DX LISTENING DIGEST 11-46, November 17, 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 1591 HEADLINES: DX and station news about: Afghanistan, Antarctica, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bonaire, Brazil, Cambodia non, Canada, China and non, Cuba, Cyprus Turkish, Ethiopia and non, France non, India, Iran, Italy, Libya, Lithuania, Micronesia, Monaco non, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Sikkim, Ukraine, USA and non, Vatican SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1591, November 17-24, 2011 [Note: WRMI is no longer on SW 9955 between 15 and 23 UT M-F, altho webcasts continue; and remains 24h on weekends] Thu 0430 WRMI 9955 [repeated 1590 this week] Thu 1600 WRMI 9955 [repeated 1590 this week] Thu 2200 WTWW 9479 [confirmed] Thu 2230 WBCQ 7490 [confirmed] Fri 0430 WWRB 3195 and 5051 [confirmed] Fri 0600 WRMI 9955 Sat 0900 WRMI 9955 Sat 1600 WRMI 9955 Sat 1830 WRMI 9955 Sun 0500 WTWW 5755 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Sun 1630 WRMI 9955 Sun 1830 WRMI 9955 Mon 0400v WBCQ 5110v-CUSB Mon 1230 WRMI 9955 Tue 1030 HLR 5980 Hamburger Lokal Radio 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. 6102, R. Afghanistan, Kabul logs Sept-Oct in Europe: 22 Sept 1530, lady with time, frequency, 1532 man with news, English, SIO 333 (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria) 30 Sept 1620, local music, vernacular, SIO 343 on 6103 (Edwin Southwell, Basingstoke, Hants.) 3 Oct 1550, news, new highway to Balkh, English, SIO 344 (Dave Kenny, Sheigra DXpedition, Scotland) 3 Oct 1627, ID, closing announcements, Urdu, fair-good (Mark Davies, Malltraeth, Anglesey, Wales, AOR 7030, own design HF loop) 10 Oct 1530, IS, s/on ID, news in English, SIO 333 (Dave Kenny, Sheigra DXpedition, Scotland) 20 Oct 1538, news of Gaddafi, best reception yet, SIO 333 (John Hoad, Faversham, Kent; all: Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 6102, 15 Nov 1544 with good signal though under strong (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Strong what? The next two months around winter solstice are the best time for us to hear this in North America under current scheduling, 1530-1630, sometimes on a bit earlier than 1530 with domestic languages. The further north or west you are in NAm, the better. Its unique frequency should stand out if you can even get a carrier there (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. A VISIT TO RADIO TIRANA --- by Stig Hartvig Nielsen Radio Tirana is not difficult to find. It is a large building situated on Rruga Ismail Qemali, a side street off the main street. Before coming to the Radio House I had made an appointment with Klara Ruci from the English department. We met in the radio station`s vestibule and she started by giving me a sightseeing tour of the Radio House, characterised by a mix of both old and new. Radio Tirana Then and Now Klara Ruci has worked for Radio Tirana for 14 years --- since 1997. She has colleagues who also worked at the station when the Communist Party ruled the country. In the Foreign Service department, there are two employees who also worked at Radio Tirana before 1990. At that time there were very strict rules. It wasn`t allowed to change ``as much as an inch of anything``. No deviation was allowed , and there was a thorough control of everything – including the translations which had to be very precise. One of the employees who was also on Radio Tirana back then was Svetlana. She has previously worked in the English department, and she moved on to host the Swedish-language broadcasts. As these were shut down, she was moved to the German department, and is till one of the two employees here. Besides Albanian, the external service broadcasts in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Serbo-Croatian and Turkish. Each language has two employees and must make a half-hour broadcast daily; Greek and Serbo-Croatian have only one employee and they make only a fifteen- minute broadcast every day. Most of the content is translated from Albanian, but the staff --- who are all Albanians --- also do something themselves, says Klara Ruci. Among other things they prepare a weekly mailbox programme, in which response to listeners` mail is given. Radio Tirana receives 10-15 reception reports per week, slightly fewer during summer. Many listeners write that they are pleased with the broadcasts. They feel that Radio Tirana is the only voice to give another view of Albania. A view that is different from the widely negative picture of Albania that is given in international media. Klara Ruci concedes that the radio in a way is the mouthpiece of the Albanian government. It`s a state radio – funded by the government but the opposition gets the same amount of time as the government, she stresses. Radio Tirana does not cover traffic accidents and other police stories. The focus is mainly on cultural, political and social issues --- and in the programmes of the external service things of interest to tourists are also included. The home service consists of two channels: the first contains mostly talk programmes, news, economy, culture and features. The second channel is more entertaining and is directed more toward a younger audience. The Foreign Service is called the third channel. The programmes in Albanian for listeners abroad are particularly important as there are very many Albanians living outside Albania. Radio Tirana has the advantage over the commercial stations in the country and that is that it covers the entire country. Foreign service`s future uncertain Some three or four years ago the then director of R. Tirana considered closing down the entire foreign service. But only Portuguese and Spanish were closed. After my visit to Albania in July 2011 the foreign service from Tirana went silent on short and medium wave for a couple of months. The programmes could only be heard online via the German `Radio 700`. Exactly why the transmitters were switched off is unclear. From early October 2011, the FS returned to the air. According to Klara Ruci, funds for the FS will be reduced and cuts in services are to be expected. Meanwhile, the international service of R. Tirana recently participated in a seminar organised by Deutsche Welle on how to work with the internet (Nov BDXC-UK Communication, retyped by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. Changes of Radio Tirana in English: 0230-0300 on 7420 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm Tue-Sun, from Nov. 1 1530-1600 on 13640 SHI 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm Mon-Sat, cancelled (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Nov 11 via DXLD) [and non]. 7425, Nothing heard of RT Albanian at 0029 UT Nov 11 on remote SDR receiver unit in Germany and Austria, due of dead nighttime zone. 7420/7425: But noted CRI Kashi Tibet / Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in English at 0031 UT on S=9+10dB strength level. Also logged NMRB PBS Nei Menggu at 0027 UT Nov on adjacent 7420 kHz, S=6-7 poor signal in Europe. 7425: But in London (S=9+30dB) and next to Amsterdam (S=9+20dB) heard Radio Tirana in Albanian on the clear, two women discussing in progress. CRI Kashi English heard clearly underneath RT, same level also on remote sdr reciever unit in North Carolina at 0035 UT Nov 11 (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7425, Nov 12 at 0012, R. Tirana Albanian hour is very good both in signal and modulation, no QRM from China audible tonight. R. Tirana IS played after 0102 until 0102:20* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7419.98, Radio Tirana, 0225-0240, tune-in to IS. Opening English ID announcements at 0230 along with schedule. News at 0232. Good. Strong. Nov 12 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) Now hearing Radio Tirana in English from 0230 on 7420 (IS began just prior). Fair/good level with news by female announcer, but a bit muffled; USB definitely needed to avoid the RWI powerhouse on 7415 (Larry Cunningham, OH, UT Nov 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: 'Neighbours': 7415 Lithuania & 7420 Radio Tirana / Winter Season 2011-2012 --- - I would like to remind you that Radio Tirana is on the air on SW - Short Wave bands since 1938. There are voices even earlier. Since 1960s Radio Tirana with the help of China, succeeded to build the Albanian Empire via its SW broadcasts and world wide listeners with its zenith: 24 hours (daily) broadcast schedule in 22 languages, fully with Marxist-Leninist propaganda till 1990. An Albanian Popular expression: Afer detit, afer mbretit (near the sea, near king). (Drita Çiço, R. Tirana, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7425, Nov 15 at 0044 check, R. Tirana Albanian hour again has heavy CCI from CHINA, while 7420 is vacant, where I keep advising them to shift, like already for English at 0230, as reconfirmed at 0255 closing. 7425, UT Nov 16 at 0057, tuned in to check how bad the QRM from China was to R. Tirana in Albanian, but no signal from either, nor on 7420, the replacement frequency I recommend. Maybe just signed off, tho recently R. Tirana had been lasting a minute or two past 0100. 7420, tuned in at 0227 UT Nov 16, and find R. Tirana already on the air with music, then *closing* an English transmission, ``Goodbye from Albania,`` theme music, 0228 IS, 0230 theme and re-opening English. Reception is not very clear, but I think Klara gives the wrong times and frequencies! I had been wanting to check this out for some time since I heard what I thought was a wrong time or frequency. Then I try to hear the 11/15 podcast via http://radio700.info/player/podcastplayer2.php?lang=en&country=al&feed=tirana but it`s just half an hour of silence, or rather hiss. So are the previous two or three files checked! So in case the `live` webcast is still carrying English at 0330 UT even tho not on SW, I bring up http://radiotirana.funkhaus.info:8000/ at 0328 which plays immediately with IS, 0330+ sign-on is clearly copied. Klara Ruci says ``From 30 October 2011 to 24 March 2012, English to the UK at 22 to 2230 according to local time, on the frequency 7,530 kHz; to North America, 0330-0400 on 13,640`` That is, local time in Tirana. What happened to UT? WHICH local time should have been specified clearly, but instead times should always be in UT and specified as such. The correct times are 2100-2130 and 0230- 0300 UT, and of course the frequency for the latter is 7420, not 13640. Furthermore these are still six days a week, i.e. Monday- Saturday for the first and UT Tuesday-Sunday for the second. This announcement needs to be corrected immediately. At 0348, mailbag first acknowledged a report from China on 13640. Soon there was another report, from North America on November 1 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good morning Glenn, According to Astrit Ibro, Radio Tirana web page is: http://www.radiotirana.de This webpage is also announced on Radio Tirana 1st Channel. I'll talk to Klara-English programm about the correct time and frequencies. Thank you for info. Have a nice day, (Drita Çiço, R. Tirana, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That page has info in German, but clicking on any of the other languages gets error messages for podcasts. Trying the live webcast again the next night, UT Nov 17, at 0300 the audio was just ending, but left it playing silently. Did not come back at 0330 unlike 24 hours earlier (gh, DXLD) ** ANGUILLA [and non]. 6090, Nov 11 at 0635, PMS audio is cutting off and on with IADs; // 5935 WWCR identical, so it`s a feed problem from Box 1 in LA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glen[n], You have been in touch with Caribbean Beacon, do you know their QSL policy, is it postal report along with 1 IRC? Also what is their mailing address. Regards (Alokesh Gupta, India, Nov 10, to gh via DXLD) Hi Alokesh, My contact is only their consulting engineer, and he says he knows nothing about their QSLing, altho they have been known to reply direct (I think) and from the University Network in Los Angeles. (Glenn to Alokesh, ibid.) Hi Glenn, Thanks for your help, can you let me know their current mailing address? Regards, (Alokesh, ibid.) All I know is what I read in the WRTH: P O Box 690, The Valley, Anguilla. Maybe the WRTH no longer lists The University Network as a `station` - -- I have not hunted for it, but instead: http://www.pastormelissascott.com/faq.shtml Pastor Melissa Scott PO Box 1 Los Angeles, CA 90053-0001 (Glenn, ibid.) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, Nov 15 at 1341, nothing detectable from LRA36, during its last reported schedule of Tue & Thu 13-15. Maybe Thursday, but never heard for some weeks now (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, Nov 17 is another Thursday, so another serious search for LRA36 is in order during reported 13-15 UT schedule: at 1337 I get a JBA carrier not on 15476 but on approx. 15474.2 and wobbling slightly, due to Doppler or instability? 1340 bothered by `Amazing Grace` on bagpipes from 15480! Still JBA at 1346, 1356. On a previous Thursday we had another JBA carrier around 15475 instead of 15476, so suspect LRA36 is drifting --- if that`s what it is. It would be nice to have some confirmation from S American monitors. Have checked other weekdays and not heard any such carriers between 15470 and 15480 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. Re 11-45, Rádio Nacional LRA1 em 10840 kHz Glenn, Vi sua mensagem explicando este fenômeno interessante. Realmente, parece uma explicação muito boa, pois faz bastante sentido, pelo menos matematicamente. Julgo que ouvi o sinal um pouco acima de 10840 kHz, como havia comentado em mensagens anteriores. Cheguei a esta conclusão acionando o SSB em 10840 kHz. Como o batimento não era perfeito, julgo que a "emissão" deveria estar algo próximo de 10841 kHz. Em outra oportunidade, procurei em 12580 kHz (11710 + 870), mas não achei nada. Só para esclarecer, a emissão era ouvida em modo AM, não SSB (Marcelo Vieira, Maringá - PR, Nov 9, radioescutas yg via DXLD Amigos, Em janeiro 2005 houve situação análoga com a Rádio Guaiba. O Glenn documentou http://www.worldofradio.com/dxld5002.txt (Digite control-F e procure por 6720) (Huelbe Garcia, ibid.) ** ARMENIA. Re 11-45 [under NETHERLANDS [non]]: KBC Radio DRM test on 12th Nov --- If that is the max transmitter power of that unit [100 kW], I would suspect they would only be able to run 25-30 kW or less with DRM modulation. Unless the entire amplifier system is retrofitted or re-built, that modulation just lowers the operating ability. Lower the Q and increase the bandwidth, but you also lower the gain by doing so. DRM requires equal power across its occupied bandwidth. At that low power rating, it will be extremely tough to get reception of their DRM signal in NAm. Doubtful that it will achieve a good enough SNR, but hey, let's wait and see! I have been checking remotely, and they no longer seem to be on 1395, where I heard them in Afghanistan, nor has there been any sign of Radio Seagull that is supposed to be there during the times I checked using a remote receiver in Breda, the Netherlands (Al Muick, Whitehall PA USA, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) On the kbc website, http://www.kbcradio.eu/?p=823 the frequency is listed as 7590 not 7550!!! According to an announcement on Wavescan 30 October 2011, the DRM broadcast on 7550 is a project by Spaceline and the programme will be called DRM mix. It is going to be on every Saturday evening for 3 hours from 1800 to 2100 UT for 11 weeks from 12 November 2011 until 21 January 2012. The wavescan link is http://audio.awr.org/asia/Wavescan/AWRWavescan/ENGMI_WAVx_20111030_1.mp3 and the DRM announcement starts at 16 mins 16 seconds. The spaceline HFCC schedule is at http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbyfmo.php?seas=B11&fmor=SPC Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England, UK, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) quote .... Thank you for your reaction. Have forwarded your reaction to the person who is taking care of this. We move to 7590 kHz. Kind regards, Eric van Willegen ......unquote (via Alokesh Gupta, Nov 10, ibid.) NASB PARTICIPATES IN NEW DRM BROADCAST by National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 6:03am Spaceline, a new HFCC member headquartered in Bulgaria, will begin a three-month series of DRM broadcasts on November 12. The three-hour program block will be called "DRM Mix" and will be aired each Saturday from 1800-2100 UTC on 7590 kHz using a 100-kilowatt transmitter in Armenia beamed to Europe. The AWR Wavescan DX program will be part of the DRM program lineup, as well programs from NASB member Trans World Radio and HCJB Global. Wavescan is broadcast in analogue mode via the AWR worldwide network, as well as on NASB member stations WRMI in Miami and WWCR in Tennessee. DRM Mix will be broadcast at least through January, 2012 (Source : NASB via Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: KBC Radio DRM test on 12th Nov --- no DRM heard on 7550 or 7590 at 1849 Saturday November 12th. 7550, All India Radio in English, very good signal and 7590 just light static (Harry Brooks, North East England, UK, 1855 UT Nov 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re 7590 DRM test. Contributors on A-DX newsgroup report a carrier-only signal from Yerevan Gavar site at 19 UT. So seemingly standing wave ratio (SWR) on auto tune is not proper at the end of the 41 meterband, antenna is a 8 x 8 half dipol curtain type from Soviet era. http://www.spaceline.bg/ KBC program segment is part of the "DRM Test Platform" DRM Mix. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, 2030 UT Nov 12, ibid.) La stazione KBC che doveva operare delle trasmissioni test in DRM il 12 novembre alle 1800 su 7550 kHz (passati poi a 7590), accuratamente monitorata non è stata ascoltata; eppure la potenza di 100 kW, notevole in DRM, faceva sperare in meglio. Su 7550 kHz vi era All India Radio con il solito super segnale, mentre su 7590 kHz non c`era traccia alcuna del segnale DRM. Per info tecniche circa l`ascolto delle trasmissioni in DRM con ricevitori convenzionali: tzzlorenzi @ tiscali (Giovanni Lorenzi, IT9TZZ, Nov 12, QTH: Messina, RX: YAESU FRG-7000, ANT: DIPOLO CONVERTITORE: AUTOCOSTRUITO, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Re: KBC Radio DRM test on 12th Nov 12-11-2011, 23:15 #7 drmbulgaria Posts: 42 ... due to the bad luck, the DRM exciter has stuck and the transmitter remained on carrier only, that's the worse start of a new project I could imagine. But thanks for monitoring; we hope we will get it fixed for the next transmission. Many thanks for monitoring folks, every time the beggining is difficult, but let's hope it will lead to positive results in the future. http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2372 (via Alokesh Gupta, India, dxldyg via DXLD) Also with further reports on the next try more successfully 24 hours later (gh, DXLD) KBC Radio DRM test re-scheduled on 13th Nov 2011 From http://www.kbcradio.eu/ There was a problem with the DRM encoder, they are doing their best for tonight 13-11-2011….. same time 1800 UT on 7590 kHz. -- (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, India, 1322 UT Nov 13, dxldyg via DXLD KBC - DRM test rescheduled for tonight --- There was a problem with the DRM encoder, they are doing their best for tonight 13-11-2011. same time 18.00 UTC on 7590 kHz. http://www.kbcradio.eu/ (Mike Terry, UK, 1614 UT Nov 13, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) Audio since 1801 from The Mighty KBC on 7590 DRM. DRM decoding using a Morphy Richards rx is not too stable though. 73 (Harald Kuhl, Germany, 1819 UT Nov 13, ibid.) DRM Mix for European listeners --- 17-Nov-11 DRM supporter company Spaceline Ltd, Bulgaria, has started a special broadcast in DRM mode, called DRM Mix. The project is intended to demonstrate reception quality to the listeners presenting variety of programmes from different broadcasters who wish to participate in this project. Spaceline will be transmitting DRM Mix every Saturday from its station Noratus in Armenia from 18.00 - 21.00 UTC on 7590 KHz and the target area is Europe. Broadcasts this Saturday will be of KBC Radio; TWR; AWR; Wavescan, HCJB World Radio and great music from the 70's. This project was announced during the B11 HFCC conference and 30- minute slots are being made available free of charge to the HFCC broadcasters who are willing to participate. It is open to members of the DRM Consortium and other broadcasters too. The technical information and project flyer which can be also found on: http://www.spaceline.bg/drmmix.html For any other information, please contact: info at sapceline.bg [sic] (DRM Consortium via Alokesh Gupta, Nov 17, dxldyg WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 160/80M Test from TREC - Update Extract from Topband Digest, Vol 107, Issue 10: Hi everyone, I'd like to take up a little of your bandwidth if I may, This is just a reminder of our up and coming VK4XQA operation on 160M & 80M that is scheduled for 19/20/21 November 2011 from Euramo, QLD, Australia. All systems are go here, the antenna is ready, the rig and amplifier is ready, now we wait until we can all congregate at the site. Our operation times and frequencies will be fairly flexible mainly during our nights here with prime consideration being given to top band operations. We will have one operator (John - VK4TL) who will be our designated CW operator and who will be operating in the CW section of the band, somewhere around 1825 KHz. Our SSB operators will be myself, Jeff - VK4BOF and Gary - VK4FD (who may also grace us with his CW skills), Chris VK4YCG will also be operating on occasion, mainly on AM for the old time operators out there. SSB and AM operations will be on or about 1845 kHz though we can go lower for those of you out there that are not permitted operations in that section of the band. These frequencies comply with the suggested band plan here in Australia and also seem to be ok for IARU region's 1 & 2 as well. Please bear in mind that we will only be operating with ONE RADIO, therefore we cannot devote all our time to just CW or just to the AM/SSB side of it, we must share it aound amongst all modes and operators. 80M band Operations: Please be aware that our 80M band operations are secondary to our 160M band efforts. SSB & CW Operation on 80M will be within the frequency range of 3779 to 3799 kHz. (AKA, the 'DX Window' here in Australia.) We *may* operate at a lower frequency (i.e.: between 3500 & 3700) but it will be a much lower priority. In fact our whole 80M band activation is going to be of a lower priority for us, we are mainly going to be on-site for 160M band operations. Power output on all modes and frequencies will be the Australian legal limit for the appropriate mode. The rig will be an Elecraft K3 and the amplifier will be an Elecraft KPA500. An Elecraft P3 Panadaptor will also be in use to see the activity around us on the bands. A short note on our callsign, VK4XQA. In 1914 a man by the name of Marcus Brims applied for and received the first experimental radio licence in Queensland, Australia. Marcus lived in the township of Mareeba in Far North Queensland and he was interested in and got a licence for operations for frequencies not too far removed from the present 160m band and we thought that to honour him and his pioneering work we should get and use the modern equivalant of his original callsign for this 160M operation. His callsign? Why XQA of course. (Meaning Q for Queensland, X for Experimental & A being the first licence issued.) Our club (T.R.E.C.) has assisted some of its members to help cosmetically restore Marcus' original Spark Gap transmitter and it now has pride of place at the Mareeba Heritage Centre. Further information on the XQA exhibit is here: http://treclub.org.au/index_htm_files/TREC%20NEWS%20June%202011%20Vol%204%20-%206.pdf The Mareeba Heritage Centre has a website here: http://www.mareebaheritagecentre.com.au/index.htm We as a club are all looking forward to our little 'DXpedition' as this whole 'Top Band' thing is a new one for all of us. Thanks for sparing me a little of your bandwidth, 73 de Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF, East Innisfail, QLD, Australia Vice President - Tablelands Radio & Electronics Club Inc. (T.R.E.C.) http://treclub.org.au (via Ian Johnson, ARDXC via DXLD) >From Topband Digest, Vol 107, Issue 18 at contesting.com As you all will know by now, We (Gary VK4FD, John VK4TL, myself and a few other TREC members) as VK4XQA are running a combined 160/80M operation which is happening over a long weekend of 18/19/20/12 November 2011. Our published frequencies are 1825 for CW and 1845 for SSB / AM operations. However it has come to our attention that JA's don't have access to anything above 1825 kHz so we will move our lower CW operating frequency down to 1820 to allow them to contact us. Please note the CW frequency adjustment and advise those that need or want to know. Thanks in advance, Jeff Cochrane - VK4BOF, East Innisfail, QLD, Australia (via Ian Johnson, 16 Nov, ARDXC via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. QSL: Volmet 6676 kHz sent brief reply to email report in 7 minutes. v/s Edward Mifsud, Communications Engineer, E.Mifsud ---- bom.gov.au (Bruce Portzer, WA, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. VMC, Charleville Meteo, Queensland: Heard at 1338 today, 11/11/11 on 16546 kHz with sea weather read by a man in English. Mentions of Cairns and Point Danger. At 1354 announcement: "End of transmission from VMC for this part of the program." About a minute later, back on with full ID, frequencies for both VMC and their sister station, VMW. e-Report fired off as they now issue e-QSLs exclusively. QSL eMail is: M.Dalakis @ bom.gov.au eMail was not bounced back in over four hours, so I presume is valid (Al Muick, Whitehall PA USA, WinRadio G303e and 100m randomwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Al, Try... Navin Chandran Telecommunication Systems Bureau of Meteorology, 700 Collins St, Docklands-3008. Ph. :03-9669-8180 Email: N. Chandran at bom.gov.au Here's an e-qsl received from him on 11th Oct 2011: http://tinyurl.com/d9svf8o (Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, ibid.) Thanks, Alokesh. All the reports I saw on the web suggested the other fellow. I will re-send it as a copy to your contact, and hopefully one of them will respond! Also, forgot to mention the S3 level and little to no QRM. 73 (Al Muick, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. [PALAU/SINGAPORE/TAIWAN/UAE] Radio Australia / ABC Northern Territory radio B-11 operational schedule. 2310 0830-2130 55,58,59 ALI 50 0 Aboriginal/En AUS ABC 2325 0830-2130 55,58,59 TEN 50 0 Aboriginal/En AUS ABC 2485 0830-2130 55,58,59 KTH 50 0 Aboriginal/En AUS ABC 4835 2130-0830 55,58,59 ALI 50 0 Aboriginal/En AUS ABC 4910 2130-0830 55,58,59 TEN 50 0 Aboriginal/En AUS ABC 5025 2130-0830 55,58,59 KTH 50 0 Aboriginal/En AUS ABC 5955 2300-2330 49NW DHA 500 85 Burmese UAE BAB -01-11-2011 5995 0800-0900 51,56,61,64,65 BRN 10 10 En AUS ABC 5995 0900-1100 51,56,61,64,65 BRN 10 10 Pidgin AUS ABC 5995 1100-1200 51,56,61,64,65 BRN 10 10 En AUS ABC 5995 1200-1400 51,56,61,64,65 BRN 5 10 En AUS ABC DRM mode 5995 1400-1800 51,55,56,61,64 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC 6020 0900-1100 51,55,56,64,65 SHP 100 30 Pidgin AUS ABC 6020 1100-1400 51,55,56,61,76 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC 6080 1400-1800 44,45,50,51,54 SHP 100 334 En AUS ABC 6080 1800-2000 45,50,51,54E SHP 100 5 En AUS ABC 6080 2000-2100 45,50,51,54E SHP 100 5 En AUS ABC Sat-Sun only 6080 2000-2100 45,50,51,54E SHP 100 5 Pidgin AUS ABC Mon-Fri only 6140 1100-1300 49S,54 SNG 100 13 English SNG BAB 7240 1400-1700 56,60-63,76,77 SHP 100 50 En AUS ABC 7240 1800-2000 51,55,56,61,64 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC 7240 2000-2100 51,55,56,61,64 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC Sat-Sun only 7240 2000-2100 51,55,56,61,64 SHP 100 30 Pidgin AUS ABC Mon-Fri only 9475 0700-1300 43,44,50,51,54 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 9475 1300-1430 43,44,50,51,54 SHP 100 329 MandarinAUS ABC 9475 1430-1900 43,44,50,51,54 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 9500 1900-2200 43,44,50,51,54 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 9560 1100-1400 45,51,54E,55 SHP 100 353 En AUS ABC 9580 0800-1400 56,60-63 SHP 100 70 En AUS ABC 9580 1600-1630 49S,54 SNG 100 340 En SNG BAB x250kW 9580 1700-2000 56,60-63 SHP 100 70 En AUS ABC 9590 0800-1600 51,55,56,60-65 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC 9620 0000-0030 51W,54 DHA 500 105 Indones UAE BAB x250kW 9630 2200-2330 51W,54 DHA 500 105 Indones UAE BAB x250kW 9660 0000-0800 51,56,61,64,65 BRN 10 10 En AUS ABC 9660 2100-2200 51,56,61,64,65 BRN 10 10 En AUS ABC 9660 2200-2300 51,56,61,64,65 BRN 10 10 En AUS ABC Fri-Sat only 9660 2300-2400 51,56,61,64,65 BRN 10 10 En AUS ABC 9710 0700-0900 45,51,54E,55 SHP 100 353 En AUS ABC 9710 0900-1100 45,51,54E,55 SHP 100 353 Pidgin AUS ABC 9710 1600-2000 51,55,56,61,64 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC 9855 2200-2400 49S,54 DHA 500 90 English UAE BAB -01-11-2011 9965 1300-1430 43NE,44N HBN 100 318 Chinese USA BAB 9965 1300-1430 43SE,44S,49 HBN 100 318 Chinese USA FCC 11550 0400-0430 51W,54 TAI 250 205 Indones TWN BAB / CBSC 11550 2200-2330 51W,54 TAI 250 205 Indones TWN BAB / CBSC 11650 2000-2200 51,55,56,61,64 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC 11660 1300-1700 43,44,50,51,54 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 11660 2000-2200 56,60-63,76,77 SHP 100 70 En AUS ABC 11695 2100-2200 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 11695 2200-2330 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 Indones AUS ABC 11700 0500-0530 51W,54 SNG 100 140 Indones SNG BAB x250kW 11745 0500-0530 51W,54 TAI 100 205 Indones TWN BAB / CBSC M-F 11760 1300-1430 43,44,49 TSH 250 325 Chinese TWN BAB / CBSC 11780 0100-0130 49NW SNG 100 340 Burmese SNG BAB 11880 1700-2100 56,60-63,65 SHP 100 50 En AUS ABC 11945 0700-1300 44,49-51,54,55 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 12080 0000-1100 51,56,60-62 BRN 10 80 En AUS ABC 12080 1100-1200 51,56,60-62 BRN 5 80 En AUS ABC DRM mode 12080 2000-2100 51,56,60-62 BRN 10 80 En AUS ABC Sat-Sun 12080 2000-2100 51,56,60-62 BRN 10 80 Pidgin AUS ABC M-F only 12080 2100-2400 51,56,60-62 BRN 10 80 En AUS ABC 13630 0500-0900 56,60-63,76,77 SHP 100 50 En AUS ABC 13630 2100-2300 51E,56,61,64 SHP 100 65 En AUS ABC 13690 0000-0700 45,51,54E,55 SHP 100 353 En AUS ABC 13690 2300-2400 45,51,54E,55 SHP 100 353 En AUS ABC 15160 0500-0800 51E,56,61,64 SHP 100 65 En AUS ABC 15230 2200-2400 51,55,56,61,64 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC 15240 0000-0800 51,55,56,61,64 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC 15240 2200-2330 51W,54 TAI 100 205 En TWN BAB/CBSC 15290 0600-0630 51W,54 TAI 100 205 En TWN BAB/CBSC Sa-Su 15290 0600-0630 51W,54 TAI 100 205 Indones TWN BAB/CBSC Mo-Fr 15350 0000-0030 51W,54 TAI 100 205 Indones TWN BAB/CBSC Mo-Fr 15415 0000-0030 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 Indones AUS ABC 15415 0030-0400 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 15415 0400-0430 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 Indones AUS ABC 15415 0430-0500 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 15415 0500-0530 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 Indones AUS ABC 15415 0530-0600 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 15415 0600-0700 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 15415 2200-2330 51,54,55,58N SHP 100 329 Indones AUS ABC 15415 2330-2400 51,54,55,58N SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 15515 0200-0500 61-63 SHP 100 70 En AUS ABC 15515 2100-2300 51,55,56,61,64 SHP 100 30 En AUS ABC 15560 2200-2400 56,60-63 SHP 100 70 En AUS ABC 17715 0000-0200 51E,56,61-65 SHP 100 70 En AUS ABC 17750 0000-0700 44,49-51,54,55 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 17750 2330-2400 50,51,54,55,58 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC 17795 0000-0200 51E,56,61-65 SHP 100 50 En AUS ABC 17795 2300-2400 51E,56,61-65 SHP 100 50 En AUS ABC 17840 0400-0430 51W,54 HBN 100 270 Indones USA BAB 17840 0400-0430 54 HBN 100 270 Indones USA FCC 19000 0000-0200 56,60-63,76,77 SHP 100 70 En AUS ABC alternat. 21725 0200-0500 45,50,51,54W SHP 100 355 En AUS ABC 21725 0500-0800 44,49-51,54,55 SHP 100 329 En AUS ABC alternat. TX sites: ALI = Alice Springs BRN = Brandon DHA = Al Dhabbaya-UAE HBN = KHBN Palau [= T8WH] KTH = Katherine SHP = Shepparton SNG = Singapore Kranji TAI = Taipei-TWN TEN = Tennant Creek TSH = Tanshui-TWN (Radio Australia/ABC, hfcc/aoki list, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 9 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 3455, Radio Australia, 0920, mainstream and Pacific programs mixing here; 9475 (Mainstream Service) - 6020 (Pacific Service)= 3455. Peaking at S9+40. Noted on all receivers here and not noticed on prior bandscans. 10 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. 9855, Nov 13 at 2306, fair signal from radioaustralia.net.au going from news to Monday morning news-talk show; new one for me, where I was not expecting to hear Australia, but not really: HFCC shows it`s 500 kW, 90 degrees via UAE at 22-24 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 19000, Radio Australia; 0000, 15-Nov; No hint of a sign/on. Only thing heard is 2 sec. ticks w/occasional tick burst (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AZERBAIJAN. 9677, *1301 30 Sept, V. of Justice, Stepanakert, IS, talk in Azeri, SINPO 54532 (Thomas Burian, Czechia, Lowe H150, 50m longwire, Nov World DX Club Contact via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) Look for that split-frequency carrier, at least (gh, ibid.) ** BHUTAN. 6035: As for BBS/Bhutan, I have not heard them this year. Not even a hint of anything under Yunnan. Reports from Asia indicate they are not presently broadcasting with full power, but with reduced power, which would explain why I have no trace of them. BUT they are supposed to go to full power before too long, so please keep checking (as I am!), but also note that in the past BBS always signed off at 1500 (1400 to 1500 being in English). Luckily for me 1400 is probably the best chance for me to hear them and was not too hard to tell they were in English. In years gone by when they were running full power I did clearly hear some positive IDs. Sometimes mixing with Yunnan, sometimes better than Yunnan (Ron Howard, CA, SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD) See also RUSSIA 6035 ** BOLIVIA. Re BRAZIL, 4865.032, Radio Verdes Florestas --- Thomas, I am interested in Logos. Why do you think that is Logos on 4864.977? And did that station go off the air after or before 2259 UT? Thanks (Chuck Bolland, FL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello Chuck, Just home again after today`s work. I only made a very short 5 min recording of the ID of Verdes Florestas and paid no attention to the lower carrier. I just checked my Perseus recordings from this night and the signal was still there at 0305 UT and strong enough to hear audio. Due to the strange pulsing QRM nearby it is difficult to hear the language. Why I presumed Radio Logos was just because it was heard on this frequency, 4864.977 kHz in early 2011. I will check this frequency in the coming days to see if the signal improves for a possible ID. Unfortunately I have no schedule for Radio Logos but I think they use this frequency for HCJB relay. So let`s see what comes out of this mystery station. 73 (Thomas Nilsson, ibid.) ** BOLIVIA. 5580.196 Bolivia Radio San José, San José de Chiquitos, seemingly the one, noted in South Florida by two dxers 0000 to 0009, 17 November [Wilkner + Carla - Pompano Beach] (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida US, Cumbre DX via DXLD Robert, Audible from here, poor reception, very QSB. Music, and ann from YL, 73 (Enrique Wembagher, Argentina, 0017 UT Nov 17, condiglist via DXLD) ** BONAIRE [and non]. RATS DAMAGE ONE OF THE BONAIRE TRANSMITTERS We have encountered serious damage to one of our Thomson transmitters in Bonaire due to an invasion of rats! We now have a problem in the high tension PSM part of the transmitter and spare parts have to come from France. We expect that repairs will take 3-5 days. For that reason, the following transmissions have been temporarily moved to Greenville, NC, USA: 0159 - 0257 UTC RNW Spanish on to Caribbean on 6165 kHz 0259 – 0327 UTC RNW Dutch to South America Northwest on 6165 kHz 2200 – 2227 UTC RNW Dutch to South America on 15315 kHz The photos below show the remains of a rat and the damage to the transmitter. If you’re squeamish, we recommend that you scroll to the next story! http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/rats-damage-one-of-the-bonaire-transmitters (November 14th, 2011 - 16:16 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via Horacio Nigro Geolkiewsky, Montevideo, Uruguay, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) 4 Comments on “Rats damage one of the Bonaire transmitters” #1 Steve Coombs on Nov 14th, 2011 at 22:04 Seemed to be a late start on 15315kz-started at 2203 then audio was intermittent for a trime #2 Al Muick on Nov 15th, 2011 at 14:18 Wow….what a mess! Are those Brown Boveri (Thomson CSF) transmitters? We had SK55C3-2P models when I was working on Tinian. We never had this problem, although I did find a (very) fried snake one time when the transmitter briefly faulted off. I am actually surprised that the rats did not simply explode and vanish! #3 Edwin de Wit on Nov 15th, 2011 at 19:37 The parts are actually coming from Switzerland where the transmitters were built. Not France. #4 Rocus de Joode on Nov 16th, 2011 at 08:48 Hello Al, We use two TSW 2500D and one ABB SK 53 C3-2P TX in Bonaire. The rat was inside one of the TSW 2500D transmitters (MN blog comments via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4845.25, Rádio Cultura, Manaus, 0910, Portuguese, fair with local music - didn't stay with it long enough for an ID, so presumed. 10 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4865, R. Londrinas (tentative), 1017 Soft pop music with IDs very low modulation. Two weeks ago this was clearly R. Verdes Florestas, but not now (?) no change at 1030. 24332 Fair. Nov 12 (Bruce Jensen, Pigeon Point, California, USA, Listening from car with Icom IC-R75 and 135-meter longwire. Some tentative, all comments welcome, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4865.03, R. Verdes Florestas, 1036, presume this at good level and EZL Portuguese vocals, covered by utility at 1045, preventing ID. 16 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL [and non]. Tonight at 2259 UT a very clear ID was heard for Rádio Verdes Florestas on 4865.032. No sign of R Alvorada at all. On 4864.977 a carrier with weak audio probably R Logos [BOLIVIA]. 73 Thomas Nilsson, Engelholm, Sweden, Nov 14, dxldydg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4885, Brasil, Rádio Clube do Pará, Belém, PA at 0700 to 0800 GMT, played ten seconds of “Secret Agent Man” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iaR3WO71j4 bringing back memories of the 1960s Secret Agent series. Rádio Clube do Pará blasts in as the strongest 60 meter band signal at 0700. 5 November (Bob Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro, Noise reducing antenna, long wires, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Descoberta! Escuta inusitada - Rádio Diário da Manhã 7845 Colegas, Hoje, durante viagem rápida ao Norte Goiano, sintonizei algo totalmente inesperado em 7845 kHz. Estava tocando mx sertaneja de razi, e logo após, entra voz masculina, em tom lacônico, anunciando o "Programa Alma Cabocla",prosseguin do com "Esta é sua Rádio Diário da Manhã, transmitindo em Ondas Curtas e Tropicais para todo o Brasil. Este é o programa 'Alma Cabocla' . Bom dia a todos que nos ouvem, a você taxista, a você autônomo, a você ministro (isso mesmo, ministro, o que me intrigou)". Segue mais mx sertaneja. O sinal era limpo e o SINPO 35343. Isso foi às 1012 UT, mas ela continuava lá às 1610 UT, com mx "Naquela mesa", de Nelson Gonçalves e SINPO 25422. Ambas escutas foram realizadas em Carmo do Rio Verde (GO), sem interferências. Nesse momento, já em Goiânia, concorrendo com o QRN de energia, ela continua no ar, com mx instrumental e SINPO 15121. Alguém está conseguindo sintonizá-la? Sabem de que se trata? Será uma pirata? 73's (Arthur Antonio Raimundo, Goiânia GO Brasil, 16º40'50.91"S, 49º16'15.29"W, GH53IH76, 14 Nov, radioescutas yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) Probably; wasn`t there a Brazilian pirate around this frequency before. Name means Morning Newspaper; long ago they used to have a legit SW station, and maybe still do on AM/FM (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) Caramba! Que coincidência! Artur, estou desde as 2200 UT ouvindo esta emissora em 7842.5. Bem do jeitão que você coloca. Se você a captou durante o dia em Goiás, já temos um indício de que esta pode transmitir da tua região. Neste momento, 0153 UT do dia 14/11, uma seqüência de mx sertanejas, duplas caipiras. Em seguida foi ouvida a identificação: “Esta é a Rádio Diário da Manhã, transmitindo para o sudeste e sul do Brasil....”. Um SINPO 35333. Ativei o Outlook agora há pouco, para perguntar sobre esta emissora, e havia a sua mensagem. As musicas caipiras passam longe das atuais. São duplas com músicas caipiras que tocavam há muitos anos atrás, lembro- me bem de algumas. Com certeza não é uma emissora oficial. Não ouvi aviso pro ministro (hehehe), mas é a mesma que você ouviu durante o dia. 73, (Rudolf Grimm, PY2-81502 SWL, São Bernardo SP, GG66rg BRASIL http://dxways-br.blogspot.com DX Clube do Brasil http://www.ondascurtas.com ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) Uma escuta inusitada numa coincidência enorme: O Artur Raimundo de Goiania informou ter ouvido em 7842.5 kHz uma emissora brasileira que se intitula ‘Radio Diário da Manhã’ ontem numa pequena viagem que fez ao norte do estado durante o dia. Pois depois das 21h00 local, estava a ouvi-la aqui em São Bernardo sem ainda conhecer o que o Artur vivera em Goiás no mesmo dia. O sinal melhorou no avançar da noite. Perto da meia-noite, um sinal bom, compreendendo-se sem dificuldades a locução que identificava a estação, muita dupla caipira do passado, mx de raiz, com a locução a cada duas ou três mx. Podem tentar ouvi-la nesta noite: 7842.5 kHz AM. Rádio Diário da Manhã. 73, (Rudolf Grimm, 14 nov, ibid.) Rudolf, Pelo menos já conseguimos determinar melhor a frequência, pois, inicialmente, a sintonizei em 7840 e depois achei que ficava um pouco melhor em 7845. Ontem, em Carmo do Rio Verde, ela apareceu durante o dia todo, com sinal mediano. À noite, em Goiânia, mais fraca e hoje, não ouço nada nessa frequência (agora são 2123 UT). Sobre o local da transmissão, quem sabe esse "Bom dia ministro" não seja um indício de que ela transmitiria de Brasília, hehehe? Será que mais alguém da lista a ouviu? 73's (Arthur Antonio Raimundo, Goiânia GO Brasil 16º40'50.91"S 49º16'15.29"W GH53IH76, ibid.) Olá amigos! Eu escutei aqui em BH na noite de domingo para segunda. O sinal estava bem fraco e a frequencia que estava com mais qualidade era 7842 KHz 73's! (Davi Lucas Pinto de Sousa, 16 Nov, ibid.) Olá pessoal, Tambem não sei se é coincidencia, mais ontem a tarde por volta de 16:30 [sic, so local time = UT -2?], também ouvi uma transmissão com sinal razoavel, mais próximo a frequencia de 7620 khz (Rogerio Rampazo, 16 Nov, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. A Gaúcha criou um slogan, já há algum tempo, que diz: "há sempre um jeito de pegar a rádio Gaúcha" e cita os meios (como ondas médias, internet, satélite,etc). Até hoje, pelo menos nos horários em que eu a sintonizo, não escutei serem incluídas as ondas curtas de 6020 e 11915 kHz. São raras as emissoras que, ao darem seus prefixos, divulgam também as ondas curtas. Nossas ondas curtas, que no passado foram utilíssimas para eles, hoje é relegada a planos inferiores pela maioria das emissoras de rádio. Sinal dos tempos. 73 (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira -sp- 16-11-2011, ibid.) É o que há (gh, DXLD) Amigos, Quando houve o fim dos Diários Associados no RS, acho que foi em 1979, a Rádio Gaúcha comprou (não sei se o termo correto é esse, mas vá lá) a Rádio Farroupilha. Já naquela época, vejam o absurdo, esqueceram-se, dos dois lados, que a Farroupilha tinha dois canais em ondas curtas. Tiveram que fazer um novo contrato, às pressas, para incluí-las no negócio. Quem me contou foi Estácio Ramos, que negociou pelo lado dos Associados. Triste e absurdo, porém verdadeiro (Lucio Haeser, Brasília, ibid.) A Rádio Gaúcha há muito tempo desejava a rádio Farroupilha, por causa do seu canal exclusivo internacional (600 kHz). Logo após a negociação mudou sua frequencia dos 680 para 600. Na verdade houve uma troca de freqüências. A Rádio Farroupilha tinha um alcance fantástico com escutas até no exterior em AM, e não era só na América do Sul, era inclusive na Europa e Oriente Médio. No Rio Grande do Sul ela varria todo o estado com sinal local (era mais ou menos o que a Tupi hoje é). A provável explicação: Uma ocasião um engenheiro da RCA me falou que era a localização da sua antena (ponta grossa, no sul de Porto Alegre). Tinha 50KVA(se tinha) valvulado. Quando entrou a Gaúcha, a primeira coisa que fizeram foi colocar novo transmissor, nova antena e nova potência (100 KVA) e nova localização. Nem é preciso dizer; a cobertura fantástica se foi. Não é nada daquilo que era. Muitos falam que é porque o canal não é mais exclusivo internacional. Não é verdade, se o fosse, a cobertura existiria igualmente, mas com interferência. A antena é a maior do RGS. a instalação é moderníssima mas --- nada parecido. Talvez na época, por causa da empolgação, esqueceram da onda curta. A propósito, acontece algo parecido com a rádio Tupi do Rio. A Globo tentou combate-la colocando 200 KvA, não adiantou. A Tupi continua soberana e dá de 10 a 0 na globo com cobertura nacional em 1280 kHz e não é questão de frequência, pois são próximas (Globo 1220). Muitos poderão contestar o que estou falando, por causa eventualmente da propagação noturna. Na noturna quase todo mundo chega. Me referi à propagação diurna e noturna. Aqui no RGS tem outra emissora com 100 KVA (a Guaíba) que "manda" menos ainda), com localização próxima à Gaúcha. Que acham, é a localizaçao? Grande abraço (Sérgio Senna, ibid.) Sérgio, Uma vez o Célio Romais me contou que a Guaíba possui sua as antenas com foco para o interior do RS, Uruguay e Oeste de SC e PR. Também possui uma antena mais curta, duas quarto de onda. A Gaúcha possui uma antena de meia onda omni direcional. Em Guarulhos, num hotel próximo ao aeroporto, foi fácil escutar Gaúcha, Band, Guaíba e Pampa. –hg (Huelbe Garcia, ibid.) Pessoal, Outra emissora que transmite também em ondas curtas e não as divulga, é a Rádio Nove de Julho de São Paulo, emissora católica. Em 31 metros, atua em 9820 kHz (aliás com bom sinal) e em ondas médias em 1600 kHz, porém só divulga as ondas médias. Pode checar. 