DX LISTENING DIGEST 11-28, July 14, 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 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 1573 headlines: *DX and station news about: Australia, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China and non, Costa Rica, Cuba and non, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guam, India, Israel, Libya non, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco non, Netherlands and non, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Romania, Russia and non, Spain, Sudan non, Sudan South and non, Uganda, UK, USA, Zanzibar SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1573, July 14-20, 2011 Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [jammed, inaudible] Thu 1500 WRMI 9955 Thu 2100 WRMI 9955 [confirmed on webcast, inaudible, not jammed] Thu 2100 WTWW 9479 [confirmed, not on webcast] Thu 2130 WBCQ 7415 [confirmed on webcast, audible on 7415] Fri 0330 WWRB 5051 [ex-5050] Fri 0500 WRMI 9955 [NEW] Fri 1430 WRMI 9955 Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 1500 WRMI 9955 Sat 1730 WRMI 9955 Sun 0400 WTWW 5755 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1530 WRMI 9955 Sun 1730 WRMI 9955 Mon 0300 WBCQ 5110v-CUSB Mon 1130 WRMI 9955 Mon 1530 WRMI 9955 Mon 2130 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 2130 WBCQ 7415 Latest edition of this schedule version, including AM, FM, satellite and webcasts with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html or http://schedule.worldofradio.org or http://sked.worldofradio.org For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://193.42.152.193/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN: http://www.wrn.org/wrn-listeners/world-of-radio/ http://www.wrn.org/listeners/world-of-radio/rss/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/ ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. 12130, SRI LANKA. Radio Mashaal (Iranawila) (presumed), 1117-1126, 7/11/2011, Pashto. Talk by man and woman. Weak signal with fading, above the noise about 50% of the time (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, Tecsun PL-380 with whip antenna, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** ALASKA. 11870, July 11 at 1201, KNLS IS and sign-on with calls, ``The New Life Station`` by YL, introducing OM co-host; poor and fading, but with bad propagation today I wasn`t even expecting this (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. I still listen to Radio Tirana in English two to three times a week, mainly at 1845 UT with good reception conditions. Rest assured if there was an interference problem with the European frequencies, then I would let you know straightaway. Unfortunately, some transmissions still suffer from weak modulation on certain days. The programmes are perfectly understandable here, but I would imagine that in more distant targets, it would be difficult to hear the contents above the atmospheric noise. I am always disappointed that I cannot hear the domestic Radio Tirana first programme very well. The signal from the non-directional antenna is only fair on 7390 kHz in the mornings. Of course, 11 MHz would be better, but I expect your target area is Italy and Central Europe, where the signal is surely much stronger. On a different topic, I still tune in to TVSH on the Eutelsat satellite at 16E and enjoy the music programmes. There have been some very good outdoor music specials lately. Of course, I also watch the news (Lajme) and have sometimes seen the news in English at 6.30 pm Albanian time. PLEASE can something be done to correct the problem with the stereo sound on the TV channel. It has a really strange and annoying effect and I have to switch my receiver to Mono instead. Kindest regards to you and all radio Tirana staff members (Alan Holder, Isle of Wight, UK, July 8, via Drita Çiço, R. Tirana, DXLD) ** ANGUILLA [and non]. 6090, July 12 at 0933, PMS is absent, altho should be on here until 1000 switch to day frequency 11775, which was not on the air either at this time; clearing 6090 for weak Brazilian, no doubt R. Bandeirantes, which was not audible either on // 11925v. At 1347 recheck, 11775 is on. 11775, July 13 at 1237, DGS very distorted, modulation problem altho carrier seems OK; but also splatters 11765-11790; worse, at 1240, big blob of garbage covering 11900-11935 matching music pause on 11775, and then when resuming talk, only during modulation spikes. By 1247, 11775 and the spurs have gone off the air; let`s hope for good until repaired. -NO: 11875-11935, again this morning, July 14 at 1220, still going at 1248, The University Network on 11775 is putting out dirty scratchy spurs, peaking 11905, matching distorted PMS modulation on fundamental 11775. This time I also find a weaker match around 11635, i.e. approx 130-140 kHz on each side. Still on at 1341 with spurspikes around 11905 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 15344.13v, R. Nacional, 0102-0200, July 10. IDs; chatting in Spanish; LA ballads; poor to almost fair; drifting (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ASCENSION. 3 March at Ascension. BFBS on 100.9 MHz, 10 mile range from the island, and AFN on 98.7, 50 miles. Aero beacon ASN on 360 kHz (John Mattocks, Report from the Mid Atlantic, aboard the RMS St Helena, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 2368.5, Radio Symban, 1159-1306, July 11. Above the norm; songs in Greek; announcers in Greek; ToHs series of announcements; possible ads; poor with QRN (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 3210 and 5050, Ozy Radio. Seems possible that both transmitters are finally being prepared to be moved to a new location. July 10 and 11 both of them unmistakably not broadcasting. 3210 and 5050, Ozy Radio continues to be silent July 12. They are indeed off the air now, as confirmed today by Craig Allen. Ozy Radio will soon be via the web, with the shortwave station being back on the air within 6 months. Craig has just uploaded an interesting video to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aEmfw-E5kU showing his transmitter setup. So now we can see what we have been listening to (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 2485, VL8K Katherine NT, 1020 with audio first time in weeks, 2310 and 2325 carriers only, 7 July (Robert Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro modified, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, HCDX via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. 6020, July 12 at 0932, heavy clash at equal levels from R. Australia in Tok Pisin (I think) and RNW in Dutch, which is still on 6020 this semihour only via BONAIRE to Caribbean (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. CYCLONE RADIO IN AUSTRALIA: THE AFTERMATH OF CYCLONE YASI During the months of December & January, the three eastern states of Australia, Queensland, New South Wales & Victoria, endured massive floodings which submerged many areas even in one state capital, the city of Brisbane (BRIZ-b’n) in Queensland. Multitudes of people had to evacuate, and local radio was used as a very important means of communication, informing people with significant news of events and developments, and it was also a source of encouragement to the bewildered. Then, in early February, a massive cyclone struck the flood ravaged areas of North Queensland, adding fury to the already existent wide spread flood problems. For a few days, Cyclone Yasi with its wind speed somewhere around 200 miles per hour, wreaked havoc along coastal areas, and inland for several hundred miles. Once again, radio was a lifeline to the people, informing them of power outages, strong wind areas, and availability of supplies and emergency necessities. The twin events, the intense Cyclone Yasi on top of widespread flooding, have been described as the worst natural disasters in the entire history of Australia. The government radio service, ABC Local Radio in Queensland, provided a remarkable service to the stricken areas from their studios in Brisbane, and also in regional Townsville & Cairns. However, due to the fact that the floods and the cyclone damaged the electrical distribution systems, some of the many ABC local stations were off the air. As a result, Radio Australia was asked to co-operate once again and provide widespread coverage on shortwave. It should be noted that Radio Australia has provided a similar service on previous occasions when cyclones have attacked the northern areas of Australia, in the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia. With information that was provided by Radio Australia, the ABC in Queensland, Bob Padula in Melbourne, Jerry Berg in suburban Boston, and our own monitoring observations in Indianapolis, we build up the following picture of events during the onslaught of Cyclone Yasi. At 12:45 pm, Australian time, on Tuesday February 1, Radio Australia in Melbourne received a request from the ABC in Brisbane to relay the programming of ABC Local Radio in Queensland on shortwave for the benefit of listeners in the northern areas that were affected by Cyclone Yasi. In response, states Nigel Holmes, Transmission Manager for Radio Australia, the Queensland local programming was on the air shortwave just 31 minutes later. The recent experience at Radio Australia was based upon their similar earlier programming involvement during Cyclone Larry back in the year 2004. Radio Australia committed the usage of one of their shortwave transmitters for Yasi coverage, operating on 9710 kHz during their day and 6080 kHz at night. It is stated that the specific transmitter in use for this purpose was a newly installed Continental transmitter. It would seem then that this Continental transmitter was actually in use on Guam in earlier years for the shortwave service of Adventist World Radio under the callsign KSDA. A few years ago, the two Continental transmitters at KSDA were removed from Guam and taken over by Christian Voice in Darwin; and when the Darwin shortwave station was closed and dismantled, the two Continental transmitters were taken over by Radio Australia for installation at Shepparton in Victoria. However, even though it was stated that only one transmitter was diverted for Yasi coverage, it became evident that Radio Australia diverted much of its programming for a few days in order to give wide coverage to the events associated with the cyclone in Queensland. On the morning of Wednesday February 2, for example, three transmitters were noted at Indianapolis in parallel with live coverage from Queensland about the impact of Yasi. Around 1315 UTC, these three transmissions in parallel were noted on 6020 kHz, 9580 kHz & 9590 kHz, all at an almost perfect level and clarity. Interestingly, none of the these three channels was from the specially dedicated transmitter which was allocated two other channels, 6080 kHz or 9710 kHz. However, at that time, this Continental transmitter was not audible in Indianapolis, not on either channel. This same program stream was also available in perfect clarity via the internet, though the internet stream ran several seconds behind the shortwave stream. The programming during these few days of live broadcasts from Queensland was identified on air as ABC Local Radio in Queensland, with both pre-recorded identification announcements and also by the announcer on duty. Many phone calls were taken, mainly from the affected areas, though with some calls coming in from interested listeners in other countries, including the United States. This live programming was co-ordinated by the ABC state headquarters in Brisbane, station 4QR, with their 50 kW transmitter near Bald Hills on 612 kHz. At times, there was also input from the ABC regional station 4QN located at Townsville, with its 50 kW mediumwave transmitter on 630 kHz. In addition to mediumwave, the ABC regional service in Queensland is also relayed through a large network of local FM stations throughout the state. On the Tuesday afternoon, orders were given to evacuate the ABC studio building in Townsville, and three of the staff took accommodation in a nearby hotel. With them was an accumulation of electronic equipment for use in on air news bulletins and on the spot interviews. However, much of the equipment became inoperable when the power at the hotel went out. Their one remaining instrument for communication was a mobile phone with which they filed voice reports about the cyclone. Due to the fact that laptop computers were no longer functioning, regional news bulletins were written out by hand and read into the mobile phone, while sitting in the hotel fire escape stairways with small candles providing the only light at night. The announcer gave station identification from this primitive emergency location, as “ABC Local Radio in Queensland, here in Townsville”. Some programming from Cairns, was also spliced into the emergency programming, and the announcer up there stated that they had transferred their live program production from the regular in town studios to the Boardroom in the City Council Building. The local ABC mediumwave station in Cairns, which is the large most northerly city in Queensland, is 4QY with 2 kW on 801 kHz. Cyclone Yasi stormed ashore from the Pacific soon after midnight at a small coastal community located between Townsville & Cairns, known as Mission Beach. As it meandered inland, it lost its power, but heavy rains followed. A few days later, it became no more than a regular rain storm as it crossed the state border from Queensland into the Northern Territory (Adrian Peterson, IN, AWR Wavescan script March 6 via DXLD) ** BELARUS [and non]. Home Service of Belarus Radio heard with a program of old songs from the 1930s, after 1920 h on 6010, 6070, and on 7280 kHz with interference from The Voice of Vietnam (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, R. Bulgaria DX July 8 via Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, DXLD) ** BELARUS. 6040 / 08.47 / 13/06 / BLR / Belarusian Radio 1 (Grodno, 5 kW), the songs on Russian / 34443 6070 / 08.48 / 13/06 / BLR / Belarusian Radio 1 (Brest, 5 kW), the songs on Russian / 34444 7235 / 08.50 / 13/06 / BLR / Belarusian Radio 1 (Mogilev, 5 kW), the songs on Russian / 35443 7280 / 08.51 / 13/06 / BLR / Belarusian Radio 1 (Grodno, 5 kW), the songs on Russian / 25432 (Alexander Beryozkin, St. Petersburg, Place of reception: Ushkovo, resort area of St. Petersburg, Receiver: Grundig G3, Antennas: internal magnetic, telescopic) E-QSL received from the Belarusian Radio (Channel 1). Signed Anton Vasiukevich. 0000-0030 6040 kHz, 1 hour. Wrote on: radio1@tvr.by Receiver: "Eton" G3. Antenna: Telescopic. QTH-Locator: IO91WO (Sergei Rogov, London, UK / "deneb-radio-dx" both via RusDX 10 July via DXLD) ** BHUTAN. Is back after being off the air for a while on 6035 kHz at 0100, 1130 UT. Pretty weak (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, 4S7VK, DXplorer July 4 via BC-DX 11 July via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) Has been Off since November 2010. Not even a carrier noted here at 0100, Jul 11 (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window July 13 via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 3310 9.7 2305 R Mosoj Chaski, Cochabamba, körde phone-in vid denna tiden. En del utility-QRM med Q2-3 ändå. Lyssnade också kl 0120 UTC och då gick stationen helt enormt med fina ID:n! HR 3310, 9.7 2305, R Mosoj Chaski, Cochabamba, with phone-in at this time. Some utility-QRM but although Q2-3. Listened also at 0120 UT when the station was there with very good strength and lots of nice IDs! HR (Hans Östnell, Biri, Norway, SW Bulletin July 10, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4700, Radio San Miguel, Riberalta 1015 good signal, 7 July 4716.74, Radio Yura, Yura, noted with good signal 1044, 6 July 5952.34, Pio XII, Siglo Veinte, 1030 to 1035 om & yl en espanol, good signal 7 July (Robert Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro modified, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, HCDX via DXLD) 5952.49, R. Pio Doce, Siglo Veinte, 0113-0135, July 8, Spanish. Lots of M & W announcer banter; a bit of music; 5 pips at BoH into ID; poor-fair in ECCS-LSB with 5950 silent. [Also] 0043-0102, July 9. M & W announcers with live event; speaking with several event participants; ad string from 0051; back to live after ToH; poor-fair in ECCS-LSB with 5950 once again silent; haven't logged this one in years (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, N.H. USA, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5952.45, Emisoras Pio XII, 7/8, 0113. Talk in Spanish by OM and YL, indigenous music, more talk, ID at 0129; LSB to get away from station on 5954.5; QS1R does a fantastic job of separating the two stations (Ralph Brandi, Middletown, NJ, QS1R Quicksilver SDR, 300 foot mini- Beverage antenna, NASWA Flashsheet July 10 via DXLD) 5952v - Radio Pio Doce --- Putting out a decent signal into northern NH at 0117 with 5950 silent. Spanish talk & Bolivian ballads. I haven't logged this one in years (Scott Barbour, NH, 0119 UT July 8, DXplorer via Don Jensen, NASWA yg via DXLD) [and non] Been on this one since 0102 with rustic yipyipping Bolivian music like the good old days. At 0108 super big carrier came on 5950, then R. República ID that totally blocked the Bolivian. I tuned away, then spotted Scott`s note that they were audible at 0117. Went back and, 5950 was empty again. Now 0136, an excellent signal from Pio XX [sic], with some music, and a lot of man and woman chattering. Like Scott, been decades since I heard this one this well! Hints of other OA and CPs on 60 but this is too much fun to leave. But enough chatter already; get back to that great music. --don (Don Jensen, Kenosha WI, 0142 UT July 8, NASWA yg via DXLD) República returned (Don Jensen, 0234 UT, ibid.) 5952.38, Radio Pio Doce, Siglo Veinte, 0156-0229:05*, July 9. OM and YL in Spanish playing some nice Bolivian music. At 0226 their usual theme music which is the distinctive whistling "Colonel Bogey March", written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (a.k.a. Kenneth J. Alford), a British army bandmaster; often folks tend to now incorrectly call it "The River Kwai March" from the movie (I have done so myself in the past!); full ID; series of chimes and off . Assume was also hearing a very weak R. República on 5954.22, with no jamming noted (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CUBA [non] 5952.45, Radio Pio Doce, 0000-0117, July 10, Spanish talk. ID at 0027. Ads, jingles, chirping birds. Radio-drama. Bolivian music. Abruptly off the air at approximately 0117. Fair signal with Okeechobee not on 5950 until approximately 0145. Thanks to tips from Scott Barbour, Don Jensen and others (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) Pio XII heard last night [UT July 10] from 0009 tune in with good signal but really picked up dramatically after the adstring, which included a bank, after the half hour and continued until the abrupt pulling the plug at 0117*. Last night a virtual pipeline to here, with signal S9+20 at times at almost armchair levels at times. Actually, the program after the adstring was not a radio drama, though plenty of dramatics. It was a live show, a celebration of some sort, perhaps a local religious fiesta, a number of references to Santa María. Man and woman with excited chatter, interviews with people in the audience. At one point, the woman tried to interview a girl who, nervously, couldn`t respond, but only giggled when asked questions. Live audience with recorded music; took one or two phone calls earlier. Crowd noises in background. At one point, the male announcer said they were going out into the plaza, where, clearly, celebrations were going on. A live band, the oompah-pah typical municipal band with a tuba providing the rhythm, played a couple of lively dances --- reminded me of a Bolivian version of a ``tarantella``. The announcer got into the action too by singing snatches of the music. Everybody was having a hellova good time there. Then, abruptly, the party was over and the station simply left the air at 0117. I was having a good time too! (Don Jensen, Kenosha WI, NASWA yg via DXLD) 5952, R. Pio XII, Oruro, 0026-0117*, 7/10/11. Poor but with frequent peaks to fair; broadcast of outdoor party or festival with lots of lively talk in Spanish between man and woman; plenty of music and happy shouting; sudden off at 0117. Tnx to Don Jensen for tip (Jim Ronda, Tulsa, OK, NRD-545, R-75 + PAR-SWL, NASWA Flashsheet via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6025 14.6 0025, Radio Illimani, La Paz, med predikan och gospel. Trodde först på Amanecer, med tanke på formatet men klckrent ID 0058 rätade ut alla frågetecken. Tydligen delar man sändare med R Patria Nueva, men vid detta tillfället ID:ade man som R Illimani. Q2. HR 6025, 14.6 0025, Radio Illimani, La Paz, with preaching and gospel. At first I thought it was R Amanecer, because of the format but a very sharp ID at 0058 straightened out the questionmark. Probably they share transmitter with R Patria Nueva, but at this occasion ID as R Illimani. Q2. HR (Hans Östnell, Biri, Norway, SW Bulletin July 10, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 6134.845, Radio Santa Cruz, 0050-0110 July 12, With a very good signal, noted a program of music until the top pf the hour. At 0101 a full canned ID with name "... Radio Santa Cruz ... Bolivia". This is followed with more promos mentioning "Radio Santa Cruz" often. Unfortunately just when I was getting interested, the audio went off the air at 0105 about the carrier was still up but with dead air, as they say (Chuck Bolland, 26N 081W, Clewiston, FL, Excalibur, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. TIENE MEDIA SANCION LA NUEVA LEY DE TELECOMUNICACIONES El proyecto de ley de telecomunicaciones fue aprobado ayer en grande por la Cámara de Diputados en la que se destaca principalmente la creación de una nueva repartición del espacio electromagnético dentro del país. Sectores opositores manifiestan que el partido de Gobierno trata de consolidar su dominio de las comunicaciones mediante esta ley. Según la oposición, el MAS, organizaciones sociales y comunidades indígenas afines al partido de gobierno apunta a controlar el 67% del espectro electromagnético de las frecuencias de radio y televisión del país, relegando al sector privado a un 33 por ciento que pujará en una licitación internacional. El diputado opositor de Convergencia Nacional, Luis Felipe Dorado, manifestó que ésta es una ley que busca el control estatal de los medios de comunicación, como la televisión y la radio porque el gobierno central tendrá un 33%, el 17% a los sectores sociales y comunitarios y el 17% a Pueblos Indígenas Originarios Campesinos. “Nosotros proponemos que el 33% estatal sea distribuido en partes iguales entre el gobierno central, las gobernaciones departamentales, gobiernos municipales y universidades públicas y que en el 17% social- comunitario tengan participación no sólo las organizaciones pro- oficialistas, sino también otras, como los comités cívicos”, destacó. En esa misma línea, Alex Orozco (CN) señala que la Constitución establece que la Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional sólo aprobaría una ley básica, pero que la reglamentación y ejecución estará en manos de los departamentos, sin embargo, el proyecto de ley no está teniendo esto en cuenta. “Es tan centralista que el artículo 19 determina que, para autorizar la instalación de antenas, los municipios necesitan una autorización previa de la ATT”, arguyó. Por su parte, el Diputado del Movimiento Al Socialismo, Darwin Choquerive, expresó que esta nueva ley busca que exista una major distribución de la señal en el país para mejorar la cobertura dentro del territorio. “El Gobierno ha tomado unas medidas a favor del pueblo y estas medidas son también a favor del pueblo, con esta ley, de alguna manera se va a garantizar las telecomunicaciones en todos los puntos de Bolivia, yo creo que es un avance bastante importante”, sostuvo. Además, remarcó que lo que se pretende es regular y no quitar licencias a los medios ya establecidos sino de darle mayor énfasis a las comunidades y dice que existe una campaña de desinformación como lo sucedido con la Ley antirrascismo. El primer vicepresidente del Comité pro Santa Cruz, Nicolás Ribera, reprochó al gobierno que en la actualidad con el proyecto de ley de Telecomunicaciones están consolidando el proceso neoliberal en Bolivia, al buscar el monopolio del Estado a través de Entel en contra de las cooperativas de comunicación en el país. “El neoliberalismo se ha instalado en el Gobierno nacional, tanto han criticado a los neoliberales y ahora lo que están buscando es consolidarlo”, señaló Ribera. Para Ribera, la nueva ley de Telecomunicaciones apunta a crear una competencia desleal favoreciendo a Entel en perjuicio de los operadores privados que existen en el país como el sistema cooperativo y comunitario. “Obviamente para generar su liquidación y crear un monopolio absolutamente intolerable e intolerante”, señaló. Con relación a las licencias de medios de comunicación dijo que es otra forma de acallar a medios de comunicación que no comulgan con el gobierno (Tomada de El Mundo, Bolivia via GRA blog 13/07/2011 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4775 10.7 0015 R Congonhas (tent.) med blandad pop. Id mellan varje låt. I mina öron låter ID som "Radio Difusora" och HK säger att det lika gärna kan vara "Radio Congonhas" som hörs på min inspelning. Får lyssna vidare. Q3 iallafall. HR 4775, 10.7 0015, R. Congonhas (tentative), with mixed pop. ID between each tune. In my ears it sounds like "Rádio Difusora" and HK (Henrik Klemetz) says it very well could be "Rádio Congonhas" on my recording. Must listen a little bit more. Q3. HR (Hans Östnell, Biri, Norway, SW Bulletin July 10, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4805, Brasil, Rádio Difusora do Amazonas, Manaus, 0940 to 1010 fade with música and om, good signal 8 July [Wilkner] 4985, Brasil, Rádio Brasil Central, Goiânia, 2340 noted with strong signal 6 July (Robert Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro modified, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, HCDX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Martedì 5 luglio 2011: 1755 - 15189.9v kHz, R. INCONFIDENCIA - Belo Horizonte (Brasile), PP, parlato maschile e telefonate. Segnale insufficiente- sufficiente Ricevibile anche alle 2105. 2114 - 11815v kHz, R. BRASIL CENTRAL - Goiânia, PP, prob. cronaca sportiva OMs. Segnale sufficiente-buono. QRM BSKSA Holy Quran 11820. 2117 - 10000 kHz, OBSERVATORIO NACIONAL - Rio (B), PP, IDs OM e segnali di tempo. Segnale sufficiente-insufficiente 2140 - 5939.8v kHz, VOZ MISSIONARIA - Camboriú (Brasile), PP, parlato OM/YL. Segnale insufficiente- sufficiente 2146 - 4885 kHz, R. CLUBE DO PARA - Belem (Brasile), PP, pubblicità e jingles. Segnale sufficiente-buono (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 5990, July 12 at 0929, VG signal with novelty songs in Brazilian, 0931 interjexion of `Manhã Sertaneja` program title, more music. It`s R. Senado, Brasília. I seldom hear this due to its strange schedule requiring monitoring just before sunrise. Is not on late at nite, nor evenings either. (Michael L Ford, UK, did report it to WDXC Contact as late as 2103 on 21 June.) Why the Senate station isn`t solely devoted to C-SPAN-like legislative coverage I have never been able to figure out (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 5939.85, Radio Voz Missionária, 0530-0545, July 10, Portuguese religious music. Poor with adjacent channel splatter. // 9665.10 - weak but readable (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL. 6010.02, Radio Inconfidência, 0045-0105, July 9, Portuguese talk. Weak. Poor with adjacent channel splatter. Very weak unidentified station on 6009.85. Perhaps Colombia’s Conciencia. // 15189.99 - weak but audible after WYFR 0045 sign off (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL. 9550 9.7 2127* OID Brasse körde musik och stängde efter en kort annonsering när jag inte hunnit lyssna I stort mer än en minut. Tentativt Radio Boa Vontade i Porto Alegre. Ska se om inspelningen kan ge svar. Q3, så länge det varada... HR 9550, 9.7 2127*, UNID Brazilian with music and close down after a short announcement when I had listened less than a minute. My guess is Radio Boa Vontade in Porto Alegre. Hope the recording will give the answer. Q3 during the short minute. HR (Hans Östnell, Biri, Norway, SW Bulletin July 10, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11815, July 8 at 0548, Brazilian W&M DJ conversation, poor with deep fading. Hadn`t heard R. Brasil Central here in quite a while. No other significant ZY signals on 25m (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11765, July 9 at 0521, Brazilian talk, i.e. SRDA Curitiba; unlike 24 hours earlier, no sign of 11815 RBC which was the only Brazilian on band (OBOB) at that time. Looking for others now, weak het on 11925, no doubt caused by always off-frequency R. Bandeirantes vs BBC South Africa. WRTH 2011 shows *11925 but it`s not inactive, just irregular. 25m conditions were quite different than usual, with Spain and NZ both very weak. 9565, July 9 at 0525, Brazilian talk, i.e. SRDA Curitiba too. Not at the moment with wacky wailing preacher David Miranda, unlike 9586.8 approx. squeezed between on-frequency stations, i.e. the variable R. Globo, São Paulo, a.k.a. CBN which was as high as 9592-9593 in January as in DXLD 11-02 and 11-07 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~0330-0400Z 10 July, Miranda easily heard on 11765 and under 6060 in Metro Vancouver; as well as under RHC on 6120?? That's a new one for me. TD (Theo Donnelly, primetimeshortwave yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 11815, Rádio Brasil Central, Goiânia, 0920-0935, 08-07, program "Na Beira da Mata", male, comments and music. 24322. (Méndez) 11925, Rádio Bandeirantes, São Paulo, 0922-0946, 08-07, male and female, Portuguese, comments. 14321. (Méndez) 15190, Rádio Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte, 0912-0940, 08-07, program: "Trem Caipira, Inconfidência", "6 e 17", male, comments, Brazilian songs, "Em Trem Caipira o trio Parada Dura". 34433. Also 1940-2047, 08-07, with soccer match between Brazil and Paraguay, Copa América. 22322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, 27 Km. W of Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 and Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Cable antenna, 10 meters, facing WSW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURMA [non]. via Yerevan, Armenia, 11595.00, Democratic Voice of Burma, *2329-0030*, July 8-9, sign on with test tone. Local instrumental music at 2330 and talk in listed Burmese by man and woman. Short breaks of instrumental music. Many mentions of Myanmar. Weak at sign on but improved to a fair to good signal after 0000 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BURUNDI. RFI announced on its Web site that it added a third FM relay in Burundi on July 11, on 99.5 MHz, broadcasting in French and Swahili. The transmitter is located on Mount Mutumba in the Kirundo region of northern Burundi (Mike Cooper, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. AM 690/940 Montreal: applications delayed --- applications to reactivate 690 and 940 in Montreal have been withdrawn from the agenda for a hearing on July 18th. They will be considered at a later hearing. This does not *necessarily* mean the proposal is dead (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, July 9, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CANADA. CRTC has approved an application by the CBC to move the transmitter site for CBR 1010 kHz Calgary: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/2011-413.htm The CBC wishes to vacate its current site in southeast Calgary as urban development is creeping ever closer to the antenna. It will be moving some 25 km northeast, near to the intersection of Hwys. 1 and 9. Here's a link to the original application documents, which include maps and such: https://services.crtc.gc.ca/pub/DocWebBroker/OpenDocument.aspx?AppNo=201105479 73, (Ricky Leong, http://yellowjournalist.wordpress.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/rleong101/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Calgary back on SW again --- 6030, Calgary - CFVP relaying CKMX (AM 1060). Had been off the air due to "a flooding issue at our antenna" per DXLD 11-26; back on the air 0413-0430, July 11; C&W songs; ads; frequent IDs ("Southern Alberta born and raised, Classic Country AM ten sixty"); PSA for Calgary census; 0501-0510 "I Love A Rainy Night" Eddie Rabbit, "Ode To Billie Joe" Bobbie Gentry. Respectable signal for only 100 watts, but bothered by heavy QRN. Clearly not heard earlier from 0327 to 0330, when I heard Radio Oromiya (ETHIOPIA), with their distinctive repetitive xylophone sounding IS mixing with the pulsating Cuban jamming. Jamming gone by 0413 reception of Calgary. Nice to have them back again! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. RCI has reduced the length of its Portuguese and Spanish broadcasts, still with several repeats, and so it has with English. A few days ago I was listening to `The Link` around 2050 on 17735/15330/15235, when Ian Jones came back from vacation and mentioned that there is no longer a second hour of that program. On July 5, Andy Reid in Ontario found BBC instead of RCI on the 3 am hour of CBC Radio One. On July 7, Ricky Leong in Alberta still heard `The Link` on CBCR1 during the 2 am-local hour. And the 50% reduxion is confirmed: ``Well, Glenn, straight from the horse's mouth: http://www.rcinet.ca/english/program/the-link/home/ "The Link is an hour-long daily radio show aimed at connecting people to Canada and Canada to the world." So there you have it! Ricky`` RCI has put up all-new schedules effective June 27 at http://www.rcinet.ca/english/schedule/ IIRC, the second hour of `The Link` was even more for domestic consumption than the first and wasn`t on SW anyway since the 2-hour block on 31m in the mornings to NAm was dropped some months ago (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I was listening to the 2 a.m. hour of The Link early Thursday morning, so the program is still airing. Did not stay up late enough to hear the 3 a.m. hour, however. 73, (Ricky Leong, http://yellowjournalist.wordpress.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/rleong101/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. RCI JOBS ELIMINATED, IMMIGRATION MANDATE SET ASIDE -- Filed under MANDATE, UPDATE by Admin RCI Action on May 24, 2011 at 20:52 no comments Last week was tough for Radio Canada International employees as we finally found out the impact of the $500,000 budget reduction because of the station leaving Sirius Satellite Radio. RCI’s new director Helene Parent had warned employees back in February (See Update from the new RCI Director) that because of the drop in revenues, cuts had to be made. Last Monday, May 16, she individually spoke to each employee that was cut. Then the next day in a public meeting with employees she announced that seven (7) contractual positions, mostly researchers, would be eliminated. She explained that she did not cut back all the contractual positions that had been created by the Sirius increase in revenue, and the longer duration of programs. She announced she was keeping one position extra in each language section so that there was manpower to work on more web oriented content. She also announced that as of June 27, the English and French daily programs, The Link and Tam Tam, would be reduced from two hour, to one hour programs. And that all the one hour language programs, would be reduced to half hour programs. Untouched would be the English and French weekend programs. She was asked about how many RCI employees had taken a special retirement package, but preferred not to name the exact number, saying it wasn’t totally official yet. But it’s clear that at least four employees, and probably five in total took the package. A retirement package that offered a bit more money to eligible employees than normal. And it also eliminated those jobs permanently from RCI’s staff. What this means is that RCI has five fewer permanent staff positions. (This retirement package was offered across all of the domestic English and French networks.) Two days later, on Thursday, May 19, Helene Parent held two meetings with staff to outline her vision of RCI until 2013. She first reminded everyone of the Order-in-Council that outlines RCI’s obligation to raise awareness of Canada abroad. She very quickly also said that the immigration mandate of talking to future immigrants abroad or to those already in Canada, would no longer have a central role in RCI programming. As she did in the past, she emphasized the increasing importance of the Internet and the RCI website, while admitting that the present website has serious problems. She outlined a comprehensive list of ways RCI could interact with listeners and web users. And she suggested there should be more collaboration between RCI and the domestic English and French networks – CBC and Radio-Canada (RCI Action Committee blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC Webcast tip: IDEAS --- I`ve mentioned `Ideas` in years past; it`s a weeknightly documentary program on the domestic CBC Radio One that covers a wide range of topics, spending a minimum of one episode (53 minutes) --- sometimes multiple episodes --- on a particular topic. Used to be you had to catch the program live, as archived audio wasn`t available. Nowadays, however, nearly all eps can be listened to on demand. It`s quite a treasure trove of interesting listening. Ideas never was part of the RCI-relayed CBC programming, but I`d wager that if you want something interesting to listen to, and you`re otherwise stumped, you can find it in the Ideas archive, http://www.cbc.ca/ideas (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** CANADA. Canadian TA signals --- Some signals on Ch A2, 3 and 4 are coming in now in Portugal (Hugh Hoover, 1203 UT July 8, WTFDA via DXLD) [Later:] Hi, NTV Newfoundland on Ch A3 was the strongest signal with "Canada AM" around 1200 UT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMwb3Bo2Vh8&feature=player_embedded (Hugh Hoover, ibid.) 6 minute clip, strong but ghosty ** CANADA. DX Sherlock 6m Es map shows heavy activity over NE USA, with linx to Europe, so I aim NE as I turn on the analog TV, July 9: 1415 on 2, CCI from NE; 1443 maybe CBC logo goes by 1453 on 2, local ad mentions Sault Ste. Marie (do French Canadians pronounce it Soo too or really soh?), so CHBX. Nice to be sure I`m not seeing the other CTV station in Ont., CKCO2 Wiarton. I don`t notice it toward Mexico, but with antenna NE, I have a local QRM problem: some neighborhood device makes pulses on channel 2, but fortunately not any higher ones. There are 4 pulses repeated 7 times starting every 48 seconds or so (sometimes more frequently), breaking up whatever weak DX video and audio I am getting. Any idea what device would do that? Quite regular; at least that rules out a short in my antenna system. Apart from the above, the whine caused by video co-channel QRM, wavers slightly, as if at least one of the participants has an unstable transmitter, if not some Doppler effect; from further afield? [see below!] 1512 on 2, ad for something ``in Hamilton`` which implies originating near Toronto, i.e. CIII2, Global, this transmitter in Bancroft, Ont. 1524 on 2, Global promo, how-2 show, 1529 outro as `Power-Boat Television`; 1532 `Going Green for Green` 1600 on 2, fades in stronger than any of the above, starting documentary about CFL football, ``The Extra ---` something. Listings show it`s from CTV, ``The Extra Yard: Inside the 2011 Argos``, whatever that means [see below]. That net goes back to CHBX or CKCO2. Mostly outfaded by 1630. BTW, entering M5W 1E6 as my `local` postcode to get the Canadian listings, zap2it still frames them as ``SignOnSanDiego.com`` from last night`s research into Mexican listings (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CKCO-TV-2 (Wiarton, ON) and its carrier frequency CKCO-TV-2 Wiarton, Ontario (yes - it is still on, despite the fact that its closure was announced years ago) has been a semi-regular here since the analog shutoff in the US took local WJBK off the air on channel 2. It is nearly always too weak to produce sound nor picture on a TV set, but its visual carrier (and, less often, its audio) can be heard when I hook a TV antenna up to my amateur radio handie talkie (which has proven to be indispensable for checking offset frequencies, DXing while mobile, hearing audio when the video is useless, and detecting weak signals that may warn of Es on the way). I was noticing every time Es brought in a channel A2- station, there would be a higher (then usual) pitch beat between the DX station and the video carrier of CKCO2. I has always taken it for granted that foreign stations from Latin America had very loose offsets. Recently, I had a good signal from CHBX in Sault Sainte Marie by tropo (a very strange tropo - as nothing else to the north of me was showing the slightest sign of tropo), beating with CKCO2. Listening to the HT I heard the same higher-pitch beat, and, watching the video on a TV, it produced many thin bars, not a pulse or a few thick ones. Just now, with CKCO2 fairly strong on tropo, I dragged a another radio to the living room and hooked up the TV antenna. It turns out that the visual carrier of CKCO2 is not only a little off - it is also a very slight "siren". I pegged its carrier at right about 55.24075 (750 Hz above standard minus offset), and varying, irregularly, between 55.24073 and 55.24078 (but not in any consistent pattern). Something to look for when dealing with TAs of Canadian unIDs on channel 2 by Es. BTW: CKCO2 is CTV (as is CHBX). I wonder how CHBX and CKCO2 were both assigned the minus offset, as they are the closest channel 2 stations to each other (Robert Grant, July 2, WTFDA forum via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) CKCO-2 also drifts around in frequency. I've had them measured as thus... 55.240.00 CHBX Sault Ste Marie, ON 55.240.66v CKCO-2 Wiarton, ON BTW Glenn, the top level hockey team in Sault Ste. Marie is called the "Soo Greyhounds" http://www.soogreyhounds.com/ (yes it is also "soo" in French, except the Ste. is "saunt" in French - rhyming with "taunt" - rather than the English "saint". English translation is "St. Mary's Falls") wrh (Bill Hepburn, Grimsby, Ont., WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I know how SSM *ought* to be pronounced in proper French, and ``Sainte`` is like a short-a nasalized; but was wondering if English influence had modified that. There could also be a variation between English Michigan vs English Ontario. Pronouncing `Sault` in English as `Soo` (or Sioux? Hi) is really nonsensical. If you`re going to Anglicize it, why not `salt` as in somersault? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Glenn, You were originally correct in your assumption that Sault is pronounced 'soh' in French. Sault Ste-Marie translates to St. Mary's Rapids (and not falls) in English. I am a native French speaker, and have lived in Ontario all my life. Regards, Jon (Jonathan Hamilton, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I am a native French speaker, and a lifelong Franco-Ontarian. Sault Ste-Marie translates to St. Mary's Rapids in English. Sault is pronounced 'so' in French, and not 'soo'. Also, Sainte/Ste. is pronounced like the English 'saint', only with a nasal 'ain' sound. I know French-Canadians from that area, and have heard the city name pronounced numerous times in French. Jon (Jonathan Hamilton, version for WTFDA via DXLD) The City of Sault Ste. Marie claims the nickname 'Soo' came from English-speaking sailors. English influence has not modified the pronunciation of Sainte in French. http://www.saultstemarie.