DX LISTENING DIGEST 10-50, December 15, 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 WORLD OF RADIO 1543 headlines: *Another country quitting shortwave *Also news about: Bangladesh, Bear Island, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Costa Rica, Czechia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Guam, India, Japan, Korea, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Sarawak, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Zimbabwe SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1543, December 16-22, 2010 Thu 0430 WRMI 9955 [confirmed on webcast but jammed on 9955] Thu 1600 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Thu 2000 WBCQ 7415 [played last week`s 1542] Thu 2200 WRMI 9955 Fri 0430 WWRB 3185 [confirmed] Fri 1530 WRMI 9955 [confirmed, not jammed] Fri 2130 WWCR1 7465 Sat 0900 WRMI 9955 Sat 0900 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 9510 [second, fourth, fifth Saturdays, maybe] Sat 1500 WRMI 9955 Sat 1700 WWCR2 12160 Sat 1830 WRMI 9955 Sat 1900 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 6090 Sun 0330 WWCR3 4840 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Sun 1630 WRMI 9955 Sun 1830 WRMI 9955 Tue 1630 WRMI 9955 Tue 2000 WBCQ 7415 Tue 2330 WRMI 9955 Wed 0130 WRMI 9955 Latest edition of this schedule version, including AM, FM, satellite and webcasts with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html or http://schedule.worldofradio.org or http://sked.worldofradio.org For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://193.42.152.193/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN: http://www.wrn.org/wrn-listeners/world-of-radio/ http://www.wrn.org/listeners/world-of-radio/rss/09:00:00UTC/English/541 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg without delay. When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and location, and say something about why you want to join. Those who do not, unless I recognize them, will be prompted once to do so and no action will be taken otherwise. Here`s where to sign up: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** ALBANIA. Hello all, Great reception of Radio Tirana this morning in Montréal on 13640 kHz at 1530 UT on December 9th. Audio is really good, easy to understand, I hope it stays this good! Most days I tried in the past 2 weeks audio was too weak to understand the program (Gilles Letourneau, Montreal, Canada, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13640, R. Tirana English to NAm, Dec 13 at 1533 registers S9+18 but undermodulated as usual to the extent that I can`t follow what is being said vs the propagational fading noise. On rare occasions, this has been reported with good modulation, e.g. Dec 9 by Gilles Letourneau, Montréal, so we know it is possible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALGERIA [non]. 7295, France, R. Algerienne, Holy Qur`an, Issoudun. December 10, 0519-0527 male reciting Alkoran, male in Arabic talks. 35433 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, SW40 Dipoles and Longwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS. 4760, Port Blair, 1130 some audio on 29 November; 1130-1135 music, 1140 yl in language, sub continental music, om, yl .... fade out 1154 on December 2 (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 4760, AIR Port Blair (presumed not to be Leh), 1512, Dec 11. One of their stronger receptions; ended local programming and started audio feed from Delhi. Format: 1512-1515, ads in Hindi for bank loans, etc.; 1515-1530 news in Hindi; 1530-1545, news in English. At 1545 returned to local programming. 1512-1545 segment noted // with 4775, 4835.0, 4840, 4895, 4940 (stronger than VOS), 4970, 5010, 5040 (fair-good), 9425 and 9470. 1634 with subcontinent music; // 5010 and 9425 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, RN San Gabriel. 12/07 at 1316, 12/08 at 1327 and 12/09 at 1347, no signal from Antarctica (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, SW40 Dipoles and Longwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA [and non]. 15476, LRA36 concludes its fourth week of silence, not a trace Dec 10 at 1350, tho Turkey 15480 was in poorly (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nor thru Dec 16 ** ARGENTINA. 1700, R. AM 1700 – new station located to Tigre, Provincia de Buenos Aires. Testing with relay of “Fantástico FM” (91.9 MHz. – Two mailing addresses: 1) Pje. Gibson 3999, (C1255AAA) C.A., BA. 2) BGM Industrias del Disco S.A., Montevideo 418, 12 Piso, (C1019ABJ) C.A., B.A. (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Argentina, ARC SOUTH AMERICAN NEWS DESK Dec 2010 via DXLD) Logged in Parkalompolo, Sweden by Lars Skoglund, ARC (Tore B. Vik, Norway, ed., ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. 2325, VL8T, Tennant Creek, 1002, Dec 7, English. Announcer with music related banter; pop music including REM, "End of the World..."; weak & fairly clear (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. Radio Australia via BABCOCK: 0100-0130 NF 11780 SNG 250 kW / 340 deg to SEAs, ex 17585 T8WH Burmese 1100-1300 NF 6140 SNG 250 kW / 013 deg to SEAs, ex 9965 T8WH English (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 10 via DXLD) SNG = SINGAPORE. We already outpointed that 6140 has a bit of CubaRM (gh, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. 15340, Dec 14 at 1427 considerable het with Morocco 15341v, so I know that HCJB by longpath is propagating better than usual. Then I check their other frequency, 15400 and it is audible in clear, 1429, Oz accent saying ``we invite you to join us tomorrow morning`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. A tape of the sightseeing tour by some ham radio operator group to ORS shortwave site at Moosbrunn Austria is available only for access inland via Austrian internet provider. There are some sound track copyright limitations on foreign access. Foreign access via Proxy server in Indonesia or Spain Moosbrunn tape. Der Gestalter hatte nicht die von uns beigestellte (urheberrechtlich abgegoltene) Kennmelodie vom Austrian SW Panorama verwendet, sondern eine mit UMG-Stamp indizierte von YouTube runtergeladen. 73 (Wolf Harranth OE1WHC Dokumentationsarchiv Funk (QSL Collection) ORF/QSL Argentinierstr. 30A. A-1040 Wien, Austria Archive location: An den Steinfeldern 4A, A-1230 Wien, Austria (+43) -1-50101-16071 / Mob (+43) {0} 676 - 4012585 via A-DX Dec 6 via BC-DX Dec 11 via DXLD) Wer sich von UMG nicht am Nasenring durch die virtuelle Nebelwand ziehen lassen will (warum duzen die uns eigentlich?), installiert sich einen Proxy-Umschalter wie "FoxyProxy", waehlt einen Proxy aus der Liste z.B. 202.59.160.10:8080 - or und kann sich dann problemlos z.B. mit einem spanischen Absender den Inhalt der Moosbrunn sightseeing tour anschauen. "Das Internet interpretiert die Unterdrueckung von Inhalten als Stoerung und benutzt eine Ausweich-Route". (Zitiert nach: Philip Elmer-Dewitt: First Nation in Cyberspace". Time International, 6. Dezember 1993, No. 49.) (Wolfgang Büschel?, ibid.) ** BANGLADESH. 4750: Bangladesh Betar mostly strong 9 December from 1350 with Indian type music, alternating male and female singer, an interview, some commercials and 1430 news in Bengali. Programs start with "Salaam aleikum". QRM from China at times, but Bangladesh always stronger until after 15 hours, when the Chinese station took the command. Tried 7250 kHz last night for their foreign service, but nothing heard in the interval 1750-1830 between the Vatican Radio broadcasts. Transmissions 1845-1915 and 1915-2000 in English are included in their present schedule, but I doubt they were on the air, since AIR 7550 kHz booming in and I heard Bangladesh in the past quite well on 7 MHz. All the best from Sweden in the snow (Ullmar Qvick, Dec 9, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BEAR ISLAND. 2182, at 2204 25/11, Bjørnøya Meteo announcing weather forecast on MF 1757 kHz and VHF channel 12. English and Norwegian. This is Bear Island, between Svalbard and Norway. Used to be called “Radio” when I worked there in the 1980ies, nowadays “Meteo”. This blog from the island http://bjornoya.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html is not at all up to date, but includes a few nice pictures from the main station (Geir Stokkeland, Vestnes, Norway, Dec NZ DX Times via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) ** BELARUS. 5950, Belaruskaje R., 1250, Dec 10 &11, to my utter surprise noted BLR popping up here // 6040, 6010. Looks like this is what I have been chasing these past few days, cf. UNID in DXLD 10-49. Is this a case of 6070 leap-frogging over 6010 and landing on spurious 5950? 73, (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Looks like it (gh) re 6070 BLR, Yesterday night I noted very strong 6070 kHz outlet from Belarus, interfering adjacent DWL 6075 heavily. Also remaining 6010, 6040, etc. heard, but on usual tiny/fair level. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 12, ibid.) ** BELGIUM [non]. Frequency change of Disco Palace and TDP Radio in DRM mode: 2000-2200 NF 17755 GUF 100 kW / 311 deg to NoAm, x 15775 BON 100 kW/320 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 13 Dec via DXLD) No, ex- frequency was 15755 (gh, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4409.79, 2235-2245 08.12, R Eco, Reyes (presumed), Spanish ann, music 15311 (Anker Petersen, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire here in snowy Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4409.859, Radio Eco, Reyes 0003 om en espanol, fair/good signal 1 December, 2330 on 4 December [Wilkner] 4451.2, Radio Santa Ana, Santa Ana de Yacuma, 2330 to 2355 on 4 December [Wilkner] 4795.973, Radio Lípez, Uyuni, 0000 om, very strong clear signal 1 December, [Wilkner] 5952.44, Pio XII, Siglo Veinte very narrow filter, yl at 1030 on 3 December (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 6025, R. Patria Nueva, La Paz. December 08, 0352-0402 Spanish romantic, latin music, male in Spanish talks, male on flute music “R. Patria Nueva; R. Patria Nueva punto com, gracias por habernos acompañado”. Weak, 23422 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, SW40 Dipoles and Longwire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 3375.319, Brasil, Radio Municipal São Gabriel da Cachoeira, 0000 to 0045, Brasilian music, 1 December [Wilkner] 4754.9, Radio Imaculada Conceição, Campo Grande, MS 0015 "Santa Maria... Ave Maria" religious program 1 December (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9588.05, 0424, Rádio Globo, São Paulo well off nominal 9585 with preacher in Portuguese, ‘Voz de Liberación’ [sic] promo at 0433 // 9564.97 on 26/11 (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, Dec NZ DX Times via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 10000/am, PPE, Observatório Nacional with Portuguese announcements every 10 seconds and three pips leading up to the top of the minute, in the clear -- WWV/H not audible. 0210-0212 4/Dec (Kenneth Vito Zichi, DXpedition, Brighton MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 10 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 11815, Dec 11 at 2300 nice jazzy music, 2303 time check for 21:03, full ID for R. Brasil Central, giving calls, powers and frequencies including 4985 and 11815, fair with fading. Program then is Música de todos os tempos, com Fernando Ribeiro. Also signs of weaker R. Bandeirantes on 11925v aside HCJB via Chile 11920, but not the SRDA spur on 12174v (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11915, Rádio Gaúcha, Porto Alegre, 2017-2021, 09-12, Portuguese, male voice, soccer comments, "Grémio de Porto Alegre". At. 2100 "A Voz do Brasil". 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, 27 Km. W of Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 and Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Cable antenna, 10 meters, faced WSW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Since 22 November, 15190 has been monitored regularly for Radio Inconfidência. After a few days of poor modulation, their signal is now dramatically improved and some days Inconfidência is audible from as early as 1930 UT throughout the day and as late as 0700 (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai (Northland), New Zealand, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) As of when? (gh) 15190, Rádio Inconfidência last noted here on 5 December, appears to have been off-air since (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ, Dec 14, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) No, some reports of it below on 10 Dec anyway; see EQUATORIAL GUINEA too 6010, Rádio Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte, 0531-0750, 10-12, Portuguese, male, comments. At 0735: "um saúdo, Inconfidência de Radio", Brazilian songs. Interference from Radio Habana Cuba in the same frequency. 12321. (Méndez) 15190, Rádio Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte, 0815-0835, 10-12, Portuguese, advertisements, male, program: "Trem Caipira, na rede inconfidência de rádio, muito bom dia para todo Brasil", program presented by Múcio Bolívar, "nosso e-mail: muciobolivar @ inconfidencia.com.br", "6 e 19". 33433. Also heard at 1355-1410, 10-12, with sport program: "Inconfidência, a rádio de todos os esportes", identification at 1401: "Onda média, 890 kHz, ondas curtas, 49 metros, 6010 kHz, 19 metros, 15190 kHz, emissora da Rede Inconfidência de Rádio, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil". 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, 27 Km. W of Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 and Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Cable antenna, 10 meters, faced WSW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) QSL received --- 15190, Radio Inconfidencia, Belo Horizonte. I have received a snail mail QSL card from this station with full data, after I send a reception report via e-mail to the station. The report was sent October 16 and the reply arrive December 10. V/S Marcus Starling, Technical Director of the Station. E-mail: directoria @ inconfidencia.com.br [sic: see below] Postal address: Radio Inconfidencia Av. Raja Gabaglia, 1666 - Luxemburgo Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais - Brasil - Cep: 30441-194 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Para quem ainda não confirmou a Radio INconfidencia: Frequencias: 880 kHz, 6010 kHz, 15190 kHz. Apenas o endereço eletrônico não deve estar de todo certo, porque no Brasil não se escreve 'directoria' e sim 'diretoria. Portanto: diretoria@inconfidencia.com.br 73, (Rudolf Grimm, São Bernardo SP, BRASIL, http://radioways.blogspot.com DX Clube do Brasil http://www.ondascurtas.com radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Hi Glenn, I'd to share with you two QSLs (PPCs) I received today, both Brazilian stations from the state of Paraná, Super Rádio Deus é Amor (Curitiba) and Rádio Difusora (Londrina): 4815 kHz - Rádio Difusora de Londrina. Londrina/PR Recebido cartão QSL (PPC), 40 dias, V/S: ilegível. IR enviado por correio, com PPC e SASE. QTH: Rádio Difusora de Londrina, Rua Sergipe, 843 - Sala 05 - andar 1 - Centro, Londrina - PR 86010-380 6060 kHz - Super Rádio Deus é Amor, Curitiba/PR Recebido cartão QSL (PPC), 40 dias, V/S: ilegível. IR enviado por correio, com PPC e SASE. QTH: Super Rádio Deus É Amor - Rua João Negrão, 595 - 3º andar Centro, Curitiba / PR 80010-200 Super Rádio Deus é Amor's verifier has signed my PPC, but he hasn't stamped it. He wrote instead "We were without card and stamp at the moment of signing, thank you for hearing". I'd like to ask you to have a glance at it in http://pqslfabricio.blogspot.com/ and please comment if you think this is or not a valid QSL. Thank you Glenn, 73 (Fabricio Andrade Silva, Tubarão - SC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Fabricio, It is certainly up to you whether you consider it valid. A rubber stamp imprint from the station is beyond what QSL collectors require in my experience; maybe that is a Brasilian cultural thing. Over here I am sure most stations today would not even have an official rubber stamp for any documents. Surely the signature and the wording should be sufficient. 73, (Glenn to Fabricio, ibid.) QSL Super Rádio Boa Vontade --- 6160 kHz - Super Rádio Boa Vontade, Porto Alegre/RS. Recebido cartão QSL (PPC), com breve carta escrita no verso do PPC + Lembrança dos 18 anos da Rede Boa Vontade de Rádio, 10 dias. V/S: Vera Carpes Quednau, coordenadora de programação. IR enviado por correio, com PPC e SASE. QTH: Legião da Boa Vontade (LBV) - Super Rádio Boa Vontade - Av. S Paulo, 722 Navegantes/S Geraldo - Porto Alegre - RS, 90230-160 Em breve as imagens destas confirmações estarão disponíveis no http://pqslfabricio.blogspot.com/ Forte 73 (Fabricio Andrade Silva, PP5002SWL, Tubarão - SC, Brasil, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. SENADO APROVA FLEXIBILIZAÇÃO DA 'VOZ DO BRASIL' Cristiane Jungblut BRASÍLIA - O Senado aprovou nesta quarta-feira projeto que flexibiliza o horário de transmissão do programa oficial "Voz do Brasil", permitindo que a exibição ocorra em horário alternativo às 19h, como é hoje. Pela proposta aprovada, as emissoras de rádio comerciais e comunitárias poderão iniciar a transmissão do programa entre 19h e 22h. Já as emissoras públicas ou educativas continuarão sendo obrigadas a veicular a "Voz do Brasil" às 19h. Autor do substitutivo aprovado pelos senadores, o senador Antonio Carlos Magalhães Júnior (DEM-BA) disse que a nova regra dá mais liberdade para as emissoras comerciais, que têm diferentes perfis no horário da noite. Agora, a proposta será analisada novamente pela Câmara dos Deputados, antes de ir à sanção do presidente da República. As emissoras comerciais e comunitárias têm que começar a transmitir entre 19h e 22h - As emissoras comerciais e comunitárias têm que começar a transmitir entre 19h e 22h. Mas elas terão, às 19h, que informar em que horário elas apresentarão o programa. As emissoras ficam amarradas (hoje), e cada uma tem um perfil. Algumas transmitem futebol à noite, outras, o noticiário. E quem quiser ouvir a "Voz do Brasil" às 19h pode sintonizar e emissora pública ou educativa - disse o senador. Segundo ele, as emissoras comerciais terão que anunciar, sempre às 19h, em qual horário alternativo o programa será exibido. O projeto não mexeu no conteúdo do programa, ou seja, na divisão do tempo que há entre os Poderes Executivo, Legislativo e Judiciário. O programa tem uma hora de duração, com o tempo dividido entre notícias dos três Poderes. Fonte: O Globo Online http://bit.ly/em98uO (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Dec 9, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. DRMNA.info Interviews Rafael Diniz of DRM-Brasil http://drmna.bcdx.org/wp/?p=352 (via Benn Kobb, DXLD) ** CANADA. AGE OF PERSUASION RETURNS JAN. 8 --- So states the announcement made on Facebook, anyway: ``Age of Persuasion returns in 2011! The new season of AOP starts on Saturday, January 8th - at a new time - 11:30am. A repeat airing of the episode will be on Thursdays at 2:30pm. Got more big news, too. Will announce soon.`` http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=683042331#!/pages/The-Age-of-Persuasion/22216068521 http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/ (via Clara Listensprechen, Dec 14, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) ** CANADA. 9625, Dec 9 at 0615, S9+20 tone test, CBCNQ transmitter again running after-hours for reasons unknown (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. I have a fondness for the old Radio Canada International, too. The next time someone complains that CBC is wasting too much money and says they should cut the shortwave service, I remember when I was working in South Africa as a peace monitor with the World Council of Churches. I was tired and felt quite cut off by everything. This was a few years ago so Internet access wasn’t in the works then, especially for us human rights activists too busy looking for bodies in war-struck townships. And we didn’t have access to TV either. But one of my colleagues lent me his shortwave radio. I’d flick around the dial and try to tune into something. Most of the time it was the BBC World Service, which was useful. Then one evening, I heard a familiar tune, followed by “This is Radio Canada International.” And I tuned in, every night, caught up on the news from home. So the next time someone teases me about liking the interval signals, I’ll tell them otherwise. When you’re far away from home and you don’t have access to a computer or TV, there’s nothing like a familiar tune to bring you home. Till later, 73. (Sue Hickey, NF, CIDX Forum, Dec Messenger via DXLD) ** CANADA. Changes at 1670 CJEU --- This from the IRCA:- 1670 QC Gatineau CJEU From RADIO ENFANT to OXYGENE RADIO (Barry :-) Davies, UK, Dec 8, MWC yg via DXLD) When? I heard them last night as Radio Enfant. 73 (Steve Whitt, ibid.) The situation is unclear. The Radio Enfant web site still exists http://www.radioenfant.ca and mentions a bond issue which can be had from the studios of Radio Oxygène. There is a slogan for Radio Oxygène “La seule et unique reference jeunesse 1670 AM”. However the “Radio Enfant-Ado 1670” is also still mentioned. The relationship between the two entities is not clear. When I received IRCA’s DX Monitor I commented on the matter to them (Andrew Brade, Dec 8, ibid.) More info on CJEU. The old web site is still there too! (Andrew Brade, Dec 10, ibid.) Andrew: Eric passed your query on to me. Here is the new website for CJEU-1670: http://www.oxygeneradio.ca/ Take care: (Dan Sys, North America, 10 Dec, via Brade, ibid.) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. ICDI ON 20/20 THIS FRIDAY ABC News Comes to CAR --- As a result of the publicity surrounding the Charity:Water Born in September campaign to raise awareness and funding for the water crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), ABC News opted to pick up the story and develop it further. One of the producers for the ABC News program 20/20, Miguel Sancho, was struck by what he saw in the Charity:Water campaign communications and videos. ABC News had just initiated a programming project in concert with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation titled "The Global Health Crisis." A feature that would highlight crisis situations from around the world and how governments, non-profit charities and non-governmental organizations like ICDI are working to "be the change" and save lives. The first program in this year-long ABC News special will air this Friday, December 17th at 10:00 pm [EST/PST = first airing 0300 UT Saturday Dec 18] during the regularly scheduled program slot for 20/20. The work of ICDI founder Jim Hocking and his team of Central Africans will be prominently featured as a segment in the hour long program. You can read more details about this upcoming ABC News special event here http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=frqnmhbab&et=1104072408568&s=1340&e=001-jus5K8194csgGAsaLPo2PpE2RSJqIZ_8uEjbr5G9WMgeHm8c2IXFdtH3ECqNIYWLAUoabI5UTy1Qss9hRSDZGmyB-n2AY6CW3RpRXmuNUw= ...so set your dials to ABC this Friday at 10 pm for sure! See interviews from the field with Jim, lead driller Marcellin Namsene, and watch the ICDI drilling team and the rig "Faithful & True" in action. Most of all, witness the tremendous impact that you, the supporters of ICDI, are having in this most desperate place in the world (Dec ICDI Newsletter via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) But will there be one word about ICDI Radio?? Don`t count on it; most of their own material doesn`t mention it any more, just this peripheral water, etc., stuff. What`s that? Hardly ever DXed abroad, Aoki shows: 3390 Radio ICDI 1600-1900 .23456. French/Fufulde/.. 1 ND Boali 6030 Radio ICDI 0500-0800 .23456. French/Sango/.. 1 ND Boali 6030 Radio ICDI 1600-1900 .23456. French/Fufulde/.. 1 ND Boali CAF 01802E 0452N ICDI b09 Remember that 3390 was to be the new transmitter HCJB installed for them, but I am not sure it has ever been confirmed on air. WRTH 2010 explains that ICDI stands for Integrated Community Development International (how do you say that in Sango, Bayaka or Fulfulde?). It shows 6030 1 kW at 05-09, 14-18; F.Pl. Another transmitter on 7160 [N.B., surely not any more]. Website: http://www.icdinternational.org/radio.html which does not even give that schedule, mentions 6.030 only. Coverage map shows it does not reach even all of the CAR (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHAD. 6165, 0514, Ndjamena good & clear with French news, followed by program promos, ident as ‘Radio Nationale’ 26/11. Excellent 0530 28/11 at 0530 when drum interval signal played and identification in French. Ident as ‘Radio Chad’ heard this day (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) 6165, RNT, *0426-0510, Dec 11, sign on with Balafon IS. National Anthem at 0429. Opening French announcements at 0430. Local Afro-pop music at 0431. French talk. In the clear after Radio Netherlands signs off at 0427. Weak but readable (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** CHILE. B-10 for Voz Cristã / La Voz via SGO=Santiago: Portuguese to Brasil 1800-2000 on 17860 SGO 015 kW / 045 deg DRM German to Brasil 2300-2400 on 9835 SGO 050 kW / 045 deg Spanish to Northern South America 1100-1200 on 9780 SGO 100 kW / 000 deg till March 12 1200-0100 on 17680 SGO 100 kW / 000 deg, from Mar 13 1200-0200 on same Spanish to Southern South America 1100-0100 on 9635 SGO 100 kW / 030 deg, from Mar 13 1200-0200 on same (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 13 Dec via DXLD) ** CHINA. Will there be increased Firedrake activity? Hi Glenn, We should look for China to increase their Firedrake (music jamming) activity on Dec 10, as a result of the Nobel Prize ceremony that will take place in Norway. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize recipient is the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who has not been allowed to attend the ceremony in Oslo. Currently CNN.com and CNN International are among the websites and television networks that have been blocked in mainland China (Ron Howard, CA, Dec 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Personally on shortwave I don't see much of an increase. They will make screens go black on CNN Int, BBC World, DW TV and others during any reporting or live feeds of the Peace Prize. Mind you watching it on line is still an option. Despite the fact that it is reported everywhere, you can still access these sites by using proxy servers. So if people want to watch they will be able to. If they want to is another question. Also in the last 2 years there has been a big boom in black market satellite equipment. So international news channels will still get through. The black market DTH equipment is from DREAM TV DTH from the Philippines, which does carry the 7 24/7 news Channels from Taiwan. But If people tune in I doubt it. Here in Taiwan none of the news channel has reported on Liu Xiaobo. The reason is simple: in Taiwan there is no interest. I find it funny when western media has been reporting that he has not been able to attend. Do you really think China will say "look Xiaobo if you want to attend you can, but you need to promise that right after the ceremony you will fly right back to China and go back to your cell" (Keith Perron, Taiwan, Dec 9, ibid.) Firedrake. Dec 10 did not find anything out of the ordinary. Scanned 7100 through 15000, from 1314 to 1327; Firedrake 8400 // 10300 and also both FD and CNR1 echo jamming on 6030 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ron, Did this come true i.e. Firedrake increasing on the 10th? (Chuck Bolland, FL, Dec 11, ibid.) [and non]. 6030, Dec 12 at 1309 Firedrake is atop Ming Hui Radio, and other ChiCom jamming, and FD found nowhere else, such as the formerly active 8400, 9000, 10500. However at next check 1347, 6030 is Firedrakeless, just mix of at least three other signals (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Surprising amount of Firedrake activity; they are again concentrating on SOH broadcasts during their local morning. Scan from 7100 through to 19000, from 0134 to 0200*, Dec 14. Assume all against SOH. 8400 was not // with all the others; poor. It has been a while since I last heard a FD out of sync with the others. All in //: 10970 fair-good 11050 fair 11500 weak; not listed by Aoki, but in the past reported in dxldyg 12970 fair-good; not listed by Aoki, but in the past reported in dxldyg 13970 good 14700 good 15900 good; not listed by Aoki, but in the past reported in dxldyg 16970 poor Most of these started up again between 0215 to 0221, with the exceptions of 11500 and 16970, which did not return to the air again. These frequencies that are listed by Aoki no longer have an asterisk (* = Chinese jamming), but certainly they are still being jammed by Firedrake (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 4940.00, 2255-2305 08.12, Voice of Taiwan Strait, Fuzhou, Chinese talk, 2300 exact timesignal and more talk, 25322 AP-DNK New 4974.95, 2310-2322* 08.12, Fujian PBS, Fuzhou, Amoy news, closing ann, back from 5005; 22322, heterodyne from Latin American carrier on 4974.77 (R Iguatemi FM or Pacífico R) until 2322* (Anker Petersen, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire here in snowy Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) When was it on 5005? (gh) 4940, Voice of Strait, 1530, Dec 12. Start of the Sunday only program in English “Focus on China”; faintly heard ID ("This is the Voice of Strait, Fuzhou, China") far underneath a much stronger AIR Guwahati (AIR news in English); mostly unusable; checked at 1556 to hear Chinese, so today was just a 25 minute program. 6125, CNR1, 1311-1340, Dec 12. In English and Chinese with special live coverage from the stadium in Guangzhou of the opening ceremony of the Asian Para Games; good (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. 5954.25, 0150-0205 12.12, ELCOR, Guápiles, Spanish talks about Cuba, relaying R República, 32332, Heterodyne. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of frozen longwire via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) 5954.9, approx., [sic: see below] Dec 13 at 0627 bad het between this and something weaker on 5955.0 (RNW Dutch via PORTUGAL), Spanish talk, and no jamming. Could it be an RHC spur? No, not // 5040, or Rebelde 5025. Yes, it must be extended schedule of R. República via ELCOR, Guápiles, because at 0635 I did catch them mentioning Cuba and synonymous tiranía. Maybe runs all night now, in compensation for suspending WRMI and Sackville transmissions. 5954.2, approx., R. República at 0707 Dec 14, Spanish discussion. Bad het with 5955.0, presumed RNW via Portugal. Still no jamming in this extended schedule. I have concluded that I must have misinterpreted my previous frequency measurement of 5954.9, using my indirect het- comparing method, as the lower frequency is the usual spot for RR, and it`s also reported by others, such as Martien Groot, Netherlands, Dec 11 as late as 0907-0944 on 5954.24, altho unID. [q.v.] Note: I am glad and eager to correct my own mistakes, so don`t feel put upon when I correct someone else`s! Another one: PHILIPPINES (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. 5965, Dec 15 at 0630, automatic half-hour REE timesignal mixing with unpaused Spanish discussion, about one second late, due to satellite feed delay, etc. Standard remark about the necessity for TS to be accurate, otherwise deleted. BTW, unusually at this time, was not hearing any CCI from VATICAN, scheduled 0400-0805, normally a big bother (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 890, R. Progreso/R. Surco/R. Chambas (FM relay), unknown site, Ciego de Ávila DEC 1, 2324-0105 - Per tip from Paul V. Zecchino that the R.Progreso outlet here just flipped to R.Surco. (I had Surco as late as the morning of November 28). Tune in to not Surco, but R. Chambas IDs. This station is low power FM only (90.7 MHz) in Ciego de Ávila province. Indeed, per http://www.radiocubana.cu directorio de radio emisoras cubanas under Ciego de Ávila, Chambas is listed as being rebroadcast via R. Surco for 5.5 hours per day (no times listed). Programming was mostly Cuban dance, techno and rock. After 0000, canned feature on children's care, 0016 song with first few bars of "Jingle Bells" appended. Apparent end of relay at 0100 with R. Surco ID and programming. Signal was huge. DEC 2, 1220 - Surco programming still here with ID. At 2248 check, very poor and hard to tell if Chambas or Surco audio in interference from a Vietnamese talker (presumably KTXV Mabank, Texas) and WLS. Chambas was an interesting discovery, a first for me. Still not certain if the Surco/Chambas transmitter is the former Progreso listed in Ciego de Ávila, or new. DEC 4 0121 - Strong, but no longer R.Surco feed. Back to R. Progreso parallel 640 kHz. So I presume that means FM R. Chambas reception is lost as quickly as it appeared (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater FL; JRC NRD-535, ICOM IC-R75, Hammarlund HQ-180A, Aqua Guide 705 Radio Direction Finder, Sony ICF-7600GR, GE SuperRadio III, RadioShack DX- 399, Sony Walkman SRF-59, 1 X roof dipole, 1 X in-room random wire, RadioShack 15-1853 passive MW loop, NRC IDXD via DXLD) ** CUBA. 1020, Radio Reloj, Jorobo, Las Tunas. 1135 December 12, 2010. Mostly poor under Radio Guamá, sounders never can catch up with reality: 4 seconds off, 7 for the "RR" sounder. This one is not in your WRTVH-2010, though it was listed a couple of years back I believe (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 6120 and 5040, RHC Spanish both with open carrier, Dec 9 at 0620 and later, except 5040 has the constant squeal. 13680, RHC missing at 1347 Dec 10, and consequently no leapfrog on 13880, despite 13780 being on as usual. Instead, 13680 had R. Farda; see IRAN [non]; See also USA [and non], WRMI and WOR with Cuban jamming 6060 and 6050, as I tuned across RHC in English, Dec 11 at 0636, heard a YL guest say ``mother-fu**er`` without the asterisks. The YL host of the show a minute later took no notice, made no apology, and this was probably repeated every hour at least from 00 to 07 UT Saturday. Free speech lives, in the land of tyranny! And/or, another reason to denounce RHC as a crude, bad influence. 12040, Dec 11 at 2254, RHC Spanish with good signal, no Portugal which had been occupying the frequency at 2149 with no sign of Habana. Could RHC be coöperating in keeping silent until RDPI`s open-ended sports coverage is finished? No, too far-fetched; must be a fluke, coincidence, or an unrelated breakdown. Altho the DentroCuban Jamming Command attacks various DX programs on WRMI, R. Prague, Kol Israel, etc., 9955 was jamming-free Dec 11 at 2250 with preacher in English, scheduled as ``Gospel of the Kingdom``. Appears that RHC swapped transmitters, as the squealer was on 6150 English instead of 5040 Spanish, Dec 12 at 0606. Trouble is, 6150 ``Ed Newman`` so undermodulated that the squeal was louder than he. 11760, RHC ``En Contacto`` underway Sunday Dec 12 at 1438 in opening birthday segment for R. Caribe, Isla de la Juventud, and some other station. Did not end until 1452 so maybe started at 1437 this week. After a promo minute, ``En Compañía del Doctor`` started late at 1453. Meanwhile, I scanned for all the frequencies really in use during ``En Contacto``, besides 11760: 11730 and 11690, fair, the latter with RTTY QRM. 13750, big signal as usual here on Sundays only instead of 13680, because of ``Aló Presidente``, whether it really comes later or not. 13780, equally big signal to 13750. 