DX LISTENING DIGEST 11-05, February 3, 2011 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 2011 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html Searchable 2010 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid0.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 1550 HEADLINES: *DX and station news about: Australia, Burma non, Canada, China, Congo DR, Cuba, Cyprus non, Czechia, Ecuador non, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Greenland, Iran, Italy non, Mexico, Micronesia, Nigeria non, Russia, Solomon Islands, Sweden non, Turkey, Ukraine, UK, USA, Vanuatu SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1550, February 3-9, 2011 Thu 1600 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Thu 2000 WBCQ 7415 [confirmed] Thu 2200 WRMI 9955 [jammed] Fri 0430 WWRB 3185 [confirmed] Fri 1530 WRMI 9955 Fri 2130 WWCR1 7465 Sat 0900 WRMI 9955 Sat 1500 WRMI 9955 Sat 1700 WWCR2 12160 Sat 1830 WRMI 9955 Sat 1900 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 6090 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Sun 1630 WRMI 9955 Sun 1830 WRMI 9955 Mon 1230 WRMI 9955 Mon 2230 WRMI 9955 [NEW] Tue 1630 WRMI 9955 Tue 2000 WBCQ 7415 Wed 0200 WRMI 9955 [NEW] Wed 1630 WRMI 9955 Wed 2000 WBCQ 7415 Thu 0430 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/ ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS. 4760.02, 0035-0055 fade out, INDIA, 16+18.01 AIR Port Blair English news from Delhi // 4920, 5010, 0040 ad, talk in vernacular, string music, 25322 (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** ANGUILLA [and non]. 11775, Caribbean Beacon (an ID never heard on the air), absent Jan 27 at 1432 and later chex during following hour. 6090, ``University Network`` still missing from night frequency, Jan 28 at 0711. At 1500, day frequency 11775 was back on, but mixing with AWR theme underneath, then the latter playing an excerpt from Concierto de Aranjuez. 11775 at 1500-1530 is AWR Turkish via AUSTRIA, which was in the clear 24 hours earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, RN San Gabriel. 1/24 at 2035, 1/25 at 1315 and 1852, 1/28 at 1332, no signal from Antarctica (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, SW40 - Dipoles and Longwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Estimados amigos antárcticos: Hasta el 12 de noviembre de 2010 pude captar casi todos los días laborales a una señal aunque débil de su emisora en 15476 kHz. Pero nada más entre las 12 y 15 TU a pesar de pruebas frecuentes. ¿Podemos esperar su regreso al aire pronto, a fines del verano? ¿O cuál es el problema? ¿Tal vez cambiaron a otro horario? Atentamente, Glenn Hauser, Oklahoma, Estados Unidos, WORLD OF RADIO Jan 29 e-mail to LRA36; no reply and no bounce as of Feb 3) ** ARGENTINA. Onda Media Pirata --- 1610 kHz, 30/01/2011 2345 UT, escuchada con calidad de emisora local. Radio Fósil en AM 1610, Rosario, Provincia de Santa Fe emite los domingos durante la noche. Pueden enviarse mensajes de texto al celular 341156543458. Algunos slogans: "La radio de Alfredo que transmite música fósiles para personajes que van de 0 a 99 años", "Radio Fósil el encanto de la música sin tiempo". Está inscripta en el AFSCA (Asociación Federal de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual) bajo el N 023123. "Seguiremos en el aire hasta que se nos lo permita". Alfredo José Angeletti se refirió al cierre de la Estación Relay de RNW en Bonaire en respuesta a un msn de texto que le envié refiriéndome al cierre de emisoras internacionales de OC. La emisora dispone de un sitio WEB en construcción: http://www.radiofosil.com.ar/ Allí se publica un informe de recepción del querido y siempre recordado amigo Gabriel Iván Barrera (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. AM 1620 Radio Sentir --- Amigos de la Lista, 1620 kHz, RADIO SENTIR, es una nueva emisora de onda media de carácter "no oficial", al parecer transmitiendo desde la localidad de Merlo, Provincia de Buenos Aires, reportada el pasado sábado 22 de enero, en momentos en que se estaba disfrutando del DX Camp en la ciudad de Mercedes (Provincia de Buenos Aires) junto a Arnaldo Slaen y Enrique Wembagher. La emisora anunciaba el teléfono de contacto: (0220) 470-4265. Sus directores serían el Sr. Daniel Barrientos y Estela Sánchez. Se desconoce su QTH exacto (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Lomas de Zamora, Argentina, Jan 28, condiglist yg via DXLD) ¿potencia baja? ** ARGENTINA. 3090, harmonic or spur, AM 1600 Armonía, BA (2 x 1270). 0256, tango mx, ID. Cannot understand frequency correlation with fundamental fq. QRK2/1, Jan 21 (Horacio A. Nigro, Valizas 2011 DX Summer Vacation Log Part 2, 260 km E of Montevideo, a small fishermen and summer village on the Atlantic coast of Uruguay, Jan 29, Kenwood R600, longwire 100 m long on bushes towards Europe, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ?? Then why do you write 2 x 1270?? Perhaps there is another transmitter on 1490 at same site; 1600 + 1490 = 3090 (gh, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Excelente noticia: la continuidad de las ondas cortas de RAE está asegurada --- January 27, 2011 11:16:11 AM Estimados amigos: Estuve hasta hace unos minutos reunido con el Director de Radiodifusión Argentina al Exterior, Luís María Barassi y con varios compañeros trabajadores de las diferentes redacciones y puedo contarles con gran alegría que por decisión de las autoridades de Radio y Televisión Argentina Sociedad del Estado, la continuidad de los servicios en onda corta de nuestra embajada radiofónica está asegurada. El apoyo de los oyentes a través de diferentes medios y la presión de varios funcionarios de Estado de primerísima línea a lo cual hay que sumar el empeño, entusiasmo y perseverancia de Luís María hacen posible que el deseo de tantos se hiciese realidad. Para que Radiodifusión Argentina al Exterior tenga su nuevo transmisor, hace falta algo de tiempo pero el expediente ya está marchando, lo mismo que las órdenes de reparación de antenas y demás equipamiento. Tal vez no podamos encontrarnos en todo 2011 con cambios concretos en la calidad de escucha, pero seguramente el año próximo habrá modificaciones importantes ya que también estuvimos hablando de cambios de horarios de transmisión. Lo importante es que Radiodifusión Argentina al Exterior está más viva que nunca, y sus ondas cortas continuarán a pesar de las tendencias mundiales. 73 Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Jan 27, DXLD) Como ya te lo expresé por la vía privada, la noticia es excelente. RAE es uno de los poquísimos servicios latinoamericanos por OC que emite en varios idiomas y aunque su tecnología no sea de primera significa un verdadero orgullo para quienes apoyamos esta continuidad que personalmente deseo contraste por mucho tiempo la nefasta tendencia de las potentes emisoras internacionales por cerrar sus emisiones. Además, tendremos "Actualidad DX" para seguir escuchando, una forma de honrar a nuestro querido GIB. Gracias Aldo por la buena noticia. RGM (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, condiglist yg via DXLD) Sabes qué che --- se despertó un saludable interés de tipos que están muy arriba en Radio y Television Argentina, Sociedad del Estado por la onda corta. Increible? Seguro que sí y el director de RAE, Luis M. Barassi, es una excelentísima persona, a quien conocí gracias a quien si no, nuestro INOLVIDABLE Gabriel Iván Barrera y además es un tipo que adora su trabajo y busca apoyo de afuera, como lo hace conmigo, para aportar ideas y laburos concretos que estando en la planta permanente no se pueden hacer porque chocas con la burocracia típica de estas estructuras estatales. Pero sorprenden algunas cosas que iré contando a medida que me den el OK en RAE para hacerlas públicas. Tiro una --- estaría bueno volver a trasmitir en árabe y comenzar a hacerlo en chino, no? (Arnaldo Salen, Jan 27, ibid.) No lo puedo creer. ¿Volvió el árabe que se había rajado? ¡Emisiones en chino! Seguramente por la apertura comercial que sigue creciendo. Argentine Chungyang Kuangpo Tientai. RGM (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, ibid.) No volvió aún. Se habla de su regreso. La artística de la señal de intervalo lo incluye pero hace añares que se dejó de txir en ese idioma. Transmitir en chino es una necesidad imperiosa justamente por nuestros vínculos comerciales y turísticos. Enviado desde mi BlackBerry de Personal (Slaen, ibid.) Excelente noticia. Precisamos manter as emissões da radiodifusão internacional, para termos opçoes renovadas de informações e cultura. A mídia ocidental está cada vez mais controlada por poucos e poderosos grupos económicos; quem sabe o exemplo da Argentina não incentive o próprio Brasil a se renovar nesta área (Sarmento Campos, Brasil, radioescutas yg via DXLD) 15345, Radio Nacional, 2344-0006 Jan 23, man announcer in Spanish hosting pop music program with selections from Bee Gees and Elton John. Phone calls from listeners at 2351. Time pips at top of hour, several IDs before talk by man and woman. Poor to fair. // 6060 was fair (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) 15345.04, Radio Al Exterior; 2208-2215+, 28-Jan; Panorama de Noticias, Spanish news de Argentina & SAm. SIO=454; Chinese covers 11710 -- CNR via China? (Frodge-MI) 11710.8, Radio al Exterior; 0231-0242+, 29-Jan; English ID as: Rae, the international service of Argentine Radio, broadcasting from Buenos Aires; English news & Sports Review. SIO=454-. 6060 covered by Habana in Spanish & nothing on 15345 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6060, R Nacional, LRA31, Buenos Aires, domestic programming 0945-1034 2/1 [meaning Feb 1], national and regional news at tune-in by YL including on-scene reports. OM mentions "...La Mañana en Noticias..." possibly the name of program. 0952 YL t/ck "... de la mañana y 52 minutos . . ." At 0953 this transmitter changes over to RAE international transmission, with IS of chimes sequence alternating with YL and then OM saying "R - A - E . . . Argentina!", for several minutes, over and over again. 0955 tune/out but still going at 1034 recheck and "... muy buenos días . . . Argentina... " (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2, Longwire, HCDX via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 13363-USB, unidentified relay, General Pacheco. 0021 January 27, 2011. Spanish vocals, poor. Same 0000 January 28 with music across top-of-hour. Thanks Glenn Hauser and all others on this one previously (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Hammarlund HQ-180A; Aqua Guide 705 Radio Direction Finder; Sony ICF-7600GR; GE SuperRadio III; RadioShack DX-399; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X in-room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARMENIA. 4810, 26/1 1530 Armenian National Radio, ID, talk, song, good (Giampiero Bernardini with Dario Monferini in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia province, Italy), at the seaside, for our Bocca di Magra DX nights (Boc 22), Perseus & RFSpace SDR-IQ / ANT: Wellbrook loop LFL 1010, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARMENIA. 9400, R Sadaye Zindagi via Yerevan, Armenia, 1508-1529*, Jan 14, Dari talk, ann of postal address in Lahore, phone number and e-mail, 35433. An undeterminated [? indeterminate?] QSL e-mail for a report about this broadcast was received within 1 day from info @ afghanradio.org Patrick Robic, Leibnitz/ Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria, DSWCI DX Window Jan 25 via DXLD) = Gavar: ** ARMENIA. Transmitter site photos: 1,2,3. Gavar-Kamo, Armenia. [Gavar-Kamo, Armenia.9] [Gavar - Kamo, Armenia. 3] [Gavar - Kamo, Armenia. 2] (Lev Lytovchenko, Canada, Jan. 30, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) See also UNIDENTIFIED: 5825 DRM ** AUSTRALIA. 2368.5, Radio Symban. Back in August of 2010, sent a CD MP3 / postal report to Radio Symban with recording of my reception report. Hearing nothing after several months, sent a e-mail follow-up. Received a reply from Tom Tsamouras that due to change in staff my report was overlooked. He was going to look into my report and apologized for the delay. Just recently, I received a Christmas Card from Mr. Tsamouras, thanking me for my reception report and season greetings. A better than anything yet so far reply (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Week in Review: Aussies on 120M poor to fair all week. Symban [2368.5] was readable on 1/25 at 1200 UT but not as loud as last week. Nothing on the new Australian on 3210. The whole month was difficult with all the static produced by the storms. Hope you had more luck (Bill, W1OW, Smith, Douglas MA, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GOOD NEWS in Radio 3210 kHz the ex Pifo type transmitter is at Schofields and has been testing since the 1st January 2011. Heard by myself at 0810 UT with a religious loop tape, programming using 50 to 70 watts heard also by John Smith in Brisbane and Chris Hambly of Melbourne and Craig Seager of Bathurst. Reports to myself dxer1234 @ gmail.com or to 29 Milford Rd, Peakhurst 2210, NSW Australia --- yep, doing the QSLing, rp appreciated as it`s my pocket. More good news --- another Craig Allen station due on air soon, look at 5050 kHz using the ex ARDS transmitter! Bet no one would guess where the Pifo type transmitter would end up, 30 miles away from my place and the ex Humpty Doo transmitter!!!!! That`s life! (Johno Wright, NSW, Jan-Feb Australian DX news via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) 3209.99, Nameless station, Schofields. Testing. Schofields 50 to 70 watts from near Richmond RAAF Base. 1/1 0810 heard whilst just with nothing to do and tuning around. First to hear I believe. At a good level, then told Chris Hambly, in Melbourne heard at poor level, then John Smith in Brisbane, moderate strength (Johno Wright, Peakhurst NSW (Icom R8500 + EWE antennae), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) Low powered transmitter operating from Schofields in Western Sydney, very strong 0800 on 1/1 until much later with continuous U.S. Gospel huckster, no IDs. Well heard on the communications gear here, but also on a solar powered Galcom “Go-Ye” fixed tuned radio, with no discernible antenna. This set was given to me by Craig Allen who operates the 3210 transmitter. I was at his house last year to purchase another radio (the Racal 6790 that was going to be his off- air monitoring set). At that time he wasn’t sure about his transmitting plans, but suggested I turn on the Galcom Radio every few weeks “just in case”. Thanks to the phone tip from John Wright (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW (Icom R75, Folded Dipole), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) Poor to fair level 0820 1/1/2011 after tip from John Wright, with religious teachings, good after 0900 level improved with sunset (Chris Hambly, Mont Albert North, Vic (Icom R75, Dipole), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) The big news this month is the commencement of test transmissions from a new station in Sydney on 3210, first heard by John Wright on 1st January carrying continuous Gospel content. Said to be only 70 watts, but heard here throughout local daytime at pretty decent strength (180 km), so I suspect it is pumping out a bit more power than that. There is also a link with 5050, where the operator (Craig Allen) also plans to transmit. Not on air as of time of publishing, but further details when they emerge! You can see the transmitter location by going to the following URL (which is also useful for other Australian licensed transmitters): A search on the Australian Geographical Radio Frequency map puts the transmitter site address as Lot 39 Grange Avenue, Schofields. http://maps.spench.net/rf/#pos=-33.6996182,150.8618818&zoom=17&type=hybrid&site=7194 Co-ordinates: -33.6996193364607, 150.861883825125 (Jan-Feb Australian DX News via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. RA/ABC'S LATE NIGHT LIVE CELEBRATES 20 This year marks an extraordinary anniversary in Australian broadcasting as Phillip Adams celebrates 20 years as presenter of ABC Radio National's flagship program, Late Night Live. Phillip's first program was broadcast on 28 January 1991, and Late Night Live remains one of the ABC's most listened to and downloaded programs. If you're one of Phillip's Gladdies, Poddies or Noddies, click here [where?] to leave your comments about Phillip and what Late Night Live has meant to you (via John Figliozzi, NY, Jan 26, dxldyg via DXLD) http://www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/features/20years/default.htm via ABC Radio Marketing (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, NASWA yg via DXLD) One of the best! LNL: 12-13 UT M-F on RA 9580, 9590, etc. (gh, DXLD) Thanks for heads-up on this, John. I will be sure to leave a comment. As I mentioned to you once in person, I was Phillip's "musical guest" on LNL one night during my 1999 tour in Australia. I had discovered the show on shortwave a couple years before that, and still listen often online today. Simply one of the best! (Saul Broudy (Philadelphia, PA USA), swprograms via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. RA programming is returning to normal following several weeks of ``Summer`` substitutes --- don`t they realise that much of their overseas audience is not observing summer? See http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/universal.htm which we hope is again more or less correct. 9590, Friday Jan 28 at 1434 going from ``Movie Time`` to ``Artworks``, talk by the ``Around the World in 80 Gardens`` guy about how gardening is spiritual, makes global warming obvious to the gardener. This episode not yet at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/artworks/default.htm so on RA ahead of the RN Jan 30 airing? When it is, will be podcast and transcript available (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Radio Australia's Brandon Site In Cyclone's Path. I have just seen this in today's "Brisbane Times" Brandon is just north of the town of Ayr (where I used to live), right where the cyclone, according to the map, is due to strike. Time will tell if that actually happens. We had the remnants of a cyclone pass by here overnight. It was very wet and is still windy this afternoon, although fine. RA 4QN Brandon site location is 62 kilometers southeasterly of Townsville, and is right on the defined location area. AUS ABC 4QN Brandon MW 630 kHz 50 kW 19 30 35.92 S 147 20 29.85 E Radio Australia Brandon May Be OK (William Hague, Australia, NWDXC, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 29/30 via DXLD) I live close enough to the border, to get ABC-Queensland. They have just said, that it's possible some or their stations may get knocked off the air, due to the cyclone, expected to make landfall somewhere nears Cairns, in just over 24-hours. Their back-up plan? They have just announced on the air that people should listen to SHORTWAVE, if their local ABC goes off. They will be using two Radio Australia frequencies: 9710 and 6080. No word on when the simulcast will begin, or whether it's only if the local AM/FM stations go off the air. But it's relevant to this discussion [see INTERNATIONAL] and at least the Australian government sees the value of SWBC with regards to getting news into a stricken area. 73s (David Sharp, NSW Australia, 0652 UT Feb 1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi All, ABC Brisbane on 612khz is now being relayed on 6080khz due to the expected tropical cyclone. Suspect this transmission started at 1000 UT. Regards (Tony Magon - VK2IC, Carlton - Sydney, Feb 1, dxldyg via DXLD) Thanks to this tip, I'm hearing ABC Brisbane at good level here in the Columbus, Ohio, area. Right now, they're discussing preparations for medical evacuations. Interesting listening! (Larry Cunningham, Gahanna, Ohio, 1142 Feb 1, ibid.) Twitter feed says Steve Austin is in the Rockhampton studio (John Smith, Brisbane, 1216 UT 1 Feb, ARDXC via DXLD) According to E-mail from Australian DXer: 0930-2130 UT 6080 kHz 2130-0930 9710 kHz --- I can receive 6080 kHz strongly in Japan (S. Hasegawa, 1522 UT Feb 1, dxldyg via DX LISENING DIGEST) 'MONSTER' STORM BEARS DOWN ON AUSTRALIA Sky News 1 February 2011 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20110201/twl-monster-storm-bears-down-on-australi-3fd0ae9.html A large area of northern Australia is preparing for what could be one the of the biggest cyclones ever to hit the country. Cyclone Yasi is 500 km wide and bearing down on the state of Queensland, which has already suffered from devastating floods. The state premier, Anna Bligh, has described it as a "monster, killer storm" and she predicted deadly surges inland. It is likely to cross the coast sometime late on Wednesday local time - and could hit anywhere along a 400-mile stretch between Cairns and Bowen. It already is a Category 3 cyclone, and is likely to intensify to a Category 4, with gusts of wind expected to reach 160 mph. Airlines are laying on extra flights to get people out of the area, especially tourists with nowhere else to go. But the storm is so wide that finding somewhere safe to move to will be difficult for tens of thousands of people. The holiday resort of Hamilton Island has already been evacuated, and coal terminals in Bowen and Mackay have closed down in another blow to the state's mining industry which has already been disrupted by flooding. Around 350,000 people live in the region, and they are being urged to make preparations on Tuesday because heavy rain and winds could begin to intensify while the eye of the storm is still a long way north. Ms Bligh said the threat to life and property was compounded by the possibility it could trigger a tsunami-like storm surge, especially if its landfall coincided with a high tide (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) If you go the Radio Australia website the cyclone has already reached category 5 (Ray Browell, UK, 2101 UT Feb 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ABC LOCAL RADIO CAIRNS ON SW --- For those interested ­ due to the Cyclone there are two temporary shortwave transmissions set up broadcasting from somewhere around Cairns: 9710 kHz 8:30am to 8:30pm and 6080 kHz 8:30pm to 8:30am. Currently getting 6080 into Brisbane OK at the moment. Regards (Matt) From ICDX Yahoo Group. Times quoted are AEST (UT 2230-1030 1030-2230) Tropical Cyclone Yasi is nearing the North Queensland, Australia coast and is expected to be a category 5 when it reaches land. Radio Coverage is being provided online or via shortwave (see below). To see the current weather forecast go here: http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ65002.shtml ABC Local Radio Far North Link http://www.abc.net.au/northqld/?ref=portal_m10 (Paul, NZ, 2355 UT Feb 1, HCDX via DXLD) Tropical Cyclone Yasi --- Continuing ABC internet coverage for various stations combined via 612 ABC Radio Brisbane at http://www.abc.net.au/farnorth/programs/howtolisten.htm?ref=nav Many areas are losing power so there are expected to be loss of local radio signals, and possibly the internet, later. Also flash flooding warnings being issued. This at: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/02/01/3128081.htm "A cyclone warning is current for coastal and island communities from Cape Flattery to Sarina, extending west across the tropical interior to the Northern Territory border. At 7 pm severe tropical cyclone Yasi, category five, was estimated to be 150 kilometres east northeast of Innisfail and 175 kilometres east of Cairns and moving west southwest at 29 kilometres per hour. Yasi will keep moving west-southwesterly, and is expected to cross the coast near Innisfail close to midnight. Coastal residents between Cairns and Ayr are specifically warned of an extremely dangerous storm tide as the cyclone approaches, crosses the coast and moves inland. The sea is likely to steadily rise up to a level dangerously above the normal tide, with extremely damaging waves, strong currents, and flooding of low lying areas extending some way inland. The storm tide will persist for many hours after landfall of the cyclone, and secondary peaks may occur around high tide on Thursday morning. Higher than normal tides will exceed the high water mark with damaging waves and flooding in low lying areas in remaining warning areas to the south of Ayr." (This is an extremely dangerous maximum category Force 5 Cyclone, covering a wide area, feared to be the worst to hit Australia - Mike) (via Mike Terry, 1016 UT Feb 2, dxldyg via DXLD) Glenn and others. ABC News 24 is scrolling that due to the imminent cyclone and probable damage to existing AM/FM plus TV senders, listeners are advised to tune their battery radios to shortwave on 9710 in the daytime and 6080 at night. This has now also been picked up by the commercial TV networks which are being relayed nationwide like the recent Brisbane floods. Ham radio WICEN emergency network in Queensland are likely to be operational on 7080+- QRM during the night (Robin Harwood VK7RH, Norwood, Tasmania 7250, Radio Monitor, SWLR-KS001, 1017 UT Feb 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The ABC radio internet coverage from Brisbane is in parallel with shortwave, and nationally. Press conference just started. The worst time will be in 3 to 4 hours (Mike Terry 1034 UT Feb 2, ibid.) The Queensland Premier speaking at the press conference is warning of horrendous conditions over the next 4 to 5 hours and after effects for some days, particularly flooding, and worse that much will be in the dark. Lull of the storm now, little doubt that a major catastrophe will happen. I am listening to this on the other side of the world - the radio coverage is frightening, people can do no more but pray that their houses, indeed their lives survive. Many public buildings are not cyclone rated. I cannot imagine how frightening this must be. However phone calls coming in show people's resilience before the worst, including humour and comments about the cricket! Lets pray the cyclone moderates (Mike Terry, UK, 1055 UT Feb 2, ibid.) The presenter just said that on ABC Radio via the internet, it`s so true. They are announcing two emergency frequencies during the cyclone: 6080 from now, 9710 from 8 am local [= 2200 UT] We re-discover the power of shortwave in times of crisis; it`s a salutary warning against all those closures that are taking place! (Mike Terry, 1122 UT, ibid.) TC Yasi Coverage on Radio Australia Frequencies AT 0220 UT 02 Feb: TC Yasi general coverage and interviews on several RA frequencies 15240, 15415, 17750 and maybe others with ABC Local Far North Queensland on 9710. But nothing on ABC websites or broadcasts to advise listeners in the affected area that shortwave is available if/when their local transmitters go down. 6080 was used last night. Tonight? (Ian Johnson, Australia, ARDXC via DXLD) Further to previous message: Most RA frequencies were carrying normal programmes with Yasi figuring prominently. ABC Far North Queensland finally announcing 9710 Daytime and 6080 Night (from 1000 UT) (Ian Johnson, 0301 UT Feb 2, ibid.) WICEN emergency guard frequency 7075 kHz http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2011/20110202-1/index.php (Edwin Lowe, 0554 UT Feb 2, ibid.) G'day Ian, They advertised a number of FM & MW frequencies plus shortwave 9710 on 612 this afternoon just before 3.30 pm local, I think they said 9710 will be on till 8.30 pm local. Cheers (John Smith, Brisbane, 0625 UT., ibid.) Only frequency info I could find on ABC website http://www.abc.net.au/emergency/cyclone/yasi/ ABC frequencies in Queensland In addition to the frequencies listed on the link below, we are also running shortwave services: - Daytime: 9710 kHz - Night time: 6080 kHz - ABC frequencies in Queensland Cheers (John Smith, Brisbane, 0650 UT, ibid.) Listening on 9710 now and watching the cricket (Wayne Bastow, Australia, 0654 UT, ibid.) They fooled us all. Now (0735 [sic] UT) coverage is now on 6080. Change-over times (8 PM/8:30 PM) given must have been daylight saving times! IanJ, ibid.) However, timestamp on this post is: Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 19:39:56 +1000 which should = 0939 UT! (gh) Maybe RA thought it was 8 pm in the main part of Australia (just joking)- I assume it is from Shepparton (Wayne Bastow, 0945 UT, ibid.) 6080 was observed here coming on at 0932, 2 February (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi Everyone, Have been listening to coverage on ABC-Queensland. They have been repeatedly mentioning, that people should tune to 9710 or 6080 kHz, "if (their) local ABC transmitter goes off." Then the announcer added: "Shortwave is 'crackly' but at least IT WORKS!" First World broadcasters, who think shortwave is redundant, TAKE NOTE. One final thought -- it's good to see the Australian government acknowledge the benefits of HF broadcasting, especially when in the past, Radio Australia's future was uncertain. If the axe had fallen on RA, how would people impacted by Yasi get their news (if the local stations are off the air)? 73s (David Sharp, NSW Australia 1903 UT Feb 2, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi David, The signals on shortwave are being reported around the world! I believe it`s a new 100 kW transmitter. I have been listening to ABC radio on the internet; I feel so sorry for those in North Queensland, it sounds a terrifying experience (Mike Terry, UK., ibid.) From what I gather, what`s happening in Queensland may be as intense or more so since the cyclone you have (spelled Hurricane in the US and Canada) landed on land as a Cat 5. The only thing I know in the states that was as intense was Hurricane Katrina when it landed in South Mississippi [axually it was cat 3 by then]. It spent a lot of time inland and was wider than a tornado. It finally dissipated in a small town in East Central Mississippi by the name of Bay Springs. I hope that you in Australia have a station like WWL (New Orleans, LA, USA) which will go local with warnings and announcements and instructions on what to do, where to go for help and general coverage and local media to do the same in the local area away from inland stations. In my experience there was damage inland. And enough trees and power down to be a concern. And in the town I live in people were lined up to get gas (petrol) and some stations were out of gas during the aftermath of Katrina. I wish the Aussies the best of luck (Richard Lewis, dxldyg via DXLD) I took advantage of the breaks between blowing snow to listen to some radio: 6080. Radio Australia / ABC Local Radio - Shepparton, 1330, 2/2/11, in English. End of cyclone preparedness announcement: “Keep tuned to ABC Local Radio for updates,” interview by woman with a man about the cyclone bearing down on Australia. Fair. // 6020 Good (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, WinRadio g313e, Eton E1, Satellit 800; EWE, Flextenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Since local radio transmitters were in danger of being blown off by category-5 Cyclone Yasi, relays of Queensland ABC services were set up on SW via Shepparton, Victoria: 6080 at 1030-0030 UT, and 9710 at 0030-1030 [sic; times apparently off]. Feb 2 at 0632 I am getting 9710 with sirens, cyclone warnings of at least 125 kph near Ayr. 0634 ``ABC Local Radio for Queensland`` ID, and mentioning winds of 290 kph at another location. Warnings extend as far as the NT border. No sign of WYFR on 9715 which often is extremely strong. This is one of those nights with not much propagating on 31m from inside North America. 9710 was not // 9660, the only other audible RA frequency, presumably still with normal programming. 9660 is registered as Brandon, 10 kW at 21-08, and Brandon is certainly in the threatened area. If the RA site there is hit, its frequencies might well be shifted to Shepparton. 6080 I start checking at 1348; has 12:12 timecheck, taking callers such as one from Magnetic (?) Island, each describing how bad the winds and damages are. I shortly find that RA 6020 is //, and 6020 has a much better signal here. At 1406, all the audible RA frequencies are // with Yasi coverage from Queensland, 5995, 6080, 7240, 9590. So much for RA programming getting back to normal after summer vacations. I listen for quite a while. Anchor is Kelly Higgins, on air until 5 am EST, and she does a great job calmly conversing with callers about the situation, debunking rumor that the roof of a shelter had blown off, general advice about safety. 1428 ID as ABC Local Radio Queensland. I suppose out of Brisbane. At 1439 she hears from a colleague in Townsville where the ABC studios had to be evacuated, so they can`t originate any coverage there. At 1435 report that 6080 was arriving loud and clear somewhere; but did not mention that all the other SW frequencies are now available (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Special shortwave transmissions to N Queensland due to Cyclone Yasi February 2nd, 2011 - 9:49 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Updated 1545 UT: Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Yasi has hit the northern Queensland coast between Cairns and Townsville. Much damage to houses, property and infrastructure is anticipated within this area. Flooding and very high winds will also be a major problem for those people who haven’t managed to leave the area. Because of this the local ABC and commercial broadcasters expect severe damage to landbased TV and radio transmitters within the region. The ABC has requested Radio Australia to transmit the ABC’s northern Queensland regional radio service using a shortwave transmitter at Shepparton, Victoria to northern Queensland until further notice. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting that Tropical Cyclone Yasi will produce a very large rain depression which could see around 350 mm fall into northern and central Australia. Schedule * 2100-0830 UTC on 9710 kHz 353deg * 0830-2100 UTC on 6080 kHz 005deg The transmitter being used is a brand new 100 kW Continental which is DRM capable. Internet links * Latest news: http://www.abc.net.au/news/ * Latest meteorological information: http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ65002.shtml * View satellite display of Tropical Cyclone Yasi in almost real time: http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDE00902.loop.shtml (Source: Nigel Holmes/Radio Australia via Mike Bird), Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) 4 Comments on “Special shortwave transmissions to N Queensland due to Cyclone Yasi” 1. #1 Chris Mackerell on Feb 2nd, 2011 at 09:57 9710 kHz has been fair all day here near Motueka, NZ. 6080 kHz is currently (0955 UT) booming in here. AOR AR-7030 receiver with random wire antenna. 73 Chris 2. #2 John Watts on Feb 2nd, 2011 at 10:02 Coming in loud and clear here in Wellington New Zealand on 6080 kHz at 1000 UT. 3. #3 Roy Sandgren on Feb 2nd, 2011 at 15:37 The people needs a multiband SW wind-up radio, too !! 4. #4 Colin Miller on Feb 3rd, 2011 at 02:25 Short wave is still the most reliable means of transmission during an emergency situation. I agree, a wind up radio would come in handy, if available (Media Network blog comments via DXLD) 9710, Radio Australia, 0646 Feb 1, on extended sked (normal s/on for this frequency is 0700) with discussion of how to prepare livestock and how they react to floods, in response to recent floods and pending cyclone in Australia. Fair (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile, Eton E1, Sony AN1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 6080, ABC Local Radio Queensland still being relayed here in the wake of Cyclone Yasi, Feb 3 at 1329, Kelly Higgins taking a call from Cairns. Poor reception today, weaker than Russia bleeding music from 6075, and other RA frequencies are no longer //, such as 6020 with `Jazz Notes`. 6080 at 1337, clean-up advice, ``ABC Local Radio, your emergency services network``. Yasi is now a tropical depression. 1342 mentions widespread power outages, some of which may last up to four weeks. (Meanwhile in Enid we are fortunate that there have been no power outages here, as the current temp is +1.2 degree F! The low had been forecast as -4.) There has been a lot of contradictory info about the times for switching between day and night frequencies 9710 and 6080, but Steve Lare in Michigan monitored the change at 0930 UT the day before (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. 6155, Ö1, Friday Jan 28 at 0709 going from German OM to English YL with token world news capsule from domestic service, still airing M-F only, starting with Egypt, 0712 French; fair signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AZERBAIJAN. Re: ``Radio Voice of Justice with an identification in Azeri language "Edaletin Sesi Radiosu" was heard at the start of the broadcast 1408 on the new frequency 9679.5. Broadcasts are on Tuesday and Friday from Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh and talk about the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. (Rumen Pankov, Radio Bulgaria DX January 7 via Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, DX Listening Digest)`` WRTH 2011 has their schedule as 0600-0630 Wednesday and Saturday, 1400-1430 Tuesday and Friday, times variable, on 9677 (Mike Barraclough, Feb World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. 4750, Bangladesh Betar, 1144-1218 Jan 24, local vocals hosted by a man announcer with talks in listed Bengali language. Tone at 1200 followed by woman with ID and news. More vocals after the news. Poor to fair with QRM from presumed RRI Makassar with SCI at 1159 [see INDONESIA] (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** BENIN. 1566, TWR Africa, Parakou, 0303, nice mx soul style by m. ID by m, QSB till 0306. QRK 2/3, Jan 20/21 (Horacio A. Nigro, Valizas 2011 DX Summer Vacation Log Part 2, 260 km E of Montevideo, a small fishermen and summer village on the Atlantic coast of Uruguay, Kenwood R600, longwire 100 m long on bushes towards Europe, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 3310 R. Mosoj Chaski, 2328, adstring in Quechua by m/w "Agropecuaria", "Cochabamba", ID in Quechua at 2330, TC: "Siete de la noche con 35 minutos". Several mentions or IDs as "Mosoj Chaski". QRK 3/4, QRN Jan 21 (Horacio A. Nigro, Valizas 2011 DX Summer Vacation Log Part 2, 260 km E of Montevideo, a small fishermen and summer village on the Atlantic coast of Uruguay, Jan 29, Kenwood R600, longwire 100 m long on bushes towards Europe, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 5952.435, R. Pio XII, 0955, Spanish, talk by a woman with local references, and ment "Boliviano." Into local music, but tough copy. Splatter from 5950, and also jamming on 5955 (but no sign of ELCOR xmtr). Slightly better copy in USB. 26 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia) 6134.79, R. Santa Cruz, 0944, news program with stories alternated by a man and a woman. Also field reports from a man. Many local references, all alone on frequency and excellent copy at better than S9+30. 26 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF SW7600GR, Timewave 599zx, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6134.8, Radio Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz) (presumed), 2318-2333, 1/28/2011, Spanish. Slow Latin American music followed by a faster selection. Talk by a woman after 2325. Moderate signal strength at first, then fading down a bit, just as presumed R. Aparecida (Brazil) on 6135 faded up. At tune out, Aparecida was on top (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, IC-R75, RX-340, E1, ICF-SW7600G, G6, Random Wire, ALA100M Loops, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 6134.77, R. Santa Cruz, 1009-1045+ 1/30, good time to tune as usual 6135 QRM (initially) absent early morning. Sounded like remote newsfeed at tune-in, 1018 brief música folklórica break and then OM announcer 1019 and into romantic guitar ballad. 1021 local time check and mentions of "boliviano ... La Paz" and "música del campo" and then into extremely rustic música folklórica segment. Yelling/singing women a cappella with only percussion accompaniment. 1027 taped ID by OM & YL, clear mention "Radio Santa Cruz . . . onda corta . . ." 1029 ads and another ID 1029:46, into slow huayno-type ballad by OM with accordion-like instrument. QRM coming up at this point and big het, but still able to follow until 1045 tune out (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, HCDX via DXLD) 6134.84, Radio Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, big beautiful signal at tune-in 0955 Feb 1. All QRM gone, frequency clear. OM in Spanish and romantic orchestral music. Very nice ID 1030 "Radio Santa Cruz" and then into more MOR music. Heard several days now, stable on this precise off-frequency (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2, Longwire, HCDX via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. Found Radio Illimani Bolivia? MS Virtual Earth, Google Earth / Google Maps imagery. Some high resolution place. Google Earth historical image. Following my bizarre discovery of at least 22 masts in the hills to the north of La Paz, I decided to hunt around for anything else. Lo and behold right next to the airport I find Mount Illimani and at 16 30 23 S 68 10 01 W I have found a compound with at least seven short masts which looks suspiciously like it could be the site for Bolivia's main shortwave broadcaster. What do you think? (Dan Goldfarb, UK, shortwavesites yg Jan 29 via BC-DX via DXLD) Axually this was not posted on swsites (gh) I really wouldn't like to guess. Some SW sites are located close to airports. Other usages can be of utility nature. Without confirmed data it is pure speculation. One can often distinguish a multi antenna international broadcast site from utility sites ... BUT when it comes to distinguishing small domestic SW broadcast masts from comms/utility site masts from ordinary GE images - I'm afraid I find it next to impossible to do. I can recount several instances or where our presumptions have proven inaccurate in the past. One thing is for sure; when we find enough/all of the transmission masts in an area, we can probably say we have uncovered at least one of the sites that is of interest to us & many that would be of interest to others, be it MW, FM, TV or utility broadcaster etc. You may also wish to use the Panoramio images in the area as a guide. I don't know of any Bolivian DXers in area that could be helpful. There is the [Lista ConDig] that might be a helpful resource. I sent out a help message to the group recently regarding your suspected Radio Nacional Paraguay - 9735 kHz, but no response :-(. Regarding the group I have only found a couple within the group (from Costa Rica & Uruguay) of assistance in the past. I don't think anyone in the group has any particular interest in TX sites, which is a pity. Could you possibly check out 16 27 40 S 68 09 57 W at the southern end up to 16 25 02 S 68 10 29 W at the northern point. Is it a massive cluster of all MW for La Paz, is it military, or is it something else? Any ideas of your own? Another great find. To me my first thoughts are that this is an area of many private MW (and some SW?) transmitter masts (MW radio stations). Could be other usages there as well. Lots of further research & investigation required here :-) I could post another message to the later (when more time)? Also Dan, think about attempting to contact local ham radio operators or even the image takers of Panoramio images as sources of further information. I know I keep saying it, but we need more researchers in our group to seek out information. Most in the group are silent consumers of our good (and often tiresome) work , but I'm sure that is typical of most Yahoo Groups (Ian Baxter-AUS, SW TX site Jan 29, ibid.) Close to the airport: 16 30 23 S 68 10 01 W Looks like aviation communication antenna masts, of both civil and Bolivian air forces too? Due of difficulties to glide land of airplanes on Lima airport, all MW antenna mast buildings concentrated on the far northern Lima altiplano. At least 42 like mediumwave range masts discovered on that altiplano. . . [+ coordinates for all of them] (Wolfgang Büschel, SW TXsite - wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 29 via DXLD) ** BONAIRE. Re 11-04: news about Bonaire closing published in Spanish, but not yet in English on the MN blog --- It's here: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/rnw-bonaire-relay-station-will-close-in-october-2012 We actually didn't intend to announce it in the way it came out, but due to a miscommunication our Spanish website already published a story about it last Saturday before our clients/partners had received the news formally from our Programme Distribution Department. So we had to rush out an email to them after Kim Elliott asked me if he had missed something in the weblog. I didn't even know the Spanish article had been published :-( (Andy Sennitt, Jan 28, ODXA yg via DXLD) We had it right away in the dxldyg (gh) Re Bonaire SW site to close at end A12 --- Last night I was googling around to find more information about the closing of the RNW Bonaire relay in October 2012. I did not find any but came across 2 interesting articles about the renovation of the station in 2006-2007. These I share with you below. The First one is an article dealing with the antenna matrix switches built by Siemens. http://www.automation.siemens.com/wcmsnewscenter/details.aspx?xml=/content/10001666/en/gc/Pages/ideas-0803-S22-Shortwave-transmitter.xml&xsl=publication-en-www4.xsl And the second one is from Andy Sennitt found in the RNW archives telling all about the renovation plans. http://static.rnw.nl/migratie/www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/bon060518-redirected Hope this is of use to you all (Jan Oosterveen, Jan 30, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) See also NETHERLANDS Bonaire SW site to close at end A12 It's a great pity, but very understandable because RNW has to face a big many millions of Euro's budget cut by our rightwing government over the coming years. If you like more pictures of the Bonaire Transmittersite taken before the renewal of the site in 2006, you'll find them on this link to download : http://www.mediafire.com/?ftotiz07q51hj56 (Jan Oosterveen, Netherlands, Jan 28, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) Hi Jan, Fantastic pictures, thank you very much! Whilst it may seam premature to pay tribute to the Bonaire site, I'd like to say that this SW site holds special significance to me for a few reasons. 1. It was the very first SW transmitter site I QSL'd back in October 1979.(1st QSL!) 2. It was either the first or second English SW transmission I heard (9715kHz at 0730UT in 1979 to Aus/NZ) . Perhaps REE was the first via Noblejas on 9630kHz at 0530UT in 1979? 3. I used to listen to more hours of English language transmissions of RNW via this site compared to any other transmissions from any other transmitter site around the globe. The local late afternoon RNW transmissions to Australia were very good in the late 70's to 90's etc. The excellent quality RNW English transmissions direct from this site to Aust/NZ were sadly missed when they ceased. Later; the replacement/ additional signals from the CIS relays were never as good. Yes...disappointing news, but not unexpected given the financial mess much of Europe is in (Ian Baxter, NSW, ibid.) Well, picture 6 shows the control console already set up for the new transmitters. Look for the "Thomson 2" sticker on the TFT monitor (and so the other one certainly is labelled "Thomson 1"). And to the right are apparently the controls of the Brown Boveri rig, in the typical design of the last Brown Boveri transmitter generation from the eighties. Picture 18 is a glimpse of one of the new transmitters. I particularly like how some equipment still carries the Thalès label. Reminds me of a recent railway signalling project in which Thalès came along with containers still carrying the Alcatel imprint, much to be amusement of observers who knew the story (while expelling the broadcasting stuff Thalès had purchased the railway signalling business of Alcatel). Also of already historical value is picture 5: No CRI audio feeds have to be used at Bonaire anymore. The receiver for the encrypted Babcock audio distribution system may no longer be needed as well (if it is still the currently used system at all), since no BBC programming is to be transmitted anymore. And the fourth, modest power (forget the kW figure; was it 50?) transmitter that was in use for some time was a Siemens, apparently an elder one. Where did it come from and is it still there? For reference the original item about the closure (no surprise it's in Spanish only; RNW English has no bearing on this transmission facility anymore): http://www.rnw.nl/espanol/article/radio-nederland-cerrara-la-estacion-en-bonaire (Kai Ludwig, Jan 30, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL: 4775, ZYG207, Rádio Congonhas; 2306-2400:24*, 29- Jan; M in Portuguese with mostly Portuguese pop tunes, one possibly in Spanish & English Hotel California. Brief ID at 2341 & full ID at 2355+ followed by religious commentary mentioning Santa Maria & prayers. SIO=3+43 with minor ute trill & swiper from upfrequency (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4865.04, R. Verdes Florestas, 1000, presumed with talk by a Portuguese man (sounded like he may have been reciting the Rosary), then into EZL ballads. 25 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia) 4885.02, R. Dif. Acreana, 0945, good with ballads and Brasopops, occasional talk by a male DJ. All alone on freq and peaking at S9+30. 25 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF SW7600GR, Timewave 599zx, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9592.5, Súper Rádio Deus é Amor, 2327-2339 Jan 23, man announcer with religious sermon followed by fast talking man at 2330 before returning to preaching. Fair signal and //11805 (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 9695.8, Rádio Rio Mar, 1041-1105 Jan 24, man announcer with ID in Portuguese followed by several ads. News of the Amazonas region followed with a woman announcer. Time pips at 1100 followed by music. Fair (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 9593.97, 1/2 0302, Súper Rádio Deus é Amor, usual religious talks, fair 9645.33, 1/2 0306, Rádio Bandeirantes, talks // 11924.99 weak 9665.11, 1/2 0310, Voz Missionária, songs, talks // 11749.86 Good 11749.86, 1/2 0246, Voz Missionária, religious, weak 11815, 1/2 0251, Rádio Brasil Central, nice Brazilian songs, good 11924.99, 1/2 0255, Radio Bandeirantes, interview about Brazilian politics & economics, sport, great ID. Good 15190.02, 1/2 0315, Rádio Inconfidência, songs, jingle, IDs, fair with fading (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, Perseus, T2FD, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL: 15190, ZYE522, Rádio Inconfidência (presumed); 1829-1838+, 25-Jan; M in Portuguese with phone call; ad string at 1834+. SIO=2+42 with co-channel QRM. Got only a het [carrier?] on about 15190.06 at 1602 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15190, ZYE522, Rádio Inconfidência; 0243, 29-Jan; M in Portuguese with mentions of Brasil. // 6010 ZYE521, both weak (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A Rádio Inconfidência em 15190 me pagou um QSL semana passada, transmitindo com melhor sinal de recepção em Goiás depois das 2100 UTC, com os seguintes contatos: Av. Raja Gabaglia, 1666- Luxemburgo Belo Horizonte-Minas Gerais, Brasil CEP30441-194 Tel: 55 31 3298-3401 Fax: 55 31 3298-3403 E-mail: diretoria @ inconfidência.com.br 73 a todos. RECEPTOR: MOTOBRAS RM-PF 121 AC. ANTENA: FERRITE/TELESCÓPICA 1,5m (Prof Carlos, PP2006SWL, Senador Canedo-GO -16 44'09.01" -49 05'32.24" Jan 30, radioescutas yg via DXLD ** BULGARIA. 