DX LISTENING DIGEST 10-26, June 30, 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 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 1519, July 1-7, 2010 Thu 1500 WRMI 9955 Thu 1900 WBCQ 7415 Thu 2100 WRMI 9955 Fri 0030 WRMI 9955 Fri 0330 WWRB 3185 Fri 1430 WRMI 9955 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 0800 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 9515 [second, fourth, fifth Saturdays, maybe] Sat 1630 WWCR2 12160 Sat 1800 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 7290 Sat 1900 WRMI 9955 Sun 0230 WWCR3 4840 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1330 WRMI 9955 Sun 1515 WRMI 9955 Sun 1900 WRMI 9955 Sun 2330 WWCR4 9980 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Tue 1900 WBCQ 7415 Tue 2230 WRMI 9955 Wed 0030 WRMI 9955 Wed 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1900 WBCQ 7415 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/08:00:00UTC/English/541 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** ABKHAZIA. 9535, Abkhaz Radio is not on the air daily, noted on 23/6 at 0700 with news in Abkhaz, at 0800 news in Russian and 1 minute for relaying of FM Avto Radio and close/down at 0814. No broadcast was on next day and on 25/6 the broadcast was 0700-0730 only (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF-2001, Marconi antenna), July Australian DX News via DXLD) ** ALASKA. I keep seeing schedules for KNLS published showing them on two frequencies at a time; yet the WRTH May update said one of the transmitters was off the air, so all that was really airing were Mandarin, and one English at 1200 on 7355, no Russian. This was pointed out at the time in DXLD and in my reports, but no one seems to have confirmed by monitoring whether or not by now they are back with both transmitters. KNLS never said anything about a 50% outage on their website! So would those in a position to hear them easily, e.g. Anchor Point, Japan, China and Australia starting at 0800 please determine whether KNLS is really on one frequency or both? Thanks, (Glenn Hauser, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: From their website June 29: Current KNLS Broadcast Schedule Time Frequency (khz) Meters Language 0800-0900 11765 25 English 0800-0900 11870 25 Mandarin 0900-1000 9615 49 Russian 0900-1000 11870 25 Mandarin 1000-1100 11765 25 English 1000-1100 11870 25 Mandarin 1100-1200 11765 25 Russian 1100-1200 11870 25 Mandarin 1200-1300 7355 41 English 1200-1300 9680 31 English 1300-1400 9795 31 Mandarin 1300-1400 9920 31 Mandarin 1400-1500 11765 25 English 1400-1500 7355 41 Mandarin 1500-1600 11765 25 Russian 1500-1600 9920 31 Mandarin 1600-1700 11765 25 Russian 1600-1700 9920 31 Mandarin 1700-1800 11765 25 Russian 1700-1800 9920 31 Mandarin (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KNLS has redesigned its webpage, and now it seems in English there are no linx to Russian or Chinese! IIRC, the Chinese site had a completely different URL, and maybe the Russian too, but has the latter been removed since there are no Russian broadcasts? Surely not, as they are pushing webcasts. They still have the `complete` schedule as above but on one page admit that one of their transmitters is still down (Glenn Hauser, June 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: English: “What’s Going On?” July [sic], 2010 From Rob Scobey, Senior Producer for International English These are exciting times at KNLS. Many of you know that our transmitters and towers are in Anchor Point, Alaska, USA, and that we also have a major production facility near Nashville. Renovation of the Nashville studios is currently underway. New equipment is being installed. And training for studio personnel will begin soon. The remodeled studios will double our production capacity and update our equipment. The extra production capacity will be needed when KNLS- Alaska’s new sister station, Madagascar World Voice, hits the airwaves. You may be aware of the problems with one of the two Alaska transmitters. Problems continue, as the malfunctioning transmitter is 25 years old. The KNLS English Hour is currently available, on the second transmitter, one hour a day on 7355 khz on the 41 meter band at 1200 hours UTC. We hope to have the other three hours—which are shown on the broadcast schedule available soon. This month, the English Hour will continue to run encore presentations until July 31st. Then we’ll resume first-run programs. If you’re an internet listener, you may think, “This sounds familiar.” So enjoy your favorite English Hour reruns and realize that many shortwave radio listeners are hearing them for the first time. . . http://www.knls.org/whats-going-on.html (via Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Then I move on and find linx to Chinese and Russian pages via http://www.knls.org/family.html --- sure, that`s logical. The Russian looks unchanged, and includes a full schedule on two frequencies. Perhaps one of our Russian readers can peruse it whether they admit that Russian SW is really off the air. Yimber Gaviría listened to one of the English ondemand, including a DX talk about fading by Carl Mann. I think Mann`s contributions are ``evergreens``, undated, and probably run over and over and over. How many of them are there and how often do they repeat. Are there ever any new ones now? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Looks like we're going to hear a lot more from World Christian broadcasting - here are some links: http://ww.worldchristian.org World Christian Broadcasting http://www.smzg.org/ The KNLS webpages in Chinese http://www.smzg.org/Schedule_in_English.htm (with schedules in English) http://www.knls.net/ The KNLS webpages in Russian http://www.knls.net/rus/schedule.htm (with schedules in Russian) http://www.africanpathways.org "African English" - presumably the new Madagascar World Voice .... and there's supposed to be Spanish and Portuguese (presumably to Latin America) "coming soon" (Alan Roe (Teddington, UK), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That also to be from Madagascar (gh) 7355, USA (ALASKA), KNLS at 1206 in English with IDs, feature on useful websites, 1208 “Postcard from the Top of the World”. Fair, June 28 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Eton E1 and Sony An1 active antenna, listening from my car, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11765, 1703-, KNLS, Jun 29. Superb reception with English song, 'You're having a bad day'. At 1705:40 ID'd in Russian with address (Anchor Point, and zipcode), then into what happened in history during the next month. Marriage of Prince Charles and Diana. Loss of the cruiser Indianapolis. Life of Benito Mussolini, etc. Rather interesting programming. Very soft sell. Enjoyable EZL music (all in English) (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So that ties in with our comments about KNLS running one transmitter. So at least one Russian broadcast still exists, at that hour, instead of Chinese on 9920? (gh, DXLD) FYI, June 30, checked 11765 [at 14-15]. Could only hear CRI (500 KW), mostly in English with some Chinese. Nothing heard underneath and no het. Checked 7355: completely clear frequency with no hint of any carrier. Best regards, (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. 13755, R. Tirana open carrier from Shijak is already on at tune-in 1418 June 29; some ACI from DPRK in French on 13760, splash from CRI/Cuba 13740. 1428:40 the RT IS starts, 1430 sign-on with A-10 schedule including 0230 on 7425, but weakening now. Another check at 1450, was ending mailbag (Tuesday) with a report from USA for 7425, 1451 into music fill (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, straining to detect LRA36, Monday June 28 at 1424, carrier JBA, not 15475 compared to trace of RA on 9475 under huge WTWW splash. 15476, LRA36, finally showing a bit of audio, music only heard at frequent chex June 29 from 1330: 1337 as I am torn between this and Banjarmasin; 1345-1405 when sounded like drums and flutes, becoming JBA, 1406 slightly better but brief local 2-way FM image QRM. 1454 carrier still detectable along with a slightly stronger one on 15480 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476, 1500-, LRA 36, Jun 29. It's been years since I've heard them. No audio (below threshold), but clearly visible on the Perseus waterfall, 15 Hz high. Carrier cut at 1503:37. Hopefully, it'll propagate well enough to capture some audio (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 11710.55v, RAE, 0214-0237, June 30. In English; IDs; history of the Cervantes Theatre in Buenos Aires; LA songs; World Cup news; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC News Radio Test Transmission On 1152 kHz Dear Glenn. I trust this finds you well. Just to inform you that a test transmission from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was heard at Fish Hoek this week. The transmission is being broadcast from Busselton WA on 1152 kHz and is a new proposed ABC News Radio service for the Bunbury-Busselton area. A loop of the following pre-recorded announcement by ABC News Radio Breakfast announcer Glen Bartholomew was heard over a music bed: " ... Hi. I'm Glen Bartholomew, breakfast presenter with ABC News Radio and this is a test transmission for ABC News Radio in the Bunbury-Busselton area on 1152 AM. If you think this test transmission is interfering with other broadcasts please contact the ABC's Reception Advice Line on 1300 13 9994 - that's 1300 13 9994. ABC News Radio will commence broadcasting on this frequency once the test transmission is complete. If you would like to know more about ABC News Radio, why not visit our website at abc.net.au/newsradio. Thanks for listening and make sure you spread the news ... " An audio clip of the announcement heard at Fish Hoek during the evening of the 23rd June 2010 is available here. The test transmission, heard via the Sony SRF-M37V and 220 metre BOG directed towards Perth WA, was verified this morning by ABC Master Control. [later:] Hi Glenn, With reference to my previous email regarding the ABC News Radio test transmission on 1152 kHz from Busselton: The Australian Federal Government has pledged additional funding for the expansion of new ABC News Radio services into all centres around the country with populations of more than 10,000 (subject to the availability of spectrum) and will include over 80 frequencies by the end of 2010, according to the ABC News Radio website (ABC NewsRadio is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's national radio network providing continuous news and information 24 hours a day). The present ABC News Radio frequencies are listed at http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/listen/frequencies.htm 73, (Gary Deacon, Fish Hoek, Cape Peninsula, South Africa http://www.capedx.blogspot.com June 25, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. RADIO SYMBAN RETURNS TO SW IN ITS THIRD REINCARNATION Hi folks, Further to my announcement to Glenn Hauser's DX Listening Digest Yahoo Group last month re Radio Symban returning to SW: I can confirm that Radio Symban is now back on air 2368.5 kHz from its third SW transmitter site in Sydney's SW (Leppington). Noting the station on air today June 26, 2010 at 0125 UT. I'm unsure of the exact date this station came to air, but it is within the last 6 or 7 days. Also the SW antenna was removed from the former Marrickville SW site between May 10th & June 15th, 2010. Regards (Ian Baxter, June 27, Shortwavesites Yahoo Group via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) Station first heard at my location on (local date) 26 June. Was possibly still testing at that time, with frequent brief breaks in transmission (David Sharp, NSW Australia, June 28, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is received for the first time in Japan at 1535 UT on 24 Jun. http://www.youtube.com/user/guhuguhu777#p/u/9/4Bh_DdhtQfU by Hiro in Akita. and 1047 on 25 Jun. by Okamura in Kanagawa. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-Om41_pMlE and 1430 on 25 Jun. by Hiro in Akita. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsWI5Q0Yv8c YouTube channel of Hiro: http://www.youtube.com/user/guhuguhu777 (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, June 29, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This station heard now at 1130 UT reading S9 plus 20 dB near Melbourne on a low dipole for the 40 metre band on my Kenwood TS2000. Reception as good as the local Greek AM station a few kilometres away. But these Greek singers all seem to sound as though they have acute stomach ache to me! (Morrison VK3BCY Hoyle, Vic., June 29, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2368.5, 1153-, Radio Symban, Jun 30. They're back! At good level with Greek music at tune-in after a brief call-in segment. Best I've ever heard them as well! Into Greek announcement at 1159:15, then back to Greek music. Nice ID at 1235 noted, and still going strong. By 1244 starting to fade-down. One thing I've noticed, is that the AOR 7030+ is outperforming the Perseus SDR by a substantial margin with A/B tests using the same antenna (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 6230, 1333-, VMW, Jun 30. Excellent marine weather broadcast, with // 8113. VMC also audible at the same time, but not quite as strong on 6507 and 8176. Thanks to Ron Howard for providing the details via DXLD! Continued to 1349. Noted VMC continued past this time. They ended at 1354, with identical s/off as 'End of transmission from VMC for this part of the program'. Noticed that they came back at 1357 with a full schedule. Schedule was repeated an hour later (for both VMC and VMW). 12365, 1505-, VMC, Charleville, Jun 29. Marine weather talking about Kangaroo Island, isolated thunderstorms, etc. Fair reception. Parallels heard: 8176 (fair). Off before I could check any others (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 15525, at 2309 June 28, fair signal fluxuating to S9+10 with Christian hymn in Mandarin; can only be HCJB Kununurra a.k.a. ``KNX``. This and all their 15525 broadcasts, even Japanese, are registered 340 degrees, i.e. aimed at Hong Kong, across central China and Mongolia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DGIEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Re SAUDI ARABIA, buying DRM-ready transmitters: In reference to the media release -- it's obviously self-serving to Continental Electronics and the people behind DRM. Where --- has digital radio caught on? The digital radio group in Australia want everyone to think it's catching on in the capitol cities, when it isn't. I was recently in Brisbane, and several friends of mine in the media say digital radio is already "dead." They don't believe people will fork out money to buy digital sets, to replace their current radios. And those who have, find reception is very unreliable. I know of similar issues in Sydney, where people are being told to install "roof-mount aerials." I don't believe many people will go to the trouble of mounting an outdoor aerial to supplement digital reception, when analogue radios generally work throughout the house, and without the aid of larger aerials. And a friend of mine back in Tampa, Florida (who works for a major broadcast company) says, "HD radio is there, but everyone ignores it." Of course, Continental could force the issue by making all of their HF xmtrs DRM-capable (though I don't know if that's the case). 73s (David Sharp, NSW Australia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is it? ** BENIN [and non]. TA on the west coast??? The 1566 carrier faded out rapidly between 0525 and 0532 UT, after having been pretty consistent for the past half hour. Benin sunrise is at 0524 UT, rather incredible given that this is pretty much the shortest night of the year. Best wishes, (Nick Hall-Patch, Victoria, BC Canada, UT June 24, IRCA via DXLD) Hi Nick. If you and Walt do manage to pull something in, here's what it sounded like at s/on during one exceptional evening/morning last fall on this side of the continent: (Bill Whitacre, Alexandria, VA, ibid.) I remember several such receptions of this type _that always occurred in June_, at African s/on time, when I was DXing from Long Island NY. This was probably in 1980 +. The notable ones were Cotonou, Benin on 1475 (offset from 1476), Lama-Kara, Togo on 1503 and // 3222 (which was not a lot better and in fact had a lot more fading), and probably the most dependable was Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire on 1494. I recall once a visit from Chuck Hutton and I played him my tape of "ici Lama-Kara, radiodifusion nationale Togolaise" which was heard thanks to WTOP then signing off at 1 am daily back then. CH do you recall that visit? This were always pretty specific as to time of year, time of day, and frequency (very top end of MW band) and now your Benin log fits this pattern perfectly. These were far from daily loggings, but they did happen much more than just one-off's, but just only in June. I have no doubt these would have made it to the WC of NA for Bog/Beverage users. Back then no one had such antennas in the hobby world. These were heard on either a HQ-150 or NRD-515 (not sure I had the NRD then) and with a 3-foot indoor altaz "NRC" loop. I may still have that tape. I gave most of my tapes, a nearly new Sony CD burner, and an Otari MX-5050 pro tape deck to another DX'er in Florida who promised to copy all my tapes to CD for me, 2 years ago. but he never did so after the first one. But I have no way to play it, if it is still here, as he still has all that gear. That was when I moved. 73 (Bob Foxworth, FL, ibid.) Bob - You bet I remember. That was your Mineola place, right? I drove over from Connecticut or Newark or one of the nearby satellite transmission facilities where I was working. For me, TA DX was not as great at my inland location (in Atlanta way back then) but my best Africans were in the summer and never in the fall "DX season". When you were lucky enough to have little thunderstorm noise (a few nights a month if you were lucky) and good conditions (same comment), there they were: interesting stations like 1475 Benin, 1403 Guinea and Togo 1502 or was it 1503 then? 1403 Guinea was my best and most reliable, which was nice as they constantly played kora music and to this day I love the kora and go listen to it whenever possible in Seattle (rarely). Vive Toumani Diabate! (Chuck Hutton, ibid.) ** BOLIVIA. Re 10-25: Estimado Glenn, Con la referencia a mi log de R. Lipez, en 4796.5 kHz, excusa para el error. Yo "no" oí mencionar la identificación como R. Mallku, yo confirmé en la lista Aoki A10, y allí este listó como R. Mallku. Era mi error, yo me me había olvidado del cambio del nombre para R. Lipez. Gracias por la corrección, yo espero esta nota se publica en la próxima edición (Marcio Martins Pontes, Registro - SP, Membro DXCB, June 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 3310.06, R. Mosoj Chaski, 1134, Spanish, ads with several local references. Already fading into the mud. 23 June. 4699.966, Radio San Miguel, 1118, Spanish, time check by man, ad string, reference to "Riberalta." Fair to good. 23 June. 4716.64, Radio Yura, 1125, Spanish, presumed with talk by man, followed by huaynos. Weak and warbly carrier. 23 June. 5952.35, Radio Pio XII, 1142, Spanish (or possibly Quechua), poor with talk by a man. Only partially readable in LSB, to escape 5955 slop. 23 June (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF-2010, ICF- SW7600GR, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 3310.057, Radio Mosoj Chaski, Cochabamba, 0935 CP musica, ID by hombre y mujer. 23 June 4451.240, Radio Santa Ana, Santa Ana de Yacuma, 0000 CP music with om, better than usual signal, 25 June 4787.754, Radioemisora Ballivián, San Borja, Beni, noted 0000 to 0020 on 24 June. [another log below near frequency] 4795.87, Radio Lipez, Uyuni, 1010 YL with music, fair under t-storm 23 June 5580.2, Radio San José, San José de Chiquitos, 0000 noted on 25 June, 23 June same time 5952, Pio XII, Siglo Veinte, 0110-0130 with narrow filter, YL en español. Viva Mi Patria Bolivia http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=tG5CFRu8wsM&feature=related (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro DL - NRD 535D - Drake R 7, 60 meter band dipole ~ Noise Reducing Antenna, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4787.50, Radio Emisora Ballivián, 1050-1100, Noted a weak signal here with music being presented. At 1054, heard brief comments by a male in Spanish, then the music continues. The copy isn't solid due to lateness and noise that is overwhelming (Chuck Bolland, June 29, 2010, WinRadio G305e/pd, 26.37N 081.05W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I assume you presume this based on the exact frequency (gh, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6025, Red Patria Nueva, La Paz, 1042-1049, June 27, Aymara News programme. All in Quechua [?]. 34433. 6165, Radio Logos (presumed), Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1050-1102, June 27, Spanish. Religious program in Spanish, 24442 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Educadora de Limeira em 2380 kHz --- A Emissora de Limeira, a única emissora ativa no Brasil em 120 metros, estava realizando testes com o transmissor de 2380 kHz durante o dia. Sem querer estava rodando meu banda corrida e a sintonizei. Provavel mente a diretoria da emissora pretende recolocá-la no ar, em virtude de cartas recebidas de ouvintes de muito longe. Peço aos colegas que tentem sintonizá-la à noite, quando a propagação se torna viável para ondas tropicais, e postem aqui na lista. Como o TX está em testes, não é certeza de que esteja no ar por esses dias, mas já é uma boa notícia. Vamos aguardar a confirmação. 73 (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira sp, 24-6-2010 quinta-feira, radioescutas yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) Educadora de Limeira de volta, 2380 kHz --- Caros Amigos, Ontem, por volta das 22:00 [UT or UT -3?] consegui sintonizar a radio Educadora de Limeira - 2380 KHz com sinal baixo, mas bem perceptivel na zona rural de Paracatu (Mg). Um forte 73 para todos! (George Cunha, 27 June, radioescutas yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 3375.476, Brasil, Rádio Municipal, São Gabriel da Cachoeira 0950 Brasilian om and musica 23 June (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro DL - NRD 535D - Drake R 7, 60 meter band dipole ~ Noise Reducing Antenna, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4754.85v, R. Imaculada Conceição, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, (presumed), 0147-0210, June 30. In Portuguese with religious program and songs; still heard at 0343 (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 5939.88, Radio Voz Missionária, 0305-0400, June 27, Portuguese preacher. Lite instrumental music. Poor to fair. Weaker on // 11749.95 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Bandeirantes de São Paulo continues to transmit spurious signal at about 5995 kHz (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, June 24, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 19 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. EMISSORA PIRATA BRASILEIRA ESTÁ DE VOLTA AO AR A “Cidade Oldies SW Radio”, é uma emissora pirata brasileira, que opera com um transmissor valvulado de baixa potência, nas freqüências de 8000 e também em 16935 kHz. O esquema de emissões, com horário de Brasília [UT -3], é: 16935 kHz Durante o Dia Todo Até as 19:00 horas, e em 8000 kHz Durante a parte da manhã até 12:00 e das 15:00 até as 19:00 e das 00:00 ate as 03:00 horas. A escuta desta emissora não é fácil devido a pouca potência da emissão, mas aqueles que conseguirem, podem enviar o informe de recepção por E-Mail, para o endereço cidadeoldies @ live.nl que receberão, com certeza, o respectivo cartão QSL da emissora, também por meio de E-Mail (DX NEWS - N. 03 – ANO I - 01 de julho de 2010 http://sharex.xpg.com.br/files/5101496574/DX_NEWS_03__2_.pdf.html via DXLD) QSL? Positivo Amigos, ja distribuimos vários QSL´s eletrônico ano passado quando a gente transmitia em 7695 kHz. Esse ano os informes foram modestos devido a péssima propagação. Contamos com vc´s. um forte 73 r Use Boas antenas e diga não ao ruido eletrico, (from "Cidade Oldies SW Radio" June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9564.57, Super Radio Deus é Amor, Curitiba PR, 0330-0350, June 27, usual emotional Portuguese preacher. Some religious music. Weak. Poor with adjacent channel splatter. Better on // 11765. // 6060 - very weak under Cuba (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL [non]. R. Aparecida via WRMI with Encontro DX --- see U S A ** CANADA. 6069.964, CFRX, 0744, English, long ad string, reference to a toll-free "877" phone number. Then at 0747, "You're listening to the ---?--- Show..." Fair. 16 June (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF-2010, ICF-SW7600GR, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. 6110, 0504-, Radio Japan, Jun 28. Radio Havana Cuba was broadcasting well over Radio Japan until 0505, and then either left an open carrier on (I think) or left the air, leaving the Sackville in the open at good level (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RHC supposed to QSY to 6150 by 0500 (gh) ** CANADA. 17860, surprised to hear classical music with guitar by Rodrigo, June 25 at 2103. Finally at 2110 RCI started its Portuguese broadcast late after apparent fill music for some reason. It`s Fri- Sat-Sun only at 21-23 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. MONTREAL TRIP --- My wife and I went to a convention in Montreal last week and also visited Quebec City. Of note on the PL-300: MONTREAL: CKGM-990 - not a great signal in town. Something readable under but I didn't hang around long enough to see if it was Rochester or CBW. I find it interesting that a country which is losing AM stations coast to coast embraces use of the X-band. 600, 690 and 940 are just sitting there while 1610, 1650 and 1690 are not exactly saturating the marketplace (I vaguely recall 1410 has been applied for). QUEBEC CITY - only one AM station left, CHRC-800. Amazing (Pete Taylor, Tacoma, WA, June 28, NRC-AM via DXLD) What gets me is that the Canadian government is encouraging stations to move off AM; some are turning in their licenses, yet the government will not allow US licensees to seek use of the frequencies. For example, if CHYR-710 is off, and has no interest in going back, then why not let someone stateside use 710? (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) Why should they? If Canada decides to use the frequencies in the future, then that is their right. Doesn't the U.S. have enough stations? I am glad Canada is holding on to the channels. Otherwise, we would have more QRM to deal with as DXers. Living in the NW, many OR/WA stations have to protect the Canadians and they null me. Most DXers will be for less stations, not more. hi. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside, Oregon, "Come visit us for the 2010 IRCA convention held Sept 24-26 at the Inn At Seaside", ibid.) Don't know, Pat. It just doesn't make any sense to me. And since Canada's put the nail in the coffin of Eureka, one has to wonder what their grand plan is. I saw an FCC action for investigating 1.3 GHz. Maybe the FCC is going to toss the IBOC stuff up into that spread of frequencies. :) (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) I know some of the vacated channels are going for Ethnic groups. 1200 Victoria BC went to Vancouver for a Punjabi. Hopefully the IBOC would go to 1.3 GHz, but as set as stations are, and remembering the earlier NAB conventions, they wanted "In Band On Channel", as they did not feel people would be interested in buy new radios. Of course the old radios will not receive 1.3 GHz. Locally, New NW Broadcasters did not go ahead with the CP for 1700 (Glad they didn't too), as they felt few would tune up the dial that far, so they decided to use 1230 for Sports, after the demise of Air America. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside, Oregon, ibid.) Seriously, though, the FCC has made its future plans for spectrum quite clear: it considers the one-to-many broadcast model to be the past, and the one-to-one wireless broadband model to be the future. If some of that spectrum (actually in the 1.7 GHz range, at least in the FCC notice of inquiry that came out yesterday) is released for new use, it would be as part of the Commission's national broadband initiative, and you'll see it go to Google or AT&T or Verizon via auction. It's not going to just get given away to broadcasters, and no broadcaster's going to pay for it to put on digital signals that nobody can hear. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) It occurs to me that 1.3-1.7 would be ideal for the digital boys. After all, most of the people commenting that are pro-IBOC say that they don't really care about skywave, and just want to serve their city grade and a portion of b-grade. So this would work for them, and not cause propagation issues. But that's silly, because we know they want to cause interference to drive other stations out of business. :) (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) ** CANADA. CANADIAN BROADCASTERS START TURNING OFF DAB TRANSMITTERS June 24, 2010 Radio World by Leslie Stimson http://www.radioworld.com/article/102542 I wrote last fall that digital radio in Canada had stalled; now it seems the DAB portion of that country's digital radio technologies is spiraling down. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. told its regulator, the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission, it was shutting down four digital transmitters in Montreal that had been broadcasting the Eureka-147 DAB signal since 1998. The signals are CBME-DR-1, CBM-DR-1, CBF-DR-1 and CBFX-DR-1 Montréal, Quebec. The CRTC last week revoked the licenses at CBC's request. According to the World DAB Forum, proponents of the DAB technology, the Eureka-147 technology launched in Canada in late 1999. Stations in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver started broadcasting that year, with others added in Ontario in 2000 and Ottawa in 2003. There were 73 licensed DAB stations in Canada as of March, according to the DAB website. The CRTC itself recognized that the Canadian DAB rollout had stalled by 2006 for several reasons, including what it said was a lack of affordable receivers, and that the buildout had only been in large markets. Contributing to the receiver issue is that most of the countries using DAB are broadcasting on Band III (174-230 MHz), a VHF band, while Canada is using L-band, which in that country extends from 1452 to 1492 MHz. Both English and French must be accommodated in DAB receivers; the U.S. decision to go with a different digital radio technology meant that receiver makers needed to manufacture or adapt units solely for the Canadian market, an expensive proposition. The large-market-only rollout complicated life for the auto industry, which hoped that more stations between the metros would transmit digital signals; when that didn't happen, automakers in Canada switched their support to digital satellite radio, the CRTC said. Noting the stalled DAB rollout, in 2006 the CRTC made a number of changes to spur the DAB effort, like allowing stations to air programming that differed from analog on the digital channels. That's also when it began allowing FM IBOC test transmissions on, ironically, the CBC in Toronto and Peterborough, Ontario and now allows stations to use FM IBOC on a voluntary basis. Broadcasters beyond the large border markets have resisted installing the new equipment required to be part of a transmission "pod" in which five stations occupy no more than 20% of the bandwidth of one 1.5 MHz channel. Each station enjoys roughly the same coverage area and power level. I've heard for a while that Canadian broadcasters were waiting to see what the U.S. was going to do with IBOC before officially committing to a digital technology other than DAB. Two key differences between DAB and IBOC may help IBOC's cause in Canada. The DAB technology is digital-only, using L-band, with no fallback to analog like the iBiquity system. Canadian broadcasters aired simulcasts of their analog programming on their digital channels, unlike HD Radio's multicast channels. Still, the issues of needing to invest in new digital transmission equipment remain in an economy that's still getting back on its feet (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. WWCR had been inbooming on 15825, so a sporadic-E opening into VHF was possible, but did not turn on TV until 1502 UT June 29. Tho antenna aimed south, was getting analog English on channel 5, so quickly rotated northward. It`s CBC with World Cup Paraguay vs Japan from the NNW, and also // channels 2, 3, and 4 fading in and out. Obviously from Saskatchewan area with possible intrusions from neighboring prairie provinces. Catching definite local IDs difficult, but the usual suspects I have reported before. DX Sherlock shows 6m activity mostly east-west across northern tier of states, so I am at right/acute angle to the major paths. All times UT! 1506 on 2, fashion show in English, with CCI 1509 on 6, ad in English, CTV logo, during ``Fashion Television`` show which has a logo of a large T on screen and on interview mixe. This is on the CTV net at 9-10 am CDT as in MB, but this scheduling fits for CST from Sask an hour later, i.e. CKCK Regina. Still at 1540. 