13810, can barely hear RHC under Brother Scare via GERMANY: the leapfrog lands here from 13750 over 13780, instead of 13880 when it`s 13680 over 13780. 13680, JBA with weaker transmitter in use Sundays only; ACI de CRI Sackville 13675 and CCI de R. Farda via Wertachtal, GERMANY, 13680. 15120, good. 15230, JBA under CRI Sackvlle. 15360, JBA with ACI WYFR 15355. 15370, undermodulated. 6140, poor by now on day path. 17750, at 1445 just S9+22 open carrier; 1453 now some undermodulation. I also noted which frequencies were synchronized with 11760: all of the above, EXCEPT: These from other site were an echo apart: 11690, 11730, 13680, 15230. Giving El Hugazo plenty of chance to show up for ``Aló, Presidente``, I check all the channels again at 1710: No, they are all // 11760 with RHC mainstream programming: 17750, still just barely modulated; 15370 poor; 13750 VG; 13680 echo, bad mod; 11730 echo, low mod; 11690 echo, bad mod like 13680. Never on 12040 or any other 12000+ frequency. What`s become of English overruns past 0700 on some unpredictable RHC 49mb channels? Dec 14 at 0703 they are all in Spanish: 6050 best; 6060 much weaker; 6120 with usual bad audio plus CCI from RNW Dutch via VATICAN; 6150 undermodulated and squealing; plus 5040 good (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Who is Eva on RHC's English Service? She's a relatively new news/presenter reader, Hispanic-accented though I can't quite pinpoint if really a Cuban accent. She sounds somewhat hot. I extend a welcome for her to covertly exile herself from Habana, maybe via a Soviet- built crop-duster propeller from near coastal Habana to Key West (it's worked before, why not again?) -- and free herself from the clutches of Arnaldo Coro Antich de Jesus -- then crash at my pad for a few weeks. We can play radio together. Could be fun. I might just might dig her MegaHertz (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHIA. CZECH REPUBLIC. Winter B-10 schedule of Radio Prague: CZECH 0030-0057 on 9790 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoAm 0230-0257 on 7410 LIT 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm 0330-0357 on 7345 LIT 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm 0930-0957 on 11600 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 1030-1057 on 21745 LIT 100 kW / 210 deg to NWAf 1200-1227 on 9880 LIT 100 kW / 356 deg to NoEu 1330-1357 on 6055 LIT 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu 1630-1657 on 7435 LIT 100 kW / 125 deg to N/ME 2030-2057 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 2200-2227 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu ENGLISH 0100-0127 on 7410 LIT 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm 0200-0227 on 7410 LIT 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm 0400-0427 on 7345 LIT 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm 0430-0457 on 9855 LIT 100 kW / 144 deg to EaAf 0800-0827 on 7345 LIT 100 kW / 290 deg to WeEu 1000-1027 on 21745 LIT 100 kW / 210 deg to NWAf 1130-1157 on 9880 LIT 100 kW / 356 deg to NoEu 1400-1427 on 11600 LIT 100 kW / 107 deg to SEAs 1700-1727 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 290 deg to WeEu 1800-1827 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 290 deg to WeEu 2100-2127 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 290 deg to WeEu 2230-2257 on 7355 LIT 100 kW / 199 deg to NEAf 2330-2357 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm GERMAN 0730-0757 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 260 deg to WeEu 1100-1127 on 7345 LIT 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu 1300-1327 on 6055 LIT 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu 1600-1627 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 260 deg to WeEu 1730-1757 on 7285 SIN 250 kW / 040 deg to WeEu >>> from Jan. 1, 2011 (maybe) FRENCH 0700-0727 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 260 deg to WeEu 0830-0857 on 11600 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 1430-1457 on 11600 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 1730-1757 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 260 deg to WeEu 1930-1957 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 2300-2327 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm RUSSIAN 0500-0527 on 5980 LIT 100 kW / 060 deg to EaEu 1230-1257 on 6055 LIT 100 kW / 060 deg to EaEu 1530-1557 on 7420 LIT 100 kW / 060 deg to EaEu 1830-1857 on 5995 LIT 100 kW / 060 deg to EaEu SPANISH 0000-0027 on 7420 ASC 250 kW / 245 deg to SoAm >>> from Jan. 1, 2011 (maybe) 0000-0027 on 9790 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoAm 0130-0157 on 7410 LIT 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm 0300-0327 on 7345 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoAm 0900-0927 on 11600 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 1500-1527 on 11600 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 1900-1927 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 2000-2027 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 2130-2157 on 5930 LIT 100 kW / 245 deg to SoEu Off-air 0500-1630 on Dec. 15, Jan. 19, Feb. 16, Mar. 16, due to tx maintenance (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 10 via DXLD) Sic --- apparently hasn`t heard about quitting SW Jan 31, and resuming the relays for one month seems far-fetched. We can hope RP still appear on SW tnx to WRN and WRMI 9955 (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) Re 10-49: Radio Prague has confirmed it will end shortwave broadcasts at the end of January according to this announcement on its Facebook page about 1810 UT today: "Radio Prague will be terminating shortwave broadcasting as of January 31. The station's financing for next year has been drastically reduced by the Foreign Ministry in line with government austerity measures aimed at cutting the state deficit. The details of the budget are still being discussed. At present, broadcasting will continue in all six languages via the internet, satellite and partner stations." http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Radio-Prague/183496134175 (via Alan Pennington, UK, Dec 8, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) I wonder if they have accurate listening figures for each medium of 'transmission' or whether this decision is made by executives with no studio experience or more importantly no short-wave radio? (Rog Parsons (BDXC 782), Hinckley, Leics., ibid.) Radio Slovakia, Radio Prague and Radio Sweden I predict will go the way of Swiss Info. I think that in 2 maybe 3 years they will be gone. Swiss Info is on the verge of being gone for good. We have see this happen before. Geopolitically things have changed since 1989. People back then that made predictions this would happen I remember were laugh at, but it seem they are getting the last laugh now (Keith Perron, Taiwan, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. Radio Prague on shortwave will be closed on January 31, 2011, for ever. From Febr 1st, only via livestream / and recorded on internet files download. Same decline {to sudden dead} like RCI German, RFI German, Swiss Radio International, Radio Sweden, and soon DWL Bonn, latter from 2012 year when only Sines, Kigali and Trincomalee may used by DWL then (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 10, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 11 via DXLD) ** DIEGO GARCIA. Glad to see in the 11 Dec edition of Aoki that AFN frequency has been corrected from 12579 to 12759, as discussed in DXLD 10-49. It certainly is a massive task to try to keep such a list current, and our thanks and appreciation go to Shigenori Aoki and anyone who may be helping him (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 6025.09, Radio Amanecer International, 0310- 0320*, Dec 11, Spanish religious talk. Christian music. Off after religious tune. Poor with adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, PA, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX Listening Digest) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. República Dominicana: EL MERENGUE PERDERÁ SU MEJOR EMISORA, UNIVERSAL, 98.1 --- FUENTE: http://bit.ly/eQ7v58 (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, playdx yg via DXLD) Gracias, amigo Yimber; esta información fue desmentida hoy día por su propietario, manifestando que no es cierto dicha venta!!! (Dino Bloise, FL, Dec 8, via Yimber, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 4500, CHINA, Xinjiang PBS, Urumqi, 0042-0105, Dec 7, listed Mongolian. M & W announcers with talk & brief music selections, including disco-era Bee Gees cover tune; 5 pips at ToH & W announcer with presumed ID; right back to more M & W announcer; poor- fair at best; battling with ute QRM. (Barbour-NH) 4980, CHINA, Xinjiang PBS Urumqi, 0140, Dec 7, listed Uighur. M & W announcers with talk; // 3990; both poor & noisy (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 3279.92, La Voz del Napo, Tena, 1030 with hymns 29 November; 0015 on 1 December, distorted signal 1045 on 2 December (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Since 1956, when I first listened to the ‘Voice of the Andes’, my collection of HCJB QSLs kept growing and growing. With 127 different HCJB Ecuador frequencies verified, I have amassed a total of 288 different motives of HCJB QSL cards. Collectors - like myself - who want to supplement their collection, can get missing cards for their reception reports sent to Quito. A number of cards, especially older ones, are still included in HCJB’s QSL Gallery, but are not available any more. Maybe it is possible to help serious collectors to add one or two missing cards in their collection, because I have a number of duplicates, like the 1966-A card, also cards of the series of 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974. My offer is effective as long as my stocks last. These QSLs arrived during the last four weeks: HCJB 6050 (Mt. Pichincha, 10 kW.) . . . (Günter Jacob, Passau, Germany, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) You are offering free on request? Or for sale? Or one-for-one trade of QSLs issued to you? But they would still not be QSLs properly issued to anyone else, so they could not count them in own totals. Or are you suggesting that a QSL you supply be resent to the station by someone else for a new report to be verified, or follow-up?? Erasing the old verification info? Or are some of the duplicates you have blanks? This `offer` certainly raises more questions than it answers. Or are you speaking to collectors who just want the cards, no matter whose report they originally verified? (gh, DXLD) ** EGYPT. 9305, R. Cairo General Program relay now runs until 0700, seldom audible. But it was Dec 9 at 0616, tnx to propagational improvement, music and Arabic talk, not even too distorted (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR [and non]. RADIO SUMPUL VUELVE AL AIRE CON SU VOZ Y CANTO LIBRE DE CHALATENANGO Miércoles, 08 de Diciembre de 2010 Merlin Velis, Redacción Diario Co Latino La comunidad de Guarjila y demás poblados vecinos en el departamento de Chalatenango han sentido durante más de seis meses la triste ausencia de la única emisora que les ha acompañado durante diecisiete años en el proceso de organización comunitaria y en momentos difíciles de la post guerra. Radio Sumpul 92.1 nace el 6 diciembre de 1993, cuando la radio Farabundo Martí se traslada a la capital salvadoreña. Su filosofía es ser una emisora comunitaria, comprometida con los intereses, historia e identidad de hombres y mujeres que se resistieron al aniquilamiento moral que persistió luego de finalizada la guerra civil. Desde su surgimiento, Radio Sumpul ha experimentado serias dificultades que han estado a punto de acabar con todo el proyecto radiofónico, pero que a la vez han puesto a prueba la fuerza de voluntad y la convicción de toda una comunidad. La primera difícil experiencia fue en 1994 cuando la emisora se incendia con todo y el equipo en su interior, “la gente llegó a apagar el fuego y rescatar los equipos de transmisión… no se sabe si fue que le metieron fuego o si fue un accidente”, dice el administrador de la radio, Carlos Guardado. Posterior a ese “accidente”, en diciembre de 1995, la Policía Nacional Civil se hace presente a la estación de radio para incautar consola, transmisores, micrófonos y demás equipo, obedeciendo órdenes del presidente de ANTEL, cuyo argumento era que Radio Sumpul y otras aglutinadas a la Asociación ARPAS operaban como “emisoras piratas”, por el hecho de no contar con un respaldo legal para ejercer la radiodifusión comunitaria. Durante los años venideros siguieron apareciendo otros obstáculos, el más reciente fue un transmisor quemado por un rayo que les dejó fuera de transmisión durante seis meses, luego de este periodo Radio Sumpul vuelve para compartir a través de sus ondas sonoras la alegría de volver al aire y de celebrar diecisiete años de comunicación alternativa. Este ocho de diciembre los habitantes de Guarjila compartirán una serie de actividades para celebrar el cumpleaños de Radio Sumpul, los niños y niñas podrán disfrutar de un trampolín para saltar, habrá también una tarde cultural y artística con música, teatro y reseñas históricas, así mismo se oficiará una misa de acción de gracias por volver a ser la voz y el canto libre de Chalatenango. Fuente: http://bit.ly/dU9n1Z (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, noticiasdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) More... Sister Stations: WERU-FM And Radio Sumpul Update from Radio Sumpul, El Salvador: 1. Radio Sumpul has been off the air since last May. Over the past 2 years both a lightning strike (which took them off for a few months) and then later a flood from a hurricane has taken them off the air. Since May, they have been in need of a new transmitter, voltage regulator, lightning rod and repairs to their building where it is stored among some other smaller items. They are currently down to 1 halftime staff person and 13 volunteers. They are not connected to the Internet to stream their shows for Salvadoran expats living in the US. 2. Here is a little bit about their programming: When on the air, they broadcast daily from 5 am to 9 pm. On a typical day of programming they start off with Ranchera music, AM announcements (such as public events, patron saint festivals, community assemblies and birthdays) from 6:30 to 7 am, followed by a mix of different Latin music styles: Grupera, Merengue, Bachata, and Tropical music – played in blocks until 11:40 am when they wrap up the hour for more announcements. Between noon and 5:30 they have “Hits from Yesterday”, then they take requests, have a children’s hour, folk music and then eclectic music. News is from 5:30 to 6:30 pm followed by Reggae Techno Youth Music until 9 pm. 3. Radio Sumpul is also part of the region known as Chalatenango and is part of the organized rural development association. Every December they have a community wide festival to celebrate their radio anniversary. Operating a Community Radio Station in rural El Salvador presents many challenges, including a variety of technical problems that must be overcome in order to serve the people. Radio Sumpul has no shortage of technical and equipment challenges. Radio Sumpul is part of a social movement working to empower rural people and all Salvadorans struggling against economic, environmental, cultural and political oppression, and it is difficult to provide the most timely national news and information to its community without such up to date technology. We invite listeners to help contribute to future Radio Sumpul needs by sending checks to: WERU, P.O. Box 170, East Orland, ME 04431, with “Attn. Radio Sumpul” on the envelope and in the memo line of the check. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Since 2005, volunteers and staff from WERU have been working with counterparts at Radio Sumpul, a community radio station in Chalatenango, El Salvador to build a relationship for the exchange of information and ideas and for experiencing crosscultural community radio solidarity. Radio Sampul is a community radio station located in Guarjilla, El Salvador, in the northern province of Chalatenango. Radio Sumpul is a twelve year-old station that was started after the Salvadoran civil war (1980 – 1992), along with many other community radio stations around the country, to broadcast social and political issues and music relevant to people at the local level. While struggling to gain legal status in the mid ‘90s, all community stations were forcibly shut down by the government, except for Radio Sumpul. WERU’s relationship with Radio Sumpul is growing stronger and beginning to define itself. A handful of WERU programmers have visited Radio Sumpul as members of delegations or on their own, and were welcomed with open arms. Back in Maine, the newly formed Radio Sumpul WERU Sister Station Committee has begun to produce a weekly five- minute segment reporting on our sister station every Friday at 6:30 am. In addition, programming concerning Radio Sumpul or issues related to El Salvador can be heard on “RadioActive”, “Voices”, or on specials. Check for updates and archived programming about Radio Sumpul at http://weru.org In June 2008, WERU hosted two central members of Radio Sumpul. Blanca Miriam Ayala Mejia and Maria Rosa Dubon Orellana. Miriam received her communications training during the civil war as a guerilla radio operator and is an elected representative to the CCR. Roas helped establish Radio Sumpul as an alternative news source and urgent alert system to mobilize against the new incursion of gold mining activity in the area and is the current administrator of Radio Sumpul. With assistance from the U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities Network, PICA and MOFGA, WERU collaborates with Radio Sumpul to cover important issues, promote cultural awareness and support delegations of people from Maine and Chalatenango to visit each other and strengthen sistering relationships. The US-El Salvador Sister Cities Network is an organization started during the El Salvador civil war in the 1980's to combat human rights atrocities. The organization has evolved into a conduit of solidarity between communities in the US and organized rural communities in El Salvador. Today this “sistering” experience focuses on important issues such as: the damaging effects of free trade policies and related neoliberal initiatives, small-scale cooperative economic projects, and sharing community organizing models. Bangor, Maine has had a long time sistering relationship with the village of Carasque, in the northern department of Chalatenago, through the organization Peace through Inter-American Community Action (PICA). The Maine Organic Farmers’ and Gardeners’ Association (MOFGA) now has an organizational sistering with CORDES, the grassroots development arm of the Chalatenango’s organized rural association known as CCR. Many delegations from Maine have visited communities and organizations in El Salvador, focusing on different issues. Maine has on occasion hosted Salvadoran visitors as well. Listen to WERU for information on dates and times of the sister station events. The Radio Sumpul WERU Sister Station Committee is wide open for volunteer participation! Contact the Station at 469-6600 if you are interested in volunteering! Source: http://bit.ly/heQO7t (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, ibid.) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 6250, Radio Nacional, Malabo, 0612-0640, 10-12, female, Spanish, news, male, comments: "Empleo para todos y política de igualdad". Strong noise in this channel. 24122 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, 27 Km. W of Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 and Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Cable antenna, 10 meters, faced WSW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, 1905, Radio Africa on top of Radio Pilipinas with American religious programs. Poor signal but able to catch promos for the “Gospel of the Kingdom’ at 1926 followed by English ident for Radio Africa and into ‘The Message of Freedom’ program. Covered by Inconfidência Brazil from 1928. Have been trying for months to get a definite ident on this. 28/11 (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) 15190, R. Africa, 1633-1653, Dec 9. Hard to believe, but Tony Alamo indeed is here during this time period (as also heard yesterday). So are they now carrying his show TWICE a day? Recently his show had been on from about 2200 to about 2257*. 1653-1707, S-O-S Ministries program. Checked at 1722 to find strong test tone from R. Pilipinas; 1725 test tone ended (just open carrier); totally covered *1730 by R. Pilipinas with Radio ng Bayan simulcast (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15190, Radio Africa, 0745-0818, 10-12, religious program in English, male. At 0815, strong interference from Radio Inconfidência, eclipsing Radio Africa. 22322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, 27 Km. W of Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 and Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Cable antenna, 10 meters, faced WSW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 15190, Dec 13 at 2300 open carrier, presumed R. Africa, as usual slow to turn off after Tony Alamo, standard remarx about him; no trace of ZYE522, R. Inconfidência, BRAZIL. As of Dec 13, Bryan Clark in NZ reports he has not heard that since Dec 5, presumed off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 7175, 0356, VOBME Asmara vgd 24/11 with tuning signal and repeated idents in local langs. 2 parallel freqs this day – 7120.04 and 7185.03, both at poor level. News bulletin on the hour. Eritrea has been free of Ethiopian jamming since mid-November (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** ERITREA. VOBME, Asmara is now using the 7100-7200 kHz range in earnest with the usual strong signal on 7175 accompanied by parallels 7120, 7165 and 7185, all at 1750 UT 12 December. No jamming evident since Ethiopia stopped using this range a month or two back (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ, Dec 14, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [and non]. Hi Glenn, just a little observation: ERITREA / ETHIOPIA: Today, Sunday Dec. 12, I tried to find out what the weak signal audible on 7165 recently could be. I believe Ethiopia was on 7235 and approx 9559.9, the latter signing off around 1801, the other one QRMed and inaudible at 1800. I found the three carriers on 7165, 7120 and 9700 signing off one-by-one at 1803 in intervals of approx. 10 seconds. 7120 and 9700 recently used by ERI //7175 as we know, but unable to make out any audio today. But probably 7165 is another weak ERI transmitter. No chance to find out if 5955 was also on. Besides: I have not heard any noise jamming recently on any of these channels nor frequency changes of the ERI transmitters. Today Monday 13, the same pattern with the three carriers on 7165, 7120, 9700, s/off in this order, but approx. 30 seconds later than yesterday. 9700 was definitely // 7175, the others too weak to figure out some audio within all that local noise. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://africalist.de.ms WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 9705, Radio Ethiopia, 2045-2100*, Dec 9, lite instrumental local music. Possible news in Amharic at 2057. Sign off with National Anthem at 2058. Fair to good. Irregular. No //s heard (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 9705, Radio Ethiopia, 2000-2100:30*, Dec 11, audible after WYFR signs off at 2000. Local Afro-pop music. Possible Amharic news at 2001. Local Horn of Africa pop music. Possible news at 2057. Sign off with National Anthem at 2059 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** EUROPE. Old Time Radio from Finland is on air now on about 15070 kHz with 300 Watts! Also broadcasts on about 6300 and 1670 or nearby frequencies is planned later today. OTR Team (via Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, Dec 11, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Sunday 12.12.2010: 2302, 1670, Old time radio, Finland, 45333, pop music, speaking in English and in Finnish, at times QRM and noise. 0919, 6300, Old time radio, Finland, 45544, now with good signal strength and quality, rock, pop and polka music (Juha Ojanperä, Finland, http://juhansivut.pp.fi/Index dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also UNIDENTIFIED 15070 ** EUROPE. The FRSH broadcast last Sunday was a straight repeat of the November 30th transmission which went out an hour earlier, so the timing announcements became an hour out this time. PV had been disappointed with both the conditions and the response in November so paid the transmitter operator to do a full repeat. Reception here on 6400 was strong (S9+20db) most of the time with some fading. Part 3 of the trilogy of anniversary broadcasts will be on 16th Jan, probably on 7600 and 5800 plus a relay via Radio 700. 73s (Shaun Geraghty, UK, Dec 14, BDXC_UK yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Deutsche Welle, at one time, sent me all sorts of NEAT STUFF over the years when I used to monitor their North American broadcasts for them. I got a CD player, a briefcase, DW towels, believe it or not, various folk music CDs, stickers, posters and whatnot. But the best sway from DW I loved was a two CD set of interval tunes. They were cute, amazing, mesmerizing, sometime cases insipid and not worth the bandwidth. I did have some favourites, however. One of the best was Radio Yugoslavia’s (and they don’t exist any more). It was long, almost a minute, catchy and wistful at the same time. 73 (Sue Hickey, NF, CIDX Forum, Dec Messenger via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Reformplaene Deutsche Welle. In der Online Ausgabe der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung findet sich ein Artikel ueber die Reformplaene fuer die Deustche Welle unter: (Klaus Spielvogel-D, A-DX Nov 29) DW nicht mehr in DRM! DW sendet fuer Europa nicht mehr in DRM, die 3995 laeuft jetzt noch ein Weilchen analog. Die Meldungen der vergangenen Wochen geben viel Raum fuer Spekulationen, was in Sachen DW im kommenden Jahr passieren wird. Es gab ja schon seit laengerem Hinweise, dass im kommenden Jahr die VT (Babcock) Vertraege auslaufen werden. Damals dachte man ja noch, dass dann eventuell auch M&B wieder eine Chance erhaelt in einer neuen Ausschreibung. Mitterweile wuerde mein Tipp in eine andere Richtung gehen: da wird gar nichts mehr neu ausgeschrieben, oder, wenn doch, dann hoechstens noch ein paar einzelne Sendestunden. Die Informationen, die man so hoert, gehen ja in die Richtung, dass Kurzwelle nur noch fuer Afrika in groesserem Masse laufen soll, dazu vielleicht noch ein paar Stunden fuer den asiatischen Raum. Ich denke, dafuer reichen dann die DW-eigenen Sendestellen locker aus: Sines hat mit den Drehantennen die Moeglichkeit, den noerdlichen und mittleren Teil Afrikas zu "beackern", Kigali macht die Mitte und den Sueden. Dazu noch ein paar Stunden Sri Lanka fuer Asien. Voila: deckt sich mit den Ankuendigungen und man muesste keine Stunde extern einkaufen (Stephan Schaa-D, A-DX Dec 9 via BC-DX via DXLD) Fuer Asien sendet man in B-10 noch das Gemeinschaftsprogramm mit der BBC via Sri Lanka und Thailand (Büschel, ibid.) ** GERMANY [non]. 12070, DW English to W Africa via RWANDA, and hence also USward by lucky coincidence, VG signal Dec 11 at 2150. Replaced 11865 at end of November. 11830, Dec 11 at 2307, DW in Chinese with Funkjournal, poor, plus long/shortpath echo. At 23-24 it`s 250 kW, 247 degrees via Petropavlovsk/Kamchatskiy, DV RUSSIA. 9560, Dec 15 at 1602, news in English by YL with British accent, so is it BBC? But R. Australia is on 9560 earlier. But not // 9710 OM news, certainly RA, which has just opened this frequency toward Alaska. Really 9560 now is scheduled as DW in English via Trincomalee, 250 kW, 345 degrees so also USward (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. BBC leaving 90.2 MHz in Berlin --- As reported, the BBC has in Berlin moved from 90.2 to 94.8 MHz as part of an unprecedented frequency merry-go-round that took place on Dec 1st. Perhaps it's of interest how it went away from 90.2 after 47 years, bringing an end to what was by far the oldest FM usage in Berlin: http://download.radioeins.de/mp3/medienmagazin/20101201_bbc_teddy.mp3 The BBC was followed by an advice that "Radio Teddy is not broadcasting live yet", presumably from local playout rather than the Radio Teddy studios. It appears that this big frequency swap involved some complex switching, but I have not seen full explanations yet (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. At least 10 people were detained Wednesday and five were hurt, including a conservative politician who was beaten in the street by protesters. Two people were injured in Athens and three in Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki, where another anti-austerity protest turned violent. Unions said Wednesday's strike aimed to pressure the Socialists into slowing down the spending cuts they said were hurting average Greeks. Crippled by high budget deficits and a mountain of debt, Greece was saved from bankruptcy in May by an international rescue loan package. In return, the Socialist government slashed pensions and salaries, hiked taxes, raised retirement ages and eased restrictions on private sector layoffs. Late Tuesday, the government won a key vote in parliament on new labor reforms that include deeper pay cuts, salary caps and involuntary staff transfers at state companies. The new law also reduces unions' collective bargaining power in the private sector, allowing employers to substantially cut salaries. Journalists are also holding a 24-hour strike, causing blackouts for TV, radio and Internet news, and newspapers will not be published on Thursday (Source? Via John Babbis, MD, Dec 15, DXLD) Not logged, but I had noticed VOG was playing non-Greek music, around 0630 on 7475 and 1430 on 9420 Dec 15; thought it rather strange. Maybe that explains it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi, Group, Can anyone ID if I heard Voice of Greece on 9420 starting around 2100 UT tonight (15 Dec 10)? There were few interruptions in the continuous music I heard -- starting with a Dave Brubeck set, then into classical music for several hours. Really enjoyed the Jazz. Started listening on my IC-735, then moved to Grundig G8. Strong signal -- very little fading until 2330. Listening to 9420 at 0100 and classical continues. Any help with ID appreciated. TNX! Cheers, (Thomas Witherspoon, Sylva, NC USA, HCDX via DXLD) replied with above ** GREENLAND. GREENLAND CLOSES SW AND MW ON FEB 11 2011 On February 11 2011 at 8 AM local time all medium wave stations carrying KNR (Radio Greenland) - Upernavik (810 kHz), Uummannaq (900 kHz), Qeqertarsuaq (650 kHz), Nuuk (570 kHz) and Simiutaq (720 kHz) - will be switched off for good, and the transmitters will be dismantled. On the same day the relays of KNR newscasts twice daily via Tasiilaq 3815 kHz will also cease. The decision has been taken by the Ministry of Housing, Infrastructure and Transport in the Government of Greenland. After February 11 2011 KNR will only be available via Low Power FM- radio in inhabited areas of Greenland. Thus no coverage of the waste [vast?] country outside the towns and villages - and KNR will no longer be available for the fishermen at sea nor the Inuit population in Canada. The decision was made because the transmitters were getting old and too costly to maintain. Besides - very few people are using the MW transmissions. Weather forecasts will be available for fishermen and others via VHF coastal radio. At a point it was considered replacing the aging MW transmitters with one or two new SW AM-transmitters near Nuuk, but it was estimated that it would cost 4 million DKK (535.000 euro) to establish such a new SW operation. It was also felt that few listeners would invest in a SW receiver and the quality would be 'doubtful' - suffering from 'atmospheric phenomena'. So these plans were given up. Full report (in Danish) here: http://www.radionyt.com/artikel/default.asp?id=18070 Best 73s (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, Dec 10, mwdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) Oh my!! I am now really quite happy to have logged Greenland on 720 last month at my Wisconsin DX house using terminated phased BOGs to null WGN. I am surprised that in such a remote area as Greenland, that MW xmtrs that have good coverage are being taken off the air, but then again, I am not very familiar with Greenland's demography or geography. 73 KAZ Grafton WI and happy to have caught them while I could (Neil Kazaross, ibid.) Chicken Little at work. "The sky is falling - SW will never work. It never worked in the past. We can only go digital! Everyone will willingly spend more for the receiver!" Who knew that hi-tech lobbyists had braved the cold of Greenland? As a result, the people of Greenland get nothing. Even here in the vast expanse of British Columbia, we still get great coverage from low power AM and FM repeaters. Best wishes, (Colin Newell, VA7WWV - Victoria B.C. Canada, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) [and non] The competition on 3815: 3.815,00 EK.. ATRAPIN Yerevan ARM AIR J3E/USB 07-dic 1750 CLG/WKG "ARBAT" - 3.815,00 RFNG ARBAT Moskva/Vunkovo RUS AIR J3E/USB 07-dic 1750 WKG "ATRAPIN" - 3.815,00 RFNV AGURCHIK Moskva/Chemeritevo RUS AIR J3E/USB 07-dic 1954 CLG/WKG "AMBA" - 3.815,00 RFQJ ZADORNY Voronezh RUS AIR J3E/USB 08-dic 2203 CLG/WKG "ARBAT" - 3.815,00 RSKP KATYUSHA Novosibirsk RUS AIR J3E/USB 08-dic 1948 CLG/WKG "ARBAT" - 3.815,00 R... GERCEG-DVA Novyy Vaysugan RUS AIR J3E/USB 08-dic 1744 CLG/WKG "ARBAT" - 3.815,00 UCIJ KHRIZANTEMA Minsk BLR AIR J3E/USB 08-dic 1750 WKG "ARBAT" - 3.815,00 UHI KASYIANKA Uralsk KAZ AIR J3E/USB 08-dic 2147 CLG/WKG "AGURKIK" - 3.815,00 UYJ ALENKI Yekaterinburg/ Koltsovo RUS AIR J3E/USB 07-dic 2004 CLG/WKG "AGURKIK" - 3.815,00 UZ.. YAROK Kiev/Borispol UKR AIR J3E/USB 07-dic 2002 2002 WKG Simferopol - (Bruno Casula, Cagliari, south Italy. http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/Utilityworld/ via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 3815 USB, *2101-2214* 10+11.12, KNR, Tasiilaq, Greenlandic talk, flute music, SINPO 34333 with CWQRM, 2130 Greenlandic news, instrumental music, SINPO 24222, 2200 KNR jingle, Danish news and reports, 2213 music and off. 15211 (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of frozen longwire via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) Glenn, Greenland on 3999 is one of just a few countries I was not able to hear from South Texas in the 70s and 80s. But Dave Valko was able to hear that station and here is proof: http://www.cumbredx.net/content/what-real-dx-sounds 73s, (Artie Bigley, OH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: What Real DX Sounds Like Submitted by Hans Johnson on 7 November, 2008 - 14:27. Do you want to know what real DX sounds like? Here is an example from Dave Valko in Dunlo, Pennsylvania, USA. It is of Gronlands Radio (Greenland) as heard in November 1985 when they were on 3999 kHz. The first part of the clip is their 1000 sign on. The second part of the clip is at 1015 and includes their interval signal. The last part of the file is from a minute later. Attachment Size 85-11-20 Gronlands Radio 3999 1000 (s-on), 1015 (IS), 1015 (next pgm) (Dave Valko).mp3 1.44 MB (via Bigley, DXLD) ** GUAM. 5765 USB, AFN: Dec 4-8, off the air. Dec 9, back with normal AFN format (non-music); 1319; // AFN Diego Garcia which had a one second delay. Dec 10, fair with non-stop Christmas songs from 1341 to 1400 which was not // AFN Diego Garcia; 1400-1405 news and sports // AFN Diego Garcia; then back to non-stop Christmas songs and not //. Never did hear any announcements during music segment, so who produced this music feed? (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5765-USB, AFN is back again after missing several days: Dec 10 at 1251 very weak but can make out some music in WTWW splash. 