11895-11900-11905, 31/1 1041, BNR Horizont DRM, Bulgaria, "BNR Digital" Interview about Middle East and Arabic World, songs. Strong signal, excellent audio (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, Perseus & Icom R71E, T2FD 15 meters long, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA. Radio Bulgaria's Program Schedule Sunday 0000 News, Views behind the news, Keyword Bulgaria, Answering your letters, (Time out for music) 0300 News, Views behind the news, Keyword Bulgaria, Answering your letters, (Time out for music) 0730 News, News briefs, Answering your letters, (Time out for music) 1830 News, Views behind the news 2200 News, Views behind the news, Folk studio, (Keyword Bulgaria), Walks and talks, (Folk studio) Monday 0000 News, Views behind the news, Folk studio, (Keyword Bulgaria), Walks and talks, (Folk studio) 0300 News, Views behind the news, Folk studio, (Keyword Bulgaria), Walks and talks, (Folk studio) 0730 News, Answering your letters, (Time out for music) 1830 News, Events and developments, Sports 2200 News, Events and developments, Sports Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music Tuesday 0000 News, Events and developments, Sports, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music 0300 News, Events and developments, Sports, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music 0530 News, Folk studio, (Walks and Talks) 1830 News, Events and developments 2200 News, Events and developments, Magazine economy, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music Wednesday 0000 News, Events and developments, Magazine economy, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music 0300 News, Events and developments, Magazine economy, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music 0730 News, Keyword Bulgaria, (Time out for music) 1830 News, Events and developments 2200 News, Events and developments, The way we live, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music Thursday 0000 News, Events and developments, The way we live, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music 0300 News, Events and developments, The way we live, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music 0730 News, Keyword Bulgaria, (Time out for music) 1830 News, Events and developments 2200 News, Events and developments, History club, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music Friday 0000 News, Events and developments, History club, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music 0300 News, Events and developments, History club, Keyword Bulgaria, Time out for music 0730 News, Keyword Bulgaria, (Time out for music) 1830 News, Events and developments 2200 News, Events and developments, Keyword Bulgaria, DX programme, Time out for music Saturday 0000 News, Events and developments, Keyword Bulgaria, DX programme, Time out for music 0300 News, Events and developments, Keyword Bulgaria, DX programme, Time out for music 0730 News, (News briefs), DX programme, Time out for music 1830 News, Views behind the news 2200 News, Views behind the news, Keyword Bulgaria, Answering your letters, (Time out for music) Consult Target Listening and World English Survey for frequencies (via Programming Maters, Feb ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** BURMA [non]. BURMA (not) – Heard a station yesterday afternoon on 5905 from 0009 to 0029 in a Southeastern Asian language with nice signals. Station closed down at 0029. Sent an audio recording of the last 30 seconds to the Democratic Voice of Burma email address in Oslo, Norway, to see if it was them. Confirmed in this morning’s mail: Dear Phil, This is to confirm you that this is our station and it is incredible that you heard the transmission across the world. I am afraid we don't have the system of QSL card and I hope you can take this letter as confirmation to what you heard on the radio. Best regards, Aye Chan -- Aye Chan Naing Executive Director/Chief Editor Democratic Voice of Burma P.O Box 6720 ST. Olavs Plass 0130 Oslo Norway Tel - 47 911 077 43 (Phil Finkle, Marietta GA, Jan 27, dxldyg via DXLD) BTW, this 5905 transmission at 2330-2430 is via Wertachtal, GERMANY, but next story says they are dropping morning broadcast (gh, DLD) ** BURMA [non]. RADIO CHIEF INTERVIEWED ON PROGRAMMING CHANGES, FUNDING ISSUES | Text of report by New Delhi-based Burmese opposition Mizzima News Agency New Delhi (Mizzima) - The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), which suffered funding cut recently, says it will eliminate some morning radio programmes. At the same time, as the sole exile TV broadcaster, DVB is making preparations to expand its TV programmes. Mizzima reporter Tun Tun interviewed DVB Executive Director Aye Chan Naing on the funding cuts, trends in the exiled Burmese media, stopping the short wave radio programmes and the implications and changes in the policies of organizations that fund DVB and other exiled media. Q: What is the percentage of the funding cuts and what is the amount? A: It's about 15 per cent and the amount is approximate 500,000 dollars. Q: Because of the funding cuts what programmes in your regular operations will be affected? A: We have to cut our airtime in radio programmes and some entertainment programmes. We have to reduce some of our office operations, too. Q: What will be the impact of the reductions in your operations? A: We have to cut our airtime in shortwave radio programmes, but we will expand in our TV programmes. I think the main impact will be on our radio programmes. The impact will be severe in this area. But on the other hand, we will balance programme cuts with overhead costs cut at our Oslo office to minimise the impact on our listeners and audiences in Burma. For instance, if we can significantly reduce operational costs in the Oslo office, there will be no impact on our programmes. Q: What is likely to be the impact on the audiences inside Burma due to some programme cuts? A: I think there will be little impact on our audiences. In radio programmes, we will stop our broadcasting of the morning programme. There will be some impact on short wave radio programmes. But at the same time, we will expand our TV programmes. Currently, we telecast our programmes two to three times daily. We will now extend this airtime considerably, especially for news programmes. We have airtime for round the clock TV telecasts, so we will expand TV programmes in many areas. The TV audiences inside Burma will be more informed about what is going on in Burma. Q: What are the reasons for the funding cuts? They are not nurturing the media organization. Their [donors'] funding is based on their political policy. If they change their political policy, certainly it will have an impact on us too. A: Actually, it's not a funding cut. The donors, for their own reasons, may simply not make a contribution for some years. In the long term, we could face similar loss of funds by other existing donors. So we have to consider our long term plan in facing such a financial crisis. This is not a budget cut to DVB because of unsatisfactory performance and operations. The lack of funding is due to their own problems and policies. Q: The BBC Burmese Service had similar funding cuts. Some online exiled media had to stop their magazines and journals in the English language. Do you see any structural changes in the exiled media under the reduced funding situation? A: I think there is one point that all of our exiled media should consider seriously. Our donors are not giving funds to us as media organizations. Their funding philosophy and objective of giving funds to us is concerned with politics. They are providing these funds to us because there is no media freedom in Burma and because of the unfavourable political landscape for a free press. If they change their political policy, certainly it will have an impact. So there is a danger for us, challenges that are immense, because we must commit to our schedule and programmes in advance. We cannot stop our programmes. So we must have long term plans. If we cannot build sound and reliable funding, the danger will be very serious to us and to all exiled media, for Mizzima or the Irrawaddy or DVB. All of us. What all the presentations made by the delegates sent by the SPDC (junta) to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) today are lies. Only the exiled media can expose such lies made in the international arena. One more thing. What is even worse is the lack of media freedom inside Burma. There are human rights violations inside Burma. The statements made on Friday by the delegates sent by SPDC (junta) to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) are blatant lies. Only the exiled media can expose such lies made in the international arena. The domestic media cannot do so. So under this circumstance, the role of exiled media is very important for the people of Burma, foreign governments, NGOs and people in foreign countries. They need to know what is really going on in Burma by relying on the exiled media. If the exiled media cannot survive, it will be dangerous for everyone. Q: Some observers are saying that the donors' priority is to channel their funds into Burma? A: Some of the rumours are true. Some are real. But I see also that some of our donors, from Europe and the US, already have operations inside Burma. At the same time, they have a commitment to continue their funding to the exiled organizations too. But on the other hand, we should ask what are they thinking, why have they stopped funding some of us? We should consider the overall view because all of these donors have supported and funded the Burmese pro- democracy movement for 20 years. Now their ideology, their thoughts, and their tactics are changing. So all of us need to consider why they have changed. In our view, the changes inside Burma are not real change, only cosmetic changes. They conducted a general election, we have a Constitution now and a new civilian government will emerge soon. If they [donors] really believe in all these cosmetic changes, it must be because of our failure to convince them these are just superficial changes. Q: What will DVB do if you have more cuts? A: We have started our own contingency plans. We must consider how we can continue our funding and generate income from our current operations. We have full faith on our existing donor organizations. They also believe and recognise our important role. So we don't have to worry about our funding for the next four to six years because the role of the exiled media will be important as long as there is no change inside Burma and there is no media freedom in Burma. We don't have to worry about our funding for the next four to six years because the role of exile media will be important as long as there is no change inside Burma, and there is no media freedom in Burma. If the SPDC really changes by giving media freedom and everybody can say whatever they wish; we don't need to stay as an exile organization, we don't need to work here anymore. We will re-enter our country. So I see all of these changes also to be dependent on the Burmese government. If they still gag the media, if they ban media freedom and freedom of expression in Burma, our role will be important. So the democracy- loving governments and Western countries will continue their support to us and funding to us. I have no doubt of it. But we must prepare ourselves to cope with the changes. Some Western governments might have changed their tactics, but they are not naive enough to believe all of what the SPDC is trying to tell them. Another point I'd like to make about the policy changes being made by these Western governments. They can change their policy, but there are people, social communities and NGOs in their countries too. They listen to and care about what these communities are saying. They cannot alone change their policies. Q: The people from Burma have concerns about DVB reducing its services. What would you like to say to them? A: We are extremely sorry for cutting our airtime in radio programmes but on the other hand, we will try to maintain our present work standards. Another good point in the changes is the expansion of TV programmes by airing more programmes and more airtime in telecasting news in almost real time. Unfortunately, for listeners of our short wave radio programmes, which are accessible in all nooks and corners of the country, this programming will be cut. TV programmes do have a limitation. But we will try to telecast real time programmes daily, maybe for the first time in our country. Source: Mizzima News Agency, New Delhi, in English 0000 gmt 28 Jan 11 (via BBCM via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC to expand its services Everyone, Every Way: CBC/Radio-Canada`s strategy for the future Ottawa, February 1, 2011 --- CBC/Radio-Canada today outlined its strategy for the future. Everyone, Every way sets out what Canadians can expect from their public broadcaster over the next five years. ``We want to be recognized by Canadians as the leader in expressing Canadian culture and enriching democracy on their behalf,`` said Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. ``This is what will drive all of our actions over the next five years.`` Everyone, Every way is about the future of public broadcasting in Canada. It`s about transformation in the midst of a technological revolution, and about evolving alongside a changing country. It`s a strategy that binds CBC and Radio-Canada around common priorities. But, it also respects the reality that execution of the strategy needs to be tailored to the uniqueness of their respective markets. Over the next five years, CBC/Radio-Canada will strengthen its commitment to original, innovative, high-quality Canadian content. We will also commit to airing at least 10 signature events per year in English and in French --- events like Live Right Now and Concert inaugural de la nouvelle salle de concert de Montréal avec l`OSM --- which bring Canadians together in large numbers, are delivered on multiple platforms, and have a meaningful impact on participants and viewers alike. CBC will be looking to expand its regional footprint, launching new radio stations, introducing new local websites and services, and increasing regional news and programming. Radio-Canada will enhance its presence in regional life by producing engaging local programming that can then be used for broadcast nationally, by delivering more local and regional news, and by providing more local French-language content on regional websites, especially those outside of Quebec. And, in an evolving digital and on-demand world, CBC/Radio-Canada will continue its leadership in new platforms and digital services, doubling our investment over the next five years. ``The way forward will be about seizing the tremendous opportunity we have before us to truly change our relationship with Canadians on a national, community and personal level,`` says Lacroix. ``We can`t be all things to all people, but we can and must in some way be something for, and mean something to every Canadian. Everyone, Every way is our commitment to Canadians, and it`s the measure by which we want to be judged. We will meet their expectations. Nothing less.`` CBC/Radio-Canada will deliver on this commitment in four ways: by creating and delivering original and innovative, quality Canadian content; by reflecting and drawing together all Canadians; by actively engaging with audiences; and, by being cost-effective and accountable. To evaluate progress, we have developed metrics to track and assess our performance by service and genre against the strategy twice a year. Take a closer look at Everyone, Every way About CBC/Radio-Canada CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, Internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages, plus seven languages for international audiences. In 2011, CBC/Radio-Canada is celebrating 75 years of serving Canadians and being at the centre of the democratic, social and cultural life of Canada. For additional information, please contact: Marco Dubé Director, Communications Services and Corporate Spokesperson CBC/Radio-Canada, (613)288-6039, marco.dube(at)cbc.ca They have said there will be more detailed updates in March when the CBC budget is released. We will see what new stations come about then. Stay tuned. 73 Best of DX (Shawn Axelrod VE4DX1SMA, Winnipeg MB, Grid square EN19kv, REMEMBER ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN HEAR FOREVER, AMFMTVDX mailing list via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. CANADIAN RADIO SHOWS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF CUBAN REVOLUTION http://www.chuo.fm/en/home HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 26 (acn) Canadian radio stations dedicated two shows to the 52nd anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution featuring members of the Cuban diplomatic mission to Canada. A reported posted on the Cuban Foreign Minstry’s website mentions the CHUO 89.1 FM radio station of the University of Ottawa; and CKLN, 88.1 FM, of the University of Ryerson, in Toronto. CHUO 89.1 FM dedicated part of its Dawn on the Ranch show to Cuba. The program started with the Cuban national anthem and the reading of a release on the anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in January, 1959. http://www.ckln.fm The show included statements by Miguel Fraga, press attaché of the Cuban embassy to Canada who noted that his fellow countrymen celebrated the date proud of the history of his country. Fraga spoke about the efforts and dedication of the Cuban people to recover from terrorist attacks, hurricanes, as well as from the world economic crisis that hit the island over the last few years. The diplomatic official took advantage of the opportunity to call for the release of the five Cuban anti terrorist fighters imprisoned in the U.S. since 1998 and urge the American government to put an end to the economic blockade against the island. Meanwhile, CKLN, 88.1 FM had the Cuban general consul Jorge Soberon as guest to one of its shows. Soberon answered to questions about the Draft Economic and Social Guidelines of the Party and the Revolution. Soberon thanked Canadian organizations for their several actions in support of the Cuban government and people. Source: http://bit.ly/he04Kz (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Jan 27, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) Is the following coincidental??? (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. TORONTO CKLN LICENSE REVOKED --- Via Canada Newswire OTTAWA-GATINEAU, Jan. 28 /CNW/ - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today revoked the licence of CKLN-FM, a community-based campus radio station located at Ryerson University. The licence holder, CKLN Radio Inc., was found to have been in breach of numerous regulations and conditions of licence. It was unable to convince the Commission that it could operate the station in a compliant manner going forward. "Holding a broadcasting licence is a privilege that comes with responsibilities and regulatory obligations, " said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC. "CKLN Radio was given several warnings and opportunities to come into compliance. Each time, it demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to address our concerns. Taking away its licence is the only appropriate course of action in this case." The Commission began investigating CKLN-FM in July 2009 after receiving numerous complaints about the station's governance structure, day-to-day management and operations, programming and ability to remain on air. At the time, the station experienced significant infighting and the volunteers, staff and management were locked out of the studio premises by the building manager. During the seven-month lockout, CKLN-FM broadcast an intermittent loop of programming without any ongoing community involvement or oversight by the licensee. Once it resumed normal operations, CKLN Radio Inc. lacked any significant quality-control mechanism for its programming and there was little involvement from the Ryerson University student body despite its status as a campus radio station. It was also unable to meet some of the basic requirements of all licence holders, which include the submission of audible on-air tapes, program log and other records, and complete annual returns. Today's decision follows a proceeding that included a public hearing, which was held on December 8 and 9, 2010 (Via Bob Wylie, Jan 28, ODXA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) CKLN-88.1 licence revoked http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/2011-56.htm It looks like the fundamental story is that there was a dispute over control of the station that led the CRTC to lose confidence CKLN had the *ability* to comply with the rules. I'll defer to Saul, Bill, or Scott as to how likely this decision is to be final. It doesn't seem to me to be nearly as blatant a situation as the one that led to the "non-renewal" of CHSC-1220 last year (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, 28 Jan, WTFDA via DXLD) I'm shocked it came to this; did not expect such drastic action without a step in between (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) Neither did one of the Commissioners, who issued a dissenting view making exactly that point (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) I'll have an open channel to DX in Toronto, though 88.1 is hampered north of the city (and at Burnt River) by a station in Penetanguishene ON. But I'd rather have the station - it wasn't bad, and was getting its act together. I think there may be more to this than meets the eye. The CRTC has been asserting its authority more than usual the last year or so. There may be a power struggle going on between the CRTC chair and the federal government. The decision is an interesting read, particularly the dissenting opinion of one commissioner. Stay tuned to this one - I would expect an appeal to the courts (Saul Chernos, ibid.) Even if they don't appeal (or the appeal fails) I would be surprised if an available frequency in Toronto remains available for long. Remember too that there is no non-commercial reservation of frequencies below 92 MHz in Canada (Saul knows this but some of my fellow south-of-the-border types may not). So it would be possible for a commercial station to be authorized (or for an existing one to move to) 88.1. But I agree: it's unlikely this one will go away without a fight. BTW, the theoretical drop-dead date is February 12th. I would imagine there will be a temporary injunction/suspension/whatever that will leave CKLN on the air while the legalities work themselves out (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) I would prefer 88.1 stay on with their technically-inferior sometimes there-sometimes not signal to keep 88.1 DXable. I would never have gotten 88.1 Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. if the CKLN technicians knew how to properly keep a station operating at full power. ;-) wrh (Bill Hepburn, Ont., ibid.) You had the DR signal when the turmoil at the station was at its worst. There was no one on staff at the time to fix anything. You were awful lucky (Saul Chernos, ibid.) Was there a period when they were at reduced power? The CRTC decision says they were locked out of the transmitter room for a period. There's certainly the implied concern something bad could have happened RF-wise (transmitter being off-frequency/emitting spurious signals/etc.) that couldn't have been stopped in a timely fashion, but it doesn't say anything about any such thing actually happening (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) CKLN was easily overridden; the channel filled up with semi-locals such as CFRH Penetang, WUBJ Jamestown, WFRW Webster & CBEE Chatham when the antenna was pointed away from Toronto. When pointed at Toronto, CFRH at 112 miles and roughly the same direction came in at equal or even greater strength at times. Even today it doesn't seem like it's at the full 225 watts. wrh (Bill Heburn, Grimsby, Ont.,, ibid.) CRTC YANKS LICENCE OF RYERSON’S CKLN RADIO http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/crtc-yanks-licence-of-ryersons-ckln-radio/article1886385/ CRTC yanks licence of Ryerson’s CKLN radio Ryerson University’s 28-year-old community-radio station will fall silent in two weeks if the CRTC has its way. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission revoked CKLN’s licence, which wasn’t set to expire until 2014, saying the station wasn’t complying with regulations. Konrad von Finckenstein, CRTC chairman, said in a news release Friday that CKLN had been given several warnings and opportunities to clean up its act. “Each time, it demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to address our concerns. Taking away its licence is the only appropriate course of action in this case.” The CRTC said the station had problems with in-fighting, which in 2009 resulted in the building manager locking out staff and volunteers for seven months, during which time the station looped old content. But according to Andrew Lehrer, a member of CKLN’s board of directors, things are getting better. He said the CRTC decision focused on old problems that had been remedied – such as the lockout and the station’s failure to log all of its content. CKLN has also adopted new bylaws, improved equipment, beaten down a substantial portion of its debt and was on the verge of hiring a new station manager, he added. While Mr. Lehrer admitted there were still problems, he disputed the CRTC’s claim that the station wasn’t addressing its concerns. “This was the first hearing, and there were other options,” Mr. Lehrer said. “They could have temporarily suspended our license. They went for the most extreme option.” While Ryerson Students’ Union president Toby Whitfield refused to comment on the CRTC decision, he agreed that CKLN has been improving. “The last six months, they’ve definitely tried to reinvigorate themselves,” he said. Meanwhile, Ryerson spokeswoman Janet Mowat said the university has little to say on the matter. “At the end of the day, CKLN is an independent community-run radio station that happens to be located on the Ryerson campus, but that’s about the extent of it.” However, the station does receive student fees – $10 a year from each full-time student. According to the student union president, that’s about 24,000 students, or $240,000. Mr. Lehrer said they may appeal the CRTC’s decision before the plug is pulled on Feb. 12. “People have been phoning in crying,” he said. “They’re upset.” With files by Shane Dingman (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Well, am I not I correct as a mis-informed Westerner that the "original" station at what was then Ryerson Tech. Institute was the highly-regarded CJRT, which is now a jazz station on 91.1. So where/why did Ryerson as a university deserve to get "another" non- commercial community licence? TD (Theo Donnelly, BC, ODXA yg via DXLD) CKLN was just based at Ryerson, I don't believe it was licensed to the school. As far as CJRT, here's a snippet from Wikipedia. I know Wikipedia isn't always reliable but usually for these kind of things it is. "Ryerson owned the station until 1974 when, due to financial restraints, the post-secondary institution announced it would surrender its broadcast licence. Due to a public outcry in support of the station the Ontario government of Premier Bill Davis announced that it would fund the station through an independent corporation and ownership was transferred to CJRT-FM INC, a non-profit corporation which received over 60% of its funding from the provincial government and the rest from donations by listeners and corporate and foundation support. In 1996 CJRT-FM's government support was discontinued by Premier Mike Harris, forcing the station to restructure into a self-sustaining public broadcaster. Regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), CJRT's license is categorized under "other special FM", a third sector of Canadian radio broadcasting that provides to Canadians a style of radio that is an alternative to that available from the CBC or private commercial stations. The radio station has since had to support itself entirely by corporate and private donations and by limited commercial revenue. Its licence from the CRTC prohibits it from running more than four minutes an hour of commercials. " (via "John H" sudsyjkh, ibid.) Media Release Friday, 28 January 2011 23:40 Thanks to everyone who has been calling in. If you want to express your support for CKLN, please send your comments to board@ckln.fm This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will send them to the CRTC. CKLN Statement on the CRTC's Decision The Commission's decision to revoke our license is shocking, heart- breaking and, according to CRTC Commissioner Louise Poirier, "unprecedented". CKLN has been faithfully serving a diverse Toronto audience for more than 27 years. It is a place where anyone can get trained, learn about broadcasting and speak to their community. We have provided a place for new music, new voices and under-represented issues. We have been the Voice of the Underground. We were not in compliance while CKLN was off-air in 2009 and in intermittent subsequent periods but this was completely unintentional and once the problems were identified, we collectively undertook in good faith to remedy them. We are responsible campus and community broadcasters and the unprecedented decision of the CRTC to revoke our license rather than issue a mandatory order took us and the broadcast community entirely by surprise. If this decision stands it is a huge loss for Toronto and for community media across the country. CKLN is holding a general meeting this Monday at 7pm in the Ryerson Student Centre, 55 Gould Street to discuss the situation. For more information, please email board @ ckln.fm This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call CKLN's Board of Directors' Vice-Chair and Secretary Andrew Lehrer at 416-597-2740 (CKLN website via Artie Bigley, DXLD) CKLN BOARD ‘NOT GOING TO LIE DOWN’ AFTER LICENCE REVOKED John Porter, a regular guest on a weekly show on CKLN called Cinephobia, knocks on the door Friday trying to get in to do the show. DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR Image [caption] By Ashante Infantry Entertainment Reporter Published On Fri Jan 28 2011 CKLN-FM’s “surprised” and “disappointed” board of directors called an emergency session Friday after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission revoked its licence, citing a lack of quality control and numerous regulatory violations. Although the seven-person board of the troubled community radio station was anticipating the decision, which came mid-morning Friday, and met the previous night to prepare for it, chair Ron Nelson was floored by the outcome. . . http://www.thestar.com/news/article/929855--ckln-board-not-going-to-lie-down-after-licence-revoked (via Artie Bigley, OH, DXLD) ** CANADA. And on a very vaguely related point --- it looks like that CARNTEST that was authorized on 98.7 last summer worked. A. Fitzroy Gordon had filed for an African/Caribbean station on that frequency back in 2006; the Department of Industry was unwilling to approve the use of 98.7 (due to CBLA-FM at the same site on 99.1). The CRTC granted Gordon a licence but contingent on finding a different frequency. He tried but was unable to do so. Today, he applied again, and the CRTC noted that this time, the Department of Industry says the application is technically acceptable. The CRTC hasn't approved it yet, but given that they've approved it before and believe it's identical in its non-technical parameters, I think it's almost certain they *will* approve it this time (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) CANADIAN GOVERNMENT HELPS BLACK RADIO STATION GET TO AIR http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/01/29/17082661.html By BRIAN LILLEY, Parliamentary Bureau Last Updated: January 29, 2011 3:45pm OTTAWA - A new radio station aimed at serving Toronto’s black community took a giant step forward Friday after years of struggle including an ongoing fight with the CBC, which sought to block the station. CARN-FM, that stands for Caribbean and African Radio Network, was originally approved to broadcast in 2006 but first needed to find a frequency on Toronto’s crowded radio dial. A signal was identified at 98.7 but given how close that signal sits to CBC’s Toronto flagship station 99.1, the CRTC told CARN they needed to work with the state broadcaster. “We would have had this radio station a long time ago if it wasn’t for the CBC,” said Fitzroy Gordon, the man behind CARN-FM. “CBC fought me every step of the way.” CBC opposed CARN using the 98.7 signal, claiming that its own internal testing showed the proposed station would interfere with CBC’s signal. Gordon asked for the state broadcaster to share their engineering tests showing his small signal would interfere with CBC, but they refused. Even using the access to information system failed to shake the reports loose. CBC blacked out all the relevant information in the documents they released. Gordon said despite reaching out to CBC, the government-funded broadcaster did what they could to block CARN from launching on 98.7. “They said ‘we don’t mind if you have a radio station to serve your population, but not in my neighbourhood,'" he said. The ongoing battle required Industry Canada to step in and conduct their own tests of the signal to see if CARN would cause problems for CBC’s listeners. “Based on monitoring and analysis of test transmissions using FM 98.7 MHz in Toronto, Industry Canada has determined that the IBN operation would not cause harmful interference to the CBC’s FM stations in Toronto, at 99.1 MHz or in Peterborough at 98.7 MHz,” the industry department said in a statement. On Friday, the CRTC posted notice that they would hold a “non- appearing hearing” on the new CARN application, meaning the renewed application will likely be approved without hearing new witnesses. Gordon hopes to bring news, talk and sports programming to the airwaves that will serve the interests of Toronto’s black community. On the music side of things he hopes to offer something different than the current hip-hop and top 40 that dominates. “The basis of the music will be the old R & B style. Aretha Franklin, the Supremes will be brought back. From yesterday to today with R & B. We’ll have soca, jazz, reggae,” Gordon said. Jason Kenney, the federal minister responsible for immigration, citizenship and multiculturalism blasted CBC for their attempts, over several years to block CARN. “This is an effort by black leaders in the GTA to get programming on the air that will attract young listeners in the black community with a positive message,” Kenney told QMI in an interview. "The CBC did everything they could to throw obstacles in their path. I find it somewhat ironic given CBC’s lecturing on multiculturalism that they did everything they could to stop a legitimate expression of multiculturalism,” Kenney said. “In this case at least it was all about a very narrow read of their own corporate interests.” (via Kevin Redding, TN, Jan 31, ABDX via DXLD) What is the real call? Not CARN-FM ** CANADA. BC--Vancouver area--here is Mike Cherry's analysis of two stations about to change frequencies: ``Hi, Mike. I notice where CFRO Vancouver is moving to 100.5 with 11 kw (h & v), 571 m, changing frequency with CKPK. When CFRO makes its big move, please check to see if it might be embracing stereo. I have listed it as mono.`` Currently, listener-supported, commercial-free CFRO "Co-Op Radio" on 102.7 is mono and has always been so. They have horrid, flat audio due to either a poor or no processor. They struggle along on listener donations & memberships. The Pattison Radio Group, owners of CKPK 100.5 "The Peak" want a better signal and discovered that 102.7 has Class C status in Vancouver. They are paying for all of CFRO's costs for the swap and this includes the current, stereo facility on 100.5 It's a good deal for "Co-Op Radio" as there is significant ca$h attached to this for 5 years of operating costs. The proposal is before the CRTC and my guess is that the CRTC will approve this as there are so many benefits for CFRO in this package. Jim Pattison's engineers always move swiftly any time they get CRTC approval for new stations, so the swap will occur once the new 100 kW 102.7 plant is installed, tested and ready. Pattison Group already has their own tower, which includes their CJJR 93.7 "JR Country" so this won't take long. ``Its primary will be 67 km. I list its music as pe (progressive rock and ethnic), and nonID as "Co-Op Radio." I assume it will stay noncommercial.`` It will stay non-commercial. I have no idea how you want to list it: Calling it 'progressive rock' and 'ethnic' only tells a tiny picture of this station's format: it is a typical community-run variety station operated by volunteers with every flavour of talk, every genre of music imaginable at some point in their broadcast week. The new 102.7 signal will travel south well until it hits adjacent channel splatter from KZOK 102.5 as one nears the metro Seattle area - probably around Everett, Wash is my guess based on antenna contour pattern maps for this new proposal. Over on the Olympic Peninsula, west of Seattle and south of Victoria, the new Class C CKPK on 102.7 should carry nicely down to Port Angeles, Wash. ``And CKPK is going to 102.7, 100000 watts horizontal (with no vertical remaining), 590 m, for 91 km primary coverage radius. I assume it will stay commercial, stereo, and retain its "The Peak" identity (rock format).`` Yes to all of the above and as far as i know, their are no imminent plans to change formats, but hey, this is radio, Bruce! It is currently "AAA" aimed at the younger part of the demo: 18-34. ``Is CIOC-1 98.5 Salt Spring Island stereo?`` This isn't even on air, Bruce. It is only an application for a low power signal 'fill-in' for the northern outskirts of the Victoria area where it's main station is licensed to. The CRTC already turned down Rogers' application for a 3 kW signal booster on 98.5 from Salt Spring Is as it would encroach on the Salt Spring, Duncan and Nanaimo radio markets. A community group wants to put a community FM on 98.7 from Gabriola Island just north of here and vigorously opposed the CIOC booster, Proposed suburban Vancouver station CKPM 98.7 Port Moody's owner Matthew McBride also protested, as did tiny 5 watt community FM station CICV 98.7 in Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island. Provided CIOC uses a directional antenna aimed towards the region north of ictoria with only 10 - 20 watts, it's likely the CRTC will approve it, as the main 98.5 signal suffers from multi-path on the Saanich Peninsula and the town of Sidney-By-The-Sea. ``I hope you are fine. As ever, Bruce Elving`` Nice to hear from you Bruce - hope you and Carol are both in good health and am making much use of the latest "FM Atlas" and keep an eye on Kristine's "FMedia" blog. Take care, Bruce... Mike -- CJJZ - 89.1 FM Stereo Sky Valley Radio - "C . JJazZ" Website: http://www3.telus.net/skyvalleyradio MP3 audio stream: http://89.238.166.245:9082/listen.pls (all via Bruce Elving, Jan 30, DXLD) ** CANADA. 6069.99, CFRX, 0806, news (or similar) by woman, then into talk show (hosted by a man). Missed ID if given. Mostly in the mush, but fair on peaks. 24 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF SW7600GR, Timewave 599zx, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [non]. QSL: 11955, Radio Sadaye Zindagi (Afghan One) via Wertachtal. Full data (with power, site, azimuth and name of the Broadcast indicated) ‘reaching nations one person at a time multi- colour QSL Card, with schedule for a postal report sent to Bible Voice Broadcasting, Toronto address. Reply in 15 days (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHAD. 6165. 21/1 2115. RDN Tchadienne, nice songs, French talks, good (Giampiero Bernardini with Dario Monferini in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia province, Italy), at the seaside, for our Bocca di Magra DX nights (Boc 22), Perseus & RFSpace SDR-IQ / ANT: Wellbrook loop LFL 1010, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6165, Radio Tchad, 2202-2217 Jan 23, in the clear after Zambia [q.v.] closedown with discussion in French by two male announcers. Fair to good signal (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) 6165, RNT, 0427-0503, Jan 27. Did not hear any trace of them on the air, only Zambia (Radio 2) in the clear (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6165, RNT in French, S=9+10dB at 2138 UT Jan 27, more than fair signal. Deanovec Croatia co-channel not heard, registered on 3985 from 2130 UT instead. 73 wb df5sx (Wolffang Büschel, ibid.) 6165, RNT, 0427-0450, Jan 28. Today, unlike yesterday, clearly heard the Chad IS under a stronger signal from Zambia (Radio 2); assume it was propagation that made for segments of weakly mixing with Zambia and other segment with no hint of Chad being on the air at all; always poor to below threshold level (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 4800, CPBS-1, Gelmud. 0003 January 28, 2011. Fair with Chinese female fast-paced talk, lots of brief bumper music, commercials or program promos. Quickly faded down to nearly gone by 0020. Also, 4220 and 5060 ChiComs also poorly audible at the same time. Next eve, 2359-0001 January 28/29, weaker, but good enough to hear the slow Chicom time sounders at 0000 (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC- R75; Hammarlund HQ-180A; Aqua Guide 705 Radio Direction Finder; Sony ICF-7600GR; GE SuperRadio III; RadioShack DX-399; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X in-room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. CNR 8 (Voice of Minorities) latest schedule: Kazakh 0100-0200 15670, 11810, 11630, 9455, 1422, 1143 0200-0300 15670, 11810, 12055, 11630, 1422, 1143 0500-0600 15415, 11780, 12055, 11630, 1422, 1143 (9470, 7340 XJ) 0900-1000 15415, 11780, 12055, 11630, 1422, 1143 1400-1500 9645, 7445, 9630, 6180, 1143 (6015, 7340 XJ) 1500-1705 9645, 7445, 9630, 6145 Korean 2055-2300 5975, 5955, 1143 0400-0500 9610, 9440, 1143 0600-0700 9610=, 9440= 1000-1100 9785, 7410, 1143, 1017 (1206 HL) 1100-1200 6020, 5975 Mongolian 2300-0100 7445, 5955, 1143 0300-0400 11815, 9610, 1143 (9750 7270 6040 NM) 0700-0800 15415=, 11780= 0800-0900 11780=, 5955= 1200-1300 9615, 5955 1143 1300-1400 9645, 7445, 9630, 6180 + not Tu. = not W (NDXC via Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) ** CHINA. EAST JAMMERSTAN: 8400, Crash & Bang Chinese Music Jammer; 1244, 30-Jan; No other audion heard; not there at 1301 (Frodge-MI) 10300, Crash & Bang Chinese Music Jammer; 1237, 30-Jan; No other audion heard; not there at 1301 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake Jan 30: 8400, at 1352, JBA with flutter 9380, at 1354, fair vs presumed DW in Chinese, not audible, not 1400+ Firedrake Jan 30, all //: 13960, poor-fair at 2342 14950, good at 2342 15900, fair at 2343 10300, good with flutter at 2347 8400, poor at 2348 During these few minutes I searched continuously between 8 and 19 MHz; quite a good haul, five of them, for this time of day. 15550, while searching for Firedrake, one Chinese talk broadcast of significance, at 2352 Jan 30 with usual over-assertive style in dialog, announcements, fair with flutter; timesignal to 2400* and off. Aoki shows this is jamming RFA via Tinian, also until 2400, while CNR1 supposedly continues until 0800, 100 kW, 175 degrees from Beijing 572 site, but none of that audible. Firedrake Jan 31: after finding 5 frequencies 24 hours earlier, I look again at 2327-2330: 8400, good, but very heavy flutter 10300, slightly stronger, also very heavy flutter No sign of it anywhere else up to 18 MHz, including the three frequencies heard yesterday, 13960, 14950, 15900. But the CNR1 jammer on 15550 was again audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. 13650, CRI in Portuguese via CUBA, Jan 31 at 2314, VG signal but very undermodulated, distorted; also with BFO one can tell the carrier is slightly unstable. Disco-beat song about ``Internationale``, then announcement in Brazilian, at 2316 into `Panorama Económico``. During brief fades of 13650 at 2318, I can hear an echo, apparently 38 megameters by longpath, obscured without the fades by direct off-the- back path of the 135 degree beam toward Brasil. Just before this, during CRI talk segment, I could hear some very weak music underneath 13650, not even enough to make a SAH, no doubt R. Japan in Thai, 300 kW, 235 degrees from Yamata, also arriving here direct off its back. Much stronger and clearer signal from Cuba`s relay of Venezuela on 13680. If the ChiCom only knew what crappy equipment their Cuban clients are using for CRI relays: others on 5990, 13740, 15120 are also inferior to the excellent modulation RHC manages to achieve on some, but hardly all, of its own frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. CRI and QSLs. CRI is an excellent QSLer; however, over the years I have only had luck once with them indicating the transmitter / relay site on the card. Has anyone had any better luck and is there a secret to having that detail added to the card? (Steve, Jan 27, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** CHINA. Re: [dxld] Maoming Marine Meteorological Broadcasting, 3360 Do you have the other two stations' freqs/skeds? 73/Liz (Liz Cameron, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Googled them up by searching DXLD archive on ``Meteorological`` (gh) Viz.: ** CHINA. SHANGDONG SHIDAO MARITIME METEOROLOGICAL STATION According to the Chinese DX’er Zhang ShiFeng, Shangdong Shidao Maritime Meteorological Station started regular transmission in Chinese at 0020 on April 3 on 6750 kHz USB. Their daily schedules are at 0020 and 0920, the broadcast includes maritime meteorological information on Bo Hai, Bo Hai Strait, and Yellow Sea (Huang Hai), produced by Shandong Meteorological Agency and seven regional maritime meteorological agencies. The broadcast is aimed to propagate as far as 1500km. When the warnings are issued, the station transmits at any time. I confirmed the broadcast at 0920, continuing about 3 minutes. Their address is: Shidao town, Rongcheng city, Shangdong 264309, China (Takahito Akabayashi, Japan, May 7-8, DX LISTENING DIGEST 9-039) ** CHINA. According to Zhoushan Meteorological Agency http://www.zsyqx.com Zhoushan Maritime Meteorological Radio Station started official shortwave transmission on March 23. They broadcast maritime meteorological information to about 100,000 ships in East China sea at 0000, 0300, 1100. The signal is expected to reach as far as 1000 km from the station. Shortwave was thought to be the best solution for the “Last One Mile” problem to the fishery ships. The program contains weather forecast of 2 hours ago by China Central Meteorological Observatory, and disaster forecast by Zhoushan local Meteorological Observatory in case of emergency. The frequency was not given, but I found and confirmed the broadcast on 3303 kHz USB at 1100. The broadcast was in Chinese for about 2.5 minutes every day, giving the weather information of Taiwan strait. The mailing address of the station was investigated as, Meicen Road, Putuoshan, Putuo District, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China, telephone +86 580 8080277. Zhoushan is located on the island 100 km south east of Shanghai (Takahito Akabayashi, Japan, April 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST 8- 048) ** COLOMBIA? 5909.988, Marfil Estéreo? Someone else? 1017, weak Latin here, with news or similar by a man. Not the usual sort of programming I'm used to hearing from Marfil Estéreo, plus, it's much weaker (if indeed this). Try for this nearly every day and this is the first copy I've had in over three weeks. 26 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF SW7600GR, Timewave 599zx, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) As already reported here, HJDH 5910v transmitter has been switched away from Marfil Estéreo as program source, to Alcaraván Radio, 1530 5910-, Jan 28 at 0639, romantic music in Spanish; slightly on low side of frequency; 0641 ``llanera`` folk music with harp akin to Venezuelan style. Fair with deep fades. 0653 ID as ``15-30 AM Alcaraván Radio``, more music. That`s the source for HJDH on this frequency now rather than Marfil Estéreo (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5910, Alcaraván Radio; 0041-0058+, 29-Jan; Classical guitar & Spanish vocals; many IDs, spot at 0056 mentioned onda corta. SIO=343 with brief ute bursts; strong co-channel QRM came up at 0058, sounded like Radio Mundial in Spanish or Portuguese. Romania sked to come on at 0100 in Romanian. 0543-0601+, 29-Jan; M in Spanish with Andean & camp'o tunes; Several IDs + full ID at ToH. SIO=443. 1142-1200+, 30-Jan; Religious program in Spanish re Jesus & the internet; very good enunciator. Repeated IDs at 1159 & continued with religious music program. SIO=3+33- in USB due to strong German on 5905, Deutsche Welle via Bonaire (presumed). 5905 went off at 1200, then SIO=3+53+ in AM. Throughout these logs, heard one ID as R.A., one as Colombia Alcaraván, and many as A.R. (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 29 enero 2011: 5910, Alcaraván Radio, 0055-, 444, ID "Alcaraván Radio 1530 AM y en Onda corta 5910 en banda internacional de 49 metros, estación de interés público, Alcaraván Radio.`` 29 enero: 6010, LV de Tu Conciencia, 0105-, 444, con música instrumental. 30 enero 2011: 5910, Alcaraván Radio, 0152-, 222, con música llanera, co-channel con RRI. 6010, LV de Tu Conciencia, 0203-, 222, en español, mezclándose con UNID. 73 de (Yimber Gaviria, Cali, Colombia, Feb 2, Sony ICF 7600G + Kaito KA33 antenna, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) 5910, 1 Feb 0355, Radio Alcaravàn, Colombia, nice Colombian songs, at 0402 IDs, fair, QRM from close channels (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, Perseus, T2FD, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 6035.054, La Voz del Guaviare, San José del Guaviare. 1125-1146 January 29, 2011. Folk vocal, ID 1127 by man, into ad string till 1132, then long chatter by man and later joined by female, mostly local events and news, telephone number. Fair and best USB to get away from all the 6030 mess. First time heard here in ages (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Hammarlund HQ-180A; Aqua Guide 705 Radio Direction Finder; Sony ICF-7600GR; GE SuperRadio III; RadioShack DX-399; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X in-room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR. Feb 1 at 1840 noted unid station on about 5066.33. Signed off at 1900. Decent carrier but weak audio. Music and talks, maybe French, maybe not. Real late for Radio Tele Candip, which at least earlier used to sign off around 1630. And I haven't seen any loggings of Candip for a long time. Could have been a harmonic of a pirate around 1689 but I heard no fundamental there. Or then a spur from somewhere (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Jari, The frequency offset is a strong indication that this is indeed Bunia. It's been stable on 5066.3 for many years (Chris Greenway, England, ibid.) ** COSTA RICA. 5954.27, ELCOR, Radio República relay, 0828, talk by a Spanish man, fair despite heavy jamming. Periodically try for this but haven't logged it prior. 25 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT- 950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF SW7600GR, Timewave 599zx, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5954.253, Radio República, YL ID at 0952, good signal 29 January (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida US, Icom 746Pro Modified by Dallas Lankford, NRD 535D [Gilfer], Drake R8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Any jamming? 5954.23, 30/1 0038, Radio República, talks about Cuba, fair. Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, Perseus, T2FD 15 meters long, My Short Wave blog: http://radiodxsw.blogspot.com/ dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) How was the jamming level? (gh) 5954.20, R República booming in 1/31 at 0010, OM harangue in Spanish against Havana (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2, Longwire, HCDX via DXLD) No jamming? (gh, DXLD) 5954.24, Radio República, Guápiles. Turns out my unID indeed is Radio República, the station targeting broadcasts to Cuba from transmitters reportedly in Guápiles, Costa Rica. Heard 0236-0256 on 1/31, deep fades, and lucked out with nice recorded ID by YL at peak of fade cycle at 0238: "Ésta es Radio República, La Voz del Pueblo . . . nuestro programa 'Sorprisa [sic] Musical' . . . la mejor de música . . ." and then a snippet from Queen's "We Will Rock You" as part of the theme. Into program of hot merengue dance music and pops. At 0249 again, "....un lugar con la [sic] mejor de música . . . Radio República . . .". At 0255, the sound of a fax machine and then words said in English, haltingly, "World Wide Web". Sig was on bottom of a fade cycle, but could hear a URL was being given, couldn't read it. Frequency announcement too, "en la banda de 49 metros". (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, IL, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2, Longwire, HCDX via DXLD) 5954.23, 1 Feb 0344, Radio República, via Costa Rica to Cuba, politics, fair (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, Perseus, T2FD, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5954v, ELCOR, 0057-, 333, OM con comentario sobre Cuba (Yimber Gaviria, Cali, Colombia, Feb 2, Sony ICF 7600G + Kaito KA33 antenna, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** CUBA. 1620 kHz, Feb 2 at 0658 UT, news in Spanish dominating the frequency which is unusual vs Waco/Omaha; 0700 timesignal and ``Rebelde en La Habana, emisora de la Revolución``. Is // and synchronized with 5025; 0702 fades a bit audiblizing slight echo from second // transmitter on 1620 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Reception of Radio Havana here in London on 6060 from 0500 to 0700 UT is proving difficult. Between 0500 and 0600 with a number of stations either on or near 6060 making reception difficult. One unidentified station was heard sharing 6060 with signal strength greater than Havana and went off air at 0650. After 0600, reception tends to improve but moderate fading. Reception of Havana here in London was much better during Autumn 2010. I am not sure whether this due to propagation or the serious QRM problem we experience at times here (Colin Ember from London, England, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. Tuning across RHC Jan 27 at 1458 with IS, so I try to copy the ensuing frequency announcement. 