1515 on 4, The View with Whoopy et al., the CDT zone scheduling for MB CTV stations, but also simul at 11 am EDT from Ontario. CCI from another station in English, not CTV or CBC. 1555 on 3, FIFA in French, no doubt CBWFT Winnipeg. 1557 on 4, CTV promo Skywatch weather radar on your PC. 1559 on 3, Moose Jaw entertainment ad. Main MJ station is of course on ch 4, so I suppose CFQC-1, as the other ch 3 in southern Sask are CBC. 1600 on 6, briefly see 6x9 on screen; could that refer to a station whose main channels are those? 1605 on 3, The View, so CTV from CST Sask, mixing with CBC WC. 1610 on 4, Regis & Kelly, mixing with CBC vuvuzelas. This is scheduled on CFTO and CKCO in Ontario at 9-10 am EDT = 3 hours earlier. In the US it`s syndicated to individual stations rather than on a single network altho it`s produced at ABC New York; how about Canada? Did not find any listings for it from zap2it in Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay. Show`s own website ignores Canada, with drop-down ``local listings`` only for states, not provinces: http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/regisandkelly/local_listings.html Or could it be something even rarer, a US LPTV station still in analog? The only one in the area per dxinfocentre map is KGJC in Montana. Googling on calls gets little except a cache of W9WI as of May 16 showing: ``Great Falls , MT [4] KGJC-LD 0.300 0.00 47-27-52.40N 111- 21-17.80W LD-CP ||||| Great Falls`` But the current W9WI has removed it completely! Nor do those calls show on any other Montana channel. It was only a CP on 4, anyway. FCC TV Query also unlists that call for anywhere, and no channel 4 for Great Falls. Regis site doesn`t include it either. Then I check Calgary listings at zap2it.com --- Regis is on CFCN ch 4 at 10 am MDT, check! Please tell Regis in New York about this. [CTV having exclusive broadcast rights in Canada has the Canadian website for Regis And Kelly. I've seen R&K via analog E's a time or two this past month. http://shows.ctv.ca/liveWithRegisAndKelly.aspx (Fritze H Prentice Jr, KC5KBV, Star City, AR, WTFDA via DXLD)] 1615 on 4, infomercial? About Canadians adopting Afrokids, mentioned Worldvision. That`s sked on Global at 11 am CDT but no Global on 4 in Manitoba. CHFD Thunder Bay Ontario? No, not sked at all on that station. Chex at 10 am CST for CFSK from Saskatoon, Global. 1615-1700, mix of stations, nothing dominating for long, ch 2-4. 1700 on 2, WC finally over, ``CBC News Network`` audio ID starting with imminent EIIR Royal Tour of Canada. 1738 on 2, I now find 2 peaking from the NE with CBC Queen coverage, from a naval ship? Soldiers lined up in formation. Signals are weakening, not much left above 2. I had `hoped` the TVDX opening was over as I dispatched my last report, but it lingered, so continuing, June 29: 1812 UT on 2, Calgary local noon news in UT-6 MDT zone; 1818 promo Global-Calgary, i.e. CICT. 1812 UR on 4, local news; 1815 mention Alberta Health Services, i.e. CFCN Calgary; recheck 1854, local weather for different cities, M&W anchors; 1859 a bit from Aasif on The Daily Show as stinger. After that, opening does disappear (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. 7220, R. Bangui, (tentative) Bangui. June 28, 0645-0712 male and female talks in vernacular, rap in French, female in French “Afrique”, African music, male in French, High Life music back male. Degrading, stronger than 2008 listenings, 24432 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - Dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That would be very interesting, as has been inactive. HCJB supplied a new low-power one-frequency transmitter, supposedly for 5035, where something has also been reported. Aoki does list 7220 R. Bangui 0600-1630 1234567 French/Sango 20 ND Bangui CAF 01835E421N --- which is no doubt an old entry. WRTH 2010 says 7220, 50 kW, irregular at 07-17; ID should be R. Centrafrique, not R. Bangui. But nothing else is scheduled in French: RFI uses 7220 at 04-05 only, so possibly extended; and R. Farda via Kuwait at 0530-0930 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 15490, VoA via Tinang. Poor in Tibetan under Firedrake at 0554, // 15265 Udon Thani behind and not as good also under Firedrake (John Adams, Beech Forest Vic (JRC NRD-535, Ewe and Folded Dipole), July Australian DX News via DXLD) date? I noted Firedrake on 13100 at a good level this morning at 1115, gone at 1130 recheck. 24 June (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake June 25: 9380, good at 1141, and still at 1217 none others found 8-19 MHz until: 13680, good at 1233, // 9380. Aoki shows: 9380 and 13680*SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng 0000-2400 1234567 Chinese 0.1 ND ? TWN 11955E 2610N SOH a10 14700, good at 1235. Firedrake June 26: none at all found 8-19 MHz, 1308-1326. CNR1 jamming June 26: 15265 at 1323 unusually with a het around one semikilohertz, so something`s off or additional to the usual blockage of RTI. OTOH, the Taiwanese are notorious for not being able to keep their transmitters on-frequency; Tanshui site listed in Aoki at 13-14 only. But have not noticed het before on 15265. Firedrake June 27: from 1320 to 1335, found nowhere 8-18 MHz except: 14700, fair at 1334. Firedrake search June 28: None heard, 8-16 MHz before 1400; nor 16-19 MHz at 1406-1408. Before 1400, CNR1 jammer vs BBC on 15285 audible; and weaker on 15265 vs RTI, again with het. By 1416, BBC atop 15285 with ``BBC Guangbo Diantai`` ID mentioning forbidden areas, Xizang and Taiwan. Firedrake June 29: started scanning 18 MHz downward at 1315. 15560, fair at 1319. Aoki shows V. of Tibet via Tajikistan at 1230- 1330 on 15547, but also several other frequencies in area including 15562 at 1200-1230 only; but no doubt shifts day to day if not minute to minute. Did not pin this down to 15560 instead of 15562. See 15530: 15530, fair at 1336 // 14970, and now 15560 is off. Aoki shows V. of Tibet via Tashkent on 15530 only at 1330-1400 15140, fair at 1323, // 15560; 1324 into ``ramshorn`` passage; still FD at 1408 // 14970, with 15530/15560 now off. Tough luck, Sultanate of Oman; but FD gone at 1452 check 14970, fair at 1325, 1408; gone at 1452 13970, JBA at 1325 with het, unusual no others heard by 1330 down to 8 MHz 11500, fair at 1457, not heard earlier, so quickly rescanned 8-18 MHz before 1500 and found no others. Firedrake check June 30 at 1352-1400: nothing except possibly JBA on 13970. Anyhow, note that Sound of Hope, and consequently Firedrake have been good boys for quite some time keeping out of the 20m hamband (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Re 10-25: China Radio International // interference with Vividh Bharati Hello Arnab, Some extremely valid points. You are absolutely right about that analogy with Spamming. However, just as in spam, sometimes good material does get filtered out such as CRI’s excellent programme called Spotlight (or something similar) where they highlight a Chinese singer/performer. I have heard it a few times and must admit they do a good job. It helps that I like world music. Regards (Ashok Satpathy, India, June 23, dx_india yg via DXLD) Continued under INDIA ** CHINA [and non]. CRI ADDS A NEW AFFILIATE IN HOUSTON A few months after showing up on KGBC 1540 in Galveston, China Radio International is now being carried on KYND 1520, licensed to Cypress, Texas, which is just northwest of Houston. So the market is now being covered from both sides with CRI programming. Both stations appear to be running the "Easy FM" domestic service produced by CRI, which is broadcast in a number of major Chinese cities. The 2010 WRTH also lists some other English language domestic services under the CRI umbrella, so it is possible the content we are hearing here in Houston is a mix of these? Programming was NOT // to CRI's shortwave output at the times I checked this evening (Steve Luce, Houston, TX, June 23, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You would be very surprised at the amount of people with in CRI that disagree with this move. CRI's domestic programming is not suited for an international audience (Keith Perron, Taiwan, ex-CRI, ibid.) Apparently this is a daytimer, plus critical hours, perhaps dependent on KOKC sundown. 3 kW, reduced to 2.6 kW, one major lobe to the ESE. http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?list=0&facid=40696 (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) My reply: why would anyone want to relay CRI? I presume this network is more palatable than CRI's shortwave fare! As a sidebar: stumbled upon CRI the other night (and I mean "stumble", as I'd never go out of the way to intentionally listen), only to hear two Canadian-accented men talk about Miley Cyrus' new music video. I'd rather hear the readings of Chairman Mao! (At least that would constitute Chinese content, as opposed to their current programming, which mirrors the BBC, VOA etc.) (David Sharp, NSW Australia, ibid.) CRI's SW output seems to consist mostly of relaying its domestic service, Easy FM. Sometimes I wonder if CRI still produces programming for the overseas audience. Whenever I stumble upon CRI English it sounds like a local Chinese station. The female host even speaks Chinese at times, translating the key announcements (Sergei S., June 24, ibid.) The year before I left CRI this discussion was taking place. The newsroom was joined with the internet department. The features department was joined with the domestic service. If you speak to the staff, all of them are more concerned about CRI's domestic audience. The overseas audience less so than a few years ago (Keith Perron, ibid.) Hi Sergei (and everyone), The few times I've heard CRI, it always seems the announcer is British, Canadian, maybe even American. I have been tricked a few times, in thinking I had the BBC, when it was really CRI. And last night, when I heard the discussion about Miley Cyrus, I first thought it could have been a "Hollywood-spotlight" type of show from the Voice of America. I admit, I've not listened to an entire CRI broadcast, mainly because it seems very bland and mainstream, and NOT Chinese. One thing I think we'd all agree on: in the "old days" of Radio Peking, then Radio Beijing, there was never confusing the station with the BBC or VOA. It was distinctly "Chinese." Regarding the Houston CRI relay. Question is, does CRI offer their programs for free, or at minimal cost? That would be one reason to go with them, in a market which has a Chinese population. And most networks also want commercial "clearance". If this isn't the case with CRI, and the affiliate retains all commercial slots, it would make them more attractive. Would like to know a little more about this from anyone who can get CRI domestically in the U.S. 73s (David Sharp, NSW, ibid.) David, Actually, CRI pays top dollar to buy air time at local stations worldwide. That's the reason for those relays popping up here and there. Naturally, no commercials are sold within CRI slots (Sergei S., WORLD OF RADIO 1519, ibid.) Actually, CRI is following the same distribution model as the BBCWS - namely, local MW and FM. RFI and DW have also done this extensively in Africa and South Asia as have RA and RNZI in the Pacific island nations and southeast Asia. Even BBG outlets like the VOA have pursued plans like this. Up here in the Northeast, I hear several hours of CRI at night via 1540 Toronto [CHIN] (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) Only two FM relays as per this list: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2010/03/30/2141s559997.htm And CRI podcasts in case you missed anything. http://english.cri.cn/cribb/index.htm (Terry Wilson, MI, ibid.) Sergei is Right, This following mail explains how much they pay (Partha Sarathi Goswami Siliguri, West Bengal, India, ibid.) Viz.: [dxld] CRI English & Bengali on FM in Bangladesh May 26 --- Bangladesh Betar and China Radio International (CRI) signed a three year agreement on May 17, 2010 under which Bangladesh Betar will re-broadcast CRI Bengali program every day at 1830 - 1930 BST (1230-1330 UT) on 103.2 MHz FM in Dhaka and 105.4 MHz FM in Chittagong simultaneously. English program of CRI will also be re-broadcast every day at 1730 - 1830 BST (1130-1230 UT from Dhaka station on 103.2 MHz FM. (1+1+1 = 3 hrs of Transmitter-AirTime - PSG, India) For the re-broadcast service, Bangladesh Betar will earn about US$ 50,000.00 annually. CRI will provide technical assistance to Bangladesh Betar & will also extend training facilities for employees of Bangladesh Betar. Md. Mahbubul Alam, DG Bangladesh Betar and Mr. Wang Yu, Political Counselor of Chinese Embassy in Dhaka signed the agreement. High officials of Ministry of Information and Bangladesh Betar were present on the occasion. (Source : Bangladesh Betar) (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, http://alokeshgupta.blogspot.com/ May 26, dxldyg already via DXLD) ** CHRISTMAS ISLAND. "This is radio station VLU2 1422 AM Christmas Island signing off`` December 31, 1980. I picked it up off a Glenn Hauser show on Radio Canada International (RCI) during that time period. Pictures are of Christmas Island http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1J5sZ2i7gg (Terry Wilson, MI, June 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. 5954.21, 15.6 2300, Radio República med sign on. Men börjar genast driva ner i frekvens som vanligt mot 5954,15.. Sign off 0224. Mycket stark. Men frågan är vad detta är för en station och var den sänder ifrån. AHK 5954.21, 15.6 2300, Radio República with sign on and at once starting to drift down in frequency towards 5954.15 as usual. Sign off at 0224. Very strong. But the question still remains regarding the station and the location of the transmitter. AHK (Anders Hultqvist, Dalarö, Sweden, SW Bulletin June 27 translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I haven't bothered checking in about a week -- with the Cuba jammer present last check -- but ELCOR Radio República is in the clear right now, June 26 0020+ GMT, 5954.16. Odd that it is not jammed (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. 9630, 0146-, Radio Exterior España, Jun 27. 100% copy [DRM] with an English ballad being sung. 23 dB SNR. Otherwise not a whole lot being heard so far tonight. Spanish ID at 0154 for REE. Off suddenly at 0159:30 without announcement (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHES NEW REPORT ON MEDIA REPRESSION IN CUBA Cuba’s repressive legal system has created a climate of fear among journalists, dissidents and activists, putting them at risk of arbitrary arrest and harassment by the authorities, Amnesty International said in a report released today. The report Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Cuba highlights provisions in the legal system and government practices that restrict information provided to the media and which have been used to detain and prosecute hundreds of critics of the government. Read/download the report (PDF) http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/005/2010/en/62b9caf8-8407-4a08-90bb-b5e8339634fe/amr250052010en.pdf (June 30th, 2010 - 14:40 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** CUBA. Hi Glenn, I have been hearing RHC on 5040 kHz with good signal here in Rio de Janeiro, the first time I got it was during the DX program, by the way, with info about contests and new frequencies. Signal good. My question is, what´s the point with this frequency, propagation issues affecting higher frequencies? Regards (Sarmento Campos, Brasil, condiglist yg via DXLD) Sarmento, Arnie Coro`s explanation was that 5040 is for better close- in coverage of the Caribbean and Cuba itself, much like R. Rebelde on 5025, with the same kind of high-angle antenna. It replaced 13790 at least for the English broadcast at 2300, and 13790 would certainly have a much larger skip zone, altho it should be propagating OK in our summer. However, as we all know, both 5025 and 5040 are not restricted at all to ``near-vertical incidence skywave`` but reach far beyond as long as there is darkness. They do hold up during the daytime at shorter ranges. 73, (Glenn, ibid.) Thanks for the explanation, it's really very interesting. And if we consider all propagation phenomena that's currently on, we can see some little bit different behavior in practice, than the expected one. Regards (Sarmento, ibid.) ** CUBA. 11760, RHC June 25 at 2112 in Spanish // 15370, 11730, rather than scheduled French at 21-22 on 11760 only; I wonder if English was also missing at 20-21? You never know with RHC`s lackadaisical operation. 11760, RHC, June 26 at 2040 in English with Valverde reading stamp show script, always with political content. So at least this day, English not replaced by Spanish like happened to French during the following hour yesterday. 13680 missing again, Sunday June 27 at 1340, but hardly necessary since 13780 is inbooming with DX program ``En Contacto``, another episode in the almost-50-year history of RHC, reminiscences of revolutionary jailbirds who listened to it in racist South Africa, Uruguay, and primarily Paraguay; followed usual birthday greetings to listeners and staff at outset 1335. RHC Esperanto weekly confirmed on 11760 at 1525 Sunday June 27 check: the big 95th world Esperanto congress is imminent in July in Havano, the movement having been coöpted by Commies, the Chi- also SW broadcasting in it. I was resting the afternoon of Tuesday June 29, so turned on RHC`s secret English broadcast of 20-21 UT on 11760. At 2039 the new, leaner, DXers Unlimited started, with Arnie talking about the future of shortwave, causing me to doze off, but woke in time to note he finished at 2050, total 11 minutes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. 7405, R. Martí clear at 1320 June 28, no jamming audible, interviewing an ``independent correspondent`` by phone from Cuba about health problems there. Plenty of jamming on 11845 and 11930 at 1410 but Martí still atop (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non] CAMPO DE PRUEBAS TECNOLÓGICAS YANQUIS. EL CASO "MICROONDAS NACIONALES" Y LA TV CUBANA Escrito por Arnaldo Coro Antich Miércoles, 16 de Junio de 2010 15:40 La antigua CMQ Televisión y Radiocentro [caption] Detrás del supuesto interés de llevar la señal de televisión a toda Cuba, la empresa fantasma "Microondas Nacionales S.A." escondía dos objetivos muy bien definidos por sus incógnitos propietarios, la "holding" Circuito CMQ de los hermanos Goar, Abel y Luis Augusto Mestre, así como la también accionista norteamericana National Broadcasting Company. Entre los objetivos de la nueva cadena de enlace estaba el servir de campo de pruebas para varias empresas norteamericanas fabricantes de equipos de telecomunicaciones, muy ligadas al por entonces naciente "complejo militar industrial". . . http://www.radiocubana.cu/index.php/historia-de-la-radio-cubana/25-documentales-de-emisoras-cubanas/969-cuba-campo-de-pruebas-tecnologicas-yanquis-el-caso-qmicroondas-nacionalesq-y-la-tv-cubana [sic with the intrusive q`s; illustrated] (via Manuel Méndez, Yimber Gaviría, gh, DXLD) Seems Arnie is busy writing historical articles which could be of some value once one discounts his conspiracy theories, always anti- American, pro-revolutionary slant to keep him in good with his masters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI [non]. FRANCE [tentative], 17880, La Voix de Djibouti on June 24 at 1159-1205 UT, S=6-8 deep fades and fluttery. 1159:47 transmitter switch on air. 1200:14 Identification music start, then followed by Quran prayer til 1203:13 UT. Identification "... Djibouti ..., frequency ... URL: " at 1203 UT. Only Thursdays 12-13 UT. Probably via Issoudun (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, June 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 19m dead except for CR 15170, so will 16m be too? No! June 25 at 1151, I get CRI English on 17490, Chinese on 17650, fair signals, both 308 degrees from Kashgar (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA ECUATORIAL. 6250, Radio Nacional, Malabo, 2036- 2045, 24-06, canciones africanas. 34433. (Méndez) 15190, Radio Africa, 1845-1902, 24-06, inglés, locutor, programa religioso. 33333 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, Escuchas realizadas en Reinante, costa del Mar Cantábrico, Sony ICF SW 7600 G, antena de cable, 10 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. Radio Ethiopia, 7110, 24 Jun at 0310 UT. Big S9+20 signal of OMs in presumed Amharic. YL announcements swamped in reverb and echo. Lively musical theme while segueing to new topics. Talk until song at 0329. No adjacent hams, but heavy lightning static from southwards line of storms. ANL on the Frog actually reduces the static, and the analog kHz drum reads the correct frequency. Who needs digital anything? :) (Terry Wilson, MI, FRG-7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. Midnight Sun Radio - SWR 25-26 June --- Scandinavian Weekend Radio (SWR) from Finland have their next broadcast celebrating midsummer tonight according to their website. Midnight Sun Radio starts tonight, Friday 25 June at 2100 UT until Saturday 26 June at 2100 UT on their usual frequencies 11720, 11690, 6170, 5980 and 1602 - see http://www.swradio.net/schedule.htm for details of times frequencies are in use. And one week later they will have their regular monthly broadcast 2/3 July which will celebrate their 10th Anniversary http://www.swradio.net/10yearceleb.htm (via Alan Pennington, UK, in advance, 0938 UT June 25, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. Radio Hami 1584 AM on 15th-18th July --- Radio Hami, Räyskälä, Finland will be broadcasting on 15th - 18th July 2010 on 104.9 FM, 1584 AM and 6120 SW. More information can be found at: http://radiohami.fi/in-english.shtml Radio Hami is temporary radio station, that operates yearly from The Finnish Amateur Radio League summer camp. Usually transmissions can be heard locally on FM and more internationally on 49 and 187 meter bands. The station has the address: Radio Hami / SRAL, PL 44, 00441 Helsinki, Finland. 73s (Hannu Romppainen, MWC June 29 via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ! 6120 was an old YLE Pori frequency, no coincidence (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. From July 1 RFI launches emissions in Swahili: 0430-0458 7360 MEY 500 kW / 005 deg 0530-0558 9835 MEY 100 kW / 015 deg 1500-1558 12015 MEY 250 kW / 007 deg, co-channel V of Korea in Russian 12014.6 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria 01 July, as of 30 June via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** GABON. 9580, Africa No. 1, Moyabi. Football at 1830, direct reportage on Netherlands and Cameroon on 24/6 that match was aired in live on 9 frequencies of BBC WS in English, 4 frequencies of RFI in French and 2 or more of Radio Nederland (heard after 1820 on SW!!!) (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF-2001, Marconi antenna), July Australian DX News via DXLD) ** GAMBIA [non]. 15225, Save the Gambia Democracy Project, new clandestine brokered by Radio Miami International, Saturdays only at 1815-1830, 125 kW, 221 degrees via Nauen, GERMANY: First few weeks I missed it, at an inconvenient time, but tried June 26 at 1820 and there is a JBA signal in vernacular? Improves by 1825 and now it`s in English! YL discussing ``what we should do``. 1829 bit of music and off at 1830*. Dragan Lekic found out the station is really called Baati Rewmi Radio or "Voice of the Country", while Tony Rogers, BDXC-UK says it`s ``Voice of the Nation``. See http://www.savethegambia.org showing "Baati Rewmi Radio". But I did not hear any of those IDs. Too bad they don`t archive audio on site, but do explain what they are about; not all the subpage linx work, yet? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CLANDESTINE, 15225, Radio Save the Gambia Democracy, via the Nauen site in Germany, 1815-1825, June 26, ¿language? The organization which sponsors and produces the program is the Save the Gambia Democracy Project. Website is http://www.savethegambia.org Report with S/on, music, announcement and identification, music. Very long talk by female, ID in english! as: "...This is Save the Gambia Democracy Project... ", 34443 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15225, Save Gambia?? 1815 26 June with a carrier of S3-5 and started with talks in English and hilife song 24232 but difficult to copy talks (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GAMBIA [non non]. 26/06/2010: Operators Arliss W7XU, his XYL Holly N0QJM, Ed W0SD and his XYL Edith W0OE are headed to The Gambia between 26 June and 5 July 2010, for the 6 metre sporadic E DXpedition season. The callsign requested for is C5E, which they will pick up when they arrive. Primary focus will be 6 metres on 50.103 MHz. They will have a beacon on during all sporadic E hours listening for stations calling. When there is an opening, please call as directed. Their location will be at Cape Point (WW Loc. IK13QL) and they are right on the ocean. There will be some HF SSB/CW operations planned for late night non- Sporadic E hours. There is also RTTY operations planned concurrently with the six metre operations on 17 and 20 metres. QSL via W7XU. [OPDX Bulletin] (via ICPO Bulletin via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. From TV/Radio Set Tax to, well, just a tax (Germany) Germany will change the licence fee for public TV and radio broadcasters into a flat-rate universal household payment. This decision was made by the prime ministers of the federal states on June 9 in Berlin. The payment obligation, which has been subject to the existence of a suitable reception device in a household, will thereby be turned into a fee which has to be paid independent of the existence, type and number of reception devices. The new scheme will come into force on January 1 2013, until then the current system will remain intact. Through the change, ARD, ZDF and national public radio broadcaster Deutschlandradio will be put in line with cultural and educational institutions such as schools, universities and theatres for which every citizen has to pay a contribution - whether they use them or not... http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/201006096800/germany-to-change-tv-licence-fee-system.html#ixzz0qXDP4pkO (via Clara Listensprechen, June 23, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. PUBLIC BROADCASTERS ASKED TO SHUT DOWN AM TRANSMITTERS KEF, the body responsible for determining the financial needs of the public broadcasters in Germany, asks both Deutschlandradio and ARD member institutions to close down LW, MW and SW transmitters. They expect statements on this subject for a meeting in September. KEF will audit if the continued operation of these transmitters is still economical. http://www.infosat.de/Meldungen/?msgID=59065 which I understand is a copy of a KEF release, issued today. It otherwise deals with new requests for DAB+ projects, which have generally been accepted, in particular Deutschlandradio is now authorized to start negotiations with Media Broadcast. They are expected to report the results in September, and in preparation for the next full-scale KEF report, to be issued in 2013, KEF will audit if these projects are still economical. In particular the Deutschlandradio project has to be coordinated with DAB+ projects of ARD and commercial broadcasters, and the Deutschlandradio DAB transmitter network is to be rolled out only at sites that will be used by ARD institutions, too, a measure KEF expects to cut back the operational costs (and which makes it quite likely that full coverage of Germany will never be achieved). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 25, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. 6190, 0234-0259 26/Jun, Deutschlandfunk, in German. Classical music. At 0235 male talks and ID. 0236 opera style music in male and female voice. 0246 short male talks and more music. Help in ID via link http://www.dradio.de/streaming/dlf.m3u Very weak signal with better audio during the music. At 0259 signal completely covered by Radio Nederland in the same frequency (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103 Dipole antenna, 19 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. CHW, Christliche Wissenschaft, Christian Science programs to be discontinued for a while as from July 2010, due of budget constraints. Ge 6055 0900-0959 27,28 90deg 201 1=Sun 2803-31102010 WER 100kW CHW Ru 9585 1800-1859 28E,29 75deg 217 7=Sat 2803-31102010 WER 125kW CHW (A-DX June 25 via Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi all! Some new QSLs received in the last 4 months: - Christliche Wissenschaft, 6055, QSL, letter, magazines in 2 weeks for e-report to csradio.d @ gmx.de v/s Ute Keller (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, HCDX via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. 15275, June 28 at 0604 world news in English, fair with deep fades, soon IDed with DW jingle. I don`t normally hear this, but of course it`s via RWANDA, 295 degrees at 0600-0630. DW uses 15275 for many more hours per day, 1200-1955 via Kigali or Woofferton in German but starting with a bit o` French. Also 0630-0700 in Hausa (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Re: Glenn Hauser logs June 22-23, 2010 Glenn: This is what happened to the English hour of the Radio Filia Service of the Voice of Greece. Another 24-hour Strike in Greece! (From their web site, received too late to be included in my daily report of VOG.) John Babbis Change the program "Voice of Greece" Wednesday, June 23. The program "Voice of Greece" was amended Wednesday, June 23 that the 24-hour strike declared by the Pospert and IFJ. From 06.00 GMT Wednesday, 23 June until 06.00 GMT Thursday, June 24, the ERA5 - "Voice of Greece" will be connected to the network ERA (John Babbis, MD, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) CHANGES IN THE PROGRAMS OF THE VOICE OF GREECE ON JUNE 28 AND 29: The programs of ERA5 "Voice of Greece" will be modified for Monday, June 28, and Tuesday, June 29, due to the 48-hour strike to be launched by the IFJ for journalists at ERT seeking a solution to the problem of contract negotiations in the direction of full and stable employment. To convert their contracts into permanent ones, the 24- hour strike on Tuesday, June 29, is to determine the GSEE and ADEDY POSPERT reaction to the measures advocated by the government and labor insurance (Source? ERA website? Via John Babbis, June 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Greece's journalists and media workers are to take part in the 24-hour nationwide strike declared by the country's trade unions, which is set to start on Tuesday, June 29, at 6 am and end on Wednesday, June 30, at 6 am. The journalists' unions of Macedonia, Athens Daily Newspaper (JUADN) and Thrace Daily Newspapers (ESIEMTH), under the auspices of the Panhellenic Federation of Journalists' Unions (POESY), is taking part in the strike protesting against: - The abolishment of fundamental labor and pension rights. - The undermining of collective labor agreements, the dissolution of the Organization for Mediation and Arbitration (O.ME.D.), and the efforts to establish labor market flexibility as a norm. - The seizure of resources from the sector's pension funds, which are wholly independent and do not burden the state budget in the least. - The absurd, levelling and unfair taxation measures. (Source? Via John Babbis, June 28, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Greek singer also of pre-WW II era noted continously on all three ERT Voice of Greece channels this morning June 28th. No FILIA foreign language programmes on air. Inspersed by strike announcement at x.00, x.15, x.30, x.45 min, and frequency change announcements at 0350, 0450, and 0550 UT. June 28 0355 UT 7450 S=9+10dB 7475 S=8-9 9420 S=9+30dB 0500 UT 7450 S=8-9 9420 S=9+20dB 11645 S=9+20dB 0600 UT 9420 S=9+25dB 11645 S=9+5..