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=174&Itemid=138 (Jon Hamilton, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, French is definitely my third language, but I know enough so it's not a mystery, and I live in a region where French names are common. In New England mill cities, Arsenault and Thibault would definitely be pronounced AR-sen-oh and TEE-boh. It's probably Soh, although I can't say if a Great Lakes dialect has made it Soo. In Quebec, falls is usually la chute, and rapids may be sault or des rapides. Hope this helps. 73, (Dan Malloy, KA1RDZ, Everett, MA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Extra Yard is a special program when a camera crew was filming during the training camp of the Toronto Argonauts ("Argos") of the Canadian Football League in 2011 (Terry Keyowski, Regina, Sask., Canada, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. Just a bit of weak unID sporadic E analog TVDX, presumed Canada as it was from the NE, UT July 12 at 0105 on 2; 0117 some weak video briefly lox in on 6. Sporadic-E analog TVDX barely funxioning the evening of July 12 = UT July 13: 0141 on 2, tune-in with antenna S from Mexico earlier, but hearing the giveaway fluxuating het caused by the CKCO-TV-2 video transmitter in Wiarton, Ont., beating against some other station with a stable transmitter: so I rotate to NNE and do hear some English audio, also weak signals on 3, 4 and 6. 0144 on 2, Global network promo; I still have that strange local pulsing QRM when aimed that direxion on ch 2 only: 4 quick pulses repeating 7 times, pausing less than a minute, repeating. 0154 on 2, altho still aimed NNE, now I hear some Spanish! So rotate back to SSW, but by then not much Spanish to be heard. Anyhow, at least briefly there could have been double-hop DX between Mexico and Canada. Earlier on July 12, there were several such logs between New England and Mexico. As usual, I am too close to the middle of paths to benefit from double-hop. 0253 on 2, Canadian news northward, CCI but no longer the CKCO-2 variable het. Also algo on 4 0320 on 3, French audio, CCI 0358 on 2, occasional video with antenna NNE 0415 on 2, 3, peaking from NNW; ad in English on 3; algo on 4 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CANADA CONVERTS TO DIGITAL It's Canada's turn to switch to digital TV. The Globe and Mail has several articles regarding what is being done between now and the end of August. Here is a place to start: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/cbcs-switch-to-digital-tv-transmission-will-leave-some-viewers-without-access/article2092806/ You'll see a nice map of the CBC's main transmitter sites and much more (Karl Zuk, N2KZ, July 11, WTFDA via DXLD) Viz., but WTFK? No chs: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/cbcs-analog-signal-towers-across-canada/article2092884/?from=2092806 (via gh, DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. Elevator Music Podcast --- There are those on this list that love elevator music. CHLY FM 101.7 in Nanaimo, BC has lots of podcasts. They have one called the Elevator Club. Subscribe or download the podcast here. http://chly.ca/the-program-schedule/listen/podcasts/ Scroll down to get to Elevator Club and listen away your stress (Kevin Redding, Crump, TN, July 10, ABDX via DXLD) A lot, I`ll say --- some of them from external sources, e.g. link to DEMOCRACY NOW! (gh, DXLD) ** CHAD. 6165, RNT, 2215-2231*, July 8, French talk. Afro-pop music, including a remake of a Michael Jackson tune. Sign off with National Anthem at 2230. Poor in thunderstorm static (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** CHINA. 5050, Beibu Bay Radio (BBR). Finally heard in the clear now with the absence of Ozy Radio; random checks 1220 through 1356, July 10 and 11; in Vietnamese; pop songs; ToH and BoH multi-language IDs (“FM 96.4 Beibu Bay Radio”); frequently with multi-language series of “Hello B-B-R”; often with slogan in English “The road to health” (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. UPCOMING ZHAOJUN CULTURAL FESTIVAL VIA PBS NEI MENGGU Hi Glenn, For those of us lucky enough to be able to hear the Chinese Service of PBS Nei Menggu, I suggest we tune in on July 15, for the special coverage in Chinese and English of the 12th annual Zhaojun Cultural Festival held in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. Last year’s coverage of the opening ceremony started about 1255 on 7420 and 9520, but we should probably start checking somewhat earlier. Last year’s theme was “Heavenly Grassland” and presented many musical selections from the USA (“Country Roads”), Africa, China, etc. and the sound of fireworks. http://www.box.net/shared/3e1vuu5beyy72z1dgsp2 has an MP3 audio of last year’s opening announcement in English. Hope it will again be well heard and be as entertaining as last year’s festival! (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, July 12, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 7215, July 13 at 1342 music and then Japanese // better 7325. HFCC shows conflicting registrations this hour on 7215, CRI in Japanese, 500 kW, 73 degrees from Xian to southern Japan, plus CRI in Chinese, 500 kW, 190 degrees also from Xian for Malaysia and Sumatera! But the latter not heard. Aoki also lists them both. Running two 500 kW broadcasts on same frequency at same time from same site but in different direxions is certainly a way to conserve frequencies, but somehow I doubt it is really happening. Does anyone south- or westward from China hear Chinese on 7215 during this hour? While 7325 is 500 kW, 59 degrees from Jinhua to northern Japan and regular here every morning, also USward (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also EAST TURKISTAN ** CHINA. Re 11-27: Wolfgang Büschel has added the transmitter sites to go with the site numbers in the CNR1 and CNR2 schedules, so here they are again: China National Radio, CNR 1, A-11, May 22, 2011 SW 1955-1735 (not Tue 0600-0850) UT [This appears to be the official schedule. CNR1 is axually heard on numerous other frequencies not listed here, i.e. as JAMMERS gh-dxld] 17890 572 BEI 0000-1000(=17725) 17725 723 BEI 1000-1200(=7290) 17605 572 BEI 0030-1000(=11710) 17595 723 BEI 2300-1100(=6125) 17580 725 LIN 2330-0900(=11925) 17565 572 BEI 0100-0730(=9830) 17550 572 BEI 0100-1030(=9845) 15550 572 BEI 0000-1100(=7345) 15480 572 BEI 0100-1300(=5945) 15380 572 BEI 2300-1100(=7275) 15370 723 BEI 0100-1100 15270 491 BEI 0200-0900(=9775) 13610 954 NNN 2300-1300(=9810) 12055 725 LIN 0300-0500, 0700-0900, 1000-1100 12045 572 BEI 2300-1200(=9860) 11960 572 BEI 0000-0900(=6175) 11925 725 LIN 1955-2330, 0900-1735(=17580) 11760 723 BEI 0000-1200(=7365) 11750 723 BEI 2200-1000(=7305) 11720 723 BEI 2330-1100(=9710) 11710 572 BEI 1955-0030, 1000-1735(=17605) 11630 725 LIN 1955-2400, 0300-0500, 0600-0700, 0800-0900, 1000-1400 (=CNR8) 9900 572 BEI 1955-2300(=12045) 9860 572 BEI 1200-1735(=9900) 9845 572 BEI 1955-0100, 1030-1735(=17550) 9830 572 BEI 1955-0100, 0730-1735 9810 954 NNN 1955-2300, 1300-1730(=13610) 9775 491 BEI 2055-0200, 0900-1605(=15270) 9710 723 BEI 1955-2330, 1100-1735(=11720) 9675 572 BEI 2300-1000(=5030) 9645 572 BEI 2330-1100(=6000) 9630 916 GEM 2300-1200(=6080) 9630 725 LIN 1200-1300(=CNR8) 9500 723 BEI 1955-1735 9455 725 LIN 1955-0100(=CNR8/12055) 7365 723 BEI 1200-1735(=7215) 7345 572 BEI 1955-2400, 1100-1735(=7345) 7305 723 BEI 1955-2200, 1000-1735(=11750) 7290 572 BEI 1955-2400, 1100-1735(=17890) 7275 572 BEI 1955-2300, 1100-1735 (=15380) 7230 594 XIA 1955-1735 7215 723 BEI 1955-2400(=11760) 6175 572 BEI 1955-2400, 0900-1735(=11960) 6125 723 BEI 1955-2300, 1100-1735(=17595) 6125 572 BEI 1955-2300, 1000-1735(=9675) 6080 916 GEM 1955-2300, 1200-1735(=9630) 6030 572 BEI 1955-1735 6000 572 BEI 1955-2330, 1100-1735(=9645) 5945 572 BEI 1955-0100, 1300-1735(=15480) 4800 916 GEM 1955-1735 4750 2021 XIN 1955-1735 CNR 2 A11 May 22, 2011 (English: China Business Radio) Shortwave 2055-1605 not Wed 0600-0855 17625 491 BEI 0000-1200(=9515) 15540 b BEI 0100-1100 not Tue 0600-0900(=11740) 15500 491 BEI 0100-1000(=6155) 12080 724 BJI 0200-1000(=9755) 11915 724 BJI 0030-1000(=7335) 11845 594 XIA 0000-1100(=9820) 11835 594 XIA 0000-1300(=7425) 11800 491 BEI 2300-1200(=7375) 11740 b BEI 2055-0100, 1100-1605(=15540) 11670 491 BEI 2330-1200(=6065) 11660 594 XIA 0100-1100(=7315) 11610 491 BEI 2300-1300(=7370) 9820 594 XIA 2055-0100, 1100-1605(=11845) 9810 724 BJI 0100-1230(=7265) 9755 724 BJI 2055-0200, 1000-1605(=12080) 9720 722 BJI 0000-1000 9620 491 BEI 2300-1300(=7245) 9515 491 BEI 2055-2400, 1200-1605(=17625) 7425 594 XIA 1300-1605(=7395) 7395 594 XIA 2055-2400(=11835) 7375 491 BEI 2055-2300(=11610) 7375 491 BEI 1200-1605(=6040) 7370 491 BEI 1300-1605(=7375) 7335 724 BJI 2055-0030, 1000-1605(=11915) 7315 594 XIA 2055-0100, 1100-1605 7265 724 BJI 1230-1605(=725 LIN5) 7255 724 BJI 2055-0100(=9810) 7245 491 BEI 2055-2300, 1300-1605(=9620) 6155 491 BEI 2055-0100, 1000-1605(=15500) 6065 491 BEI 2055-2330, 1200-1605(=11670) 6040 491 BEI 2055-2300(=11800) site QH 916 100kW [refers to following? Originally on different page] 9570gm 0100-1000(=6090) gm=Geermu 7220gm 2300-1300(=3985) 6190gm 2055-2300(=7220) 6090gm 2055-0100, 1000-1605(=9570) 3985gm 1300-1605(=6190) (Nagoya DXC, Japan, via July ADXN/ARDXC direct and via dxld July 7 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** CHINA. 13500, 1445 UT 16 June, Sound of Hope, Taiwan site listed, continuous drum music, SIO 252 (Steve Calver, Letchworth, Herts., July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Most likely Chinese music jammer (Stephen Howie, ed., ibid.) [and non]. Firedrake July 8, before 1300: 14700, fair at 1234 13920, fair at 1236 12980, fair-good at 1236 12270, fair-good at 1237 11500, poor at 1238 10300, poor at 1240 After 1300: 17705, at 1313 tentatively FD mixed in with AIR Chinese, CNR1 and BSKSA Arabic; after 1315 only BSKSA left 15545, very poor at 1317 14700, very good at 1317 13920, fair-good at 1317 13850, good at 1318, but heavy ACI from WWCR 13845 with Es boost 12025, 1319, JBA vs something talking 10300, poor at 1320 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake scan from 7000 up to 19000, from 1423 to 1443, July 8; all heard with fairly strong signals. 7990, 10300, 13850, 14700 and 15770 against SOH. 11595, FD and CNR1 jamming of VOA, scheduled via Kuwait, in Tibetan. Another day of all out maximum jamming by the PRC to prevent anyone hearing about the Dalai Lama’s ongoing visit to the US. 15275 and 17560 against VOT till 1430 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake July 9: 7990, JBA at 1239 under 4+1 TADIL-A bonker 10300, good at 1246; good at 1317 when there are no others 11500, poor at 1247 12980, very good at 1254 13920, very poor at 1256 14700, very good at 1256, good at 1327 15900, JBA at 1251 Firedrake July 10: 15900, poor-fair at 1325 14700, poor-fair at 1325 13970, very poor at 1225, poor at 1325 13830, poor at 1154; target is RFA in Tibetan via Tajikistan; no others except 11500 before 1200, checking 7970-16100 12980, very poor at 1225 11500, poor at 1159; fair at 1225 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I was DXing this morning in a rural area and had great reception. Several Firedrake frequencies that were not audible by you (10300, 14970, 15275 and 16980) July 10, 2011 10300 JBA 1240 11500 Weak 1231, 1321, 1356 12980 Good 1232 13970 Fair 1234,1353, 1457 Good 1317 14700 Good 1318 14970 Weak 1233 JBA 1318 15275 JBA 1359 15900 Weak 1257, Fair 1318, 1358 16980 Weak 1258 and 1317 (S. Handler, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake July 11 with very poor propagation: 0450-0458, none found 10-18 MHz 1150-1159, none found 7-19 MHz 1238-1242, none found 10-18 MHz Generally poor signals from everything, but CNR1 jamming still: 15670, poor at 1159, 1200 5+1 timesignal; none such on targets Firedrake July 12: 15760, good with flutter at 1338 13920, fair with flutter at 1338 13700, good with flutter at 1338 11500, fair at 1343; no others found in 10s, 12s, 14s, 16s, 17s (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Similar poor propagation here for July 12 At 1235, tried all known frequencies nothing heard At 1258, tried all known frequencies, only 15745 heard fair At 1314, 11500 weak, and 13920 fair, nothing else on all known frequencies At 1332, 11500 Fair, 13920 Fair-Good, 14700 Fair and 15760 Good nothing else on all known frequencies (S. Handler, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake July 13: 11500, poor at 1234; fair at 1252; good at 1338 12980, very poor at 1244; poor at 1333 13920, fair at 1254 14700, JBA at 1246, poor at 1256 15970, JBA at 1256 Firedrake July 14, all with flutter, in two time groups: 11500, good at 1226 12980, good at 1231 14700, very good at 1233; none in the 10s, or 15-18s 16980, very poor at 1336 15275, poor at 1338 14700, good at 1338 12980, poor at 1340 11500, fair at 1343 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non] Dueling With the Fire Dragon Copyright © 2011 By Steven Handler, All Rights Reserved Every day a “mystery” shortwave station chooses to broadcast beautiful Chinese music on numerous frequencies. Unlike most other shortwave broadcasting stations, the originator of these broadcasts chooses not to identify itself. Rather, each day the same music is played without a single spoken word being broadcast. Shortwave listeners that discovered this station nicknamed it “Firedrake” after the mythical fire breathing dragon. Firedrake’s broadcasts have been reported to be transmitted from inside the People’s Republic of China. The propagation between China and the United States has been good early morning (1000- 1500 GMT) allowing listeners in the United States to hear the distinctive Firedrake musical broadcast aired simultaneously on up to a half dozen frequencies. The number of frequencies in actual use by Firedrake during this time period is most likely greater. However, propagation limits reception of some of those frequencies for US listeners. What is Firedrake’s purpose? Circumstantial evidence would point to this station being used to disrupt and jam the broadcasts of other shortwave stations. Presumably this is done to broadcasts which the government of China does not wish people to hear. Although China engages in economic capitalism, its government is in large part controlled by the Communist Party of China. Why would China wish to disrupt, censor or jam broadcasts? From their actions it appears that the Chinese Government may feel that some shortwave broadcasters are attempting to interfere with China’s internal affairs. Currently, most of Firedrake’s shortwave broadcasts are transmitted on frequencies which are also used by three different shortwave stations: the Sound of Hope, the Voice of Tibet and Radio Free Asia. The Sound of Hope is headquartered near San Francisco. This not-for- profit organization uses transmitters in Taiwan and Tajikistan to beam Chinese language programs to the people of mainland China. One of their stated goals is to provide the people of China with news and diversity of opinion from a source not controlled by the government of China. (Footnote 1) The Congressional Research Service identified the Sound of Hope as one of several mass media outlets affiliated with the Falun Gong. According to that same report, Falun Gong practitioners combine an exercise regimen with meditation, moral values, spiritual beliefs and faith. (Footnote 2). The government of China apparently views the Falun Gong as a threat to its society. In 1999 they outlawed the Falun Gong and similar organizations. Since that time, they have reportedly arrested and/or detained thousands of Falun Gong supporters. Firedrake broadcasts appear to be used by the Chinese government to limit the ability of the Sound of Hope to be heard by listeners. However, has the Chinese government’s actions contributed to the popularity of the Sound of Hope? There is research that seems to indicate that in some cases, censorship often backfires (Footnote 3). Sometimes the “forbidden fruit” is sought out simply because it is forbidden. Jamming the Sound of Hope’s broadcasts may cause more people to want to hear their broadcasts and pay more attention to their message. Further, the interference with the frequencies being used by the Sound of Hope might have the side effect of enhancing their ability to raise funds to support their broadcasts. It puts the Sound of Hope in the position of being David engaged in battle with the Goliath that is China. This might actually be a fund raising advantage with those who tend to favor the underdog. Why is the Voice of Tibet receiving similar treatment by Firedrake? The relationship between Tibet and China is very complicated and would take volumes to explain. However, for the sake of brevity, after the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, their military entered Tibet to assert China’s authority. The new Chinese government, like its predecessor the Guomindang, maintained that Tibet was actually part of China. Over the course of years, the hostilities between the Tibetan Government and the Chinese government continued. This resulted in the Dalai Lama fleeing Tibet for an exile in India and China ultimately controlling Tibet. The Voice of Tibet is headquartered in Oslo, Norway. Its editorial office is located in Dharamsala, India. It has several daily shortwave broadcasts in the Mandarin and Tibetan language. These broadcasts are reportedly aired using 100 kW shortwave transmitters located in Tajikistan as well as 250 kW transmitters in the United Arab Emirates. The goals stated on their website include providing unbiased news and information, educating people in issues of democracy and human rights, preserving Tibetan culture and boosting the spirits of Tibet and the exile communities. (Footnote 4) From Firedrake’s actions, it appears that the Chinese government may feel that the Voice of Tibet is also a threat to their internal affairs. Most shortwave stations broadcast on frequencies that are multiples of 5Khz. Some of the Voice of Tibet frequencies are between are in- between the traditional 5 KHz shortwave frequency spacing. These frequencies include 15537, 15543, 15562, and 15568 KHz. Firedrake, whose frequency use conforms to the traditional 5 KHz frequency spacing, often broadcasts above or below the Voice of Tibet’s frequencies. For example Firedrake was observed by me using 15565 KHz and 15570 KHz during the Voice of Tibet’s scheduled 1330-1400 GMT broadcast on 15568 KHz. How many shortwave transmitters does Firedrake have available for its transmissions? Ludo Maes’s web site, the Transmitter Documentation Project, reports that the Chinese government’s internal shortwave broadcaster, China National Radio, and the external service, China Radio International, combined have over 70 shortwave transmitters located at several transmitter sites . (Footnote 5) Presumably many of these transmitters are available for Firedrake’s use. The Sound of Hope broadcasts from Taiwan use many different low power frequencies. In addition, they use smaller number of higher powered frequencies from leased transmitter sites. To avoid or limit the efficacy of Firedrake's jamming, the Sound of Hope changes frequencies often, sometimes from day to day and sometimes even intra-day. Presumably, Firedrake’s silence at the top of each hour is used to check which frequencies are in use by the Sound of Hope. Firedrake then adjusts their broadcast frequencies and antenna beams to target specific Sound of Hope frequencies in use. This game of “Follow the leader” and the resulting silence at the top of each hour provides a period for Sound of Hope to be heard in the clear. Also, the Sound of Hope's frequent changing of frequencies sometimes leaves some of their frequencies in the clear without any Firedrake opposition, allowing their broadcasts to reach their target audience. Unlike the Sound of Hope, Firedrake's other targets, the Voice of Tibet and Radio Free Asia’s Tibetan broadcasts, have not adopted the Sound of Hope’s anti-jamming strategy of using many low powered and some higher powered frequencies and also changing frequencies often. As a result, the Firedrake broadcasts seem to be much more effective against the Voice of Tibet and Radio Free Asia’s broadcasts. The mystery of how Firedrake distributes its musical broadcast to the various transmitter sites was solved a few years ago. Mark Fahey, of Satdirectory.com, located a satellite feed used by China to get the Firedrake broadcast to the transmitter sites. Fahey found a Circuit named “Lzh8Rdjy” on the Chinese ChinaSat 6B satellite. It was being broadcast on 4175 MHz (Vertical Polarization). The left audio channel carried China National Radio’s CNR-8 broadcast, the Voice of the Minorities. At the same time the right audio channel broadcasts the Firedrake music. Mr. Fahey found that the shortwave transmitters used this live broadcast and were in sync with the satellite feed. (Footnote 6). The Firedrake satellite feed to its transmitter sites is exactly an hour in length. Currently none of Firedrake’s shortwave transmitters appears to broadcast the entire one hour satellite feed without a break. Broadcasts have been lasting between 40 and 50 minutes in length. They start between eleven and twenty minutes after the hour and continue until their sign off at the top of the hour. The time in which Firedrake is silent may be used to allow its monitoring staff time to determine which Sound of Hope frequencies are in use at that time and allocate which transmitters are then turned on. In the past, the silent time at top of each hour lasted just a few minutes in length. Today this break is much longer. The reason for the increase is not known. I have noticed that on many (but not all) days there are actually two groups of Firedrake frequencies in use. There is a group that I call the “main group”. This group has the largest number of frequencies broadcasting on any given day and the music broadcast on each frequency is in exact sync with the other frequencies in the main group. A second group of frequencies that I call the “Outliers” also exists. Smaller in number, these are usually two or three frequencies on which the Firedrake music is significantly out of sync (by many minutes) with the “main group,” but in sync with each other. Only a small number of the Firedrake frequencies have been observed in the Outlier group. The frequencies of 14700 and 11500 KHz are currently the most often heard Outlier frequencies, with 7970, 10965, and 13850 KHz also being heard. It is interesting that no frequency is exclusively an Outlier. Each of the Outlier frequencies has days when they are not part of the Outlier group but rather are heard in sync with the “main group”. Since Firedrake broadcasts are fed to the transmitter sites by satellite and broadcast live, all of the frequencies should be in sync no matter which transmitter site is being used. Why the Outlier out of sync transmissions are happening is a mystery. One possible logical conclusion is that the main group and Outlier frequencies are out of sync on purpose. If so, the unanswered question is, why? Something else that is unusual involves the ending of each broadcast. At the top of each hour Firedrake's broadcast carrier for all of the main group frequencies abruptly ends. However, the Outlier frequencies have been noted often broadcasting for several seconds after the main group ceases. Firedrake’s sign on pattern is also a bit of a mystery. I suspected that not all of their transmitters sign on at the same time. Scanning the Firedrake frequencies, I tried to establish the sign on times. I noticed that after the first transmitter was heard, it could take a minute or more for other synced frequencies to sign on. Although I have listened to many Firedrake broadcasts I have only heard music. I never heard a station identification, nor any spoken words (in any language). However, it is my opinion that the source of the Firedrake broadcasts is China. I based this on several factors, including published reports of others. I also base it in part, on what I heard while monitoring Firedrake broadcasts on two consecutive days, June 24th and June 25, 2011, and also again four days later on June 30, 2011. On June 24, 2011 I tuned in at 1242 GMT to 15670 KHz, one of the frequencies used by Radio Free Asia for their Tibetan broadcast. On that frequency I heard two additional transmitters broadcasting. The first was a transmitter broadcasting China National Radio’s (CNR-1) Mandarin program. The second transmitter that I heard was broadcasting Firedrake’s musical jamming. At 1259:55 GMT the Firedrake music ended followed by several time pips, and then at 1300 GMT by CNR-1’s Mandarin language broadcast. I listed for several minutes during which time the CNR-1’s Mandarin broadcast continued using the Firedrake transmitter. The next day, June 25, 2011, I again monitored 15670 KHz. I started listening at 1248 GMT. From 1248 GMT, until 1259:55 GMT, I heard one transmitter broadcasting Firedrake’s musical jamming and a second transmitter broadcasting CNR-1’s Mandarin language broadcast. Once again I assume that both CNR-1 and Firedrake were targeting RFA’s Tibetan language broadcast which uses the same frequency. At 1259:55 GMT when the Firedrake music ended I heard the same transmitter broadcast several time pips followed at 1300 GMT by the broadcast of CNR-1’s Mandarin program on the Firedrake transmitter. Four days later on June 30, 2011, I tuned in to 15670 Khz, Radio Free Asia’s Tibetan language frequency, at 1129 GMT. Although I was unable to hear RFA’s signal, I did hear two different transmitters on the frequency. One of the transmitters was broadcasting the Mandarin language broadcast of CNR-1 and the other transmitter was broadcasting Firedrake’s musical jamming. This continued until 1159:55 at which time Firedrake’s music stopped and the Firedrake transmitter then broadcast a series of time pips followed at 1200 GMT by the broadcast of CNR-1’s Mandarin program. The author believes that the apparent use of the same transmitter to broadcast both the Firedrake musical jamming and then CNR-1’s Mandarin program is strong evidence that the probable source of the Firedrake musical jammer is China. The Firedrake broadcasts contain many mysteries. Despite the artistic beauty of the repetitive music broadcast by Firedrake, the method used for its broadcasts, the selection of frequencies, and other circumstances tend to support a conclusion that Firedrake’s broadcasts constitute intentional jamming. Perhaps in the future, more details about the mystery of the Firedrake broadcasts will be brought to light. Until then, it may continue to breath the Dragon Fire of disruption against those broadcasters whom China feels are interfering in its internal affairs. Table -1- Shortwave broadcast frequencies used by the Sound of Hope and on which the author heard the Firedrake musical jamming in May, June and early July, 2011 between 1030 GMT and 1500 GMT. Not each frequency was used each day and not each frequency was used continuously within the day. Khz 7970 10300 10965 10970 11500 11920 12180 12240 12270 12500 12600 12980 13130 13500 13800 13850 13920 13970 14400 14700 14720 14900 14950 14970 15275 15755 15760 15765 15780 15800 15900 15970 16100 16980 17170 Table -2- Shortwave Frequencies used by the Voice of Tibet on which the author heard the Firedrake musical jamming in May, June and early July, 2011. Some of the Firedrake broadcasts were on the same frequency used by the Voice of Tibet, and other Firedrake broadcasts took place on adjacent frequencies. Each of these frequencies were heard between 1200 and 1400 GMT with the most common time being 1330 to 1400 GMT. Not each frequency was used each day or continuously within a day. Khz 15430 15440 15525 15530 15535 15440 15545 15550 15555 15565 15570 Table -3- Shortwave broadcast frequencies used by Radio Free Asia for Tibetan language broadcasts on which the author heard Firedrake’s musical jamming in June and early July, 2011 between 1130 GMT and 1400 GMT. Firedrake jamming of these frequencies was sporadic and not necessarily daily. In addition to Firedrake, both of these RFA frequencies were regularly jammed by the Mandarin broadcasts of CNR-1. KHz 13830 15670 FOOTNOTES (1) Sound of Hope website http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://soundofhope.org/&ei=dG3NTaXOF4WltwfXyaH8DQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsound%2Bof%2Bhope%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26prmd%3Divns (2) China and Falun Gong by Thomas Lum. Specialist in Asian Affairs. Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Congressional Research Service-Library of Congress August 11, 2006 Page CRS-2 CRS-8 et al http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf (3) “Exposing and opposing censorship: backfire dynamics in freedom- of-speech struggles” by Sue Curry Jansen and Brian Martin, Pacific Journalism Review Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2004, pages 29-45 http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/04pjr.html (4) Voice of Tibet http://www.vot.org/about.html (5) Mr. Ludo Maes’s Transmitter Documentation Project http://www.tdp.info/chn.html (6) “Firedrake - The Source of China’s Jammer Found on ChinaSat 6B” http://www.satdirectory.com/firedrake.html In May, June and early July, 2011 I made a concerted effort to document the Firedrake transmissions. The Firedrake shortwave broadcast frequencies and times listed in this article reflect the authors monitoring of those broadcasts. [used by permission from Steve Handler; this is an updated revised article to his original published in the July NASWA Journal --- gh] ** CHINA [non]. 1190, WCRW, VA, Leesburg – 5/12 1829 [EDT] – China Radio International programming. "People in the Know" just finishing. "Life In China" looked at earthquake survivors. "Chinese Studio," ToH ID at 1859: "Contact us at 1 877 913 3889 or email mydj@gmail.com WCRW AM 11-90 Leesburg Washington DC" into "City News" (Kraig Krist, VA, NRC DX News June 6 via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) +++ 4/30 1930* – Now here, ex-WAGE-1200, with China Radio International programming (but rarely calling itself that), sounding much like CHIN-1540 with local but Chinese-oriented news on the hour, programs like “Music Safari,” and CRI-origin features. Very good signal into DC, but already being bothered by early sunset QRM at 1900 at the home location, just 23 miles NW of the day site. Sign-off at 1930, so night site must not be ready yet (David Yocis, WV, ibid.) ** COLOMBIA. 6010, La Voz de tu Conciencia, Puerto Lleras, 0701-0733, 09-07, religious program in Spanish with Martin Stendal: "El Huerto e Dios", "Los pueblos católicos apostólicos". At 0727 religious songs. 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, 27 Km. W of Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 and Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Cable antenna, 10 meters, facing WSW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. 6115, R Congo, Brazzaville, 1915, Jul 08, male singer in local song with hectic percussion, ann [announcer, or announcement?] in French, sounded like a live party, good (Graham Bell, Cape Town, South Africa, DSWCI DX Window July 13 via DXLD) ** CONGO DR. 5066.3, R Tele Candip, Bunia, 0419, Jul 05, male and female speaker in vernacular, hi-tempo local music clips, fair (Graham Bell, Cape Town, South Africa, DSWCI DX Window July 13 via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. R. República logs and [non]: see CUBA [non] ** CUBA. 5040, July 11 at 0500, RHC is still going with deportes report; RadioCuba pulled the plug at 0500:50* with no sign-off and no chance to hear the wrong sign-on frequencies again (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. 5954.25, COSTA RICA, R. República, 0903, July 6, Spanish. M & W announcers with talk and music bits; several mentions Cuba; ID at 0905; weak but clear (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, N.H. USA, July 11, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5954.22, CR, Radio República, 2335 to 2350 with IDs as such, poor jamming. 73s de Bob (Robert Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro modified, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, HCDX via DXLD) No date, but other logs in this report were July 6-8 (gh) 5954.3, OPPOSITION, Radio República, Limón [sic], CTR, 0853, 7/6/11, in Spanish. Frequencies, “piano” ID, program promo, start of program. Fair. Also heard 0908, 7/7/11, Fair (Mark Taylor, Madison WI, Winradio g313e, Eton E1, Satellit 800, Kaito 1103; Flextenna, EWE, attic mounted Eavesdropper, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) 5954.3, COSTA RICA, Radio República, 7/8, 0131. Talk by OM and YL in Spanish, mentions of Barack Obama, full IDs at 0159, complete with web site address, “Radio República la presenta Informativas” [sic]; crushed by CRI 5960 at 0200 (Ralph Brandi, Middletown, NJ, QS1R Quicksilver SDR, 300 foot mini-Beverage antenna, NASWA Flashsheet July 10 via DXLD) At various chex during the day on July 7, and maybe July 6, there was no jamming on 9965, and no sign of R. República either, also July 8 at 1243. July 8 at 0544, 5955 was also free of both, audiblizing RN in Dutch via Sines, PORTUGAL. So is República gone from this presumed ELCOR transmitter in Costa Rica? Or moved? Look for new jammed frequencies otherwise unexplained. The Cubans are not going to stop jamming a frequency unless they are positive the target is gone. However, earlier UT July 8, Scott Barbour in NH reported hearing R. Pio Doce, Bolivia at 0117 on 5952v, in absence of R. República and jamming; in the NASWA list, Don Jensen in WI was hearing Bolivia too, but ``at 0108 a super big carrier came on 5950, then R. República ID that totally blocked the Bolivian``, but clear again for Bolivia after 0117. RR on 5950, not 5954.2v?? New transmitter site trying to get going? 5950 is still on the WYFR schedule, but not until 0145, presumably warmup for RTI relay at 0200. {Bob Wilkner, S Florida reported R. República on 5954.22 at 2335-2350 with IDs, poor jamming, no date but his other items ranged from July 6 to 8} Is RR still via Sackville on 9490 in the evening? That`s not in latest HFCC, but not sure it ever was. Not in EiBi either. Aoki lists it only as: ``9490 2300-2400 CAN Radio Republica Spa Sackville 34567``. But surely it was also on after 0000 UT when Tue-Sat would make sense (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jeff, I am no longer hearing any jamming on 9965 daytime, or 5955 at night, nor any sign of R. Republica on either. Have they moved or quit these transmissions? Still on 9490 Sackville? (Glenn to Jeff White, via DXLD) Glenn: They are still on 9490 Sackville with same schedule, only Saturday and Sunday nights 7-10 pm ET. I have absolutely no idea what's going on with the 5955/9965 transmissions (Jeff White, RMI, July 8, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) While R. República was missing from both frequencies July 8, on UT July 9 at 0532, RNW via Portugal 5955 now has a het from 5954+. That has to be the ELCOR transmitter tho I can`t make out any audio but the Dutch. And still no Cuban jamming. More QRM from WYFR which had resumed modulating RTI in English on very strong 5950. Then July 9 at 1332 I check 9965, T8WH PALAU in Asian language, unjammed in the clear but with very weak het slightly on the hi side, which is exactly where ELCOR has been. Whether they are still trying to broadcast R. República is not yet clear. Jeff White has ``no idea whatsoever`` what is going on with 5954/9965, but confirms that the RMI broadcast of R. República is still on Sackville, CANADA 9490, weekends only, contrary to the Aoki schedule in last report, Sat & Sun 2300-0200 UT Sun & Mon. 9965, July 11 at 1151, wall-of-noise jamming is back, which may mean that victim R. República, via ELCOR, Guápiles, Costa Rica is also back. Same level of jamming on 9955 blox WRMI with WORLD OF RADIO Monday 1130 broadcast. Tnx a lot, Arnie! 5955, July 12 at 0533, heavy jamming is also back here, and a het underneath, no doubt 5954.2 RR/ELCOR vs RNW/Portugal. At same time 9955 WRMI is jamming-free with R. Praga in Spanish. During the jamming hiatus, lots of listeners logged Bolivia earlier on 5952v. 5955, July 12 at 0939, heavy jamming of noise and bubbling over algo, presumed RR. At 0958 retune, 5954.2v R. República is amazingly atop with good carrier, but weak modulation for sign-off announcement giving schedule for 31 and 49m, also 9490 [Sackville] weekends, theme music, and off at 0959* sharp. 9965, then checking RR daytime frequency, July 12 at 1000, but inaudible vs noise jamming now running here (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5955 and 9955, July 14 at 0958, wall-of-noise jamming against R. República and WRMI respectively; after 1000 the jamming on 5955 was ramping down to distinguishable pulses, and had ramped up on 9965 to WON, matching that on 9955. Nothing from either victim was audible, unlike 48 hours earlier when I could hear R. República on 5954.2v until 0959* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. CORRUPT EX-DIRECTOR OF RADIO-TV MARTI OFFERS CHEAP COURSE ON CUBAN REGIME Jean-Guy Allard, I N T E R N A T I O N A L, Havana. June 30, 2011 THE Institute of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, headed by a former CIA analyst and funded by USAID, is announcing a special course: Fidel Castro and the Political Process in Cuba, taught by Pedro Roig, Mafiosi [sic] ex-director of Radio-TV Marti. It is a fact that Roig has a MA in Arts from the University of Miami and a degree in Law from Saint Thomas University. His credentials as a supporter of terrorism and an annexationist are also equivalent to a doctorate. Roig was a hard-line buddy of the deceased Jorge Mas Canosa, CIA agent and creator of the Cuban-American National Foundation (CANF), the organization whose secret paramilitary committee directed and financed international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. Mas Canosa and Roig share the dubious honor of having been together in CIA terrorist training camps with this "star" of the local mafia, the old killer who was Commissar Basilio with the DISIP, the secret police of Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez, and then became a trafficker of drugs and arms in Central America, before acting as security advisor to a number of repressive regimes in the hemisphere. Pedro Roig is a big buddy of Herminio San Roman, another ex-director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) who, with Roberto Rodriguez-Tejera, Julio Estorino, Frank Diaz-Pou and other disinformation mercenaries, initiated the stations conversion into a den of obsessive conspirators and other extremist capos. The aim of the ICCAS course, according to its publicity, is to analyze among other things "the cult of violence, the pedagogical and political training of Fidel Castro, his arrival in power and the destruction of Cuban institutions." This was stated by a man who trained for Operation 40, a plot to exterminate Castro supporters, which was to have gone ahead in parallel with the 1961 mercenary Bay of Pigs invasion. The cost of Roigs course is $50 for the two classes. Free with the lectures comes Pedro Roigs book The Death of a Dream: A History of Cuba (unavailable in Spanish) and an ICCAS diploma. The ICCAS is managed by former CIA analyst Jaime Suchlicki who, incidentally, was Roigs professor in what circumstances it is not exactly known. According to Carlos Alberto Montaner, the CIA intellectual, "Pedro Roig is a prime source of the history of Cuba, not only as a historian and spending his life reflecting on the problem of this country, but also because of his revolutionary efforts as an adolescent." On expressing this opinion, Montaner did not specify that, in his youth, Roig placed explosive devices in Havana movie theaters and stores, which he did. Radio and TV Marti are nothing less than a den of nepotism and favoritism, where only the privileged members of the executives circle of friends survive, according to a wide-ranging report on the English-language website of Poder 360DEG, an important business magazine circulating in various Latin American countries. A report from the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations revealed that Alberto Mascaro, the nephew of Pedro Roigs wife, was appointed director of the Latin American service of Voice of America thanks to Roig. The report also details how in February of 2007, the former program director of TV Marti, jointly confessed in a federal court, with a (non-identified) relative of a Congress member, to having received close to $112,000 in legal commissions on the part of an OCB contractor. To enroll for the course, call the Institute. "Capacity is limited," they are saying. Editor-in-chief: Lazaro Barredo Medina / Editor: Oscar Sanchez Serra. Granma International: http://www.granma.cu/ (c) Copyright. 1996-2011. All rights reserved. GRANMA INTERNATIONAL/ONLINE EDITION. Cuba. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Above might be slightly more credible if it weren`t so one-sided with such an obvious ax to grind. Sic: they themselves leave the accents off in order to appeal more to English readers (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. 9805, July 12 at 0944, R. Martí well atop the DentroCuban Jamming Command, discussing the MLB All-Star Game at 8 pm Tuesday, focusing on the Cuban and other Latino players involved. May have been soundtrack of TV Martí. That`s 0000 UT Wednesday, but http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2011/ has a countdown clock indicating it starts on Fox at 2300 UT; an hour of pre-game? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING SPORTS PRESENTERS IN THE NEWS. Broadcasting Board of Governors press release, 7 July 2011. "Former Major League great and Cuban defector Orlando 'El Duque' Hernandez will provide color commentary during the live Radio/TV Marti broadcast of the 82nd annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game from Chase Field, in Phoenix on July 12. ... Radio and TV Marti will broadcast the All-Star game as part of their ongoing cooperation with Major League Baseball, which includes broadcasting three games a week, plus the playoffs and World Series." (kimandrewelliott.com Posted: 13 Jul 2011 via DXLD) Radio Martí verified my reception report in Spanish by their own QSL card (signed but cannot read the signer's name) printed in Spanish after 40 days. Fact Sheet and frequency schedule (all the transmission on shortwave is now over Greenville) in English, Program description in Spanish were also enclosed. $2.00, I enclosed, was returned (Takahito Akabayashi, Japan, July 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Their fact sheet needs to be updated to reflect transmissions from Sackville: 11775 at 0100-0300 and 13820 at 2000-2200, as in the HFCC list. df (Dan Ferguson, SC, ibid.) And part of the 9565 transmission in B-season was via Sackville (instead of 13820), but now all Greenville 17-24 (gh, DXLD) ** CYPRUS. BBC CYPRUS RELAY DOWN --- Glenn, From the Daily Torygraph (which I'm perusing on a regular basis these days, along with the Guardian, for news on the Murdoch scandal, which seems to break about every hour -- I'm *really* enjoying this): Regards, (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, July 11, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12 KILLED IN CYPRUS WHEN IRANIAN ARMS DEPOT EXPLODES At least 12 people were killed when a depot containing seized Iranian arms exploded at Cyprus's main naval base, destroying the island's biggest power station resulting in widespread blackouts. By Richard Spencer 5:02PM BST 11 Jul 2011 The 98 barrels containing an estimated 2,000 tonnes of high explosive had been stored for two years in the open, in temperatures of up to 102F (40C), despite concerns of officers from the Cypriot National Guard. The explosion at the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base, on the southern coast of the island near the town of Zygi, happened shortly before 6am local time. Fire services had been called to a blaze at the base, apparently in the brush, at 4.24, but the flames enveloped two of the barrels, setting off the blast. The shock wave could be heard 40 miles away in the capital, Nicosia. The country's defence minister and military chief both resigned in the wake of the explosion, which also injured 62 people. Television footage showed the walls stripped from the power plant at Vassilikou, next to the base, which supplies more than half Cyprus's electricity. The authorities urged residents to cut down their use of both electricity and water, since much of the island's drinking supplies comes from desalination plants. Also affected by the power outage was a BBC relay station, six of whose transmitters, broadcasting English-language services to the Middle East, were disrupted. . . http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/cyprus/8630547/12-killed-in-Cyprus-when-Iranian-arms-depot-explodes.html (via Chuck Albertson, DXLD) Includes one-minute video, in Greek, and four large radio towers are visible in the distance, final scene. Apparently it is just a power interruption to the BBC relay, no damage there (gh) -- Those transmitters, located at Zygi, are used for more than English. Indeed, the explosion of the seized Iranian arms might be affecting BBC Farsi transmissions from the site (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) You will find a number of BBC entries from other sites on the entire Babcock schedule dated as starting 11-Jul or 12-Jul, perhaps because of this: http://hfcc.org/data/schedbyfmo.php?seas=A11&fmor=BAB Not many of the above go with ``Limassol``, where transmissions have merely been reduced rather than changed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC/Babcock Cyprus adjusted schedule A recent explosion at Cyprus' Zygi port has required reductions in the operations at the BBC/Babcock transmitting station at Limassol. The current Limassol schedule, including MW is: FREQ STN BTIM ETIM LANG DAYS TARGET PWR AZI ===== === ==== ==== ======= ======= ========= === === 639 BBC 0300 0329 English s...... 500 180 639 BBC 0300 0329 English .mtwtfs 500 180 639 BBC 0329 0330 Arabic smtwtfs 500 180 639 BBC 0330 2100 Arabic smtwtfs 500 180 720 BBC 0300 2100 Arabic smtwtfs 500 110 1323 BBC 0200 0729 English .mtwtf. 