1304 after WTWW QSY, 5765 in talk, presumed hourtop news, but usual local problem here from DTV cable converter box bubble-jamming; 1305 back to music, so perhaps AFN has resumed the country rather than news-talk stream. 5765-USB, AFN on again Dec 11 at 1340 with NPR Weekend Edition Saturday, same sports segment as digitally delayed several sex on KOSU 91.7 Stillwater OK (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5765 USB, AFN, 1447 + 1533, Dec 11. Back to normal AFN format (non- music); fair-good; never sure just what format they will be carrying from day to day; // AFN Diego Garcia on 4319 USB which was almost fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5765 USB, 1325-1530 11.12, AFN, Barrigada, English conversations and light music, 33333, CWQRM (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of frozen longwire via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) 5765-USB, AFN detectable at 1312 Dec 12 in talk, presumably NPR ``Weekend Edition Sunday``. 5765-USB, Dec 14 at 1405, AFN best heard in a while, bit on Apple aps, military PSA for Px drugs to APO and FPO addresses, then gist: ``Your source 24/7 for news, talk and information from all of the major networks, AFN Radio, the source``. No local ID for Guam, of course. Do they have AM or FM there? Apparently not as there is plenty of local radio on Guam, unlike Diego Garcia, with AFN on one AM and two FM frequencies per WRTH 2010. Then into Dr. Joy Browne, 800-544-7070 (does that work from OS bases?, ships at sea?). BTW, the joined R + x to mean prescription is surely a misinterpretation, as prescription starts with P. It`s just the upper- left wing of the x that joins with the P. Rexall (RIP) to blame for the confusion (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 4052.5, Radio Verdad, 0455 om religious, 2 December, 0400 on 8 December [Wilkner] 4052.41, Radio Verdad 2335 on 4 December, solid not drifting [Wilkner] 4055, Radio Verdad 0010 on 1 December only on this fqy (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO VERDAD AJUSTA FRECUENCIA y POTENCIA HOLA AMIGOS: El Dr. Madrid me acaba de comunicar que RADIO VERDAD está operando sólo con 250 vatios y la frecuencia será ajustada a 4055 para ayudar a calibrar mejor a los colegas con receptores digitales. Esperan informes de recepción en su tradicional QTH y también los aceptan a través de la web, basta visitarles en la página corporativa correspondiente. CORDIALES SALUDOS / GOOD LUCK / (JUAN FRANCO CRESPO, STAMP JOURNALIST (AIPET), SÀLVIA 8 (MAS CLARIANA), E-43800 VALLS- TARRAGONA (ESPAÑA-SPAIN-ESPAGNE-SPANIEN), Dec 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3290, GBC 0000 to 0030 no carrier at all, off the air? 1 December; 0845 to 0905 subcontinental music, into Dave Brubeck Take 5 and I Saw Mother Kissing Santa Claus. Brubeck 90th Birthday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNrmYRiX_o (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 3250, R. Luz y Vida, San Luis, 1134-1145, Dec 6, English / Spanish. M announcer with English religious talk; W announcer with Spanish translation; fair (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD- 545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 3340, HRMI, Radio Misiones Internacionales, Comayagüela, 1010 distorted muffled signal 1 December (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. PRESIDENT CLEARS COURT PROBE AGAINST PRASAR BHARTI CHIEF Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, December 09, 2010 First Published: 10:57 IST(9/12/2010) Last Updated: 15:41 IST(9/12/2010) President Pratibha Patil has given her assent for a Supreme Court inquiry into charges of financial mismanagement against Prasar Bharti chief executive officer (CEO) BS Lalli, official sources said on Thursday. Sources said Patil's assent came on a reference made by the government. It would set in motion the process for removal of Lalli, who can be placed under suspension pending an inquiry. Lalli, who is a 1971 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, was indicted by the Central Vigilance Commission for breach of parliamentary privilege, showing favours to some broadcast companies, and committing financial mismanagement. Lalli assumed charge as CEO in December 2006. A Prasar Bharti CEO is appointed by a panel which includes the prime minister, the Rajya Sabha chairman and the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha. Prasar Bharti is the public broadcaster of the country and has All India Radio and Doordarshan as its components. (via Alokesh Gupta, Dec 8, dx_india yg via DXLD) GOVT PLANS TO ROPE IN ARMY TO RUN AIR, DD IN CASE OF STRIKE Ashish Sinha, New Delhi, Dec 6 http://epaper.financialexpress.com/FE/FE/2010/12/07/ArticleHtmls/07_12_2010_003_003.shtml With an indefinite strike by the 38,000-strong employees union of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati looking imminent, the government is planning to rope in Army personnel to man AIR and Doordarshan stations to ensure uninterrupted services. The employees of Prasar Bharati will go on an indefinite strike from December 13. A similar 48-hours strike on November 23 had badly affected the broadcast services of both Doordarshan and AIR across the country. According to the employees union, since their issues and problems have not been addressed so far, the strike will begin on December 13. "A GoM which was scheduled to meet on Tuesday is not meeting now. We have spoken to the top officials in Prasar Bharati today and we are not convinced that something is being done to address our concerns," Kulbhushan Bhatia, secretary, National Federation of Akashvani and Doordarshan Employees (NFADE) union said. "We will go on strike as planned and this time the entire broadcast of Doordarshan and AIR will come to a standstill," Bhatia said. According to sources in AIR, Prasar Bharati has already sent a request for deploying at least 3,000 army personnel to man over 330 AIR stations. However, senior government officials declined that any such move has been made. When contacted, Aruna Sharma, director-general, Doordarshan, declined any such request made by Doordarshan. However, government officials are confident that there will not be any strike. "We feel that the matter will be resolved within this week and there will not be any strike," sources in the I&B ministry said. The main problem, according to the NFADE, is delayed salary disbursal. Currently, the salary for Doordarshan and AIR employees comes from the reserve fund of Prasar Bharati via the grant-in-aid received from the government. "Officials say there is no money in the reserve fund and that is why salaries are delayed," a senior AIR employee said. However, as part of the solution to prevent the strike, the government is working on a proposal to fix the disbursal of delayed salaries. "This is a proposal whereby Prasar Bharati employees will get their salaries without delay directly from the consolidated fund of India," a government source said. However the NFADE is not convinced and has called for the involvement of the I&B ministry. I&B ministry says it cannot directly involve itself in Prasar Bharati as it is an autonomous body. "The demand for repeal of the Prasar Bharati act was put before the GoM earlier. However, even the GoM did not take up the issue as it found it to be outside its purview," sources in the I&B ministry said. Experts say the repeal of Prasar Bharati Act, 1990 can only be taken up if the standing committee on IT, which oversees the functioning of the Prasar Bharati, recommends it and the government accepts such recommendations (via Alokesh Gupta, Dec 8, dx_india yg via DXLD) Strike threat by AIR again Many staff members of All India Radio & Doordarshan TV have given call for boycott of duties for 72 hours from 0330 UTC (9.00 am IST) of Monday 13 Dec 2010 to 0330 UTC (9.00 am IST) of Wednesday 16 Dec 2010. The strike may go on indefinitely also. Their recent strike affected most AIR stations. Several stations were off air, some with music or test tones only. So watch out AIR stations this Monday 0330 UTc onwards. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, Dec 10, ibid.) DOORDARSHAN, AIR EMPLOYEES CALL OFF THREE-DAY STRIKE Employees of Akashvani and Doordarshan on Saturday said they have called off their proposed 72-hour strike that was to take place from December 13 to 15. According to sources, the National Federation of Akashvani and Doordarshan Employees (NFADE) has agreed to defer its 72-hour boycott of duties, which was to be effective from December 13, 2010. http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/195050 (via Alokesh Gupta, Dec 11, ibid.) ** INDIA. AIR Imphal on 4755 --- 12 Dec 2010, 1125 UT - AIR Imphal noted on 4755 instead of scheduled 4775, must be another punching error. ID at 1130 followed by Christmas carols. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, via Alokesh Gupta, dx_india yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) Still on 4755, at 1515 Hindi news by OM (Regards/Alokesh, Dec. 12, ibid.) 4755, AIR Imphal. Thanks to the timely alert by Jose Jacob, via dx_india yg, I heard this anomaly; off their normal 4775 (as heard yesterday); outstanding propagation; fair to almost good reception; Dec 12, randomly from 1307 to 1512, when they started carrying the Delhi audio feed; 1359 nice ad in Hindi for the loan services of the Manipur State Co-operative Bank Ltd., with their “special employment generation program”; mentioned: “Managing Director, Manipur State Co- operative Bank Ltd., Imphal”; segments with news and conversations in assume Hindi. Strongest reception ever heard! Best at my local sunrise (1512) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Today (13 Dec 2010) morning also AIR Imphal continued on 4755. So they switched off tx after the night transmission and switched it on in the morning without checking the frequency. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, 0352 UT Dec 13, ibid.) Today 13 Dec 2010 evening, AIR Imphal is noted back on its normal frequency of 4775 kHz (after being on wrong frequency of 4755 yesterday evening and today morning). 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, 1315 UT Dec 13, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, ibid.) ** INDIA. 4880.00, 0005-0035 08.12, AIR Lucknow, Hindi talk and Indian songs by choir, Indian string music, 0030 time signal and talk; early programme maybe due to Hornbill Festival? Back from 4888 where they were the day before due to a pushing error, 35333. 4990.00, 0010-0025 fade out 08.12, AIR Itanagar, vernacular long talk, song by choir not // 4880, 0020 long pause, 0022 orchestra music; early sign on maybe due to Hornbill Festival? 24332, CWQRM (Anker Petersen, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire here in snowy Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 4970, AIR Shillong, 1436-1512, Dec 10. In English with local show of pop music with dedications; frequent IDs for “North Eastern Service of All India Radio broadcasting from Shillong on shortwave 60.36 meters, corresponding to 4,970 kHz. and an additional FM 100.1 MHz.” (new FM station?); 1445: “8:15 news headlines” (team of experts from Israel presently in Meghalaya to study agriculture, etc.); 1512 switched over to Delhi audio feed; almost fair. I always enjoy listening to this station; just wish they could fix the persistent hum. http://www.mediafire.com/?0bhqfqdozkbe589 has audio of ID (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. See also: ANDAMAN; KASHMIR; SIKKIM; LANGUAGE LESSONS ** INDIA [non]. 9500, UZBEKISTAN, CVC Tashkent, 1147-1202, Dec 6, listed Hindi. W announcer with talk, sounded like listener call-in prg, between Bollywood style music; ID announcement at ToH; CVC promos; fair & battling for dominance with co-channel CRI-China (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA [non]. UZBEKISTAN, B-10 for CVC International/The Voice via TAC=Tashkent: Hindi to India and South Asia 0100-0400 on 9975 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg 0000-0400 on 6260 TAC 100 kW / 153 deg 0400-1100 on 11805 TAC 100 kW / 153 deg 1100-1400 on 9500 TAC 100 kW / 153 deg 1400-2000 on 6260 TAC 100 kW / 153 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 13 Dec via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. The Cimanggis twins on 31m, VOI 9526- and RRI 9680, were both well audible before 1500 Dec 9 but both off at 1504 check. As always, 9526- suffered from IADs. Also Dec 10 at 1300, 9526- opening English with IDs, IADs; music still being interrupted around 1450 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. RESEARCHERS TUNE INTO THE UNIVERSE'S OLDEST RADIO SIGNAL Western Australia Today, By Katherine Fenech, December 9, 2010 Scientists working from rural Western Australia have tuned into radio waves that pre-date the birth of galaxies, ruling out the possibility of a cataclysmic event of numerous stars being simultaneously produced. All it took for two US researchers was a simple set-up of a computer, antenna, amplifier and some circuits hooked up to solar- power to pinpoint the extremely faint signals from billions of years ago. . . http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/researchers-tune-into-the-universes-oldest-radio-signal-20101208-18pnw.html (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) WTWK? 21 cm but enlarged by now (gh) ** IRAN [non]. 13680, RHC absent tho supposedly scheduled 13-15 UT, Dec 10 at 1347, instead good reception of R. Farda, including English clips voiced-over info Farsi. Also short/longpath echo. 13680 is 250 kW, 105 degrees via Wertachtal, GERMANY at 1230-1600 per Aoki and HFCC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. OBIT: ANITA DAVIS AVITAL, ISRAELI INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTER. Jerusalem Post, 12 Dec 2010, Sara Manobla: "Anita Davis Avital, who died last month, was a prominent and engaging figure in Anglo circles in Jerusalem of the 1950s and ’60s. ... The word was out that the Jewish Agency was setting up an English-language radio station, to be broadcast overseas on short wave. The service was headed by Michael Elkins, who later had a stellar career in broadcast journalism. Anita was auditioned and with her acting experience was taken on to read the news. She soon found herself doing everything – interviewing, editing, directing, writing features, presenting music programs. The station was called Kol Zion Lagola, the Voice of Zion to the Diaspora, broadcasting twice daily to Europe and South Africa." JTA, 14 Dec 2010, Alan D. Abbey: Sara Manobla, writer of the obit above, is "herself a veteran of English-language broadcasting in Israel." (kimandrewelliott.com Posted: 14 Dec 2010 via DXLD) ** JAPAN [and non]. 9695 and 9625, Dec 9 at 1222, NHK in English with report on health in Somalia. Both loud and clear, steady, but 9625 has lo het from victimized CBC Northern Québec, always off-frequency. 9625 is 175 degrees; 9695 is 235 degrees from Yamata. 11665, classical piano music, UT Sat Dec 11 at 2309, fade out movement for discussion in Japanese, mentioned performers Martha Argerich, Claudio Abbado. Then played much of Chaikofsky`s Piano Concerto No. 1 until a break at 2330. // 17605 which was running about one second behind. 11665 is direct from Yamata, 300 kW at 235 degrees to Asia; 17605 is via BONAIRE, 250 kW, 170 degrees. This is a regular Sunday- morning hour of western classical music, something unimaginable at VOA: see U S A (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6165, Dec 14 at 0658 NHK IS making a SAH with something, Chad, or Croatia? Faster than the one on 6185, see UNIDENTIFIED. 0700 into Japanese, and then at 0702 found on much stronger synchronized // 6145. Certainly shows East Asia is propagating this early, but less than an hour before sunset in Yamata. Fits, as 6145 is 35 degrees for NE Asia, but also USward, while 6165 is 330 degrees Russward (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [non]. NHK transmissions via TJK --- "NHK World will start its broadcasts via transmitter in Tajikistan on December 15, 2010. Frequency is 900 kHz (300 kW, non-directional antenna): 1515-1600 UTC - Urdu; 1600-1630 UTC - Russian. Broadcasts in Farsi are also planned". http://www.dxing.ru/content/view/1335/ (via Aleksandr Diadischev, Dec 13, dxldyg via DXLD) Most likely, brokered by WRN (Sergei S., ibid.) ** JAPAN [non]. UZBEKISTAN/JAPAN, Frequency changes of Radio Japan NHK World from Dec. 13: 1300-1345 NF 9720 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg to SoAs in Bengali, ex 11860 1345-1430 NF 9720 TAC 100 kW / 163 deg to SoAs in Hindi, ex 11825 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 15 Dec via DXLD) ** JORDAN. 15290, Radio Jordan. 1155-1231* December 12, 2010. Thanks Glenn Hauser tip, not here at 1150 check, but already on at this re- check with Arabic vocals, 3 + 1 time sounder 1200, Arabic male ID, orchestral fanfare, world news till fanfare again at 1214, "Huna Amman" into brief Qur'an recital, then instrumental strings and then Arabic pop vocals. Abruptly off 1231. Why such brief use of a decent channel? Voice of Turkey in Turkish blowing in with nice Turkish music on 15350 same time, and something weak at 1405 check on 15140, maybe Radio Sultanate of Oman in their English hour, but just too weak in terrible local noise to tell. Chimes at 1429 (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR. 4760.00, 0245-0300, INDIA, 10.12, R Kashmir, Leh. English news from Delhi // 4910 AIR Jaipur, 14221, QRM Tajik R 4765 (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of frozen longwire via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4950, R. Kashmir/AIR Srinagar, 0208-0213*, Dec 9. Subcontinent music; best in USB; weak. 4950, R. Kashmir Srinagar, *0122-0213*, Dec 13. Open carrier/tone noted at 0118 tune in; their sign on/off times vary as much as 4 to 5 minutes; even the format varies some; because of the later sign on time today they did not play the national song (“Vande Mataram”) after the AIR IS; mostly played pop subcontinent songs; had two segments with series of what sounded like ads; went off the air suddenly; audio seemed rather distorted; best in USB due to Angola carrier; slowly fading down after 0200. Only possible for me in the wintertime (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 3320, NK triumphal choral music, Dec 10 at 1244, slightly stronger than Indo/PNG 3325. At 1247, similar choral music on stronger S9+15 2850+, slightly on the hi side compared to KOA or whatever on 850. I don`t think 2850 and 3320 are supposed to be //, however. Yet stronger signals with het on 3480/3481, and here the Korean talk was quite readable. Strangely, when I am getting these 2-3 MHz DPRK signals, I never hear anything on 3560, the listed VOK feeder (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 5985, reactivated frequency for Shiokaze, ex- 5910, as previously caught by Ron Howard: Dec 9 at 1416, YL in Japanese on this Thursday, piano music underneath, 1418 ID. Fair with just barely audible (JBA) het presumably from Myanmar, and no jamming audible yet. Via JSR, Tokyo (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5985.0, Shiokaze Sea Breeze via Yamata, Japan, 1420, Dec 10. In English; “Welcome to Ken Kato’s Corner. My name is Ken Kato, Director of Human Rights in Asia. I am a Japanese human rights activist”; story of the case of North Korean diplomats trafficking in drugs in the 1970s. Seems this new segment is now a regular Friday feature; Mr. Kato’s English is certainly easier to understand than the usual Shiokaze announcers (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5985, Tuesday Dec 14 at 1402, Shiokaze in Japanese today, YL with piano background, 1403 ID, and with het from Myanmar on the hi side (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. CMI Voice of Wilderness in Korean via BABCOCK: 1300-1330 NF 6275 DB 100 kW / 070 deg KRE, ex 12130 // 9725 1300-1400 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 10 via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) DB = TAJIKISTAN ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Re 10-49: ``9779.88, TAIWAN. Fusato no Kaze, 1610 11/21/2010. Japanese comment between OM & YL. Fair signal (Jerry Strawman, Des Moines, IA, Perseus SDR, Wellbrook ALA-100 w/ 5' x 34' Loop, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Pretty far off-frequency (gh)`` 9780.0v, Radio Furusato no Kaze (note spelling) via Taiwan; *1558- 1630*, Dec 11. First time I heard them here was back in 2007 (DXLD 7- 081). Carrier on with EZL guitar music till one pip at ToH; in Japanese; some EZL songs in Japanese; 1524 sign off announcement with email address and website; for the dot they say “dot dot”; info @ rachi.go.jp and http://www.rachi.go.jp -- fair. Thanks to Jerry Strawman’s log in DXLD 10-49, I realized I had not paid enough attention to my reception back on Dec 9, at 1612, on 9779.83; in Japanese with a woman telling a very sad story and almost crying. I did not connect it with Furusato no Kaze, but thanks to Jerry it clearly was them, as I confirmed today. This program is provided for by the Japanese government, dealing with abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea. The same issues as also broadcast via Shiokaze, with one major difference. Shiokaze is broadcast by a private organization (COMJAN), which must explain why they are aggressively jammed, no matter how many times they change frequencies attempting to avoid the North Korean jamming. Whereas Furusato no Kaze is not jammed, probably because North Korea does not want to incur any repercussions from the Japanese government, but has no such concerns with Shiokaze. Shiokaze often has a “This is a message from the Japanese government” segment in their English programs; mentioning a radio program “with a frequency band of 9000 kHz”. It now makes sense to me that this is a reference to Furusato no Kaze, even though Shiokaze does not specifically name them (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Sunday 12.12.2010: 1054, 6600 // 6518, Voice of the People, South Korea, good signal quality on 6600, utility QRM on 6518, a clandestine station? (Juha Ojanperä, Finland, http://juhansivut.pp.fi/Index dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes ** KOREA SOUTH. 6600, a bit surprised to hear Korean talk as early as 0633 Dec 11, poor signal, but has to be V. of the People, from South to North, per Aoki. No jamming yet. 0633 = 1533 KST, so near Solstice it`s only an hour or so before local sunset, certainly propagable. Can anyone in NAm hear this as early as *0500? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 6600, since V. of the People heard at 0633 last night, checked earlier Dec 12, and already poorly audible at 0603 in Korean talk. Much better S9+8 at next check 1337, Korean YL assertive but never reaching the barely-controlled fake rage of the Juche jills. No jamming audible on 6600, but // 6518 had an oscillator upon it. The Chosun radio war was raging the morning of Dec 12, the main Asian signals on lower bands coming from there: 4450-, at 1318, poor with YL Korean talk. Slightly on lo side of channel compared to MW 1450. Probably V. of the People, rather than the KNDF/PBS jammer; only hearing one of them, anyway. 3912, at 1320, poor with talk, no noise jamming detectable; another V. of the People frequency. Did not try to // them because too weak. 3985, at 1320, mainly noise jamming, against Echo of Hope. 3480, at 1321 with het, V. of the People, vs KNDF/PBS as in Aoki 3481. 2850, at 1332, KCBS with usual choral music, S9+18. 6348, at 1338, S9+18 signal in Korean, but undermodulated, Echo of Hope; no jamming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 6015, KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1 (presumed) via Hwasong, Dec 9 in the clear from 1305 till the start of heavy jamming at 1357; in Korean with usual format. Interesting to find 3912 (Voice of the People) also free of N. Korea jamming during this same time period (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN. 4875.42, 0325-0335, CLANDESTINE, 11.12, Voice of Iranian Kurdistan, Salah Al-Din, No. Iraq. Kurdish political talk, musical interludes, 35444, *0330 Iranian jamming then 33443 // 3970 (43443) (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of frozen longwire via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. via UKRAINE, 11530, Denge Mezopotamya, 1420-1500*, Dec 11, local Kurdish music. Kurdish announcements. Fair. Via UKRAINE, 7540, Denge Mezopotamya, *1500-1535, Dec 11, sign on with Kurdish talk. Time pips at 1500:40. Talk and Kurdish music. Poor. Weak (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** KUWAIT. USA/KUWAIT, Winter B-10 for IBB via KWT 250 kW: 1730-2030 on 5780 / 070 deg ASH Dari/Pashto/Dari 2230-2400 on 5810 / 050 deg FAR Persian 1600-1800 on 5820 / 070 deg RFE Turkmen 1800-1900 on 5835 / 070 deg DEE Pashto 2000-2200 on 5840 / 350 deg RFE Belorussian 0300-1400 on 5860 / 046 deg FAR Persian 0400-0500 on 5885 / 355 deg RFE Avari/Chechen/Cherkassian 1400-1500 on 6055 / 050 deg RFE Turkmen 1500-1530 on 6105 / 050 deg VOA Uzbek 0000-0100 on 6115 / 050 deg FAR Persian 0030-0100 on 6170 / 082 deg VOA Special English 1400-1500 on 7255 / 070 deg VOA Tibetan 0100-0300 on 7275 / 050 deg RFE Tajik 2100-2200 on 7395 / 046 deg RFE Russian 2200-2300 on 7425 / 062 deg VOA English Sun-Thu 0100-0300 on 7470 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 1500-1600 on 7470 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 1600-1700 on 7550 / 050 deg RFE Uzbek 2300-2400 on 7550 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 0030-0130 on 7560 / 070 deg ASH Pashto 1930-2030 on 7560 / 070 deg ASH Dari 2030-0030 on 7560 / 070 deg VOA English 1900-1930 on 9320 / 200 deg VOA Tigrigna Mon-Fri 0130-0230 on 9335 / 070 deg ASH Dari 0230-0430 on 9335 / 070 deg AFG Pashto/Dari 1130-1430 on 9335 / 070 deg AFG Dari/Pashto/Dari 1430-1530 on 9335 / 070 deg ASH Pashto 1300-1400 on 9445 / 050 deg RFE Kazakh 0500-0600 on 9535 / 355 deg RFE Russian 1730-1800 on 9860 / 200 deg VOA Afar Oromoo Mon-Fri 1800-1900 on 9860 / 200 deg VOA Amharic 1530-1730 on 9975 / 070 deg ASH Dari/Pashto 1500-1600 on 11585 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 1100-1400 on 11590 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 0600-0700 on 11730 / 355 deg RFE Tatar 1400-1430 on 11795 / 094 deg RFA Burmese 0700-0800 on 12015 / 355 deg RFE Russian 0300-0400 on 12025 / 054 deg RFE Uzbek 1430-1500 on 12120 / 094 deg VOA Burmese 0230-0830 on 12140 / 070 deg AFG Pashto/Dari/Pashto/Dari/Pashto/Dari 0830-1430 on 12140 / 070 deg AFG Pashto/Dari/Pashto/Dari/Pashto/Dari 1430-1730 on 12140 / 070 deg ASH Pashto/Dari/Pashto 1200-1230 on 15265 / 050 deg RFE Kyrgyz 0430-0530 on 17530 / 070 deg AFG Pashto 0730-1030 on 17530 / 070 deg AFG Dari/Pashto/Dari 0600-0700 on 17715 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 1000-1100 on 17750 / 078 deg RFA Tibetan 0530-1130 on 19010 / 070 deg AFG Dari/Pashto/Dari/Pashto/Dari/Pashto AFG=Radio Free Afghanistan ASH=Radio Ashna DEE=Deewa Radio FAR=Radio Farda RFA=Radio Free Asia RFE=Radio Liberty VOA=Voice of America (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 15 Dec via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN [and non]. In August of this year travelled on the south of Kazakhstan and on a line of Almaty - Shymkent has photographed the big antenna field located in territory Kirghizia. There there is a site of the Kazakhstan line which passes on territory Kirghizia, on the one hand a fence from a barbed wire, for which Kazakhstan, with another - boundary towers of Kirghizia. Here a card where THAT place is allocated by the red: http://s39.radikal.ru/i084/1012/70/4aaacd38d2c7.jpg Apparently, aerials broadcasting (more than 100 metres in height), but here whose are concrete - not clearly. Here a photo: http://i067.radikal.ru/1012/cd/8657417965f6.jpg http://i063.radikal.ru/1012/20/40aec07df9d8.jpg http://s43.radikal.ru/i102/1012/20/28e66f4b28f3.jpg http://s40.radikal.ru/i087/1012/ef/eb39bd204420.jpg http://i001.radikal.ru/1012/42/075bde8229bb.jpg http://s40.radikal.ru/i087/1012/f0/44c5a7ccfd83.jpg Somebody can something can comment? Also set of interesting aerials saw on a line of Almaty - Kapchagaj, But there was no possibility to photograph... Yours faithfully, Dmitry Puzanov, Kazakhstan / “open_dx” Bishkek RJH66 VLF Superlong waves > Also set of interesting aerials saw on a line of Almaty - Kapchagaj, > But there was no possibility to photograph... Old ?? the radio centre in Dmitrovka. (Victor Rutkovsky, Ekaterinburg / “open_dx” via RusDX Dec 10 via DXLD) ** LIBYA. 17800, Voice of Africa. There is a story for this one. I noted Deutsche Welle in German (17800 from Portugal) with what appeared to be an unusual jammer on it. It almost sounded like a chorus of people saying "blah blah blah blah" at first then changed to OrtOrtOrt & later PhtPhtPht & kept morphing. This finally resolved into an English program about 1533 with OM talking about the Organization of African Unity, // 21695 SIO 1+52. This program concluded, but at 1542 the stuttering started again. In retrospect, it is clear that there was some sort of digital audio failure causing a short snippet of audio to be repeated over & over. When this was happening, the // which had nothing underneath it was also stuttering. This again resolved into real programming at 1543 bumper music into more English. Quite a fun mystery to unravel. SIO 2+3+3+ when notching DW as best I could. 1515-1545 4/Dec (Kenneth Vito Zichi, DXpedition, Brighton MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 10 via DXLD) 17725, V. of Africa, the second day back on clear frequency, Dec 9 at 1425, but just barely modulated, same on // 21695. Also at 1523, way under-modulated on 21695 // 17725, could only make out one of their stale music riffs, not confirm language as scheduled English. Dec 10 at 1423, improved modulation, still on 17725 ex-17800 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010.00 USB, 1830-1901*, Friday 10.12, R Nasionaly Malagasy, Ambohidrano. Malagasy ann, nice "South Sea romantic songs", closing ann, best in USB due to transmitter modulation, 35343; // 3287 not heard (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of frozen longwire via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) [and non]. 5010, Radio Madagascar at 1826 on 12 December, strongest morning African, with popular music format, minimal announcements. USB mode only. Other Afros audible at this time 4930 Botswana good, 4965 Lusaka poor with evangelist, 4880 SW Radui Africa to Zimbabwe, poor with phone-ins (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ, Dec 14, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA/SARAWAK. 5030, Sarawak FM via RTM, 1452, Dec 11. In vernacular; their normal Saturday format of repetitive indigenous music accompanied by chanting/singing; fair to almost good. A sample audio of their very unique chanting/music is posted at http://www.mediafire.com/?m3zgzz0jtf0 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Re 10-49, 540: "XESURF, 100 watts" ... Glenn, I would bet paychecks this thing is putting out between 2500 & 5000 watts ND from TJ. Both Day & Night signals have always been consistent in the L.A./Orange County area; it's appeared on many lists as 5 kW. 73z – (GREG HARDISON, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I thought 100 was a bit little, but only WRTH was handy. John Callarman`s exhaustive 2008 research found 25 kW in his green color- coded source (gh, DXLD) I've seen that 25 kW listing and conversely, that's definitely too high. 25 kW on 540 at the Coast (as it is, in Baja) would cook our breakfasts up here; the signal is *definitely* no louder that 5 kW. -- G H El Lay (Hardison, ibid.) ** MEXICO. 660, Dec 10 at 1325, 6:25 timecheck ``en La Tremenda, Número Uno``, after referring to addresses on Avenida Sexta Norte. This is 5 kW XEACB, in Ciudad Delicias, Chihuahua, UT -7 zone. I no longer find Chihuahuans all over the dial in the mornings as I did in October, altho maybe not hitting the right sunrise enhancement window (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Dec 14 at 1451 UT, I decided to check MW for residual skywave signals an hour after sunrise. 1300 had Spanish dominating briefly, government PSA, timecheck for something 10 de la mañana, which had to be an hour or two off, even if he was saying 10 till 10, ID as Radio México Noticias. No doubt the 50 kW XEP from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, where it`s 7:51 am. But this was probably a network program from the DF at 8:51 am local (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. 6185, XEPPM, Dec 13 at 0637 with operatic music, but CCI from weaker signal producing a lite SAH. I cannot match it to Amazônia 11780, so believe Brasília is still silent on 6185, whew! Before 0700 there was a tone-test too. What else is QRMing Radio Educación now? Vatican finishes its Scandinavian service at 0620, and we always notice the SAH vanishing by then. Maybe back on by mistake? Per EiBi, the only other thing on 6185 before 0700 is 6185 0400-0800 Th-Tu CHN China Huayi BC M FE f And Aoki agrees, 10 kW ND from Chengdu. That`s 1500 local time, possibly starting to propagate in winter a couple hours before local sunset? The incomplete HFCC adds another possibility, 6185 2200 1630 54NE STA 10 0 1234567 311010 270311 D LOCAL MLA RTM RTM But that is very likely one of Malaysia`s many wooden entries, STA presumably meaning Stapok, the Kuching, Sarawak site. 6185, XEPPM, Dec 14 at 0653 with soft classical music, and something weaker underneath [see UNIDENTIFIED]. 0658 much more modulated promo for 86th anniversary of Radio Educación; at 0700:15 live announcer claims in 20 seconds it will be 1 am. If you`re going to be so precise, better be sure your studio clock is right (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also UNIDENTIFIED 6185 ** MEXICO. Re: ``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 [2010] at 1551 [UT]. (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.`` My RDS display says XHSNP which is pretty remarkable for mid December. I have a 13 element beam pointed SE (Paul Lotsof, circa Tucson AZ? Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA. Voice of Mongolia 9665 kHz näpet QSL-kort föreställande en pojk och flicka från oold-nationaliteten. Dessutom en trevlig folder med basfakta om Mongoliet. Hälsningar från ett kallt Halmstad. Voice of Mongolia 9665 kHz with a cute QSL-card representing a boy and a girl from the oold-nationality. Also a nice folder with basic facts about Mongolia (Christer Brunström, Greetings from a cold city – Halmstad, Sweden, SW Bulletin Dec 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENINNG DIGEST) QSL de The Voice Of Mongolia + Folleto Historia/Horarios Fx, recibida en 335 dias, 1537 UTC, 9665 kHz. Informe enviado en Inglés a EMAIL: densmaa9 @ yahoo.com y VOM, English Section, C.P.O.Box 365, Ulaanbaatar 13, Mongolia , reclamada por EMAIL. V/s: Densmaa Zorigt (Mail Editor). (Antonio Madrid, Catalunya, via Dario Monferini, Dec 16, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MOROCCO. 