+10dB 15630 S=9+30dB ERA5 ERT Livestream is 26 seconds late compared to shortwave http://tvradio.ert.gr/radioen/liveradio/voiceofGreece.asp vy73 de Wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) On 29 June, heard on 9420 with good signal, simple songs at 0242. At 0245 announcement in Greek, presumably about latest happenings. More of the same music until 0255 with U2. Same announcement at 0300, then Eleanor Rigby. // 7475 fair, 73/Liz (Cameron, MI, ibid.) All three transmitters are off the air today, June 29th, at 0910 UT. Tuesday is the usual maintenance day, so someone is on duty to switch them off, and I assume they wouldn't be switched off if no maintenance was to take place. But that's logic, and maybe logical thoughts don't apply on strike days! (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ERT WORKERS TAKE OVER ENTRANCE TO RADIO BUILDING Greekreporter.com says: “Early in the morning, the contract workers who occupy posts in administrative companies, technicians as well as journalists of the national television and radio have taken by storm the entrance gates of the radio mansion. “The contract workers do not allow the permanent employees [to] enter the building, on which they have set up a ban[ner] saying: ”No captivity, permanent occupation now!” Erewhile there was a conflict between an employee who tried to enter the mansion and the contract workers, who vituperated him. As he declared, he is going to prosecute in court those who attacked him. “It concerns employees (about 1,047) in ERT for many years, with contracts concerning specific time, who lose their jobs as their contracts are terminated today. They apologise to the audience for the discomfort they caused, but they note that they choosed to close down the mansion instead of a road. The situation as well as the dialogue among the contract workers and the administration have come to a dead end.” (Source: Greekreporter.com)(June 30th, 2010 - 12:01 UTC, by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** GREECE. Summer A-10 Voice of Greece in Greek: 0400-0550 on 7450 AVL 100 kW / 323 deg 0500-1000 on 11645 AVL 100 kW / 355 deg >>R. Filia 666 in various languages: 05-06 French/Spanish; 06-07 German/Russian; 07-09 Greek; 09-10 English/Turkish 0600-1000 on 15630 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg 1100-1000 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg 1100-1650 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg >>Radiophonikos Stathmos Makedonias 1100-2250 on 15630 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg 1700-2250 on 7450 AVL 100 kW / 323 deg >>Radiophonikos Stathmos Makedonias 2300-0350 on 15650 AVL 100 kW / 105 deg 2300-0450 on 7475 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria 01 July, as of 30 June via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. Re 10-25, R. Coatán says it is off 4780 and not coming back: ``How recent is that letter from the director? I haven't listened yet but all indicators point to SOMETHING in GUATEMALA on 4780! I will try listening tonite :) (Steven Wiseblood/AB5GP, TX, June 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) He does not have a date on it, but I think it is quite recent, just sent on to us today (Glenn, ibid.)`` Hi Glenn, I received the e-mail from Radio Cultural Coatán the 23 of June. Two days ago. Best Regards, (Manuel Méndez, Spain, June 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. WWVH, 27 June 2010 on 10000 kHz at 0711 tune in. WWV was not audible at this time, so the female announcements were heard approximately five seconds before the minute. Female ID for 0712: "At the tone, 7 hours 12 minutes Coordinated Universal Time. SINPO=35333 (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 3250, R. Luz y Vida, 1150, Spanish, noted as low-side het against North Korea; partially readable in LSB with scripture readings. Poor. 16 June (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF-2010, ICF-SW7600GR, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 3340, HRMI Radio Misiones Internacionales, Comayagüela, 0100 very poor signal, 26 June (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro DL - NRD 535D - Drake R 7, 60 meter band dipole ~ Noise Reducing Antenna, condiglist yg via DXLD) 3340, haven`t heard HRMI in some weeks, but hymn in Spanish and announcement at 0546 June 30, could be made out among the summer QRN; much weaker than REE Costa Rica neighbor 3350. Several other reports of HRMI in mid-June but I think not always on the air this late, or at all (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 4045 usb, Isla de Roatán, 1110 weather correction and directions, 23 June (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro DL - NRD 535D - Drake R 7, 60 meter band dipole ~ Noise Reducing Antenna, condiglist yg via DXLD) In Carib yacht net ** INDIA. [Continued from CHINA]. Arnab, again you are right that AIR regional have great programming. You just need to know the schedule as each station have a few gems in their repertoire. I particularly like morning Carnatic programming of AIR Chennai, the light music segment of AIR Bhopal and the late night music programme of AIR Jeypore. In the day time AIR Urdu service is outstanding and of course the national channel broadcasts some great programmes such as the classical and folks music sessions. Absolute treasures. AIR (and other broadcasters) take a lot of expensive effort to send out a SW signal. As SWL it’s our duty to appreciate and cherish these fast depleting efforts. It is highly unlikely that AIR will add to fortify its SW transmission. At best they will let SW continue till the transmitter die of old age. Even as I type this, my favourite AIR Jeypore is off air. A few years ago the output valve of their transmitter blew up. It took them almost 2 years to fix that a great cost. I just hope that the current outage is not so prolonged. Let’s enjoy the AIR SW signals as long as they are around. Meanwhile, lets continue cursing CRI for all we can! Regards (Ashok Satpathy, India, June 23, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. New 4895.00, 1657-1700* 24.06, AIR Kurseong, vernacular talk and sign off on reactivated frequency, 15221. It had not faded in half an hour earlier! (Anker Petersen, what I heard here in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 9525.87, Voice of Indonesia, 0955-1005, Noted a program of English. First gave ID and address as, "Please send your reception reports to the Voice of Indonesia, P.O. Box 1....". On the hour English continuous with the news about Indonesia. Signal was perfect this morning. June 26, 2010 9680, RRI Jakarta, 1003-1015, fair signal here with music and Indonesian comments over music by a male. Music continues as signal stays at a fair level (Chuck Bolland, June 26, 2010, WinRadio G305e/pd, Clewiston FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9526-, VOI signal good again, S9+18 with romantic music at 1338 June 28 filling out the English hour; next check at 1446, big het with more music marring CRI Russian on 9525.0 at about equal levels. 9526-, VOI, good signal June 29, and since it`s Tuesday, the ``Exotic Indonesia`` hookup with RRI Banjarmasin is in progress at 1331, dialog with Mahendra there, discussing the million-rupiah fines [?!] imposed in Jakarta for not buckling seatbelts, unlike Banj where he only got a suggestion from cop; sharing stories at food stalls instead of restaurants; 1335 YL with scripted cultural show about the art of Banjari story-telling. 1338 the remote audio was crackling up for a while; said performances typically last all night until 5 am. I kept interrupting this interesting story to check on LRA36 which could only provide a bit of music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9525.889, 1303-, Voice of Indonesia, Jun 30. Lovely signal from VOI in English. Excellent modulation, but marred by a intermittent ute noticeable on USB only. News to 1310 by YL, with lots of interesting facts about Indonesia. 70% of Indonesian gas production is for export, for example. This is preferred to kerosene or firewood. This followed by a jingle, 'Voice of Indonesia, let's make the world green' (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9526-, VOI, June 30 at 1350, JBA carrier. It sure varies a lot day to day (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Emisoras Internacionales via Wap - 31 julio 2008 - 28 Junio 2010 Actualizado! http://yimber.blogspot.com/2008/07/emisoras-internaciones-via-wap.html Primera entrada 31 julio 2008. Actualizado 28 Junio 2010. Saludos Amigos, Después de haber publicado ``Las Emisoras internacionales via wap`` --- Dos años han trascurrido, y los cambios también se han notado, por eso, nuevamente hago repaso y las nuevas que se han agregado. Pero antes para tener en cuenta cuando se navega en internet através de su teléfono móvil los servicios son gratis siempre que su aparato tenga acceso a Internet y usted tenga servicio de Internet inalámbrico activado como parte de su plan de servicio del dispositivo. Averigüe qué plan o servicio le ofrece su empresa. La dirección para navegar en su móvil o celular, va después del nombre de la emisora. Color rojo. Para el Iphone deben descargar el app. ¿¿¿¿REALMENTE USTED UTILIZA ESTE SERVICIO ????? Por favor, espero su comentario en: http://yimber.blogspot.com/2008/07/emisoras-internaciones-via-wap.html (Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, June 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Linx to access Spanish programs from many international stations (gh) ** IRAQ. "Vladimir Doroshenko" segnala l'ascolto del Relay BBC 96.9 MHz di Baghdad dalla Ukraina e la ricezione di una email dalla BBC che lo conferma! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egWyi3JrgNg Dear Vladimir, Thank you for your email. We can confirm that what you heard was our English service (Middle East schedule) on the 96.9 FM frequency for Baghdad in Iraq - which is about 2000 km from central Ukraine! One of our transmission engineers says that if the propagation mode was sporadic-E (which is most likely), he would expect the signal to be very strong. However, tropospheric ducting is certainly possible and this would explain the weak signal with fading. The sea path and relative emptiness of the FM band in the region also contribute to your ability to receive the signal. We regret, however, that the BBC World Service no longer sends QSL cards. We are publicly funded and operate within a very limited budget. We no longer have the resources to produce cards or verify reports (although an unusual report such as yours is an exception with regard to verification) . Best regards Audience Information BBC World Service (from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/open_ dx/ via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) There you go, how to QSL Iraq (gh) ** ISRAEL. 15785, 25/Jun 1924-1940, GALEI ZAHAL, in Hebrew. The announcer interviewing people on the phone. The subject seemed to be football, I heard mention of Brazil, then music that talked about Africa. At 1934 UT male e female talks in studio. Weak signal (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 19 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL [and non]. Re: Zim jammer 4880? Zacharias Liangas in Greece has this Israel log: 6985, Mossad 1939 UT is jammed! with bubble jammer. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello, some of the Mossad station transmitting Nato alphapets - Known for number stations monitors as E 10 - is having some jamming from time to time. check this link : http://hfsurfing.blogspot.com/2008/12/e10-jammers-get-aggressive.html it's recorded by our friend Manolis in Greece, one of the best number stations monitors. All the best (Tarek Zeidan, Aalborg, Denmark, ibid.) ** JAPAN. Japon: NHK WORLD TV y RADIO JAPON - Programa de Monitores NHK WORLD TV & RADIO JAPAN Seeking Program Monitors Saludos Amigos, Una noticia para los que quieran ser monitores de la NHK World Radio Japón. La información está en inglés en los enlaces citado abajo. NHK WORLD esta en la búsqueda de Monitores para contribuir a la mejora del programa de producción de NHK WORLD TV y RADIO JAPON. Para Detalles, ir a los enlaces. NHK WORLD TV Program Monitors --- NHK World TV Programa de Monitores http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/monitor/tvmonitor.html NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN Program Monitors for the Arabic / English / Indonesian / Korean / Persian / Portuguese / Russian / Spanish / Thai language NHK World Radio Japon Programa de Monitores para los servicios en Arabe, Ingles, Indonesio, Coreano, Persa, Portugues, Ruso, Español y Tailandes. http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/monitor/radiomonitor.html Para más información sobre cómo aplicar, ir al enlace https://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/contact/index2.html Estos son los requisitos para poder ser monitor de la NHK World Radio Japón. Deberes del Monitor: 1. Vivir fuera de Japón y poder recibir los programa de la NHK World Radio Japón, en Arabe, Inglés, Portugués, Indonesio, Ruso, Español y Tailandés. 2. Ser mayor de 18 años 3. Poder comunicarse en el correo electrónico en Inglés 4. Ser capaz de escribir los informes en Arabe, Ingles, Indonesio, Coreano, Persa, Portugués, Ruso, Español, y Tailandés usado en los programas recibidos, y 5. tener una cuenta bancaria que pueda recibir transferencias de dinero hechas en yenes, dólares americanos, libras esterlinas o euros El nombramiento de los monitores se realizará después de un minucioso examen de la solicitud de inscripción. Un aviso informando el resultado será enviado por correo electrónico a principios de agosto de 2010. El Periodo de Aplicacion de Junio 25, 2010 (viernes) hasta las 11:00 (UTC) de Julio 20, 2010 (Martes) (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, 25 Junio 2010, DXLD) Bottom line is that participants are paid approx. $US 28 per review, and are expected to do so twice a month (gh, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 2349.68, KCBS-Sariwon, 1552, threshold, but enough copy to parallel with very strong 2850.03. 18 June. 3959.733, KCBS-Kanggye, 1540, "mournful" female vocals, fair despite warbly transmitter. Also, audio hum noted. Parallel much better 2850.03. 18 June (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF-2010, ICF-SW7600GR, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. 9335, 1531-, Voice of Korea, Jun 28. Very strong, but distorted audio with English ID, and into the usual Korean vocal. Co channel heard between pauses, which should be VOA from Kuwait (Radio Ashna) (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 5910 (ex: 6135), Shiokaze/Sea Breeze via Yamata, 1403-1413, June 30 (Wednesday). Recently N. Korea jamming resumed again on 6135, which was jammed today, so 5910 was in the clear, as can be heard on the audio attachment. In English with personal data about the abductees (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN. 3995 kHz, received at 1410-1430 UT June 26, Radyo Dengi Kurdistana. Start the Koran, ID, music, and talk. RRI-Kendari is so weak. Here is a recorded file. http://sky.geocities.jp/peace_jju_ujjj/2010/100626_2310_3995kHz_Radyo_Dengi_Kurdistana.mp3 Thank You, 73 and Good DX! Yoshi Ohashi / peace-J (Yoshi Ohashi, in Saitama, Japan, ANT:Small-Loop/11mH, AMP:DPA-100B, RX:ICF-2001D, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT [and non]. Tnx to tip from Bruce Fisher who heard 15305 as an unID, and to Ivo Ivanov who explained it, R. Kuwait June 25 at 2234 in Arabic talk and music, testing relay via VTC, or whatever it`s called this week, Skelton UK site. May have come on late as did not find it at 2200, but now S9+20 and much better than // 17550 direct, about 3 seconds behind 17550. 15305 went off at 2359:30*. Ivo reported: ``Dear Colleagues, effective June 23, Radio Kuwait conducted test transmissions in Arabic to North America via VT Communications on the following schedule: 2200-2400 on 15305 SKN 300 kW / 290 deg to NoAm Arabic Wed/Thu/Fri 0000-0200 on 11720 SKN 300 kW / 290 deg to NoAm Arabic Thu/Fri/Sat 0200-0400 on 9855 SKN 300 kW / 290 deg to NoAm Arabic Thu/Fri/Sat No idea whether these emissions will be broadcast in next week, as regular. 73! (IVO Ivanov, Bulgaria, June 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` So I monitored the following frequencies: UT Saturday June 26 at 0033, 11720 was S9+20, pop music, M&W in Arabic; at 0233, 9855 was S9+22. Seems they all work well, no QRM, but why is RK so eager to broadcast in Arabic to NAm, even trying a relay abroad for the first time??? They might have a slightly larger NAm audience if in English. Skelton must have had to dust off the disused 290-degree antenna, BBCWS having no interest in SW broadcasting anything to us from England. This azimuth crosses St. Anthony, Montreal, Cleveland, Memphis, Houston, so are there Kuwaiti enclaves in those areas? Close enough to Dearborn, anyway. At 0401, 9855 had been replaced by VOA news in English. Checking skeds later, I see that`s via MADAGASCAR at 0400-0430 only, but IBB is also on 9855 at 0200-0400. Did not notice any CCI at 0233 when Iranawila 348 is in use, but did not check during the 03-04 hour when it`s Botswana at 350 degrees, likely colliding. R. Kuwait`s tests via Skelton UK were to be thru UT Saturday 0400 only, and thus nothing to be heard June 26 at 2254 on 15305 tho direct 17750 was poorly audible; nor June 27 at 0120 on 11720. Nor 0310 on 9855, just weak presumed Botswana. But will they return permanently? Kuwait direct in English on 15540 was also fairly audible until 2100 June 26 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. 4024.850, Star Radio, 0620, English, talk by a man, with references to "Liberia", but most talk lost in mush, due to weak and undermodulated signal. Hilife music a little easier to hear. First time this one has been strong enough here to measure frequency and get some program details. 16 June (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF-2010, ICF-SW7600GR, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4025, 25/Jun 2045-2108, Star Radio, *presumed* in English identified. Male talks. At 2047 UT short music. 2101 female talks in a language is not English, then male talks. 2107 male and female in conversation outside, looks like a sticker [?], then at 2108 end of transmission. Very weak signal and continued with low modulation. Recorded (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 19 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4025, presumed Star Radio, 0533, June 27. Something noted here with music at tune/in; talk at 0535; very weak-poor; imagination level audio buried under band noise (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, N.H. USA, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) (NOT) 4025, 0500-, Star Radio, Jun 28. No sign of this station at listed 0500 sign-on. A very weak trace is just visible on the Perseus waterfall on 4025.000. No idea whether it's them or not. Just remeasured at 0517 and found them to be on 4024.98, so very likely them. Best heard on the Wellbrook array aimed 40 degrees (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I haven`t detected a carrier lately at 0600+ chex, but did July 2 around 0545 (gh, DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 7105 (USB + carrier mode), RTV Malagasy, 1403-1426, June 29; non-stop World Cup coverage of the Paraguay vs. Japan match; countless mentions of the Paraguay player “Santa Cruz”; still without the vuvuzela buzz; mostly fair. June 30 had no World Cup match so went off the air much earlier than normal (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 5964.92v, Klasik Nasional (KN) via RTM (presumed), 1320- 1401, June 30. In vernacular; Islamic programming pre-empted their normal format of DJ playing pop songs; segments of reciting from the Qur’an and indigenous songs; no IDs today whereas KN normally has frequent IDs (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 890, XENVA, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, 1110, ballads in Spanish. June 23 & 24 (Rick Barton, Arizona, times dates local, Hammarlund SP-600, l.w.; Panasonic RF-2200, onboard directional loop, ABDX via DXLD) Hi Rick, Your 890 log caught my eye, since ``XENVA`` is used to indicate a NEW station, not yet on the air and with no real calls assigned yet. I`d be very surprised if you axually heard those call letters given. I wonder what your reference was for one in Juárez? I cannot find any station on 890 there. And nowhere in Chihua2 according to http://mexicoradiotv.com/listchih.htm [and you were hearing it at 11:10 am MST??] 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** MEXICO. Early sporadic-E opening from BCN, June 25 at 1500 UT on 3, movie in English, letterbox with captions presumably Spanish in black rectangle at bottom; typical almost-zero CCI bars denoting XHBC vs XHQ; a bit of vuvuzela audio QRM from a Televisa with World Cup. I had been sitting on channel 2 for a while with antenna aimed oppositewards, not realizing this opening was in progress. Not much on 2, 4 or 5 when aimed westward, but: 1502 UT on 6, CW6 with Breaking News! At the beach, someone drowned, in a wetsuit but unsure whether he was a surfer; other local news in unaccented English; 1505 surveillance cam of a ``geezer bandit``, from San Diego 6 News; shortly faded out. XETV Tijuana. Glad to know they are atop the news that matters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Monitoring channel 2 southward from about 1500 UT June 26; some Es finally fades in at 1626, quickly IDed as TVT, i.e. XEWO Guadalajara, bug in UR during local talk/game show. Interviewed girls on the street, mentioning prizes in dólares, so maybe not so local. 1627 promo mentions ``Televisión Tapatía`` audibly. 1630 TVT full- screen logo, then paid program disclaimer, for INOVA, phone 56-74-79- 02. Seems to involve shaving legs without knix; but mixing with CCI, one of them involving X-rays of upper limbs. Also some weak skip on ch 3, but no higher until 1750. At 1752, XHBC Mexicali fades up on 3 with its 3 tu canal bug in lower right, during sitcom or skit involving policemen in uniform. 1753 local soccer promo, clear steady color signal for a couple minutes but not snow-free. I prepare to videotape again, but fades down. Also bothered by intermittent local 2-way QRM. 1758 stand-up comedian wearing funny hat past 1800. MUF had not reached XHAQ-5 this time. XHBC fades out by 1810, so I suspend monitoring for overdue lunch. Some more not fully identified Es TVDX June 26: at 2250 UT some Spanish fades in from SSW on channel 2: 2300 infomercial for MOINSAGE, concerned with aging, with website www.inova.com.mx. Signs of activity also on channel 3. UT June 27 at 0100, a Rambo movie on channel 3 from Net-5 breaks for commercials including Powerade, allegedly consumed by FIFA players. Sporadic E TV DX opening June 30, in UT: 1440 on 2, Azteca 7 promo: six possible, but from skip area most likely Tampico or Campeche. Audio CCI from station with louder modulation, XHY Mérida? Also CCI from sweetener ad in English, likely XHRIO Matamoros. 1451 on 2, hurricane report in Spanish from Matamoros, but more likely really from Tampico station XHTAU, also threatened area. 1451 on 3 and 4, // with toons, net-5. 1451 on 5, Soriana department store ad; 1452 news of Veracruz, TeleVer promo, so XHAJ Las Lajas. 1500 on 6, ad for DERMOND – what`s that? 1501 on 5, Woody Woodpecker toon, net-5, maybe XHGC México DF itself. 1505 on 5, FRINGE ad, program promos for Canal 5, PSA for Diputados, PRI political ad, promo for Bécalos, MX Iniciativa; 1508 back to Woody. One sees the word Bécalos constantly on screen as background in some live shows, so what is it? Google translates it as a scholarship program, and no doubt missing from Azteca nets: ``The Association of Banks of Mexico, the country's biggest banks and Fundación Televisa conducted an alliance in 2006 to Bécalos program in order to benefit thousands of students and teachers and, through them, build a better society a country fair, competitive, able to cope with the strength given by the knowledge challenges of change, growth and development.`` 1507 on 4, Bécalos with a panel/game show; digital CDT clock at LR. 1509 Bécalos visible on this channel with 4 bug in UR: that would be ``Matutino Express`` on XHTV. 1516 on 4, XHTV bug in UR, which has small italic ``tv`` at the bottom of a circle; 10:16 clock in LR, game show? 1508 on 2, ``hoy`` bug in LR: that`s the ``Today`` show from Televisa net-2 which runs from 9 am to noon local. 1538 on 5, Canal de las Estrellas (XEW-2 net) promo, ads. 1540 on 6, hair-styling-gizmo infomercial, with two alternating 8- digit phone numbers, one of which is 1084 9441, I think. At 1543 more of same, sounds like it`s dubbed; other phone starts with 8311. Don`t find any likely listings in TV Guide for the DF network stations. 1541 on 4 // 5, Farmacias de Ahorro live ad by M&W in studio, net 4? Audio quality different on the two channels. By 1552 I suspended TV monitoring for FM, and IDed two Mexican stations as in previous report, then North Carolina as under USA. Resumed TV DX at 1640. 1640 on 3, talking about Puebla, and tv3 large italic bug in UR, so XHP. 1704 on 2, Azteca-7 net with Hurricane Alex info from Tamaulipas. 1912 on 2 from SSW, weak, ``se Vale`` game show, V like a check mark bug; 1924 same with TVT large bug in UR = XEWO Guadalajara. End of opening. UT July 1: 0200 on 2, fade-in Spanish from south. 0215 on 2, from SW, Azteca-13 bug in UR, novela. 0215 on 4, Azteca 13 bug in UR, novela, but not // 2 --- different timezones? Too many possibilities. [Glenn, as far as I've ever been able to figure out, there is only one feed for every Mexico network. What you probably had on 2 and 4 were the Chihuahua Azteca-13 relayers. XHCH-2 runs the direct network feed, while XHIT-4 reruns the schedule one hour later. This has been going on for several years. XHCH-2 does run a local program or two during daytime --- Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, Mexico TV DX Tips http://www.tvdxtips.com ] 0240 on 3, almost snow-free from WSW, 3 tu canal bug in LR, so XHBC Mexicali, but show in progress has Galavisión bug in UR; film about quick fixes for extreme sports injuries, some grafix in English, audio dubbed in Spanish; 0255 fading. XHBC is not mainly a Galavisión outlet but as the local Televisa station it can draw some programming from that and other Televisa networks. MUF does not make it to XHAQ-5; 3 fades out by 0255. [Many of the programs on Televisa independents come from XHTV-4 (4TV). Some of the independents also run a few programs from XEW, Canal Cinco, and Galavisión. I think the reason the Televisa local logos are so big is to cover the originating logos UR. As XHBC-3 and XHAB-7 put their logos LR, the network logos remain. XHY-2 has left the 4TV logo uncovered for years --- Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, Mexico TV DX Tips http://www.tvdxtips.com ] 0312 on 2, from south, Spanish ad for some phone plan (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Re 10-15, gh`s FM DX Logs: Información complementaria desde Yucatán. 92.1 MHz está XHMYL Los 40 Principales en paralelo por XEMYL 1000 94.5 MHz está XHEVG Radio Fórmula 1a Cadena en paralelo por XEVG 650 95.3 MHz está XHMH Candela-FM en paralelo por XEMH 970. Sala de Fiestas SUFY es el Sindicato Único de Filarmónicos de Yucatán, una agrupación de músicos que organizan bailes en su salón de baile 97.7 MHz está XHGL Kiss-FM la cual pertenece al grupo SIPSE, al igual que XHY-TV canal 2 103.9 MHZ está XHRUY Radio Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán en paralelo por XERUY 1120. 105.1 MHz está XHZ Radio Fórmula 2ª Cadena en paralelo por XEZ 600 kHz Recientemente XEMQ dejó de salir al aire lo que me ha permitido sin éxito tratar de sintonizar a RTM 800 kHz en Bonaire pero en su frecuencia se encuentra la emisora católica Radio María transmitiendo desde El Salvador. Por otro lado, tampoco he tenido mucho éxito en sintonizar a XEQM [6104.8v] primero por excesiva interferencia de RHC [6110] y quizá también por salirse del aire (Israel González Ahumada, Yucatán, June 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Since the low-VHF band, channels 2-6, was full of TV DX from Mexico, FM too was likely, so switched to that June 30 at 1551. (It is inconvenient for me logistically to do both at same time.) Started tuning up the FM band, but no DX signals found until: 1555 on 97.7, music in Spanish with RDS scrolling playlist, such as Caballo, but soon fade out; 1601 back in with more music titles on RDS. 1603, RDS (presumably same station) now shows TEMP 24C during ad for Plaza Sendero. Then RDS changes to Caliente, ad mentions ``atención, San Luís Potosí``, more in adstring for ropa colombiana. 1607 finally full audio ID ``XHSNP, desde San Luís Potosí, 50,000 watts de potencia, La Caliente`` while RDS just shows XHSNP (I was not sure of call until I could read it, not XHFMP, nor XHSLP.) Chex with Emisoras de FM. 1556 on 96.5, some music in Spanish overriding Tulsa. 1602 ad for fraccionamiento Lagos de Puente Moreno; $tereo cuts in and out as signal fades, but no RDS. Google immediately locates this as a fancy housing development at Medellín de Bravo just south of Veracruz city. The only Veracruz station on 96.5 in Emisoras de FM is XHRN, Veracruz city, Ke Buena. [what`s this K business, anyway, in Spanish? Probably for trademark reasons avoids QU.]. Altho TVDX continued from that area of Mexico, FM DX began to dominate via a separate sporadic E opening from 90 degrees away, North Carolina (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 7200, 1312-, Myanma Radio, Jun 29. Fair reception with local music and very soft talking woman. Don't notice anything on around 7175. Lao National Radio's waterfall tracing just visible on the Perseus, but way too weak for any audio. Transmitter cut at 1330:52 (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 15525, unlisted in Dutch June 28 at 1348, VG S9+22 signal, discussing imminent match between Nederland and Slowakije at Durban RSA, Radio Een jingle and ID in passing; vuvuzelas in background. 1403 game seems underway with commentary. On radio I had to imagine the TV camera panning across the players` faces before getting down to business: they have all obviously been instructed never to smile and never to look at the camera. While TV DXing Mexican WC coverage, seeing fans with stocking caps, coats, I wonder just how cold it is in wintry RSA. Weather.com shows Jo`burg average lows and highs in June and July are 6-16 degrees; another reference showed lows down to 2 degrees, but that`s not during game times. Presumably somewhat colder at Durban, Cape Town, which at 34 south could be almost as frigid as Enid here at 36 north --- but CT with nothing but ocean to Antarctica. RNW via site? There is NO listing for any 15525 transmission at: http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/rnw-frequency-schedule-summer-2010 But Media Network blog had this info as of June 27: ``Frequencies for Netherlands-Slovakia on 28 June June 27th, 2010 - 11:51 UTC by Andy Sennitt. The following shortwave/ mediumwave frequencies will be available for coverage in Dutch of the World Cup football match between the Netherlands and Slovakia which will be played tomorrow (28 June) between 1400 and 1545 UT: 1000-1700: 1296 kHz to Benelux 1200-1700: 5955 kHz to Central Europe 1300-1700: 7235 kHz to Germany 1300-1700: 9595 kHz to Great Britain and Ireland 1200-1700: 9895 & 13700 kHz to SW Europe 1300-1700: 9620 kHz to Scandinavia 1300-1700: 13700 kHz to Greece and Turkey 1300-1700: 9420 kHz to Caribbean 1300-1700: 15525 kHz to Caribbean & SE USA 1300-1700: 15760 to Atlantic Ocean 1300-1700: 17530 kHz to East Africa 1300-1630: 7300 kHz to South Africa`` Who cares about the sites? I would guess Bonaire on 15525, but could be Guiana French or something less likely in the hemisphere. This is a slack time for normal Bonaire transmissions, nothing scheduled 1227- 1830, so plenty transmitters available. Did not know about or check 9420, likely same emanance. This loud and clear signal rubs in to Central North Americans what RN could easily have done but never did --- provide us a morning SW broadcast in English, and now there are none at all (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. live coverage of World Cup team Holland vv Brazil 02 July Netherlands Holland World Cup team live coverage. 