200 150 1323 BBC 0200 2300 English s.....s 200 150 1323 BBC 0900 2300 English .mtwtf. 200 150 5875 BBC 0030 0100 Dari smtwtfs WAs 300 077 5875 BBC 0100 0130 Pashto smtwtfs WAs 300 077 5875 BBC 0130 0200 Dari smtwtfs WAs 300 077 5875 BBC 1700 1800 Arabic smtwtfs Arab.Gulf 300 101 5875 BBC 1800 1900 English smtwtfs Gulf 300 090 5925 BBC 2215 2245 Greek s....fs W.Eur 250 314 6195 BBC 0130 0200 Dari smtwtfs WAs 250 077 7220 BBC 2215 2245 Greek s....fs W.Eur 300 314 7375 BBC 0500 0600 Arabic smtwtfs E.Med. 300 173 7375 BBC 0600 0700 Arabic smtwtfs E.Med. 300 173 7375 BBC 1700 1900 Arabic smtwtfs NE Af 300 173 7445 BBC 0030 0100 Dari smtwtfs WAs 300 081 7445 BBC 0100 0130 Pashto smtwtfs WAs 300 081 7445 BBC 0130 0200 Dari smtwtfs WAs 300 081 9760 BBC 2215 2245 Greek s....fs W.Eur 300 317 12095 BBC 1900 2100 English s....fs SAf 250 177 13820 BBC 1400 1500 English smtwtfs Gulf 300 090 13820 BBC 1500 1700 English smtwtfs Gulf 300 090 15370 BBC 1300 1600 Somali ......s EAf 250 160 15420 BBC 0500 0600 English s.....s EAf 300 177 17680 BBC 1300 1400 Somali ......s EAf 300 160 17680 BBC 1500 1600 Somali ......s EAf 300 160 21470 BBC 1400 1700 English smtwtfs EAf 250 175 (via Dan Ferguson North American Shortwave Assn: http://www.naswa.net Combined SWBC skeds .xls & TEXT - updated July 14 at 1500 GMT: http://www.hfskeds.com/skeds/ shortwavelistening yg via DXLD) ** DIEGO GARCIA [and non]. 4319-USB, AFN, 1306, July 8. “The best of Dr. Joy Browne” call-in show. Even with the close of the Casey Anthony trail, AFN-Guam [q.v.] on 5765-USB is still not // with DG. 4319-USB, AFN, 1339, July 11. Standard AFN SW programming; Dr. Joy Browne call-in show; fair; routinely heard; not // 5765-USB (AFN Guam) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 17720, July 14 at 0522, song in uncertain language, but 0527 announcement in German followed by Chinese clip, ergo CRI as scheduled 05-07, 500 kW, 308 degrees via Kashgar to Europe. This was second SSOB after 17750 Madagascar. Then found weaker // 15245, same parameters except site is Wulumuchi (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 6050, HCJB, La Voz de los Andes, *0824-0833, 09-07, flute tuning music, anthem, female, quechua, comment and identification: "HCJB Quito ... 6050 onda corta". Equatorial music. Very weak and fading out due to daylight in the site of listening. 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, 27 Km. W of Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 and Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Cable antenna, 10 meters, facing WSW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6050, HCJB (Quito-Pifo [sic]), 1020-1029, 7/11/2011, Quechua. Ballad music. Time, other announcements, and religious talk by man at 1023. Upbeat song by children at 1026. Identification by man at 1029. Good signal with minimal fading (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, Tecsun PL-380 with whip antenna, NASWA yg via DXLD) The Pifo site has been demolished / dismantled. HCJB now comes from the Pichincha site (gh, DXLD) ** EGYPT. CHAOS ON THE EGYPTIAN AIRWAVES Dozens of new private TV channels have started broadcasting in Egypt. The new spirit, powered by the revolution, is said to be behind the extraordinary multiplication of these private channels. However, media experts and professors are suspicious about the channels chiefly concerned about religious affairs. Warning that these channels are systematically attempting to exploit the people’s faith and minds, worried media experts are campaigning for a code of ethics, which could put an end to the chaos on the airwaves. Furthermore, Al-Akhbar newspaper was told that, without strict rules and ethics to be announced immediately, the contents of these religious programmes could eventually lead to more tragic sectarian strife. ¦Read the story from the The Egyptian Gazette http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=19803&title=Chaos%20on%20the%20airwaves (July 14th, 2011 - 9:44 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** ERITREA. 9730.03, Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, *0256-0315, July 9, sign on with IS. Vernacular talk at 0300. Horn of Africa music. Poor with adjacent channel splatter. Stronger on // 7174.99 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** ETHIOPIA/ERITREA. 7190, Heavy white noise - wideband - jamming - probably - by ETH government against Eritrea broadcast at 0440 UT on July 11 (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 11 via DXLD) Hi Everyone, A recording of the battle on 7170 tonight, maybe of interest. Similar was noted on 7180 last week http://www.box.net/shared/t7j5ksafd12x6y8ennj2 (Mark Davies, Anglesey, Wales, 1800 UT July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6030, Radio Oromiya, 0327-0330, July 11. Grayline reception; my sunset 0330, their sunrise 0312; finally could hear distinctive repetitive xylophone sounding IS at 0327 (perhaps signing on at that time?); mixing with pulsating Cuban jamming; R. Martí was of course off the air by this time on Monday (UT) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CANADA: CFVP ** ETHIOPIA [and non]. Giovedì 7 luglio 2011, 0458 - 9705 kHz, R. ETHIOPIA - Gedja, Musica locale. Segnale buono-sufficiente, Co-ch La Voix du Sahel s/on 0501 (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Piccolo log - Certo che è il colmo con tutte le frequenze disponibili: NIGER - 9705, Voix du Sahel, Niamey, 0515-0525, Jul 12, local music with vocals, good mixed with R. Ethiopia, Geja Jewe // live stream on http://www.etvlive.gov.et/national.html - good -- *Leonardo* TaccuinoDX blog: http://taccuinodx.blogspot.com twitter: taccuinodx *--->>> DX is here to stay <<<---* (Leo Peppe, Italy, playdx yg via DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. SOUTH AFRICA/FRANCE, 9910, Wahrscheinlich wegen der co-channel DRM Mode Aussendung der Voice of Russia aus Taldom Moskau hat RFI Portugiesisch den 9870 kHz Kanal verlassen. 9910 (ex-9870) 1700-1730 UT 52 MEY 500 kW 330 Grad Port AFS RFI TDF (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, July 7 via BC-DX 11 July via DXLD) MADAGASCAR [sic] Frequency change of Radio France International in Portuguese: 1700-1730 NF 9910 MEY 250 kW / 330 deg to SoAf, ex 9870 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 11 July, via DXLD) see also BURUNDI The RFI transmission was from SOUTH AFRICA on the former frequency and presumably still is, MEY not meaning Madagascar! It was 330 degrees toward Angola, not South Africa (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GAMBIA. GAMBIAN STATE BROADCASTER GOES LIVE ON THE WEB Dave Kernick writes: Government-run public broadcaster Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) now offers live streams of its national radio and television services from the organization’s new website at http://www.grts.gm GRTS Radio is on the air in local languages and English at 0600-2400 local time/UTC daily, with news bulletins in English observed at 0700- 0710, 1300-1310, 1800-1810, 2200-2230, and finally a brief news summary at the close of their broadcast day (on weekdays, all timings may vary at weekends). The service identifies on air variously as “GRTS Radio”, “Gambia Radio and Television Services” or “GRTS Digital FM”; notwithstanding the latter identification the station’s closedown announcements indicate that in addition to 96.0, 98.6 and 102.6 MHz FM they also transmit on 648 and 747 kHz mediumwave. GRTS Television broadcasts terrestrially on VHF channel E11 in Banjul, and since 2009 has also been available on the Intelsat 901 satellite at 18 degrees West, 4140 MHz frequency, left-hand circular polarization, symbol rate 3500, FEC 3/4. Their live video stream appears to be having teething troubles and was only working intermittently at the time of writing, however the website does have a link to their YouTube channel, which is an on-demand archive of 10- minute clips identified by time and date. One of the current clips labelled GRTS-05-07-2011:2130 includes a 6-minute filmed news report about new GRTS radio and TV transmitter sites undergoing construction. GRTS Radio is Gambia’s oldest radio station, going on air (as Radio Gambia) on 4820 kHz shortwave in 1962, initially only on weekdays for a couple of hours in the evening. The government commissioned a TV service in 1995, prompting a change of name for the organization to Gambia Radio and Television Services. (Source: Dave Kernick, Interval Signals Online) (July 8th, 2011 - 11:57 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) 4 Comments on “Gambian state broadcaster goes live on the Web” #1 lou josephs on Jul 8th, 2011 at 18:24 On the day of the final shuttle launch not bad; the audio is clean but they hotpot and don’t ride levels very will. Very enjoyable to hear this rare place (MN blog comment via DXLD) #2 David Kernick on Jul 11th, 2011 at 16:11 I’ve found the TV stream has been working fine for the past couple of days. #3 Richard Cuff on Jul 14th, 2011 at 15:39 Neat; conceptually like listening to domestic shortwave used to be #4 Ehard Goddijn on Jul 14th, 2011 at 16:52 The URL of their audiostream is: http://196.46.232.22:8000/grts.ogg (MN blog comments via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Wachenbrunn antenna demolition --- The two 142-metre-tall masts that acted as antenna for 882 kHz were supposed to be demolished today at 1 PM. A TV report is announced for MDR Thüringen-Journal today at 19:00 CET. This programme can be seen also via Astra 1H on 12,110 GHz, on "MDR Thüringen". It must be this one, not "MDR Sachsen" or "MDR Sachsen-Anhalt". Don't get confused by the circumstance that outside the 19:00-19:30 slot all three labels point at the same program stream -- the regional magazines are indeed different program outputs from the Erfurt, Dresden and Magdeburg studios, respectively (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Seen a 30 seconds report of blown up action at 19.19:30 to 19.20:00 local time CEST July 14. Former 692/693 kHz 250 kW antenna masts of Deutschlandsender/Voice of GDR German domestic service program from 1959 til GDR collapse in October 1990. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vznFOvPuuvc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7_TnOoPyJs [second one is better, sharper and steadier; the two towers fall across each other] Actually it was on 882 kHz since the eighties, until then used by Königs Wusterhausen with 100 kW (with the 1939 vintage transmitter moved in from Berlin-Tegel), where it has been replaced by 603 kHz with 40 kW (as of 1987 with a new Tesla transmitter) plus availability of 1359 kHz for Radio DDR 1 in the morning, when 603 was in use by regional programming from Potsdam. At Wachenbrunn 882 kHz carried Stimme der DDR, as of February 1990 again called Deutschlandsender until April 1990, when it was replaced by a full-time regional service from Weimar which since 1964 was on FM only, cf. http://www.sender-weimar.de As of January 1992 it was replaced again by MDR Info (during the first weeks relaying the no longer existing MDR Life at night) and the power had been reduced to 150 kW. In 1993 the high power transmitter had been shut down completely and only the 1947 vintage 20 kW Lorenz transmitter, moved in from Erfurt in 1974, been used anymore (this unit was before during the eighties in use on 1044, then moved in 1987 to 1089, then in 1990 to 1431, to mention only the last three frequencies --- and until 1990 there was also another 5 kW transmitter on 1188, together with other sites like Reichenbach near Görlitz which is still in use). In 1998 this ancient transmitter was finally replaced by the Thomson M2W that was on air until ten days ago (Kai Ludwig, Germany, ibid.) ** GERMANY [non]. Adiós Deustche Welle --- Amigos, Si hay alguna similitud en las informaciones relevantes que se repiten en los últimos años a través de este medio, sin dudas, refiere a la desintegración de la onda corta internacional. Es una realidad que no falla, efecto dominó, síndrome, esnobismo, competencia tecnológica, estupidez humana; Llámenla como quieran, ya da lo mismo. Quizás para algunos suene a evolución. Sin embargo, cuando el progreso deja a millones "en banda" (en este caso no justamente de ondas cortas) es una involución. Hablando en términos de radiodifusión a distancia, es una enorme zona de silencio la que nos invade cada vez más, es la preconizada globalización, una suerte de esperanto de las comunicaciones. Europa va al frente de estas muertes anunciadas, ahora le toca a DEUTSCHE WELLE, La Voz de Alemania. He recibido una carta fechada en junio 14 de 2011, de Andrea Schulz, encargada del servicio de monitores (Customer Service) de DW, en la que textualmente me dice: «Estimado Señor Margenet: Por muchos años han monitoreado nuestra señal de onda corta en su región y nos han mantenido constantemente informados con sus datos y estadísticas. Esta información siempre ha sido de gran ayuda en la planificación de las frecuencias de la DW. Nosotros no tenemos como agradecerles su valiosa y confiable colaboración. Rápidamente se acerca el día en que vamos a interrumpir el servicio de onda corta en su región. A partir del 30 de noviembre de 2011 no habrá programación de la DW-RADIO/Alemán y la DW-RADIO/Inglés (al Español lo mataron el 31.12.1999 para que sobreviva la DW-TV), en el futuro nuestro servicio de onda corta sólo estará disponible en África. Esto será, probablemente un día triste para ustedes. Yo también echaré de menos tener un contacto regular con Uds. "mis" monitores. Trabajar con el equipo de monitores fue siempre una gran parte del trabajo de nuestro departamento. Muchos de ustedes mantuvieron un contacto abierto con nosotros a través de cartas, correos electrónicos y fotos y nosotros siempre esperábamos con interés sus noticias. Estaríamos muy agradecidos si pudieran continuar entregando sus informes de recepción hasta el final de nuestras transmisiones. Queremos garantizar la calidad de recepción en nuestras regiones durante el tiempo que la Deutsche Welle se mantiene en el servicio de onda corta. Pero esto no debería ser un adiós, todo lo contrario. Esperamos que en el futuro continúen en contacto con nosotros. Nuestros colegas que han analizado durante años sus informes de recepción, serán ahora responsables de supervisar la accesibilidad a los contenidos de video y audio en la página WEB de la DW. Ellos resolverán con total agrado sus preguntas e inquietudes. El equipo de atención al cliente desea continuar en estrecho contacto con todos los usuarios de la DW y mantenerlos informados sobre nuestros nuevos productos y servicios. Sería para nosotros de gran ayuda si usted puede rellenar el cuestionario que enviamos adjunto. Esto nos dará la oportunidad de ofrecerle la información que mejor se adapte a sus intereses. Esperamos que usted continúe siendo en el futuro tan entusiasta de los servicios de la DW como hasta ahora y continuemos con estos largos años de estrecha relación. Cordialmente, (firma) Andrea Schulz» Adiós Deutsche Welle, durante 35 años estuve analizando tus frecuencias (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, July 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Rubén, El signo de los tiempos. Nunca fui monitor de DW, pero sí conocí a colegas CX desde los tiempos que me inicié en el DX, que eran monitores. Era proverbial la cortesía de la emisora en los "obsequios" a sus monitores: el WRTH, los IRCs, y los regalitos de fin de año. Recuerdo algunos como la regla calculadora, un juego de papelería para correspondencia que parecía digna del Kaiser. Incluso, cuando alguno de ellos se quedó sin receptor para continuar el monitoreo, por desperfectos, la emisora a través de la embajada le dió en comodato uno (ITT SChaub Lorenz, ni más ni menos). (Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** GREECE. Observations of R. Filia, V of Greece and ERA2: Monday-Friday: 0500-0548 11645 & 0552-0600 on 17705 - R Filia in Bulgarian 0600-0748 17705 & 0752-0800 11645 - VOG in Greek, both // 9420, 15630 0800-0900 11645 - R Filia in German 0500-0800 9420 15630 - VOG in Greek Mon/Wed/Thu/Fri: 0800-1000 9420 15630 - VOG in Greek 0900-1000 11645 - R Filia in Russian and French Saturday: 0500 Albanian, 0515 English, 0530 French, 0545-0548 Spanish on 11645 - R Filia 0600-0748 17705 - VOG in Greek // 9420 15630 0800-1000 11645 - ERT2 in Greek (Cosmos program) 0500-1000 9420 15630 - VOG in Greek (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria, 13-18 June, DX News, July BDXC-UK Communication, retyped by gh for DXLD; nothing about Sunday) ** GUAM [and non]. 5765-USB, AFN, 1339, July 11. After years of this being // with DIEGO GARCIA (4319-USB), this is no longer doing so; Guam is now routinely relaying CNN’s Robin Meade morning show (segments “Off The Beaten Path”, etc.); AFN spots are added occasionally. So this CNN formatting is a fairly new development! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) also see DIEGO GARCIA ** GUAM. 12105, fair July 14 at 1227, YL spelling out e-mail address in English, sounds like @vofc.com, wanting contacts, apparently end of English-teaching show; 1228 in Chinese but now it sounds like vofc.cn. Probably not vofc but phonetically similar. Maybe vohc as in voice of hope china, but can`t find that on their websites. Scheduled as KSDA at 11-13, 100 kW, 315 degrees from Agat; in absence of WTWW 12100, no longer 24 hours? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA. 7125, RTG (Conakry), 0653-0700, 7/8/2011, French. Alternating talk segments by two men. Fanfare at 0659 followed by more talk. Strong, steady signal, the best reception this year (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, Tecsun PL-380 with whip antenna, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 7125, Rdif Nationale, 2245-2302*, July 9, French talk. African hi-life music. Abrupt sign off. Fair to good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3290, Voice of Guyana 0830 to 1000 eclectic programs mixing jazz, ministry and subcontinental music. 6 July (Robert Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro modified, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, HCDX via DXLD) ** HAWAII. PROPOSAL FOR HIGHEST FM TRANSMITTING ANTENNA IN U.S. "Future Modulation Broadcasting" has filed an application for a new full-power FM station at Kihei, Hawaii. The station would operate on 100.7, with an antenna 2,102 meters above average terrain. That's almost 6,900 feet. If granted, it would be the only full-power station with an antenna height in excess of 2,000 meters (and thus obviously the highest full-power station in the U.S.) There are seven pending applications for translators with higher antennas. That said, height above average terrain is a common source of mistakes in FM applications -- more than once I've seen the height above sea level (not above average terrain) entered. Or, the HAAT is entered in feet instead of meters. I'm pretty sure the Kihei figures are correct, but I'm not so sure about the translators. -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) Of course, there are lots of higher antenna sites ASL, such as scads of Albuquerque stations on Sandia Crest, but they all have to run reduced power to compensate (gh, DXLD) ** INDIA. At least in the last two days AIR Port Blair has been off 4760 kHz which made me thrilled hoping I could get Leh, but only Swaziland. What a disappointment having waited for this situation! (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, 4S7VK, DXplorer July 4 via BC-DX 11 July via DXLD) a.k.a. ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS vs KASHMIR ** INDIA. 4820.75, AIR Kolkata, 1304-1334, July 12. Rather ironic to find them off frequency, as it was on July 11, 2010 that I also reported then on 4820.72; best in USB to get away from PBS Xizang (Tibet) on 4820.0 (// 5935). Normally of course Kolkata is on 4820.0 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 4970, AIR Shillong, 1230-1235, July 10. Not often I can hear this in the summer; news in English; // 5010 (AIR Thiruvananthapuram) and 5040 (AIR Jeypore). Not // 4775 (AIR Imphal); 1235 Shillong local program of pop songs in English (Jimmie Rodgers “Kisses Sweeter than Wine”, etc.) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 9425, AIR Bengaluru - National Channel, *1318, July 9. AIR IS; YL who only said: “Vande Mataram”; played the song “Vande Mataram”; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 9690, July 13, 1340, AIR GOS ``ending this news bulletin``, with signature hum on this frequency. With some effort it would have been readable, as the 1330-1500 transmission is beginning to show again; much better signal than 9870 VBS, and no signal from 9425 National Channel, all supposedly from Bengaluru. 9870, July 8 at 1244, Indian pop music from AIR VBS, only poor, but haven`t heard it at listenable level for many months. Hope it will gradually make a seasonal comeback, close to transpolar from here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. SOMETIMES OPTIONS ARE GOOD: AIR CONSIDERS STREAMING AUDIO Used one of the web-connected Global Tuners in Europe to listen to `Faithfully Yours`, the Monday mailbag on AIR via SW; I caught the 2115 airing that is audible in NAm especially in colder months. In Europe the 2045-2230 broadcast of the GOS is ``easy listening` quality from my past travels. On June 20, hosts mentioned that audio streaming of GOS was being investigated; no word as to whether would be live or on-demand. Any way to simplify access to AIR programming is helpful (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, July NASWA Journal via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ** INDIA. 24/7 NEWS CHANNEL PART OF PLANS TO MODERNISE AIR New Delhi, July 8, DHNS --- The government plans to launch a 24-hour news broadcast channel of All India Radio (AIR) as part of its sweeping modernisation programme in the next five years. [. . .] As digitalization will enable AIR make its broadcast available on alternate platforms including mobile services, the ministry proposes making 20 channels available through webcasting and podcasting to serve listeners having internet connectivity besides offering content by SMSes, e-mails and also on iPhones on request. While the reach of the national channel is proposed to be extended to the whole of the country, the external services of the AIR will also be strengthened through digitalisation of shortwave transmitters. . . http://www.deccanherald.com/content/174820/247-news-channel-part-plans.html (via Mike Terry, dxldyg and Alokesh Gupta, dx_india yg via DXLD) ALL INDIA RADIO EXTERNAL SERVICES WILL "BE STRENGTHENED THROUGH DIGITALISATION OF SHORTWAVE TRANSMITTERS." Deccan Herald, 8 July 2011: "The government plans to launch a 24-hour news broadcast channel of All India Radio (AIR) as part of its sweeping modernisation programme in the next five years. ... While the reach of the national channel is proposed to be extended to the whole of the country, the external services of the AIR will also be strengthened through digitalisation of shortwave transmitters." (Posted: 10 Jul 2011, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) -- No mention here of AIR's previous plans to provide an all-news service to all parts of India, no matter how remote, using DRM digital shortwave. Whether for Indian or international audiences, there will have to be digital shortwave receivers, at reasonable cost, which do not deplete a set of batteries each day, if DRM digital shortwave is to be a viable medium (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) afaqs!, 8 July 2011, Nandana Das: "The Indian government has finally given a nod to the clearance of the much-delayed FM radio expansion Phase III, which will allow private radio channels (FM) to broadcast news of All India Radio (AIR). The cabinet has also increased foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII) limits in FM radio broadcasting companies, from 20 per cent to 26 per cent. Though this is a very minor increase, the expansion of the medium to 300 cities will make it a truly pan-Indian medium, with proposed 839 new FM radio channels. However, radio operators do not seem very enthusiastic about broadcasting news from AIR as they are unlikely to fit into the tones and renditions of the private FM stations. Prashant Panday, chief executive officer, Entertainment Network India, says, 'We are all large and responsible media houses. It is ironical that we have to take news from AIR.' 'This is not a comment on AIR's news quality - it is just that we believe this policy is anachronistic with the times.' However, Vineet Singh Hukmani, managing director, Radio One, a Mid-day Multimedia and BBC Worldwide joint venture, comments, 'We have waited for so long for doors to open - so we are satisfied that at least a window has opened.' Hukmani echoes Panday's views of letting the radio stations package the news bulletin in "the channel's way". He adds, 'Each FM station follows a particular style. We should have been allowed to abide by it.'" (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) -- So, while newscasts of AIR will be allowed on private Indian FM stations, those of international broadcasters will not, for the time being. International bradcasters have been yearning for access to Indian FM stations as a way to compensate for lost shortwave audiences. Nevertheless, as private Indian FM stations become increasingly commercial, the appeal of most international broadcasters' content may not be much greater than that of AIR (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** INDONESIA. 4790, RRI Fak-Fak // 4750 RRI Makassar 1030 to 1044, thanks to XM Cedar Key tip, 7 July (Robert Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro modified, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, HCDX via DXLD) 4789.96, RRI Fak Fak. July 8 and 9 off the air: confirmed by Atsunori Ishida (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not reported since Feb 2011 (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window July 13 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 9526-, July 9 at 1313, VOI has improved to a quite poor signal, sufficient to detect that the YL is starting the `Today in History` segment, but not the details or whether there are IADs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. MEDIA NETWORK PLUS GOES WEEKLY ON A GLOBAL BASIS --- See the Official Media Network Plus Blog: http://medianetworkplus.wordpress.com/ (shortwaveamerica, July 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Beginning July 30th Media Network Plus will have a weekly edition air on the World Radio Network at the following times: Saturday Africa & Asia from 1000 to 1030 UT Saturday Europe from 1300 to 1330 UT Saturday North America from 2100 to 2130 UT (via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Just to let you know that I located Galei Zahal from July 10, on the new frequency of 9235 kHz, which seems to have replaced 6977. Poor to fair on a perfectly clear channel throughout the evening here after 1800 and heard again in the local morning hours before fade-out around 0600 UT. 15850 remains in parallel. Regards, (Alan Holder, Isle of Wight, UK, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9235 NF, Galei Zahal, 0055-0125, July 13, new frequency. ex-6977. Local pop music. Local rap music. Weak. Poor in noisy conditions. Thanks to Alan Holder tip. // 15850 - poor to fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** JAMAICA [and non]. 7/12 Es - strong Cuba/Jamaica > SC 7/12 Es still at top of FM dial with Irie FM Jamaica stations in on 107.1 107.5 107.7 & 107.9. 107.1 has RDS PI: 4F29 - 'KXXX' and PS: Punk... Cuba ATV ch 2-6 a real mess. Ch 6 is strong! No telling how high the muf is now, as 107.9 Jamaica has completely swamped locals. (Fred Nordquist, Moncks Corner, SC, 33.21756N 79.95798W, KJ4BUG, Grid FM03AF, 1758 UT 12 July, WTFDA via DXLD) ** JAPAN [and non]. 6160, July 14 at 0944 NHK`s `Sakura` mixing with CKZN until 0945*. Scheduled as R. Japan in Korean at 0915-0945, 300 kW, 290 degrees from Yamata. Aside from the Brazilians and R. Rossii, Monchegorsk, this semihour is now the only major broadcaster clashing with the lowpower CBCanadians on 6160. The English broadcast of R. Japan at 1000 incomes well here on three 31m channels for those awake, July 14 on 9605, 9625 and 9840, the first two for Asia, and somewhat better on the last, 85 degrees from Yamata to Hawaii, CIRAF 61. Many R. Australia broadcasts include 61 among a lot of other Pacific region target zones, but HFCC shows 9840 from NHK is the ONLY broadcast from anywhere specifically for Hawaii, where they have to stay up until 12:30 am to hear it, ex 0900 UT; why? 61 has Hawaii in its NE quadrant and not much else islandic in the other three (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UZBEKISTAN: Radio Japan, 9720 via Tashkent, full/data ``Winter Sentries (Niigata Prefecture)`` card in 39 days. Oversized program schedule was received (Rich D`Angelo, PA, QSL Report, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) At what dimension does it become oversized?? (gh) ** JORDAN. 11960, Radio Jordan (Al Kharana) (presumed), 0446-0449, 7/5/2011, Arabic. Middle Eastern pop music with announcements by woman. Poor but steady signal (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, Tecsun PL- 380 with whip antenna, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Only on the air during this hour or a little more (gh) ** JORDAN. Jordan Ch E3 Double hop in Portugal today. Received on E3 (55.25 MHz video, 60.75 MHz audio) earlier. Double hop Es, first hop near Sicily probably. Common here in summers. http://www.wtfda.info/showthread.php?6311-Jordan-Ch-E3-Double-hop-reception-in-Portugal&p=19834#post19834 (Hugh Hoover, Portugal, July 13, WTFDA via DXLD) Mostly music video ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 5985, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze via Yamata, *1330, July 8. Jamming was already here waiting for their sign on; another Friday in English; usual segments “Today’s News Flash” and “Today’s News on North Korean Issues”; IDs “This is Shiokaze Sea Breeze from Tokyo, Japan”. A message given in Thai from 1338-1343; message repeated in their second half hour English segment (1400-1430). First time I have noted this language used and wonder what message they would be giving in Thai? As a semi-regular listener to Shiokaze, I was interested in a story in the April 2011 issue of The Atlantic magazine. Here is a portion of Robert S. Boynton article “North Korea’s Digital Underground”: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2011/04/north-korea-8217-s-digital-underground/8414/ “GIVEN THE GRIP that the North Korean regime retains on information, the mission of these subversive organizations can seem quixotic — an act of faith as much as it is journalism. Of all the narrowcasters tenaciously targeting North Korea, the narrowest is Shiokaze (“sea breeze,” in Japanese), a station created by the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea, or COMJAN. In the late 1970s, North Korea began randomly abducting Japanese citizens from beaches and parks, and holding them captive in Pyongyang for the next quarter century. Their families assumed they had either eloped or died. Precisely why they were abducted has never been clear, although it most likely has to do with training spies. Even the exact number of abductees isn’t known. At a 2002 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Kim Jong Il confessed to having taken 13 Japanese, five of whom were still alive (and were soon returned to Japan). The Japanese government insists that at least 17 were kidnapped, and refuses to believe that the others have died. From the third floor of a less-than-spiffy apartment building near Tokyo’s Iidabashi railway station, COMJAN advocates on behalf of abductees not officially recognized by the Japanese government, and hopes to reach them with its radio broadcasts. On the day I visit, Araki Kazuhiro, a professor of Korean studies and COMJAN’s chairman, is sitting in the tiny, makeshift plywood radio booth, reading news about recent nuclear-arms negotiations for one of Shiokaze’s twice-daily shortwave broadcasts. After he finishes, we sit at a conference table and have some tea. Araki says he believes that more than 400 Japanese have been abducted, and that the kidnappings continue even today. As with many of the other shortwave broadcasts, North Korea often jams Shiokaze’s signal. Shiokaze regularly switches frequencies, but the North quickly locates the new one, and jams it. While the Daily NK and other outlets occasionally interact with their listeners, Shiokaze operates in a virtual void. Other than the five Japanese released in 2002, no abductee has ever been heard from. I reluctantly broach the subject: Does Araki have any evidence that anyone in North Korea — abductee or not — has ever heard the broadcast? Araki and his producer consult with each other. “Well, we once heard about a high-school student who was able to pick up the program in Pyongyang, but we’re not sure about that,” he says. After more tea, Araki excuses himself and returns to the booth. It is almost noon, and he needs to finish one more Korean-language segment before the afternoon program is beamed across the sea and into North Korea.” (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ? but it is certainly analog (gh) ** KOREA SOUTH. KBSWR has a comprehensive, if somewhat complex, website with live and on-demand audio in a 2-month archive. You can read news and transcripts of features. KBS also offers smartphone apps in Android and iPhone versions. The iPhone includes two channels of live audio; one is in 11 languages in rotation, the other is music. http://world.kibs.co.kr/english (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** LESOTHO. 1197, Family Radio relay, Maseru: 2011/07/02 sat 1732-1734 It's "Open Forum" with Harold Camping, "and shall we take our first call….." Good. Jo'burg sunset 1528. 2011/07/03 sun 1805-1806 Harold and Open Forum. Still going strong at later check, 1815. Poor. Jo'burg sunset 1529. 2011/07/05 tue 1835-1842 Harold, with caller asking why he's still on the air. Clearly a repeat of a post-rapture pre-stroke programme. Fair - poor. Jo'burg sunset 1530 (Bill Bingham, RSA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA. Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation, no/data ``Welcome to Libya / Land of Hospitality`` card in 11 months (Nawrocki, NC, QSL Report, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) You gotta be kidding me, land of hospitality? (Sam Barto, CT, ed., ibid.) ** LIBYA [non?]. Libya/Int’l Waters/Airspace --- BTW, I have heard US psyops again today, very clear 1300-1320 UT 10404 kHz USB. English and Arabic. Saying Qaddafi in violation of UNSC resolutions. Asking Libyan military to go home to their families, stay away from military facilities. Speaks for NATO, not U.S., though English is obviously American-accented. There’s no specific ID (like “Information Radio”) but it most definitely is U.S. psyop station. There was no jamming, unlike two weeks ago when I heard bubble jammer there. I am no longer hearing 8500 kHz in the evenings (Libya domestic). (Derek Lynch, Ireland, July 9, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sabato 9 luglio 2011, 1012 - 10404 USB kHz, COMMANDO SOLO TO LYBIA, AA/EE, nxs OMs. Segnale buono-sufficiente (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ** LIBYA FREE. LIBYAN REBEL RADIOS LIVE ON THE WEB The off-air (from 675 kHz) relay of Voice of Free Libya in Benghazi at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/benghaziradio is no longer available. A new live internet stream of the benghazi station is at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/free-libya-radio-675 though unavailable at the time of writing. It had been available on 9 and 10 July. Meanwhile, a new off-air (from 1449 kHz) relay of Voice of Free Libya in Misrata is now available at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/misrataradio Clear, but obviously an off-air relay. A separate stream of the same source is at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/misurata I'm not sure if this is off-air or not. It could be a direct feed from the studio, or a relay from FM. Unfortunately, spoilt a bit by being overmodulated at times. Both of the Misrata live streams are available at the time of writing. Clear IDs "Huna Sawt Libya al-Hurra min Misrata" heard (Chris Greenway, England, July 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LUXEMBOURG. New transmitter for RTL Beidweiler [234 kHz] Reading RadioWorld magazine I discover that RTL Beidweiler LW Site has a new 1500 kW solid state transmitter! Check here for photos & news: http://www.broadcast-transradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=132%3Aref-beidweiler&catid=35%3Areferenz-stationen&Itemid=106&lang=de 73 (Andrea Borgnino IW0HK - HB9EMK http://www.mediasuk.org/iw0hk http://www.mediasuk.org/archive http://www.biciurbana.org http://iwohk.tumblr.com/ July 12, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) Further discussion of RTL, closing MW 1440: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/reports-of-rtl-closing-marnach-transmitter-are-premature#comment-2142121 (Media Network blog comments via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 17690, July 13 at 1259, tune-in to rock music, fair signal; 1300 3+1 timesignal with last one prolonged, and a few notes of the R. Japan IS, then open carrier until finally off at 1303:20*. This was overrun from NHK in French relay at 1230-1300, 250 kW, 305 degrees from Talata and also USward, commonly heard here 15730, July 13 at 1325, poor in HOA language, 1327 dramatic music bits and then HOA music only, adding YL vocalist until 1331 ``VOA`` sung ID jingle. It`s Somali via Madagascar, 250 kW due north at 1300-1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) My colleague Rocus de Joode has written a piece for our staff Intranet about the installation of new high-voltage equipment at our Madagascar relay station. Rocus has kindly given me permission to translate and publish it in the Media Network Weblog, which I have just done. There are some nice pictures to accompany the article (Andy Sennit, Media Network newsletter July 14 via DXLD) Viz., but see the illos! NEW HIGH VOLTAGE EQUIPMENT INSTALLED AT MADAGASCAR July 14th, 2011 - 13:59 UTC by Andy Sennitt. http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/new-high-voltage-equipment-installed-at-madagascar Rocus de Joode of RNW’s Programme Distribution Department writes: Despite the uncertain future, RNW’s shortwave broadcasts are continuing as normal for the time being. This also applies to the relay stations in Bonaire and Madagascar. In Madagascar, a special project worth mentioning was completed last week. You may recall that on Christmas Day 2009 a fire broke out in the high voltage protection equipment at the station, and the equipment was completely destroyed. Since that time, the high voltages needed for the transmitters have been switched manually. This of course is an undesirable and dangerous situation because we are talking about 20 kv. Hence, a project started in early 2010 to replace the equipment. Led by Andrianatrehina Fanjaniaina, this project was successfully completed last week. To replace the equipment, the station had to be taken off the air completely for several days. That meant a lot of extra work for the Programme Distribution Department, and in particular for our colleague Leo van de Woude who had to do a lot of consultation with other broadcasters. In addition to our own programmes, Madagascar plays an important role in radio broadcasts to Africa from organisations such as NHK-Radio Japan, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, Free Press Unlimited and Vatican Radio, as well as other Christian organizations that provide radio broadcasts to Africa. We managed to move almost all the transmissions of RNW and the other organizations to alternative shortwave sites. On to the next project! The next project for Madagascar is now in full swing, i.e. the installation of some second-hand transmitters. Again, this may seem odd given the uncertain future of the station and staff. But we acquired these transmitters, previously used by Radio Sweden, for a bargain price last year. And because these transmitters are much more energy efficient, they can play an important role in a possible relaunch of the station (Media Network blog via DXLD) Substitute sites for a few days! This may mean some list-logs were incorrect. Why weren`t we informed timely of all the temp changes? What was the date/timespan this was in effect? (gh, DXLD) ** MALAWI. 594, MBC Radio One, Lilongwe // 756. 2011/07/02 sat 1653- 1701, Chichewa. OM's and YL's talking excitedly. ID at 1659 "Malawi …Blantyre". At 1700 "MBC Radio One". Fair - good. 756, MBC Radio One, Blantyre // 594. 