73 (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira sp, 16-11-2011, ibid.) É o que é (gh, DXLD) Olá Sérgio, O segredo da Tupi talvez seja o parque emissor localizado em um pantano na baia da Guanabara, na ilha de Itaoca, em São gaoncalo [? Gonçalo?]. O fato é que a Tupi ilumina toda a América do Sul e segundo noticiado no mwcircle até na Europa. Já sintonizei a Tupi em diversos países da al [América Latina] e no Brasil, de extremo norte ao extremo sul. 73s (Sarmento Campos, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. QSL: Radio 9 de Julho, 9819.8, no data thank you letter in 45 days for Portuguese report and 2 IRCs via airmail. Also sent a few stickers. V/s Pe. Jose Renato Ferreira, Diretor de Programação. 73 (Al Muick, Whitehall PA USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Giovedì 10 novembre 2011 (strascico della propagazione di ieri perché di solito 9665 dal Brasile al mattino da me non è ricevibile), 0639 - 9665.1 kHz, VOZ MISSIONARIA - Camboriú (Brasile), PP, parlato OM e canzone YL. Segnale sufficiente-insufficiente - 0641 - 9675 kHz, R. CANÇÃO NOVA - Cachoeira Paulista (Brasile), Portoghese, parlato OM/YL. Segnale sufficiente-buono - 0645 - 9564.8 kHz, SUPER RÁDIO DEUS É AMOR - Curitiba (Brasile), Portoghese, parlato YL. Segnale sufficiente-buono (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) 9645.38, R. Bandeirantes, 0815, mostly just het, but occasionally rising to sufficient strength for partial copy; lively banter between a man and a woman with reverb announcement by a man. 15 Nov. 9675.01, R. Canção Nova, 0803, was looking for Del Pacífico (Peru) but found this instead, presumed with Portuguese news (or similar) by a man. 15 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD- 535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 10000 kHz !! big surprise on Nov 9th at 0330 UT, not US time signal WWV station heard here in Europe, but Portuguese announcement over and over again on even frequency at S=7-8 level. Seemingly DSHO Observatório Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Station PPE with 1 kW ONLY! (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 9 via bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL [and non]. 11780, Nov 11 at 0639, RNA is already on with songs tho it`s not UT Sunday: since Brasília is now on DST of UT -2, the nominal 5 am opening is now at 0700 instead of 0800 UT, and like last winter/summer, it seems they really turn on the transmitter sometime around 0630 UT or even earlier. SSOB and almost the OSOB, with very weak signals only on 11680 in Arabic (BBC Cyprus) and 11520 in English (WEWN; but not 11870 Spanish). 11780, Nov 12 as late as 0643, RNA has still not cut on, unlike the night before when we were hearing it already at 0639. Typical wide variation. But on Nov 13, being a UT Sunday, we may expect 11780 to stay on all-night instead of closing around 0200, local midnight (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 27825, (pirate), unidentified. 2310 November 13, 2011. AM mode. Male Braso-Port babble-ramble, breaking for seemingly live accordion playing, microphone dropped at one point (thunk), short pauses for shout-backs by listeners. Then seemingly light Christian patter in his talk, piano music that seemed to be taped, and a mention that he's in São Paulo. Seemingly pulled the plug around 0000 (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURKINA FASO. QSL: Rdif. du Burkina, 5030, v/s Mr. Pascal Goba, Chef des Programmes, nadowo2002 @ yahoo.fr (PlayDX via QSL Report, Nov NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** BURMA [non]. 7510, Nov 11 at 2355 there is a weak signal in Burmese, also noted 24 hours earlier, nothing listed in HFCC as of 11/11. I was checking this area to reconfirm that 7505 would be clear for WBCQ if it were to acquire this frequency from silent/extinct? WRNO. 0001 Nov 12, 7510 still going, but missed an ID break if any. Next check at 0037, 7510 is off. Aha, this fits for the morning broadcast of Democratic Voice of Burma. Sure `nuff, that`s what`s shown in Aoki, 100 kW, 100 degrees from ARMENIA, in Burmese/dialects, but missing from HFCC, why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also DX Mix News item ** CAMBODIA [non]. Sabato 12 novembre 2011, *1200 v 1201 - 9960 kHz, KHMER PEOPLE'S POWER MOVEMENT - Koror (Palau), Khmer, annunci YL/OM e musica melodica locale. Segnale sufficiente-insufficiente. Solo sabato e domenica (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** CAMBODIA [non]. I received UnID Khmer on 15325 kHz via Babcock at 1200-1300 UT on Nov. 17. Seem to be Khmer Post Radio, not // 9960 via Palau. I confirmed VT music at end of broadcast. Probably it is Tashkent transmission site. de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING? While we have CIDX members from other countries, many of them, when they’re DXing, manage to pick up broadcasts from CBC Radio, whether on medium wave (AM,FM), shortwave or the Internet. They can even get them on radio or on computer through International Public Broadcasting. Public broadcasters around the world are sometimes noted for hard- hitting investigative stories; some of their journalists have even been jailed, tortured or executed for daring to expose injustices and criticize government. We think we’re free in Canada, because we have a public broadcaster that does the same. Unfortunately, the present federal government doesn’t seem to be too happy with CBC for doing that job. They tap into right-wingers’ blasts of criticism, saying various programmes on television and radio are for left-wing elites and artsy-fartsies. A couple of Conservative speakers are even introducing private members’ bills to cut public subsidy of the public broadcaster. Here’s Rob Anders, MP from Calgary West: “Canadians from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario all want to end the $1,160,000,000 taxpayer subsidization of the CBC. Rural Canadians from Innisfail, Alberta; Chemainus, British Columbia; Waldheim, Saskatchewan; and Exeter, Ontario are calling for an end to the $1 billion public subsidy of the state broadcaster. When we live in a 1,000-channel universe, why spend over $1 billion on a state broadcaster like the CBC?.” Or another yahoo, Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative MP for Yorkton— Melville: “Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure today to present a large number of petitions from Canadians from coast to coast. The petitioners call upon the government to de-fund the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. They would particularly like to draw the attention of the House to the fact that the Government of Canada funds the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to the sum of $1.1 billion per year and that the vast amount of the Government of Canada funding gives the CBC an unfair advantage over its private sector competitors. The petitioners call upon Parliament to end the public funding of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.” Arrgh. “Unfair advantage for over private sector competitors?” These are the yahoos from Sun Media (Fox News North!) who prefer their radio stations should broadcast commercial junk. If the Conservatives get their way, CBC’s radio stations, like Radio-Canada International and the shortwave, provocative specialty programming, hasn’t a hope. However, we hope there’s no shortage of groups to stop the Conservatives in their perverted tracks. In the meantime, I’ll continue to support my local public broadcasters, send my reception reports to public stations all over the world to let them know they have someone who’s listening, and continue to protest the Philistines currently running the Canadian government. Oh, got a call and interview from IRIB – the Iranians continue not to forget me! It will be broadcast soon. 73. (Sue Hickey, NF, CIDX Forum, Nov, via DXLD) ** CANADA. DXLD 11-44 mentions a commemorative CBC coin. The CBC Shop at cbcshop.ca has lots of "retro collection" items featuring various CBC logos used over the years, including mugs, glasses, pins, caps -- even a scarf and toque. There are also odd things such as a "mobile reporting bag" and a "40s Retro Document Sleeve" (Mike Cooper, Nov 10, DXLD) ** CANADA. 9625, Nov 15 at 0643, fluttery S9+20 open carrier, no doubt Sackville still kilowasting kilowatts after CBCNQ service closes at 0606. Would those monitoring thru our night check whether it is still on hours later? CBCNQ resumes circa 1200. Maybe the old transmitter needs to be left on forever, in which case CBC might as well modulate it with more programming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: CANADA. 9624.978, CBC North Quebec transmitter in Sackville parked during pause, still produced at 400 Hertz tone from Quebec the whole NAm night. Listened at 0604 UT S=9+20dBm strong carrier here in Europe (Wolfgang Bueschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The whole night? I would like to know how late it is heard (gh, DXLD) 9625, Re Heulen, 08.20...UT, 08.11.11 - mentioned by Herbert Meixner in A-DX ng. Noeh, das ist der Sender in Sackville 9624.980 kHz eingemessen, Northern Service Quebec hat seit 0610 bis 1200 UT Sendepause und laesst den Sender mit Messton von 398 Hertz durchlaufen. Glenn Hauser monierte, dann koennte man ja gleich irgendein CBC FM Programm uebertragen ... Ich schicke Dir mal einen Screenshot vom Perseus rx, da sind die 398 Hertz Peaks sehr schoen zu sehen. S=9+10 signal in London-UK. 9625 kHz 1200-0615 2-4 SAC 100kW 348degr (hfcc) Die Peaks links und rechts sind jeweils 398 Hertz entfernt, der Perseus rx in London ist geeicht bei 9624.998 also 2 Hertz Versatz, dann koemmt in der Formel dann 9624.980 fuer Sackville heraus (Wolfgang Bueschel, Nov 8, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 9 via DXLD) Glenn, I didn't check this carrier + plus 398 Hertz tone procedure not every day. But at the particular day, Nov 8th I heard the tone the whole 'Sackville night' at approx 0615 til approx 12 UT. At that day also reported by other guys on Austrian A-DX newsgroup. I agree, that such older transmitter equipment should stay in service 24 hours under these harsh climatic conditions. We would wish to hear another Canadian information FM relay on air instead of poor 398 Hertz tone. vy73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, Nov 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 3253/fax, VFF, Iqaluit, Nunavut just barely in, improving then fading again to end of schedule, with ice maps of Davis Strait, Foxe Basin & Hudson Bay. Seen from 2205-2338* 7/Nov --Zichi MI 7710/fax, VFF, Iqaluit, Nunavut in OK at first, fading out quickly at 0327 & completely inaudible @0329, but still decoding a very Roharshackey [sic] signal of the Hudson Strait to about 0331 or so. Note how quickly it completely faded (this was sent from 0320 to 0331 & the last 3 minutes have it just nose-diving into an inaudible signal. Despite this, you can still make out the edges of the map even when the signal was not audible. Earlier I saw an Ice Analysis map of Northern Hudson Bay (0300-0319), in well showing the “ice egg” key clearly in the upper left hand corner of the map, but the actual map showing where the ice is, is a bit hard to make out because of noise (shown rotated 90 degrees) & before that I caught the tail end of an even clearer map of Ice in the Foxe Channel and down to the North part of Hudson Bay: The key is scattered about, but the ‘ice eggs’ are easier to see in this map, and the extent of the ice floes are also easier to see since the signal was stronger during this map (0247-0259). In short: Nice reception fading to zippo from 0247 to 0331, 7/Nov (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Nov 11 via DXLD) ** CANADA. AM 900 Amherst NS still on? Can anyone tell if CKDH is still on the air in Amherst NS at 900 AM? If things when according to the rules, they should have closed the AM facility recently now that they have moved to FM. Tnx in advance a (Andy Reid, Ont., Nov 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Andy, according to their website, http://www.ckdh.net they are only on FM. Regards, (Al Muick, PA, ibid.) Typically broadcasters never indicate the status of their former frequency especially AM to FM flips here in Canada. I find once a station makes the move to FM [and changes the web site, phone #, logo etc], the AM station they have broadcasted on for years is treated like it never existed. So confirmation is sought. Don't go by web sites alone :-) (Andy Reid, ibid.) Understood. Are there any remote rx's in the area you can check? As a last resort, you might actually call the DJ line and ask. Surely, they would have no reason not to tell you? 73 (Al, ibid.) ** CANADA. New Station on 1350 --- CIRA-5 in Gatineau QC is on the air today; except for a brief test a few weeks ago, this is the first time I've heard them on. I have no idea what their programming or schedule will be in the long run, but they currently are running talk and singing (in French) by young kids, with occasional mentions of "Radio Enfant". Also noteworthy is the fact that they are way off frequency, currently on 1350.077, which may help to pick them out on the channel. Power is 1000 W days and 180 W nights, but I'm not sure about their pattern. Who will be first outside the Ottawa-Gatineau area to log this one? (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON, Nov 12, ABDX via DXLD) Barry: Do you remember what the daytime and nighttime power for the old CKDO-1350 was? I can't seem to find my notes around here, but I kind of wanted to compare the power of that with the new CIRA-5. Thanks! (Eric Berger, ibid.) The old CKDO was 10 kW day, and 5 kW night (Barry McLarnon VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) They're going to be Radio Ville Marie, a simulcast of CIRA fm Montreal. They're just testing for now using a simulcast of CJEU 1670. In fact they share the same transmitter [site?] (Thomas Anderson, ibid.) Barry, wasn't there a Radio Enfant (CJEU I think) already on in Gatineau on 1670 kHz? CIRA are the call letters used here in Montreal by a French Catholic religious organization called Radio Ville-Marie. I think this new station on 1350 is their new outlet based on the following info on a Wikipedia page about CIRA: "CIRA-5: Ottawa-Gatineau (1350 AM) - received CRTC approval on September 23, 2009 to add an AM transmitter on the frequency 1350 kHz to rebroadcast the programming of CIRA-FM in Montreal.[5] The 1350 AM frequency was a former frequency that was used by CHVR in Pembroke, Ontario, until it moved to FM in 1996." CIRA Radio Ville Marie has a webpage http://www.radiovm.com (Sheldon Harvey, IRCA via DXLD) It has recently popped up (17:14 EST) with the ID "Radio Enfant ... 16-70 AM" and the program doesn't match with the Radio Ville-Marie schedule. http://www.quebecdx.com/mp3/cira_1350.mp3 Very though however to get steady audio. (Sylvain Naud, Portneuf, QC, 12 Nov ibid.) Yes, CJEU-1670 was Radio Enfant, and it still is, but it now shares time with "Oxygène Radio". As Tony Ward has already mentioned, the new 1350 is currently // 1670, but I expect that to change once they move to their religious programming format, // CIRA-FM. Looks like Tony gets the nod as the first out-of-town logger! (Barry McLarnon VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) I heard it on 1350.077 as you did so I may have been contending as well for one of the first out-of-town logger :-) Good that there was something to cheer because TAs aren't bringing up so many surprises these days (Sylvain Naud, ibid.) Aren't the two stations both serving the Ottawa ON - Gatineau QC market? I hope 1350 is testing using this and still planning to relay CIRA Montreal (Saul Chernos, ibid.) Their license was granted on the basis of them rebroadcasting the religious programming of Radio Ville-Marie, so there is no doubt that they will be doing just that in the long run. The 1350 and 1670 stations currently share the same transmitter site, so the current parallel audio feed is probably just a matter of convenience during testing (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON, IRCA via DXLD) ** CANADA. Slew of radio applications for Calgary ... ... including what could become our first X-band station. 12. Calgary, Alberta Application 2011-0936-4 Application by Punjabi – World Network Ltd. for a broadcasting licence to operate an ethnic commercial AM radio programming undertaking in Calgary. The new station would operate on frequency 1,670 kHz (Class B) with a transmitter power of 5,000 watts day-time and 1,000 watts night-time. The applicant proposes to direct ethnic programming to a minimum of 13 cultural groups in a minimum of eight different languages per broadcast week, by condition of licence. Also of note, CHQR 770 AM wants a nested FM station, not unlike what CBC's been doing across Western Canada. 11. Calgary, Alberta Application 2011-1347-2 Application by Corus Entertainment Inc., on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiary CKIK-FM Limited, to amend the broadcasting licence for the AM radio programming undertaking CHQR Calgary. The licensee proposes to add an FM transmitter in Calgary to broadcast the programming of CHQR, in order to adequately serve the population of Calgary. The transmitter would operate on frequency 106.9 MHz (channel 295A) with an effective radiated power of 1,000 watts (non-directional antenna with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 243.6 metres). The applicant stated that the proposed FM transmitter would provide a reliable high-quality signal on the FM band to listeners in downtown Calgary who are no longer able to obtain satisfactory reception of CHQR on the AM band. The full listing is available from the CRTC. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/whatsnew/2011/n1109.htm Hope you are well! 73, (Ricky Leong, http://yellowjournalist.wordpress.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/rleong101/ I could lie down in the grass of the wide open prairie Stare up at the stars, fall asleep to a coyote cry [great tagline] (Ricky Leong, Nov 10, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 6069.97, CFRX, 0853, fair - good with male stand-up comedian; also noted presumed CKZU in passing, 0830'ish, and also fair - good. 10 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 6930.33, Northern Relay Service (Pirate) 0249 Rock & Roll songs, into "Alex Jones is Nuts" through 0330; QSL. 35433 Good. Nov 12 6950, Radio True North (Pirate) 0013 UT - "Doc John" in English with rock music on vinyl. 35544 V Good. Nov 12 (Bruce Jensen, Pigeon Point, California, USA, Listening from car with Icom IC-R75 and 135-meter longwire. Some tentative, all comments welcome, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHILE [and non]. 9635, Nov 12 at 0024, Spanish religion mentioning rosario, but surely not really RCatholic, as this is the frequency of Protestant/evangelical CVC, Miami via Chile --- has heavy QRDRM from REE via COSTA RICA, 9625-9630-9635 continuing this season with DRM 00- 02 for North America. Even side-tuning to upper edge of 9635 cannot get rid of it. Confirmed at 0042 as CVC by // 17680 which at times, but not now, has its own problems with adjacent QRDRM from NZ 17675. Meanwhile, 9640 is open and available. It`s really amazing how AM stations continue to be coordinated only 5 kHz from DRM stations, which ought to banished to the almost-vacant pure fixed utility bands where digital noises of all types are to be expected (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 11885, Nov 11 at 0007, two stations mixing about equally in English: one is // 11790, i.e. CRI, 200 degrees from Xi`an; the other one listed must be WYFR in wrong language English instead of Portuguese (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENIGN DIGEST) ** CHINA. Domenica 6 novembre 2011, 1242 - 13970 // 14700 // 16700 // 17170 kHz, FIREDRAKE vs. SOUND OF HOPE TAIWAN, Segnali sufficienti- insufficienti (17170 buono-sufficiente). Sound of Hope not heard on all the frequencies (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. Firedrake Nov 11 has a number of anomalies --- because of this unique date for the numeralogically superstitious? Before 1400: 9200, very good at 1340. Haven`t heard any in the 9`s for ages 10300, poor at 1342, NOT FD, but talk in Chinese(?) with distortion, seemingly from the transmission rather than as jamming, but can`t be sure whether this is really Sound of Hope or a different kind of jamming against it. Continues right thru hourtop past 1403+, traces at 1419, fading out or going off? [WORLD OF RADIO 1591] see below 11500, very good at 1342 // 9200 12230, very good at 1342 12600, very good at 1343 13850, at 1346: see UNIDENTIFIED 13970, Chinese talk poor at 1345, over FD very poor, not // 10300 or 12045=CNR1. So maybe really SOH 14970, very good at 1346 15390, good at 1346 and // the others 15970, very good at 1346 16980, very good at 1349 17170, very good with flutter at 1349 After 1400 (besides 10300 as above): 9200, good at 1421, 1439 11500, good at 1434 11980, good at 1434, unusual in-band, vs nothing audible or scheduled, except: Aoki does show 11980 as yet another 100-watt SOH nuisance transmitter any time between 20 and 17 UT 12600, very good at 1439 12670, very good at 1439; none in the 13s 15780, very good at 1443; none in the 16s, 17s 18180, very good with flutter at 1445 none in the 19s, 20s (where never heard, but checking just in case) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 10300, UNID, 1115-1128, Nov 11. Glenn observed today: “NOT FD, but talk in Chinese(?) with distortion, seemingly from the transmission rather than as jamming, but can`t be sure whether this is really Sound of Hope or a different kind of jamming against it.” Two audios seemingly in Chinese. One probably SOH, but the other one certainly not CNR1 echo jamming (not // 6125), so who? I often monitor here at this time and have never before heard anything like this, so unlikely SOH with a double audio feed? New type of jamming? MP3 audio at http://www.box.net/shared/6ccfvt3eo8aulvkezaiv (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ron and Glenn, Same type of audio as on Ron's recording of 10300 received here this am, unfortunately did not record. Later on though back to the usual crash bang wallop (Mark Davies, Wales, ibid.) Firedrake Nov 12, circa 0030: 12230, very poor at 0029 13850, fair at 0030 with CCI 14400, poor at 0030 14700, very poor at 0030 with het 14970, good at 0031 15970, good at 0032 16100, fair at 0034 16980, fair at 0034; none in the 17s, 18s After 0100: 16980, fair at 0119 15970, good at 0119 14970, not on now, unlike previous hour 14700, poor at 0120 with het on hi side 14400, poor at 0120 13850, poor at 0121 Before 1430: 10300, poor with lo het at 1426; none in the 11s 12600, very good at 1428 12670, very good at 1428; none in the 13s, 14s 15795, very good at 1430. Vs Sound of Hope via Tajikistan at 1400-1430 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 10300 CHINA. Firedrake, 1433-1435. In what I believe is jamming using music. The target on this frequency is believed to be the Sound of Hope. I have noticed sequence of the music used on Firedrake broadcasts seems to have changed. The music that formally commenced at the beginning of each broadcast has lately been heard in the musical rotation at +34 minutes after the hour. I have not determined the significance, if any, of this change. 11/12/11 (Steve Handler, IL, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Firedrake jamming --- Colegas, Segue logs apenas de Firedrake jammings, ouvidas ontem, 13/11, em Carmo do Rio Verde, centro-norte goiano. Rx Degen DE1103 apenas com a telesc€ ¦ópica. UTC Freq. SINPO 1031 11500 35343 1037 12230 35333 1040 14700 45454 1044 15900 55454 1046 16100 35353 1049 17450 55454 73's (Arthur Antonio Raimundo, Goiânia GO Brasil, 16€ ¦º40'50.91"S, 49€ ¦º16'15.29"W, GH53IH76, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Firedrake Nov 13, before 1400: 10300, Chinese talk very poor at 1354, NO FD, so really Sound of Hope? 12230, FD good at 1356; no time to find others before 1400 After 1400: 17570, good at 1416 vs V. of Tibet via Madagascar on today`s frequency Before 1500: 18200, very good with flutter at 1445; none in the 17s, 16s, 15s, 14s 13970, good at 1448 12670, very good at 1449 12600, fair at 1449; none in the 11s 10300, good at 1450 9315, good at 1451, // 12600 etc.; none in the 8s, 7s. 9315 is an unusual spot, vs what? VOA in Tibetan via Thailand at 14-15. Not CNR1 jamming today (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake: 11500, Nov 14 1224- UT, Súper fuerte, sólo música instrumental china, continuó hasta 1243+ UT, Audio: http://www.4shared.com/audio/OxGw8_lX/Firedrake_11500_KHz_14_nov_201.html (Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake Nov 14, before 1500: 12500, poor at 1452 12600, JBA with ute QRM at 1452; none in the 10s, 11s 13850, good at 1455 with WWCR ACI 13970, good at 1455; none in the 14s, 15s, 16s, 17s (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) EAST JAMMERSTAN: 7610, Crash & Bang Chinese Music Jammer; 2334, 14- Nov; weak; // 15900 strong. No other audio on either detected. No others previously reported during 2300 heard (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake Nov 15, before 1400: 12230, poor at 1334; none lower 12670, fair with flutter at 1334 13970, good with flutter at 1337 15395, good at 1342, // 15760. Aoki Oct 31 did not show anything anywhere anywhen on 15395; probably due to V. of Tibet`s Tajikistan jumper from listed 15433. HFCC Nov 11 also lacks any 15395 listing 15760, good at 1338; this one is on different area frequencies from one day to the next 16100, very good with flutter at 1344; none in the 17s, 18s Firedrake Nov 16, before 0300: 13800, poor at 0237 15900, fair at 0238 16700, poor at 0239 17100, fair at 0240 mixing with ute Before 0700: 15900, poor at 0648 Before 1500: 9200, good at 1437; none in the 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s 14700, poor at 1446; none in the 15s, 16s, 17s, 18s Firedrake Nov 17, before 1400: 9200, poor at 1330; replaced maybe 10300, no longer heard? 9350, good at 1330; vs IBB Tibetan via Tajikistan at 11-14 16700, good at 1355; none in the 17s, 15s, 14s, 13s, 12s, 11s, 10s, 8s or 7s before 1400 18180, poor at 1352, with colloquial Spanish 2-way QRM from 18182-USB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sound of Hope transmittors jailed: see VIETNAM [WORLD OF RADIO 1591] ** CHINA. 15375, Jamming, 1308-1322. Noise that sounded like an airplane propeller with Firedrake heard underneath. It’s my opinion that the noise that sounds like an airplane propeller as well as Firedrake both originate from China and were being used to interfere with or jam Radio Free Asia’s Tibetan language program that is registered with the HFCC on this frequency from 1100 to 1400 GMT (but was not heard). The propeller noise jammer has previously been heard by me on RFA frequencies during the B-11 season as well as on frequencies used by the Voice of Tibet in September and October 2011. Firedrake broadcasts normally go silent at the ToH and resume between 10 and 20 minutes past the hour. However interference with this frequency must be so important that Firedrake may not have taken a brake at the ToH. I had checked some of the other known Firedrake frequencies (although not 15375) at 1259 and they signed off at the 1300 ToH. I also and checked some of the known Firedrake frequencies at 1308 and other than this frequency no others were found in use until later during the hour. 11/9/11 (Steven Handler, IL, Icom IC- 7200, Tecsun PL-660 and Sony ICF-7600GR receivers with wire antennas, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Mercoledì 9 novembre 2011, (bande mezze vuote coincidenti con i dati della propagazione venuti fuori dopo) 1029 - 21590 kHz, CNR 1 JAMMER - Multi txs, Segnale sufficiente-buono (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) vs IBB Tinang, Philippines, at 09-11 in Chinese (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. 3900, Hulun Buir, 1018, weak in noise, with continuous talk by man, usually peaks around 1300 or thereabouts. 14 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 5050, Beibu Bay Radio, 1428-1431+ giving list of stations in Vietnamese, tail-end of English ID: "96.4, Beibu Bay Radio", then CH/VT IDs (I guess) over piano/guitar music bed. 3 Nov (Dan Sheedy, CA, via Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CHINA. 15070, CNR/CRI, 16 Nov 1158 with a very poor signal with talks in Chinese S2/S1 with preamp. Spur? (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. ALBANIA, QSL: 6020, CRI, full/data ``Ozbek Ethnic Minority Group Member`` card in 35 days for 2 IRCs. I also received a contest sheet, schedules and the Messenger magazine. For some reason I thought the 6020 relay to he US was from Sackville, but I guess not (Wilkins, MO, QSL Freport, Nov NASWA Journal via DXLD) Depends on what time you heard it; in A-11, Albania 00-04, Sackville 04-06. In B-11, 6020 is only Albania 00-04 (gh, DXLD) ** CONGO DR [non]. 11795, Okapi 15 Nov 1610 with several IDs, then station jingle and frequency listing in French then news in vernacular (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 530, Radio Rebelde, unknown site. 1940 November 13, 2011. Under Enciclopedia but by post-sunset, destroying decent Enci reception. This is obviously a new west coast transmitter (vs. the eastern half of the island Rebelde(s) that have been active on 530 for awhile). (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 671 kHz off-frequency with het: see UNIDENTIFIED [and non] ** CUBA [and non]. [continued from 11-45] 9810, RHC Spanish found on new unlisted frequency, not on their new B-11 schedule, very slow- loading; what about the new broadband cable connexion thru Venezuela?? [see AFP story below] http://www.radiohc.cu/de-interes/frecuencias.html still not correcting the 97420 typo either, Nov 11 at 0003 an echo apart from // 9740. DentroCuban Jamming Command around 0624 Nov 11: 9955 vs WOR on WRMI and 9885 vs VOA have pulse jamming at fast rate; same on 9825 vs non-Martí, which is only at 00-03 via GB and SAC 9965 vs non-República, pulsing at slow rate VOA is on 9885 at 03-07 via three African sites, South Africa during the final hour, certainly not in Spanish, but English. Could not hear it under the jamming. 9955, UT Nov 12 at 0017, WRMI in Spanish, and not jammed! Despite being an exile program, OM reminiscing about the good old days, religious element too at 0043 YL mentioning Cristo, Ciencia Noética. DentroCuban Jamming Command must still be out of synch since the clock change, as UT Tue-Sat 00-01 on WRMI`s schedule is `Radio Libertad`. Meanwhile there was slow pulsing jamming against nothing (such as R. República) on 9965. After 0100, jamming reattacked 9955, when WRMI has non-exile programming. Way to go, incompetents! RHC at 0023 Nov 12: new unlisted 9810 is on again // 9740, but nothing on 9660 or former 9640, the `Mesa Redonda` separate service, which must not be on tonight. 9540, Nov 12 at 1430, here`s RHC Spanish on yet another new, unlisted frequency! As of today, both 9540 and 9810 are still missing from the B-11 schedule at http://www.rhc.cu/de-interes/frecuencias.html I have no idea what frequency 9540 transmitter previously used: still on all the 25m channels, 11690, 11750, 11760, 11840 at 1427; maybe now missing 12040? But it was really horribly distorted. 9540 fair signal reads S9+20, but undermodulated and sounds much weaker than // 9850 an echo apart from different site. 9540 is clear of any QRM, no ACI or CCI, concluding `Cartas a la Redacción` version of mailbag. RHC has more transmitters than they know what to do with: suggestion: scrap the awful ones. I wonder if it`s on 9540 just to `hold` the frequency for the always-imminent startup of R. Nacional de Venezuela`s own new Calaboose SW site? 9540 was the old pre-Chávez RNV channel. RNV also might feel obligated to relay RHC as a payback, tho RHC hardly needs that. I still haven`t caught a new(?) frequency announcement circa 1400, but hoped RHC might mention some before 1500*. I was on 9850 at this time, but just as it started to say ``Amigos radio-oyentes,`` in sign-off, modulation was cut; quickly checking other frequencies on 11 and 13 MHz, they were also in dead air or off. 9540 stayed on until 1503* RHC has made further schedule adjustments as of Nov 13 --- not Oct 30 when the rest of the world did for B-11 and when Cuba went off DST; not Nov 6 when much of its audience in NAm did, not Nov 7 when RHC started new frequencies, so we are now into two Weeks of Confusion. Basically, Spanish morning service has been extended an hour until 1600, and programming within moved one hour later too. We don`t yet know whether this also apply to afternoons and evenings, and whether they are still starting at *1100. 9540 as a new unlisted frequency for RHC turns out not so good a choice, since on Sundays WHRI is blasting it away with gospel huxter`s Bible study at 1346. In fact, I can`t even hear the weak RHC signal under it. Arnie should have noticed in HFCC that WHRI is on 9540 Sundays only at 13-14. Afterwards, at 1403, RHC 9540 can be heard, but the much stronger new // 9850 is now off, tho it had been on at 1347. At 1408, I find RHC again on 13750, which is a remnant of the long- gone Sunday-only `Aló, Presidente` service for Venezuela. I wonder if RHC was also on 13750 before 1400 when VOA Spanish was using it; the two collided on Monday Nov 7, but since then, RHC had avoided 13750. Also on // 13670 and 13780. This caused me to look for spurious leapfrog mixing products on new spots. 13810 had an S9+12 carrier, of 13750 leaping over 13780 another 30 kHz higher. This of course will only happen when those two fundamentals are both on, like Sundays. But 13810 modulation is just- barely. I have also been expecting one on 13890, i.e. 13670 leaping over 13780 another 110 kHz higher, and think I barely detect it now vs local cable DTV converter box bubble-jamming. Can`t hear one on 13830 yet, which would be 13670 leaping over 13750 another 80 kHz higher. These fundamentals are very strong and synchronized from same site. Last week, EC was still on at 1335, but this Sunday at 1347 on 9850 I am instead hearing an `Así es mi Tierra` interview with a Puerto Rican lamenting inroads of English words into the Spanish language there. But 1352 on to folk music in `Cuba Campesina` so I assume AEMT was just a segment inside CC, which used to be aired circa 1230 on Sundays. 1411 RHC mailbag, formerly an hour earlier. No, checking the non-updated programming page we find they had been: 12:25 UTC Domingo Así es mi tierra 12:33 UTC Domingo Cuba Campesina 13:00 UTC Domingo Noticiero 13:10 UTC Domingo Amigos de Cuba 13:30 UTC Domingo Boletín 13:35 UTC Domingo En Contacto 13:50 UTC Domingo En Compañía del Doctor 14:00 UTC Domingo Noticiero 14:10 UTC Domingo El Mundo de la Filatelia 14:30 UTC Domingo Boletín 14:35 UTC Domingo La Cultura en Cuba 14:53 UTC Domingo Boletín Resumen de la Mañana So will `En Contacto` be at 1435 now? Yes! Confirmed starting then on 13750, 13670, 13780, 11840, 11760, 15380, under CRI on 15230, and an echo apart on weaker signals from RHC`s other site on 11750, 11690, 9540. Manolo opens by greeting ``amigos de la onda corta``, not to be confused with the title of the no longer competing REE show (much like the phrase ``world of radio`` being used by anyone but gh). Usual first item was happy-birthdays, this time to one listener and one staffer (the latter female without specifying her age); then an essay about the threatened status of SW broadcasting written by Juan Franco Crespo, Spain, and read by Antonio Gómez, the clippery RHC staff announcer. Ended at 1450, then the ex-1350 show `En Compañía del Doctor`. So DX program `En Contacto` has been moved one UT hour later on Sundays; is this deliberately to escape the time conflict with Spain`s DX program `Amigos de la Onda Corta` which one biweek ago shifted from 1232 to 1332 UT on its several frequencies? If so, brought all the others with it. 1500 promo ``Nuestro Caribe`` mentioning a bunch of countries within and bordering, ``por un comercio justo``. No frequency announcement at this hourtop, nor as now expected, any sign-off. Instead, 1501 news sounder and news. 1514 starting `Mundo de la Filatélia` also latened one hour. Rechecking frequencies still on now instead of 1500* --- 15380, 15230, 13780, 13750, 13670, 11840, 11760, 11750, 11690(? too weak vs RTTY), 9540. I did not monitor every single program segment for new timings, but at 1539, 11760 is bearing `La Cultura en Cuba`, ex-1435. So what happens at 1600 now? RHC ID, but cut off abruptly before any frequency announcement or sign-off, affecting all the 13 and 11 MHz frequencies. 13670 went off first, while 13780 and 13750 kept open carrier past 1601. The weekly Esperanto broadcast at 1500 Sundays on 11760 only was replaced by Spanish, so would it now be at 1600 instead? 11760 did stay on, but at 1602 resumed Spanish, 1603 suddenly cut to Esperanto, mentioning `nova horo`, but reception too poor to copy details, now with added ACI from Chinese on 11765 (where HFCC shows only Spain in Arabic! But, oui mes ami, you guessed it, Aoki shows 11765 at 16-17 as jammed Sound of Hope 100 kW from Taiwan; Commies vs Commies). Has the RHC Esperanto site been updated to reveal this? Of course not! Still shown at the slow-loading http://www.radiohc.cu/eo/interesaoj/frekvencoj.html ``Norte, Centro y Suramérica 11760 Khz 25 15 - 15:30 UTC San Francisco 6010 Khz 49 7 - 7:30 UTC Suramérica 15370 Khz 19 22:30 - 23 UTC`` BTW, last March, Esperanto briefly switched to 1600 UT, but then went back to 1500 once Cuba changed to DST. Also, at 1910 UT Nov 13, the RHC Spanish frequency page is not accessible, so maybe is finally being updated? Yes, further changes are afoot. At 1927, no RHC English on 11760 any more; instead AWR with no QRM. Will RHC English shift back to 2000 on 11760, or somewhere else? I`m already late in finishing and dispatching this report. One final check at 2000: nothing from RHC on 11760 after AWR is finished and opening on 11755 instead. 13640 at 1927 Nov 13 has big RHC open carrier, overriding but heavy QRM from India, and still so as RHC is opening French to Europe at 1932. So 13640 is an awful choice for RHC to reach Europe, with India already there at 1730-2030, 500 kW, 300 degrees from Bengaluru to Europe, and also in French starting at 1945! Way to go, RHC frequency mis-manager and jamming advocate Prof. Arnaldo de Jesús Coro Antich, CO2KK. Further monitoring of RHC changes effective Nov 13: I had not heard any signal on 11760 before or after 2000, where the first English of the day used to be at 19-20, so not shifted to 20-21 either? Not checked again until 2113, when 11760 was back on, in French, and // 13640 to Europe. Normally this broadcast is on only one frequency, so should 11760 have been in English during that hour? For Spanish, I am mainly concerned with confirming the current repeat times for the DX program `En Contacto`. Did not check at 2140 when it once appeared. Some unrelated interview is on at 2234 and later on 11840, 13640, 13690, etc. But there `EC` is, still in progress at 2355 on 13640, 13690, etc., same Crespo essay as heard in the morning after 1435, so must have started circa 2345. Into UT Monday Nov 14: at 0147 on 13690, when it previously aired, instead `Cadena Deportiva Latinoamericana` sports news. So I check once more an hour later, and at 0249, yes, `En Contacto` is just about to end, so started at 0235 on all the frequencies then in effect. Likely all the other listed tarde programming has shifted one UT hour later too. Has this been updated to that effect? http://www.radiohc.cu/de-interes/programacion.html Of course not! Until and unless it is, and don`t hold your breath based on previous experience, add one hour to the times shown. However, the equally slow-loading Spanish frequency page, http://www.radiohc.cu/de-interes/frecuencias.html has been updated Nov 14, to correspond with many of our observations on Nov 13, and confirms the morning sign-on is now 1200 instead of 1100. This replaces the one we forwarded a week ago. Buenos Aires 15230/13670 19/22 24-05 y 12-16/ 12-15 UTC Nueva York 6010/11840 49/25 12-13/12-16 UTC San Francisco 13780 22 13-16 UTC Chicago 9850/6140 31/49 13-16/12-13 UTC América del Sur 15380 19 12–16 UTC Banda Tropical 5040 60 22–24 y 02-06 UTC América Central 11750/9540/9810 25/31/31 13-16/12-16/22-06 UTC Europa 13640 22 22-24 UTC Norte Centro Suramérica 11760/6150 25/49 12-16 y 24-05/ 12-13 UTC Caribe 6120/9710/11690 49/31/25 24-06/22-24/12-16 UTC América del Sur 11840/9740/13690 25/31/22 22-06/24-05/22-05 MESA REDONDA (Lunes a Viernes y días especiales)[not always, or 2330-] América del Norte 6000/9660 49/31 23–01 UTC ALÓ PRESIDENTE (Domingo) [IMAGINARY] América Central 13680 22 14-18 UTC Caribe 11690 25 14-18 UTC América del Sur 15370/17750 19/16 14-18 UTC América del Norte 13750 22 14-18 UTC Hoping that this is the ``final final`` version, I am reworking it into easily readable format, time order, stripping useless meter band clutter; do not copy this without credit to gh who spent his valuable time transforming it, thank you: 12-13 6010 6140 6150 12-15 13670 12-16 9540 11690 11760 11840 15230 15380 13-16 9850 11750 13780 22-24 5040 9710 13640 22-05 13690 22-06 9810 11840 00-05 9740 11760 15230 00-06 6120 02-06 5040 However, 9540 was off the air when checked at 1448, perhaps fearful of being whopped again like yesterday by WHRI but that`s only on Sundays. I am also not hearing 11690 much, just as well with all the RTTY. The French frequency page is inaccessible. Trying to navigate thru the RHC website encounters lots of 404s, especially since they went php. English: the homepage is reachable after a long wait, but not the frequency page even tho it is certainly ``of interest``! Further obs on Nov 13: 15370 still had Esperanto Sunday at 2230, the 13 Nov edition, but with CCI under; at 2300 into Creole. HFCC shows KSDA at 22-24 northwestward from Guam in Chinese. Timings of the two `floating` English broadcasts of RHC have now been confirmed by monitoring, despite inaccess to RHC website info: Altho on the first day of all the timeshifts, Sunday Nov 13, there was no signal on 11760 before or after 2000, it may have come on late, since Nov 14 at 2011, RHC English is in progress, so now it is one hour later at 20-21. Meanwhile, 13640 to Europe was in Portuguese. Why in the world doesn`t RHC put this English hour on the European antenna? Originally it was for Europe at 21 or 20 UT, but now it`s just for somewhere in the Americas. Europe gets only programs in French, Portuguese, Arabic(!), Spanish. So any UKOBGANIans who might want (?) to hear RHC in English need to do so in their mornings, like via the frequency up the east coast of NAm, 6060 at 05-07 carrying onward. In North America, on the contrary, there are NO English broadcasts in our mornings, so should listen in the evening into the madrugada, if ever. The 11760 signal remains fair at best at 2000+. The 5040 `tropical band` targetless transmission in Spanish has a hole at 00-02, no doubt for English, French, Creole? And UT Nov 15 at 0043 we confirm that English is now at 00-01 instead of 23-24 during the summer. Lots of stuff including the entire Spanish schedule shifting one UT hour later took place two weeks after Cuba itself went off DST Oct 30, one week after North America did; so while the rest of the world had only one Week of Confusion, RHC has two+. 