5915 1800 2200 53SW,57N MDC 250 255 060710 120710 Nld MDG RNW 5935 1400 1700 54,58 PHT 250 200 6=020710 Nld PHL RNW 5955 1200 1459 27,28 NAU 500 210 030710 260710 Nld D RNW 5955 1500 1657 27,28 NAU 500 210 280310 311010 Nld D RNW 5955 1700 1757 18,27,28,37N WER 500 210 7=030710 Nld D RNW 7235 1200 1600 28NW ISS 250 40 030710 260710 Nld F RNW 7235 1300 1657 28NW ISS 250 65 6=020710 Nld F RNW 7300 1300 1627 53SW,57N MDC 250 255 6=020710 Nld MDG RNW 9420 1300 1657 11,12N BON 250 320 6=020710 Nld HOL RNW 9595 1300 1657 27 WER 250 300 6=020710 Nld D RNW 9620 1300 1657 18 NAU 500 11 6=020710 Nld D RNW 9895 1200 1657 27S,28SW,37N NAU 500 230 6=020710 Nld D RNW 13700 1200 1657 27S,28SW,37N WER 500 240 6=020710 Nld D RNW 13700 1300 1657 28S,39W WER 500 120 6=020710 Nld D RNW 15525 1300 1657 8S,11 BON 250 320 6=020710 Nld HOL RNW 15760 1300 1657 36,80,81 BON 250 80 6=020710 Nld HOL RNW 17530 1300 1657 47,48,53 ISS 500 150 6=020710 Nld F RNW --- 17535 1800 2200 46,47W BON 250 80 3=060710 Nld HOL RNW 17535 1800 2200 46,47W BON 250 80 also semi-final 7=100710, also final 1=110710 vy73 de Wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. 963, 0518-, Southern Star, Christchurch, Jun 27. A presumed logging after erecting my Wellbrook array aimed 220 degrees to the SW, basically at New Zealand. Snippets of audio already at 10:20 pm [PDT], still another hour or so until it's dark here and sunset greyline in New Zealand right now. I'll be very interested in seeing how the Wellbrook performs. I was able to null KTKN 930 Ketchikan by 32 dB so far. Not bad! (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Radio New Zealand International, 27 June 2010 on 6170 kHz at 0705 UT tune-in. ID as RNZI, into a feature story audible in segments of conversation due to propagation conditions. Interview followed about a place where it is very windy, coming from the north, with rain. Fading and signal absorption belied the S8 reading on my Drake R8A (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGER. 9704.17, La Voix du Sahel, Niamey. Low modulation, tribal music 0644. Terrible trouble from what sounded like an OTR operation, 27/6 (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW (Drake R8A, Icom R75, Racal RA-17) DX-Pedition Macquarie, July Australian DX News via DXLD) OTR? ** OKLAHOMA. 1570, Saturday June 26 at 1329 UT, Best of Lou Dobbs breaking for a 5-minute adstring, from ``Smart Talk 1570 ---`` and could not catch calls. Included Bullfrog Sunblock at 1332. 1335 Dobbs reopens with Dragnet theme. 1400 legal ID as 1570, KZLI, Catoosa- Tulsa. I`m not convinced how smart Dobbs is. Replaces nostalgia format as in 2009-2010 NRC AM Log (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 1580, KOKB Blackwell, off the air the afternoon of June 24; rather than just open carrier which they have been known to run days at a time instead of overmodulated sportstalk; but back to the latter the next morning (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see UNIDENTIFIED 1580 ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. After several months` respite from talking houses, Enid realtor Greg Winklejohn has installed his 1670 transmitter again. First noted on caradio the afternoon of June 24, poor signal, distorted and mush mixed in, so may be more than one interfering with each other, or the one transmitter is quite defective, driving away rather than attracting clients. Cannot hear on the east side of Enid and seems to come from the NW quadrant. He mentioned being near Glenwood School (elementary) which is in the 800 block of N Oakwood. I`ll track it down soon and see how it sounds at local range as a DX-blocker. At home QTH in the nightmiddle, 0604 June 25, pleased to still hear WTDY Madison WI on 1670 with no THQRM audible, local weather, low 58, we can only dream about where we don`t even get down to 70 these nights. Continued from previous report: investigating further the new talking house on 1670 in Enid: It so happened that the Friday June 25 Enid Eagle newspaper had an advertising supplement about open-houses coming Sunday afternoon at 2- 4 pm, with a map, many realtors participating, including Greg Winkeljohn. He has only two properties involved in this, which seemed good candidates for the TH transmitter(s). So I went on a visit without waiting for the OHs. Yes, the first one, at 1107 Quail Ridge http://www.enidhomes.com/homes/690646.htm really exhibits the 1670 sign on the curb, my photos: http://www.w4uvh.net/1670th1107qr1.jpg http://www.w4uvh.net/1670th1107qr2.jpg and only parked right there is the QRM suppressed enough to copy the spiel clearly, altho the slush is still audible underneath. So that`s coming from a different transmitter. Then I go to his other Sunday OH property, also in west-central Enid, only a few blox away but with no direct street connexion in another cul-de-sac, 4910 Manchester: http://www.enidhomes.com/homes/692150.htm This one does not have a 1670 sign, but just like the previous home, when I park right in front of it, his spiel becomes readable. They all sound alike, but this is really a different one, and guess what! It`s the same one heard last year from yet another house which I tracked down, out in the country NW of Enid, the three-level in Whispering Hills! No exact address mentioned but I did find it at 202 Tanglewood, as in DXLDs 9-057, 9-069, 9-077. So he has moved that transmitter to 4910 Manchester, altho not publicized, and it`s running with the old recording! Maybe he is planning to replace it with new spiel for the house from which it is really radiating. One or both transmitters are unstable, making the QRM worse, but Winkeljohn apparently doesn`t understand that he should not run more than one TH transmitter so close together geographically on the same frequency --- a mixed blessing, as it confines the mess but hardly good for business. And part of his spiel promotes the talking-house concept, available to clients at no extra cost! I see nothing about it on the website, tho. Surely the units are frequency-agile and he is hardly held down to 1670 by any licensing. But that`s not all. As I keep driving, on the east side of these western additions, I seem to be hearing yet another of his spiels slightly dominating the others on 1670. Address mentioned in the QRM sounds like it starts with 13--. Then I check his website which has a handy search funxion, leading to 1317 Cansler: http://enidhomes.idxco.com/idx/3120/details.php?idxID=186&listingID=692209 {notice the ``idx`` in the URL!} So the next afternoon I brave 100-degree heat to visit that address, and sure enough, 1317 Cansler is another 1670 TH, with a sign to that effect, and appears to be occupied. My photo: http://www.w4uvh.net/1670th1317ca.jpg This one has somewhat larger range than the others. The first two are less than a quarter mile apart, while Cansler is almost one mile east of Quail Ridge. So parked at Cansler, there is less QRM but still some detectable. However, now I have the DX-398 with me; altho it sounds OK on the caradio, switching on the BFO at 1950 UT June 26, I can tell this one is FMing badly, unstable carrier varying with modulation, so the main source of QRM to the other two, besides each other. I would not be surprised if there are yet more of them on the 1670 Enid air. At least the first two seem to be part-15 compliant with limited range, unlike when transmitting from Whispering Hills, but people residing near any of them will be out of luck hearing the new Mexican on 1670. Let`s just hope the houses sell before it oncomes. And Greg remembers not only to take down, but turn off the transmitters. They are all a few blox off Chestnut Ave. to the north. I could see no signs of an external antenna at any of them. More aboutGreg; note correct spelling Winkeljohn, unlike my previous: http://www.enidhomes.com/aboutGreg.htm He`s a Catholic who has procreated with Renee at least seven times, among other personal facts thought to enhance business. If I were buying or selling a house, of course, the realtor would have to be an Atheist, procreating twice as much as Greg. {Revealing his large family could really be counter-productive. One could reasonably posit that with such a large family to support, his commissions would likely average larger than those of a realtor with a family of only 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1.} Meanwhile, the GCN pirate on 99.9, which I have also tracked down, in another part of Enid, was off the air again the afternoon of June 26, at various chex 1845-2030 UT, inletting traces of the licensed Fort Smith and/or Wichita Falls stations on caradio. Assuming it come back, anyone getting skip from Enid stations on 95.7, 103.1 or 107.1 should also look for GCN 99.9. Note: The Bob on 96.9 is an Enid station in the name of city of license only, really halfway to OKC and primarily for that market. But GCN was still off at 1525 June 27: at least all I could hear on portable were overload/mixes from authentic local stations. Anomaly stations check circa 1900 UT June 28: 1120, KEOR still absent as it has been for weeks; a pity with its shiny new antenna towers in the woods going to waste 1580, KOKB Blackwell, (over)modulating again instead of open carrier for past few days. So much for my Spanish mystery until KOKB fails again. [see UNIDENTIFIED] 1670, Winkeljohn`s talking houses still rumbling away in mutual-QRM 99.9, GCN pirate, Enid, back on the air after missing over weekend (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Es FM DX sessions can also uncover new info about nearby stations: June 30 at 1623 UT I am looking for DX on 97.5, and hear a slogan as ``the all-new 97.5, The Line``, stereo rock. Where`s that? Google leads to Alva OK, KPAK, formerly ``The Rock`` as in FM Atlas XXI. I suppose ``The Line`` is alluding to some stupid ballgame, but certainly more distinctive than ``The Rock`` for DX IDing (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Oklahoma`s only state-wide TV newscast, the Oklahoma News Report on OETA, dropped a bombshell in the June 30 edition. All three anchors are leaving and this was their last show: Gerry Bonds, George Tomek, and Meteorologist Ross Dixon. At first it seemed ONR was being cancelled, as various other programs occupy the slot and repeats on OKLA from July 1. But then it was announced that ONR will return Tuesday July 6, ``with a renewed commitment``. Whoever replaces them, we`ll miss the real journalism these three provided vs. the all the if-it-bleeds-it-leads commercial stations (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) OETA LONGTIME PERSONALITIES SIGNING OFF DUE TO BUDGET CUTS BY MEL BRACHT Oklahoman Published: June 30, 2010 OETA-13's news department is undergoing a changing of the guard as three longtime anchors will sign off for good tonight because of budget cutbacks and a change of direction in the department. OETA's news department is undergoing a changing of the guard as three longtime anchors will sign off for good tonight because of budget cutbacks and a change of direction in the department. News anchors Gerry Bonds and George Tomek and weatherman Ross Dixon, who have won numerous awards and combined for nearly 45 years of experience with OETA, are leaving after tonight's 6:30 p.m. "Oklahoma News Report” because their contracts were not renewed. John McCarroll, Oklahoma Educational Television Authority executive director, said a $994,000 cut in the 2010 fiscal budget by the Legislature, added to $725,000 in additional cuts this year, caused OETA to make changes. "These are three wonderful people who have been on the air and represented us very, very well through the years,” McCarroll said. "It wasn't an easy decision to make, but it is a big part of that $994,000 that we're going to be able to divert to other things.” Bonds, who said she was stunned by her termination, said laying off the three, who are contract labor and not full-time employees, will hardly make a dent in the $994,000 budget cut. "Our combined compensation — George's, Ross' and mine — does not even reflect 10 percent of that figure,” she said. McCarroll said Dick Pryor will be the main anchor replacement and the role likely also would be filled by five others with anchoring experience — Tulsa reporters Lis Ekon, Cathy Tatom and Angela Rosecrans, Oklahoma City reporter Robert Burch, and documentary producer Susan Miller. McCarroll said the "Oklahoma News Report” plans to work in its new Tulsa studio more into the nightly program. Dixon won't be replaced as OETA plans to drop the weather segment. Besides the anchor changes, McCarroll said OETA has placed five of its locally produced shows on hiatus — "Oklahoma City Metro,” which had been hosted by Bond; "Tulsa Times,” "State of Creativity,” "The People's Business” call-in show and "Legislative Week.” George Tomek, Gerry Bonds, Ross Dixon A look back at the careers of the three anchors Gerry Bonds A Yonkers, N.Y., native, Bonds said she quickly fell in love with Oklahoma after moving here from a New Haven, Conn., TV station in 1984 to anchor the KOCO-5 newscasts. As spokeswoman for the station's "Oklahoma Pride” segments, she toured the state and provided reports on towns and people. After leaving KOCO in 1992, she worked four years in corporate communications before being hired by OETA in 1996. Six months later, she was made host of "Oklahoma City Metro” for which she earned a regional Emmy nomination this year. Bonds was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2008. Celebrities who appeared on "Oklahoma City Metro” include actors Tom Selleck, Donald O'Connor and Kristin Chenoweth, basketball coaches Eddie Sutton and Sherri Coale, and several governors and first ladies. Married to investment adviser and civic leader Ken Bonds, Gerry Bonds said she is uncertain about her future plans but hopes to promote the city and state. She is a former high school English, speech and drama teacher. George Tomek After working only three years at OETA, Tomek is the newcomer to OETA, but certainly not to state broadcasting. A native of Oak Park, Ill., in suburban Chicago, he attended the University of Tulsa on a baseball scholarship and graduated in 1960 with a degree in journalism and advertising. He made his broadcasting debut with Tulsa station KOTV-6. For nearly 30 years, he served as an anchor-reporter for Channel 4 (WKY/KTVY/KFOR) and KOCO-5. He also worked for TV stations in St. Louis and Dallas. Tomek said he has appreciated the professionalism of the OETA staff. "We've covered stories that really have had a meaning to a large segment of viewers, whether it be education or health,” he said. Tomek, who recently spoke on ethics at Boys State in Miami, said he will continue to be active in broadcasting. Besides his commercial work, he said he does numerous tutorials for the state. "I consider myself performing a public service,” he said. "A lot of people in TV news are in it for the glitz and the glimmer, and they are very egocentric. My hallmark has always been credibility and professionalism.” Ross Dixon Born in Muskogee in 1942, Dixon moved to Oklahoma City in the early 1950s. After a stint in the Navy, he earned a degree in math and meteorology from the University of Oklahoma in 1966. After breaking in as a TV weatherman at KOCO-5 in 1966, he made his debut at OETA in 1984. "Basically, it's been a great place to work overall,” he said. "You don't have the pressure that you have at the commercial stations.” As a statewide network, OETA doesn't break into regular programming like commercial stations. "Lord knows if I broke in for severe weather coverage for Kenton, people in Idabel wouldn't be too happy,” he said. "The commercial guys do a great job with that. They have all the equipment, the bells and whistles.” Dixon, 67, said he plans to continue work as a forensic meteorologist for his firm, Weather Affirmation LLC. "I re-create the weather for law cases and such, and provide expert testimony if need be,” he said. Read more: http://www.newsok.com/article/3472407?searched=OETA&custom_click=search#ixzz0sSEHc6s8 (via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Updated summer A-10 of Radio Pakistan (v=xxxxx.4 kHz): Bangla 0900-1000 on 11570vISL 100 kW / 118 deg 15620 ISL 100 kW / 118 deg Chinese 1200-1300 on 9670 ISL 250 kW / 070 deg 11510 ISL 250 kW / 070 deg English 1100-1105 on 15100 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg 17720 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg 1600-1615 on 7530 ISL 250 kW / 282 deg 11585 ISL 250 kW / 282 deg Gujarati 1145-1215 on 9340 ISL 100 kW / 147 deg 11570vISL 100 kW / 147 deg Hindi 1045-1145 on 9340 ISL 100 kW / 147 deg 11570vISL 100 kW / 147 deg Nepali 1000-1030 on 11570vISL 100 kW / 118 deg 15620 ISL 100 kW / 118 deg Pashto/Dari 1345-1545 on 6235vISL 100 kW / 270 deg Persian 1700-1800 on 6235vISL 100 kW / 260 deg 7485 ISL 100 kW / 260 deg Sinhala/Tamil 1230-1330 on 11880 ISL 100 kW / 147 deg 15540vISL 100 kW / 147 deg Urdu 0045-0215 on 11580 ISL 250 kW / 118 deg 15490 ISL 250 kW / 118 deg 0500-0700 on 15100 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg 17835 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg 0830-1100 on 15100 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg 17720 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg 1330-1530 on 7530 ISL 250 kW / 282 deg 11575 ISL 250 kW / 282 deg 1700-1900 on 7530 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg 11585 ISL 250 kW / 313 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria 01 July, as of 30 June via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 5960, R. Fly heard here on 6/26 from 0755 tune with sportscast in English by man (delay in reporting due to not listening to the recording until this evening, Hi!) - could not make out the sport. This continued to 0819.5 when a musical interlude was heard to 0820.5. A woman announcer (sounded like Tok Pisin) was heard to 0831.5 fol by two pop vocals to 0829.5. A woman with occasional background music was heard from 0829.5 to 0842. At 0842 a man in English introduced a continuation of the sportscast, which started at 0842.5 and was in English. The sportscast continued past 0900 at the same S3 level. The programming was very similar to other "official" PNG stations, especially the woman announcer. The signal started at S- 2 but improved to S-3 by 0820 or so with only light QRN. Some strong adjacent-channel splatter QRM but not really bothersome. No trace of the Chinese station here. Nothing usable heard on the 3915 channel. In searching Google for info on Radio Fly, I found the following: "Radio Fly is a community radio station which is funded and operated by Ok Tedi Mining Limited. It provides a vital community information service to isolated areas of the North Fly region, parts of West Sepik, the rest of Western Province and some areas along the border of West Papua. It broadcasts in English and Tok Pisin. The isolated location of Western Province means that access to mainstream media is very limited, but Radio Fly fills that void. The station is vital for the Community Mine Continuation process, informing villages of visits from community relations officers, and keeping them apprised of the environmental conditions and mine activity. A large chunk of the programming is focused on health and education messages as well as sustainable development, which is a topic very close to the listeners' hearts. As well as playing a wide range of music and entertainment, Radio Fly serves as a medium for dissemination of relevant information. The Tok Save (announcement) service is widely used by people all over the province, to announce social and business gatherings such as government visits, sports meets, women's training sessions, weddings, funerals, and workshops. Legal, health, farming and business-oriented programs are widely heard, and children's and religious shows are very popular with regular listeners. Volunteers with a particular interest often come into the studio to present their own programs, and there is a three- times-daily news bulletin, which covers local, national and international stories. The Fly Weekly Top 10 Hit Parade is a compilation of the most popular requests and dedications of the week, as made by listeners." (Bruce Churchill, Fallbrook CA, June 30, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) 5960, 1143-, Radio Fly, Jun 30. Very good reception with non-stop western vocals. The edge in signal strength goes to // 3915, though, as 5960 does suffer from slight adjacent splatter, whereas 3915 is totally in the clear. 'Radio Fly' ID by a woman at 1200:30. Still going strong at 1220 with a John Denver song, then, 'It's so easy to fall in love', 'Give me that old Rock n Roll', etc. 3915 still preferred due to a lot of adjacent splatter on 5960. ID and time check at 1231 (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4746.9, R. Huanta 2000, Huanta, 0052-0104* June 27, Spanish. Nice OA music; religious music at 0058; dead air at 0100; M at 0101 with barely audible s/off announcement; poor in ECCS-LSB (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, N.H. USA, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5120.457, 27.6 2305, Ondas del Suroriente, Quillabamba med reklamer och ID 2-3 TN (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin June 27 via DXLD) ** PERU. Re: 4974.7, Pacífico Radio, Lima. 0907, Spanish, weak but clear with mensajes or noticias, thought actual ID was (listed) Radio Pacífico or Del Pacífico but I only heard a reference to "Pacífico Radio" and also a mention of "Lima" and "640 (kHz) amplitud modulada." 17/6 (David Sharp, Bourke, NSW (NRD-535D, FT-950, R8, ICF-2010, ICF- SW7600GR, etc., July Australia DX News via DXLD) Very good 0636 with vocalist, bit of ute bother on 27/6. Pacífico Radio & Radio Del Pacífico IDs are used interchangeably on air, and on station website (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW (Drake R8A, Icom R75, Racal RA-17), DX-Pedition Macquarie, July Australian DX News via DXLD) ** PERU. 3329.6, Ondas del Huallaga, 1145, Spanish, was looking for CHU, which dominated freq earlier, and happily found this instead with about the best signal I've ever had from them. Near 100% copy with continuous talk by a man, reference to "Programa Información" and local time check. Completely alone on freq. 16 June. 4774.94, Radio Tarma, 1124, Spanish, presumed with talk by a man, reverb ads, local mentions but NO ID. 16 June. 4857.426, Radio La Hora, 1146, Spanish, good with huaynos, brief reverb mention of "Cusco" over the music. Very good. 18 June. 4939.97, Radio San Antonio, 1154, Spanish, in the clear with general conversation by man, with a casual "Radio San Antonio" ID coupled with local time check. 22 June. 4974.7, Pacífico Radio, 0907, Spanish, weak but clear with mensajes or noticias, thought actual ID was (listed) Radio Pacífico or Del Pacífico but I only heard a reference to "Pacífico Radio" and also a mention of "Lima" and "640 (kHz) amplitud modulada." 17 June. 6173.86, Radio Tawantinsuyo, 1200, Spanish, noted as massive het against 6175. Readable in LSB, with noticias. First time reception here. 23 June (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF- 2010, ICF-SW7600GR, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 3329.544, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco 0945 to 1010 with usual YL and music, struggling signal. 23 June (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro DL - NRD 535D - Drake R 7, 60 meter band dipole ~ Noise Reducing Antenna, condiglist yg via DXLD) 4790, Radio Visión, Chiclayo seems on irregular schedule, 27 June 4835.5, Radio Marañón, Jaen, 1110 to 1117, om and yl with música de Peru, Killed by WWCR [4840] slop 1117. 27 June 5039.25, Radio Libertad, Junín, 1105 to 1115, música de Perú, with Havana silent, good signal lock on R8. 27 June (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro DL - NRD 535D - Drake R 7, 60 meter band dipole ~ Noise Reducing Antenna, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 15285, R. Pilipinas/VOP, 0240-0326, June 30. Special live coverage of the inaugural ceremony for the new President (Benigno Aquino III) and Vice President (Jejomar Binay); limited English; mostly in Tagalog; invocation/prayers; a lot of music (religious songs, along with nationalist/folk songs); background sound of the large crowd. Probably was an audio feed from the national TV coverage; no IDs; almost fair. Very nice to hear this first hand coverage! The audio attachment has some music from the inaugural ceremony (“Apo Hiking Society”). (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND [non]. Polish Radio, 26 June 2010 at 1724 UT tune in on 9770 kHz. Excellent feature on an exhibition of Jews in Poland during the 1939 to 1945 Nazi occupation. The guide was touring the exhibition room by room, mentioning letters and postcards in Krakow, which was called the most notorious prison of the Nazis. At end of transmission, male announcer requested letters and e-mails. SINPO=35333, weak but listenable and well worth tuning in this afternoon. (Program for Europe). 73's, (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. 21655, RDPI with Portuguese rap about the Internet, fair signal and OSOB, June 27 at 1417 // 15560 which is often VG but not now, marred by bubbling spur from cable DTV converters Suddenlink forces us to install (and they`re always `on`), or else (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. 7350, R. Romania International, Tiganesti. Good in Romanian with some fading 0412 on 11/6 (Gavin Hellyer, Ararat Vic (FRG-8800/R-2000/DX-440, Long Wires/Inverted V Dipole), July Australian DX News via DXLD) At 0400 on 23/6 ID as Radio Romania Radio Journal and news in Romanian // 558 and other frequencies like 153, 603, etc. At 0418 on LW 153 the program was Radio Antenna Shatelor, but on 7350 and 558, 756, 855 etc. the program was Radio Romania Actualitata [sic]. No Radio Romania International is 0400-0456! (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF- 2001, Marconi antenna), July Australian DX News via DXLD) Yes, it is, scheduled on 7350 at 0400-0500 to SE Europe from Galbeni, 300 kW, 285 degrees, in Romanian (gh, DXLD) 17510, June 25 at 1153, YL rock song in English; could be VOA Music Mix, but of course it`s really the hip RRI, filling out English hour to 1155 sign-off until next at 1700 on 11735, 9535; with usual satellite info, WRN plug. I had just scanned 19m and found nothing at all except the REE CR open carrier on 15170 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 5930, Radio Rossii. In Russian, ID at 0237 on 23/6 and the program called "Daragaya Muzyka" (Dear Music). Seems was from transmitter in NW Russia - motorboat sound! (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF-2001, Marconi antenna), July Australian DX News via DXLD) Are there two of them doing that on 5930? The motorboater we hear until 1300* is Petropavlovsk/Kamchatskiy in FE Russia, but surely not propagable to Europe during the long daytime from 17 to 10 UT in Pet/Kam (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USSR ** SAUDI ARABIA. SAUDI ARABIA TO ACQUIRE DRM-READY HIGH POWER 250 KW HF TRANSMITTERS http://www.drm.org/index.php?p=news_item&uid=211 Continental Electronics will supply a quantity of 4 each 250 kW HF DRM-ready transmitters and associated equipment to the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Information (MOI) through First Gulf Company of Riyadh. First Gulf will construct an entirely new HF station where the transmitters, antennas, and other equipment will be installed at the existing Al Khumra site outside Jeddah. The Al Khumra station was constructed by Continental Electronics and its civil contractor between 1978 and 1980, and the site presently accommodates multiple 2-megawatt and 1-megawatt Medium Wave transmitters. The new high-power HF DRM-ready transmitters will enhance the Saudi MOI's digital broadcast capabilities and can reach targeted audiences at long distance ranges with a clear, high quality signal. The DRM- ready transmitters are similar to those recently supplied to Broadcast Australia and to Radio-TV Malaysia, employing Transradio's latest DRM exciters with its unique pre-correction features. The transmitters will be delivered in the latter part of 2010 and the station is planned to be fully operational by mid-2011 (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dxldyg via DXLD) 1 Comment on “Saudi Arabia to acquire DRM-ready 250 kW HF transmitters” 1. #1 ruud on Jun 26th, 2010 at 13:57 DRM ready does not say anything about DRM broadcasts. Actually, you cannot buy new Hi power HF transmitters without the DRM option. The DRM consortium is making misleading propaganda. As for this country - RNW has NO broadcasts in DRM. There are NO receivers with DRM in the shops (Media Network blog comment via DXLD) ** SERBIA [non]. BOSNIA/SERBIA(non), Summer A-10 schedule of International Radio Serbia: 1800-1828 on 6100 BIJ 250 kW / 070 deg to RUS Russian 1830-1858 on 6100 BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to WeEu English 1900-1928 on 6100 BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to WeEu Spanish 1930-1958 on 6100 BIJ 250 kW / non-dir to WeEu Serbian Sun-Fri 1930-2028 on 6100#BIJ 250 kW / non-dir to WeEu Serbian Sat 2000-2028 on 6100#BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to WeEu German Sun-Fri 2030-2058 on 6100#BIJ 250 kW / non-dir to WeEu French 2100-2128 on 6100#BIJ 250 kW / non-dir to WeEu English 2130-2158 on 6100#BIJ 250 kW / 100 deg to AUS Serbian 0000-0028 on 9675 BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to NoAm Serbian Mon-Sat 0000-0058 on 9675 BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to NoAm Serbian Sun 0030-0058 on 9675 BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to NoAm English Mon-Sat 0100-0128 on 9675 BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to NoAm Serbian Wed # co-channel China Radio International in Arabic from 2000 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria 01 July, as of 30 June via DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. U.K.(non). Updated summer A-10 of FEBA Radio: West and Central Africa 1830-1900 on 15250 ASC 250 kW / 070 deg French Daily 2145-2215 on 11985 ASC 250 kW / 027 deg Hassinya/Pulaar Mo/Tu/Th/Fr East Africa - Ethiopia, Sudan 1600-1630 on 12125 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg Amharic Thu-Sun 1600-1630 on 12125 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg Guragena Mon-Wed 1630-1700 on 12125 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg Amharic Daily 1600-1630 on 11655 ARM 300 kW / 188 deg Afar Daily 1630-1700 on 9865 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg Tigrinya Sun-Wed 1630-1700 on 9865 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg Amharic Thu-Sat 1700-1730 on 5935 DHA 250 kW / 215 deg Somali Daily 1700-1800 on 9630 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg Oromo/Tigrinya Daily 1730-1800 on 5890 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg Afar Daily Middle East 0800-0830 on 15280 MOS 300 kW / 115 deg Arabic Daily 1900-1930 on 7230 WER 250 kW / 105 deg Arabic Daily 1900-2030 on 9550 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg Arabic Daily West Asia - Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran 0200-0300 on 12035 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg Urdu Sun 0200-0230 on 12035 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg Urdu Mon-Sat 0230-0300 on 12035 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg Pashto Mon-Sat 0200-0315 on 9725 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg Pashto/Dari Daily 1400-1445 on 9500 NVS 250 kW / 195 deg Urdu Daily 1445-1500 on 9500 NVS 250 kW / 195 deg Pashto Daily 1500-1530 on 11755 ERV 300 kW / 125 deg Dari Daily South Asia - North India, Nepal, Tibet 0015-0030 on 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg Bengali Daily 0030-0045 on 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg Hindi Sun/Wed 0030-0045 on 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg Bhojpuri Mon/Tue 0030-0045 on 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg Bengali Thu-Sat 0045-0100 on 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg Hindi Daily 1200-1230 on 15215 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg Tibetan Daily 1430-1445 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg Urdu Daily 1445-1500 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg Kangri Mon 1445-1500 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg Bhili Tue 1445-1500 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg Kashmiri Wed-Sat 1445-1500 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg Punjabi Sun 1500-1530 on 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg Bengali Daily South Asia - South India 0130-0200 on 9725 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg Telugu Thu/Fri/Sun 0130-0200 on 9725 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg Tamil Mon-Wed/Sat 1400-1415 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg Malayalam Mon-Sat 1415-1430 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg Kannada Mon-Wed/Fri 1415-1430 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg Lambadi Thu 1415-1430 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg Konkani Sat 1400-1430 on 12025 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg English Sun (DX Mix News, Bulgaria 01 July, as of 30 June via DXLD) ** SIKKIM. I can receive AIR regional station on 4837.2 kHz, s/off at 1600 UT for around 1 week. 1700 s/off on 22 Jun. Varying of AIR Gangtok on 4835 kHz? (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, UT Jun 30, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. Hi all! Some new QSLs received in the last 4 months: - R. Rasant, via IRRS, Rimavska Sobota, 9510, QSL (with tx site) and touristic brochure of Sundern in 3 weeks for e-report to redaktion_radio_rasant @ yahoo.de v/s Reinhard Marx. - JSWC, via DX Partyline, via IRRS Rimavska Sobota, 9510, QSL (with tx site), info, sked of NHK in 6 weeks for 2 US $. Address: JSWC, Box 44, Kamakura 248-8691, Japan. v/s J. Ohtake (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, HCDX via DXLD) So IRRS clients will confirm true SLOVAKIA site tho IRRS will never acknowledge it (gh) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, S.I.B.C. at 1123 man in English with sports scores, including FIFA World Cup, 1151 ad or PSA with mention of malaria. Fair, June 28 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Eton E1 and Sony An1 active antenna, listening from my car, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 9825, 0506-, Deutsche Welle, Jun 28. Good reception in English from the Meyerton relay. Also heard was the Rwanda relay on 9700 (good/very good), and 7430 (poor/fair from UK). Listed Portuguese relay on 6180 not heard (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [and non]. 