2011/07/02 sat 1712-1715 Chichewa. Quick dip back into 594 to confirm //. Fair. Jo'burg sunset 1528 (Bill Bingham, RSA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 5964,7 13.6 2045 RTM Klasik Nasional FM fläskade på med inhemsk smörsång. Hygglig styrka på signalen, men hårt splashad av RCI på 5960. Nyheter på heltimmen, fölt av annonseringar för aktuella begivenheter. Q2-3. HR 5964.7, 13.6 2045, RTM Klasik Nasional FM, good signal and domestic soft music. Badly splashed by RCI on 5960. News just before toth, followed by local announcements. Q2-3. HR (Hans Östnell, Biri, Norway, SW Bulletin July 10, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 9835, July 9 at 1246, fair signal with pop music, surely the peninsular relay of RTM back to Sarawak; 1300, 2-pip timesignal but 4 or 5 seconds late, into YL Berita in Malay; 1310 outro says RTM, Salaam Aleikum, then several mentions of Sabah and Malaysia. Meanwhile at 1249 I tried 11665, as always dominated by ChiCom echo jamming blocking RTI in Chinese, and almost thought I could hear // music from Malaysia way underneath (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9835, RTV Malaysia (Sarawak FM) (Kajang) (presumed), 1045-1100, 7/11/2011, Malaysian. Pop music at tune-in. Announcements by woman at 1048, then Koran-like slow singing by man, but too upbeat and wrong in phrase spacing for Koran recitation. Talk by man and woman at 1052. Kor`an recitation at 1054 followed by dramatic talk by man over music at 1057. Music at 1059. A couple of pips at 1100, then announcement by woman and talk by man. Poor to moderate signal strength with rather quick fades (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, Tecsun PL-380 with whip antenna, NASWA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. Mercoledì 6 luglio 2011, 0604 - 7245 kHz, R. MAURITANIE - Nouakchott, Corano OM. Segnale sufficiente-buono (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) 7245, ORTM, *0557-0605, July 9, abrupt sign on with Qur`an. Good signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** MEXICO. QSLs: 750, XEOH, Cd. Camargo, Chih. PPC, N/D letter, 19 stickers, and large 400-page book written by the station's Director- General. The book is titled "Radio - Causa y Cauce" and is apparently a manual for students aspiring to enter the radio field. All this in 19 days for a f/up to Camargo with no return postage. Package was sent from Puebla via UPS. PPC was signed by Soledad Sosa Salinas, Gerente General. This was for a 2001(!) logging. XE verie #115 (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge CO, NRC DX News May 2 via DXLD) 960, XEFAMA, Cd Camargo, CHIH. PPC, nice letter, and 8 x 11 certificate on heavy stock in 41 days for f/up. V/S Francisco Antonio Muñoz Muñoz, Director General. Loosely translated, the certificate says "La Indomable Fama 960 presents this Recognition to Sr. Jhon [sic] Wilkins for being our listener en Wheat Ridge, Colorado, USA". This was sent via Priority Mail from and mailed from Hidalgo, Texas. Now why can't other stations be just half as nice? This was a f/up for a 2003 logging (Wilkins, NRC DX news June 6 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Re 11-27: Estimado Sr. Hauser. Le escribo para informarle que en Mérida, al igual que en Chetumal los canales 2 y 4 también están ocupados. En Chetumal el 2 XHROO por XEW-TV Canal 2 y el 4 XHCCN por XHGC Canal 5 ambas de Televisa. En Mérida el 2 por XHY (inicia a las 1100 UT), un canal local y el 4 por XHGC. Espero mi información le sea de utilidad. Atte.: (Ing. Israel González Ahumada, M.I., Yucatán, July 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As often happens, after heavy Es openings for a few days, the sporadic-E layer apparently takes a breather to `recover`. I keep my analog TV on channel 2 much of the time anyway, usually aimed at Mexico for the snow. UT July 8 at 0152 I begin to see some signals on channel 2, mix of CCI roughly from the S. On channel 3, however, the peak is from the WSW with the now-signature almost-zero beat bars between the two BCN stations. Nothing ever comes in well enough to view; still some CCI on 2 as late as 0400. July 8 at 1607, a signal briefly appears on 2 with antenna S, tentatively Azteca Trece bug in UR. Rotating to WSW, 3 comes in with good signal typical of XHBC Mexicali, ads including for mattress, then out again; back briefly at 1625. Let`s hope it`s the start of another good opening, but rather anemic so far. At least there is some Es up to 62 MHz. Sporadic-E analog TV DX starting July 8, into UT July 9: 2355 on 2, soccer in Spanish from south 0022 on 2, novela with seagull logo and XHI-TV ID bug in UR, i.e. Ciudad Obregón, Sonora; weak and soon gone 0211 on 2, weak Spanish soccer fades in, seems from SW 0211 on 3, XHBC/XHTJB, BCN, signature almost-zero CCI from WSW, one with soccer and one with news. At first I figured XHBC would be the newser, but something doesn`t add up: the soccer has bug from Net 5 in UR, never to be seen on IPN`s Once TV, but possibly on Televisa`s XHBC, altho not normally taking that network feed. Consulting zap2it listings via San Diego Union (grrr, overwriting my local listings cookies), confirmed that at 7-7:30 pm PDT, XHTJB has news, and until 8 pm XHBC has ``Fútbol Copa América Perú vs. México, Estadio Malvinas Argentinas en Mendoza``. So the Mendozans are still pissed about the Falkland Islands affair. The field was so bright I would have bet it was in daytime, and the players did appear to be non-female. 0213 on 6, something starting to show, probably XETV Tijuana 0229 on 5, trace of something; tried FM but nothing 0240 or so, the opening is gone, until – 0250 on 3, football from net-5, XHBC is back 0255 on 2, peaking SSW, ads, novela; 0304 drama with net-2 bug UR 0308 on 2, ad for something costing $34.95 (presumably pesos) at Soriana 0309 on 4, f logo lower-left, = Foro TV net-4, maybe XHTV itself 0326 on 3, ads for PRI, banco 0333 on 2, variety show closing credit roll 0351 on 3, novela with TV3 bug in UR = XHP Puebla; end of opening Bits and pieces of Es surpassed 55 MHz now and then July 9-UT July 10: 1945 on 2, tune-in to Spanish from SSW, LR bug says EXCLUSIVO under a big W, so presumably net-2, tho did not see its regular UR bug. 2335 on 2, Spanish yelling peaking from SW, perhaps a lucha-libre dispute; then made out the seagull/XHI-TV bug in UR. Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. 2335 on 4, signs of something, then fade up briefly to good clear signal, no QRM, with net-2 bug UR, CANTANTE DE RANCHERO on screen, apparently a category in a game/quiz show, maybe 1-2-3 MEXICO as also seen. This stayed in briefly after XHI-2 faded, and was also peaking from the SW. Only 2 on 4 anywhere in that area is XHBS-TV in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, 100 kW. 0053 on 2, net-2 for a moment, weak 1459 on 2, fade-in just in time for ID? Spanish, gobierno federal PSA, with antenna SSW; I think I saw an X- ID go by in center screen, but unreadable. 1552 on 2, fade-in and out, and in at 1555, SpongeBob from net-5, SSW Sporadic-E analog TV DX opening, continued from last report, but short on definite IDs, July 10 in UT: 1557 on 2, net-7 promo. About 4 possibilities 1559 on 2, unfamiliar bug UR, CCI building up 1601 on 2, net-5 dominant, SpongeBob; then movie opening credits with dubbed Spanish recitation of star names which movies never do in English, including Johnny (Jhonny?) Depp and Wynona Ryder. From another net? See below 1604 on 2, soccer 1611 on 2, movie is from Azteca Trece, UR bug 1620 on 2, movie fades in, Hárrison Ford seen now 1630 on 3, drama in Spanish, net-5 1657 on 4, SKY logo (satellite service), CCI, net-2 deportes report 1703 on 4, f bug UR, i.e. XHTV Foro TV net-4, maybe XHTV itself 1722 on 4, infomercial for CELUNUVEL, remedy for diabetes. Googled it to check spelling. Seems Mexico has a lot of Big Pharma products we have never heard of in US --- because they wouldn`t be legal here? 2024 on 2, soccer from net-2 Nothing seen on July 11, but Es is back on July 12, UT tune-in: 1424 on 2, Wendy Williams Show dubbed in Spanish, I think, southward with 10 kHz CCI. No, after a bit, audio switches to English in discussion of Charlie Sheen returning to `2.5 Men`. The Spanish was from another station, and WW must be XHRIO Matamoros, Tamps. Checking show site http://www.wendyshow.com/tv-listings/ it says 10 am weekdays but http://www.foxrio2.com/programming/ confirms she is at 9 am (CDT). WW can appear quite voluptuous, but IIRC, she has admitted to sporting fake hair and fake breasts. 1429 on 2, Kaplan College ad in English, must still be XHRIO, but: 1430 on 2, mix from Azteca-7 promo, likely Tampico down the coast. 1443 on 2, net-4 talk show with f (ForoTV) bug in lower left, probably XHY-TV Mérida, Yucatán 1446 on 5, some video is poking thru 1446 on 3, net-5 toons, XHBQ Zacatecas always being prime suspect 1510 on 4, `La Cocina de Yolo` show with A-13 bug UR; Recetario de Yolo bug in LR, as recipe is displayed 1510 on 5, net-2 HOY bug in LL, 21C 10:11 bug in LR, video only 1519 on 3, Televisa with health PSA (ad?) by a sports figure speaking Italo-Spanish; then ad for Denny`s from Calexico, El Centro to Yuma, so XHBC Mexicali is back, and usual almost-zero CCI from XHTJB Tijuana. The two take turns fighting it out. 1521 on 5 aimed WSW, so XHAQ Mexicali, bug in LR square shows AM, the show name, and below it PDT of 8:21; then feature about Tijuana 1524 on 3, interview with a band, Elan in LL, strange bug in LR reads todo on one line, un below it, plus some leaves design(?) to the left; mixes with recipe show. XHBC as below. 1527 on 3, f bug lower left, and this time it really is a plug for Facebook also on screen, not net-4`s ForoTV --- their two lower-case f`s are very similar! 1558 on 3, TV Once promo for their oddly-timed 7:45 pm show (Wed? Tue?) with a repeat Sun at 6:30. It`s definitely XHTJB Tijuana; then mix with XHBC ad for Mexicali Meanwhile signals from the S/SW remain in but mostly CCI. 1617 on 3, ad for something called COCK, large letters diagonally in a circle. No, not a Cuban call sign, and presumably has a different connotation in Spanish than English. 1623 on 3, net-5 with Smurfs toon; still/again at 1635 1625 on 6, weak video in Spanish, and not WSW, more like SSW, so not XETV. 1640 on 4 from SSW, self-help lecture or sermon by OM; predominant CCI of somewhat less than 20 kHz beat bars. 1643 on 3 from WSW, talk show with three women flanked by two men on a couch, apparently about celebrities, local or otherwise, with clearer view of bug in LR: the first and last words are in script, harder to read, maybe: De Todo Un Fan? And PDT = 9:43 clock; at times music in background. On coffee table is a placard reading Plaza La Cachanilla, which Googles right to a mall in Mexicali: so XHBC 1652 on 6, video and tthen audio in English with SAN DIEGO LIVING in LL, so XETV Tijuana is making it. 1655 promo for something on the CW. Opening continues as I need to wrap up report and starting trying FM. Continuing the sporadic E analog TV DX opening from last report, July 12, UT: 1701 on 6, still XETV Tijuana; during this hour it`s `The 700 Club`. Notwithstanding item at 1718 about safe rooms in Tulsa OK, not the late lamented KOTV, but part of 700 Club. With MUF this hi, it is time to start monitoring FM. Already at 1706 I was getting a bit of Spanish on 90.7, but did not develop further. Onward to USA [q.v.] logs from Southern California. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) XEWO-2 Guadalajara Video, 2316 miles: This seen at 10 am this morning: http://www.wtfda.info/showthread.php?6307-XEWO-Ch2-Guadalajara-Video-2316-miles-3727km&p=19824#post19824 or http://tinyurl.com/6y37owx Distance measured with Google Earth from the top of my house to the center of Guadalajara (Mike Bugaj, July 12, WTFDA via DXLD) Viz.: XEWO Ch2 Guadalajara Video 2316 miles/3727km Seen on July 12th at 1400UTC (10am ET). A Winegard PR-5030 feed into a 25db preamp and into the TV Card on my computer but recorded on DScaler software. I thought this might beat my skip distance to Mexicali a couple of years ago, but not quite. Last edited by Mike-CT; 4 Hours Ago at 05:35 PM. Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT -72 30' W/41 59' N FN31RX (via DXLD) 30-second clip, shows MAS VISION toward the end (gh, DXLD) Analog Es TV DX July 13, UT: 1353 on 2, tune-in to Spanish with antenna SSW, adstring including one for HDTV; then CCI from a station with much louder audio. 1357 on 4, talk show appears; 1358 lower-right bug shows name is AM, CDT as 8:58 and below that rotating temps for abbreviated cities all over country (current or forecast highs?). 1358 on 4, same-offset CCI to above, net-5 toons, Televisa credit/promo. 1359 on 2, becalos.mx PSA, another gobierno federal PSA mixed with ads 1403 on 2, loud-audio station has news about Suprema Corte ruling, then can see in lower-left the f bug for Foro TV net-4, and peaks SSE, so is relay by XHY-TV Mérida, Yucatán. Fadeout by 1420. Only occasional signs of video skip on lower channels next sesquihour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) After the tropo session from TX panhandle, see USA, I look for analog Es from Mexico, and July 14 at 1608 UT a signal fades in on ch 2 from the SW, a kidshow, Azteca-13 bug UR, I think. 1637 on 2 from SSW, talkshow, poor with no audio 1654 on 2, English, `Are You Smarter than a Fifth-Grader`, from S, not N, so likely XHRIO. Yes, chex with their program schedule for 11:30 am 1713 on 5, cooking show from WSW, briefly snow-free; A-13 bug UR, and recipe details crawl across bottom of screen; XHAQ Mexicali 1714 on 3, weaker than 5, but adstring including ``Mexicali`` yelled, so XHBC; soon back into novela from net-2 bug UR. Some CCI on 2 but mostly gone before 1800. BTW, the midpoint of my frequent Es reception of Mexicali and Tijuana is about 50 miles WSW of Albuquerque --- hmmm, wonder if the Very Large Array is sporadically heating the ionosphere above it? But supposedly it`s only for Very DX reception, not transmitting. XHBC-3 Mexicali and XHTJB-3 Tijuana are short-spaced, a situation in which normally stations would be offset 20 kHz for lots of little beat bars, but these two are on the same [zero] offset, meaning heavier QRM, a few wide beat bars against each other (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. BUSCAN CONSOLIDAR REDES DE RADIO OPERADAS POR NIÑOS MAYAS Notimex 2011-07-05 17:41:00 http://sdpnoticias.com/nota/114611/Buscan_consolidar_redes_de_radio_operadas_por_ninos_mayas Mérida, 5 Jul. (Notimex).- El director de la radio indígena maya XEPET, Víctor Canto Ramírez, afirmó que el objetivo central para el ciclo escolar 2011-2012 será consolidar las redes de radio experimental en la entidad, operadas por niños mayas. El funcionario de la Comisión para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas (CDI) señaló que esa instancia pretende consolidar la radiodifusión cultural indigenista, mediante las radiodifusoras experimentales operadas por niños y jóvenes de los albergues escolares de Chemax, San Antonio Dzodzil, Yaxcopoil y Samahil. Recordó que Radio XEPET "La voz de los mayas", es una instancia que desde hace 28 años trabaja a favor de la difusión y consolidación de la lengua, cultura y tradiciones mayas, pero también es básico ampliar estos espacios a las nuevas generaciones, a través de la radio experimental. "La Red de Radios Experimentales surgió para apoyar a los niños en sus procesos formativos, a fin de que estos tengan un espacio donde puedan dar cauce a su creatividad, ejercer su libertad de expresión, su derecho a jugar y divertirse, a través de la difusión de sus tradiciones, costumbres y creencias", expuso. Para el ciclo escolar 2011-2012, el objetivo es consolidar esta red de radios experimentales, cuya programación es distinta a la de XEPET, razón por la cual cuentan con los permisos de la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) desde 1997. "El impacto del proyecto es contribuir a la formación integral de los niños, es una tarea de la que debemos estar muy orgullosos, al considerar que la finalidad no es precisamente hacer radio, sino incidir en la formación de los niños y en función de que tengan mejor formación podrán dar un mejor servicio a través de la radio", explicó. "La Red de radios experimentales surgió para apoyar a los niños en sus procesos formativos, a fin de que tengan un espacio donde puedan dar cauce a su creatividad, ejercer su libertad de expresión, su derecho a jugar y divertirse, a través de la difusión de sus tradiciones, costumbres y creencias", enfatizó. Canto Ramírez refirió que para el próximo ciclo escolar, los niños que participan en las radios experimentales entrarán en una nueva dinámica de capacitación con cursos de noticias, operación de equipos, géneros musicales, programación y continuidad. Al mismo tiempo, se les impartirán talleres de identidad de la radio con el objetivo de que los niños asuman que están encargados de una tarea muy especial que es la radiodifusión cultural indigenista. Dijo que el Sistema de Radiodifusoras Culturales Indigenistas (SRCI) comprende 20 emisoras que transmiten en la banda de amplitud modulada y siete más en la banda de frecuencia modulada, operadas cuatro de estas con la participación de niños y niñas mayas en los albergues de Yucatán. La programación de las radios experimentales se ubican en los cuadrantes XHCHX-FM Chemax 90.5 mhz, XHSMH-FM Samahil 95.9 mhz, XHYAX- FM Yaxcopoil 96.5 mhz y XHSAZ-FM San Antonio Sodzil 91.5 mhz. Además, las emisoras del SRCI son las únicas, en todo el país, que transmiten en 31 lenguas indígenas en cumplimiento del derecho de los pueblos indígenas a ser informados en su propio idioma, convirtiéndose en facilitadoras de procesos educativos, del uso de las lenguas y de su fortalecimiento. En el caso de XEPET, en el 730 de amplitud modulada, se ubica en el municipio de Peto, su cobertura es de unos 700 mil mayahablantes radioescuchas, su señal llega a 98 municipios y 414 localidades de Yucatán, Campeche y Quintana Roo, de estas el 93 por ciento son población indígena mayahablante. [following is somewhat duplicative, a rewrite of the Notimex story or vice versa? gh] http://www.sipse.com/noticias/110745--consolida-radio-cultural-operada-ninos-mayahablantes.html MÉRIDA.- Internos de los albergues escolares se encargan de las tareas de locución, operación, programación y producción entre otros. Miércoles, 6 de julio de 2011. 05:23 SIPSE.COM Yucatán [caption?] SIPSE.com, MÉRIDA, Yuc.- La Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas (CDI) en Yucatán pretende consolidar la radiodifusión cultural indigenista a través del proyecto de radiodifusoras experimentales operadas por niños y jóvenes de los albergues escolares indígenas, aunado a la conservación que desde hace 28 años se procura con XEPET "La Voz de los Mayas". El proyecto de Radios Experimentales es único a nivel nacional y tiene la característica de que son los propios niños internos de los albergues escolares quienes se encargan de las tareas de locución, operación, programación y producción entre otros. Actualmente son 4 ubicadas en Chemax, San Antonio Dzodzil, Yaxcopoil y Samahil, y el proyecto opera desde 1997 con resultados de alto impacto en la formación de menores quienes muestran mayor seguridad, autoestima y nivel de razonamiento, entre otros aspectos. El director de Radio XEPET Víctor Canto Ramírez, resaltó que el objetivo para este ciclo escolar 2011-2012 es consolidar esta Red de radios experimentales, que no son réplicas de la programación de XEPET, sino que cuentan con permisos de la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) otorgados en el año 1997. En entrevista, Canto Ramírez refirió que el impacto del proyecto es contribuir a la formación integral de los niños, "Es una tarea de la que debemos estar muy orgullosos considerando que la finalidad no es precisamente hacer radio, sino incidir en la formación de los niños y en función de que ellos tengan mejor formación para que puedan dar un mejor servicio a través de la radio". La Red de radios experimentales surgió para apoyar a los niños en sus procesos formativos a fin de que estos tengan un espacio donde puedan dar cauce a su creatividad, y en donde puedan ejercer la libertad de expresión, su derecho a jugar y divertirse a través de la difusión de sus tradiciones, costumbres y creencias. Para el próximo ciclo escolar, los niños que participan en las Radios Experimentales entrarán en una nueva dinámica de capacitación con cursos de noticias, operación de equipos, géneros musicales, programación y continuidad, al mismo tiempo se les impartirán talleres de identidad de la radio con el objetivo de que los niños asuman que están encargados de una tarea muy especial que es la radiodifusión cultural indigenista. El Sistema de Radiodifusoras Culturales Indigenistas (SRCI) comprende 20 emisoras que transmiten en la banda de amplitud modulada y siete más en la banda de frecuencia modulada operadas, 4 de estas con la participación de niños y niñas mayas en los albergues de Yucatán. Las emisoras del SRCI son las únicas, en todo el país, que transmiten en 31 lenguas indígenas en cumplimiento del derecho de los pueblos indígenas a ser informados en su propio idioma. Durante este cuarto de siglo las radios indigenistas han sido facilitadoras de procesos educativos, del uso de las lenguas y de su fortalecimiento. Pero sobre todo, se han convertido en un puente de comunicación entre el mundo indígena y la sociedad en general. En el caso de XEPET ubicada en el municipio de Peto, su cobertura es de poco más de 700 mil mayahablantes radioescuchas, su señal llega a 98 municipios y 414 localidades de Yucatán, Campeche y Quintana Roo, de estas el 93% son población indígena mayahablante. Se sintoniza en el cuadrante 730 de Amplitud Modulada (AM). El área de radio cultural indigenista en Yucatán dispone este año de un millón de pesos; el año pasado su presupuesto fue de poco más de 850 mil pesos. Como parte de sus metas, la CDI se compromete a trabajar más para lograr que el sistema de radiodifusoras culturales indigenistas de México se convierta en un espacio accesible y altamente participativo para más pueblos indígenas, que cumpla con el papel de un medio de servicio público de comunicación hacia estos pueblos, y que asegure ser una instancia de información e interlocución entre las comunidades indígenas y otros actores de la sociedad. Las emisoras La programación de las radios experimentales se ubican en los cuadrantes de la siguiente forma: XHCHX-FM Chemax 90.5 mhz, XHSMH-FM Samahil 95.9 mhz, XHYAX-FM Yaxcopoil 96.5 mhz XHSAZ-FM San Antonio Sodzil 91.5 mhz. XEPET ubicada en el municipio de Peto, 730 de AM [end of article; Fiesta DX blogger concludes:] Su opinión es muy importante, al igual que sus colaboraciones donde la radio y los medios son noticias. Hay DX para rato, mientras exista la radio y los medios de comunicaciones, bien sea navegando o espiando el éter hasta encontrar una señal de radio o actividad radial, allí estamos los Diexistas (Dxistas) captando y sintonizando. Desde este punto DX, en cualquier parte del mundo, me despido de ustedes hasta la próxima edición, un fraterno y fuerte abrazo latino, rompe costillas. JAPromard. Edición #52: 08 de julio de 2011 (via Fiesta DX Plus #52, via JA Promard, ed., http://fiestadxplus.blogspot.com/2011/07/boletin-52.html via DXLD) Beware: blog autolaunches live audio from R. Nederland in Spanish whether you want it or not, interrupting whatever you are already listening to; how rude. Also has a strange color scheme (gh, DXLD) ** MICRONESIA. 4755.4, July 12 at 0941 and still at 0952 I can barely detect an extremely weak carrier on the signature off-frequency of PMA The Cross, using BFO comparing to WTWW 5755.0. With the hi local line and ambient storm noise levels here, that`s all I can expect (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONACO [non]. 7220, Trans World Radio (Mont Angel), 0540-0546, 7/8/2011, Polish. IS. Music at 0544. Opening announcements by man at 0545 followed by talk. Weak signal with a small amount of fading and very heavy ARO interference. Extremely weak parallel heard on 5915 during IS (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, Tecsun PL-380 with whip antenna, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** MONACO [non]. Estoy escuchando 17260 kHz en USB, no tengo idea qué es, parece francès; alguien está para verificar? (Ernesto Paulero, Argentina, 1736 UT July 10, condiglist yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) Dice EiBi a otra hora: 17260 1100-1103 Mo-Fr MCO 3AC Radio Monaco F Eu /F 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Acá no escucho ninguna portadora en USB 17260 ¿Aún sigue en el aire?. Son las 1826 UT (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, ibid.) No, ya salió del aire a las 1800; adjunto el audio a ver si la identificas, Rubén (Paulero, ibid.) No attachment reached me (gh) Nada de nada en este momento, 1920 UT por Baires (Arnaldo Slaen, ibid) El servicio de comunicación marítimo de Monaco, Radio Monaco http://www.naya.mc/fr/detail-monaco-radio/monaco-radio/48-diffusions-hf.cfm tiene boletín meteorológico a las 19:30 local = 1730 TU en Canal 1607 = 17260 según http://www.listenersguide.org.uk/pdf/com.pdf 17260 Duplex Phone, Coast Channel 1607 USB Como informado antes, a otras horas retransmite un breve boletín de noticias de la radiodifusora del país con nombre al revés, Monaco Radio. 73, (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, ibid.) MCO 3AC Monaco Radio, maritime receiving station 43 43'55.01"N 07 25'38.59"E http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/857096.jpg and 3AC transmitting station at 43 45'47.03"N 07 25'21.29"E (Wolfgang Büschel, shortwavesites yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) 3-element beam with traps on a rotor, amateurish (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ** MOZAMBIQUE. 873, Rádio Moçambique Delegação de Beira Sofala (Beira). 2011/07/03 sun 1808-1810 Portuguese, but unreadable. Very poor. Jo'burg sunset 1529. 738, Rádio Moçambique Emissão Nacional, Maputo. 2011/07/02 sat 1709- 1712, Portuguese, OM's talking. Fair - good. 1008, Rádio Moçambique EI [Emissora Interprovincial] Maputo e Gaza. Maputo. 2011/07/03 sun 1810-1813 Portuguese, 2 or more x OM talking. Poor. 810, Rádio Moçambique EP [Emissora Provincial] Gaza, Xai-Xai. 2011/07/02 sat 1715-1720 Portuguese, with easy listenin' music. Good. 1026, Rádio Moçambique EP Manica, Chimoio. 2011/07/02 sat 1724-1726 Portuguese talk. Poor. 963, Rádio Moçambique EP Tete, Tete. 2011/07/02 sat 1723-1724 Afro music. Poor. 1179, Rádio Moçambique EP Zambézia, Quelimane. 2011/07/02 sat 1731- 1732, Portuguese, OM talking. Fair. 1206, Rádio Moçambique national service, Inhambane. 2011/07/02 sat 1734-1736, Portuguese, talk. Fair. Also 2011/07/03 sun 1815-1817 Portuguese with afro music. Fair. Jo'burg sunset 1528-1529 (Bill Bingham, RSA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. Today 4th July (Happy Independence day guys!!) was listening at 1130 UT they were on 7185.75 kHz and nothing on 7200 kHz. They keep changing the transmitters for this service going up to 1300 UT. Some days use both transmitters although it is thought the transmitter on 7200 kHz is producing a spur 15 down and 15 up (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, 4S7VK, DXplorer July 4 via BC-DX 11 July via DXLD) 7185.74, Myanma Radio, 1220:11*, July 8. In vernacular with sign off announcement; fair with no OTH radar today. 7185.74, Myanma Radio, 1211-1221:05*, July 9. Keeping to their new sign off time and new closing theme music (indigenous); fair 5770, Myanmar Defense Forces Br. St., 1234, July 9. Not often I hear them in the summer; poor; in vernacular and pop songs. 5985.83, Myanma Radio, 1248, July 9. Adjacent QRM; in vernacular with pop songs (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NAMIBIA [and SOUTH AFRICA]. A VHF surprise! At 0930 GMT on 20 Feb, some 320 miles west of the Namibian coast, a weak German station could be heard on 96 MHz plus an African ``clicking`` language on 106.4 MHz (fair) and a religious service on 102.8 MHz (fair to good). At 1630, KFM could be heard on 94.8 MHz and a Cape Town local on 95.3, this at 700 miles NW from the city. By 1300 GMT on 21 Feb, 1100 miles NW, the VHF band was full of S African and Namibian stations with strong signals, including KFM on 94.8. I can only conclude that this was due to oceanic ducting (John Mattocks, Report from the Mid Atlantic, aboard the RMS St Helena, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) WRTH shows KFM is a private network from Cape Town, the 94.8 transmitter, 17 kW in Springbok. IIRC this is a heavy area for tropo ducting, like Hawaii-California, altho at 700-1100 mile distances, sporadic E could also funxion there especially in the summer. Are the first group axually from Namibia, or RSA? German suggests the former, as there is an entire German-language network in Namibia including three transmitters on 96.0. 106.4 could be the Damara/Nama Service. I don`t see any NBC on 102.8, but that frequency area would most likely be the Herero Service. All networks have their own specifically grouped frequency segments, with some exceptions (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. RNW is beginning to shut down :( http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2011/07/07/dutch-government-to-slash-radio-netherlands-worldwide-focus-on-regions-needing-free-speech/ Dutch government to slash Radio Netherlands Worldwide, focus on regions needing “free speech” --- Dutch Prime Ministher Mark Rutte announces changes to Radio Netherlands As part of a government austerity program, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced plans to make significant cuts in the budget of shortwave broadcaster Radio Netherlands Worldwide. RNW has been relied upon by both Dutch expatriates and other listeners around the world for a unique take on world events, in addition to news from the Netherlands. In a press conference Rutte praised the service and articulated its revised mission: “Radio Netherlands Worldwide will limit itself to one role, promoting free speech. I think the other tasks RNW performs are nice, valuable, but not enough to finance them with public money.” As part of this plan RNW will be moved into the government’s Foreign Ministry. The cuts at RNW come at the same time as other international broadcasters are scaling back as well. Germany’s Deutsche Welle is ending shortwave and mediumwave (AM) broadcasts while Radio Australia is also phasing out shortwave in favor of internet broadcasting. In general governments have cited the ability to reach listeners more easily over the internet as a significant reason for ending terrestrial international broadcasts. The Dutch government’s revised focus for RNW reflects this trend to retain terrestrial broadcasts only to regions that still rely on shortwave for international news and information. However, that doesn’t mean that RNW and other prominent supporters will go down without a fight. The network has assembled testimony from a variety of prominent international voices in support the station and retaining its full broadcast service. Dutch national Willem Sools discusses the important role RNW played for him while being held hostage in Somalia in 2008: “The whole time, we were able to listen regularly to a little radio, to stations including Radio Netherlands Worldwide. I wanted to thank you, even though you weren’t aware of it. I was able to hear everything about the Netherlands: interviews, documentaries, the news and, at Yuletide, typically Dutch stories about Saint Nicholas and Christmas – fantastic. Your broadcasts strengthened me a lot. Thanks.” As the BBC and Deutsche Welle have phased our their broadcast service to North America, Radio Netherlands Worldwide has remained one of the stations that I could reliably tune in for high-quality world news in English on the shortwave band. Admittedly, shortwave radio is not a primary information service for me at this point in time, nor is it for most people in North America. However, I’ve appreciated the service in times when I was traveling and there wasn’t another good news source on the AM or FM dial, or when there’s been a power outage and I’m tired of hearing “traffic and weather on the 8s.” I suppose it is a good thing that the Dutch government seems to want to maintain broadcasts to the developing world and regions where it wishes to promote free speech. However, it is hard not to lament that the era of ubiquitous global shortwave broadcasting is coming to an end (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Would an NPR affiliate in the Netherlands help fill the void caused by the demise of Radio Netherlands Worldwide? -- I'm not sure that "broadcasts" will describe what RNW -- or whatever it will be called -- will do in the future. In any case, RNW is now only partly shortwave, and has become truly multimedia. But an idea came to me while reading the above. With so many medium wave channels recently vacated in the Netherlands, could this be an opening for an English-language radio station in the Netherlands to serve the expats and other anglophones (there are many of them) in the Benelux? The same radio could be heard worldwide by internet audio stream, and portions of it rebroadcast on affiliate stations in other countries (such as "The State We're In" is broadcast on many US NPR affiliates). In fact, this Dutch radio station could become an NPR affiliate, to help fill its day with programming. The station could correspondingly hold the pledge drives which Benelux listeners will find as annoying as we do, but could provide the funds that the Dutch government probably won't. And, like NPR stations in the United States, BBC programming would fill part of the schedule (Kim Andrew Elliott, Posted: 10 Jul 2011, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) The future of RNW SW broadcasts --- According to reliable sources, it appears that the SW broadcasts from RNW will be until December or perhaps a little more. They might run a frequency for the Caribbean from a transmitter in Guyana [GUIANA FRENCH]. These decisions will be announced between October and November. Regarding the Spanish section is likely to be smaller, this will be known better in next September or October (Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, July 13, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I had speculated earlier that the Bonaire closing might be brought forward a season or two, so this might support that theory? A long window for a shutdown (18 months) was probably not a good idea as program quality would severely deteriorate as the staff moves on to other opportunities. An earlier shutdown might mean more in the pot for any severance packages, as well (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) There's no significant news to report regarding the forthcoming reorganisation at RNW, but there's plenty going on behind the scenes. I keep seeing messages on mailing lists from people who don't work here about what they claim is going to happen, but as I've said before, unless attributed to a named individual at RNW then it's just a rumour. Nothing is definite yet - there will be a lot of meetings in the coming weeks (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter July 14 via DXLD) see also MADAGASCAR [Not posted re RNW in particular but on this general topic:] Unfortunately, shortwave radio is mainly a vehicle for propaganda. As funds dry up, as countries no longer feel the need to "win over the hearts and minds" of others, international shortwave radio is looked upon as a very expensive expenditure --- an expense no longer afforded or justified in these difficult economic times. It is sad for many of us that shortwave radio is dying. Stations are going dark and towers are dismantled as those in control, those in leader positions, feel there are more cost effective delivery methods. In my opinion, a big mistake not taken into consideration is "whom will listen?". I don't believe I've heard or read this point being considered when international shortwave radio is replaced by web/internet "broadcasting". Using a portable shortwave receiver I'm able to listen just about anywhere. With web broadcasting I'm forced to sit at my PC with a high speed internet connection to listen. Or, download an mp3, wav, etc for listening. While internet broadcasting is inexpensive, as compared to shortwave radio, for the broadcaster, web listening is not convenient or practical for the listener. It is interesting that we've made a hobby, quite often a lifetime hobby, of listening to propaganda. 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, Manassas, VA USA, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi Kraig, Only if we choose to listen to it! For myself, I will take the wide variety of musical programming available via SW or non- propaganda local shows from Malaysia, PNG, Australia, etc. I still get a lot of enjoyment from my daily trip to the beach to hear my old favorite stations and to look for anything new (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. NEW NOVEL BY FORMER RNW PRESENTER NOW AVAILABLE Ruth Deborah Ray (formerly Dody Cowan of Radio Nederland) writes: A quick note to let you know that the printed (Strengholt, the Netherlands), signed and dedicated edition of my novel The Sleeping Madonna is now available at: Blog: deborahrey.wordpress.com The book looks gorgeous (522 pages) and is going like hotcakes. The Sleeping Madonna A Madonna statue that turns out to be a beautiful, but very dead old lady, the perplexing likeness between film actress Roxane Fontaine and Ana Rosa de Fontes Fonsqua, the old lady’s niece who mysteriously disappeared twenty-one years ago, three people who have loved each other since childhood… Let The Sleeping Madonna take you to Portugal’s Douro Region, to cradle of the country’s famous Port Wine, take part in the vindimas and the corta (the harvest and treading of the grapes), but most of all watch the rebirth of a unique, extremely sensual concordat of love between Roxane Fontaine, Rui Cabral and Celeste de Fontes Cabral, his wife. Their Triangle of Love, a ménage à trois that lasts for forty- two years and within which the three of them share life and all it has to offer. (Source: Ruth Deborah Ray) (July 8th, 2011 - 12:09 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) Costs 17.5 Euro ** NEWFOUNDLAND. It's not "The Great Eastern," but former "Eastern" host Mack Furlong is currently hosting CBC-Newfoundland's "Weekend Arts Magazine," the show he effectively parodied. http://www.cbc.ca/wam/ (Mike Cooper, July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CANADA: TA TVDX ** NEW ZEALAND. Re 11-27: RNZi Rangitaiki heard again on slight odd frequency 15719.986 kHz this morning July 9 at 0130-0145 UT, S=5 signal. 73 wb DF5SX (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGER. 9704.99, LV du Sahel, 2215-2235*, July 8, vernacular talk. Euro-pop music. Afro-pop music. Abrupt sign off. Irregular. They usually sign off around 2300 but lately they have been abruptly signing off at odd times. Poor in noisy conditions. 9704.99, LV du Sahal, 2230-2257*, July 13, Irregular. Indigenous vocals. Rustic instrumental music. Vernacular announcements. Qur`an at approximately 2250 followed by short flute IS and National Anthem at 2255. Five seconds of test tone at 2257 and off. Poor to fair, but at times only a threshold signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) See also ETHIOPIA ** NIGERIA. Sabato 9 luglio 2011, 0954 - 15120 kHz, VOICE OF NIGERIA - Ikorodu, Inglese, annunci YL e musica reggae. Segnale buono-molto buono. 9690 era spenta. Cambio definitivo? Errore? Qualche emissione speciale per qualche evento locale? (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 1640, KFXY, Enid, July 12 at 0952 UT during local weather break, 100+ temps continue with no respite in sight, has a slight het, I think on the hi side. Either it or some other 1640 is a bit off-frequency. WTNI Mississippi is the usual backgrounder, and I read that they are back to full-power now, which is only 1 kW at night. Then with KFXY back to gospel music, could not hear the het (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1640 is also one of the DFW Arrival and Departure gate information TIS stations (I Think), but I don't think that it would go that far. I would think that they would go silent at that hour, though (David R Block, Carrollton TX, ptsw yg via DXLD) David, Tnx for the reminder, but I wonder if it is still on the air. Have not seen it reported in years. Have you (or anyone reading this) been thru DFW lately or can you hear it? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) You are probably correct. I see that we have a 1630 station, so 1640 is a no-go. Pardon my brain belch (David, ibid.) See also USA: FM/TVDX ** PAKISTAN. Dear Glenn, I received from Radio Pakistan the exact time table of English emissions. 0905 - 0910 UT 15725; 17720 1100 - 1105 UT 15725; 17720 1700 - 1710 UT 11590; 15265 --- Kind regards (Dario Gabrielli, (North of Italy), July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11590/15265. Today again break on R Pakistan schedule, due of main power lost which appeared often on past days. Nothing heard in 1700- 1735 UT July 14. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Thanks, but for the time table please also see: http://wrth.com/files/WRTH2011IntRadioSuppl2_A11Schedules.pdf page 26: Key: * News in English: 0904-0910 & 1100-1104; ** News in English: 1700-1710. That's close enough, isn't it. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3205, NBC Sandaun. July 9, 10 and 11 off the air during random checks. 5960, R. Fly, 1356, July 11. Jazz instrumental and pop songs; poor; unable to confirm // 3915. Pleased to learn my QSL card was mailed yesterday. Will not be long now! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU [and non]. Re 11-27: Glenn, Con las disculpas del caso. Por responder oportunamente. mxf = música folklórica y/o local UTC 12:19 en Perú 7:19 la modificación ya fue considerada. Tnx y 73’s (Pedro F. Arrunátegui, Perú, July 11, DX LISTENNG DIGEST) ** PERU. 3329.53, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco, seems to sign on 1020, excellent program of OA music, 6 July [Wilkner] 4774.9, Radio Tarma, Tarma, seemingly the one 1100 to 1110 en espanol, 7 July (Robert Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro modified, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, HCDX via DXLD) ** PERU. INTERESANTISIMO --- Estimados: Hay un video de algo más de 13 minutos sobre la planta transmisora y equipos transmisores de Radio Manantial, Huancayo. Hagan click en http://www.somosmanantial.com/ Recuerden que esta emisora puede escucharse en la onda corta en la banda de 60 metros! (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, July 8 radioescutas yg via DXLD) O, yes, I believe we saw that last year. Engineer at site keeps referring to the transmitter as ``la máquina``. Just below the little video player is this newer notice: (gh) Ultimos Eventos: onda corta Inauguración de la Nueva Planta Transmisora de Radio Manantial: Un Patrimonio de la Iglesia Evangélica Pentecostal de Jesucristo. Templo la Hermosa. En el Cerro Vista Alegre del Distrito de Viques a los 3800. Metros sobre el Nivel del Mar está Ubicado la Nueva Planta Transmisor de la Radio Manantial 960 Am. 4985 [sic] KHZ. Onda Corta. Cubriendo a Nivel Nacional E internacional SENAL CADEMNA [sic] DE Milagros. Día de la Inauguración. 5 de Marzo del 2011. De donde se transmitirá en vivo, la concentración masiva de todo el Pueblo Cristiano de toda [sic] las Iglesias del Valle del Mantaro. Hace esta invitación el Fundador y Pastor Leoncio Paco y Esposa Susana Canales. Y más todo los Programadores y operadores de esta emisora (via gh, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 15285, R. Pilipinas/VOP, randomly from 0203 to 0330*, July 10. Sunday they have a completely different format than any other day; in English; songs by Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., etc; two YLs chatting about religion; off with National Anthem; started poor and come up to almost fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 9615, July 12 at 1013 Chinese with good signal; at first thought maybe KNLS, which has used this frequency before, but now registered as RVA at 10-12, 250 kW, 355 degrees from Palauig site (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. 