15120 and 15360 cut modulation before it starts, so I retune to 11760. Tony Gómez starts to recite them, 15120, 15360, 15390 (! Still saying that 2.5 months after it was deleted in favor of 15230; is no one paying attention?); from *13 on 13680, 13780 until 15*. Just before he could say ``11760`` that very frequency cut off the air, so I retune to 11730, where I hear 11730, 11760; *14-20* on 11690; 6140 until 05*. BTW, just before 1500 it would be more helpful to list all the frequencies in use from that hour onwards. Meanwhile, 11730 has CCI under from RRI with IS, ``Romanian Rhapsody`` opening theme, Arabic. BBC Russian via Rampisham is also scheduled this hour on 11730 but not heard. At *1502, 11760 RHC cuts back on after transmitter or/and antenna change, making it weaker than before. Some intermittent Spanish modulation before staying on. 1524 check, now 11760 is as strong as before, eclipsing 11730 and 11690. 6100, new frequency from RHC, Jan 28 at 0710, apparently instead of missing 6150, VG and no spur, // 6120, 6060, 6050 in Spanish. This pileup of hi-power transmitters on 49m leads to mixing products, and receiver overload, hard to tell which is which, but I was also hearing RHC with weaker signals on: 6170, 6200, 6070, 6140, 6000. Altho 6140 is a fundamental at other times, now it`s probably a leapfrog of 6100 over 6120, and/or 6060 over 6100! Likewise, 6000 = 6100 over 6050. 6070 = leapfrog of 6050 over 6060, too bad for the comedians on CFRX. Also with squeal/hets, perhaps mixes from adjacent spy-number transmitters. 6150, Jan 29 at 0625, RHC is here, not 6100 as last night, but I was not up to monitor what happened after 0700. 6150 with music // English service on 6060, 6050, 6010, what overkill! At 0638, 6180 bore a mixture of Spanish and English, leapfrog of 6120 Spanish over 6150 English, and/or 6060 over 6120, both in Spanish. RHC Sunday Jan 30 check: at 1412 the special ``Aló, Presidente`` frequencies are on, 13750, 15370 and 17750, the latter strong but undermodulated with buzzes, but no separate programming, all // mainstream RHC 11690, 11730, 11760, 13780, 15120, 15230; while 12040 and 15360 are absent. Recheck at 1655: 17750, 15370 and 13750 still on and still no-show Hugazo, // others. Gone again! Esperanto from RHC scheduled Sundays 1500-1530 on 11760, but Jan 30 at 1510, just Spanish // numerous other frequencies in filatelia show. 6010, RHC, Jan 31 at 0631, `Ed Newman` in mailbag says the USA is refusing mail from RHC; in fact there is no postal service between Cuba and USA now. Listeners have been wondering why they haven`t received their 2011 RHC calendar cards. E-mail inquiries are being replied with a Cuban government notice about this. Meanwhile, RHC is (finally) designing an E-QSL. Naturally, RHC blames the US, while this BBC story says it was Cuba`s decision to block all mail: ``CUBA STOPS POSTAL SERVICE TO US 'UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE' 21 January 2011 Last updated at 16:30 ET http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12257412 Large numbers of letters and parcels have been refused entry to the US Cuba has suspended all postal deliveries to the United States until further notice. The suspension follows the introduction of stricter security measures by the US last year after the attempted mailing of explosives from Yemen. The Cuban postal service says large amounts of mail were refused entry and returned in the following months. Correspondents say the cost of so many returns may have led to the decision to stop the service. Postal service between the US and Cuba had been suspended for 42 years after Cuba's communist revolution, and only resumed in 2009 via third countries. [is this true? Weren`t RHC QSLs etc., getting thru somehow by P-mail before 2009??? --- gh] President Barack Obama's decision to renew the service was widely seen as a move towards repairing relations between the two countries. Its suspension is likely to be interpreted as a setback to the president's efforts at easing tension and improving people-to-people ties between Cuba and the US. The US tightened its security on air cargo after bombs hidden in cartridges were intercepted on route from Yemen to the US in cargo planes.`` [see below for Cuba`s version] Finally have discovered additional times for RHC`s Spanish DX program `En Contacto`. UT Monday Jan 31 at 0733 I come across it on 6050, 6060, 6120, 6150, 5040 until 0746, so it must have started circa 0731. Manolo was playing an old clip of R. Progreso, the station whose building RHC shares at Infanta 105. Another anniversary/birthday, I suppose. Then he announced FOUR times for his show, with all the frequencies for each: I hope I got them all copied as given very rapidly in disorder. 1, to America, Caribbean, Sunday 1435 on 11760, 13750, 13780, 13680, 11730, 12040, 15360, 15120, 15230, 6140 [wrong: not all of these are on, but instead on El Hugazo frequencies 15370, 17750, which start circa 1400 on Sundays] 2, ``sobre las 2005``, meaning approximately, on 11730, 12040, 15230, 6140 [this is the interim `new` day-time I had been searching for but never managed to find] 3, ``sobre las 2240``, on 11730, 12040, 9820, 15230 [not exactly: see our previous monitoring of all frequencies in use at this time] 4, `0235 [UT Monday], on 6140, 11760, 6060, 6120, 15360, 15120; and to Europe on 11770 [sic --- 15120 is certainly not on in the tarde, and 11770 Europe applies to 2240, not 0235!] HOWEVER, I was axually hearing EC at a fifth time he still doesn`t know about: UT Monday 0730v! [later: appears this and the 2005 airing are goners, with transmissions cut back] Next item referred to audio archive of his and many other Spanish DX programs at http://www.geocities.com/programasdx/encontacto.htm He listed the others, even including Mundo Radial de Glenn Hauser! Unfortunately, this website ceased to be maintained a year or two ago, and now is Unfound by geocities, nor even in the Wayback Machine as GC suggests, which means it`s probably in the 6-month limbo period. Instead, the current site for Programas DX is: http://programasdx.com/ Including this very latest EC audio at http://programasdx.com/encontacto.htm (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Cuba Stops Mail to US --- Hi Glenn, Received this e-mail a 2 February 2011 from RHC, from Rosario Lafita Fernández, Head of Correspondence Department. 73's, (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: CUBA HALTS POSTAL SERVICE TO US UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE 2011.01.22 - 12:06:51 / web@radiorebelde.icrt.cu Havana, Cuba.- Cuban media outlets published on Saturday a note from the Cuba Correos company announcing that Havana has suspended all postal deliveries to the United States until further notice. The suspension follows a slowdown in services after the United States in November applied stricter measures to mail deliveries from all over the world. As a result of the security measures, the Cuban postal company said, large numbers of letters and parcels have been refused entry into the United States and returned to Cuba via third countries’ airlines — which Cuba has to use due to the lack of direct postal service between the two nations. “Until further notice Cuban post offices cannot keep accepting any type of mail for the United States, and all those returned will be delivered to senders as soon as possible without any additional cost,” the note reads. Cuba had temporarily stopped mail service to the United States from November 25 to December 8 for packages weighing more than 453 grams (16 ounces) due to US measures to prevent threats from mail bombs. (ACN) (via Ed Insinger, NJ, DXLD) 6010, 6050, 6060, 6150. RHC using four frequencies in same band for English 0500-0700. All coming in well, Feb. 1 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile, Eton E1, Sony AN1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) What a relief! RHC missing from all 49 and 60m frequencies, Feb 1 at 0706 when usually in Spanish: no 6150, 6120, 6060, 6050 or 5040; however, the DentroCuban Jamming Command was still in business on 6030 and 5980, as was R. Rebelde on 5025, so not an overall power failure. This allowed RN in Dutch thru clearly on 6120 –-- see NETHERLANDS [non], and no QRM to NHK`s operatic excerpts on 6145; see JAPAN. Before 0700, Harold Sellers in BC reported RHC 6010, 6050, 6060 and 6150 were all on the air in English. Back to abnormal after sunrise: 13680 and 13780 still on the air at 1522 past nominal 1500*, hoary old Fidel speech on `Voces de la Revolución`. 15360 was also still running, and unlike the others, 15230 had phone-ringing mixed into audio. It`s been quite a while since we were treated to that on RHC! I feared 15120 would also still be on, but no, Nigeria in the clear. While all RHC`s Spanish frequencies were off the air after 0700 the night before, at 0708 Feb 2, 6120 and 6060 are still going, but 6150 is off and 6050 is open carrier. And all these except 6120 always in Spanish were funxioning normally a semihour earlier, plus 6010 in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 30 Jan: 11770, R H Cuba, 2155 with nice cha-cha and other LA type songs Was in // with 15230 and 11730 those times though 10 minutes before they were not. At 2159 with a song paia carola [?] mentioning Cuba then 2201:40 with ID of RHC. Signal for 11770 was S9-10 with peaks to S20!!! (45544) but 11730 was S5 (35433) and 15230 was S4 and after 2200 the two latter frequencies were just carriers !!! (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Standard rig : ICOM R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. RHC continues to curtail its overnight broadcasts, but as usual it`s unclear whether this is a deliberate move or just random variation. Feb 3 at 0751 check, none of the 6 MHz frequencies are on, but 5040 is, with a replay of Revista Informativa de la Noche. Perhaps 6050 was still missing after 0825 when HCJB comes up; we can only hope (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. R. República logs are under COSTA RICA in this issue ** CUBA. Cubavisión streaming online --- Never did realize it before, but Cubavisión broadcasts in streaming video online, for those who tend to get them via Tropo or Es. They're on with some dramatic movie now. I'm watching them on TVU Player, but it says Cubagrande and Cubasi.cu also provide live streaming (Chris Kadlec, Fremont, Mich., Jan 28, WTFDA via DXLD) Be aware that there are two Cubavision's --- the OTA version and the International version. I can get both on the Hispasat satellite and they are not usually parallel. wrh (Bill Hepburn, Ont., ibid.) ** CYPRUS. 15140-15165, Over-the-horizon radar pulsing, presumed from here, Jan 27 at 1437. As if Oman 15140 did not have enough problem already with weak signal rarely audible in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS [non]. Radio Dardasha 7, new station from Jan. 17 via MBR: 0300-0330 on 7325 WER 125 kW / 120 deg to N/ME Arabic 0500-0530 on 6100 NAU 125 kW / 190 deg to WeAf Arabic 1700-1730 on 9440 WER 125 kW / 120 deg to N/ME Arabic 1900-1930 on 9430 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to WeAf Arabic, co-ch RL in Russian 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, Jan 31, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) What`s this? Googling soon finds: From: http://backtogod.net/global-ministries/arabic/ Has offices in Illinois and Ontario, but Arabic service: Dardasha http://www.dardasha7.com “Dardasha” (which means Chat) is the name of the Arabic radio program, broadcast 7 nights a week immediately following a popular Middle East news program. The program, with its interactive format, draws younger listeners to the website for additional information and discipleship materials (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Arabic Ministry MERF, PO Box 40052, 6300 Larnaca, Cyprus * 011-357-24-65-2331 * 011-357-24-62-6311 (fax) * merf@merf.org (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Checked them 31 Jan at 1705 tune-in on 9440. Pretty strong signal, Arabic program, mentioned contact dardasha7 @ gmail.com Guess it's Christian programming as their website suggests (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Full schedule of (Radio) Dardasha 7 is here http://www.dardasha7.com/BroadcastTimes.htm Dardasha 7 from Arabic=Chat, Chatting 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, Feb 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Dardasha 7 to MIDDLE EAST target - via RMC Cyclops Cyprus MW 1233 kHz, 0825-0905 UT (10:25-11:05pm) LT NORTH AFRICA target 1. New signal 6100 kHz, 49 mband 0500-0530 UT (6am-6:30am) LT 2. New signal 9430 kHz, 31 mband 1900-1930 UT (8pm-8:30pm) LT SAUDI ARABIA PENINSULA target 1. New signal 7325 kHz, 41 mband 0300-0330 UT (6am-6:30am) LT 2. New signal 9440 kHz, 31 mband 1700-1730 UT (8pm-8:30pm) LT Radio Dardasha 7, P. O. Box 991, Larnaca, Cyprus SMS send to 0035 799 20 90 99 e-mail or URL or (R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Febr 1 via DXLD) 2 Feb, based on last DX Mix News: 6100, R Dardardsha [sic] with several IDs at 0501 then talks by OM and YL 'bernemizh Dardarsha' then with e-address on gmail.com S20 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "Radio Dardasha 7 (Chat from Arabic), new station from Jan. 17" might rather be regarded as new on shortwave. It turns out to be a programme of "Back to God Ministries" http://backtogod.net/global-ministries/arabic/ a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. If the google translation of the www.dardasha7.com-site is correct, it seems, that the programme left its medium wave slot on TWR Cyprus (Cape Greco 1233 kHz). (Dr. Hansjoerg Biener) by `left` do you mean quit, or retained? (gh, DXLD) I would like to add two off topic comments 1. Having turned to Christianity through international short wave broadcasting, I used to learn very much from Dr. Joel Nederhood's "Back to God Hour" who wanted to present the Gospel "in the light of the historic Christian faith". Unfortunately, many of the more respected Christian teaching or preaching programmes went off short and medium wave and left the religious seeker alone with programmes I as a German Lutheran pastor would rather not commend or comment on. 2. You may also want to have a look at http://backtogod.net/global-ministries/russian/ Could this be a familiar person? (Dr. Hansjoerg Biener, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Rev. Sergei S According to Hiroshi blog http://hiroshi.mediacat-blog.jp/e62987.html in Japanese: Radio Dardasha 7 listed as Arabic Service of TWR program in the A10. (A10) TWR-Arabic-The Hope-Dardasha 7 0030-0100 11860 1730-1800 11860 2045-2115 9485 2030-2100 1233 (MW) (S. Hasegawa Feb 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Coming A-11 season instead ... 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) ** CZECHIA [and non]. A special programme will go on air on the last day of shortwave broadcast of Radio Prague i.e. 31.1.2011 with memories of R Prague listeners. So, don't forget to tune in to Radio Prague on 31.1.2011 via shortwave or via internet, http://www.radio.cz (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, Jan 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) My one memory of Radio Prague was listening the evening that the Warsaw Pact forces overran the border. The announcer made a simple statement of the action, then the national anthem was played, and then they went off the air for weeks (Chris Trask, N7ZWY / WDX3HLB, Senior Member IEEE, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~christrask/ HCDX via DXLD) Radio Prague's Swan Song --- Just a heads up that I just got off the phone with Christian Falvey, of Radio Prague, who called to interview me for their final broadcast on Monday January 31st. Whether my comments make it on to the broadcast, who can tell? (Mark Coady, Peterborough, ON K9J 6X3, Jan 28, ODXA yg via DXLD) 9955, WRMI, Jan 28 at 0646 unusually good signal (often there is none at all in the nightmiddle), no jamming, with R. Praga in Spanish, program about musical instruments, their names in Czech, some of them derived from English or German. R. Praga again in Spanish at 1457 retune, giving full SW schedule in that language, but only as filler following French at 1430. Altho R. Prague will have a ``farewell to SW`` retrospective program Jan 31, according to Swopan Chakroborty, Jeff White again comes to the rescue, reaching an agreement with RP to continue relays on WRMI 9955, but on a different schedule past Feb 1, already in effect. Unfortunately, the hours for English are rather inconvenient for North Americans sleeping normal hours; too bad the M-F 1500 UT slot was ceded to RFI a few months ago. We asked Jeff White for the latest (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: OK, I've made the changes. The schedule on the website and Facebook page are updated. The Radio Prague airings as of Feb. 1 (actually as of today) are: 0630-0700 UTC Daily (Spanish) 0700-0730 UTC Daily (English) 0930-1000 UTC Daily (Spanish) 1000-1030 UTC Monday-Friday (English) 1930-2000 UTC Saturday-Sunday (English) 0300-0330 UTC Daily (Spanish) The Radio Slovakia and World Radio Network times on the schedule are also correct (no changes, I think). Note that we are off the air from 1700 to 2200 UT Monday-Friday until further notice, although we run WRN during that time period, which is only on our webcast (Jeff White, WRMI Radio Miami International, Jan 28, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jeff White says 9955 IS on the air Sat & Sun afternoons, so look for Prague at 1930, WORLD OF RADIO at 1830. Confirmed on the air at 1847 Sat and not jammed, tho weak. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Jan 29, ODXA yg via DXLD) Well, I just tried to tune in at 1925 and it's sure jammed now. :-( (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) 7410 - R. Prague, Czech Rep., 0200 broadcast in English coming in with very poor signal. Audio barely above noise level. To much static to make out any program details. A disappointment if this is there last broadcast (Stephen Wood, Harwich, Mass., UT Jan 31, NASWA yg via DXLD) I was listening down at French Creek State Park in PA during the 0100 broadcast, which also did not propagate well even in a low-noise environment. Not only do we listeners get frustrated when brodcasts don't propagate, the broadcasters also get frustrated, as their work then falls on deaf ears (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) Stations cutting their own throat by closing down SW rarely give us the specifix we need to monitor the very last broadcast, like what time by UT? If the QRT date is January 31, does that mean turned off at 2300 UT = midnight local? How about the repeats well into the next UT day which ordinarily air to the Americas? I know I can hear Radio Prague`s SW finale program on their preferred medium of the web, anyway, so I am not monitoring before 2300 UT Jan 31, but at 2310 there is no signal on 5930, when French used to air, nor at 2330 for English, so it`s already gone. Alokesh Gupta points us to 17-minute audio access and full transcript: http://www.radio.cz/en/section/special/ending-an-era-radio-prague-signs-off-on-shortwave Guess what? WRMI is never mentioned as continuing to broadcast R. Prague on SW; that would ruin the moment, detract from the not-really- finale! R. Prague has used other relays before, like Sackville and Ascension, which always got full respect, so why is WRMI any different? Even before now, it was almost as if they did not really want listeners to know about it! Anyhow, Jeff White has assured us that RP has agreed for WRMI to continue with R. Prague (from WRN), on 9955 in English daily at 0700- 0730, M-F at 1000-1030, and Sat/Sun at 1930-2000. Also in Spanish at various other times, and apparently the French weekdays at 1430-1500 too (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Indeed a sad day. My first QSL card from Radio Prague was dated December 1965 so I remember the austere communist days, the brave days of The Prague Spring, sadly so many more communist days followed then eventually the joy of freedom. Despite the dark political days with their broadcast propaganda there were always friendly voices on Radio Prague also talking proudly about their beautiful country and its citizens, the spirit of the country shone through. Radio Prague was indeed a wonderful radio station (Mike Terry, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The special feature on Radio Prague this evening was very moving. It included an interview with Oldrich Cip, who has been their frequency manager for more than 40 years and who, if I remember correctly, used to run their DX programme under the name of Peter Skala. I first listened to Radio Prague in the early 1960s. In fact, my first experience of the station was listening to the morning repeat to Australia of the one-hour show for North America which, surprisingly, came through very well in the south of England. Later I found the British service of Radio Prague and the Afro-Asian service, but although I was in the UK I always preferred the North American section, which had some very good announcers. My main memory of Radio Prague, however, is of its brave attempt to tell the world what was happening during the Warsaw Pact invasion in 1968. I will not stop listening to Radio Prague now that its main platform is the internet. Its programmes continue to be of a high standard and I would urge all of Radio Prague's shortwave listeners who have access to the internet not to desert this station. Remember, use it or lose it! (Roger Tidy, UK, Jan 31, ibid.) Listened to last day’s SW broadcasting on Radio Prague. News was followed by a feature about their history with interviews with RP people (Oldrich Cip among them), listener audio feedback and tapes from 1930s and 1968. I noticed they used a different rendition or arrangement of their normal interval signal – was this especially for today or has that been used for a while? 5930 kHz/21-2130 UT/Jan 31 2011. SINPO 54554 clear but with occasional adjacent QRM. Sad to see them go: I use web a lot for other things, including international TV but rarely remember to chase international radio services. Scanning my bedside portable at night or as I wake up in the morning, however, I am always sure to “come across” a Radio Prague transmission. It is just there as part of the audio landscape in a way in which a web page is not (Dr Derek Lynch, Ireland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nothing here at 0100 7410 kHz so I guess us poor westerners are out of luck for final SW broadcast. 73 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, AB, UT Feb 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The German section of Radio Prague actually celebrated the abortion of short wave. In attachment R_PRAGUE_GERMAN_110131_1626UTC_via_web.mp3 [in dxldyg] you can hear ``Die Kurzwelle ist tot! THE SHORTWAVE IS DEAD!`` and then the celebration with drinks (Dragan Lekic, Serbia, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Lo de la tarjeta QSL por las emisiones via Internet debe ser una broma, ¿no?. Acaso habrá algún colega que no lo tiene claro y realmente enviará informes de esas emisiones para conseguir una tarjetita. Por cierto según mi opinión si no emite via ondas herzianas no es una radio, es un servicio de podcast y audio por demanda. Despúes de 20 años escuchando Radio Praga ahora no es tiempo de tomar el pelo. Cordialmente, (Tomás Méndez, Spain, http://www.amarantadx.net Jan 28, noticias dx yg via DXLD) Totalmente de acuerdo, Tomás. No creo que haya radioescuchas que envíen informes de unos audios a demanda, en todo caso serán cazadores de tarjetas QSL. ¿Al informar una de estas escuchas, cual debe ser el SINPO? Un saludo (Javier Robledillo, http://cuadernodebitacoradx.blogspot.com/ ibid.) BROADCASTING WITHIN THE CZECH REPUBLIC --- Radio Prague broadcasts in English, German and Russian in Prague and its surroundings from Monday to Friday from 19:05 to 19:25 CET on 92.6 FM. You can also listen to Radio Prague in French on Wednesdays from 16.10 to 16.30 CET and on Saturdays from 11.10 to 11.30 CET in Prague on 99.3 FM. Selected programmes of Radio Prague are also relayed by Radio Miami International from Miami, Florida USA on 9955 kHz. The complete programme schedule of RMI can be found at: (R Prague-CZE website, Jan 31 via Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) Internet Radio Prague: New Programme Schedule Monday * News * Current Affairs * One on One * Sport News * SoundCzech (repeated series) Tuesday * News * Current Affairs * Czech History * SoundCzech (repeated series) Wednesday * News * Current Affairs * Spotlight * SoundCzech (repeated series) Thursday * News * Current Affairs * Panorama * SoundCzech (repeated series) Friday * News * Current Affairs * Business News * The Arts * SoundCzech (repeated series) Saturday * News * Czech Books / Czech Life * Mailbox / Science Journal / Spotlight (repeat) * From the Archives (repeated series) Sunday * News * Music Show (via Alan Roe, dxldyg via DXLD) According to the rather oddly named page http://www.radio.cz/en/static/about-radio-prague/frequencies-new R. Prague live streaming schedule now has the six languages in a regular rotation pattern repeating every two sesquihours, including: Broadcast on the Internet (and Satellite) Language (CET/CEST) UTC (summer) UTC (winter) ENGLISH 0000 2200 2300 ENGLISH 0300 0100 0200 ENGLISH 0600 0400 0500 ENGLISH 0900 0700 0800 ENGLISH 1200 1000 1100 ENGLISH 1500 1300 1400 ENGLISH 1800 1600 1700 ENGLISH 2100 1900 2000 (Glenn Hauser, Feb 2, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sí, un día después que abandonó la onda corta y paso a ser virtual, o, online, es conveniente analizar, ya que hace poco y muchas otras están usando este termino ONLINE, de podcast, etc. Y como les decía, un día después... seguirás escuchando a Radio Praga en Línea!!!??? El caso es para que no se pierda y continúe como un oyente regular o irregular, como lo somos así en la onda corta. Esquema de Transmisiones de Radio Praga en español En el momento están usando streaming, y podcast; esperemos que continúen así y no se pasen únicamente a podcast, apesar de que lo usan. El día que únicamente lo dejen a podcast, así comienza otra historia de RP. (...más cortes) Horarios : 0000, 0300, 0600, 0900, 1200, 1500, 1800, 2100 UTC o consultar http://www.radio.cz/es/static/acerca-de-radio-praga/frecuencias-nuevas Escuchar en streaming: http://rebel.radio.cz:8000/live-32 O en podcast a través de la página de Radio Praga: http://www.radio.cz/es Como escuchar streaming? Abrir su Windows Media Player. En Archivo, luego abrir URL, copiar y pegar la dirección http://rebel.radio.cz:8000/live-32 y luego OK. Digo WMP, porque hay otras alternativa para escuchar, RealAudio Player, Winamp, aunque esenciales también (Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO PRAGUE CONTINUES ON SHORTWAVE FROM MIAMI Yesterday, January 31, Radio Prague ended its shortwave transmissions from the Czech Republic. However, an agreement between Radio Prague and WRMI will allow shortwave transmissions to continue to the Caribbean and Latin America via Radio Miami International in English and Spanish. As of today, February 1, the schedule for Radio Prague programs via WRMI is: 0630-0700 UTC Daily (Spanish) 0700-0730 UTC Daily (English) 0930-1000 UTC Daily (Spanish) 1000-1030 UTC Monday-Friday (English) 1930-2000 UTC Saturday-Sunday (English) 0300-0330 UTC Daily (Spanish) This schedule will remain in effect until further notice. All broadcasts are on 9955 kHz with 50 kilowatts from Miami on an azimuth of 160 degrees. Jeff White, WRMI General Manager, said that "Radio Miami is happy to be able to help Radio Prague stay on the air, just as we did with Radio Slovakia International when its shortwave transmissions were scheduled to end last December 31. We have had close cooperaton with Radio Prague for many years now, and we hope this cooperation will continue for many more years." WRMI Radio Miami International 175 Fontainebleau Blvd., Suite 1N4 Miami, Florida 33172 USA Tel +1-305-559-WRMI (9764) Fax +1-305-559-8186 E-mail: radiomiami9@cs.com http://www.wrmi.net (RMI press release via DXLD) Czechoslovakia: Radio Prague QSL’d my reception report from earlier January 2011 and enclosed a cardboard ruler with millimeter gradations. This is a station for a lot of memories for me, which I will indeed miss, dating back to 1968. At one point in time back then, they also had an active “Radio Praha DX Monitor Club” and issued certificates for QSL’ing countries in designated ITU regions worldwide (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, Jan 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780, Djibouti *0300-0330+ 1/31, thanks to all who suggested this (Don, Fergy, others). Heard tonight from 0250 open carrier, orchestral NA at 0300 followed/by repeating IS of flute and what seemed like fiddle-type instrument. Into Islamic morning Call to Prayer at 0301.28-0317 (long form!). Then OM narration or news in Arabic to 0332, when music show opened. Modern, western influenced, pop-sounding Arabic recording featuring organ, base, flute and mixed group of singers. S9+++ at 0335 tune out (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2, Longwire, HCDX via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 6025, Radio Amanecer Internacional, 0136-0212 Jan 24, man and woman with long talk in Spanish. At 0202 another man gave ID and several announcements. Light music followed. Poor to fair with some splatter from co-channel stations (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) 6025.06, tentative, Radio Amanecer, Santo Domingo, 1202-1240+ 1/29, OM Spanish at tune-in talking about "La Familia . . . nuestra salud . . . República Dominicana . . ." Fair to good sig, very deep fades and lots of side splatter. 1211 music breaker by OM with time/check. Sig fading by 1215 when OM mentioned "iglesia" and "dominicana". 1222 thot caught the ID for R Amanecer but not 100% sure. Still going at 1240 with piano music, possibly hymn. This one needs more work (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, HCDX via DXLD) 6025.05, 30/1 0047, Radio Amanecer, religious talks and music. Great ID on the hour, "Radio Amanecer Internacional presenta...". Fair. Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, Perseus, T2FD 15 meters long, My Short Wave blog: http://radiodxsw.blogspot.com/ dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6025.1, HIIJ Radio Amanacer; 1213-1231+, 30-Jan; M&W with religious program in Spanish with Spanish & English hymns; ID at 1231. SIO=233+ with 6020 Australia splash & rapid ticking QRM (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 4815, Radio El Buen Pastor, 1109-1132 fade out Jan 24, man announcer talking in Quichua language with rustic vocals. ID and TC at 1118 followed by more music programming. Fair with CODAR slowly getting stronger (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) 4814.96, presumed Radio El Buen Pastor, Saraguro, 1114-1150 on 2/1. Ute QRM manageable this day. Couldn't snag clear ID but Saraguro presumed the one as everything else fits, including widely-reported "fingerprint" of precise decimal off-frequency. OM Spanish with relaxed speech over mild instrumental music at tune-in, then over Andes música folklórica at 1117; echo ads 1121 but hard to read. 1124 studio announcer again, clear GMT-5 time check and into huayno guitar vocals. 1130 another t/ck "...6 de la mañana y 30 minutos...". Holding on but fading down by 1150 tune/out. Again at 1119 check on 2/2, but under horrible ute and much more obscured (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2, Longwire, HCDX via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Hello Friends: Some sad news to report -- our friend and long-time DX Partyline host, Clayton Howard, passed away early this morning at the age of 92. Like many who were teens in the 60's and 70's, I looked forward to tuning into Clayton and his wife, Helen, on HCJB's DX Partyline to get shortwave tips and just know that there were many others who loved this hobby as much as I did. It was a dream come true for me to eventually host DX Partyline and co-host my first four programs with Clayton himself! He was a soft- spoken person -- maybe the most humble person I've ever met -- but full of humor and, like many engineers, very logical! I'll pass along the official biography as soon as it's released from HCJB (Richard McVicar, AB2FN, On the outskirts of Navarino, New York, Jan 27, via Dan Ferguson, NASWA yg via DXLD) Back in the 80s, Arlene and I traveled to Ecuador and met Clayton and Helen. Clayton took us on a tour of the HCJB compound and hospital. He drove us out to the Pifo transmitter/antenna site. Then we had dinner with them in their home. At one point, Clayton interviewed me for an upcoming Partyline. It was a delightful time with two delightful people. Farewell, Clayton, and peace! --don (Don Jensen, WI, ibid.) Their slow-paced and relaxed presentation style was perfect for we DXers who wanted to take notes and make sure we got all the details we were after. Their voices were also so distinctive, that there was never any doubt who you were listening to, if you had heard them at least once. Akin to Henry Hatch, Margaret Howard, Ian McFarland, Jonathan Marks --- ahh, memories! Certainly they were a mainstay of the day for DXers and DX Partyline, in those days, ranked as one of the most popular DX programs on the air (and there were many in those days!). I wonder how many stations would even put them on the air today (Harold Sellers, Jan 28, ODXA yg via DXLD) HCJB PROGRAM HOST/ENGINEER CLAYTON HOWARD DIES AT 92 (January 28, 2011 - by Ralph Kurtenbach and Harold Goerzen) The longtime host of a popular shortwave radio listeners’ program, Clayton Howard, died on Thursday, Jan. 27, in Tahlequah, Okla. He was 92. He had served from 1941 to 1984 as an engineer with Radio Station HCJB, an international shortwave station in Quito, Ecuador. For more than two decades he and his wife, Helen, hosted the “DX Partyline” program. (“DX” is a radio term for distance; DXers are listeners to distant radio stations.) Clayton was born on Nov. 27, 1918, to missionary parents in Canton, China. His father, Charles Howard, an entomologist and college professor, and his mother, Anne, a biologist and teacher, served at a Christian university and conducted research for the Chinese government to develop a finer grade of silk. When Clayton was 9 years old the family returned to the U.S. where his father developed the biology department at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. At Wheaton Academy, Clayton loved learning about radio and electronics. In 1939 he graduated from Wheaton College with a physics degree followed by a year of graduate studies in physics at the University of Chicago. “I heard HCJB on Easter Sunday of 1940 while [the station was] inaugurating a new 10-kilowatt transmitter,” Clayton once said in an interview. “I had known there was a missionary shortwave station in South America previously, but knew very little about it until 1940.” Clayton contacted HCJB Global co-founder Reuben Larson who then recruited him to join the technical team at La Voz de Los Andes (the Voice of the Andes) in Quito. College Church in Wheaton later commissioned him as a missionary, and he arrived in Ecuador to begin serving at Radio Station HCJB in 1941. Clayton’s marriage to Helen Marie Prestidge on Sept. 12, 1942, was broadcast live from Quito via shortwave “so the folks back home could hear it,” according to his son, Chuck Howard. The couple had met in Wheaton, and Helen went to Ecuador after she graduated. It was her father, a Baptist minister, and Rev. Evan Welsh, pastor of College Church, who together prepared the phonograph record with the marriage ceremony, leaving gaps for “I do” from the couple. Many station employees remembered Clayton as a technician whose special knack was keeping the tape recorders, record turntables and mixing consoles going, according to Chuck, an HCJB Global missionary teacher in Quito. Clayton served primarily in audio work, but he was also involved in everything technical such as transmitters, antennas, studios, power and remote programs. He was also actively involved in the search for a new international transmitting site for the station, eventually selecting Pifo. A career highlight for Clayton was helping a fellow engineer at the station, Clarence Moore, design and build the world’s first cubical quad antenna. Also, in an era in which Ecuador’s communication resources were marginal, Clayton actively handled remote broadcasts for the Ecuadorian government. He contributed to the growth of HCJB from a small radio facility to a major international broadcaster, reaching out with the gospel message in many major languages. Blessed with an excellent bass voice, Clayton loved his involvement with regular live music programs in English and Spanish. He took part in concerts each year to honor the station’s host city, Quito. In the mid-1960s Clayton took over as host of “DX Partyline,” a semiweekly program for shortwave enthusiasts. Clayton and Helen also began Andes DX International (ANDEX), a club for shortwave radio listeners, and the ANDEX magazine. The Howards corresponded with people around the world. In addition to shortwave listening tips, they shared “Tips for Real Living,” focusing on a meaningful relationship with the Creator. It was their joy to lead many to the Lord Jesus through the programs and follow-up correspondence. After their final “DX Partyline” program aired in June 1984, Clayton received what Chuck referred to as an unusual tribute from an unlikely source, Radio Moscow, which stated, “The living legend of the Andes has retired!” Upon retirement, the Howards spent 10 years in Florida, then moved to Go Ye Village, a Christian retirement center in Tahlequah. “When Clayton and Helen came to live at Go Ye Village,” said retired HCJB Global missionary Don Schroder, “Clayton set up closed-circuit TV to televise the Sunday chapel services, Bible studies and memorial services. These televised services went into all the homes and apartments of residents in the village.” Clayton was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years on Jan. 3, 2010. Survivors include three children, Chuck Howard of Quito, Leland Howard of Missouri and Ruth Anne Leaf of Illinois (recently retired from missionary service in Japan), as well as 11 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. He loved to share his enthusiasm for radio, and he enjoyed meeting with radio clubs in the U.S. “On one occasion,” Chuck remembered his father telling, “he was met at the door to the club by a lively group of young men, all sporting T-shirts with his picture on the front!” One such teenaged fan of Clayton and Helen’s radio show was Rich McVicar who quipped, “It was one of the very few programs I would actually listen to. The rest of the time, I was constantly tuning the dial for new catches!” Years later, when McVicar arrived as an HCJB Global missionary in Ecuador, the Howards were there, having been coaxed back to Ecuador for a short visit. “In fact, Clayton and I co-hosted my first four ‘DX Partyline’ programs,” McVicar said. “Becoming the producer of ‘DX Partyline’ was a dream come true for me, and being introduced to the famous host of my teenage listening days was a uniquely wonderful experience.” Another young listener was John Beck. Upon Clayton’s retirement, Beck was the program’s new host. “I was scared. I had listened to Clayton and Helen since high school. But he told me not to worry and that he would help me in the transition,” Beck said. “I watched him conduct a couple of tapings, introducing me on the second to the audience and then he turned to me and said, ‘OK, now it’s your program.’ I stammered. ‘But I thought we would have a transition of at least a couple of months!’” Beck said Clayton’s reply was, “Oh no … we leave next week.” “Clayton not only taught me over the air much of what I learned about shortwave radio as a hobby,” added Ken MacHarg, who later hosted the same radio program. “He was also the door through which I began doing programming on HCJB.” “Before my wife and I ever went there, he asked me to adapt portions of my book, Tune in the World, for broadcast as a series,” MacHarg explained. “I recorded profiles of various international broadcasters who were featured in the book and sent them for use on the program.” Chuck described his father as one who loved Ecuador and its people. Although he was a practical joker at times, his passion for Christ was evident. “He was a humble, rather private man who felt rather awkward in large groups, but in his quiet way, he was a very effective servant of the Lord,” Chuck said. “He didn’t preach, but he made it possible for others to preach the Word to millions of needy souls around the world.” His life verses were, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6, KJV). A memorial service is set for Go Ye Village Chapel at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29. Source: HCJB Global (via gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) OBIT This story is also at http://calloftheandes.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/radio-station-hcjb-program-hostengineer-clayton-howard-dies-at-92/ with photos, and 4:41 audio link to final DXPL by Clayton. Notable for its absence is any mention in the above that DX Partyline still exists, on the SW air at least via Kununurra, Hialeah, and Rimavská Sobota, altho banned from HCJB Ecuador itself, nor anything from its current host, the reverent Allen Graham (gh, DXLD) Very sad news indeed. I met Clayton years ago at an ANARCon, and was just fascinated with some of the stories he told, particularly of the ministry work during the Boxer Rebellion in China. A thoughtful and intelligent man who will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family (Mike Agner, KA3JZZ, NASWA yg via DXLD) 1899-1901y, the Boxer Rebellion, before Clayton`s time (gh, DXLD) ** EGYPT [and non]. 11510, R. Cairo, Abu Zaabal. Service directed to West Africa in English. Speaker dealing with moral values for women as set out in the Koran. Good strength and best audio ever heard from Cairo. 1916 10 December (Charles Jones, Castle Hill NSW (Sony 2001D with 7m vertical antenna or 70m long wire antenna), DX-Pedition at Ellalong, in the NSW Hunter Valley, Jan/Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) So same equipment there? Hi Glenn, Belated Happy new year! I hope it has got off to a good start for you. I have not heard Radio Cairo on 6270 kHz past 2 days, no German French or English 1900-2245 UT. Any ideas? Don't think they closed the SW service, maybe tx fault. Would be grateful for any info you may have. Cheers (Chris Lewis, UK, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Chris, Probably something to do with the riots there. I read that the military were guarding radio and TV stations, etc. Why not check some of the other Cairo frequencies in other languages and see if they are missing too? (Glenn to Chris, via DXLD) ERU Radio Cairo. In 2000-2100 UT slot noted this night Jan 27: Only 4 transmissions, 3 x via Abis, 9855 via Abu Zabaal, acc HFCC, but latter could also be via Abis now - instead... 9280 French service 2030-2230 UT. 9305 and 9990 in parallel, Arabic service. 9305 strongest transmission at S=9+30 dB level. 9855 separate Arabic HQ program to SouthEast Asia, ID and trumpet hymn at 2059-2100 UT. 73 de wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Today there was a Russian program on 9280 kHz (Vitaliy Lisovskiy, Jan 27, ibid.) There have been reports of some R. Cairo broadcasts missing such as the European service on 6270, per Chris Lewis in England, but some of them are still going: 13580, Jan 28 at 1509, R. Cairo Albanian service, good signal aimed USward but just barely modulated, traces of talk at peaks. Normal for this broadcast, regardless of riots and revolutions (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For those who get BBC World (Television) their reporters seem to be camped out across the street from the Radio and Television building in Cairo (Fred Waterer, Ont., 1603 UT Jan 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6270, at 2159 Jan 28, R. Cairo English service is still missing. 9305, Arabic homeservice relay is on, with Arabic music; 2208 every minute or two interrupted for announcement about Mubarak, presumably that he is about to speak. 2214 Arabic ID, mentions Mubarak; 2217, Mubarak is speaking. Meanwhile I was also watching CNN and MSNBC. CNN joined Mubarak speech immediately with translation by woman. MSNBC showed him, but did not have any English translation available for a few minutes, finally has a man translating. He concluded at 2228. Said something about forming a new government, but himself not resigning. 11590, the scheduled English from R. Cairo to WNAm, Jan 28 at 2326, poor signal and very undermodulated, could not be sure it`s in English. Official versions of schedule keep showing this sesquihour as Arabic. Wolfgang Büschel suggests transmissions from the site near Cairo, Abu Zabaal have been off the air, while the other site, Abis, much further away near Alexandria, continues in operation. Would they be flexible enough to transfer some of the frequencies from one to the other? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9305.00, 1920-2250, 28.01, R Cairo, Abis, Arabic emergency programme on a day of severe riots when 19 were killed and more than 1000 arrested. Mostly non-stop Arab songs with frequent ID's like "Huna Al- Kahira". Most times short news on full and half hours, but at 2100- 2135 extensive news and comments on the situation. For entertainment, R Cairo also played two short dramatic radioplays! But at 2217 President Hosni Mubarak suddenly held his longly awaited Speech to the Nation where he dismissed the Government! 2229 followed a Martial song and at 2235 the announcer mentioned that it was the President we had heard! 55544 AP-DNK Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, dx_india [sic] yg via DXLD) Ganz schoen flotte Saxophon Musik am Spielen, melancholisch oder staatstrauermaessig klingt das nicht. Um 0120 UT 6270 und 9305 in \\. 6270 S=4 hier, S=6 in England. 9305 S=9 hier und auch in England. auch noch ganz duerftig auch 9900 kHz mit anderem Programm zu hoeren. 11590 kHz fuer Amerikas geht hier nicht. 1015 UT 15060 1015-1215 UT Arabic to SoEaAsia, S=7 in Europe. 17510 heard underneath and heterodyne of 200 Hertz, but covered by AIR OverseasService in English, nx at 1015 UT, 0945-1100 UT from Delhi site. R Cairo not heard on 15800 and 21480 (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 30 via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Glen[n]: are you aware of any amateur radio frequencies in use by Egypt's hams? (Des Preston, KB8UYJ, Jan 28, sent from my iPhone, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See: http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=10581 including: Werebuild amateur radio page: "Ham radio activists are receiving signals in morse code from Egypt. When countries block web, we evolve. Receive: 40m band 7050-7100 [kHz], 20m 14000-14050 [kHz]." Some more specific logs: http://werebuild.eu/wiki/Egypt/Ham_radio (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More ham discussion below Curious --- Is the term "Egyptian hams" offensive in a Muslim nation? (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC News 28 January 2011 --- BBC Arabic correspondent Khaled Ezzelarab, in Cairo, says despite the curfew, demonstrators are surrounding the building of Egyptian radio and television ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12311007 (1722 UT Jan 28, via Mike Terry dxldyg via DXLD) 28 January 2011, 1830 UTC: The European service on 6270 kHz, which should have started at 1800 in Italian, cannot be heard here. Nor can 9250 be heard, which would be another service from the Abu Zaabal site. However, the Abis broadcasts in Turkish (9280) and Hausa (9990) are there with a strong signal, but with the usual poor audio quality. Waiting for some language to come up that I understand. 73, (Eike Bierwirth, Leipzig / Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Unable to access http://radiocairo.com/ (Mike Terry, England, 1909 UT Jan 28, ibid.) Temporarily overload? Now regularly working (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, 1912 UT Jan 28, ibid.) All explained here http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20029862-281.html (Mike Terry, 1913 UT, ibid.) To make clear: http://radiocairo.com/ is nothing to do with the Radio Cairo external service. Just about all internet conectivity between Egypt and the rest of the world was cut at 2230 GMT on 27 January. All mobile phone networks are off too in some areas. Landlines are still working. The famous TV and radio HQ on the Corniche by the Nile is reportedly being protected by members of the presidential guard after coming under attack from protestors. From recent TV pictures, I doubt that many TV and radio staff will be able to get to work, even if they wanted to (Chris Greenway, UK, 2016 UT Jan 28, ibid.) But 9305 kHz in Arabic from 1900 is received well here in Copenhagen at the moment. 6270 off. 73, (Erik Koie, Denmark, Jan 28, ibid.) At 1925 UTC Jan 28: I am pretty sure 6290 and 6270 are off air. Could be poor reception but there is absolutely nothing there, not a trace. But I am hearing scratchy Arabic on 9305, presumably Egypt too (Dr Derek Lynch, Ireland, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello DXers, I never thought that one day I'd make a report about Egypt as a troubled country but --- Radio and TV building is guarded by the Army (some sources say the presidential guard) but as I see it, this is the Army. Today 28/1/2011 the Egyptian government decided to stop all the internet activities and mobile networks to prevent the demonstrators to contact each other. All the urls for live broadcast of radio and TV are not working. The only source of info I get right now is via AlJazeera TV which is broadcasting live from Cairo. the Egyptian government stopped the transmission of Al Jazeera Live network as they were covering the demonstrations live. 2100 UT, I managed to get the General program of Radio Cairo on 9305 with the news, claiming all is OK and the army is controlling the situation after the deceleration of the curfew in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. The curfew was set to get the stability all over Egypt. Phone calls to all the governors of the Egyptian states. Nothing from President Mubarak, rumors are spreading all over, hopefully an announcement will take place soonest for the Egyptian people. More to come soonest. Best Rgds (Tarek Zeidan, Aalborg, Denmark, 2130 UT Jan 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Please allow me to provide you a little break from the shortwave news and move you to the microwave transmissions I monitor. I am watching events unfold on both Egyptian state TV (I am watching Al Nile - the news channel) as well as Al Jazeera English & Arabic channels. Al Jazerra have reported that their outlets on Nilesat were taken off air some hours before sunset (I am watching AJ Arabic on Asiasat 5 & AJ English on AS3). As I type I am currently on Al Nile, covering the unrest in full with live pictures of the curfew not holding. It`s interesting that the state controlled broadcasting outlets are providing full coverage of the protesters ignoring the curfew and right now are broadcasting the torching of both the ruling party state headquarters and other government buildings (Mark Fahey, Sydney Australia, 2206 UT Jan 28, ibid.) Historic unique internet offline in Egypt totally. Most of the internet provider services went down on Thur Jan 27 at 2234 Uhr UT; see graph at WITHDRAWN EGYPTIAN PREFIXES http://www.netzwelt.de/news/85458-historisch-einmalig-ganz-aegypten-offline.html As reported yesterday, due of the uprising most of the Radio Cairo transmission are off since two days. Jan 27, 20-21 UT only 4 transmissions. Nothing on 6270 6290 6860 9250 9295 11510 11540 kHz. Abu Zabaal transmitter site is out of service now? Location is close to Cairo capital, a huge area to protect, see Google Earth, not easy to protect against demonstrants? at 30 15'50.07"N 31 22'28.50"E is a 2.27 kilometer long area of three antenna mast centers. Contrary Abis site location in the far north, is 166 kilometers away of Cairo, close to Alexandria. Far away of uprising, police and army clashes !? - - - Now Jan 28, at 2130 UT only, 9280 S=4 towards WeAF, poor - only some Arabic fragments noted. but also co-channel YFR Yunlin Taiwan instead. 