9540, Nov 15 at 1325 check at first thought RHC missing from this weak new frequency, still reeling from the whopping it got from WHRI on Sunday; but then detected typical RHC music // 9850, but 9540 now co- channel to Chinese, i.e. colliding with CRI via Kunming, Commies vs Commies! The Commies are still jamming our Voice of America, during the morning newscast for the entire continent, `Buenos Días, América`, having concluded that VOA is just as bad as Radio Martí. VOA 13750 at 1336 Nov 15 is readable here mixed with heavy noise jamming, as are // 15590 at 1339, and 9885, all Greenville, which BTW is now offering new QSL cards for postal reports sent directly. On the contrary, surely by mistake still confused by B-11 scheduling, 15330 with R. Martí playing ``Downtown`` by Pet Clerk at 1428, fading her down at 1430 for ID and news, is not yet jammed; At 1505 recheck, jamming is running but RM is atop it. RHC must realize they are likely to get any frequency announcements wrong after all the changes, since they are still skipping any mention of frequencies! I monitored the TOH breaks Nov 15 at 1359 and 1500, both times going directly from RHC IS and ID into slanted news. I noticed that 13670 stayed on not only past 1400, but past 1500 at 1517 final check, contrary to the new schedule I forwarded and transformed yesterday which showed it stopping at 15*, ex-14* before the massive one-hour-later shift. This means that once again, 13670 is too close for comfort to the bigsig from CRI English via CANADA on 13675 at 14- 15, just like ex-13680 was, Commies vs Commies! Way to go, Comrade Arnie (Glenn Hauser, OK, RHC`s most valuable if underappreciated volunteer monitor abroad, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I haven`t listened to `DXers Unlimited` for weeks, but by sheer chance I was tuning across 6010 at 0630 UT Wednesday Nov 16 as it was just starting. Perhaps Arnie will have something to say about the new frequency/schedule of RHC itself? Only obliquely in Item 3 at 0635: denouncing some ``self-proclaimed guru in the middle of the USA`` who is making a major blunder by criticizing frequency conflicts, example being a broadcast to Argentina which may put some back radiation into the USA, but that`s OK, since there`s no problem in the target area. This must be the 15230 case, where Arnie has kept RHC colliding with China via Canada at 13-15, year after year. Sure, it may be fine for Cuba in Argentina, but how about for your ChiCom comrades? I just rechecked 15230 Nov 16 at 1450, and oui, mes amis, there is Spanish QRM underneath CRI English for which we ARE the target. This is an excellent example of the me-first philosophy of frequency management, rather than kind coöperation with other stations, for the benefit of the listeners, which is supposedly the ultimate objective of SW broadcasting. They do not both *have to be* on 15230 at the same time. There are other open frequencies on 19m one or the other could use during this bihour. Of the numerous mistakes at all levels of RHC, from transmitter operation to studio announcements, to frequency management, this was the only example Arnie came up with, and it is easily refutable. Another point he made was that monitoring only from the middle of the USA is not sufficient to determine conflicts. I make no apologies for this --- I am perfectly aware of how relative signal levels will vary in different places, but I am where I am and am not going to take the time and trouble to consult remote receivers all over the globe, tho others are more than welcome to do so and report their results. What Arnie apparently is not aware of is that his signals from Cuba have *lots* of back- and side-lobe radiation so frequency choices need to be made very carefully to avoid unintended(?) consequences. I am not going to let any station off the hook when their frequency management leads to unnecessary conflicts! On quite another level, I am certainly not defending the ChiCom who are just as guilty as Cuba of jamming and frequency mismanagement. In fact, it`s just peachy that the 15230 situation is: Commies vs Commies! Let them interfere with each other all they want! Obviously I can only assume he was attacking yours truly, as he has in the past when I criticised his frequency management, but he never mentioned my name. I defy anyone to ever find any instance where in print or on the air I have ``proclaimed`` myself a ``guru`` --- that distinxion is reserved for Arnie`s periodic denunciations, but thank you very much. Someone else may have proclaimed me a guru too; I can`t prevent that, but am far too modest to say it myself. I hope I have fairly paraphrased what Arnie said; the last script on his blogspot is for Oct. 28, while the other source on the RHC site itself stops at Sept. 18. DXUL has been trimmed to only ten minutes; the produced open & close continue to feature his voice in studio quality, while the body of the show sounds phoned-in, lo fi audio, which Arnie has previously claimed is not phoned-in, but deliberately degraded that way in the studio for better intelligibility of his particular voice. Huh? The `mit-week edition` had previously been appearing later in the hour, starting about :38 --- is the :30 start a definite change now? Still trying to hear a new frequency announcement on RHC, at last there is one, Nov 16 at 1502 as I listen to 15380 --- except it`s the same *old* one from A-11, now outdated, still listing five frequencies no longer in use, and not mentioning any new one, including the very one I am monitoring, in characteristic Soviet out-of-order style: ``15120, 15360, 15230; from *13 on 13680, 13780; from *11 on 11690, 11760, 11830, 12040; from *13 on 11730`` plus ``audio real`` --- not Really, it`s Windows Media! Q.E.D. 5980, Nov 17 at 0705, R. Martí overnight frequency has just started, now in a drama, and no jamming! Well, barely bubbling underneath if I strain to hear it in pauses; totally unlike 6030 RM which has wall-of- noise jamming. 5955, Nov 17 at 0706, moderate jamming is still running here, despite R. República/ELCOR long gone, and instead interfering with something in Dutch, what else but RNW, which at 0700 had moved from Vatican to Nauen, GERMANY site. 9955, might as well check for jamming here too: at 0708, no, not at the moment, WRMI poor but clear with R. Prague in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. CUBA SAYS US BEHIND ILLEGAL WIRELESS NETWORKS Cuba accused the United States on Monday of enabling illegal Internet connections in its territory and said several people were arrested in April for profiting from the wireless networks. The official communist party newspaper Granma said those arrested, who were not identified, “had for some time and without any legal authorization, been installing wireless networks for profit.” Using satellite connections to the Internet and equipment that was either stolen or brought to the island illegally, they set up a service to receive international telephone calls that bypassed the state telephone monopoly ETECSA. “This activity is financed by the United States, which is where the necessary means and tools come from, evading the established controls,” the newspaper charged. Cuba has restricted access to the Internet, giving priority to universities, research centres, state entities and professionals like doctors and journalists. Because of the US embargo, Cuba cannot connect to the underwater fibre optic cables that pass near the island, leaving satellite connections with high rates and narrow bandwidths as the main option available to Cuban Internet users. To overcome those limitations, a Cuban-Venezuelan company laid an underwater cable between the two countries in February. It was supposed to have been activated in July, but it has been delayed for reasons the government has yet to explain. Cuban authorities have previously accused the United States of illegally introducing technology in the island to enable the creation of wireless networks outside state control. One such case was that of US government contractor Alan Gross, who was arrested in December 2009 and sentenced to 15 years prison for bringing IT equipment into the country and delivering it to various people. “Cuba has every right to safeguard its radio-electronic sovereignty. Those who try to evade it will bear the weight of the corresponding administrative rules and criminal law,” Granma said. (Source: AFP) (November 15th, 2011 - 13:46 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** CYPRUS. 21583-21612, Nov 12 at 1435, OTH radar pulses presumed from here, victimizing REE on 21610 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS NORTHERN. 6150, Bayrak Radio at 2248 with easy listening pop music and a man in presumed Turkish with DJ chatter to 2303 and more talk with a mention of “Bayrak Radio” followed by a woman with talk and back to music at 2305 - Weak and noisy 11/12 (Mark Coady loggings from ODXA Shadow Lake Radio Camp, Ont., held November 11th - 13th. RCVR: Alinco DX-R8T ANTENNA: G5RV and Angler antennas, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) Excellent catch, rarely making it to North America. According to HFCC, the only thing on 6150 at that time is Yakutsk, Siberia: 6150 2000 1600 23 IAK 50 330 0 101 1234567 301011 240312 D RUS RRS GFC However, HFCC is incomplete. Aoki adds: 6150 Radio 6150 0000-2400 1234567 German/Dutch/English 5 ND Kall D 00631E5028N RSS/FNA a11 [is this active in B-11?] 6150* R.TAIWAN INT. 2200-2400 1234567 Chinese 100 310 Kouhu TWN 12010E2335N CBSC b11 [*means it is also jammed] 6150 R. Record 0900-0300 1234567 Portuguese 7.5 304 Sao Paulo SP B 04639W2333S [is this really active? 304 toward us] 6150 R. Bayrak 0000-2400 1234567 Turk./Engl./Arab. 25 ND Yeni Iskele CYP 03355E3513N BRTK//1494 WRTH 2011 shows Bayrak`s power as 12 kW, and dagger for irregular. The China radio war on 6150 should be making it to North America around this grayline time, but of course would not be in Turkish (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I kept checking this one. It eventually petered out just after midnight UT (Mark Coady, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CYPRUS {Northern Occupied Turkish Zone} 6150 Radio Bayrak, Iskele Trikomo, SW 6150 kHz antenna at 35 17 40.30 N 33 54 58.30 E location. The latest "Hertz footprint" was always exact 6150.037 kHz in past 5 months. 6150.037 kHz: Just heard some English spoken fragments at 2310 UT. Used a deep notch filter against of even outlet 6150.000 CBSC RTI Kouhu and Chinese - seemingly usual CHN jammer in 22-24 UT slot, latter according to Aoki list. 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Here also, playing 'Blue Bayou' after 2300, and later a John Lennon tune. Not heard this well since late 2002. Using the Drake R8B and 200' W-E wire, and my now ever present 60 Hz buzz doesn't seem to have much effect on certain frequencies. Good luck to all with this one! (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, Nov 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHIA [non]. QSL: 9955, R. Prague via WRMI, full/data ``Charles and Chateaux`` card in 12 days for a report sent direct to Prague with mint stamps, a local post card and $1.00. Also received a program schedule, note pad and an eye glass cleaning cloth (Kivell, FL, QSL Report, Nov NASWA Journal via DXLD) After 53 years in DXing, that`s a new one for me (Sam Barto, ed., ibid.) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780, Rdif. TV de Djibouti, Arta, still NOT heard at 0530-0635 and at 1730-2055, Nov 02, 03, 04, 05, 08, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Nov 16 via DXLD) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 4330, 1715-1800*, CHN, 10+11.11, Xinjiang PBS, Urumqi, Kazakh ann, local music by orchestra, closing ann and timesignal 45444 // 6015 (33433) AP-DNK 4980, 1735-1745, CHN, 10.11, Xinjiang PBS, Urumqi, Uighur ann, Chinese opera. First Day on this winter schedule! 45434, heard // 3990 (45444) and 6120 (43444) AP-DNK 5060, 1740-1750, CHN, 10.11, Xinjiang PBS, Urumqi, Chinese talk. First Day on this winter schedule! 45434 heard // 3950 (35433) and 5960 (42432 best in USB) (Anker Petersen, heard in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 10.11.2011, 14.15, 4980, Xinjiang PBS in Uighur in parallel to 6120 and 7205 - received for the first time this season. I check 60 mb every morning and evening (Vladimir Kovalenko, Tomsk, West Siberia, Russia (85'00East, 56'30North), HCDX via DXLD) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 15135, Nov 16 at 0604, CRI in stilted Spanish, flutter, not normally heard, but is 294 degrees to Spain from Kashgar at 06-08 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CHINA ** ECUADOR. 3810, HD2IOA, Guayaquil, 0829 noted with strong signal 9 November (Bob Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro, Noise reducing antenna, long wires, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, Cumbre DX via DXLD) LSB, right? ** ECUADOR [non]. QSL Card from Radio HCJB Deutschland --- Hello radio friends! From Radio HCJB Deutschland received scanned QSL card for the following broadcast: HCJB Deutschland 3995 kHz Weenermoor English 13/11/2011 2100 UT in English, SINPO 44434 Received in 2 days via e mail for a web form report at http://www.andenstimme.org/index.php?id=111 Station Address: Vozandes Media, Casilla 17-17-691, Quito, Ecuador Enjoy whatever you are listening! 73 from (N. Marabello, Treviso, Italy, Nov 16, RX: ICF SONY SW7600G, Ant.: VHF outdoor azimuth 230 , bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 15080, Nov 13 at 1413, M&W in very distorted talk, scheduled only as R. Cairo Arabic from Abis at 13-16; so what else is new? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. SEEDS OF DISSENT AT EGYPTIAN STATE BROADCASTER A group of employees inside the Egyptian state TV and radio building, Maspero, are hoping to revolutionize the decades-old media institution that has served as the mouthpiece of dictators. Two groups inside Maspero — the Media Revolutionaries Front (MRF) and the Independent Media Professionals Coalition (IMPC) — are calling for media reform. Both were formed shortly after Mubarak’s ouster in February, but returned with renewed vigor after the military’s bloody attack on a Coptic march that took place last month. Read the story from almasryalyoum.com http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/515364 (November 17th, 2011 - 10:46 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** ERITREA. 7130, possibly V of BM, 15 Nov 1723 with hilife songs with signal abt S3 but fully under amateur (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ESTONIA [and non]. 4645 USB, Tallinn VOLMET, heard early afternoon here at 1924 UT on 13 November 2011, with English aviation weather and ILS approach information. Just barely peaking above the noise and the horrible interference from French NATO Station FUG on 4644.8 kHz. The QRM was so extreme, that the station barely was audible even on peaks. FUG runs NATO STANAG 4285 modulation which sounds a lot like the old multichannel FSK transmitters, i.e. a roaring plane engine, however this is pure PSK and about 3.3 kHz wide. I checked on several European remote receivers and the QRM is just as bad there, which makes me wonder exactly how effective this station is in providing its service to its intended targets. Propagation is definitely getting better, as it seems to me that 4645 would definitely be towards the LOF/LUF for that time of day. The Estonian station is supposed to be a 24/7 operations, so hopefully others will be able to hear it at their QTH's as well. 73 (Al Muick, Whitehall, Pennsylvania, USA, WinRadio G303e, 100m longwire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 7110, R. Ethiopia (tentative), 1102 Hymnlike singing as though religious, ham QRM. 32332 Fair-Poor with QRM. Nov 12 (Bruce Jensen, Pigeon Point, California, USA, Listening from car with Icom IC-R75 and 135-meter longwire. Some tentative, all comments welcome, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 12130, 1700 9 Oct, E-Sat via Moldova (presumed), musical intro, OM with announcements, clear in E African vernacular, SIO 242 (Stephen Howie, London, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Thu 10-11, 15370, E-sat, 1701 OM with talks, short music play of HoA music, sudden sign off for ca. 1 minute, then back with same program, S1 max only. Re-tune 1711 with same signal again (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, ICOM R75 / 2x16 V, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15370, E-sat 1700+ is today QRMed by white noise jammer (Liangas, Nov 15, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ESAT Radio jammed --- Wednesday, November 16, 2011 http://alokeshgupta.blogspot.com/2011/11/esat-radio-jammed.html While tuning in to ESAT Radio on 14th Nov (Monday) at 1659 UT on 15370 kHz, found that the channel was empty, scanning the adjacant channels found a weak station on 15390, searching this frequency on web, came across this announcement on ESAT Radio website that they are now operating on two different frequencies 15370 & 15390 kHz: http://www.ethsat.com/2011/10/29/esat-radio-alternative-frequency-and-schedule At 1715 when I re-checked 15390 kHz only white noise was audible. This noise sounds similar to the DRM hash. TDP schedule still lists them on 15370 daily: http://www.airtime.be/schedule.html On Wednesday, 15th Nov 2011, jammer was noted on 15370 at 1700 UT sign on & 1801 sign off. On 16th Nov ESAT Radio signed on at 1659 & jammer again came up at 1700 on 15390 kHz. Here's how the jammer sounds: http://tinyurl.com/bp42hne This audio file was recorded on 16th Nov 2011, at 1659 ESAT Radio signs on, a minute later at 1700 jammer came on the frequency (at 00.23 secondss in the audio file) http://tinyurl.com/btafjvd Related links : The White-noise Jamming Hash on 40m is Getting Worse http://forums.qrz.com/archive/index.php/t-250784.html ESAT accuses China of complicity in jamming signals http://www.ethsat.com/2011/10/08/esat-accuses-china-of-complicity-in-jamming-signals/ Labels: 15370, 15390, ESAT, ESAT RADIO, ESAT Shortwave Radio, Jamming, SW Jamming posted by Alokesh Gupta at 11:47 PM (via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 15360, 1719 26 Sept, V. of Asena, via Samara, RUSSIA, OM talk *1700-1800* in TR [must be Tigrinya], SINPO 25432 (Michael L Ford, Staffordshire, NRD515, NCM515, 20m E/W wire, Nov World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** EUROPE. PIRATE. 6969.97, Laser Hot Hits, 0630-0645, ID at 0631. Pop music. Weak to very weak, but fair on peaks. Very weak // 4026. Nov 11 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** EUROPE. PIRATE. 6305, Radio Powerliner International - Holland, Tentative. 2320-0030, pop music. Tentative ID. Very weak in noisy conditions. Nov 11-12 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** EUROPE. WR International on 12257.2 MHz is S9 in London at the moment (1128 UT). Normally skips UK. Regards (Stuart satnipper, Nov 13, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Was also very strong here in Germany today even on a portable with telescopic antenna. 73 (Harald Kuhl, 1407 UT, ibid.) ** EUROPE. PIRATE. 6969.98, Laser Hot Hits, 0700-0740, pop music. ID. Weak in noisy conditions but fair on occasional peaks. Nov 15 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** EUROPE. RWI is back on 11401 & also 6985 kHz. More infos about big relay, see http://www.wrwi.fr or http://go.to/rwi Many thanks for the first reports received RADIO WAVES INT BP 130 92504 RUEIL Cedex FRANCE 73's Peter HILLS & Philippe, the terrible twins (via Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, 1539 UT Nov 12, shortwave yg via DXLD) See FRANCE ** EUROPE. By the way: PIRATE Radio Baltic Sea QSL-ed me with a nice e-QSL from balticseapirate @ gmail.com They didn't want to tell me their transmitter site, but maybe it is not too far from my island? 73 from (Björn Fransson on the island of Gotland, Nov 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. [Pirates] Domenica 6 novembre 2011, 0813 - 15060 kHz, R. SCOTLAND INTERNATIONAL, EE, IDs OM e musica rock. Segnale buono- sufficiente (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Domenica 6 novembre 2011 - 0820 - 15800 kHz, RADIO RPI (POWERLINER INTERNATIONAL), Musica francese pop anni 80. Segnale sufficiente- insufficiente (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** FINLAND. QSL: Mikes, 25000 kHz - Centre for Metrology and Accreditation - P. O. Box 9 - Tekniikantie 1 02151 Espoo - Finlandia con lettera in 10 giorni. v/s Valevi Kalliomaki, Ilkka Iisakka, Tapio Mansten. No IRC (restituito). (Roberto Pavanello, Vercelli / Italia, Nov 10, shortwave yg via DXLD) QSL LETTER FROM MIKES TIME SIGNAL STATION --- The time signal station of Centre for metrology and accreditation (MIKES) Espoo, Finland that broadcast on 25000 KHz confirm with letter in 20 days. The address is: Centre for Metrology and Accreditation P. O. Box 9 Tekniikantie 1 FI-02151 Espoo Tel. +358 10 6054 000 Fax + 358 10 6054 299 V/S Kalevi Kalliomaki The picture is available here: http://blog.libero.it/radioascolto/10803412.html 73's (Francesco Cecconi, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** FRANCE. Tentative B11 RFI in English, all to Africa: Until 25 Feb: From 26 Feb: 04-05 7425 9805 9805 11995 05-06 9765 11995 9765 13740 06-07 15160 17850 11615 15160 17850 07-08 11725 15605 15615 15605 15615 (Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Radio France International in Russian: 1600-1630 NF 9805 ISS 500 kW / 055 deg to RUSS, instead of registered 9800 // 11670 ISS 500 kW / 080 deg to CeAS (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Nov 11 via DXLD) New (November 2011) program schedules for RFI French are available at: http://www.rfi.fr/sites/filesrfi/GRILLES%20programmes%20NOV%202011.pdf (Mike Cooper, Nov 10, DXLD) Two grilles here, neither of which mentions SW (OC)! But guess that is taken for granted, or better said, not worth mentioning. I see the top one does include `Couleurs Tropicales` M-F at 20-21 UT, and even more so, `Musiques du Monde`, Sat 20-22, but 21690 via Guiana French is now closing at 2000 per HFCC. I wonder what `Radio foot international` is about, M-F 16-17 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sometimes SW is the Paris feed, sometimes the African feed -- depending on the target region. Couleurs Tropicales also airs on the African feed at 15-16 UT, heard fairly well today on 15300. The 1500 UT airing is a repeat of the previous 2000 show. For example, the last half of the Friday 2000 show is a DJ mix, heard again during the second half of the Monday 1500 airing. Radio foot international is what [one] would expect -- chatter about stupid ball games. I did notice an oddity last summer when I swear I heard a France Info ID either during Radio Foot International or during RFI's occasional broadcast of football play-by-play on Saturday afternoons. I do agree Musiques du Monde is worth catching (Mike Cooper, GA, Nov 14, DXLD) O I didn`t realize ``foot`` is a Frenchword 9765, Nov 12 at 0644, RFI English interviewing manager of one of several Liberian radio stations which have been ordered off the air by the YL`s government for stirring up elexion trouble; denying any wrongdoing. No mention of ELWA being burned down, separately Nov 8; latest press on that says the cause has not been determined yet, accident or arson. [and non]. 17620, Sunday Nov 13 at 1417, Spanish interview about medical matters, voice-overing French comments --- and nothing on 17690, where RFI Spanish at 1400-1430 is still supposedly scheduled via GUIANA FRENCH. 17620 is nominally amid a long French-only transmission direct from Issoudun. Mistake in program feed, site, frequency, or a real intentional change? On voudrait savoir (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE [non]. Re 11-45: RWI special on NOW --- The Radio Waves International pirate special from France via Lithuania is coming in well since 0201 UT Sunday on 7415, for the next bihour. Tirana should be on 7420 at 0230-0300. Glenn Hauser 0210 UT Nov 13, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) gh`s full report further below Glenn: Thanks for the tip. Just tuned in on 7415 (ex WBCQ Frequency) and inbooming tonight here in Tenn. Time is 0217 UT Sunday November 13, 2011 with great signal. All Fives! 73's, (Noble West, Clinton TN, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) LITHUANIA, 7415, Radio Waves International 28th Birthday. From SW pirates Yahoo group: Sunday 's early morning November 13, 2011 to USA: 0200-0400 UT on 7415 (not 7420) kHz, on ZRC Sitkunai relay site in Lithuania. RWI noted on remote unit at Moscow, Russia at 0206 UT Nov 13, S=8-9 signal. Announcer like French accent. At 0207 UT Swedish ABBA group performance. Had to set a deep NOTCH filter here on Russia, Netherlands and UK remote rxs, due of strong RTTY ute station on 7416.000 kHz. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) Pegging the meter here in PA as well! They do have nice sets of QSLs and you can also QSL Baltic Waves, a twofer! Slight QSB. French talk and pop music from the last few decades (I hesitate to use the term "oldies."). I think the shortwave tx'ers available to them are of the 100 kW variety on shortwave, so there must have been some antenna slewing or maintenance done. Sounds good! Modulation seems good and signal seems to be keeping within its normal occupied bandwidth (Al Muick, Whitehall PA USA, WinRadio G303e / 100m longwire, ibid.) Just how many kilowatts are these guys throwing tonight? This has to be the strongest signal I’ve picked up in months, from anywhere. Pretty much 5x5 here in Gahanna, Ohio (suburb of Columbus), using a Kenwood R5000 with a clandestine random-length wire for an antenna. (Larry Cunningham, 0223 UT Nov 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ALBANIA/LITHUANIA/U.K., 7410/7415/7420, Now at 0230 UT RWI Sitkunai is the loser to mention for reception on west European soil. 7419.984, Radio Tirana switched on at 0226:40 UT on poor co-channel station from Asia? Radio Tirana Shijak site in English at 0230 UT with ID and political nx at S=9+25dB level east of London-UK. On 7410 kHz BBC Woofferton powerhouse in Persian started also at 0230 UT. S=9+45dB twist the needle! RWI 7415 in the midst at S=7-8 level, and still the ute RTTY signal on 7416.0 kHz. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) 7416? Could that be the USAF Civil Air Patrol, which caused WBCQ to evacuate 7415? But never noticed any RTTY on 7415-6 here. It doesn`t really matter whether the Lithuania special had QRM in Europe, as it was in the middle of the night there and intended for North America, reported with a very good signal all over the continent (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) 7415 khz, one time broadcast into USA on now! At 0300 UT. http://go.to/rwi (Dean Wayman, NE, UT Nov 13, ABDX yg via DXLD) You are right about 7415. The website says 7420. Got them at 2104 [CST]. Thanks, (Kevin Redding, Crump, TN, 0305 UT Nov 13, ibid.) Pretty good signal here in Boise at 0310. Where`s the transmitter? (Frank Aden, N7SOK, ibid.) 20-30 db over at 0340 near Chicago. (Kenwood R-5000, Wellbrook ALA- 100M) (toptyp19, ibid.) Solid 20 to 30 over S9 Here in South Carolina around 0345 UT. Some good country music is on now. Using R75 + Active Whip antenna, 73 - (Todd WD4NGG Roberts, ibid.) Radio Waves International 28th anniversary special broadcast via a legal transmitter, Sitkunai, LITHUANIA, UT Sunday Nov 13 at 0200-0400 was originally scheduled for 7420, before they realized that R. Tirana had just started using this frequency for English to North America at 0230-0300. Sigitas Zilionis asked R. Tirana not to use 7420, but R. Tirana refused, and I suggested ZRC use 7415 instead, which after all, is appropriately an ex-pirate frequency in NAm, and now also vacated by WBCQ. And so they did. When nothing was on the air at 0159 and 0200, I wondered what happened, until: *0201:20 cut on the air joining music in progress, song apparently titled ``Radio Waves``; 0203 sign-on in English, and country music. 0210 liner as ``WCS, the oldie (only?) way for good music``. Several variations of this were heard later, but what is WCS, a faux-American callsign? SINPO 45444, and this very good signal held up for the entire bihour. Seems to have been a big success, with reports like that I have seen from all over North America. 0219 outro a song from `73-`74, mentions 100 kW, 28 years. (Did they ever acknowledge the transmitter was in Lithuania??) At *0229 I could hear a 5 kHz het start from Tirana, but no problem separating the two. Nor was there any ACI from 7410, which bothered Wolfgang Büschel inside Europe. Mostly music, alternating French and English segments, country music and other music. 0304 RWI ID; 0323 ``Bette Davis Eyes``; 0327 address in English, ID in French, ``WCS`` again. 0343 song in French about ``Radios libres . . . Radio Ca-Ca``; sounds nasty. 0345, ``Radio Waves is where you heard the great country music`` by over- acting announcer. Past tense, but country music was next again. 0353 ``WCS World and Radio Waves International,`` address B.P. 130, 92504 Rueil Cedex, France, Europe (I confirmed this on website). 0354, ``From Nashville, USA --- ``. 0359 outro by someguy with exaggerated West Texas accent, acknowledging ``the best damn DJs in the whole world``, i.e. the Terrible Twins of RWI; No formal sign off, but 0400 open carrier, then a few bars of music and off the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi All, Radio Waves International being received quite well here in Faversham on 6985 and 11401 with different programmes. Special weekend of transmissions See website for full details. 73s (John Hoadd, 1821 UT Nov 12, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) 11400 kHz --- salve a tutti e buona domenica in questo momento a 11400 khz stò ascoltando musica tipo country sinfo 33323 non trovo nulla hanno dato un id ma non son riuscito a capire; forse una pirata? 73 a tutti (Ivan Guerini, # Swl I2 - 5759 # http://swl-i2-5759.blogspot.com/ 0957 UT Nov 13, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Ciao Ivan, confermo rapporto e ascolto, ora parlato in en, passato id ma non ho capito (Valter Lafranconi, 1002 UT, ibid.) 11400, RWI Radio Waves international, S.9 R 4, rx YAESU FRG 7700 Ant. long.wire 180 ml. 73 de (Davide Morotti, Italy, 1037 UT Nov 13, bclnews.it via DXLD) See also EUROPE for these own pirate frequencies ** FRANCE [non]. via LITHUANIA. 9895, RWI, Radio Waves International, 1525-1528*, pop mx. IDs. Address. Poor to fair. Nov 13 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) RWI special on NOW --- It is strong, and clearing it can receive the Asian service on 9895 kHz via Sitkunai at 1330 UT (S. Hasegawa, Japan, Nov 13, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thank you, Sei-Ichi, Following your info, I can hear them on 9895 from 1423 with Elton John's "Candle in The Wind", then "Rain and Tears", and more songs, many IDs and station info in English, French, German; SINPO 33422 (Tony Ashar, Indonesia, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, ibid.) ** GERMANY. QSL: Deutscher Wetterdienst, 13882.5 kHz replied by e-mail in one week for airmail report of their weather fax transmission. V/s Wilfried Behncke, National NAVTEX-Coordinator, said a QSL card was on its way to me. He mentioned receiving other reports from Novosibirsk, Afghanistan, Sudan and Chicago, and attached a Word file (in German) with info about the station. Report was sent to Deutscher Wetterdienst, Wetterfunksender, Haidkamp 100, 25421 Pinneberg GERMANY. Email reply came from wilfried.behncke --- dwd.de (Bruce Portzer, WA, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. 183 kHz, Europe 1, Saarbruecken 0500 strong signal in French on 5 November (Bob Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro, Noise reducing antenna, long wires, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 6190, Deutschlandradio, Deutschlandfunk, Berlin-Britz, 1237, Oct 31, German programme, 55555 (Klaus-Dieter Scholz, Erfurt, Germany, DSWCI DX Window Nov 16 via DXLD) So it is active, Terry (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY. Hamburger Local Radio Test Transmissions on 7265 kHz Dear Listeners, Today the 13th of November will be the last Test Transmissions from Hamburger Local Radio via the Shortwave transmitting station Göhren Germany (MV Baltic Radio). These tests will be starting at 0700 UT on 7265 kHz with a power of 1 KW. On this test transmission you will be able to hear very interesting reports about the history of German radio and pirate radio stations. All Reception Reports to: Hamburger Lokalradio Michael Kittner Max-Eichholz-Ring 18 D-21031 Hamburg Germany or you can email: m.kittner @ freenet.de Good Listening 73s (Tom Taylor, 0932 UT Nov 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. EMR is on this Sunday at 1400 utc Date 20th November 2011 Time 1400 to 1500 utc Channels 6140 & 9480 khz Programmes: 1400 Tom Taylor programme 1430 Mike Taylor (Mail Box programme) EMR Internet radio service on Sunday and Monday Programme repeats are at the following times: 1400, 1700, 2000, 2300 utc Please visit http://www.emr.org.uk and click on the “EMR internet radio” button which you will find throughout the website (see the menu on the left). Please send all reception reports to: studio@emr.org.uk Good Listening 73s Tom Taylor, NEW EMR Postal Address: European Music Radio, c/o M.V. Baltic Radio, Seestraße 17, D-19089 Göhren, Germany (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non non]. Deutsche Welle no longer on Antenne Saar? Since 1 November I have been tuning in most days to Antenne Saar on 1179kHz between 1700-1730 UT expecting to hear DW in English as usual - only to hear the DW interval signal... I have also checked twice at 2000-2030 and again only the interval signal. Have DW stopped using Antenne Saar? Cheers, (Paul Banning, UK, Nov 12, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Yes, as discussed some weeks ago in DXLD. But if they could play nothing better than the IS for a semihour, they could also play the programming! (gh, DXLD) Further to Paul's observation, the following now appears on the Antenne Saar website at http://www.sr-online.de/antennesaar/2154/ Bis auf weiteres von Montag bis Freitag folgende Änderung: [Until further notice from Monday to Friday the following change] 18:00 bis 18:30 Journal international / Accents d'europe 21:00 bis 21:30 Journal en français facile / Radio foot internationale These were the times for DW Newslink in English (1700 and 2000 UT) on 1179 kHz (Tony Rogers, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. 17800, Nov 11 at 1837, VG signal but with whine also transmitted, drama in Hausa? With SFX. I recall that this used to be the 16m frequency of V. of Nigeria, used many years ago, so are they trying it again, maybe with the new transmitter? No! Soon at 1840 referred to dw-world.de and 1841 DW jingle. HFCC shows 1800-1857 on 17800 is DW in Hausa, 250 kW, 305 degrees via MADAGASCAR. Surprised MDC would have such a modulation problem. At several other hours of the day, DW on 17800 is via Rwanda (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Winter B-11 schedule from Greece: ERA-5 Voice of Greece in Greek: 1600-1750 on 15630 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEU 1600-2300 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEU 1800-2250 on 15650 AVL 100 kW / 105 deg to N&ME 2300-0150 on 15630 AVL 100 kW / 105 deg to AUS 2300-0400 on 7475 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to NoAM 2300-0400 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to NoAM 0200-0400 on 7450 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to SoAM ERT-3 Radiophonikos Stathmos Makedonias in Greek: 1600-1750 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEU 1800-2250 on 7450 AVL 100 kW / 323 deg to WeEU (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Nov 11 via DXLD) [and non]. 15650, Nov 11 at 1902, ``Edho Athinai``, ID, good signal and into Greek Music. Meanwhile, 15540, JBA carrier presumably what`s left of KUWAIT`s English broadcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM. TWR EXTENDS OUTREACH TO ASIA Guam Transmitter Upgrade Features Live On-Air Dedication on Nov. 18 CARY, NC, November 10, 2011-Striving to extend its strategic outreach in Asia, international Christian media organization TWR has upgraded its powerful shortwave transmission station on the island of Guam. The advancement gives TWR the ability to cover much of the spiritually needy region, including China and southeast Asia, with a robust, quality signal. To celebrate this significant initiative, TWR President Lauren Libby and other ministry staff members will present an on-air dedication during a live broadcast Friday, November 18 from 8:30-9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The 30-minute broadcast will begin at 1330 UT on a shortwave frequency of 15.4 megahertz in the 19 meter band. "This upgrade gives TWR the opportunity to touch even more lives with the good news of Jesus Christ," says TWR President Lauren Libby. "We thank God for the privilege of increasing our spiritual footprint in Asia." Two 250,000-watt, digital-capable Thomson transmitters have been installed to provide increased coverage to the Asia region. These revitalized transmitters join three existing 100,000-watt units. Digital shortwave capability will enable TWR to reach both rural areas and large cities with a strong, FM-like quality signal. TWR is now well-positioned to reach listeners across Asia into the future, and reception is excellent anywhere - from cities to dense forests. Special guests for the dedication broadcast include Dr. Alan Cureton, president of Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minn.; Collin Lambert, vice president of Moody Radio in Chicago, Ill.; and Mike Tirone, general manager and senior vice president of KCBI-FM in Dallas, Texas. These three organizations, plus thousands of individuals around the globe, helped with the purchase and installation of the transmitters. "As Moody Radio continues to expand its global focus, TWR is one of the leading organizations that we are pleased to partner with," says Lambert. "Our joint efforts tied to the [upgraded] transmitter in Guam have not only broadened our participation in spreading the gospel throughout the world, but also allowed us to inform and mobilize our listeners in the process.`` In addition to a live stream over http://www.twr.org the dedication broadcast will be carried on KTIS-AM, Moody Radio and KCBI and its sister stations (TWR News Release via Alokesh Gupta, VU3BSE, New Delhi, dxldyg via DXLD) Mission Network News, Guam, November 17, 2011 (See http://www.twr.org/ for countdown to the live inaugural broadcast) Striving to extend its strategic outreach in Asia, international Christian media organization Trans World Radio has upgraded its powerful shortwave transmission station on the island of Guam. The advancement gives TWR the ability to cover much of the spiritually- needy region--including China and southeast Asia--with a robust, quality signal. To celebrate this significant initiative, TWR President Lauren Libby and other ministry staff members will present an on-air dedication during a live broadcast Friday, November 18, from 8:30-9:00AM Eastern Standard Time. The 30-minute broadcast will begin at 1330 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 15.4 megahertz in the 19 meter band. Libby says, "We're moving from 100,000 watts to 250,000 watts. Not only that, but they'll be digital." "This upgrade gives TWR the opportunity to touch even more lives with the good news of Jesus Christ," continues Libby. "We thank God for the privilege of increasing our spiritual footprint in Asia." Two 250,000-watt, digital-capable Thomson transmitters have been installed to provide increased coverage to the Asia region. These revitalized transmitters join three existing 100,000-watt units. Digital shortwave capability will enable TWR to reach both rural areas and large cities with a strong signal. We asked Libby why digital is significant. "Frankly it sounds just about like FM radio. And India, China and Russia are rebuilding all of their broadcast platforms right now to go digital on both shortwave and what we call the 'AM band.'" TWR is now well-positioned for the future to reach listeners across Asia, and reception is excellent anywhere: from cities to dense forests. In previous years, the challenge has always been radios to receive the digital signal. "That has basically been solved. There will be receivers under $20 in the next few years distributed, in many cases, by the countries because they want people to listen to digital. We'll be right there to provide the hope of Jesus in these countries." Libby says with digital technology, "Not only can you transmit audio, but you can also transmit data. The applications of that are numerous." To celebrate the official sign-on, a special broadcast will be airing from Guam and also broadcasting on KTIS-AM in Minneapolis. Moody Radio and KCBI will air the special simulcast. Special guests for the dedication broadcast include Dr. Alan Cureton: president of Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota; Collin Lambert--vice president of Moody Radio in Chicago, Illinois; and Mike Tirone-- general manager and senior vice president of KCBI-FM in Dallas, Texas. These three organizations, plus thousands of individuals around the globe, helped with the purchase and installation of the transmitters. "As Moody Radio continues to expand its global focus, TWR is one of the leading organizations that we are pleased to partner with," says Lambert. "Our joint efforts tied to the [upgraded] transmitter in Guam have not only broadened our participation in spreading the Gospel throughout the world, but also allowed us to inform and mobilize our listeners in the process." If you'd like to hear the broadcast, click here at 8:30-9:00AM (Eastern) on Friday, November 18. http://www.mnnonline.org/article/16477 There is a photograph of the transmitter here: http://www.twr.org/news_and_blogs/2011/11-15/live-dedication-of-guam-transmitters The event will be broadcast live over Moody Radio, Northwestern Radio and at twr.org as a Windows Media stream by clicking this link: mms://east.streamguys.com/twr (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUIANA FRENCH GUIANA. QSL: Family Radio 7360 kHz send F/D card, sticker, bookmarks, program schedule, and magazine in 2 weeks for e- mail report sent to international --- familyradio.com (Bruce Portzer, WA, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3290, Voice of Guyana at 0800 to 0840 with Islamic music in the mix followed with Voice of Guyana ID by OM. First time Islamic music noted, 7% of Guyana population Islamic. 9 November (Bob Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro, Noise reducing antenna, long wires, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 3290, Voice of Guyana 0502 English. BBC news, Poor. Nov 15. (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Listening lakeside from my car and the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active whip on the car roof. Editor of World English Survey and Target Listening, available at http://www.odxa.on.ca dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 3250, Radio Luz y Vida, San Luis, 1120 noted with fair signal fading out 3 November (Bob Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro, Noise reducing antenna, long wires, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** HONG KONG. QSL: Caros amigos, Seguem os dados da última confirmação que recebi: 12577 - VRX - Hong Kong Radio - Recebido PPC carimbado. 60 dias. V/S: Indisponível. QTH: Hong Kong Telecom Ltd., PO Box 9896 GPO, Hong Kong Este é meu 107º país confirmado. Nos próximos dias a imagem estará disponível em meu blog. 73 (Ivan Dias Jr. - Sorocaba/SP, http://ivandias.wordpress.com http://twitter.com/ivandiasjr Nov 11, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** ICELAND. 518 kHz, TFK Grindavik Radio, heard at 0354 UT on 14 November 2011, in SITOR-B with NAVTEX transmissions in English. Fair signals but very clear as no one else was operating on frequency at the time. This is my first trans-Atlantic NAVTEX reception! I will be interested to see what the antenna type and power are if they QSL. 73 (Al Muick, Whitehall, Pennsylvania, USA, WinRadio G303e, 100m longwire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 4970, AIR (Shillong), 1436-1500+, end of English news, PSAs, generic AIR ID by W DJ, & nice program of US standards ("You Were Always On My Mind", "Sealed With A Kiss", "Stand By Your Man". First easily readable audio from Shillong on the G5/4m "X-wire", tho signal tanking by 1456 3 Nov (Dan Sheedy, CA, via Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INDIA. 60-M loggings from Oregon --- November observations from the northern coast of Oregon: Extensive observations of the 60-meter band activity show very little changes from the 2010-2011 winter DX season. I have set up a 60-M sloper on US 101 south of Cannon Beach, 11 miles south of my vacation home in Seaside. I have elected to leave this antenna setup, attached to a highway guardrail 50 feet from the road, rather than remove it each day. It has remained intact without harm for almost two weeks. I use my Grundig Satellite 800, as well as my IC-706 with a separate antenna tuned for the60-meter band. I'm at this site at 0030-0200 and 1300-1530 every day (two daily trips). I have concentrated on the numerous AIR regional stations in this band, hearing those on 4760, 4775, 4800, 4810, 4820, 4835, 4840, 4860, 4880, 4895, 4910, 4920, 4950, 4970, 5010, 5015, 5040 and 5050 on a regular basis. All of these Indian stations are on exact allocated frequencies; i.e., XXXX.00, except the three days (Nov 1-3) AIR Kolkata was experiencing some difficulties. AIR Gangtok has been slightly irregular when heard in the 1300-1530 time frame, specifically; INDIA, 4835.00, AIR Gangtok (presumed), November 10, 2011: Very strong carrier (no audio) at *1445-1459*. Same returned at *1500-1518* with the following oddities; 1501-1505 there were carriers on 4833.00 and 4837.00 along with the strong one on 4835.00. These side carriers were NOT test tones! Carriers went off air for about 1 minute, then 4835.00 returned without the 4833 and 4837 carriers. After a few minutes, the 4833 and 4837 carriers returned, and everything went off at 1518*. The next day (11th), nothing heard here from 1325-1502 checking. NOTE: The unusual (but still presumed) transmission from Gangtok on the 10th was extremely strong --- more than ever heard for them. Are they testing a new higher power transmitter? Their reported transmitter is 10 KW, whereas most other AIR stations here on 60-M are using 50 KW. I will be checking this each morning, so hope to report more on this later. 4950.00, AIR Srinagar, November observations show this station usually turns their transmitter on around 0100 each day, sometimes earlier, and sometimes as late as 0117. They broadcast a 1040 Hz test tone till 0118, play the normal AIR IS 5 to 6 times till 0120, then a singing choral group of a national song, anmts, and Indian instrumental music/announcements till 0130. Then a Hindi newscast for 5 minutes. 