15385, REE Emisión Sefarad check Monday June 28 at 1425, JBA carrier in very poor propagation from Europe; Greece 15630 also barely audible before 1400 with non-Greekish music presumably substituting during 2-day strike. Have set the alarm for 0110 June 29 to see whether the South American Sephardic repeat is really reactivated on 11795. Antonio Buitrago of REE conveyed assurances that following ``transmitter problems`` for months, the weekly Sephardic show to S America scheduled UT Tuesdays at 0115-0145 on 11795 would surely be back on the air as of June 22 --- but I missed checking for it then. So I set the alarm and made sure to seek it June 29 from 0113: NOTHING on 11795 thru 0120, altho REE direct in Spanish to SAm sufficient on 11680. Also listened on formerly listed and announced frequency 11780 for this, but as usual RNA was in continuous loud music, and could not detect even the REE IS or fanfare underneath it, tho signal wavered a bit possibly caused by a much weaker signal underneath subaudibly heterodyning it; or not. REE was the 13m OSOB, June 29 at 1411, poor on 21570 but better than // 21610 and traces of 21540 mixed with Kuwait (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. 7200, SRTC, *0228-0340, June 27, sign on with Qur`an. Arabic talk. Local tribal chants. Local pop music. “Huna Omdurman” IDs. Announcements. Promos. Gave website address. Chirping birds. Fair to good but with weak co-channel QRM from Iran until their 0330 sign off. Occasional HAM QRM (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** SUDAN [non]. via Slovakia, 9740, Miraya FM, 0357-0430, June 27, Arabic talk. English news at 0401-0412. Back to Arabic after 0412. “Miraya” jingles. Pop music. Local Sudanese music. Poor with adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** SWAZILAND. 3200, 0452-, TWR, Mpangela Ranch, Jun 28. English religious programming at fair level. Stronger than BBCWS from Meyerton on 3255 at the same time (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. SAQ will be on air on Alexanderson Day, Sunday 4 July 2010 at 0900 and 1200 UT. The frequency is 17.2 kHz CW. Start-up and tuning of the transmitter about half an hour before the transmissions. Reports are welcome and will be confirmed by QSL-cards. QSL reports can be given via: - E-mail to: info @ alexander.n.se - or fax to: +46-340-674195 - or via SM bureau - or direct by mail to: Alexander - Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner, Radiostationen, Grimeton 72, S-430 16 ROLFSTORP, SWEDEN Note: SAQ is now a member of the Swedish Amateur Association (SSA) and "QSL via bureau" is OK. http://www.alexander.n.se/transmissions.htm (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. 7245, Voice of Tajik. Heard with bad modulation especially when a lady is reading. Political comment about Kyrgyzstan and the role of Tajikistan at 1324 after native song, more songs. At 1400 IDs in several languages, beginning with ``Insedaye Ovoi Tajik`` and feat. also in English and in Russian (Zdravstvuite daragie slushateli, v ephire Golas Tajikistana = Hallo Dear Listeners, on the air is Voice [of] Tajikistan), next song and talk in presumed Tajik language on 23/6 - with fair signal, but on 24/6 and 25/6 low level signal. No other stations on 7245 at these times (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF-2001, Marconi antenna), July Australian DX News via DXLD) ** TIBET. 7350, 1538-, Holy Tibet, Jun 28. Fair reception with Tibetan chants. Looked for parallels. 9480 very difficult due to WTWW on 9479 and VOA Philippines splatter from 9485 (very strong; Special English). 6010 just at threshold. Nothing noted on 6200 (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. Altho VOT English was audible yesterday on 15450, not June 25 at 1240, while Turkish music on 13635 was only poor (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. Nos es grato departir con ustedes los mensajes electrónicos que hizo llegar a nuestra redacción una autoridad en el diexismo internacional en español: nos referimos a don Juan Franco Crespo, de Valls-Tarragona, España, que solemos citar en nuestras ediciones. En uno ofrece a los diexistas los artículos que ha facilitado para su difusión en la Revistas del Club S500. Y en el segundo mensaje vienen unas noticias de diexismo que queremos presentarles a continuación: TURQUÍA.- Peor se nos presenta con Turquía que a pesar de la excelente señal que tiene en mi zona, estos días de junio me he encontrado varias veces que la programación que ponen en el aire en la trancha horaria española 1630 UTC, o se trata de un error reiterado o el personal está por otras funciones ya que, en esos momentos, en la frecuencia habitual del servicio español suele pasar programación en idioma ¿Pasto, Dari o Turkmeno? Lamentablemente el WRTH (World Radio and TV Handbook) ya no lleva la totalidad de las identificaciones y las emisiones resultan más difíciles de identificar cuando te sales de los idiomas europeos. [WTFK??] Agradecemos la cooperación con nuestra emisora, muy en especial la de don Juan Franco Crespo, de Valls, Tarragona, España y, deseamos a todos unos dichosos ´73. Fuente: Correo de los oyentes, El Rincón Diexista [Voz de Rusia]. 18 de junio de 2010: http://bit.ly/bIVPFK (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** UGANDA. New 4976.00, 2245-2255 Sat 26.06, UBC Radio, Kampala. English phone-in talks with Afropop in the background. Late programme on Sat, 44333, QRM heterodyne maybe from Peru. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, what I heard here in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4976 is not a new frequency for Uganda, but Anker has his own definitions of what is `new` (gh) ** UGANDA [non]. The basic form letter QSL can be personalized (gh) Baganda Radio, Uganda via Issoudun, Frankrike-15410 med e-mail + två filer med stationsillustrationer från Internet. Jag skriver ned hela texten, efter den innehåller en hel del information: Dear Mr. Bjorn Fransson, Thanks for your interesting letter. Your reception report is correct. So, we can confirm that on 29 May 2010, at 17.00 UTC and on 15410 KHz, you listened to Radiyo Y'Abaganda, via Issoudun, France. Sorry for the delayed response, but things tend to get super hectic over here. The Radio is called Baganda Radio (in Luganda Rediyo Y'Abaganda), you can get more information about who we are from our website www.Ababaka.com. Our short wave broadcast is fed directly from our internet radio live show every Saturday at 17.00 and for one hour. The language spoken in our programme is Luganda of the Baganda people. We are about 8-10 million strong, inside a country called Uganda in East Africa. Buganda (Baganda are the people and Buganda their territory) is in central Uganda, right at the head waters of the Nile, flowing from Lake Victoria. It's a beautiful place too, just like Gotland. I don't know about your Island, but there are quite a few Baganda in Sweden. And we are very grateful for all the help Sweden have given our people through out these difficult times. Being a Greene Peace person, I hope you'll be interested to learn that our listeners are aware of our environmental problems (the Baganda are so by tradition). One of the reasons the present Ugandan government has lost the Buganda's vote is because of its disregard of people's wishes concerning the environment conservation; the forests and the wild animals. Once again we apologize for taking this long to write back. Please find attached our station cards. Greetings to everyone there in beautiful Gotland especially your family. I hope you are all having a great summer. Warm Regards, Alex Kalazani Kigongo, For www.Ababaka.com Admin. Team Ha det så bra, alla SWB-are i världen! 73 från (Björn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin June 27 via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** U S S R. BPEMR [sic] Soviet video --- Hello Glenn, within the last year on dxld, there was a link from a Russian website that had a video of the sign on of BPEMR Soviet TV. It was a beautiful opening of the "clock" and video of the Kremlin, flags, and all Soviet stuff while the national anthem played. There was the news after that with male and female announcer with the infamous BPEMR logo, along with those two giant desk microphones in front of the OM and the OW. I was wondering if you knew what that site was. It also had other videos and such of soviet TV and stuff. It was excellent as I remember seeing clips of the infamous BPEMR [sic] logo and Soviet TV during the nightly news in the 80's. The site was all in Russian and I believe had the .ru domain. I have searched the net for an hour and have not found it. thanks (Steve Price, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Steve, Must have been this from DXLD 9-084 [under USSR]. I searched the archive on vremya and BREMR but nothing hit, until I tried ``Soviet TV`` 73, (Glenn to Steve, via DXLD) Yessss !!!!!! That is just what I was looking for. That brings back the days of Radio Moscow, watching Tom Brokaw, and seeing clips of BPEMR. Look at this fantastic link: http://www.cccp-tv.ru/cinema/Vremja_27_11_1985_Sessija_Verkho (Steve Price, ibid.) ** U S A [non]. New schedule Voice of America Georgian from June 28: 1600-1700 9435 LAM 100 kW / 092 deg, 13745 WER 250 kW / 090 retimed 1700-1800 7425 BIB 100 kW / 088 deg, 11940 BIB 100 kW / 085 unchanged 1530-1600 11945 IRA 250 kW / 324 deg, 15460 LAM 100 kW / 092 deleted 1600-1630 9850 LAM 100 kW / 092 deg, 15460 WER 250 kW / 090 deleted (DX Mix News, Bulgaria 01 July, as of 30 June via DXLD) ** U S A. 17585, VOA Greenville, VG signal June 25 after news, 1405 starting Music Mix, so Africans can`t hear Crossroads Asia. Today stayed on until abrupt cutoff 1430* amid music, another insult to listeners, how rude. If they had their priorities straight, would at least insert a hard break in MM to make it smooth and seem intentional, but that would require the dog wagging the tail. At least today did not dump off the air at 1417* as it did June 24; but no doubt that was an unavoidable aging transmitter problem. 17585, VOA Greenville 1400-1430: while on weekdays this block is filled by Music Mix after news on the hour, weekends Africans axually get some food for thought. Saturday June 26 at 1405 it`s ``On the Line``, with Edward Felton and Gordon Chang discussing Chicom censorship of the internet, consensus that they are not going to succeed in the long run; 1427 USG Editorial about Iran, ending just in time for 1430*. {N.B.: these programs were mainly about Asia, not Africa! Yet on weekdays, Africans are forbidden to hear VOA`s ``Crossroads Asia``.} Sunday June 27 at 1414 check, a report on ``Stark Raving Mad``, adventure racing in Muskegon MI; VG signal, backwards Africa azimuth (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1518 confirmed on WWRB 3185`s webcast, UT Friday June 25 at 0330 – except it started a couple minutes early. That left Dave Frantz time at 0357 to talk about his Four Course Range Historical Video on YouTube; see http://www.wwrb.org --- before joining The Overcomer, except there were several minutes of dead air until a non-BS speaker appeared after 0400. WOR 1518 not heard before or after 0000 UT Friday on Area 51 webcast. But confirmed on ACB Radio webcast, UT Friday June 25 after 0100 to be repeated 2-hourly thru 2330; and on WRMI 9955 webcast at 0030 and 1430 Friday. Next SW airings are Friday 2029 on WWCR 15825; Sat 0800 on WRMI; Sat 0800 on IPAR 7290 (maybe, if not pre-empted); Sat 1630 on WWCR 12160. Complete schedule at http://www.worldofradio.com/radiosked.html 15825, WWCR-1, starting WORLD OF RADIO 1518 a semiminute early at 2029:30 UT Friday June 25. It was not handy to monitor the conclusion, but should have ended by 2058:15, I hope not cut off this time for QSY business. Next airing at 1630 Saturday June 26 on 12160, WWCR-2, also ended about a semi-minute early, complete. 7490, WWCR-2, June 26 at 1307 with bass-baritone singing hymn to tune of ``O Sole Mio`` but now ``O How I Love Him``; obviously it`s Martha Garvin pounding the piano accompaniment, and her Musical Memories show is finally on the June 1 WWCR program guide for 1300 Saturdays. Then she talks with her guest, Gary Moore, as they joke about his performing here for free (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5070 test transmission --- Hey Glenn; I wanted to let you know that WWCR will be running a test of 5070 on transmitter 4 Sunday morning 4- 6 am (0900-1100 UT [June 27]). The test transmission will replace 5890 during this time frame. 9980 will sign on at its usual 7.00 am (1200 UT). It's two hours of good blues, too. Cordially; (Dr Jerry Plummer, WWCR, June 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST, in advance via dxldyg) ** U S A. 9955, WRMI, UT Sunday June 27 at 0500 with ``Encontro DX``, the Brasilian DX program, instead of ``La Voz del Consejo`` clandestine as in the latest WRMI program grid I have dated June 8. So have they canceled other broadcasts too? Axually I was listening on webcast with no reception problems. Instead of speaking radio-Portuguese clearly even for non-native speakers, the show is a rapid colloquial dialog between two hosts and various DXCB contributors, so I had trouble understanding everything. Includes Catholic propaganda, since it originally airs on Rádio Aparecida Saturday nights, as mentioned several times. Finally broke for an old 78(?) song recording at the half hour before I QRT. Program lasts a full hour. 9955, WRMI, Sunday June 27 at 1330, WOR theme JBA at new time, with lite bubble jamming, tnx a lot, Arnie! But plenty against lite signal from WRMI, plus and minus ACI from Taiwan and Taiwan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: Just that one re-broadcast of La Voz del Consejo has been replaced with Encontro DX (Jeff White, WRMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9955, WRMI, Tuesday June 29 at 2104 in Spanish DX program, Historias de Radio by Daniel Camporini; fair-poor, no jamming audible unlike most days at this hour e.g. when English DX program WORLD OF RADIO is on; try Thursday. Tnx a lot, Arnie! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WTWW Test Transmission, 27 June 2010 from 1734 to 1840 UT on 9480 kHz. Male ID at 1800 mentioned this was a test transmission, but gave no address for reception reports. The entire program was Pastor Pete Peters going off on all different tangents, at one point playing the Beatles "Revolution" and Engelbert Humperdink singing "Delilah," both in relation to the demonic 1960's. Also played a clip of Tom Brokaw mentioning that in 1968 "powerful forces were unleashed in America." Be that as it may, the FCC lists this transmitter location as 131 Hiwassee Road, Lebanon, TN. Coordinates 36 16 35 N Latitude, 086 05 58 W Longitude. Transmitter listed as Continental Electronics 418E, 2 x 100 kW. (per FCC website). Good signal, despite fading and signal absorption which may be due to the unsettled geomagnetic field (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ed, Did you mean they were definitely on 9480 instead of the usual 9479? That would explain why it was a `test`; otherwise, not. 73, (Glenn to Ed, via DXLD) Hi Glenn, Yes, I logged WTWW on 9480 kHz, but I was using the up-down tuning switch on my R8A, which means that I landed on 9480. They were coming in clearly enough for me not to fine tune, so I just listened here and heard the announcement that this was a test transmission. 73's, (Ed Insinger, From Cape May, NJ, ibid.) New Address for WTWW --- Glenn: I just visited the WTWW homepage and instead of the 611 Ormond Drive, Nashville address, they give the one referenced here: http://www.wtww.us/contactus 73's, (Noble West, TN, June 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ?? Correct link is: http://wtww.us/pages/contact.php Viz.: CONTACT MAILING ADDRESS: WTWW 1784 West Northfield Blvd. # 305 Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37129 USA (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** U S A. CALL INTO A.R.R.L. FIELD DAY LIVE ON SHORTWAVE Put your Field Day group on the air live on QSO's live Field Day broadcast (with Ted Randall) on 7.415 MHZ with 50,000 watts starting Saturday [June 26] at 1:00 PM Central till 4 PM Central, then from 7 PM Central till whenever we run out of calls! [1800-2100 UT, 0000-] Once again on 7.415 MHZ call in from your group at 615-469-0702. Promote Your Group, the A.R.R.L. and ......the Hobby around the world! Live stream available at http://www.qsoradioshow.com/ A TransWorld Backpacker and a Heil Traveler headset will be given away in a drawing at the end of the broadcast. To be eligible to win you must be an Amateur Radio Club calling in and participating in A.R.R.L. Field Day. These items are given away to promote Amateur Radio Club activity during Field Day! What: Field Day Live Broadcast on Shortwave Radio & Streaming Audio When: Saturday from 1 PM Central till 4 PM Central then continued from 7 PM Central till we run out of callers. Where: on 7.415 MHZ WBCQ and Streaming Audio at http://www.qsoradioshow.com The Broadcast will be downloadable from the website, ITunes and Zune Marketplace. When calling in you can gather members of your group and visitors and let them talk over International Shortwave Radio and tell about their A.R.R. L. Field Day experience! Lets broadcast the excitement and fun! Have a GREAT Field Day everyone! QSO Radio Show! ----- CALL IN NUMBER 615-469-0702 (Ted Randall, June 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As publicized in advance in the DXLD yg, WBCQ was live with Field Day call-ins June 26 far into UT June 27, keeping 7415 on the air much later than usual: at 0554, Ted Randall and guest were discussing who would get the prizes. Meanwhile 7000-7300 was crammed with CW and SSB from all the Field Dayers making direct contacts, ditto at 1320. {WBCQ is registered to run 7415 as late as it likes, indeed 24 hours, whatever the collisions.} (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Rabishu Xul`s 2004 interview of Marion Webster of "Marion`s Attic": website, http://www.METALWHORE.com/main (Frederic Jodry, June 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I.e. WBCQ show ** U S A. Arabic on WRNO Worldwide --- Dear Glenn, it was recently reported in your DX Listening Digest, that WRNO Worldwide now carries some Arabic programming. This is no surprise, because already in 2005 the owners of the station announced that they had taken over some 3000 hours of programmes in Arabic. Unfortunately, I do not know more about the origin and content of the programmes. Those who want to know more about international religious broadcasting in Arabic (as well as some general information on broadcasting to the Arab world) might refer to the 962 page dissertation of Jos M. Strengholt: Gospel in the Air. 50 Years of Christian Witness through Radio in the Arab World, Zoetermeer 2008, http://www.boekencentrum.nl Kind regards, (Dr. Hansjoerg Biener - Neulichtenhofstr. 7 - DE-90461 Nuernberg - http://www.biener-media.de June 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15550 USB, WJHR, Milton, FL, 1735-1750, June 26, usual fire and brimstone preacher. Weak but readable (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 15550, 1524-, WJHR, Jun 29. Poor to fair reception with old religious preaching. Should improve over the next hour or two. The Perseus' new noise reduction (called NBV) is quite remarkable at pulling out audio from the noise! (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Additional transmissions of WYFR Family Radio English: 1700-1900 on 7560 UNID transmitter to WeEu, test 1800-1900 on 9600 UNID transmitter to SoAf, test 1800-1900 on 9880 UNID transmitter to SoAf, test 1800-2000 on 9925 UNID transmitter to SoAf, test 2100-2300 on 9715 DHA 250 kW / 330 deg to WeEu, cancelled (DX Mix News, Bulgaria 01 July, as of 30 June via DXLD) ** U S A. 17362-SSB, just as I tuned by at 1400 June 30, hurricane warning for south Texas by halting robo-YL-voice; soon moved on to eastern N Pacific where things are relatively quiet. 1403 short traffic list; lost sailor`s last known position in the Strait of Magellan, callsign JE6BBF – sounds like a ham. 1404 standing by for calls, ID mumbled, I think as KLB (Kent WA) but could be WLO Mobile AL co-transmitter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Next day I googled the callsign, and besides my own report, found http://www.boatwatchnet.org/FullText.htm and with map: http://saito8.blogspot.com/2010/03/urgent-request-to-locate-missing-sailor.html Skipper's full name: Mr. Keiichi Chinami Age: 62 Nationality: Japanese Name of boat: "Kifu," 35-foot ketch Home port: Fukuoka, Japan No. of persons on board: 1 EPIRB registration No.: TBA Radio call sign: JE6BBF (Iridium phone also on board) Missing since: March 11, 2010 Last known position: 051 deg 08 min S, 086 deg 55 min W (approx 438 nm west of Strait of Magellan Pacific entrance) Last port: New Zealand in mid-January, sailing eastward (toward Cape Horn) Next intended port: Puerto Williams in Strait of Magellan (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn: I noticed a couple of Dallas/Ft. Worth stations on 25 MHz last night via the nice e skip opening we had. 25990 NFM, KSCS (studio link), Dallas Ft. Worth, 0220 June 27, Country music format. ID "96 three KSCS" Signal full quieting on peaks with minimal fading. 25910 NFM, WBAP (studio link), Dallas Ft. Worth, 0221 June 27, Medical talk show. Dallas gold and silver exchange ad. ID mentioning AM and FM frequencies. The link audio was ahead of the AM outlet by a few seconds. Signal full quieting on peaks with minimal fading (David Hodgson, TN, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KFUO-FM Final Days Until 7/6 After 62 years, KFUO-FM (Classic99), St. Louis MO, will be leaving the air following the sale of the station to a "Christian pop-music/rock" broadcaster on July 6th. KFUO-FM was St. Louis's 24/7 classical music source and arts community outreach of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. KFUO-AM (850 KHz., 5 KW-Day))will remain on the air and owned/operated by the LCMS, as it has been since 1925. Fortunately, KWMU (90.7), our NPR affiliate at UM-St.Louis has added HD KWMU-3 as a 24/7 classical music source, with live Saturday St. Louis Symphony Orchestra concert broadcasts starting 9/18/2010 on the main channel. New manager at KWMU has been an agressive force in keeping St. Louis well covered by quality radio on 3 HD channels. http://www.kwmu.org 73 (Chuck -. ----- . .. ... 25 June, amfmtvdx at qth.net via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** U S A. IS ANYBODY LISTENING? AMERICAN OPERA FACES CROSSROADS AS AUDIENCES FOR PERFORMING ARTS SLIDE By Anne Midgette, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, June 27, 2010 [Warning: altho gh finds this of interest and exercises editorial prerogative, story does not get into opera broadcasts, not even Met] When "Moby-Dick," a new opera by Jake Heggie, was announced as part of the Dallas Opera's season in its brand-new Winspear Opera House, there was skepticism in the opera world. How was this long, discursive novel going to make it to the stage in any form that would get people to want to listen to it? It became a standard joke to ask which large singer would play the whale. Surprise. When it opened on April 30, "Moby-Dick" turned out to be the hit of the season. The audience screamed approval, and performances promptly sold out. A lot is happening in American opera. The past 20 years have seen an increasing number of new works, but this spring hit a critical mass with three world premieres at major American companies within five weeks: "Moby-Dick" was followed in May by "Amelia" in Seattle and "Before Night Falls" in Fort Worth. Coming up are "Life Is a Dream" in Santa Fe in July and "Il Postino," starring Placido Domingo, in Los Angeles in September. And those are just the big companies. All this in spite of the dire financial climate that's forcing belt-tightening at arts institutions across the country. Yet American opera is at a crossroads. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/24/AR2010062406932_pf.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. College radio station KVTI a victim of budget cuts, drops Top 40 for [blank] College radio station KVTI a victim of budget cuts, drops Top 40 format --- BRENT CHAMPACO; STAFF WRITER Published: 06/26/1012:05 am | Updated: 06/26/10 6:24 am “I believe you don’t know what you’ve got until you say goodbye.” This closing line to “Affirmation,” an upbeat song by Australian pop group Savage Garden, has special significance to John Mangan. Sure, it was just one of thousands of Top 40 tunes that he and his students at Lakewood-based KVTI 90.9 FM had thrown into the radio station’s rotation since 1988. But for Mangan, the station manager, program director and instructor since 1982, when the station’s programming consisted of soft rock music and public service announcements a few hours a day, it was a perfect fit for the last song ever aired on the commercial-free station run by Clover Park Technical College. Shortly after midnight June 17, one of the most popular South Sound- based Top 40 stations – known to thousands of local teen- and 20- something listeners as “I-91” – went dead. The station hit the airwaves again Monday with a different format: classical music and National Public Radio feeds. Washington State University now controls operations and programming for the 51,000-watt station. The conversion was the culmination of a year of sadness for Mangan and his protégés. Clover Park informed him last year that its decision was based on a hard budgetary fact: Radio stations are expensive to operate. This month, Clover Park announced plans to cut $1.3 million worth of employees and programs from the college’s $30 million operating budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, including radio broadcasting, mechanical engineering design and legal support. The college also said it was paring back programs that offer less promising careers, and that radio broadcasting is struggling along with other media. “We can’t sit back and invest money in something that doesn’t have a strong future for students,” Clover Park spokesman Shawn Jennison explained this week. “If a program is considered successful, you have to have more than a dozen students interested.” The college’s reasoning didn’t sit well with Mangan, and still doesn’t. “I was in shock,” he said this week. “I told the president I didn’t see that at all.” Mangan, who lives near Fife, said even as the station counted down to its inevitable closure, it grew in popularity. Its audience peaked to an all-time high of 160,000 listeners per week over the winter, and hovered around 120,000 listeners when it closed this month. He said it also had plenty of local sponsorships and support from local businesses. And while the broadcast program had a 20-student maximum, 19 students were enrolled when the closure was announced last year. The last six students graduated this month. He estimates that more than 500 students enrolled in the program since 1982, and many went on to work at radio stations all over the country. Mark Allen, president and CEO of the Washington State Association of Broadcasters in Olympia, said there continues to be a demand for skilled employees in the radio broadcast industry, especially for people with multimedia and other skills that are auxiliary to music or talk radio. He also noted there are other schools that offer strong, post-high school broadcast programs, including WSU’s Edward R. Murrow School of Communication and Bellevue Community College. “You can’t always find something that’s in your local community, but the opportunity is there,” Allen said. “I see a demand for folks who want to get into this.” The new programming at 90.9 FM doesn’t require a person, let alone students, to operate the studio in Lakewood. WSU’s radio arm, Northwest Public Radio, is based in Pullman. It sends feeds to Clover Park and 14 other participating stations in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Kerry Swanson, station manager at Northwest Public Radio in Pullman, said KVTI listeners have contacted the station about how much they like the new lineup. He acknowledged the South Sound already has radio stations with classical and NPR programming. “If they’re an NPR fan and a classical music fan, they’ve got it all in one place,” he said. But to local pop fans, the new KVTI is, like, totally lame. Mangan, who continued to grade papers and move belongings in the days after the station went dead, said shortly after the transition the station received “an avalanche of calls” from fans of the old lineup, some of whom were in tears. During its heyday, the station won national and regional awards. It also regularly featured acoustic and open-mike sessions. Two former students now working in the radio business say the station’s closure is about more than missing out on Lady Gaga. Kaz “DJ Kaz” Nascimento, an on-air talent for Movin 92.5 FM in Seattle, attended Clover Park from 2002 to 2004. He wrote in an e-mail that he learned about different aspects of the business through his experience at I-91. “The closing of KVTI will force people to choose a different career and give up their dream,” he wrote. Justin McDonald, general manager at Spirit of Alaska Broadcasting, is a Gig Harbor native who attended Clover Park from 1993-1994. “It’s not your typical college radio station,” he said. “Nothing in my experience was as valuable. It was like an internship.” Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/06/26/1242160/college-radio-station-a-victim.html#ixzz0s44EzxbQ (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Ciao! WHKT 1650 kHz, - 5041 Corporate Woods Drive # 165 - Virginia Beach VA 23462-4381 - U.S.A. con QSL in 2291 (non è un errore di battitura) giorni!!!!!! !!!!!!!! V/s Monica Rae Clanin Ward (Qsl Assistent, Promotion Manager & Chief Operator). Sent 1 IRC (Roberto Pavanello, Italy) W H K T 1650 kHz, Portsmouth, VA, former Radio Disney network, sold the 22 January 2010, Sent Email-F/up, Received F/d. Email in 3 d. V/s: (Promotion Manager & Chief Operator) Mrs. Monica Clanin Ward. (She doesn't work anymore at Radio Disney) (Mauricio Molano, Spain) (both via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) Hi! Radio Disney WHKT AM 1650 replied to me today. My reports were dated Nov 4th 2007 and 6 Feb 2009. 