7333.73, R. Romania International, 0308-0338, July 9 and 10. How long have they been off frequency? In English; poor; played some nice folk music (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Never heard before that. I'll check the whole RRI schedule now. Thanks cheers de wb --- Ron informed tonight that one of the RRI - RadioCom transmitter is odd frequency. At 0700-0757 UT on odd 9698.363 [nominal 9700 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti], 11970.0 15260.0 17720.0 At 0800-0857 UT on odd 15697.356 [nominal 15700 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 11870.0 11970.0 15450.0 kHz At 0900-0957 UT on odd 17597.038 [nominal 17600 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 11830.0 15240.0 15380.0 kHz RRI in French at 1000-1057 UT on odd 15377.416 [nominal 15380 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 11830.0 15240.0 17785.0 kHz RRI in English at 1100-1157 UT on odd 15207.440 [nominal 15210 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 15430.0 17510.0 17670.0 kHz RRI in German at 1200-1257 UT on odd 9673.372 [nominal 9675 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 11875.0 kHz, and Romanian 7300.0-Saftica, 11920.0, 15195.0 kHz RRI in Chinese at 1300-1327 UT on odd 17597.040 [nominal 17600 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 15435.0 kHz, and Romanian 1200-1357 UT 11920.0, 15195.0 kHz RRI in Russian at 1330-1357 UT on odd 15137.458 [nominal 15140 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 11835.0 kHz, RRI in Arabic at 1400-1457 UT on odd 15487.400 [nominal 15490 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 11830.0 11945.0 15160.0 kHz. RRI in French at 1600-1657 UT on odd 9678.373 [nominal 9680 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 11950.0 kHz. Also Romanian 1600-1657 UT on even 9690.0 11825.0 kHz. RRI in English at 1700-1757 UT on odd 11733.032 [nominal 11735 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 9535.0drm kHz. Also Romanian 1700-1957 UT on even 11970.0 15310.0 kHz. RRI in German at 1800-1857 UT on odd 7238.783 [nominal 7240 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 9495.0drm kHz. RRI in Spanish at 1900-1957 UT on odd 11713.035 [nominal 11715 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 9700.0 kHz. RRI in English at 2200-2257 UT on odd 9788.351 [nominal 9790 kHz 300 kW from Tiganeshti] // 5960.0 7435.0 kHz. One of the Tiganeshti transmitters has "an even frequency failure" on July 9th and July 10th ! [also copied to officials at Radiocom.ro] Checked RRI Tiganesti sporadic yesterday July 11, and now at 1000 UT again July 12. July 11 RRI in French at 1600-1657 UT on odd 9678.374 [nominal 9680 kHz 300 kW from Tiganesti] \\ 11950.0 kHz. Also Romanian 1600-1657 UT from Galbeni site on even 9690.0 11825.0 kHz. RRI in German at 1800-1857 UT on odd 7238.787 [nominal 7240 kHz 300 kW from Tiganesti] \\ 9495.0drm kHz. July 12 RRI in French at 1000-1057 UT on odd 15377.700 [nominal 15380kHz 300kW from Tiganesti] \\ 11830.0 15240.0 17785.0 kHz. 73 wb [partial schedule, for further checking] ROMANIAN 0700-0756 9700 11970 15260 17720 "Curierul romanesc" Sun 0800-0856 11870 11970 15450 15700 "Curierul romanesc" Sun 0900-0956 11830 15240 15380 17600 "Curierul romanesc" Sun 1200-1256 ^7300-Saftica site. 11920 15195 1300-1356 11920 15195 1500-1556 9855 11895 1600-1656 9690 11825 1700-1756 11970 15310 1800-1856 11970 15310 1900-1956 11970 15310 ENGLISH 1100-1156 15210 15430 17510 17670 FRENCH 1000-1056 11830 15240 15380 17785 1600-1656 9680 11950 GERMAN 1200-1256 9675 11875 CHINESE 1300-1326 15435 17600 RUSSIAN 1330-1356 11835 15140 ARABIC 1400-1456 11830 11945 15160 15490 RUSSIAN 1500-1556 9690 *11615drm 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. (European), R. Rossii, 9480, Radio Center 3 via Taldom, full/data e-mail letter with attachment photo of transmitter site in 12 days. Said they will forward my report to their HQ for an official QSL. My report was sent to: rc-3-buch @ mail.ru V/s Andrey Shaydurov. Addr: Radio Center - 3, Taldom, Moscow Region, Russia (Kivell, FL, QSL Report, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Radio Radonezh (Russian Orthodoxy Station) verified my reception report with 1 IRC in Russian after 1233 days (about 3.5 years!) by QSL letter in Russian via surface mail! QSL was signed by Mr. E. K. Nikiforov of Russian Orthodox Society. I received their Vladivostok frequency on 675 kHz, but they marked 846 kHz, the Moscow frequency. The number of QSL was marked No. 1 for 2011. Address: yl. [sic] Pyatnitskaya 25, Moskva 115326, Russia ---- the same as Voice of Russia! E-mail: info @ radonezh.ru URL: http://www.radonezh.ru Telephone: +8 495 772 7961 Frequencies: Moskva 612 kHz 864 kHz (Noginsk site) St. Petersburg 684 kHz Vladivostok 675 kHz and many FM frequencies in Krasnoyarsk region BTW, Russian post office does not accept the letters with addresses written in Cyrillic alphabet to foreign countries, so DXers should write their names and addresses in Roman alphabet even if they are good at writing in Russian (Takahito Akabayashi, Japan, July 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. VOR ON MW IN NYC AND WASHINGTON DC VOR has acquired 24/7 MW (AM) leases of 1390 kHz in Washington and 1430 in New York. Furthermore, VOR is originating US-oriented programming M-F at 6-9 am and 4-7 pm ET, complete with local weather, temps in F [i.e., drivetime, 10-13 and 20-23 UT]. Programming is news and current affairs, somewhat like NPR`s `Morning Edition`, but with young and mostly inexperienced announcers, and not much of a global correspondent network. One program, `Capital to Capital`, includes one Angela Davis in Moscow. The Angela Davis, as in former leader of the Communist Party USA, frequently mentioned by R. Moscow in the 1960s and 1970s? Sounds like it might be. This new VOR service seems to emulate RFE/RL Russian, available on 1044 kHz MW in Moscow, and focusing on the Russian domestic affairs. It will be an uphill struggle for VOR, transmitting on the relatively unpopular AM band, and not filling much of a niche in its programming. OTOH, VOR WS programming that fills the rest of the 24/7 schedule does offer some interesting alternatives to US radio [standard disclaimer] (Kim Andrew Elliott, International Broadcasting [no longer Kim`s Column], July NASWA Journal via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) On the Voice of Russia AM-band service for Washington and New York City, I have been hearing the program "Capital to Capital," i.e. Washington and Moscow. The presenter in Moscow is Angela Davis. The Angela Davis? As in the former leading light and twice vice presidential candidate of the Soviet-affiliated Communist Party USA? Frequently reported about on Radio Moscow from the 1960s to the 1980s, though rarely mentioned in the US media? If it is she, at age 67, Davis sounds youthful and energetic. Granted, her gig on Voice of Russia only involves a few minutes of microphone presence per weekday. (Listen to mp3 audio excerpt, 1 min 38 sec, from 8 July.) (Kim Andrew Elliott, July 9, kimandrewelliott.com via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) Hi Kim, You`ve probably been Googling Angela Davis more than I, but here`s one location I found for her. http://wgs.syr.edu/FacultyStaff.htm Of course she could still be in Moscow at the moment (Glenn to Kim, via DXLD) Hi Glenn, Her Wikipedia entry also lists Syracuse U as her most recent gig. But this item says she was a distinguished visiting professor for one month back in October... http://campaign.syr.edu/2010/10/14/scholar-activist-angela-davis-to-give-free-lecture-oct-12/ And there is no Angela Davis in a faculty/staff search at the main Syracuse U website. So I think she might be in Moscow. Russian international broadcasting seems to have deep pockets these days, so she is probably enjoying the steady income and a bourgeois lifestyle. Thanks for checking. If you find any recent audio of her, that could be useful for comparison (Kim Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Kim: Thanks for bringing up "Angela Davis" issue :) It appears that an English-speaking lady in Moscow had a not very bright idea of picking up this formerly famous name as her on-air name. I noted that Ms. "Davis" from Moscow pronounces all Russian names very well and doesn't have much of a southern accent (the real Angela Davis is from Alabama). For voice comparisons here's Angela Davis' interview to Al-Jazeera from 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU-PNWxhjr8 RT reported on Davis, too http://rt.com/politics/angela-davis-american-icon-for-the-ussr Pretty balanced report. I disagree that Soviet women wanted her haircut, though. Actually from my childhood memories it was quite the opposite. - The women would jokingly say: "Sorry, I look like Angela Davis today." Meaning, "I'm having a bad hair day..." Note that RT didn't manage to get Angela Davis' interview. According to Wiki, the real Angela Davis is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Women's and Gender Studies Department at Syracuse University. She's mentioned here: http://wgs.syr.edu/FacultyStaff.htm 73! (Sergei, via Kim, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, My Angela Davis is in Moscow hypothesis has quickly crumbled. Typical. Sergey is spot on about it being "not a very bright idea" to purloin the Angela Davis name (Kim Andrew Elliott, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Kim: I did some googling in Russian. According to Russian state TV Rossiya report from June 20, 2011, "Angela Davis" is the onair name for Linda Heward-Mills who is "half Russian, half American" http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=482721&cid=9 She has been working at VoR since December, 2010. Facebook account: http://ru-ru.facebook.com/people/Linda-Heward-Mills/100000910727978 Interestingly, in the same report TV Rossiya is quoting VoR's Chairman Andrei Bystritsiy as saying: "Radio audience in the U.S. is growing, not declining. This is a rather curious phenomenon because, as a rule, the audience of traditional media is decreasing." (Sergei via Kim, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, ibid.) ``In this studio, Angela Davis is my program here for six months. Sounds intriguing. But the name of the well-known human rights activist once - this is just an alias journalist Linda Hevordmils [sic]. Half Russian, half-American, working in air, which, in fact, also by half: the production - the Russian, the audience - English- language, with its peculiarities.`` (Google translation of pertinent graf from Vesti above, via DXLD) ** SAINT HELENA. The DX opportunities for here are fantastic but my location was poor, down in the deep gully in which Jamestown sits. Radio St. Helena transmits on 1548 kHz but was putting out a weak spurious signal on approx. 638 kHz (John Mattocks, late Feb 2011, Report from the Mid Atlantic, from aboard the RMS St Helena, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) O o, another one fooled by a 2 x 455 kHz IF receiver image, internally produced, not a spur from the transmitter (gh, DXLD) ** SAINT HELENA. NEW MEDIA COMPANY TO BE FORMED IN ST HELENA The Saint Helena Government (SHG) is planning to set up a new community-owned company to provide improved media services on the island. This “not for profit” company will provide three new radio services, all on the FM band, and a newspaper. The first radio station will focus on popular and country music with news summaries. the second station will maintain the Radio St Helena brand, and the third station will be dedicated to the BBC World Service. The new Company will be fully independent of Government and the current St Helena News Media Services organisation will be wound up. Following an expression of interest from Mr Mike Olsson to sell off Saint FM and the Independent Newspaper, SHG had begun negotiations with him for the acquisition of both the radio station and the newspaper. An opening offer was presented to Mr Olsson for the purchase of Saint FM and the Independent, but unfortunately Mr Olsson has advised that he wishes to withdraw from any further negotiations. SHG still intends to press ahead with its plans to facilitate the setting up of the new community owned company and it is also hoped that a way can be found to recommence negotiations with Mr Olsson with a view to reaching an agreement that is satisfactory to both parties. (Sources: St Helena Herald/St Helena Independent)(July 12th, 2011 - 12:54 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SARAWAK [and non]. Re: Sarawak on 7270.24 --- Hi Ron, It seems the Iban language programming from RTM Sarawak has been extended and moved from Wai FM to a separate network called "Sada FM" on Kuching 101.3 MHz, while Wai FM continues in Bidayuh and Kayan-Kenyah on Kuching 106.1 MHz. Both Sada FM and Wai FM are scheduled at 2200-1600 UT. Kuching 7270 kHz has been silent for a few weeks, but perhaps it was carrying Sada FM while Kajang 11665 kHz was relaying Wai FM. Both networks would relay RTM news from Kuching or KL at times, so they might often be in parallel with news bulletins after the top of the hour. Best regards (Alan Davies, Asia, July 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also MALAYSIA [the rest of it] ** SINGAPORE. 11685, July 13 at 1334 in S Asian language, poor and vs constant RTTY QRM circa 11688 also bothering Cuba 11690. Gone at next check 1348. Chex with HFCC as R. Japan in Bengali via Singapore, 1300- 1345, 250 kW, 315 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also MADAGASCAR ** SOUTH AFRICA. FM DX into the South Atlantic: see NAMIBIA [and non] ** SPAIN. REE has had on-demand programming for streaming and podcast the past year, but limited to features; news and current affairs were not offered in the daily update. As of late May, the full weekday program is now available for nearly all days. Only the weekday programs are saved, as weekend programming is simply a rehash of the previous week`s features. I`ve long enjoyed REE – dating back to the 1980s when I resumed SWLing; REE doesn`t try to cover the world like the BBC, or even the continent, like DW; rather, REE covers issues and culture from the Spanish-speaking world, including Latin America, a region that has long been underrepresented in English language international broadcasting. Unfortunately the English service is somewhat buried on the website, which itself is within the national RTVE site. Specific URL for REE is http://www.ree/rne.es [sic --- see below] --- English section is then visible on the page. REE`s English Section is a small group, and always seems to be in danger of losing funding; consider sending them a note to let them know you`re listening: englishbroadcast @ rtve.es or Radio Exterior de España, English Language Broadcast, P O Box 156.202, Madrid 28080, Spain (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, July NASWA Journal via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) REE is even more impressive if you listen to their Spanish service. If you haven`t learnt Spanish, please do so now (gh) The url http://www.ree/rne.es is messed up. Something may have been transposed or left off in the posting. http://www.rne.es/ree will get you to the Spanish version of the REE web site, and then you can click to the link for the English version (Bruce Portzer, WA, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9775-9780-9785, July 8 at 0539, REE is back in DRM noise, after having been in AM when last checked July 5. [non]. 11880, July 10 at 1230, REE via COSTA RICA gives timecheck as ``14 horas``! Then `Amigos de la Onda Corta`. Maybe their TCs are on an out-of-synch automation system? Or that of RNE domestic which I think they were relaying before then (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. THE ‘HAUNTED’ PAST OF RADIO CEYLON by Chamari SENANAYAKE Walking into the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) buildings at Torrington Square, one would immediately feel the historical value of the place, but most people would not know just how valuable it is. Our SLBC is Asia's first broadcasting corporation. Radio Ceylon started in Sri Lanka then Ceylon, paving the way for many other radio stations that later came to be celebrated around the world, inspiring countries such as Hong Kong, Korea, India and Singapore to enter the world of wireless media. Full story with photos at : http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/07/10/spe01.asp (via Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, July 11, dxldyg via DXLD) ex lunatic asylum 15745.01, SLBC, *0125-0140, July 9, sign on with local drums. National Anthem at 0126 followed by more local drums and local music. Opening English ID announcements and preview of upcoming programs. Lite instrumental music at 0131. Poor to fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** SUDAN [and non]. 13620, July 9 at 0517, R. Dabanga but no tone jamming! Irregular fading may however have come from the tone jammer carrier SAH. The other jamming on 13730 seemed JBA. Wonder if the emergence of South Sudan will affect this or other clandestine services. 13620, July 10 at 0519, tone jammer is back as usual under R. Dabanga via MADAGASCAR. 13620, July 11 at 0454 check, R. Dabanga via MADAGASCAR is once again without the continuous 1000 Hz tone jamming, but still with the carrier from same producing SAH. 13620, July 12 at 0520, same; at least I think there is a second carrier. 13620, July 13 at 0513, R. Dabanga good via MADAGASCAR, and once again with the continuous tone jammer also causing SAH (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13620, July 14 at 0526, R. Dabanga, for Darfur, good signal via MADAGASCAR, but continuous tone jammer is also stronger than usual with heavy SAH too. At 0527 when RD ends, a semi-minute of something in English, maybe RNW satellite program feed erroneously until 0527:30* after which the tone jammer was in the clear. *0528 OC on 13840 maybe same Talata transmitter prior to NHK French from 0530. RNW Programme Distribution via Media Network blog has a new full schedule for R. Dabanga effective July 18, with confusing site switches, I reorganize by frequency: 13620 MDC 0430-0527, NAU 0527-0557 13730 MDC 0430-0459, WER 0459-0557, MDC 1529-1627 15550 UAE 0430-0527 15720 WER 1529-1627 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: NEW SCHEDULE FOR RADIO DABANGA EFFECTIVE 18 JULY Dutch-based Radio Dabanga, which broadcasts to the Darfur region, will have a revised schedule as from Monday 18 July 2011: 0430-0527 15550 (Dhabayya 500 kW) and 13620 kHz (Madagascar 250 kW) 0430-0459 13730 (Madagascar 250 kW) 0459-0527 13730 (Wertachtal 250 kW) 0527-0557 13620 (Nauen 500 kW) and 13730 kHz (Wertachtal 250 kW) 1529-1627 15720 (Wertachtal 500 kW) and 13730 kHz (Madagascar 250 kW) (Source: RNW Programme Distribution) (July 12th, 2011 - 16:06 UTC by Andy Sennitt, via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ** SUDAN SOUTH [non]. VOA LIVE COVERAGE OF SOUTH SUDAN INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATION SATURDAY, WITH HIGHLIGHTS AT 1500-1600 UT. VOA press release, 8 July 2011: "Voice of America will provide live coverage of South Sudan’s independence celebrations on Saturday, with reports from the new country and Washington, including interviews with key leaders who have guided the historic transition. Sudan in Focus, VOA’s popular English language radio program to the region, will be renamed South Sudan in Focus to mark the occasion. ... VOA reporters in South Sudan will contribute to the special live broadcast, which will be hosted by John Tanza in Washington and Charlton Doki in Juba. VOA broadcasts to southern Sudan on shortwave, FM affiliate stations and is streamed on the Internet. VOA language services broadcasting to neighboring countries will pre-empt regular programming to broadcast Saturday’s Independence Day ceremony. ... Other U.S. international broadcasting coverage will include live reporting of the July 9th events on Alhurra TV's Arabic-language satellite broadcasts as well as expanded radio newscasts on Afia Darfur, broadcasting to Darfur and Eastern Chad (Posted: 08 Jul 2011, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) -- From this page http://www.voanews.com/english/news/special-reports/world-and-regional/Sudan-Elections-in-Focus-86961342.html we learn that the a South Sudan in Focus with "highlights of the independence ceremony" will be 9 July at 1500 to 1600 UT, on 15480 and 17895 kHz shortwave, "or tune to VOA's Africa live stream." A link to the VOA Africa live stream is at the top of http://www.voanews.com --- This implies that live coverage will occur earlier, at some time, on VOA English. We'll just have to listen to the live stream Saturday and see what happens. (Presumably the VOA FM relays in South Sudan, per the BBG deal reported in the previous post, are not yet on the air)(Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) Update: Disregard all of the above. I heard no live coverage on VOA before 1500 UT. Now, at 1530, when the South Sudan in Focus special should be on, I'm hearing "Hip Hop Connection" on the VOA Africa live stream. At the Sudan in Focus web page, the audio links lead to yesterday's program, still called "Sudan in Focus." Today's South Sudan in Focus may well be transmitting on shortwave, but I can't find a live internet stream. Live coverage of South Sudan independence ceremonies elusive but available on Al Jazeera English. Posted: 09 Jul 2011 On 9 July, I woke up early -- well, okay, I usually wake up early -- to witness the South Sudan's independence ceremonies. The official proclamation was supposed to be at 0845 UT, but that has been delayed. At 0706, I heard on BBC World Service (via WAMU, 88.5 MHz FM in Washington), a special combined edition of "The World Today" and "Network Africa." At the beginning of the program, the presenter said something about independence being "seconds away." Towards the end of the program he noted that the independence ceremony has been delayed. But because it was still 45 minutes away, how did he know? Was he perhaps confused by the bizarre time notation at the top of the BBC World Service website home page, which provides not GMT, but GMT + 1? During the 0800-0900 UT hour, BBC World Service broadcast "The Forum," this program an obviously pre-recorded discussion about divorce, rather tenuously drawing parallels to the separation of Sudan and South Sudan. Briefly after 0900, BBCWS was back in live mode, covering events in Juba, but recorded and off-subject "Witness" took over after 0915. VOA had advertised live coverage of Sudan's independence ceremonies, but, on the VOA Africa Live stream, during the 0800-0900 hour I heard the very-pre-recorded "Jazz America." More pre-recorded music programming after 0900. Now desperate to see the independence ceremony, I went downstairs, turned on the television, and switched the channel to Al Jazeera English, available here via the MHz Networks digital terrestrial service. Here, finally, I could see live video of the independence festivities. AJE was ready at 0845, but the dignitaries were not. AJE live coverage continued after 0900. It was spoiled by a bit too much commentary covering up the actual speeches and music from the site, and breaking away to news about other subjects. What I really wanted was a C-Span-like uncut feed of the independence ceremonies, and I even tried the C-Span website. Unfortunately, several Google searches turned up no such live television feed (Kim Andrew Elliott, July 9, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) 9740, July 9 at 1335, BBCWS English via Singapore is interviewing Sudanese on both sides about the South`s independence, eliciting rather mixed feelings. VOA press release said it would broadcast a special about that, July 9 at 15-16 on 15480 and 17895, but both were inaudible here. Meanwhile, CNN and MSNBC had more pressing domestic news to cover (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FWIW best TV coverage was Al Jazeera (as compared to BBC World, CCTV, CNN, FNC and Sky). They carried entire ceremony, with very few breaks. 73s (David Sharp, NSW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Subject: [Lista ConDig] Alguien sabe que emisora es? 15480 kHz, 1500 UT en adelante, hablan mucho sobre Sudàn (Ernesto Paulero, Argentina, 1526 UT July 9, condiglist yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) Refiere a South Sudan, el nuevo país (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, ibid.) http://www.short-wave.info/?station=RADIO%20SAWA Ahí dice que puede ser Radio Sawa desde Greenville...¿? (Marcelo Filipo, LU1EOT, ibid.) Como informamos la noche previa en DXLD, 15480 para una emisión especial de la VOA, sitio transmisor desconocido, pero no Greenville. No pudimos captarla. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Ernesto Paulero sent us a clip distributed on the dxldyg and also at: http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/audio/15480_kHz_1515UTC.mp3 Later, another one from Ernesto Paulero at 1558 July 9 as they were signing off: http://www.w4uvh.net/VOASSudan1558.mp3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) South Sudan in Focus Special transmission ---------------------------------------------------------------- July 10, 2011 1700-1800 utc, STREAM (wma, 32 kbps, dual mono): http://www.voanews.com/wm/voa/africa/engl/ENGLISHTOAFRICA_SUDAN_SPECIAL.asx (via Dragan Lekic, Serbia, July 11, dxldyg via DXLD) Same program as 26 hours earlier on 15480?? (gh) DX Show on South Sudan: http://archives.ckut.ca/128/20110710.10.30-11.00.mp3 (Artie Bigley, DXLD) I.e. this week`s `International Radio Report`, also expected on Area 51, UT Monday July 11 at 0330v on 5110v-CUSB following WORLD OF RADIO. Part about Africa starts halfway in. If you move the bar up to 15:00 on the winamp player, it resets as starting 00:00 and you can`t get back to the real beginning without restarting; strange. It seems that co-hostess Janice has been to South(ern) Sudan (gh, DXLD) ** SUDAN SOUTH. There has been interest expressed about future broadcasting from the newly independent South Sudan. Radio Peace, operated in the 60 mb, at various times from 2003-2009, but has been off the air for about two years. Radio Peace was owned an operated by a non-profit religious corporation, Educational Media Corp. of Spotsylvania, Virginia. I am informed by EMC that the transmitting equipment, once operated from an unofficially not-to-be- disclosed location in South Sudan, generally thought to have been in the vicinity of Narus Town, has been moved to Juba, the capital and major city in South Sudan. EMC no longer owns this transmitter/equipment, it having been donated to the Episcopal Diocese in Juba. EMC spokesman indicated that he understood that the Episcopal bishop was attempting to get permission to return the shortwave station to the air. I have inquires out to Episcopal authorities in Sudan for details (Don Jensen, WI, NASWA Country List Committee Chairman, July 11, NASWA yg via DXLD) Thus we are now expecting that the European DX Council will update its basic publication ”EDXC Radio Countries” at http://www.edxc.org/lists/200707edxc_landlist.pdf (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window July 13 via DXLD) Republic of SOUTH SUDAN --- On Jul 09 this new state could celebrate its independence from the Muslim government in Khartoum as agreed by both parties after two decades of civil war between Sudan and the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army. At a voting in January 2011, 98.83% of the participating voters in South Sudan were in favour for independence. The area of South Sudan is 644.329 square kms – about one fourth of the Republic of Sudan – or the area of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany together! Its only 8.26 million inhabitants are mostly Christians or Animists. A Broadcasting Bill is ready for South Sudan with one TV channel and three public radio channels and additional other channels, cf. http://www.article19.org/pdfs/analysis/southern-sudan-public-service-broadcasting-bil.pdf The WRTH lists two regional MW stations in South Sudan: Juba 693 kHz (100 kW) and Kadogli 1602 kHz (5 kW). The only known shortwave station in Southern Sudan has been R Peace which was a very small religious station owned and operated by Educational Media Corp. (EMC), in Spotsylvania, Virginia. Its station manager was Peter Stover who had about five employees. It was broadcasting from the Nuba Mountains with 4 kW on 5895 and 1 kW on 4750, but moved later to 4740 to avoid QRM from R Dunamis, Uganda. But in Sep 2009 when it became evident that the Nuba Mountains [would] stay as a part of North Sudan, the station ceased operations and relocated to the future capital of South Sudan, Juba. It has not yet been heard by DX-ers. The best hours to try for it are at *0230-0415* and *1600-1800* (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window July 13 via DXLD) ** SUDAN SOUTH. SOUTHERN SUDAN [sic] - Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, NCDXF Vice President, sent out the following on July 6th: "The Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) is pleased to announce a major grant to the Intrepid DX Group http://www.intrepid-dx.com/ and the DX Friends http://www.dxfriends.com/ who have joined together to activate the new entity of the Republic of Southern Sudan. Licensing is imminent and operation could begin in the next few days. " ST0, SOUTHERN SUDAN (Update). The Southern Sudan is now the world's newest country as they celebrated its independence on Saturday, July 9th, with a flag-raising and a swearing-in ceremony for the new president in the capital Juba. The special ceremony was attend by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and several other world delegates. On Friday, the U.N. Security Council approved a new peacekeeping force for South Sudan. The United Nations Security Council will endorse the Republic of Southern Sudan to become a member before the General Assembly on July 14th. The Southern Sudan is then expected to be the 193rd member/nation of the U.N. The ARRL should recognize this new country once they obtain UN admission. Meanwhile, Paul, N6PSE, reports that the Intrepid-DX Group and the DX Friends/Tifariti Gang is expected to activate this newly created country. They have had several meetings with this new government and they have obtained a valid license for this DXpedition. A team of 18 international operators are hoping to make 100,000 contacts over fourteen full days of operation on each amateur band and mode. If exact days for their operation are announced during the week, look for a special bulletin to be sent out. Stay tuned! For more details and updates watch: http://www.dxfriends.com/SouthernSudan2011 (both via Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1018, The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster, July 11, 2011, Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio), via Dave Raycroft, July 10, ODXA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) Apparently, official name is Southern Sudan, not the commonly used `South Sudan`. Once this is confirmed, we will reverse-list it as SUDAN SOUTHERN. Presumably the rest of the ex-SUDAN will still be called merely SUDAN, not SUDAN NORTH/NORTHERN? (gh, DXLD) ** TAIWAN [and non]. 15290.135, Heavily disturbed by China mainland jamming on even 15290.0, noted RTI in Mandarin Chinese on this odd Tainan outlet, on July 11 at 0420 UT S=9+10dB on remote SDR unit in Japan (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX 11 July via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. 5950, July 8 at 0541 past 0600 and still at 0648 check, WYFR relay of RTI is only a strong open carrier, no modulation. Okeechobee now has no other reason to stay awake after 0500, so maybe they were depending on it running without supervision (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Resumed modulation next night; see CUBA [non] ** TATARSTAN [non]. 15110, RUSSIA, Tatarstan Wave, 0411, 6/27/11. Poor with fragments of talk and into lively flute music and song by woman; steadily improving by 0416; also heard on 6/29 with sudden peaks to fair. Tnx to Don Jensen for this tip (Jim Ronda, Tulsa, OK, NRD-545, R-75 + PAR-SWL, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) 15110, Tatarstan Wave/GTRK Tatarstan, via Samara, *0410-0439, July 9. Brief IS; two IDs (one: “V efirye programa na volnye Tatarstana”); sounded to be in assume Tatar, as it was not in Russian; interview; dramatic reading of a story; some nice ballads; scheduled till 0500*; started poor, but steadily improving (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) `V efirye` means literally ``in the ether``, how quaint and archaic (gh, DXLD) 15110, Tatarstan Wave/GTRK Tatarstan, via Samara, 0431-0459*, July 11. Mostly in assume Tatar; OM and YL chatting; nice selection of traditional ballads; mostly fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. 7260, Radio Thailand (Udon Thani), 1108-1117, 7/11/2011, Vietnamese. Talk by man. Traditional music at 1112. Identification by man and schedule in English at 1114. Chimes at 1115 followed by English and presumed Cambodian IDs by man, then switch to Cambodian language program with talk by man. Strong signal, one of the best receptions of Radio Thailand in recent years (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, Tecsun PL-380 with whip antenna, NASWA yg via DXLD) 15275, R. Thailand, HSK9, 0039-0102, July 10. In English; business news; sports news; “Take on Thailand” (tourism); “Weather Flash”; many IDs; pips, chimes; “The time is now 8 AM in the Kingdom of Thailand”; choral National Anthem (Phleng Chat); into Thai; poor-fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET. China Tibet Broadcasting (Xizang People`s Broadcast Station) 7240, full/data ``Tibet Palace`` card in 23 days for mint stamps, $2.00 and a local post card. Beautiful QSL envelope with Chinese stamps. Addr: CTB, Lhasa City, Beijing Middle Road no. 41, Tibet 85000, China. E-mail: www.en.tibetadio.cn [sic; via?] (Kivell, FL, QSL Report, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) QSL reporters have no first names ** TURKEY. 15450, July 14 at 1321 after some enjoyable Turkish pop music filling out the 1230 English broadcast, VOT only fair signal with multi-lingual ID spiel, but not all of them as formerly: only counted eleven including English thrice. News headline, something about the TRNC. YL *still* announces wrong time and frequencies for this, ``1330-1430 on 15520 for Asia, 15450 for Europe``. 1322 almost nine repetitions of the identical IS, variations having been banished, until 1324.7* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA. 7194.94, 28.6 2100, Radio Uganda very strong. ID “UBC Radio” TN (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin via DXLD) New evening schedule (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window July 13 via DXLD) 7194,94 28.6 2005 UBC, Kampala, blandade romantiska ballader av bl a Cool And The Gang och Tracy Chapman. ID som "UBC Radio" och DJ med ruggig basröst som skulle fått Barry White att bli avundsjuk. C/d utan krusiduller 2106. Q4+. HR 7194.94, 28.6 2005, UBC, Kampala, mix of romantic ballads by among others Cool And The Gang and Tracy Chapman. ID as "UBC Radio" and a DJ with a very low bass voice that would have got even Barry White full of envy. Close/down without any frills at 2106. Q4+. HR (Hans Östnell, Biri, Norway, SW Bulletin July 10, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mercoledì 29 giugno 2011, 2135 - 7195 kHz, Inglese, tk OM/YL e telefonate. Segnale buono-sufficiente. Può essere l'Uganda a tale orario? 4976 era libera. Non sembrava dallo stile un'emittente pirata (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) What seems Uganda on 4976.04 at 0329 and still going at 0347 with very nice signal Now with mellow african rhythms. Not heard with this strength in many years (Don Jensen, Kenosha WI, UT July 10, NASWA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) 4976 Not reported since Feb 2011 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window July 13, ibid.) ** UGANDA [non]. via France, 15410, Radio Y’Abaganda, *1700-1715*, July 9, sign on with African choral music. Vernacular talk at 1704 to sign off. Poor. Weak in noisy conditions. Sat only (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. CHRIS GREENWAY had a letter published recently in the BBC staff newspaper, Ariel, the sentiments of which will no doubt be shared by many other BDXC members. It was given star letter treatment and headlined 'No way to say goodbye to old friend': "The last weekend of March saw the end of broadcasts by various World Service teams. The close-downs of the Caribbean and Russian services, among others, were marked in an appropriate manner in their final transmissions, so that the BBC said goodbye to listeners with respect for them and dignity for ourselves. Not so the end to more and 71 years of daily medium wave transmissions from the UK to Europe. Instead, as the final minute of 26 March ticked away, listeners to WS English on 648 kHz heard the usual pre-recorded sequence of trailer jingle and the canned announcement 'Wherever you are, you're with the BBC'. Then came the pips. And, at the very stroke of midnight, the signal fell silent. Aside from the discourtesy of switching off a transmitter without any warning to those listening at the time, this was so disappointing for those like myself who had tuned in specially for the final minutes. It was also out of character for an organisation which normally makes a point of observing such historic moments." (Open to Discussion, July BDXC-UK Communication via editor Chrissy Brand, DXLD) ** U K. BBC JOURNALISTS WILL HOLD ONE-DAY STRIKE 15 JULY OVER COMPULSORY REDUNDANCIES AT WORLD SERVICE, MONITORING, etc. journalism.co.uk, 8 July 2011, Rachel McAthy: "Journalists at the BBC have announced they will take strike action next week in a dispute over compulsory redundancies. Members of the National Union of Journalists voted in favour of strike action earlier this week, with 72 per cent of those who voted saying they would be prepared to strike. According to the NUJ, more than 100 people are at risk of compulsory redundancy at the BBC World Service. Union members are also said to be at risk in divisions including BBC Monitoring, BBC Scotland and potentially at BBC Wales, BBC 4, BBC Sport and TV Current Affairs. Today the union confirmed a one-day walk out will take place on 15 July." Irish Times, 8 July 2011: The National Union of Journalists "said its members had a 'long-standing commitment to the policy of no compuslory redundancies at the BBC'. ... Two NUJ members at BBC Monitoring will be forced to leave their jobs next week and the week after, despite what the union said was its offer of 'viable solutions'." (Posted: 08 Jul 2011, kimandrewelliott.com via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ** U K. BBC published its annual report, including the financial part: http://www.bbc.co.uk/annualreport (Sergei, July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC WORLD SERVICE AUDIENCE DROPS BY 14M[illion] IN PAST YEAR Journalism.co.uk By Rachel McAthy 12 July 2011 The BBC World Service's global audience has dropped by 14 million in the past year, according to the broadcaster. Overall audience for the year has been estimated at 166 million, down from 180 million last year. However, it claims online the World Service's audience has risen by 40 per cent in the past 12 months. In the BBC World Service annual report, published today, the broadcaster blamed the overall fall on the numerous service closures and changes which were implemented following cuts to its funding. In January, the broadcaster warned that budget cuts at the World Service would ultimately cost the broadcaster more than 30 million listeners, as it announced the planned closure of five of its foreign language services. The World Service was seeking savings of 16 per cent - around £67 million - over the next four years, following the government's spending review in October last year, which saw the World Service's Grant in Aid from the Foreign Office cut. Funding is due to be taken over by the licence fee from 1 April 2014. "The 2010 Spending Review settlement meant that cuts have been made to services, languages and platforms. Where services have closed, wholly or in part, or it is planned that they will do so shortly, their audiences have not been counted in this year's global estimate. This has resulted in a loss of 16.8 million weekly, mainly radio listeners. "There have, however, been increases in some other countries, meaning that overall the global audience estimate for World Service has decreased by 14.1 million. "Had audiences affected by service cuts not been removed, the overall audience estimate would have increased this year to around 184 million." However, online the broadcaster claims to have yielded much stronger results, with figures said to indicate 10 million weekly unique users of World Service websites, up by 3 million in 2009/10. According to the report, over the past year the reach of BBC World Service mobile sites increased 494 per cent to 453,000 unique users, which was said to be primarily driven by the Arab world. "Total audio requests on BBC World Service sites increased 44 per cent to 18.5 million, and total video requests increased 56 per cent to 38.8 million, mainly due to high usage of Arabic content," the report added. In February alone, BBC Global News online (BBC World Service and bbc.com) reached 31 million weekly unique users in total, up by 6.6 million on the same period last year. Significant decreases were felt by Afghanistan services, where overall listening to BBC radio was down 3.6 million and Pakistan services, with Urdu short wave audiences down from 5.1 million to 1.3 million since 2008. "We've had to make considerable changes to the World Service over the past year due to the cut in our funding from the government and this was always going to result in a drop in our audience figures," Peter Horrocks, director of BBC Global News, said in the release. "The World Service has been looking hard at the best way to provide impartial news and information to our audiences going forward, and it's encouraging to see improvement in key areas. The strong international journalism from the World Service, particularly during the Arab Spring, has been a key part of the significant increases for online, English radio and Arabic television. "We are also pleased to see that we are doing so well in the UK with audiences accessing World Service through digital radio, freeview and live streaming online. We will continue to look for the best fit for the audience - online, radio, tv, mobile - wherever it suits them best." Last month foreign secretary William Hague pledged an additional £2.2 million a year to the BBC World Service following concerns raised at the impact of the cuts facing the service. At the same time the BBC Trust announced the reallocation of £9 million worth of existing World Service funding to editorial investment over three years. http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/bbc-world-service-audience-drops-by-14m-in-past-year/s2/a545096/ (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) BBC publishes Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11 The BBC has today published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2010/11. Details can be found on the BBC Trust website here. The full report is available here: BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11 The BBC World Service’s Annual Review is also published today. BBC Worldwide’s Annual Review is available here: Annual Review 2010/11. The Executive’s pay strategy, also being published today, can be found here: BBC action on pay. More links and downloads for a number of reports and research published by the BBC alongside the Annual Report and Accounts available here. for linx see http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/bbc-publishes-annual-report-and-accounts-201011 (Source: BBC Press Office) July 12th, 2011 - 10:34 UT by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) -- After 35 years of international broadcasting audience research, I've learned that it takes about a year before shifts in broadcasting output are reflected in audience surveys. The major BBC WS cuts were announced in January, so perhaps the biggest drops in audience size await next year's annual report. Also, I don't think "World Service websites" includes the English-language international-facing bbc.com website. Note that the annual report is black on white, with no flashy graphics, befitting the times (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U K [and non]. Glenn, The BBC was received in the Metro Washington DC area with very good strength and intelligibility on 08 June at 2300 UT on 5935 kHz. The broadcast is not listed on short-wave.info. It is being received on a pocket radio with a wire antenna, and sounds like a transmission with the same strength as a transmission from Bonaire, Sackville, or from a domestic site (Joe Noussair, Alexandria, VA, USA, 2316 UT July 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Joseph, In HFCC, BBC relay via South Africa is scheduled on 5935 at 22-23. They are quite sloppy and have been heard running overtime before. How much longer was it on? Possibly they have added another hour by some other relay if you were receiving it so well (Glenn to Joe, ibid.) Hello again, Glenn - It ended at 2321 UT, but was too strong for it to have been from South Africa. At 2321 another transmitter seems to have masked it (warming up or testing). When I tuned back in some 10 minutes later only one transmitter was operating on that frequency, and it seemed to be a religious broadcaster who also wasn't listed. Not that listings can be assumed to be continuously maintained. It was too strong to be an image from another frequency. I believe it was likely an error or a relay. All the best - (Joseph Noussair, July 9, ibid.) South Africa, 3255, BBC WS relay, Meyerton: 2011/07/04 mon 1545-1611, Lucy Kellaway's brief but entertaining slot, followed by nine minutes of boring sport at 1550. Meyerton must have started the transmission early; according to HFCC, Aoki and EiBi it should start at *1600. Strong signal s9+20, but very low modulation; maybe they had a transmitter problem; at 1559 there suddenly developed an echo and rapid severe pulsing of the carrier, it cleared up just as suddenly at 1602. Probably change of transmitter? Modulation normal after 1600 with signal still s9+20. Jo'burg sunset 1529. 