9575, R. Medi 1 Nador, 1653-1701, Dec 7, French. W announcer banter with M; music fill at 1658; ID at 1700 into news; fair until co-channel NHK/R. Japan via Dhabbya, UAE *1700 s/on (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 5985.83, Myanma R., 1530, Dec 9. In English; ID for their final English segment of the day; news, weather and their standard slogan (“Only with stability and peace will the nation develop. Only with stability and peace will democratization process be successful. Anarchy begets anarchy, not democracy. Riots begets riots, not democracy. Democracy can be introduced only through constitution . . . ”); 1538 non-stop EZL pop songs; 1601, the reading of “Today’s article entitled . . ” ; 1609 back to music (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5985.79, Burma[?] carrier noted 1158 too late for audio 2 December (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGER. 9704.99, LV du Sahel, 2100-2258*, Dec 9, audible after Ethiopia signs off at 2100. Indigenous vocals. Vernacular talk. French talk. Local flute music. Choral tribal music at 2154. US pop music and Euro-pop music after 2200. Qur`an at 2252:40. At 2256 short French announcement followed by flute IS and National Anthem. Short test tone at 2258 and off. Poor to fair signal. 9704.99, LV du Sahel, 2115-2302*, Dec 10, vernacular talk. French talk. A variety of Afro-pop, US pop and Euro-pop music. French announcements. Qur`an at 2254. Flute IS and National Anthem at 2257. Stayed on the air for several minutes after the National Anthem with talk before abruptly pulling plug at 2302. 9704.99, LV du Sahel, 2100-2110, Dec 11, audible after Ethiopia signs off. French talk. Weak but readable (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX Listening Digest) ** NIGERIA [and non]. Re 10-49: Altho VON had big signal on 9690, Dec 7 at 2215-2234+, also heard by others, it`s missing Dec 11 at 2248, allowing WYFR in Portuguese to be audible. Did not hear it on ex-7255 either. Has anyone heard 9690 VON during the +21-23 period again? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7255, Voice of Nigeria, 1955-2020, Dec 12, tune-in to English news programming. Closing English ID announcements and contact information at 1959. Into French at 2000 with talk and local music. Fair to good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 15120, Voice of Nigeria, 1808 Dec 11, in English, woman doing a feature on a female author. They were not there at 1802 check, so came on late. Good (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile in my car with Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 19 Meter Africans at Midnight -- 15120, Voice of Nigeria (Ikorodu), 0547-0605, 12/15/2010, English. Man and woman talking about financial planning followed by a story about a carnival. West African pop music at 0559. Drums at 0600 and news read by a man. Very strong signal with little fading, unusual for this time of night on 19 meters. Also noted other African transmitters on 15580 (VOA - Botswana), 15255 (Channel Africa - Meyerton), 15205 and 15275 (Deutsche Welle - Kigali), and 15190 (Radio Africa - Equatorial Guinea). Signal strengths were unusually strong for all (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, IC-R75, RX-340, Random Wire (90'), ALA100M Loops (16' and 20'), DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [and non]. New 7275.00, 0633-0650 fading out 07.12, R Nigeria, Abuja, English reports, back on former frequency (ex 7350), 34232, splashes from Belarus 7280. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire here in snowy Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) 7275, R. Nigeria, Abuja. December 10, 0552-0602 Pop music, male in English talks “beautiful program; Nigeria, Abuja”, tribal music, male talks, time pips “good morning, welcome”, news program by female. 24332 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, SW40 Dipoles and Longwire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7275, Abuja regional station was on air today Dec 11 around 0700-0720 UT, tiny S=2-3 signal, rx in AM-sync mode. Re Channel 7275 was empty on Dec 9th at 0645-0720 UT. Similar strength also V of Nigeria on 9690 kHz in Hausa at 0815-0830 UT, Dec 11. (73 wb) 7275, Nachdem in den letzten Tagen Versuche negativ verliefen, ist heute ein dünnes Signälchen aus Abuja mit AM Sync zu hören, die Sprache scheint ein Vernac mit Französ. Klang zu sein. 0713 UT am 11.12. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 11, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7275, Dec 13 at 0640, S9+12 open carrier, or just barely modulated, presumably R. Nigeria, Abuja, back on its original frequency as others have reported, instead of 7350; with 7275 cleared by Tunisia after 0627* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7275, Dec 15 at 0626 Tunisian music seems atop a much weaker signal; we`ll soon see as RTT stops modulating at 0626:50 and turns off the carrier at 0626:58*; yes, uncovering something very weak with undermodulated talk, presumably R. Nigeria, Abuja. Tunisia continued on // 7335 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. via Wertachtal, GERMANY, 7350, Hamada Radio International, *0530-0545+, Dec 10, sign on with local music and opening ID announcements. Talk in listed Hausa. Several “Hamada Radio International” IDs. Short music breaks. Fair to good. Mon-Fri only. Via Wertachtal, GERMANY, 17485, Hamada Radio International, *1400- 1410+, Dec 10, sign on with local music and opening ID announcements. Talk in listed Hausa. Good signal. Mon, Wed, Fri only (Brian Alexander, PA, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX Listening Digest) Germany. Hamada Radio International heard here at reasonable level in Hausa with good IDs at 0530 UT on 7350 kHz. Anyone know a contact for this one? I note that it is via Wert. Is this a Media Broadcast brokerage or other? Welcome any comment on this one. Regards (Ian Cattermole, New Zealand, Dec 13, Cumbre DX via DXLD) GERMANY, Some Media Broadcast (MBR) changes: Hamada Radio International in Hausa Mon-Fri, new station from Nov. 29: 0530-0600 on 7350 WER 100 kW / 180 deg to WeAf 1900-1930 on 9840 WER 100 kW / 180 deg to WeAf, but only WHRI # 2 is here! (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 10 via DXLD) The correct time is 1930-2000, and I heard something under WHRI, again JBA at 1931 Dec 10. And also the M/W/F 1400-1430 time on 17485 I have confirmed; see reports from me and others (gh, DXLD) 17485, Hamada Radio International, new Hausa service via Radio Miami International, via Wertachtal, GERMANY: Monday Dec 13 at 1427 tune-in, S9+10, fair with fading, talk in Hausa, ID in passing, bit of music, silence until a fitful tone at 1430*. The 1400-1430 broadcast is M/W/F only. I`ve seen few other reports of this, unlike the feeding frenzy by DXers upon R. Free Sarawak; wonder why? Jeff White has already promised me a QSL. The identity of this and its two other transmissions is still absent from the WRMI website http://www.wrmi.net/pb/wp_d12a1732/wp_d12a1732.html where there is no mention of Hamada at all. QSL card received in the P-mail Dec 13 for Hamada Radio International; had sent e-mail report to info @ wrmi.net Face of the card has nothing to do with H.R.I. but promotes 2011 NASB-DRM USA Annual Meetings, next May`s Miami-Bahamas Cruise, with map, views of the ship`s deck, meeting rooms, stateroom. Jeff White, v/s filled in details on the reverse: Dec 8, 2011 [oops; unfortunately, postmark illegible proving it was 2010], 1422-1430, 17485, Wertachtal, Germany, Hamada Radio International (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I take it you wrote to Radio Miami International via e-mail. Gee, you're fortunate to get a reply. In the past months, I have written two e-mail reports, two Postal follow-ups and still nothing back. RMI has made it to my naughty list now for this year. Take care (Edward Kusalik, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17485, Dec 15 at 1415, Hamada Radio International, fair with IDs in passing mixed with music; program seems heavily produced. One of these M/W/Fs, I will catch them at *1400 via Wertachtal, GERMANY (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6925-USB pirate, Dec 12 at 1333 music, conveniently IDing immediately, ``This is Radio Ga Ga``; but too weak to recognize the next music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. [Pirate]. 6925 USB, Wolverine Radio, 0308-0355, Dec 11, music by The Beatles, Joe Walsh, Santana and others. ID at 0335. ID and SSTV signal at 0352. Strong (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** NORTH AMERICA. [Pirate]. 6940 AM, Radio Casablanca, 1515-1550, Dec 12, music of World War II era along with speeches, news recordings and movie sound clips. IDs. Email address. Good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 1320, low rumbling het at 2124 UT Dec 13 on caradio. Primary groundwave here is KCLI Clinton OK, so will have to check near low noon whether its carrier is out of step with neighboring frequencies on the DX-398 with BFO. Which is what I did already at 1452 UT Dec 14, and found that KCLI is not the one off- frequency, as it was promoting its Tradio show at 7 am, phone 323- 9900, ``News-Talk 1320, KCLI``. The off-frequency het from something else was somewhat audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also U S A, KSKY item: FCC moves Oklahoma City to Texas. Whose water are they drinking? ** OKLAHOMA. Despite my visit with Samantha Sabedra Nov 30, informing her I was listening to what had turned out to be a 2-year-old Talking House loop from her about a house no longer on the market, she left the 1690 transmitter running continuously with that from her home, as heard whenever I was near enough thru Dec 7. But on Dec 8 at 2215 UT 1690 was missing, so I started tuning down the band on the caradio, and soon heard her again, this time on 1570. But this appears to be a new loop, since she now calls herself Samantha Kennington, dropping the Sabedra. (On her website http://www.samanthakennington.com/default.html in listing of herself ``top producer`` and colleagues, she is still hyphenated Sabedra-Kennington.) And 1570 is still coming from her residence at 607 W Elm, but the home she is pushing now is a 2BR at 1910 East Ash, more than three miles to the ENE. At local range, there is a lot of hum, which was not affecting the 1690. Her punch line now is ``your new home for the holidays``. The next morning, Dec 9, 1570 was not heard on Elm, and when I went by less than a mile from the Ash address, it was not heard either, but I suspect it was on the way to being installed there, which I will have to visit directly. 1570 was the frequency she was using from 1330 W. Elm in August 2008 when I first heard her. Skywave QRM is quite a bit worse, as when I first heard it this time after 22 UT, numerous real stations were vying for Enid listener, headed by XERF. Finally Dec 13 around 1930 UT we went out to the Talking House at 1910 E Ash that I had heard a few days ago on 1570 coming from Samantha Sabedra`s house elsewhere in Enid, but not since. No sign of a signal on 1570 as we approached 1910. However, there was a standard-issue T.H. sign next to the house, showing 1630! http://www.w4uvh.net/1630-1570th2.jpg Yes, there it is on the caradio parked right in front --- and with huge splash from local KFXY-1640, which is 10 kW, but ERP much more than that with direxional antenna tight toward Enid. Possibly could have lessened the QRM by side tuning downward, but the caradio moves only in 10-kHz steps. This is incredible: she picks a terrible frequency due to QRM, which you can`t even hear clearly at local range of a few meters. 1570 would have been much better, in the daytime only having to overcome weak 1570 from Claremore (and maybe 1580 from Blackwell). Sounds like the same loop we had heard earlier on 1570 at Samantha`s, 607 W. Elm, complete with big hum, which however, stopped for a second during a break, so we know it is on her audio recording, another turn- off. There was no point in recording it at the real location. Here you are privileged to hear it as previously recorded in front of Sam`s place, better than any current customer could on 1630: http://www.w4uvh.net/1570th1910.mp3 Blurb about the house included here among others: http://www.samanthakennington.com/Featured-Homes.html Enlargeable view of 1910 E Ash: http://www.samanthakennington.com/200_150_csupload_24334912.jpg?u=349741585 In reality it`s a bit messier, and obviously still occupied, with a motorcycle parked in front, and a black cat (white paws) [not pixured] perched atop the polycart SWDU (solid waste disposal unit) on the west side: http://www.w4uvh.net/1630-1570th1.jpg The 1630 sign is not on the curb, but there is a realty sign with MLS handouts for the taking. One about this house says it is 51 to 70 years old, price $37,900, has lead-based paint, etc., etc. Also Sam`s own folder listing this and several other hice, back page promoting Talking House concept, including ``You won`t even know it`s on``. As we drove away, the 1630 signal hardly lasted a block before being totally overcome by KFXY-1640. No wonder we had not heard it further away. I`d say this client is not getting her money`s worth. O yeah, the TH deal is a free bonus! BTW, per her e-mail address, Sam`s nickname is Sassy. At night, early UT Dec 14, we were within one mile of the property, and altho KFXY was not such a problem, could not hear it vs broadcasters on 1630. But who wants to inspect a potential purchase in the dark? 1670, at a parking lot in western Enid, 2120 UT Dec 13, there is just enough WTDY starting to skywave in to audiblize a mushy co-channel signal, which has got to be another Talking House. 1670 was the frequency where Greg Winkeljohn was running three at a time a few months ago, but we thought they had all gone off. Certainly the most easterly and strongest one is not heard as we approach that area, but will have to revisit the other two spots to be sure this 1670 is really somewhere else, and then track it down (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Re: Newspaper weekly TV schedules --- The Enid News & Eagle TV supplement Vision was moved from Sunday to Saturday papers about a year ago. It includes a ``Channel Guide`` attempting to show cable channel numbers for various stations and cable networks in 14 little towns in NW OK plus Enid. Since not all the Enid ones are kept up to date, I fear the others are even more imaginary. But only about half the cable channels in the guide axually have program listings. {This makes no attempt to include any virtual over-the-air subchannels.} Even with the demise of TV Guide, I have found the ENE VISION supplement practically useless. Forget it if you care what is on between 12 and 5 am; exact times if non-standard; news networks. Only thing I normally check are the local cable access (Pegasys) schedules, which are in increasingly fine print, and which are also available online and on screen. A selexion of the week`s movies fills some of the space, 3 or 4-line synopses, years and ratings, durations, times and channels; and I do mean fill, beyond advertising and grids. Can they really believe that readers are so dumb as not to notice that altho the movie titles go from A to Y, the SECOND letter of each movie title only concerns the first few letters of the alfabet. Thus all the T`s listed are Ta- something. Forget being listed if your movie starts with Te-, etc., etc. What a cynical way to select editorial material. Some major errors in the past have been excused because the thing is outsourced. I was surprised that some newspapers are charging extra for TV supps, or even requiring subscribers to opt them in. (Does everyone know they can do that?). The ENE, for all its faults, keeps a stack of Visions on the front desk for free pickup even by non-subscribers. Which I guess means the paper considers it primarily an advertising supplement, duh. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, Dec 10, WTFDA via DXLD) ** OMAN. 15355, 0310, Radio Sultanate of Oman at good level with English ident and news headlines. Pop music program relayed from local English language FM channel followed. Strongest I’ve ever heard this, usually poor signal. 16/11 (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) Oman is Dec. 9 at 1400 on air in English on 15140, in // with http://www.oman-tv.gov.om/rdeng/default.asp audio of the Radio FM Channel. 73, (Erik koie, Copenhagen, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15140, R. Sultanate of Oman. Erik Koie (Copenhagen) was fortunate to catch the Thursday (Dec 9) relay of their FM station (90.4 FM) at 1400. I tuned in at 1504 to only find a long series of dramatizations in Arabic; whereas last Thurs. from 1503 to 1516 I also heard the FM relay in English; unfortunately for me it is only after 1500 that their signal quickly fades up to a decent level (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman, 1430-1445, Dec 12, time pips at 1430 and opening them music. English news at 1431-1440. Weak. Very poor. Not able to make out many program details (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 15140, lousy prop cond today, R Oman English female reader around 1440-1450 UT Dec 13, only S=1-2 just above threshold. Listen to mp3 recording. Aoki shows 315 degree azimuth, which is straight Stuttgart, London, into off Main, to Florida mainlobe! 73 wb df5sx wwdxc (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15140, R. Sultanate of Oman, Dec 13 at 1447, YL talk sounds like English intonation; fading S9 to S9+10 peaks but too undermodulated. Is it any better in Europe? Wolfgang Büschel happened to be monitoring at the same time: ``15140, lousy prop cond today, R Oman English female reader around 1440-1450 UT Dec 13, only S=1-2 just above threshold. Aoki shows 315 degree azimuth, which is straight Stuttgart, London, into off Main, to Florida mainlobe! 73 wb df5sx wwdxc`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Oman 15140 kHz good signal today December 13 from tuning in 1420 with pop music, 1429 Big Ben chimes and 1430 news in English. 1435 "Words in action" - a literary program, followed by pop music. Arabic service started at 1500 with news (Ullmar Qvick, Norrköping, Sweden, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. 4790.02, 0255-0310 10.12, R Pakistan, Rawalpindi III, Urdu talk, 0300 time signal, English news, poor modulation, 35333 (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of frozen longwire via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. 9340, R. Pakistan, Islamabad, 1705-1732, listed Urdu. M announcer with presumed nx; talk between music bits at 1710 into Kor'an chanting at 1712; continuos thru t/out except for brief talk at 1721; strong, booming signal; nothing noted on // 7530. 1857 recheck: M & W announcers; diff. M announcer with s/off ancment; NA interrupted by co-channel R. Farda via Irana Wila, Sri Lanka s/on (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) date? 9340, Radio Pakistan, 1755 Dec 11, with Koran recitation, 1759:30 man in Urdu, fanfare music, 1800 time pips, several mentions of Pakistan, news headlines and news. Strong signal, noisy band (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile in my car with Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Sindh radio update Radio stations in Sindh --- Mohammad Khan Sial The various Radio Stations being operated by the Federal Government in Sindh are technically showing very poor performance. Their working is highly questionable as their machineries have either become outdated or lack necessary equipments as per standard. The Larkana Radio Station remains most of the time is closed whereas Khairpur Radio Station is also not working properly. It is switched over to FM Radio station with very limited coverage, so is the case of Mithi Station. Hyderabad Radio Station that was one of the major stations of the country in the past is now broadcasting programmes within limited range by not replacing outdated equipments badly affecting its working. Consequently, the coverage of all Radio Stations under government control in Sindh has reduced tremendously due to technical reasons. I request the federal ministry for Information and Broadcasting to immediately replace the outdated machineries of Radio Stations in Sindh with modern equipments in order to ensure broadcasting programmes with vast coverage. —Karachi, Pakistan Observer 12/12/10 (via Steve Whitt, Dec 12, MWCircle yg via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3315, Radio Manus, Lorengau, 1045 om language, good signal 29 November (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. There is a new comment on the post "NBC Papua New Guinea replacing MW/SW with FM". Author: David Ricquish. Comment: NBC also lost a whole FM network [Kalang] from not paying power bills. PNG operates as a series of provinces which is where funds tend to go to for local broadcasting [Kundu Network] and their local effectiveness also reflects a variety of local factors. In my view, there appears little will or capacity to continue with a \\\'national\\\' service except in name only and with some \\\'development\\\' programs seemingly designed to fit foreign aid agency agendas. The future of PNG radio revolves around digital technology, delivery to cheap mobile phones, provincial and local community level broadcasts, and broadening of private sector commercial and non- commercial radio services. An independent national news service would also be a plus. Shortwave? It has a place in the delivery mix because of terrain, scattered communities and availability of cheap Chinese made receivers. See all comments on this post here: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/nbc-papua-new-guinea-replacing-mwsw-with-fm#comments (MN blog notification via DXLD) ** PERU. 3329.533, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco, 0005 good signal, CHU notched, music and om, 1 December [Wilkner] 5059.921 Tentative, La Voz de las Huarinjas, Huancabamba at 0030 on 1 December. 5039.22, Radio Libertad, Junín, 1049 om en espanol, 2 December 5460.337, Radio Bolívar, Cd. Bolívar, Peruvian music, weak signal 0020 on 1 December (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4746.96, R. Huanta 2000, Huanta, 1025-1033, Dec 7, Spanish. M announcer with talk thru BoH; fair; strongest here in quite some time (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4746.97, 2245-2320 08.12, R Huanta 2000, Huanta, Spanish ann, Huaynos, ads, pop music, 24332, best in LSB due to QRM from China + a utility station on 4750. 4955.00, 2300-2330 fade out, 07+08.12, R Cultural Amauta, Huanta, Quechoa religious talk by woman, Andean flutes and hymn. Much stronger 08.12: 35333 (Anker Petersen, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire here in snowy Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 6019.3, Radio Victoria, Lima, 0735-0820, 10-12. Too many years I have not heard a non religious program on Radio Victoria, but today at 0735 program of news and comments with correspondents in several cities of Peru and many identifications: "Radio Victoria, Gracias a los redactores, seguimos con la información", "Campaña de Navidad, seguridad ciudadana", at 0803: "Radio Victoria, los invitamos a seguir nuestra sintonía, nuestra dirección de correo electrónico: radiovictoria @ terra.com At 0804 the regular religious program "La Voz de la Liberación". In parallel with 9720. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, 27 Km. W of Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 and Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Cable antenna, 10 meters, faced WSW, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 18058-, Dec 15 at 1558, very weak carrier, trace of modulation, so the R. Victoria third harmonic from 6019.3+ is still there, not logged here in some weeks. Ham ``17m`` enthusiasts with beams should be able to pull it in better, but they wouldn`t be interested as long as it stays below 18068 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 9310, poor Dec 15 at 1559, Yankee Doodle sign-on music concluding, so one might reasonably expect VOA to follow, but 1600 ID as Radio Svoboda. Scheduled as IBB Tinang with R. Liberty Tatar- Bashkir service, 250 kW, 332 degrees. Axually it sounded more like Radio Svobodna, perhaps a variant ID for those non-Russian tongues (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES [and non]. IBB Tinang is still having trouble getting its 9760 transmitter to go on the air and stay on: Dec 13 at 1504 nothing there, but *1504:45 with open carrier, back off, on again, 1505:20 joining in progress intro to VOA Spe-cial Eng-lish hour, // weaker 9945 SRI LANKA. Unknown if there were further breakdowns (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 11730, R. ng Bayan simulcast via R. Pilipinas, *1730- 1802, Dec 9. In Tagalog (many words in English); frequent IDs; “Radio ng Bayan Nation Wide”; “738 kHz. in AM dial”; list of all stations carrying simulcast; program “Talking Points” with sports commentary (“Asian games”); fair to good; // 15190 (totally blocking out R. Africa). Excellent audio of IDs and list of simulcast stations: http://www.mediafire.com/?yl91wqkzylrs68l For me this was an extraordinarily enjoyable reception! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, Dec 9, NASWA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) With usual mixture of English and Spanish into Tagalog (gh) Heard on 11890 as well. Regards (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, cumbre dx via DXLD) Hi Rich, Sorry you were unable to hear them. Was most enjoyable! Perhaps Radio ng Bayan is simulcast via R. Pilipinas on Tuesday and Thursday (at least for "Talking Points"), as per: http://twitter.com/alan_allanigue/status/9417993452781568 Very tentative and certainly need more work to confirm. The Radio ng Bayan relay is rarely reported, but maybe that is just due to a lack of a concerted effort. Hope you can catch them in the future! (Ron Howard, NASWA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES [non]. 15435, which I have been reporting as Vatican Radio in Urdu (also with unID het 15434 Dec 12), is really one of the two relays of R. Veritas Asia, via Santa Maria di Galeria, scheduled 1430-1500 daily. Dec 14 I try to get an RVA ID: 1429 open carrier lasts until 1433:25 when joins program in progress, discussion in Urdu. VR`s own Urdu service, not coincidentally, is scheduled just before this at 1415-1430 Wed & Sun only, but on 13765, 11850 per EiBi. Incredibly, VR`s schedule is missing from the B-10 archive at http://www.bclnews.it/portal/ 15435, Dec 15 at 1430, unlike yesterday, Vatican gets the audio from Quezon City on air timely, with opening fanfare, 1431 sign-on in Urdu including mention of Radio Veritas Asia, MHz, Pakistan (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Winter B-10 of Radio Veritas Asia Bengali 0030-0057 on 11945 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1400-1430 on 11870 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg to SoAs Burmese 1130-1157 on 15450 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 2330-2357 on 9720 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Chin 1430-1457 on 9520 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Hindi 0030-0057 on 11730 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1330-1400 on 11870 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs Hmong 1200-1227 on 11935 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Kachin 1230-1257 on 15225 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 2330-2357 on 9645 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Karen 0000-0027 on 11935 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1200-1230 on 15225 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Khmer 0130-0157 on 15280 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1000-1027 on 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Mandarin 1000-1157 on 9615 PUG 250 kW / 355 deg to EaAs 2100-2257 on 6115 PUG 250 kW / 350 deg to EaAs Filipino 1500-1555 on 15350 SMG 250 kW / 130 deg to N/ME 2300-2327 on 9720 PUG 250 kW / 331 deg to CeAs Russian 0200-0257 on 17830 PUG 250 kW / 000 deg to FE 1500-1600 on 9570 PUG 250 kW / 331 deg to CeAs Sinhala 0000-0027 on 9720 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 0000-0027 on 11730 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1330-1400 on 9520 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs Tamil 0030-0057 on 11935 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1400-1427 on 9520 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs Telugu 0100-0127 on 15530 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1430-1457 on 9515 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs Urdu 0100-0127 on 15280 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg to SoAs 0100-0127 on 17860 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg to SoAs 1430-1457 on 15435 SMG 250 kW / 070 deg to SoAs Vietnamese 0130-0230 on 15530 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1030-1127 on 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1300-1327 on 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 2330-2357 on 9670 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Zomi-Chin 0130-0200 on 15255 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 13 Dec via DXLD) ** POLAND [non]. 9460, PRES, Dec 10 at 1306 poor with `running-water` intermittent ute QRM (note: ute is simply short for utility and NOT an initialism; should NOT be capitalized). 1308 Polish Radio ID amid English newscast. Poor signal but no QRM yet, with WTWW 9479 either not quite on yet or not built up to blockbuster daytime strength. 11860, then I hear the // PRES channel at 1310 with more English news, almost as good as 9460, but with ACI from YFR 11855. Unusual. 11860 is 125 kW, 45 degrees from Woofferton UK, nowhere near USward. 9460 is 100 kW, 300 degrees from Austria, also USWard. This is about the best we can expect from Poland in B-seasons. Or is it? Further NE in NAm, their only other English broadcast, at 18-19 on 9650, 250 kW, 330 degrees via UAE, is reported with good signals in Michigan per Harold Frodge, and in Québec per Gilles Letourneau, so I check that Dec 10 at 1807: yes, not bad, can copy with some effort, and no QRM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9650, UAE. Polish Radio presumed the one at 1822 Dec 11. Man and woman in English, mentioned Radio Slovakia International which must have been source of next feature which was an interview with a hockey player. Poor (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile in my car with Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9650, UAE, Polish Radio (relay). 1804-1859* December 12, 2010. Thanks Harold Frodge, Gilles Letourneau and Glenn Hauser logs, clear and good to very good with English magazine-format programming, "You're listening to Polish Radio, broadcasting from Warsaw" at 1837. Closing ID and reggae vocal (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. Christer Brunström: RdP Internacional 9815 brev och kort. Den portugisiska radion fyller tydligen 75 år av QSL-kortet att döma. RdP Internacional, 9815 letter and QSL card. Judging from the information on the QSL card, the Portuguese radio celebrates their 75 year anniversary (Christer Brunström, Greetings from a cold city – Halmstad, Sweden, SW Bulletin Dec 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENINNG DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL [and non]. 