4970.00, AIR Shillong, November 9, 2011. Strong carrier without audio from 1503 to 1505, then music, English announcements, and full ID by F voice, "...broadcast from Shillong" at 1511. Pause, then into the national feed from Delhi. Typical hum from this transmitter daily. Transmission troubles (on/off several times at 1515-16). Standard AIR ID at 1530, and into English newscast (Jim Young, Nov 11, Grundig Satellite 800 + IC-706 + 60-M sloper and resonant vert., Tolovana Beach, Northern Oregon Coast, NASWA yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591DXLD) Jim, this sounds like an interesting antenna setup! Can you share a photo? I'm having trouble visualizing how you have it "...attached to a highway guardrail" and at the same time "50 feet from the road." Thanks! (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) Hi Richard, In NASWAyg "Photos" I have posted a picture of Jim's portable antenna setup from last year, to give you an idea as to what it looks like. Best viewed as "original" size. Believe it is a parking area just off the highway. It helps explain why Jim has such great AIR reception. Fantastic antenna! (Ron Howard, San Francisco, ibid.) ** INDIA. AIR Itanagar is noted back on 4990 from yesterday. I heard them at around 1415 to 1430 when they went off air. Today heard them from sign on at 0020. Their sked on 4990 is: 0020-0400 1000-1630 --- 73 (Jose Jacob, Nov 12, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India dx_india via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) ** INDIA. 4990, AIR Itanagar, 1415-1425, Nov 14 and 15. Thanks to the alert from Jose Jacob (Hyderabad, India). Last heard them back in May. Normal format during this time period; played theme music for the news at 1415, 1420 and 1425; news in Hindi from 1415 to 1420 and same local news in English from 1420 to 1425; very light PBS Hunan QRM. In another few weeks reception here should be much improved; best before my local sunrise. Clear MP3 audio from last year at http://www.box.net/s/9y99mpgkxed1ejcdg2k4 with sports news and local weather in English (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 5015, 1806 4 Oct, AIR Delhi, classical music program `Concert Hall`, OM ID as ``Rajastani Channel``, 1830 English news but cut off in mid-sentence at 1834, SIO 343 (Alan Pennington, Sheigra DXpedition, Scotland, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** INDIA [and non]. 9425, Nov 15 at 1319, AIR IS we never tire of hearing, but maybe AIR operators do, since many transmissions omit it; 1320 to Vande Mataram; 1321 announcement mentioning kHz and meterbands, 1322 music. This is the National Channel, 500 kW, 18 degrees from Bangaluru per Aoki; also on // 9470 where the strength is about equal, but much weaker modulation, and presumably still not in synch with 9425 tho not checked this time. 9470 is 250 kW, 188 degrees from Aligarh. No English at 1330, but there should be at 1430. At 1325 we started monitoring 9690 for the AIR GOS in English; no hummy carrier until *1328, at 1328:40 adding music but not the IS; 1329 announcement not in English as evidently still airing tail of Tibetan(?) service supposed to be on other frequencies only. 1330 one tone, ``Namaskar, welcome to the GOS of AIR`` YL says but unabbreviatedly, quick frequency list including 13710, into news by OM, but too poor to stay with. At 1336 I checked 13710 and found something in French was atop AIR, and since the French was // 15205 at 1344 it`s obviously CRI, as scheduled this hour, both from Kashgar, EAST TURKISTAN to Europe. 15175, Nov 15 at 1507, open carrier with whine and flutter, no AIR IS, but weak modulation starts at 1515.5 when signal is also fading down. No doubt the Gujarati service via GOA as scheduled, source of the carrier heard yesterday after 1530 vs Vatican [q.v.] to India QRDRM from 15180; today I did not keep listening for that (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA [and non]. 15045-15050-15055, Nov 12 at 1433 during AIR`s Sinhala service at 13-15. Jose Jacob says DRM is here to stay, not just a test. When we opine that DRM should be banished to the utility bands, we don`t mean the aero bands such as this between 15010 and 15100, nor the marine bands, but the fixed bands --- tho there is plenty of precedent for AM SWBC below 15100 from several stations, also BBC (until a few years ago), still Egypt, Iran, more from India. Even IBB invaded 15090 recently but not currently in HFCC. 10 kHz of DRM in this band is an atrocity. 15050, Sunday Nov 13 at 1412, AIR Sinhala service from Delhi (Khampur) site per Aoki, is back in AM mode today, tho Jose Jacob in Hyderabad expected this to stay in DRM from now on. So once again we can enjoy some music, altho at 1423 it was autotuned rap (in Sinhala or Hindi?), hardly our favorite style. BTW, as of Nov 11, HFCC B-11 still lacks *any* registrations from India. What`s with that, they forgot, or boycott? Expect further collisions like the one barely headed off from KBC Radio, on 7590 instead of first planned 7550, whose own DRM test via Armenia Nov 12 at 1800 was a bust anyway. See also CUBA! The upper half of the 15.0-15.1 MHz off-route aero band is a loss: 15045-15050-15055, AIR Sinhala is back in DRM Nov 14 before 1500, unlike yesterday in AM --- doesn`t this confuse listeners, being yanked around for the sake of DRM nonsense? 15060-15085 has OTH radar, vs R. Cairo on 15080; 15080-15100 has that heavy intermittent clicking/pulsing, centered about 15090-15095, between a strong station and a weaker one seemingly answering at 1543; what is that?? Been there for a long time. 9470, Nov 14 at 1546, AIR in English introducing a dialog, poor and // 9425 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also VATICAN ** INDIA. 11710, AIR, 15 Nov 1626 has been heard under a strong low frequency buzz and very low audio. Hindi song at 1636 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Yogendar Pal of All India Radio spoke on behalf of AIR, which he said is committed to DRM. Currently 2 transmitters are operational with daily broadcasts. Half of AIR's MW transmitters will be replaced by DRM capable transmitters. MW will be simulcast. SW will be simulcast – not using the same transmitter, but additional transmitters. Presently 3 SW transmitters are used for parallel/simultaneous coverage with identical content. The analog external service on SW is carried on 3 frequencies with 3 transmitters. Philips India has developed a prototype DRM receiver. We want receivers, and we must have a critical mass to get it moving. For internal coverage, 72 out of 149 MW transmitters are going to be digitalized (only high power ones >=100kW). This is to be completed by December 2012, when 70% of the population will be covered by DRM. On shortwave, 54 transmitters will broadcast in DRM only. One transmitter is already digitalized while 9 more are in the process to be operational between June and December 2012, broadcasting in 24 languages on external services. The remaining transmitters will be done in 3 to 4 years. The master plan envisages shutting down all analog services by 2017, and broadcasting in DRM+ with surround sound in addition to other services. Channels will include archived music, information, 24 hours sports and 24 hours news. 24-hour news is possible on MW. Content available on DRM will not be made available in analog form. Listeners will be informed by cross plugging announcements (from NASB Facebook via Alokesh Gupta, dxldyg via DXLD) A Personal comment http://www.facebook.com/notes/national-association-of-shortwave-broadcasters/drm-progress-in-asia/308932825803170 If India shuts down analogue broadcast by 2017 that means several million receivers of general people will become useless, and I don't believe half of the owners will buy a receiver again Hi! That means the few percentage of population who still listens to radio will go from listeners list. And after starting several dozens of DRM MW txr will ruin MW DX in South Asia, + tropical DX is also on the list. And as soon as the private and government FM stations move to DRM+ the roll out will be complete and FM market will also decline. By the way Indian IT giants can handle it by including DRM capability AM/FM receivers in mobile or computer speakers but SW will be deprecated surely. And who telling cheapest DRM receiver only USD 30 doesn't know A Digi Set top box for DTH including antenna comes under 20-22 USD even the subscription required brands. Presently major AIR MW/SW transmitters in eastern zone gives bad reception or bad audio quality, that helped losing A large number of listeners from AIR, those who listen are mainly old or at poor economic level, buying a new DRM receiver will be a fancy for them, the most sold receivers in Eastern India markets are made in China, analogue - priced between 3 to 9 USD only, even Indian manufacturers like Santosh, Philips even Sony has receivers in market under 17 USD!!! DRM and DRM+ will only go if it can be embedded in cheap mobiles, and I don't think mobile companies will be interested to add such things if not Prasar Bharti promotes DRM for free. All things seems so funny. You are welcome to send your personal opinions (Partha Sarathi Goswami, Siliguri, West Bengal, India, Nov 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 15075, Nov 16 at 0241, nice S Asian vocal music, with flutter, 0247 talk. Nothing in HFCC B-11 on this frequency, which means it`s probably India whose registrations are totally missing. Still nothing about India here: http://hfcc.org/data/b11/index.phtml Aoki to the rescue: ``15075 ALL INDIA RADIO 0215-0300 1234567 Kannada 500 240 Bangaluru IND 07713E 1314N AIR b11`` and continues in other languages until 0530 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA [non]. UZBEKISTAN. Frequency change of TWR India in Hindi and local langs: 1315-1545 NF 7510 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg to SoAS, ex 7320 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 15 Nov via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. (Java) 1107, RRI Yogyakarta (site presumed), this and one other station (see Philippines) trying to dominate; the Indo readable at 1100 with RRI news by a man, in tight null of SBS Sydney. 9 Nov. (Sumatra) 1287, Tentative, RRI Palembang, presume this is the one, with EZL Indo pop vocals, poor in null of 2TM Tamworth. 9 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 3325, 1648 2 Oct, RRI Palangkaraya presumed, light, romantic songs, music, ID? At 1654; 1659: Hawaiian guitar tune ``Love Ambon``, off 1701. Muffled audio, SIO 252 (Alan Pennington, Sheigra DXpedition, Scotland, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 3325, Nov 11 at 1328 the first thing checked this morning, and there is RRI Palangkaraya still holding up a semihour after sunrise here in Indonesian talk. I also hunt for Australia on 2325 but so far nothing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9525-, Nov 11 at 1337, VOI carrier detected during presumed English hour, but far too weak vs the ACI from China radio war on 9530. By 1437, signal is much better S9+18 and fluttery with music in the clear during presumed Indonesian hour. [and non]. 9525-, Nov 15 at 1323, weak VOI carrier detectable, but far too much splash from CNR1 jamming on 9530 and VOA Chinese via Tinang, PHILIPPINES. So we`re out of luck once again for a Tuesday `Exotic Indonesia` co-produxion with RRI Banjarmasin, if they are still doing those. Meanwhile, also squeezed from other side 9520 by another Filipino, R. Veritas Asia in Sinhala from 1330; also 9520 PBS Hohhot, Nei Menggu thruout. It`s a pity that IBB chose to use 9530 this B- season, but no doubt they had no consideration for dentro-American would-be listeners to VOI. 9525-, Nov 16 at 1434, VOI sufficient signal and modulation during Indonesian hour, same music bits as heard during English; some hum, but no IADs noticed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. I've been using Open DNS for a while and never had a problem with it. They have servers in London, Frankfurt, Singapore and Amsterdam for those across the pond. Addresses are resolved about as quickly as my local provider with the "unable to resolve DNS" error almost unknown. It's free for home users and I've never gotten any Spam from them. I like it because there are children who visit and I can block "adult content", phishing, botnet and malware sites at the router. It also has simple to understand instructions of how to set it up. I do not have any financial interest in Open DNS, just passing this on because I think it's a good product (Tim Hills, Sioux Falls, SD, IRCA via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Re 11-45: South Herts Radio saved I am glad to announce that South Herts Radio will now stay and be renamed 'South Herts Radio International' The concept of the station will change and new details published on the website soon. This is thanks to your feedback and the fact that we are more respected and welcomed than I had thought. The threat of closure was real and a lot of good ideas came from this which have saved the day. I will update the website soon and keep it professional and genuine to keep the trust of our supporters and sponsors. We will stay as an on- line station and on FM in parts of Hertfordshire United Kingdom. World of Radio will remain at 1300 UT most Sundays with a possible 24 hour non stop stream coming soon in the new year. Sunday 20th November is the next planned live stream 1200-2000 UT. Thank you for your kind comments, 73 (Gary Drew, UK, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Radio Kuwamba y Semilla Negra: Casa África lanza un doble proyecto para difundir la música africana por toda España http://wanafrika.org ELMERCURIODIGITAL 11.11.11 Casa África lanza dos ambiciosos proyectos que tienen por objetivo difundir la música africana de manera gratuita y online en toda España: Radio Kuwamba y Semilla Negra. Radio Kuwamba es un canal de música online accesible desde la web de Casa África y a través del cual cualquier persona, en cualquier punto del planeta y de forma gratuita, podrá escuchar las músicas del continente vecino en emisión continua. Kuwamba significa difusión en swahili y los fondos de los que dispone esta radio incluyen más de 10.000 canciones, que se incrementan con las peticiones de los usuarios y los lanzamientos discográficos africanos. Por otra parte, Semilla Negra es un programa de radio online que profundiza de manera didáctica en las músicas africanas con una selección semanal de una veintena de canciones acompañadas por un texto sobre los artistas, su influencia, sus referentes y los movimientos musicales africanos y su conexión con el resto del planeta. Nace con la intención de configurar un mapa real que nos dé una idea aproximada de la increíble riqueza musical del continente a través una sucesión de capítulos, de los que ya han aparecido tres, que se lanzan al ciberespacio todos los jueves en el Blog África Vive de Casa África. Ambos proyectos se nutren de los fondos musicales de la Mediateca Casa África, que además se ofrecen en préstamo dentro de la Red de Bibliotecas Canarias (BICA). Carlos Fuentes es el autor de Semilla Negra y ya ha explicado a través de esta iniciativa el camino andado por la música de África occidental desde los tiempos de los griots hasta la actualidad, el jazz que se hace en el Cuerno de África o la relación de los músicos africanos con el Womad. La próxima semana y bajo el título Guateques junto a los Grandes Lagos, desentrañará la influencia de los ritmos latinos en la República Democrática del Congo, patria de grandes amantes del chachacha, la rumba y otras músicas afrocaribeñas como Ricardo Lemvo y su banda, La Makina Loca, o los pioneros Grand Kallé o Franco. Carlos Fuentes (La Palma, 1970) ha publicado textos sobre músicas africanas en Público, El Norte de Castilla, Diario de Avisos, La Provincia, La Opinión de Tenerife y La Gaceta de Canarias. También ha difundido sus conocimientos sobre la materia a través de portales como FronteraD y Guinguinbali y revistas especializadas como Rockdelux y Serie B. Autor de los títulos La balacera. Rock en Canarias (Ediciones Turquesa, 1999) y Los últimos de Cuba (Ediciones Idea, 2008), también ha realizado incursiones en el periodismo radiofónico en programas de Onda Cero, Radio Nacional de España y Radio Isla Tenerife. En 2010 coordinó el doble disco recopilatorio La Habana era una fiesta para la discográfica madrileña Nuevos Medios. FUENTE: http://bit.ly/sHNLTb (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Nov 11, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. WorldSpace AfriStar West seems to have lost all of its audio channels except WRN-1 (English) and WRN-2. Three other channels still display an ident, BBC World, RFI and Esperance, but have no audio (Dave Kenny, England, 28-30 Oct, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** IRAN. 3965, IRIB-VOIRI 0222 Chanting by male (in scheduled Urdu?), ham QRM. 25332 Fair. Nov 12 (Bruce Jensen, Pigeon Point, California, USA, Listening from car with Icom IC-R75 and 135-meter longwire. Some tentative, all comments welcome, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. 15525, Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran 1533 English. Muslim call to prayer followed by spoken prayer by woman, 1535 man with ID, program lineup, news. Fair, // 13785 under QRM. Nov 10. 13785, V.O.I.R.I., 1537 English. Man with program lineup, 1539 news, // 15525. On Nov 10 both freqs were heard with QRM and 13785 was poor because of the interference. Today there was no QRM on either. Fair. Nov 12 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Listening in my car with Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active whip antenna, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This morning I monitored V.O.I.R.I. at 1530 for their English hour. 13785 was overwhelmed by China on 13780 in Spanish, but 15525 was in the clear. On Nov 10th I had noted both with QRM (sources not determined) and on Nov 12 both were in the clear. Cuba seems to just now be settling into their B-11 schedule, so it will be interesting to see if they stay on 13780 at this time (Harold Sellers, Nov 14, ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13670, V.O.I.R.I. 1949 English. World news. Fair, // 7320 barely audible, 15450 poor. Nov 15 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Listening lakeside from my car and the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active whip on the car roof. Editor of World English Survey and Target Listening, available at http://www.odxa.on.ca dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Have about given up trying to hear IRIB`s so-called ``Voice of Justice`` English to NAm, allegedly scheduled on colliding 7365 and 7200 at 0330-0430 --- forgot to check this UT Monday whether Cuban jamming stopped at 0400 when R. Martí went silent, unlike last week. But without even trying, I run across another English broadcast: 15525, Nov 14 at 1537, VIRI news sounder, and into English I was not expecting, with continuing musical beat underneath as the news would be too boring all by itself; fair signal, peaking S9+10, tho 105 degrees from 500 kW Kamalabad. Uplooked later, the only // for the 1530-1630 is 13785, 105 degrees from 500 kW Sirjan, unlikely to have been any better (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [and non]. 17670, Nov 15 at 1346, Qur`an on very good but fluttery signal, and buzz on the carrier; 1347 YL announcement, and more OM Qur`aning. I figured it was Sa`udi Arabia, but no, HFCC shows IRIB Arabic service at 1030-1630, 500 kW, 274 degrees from Kamalabad. No trace of what we previously heard on 17670 in this hour, AWR Vietnamese, 250 kW, 60 degrees from Madagascar. Has it moved as a result? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. Re: ``VATICAN [non non and non]. Checking HFCC as of Nov 11, whether VR is still on 4004 at any time? No, but guess what, IRAN has moved in onto 4005, 1930-2030 in Russian, 500 kW, 0 degrees (or nondirexional?) from Kamalabad. Is that on?`` IRIB Tehran with phone-in recording in Russian. At 1940 UT Nov 12, BOTH S=9+30dB strong signals heard on remote SDR units in Finland. 4004.989 kHz from Kamalabad site, 4005 kHz antenna type #935 means quadrant antenna as non-dir characteristic lobe ... \\ Sirjan 500 kW Telefunken site 7205.005 kHz Type 9: #925 - #949 Quadrant antenna Designation: HQ n/h n = number of elements stacked above the other h = height of dipoles above the ground in wavelength The design frequency is entered in a separate field of the requirement. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [and non]. Winter B-11 for VOIROI/IRIB Albanian 0630-0727 on 13810 15500 1830-1927 on 6085 9760 2030-2127 on 6165 9760 Arabic 0230-0527 on 7350 9740 9895 0330-0427 on 7295 9500 "Voice of Palestine" 0530-0827 on 13690 15735 17820 0830-1027 on 13740 13790 15735 17820 1030-1427 on 13790 15735 17670 1430-1627 on 9830 17670 1630-1727 on 6065 9830 1730-2027 on 6065 7335 2030-0227 on 6065 Armenian 0300-0327 on 5915 7300 0930-0957 on 11820 15220 1630-1727 on 5915 7435 Azeri 0330-0527 on 6200 1430-1657 on 6200 Bengali 0030-0127 on 5915 6100 0830-0927 on 13680 1430-1527 on 7320 9730 11805 Bosnian 0530-0627 on 13760 15500 1730-1827 on 6030 9850 2130-2227 on 5950 9710 Chinese 1200-1257 on 13825 15150 15360 15525 2330-0027 on 5955 6110 7380 Dari 0300-0627 on 9805 11860 0830-1157 on 13840 15545 1200-1427 on 11640 13840 1430-1457 on 11640 English 0330-0427 on 7200 7365 "Voice of Justice" 1030-1127 on 21575 21695 1530-1627 on 13785 15525 1930-2027 on 6010 #6115 7320 13670 15450 German 0730-0827 on 15085 17690 1730-1827 on 6205 #7420 7425 French 0630-0727 on 17560 17865 1830-1927 on 6055 #6115 7380 15345 Hausa 0600-0657 on 17810 1130-1157 on 21480 21800 1830-1927 on 11965 13730 Hebrew 0430-0457 on 9755 11870 1200-1227 on 13740 15515 Hindi 0230-0257 on 9510 11710 1430-1527 on 11700 13750 Indonesian 1230-1327 on 17720 21630 2230-2327 on 7380 9675 Italian 0630-0727 on 13650 15085 (9770 SIT deleted)[is still on air - wb.] 1930-1957 on 5890 7215 Japanese 1330-1427 on 9585 9625 2100-2157 on 6145 7200 Kazakh 0130-0227 on 7205 7265 1530-1627 on 7380 9540 9850 Kurdish 0430-0527 on 7370 9610 1330-1627 on 5920 Pashto 0230-0327 on 5950 6095 0730-0827 on 13720 15440 1230-1327 on 7225 9725 1430-1527 on 5985 1630-1727 on 6005 7345 Russian 0300-0327 on 7370 9510 0500-0527 on 12025 13680 17680 21600 1430-1527 on 7285 9685 11860 (7420 SIT deleted) [is still on air. 7420 has a very effective back lobe net on 79degr - wb. Nov 15.] 1700-1757 on 3965 6090 1800-1857 on 6130 7305 1930-2027 on 4005 7205 Spanish 0030-0227 on 6010 7345 0230-0327 on 6010 0530-0627 on 13710 15330 2030-2127 on 5930 9630 (6055 SIT deleted) Swahili 0400-0457 on 13680 15260 0830-0927 on 21510 21640 1730-1827 on 9830 11715 Tajik 0100-0227 on 5950 7300 1600-1727 on 5955 7295 Turkish 0430-0557 on 6085 7360 1600-1727 on 6175 7315 Urdu 0130-0227 on 3965 6100 6185 1300-1427 on 9715 11685 11720 1530-1727 on 6115 Uzbek 0230-0257 on 6175 7300 1500-1557 on 6070 7215 # via Sitkunai, Lithuania (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 15 Nov via DXLD) Yes Ivo, IRIB Spanish 6055 and Italian 9770 missed yesterday Nov 16 and today Nov 17. Italian 0630-0727 13650 15085 (9770 SIT deleted, not heard Nov 17) Spanish 2030-2127 5930 9630 (6055 SIT deleted, not heard Nov 16) Is only a temporary break in relay transmission? I guess this is a payment matter, often the IRIB organization pays rental amount TOO late. But IRIB Russian service on 7420 kHz was on air still on Nov 15th. Russian 1430-1527 7285 9685 11860 (7420 SIT deleted)-? is still on air today. 7420 has a very effective back lobe net attenuator on 79degr - wb. Nov 15.) (Wolfgang Büschel, Nov 17, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) 13710, Nov 16 at 0612, Spanish station kept talking about Irán, and not // 15135 so not East Turkistan; yes, it is VIRI as scheduled 0530- 0630, 500 kW, 289 degrees from Kamalabad to Eurafrica (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. 9520, Nov 14 at 0657, heavy collision producing fast SAH between a stronger station with ME music, and an understation in talk, seemingly Chinese. At 0700, timesignal and into Persian talk mentioning Iran and Farda on the overstation, while the understation had another timesignal about 10 sex later. HFCC B-11 shows only IBB Persian at 0530-0830, 100 kW, 105 degrees from Biblis, GERMANY. I didn`t realize that R. Farda aired timesignals at UT hourtops, no doubt to remind Iran how far out of step it is with the rest of the world. Aoki has the likely other answer, tho it`s still A-11 info: 0600-0950 (except Tuesday siesta), PBS Nei Menggu, 50 kW, 36 degrees from Hohhot, [Inner Mongolia], so it`s also USward, more so than Farda (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISLE OF MAN. Whatever happened to 'Isle of Man International Broadcasting'? I have just found a lovely reminder of a barmy idea... http://web.archive.org/web/20040715033503/http://www.iomib.com/index.html OK, a nice idea for us radio nuts, but completely impractical from a commercial standpoint. And then there was all that fuss about the station's 'revolutionary crossed fields antenna', where to locate it (out in the Irish Sea at one point wasn't it?), the engineering arguments as to whether this type of antenna actually worked as stated - if it worked at all. And expecting one to work with tens or hundreds of kilowatts on LONG WAVE! Well - I guess we'll never know. Regards, (Ian Liston-Smith, G4JQT, Nov 14, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) [Moderator: Waybackmachine is an internet archive - starts quickly if you click on 'Impatient?' ] (BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. 9235, Galei Zahal. 0110 November 13, 2011. Old Jew Marblemouth is back after 2-3 years! The coolest Album Rock jock since AOR radio died. Playing side two of the Steely Dan "Aja" album, with one short break by Marblemouth between tracks. Then, when the album ended at 0130, into the original (movie) vocal version of "Suicide Is Painless (M*A*S*H Theme)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Is_Painless (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. I'm receiving IBF from Turin Italy testing on 5000 kHz. They start a commemorative broadcast today on 11/11/11 at 11 local time (10 UT). They'll transmit for about 1 month with 20 w carrier and 100 w peak. QSL via QSL @ radiomaria.org recording welcome (Radio Maria WF contributes to this broadcasting) 73 (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IBF was ex-timesignal station off the air for several years (gh, DXLD) A Milano sta arrivano IBF 5000 kHz, stanno testando. Tra poco parte la trasmissione ufficiale. Qui il segnale è debole, id ripetuti, dalle 0931 UTC del 11-11-11 (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, playdx yg via DXLD) Earlier today, 11/11/11, Giampiero Bernardini, gave us a tip for IBF's commemorative transmissions from Turin Italy on 5000 kHz. I don't think I have a hope of hearing them from my QTH, due to the signal of WWV as well as local QRM, but I did go to a remote receiver located in Cumbria, UK. They were heard at 2116 UT from the remote site. They are on the air and they are audible! Look for a male voice ID every two minutes in Italian, French and English. There are no time announcements or even time pips that I heard. They were beaten up pretty badly, despite their fair signal, by Chinese station BPM, a high-speed CW station sending a channel marker and a NATO STANAG station all on or very near the frequency. QRM from the Russian time station on 4996 could be cut out with filtering. I remember when European Music Radio did their 10 watt test to the US back in the late 70s. I picked it up at my QTH not 7 miles from here clear as a bell, so such DX *is* possible. I just happen to be less than 300m from a mediumwave array on 790 kHz which puts out all kinds of crud. Thanks, Giampiero for the tip, and I hope some of you may actually hear it here in the US and other places outside of Europe. 73, (Al Muick, Whitehall PA USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It's audible here in Portugal, but lots of static, about S6~7, at 2300+. And confirm the IDs in 3 languages, It, Fr, Eng. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Nov 11, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) QSL IBF 5000 --- Per chi fosse interessato alla conferma di IBF Torino ricordo che il rapporto di ascolto si può mandare a qsl @ radiomaria.org Sono graditi clip audio. Le conferme saranno spedite con calma, anche perché da domani sarò fuori Milano per alcuni giorni. Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, 11 Nov, playdx yg via DXLD) Qui a città studi arriva bene, ma il formato (tra morse e annunci) dei tempi mi pare un po' discontinuo: il mio orologio è fasato con i segnali di tempo tedeschi. Ciao a tutti, (Antonio E. Tognin, 2351 UT Nov 11, ibid.) Tnx info, Giampiero, Heard well here in Goettingen/Germany last night. I believe it is the same announcement (maybe even the same voice) they used in the early 1980´s when I heard the station for the first time. 73 (Harald Kuhl, Nov 12, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) I think it was a mortifier transmission; they used the worst recording of IBF I've never heard (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, Nov 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) IBF & IAM AUDIOCLIP AND QSL --- IBF and IAM was two Italian standard time stations, now off air, that broadcast on 5000 kHz. Audioclip and QSL cards available here: http://blog.libero.it/radioascolto/10796121.html 73's (Francesco Cecconi, Italy, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) Did catch IBF, Turin on 5000 kHz, (Friday 11/11 at 1917 UT) Ann. by YL "IBF IBF IBF Standard frequency and time signal..." Weak, but audible. (Seemed clearer at 0220 12/11 but the local QRN was probably at a lower level then) 73's (Nick Rank, Buxton (Sony ICF2001D and ALA1530 loop), UK, Nov 13, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Questa notte IBF Torino 5 MHz è on air. Discreto segnale qui a Bocca di Magra. 73 (Dario e Giampiero, Nov 16, playdx yg via DXLD) Is this IBF really from the same site as the original in Torino, or has R. Maria just put on a transmitter for it somewhere else? And is this a legal operation (or is that question inapplicable in Italy)? (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) ** JAPAN. 9595, Tuesday Nov 15 at 1324, R. Nikkei, JOZ in German, i.e. lessons mixed with Japanese. They also teach other western languages (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. Envíennos canciones japonesas interpretadas por ustedes. El equipo de Cultura Pop Japonesa está preparando, para comienzos de 2012, un concurso que hemos llamado "¡Locos por la música japonesa!". Les invitamos a que nos envíen grabaciones de canciones japonesas que hayan interpretado ustedes. El jurado de Radio Japón y los votos de los oyentes decidirán los temas e intérpretes que serán presentados en nuestro programa. . . http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/jpcm/spanish/index.html . . . El plazo de recepción de canciones es hasta el 27 de noviembre (domingo). ¡Anímense, amigos, esperamos su participación! (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) No prizes mentioned; apparently just the honor of having your song broadcast eventually. Are they doing this in English too? (gh, DXLD) ** JOHNSTON ISLAND. KH3, (Update). Susan, W7KFI, informs OPDX that she has received permission to land on Johnston Island. She plans to leave Honolulu on January 15th, 2012, arriving on Johnston Island some 5-7 days later, depending on wind. If there is a delay for any reason she can operate through February. Her plan is to operate for 10 days setting up a tent on the pier where it will be over land using a 43 ft. vertical set into sand. Her QSL Manager Stan, KH6CG, states, "She has informed the ARRL of this station set up so they are aware for [pending] DXCC approval. Additionally, Susan will take photos and is expecting an Elecraft banner to be sent to her soon via the company. Susan will use a K3 on CW/SSB mainly." Susan also menitons to OPDX that she will operate 40 meters and up using CW, SSB and RTTY. Again she mentions she will "ANSWER ONLY FULL CALL-SIGNS...call me with three letters, etc...and you will be wasting your breath". She states there are possibilities for her to also activate several other IOTAs from V7 and T32. Stay tuned! (Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1036, November 14, 2011, Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW, Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio), via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) We had several stories about her a few years ago in another solo- sailing attempt to reach Johnston, IIRC prevented by medical problems so she had to stop in Hawaii. Search on W7KFI for more. I would go a step further: not only must you state your full call- sign, you must state *my* full call in each contact attempt (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR. Leh on 4748? Last night (16 Nov 11) on 4750 a strong hetrodyne was noted on Bangaldesh Betar. After they left the air, unID station was noted on 4748 till sign off at 1630. The same was observed by Alokesh Gupta also. It seems to be Radio Kashmir, Leh (?) wandering like in the past. 73 (Jose Jacob, Hyderabad, dx_india yg via DXLD) This morning missing both on 4748 & 4760. Regards, (Alokesh Gupta, Nov 17, ibid.) See INDIA for AIR Srinagar 4950 ** KAZAKHSTAN. 7550, Nov 14 at 1549, very poor signal in S Asian language? Aoki shows it`s Family Radio in Pashto, 14-16, 500 kW, 170 degrees from Almaty/Nikolayevka; as the Kazakhs are all too happy to propagate the infidels for pay. BTW, mainstream Christians who survived The Rapture also consider the anti-church Harold Camping an infidel, or is that infooldel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. 6135 UNID --- 0956, Nov 17, carrier came on, wobbly but easily detectable, to 1038 s/off. Too poor for any definite audio. Times fit Aoki listing for Korean MND Radio from Chuncheon (1000 - 1040) so presumably this is them? Can anyone confirm? (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands (TenTec RX340, 20 m. longwire), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Martien, Probably I think that must be MND (Ministry of National Defence) Radio for N. Korea. This radio does not announce a station name at all. The confirmation of this station receive opening or end music of Korean Pops. Opening: Olle, by Jang Yoon Jung http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr-7NPj_9aM End: For Love, by Kim Jong Hwan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbzpDpy7P90&sns=em According to ITU Reference Table Freq. Management Org. MND: MND Radio (KOR) Contact Person: Mr. GyuCheol Kim, Tel: +8227482633, Fax:+8227482609, E-mail: gckim55 @ naver.com (S. Hasegawa, Nov 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6230, 1213 27 Sept, N Korean jamming? Heavy jamming, nothing audible underneath, SIO 444. Cland to N Korea scheduled here 1200-1240 (Stephen Howie, London NW9, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) The `cland` IDed elsewhere as MND = Ministry of National Defense, i.e. that of and from S. Korea since ITU code is KOR, not KRE (gh, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 7220, Nov 17 at 0702, some national anthem, 0703 Korean; nothing in HFCC at this time, but I bet it`s V. of Korea, an outlaw nation which refuses to cooperate in HFCC --- Aoki shows really R. P`yongyang service opening at 0700, 200 kW non-direxional. 9975, Nov 17 at 0707, choral music of the NK ilk: sure enough, Aoki shows V. of Korea Russian service, 200 kW, 28 degrees also USward. 7580, Nov 17 at 0721, militaristic choral music also NK ilk, 0722 YL narrating in slow Japanese, poor signal. 200 kW, 109 from Kujang; another one opening at 0700 I normally miss (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 5910, Nov 11 at 1330, Sea Breeze opening in English with contact info over sad piano music, good signal. I feel for the abductees and their families, but can`t help but wonder if these broadcasts are having any effect at all in discovering / recovering them, rather than just calling attention to the issue (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. via UKRAINE. 11530, Denge Mezopotamya, 1453-1500*, local Kurdish music. Indigenous vocals. Fair. Nov 11. 11530, Denge Mezopotamya, *0400-0415, sign on with National Anthem. Local Kurdish music at 0403. Fair. Nov 12 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** KUWAIT. 19010, R. Free Afghanistan, 0545, presumed this with (listed) Dari service; nondescript talk by man, pre-recorded ID (or similar) by woman at 0549, then more talk by a man. Multi-path reception on peaks. 10 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. 21540, Nov 17 at 1350, R. Kuwait is still here instead of registered 21520, and still colliding with Spain on 21540, i.e. in Basque vs Arabic. Maybe I`ll only report this once a week as B-11 progresses (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. [re 11-45] ‘TOO EARLY TO TELL’ WHAT CAUSED FIRE AT LIBERIAN RADIO STATION --- (Nov. 11, 2011 - by Ralph Kurtenbach and Harold Goerzen) After concluding its work at the charred facilities of what had served as studios for the Christian broadcaster ELWA in Monrovia, Liberia, a forensics team allowed station staff to return to the facilities where broadcasts have resumed from a standby studio near the undamaged FM transmitter. “The government’s forensic division had controlled the scene and quarantined the station as a potential crime scene. No cause has been determined,” said Ben Colby, an SIM missionary in an interview with HCJB Global. Colby handles logistical matters for the station. “We’re working hard to communicate that it’s too early to make any speculations,” he said. “An electrical fire has not been ruled out; arson has not been ruled out. Until [the forensic team] finishes their investigation, there is no use speculating on anything.” Just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, smoke began wafting through the vents of ELWA’s studio building. When the on-air announcer and a security guard investigated, smoke was already filling the whole building. “The two of them began to call for help, including ELWA security and other critical personnel,” Colby said. “By the time I arrived there, the whole building was engulfed in flames.” Quick responders included the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the Liberian National Police (LNP), the Emergency Response Unit and the Crime Investigation Division. Liberia’s Fire Service arrived too, with limited tanker capacity on its truck, said Colby, adding that the station’s location in Paynesville required at least a half-hour drive back to Monrovia to refill the tank. “They worked from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., going back and forth, putting water on the flames,” Colby said. The following day (Wednesday, Nov. 9), ELWA was back on the air on a limited schedule using portable studio equipment at its transmitter site. “Many pastors and other people have been involved with ELWA for the last number of years and are excited about getting us back up and running. A lot of people are saddened about what has happened,” Colby related. “Most people are very anxious to rebuild and move on, but at the same time they’re very saddened and discouraged that this happened again to ELWA.” He added that ELWA staff members are thankful that people elsewhere in the world are praying for the station, its ministry and the staff. “In the coming weeks we will let you know more tangible ways in which people can help with the rebuilding,” Colby said. The fire occurred shortly after Liberia’s presidential run-off election in which voter turnout appeared low. A boycott of the election had been called by opposition candidate Winston Tubman who alleged the election was tainted by fraud. Sometimes violent clashes occurred between Tubman backers and supporters of incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Monday. Steve Kejr, a missionary with SIM based in the U.S., said that ELWA’s shortwave transmitter, installed by HCJB Global in 2000, is not operational, but not due to the fire. Earlier this year, thieves stole copper wire for the antenna and other equipment. Kejr served at ELWA from 1970 to 1997 when missionaries were evacuated due to civil strife. This year he spent eight months at the station in Paynesville, a neighborhood of Liberia’s capital, Monrovia. “Staff members were able to scrounge around and find some wire and equipment, but then that was stolen too!” he said of the station’s difficulties this year. “They’re working to improve the security of the antenna, improving the fence, installing lights and maybe encasing some of the wire in concrete.” ELWA programming consists of several English-language broadcasts per day, along with 1½ hours of programming in languages indigenous to the area, including Grebo, Kru, Gola, Bassa, Kpelle, Kissi, Dan, Krahn and Loma. ELWA is almost entirely funded locally with most of its income stream generated through the sale of public service announcements and requests, coupled with donations. Recent history has seen the station rise from the ashes before. In 1990, staff evacuated after fighters of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) clashed with government troops on the ELWA campus which was overrun and had its facilities ransacked. Serving as SIM missionaries there at that time, Lee Sonius and his wife, Michelle, were evacuated with others serving at the radio station and hospital. The Soniuses now live in Accra, Ghana, where Lee directs HCJB Global’s Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Office. Liberian and missionary staff members returned in 1991 to reopen the ministries, only to flee again amid renewed fighting in Monrovia in April 1996. The Soniuses were again among the evacuees. When staff members returned to Monrovia in 1997, ELWA resumed its ministries, working with its primary partners, the ELWA Ministries Association (EMA) and the Evangelical Church Union of Liberia. To make a donation to help ELWA recover from this loss, visit http://www.hcjb.org/give-radioplanting This link will take you to the “radio planting” giving page, but the funds will be earmarked for ELWA. Sources: ELWA, HCJB Global, BBC News, Mission Network News Photo credits: http://twitpic.com/7chabd, ELWA (HCJB Global NewsUpdate Nov 11 via DXLD) ** LIBYA. 1449 kHz heard on 28 Oct still identifying in Arabic as ``Huna Sawt Libya al-Hurra min Misrata`` (Voice of Free Libya from Misrata). 1449, 2148 28/10, with Arabic songs, SIO 323 (Tony Rogers, Birmingham, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** LIBYA. 11600 2.11 1720 Radio Télevision Libye, Radio Libye de la capitale Tripoli lyder det aningen märkliga namnet på franska. "Méditation à l'heure de la liberté" och andra patriotiska och revolutionära inslag. Flera gånger refererades till franska revolutionen. 3-4 CB 11600, 2 Nov 1720, Radio Television Libya, Radio de la Capitale Tripoli, reads the somewhat strange name in French. "Méditation à l'heure de la liberté" and other patriotic and revolutionary elements. Several times was referring to the French Revolution. 3-4 CB (Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11600, 1610-1740, 10.11, R TV Libye, Sabrata, French talk and French chansons, later Vienna Waltzes, ID's: "Ici Radio Télévision Libye, la Radio de la capitale de Tripoli", talk about rearmament after the fall of Gadaffi, QRM DRM-noise from Bulgaria until 1700*, then 55544 with perfect modulation. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, heard in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** LIBYA. 11600, R Télévision Libye, Sabrata, 1610-1802v*, Nov 03, 04, 05, 07, 08, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15, (Nov 03 -1807*, Nov 15 -1804*). After a few days being off the air, the new management of Shortwave broadcasting from Libya again is active with French broadcasts at the same hours as its predecessor "Voice of Africa". Their schedule seems to be *1605-1805v*, talks about the revolution in Libya and comparing it with "La Révolution Française 1789-1799" with usual music in the background, ID: "Ici Radio Télévision Libye, la Radio de la capitale de Tripoli" were heard six times every half hour, 1747 press review with comments on the new Prime Minister of Libya, the future Army, and comments from the UK Prime Minister, 1757 "Méditation à l´Heure" about the liberty of Libya and all its dead sacrifices. New management plays a lot of nice music between the comments. So far only voices of two French speaking journalists have been heard and they play each day the same three CD's (Russian music, Vienna waltzes and French chansons), so their working conditions must be very primitive. Strong QRM 1600-1700* from DRM-noise from R Bulgaria, via Kostinbrod, 42422, after 1700: 55544. The previous bad modulation of the voice audio has been improved, but the audio was still fading very much despite a strong, steady carrier (Erik Koie, Holte, Denmark, and Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Nov 16 via DXLD) A lot of the above is duplicative, but maybe there are snippets of something unsaid before (gh) ** LIBYA. Re 11-45: ``I listened quite extensively on Saturday to Radio Libya. Hardly any African music played that day (just a few minutes of African heard). Mostly the light orchestral music and Austrian waltz. There was also a repeated refrain from a tune that I knew, but which I couldn't quite place. It finally came to me today - it was the melody from the Eartha Kitt classic "Santa Baby"! Alan Roe, Teddington, UK`` I am very sorry -- I think that I got this wrong. Listening again to my recording, although still quite a catchy tune, I don't think that the instrumental melody is from Santa Baby after all. Apologies for the confusion (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Could it be this? http://youtu.be/IXyEGPYuDSU 73s (Andy Lawendel, Italy, ibid.) THANKYOU! Many, many thanks, Andy. It has been driving me (almost) to distraction. Yes that's the one - it is "Douce France". I can now rest easy! (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, ibid.) 11600, Radio-Television Libya, 1728-1807*, surprisingly good signal with light instrumental music. French talk. IDs. Nov 11. 