that DRM in the little-used 26 MHz band would be interesting to local programmers, language groups, classical music fans or others who might want to experiment with digital broadcasting, and who could not or did not get LPFM licenses. There was a vocal hilarity contingent who insisted that F and E layer propagation would make the 26 MHz idea quite ridiculous. Simulations done using accepted practices suggested that a local service really is feasible, but like scientists always say, "More study is needed." Unlike LPFM, which can't be licensed to private individuals, we thought the FCC might permit licensing a speculative new service to individual persons, as a way to lower entry barriers. But the expansion of LPFM seems more likely now, given changes in the political environment. Also, as is painfully known by our DRMNA community, receiver manufacturers and most international broadcasters have snoozed through the DRM scene. The consortium is driven primarily by transmitter manufacturers now. Without affordable and simple receivers, it is hard to demonstrate this service to prospective broadcasters or the FCC. An experimental 26 MHz station did go on the air in London. I recently had lunch with one of the principals behind this station. Unfortunately he could not decode the signal in his home 3 miles from the transmitter, which was running more than 1 kW. He believes building penetration is a key problem. A great deal of propagation science has been done on 26 MHz DRM at the Basque university in Spain. They believe in it. It might yet happen. But if DRM in the HF bands has a future, I'm told it is mainly in Asia and India (Benn Kobb, DC, Jan 23, drmna yg via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DTV PORTABLE I just got a new 7-inch portable TV made by Axion and I thought I'd pass on a quick review. It was on sale at Best Buy for $79.95, so the price was right. The picture is not HD, but it looks really good. The color level is not adjustable, but seems to be set to my liking. It has a brightness control. It comes with a built-in whip antenna or you can plug in an external antenna using the standard F-connector and an earphone jack. The speakers sound okay, but are nothing spectacular. The receiver is good for both NTSC and ATSC reception and the digital receiver is very sensitive. It works as well as my Insignia Converter Box for picking up the weak stations! It allows you to scan and add digital channels without destroying the original list, so it's good for areas where signals come from several different directions. A fully charged battery will operate the receiver for about an hour and 50 minutes, so it's not good for real long periods of use without having to plug it in, but would be great for things like checking signals from the antenna when up on the roof trying to find that "hot spot". It comes with a wallwart for use in the home and a cigarette lighter plug for use in the car. The only thing I don't like about the unit is the signal strength indicator. It shows only as "Good", "Bad" or "None", so you have no idea how good or bad the signal actually is. (I haven't determined yet as to what signal strength causes it to go from "Bad" to "Good".) Overall, I'm very pleased with the Axion portable TV.” (Larry Kenney out in San Francisco, Feb WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 For Immediate Release News Media Contact: January 29, 2010 Janice Wise (202) 418-8165 Email: janice.wise @ fcc.gov MEDIA BUREAU ADOPTS ORDER TO MODIFY FM DIGITAL AUDIO BROADCASTING TECHNICAL RULES TO EXPAND DIGITAL COVERAGE http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-296079A1.txt Washington, DC: The Federal Communication Commission’s Media Bureau adopted an Order that permits FM radio stations to voluntarily increase digital power levels up to ten percent of analog power levels and establishes interference mitigation and remediation procedures to promptly resolve complaints of interference to analog stations. These rule changes will substantially boost digital signal coverage while safeguarding analog reception against interference from higher power digital transmissions. In 2002, the Commission adopted the in-band on-channel digital audio broadcasting system developed by iBiquity Digital Corporation (“iBiquity”) as the de facto standard for FM station digital operations. Stations are currently permitted to transmit digitally at one percent of analog power. In June 2008, iBiquity, 18 group owners of 1200 radio stations and four major radio equipment manufacturers requested that the Commission increase digital power levels by 10 dB, i.e., to ten percent of analog power levels. Both iBiquity and National Public Radio have submitted detailed studies assessing the potential for improved digital service and increased interference to analog reception. The Bureau Order will: Permit most FM stations to immediately increase digital power by 6 dB, a four-fold power increase; Limit power increases for stations currently licensed in excess of class maximums, i.e., “super-powered” stations, to protect analog radio service from interference; Establish application procedures for power increases up to 10 dB; Establish interference remediation procedures that require the Media Bureau to resolve each bona fide dispute or impose tiered power reductions within 90 days; and Reserve the right to revisit the issue of digital power levels if significant interference results to analog reception. Action by the Media Bureau, January 27, 2010 by Order (DA 10-208). Docket 99-325. Media Bureau contacts: Susan Crawford or Peter H. Doyle at (202) 418-2700. TTY: (202) 418-7172. -FCC- (via Benn Kobb, DXLD) InsideRadio January 29, 2010 --- The FCC's Media Bureau has adopted new rules that allow