9305 S=8-9 in Arabic nothing on 6270 6290 6860 9250 9295 9855 9900 9940 11510 11540 11760 kHz. and from registered 2215 UT onwards only single shortwave 9305 S=8-9 with speech of President? in Arabic 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, ibid.) 11510 - 28/01/11 - 1926 - R. Cairo, Abu Zaabal, 250 kW to W Af, English, YL news, announcements with echoes, YL-1 talks with low audio modulation, music, YL-2 news much better audio response, conditions increase as approach the receiver sunset, program World of Knowledge, abrupt audio level decay but later recovery, music, ID Voice of Africa, Radio Cairo, chant, short info about political clashes in Cairo, ID, s/off 2028 - 23232 at 1930, 54455 at 2020. 9900 - 28/01/11 - 2225 - R. Cairo, Abu Zaabal, Portuguese to SAm, OM, ID Rádio Difusora da República Árabe do Egito, poor audio, after while abrupt audio level deep decay. Co-channel with CNR-1 - 53442. Other R. Cairo´s frequencies monitored on the same day, all did before Mubarak´s declaration: 6270 - noise 6860 - noise 9280 - nihil 1930, good sig 33342 but vy bad audio like overmod 2100 9295 - noise 9305 - nihil 1930, vy weak at 2030 (Flávio Archángelo PY2ZX, IC-706, dipoles, Jundiai - SP - Brazil, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear DX-friends, Radio Cairo is booming in here with SINPO 55544 in Arabic on 9305 kHz. Due to the heavy riots, it is an emergency programme with non-stop Arab songs and short newscasts every half hour (TOH, BOH). The TV House has just been reported occupied by demonstrators while President Mubarrak is expected to deliver a TV- speech. At 2007 and 2019 UT the songs were abrupted for important messages. Tune in and follow the "revolution" live. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, via Dan Ferguson, SC, 2102 UT Jan 28, NASWA yg via DXLD) Abis - Panoramio --- Abis SW Site Blurry Image.... http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/36133868.jpg (Ian Baxter, NSW, Jan 27, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) Tuned into 11590 for Radio Cairo at 2300 and found nothing there, but waiting, the carrier came up at 2302 with Arabic music, then barely audible ID, seemingly by YL announcer. Signal was weak, but with so little modulation essentially useless (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA Jan 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Same here in SW Wisconsin at 2305. Carrier is there at good strength but so little modulation that all I can tell is whether it sounds like music or voice (Mike Mayer, ibid.) At present 0012 UT three transmitters on air. Undoubtedly all via Abis site, 166 km north of uprising crowd in capital Cairo. 9250 S=7 Arabic program, and \\ 9900 S=3 and S=5 varying. 9305 separate Arabic program S=9 to S=9+5dB, booming in here in EUR. Maybe 4th Abis tx unit follows, start at 0045 UT on 9915 kHz? nothing on 6270 6290 6860 9295 9855 9940 11510 11540 11590 11760 kHz 73 (wb df5sx, UT Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) On the Eutelsat Hotbird 6 satellite, Nile TV International has news in English at 1438 Jan 29. Background is a static picture of a Cairo city bridge over the River Nile. No dramatic scenes being shown. Rather annoyingly the signal is lost every few seconds making it unwatchable. Algerian TV on the same transponder has no such problem. Radio Cairo is on in Persian at 1434 with no intermittent signal loss. Radio Cairo in English is not until 2115. Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ``Al Jazerra have reported that their outlets on Nilesat were taken off air some hours before sunset`` ...and they reappeared on 7 degrees West on 10.949 GHz. Here it is certainly no nerd stuff but an important detail that this is NOT Nilesat but instead a Noorsat mux on the Eutelsat-operated Atlantic Bird 4A, which happens to be co-positioned with the Nilesat birds. Without the Eutelsat joker, Al Jazeera would indeed be off 7 deg. West now. To me this raises also the question about other programs like BBC Arabic and Alhurra. They could have been kicked as well, something that can't be checked out from Europe due to the tight spotbeams. A transmission contract with Nilesat is obviously worth nothing now. By the way, I already saw comments from people who host some online stuff in Egypt and are now stunned, to say the least. This could have an interesting aftermath in the economical field. We're not talking Nepal or Burma here (Kai Ludwig, Germany, 1052 UT Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Egyptian Radio and Television Union website http://www.ertu.org/ still works fine as it did yesterday as well. Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England, UK, 1158 UT Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I just did a trace on ertu.org - interestingly it is being served from Los Angeles at the moment. I wonder if this is always the case; it could very well always be served off servers in the USA. Sent from my iPad (Mark Fahey, NSW, 1218 UT Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello, what do you mean by it is still working? I can't get any live streams of any of the radio networks. Plus the news are dated almost 7 days ago !!! Can you work any of the live streams of the radio networks please!? Thanks (Tarek Zeidan [Egyptian], Aalborg, Denmark, 0746 UT Jan 30, ibid.) Hello DXers, the situation remains the same in Cairo; the Egyptian radio stations on MW and SW are all working OK. Mubarak's regime is still controlling the media, tuning to al parnamaj al aam (The General program), I can hear them having the same daily programs that I used to tune in to for the last 30 years or so. On SW the only frequency that I can get here in N. Europe is 9305 around 2000 UT. The only change I notced so far is changing the name of the station to be (al Idhaa al Masreya), The Egyptian Radio instead of announcing the usual ID (idhaat al parnamaj al allm min al qahira), the General program network from Cairo. More updates soon. B.Rgds (Tarek Zeidan, Aalborg, Denmark, 0802 UT Jan 30, ibid.) 11510 - R.Cairo on the air right now with YL in English. Audio is so low, can only make out a word here and there. Into recitations at 1919 continuing for several minutes. Lots of static and fading. Poor signal at best. Music at 2222 with group vocals. WRTH lists site as Abu Zaabal. YL announcer back at 1929. ID and then into scheduled program but again audio is much too low to really understand much of what is being said. Sounds like Kor`an lesson (Stephen Wood, Harwich, Mass., 1934 UT Jan 29, NASWA yg via DXLD) Have Cairo in Arabic with Arab vocals and brief announcements by male at 1950 on 9305. WRTH '11 says to Europe and North America. Fair to good (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, Eton E1XM, A/D DX sloper, Jan 29, dxldyg via DXLD) 9305 has a very agitated female caller at the moment who the announcer is trying to mollify. At least that's what it sounds like. I don't speak Arabic. Heard the word "justice" in English and reference to Obama (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, 2050 UT Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re site transfer. ``Would they be flexible enough to transfer some of the frequencies from one to the other? (Glenn Hauser, dxld Jan 29)`` That's depending of the available antennas to feed by 4 available txs at Abis site. Around 2020 UT note various R Cairo programs: 9280 distorted Egyptian classical Arabic singer, but still French 9305 strongest signal here, S=9+10dB, Arabic 9855 20-22 UT different Arabic SouthEast Asia program. 9990 Arabic singer, poor signal. Here in CeEUR I hear nothing on 11510 kHz. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 29, ibid.) 6270 Radio Cairo, 0200 UT (presumed of course, since I heard no ID and most likely will not) with easy listening music, distorted as ever with low modulation. No signs of any announcements, just music and dead air between selections. Finally a reason to turn on the radio but very happy and extremely surprised to not have any local +80 dB religious broadcaster ruining the situation 500 kilocycles wide. Programming reminds me of Radio Madagasikara during their unrest in March a few years back (Stephen J. Price, Johnstown, PA, January 30, 2011. R-5000 w/ 400 foot "L" and 200 foot buried ground, ODXA yg via DXLD) Hello DXers, picking up Voice of Africa from Cairo on 15080 around 1300 with ID, followed by Quran and then a program called Egypt Today. No mention what so ever to the current situation in Cairo. More to come (Tarek Zeidan, Aalborg, Denmark, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) In Arabic, I assume (gh) Hi all, Also picking up Cairo very faintly on 15065 at 1335 onwards today (30 January) - not sure of the language, but is scheduled for Dari at this time and then Pashto at 1400. Arabic music and talk (Alan Roe. Teddington, UK, ibid.) Nothing heard on 9280 / 9305 / 9250 / 9855 / 9990 at times (20xx) 30 Jan (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Standard rig : ICOM R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9305, Radio Cairo at 2100 GMT Jan 30: Arabic Programming with lots of Middle Eastern music and "Huna sault al Misrah (something like that) min al-Qahira" identifications. There have been many instances throughout this local afternoon's broadcast where the studio announcer goes out to a correspondent. Many orchestral interludes between announcements and correspondent interviews. Programming style has been quite repetitious for the past 3+ hours. Broadcast is pounding in the clear. Not being familiar anymore with their broadcasts, is this programming style different from normal considering the crisis? (Stephen J. Price, PA, ODXA yg via DXLD) S6 here in AZ at 2234z. Same hip foot tapping tunes (Gary, WB7CAG, Glendale, AZ, ibid.) Radio Cairo, 30 & 31 January 2011 on 6270 kHz in the 0130 to 0230 time slot. I tuned in to see if it was possible to monitor the current situation. On 30 January 2011 at 0100 UT, there was a program of continuous music, which went past the regular 0200 sign on in English. At 0215, it appeared that the regularly scheduled news began, but transmitter/modulation problems plagued the audio and I could not understand anything. In addition, there was an unusually high noise level tonight, worsening overall conditions. On 31 January 2011 at 0230 UT, I heard a program of rather “spirited” music, unlike what I would normally hear over Radio Cairo. Once again, modulation problems, causing an audible hum that could not be reduced with pass band tuning or notch filter (not that I expected it would, but I gave this a try anyway). The S9 + 20 dB signal on the R8A was deceiving; signal strength sounded muted. So my efforts to receive information from the source (if, indeed, it would have been broadcast by the station) were highly unsuccessful (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, Jan 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9305, R. Cairo general service in Arabic continues active, Jan 30 at 2336, VG but moderately distorted. Say, how are things going in Tunisia now with everybody focused on Egypt?? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Democracy Now coverage: http://www.democracynow.org/tags/egypt MEDIA BLACKOUT IN EGYPT AND THE U.S.: AL JAZEERA FORCED OFF THE AIR BY MUBARAK, TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES BLOCK ITS EXPANSION IN THE UNITED STATES Reporters from Al Jazeera, the Arabic-language news network, have been arrested and forced off the air by President Hosni Mubarak. "This regime, which couldn’t find the time to protect Egypt’s priceless relics in the National Museum in Cairo, found the time to drag journalists through the streets ... and found time to shut down Al Jazeera," says Mohamed Abdel Dayem of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera English is broadcast to more than 200 million homes around the world, but it’s hardly available in the United States. Critics have called it a media blackout by U.S. cable and satellite providers. We speak to Tony Burman of Al Jazeera English. . . http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/1/media_blackout_in_egypt_and_the (Democracy Now via DXLD) EGIPTO - SITUACIÓN POLÍTICA Y DE LA RADIOAFICIÓN Se informa en: http://werebuild.eu/wiki/Egypt/Ham_radio que la radioafición es una de las vías de comunicación durante la crisis política en Egipto. El sitio demora para cargar, pero hoy dijo: "Activistas radioaficionados están recibiendo señales en código Morse de Egipto. Cuando los países bloquean la Web, evolucionamos en frecuencias y bandas de 40m 7.060-7.100, en 20 metros 14.000 - 14.050 "Nosotros siempre escuchamos en CW en 7080.8 kHz, frecuencia de transmisión. Se puede llamar CQ, el mejor tiempo de las 18h-20h UT. Por favor, difundir." Nuestro agradecimiento a Andy, G0SFJ por la información anterior [HK7AJE Plinio Roncallo] (via Dino Bloise, Feb 1, dxldyg via DXLD) Watching compilation of videos re Egypt Crisis on CNN site today. One report on prison breakout in Abu Zaabal. This, of course, is well known to HF listeners as one of the Radio Cairo transmitting sites (Derek Lynch, Ireland, 2303 UT Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, For me 11510 kHz around 2000 is the best service of Radio Cairo even considering the transmission to Brazil (Flavio Archangelo PY2ZX, Jundiai - SP - Brazil, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Egipto: Radio Cairo en la onda corta en español --- Ayer (29 enero) estuve chequeando las frecuencias de Radio Cairo sin ningún resultado. Abajo las frecuencias en español. 6270 0045-0330 Español, Ingles 9315 0045-0330 Español, Ingles, alterna 9915 0045-0200 Español (ERU, Enero 2011 - BC-DX #999) Ultima actualizacion enero 24, 2011 Más idiomas: http://www.bclnews.it/b10schedules/cairo.htm Alguno ha tenido resultados con la pagina de Egypt State Information Service http://www.sis.gov.eg/ ? No abre aun (Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Jan 31, noticias dx yg via DXLD) ESCAPED PRISONERS SAID TO SURROUND ABU ZABAL TRANSMITTING STATION --- Could explain the lack of transmissions from that site! This refers to the mass prison breakouts last Saturday-Sunday night. http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-546631?ref=feeds%2Flatest Abu Zabal (aka Abu Zaabal and Abu Zabaal) is on the northeast outskirts of Cairo (Chris Greenway, UK, Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello DXers, I noticed that all the Egyptian networks are broadcasting the same programs 819 General program 774 Middle East Radio 711 Youth and Sports and the new ID as I mentioned before Al Idhaa Al Masreya (The Egyptian radio). More to come (Tarek Zeidan, Aalborg, Denmark, 1832 UT Jan 31, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks Tarek for the observations above! This confirms what is observed on the Egyptian radio channels on NileSat 7 at degrees west. In addition to the three stations you mention, some of the regional radios, such as Greater Cairo, Matrouh, Wasat al-Delta and North Delat have also linked up to relay this common service. Voice of the Arabs and the Holy Koran Radio are still running their own programmes. On TV, there has also been some merging of channels. Channel One TV is being relayed by Al-Masriyah TV, Nile Comedy, Nile Drama, Nile Cinema, ERTU 4 (regional channel for Suez Canal region), ERTU 5 (regional channel for Alexandria) and ERTU 8 (regional channel for South Upper Egypt). The Nile News TV channel is being relayed by Nile Drama 2, Nile Life, Nile Sport and Nile Culture. I speculate that, because of the crisis, ERTU does not have the usual staff available to run all these separate channels (Chris Greenway, UK, ibid.) Radio Cairo on 11590: I had a quick listen last night. Strong carrier, 5-9 +15 but with deep QSB. From about 2330 no mod/very low modulation with pre-recorded musak and magazine filler on arts, poetry, etc., with long no mods. between! At about 2358 modulation improved with an Arabic by radio lesson (page 99 from sleepy memory!). No news or current affairs. I assume a news blanket has been applied, but with the new stance of the Army there might be developments today, we all hope are peaceful. 73 de (Graham G3XYX Bedwell, Feb 1, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Radio Cairo's European services on 6270 kHz (English was at 2115-2245) have been off the air for several days now, but some of their other SW transmissions seem to be operating according to schedule, e.g. Indonesian signed on at 1230 on 15710 with a good signal - now carrying music. In the evening, Arabic is still on the air on 9305 kHz from 1900 UT. I have observed this the past couple of evenings in parallel with MW 819 kHz around 2200 UT. Tarek Zeidan in DXLD reports that the domestic services have combined into a single programme which is IDing as "Al Idhaa Al Masreya" (The Egyptian radio) - this matches the IDs that I have heard on 9305. 73s (Dave Kenny, UK, Feb 1, ibid.) 01 Febrero 2011: 6270, R. Cairo, Egipto, chequeando a las 0138-, SIN SEÑAL, igual en 9315 en 9915 con música arabe (Yimber Gaviria, Cali, Colombia, Feb 2, Sony ICF 7600G + Kaito KA33 antenna, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) 9305, ERTU General Service, 0650 Feb 1, man in Arabic. Poor (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile, Eton E1, Sony AN1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Logs for 1 Feb: Egypt back? 9305, Egypt?? 2154 interview man to man in Arabic, a song on 2203, news at 2204 with mention of Mubarak. Bad audio and signal just S2-3. Nothing on other frequencies (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Cairo again on ONLY four txs noted here at 1300 UT Feb 2nd. For security reason?, Abu Zaabal site is closed since 10 days now. Abis site close to Alexandria, some 165 kilometers north heard according Radio Cairo Winter schedule see under Egypt Feb 2nd 1300 UTC 15065 S=2-3, 15080 S=6, 15710 S=6, and 17870 S=3. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) "HAM RADIO NOT A VIABLE OPTION FOR EGYPT." BUT DIAL-UP IS. Posted: 01 Feb 2011 IDG News, 31 News 2011, Nancy Gohring: "Despite the best efforts of Internet activists who are trying to help Egyptians communicate with the outside world, ham radio isn't a viable option in this situation, experts said. ... [D]espite reports of ham radios being used to send Morse code, there have been no confirmed transmissions out of Egypt, said Allen Pitts, a spokesman for the National Association for Amateur Radio. 'I haven't heard of any transmissions, period,' he said. ... There is a long history of using ham radio in emergency situations, but it is not ideal for the current situation in Egypt, Pitts said. 'Ham radio does do wonderfully in situations like this ... but in this particular case, there's nobody transmitting,' he said. That may be partly because there are few ham users in Egypt to begin with. 'Most people cannot afford it or do not have the political connections needed to get a license there. Those with licenses are apparently, wisely, keeping low,' he said. They may be concerned about who is listening and whether there will be consequences for what they say." - - If those few radio amateurs in Egypt can be located and activated, they could send non-political "health and welfare" messages from foreigners in Egypt, letting their relatives know they are OK. These could be transmitted by voice, on shortwave, to radio amateurs in Europe, then passed on to the recipient via e-mail. See previous post about same subject (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** EGYPT. WRN advises that they have started availablizing R. Cairo`s English broadcasts on their website. http://www.wrn.org/listeners/#radio-cairo/ It`s the Europe service originally at 2115-2245 on 6270, a frequency which has really been off the air since at least January 25. I listened to the first part of the Feb 2 file. Program summary to begin. News starts :15 minutes into it: rather straightforward but few details about the situation in Egypt, giving more coverage to instability in other Arab countries. The announcer has such an accent that one needs perfect webcast reception to have a chance of understanding every word. He also presents the commentary which follows, stumbling through it as he obviously is trying to read it cold. The musical pauses are quite ragged, cutting off abruptly, and frequent miscues. Also a lot of variation in the audio quality, but at least here the modulation doesn`t drop into inaudibility. It`s great to have this available, thanks to WRN (Glenn Hauser, OK, Feb 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR. RADIO MARÍA COMPRA FRECUENCIA DE RADIO CADENA YSU Tras más de 50 años de estar al aire, la histórica emisora llega a su fin La frecuencia de la Radio Cadena YSU, 107.3 FM, ha sido vendida a Radio María. FOTO / EDH --- JAIME GARCÍA Martes, 25 de Enero de 2011 La tradicional e histórica YSU Radiocadena cerrará definitivamente sus transmisiones a partir de febrero, tras la venta de la frecuencia que hiciera a la Radio María, de corte católico. En la red social Facebook algunos empleados informaron sobre el cierre de su fuente de empleo y que quedarían cesantes. La administradora de Radio María, Yamileth Valladares, confirmó a elsalvador.com la compra de la frecuencia de la YSU Radiocadena, la cual es 107.3 FM. Valladares indicó que la intención de la compra es pasar la Radio María de la Amplitud Modulada (AM) a la Frecuencia Modulada (FM). La ejecutiva de la referida radio dijo que cuando comiencen a operar se convocará a una conferencia para informar sobre los nuevos cambios. Una radio con historia La Radio Cadena YSU inició sus operaciones en diciembre de 1946, según la página web de la emisora. Durante el conflicto armado de los años ochenta, la YSU se abrió campo en el mundo de las noticias. "El surgimiento en diciembre de 1946 de YSU Radiocadena, marca un hito especial, no sólo por su creatividad y dinamismo. En el centro de esa década de convulsiones sociales mundiales, la decisión de instalar una emisora con independencia política significaba, además de un especial esfuerzo, seguir los dictados de una auténtica vocación de servicio. Una vocación de servicio concretada, como en todo medio de comunicación serio, en el compromiso de informar, opinar, anunciar y entretener a la sociedad con capacidad y ética", dice su sitio web. "La voz suprema del espacio", era su lema. La convulsión de la década de los años 40 motivó a empresarios a buscar medios radiofónicos para informar. José Trabanino h. logró que el 19 de marzo de 1946 el Ministerio del Interior autorizara la instalación de los equipos transmisores de la incipiente radio. Se inició con onda corta YSUA de 750 watts, transmitía en 7200 kilociclos. Asimismo se trasmitía en onda larga YSU de mil watts de potencia, para operar en 1.050 kilociclos-. Inicialmente se llamada YSU Radio Mil Cincuenta, pero comercialmente operaba como Alma Latina. Posteriormente Trabanino h. transfirió la licencia de instalación y operación de la naciente emisora a su hermano Raúl. Para transmitir el equipo fue instalado en la Quinta El Recreo, en la calle a Montserrat, al final de la colonia San Antonio, en San Salvador. El 2 de diciembre de 1946, la YSU lanzó su primera señal a El Salvador. FUENTE: http://bit.ly/ebZ6Xm (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia) Note that the history says it started off in 1946y as a SW station on 7200; that was before my time. Does anyone remember hearing it? I assume it also spawned the first/major TV station, YSU-TV on channel 4 (gh, DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 6250-, Jan 28 at 0655, poor-fair signal in continuous Spanish talk, mentions Bata, keeps going past 0700. I am rather surprised reception is holding up this late as usually it`s gone by 0630. And still JBA at 0715, 0722 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6250, Radio Nacional (Malabo), 0547-0609, 1/31/2011, Spanish. Combination of talk by man, two minute segments of highlife music, multiple IDs as "Radio Nacional", and one rooster crow. ID at 0601 by woman as "Radio Malabo", then talk by man with additional Malabo IDs. Moderate to good signal strength with a couple of brief periods of utility interference. My first log of them this year despite almost nightly checks of the frequency at 0600 (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, IC-R75, RX-340, E1, ICF-SW7600G, G6, Random Wire, ALA100M Loops, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 6250.0, RNGE, poor Jan 31 at 0628 continuous Spanish talk, ute beeps (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, Radio Africa (presumed); 1809, 29-Jan; English huxter waxing about prayer. SIO=253 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 4770, With already at least 7 transmitters, heard with news in vernaculars from 1500 and also on // 5980, 7120, 7165, 7175, 7185 on 11/1. Maybe there was one more transmitter on 5060 with another program but here dominated CNR(?) station (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, 16m Marconi), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) The ERI puzzle: That's how many transmitters altogether? - Rumen Pankov, Jan 11 at 1500 UT: 4770 \\ 5980 \\ 7120 \\ 7165 \\ 7175 \\ 7185 kHz; Dec 8: 7120 7160 7165 7175 7185 & 5060 - Patrick Robic, Jan 20: 4770 \\ 7175 kHz; 5060 \\ 7205 kHz. - Olle Alm, Dec 31: the well modulated transmitters heard are on 4770, 5980, 7175 and the weaker and much undermodulated ones are on 7120, 7165, 7185. - Brian Clark, Jan. 9, 1726 UT: 4770 // 7175, 7185, 7165, 7120 Most interesting hints are the logs of Rumen Pankov (Jan. 11) and Olle Alm: In both cases it's the same six frequencies mentioned, while three quite regular frequencies are unmentioned: 7205, 5060 and 9700/9710. I'm quite sure that the transmitter on 7205 is not used on any of this sixpack of frequencies; and I believe I have heard it at least once at a time when also six other frequencies were on. 31m isn't mentioned at all above, but it's used often in the afternoons, though not daily. I have heard it synchronously with all freqs of the sixpack (though maybe not with all six at a time), but not with 5060. 9700/9710 is usually well-modulated and // 7175. 5060 is rarely reported, also not reported as undermodulated, and seems to play an extra role as // to 7205 or as // to some of the sixpack when they do not broadcast //7175 (see reports from ETH, DXLD 11-02). All //s to 7175 seem to be operated from the same site, as they are usually switched off one by one within a minute or so (var. from 1757 to approx. 1810) while 7175 may switch off minutes earlier or later, or at 2000 UT. 5060 reported to switch off much earlier and 9700/9710 sometimes signs on later than the others in the afternoons. So we cannot prove that there are more than seven transmitters, but the observations make me consider it as quite likely. Today Jan 27, at 1600 UT 7205 and 9700 where on but 7185 was missing and also 5060 untraced. 5980 co-channelQRMed at 1700 and 4770, 7120, 7165, 7175, 9700 signing off at 1800 (NA heard exc. 4770). So again, no proof it's more then seven; Your bids? Anybody with eight? Any more //-frequencies? (Thorsten Hallmann, Germany, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7120, 24/1 1735, Voice of Broad Masses, Eritrea, talks, some music, //7175 & 7165 weak to fair. 7165, 24/1 1743, Voice of Broad Masses, talks // 7120 7175 weak. 7175, 24/1 1740, Voice of Broad Masses, talks and music, // 7120 & 7165 good (Giampiero Bernardini with Dario Monferini in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia province, Italy), at the seaside, for our Bocca di Magra DX nights (Boc 22), Perseus & RFSpace SDR-IQ / ANT: Wellbrook loop LFL 1010, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4770, Broad masses from Eritrea? 1716 28 Jan with HoA songs and some talks and signal S5. Problem was that audio was very undermodulated so that local QRN or possibly digital QRM was quite apparent (34231) (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Standard rig: ICOM R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6090, Amhara State Regional R., Gedja. In vernaculars with news at 1857, next singing the NA and close/down at 1902 on 2/1. It is a station which is dominating on Saturdays over World Of Radio (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, 16m Marconi), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 9705, Radio Ethiopia, 2032-2101* Jan 24, program of Horn of Africa music hosted by a man announcer with Amharic talks. ID and closedown announcements at 2058 followed by choral National Anthem. Fair to good signal (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) 9705, Radio Ethiopia, 2030-2100:30*, Jan 26, local Horn of Africa pop music. Some rustic local music. Amharic talk. National Anthem at 2059. Fair (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9705, R. Ethiopia, tentative, 2000-2100* 1/27. Big thanks to Brian Alexander for the tip, an extremely enjoyable catch -- haven't heard Addis Ababa in 30 years, so a fun way to rejoin the DXing world. Frequency unblocked at 2000 when Family Radio (Meyerton) signs off, revealing signal of R Ethiopia, weak at first but then fading in to good level by bottom of the hour. 2000 news in progress, vernacular lang by OM, into local music program around 2006. Terrific, very listenable music selection, chanty vocals with twangy local instruments and percussion accompaniment. Some music with very Middle Eastern influence, other uniquely different. Also more 'modern' (western?) sounding music during back half of the hour; presume this is what Brian called 'Horn of Africa pop'. (Sounded to me like Malaysian 'nightclub music', oddly enough.) OM and YL occasional announcements in language, presumably Amharic. Pre-shutdown news flash followed by electronic stinger around 2058, breathy s/off announcement by YL. Couldn't catch ID. 2059 unfamiliar anthem by funky oompah-type orchestra, then open carrier and cut after 2100 (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2, Longwire, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 7115, 7160 and 7185 at 15++ 28 Jan were covered by quite strong white noise transmissions from Ethiopia with bandwidth of about 10-15 kHz (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Standard rig: ICOM R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ETH jammers back? Just heard today, Jan. 28, typical white noise on 7100, 7120, 7175, 7185, 9700, stopping at 1600* - really points to Ethiopia. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, 1611 UT Jan 28, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) After some months of (relative) silence, Ethiopian Jammers returned, first heard Friday Jan. 28, but also Sat + Sun. Pattern seems to be until 1700 against (suspected) Eritrean program. Usually noise, sometimes open carrier, so potentially programming might be aired via these transmitters at certain times also. Frequencies on Sat/Sun were 5980, 7120, 7165, 7175, 9700/9705/9710; on Friday also 7100 (Pakistan) and 7185. Six transmitters at least, heard with significantly different signal strength. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, 1045 UT Jan 31, ibid.) Sad but true. 31 Jan at 1645 ETH noise jammers on (at least) 4770. 5980, 7120, 7165, 7175 and 9700 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) ** EUROPE. European SW-pirates testing to Japan this weekend - 29th & 30th Jan 2011 http://hkdx2.blogspot.com/ http://hkdx2.blogspot.com/2011/01/schedule-for-japan-test-weekend.html (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Jan 28, dxldyg via DXLD) SPECIAL DX PIRATE SESSION FOR JAPAN --- system used: R75 ICOM; antennas : 2x16 inv V a/o 16 H wire; head: m@h 40 Sennheiser. the local QRN coming from mainly DSL lines and possibly CFL lamps, 29-1-11: 14374.7, Shoreline radio 0804 with old rocks. OM IDed many times at 0805. Again ID 0817 followed with song from Deep Purple. Signal max S3 15433 12265, Space shuttle, 0812 with lively music (tango? Waltz? ) Max signal S2 but most time under the local DSL QRN. R Scotland on 15090 was not audible at 21xx 30-1-11: Vacant frequencies were of Shoreline 14374, Mike radio 13900 and possibly WRI 12256. Remaining stations heard: F R Nova, 15068.4 at 0706 has been heard with old songs and signal S2. Better at 0822 with signal 15342 ??? WR International on 12256 at 0719 was probably not audible or just sub marginal under the strong local QRN Space Shuttle on 12264.7 AM was audible after 0838 with S2 level, max S3, 1-2/5332. Heard a rock song Old Time Radio on 15008.9 was very poor at 08xx though several times could be heard marginally Blue Star supposedly was heard on 14500 and at 0755 with a sub- marginal signal R Scotland on 15052 found at 0757 with a carrier of S3-4. At 0802 was airing the song 'call me' by Blondie, then OM with talks calling Japan, then with old song "I wonder', S4 max 25434. The station with the strongest signal Baltic Sea radio on 14350-U at 0818 with ID email and talks. S0, 15332. Best signal using the 16 horizontal antenna and also !!! (not included in the listing): Cupid radio, 15074.9. Dunno if he was transmitting for the occasion but he was quite well audible as with the previous times I logged him. He supposedly started at 0900 but I tuned in, at 0912 with ID and old song, and signal level S3 max Audio clips of the above receptions of 30-1 can be found in this link (it is directory): http://www.mediafire.com/?beyi2489oi2fcStandard rig: ICOM R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. 6210, [UT Sunday] 30/1 0110, Laser Hot Hits, Pirate, nice songs, several IDs, fair to good. Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, Perseus, T2FD 15 meters long, My Short Wave blog: http://radiodxsw.blogspot.com/ dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Radio France International English frequency changes: 0600- 0630 now on 9765 13680 15160, 0700-0730 now on 15605, broadcasts are Monday to Friday (Allen Dean, Feb World DX Club Contact via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) `Now` meaning the usual February shifts (gh, DXLD) ** GABON. 9580 kHz - R Afrique no. 1 from Moyabi, website - to check against shortwave: is that program from Paris or from Libreville stream 24 hrs ? - or different at part time? (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 21 via DXLD) 9580, Africa Number One, 1950-2010 Jan 31, Noted a fair signal here with highlife type music as an announcer comments in French during, before and after the music. It amazes me that this station has remained on the air and on this frequency for so many years. If they can do it from Gabon, why can't the more prosperous countries do it? As I listen, Radio Australia comes on the air with their theme "Waltzing Matilda". Still Radio One remains audible. On the hour, RNO gives ID followed by news. Radio Australia never starts broadcasting. because they were signing off. Without any interference, Africa Number One is "Fivers'. (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston FL, WR-G31DDC, 26N 081W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ANO is now partly owned by LIBYA (gh) ** GERMANY [and non] Some changes via Media Broadcast (MBR): Radio Dardasha 7 (Chat from Arabic), new station from Jan. 17: 0300-0330 7325 WER 125 kW / 120 deg N/ME Arabic 0500-0530 6100 NAU 125 kW / 190 deg WeAf Arabic 1700-1730 9440 WER 125 kW / 120 deg N/ME Arabic 1900-1930 9430 WER 125 kW / 180 deg WeAf Arabic, co-ch RL in Russian New schedule of Hamada Radio International from Jan. 24: 0530-0600 7350 WER 100 kW / 180 deg WeAf Hausa M-F 0530-0600 9460 NAU 100 kW / 185 deg WeAf Hausa M-F, additional freq. 1400-1430 17485 WER 125 kW / 180 deg WeAf Hausa M/W/F, cancelled 1930-2000 9840 WER 100 kW / 180 deg WeAf Hausa Daily, ex Mon-Fri Lutheran World Federation-Voice of Gospel in Burmese: 1330-1345 17650 WER 250 KW / 075 deg SEAs Sun, cancelled from Jan. 2 Brother Stair (TOM) in English: 1400-1600 NF 17580 WER 125 kW / 180 deg CeAf, ex 1500-1600 17485 Bible Voice Broadcasting Network (BVBN)-Radio Sadaye Zindagi in Dari: 1600-1630 9445 WER 250 kW / 090 deg WeAs, cancelled effective Jan. 5 Bible Voice Broadcasting Network (BVBN) in Amharic/Oromo/Tigrinya: 1600-1830 NF 11965 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg EaAf, ex 13810, from Jan. 9 Bible Voice Broadcasting Network (BVBN) in Arabic: 1830-1900 6130 WER 125 kW / 120 deg N/ME, cancelled effective Jan. 16 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 2 Feb via DXLD) ** GERMANY. /USA, New security fence and gates replacement work at Biblis site. When I visited RFE site Biblis for the first time in 1963, it was an open field area without any fence (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 26, wwdxc BC- DX TopNews Jan 30 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. DW BALD NICHT MEHR AUF DER KURZWELLE. Kulturstaatsminister Bernd Neumann (CDU) sagt in der heutigen Ausgabe des Koelner Stadtanzeigers (20.01.2011), dass die DEUTSCHE WELLE die lineare Radioausstrahlung ueber Kurzwelle beenden wird. Die DW muesse in Zukunft auf die Staerkung des Internets sowie auf regional- fremdsprachige TV- und Audioangebote setzen. Eine Reform der Uebertragungswege sei geboten. Stellungnahme der Bundesregierung zum Entwurf der Aufgabenplanung der Deutschen Welle (PDF) (29.5 KB) bzw. (Tom DF5JLT, A-DX Jan 20 via BC-DX Jan 30 via DXLD) Das ist eine sehr bedauerliche Entwicklung - weil man m.E. von der irrigen Annahme ausgeht, dass jeder ueberall Zugang zum Internet hat. [von anderer Seite kommentiert: "Auf meiner Reise durch Ecuador habe ich mich ueber DWL KW mit meinem 40 Euro Weltempfaenger Tecsun PL-380 sehr gut informieren koennen."] Gestern auf dem Weg zur Arbeit hatte ich zufaellig D-RADIO-Wissen eingestellt und hoerte ein sehr bemerkensertes Interview mit Kulturstaatsminister Neumann (verwaltet den 273 Millionen EUR-Etat fuer die DW) zu diesem Thema. Hoert Euch das Interview an - das ist sehr bemerkenswert, wie dort argumentiert wird - hoechst interessant !! Auf dieser Webseite gibt es ganz unten die Moeglichkeit Kommentare abzugeben - ich denke diese Moeglichkeit sollte man reichlich nutzen. Ich bin sehr interessiert zu erfahren, was denn der DW-Rundfunkrat gestern beschlossen hat. Ich stelle fuer mich als Steuerzahler und direkter Finanzierer dieser fest, dass die DW sich aus der analogen Radio-Verbeitung ueber Astra zurueckgezogen hat - nun gut das waere aus Kostengruenden zu verstehen - aber letztes Jahr wurden auch die digitalen Radiokanaele zusammen mit der DW-TV vom Astra genommen - ein System das 300 Millionen Haushalte versorgt !! Wenn man sich ohne Not von seiner Hoererschaft durch Abschaltung der technischen Verbreitung verabschiedet, braucht man sich nicht wundern, wenn man keine Hoerer / Zuseher hat. Mein Eindruck ist schon lange, dass man diese frueher hochgeschaetze Anstalt letztendlich ganz gezielt platt machen wird (via Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 22, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 30 via DXLD) ** GREECE. Good morning Glenn: I haven’t heard a peep out of Voice of Greece on 9420 kHz for the last 2 days. How is it doing in Enid? (John Babbis, MD, 1613 Feb 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: Voice of Greece has 9420 here at SINPO 35333 at 2000 UT on Feb. 1 (John Babbis, ibid.) Didn`t get a chance to check meanwhile (gh) fs9420, VOG Feb 3 at 1438, good with Greek talk, while 15650 barely makes it. John Babbis says 9420 had been missing earlier this week (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND. 3815 USB, 2105-2214* 12+15+18.01, KNR, Tasiilaq. Greenlandic ann, orchestra music, 2130 news, music and ann, 2200 Danish news 25332 - 13211 deep fades, utility QRM including Russian airport calls (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) And one more reminder, MW and SW are to be closed down Feb 11 (gh) ** GUAM. 5765 - USB, AFN, Jan 26. 1334 C&W songs; 1609 with the Z-Rock program of rock songs; fair to good (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5765-USB, AFN, hit during a talk segment, PSAs and promos, Jan 27 at 1339 for http://www.letsmove.gov 1341 AFN promo for some stupid football game on Feb 6. Then historical capsule about American Revolution; the first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus traversed the polar icecap totally submerged, approaching Siberia without detexion, in 1958. 1343 ID as ``Mainstream Country from AFN``, back to music at last; fair signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 5765/USB, AFN/AFRTS; 1136, 30-Jan; Detectable but weak & covered by pulse QRM. Not // 5446.5/U & 7811/U via Key West (12133.5/U not on). A bit better at 1206, but not much. 1343, 30-Jan; This is Country C&W music pgm. "Start your Super Bowl chili now. It'll taste better next week." AP Radio News at 1350. SIO=3+54, better than all 3 Key West stations, which were not // (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also U S A 5765-USB, AFN, Feb 2 at 1353, NPR Marketplace a few sex ahead of // KOSU 91.7 which imposes its own digital delay to match its IBOC duplicate which no one listens to. Glad to find AFN back on NPR, a segment of Morning Edition, instead of country music, but who knows what will happen the next day. Fair and clear signal today, no QRM external or internal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM. 12025, Jan 31 at 1520, English with S Asian accent about Noah, Exodus, poor signal. HFCC shows it`s KSDA, 100 kW, due west from Agat at 1500-1530 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 4052.5, Radio Verdad, 0240-0312 Jan 24, noted with a program of continuous instrumental music including a belated Christmas song (``Let It Snow``). Man announcer with Spanish language ID and announcements at 0255. Fair signal (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) 4052.5, TGAV, Radio Verdad (presumed); 0015, 29-Jan; M in Spanish with very wide variety of tunes; opera, banjo, 20s vocal, soap opera organ. SIO=3+52 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUIANA FRENCH. QSL: 7360, Family Radio, English to South America via Montinsery. Full data (with site) 50th Anniversary QSL card, with schedule and other religious material. For a follow-up letter indicating the error listing of the transmitter site. Reply in 54 days (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3290, Voice of Guyana 0605 troubled signal, some audio. 0950 Protestant sermon, 1005 news, financial crisis, Haiti news, Sec of State Clinton, 1010 Messages "Georgetown Magistrate Court.... Commissioner of Police ...", into music, "Someone to Lean On", strong signal, 31 January; 1015 Voice of Guyana ID on 29 January (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida US, Icom 746Pro Modified by Dallas Lankford, NRD 535D [Gilfer], Drake R8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3290, Voice of Guyana; 2256-2304+, 29-Jan; M in English with subcontinental music to English ID at 2300 & BBC? promo; Ad string at 2302. SIO=3+52. 0122-0130+, 30-Jan; M in English; announcement about electrical supply from GPL; ID into reggae tune. SIO=422+ with roar QRM (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3290, Voice of Guyana, 0631 Feb 1, with BBC news, “BBC News” ID, BBC programming continued past 0700. Poor (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile, Eton E1, Sony AN1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 3250.1, HRPC Radio Luz y Vida (presumed); 0108-0116+, 30- Jan; Very low-key M in Spanish with religion & camp'o music; ad string with phone #s at 0113+. SIO=332+ with het whine from 3252.5 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Khampur Panoramio image http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/45726469.jpg http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/45726479.jpg (Ian Baxter, NSW, Jan 27, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) [Khampur - Delhi, All India Radio, 15040, 15075 kHz.] [Khampur - Delhi, All India Radio, 1] [Khampur - Delhi, All India Radio, 2] (Lev Lytovchenko, Canada. Jan. 29, ibid.) Kurseong, India, AIR. [Kurseong, India, All India Radio.] (Lev Lytovchenko, Canada. Jan. 29, ibid.) ** INDIA. 4775, 0030-0100 16.01, AIR Imphal, English/vernacular, local string music, 0035 news in English from Delhi // 4920, 5010; 0040 local singing without music, 45333 (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) See also ANDAMAN; SIKKIM ** INDIA. REPUBLIC DAY MONITORING OBSERVATIONS BY GAUTAM KUMAR SHARMA It`s my pleasure to share the following monitoring Observations on All India Radio (AIR)'s Republic Day Coverage on January 26th (2011) via various transmitter sites & regional radio stations. Geographical Location of Reception Place (Abhayapuri): Longitude: 26º18´20´´North Latitude: 90º37´50´´East Receiver: Grundig YB400 (Digital) Antenna: Long Copper Wire as external antenna (for all monitorings) I monitored most of the frequencies between 0353-0433 UT. Nothing was audible on the following frequencies during that period: 6155 (Bengaluru 500 kW), 15050 (Bengaluru 500 kW), AIR Guwahati on 7280, 15135 (Delhi 50 kW), AIR Kohima was not heard either on their 4850 or their daytime frequency on 6065, AIR Itanagar either on 4990 or their daytime 6150, AIR Lucknow on 7440, 5985 via AIR-Rachi, 6020 via AIR-Shimla, on 7210 via AIR Kolkata, etc. Unusual Monitoring Observations: And AIR-Shillong was noted during that period with good signal on 4970. But however AIR-Imphal was noted with good signal on their daytime frequency of 7335. But the signal became slightly weaker & noisy later. And during that entire period AIR-Gangtok on 6085 was noted with good & steady signal. AIR-Chennai was noted with satisfactory signal on 7380. As per my monitoring before 0353 on 7420, I heard with fair to poor & slightly noisy signal of with music & with announcements in a South Indian language. I have no doubt the station was AIR-Hyderabad. And again I found satisfactory signal on 7430 of AIR's Republic Day Coverage In Hindi & initially I thought it was AIR-Lucknow but later checking frequency list & finding AIR-Bhopal on its morning frequency on 4880 with no signal, I was sure its AIR-Bhopal. AIR-Jeypore was noted with poor signal however on their morning frequency on 5040. Reception With Poor signal plus facing QRM: On a few frequencies there was weak signal plus also there was co-channel etc interference was observed. On 11620 via Aligarh (250 kW), the signal was slightly distorted & co-channel interefence was noted & the signal was also weak. On 9810 via Delhi (50 kW), the signal was poor & facing strong co-channel interference. On 11830 via Delhi (50 kW), the signal was not audible & a distored audio could be heard & also facing co-channel / side band splatter. General reception: On 9595 via Delhi was noted with good signal & on this frequency coverage in Hindi was heard. 5990 via Delhi (250 kW) the signal was fair to poor & slighty noisy etc. With Best Wishes 73 & 55, Gautam Kumar Sharma (GK), Abhayapuri (Assam)(India) (via Jose Jacob, Jan 29, dx_india yg via DXLD) All India Radio Shilling noted on 7316.0 kHz during check at 0810 UT, on air till 0930. Regards, (Gautam Kumar Sharma, Abhayapuri, Assam, India, via Alokesh Gupta, new Delhi, 0830 UT Jan 30, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 6280, Jan 28 at 2206, weak signal in talk, presumably the only broadcaster scheduled on this marine band channel, AIR GOS, 500 kW, 320 degrees from Bengaluru (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9950, 21/1 2150, AIR India, DRM, "HPT AIR KHAMPUR", songs, news in English at 22, good (Giampiero Bernardini with Dario Monferini in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia province, Italy), at the seaside, for our Bocca di Magra DX nights (Boc 22), Perseus & RFSpace SDR-IQ / ANT: Wellbrook loop LFL 1010, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA [non]. 9500, UZBEKISTAN, CVC The Voice Asia, 1218-1240 Jan 24, Hindi music until several IDs at 1225 in various languages including English with contact information. News at 1230 followed by more music. Fair to good with some co-channel QRM from Chinese station (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 3345 (presumed), UNID probably RRI, Ternate, 0328, with talks by m, QRK 2/1. Het, Jan 21 (Horacio A. Nigro, Valizas 2011 DX Summer Vacation Log Part 2, 260 km E of Montevideo, a small fishermen and summer village on the Atlantic coast of Uruguay, Jan 29, Kenwood R600, longwire 100 m long on bushes towards Europe, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Improbably Ternate where it is almost noon, and not supposed to be on air anyway at this hour. Instead: 3345, CHANNEL AFRICA, 0300-0400, English, 100 kW, 5 degrees from Meyerton, per Aoki. Did the language seem English? (gh, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. RRI Makassar in DXLD 11-04 --- Hi Glenn, Chuck's Jan 25 log of RRI Makassar has one correct frequency and two "4740.946". His Jan 26 log was correct. A small matter, as it is clear from the reference to 4750 which is the correct one (Ron Howard, California, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I.e. my attempt to corect his typos, introduced more typoes of my own! Proofraed, profreed!! (Glenn Hasuer, DX KUSTEBUBG DIGSET) 4749.946! 4750, RRI Makassar, 1158-1203 Jan 25, poking through Bangladesh [q.v.] with familiar Song of the Coconut Islands followed by Jakarta news. Very poor with Bangladesh dominating channel (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 9525, VOI, Jan 27 at 1353 with some hum, and IADs during music segment, English discussion of some pop performer. Usually on Tuesdays there is a wrap-up at the end with RRI Banjarmasin guy but none heard today, so was there an ``Exotic Indonesia`` excursion this week? 9680, RRI domestic relay is rather more interesting than 9525, but with weaker signal, at least atop the CCI, Jan 27 at 1357 with ``Anvil Chorus`` from Verdi`s ``Il Trovatore``, no break at 1400, still going at 1402 with other operatic warhorse excerpts; 1407 Indonesian announcement mentions Johann Strauss, but next played ``Funiculì, Funiculà``; 1411 Theme from ``Godfather``, neither exactly operatic; 1414 finally Strauss Sr`s ``Radetzky March``. 1417 talking about RRI and Radio Nasional; 1422 over to pop song. Still on at 1506, now with drama including SFX such as motorcycle, creaky door. 9525, VOI, Feb 1 at 1503 with news in English, unusual, plus usual IADs interrupting. YL concludes already in less than a minute as ``this was Newslink from Voice of Indonesia in Jakarta``. Right back into music with frenetic song in Brazilian, mentioning ``alegria``, ``Madalena``. 1507 self-aggrandizing slogan ``Voice of Indonesia, being first, being different, being the best!`` And more pop music. 