11600, Radio Télévision Libye, 1733-1802*, French talk. Many music bridges of “Douce France” song. Lite classical music. IDs as Radio Télévision Libye and Radio Libye. Fair. Nov 13 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non?]. Hi Glenn, I read your comments about 11600 kHz in the latest issue of DXLD 11-45. I am very sure that I heard CRI on 11600 on the 26th of October at 1700 UT. The program was directed to Africa. Language was an African unidentified. I am also very sure that I heard RT Libye on 11600 kHz on the 2nd of November at 1730-1803 (signed off) UT. Language was French and the same type of program that others have heard. I have a theory, maybe totally wrong, but a theory: Has anybody written and/or has had thought about the transmitter site of RT Libye lately? Maybe CRI and the new Libyan rulers have something together? The Chinese government very much want to be established in Africa as seen in the many radio projects in many different countries, also on FM and MW. Maybe they have had a transmitter working somewhere, either in Libya or in a nearby country? Maybe they tested with a CRI program, when they couldn't get the Libyan one? What do you think? I have written to the Libyan embassy in Stockholm (hot mail e address!), but of course I haven't heard from them - yet! Just now, at 1700 RT Libye has very strong signals on 11600 kHz (S 4-5!), but the audio in French is very bad and faint. 73 from (Björn Fransson on the island of Gotland, Nov 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TDF / FRANCE was responsible for managing Libya`s frequencies during Qaddafi, and even registered relays via Issoudun, which never happened except for some possible tests. Now I would expect French involvement even more likely under the nouveau régime. In HFCC A-11, search on LBJ for many wooden listings via Issoudun. Plus some Sabrata including 11600 but only at 19-20. In B-11 there are LBJ entries from TDF but they are all for Sabrata (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11600, Radio Télévision Libye, 1722-1804*, French talk. Many music bridges of “Douce France” song. Lite classical music. IDs as Radio Télévision Libye and Radio Libye. Sign off with “Douce France” song. Fair. Only heard a strong noise jammer on frequency at 1633 check. Nov 15 (Brian Alexander, PA, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX Listening Digest) re 11600 kHz. Rather DRM tests from Spaceline in Bulgaria. 73 (Wolfgang Buschel, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. Winter B-11 of Sitkunai as of Nov. 13: 0100-0158 9480 SIT 100 kW / 079 deg CeAS R. Free Asia Uyghur 0430-0458 6160 SIT 100 kW / 079 deg EaEU R. Japan NHK Russian 1000-1058 9690 SIT 100 kW / 079 deg CeAS R. Free Asia Tibetan 1530-1628 5990 SIT 100 kW / 079 deg EaEU HCJB Russian/Chechen Sun 1730-1828 7420 SIT 100 kW / 259 deg WeEU VOIROI/IRIB German 1830-1928 6115 SIT 100 kW / 259 deg WeEU VOIROI/IRIB French 1930-2028 6115 SIT 100 kW / 259 deg WeEU VOIROI/IRIB English 2300-2358 9875 SIT 100 kW / 079 deg CeAS R. Free Asia Tibetan Special transmissions: 2100-2258 6055 SIT 100 kW / 259 deg WeEU R. Waves Int English Nov. 11 0200-0358 7415 SIT 100 kW / 310 deg NoAM R. Waves Int English Nov. 13 1330-1528 9895 SIT 100 kW / 079 deg SEAS R. Waves Int English Nov. 13 Cancelled transmissions: 0630-0728 9770 SIT 100 kW / 259 deg WeEU VOIROI/IRIB Italian 1430-1528 7420 SIT 100 kW / 079 deg EaEU VOIROI/IRIB Russian 1630-1728 5990 SIT 100 kW / 079 deg EaEU HCJB Global German 2030-2128 6055 SIT 100 kW / 259 deg WeEU VOIROI/IRIB Spanish 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, Nov 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) except Russian still on; late payment problem? See IRAN [and non] ** LITHUANIA. 9895, R Waves International, via Sitkunai, 1413-1445 Sunday Nov 13, English (also one ID-jingle in French), short talks and ID-jingles with mention of address in France (B.P. 130, Rueil, 92503, France), 28th birthday of RWI, WCS music, many old pop songs from Elton John ”Candle in the Wind” to John Leyton ”Johnny Remember Me”, very good with slight fading (Mikhail Timofeyev, St. Petersburg, Russia, DSWCI DX Window Nov 16 via DXLD) Also heard in Japan at 1328-1529, Su Nov 13, IS, English ID, country music, French ann, 33433. It was possible to hear IS from R Japan in the background at 1330 (Tomoaki Wagai, Wakayama, Japan, DSWCI DX Window Nov 16 via DXLD) NHK is just signing-off Chinese via Yamata at 1330 on 9895 (HFCC via gh, DXLD) More reports under FRANCE [non] ** MADAGASCAR. 5010.278, 25.10 1746, R Madagaskar LHU/PAX95 (Lars Jeppesen, Uppsala, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD) PAX95 not explained, but could be name of a DXpedition (gh) ** MADAGASCAR. First tests of ex-Hörby transmitter from Madagascar The first of the 250 kW ABB transmitters from the former Swedish shortwave station at Hörby installed at our Madagascar relay station is almost ready for testing. If all goes according to plan, the tests are scheduled for next week, 21-25 November, beamed towards Europe: 0700-1000 UTC on 21480 kHz (modulation: RNW Dutch) 1400-1557 UTC on 21480 kHz (modulation: RNW English) NB: At this stage, it’s not 100 percent certain that the tests will take place next week. If the tests have to be rescheduled, we will advise accordingly. Full technical details in the RNW schedule on the HFCC website http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbyfmo.php?seas=B11&fmor=RNW (Source: RNW Programme Distribution) (Media Network November 14, 2011 By Andy Sennitt, via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Update: Madagascar tests may start already on Sat 19 Nov http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/madagascar-tests-may-start-already-on-sat-19-nov The tests with the first ex-Hörby transmitter might already start on Saturday 19 November. Reception reports are welcome via rnwmonitoring @ gmail.com especially from Africa. We expect that the signal will not be that strong in Europe. We are more interested in the audio quality. (Source: RNW Programme Distribution)(November 16th, 2011 - 9:53 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. 6050, Salam FM (via RTM), 1445-1505+ nice consistent signal most mornings closing Asyik FM at 1459 or so, (presumed) Negara Ku anthem to open Salam FM program (usually Qur'an recitation / devotional + a LOT of Salam FM jingles, occasional "Islamo-pop" after 1505 or so). Used to be on 1500-1600, now it shuts down anywhere between 1502-1533 -- tho on 28 Oct. they were on past 1553. 28 Oct/4 Nov (Dan Sheedy, CA, via Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. I have checked several times, with 15295 clearly off. 6175 has also not been heard in a long time. It in the past was heard with R Suara Islam program after 1400, but of course that is no long broadcast even on 6050, but I detect nothing underneath CNR1 on 6175 any more. Seems to me in the past VOM was gone from 15295 for long periods of time, but then again what with all of Malaysia's erratic changes over the past months, is indeed possible they closed VOM down. (Ron Howard, CA, via Herkimer in DXplorer via DSWCI DX Window Nov 16 via DXLD) ** MALI. 9635, RTVM, *0801-0835, abruptly on the air at 0801 with vernacular talk. Some local rustic music at 0809-0811, but otherwise just continuous vernacular talk. Fair. Nov 15 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MAURITANIA. Nouakchott 7245: If you out there are still looking for this one, it is still missing on 41 m. The parallel MW outlet on 783 is on though. Such silent periods on HF do occur once in while, so they're surely back on HF shortly. 783 is a more reliable frequency, rarely silent, perhaps because a spare unit is available. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Nov 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Has anyone else noticed they seem to have disappeared? I think the last time I heard 7245 was 13 Oct Thurs afternoon PDT ~2300 UT, and later in our evening ~0300 UT (14 Oct) which seemed strange but maybe they were on all night heading into Friday. No sign even of any carrier yesterday here in Burnaby, BC ~0030 12 Nov and later ~0615. Nothing on 4845 either. 73, (Theo Donnelly, BC, Nov 12, ODXA yg via DXLD) Yes, I have noticed as in reports in DXLD 11-45 much later than Oct 13, but not lately (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** MEXICO. 6010, Radio Mil, México City, 0959 full ID with call letters by om, 1 November (Bob Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro, Noise reducing antenna, long wires, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MICRONESIA. 4755,445 13.11 1010 UNID tent The Cross Radio. Yeesss, nu hör jag mx på frekvensen! YL solist. Men svag o QSB! Kom in 10.10z Kul!! Har jagat den ett tag… AN 4755.445, 13 Nov, 1010 unID, tentative The Cross Radio. Yeesss, now I hear music on the frequency! YL soloist, but weak & QSB! Came in at 1010z Fun! Have hunted this one for a while (Arne Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4755,448 12.11 1104* UNID carrier. I dag hade jag en signal på 4755,448 men den var tyvärr alltför svag för att ge audio. Stängde 11.04z. Och faktiskt starkast på Loopen (matad i norra änden = 330gr). AN 4755.448, 12 Nov, 1104* UnID carrier. Today I had a signal on 4755.448 but it was unfortunately too weak to provide any audio. Closed down at 1104z. And in fact strongest on the loop (fed in the north end = 330o). (Arne Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4755,449 4.11 0940 tent The Cross m musik, gick fram med extra boost LHU/PAX95 4755.449, 4 Nov, 0940 tent. The Cross with music, came up with extra boost. LHU/PAX95 (Lars Jeppesen, Uppsala, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13 translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) PAX95 not explained, but could be name of a DXpedition (gh) 4755.454, 10.11 1025* tentative The Cross. Today it was on 4755.45(4) kHz, s/off at 1025. Not enough for audio here, IDing 'cheated' via Japan and Australia remote Perseii. Mauno Ritola via NORDX, via SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD) 4755.457, 28.10 1019 tent The Cross, Mikronesien LHU/PAX95 (Lars Jeppesen, Uppsala, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD) PAX95 not explained, but could be name of a DXpedition (gh) See also UNID 4755 4755.44, PMA-The Cross Radio. Glenn recently asked “Has anyone been hearing it in the past month? (gh)”; yes they continue to be regularly heard, alas just not as well as in the past. 1002, Nov 11 with Christian preaching in English; 1022 went to religious songs; signal improving, but still poor; checked at 1051 to find them off the air (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4755.45, PMA The Cross, 1002, Male and Female in English religious disc, QRM CODAR & Fishing boats. 22442 Poor. Nov 12 (Bruce Jensen, Pigeon Point, California, USA, Listening from car with Icom IC-R75 and 135-meter longwire. Some tentative, all comments welcome, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONACO [and non]. What`s really happening --- Hi Glenn, YES, the interval signal of TWR is a music box version of the National Anthem of Monaco or “la Marche de Monaco” or “A Marcia de Muneghu” the name in Monegasque language. The lyrics in Monegasque were written by Louis Notari in 1931. Note that for nearly 50 years TWR headquarters in Monaco were at “5 rue Louis Notari”... This interval signal can still be heard around 2040 UT before opening of Arabic service on 1467 kHz from Roumoules. Here is an audio from the Palais Princier: http://www.palais.mc/monaco/root/bank_mm/audio/mp3/hymne_monegasque.mp3 SW transmitter site in Fontbonne, is NOT closed. According a mail from M. Paul Marto of Monte Carlo Radiodiffusion, they are waiting for new customers and from time to time the transmitters are used, so on the air... But for the moment the only station on SW from Fontbonne is: Monaco Radio (Utility) weather forecast in French & English 0630, 1203, 1730 on 8728 kHz SSB News bulletin from Radio Monaco relay over Monaco Radio in French 1200-1203 (M-F) on 4363 8728 13146 17260 kHz SSB with 10 kW. Other stations in AM under MCR transmitters are: 702 kHz China Radio International Col de la Madone 1467 kHz (daytime) Radio Maria Col de la Madone 1467 kHz (nightly) TWR from Roumoules 1350 kHz Radio Orient Fontbonne 1557 kHz France Info Fontbonne 216 kHz RMC Info from Roumoules. Regards from Côte d’Azur, (Christian Ghibaudo, Nice, Nov 14, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17260 USB, 3AC Monaco Radio, 1020, must have missed beginning of broadcast as a French man was already giving frequencies, then ID in English by a woman as, "Monaco Radio", followed by a rather lengthy list of (mostly) VHF frequencies. Then national anthem and plug pulled. This freq was very good but 8728 and 13148 were dead. 16 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA. 4830, Mongolian Radio II, 1435+, probably these guys with Mongolian yak (Russian with a twist), & "steppe" music; weak, but readable. Also heard 4895 but didn't seem // & 7260 // is covered by B11 VOR in English. 3 Nov (Dan Sheedy, CA, via Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 4895.00 // 4830.00, November observations: From 1258 to 1500* daily. 4830 is the stronger of the two. AIR Kurseong (4895.00) becomes good after 1500. Mongolia has long slow NA, and always off very close to 1500! (Jim Young, Nov 11, Grundig Satellite 800 + IC-706 + 60-M sloper and resonant vert., Tolovana Beach, Northern Oregon Coast, NASWA yg via DXLD) See INDIA for details of his setup 4830, Mongolian Radio 2 (tent), 1012 Female in Mongolian (?) narrates music from "Carmen" & "Carmina Burana". First Log. 33443 Good with CODAR intrusion. Nov 12 (Jensen-CA-USA) 4895, Mongolian R. 2, 1034, Males in Mongolian discussion. 32442 Fair but QRM CODAR. Nov 12 (Bruce Jensen, Pigeon Point, California, USA, Listening from car with Icom IC-R75 and 135-meter longwire. Some tentative, all comments welcome, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOZAMBIQUE. Rádio Moçambique Delagação de Beira, 873 Sofala (Beira). Nov 10, 2011, Thursday. 1646-1700. Portuguese, OM announcer playing afro music. ID at 1648 "Radio Mozambique" then more "music", actually five minutes of the same five note sequence repeated over and over and over! New tune at 1654, a bit more lively but equally repetitious. Unusually good reception tonight, coupled with unusually bad programming. YL talking at 1657. Very good, at 1650 a strong (s9) signal and no fading just 20 minutes after our local sunset. But by 1658 it was beginning to fade, down to s7 and starting to develop rapid pulsing. Then deteriorated rapidly, almost unreadable by 1700. Jo'burg sunset 1631 (Bill Bingham, RSA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 9730.82, Myanma Radio. My Nov 2 reception of this on an extended schedule well past 1000 was only a one-day-event and not as I had hoped a new schedule. 0939-1000*, Nov 11. In vernacular; some pop songs in English; usual sign-off indigenous theme music before closing down (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEPAL. R. Nepal was heard in the UK during the recent Sheigra [Scotland] DXpedition on 576 kHz (Surketh), 648 (Pokhara) and 792 (Kathmandu), just before sign-off at 1720 on 10 Oct. 648 again heard on 12 Oct at 1713 (Alan Pennington & Dave Kenny, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Sabato 12 novembre 2011, 1029 - 6235 kHz, Spuria (non dei ricevitori!) di RADIO NEDERLAND, (con 3 frequenze in // sui 49 metri alla faccia della crisi!). Olandese, speciale mx western cowboys e s/off 1059. Segnale sufficiente-buono (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) You might have mentioned WHICH three frequencies! The RNW B-11 sked linked from Media Network is now to the one at HFCC by station, http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbyfmo.php?seas=B11&fmor=RNW and it shows only 5955 and 6120 from Wertachtal, 6035 from Issoudun. Working first on the assumption that it`s a mixing product from Wertachtal, if 5955 were leaping over 6120 another 165 kHz higher, it would land on 6285, not 6235. Assuming your 6235 was not a typo: Maybe some other non-RNW transmission from Wertachtal at the same time is the fulcrum? Halfway between 6235 and 5955 is 6095. Nothing listed on the above sked for 6095 at any time. However, full B-11 HFCC as of Nov 11 has this: ``6095 0900 1600 18SW,27,28W,37N WER 100 0 0 926 17 301011 240312 D 6650 DutchEng D MBR MBR 16386`` So not only is there a WER on 6095 but it is also RNW, only on weekends (17), and this was a Saturday. So that explains 6235 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In B-11, RNW Dutch still inhabits three channels 9.8-9.9 MHz but the configuration differs: 9895, Nov 11 at 0625, good signal but with hum 9865, Nov 11 at 0625, weaker signal, no hum, and not //. At 0626 plays Orange anthem and off while 9895 continues talking 9830, Nov 11 at 0627, about 2 seconds behind 9895 Per HFCC: 9895 at 0600-0657 is 300 kW, 280 degrees from KCH, Moldova [a.k.a. Grigoriopol, PRIDNESTROVYE] to W Europe, so that explains the hum 9865 at 0600-0627 is 300 kW, 230 degrees from BONAIRE to NZ 9830 at 0600-0657 is 500 kW, 120 degrees from Wertachtal, GERMANY to SE Europe, NE Africa, NW Mideast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9895, Nov 14 at 0704, RNW in M&W Dutch conversation has lost its hum - -- but that`s only because of the site change at 0700 from Grigoriopol, Pridnestrovye to Nauen, GERMANY, where M&B knows how to modulate properly. HFCC shows morning usage of 9895 by RNW is 0600- 0657 KCH, 0700-0900 NAU, plus weekends 0900-1100 SMG = Vatican (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also MADAGASCAR! BONAIRE ** NEW ZEALAND. QSL: ZKLF, Meteorological Service of New Zealand, 5807 kHz, replied to email report in about a day for reception of weather fax transmission. Report was sent to enquiries --- metservice.com, and reply came from ross.marsden --- metservice.com Mr. Marsden included a pdf of a F/D QSL certificate. I received a hard copy of the certificate + a business card a week later (Bruce Portzer, WA, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. R.NZi 15720: extraordinary coincidence? I have been listening to R.NZi since this afternoon, since they were on 5950 (too weak, 15321 at 1508-1550*), a bit better on 7440 *1550-1650* (33431, adj. QRM), then 9765 at *1651-1750* (54433), then... 11725 was found empty. I then tried 15720 just in case... and there they were, *1851- approx. 1914, rated 35433. The amended B11 says 15720 should be using DRM, ex-AM, and this made me sending them an e-mail at 1859 UT to enquire about a possible mistake. At approx. 1914, I checked 15720 only to find the signal in DRM mode and while that 11725 was already on, in AM. So it was a mistake they found out by themselves or…? Such mistakes at Rangitaiki do occur at times, but not serious if it were not for DRM. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, NZL's antipodes, Nov 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Surprised to hear RNZI with audible signal, this Sunday, Nov. 13, 1200-1258 on 15720, when is supposed propagation from the Pacific is poor on 19 m. by this time of the day. Obviously, nothing heard as they changed to 5950 at 1300, so different when they shift to 6170 during A11 at 1300. 73s. Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Nov 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 7275, Sept 10 at 0820, RN Abuja, OM talk on infrastructure in English, SINPO 34343 (Dzever Ishenge, Makurdi, Nigeria, Nov World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** NIGERIA [and non]. 15120, VON, 1430-1454* during the Hausa/Qur'an recitation program, the audio is clean. When they open just past 1500 in English (with "60 Minutes" - a news program), the audio is almost always hummy & occasionally distorted. Different transmitters? (Dan Sheedy CA, via Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) date? 15120, Nov 14 at 0654, VON is the OSOB at S9+12 with news about Botswana and South Africa; humwhine on unstable carrier but still R5. There were hardly any signals on 11 and 13 MHz, and nothing on 15 either tuning downward until I got to this. Quite amazing, the propagational pipeline from Ikorodu to Enid which exists some nights, but you never know which; 24 hours earlier there was nothing. 15120, Nov 16 at 0603, hummy VON mixing about equally with China, and there are a lot of other E Asian as well as African signals on 19m band, unusual. By 0650, VON was atop. 15120, Nov 17 at 0715, VON in French with hum, peaking S9+8, during interview, with more distortion on the studio mike than someone on the phone. I wish I weren`t awake this late, but since I am, might as well check WWV 2500 at 0718: SF 142, A 4, K at 06 was 1; no; no (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Assunto: Confirmação recebida_Voice of Nigeria, Ikorodu 15120 Khz - Voice of Nigeria, Ikorodu Recebidos: Cartão QSL + PPC + caneta + tabela de programação + adesivo 1 ano e 7 meses (130 dias após 4º follow up por carta; diversos follow ups por e-mail). IR enviado por carta QTH: Voice of Nigeria - 6th and 7th Floors Radio House, - Herbert Macaulay Way, Garki, - Abuja, Nigeria Obs 1.: Ao que tudo indica, nenhum dos e-mails que usei deu resultado: englishvon @yahoo.com english @ voiceofnigeria.org info @ voiceofnigeria.org No QSL e no envelope consta, entretanto, um e-mail que não usei: dgovon @ nigol.net.ng Obs2.: Parece que os nigerianos se compadeceram ao ver o PPC que fiz, pois não haviam respondido aos meus IRs anteriores. Dessa feita, porém, além de responder, anexaram até uma caneta de brinde! Visualização em breve no http://pqslfabricio.blogspot.com/ 73 (Fabricio Andrade Silva, PP5002SWL, Tubarão, SC, 14 Nov, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. NBC Tasked Over Ondo FM Station By Dayo Johnson, Akure A Non-governmental organization in Ondo State, Sunshine Coalition Group, is asking the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to call to order a radio station in the state allegedly being used to misinform the public about government activities. It raised the alarm that an influential individual, who is not an indigene of the state, was using the private radio station to cause confusion among the people. The coordinator of the group, Chief Mathew Babalola, in Akure, asked the commission to analyze the contents of the programmes being aired on the radio station with a view to cautioning the operators. Babalola advised residents of the state to disregard whatever information they hear on the radio station and alleged a plan by non- indigenes to discredit the Governor Olusegun Mimiko administration. The group said that "none of the top management staff of the station is an indigene of the state, hence they have believe that they did not have any stake in activities that could lead to its development. "We wish to draw the attention of the good people of Ondo State to a deliberate plan by the management of a private radio station in Ondo State to cause confusion and disunity among our people. "The station has consistently being airing programmes that usually portray the current administration in the state in a bad light. Governor Mimiko has tolerated them for too long but we now see the need to call them to order before they destroy our state." SOURCE: http://bit.ly/vogE1g Imagen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondo_State (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, Nov 15, DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. Radio True North --- Glenn, It may interest you to know that I emailed Radio True North last week with the email you provided in a World of Radio. I asked him for an mp3 file so I could listen to him on my mp3 player. His response was that he doesn't record them since he's on live (Jack Smith, Nov 13, http://www.icanhascheezburger.com/ Stulti rident linguam Latinam, Nov 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. [Pirate]. 6925.06, Radio Jamba International, 0240- 0250, IDs. Rock music. Weak. Poor in noisy conditions (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Oops, no date ** PAKISTAN. Hi Glenn, Radio Pakistan B11 frequencies for Bangla, Nepali, Hindi, Gujrati, Sinhali and Tamil services via 100 kW transmitter were monitored in Lahore on 4-11-2011 as per following details: Bangla & Nepali 9665, 0900-1030 UT SINPO 34333. Signal was strong but audio was distorted and transmitter noise was less than usual. Program content was Qur`an recitation, devotional song in Bangla, patriotic song then devotional music, News in Bangla, more devotional music till start of Nepali which had Urdu naat, Urdu patriotic song and news in Nepali at 1015 UT and Urdu devotional songs. Hindi and Gujrati 9805, 1045-1115, SINPO 23322. The signal was weak and audio was distorted. Programme content was Qur`an recitation, Naat in Urdu, patriotic song in Urdu and news in Hindi, Qawallis and Qawallis again till start of Gujrati service which had Qur`an recitation, translation in Gujrati, Islamic talk in Gujrati and News, Urdu Sufi songs till close at 1115 UT. Sinhala and Tamil 9800, 1130-1230, SINPO 23322. The signal was weak and audio was distorted. Programme content was Urdu devotional recital and pariotic song in Urdu. News in Sinhali at 1145 UT. Songs in Urdu till commencement of Tamil in which Urdu devotional song and News in Tamil and Sufi music in Urdu was played Nothing was heard on the other listed frequency for 25 Meterband for all three broadcasts at 11870, 11880 and 11860 kHz. Regards (Aslam Javaid, Lahore, Pakistan, Nov 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3925, R. Pakistan - Rewat, 1705, English, per Pankov and Gonçalves, here with possible news, but tough copy in (approaching) t'storm QRN. 16 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. QSL: Radio Sandaun 3205 kHz sent friendly e-mail confirmation in 71 days, in response to airmail report with CD and mint stamps. Celina Korei apologized for the delay, and said, "We had problems with power for the little border town that kept us off-air for the last two months. I was not able to email you earlier because of power problems affecting telecommunications and everything else." Which would certainly explain the station's absence in recent weeks. She also mentioned getting reports from Japan, Sweden, and New York I had a brief email exchange with Celina Korei after I sent out my very recent QSL report. She told me that NBC Sandaun 3205 kHz was off from mid September until about two weeks ago due to the power outage, but is now back on the air (Bruce Portzer, WA, Nov 10, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA [and non]. Have more or less given up on 5960 R Fly, wonder if there's any news? (Martien Groot, Netherlands, SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD) Yes, there are a few comments in the log regarding this one. Unfortunately negative as China now are on the frequency at the critical hours (Thomas Nilsson, ed., ibid.) Viz.: 5959.980, 28.10 1033, R Fly, Tabubil LHU/PAX95 (Lars Jeppesen, Uppsala, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13 translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) PAX95 not explained, but could be name of a DXpedition (gh) 5960: Unfortunately the window for R. Fly was closed yesterday Nov 10, when Xinjiang PBS-China moved here for 0300-1200 from 9835 kHz (Mauno Ritola, Finland, via NORDX via SW Bulletin Nov 13 via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) 5960, 5.11 1157, Xinjiang PBS with sign on ceremony with a long ID until 1159 when the normal program started. A carrier on 5959.996 was present all the time but nothing on 5959.985 where R Fly is heard here in Sweden lately. Also a carrier on exactly 5960 seemed to sign off at 1157. According to Martien Groot this could be CRI Sackville. Ron Howard confirms in an email to me that CRI is on 5960, in English, as heard Nov 7 at 1107 with the news and later business news (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, ibid.) ** PERU. 3329.50, Perú, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco, 0945 om español over music, fading in slowly, ”Muy Buenos Dias...“ into long om talk, time check 0956, back in to music 1005, CHU notched, second om 1010, two om talking 1012, back to music, 1018 series of numbers not frequencies, “radio onda corta“, fade 1040, 3 November 4986.304, Perú, Radio Manantial, Huancayo, 1100 to 1106 noted on 5 November 5039.22, Perú, Radio Libertad de Junín, Junín, 1030 to 1040, time checks greetings, om dj with excellent music and strong signal 5 November. 6173.98, Peru, Radio Tawantinsuyo, Cusco, 1031, slow talk by om, deep fades 1035 back with om then lost in the mush, 5 November. 73s de (Bob Wilkner, NRD 535D - Drake R8 - Icom 746Pro, Noise reducing antenna, long wires, Pompano Beach, South Florida, US, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 15190/11890/9825, PBS/Radyo Magasin, 1752-1815, Wed. only broadcast of DZRM, long, animated discussion concerning "OSW" (overseas Philippine workers), with 2008-2010 stats from the PI Department of Labo(u)r & Employment. Sked is 1730-1930 & at s/on the IDs are frequent --- today, not even a quick mention-in-passing of "Radyo Magasin" or "DZRM" during the listening period. Runs about 95% Tagalog, 5% English and 25M is usually the best heard, tho today 25M took over after 1800. 9825 is generally JBA to poor. 2 Nov (Dan Sheedy, CA, via Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 1107, 1050+, Tagalog station here, so presume the Philippines (but not sure which station), mixing with RRI outlet in null of SBS Sydney. 9 Nov. 1530, DZME Quezon City (presumed), 1050, fair in partial null of 2VM Moree; Tagalog man with several mentions of "Manila." 14 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 7099-LSB, Nov 12 at 1450, DX1J is calling CQ Contest, over and over in English, no answer past 1453; once IDed contest as `DRP`? and another time revealed he was in Manila. QRZ.com shows DX1J, FTI Ham Club, Inc, METRO MANILA, Philippines, QSL: VIA JA1HGY, no individual name(s) provided. Altho fonetix were always ``Delta Xray One Juliet``, I assume the real significance is ``DX one Japanese`` in the Philippines (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. Sines HF Station Close Down Video Southgate November 16, 2011 The Deutsche Welle shortwave station in Sines, Portugal closed down on October 29, Carlos CT4RK has poduced a video commemorating the station. The YouTube description reads: This video was recorded in the last transmission of Deutsche Welle shortwave station in Sines - Portugal. This modern and fine station, ready to run full DRM 30 transmissions are now in silence. This was another hard blow in the ocidental broadcasting. Watch The night of nights on Deutsche Welle Sines Deutsche Welle announces major shortwave cuts http://www.southgatearc.org/news/may2011/major_dw_sw_cuts.htm http://www.southgatearc.org/news/november2011/sines_hf_station_closes_down.htm (via Mike Terry, Nov 17, dxldyg via DXLD) DEUTSCHE WELLE RELAY STATION IN SINES PORTUGAL SWITCH OFF Aqui vai o link para um pequeno filme feito na ultima transmissão da estação relé da Deutsche Welle, em Sines - Portugal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJJHkARrE8s [Tagline] Warning Save the Radio Spectrum! Eliminate Broadband over Power Line. Salve o espectro electromagnético!. Não use a rede electrica para transmitir dados. Os "homeplugs power line" e a tecnologia "power line" causa fortes interferencias noutro serviços sem voce se aperceber. Diga não à tecnologia power line. Proteja o ambiente electromagnético. Utilize tecnologia de redes sem fio, denominadas wireless. Best 73 from: regards from: (CT4RK Carlos Mourato - Sines - Portugal, Nov 15, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Prezado colega Radioescuta: Foi com muita tristeza que assisti a este vídeo, pelo facto de se têr silenciado tão importante estação de rádio que emitia para o ultramar. Sofri em dôbro por que eu sou um Emigrante Português. Posso imaginar o vosso sofrimento como funcionários da estação e como cidadãos Portugueses. A minha solidariedade como Radioescuta e como Lusitano (António Gonçalves -DXCB-228, Brasil, ibid.) Tens ideia quem foram os autors do filme? Por favor, nos diga!! Ficou extraordinário. Minhas congratulações aos surpresa pelo ótimo registro --hg (Huelbe Garcia, ibid.) Boa noite Garcia, O Autor do filme fui eu, e já o tinha colocado aqui na lista. *Best 73 from: regards from: (CT4RK Carlos Mourato - Sines - Portugal*, ibid.) [re 11-45:] Checking for 11885 listing of CHINA via Sackville [see CANADA, not 11855], I am also reminded that HFCC B-11 is still full of registrations for LIS, PORTUGAL, such as 11885, 12-15 Sat & Sun. It`s clear that shortwave there is now quite dead and has been for months (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)" R. Portugal/RDPi_ghostly B11 --- Glenn, There is in fact a B11 which includes registrations for Sines too. It's not that strange after all; just in case, the RDPi filled them for their own site as well as for Sines, should HF be reactivated on either site. That won't mean, however, that other station(s) cannot occupy our fqs: it's just a matter of negotiation providing mutual interests are respected. Pro-Funk, which managed the DW relay, is not gone, it still exists, and if the option they can get means a new broadcaster is going to be charge of the site, then the latter will have to relay R. Portugal. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Nov 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PRIDNESTROVYE. 9895, Nov 13 at 0624, the `Kichinov` relay of RNW in Dutch still has a big hum on it. We`ve heard that RNW is aware of this, so why do they put up with it? Other relays on 9865 and 9830 are OK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also NETHERLANDS [non] ** ROMANIA. Winter B-11 schedule of Radio Romania International: Arabic 0730-0756 on 11710 11990 15155 15330 1500-1556 on 9655 11730 15280 17540 Aromanian 1530-1556 on 6125 1730-1756 on 6015 1930-1956 on 7345 Chinese 0500-0526 on 15160 17870+ 1400-1426 on 9660 11825 English 0100-0156 on 6145 7355 0400-0456 on 6130 7305 11895 15220 0630-0656 on 7310 !9600 17780 21600 1200-1256 on 15430 15460 17530 17765 1800-1829 on #5875 1800-1856 on *9745 11955 2130-2156 on !6030 7310 7380 9435 2300-2356 on 6015 7220 7300 9530 French 0200-0256 on 5975 7325 0600-0626 on 7265 $9650 9690 11790 1100-1156 on 15150 15255 17800 17870 1700-1756 on 9690 11635 2100-2126 on 6030 $7370 German 0700-0726 on *9450 11810 1300-1356 on 15460 17530 1700-1729 on @5875 1900-1956 on 7370 *9805 Italian 1500-1526 on 9875 1700-1726 on 7415 1900-1926 on ^7345 Romanian 0100-0156 on 5910 7345 0200-0256 on 5910 7345 0500-0556 on 6145 7220 0800-0856 on 11730 15370 15430 17775 Sunday "Curierul romanesc" 0900-0956 on 15380 15430 17745 17775 Sunday "Curierul romanesc" 1000-1056 on 15260 15380 17780 17870 Sunday "Curierul romanesc" 1300-1356 on 7420 15170 17820 1400-1456 on 15170 17820 1600-1656 on 9655 11870 1700-1756 on 5995 7215 1800-1856 on 5990 7350 1900-1956 on 5990 7430 2000-2056 on 5990 7380 Russian 0530-0556 on &6175 7210 1430-1456 on 11730 15160 1600-1656 on &7245 9565 Serbian 1630-1656 on 6025 1830-1856 on 6030 2030-2056 on 6010 Spanish 0000-0056 on 7315 9525 13590 15110 0300-0356 on 9765 11825 11850 13630 2000-2056 on 7430 9620 2200-2256 on 13860 15160 Ukrainian 1600-1626 on 6130 1800-1826 on 6090 2000-2026 on 5950 + DRM via TIG 090 kW / 067 deg ! DRM via GAL 090 kW / 300 deg $ DRM via GAL 090 kW / 285 deg * DRM via TIG 090 kW / 307 deg ^ DRM via TIG 090 kW / 270 deg & DRM via TIG 090 kW / 037 deg # DRM via KVI 035 kW / 220 deg [NORWAY] @ DRM via KVI 035 kW / 065 deg [NORWAY] (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Nov 11 via DXLD) ** ROMANIA [and non]. 15170, Nov 13 at 1427 surprised to hear a bit of ``Land Down Under`` by Men At Work, since that song is seldom heard following loss of a plagiarism lawsuit in Australia. Spain via Costa Rica and RRI are as usual mixing here, so am not sure which station this came from, but RRI seems more likely with its eclectic music format. 9445-9450-9455, Nov 17 at 0710 DRM noise; the odds are that it is another half-hour broadcast from RRI, which they spread all over the spectrum: yes, HFCC shows 0700-0730 in German, 300 kW (really, in DRM??), 307 degrees to northwestern CIRAF 28 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 19800 kHz RRI Bucharest in Arabic "Sawt al Romania" ID at 1520 UT, // 17540 kHz, but nothing on 9900! vy 73 de (Juergen Lohuis, Luenen, Germany, Nov 14, harmonics yg via DXLD) Hi all, Thanks to R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 11 supplied by Wolfgang Bueschel my logging of RRI in Arabic on 19800 kHz can be explained: ROMANIA Winter B-11 schedule of Radio Romania International: Arabic 0730-0756 11710 11990 15155 15330 1500-1556 9655 11730 15280 17540 (DX MIX NEWS # 702 ) 17540 minus 15280 = 2260 17540 plus 2260 = 19800 vy 73 de (Juergen Lohuis, Germany, Nov 15, ibid.) i.e. leapfrog mixing product, 15280 over 17540, 2260 kHz higher (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) 20100 kHz 1215 UTC RRI Bucharest, E px 19600 kHz 1218 UTC RRI Bucharest, E px English Programme 1200-1256 15430 15460 17530 17765 (R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 11) My calculation: 17765 minus 15430 = 2335 17765 plus 2335 = 20100 17530 minus 15460 = 2070 17530 plus 2070 = 19600 vy 73 de (Juergen Lohuis, Germany, Nov 16, harmonics yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) do ** RUSSIA. 1692, 1800 10/10, R. Radonezh, Noginsk, 2 x 846, singer with acoustic guitar // 684, SIO 142 (Tim Bucknall, listening to recordings made by SM2GHI, Sweden, on Perseus & various beverages, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 14460 kHz Golos Rossii, at 1632 in Russian, 2 x 7230, strong hum noted on both frequencies. vy 73 de (Juergen Lohuis, Luenen, Germany, Nov 14, harmonics yg via DXLD) Nov 15: 18420 kHz 1504 UTC Golos Rossii, 3 x 6140 kHz 12280 kHz 1510 UTC Golos Rossii, 2 x 6140 kHz vy 73 de (Juergen Lohuis, Germany, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. 5001.02, 1955-2020, 09.11, Voice of Russia, Tbilisskaya, intermodulation mixture (6090 - 1089 = 5001), ex 4831, Russian talk, ID Voice of Russia, 2000 Yevangelskiye Chteniya with religious programme in Russian, choir of men sings, religious talk, best in USB heard with VOR in Spanish in background, 34333, QRM timesignal station 5000, heard // 7179 (25232). VOR strong on // 6090 in Spanish (Anker Petersen, heard in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 6035, 12.11 1510, The mystery station heard here on Nov 5 can now be explained. It is Radio Rossii in some Near East language (sounds like Iranian? [sic]). At 1510 another weaker station showed up. Probably some sort of mixing product. Today it was impossible to hear Voice of Shangri-La sign off at 1500 due to this mixing product.. The music from one of the stations was // 5935 and in thus R Rossii (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. [re 11-45] 6135, Tremendous signal of V of Russia Spanish via St. Petersburg site ends at 0300 UT Nov 9, S=9+50dBm !!! huge and powerful, VoRUS table of Vadim in dxing shows 800 kW of power, but HFCC registration entry shows half 400 kW instead, at 268 degree main lobe (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 6135, Nov 15 at 0043 check, V. de Rusia is still unreadable for special St. Pete site QSL, about equally weak signal to slightly wavering het from R. Santa Cruz, BOLIVIA, 6134.8v. Maybe one of these nights. Wolfgang Büschel points out that altho VOR 6135 is listed as an 800 kW transmitter, HFCC registration shows `only` 400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) V. of Russia, 6135, St.Petersburg Regional center. 10th anniversary card with night scene of St. Petersburg. Full data received in 9 1/2 hours for e-mail report. V/s Mikhail Timofeyev promised to mail hard copy of card & pennant. Very nice card and very accommodating response from Mikhail; who is a DSWCI member (Steve Wood, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 7260, Nov 16 at 1423, pleased to hear VOR in the morning here, unusual and not intended for us; some SSB QRhaM on the sides, but unlike some other 41m frequencies, no ham zero-beat to it. Commentary on International Tolerance Day, 1425 outro `Outlook` show, VOR promo for its 38 languages, etc.; 1426, `Russian Travelog` about guns fired each noon from the Fortress of St. Pete and St. Paul in ex- Leningrad; sufficient signal, but some hum. HFCC shows 11-16, 500 kW, 235 degrees from Vladivostok toward SE Asia, lacking languages. Aoki shows only 11-15, in English except for a Vietnamese hour at 12-13 7320, Nov 17 at 0700, timesignal is 3 seconds late compared to WWV at 0701! Can`t blame RWM either since previously we have found it tightly synchronized, i.e. accurate, with WWV 4 kHz away. Then R. Rossii ID. Good signal but some hum; is regular now from Magadan in eastern Siberia already audible here hours earlier in winter. HFCC shows it on the air 17-13, 100 kW 45 degrees from `Okhotsk`, but it`s much closer to Magadan at a place really called Arman. (Just in case someone will be fooled into sending Cold War bombers to the wrong place.) Watch out, Okhotskis! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. VOR Changes Opening Themes and IS --- Dear Fellow DX'ers: I noticed after the passing Of Voice Of Russia Announcer Carl Watts, that VOR changed not only its opening theme song, but the Interval Signal now sounds discofied with Sputnik like beeping in the background. I was told that they changed because it was time for Voice Of Russia to evolve. So, gone is the classic "Great Gates Of Kiev" tune and IS and replaced by the above mentioned IS, and opening piano- like tune. So if you tune around the bands you can hear the new theme song from VOR. 73's and Good Listening from (Noble West, TN, Nov 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Rachmaninov's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E7XHOotTX0&feature=related. (David Kernick, Interval Signals Online (intervalsignals.net), ibid.) Maybe new for the world service in English, but this theme is played for several months on the French service (and other services I suppose) (Jean-Michel Aubier, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. 14996 CW, RWM, good with pips, // 9996 slightly weaker but also good. 10 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT- 950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. NEW RUSSIAN LIMITS ON FOREIGN RADIO OWNERSHIP COME INTO FORCE | Text of report in English by Radio Netherlands website on 9 November As of 10 November, 2011, foreign and foreign-controlled entities will not be allowed to become the founder of a radio channel or acquire over 50 per cent of shares in a radio channel which broadcasts to more than one half of the territorial subjects of Russia, or over the territory on which one half or more of Russia's population resides. Earlier, such restriction applied only to television channels, but has now been extended to include radio channels as well. Licences for radio and television broadcasting will not be issued or renewed to companies which do not meet the above restriction. Source: Radio Netherlands website, Hilversum, in English 1306 gmt 9 Nov 11 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SAO TOME. QSL: VOA, 15580, via Pinheira, partial data letter via email in 40 days for a snail mail report with $3.00, local post card, and a self-prepared QSL. The letter verified my reception report, thanked me for my detailed reports and stated that a QSL card has been mailed via snail mail. The letter was signed by Helena Menezes, Secretary to the Station Manager hmenezes @ sto.ibb.gov This was my third attempt at QSLing this station over the past sesquiyear. Maybe with all the looming budget cuts, VOA is playing nice. This is the fourth IBB reply in the last two weeks from four different locations. Also about two weeks later I received my self- prepared full/data QSL with official IBB São Tomé seal. My card had a couple of cool-looking São Tomé stamps. This was a total of three responses for one direct report (Kivell, FL, QSL Report, Nov NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** SARAWAK [non]. 17560, *1000 [no date], R. Free Sarawak, nx mx sx (in Iban), SINPO 45554 (Kohji Venohara, Kushikimo, Japan, JRC MNRD 515, long wire, Nov World DX Club Contact via DXLD) sx means song, too long a word to spell out (gh, DXLD) Lunedì 7 novembre 2011, 1024 - 17560 kHz, Musica melodica asiatica e parlato OMs in apparente Bahasa Malaysia. Può essere sempre R. FREE SARAWAK da Yangi Yul (Tajikistan) anche nella stagione B11? Segnale sufficiente-insufficiente (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) 17560, R Free Sarawak, 16 Nov 1005 OM with talks in Malay, 1009 with a deli song. At 1925 [sic] with S5 S7; at 1155 S7, best on the 16 H antenna with some QRM from 17550 and possibly 17570 (Hungarian language) (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 9675, Nov 11 at 1910, lo-key talk in unID language, fair signal, not much else from abroad on band at this hour. Uplooked later, HFCC shows only: BSKSA, 18-21 in Turkish, 500 kW, 340 degrees from Riyadh. That fits: same azimuth carries on USward far beyond Turkey. 