73's (Hannu, Paltamo, Finland, MWC via DXLD) Dear All, Receive a verification from: WHKT Portsmouth, Virginia, USA 1650 kHz Reception Date: 26 January 2006 Reception Time 07:06 UTC Radio Disney QSL at my home at 28 June 2010 Very nice after so long time. Greeting (Ge Huijbens, Beffe, Belgium, June 28, MWC via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** U S A. NYC Pirates (the Bronx) Rather then staying home and trying to ID unidentified 2 hop TV skip signals, my wife and I took a bus trip to the Bronx Zoo, and while parked in the Southern Blvd parking lot I heard the following pirates on my G8: 94.1, Caribbean music, not English, weak 94.5, Spanish Caribbean music, strong 95.3, Spanish Caribbean, strong 97.5, Caribbean music in English with many local Bronx Ads (some located on Webster Ave..), strong 101.5, Jamaican music, English, strong 102.5, Caribbean, weakish 103.7, Caribbean music "New York's Fresh New Radio" 106.9, Caribbean, weakish signal This is only the Bronx, folks. I'd love to hear what's on the air in the other boroughs. There can't be any open frequencies left (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT USA, WTFDA via DXLD) I live in Brooklyn, and sometimes there's as many as two dozen pirates up and down the dial, mainly on weekends, so if there's opening on the weekends, I'm cooked, but otherwise I do okay. The pirates are so transient, some operate only a few hours a day, others sporadically. It's a very hard scene to document (David Goren, ibid.) Mike, It's amazing how many pirates, FM and AM are popping up. I've found a few in some unlikely spots. I think with the proliferation of cheap technology, it makes it easy for people to get on the air. And unlike 50 years ago where a pirate could be identified quickly by their poor technical sound, the new pirates are often on par with other stations in the area, so unless you have a keen idea of the dial, sometimes they are hard to ID. Add to that the fact the FCC is reactive, rather than proactive to pirates, and it's easy to see what so many are on the air (Fred Vobbe, Lima OH, ibid.) There are Chinese sellers on Ebay offering 50 Watt FM transmitters WITH antenna and power supply for less than a good stereo goes for. I'm surprised the whole band isn't alive with those things (Curtis Sadowski, Paxton IL, ibid.) Mike, It's amazing how many pirates, FM and AM are popping up. I've found a few in some unlikely spots. I think with the proliferation of cheap technology, it makes it easy for people to get on the air. And unlike 50 years ago where a pirate could be identified quickly by their poor technical sound, the new pirates are often on par with other stations in the area, so unless you have a keen idea of the dial, sometimes they are hard to ID. Add to that the fact the FCC is reactive, rather than proactive to pirates, and it's easy to see what so many are on the air (Fred Vobbe, Lima OH, ibid.) It amazes me where these stations pop up, even in towns with populations of less than 300. In fact, when I think about it, I know at least three radio club members with those Broadcast Warehouse transmitters. I think a lot of them don't get noticed, except by WTFDA members that know the dial, and what SHOULD be on certain channels. But on a recent trip I encountered two that were not in Elvings book, nor the FCC database. Two other things that I think makes them stealthy is most don't sound like pirates. Their technical quality is good, and their programming doesn't really attract attention as being 'pirate". Not like the SW pirates here in the states. I'm surprised there are not more analog TV pirates around since there are exciters showing up at hamfests for as little as $100 (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) I was absolutely convinced I'd found one of these on a trip a few years back. I was en route to the Boise NRC/WTFDA convention and stopped off to see the stations in La Grande, Oregon - and on the way into town I saw a billboard for "U Rock 101 FM." Sure enough, there was a nice loud (and fairly commercial-sounding) signal at 100.9 (or was it 101.1?) on the dial, and nothing that I could find to match in a quick scan of the FCC database. It took me a couple of years to figure out what I really had: it was a translator for KLKY 96.1 Stanfield, Oregon, K266AJ. The explosion of new translators has launched a slew of "unlisted" new stations out there. If you're on the way to the NRC/WTFDA convention this August, you might pass through nearby Canandaigua and hear "Oldies 104.5" on your radio - that's W283BF, nominally a translator for WCGR 1550, but it's only the FM frequency that gets promoted these days. Then there are the HD2-on-translator operations, like "Rock 100.9" in Toledo, which is a translator "relaying" WXKR-94.5HD2. Which is not to say there aren't plenty of real pirates out there, too - just that they're getting harder to differentiate from licensed stations sometimes. s (Scott Fybush, Rochester NY, ibid.) There is no reason why any pirate who wishes to "blend in" with the existing commercial/NPR 'sound' cannot do so. The Chinese 50 watter is a start but the origin-design is superbly better - The Ramsey PX50 FM Stereo (any 88.1-107.9 from 1 to 50 watts in 1 watt steps); around US$2,000. In fact there are eastern-Europen versions plus the Asians for well under US$500 - but you get what you pay for and if the original audio passband is 'muddy' - well, "mud-in equals Mud Out." In our case (licensed properly; not a pirate) we go from our multiple PCs loaded with programming through the following sequence before reaching the input to the Ramsey (which by the way only operates at 4 watts out as it drives a 250 watt output OMB solid-state amp): Audio (mixer) board to dbx226xl 'compressor/gate', then a Symetrix 422 'Stereo AGC Leveler", finally a Inovonics 718/'David III' broadcast audio processor (a triband processor). Our stereo audio is brilliant, actually leaps out at you with even an in-car sound system. And with most modern PLL driven transmitters, the user can switch from any 88.1 to 107.9 frequency in less than 30 seconds (the switch is instant but the Ramsey has to go through a logic-sequence before it will respond to the button pushing). And the OMB (and most other) solid state amps are broadband - anything from 88 to 108 without any user adjustments. 50 watts into a (available from Ramsey as well) antenna 20m above ground will do very well for around 10-15 miles (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, ibid.) But pirates tend to be different, and if they do spot content it's often dry and primitive. The typical pirate is mostly music, commentary, or someone just jacking around playing novelty recordings. But you are right that with the correct technical system, it could be a challenge to determine from first listen if it's legal or not. Just to add to the mix, I have also seen pirates that relay other stations. I've encountered a few transmitters, which are not translators, that are relaying another legal station. And I guess you could count as a pirate the little station at a truck stop up north that had NOAA on it interrupted by an announcement for the truck stop gas prices and meals. The funniest one I've heard was a legal translator, who was relaying a religious station. Some local kids figured out that if they used a Panaxis exciter kit, connected to a Yagi, they could point it at the translator, capture the input, and then play rock and roll to their friends. If I ran a pirate locally, the giveaway would be that my playlist is more than 300 songs. :) (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) ** U S A. AM loggings from recent car trip (mostly GY and TIS) Here are some loggings from a recent car trip. 73, Tim TRH-CA/NV - On the road in CA and NV, Toyota car radio TRH-CA1 - DXing near Benton Hot Springs, CA, ICF-2010, Radio West Loop, mini-beverages approx. 740 ft. E, 700 ft. ESE and 675 ft. SE (broken at 535 ft. at some point). All times PDT [UT -7!] CPs not on the air yet (no activity noted, no obvious transmitter sites spotted as we drove through town): 1060, 1090, 1400, 1450 NV Hawthorne. 1340, 1490 CA Bishop TIS / HAR and OTHER 530, TIS CA Beale AFB 6/13 1200 TIS noted with short tape loop as we drove through Grass Valley. (TRH-CA) 530, (WQGH873) CA Jackson 6/12 1630 County TIS was not on when we drove through town. No signs noted. (TRH-CA) 530, WNHV296 CA Los Angeles 6/18 0411 This was the only station audible on 530 while we were in this area. (TRH-CA1) 530, WPVQ743 CA Mariposa 6/12 1400 CalTrans TIS/HAR for Yosemite area with message for motorists on CA-140 and CA-120 (Tioga Pass). Same info running on Merced station on 1610. (TRH-CA) 530, WPVQ900 CA Willow Springs 6/12 1530 CalTrans Tuoloumne Co. TIS/HAR with information for motorists on CA-108, which is a CHP safety corridor. Same message running on WPVQ742-1610. (TRH-CA) 530, (WPXK223) NV Fernley 6/17 1145 NV DoT station was not on when we drove through this area. (TRH-NV) 530, WPLX255 NV Incline Village-Sand Harbor 6/14 1400 NV DoT station with very distorted audio. Seemed to be the same message broadcast on the 530 in Reno/Sparks, but there seemed to be another transmitter in this area. (TRH-NV) 530, HAR NV Reno-Sparks 6/14 1800 NV DoT station with information on road conditions. Gets out well. Appears to be in the Reno-Sparks area, as opposed to Carson City. (TRH-NV) 620, (HAR) CA Thousand Oaks. 6/9 1300 Sign noted for a station here, but it was not on. (TRH-CA) 1040, WQFI350 CA (near) Santa Barbara 6/9 1338 TIS for San Marcos Pass noted with good signals along CA-154 all through the pass. Chatty announcer with weather and community information. (TRH-CA) 1150, WQJR971 NV Reno 6/14 1600 Washoe County TIS with recycling information. (TRH-NV) 1610, WPXB746 CA Angels Camp 6/12 1600 CalTrans Calaveras Co. TIS/HAR with information for motorists on CA-4 through Ebbett Pass. (TRH-CA) 1610, (WPFK508) CA Chilcoot 6/14 xxxx I am guessing this "super-TIS" station is currently silent as it was not noted any of the nights we were in the Reno-Tahoe-Sierraville areas. (TRH-CA) 1610, (WQJY863) CA Groveland 6/12 1515 Sign for CalTrans TIS/HAR at intersection of CA-49 and CA-120, but no station noted. If this station were on, it would likely be running the same message as WPZQ733 Merced. (TRH-CA) 1610, WPVQ742 CA Jamestown 6/12 1500 CalTrans Tuoloumne Co. TIS/HAR with information for motorists on CA-108, which is a CHP safety corridor. Same message running on WPVQ900-530. (TRH-CA) 1610, (KMC732) CA Manzanar NHS 6/20 1200 Station was off. US 395 is under construction in this area and it was difficult to tell if the monument was open. (TRH-CA) 1610, WPVQ733 CA Merced 6/12 1200 CalTrans TIS/HAR for Yosemite area with message for motorists on CA-140 and CA-120 (same as WPZQ743-530 Mariposa) with information on Yosemite Area Rapid Transit System (YARTS). This is the station that gets out well and includes phone numbers in the 209 area code (209-388-9589 and 209-???-0200). It appears to be the station I have most commonly logged form home in the past. (TRH-CA) 6/18 0545 Also noted briefly from the other side of the Sierras with same loop (TRH-CA1) 1610, WPSE479 CA Needles 6/17 1933 CalTrans HAR still playing the wrong message loop: "This is WPFK505, Banning, operating on 620 kHz." Nightly pest all 3 nights, especially on the SE wire. (TRH-CA1) 1610, WQIX414 CA Ojai. 6/18 1954 City of Ojai TIS/emergency info station with male announcer. Mentioned web site www.ci.ojai.ca.gov, phone number __7-1414. Over 200 miles away. (TRH-CA1) 1610, KNEC996 CA San Luis Obispo. 6/9 1730 TIS announced that it was operated by the University Police for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but tape loop used these calls, which have been associated with CalTrans mobile stations for about 20 years. FCC database lists licensed calls as WQIP267. (TRH-CA) 1610, HAR CA Santa Barbara. 6/9 1530 US-101 construction information, no call sign given. (TRH-CA) 1610, KMC797? CA Sequoia NP 6/18 1940 Tape loop with female announcer mentioning the visitor center on highway 198. (TRH-CA1) 1610, WQIQ379 CA Temecula 6/20 1500 City TIS is still on the air. (TRH-CA) 1610, (KNEU564) CA Truckee 6/14 1130 "Tune to AM 1610 when flashing" signs were flashing but no station was noted. (TRH-CA) 1610, WPXK767 NV Carlin, Dunphy or Lamoille 6/17 1920 NV DoT station with automated male voice giving road conditions for I-80, NV-225 and other roads. This was a nightly pest as well as being audible for an hour before sunset and after sunrise. (TRH-CA1) 1610, (WPJM982) NV Reno 6/14-6/17 Airport station was off the 3 days we were in town. Nothing noted on 1630 either. (TRH-NV) 1610, KOJ723 UT Virgin-LaVerkin. 6/17 2055 Zion NP TIS giving information about road construction on UT-9 west of the park, and escort service required for large vehicles going through the log tunnel in the park. This one has got out well for years now. (TRH-CA1) *1640, WQKG940 CA Murrieta Hot Springs 6/20 1500 City TIS is not getting out as well as it used to. (TRH-CA)* * * *1670, (KNIG427) CA Placerville 6/12-6/13 No station noted while were in town. No signs on CA-49. (TRH-CA)* * * 1700, WPXY385 CA Truckee 6/14 1140 North Star resort TIS moved from 1680 with information about where to find things on the resort property. (TRH-CA) KIDS PLAYING RADIO: 1620 -- NV Reno-Sparks 6/14-6/17 Pirate using "Radio Amor" slogan was audible with strong signals all over town. This seemed to be running far too much power to be considered a Part 15 station, so I'll list it as a pirate. Spanish religion and variety format. (TRH-NV) 1710 -- NV Reno-Sparks 6/14-6/17 Pirate or part 15 station using "Radio ___ Vida" slogan and running Spanish religion and variety. This one was fairly weak but noted each day we were in town. (TRH-NV) (Tim Hall, June 26, ABDX via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ** U S A. Look for emergency comms from So. Tex. --- I'm battening down the hatches and will keep a close eye on the MW band during the next few evenings for emergency broadcasts and daytimers runing high power. Most likely stations will be KURV-710 and KSOX-1240 to emergency broadcasts (Steven Wiseblood/AB5GP, Harlingen TX, June 28, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Photo of PSIP ID from my first sporadic-E DTV catch, WBRA RF channel 3 in Roanoke VA, June 18: http://www.w4uvh.net/wbra3dtv.jpg On the Zenith DT901 converter. Altho it claims ``no signal`` the orange bar shows there was some signal, just not enough to decode (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re 10-25, OKLAHOMA [non] --- ``Makes me wonder if I had much higher tower, much higher gain, greater capture area, whether this or other Wichitans would be constantly DTV received, but somehow doubt it in 200-km range. The one I really want is our nearest PBS alternative to OETA, KPTS-8, and I`ve yet to get any decode from it this summer, as it`s always too weak, even when Wichita U`s are pounding in late at night (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` The FCC goofed big time when establishing power limits for VHF DTV signals, add to that the fact that the PBS station you're wanting, KPTS, has always been stuck with low haat, 800 ft., and even people who are within the intended service area have experienced reception difficulties; The pre-transition signal on ch. 29 was actually easier for many to receive (Jeff, June 24, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Re my previous query what E/I bug stands for, often seen on US TV programs, many networks: E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these programs every week. In addition, stations must identify such shows on-screen with an "E/I" bug in a corner of the screen. Originally, this was displayed only during the first minute of the program, or, as a separate announcement prior to the show, but since 2004, all E/I shows must display the bug during the entire duration of the show, except during commercial breaks. . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E/I (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. June 30 at 1440-1545 UT I was getting lots of Mexican TV DX channels 2-6, so then switched to FM, and IDed two on 97.7 and 96.5, as in previous report; but then separate Es opening from the east took over on FM (and there would have been US TV DX too if analog still existed, but lacking that I was not aware of the concurrent opening). Reference is FM Atlas XXI. 1559 on 90.5, jazz overcoming KNYD Tulsa, soon IDed as ``90.5 FM, WSNC Winston-Salem`` NC; 1600 jazz program from Pearl Station(?) in San Antonio. 1614 on 96.3, English, 4th-of-July car sale, get-motivated business seminar July 21; fades; 1616 mention Tennessee fans; the east TN 96.3 is WJBZ in Seymour between Knoxville and Gatlinburg, but only 2.9 kW; the NC 96.3 is in Morehead City, WRHT; too might have been WKSB Aiken SC, also serving Augusta GA. 1617 on 95.1, ``Fresh New Country, 95.1, WRNS`` singing ID. That`s Kinston NC. 1628 heard again with Pizza Hut ad, WRNS ID in passing. 1618 on 99.5, overriding OK C&W station, Pier One ad, sales ``not at Cole`s`` (?), stereo, Pepsi; 1619 fireworx ad ``downtown Burlington``, Walmart. 1620 YL weather for ``southern Piedmont``, ``Today`s 99-5, WMAG``. That`s High Point-Greensboro etc., NC. 1621 on 99.1, Chevy used cars, GM service ad; 1625 YL DJ with request phone number too fast to copy, stereo. 1624 on 97.7, ID in passing sounded like WETI, but only fit per FMA is WGTI, Duck NC. 1632 on 90.7, ``Fresh Air`` interview about Gulf platforms vs icebergs; static RDS shows WFAE-FM, i.e. Charlotte NC. FM DX continued, but I quit at 1633 to resume Mexican TVDX (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VANUATU. 5055, Radio Vanuatu at 1132-1145 with music, female announcer. // 3945. Both very poor, June 28 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Eton E1 and Sony An1 active antenna, listening from my car, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. 7140, "Mix Effect" again (similar as in previous years with Saudi Arabia in 13 mb) at 1800-1840 on 23/6 - on 7140 were heard programs in Romanian and Bulgarian from 7360 and European stream 1 from 7250 together (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF-2001, Marconi antenna), July Australian DX News via DXLD) I.e. leapfrog (gh) [non]. 9830, VR via Sackville, CANADA, Spanish from 1130, but not switching to scheduled English at 1200 June 25. Did pause for ID with webcast URL and contact info, continued more Spanish, ``La Cruz en el Mosaico`` previewing papal visit to Spain in October. Very heavy RTTY QRM anyway, so why care? Apparently replaying previous evening`s Spanish broadcast whose 40 minutes cannot be crammed into one semihour, so dispense with English {altho since there is an ID and program break 30 minutes in, could deftly switch to English; maybe RCI fails to follow instruxions?} (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. Hi all! Some new QSLs received in the last 4 months: - Radio Nacional de Venezuela, 11670, scanned QSL via e-mail (because lack of budget!) in 20 months after some f/ups! v/s Freddy Santos (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, HCDX via DXLD) Did they not admit that the transmission is via CUBA? (gh) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Wondering if RNV relays are still in place via CUBA, as some frequencies have been missing. June 25 at 1201, just open carrier on 11705; finally at 1203:30 someone hits the play button on the computer and we hear two bongs, followed by IS once, opening formalities in Spanish only. How about the 1500 on 11680? It`s there too, only fair signal at 1548 check; usually missing on Sundays at least (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. 7220 29/Jun 2045 VIETNAM, Voice of Vietnam, in English. A conversation with guests in the Studio. At 2048 UT Newsletter in voice female with playback of recorded interviews and translated. At 2053 UT pop Vietnamese music. At 2058 UT ID. 34433 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 19 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC ** ZIMBABWE. 3396, VOZ, 0010 to 0015 weak audio on 25 June (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro DL - NRD 535D - Drake R 7, 60 meter band dipole ~ Noise Reducing Antenna, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. Zim jammer 4880? June 23 around 1830 noted again jammer on 4880. This was not the Iranian bubble jammer against Mossad numbers station occasionally on the frequency but the melodic "bagpipe" sound that was used by Zims earlier. SW R Africa could be heard in the background. 4895 ZCR was not jammed. Something cooking again? (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. 4895, ZWE Community Radio, 1841 26 June with talks in English, S9 with mentions on ZWE then talks in vernacular. 35243. Nothing on 4828 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1580, KOKB Blackwell OK has again lost its modulation, June 26 at 1328 UT, carrier still on but now on home rig FRG-7 with 100+ foot E/W longwire I can hear a weak station underneath in Spanish talk, apparently about sports, guess what game? Barely makes a SAH with the stronger KOKB. Fades very little, but maybe residual skywave 2.25 hours after LSR? Or remnant of groundwave from one of next-closer 1580 stations? It`s really too weak to make much out, but did hear ``15-80`` mentioned so it`s not a relay. Still just barely audible at 1450, 3.5+ hours after LSR as KOKB is still OC. Strangely, there are no 1580s in Kansas, but how about KGAF Gainesville TX = Baja Oclajoma right across the Red River? Time to research: KGAF website http://www.kgaf1580.com/ ``Hometown Radio`` looks totally WASPy, but they don`t give a detailed program schedule and like so many commercial stations neglect to show anything about what they do on weekends, which is often different, like brokered to any and all comers. NRC AM Log 2009-2010 has it as C&W and by the time I am online after 1500, webcast is indeed that. Log shows nothing in Spanish in neighboring states, AR, CO, MO or the other Texans, except for KIRT with Spanish religion from Mission, way down in the RGV, surely not thence, 700 miles away. Inquiry out to KGAF, anyway. 1580, June 28 at 1325 UT, KOKB Blackwell OK is still on open carrier only, which helps to alleviate the higher noise floor we are forced to endure from all the cable DTV converter boxes we have had to add to the household appliances. (Of course, we could unplug them all in a DX emergency, and later they would all have to re-scan for signals.) No Spanish audible unlike two days earlier, but weak English discussion of World Cup; hmmm, I wonder if that could be like 1% modulation from KOKB itself? 1359 hoping for algo identifiable, sounds like two very weak signals mixing. At 1443 I tried the caradio in the garage which is further from the noise, and a preacher in English was atop one or two others. Wayne Heinen of NRC says there are no US Spanish stations known in this area; could it have been XEDM, Hermosillo, Sonora? Possibly, but in an unusual daytime opening that long after sunrise in the 900-mile range, and no Space Shuttle to stir up the D-layer. XEDM has downgraded itself from 50 to 10 kW in the last few years, presumably still non-direxional; news format apparently now as ``DM Noticias`` per WRTH 2010. There are several other Mexican 1580s less likely due to power, distance. I should note that when I was getting Spanish on 1580, there was no sign of XERF 100 kW on 1570 vs the not very strong Catoosa OK station. XERF has made surprising daytime appearances before in the winter, but here we are at summer solstice when insolation angles are rising quickly after sunrise here at 1115 UT, Hermosillo 1228 UT. KGAF 1580 Gainesville TX has now replied confirming it was not them in Spanish on Saturday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Hello KGAF, I like to pull in distant stations. My nearby KOKB in Blackwell OK is not modulating, and I was hearing a station in Spanish weakly on 1580 this Saturday morning around 8:30-9:50 am. Was that KGAF? I`ve looked at your website and would not expect any Spanish, but then you don`t show exactly what you do have on the air on weekends. Thanks, Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, to KGAF, June 25, via DXLD) No sir, it was not KGAF. Thanks! (KGAF reply June 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks for the KGAF info... "It's a mystery, my son" 73 (Wayne Heinen, ibid.) EARLIER: Glenn, Just checked the data base and I have no changes close in at all - Any chance that it is XEDM with their 10 kW day power? That's a stretch at about 900 air miles for you... 73 (Wayne Heinen, CO, NRC AM Log editor, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Wayne, If so it must have been a very unusual daytime propagation event, and no space shuttle. Assuming it was not, I did not do a complete bandscan. I still suspect KGAF off-format. Maybe we can rule that in or out eventually. Also asked Bill, haven`t heard back from him. XEDM used to be 50 kW, when `clear` channel. Haven`t heard them in ages, didn`t realize they were down to 10. Checking Callarman, 2008, I see he had them 10 kW day and night in blue with a red asterisk, 50 kW day and night in green, whatever that means. Tnx for checking (Glenn to Wayne, via DXLD) Glenn, Here's the color code... SCT is in blue; WRTH is in green; Cantú is in red. Cantú agreement (about 99 percent with SCT list) is signified by red asterisk *. I've assumed with their not so great signal that they were at the 10K level. I'll be interested to here if you get anything from KGAF... 73 (Wayne Heinen, ibid.) Hi Bill, KOKB 1580 Blackwell again in open carrier this morning, and I was able to hear a very weak station in Spanish under it. Seemed to be sports talk but low key. Can`t find any candidates in neighboring states or even NE in the AM Log. Rather steady signal so either groundwave or lingering skywave? Rather late, 1330-1450 UT. Geographically best bet should be KGAF Gainesville, but Hometown Radio seems unlikely unless they diverge on Saturday mornings, and their website is not helpful about weekends. Wonder if you can confirm whether KGAF has Spanish on Saturday mornings? I`ve searched DXN and DXM for KGAF but nothing recent concerning a format change. (Tho I wonder how well these searches work). Tnx, (Glenn, Enid to Bill Hale, The Metroplex, via DXLD) Glenn, According to 100000watts.com, the only 1580 with SS Sports is WTTN in Columbus, WI: ESPN Deportes 1580 1580s with 'Spanish' anywhere in their Format are: KBLA Santa Monica, CA WDAB Travelers Rest, SC WLIM Patchogue, NY: Radio Adonai WNTF Bithlo, FL: Latina 1580 WVZN Columbia, PA (Bill Hale, TX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See OKLAHOMA UNIDENTIFIED. 6025-, again getting very weak slightly off-frequency carrier at 0609 June 26, compared to Cuba 5025. Bolivia or Nigeria on 6025-? This time, no matching off-frequency detected from Liberia 4025- (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7360? June 25 at 1127 as I start tuning around, somewhere in the 7300s, hear a strong signal in British English, so assume it`s a CRI relay from Sackville, certainly not BBC, for whom North America dropped off the world map years ago --- but none such scheduled. Well, I`ll have the rest of the hour to look at the dial and nail down the frequency, definitely ID it. O yeah? A few minutes later it`s gone, as if I had dreamt it. Checking listings later, I find the likely explanation, which can be confirmed later by someone awake: R. Netherlands, Dutch via Tinang, PHILIPPINES, at ``1100-1127`` on 7360, 250 kW aimed 21 degrees USward, but which we know from other frequencies habitually switches to RNW`s English program feed and stays on another two sesquiminutes, to the consternation and frustration of all (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. WRNO --- Dear Glenn, Recently I have been monitoring 7506.29 kHz at around 0300 UT hearing mostly non-stop and occasional very short announcements which don't sound like WRNO. Any ideas? Close-down at 0400. Kind regards (Christer Brunström, Halmstad, Sweden, June 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Christer, In English? There have been some reports of Arabic around this time, definitely from WRNO. [and WRNO is off-frequency like that] (Glenn to Christer via DXLD) Certainly in English (Christer, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 13640, strong open carrier with slight hum (generator?), June 30 at 1356-1357*. Usual suspect on this frequency is TDF, Montsinéry, GUIANA FRENCH, normally ending at 1230, but forgot to cut carrier or back on with test (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15244.5, intruder, June 28 at 1350, Spanish SSB 2-way -- - make that 3-way, as a stronger communicant cuts in, whistling into mike; weak het from broadcaster on 15245.0. Consulting HFCC you would think it`s V. of Russia via Moscow site. But as an outlaw nation, V. of Korea`s extensive broadcasts are missing from HFCC but showing in Aoki, as an English hour to Europe; and Aoki lists no Russia, so probably a wooden registration for that (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. UNKNOWN, 15755, 1920-, TDP Radio, Jun 29. DRM music broadcast at 21 kbps in Stereo and 100% demodulation. Non-stop music. More like a demonstration mode than actual programming. Not sure of the site. My Perseus EiBi database states Belgium, but I'm doubtful. No other DRM transmissions audible at this time. Every 15 minutes or so, there's an English announcement saying, 'If you want to be free, listen, listen to TDP Radio' (Walt Salmaniw, from my cottage near Masset, on Haida Gwaii, northern British Columbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is via Bonaire and has been so listed for quite some time. The Perseus EiBi database must have problems, since TDP is based in Belgium but never transmits from there. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 15867.0, as tuned by June 29 at 1413 heard 2-way contact, stronger being assertive American military YL with flight instruxions, mentioning Air Station Mobile. Could something be brewing in The Gulf? Turned on DX-398 with USB to confirm which sideband, but nothing more heard until 1430 except for occasional digital data bursts such as ``running water``. Same frequency during 1300 hour I previously reported in DXLD 9-073 mentioning Air Station Sacramento, and 10-17 on April 29 with similar frustration. Terminology denotes US Coast Guard. Numerous previous logs in UDXF forum search of various USCG locales, but also US Customs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 17387, tuned past here only in a Firedrake search, June 25 at 1407 and startled to hear 3 or 4 syllables spoken on a fluttery AM signal peaking at S9+8, then open carrier only until off at 1412:40*. This was a longtime out-of-band frequency of All India Radio, which I thought was abandoned several years ago; was used at least for one of the GOS in English. Trying it out again? Or it could be a coastal station, legal occupant of this range, but those are normally SSB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. "Light House Radio" on 87.9 --- Hello Glenn! Some great E-skip this evening (6-24) produced a lot of catches in the New England area from here, including W227AN, a 19-watt translator near New York. But there was one I couldn't get any info for. From about 3:30 PM to after 4 Central time we were getting a station on 87.9, very well at times, playing garage band rock from the sixties. There were long pauses after each song, and a gentleman finally came on at the top of the hour IDing as "Light House Radio", mentioned 87.9 and that it was the Thursday broadcast of 60's music. I caught that Mondays were 70's music. Can't find any info on this one, can you or anyone else pin this down? Thank you as always! (Eric Loy, Catlin, IL, June 24, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello again, Heard this again tonight at about 7:30 PM CT. Older fellow giving a bit of a rant about the FCC, and then relaying or playing back a recording of XM radio, including the "70's on 7" jingle IDs. No E-skip on the band tonight that I could find, so this is most likely in the East Illinois - West Indiana area. Any help from readers would be appreciated! Thank you again! (Eric Loy, Catlin, IL, June 28, ibid.