1511 ``Voice of Indonesia, keeping dignity alive``, and OM DJ with back-announcement in Indonesian, including ``Macarena``, it sounded like he said, but that was not the song heard earlier. With every passing minute I grew more and more apprehensive that this would cut off the air as I knew this transmission was on borrowed time. And so it did, abruptly at 1511:20* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. VOI Cimanggis - Panoramio Images Some recent images: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/37397669.jpg http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/37396416.jpg http://www.panoramio.com/photo/24303568 (Ian Baxter, NSW, Jan 27, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. B-10 schedule of BABCOCK Relays (ex VTC). Pt 1 of 3: Voice of Vietnam 0100-0130 6175 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg NoAm English 0130-0230 6175 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg NoAm Vietnamese 0230-0300 6175 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg NoAm English 0300-0330 6175 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg NoAm Spanish 0330-0400 6175 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg NoAm English 0400-0430 6175 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg NoAm Spanish 0430-0530 6175 SAC 250 kW / 240 deg NoAm Vietnamese 1800-1830 5955 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg WeEu English 1830-1930 5955 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg WeEu Vietnamese 1930-2000 5955 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg WeEu French 2000-2030 5970 WOF 250 kW / 075 deg EaEu Russian 2030-2130 3985 SKN 250 kW / 121 deg WeEu German 2130-2230 7370 WOF 250 kW / 105 deg SEEu Vietnamese Adventist World Radio 0100-0200 15445 TAI 100 kW / 250 deg SEAs Vietnamese Sat Sudan Radio Service 0400-0500 13720 DHA 250 kW / 245 deg EaAf Arabic 0500-0530 13720 DHA 250 kW / 240 deg EaAf Arabic 0530-0600 13720 DHA 250 kW / 240 deg EaAf English 1500-1530 17745 SIN 250 kw / 114 deg EaAf English 1530-1700 17745 SIN 250 kw / 114 deg EaAf Arabic 1600-1700 17700 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg EaAf Arabic 1700-1730 9840 DHA 300 kW / 240 deg EaAf Dinka Mon 1700-1730 9840 DHA 300 kW / 240 deg EaAf Zande Tue 1700-1730 9840 DHA 300 kW / 240 deg EaAf Muro Wed 1700-1730 9840 DHA 300 kW / 240 deg EaAf Bari Thu 1700-1730 9840 DHA 300 kW / 240 deg EaAf Shiluk Fri 1700-1730 9840 DHA 300 kW / 240 deg EaAf Arabic Sat/Sun 1730-1800 9840 DHA 300 kW / 240 deg EaAf English Radio Canada International 0400-0500 7265 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg N/ME Arabic 1700-1730 9555 RMP 250 kW / 048 deg EaEu Russian 1700-1730 11935 WOF 250 kW / 078 deg EaEu Russian 1900-2000 9510 SKN 250 kW / 177 deg NCAf French 1900-2000 11845 SKN 300 kW / 195 deg NWAf French Radio Okapi 0400-0500 11690 MEY 250 kW / 340 degCongo French/Lingala Radio Japan NHK World 0500-0530 5975 RMP 500 kW / 140 deg WeEu English 1700-1900 9575 DHA 250 kW / 285 deg NoAf Japanese 0400-0430 6035 ERV 100 kW / 222 deg N/ME Arabic 1500-1700 12045 SNG 250 kW / 315 deg WeAs Japanese 0500-0530 15205 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs English 1000-1030 11780 TAC 100 kW / 163 deg SoAs English 1300-1345 9720 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Bengali 1345-1430 9720 TAC 100 kW / 163 deg SoAs Hindi 1430-1515 6200 TAC 100 kW / 170 deg SoAs Urdu 0200-0300 11860 SNG 250 kW / 340 deg SEAs Japanese 0800-1000 11740 SNG 250 kW / 001 deg SEAs Japanese 0945-1030 6140 SNG 250 kW / 140 deg SEAs Indonesian 1030-1100 11740 SNG 250 kW / 330 deg SEAs Burmese 1130-1200 11740 SNG 250 kW / 001 deg SEAs Thai 1230-1300 11740 SNG 250 kW / 001 deg SEAs Vietnamese 1300-1330 11740 SNG 250 kW / 001 deg SEAs Chinese 1430-1500 11740 SNG 250 kW / 330 deg SEAs Burmese 0230-0300 6145 SGO 100 kW / 060 deg BRA Portuguese 0930-1000 6145 SGO 100 kW / 060 deg BRA Portuguese Bar-Kulan Radio/Meeting Place 0500-0600 15750 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Somali 1600-1700 9960 MEY 500 kW / 020 deg EaAf Somali Radio Damal (Voice of Somali People, Odka Bulshada Somaliyeed) 0400-0500 15700 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Somali 0500-0700 15700 DHA 250 kW / 205 deg EaAf Somali 1830-1930 11740 WOF 300 kW / 122 deg EaAf Somali 1930-2130 11970 DHA 250 kW / 205 deg EaAf Somali BBC 0500-0800 3955 SKN 100 kW / 121 deg WeEu English DRM 0700-0800 5875 MOS 040 kW / 300 deg WeEu English DRM 0800-0900 5875 WOF 100 kW / 114 deg WeEu English DRM 1400-1600 5845 NAK 100 kW / 290 deg SoAs English DRM 1400-1600 13590 TRM 090 kW / 005 deg SoAs English DRM KBS World Radio 0700-0800 6045 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg WeEu Korean 1100-1130 9760 WOF 100 kW / 105 deg WeEu English Sat DRM 1800-1900 7235 RMP 250 kW / 062 deg EaEu Russian 2000-2100 3955 SKN 250 kW / 106 deg WeEu German 2100-2200 3955 SKN 250 kW / 175 deg WeEu French 2200-2230 3955 SKN 250 kW / 106 deg WeEu English Voice of Croatia 0700-1100 17860 SNG 100 kW / 135 deg AUS Croatian/English Cotton Tree News 0730-0800 11875 RMP 500 kW / 190 deg CeAf English/Local IRIN Radio(Integrated Regional Information Network) 0830-0930 17680 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Somali IBRA Radio 1100-1200 9945 HBN 100 kW / 318 deg EaAs Chinese via T8WH Angel 3 1730-1800 11740 MEY 100 kW / 015 deg EaAf Somali 1730-1800 11785 SKN 300 kW / 140 deg CeAf Swahili 1800 1900 9420 RMP 250 kW / 095 deg N/ME Arabic 1800-1900 12045 WOF 250 kW / 114 deg N/ME Arabic 1800-2015 9635 SKN 300 kW / 140 deg CeAf Arabic 1900-2030 7445 RMP 500 kW / 160 deg WeAf Fulfulfe/Hausa Eternal Good News 1130-1145 15525 DHA 250 kW / 100 deg SoAs English Fri Deutsche Welle 1100-1400 15725 NAK 100 kW / 290 deg SoAs German DRM from March 1 1600-1800 5845 NAK 100 kW / 290 deg SoAs German DRM 1600-1700 13590 TRM 090 kW / 005 deg SoAs German DRM 0200-0300 15205 TRM 090 kW / 045 deg SEAs German DRM Trans World Radio Africa 1300-1315 13660 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg EaAf Afar Fri-Sun 1730-1800 9775 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg EaAf Amharic Fri 1800-1815 5965 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Tigrinya Mon-Wed 1800-1815 5965 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Amharic Thu/Fri 1800-1830 5965 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Tigre Sat 1800-1830 5965 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Kunama Sun 1815-1845 5965 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Tigrinya Mon-Fri 1830-1845 5965 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Amharic Sun Voice of Tibet 1330-1400 13755 DHA 250 kW / 075 deg CeAs Tibetan (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 31 via DXLD) B-10 schedule of BABCOCK Relays (ex VTC). Pt 2 of 3: Radio Free North Korea 1200-1400 7505 DB 300 kW / 070 deg KRE Korean 1900-2100 7530 ERV 300 kW / 065 deg KRE Korean Radio Free Chosun 1200-1300 11560 ERV 300 kW / 065 deg KRE Korean 1500-1600 5760 TAC 100 kW / 065 deg KRE Korean 2000-2100 7505 DB 100 kW / 070 deg KRE Korean Nippon no Kaze 1300-1330 9950 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg KRE Korean 1500-1530 9975 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg KRE Korean 1530-1600 9965 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg KRE Korean CMI Voice of Wilderness 1300-1330 6275 DB 100 kW / 070 deg KRE Korean Mon-Sat 1300-1400 6275 DB 100 kW / 070 deg KRE Korean Sun 1300-1400 9725 DB 100 kW / 070 deg KRE Korean Furusato no Kaze 1330-1400 9950 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg KRE Japanese 1430-1500 9950 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg KRE Japanese 1600-1630 9780 TAI 250 kW / 045 deg KRE Japanese JSR Shiokaze Sea Breeze 1400-1430 5910 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg KRE *(alt.5955/5985/6120/6135) 2030-2100 6045 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg KRE *(alt.5910/5955/5965/6135) *Jap/Kor/Chi Tue; Jap Sun/Mon/Thu; Eng Wed; Eng/Kor Fri; Kor Sat Open Radio for North Korea 1400-1500 7560 DB 100 kW / 070 deg KRE Korean 2100-2200 7480 ERV 300 kW / 065 deg KRE Korean North Korea Reform Radio 1500-1600 7590 TAC 100 kW / 065 deg KRE Korean Voice of Martyrs(Freedom) 1600-1700 6240 TAC 100 kW / 065 deg KRE Korean Gospel for Asia 1600-1615 9820 DHA 250 kW / 100 deg SoAs SoEaAs langs 1615-1630 9820 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg SoAs SoEaAs langs Sun-Wed 1615-1630 9820 DHA 250 kW / 120 deg SoAs SoEaAs langs Thu-Sat 2330-2400 6160 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg SoAs SoEaAs langs 0000-0130 6140 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg SoAs SoEaAs langs Southern Sudan Radio Service [for Darfur? Then not Southern --- gh] 1600-1630 11785 MEY 100 kW / non-dir EaAf Arabic Sat-Thu 1600-1630 17700 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg EaAf Arabic Sat-Thu 1630-1700 11785 MEY 100 kW / non-dir EaAf Fur/Masaalit/Zagawa Sat-Thu 1630-1700 17700 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg EaAf Fur/Masaalit/Zagawa Sat-Thu SW Radio Africa 1700-1900 4880 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg SoAf English Zimbabwe Community Radio/Radio Dialogue 1755-1855 4895 MEY 100 kW / 000 deg ZWE Ndebele/English/Shona Radio Payem e-Doost 1800-1845 7480 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg WeAs Farsi 0230-0315 7460 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg WeAs Farsi Radio Taiwan International 1900-2000 3955 SKN 250 kW / 106 deg WeEu German 1900-2000 3985 SKN 250 kW / 175 deg WeEu French RTE Radio One 1930-2030 6225 MEY 100 kW / non-dir SoAf English HCJB Global 2100-2145 12025 SAC 250 kW / 073 deg NoAf Arabic Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation 2215-2245 6180 CYP 250 kW / 314 deg SEEu Greek Fri-Sun 2215-2245 7210 CYP 300 kW / 314 deg SEEu Greek Fri-Sun 2215-2245 9760 CYP 250 kW / 315 deg SEEu Greek Fri-Sun Suaab Xaa Moo Zoo 2230-2300 5930 TAI 100 kW / 250 deg SEAs Hmong FEBA Radio 2145-2215 11985 ASC 250 kw / 027 deg WeAf Pulaar Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 1830-1845 15250 ASC 250 kW / 070 deg CWAf French 1600-1630 9940 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg EaAf Amharic Thu-Sun 1600-1630 9940 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg EaAf Guragena Mon-Wed 1630-1700 9940 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg EaAf Amharic 1600-1630 11875 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg EaAf Afar 1630-1700 9850 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg EaAf Tigrinya Sun-Wed 1630-1700 9850 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg EaAf Amharic Thu-Sat 1700-1800 9595 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg EaAf Orominya/Tigrinya 1700-1730 6180 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg EaAf Somali 1730-1800 7510 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg EaAf Silte 0800-0830 15220 MOS 300 kW / 115 deg N/ME Arabic 1900-1930 7235 WER 250 kW / 105 deg N/ME Arabic 1900-2030 9550 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg N/ME Arabic 0200-0230 6125 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg WeAs Pashto 0230-0300 6125 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg WeAs Dari (Radio Sadaye Zindagi) 0300-0315 6125 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg WeAs Mixed langs 1500-1530 9400 ERV 300 kW / 100 deg WeAs Dari (Radio Sadaye Zindagi) 0015-0030 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Bangla 0030-0045 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Hindi Sun/Wed 0030-0045 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Mixed langs Mon/Tue 0030-0045 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Bangla Thu-Sat 0045-0100 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Hindi 0130-0200 6140 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg SoAs Telugu Sun/Thu/Fri 0130-0200 6140 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg SoAs Mixed langs Mon-Wed/Sat 0200-0230 7315 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Urdu Sun 0200-0215 7315 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Urdu Mon-Sat 0215-0230 7315 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Mixed langs Mon-Sat 0800-0830 15205 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Urdu 1200-1230 15215 DHA 250 kW / 055 deg SoAs Tibetan 1400-1430 7230 NVS 250 kW / 195 deg SoAs Urdu 1430-1500 7230 NVS 250 kW / 195 deg SoAs Mixed langs 1400-1430 12045 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg SoAs English Sun 1400-1415 12045 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg SoAs Malayalam Mon-Sat 1415-1430 12045 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg SoAs Telugu Mon-Sat 1430-1445 9650 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg SoAs Urdu 1445-1500 9650 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg SoAs Kashmiri Wed-Sat 1445-1500 9650 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg SoAs Punjabi Sun-Tue 1500-1530 7485 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Bangla (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Feb 1 via DXLD) B-10 schedule of BABCOCK Relays (ex VTC). Pt 3 of 3: Polish Radio External Service 1130-1200 11785 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg WeEu Polish 1130-1200 15175 WOF 125 kW / 082 deg EaEu Polish 1200-1230 17670 WOF 125 kW / 070 deg EaEu Russian 1200-1230 17715 RMP 250 kW / 076 deg EaEu Russian 1230-1300 9470 WOF 125 kW / 090 deg WeEu German 1230-1300 9850 WOF 125 kW / 082 deg WeEu German 1300-1400 9460 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg WeEu English 1300-1400 11860 WOF 125 kW / 045 deg NoEu English 1400-1430 13850 RMP 250 kW / 061 deg EaEu Russian 1400-1430 15245 WOF 125 kW / 058 deg EaEu Russian 1430-1530 11905 WOF 125 kW / 070 deg EaEu Belorussian 1430-1530 15245 WOF 125 kW / 074 deg EaEu Belorussian 1530-1600 11905 WOF 125 kW / 082 deg EaEu Ukrainian 1530-1600 9580 WOF 300 kW / 066 deg EaEu Russian 1600-1630 11905 WOF 125 kW / 078 deg EaEu Ukrainian 1600-1630 13835 WOF 125 kW / 092 deg EaEu Ukrainian 1630-1700 6100 WOF 125 kW / 090 deg WeEu German 1630-1730 6050 SKN 300 kW / 090 deg EaEu Polish 1730-1800 6050 SKN 300 kW / 090 deg EaEu Belorussian 1800-1900 5895 KVI 035 kW / 220 deg NoEu English DRM 1800-1900 9650 DHA 250 kW / 315 deg WeEu English 1900-1930 5920 WOF 300 kW / 058 deg EaEu Russian 1900-1930 7265 RMP 500 kW / 110 deg EaEu Hebrew 1930-2000 6040 SKN 300 kW / 090 deg EaEu Ukrainian 1930-2000 9490 RMP 250 kW / 080 deg EaEu Ukrainian 2000-2030 6040 WOF 125 kW / 090 deg EaEu Ukrainian 2000-2030 6135 WOF 300 kW / 082 deg EaEu Russian 2030-2100 3975 SKN 100 kW / 121 deg WeEu German DRM 2030-2100 6000 DHA 250 kW / 315 deg WeEu German 2200-2300 5980 DHA 250 kW / 315 deg WeEu Polish 2200-2300 5990 SKN 300 kW / 090 deg WeEu Polish WYFR Family Radio 1800-1900 6090 RMP 500 kW / 095 deg CeEu Czech 1800-1900 7240 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg EaEu English 1700-1800 9430 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg SEEu Turkish 1800-1900 9885 RMP 500 kW / 105 deg SEEu Turkish 1800-1900 9660 SKN 300 kW / 140 deg NoAf Arabic 1800-1900 11875 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg WeAf Igbo 1830-1930 17660 ASC 250 kW / 085 deg WeAf French 1900-2000 9685 DHA 250 kW / 260 deg WeAf Hausa 2000-2100 11615 ASC 250 kW / 027 deg WeAf English 1900-2000 11665 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg WCAf Yoruba 1800-1900 9595 MEY 100 kW / 350 deg CeAf Kituba 1900-2000 9705 MEY 250 kW / 340 deg CeAf English 1900-2000 13740 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg CeAf Lingala 2000-2100 15520 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg CeAf English 2000-2200 15195 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg CeAf English 1700-1800 6045 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Amharic 1700-1800 11665 RMP 500 kW / 120 deg EaAf Somali 1700-1800 21680 ASC 250 kW / 085 deg EaAf English 1800-1900 9895 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg EaAf English 1900-2000 9660 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg EaAf Swahili 1900-1930 9885 DHA 250 kW / 210 deg EaAf English 1930-2000 9885 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf English 1600-1700 6225 MEY 250 kW / 076 deg SEAf Malagasy 1500-1600 21840 ASC 250 kW / 115 deg SoAf English 1600-1700 9795 DHA 250 kW / 215 deg SoAf English 1600-1700 17540 ASC 250 kW / 085 deg SoAf English 1700-1800 6225 MEY 100 kW / 076 deg SoAf French 1700-1800 12045 ASC 250 kW / 102 deg SoAf English 1700-1800 17505 ASC 250 kW / 102 deg SoAf Shona 1800-1900 6045 MEY 100 kW / 015 deg SoAf English 1800-1900 9770 MEY 100 kW / 007 deg SoAf Kinyarawanda-Kirundi 1900-2000 3230 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg SoAf English 1900-2000 3955 MEY 100 kW / 076 deg SoAf Portuguese 1900-2000 6100 MEY 100 kW / 335 deg SoAf Portuguese 1700-1800 9530 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg N/ME Arabic 1300-1400 17735 DHA 250 kW / 100 deg SoAs Kannada 1300-1500 17810 DHA 250 kW / 100 deg SoAs Telugu/Tamil 1400-1500 9855 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg SoAs Marathi 1500-1600 9895 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg SoAs English 1400-1500 15520 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg SoAs Hindi 1500-1600 11995 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg SoAs English 1600-1700 11740 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg SoAs English 1200-1300 17505 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg SEAs Khmer 1200-1300 17545 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg SEAs Lao Radio Australia 2200-2330 9630 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg SEAs Indonesian 2300-2330 5955 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg SEAs Burmese 0100-0130 11780 SNG 250 kW / 340 deg SEAs Burmese 1100-1300 6140 SNG 250 kW / 013 deg SEAs English 1300-1430 9965 HBN 100 kW / 318 deg EaAs Chinese via T8WH Angel 4 1600-1630 9965 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs Burmese via T8WH Angel 4 2200-2400 13590 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs English via T8WH Angel 4 0000-0030 17840 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs Indonesian via T8WH Angel 4 0400-0430 17840 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs Indonesian via T8WH Angel 4 0500-0530 17845 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs Indonesian via T8WH Angel 4 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 2 Feb via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. SWBC in times of crisis. Hi Everyone, There's been a lot of talk regarding the virtues of international broadcasting, especially in times of crisis. So, let me just remind everyone of what's happening in Egypt, and just how easy it was for the government there to shut down cell phone and internet services! (Ex) International broadcasters, especially the Europeans (but there are others), which eliminated shortwave in favor of streaming on the internet, would find their audience cut off. I know in many instances, the cut-backs are budget-related. But IMHO, if these broadcasters were serious about getting the word out, they would at least have a shortwave transmitter on stand-by for situations, like in Egypt. (Of course, the xmtr is of no use if the aerials and transmitting station are dismantled!) I would also argue that if budgets are a concern, it would be better to forget the international service and just relay a domestic network. Then the transmitter remains active and the station could put together special programming in times of crisis. Just my 2-cents' worth. 73s (David Sharp, NSW Australia, Feb 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) And it`s better to keep at least some minimal service going on known SW frequencies, so in times of crisis people will have an idea where to tune, not being able to find out by other means (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Relying only on the internet troubling --- As mentioned in the various news articles about the situation in Egypt, people are using "old" technology including fax, ham radio and modems as the internet is blocked. Blocking a range of IP addresses, etc is simple. Blocking content is also easy. Turning off the ISPs even more so in a dictatorship. Jamming a radio signal is not complete. I've spoken to several people from the former Soviet Union. They all told me they could easily hear VOA, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty even through the Soviet jamming efforts. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, Manassas, VA USA, Feb 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. 5920, Jan 27 at 1331, fair with Qur`an. 1334 announcement, Pashto? 1336 VIRI news choral theme with militaristic tone, news by YL starting with Ahmedinajad as very first word. No, it`s Kurdish scheduled 1330-1630, 500 kW nondirexional from Kamalabad; probably long path (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. 6065, VIRI (presumed), 0315-0323, Jan 28. Thanks to Wolfgang Bueschel for the suggest about this station. Am almost positive my UNID [q.v.] of yesterday on 6060.95 was in fact VIRI off frequency. Heard today at about the same signal strength and also with non-stop reciting from the Qur’an; today nothing on 6060.95. Thanks to Wolfy for his assistance (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. Intruder IRIB auf 14020 kHz 0630-0728 UT. Gerd OE3GSA to Alex OE3DMA, melde INTRUDER: 22.01.2011 0725 UT 14019.90 kHz AM Dir 115 deg (QDM). weibl. Stimme in Franzoesisch, dann Musik - shutdown 0729 UT (ohne Verabschiedung ). (Jan 22) Hallo Alex, hallo Gerd, ich gruesse Euch. Danke fuer Euren Bericht. Genau die gleiche Station hoerte ich zufaellig heute Morgen von 0644 bis Sendeschluss um 0728 UT mit S=8-9. Sprache Franzoesisch - stimmt! Anhand des Jingles, das vor Sendeschluss lief, bin ich sicher, dass es IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) war. Laut Sendeplan *) sind von 0630-0730 UT die QRGs 13600 und 15560 kHz mit Franzoesisch belegt. Ich werde das morgen mal ueberpruefen. Als IM erzeugen diese QRGs aber nicht 14020 kHz. *) es muesste aber "accueil" heissen. Also auch mal ausprobieren... (Uli, DJ9KR, DARC Bandwatch via BC-DX Jan 30 via DXLD)) Tentative B-10 for The Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran (VOIROI / IRIB) ALBANIAN 0630-0727 13810 15235 FRENCH 0630-0727 13600 15560 (IRIB via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 29; updated nach monitoring Oct 31, 2010) Die uebliche Intermodulations-Formel aus zwei Fundamentalfrequenzen vom gleichen Senderstandort, auch ohne Taschenrechner zu ermitteln. Intermodulationen aus 13600 Franzoes. und 13810 Albanischer Dienst auf 14020 und 13390 kHz. 2 x 13810 = 27620 minus 13600 = 14020 kHz - strahlt Franzoesisch. 2 x 13600 = 27200 minus 13810 = 13390 kHz - strahlt Albanisches. Complaint already sent to IRIB Tehran also in Nov 2010, by German Monitoring authority BNA ... 73 de wolfgang df5sx P11 (wb, Jan 22, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 30 via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) ** IRELAND. AUDIOCLIP: SHANNON VOLMET: FIRE AT GANDER AIRPORT The usual met-transmission of Shannon Volmet, has been interrupted for an important announcement about Gander Airport, CANADA that has been evacuated due to "fire". The audioclip is avalable here: http://blog.libero.it/radioascolto/9810141.html 73's (Francesco and Peppe (alias Joe), Central Italy, Jan 27, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** IRELAND [non]. SOUTH AFRICA. 6225, RTE Radio Worldwide via Meyerton, 2021-2031* Jan 24, close of feature program followed by instrumental music. World Radio Network ID at 2028, news headline followed by UN Radio program before carrier was terminated. Poor to fair (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) It seems the South African operators don`t pay attention to the feed and have a hard time cutting it at the right point; messy (gh, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. 6973, Galei Tzahal, Lod, Tel Aviv, 1812, Jan 14, easy jazz guitar music, fair (Graham Bell, Cape Town, RSA, DSWCI DX Window Jan 25 via DXLD) 15785 31/1 1005 Galei Zahal, Israel, reports, fair, deep fading, at 1040 good (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, Perseus & Icom R71E, T2FD 15 meters long, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY [non]. Hallo IRRS, I send one reception report for your transmission, please send me bye correct report your qsl for transmitter --- thank. Report UT 18.12.10, 6090, 44444, Sangean 909 teleskop + 5 meter longwire on windows. 1919 World of Radio - Glenn Hauser. Best greetings from eastpart from Germany Dresden (Helfried Ahlheim, Jan 15, from a reception report to and via IRRS, via DXLD) Dear Mr Hauser, Just to let you know I tuned in to IRRS on 6090 at 1900 UT Sat Jan 29 and there was no World Of Radio. The station faded into the noise around 1915 and was unreadable even using my 80ft longwire. I listened via the web just now instead. 73s from (Ian Evans in the UK, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) My fault this time: a typo in the unique file name for this audio file prevented it from being found and aired by the automation (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) ** JAPAN. 6145, good Feb 1 at 0705, NHK with operatic excerpts, ``L'amour est un oiseau rebelle`` from Bizet`s Carmen, soprano and piano accompaniment, // much weaker 6165 as to be expected from 330 vs 35 degrees USward from Yamata; no CubaRM from 6150 as all RHC frequencies were missing from 49m (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JORDAN. 11960, R. Jordan, Al Karanah. Strong signal of ME songs then announcements in Arabic. 0505 9/12 (Charles Jones, Castle Hill NSW (Sony 2001D with 7m vertical antenna or 70m long wire antenna), DX-Pedition at Ellalong, in the NSW Hunter Valley, Jan/Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) So same equipment there? 15290 31/1 1221 Radio Jordan, Arabic songs, Arabic, good (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, Perseus & Icom R71E, T2FD 15 meters long, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [non]. 7100, 24/1 1729, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, songs, good (Giampiero Bernardini with Dario Monferini in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia province, Italy), at the seaside, for our Bocca di Magra DX nights (Boc 22), Perseus & RFSpace SDR-IQ / ANT: Wellbrook loop LFL 1010, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KAZAKHSTAN. QSL: 6225. BVBN / China One Broadcast via Alma-Ata. 2- full data (wtih site, power, azimuth indicated) ‘reaching nations ..one person’ at a time multi-colour QSL Card, with schedule for a postal report sent to Toronto address. Reply in 20 days (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CANADA [non] 5835, Jan 27 at 1337 poor signal with non-Camping preacher in English obsessed with wicked people, sin, but God to rescue 200 million non- wickeds on day of judgment. HFCC shows YFR via Almaty, 500 kW, 121 degrees at 1300-1500. If only the Kazakhs knew what krap in foreign languages they are allowing out on their rentable transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) speaking of which: CHRISTIANS IN KAZAKHSTAN INSULTED BY CARTOON PUBLISHED IN PAPER | Text of report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website on 26 January Qaraghandy, Kazakhstan -- Protestant church leaders in central Kazakhstan have issued a joint protest against an article and accompanying cartoon critical of Christianity printed in a newspaper last month, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. Igor Pak, the pastor of the Kamo Gryadeshi (Quo Vadis) Protestant church in Qaraghandy, told RFE/RL an article published in the newspaper "Vzglyad na sobytiya" (A Glance at Events) in December was "a lie" written by a reporter who visited his church. Pastors from evangelical churches in Qaraghandy Oblast issued a statement on the CNL-NEWS website that condemned the article and the cartoon. The article implied that the church was involved in brainwashing people to become Christians. 'Logical Thinking? We Do Not Give A Damn' A cartoon accompanying the article showed a man in a doctor's robe opening up another's man's skull and putting what appears to be a Bible in his head. The man in the doctor's robe says: "Some words of the Lord Almighty, a bit of spicy tricks with delirium about personal growth; as for logical thinking ... we do not give a damn about that." "Vzglyad na sobytiya" chief editor Andrei Menshchikov denied the cartoon had religious overtones. He told RFE/RL that the cross on the book in the cartoon looks to him like a medical cross, not a Christian cross. He also said there is no pastor in the picture, but a man in a doctor's hat and robe. Menshchikov added that if someone sees any kind of blasphemy in the picture it is the reader's personal problem. He said that "the last time I checked freedom of speech is still legal in our democratic country called Kazakhstan." The Qaraghandy Oblast Interior Ministry told RFE/RL that Protestant Christians had contacted the ministry requesting that the newspaper's editors publicly apologize for the article and the cartoon. Zhanatai Simbekov, chief of the Qaraghandy Oblast's State Language Directorate, told RFE/RL that an expert group is working to define the contents and possible implications of the article and the cartoon. He said after the experts come to a conclusion, the directorate will determine whether to take further action. Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website, Washington, D.C., in English 0000 gmt 26 Jan 11 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 6185, Voice of Korea, Kujang. North Korea. Now here 1000 s/on English good level 27/1 (Chris Hambly, Mont Albert North, Vic (Icom R75, Dipole), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 5910, Shiokaze via JSR JAPAN still here and in English 1400 on Friday, checked Jan 28 at 1425 with Sea Breeze ID (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5910, Feb 2 at 1402, Sea Breeze, from Tokyo, another Wednesday in English, which is not always the case. Good clear reception today, and no jamming audible. YL says she will be giving data on abductees today, starting with someone who disappeared from Osaka, July 3, 1960, on the way to the movies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non?]. 3929, unID site. A man singing a solo plus choir with so called the National Song of Kurdistan and ID in Kurdish, “Eira Dengi Kurdistani” from 0301 on 2/1. SIO=555 before the starting of IRAN jammers. The other station with same name and playing the same song at the beginning at 0329 on 3971 and 4870 but with a different program is with weak signal so maybe the stations are from different sites (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, 16m Marconi), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) 4870.04, *0227-0240, CLANDESTINE, 22.01, Voice of Iranian Kurdistan, Salah Al-Din, Iraq. Kurdish Horn music 45444, 0230 Iranian jamming started, Kurdish ID: "Ere Dengê Kurdistana Iranê", martial song, frequency ann, Kurdish songs, 43443. In the background was R Voice of Kashmir probably heard! (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. The State of Kuwait, Ministry of Information, Engineering Affairs, Department of Frequency Management, P.O. Box 967, Safat, Code No. 13010 Kuwait (that’s what the large brown envelope said) sent me a very nice flip top 2011 desk calendar, printed on cardboard stock, with scenes and pictures on the opposite side of the calendar. Perhaps the QSL card for my report will be forthcoming as well (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, Jan 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. 6130, Lao National Radio, 1152-1214 fade out Jan 24, woman hosting program of traditional music. Familiar seven gongs noted at 1200 followed by news. Poor, fluttery signal but glad to have after not hearing this in several years (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** LIBYA. 17725, V. of Africa, better than usual, Jan 29 at 1409, reggae song in English, ``Is it true, is it a dream, Qaddaffy . . . no racist regime``, lyrix repeated over and over but could never copy every word. 1414 on to ``special program`` about peace & stability, mentioning ``Al-Fatah revolution``. // 21695 not propagating (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA/SARAWAK. 5030, 26/1 1535-1543*, RTM Sarawak FM, Malaysia, slow music, talks, off 1443 (// with the web stream), weak but clear (Giampiero Bernardini with Dario Monferini in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia province, Italy), at the seaside, for our Bocca di Magra DX nights (Boc 22), Perseus & RFSpace SDR-IQ / ANT: Wellbrook loop LFL 1010, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 9835, R. Malaysia, Kajang. Domestic Service. ID in Malay at 1000 followed by news, also in Malay. Fair signal, but splash from 9830 on 27/12 (Dennis Allen, Milperra NSW (Icom R75, Dipoles), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) 9835, Very good on this NF, Islamic music 1105, occasional Malay announcements. Unusual for RTM to initiate a frequency change, 29/1 (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW (Icom R75, Folded Dipole), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) Not so much a change, ex-what? But additional transmitter (gh, DXLD) 11665. R. Malaysia, Kajang. Domestic Service. Malay with “Suara Malaysia” ID then mention of Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur before an English version of “Silent Night” (I believe it was by Mariah Carey) at 0918. Heard on 13/12 (Dennis Allen, Milperra NSW (Icom R75, Dipoles), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) 11665, Additional frequency, good mixed with RTI 1115 with children’s educational program, 29/1. Rather interesting to hear the ABC song and Baa Baa Black Sheep in Malay! (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW (Icom R75, Folded Dipole), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) 9835, Sarawak FM, 1141-1235 Jan 25, woman with short Malay talks hosting traditional music program. Two quick almost jingle-like IDs by woman between songs. Fair (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) Both 11665 and 9835 come blasting in at 0200, Jan 25 (Victor Goonetilleke / UADX, Kolamunne, Piliyandala, Sri Lanka http://www.dxasia.info Dxplorer via DSWCI DX Window Jan 25 via DXLD) 9835/11665 --- Maybe to counter the Free Sarawak radio!! RTVM Kajang 11665, carrying regular programming from Kuching via satellite feeds 24 hours. 9835, State Network "Sarawak FM" (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, 4S7VK, DXplorer Jan 25 via BC-DX Jan 30 via DXLD) 9835, Sarawak FM via RTM, via Kajang, 1547-1605, Jan 26. // 5030 (from Sarawak). Fair to good in vernacular with pop songs; ToH choral National Anthem; singing jingle; ToH became // 11665 and 5030 went off; at 1603 Mission Impossible theme music with DJ playing pop songs (some in English). 11665, Wai FM via RTM, via Kajang; 1547-1600, Jan 26. Clear IDs for Wai FM; ToH became // 9835 (Sarawak FM) with choral National Anthem; went off the air before 1605 check, with 9835 continuing on; so looks as if they are starting to conform more to the HFCC B10 schedule (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also SARAWAK ** MALI. 9635, R. Mali, Bamako. January, 29 0829-0839 African music, female short talks in French, male segment in French talks. Weak, 23322 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, SW40 - Dipoles and Longwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MAURITANIA. 7245, Jan 27 at 0700, ORTM strummin` & gabbin`, not much else on band 7200-7400 making it the SSOB within those limits, S9+15. 0701 ID sounds like French but with heavy Arabic accent; or was it Arabic with French accent? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Greetings, Since you four are most of the guys I know that are interested in DX'ing the MW XE stations, I wanted to pass this on to you. Last week while listening to 1300 kHz I was hearing a SS station that seemed to be ID'ing as "Radio México Noticias." I heard this phrase (I suppose it might not have actually been an ID, but it certainly sounded that way at the time.) I realize there's at least two other XE stations that are at least listed (or at least used to be) with that same station and or slogan: XEDN, Torreón, CO on 600 as well as XEFIL, Mazatlán, Torreon on 870. I'm wondering if you fellas had heard anything of this; any changes or reports that might shed some light on what my aging ears seemed to hear there on 1300. Hmm, seems like there used to be one on 1320 also if memory serves me (which it often doesn't; who was that, maybe XECPN in Coahuila which I guess IDs now as La Mexicana. Haven't listened there (1300) with any luck since initially heard on 1/22 (UT) and it was at a late time of 1322 UT, so could be a US station, I suppose. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys. 73 to you guys. I don't know about you all, but I'm ready for warmer weather. 73! (Kirk Allen, Ponca City OK, Jan 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Kirk, I heard this recently. I think it`s a news network name, not name of an individual station and there are probably many more affiliates around the country. In my experience, XEP is very dominant here especially in the mornings, with 50 kW. 73, (Glenn to Kirk via DXLD) Viz.: ``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)`` Tnx Glenn, I rather suspected that might be the case. I was just now reading about your hearing programming in Spanish on 1670. I just had some luck with getting an ID from the Moreno Valley Station (I was hoping for the new XE in Estado de Mexico): Here's the report I filed via the ULR List: [see USA] Tnx for all your help, mi amigo, and best of 73, (Kirk Allen, ibid.) Good Morning Guys, I am listening to 740 kHz this morning; during fades of KTRH, I hear a Spanish speaking station underneath at 5:40 am. I hung around for a bit and at 5:57 am [1157 UT] Mexican National Anthem was heard. At 5:59 am I heard the calls “XEKV” during slight fade of KTRH --- New here!!! (James Niven, Cedar Creek, Texas, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5/1 kW, 24h, Villahermosa, Tabasco (IRCA Mexican Log via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Glenn Hauser's Ears! Hi all, After I sent the post with my XE on 1470, Glenn said that it sounded more like XEHI than my guess at XEHM moving from 1480 to 1470. Been camped on 1470 with a N/S flag and Jan 20 at 2201 local (Jan 21 0001 UT [sic that would be 0501 UT]) I got this clip which seem to add another new one to the log. Any comment on the attached will be appreciated Name: XEHI-1470.mp3 Type: audio/mpeg Size: 294657 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.nrcdxas.org/pipermail/am/attachments/20110128/d1cd60e9/attachment.mp3 73 (Wayne Heinen, Jan 28, NRC-AM via DXLD) Wayne, I had a listen and definitely XEHI, ID is at :12 seconds into the clip, very pronounced ID, sorry to dash your hopes of a new station!! (James Niven, Cedar Creek, Texas, ibid.) Same here -- XEHI (EH kees--EH--AHchay--EE) is what I hear :12 in. (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, ibid.) Also later in the clip, ``Ciudad Miguel Alemán`` (Glenn Hauser`s ears, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 1670, MÉXICO, XEANAH Radio Anáhuac, Huixquilucan, Estado de México. 1149-1215 January 29, 2011. Presumed the one based on format and peak/fade time, definitely a Mexican, and the only one listed on 1670 on Fred Cantú's online listing. No joy in the eves with FOX Sports 1670 WFSM, Dry Branch-Macon, GA so loud on the channel. So, thought I'd give it a sunrise try and bingo, first try. Tune-in to nonstop Spanish and English pop-ish vocals (nothing I recognized though), seemingly across the top of the hour, then the choral Mexican national anthem at 1210-1212, back to vocals and pretty much gone by tune-out. Way under WFSM, but still a decent enough copy at its peak. This is the newest XE X-bander, first reported elsewhere a few weeks ago, 1 KW DA/N. Recheck January 30, 1159-1215, about the same signal and format, down to the anthem at 1210 once again (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Hammarlund HQ-180A; Aqua Guide 705 Radio Direction Finder; Sony ICF-7600GR; GE SuperRadio III; RadioShack DX-399; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X in-room random wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 6185, R Education, XEEP [sic], noted 1/22 and daily since, powering up carrier around 1057 with pre-s/on music, then into rousing symphonic NA at 1058 and 1100 ID, "R Education . . . 86 años al servicio a la cultura de nuestro país...". Others reported 76 years, but it sure sounds like 86 to me (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2, Longwire, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) This is strange: XEPPM, the 6185 callsign, is supposed to be on the air 00-12 UT, NOT signing on around 1100. But has been consistently on from 23 and sometimes a bit past 12. At 06-12 they are relaying MW 1060 XEEP rather than separate SW programming 23-06. Could be that MW is playing anthem at 11 in continuous programming, but would expect it to be at 12 UT during standard time, 6 am local. Surely 6185 would be heard any time before 1057, as we always hear it as late as we are up, to 0730 or so (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6185, XEPPM, Jan 29 0630+ with Willie Nelson album cuts, later Oak Ridge Boys, all in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. NEW LOW-BAND ANALOGS --- While looking up some database info today, I found a new network is under construction in Mexico. Named the "Organismo Promotor de Medios Audovisuales", if my Spanish is up to the task it's a national public TV network. Several Mexican states run public TV networks, and the National Polytechnical Institute in Mexico City has a number of stations around the country, but OPMA would seem to be the first nationwide public network. Most of their stations are UHF, **however there are two on low-band VHF**. XHOPOA-TV is on channel 2 in Oaxaca, Oaxaca in the southeastern part of the country. XHOPME-TV is on channel 5 in Mérida, Yucatán. These are not flea-powered operations either. Channel 2 is 40.99 kW; channel 5 is 89.98 kW. Yes, these are *analog* stations. Most if not all do already have DTV ("TDT", in Mexico [televisión digital terrestre; yet they have never felt it necessary to specify analog TV as ``terrestrial`` --- gh]) channels assigned - and those DTV channels are all on UHF. BTW, the OPMA station in Mexico City on channel 30 is a DTV station with no analog signal. It's one of three DTV-only stations authorized in Mexico City last year. To my knowledge those are the first DTV-only stations in the country (there are 54 other DTV stations operating in Mexico but they're all related to an analog station). There'll be more information in the March VUD – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, Jan 31, WTFDA via DXLD) And for everyone keeping track of Mexico TV, here is the link to the list dated 6-30-10 (which Doug is extracting information from). http://www.cofetel.gob.mx/work/models/Cofetel_2008/Resource/736/INFRA_TV_JUN10.pdf (Jim Thomas, wdx0fbu, Springfield, Missouri, ibid.) ** MICRONESIA. Reactivated: The Cross Radio, Pohnpei, Micronesia on 4755.44 kHz --- PMA - The Cross Radio - Pohnpei reactivated on 4755.44 at 0846 UT tune in on Jan. 29. Religious program in English by male. ID at 0858 "You are listening to the Cross Radio" by male. Good to fair conditions (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, 0923 UT Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Audio File: http://gakuchunanbeidx.de-blog.jp/gakudx/files/the_cross_radio_2011129.mp3 by Gaku at 0826 UT (Hasegawa, ibid.) Closing of `Turning Point`` program but no local ID on this. Sounds more like MW than SW (gh, DXLD) S/off at 0934 UT. Test? (Hasegawa, ibid.) The website http://www.pmapacific.org/ministries/radio/shortwave.php had not been changed for years since 4755 went off, but now it has, including: ``Our short-wave station 4755 kHz is down at the moment - awaiting engineer and parts`` Wow, what a long ``moment``! Also details on how to reception-report. And linx to the February (already) 2011 issue of ``Island Echoes`` http://www.pmapacific.org/info/island_echoes/pdf/2011-1.pdf which says: ``What a blessing “The Cross” FM Radio is in Pohnpei. As it broadcasts 24/7 uplifting music with a message, and Bible based teaching programs, people listening are blessed, encouraged and equipped as evidenced by the number of calls Sylvia receives everyday. What more if we have the transmitters for the SW radio fixed and installed – the radio programs would then be heard in the outer-islands of Pohnpei and Chuuk. Please pray for the engineers to come the first month of 2011`` But nothing more specific (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA. 4755.44, 'The Cross' - Following tips from Japanese DXers that this station was heard Saturday to close at 0934 UT, I have been keeping a watch on the reported frequency of 4755.44 kHz. Nothing heard yesterday, but today at 0630 I confirmed a carrier on this exact frequency and there was audio by 0700 UT. Syndicated religious programming and identification confirms this is 'The Cross', back on air after a brief stint on shortwave in late 2007. Very good signal level by 0800 (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, Northland, New Zealand, Jan 31, AOR7030+ and EWEs to NE, E & SE, Google Earth: 36.11.70 S, 174.56.70 E, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As if the Micronesians could not already hear plenty of syndicated religious programming on countless other high-power international SW stations. The raison-vrai d`être of this is for the enjoyment of DX listeners, country collectors far outside the country (gh, DXLD) Viz.: **"The Cross"**, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, first heard at 0732 with Christian music, announcements by male and female (child?) from 0736 to 0738. Web address given, more Christian music to 0748, with ID of "The Cross Radio". All in English. Several Christian music pieces with singing till 0758, anmts by M and F (child(?)) till 0802. No ID heard then, into religious discussion/sermon by male voice past 0820, with talking and piano music following. Different M voice at 0821 until 0825, with a possible ID during a deep fade event. More Christian music followed to past 0833. Reception hampered by strong deep fading (QSB) with QRN static crashes (Jim Young, Wrightwood, CA, IC-756ProIII + 40 M yagi + antenna tuner, Jan 31, NASWA yg via DXLD) It was s/off suddenly today at 1026 UT (S. Hasegawa, Japan, Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Does anyone know what power they are using (Mark Davies, Anglesey UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Mark, According to QSL: 4755 kHz V6MP 1 kW (S. Hasegawa, Japan, ibid.) Dave Casement latest report on work with the 4755 transmitter: http://dave-kathy.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=1 73, (Jari Savolainen, Finland, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, ibid.) Viz.: Wednesday Report from Ponpei, Micronesia - Jan. 25, 2011 Dave sent this e-mail for an update on his recent trip to Ponpei Monday Jan 24 We arrived safe and tired with all our luggage intact which is a real answer to prayer. We are tired but doing well. Working well together and having good fellowship with Nob and Syliva and their son Alex. Tuesday Jan 25 - PTL! We all slept fairly well and are getting our first day of work in. Have made great progress on the short-wave antenna. David Creel is making progress on the generator and switchover. Wednesday Jan 26 We hope to have the short-wave antenna up and start "fine tuning". Continue work on wiring in the generator and backup system. Thursday Jan 27 - Hope to have the short-wave antenna tuned. Open the covers on the shortpwave transmitter to inspect condition before turning on. Has been sitting and there is a lot of mold/rust in this enviroment. Friday Jan 28 - hope to have the short-wave on the air for testing and the generator wired to the radio station. Saturday Jan 29 - Men's prayer meeting. Testing short-wave and generator. Sunday Jan 30 - Worship and rest! (via DXLD) And an earlier post: Saturday News - Nov. 19, 2010 - Pohnpei, Micronesia Pohnpei, Micronesia (south-west Pacific) I am currently working with Pastor Nob to sort out details. We have decided that I and maybe two other men will be traveling to Pohnpei the last week of January and the first week of February. We need to finalize details. I am now working with the computer software to predict the signal strength within a 1000 km radius. It is time consuming to find the time of day which gives the best signal to the target area. It is a real challenge to get a strong signal into the surrounding islands with the small antenna we have to work with. There is not enough land to put up a larger antenna for short-wave. Please pray for wisdom in this (via DXLD) 4755.44, The Cross, 0825, per Hasegawa tip, noted with contemporary Christian music and ID by a man, "The Cross Radio." Then audio abruptly cut, but carrier remained on. Then, quick audio fade-up around 0900 and into sermon. Still had it past 1000 with fair signal. Had tried for it prior to 0800 but no trace. 31 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Noted fading in at 0647 on 2 February after being absent 1 February. The frequency appears to be still 4755.44 kHz today (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, Northland, New Zealand, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) My DX friend in Kanazawa, received The Cross of the test music at 1845 UT on Feb.1. And started service of Feb.2 (local time) by a opening announcement at 1900 (S. Hasegawa, Japan ibid.) See details here. http://dxparadise.blogspot.com/2007/12/cross-radio-station-pohnpei-475525.html (Mike Terry, ibid.) ?? As of 5 Dec 2007 anyway, illustrates QSL (gh, DXLD) I can receive it today past 1200 UT. The schedule of FM at 1900-1300 UT (0600-2400 LT). http://www.pmapacific.org/ministries/radio/thecross_schedule_11x17.pdf Updated: 2008-01-08 (S.Hasegawa, ibid.) Also very old info (gh) The Cross Radio on 4755.47 kHz by over night service with non stop music at 1550UT on Feb. 2 (S. Hasegawa, Japan, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4755.45, The Cross, randomly from 1317 to tune out at 1644, Feb 2. Non-stop contemporary Christian songs in English, except for IDs also in English; poor to fair. 1330 – young girl: “Hi. My name is .. I listen to the Cross Radio” 1431 - young girl: "Hi. This is . . (gives name). The world is tuned to ... the Cross Radio. You will like it" 1558 – young girl: “This is . . . on 88.5 FM” 1602 – man: “This is the Cross Radio. Please stay with us. We will be back in a minute” (open carrier for about a minute, then continued with their religious songs) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4755.45, PMA "The Cross Radio", 1152-1325, Feb. 2. Programming consisted mostly of ballads, with occasional announcements by very professional sounding OM, I suspect this may have been a syndicated Christian music program. Caught their ID just before the ToH by a young sounding female, "You are listening to the Cross Radio". Despite freezing rain at the time, this is the strongest I have heard them, and I was surprised that they were still audible as late as 1325 UT, although the peak in reception was around 1200. Thanks for the tip on the Kageyama BCL bulletin board: http://6103.teacup.com/akage/bbs/ SINPO 24222 (George Maroti, NY, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Hi Glenn, Today 2/2 at 1045 on 4755.4 I possibly received The Cross briefly with some religious music and two males conversing in English. No ID and faded after 10 minutes. Unfortunately, lots of static due to snow storm. I now have about 5 feet of snow and all the wires are coated with ice. Total mess. My TV installation has succumbed although my 6' parabolic dish is still attached. Hopefully, the Yagis are repairable. So far, one heck of a winter (Bill, W1OW, Smith, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4755.45, PMA The Cross Radio (Pohnpei), 0710-0736, 2/2/2011, English. Apparent syndicated religious program with talk by a man. Request for donations at 0720 along with an unintelligible web site. Joined by a woman at 0721 with info about their ministry and request for funds. Contemporary religious vocal music 0724 to 0736 tune out. Weak signal with fading and increasing local noise made program content extremely difficult to understand. Heard on my PNG/South Pacific oriented wire. At the same time also heard weak audio on SIBC's 5019.9 carrier (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, IC-R75, RX-340, E1, ICF-SW7600G, G6, Random Wire, ALA100M Loops, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** MONACO [non]. 5915, MONACO. Trans World Radio (Mont Angel), 0646- 0655, 1/28/2011, Polish. Talk by man. Musical bridge at 0652 followed by more talk. Contemporary religious music at 0654. Moderate signal strength with some fading. Similar strength parallel noted on 7220 (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, IC-R75, RX-340, E1, ICF-SW7600G, G6, Random Wire, ALA100M Loops, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. Hi Everyone, 12085 kHz V. of Mongolia received today at 1030 for their English program until 1100. The full half hour came through but sign on and off were weak. This is what I heard http://www.box.net/shared/zqs5bpn95d (Mark Davies, Anglesey UK, Jan 27, dxldyg via DX LISENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 5985.87, 26/1 1505, Radio Myanmar, songs, fair (better in upper AMS) (Giampiero Bernardini with Dario Monferini in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia province, Italy), at the seaside, for our Bocca di Magra DX nights (Boc 22), Perseus & RFSpace SDR-IQ / ANT: Wellbrook loop LFL 1010, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) what is AMS?? (gh) 5985.88, 30/1 0044, Myanma Radio, talks, weak but clear. Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, Perseus, T2FD 15 meters long, My Short Wave blog: http://radiodxsw.blogspot.com/ dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) A reminder that if you can hear their stations on 5985.83 and 5770, it is not too difficult to ID them. The BoH (which is the ToH for their local time) formats are very distinctive. If you hear the following, you can be sure it’s them. http://www.mediafire.com/?whlg6sa4s4c1qhw contains audio clip made Jan 27 at 1330, on 5985.83, of Myanma Radio. Fairly clear example of the indigenous instrumental music and chimes. Above average reception. http://www.mediafire.com/?oe2j5wj76tl2zow contains a recent audio clip of a typical 5770 BoH format; indigenous instrumental music and military march band. This is due of course to this being the Myanmar Defense Forces Br. Station located at Taunggyi, the capital of the Shan State (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9731, Myanmar Radio and Television, Yangon. Slow, pleasant songs with announcements in local language in between. Weak signal with noise periods at 0940-0948 on 27/12 (Dennis Allen, Milperra NSW (Icom R75, Dipoles), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Radio Netherlands Worldwide is increasing its broadcasts to Egypt after the authorities shut down internet and mobile services. RNW will increase its Arabic broadcasts using satellites that are not controlled by the Egyptian authorities. RNW journalists are also producing text-television which can be received through satellite. RNW programmes which can be downloaded through satellites are also broadcast on local FM stations. Satellite details are now as follows: 1900-2300 UTC * Hotbird 6, 13.0 East * Footprint: Europe, North Africa and Middle East * 11.604 GHz/H * symbol rate: 27.500 * FEC: 5/6 * Channel: RNW4 left 1900-2000 and 2200-2300 UTC * Hotbird 6, 13.0 East * Footprint: Europe, North Africa and Middle East * 12.597 GHz/V * symbol rate: 27.500 * FEC: 3/4 * Channel: Sawt Al Alam * Arabsat BADR 4, 26 East * Footprint: Africa and Middle East * 11.996 GHz/V * symbol rate: 27.500 * FEC: 3/4 * Channel: Sawt Al Alam * NileSat 101, 7 West * Footprint: Africa and Middle East * 11.765 GHz/H * symbol rate: 27.500 * FEC: 3/4 * Channel: Sawt Al Alam There are also extra shortwave transmissions in Dutch for the estimated 8,000 Dutch citizens in Egypt: * 0600-0700 UTC on 9830 kHz * 1600-1700 UTC on 5955 kHz + 9750 kHz * 1730-1830 UTC on 11615 kHz + 11655 kHz Related stories: * Al Jazeera demands Egyptian government stop broadcast interference * Egypt cuts Internet, satellite TV and mobile phones (January 29th, 2011 - 17:31 UTC, by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) 5 Comments on “RNW increasing its broadcasts to Egypt” 1. #1 CP on Jan 29th, 2011 at 22:08 It took 13 minutes to wipe out internet access and telephone service to 80 million people in Egypt. There are some on this board that like to “embrace” new technologies that are cheaper and mass produced but ultimately for the reasons we have witnessed, there is still a place for Shortwave broadcasts since it knows no borders and cannot be shut off by a dictator. 2. #2 Phil on Jan 30th, 2011 at 03:31 No offence RNW, but wouldn’t it be better to have SW transmissions in English or Arabic to Egypt rather than Dutch?? 3. #3 Roy Sandgren on Jan 30th, 2011 at 10:10 Yep, all dutch people got a satellite dish on the beach. Lot of arabic programs towards Egypt on mediumwave and shortwave too. 4. #4 Andy Foad on Jan 30th, 2011 at 10:15 Phil, second line down in the above report says: “RNW will increase its *Arabic* broadcasts using satellites that are not controlled by the Egyptian authorities. ” Hope this helps. 5. #5 Andy Sennitt on Jan 30th, 2011 at 12:47 Phil, we had shortwave transmissions in Arabic for a short time, but listener feedback was negligible. But being part of the WRN Arabic service Sawt Al Alam and using the Radio With Pictures system, we now appear on the EPG along with TV channels, so millions of Egyptian satellite users know we are there. Consequently we have a much bigger reach in Egypt. As for English, there’s no point as our English radio service only produces features, not news, and we cannot broadcast live news updates. Also there are plenty of other stations in English on shortwave. Dutch people in Egypt need to know the latest advice from the government, details of flights etc. (MN blog comments via DXLD) Not so much additional SW: 11615 and 11655 prolonged by 30 minutes, usually sign off at 1800. 9830 and 5955/9750 are just existing transmissions. Arabic has been expanded to four hours, but these four hours go out only via some obscure feed channel. At least a year ago this was a dual mono signal with a bitrate of 64 kbps each, good for not much more than feeding audio for AM transmissions. If this is still the case I much doubt that this signal will be listed in any third party EPG. Cf. http://www.w4uvh.net/dxld9083.txt But never miss an opportunity for a good PR stunt (Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Comparing with the existing RNW shortwave schedule I see: FREQ STN BTIM ETIM LANG RLY NOTES SOURCE ===== === ==== ==== ===== === ========== ============= 5955 RNW 1600 1700 DUTCH RMP unchanged RNW blog 1/29 9750 RNW 1600 1700 DUTCH ISS unchanged RNW blog 1/29 9830 RNW 0600 0700 DUTCH WER unchanged RNW blog 1/29 11615 RNW 1730 1800 DUTCH MDG unchanged RNW blog 1/29 11615 RNW 1800 1830 DUTCH SMG x-AA/Sudan RNW blog 1/29 11655 RNW 1730 1800 DUTCH MDG unchanged RNW blog 1/29 11655 RNW 1800 1830 DUTCH MDG x-English RNW blog 1/29 I assume the content is not normal RNW Dutch language programming, but is focused on getting needed info to Dutch citizens in Egypt (Dan Ferguson, SC, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. ``I wonder how long it will be before RNW decides to close its Madagascar station?`` You have seen the idea of the Broadcasting Board of Governors to "consolidate" the transmission facilities of "western" broadcasters? As well known*) the BBC World Service plans to terminate all but a few of its shortwave transmissions within the next three years. I expect that closures of transmission facilities will be inevitable, since their use will become so low that continuing their operation will no longer be economical. The very reason now given for the closure of Bonaire. A rather close cooperation in the field of shortwave transmission is already in place between IBB and RNW. It remains to be seen if the BBC-owned and Babcock-operated (I understand that this is the arrangement for sites outside the UK) transmitters as well as the DW facilities will be viewed as part of such a "transmitter pool", too, since I just can not imagine IBB and DW to let in for a "Babcock runs anything" scenario. It's the end of the world as we know it... *) If not: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/01_january/26/worldservice.shtml (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 30, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) See BONAIRE ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 6120, with Cuba unexpectedly absent from all its 49m frequencies including this, something in Dutch was in the clear Feb 1 at 0706, no doubt RNW and no doubt from anywhere but the Netherlands. Current sked shows via VATICAN at 0658-0759 daily, 0759-0859 M-F, and 0759-0900 Sat & Sun. Wonder what that extra minute on weekends consists of? At 0759 beam from SMG changes from 266 to 4 degrees. 6120 is also via Nauen, Germany, daily at 0559-0658 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEWFOUNDLAND. Fire at Gander: See IRELAND ** NEW ZEALAND. 9885-9890-9895, 24/1 1800, R New Zealand International, DRM, news in English, perfect for 5 minutes (Giampiero Bernardini with Dario Monferini in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia province, Italy), at the seaside, for our Bocca di Magra DX nights (Boc 22), Perseus & RFSpace SDR-IQ / ANT: Wellbrook loop LFL 1010, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RNZI 11725-AM and 11670-11675-11680 DRM were the OSOB, Jan 31 at 0643, poor. BTW, on UT Saturdays around this time they have a variety show from National including comedy (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9765, RNZI the SSOB by far, Feb 1 at 0702, much stronger than Australia 9660, and not much else at all from western and northern hemispheres (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGER. 9705, La Voix du Sahel, 2106-2134 Jan 24, in the clear after Ethiopia [q.v.] signed off with man announcer with French talk, brief tribal vocals and phone calls from listeners. Poor to fair (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX- 340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) 9704.99, LV du Sahel, 2100-2300*, Jan 26, audible after Radio Ethiopia signs off. French talk. Variety of Afro-pop music and Euro-pop music. Local chants at 2253. Sign off with short flute IS and National Anthem at 2258 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9705, unID, but Niamey presumed 1/27, thanks again to Brian Alexander for this tip re the "9705 Experience" hi hi. Revealed after Ethiopia [q.v.] vacated frequency 2100aroound, but much weaker signal. Rechecked 2140 and in the clear, Islamic-influenced African chant music. Not heard well, but believe Brian has this one right. Another fun logging, requiring more checks in the following days. Niamey used to be a very tough catch back in the day (60s and 70s), and about the only way to hear them was to get lucky and snag a few minutes of their early morning programming after the unfortunately (for North America) rather late sign on at 0700 GMT [then on 5020? gh] (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; Knightkit Star Roamer, Dentron Super Tuner + Ameco PLF-2, Longwire, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 9705, Niamey (strongly) presumed, wonderful listening experience 1/28 2140-2300*. Terrific musical mix of Afro Jazz, highlife music, traditional chants, W African pop songs hosted by YL with very muffled, undermod announcements in what sounded like French, and vernacular. Signal weak at tune-in 2140 but faded up to very decent level toward end of transmission. Flute IS heard at 2158 and time pips on the hour at 2200. Very deep fades, would disappear 20 seconds to a minute, making me think it had signed-off, but then would come back. OM announcer musical commercial 2243. Transmission shutdown came after Islamic call to prayer at 2254, then flute IS again at 2258 followed by choral NA and silence to 2259.55* carrier cut. Everything fits for Niamey, from frequency, W African location, Islamic country, former French colony, and so on; but didn't catch definite ID. Calling it 99% sure, though and thanks again to Brian Alexander for initial tip (Ralph Perry, Wheaton, Illinois, Drake R8B; Eton E1; Hallicrafters SX100; BC221; Ameco PLF-2 preamp, Longwire antenna, HCDX via DXLD) 9705, La Voix du Sahel; 2015-2116+, 28-Jan; M in French with jazzy music; ID at 2057+, bumper & brief announcement by W not in LL [not in unknown language, ergo in French?]; announced next program in Arabic, then anthem at 2058+. 2100 into Arabic with lengthy commentary to 2111 chant. ID at 2115. SIO=343, with weak co-channel vox QRM & brief rat- a-tat bursts (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. Some changes via Media Broadcast (MBR): New schedule of Hamada Radio International from Jan. 24: 0530-0600 7350 WER 100 kW / 180 deg WeAf Hausa M-F 0530-0600 9460 NAU 100 kW / 185 deg WeAf Hausa M-F, additional freq. 1400-1430 17485 WER 125 kW / 180 deg WeAf Hausa M/W/F, cancelled 1930-2000 9840 WER 100 kW / 180 deg WeAf Hausa Daily, ex Mon-Fri (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 2 Feb via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. QSL: PIRATE-USA, 6924.8 AM, Radio Ronin Shortwave. Full data ‘defending the shores of Free Radio from Invading armies’ QSL card, in response, to my e-mail report (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) USA (PIRATE): Radio Ronin Shortwave, an interesting station with great music (pop to light rock format) and clear ID’s interspersed, heard on 30 January 2011 at 2229 UT tune in on 6925 AM. Signal varied from very good to barely audible, perhaps since the station and my listening post are both located in New Jersey. ID’s at 2242: “This is Radio Ronin Shortwave. You can reach us at Radioroninshortwave @ gmail.com” (Ed Insinger, Summit, NJ, Jan 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6940-USB, USA (PIRATE), WEAK. 1810 January 29, 2011. Thanks D. Crawford online Trillian chat tip. Mostly very strong with Lester Moran & His Cadillac Cowboys, old Nashville cover songs incorporated into quite funny skits. Several female ID's as W-E-A-K, Weak." Programming recycled at least once through tune-out sometime after 1900. Another weak pirate the same time on 6875U, but did not sit on it (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Hammarlund HQ-180A; Aqua Guide 705 Radio Direction Finder; Sony ICF-7600GR; GE SuperRadio III; RadioShack DX-399; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X in-room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Pirate: WEAK, Weak Radio: 6940/USB, 1900-1938+, 29-Jan; Lester Moran the Old Road Hog & his Cadillac Cowboys with C&W show from Rainbow Valley on WEAK 17-50. SIO=353+ (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6930-USB, Jan 31 at 2226, novelty songs past 2230; 2235 YL ID over pumping music, something about ``still be a signal, Weak Radio``. 2243 same ID over music; until fully warmed up, the FRG-7 BFO drifts gradually, and when the unexpected IDs come on, I miss the first part trying to adjust BFO for proper pitch, not so obvious on the strange music. How about a bit of reduced carrier to help us zero? 2249 ID now spelled out, W-E-A-K; 2255 another same over music, and at 2259. A bit after 2300, hard rock segués to rap. Still there at 2310 when I use this to hit 1000 kHz below for R. Prague, which has already QRT its own SW forever; see CZECHIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. KRMG 740 Tulsa OK appears to be operating daytime power (50 kW) tonight. The station is broadcasting live news coverage due to the snow storm today (Richard Allen, 36?22'51"N / 97?26'35"W, (near Perry OK USA), Feb 1, IRCA via DXLD) KRMG-740 is way on top of KCBS here in Arizona with storm coverage. (Bill Block, Prescott Valley, AZ, 0343 UT Feb 2, ibid.) No KRMG noted here off the Eastern Beverage, just Toronto presumed on top as usual with Jack Benny program. KRMG puts little signal to the NW though (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, 0352 UT, ibid.) KRMG is making a very rare appearance in Madison WI tonight in the CFZM null. The last time it reached here with even a little regularity was in the period after CBL went off and (then) CHWO came on. 73 (Bill Dvorak, Madison WI, 0511 UT Feb 2, ibid.) This is KRMG's day pattern http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/86669-108605.pdf Some of you may not believe that on Phased BOGs aimed that way I could in fall/winter/early spring, dig them out under the 250 watter from IA in quieter pre-IBOC days even at noon. (Toronto had to be phased nulled..Baraboo WI and others aren't a factor on WSW/SW antennas here. Anyhow, KRMG may be heard thru Toronto much further east tonight. 73 KAZ Barrington IL (Neil Kazaross, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. 960, KGWA Enid, altho the original station of the AM-FM combo, is now the poor stepchild no one really cares about: Jan 31 at 0650 UT, open carrier; came to life for newcast at 0703 check, but back to dead air at 0707. So the automation can handle the news, but not whatever else was supposed to be on. I was checking because the usual mixing product with KCRC on 3310 was not being heard, and I suspected one of them was off the air --- but KCRC 1390 was nominal, and lack of modulation on 960 carrier should not have affected the spur (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 1000, KTOK, OKC, Jan 31 at 2139-2149 UT, I have never enjoyed the Sean Hannity Show so much! Because KTOK was broadcasting dead air for at least ten minutes while I dozed. This was not in the middle of the night but the middle of the day. Rejoined abruptly at 2149 without so much as ``Due to technical difficulties, our regular programming has been interrupted, but we now rejoin it in progress``. No station makes such courtesy announcements any more, for it would admit that someone is finally paying attention to their own output! Way to go, Clear Channel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Re 11-04: Tulsa radio update --- Story in 1/27/11 Tulsa World (page E-2) gives some more details on the story in the link Glenn Hauser provided a few days ago. Gaytan Broadcasting LLC purchased 1270 KRVT and 1570 KLZI this week. 1270 KRVT will become "Que Buena", formerly on 1530 KXTD. 1530 will become a "rhythmic Latino pop" format. KLZI-1570 will become a "religious-theme" station. New programming begins at "midnight Monday", presumably 0000 CST 1/31/11. No mention of any new/different call letters being involved (Bruce Winkelman AA5CO, Tulsa, OK, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Gaytan Broadcasting adds two radio stations to Spanish-language fold By KYLE ARNOLD World Staff Writer Published: 1/27/2011 2:31 AM Last Modified: 1/27/2011 5:54 AM http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=52&articleid=20110127_15_E2_DnIuDn68992&archive=yes Don Imus, Dennis Miller, Lou Dobbs and OSU sports will be looking for new homes on Tulsa's radio dials as two AM stations change to Spanish- language formats. Gaytan Broadcasting LLC, a Tulsa company that owns Que Buena KXTD (1530 AM), purchased KLZI (1570 AM) and KRVT (1270 AM) from Reunion Broadcasting this week. {sic thruout: 1570 is really KZLI -- so much for the impact its ex-`Smart Talk` format had on this writer --- gh} "There's a sizable Hispanic Tulsa community, and it`s only going to get bigger with or without immigration reform," said Allen McLaughlin, operations manager and general sales manager for Gaytan Broadcasting. The new programming, which begins at midnight Monday, means Que Buena will move to 24-hour broadcasting from a daylight-only frequency. KRVT 1270 is an oldies station that also is home to Oklahoma State University football and basketball, and features talk show host Don Imus in the morning. KLZI 1570 hosts mostly political talk shows from personalities such as comedian Dennis Miller, actor and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, and former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs. Both stations transmit from Claremore. With the acquisitions, Que Buena will move from 1530 AM to 1270 AM. Que Buena's current 1530 frequency is a daytime-only station, which cuts broadcasting time significantly in the winter months. "It really limited what we could do sometimes," McLaughlin said. The new 1270 signal is a 24-hour station. The other two stations broadcast only during daytime hours. KXTD 1530 will become a Spanish-language pop station that plays "rhythmic Latino pop," a genre popular in Latin American countries outside of Mexico. KLZI 1570 will become a religious-theme station, primarily drawing on the Hispanic community's strong Catholic roots, McLaughlin said. The purchase gives the Tulsa area five Spanish-language radio stations, up from three before the deal. People who speak Spanish at home make up about 7.5 percent of Tulsa County's population, or 40,393 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Gaytan Broadcasting's owner, María De León, is vice president of the Tulsa Area Hispanic Chamber. The ownership switch means the stations' current programming is up for grabs. OSU sports probably will be picked up quickly by other stations, McLaughlin said. OSU also licenses broadcasts to KFAQ (1170 AM), based in Tulsa. Original Print Headline: Gaytan adds two stations to fold (via DXLD) EE.UU: Gaytan Broadcasting agrega dos estaciones de radio de idioma español TULSA, Oklahoma, 24 de enero de 2011 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Gaytan Broadcasting LLC ha firmado un acuerdo para comprar la cadena radiodifusora Reunion Broadcasting y se encargara de operar sus dos estaciones de radio en Tulsa. "Esta adquisición permitirá que Gaytan Broadcasting mejore su servicio a la Comunidad Hispana de Tulsa y nos permitirá expandir nuestro trabajo con la comunidad latina en general", dijo María De León Propietaria y Directora Ejecutiva de Gaytan Broadcasting. Gaytan Broadcasting ha operado por mas de 14 años la radiodifusora KXTD 1530AM con el nombre de "Que Buena" y está al servicio a la comunidad hispana en el área de Tulsa. Gaytan Broadcasting LLC fue seleccionada por la Asociación Nacional de Organismos de Radiodifusión como finalista para los premios Marconi del año 2010 dentro de dos categorías, la categoría de estaciones medianas del mercado, y la categoría de estación de radio de habla hispana del año. La Sra. De León también ha sido nombrada Co-Presidenta de la Cámara de Comercio Hispana de Tulsa. Que Buena Tulsa KXTD 1530AM FUENTE: http://bit.ly/fvzVTD (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. 1610, Enid NWS relay via WQCL720, Great Salt Plains State Park, once again audible on caradio in western Enid, but mixed with the roaring noise I had been hearing by itself, Jan 31 around 2030 UT. Plus a slow pulsing, apparently SAH between two different transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Update on Enid`s unlicensed FM stations, checked Jan 31 at 2150 UT: 97.7, Part 15 ``WECS`` at Emmanuel Christian School, usual loop by kids with range of a few blox, for the week of Jan 31-Feb 4. This one runs a couple minutes, much longer than usual, which is a pity, since these particular kids are extremely inarticulate and have no business behind even a play microphone. Furthermore, audio recording has a problem with its own noise interference rising and falling, at times overriding the voices. 99.9, GCN pirate, dead air only, and has been so all afternoon (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Regional tropo enhancement in play morning of Jan 28, as we are headed for an unusually warm day for January: at 1540 UT I find analog 48 KWDW-LP Nichols Hills (OKC) Univisión relay is in well (tho never snow-free) with 18.1 kW ERP, so I check for its sibling now in DTV on channel 36, KHCM-CA, 7.33 kW. That is decoding as 36-1, and I discover that they have added 36-2! It`s carrying ``La Zeta`` KTUZ 106.7 audio and the video is just continuous advertising, in several frames, similar to but not synchronized with their website http://www.ktuz.com/ {BTW, ``aspect ratio cannot be changed`` on 36-1 or 36-2; we know Univisión network is available in HD, as carried on 31 from Kansas} By 1600, both are beginning to fade/lose decoding. Strangely enough, http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php Market 50 info for OKC does not show 36-2, nor 48 analog! The above info is from http://www.w9wi.com/states/OK.html Note: KTUZ-TV RF 29 (``30``) ``Shawnee`` full power is Telemundo with no virtual channels. Tyler Media has wrapped up both rivals Univisión and TM in this market. Sort of like being affiliated with both CBS and NBC. Why don`t they put UNI as 30-2 instead of messing with these low- power relays? (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 24, KOKH, OKC on 25.2 subchannel Saturday Jan 29 at 1556 UT with e/i kidvid combining animation and live axion, instead of Country Music Network, tho PSIP ID still claims it`s CMN. Titan TV schedule shows nothing but ``TCN`` music videos 24/7 for this. 1559 outro logo for the kidvid shows The Country Network; 1600 local ID combining KOKH, 25.2, The Country Network, and back to videos with guitar bug lower-right. So is TCN = CMN? Why both? Seems even obscure nets like this have to pay their e/i dues, even if it mean breaking format, and they all cynically do it on Saturday morning ghetto, leaving the poor kids nothing wholesome(?) to watch the rest of the time (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Antenna TV was launched January 1, on some DTV stations` extra channels, but initial listings showed KFOR-TV OKC would not start until late January. Now in very late January, 31, I check again: http://www.antennatv.tv/affiliates/ now shows: Oklahoma City KFOR 4.2 - Coming in May Oklahoma City - Coming in May Cox 247 What`s the big holdup? Quite A few others have been delayed into Feb or March, and a lot of TBAs, but I don`t see any others as late as May (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Wendy, I was delighted to run across European Journal from Deutsche Welle TV this evening [Thu Jan 27] --- ch 12, tuned in at 5:25 and it lasted until 5:52 or so 2325-2352 UT]. I gather it is a weekly soft-news magazine. This doesn`t show on your program schedule at http://www.pegasys.org/schedulecurrent.pdf nor in the Eagle. So what`s the deal? What are the real times you are carrying DW TV on a regular basis? I wonder how long DW has been appearing as I don`t often check ch 12 around this time. While keeping Classic Arts much of the time, there is so much else you could be providing from foreign news sources. For example, see http://mhznetworks.com/ (I have no idea whether any costs are involved, but I would hope not, in at least some cases.) Regards, (Glenn Hauser, to Wendy Quarles, head of Pegasys, Enid`s cable-access channels, via DXLD) No reply ** OKLAHOMA. OKLA program juggling --- I`m glad to see the new post- Ebert show and agree it should be first on Friday night, tho Thursday would be even better. I`m also glad that the show it bumped, BBC Newsnight, is still on the schedule, Sunday night. I`m not so glad that White House Chronicle does not air until 12:30 am Monday, as a result. I`m not so glad that despite my suggestion months ago that you get rid of McLaughlin One on One, since it`s rerun after rerun (and the originals are getting pretty stale, obviously several years old, altho they try to hide it with no (c) date, etc.; John looks a lot older now on the Group), it`s still playing. Fortunately, there is a solution for this: put WHC on at 11 pm, and if you really must, swap MOOO into 12:30 am. McCuistion also seems to be old/rerun stuff too, and I rarely try to watch it any more. Regards, (Glenn Hauser, Enid, to OETA, via DXLD) We'll definitely take your suggestion into consideration for our April schedule. Thank you, (Holly Emig, OETA, Feb 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 15140, R. Sultanate of Oman, making a rare audible appearance, but only poor, Jan 31 at 1459 with YL narrating something in English, 1500 interrupted for switch to Arabic service, with louder modulation, ID, fanfare, and presumed news. S9+10 peaks with deep fades (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman (Thumryat), 1727-1735, 2/1/2011, Arabic. Traditional vocal music. Short announcement by woman at 1730 followed by alternating talk by woman and man, with an occasional few bars of music. Generally weak signal with fading, sometimes up to moderate strength (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, IC-R75, RX-340, E1, ICF- SW7600G, G6, Random Wire, ALA100M Loops, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. QSL: Radio Pakistan via Islamabad 15490. Card shows View of Alamgiri Gate, Shahi Fort, Lahore. Full data on reverse; Verie / Signer was Muhammad Sajid Quereshi. Also received a nice letter and a copy of Pakistan Calling magazine; haven't had one of these for a decade! Air in 3 months for 2 IRC's and postcard (Johno Wright, Peakhurst NSW (Icom R8500 + EWE antennae), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) see also KASHMIR [non] ** PALAU. 9950, Jan 30 at 1451, playing music including riff from ``Touch Me`` by The Doors, 1453 Japanese talk, 1457 giving URL with // pronounced ``surashu, surashu``, and schedule mentioning kirohertsu several times, to 1459*. Is Furusato no Kaze, 100 kW, 345 degrees from Koror via T8WH; better signal than neighbor 9955 WRMI (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) usually filed under KOREA NORTH [non] ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Re 11-04: Probably the best in several months, especially high band after 1530, to about 1550 UT. 1725, GA, PNG beacon strong enough with no audio filter (CW mode) 1737, KUT, PNG beacon strong enough with no audio filter (USB mode) (Steve Ratzlaff, NE Oregon, R75, longwires, Jan 26, IRCA via DXLD) Both PNG beacons good again today, at 1522 UT strong enough to hear without a narrow audio filter. 1725 GA, PNG; 1737 KUT, PNG. KUT wildly miskeying, only the "T" at the end consistently heard for a valid part of the ident. 73 (Steve Ratzlaff, NE Oregon, R75, longwires, Jan 29, ibid.) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Week in Review: No P/NG except for Radio East New Britain, 3385, with a few bursts from underneath the utility interference (Bill, W1OW, Smith, Douglas MA, Jan 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 7324.935, R. Wantok Light [sic], 0816, contemporary Christian music, then woman with, "This is the Papua New Guinea Christian Radio Network." Fair-to-good with a warbly transmitter. 25 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF SW7600GR, Timewave 599zx, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4775, Radio Tarma, 2314-2333 Jan 24, woman announcer hosting program of English lyric pop music. Several IDs and Spanish talks. Fair (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 4954.98, R. Cultural Amauta, 1017, presumed with huaynos and talk by a man. Very weak. 25 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia) 4974.77, R. Pacífico, 0931, rising above threshold, with talk by a man, canned "Radio Pacífico" reverb ID. 25 January (David Sharp, NSW Australia: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, ICF SW7600GR, Timewave 599zx, etc., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. On October 4, DZRJ-810 was rebranded as “The Voice of the Philippines”, with an all-English newstalk format. Programming includes live feeds from the VOA and BBC. The station has also increased power to 50 kw (Philippine Star website http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=617785&publicationSubCategoryId=63 via Bruce Portzer, DX Worldwide II, IRCA DX Monitor Jan 29 via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 9570, Feb 1 at 1459, RVA ID in English twice from Quezon City, introducing Russian hour about to start. 1500 bells and Russian opening, but I do not hear the word ``Blagovest``. Maybe I am just missing it and this is still the same program as before (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 12055, Jan 29 at 0014, ``Jesus Saves`` IS, so it`s FEBC. 0015 birds chirping and other dawn-chorus sounds. ID? and song in unID language, fair and fading. HFCC shows multilingual service 100 kW, 305 degrees from Bocaue site at 2330-0115. Aoki refines this to 0015 transition from Tai-Lu language to Lahu. Of course! Eibi shows: Tai-Lu is spoken by the Lu in S China, 0.25 Megapersons, and in Burma by 0.2 Mp; Lahu is spoken in China by 0.4 Mp, and in Myanmar by 0.15 Mp --- minority cultures at risk to the Christian conversionists (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Happy New Year in GE - Tinang, Philippines IBB Tinang SW site, Philippines. Finally & happily the Tinang site is revealed thanks to new GE imagery for 2011. Unfortunately the imagery is horrible & also covered in some inconvenient cloud, but it does give us the best look yet of the site. We listed this site as two sites previously, but because of the quality of the imagery, at this stage I can only determine one general area. Start here with these coordinates: 15.362953 120.629300 Maybe the TXer building is here: 15.378903 120.625671 with most antennas now south of here & maybe some antennas northward removed?? (Ian Baxter, NSW, Jan 27, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) Bravo, missed often in past 3 years of Google search. 2 curtain arrays are located far from each other ... 2 curtains in the North 15?22'58.56"N 120?37'45.57" E 4 curtains in northeastern corner 15?22'51.57"N 120?38'04.07" E TX house center 15?22'44.14"N 120?37'31.14" E 2 curtains on the northwestern side 15?22'58.82"N 120?37'13.67" E 2 curtains on the northwestern corner 15?23'05.47"N 120?37'11.62" E TX house far northern 15?23'04.87"N 120?37'18.00" E 8 masts d i m m l y visible, log-per? 15?23'13.61"N 120?37'13.66" E could be the movable former Poro 50 kW unit antennas ? Called PHX in IBB/HFCC registrations. 7 curtains, around 15?22'23.14"N 120?37'31.62" E rather not visible masts under the cloud, maybe also another TX house under the cloud ?? 15?22'02.98"N 120?37'38.90" E 15.362953 N 120.629300 E is rather an antenna switching unit .. 12 masts on easterly side, rather lower power log-per? 15?21'53.10"N 120?38'18.59" E 5 curtains on the southern edge side 15?21'36.56"N 120?37'58.61" E 6 curtains on southwestern side 15?21'37.91"N 120?37'28.98" E vy 73 wb and good night (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) VOA relay station at Tinang, Philippines. 1984. From "History of International Broadcasting" ,volume 2. [Tinang, Philippines, VOA, 1984. 8] 2.3.4. Aerial photos by courtesy of Carlo Tonet, the pilot from Manila. [Tinang, PHL, VOA. 2] [Tinang, PHL, VOA. 3] [Tinang, PHL, VOA 4] 5. The Tx building at Tinang. [Tinang, PHL,VOA - Radio Pilipinas.5] (Lev Lytovchenko, Canada, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** POLAND [non]. PRES B-10 updated: see INTERNATIONAL, Babcock ** PRIDNESTROVYE. 6240, Radio PMR, Friday Jan 28 at 2159 playing national anthem, 2200 OC briefly and off. This ``M-F`` service signs off at local midnight Friday into Saturday, while on Sun-Thu it runs until 2400; UT Sunday resuming at 2200, which is the beginning of Monday there. No longer relaying Voice of Russia daily after 0000, apparently moved to 7290, where signal is much worse here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio PMR closed on 6240 at 2200 Jan 28 after presumed national anthem and nothing heard on 6240 at 0027 Jan 29. Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Moved to 7290 (gh) ** QATAR [and non]. Englischprogramm von Al-Jazeera im Großteil der USA aus Kabelnetzen verbannt --- Ein kritischer Artikel der (links- liberalen) Huffington Post über die Gründe, warum Al Jazeera International in den USA von den meisten Kabelbetreibern boykottiert wird. Quelle: Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/30/al-jazeera-english-us_n_816030.html AL JAZEERA ENGLISH BLACKED OUT ACROSS MOST OF U.S. First Posted: 01/30/11 05:00 PM Updated: 01/31/11 04:44 PM WASHINGTON - Canadian television viewers looking for the most thorough and in-depth coverage of the uprising in Egypt have the option of tuning into Al Jazeera English, whose on-the-ground coverage of the turmoil is unmatched by any other outlet. American viewers, meanwhile, have little choice but to wait until one of the U.S. cable-company- approved networks broadcasts footage from AJE, which the company makes publicly available. What they can't do is watch the network directly. Other than in a handful of pockets across the U.S. - including Ohio, Vermont and Washington, D.C. - cable carriers do not give viewers the choice of watching Al Jazeera. That corporate censorship comes as American diplomats harshly criticize the Egyptian government for blocking Internet communication inside the country and as Egypt attempts to block Al Jazeera from broadcasting. The result of the Al Jazeera English blackout in the United States has been a surge in traffic to the media outlet's website, where footage can be seen streaming live. The last 24 hours have seen a two-and-a- half thousand percent increase in web traffic, Tony Burman, head of North American strategies for Al Jazeera English, told HuffPost. Sixty percent of that traffic, he said, has come from the United States. Al Jazeera English launched in the fall of 2006, opening a large bureau on K Street in downtown Washington, but has made little progress in persuading cable companies to offer the channel to its customers. The objections from the cable companies have come for both political and commercial reasons, said Burman, the former editor-in-chief of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "In 2006, pre-Obama, the experience was a challenging one. Essentially this was a period when a lot of negative stereotypes were associated with Al Jazeera. The effort was a difficult one," he said, citing the Bush administration's public hostility to the network. "There was reluctance from these companies to embark in a direction that would perhaps be opposed by the Bush administration. I think that's changed. I think if anything the Obama administration has indicated to Al Jazeera that it sees us as part of the solution, not part of the problem," Burman said. Cable companies are also worried, said Burman, that they will lose more subscribers than they will gain by granting access to Al Jazeera. The Canadian experience, he said, should put those fears to rest. In Canada, national regulators can require cable companies to provide certain channels and Al Jazeera ran a successful campaign to encourage Canadians to push the government to intervene. There has been extremely little negative reaction over the past year as Canadians have been able to view the channel and decide for themselves. "We had a completely different process and result here in Canada -- a grassroots campaign that was overwhelmingly successful," said Avi Lewis, the former host of Al Jazeera's Frontline USA. (He now freelances for Al Jazeera while working on a documentary project with his wife, Naomi Klein.) Media critics have begun to push for Al Jazeera's inclusion. "It is downright un-American to still refuse to carry it," wrote Jeff Jarvis on Sunday. "Vital, world-changing news is occurring in the Middle East and no one-not the xenophobic or celebrity-obsessed or cut-to-the-bone American media-can bring the perspective, insight, and on-the-scene reporting Al Jazeera English can." Al Jazeera follows a public broadcasting model similar to the BBC, CBC and NPR and is largely funded by the government of Qatar, which Burman said takes a completely hands-off approach to content. Al Jazeera is the scourge of authoritarian governments around the Middle East, which attempt to block it. The network, however, covers much more than the Middle East, and now has more bureaus in Latin America than CNN and the BBC, said Burman. "As proud as we are of our Middle Eastern coverage, we are in other places in the world that are never, never seen on television in American homes," he said. Burman said that he will use the experience with the Tunisia and Egyptian uprisings in upcoming meetings with cable providers as the network continues its push. Comcast did not respond to requests for comment. "Why in the most vibrant democracy in the world, where engagement and knowledge of the world is probably the most important, why it's not available is one of these things that would take a PhD scholar to understand," Burman said. -- UPDATE I: A reader emails to say that Al Jazeera programming is also being carried by the satellite channel LinkTV, which can be found on channel 9410 on Dish Network and 375 on DirecTV. -- UPDATE II: Another reader emails to say that Al Jazeera broadcasts over some of the Pacifica stations, including WBAI (New York, 5-6 AM, 99.5 FM), KPFA (Berkeley, 6-7 AM, 94.1 FM) and KPFT (Houston, 5-6 AM, 90.1 FM). -- UPDATE III: Comcast spokesperson Alana Davis responded to a HuffPost request for comment. "We do not offer Al Jazeera English on our video service," said Davis. Asked whether Comcast might reconsider its position, Davis said: "We can't speculate; however, we regularly examine our channel lineups and talk with a wide range of programmers to ensure that we are bringing the content that our customers want the most." -- UPDATE IV: Free Speech TV shows Al Jazeera Headline News and The Riz Khan show on Dish Network channel 9415 and DIRECTV channel 348, according to a reader. Stephanie Misar, marketing director with MHz Networks, an independent, non-profit public broadcaster, also provided details as to where and how viewers may be able to find Al Jazeera English. "Viewers can watch full time, 24/7 Al Jazeera English via MHz Networks 5 in the Washington, DC metro on channels: Over the air digital broadcast 30.5, Comcast 275, Cox 474, and Verizon FiOS 457," she said in an email. Misar added: Weekday daily AJE newscasts (8 AM and 7 PM ET) and weekend (7 PM ET) are available on the national channel of MHz Networks, called MHz Worldview, in over 35 million households across the country through our network of broadcast and cable affiliates in: Los Angeles- KCET; San Bernardino, CA- KVCR; Chicago, IL- WYCC; San Francisco, CA- KCSM; Washington, DC- WNVC/MHz Networks; Tacoma- Seattle, WA- KBTC; Cleveland/Akron/Youngstown, OH- WNEO/WEAO; Minneapolis, MN- MPS Cable; Miami, FL- WLRN; Denver, CO- KBDI; Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL- WCEU; Charlotte, NC- WTVI; Nashville, TN- WNPT; Salt Lake City, UT- UEN (statewide); Grand Rapids/ Kalamazoo/Beaver Creek, MI- WGVU; Spokane/Yakima, WA- KWSU/KTNW; New Orleans, LA- WLAE; Las Vegas, NV- Vegas PBS; Richmond, VA- WCVE; Flint, MI- WDCQ; Charleston, IL- WEIU; Plattsburgh, NY- Mountain Lake PBS (WCFE); Lansing, MI- LCC TV; Moline, IL (Quad Cities)- WQPT; Warrensburg, MO- KMOS; Topeka, KS- KTWU; Rochester- Austin, MN- KSMQ; Charlottesville, VA- WHTJ; St.Paul, MN- St. Paul Neighborhood Network; Stanford, CA- Stanford University Cable. "The newscasts are also available on MHz Worldview nationally via DirecTV channel 2183. Channel numbers and service providers are available here. "One on One with Riz Khan from AJE is also available on our national channel on Sundays at 10:30 AM ET and can be watched via the network of affiliates as well. MHz Networks is an independent, non-profit public broadcaster, bringing international perspectives and programming to globally-minded viewers throughout the United States." Readers can demand Al Jazeera English here. Here are the contact pages for Comcast, Time Warner and DirecTV (via Martin Prochazka, Austria, Jan 31, A-DX via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) Al Jazeera pro / con query We are considering adding the Al Jazeera English language broadcast to our schedule, since Pacifica has pledged to make it available. Among the broadcast outlets available in our signal area the best news sources about what is happening in Egypt right now are Democracy Now and FSRN, both of which we already carry. NPR's coverage has been pretty shallow and lackluster and the commercial outlets coverage ranges from inadequate to offensive. We note that many people are turning to the internet for their news on this topic and that Al Jazeera is one of the principle sources folks are relying on. A number of us feel that adding Al Jazeera would be a service to our listeners, yet a few of our volunteers have expressed concerns. Some are saying that A.J. is "too controversial" and that it may sully our nascent reputation, or alienate potential listeners. Others feel that Al Jazeera is "biased", "anti-American", "B.S.", and a "Muslim-oriented operation". One of our volunteers is a Gulf war vet who says that Al Jazera is "an insult". Although it appears that none of the volunteers who are expressing these concerns have actually listened to the Al Jazeera broadcast prior to forming their opinions I think it is safe to assume that their reactions are probably representative of the reaction we can expect from a portion of the listening audience. If people's reactions to Al Jazeera are based on misapprehensions and prejudices isn't it our job to try to break those down? In doing so, however, are we "choosing the right battles"? I'd like to know what other folks opinions of Al Jazeera are, and, especially, what your exeriences have been for those of you who have begun to carry the program. Evan Davis, WCRSfm.org (Jan 31 via Des Preston, MI, DXLD) Evan: This morning I heard NPR's Diane Rehm and her guests discuss Egypt. This evening I heard NPR's Tom Ashbrook treating the same subject on his On Point program. My fellow Ann Arborite Robin Wright was a guest on both programs. Both were quite surprisingly good and didn't insult my intelligence. This was a very rare day. Normally I find NPR's treatment of such things to be execrable. I saw no more than forty-five seconds of the perennially clueless Charlie Rose talking to his predictably meretricious think tank guests about Egypt before acute and utter disgust forced me to turn the TV off again. PBS/NPR is not part of my normal news diet which is very large and highly variegated. As several of my GRC and especially AMARC friends and colleagues on this list know about me, some for as long as twenty two years, I have uncompromisingly high standards for my sources of news. It is my well considered assessment that Al Jazeera is a world class news operation which now rivals and often surpasses the BBC. I strongly recommend that your station carry AlJaz. You may have difficulty using rational argumentation to defend airing AlJaz. Some people are not responsive to reason. Glen Beck fans are like that. Sometimes I use psychological warfare. I project an air of coolness by being an AlJaz watching iPhone user. I treat CNNheads with mild disdain and condescension. On ham radio, I react with surprise when people tell me they haven't been watching Rachel Maddow or Amy Goodman or AlJaz. I summarily dismiss Foxheads with more contempt than pity. At this one watering hole here in Ann Arbor this past Friday and Saturday everyone I spoke to had been watching AlJaz. Cool people. Let's take a look at your station's mission statement for a moment. WCRS-LP FM is a non-commercial, listener-supported community radio station serving Central Ohioans, providing quality programming to: •Promote personal and civic responsibility, informed action and thoughtful living; •Challenge cultural and intellectual assumptions; •Celebrate local cultures; •Air alternative points of view and facilitate understanding through dialogue; •To provide media training and to foster community empowerment and participation. •To provide representation for under-served and under-represented constituencies and viewpoints, and to provide news and information not commonly found elsewhere on the airwaves. Hm. Challenge cultural and intellectual assumptions. Air alternative points of view and facilitate understanding through dialogue. Provide news and information not commonly found elsewhere on the airwaves. Seems like a no-brainer to me. You can facilitate understanding through dialogue with any skeptical listeners who are so disposed and capable after you've been airing AlJaz for a while. As for your volunteers who have an opinion about AlJaz without ever having heard it or seen it or visited its website, I can only question your station's recruitment policies and practices. As far as fulfilling your mission statement in central Ohio without controversy: Good luck with that (Des Preston, KB8UYJ, Sent from my AlJaz streaming iPhone, Feb 1, to Evan Davis, WCRS-LP, via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. 15750, R. Romania International, Tiganeshti. NF for English to Pacific, ex 21600. First heard 0640 at fair strength with some noise. Heard again on 10/1. DX mailbag at 0649 (Dunn) 17780, R. Romania Int., Tiganeshti. Good reception with English to Pacific, at 0652 on 20/1. RRI Sports Club mentioning Romanian tennis players competing in the Australian Open, better than // 15750 (Glenys Dunn, Geelong West Vic (Yaesu FRG-8800, 39m longwire), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) 15170, Jan 29 at 1423, RRI ID in Romanian service, yodeling morphing into ``O Sole Mio``, nice folk music concert until rude, abrupt cutoff the air at 1456* without so much as a ``la revedere``. This is in the clear only on Saturdays when REE/Costa Rica takes a break (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENINBG DIGEST) Listening to Radio Romania Int describe the demonstrations in Tunis and Cairo, and the flight of Ben Ali, you could almost hear them thinking: remember Christmas, 1989. But they didn’t actually mention it at all. The most powerful punchline was the one not spoken. On 7310 after 2130, Jan 31 2011 (Dr Derek Lynch, Ireland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. New images of Tiganesti, Romania http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/41996822.jpg http://www.panoramio.com/photo/36534581 New GE image of site now available & much improved. IB (Ian Baxter, NSW, Jan 27, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA: Chita - New Panoramio Images. A couple of pics. The first one is a beauty. http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/39300994.jpg http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/31392812.jpg IB (Ian Baxter, NSW, Jan 27, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 6075, altho R. Rossii, Pet/Kam sounds OK now, Jan 27 at 1347, motorboatingless music and Russian announcements, with BFO we can tell the carrier is a bit unstable, so bet it will steadily degrade again. See also UNIDENTIFIED 6074 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 6075, R. Rossii, no motorboating and not much program audio either Jan 30 at 1359, but could hear 1400+ timesignal, mixing with Taipei ID and then more Chinese from jamming. Hard to tell when Pet/Kam carrier goes off, without the motorboating roar! No sign of 2MTL or 8GAL 6074 until 1402 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6075, GTRK Kamchatka via Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka, 0710-0724, Feb 1. A different, shorter format now with their local/regional programming no longer being 50 minutes long; starts with IDs for “Radio Rossii Kamchatka” and “This is Kamchatka”; this English ID was formerly always given at the BoH; quickly into monologue (not in Russian; Mauno suggests perhaps in Koryak) with many mentions of “Kamchatka”; 0724 back to Russian and regular Radio Rossii IDs; very good reception. Attached audio has IDs. Mauno Ritola (Finland) comments: “you are right, definitely not Russian. I suppose it must then be Koryak, relaying Palana. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koryak_language What a pity, that Palana 4520 kHz was closed long ago”; thanks to Mauno for his feedback. Now is the time to catch this local program while the audio is still fairly good (only slight hum), as recently the strong motorboating/hum was fixed (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Voice of Russia heard here in Texas with a fairly good signal on 7290 just after 0130 UT Jan 27. Almost, but not quite the same signal level as the old 6240 but slightly better than // 7250, and no co-channel QRM. Both 7250 and 7290 better level than the Russian language service on 7220 at the same time (Steve Luce, Houston, TX, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I asked VOR about their use of 7290 kHz and dropping 6240 kHz via Moldova. Their reply and latest schedule: Thanks for your letter received today. We confirm that the VOR is using 7290 kHz instead of 6240 kHz to North America. We are sending you a current winter schedule. Please find attached. The Voice of Russia wishes you all the very best. Sincerely yours, Alexandra Kamyshanova, Letters Department, World Service, Voice of Russia THE VOICE OF RUSSIA WORLD SERVICE OCTOBER 31, 2010 – MARCH 26, 2011 AFRICA Time (UTC) Meter bands Frequencies (kHz) 16.00-18.00 31 9470 18.00-19.00 25, 41 12060, 7270** 19.00-20.00 26 12060 ASIA Time (UTC) Meter bands Frequencies (kHz) 04.00-06.00 19 15735* 08.00-10.00 240 1251 10.00-11.00 41 7205 11.00-12.00 41 7205 12.00-13.00 25, 31, 41 11660, 9695, 7350, 7340* 13.00-14.00 41 7205 14.00-15.00 25, 41 12055**, 11660, 7205 15.00-16.00 31, 41, 61, 240 9660, 7260, 4975, 1251 16.00-17.00 31, 41, 61, 309 9880, 7330, 7305, 4975, 972 17.00-18.00 31, 41, 61, 237, 240 9880, 7330, 7240, 4975, 1269, 1251 18.00-19.00 31, 41, 61, 240 9880, 7330, 7240, 4975, 1251 19.00-20.00 61 4975 AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND Time (UTC) Meter bands Frequencies (kHz) 07.00-08.00 16 17805, 17665 08.00-11.00 16 17805, 17665 MIDDLE EAST Time (UTC) Meter bands Frequencies (kHz) 15.00-16.00 61, 240 4975, 1251 16.00-17.00 31, 61, 309 9470, 4975, 972 17.00-18.00 31, 61, 240 9470, 4975, 1251 18.00-19.00 41, 61, 240 7305, 4975, 1251 19.00-20.00 61, 49 4975, 5985** EUROPE Time (UTC) Meter bands Frequencies (kHz) 06.00-07.00 227 1323 07.00-09.00 25, 227 11635*, 1323 09.00-10.00 227 1323 15.00-16.00 31, 49 9675, 5905* 16.00-17.00 49 6130 18.00-19.00 41 7330 19.00-20.00 25, 41 12060, 7330 20.00-21.00 41, 247 7330, 1215 21.00-22.00 41, 247 7330, 7290, 1215 22.00-23.00 41, 247 7300, 1215 23.00-00.00 247 1215 NORTH AMERICA Time (UTC) Meter bands Frequencies (kHz) 23.00-00.00 41 7250 00.00-03.00 41 7290, 7250 03.00-04.00 22, 25, 41 13735, 12040, 12030, 7440, 7290, 7250 04.00-05.00 22, 25, 41 13755, 12040, 12030, 7290 05.00-07.00 25, 31 12030, 9855, 9840 LATIN AMERICA Time (UTC) Meter bands Frequencies (kHz) 23.00-00.00 41 7250 00.00-03.00 41, 49 7250, 6240 03.00-04.00 41, 49 7440, 7250, 6240 04.00-05.00 49 6240 73, (via Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, Manassas, Virginia USA, Jan 27, dxldyg via DXLD) The latest schedule above is still wrong as it still shows 6240 from 0000 to 0500 for Latin America which is not a separate service from a different transmitter than that for North America merely a continuation of the signal from North America onwards. The website http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/schedule/ still hasn't been changed by 1447 on January 27. Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England UK, ibid.) Harry, I asked VOR about 6240 for Latin America. Their reply. "Dear Mr. Kraig Krist, Thanks for your e-mails received today. We inform you that 7290 kHz is via Moscow. As for 6240 kHz that is used for Latin America, we inform you that the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation assigns radio frequencies. The Voice of Russia wishes you all the very best for health, happiness and success. We will be glad to answer your questions. Please stay in touch. Sincerely yours, Alexandra Kamyshanova Letters Department World Service Voice of Russia" 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, ibid.) Kraig, Sorry to have to contradict again. 6240 was used for Latin America from 0000 to 0500 but not now. Radio Moscow/VOR have never been particularly good with frequencies so this mail from them does not surprise me at all. 6240 at 0000-0500 to LA was not separate to 6240 at 0000-0500 for NA. It was the same transmitter from the PMR so if it's off to NA it's off to LA as well. I shall check again this evening to see if 6240 is on 0000-0500 but I suspect not. On a Friday Radio PMR is only 1800-2200 and not to 2400 so there is no midnight close to observe. 7290 from Moscow 0000-0500 explains why signal quality is not as good as 6240 from the PMR. Monitoring this evening Jan 28 at 1935 VOR is only audible on 1 frequency here and totally unlistenable. 4975 was very poor and I could only just make out that it was English. Radio PMR on 6240 on the other hand was outstanding signal quality, S9+60db on my Yaesu FRG8800. And the website schedule still hasn't been updated! Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England, UK, Jan 28, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. Planned new transmissions via Russian transmitter site: 7200 0800-1500 27,28 S.P 200 215 0 203 RUS NEW GFC I'll monitor this St. Petersburg outlet on coming week, due of wrong band selection by Russian telecom authorities. 7200 kHz is NOT meant for AM/DSB broadcast transmission next to amateur radio band 7.0 to 7.2 kHz (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 29, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 30 via DXLD) Noted this morning at 0855, thought it was too strong to be Yakutsk which I haven't heard here lately. S9+10db at 1202, good modulation. (Mike Barraclough, Feb 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) > 7200 0800-1500 27,28 S.P 200 215 0 203 RUS NEW GFC Thanks Mike, switched in here, late at 1220 UT - and noted 7200 kHz R Rossii program in Russian via St.Petersburg site, S=9+25 dB super signal. Not // R Rossii Moscow Taldom 12075 kHz til 1300 UT, and starts on 7310 kHz at 1325 UT usually. 73 wb [INTRUDER ALERT] Golos Rossiye (= Voice of Russia) on 7200 kHz 0800-1500 UT ----- Original Nachricht ---- Von: dj9kr @ arcor.de An: intruderalert@iaru-r1.org Re: Golos Rossiye (= Voice of Russia) on 7200 kHz 0800 - 1500 UTC Dear Intruder Busters worldwide, DARC MONITORING SYSTEM is now 100 % sure about the origin of the "new" intruder on 7200 kHz: This morning sign on was at 0800 UTC. Some 15 minutes before there was a carrier with measuring tone. Time pips were 2 seconds too late! The announcement clearly was:- *** GOLOS ROSSIYE *** which means *** The Voice of Russia *** The location of the tx-er is St. Petersburg, and the program is from 0800 - 1500 UTC. Will you please inform your National telecoms. authorities to take action. Thank you for your good work and good luck yours, (Ulrich Bihlmayer DJ9KR, Vice Coordinator of IARU MonSys Region 1, Coordinator of DARC Monitoring System Intruder Watch via wb, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) Subject: Re: [INTRUDER ALERT] Golos Rossiye (= Voice of Russia) on 7200 kHz 0800-1500 UTC Some questions. What's the problem if 7200 kHz will be in our schedule during two last months of B10? hams have 195 kHz at least for their SSB/CW operation during these daylight hours here in Europe, and that is not enough? Maybe I am under a delusion, but 41 broadcasting m.b. starts from 7200 kHz, or still from 7205 kHz? (Mikhail Timofeyev, St. Petersburg, Feb 2, via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) Dear Mikhail, USB - u p p e r side band mode transmissions from St. Petersburg could be tolerated at 7200 ... 7208 kHz frequency range, but pure AM - two side band mode transmission n o t , latter signal splatter down covers 7192 - 7200 kHz space, as intruder. Same complaint by German Freq Authority BNA-Bundesnetzagentur happened a year ago against 7200 channelusing of DTK now Media Broadcast Cologne, and DTK left 7200 kHz within a week. Today is a little late, but tomorrow I'll look on internet on ITU Geneve website, to select the band plan comments by ITU of 7200 kHz limit point. 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Planned NEW Voice of Russia on the following frequencies 5975 1400-1600 29SE,39,40 S.P 200 147 0 147 RUS VOR GFC 9680 0500-0800 27,28,29SW SAM 250 280 0 146 RUS VOR GFC 11870 0200-0600 44N,45 IRK 250 110 0 218 RUS VOR GFC 12010 0700-1100 44,45 NVS 500 110 0 218 RUS VOR GFC 15250 0200-0600 44N,45 IRK 100 110 0 218 RUS VOR GFC 15520 0200-0600 49 TCH 500 194 0 218 RUS VOR GFC 15700 0700-1100 44,50,54 IRK 250 152 0 288 RUS VOR GFC (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 29, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 30 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 7320-7325-7330, 31/1 1135, Voice of Russia, DRM, reports in German, music. No visual ID! It is possible to read only: "LABEL SERVICE 0". They forgot something. Good signal (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, Perseus & Icom R71E, T2FD 15 meters long, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9840 & 9855, Voice of Russia, 0643 Feb 1, only 9855 was in English; 9840 was carrying Russian, not the listed English in // to 9855 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, BC, Listening mobile, Eton E1, Sony AN1 antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Could be Vladivostok mixup, but 9840 is always co-channel Moscow site in Russian (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. As a DXer who collects QSL cards I have a bit of news to report. This week I received a Voice of Russia QSL card. The card has been re-designed and the line on which they have previously indicated the transmitter site has been removed. Time, date and frequency are still on the card as is my name. The switchover must be very recent as a card less than a month ago still had the line for the transmitter/relay site. I am not sure whether this new style card replaces the old card or they now have two varieties. On the report sent for this card I did request that they indicate the transmitter site, which was Moldova (Steve, Jan 27, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. Voice of Russia now 24/7 in Washington DC: Distance in Sweden now reports VOR on WZHF-AM 1390 kHz, Arlington, Virginia. Best wishes (Barry :-) Davies, England, Jan 26, MWC yg via DXLD) ** RWANDA. 6055, Radio Rwanda, 2044-2101* Jan 24, man announcer with long talks in French with short instrumental music segments interspersed. Music stopped suddenly at 2100 with carrier remaining on for another minute. Fair to good (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** SAIPAN. [NORTHERN} MARIANA ISLANDS. Odd-Jorgen Sagdahl, Norway reporting via the Real DX Yahoo Group reports logging KCNM Saipan on 30 October after many years of chasing it. It is slightly off frequency at 1079.910 and ident “This is KCNM-AM Saipan” was heard at 1000 UT (NZDXT via DX Worldwide II, IRCA DX Monitor Jan 29 via DXLD) A new station at Garapan-Saipan has been assigned the call KKMP on 1440. Not yet on the air, has a CP for U1 3/0.5 kW but requests amendment to U1 with 1.1 kW day & night (NRC via ibid.) ** SAIPAN [and non]. 12090, Jan 30 at 2255 Asian song, good signal better than fluttery adjacent 12095 BBC. 2300 YL ``This is KFBS, Saipan, from the Mariana Islands in the Pacific`` and immediately off, as was BBC. Aoki shows 12090 at 2230-2300 in Vietnamese, 100 kW, 278 degrees from Marpi. BBC is 250 kW, 27 degrees from Ascension, taking a one-hour break until 0000 resuming via Singapore (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SARAWAK [non]. 11665 looking for R Sarawak on 1420 28 Jan I found there CRI in English with signal S8. But after CRI leaves the frequency, R S was very poor in a relatively moderate local noise level S1. Also the other frequency for R Sarawak, 9835 was a little better at S2 max at 1425 Jan 18 with an old Malay song, then hearing a man talking about 'Sudirman' till 1430 when another old Malay song was played. These songs reminded me of the times of early 90s when RTM [VOM] on 15295 was heard quite well and played the same nice kinds of songs! A recheck at ca 1500 with QRM from RL Turkmen. Both checked only under AM-Narrow band (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Standard rig: ICOM R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The above are usually filed under MALAYSIA, q.v., but are SARAWAK [non] in the sense they are transmitted from West Malaysia. The Below is SARAWAK [non] in another sense, as a clandestine from further afield (gh) ** SARAWAK [non]. QSL: 7590, Radio Free Sarawak via Dushanbe-Tangiyul Transmitter. Two Full data (with site) prepared QSL Cards, signed and stamped, for a CD MP3 / postal report sent to Switzerland address. Reply in 26 days. V/s: illegible (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA [and non]. 11915 - 28/01/11 - 2038 - B - R. Gaúcha, Porto Alegre, Portuguese, sports at Rivera, co-channel BKSKA - 52434. 11915 - 20/01/11 - 2038 - BKSKA Holy Qur`an, Riyadh, Arabic, chants // 11930, co-channel R. Gaúcha - 42434. 11930 - 20/01/11 - 2040 - BKSKA Holy Qur`an, Riyadh, Arabic, chants // 11915, co-channel R. Martí - 52455 (Flavio Archangelo PY2ZX, IC-706, dipoles, Jundiai - SP - Brazil, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SERBIA. 9505, 31/1 1110, International Radio Serbia, in Serbian, Serbian economics and other reports. Good (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italia, Perseus & Icom R71E, T2FD 15 meters long, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SIKKIM. 4835.00, *0058-0110, INDIA, 16+18.01, AIR Gangtok, Sikkim, Nepali ann after AIR IS and "Vande Mataram" hymn, 0102 string music and drums, 35333 (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. R. SLOVAKIA INTERNATIONAL: NEW WEBSITE http://www.newweb.rozhlas.sk/radio-international-sk Temporary URL; Should be officially launched on Feb 1. Regards (JM Aubier, France, Jan 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. 10000 kHz, Intermodulation of fundamental 9510, and IMs on 9020 and 10000 kHz, still on air. Noted yesterday on Jan 29 here in Europe. Confirms, that IRRS still using Rimavska Sobota transmitter site ... (wb) Viz.: ... wir hatten neulich das Problem: ein englischsprachiger Kanzelredner auf exakt 10000 kHz. Es handelt sich dabei um die obere Nebenwelle von IRRS 9510 kHz, die untere von 9020 kHz ist praktisch genau so gut wie die auf 10000 kHz zu hoeren. 9020 kHz: -80 dBm 9510 kHz: -40 dBm 10000 kHz: 75 dBm (Nils Schiffhauer, Germany, DK8OK; WinRadio Excalibur, SDR-IP/GPS, Perseus, 2 x 20 m active quad loop (90 degr), 42 m windom, DX-One prof; A-DX Jan 30 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** SLOVENIA. LISTENING IN ~ RADIO SLOVENIA WITH DARREN ROZIER listeningin @ bdxc.org.uk We’re taking an unusual foray into domestic broadcasting for this month’s Listening In. Radio Slovenia isn’t strictly speaking an international broadcaster. It’s the first programme (Prvi Programme in Slovenian) of the Slovenian domestic public service broadcaster. It’s not to be confused with Radio Slovenia International, which broadcasts on local FM through the day and is carried on local medium wave (1170 kHz) overnight. The output is similar to that of other Central and Eastern European national channels. Compare it with Horizont in Bulgaria or the Czech Republic’s main channel on 270 kHz. The station broadcasts for 24 hours a day but, for three minutes at 10.30pm local time (2030 UT in summer, 2130 UT in winter), there’s a bulletin in English, followed by a 3 minute bulletin in German. The news bulletins sound quite old fashioned. Who remembers Radio London with their news? (I don‘t, but I have listened to archive material). They would always start by mentioning the location of the news before reading the story. As well as local FM, Radio Slovenia broadcasts on 918 kHz. It’s normally quite easily receivable after dark, but propagation conditions don’t seem to have been too good of late. I listened to five bulletins over a week. Here are my findings. Monday 11th October - 25523 - Roberts R9914. The broadcast starts with three sounds of the cuckoo, then some music. You then have a frequency announcement in English, then in German. Ljubljana (the capital of Slovenia) - Mayor secures a 4th term. Yerevan (the capital of Armenia) - Agreements to co-operate with Turkey. There’s been agreement on the avoidance on double taxation. Ljubljana - There’s a budget for 2011 and 2012. Although the financial crisis is over, restraint in public spending is needed. There are plans to freeze pensions and spending in the public sector. Budapest - Negligence has been blamed for the recent toxic spill. The government should take control of the company responsible. An emergency dam is being constructed. Damages must be paid to those affected. Stockholm - 2010 is the year of the economic Nobel prizes. They’re presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Science. Four people have been recognised for their analysis of the markets. Weather - Tomorrow there will be fog in lowland areas. Temperatures will range from minus 2 to plus 6 C. Thursday 14th October - 33333 - Sony hi-fi LBT-N200. Ljubljana - The government have endorsed a bill on railway transport. There will be the establishment of a holding company and changes to the endorsement policy. Story on property tax. Brussels - The Slovenian Prime Minister and defence minister have attended a defence conference. They’re talking about an alliance with NATO over the next 10 years. Athens - There’s been a break in at the ancient Acropolis. Brussels - Something about an official vehicle as a taxi. The signal faded into a bit of a mess. Weather - Tomorrow it’ll be 13 C.with temperatures at the coast getting up to 19 C. Saturday 16th October - 33323 - Sony hi-fi. Ljubljana - The boss of a construction company is the best paid construction worker in the country. Also the European Day of Organ Transplantation has been recognised in Ljubljana. Paris - 200 demonstrations have taken place over the retirement age in France being raised to 62. Charles de Gaulle Airport has been affected. USA - A soldier has been court-martialed over the murder of Afghan civilians. Beijing - There’s been an explosion in a mine in Henan Province in China. The treatment for the Chilean miners is still ongoing. One has dental problems and another has vertigo.. Weather. Sunday 17th October - 44433 - Sony hi-fi. Ljubljana - A European wide anti drink-driving campaign took place last night. Slovenia took part. Various night clubs were patrolled. Zagreb (the capital of Croatia) - The Slovenian Prime Minister has visited Croatia. It’s to do with a Croatia/ Slovenia treaty which is still yet to become binding. People are filling up at the petrol pumps across Slovenia as more fuel strikes are expected. The retirement age is set to increase by two years. Sundays are normally quiet at the pumps. Refineries are due to close as part of the strike action. Manila (the capital of the Philippines) - A category 5 typhoon is set to hit the country. It’s due to hit the North tomorrow. Flooding is expected and the country has been put on red alert. Beijing - 26 are now confirmed dead in a collapsed mine in China. The explosion was caused by a gas leak. Weather - Tomorrow there will be showers and a strong wind at the coast. Monday 18th October - 44444 - Sony hi-fi. Ljubljana - Trade Union representatives have been protesting outside Parliament House. Strikes have been taking place over pension reform and over new job legislation. Split (in Croatia) - A new Slovenian consulate has been opened in Croatia. It’s time to deal with certain interests and economic ties. Ljubljana – There are discussions over a border resolution with Croatia. This is constitutional. Manila - A typhoon has hit the country with winds at around 220 km/h. There’s been a landfall and heavy rain. It’s the strongest storms in the Philippines for 4 years. Tokyo - Something about conserving life on Earth and the loss of species in ecosystems. (Sorry, I didn’t understand it all). Weather - Tomorrow it’ll be partly clear with temperatures up to 17 C at the coast and up to 12 C inland. Once the news in German finished there was a further announcement in both English and German. It said you could listen to more news at 10.30 tomorrow evening. After this the station went back to regular programmes. They were playing some very underground blues music. The bulletins on Radio Slovenia are short and sweet, but you get quite a nice digest of news from Slovenia and from a Slovenian perspective. Although there’s only three minutes, they do whip through the stories quite quickly so you learn a lot in a short space of time. http://www.rtvslo.si/radio/ Let me know if you enjoy listening to Radio Slovenia’s English news and let me know if there are any other domestic English bulletins from other foreign countries you would like me to review in Listening In. Until next time, 73s and God Bless. Darren (Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. SIBC on 5019.86 kHz extends broadcasts now at 1320 UT. I can receive music and a short announcement, but cannot copy an announcement. Poor conditions and severe QRN (S. Hasegawa, Japan, Jan 31, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5019.88, SIBC, randomly from 1319 to 1440*, Jan 31; extended schedule; poor to almost fair in QRN; in Tok Pisin; mostly playing pop island songs; interviews; weather; 1438 usual English sign off announcement followed by National Anthem. Best in LSB due to Cuba QRM from 5025. Per Sei-ichi Hasegawa's recent reports, Vanuatu has gone to 24 hour broadcasting and “The Cross” has been reactivated, so the Pacific is finally becoming more active on SW. Attached audio is of sign off announcement and NA (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://www.mediafire.com/?kcdwr7yiwcuyq3d contains audio of sign off announcement and NA (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Probably on longer due to Cyclone near Vanuatu [q.v.] (Robin VK7RH Harwood, Feb 1, Tasmania, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5019.88, SIBC, Feb 1. Below threshold level, but open carrier noted at 0627; improved by 0646 and could make out announcements in English and Tok Pisin (“For more information contact”, students should check on the weather; phone numbers given for various services, etc.); poor but improving; best in LSB (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA [non]. 11970 - 28/01/11 - 2041 - UAE - R. Damal (tentative), Dhabayya, Somali, long music - 24422 (Flávio Archángelo PY2ZX, IC-706, dipoles, Jundiai - SP - Brazil, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 5910, fair Jan 30 at 2332, BBC News headlines, 2333 opening `Something Understood`, and then cutting off the air. Another overrun by SENTECH, as BBC is supposedly only at 2200-2300, 100 kW, 330 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [and non]. 11680 - 28/01/11 - 2116 - E - REE, Noblejas, PP, vy good international nx, special report on Franco´s political period, mx, ID, s/off 2156, fantastic signal and stability, service mixed with SS pxs - 55555 (Flavio Archangelo PY2ZX, IC-706, dipoles, Jundiai - SP - Brazil, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9765 via COSTA RICA, Jan 27 at 1344 checked REE again since 24 hours earlier there was no Basque as scheduled M-F at 1330. No Basque today either; what has become of it? Did someone slip and say something pro- ETA? Instead, Castilian discussion about Reyes Magos with novelist who has a blogspot. Then promo for ``Sexto Continente`` literary contest. Easy to tune, up exactly 4 MHz from AFN. 15385, REE Emisión Sefarad, fair Monday Jan 31 around 1445, interview in Ladino with an Auschwitz survivor. 17595, REE`s foreign-language news capsules reconfirmed Feb 1 at 1530 starting in heavily accented Portuguese, then French, and from 1537.6, English, story #1 being Cairo demonstrations, day 8. I still need to reconfirm whether Basque is airing M-F at 1330 as that was missing at least twice last week. REE`s Basque service finally reconfirmed after missing at least two days last week: 15170 via Costa Rica, Thu Feb 3 at 1330 is still in Castilian with fútbol discussion, but by 1334 when I have tuned up to 17595 direct, both frequencies are now in Basque, but resorting to Castilian terms such as gastronómico, tabaco, film, estreno, Televisión Española (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. ASCENSION: 17700, Sudan Radio Service; 1622-1632+, 29- Jan; M in Arabic, but using some English words; mentions of Sudan; one apparent ID was not in Arabic, but Sudan Radio clear. SIO=454+. Not // 17745 via Portugal with mainly Afro music. PORTUGAL: 17745, Sudan Radio Service; 1504-1517+, 29-Jan; Let's Talk, English political program with commentaries & dramatizations; "Leaders may not know the priorities of the people they represent." Not sure of context, but sounded like the name of South Sudan may be Al-Jadida. SIO=354-, fady (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 500 ft. SSWish unterminated bev & 85 ft. TTFD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17745, SRS, 1510 28 Jan with talks by woman and man. At 1512 a quite lengthy jingle of the station was aired with HoA musical style, news then followed. Signal started with S2 faded out to S0 then increased to S7 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Standard rig: ICOM R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) via PORTUGAL ** SUDAN [non]. QSLs: GERMANY, 13730, Radio Dabanga via Wertachtal. Full data (with site and name of broadcast) Card Four ‘Canal in Dieman‘ QSL card from Radio Nederland’s (which Media Broadcast forward to). This for an August 2009 report, which finally was able to get verified. This Postal report was sent to Media Broadcast as a follow- up. 13730, Radio Dabanga via Wertachtal. Received an e-mail response from Mr.Walter Brodowsky, verifying my 2009 report (sent via Postal directly to him). In his response, he explained that Media Broadcast is now part of TDF that changes with staff, and the interchange with TDF was taking longer then expected. Hence, my reports not getting verified during this transition. Further, I did send (via Postal) list of five stations, heard, e-mail reports sent, but never verified, which only two where actually verified from Mr. Brodowsky, via e-mail. Four days later, received a Radio Dabanga QSL direct from the organization, for a report sent direct to this organization. QSL: 9650, Voice of America ‘Hello Durfur’ Broadcast via Wertachtal. After sending a postal report, received this e-mail verification from Walter Brodowsky, for this report. Indicated that my report would be forward to the VOA, for their verification, which is still outstanding and still waiting for their response (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SURINAME. Re 11-04: ``914, R. Nickerie is observed (Renato in mw-br @ yahoogrupos.com.br via ARC South American News Desk, Jan via DXLD) Apparently replying to WRTH 2011 which says it is ``not heard``, nor the two other private MW stations. On such a rare split frequency, some signs of it ought to show up for NAm MW DXers; 3 kW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` Even in the best of times -- an aurora in the 1970's when there were lots of splits -- this one was rarely heard. The word was that they had a poor ground system and other issues which reduced their coverage. It hasn't been reported to either NRC or IRCA in well over 5 years (Russ Edmunds, 15 mi NNW of Philadelphia, Grid FN20id, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) Surinam-914 heard here several times with Hindi programming at good level back in 1978-1979 but not since. Surinam-820 heard a couple of times back in 1971-1972 but not since. Of course Surinam-725 was L&C for many years - many years ago. :-) I actually have a QSL card from them (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts http://www.wtfda.info/showthread.php?t=228 ibid.) ** SWAZILAND. I also recently received a reply from TWR Swaziland. The card is two pieces of paper partially glued together with a photo of their antenna towers on the front and the time, date and frequency on the reverse. However, they no longer include the name of the DXer / recipient on the card. On the bright side, they did reply and the card has its own charm (Steve, Jan 27, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** SWEDEN [non]. Radio Sweden is also still on SW 9955 thanks to WRMI, but only on UT Wed-Thu-Fri at 0230-0300 when it is also on WRN to North America; per latest WRMI schedule grid dated Jan 28 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Sweden again on shortwave, in English, thanks to WRMI. Just started at 0230 UT Wednesday Feb 2, also scheduled UT Thursdays and Fridays, but not any other days. Loud and clear on webcast, following new airing of WORLD OF RADIO; heavy jamming on 9955. Can anyone hear it there? Just jamming, says Gilles Letourneau, Montréal; can hear a few words, but jamming is too heavy, says Giampiero Bernardini, Milano (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWITZERLAND. Sottens back on the air --- A group of Swiss amateurs have been granted permission to use the Sottens MW transmitter on the amateur bands in February. The first I knew was when I found a stonking CW (Morse) signal on 80m (3.5 MHz). It was the loudest signal on the band. You can find more including pix at: http://www.hb9mm.com/sottens-special-event-operation (Steve (G0KYA), Jan 30, MWCircle yg via DXLD) Not without a password. Instead: http://www.hb9mm.com/sottens/ Opération sottens HE3OM — filed under: LF, HF, Sottens Lors du mois de février 2011, les radioamateurs vaudois ont l'autorisation d'utiliser les antennes de l'émetteur à ondes moyennes de Sottens pour faire des contacts radioamateurs. Cette page sera mise à jour régulièrement pour vous tenir informé des opérations. Les OM intéressés à participer à l'opération Sottens de manière active peuvent s'annoncer. Pylône de réserve de l'émetteur de Sottens Pylône de 125 mètres Pylône principal de 188 mètres Pylône principal de 188 mètres Les deux antennes Les deux antennes Dernières nouvelles * Un document pdf est à disposition pour annoncer l'opération à la communauté radioamateur. * HB9AFI prévoit d'être à la station mercredi matin 2.2.2011 de 6h à 10h environ. * HB9ASB prevoit d'être à la station LF vendredi 4.2.2011 de 12h à 22h UTC environ. Modes: CW, Crossmode CW/QRSS, Crossband CW/KW (QSX announced in CQ call). No QRSS transmissions this time. Skeds are welcome (Nighttime is reserved for DX). Skilled Operators are also welcome! . . . (via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. QSL: 6240 & 9280, Family Radio, Chinese to Asia via Bao- zhong Transmitter. 2 - Full data (With site name indicated) 50th Anniversary Cards, with a large packet of religious material/decals, in 84 days (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. 7105, 22/1 2200, Voice [sic] of Hope, Taiwan, start transmission with many IDs, then talks in Chinese. Very good (Giampiero Bernardini with Dario Monferini in Bocca di Magra (La Spezia province, Italy), at the seaside, for our Bocca di Magra DX nights (Boc 22), Perseus & RFSpace SDR-IQ / ANT: Wellbrook loop LFL 1010, Jan 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So you axually had Sound of Hope IDs in Chinese, ``Xi Wang Zhi Sheng``? When I hear Chinese during this hour I think it is only CNR1 jamming. Aoki shows 100 kW, 325 degrees from Tanshui, which is certainly more favorable for Europe than NAm vs jamming probably omni; but ChiCom jamming as a rule is MUCH stronger than its victims as heard here (gh, DXLD) ** TUNISIA. 7275, 0455-0535, 16.01, R Tunisienne, Sfax, Arabic, Call to Prayer, 0500 ann, Qurán recitation, 0503 ann "..Allah..." , 0504 ID "Huna Tunis, Idha´at al-wataniya at-Tunisiya", a man reading a declaration mentioning democracy in Tunis, 0508 ID, Arab songs, 0516 ID, more songs, 0527 conversation about "Entifada" in Tunisia with some laughter! 45444 AP-DNK 7335, 0755-0805* 16.01, R Tunisienne, Sfax, Arabic ann, orchestra music, 45333 AP-DNK 7345, 1920-1930 16.01, R Tunisienne, Sfax, Arabic songs and ann, 45344 // 7225 and 9725 AP-DNK 9725, 1810-1920 16.01, R Tunisienne, Sfax, Arabic discussion with phone-ins about the political situation, music, 35333 // 7225 (33432) under BBC Cyprus in English reporting from Tunis. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, from Skovlunde, Denmark, done on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** TURKEY. VOT was reported to have changed frequency for English to NAm at 23-24: ``Frequency changes for Voice of Turkey effective from Jan. 14: 2300-2357 NF 7335+EMR 500 kW / 310 deg to NoAm, ex 5960 English; + co-channel WHRI Angel 1/5 in English on Sat (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 18 via DXLD 11-03)`` And I finally get around to checking it on Saturday January 29 at 2330: nothing but WHRI audible on 7335, but there is something weak on 5960, seems English, bothered by much stronger and bleeding DentroCuban Jamming Command on 5955 against R. República on 5954.2v. That could certainly motivate VOT to move, but onto a frequency occupied by WHRI?! To be sure, I listen again at 2352, and do hear the VOT IS on 5960. So the change has NOT been made, or if it was, they have gone back to 5960, or even less likely, gone back on Saturdays only, possibly the only day of week WHRI is really on 7335, altho HFCC shows 17 = Sunday and Saturday. Yet the latest HFCC also shows TRT on 7335 as if it had been there all the time since 31 Oct! And no listing for 5960 where it really was and is. Far too many changes in HFCC are masked by showing incorrect dates in effect (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5960, Voice of Turkey at 2323 with Turkish music, Fair Jan 28 (Larry Flaitz, Rochester, NY, Sony ICF-2010, Your Reports, Feb ODXA Listening In via DXLD) So also on a Friday 5960 (gh) Hi Glenn, I monitored Voice of Turkey 2 days ago at 2300 UT on 5960 kHz. I don't know where the information came from about them changing from 5960 to 7335 kHz. No mention of it in the 1/29/11 DX corner, or within their announced frequencies or website either. 73's (Tim Marecki, Tallahassee, FL, Jan 30, ptsw yg via DXLD) 5960, VOT English to NAm still here, Monday Jan 31 at 2303, poor in English news, ACI from DentroCuban Jamming Command on 5955. Listed frequency 7335 has no WHRI or VOT today, but something very weak, presumably CNR2 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA. 4976, UBC Radio, Kampala, 2018-2105, Jan 15, English programme about the referendum for independence in Southern Sudan with phone-calls and reports from correspondents from the "newest country in the world". After a break of 1 minute at 2045 popmusic and Jingles "Butebo - radio what the nation talks", 34333 (Patrick Robic, Leibnitz / Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria, DSWCI DX Window Jan 25 via DXLD) 4976, UBS [sic] Radio, 2037-2109 Jan 23, lively selection of group vocals hosted by a man announcer with English talk. Plug pulled mid- sentence ending broadcast. Fair (Rich D`Angelo, French Creek State Park, PA, DXpedition No. 39, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B and an Eton E1, 500-foot wire essentially north for the RX-340 and 250-foot wire essentially northeast for the R-8B and a whip antenna for the E1, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** UGANDA [non]. 17725, Saturday Jan 29 at 1708, urgent talk in Swahili or something, presumed Radio Y`abaganda, clandestine via FRANCE, still active during this one quarter-hour per week (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. Former Kharkov transmitter site schedule: 1500-1800 7435 Kharkiv 100 kW 055deg to Russia 1800-2100 6030 Kharkiv 100 kW 290deg to Europe 2100-2200 6140 Kharkiv 100 kW 290deg to Europe [still OFF on Jan 27, wb.] (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX via DXLD) UKRAINE WILL REDUCE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON SW TO A MINIMUM Since February 1, the International radio of Ukraine will leave on short waves only one translation – in a direction of Russia 1500-1800 UT on frequency 7435 kHz. The International radio of Ukraine will be accessible to other regions on companion [sputnik] Astra 4 (4,8 e.d.) with a cover zone in Europe, and worldwide through the Internet to the address: http://www.nrcu.gov.ua (Directly from station) (Vadim Alekseyev, Moscow / http://www.dxing.ru via RusDX Jan 30 via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) ** U A E. 15525, Eternal Good News via Dhabayya. Fair reception of English preacher *1130-1145 on 21/1. Program aired Fridays only (Glenys Dunn, Geelong West Vic (Yaesu FRG-8800, 39m longwire), Jan-Feb Australian DX News via DXLD) ** UNITED KINGDOM. QSLs: 12070, IBRA Radio (Radio Ibrahim Service in Fur & Arabic) via Woofferton. Full data (with site) E-mail verification statement of Black African [sic] with short wave radio, with accompanying letter in 55 days. This in response to an e-mail report to IBRA Radio direct. V/s: Maria Lavendar. 17610, Deutsche Welle, German to West Africa via Woofferton. Full data (with site) ’20 years of German Unity’ QSL Card in 40 days (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Daysland, Alberta, Canada, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. We always try to catch BBC World News, the 2100 GMT edition on weekdays, delayed one sesquihour on OETA OKLA DTV subchannel to 2230. Main anchor Mike Embley always introduces it as ``also for PBS viewers in America`` (which America??), but they keep fiddling with the format. In the first place, there are far too many teasers, repetitive headlines and condescending ``stay with us, if you can`` remarx, instead of one semihour of hard world news. Is that too much to ask? Some expert must have concluded most viewers won`t keep tuned otherwise. His bio: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/bbc_world/mikeembley.shtml Don`t blame the anchor for all that`s wrong with it, but today Jan 31 it`s a new low, as the second half has no news, just a string of promos for other BBC World programmes we have no chance of seeing via OKLA, weather grafix, website promos, etc., etc. Were they having a problem in the studio, or is this a permanent change? This show always has gaffes, miscues, dead air, upcuts, etc., hardly what you would expect from a professional worldwide operation. And with so much breaking news these days, delaying it a sesquihour hardly does justice to the news, but that`s OKLA`s fault --- or maybe not if that`s the only edition they have an opportunity to air, and there is certainly more of an audience for news at 4:30 pm local than 3 o`clock (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Next few days no more of that, but format broken to allow Lyse Doucet to anchor live from Cairo for this first half or so (gh) ** U K [and non]. BBC SW FQS TWEETED BY BBC NEWSHOUR --- and this got retweeted by somebody. I have to wonder how many people have their computers on at the same time as their radios, hi. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/schedules/frequencies/index.shtml#east-gulf (Clara Listensprechen, Jan 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non] SEYCHELLES/SOUTH AFRICA, BBC English to W Africa changes Delete 7465 2100-2200 46S,47S,52 MEY 100 330 -15 216 additional new 9410 2100-2200 48S,53NW SEY 250 270 0 147 (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 29, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 30 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. Frequency changes of BBC: 0300-0400 NF 6040#CYP 250 kW / 101 deg N/ME, ex 6055* in Arabic 2100-2200 NF 9410 SEY 250 kW / 270 deg CSAf, ex 7465^ in English WS # co-ch Vatican Radio in French/English/Spanish * avoid REE in Spanish ^ avoid WWCR in English (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 2 Feb via DXLD) ** U K. World Service Cuts --- Sir John Tusa, former head of the World Service, interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Today programme from 0851, will be available soon on Listen Again. Needless to say he was extremely critical of the cuts (Mike Terry, Jan 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sadly, the BBC must be over staffed. Otherwise how could they send the vast numbers of staff simultaneously to the same overseas events - for example they had dozens of reporters representing different channels at the recent Chilean mine rescue for several weeks on end. Also the endless habit of putting a reporter live on location when there actually is nothing to see (e.g. reporter stands outside 10 Downing Street and talks live to camera for TV news) needs extra reporters, camera/sound crew. I admire the BBC but I doubt that they have felt as much pressure as a commercial organisation to be as efficient as possible with their resources. They are in a fortunate position of having predictable income and not having to generate a profit, so what does it matter if layers of bureaucratic management continue to expand, or if celebrity salaries sky-rocket? 73 (Steve Whitt, UK, Jan 26, MWCircle yg vi DXLD) I doubt if many of those on the Albanian or Caribbean services of the WS will be on celebrity salaries. BBC Domestic TV may have to a degree lost run of itself in terms of output and celeb shenanigans but as far as I can see the WS still has incredibly high standards. I guess it will at least free up a few more frequencies for VOA and CRI (Paul Logan, Lisnaskea, N. Ireland, ibid.) Re: BBC World Service cuts language services and radio broadcasts to meet tough Spending Review settlement --- One wonders if a part of this is a public negotiation process between the World Service and the FCO and the BBC Trust --- as the funding responsibilities transition. If this were to move forward, it looks like the end of 2014 will see most shortwave use eliminated by the BBC. The loss of "Crossing Continents" is unfortunate...while that has only been on the World Service for a short while, it's a fixture on the domestic Radio 4 service...wonder if it's a goner there too? (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) English language programmes [excerpt from above:] There will be a new schedule for World Service English language programming - a focus on four daily news titles (BBC Newshour, BBC World Today, BBC World Briefing, and BBC World Have Your Say); and a new morning programme for Africa. There will be a new daily edition of From Our Own Correspondent; and an expansion of the interactive World Have Your Say programme. There will be a reduction from seven to five daily pre-recorded "non- news" programmes on the English service. This includes the loss of one of the four weekly documentary strands. Some programmes will be shortened. Titles such as Politics UK, Europe Today, World Of Music, Something Understood, Letter From., and Crossing Continents will all close. There will also be the loss of some correspondent posts (via gh, DXLD) The closure of the BBCWS English beams to Russia is significant for shortwave listeners in North America, as the morning/evening transmissions have tended to have a decent signal here. Guess we'll have to see what happens to the East Asia and West Africa beams which are the other options for NA. I suspect the "two hours per day" for Africa and Asia would mean an hour each in the morning and evening? A lot of transmitter time will be opened up by all these cuts, along with the planned SW reductions by Deutsche Welle. Will be interesting to see if the transmitter operators/brokers slash costs, and who (if anyone) buys the time (Steve Luce, Houston, TX, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) > The release of the A11 transmission/frequency schedule > will certainly be interesting, if cuts aren't made sooner. No need to wait any further: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/01_january/26/worldservice.shtml So what will go away with the start of A11 (I assume March 27 will indeed be the deadline) are 648 kHz, English/Spanish via Montsinéry and WHRI, Standard Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Azeri and Vietnamese. And presumably all that will be left as of A14 are two hours each of English to Africa and Asia plus Burmese and Somali. I think it goes without saying that this will inavoidably have dramatic consequences for the transmitter infrastructure so far associated with the BBC WS, outsourced to Babcock now. Altogether this is just what was to expect, with the main exception being the termination of shortwave radio to China which I think is a real bummer. "Focusing instead, as appropriate, on online, mobile and television content" -- how cute, considering that the Chinese website of the BBC appears to be permanently blocked in China. Are they really so naive or do they only pretend to be? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) > So what will go away with the start of A11 (I assume March 27 will > indeed be the deadline) are 648 kHz, English/Spanish via Montsinéry > and WHRI, Standard Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Azeri > and Vietnamese. ... Hindi, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Swahili and the Great Lakes service (for Rwanda and Burundi). Wasn't Africa supposed to be the last stronghold of shortwave broadcasting? Now the cuts start to be made here, too (Kai Ludwig, ibid.) Note the references in the various news stories to "phased reductions" of shortwave, so it may be something like those of us in the Americas saw in the period from 2001 to 2008, just on a faster timeline: First dropping USA/Canada beams in 2001, then the Antigua closure in 2005 along with reduced output now from alternate sites, and in 2006 the cuts to just two morning and two evening hours on shortwave (for the Caribbean) before the plug was completely pulled in March, 2008 (Steve Luce, Houston, TX, ibid.) BBC TO CLOSE 5 SERVICES, END SHORT WAVE HINDI RADIO SERVICE http://www.sify.com/finance/bbc-to-close-5-services-end-short-wave-hindi-radio-service-news-business-lb0t4cafhhj.html (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi http://alokeshgupta.blogspot.com/ dx_sasia yg via DXLD) Even tho India will NOT permit FM stations to carry news from BBC! (gh) BBC BANGLA IS CONSIDERING GOING OFF SHORTWAVE BBC Bangla Editor Mr Sabir Mustafa said in an interview broadcast in the 1330-1400 UT BBC Bangla transmission on 26th January 2011 that BBC Bangla is considering going off the shortwave too like six BBC worldservice language services like Hindi which will be taken off the shortwave in March 2011. Mr Mustafa added that BBC Hindi will probably cease transmission altogether since it is not available in the FM band in India. Government of India regulations do not permit foreign and private Indian operators to broadcast news and current affairs over FM like in neighbouring Bangladesh. BBC Bangla does not announce the shortwave frequencies on air nor does it give out the latest frequency schedule in the internet. BBC Bangla website carries a backdated and incorrect frequency chart. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bengali/institutional/2010/01/000000_how_to_listen.shtml (Supratik Sanatani, 26Jan2011, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) From a Wall Street Journal Blog (part of Asian Wall Street Journal) END OF AN ERA: BBC HINDI RADIO TO CLOSE - INDIA REAL TIME - WSJ http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/01/27/end-of-an-era-bbc-hindi-radio-to-close/ * January 27, 2011, 6:18 PM IST By Diksha Sahni Agence France-Presse/Getty Images [caption] Peter Horrocks, Director of BBC Global News announced Wednesday of the Corporation's plans to close down BBC shortwave Hindi Radio from April 1. Almost 70 years after its first radio broadcast in India, BBC Hindi shortwave radio service has decided to shut shop, and those who know the service well say it will be missed by everyone from farmers to Maoist rebels. BBC Global News director Peter Horrocks announced Wednesday that the BBC planned to cut language services and radio broadcast because of reduced funding. Calling the decision "a painful day for the BBC World Service", Mr. Horrocks said in a [99]BBC podcast, "We estimate that about 30 million people out of the 180 million who use the World Service every week will lose the World Service. We are making cuts in services that we would rather not be making. But the scale of the cut in BBC World Service's Grant-in-Aid funding is such that we couldn't cope with this by efficiencies alone." Signalling that the changes their offerings in select languages might also have been due to a fall in their usage because of the rising popularity of the Internet and FM networks, Mr. Horrocks said, "We need to make savings in areas where we are less effective, maybe slightly less needed than we were in the past...where markets and audiences have changed." The changes will also mark an end to radio programs in Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Swahili and the Great Lakes service (for Rwanda and Burundi) and English language short wave and medium wave broadcasts to Russia. BBC Hindi was first broadcast in British India on May 11, 1940, in the middle of World War II hostilities. After Independence and Partition in 1947, the service was split too and an India section was started with broadcasts by announcers like Zulfikar Bukhari and Balraj Sahni. During the 1950s, I.K Gujral, who later became India's 13^th prime minister, also worked for the BBC Hindi Service, according to the service's website. The service was among the first to break some of the biggest stories out of India -- sometimes to Indians as well as the rest of the world -- such as Indira Gandhi's assassination, among others. Achala Sharma, who was the head of BBC Hindi for 11 years until 2008, said the service was immensely popular in the Hindi-speaking northern belt of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. "Our weekly show `Hum Se Poochiye' (Ask Us) had immense popularity. People used to send in queries on science, history, space and politics and we used to respond. For those who didn't have access to books, internet and television, this was the only source of information," said Ms. Sharma. "Such was the popularity that when we reduced the duration of the show, we got flooded with requests to get it back in its original format and we had to do that." Ms. Sharma said she was saddened by the news of the closing down, especially for its almost 10 million listeners. "It is one of the saddest days of my life --- Most of all I feel sad for the listeners, for BBC Hindi gave a platform to the ordinary people from farmers to even Maoists in the Jharkand belt." Reactions on the closing also poured in from the political circles, with BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi lamenting the decision. He told the Asian Age daily that the service "has a major impact in India's politics and is popular in rural areas." The Asian Age report also said that BBC Hindi Radio is "one of the most popular news sources" for the Maoist rebels in the forests of Chhattisgarh state. At present, BBC Hindi broadcasts for three hours both on shortwave and mediumwave but will cease both services from the end of March. (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) Reuters.com - BBC WORLD SERVICE TO CUT QUARTER OF JOBS BY 2014 http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE70D11A20110126 (via Martin Gallas, Jan 26, DXLD) Viz.: "BRITAIN'S GREATEST GIFT TO THE WORLD" Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General, said in 1999 at the opening of the BBC's Washington DC news bureau, "The BBC World Service is perhaps Britain's greatest gift to the world this century." Today the BBC announced cuts that it expects will lose it 30 million listeners around the world. Hear today's interview with Peter Horrocks, Director of the BBC World Service at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/news/2011/01/110126_horrocks_nh_sl.shtml (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) 4:05 minutes audio only NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS (NUJ) PRESS RELEASE: Journalists at the BBC World Service have welcomed the decision of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee to hold an inquiry into planned cuts in jobs and services at the internationally-respected broadcasting organisation. The NUJ members had written to the committtee seeking an inquiry. Today (Wednesday) they demonstrated outside the Bush House headquarters of the World Service in London against the management plans which threaten 650 job cuts and huge reductions in output. The language services facing the management axe are Albanian, Macedonian, Serbian. Portuguese for Africa as well the English for the Caribbean regional service. NUJ leaders at the service wrote yesterday to the chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Richard Ottaway and the chair of the Culture Media and Sport Committee John Whittingdale, calling on them to review thoroughly the BBC's plans for drastic cuts in the service. The World Service has an audience of 241 million across radio, television and online. NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said: "These ferocious cuts to a valued national service are ultimately the responsibility of the Coalition government whose policies are destroying quality public services in the UK. Attempts by Foreign Secretary William Hague in the House of Commons to present the slashing of World Service programming as inevitable amount to the pathetic excuse: 'It wasn't me, a big boy came into the schoolyard and did it'. " The World Service journalists say they hope that the Commons committees will review these plans in the light of the recent licence fee and grant-in-aid agreements reached between the BBC and the government. The letter from the World Service journalists points out that their service attracts the biggest proportion of the BBC's international audiences. In the English language, audiences are at historically high levels. "But we fear that so many shortwave transmitters will be switched off in the next year that the bulk of our audience will no longer be able to listen to us in English. "Overnight we will cut off millions of people in rural areas and by 2014, we will be leaving short-wave broadcasting to China and Russia. Other decisions also concern us. For example, we have given up an FM transmitter used for decades in Berlin for one which has so little power that the signal can barely be heard. We are also concerned that many language services will be closed or downgraded in key parts of the world where the United Kingdom has an interest. At the same time the BBC World Service News and Current Affairs department will be severely affected. The World Service newsroom still provides the core journalism for the bulk of the World Service and plays an essential role in the BBC's international news coverage. Yet its fate is uncertain and we are concerned that is being systemically dismantled in favour of an alternative structure that we do not believe will work. " The journalists say a key part of top management's plan will mean that many stories written by the World Service newsroom will not will be produced or will become the responsibility of the surviving language services. Many will be mainly staffed by people who will work in their home countries - in Russia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. "Like many of our colleagues, we believe that the licence fee and the grant-in-aid settlements have to be understood in the context of the public outcry over executive salaries in the BBC. The plans that have followed from these will do irreparable damage to the World Service. We also worry that some of the BBC's independence from government has been traded away." The journalists conclude their letter to the parliamentary committees: "We hope that you will take our concerns seriously.They arise from a love of what we do, and our desires to stop the destruction of the World Service and contribute to its future success." Link to above plus interview with Jeremy Dear at the demonstration: http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=1892 (via Mike Barraclough, Jan 26, dxldyg via DXLD) BBC WORLD SERVICE 'WILL BE ECLIPSED BY VOICE OF AMERICA' NUJ says cuts will lead to sharp drop in news provider's reach * John Plunkett * guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 January 2011 11.07 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/26/bbc-world-service-cuts-reaction (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) comments: mindfulkind 26 January 2011 11:55AM: In contrast to President Obama's uplifting address to the