2011/07/05 tue 0545-0700*, Network Africa, followed by "The World Today" at 0600. BBC WS now here regularly after the theoretical 0600* listed by latest updates of HFCC, Aoki and EiBi. A welcome extension and not interfering with anyone else. Very good at start, reduced to good - fair by 0615. 2011/07/06 wed 0550-0700*, Network Africa followed by "The World Today" at 0600. Fair at start, but poor by 0615. Jo'burg sunrise 0456 (Bill Bingham, RSA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12095, July 12 at 0521, BBCWS in English in well, in absence of WTWW-3 12100. Registered as due east from CYPRUS at 0500-0700; however, there might have been a site substitution due to the arms explosion nearby July 11, disrupting power to the Zyyi site. 11680, July 12 at 0523, Arabic from BBCWS, 168 degrees from Rampisham, very bothered by RNZI DRM 11670-11675-11680. Tight selectivity and/or side tuning to the hi side might minimize it. 15790, July 14 at 0533, good signal in Arabic. It`s BBCWS at 05-07, 250 kW, 140 degrees from Woofferton, i.e. 320 degrees USward would be directly off the back (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 10000, WWV has now put the propagation minute back to its original slot, :18 past the hours, no longer displaced by announcements about its possible demise and then continuation, ex :19 past, confirmed at 1618 July 9 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. 15590, July 10 at 1212, VOA Spanish transmitter at Greenville has problems: continuous clicking, `Top 10 USA` music(?) and announcements fade down and up, silent for a while. Carrier itself seems OK on BFO, and then checking // 13750 and 9885, they sound OK, as does 15590 after 1215. 15130, July 14 at 0529, ME vocal music, fair, 0530 SW Asian language talking about Mubarak. It`s VOA Kurdish, per latest HFCC via Iranawila, SRI LANKA at 05-06, 250 kW, 316 degrees; contrary to Aoki which shows Nauen, presumably earlier site replaced. CRI in Chinese scheduled to collide, but not heard. 15715, July 14 at 0534, good signal in S Asian language mentioning Pakistan. HFCC shows a `Pakistani` service of IBB at 04-09, 250 kW, 90 degrees via Wertachtal, GERMANY. Aoki refines this to R. Mashaal in Pashto (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see AFGHANISTAN non ** U S A [and non]. Updated summer A-11 for Voice of America, 1 of 2: Afan Oromo 1730-1800 on 11905 11925 12140 13570 13870 Mon-Fri Albanian 0500-0530 on 5945 1600-1630 on 6040 1830-1900 on 6065 Amharic 1800-1900 on 11905 11925 12140 13570 13870 Arabic to Libya, Tunis, Egypt "Radio Sawa" 0800-1100 on 990 1170 1548 15780 17880 1100-1300 on 990 1170 1548 15780 17840 1300-1430 on 990 1170 1548 13690 17530 1430-1500 on 990 1170 1548 17530 17785 1500-1600 on 990 1170 1548 17540 17785 1600-1630 on 990 1170 1548 1630-0400 on 990 1170 1431 1548 0400-0800 on 990 1170 1548 Arabic to Sudan "Hello Darfur" 0300-0330 on 5945 7330 9815 1800-1830 on 9815 11665 11745 1900-1930 on 9600 9800 11830 Azerbaijani 1730-1800 on 7435 9850 13600 Bangla 1600-1700 on 1575 7475 11790 Burmese 0000-0030 on 1575 5955 7430 9320 0130-0300 on 11820 15110 17775 1130-1230 on 11965 15350 17775 1430-1500 on 1575 5865 9320 11910 12120 1500-1530 on 5865 9320 11910 1500-1530 on 1575 Sat/Sun 1530-1600 on 1575 5865 9320 1600-1630 on 5865 9320 2300-2400 on 6185 7430 9320 Cantonese 1300-1500 on 1170 7365 9355 Chinese 0000-0100 on 9545 11830 11925 15170 15385 17765 0900-1100 on 11825 11965 13610 13740 15250 15665 17485 21695 1100-1200 on 6110 9845 11785 11825 11990 12040 15250 1200-1300 on 6110 11785 11825 11990 12040 15115 15250 1300-1400 on 6110 9845 11785 11805 11990 12040 15115 1400-1500 on 6110 9845 11615 11805 11990 12040 2200-2300 on 6135 7205 9510 9845 11805 11925 Croatian 0430-0500 on 5945 1830-1845 on 3995 5910 Dari Radio Ashna 0130-0230 on 999 1296 9335 11565 1530-1630 on 999 1296 9335 15090 15380 1730-1830 on 999 1296 9335 11565 11580 1930-2030 on 999 1296 7555 9335 English to Afghanistan 2030-0030 on 1296 7555 English to Eu/ME/NoAf 0100-0130 on 1593 1500-1600 on 13570 15530 2000-2100 on 5930 9480 Mon-Fri English to FE/SoAs/OCE 0100-0200 on 7430 9780 11705 1100-1200 on 1575 Sat/Sun 1200-1300 on 1170 7575 9510 12075 12150 1300-1400 on 7575 9510 9760 12150 Sat/Sun 1400-1600 on 7540 7575 12150 Mon-Fri, 9405 cancelled 1500-1600 on 7540 7575 12150, 9405 cancelled 2200-2230 on 5895 5915 7480 7575 11955 Sun-Thu 2230-2400 on 1575 Fri/Sat 2300-2400 on 5895 5915 7575 11955 English to Africa 0300-0400 on 909 1530 4930 6080 9885 15580 0400-0430 on 909 1530 4930 4960 6080 9855 11670 15580 0430-0500 on 909 4930 4960 6080 11670 15580 0500-0600 on 909 4930 6080 11670 15580 0600-0700 on 909 1530 6080 11670 15580 1400-1500 on 4930 6080 12080 15580 17545 1500-1600 on 4930 6080 12080 15580 17895 1600-1700 on 909 1530 4930 6080 15580 1700-1800 on 6080 12015 15580 17895 1800-1830 on 6080 9850 12015 15580 Mon-Fri 1800-1830 on 909 4930 6080 9850 12015 15580 Sat/Sun 1830-1900 on 4930 6080 9850 12015 15580 Mon-Fri 1830-1900 on 909 4930 6080 9850 12015 15580 Sat/Sun 1900-1930 on 909 4930 4940 6080 9850 15580 17895 1930-2000 on 909 4930 4940 6080 15580 2000-2030 on 909 1530 4930 4940 6080 15580 2030-2100 on 909 1530 4930 6080 15580 Mon-Fri 2030-2100 on 909 1530 4930 4940 6080 15580 Sat/Sun 2100-2200 on 1530 6080 15580 Special English 0000-0100 on 1593 0030-0100 on 1575 1593 7430 9715 9780 11725 12005 15205 15290 17820 0130-0200 on 1593 7465 9820 Tue-Sat 1500-1600 on 6140 7465 7520 9485 9760 1600-1700 on 1170 11890 12080 13570 Mon-Fri 1600-1700 on 11890 12080 13570 Sat/Sun 1900-2000 on 7485 9630 2230-2300 on 7460 9570 11840 15340 2300-2400 on 1593 7460 9570 11840 15340 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 10 July via DXLD) Updated summer A-11 for Voice of America. Part 2 of 2: English to Zimbabwe 1730-1800 on 909 4930 7210 12130 Mon-Thu 1810-1820 on 909 4930 7210 12130 Fri 1720-1740 on 909 4930 7210 12130 Fri-Sun 1830-1900 on 909 7210 12130 Mon-Fri English to Sudan "Sudan in Focus" 1630-1700 on 9675 12015 13830 Mon-Fri French to Africa 0530-0600 on 1530 4960 6095 9880 13710 Mon-Fri 0600-0630 on 4960 6095 9880 13710 Mon-Fri 1100-1130 on 11925 13770 15715 17630 Sat 1830-2000 on 1530 9815 17530 2000-2030 on 6170 9815 12080 15730 17530 2030-2100 on 9885 12080 15185 15730 Sat/Sun 2100-2130 on 9815 9885 12035 12080 Mon-Fri Georgian 1600-1700 on 9435 13745 1700-1800 on 11940 13860 Hausa 0500-0530 on 1530 4960 5995 6045 0700-0730 on 4960 11785 17530 1500-1530 on 13830 13870 17525 2030-2100 on 4940 6170 7320 9810 11990 Mon-Fri Khmer 1330-1430 on 1575 5955 11540 2200-2230 on 1575 6060 9320 11765 Kinyarwanda and Kirundi 0330-0430 on 6100 7340 11905 1600-1630 on 11695 15620 17895 Sat Korean 1200-1300 on 1188 7225 9490 13585 1300-1500 on 1188 7225 11935 13585 1900-2100 on 648 5870 6060 7365 Kurdish 0500-0600 on 11905 15130 17750 1400-1500 on 1593 11645 15130 17750 1700-1800 on 11645 15130 15380 2000-2100 on 1593 Laotian 1230-1300 on 1575 9810 12010 Ndebele to Zimbabwe 1800-1830 on 909 4930 7210 12130 Mon-Thu 1820-1830 on 909 4930 7210 12130 Fri 1740-1800 on 909 4930 7210 12130 Fri-Sun Pashto Radio Ashna 0030-0130 on 999 1296 7555 9335 1430-1530 on 999 1296 9335 15090 15380 1630-1730 on 999 1296 9335 11565 11580 1830-1930 on 999 1296 7555 9335 Pashto Deewa Radio 0100-0400 on 621 9390 11535 12015 1300-1900 on 621 7495 9310 9380 9780 Persian 0230-0330 on 5970 6095 7345 1530-1630 on 1593 7295 9390 11780 1630-1700 on 1593 6040 9390 11780 1700-1730 on 1593 6040 9370 11780 1730-1800 on 1593 6040 7510 9370 1800-1830 on 648 1593 6040 7510 9370 1830-1900 on 648 6040 7510 9370 1900-1930 on 6040 7510 9370 Portuguese to Africa 1000-1030 on 17740 21590 Sat/Sun 1700-1800 on 1530 9800 13630 17820 1800-1830 on 1530 9800 13630 17820 Mon-Fri Shona to Zimbabwe 1700-1730 on 909 4930 7210 12130 Mon-Thu 1800-1810 on 909 4930 7210 12130 Fri 1700-1720 on 909 4930 7210 12130 Fri-Sun Somali 0330-0400 on 5945 11670 15730 1300-1400 on 11665 15730 1600-1630 on 1431 11665 15730 1630-1700 on 11665 15730 1700-1800 on 11665 13680 Spanish 0000-0100 on 5890 9885 12000 Tue-Sat 1130-1200 on 9885 13750 15590 Mon-Fri [The 1130-1200 portion of Spanish has been missing for a few weeks. How much else here is outdated? Probably from VOA`s own A-Z language schedule -- gh] 1200-1300 on 9885 13750 15590 2300-0000 on 5890 9885 12000 Swahili 1630-1730 on 9855 15620 15740 Tibetan 0000-0100 on 7250 9480 9855 0300-0600 on 15265 15490 17735 1400-1500 on 7465 11510 11595 17760 1600-1700 on 7330 9565 17670 Tigrigna 1900-1930 on 11905 11925 12140 13570 13870 Mon-Fri Urdu Radio Aap Ki Dunyaa 0100-0200 on 972 1539 7460 11975 1400-1500 on 972 1539 13620 15725 1500-0100 on 972 1539 Uzbek 1500-1530 on 9945 11940 12120 15780 Vietnamese 1300-1330 on 1575 1500-1600 on 1170 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 11 July, via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Re 11-27 under ETHIOPIA [and non] VOA HORN OF AFRICA CHIEF SUSPENDED The Voice of America (VOA) has been accused of censoring itself and suspending its Horn of Africa Chief, David Arnold, over fallout with the Ethiopian government. The suspension of Mr Arnold was directly related to his comments in a news report that was broadcast on VOA Amharic service on 23 June, informed sources have told Addis Voice. Mr Arnold was part of a seven-member delegation headed by three members of the Board of Broadcasting Governors (BBG), Susan McCue, Dana Perino, and Michael Meehan, who met officials in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Southern Sudan from June 21 to June 28. Mr Arnold had revealed on the VOA Amharic service that the Ethiopian government demanded that VOA deny a platform to its vocal critics as a precondition of cooperation with VOA. He said that the mission of the BBG delegation was “to make sure that they address some of the issues in Ethiopia concerning free press because for many years the government has objected to some of our broadcasts.” He also pointed out that the BBG governors discussed with Ethiopian officials the constant jamming of VOA transmissions in Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna. In what appears to be an unprecedented move in VOA’s history, bosses ordered the removal of the audio as well as text files of the news report in question from VOA’s website and archive pages in less than 24 hours after Ethiopian officials lodged complaints about the report on “confidential” matters, it was learned. In an email sent to Addis Voice, VOA’s Director of Public Relations, David Borgida denied allegations of censorship. “VOA always strives to be accurate in its reporting. That includes material on our websites. There was a misinterpretation of what went on during a recent meeting between Ethiopian government officials and visiting BBG Governors, and so the recent item you cite, which appeared on the website of the VOA Amharic service, was taken down.” Read more from the Abugida Ethiopian American Information Center http://www.abugidainfo.com/?p=18338 (July 8th, 2011 - 12:56 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) [Viz., picking up skipped grafs and the rest of it]: It emerged that the meeting between the BBG delegation and Ethiopian government officials was fraught with problems and tension as Mr. Simon and his cohorts have reportedly launched a scathing attack against the media organization in a 41-page long litany of complaints about VOA broadcasts. Mr. Simon was said to have complained that the June 23rd report ruined ongoing talks. He threatened to cancel further talks with the delegation and cease any future cooperation. Before the VOA chief was suspended, he was reportedly admonished for expressing critical views and airing sensitive information without seeking clearance from the delegation. Asked to explain why VOA did not publicly issue corrections instead of deleting the whole content, Mr. Borgida declined to comment. Addis Voice also asked why the Horn of Africa chief was suspended. “”We do not comment publicly on personnel matters,” he said. When I pressed Borgida to explain if the “personal [sic] matter” included his comments contained in the news report in question, Borgida said that VOA would not give any further statements on this matter. But Addis Voice has confirmed from two reliable sources that VOA bosses were not pleased with Arnold’s comments on sensitive issues that they felt needed clearance. The renowned Ethiopian artiste Tamagne Beyene is one of first people to notice the removal of all the contents of the June 23rd VOA Amharic broadcast from the online archive page. He says that the measure taken by VOA is unjustifiable and a pure act of censorship. Tamagne asked VOA to come out of the closet and tell its listeners the truth why the news was deleted and a highly experienced staff member was suspended for reporting the truth. “This is a classic case of censorship and shooting the messenger. If this is not censorship, what else can VOA call it?” he asked. “This case of suspension and censorship has shocked so many people at VOA. Some people are wondering how a professional journalist like Arnold with over three decades of experience can be suspended and censored to assuage the anger of a dictatorial regime in Ethiopia,” said one of the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Arnold only reported the truth accurately. I am personally confused to witness politics overriding the First Amendment, which is as one of the pillars of the Constitution of the United States,” the source added. “The Minister [Bereket Simon] is willing to consider any new initiatives but he is going to wait to see if we change the way we broadcast,” Arnold had said. Arnold had dismissed the demand as contrary to the mission of VOA and basic principles of free press. According to him, Simon, not only complained about the contents of VOA broadcasts but also pointed out that the Ethiopian government had problems with some of the journalists working for VOA. During the 2005 election turmoil in Ethiopia, the government charged five VOA journalists, along with local journalists and opposition leaders, with high treason. The charges were dropped in the course of the trial under pressure from the U.S. government. During their visit, the delegation posted pictures and brief accounts of their experience on a dedicated blog, VOA on the Road Africa. In Ethiopia, the delegation that included four VOA staffers including the English to Africa Chief, Sonya Laurence Green, talked to senior Ethiopian government officials on issues related to the persistent jamming of VOA its transmissions and press freedom violations. Alemayehu Gebremariam, a constitutional law attorney and professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, says: “Disclosure of a few names from an illegal list of names prepared by a foreign government to be blacklisted by the VOA presents no basis for legal or administrative action against him. “Telling the truth in a news broadcast is not a crime. That is what Mr. Arnold has done. Journalists are censured and punished for reporting the truth in places like Iran and Ethiopia,” he noted. Prof. Gebremariam further pointed out that the First Amendment guaranteed American citizens and inhabitants of the U.S. the absolute right to publicly criticize, denounce, condemn and berate any government institution or leader with impunity. He said: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, which simply means that no government official or institution has the power to restrict, censor, suppress, restrain, muzzle or blackball any American citizen or inhabitant of the U.S. from exercising their right to free speech or restrain the independent press from performing its institutional functions.” In March 2010, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi publicly threatened to jam VOA. “We have been convinced for many years that in many respects, the VOA Amharic Service has copied the worst practices of radio stations such as Radio Mille Collines of Rwanda in its wanton disregard of minimum ethics of journalism and engaging in destabilizing propaganda,” Zenawi told reporters in Addis Ababa. “We have to know before we make the decision to jam, whether we have the capacity to do it. But I assure you if they assure me at some future date that they have the capacity to jam it, I will give them the clear guideline to jam it,” he added. The government of Ethiopia has now developed a capacity to jam shortwave and satellite TV broadcasts. A few weeks ago, the Ethiopian Satellite Television issued a statement urging the government of China to stop providing technology and technical support that has enabled the Meles regime to jam its transmissions to Ethiopia. In October 2010, Human Rights Watch released a special report, Development Without Freedom: How Aid Underwrites Repressions in Ethiopia, that accused western governments of complicity in repressions by turning a blind eye to the fact that “development aid flows through, and directly supports, a virtual one-party state with a deplorable human rights record.” The Meles regime, which is a key U.S. ally in the Horn of Africa, receives over 3 billion dollars in aid annually from Western donors. One-third of the money comes from the coffers of the U.S. treasury in the form of relief and development aid. ———– Related links Removed webpage http://www.voanews.com/amharic/news/amh_voa_ethiopia_6_23_11-124452979.html Deleted but cached on Google http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:9KEkXuDtGoAJ:www.voanews.com/amharic/news/amh_voa_ethiopia_6_23_11- 124452979.html+www.voanews.com/amharic/news/amh_voa_ethiopia_6_23_11- 124452979.html&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=gmail&source=www.google .com Cached webpage JPEG (attached) http://addisvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/VOA-deleted-page.jpg Missing page: Where is June 23? http://addisvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/VOA-June-23-file-missing.pdf Removed news report (Amharic audio) http://addisvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/VOA-removed-audio-file.mp3 VOA on the Road Africa http://voaontheroadafrica.tumblr.com/ —— Abebe Gellaw can be reached for comment at editor @ addisvoice.com (via DXLD) See previous post about same subject. http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/?id=11572 More sources needed. A clash, perhaps, between those who conduct themselves as diplomats, and those who conduct themselves as journalists? (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) VOA EXECUTIVE EDITOR SAYS DELETION OF VOA HORN OF AFRICA WEB CONTENT WAS FOR "ACCURACY," NOT "SELF-CENSORSHIP." Posted: 11 Jul 2011 Tadias (New York), 11 July 2011: "Voice of America’s Acting Director and Executive Editor, Steve Redisch, has told Tadias Magazine that the recent controversy surrounding the removal of a June 23rd content from the broadcaster’s Amharic website was 'consistent with VOA’s standards of accuracy.' Redisch also said VOA’s characterization of a meeting on June 22nd, 2011 between members of the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors and Ethiopian Communication Affairs Minister Bereket Simon was ‘inaccurate.’ Abebe Gelaw had reported last week on his regular column on Addis Voice, quoting 'informed sources' inside the VOA, that the suspension of David Arnold, VOA’s Horn of Africa Chief, was a result of a dispute related to his comments in a news report that was broadcast on VOA Amharic service on June 23rd. Mr. Redisch did not specifically deny Mr. Gelaw’s reporting. ... Mr. Redisch said. 'Contrary to the VOA report, at no time did Ethiopian government officials ask the Board members to prohibit any individuals from appearing on VOA programs … Consistent with VOA’s standards of accuracy and not for reasons of self-censorship, the report was taken off the website.' Mr. Redisch adds: 'The inaccurate reporting of the meeting has overshadowed the intent of the Governor’s mission. Simply put, it was an opportunity to advance VOA’s mission: to provide reliable, accurate and balanced information to our audiences. And those audiences will be the barometer of our future success.'" See previous post about same subject (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) VOA reinstates Horn of Africa chief The Voice of America (VOA) has reversed its decision to suspend its Horn of Africa chief, David Arnold. After Addis Voice published a disturbing story on censorship and questionable actions taken against Mr Arnold for comments he made recently in a June 23rd VOA report, VOA bosses held a series of crisis meetings and decided to reinstate him, informed sources disclosed. Addis Voice briefly talked to Mr Arnold who confirmed that he got his job back. But Mr Arnold declined to make comments on the issue. He directed any inquiries on this matter to VOA’s public relations office to which we have posed a few more serious questions. Meanwhile, VOA Acting Director and Executive Editor, Steve Redisch, has written to Addis Voice saying that the 23 June VOA report on three Board of Broadcasting Governors’ visit to Ethiopia was “inaccurate”. “There have been inaccurate reports about the tone and substance of an official meeting on June 22 between members of the US Broadcasting Board of Governors and Ethiopian Communication Affairs Minister Bereket Simon,” he said. According to Mr. Redisch, the controversial report “aired on 23 June on VOA Horn of Africa programmes and appearing on its website inaccurately characterized the nature of Ethiopian government complaints about VOA’s programmes. “Contrary to the VOA report, at no time did Ethiopian government officials ask the Board members to prohibit any individuals from appearing on VOA programmes. Consistent with VOA’s standards of accuracy and not for reasons of self-censorship, the report was taken off the website,” Mr Redisch said in a brief statement he sent to Addis Voice. However, Addis Voice says one of its sources has contradicted Mr Redisch’s statement. “Bereket Simon has indeed made the outrageous demands. Sooner or later copies of the controversial document will be made public,” he said. (Source: abugidainfo.com)(July 13th, 2011 - 9:53 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. THE CHINA MINEFIELD --- Posted: Tue, Jun 28, 2011 http://www.afge1812.org/SaveStory.cfm?newID=113 “Who knew shortwave in China was a land mine?” wondered Mr. Walter Isaacson, Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors which oversees Voice of America and its four sister networks, in a New York Times article entitled: "A New Voice of America for the Age of Twitter." Well, VOA staffers could have told him if they had been consulted before a decision was made. And there lies one of the main divides between the BBG/VOA management and VOA staffers. Management INFORMS employees of its decisions, rather than reaches them together through an honest discussion. Yes, management can often be heard saying that it welcomes employees' input. But we at the AFGE Local1812 don't buy that argument. We have seen plenty of input given in the past years, with management charging ahead with the very same plans it wanted to implement all along. No wonder morale is abysmal and apathy has set in, as reflected in the low participation in the annual employee satisfaction surveys. The fact is that time and again in the past several years, employees' input has been summarily dismissed by management with disastrous consequences, if we look at comments made by Mr. Isaacson to the New York Times. The BBG wants to prioritize new technologies. VOA staffers do not argue against new technologies, but only that their systematic use is not the most rational use of limited resources. What works for CNN will not automatically work for VOA. Different markets, different technologies, different missions as we have said, ad nauseam. There are regions of the world where it makes no sense to air intermittent TV programs to populations who have intermittent access to electricity. Just because said populations may one day, in five years say, have better Internet access does not mean you should be twitting in the void until they get broadband. "Mr. Isaacson’s solution sounds like the blueprint for a state-owned CNN: create a state-of-the-art global newsroom that would gather all the programming generated by the five networks and send it out via television, the Web, social-media services, mobile phones -- even shortwave, where it still makes sense", states the New York Times article. We beg to differ. VOA is not CNN, never has been and never should be. Its mission is not to copy a US commercial broadcaster, its mission is to present America to the world -- its way of life, its ideals, its democratic principles, its government. Ironically, by trying to turn VOA into a CNN, the BBG may deprive it of its only chance of survival in a brutal international media environment. As a pale CNN imitation, the VOA stands little chance. It does not have the means and our mission is not one that will ever deliver large ratings. Besides, why should people bother with a CNN imitation when they have access to the real thing? As a broad window on America -- what it was in the past - - it can appeal to a significant and important audience around the world who admire our country and crave better understanding of it. The New York Times article also mentions that: "During his two years in Afghanistan, (new VOA director David) Ensor said, one of his biggest achievements was helping set up an Afghan company that offers SMS text messaging services." Well, that's great, but unless these SMS text messages somehow help Afghans better understand the US and its goals in their country, what's the point? Might as well save the taxpayers' money and let CNN relay those SMS text messages. More Union grievances against VOA management: http://www.afge1812.org/NewsAndViewsSummer2011.pdf (AFGE Local 1812 via DXLD) ANOTHER FORMER EMPLOYEE SUES RFE/RL. http://www.news.az/articles/society/40116 News.Az, 9 July 2011: "Journalist Aygun Muradkhanli has sued Radio Liberty, her former employer. The journalist claims she sued the radio as it violated her labor rights. 'At the end of last year they signed a three-month contract with me unlike other journalists and said they will extend the contract later. But they declined to extend the contract after it terminated and dismissed me on 31 December without indicating any reason,' the journalist said. ... Muradkhanli said she has filed a suit with the Yasamal District Court adding that she will demand the Radio Liberty to pay $150,000 in compensation." (Posted: 11 Jul 2011, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1572 monitoring: Thursday July 7 at 2100+ confirmed VG on WTWW 9479 until 2129 but WTWW-1 webcast still not funxioning. WRMI inaudible on 9955 tho no jamming either, but confirmed on webcast from 2100. WBCQ 7415 confirmed on webcast from 2132. WWRB confirmed at 0331 UT Friday July 8 on webcast and still on 5051, not 5050; but there is a lite het. I myself missed the new Friday 0500 airing on WRMI 9955, but at 0538 check R. Praga in Spanish still had considerable pulse jamming from the DCJC. Next WOR airings on WRMI: Friday 1430, Saturday 0800, 1500, 1730, Sunday 0800, 1530, 1730. On WTWW: UT Sunday 0400 on 5755. On WBCQ: UT Monday 0300v on 5110v-CUSB. On WRN via SiriusXM 120: Sat & Sun 1730, Sun 0830. A reminder to check for WORLD OF RADIO at our new weekend times: UT Sunday 0400 on WTWW 5755; UT Monday 0300 on WBCQ 5110v-CUSB. See also WORLD OF TELEPHONY! WORLD OF RADIO 1573 monitoring: first airing UT Thursday July 14 at 0330 on WRMI 9955, totally blocked by jamming; tnx a lot, Arnie! At 0520 with a program in Spanish about Mexico, no jamming heard on 9955. Further WOR on WRMI times: Thu 1500, 2100, Fri 0500, 1430, Sat 0800, 1500, 1730, Sun 0800, 1530, 1730. On WTWW: Thu 2100 9479, UT Sun 0400 5755. On WBCQ: Thu 2130 7415, UT Mon 0400 5110v-CUSB On WWRB: UT Fri 0330v on 5051 On WRN via SiriusXM 120: Sat & Sun 1730, Sun 0830 Full schedule at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html The Thursday 21-22 UT feast of three WORLD OF RADIO broadcasts confirmed July 14: WTWW at 2106, altho webcast of WTWW-1 still not working, 9479 VG altho this transmitter has a squeal on it WRMI at 2105, confirmed on webcast, but inaudible on 9955, not jammed WBCQ at 2150 check JBA on 7415 in high noise level, loud and clear on webcast also with new 1573 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15825, Friday July 8 at 2035 checking WWCR but inaudible! So don`t know if I am still `Unshackled`. Any time you hear that show you know it`s unpaid filler when they might as well put something useful in, like a DX program. 15610-15730 and 15500-15570 approx., WWCR scratchy spurs from modulation spikes on 15825, which was extremely strong S9+25 July 10 at 1155, with sporadic-E boost not reaching VHF. All other signals on 19m were poor, including others in NAm, and hardly anything extracontinental arriving above 12 MHz. 10000.6, WWCR spur from 9985 puts a constant het on WWV/WWVH before they start their own tones, July 12 at 1000. This is really not surprising, since it`s the WWCR-1 transmitter at 09-11, which is always accompanied by plus and minus 15.6 kHz spurs on all its other frequencies, 15825 at 11-21, 7465 at 21-02, new 7520 at 01-02, and 3215 at 02-09. Then I find the matching carrier on 9969.4 aside the 9965 jamming. I don`t recall either of these being reported before. Phil Patton is periodically lauded on `Ask WWCR` as a great engineer, but why hasn`t he fixed this? Along with these, there is constant squealing in the background of 9985 like the other WWCR-1 frequencies when strong enough. The 10000.6 het clearly heard again during the tick-only minute at 1015 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9985, July 14 at 0955, WWCR inaudible, and consequently no 600-Hz spurhet audible on WWV/H 10000, unlike 48 hours earlier. WWCR 5935 and 5890 were also weakened to only fair rather than solid, with MUF much lower (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. 12100, July 8 at 0552, happened to catch WTWW-3 in an ID break, which appear at odd times rather than hourtops, and we finally find out who is behind this all-Bible-all-the-time service: Bible Worldwide, in Bellvue CO. I checked the spelling and looked it up: guess what, it`s a tiny town of 400 right next to Laporte, quite a coincidence neighboring the client of WTWW-1. It`s a ``mammoth non- denominational ministry``; 0553 on to Psalm LXXI during English block. Good reception as usual even in the nightmiddle. 12100, WTWW-3 has occasional absences, I think really off the air tho very poor propagation might fool me: July 12 at 0521, no signal, tho BBC 12095 was in well. Normally WTWW masks any BBC beside it. On in Arabic at 1343 check. 12100, July 13 at 0515, WTWW inaudible again and assumed off, whilst 12095 BBC was OK with report on Karzai. Still no signal on 12100 at 1245, but on at 1332, VG in Arabic. 12100, WTWW inaudible again, July 14 at 1227 when KSDA was unQRMed on 12105; but WTWW back on in Arabic at 1340 check. I`ve yet to catch exactly when they come on now, ex-24 hours? If on, should have been propagating earlier as neighbor WWCR was, on 13845, 15825 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15420-CUSB, Saturday July 9 at 2140 checked whether `Radio TimTron Worldwide` was on again like last week, but no signal. I think WBCQ was really off tho propagation was rather poor; the other US SSB SWBC station, low-power WJHR in Milton FL, was audible on 15550-USB. And it`s official: 7415 is totally off the air on Saturdays-UT Sundays. Could be why TimTron put his show on 15420 anyway last week (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Happy Independence Day from the Planet --- Monday, July 4th, 2011 Greetings to all our listeners. Some schedule changes of note: Saturdays on 7415 is now all available time, as all the paid programmers have ceased production on WBCQ. Gone are "It Can Happen Here! with Dr. Ari Ben-Tzvi," "The Medical Conspiracy," and the "QSO Radio Show." Radio Timtron Worldwide will continue Saturdays 7 to 9 pm eastern time on WBCQ 5.110 MHz (from http://www.wbcq.com/?tag=schedule via DXLD) Yet: UNITED STATES, Maine, WBCQ, 7415, 0315 GMT, English, 333, July 10, Two OMs with comments plus a YL at tomes. Another Noisy frequency (Stewart MacKenzie, WDX6AA, Huntington Beach, California, United States of America, Kenwood R5000 and Grundig Satellit 650, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That was UT Sunday. I wasn`t checking WBCQ around that time, but was it really back on Saturday night? Those `program details` are hardly helpful. Nothing about such a resumption on the WBCQ website, but it often lags behind what is happening (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn, Don’t always agree with your criticisms of religious broadcasters. However, there is a really loony - class of an amadan, as we would say here in Ireland, on 5050 kHz in the middle of the night UT who screeches loudly every 2 minutes or so. Who on Earth (or in Heaven or Hell) is this? I know WWCR had something similar on 15 MHz a decade ago, but I put that down to a stylistic thing with southern black churches and their congregations. This fellow is white and I think there is more venom in what he is saying too. Think it’s WWRB, but who’s da man? Lol! (Derek Lynch, Ireland, July 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Derek, I think I have heard this too, but I am sure there are more than one who would qualify for this description. If you could be a little more specific than middle-of-the-night, perhaps you can locate the program and then maybe the pastor, from this schedule in EDT = UT -4. http://www.wwrb.org/schedule/global_1/combined.pdf (Glenn to Derek, via DXLD) WWRB, 5050, 0136 GMT, English, 33333, 12-JUL. According to WWRB's website, this program is called Unshackled! This guy is all over the place. Talking about the Bermuda Triangle, passes through the center of the earth, & stuff in the Bible (Nathan Adams, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See schedule above. `Unshackled` is at 0030 UT Tuesdays. Sked is in EDT, not specified, rather than CDT where the station is located (barely). At 01-02 UT Tue-Sat is `Truth House`, presumably what you really heard. `Unshackled` is an old-time-radio style drama complete with organ music, always on religious/moral themes, and is widely used as a filler for unsold time (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WHRI - World Harvest Radio, English A-11 schedule valid till 30th [October] 2011: 0400-0800 9825 kHz daily 1500-1600 15195 kHz Sunday 2000-2100 15665 kHz daily 2100-2200 13660 kHz daily 2100-2200 15665 kHz Friday 2200-2300 9850 kHz daily 2300-2400 9850 kHz Saturday Addr: P.O.Box 12, South Bend, IN 46624, USA Web: Annmt: This is World Harvest Radio International (Benelux DXC Bulletin Juli via BC-DX 11 July via DXLD) That`s all? Altho WHR website has very excessive claims of SW transmissions, I think this can`t be all of them. E.g. I hear them on 7385 in the mornings around 1200; also reported evenings on 5920 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. 9830, 1845 25 May, WYFR via Rampisham, hymn singing and ID every 15 minutes, ``Family Radio apologizes for the break in normal programming``, still on despite cancelled contract with Babcock; SIO 444 (Jonathan Kempster, London, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Was it really canceled, already as of 22 May? (gh, DXLD) 11560, July 12 at 1345, poor signal with English preaching, mentions `Open Forum` but not Harold Camping`s voice. Not in HFCC, so must be YFR via TAIWAN, banned from HFCC by the ChiCom. Yes, in Aoki: 13-15, English via Hu Wei site (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. FAMILY RADIO WORLDWIDE Revised complete schedule Days Area kHz Amharic 1600-1700 daily EAf 15750wer 1700-1800 daily EAf 9790dha Arabic 1600-1700 daily ME 13645wer 1700-1800 daily ME 11885iss 1700-1800 daily ME,NAf 13700skn, 13840wer 1800-1900 daily NAf 11955wer, 13720skn 1900-2000 daily NAf 9590wer 2000-2200 daily NAf 6115wer 2200-2300 daily NAf 7420wer Assamese 1400-1500 daily SAs 15450tac Bengali 1300-1500 daily SAs 17580wer Burmese 1100-1200 daily SEA 6220huw 1200-1300 daily SEA 11570tai 1300-1400 daily SEA 9365alm 1800-1900 daily SEA 1503fan Cantonese 0800-0900 daily EAs,SEA 1557kou Chinese 0000-0200 daily EAs,SEA 1503fan 0500-1000 daily EAs,SEA 1503fan 0900-1000 daily EAs 11565tai 0900-1000 mt..... EAs 9945tai 0900-1100 daily EAs 9545tai 0900-1400 daily EAs,SEA 1557kou 1000-1100 mtwtf.. EAs 9945tai 1000-1100 daily EAs 9920tai 1000-1200 daily EAs 1098min 1100-1600 daily EAs 6240tai, 9280tai 1200-1300 daily EAs 11535tai 1300-1400 daily EAs,SEA 747min 1700-1900 daily EAs,SEA 1557kou 2000-2100 daily EAs,SEA 1359fan 2100-2400 daily EAs 9280tai 2200-2400 daily EAs 6230tai 2200-0300 daily EAs,SEA 1557kou 2300-2400 daily EAs 9540tai English 0000-0100 daily SAm 7360guf, 7520yfr 0200-0245 daily CAm 5985yfr 0300-0400 daily CAm 11740yfr 0300-0500 daily SAf 1197msu 0900-1100 daily SEA 9465tai 1100-1200 daily EAs 15560alm 1300-1400 daily SAs 13820alm 1300-1400 daily SEA 11520tai, 12160alm 1300-1500 daily SAs 11560tai 1400-1500 daily SEA 9365alm 1400-1700 daily EAs,SEA 1557kou 1500-1600 daily SAf 17580asc 1500-1600 daily SAs 6280tai, 11605dha, 15520dha 1600-1700 daily SAs 11850dha 1600-1800 daily EAf,CAf 17545asc 1600-1900 daily SAf 1197msu 1700-1800 daily CAf,SAf 7395mdc 1700-2000 daily SEA 1359fan 1800-1900 daily WAf 13750wer 1800-1900 daily SAf 5905mey, 9770dha, 9925wer 1800-2000 daily CAf,SAf 7395mdc 1900-2000 daily SAf 3230mey, 9775dha 1900-2000 daily CAf,WAf 7270mey 1900-2200 daily CAf,WAf 9610wer 1900-2100 daily SAf 6020mdc 1900-2200 daily EAs 1557kou 2000-2100 daily WAf,CAf 15195asc 2000-2200 daily SEA 1503fan 2000-2200 daily CAf,WAf 12060asc 2000-2300 daily SAf 1197msu 2300-2400 daily SAm 11580yfr, 15255yfr Farsi 1600-1700 daily ME 13615wer 1700-1800 daily ME 13740nau French 0000-0100 daily SAm 15255yfr 1700-1800 daily SAf 6100mey 1830-1930 daily EAf,CAf 17585asc 1900-2000 daily WAf 11840wer 2000-2100 daily CAf,WAf 9595nau 2100-2200 daily CAf,WAf 9715nau Gujarati 1500-1600 daily SAs 15495iss Hausa 1900-2000 daily WAf 9685dha Hindi 1400-1500 daily SAs 15520dha 1400-1600 daily SAs 15670nau 1600-1700 daily SAs 6280tai, 11680wer Hungarian 1800-1900 daily Eu 3975wer Igbo 1800-1900 daily WAf,CAf 11875asc Ilocano 1100-1200 daily SEA 9900vld Indonesian 0000-0100 daily SEA 11865tai 1100-1200 daily SEA 11550tai 1200-1300 daily SEA 11520tai 1400-1600 daily SEA 1359fan 2300-2400 daily SEA 1359fan Kannada 1300-1400 daily SAs 17735dha 1500-1600 daily SAs 17800wer Korean 0800-0900 daily EAs 11895tai Malagasy 1600-1700 daily SAf 6100mey Malayalam 1400-1500 daily SAs 15690iss Marathi 1400-1500 daily SAs 9595dha 1500-1600 daily SAs 11655arm Oriya 1400-1500 daily SAs 15565nau Oromo 1600-1700 daily EAf 15160nau Pashto 1500-1600 daily WAs 12130smf Portuguese 0000-0100 daily SAm 11580yfr, 17725yfr 0100-0145 daily SAm 11550yfr 0100-0200 daily SAm 11530yfr 1900-2000 daily SAf 1197msu, 3955mey, 6100mey 2200-2300 daily SAm 17725yfr 2200-2400 daily SAm 7360guf 2200-0045 daily SAm 15190yfr 2300-2400 daily SAm 7520yfr Punjabi 1500-1600 daily SAs 11505erv Russian 1500-1700 daily CAs 9955tai Sindhi 1400-1500 daily SAs 17800wer Somali 1700-1800 daily EAf 15255rmp Spanish 0000-0100 daily SAm 5930guf 0100-0145 daily LAm 11855yfr, 17725yfr 0100-0200 daily SAm 7570yfr 0100-0300 daily SAm 11580yfr, 15255yfr 0200-0300 daily CAm 11740yfr 0200-0400 daily CAm 9385yfr 0300-0345 daily CAm 6875yfr 0400-0500 daily CAm 11740yfr 2200-2300 daily SAm 7520yfr, 15255yfr 2200-2400 daily SAm 9935guf 2200-0200 daily LAm 5985yfr, 15440yfr 2300-0045 daily SAm 6915yfr 2300-0100 daily SAm 11530yfr Swahili 1600-1700 daily EAf,CAf 9590mdc 1900-2000 daily EAf,CAf 5930mey Tagalog 1000-1100 daily SEA 1359fan 1100-1200 daily SEA 11520tai 1200-1300 daily SEA 1359fan, 13820alm 1300-1400 daily SEA 1359fan 2200-2300 daily SEA 1359fan Tamil 1400-1500 daily SAs 17715dha 1500-1600 daily SAs 13790iss Telugu 1300-1400 daily SAs 17715dha Thai 1900-2000 daily SEA 1503fan Turkish 1700-1900 daily ME 17690wof Urdu 1400-1500 daily SAs 12065arm 1600-1700 daily SAs 11505erv Uzbek 1400-1500 daily CAs 13730wer Yoruba 1900-2000 daily WAf,CAf 11855asc Vietnamese 0000-0100 daily SEA 11630tai 1000-1100 daily SEA 9455tai 1200-1300 daily SEA 7460tai 1300-1400 daily SEA 7260tai, 9960tai 1300-1500 daily SEA 1503fan 1600-1700 daily SEA 1359fan 1700-1800 daily SEA 1503fan 2100-2200 daily SEA 1359fan 2300-2400 daily SEA 1503fan Note: Parts of transmissions scheduled in other languages, may be replaced with English (WRTH Update July 13 via DXLD) ** U S A. AMERICAN STATES ON SHORTWAVE: UTAH THE INTERNATIONAL STORY OF SHORTWAVE KUSW/KTBN The first attempt at shortwave broadcasting in the state of Utah took place in the year 1939. At the time, the shortwave broadcasting station W9XAA was on the air in Chicago with a 500 watt transmitter located at suburban Downer’s Grove. Experimental shortwave station W9XAA was owned by the Chicago Federation of Labor, who also operated the well known mediumwave station WCFL. The Chicago Federation of Labor in Chicago wanted to sell its co-owned shortwave station W9XAA to mediumwave KSL in Salt Lake City in Utah. They lodged a request with the FCC to sell the station, increase its power, and move it to Saltair, near Salt Lake City. However, in September 1939, the FCC denied this request, and so this first attempt to establish a shortwave station in Utah came to nothing. A second attempt to go shortwave in Utah was also associated with the mediumwave station KSL. In 1962, the International Educational Broadcasting Corporation, IEBC, in Salt Lake City bought the well known historic shortwave station WRUL near Boston in Massachusetts. Two years later, Bonneville International was formed, they took over IEBC, and then they purchased KSL. Then four years after the purchase of the shortwave station WRUL, the callsign was changed to WNYW. This second attempt on shortwave in Utah was thus more successful, though the studios were in New York City, and the transmitters were at Scituate Beach near Boston in Massachusetts. However, due to the fact that this well known shortwave station was out of state, we will reserve the details of that story for another occasion. In the meantime, we go back to Utah and the story of their next shortwave station, KUSW-KTBN. In 1987, the total facility for this new station was constructed in just five months at a near country location, south west of Salt Lake City in the Salt Lake Valley. The offices, studios, and the 100 kW Harris transmitter were all installed into the same building, and the TCI log periodic antenna system was supported from two towers, 145 ft tall. Super Power KUSW Worldwide Radio was owned by Carlson Communications who also owned a small network of AM mediumwave and FM stations in three adjoining states, Utah, Nevada & Arizona. Soon after the shortwave station became airborne, reception reports began to arrive at the rate of around 30 each day. One reception report came from the pilot of an American air force plane who was listening while in flight. All reports were acknowledged with their one QSL card, showing an artistic representation of the distant mountain range. At that time, Carlson Communications was already producing full time programming for its AM & FM stations in the three state network. However, the programming for shortwave KUSW was produced independently and specifically for a shortwave audience. On December 20, 1990, the programming from shortwave KUSW was relayed via an American navy vessel off the coast of Panama during the downfall of President Manuel Noriega. It is possible that the navy vessel that carried this unusual relay was the USS Vreeland. When the staff at KUSW were informed that their station was under relay off the coast of Panama in Central America, they went live with special programming. * KUSW Station Identification Excerpts from the programming of shortwave station KUSW Just four years after station KUSW was inaugurated, it was sold to the Trinity Broadcasting Network for around $2 million. The last day for broadcasts as KUSW was on December 16, 1991; and the first day of broadcasts under the new callsign KTBN was two days later, December 18. The programming from KTBN was always a relay of the audio channel from the satellite services of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. However, a little over 17 years later, this same station was closed again, this time on March 31, 2008. The station, under the two consecutive callsigns, KUSW & KTBN, had been on the air for a total period of 21 years. The entire facility, shortwave transmitter, antenna system and associated equipment in Utah, was dismantled and shipped to Anguilla in the Caribbean where it was absorbed into the electronic equipment already on air at the station known as the Caribbean Beacon. While on the air as KTBN, a total of three different QSL cards were issued, one in black & white and two in color, though each card showed exactly the same scene with the antenna system and the backdrop of the distant mountain range. As an interesting side note, the audio channel of four different television programs produced by the Adventist Media Center in California and in South Bend Michiana were broadcast over this shortwave station when it was on the air under the callsign KTBN. At the time, these syndicated TV programs were broadcast worldwide over the multi-satellite networks that were carrying the mainstream TV programming from the Trinity Broadcasting Network. These Adventist TV programs, with the sound track on shortwave over KTBN, were:- It is Written McDougall MD Lifestyle Magazine The Evidence At the time, a news release from Adventist World Radio alerted listeners in the international shortwave world that courtesy QSL cards would be issued confirming the reception of these programs on shortwave, and a few cards were indeed issued (Adrian Peterson, IN, AWR Wavescan script for May 22 via DXLD) ** U S A. Night of Nights coastal special UT July 13 **Contributor for this Issue:***************************************** Paul Dobosz Noblesville IN SPECIAL EDITION SPECIAL EDITION SPECIAL EDITION SPECIAL EDITION There are lots of less time sensitive logs and stuff awaiting publication, however, we would be remiss if we didn't 'expedite' the publication of this info, so .... Paul Dobosz reminds us of a special event coming TOMORROW Utes --- There will be a lot of maritime CW (Morse) activity for the Night of Nights celebration commemorating the end of the Maritime Morse coastal stations. These are a few of the stations and vessels expected to participate. Great opportunity for ute QSL’s from ships and stations that usually aren’t heard on CW. Fire up the rigs, and warm up your brain to copy code. Here are the details from the (edited) official announcement, but bear in mind that many other stations may also be heard calling the main 'shore' stations listed here. Keep an ear out! Night of Nights 2011 - Official Announcement On air time: 12 July 2010 Pacific time, 13 July 2011; 0001 GMT [Details are subject to change. Check for updates.] Each year the Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS) commemorates 12 July 1999, the date on which the supposed last commercial message was sent in the US. On that date we pick up the thread, keep the faith and maintain the traditions of maritime radio communications so that the skills and traditions of all the radiotelegraphers who came before us will be maintained. While MRHS station KSM is on the air every Saturday, on Night of Nights we originate stations KPH and KFS in addition to KSM. We hope that other stations will join us on the air this year including KLB and WLO. Station and frequency information (subject to change): KPH KPH will transmit on 426, 500, 4247.0, 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.8 and 22477.5kc. MF and 22Mc will be on Henry transmitters, rest of KPH HF on 1950s vintage RCA K and L sets. KPH operators will listen for calls from ships on ITU Channel 3 in all bands. The Channel 3 frequencies are 4184.0, 6276.0, 8368.0, 12552.0, 16736.0 and 22280.5kc on HF and 500kc on MF. KFS KFS will transmit on 12695.5 and 17026.0 - 12695.5 will be on a 1940s vintage Press Wireless PW-15, formerly at the KFS transmitter site in Palo Alto, CA and one of the transmitters on the air on 12 July 1999. 