stations to voluntarily increase their HD Radio levels up to 10% of their analog power. The power hike had been sought by broadcasters who complained their HD Radio signals didn't cover as much ground as their analog signals. Visit InsideRadio.com for more details (via Mike Terry, Jan 29, dxldyg via DXLD) HD Power increase - Links to FCC --- The CGC Communicator GC #994 January 30, 2010 Robert F. Gonsett, W6VR, Editor FCC Synopsis: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-296079A1.doc FCC Order: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-208A1.doc (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) MORE BAD NEWS FOR FM DXERS >From All Access Website a few moments ago.. FCC APPROVES HD POWER INCREASE FOR FM The http://www.allaccess.com/search?q=fcc&m=n FCC Media Bureau has adopted rules to allow FM stations to increase their digital http://www.allaccess.com/search?q=iboc&m=n IBOC signals' power up to 10% of their analog power. The rule change permits the power increase on a voluntary basis, giving stations the ability to increase digital power by 6 dB. Stations already grandfathered as "super- powered" facilities in excess of current class maximums will be limited to protect against interference. The new rules also establish application procedures for digital power increases up to 10 dB, and create remediation procedures to settle interference disputes within 90 days, and leave the issue of digital power levels open for revisitation if the new signals interfere with analog reception. The new rules will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register (via Rene Tetro, PA, IRCA via DXLD) I'm surprised it took this long for these rules to go through. I believe that the vast majority of damage has already been done when it comes to IBOC. The IBOC station count, per iBiquity, has been virtually at a standstill for the last several months, and I don't see a lot of stations sinking more money into this, especially outside of major markets. "Google Trends" is a fascinating way to track consumer interest in IBOC (or anything else for that matter). The chart for "HD Radio" is pretty impressive, in that there's less interest on Google than in 2006, after nearly 4 years and many millions in advertising: http://www.google.com/trends?q=HD+Radio&ctab=0&geo=us&date=all&sort=0 (Bryce Foster - KG6VSW, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (EM65), http://www.kg6vsw.com WTFDA via DXLD) It may not but as bad as it sounds, but we'll see. 102.5 WKLB has been testing at about 10% for quite a while now, and it hasn't been all that much worse than the rest of them. If nothing else, maybe it'll allow for a few new E Skip logs via the HD signal only (Jeff Lehmann - N1ZZN, Hanson, MA FN42NB, Sangean HDT-1X, Yamaha T-85, APS-13 ibid.) Is this ONLY about FM, not AM? (Patrick Martin, OR, IRCA via DXLD) It is unlikely to be POSSIBLE to increase the power on AM; that is, unless you shut down the AM part and move to digital only on frequency. There's no headroom in the transmitters (Powell E. Way III, ibid.) Aside from that, most people don't realize that AM IBOC had much higher digital power from the get-go - it's about 12 dB below the analog carrier power, compared with 20 dB for FM IBOC. Not to mention the fact that AM IBOC is generally considered to be an abject failure. Too bad the diehards refuse to turn it off, and the FCC won't force them to do so (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) Mike, To be honest, I don't think I have ever noticed IBOC hash on FM out here. I am not sure I have ever heard the hash on FM period. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, IRCA via DXLD) Patrick, It is overpowering AND is very subtle. There is a station down south of Fresno on 97.1 that came in well enough to get instant RDS hits. When KLLC/97.3 turned on IBOC, 97.1 was gone completely. When their IBOC has cut in and out or been turned off for any kind of maintenance, the 97.1 station is blasting in. I don't have a good analogy for the sound of FM IBOC, but I describe it as bacon sizzling in a frying pan. It`s not a good analogy, but it'll do. If you tune the FM band, listen for empty frequencies and pay attention to "really" empty frequencies. The ones that aren't "really" empty may be covered up by IBOC from adjacents. Around here, the IBOC hash masks adjacents up to 35-40 miles from the offending transmitter. The good thing is that I can drop into a valley between hills and weaken the IBOC enough to be able to listen to some or most of the frequencies that should be available (Mike Hawkins, CA, ibid.) Here it is; all 22 pages: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-208A1.doc (Dennis Gibson, CA, Jan 30, IRCA via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ CENTRAL NEW YORK'S EMERGENCY RADIO GOES DIGITAL By Douglass Dowty / The Post-Standard January 31, 2010, 6:00AM A new $102 million digital emergency radio system will link police, fire and rescue agencies in even the most remote areas, such as Oneida Lake's Big Bay, where members of the Brewerton and Constantia fire departments recently took part in an advanced ice rescue training class. [caption] Syracuse, NY -- A Camillus police officer who saw an unoccupied patrol car get hit from behind last month couldn’t alert 911 about the driver’s injury because of a “dead spot” in emergency radio coverage. A second officer heard the call and relayed the message. Onondaga County sheriff’s deputies and Syracuse officers experience a different frustration: Patrolling officers from the two departments cannot talk by police radio without asking a 911 dispatcher to connect them. . . Source: http://bit.ly/dDgxJj (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) NPR news story: LOW-FREQUENCY RADIO WAVES USED TO HELP PEOPLE IN CAVES TEXT FOR HELP Summary: the winner of the 2009 National Science Fair won it for adapting what seems to be a packet radio system for people trapped in caves, another possible use seems to be to save a cave's ecosystem from too many people messing around in it using transmitting data recorders Story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123116417 (via April Ferguson, Jan 31, DXLD) THE END OF TV DXING? It seems that just about everybody has heard or read about it. I’ve been mailed newspaper articles and I’ve been emailed links to online articles by concerned WTFDA members regarding the FCC proposal to grab another chunk of TV spectrum for wireless services, etc. Wasn’t it just yesterday that they took channels 52-69? Well, it sure seems like it and they still aren’t satisfied. Is this a done deal? I’m no expert but I don’t think so. After all, TV stations sure spent a heck of a lot of money to transition themselves to digital broadcasting. Was all that channel hopping and mandated converter box distribution unnecessary after all? If it was unnecessary, then why was Mike Aurio on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week telling us how to hook up our boxes and search for digital channels? Was it so the FCC could pull the rug out from under us and take even more channels? You can answer that one (Feb WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ WORLD TROPOSPHERIC DUCTING NETWORK Back in October, I received an invite from operator Leigh Rainbird (VK2KRR) down in New South Wales to join the new World Tropospheric Ducting Network group on Yahoo that he restarted. It has 16 members now and isn't quite as active as this group naturally. I don't think this was posted to this list before since I found Leigh through other modes of communication (his website is http://www.vk2krr.com/ for those also interested in tropo as he certainly is!!), so maybe this will help add a few members. So if you're interested in this sorta thing, feel free to check out the group here: http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/World_Tropospheric_Ducting_Network/ (Chris Kadlec, Icheon, Korea, 30 mi se of Seoul, 150 mi se of Pyongyang, [ex-Michigan western shore], Tvfmdx mailing list, WTFDA via DXLD) WTDN archives are closed, members only [Annular] Eclipse Monitoring 15th January 2010 by G. Victor A. Goonetilleke http://dxasia.info/features/eclipse20100115 (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, India, http://alokeshgupta.blogspot.com/ dx_india yg via DXLD) He got ``overwhelming`` results on tropical bands, MW, great increases in signal strength received in Sri Lanka. The eclipse path went right between SL and India, and he was slightly south of it (gh, DXLD) SUDDEN IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES This week we received a very interesting email from Richard Grubb, W0QM, an Associate of the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. Richard pointed out that the third paragraph of last week's bulletin Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP003 may have been confusing. He writes, "The term Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) is used today to replace Short Wave Fadeout (SWF) which was coined many years ago in the 1930s when the immediate effects of a solar flare on the ionosphere were first observed and correlated. The flare produces a sudden large increase in the flux of solar x-ray and far EUV radiation. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_ultraviolet which reaches the Earth at the speed of light. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_Ionospheric_Disturbance for more information. The radiation is absorbed in the ionosphere at D region heights (70-90 km) and produces an increase in ionization that acts to absorb signals that would otherwise be propagated via the F and E regions. The effect can be drastic and very obvious for large flares. These effects are quite independent of the polarity of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF). The IMF comes into play when there is a change in the strength and density of the solar wind reaching the outer boundary of the Earth's magnetic field. These changes can be due to solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that are generated at the Sun by explosive events often accompanying a flare. A CME, as a shock wave and accompanying sudden density enhancement takes hours to reach the Earth from the Sun. Other changes in the solar wind at the Earth occur as a boundary of the co-rotating spiral structure of the solar wind passes the Earth. The effects that these solar wind changes have on the Earth's magnetic field and the ionosphere are strongly dependant on the polarity of the magnetic field embedded in the solar wind plasma. If the north-south component is such that the fields couple (like attracting magnets) then the effect can be large, or small in the opposite case. The IMF does not protect the Earth against Solar Flares per se, but against the disturbances in the solar wind that may be solar flare produced. SIDs of course only occur in the sunlit hemisphere of the Earth. To cause an SID the flare can be anywhere above the visible solar rim. However flare or event position is very important in determining whether an event generated in the solar wind propagates to Earth. Events occurring on the eastern (left-hand side viewed from Earth) are generally better coupled for propagation to the Earth because the solar wind is dragged out into a spiral structure by the solar rotation. On January 20th we had both effects going on. There were several M class flares, the largest at 1755z, which would have produced a measurable SID; however, earlier