12040, Saturday Dec 11 at 2149, RDPI still on with silly ballgame, plus sound effects, much stronger than // 11960. On 12040 I could not detect any RHC collision, so off at the moment? Or totally buried. See CUBA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. Operational B-10 schedule of RDP Internacional/Radio Portugal: West Europe Mon-Fri 0600-0655 on 7345 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 0700-1300 on 9815 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 0745-0900 on 7360 SIN 250 kW / 055 deg 1700-1755 on 9860 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 1800-2000 on 9795 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 2000-2255 on 9795 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg* 2300-2400 on 7285 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg* West Europe Sat/Sun 0800-1155 on 12020 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 0930-1100 on 9815 SIN 080 kW / 045 deg DRM 1200-1455 on 11885 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 1500-1655 on 11635 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 1700-1755 on 9860 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 1800-2100 on 9795 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 2000-2255 on 9795 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg* 2300-2400 on 7285 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg* Middle East/India Mon-Fri 1400-1600 on 15690 LIS 100 kW / 082 deg São Tomé/Príncipe/Angola/Moçambique Mon-Fri 1100-1300 on 17745 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg 1700-2000 on 13720 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg 2000-2400 on 11665 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg* São Tomé/Príncipe/Angola/Moçambique Sat/Sun 0800-1055 on 15520 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg 1100-1255 on 17745 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg 1300-1455 on 17840 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg 1500-1655 on 15520 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg 1700-2100 on 13720 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg 2000-2400 on 11665 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg* Brasil/Cabo Verde/Guiné Bissau Mon-Fri 1100-1300 on 21655 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg 1700-2000 on 15465 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg 2000-2400 on 11960 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg* Brasil/Cabo Verde/Guiné Bissau Sat/Sun 0800-1055 on 15555 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg 1100-1655 on 21655 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg 1700-2100 on 15465 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg 2000-2400 on 11960 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg* USA/Canadá Mon-Fri 1300-1655 on 15560 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg* 1700-1855 on 17820 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg* 1900-2400 on 12040 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg* USA/Canadá Tue-Sat 0000-0300 on 9455 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg USA/Canadá Sat/Sun 1300-1655 on 15560 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg 1700-1855 on 17820 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg 1900-2100 on 12040 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg 2100-2400 on 12040 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg* Venezuela Tue-Sat 0000-0300 on 9855 LIS 100 kW / 261 deg South America/Brasil Tue-Sat 0000-0300 on 11655 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg * Reserved for extraordinary or special programs (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 15 Dec via DXLD) ** QATAR [non]. WBAI BEGINS BROADCASTING AL JAZEERA The noncommercial Pacifica radio network, which is headquartered in Berkeley, will begin broadcasting Al Jazeera English in five markets, including WBAI in NYC, where listeners can tune in to Al Jazeera broadcasts at 5 a.m., starting, oh, today! (You can stream this morning's broadcast here.) http://archive.wbai.org/ Pacifica station KPFT in Houston also started airing Al Jazeera this morning, and KPFA in Berkeley started yesterday. This is the first time Al Jazeera English has been brought to radio audiences in North America, and Arlene Engelhardt, director of the Pacifica Foundation, says, "It is part of our mission at Pacifica to act as a bridge between cultures and to present stories that are too often overlooked by other media in the United States." The Al Jazeera English hour will air on weekdays on WBAI. Today's broadcast began with a brief oral history of Al Jazeera English, which is the first English language world news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. Al Jazeera's reporters are stationed at 65 bureaus around the world, but, as today's broadcast notes, "the United States still actively prevents the English satellite network from broadcasting on cable television." Below, we welcome your jokes about how WBAI listeners won't notice any difference in the programming change! And for more on Al Jazeera, check out the interesting documentary Control Room, about Al Jazeera's strained relations with the US Central Command during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/hLNQMM (Gothamist via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Dec 13, DXLD) ** ROMANIA. Frequency change of Radio Romania International in English: 0100-0157 NF 7355#GAL 300 kW / 310 deg to NoAm, ex 7325* // 6145 # co-ch VOIROI/IRIB in Tajik * to avoid VOA in English (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 15 Dec via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Please look at my blog below to d/l and listen to the recordings: http://zlgr.multiply.com/journal/item/317 6005, supposedly Adygey R station. Speaker with a harsh toning reminds me a bit the toning of Tatar Radio Awazy. There is here a audio clip included in this blog page. Signal was S9+10 with better audio in using USB. Rec at ca. 1905 (couldn't mention as I was same time frustrating to help my babe) http://images.zlgr.multiply.multiplycontent.com/attachment/0/TQaETAooCIoAADBSrP41/6005%201914%20121210.mp3?key=zlgr:journal:317&nmid=395798948 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 5930, R. Rossii, Monchegorsk, 1049-1102, Dec 7, Russian. W announcer interviewing M; presumed ad/promo string from 1054 with several IDs thru-out; bit of talk over Joe Satriani instrumental at 1059; 5+1 pips & ID at ToH; different M announcer with news; poor but readable with some 5935-Mrs. DGS splash (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) HFCC says 5930 has both Murmansk at 02-22, 50 kW, 340 degrees, and Vladivostok at 11-15, 100 kW, 270 degrees. But Aoki has only Monchegorsk at 02-22, = Murmansk (gh, DXLD) 5930, 1035-1330 11.12, R Rossii, Monchegorsk, Russian talks, phone-in programme, orchestra music, talk about Belarus, 45444 (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of frozen longwire via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 5940, GTRK Magadan, 0219-0300, Dec 9. “Govorit Magadan” (Magadan speaking); local programming of interview, news and music; throughout the show many mentions of “Magadan”; // 7320 with slight hum; scheduled from 0210 to 0300 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 6075, after a few days of motorboating drowning out its own program modulation, R. Rossii, Petropavlovsk/Kamchatskiy, Dec 12 at 1340 the music level now rivals the rumble, sounds like ``Ventura Hiway``, by Seals & Croft; 1341 brief announcement, more romantic pop music in English with guitar. 6075, R. Rossii, Pet/Kam, the motorboating is so bad now that can`t make out any program modulation, but the 6-second-late timesignal penetrates at 1400, with the carrier on another minute, then uncovering Chinese. Meanwhile, no sign today Dec 14 of 8GAL CW marker on 6074 between 1358 and 1402 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. 6170, Dec 13 at 1455 synthesized Bach causes me pause, missed all but a syllable of an announcement, sounded Mandarin, but at 1458 into VOR IS. Don`t you believe HFCC that New Zealand is still on 6170 at 1300-1900; must be on books as alternative, as had just renoted them on 5950, but by now too weak to be useful. Russia is via Khabarovsk, 100 kW, 220 degrees. Aoki says it`s Chinese until 1500. No het from Philippines (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. 7335, surprised to hear loud and clear S9+25+ signal from V. of Russia in English Dec 10 at 0631 headlines, then ``In Focus``. Goodbye, Tunisia --- I could barely tell it was underneath during VOR pauses. 7335 is of course the Guiana French relay scheduled only for Voz de Rusia Spanish until 0600* with that sign-off just reconfirmed a few nights before. So has VOR finally taken notice of our complaints that in Spanish they are giving targeted US listeners (not Mexican, tho they can surely hear it well too) this excellent relay signal, while forcing listeners in English to strain to hear weak and unreliable signals from Eurasia? Afraid not. Must have been a SNAFU at Montsinéry, as at next check 0641 folk music is being heard. At first I thought it was still VOR in a different program, but it was soon obviously Arabic, and VOR had cut off the air late in the meantime. Tunisia registered only S9+18, a respectable signal itself without the co-channel. Meanwhile I had checked the only VOR direct frequencies in English to NAm, via DVR, 9840 and 9855, to find them inaudible, making 7335 an infinitely greater improvement. But only a fluke, I fear. 7335, for the second night in a row, VOR relay via GUIANA FRENCH is not running past 0600* --- Dec 12 it goes off at proper time, uncovering TUNISIA in Arabic vs VATICAN IS making a SAH of approx. 148/minute = 2.47 Hz, but rate is varying slightly so at least one of those transmitters must be unstable (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. CHRISTIAN RADIO ALMOST EXTINCT IN RUSSIA 13 DECEMBER, 2010 Russia (MNN) -- Religious freedom took another hit in Russia last week. One of the last remaining local Christian radio stations was shuttered by authorities. Dan Johnson with New Life Radio Moscow says their Norilsk FM affiliate, located in Siberia, was the target. "This is the third radio affiliate we've had that's been shut down by the government under a variety of pretexts. The station in Norilsk was one of the few existing FM stations across the country." Johnson says this isn't an isolated case. . . SOURCE: http://bit.ly/h2tsqt (Mission Network News via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia) ** RUSSIA [non]. Re 10-49, Russia interested in Swiss transmitter just closed down: - yes, 765 kHz channel would be the best MW channel in central Europe, towards southwest France, Spain, Portugal. Beromuenster 531 kHz is silenced for ever. Cima di Dentro from Swiss Tessin 558 kHz towards Italy suffers much co-channel QRM (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Dec 11 via DXLD) ** SAINT HELENA [non]. Rhein-Main-Radio-Club, Germany - Special Shortwave Report 2010 [1 Attachment] Attachment is a 60-page pdf showing many of the reception reports received by RMRC for their St Helena specials. Unfortunately, envelopes, enclosures, photos, etc., are piled up on top of letters, but there is lots of postalia to be seen and some photos of senders included such as Erik Koie and Eike Bierwirth. Since the Report is portrait, you may want to rotate it 90 degrees for a slightly larger view (Glenn Hauser, with forward to dxldyg, via DXLD) Hello DX-friends everywhere, all of you listened to the special shortwave broadcasts of Rhein-Main-Radio-Club, Germany (RMRC) about St. Helena Day 2009. The RMRC is very happy to have received so many reception reports from listeners from Europe to Venezuela, from India to Russia, from New Zeeland to Japan, from Spain to Ukraine, from Italy to USA, and from Canada to Sweden you will see at our RMRC Special Shortwave Report 2010 (att) Thanks to all listeners and reception reporters everywhere! As a service to SWLs everywhere, we have now made a special CD regarding these shortwave broadcasts. Additionally at this CD we will tell the fascinating story of this remarkable project including several pictures representing various phases of the project. If you will get a copy of the special CD or one of the famous QSL- calendars 2011, you can order directly from our homepage http://www.rmrc.de send an email to mail @ rmrc.de or to DrGabler @ t-online.de Greetings from Germany (Harald Gabler, RMRC CEO, Rhein-Main-Radio- Club, Frankfurt am Main, Germany http://www.rmrc.de mail @ rmrc.de DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SARAWAK [non]. CLANDESTINE. 7590, Radio Free Sarawak, *2230-2330*, Dec 9, sign on with instrumental music and opening announcements. Talk in unidentified language. Mentions of Sarawak. Some US pop music. ID at 2328. Said “bye-bye” at 2330 sign off. Fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) I wonder if anyone has a good email address for Radio Free Sarawak's London headquarters. The website has one of those contact us forms but using it a number of times has brought no response. Contacting the technical staff might work better. Anyone have any ideas about an address? (Don Jensen, Dec 12, NASWA yg via DXLD) There was an email for reception feedback quoted in this press release but it may well be going to the same place as the contact form you have used: http://www.cobboldjohn.com/?p=2486 (Mike Barraclough, England, ibid.) R. Free Sarawak via T8WH Angel 4, QSY to 15420 kHz from Dec. 11 at 1000 UT. (ex 15680 kHz) http://radiofreesarawak.org/ (S. Hasegawa, Japan, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Listed under Radio Percuma (Tony Ashar, West Java, Indonesia, ibid.) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 15250, BSKSA Riyadh, 1203-1228*, Dec 6, English. W announcer with English news re Obama & Koreas; New Delhi talks; 1206 program "Environmental Issues" re researching causes of beached whales; 1216 music program with intro "Video killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles (that's the very 1st video aired on MTV, way back in 1982, for all you trivia buffs); various, partial pop music selections; never played an entire song, until pulled the plug at 1228; fair & improving; tnx Terry Krueger tip (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15250, SA'UDI ARABIA, BSKSA. 1220-1228* December 12, 2010. English service with female techo fills, abruptly off at usual 1228. Clear, fair (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SERBIA [and non] / BOSNIA, Winter B-10 schedule of International Radio Serbia: 0100-0200 on 6190 BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to NoAm Se/En Mon-Sat 0100-0200 on 6190 BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to NoAm Serbian Sun 0200-0230 on 6190 BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to NoAm Serbian Wed 1100-1400 on 9505 BEO 010 kW / 310/130 to WeEu Serbian 1400-1730 on 9505*BEO 010 kW / 310/130 to WeEu En/Se/Sp/Ar/Ru/Fr/Ge 1730-1830 on 9505*BEO 010 kW / 310/130 to WeEu Ch/Al/Hu/Gr 1830-1900 on 9505*BEO 010 kW / 310/130 to WeEu Italian 1900-2030 on 6100#BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to RUSS Ru/En/Sp 2030-2130 on 6100#BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to WeEu Se/Ge Sun-Fri 2030-2130 on 6100#BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to WeEu Serbian Sat 2130-2230 on 6100#BIJ 250 kW / 310 deg to WeEu Fr/En *strong co-ch 1400-1600 BBC in Hindi/Urdu; 1600-1630 AWR in Urdu 1630-1900 BBC in Farsi/Dari/Pashto/Dari #strong co-ch till 1930 and 2030-2130 VOIROI/IRIB in Albanian 1900-2230 CRI in Russian/Arabic/Arabic/Chinese (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 13 Dec via DXLD) ** SIKKIM. 4835.0, AIR Gangtok. Since Nov 29 through Dec 10 they have been exactly on frequency, so now really is ex: 4837.19 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) New 4835.00, 0115-0140, INDIA, 12.12, AIR Gangtok, Nepali ann and talk, Indian songs, back on nominal frequency, 35333 (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of frozen longwire via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. 6090 IRRS w/Glen [sic] Hauser with WOR 1541. Intermittent beep QRM but mostly SIO 24+3+ Glen [sic] was BPMing about people who apparently don't realize that HD2IOA from Ecuador has only one number in its call. 1910-1925 4/Dec (Kenneth Vito Zichi, DXpedition, Brighton MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 10 via DXLD) The [sic]s were in the original report, not by me this time, ha2. BPMing? (gh, DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. IRRS via Slovakia relay December 11 [Sat], 1900-1930 with World of Radio number 1542. Excellent reception! [6090] All Good Wishes (Ullmar Qvick, Norrköping, Sweden, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. Winter B-10 schedule of Radio Slovakia International til Dec. 31: ENGLISH 0100-0127 on 6040 RSO 150 kW / 305 deg to NoAm 0100-0127 on 9440 RSO 150 kW / 245 deg to SoAm 0700-0727 on 13715 RSO 150 kW / 075 deg to SEAs 0700-0727 on 15460 RSO 150 kW / 085 deg to SEAs 1730-1757 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 275 deg to WeEu 1730-1757 on 6010 RSO 150 kW / 285 deg to WeEu 1930-1957 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 275 deg to WeEu 1930-1957 on 7345 RSO 150 kW / 285 deg to WeEu GERMAN 0800-0827 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 275 deg to WeEu 0800-0827 on 6055 RSO 150 kW / 305 deg to WeEu 1430-1457 on 6055 RSO 150 kW / 305 deg to WeEu 1430-1457 on 7345 RSO 150 kW / 285 deg to WeEu 1700-1727 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 275 deg to WeEu 1700-1727 on 6010 RSO 150 kW / 285 deg to WeEu 1900-1927 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 275 deg to WeEu 1900-1927 on 7345 RSO 150 kW / 285 deg to WeEu FRENCH 0200-0227 on 6040 RSO 150 kW / 305 deg to NoAm 0200-0227 on 9440 RSO 150 kW / 245 deg to SoAm 1800-1827 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 275 deg to WeEu 1800-1827 on 6055 RSO 150 kW / 285 deg to WeEu 2030-2057 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 275 deg to WeEu 2030-2057 on 7345 RSO 150 kW / 285 deg to WeEu RUSSIAN 1400-1427 on 9540 RSO 150 kW / 065 deg to EaEu 1400-1427 on 13625 RSO 150 kW / 050 deg to EaEu 1600-1627 on 6190 RSO 150 kW / 065 deg to EaEu 1600-1627 on 7240 RSO 150 kW / 050 deg to EaEu 1830-1857 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 050 deg to EaEu 1830-1857 on 9485 RSO 150 kW / 065 deg to EaEu SLOVAK 0130-0157 on 6040 RSO 150 kW / 305 deg to NoAm 0130-0157 on 9440 RSO 150 kW / 245 deg to SoAm 0730-0757 on 13715 RSO 150 kW / 075 deg to SEAs 0730-0757 on 15460 RSO 150 kW / 085 deg to SEAs 1630-1657 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 275 deg to WeEu 1630-1657 on 6055 RSO 150 kW / 285 deg to WeEu 2000-2027 on 5915 RSO 150 kW / 275 deg to WeEu 2000-2027 on 7345 RSO 150 kW / 285 deg to WeEu SPANISH 0230-0257 on 6080 RSO 150 kW / 265 deg to SoAm 0230-0257 on 9440 RSO 150 kW / 245 deg to SoAm 1530-1557 on 9445 RSO 150 kW / 265 deg to SoEu 1530-1557 on 11600 RSO 150 kW / 245 deg to SoEu 2100-2127 on 9460 RSO 150 kW / 265 deg to SoAm 2100-2127 on 11610 RSO 150 kW / 245 deg to SoAm (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 10 via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5019.84, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation, 1902 UT. Die letzten Tage konnte ich in Salzburg mit grosser Freude die SIBC empfangen. Endlich konnte ich Radio Hapi Isles auf der legendaeren 5020 kHz hoeren, Signalen auf dieser Frequenz bin ich die letzten 20 Jahre im Winter nachgejagt. Sendebeginn auf genau 5019.84 kHz ist immer gegen 1856 UT, das Programm beginnt um 1902 UT mit Trommelmusik, Chorgesang - also typischer Musik wie wir sie aus Honiara erwarten. Die Signalstaerke ist sehr gering, der beste Empfang am Perseus mit ausgeschalteter AGC und USB. Hoerbar bis ca. 1950/2000 UT, beste Signalstaerke gegen 1920. RX Perseus, als Antenne habe ich eine 250 Meter lange Beverageantenne Richtung 50 Grad (Pazifik) verwendet. 73 (Christoph Ratzer, Austria, Dec 4, OE2CRM. A-DX Dec 4 via BC-DX Dec 11 via DXLD) 5020, Solomon Islands BC, Honiara. December 10, 0758-0806 male and female in English talks, slow music, male on music. Poor, unreadable 22322 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, SW40 Dipoles and Longwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA [non]. Re 10-49: MORE Re: New Somali station - RADIO DAMAL Through my colleagues in Kenya I have gleaned the following: -- "Damal" is the Somali name for a tree which offers a big shade. Perhaps this is meant to suggest that many listeners can gather in the shade of Radio Damal to tune in. -- Radio Damal is broadcasting from the studios of KBC at Broadcasting House in Nairobi. As KBC is state-owned, this suggests Kenyan government blessing for the venture. -- Radio Damal has hired six hours a day on Babcock transmitters. Any unused time may be filled with relays of the BBC. (Has anyone heard any BBC relays on Radio Damal?) -- Acording to the Somali-language website Dayniile, China is funding Radio Damal. The website links this to recent WikiLeaks revelations that China has been providing arms to Kenya to intervene militarily in Somalia. -- It may also be noted that KBC has long had a relationship with China, including daily relays of CRI and CCTV on KBC radio and TV. So, Radio Damal is an extension of this relationship. I was impressed to see that the 2011 WRTH has an entry for Radio Damal, stating that it began broadcasting on 4 November 2010 (Chris Greenway, UK, Dec 15, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Schedule as of a month ago now, we hope still correct, per Seiichi Hasegawa, Wolfgang Büschel: 0400-0700 15700 via UAE; 1830-1930 11740 via Woofferton UK; 1930-2130 11970 via UAE (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. More changes at The Overcomer Ministry, as The Last Day Prophet of God is never satisfied with his radio coverage. Sabbath Dec 11 at 1640 I find he is gone from WBCQ 15420- CUSB --- instead they have some survivalist stuff on, not // 9330 either [see USA: WBCQ]. 9980 WWCR and 9385 WWRB are about two words apart with BS. At 1636 he was insulting his face-to-face audience, and one of them agreed, ``yeah, right!``. 9265 much weaker but audible, has much less synchronized Brother Scare, from WINB. So he`s still on that station Saturday mornings, at least, and presumably continuing into the afternoon, while other days of week WINB daytimes other huxters, on 13570 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GERMANY, Some Media Broadcast (MBR) changes: Brother Stair TOM in English, new time and freq 1300-1500 on 15495 NAU 100 kW / 210 deg to NWAf from Nov. 18 [15495 has already been canceled, as I have already reported! gh] 1200-1400 on 15320 NAU 100 kW / 210 deg to NWAf till Nov. 17 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 10 via DXLD) See also USA: WINB, WWRB ** SPAIN. 17595, listening to the REE weekday Basque service from 1330, Friday Dec 10 at 1352 in Basque talk, mixed with axuality clips in Castilian, but chopped off at 1355 without closing, cutting immediately to program promos for ``Tablero Deportivo`` and ``La Hora de Asia``, then music fill. Another victory of automation over humanity (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17595, Monday Dec 13 just as I tune in at 1540, Allison Hughes is wrapping up REE`s token English news headlines from 1537, introduces Arab which another YL starts at 1540:30. This lasted the rest of the quarter-hour, so Russian is still getting overpassed. Also audible on much weaker // 21570 and 21610. Is this tightly scheduled and reliable English segment in the major references yet? The otherwise exhaustive and excellent Broadcasts in English booklet from the British DX Club lacks it; must have gone to press in late November. TAFIE --- Transmissions and Frequencies in English from World DX Club missed it, and consequently also absent from the version in the Dec NASWA Journal. We first reported REE`s multilingual news block including English, on Nov 2, as in DXLD 10-44, and on WORLD OF RADIO 1537. Is anyone paying attention? As of Dec 13, it`s still missing from Prime Time Shortwave: http://home.centurytel.net/danielsampson/country.txt tho Daniel Sampson has had other more important things on his mind. As of Dec 13, it`s missing from ADDX English schedules: http://www.addx.de/cgi-bin/hfp.cgi But as someone recently demonstrated, this reference includes long- outdated and/or imaginary info, such as KVOH on 9975 in English at 0100-0800! It`s missing from this REE schedule issued by REE itself, at: http://www.bclnews.it/b10schedules/ree.htm Aoki now has it, e.g. under 17595: http://www.geocities.jp/binewsjp/bib10.txt Now they need to fix the 1330 entry claiming Basque/Catalan/Gallego [sic], instead of just Basque. EiBi already had it the last time we checked, and the entry now rounds up the other frequencies, but fails to specify this as M-F only: http://www.eibispace.de/dx/bc-b10.txt 1537 1541 E Radio Exterior España E SAm 21570 21610 15585 17595 At 1545 Dec 13, REE went into a feature on ``música popular angoleña``, which maintained our interest. Except it was all-talk *about* the music, interrupted for only a couple of less-than-one- minute musical examples at 1552 and 1557! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 9370, VOA/Deewa Radio, 1814 Dec 11, in Pashto, initially man in Pashto followed by woman who seemed to be giving translation into English, then man continued talking at length without further translation. Fair, with low frequency het (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile in my car with Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) i.e. WTJC ** SUDAN [non]. via Ascension, 17700, South Sudan Radio Service, *1559-1610, Dec 12, sign on with local music and opening Arabic ID announcements along with contact information. Arabic talk. Good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) except Fridays! Growing new African country: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Sudanese_independence_referendum,_2011 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPRATLY ISLANDS. On occasion of the forthcoming DX0DX Spratly Operation the Documentary Archives Radio Communications / QSL Collection provides a web page with a wealth of information on all previous activations, including some very rare documents and sound files. Please tell your listeners / readers and/or add a link from your own site to http://www.dokufunk.org/spratly Deutsche Fassung: http://www.dokufunk.org/spratly-d (Dokumentationsarchiv Funk Press Contact: Wolf Harranth, OE1WHC ORF/QSL, Argentinierstraße 30A, A-1040 Wien – Austria - office @ dokufunk.org Dec 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. VOA HOSTS 'TOWN HALL' DISCUSSION ON SOUTHERN SUDAN REFERENDUM --- Women's issues, equal time coverage, economic issues among those explored Washington, D.C., December 14, 2010 – Several leading members of southern Sudan's civil society gathered in Juba this week for a "town hall" style event organized by the Voice of America to discuss next month's planned referendum on independence. Lilliane Riziq, director of the South Sudan Women's Empowerment Network, told the gathering at the Nyakuron Cultural Center that "women's organizations are not being consulted about the referendum." Riziq said women are "deeply concerned that too little attention is being paid…to identifying and addressing gender considerations in the post-referendum negotiations." Another speaker, Mahjoub Mohammed Salih, a Sudanese journalist and recipient of the Golden Pen Award, used the forum to urge government broadcasters to cover the planned January 9 referendum in a fair and balanced manner. Salih, chairman of the media committee of the Sudan Referendum Commission, said "government-owned media must give equal time and opportunity to both options of unity and separation, and that has to be respected." Other speakers included Anis Haggar, a Sudanese businessman who discussed the economic issues associated with the possible division of the country, and Taban Lo Liyong, a writer who discussed Sudan's future. Sudan in Focus, a 30-minute Voice of America program, is airing a recording of the town hall discussion for its audiences in southern Sudan on its regularly scheduled broadcasts Monday through Friday at 1630 UT. The program can also be heard on the Sudan in Focus website, http://www.voanews.com/Sudan The town hall was moderated by John Tanza Mabusu and Charlton Doki, who work for Sudan in Focus, which can be heard on the Internet, on shortwave frequencies 9785, 11905, 13635, and on Liberty 88.7 FM in Juba & 90.0 FM in Yei (VOA press release Dec 14 via DXLD) TFK! (gh) ** SURINAME. 4990, 0703, Radio Apinte poor but clear 29/11 with pop oldies, English ident including website, some Dutch announcements. Followed past 0800. Fortunately no Brasil Central 4985 QRM tonight (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** SWAZILAND. 9500, Trans World Radio, 1804 Dec 11, in English, popular Christian music, man doing interview about sex education in Swaziland. Good. 9525, Trans World Radio signing on over Voice of Indonesia, 1902 Dec 11, with IS, ID “This is Trans World Radio, Swaziland”, 1905 beginning program in Lingala language. Very good (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile in my car with Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. SAQ TRANSMISSION ON CHRISTMAS EVE SAQ is planned to be on air on Christmas Eve 24th December at 0800 UT. The frequency is 17.2 kHz CW. We start the transmitter about 0730 UT for tuning and tests. QSL reports are welcome and will be confirmed by QSL cards. However, reports from reproductions of the transmission via Internet (e.g. the receiver in Delft) will not 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. Alexanderson Day, listeners' reports Unofficial transmissions may take place, due to maintenance, training or local events. Reports from unofficial transmissions are normally not confirmed by QSL cards. In summertime, the Alexander Society shows the alternator on Tuesday evenings, combined with a start of the alternator. On these events, there is no transmission from SAQ (via Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. Hi Glenn, If you have not recorded WOR can you wish Bob Zanotti a happy 65th? Thanks (Larry Nebron, CA) Done, on WORLD OF RADIO 1543 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWITZERLAND. Hi All, Currently the Sottens transmitter on 765 kHz (local with me) carries a message that says among other things: "L'émetteur de Sottens a cessé d'émettre le 5 décembre à minuit. Option Musique ne s'écoute donc plus en ondes moyennes", which tansmlates as "the Sottens transmitter has ceased to broadcast on 5 dec. at midnight. Option Musique can no longer be heard on mediumwave.. ." If the latter part is correct, the first half sounds rather silly. I has NOT ceased to broadcast, since it carries precisely that message. Very funny. No idea how many hours, days, weeks they will carry that loop. It is not clear either whether the station will be dismantled. 73s, (Rémy Friess, France, Dec 6, MWC yg via DXLD) Hi to everyone, Sottens will finally shut down transmission by Dec 31, 2010, midnight Central European Time. The loop will last till then. I have recorded the Dec 5 farewell party with my camcorder on my venerable Panasonic DR28 and am planning to upload it on Youtube somedays between Xmas and New Year. The station should not be dismantled, at least as far I understood from the last 4 hours of broadcast on MW. It is likely to be classified as Swiss national patrimony, similarly to the late Beromünster MW transmitter (formerly on 531 Khz, shut down in Dec 2008). 73s (Philippe, Dec 11, ibid.) Definitely switch off Option Musique 765 kHz --- Hi all, I called the Hotline of Option Musique 765 KHz and they told me that the transmitter will definitely switch off on 31th December 2010 at 2300 UTC. 73's Andrea http://www.hb9gce.ch (Stumpf Carl Andreas, Confederatio Helveticae, Dec 13, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Je ne peux plus écouter Option Musique en ondes moyennes. L'émetteur de Sottens est-il toujours en service? Le 5 décembre 2010, l'émetteur sera mis hors service. Si vous écoutiez Option Musique en AM (modulation d'amplitude) / OM (ondes moyennes), sur la fréquence 765 KHz, veuillez choisir l'une des alternatives suivantes: Option Musique est diffusée en FM en Valais et à Genève; sur le câble, internet et en DAB+ dans toute la Suisse romande. Ce programme est également diffusé par satellite. Pour bénéficier des programmes d'Option Musique en numérique, optez pour une radio numérique DAB+ en vente dans tous les magasins. Branchez votre appareil et il procède automatiquement au réglage des programmes radio. En quelques secondes, vous écoutez déjà Option Musique en qualité numérique, ainsi que nos autres chaînes. Plus d'explications sur le site internet radionumerique. ch ou dab.rsr.ch. Extraido de la web de SRS: http://www.rsr.ch/#/corporate/aide/ecoute/1930348-je-ne-peux-plus-ecouter-option-musique-en-ondes-moyennes-l-emetteur-de-sottens-est-il-toujours-en-service.html (Javier Robledillo, Elche (Alicante), España, http://cuadernodebitacoradx.blogspot.com/ ibid.) Salut Javier, Le 5 décembre ont cessé seulement les programmes de Option Musique. Maintenant l’émetteur diffuse un message qui informe que les programmes ont cessé et que Option Musique ne transmet plus en ondes moyennes. Ce message sera stoppé le 31 décembre 2010 à 2300 UTC. Probablement la puissance à été réduite, car le message est surtout destiné aux auditeurs en Suisse qui peuvent recevoir Option Musique sur DAB+. 73’s (Andrea, Dec 15, ibid.) ** SYRIA. Radio Damascus, 9330 kHz, two F/D QSL cards accurately verifying a couple of reception reports sent by e-mail in 2 audio files. Also, a nice sticker and a personal note handwritten and signed by Amelia Puga from the Spanish Service, in 80 days (Julio Rolando Pineda Cordón, GUATEMALA, Dec CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. Re 10-49: Stephen Wood's 4765 UnID station at 0254 01 Dec, the real location of the Yangiyul transmitting complex, according to Yahoo Shortwave Sites Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shortwavesites/ is exactly 38 28'46"N 68 48'15"E . Going to your favorite mapping program (Yahoo maps is the best, Google maps a close second for this site) clearly shows the antennas. This site is definitely within Tajikistan proper, south of Dushanbe, not in Uzbekistan as posited earlier. Those unfamiliar with this group, who are interested in actual sites, are encouraged to join (Earl Higgins, St. Louis, USA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yangi Yul transmitter site and 4635, 4740, 4765, 4940, 4975 antennas at TJK Dushanbe Yangi Yul, 30masts, and 36 lower antennas. 38 29'06.22"N 68 48'44.17"E 149 kilometers south of real Dushanbe Yangi Yul transmitter site, another village with very same name at 37 14'23.64"N 68 12'14.24"E seen on this mail from Gianni Serra: http://travelingluck.com/Asia/Tajikistan/Khatlon/_1220124_Yangiyul.html#local_map 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, ibid.) ** TAJIKISTAN. 4765, Tajik Radio 1, Yangiyul, 0108-0130, Dec 7, listed Tajik. W announcer with talk between "Persian"-like music selections; fair at tune/in; fade/out under band noise; pretty much unusable by BoH (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. Winter B-10 schedule of Radio Thailand (HSK9): 0000-0030 on 13745 UDO 250 kW / 006 deg to NEAm in English 0030-0100 on 13745 UDO 250 kW / 030 deg to NWAm in English 0100-0200 on 13745 UDO 250 kW / 038 deg to NEAm in Thai 0200-0330 on 15275 UDO 250 kW / 006 deg to NEAm in English/Thai/Thai 0530-0600 on 11730 UDO 250 kW / 308 deg to WeEu in English 1000-1100 on 12040 UDO 250 kW / 136 deg to Asia in Thai 1100-1130 on 7255 UDO 250 kW / 144 deg to Asia in Vietnamese/Khmer 1130-1145 on 7235 UDO 250 kW / 030 deg to Asia in Lao 1145-1200 on 7235 UDO 250 kW / 276 deg to Asia in Burmese 1200-1215 on 11870 UDO 250 kW / 154 deg to Asia in Malaysian 1230-1300 on 9720 UDO 250 kW / 132 deg to Asia in English 1300-1315 on 7465 UDO 250 kW / 054 deg to Asia in Japanese 1315-1330 on 7465 UDO 250 kW / 030 deg to Asia in Mandarin 1330-1400 on 7465 UDO 250 kW / 054 deg to Asia in Thai 1400-1430 on 9725 UDO 250 kW / 132 deg to Asia in English 1800-2000 on 7570 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to WeEu in Thai/English 2000-2015 on 9535 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to WeEu in German 2030-2045 on 9535 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to WeEu in English 2045-2115 on 9535 UDO 250 kW / 313 deg to WeEu in Thai (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 13 Dec via DXLD) ** THAILAND. 7520, Radio Farda, in Persian at 1845 Dec 11, woman announcer, recorded speech excerpts. Good. (Sellers-BC) 7495, VOA/Deewa Radio, 1847 Dec 11, in Pashto. Man and woman with light-hearted banter, 1849 into Pashto songs. Fair. (Sellers-BC) 7560, VOA/Radio Ashna, 1833 Dec 11, in Pashto, man and woman announcers, indigenous music. Good. (Sellers-BC) 7570, Radio Thailand, 1914 Dec 11. English, man and woman with news, 1921 ID and tourism feature. Good with some QRM (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile in my car with Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TUNISIA [and non]. 7335, RTT again clear of blockage by V. of Russia via Guiana French, Dec 11 at 0624 check; the night before VOR was on late past 0630 in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) and see RUSSIA [and non]! ** TURKEY. TURKISH STATE TV PLANS TO LAUNCH CHANNEL IN ENGLISH NEXT YEAR --- The state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation will work on launching a channel in 2011 that would broadcast in English, TRT General Manager Ibrahim S,ahin has said. Sunday, 12 December 2010 [note: original shows S properly with sedilla under it. Copying it to MS word separates the symbols = Shahin --- gh] The state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) will work on launching a channel in 2011 that would broadcast in English, TRT General Manager Ibrahim S,ahin has said. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency on Sunday, S,ahin talked about TRT's plans for next year. Having announced that they will have a new education channel by January, he noted that they would focus on launching a separate channel in English, which, he added, is akin to a “national duty” for them. “This is because Turkey has grown so large and become an effective power in its region. We, however, cannot publicize that because promoting it to non-Turkish speakers can only be in English. It is a universal language now. Everyone understands at least a little of it. We can now say all countries have established a channel [in English] and started promoting it like that. I think we lag a little behind in that regard,” S,ahin said. TRT has been engaged in an intensive campaign to start broadcasting in non-Turkish languages. As part of that campaign, two separate stations broadcasting in Kurdish and Arabic were launched in the past two years. S,ahin told Anatolia that now is certainly the time for an English channel. “We have established many channels, but we still do not have one broadcasting in English. That means we have something missing as part of our efforts to promote Turkey. We have been postponing it because we wanted it to be of the highest quality. Our only task apart from routine work now will be to focus on the channel in English,” he said. Source: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=67324 (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) ** UKRAINE. 