17026.0 will be on a Henry transmitter. KFS will listen for calls from ships on HF Channel 3 (see KPH listing for frequencies). KSM KSM will transmit on 426, 500, 6474, 8438.3 and 12993kc. We don't have enough antennas to accommodate the other KSM frequencies when KPH and KFS are on the air. A failure of any of the RCA transmitters may cause a KSM transmitter to be diverted to cover KPH. KSM will listen for calls from ships on 500kc and HF Channel 3 (see KPH listing for frequencies). WLO WLO will transmit on 2055.5, 4343.0, 8658.0, 12992.0 and 16968.5kc WLO will listen for calls from HF Channel 3 (see KPH listing for frequencies). KLB KLB will transmit on 488, 500 (A1 & A2), 8582.5kc. KLB will listen for calls from ships on 500kc and 8368.0kc. (via Ken Zichi, ed., MARE Tipsheet 0230 UT July 12 via DXLD) Note the retro `kc` is nonsensical, as a time constant is required. Properly expressed is kc/s = kilocycles per second. Or shall I bring up MegaHausers again, defined as megacycles per hour? (gh, DXLD) July 13 at 0507 heard KFS on 12695.5 with weak and choppy signal. It went off or just faded out around 0532 (Jari in Finland Savolainen [former ship radio op], dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) FOR A NIGHT EACH YEAR, THE AIRWAVES BUZZ WITH MORSE CODE By JESSE McKINLEY July 13, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/us/14morse.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE, Calif. -- It has been a little more than a decade since the last of the nation's commercial Morse code radio stations officially went off the air, as new technology sank a system that had been a lingua franca of maritime communication since before the Titanic. But like transmissions that continue to travel through the cosmos long after their original senders are gone, there are some things that refuse to die. And on Tuesday, several outposts of Morse code blazed to life again, if only for a night, with the help of a group of enthusiasts bent on preserving what they call "the music of Morse," one key tap at a time. The occasion was an annual radio reboot known as the Night of Nights, held every year on the anniversary of the last Morse code broadcast from a coastal California station in 1999, which included a traditional sign-off ("We wish you fair winds and following seas") and more than a few teary-eyed former radio operators. On Tuesday, though, some of those old key men were back on the job, broadcasting from the former headquarters of a marine Morse station in Northern California, KPH, and joined on air by two other stations outside Seattle and in Mobile, Ala., all to honor a system that linked the world long before the Internet, e-mail and Twitter. "It's just beeps in the air, but it just meant everything to people," said Richard Dillman, a self-described "radio squirrel" who serves as president of the nonprofit Maritime Radio Historical Society, which sponsors the event. "And we are the only thing standing." Or buzzing, as it were, as more than a dozen volunteers assembled at KPH's receiving and transmitting stations, two dusty but rock-solid structures that are now part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, northwest of San Francisco. Closed in 1997, the station's receiving headquarters is like a living time capsule, stuffed with communications relics, including Teletype machines, manual typewriters and rotary phones -- and, of course, all manner of telegraphy keys, ranging from the versions like those used in Samuel Morse's time to shiny new models favored by some modern-day ham operators. A dusty calendar from 1997 still hangs on the wall, as does a copy of the famous distress call from the Titanic. Many of the station's ancient machines were ablaze on Tuesday, spitting out clicks, whistles, white noise and -- of course -- dots and dashes. (Or "dits" and "dahs" as they were often known in the business.) And at just past midnight Greenwich Mean Time, the first message, tapped out at breakneck speed by Mr. Dillman, was beamed into the air. "On this date in 1999 the death of commercial Morse was announced," it read. "But Morse still lives." The KPH property -- an Art Deco cube built between 1929 and 1931 by the Radio Corporation of America -- was acquired by the National Park Service in 1999. Shortly after that, Mr. Dillman made a remarkable discovery while visiting the station's headquarters. "As I got close to the operators' room, I started hearing static and hearing Morse code and ships calling," Mr. Dillman said. "It was like they had left 20 minutes ago. The voice was gone, but the ears were still on." Indeed, KPH had been shuttered, but not completely shut down. Jack Martini, a former manager at the station, said he had left the receivers on as both a sign of affection and -- he hoped -- of possible preservation. "I loved the place," said Mr. Martini, 72, who also spent years as a Morse code operator at KPH. "And it saved the receivers. You turn off the receivers, you get the moisture in there, and they're done." And so it was that KPH was eventually reborn as KSM and began broadcasting in Morse a few hours each Saturday, a development that attracted the attention of other aficionados. "We're doing the radio equivalent of Civil War re-enactments," said Bill Ruck, one participant on Tuesday. Another of those drawn in was Dave Wolfe, 62, a longtime enthusiast who had served as a radio operator in the 1960s and early '70s, at sea and on land. "We had eight people in there, almost on roller skates," Mr. Wolfe recalled. "You got paid, and reasonably well, for doing what was basically a hobby." Not that it was easy work. Operators during Morse's heyday worked grueling shifts, staffing stations 24 hours a day as ships sent messages to shore and vice versa. Experts in the form said the secret was to never count the dots and dashes, but to listen. "You had to think of it as a rhythm," Mr. Martini said. "You had to kind of be a musician." Sure enough, on Tuesday night, the symphony of dits and dahs continued for hours at the receiving station, as amateur Morse operators from around the world chimed in to say hello. At the transmitting station, meanwhile, another crew staffed banks of refurbished and rescued devices, some dating to World War II and complete with glowing mercury vapor tubes. "You're running antiques," said Steve Hawes, who staffed the control room. "But we haven't had anything let off a giant bang or blow up in smoke yet." But as the night wore on, the one thing that was not heard was any commercial traffic, though Mr. Dillman said that occasionally a ship would still call in during the station's Saturday hours, wondering how the station was still alive. But even if the ships did not call, he said, the die-hards at Point Reyes would continue to listen. "Even if there were no ships out there, we'd be keeping the faith," Mr. Dillman said, before adding, "Of course, it's thrilling when they call." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. I haven`t been trying much MW DX, but one should really not stop in the summer; altho noise levels are higher, there are so many signals on each frequency that they tend to suppress it. 1460, July 12 at 0958 I make a quick scan of the upper MW band, and find a loud & clear signal surged to the top here, with ID ``Oozing with makismo, testosterone, and (something I scribbled illegibly in the dark), this is Des Moines` sports station, KXNO``. I spell it makismo because they stupidly mispronounce machismo with a `hard` ch. I suspect ignorant gringos think such a word has to sound hard rather than softly effeminate as in real Spanish. A few minutes later, 1460 was just a jumble (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Sporadic E TV DX opening from BCN earlier on July 12 (see MEXICO, and previous report), led me to check FM – there are some lowband LPTVs and translators presumably still analog in Southern California, but I have yet to see any trace of them. 1730 on 87.75, English audio presumed from XETV overcome by Spanish, YL talking about depresión; 1740 YL Spanish ad about naturopathy practitioners. On the DX-398 with whip and headphones, stereo pilot and icon cut on and off as signal fades. No, it is not on 87.7 or any other frequency but centered on 87.75 (could be offset .74 or .76 – I can`t distinguish that closely, but listed below at 87.74). This must be a `Franken FM` low-power TV station masquerading as a radio station, and using the FM-radio broadcast standards for stereo, not the different standards for former analog TV stereo audio, even tho it is on the audio frequency of analog TV channel 6. Then another YL joins in discussion. Prices mentioned are in dólares, not pesos. 1749 mentions in passing what may be program (infomercial?) name, `Aprendiendo a pegar el tiempo`. Then several mentions of an address in Apple Valley, California, and phone numbers 760-912-5597, 760-403-7993, Grupo Guardianes de la Salud. The first number leads to a general contractor in Victorville CA, Johnny Dutto, at 21530 Bear Valley Road Ste B. This resembles the address I heard, but did not copy it for sure. I don`t get a match on the second. 1752 mentions that this program is martes a 10 am -- = 17 UT. 1753 refers to ``todo el condado de Ventura``. 1756 mentions Saint George, Utah, as well as Ventura. (I had also noted the strange St. George connexion in a previous log.) 1800 YL continues in Spanish mentioning the English words ``new vision``. Fades in and out and no ID heard. Apple Valley is close to Victorville in western San Bernardino county, north of that city on the way to Barstow on I-15. {Ventura is the next county to the west, not too far away, north of LA.} The 87.75 Franken-FM station must be, as listed in the TV database of W9WI.com, KCIO-LP in Victorville, obviously no longer relaying KTBN-40 (the last item in every entry below, deleted; tho who knows what is on their video). There are four listings derived from FCC, from three different transmitter sites. I`ll go with the one showing licensed with 990 watts: Victorville, CA KCIO-LP 0.990 0.00 - 34-36-44.00N 117-17-29.00W TX-APP Victorville, CA KCIO-LP 0.499 0.00 - 34-15-19.00N 117-21-43.00W TX-CP Victorville, CA KCIO-LP 0.990 0.00 - 34-40-10.00N 116-55-50.50W TX-LIC Victorville, CA KCIO-LP 0.010 0.00 34-15-19.00N 117-21-43.00W LD-APP More about it from FCC TV Query itself: Offset is minus on the non-digital versions; that`s what the hyphen means. Also shows the LIC one has a null our way, with major lobe toward 240 degrees. A December 2008 article about Franken FMs http://www.rwonline.com/article/concerns-raised-about-39franken-fms39/4609 has a sidebar listing this: KCIO(LP), Victorville, Calif. Almavision Hispanic Network http://www.almavisiontv/6.html http://www.justin.tv/almavisonradio But the first URL can`t be found now and the second one is about Miami. There is another one on 87.75 which I have DXed before, closer to Los Ángeles, KSFV, also in Spanish but Catholic, and might have mixed in some items confusing the above log. This seems to be a real website but about the ch 6 ``87.7`` in Miami: http://www.almavision.tv/ Meanwhile back to my other FM logs from this session: 1731 on 90.7, something by Es fading in on one of my more open frequencies; 1733 it`s a talk show about baseball, Dodgers, mentions it is also heard on KPFA (Berkeley) so this is KPFK in LA. 1737 show is called `Letters & Politix`, apparently. At 1743 noted in $tereo but no RDS. Still in at 1803 with some music, then out. 1738 on 88.1, talk about the San José Jazz Festival and sweepstakes to win tickets, by pledging to `your jazz station`, 1-800-767-3688. RDS shows KKJZ, static centered between spaces. 30 kW from Long Beach. 1746 on 88.5, soft rock music squeezed between locals. Probably KCSN Northridge. FM Atlas XXI shows it with only 370 watts. I had no idea it was that insignificant, having listened to it a lot online, before they got rid of most of their distinctive programing, but still with the `KCSN Opera House`, UT Mondays 0300, hosted by the clever Bill Toutant: http://www.kcsn.org/kcsnoperahouse.html 1754 on 92.9, adstring including Shakey`s, San Diego County Credit Union; 1759 Hemet Auto Mall; HD Radio ad! $ but no RDS. Out before any ID but I figured it would be easy to look up as a San Diego station -- - but no. FCC query on 92.9 in CA finds the closest one to SD County is KXFG in Sun City, Riverside County, close to Hemet; owned by CBS, so that would explain all the commercials. (The closest Mexican on 92.9 is XHFZO, XS 92.9 FM, Ensenada, B.C., 15,000 watts, per Cantú.) Several scans up to 100 MHz did not turn up any other DX signals. Our local LP on 92.1, however, KAMG was running dead air but stereo pilot thruout this period from 1733, still at 1859 UT (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FM FL>NY To the top of the dial (WIRK 107.9). Also have/had Almavision / WEYS-6 strong enough to check for SAP --- NADA. So I don't know how they get the preacher audio out. Ch 6 audio is salsa music with DJ type format. The video is that preacher. Oh well??? (Jim Pizzi, NY 1920 UT July 12, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. 88.1, KWOU Woodward OK, July 14 around 1400 UT was in solid on breakfast table portable, with NPR `Morning Edition`, rather than usual marginal signal under dead conditions, so I know tropo is up from the west. After my waffle, turn TV antenna that way and start tuning TV: 1420 on RF34, KOMI 24.1 Woodward in solid too; and much weaker but intermittently decoding on RF35, KUOK Woodward with Univisión. They *still* must not be up to full licensed power, which would be way stronger than KOMI. Then I check all the channels in analog for signs of life: 1422 on 23, PBS kidvid! Never saw that before. Is // KETA-13 but a few sex ahead of it via analog cable. Letterboxed, but lacking the e|i bug in UR, and the OETA-HD bug in LR, so it`s not an OETA translator. Only fit is: K23EC, Canadian TX, translator of KACV-9 (``2``) Amarillo. (We frequently go thru Canadian on US 60 to or from New Mexico). So this xltr is still in analog; W9WI lists as 603 watts; FCC shows site is N of Canadian, halfway to Lipscomb in the NE TX panhandle, and its normal coverage area does not even reach the OK border. When it convert to DTV, will be 585 watts of which only 73% will go out at 80 degrees toward Enid, i.e. 427 watts. Distance: 225 km, 140 miles. At 603W, that makes 4.3 watts per mile, or reciprocally, .23 mile per watt. Fades out before 1454, so not going to get a TOH ID. KACV website shows: http://www.kacv.org/index.php?module=article&id=36 KACV Translator Systems City Licensee PBS Ch V'Me Ch Canadian C. L. & O. Translator System 23 N/A Childress Red River Valley Translator TV Association 52 N/A Clarendon KACV 2.1 2.2 Follett C. L. & O. Translator System 47 N/A Memphis Cruze Electronics 2.1 2.2 Quitaque KACV 2.1 2.2 Perryton C. L. & O. Translator System 62 N/A Tulia City Of Tulia 55 N/A Wheeler Wheeler County Translator System 47 N/A [V-ME is a Spanish language service I had never heard of, carried on subchannels of many public DTV stations, map: http://www.vmetv.com/estaciones/ --- the website and a lot of its programming looks suspiciously commercial] Who knows if the above is up-to-date, but we may assume that all the channels not involving a decimal are still analog. Perryton 62 is another I should seek in the same NE Panhandle area, and Wheeler 47. Then I look up channels for other translators in Canadian TX: 29, 31, 33, 35, all probably digital and all blocked by nearby OK stations. 1433 on 49, weak video from west. Could be K49AQ in Clarendon, xltr of KVII-7, but that`s ESE of Amarillo halfway to OK; more likely K49BB in Follett, a KAMR-19 (``4``) Amarillo translator. 1436 fades out without determining network. I went thru five atlases in my collexion before finding Follett in the index. Latest Rand McNally road atlas lacks it, but it`s on their map as the northeasternmost town in the extreme corner of the TX panhandle. 1437 on 53, (above the current UHF DTV band), I am getting weak analog video here, which matches for Follett, K53EE, translating KCIT-15 (``14``) Amarillo, so it`s not yet DTV either. Map via FCC shows site is SW of Follett, coverage area not even reaching Follett! Distance for both is 214 km = 133 miles. Listed are two other analog translators in Follett, on 45 and 51, all four running 1040 watts, but no sign of them. That makes 7.8 watts per mile, or .13 mile per watt. At 1440 UT I do a complete DTV channel scan with the antenna still west: undecoding signals detected on (skipping OKC and Enid locals): 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 19, 20, 22, 26, 36, 42, 45, 47, 48! However, DX is also in from the east as even pointed west, I briefly decode Tulsa`s 45-KOTV ID. For future reference I note the DTV RF channels of the five major full-power stations in Amarillo itself: 7-KVII, 9-KACV, 10-KFDA, 15- KCIT, 19-KAMR (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FEDERAL COURT REJECTS MEDIA CONSOLIDATION IN PROMETHEUS VS. FCC --- Ruling represents second historic victory for Prometheus Radio Project this year --- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 7, 2011 CONTACT: Brandy Doyle. Prometheus Radio Project (215) 727-9620 x518 brandy @ prometheusradio.org PHILADELPHIA - On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its long-awaited verdict in Prometheus Radio Project v. the Federal Communications Commission, rejecting the FCC's attempt to further deregulate media ownership. The Court threw out FCC rules that would have allowed one company to own a newspaper and broadcast stations in the same market. The Court also upheld the FCC's other limits on local broadcast ownership, and agreed with Prometheus and other public interest groups that the FCC failed to consider the impact of its rules on women and people of color. "We won on almost every point. This decision is a vindication of the public's right to have a diverse media environment," said ANDREW JAY SCHWARTZMAN of Media Access Project, who argued the case on behalf of Prometheus. This is the second major victory this year for the Prometheus Radio Project, whose ten-year effort to pass legislation expanding community radio succeeded when President Obama signed the bipartisan Local Community Radio Act into law on January 4. The law will result in thousands of new community radio stations, and the FCC will be accepting applications for stations as early as next summer. Both victories are the result of widespread, bipartisan grassroots organizing. The Third Circuit Court's decision referred to the testimony from thousands of people who participated in FCC ownership hearings nationwide, finding that the FCC failed to give people adequate opportunity to weigh in on the rules. "Media matters. Thousands of people fought to pass the Local Community Radio Act, and thousands more spoke out loudly when the FCC tried to further consolidate broadcast media. We've won these battles, but we must continue to push the FCC to do the right thing for community radio. Industry voices always have the ear of the FCC, but thanks to the nationwide clamor for a better media, we have their attention now," said BRANDY DOYLE, Policy Director at the Prometheus Radio Project. On July 12, the FCC will again propose new rules, this time to implement the Local Community Radio Act. The rules must comply with a mandate from Congress to ensure that channels will be available for low power FM community radio in urban markets. They will set a balance between low power stations and translators, which repeat the signals of larger stations. Prometheus and other public interest advocates are working for rules to give urban communities a voice on the airwaves. "We look forward to seeing the FCC's proposal on July 12, and we are ready to push for stronger rules if necessary," said Doyle. "Commercial broadcasters must share the airwaves with the urban churches, schools, and non-profits who have waited more than a decade to serve their communities with radio." Preparing for that opportunity, volunteers nationwide are mobilizing community groups to apply for stations through Prometheus' Radio Summer outreach campaign. http://www.radiosummer.org/ Prometheus first won its landmark case against the FCC in 2003, blocking the FCC from dramatically consolidating broadcast media ownership. In 2007, the FCC tried to deregulate the industry again, seeking to end a 35-year old ban on newspaper/broadcast cross- ownership. Today the Court rejected that effort. In today's win, Prometheus and Media Access Project were joined by public interest allies including Free Press, the Georgetown Institute for Public Representation, Media Alliance and United Church of Christ. The Prometheus Radio Project advocates for a more just media system and builds low power community radio as a tool for social justice organizing and community expression. http://www.prometheusradio.org PROMETHEUS RADIO PROJECT P.O. Box 42158 Philadelphia, PA 19101 United States (via Benn Kobb, July 7, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC: LPFM vs. Translators --- The FCC has released a Third Further Notice (FCC 11-105) which proposes to break the LPFM vs. translator stalemate. It proposes to allow for processing some 6,500 pending translator applications, and opening another LPFM window. It also proposes to lift the limit of ten translator applications per applicant. A "market-based" standard is proposed. FM translator applications would be either processed or dismissed depending on the availability of channels for LPFM or lack thereof. For example: existing: available: pending apps: City FX LPFM LPFM ch. FX grant FX? ====================================================================== Atlanta 19 4 4 31 no Milwaukee 2 0 6 22 no Nashville 14 2 6 55 yes Buffalo 11 0 5 13 no Boise 9 0 1 2 no Reno 31 0 1 50 no Sheboygan 8 0 14 4 yes "FX" = FM translators The first two columns show how many of each type of station are already licensed in the market. Next is the number of available LPFM channels, then the number of translator applications still pending, then an indication of whether translators applications will be processed in this market under the plan (if not, all translator applications will be dismissed). I've still got 34 pages to read so there may be more to this (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, July 13, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. NYC'S NEW K-LOVE STATION COMPLAINS TO FCC ABOUT "JAMMINZ" PIRATE SIGNAL --- Monday, July 11, 2011 http://www.radio-info.com/news/nycs-new-k-love-station-complains-to-fcc-about-jamminz-pirate-signal From today TRI Newsletter: The Educational Media Foundation tells the FCC “this pirate station is having a significant impact on the reception [of what is now WKLV] in portions of its service area.” It has a very good idea where the pirate’s hiding out: “in East Orange, New Jersey, specifically near South Maple Avenue and Sussex Avenue, west of the Garden State Parkway.” “Jamminz” isn’t exactly hiding, however. EMF claims that “Jamminz Radio’s programming is…open and notorious.” The K-Love folks paid Cox $15.5 million and put their contemporary Christian network “K-Love” format on the former WCTZ, Port Chester NY at 96.7. That was going into the Memorial Day weekend, and now EMF asks the FCC to “immediately take actions to terminate ‘Jamminz’” - also on 96.7. The pirate is running commercials and operating a website that contains contact information for potential advertisers. There’s a Facebook page, for “New Jersey’s #1 hottest Jamaican radio show on 96.7 FM.” EMF’s attorney David Oxenford asks the FCC to “take all steps necessary to cause Jamminz Radio to immediately cease illegal operations.” K-Love has another friend in high places they can summon: the New Jersey state law that confers extra enforcement powers on local authorities. Talk about the situation with K-Love and "Jamminz" on the New York Board of Radio-Info.com, here. http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=193946.0 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. KBSU 730 SELLING OUT, JAZZ LEAVING AM RADIO --- Say Goodbye to Boise State Radio on the AM Dial POSTED BY GEORGE PRENTICE ON WED, JUL 6, 2011 AT 3:48 PM Boise is about to get yet another talk-radio station on the AM dial. Citydesk has learned that Boise State Public Radio is about to finish a deal selling KBSU 730 AM to the Impact Radio Group, owners of BOB 96.1 FM, V 99.1 FM, WILD 101.1 FM and LA PODEROSA 100.7 FM. Sources told Citydesk that the format will be "similar to other stations on the AM dial," but will be the only privately and locally owned station in the market. KBSU 730 AM has been broadcasting jazz and news programming with 15,000 watts daytime and 500 watts at night. Boise State Public Radio has been trying to sell the station for a few years and got the final OK from the State Board of Education to complete the sale earlier this year. The programming change is expected by the end of July (via Kevin Redding, TN, July 8, ABDX via DXLD) Yep - "same programming as other AM stations in the area". This is a glaring prime example of why the new owner WILL NOT succeed with their new acquisition. That's EXACTLY why AM broadcasters are failing even BEFORE the word "GO" --- all sounding alike. If they said "programming VERY DIFFERENT FROM what is on the AM band", then I'd think they would have a very successful future. The demise of KBSU is sad. They were an excellent sounding AM stereo jazz station. I still have several hours of stereo recordings to remember them with (Darwin Long, Empire, LA, ibid.) Darwin, I knew when I posted the message that I would not be the only one that mourned the loss of a great station like KBSU. They and KNBR came in to Phoenix all winter every day. I could run the Kenwood R-1000 into a 100 foot wire and listen all day long. It was nice to hear jazz on the AM band. Guess an era is over and its what you call progress. I already miss them but I will never have the chance to hear them on the air ever again (Kevin Redding, Adamsville, TN, ibid.) I agree with you; KBSU was top-notch. It's a shame it'll be gone. I heard it better in Phoenix than I do in Seattle (Rick Lewis, ibid.) ** U S A. DX alert: KXEL 1540 was knocked off the air by a strong thunderstorm. They say, on their website, http://kxel.com right now, that should be back Friday (Tom Nyberg, IA, July 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Evidently powerlines down, not damage to KXEL (gh) ** U S A. IDIOCY IN FLORIDA Jun 1, 2011 People, Public radio, Stations http://www.insidethearts.com/scanningthedial/ Governor Rick Scott of Florida has suddenly cut all state funding to public radio and television stations in the state. You can read more here. http://flaglerlive.com/22690/rick-scott-pbs-veto The veto means that each one of Florida’s 13 public radio stations, including WMFE in Orlando (90.7 FM) and WJCT in Jacksonville (89.9 FM), both of which can be heard in Flagler County, is losing $61,715. You might remember that in 2009 WMFE moved its classical service off the main channel to an HD channel, but the news station was doing well and meeting its goals. The Governor called public broadcasting -- both radio and TV -- a "special interest." What do YOU think? I guess I wasn't very neutral in the headline to this post (Inside the Arts blog of Marty Ronish, via DXLD) ** U S A. FAREWELL, NEW JERSEY NETWORK --- The New Jersey Network signed off for one last time at midnight Friday (July 1), several years after the state announced it would no longer fund the pubcaster. http://www.current.org/funding/funding0808njn.shtml The Star-Ledger reported its final moments: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/njn_signs_off_today_leaving_13.html "The broadcast cut to a small room of empty cubicles. The lights turned off, and a small, blue NJN sign glowed on the back wall. The screen faded to black. 'New Jersey Network. April 5, 1971 – June 30, 2011.' " The paper includes a video link to that last segment, a five- minute overview of NJN's history. Also as of Friday, 130 staffers are out of work. The station is now NJTV, run by a nonprofit subsidiary of WNET/Thirteen in New York City. http://www.njtvonline.org/ The NJN news team was placed into the sad situation of calmly, professionally covering its own demise. "We thought about reaching out into people’s living rooms and asking, ‘Please help us,’" Michael Aron, 65, a veteran political correspondent and 29-year employee told the paper. "In some subtle ways, we did. We reminded people how long we’ve been on the air, and that we would soon be gone. But that was about as far as we were willing to go." About a week ago, crews working in the trucks once parked outside the Statehouse turned the magnetic NJN signs upside down. And for the first time in 20 years, the station did not to air the Senate and Assembly budget vote live. The cameramen could not bear to watch anymore, Aron said (via Current.org via DXLD) ** U S A. IN SOUTH CAROLINA, GOP LAWMAKERS STAND UP FOR ETV Lawmakers rebuked South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for vetoing $5.9 million in state funding for ETV, the statewide network of public TV and radio stations, taking three separate votes on June 29 to restore all of the subsidies. Legislators then proceeded to override nearly all of Haley's vetoes, adding more than $200 million to programs that the governor had targeted with her veto pen, according to the State, the Columbia-based daily newspaper. House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham -- a Republican, like Haley -- delivered an angry speech on the House floor, complaining that Gov. Haley reneged on an agreement to restructure state funding for ETV. Haley's veto would have eliminated more than 60 percent of ETV's $9.6 million budget (Current.org Jun 30, 2011 via DXLD) ** U S A. WILDFIRES DOWN KSFR'S TOWER, BUT ITS NEWS CREWS KEEP ON REPORTING The news staff at KSFR in Santa Fe, N.M., continues reporting on the wildfires that knocked out the station's tower last week. Newscasts are only streaming online, "which is a big blow," KSFR reporter Charles Maynard told WBUR's Here & Now, because the station has the largest radio news department in the state. KSFR's tower is on the Pajarito Mountain in the area of the Las Conchas fire near the Los Alamos National Laboratory (Current.org June 30 via DXLD) ** U S A. 979.85, KMIN, NM, Grants – 5/13 0726 [EDT] – Local (Grants, Laguna) spots, weather, C&W music, "KMine Country," slogans, with mentions of 980 AM and 96.7 FM; signal up and down (mostly down), but easily separable on LSB; legal ID at 0802: "96.7 FM translator K244DT Grants and 980 on your dial, this is KMIN Grants-Milan, New Mexico, K- Mine Country" and into "Country Morning Show". Noted next few days still off frequency (John Wilkins, CO, NRC DX News June 6 via DXLD) ** U S A. A new TIS logging from earlier today: 1610 WA, Bremerton, 1600 7/10 TIS station IDing as "Naval Base Kitsap Information Advisory Radio" with info on road work, etc., taking place on the base. Fair signal. Did a Google search and found this TIS has a Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=199819493377975&comments (Bruce Portzer, WA, IRCA via DXLD) Viz.: NBK AM Alert Radio Station is operational by Naval Base Kitsap on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 11:18pm Naval Base Kitsap is proud to announce our Alert Radio, AM 1610, is on the air. The station broadcasts continuously and covers a 3 to 5 mile radius around Naval Base Kitsap Bangor and Bremerton. The broadcast is primarily for emergency notifications and information related to disasters and emergency situations. In non-emergent situations we will provide information on anything relating to travel (e.g. traffic information, road conditions, weather reports and forecasts, installation drills, and exercises, construction, road/gate closures, hazards and detours). General information about installation projects (e.g. renovation or scheduled events) affecting installation traffic, gates or parking may also be included. We will be also broadcasting drill information during our up-coming security exercise (21-25 FEBRUARY) as a test for the system. We encourage all personnel to add AM 1610 to a preset on their AM radio dial and listen in. Please provide any suggestions and feedback to POC below. POC: George Nixon, Naval Base Kitsap Emergency Management Officer 360-396-1405 george.nixon @ navy.mil (via DXLD) Point of contact? Person on call? ** VANUATU. 3945, Radio Vanuatu, 1214 July 14. Woman with announcement in presumed Bislama, followed by orchestral anthem and silence at 1216. Don’t know why they signed off early this day. Fair with occasional ham (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Listening from my car with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Harold, Was also listening to them today. 1214 sign off announcement followed by National Anthem; 1216*; transmitter off as usual at 1224, as on a timer. Audio sometimes runs right up to 1224, but often ends before that. Ham QRM is from a weather net on frequency (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, ibid.) Thanks Ron. I had thought they stayed on much later than that, but obviously not (Harold, Editor of World English Survey and Target Listening, available at http://www.odxa.on.ca ibid.) ** VATICAN. 15595, July 8 at 0555, nice classical organ music filler which VR usually runs after the 0530 Mass, until 0600 IDs, into news in Italian, and I believe English was to follow (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YEMEN. 9780.3, Republic of Yemen Radio, Sana’a, 0358, 7/4/11. Flute IS; into talk in Arabic at 0400; songs beginning at 0402; poor but marginally improving by 0405; also heard on 6/28 and 6/29 (Jim Ronda, Tulsa, OK, NRD-545, R-75 + PAR-SWL, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Giovedì 7 luglio 2011, 0455 - 9780.1 kHz, YEMEN RTV - Sana'a, Arabo, nxs YL. Segnale buono-sufficiente. Poco prima che inizi REE in DRM (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) 9780.14, Republic of Yemen Radio, 0306-0355+, July 13, Irregular. On the air earlier than usual with Arabic talk. Traditional Arabic music. Good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. 6015, Voice of Tanzania, Dole, Zanzibar, 0439, Jul 03, animated ad about Zanzibar in Swahili, good (Graham Bell, Cape Town, South Africa, DSWCI DX Window July 13 via DXLD) 6015, RTZ, *0300-0401, July 11. Grayline reception; my sunset 0330, their sunrise 0335; open carrier already on by 0255; started with xylophone sounding IS; 0304 pips (seemed their timing was off, as in the past the IS normally would have started about 0257, but later segments seemed to have adjusted somehow to be timed correctly); not the usual reciting from the Qur’an, but instead singing; 0308 OM with monologue. Broke away to check for Radio Oromiya from 0320 to 0330. By 0332 reception had improved; brief reciting from the Qur’an; 0340 usual segment that sounded like YL in the studio getting live reports from sporting event(s); 0356 EZL music till their normal signature drum music till pips at ToH and into what must have been the news; some adjacent QRM/splatter; one of their better receptions. Enhancing my listening enjoyment was the beautiful sunset out over the Pacific Ocean! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Giovedì 7 luglio 2011, 0450 - 9870 kHz, V of THE PEOPLE (TO ZIMBABWE), Talata V. (Madagascar), Inglese, commenti OMs/YLs. Segnale sufficiente-buono (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Hi Everyone, From last night: 7330, V of the People to ZWE via MDG 1800-1900: YL unID lang (strange) then highlife section, ID in English along with programming details frequencies etc. Also received again tonight, IDs and programme details by OM in English. http://www.box.net/shared/2hlceiz2np3f3qat6dsb (Mark Davies, Anglesey, Wales, July 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4110, UnID Latin, 2335 to 2340, lost signal, 7 July (Robert Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro modified, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, HCDX via DXLD) Varied from 4111 or 4115? Or 3 x 1370 (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4850.07, 2340 to 2345 faded out 6 July (Robert Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro modified, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, HCDX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 5700, KOREA?, 1257, July 9, anthem; ToH pips; seemed to be in Korean; poor (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Presumably 2 x 2850 as usual (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 6811 approx. July 13 at 1343, intermittent 2-way in SSB, but could never tune it in or ascertain language, because it was employing speech inversion, a mild but sufficient privacy/security measure for those not equipped to re-invert it. Occasional tones between transmissions (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Sabato 9 luglio 2011. 0812 - 8000 kHz, Segnali di tempo. Segnale sufficiente-insufficiente. L'ho già sentita qualche giorno fa la mattina verso le 0600. Ad altri orari ho provato, ma non c'è o non è ricevibile (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Segnale molto interessante! Su quella frequenza trasmetteva il Giappone, off air nel 2001 mi pare. Sicuramente da monitorare! (Leonardo Peppe, http://taccuinodx.blogspot.com playdx yg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Som estranho, o que será isso??? Uma curiosa e repetitiva melodia, ouvida em 07/07/2011, entre 0130 e 0200 UT, frequência de 8100 kHz. O áudio era o mesmo, tanto em AM quanto em USB, e está disponível em meu blog http://pu2pkb.blogspot.com/ [later:] Number station X06 Mazielka. Sinistro. Receptor: Yaesu FT- 817ND; Antena: plano-terra. 73's (Alexandre - PU2PKB, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Six rising notes over and over; no numbers on the clip (gh, DXLD) Olá Alexandre! Eu tenho uma mesma gravação deste modo de transmissão feita no ano passado. O nosso amigo Ivan Dias, grande conhecedor de utilitárias, me respondeu sobre o que era isto. Peço licença à ele para reproduzir sua resposta aqui. Segue a resposta do Ivan e abaixo o link com a minha gravação: http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/gzyT24_h/9060KHz_2310UTC_04OUT2010_edit.html (Davi Lucas Pinto de Sousa, July 8, ibid.) Viz.: Davi, Sua gravação é da estação conhecida por X06 pelos membros do grupo Enigma 2000 (dedicado a escuta de estações de números). Trata-se do sistema Mazielka de chamada seletiva usando 6 tons de áudio. 73 Ivan Dias Jr. - Sorocaba/SP http://ivandias.wordpress.com (via Davi, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED [and non]. 