Union, which left the far right opposition, and bad mouthed warmongering, hate & fear inducing media's gobbets in the gutter where it belonged, and took people on a journey where they could see there was a better way of speaking to one another, a better way of doing business, a better way of looking at the world, and a better way of being that made you feel good about yourself, a place where you look up rather than down, we in the UK are being drawn against our will back to the dark, to fear, and mistrust. The light that shone on other parts of the world through the BBC World Service will be extinguished and replaced by others whose influence could be corrosive and divisive as it has been in its own country the USA. Who has ordered the cuts at the BBC to go beyond the quota, and why haven't they asked for more money from the Government to protect this jewel in the crown of broadcasting? This Government isn't governing its simply demolishing in order to rebuild in its own image, rather like the state of America when G.W. Bush was its president. People around the world should speak up against this before its too late. JamesdelaMare 26 January 2011 11:57AM: Kerrygold "Get used to our new place in the world .... " That's not the point. This is about priorities; not about whether we can find money for 650 BBC staff. I listen extensively to the World Service and have done so for years. It used to be excellent - 30-40 years ago. But it's dumbed down now. Loads of trashy programmes (apparently) to make foreigners feel at home with it, like most of the rest of British media. Many of the programmes are not good, top-line, objective news reporting at all and they aren't British "propaganda" either. They are about unimportant aspects of foreign countries for foreign listeners, by foreigners. One has to presume that the Government recognises this and doesn't want to spend British listeners money on it. Listeners in other countries do respect the BBC's objectivity and it is - at its best - as good or better than anything else. Everybody needs a reliable source of well presented objective news reporting and it isn't regarded as "patronising" that it's in English. Put the World Service back on track and there'll be money for it. cosmiclandmine 26 January 2011 4:57PM: The continued emasculation of The BBC generally and specifically the BBC World Service is at the behest of the US State Department, aka US Corporate interests. America, especially can’t stand broadcasts in the Queen’s English to the Caribbean which, it been just down the road from Washington, they regard as their back yard and therefore solely in their sphere of influence. The pro-US dimwits on this thread don't seem to have noticed or don't mind, that the UK is a US colony and has been for sometime. Simple really (comments to the Guardian article, via DXLD) Ha ha! The VOA is doing its best to outpace the BBCWS in cutbacks (gh) Re: BBC World Service cuts language services and radio broadcasts One wonders if a part of this is a public negotiation process between the World Service and the FCO and the BBC Trust; as the funding responsibilities transition. If this were to move forward, it looks like the end of 2014 will see most shortwave use eliminated by the BBC (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Jan 26, ODXA yg via DXLD) It's a done deal. All the negotiations have taken place in the last few months. I watched (most of) the presentation to staff, and there are a lot more internal changes not mentioned in the press release (Andy Sennitt, ibid.) I'd imagine the 2011 portion is a done deal, but isn't the 2014 component part of the first year under the BBC Trust? Or is that done as well? Perhaps I'm just used to the American approach: what is passed one year is repealed the next year (Richard Cuff, ibid.) It's already under the BBC Trust :-) See their separate press release at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/news/press_releases/january/world_service.shtml (Andy Sennitt, ibid.) There goes that optimistic tone I was hoping to strike (RC, ibid.) BBC World Service Director Peter Horrocks led a live session for all BBC Global News staff on Wednesday 26 January at 1015 UTC. You can watch it on-demand by clicking on the video or using the links on this page http://www.bbc.co.uk/atw/spending_review/spending_review_watch.shtml (Duration 82 minutes). (Andy Sennitt, ibid.) Must see/hear (gh, DXLD) Not a good day to be a shortwave listener to the BBC, in English or any other language. I had wondered if this was the proverbial "shot across the bow" and would then prompt handwringing and negotiation, but according to Andy Sennitt it's a done deal. The only bright spot is the daily edition of From Our Own Correspondent (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Jan 26, NASWA yg via DXLD) To me, there are no bright spots here. This is an evisceration, nothing less. Much the same thing is planned domestically as well, though not quite as drastically. (Rupert must be chortling all the way to the bank.) There has been some messaging that this is all to be revisited --and some of it reversed -- when full responsibility for the WS budget goes over to the BBC in three years' time. But I wonder if any of that talk is serious, or just a way to try and deflect immediate criticism. It seems "budget shortfalls" is the ready excuse de jour for everything these days. (Sort of how cries of "9/11" seemed to be the "excuse all" not that long ago.) Meanwhile, we see China public diplomacy expanding on all platforms. Voice of Russia has just inaugurated a 24/7 medium wave service via 1430 kHz. for NYC. The only departure from the retrenchment we see across the board from Western broadcasters is Radio Australia which is in the midst of an incremental expansion (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) ** U K. ** WORLD SERVICE 'SILENCED' BY CUTS ** The BBC has revealed the extent of the World Service cuts - and they are, if anything, worse than was feared, says the BBC's Torin Douglas. http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/uk-12293102 (via Ed Gardner, CA, Jan 26, DXLD) Viz.: 26 January 2011 Last updated at 18:41 ET CRITICS WARN OF MAJOR IMPACT OF WORLD SERVICE CUTS Torin Douglas By Torin Douglas Media Correspondent, BBC News [captions:] Protesters leave sign saying 'RIP World Service' outside BBC building Protesters left flowers outside World Service HQ to "mourn" its loss The BBC has revealed the full extent of the World Service cuts - and they are, if anything, worse than people had feared. Sir John Tusa, the former head of the World Service, said they were "bad bad bad." As well closing five of its 32 language services, the World Service will end radio programming in seven languages, including Russian, Mandarin Chinese and Ukrainian, and stop short-wave transmission of six more, including Hindi and Swahili. There'll be fewer English-language programmes and they'll be less widely heard. Three Russian-language programmes will continue on the internet, but the Russian service will lose around half its staff. Altogether, 650 jobs will go over three years, a quarter of the current total. The director of BBC Global News, Peter Horrocks, said the cuts had been forced on the BBC by the reduction in its grant from the Foreign Office, but it had tried to ensure that the most important services were being preserved. "Our lifeline services in countries like Somalia and Burma - where there is no other source of independent information - are being maintained, but there will be parts of the world which will no longer be served by the World Service," he said. "We regret the changes that we're having to make because of the funding changes." Like the BBC website, which also announced major job and service cuts this week, the BBC World Service is using the restructuring to focus more on new media, reflecting the global switch to the internet and mobile devices. But many World Service staff believe it is running ahead of the audience in many parts of the world, where computers and mobiles have low penetration and short-wave radio is still widely used. 'Cultural diplomacy' So how far is the coalition government to blame for the cuts? Sir John Tusa says the Foreign Office should have reduced its International Development budget instead. He believes a £46m cut would have had less impact there than it will at the World Service. "It is awful for BBC World Service listeners, because they won't have access to the programmes, and awful for British foreign policy because they're now weakening substantially one of the most important elements of international cultural diplomacy," he said. Protesters outside World Service HQ === The NUJ says the cuts will reduce the global influence of the BBC - and Britain [caption] At Westminster, Labour MP Denis McShane clashed with Foreign Secretary William Hague, saying the government was "axing the voice of the BBC" in many countries. He told Mr Hague: "You are doing in part what no dictator has ever achieved - silencing the voice of the BBC, the voice of Britain, the voice of democracy, the voice of balanced journalism at a time when it is more than ever needed." Mr Hague retorted that people wouldn't have known from those remarks that the Polish, Bulgarian and Croatian services had been closed by the previous government, of which Mr McShane had been a member. He said the BBC World Service could not be immune from spending cuts and it was right for it to move more of its services online as audience habits changed with new technology. "The World Service cannot stand still and services that have become less well-used because of the rise of local broadcasters and falling short-wave audiences sometimes have to close." Mr Hague said the BBC and the previous government must also share some of the responsibility. "While any closures may be regretted, it would not be necessary at all were it not for the inherited BBC pension deficit and the vast public deficit inherited from the previous government." The BBC says the cuts will mean that the World Service audience will fall by more than 30 million people a week - from 180 million to 150 million. The National Union of Journalists says this will take the World Service's global audience below that of Voice of America and other broadcasters funded by the US government, and that in turn is bound to reduce the influence of the BBC - and Britain. (via Gardner, DXLD) ** BBC CONFIRMS WORLD SERVICE CUTS ** The BBC outlines plans to close five World Service language services, cut up to 650 jobs and end radio programming in seven languages. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/entertainment-arts-12283356 > (via Ed Gardner, CA, Jan 26, DXLD) Includes videos ** U K. BBC TO TRIM WORLD SERVICE By SARAH LYALL, WORLD | January 27, 2011 Facing a 16 percent reduction in its budget, the BBC World Service said that it would close five of its 32 language services and reduce its workforce by about a quarter. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/world/europe/27bbc.html?emc=eta1 (via Jim Renfrew, NY, DXLD) FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE BBCWS CUTS INQUIRY CALLS FOR EVIDENCE The Foreign Affairs Committee has announced that it will carry out a short inquiry into the implications for the BBC World Service of the service closures and other reductions in World Service activity announced today. The Committee will take oral evidence from representatives of World Service staff, management and the Government. The inquiry will build upon evidence already taken in the Committee's current inquiry into "FCO Performance and Finances". Organisations and individuals interested in making written submissions are invited to do so by Friday 11 February 2011. Full details: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/news/bbc-world-service-cuts---new-inquiry/ STOP THE BBC WORLD SERVICE CUTS WEBSITE LAUNCHED http://www.savews.com/ (Mike Barraclough, England, Jan 27, dxldyg via DXLD) This brings back memories of the website and other attempts that were made to stop the BBCWS Shortwave Cuts to North America and the Pacific back 2001. http://www.savebbc.org/ It will be interesting to see if this effort is any more successful than that one was. I wish it well and hope it does (Mr Sandy Finlayson, Jan 27, swprograms via DXLD) I think it's going to be tough, because all this has been orchestrated behind-the-scenes for the past several months. However, we shouldn't let this pass without as much public indignation as we can raise. It can potentially help forestall further erosion at the World Service, if nothing else (Richard Cuff, ibid.) Today on Newshour I hear Con MP Louise Bagshawe make comments that cutting shortwave in Chinese in China is because no one listens because they are blocked. Yes it's try the Chinese jam. But there are ways of going around the jamming. Her suggestion that internet is the best way seems a little misguided. When I was just in China again where I go a few times a month. I tried to use the BBC app for my Iphone and Ipad and I was not able to connect. Why? It's blocked. I did have my portable SW, where I did manage to tune to the BBC both in English and Chinese. I can tell you right now there are some very happy people in Beijing when they heard the BBCWS will drop Chinese on shortwave. A commentary on the dropping of shortwave to China has been uploaded on the home page of http://www.pcjmedia.com It includes comments made on Newshour by Con MP Louise Bagshawe which are totally misguided. She is a loon! http://www.radio4all.net/files/kperron@gmail.com/3101-1-COMMENTARY_on_THE_BBCWS.mp3 If you wish to make your feelings known, I invite you to email Mrs. Bagshawe. Her email address is louise.bagshawe.mp @ parliament.uk Also a reminder the January edition of Media Network Plus is ready to go. This show has listener comments about the future of SW and includes an interview with Victor Goonetilleke. First transmission at 0200 UT January 29th on 9955 khz. Regards, (Keith Perron, Taiwan, UT Jan 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Some notes on the SW implications: 1. Of the five services that are closing altogether, only Portuguese for Africa is still broadcast on SW at present. The other four are currently only aired locally within the target countries. 2. Of the seven services which will continue, but not with radio programming, two (Turkish and Ukrainian) had already dropped SW a while ago. 3. I've worked out that this means that the WS will still be broadcasting radio programmes for transmission over the air (as opposed to online only) from March 2011 in the following languages. LANGUAGES IN UPPER CASE WILL STILL BE ON SW: ARABIC, BENGALI, BURMESE, Cantonese, DARI, ENGLISH, FRENCH FOR AFRICA, HAUSA, Hindi, Indonesian, Kinyarwanda/ Kirundi, Kyrgyz, Nepali, PERSIAN (DARI/FARSI/ TAJIK), PASHTO, Portuguese for Brazil, SINHALA, SOMALI, Spanish for Latin America, Swahili, Tajik, TAMIL, URDU, UZBEK. (The languages in lower case will only be aired locally within the target countries on FM and/or MW.) The Hindi service looks problematic as India does not permit any rebroadcasting of foreign radio news channels. If SW goes, it would just leave BBC Hindi on 1413 MW from Oman. 4. The speculation must now start on the closure of various ex-BBC transmitter sites in the UK and around the world. For example, will Orfordness close in March, or will it limp along with DRM and the Dutch Truckers' Radio for a few hours a day on 1296? Or perhaps Caroline would like to take up 648? Ofcom can hardly claim it's not a spare frequency!! If someone else doesn't claim 648, I bet CRI will have a go (Chris Greenway, England, Jan 26-27, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) The availability of 648 has already been noted: http://members7.boardhost.com/PirateRadio/msg/1296056651.html The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee are to hold an inquiry into the cuts, BBC WS journalists have welcomed this: http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=1892 (Mike Barraclough, ibid.) BBC WS CUTS INCLUDE CLOSURE OF 648 IN MARCH Full BBC statement on World Service Cuts, these include the closure of 648 in March this year: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/01_january/26/worldservice.shtml A group with the project working title of UK International has put in an offer to lease time on Orfordness 648: http://members7.boardhost.com/PirateRadio/msg/1296056651.html (Mike Barraclough, England, MWC yg via DXLD) The 648 should help in the East and South of England. Not such a big issue here in Carlisle. Fingers crossed CRI don't jump on with a mega- Watt 24 hour service hi! Best wishes (Barry :-) Davies, ibid.) If the plan for BBC WS goes ahead it will be a very sad day, and will leave the WS in a condition from which it may never recover. One only needs to see how CRI is expanding to guess who will fill the airtime void. I wonder if CRI will lease time from Orfordness 648 or whether the site will be closed? 73 (Steve Whitt, ibid.) ** U K [and non]. NEW STATION PLANS TO TAKE OVER 648 KHZ FROM BBCWS Paul Rusling has just posted the following announcement on the Garry Stevens Message Board: “It’s likely some of you will start seeing mentions of a new radio station, using the project working title UK International (but it may well become called England International or even London International by launch time) and I just wanted to suppress some of the rumours before it gets discussed too widely in sensational terms. “Our plan is to use 500 kiloWatts on 648 kHz - now the BBC have confirmed they will stop using the frequency in 2 months time. “The station will be owned by a group of UK and Dutch media folk and have a broad appeal, particularly to car drivers, and be a shop window for various products and services. It will be presented in the style of Top 40 radio, as we believe that is what will appeal to our target listeners. “We have put in an offer to lease the facility at Orfordness, our preferred site, but if huge bureaucratic delays and problems are encountered we have a second site available. “That’s all I shall say about it for the time being; hopefully it will avoid silly speculation.” (Source: Garry Stevens Message Board)( January 26th, 2011 - 16:47 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) 21 Comments on “New station plans to take over 648 kHz from BBCWS” 1. #1 haweeha on Jan 26th, 2011 at 18:42 Running from another site would be interesting because they need to use a very directional aerial system to protect other users of the frequency. 2. #2 ruud on Jan 26th, 2011 at 18:51 I have tried to hire 1296, 648’s sister station, and those were (part of) the limitations. The price was rather high, to put it mildly. I don`t think that the company (forgot the name, it used to be Merlin, VT communications etc) who runs the TX’s will or may use the channel in another place, or that the channel will be handed out to a private party. This leaves a station in Dutch for Holland and Flanders, and will certainly not raise enough money to even meet the electricity bills. Fair chance that Radio Netherlands International, RNW, that hires 1296, will go to 648 with much better coverage. (BTW 1395 is off, maybe you can hire that one, you can start tomorrow, at a much lower price.) 3. #3 Andy Sennitt on Jan 26th, 2011 at 19:02 The company that now runs it is Babcock: http://www.babcock.co.uk/pages/markets/critical-infrastructure/communications/default.aspx 4. #4 Mike Terry on Jan 26th, 2011 at 19:03 Interesting times! Possibly Ofcom have regulations about the renting out of UK transmitters. 5. #5 Andy Sennitt on Jan 26th, 2011 at 19:14 Well, 1296 has been used in the past by a couple of Dutch stations. I don’t think Ofcom has any special regulations in place. If the company is registered in the Netherlands, I don’t think it should be a problem. 6. #6 Brian Winter on Jan 27th, 2011 at 11:08 I have come to take stories like this with a giant pinch of salt. I do not know all the ins and outs but as I understand it 648 kHz was allocated for UK use by the BBC in 1978 following the last frequency review. Any redeployment of the channel for anything other than BBC use would require a consultation followed by an auction as it would then be offered on competative tendering. Furthermore there would also be the cost of running such a high power transmitter. We all remember what happened when Big L wanted to start an AM service on 1008 KHz in Holland and how that fell flat on its face. A much better use would be for the BBC to re-allocate it to Radio 5Live to improve reception of that service in parts of the UK. 7. #7 Roy Sandgren on Jan 27th, 2011 at 12:23 How much is the present power today of 648 kHz?? 8. #8 Andy Sennitt on Jan 27th, 2011 at 13:03 Officially 500 kW. But I don’t know if the BBC have been using it at full power. For example, RNW runs at 300 kW instead of 500 kW on 1296, because it costs a lot less and we don’t need the full 500 kW. 9. #9 ruud on Jan 27th, 2011 at 14:46 Part of my comment did not come through. The limitations for hiring 1296 were mostly that the programmes may not be directed to the UK, and certainly commercials in English are forbidden, even when targetted at a non UK country. 1296 has been hired by Radio Nationaal of Ruud Hendriks, and 1 day by Caroline, paid for by the Dutch Caroline support group. Radio Netherlands uses the channel now on a daily basis, and it would be rather logic to swap 1296 for 648, which has a much better coverage. 648 would be extremely expensive for just the Dutch and Flemish market, certainly in these days when you cant make much money out of AM commercial radio. Including the UK would make a better business case, but the 648 TX is directed off UK, and there are limitations as mentioned before. For a station that wants to hit the NL, Be and UK market I have a much better and more cost effective solution in mind. 10. #10 Roy Sandgren on Jan 27th, 2011 at 16:01 The 648 can be issued as a domestic licensed station with an omni antenna if less power. 11. #11 Dave on Jan 27th, 2011 at 17:21 How about a nice DRM transmission of Country Music ?? In other words something totally different not the same tired old radio the UK has to put up with :( 12. #12 terry crompo on Jan 27th, 2011 at 19:44 Does anyone know just how many AM stations are all pushing out \’pop\’music in the UK? (There are MANY MANY of them already!) It was very handy to be able to listen to BBC World Service programs in the car, but it seems someone thinks we need yet another pop-music station that no-one will listen to. AM/MW/LW is much more suited to speech than music, and also there’s PLENTY of so-called \’music\’ on the FM band, [even though many FM stations decide to waste their bandwidth / excellent sound quality by transmitting phone-ins!] But if everyone else is sane, then I must be the one out of step! 13. #13 Roy Sandgren on Jan 27th, 2011 at 20:06 With a correct format of music this station can be a great station, like 828 or 747 kHz all previous Top News issues #53 from October 1993 to #1000 may download free via File delivery started with 1200 Baud speed on ham radio Packet Radio - a horror with sometimes 2...3 breaks and repeats; and via CompuServe e-mail from 1992. (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Jan 30, 2011 via DXLD) WRTH 2011 INTERNATIONAL RADIO SUPPLEMENT 1 - (B10 Update) (2 Feb 2011) http://wrth.com/files/WRTH2011IntRadioSuppl1_B10SchedulesUpdate.pdf Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England UK, Feb 2, dxldyg via DXLD) WRTH BARGRAPH CD NOW AVAILABLE World Radio TV Handbook or WRTH is the most accurate and complete guide to the world of radio on LW, MW, SW and FM, available in any form. This CD, new for the B10 season, takes part of this information, international broadcasts on LW, MW and SW and domestic SW, and displays it as a graphic colour bargraph. The WRTH Bargraph Frequency Guide has been carefully designed to give the maximum information in a clear and easy to read format. It is supplied as a pdf. More details: http://www.wrth.com/whatiswrthcd.html (Mike Barraclough, Jan 28, dxldyg via DXLD) NEW BOOK: "HITLER'S RADIO WAR" Members of this group may be interested in my book "Hitler's Radio War", which was published on January 31. "Hitler's Radio War" tells the story of the external service of the wartime Nazi radio, with emphasis on what was broadcast and the 'personalities' behind the microphone. Topics covered include German overt and clandestine broadcasts to a number of countries and regions, including Britain,the USA, India, the Middle East, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union,South Africa and Latin America, etc. Also covered are the 'careers' of renegade broadcasters such as Lord Haw-Haw, Mary of Arnhem and the two women who were prosecuted after the war for being Axis Sally. "Hitler's Radio War" is published in London by Robert Hale Ltd, and can be ordered from www.halebooks.com or any reputable online or High Street bookstore (Roger Tidy, England, Feb 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hitler's Radio War [Hardcover] Roger Tidy (Author) Product details Hardcover: 30 pages [sic in Amazon; surely more like 300?] Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd (31 Jan 2011) Language English ISBN-10: 0709091494 ISBN-13: 978-0709091493 Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 2.6 cm Product Description This book tells the story of Nazi international broadcasting during and before the Second World War. At its peak German radio stations broadcast in fifty-four languages to a worldwide audience. For the first time in an international conflict, citizens of the warring nations could hear enemy propaganda in their own living rooms. Many of the voices that they heard belonged to a new type of criminal, the radio traitor. The nickname Lord Haw-Haw is still famous internationally, but there were numerous other radio renegades speaking on behalf of the Nazis. The Nazis' propaganda was sinister enough, but they also ran a series of secret stations that spoke to enemy audiences in the name of 'patriotic' dissidents who claimed to be broadcasting from clandestine transmitters in their own countries. Using archival material, "Hitler's Radio War" dissects the message that Germany's overt and covert propaganda stations broadcast to their audiences, as well as the lives and motivations of the broadcasters. About the Author A history graduate from Birkbeck College, London, Roger Tidy has been interested in the use of international radio as an instrument of propaganda all his adult life. He has worked for many years in the broadcast-monitoring business and has contributed, as a freelance writer and reporter, to numerous publications and radio programmes in the UK and abroad. In the 1980s, during the Cold War, he published a weekly newsletter for radio enthusiasts, charting the latest developments in the ongoing struggle of the airwaves between Western, Eastern and 'non-aligned' ideologies. Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitlers-Radio-War-Roger-Tidy/dp/0709091494 (via Yimber Gaviria, Japan Premium via DXLD) QSL CARDS IN THE HERE AND NOW There is lots of great information about DXing on the list, however not as much about QSLing. So here I go. Damaged & MIA QSLs. In the last six months I have noticed a problem with postcards (including QSL cards) I have received. My local post office has told me that their area has newer sorting and bar code equipment. Letters and postcards travel on a belt-like sorting machine and have to made turns or bends in the process of about 45 degrees. Sometimes things don't go right. You may notice on letters little divits or marks on the bottom outside of the envelope. However postcards in my humble observation seem to fare far less well than letters. Recent postal encounters include a QSL card which had a piece chopped off and arrived body-bagged, another with a piece of white tape on the reverse side of the card and three cards mailed to me from a US location to a US location that never arrived. I am not sure if this is a problem with my local sorting plant or nationwide. Other postcards I receive have similar problems. Has anyone else seen any charge in their mail delivery of postcards? Paper, plastic or the web? Just interested in knowing whether you send QSL reports via email, postal or via the station`s web report form if they have one. Also, is there is difference in the percentage of responses you receive based on method. If a web form is available I will use that. For larger broadcasters who do not have a web form I use email. Smaller broadcasters who may not have a staff to deal with emails, I use postal. And you? Over the years I have averaged about an 80% response rate. 73 and Good DX to All (Steve, Jan 27, NASWA yg via DXLD) See also: CHINA, CUBA, RUSSIA, SWAZILAND, U S A: VOA RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ Wanted Sites [Current sites] WEBPAGE updated - more details wanted. Hi folks, https://sites.google.com/site/shortwavesites/wanted Have just updated our WANTED [Current Sites] webpage (above), last update was May 2010. If anyone can provide any confirmed coordinates for any of the unknown sites please drop us a line. Also if anyone can research any of these sites for us & obtain coordinates please drop us a line. Thank you (Ian Baxter, NSW, Jan 28, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) CuteSDR: the new sound of RFSpace's SDR Hallo - the new software CuteSDR provides exciting additions to RFSpace's software defined radio, SDR. In this short video, two of them are demonstrated: * reception of a shortwave broadcaster (All India Radio "Vividh Bharati", 9870 kHz) with synchro detection in pseudo stereo. This is: the lower sideband on the left ear, the upper sideband on the right ear. This gives the striking experience of phase differences in both sidebands due to selective fading. Also a-symmetrical tuning of the bandwidth is provided to cope with interference in one sideband. It sounds like a merry-go-round. ["Shortwave on speed"] * A very versatile AGC, which enhances intelligibility of not only SSB signals. Here Shannon VOLMET from Ireland on 5.505 kHz has been used as an example. Look at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxlSfewC8m4 Thanks to RFSpace, to having provided this software, working on a PC, as even on a MAC! -- 73, (Nils DK8OK Schiffhauer, DK8OK, Jan 30, Excalibur, SDR-IP/GPS, Perseus, 2 x 20 m active quad loop (90 ), 42 m windom, DX-One prof, HCDX via DXLD) INNOVATIVE DEVICE FROM TWR Greetings, Look for the item below called Wielding the Sword. It describes a device Trans World Radio is distributing in Africa, which is a wind-up audio player with 2 GB of programs on it. It's an innovative idea. The down side is it has to be turned in periodically to put new programs on it. I think a better idea would be to have programs on either SD cards or cartridges like the Library of Congress is using now for books for the blind. 73, (John Wesley Smith, KC0HSB, Jan 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Wielding the Sword TWR reports on a new venture to reach listeners in Kwazulu-Natal The Bible describes the Word of God as a sword (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17), and it makes it clear that if you are a Christian you are in a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:11, 12). So, not only do you need a sword (a Bible), but you also need to know how to use it. TWR’s programming is all about teaching listeners how to wield this sword of the Spirit. Yet, when broadcasting on short or medium wave, mountains, valleys, and winter weather can often prevent the programmes from getting through! This is especially true in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. Add to this the broad displacement of people, the lack of electricity, and the difficulty in acquiring batteries, and you have a challenge on your hands! TWR has risen to this challenge by distributing Sabers among KZN listeners. No, TWR is not handing out literal swords! We are distributing special devices called Sabers. They look like radios, but they’re quite unique – they don’t need batteries! The listener can generate the power required to operate the device by winding it up. The radios also don’t need to receive a signal – they are embedded with two gigabytes worth of TWR programming [including Thru the Bible in Zulu]. Now listener groups can listen to TWR programmes anywhere, anytime, on these robust MP3 players designed for Africa! How is TWR doing this? A pilot project has started whereby 30 Saber devices will be loaded with programmes and distributed within the next two to three months. These devices will be given to various people including farmers, pastors, and students who will in turn recruit people to join their listener groups. Because the programmes can be listened to at any time, several listener groups can use the same device several times in a week. Also, these people often do not have access to e-mail, post, or SMS, and so it is difficult to hear from them. Now, with listener group leaders, TWR can have direct contact with their listeners. After three to six months, the devices will be returned to receive a fresh two gigabytes worth of programmes and then be sent back out to train Christians in handling the sword of the Spirit (via J W Smith, ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See OKLAHOMA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See AUSTRALIA; BELGIUM; INDIA; ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INTERNATIONAL; NEW ZEALAND; RUSSIA; UK; UNIDENTIFIED 5825 DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ IS AM IBOC STEREO? I never have found out if AM IBOC is stereo. Does anyone know? Our local Oldies AM is KRWZ (the former KIMN) on 950, and they are local and live, believe it or not. They make an occasional on-air mention of "HD" radio, and there is a plug for it on their site, but it doesn't mention anything about it being stereo. The laughable thing is that KRWZ managed to get on a translator (103.1) about a month ago, so they have been spending far more time and effort promoting their "FM" signal than their "HD" signal since then. After all, just about everyone has FM, but just about nobody has "HD", not to mention that the little translator signal probably goes a lot farther than the so called "HD" signal anyway. I listen to them on AM because it sounds better to my ears. They play mostly 50s and 60s music, and the processing on AM is set the way I like to hear it because it sounds like the stations did when that music was current. In other words, "balls to the wall" compression. The FM signal sounds very "mamby pamby" by comparison. It would be better suited for elevator music. Although the translator is actually a simucast, because of the delays from the secondary "HD" signal from one of their FMs, plus the delay of the "HD" on their AM signal, the FM is about 30 seconds behind the AM. Very strange, but if you miss something on AM, just flip to FM and you can hear it again. 73, (Kit Sage, W5KAT, Arvada, Colorado, ABDX via DXLD) AM IBOC is stereo capable. You have to be pretty much within 25 miles to hear IBOC but it is possible. > After all, just about everyone has FM, but just about nobody has "HD", not to mention that the little translator signal probably goes a lot farther than the so called "HD" signal anyway. You can bet the farm that a 250W xlator will carry farther than an IBOC signal. When history is written, IBOC on AM will be a disaster and more ridiculed than AM stereo could ever be. IBOC was a non starter from day one and destroyer of listenable signals. It`s proof that the FCC is run by lawyers and corporate honchos instead of the government controlling the airwaves for the people. Can you tell I absolutely despise IBOC on AM. FM, that`s a great tool. I don't mind it at all. AM no way. If it was all digital or all analog, that would work. What they have now just plain sucks (Kevin Redding, Crump, TN, ibid.) Yes, AM IBOC is stereo, but the way it's set up on many stations, it really doesn't matter. Either they still feed it with a mono source, or they have a talk format, which could sound better, but often doesn't. AM IBOC is a big disappointment here. Several stations have a really annoying high-frequency ringing that makes me wish there were an "HD OFF" button on the radio. It's especially annoying when it repeatedly flips between analog and digital. I am now driving my wife's minivan, which has the JVC HD radio, so I have had more opportunity to listen to HD. I hardly ever listen to AM these days - the only AM stations I listen to are KNX and KFWB, and both of those are available as HD-3 subchannels, so I don't even have to switch to AM to listen. Of the HD signals here, I find that KOST 103.5's HD-2 is quite good. They play some really good oldies, and the signal is pretty strong throughout the Valley, only cutting out when I am near my office in the Burbank area (pretty close to the Verdugo Hills). Other observations: KIIS 102.7's HD seems really weak. Often I won't even get a flashing HD light - this is unexpected, since I've never had any problem getting their analog anywhere locally. 97.1 - AMP Radio's HD-2 is a simulcast of CBS's "Sophie" from San Diego - kind of a nice bonus. 104.3's HD-2 is "Pride Radio", which is ok if you like that sort of thing. They play a lot of dance mixes of current hits. I am with Kevin on this one. AM HD is an abomination, and I wish it would just die already. FM is useful, but I must say that the way it is implemented on my radio is a pain. I don't like having to wait until the HD locks in before I can hit the "up" button to select the HD-2, and you can't set a button for an HD-2/3 - just the main station. Oh, while I am on one of my rare postings, I may as well note that the other night, I was able to get the display to show KCBS-AM, though the HD never actually locked in for any significant time. Not bad for 350+ miles. I was also hearing some other stuff that I don't think I have heard on the Blaupunkt in the old car, so there might be some DX waiting to be heard. I will try to find some time to do a bit more listening (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA, ibid.) My experience with KMKI 620 in Dallas was interesting. HD-AM on it was locking, but without careful attention to getting rid of interference sources, placement of the loop, etc. it was really had to get the HD to actually go into stereo. Once in stereo, the musical tones of high frequency instruments - dings, cymbals, etc were curiously aliased to much lower in frequency. Away from the city, I was able to get HD lock as much as 35 miles out, which I considered pretty darn good considering the lack of robustness in the signal. Just be way of comparison - KMKI is a regional on a low frequency, and I've had no trouble getting them almost static free over 300 miles away out to the west. Prior to them using HD, however. Before they were using HD, they were using C-Quam. I actually used them - and KAAM 770 from Dallas, to bust a myth promoted by David Eduardo on the Radio Info board. He contended that C-Quam limited the range of AM stations, particularly in the valleys in Los Angeles. He therefore preferred HD for his stations. I took my Sony SRF-A1 AM stereo walkman to what would be the absolute worst case scenario for C-Quam - the Crosbyton Canyon. Not quite as high a walls as the valleys of LA - but it happened to be 290 miles from the Dallas stations! So if high valley walls were going to attenuate anything, they certainly would attenuate the Dallas stations at that extreme distance. I initially doubted that the SRF-A1 would even get the stations on 770 and 620 - let alone decode stereo in C-Quam. But to my surprise, both were there with a minimal amount of static, and the C-Quam was decoding in stereo! I had some real time to devote to the task, and spent a long time hiking the river valley and accessible locations in that valley, listening for any trace of platform motion or drop-outs. It was a waste of time. The stations were solid, there was not a trace of platform motion, all I did was PO some rattlesnakes and made the janitor at the rest stop curious. Myth - BUSTED. C-Quam robust and reliable even 290 miles out, nobody in Los Angeles would have anything like that bad of a signal scenario. I did have a small box loop with me. I used it to boost both stations to local quality - no static at all. But - that did cause platform motion on KAAM, because I was also getting KKOB 770 Albuquerque. This leads me to believe that the whole "platform motion" criticism was always due to conflicting carriers from distant stations, which would happen a lot more at night than in the daytime. Flash forward to the days of HD on KMKI and KAAM. Same radio. Same valley. KAAM barely receivable, KMKI MUCH weaker. Back in Dallas, KMKI HD hard to lock in. KAAM HD impossible to lock in 9.6 miles from their tower. Which system limits reception range of the analog signal? HD. Which system has better stereo range? C-Quam by a factor of more than 10:1. HD = BAD engineering solution. C-Quam = much better engineering solution. HD signal reduction was so bad on WBAP - that relies on its daytime groundwave and nighttime skywave for distant listeners that it canned HD not long after they started. They certainly knew the difference and probably defied management at the network to drop it. Smart folks. I only hope the rest of the station managers across the country follow suit. The only lasting legacy of this failed experiment on AM is that it probably finished C-Quam for good, which is a shame. But AM stereo was too late - by the time it came into its own, AM had migrated to talk radio which doesn't need stereo at all. In fact, stereo placement of mikes has been tried and was irritating to listeners. So - WHY do the big talkers even want (A) HD for their signal or (B) FM translators for their signal. Both are a waste of spectrum for material that is perfectly fine on a 3 kHz mono channel. End of rant (Bruce Carter, TX, ibid.) Re: HD for AM --- One important thing that is never mentioned about HD Radio is the interference with EAS information. Five of my clients monitor WBZ-1030 in Boston which has HD Radio on almost all the time. On the very rare times they have HD off and run EAS tests or other messages, it always decodes. When they do run HD, EAS is much more intermittent for decoding on the Sage EAS units, receiving maybe half or less of the transmissions. At night, EAS from KDKA-1020 and some HD splatter from WINS-1010 almost always blocks EAS. Seldom received at night. I'm quite sure this also happens to home EAS units such as Sangean Public Alert. I hate to predict it, but at some point in the future people will die because EAS was unable to warn them due to HD Radio interference to receivers (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, Jan 26, ABDX via DXLD) May I direct your attention to: http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/station-list.html It`s a site that keeps track of HD stations on AM and whether or not they broadcast at night. It is fairly accurate in my testing here out west. If you see a mistake you can even email the guy and he changes it pretty quick. HD Radio should die on AM, but revive AM stereo on music stations, and make a Sony XDR-F1HD that can decode it. I think it would be cool if the Sony had an add on for the XDR that was easy to attach and gave it C-Quam decoding abilities. I can dream can't I? (Justin - Dn51, ibid.) I'm the guy, and I'd appreciate it if folks would check the list and send me updates when you spot errors and omissions. That's the only way it can remain the definitive list of who's doing what with AM IBOC. One thing is clear: there is a slow but steady drop in the numbers. One fellow suggested it could be called the AM IBOC Death Watch, but I haven't gone that far yet! (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON, ibid.) As I recall, 1250 in Tampa runs HD also. Perhaps because of the nighttime problems with AM HD, I think the Tampa stations turn it off at night, with the exception of 1380 Radio Disney (Dick W., ibid.) Tampa has HD on 620, 970 and I think still on 1380, and has for a while, so your guide's accuracy is suspect. The first two are Clear Channel operations, and 1380 is Disney. The only HD anywhere in this market that I think has ANY redeeming value is WUSF 89.7 moving classical mx to their -HD2, for those that can't hear WSMR Sarasota, which WUSF purchased to carry cl mx while they moved their main signal to newstalk. The HD2 then matters because many people in Tampa can't get WSMR off-air. 73 (Bob k2euh Foxworth, FL, ibid.) My Sangean HDT-1X does a nice job decoding C-QUAM AM Stereo signals. 73, (Kevin Raper, KJ4HYD, CE WCKI WQIZ, There is no limitation to the fidelity of AM radio. From a mathematical standpoint, AM does better in frequency response than FM. - Leonard Kahn, ibid.) My Accurian does too! (but apparently not all the Accurians do --- discussion a few months ago) (MJR n WYO, Michael Richard, ibid.) AM iBOC is definitely stereo-capable, though many AM stations fail to hook it up correctly. Even a talk station should be hooked up to broadcast stereo in iBOC because guess what else you're listening to for 22 minutes of every hour... Ad spots, liners, sound effects, bumper music. All that material is originally recorded in stereo, and believe it or not, any FM station would normally broadcast it that way. There should be no reason AM iBOC stations can't operate the very same way, what with today's digital-audio streaming protocols used for STL's and stereo-ready studios (many of which were wired that way prior to going iBOC). I can't answer the question as to why so many don't. Of course, that's the same mentality a portion of AM broadcasters clung to even during the heyday of analog AM stereo, which should still be the standard today. WBYU 1450 in New Orleans is full iBOC stereo, and is one of the best- sounding AM HD stations I have heard yet. All music is tagged with artist and song title on my radio's screen, the audio is smooth and crisp (not gritty and metallic as if a low-bitrate MP3), and the stereo separation is phenomenal. You'd be thinking you were listening to FM stereo. WBYU's audio is properly engineered and processed such that the highs come out natural rather than 'artifacty'. Many AM iBOC stations do not re-equalize the highs, and that causes the stereo separation to collapse as the processor tries to render the excessive high frequency audio going in. The highs should actually be attenuated slightly during pre-emphasis before going into the digital stream audio input of the iBOC exciter, with modulation compression not turned up beyond 100%. The digital stream's audio input level has no effect on the analog audio modulation, so need not be aggressively compressed as if it were going into the analog modulation audio input (which is a completely separate deal). (Darwin Long, Empire, LA, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ BDXC PROPAGATION REPORT FEBRUARY 2011 Hi Glenn, Here is the February edition of the propagation report. Propagation Summary During January conditions have remained steady and February should remain the same with the Solar Flux mainly at 82. Apart from a slight fluctuation around 3rd February, the Boulder A index is likely to stay at 5 and the K index at 2. --- http://www.wm7d.net/hamradio/solar/27d_forecast.shtml NASA Sun Spot Number predictions revised yet again. NASA has revised their Sun Spot prediction once again and it is now at the level of the Maunder Minimum of 1675-1715 when the climate was much colder. The solar cycle 24 predicted sunspot maximum has been reduced again - predicted peak down to 59 Max. Current prediction for the next sunspot cycle maximum gives a smoothed sunspot number maximum of about 59 in June/July of 2013. We are currently two years into Cycle 24 and the predicted size continues to fall. --- NASA Solar Physics, 3 January 2011. http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/predict.shtml Cycle 24 Continues "During the course of an approximate eleven year sunspot cycle, the minimum phase, or quiet sun, is generally considered to exist during the time when the smoothed sunspot number (SSN) drops, and remains below 30. The smoothed sunspot number is a monthly index compiled by the Royal Observatory of Belgium for measuring solar cycle progress. An unbroken string of smoothed sunspot numbers has been recorded since 1750. The present period of quiet sun began as declining Cycle 23 dropped below the SSN 30 level during April, 2005. A period of moderate solar activity is expected for the remainder of 2011, reaching a sunspot count on the order of 60 by year's end. This six- year solar quiet period was the deepest and most persistent recorded in almost two hundred years. It mystified solar scientists, and it is another example of how little is yet known about sunspots and of the nature of the Sun itself." (George Jacobs, WRTH 2011) Say Goodbye To Sunspots? "Scientists studying sunspots for the past two decades have concluded that the magnetic field that triggers their formation has been steadily declining. If the current trend continues, by 2016 the sun's face may become spotless and remain that way for decades - a phenomenon that in the 17th century coincided with a prolonged period of cooling on Earth. The last solar minimum should have ended last year, but something peculiar has been happening. Although solar minimums normally last about 16 months, the current one has stretched over 26 months-the longest in a century. One reason, according to a paper submitted to the International Astronomical Union Symposium No. 273, an online colloquium, is that the magnetic field strength of sunspots appears to be waning." http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/09/say-goodbye-to-sunspots.html Sunspots may vanish by 2015. By William Livingston, and Matthew Penn. "We have observed spectroscopic changes in temperature sensitive molecular lines, in the magnetic splitting of an Fe I line, and in the continuum brightness of over 1000 sunspot umbrae from 1990-2005. All three measurements show consistent trends in which the darkest parts of the sunspot umbra have become warmer (45K per year) and their magnetic field strengths have decreased (77 Gauss per year), independently of the normal 11-year sunspot cycle. A linear extrapolation of these trends suggests that few sunspots will be visible after 2015." This article can be viewed in PDF format at: http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/livingston-penn_sunspots2.pdf Thanks to Ken Fletcher and Mike Terry for this month's articles. Links to these articles can be found at: http://www.jameswelsh.org.uk Regards (James Welsh, Jan 29, BDXC-UK via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Geomagnetic field levels were predominately quiet the entire summary period. Solar wind speeds were fairly benign ranging from a high of 407 km/s at 24/0843Z to a low of 266 km/s at 30/1946Z The Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field did not vary much beyond +/- 5 nT during the summary period. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 02 - 28 FEBRUARY 2011 Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels through 08 February. A slight chance for M-class activity is possible from 09 - 22 February due to the return of old Region 1149 (N17, L= 349). Very low to low levels are expected for the remainder of the outlook period (23 - 28 February). No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels during 02 - 03 February, increasing to moderate to high levels for 04 - 09 February. Normal to moderate levels are expected for the remainder of the outlook period (10 - 28 February). Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on 02 - 04 February due to combined effects of a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS) and the 29 January CME. Isolated active to minor storm periods are possible 02 - 03 February. Predominately quiet levels will return from 05 - 08 February. Quiet to unsettled levels are expected on 09 - 11 February due to another CH HSS. Isolated active periods are possible on 10 February. Predominately quiet conditions will prevail from 12 - 27 February. Quiet to unsettled levels, with isolated active periods, are expected by 28 February due to another CH HSS. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2011 Feb 01 1755 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 2011-02-01 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2011 Feb 02 82 12 4 2011 Feb 03 82 15 5 2011 Feb 04 84 8 3 2011 Feb 05 84 5 2 2011 Feb 06 84 5 2 2011 Feb 07 84 5 2 2011 Feb 08 84 5 2 2011 Feb 09 84 5 2 2011 Feb 10 86 8 3 2011 Feb 11 88 10 3 2011 Feb 12 88 8 3 2011 Feb 13 88 5 2 2011 Feb 14 88 5 2 2011 Feb 15 88 5 2 2011 Feb 16 88 5 2 2011 Feb 17 88 5 2 2011 Feb 18 88 5 2 2011 Feb 19 88 5 2 2011 Feb 20 88 5 2 2011 Feb 21 86 5 2 2011 Feb 22 84 5 2 2011 Feb 23 82 5 2 2011 Feb 24 80 5 2 2011 Feb 25 80 5 2 2011 Feb 26 80 5 2 2011 Feb 27 80 5 2 2011 Feb 28 80 10 3 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1550, DXLD) ###