7440, Radio Ukraine International, at 2300 UT, Dec 11/10, in English. News followed by the Saturday program which includes listeners letters. It was announced that this program will end soon, to be replaced with a different format (not enough letters and questions to answer). IS at 0000 then into Ukrainian program. Very Good (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, Kenwood R5000; KLM 7-30 MHz Log Periodic, NASWA Flashsheet via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) ** U K. 6045 BAB / VTC test on air again --- 6045 seems to be the 49 mb on-air test frequency on Babcock tx sites in U.K. Once again noted today the usual BAB/VTC control room cello mx over and over again, around 1430-1445 UT, S=7 in Germany. Similar test noted on Nov 19, with DWL program carrying on 6045 around 1500-1600 UT. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. 7540, fair Dec 10 at 1257, B-B-C- chimes, 1259:35 cut to Chinese opening, 1300 no timesignal, ID and onward. This is 250 kW, 20 degrees via Nakhon Sawan, THAILAND, so also USward, M-F at 1300-1530 per Aoki. Strangely, no jamming noted so far. 7205, Dec 12 at 1344, B-B-C- chimes, opening Burmese, with intermittent QRhaM carriers. Is 250 kW, 340 degrees from Kranji, SINGAPORE, per Aoki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. Frequency changes of BBC and BABCOCK stations: BBC in Farsi: 0230-0330 NF 7285 WOF 250 kW / 086 deg WeAs, ex 7400 SKN to avoid BUL BBC in Russian Mon-Fri: 0300-0330 NF 5970 WOF 250 kW / 075 deg to RUSSIA, ex 5965 WOF BBC in Uzbek: 1300-1330 NF 15775 CYP 250 kW / 050 deg to CeAs, ex 11730 CYP 1600-1630 NF 11955*CYP 250 kW / 077 deg to CeAs, ex 6115 CYP 1600-1630 NF 13650 RMP 500 kW / 062 deg to CeAs, ex 9495 NAK * strong co-ch BVBN-Radio Sadaye Zindagi in Dari (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 10 via DXLD) Frequency change of BBC in Hindi from Dec. 13 0230-0300 NF 11945 SNG 250 kW / 315 deg to SoAs, x 17760 // 11760, 15510, 17825 Cancelled transmissionion of BBC in Azeri: 1600-1630 on 6090 CYP 250 kW / 064 deg to CeAs 1600-1630 on 9615 SKN 300 kW / 090 deg to CeAs 1600-1630 on 12005 RMP 500 kW / 092 deg to CeAs (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 15 Dec via DXLD) ** U K [non]. BBC Relay Site QSL --- Although the BBC will not QSL for reports sent to London, the WRTVH for many of the relay sites (Ascension, Seychelles, Thailand, etc.) indicate that the relay sites send out QSLs. However, if have only found a few reports of success online with BBC relay sites. Have any of the NASWA members had any luck in the last 24 months obtaining QSLs from a BBC Relay Site? Thanks (Steve, Dec 12, NASWA yg via DXLD) During the last year I sent out a few BBC Relay reception reports direct to the transmitter site. Only two have replied to date. Cyprus and Meyerton via Sentech. But heck, that's why I keep going to the mail box, ya just never know (Rob Kivell, Gulf Breeze, FL, ibid.) ** U S A. What`s up, VOA QSLs? I have a question about the VOA which has long been an excellent QSLer. I am a US resident and have sent them two different very detailed reception reports for two different relay sites that I would like to QSL. Almost three months have gone by and no reply. One went via email to letters @ voa.gov and the other went via usps to their Audience Mail Voice of America, 330 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20237 address. Are they just taking their time or is there a problem or policy change? -Thanks (Steve, Dec 12, NASWA yg via DXLD) I received a reply from VOA some months ago which stated that they were "...not allowed to send souvenirs of value to listeners that live within the continental United States...." I have tried to send reports to the transmitter sites but have not yet received any reply from them. Obviously, the PC police have now extended their evil hands into the world of VOA QSLs. Pretty pathetic if you ask me (Larry Colton, ibid.) Hi Larry, That has long been their policy for pennants, calendars, etc., but they always sent QSL's. Was the letter they sent you in reply to a QSL card request or for something else? - Thanks (Steve, ibid.) Hi Steve, That VOA reply was based on a reception report I sent in requesting a QSL (Larry, ibid.) ** U S A. El programa de radio de la Voz de América, BDA, cumple 49 años de transmisiones ininterrumpidas. . . http://www.voanews.com/spanish/news/usa/buenos-dias-america-cumple-anos-111591489.html (via Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** U S A. BBG - 2010 ANNUAL LANGUAGE SERVICE REVIEW BRIEFING BOOK "This is the briefing book for 2010 in support of the BBG’s congressionally mandated, annual review of all broadcast language services – the process known as Language Service Review. The book provides BBG governors and senior managers – and this year, all employees as well – with quick access to core performance and other data for all language services as well as relevant data and information regarding the media and political environments in which the services operate. While such information is already available across the agency through routine research reports, there is added value in a ready reference document". http://media.voanews.com/documents/2010_AnnLanguageServiceReviewBriefingBook.pdf (19 MB) (via Aleksandr Diadischev, Russia, Dec 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 130 pages, lots of data, but besides the statistics, there are very useful and succinct reports on each target area evaluating the Political Situation, and the Media Environment, including ratings by the Freedom House Political Freedom Index, Economist Intelligence Unit Instability; the Freedom House Press Freedom Index and the Reporters Without Borders Index. Recommended reading! As comprehensive as this may be, there are some huge gaps, such as Latin America beyond Cuba and the Andean region (5 countries) which USIB has abandoned (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. REIMAGINING THE MISSION OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING New America Foundation, By Alie Perez, December 8, 2010 http://mediapolicy.newamerica.net/blogposts/2010/reimagining_the_mission_of_international_broadcasting-41148 Leading lights in the international broadcasting space will be congregating at New America this afternoon to weigh in on the subject of International Broadcasting and Public Media: Mission and Innovation in the Digital Environment. Yet in many ways, this event is simply a continuation of previous discussions hosted by the Media Policy Initiative. This fall, New America hosted Mark Thompson, the Director General of the British Broadcasting Corporation, for an event entitled “Public Media in a Digital Age: Broadcast, Broadband and Beyond.” Three panelists—Paula Kerger, President of the Public Broadcasting Service; Geneva Overholser, Director of USC Annenberg's School of Journalism; and Nicholas Lemann, Dean of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism --- joined Thompson for a discussion of the challenges of public media in the current digital age, moderated by Steve Coll, President of the New America Foundation. And as we pointed out in a previous blog post, technological innovations are transforming the way public media and international broadcasting institutions do business. At the same time, international broadcasters’ missions and programming practices are being challenged and transformed around the world—from the BBC to Moscow-based multilingual television news network Russia Today to Al Jazeera, the international news network headquartered in Doha, Qatar. For our purposes, U.S. international broadcasting orgs such as Public Radio International and Kerger’s own PBS have their own new path to blaze. From Mark Thompson’s remarks at New America and the ensuing panel discussion, for example, it is clear that U.S. public media (and thus, much of the country’s international broadcasting) have traditionally differed in several ways from the rest of the world’s public media entities. In comparing the different approaches to public media in the UK and the US, it is clear that legal and cultural differences are at the heart of the countries’ varied uses of public media. American journalists, for example, tend to be against any appearance of the government having control over independent coverage. In the UK, on the other hand, government-funded media reaches 97% of the population and is often an marker of distinction on a journalist’s resume. Putting these differences aside, however, there is one area in which British public media veers most dramatically from that in the US: internationally distributed content. A significant portion of the BBC’s resources has been channeled to fulfilling an international mission. Thompson’s speech centered on the idea that that mission is essential to the BBC’s character; the prominence of BBC World Service operations underscored this premise. Thompson noted that the BBC’s presence in Haiti, for example, outlasted most other media outlets, and the newly created Creole service out of Miami has been helpful to those involved with Haiti’s rebuilding efforts. While the focus in American media is usually on covering international events, the BBC has made a point of increasing its presence broadcasting to international markets, as well. This focus on international coverage and distribution has not only been beneficial to the home audience in the UK but also to local audiences. Thompson referred to a recently commissioned survey of BBC consumers in Kenya, Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey, where all four countries’ audiences said that out of the BBC, CNN International, Voice of America, and Al Jazeera, they would miss the BBC most if it went off the air. Moreover, the global impact of this news organization was later evident in the Q&A section, when a representative of the International Center for Journalists noted that the BBC is highly respected for hiring international journalists as content providers and for making investments through training local journalists. Voice of America was motivated by different priorities at its start, perhaps. Yet the news service, broadcasting since 1942 “to get reliable news to people living in closed and war-torn societies,” estimates that it reaches around 125 million people around the world. Based on the provisions of the Smith-Mundt Act (the US Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948) that established the news service, no VOA content can be broadcast domestically. Some strong challenges to this prohibition have been issued in recent years (see articles in Foreign Policy and World Politics Review), and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations issued a report on this very topic this past June, including the following recommendation: “Congress should revisit the Smith-Mundt legislation, which was passed originally in 1948 and later amended, which bans U.S. Government broadcasting within the U.S. for fear the government would unduly influence its own citizens. Today, however, Russia and China and other entities currently broadcast in English in the United States. Additionally, recent Arabic-speaking immigrants to the United States are able to watch Al Jazeera but prevented by Smith-Mundt from viewing Al Hurra. These realities, coupled with the rise of the Internet, which enables computer users in the U.S. to receive video and audio streams of BBG broadcasts and readily access BBG Web sites, demonstrate that aspects of the legislation are both anachronistic and potentially harmful.” Considering the current financial straits of American journalism and the decreasing amount of foreign coverage, what does this prohibition really mean for American international broadcasting? Kerger noted during the panel that PBS, in contrast to commercial media outlets in America, is expanding its foreign bureaus and coverage. Perhaps it would be a better use of resources for there to be more cross-over between American public media and the Voice of America; maybe there are opportunities for VOA to collaborate with public media institutions—benefiting American interests abroad and domestic, without breaking the spirit of Smith-Mundt. However, the culture has one problem that will be much tougher to crack: many journalists’ distrust of government in general, so that the idea of government funding is synonymous with government having editorial control. After noting that the British structure of public media was not likely to cross the pond anytime soon—an observation which drew a big laugh from the audience—Lemann suggested studying firewalls used in non-journalism contexts, such as at the Office of Management and Budget; that is, public media can explore and build on the mechanisms in place to prevent political influence and ensure the spread of accurate, independent data and conclusions. "Public service broadcasting is an idea,” Thompson said. “At least in Britain, we still believe in that idea.” It now remains to be seen what directions American public media will take—whether the American public will come to view these news outlets as an even greater resource, and whether the journalistic establishment will ever come to see them as allies instead of threats. As rapid technological change sweeps across the globe, affecting global audiences with the rise of the Internet and the fact that global youth today spend so much time reading blogs and playing computer games, it is clear that the mission of international broadcasters in the future may include practices and media that will be very different from the past. International broadcasting is also an idea—one that can manifest itself practically in many ways due to technological innovations, cultural differences, and differing approaches. At New America’s event today, we expect to see lively discussion, as well as new ideas for the future of this vitally important field (via Mike Terry, UK, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. NBC INTRODUCING NEW SINGING COMPETITION FORMAT --- VOA NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC is banking on some reality show royalty to create a new singing competition to challenge "American Idol." The network said Monday that it will debut "The Voice of America" in the spring. Its format is based on a popular show in Holland where celebrities are paired with amateur singers in competition. . . http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101213/ap_en_tv/us_tv_voice_of_america (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) When will Univisión debut "Radio Martí?" (Brock Whaley, HI, ibid.) ** U S A [and non]. VOA English absent from 9760, Dec 9 at 1449, altho scheduled during this hour, 250 kW, 300 degrees from THAILAND, M-F only but this was Thursday! Doubtful due to propagation, since BBC 9740 Singapore was audible OK. Kept monitoring 9760 at 1500 and still nothing. Finally on at *1501 joining news in progress, and also seemed source of brief spur/het around 9725 which I was also monitoring. After 9760, the VOA site is Tinang, Philippines, daily. 1505 into English learning, rather than substantial regional or world news in depth. [see also PHILIPPINES] 9725, Dec 9 at 1452 open carrier with het from 9724 (so not a tone from 9725); but at 1456 the het is gone, just the 9725 carrier. 1458, Yankee Doodle Dandy VOA sign-on, but it`s just barely modulated (or underneath a stronger S9+15 open carrier?). 1500 opening in language but can`t tell which. Aoki says it`s Vietnamese via Tinang, PHILIPPINES. I wonder if the het and carrier are signs of some ineffective Commie Vietnamese jamming? At 1502 it still seems like VOA Viet is under a stronger carrier; also with SSB 2-way QRM from circa 9720 as previously logged under UNIDENTIFIED. It`s another Friday, Dec 10, so I am hoping VOA will again fire up Greenville on 17715 so I can hear Reporters` Notebook at 1430. But at 1359, Yankee Doodle sign-on is very poor, and not improving, still unusable at 1430, must still be scheduled Botswana nor can I find VOA on any other readable frequency, 9, 11, or 15 MHz bands. So GB last week must have been a fluke or a tempsub. Sometimes Greenville could be in use, but skipping over. This time, however, at 1449, I am even getting the peanut-powered WINB harmonic on 18530 at similar distance, so GB should have been inbooming if on. 11805, fair signal Dec 11 at 2257 with Beyoncé or ilk, 2300 VOA jingle and Indonesian. This is 22-24 via Tinang, PHILIPPINES, 205 kW, 150 degrees. I soon found much more interesting music 10 kHz up from BRAZIL. Just another reminder that classical music is unknown at Voice of America. If anyone ever hears any on any language service, do let us know. Fortunately, NHK is not so backward, and was just starting a classical music hour on 11665, 17605: see JAPAN (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17740, S9+22 open carrier Dec 13 at 1541, then fading in tone test, back to OC, 1544 TT on and off. No doubt Greenville B tuning up for the 1700 VOA Portuguese broadcast. Meanwhile blotted NHK 17735 Japanese via France (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also PHILIPPINES; KUWAIT ** U S A [and non]. Frequency changes of IBB: 0000-0100 NF 17770 SAI 100 kW / 270 deg, ex 9815 RFA in Laotian 0200-0300 NF 7390 LAM 100 kW / 075 deg, ex 7295 RL in Turkmen 0530-0630 NF 12060 MDC 250 kW / 295 deg, ex 7265 VOA French Mon-Fri 1230-1300 NF 13750 GB 250 kW / 174 deg, ex 13715 VOA Spanish Mon-Fri 1300-1400 NF 13750 GB 250 kW / 174 deg, ex 13715 VOA in Spanish 1300-1330 NF 11675 PHX 050 kW / 276 deg, ex 11695 VOA in Vietnamese 1400-1500 NF 11930 SAI 100 kW / 325 deg, ex 11635 VOA Indones Thu-Sat 1600-1700 NF 7240 LAM 100 kW / 075 deg, ex 12025 RL in Russian (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 13 Dec via DXLD) ** U S A. Checking out Brother Scare`s Sabbath, Dec 11 (see SOUTH CAROLINA [non]), I was surprised to find something else on WBCQ 15420- CUSB, where he had been a regular on Saturday mornings only. At 1634 some kind of paranoid survivalist show judging from the ads and promotions; not // 9330 either. Checking the WBCQ online schedule, this isn`t so new, but had not noticed the change in the past bimonth: ``Posted October 5th, 2010 --- A new radio show, Operation Restore Christian America, hosted by David Stouvenel, is starting Saturdays from 11am to noon US eastern time (1500-1600 UTC) on WBCQ 15.420.`` That was the DST timing, now 16-17 as shown on the 15420 schedule with The Overcomer Ministry still at 15-16 and 17-18, so there is a one- hour interruption in his rants on this frequency. Later Saturday Dec 11, on 7415 at 2230 I ran across The Human Food Factor Show, War-of-the-Worlds-type dramatization with sirens, etc., of what it would be like when the president activates executive orders taking over control of everything, including the food supply. Then went on to indicate that Glenn Beck is not extreme enough. This wacky show has apparently been on since last April (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 18530, WINB on 2 x 9265, Dec 9 at 1424, JBA with Brother Scare; also Dec 10 at 1449; see also USA: VOA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thomas Nyberg in Iowa asks: ``Question. Does WINB still only have two frequencies 9265 and 13570 kHz, or is there another one?`` WINB did have a third frequency, 9355 in the latter part of A-10 for the hours during which Brother Scare had replaced Tony Alamo on weekdays, since BS wanted to be on 9 MHz band instead of 13, but 9265 was supposedly not available between 16 and 21, registered for the long-silent WMLK, but WMLK if on would take Saturdays/Sabbaths off according to doctrine, the opposite of Brother Scare`s, so BS did use 9265 thru midday Saturdays only. The substitute frequency started off being 9335, but after several weeks, WBCQ complained of adjacent QRM to 9330, so WINB was persuaded to move to 9355. WINB had waited a full year after his convixion until July 2010 to cancel Tony Alamo. Is that unclear? I had not reconfirmed 9355 in B-10, but assumed it would still be in use. However, checked at 1919 UT [2:19 pm EST] Dec 8, 13570 is on, not with BS, but with the androgynous anapaestic preacher, i.e. Global Spirit Proclamation, from remote Fence Lake, New Mexico (in a fortified compound?). Not on 9355, which had a weak signal from something else. At 1957 I check 13570 again to catch a frequency change announcement, but it is already off. So I then start monitoring 9355 and other frequencies around there. WINB never shows up; 9355 at 1958 has YFR IS, mixing with something else, i.e. IBB Saipan. At 2000 YFR starts Romanian from Okeechobee, tho quite weak here. At 2002 I check 13570 once again, and now it is back on, not with BS but with more of GSP! Undated and always outdated SW schedule page from Overcomer Ministry ftp://www.overcomerministry.org/RadioSchedule/Short%20Wave%20Radio.htm l shows as of Dec 8: WINB 9355 11Am-12 & 2Pm-4Pm Mon-Fri i.e. EST, which in UT now would be 16-17 and 19-21 M-F. However, neither TOM nor WINB may have adjusted for the one-hour time shift post-EDT, which ought to put the BS hours to 17-18 and 20-22 UT M-F. Furthermore, we have now confirmed that TOM/BS is no longer on WINB before or after 2000 UT, so they don`t need to use a frequency other than 13570. How about the 17-18 UT hour? Gone too? {Not checked until Dec 10 at 1702: yes, no BS, so no need for his special frequency 9355 [nor 18710], and WINB is also on 13570 at this time with some other non-BS, non-GSP preachers.} Of course there is a third frequency unintentionally, 18530 = 2 x 9265. Same wobbly transmitter probably also harmonicizes on 27140 = 2 x 13570, if it would only propagate. Consulting the long-outdated WINB program schedule at http://www.winb.com/schedule.htm will only cause needless confusion (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9265, WINB, PA, Red Lion (presumed); Not scheduled for this time from what I can see, but rather nice instrumental music for a good long while, into Bro. Stair at :47 talking about his new telephone broadcast system where you can call in & sign up to get the good brother to call your phone with his special messages from time to time... Right. SIO 554+ 1730-1750 4/Dec (Kenneth Vito Zichi, DXpedition, Brighton MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 10 via DXLD) Yes, it is scheduled at this time, thru the local noon hour, but on Saturdays only, since imaginary WMLK is observing the Sabbath and won`t be needing 9265 (not that it ever needs it!) --- and Brother Scare wants to be on 9 MHz, not 13, which WINB uses other daytimes. As above, it appears his weekday broadcasts on WINB have been canceled (or retimed?) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See SOUTH CAROLINA [non] WINB adds new network to line-up --- Hans Johnson, Frequency Manager of WINB, reports that station WINB is carrying Radio 2:11 Network, and is looking for listeners to send in their reception reports. The Radio 2:1 [sic] Network website is http://www.thestreamtv.com/welcome_003.htm Reception reports may be sent to info@winb.com or P.O. Box 88, Red Lion, PA 17356 USA. [so when is it on?? Same show is part of Rod Hembree`s The Good Friends Radio Network via WBCQ 9330-CUSB all day --- gh] English B10: Effective: 31 October 2010 - 27 March 2011 All times UTC, targeted to North and Central America [242 degrees] 0000-0400 9265am 1000-1600 9265am [sic; means 1000-1500?] 1500-1500 smtwhf 13570am [sic; means 1500-1600?] 1600-1700 Sat 9265am [sic; means 1500-1700?] 1600-1700 smtwhf 13570am 1700-1800 Sat 9265am [sic, but what about 17-18 Sun-Thu? 13570] 1800-1900 smtwhf 13570am 1800-2000 Sat 9265am 1900-2000 smtwhf 13570am 2000-2100 Sat 9265am 2000-2100 smtwhf 13570am 2100-2200 9265am 2100-2200 smtwhf 13570am 2200-0000 9265am (FCC via Hans Johnson, Frequency Manager via Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) Anyway, confirms no longer on 9355. There would be a slightly more user-friendly way to present this schedule, as presumably corrected: Daily 10-15 9265 Sun-Fri 15-22 13570 Sat 15-22 9265 Daily 22-04 9265 And are they really on as early as 10 and as late as 04? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, usually WINB opens on 9265 around 1130 UT - This start time was noted when I was checking schedules for BDXC's Broadcasts in English last month and also confirmed again today. (Did not catch the actual start today, it was not on when I checked at 1115 but was in progress when checked again at 1140.) Fair signal in UK at this time. 73s (Dave Kenny, UK, Dec 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9265, WINB with Brother Scare far out of synch with WWRB 9385, Dec 13 at 1459 his usual boilerplate ending with Maranatha! I was beginning to wonder if WINB would QSY, as he ran late until 1501, but then WINB ID and off 1502:07*. Did not give next frequency but I tuned to 13570 anyway and heard it come on at *1503:07 with open wobbly carrier, 1503:45 sign-on with 13570, into another gospel huxter. This confirms the non-Saturday QSY time is really circa 1500, contrary to the confusing and self-contradictory B-10 WINB schedule in Dec NZ DX Times. 13570, WINB, Dec 15 at 1551, Radio 2-11 program ID as I tune in, so now we know one time it is on, missing from the previous publicity about it. Carrier is more unstable than usual, really warbling with BFO on, and sounds unsteady even on AM. This is running 13 seconds ahead of WBCQ 9330-CUSB. Seems Rod Hembree has a preference for transmitters which are not normal full AM. Believe it or not, the WINB program schedule has finally been updated ``effective Dec 5, prepared Dec 7``, both by-time and by-title versions, in EST, so for a while it may be more or less correct. Only start-times are shown, so we can only assume each show lasts until the following entry starts. Below we have converted all times and days to UT, and added a few other programs of interest. No mention of Radio 2- 11 there, but instead the parent ministry, GFR, which may contain other subprograms as well: Good Friends Radio: Sun 1600-1730, M-F 1500-1900 Musical Memories: Sun 2200-2230, Tue 1130-1200 The Overcomer: M-F 1300-1500, 2200-2400; Sat 1430-2130 Global Spirit Proclamation: M-F 1900-2200 Family Radio - Spanish: daily 1200-1300, 0000-0100 [WYFR; no English] As we figured out previously, frequency usage is 9265, except: 13570, Sun-Fri 1500-2200. Altho registered as starting at 1100, the schedule shows *1130 except Saturdays *1145; also 9265 registered during standard time period until 0400. Final program of day of unknown length starts at 0300 except a different one UT Tue 0230. The UT Monday 0300 program, Radio Bible Study, lasts only a semihour at its other airing Saturday 1400 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1542, first SW airing less than an hour after it was finished, 0430 UT Thursday Dec 9 on WRMI, was totally blocked by wall-of-noise from the DentroCuban Jamming Command, endorsed and probably frequency-managed by Arnie Coro, whose own DX program never gets jammed. I did confirm WOR was airing, however, by WRMI webcast. WRMI is often barely- or in-audible even when not jammed, but on this occasion it should have been, as neighbor WYFR was quite good on 9985. The latest WRMI schedule updated Dec 4 shows WORLD OF RADIO at: Thu 0430, 1600, 2200 Fri 1530 Sat 0900, 1500, 1830 Sun 0900, 1630, 1830 Tue 1630, 2330 Wed 0130, 1630 Strictly UT days and times. With a little luck, a few of them may be unjammed, or lightly jammed, and propagating not only to the south. 9955 is not always jammed: Dec 9 at 1447, R. Prague in French was in the clear. WWCR airings of WOR, to be reconfirmed this week if airing as scheduled, since two of them did not last week: Fri 2130 7465 Sat 1700 12160 (was on 7490 Dec 4) Sun 0330 4840 (missing Dec 5, religious programming instead) Sun 0730 3215 ACB Radio webcast of WOR 1542 confirmed at 1600 UT Friday Dec 10. There has been some confusion about their new scheduling, now intended to be on even-UT Friday hours, contrary to displayed schedule still showing odd hours. WORLD OF RADIO 1542 confirmed so far this week on WWCR: Friday Dec 10 at 2130 sharp on 7465; Saturday Dec 11 at 1700 back on 12160. Next chance: 0330 UT Sunday on 4840 if the DX Block is back; finally 0730 UT Sunday on 3215. 4840, WWCR`s DX Block was back this week, after having been replaced by a preacher last week without explanation (a make-good?). 0330 UT Sunday Dec 12 transitioning from ``DX Partyline`` to WORLD OF RADIO 1542 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi, Glenn! Thanks for mentioning me in the last WoR! Yet another point added to the fame quotient... :-) Just a minor note for an update to the SWL/DX programs list: the second airing of "Into Tomorrow" on WWCR at Sunday 0605 UT doesn't stop at 0700 as shown, but instead continues for another hour. This past weekend it ended at 0757 UT. Not sure when that longer-length began, but I've noticed it being on later than 0700 now & then when I happened to be awake during that hour (Will Martin, St Louis MO, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Sunday version of IT has always been two hours vs one hour on Saturdays. I must have slipped a digit when changing all the times to one UT hour later for B-10 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. GERMANY. AWR with "Wavescan" December 12, 1200-1230 excellent reception via Nauen on 15495 kHz with the history of Radio broadcasting in Hyderabad and a DX report from the Philippine DX Club. (Ullmar Qvick, Norrköping, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FW: Are you guys off the air right now? Hi Glenn: Hey, you probably know this already, but just in case you didn't, I thought I'd forward this to you. I've been a fan of LA's WRNO since the Joe Costello days of the 1980s. So when it went back on the air this year, I was thrilled. But it's been off again, so I wrote them a note to see what was going on, and they were kind enough to reply very quickly. I thought you'd be interested, so I just forwarded the entire note your way. Hope you are well. Hope you have a wonderful holiday season (Bill Patalon III, Baltimore, Maryland, Dec 14, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) -----Original Message----- From: WRNO Worldwide [mailto:wrnoradio@mailup.net] Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 1:30 PM To: Bill Patalon Subject: RE: Are you guys off the air right now? Yes our transmitter is down, we are presently trying to locate the problem. Thanks for checking in WRNO Worldwide staff -----Original Message----- Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 5:38 PM Hi folks... It's Bill Patalon, an avid listener from Baltimore (was a fan back in Mr. Costello's days, too). I keep tuning in to listen, and haven't been hearing your broadcasts. Could you tell me what your status is right now? And if you are off, will you all be coming back on the air? I sure hope so. I really like what you're doing and had been tuning in regularly. I finally decided to write and see what's happening. Bill (all via Patalon, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) ** U S A. WJHR appears to be celebrating its first anniversary by going off the air: 15550-USB, no trace of it Dec 13 at 1906, despite 15610 WEWN, its nearest SWBC neighbor, providing good signal, better than usual, indicating one-megameter-range propagation is working, altho Mo. Angelica has a bit of a power advantage. Another check at 1800 UT Dec 14: there it is, modulation breaking up a bit, barely audible, but on the DX-398 some sound is breaking thru on the LSB, not just the USB. 1801 the same one-and-only canned WJHR ID as ever during the past year, a bouncy southern-gospel tune, calls, location, e-mail address, back to preacher (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WWRB`s flexible changeover times for the Brother Scare service: Dec 14 at 1410, he`s still on 3185, weakening into the D- layer. At 1414 I find 9385 is on with open carrier, then cutting on BS in progress (or regress?). Go back to 3185 and it is now off. Not necessarily the same transmitter, as WWRB has a spare, and previously have heard both frequencies on at same time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. It`s always interesting to compare how US SW signals are propagating here to the Great Center of NAm, as skip zones are fluxuating, besides all the other variables. Dec 9 at 1225, the often solid BBCWS relay via WHRI on 9410 from SC is very poor, while just a little further away, WTJC on 9370 from NC has a good signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Harold Camping Issues Another Rapture Prediction --- For some reason, Harold Camping (yes, THAT one) is on the radar of Pam Spalding and her blog "Pam's House Blend". The name of Camping I normally associate with the gospel-huxters of shortwave radio, but on Spalding's blog December 9, she wrote (and posted links) about Camping once again predicting "Judgment Day" but on May 21, 2011. http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/18177/#234690 (Fritze H Prentice Jr, KC5KBV, Star City, AR, Dec 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. SW B'c'ster says rapture is May 21, 2011 http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpps/dpg_original/billboards-announce-return-of-jesus-dpgoh-20101203-gc_10913610 BILLBOARDS ANNOUNCE RETURN OF JESUS --- Jesus may not know the exact time He returns to Earth, but one Bible teacher has marked his calendar. Family Radio founder Harold Camping is predicting Jesus will come back for his followers on May 21, 2011. Family Radio’s campaign includes billboards in Nashville, Louisville, St. Louis, Detroit, Little Rock, Omaha, Kansas City, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Bridgeport, Conn. The ministry is also sending people around the world to proclaim Camping’s prediction, The Tennessean reported. Camping predicts the rapture will happen exactly 7,000 years from the date that God first warned people about the flood. He bases his prediction on the flood happening in 4990 B.C., on what he says would have been May 21 in the modern calendar. Camping says that God gave Noah one week of warning, and since the Bible says that for God a day is like 1,000 years, Camping predicts there will be a 7,000-year interval between the flood and rapture: May 21, 2011. "We hope that anyone would get a Bible out and try and prove that this is wrong," he told The Tennessean. Well, they could point to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 13, which records the disciples asking Jesus when “all these things will be fulfilled." In the passage, Jesus answers: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). The Rev. Fred Fuller of Madison (Tenn.) Campus Seventh-Day Adventist Church said the Bible points to Jesus' return, but no one knows when. "The Bible says no one knows the day or the hour," he said. "I don't believe that date-setting or the scare tactic of an immediate date is a biblical approach." Camping’s previous book, “1994?,” said the end of the world could occur that year, somewhere between September 15-17, according to the Christian Research Institute . Camping wrote in “1994?” that we can know the month and the year that Christ will return, but he acknowledged he didn’t know the exact day because Scripture says “no man knows the day nor the hour” (Matt. 24:36). Previous predictions of Christ’s return didn't pan out. The Tennessean said that in 1843, the so-called Great Disappointment happened when William Miller and his followers sold their homes and waited in a field for Jesus to come back (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) I'm interested to know how Harold Camping arrived at an exact year, let alone an exact date, for the flood. And I'm especially interested to know what's going to happen to Family Radio when May 22, 2011 arrives and we're all still here. Gonna be a few stations making format changes, methinks. 