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hi Glenn, thanx for always putting out the most useful DX bulletin available --- Hope summer treats you well. Alla best from Coastal Cali (Dan Sheedy, with a check to P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702) Dear Mr. Hauser, Enclosed please find a postal money order toward the work you do producing DXLD and the weekly World of Radio program. I was angered when the publication you were writing a monthly digest for decided to drop the column, as well as he one devoted to pirate radio by another author. I would rather send the renewal to support the continued production of DXLD and WOR as opposed to a monitoring publication that has decided to go in a different direction. Thanks again for all you do! Sincerely, (Robert W. Gruska, Glendale NY) Note from Robert McEntee: A tough couple of years financially, wish I had more to to send your way. Keep up the great work. Rm with a donation via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com Glenn, this is for your continuing work on World of Radio and DX Listening Digest. Your work is greatly appreciated! If you announce this donation on air, please let the listeners know it's in honor of Michael Ketter. Thanks (Larry and Jane Will, with a contribution via PayPal) All four of the above acknowledged at midpoint of WOR 1519, tnx! (gh) LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ MORE ON MAORI MACRONS I see that Media Network blog spells Maori with an umlaut over the a, i.e. ä: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/success-of-maori-television-under-scrutiny But the station website does use macrons consistently, a single line: http://www.maoritelevision.com/default.aspx Or could different computers see different diacritix? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2 Comments on “Success of Mäori Television under scrutiny” 1. #1 Glenn Hauser on Jun 26th, 2010 at 03:51 We were just discussing in DX Listening Digest finding macrons to put over the a of Maori. I see you have avoided that by using an umlaut instead. At least that is what I see, contrary to the station website. Or do you see something else? 2. #2 Andy Sennitt on Jun 26th, 2010 at 10:42 The original press release from Massey University used two dots over the ‘a’ in some places, but not in others. For consistency, I changed them so they were all the same. I would prefer to use Unicode, but the blog is not set up for that. If I use the correct character (U+101) in editing mode, it displays as a question mark when I publish it. So I have to improvise. Obviously even a New Zealand university can’t overcome this sort of problem. You will have a lot of problems if you try to put all these non- western accents in DXLD, because, unless you use a style sheet, how they display will depend on the user’s browser settings - and in emails it gets even more complicated (MN blog comments via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milwaukee area DX gathering, August 21 We are posting this announcement to several radio-related lists. Please pardon any duplication. The 17th annual Madison-Milwaukee Get-Together will take place on Saturday, August 21, 2010, beginning at 1 p.m. This year the event returns to the Milwaukee area, hosted by Tim Noonan and his family in south suburban Oak Creek. It is an all-band event, and anyone interested in the radio hobby is welcome. For more information, contact Tim at DXing2 @ aol.com We will post one reminder on these same lists as the date draws near (Tim Noonan, 28 June, swl at qth.net via DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ MariTime Re: Depends what time you heard/saw Coronation Street. It's on at 6.30pm on CBC. Channel 3 in Halifax was showing news, as I was watching it. They're Atlantic Time (1 hr ahead of Eastern). Newfoundland though, is 1 1/2 hr ahead of Eastern, and there is a Ch 3 CBC in Channel-Port aux Basques, CBYT-4. I think that would make it show at ... 10 pm Portugal time, if my not-so-impressive math is correct. Canadian TV networks are a real pain in the ass when it comes to schedules and finding *anything* local. Still looking for what I need! (-Chris Kadlec, Fremont, Mich., WTFDA via DXLD Just give all times in UT, and there will be no confusion about converting, whether DST is in effect, or not. Also use the 24 hour system. CBC Radio airs simultaneously in Newfoundland and the rest of the Maritimes. Only the clox are different. Is this not true of television? I will be more interested if I ever get double hop from there. If so, the ``6:30 pm`` news in Halifax would means news at 7:00 NDT, which is UT -2.5 = 2130 UT = 2230 in Portugal. 73, (Glenn Hauser, UT-7 zone by meridian, UT-6 zone by convention, UT -5 zone for daylight shifting, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ TALKING HD RADIO FOR THE BLIND Hi Glen[n], There is a company called Dice Electronics that has produced a talking HD radio for the blind. This may be of interest to the WOR audience. Here's the url to the site. http://www.diceelectronics.com/itr100a-info I was told that they started shipping the product at the beginning of last week. 73 and good DX (Dave Marthouse, June 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Talks the frequency tuned, I assume (gh) If you own or have tested the Dice Electronics ITR100 tabletop HD radio, I'm curious about its reception, sensitivity and selectivity. How is its adjacent channel rejection? -- (Rick Lewis, WA, WTFDA via DXLD) MANAGING A THOUSAND MEMORIES Hello Glen[n]. More than 30 years I am listening to Shortwave radio, but since short I have bought a new receiver with 1000 memories, nothing pre-installed. I can label the memories with 7 characters for the Station name. I have never used memories; can you give me an idea how to manage memories? I have 10 pages of 100 memories. I have looked on internet in forums for people who have done this before, but till now I did not find anything. Of course I can start with page 1 and create a new entry, but I like to have a kind of system in the 1000 places. Any idea is welcome. Thanks (Hans Stam, Netherlands, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, I had a real special day... About 8 AM we had a clicking noise and a real bright flash and then a big clap of thunder almost instantaneously. The computer went off. The FM antenna rotor control had the factory smoke come out. Then all I could smell is capacitor oil and oil was leaking out of it. My daughter had a cheap TV upstairs and it was no mo' workee, workee. A telephone system was trashed because some of the phone chargers were smoked. My FM signal amplifier was history. The antenna rotor motor is frozen pointing south. One dead DSL modem. Wireless router toast. Vacuum cleaner has sucked for the last time. Mac Mini one is fried but another seems to be doing fine. In fact four other computers seem to be doing fine . Luckily I disconnected my radio antennas from my FM radio just before it happened. Thank you Lord! BUT MY E-1 GOT KILLED! Went outside and there is a cherry tree that was just about to give fruit and not only was the fruit blown off the tree, the whole top of the tree is gone. A huge oak that is about 80 feet tall and a meter and a half at the trunk is split at the top and the bark blown away at parts of the bottom. The trees got hit by lightning and nothing earth ending was damaged that I know of at this time. We are still checking things out. Talked to the insurance agent and let him know. He says he is going to take pictures. Seems like it took a lot of power to create enough steam to blow parts of the oak tree about 75 feet away. As we say in the South, I figger I done got struck by lightnin so I done went and bought me a lottery ticket. The bad luck got blowed out by the lightnin (Kevin Redding, Crump TN, June 25, ABDX via DXLD) Being a storm chaser, I've had a lot of close encounters with lightning. Yes, I've griped about spending $3.98 and 30 minutes to replace a pair of MosFETs in my beacon transmitter due to a nearby strike, or a FET in my portable receiver when my car's whip antenna picked up a charge. But your situation illustrates that things can always be a whole lot worse! You're lucky to walk away from that without harm to yourself or your family. For a split second - you had the world's most powerful spark-gap transmitter in your backyard - wonder if a 'whistler' was heard around the world in the VLF band. From the damage you described, it definitely sounds like a superbolt (which strikes from the top portion of the thundercloud rather than from the middle or lower portion, and has significantly higher current and voltage than 'normal' bolts that might just run down the outside surface of the tree and blow a little bark off). Superbolts also form 'sprites' - localized auroral-style glowing discharges that shoot upward toward the ionosphere from the anvil-top of the storm, and might enhance E's. Whatever the case, hopefully your insurance will replace your rigs as well as fix all the damage. Hopefully you can transplant your hard disk drives and retrieve your data in another machine, too. There was an instance where I was leaning on a wooden fence that was rain-dampened and a bolt hit behind me a few hundred feet - I got a zap off the fence and the tripod I was using because a positive streamer jumped upward from the fence I was leaning on a moment before the main discharge. The positive streamer creates that 'snap' you sometimes hear just before a nearby bolt hits (there are usually several of these shooting up off of objects in the vicinity of where the main bolt is going to hit, and the step-leader coming down will seek out one or more of these positive streamers to connect with and send the main discharge down through the ionized path). My camera was OK, but I was a bit startled. Another time, I was leaning on the hood of my car with my camera, and then heard a positive streamer coming off the telephone pole behind me. The bolt hit right in front of me a couple hundred feet away, narrowly missing a grazing deer (it took off running after it happened) - I got a shock off the car, and was lucky that the initial positive streamer didn't form off the car (or me). My wife was with me during that last episode, so needless to say, I now perform all of my close-in lightning photography strictly from INSIDE A VEHICLE. Also, when approaching a storm, the mag-mount whip antenna gets pulled off of the roof and tossed in the back of the car. I have blown many a transistor in radios that I had left plugged into a roof-mount whip while driving through storms. I have at times been able to hold the coax center conductor next to my thumb with an antenna on the roof and had sparks jumping to it when there's charge building up under a thunderhead above. In the past, I've also used a cheap voltmeter between the coax center conductor and the car chassis to gauge when a cloud-to-ground strike was about to happen - you can watch the voltage go way up, then hear the over-voltage beeper go off, and then when the bolt hits (even miles away), the meter returns to zero (-Darwin Long, Simi Valley, CA, ABDX via DXLD) IN DASH SHORTWAVE RADIOS Hi, Glenn, I hope you're having a nice week! I was wondering if you could tell me about the availability (from you or wherever) of In Dash SW Radios of any kind (NOT converters). New ones. And are there any rumors of new ones coming out in the future? Thanks very much! - Regards, (Rob Charles, June 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Can anyone help on this one? There used to be a mailorder in the UAE which sold some of these (Glenn Hauser, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I got a Sony in-dash AM FM SW cassette radio from one of the Ontario mailorder radio places a few years back (it had an optional CD player I did not get). They still had a listing for it a couple of years back I have the info on model # in storage (not with me) but I think this link is for that model http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1721 ef (Eric Floden, Vancouver BC, ibid.) I think this refers to Car Audio - and I checked Sonystyle.com, the In car systems stopped the old radio support from their car audio systems, only Satellite and HD Radio is there. In Sony India http://www.sony.co.in/productcategory/ice-cd-receiver they have few but most them are as they say only AM & FM which means actually MW & FM. Only I found the (CDX-GT292) http://www.sony.co.in/product/cdx-gt292 has a SW coverage - but not written the frequency range in specifications. Also can check http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1721 73s, (Partha Sarathi Goswami, India, ibid.0 Rob, I bought a Sony XRF5100 from Jacky's in Dubai 5 years ago. I think it's a very good performer. Jacky's is a well established reputable company so they won't rip you off. They have it for sale for 92 usd http://www.jackys.com/j_items.asp?ic=XRF5100 Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England, UK, ibid.) I have two used models stored --- after giving up on SW as the BBC reduced transmitters and went to satellite for news, and Perseus for non-mobile hunting. DurhamRadio (here in Whitby, ON, near Toronto) was my source, and very local. The Sony's (different model numbers, same performance) worked very well. I used a cheap 2m amateur radio roof magnetic-mounted antenna (good ones worked poorly!) and a Kiwa broadband amplifier in the line. Great for the BBC as propagation permitted, and when the Caribbean relay was in use. Best memory was a fine mid-winter signal for nearly an hour driving around listening to Makassar/UJ on 4753 with a FINE signal, from the car around 5 to 6 pm local time. Them were the days!! Keith (at Durham R) sold quite a few. Many people purchased from Jackys' of Dubai. They are no longer manufactured by Sony, and Durham Radio, known online as "The Shortwave store" or similar, have no stock --- I dropped by yesterday to ask for you Is it just me, or are the nights getting longer? (Tony (VE3NO) Ward, ComputerViz, NYAA Starfest On-Line http://www.nyaa.ca June 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I scored a relatively current Sony car stereo with shortwave and modern features like a CD/MP3 player and USB input. It took me weeks of stalking Australian eBay but I was able to find one pretty cheap where around 20% of the cost was shipping. The model is a CDX-GT470U. Some vids of mine taken on my Blackberry (aka poor quality); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAbaUZINLp8&feature=related <- 49M bandscan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ZTZTi-Or4 <- WBCQ Much better video of the same radio taken from a Youtube poster in Brazil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWu50QR1YIc Good luck! (Travers (Central Maryland), ibid.) Dear Glenn, I was taken aback by the extra effort you put into your response, thank you so very much! I highly appreciate your efforts (and those others that gave their input as well)! -Best Regards, (Rob Charles, ibid.) You`re very welcome. But the info gathered should also be useful to others, so here it is (gh) PERSEUS VS. WINRADIO'S EXCALIBUR Hallo - please find some first impression/comparisions by eight screencasts at: http://bit.ly/ccA8v7 This will be continued within the next days by additional screencasts. -- 73, (Nils DK8OK Schiffhauer, DK8OK, June 26, Perseus, 96 m delta loop, 42 m windom, HCDX via DXLD) THE PALLOPHOTOPHONE Greetings all, this isn't DX related at all, but it is technology, so I thought the group might find it of interest. In the 1920's, General Electric perfected a high fidelity sound on film process which eventually became the standard for the motion picture industry. What hasn't been known until now was that G.E. tested the technology making audio recordings of their radio station, WGY Schenectady. Here is the link to a blog about early radio recordings: http://randsesotericotr.podbean.com/2010/06/18/early-radio-shows-retreived-from-films/ Here is a link to a video overview of this, which plays some of the radio airchecks found preserved via this technology. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUm_mPizQFk Just the history of the Pallotophone itself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHL9Clw5yfI&feature=related Hopefully, they'll get the bugs out of replaying these films, and will circulate these radio recordings in modern format. more about the Pallophotophone http://www.timesunion.com/multimedia/video/TUvideo.asp?title=Hear+the+audio&vidid=96943642001&bccapt=Listen+to+the+audio+of+Thomas+Edison+speaking. Thomas Edison's voice in high fidelity. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=942480 Newspaper article about this (Curtis Sadowski, WTFDA via DXLD) 80-Year-Old Edison Recording Resurrected on Friday Posted by kdawson on Friday June 18, @01:09PM from the wizard-of-menlo-park dept. http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/06/18/162204/80-Year-Old-Edison-Recording-Resurrected?from=rss embolalia writes "An 80-year-old recording of a live radio broadcast featuring Thomas Edison has been uncovered and reconstituted. The recording was done on an obscure technology called a pallophotophone — Greek for 'shaking light sound' — that uses optical film to reproduce sound. The archivists who uncovered the canisters tucked away on a bottom shelf in a museum in Schenectady, New York (the city where Edison's General Electric was founded), did not have any machine to replay the films. Two GE engineers — working nights and weekends for two years — were able to construct a machine to replay the old tapes, recorded only two years before Edison's death." There's a video at the link, which may or may not contain some of the resurrected recording, but we couldn't get it to play from the Times Union site (via DXLD) Re 10-25, FARNSWORTH: Glenn, Here is a link to an article about an auction of a collection of Farnsworth items. It appeared yesterday in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100624/LOCAL0201/306249982 73 (Charlie Hinkle, Pioneer, OH, June 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) REDS UNDER THE BED Glen[n], Don't know about the five spies RHC is gabbling about, but the materials on the Russian spy ring the FBI claims to have rolled up today makes for interesting reading. Take a look at the criminal complaints posted (in PDF form) with this CBS story: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/28/world/main6627393.shtml and in particular Complaint 2 --- it reads like a leCarré novel, updated. Coded radio messages on a high-speed squirt, laptops hard- wired to only communicate with another laptop over a Starbucks WiFi connection, the works. Tradecraft --- they even call their HQ "Moscow Center." Frequent mentions of problems with their laptops hanging / crashing, which will fire up another round of tiresome PC v. Mac debates. A couple of the defendants picked up in Alexandria apparently lived here mid-decade, and the FBI were tracking them even then. Regards, (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, June 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On 29 June 2010 Star-Ledger appears this front page lead story: MONTCLAIR PAIR ACCUSED AS SPIES: FEDS: COUPLE GATHERED INFORMATION AS PART OF RUSSIAN ESPIONAGE RING. Within the story, reference is made of their intelligence gathering sources: "To communicate with Moscow, they used stenography to encrypt messages into websites, wireless laptop computers and fired coded bursts of data via shortwave radio transmitter, authorities said." Full story available at http://www.starledger.com 73's, (Ed Insinger, From Cape May, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NUMBER STATION BUSTED Hi all, according to an interview this morning on Germany's Deutschlandfunk, the Russian spies that have been arrested in the U.S. also used shortwave transmissions for number broadcasts in morse code. Although the allegation documents which are downloadable at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/June/10-nsd-753.html do not explicitly mention transmission activity, the use of SW number broadcasts from Moscow is described. The whole document is worth reading as a classic spy story, here is the SW-related part (in document #2): [begin quote] 27. Radiograms are coded bursts of data sent by a radiotransmitter that can be picked up by a radioreceiver that has been set to the proper frequency. As transmitted, radiograms generally sound like the transmission of Morse code. As is set forth below, the Illegals have communicated with Moscow Center by means of radiograms. 28. For example, as a result of the 2006 Boston Search, technicians recovered the Boston Conspirators' Electronic Messages. Approximately five of these messages describe the sending or receipt of an "RG." Based on my training, experience, and participation in this investigation, I believe that "RG" connotes "radiogram." 29. In a similar vein, large numbers of the New Jersey Conspirators' Electronic Messages mention the sending or receipt of an "RG." For example, a January 2009 message from Moscow Center for the New Jersey Conspirators reads, in relevant part: "Pls, make sure your radioequipment [sic] for RG rcptn is in order. We plan to send a couple of test Rgs [.]" Based on my training, experience, and participation in this investigation, I believe that "RG" and "Rg" connote "radiogram." 30. Furthermore, during the 2006 Seattle Search, law-enforcement agents entered the Seattle Apartment and observed there a radio that can be used for receiving short-wave radio transmissions. In addition, agents observed and photographed spiral notebooks, some pages of which contain apparently random columns of numbers. Based on my training, experience, and participation in this investigation, I believe that the radio in the Seattle Apartment was used by the Seattle Conspirators to receive radiograms — and that the spiral notebook contains codes used to decipher radiograms as they came in. 31. Finally, throughout 2003, law-enforcement agents, acting pursuant to judicial orders, intercepted aural communications taking place inside the Yonkers House. On at least five occasions in 2003, this aural surveillance revealed their regular electronic clicking sounds associated with the receipt of coded radio transmissions. Based on my training, experience, and participation in this investigation, I believe that the clicking electronic sounds heard in the Yonkers House are the sounds of a radio transmission being received from Moscow Center. In addition, the aural surveillance indicated that, on or about May 6, 2003, J.L., the defendant, told V.P., the defendant, that he was "receiving" "radio" "from over there." [end quote] [names shortened as the defendants' privacy is protected by the German press codex, which should be respected as they are "presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty" by the rule of law -- eb] Enjoy reading! (Eike Bierwirth, Germany, June 29, HCDX via DXLD) ¿Será que eran los que originaban la emisora de numeros y codigo morse en la onda corta? CW 5895 (variando hasta 5890) KHz 23 Julio 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqxM4GvOudQ (Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Surely not --- those are obviously extremely high power, likely 250 kW from RadioCuba like RHC, not someone`s backyard. Messages TO spies, not from them (gh) 500 MHZ OF RF GETS REASSIGNED http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/06/obama-seeks-to-expand-broadband-capacity/1 Summary of article: The President reassigns 500 MHz of RF by writing a memo. Comment by Curt - It's been thirty-one years since I took the Constitution Test to graduate high school, but I seriously doubt there is much legal authority for the president to govern by memo (Curtis Sadowski, IL, WTFDA via DXLD) The way I read the story is that they are committed to doing it. It`s a memorandum and not an Executive Order. It seems he is telling the FCC to work towards making it happen. Even if he wrote an Executive Order, it`s only binding on government workers. He is asking the FCC to look for frequencies and even to take federal government frequencies for this bandwidth. Believe me, the L band is almost never used and the government has it. They will probably give it up. The L band is 1 GHz wide. Here is the text of the memorandum (Kevin Redding, TN, ibid.) PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM: UNLEASHING THE WIRELESS BROADBAND REVOLUTION The White House --- Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release June 28, 2010 Memorandum For The Heads Of Executive Departments And Agencies America's future competitiveness and global technology leadership depend, in part, upon the availability of additional spectrum. The world is going wireless, and we must not fall behind. The resurgence of American productivity growth that started in the 1990s largely reflects investments by American companies, the public sector, and citizens in the new communications technologies that are what we know today as the Internet. The Internet, as vital infrastructure, has become central to the daily economic life of almost every American by creating unprecedented opportunities for small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. We are now beginning the next transformation in information technology: the wireless broadband revolution. Few technological developments hold as much potential to enhance America's economic competitiveness, create jobs, and improve the quality of our lives as wireless high-speed access to the Internet. Innovative new mobile technologies hold the promise for a virtuous cycle -- millions of consumers gain faster access to more services at less cost, spurring innovation, and then a new round of consumers benefit from new services. The wireless revolution has already begun with millions of Americans taking advantage of wireless access to the Internet. Expanded wireless broadband access will trigger the creation of innovative new businesses, provide cost-effective connections in rural areas, increase productivity, improve public safety, and allow for the development of mobile telemedicine, telework, distance learning, and other new applications that will transform Americans' lives. Spectrum and the new technologies it enables also are essential to the Federal Government, which relies on spectrum for important activities, such as emergency communications, national security, law enforcement, aviation, maritime, space communications, and numerous other Federal functions. Spectrum is also critical for many State, local, and tribal government functions. As the wireless broadband revolution unfolds, innovation can enable efficient and imaginative uses of spectrum to maintain and enhance the Government's capabilities. In order to achieve mobile wireless broadband's full potential, we need an environment where innovation thrives, and where new capabilities also are secure, trustworthy, and provide appropriate safeguards for users' privacy. These characteristics will continue to be important to the adoption of mobile wireless broadband. This new era in global technology leadership will only happen if there is adequate spectrum available to support the forthcoming myriad of wireless devices, networks, and applications that can drive the new economy. To do so, we can use our American ingenuity to wring abundance from scarcity, by finding ways to use spectrum more efficiently. We can also unlock the value of otherwise underutilized spectrum and open new avenues for spectrum users to derive value through the development of advanced, situation-aware spectrum-sharing technologies. I therefore am hereby directing that executive departments, agencies, and offices, and strongly encourage that independent agencies, take the following steps: Section 1. The Secretary of Commerce, working through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), shall: (a) collaborate with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make available a total of 500 MHz of Federal and nonfederal spectrum over the next 10 years, suitable for both mobile and fixed wireless broadband use. The spectrum must be available to be licensed by the FCC for exclusive use or made available for shared access by commercial and Government users in order to enable licensed or unlicensed wireless broadband technologies to be deployed; (b) collaborate with the FCC to complete by October 1, 2010, a specific Plan and Timetable for identifying and making available 500 MHz of spectrum as described in subsection (a) of this section. For purposes of successfully implementing any repurposing of existing spectrum in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, the Plan and Timetable must take into account the need to ensure no loss of critical existing and planned Federal, State, local, and tribal government capabilities, the international implications, and the need for appropriate enforcement mechanisms and authorities; (c) convene the Policy and Plans Steering Group (PPSG) to advise NTIA on achieving the objectives in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. The Secretaries of Defense, the Treasury, Transportation, State, the Interior, Agriculture, Energy, and Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the Administrators of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration, the Director of National Intelligence, the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, and the head of any other executive department or agency that is currently authorized to use spectrum shall participate and cooperate fully, or in the case of independent agencies are strongly encouraged to, in the activities of the Department of Commerce in accomplishing subsections (a) and (b) of this section and promptly provide appropriate funding and staff resources for agency support to these efforts and the work of the PPSG; and (d) submit, not later than 180 days after the Plan and Timetable described in subsection (b) of this section are completed, to the National Economic Council (NEC), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) an interim report to assess progress against the Plan and Timetable developed in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. Additional interim reports shall be submitted 180 days after the submission of the first interim report and then annually thereafter until such time as the Plan and Timetable are completed. In preparing these reports, the Secretary of Commerce shall work cooperatively with the FCC and other relevant departments, agencies, and offices. Sec. 2. The Director of OMB shall work with the Secretary of Commerce, through NTIA and in consultation with affected departments, agencies, and offices, to incorporate into the Plan and Timetable referred to in section 1(b) of this memorandum adequate funding, incentives, and assistance to enable executive agencies or other affected entities to accomplish the actions specified in section 1(a) of this memorandum. Sec. 3. The Secretary of Commerce, working through NTIA, in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, NASA, and other agencies as appropriate, shall create and implement a plan to facilitate research, development, experimentation, and testing by researchers to explore innovative spectrum-sharing technologies, including those that are secure and resilient. Sec. 4. The FCC is strongly encouraged to work closely with the Department of Commerce, through NTIA, to carry out this memorandum as it relates to the FCC, including the repurposing of nonfederal Government spectrum as appropriate and identifying the mechanisms necessary to ensure compliance with the FCC's decisions. Sec. 5. The NEC, the OMB, and the OSTP (in consultation with the Department of Commerce, working through NTIA, FCC, and the National Security Staff) shall assess, based on the interim report developed pursuant to section 1(d) of this memorandum, whether there has been sufficient progress in achieving the objectives of this memorandum or whether some other mechanism, such as an independent review panel, is needed to address those areas where sufficient progress is not occurring. The NEC, the OMB, and the OSTP shall make any necessary recommendations to the President regarding such progress 45 days after receiving the initial interim report required by section 1(d) of this memorandum and, as appropriate, following subsequent reports. Sec. 6. (a) To the extent permitted by law and within existing appropriations, the Department of Commerce, through NTIA, shall provide administrative support for the interagency groups created in this memorandum. (b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (c) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to require the disclosure of classified information, law enforcement sensitive information, or other information that must be protected in the interests of national security. (d) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (e) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. Sec. 7. The Secretary of Commerce is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. BARACK OBAMA (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See also AUSTRALIA; COSTA RICA; SAUDI ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ARABIA; UNIDENTIFIED 15755 DRM WILL SUCCEED, AND CHEAP RECEIVERS ARE COMING VERY SOON Adil Mina grew up in his native Lebanon listening to radio stations from around the world on a large shortwave radio, with all of the inherent static, fading and interference. Eventually he would find himself working for Dallas-based Continental Electronics - an NASB member and premier manufacturer of shortwave transmitters. For the past 43 years he helped to design, build and commission many high power mediumwave and shortwave transmitters and systems all over the world. Lately he has been traveling around the world selling shortwave transmitters to religious, government and commercial stations. Mina is a true believer in shortwave. "I can really tell you that shortwave is alive and it is going forward," he told the DRM USA annual meeting in Cary, North Carolina May 8. He admits that sales have been a little slow during the past four or five years. "Except for some huge numbers of transmitters that have been sold to China during the period from 2000 to now, shortwave has been a little bit quiet, especially in the building of new stations." But he says that even with a worldwide recession, many international customers are still making plans to modernize and buy new transmitters. Why is Adil Mina so bullish on shortwave? "I once asked a friend from Saudi Arabia if he was going to put all of his programming on satellite. He said: 'Mr. Mina, do I look that stupid? Do you think for one moment I would trust my broadcasting to anyone who controls a satellite or a local radio and who could shut me off at any moment they desire?' There's what the beauty of shortwave is. Whatever your faith and your belief in shortwave is, it is justified. Shortwave -- no matter how many other ways of broadcasting are invented in the world - DAB, DMB, DVD, whatever it is - is still the only medium that you can broadcast from your backyard to any country in the world." "What's happening today," explained Mina, "is that we finally realize that we, the technical people, should help you [the broadcasters] make that sound clear and make it practical. And that's what DRM is all about. It allows you to broadcast your program with clarity." But Mina admits that DRM is not quite where it should be today. "I'll be very honest about it," he said. "DRM is about two years behind, in our opinion. It's not because of transmitters or antennas or exciters. It's because of the receivers. I would estimate we are about two years behind." More about those receivers in a minute. The DRM Consortium began 10 years ago at a meeting in China. For 10 years the Consortium was led by Chairman Peter Senger of Deutsche Welle. Most DRM administrative responsibilities during this time have been centered at Deutsche Welle. But Senger had to retire in March of this year due to German law, and his project director Anne Fechner has also retired. The BBC stepped forward to take over the leadership of DRM. Everything is being moved to Bush House. The BBC's Ruxandra Obreja is the new chairperson. Unlike Peter Senger, Obreja is not a technical person. The BBC believes DRM has matured, according to Mina, and thus they nominated a person with business development background instead of technical background to be the chairperson. Mina said "Ruxandra, with her experience in business development, will do a great job in promoting DRM worldwide." Until three and a half years ago, DRM was a digital system for longwave, mediumwave and shortwave - up to 30 Megahertz. Then DRM Plus was introduced. Now DRM works with frequencies up to 108 MHz - basically FM, so it can compete with IBOC/HD Radio®. Unfortunately, Mina points out, no major transmitter manufacturer has yet made FM transmitters with DRM Plus because they have spent too much developing IBOC/HD Radio® transmitters. "We are still looking for somebody to jump on top of it," says Mina. Now back to the receivers, and the reasons why they aren't readily available yet. "Part of the reason," says Mina, "is maybe we took our time on the standard - deciding what we want the receiver to do. We had a lot of debate and a lot of discussion. What should the receiver have in it? Should it be simply a small receiver that you can buy on the street in Hong Kong or Taiwan hopefully for $10? Well, you can't do that. Most of us were hoping for a $50 receiver to replace what I call the regular or standard $10 or $15 shortwave receiver that you can buy in Asia today. "Some of the receiver manufacturers said: 'I'll wait maybe until you finish your DRM Plus. Why do I want to make one receiver and then possibly have to combat some of the others?'