15435, Nov 14 at 1539, Arabic with heavy crackling breakup extending at least 15435-15455, from BSKSA. Program modulation itself sounds OK, this imposed atop it, by this still-defective transmitter. We are thankful that it has not yet resumed producing huge buzz over a much wider range (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15380, good Nov 16 at 0606 with Qur`an in reverby venue --- or artificially applied? HFCC shows 500 kW, 310 degrees from Riyadh to CIRAF 39N = Turkey, also USward. 21505, Nov 16 at 1455, BSKSA in Arabic is audible any morning, but this is the first time I have noticed crackly noise atop the modulation which underneath is unimpaired, just like we heard recently on 15435 after 1500. Bet it`s the very same defective transmitter! 21505 cuts off abruptly amid talk at 1457*, so I retune to 15435 and wait for it to appear there. Sometimes the QSY is earlier, overlapping with RVA via VATICAN until 1457* [see UNIDENTIFIED 15434]. On 15435, I wait, and wait. Finally at 1508 a very weak carrier appears, exciter? And several sex later, big carrier pops on, at first only with the crackling, then BSKSA Arabic modulation applied in progress underneath (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SIKKIM. See INDIA for 4835/4833/4837 monitoring ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5019,865 4.11 1005 SIBC, Honaira mkt svag LHU/PAX95 5019.865 4 Nov 1005, SIBC, Honiara very weak. LHU/PAX95 (Lars Jeppesen, Uppsala, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13 translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) PAX95 not explained, but could be name of a DXpedition (gh) ** SOMALIA [non]. 9930, 1640 6 Oct, R. Bar-Kulan via SOUTH AFRICA, OM & YL talk in Somali? Mention of Bar-Kulan, program cut off in mid- sentence at 1656 SIO 333 (Alan Pennington, Sheigra DXpedition, Scotland, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Radio Islam International, 1548, Lenasia (Johannesburg). Nov 12, 2011, Saturday. 0605-0619. ID at 0608 "This is Radio Islam International", followed by various local adverts including a travel agent offering package tours which include Israel. Then on to a "how to / where to" programme about fishing. Unusually good, it is usually JBA on medium wave. Radio Islam seems to merit its "International" tag by virtue of its presence on satellite audio channels and web streaming. Jo'burg sunrise 0313 (Bill Bingham, RSA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Adventist World Radio, 3215 Meyerton // 3345 Meyerton. Nov 12, 2011, Saturday. From 1810-1824 preacher, ID "AWR" and postal address at 1815, then music from Malawi. From 1820 to 1824 it was about first aid and comfort for kids. Both frequencies good, but also giving rise to spurs. Jo'burg sunset 1633. Adventist World Radio, spurs. 3185 and 3245, Meyerton. Nov 12, 2011, Saturday. 1810-1824. Nasty distorted spurs from the 3215 fundamental. The 3245 spur was much weaker than the one on 3185. Both heard on Drake and Hallicrafters. Jo'burg sunset 1633. Adventist World Radio, spurs. 3310 and 3380, Meyerton. Nov 12, 2011, Saturday. 1824-1830. Spurs from the 3345 fundamental, both heard on Drake and Hallicrafters. Jo'burg sunset 1633 (Bill Bingham, RSA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 15255, Nov 16 at 0605, fair signal from Channel Africa, with news in English. Usually inaudible even when Nigeria is in on 15120 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. 21410 [sic], 1215 27 Sept, REE in Spanish, SIO 333 (Colin Watson, Lanarkshire, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Probably typo for 21610; don`t see how there could be a mixing product on 21410, but filed in this originally by-frequency log without question between 20000 and 21470 (gh, DXLD) ** SPAIN [and non]. 11810-11815-11820, DRM noise Nov 11 at 0005 from REE via COSTA RICA, new transmission in Spanish to Brasil, why? There was conflicting info whether it`s 23-24 or 00-01 UT. Maybe also at 23, not checked before 24. Now has ACI from Chinese in AM on 11820, i.e. CRI, 200 degrees from Xi`an (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) QRDRM: see CHILE [and non]; OTHR QRM: see CYPRUS; WHRI QRM: see U S A 9765, Sunday Nov 13 at 1353, REE via COSTA RICA, ending `Amigos de la Onda Corta` still starting circa 1332; mixing with CCI in English, i.e. CRI via Xi`an at 13-15. At 1355 I tuned across 11910, also hearing REE, rougher modulation, closing this frequency to Filipinas, among others, and 11910 is via Beijing, CHINA site! So having a relay deal with the ChiCom hardly guarantees you a clear frequency anywhere else vs China`s excessive SW usage (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CUBA; ROMANIA 9605, R.E.E. 1938 English. Pop music, announcer, more music. Poor. Nov 15 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, Listening lakeside from my car and the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active whip on the car roof. Editor of World English Survey and Target Listening, available at http://www.odxa.on.ca dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 17745, SRS (via Woofferton), *1500+ nice to find the new site for B11 doing a fine job (RIP Sines), Sudanese yak opening with p-mail/e-mail address, website & news. GREAT music! & occasional English (anti-malaria PSA with some English & an infrequently-heard all English environmental/recycling PSA -- usually on around 1520 or so). Tnx Ron Howard for the tip/audio on the English recycling PSA. 4 Nov (Dan Sheedy, CA, via Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SUDAN [and non]. 15535, Nov 13 at 1541, unID talk with continuous 1 kHz tone (not an offset het, as with BFO can be pinned on 15534 and 15536). Mix with another mystery test? No, the other explanation, just like we used to hear on 13620, tone jamming against R. Dabanga in A-11 around 0500. Now scheduled on 15535 at 1530-1627 is R. Dabanga, 500 kW, 150 degrees via Wertachtal, GERMANY. We`ve yet to notice any jamming on the 0430-0557 Dabanga broadcast on 7315 via France (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15535, Dabanga 15 Nov 1556+ with phone interviews between 2 OM // 13800 both S20, 45554 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWAZILAND. QSL: TWR, 4775 via Manzini: verified my email report with a full/data pdf attachment in four days from the v/s, Mrs. Lorraine Stavropoulos, DX Secretary for Africa at lstavropo @ twr.org (Rich D`Angelo, PA, QSL Report, Nov NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** TAHITI [and non]. DXing from West Michigan, DUs for Nov. 12th, 2011 702: Only the slightest trace of a het [carrier] noted on the waterfall at 1220 UT [i.e. 2BL, Sydney NSW] 738: Faint audio punching through at 1224 UT, talk in French by lady with deep voice matching Polynésie 1ère web stream. Solid for about 5 minutes then pretty much gone as usual. 73, (Tim Tromp, Muskegon, MI, Microtelecom Perseus SDR + phased BOGs, ABDX via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Mercoledì 9 novembre 2011, 1112 - 9745 kHz (anche questa è anomala per l'orario), prob. fade/in VOICE OF KUANGHUA - Kuanyin (Taiwan), Mandarino, canzone pop locale e parlato YL. Segnale sufficiente-insufficiente, Fade/in sui 31 metri anche di qualche segnale dalla Cina popolare (Luca Botto Fiora, G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova) - Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [and non]. 11550v, Nov 15 at 1519, WEWN Spanish again has a het, no doubt RTI during this hour in Cantonese and Hakka, per Aoki Oct 31, which still included A-11 info for that, but not likely changed. Taiwan has an awful time making its transmitters meet frequencies! Aoki shows at 1530 language switch the power changes from 250 to 300 kW but the antenna stays 205 degrees from Tainan. This implies two different transmitters are employed, so it will be interesting to monitor at 1530 whether there is any change in the pitch of the het (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. Re: 6875, Nov 10 at 0619 check, yep, RTI via WYFR is still in wrong language, German. We are counting the days until they fix this or their schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Their 0200 UT broadcast on 5950 & 9680 was also missing just a huge signal but no program (Peter W Hansen, NY, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6875, Nov 11 at 0628 another nightly check whether RTI is still in the wrong language via WYFR, German instead of Spanish. Not tonight: not on the air at all (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Taiwan 6875 kHz in tedesco alle 6 UT. Ciao a tutti gli amici del gruppo! Vorrei segnalare il cambio di programmazione di R. Taiwan International alle 0600 UT su 6875 kHz via WYFR in tedesco anziché in spagnolo, come da schedule uffciale. Probabile problema di scambio dal satellite. 73 da (N. Marabello, Treviso, Italia, Nov 12, SONY ICF SW7600G, VHF estwerna azimuth 230 gradi bclnews.it yg via DXLD) 6875, missing last night, is back Nov 12 at 0618 check, yes, still in German from RTI via WYFR instead of scheduled Spanish; undercurrent presumably Chinese being voiced-over. Attn all SW stations: LOSE the voice-under completely after a few sex – we don`t need any such self- imposed QRM. 6875, Nov 13 at 0616, RTI via WYFR still in German, voice-overing Chinese QRM, instead of scheduled Spanish. 6875, Nov 15 at 0640: no RTI in German instead of Spanish via WYFR tonight, since the signal is totally missing again as it occasionally is. 6875, Nov 16 at 0627, standard remarx about RTI via WYFR being in German instead of scheduled Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) USA/TAIWAN, 6875 RTI Taiwan Program via Okeechobee Florida USA relay on Nov 17: Chinese, not En 0500-0600: 6875 wb. German 0600-0700: 6875 (as reported by Glenn), yes 6-7 UT RTI German on Nov 17. Station ID in French! at 0659 UT "...Okeechobee Floride ..." TX off at 0700:08 UT. 73 wb (Wolfgang Buschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. France. Radio Taiwan International relay, 15690 Issoudun. Nov 13, 2011, Sunday. 1720-1739. Gushing YL interviewing OM student (Sam). Later, several mentions of Taiwan in a programme called "Made in Taiwan". Apparently the country is a world leader in the manufacture of saxophones. They then destroyed the image by reporting that Taiwan is also a world leader in female infanticide. Did I hear that correctly ?? Fair signal, but quite fadey, which makes it difficult to hear at times. Also a fair bit of lightning QRN, we have a storm brewing here. Jo'burg sunset 1633 (Bill Bingham, RSA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAJIKISTAN. 2321.93 kHz, 1643 13 Oct, Tajik R, Dushanbe, harmonic 2 x 1161, local music, announcements in vernacular, 1657 ``Sadoi Dushanbe``. Weak, only audible on Middle-East beverage, SIO 141 (Alan Pennington, Sheigra DXpedition, Scotland, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** TIBET. 4920/6200/7255, PBS Xizang, 1422-1447+, mixed with AIR (Chennai) on 60M, clear on 49M (a little ACI from 6195), & under unID Chinese on 41M. Could only // the music selections (assuming my ears weren't deceiving me) 4 Nov (Dan Sheedy, CA, via Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Hi Everyone, 4905, Xizang PBS, Lhasa, "Holy Tibet" programme in English. It is a regular but not often at the dials at this time, 1540 to catch it. [1:12] http://www.box.net/shared/2gxl1c6lzp22fv01ak89 (Mark Davies, Anglesey, Wales, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Holy Tibet podcasts are at http://en.tibetradio.cn/jmdb_list.asp?ClassID=2G38384I81I7GHI Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England, UK, ibid.) Thanks, Harry for this link. Great to hear this in high quality sound. Have just listened to their Sunday 6 November podcast. First item (2 minutes into the broadcast) is about subsidised housing, but really, it is virtually unintelligible. The script sounds like a machine translation at its worst. Nice to hear a little Tibetan music at the end though. I added the link to the podcasts at World DX Club "Links to International Radio Stations" web-page at http://www.worlddxclub.org.uk/WDXC_links_stations.html for ease of reference (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, Nov 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4905, PBS Xizang, 1536 "Holy Tibet" in English with legend of Boy and "Beaver King". 45544 - V. Good, excellent audio. Nov 12 (Bruce Jensen, Pigeon Point, California, USA, Listening from car with Icom IC-R75 and 135-meter longwire. Some tentative, all comments welcome, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA. BIBLE VOICE BROADCASTING 4750. Fick detta schema på mailen. Dunamis ska vara aktiv på 4750 enligt detta enligt följande tider: [BIBLE VOICE BROADCASTING 4750 kHz. Got this schedule by e-mail and according to this Dunamis is to be active on 4750 during the following times:] All our Shortwave Programs are available for internet listening at http://www.biblevoice.org (Select Listen and then Language and/or the Broadcaster Name). Programmers love to hear from you directly! Send your reports to mail @ biblevoice.org or mail to: BVB, P O Box 425, Station E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6H 4E3 Dunamis Shortwave 4.750 mhz – 60 meter band, 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. local Uganda time! (1500–1900 UT) Broadcasting from Mukono, Uganda (Lars Jeppesen via NORDX via SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD)) ** UKRAINE. Re 11-45: Re: SWSites 'Grim Reaper Report' B11 > Krasne has probably been shut down on 30 June 2011, since on this > day the Voice of Russia transmissions from there ceased and have in > the case of German, which was particularly affected, replaced by > Bolshakovo again. The question is whether the equipment is still > being kept, as it has been done throughout earlier extended silence > periods. It is still uncertain whether Radio Ukraine International will resume its broadcasts on short wave as no final decision has been made, so the equipment is still there. Besides, RRT probably considers possibility of selling airtime to foreign broadcasters (e.g. Voice of Russia). > Taranovka/Taranivka: The station as such may still be active on 837 > or has the mediumwave transmitter been turned off? The shortwave > transmitters are off since Radio Ukraine International had been > taken off shortwave in January/February (Kai Ludwig, Germany, > shortwavesites yg via DXLD) continued under RUSSIA Last time shortwave transmissions from that site had been observed on 9420 kHz in May, shortly before RUI suspended its programs in Ukrainian language on May 25 (resumed on June 16 on satellite and web stream only). -- (Aleksandr Diadischev, Ukraine, Nov 15, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. WORLD SERVICE RECEIVES CASH BOOST The BBC World Service Trust will receive a £90m government grant from the Department for International Development. http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/entertainment-arts-15711864 (via Ed Gardner, DXLD) BBC CHARITY GETS £90M GRANT AFTER WORLD SERVICE CUTS Sunday Times November 13, 2011 http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/National/article820923.ece A BBC charity is being handed £90m by Andrew Mitchell, the international development secretary, in what some see as a sop to critics of the government’s decision to cut funding to the World Service. The BBC World Service Trust, which trains journalists and helps make programmes in developing countries, will be instructed to use its programmes for “political and social change”. MPs will view the handout as some compensation for the 16% cut in the £270m Foreign Office budget for the World Service announced last year. There was anger after the BBC said the reduction would mean cutbacks in Arab, Hindi and Somali services. Richard Ottaway MP, chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, said: “The government has listened to the concerns over cuts to the World Service and to its credit has acted. It is a fantastic response and goes a long way to reversing the impact of the cuts.” The trust is independently funded from the BBC and has its own staff numbering 500 in 13 countries. The Department for International Development (Dfid) said the money would benefit more than 200m people in war-torn or unstable countries and build on the success of the media in holding governments to account during the Arab spring. It could include funding for televised pre-election debates or more radio programmes such as Afghan Woman’s Hour, which has been broadcast on the World Service since 2005. Other projects could include ensuring public information broadcasts during a disaster. The charity’s work has also included producing videos to help promote safe sex. The £90m grant approved by Mitchell comprises £81m of new funds and £9m which had already been allocated to the trust. The grant could prove controversial at a time when the government is being attacked for its decision to ringfence the £7.8 billion aid budget while cutting public services. Critics said the handout was evidence that money was being wasted. Philip Davies, the Conservative MP, said: “When people talk about international development budgets, they don’t think that includes subsidising the BBC. Dfid seems to have so much money that they don’t know what to do with it.” (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U K. RIP Wooferton? [sic] On his Switzerland in Sound Facebook group, Bob Zanotti is reporting that Babcock is going to close and dismantle the ex-BBC transmitter site at Wooferton, UK. No time frame has been mentioned; however it stands to reason as Deutsche Welle was the biggest user (Mark Coady, Nov 11, cumbredx via DXLD) Viz.: Bob Zanotti on "Switzerland in Sound" Facebook pages 11 November 2011 Sad news: I got confirmation that as a result of Deutsche Welle closing down its German service on SW to Europe, the Babcock (ex-BBC WS) transmitter plant at Wooferton UK will be closed and dismantled. DW had been their biggest customer. Another example of the collective insanity ruling our world right now, and the shortsightedness it has created. Today, everything revolves around money, and common sense is a term that is no long practiced or understood. It looks bad for DRM. My German contact describes it as a "disaster". As I once said years ago, a great idea, but perhaps too little too late https://www.facebook.com/groups/105423956179175/ (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Sic - Woofferton-UK is still alive. Meant Rampisham instead ... 73wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Woofferton Will Live --- Bob Zanotti now is reporting that Rampisham is the only Babcock site being closed. Hooray! (Mark Coady, Editor, Your Reports, Nov 12, ODXA yg via DXLD) From Bob Zanotti on the "Switzerland In Sound" Facebook group Late News: I have just received word that the Bobcock's [sic] transmitter plant at Woofferton will *not* be closed. They have decided to lose [sic] Rampisham. https://www.facebook.com/groups/105423956179175/ (via Mike Terry, Nov 12, dxldyg via DXLD) This is not news. Bob apparently had the two sites mixed up when he said that Woof would close. Ramp has already closed, as readers of DXLD would know (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** U K [and non] 7445, Nov 12 at 0056, S Asian singing, good signal; 0059.5 ``BBC Afghanistan – Pashto``. HFCC shows 7445 is 250 kW, 75 degrees from Woofferton at 0030-0200 in Dari/Pashto/Dari, switching site to Cyprus for 0200-0330 300 kW, 77 degrees in Pashto/Dari/Pashto, plus 0330-0430 Farsi at 97 degrees. 5975, Nov 12 at 1454, BBCWS in English, poor // 9740 and 5875. HFCC B- 11 as of Nov 11 shows 5975 as 14-17, 250 kW, 320 degrees from SINGAPORE. I`d rather this be the entry just above it: 5975, 13-16, RRI, Indonesia, 10 kW, 0 degrees from SER[ui?], in English! Sorry, I don`t believe it. Who comes up with such imaginary registrations? 5845, Nov 13 at 1329, weak B-B-C- chimes, 1330 opening in unknown language, listed as Bengali, 325 degrees from THAILAND. 5875 and 5975, Nov 13 at 1455 BBCWS in English still audible on 50+ metres, but NOT //. 5975 also has beep-hets every few sex from on-and- off carrier on 5974, spaced 2.5-5.0-2.5-5.0 seconds apart, etc., why? Counted 18 of them in 60 seconds. 5975 was playing a clip from R. Peking. 5975 is SINGAPORE, 5875 is THAILAND. IIRC, in a previous hour they were indeed parallel. 15400, Nov 16 at 0606, BBCWS in English very good and much stronger than // 15420, which is to be expected for 15400, 330 degrees from Meyerton like Radio RSA was, vs 15420 registered as 270 from Seychelles AND 177 from Cyprus --- are they really running both or is it either-or? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UNITED STATES. QSL: WWVB 60 kHz, sent email reply in 5 days for email report sent to nist.radio --- boulder.nist.gov. For QSL'ing purposes, I had included a jpg image with a minute's worth of the received audio waveform (as displayed by the Audacity audio editing program). The v/s Glenn Nelson was able to look at the waveform I sent and "read" it, confirming that the time I mentioned in my report matched what he saw in the waveform (Bruce Portzer, WA, Nov 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 10000, WWV, Nov 13 at 2115-2116 was announcing that something would be discontinued as of November 30. It was rushed, poorly enunciated and hard to copy; need to recheck at any other :15. Which reminds me, I also want to complain that the propagation half- sesqui-minute at :18:00-:18:45 no longer repeats any of the data even tho there is time to spare. The repeats immediately after the first number would often compensate for momentary fades or selective distortion. 15000, Nov 15 at 0648, VG signal from WWV (not WWVH), and good even on 20000 at 0704. Altho solar flux is way up, this is less than one megameter away and surely due to some nightmiddle HF sporadic E. So I also looked for KOA-NBFM on 25950, but MUF wasn`t that high (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. 7811 weirdness --- anyone on live tonight besides me hearing the weirdness on 7811 / USB? Is this a pirate station? Currently electronica / trance music (Rick. Arizona, Barton, 0503 UT Nov 12, ABDX via DXLD) 7811.0-USB, Nov 12 at 0635, music instead of talk. Surely it`s AFN, but plugged into some alternative program stream instead of the usual news/talk one. This type of music with wide dynamic range and heavy beat is hardly suitable for SSB. Still on techno(?) music feed next day Nov 13 at 0612, and also at 1407, when BTW, 12133.5 was absent while IBB Vietnamese via Sri Lanka was unimpeded on 12130. 7811-USB, Nov 15 at 0652, AFN Florida with a string of PSAs starting with opposing depression/suicide. This talk segment lasted until 0656, then back to knock-off music reminiscent of Super Mario, and continued right past hourtop, no news in this drastic format change. I suspect these are at the whim of the transmitter operator and/or someboat axually depending on SW, and could just as abruptly switch back to information from AFN`s multiple streams available on satellite from Los Ángeles; we and NPR can only hope. 7811-USB, Nov 16 at 0621, yay, as hoped, AFN is back to news/talk stream instead of techno music for several days, in a string of features lasting 1 or 2 minutes each. First it`s DaveRoss.com on Penn State sex; PTSD PSA; 0622 Osgood File on Ponzi schemes; 0624 Sound Bites (sp?), plugging a Thanksgiving show on History Channel; 0625 Today 11/16 in Rock History; 0626 Outdoor World from BassProShop, something fishy here, tips instead on deer hunting, but first a promo for Bob & Tom Show on AFN`s Legacy channel. At next check 1442, poorly audible on 7811, better on // 12133.5-USB during YL talk show, but heavy QRM from AM broadcaster on 12130.0, i.e. IBB Vietnamese via SRI LANKA (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. Is R Sawa on SW or not now? RADIO SAWA in Arabic to NoAF, NoEaAF, NE, ME 0000-2400 990 to Libya, Egypt, Palestine 0000-2400 1170 to NE/ME 0000-2400 1548 to NE/ME 1645-0400 1431 to Djibouti, NoEaAF 1200-1300 15770 17840 1300-1330 15770 17880 1330-1500 11880 17880 1500-1530 11780 11880 1530-1600 11780 17515 1600-1700 9760 17515 (VOA, via William Hague-UK, NWDXC, Oct 19 via BC-DX Oct 27 via DXLD) But is R. Sawa really on any SW frequencies now?? (Glenn Hauser, Nov 13, dxldyg via DXLD) I believe the above was a tentative schedule for B-11, planned before MAQ was killed, upon which event IBB abruptly turned off the Sawa SW frequencies then in use, as if directly tied to the non-survival of MAQ, an insensitive, cruel way to treat other listeners (Glenn Hauser, Nov 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9760 and 17515 are empty at 1630 on 13 Nov (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) RADIO SAWA in Arabic to NoAF, NoEAf, NE, ME 0000-2400 990 to Libya, Egypt, Palestine 0000-2400 1170 to NE/ME 0000-2400 1548 to NE/ME 1645-0400 1431 to Djibouti, NoEAf all deleted, only MW: 1200-1300 15770 17840 1300-1330 15770 17880 1330-1500 11880 17880 1500-1530 11780 11880 1530-1600 11780 17515 1600-1700 9760 17515 (Wolfgang Büschel, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, ibid.) After peacefulness found its way into Libya and Egypt, all SW outlets ceased sometime in past 5 weeks. [however, there is still this Arabish on SW from IBB:] AFIA DARFUR RADIO in Arabic-Sudanese to greater Sudan area. 0300-0330 5885SMG 7275SAO 9845BOT 1800-1830 9805WER 11615SMG 11975IRA 1900-1930 9780SMG 9815WER 11830SAO 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 27640, Nov 11 at 1455 I am straining to hear R. Martí Greenville harmonic, 2 x 13820, vs the QRM mostly on sides from freebanders, and I finally make a match with // 15330 when some music plays on extremely weak signal. Next target: 30660 = 2 x 15330, but not today, nor 23860 = 2 x 11930 which I heard a few weeks ago (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, I wanted to let you know that SWLs who hear programs from the VOA Greenville transmitting station can now QSL direct to us at the transmitter site. We got permission to do this and have come up with a QSL which shows the curtain antennas on the card. It`s pretty nice looking. The QSL cards are only for transmissions originating from the Greenville facility. QSL cards for other VOA transmitter sites must be sent to DC or to the transmitter site directly. Reports are to be sent to: Voice of America Transmitting Station 3913 VOA Site "B" Road Grimesland, North Carolina 27837-8977 USA No return postage needed. The management thinks we will only ever get one or two requests. 73 (Glenn Swiderski, Transmitter Technician, VOA Greenville, Nov 14, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13580, Nov 14 at 1454, something is getting jammed with noise and two or three alternating tones. Only scheduled this hour in HFCC and Aoki is VOA Kurdish, 250 kW, 105 degrees from Wertachtal, GERMANY; to be followed by R. Cairo Albanian at 15-16, but this noise is more than just a defective ERTU transmitter; would VOA Kurdish really be jammed by anyone? Turkey? Iran? Syria: ha ha, they can barely maintain their own SWBC. 17715, Nov 14 at 1500, VOA news in English is fair, but with very heavy flutter, 1505 into `Border Crossings` from VOA Music Mix. Uplooked later, I was surprised to find HFCC shows site as BOTSWANA, 100 kW, 10 degrees, whence flutter is unusual, expecting a trans-polar route. But propagation has really been disturbed today unlike yesterday. You`d never know this from WWV at 1500: ``Solar-terrestrial indices for 13 November follow. Solar flux 155 and mid-latitude A-index 1. The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 14 November was 1 (9 nT). No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are predicted for the next 24 hours.`` On Oct 28, Mike Cooper heard Larry London announce all the new SW frequencies for `Border Crossings`: 15580, 17715, 17895 to Africa; 7575, 9930, 12150 to Asia; 11840, 13570 to Middle East, Europe, Northern Africa (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jamming VOA in Spanish: see CUBA [and non] 17650, Nov 16 at 1453 VOA sufficient with news instead of Music Mix! Bookmark this one; it`s 100 kW, 88 degrees from SÃO TOMÉ at 14-15. Plus, conveniently next down on 17640 is BBCWS in English news too, if you prefer; that`s 250 kW, 114 degrees from ASCENSION at 13-17, with lots more on 17640 before and after: 05-08 Cyprus, 07-13 Seychelles, 17-19 Meyerton (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) David Ensor, new director of VOA is on The Communicators on C-SPAN (1) at 2330 UT Nov 12. Should repeat Monday morning and evening on C-SPAN (2) and available ondemand. Was repeat of Sep 6; video and transcript: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/301402-1 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Watching as we speak. Ensor said that the shortwave audience "is so tiny". Tiny Trap? (Clara Listensprechen, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, he`s bought into the ``use SW only in certain cases`` scenario (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. BBG BROADCASTS REACH RECORD AUDIENCES (WASHINGTON, D.C.—November 15, 2011) U.S. government funded international broadcasters reached an estimated 187 million people every week in 2011, an increase of 22 million from last year's figure, according to new audience data being made public by the Broadcasting Board of Governors. “We are pleased that people the world over are responding in unprecedented numbers to our high-quality journalism and active audience engagement,” said BBG Chairman Walter Isaacson. “The ability of our broadcasters to inform, engage and connect audiences through traditional and social media alike lie behind these impressive results and will be essential to driving future audience reach and impact.” The record numbers, released in the BBG Performance and Accountability Report (PAR), measure the combined audience of the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio and TV Martí, Radio Free Asia (RFA) and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa). The report details impact on audiences around the globe including people in the world’s most repressive media and political environments. The BBG’s PAR follows on the heels of BBG’s latest strategic plan, Impact through Innovation and Integration, which sets an over-arching objective of making BBG the world’s leading international news agency working to foster freedom and democracy with the goal of reaching 216 million people weekly by 2016. This year there were significant audience increases in Afghanistan, where RFE/RL and VOA together reach 75% of adults weekly; in Egypt, where Alhurra TV doubled its weekly audience to 15% in tandem with the Arab Spring; and in Indonesia, where VOA’s aggressive affiliate strategy has boosted weekly audiences to some 38 million adults. Audiences in many other strategically relevant countries held strong. In Nigeria, VOA retains its position as a news source of record with 23 million weekly listeners. In Burma, VOA and RFA reach 26% and 24% of adults, respectively, amounting to a weekly audience of 10 million. Audience declines took place notably in Iran, where the government continues aggressive jamming of every BBG transmission platform, including satellite uplink jamming; and Pakistan, where the media market is increasingly fragmented and use of radio is declining. While radio remains the BBG’s number one media platform, reaching 106 million people per week, television’s growth puts it 97 million people. The Internet audience was approximately 10 million, with the largest online audiences measured in Iraq, Russia, Indonesia, Egypt and Iran. Download 2011 Performance and Accountability Report (PDF) BBG 2011 Audience Overview (PDF) BBG Research Methodology (PDF) for linx see http://www.bbg.gov/pressroom/press-releases/BBG_Broadcasts_Reach_Record_Audiences.html (BBG press release via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD) For the USIB audience, Afghanistan and Iraq are first and second in terms of reach by percentage of population, and third and fourth by numeric size of audience. The suggests a strategy for international broadcasting: first, militarily occupy the target country, then set up a network of terrestrial radio and television transmitters in that country (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) PRESIDENT OBAMA ANNOUNCES NOMINATION FOR UNDERSECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY, WHO WOULD ALSO ATTEND BBG MEETINGS. Posted: 10 Nov 2011 White House press release, 4 Nov 2011, via Chicago Sun-Times: "Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts: ... Tara D. Sonenshine - Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Department of State. ... Tara D. Sonenshine is the Executive Vice President of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Prior to joining USIP, she was a strategic communications adviser to many international organizations including USIP, the International Crisis Group, Internews, CARE, The American Academy of Diplomacy, and the International Women's Media Foundation. Ms. Sonenshine served in various capacities at the White House during the Clinton Administration, including Transition Director, Director of Foreign Policy Planning for the National Security Council, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Communications. Prior to serving in the Clinton Administration, Ms. Sonenshine was an Editorial Producer of ABC News' Nightline, where she worked for more than a decade. She was also an off-air reporter at the Pentagon for ABC's World News Tonight and is the recipient of 10 News Emmy Awards for coverage of international affairs. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University.' (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) -- If approved by the Senate, Ms. Sonenshine would represent Secretary of State Clinton on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, with one of nine votes (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** U S A. 9479, WORLD OF RADIO on WTWW: 2100 13 Oct, SIO 244 (Dave Kenny, Sheigra DXpedition, Scotland, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 2102 13 Oct, SIO 344 (Alan Pennington, ibid.) Now at 2200 Thursdays ** U S A [non]. 5980, WORLD OF RADIO on Hamburger Lokal Radio, Kall: 0930 4 Oct, SIO 141, barely audible. 0930 11 Oct, SIO 242, better than 4 Oct (Dave Kenny, Sheigra DXpedition, Scotland, Nov BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 0930 11 Oct, SIO 242, QRM from R. Martí (Alan Pennington, ibid.) Now at 1030 Tuesdays; less QRMartí? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1590 monitoring: confirmed first broadcast on WTWW 9479, Thursday November 10 at 2200, but the audio was breaking up continuously for the entire period --- you could still follow what I was saying, but it was surely annoying, a turn-off. The WTWW local ID just before it was not breaking up. Later chex of 9479 and at 0637 & 1330 of 5755 found the same kind of breakup during SFAW. Hope they get it fixed by UT Sunday 0500 for the repeat of WOR. WRMI 9955: should have also been on at 2200 Thursday, nothing but jamming audible. Before the timeshift, WRMI was experimentally broadcasting a R. Martí program at 22-23, but it`s not on their new Nov 7 schedule grid at any time. There is nothing `requiring` jamming at 2200 except on Sundays, `Foro Revolucionario` at 2130-2230. At 0600 UT Friday Nov 11, WOR confirmed on WRMI webcast; 9955 checked at 0624 had pulse jamming and no WRMI audible. Next airing at 1530: no jamming, but 9955 dominated by RFA in Tibetan, atop fast SAH presumably from WRMI with WOR. Next times to try: Sat 0900, 1600, 1830, Sun 0900, 1630, 1830. WBCQ 7490: we checked by 2220 Thursday Nov 10 during Amos & Andy, and the BBCWS QRM from Thailand was considerable, continued so as WOR was starting at 2230. No longer an audible heterodyne, just a subaudible one, so Allan must have got my note and at least adjusted the frequency. Playback UT Monday 0400v on Area 51, 5110v-CUSB should be OK. We confirmed that 7505 is open and available as a much better frequency for WBCQ. However, close to 2400 there was a weak broadcast signal on 7510 where nothing is listed. What`s that? WWRB 3195 & 5051: WOR confirmed UT Friday 0431, this time only a 10-15 second respectful pause after the SC preacher. ACB Radio Mainstream was supposedly staying on local time, meaning WOR would appear on even UT hours thru UT Friday from 0200 --- but it was not on at 0400, instead 0500. They tell me the entire schedule is still going to shift a real hour by next week, when we should be on even instead of odd UT hours Friday. WORLD OF RADIO 1590 monitoring: Saturday Nov 12 after 1600, JBA on 9955 WRMI; at least there is no jamming now. HFCC shows nothing but WRMI on 9955 after 1600 when RFA finishes Tibetan via Tinian; but Aoki still has YFR Russian via Taiwan at 15-17, but is it really? The first hour would conflict with RFA over there. Taiwan listings are still banned from HFCC by the ChiCom. Remaining SW airings of WOR: on 9955 WRMI, Sat 1830, Sun 0900, 1630, 1830, Mon 1230, 1630, 2230; Tue & Wed 1630. On WTWW: UT Sunday 0500 on 5755 On WBCQ Area 51: UT Monday 0400v on 5110v-CUSB On Hamburger Lokalradio: Tuesday 1030 on 5980 I wonder if WOR was ever heard on HLR`s 7265 tests? [no - Voelkner] WORLD OF RADIO 1590 monitoring: Confirmed on WTWW 5755, at 0500 UT Sunday Nov 13, ex-0400. And the modulation breakup has been fixed; George says the problem was in the WTWW computer which just needed rebooting. But SFAW audio on WTWW-1 continues with annoying low rumble. A high-pass audio filter along the line could eliminate that. Other airings: on WRMI 9955, Sunday 1630, 1830, Monday 1230, 1630, 2230, Tuesday & Wednesday 1630. On WBCQ Area 51, UT Monday 0400v on 5110v-CUSB. On WRN via SiriusXM channel 120: Sunday 1830. On Hamburger Lokalradio, Germany, 5980, Tuesday 1030. Complete schedule including webcasts at http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WORLD OF RADIO 1590 monitoring: confirmed just after 0400 UT Monday Nov 14 on Area 51 webcast, presumably also WBCQ 5110v-CUSB. Remaining WRMI 9955 and webcast times: Monday 1230, 1630, 2230, Tuesday & Wednesday 1630; on Hamburger Lokalradio, Germany, 5980: Tuesday 1030 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1591: first SW airings from Nov 17 are: Thu 2200 on WTWW 9479 Thu 2200 on WRMI 9955 Thu 2230 on WBCQ 7490 Fri 0430 on WWRB 3195, 5051 Fri 0600 on WRMI 9955 Fri 1530 on WRMI 9955 Sat 0900 on WRMI 9955 Sat 1600 on WRMI 9955 Sat 1830 on WRMI 9955 Sun 0500 on WTWW 5755 Sun 0900 on WRMI 9955 Sun 1630 on WRMI 9955 Sun 1830 on WRMI 9955 Mon 0400 on WBCQ 5110v-CUSB Area 51 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Then we learnt that WRMI SW airtime on 9955 M-F has been cut to 23-15 only, many DX programs off ** U S A. 7490, Fri Nov 11 at 2230, amid shifted hour of old 78s on the `Behaviour Night` show, always enjoyable. WBCQ well atop BBC Thailand today, unlike yesterday during WOR and Tuesday during `Frecuencia al Día`, but still lo-het rumble QRM. I can`t help but suspect the persona/accent of the host is a put-on, like Marion of `Attic` sister show 48 hours later on Sundays. This still has a Myspace page with portrait of John Landry a.k.a. Sir Scratchy http://www.myspace.com/sirscratchy Later he inserted what sounded like a real commercial for a contemporary NYC club which apparently features this kind of music, for NY at amazingly low admission price/cover charge + drinx minimum 15420-CUSB, UT Sat Nov 12 at 0105, WBCQ is on at this late hour, as initially listening to `Allan Weiner Worldwide` on 7490, he said they were `trimulcasting`(?) this week, and asking for reports on 15420. It was rather weak but steady here, sufficient if received in USB, and // 5110v. However, the audio on 15420 and 5110 was running way behind 7490! I timed it at 1 minute and 11 seconds delay; can this be deliberate for 11/11/11?? I suspect the other two transmitters are for some reason being fed by an internet stream even tho they are right next to the 7490 transmitter. Phone calls kept interrupting what Allan was trying to say. 7490, Sunday Nov 13 at 2250 checking how `Marion`s Attic` on WBCQ is doing against BBC Thailand: certainly on top, but with low rumbling audible het as WBCQ must be drifting off-frequency again. The `narrow` filter on the FRG-7 helps a lot in this situation, cutting off the lower audio frequencies; does anyone have the spex on what frequencies this filter passes (as well as the other two settings)? Meanwhile, 7505 remains open and free of QRM, let alone WRNO. 7490, Nov 15 at 0043, insane preacher ranting on WBCQ, where his speech is free. Schedule shows `Faith Holiness Church`. Same one is also on several other SW stations. Has to be heard to be disbelieved (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5755, Nov 12 at 0620, SFAW audio is no longer breaking up. Apparently a problem at WTWW-1`s satellite receiver. George McClintock confirmed at 0615 that it had been fixed. But the SFAW modulation is still deficient with hum as always, 9479 in the daytime. Everything is go for the special live inaugural broadcast of WTWW-2, Sat Nov 12 at 22-24 on 9990, 00-04 UT Nov 13 on 5085, with Ted Randall playing oldies and taking phone calls, most of which will probably come from hams due to advance publicity via ARRL and Southgate. They should not expect to hear any oldies or call-ins like this after regular service begins with a new full-time client (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SPECIAL PROGRAMME TODAY LAUNCHES WTWW NEW SHORTWAVE FACILITY You are invited to help spread the word about this wonderful hobby amateur radio to a global radio audience! You are invited to call into a live radio show tomorrow (today) Saturday November 12, 2011 between 4 PM Central and 10 PM Central. This is an International Shortwave Radio broadcast with global coverage. You are invited to call in and tell us about your local club or organization and share with us things your group may be doing. We would like to hear about your interests in the hobby and what it was that got your interest and opened the door to the hobby. There are millions of shortwave listeners around the world, so this a good opportunity to tell them about our hobby and the ARRL. So spread the word to all radio amateurs that you know and let them know they are invited to call in. Saturday`s broadcast is the launch of a new 100,000 watt shortwave transmitter for a new shortwave facility, WTWW just outside of Nashville, TN. The frequencies are from 4 PM till 6PM Central 9990 KHZ and from 6 PM till 10 PM Central 5085 KHZ. A link to a live stream will be posted on http://www.tedrandall.com We will be reading emails over the air, taking requests and dedications and most important putting as many radio amateurs on the air that will call in. Let`s tell the world about our hobby and spread some international good will! The phone number to call in starting tomorrow at 4 PM Central is 615- 547-9520 The world will be waiting to hear from you! Thanks for your participation and 73 Ted Randall QSO Radio Show http://www.tedrandall.com tedrandall@tedrandall.com 615-547-9520 (Via Southgate http://www.southgatearc.org/news/november2011/help_promote_amateur_radio_around_the_world.htm via Mike Terry, Nov 12, dxldyg via DXLD) Sure sounds like a program to me, not a programme (gh) WTWW TX Number 2 has its first transmission on 9990 in progress as of Sat November 12, 2011 at 2218 UT in English. It began with music leading into Ted Randall's opening spiel, then taking first call after a shaky start, with computer running same Staple Singers song over again, "I'll Take You There" released March 1972. Strong signal In Tenn., using a Sangean ATS818ACS with longwire cable dipole 100 feet between a pole and a tree at one end, and center fed through the window sill at my QTH. This is 10 kHz away from WWV on 10000. Has Anyone tuned into this so far? Give it a try and send Ted a reception report. 73's, (Noble West, Clinton, Tennessee, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I'm listening in Seattle and receiving strong spurs on 9977.238 and 10002.762 kHz, the latter dangerously close to WWV. Has anyone else noticed them? (Bruce Portzer, 2231 UT, ibid.) Spurious splatter signals noted here on remote SDR receivers in Northern Germany, Netherlands, east London-UK, as well as on N1ZZN Hanson-MA-USA remote SDR site 9934-9941 kHz, two peaks at 9938.665 and 9938.980 9960-9967 peak at 9964.480 9974-9981 peak at 9977.243 10001-10007 peak at 10002.760 10013-10018 peak at 10015.516 10027-10029 peak at 10028.273. 73 (Wolfgang df5sx Büschel,, Germany, 2328 UT, ibid.) WTWW coming in like gangbusters here at my location in Sumner, IA on 9990 before Midnight UT and 5085 after 0000 UT. I also noticed splattering and spurs on both frequencies (Tom Nyberg, IOWA, ibid.) 5085, WTWW 2 Testing, 0130 UT, Nov 13. Still spurious noted also here in Germany. 5059.490, 5072.240, 5097.8 Codar covered, 5110.530 next to WBCQ 5109.73-usb and 700 Hertz heterodyne, faint 5123.26 kHz. 73 (Wolfgang df5sx Germany 0144 Nov 13, ibid.) Our friend, Glenn Hauser, was mentioned frequently on the QSO radio show today. http://www.tedrandall.com/ It seems that every caller from Oklahoma caused Ted to make the connection. :) 73 (Lloyd, KC5FM, OK, dxldyg via DXLD) WTWW-2 transmission but not program test took place as scheduled Nov 12-13: 9990 carrier on at *2159, 2200 very distorted musical modulation, brief break in transmission, back on still distorted overmodulation, splattering 9940-10030 or so, and then even audible between 9850 and 10120. 2206 ID and more music. 2209 Ted Randall with live announcement, asking for calls to 615-543-9520 or to tedrandall @ tedrandall.com Said something about the computer going crazy in playing back music atop music. The spurs continue and at 2229 I find peaks circa 9977, 10003, somewhat weaker at further out multiples of approx. 13 kHz, i.e. 9964, 10016, 10029, 10042 and even to 10120 in the ham band and as low as 9850. Ted was taking phone calls, not quick but long ones, including at 2234 from KC5FM in OK, and they mention gh and WOR, how our program is for the aficionado, not general audience. 