17750, July 14 at 1303, mystery continuous 1000 Hz tone test, poor, still at 1320, 1325, better by 1330 at S9+8. Off around 1350, leaving a weaker carrier from something. Next check 1414, something talking in SW Asian language, i.e. VOA Kurdish via Wertachtal. HFCC shows 17750 as an open frequency 1000-1400. Had not heard any of these tone tests since last week. FWIW, I compared the 17750 tonesignal which had little fading, to some others from probable vicinity around 1334: Saudis Qur`an on 17615 and weaker // 17625 had flutter; 17705 BSKSA no flutter and at S9+18 considerably stronger; 17530, Sawa via Kuwait peaked S9+10 with somewhat more fading than 17750. Libya 17725 carrier JBA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re: 17880, July 6 at 1256 DRM again, and this time on the DX-398 I make sure this is the center frequency, not 17875 where HFCC has N scheduled for Guiana French. 1309 still going. Is there anything anywhere near either frequency now listed at http://www.drm-dx.de/ of course not! How about the DRM fora for any logs on 17880? Or course not! How about http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drmna/messages --- the drmna yg? Nothing about that frequency since Nov 24, 2010, when TDF were testing from GUF to Brasilia (Glenn Hauser-OK-USA, dxld July 7) Nothing heard on 17875/17880 on July 7 at 1405 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Many thanks to Clayton Stapleton, who made sure we got the domain http://www.worldofradio.com years ago, and which has just been renewed (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WRTH A11 MID-SEASON SCHEDULES UPDATE A11 mid-season schedules update pdf has been uploaded to http://www.wrth.com Many thanks to Mauno Ritola for collecting and checking the data. WRTH Facebook page, July 14 (Mike Barraclough, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Odds and ends, 3 pages, but of primary interest, full new YFR schedule; see USA [and non] above (gh, DXLD) 25-76 MHZ FM STATIONS I've published my first attempt at listing 25-76 MHz STL's, remote broadcast pickups, IFBs, and background music stations. So far just USA & Chile. The USA stations are the fixed stations only (no mobiles or very low power units). This should cover the most common ones. There are likely many unlicensed ones operating as well. I also believe that there are several Chileans operating on off-channel frequencies - once F2 gets rolling we can improve the listings. The list can be found at ... http://dxinfocentre.com/STL.htm As usual, any updates welcomed. Bill Hepburn -- (William R Hepburn (VEM3ONT22) Grimsby ON CAN 43 10 59.4 -79 33 34.5 http://dxinfocentre.com/hepburn/ WTFDA via DXLD) ARMY MARS MANUALS ONLINE Department of the Army: "TC 9-64 - Communications-Electronics Fundamentals: Wave Propagation, Transmission Lines, and Antennas" United States Marine Corps (USMC): "MCRP 6-22D - Field Antenna Handbook" (BC-DX 11 July via DXLD) HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO DXING RE-RELEASED Jonathan Marks writes, “It is thirty years ago since I wrote a rather silly parody on international radio broadcasting and based on my favourite radio series at the time, the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. There seemed to be so much to make fun of at the time…the boring propaganda at the height of the Cold War, jamming, the waste of energy shouting from one country to another, and the variable quality of reaction from listeners.” Parts one and two of this classic series are now available to download from the Media Network Vintage Vault. The rest will follow shortly. http://jonathanmarks.libsyn.com/ (July 13, 2011, 11:36 UT by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) SHORTWAVE MUSIC +++++++++++++++ MUSIC FOR DXING Hello, Just alerting you to the new LP by electronic artiste Spunkle. "Music for DXing" is out now on First Fold Records and is 16 tracks inspired by and dedicated to the hobby of DXing. See here for more information http://www.firstfoldrecords.com/?page_id=1321 including links to stream and download the LP, videos and an interview. Lots of shortwave noises on there. 73s CD! (The Plant Waterer, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Spunkle --- Music For DXing DOWNLOAD VIA HALCYON DOWNLOAD ON ITUNES DOWNLOAD ON AMAZON Music For DXing is a suite of sixteen songs rooted in the hobby of listening to the radio. Originally released amongst friends and fans in 2003, Music for DXing mixes the sounds of shortwave with primeval electronica in a drumless, bassless, trebleless midrange landscape of anticipation. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ For insight, read Nine Questions about Music for DXing http://www.firstfoldrecords.com/?page_id=1397 Review at Halcyon Records http://halcyonline.com/2011/first-fold-kicks-of-2011-with-three-promising-new-offerings/ (via DXLD) MUSEA +++++ INTERNAL FIRE MUSEUM OF POWER, TANYGROES, UK Recently returned from a relaxing holiday in Newgale, west Wales, is TIM BUCKNALL: My Dad is a fan of stationary engines so we stopped by the Internal Fire Museum of Power at Tanygroes on the A487 http://www.internalfire.com/ I nearly stayed in the car DXing as the name didn't exactly scream RADIO! but thank goodness I went in! They have the generator that drove the Moorside Edge MW transmitters until 1984. I only was six in 1984 but I remember Dad listening to the Radio 2 on Saturday mornings on medium wave back then, so I would definitely have heard this generator being used. Hi Hi! They also have an excellent collection of radios including the famous RCA AR88 which, if I recall correctly is sometimes called the best receiver ever made. It was up and running connected to a pc decoding morse on 7 MHz, an excellent fusion of old and new! I got to hear its fantastic noise floor and killer audio for myself. They have a "19 set" with Cyrillic writing on just like my Dad remembered from his Army days (they were built for the Russians but surplus sets ended up being used here in the UK). Anyway I can't rate it highly enough, definitely worth a visit. We're donating an old PYE set to them (Tim Bucknall, UK, Open to Discussion, July BDXC-UK Communication via General Editor Chrissy Brand, DXLD) IMPORTANT NOTICE ON RADIO HISTORY WEBSITE Dear all, Due to lack of time to do a proper job, I have decided to abandon my project European LW/MW History http://radiohistory.hermanboel.eu Because of the wealth of information I leave the website online for now. However, if anyone believes (s)he can take over the website and maintain it properly, please feel free to contact me (via private mail, not over this list). This decision will have no effect on the EMWG, which will of course be maintained as usual. Kind regards, (Herman - Boel, July 12, MWCircle yg via DXLD) LANGUAGE LESSONS Sault Sainte Marie: see CANADA; machismo: USA: KXNO ++++++++++++++++ GOOGLES ÖVERSÄTTNINGSMASKIN I senaste SWB citeras den amerikanske DX-are Don Moore. Han säger att han är väldigt duktig i spanska - har undervisat i språket osv - och han tycker att Googles datoriserade översättning från engelska till spanska är jättebra. Snart behövs inga spanskalärare tror han. Jag delar inte hans synpunkter. Men om jag säger det, så står förstås ord mot ord. Vad bättre då än att låta en infödd spansktalande bedöma textens kvalitet? Sålunda petade jag in hans engelska text i Googles "översättningsmaskin" och började läsa upp den spanska Googleöversättningen för Josefina. Jag hann bara läsa tre rader så viftade Josefina med armarna och började skrika: Oj oj oj, det låter förfärligt, ``qué desastre`` (Henrik Klemetz) GOOGLE TRANSLATOR In latest SWB [and DXLD], the American DX-er Don Moore is quoted. He says he is very good in Spanish – has been teaching the language, etc. – and he thinks that the computerized Google translator is very good. Soon there is no need for teachers in Spanish, he believes. I am not sharing his views. But if I say so, word stands up against words. What is better than having a native Spanish speaking person judge the quality of the text? Thus I entered his English text in the “Google translator machine” and started to read the Spanish Google translation for Josefina. I just managed to read three lines before Josefina started to wave her arms shouting oh oh oh, it sounds awful --- qué desastre (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 10, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ MILWAUKEE RADIO GET-TOGETHER, SATURDAY, AUGUST 20 The 18th annual Madison-Milwaukee Get-Together will take place on Saturday, August 20, 2011, beginning at 1 p.m. This year the event is in the Milwaukee area, hosted by Tim Noonan and his family in south suburban Oak Creek. It is an all-band event, and anyone interested in the radio hobby is welcome. For more information, please contact Tim at DXing2 @ aol.com We will post one reminder on these same lists as the date draws near (Tim Noonan, July 13, swl at qth.net via DXLD) WORLD OF TELEPHONY ++++++++++++++++++ YET ANOTHER WAY TO HEAR WORLD OF RADIO ON THE PHONE Glenn, I can't remember if you have mentioned this, or if you know about it. There is a phone system called "Conversation Station." It has personal mail boxes, pod casts, chat rooms, and many other features which I have not checked out. You can also hold conferences and invite people. I think it is run mainly by, and for blind people, though, of course, anyone can join. It is completely free. If you were to want to get a personal box, people on the system could leave you messages. (This can eat up a lot of time if one isn't careful.) World of Radio is one of the podcasts. They seem to get it up Thursday night, so, the most current one is there. I guess it stays for a whole week, to be heard whenever you want. To access WOR: 1. Call: 231-224-7222. 2. Press "pound" to bypass the rules file. 3. Select 4, for podcasts. 5. Select 2, pound, for WOR. Within a pod cast: 7 and 9 lower and raise volume. 6 and 4 go forward and back by about ten seconds. 5 takes you to beginning of broadcast. 1 gives you elapsed time, 3 gives you remaining time on pod cast. 2 is pause. It works great. It will probably be my main source for World of Radio. WWRB and WTWW are simply not reliable here, because I am in their skip zone. Hope you find this useful (Tim Hendel, Huntsville AL, July 9, DX LISTENIG DIGEST) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ POWER GRID CHANGE MAY DISRUPT CLOCKS June 25, 2011 12:48 AM AP EXCLUSIVE http://www.tinyurl.com/3uzut3g (AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — A yearlong experiment with the nation's electric grid could mess up traffic lights, security systems and some computers — and make plug-in clocks and appliances like programmable coffeemakers run up to 20 minutes fast. "A lot of people are going to have things break and they're not going to know why," said Demetrios Matsakis, head of the time service department at the U.S. Naval Observatory, one of two official timekeeping agencies in the federal government. Since 1930, electric clocks have kept time based on the rate of the electrical current that powers them. If the current slips off its usual rate, clocks run a little fast or slow. Power companies now take steps to correct it and keep the frequency of the current — and the time — as precise as possible. The group that oversees the U.S. power grid is proposing an experiment that would allow more frequency variation than it does now without corrections, according to a company presentation obtained by The Associated Press. Officials say they want to try this to make the power supply more reliable, save money and reduce what may be needless efforts. The test is tentatively set to start in mid-July, but that could change. Tweaking the power grid's frequency is expensive and takes a lot of effort, said Joe McClelland, head of electric reliability for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "Is anyone using the grid to keep track of time?" McClelland said. "Let's see if anyone complains if we eliminate it." No one is quite sure what will be affected. This won't change the clocks in cellphones, GPS or even on computers, and it won't have anything to do with official U.S. time or Internet time. But wall clocks and those on ovens and coffeemakers — anything that flashes "12:00" when it loses power — may be just a bit off every second, and that error can grow with time. It's not easy figuring what will run fast and what won't. For example, VCRs or DVRs that get their time from cable systems or the Internet probably won't be affected, but those with clocks tied to the electric current will be off a bit, Matsakis said. This will be an interesting experiment to see how dependent our timekeeping is on the power grid, Matsakis said. The North American Electric Reliability Corp. runs the nation's interlocking web of transmission lines and power plants. A June 14 company presentation spelled out the potential effects of the change: East Coast clocks may run as much as 20 minutes fast over a year, but West Coast clocks are only likely to be off by 8 minutes. In Texas, it's only an expected speedup of 2 minutes. Some parts of the grid, like in the East, tend to run faster than others. Errors add up. If the grid averages just over 60 cycles a second, clocks that rely on the grid will gain 14 seconds per day, according to the company's presentation. Spokeswoman Kimberly Mielcarek said the company is still discussing the test and gauging reactions to its proposal, and may delay the experiment a bit. Mielcarek said in an email that the change is about making the grid more reliable and that correcting the frequency for time deviations can cause other unnecessary problems for the grid. She wrote that any problems from the test are only possibilities. In the future, more use of renewable energy from the sun and wind will mean more variations in frequency on the grid, McClelland said. Solar and wind power can drop off the grid with momentary changes in weather. Correcting those deviations is expensive and requires instant backup power to be always at the ready, he said. The test makes sense and should not cause too much of a hassle for people, said Jay Apt, a business professor and director of the Electricity Industry Center at Carnegie Mellon University. But Tom O'Brian, who heads the time and frequency division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, expects widespread effects. He said there are alternatives if people have problems from the test: The federal government provides the official time by telephone and on the Internet (via CBS News via CGC Communicator July 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Here, my shortwave reception has been spoilt by some neighbours using what we call "PLT" (powerline telecommunications). This is a new, crazy system that people can purchase to set up broadband distribution in their house. The signals travel on the mains electric wiring. The system uses 4 through 22 MHz and if close by to a shortwave receiver (less than about 500 metres), the shortwave reception is blocked and unusable. The European Commission and British Telecommunications Regulator have authorised this system, but it does not comply with Electromagnetic Interference Legislation. I have managed to stop two neighbours from using this system, but another remains; however the interference from his house is very low and only affects a few frequencies. I am praying that this system will be banned altogether, or shortwave reception in the UK will get worse and worse over the years until it becomes unusable. Then there will be another reason for the "death of shortwave" (Alan Holder, Isle of Wight, UK, July 8, via Drita Çiço, R. Tirana, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See CANADA; USA TVDX logs ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DRAWBACKS OF DIGITAL It has already been noted that a digital radio becomes unstable at a higher signal strength than an analogue receiver, therefore a digital transmitter gives a smaller area of acceptable coverage than an analogue transmitter. More digital than analogue relay stations would have to be used to cover a given area. Circuit design is an old art, and it is extremely unlikely receiver performance can be significantly improved to reduce this shortcoming since it is now limited by basic physical parameters e.g. inter alia Schottky, and thermal noise. Additionally, the digital system is corruptible by cropping data rates in order to squeeze more stations into the radio spectrum enriching manufacturers and entrepreneurs in exchange for degraded audio quality. Digital receivers cost more, and consume more power, than analogue receivers. At the start of its journey a digital signal carries less data than an analogue signal – just as a keyboard scale contains less information than a glissando of equal frequency span. Digital systems are useful over lines since signal degradation is less than that suffered over radio propagation paths: line signals can be boosted en route Push-button station selection used on digital receives does not allow the listener to tune to the best balance of bass and treble to suit his / her specific hearing response as one can on an analogue set. To most people this action is instinctive, surely. Push-button selection is either dead on-frequency or off – no compromise. The limited range of digital transmissions, and the use of digital access coding, would enable authorities to insulate public awareness from internal national affairs and events overseas, potentially rendering those responsible for our nation's welfare, unaccountable. We already know that internet news backups are breakable, as has reportedly occurred recently in the Middle East. Access coding would also make it possible to charge you for listening by the hour or programme, perhaps ultimately to deprive the poorest of peoples worldwide of their only link with information and entertainment. Much money has already been spent by government, and without much publicity, on new digital transmissions nationally, as if it is presupposed that we will 'go digital' whether the public wants or benefits from it or not. Government states that if, or when, listenership exceeds 50% we will change over. Who is in a position to check such a claim? Present declared listenership figures seem to be well above what I have heard about peoples' opinions on listening to digital radios among non-DXers, with the exception of some of those who will profit commercially from a switchover. I'm particularly concerned about the digital issue because in spite of the digital system appearing to be intrinsically inferior to analogue, the government is spending large amounts of money to establish it. Why? True, fiscal and manufacturers' returns will swell, but at the expense of a new credit-squeezed consumer who will be compelled to 'go digital'. Some payback for an inferior and potentially manipulative substitute! Moreover, we have a shaky democracy (?) in which corruption and incompetence have been exposed by the news media, so that action is being taken to muzzle the press. Logically, radio will be next (remember the fight to get citizens' band?). So more than ever, we are going to need radio that is within everyone's reach, is fit for the purpose, transparent and free. Therefore, shouldn't the blinkered wise up with the 'digiphobes' and rally against being sold a dangerous pup? Or am I barking up the wrong tree….or even barking mad? Answers, please, to Open To Discussion as I need a second opinion.” (Tony Edge, Open To Discussion, July BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM see also FRANCE; INDIA; ROMANIA; SPAIN; ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ UK; YEMEN; UNIDENTIFIED 17880 Una nueva oportunidad para la radio en AM Tuesday, July 12, 2011 7:34 AM PRUEBAS EXPERIMENTALES REALIZADAS EN BRASIL. [test van:] http://www.basqueresearch.com/upload/irudiak/3413_Brasil.JPG Las emisoras de radio se pelean por hacerse un hueco en la más que concurrida FM, en detrimento de una AM con una calidad de sonido más pobre. Sin embargo, las bandas por debajo de los 30 MHz (las de AM) podrían tener una nueva oportunidad, de la mano de la radiodifusión digital terrestre. El consorcio internacional Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) trabaja en el desarrollo de un sistema universal que ofrecería una nitidez cercana a la de la FM, además de otras ventajas como la opción multilingüe en los programas o una reducción del consumo eléctrico del 40-50 %. El ingeniero Iván Peña, que trabaja con DRM a través del Grupo de Tratamiento de la Señal y Radiocomunicaciones de la UPV/EHU, se ha centrado, concretamente, en el estudio de la banda de 26 MHz. Su tesis se titula Planning factors for digital local broadcasting in the 26 MHz band (Factores de planificación para la radiodifusión digital local en la banda de 26 MHz). La investigación de Peña consiste en el estudio de modelos de propagación y factores de planificación para implantar servicios DRM en la banda de 26 MHz. Con este propósito, ha llevado a cabo pruebas a nivel local en países como México, Brasil y Alemania. Concretamente, las de México y Brasil han sido las primeras realizadas con este sistema en sendos países. Además, la de 26 MHz es una banda que raramente se ha podido utilizar hasta ahora, por lo que su optimización tendría una gran repercusión. Razón por la cual las investigaciones de Peña y el grupo al que pertenece han tenido una buena acogida en congresos internacionales, así como en la revista IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting, que ocupa el puesto siete en la clasificación JCR de telecomunicaciones. Hasta ahora, solo por onda ionosférica Tal y como se explica en la tesis, el único modo contemplado hasta ahora para la radiodifusión a larga distancia mediante la banda de 26 MHz ha sido la propagación por onda ionosférica. En este caso, la onda se refracta progresivamente, hasta regresar a la superficie terrestre desde la ionosfera. Sin embargo, debido a que este método está influenciado por la actividad solar y la frecuencia, no siempre es posible utilizarlo. Con el objeto de explotar las frecuencias de 26 MHz de manera más eficiente, se ha experimentado de manera local con los otros dos modos de propagación que podrían facilitar la implantación de servicios DRM en dicha banda, los cuales no se han empezado a probar para este uso hasta hace apenas una década. Se trata de la propagación por visión directa (la onda se compone de un rayo directo, un rayo reflejado y rayos refractados por las irregularidades de la superficie terrestre) y la propagación por onda superficial (la onda se propaga por la discontinuidad tierra-aire, adaptándose a la curvatura del terreno). Tal y como explica Peña, a pesar de las pruebas, existe aún un desconocimiento del comportamiento del sistema cuando se usa esta banda. Su tesis contribuye a caracterizar a nivel teórico este tipo de radiodifusión, mediante la interpretación de los datos obtenidos de manera experimental. En primer lugar, Peña ha realizado un análisis de la propagación por onda terrestre en esta banda (en los modos de visión directa y de onda superficial), y ha desarrollado un modelo de predicción para poder identificar la cobertura local de redes DRM que se encuentran en dicha porción del espectro en cada situación. Además, ha estudiado las condiciones de propagación ionosférica que, en estas frecuencias, podrían provocar interferencias entre servicios de radiodifusión digital local. Finalmente, otra contribución de este ingeniero ha sido la determinación de los niveles de ruidos actuales y la caracterización de otras perturbaciones electromagnéticas que podrían influir en la calidad y fiabilidad de recepción de este tipo de señales. Sobre el autor: Iván Peña Valverde (Barakaldo, 1977) es doctor en Ingeniería de Telecomunicaciones. Ha redactado su tesis bajo la dirección del Dr. Pablo Angueira Buceta y la Dra. Amaia Arrinda Sanzberro, ambos profesores titulares del Departamento de Electrónica y Telecomunicaciones de la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Bilbao (UPV/EHU). En la actualidad, Peña es investigador en este mismo departamento, donde ha realizado la tesis. Asimismo, para llevar a cabo su investigación ha colaborado con las siguientes instituciones: DRM, Radio Educación (México), Universidad de Brasilia y Radiobras (Brasil), y Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas Georg-Simon-Ohm de Nuremberg e Instituto de la Tecnología de las Comunicaciones de la Universidad Leibniz de Hanover (Alemania). FUENTE: Basqueresearch.com: Noticias - Una nueva oportunidad para la radio en AM http://bit.ly/nho3Nm (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) But, but, if it`s DRM it`s NOT A-M, by definition!! Geez (gh, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM see also PUBLICATIONS above +++++++++++++++++++++ Re 11-27: ETON E1 TEMPORARILY DISABLED BY HIGH RF FIELD? Did you twist on the "Display Contrast Knob" behind the battery access panel? This has a small adjustment range only. Maybe is prone on temperature ranges at zero temperature or on very high temperatures in sunshine on the beach? Or your battery rate went down? "Display Contrast Knob" Placed located left of the Factory Programming Connector, just above the E1 Radio Reset Button. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks Wolfy, I'll include your comments in the August issue of Contact magazine. I also downloaded a small diagram of the battery access panel from the Eton E1 Manual, which I'll include (Alan Roe, ed., ibid.) NO LONGER DX'ING -- AT LEAST FOR NOW Hi Everyone, As a courtesy, I have already told my "inner circle" of log recipients. But for everyone else. I will have to put my DX'ing on hold, UFN. Not because I want to, but because I have no choice. Sadly, my neighbor's new plasma TV spews so much RF, it wrecks my reception. I can tell "to the minute" when the set switches on and it wrecks the entire spectrum. I get spikes every 50 kHz or so, and white noise between the spikes. We've tried EMI/RFI filtered power strips, etc, nothing works. (And since they have kids, the TV is on A LOT.) Called the local electricity provider for advice. They had none. It appears the TV's RF is feeding back in to the power grid, which leaves no place to relocate my aerial. My entire property is noisy. I'll be back if I can somehow resolve the situation. But I can understand why people give up the hobby, when common devices like widescreen TV's can all but wreck reception. Even more irritating, is that I just rebuilt my aerials a week ago, and invested in a Quantum Phaser (for MW reception). While on the subject, I might as well say, the Quantum Phaser is the best I have ever used. Hoping to sort out the issues and return soon (at least my neighbors are cooperating with efforts to resolve the problem). 73's (David Sharp, NSW, July 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi David, Perhaps in the future more and more listeners to SW will need to do what Harold Sellers and I regularly do – make a DXpedition to a location that does not have any EMI/RFI, or at least not as much. A portable receiver with an external antenna at a quiet RF location is more and more becoming of greater importance than having an elaborate tabletop receiver attached to an effective antenna system at ones home. Sometimes location trumps gear! Of course I hope that you can quickly resolve your situation so you can get back to some enjoyable listening again. Good luck! I shall miss you informative postings! (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, ibid.) Unfortunately, David is far inland, so can`t drive to the seashore every day; but neither can Harold (gh, DXLD) I agree with Ron. If I couldn't do my mobile DXing, I would have to be content to just listening to the internet. This way I can do both. (Harold Sellers, BC, Editor of World English Survey and Target Listening, available at http://www.odxa.on.ca ibid.) EVERYTHING LIGHTSQUARED o The FCC has set a comment deadline regarding the GPS-LightSquared technical working group report: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-11-1133A1.doc o The big question is: How did LightSquared ("LSQ") receive such favorable treatment from the FCC when Commission staff undoubtedly knew the LSQ system would cause serious interference to GPS? First a John Eggerton report, then a fascinating article from the National Legal and Policy Center: http://tinyurl.com/EggertonOnLSq http://tinyurl.com/NLPConLSq o Congressional hearing on LightSquared's bizarre plan (an interesting but long video -- 2 hr. & 15 mins.): http://tinyurl.com/LightSqrdHearing (CGC Communicator July 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) SHORTWAVE CAR STEREO CDX-GT180 Once again available, Sony car stereo with SW: http://tinyurl.com/6drky33 One thing I like is being able to tune in 9 KHz steps for MW transatlantic DX. If my factory car stereo were to fail, I'd be looking into this as it would be way cheaper plus add SW and world tuning capability for MW DX. But, as any wise consumer knows, copy, paste and google to read reviews etc. to see if it would be good before plunking down your hard earned loonies or greenbacks (Phil Rafuse, VY2PR, Stratford PE Canada, July 12, ABDX via DXLD) 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY [sic] OF FM STEREO Radio Journal July 13, 2011 The actual anniversary date slipped past us, but it’s not too late to wish a happy 50th birthday to multiplexed FM stereo in the United States. Experiments with stereo and multiplexing dated back to the earliest years of FM -inventor Edwin Armstrong even worked on his own system... more at http://ftp.media.radcity.net/ZMST/Journal/2011/RJ9951.pdf (via Mike Terry, July 14, dxldyg via DXLD) ZOOM H4N DIGITAL RECORDER Finally, I'm not sure if this is more a matter for 'Ether to Speaker' but anyway I purchased a Zoom H4n digital recorder with the idea of possible recording DX on it but sadly it radiates hash all over the bands, so there’s one to avoid, I'm not too annoyed as I also use it to record live concerts for which its perfect.” (Tim Bucknall, UK, Open to Discussion, July BDXC-UK Communication via General Editor Chrissy Brand, DXLD) FCC READY TO SHARE DONATED TOYS Posted on July 14, 2011 by Mitchell Lazarus Unlicensed Operations and Emerging Technologies http://www.commlawblog.com/2011/07/articles/unlicensed-operations-and-emer/fcc-ready-to-share-donated-toys/ “Technology Experience Center” to give FCC personnel and select visitors hands-on experience with the latest in communications technology. Last November we told you about the FCC’s request for donations of technical communications devices to its planned Technology Experience Center (TEC), described as an on-site lab that will provide hands-on experience with the latest in communications technology. The doors of the TEC are now open. Moreover, the FCC has announced there will be themes for each coming month. (If nothing else, that will keep the press releases coming.) This month, July, is about “Innovation & Spectrum.” Future months will feature education (August), public safety (September), healthcare (October), small business (November), and energy (December). The FCC has not said so, but we’re willing to guess rural broadband and disability-related issues are somewhere on the list for next year. We are all in favor of regulators keeping abreast of new technology. But we have a couple of concerns. For one, the TEC appears not to be open to the public, but rather to be limited to FCC staff and “select visitors from the community.” We’d like to play, too. How do we get an invitation? Opening-day exhibits are provided by these companies: Comcast, DirecTV, GENBAND, Grooveshark, Globalstar, HTC, iBiquity, LexisNexis, LG Electronics, Livio Radio, Microsoft, Motorola, Open Mobile Video Coalition, Panasonic, Research in Motion, Samsung, Sonos, Sony, and Verizon Wireless. And that’s another concern. This initial list seems disproportionately tilted to giants in their fields. No doubt the large companies generate some share of technological innovation. But we were hoping the FCC would use the new TEC at least in part to present the work of the smaller, innovating entrepreneurs who come up with many of the most exciting ideas in technology (and some of whom are our clients). After all, Comcast and Verizon have no trouble reaching the investors and partners they want, with or without the FCC. But the companies that might have used the boost from a TEC appearance to fuel the spread of genuinely new ideas appear to have been left out -- making it all the more likely they will eventually succumb to being bought by one of the giants. One more thing. The FCC’s announcement includes some serious disclaimers: donation of items to the TEC is “not contingent on and does not imply any expected benefit to the donor”, and acceptance of any item by the FCC “does not constitute endorsement” of the item by the FCC. The FCC can disclaim all it wants, but we think donors expect to realize some benefit from their largess. After all, their brainchildren are being presented center stage to an elite corps of Very Important Decisionmakers. Isn’t the opportunity to step out of the competitive crowd and into that spotlight a benefit in itself? Not to mention the derivative benefits that might flow from positive reception by that influential audience. If the FCC is favorably impressed by a piece of gear, we figure it’s less likely to adopt rules that disfavor that gear; it might even come up with rules that foster the gear. Sounds like a benefit to us. And as to whether or not acceptance into the TEC constitutes an “endorsement”: unless the FCC accepts anything and everything that happens to be submitted, it must be making threshold determinations. We’d be surprised, for example, if the FCC accepted the wind-powered Time Machine we’ve been working on (even if we can get that pesky broadband component working). So any item that makes the cut probably has something going for it in the eyes of somebody at the FCC. That may not rise to the level of a formal endorsement, but the FCC can’t really believe that getting one’s whizbang gizmo in the door at the TEC won’t be perceived as some measure of approbation. Once we get our Time Machine working, we’d be happy to retrieve the Steves (Jobs and Wozniak) or maybe Bill Gates and Paul Allen, back from the 1970s, when they were still tweaking their then-cutting-edge ideas that have since become ho-hum mainstream. Until then, though, we think the FCC should be careful not to ignore the current-day counterparts of such pathfinders, in order to try to get an early handle on what will be ho-hum mainstream 30 years from now (CommLaw Blog via Benn Kobb, July 14, DXLD) BIZARRO COMIC MADE TO ORDER FOR GH Look for the Bizarro comic for July 11 in your newspaper. Current ones are delayed about a month before appearing on the website here: http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/bizarro/about.htm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Geomagnetic Indices (From Phil Bytheway) Geomagnetic summary tabulated from daily e-mail data, June 2011 Date Flux A K Space Wx 1 114 10 2 no storms 2 112 9 1 no storms 3 107 3 1 no storms 4 103 11 5 minor 5 103 26 2 moderate 6 100 6 1 no storms 7 96 8 4 minor 8 90 11 2 minor 9 88 12 4 no storms 10 87 9 3 no storms 11 85 12 2 no storms 12 85 10 1 no storms 13 87 8 2 no storms 14 99 8 2 minor 15 102 7 2 no storms 16 103 5 1 no storms 17 104 11 2 no storms 18 99 6 1 no storms 19 99 5 2 no storms 20 96 7 2 no storms 21 95 8 2 no storms 22 93 10 3 no storms 23 96 17 3 no storms 24 96 13 3 no storms 25 94 6 2 no storms 26 90 7 1 no storms 27 89 6 2 no storms 28 87 5 1 no storms 29 87 3 1 no storms 30 89 3 1 no storms (NRC DX News July 11 via DXLD) SOLAR-ACTIVITY FORECAST FOR THE PERIOD JUL 8-14, 2011 Activity level: very low to low Radio flux (10.7 cm): a fluctuation in the range 80-105 f.u. Flares: weak (3-15/day) Relative sunspot number: in the range 35-65 Astronomical Institute, Solar Dept., Ondrejov, Czech Republic e-mail: sunwatch(at) asu.cas.cz (RWC Prague) ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period Jul 8 to Jul 14, 2011 quiet: Jul 9, 13, and 14 quiet to unsettled: Jul 12 unsettled: Jul 8, 10 and 11 active: 0 minor storm: 0 major storm: 0 severe storm: 0 Geomagnetic activity summary: geomagnetic field was quiet on Jun 30, Jul 2 and 3, quiet to unsettled on Jul 6, unsettled on Jul 1, 4 and 5. RWC Prague, Geophysical Institute Prague, Geomagnetic Dept, Czech Republic e-mail: geom(at)ig.cas. cz ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period of one solar rotation Geomagnetic field during the following solar rotation should be: mostly quiet: July 24 - 26 quiet to unsettled: July 13 - 16 mostly unsettled: July 8 - 12, 17 - 18, 22 - 23, 27, Aug 2 - 3 unsettled to active: July 19 - 21, 28 - 31, Aug 1 Survey: mostly quiet: June 29 - 30 unsettled: July 2 - 3, 6 unsettled to active: July 1, 4 - 5 Notices: High probability of changes in solar wind which may caused changes in magnetosphere and ionosphere is expected about July 13 - 14, 19 - 21, 28 - 31 Petr Kolman OK1MGW, Czech Propagation Interested Group e-mail: kolmanp(at)razdva.cz (via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) GOOD VIDEO ABOUT AURORA FORMATION/Buen video sobre auroras http://vimeo.com/25811412 This video explains how particles originating from deep inside the core of the sun creates northern lights, also called aurora borealis, on our planet. See an extended multimedia version of this video at forskning.no (only in Norwegian): forskning.no/artikler/2011/april/285324 ----------- This video is produced by forskning.no in collaboration with the Department of Physics at the University of Oslo. Production, animation and music: Per Byhring Script: Arnfinn Christensen Scientific advisors: Jøran Moen, Hanne Sigrun Byhring and Pål Brekke Video of the northern lights: arcticlightphoto.no Video of coronal mass ejection: NASA (via Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, dxldyg via DXLD) SUNSPOT CYCLE UPDATE The latest smoothed sunspot number prediction on page 13 at http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly/pdf/prf1870.pdf shows the numbers for December 2010 through December 2011 slightly lower. Last month's prediction showed smoothed sunspot numbers for that period at 30, 34, 38, 41, 45, 49, 54, 59, 63, 66, 68, 71 and 74. The latest has the values for those same months changed to 29, 32, 36, 39, 43, 47, 52, 57, 61, 64, 66, 69 and 72. The reason that in July we see last December's number change is because the smoothed sunspot number represents an average of data over one year. The data for approximately six months after December 2010 wasn't completely known until the end of June, and each successive month after that contains one more month of predicted data, instead of data that is actually measured. NASA has a new (monthly) solar cycle prediction. Because these are not archived and the URL never changes, tracking the updates can be a bit daunting, but here are the changes from a month ago. In paragraph 9, this sentence: "We find a starting time of May 2008 with minimum occurring in December 2008 and maximum of about 59 in June/July of 2013" in last month's prediction changed to "We find a starting time of October 2008 with minimum occurring in December 2008 and maximum of about 69 in June/July of 2013" in this month's. So they now believe the cycle started five months later than previously reported, and that the smoothed sunspot peak will be 10 points or seventeen percent higher. These are international sunspot numbers, not the Boulder numbers used in this bulletin, which are higher. Also changed at the end of that same paragraph, from last month's prediction: "At this phase of cycle 24 we now give 40 percent weight to the curve-fitting technique of Hathaway, Wilson, and Reichmann Solar Physics 151, 177 (1994). That technique currently gives highly uncertain (but smaller) values to Ohl's method" to "At this phase of cycle 24 we now give 50 percent weight to the curve-fitting technique of Hathaway, Wilson, and Reichmann Solar Physics 151, 177 (1994). That technique currently gives somewhat uncertain (but similar) values to Ohl's method" in the latest prediction. So 40 percent was changed to 50 percent, and "smaller" was changed to "similar". In the current July 2011 issue of CQ Magazine, Tomas Hood, NW7US for his monthly Propagation column has this headline: "Don't Believe the Pessimistic Forecasts!" complete with exclamation point. He points out that predictions have been all over the place and are revised frequently. He also notes that some might be tempted to just turn off the radio because of forecasts, but this is self-defeating, because if stations aren't listening and transmitting, then there is nothing to work. I would also note that while marvelous new tools for solar observation exist now that even a decade ago we didn't have, there just hasn't been enough data (only 23 sunspot cycles so far) to make predictions with complete reliability. Maybe after another millennia! (QST de W1AW Propagation Forecast Bulletin 27 From Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, WA July 8, 2011 To all radio amateurs, via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg now also to non-amateurs, via DXLD) Geomagnetic activity ranged from quiet to active levels during the period, with an isolated minor storm period observed early on 05 July due to a nighttime substorm. From 04 - 08 July, activity was primarily at quiet to unsettled levels with isolated active periods observed on 05 and 06 July. An increase to quiet to active levels occurred on 09 - 10 July due to the onset of another CH HSS. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 13 JULY - 08 AUGUST 2011 Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels during the forecast period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels from 12 - 14 July due to enhanced wind speeds from the currently geoeffective CH HSS. Normal levels are expected to return from 15 - 19 July before increasing to moderate to high flux levels again 20 - 27 July after an anticipated period of elevated solar wind speeds associated a second recurrent CH. Flux values should return to normal levels 28 July - 02 August, before another brief period of moderate to high levels on 3 - 4 August. Normal levels are expected to prevail for the remainder of the period. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on 13 July due to CH HSS effects. Unsettled to active conditions with the chance for a minor storm is expected to begin on 14 July and persist for a day or two due to the anticipated arrival of the CME from 1103 UTC on 11 July. Mostly quiet conditions should return 16 - 17 July. An increase in activity ranging from quiet to active levels is forecast for 18 - 23 July due to another geoeffective HSS from a recurrent negative polarity CH. Conditions are forecast to be mostly quiet from 24 July - 03 August, with the exception of more CH HSS effects expected 27 - 29 July and 31 July - 02 August. Each of these events should each produce mostly unsettled and possibly even brief active conditions. Mostly quiet conditions are forecast to return on 03 August, before a SSBC from negative to positive polarity is expected on 04 August, when mostly unsettled conditions should occur in advance of yet another CH HSS that is expected to produce mostly unsettled conditions for the remainder of the period. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2011 Jul 12 1959 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 2011-07-12 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2011 Jul 13 92 12 3 2011 Jul 14 94 15 4 2011 Jul 15 94 7 2 2011 Jul 16 94 5 2 2011 Jul 17 94 5 2 2011 Jul 18 92 8 3 2011 Jul 19 90 10 3 2011 Jul 20 92 10 3 2011 Jul 21 92 10 3 2011 Jul 22 90 8 3 2011 Jul 23 90 8 3 2011 Jul 24 90 5 2 2011 Jul 25 88 5 2 2011 Jul 26 88 5 2 2011 Jul 27 88 8 3 2011 Jul 28 86 10 3 2011 Jul 29 88 8 3 2011 Jul 30 88 8 3 2011 Jul 31 85 8 3 2011 Aug 01 85 10 3 2011 Aug 02 85 8 3 2011 Aug 03 85 5 2 2011 Aug 04 85 8 3 2011 Aug 05 85 12 3 2011 Aug 06 90 12 3 2011 Aug 07 90 12 3 2011 Aug 08 90 8 3 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1573, DXLD) ###