in the day a co-rotating stream interacted with the Earth and produced a disturbance in the geomagnetic field that would also have created an ionospheric effect via the change in the distribution of the trapped radiation in the magnetosphere. The entire process of interaction between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere/ ionosphere system that can produce geomagnetic storms is complex and still the subject of active research. However the broad outlines are clear. As hams we probably want to have a simple picture of the solar effects on the propagation we observe. However the distinction between the prompt (SID) and the delayed solar wind carried disturbances is important and needs to be kept clear. It is the right hand (western) side of the Sun as viewed from Earth that is most strongly coupled to the Earth for events propagating through the interplanetary medium. Small events tend to follow the spiral magnetic field to the Earth. Large events can effectively force their way to the Earth from center or eastward locations on the Sun. The Stanford site http://solar-center.stanford.edu/SID shows how to monitor SIDs using simple VLF receiver monitors. One of the reasons that the term SWF was largely dropped in favor of SID was because, apart from the HF absorption, the prompt effects of the x-ray radiation from the Sun is a the change in propagation of VLF signals via the D region which can be readily monitored by the changes in amplitude and phase at a remote receiver. We used to use VLF monitors for solar flare detection at the SWPC (SESC) in the '50s and early '60s before we had the x-ray monitors on the GOES. See also http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/info/Iono.pdf and http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/info/Radio.pdf Thanks to Dick for a very enlightening message. (QST de W1AW Propagation Forecast Bulletin 4 ARLP004 From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA January 29, 2010 To all radio amateurs, via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) HYDRO QUEBEC Montreal is on the St-Lawrence river which boosts signals in virtually all directions! If the signal skips right over the 20 km or so of salt water between Dorval (south of Pierrefonds where I live) and the South Shore, then Latin American DX becomes second best to Cape Cod et al during prime conditions! (Bogdan Chiochiu, ABDX via DXLD) Bogdan, Your remark about the St Lawrence being salt water around Mtl got me to thinking, since I figured that far inland it would be fresh water. Maybe it`s common knowledge which is the case (or what percent is the case), but googling, I nevertheless found this at yahoo answers: Best Answer - Chosen by Voters Tadoussac, in the province of Quebec, marks the beginning of the St. Lawrence estuary, the place where the fresh water of the river meets the salt water of the Atlantic Ocean. That`s way up across and a bit further than Rivière du Loup. Now I suppose we could speculate on how much better salt water may be for DX than fresh water, if at all. 73, (Glenn Hauser, fresh-water OK, ibid.) Hello again! Do you think the small amount of fresh water (AT MOST 20 km or even less than 1 km in many areas between the MTL island and the ground) is enough? I think so and I still wonder why. I went inland in Montéregie and Lanaudière and Latin American DX on MW was VERY difficult! TA DX was impossible, yet at the house of some friends in eastern Montreal, I got Syria-783 once, so water really helps. That being said, another curiosity if the signals travel straight the lower frequency you go and also if you live in an apartment building with concrete ceilings, but a big window toward the south, that would null out unwanted domestic QRM and TA hets. May the good DX be with you! (Bogdan Chiochiu, ibid.) Geomagnetic field activity was predominately quiet during the period. The exception consisted of an isolated unsettled period observed at high latitudes from 31/1200 - 1500 UTC. Observations from the ACE spacecraft indicated a solar sector boundary crossing occurred at about 30/1100 UTC. The phi angle changed from a positive (away) angle to a negative (towards) angle, while solar wind velocity increased from 330 km/s at 30/1103 UTC to a maximum of 472 km/s at 31/0759 UTC. During the summary period, density peaked at 18 p/cc at 30/0524 UTC, while the Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field ranged between +7nT at 30/0527 UTC and -7nT at 30/0156 UTC. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 03 FEBRUARY - 01 MARCH 2010 Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels for the forecast period. 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. A period of quiet to unsettled activity is expected on 08 - 09 February due to a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream. A period of unsettled to active levels are expected on 16 February as a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream is expected to become geoeffective. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2010 Feb 02 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 Feb 02 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2010 Feb 03 75 5 2 2010 Feb 04 78 5 2 2010 Feb 05 80 5 2 2010 Feb 06 82 5 2 2010 Feb 07 85 5 2 2010 Feb 08 88 7 3 2010 Feb 09 90 7 3 2010 Feb 10 90 5 2 2010 Feb 11 88 5 2 2010 Feb 12 85 5 2 2010 Feb 13 82 5 2 2010 Feb 14 82 5 2 2010 Feb 15 84 5 2 2010 Feb 16 84 10 4 2010 Feb 17 84 7 3 2010 Feb 18 84 5 2 2010 Feb 19 84 5 2 2010 Feb 20 84 5 2 2010 Feb 21 82 5 2 2010 Feb 22 80 5 2 2010 Feb 23 78 5 2 2010 Feb 24 76 5 2 2010 Feb 25 75 5 2 2010 Feb 26 75 5 2 2010 Feb 27 75 5 2 2010 Feb 28 75 5 2 2010 Mar 01 75 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1498, DXLD) ###