73, (Rick Dau, South Omaha, NE, ibid.) Won't happen, meaning HC will still be here on that day Besides Harold Camping is an off the wall nut. I don't listen to him anymore (Robert M. Bratcher Jr., Dec 3, 2010, ibid.) ** U S A [non]. /KAZAKHSTAN, Additional transmission of WYFR Family Radio from Dec. 13: 1300-1500 on 5835 A-A 500 kW / 121 deg to SEAs in English (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 15 Dec via DXLD) ** U S A. Since I have been awake by 1230 UT, more chances to check out what the 3160, WPJK harmonic from Orangeburg SC is doing. Besides radiating far too much power on 2 x 1580, and not signing on at official sunrise 1215 in December, they don`t always hit the intended 1230 opening either. Dec 9 at 1230, no signal. Keep monitoring with BFO off-tuned to alert me the instant they turn on the transmitter: *1236:30 carrier, 1237:10 canned sign-on, rather muffled, not as good as last time, quickly into Gospel Train, with one Q-toot; S9+15 with 2-way SSB on the side. Also Dec 10 at 1230, no signal. Finally *1239:32 carrier, 1239:55 sign-on, S9+18, best yet and now I make out a few missing words from previous recording: ``This is WPJK. WPJK is now beginning another broadcasting day. WPJK is owned and operated by WPJK, on 1580 kHz with output power of 1,000 watts, by authority of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, DC. WPJK business office, studio, transmitter, and tower located at 175 Cannon Bridge Road, in Orangeburg. I`m Reverend T. G. Paul McGee [?] station manager at WPJK. And now we begin another broadcasting day.`` And then he re-introduces himself as host of the Gospel Train show, starting with only one Q-toot again today. I am more sure of his name as above than as previously heard ``Carmody``, but still no Google hits on McGee or Magee in connexion with WPJK. Note he does not mention possessing a harmonic filter or suppressor! Here is a clip of the December 10 sign-on, 256 kb: http://www.w4uvh.net/WPJK.rm (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3160.04, WPJK, Orangeburg, SC, 1243-1302, Dec 10, 2 x 1580. Gospel music. Several announcements. ID at 1300. Weak but occasional peaks to fair levels. Audio somewhat muffled (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires 3160.04, WPJK, Orangeburg, SC, *1232-1303, Dec 11, 2 x 1580. Sign on with opening ID announcements. Gospel music at 1233. Weather forecast at 1241. Ads. Very weak but fair on peaks. Thanks to Glenn Hauser tips (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 660, KSKY Dallas, Dec 13 at 2132 UT promoted its FM simulcasts in three different areas of The Metroplex, on 92.9, 95.5 and 99.9, plus KSKY.com That website reminds us the frequencies serve Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth, respectively. So what stations are these, really? FCC FM Query: 92.9 has nothing in Dallas per se, and nothing beyond applications in the area for 23 watts in Cedar Hill (the major FM/TV transmitter site SE of Dallas), 75 watts at Lewisville but these are both by the so- called Educational Media Foundation, a gospel-huxter front. But since they are outside the non-comm band, they could be carrying KSKY at least temporarily, if they are really on already. Unhelpful clue: elsewhere on the homepage, a poll about which FM frequency you listen to most, lists 92.9 as Dallas/Plano. Having brought up all the 92.9s in Texas, I spotted another very interesting entry on the list: NEW 225 D FX 92.9 MHz APP OKLAHOMA CITY TX US BNPFT-20030311ASC - 139270 0.092 kW 0. m FRED R AND EVELYN K MORTON The last I checked, Oklahoma City was in --- OKLAHOMA! The Google map does bring up the Valley Brook site on the south side of OKC OK, but still labeled as OKC, TX! But they digress. What about 95.5 in Arlington TX? You guessed it: nothing listed there. Closest is back in Dallas, an app for a TCU translator with 90 watts. Also a couple of apps for Cleburne 14 watts, and Venus 92 watts, which are S of Fort Worth, but too far to be of any use in Arlington. What about 99.9 in Fort Worth? Ditto, nothing there either. There are apps for translators in Arlington, and Plano which is back in the Dallas area. There`s a long list of other TX towns on 99.9 with apps, none of which I recognize as being in the FW area. Enough time spent on this wild goose chase. So all three of these frequencies announced for KSKY on FM lead nowhere. What`s going on? The latest fad among AM stations is to get on FM ``where the listeners are``, even if only low-powered translators. Of course KSKY 660 has a good 250+ mile groundwave coverage area in daytime, but that is not good enough! Could any of these FMs be part 15 or even pirates? Finally on KSKY`s About Us page I find a message submit form, so I ask: ``I am trying to figure out where your three FM relays actually are. I don`t find any FCC listings for the cities and frequencies given. Could you give me the callsigns (translators?) for 92.9, 95.5 and 99.9 and the official cities of license? BTW, I get you just fine on 660. Thanks`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No reply as of 1800 UT Dec 14 [or Dec 16] (gh) Ask Scott Fybush (if you haven't already). I have a VAGUE recollection, quite possibly inaccurate, of Scott saying these were authorized under STA due to nighttime interference from a Mexican station presumably operating at night with parameters not allowed for in the treaties. I can't find them in CDBS -- some STAs show up there, others don't (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KSKY has info about this, altho not all frequencies match. Do such STAs have own callsigns, however unemployed? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Found 'em. http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1256296&Service=AM&Form_id=911&Facility_id=6591 http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1256315&Service=AM&Form_id=911&Facility_id=6591 http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1256330&Service=AM&Form_id=911&Facility_id=6591 I never would have suspected the filing of FM translators under an AM license like that, but there you go. (Trip Ericson, http://www.rabbitears.info ibid.) You have to click on the pdf linx at the very bottom of each file in order to get the real info on channels, powers, etc. (gh, DXLD) Because (as Trip noted) these are licensed as STA under the AM station's license, they do not have their own separate facility ID numbers or callsigns. To the extent they have callsigns at all, the callsign is simply "KSKY." As Doug will testify, it's getting more complicated to uniquely match a callsign with a transmission facility these days. The KSKY STA-FM relays aren't the only such example. DTV stations with digital replacement translators don't get separate calls for those, either - so "WTAE-TV" is the call for both the main Pittsburgh ABC transmitter on channel 51 south of town and the low-power fill-in translator (on channel 22) from the WQED tower in the city's Oakland neighborhood. Doug has been using the last few characters of the replacement translator's CP application to identify it, so the WTAE 22 signal is "WTAE-1223AKV" or somesuch in his listings. That probably makes as much sense as anything else. s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) ** U S A. [DX-tip] KAAY-1090 Little Rock AR Engineering STA BSTA - 20101208AEP ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Exhibit 16 -- Description: EXPLANATION OF REQUEST SOMETIME DURING THE EVENING OF DECEMBER 1, 2010, PERSONS ENTERED THE KAAY TRANSMITTER SITE AND STOLE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TRANSMISSION LINE FROM THE STATION'S ANTENNA SYSTEM. A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF COPPER ELECTRICAL WIRING WAS ALSO STOLEN. CITADEL'S ENGINEERS HAVE SINCE BEEN ABLE TO BRING THE STATION BACK ON LINE, BUT AT 20% POWER, AND OPERATING NON-DIRECTIONALLY AT NIGHTTIME. SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY IS REQUESTED TO OPERATE KAAY AT REDUCED POWER, AND WITH NON- DIRECTIONAL FACILITIES IN THE NIGHTTIME HOURS, UNTIL REPAIRS CAN BE COMPLETED (via Bill Frahm, Dec 10, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) Re: KAAY transmitter site vandalized Their website http://www.1090kaay.com/ doesn't have anything about it, and their online streaming seems normal. I haven't been able to find anything out about it Googling the local Little Rock news. Maybe they are back on already, possibly from a backup site or transmitter? (Earl Higgins, St. Louis MO, Dec 3, ABDX via DXLD) I talked to the Program Director. I would guess days depending on what damage was done (Powell E Way III, Dec 4, ibid.) KAAY tonight --- KAAY 1090 apparently forgot to switch its antenna pattern today, a rare occasion. If you haven't got them in your log, give it a shot. If you hear religion, its probably them (Kevin Redding, Crump, TN, Dec 11, ibid.) If you hear Catholic religion around here, it`s probably KEXS near Kansas City. And there are lots of other religious-format stations on 1090, per NRC AM Log. 73, (Glenn Hauser, OK, ibid.) Ok, that explains it. I'll check for them tonight. Has the price of COPPER WIRE gone up so much that it is now worth MORE than a PRETTY PENNY? :) (Steven Wiseblood/AB5GP, Harlingen TEXAS, ibid.) Copper spot is $4.10 1/2 / lb. The prices on electronics will rise (Kevin Redding, TN, ibid.) Yes! It is my understanding that pennies are now made mostly of zinc with a thin copper overlay. Anyone else remember the 1943 "zinc" pennies? Zinc plated steel as I remember (JimTonne, ibid.) 1090, Dec 13 at 2127 UT on caradio with ND antenna, ad for freedom100.com, American Planning Association, labeled as a PSA, planning.org then hymn on keyboard. This signal is atop SAH of about 3 Hz. 2130, illegal ID as ``10-90 KAAY``, more music. Next check at 2139, a preacher denouncing idolatry with an Irish accent, so is he Catholic? In that case would suspect EWTN`s KEXS in Excelsior Springs MO; however this sig is strong and even more dominant than it was a dekaminute earlier, so suspect still KAAY. It`s 50 kW non-direxional daytime, still in effect at this hour, but skywave kicking in already, so this is likely ordinary for a December afternoon. However, KAAY Little Rock AR filed for STA to operate at 20% power and non-direxionally at night, since a theft Dec 1 of ``a significant amount of transmission line from the antenna system, and a significant amount of copper electrical wiring``, per FCC Engineering STA BSTA - 20101208AEP via Bill Frahm, Dec 10, amfmtvdx at qth.net. Night pattern was a tight figure 8, NNW-SSE so rarely audible here, and full night power is 50 kW, so tfn it`s 10 kW ND at night. Several DXers have been reporting it recently in areas normally nulled. This led me to recheck at night, 0333 UT Dec 14. 1090 is normally not dominated by anything here at night, but yes, now from the east comes: Brother Scare! Whoopeee! This conveniently fits into the null of IBOC from KRLD-1080 Dallas. However at 1449 UT when KAAY might still be propagating, 1090 is instead dominated by preacher from the NNE, i.e. KEXS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1290, just as I tune in Dec 14 at 1459 UT, nice ID, ``Your source for news-talk, KOWB, Laramie`` Wyoming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1630, KRND, Fox Farm WY new slogan is "La Jota." "Jota" is the Spanish word for the letter 'J.' Not sure what this slogan refers to since there is no J in the call sign, but call letters are still KRND, per ToH legal ID (John Wilkins, CO, NRC via Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) 1630 KRND WY LA GRANDE BECOMES LA JOTA MEXICANA Fox Farm Wyoming on 1630, I heard them last night just past their sunset IDing as "La Jota Mexicana" a little web searching led me to this page http://lajotamexica na.com/ (Earl Higgins, St. Louis Missouri, 2 Dec, ABDX via DXLD) KRND was heard here with this ID on 12th September (See MWN September issue) (Andrew Brade, UK, MWC yg via DXLD) ** U S A. 1640, WTNI Biloxi, MS Applies to reduce the height of its tower by approximately one-half. WTNI uses one of the towers formerly used by its predecessor, WVMI on 570, and is 206.5 electrical degrees in height at 1640 kHz. Due to the degradation to the tower caused by conditions near the Gulf Coast, WTNI is operating on an STA with U1 2500/1000 (Grant), And is planning to replace the tower in the near future. They have filed for an STA to operate at reduced power while the tower is being dismantled and a replacement structure is being constructed. (Application) (Dec Mediumwave News via DXLD) Source? That should reduce the QRM to our KFXY 1640 in Enid; but it seems WTNI remains the dominant NAm 1640 signal overseas (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Classical Music Starts on 101.1 Next Wednesday (Columbus OH) Dispatch reports via the web the start date along with some additional transition info. Appears classical music will start Weds 12/15. http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/12/10/wosu-classical-music-move-expected-wednesday.html?sid=101 (Del Griffith, Dec 10, radio-info.com via Artie Bigley, DXLD) This was also announced on the Classical 101 Facebook page. "Classical 101 --- We're thrilled to announce that Classical 101 will launch with all classical programming, all day, every day next Wednesday morning at 6 am. (pending the final sale of 101.1 fm)" (xmusicmatt, ibid. via Artie Bigley, Columbus, DXLD) Re: CD101 to go exclusive on 102.5 FM on Monday Dec. 13 101.1 will become WOSA to be paired with WOSB in Marion 102.5 will become WWCD CD1025 (allfirdup, ibid. via Bigley, ibid.) http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/view/full_story/10647016/article-WOSP-to-continue-playing-classical--WOSU-switching-to-all-NPR-station?instance=home_news_lead (via Artie Bigley, Columbus, Dec 13, DXLD) ** U S A. WCPO's (OH) Switch Is Coming Dec. 8 & Today's FCC Meeting WCPO-DT, Cincinnati, OH is switching from ch. 10 to ch. 22. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101128/ENT11/11280311/1175/ENT/Ch-9-touts-big-switch http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/about_us/wcpo-announces-move-to-high-power-uhf-signal But will the FCC's push to free up TV spectrum, including today's big FCC meeting to begin the process, have WCPO moving back to channel 10, or channel 4, or channel 2, etc. at some point in the not too distant future?? Stay tuned, get the popcorn ready and we'll see what the FCC has up its sleeves. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/460430-FCC_Votes_to_Launch_Broadcast_Spectrum_Reclamation_Initiative.php (Steve Rich, Indianapolis, IN, 30 Nov, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC LAUNCHES REMAKE OF RADIO SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGY Summary: The FCC has begun the biggest radio technology change in a century. The end result will be an utterly different radio spectrum - as different from today's as today's is from the spark-gap era. View the full post by clicking this link: http://www.commlawblog.com/2010/12/articles/broadcast/fcc-launches-remake-of-radio-spectrum-technology/ (via Benn Kobb, DXLD) FCC TV SPECTRUM REFARMING: A FEW THOUGHTS OK, I've had some time to read the FCC proposals on further refarming of TV spectrum. The way I read it (don't guarantee I've got it right) the highlights: - No specific channels are targeted for refarming. They propose to make all UHF channels co-primary between TV and new land mobile services. Any channel surrendered by a TV station would be available for land mobile. Land mobile would protect existing TV facilities, but new TV stations would protect land mobile. - Stations would be encouraged to voluntarily share their channel with another station(s). Nobody would be required to channel-share. Stations that volunteer would receive a cut of the revenue when surrendered channels are auctioned. - FCC envisions two HD streams could be broadcast over a single channel. More than two SD streams could be transmitted. They mention some stations fear sharing would result in poor HD picture quality; an inability to add subchannels; and/or the inability to implement mobile DTV. 1. Channel splits would not necessarily be 50/50. Stations might agree to some other split. 2. Stations would be individually responsible for things such as EAS, indecency, children's educational programming, etc.. 3. The FCC does NOT propose to allow the addition of new stations, not currently authorized, to a shared channel. 4. They ask about sharing between commercial and non-commercial stations. Should a non-commercial station, on a channel reserved for non-commercial operation, be allowed to offer half of its channel to a commercial station? 5. They also ask whether LPTVs should be allowed to share channels, either with each other (IMHO they already are!) or with full power stations. The idea of sharing a channel between a LPTV and a full- power station brings up some interesting issues. To the best of my knowledge it is not possible to split an ATSC channel among more than one transmitter --- if two or more stations share a channel, they must share the same transmitter. It is not possible to split the power levels either. You can't operate WIIW-LP's half of channel 14 at 15kw while operating WHTN-TV's half at 500 kW. So if a LPTV shares with a full-power (FP) station, either the LPTV becomes a FP station or the FP station limits its power to LP levels. Not sure what the FCC is thinking here. At one point they write ``...we do not envision that channel sharing, from a technological perspective would entail a fixed split of the six-megahertz channel into two three-megahertz blocks.`` It is simply not possible to split a six-megahertz channel into two three-megahertz blocks if you expect an ATSC receiver to decode either block! Then again, at another point in the document, they do suggest they understand how the channel could be split...) 6. The Commission is insistent that no station volunteering to share a channel would lose any must-carry rights on cable/satellite. They're also insistent that no new must-carry rights be created. - The FCC understands there are serious problems with VHF. They wish to discourage stations from moving from VHF to UHF. - To that end, they have determined that VHF reception on indoor antennas is a problem. - Both an outside engineering firm and the FCC's own staff measured a variety of available indoor antennas. They found the gain on UHF channels ranged from -6dBd to +21dBd. On VHF-high, only 30% of antennas tested had more than 0dBd of gain; some were as low as - 25dBd. They didn't even bother to test these antennas on VHF-low! (many of them were marked on the package as not working on VHF-low.) - The FCC considered VHF power increases of up to ten times. (which could allow as much as 1600 kW ERP on VHF-high. I believe there may be an existing analog station in Kuwait operating at this kind of power level, but with a VERY directional antenna.) - Engineers felt a power increase won't make much difference. They suggest a reduction of spurious emissions from consumer devices is necessary. - The FCC said, quote: ``While it would be desirable to reduce that noise, the rules limiting spurious emissions from unintentional radiators have been crafted to provide protection of licensed services while allowing production of economically viable devices.`` - In other words, ***they're willing to allow consumer electronic devices to interfere with OTA TV reception in order to keep device prices low*** (though realistically, imposing new limits on spurious radiation would do nothing about devices already in the field). - FCC proposes to increase power anyway. In Zone I, a four-fold power increase would be permitted for VHF stations (from 10 kW maximum to 40 kW on VHF-low, from 30 to 120 kW on VHF-high.) No change is proposed from the 45/160 kW figures in Zones II and III. - There will be no change in interference protection requirements. Which in practice probably means few if any power increases will be possible... - They also propose to impose mandatory antenna performance requirements. The All Channel Receiver Act (which required TVs to receive UHF from 1964 on) gives them the authority. - Compliance would be required with ANSI/CEA standard 2032-A, ?Indoor TV Receiving Antenna Performance Standard?. This establishes a minimum gain of -12dBd for VHF low, -8dBd for all higher channels. Among other things, it also establishes overload susceptibility standards for amplified antennas. IMHO... - Many stations will not be interested in spectrum sharing. - Some smaller stations will be interested. For example, I can see Sinclair merging their Milwaukee stations WVTV and WCGV into a single station, comprising two program streams on the RF channel 18 transmitter. Or, Nashville-area stations WJFB (two SD home-shopping streams) and WHTN (two SD religious streams) merging into a single transmitter, transmitting four SD streams on RF channel 44. - I can also see this happening in smaller markets. Maybe in Fort Wayne, WISE-TV (RF-18, NBC) merging with WPTA-TV (RF-24, ABC) into a single transmitter, transmitting two HD streams on RF channel 18. - The technological attempts to encourage stations to stay on VHF are pointless. Engineers have already indicated power increases won't help (and those increases are limited to a fraction of the country, and will probably be nearly impossible to implement due to interference concerns). - The antenna performance requirements are a very good idea. Unfortunately, they're too late. Millions of viewers have already purchased antennas that simply do not work on VHF. - PSIP remapping will ensure any spectrum sharing will be invisible to viewers (beyond the need to rescan). WHTN and WJFB may both be transmitting on RF channel 44, but they'll continue to be channels 39- 1 and 66-1 respectively as far as viewers are concerned. - I think we'll hear more about LPTV before this proceeding is complete. I don't think they thought out that paragraph very well. -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, dec 3, ibid.) Just a quick comment or two. Sinclair will not want to merge their stations together. They're starting to get aggressive with adding subchannels and are VERY interested in Mobile DTV. Sinclair will hold onto all of the spectrum they have licenses for as long as possible. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your comments, but the FCC specifically states that they do NOT envision trying to split spectrum in half. I initially misread it as saying they would, but upon rereading saw the word "not." (Trip Ericson, http://www.rabbitears.info ibid.) I'm not entirely convinced any of the recent crop of new subchannels are permanent. I almost sense broadcasters are "throwing things at the wall & seeing what sticks", with regard to ancillary use of their DTV spectrum. If the auction revenues turn out to be substantial, I can see stations throwing away their subchannels. I'm having trouble keeping track of who (besides us...) is interested in Mobile DTV... ``Maybe I'm misinterpreting your comments, but the FCC specifically states that they do NOT envision trying to split spectrum in half. I initially misread it as saying they would, but upon rereading saw the word "not."`` I didn't read that paragraph as acknowledging that channel splitting is impossible from a technical standpoint. I read it as indicating they considered it but decided it wasn't a good idea for some other reason. The suggestion that LPTVs might share channels with full-power stations -- without any mention of the rather significant fact that such an arrangement would either require the LPTV to operate at powers MUCH greater than currently authorized, or limit the full-power station to a tiny fraction of the power ordinarily allowed -- suggests that at least someone at the Commission doesn't understand that channel splitting is not possible. TERMINOLOGY NOTE My definitions: "channel sharing" - a single transmitter operating on a single 6MHz channel broadcasting a single datastream containing two or more program streams provided by different licensees. "channel splitting" - two or more transmitters, each operating in a different fraction of a 6 MHz channel, each transmitter broadcasting a separate datastream, each datastream containing one or more program streams. Channel sharing is technically consistent with ATSC. Channel splitting isn't (though it is consistent with some other transmission standards). (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) Even if they're not permanent, the fact is they're doing everything in their power to demonstrate use of bandwidth. They want every piece of it. If you're looking for lists of who is interested in Mobile DTV, here are two lists of companies: http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=mcv http://www.mobile500alliance.com/ You're right that it is possible, given how much else they clearly don't understand, but I imagine they're hoping "technology will fix it!" and thus don't want to shut out the idea completely. Even if technology will never fix it. I'm probably giving them too much credit on that one (- Trip, http://www.rabbitears.info ibid.) I agree with you Doug, I wouldn't be surprised that Sinclair will have WVTV and WCGV use the same transmitter. Since WCGV-24 is on ch 25 they wanted to have WVTV-18 on ch. 24 so that they could use the same antenna since ch 24 & ch 25 can use the same lenght and size antenna. The FCC did not want WVTV on ch 24 for some odd reason. Wasn't there plans to have WMLW-LD on ch 41 move to ch. 24? (John L., Muskego, WI, ibid.) Trip Ericson wrote: > Even if they're not permanent, the fact is they're doing everything in their power to demonstrate use of bandwidth. They want every piece of it. My point is, there *is* some amount of $$$ that will cause Sinclair to rethink that decision. They're not making any money from the subchannels right now, and there isn't much prospect for it in the future. They're hoping there will be some future development, either technical, legal, or in programming, that allows them to make some revenue by either leasing (to advertisers, in the very least) or selling some of this spectrum. I don't think they have a specific means in mind for how they're going to monetize it. Channel sharing is a potential way for them to cash in, to convert their bandwidth to revenue. Whether it will be enough revenue to spur them to act, I don't know. Right now, Sinclair doesn't know either. > You're right that it is possible, given how much else they clearly don't understand, but I imagine they're hoping "technology will fix it!" and thus don't want to shut out the idea completely. Even if technology will never fix it. I'm probably giving them too much credit on that one. The biggest problem with "technology will fix it" is that eventually, you have to set a standard -- and if you change it, you obsolete a lot of gear. Heck, ATSC [sic] was set 70 years ago & it was still hell getting transitioned into something else. I don't see a way for technology to make channel splitting possible, unless we drop the 8VSB element of the ATSC standard and obsolete the existing equipment. Which wouldn't be a bad idea, if new receivers and transmitters were free(grin). – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) WTLJ Muskegon, most likely. Since WTLJ's analog channel (54) was outside core, they had to stay on DTV 24 post-transition. I'm a bit surprised the FCC put WTLJ on RF 24 in the first place -- though I suppose they figured most of the interference area would be over the lake. (I'll bet the Lake Michigan carferries are a REALLY BAD place for DTV reception(grin)!) Trip brings up some good points about Sinclair and channel sharing in the short run. I'm not so sure they'll remain valid in the long term, depending on how much revenue these spectrum auctions bring in. > Wasn't there plans to have WMLW-LD on ch 41 move to ch. 24? They have a permit to move their *analog* signal to channel 24. Same power & site as existing channel 41. I strongly suspect it will never be built, as the FCC has already indicated analog LPTVs go away in 2012. 41 works pretty well for them. Their digital signal is on RF 13. There is no activity regarding moving it to any other channel (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) ** U S A. PRE-SUNRISE AND POST-SUNSET AUTHORITY INFO FROM F C C To find all the parameters that affect a PSSA and or PSRA go to http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_sear.htm enter the call sign and you get a one line listing... Click on the "Click for details" link Once you get there look near the bottom for the Correspondence Folder and click the View Correspondence Folder link. If the station has a PSRA and/or PSSA they're usually shown under the title "Inmported Letters" with a date - description and a Click to View PSRA and/or Click to View PSSA. Hope this is of help to all. 73 (Wayne Heinen, CO, NRC-AM via DXLD) ``REVISED PARAMETERS FOR OPERATION UNDER POST-SUNSET AUTHORITY (PSSA) FEBRUARY 28, 2007 (Post this letter with your current authorization ) THIS AUTHORIZATION SUPERSEDES ANY PREVIOUS POST-SUNSET AUTHORITY ********************************************************************** Post-Sunset operation as set forth below is authorized. These values may not be exceeded, but operation at lower power is permitted.`` But with PSRA and PSSA, if older data exists and you have it on paper at the station, you can use that, even if it's more then this latest information. The FCC themselves advised me of that (Paul B. Walker, Jr., ibid.) ** U S A. West Michigan swaps - WOOD drops calls It's a shame though. Seems this change was two weeks ago - way to pay attention to my own market!! Word has it that WOOD-AM will move to the FM dial, introducing conservative talk (as if we don't have enough blabber with three FM sports stations in this market) to a Muskegon station, then moving that - or those - stations around the dial, possibly with another one or two format changes. Clear Channel owns 11 stations here (although interestingly, they don't own WOOD-TV). They pretty much can change the whole FM dial overnight. I have a fear of a Clear Channel planet ... God save us all (Chris Kadlec, Dec 2, WTFDA via DXLD) The call change from WOOD-FM to WSRW-FM on 105.7 took place 11/15/2010 Assuming the rumor is correct - that it's meant to pave the way for a new FM simulcast of the news and talk on WOOD 1300 - then this is hardly a "Clear Channel thing." It's an industry-wide trend that reflects the growing perception that even the most successful news- talk station can't grow a younger audience if it remains on the AM dial. In fairness, Clear Channel actually fought this trend for quite a while. It was other companies - most notably Bonneville (KIRO, KTAR, WTOP) and Cox (WOKV, WSB) - that led the trend of migrating their heritage AM stations to FM. The thought within Clear Channel, as related to me by people close to the decision-making process, was that moving its own big AM programming to FM would actually be a negative, at least in the short term, because it would replace one existing revenue stream (the FM programming being displaced for the AM simulcast) with another (the existing AM revenue stream) but wouldn't grow overall market revenue, because then what do you do with the AM signal once you've moved its programming to FM? And in a market where they own multiple AMs, there's concern about the effect on the remaining AMs if the local "big gun" AM gets moved to FM. So while Clear Channel *could* change much of your FM dial overnight, they've actually been pretty darned conservative (in the traditional sense of the word) about doing so. While they've launched some brand- new FM news-talk outlets in the last few years (KTLK-FM Minneapolis, WPGB Pittsburgh, WRDU Raleigh), and even one prominent new AM news- talker (WXKS 1200 Boston), it's only in the last few months that they've finally joined the Bonnevilles and Coxes and Citadels and begun migrating heritage AMs to FM. (WGY-FM 103.1 Albany is the first such example, and evidently WOOD may be the next.) These are challenging times in the radio business. Just about everything that all of us took for granted for decades has changed. It turns out it's not so much a "Clear Channel world" as it is a "Pandora/iPod/whatever's next world," and even the biggest players in the business are sometimes at as much of a loss as anyone else to figure out what's really coming around the bend next. s (Scott Fybush, Dec 2, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. A NEW TEST IS PROPOSED IN LICENSING RADIO AND TV http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/business/media/03fcc.html?