2322 still spurs covering 9900 to 10050+ at least. For roughly an hour around 2330-2430, ARRL PR man was on the phone with one long commercial for ham radio. Phone calls were often interrupted by call-waiting beep signals, which Ted said there was no way to turn off. Meanwhile, made frequency change a few minutes after 0000 to 5085. Unfortunately, this too had spur field peaking at 13 kHz intervals, notably 5072 vs WWCR 5070, and 5111 vs WBCQ 5110v. Next caller for half a sesquihour from 0030 or so was Rod Hembree, visiting AZ, currently buying 23/7 on WBCQ 9330, and my ears glazed over as he started proselytizing. At 0200, WWCR and WBCQ were off, so the WTWW spurs were clearly audible circa 5072, 5098, also 5059, 5111, 5124. (After 0200 we were distracted by the Radio Waves International pirate special from FRANCE q.v. via Lithuania on 7415, trying to monitor both on two receivers.) At 0238 UT Nov 13, noticed that owner George McClintock himself was phoning in from the site on 5085, explaining propagation basics, history and legalities of SWBC in the USA. The entire show was mostly talk from phone calls, with only brief musical breaks, most of which were requests. As expected, most of the callers were licensed hams, following an advance publicity barrage via ARRL, QRZ.com, Southgate et al. And most of the discussion prompted by Ted was about ham radio, rather than shortwave broadcasting. Wrapped up at 0400, brief open carrier and off. The spurs are a big problem which must be fixed before WTWW-2 begins regular service. This came from Bruce Portzer in Washington state: ``I'm listening in Seattle and receiving strong spurs on 9977.238 and 10002.762 kHz, the latter dangerously close to WWV. Has anyone else noticed them? Bruce`` The spurs were also monitored and measured as far away as Germany by Wolfgang Büschel: ``Spurious splatter signals noted here on remote SDR receivers in Northern Germany, Netherlands, east London-UK, as well as on N1ZZN Hanson-MA-USA remote SDR site: 9934-9941 kHz, two peaks at 9938.665 and 9938.980 9960-9967 peak at 9964.480 9974-9981 peak at 9977.243 10001-10007 peak at 10002.760 10013-10018 peak at 10015.516 10027-10029 peak at 10028.273. 5085, WTWW 2 Testing, 0130 UT, Nov 13. Still spurious noted also here in Germany. 5059.490 5072.240 5097.8-Codar covered, 5110.530 next to WBCQ 5109.73-usb and 700 Hertz heterodyne, faint 5123.26 kHz. 73 wolfgang df5sx germany`` Altho I was not listening to every minute of the 6-hour test, I never heard any reference on the air to the spur problem. Callers merely marveled at how strong the signal was in various places (except 5085 was not making it well to California at first). George McClintock replies: ``Glenn, The spectrum analyzer does not show any of these problems, however I can now look at these specific reports this week. I will also re neutralize the transmitter again and check it out on the spect.analy. All of these reports cannot be radiated from this transmitter. If one or two are correct, they will be addressed. Thanks for sending these reports to me. Hope to check and figure these reports out this week. George Mc`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5755, Nov 15 at 1350, WTWW with SFAW, not only the rumble on the modulation, which could be reduced or eliminated with a high-pass filter, but with BFO on, the carrier is wobbling rapidly. One of the drawbacks of refurbishing used transmitters, it seems. 9990, Nov 15 at 2350, WTWW-2 was on with PPP audio testing about the spurs which occurred on the Nov 12-13 special. I could still hear them around 10003, 10016 and barely on 10029 but they seem to have been attenuated somewhat as tweaking is underway (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9370, Nov 17 at 1332, WTJC is very undermodulated, lo het since it`s off-frequency vs Asian, but thankfully, no spurs returning yet. FBN says they will start `Cantatas` after Black Friday: ``Dear Listening Friend, With Christmas just around the corner, we wanted to let you know that FBN will start our Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving and keep it going throughout the Christmas season. We will also start airing our Christmas cantatas and musicals on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Saturday programs will begin at 10:05 am, Eastern, and weekday programs will start at 7:05 pm, Eastern. We will also carry a Christmas musical on Sundays at 9:05 pm Eastern`` UTs = 1505, 0005, 0205 respectively; lengths not specified, but each day has a different subject/title. These will be no pleasure to listen to pro-arte with submodulation like that (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7465, UT Sunday Nov 13 at 0402, `DXing with Cumbre` is in progress on WHRI, so this is the only confirmed DWC broadcast so far in B-11 that is really on shortwave, not just the online schedule of WHR. Kept same UT as last week during DST so no longer on at same hour as WORLD OF RADIO on WTWW, 5755, now shifted to 0500. WHRI keeps polluting the entire 13m band when it operates a filthy demented transmitter upon it: Once again Nov 13 at 1411, the gospel huxter on fundamental 21600 is spurring and splattering out to 21400 and 21950; worse during music, and closer to 21600, plenty to make legitimate broadcasters on 21505, 21540, 21560, 21610 unlistenable. Am I the only one who notices or cares? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WYFR MONITORED --- With all of Glenn's reports of the wrong programs going out from WYFR, I decided to monitor WYFR's output. All Family Radio's output is now in English // to my local Family Radio FM outlet WFME 94.7 MHz in NJ. 2200-2245: 11580, 12160 & 17575 2200-2300: 5985, 9690 & 15440 2300-2400: 5985, 9355, 9430, 9690, 11720, 11885, 13615, 15400 & 15440 0000-0045: 9430, 9690, 11720, 13615 & 15400 0000-0100: 5985, 9355, 11885 & 15440 0100-0145: 9930 & 11885 0100-0200: 5985, 6890, 7570, 9355, 9985, 11825 & 15440 0200-0300: 5985, 6890, 7570, 9930 & 9985 0300-0400: 5985, 6890 & 9930 0400-0500: 9930 Taiwan Program English 0200-0300: 5950, 9355 & 9680 Chinese 0300-0400: 5950 & 6875 ??????? 0400-0500: 6875 & 6890 ??????? 0500-0600: 6875 German 0600-0700: 6875 (as reported by Glenn) 15440 is supposed to be on 0200-0300 but unheard at my location --- faded out by 0200 (Peter W. Hansen, NY, Nov 16 dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. Some frequency changes of WYFR Family Radio: 1700-1800 NF 11975 WOF 250 kW / 128 deg to EaAF, ex 11665 Somali 1800-1900 NF 5890 MEY 100 kW / 015 deg to SoAF, ex 6045 English 1500-1700 NF 9940 TAI 250 kW / 352 deg to CeAS, ex 9955 Russian 1600-1700 NF 11955 NAU 500 kW / 095 deg to WeAS, ex 11885 Persian 1400-1500 NF 11520 A-A 300 kW / 177 deg to SoAS, ex 13860 Urdu 1600-1700 NF 7505 A-A 300 kW / 177 deg to SoAS, ex 7590 Urdu 1300-1500 NF 11540 HUW 100 kW / 285 deg to SoAS, ex 11560 English 1000-1200 on 9955 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to EaAS, new Korean ex English 1100-1200 on 13795 A-A 500 kW / 094 deg to EaAS, new add. English (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, 15 Nov via DXLD) HUW = another TAIWAN site YFR QSL ??? Just received a QSL from YFR for a report of 10/25/2011; on 9715 kHz; 2109-2138 UT; French language. YFR put on the QSL ``from Gabon Relay``. I didn't know YFR had a Gabon Relay. References show this to be from Nauen. Anyway, anyone have any ideas?? Maybe YFR put the Target country instead of Relay location. Appreciate anyone's comments (Rob Kivell, Gulf Breeze, FL, Nov 10, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. NEW RADIO NETWORK TO LAUNCH FROM PORTLAND [OR] Website: http://www.celebrateradio.com PORTLAND, November 9, 2011 --- REACHING UP, A hit national weekly interfaith music and interview satellite radio program has moved to Portland from the San Francisco Bay area and hopes to launch a 24/7 radio network on satellite coast-to-coast within 4 months. Listeners write that the show is unlike anything else on the air, has a heart for people and passionately uplifts them about social justice issues. Since its launch 5 years ago, the program, also heard in 200 other countries on AM, FM, satellite and shortwave radio and on the internet has had a diverse and stellar array of in-person guests . . . Once launched, the new network, which will include 10 newsbreaks a day and 3 dozen programs and features will also be able to be heard full- time on the internet in addition to those across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Caribbean and Australia and excerpted to listeners in Central and South America on shortwave radio and on AM radio from Rome to Central Europe and FM radio in Israel. . . CELEBRATE! RADIO, is a combined non-profit project of Streetcats Foundation, One Heart for Kids, Nexus / IPAR, Reaching Up Radio Network, and Kingdom Come Trust, in Northern Ireland, European Gospel Radio, with streaming on the web worldwide 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from servers in Fremont, California; Milan, Italy and Germany. SOURCE: MI2N http://bit.ly/rRrya3 (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) What`s this, on shortwave to C&SAm? Jeff White points out that `Reaching Up` has been on WRMI for quite some time, Saturdays at 9 am ET = now 1400 UT. Reading the whole thing, looks like stealth evangelism to me; Rick Warren involved (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. 11760, looking for RHC whose first English broadcast is now missing from 1900-2000 [see CUBA], Nov 13 at 1927 instead is ME-sounding music, 1928 switching to suspiciously Christian tune, 1930 AWR IDs in English, French, German, Italian, 1931 back to English to introduce program in Tachelhit, which is in Aoki as 100 kW, 210 degrees from Wertachtal, GERMANY, daily at 1930-2000. At 2000, reopening on 11755 instead with listed French via South Africa, as 11750 in Ibo had just ended (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re KBRT(AM) antenna relocation article from Radio World. Note the enlarged photos available by clicking: http://tinyurl.com/RW-on-KBRT (CGC Communicator via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. KCKN 1020 Roswell, NM -- This 50,000 Watt Classic Country/Brokered Time station has been sold. Expect it to go full time Spanish religion soon, most likely in a simulcast with Radio Visión Cristiana International, 530 AM from Turks & Caicos along with 1330 AM New York (Paul B Walker, Jr, Nov 3, IRCA mailing list via DXLD) Paul, I'm not sure if Turks and Caicos 530 are still in the air. If I recall correctly, their transmitting facilities has been flooded during one of the past hurricanes...Or they now running with lower power? (Sylvain Naud, Portneuf, QC, ibid.) I was thinking back to when I last heard RVC; but nonetheless, KCKN will be running the same programming (Paul Walker, ibid.) I think Jerry Keifer [sic] of Roswell is on this listserver. Wonder if he'd be able to shed any more light on this. I seem to recall this station doing some DX tests back in the 1990s that got out well. 73, (Rick Dau, South Omaha, Nebraska, ibid.) It was just a few years ago that Jerry tested KCKN with 10 KW ND, making it the only time I've heard them as it seems their regular patterns don't put much signal this way. This made it at least as far as to Mass. 73 KAZ 55 km NW of Chicago Greetings, Details remain sketchy, but yes, a sale is imminent; as for the future, preliminary info that I've received is the day classic country format will remain and night will switch to Spanish religion, partly off the bird from Radio Visión Cristiana in New York/Jersey with a separate, locally sold, four hour block to end a midnight that will be only on KCKN. Hate to see her go but good ole dinosaurs have had a rough row to hoe for a while now. The station does good locally (100 mile radius) despite having six local FM's to fight over $ with but response from long distance has taken its toll. Of course we have been doing English religion at night for a number of years. Like KFAB we are one of the last operations still running a tube (Continental) transmitter but with an electric rate less than 5 cent kwh we have a cheaper power bill than a lot of big city boys. Of course they don't get to pay 5G for a final tube. As a fellow Dxer I appreciate all the nice comments (Jerry Kiefer, Roswell, NM, Nov 4, ibid.) ** U S A. Glenn Hauser wrote: "1210, I sure am hearing KGYN Guymon a lot at night..." Same here in southwest Missouri. In fact, I'm not sure they're ever NOT audible this direction at night, even though, as Glenn notes, they should be nulling toward Philadelphia, i.e. in his and my direction. He also mentions hearing KTNN-660 around 7:00 am Central time. They've been strong into Missouri the past several evenings too, say around 10:00 pm CST [0400 UT]. DA out of whack? If you need Arizona you might check for them if you can get away from WFAN etc. on frequency (Randy Stewart, Arts Producer, KSMU, 901 S. National, Springfield MO 65897, Nov 11, also to IRCA and NRC-AM, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. [continued from unID 671, etc.]: O, I also was hearing that different less than 1 kHz het above 1210, no doubt still WDGR, Dahlonega GA, the 10 kW daytimer which was recently reactivated, not only cheating all night, but not on-frequency. It was definitely identified by Neil Kazaross, and Mauno Ritola says programming is in Korean! It was already in Korean in Feb 2006; see DXLD 6-034. NRC AM Log 2011-2012 shows WDGR also has a critical hours license for 2.5 kW, which would allow it to stay on somewhat after sunset, but not all night, with a CP for 20 kW day, 1 watt night, and 12 kW CH on a U11 configuration, which means different direxionals day and CH, non- direxional at night. To add to the complexity, city of license is Lawrenceville, and address is in Norcross (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also UNIDENTIFIED [non] Glenn, Critical Hours are 2 hours prior to Sunset and two hours after Sunrise, no authorization for Post sunset. I checked and even though in the LOG I have No PSSA, I find this is in error they do have one on file but it`s 1 watt most months and as high as 2 watts on a few months. 73 (Wayne Heinen, NRC AM Log editor, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1340 KGGS now on the air --- KS, Garden City - 11/12 2359 CLT - Way atop with legal ID: "The best country of yesterday and today, 1340 KGGS, Garden City". Had to have been the same station heard a half hour earlier with announcer who said "Here's your western Kansas weather..." Funny, I run this call sign through http://www.topazdesigns.com/ambc and it doesn't even show up. This is obviously a VERY new station. 73, (Rick Dau, South Omaha, Nebraska, Kenwood R-5000, Quantum QX Pro loop, 0616 UT Nov 13, ABDX via DXLD) Very new station, the CP is owned by Steckline Communications, who is the owner of 1210 KGYN. The KGGS CP expired, guess when? A week from yesterday (Paul Walker, IRCA via DXLD) It didn't show up because I depend on folks like you to let me know about new arrivals and other changes. The FCC database still shows them as a CP, so I guess they haven't been on for long (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON, The NRC AM mailing list via DXLD) Not long at all, as it turns out. Yesterday's edition of the Garden City newspaper had a brief, but nice blurb about KGGS hitting the air just last week. I can't remember the last time a new U.S. station appeared on one of the graveyard frequencies... http://www.gctelegram.com/news/BIZ-New-radio-station-11-12-11 73, (Rick Dau, South Omaha, Nebraska, ibid.) But that URL was unfound Nov 16, so I had to search it out again: http://www.gctelegram.com/news/BIZ-New-radio-station-11-12-11 Hmmm, that`s the same URL; anyhow, here`s the whole story: NEW RADIO STATION HITS AREA AIRWAVES Published 11/12/2011 in Business : Business By The Telegram A new radio station has hit the airwaves in southwest Kansas. Steckline Communications Radio Group President Greg Steckline announced Nov. 9 that KGGS AM 1340 now is on the air. KGGS radio will begin its programming format with "Today's Best Country" music, farm news and state news from the Mid America Ag Network, along with local and regional weekend sports. "Our review of the western Kansas broadcast landscape told us that those listeners interested in country music, along with frequent national news and farm information updates, were underserved," Steckline said in a news release. "So we decided to make a commitment to deliver the most timely farm and news information possible to our listeners with the country music." The radio group also serves the western Kansas audience with the Heritage radio stations News Talk AM 1240 KIUL, Garden City; KYUL AM 1310, Scott City; and KGYN AM 1210, Guymon, Okla. Read more: http://www.gctelegram.com/news/BIZ-New-radio-station-11-12-11#ixzz1duVwhiRe (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) If you`ve got to be a graveyarder, with hundreds of other stations across the country making a horrible collision at night, 1340 is a pretty good spot in the daytime for Garden City. The NRC Pattern Book shows a large blank space; altho there are 1340s in all surrounding states, none are very close to GC. OKC is one of the closest, 200 mile range; there are two in KS, but both on the eastern edge. And of course KSSR Santa Rosa NM is kaput. Haven`t tried yet, but I doubt KGGS will be audible here in daytime, as even KGNO 1370 is a stretch (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And so is KBUF 1030 The new station KGGS, Garden City KS, was heard here with a country music format after sunrise and before sunset today. It was probably the same station heard yesterday morning broadcasting "The Bill Miller Show" between 1320 and 1400 UT. Heard using barefoot Sony SRF-T615 and Tecsun PL-310 ultralight receivers at a distance of 221 miles/356 km (Richard Allen, near Perry OK USA, 14 Nov, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. 1590 WGBW Denmark, WI, Card, pen and t-shirt received in 10 days for e-mail report of Oct. 23, 2011 DX test. V/S Mark Heller, Chief Engineer. Card appears to be a reproduction of "radio stamp" [EKKO] from the 1920s. View it on my Facebook page or http://yfrog.com/khgk5clj 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, 3 Nov, IRCA via DXLD) 1590, WGBW, WI, Denmark, received really nice large QSL card (5-1/2X 8-1/2 inches) with a B&W enlarged photo of a echo [sic] type stamp with the calls in bold print WGBW with two towers and "Bryant Radio" over the top of a globe. Also sent a nice black logo t-shirt wth a copy of the Denmark newspaper in 14 days for CD report. A really nice writeup on WGBW in the newspaper and a color photo in the article of Mark Heller owner. This really made my day! QSL v/s Mark Heller CE. Address: Post Office Box 100, Denmark WI 54208-0100. WI QSL: 11; MW QSL: 3019. What a great package of goodies. I am really happy with the QSL. Even with the beverage, Wisconsin stations are not easy. In my nearly 50 years (1962), I only have heard & QSL'd 11 stations from Wisconsin. I have many more from Illinois next door (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KGED QSL Manager, 7 Nov, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. For the past 6-7 years I've listened to WDVX-FM on the internet. They announce CoL as Clinton TN but are aimed at Knoxville mainly. Apparently they are doing well (listener sponsorship for the most part) and are definitely local programming with a local owner. My favorite station; plays bluegrass mostly (Don Kaskey, San Francisco CA, 3 Nov, IRCA via DXLD) Don, WDVX Clinton (fm89.9) is an example of a small non-commercial FMer that attempts to fill the void providing programming that may have disappeared from the airwaves in an area and, thanks to streaming, finds listeners, such as yourself, far and wide. A while back, I had a hankering for listening to polka music and so did some searches. Well, to my pleasant surprise, I uncovered a whole bunch of shows from all over and many in multihour blocks are on noncommercial stations in that 88-92 part of the fm spectrum. And probably much of the same would go for most any musical genre not commercially viable but with loyal core audiences. And, with streaming, they can reach far beyond the 200-watt 39 ft tall antenna of WDVX to points almost unimaginable (Mike Pietruk, Nov 4, ibid.) ** U S A. CBS RADIO TO START ALL-NEWS STATION IN D.C. AREA By Paul Farhi, Published: November 16 http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/cbs-radio-to-start-all-news-station-in-dc-area/2011/11/16/gIQAirnASN_story.html CBS Radio will start an all-news station in the Washington area next year, taking on news powerhouse WTOP for a share of the lucrative market for round-the-clock news, weather and traffic broadcasts. WTOP, which has not had a direct competitor for decades, is by far the dominant station in news-hungry Washington, with the highest annual revenue of any station in the nation. (Astrid Riecken/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST) - CBS Radio will launch an all-news station in 2012, challenging local powerhouse WTOP. [caption] But New York-based CBS — which operates profitable all-news stations in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and other cities — sees Washington as ripe for another station offering news, particularly local news. The new station, whose call letters have not been determined, will broadcast at 99.1 FM, currently the home of CBS-owned WLZL, a Spanish- language music station and the former dial position of beloved rock station WHFS. CBS said WLZL, known as “El Zol,” will move to 107.9 FM, a frequency that CBS will buy from Family Stations of California. The news station will promote itself as “All-News 99.1” and will debut next year. “I’ve [worked] in New York and Washington, and I can tell you, the appetite for news in both markets is really intense,” said Steve Swenson, an all-news radio veteran who is CBS’s top manager in Washington. Regarding WTOP, he said, “I don’t look at this as going up against Goliath, or we versus them. I look at this as an expansion of the news market.” The new station will have a formidable competitor in WTOP, the Washington area’s most popular radio station. WTOP’s formula of brief news reports and “traffic and weather together” every 10 minutes draws a massive audience of traffic-trapped commuters. At most hours, its share of the radio audience is double that of its nearest competitor. WTOP racked up $60 million in ad revenue last year, according to the station, its most ever despite the recession. That made it the largest station in this category in the country, according to the radio research firm BIA/Kelsey. The station’s financial success is especially noteworthy, considering that Washington was only the ninth- largest market by population in the nation. It’s perhaps because WTOP is so successful that CBS sees opportunity for a direct competitor. Although the all-news format is the most expensive to produce in radio — a station has to bear the cost of dozens of journalists’ salaries rather than simply playing music — a station that grabs just a fraction of WTOP’s ad revenue could become profitable quickly, industry experts say. What’s more, local news is one of the few radio formats that isn’t subject to competition from satellite radio, iPods or Internet streams, all of which have eroded the radio business over the past decade or so. “We’ve got lots of competition — it’s not just radio, it’s newspapers, it’s TV, it’s digital,” said Jim Farley, WTOP’s vice president of news and programming, in reaction to the CBS announcement. “It will be fun to compete with people we like and respect. Competition can only make us better. It will make us work better, faster and smarter.” The CBS station will seek to differentiate itself from WTOP by concentrating its coverage on Washington’s suburbs, although it will also report stories from the District, Swenson said. It will broadcast traffic reports every 10 minutes and weather updates every four minutes or so. The station will have eight anchors, five producer-editors and eight to 10 reporters at its launch, Swenson said. It has a program director, radio news veteran Robert Sanchez, and a news director, former WTOP news manager Michelle Komes-Dolge. WTOP employs about 70 full-time reporters and editors and 20 or so part-timers. CBS starts at some disadvantage to WTOP in terms of its signal strength. WTOP broadcasts primarily at 103.5 FM, a frequency that blankets much of the metropolitan area. It supplements its reach by simulcasting on two other frequencies, 107.7 FM in Manassas and 103.9 FM in Frederick. CBS owns five Washington area stations: “urban” music station WPGC-FM, sports-talk WJFK-FM, soft-rock WIAD-FM, WLZL and WHFS-AM, which has a news and talk format. Swenson was general manager of WTOP until 1997, when he left to manage CBS Radio’s twin all-news stations in New York, 1010 WINS and WCBS. Among those Swenson hired while he worked at WTOP: Jim Farley, who built the station’s newsroom. One thing listeners won’t hear on CBS’s new news station: CBS News broadcasts. WTOP has an exclusive contract with the network to carry its news reports (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. 7485, FEBA Tashkent 0041-0100* Nov 9 listed Hindi; Sub- continent music; M & W announcers with (presumed) contact info; M announcer at 0045 in listed Hindi; joined by another M until Hindi duet at 0056; s/off announcement and IS at 0100*; poor-fair (Scott R. Barbour Jr. Intervale, N.H. USA, NRD-545, MLB-1, 200' Beverages, 60m dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN [non non and non]. 7250, Nov 12 at 0622, very poor signal in English, // 6075, so it`s Vatican Radio, now scheduling the 10 kW transmitter inside the Vatican Gardens here, instead of 4004v (which was usually blocked in NAm by utility QRM). HFCC shows 7250, 10 kW, 340 degrees from VAT at 0540-0630 in French and English, then over to SMG from 0630, 250 kW at 4 degrees. Had been checking 7250 for this since B-11 began, but unheard until now; had it really been on? 7250 was a split second ahead of 6075, which fits for direct from the studio, vs a satellite or other feed delay to main extraterritorial Santa Maria di Galeria site surrounded by ITALY. Recheck at 0641: now via SMG, 7250 is much stronger with soft choral music, 0642 Latin mass. Never any QRM from 7245 missing Mauritania. [further log below] Checking HFCC as of Nov 11, whether VR is still on 4004 at any time? No, but guess what, IRAN has moved in onto 4005, 1930-2030 in Russian, 500 kW, 0 degrees (or nondirexional?) from Kamalabad. Is that on? 7360, Nov 12 at 0638, African news in African accented English, about Liberian elexions, homosexuality bans, Somalia. This is VR`s separate service to W Africa at 0530-0700, 250 kW, 234 degrees from SMG in Portuguese, French, English. VR is doing a lot of seemingly `straight` newscasts now, but forever suspect of being slanted according to the papal/RCC agenda. 7250, Nov 13 at 0609, poor signal from VR in English, but again a split second ahead of much stronger // 6075. It`s hard to be sure with weak signal and noise, but 7250 seems to be more USB than LSB, along with reduced carrier. I was standing by for the site change to SMG: at *0628:21 much stronger 250 kW carrier comes on with outro of English semi-hour, and overlapping audio for a few sex. Can`t tell when Vatican Gardens 10 kW transmitter is turned off. Then bells, 0630 introducing mass with European multilingual comments, starting with French, Spanish, English, Romanian (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15175-15180-15185, Nov 14 at 1542, DRM noise tho nothing is scheduled in HFCC except AM from VATICAN due east in English. Did they push the DRM button by mistake? Also with unID AM carrier on 15175, no audio pullable, which could have disrupted any DRM reception. Nothing is scheduled there in HFCC until KBS direct from Korea South at 1600. O, 15175 would be AIR in Gujarati via GOA at 1515-1600, B-11 info which made it into Aoki but still not into HFCC. Aha, unlike HFCC, this version of DRM schedules http://www.drm.org/broadcast_schedule does show Vatican as DRM on 15180, not AM: 1530-1600 daily 15180 90 India 125 Vatican Radio Santa Maria English So, hee hee, we have big DRM advocate AIR getting QRMed by DRM *to* India 5 kHz away (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And: Some changes of Vatican Radio in DRM: 1500-1530 NF 7320 SMG 100 kW / 350 deg WeEU in German/Polish, ex 6060 1530-1550 on 15180 SMG 125 kW / 090 deg SoAS in English, Sat till 1600 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Nov 11 via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. VIETNAM FALUNGONG JAILED OVER CHINA BROADCASTS (AFP) - 16 hours ago HANOI -- Vietnam on Thursday jailed two Falungong practitioners for beaming radio broadcasts into China, their lawyer said, where the movement is banned and labelled an "evil cult". Vu Duc Trung, 31, received a three-year sentence and his brother-in- law Le Van Thanh, 36, was sentenced to two years, said the lawyer, Tran Dinh Trien. The hearing in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi lasted about half a day. The pair were charged in connection with "Sound of Hope" programmes transmitted into China via shortwave radio starting in April 2009, according to the Falungong's press office, the Falun Dafa Information Center in New York. "Sound of Hope's programmes typically report on human rights abuses, corruption, and repression of Falungong practitioners and other persecuted groups," Falun Dafa added. Trien said his clients, who have been in custody since June 2010, were convicted under the penal code for illegally diffusing information on a telecommunication network. "I said Vietnam does not have any law that bans Falungong, so we cannot put them on trial," he told AFP. On Tuesday more than 40 followers of the movement were detained after gathering outside the Chinese embassy in Hanoi for a silent protest ahead of the trial for their two colleagues, Falun Dafa said. The "repression" violated their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, a separate statement from Amnesty International said. Police told AFP that all were later released. Officials roped off the footpath outside the court building on Thursday, preventing possible gatherings. Falun Dafa said Vietnamese Falungong are under increased "harassment... following direct Chinese Communist Party pressure". There was no immediate comment from Beijing's embassy or communist Vietnam's foreign ministry. Vietnam says it has achieved significant progress on human rights. Falungong's Buddhist-inspired teachings focus on meditative, martial arts-like exercises. The group says its practitioners are treated brutally or even killed in China. Hanoi has previously denied that Falungong exists in the country, but Falun Dafa said earlier this year that several hundred practitioners were in Vietnam. Relations with China are a sensitive matter in Vietnam, where many people bitterly recall 1,000 years of Chinese occupation. Copyright (c) 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. (via Mike Cooper, Nov 10, DXLD) WTFK???? None of the press about this ever says. Sound of Hope is known to use several full-power professional SW transmitters in Taiwan, and Tajikistan. Aoki also lists numerous SOH frequencies estimated at 0.1 kW as from Taiwan, but maybe some of those were from Vietnam. It`s hard to believe those convicted were doing any more than that, and no doubt had their efforts jammed anyway, if they were even audible to the jamming monitors (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Another story on this: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/jailing-11112011172257.html (via Media Network blog via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. 5975, 5.11 1330, Voice of Vietnam with decent strength, magnificent music, program shift and announcements (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD) Which service is this? BBC does not start 5975 until 1400. HFCC shows it must be a home service, 50 kW non-direxional, on long hours: 5975 2145 1700 49 MET 50 0 0 975 1234567 301011 250312 D VTN VOV VOV MET = the secondary Hanoi area site Me Tri, with only 2 x 50 kW (WRTH) ** ZAMBIA. 17695, Nov 16 at 0608, Jesus rock from the OSOB, i.e. CVC 1Africa. Was expecting something on 16m after all the African propagation on 19m (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. Log: Voice of Zimbabwe, 4828 kHz, IDs, 1730 UT, never 100 kW! SIO 233-2. - 73, (Nils DK8OK Schiffhauer, Excalibur, SDR-IP/GPS, Perseus, W-Code, 2 x 20 m active quad loop (90 ), 42 m windom, DX-One prof, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Lost date? 4828, Voice of Zimbabwe, 1658, noted in passing and good with hilife. Went across T-O-H without announcements of ID. 15 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. 9345, V of People > ZWE, 15 Nov 1605+1615 with talks in VN (Swahili) and many mentions of ZWE, S5 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [and non]. Some interesting hets this evening UT Nov 15, first on the caradio: Standing out was 1 kHz het on Cuba 670, at 0120 UT. Could not tell whether plus or minus on the 10-kHz step tuning, but it matched the pitch of the Saudi 1521 het on KOKC 1520. Ergo, it`s not an accidental drift, and it isn`t a TA either, of course, since TA frequencies are as far as you could get from 670, i.e. 666 and 675. [Greece pretends they are on 665, warding off evil spirits.] Back home on the porch with DX-398, at 0255, I find that it`s 671, DFs from the same direxion as the Cuban, and null is toward WSCR. But the (primary, R. Rebelde // 710) Cuban is not the source as it`s within SAH range of WSCR. So maybe the other Cuban, R. Reloj? No audio available. Or could it be one of those mystery USG tests on an offset frequency? No, it`s not a 1 kHz AM tone from 670, since there is no peak on 669. Please check 671 if it`s still on when you get this. Has anyone else been hearing this 671 recently? Recheck at 0637, the 671 carrier is still there peaking from the southeast/northwest? [later: Rick Shaftan in NW NJ agreed he was hearing something on 671 at 0407; many reporters in the ABDX group also heard 671 that evening, but no one offered a bearing or any audio: Kevin Redding, TN; Bob Smoak, SC; Kevin Raper, SC; Dean Wayman, NE; Rick Barton, AZ; Bert New, GA; Phil Rafuse, PEI; Bruce Winkelman, OK] Still in the car at 0240, I was hearing some more hets on the even frequencies, 530, 910, 1000. The latter two would be TAs on 909, 999 but could the first be 531, or is LYQ-529 back with us? On the DX-398 did a full bandscan in the 0250-0300+ period, confirming carriers on 671, TAs 693, 774, 783, 882, 909, 927, 1053, 1152, 1215 and 1377. Could not hear LYQ on 529. (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, dxldyg and MW lists, and as expanded via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 671: Haven`t looked for TAs tonight, UT Wednesday Nov 16 around 0100 but the 671 carrier is in again. Best I can tell is that it`s from due NW/SE, which cuts across western Cuba and northeastern Colombia, give or take. {Signal is quite steady, so I doubt it`s from any further than Cuba, if not domestic.} Sorry if I haven`t seen everyone`s reply yet, but from last night have not received any other bearings or audio reports. How about those of you in the east of NAm getting a bearing on it for some triangulation, and those in FL trying to get some audio whether it is a R. Reloj outlet or not? 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, several MW lists and dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) These are the only new replies I`ve found: Glenn, 125 miles east of Memphis, the directional is towards Cuba on the 671 (Kevin Redding, Crump, TN, 0129 UT Nov 16, ABDX via DXLD) I've heard it here in Missouri as well -- quite a loud 1-kHz het but as Glenn said, no discernible audio here (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, 0153 UT Nov 16, NRC-AM via DXLD) I haven't had the opportunity to do any serious work on it yet, but I really didn't notice it on the crappy car radio daytime yesterday, in fact very weak around 2330 GMT yesterday on the NRD-535, but stronger as the eve progressed. And it was there pre-sunrise today, so obviously Latin American. No audio, or at least none coming through. Just seemingly a carrier. Coincidental that this appeared about the same time the big Rebelde from western Cuba appeared on 530 (co-channeling their own Enciclopedia)? Rebelde has been reported on 530 by others, but that or those have been determined to be from the eastern side of the island and never heard at my location (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, 1326 UT Nov 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) All times/dates GMT, all logged on the NRD-535 and fixed roof dipole. Emission was clearly AM mode, open carrier, with no audio transmitted. Rebelde on 670 (Arroyo Arenas, Ciudad Habana site per the WRTVH-2011 and Paul V. Zecchino's matching bearings list is likely very accurate, vs. all other simply government fed sources), but also another Rebelde -- much weaker post-sunset -- from who knows which of the other variously listed sites, was under post-darkness. And the fact that a weak 671 signal was audible mid-day here confirms it is not anything from the eastern half of the island. 2331 11/14 - weak, growing in strength after sunset. 1124 11/15 decent level. 1835 11/15 - very weak but present, which would confirm it's from around Havana or maybe up to 50 miles east (stations on the eastern half are simply not audible on groundwater path daytime here). 0000 11/16 - absolutely no trace of it. Just a big Rebelde (and the very weak second Rebelde behind it with baseball highlights). So, is 671 really gone since this morning? What happened? Just a little Castro/Xarlos Marxarios Brothers funtime? (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I heard a weak carrier on 671 kHz in Livermore, California at 0310 UT 11/16. The bearing from here is about 110 degrees, possibly skewed a little on my indoor loop. The carrier is within 1 Hz of being exactly on 671 kHz. This may be a repeat of the Cuban experiment in the fall of 2007 on 1181 kHz (Albert Lehr - Livermore, CA, Allied A-2515 receiver, Homebrew external sync detector with frequency measurement system, 2 ft. indoor loop, ABDX via DXLD) [Terry Krueger in Clearwater FL has the 671 answer Nov 19 at 0130: ``Rebelde audio, fairly decent at times.`` Details already in my log reports, dxldyg, and in next DXLD] UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Following thread most precedes what was published in DXLD 11-45, mostly from another list, or parallels it: 1210.42: Approx 420 Hz het on 1210? On my commute home between 5-6 pm EST, in SW PA, I'm hearing a STRONG het on 1210, approx. a G# (415 Hz). Now, at 7:30 pm at home, I'm also hearing it on my Tecsun. Peaks roughly N-S. Any ideas? Thanks (Fred Schroyer, Violonista Canhoto, Freelance Writer/Editor/Book Developer, Waynesburg, PA 15370, Nov 9, IRCA via DXLD Here in MN, it's roughly NW/SE, so if N-S from you, probably southeastern US, unless foreign. Roughly on 1210.4. KGYN & WPHT reading S-9+30 dB on R75 w/8" Quantum loop. 73, (George Sherman, MN, 0329 UT Nov 10, ibid.) I thought this one had been ID'd as WDGR out of northern GA by people more local to them. The bearing I get in Sioux Falls, SD on my homebrew 12" active/regenerative ferrite for the signal would back that up (Tim Hills, Sioux Falls, SD, 1426 UT 10 Nov, ibid.) And I DIDN'T THINK this was WDGR, as someone I know lives close enough and can hear traces of WDGR and didn't think it was them; but I could be very wrong (And I have been before). Powell, calling Powell Way? (Paul B Walker, ibid.) LOL Paul, Since my XYL and I aren't legally married yet I can still be right now and then. Though she does think I need some cerebral laxative. At 1210 kHz the null on that loop is about +/-5*, KOKK "moves around" a bit from day to day on that loop, I think the regen windings or amp might be a bit imbalanced or maybe where the cat is sitting makes a difference. Got the rotator and remote controls set up, it's going on the roof this weekend (I hope) maybe getting it away from the chicken- wire reenforced plaster walls will help a bit. I've gotten pretty much the same result with 1 other ferrite and a spiral air wound for the "mystery signal". I can't rule out Cuba, the Bahamas, States in between or Florida assuming it's not CFYM or hopping over the pole. The one ferrite does have a bias in one peak and it was stronger to the SE than the NW. Don't I pay taxes so agencies like the FCC can investigate and correct this kind of thing? (Tim Hills, Sioux Falls, SD, ibid.) We think it is someone else. IF WDGR is at the old site, I would 100% rule it out. The tower is surrounded by hills and mountains. If you look at the tower site, from the paved road you have to look DOWN to see the tower; if it's at? the new site, then HMMMM, but I can hear WDGR in the day with no beat note, and I should early in the evening and don't. And the FCC **IS** aware of this (Powell E. Way III, SC, ibid.) There is no mystery here any longer. These are distorted WDGR Dalhonega ID's. I have the same thing on my Perseus Oct 30 recording at 2256:15z and audio soon drops and the open carrier remains. I measured 1210.407 but this seems to be drifting very slightly. 73 KAZ Barrington IL, Perseus and Double KAZ Antenna aimed due south (Neil Kazaross, ibid.) Check out these, heard last weekend in West Virginia with an antenna pointing decidedly SOUTH: (Bill Whitacre, Nov 10, IRCA via DXLD) There is no audio; it is WDGR running OC all night. I measure it on 1210.404 tonight. One wonders if anyone is actually working at the Atlanta FCC. They've long been notified about WDGR and also about WAOS 1600 which continues to cheat and is an Atlanta suburban station. 73 (KAZ Barrington IL. Perseus and Double KAZ antenna aimed due south, Nov 15 IRCA via DXLD) See also under U S A UNIDENTIFIED. 1710 "Big Q" alert 0511 UT --- Picking it up right now on 1710 with a decent signal, "The Big Q" with oldies, fancy promos, 0511+ UT. Been a while since I've heard this one! (Tim Tromp, West Michigan, UT Nov 6, IRCA via DXLD) Fairly good signal but some sort of Mexican programming, at least playing a Mexican type vocal song 0657 UT. Brief fadeup at good level. (Steve Ratzlaff, NE Oregon, ibid.) Still going strong here at 0709 utc with oldies tune "*D.W. Washburn"*, clever jingles and vintage advertisements (Tim Tromp, West Michigan, ibid.) Strong carrier noted with fades on USB/LSB. Where are they located? (Todd in Woodbury, MN 0711 UT, ibid.) Thx for the tip, Tim. Heard here with oldies. I've never had them before since I am rarely up this late. Steve, I think the Big Q is all oldies and doesn't carry Mexican music? Perhaps you had a different pirate on 1710? 73 KAZ 35 miles NW of Chicago 0934 UT? (Kazaross, ibid.) Hi Steve, I went back and checked my recordings. At 0655 UT they were playing the song "A single girl needs a sweet loving man to lean on". Then at 0656 the announcement "You got the Midnight Man doing it to it!, The Big Q!" and directly into another oldies tune "How Danny Boy got his name". Sounds like you have a different pirate on your hands. 73, (Tim Tromp, West Michigan, ibid.) Hi Tim (and KAZ), Yes, I figured I had somebody else, as well. I've heard your Big Q once or twice but not recently. Usually just hear the Seattle area Russian religious station but not last night on the brief check. I know they don't play lively Mexican music, ha (Steve Ratzlaff, NE Oregon, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 3249.47, Threshold carrier here at 1012, possibly Luz y Vida? [HONDURAS] Normally covered by PDR Korea but frequency is clear today. 16 Nov (David Sharp, NSW, Partial list of equipment: FT-950, NRD-535D, R8, R30A, Timewave 599ZX, various Palstar and MFJ accessories, Quantum Phaser, various Sangean and Tecsun portables, EWE aerials, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 3945, random checking from 1144 to 1344, Nov 15. Would I be correct in assuming this was R. Nikkei-2 testing their transmitter? Played a loop of a series of pop hit songs in English over and over again with no announcements; by 1336 found only strong open carrier. Signal strength would be consistent for Japan. No hope of hearing Vanuatu today! (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4755.0, 9.11 1601*. I was also there and heard two audios and saw one carrier on 4755.000 kHz, signing off at 1601. One audio belonged to VOR Turkish. So this was a transmitter site mixing product and one fq taking part is among these: 7270msk, 6005arm, 5985msk, 1170arm, 1377erv from http://turkish.ruvr.ru/tur_schedule/ The most notorious site producing these is nowadays arm = Mykolaiv, Ukraine. I tried to compute what the other frequency might be, but didn't find it yet. 1170 & 5925 kHz results 4755 kHz, but I didn't hear anything suitable on 5925 kHz on my 49 mb recording from week ago. There is a weak, slightly drifting carrier on that day until 1000 on 4755.48 kHz (Mauno Ritola, Finland, via NORDX via SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD) latter probably MICRONESIA, q.v. UNIDENTIFIED. 6075.74, 6.11 0200, UNID LA station here again this sole night. Weaker than usual with music. Seems to be very irregular. No information yet about this frustrating signal (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin Nov 13 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 7110: Today (11.11.11) I heard continuous music without announcements from tune in around 1400 till sign off at 1430 on 7110. It sounded like Burmese pop songs. The signals were extremely strong. May be Myanmar? Similar songs were heard some weeks back on 7290. -- Thanking you, Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India, http://www.niar.org dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7110.00, 1418, Nov 12, Burmese (?) pop songs struggling under constant ham QRM, noted to 1430 s/off. Tnx vy much to Jose Jacob for tip. Will keep an eye on this in coming days (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands (TenTec RX 340, 20 m. longwire), ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 7270, Nov 18 at 0728 fluttery open carrier has appeared, with occasional tones on and off, mostly off; OC continued past 0730. HFCC and Aoki show PBS Nei Menggu amid a long Mongolian broadcast at this time on 7270, also listing Sarawak which is kaput on SW. But the tones hint at a Russian, two of which are not scheduled until much later; so, what? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENIG DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7275, Nov 18 at 0731, open carrier with less flutter than the one on 7270; HFCC might make you think it was Tunisia just after sign-off at 0730, except we know it goes off at 0627*. In progress supposedly on 7275 are KBS non-direxional, and Wulumuchi in Uighur also non-direxional. How about North American hams messing around? {Or, I almost forgot, could also R. Nigeria [q.v.], Abuja on 7275, reportedly active and covered by Tunisia earlier.} (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7335, Nov 16 at 0652 way under big signal from TUNISIA, I am hearing tone test, 1 kHz, and then stepping down to lower pitches, repeating. This is like what we were hearing last summer on higher frequencies, many in the clear, source never identified. I can`t rule out that it might have been a mixture in the Tunisian audio itself, tho unlikely. HFCC still has RTT schedules one hour too late, as given to them by the confused Tunisians, 0700-0910 on 7335, while we and Aoki know it starts at 0600, or really a few minutes earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 13850, Nov 11 at 1346, expecting to hear Firedrake, but instead some romantic vocal music aside WWCR 13845. Nothing scheduled on 13850 until Israel in Persian at 1500 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 14934, Nov 16 at 0650, the same 6-note `interval signal` repeated over and over in AM mode, a utility? Eurafrica was propagating, e.g. RWM on 14996 with hardly anything from WWV/H on 15000. Searching for 14934 in the 37523 posts so far on the UDXF yg gets one hit in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UDXF/message/27500 which includes 14934 in a long list of STANAG-4285 frequencies: On Aug 1, 2010, at 7:27 PM, Lasse wrote: ``Hi all, I have been mapping a few STANAG-4285 frequencies (thanks Ary for id'ing the mode) the week. I have used a FRG-7 which means that the frequencies are a bit uncertain. I have not had the time to check all frequencies with my DX-394, and many of those found are difficult to hear on that receiver due to the higher noise floor. I don't have the new Klingenfuss freq. list yet, so most of these are probably already known. Nevermind, I'll post them here anyway. . .`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15434, Nov 16 at 1447 there is a weak het against 15435, RVA Urdu via VATICAN. Likely V. of Tibet via Tajikistan on jumpy frequency, which on Oct 31 Aoki showed on 15433 at 1312/1402. Probably jammed, but none of that audible. 15434 was a carrier, not a 1 kHz tone on 15435 since there was no match on 15436 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACKNOWLEDGED on WORLD OF RADIO 1591: Thanks to Chris and Sarah Leslie for a contribution via PayPal (gh) Your call sign? Glenn, I failed to find your amateur call sign on www.qrz.com or on the FCC Universal Licensing search. Did you allow your call sign to lapse? Or am I missing something? I guess Solar Cycle 24 is perhaps finally here, which should make it somewhat more worthwhile to be a ham this days than it had been the last few years, though I must say I have too many other things to get done in my life to spend much time at all with the hobby. 73s (Franklin Seiberling KC0ISV, Nov 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Franklin, I never had an amateur license. I did have some SWL calls which I would just as soon forget, as I now don`t see any need or validity for them. I`m far too busy listening to spend half the time talking, hi. {Not that there is anything wrong with that.} (Glenn to Franklin, via DXLD) HAUSER DAY http://www.blandx.com/misc/ghday1/ghday1.html (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, Nov 11, DX LISTENINNG DIGEST) ARNIE CORO`S APPRECIATION OF A ``SELF-APPOINTED GURU`` See CUBA LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ GREEK, Re 11-45: Does triantafyllis mean thirtieth child? Whew, mom (gh, DXLD) Glenn: According to Google Translate and me, Triantafyllis means "Rose." (John Babbis, MD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ The AOKI list, compiled by Shigenori Aoki in Japan. It`s presented in several different formats. Here is the home page where you will find linx to the various schedule lists: http://www.geocities.jp/binewsjp/ The link to new B11 schedule leads to a version which is zipped only: http://www1.m2.mediacat.ne.jp/binews/bib11.zip I believe this is the one which is a very long spreadsheet, but it is the most comprehensive. Eventually they put up a plain text version which is also updated almost every day, but I don`t see it yet. This is the best one to refer to online to look anything up (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Later: it is now available IARU Intruder Watch Region 1 report http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/news2011/news1110.pdf (via Horacio Nigro Geolkiewsky, Montevideo, Uruguay, Nov 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s the October issue; presumably can get others by manipulating the date in the URL. This time I don`t see any broadcasters, even harmonix intruding on ham bands, except 7.0-7.2 MHz (gh, DXLD) WEBSITE WITH VINTAGE AM LETTERHEADS AND QSL CARds Mighty impressive: http://uv201.com/Misc_Pages/letterheads_1.htm (Steve Francis, Alcoa, Tennessee, Nov 13, IRCA via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ FRG-7 FILTER SPEX ``The `narrow` filter on the FRG-7 helps a lot in this situation [see USA: WBCQ], cutting off the lower audio frequencies; does anyone have the spex on what frequencies this filter passes (as well as the other two settings)?`` Try this Glenn, page 4 front panel control number 3 http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/SCANNERS-S-Z/Yaesu_FRG7%20HF%20Comms%20Reciever_Manual.pdf Regards (Harry Brooks, North East England, UK, dxldyg via DXLD) Tnx, nice to have the complete FRG-7 manual handy again. It says for the `TONE` switch: NORMAL: 250-3000 Hz NARROW: 400-2500 Hz LOW : 250-1500 Hz But I`m afraid this doesn`t match what I am hearing. Normal certainly goes above 5 kHz, as can hear such hets between frequencies. If nothing lower than 250 Hz is passed on any of them, I would not be hearing lots of low hets below middle C. I don`t think the WBCQ rumble was as high as between 250 and 400 Hz. O well. This doesn`t go into amounts of attenuation over a frequency range, so it depends. These certainly aren`t mechanical filters with sharp edges (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) HAM RADIO IN THE 21ST CENTURY Ham radio today differs greatly from that of past years, but it still offers a fascinating way to explore electronics. Here’s a look at how it has changed and what it has to offer both old hands and newcomers alike. . . http://www.edn.com/article/519742-Ham_radio_in_the_21st_century.php (Doug Grant, K1DG -- EDN, November 3, 2011, via George McCliintock, K4BTY, DXLD) EAS TEST NOVEMBER 9 [Re 11-45:] DXing the nationwide EAS test, imminent At 1900 UT this Wednesday, as extensively publicized. (noon MST) Only 30 seconds? Be quick about it, but tune across the AM or FM bands and find any stations which are NOT running the test. Or employ your Perseus to catch everything for later analysis. 73, (Glenn Hauser, 1843 UT 9 Nov, dxldyg and several MW lists, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Here`s what I observed, anyway. Don`t have an analog dial AM radio handy for rapid tuning, so decide to use the caradio in the garage; unfortunately, that`s where there is also a lot of line noise, especially on low end of AM so I concentrate on the high end: 1900 UT: nothing happens 1900:30 approx., the test starts on many frequencies Quick scan downward finds these are still in regular programming, news or whatever: 1580 KOKB Blackwell OK 1490 KMFS Guthrie OK 1230 WBBZ Ponca City A minute or so later, WBBZ newscast was referring to the EAS test having just happened. So maybe it was included there and I missed it. 1340, KGHM Midwest City OK, I think was the one where I caught the end of the test, with extremely distorted unreadable speech, then chopped off. I guess that was the way whatever station they picked up to relay was sounding? 1130, KLEY Wellington KS in dead air at 1902-1904+. Don`t know if they did the test, but not unusual for them to SNAFU like this. With only one radio running, and very limited time, I can`t be positive, but besides the above anomalies, it was my impression that the test was NOT synchronized across the dial. Of course many stations have different satellite delays, etc., or even built-in 7-second delays on everything. But to be effective should it not be synchronized? Was this entirely optional, or will stations which really ignored it or messed it up be subject to fines? I look forward to reports from the rest of you. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, 1953 UT Nov 9, ibid.) This test was in no way optional for stations as far as I know; and the test was not synchornized (Paul B Walker, IRCA, via DXLD) I can tell you that we ran it on KSMU; and since our main Springfield transmitter (91.1 FM) AND our translators in Branson/Point Lookout (90.5) and West Plains (90.3) ALL run IBOC/HD Radio with the resultant several-second delays, it definitely was not "synchronized!" (The Branson translator picks up our audio off-air, and then adds its own IBOC delay to that!) And yes, the audio was total and utter crap, with distortion, crosstalk, funky start-of-message/end-of-message tones, etc. Glenn's estimation of 1:00:30 pm CST is pretty much accurate, judging from when the start-of-message tones interrupted the automated TOH break that we had playing. Journal Broadcast Group here in Springfield (KTTS-FM/KSPW-FM/KRVI- FM/KSGF-AM [1260] & FM) received their audio for the national test from us, and noted the bad audio as well. In fact, the station that relays THEIR EAS tests, KJEL in Lebanon, MO, had to get back on the air manually because the end-of-message tone didn't trip their equipment to switch back to their regular audio! Oh well, that's precisely why they test these things -- to figure out what bugs exist and how to work them out of the system (Randy Stewart, Arts Producer, KSMU, 901 S. National, Springfield MO 65897, ibid.) CONFUSION AFTER US EMERGENCY ALERT TEST The first national test of a US national alert system left many Americans confused and some said the system failed in its goal to reach all broadcasters in the country. Many people watching television at 1900 UT heard the familiar scratchy noises followed by the test announcement - designed to alert Americans of national emergencies - but others apparently did not. In the western state of Oregon, KVAL television said it was among several stations in the area which missed the test. “KVAL TV did show a frame warning that there would be a test, but the test itself was never received,” the station said. Some viewers in New York said they saw no message at the prescribed time. In the capital city Washington, viewers watching CNN saw the 30- second test and then were inexplicably switched to a shopping channel for several seconds before returning to the all-news station. Phil Petree, president of the Florida-based safety alert group NeighborhoodWatchAlerts.com, said he monitored several radio and TV stations and found some did not broadcast the alert, and others did it later than the planned airing at 2:00 pm local time. “One station carried the alert at 2:04, the radio station did it at 2:07 and one station didn’t carry it at all,” he told AFP. “I don’t know if did this not get carried on purpose or because of an equipment failure.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said the test “was the first time we have tested the reach and scope of this technology and what additional improvements that should be made to the system as we move forward. Only through comprehensively testing, analyzing, and improving these technologies can we ensure an effective and reliable national emergency alert and warning system.” The test is part of the Emergency Alert System designed to transmit, via TV and radio, emergency alerts and warnings regarding weather threats, child abductions and other types of emergencies, according to officials. While state and local tests already take place frequently, a simultaneous, nationwide test of the national EAS “emergency action notification” code has never occurred before. Petree said the government is slow in implementing a new system called IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) which can disseminate warnings via newer technologies including the Internet. “These messages could be on Facebook, or GoogleTalk could push them out,” he said. “If you’re talking about reaching people with an emergency message… there’s a big part of the population that is not watching television.” (Source: AFP)(November 10th, 2011 - 16:35 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) 2 Comments on “Confusion after US emergency alert test” #1 lou josephs on Nov 11th, 2011 at 02:35 Two states did not get the test at all, so they plan to do it next year. #2 Dan Malloy on Nov 11th, 2011 at 04:46 I was out at the time, and didn’t hear anything unusual, but an automated message from a call-bot that was left on my answering machine from Bentley University Public Safety. OK, I can see why they would call people to alert them, but I went to another university. I have no idea how they got my phone number (MN blog comments via DXLD) FAIL in Dover, Delaware. I was listening to WDOV-1410 in Dover and it was a minute late, The audio and tones were badly muffled and I could hear a NWS broadcast in the background. – (John Cereghin WDX3IAO KB3LYP, Smyrna, Delaware, 2311 UT Nov 9, My radio page http://wdx3iao.wordpress.com/ (please note NEW site!) ABDX via DXLD) Regarding Glenn's observation that the message is not synchronized. Since the distribution is via a daisy chain there is necessarily a delay. Each station has to hear and decipher the opening fsk tones in order to know what the message requires; (is it a test or an alert?) (does it need to be forwarded?) (what geographical area is subject to the alert or test?) All that information (and more) is contained in the fsk header that you hear at the beginning. My station forwarded the test 12 seconds after hearing the start of the test from our regional source (LPT1). If our LPT1 also delayed the test 12 sec it means that our listeners would hear the test 24 seconds after it was issued from the state primary entry point (PEP) which in our case is WBAP. Depending on where a station is in the daisy chain there might be an even longer delay. Below is a summary of today's test from the state broadcast association. JL (Jerry Lenamon, Waco TX, 0231 UT Nov 10, ibid.) Many Texas stations received beginning and end tones of today's National EAS Test. However, there was no audio in between the tones. Stations monitoring WBAP Dallas/Fort Worth received no audio, but those monitoring KTRH Houston and KLBJ Austin received audio. WBAP AM radio, one of Texas' four primary entry point stations, reported there was no audio accompanying the broadcast it received from Washington. The station received a header and ending tones but no spoken words. Brett Blankenship, Chief Engineer at WBAP, said there was some background noise but nothing else during the 30-second transmission. Because many stations across Texas rely on the feed of the EAS test originated by WBAP, stations as far as the Lower Rio Grande Valley, reported they got the test with no audio. Many stations reported the test came 30 seconds to several minutes late. Those stations monitoring the test originated by KTRH report that the audio received was so poor that the statement was unintelligible. We've also received reports of some EAS equipment that failed entirely. In some cases, EAS units passed through multiple versions of the same test that had been received, rather than passing through just the original test. From what we have heard, the problem of no audio, or bad audio occurred across the country. The Federal Communications Commission requires all stations to report the results of the test (via Lenamon, ibid.) Stations observed locally on AM NOT running test. I did a quick bandscan starting just before 1 pm on the AM radio dial while parked at the Piggly Wiggly store at Star City AR during lunch. The EAS test bandscan was recorded on video/audio and I have just reviewed the tape. These stations are those I did not personally hear conduct the test (note the test may have occurred while I was dialing in other stations or done later or not at all.) 560, WHBQ Memphis 600, WREC Memphis 640, WCRV Colliersville/Memphis (TN) 1340, KCAT Pine Bluff AR (the only AM station left on the air in PB!) 1580, UNid Other stations that were running the test had some issues. 880, KLRG Sheridan/Little Rock AR. Internet feed via WDCF running test then own test via KLRG itself! 1090, KAAY Little Rock AR. Poor, distorted audio observed. 1240, KWAK Stuttgart AR. Poor, distorted audio observed. 1590, KBJT Fordyce AR. Poor, distorted audio observed. Also despite being only 27 miles from the transmitter site of KHBM-AM 1430 Monticello AR, the station is all but inaudible in Star City because KHBM-AM is apparently running only a fraction of its authorized power of 1 kW daytime (it`s heard in Monticello but fades away quickly). So I could not determine compliance by KHBM-AM. -- -- (Fritze H Prentice Jr, KC5KBV, Star City, AR, Nov 10, DXLD More info on yesterday's "failed" EAS test Now that a day has gone by since the test, the engineering forums and mailing lists are filling up with speculation and a bit of actual hard information about what went wrong, and I thought the DX community might want to know some of what's being discussed. First, it should be noted that the test was actually quite successful in one way: the EAN (national alert) code, which had never been live- tested before, worked just about everywhere. It was correctly originated, it was correctly passed to the PEP (entry point) stations around the country, and from there it propagated to the local/regional LP-1 and LP-2 primaries and thence to the rest of the "participating" stations around the country. So that piece worked, and worked fairly well, and the engineering community has a pretty good idea about what went wrong in the cases where it didn't work. (There were some problems with the timecode that was sent in the data header - it went out as "2:03 PM," causing at least one brand of EAS receiver to store the message and wait to forward it until 2:03, which accounts for much of the delay that was noticed by listeners.) The biggest problems reported around the country fall into a couple of categories: double audio, poor audio quality, and in some cases no audio at all. Those now have some explanations, too: the reason the double audio was heard nationally is apparently that FEMA uses a telephone conference bridge (!) to get the EAN audio out to the PEP stations, and at one of those stations, the equipment at the station end was incorrectly set up so as to pass station audio back into the conference bridge and thus back out to the rest of the country. Needless to say, there's LOTS of talk today about how to find a better way to get the audio out there if there's a "next time." The poor audio quality was a combination of factors: the telephone conference bridge at the start of the audio chain, overloaded audio levels going into EAS encoders at the PEP and LP stations, and in a broader sense the questionable idea of using this whole "daisy chain" of audio and hoping to get anything usable at the far end. (The "no audio" situation was apparently related to this, too - when the data burst at the start of the test was echoed back a few seconds into it, it apparently caused some EAS encoders to cut off the test early.) So, yeah, in one sense you can say yesterday's test "failed." It's certainly true that nobody around the country got usable audio, and it's easy to understand why the public would therefore look at what happened yesterday as a failure of the system. But as Doug has pointed out, the test wasn't just meant to answer the question, "can we get audio from one end to the other?" It was meant to answer the bigger question of "what happens when we actually press this button, and what do we need to fix to make it work when we need it?" We didn't know the answers to that question at 1:59 PM yesterday. We may not know ALL of them today, but at least now the engineers who work (largely as volunteers) with FEMA to make the system work know what specific areas need fixing. They've got a busy winter ahead of them s (Scott Fybush, NY, Nov 10, ABDX via DXLD) NATIONAL EAS TEST = NATIONAL DISAPPOINTMENT Yesterday's first-ever National EAS Test was a serious disappointment. One big problem: The federal government needs to deliver decent audio to the LP-1s. Reactions from industry leaders will be available from the trade press soon. In the mean time, if you have any comments for our newsletter, please post them on Tech Letters by mailing sblodgett (at) earthsignals.com Here is a sampling of how the test sounded across the country, video clips included. The problems we experienced were by no means unique to southern California. Special thanks to Radio Insight magazine for assembling these files on such short order: http://tinyurl.com/National-EAS-Disappointment (CGC Communicator Nov 10 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) THE LETTER, by Perry Simon, Nov 11, 2011 The last few years, the radio industry has been telling anybody who'll listen, especially politicians, that radio is a critical part of America's emergency indication system. That was the argument advanced for putting FM tuners in cell phones, and it's what the NAB promotes in the wake of every natural disaster. It's become radio's big selling point. when the apocalypse comes, the argument goes, radio will be the most reliable source of information. After this week's Emergency Alert System test, the industry might want to reevaluate that campaign. Yes, it's true that the problems didn't necessarily originate at the station level. The problems may have been inherent in the entire system, and the FCC and FEMA, as the originating agencies, need to look at their own operations to determine what happened. And it WAS "just a test," a way to determine whether the system works and what needs to be fixed. At least, that's how the FCC seems to see it. But the bottom line is that the public was told that this national test was happening, they were told that it would show how broadcasting would respond in a national emergency, and it didn't work properly. Too many stations never got the alert, and many more broadcast something that sounded less like an emergency alert and more like several malfunctioning radios playing at once. If this had been an actual emergency, we'd have been screwed. . . [more] http://clients.allaccess.com/mail/emailTemplates/letter_111111.html (via Brock Whaley, HI, DXLD) MOVING FORWARD AFTER THE FIRST NATIONWIDE EAS TEST In this newsletter, Richard Rudman looks at the audio loop-back problem that in his opinion has a "very strong likelihood" of having come from FEMA, then he addresses other important issues associated with the first Nationwide EAS Test including the need for us to make our own prompt repairs to resolve any broadcast problems. CGC highly recommends that local EAS areas patiently diagnose what went wrong beyond the obvious loop-back problem. There may be important and unexpected trends. Some stations have already discovered that their audio levels were set incorrectly, for example. Next in this newsletter, Oscar Medina grabs the bull by the horns and tells us what he has learned so far from the San Diego Operational Area, but he points out that more data is needed and tells us specifically what is needed and where to send the info. Other Operational Areas may send out similar information requests so watch your in-boxes. This is really an exciting time because each Operational Area has its own story to tell. Once the local problems are resolved, expect another Nationwide EAS Test. We hope that will happen sooner rather than later so any remaining bugs can be ironed out and the nationwide EAS issues put to rest. In summary, let's examine the data, determine local trends and repair any obvious problems. It's a good bet that the nationwide audio glitches experienced last Wednesday won't be repeated in the next go around. Broadcasters didn't drop the ball Wednesday; let's not drop it now. LOOKING FORWARD ON A NUMBER OF ISSUES "FEMA will hopefully release the details soon, but from some post-test recordings I have listened to I believe there is a very strong likelihood that the audio loop-back occurred at the FEMA warning origination point. There are other theories being advanced, and we will have to wait for FEMA to issue their official post-test report to know with 100% certainty exactly what happened and what will be done to prevent this from happening in the future.... "A large number of people and media outlets still represent the test as a "failure" and it wasn't that at all. I want to strongly restate my feeling that we need to look beyond the audio shortcomings and concentrate on the many things that went right with the EAS relay system, and on the distribution infrastructure and equipment issues that will require EAS public and private stakeholder cooperation to fix.... "At some point in the near future we will find out if our government is serious about warnings or not. This includes dollars for training from origination point on through – dollars for redundant and resilient warning distribution infrastructure -- and now the will on the part of FEMA and the FCC for as rapid a transition from SAME EAS to CAP EAS as possible, with wired and wireless paths for CAP distribution that back up Internet distribution." Extracts from a letter by Richard Rudman, CA EAS SECC Vice Chair, November 11, 2011 LET'S LOOK AT THE TECHNICAL DETAILS FROM WEDNESDAY'S TEST "Three stations have sent me some feedback [from the San Diego Operational Area] and there are some pretty strange things going on. At first glance, based on this very limited data, the problems appear to be directly connected with the brand of EAS equipment used at a station. Some received the test but it did not automatically relay. Others received the test but only one or two seconds of audio passed through. "What we need for the San Diego Operational Area is more data. Please let me know: o your station's call sign, o the type of EAS equipment used, o if you received the test, o if your EAS box automatically interrupts your station programming or if EAS messages are delayed and manually broadcast, o how much of the test was rebroadcast (how many seconds of the voice announcement if you have that figure), o if you had to take any action to get the test on the air, o if you had to take any action to return to regular programming, and o any other comments that you think might be helpful. For example, how much time elapsed between 11:00:00 and when you received the start of the test, and your assessment of the audio quality before the loop- back began." Thank you, Oscar Medina, Chairman, San Diego LECC EAS November 12, 2011 Send e-mail to: feedback (at) emergencyalertsystem.org [This address might sound like a nationwide domain name but it is not. The name was available so Oscar grabbed it for the San Diego Operational Area. Nice catch!] MOVING FORWARD -- MORE EAS REPORTS FROM EXPERTS While contaminated audio, noise or the absence of audio plagued many of us on test day, these are problems that can be fixed and will undoubtedly result in a much better test next time around. More problems -- involving station faults -- will surely come to light in the days and weeks ahead. Repairs need to be made quickly while the problems are fresh in everyones' minds. We will hopefully test again soon. The good folks at Radio World have compiled these reports from industry experts with a wealth of important information: http://tinyurl.com/TwoEANHeaders http://tinyurl.com/TestAgainSoon http://tinyurl.com/CrawfordExperience http://tinyurl.com/NevadaView CGC COMMUNICATOR READERS ADD THEIR VIEWS Please use the following URL and (if necessary) scroll down past the copy of this newsletter to see all of the postings concerning the first-ever Nationwide EAS Test: http://www.earthsignals.com/press/ BILL AGRESTA'S REPLACEMENT EAS SYSTEM Finally, we leave you with this. Bill Agresta is Chief Engineer of KBRT(AM) on Catalina Island -- a picturesque retreat with a commanding view of the southern California coast. Bill has developed a revolutionary replacement EAS system and demonstrates it for us here. If it is true that everything in heaven is analog, this system may indeed be divinely inspired. http://earthsignals.com/add_CGC/Images/PIC_0894.JPG (all: CGC Communicator Nov 15 via Kevin Redding, Nov 14, ABDX via DXLD) DECIPHERING WHAT WENT WRONG LAST WEDNESDAY Two articles of interest, both from Radio World. FEMA IPAWS Program Director Manny Centeno discusses last Wednesday's Nationwide EAS Test with Leslie Stimson of Radio World (first URL), then RW's Paul McLane talks about decoding the mystery data bursts that contaminated FEMA's outgoing message. Those bursts allegedly carried the call sign of one particular station: WCCO in Minneapolis. But how could an individual radio station contaminate FEMA's outgoing audio (if that was indeed what happened)? Did FEMA really use a distribution circuit that would allow others to contaminate an outgoing national message? Many questions remain to be answered and the spotlight is on FEMA. That said, part of the test was undoubtedly a success. Many stations were able to relay the first few seconds of the voice announcement before the loop back occurred. How was the audio level, noise and distortion? At least one station in our area had 80% noise. We can learn a lot by concentrating on the good part of the test. http://tinyurl.com/MannyCentenoOnLoopBack http://tinyurl.com/PossibleWCCO-LoopBack (CGC Communicator Nov 15 via ibid.) EMI/RFI Be Gone!!! I have some serious EMI/RFI problems where I live from wifi, "smart" hydro meters, computer power supplies, and the like. I have seen power bars advertised at Universal and Durham Radio for between $74 and $89 that promised to deal with EMI and RFI but I found the price a bit too steep. I saw one made by Woods at my local Home Hardware that offered 510 joules of surge protection and 20db of EMI/RFI noise filtration from 150 kHz to 30 MHz. It has 7 right angle outlets (allowing for AC Adaptors) and offers protection for cable tv, as well. All this for $21.95. Of course, I jumped at it. AND IT WORKS!!! In the US it may be under a different brand name but the parent company is Coleman Cable of Waukegan, IL and there are a number of models that offer EMI/RFI protection. – (Mark Coady, Ont., NASWA yg via DXLD) BRAZILIAN DX CLUB 8" FSL DEMONSTRATION VIDEO Hello All, For those interested in the new Ferrite Sleeve Loop antennas, a demonstration video of an 8" diameter model recently constructed by Eduardo Mairipora in Brazil was posted on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I4-xPltkq8 Demonstrating the antenna's inductive coupling boost to a medium-sized Sony portable, the narrative is in Portuguese, but the antenna's performance is impressive in any language. Eduardo's model is apparently composed of 63 Russian surplus 200mm x 10mm ferrite rods, and probably weighs around 15 pounds. 73, (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), Nov 7, IRCA mailing list via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO WORLD: HARRIS TESTS MODULATION-DEPENDENT CARRIER LEVEL AT WOR http://www.rwonline.com/article/harris-tests-modulation-dependent-carrier-level-at-wor-/24824 Harris Broadcast Communications engineers worked with Tom Ray, corporate DOE at Buckley Broadcasting/WOR(AM) in New York, to test the compatibility of several MDCL algorithms with AM HD Radio and Arbitron Portable People Meter data encoding/decoding. Overall the tests were successful, the participants said. Ray stated “Buckley/WOR looks forward to saving over $3,000 per month on our transmitter site power bill” using the MDCL power reduction technology. MDCL stands for Modulation-Dependent Carrier Level. It’s a power reduction algorithm technology that Harris says can provide a significant reduction in transmitter power consumption without impacting audio quality, signal coverage, HD Radio operation or Arbitron audience rating data. WOR received an FCC waiver permitting “on air” MDCL tests that were conducted on a 50,000 Watt, Harris 3DX-50 transmitter feeding a three- tower directional antenna array. WOR’s programming format is mostly talk radio with moderately heavily processed audio. The algorithms tested were Amplitude Modulation Companding (AMC) with a carrier reduction level of 3 dB at peak modulation, and Adaptive Carrier Control (ACC) at carrier reductions of 2dB, 3dB and 6dB at minimum modulation. The initial tests found that AMC was the most compatible with simultaneous HD Radio operation, causing no noticeable change in HD Radio coverage, according to Harris and WOR. AMC also provided the largest reduction in transmitter power consumption, by saving 37% in average AC power input to the transmitter. The AMC and ACC modes tested were compatible with Arbitron PPM data collection, according to participants, who added that measurements made by Arbitron in New York showed no PPM data errors during the “on air” tests of any MDCL operating mode. Listening tests at weak signal areas on several different types of receivers with digital, analog and synchronous AM detectors showed no noticeable loss of audio quality. “It was surprising that there was no impact on our coverage or audio quality. That’s a lie — we were actually louder in weak signal areas. And I was floored by the 37% reduction in AC power consumption,” stated Ray (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See also ARMENIA; AUSTRALIA; CHILE; ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ETHIOPIA; INDIA; LIBYA; NEW ZEALAND; PORTUGAL; ROMANIA; SPAIN; UK; VATICAN DRM PROGRESS IN ASIA http://tinyurl.com/d47o6ax [See INDIA for excerpt and comment] DRM PRESENTATION AT HFCC B11 CONFERENCE http://tinyurl.com/7dsfyhf (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Nov 14, dxldyg via DXLD) I listen to digital `broadcasts` a lot --- on the web. When I turn on the shortwave, I want to hear analog radio via the ionosphere (Glenn Hauser) With all due respect, I still can't believe we are STILL talking about DRM when most people have declared it dead in the water (Maryanne Kehoe, ODXA yg via DXLD) Hi Maryanne, Seems to be quite a commitment to DRM in Asia, especially All India Radio. Maybe the radios are cheaper there (Mike Terry, ibid.) When it comes to radio technologies overall, we've become fragmented. Analog shortwave use targeting the USA/Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand is on the wane, as we all know. In all these places the desirable audiences (ages 25-40) use other ways to connect with other cultures and nationalities. DRM is no help. For example, my 19-year-old daughter listens to Voice of Russia probably daily --- via her Android smartphone. There's enough domestic use of shortwave in India that it would seem to make sense there, though I have not yet seen any magical $10 - $50 DRM radios hit the streets yet. Even in China the adoption rate for smartphones, which have Internet connectivity, is extremely rapid; broadcasters interested in reaching China are investing in technologies to bypass Internet-based censorship, not shortwave transmitters. In Africa the use of local FM relays appears to be one of the favorite approaches to reaching audiences; not sure DRM will grab hold there due to the geography-based language fragmentation. My two cents, for what they're worth, pretty much agreeing with Mike T (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SUNSPOT RECORD SHATTERED QST de W1AW Propagation Forecast Bulletin 45 ARLP045 From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA November 11, 2011 To all radio amateurs SB PROP ARL ARLP045 ARLP045 Propagation de K7RA Another sunspot number record for Cycle 24 was shattered on Wednesday, November 9 when the daily sunspot number reached 220. This is the highest the daily sunspot number has been in over eight years. The last time the sunspot number was higher than 220 was November 1, 2003 when the number was 277. The next day (November 10) the daily sunspot number dropped back to 164. Two days prior to the sunspot number reaching 277 in 2003, the sunspot number was 330, a much harder record to beat. Average daily sunspot numbers this week rose over 53 points compared to last week, to 153.4. Average daily solar flux rose nearly 39 points to 173.7. Sunspot numbers for November 3 through 9 were 161, 100, 135, 144, 154, 160, and 220, with a mean of 153.4. 10.7 cm flux was 160.4, 163.9, 171.9, 176.7, 182.1, 181, and 180.2, with a mean of 173.7. Much attention has been focused over the past few days on sunspot group 1339, which is now rotating through the region that has maximum effect on Earth, right around the center of the visible solar disk. National Geographic has an article about this at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111110-sunspots-ar1339-earth-jupiter-solar-flare-auroras-space-science/ If you like solar reports with dramatic music, check out a video on 1339 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31gF4YG72D4 and note that you can select a higher resolution and larger screen image. Pay no attention to much of the material that appears after this video about the Mayan calendar, mysterious invisible planets, UFOs, end-of-the world asteroids, etc. Sky and Telescope also features a piece on 1339 at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/home/Sunspot-Points-at-Earth-133471378.html Check out the gallery of photos at http://www.solarham.com/gallery/index.php/2011-Photos/nov2_2011_1339 For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL Technical Information Service web page at http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals For an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere An archive of past propagation bulletins is at http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation Find more good information and tutorials on propagation at http://myplace.frontier.com/~k9la/ Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at http://arrl.org/propagation (via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM SWPC UPDATE: To ensure a smooth transition for all of our customers, the change in geomagnetic products originally scheduled for November 16th has been postponed until December 12th. Effective December 12th, 2011, the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) will be making numerous changes to its geomagnetic product suite. SWPC's nowcast and forecast products, alerts, watches, and warnings will transition to be based on an estimate or prediction of the Planetary indices Kp and Ap. Currently all of these products are based off of the K-index computed from the Boulder magnetometer and the A-index from Fredericksburg, Virginia. The impact of the change should be minimal and no changes to product subscriptions will be required. For more details on the change, please see the customer announcement on our website at: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/geomag/geomag.html (SWPC mailing list Nov 14 via DXLD) MYSTERY OF THE LUNAR IONOSPHERE Nov 14, 2011 6:36 PM This story is from NASA. Nov. 14, 2011: How can a world without air have an ionosphere? Somehow the Moon has done it. Lunar researchers have been struggling with the mystery for years, and they may have finally found a solution. But first, what is an ionosphere? Every terrestrial planet with an atmosphere has one. High above the planet's rocky surface where the atmosphere meets the vacuum of space, ultraviolet rays from the sun break apart atoms of air. This creates a layer of ionized gas -- an "ionosphere." Here on Earth, the ionosphere has a big impact on communications and navigation. For instance, it reflects radio waves, allowing shortwave radio operators to bounce transmissions over the horizon for long- range communications. The ionosphere also bends and scatters signals from GPS satellites, sometimes causing your GPS tracker to mis-read your position. The first convincing evidence for an ionosphere around the Moon came in the 1970s from the Soviet probes Luna 19 and 22. Circling the Moon at close range, the orbiters sensed a layer of charged material extending a few tens of km above the lunar surface containing as many as 1000 electrons per cubic centimeter — a thousand times more than any theory could explain. Radio astronomers also found hints of the lunar ionosphere when distant radio sources passed behind the Moon's limb. The idea of an "airless Moon" having an ionosphere didn't make much sense, but the evidence seemed compelling. As a matter of fact, the Moon isn't quite as airless as most people think. Small amounts of gas created by radioactive decay seep out of the lunar interior; meteoroids and the solar wind also blast atoms off the Moon's surface. The resulting shroud of gas is so thin, however, that many researchers refuse to call it an atmosphere, preferring instead the term "exosphere." The density of the lunar exosphere is about a hundred million billion times less than that of air on Earth — not enough to support an ionosphere as dense as the ones the Luna probes sensed. For 40 years, the Moon's ionosphere remained a mystery until Tim Stubbs of the Goddard Space Flight Center published a possible solution earlier this year. The answer, he proposes, is moondust. Stubbs -- a 30-something scientist who wasn't even born when the Moon's ionosphere was discovered -- read the accounts of Apollo 15 astronauts who reported seeing a strange glow over the Moon's horizon. Many researchers believe the astronauts were seeing moondust. The Moon is an extremely dusty place, naturally surrounded by a swarm of dust grains -- think PigPen in Charlie Brown. When these floating grains catch the light of the rising or setting sun, they create a glow along the horizon. Stubbs and colleagues realized that floating dust could provide the answer. UV rays from the sun hit the grains and ionize them. According to their calculations, this process produces enough charge (positive grains surrounded by negative electrons) to create the observed ionosphere. An ionosphere made of dust instead of gas is new to planetary science. No one knows how it will behave at different times of night and day or at different phases of the solar cycle, or how it might affect future radio communications and navigation on the Moon. NASA's ARTEMIS probes (orbiting the Moon now) and the LADEE spacecraft (scheduled to launch in 2013 specifically for the purpose of studying the lunar exosphere) may yet reveal its habits. Updates may be expected in less than 40 years. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/vVH4vn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zSrP4MacFE (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) You may safely skip the off-the-wall Comments on YouTube. I should think the radio propagation characteristics (if any) of the Lunar ionosphere could have been studied from Earth orbit if not Earth itself, and certainly from Lunar orbit (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) WATCH-ASTRONAUTS-FILM-NORTHERN-LIGHTS-AND-THUNDERSTORMS-IN-HD http://www.wjla.com/blogs/weather/2011/11/watch-astronauts-film-northern-lights-and-thunderstorms-in-hd-13585.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to minor storm levels. The period began under quiet to unsettled conditons on 07 November. Activity increased on 08 November to quiet to unsettled conditions with isolated periods of active to minor storm levels at high latitudes. Mostly quiet levels returned on 09 November and continued through 13 November. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 16 NOV - 12 DEC 2011 Solar activity is expected to be at predominately low levels with a chance for M-class activity through the period. Old Region 1339 (N19, L=102) returns on 27 November bringing an increased probability of M- class activity and a slight chance for an X-class event. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at background levels. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be quiet for the greater portion of the forecast period. Unsettled conditions are possible on 26-27 November and again on 09-10 December with the return of recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2011 Nov 15 2044 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 2011-11-15 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2011 Nov 16 150 5 2 2011 Nov 17 160 5 2 2011 Nov 18 160 5 2 2011 Nov 19 160 5 2 2011 Nov 20 155 5 2 2011 Nov 21 155 5 2 2011 Nov 22 150 5 2 2011 Nov 23 150 5 2 2011 Nov 24 150 5 2 2011 Nov 25 145 7 3 2011 Nov 26 145 7 3 2011 Nov 27 155 5 2 2011 Nov 28 165 5 2 2011 Nov 29 165 5 2 2011 Nov 30 170 5 2 2011 Dec 01 175 5 2 2011 Dec 02 180 5 2 2011 Dec 03 160 5 2 2011 Dec 04 165 5 2 2011 Dec 05 165 5 2 2011 Dec 06 180 5 2 2011 Dec 07 180 5 2 2011 Dec 08 175 5 2 2011 Dec 09 170 8 3 2011 Dec 10 160 5 3 2011 Dec 11 160 5 2 2011 Dec 12 155 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1591, DXLD) ###