. Some manufacturers said I will combine DRM with DAB and come up with a receiver that some of the early ones - most of them - do. "But for whatever reason, even though we had Sony as a key member of DRM on the Steering Board - and we had Bosch also and many of the others - none of them really came up [with a receiver], even though they were the key people who helped us, and helped Dr. [Don] Messer - one of his subcommittees - to come up with a specification. None of them - Sony, Panasonic or what I would call the big people - the key people who were driving DRM - and I give them a lot of credit; they really pushed and promoted it - none of them came up with a receiver. It is disappointing, I think, to me and to many of the others. "So what I would call some of the secondary players introduced receivers. Many of them were waiting, like everybody knows today, for an IC chip - the good chip, the right chip. We do have some receivers now - Roberts, Morphy Richards, Himalaya. These are some of the receivers that you see today. Many of us have got the software receivers. But even some of the early receivers, in six to eight hours the batteries were gone. They were just eating batteries like crazy. "So the receiver that all of us are looking for is still the small receiver, the inexpensive receiver that will have a good battery life. That's what most people are looking for. It's the one that should be like your Blackberry, your telephone, that can sit for two days, three days, without you having to go back and charge it." But Mina is hopeful. New chips were introduced a few months ago by Analog Devices, and a new receiver is expected to be built in India. "We've seen the prototype," said Mina. "They're very encouraged. And we hope that we will have the $100 receiver." That $100 receiver could be a major improvement on the current situation. "When we started talking about the $100 and the $200 receiver - that was six years ago," said Mina. "Well, there are receivers you can buy today for 200 euros. The 200 figure we were hoping for six years ago is here, but it's in euros, and that's 300 dollars. Many of us are still hoping for the $100 receiver." Mina is also encouraged about what's coming out of China. His friends at Thomson Broadcast found and worked with Dr. Lin Liang who founded a private company, Newstar Electronics, that plans to make DRM receivers. "I have seen three of these small receivers," said Mina. "Today the design is being completed on these receivers - a very, very small receiver. This is the new star that is coming from China, that is going to make DRM a success." The new Chinese receiver will have a small LCD screen, a built-in photo album, a GPS and a DRM receiver. "What's going to make DRM are these devices," Mina believes. "You're going to step out of your airplane. You're going to travel to any city you want. You're going to pull it out, and right there you're going to have a DRM receiver. You're going to receive your program with good quality anywhere in the world. This is what is going to be the success of DRM in my opinion." Mina says there are many other DRM receivers that are being developed right now. Students at LeTourneau University are working on a receiver. Three to five different groups in China are working on receivers. There is also a group in South Africa working on a DRM receiver, specifically for use on shortwave. There had been talk in the business that the Chinese would have a lot of DRM transmissions on air in time for the Olympics. "That's not going to happen," said Mina, "But eventually we will see DRM broadcasts in China." Explains Mina: "The reason China will develop DRM receivers is that all of the transmitters they're buying are DRM- ready. One transmitter is broadcasting DRM, but all of the others are ready. Why would China use DRM? China uses shortwave to talk to their own people. Because of that, they will go to DRM to cover their own territory. People in rural China need shortwave." "DRM will succeed," concluded Mina, "and the cheap receivers will be coming very soon." Mina said that most shortwave transmitters bought during the last 20 years that have solid-state modulators are ready for DRM with a minor modification and new exciter. Older transmitters with high-level plate modulation can be modified for DRM. "We have done many of them. We just finished one in Saipan. We put new solid-state modulators on them, and they're ready." Although DRM isn't being used on mediumwave in the United States, there have been very successful mediumwave simulcast tests in Mexico, Brazil and India. There are also regular DRM broadcasts on mediumwave from many broadcast organizations in Europe. Mina sees great potential for DRM on shortwave. A TCI International study showed that five transmitters could cover all of the United States with a high-quality DRM signal. "We need a UPS, a DHL, a trucking company. Somebody will have the vision to use DRM and send messages or programs over a large area with a single transmitter. " If you order a new shortwave transmitter today from companies like Continental, there's no extra cost for DRM capability; it's already built in. If you need a DRM exciter for an existing transmitter, it's a slightly different story. "Our exciters are still a little bit too expensive," said Mina. "We acknowledge that. But prices have come down, and hopefully can come down more." He mentioned that HCJB is trying to develop a low-cost DRM exciter, which if successful could cause the big companies to drop their prices. Mina said prices are still a bit prohibitive for most potential 26 MHz DRM operations. A TCI study showed that a 200-watt AM transmitter could cover the San Francisco Bay Area with one antenna - providing the FCC would license it. "But exciters are still 40,000 to 50,000 euros," he lamented. "That is discouraging. " He noted that IBOC exciters cost around $20,000. Finally, Adil Mina thanked former Technical Committee Chairman Dr. Don Messer for all of his contributions to DRM. Messer retired from the DRM Consortium at the end of March, although he is still working hard to promote DRM in the United States. "If you want to get an experimental license for DRM, don't try to do it on your own," cautions Mina. "Contact Dr. Messer." Best regards. (SOURCE? Via Manuel Jesus, visite: http://www.sitesmaisuteis.pt condiglist yg via DXLD) New DRM broadcasters' user guide released --- June 28, 2010 The DRM Consortium has produced a new up-to-date Broadcasters' User Guide intended to provide a source of relevant and authoritative information on the full DRM Digital Radio broadcasting system. It is aimed at broadcasters considering the transition from analogue to digital broadcast in the AM and VHF broadcasting bands using what many believe to be the most advanced and flexible digital radio broadcast system today. It will also be of interest to manufacturers, service-planners, administrations and regulatory bodies involved with broadcasting systems and policy. The document is intended to explain how and why a broadcaster might go digital, from both technical and commercial perspectives, describe the basic operation of the DRM system (DRM30 and DRM+), provide a definitive source of references to key technical standards, including regulatory, co-ordination and planning information for DRM broadcasting. The Broadcasters' User Guide also provides detailed information on other useful features, such as bespoke commercial applications designed to run on the DRM platform. The Guide has eleven chapters with illustrations and clear explanations on themes such as the DRM technology and content, the network infrastructure, receivers, IPR and references to DRM system related papers and published articles. "The Broadcasters' User Guide is a reference document for anyone interested in understanding and implementing this complete global, digital radio standard. It addresses the specialists and enthusiasts in equal measure and as such it is the free contribution that the DRM Consortium would like to make to the broadcast industry and the revitalisation of audio broadcasting in the digital age", said Ruxandra Obreja, DRM Consortium chair. The Broadcasters' User Guide is available in booklet format from the DRM Project Office and also on the DRM website where it can be downloaded in PDF format. (Source: Media Network, DRM Consortium via Southgate http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2010/drm_user_guide.htm via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) "The introduction of DRM services allows a broadcaster to provide listeners with significant improvements in service reliability, audio quality and, most importantly, usability." This is demonstrably a brochure of lies, and no one should believe a word the Consortium says from this point forward (Terry Wilson, MI, ibid.) Jonathan Marks on Jun 27th, 2010 at 12:12 This publication assumes the future for radio is very much in isolation to everything else. There is no mention of how broadcasters can incorporate DRM as part of a cross-media strategy using TV, mobile, iPad, or how this fits in with what the WorldDMB guys are up to. In the meantime, the infrastructure for broadcasting in between 3 and 30 MHz is being abandoned or even dismantled. You have to worry when the screen shots of the Journaline system 6.3.3b show news headlines from November 2nd 2004. I much prefer the cross media strategy adopted by people like NPR, using a relevant mix of mobile, video and (analogue) radio in order to get their message across. The clue to why DRM(+) will not happen lies in their statement that exciting new services are essential to consumer take up. Exciting things are happening on other platforms and they don’t need transmitters as part of their business model. # #10 ruud on Jun 27th, 2010 at 13:51 I am with you Jonathan. But what irritates me that these DRM tests for just a very limited number of DRM receiver owners, keeep going on, not only wasting the tax payers money but also causing interference on still existing analogue services. And yes, I am prejudiced, since my 1584 service in Holland is affected by the 1593 DRM tests by WDR-Germany. For what reason? We all know by now what DRM does, so the tests can be stopped, and should be banned from all band that are still used for AM broadcasts. # #11 Roy Sandgren on Jun 27th, 2010 at 19:32 DRM on SW is very great to car radio listning, great coverage, better audio. But needs more power than analouge transmission. # #12 Anthony on Jun 28th, 2010 at 06:42 Not really Roy, a 70kW 360 degree omnidirectional beam SW transmitter would quite easily serve the whole of Europe from a good high level mountain location to spread the signal far and wide over a large geographical area. # #13 Roy Sandgren on Jun 28th, 2010 at 08:50 Yes, a 70 kW is about 350 kW AM and an antenna directional cover all Scandinavia. Got a drm in my car and high fieldstrength is needed to avoid drop outs. DRM is great in my car. can listen hours by hours on the same station on SW. # #14 Luke Biddle on Jun 28th, 2010 at 09:00 Just out of curiosity Roy, what receiver are you using in your car? # #15 Roy Sandgren on Jun 28th, 2010 at 10:03 Luke, click on my site http://www.starwaves.se/ and you will see. Even picks up DW/BBC service (Media Network blog comments via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB/IBOC See CANADA [and non] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ OFCOM PUBLISHES REPORT ON PLT INTERFERENCE Ofcom has published it's long awaited report The Likelihood and Extent of Radio Frequency Interference from In-Home PLT Devices. It runs to 156 pages. The statement on their website says: "Power Line Telecommunications (PLT) is the collective term for various forms of communication over wiring used for supplying electricity (the 'mains'). The most recent developments in PLT devices address the consumer market for in home connectivity as an alternative to WiFi or data cabling. In-home PLT devices are growing in popularity and the UK is one of the biggest users of in-home PLT devices in Europe. PLT devices operate between 2 and 32 MHz, with some emerging devices operating at frequencies up to 300 MHz. We commissioned a study to estimate the likelihood and extent of interference to various services over the coming 10 years. The study found that there will be a low likelihood of interference with other spectrum users, providing certain technology enhancements (smart notching and power control) are implemented. The study also found that these technology enhancements are on the product roadmaps of many of the PLT device manufacturers and suppliers and are expected to feature in products from Q2 2010. Ofcom is making this study available so that it may inform the ongoing work of industry and standardisation groups in developing and commercialising PLT products." The report can be downloaded at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/technology/research/emer_tech/PLT/ The technology enhancements they talk about are not in the current PLT products to my knowledge, many of which have been causing severe interference to shortwave users in their immediate vicinity. I have only quickly skimmed through the report but it does specifically look at interference to the shortwave broadcast bands, as well as other parts of the spectrum. The Register published a news item on the report by Bill Ray June 28 headed Power line tech could crash aircraft and shut down the Archers, Ofcom admits Anti-interference legislation needed, which can be read at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/28/ofcom_pln/ The RSGB is considering the report in detail prior to initiating discussions with Ofcom about the follow-on actions it intends to take. Despite the BBC taking over the role of investigating interference to individuals TV and radio reception, Ofcom retains its enforcement role. [see UK] World DX Club, BDXC_UK, as well many other clubs, retailers and other interested organisations, are supporters of UKQRM, who are dealing in particular, though not exclusively, with PLT interference They have an extensive website: http://www.mikeandsniffy.co.uk/UKQRM/ as well as an active Yahoo group http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/UKQRM (Mike Barraclough, England, June 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC TAKES OVER RADIO/TV INTERFERENCE INVESTIGATION 27 June 2010 --- Ofcom are passing responsibility for investigating Radio and TV interference complaints to the BBC from June 30. From: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/complain/inter/ TV or radio interference or reception problems: From 30 June 2010 the BBC will be taking responsibility for investigating complaints of interference to your radio and television. Until that date please continue to use the Ofcom webform or contact the Ofcom Advisory Team. All outstanding cases with Ofcom will be passed to the BBC for action from this date. On and after 1 July, all complaints should be made to the BBC. You can find the BBC's diagnostic webform at the following address: https://faq.external.bbc.co.uk/templates/bbcfaqs/emailstatic/interfere ncePage If, following the investigation by the BBC, there is evidence of interference caused by something outside your control and which is unlawful, the BBC may refer your case back to Ofcom for possible enforcement action. (Southgate http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2010/bbc_take_over_from_ofcom.htm via Mike Terry, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) This sets an interesting position, does it not, that if 'Auntie' is advocating PLT use (in programmes and print) and this is itself responsible for radio interference, will the BBC then take action against itself (as accessory before the fact) and such as BT (the successor to the GPO whose job was, amongst other things, to then investigate radio/TV interference), what specific budget/funding will the BBC radio/TV Interference Dept. have and how much will be reduced accordingly from the government funding of Ofcom to pay for BBC inspectors, detecting equipment and legal staff. How much will be spent on re-badging I wonder! Is this not the time to ask for the abolition of Ofcom and in its place two smaller units. 1. A proper electronic equipment analysis laboratory to supervise ground trials, etc of such things as broadband distribution technology in the public interest - not simple the trade. 2. A radio/TV station licensing authority where again local public service is top priority - not commercial interest. To end the 'regionalisation' from localisation - after all that was the original reason for allowing local as opposed to national commercial radio , and why has the local TV station idea never happened? (Rog Parsons, (BDXC 782), Hinckley, Leics., BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Interesting points. Setting up local TV is an expensive business and the money is generally not there. The first local TV was TV12 on the Isle of Wight. The signal was weak and did not cover all of the Isle of Wight. It was also in a different part of the UHF band from the other channels so a new aerial was required. Programmes were not exciting and much of the time relayed Sky News or QVC. After they went under, another company Solent TV took over. They managed to get on satellite and the Sky EPG but they did not last long either. There were also local TV stations in Portsmouth and Southampton but I believe these are no more. There is however Channel M in Manchester still going which I believe is even on Freeview in the area. You can also see this on Sky EPG no 203. It's free to air so can be downloaded to any sat box though I don't know the parameters. Regards, (Gareth, ibid.) I, also find all this interesting. I may be wrong, but I don`t think that Channel M (Manchester) is on Freeview, unless they are managing to use a Regional Slot, it is certainly NOT available here, on Wirral, though it is on Sky, as mentioned. I wonder has Ofcom done this, to get out of a rapidly heating up PLT Situation? The BBC will almost certainly not have the resources to deal with this, if it does go to Court, without degrading its Budgets for Broadcasting and Transmitter Maintainence etc. Is this function in the BBC's Charter? (Ken Fletcher, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ E-SKIP CATEGORIZATION As a meteorologist, I'm just having some fun here. We have Category 5 hurricanes, so why not Category 5 E-skip? Since ITU uses 27.5 MHz as the cutoff for international allocations, this is my proposal... not rated ... MUF below 27.5 MHz ES storm ... MUF 27.5 to 55 MHz - - equivalent to a tropical storm Category 1 ... MUF 55 to 82.5 MHz - - (Channel 2-5 opening) Category 2 ... MUF 82.5 to 110 MHz - - (Channel 6 + FM openings) Category 3 ... MUF 110 to 137.5 MHz - - (AIR band opening) Category 4 ... MUF 137.5 to 165 MHz - - (2m / WX band opening) Category 5 ... MUF 165 + MHz - - (Channel 7-13 opening) Alternate proposal... not rated ... MUF below 55 MHz ES storm ... MUF 55 to 82.5 MHz - - equivalent to a tropical storm - - (Channel 2-5 opening) Category 1 ... MUF 82.5 to 110 MHz - - (Channel 6 + FM openings) Category 2 ... MUF 110 to 137.5 MHz - - (AIR band opening) Category 3 ... MUF 137.5 to 165 MHz - - (2m / WX band opening) Category 4 ... MUF 165 to 192.5 MHz - - (Channel 7-9 opening) Category 5 ... MUF 192.5 + MHz - - (Channel 10-13 + 220 MHz openings) (William R Hepburn (VEM3ONT22) Grimsby ON CAN 43 10 59.4 - 79 33 34.5 http://dxinfocentre.com/hepburn/ June 24, WTFDA via DXLD) WHY BIG JUMPS AT THE END OF SPORADIC-E OPENINGS? I wonder why there is almost always a big jump at the end of an opening. I almost always get one. My strong Virginia (apparently NC too) opening ended with WJBT on 93.3 in Florida, as the very last station heard before it all vanished suddenly. Maybe the cloud is almost like --- flying away like a UFO. (Maybe Es is caused by reflection off large invisible UFOs or intermittent presence of UFO satellites we cannot see with our eyes ;)). Well, maybe not (-Chris Kadlec, Fremont, Mich., WTFDA via DXLD) Hi Chris: I remember reading something about this years ago (Was it you, Glenn?) [not that I recall --- gh]. If I remember correctly, the author theorized that the E cloud might thin out from the bottom up, meaning the last part left was the top, meaning a more distant hop. Perhaps the rising you mentioned is another aspect. Like Jim, I've noticed this, too. My best TV catch ever from Prescott, Ontario, was KRTV, channel 3 from Great Falls, Montana, at about 1750 miles. That was at the end of an opening that brought South & North Dakota...so it was just a couple of hundred miles further than the other stuff. I don't think Great Falls was a double hop--just a real stretch of a single hop. I've had Colorado and Wyoming from Eastern Ontario as well, always very late at night at the end of a great opening. At work right now, turning 7 shades of green at the piles of E logs coming in! (Richard McVicar, AB2FN, Town of Onondaga, New York, ibid.) I find that while this does happen somewhat frequently, the reverse often occurs also - the skip gets shorter, for me ending up with TN/KY/IL/IN (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH, Blue Bell, PA, 40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20id, ibid.) Mid-Latitude Es One thing I've noticed at my home location (near Duluth, MN: lat. 46.76488 degrees north) is that Es usually comes from a swath of land beginning in Virginia, going down through (northern/central) Florida and the southern states, covering Texas and Louisiana, and finishing off in New Mexico and Arizona. Rarely do I get Es from locations with a similar or slightly more southerly latitude than me (in normal Es range of me, the states of PA, MD, NJ, NY, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, and ME and the provinces of QC and NB to the east, and the states / provinces of WA, ID, MT, WY, UT, CO, AB to my west). For example, I have witnessed the following E-Skip openings on FM this season: 5/14: Es to GA and TX, duration approximately 30 minutes 5/18: Es to SE around noon, than Es to TX around 1900 5/21: Es to TX, short opening 5/24: Es to TAM / TX, very short opening 5/31: Es to FL and SC, short opening 6/2: Es mega-opening to NC/SC/FL/AL/MS/LA/TX/COAH/NM/AZ/CHIH/NV, about five hours long 6/8: Es to NM, about 30 minutes long 6/11: Es to SC, MUF 88.1 MHz 6/12: Es to SC, AL, FL, AZ, about an hour long 6/17: Es to NC, VA, and AL 6/18: Es megaopening to AB, AL, FL, GA, ID, LA, MS, MT, OK, SC, TX, WA 6/19: Five separate Es openings, one to TX/TAM/LA, one to TX, one to NC, one to TX/AL/MS/GA, one to WA 6/24: Es to FL, VA, GA, AL, MUF 98+ As you can see, the only mid-latitude -> mid-latitude Es I had was on the 18th and 19th. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon? (Jacob Norlund, ibid.) Hi Jacob, I've lived in Seattle since the fall of 2006, and I'm on my fourth skip season here. It's been so sparse that I've threatened to give up the hobby several times, but I'm still beating my head against the wall trying to get DX. Here's why. When I lived in California and Arizona, I'd have what I call "southern" years, and what I called "northern years." Simplistic, I know, but one year in Arizona, I had very few Texas openings, with the bulk going to the Pacific Northwest and Canada. Some years yielded a mix, and in others Texas and Louisiana were the norm. In 1995 we Arizonans had more Missouri FM than usual. Now in Seattle, being both north and west, I have both of those things working against me. But I've lived in areas that opened to Seattle, and I know it can be better than it's been. In fact, there were years in Phoenix when I opened to Seattle more in a single season than I've opened to anywhere from here in four years! When I lived in Oregon, I had lots of openings to Nebraska and the Dakotas in the early 90's, but I've seen little of that here more than 200 miles northwest of where I used to live. I've noticed fewer western reports from our Nebraska and Minnesota DXers these past few years as well. Things have been a bit more active so far for my friend in L.A. so far this year. And even though it was only less than an hour long and I didn't get any verified ID's, the June 18th opening was encouraging. At least I had e-skip with steady signals, and it was fun. We just need to share in some of your Minnesota action, (or at least Nebraska, since I may be too far west to do MN.) We're friendly here out West, your stations need to visit us more often. We'll be happy to reciprocate. - (Rick Lewis, ibid.) I notice a similar phenomenon here in Northern VA, although not directly related to latitude. The majority of my Es openings start in LA/TX/MS, move NE through AR/OK, and then as that opening dies down, another strong open brings in *only* Miami FMs and/or a single nearby market (Tampa, usually) before dying out soon after. Example of this year's Es openings: 5/24: into AL (unattended) 5/31: 1 cloud into NS, another into KS/AR 6/2: TX/LA/AL/KS/OK/MO/MS/AR, then a follow-up cloud into Miami and surrounding markets 6/12: TX/MS/GA/AL/LA 6/15: MN/IA/WI/MN/MS 6/16: MS/KY/MO/AR/AL/TN/NS 6/17: ON/ND/MN 6/18: LA/TX/OK/AL/AR/MS with the Miami-area follow-up cloud, again 6/24: WI/MN/MI This Miami-ending cloud phenomenon has happened in past years, too. It could be because the cloud simply moves to bring in FL stations, but I tend to not believe this, because the Miami/other FL signals come in immediately as the TX/LA/etc. ones disappear -- it would be impossible for the cloud to move that far east so fast. I rarely have a cloud bring in Miami without receiving TX/LA/etc. beforehand. The Miami opens almost never bring in nearby Bahamas, Orlando, Cuba or Key West FMs. I would think these nearby signals would be fighting with South Florida FMs, but they never do. -- Thanks, (David Pierce, Woodbridge, VA FM18 http://home.comcast.net/~dlp85x/ http://www.davidpiercenews.com/ ibid.) Geomagnetic field activity was at quiet to unsettled levels during 21 - 22 June. Activity decreased to quiet levels at all latitudes on 23 June. Field activity returned to quiet to unsettled levels during 24 - 25 June. A further increase to quiet to active levels occurred during 26 - 27 June. ACE solar wind measurements indicated the increased activity during 25 - 27 June was due to a recurrent co- rotating interaction region/coronal hole high-speed wind stream (CIR/CH HSS). Solar wind velocities began to increase on 26 June and reached a high of 571 km/s at 27/1416 UTC. Interplanetary magnetic field changes associated with the CIR/CH HSS included increased Bt (peak 12 nT at 25/2123 UTC) and intermittent periods of southward Bz (minimum -10 nT at 26/0408 UTC). FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 30 JUNE - 26 JULY 2010 Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels during 30 June - 10 July, 14 – 19 July, and 26 July. Normal to moderate flux levels are expected during the remainder of the period. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels during 30 June - 01 July due to a recurrent CIR/CH HSS. Field activity is expected to decrease to quiet to unsettled levels during 02 - 04 July. A further decrease to quiet levels is expected during 05 - 11 July. Field activity is expected to increase to quiet to unsettled levels during 12 - 14 July due to a recurrent CIR/CH HSS. Activity is expected to decrease to quiet levels during 15 - 22 July. Activity is expected to increase to unsettled to active levels during 23 - 24 July due to a recurrent CIR/CH HSS. Activity is expected to decrease to quiet to unsettled levels during 25 - 26 July. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2010 Jun 29 2051 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 Jun 29 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2010 Jun 30 75 15 4 2010 Jul 01 75 12 4 2010 Jul 02 75 10 3 2010 Jul 03 75 10 3 2010 Jul 04 75 8 3 2010 Jul 05 75 5 2 2010 Jul 06 74 5 2 2010 Jul 07 74 5 2 2010 Jul 08 74 5 2 2010 Jul 09 74 5 2 2010 Jul 10 74 5 2 2010 Jul 11 72 5 2 2010 Jul 12 70 8 3 2010 Jul 13 70 10 3 2010 Jul 14 70 8 3 2010 Jul 15 70 5 2 2010 Jul 16 70 5 2 2010 Jul 17 70 5 2 2010 Jul 18 72 5 2 2010 Jul 19 74 5 2 2010 Jul 20 74 5 2 2010 Jul 21 74 5 2 2010 Jul 22 74 5 2 2010 Jul 23 74 15 4 2010 Jul 24 74 12 4 2010 Jul 25 74 10 3 2010 Jul 26 74 8 3 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1519, DXLD) ###