_r=1 Michael J. Copps, one of the five commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission, said Thursday that a “public value test” should replace the current licensing system for television and radio stations. The test, he said, “would get us back to the original licensing bargain between broadcasters and the people: in return for free use of airwaves that belong exclusively to the people, licensees agree to serve the public interest as good stewards of a precious national resource.” Mr. Copps, a Democratic commissioner who has long wanted to reform the license system, made the proposal in an address at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism on Thursday. It is his latest effort to draw attention to the public interest requirements of local stations at a time when he believes American journalism is in “grave peril.” In his prepared remarks, he criticized the casual nature of the current license renewals for stations and said his intent with the public value test was to foster “a renewed commitment to serious news and journalism.” There was no indication Thursday whether the other four F.C.C. commissioners would consider his proposal. The first tenet of the proposed test would be “meaningful commitments” to news and public affairs programming. “These would be quantifiable and not involve issues of content interference,” Mr. Copps said. Other tenets include meaningful increases in the amount of locally produced programming and evidence of a detailed plan for news coverage in the event of an emergency or disaster. Regarding local programming, Mr. Copps said, “The goal here is a more localism in our program diet, more local news and information, and a lot less streamed-in homogenization and monotonous nationalized music at the expense of local and regional talent.” He suggested that 25 percent of prime-time programming should be locally or independently produced. Mr. Copps also said the F.C.C. should “determine the extent of its current authority” to compel stations to disclose the interest groups behind political ads. Mr. Copps said the public value test should occur every four years. Currently, stations have to renew their licenses every eight years. If a station were to fail the public value test and did not improve a year later, he added, the agency should “give the license to someone who will use it to serve the public interest.” (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. BID TO REVIVE COMMUNITY RADIO STALLS IN SENATE by Rick Karr December 13, 2010 For the past decade, a coalition of advocacy groups has been asking Congress to let hundreds of new community radio stations go on the air. Supporters of the idea — from the Christian Coalition and Sen. John McCain, to Move On and Sen. Maria Cantwell — say the new stations would do wonders for communities from coast to coast. But the bill to expand community radio is currently stalled in the Senate, the victim of anonymous holds by two or more senators, and supporters worry that even with bipartisan support, the bill may once again die without an up-or-down vote. . . [5:16 audio] http://www.npr.org/2010/12/13/132032417/Bid-To-Revive-Community-Radio-Stalls-In-Senate From All Things Considered, example being WGXC in Hudson NY; secret holds in Senate blamed on NAB (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. HUMAN VOICE SILENCED (AND MAYBE STIFFED) --- By John Kelly, Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, December 15, 2010; B02 One of my favorite books growing up was "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel." It's the story of an anthropomorphic steam shovel named Mary Anne, but really the book is about obsolescence and how things that can seem like progress - a diesel-powered shovel, for instance - aren't necessarily an improvement. I thought of that steam shovel when I heard that the District government was no longer going to pay for a nonprofit service that reads newspapers and magazines to visually-impaired citizens. The service is called the Metropolitan Washington Ear, and it's been around for 36 years. More than 300 volunteers read everything from The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal to Ebony and the AARP magazine, some 23 publications in all. The volunteers work in shifts, recording the stories at the nonprofit's Silver Spring office. The results are made available free to the blind via telephone, the Web and on special radios. The Ear also has local movie listings and grocery store ads. Volunteers audio-describe the plays at several area theaters. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121406462_pf.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** VANUATU. 7260, 2143, Radio Vanuatu reactivated here 10/11 replacing 5055, audible all day on measured frequency 7259.97. Ident in Pidgin 2159 then time check for 9 o’clock. Carries Radio Australia’s “Pacific Beat” news at 0500, excellent 15/11 (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 6297, RASD, 1907 Dec 12, with one man talking and sitar like instrument as background music. Some little QRM from 6295 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) OTHER STRING INSTRUMENTS IN SUB-SAHARA AFRICA Mouth bows and other musical bows, the earliest forms of string instruments, may well have originated in Sub-Sahara Africa, the birthplace of modern humanity, evolving from the first hunting bows. Evidence suggests that the San (Bushmen) of southern Africa probably played tunes on their hunting bows in pre-historic times, much like they do today. In addition to the amazing variety of different kinds of musical bows found throughout Sub-Sahara Africa, there's also an incredible variety of harps, lyres and zither-type string instruments. However, lute family instruments are, for the most part, to be found only in West Africa. The notable exceptions to this rule are the various different kinds of spike fiddles (bowed lutes) found in East and South West Africa as well as the guitar-like ramkie of southern Africa, first documented in the 18th century, and the gabbus of Zanzibar (the East African island nation of the coast of Tanzania), which is the local version of an Arab short-neck lute known by several names: gabbus (Oman), qabus (Saudi Arabia), qanbus (Yemen) and so on. The Arab oud, the forbearer of the Western European classic lute, was introduced into Zanzibar around 1870 with the arrival of takht (traditional Arab music) ensembles from Egypt. Takht subsequently inspired the creation of taarab, the Zanzibari/ East African "pop" music form, often referred to as "Swahili wedding music." The oud, the lead instrument of both takht and taarab music, is pretty much used in East Africa only in the context of that taarab orchestras and "musical clubs" that are found up and down the Swahili coast. There are two branches of the lute family which are unique and indigenous to West Africa, namely harp-lutes (now generally referred to as bridge-harps) , the best known example being the kora of the Mande griots, and bow lutes (also, pluriarcs), which are basically instruments comprised of several musical bows (up to eight) emanating from a single body. Generally speaking, both harp-lutes and bow lutes are folk instruments associated primarily with hunters' societies in rural villages. Two notable exceptions are the griot kora, a large 21-string bridge- harp (also classed as a spike harp, because the big stick that serves as the instrument's neck runs through the body and out the tail end) with a huge gourd body topped with a cowhide head, and the bolon, another type of Mande griot harp-lute with a large skin-headed gourd body, distinguished by an arched neck bearing three to four strings. - - Shlomo Pestcoe (source? via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 6297.1, open carrier already on at 0653 Dec 14, 0701 anthem by military band starts late, and the ute beeps on the side are keeping time with it, almost. Into chanting; later in semi-hour two voices involved, making it a bit more interesting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 13590, CVC Lusaka, 1609-1623, Dec 7, English. Religious pop/rap music; W announcer with contest info & phone number; various CVC zingers & promos between music; fair (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale NH, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) B-10 of CVC International via LUS=Lusaka: English to West Africa and Nigeria 0400-0600 on 9430 LUS 100 kW / 315 deg 0600-2000 on 13590 LUS 100 kW / 315 deg 2000-2200 on 9505 LUS 100 kW / 315 deg B-10 for Christian Voice via LUS=Lusaka: English to South and Central Africa 0500-1700 on 6065 LUS 100 kW / 000 deg 1700-0500 on 4965 LUS 100 kW / 000 deg, ex 1700-2200 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 13 Dec via DXLD) Running all-night on 4965 is nothing new (gh, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. Don`t You Believe department, reaches new low: The government of Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe signs off on weather reports before they are broadcast. In the wake of Mugabe`s disastrous agriculture policies, the government considers weather --- especially news of continued drought --- a sensitive topic. ``The public are not thought to be ready for bad weather,`` the Zimbabwe Independent reported (The Scotsman, via The Week, Dec 10, via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. New schedule for V of People in English/Shona/Ndebele from Dec. 10: 0400-0500 on 11610 MDC 050 kW / 265 deg to ZWE 1530-1630 on 11695 MDC 050 kW / 265 deg to ZWE, new 1800-1900 on 9345 MDC 050 kW / 265 deg to ZWE, new, co-channel R. Bilal till 1830 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 13 Dec via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Pacific MW carrier search not undertaken for a few mornings until Dec 10, 1313-1320 UT with internal antenna, DX-398 on 9-kHz steps, BFO slightly offtuned for easy spotting of carriers: 594, 693, 747 (best), 774, 828, 882, 972, 1044, 1242, 1422, 1566 kHz. I was also getting unstable signals on 873, 1053 which may have been of local origin; and curiously on 1134 a slightly varying carrier, perhaps two of them making a subaudible het (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 3322 approx., Dec 9 at 0626, I am hearing steady beeps at the rate of 108 per minute. BFO needed but they are not pure CW. Could be a HIFER beacon? Not noted previously, just far enough away from CHU 3330. No frequency around here on the list: http://www.highfrequencybeaconsociety.com/The_Societies_Beacons.html tho the format is similar for some, e.g. 100 dits per minute. Meanwhile, the continuous ``OK`` CW beacon allegedly not far from here in northern OK was coming in well on 3450. I should go out and try to locate it sometime (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 3395 approx., beacon? Maybe negative keying as I can`t make any sense of it no matter how I adjust the BFO, Dec 12 at 1323. Could be an harmonic from longwave (like LSA 2366 = 7 x 338 we haven`t yet heard this winter), or a hifer? At this time, not hearing OK on 3450 or the ditter on 3322 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4760, with tentative HOA vocals between 1752 tune-in and closure at 1801 UT 12 December. Brief announcement by woman at 1756:30. Carrier was good strength but audio subdued; transmitter left the air at 1803:30. Frequency measured as 4760.02. Haven't heard something here previously - having monitored Port Blair closing at 1730 several times in recent weeks (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ, Dec 14, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4760u, Spanish two men with continual mentions of locations in Colombia, 0013 on 1 December, 0420 still in on 2 December (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, R8 - NRD535D - 746Pro, 2354 UT Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) does 4760u mean USB, or uniD? Was this two-way, or broadcast? (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Hi Glenn ! Re 10-49: ``UNIDENTIFIED. 5001, 2152 Nov. 30, Russian presumed, in AM, talks in Russian, music, could be religious. End of the program at 2200, fair (Giampiero Bernardini in Pescia, Tuscany, with Perseus and 30 meters wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) SW - MW mixing product?`` Yes. This is the well known mixing product from Krasnodar/Armavir/Tbiliskaya with programme of Yevangeslkie Chteniya (// 1089 kHz) heard during A10 schedule on 4831 kHz. Now 6090- 1089=5001 kHz. 73, (Patrick Robic, Austria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 5954.9 [sic], Dec 10 at 0635, het with something weaker on 5955.0 (listed RNW via Portugal), with 5954.9 tentatively in Spanish, but too much splash from WYFR 5950. Could it be R. República via ELCOR, Costa Rica, varied upward from usual 5954.1-5954.2 area, and on extended schedule since they have suspended hi-power relays via WRMI and RCI? Anyhow there was no jamming around 5955, as there always is earlier in evening. Or 5954.9 could be a spur from elsewhere (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 5954.24, 0907-0944, Dec 11, Spanish on-the-spot reports, only very little music interspersed. Freq was clear after R Netherlands had left 0900 (Sat only), WYFR on 5950 kept fairly quiet, no drift at all. This wouldn't be R Republica on extended schedule via ELCOR transmitter? 73, (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, R. República; see COSTA RICA (gh) UNIDENTIFIED [and non]. 6185, again something under XEPPM [see MEXICO], Dec 14 at 0653 making SAH of 7 to 8 Hz, evident only when XE fades a bit. Also bits of audio occasionally from the understation. XE was playing soft classical music, making this more obvious until better modulated announcement at 0658. After 0700 the SAH seemed to have disappeared. See previous report showing China Huayi about the only possibility scheduled, but it`s well before sunset there, and they should not be going off at 0700 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6210 Kahuzi [CONGO DR] or pirate radio? At 1934 heard a station of S2 max with talk between OM and YL in seemed English. At 1935 with drums. OM talking 'classic mems' http://images.zlgr.multiply.multiplycontent.com/attachment/0/TQaEcgooCIoAADEMrZc1/6210%20193x%20121210.mp3?key=zlgr:journal:317&nmid=395798948 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6210 is of course the home of the difference mixing product from Avlis of Voice of Greece, 15630 minus 9420, both of which are currently scheduled 07-10 and 16-1950, but Zach of all people would surely recognize if that was what he was hearing on 6210. The 6210 clip: starting about 3/8 into it, after electronic sounds, it certainly is in English, mentions 4-0-2-6 kHz, later mentions will be reading reception reports. 4026 is of course Laser Hot Hits, Europirate. And there are several recent reports of it on 6210 here: http://irishpaulsradioblog.blogspot.com/search?q=6210 Maybe the constant het is from Avlis, or Kahuzi (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED (US Pirate?). 6924.3, with rock music 0515 on 12 December. Poor but improving. Gone at 0533 recheck (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, NZ, Dec 14, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6950.6 AM, Sat Dec 11 at 1342, fair signal from pirate playing ``Dust in the Wind`` by Kansas. Segué to another song and fading out. Latest FRW does not have any logs around this frequency. Please QSL, whoever this was, tnx (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 12255.01, 1725, (IRELAND?) very weak signal with hymns – likely Reflections Europe scheduled here Sundays only. 14/11 (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand, AOR7030+ with EWE antennas targeting North, Central and South America, Alpha Delta Sloper to E and 100m BOG to NE, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Other logs for 12-12-10 http://zlgr.multiply.com/journal/item/318 15070 ??? 1046 with talks in CC AM-U S0 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I guess you mean it was in Chinese, carrier plus upper sideband and was very weak? See EUROPE for a pirate active here (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 15434, weak carrier causing het to Vatican [sic; RVA] Urdu service 15435, around 1440, 1455 Dec 12. I wonder if this means V. of Tibet is back on the 15 MHz band? Scheduling via latest Aoki shows them using split-frequencies on 7, 11 and 13 MHz, plus Madagascar 17560 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Even the higher frequencies are improving - a Chinese transmission has been heard at 0940 UT on 25580 - not sure whether this is a harmonic or a spurious transmission - anyone else hearing this? (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai (Northland), New Zealand, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) Harmonic unseems likely, with possible fundamentals: 12790, 8527-, 6395, 5116, 4263+, 3654+, 3197.5, 2842+, 2558, 2325+. If fundamental, it`s outside the official 11 m SWBC band. Perhaps someone can come up with a sum of two known fundamentals (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ TNX for your time, your diligence, and your dedication to monitoring the goings-on worldwide in the aether. Best wishes for all good things in the New Year to you and to all who would have peace, justice, and freedom from hunger around the globe. Namaste! Salaam Aleikum! Shalom! 73 de Jim, K1JJJ (James Gershman, with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com, acknowledged on WORLD OF RADIO 1543) Re: MW DX from Enid OK, November 29-December 10, 2010 Great report! Excellent detail, made for great reading. (Jerry Kiefer, NM, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: Mauritania on 7245, not 4845 for // to 783 MW: Thanks, Glenn. You the man on SW! (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, NRC-AM via DXLD) Glenn Hauser stated: ``My previous comments were not so much against station-counting and the rules for doing so, but in favor of DX- reporting *quality* instead of quantity. To me, every log is a potential learning experience about some or all of: culture, geography, propagation, station quirks in operations, language, and whatever the subject of the programming is, without which there would be no broadcasting in the first place. I am lamenting that there seems to be no place for such reporting in the major MW DX publications. They are all about minimum details, maximum lists of stations identified.`` Strawman, Glenn. In the NRC's "DX News", such a venue has existed since the early days of Ernest Cooper: "Musings of the Members". Editor Dave Schmidt would welcome your detailed reports and those from others, I'm sure. He does not subscribe to this listserv, so you'll need to send them directly to him @ NRCMusings @ aol.com (Paul Swearingen, Topeka, NRC-AM via DXLD) I think Bruce Conti's International DX Digest column has, in most cases, published pretty much any detail about a logging that a reporter has submitted. Good instructive comments about cultural content of programming - how one language relates to another, characteristics of various types of indigenous music, etc. - that add depth to reporting are usually retained even when the report becomes quite verbose, as in the case of one of his reporters from the Montreal area. It might be true that he'll fix up nonstandard spellings/grammar or occasionally trim out gratuitous or inflammatory political or religious jabs that have little to do with improving someone else's ability to log/ID the station, Most editors could be expected to do that (Mark Connelly, WA1ION, Dec 11, NRC-AM via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ EMPIRE OF THE AIR "Someone has posted this superb documentary film about radio on one of the torrent sites. This film covers in great detail the beginning of radio broadcasting in the United States, as well as the birth of FM radio. As far as I know, PBS has never made the DVD available outside of the United States, so I decided it wasn't likely to cause too much trouble posting the link to this here." http://www.kickasstorrents.com/empire-of-the-air-the-men-who-made-radio-avi-t4799278.html (Curtis Sadowski, SkywavesDX @ yahoogroups.co.uk via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Googling reveals that this can been seen at various websites (Mike Terry, ibid.) NEW IRCA MEXICAN LOG ********* IRCA Mexican Log, 15th Edition (Winter 2010) ********* The IRCA MEXICAN LOG lists all AM stations in Mexico by frequency, including call letters, state, city, day/night power, slogans, schedule in UTC/GMT, formats, networks and notes. The call letter index gives call, frequency, city and state. The city index (listed by state, then city) includes frequency, call and day/night power. The transmitter site index (listed by state, then city) tabulates the latitude and longitude of transmitter sites. This is an indispensable reference for anyone who hears Mexican radio stations. Size is 8 1/2" x 11". Prices: IRCA/NRC members - $9.50 (US/Canada/sea mail), $11.50 (México), $12.50 (rest of the world). Non-IRCA/NRC members - add $2.00. To order from the IRCA Bookstore, send the correct amount to: IRCA BOOKSTORE, 9705 MARY NW, SEATTLE WA 98117-2334 (PayPal [add $1.00] email: phil_tekno @ yahoo.com Please state club affiliation when ordering (Phil Bytheway, IRCA Bookstore, Seattle WA, Drake R-7 / KIWA Loop, Dec 14, ABDX via DXLD) RADIO HISTORY RESEARCH LIBRARY Pardon the mass mailing, but it's a convenient way to get word out about something I just discovered a couple of days ago that might be of interest to you (if you haven't already heard about it). David Gleason, a familiar name in broadcast and DXer circles, has just about completed the monumental task of scanning hundreds of thousands of pages of historic radio publications (quite a bit of TV information is also included) and transferring all of the .pdf files to a well organized web site. http://www.davidgleason.com/Radio_Archives.htm In some sections there is a .pdf search engine that works remarkably well. For example, I was trying to find an obscure FCC notice involving a North Dakota TV station license sometime in the 1950s. The initial search narrowed the list of choices from thousands to about 40 almost instantly...and within a few minutes I had the answer I was looking for. The content includes Broadcasting (and Broadcasting/Telecasting) yearbooks and that company's weekly magazines, old radio publications like White's and Jones guides, and other similar matter. Not only does the information encompass US data, but there's a substantial amount of Canadian information along with a few listings from Mexico, Cuba, Central America, and the Caribbean. If you like to dig in historic treasure chests, you'll love this site. I am elated to have this wealth of information at my disposal; and have already solved a couple of mysteries that have been rattling around in my mind for years. Give it a try, and pass the word along to others who might also appreciate this new tool. Tom I've changed some pictures and added new links and information about my work with CJNU-FM in Winnipeg. You can access all that, along with other photos and memorabilia associated with my BROADCAST CAREER at http://home.comcast.net/~tjbdx/index.htm. You're also invited to view photo-narrative web sites for many of my TRAVELS. For an index of links go to http://home.comcast.net/~jrread/travelpics.htm (Tom Bryant, Dec 13, via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ WINTER SWL FEST 2011, MARCH Online Fest registration form AND online hotel reservations now available! We have the updates complete and the URLs in place. You can now register for the 2011 Fest via PayPal and also reserve your hotel room at the special Winter SWL Fest rate online as well. For details, check out the Winter SWL Fest 2011 update page at http://www.swlfest.com/2011-fest-news/ See you in 85 days (give or take...) (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Dec 8, swprograms via DXLD) If you are contacting the Doubletree Guest Suites by phone to reserve your hotel rooms, it will be really helpful to the hotel staff if you use the proper group name to get the special $89 rate: Winter SWL Fest Please don't use a name like "shortwave group" or "radio group", as we are not indexed that way in their lookup system. Repeating: please use the group name "Winter SWL Fest" . As a reminder, you can also make hotel reservations online at the following special URL: http://doubletree.hilton.com/en/dt/groups/personalized/P/PHLGHDT-WSF-20110303/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG or http://snipurl.com/1m25sm Thanks!! -- (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, NASWA yg via DXLD) LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ ORISSA BECOMES ODISHA New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) The Lok Sabha Tuesday cleared legislation seeking to rename Orissa as Odisha and the language spoken in the state as Odia from Oriya. The bill to alter the name of the eastern state was introduced in this year`s budget session and was passed on the first day of the month- long winter session by electronic balloting. MPs overwhelmingly supported the constitutional amendment bill to do away with the legacy of British name given to the state. The central government had received a proposal from the Orissa government in 2008 after the state assembly moved a bill to change both names in deference to the manner in which the name of the state is pronounced in the local language. The state is called Udisa in Hindi and Orissa in English, and the language Udiya in Hindi and Oriya in English as per the constitution. This required an amendment to the constitution and had to be approved by two-thirds majority of the house. Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who moved the bill, said the house was honouring the wishes of the people of the state by clearing the legislation. Many Indian cities and states have been renamed after independence, including Kanpur (formerly Cawnpore), Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Pune (Poona), Kochi (Cochin) and North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) to Arunachal Pradesh http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/lok-sabha-approves-orissas-name-as-odisha-oriya-as-odia_100457194.html 73 (via Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, Dec 12, dx_india via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See also BELGIUM [non], BRAZIL, CHILE, ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GERMANY [non], NIGERIA [non], PORTUGAL DRM Newsletter 12/2010 http://drm.org/old/index.php?id=373 - Great interest in DRM+ trial and workshop in Sri Lanka - Canada's Digital Radio Future - German DRM Platform Meet in Hamburg - Australia considering DRM option - DRM close to adoption in Russia - European Radio Spectrum Policy Group reports on the Future of Radio -- (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dxldyg via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- RDS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RDS Database is online - 788 stations Over the months I've babbled about an RDS database I was working on. Well, I worked on it... and now it's done. http://www.beaglebass.com/dx/dx_rds.htm It's a big page, so please do wait for it to load up. Included are markets from a general area from Augusta, Maine and Trois-Rivières, Quebec over to Chicago and down to Topeka and Paducah. When all my DX pages are done, I'll link it to the main page along with everything else, but for now, it's a standalone. Thanks to Adam Rivers, Richard Cabral, and Bill Nollman for filling in some small blanks in New England where I struggled to get all the details I wanted in an RDS saturated market. MUCH appreciated! Some nifty features I've included: - image maps - click on the region you want and it'll take you there. - which stations are running parallel to each other, complete with ALT text showing you the calls and city of license if it's in another market with a link to take you directly to it. - some explanation of what PTY, PTYN, PS, RT, and TP are... because not everybody, even DXers (myself included), know all about RDS. - links to regions/markets that are adjacent to each listed market, so you can click and go right to it if you find your station is in the next market over. - detailed RDS for certain markets I've spent a lot of time in, such as my local market (updated with new RDS last night), Chicago, Boston, and Portland. There are *no* PI codes for those of you who like them. Sorry guys. My radio does not display these. The readouts displayed are EXACTLY as seen on my display, down to the spaces and punctuation. However, the display seems to take a dash and other similar punctuation in the PS to mean "start a new screen," so "Artist - Song" may end up shown as "Artist Song" as it omits the dash and reads it as a command to start a new 8 character set. The RT doesn't have such problems. My PS also does not have a start and finish. "Artist Song" may be "Song Artist." Who knows. If you live in one of these markets and have a few minutes, please look the listings over and check these instances for me. It would really help me out. I'm not accepting corrections or updates, aside from something like a missing traffic symbol I may have overlooked or a small detail like those dashes. I'm sure some minor details were lost in the transfer from paper to computer. I've found a few. It's kinda like my personal RDS DX log --- and I write em as I see em. People with a different radio end up with totally different readouts than me. That's just how it is, but it won't be a database like Chris' was. I think it's the closest you'll find though. It took over 500 hours to complete this and about 100 hours of logging while driving. I hope some people find it useful or fun to browse, especially those Es stations where you know the region but only have a PTY None (-Chris Kadlec, Fremont, Mich., Dec 1, WTFDA via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See USA: FCC ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ FIVE BELOW – A PERSEUS BLOG Guy Atkins has now closed down his impressive Perseus blog. We will miss the enormous amount of information Guy has put in this blog which has followed Perseus almost from the entrance on the market. Let’s hope he is coming back in the future following another interesting SDR (/Thomas Nilsson, SW Bulletin Dec 12 via DXLD) -------------------------- Latest info from Guy Atkins: Bill Whitacre has kindly offered to continue hosting the Perseus Registry, which was originally linked from my Perseus blog. You may now access the Registry directly at: http://realmonitor.com/5below_test/index_table_list_test.html Perseus SDR owners are encouraged to "register" their receiver, with notes about the computer setup used successfully with Perseus, antennas, etc., so that this graphical database can continue to give a global view of Perseus usage. Bill has done a fine job of coding the Perseus Registry in a Google Maps presentation. Some Perseus SDR owners have asked for an offline archive of my former Five Below blog that they could load on their computer hard drive for future reference. I was able to successfully archive most of the blog (using a free utility WinHTTrack); the approximately 36Mb download is also on Bill's Web space: http://realmonitor.com/Five_Below.zip Just unzip the file and run "index.html" in your Web browser. Thanks Bill for your assistance with these resources! I will also be adding these links to the "LINKS" section of this Perseus SDR Yahoogroup (73, Guy Atkins, via Perseus SDR via SW Bulletin Dec 12 via DXLD)) OVER THE HORIZON RADAR ON AMATEUR RADIO BAND === December 10, 2010 John ZL1GWE has posted information to the ZLHAMS Yahoo Group about an Over The Horizon Radar (OTHR) that is transmitting on the Amateur Radio 7 MHz band. He writes: For a number of months, we have reported OTHR on 40 Metres. We have ascertained that it appears to come out of the Northeast direction especially at greyline period and then rapidly increases in strength and intensity. 0730z hours onwards. It sounds like a tractor across the CW, Data and Voice segments - moving and alternating in frequency and bandwidth, sometimes there are up to four separate signals reducing to two main ones. It is normally called OTHSAR. It is a form of stereo radar, used for detecting airborne targets. We would appreciate any reports, related to this intruder, so that we can make provide sufficient evidence to the appropriate authorities to have it removed from 40 Metres. We would appreciate reports and assistance to terminate this persistent intruder please. If date/time, frequencies heard beginning to end (bandwidth) and signal strength would be appreciated and if anyone has the ability to be more exact on the position (would be marvelous). Email: zl1gwe55 at yahoo.com (ZLHAMS Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zlhams/ via Southgate http://www.southgatearc.org/news/december2010/7mhz_othr.htm via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) NE from NZ = North America? (gh) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ RYAN GRABOW VHF/UHF PROPAGATION PRIMER Anyone out there remember Ryan? I just found a video of his while wandering around Google and it's about tv and fm dx and it's pretty good. There's some nice video of Es and tropo, CCI, etc. Very nostalgic! http://www.tvfm.net/ Too bad he dropped out of DXing (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT USA, WTFDA via DXLD) GEMINID METEOR SHOWER DEFIES EXPLANATION --- NASA, December 6, 2010 The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks this year on Dec. 13th and 14th, is the most intense meteor shower of the year. It lasts for days, is rich in fireballs, and can be seen from almost any point on Earth. It's also NASA astronomer Bill Cooke's favorite meteor shower—but not for any of the reasons listed above. "The Geminids are my favorite," he explains, "because they defy explanation." Most meteor showers come from comets, which spew ample meteoroids for a night of 'shooting stars.' The Geminids are different. The parent is not a comet but a weird rocky object named 3200 Phaethon that sheds very little dusty debris—not nearly enough to explain the Geminids. For full story see http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/06dec_geminids/ This meteor shower usually presents interesting radio propagation conditions (via Mike Terry, Dec 9, dxldyg via DXLD) GLOBAL ERUPTION ROCKS THE SUN NASA Science News for Dec. 13, 2010 Play Audio Download Audio Join Mailing List A global eruption on the sun has shattered old ideas about solar activity. Researchers presented their surprising findings at a press conference today at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. Dec. 13, 2010: On August 1, 2010, an entire hemisphere of the sun erupted. Filaments of magnetism snapped and exploded, shock waves raced across the stellar surface, billion-ton clouds of hot gas billowed into space. Astronomers knew they had witnessed something big. It was so big, it may have shattered old ideas about solar activity... FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/13dec_globaleruption/ (via Dario Monferini, Dec 14, playdx yg via DXLD) Geomagnetic field activity was at predominantly quiet levels throughout the period. At approximately 12/1500Z the field became unsettled to active. The increase in geomagnetic activity was due to the arrival of a Coronal Hole High-Speed Stream (CH HSS). FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 15 DEC - 10 JAN 2011 Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a slight chance for C-class activity throughout the forecast period. Old Region 1130 (N13, L = 331) and old Region 1132 (N10, L = 251) are expected to rotate back on the visible disk on 19 December and 24 December respectfully. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal levels on 13 -14 December. Activity is expected to increase to moderate to high levels from 15-20 December. Normal levels are expected for the remainder of the period. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be quiet to unsettled on 15-16 December due to a recurrent CH HSS. Quiet conditions are expected from 17-18 December and then the return of quiet to unsettled conditions is expected from 15-20 December due to a second CH HSS. Activity is expected to again decrease to mostly quiet levels from 21 -23 December. The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled from 24-25 December due to a third recurrent CH HSS. Mostly quiet levels are expected for the remainder of the period. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2010 Dec 14 2025 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 2010-12-14 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2010 Dec 15 88 5 2 2010 Dec 16 88 8 3 2010 Dec 17 86 5 2 2010 Dec 18 84 5 2 2010 Dec 19 86 8 3 2010 Dec 20 86 7 2 2010 Dec 21 86 5 2 2010 Dec 22 86 5 2 2010 Dec 23 86 5 2 2010 Dec 24 88 7 2 2010 Dec 25 88 7 2 2010 Dec 26 88 5 2 2010 Dec 27 88 5 2 2010 Dec 28 88 5 2 2010 Dec 29 90 5 2 2010 Dec 30 90 5 2 2010 Dec 31 90 5 2 2011 Jan 01 90 5 2 2011 Jan 02 88 5 2 2011 Jan 03 88 5 2 2011 Jan 04 88 5 2 2011 Jan 05 85 5 2 2011 Jan 06 85 5 2 2011 Jan 07 85 5 2 2011 Jan 08 88 5 2 2011 Jan 09 88 5 2 2011 Jan 10 88 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1543, DXLD) ###