DX LISTENING DIGEST 15-14, April 8, 2015 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 2015 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html [also linx to previous years] 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 1768 CONTENTS: *DX and station news about: Australia, Belarus non, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Egypt, Europe, Greece, India, Iran and non, Iraq and non, Italy, Madagascar, Oklahoma, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, Rwanda non, Saudi Arabia, South Carolina non, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan and non, USA, Vatican SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1768, April 9-15, 2015 Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [1767 replayed] Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Thu 2100 WRMI 7570 [confirmed, also on 15770] Fri 2130 WRMI 7570 [confirmed; also no 15770] Sat 0730 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1530 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sun 0315v WA0RCR 1860-AM [confirmed at 0328.5] Sun 2100 WRMI 15770 [confirmed, and not on 7570] Sun 2300 WRMI 11580 [confirmed] Mon 0300v WBCQ 5110v Area 51 Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Wed 0630 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 1315 WRMI 9955 Wed 1430 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [or 1769 if ready in time] 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 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS: Tnx to Dr Harald Gabler and the Rhein-Main Radio Club. http://www.rmrc.de/index.php/rmrc-service/podcast/glenn-hauser-wor ALTERNATIVE PODCASTS, tnx Stephen Cooper: http://shortwave.am/wor.xml AND ANOTHER PODCAST ALTERNATIVE, tnx to Keith Weston: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GlennHausersWorldOfRadio Also via [but still not back in service]: http://tunein.com/radio/World-of-Radio-p198/ OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org DAY-BY-DAY ARCHIVE OF GLENN HAUSER`S LOG REPORTS: Unedited, uncondensed, unchanged from original version, many of them too complex, minutely researched, multi-frequency, opinionated, inconsequential, off-topic, or lengthy for some log editors to manage; and also ahead of their availability in these weekly issues: http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=Hauser DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg without delay. When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and location, and say something about why you want to join. Those who do not, unless I recognize them, will be prompted once to do so and no action will be taken otherwise. Here`s where to sign up: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** ALBANIA. 9855 [sic], April 3 at 0128, R. Tirana IS, fair with flutter, still no ACI or CCI, just storm noise to combat. All RT broadcasts are 100 kW on 310 degree azimuth from Shijak, i.e.: Bern- Paris-Cork-St. Anthony-Gaspé-Québec-Montréal-Ottawa-Toronto- Cincinnati-Little Rock-San Antonio-Monterrey-Tepic, all within a degree of that. Enid is about 5 degrees off, 315, but at this distance should not make much difference in angle; our path does however go further into the sub-auroral zone over the north Atlantic and sheer distance weakens it compared to northeast America (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Regarding this log of a few nites ago, I have just noticed that the frequency should have been 9850 at 0130 --- 9855 is the frequency I did write in my original log, but I was probably wrong, altho it is also possible that R. Tirana was wrong as has happened before (Glenn Hauser, circa April 7, ibid.) ** ALGERIA. See IRELAND [and non] ** ANGOLA. 4949.75, 2020-2030 1.4, R Nacional de Angola, Mulenvos. Portuguese talk by woman 15321 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, what I heard recently in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, WB yg via DXLD) 4949.75, RNdA, 1810, almost no audio defeating a strong S9+20 carrier, 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476.00, 2015-2050 1.4, R Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza, woman and man talking in Spanish, music, 25332. Best 73 and Happy Easter (Anker Petersen, Denmark, what I heard recently in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, WB yg via DXLD) 15476, LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza, 2005, 07-04,now on air with female comments in Spanish. 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Grundig Satellit 500, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA [and non]. 11710.73, RAE, 0325, surprised to find this with good level, local music and talk by a man, best in USB to escape het with weak unidentified station on nominal. 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11711-, April 3 at 0101, RAE is barely audible beneath the crackling spur from 11780.1v BRAZIL (even worse on 11745 & 11815). These S American neighbors are so out of it, they don`t know, or don`t care that they have this pervasive problem. By 0327 during RAE`s English hour it`s improved to poor, vs lite crackle, still not really readable. Why is RAE so weak compared to huge RNA? Got to be running *much less* than originally rated 100 kW, and no doubt inferior antenna. Also a JBA het from something properly on 11710. Of stations bothering to register with HFCC (unlike Argentina & Brasil), that would be TWR via UAE in Ethiopian languages at 0330-0345 only. The other collision on 11710 would be Egypt, q.v. in Spanish at 0045-0200 but apparently not currently using it. But they did part of last A-season (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARMENIA. 4810, Armenia Public Radio, 1908, news or similar, into Arabic vocals. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 585 kHz, 2WEB - North American Reception Reports Wanted! Hello All, In these days when in practically takes an Act of Congress (or Parliament?) to get a QSL from a transoceanic MW-DX station, David Sharp (the program director) of 585-2WEB in Bourke, Australia is asking for DX reports from North America. Since assuming his duties at the "Outback Radio" station quite a few years ago David has only received two reports from North America -- from Nigel in Alberta, and from me (actually I never even sent him a report, but since he is a member of our Ultralightdx group, he heard a `585-2WEB` recording from one of my Cliffhanger DXpeditions, and sent me a verification letter and bumper stickers out of the blue). For those of you with the resources and ability to track down the 10 kW Australian station, Dave's request is forwarded below: ``Hi Gary, Despite further enhancing our signal with several improvements - including installation of a new Optimod running at 125%, we have only had a few TP reports and all from the west coast of the USA and Canada. If anyone heard us in the Midwest or ECNA it would be a record. FWIW - I have not issued any QSLs since your last reception as reports from DXers are scant. P.S. Liked your reference to the song by Boston! Sent from David Sharp's iPhone`` (via Gary DeBock, WA, April 4, IRCA via DXLD) Re: Hi Dave, 585-2WEB is always high on our priority list, Dave, but the Kiwi stations almost totally hijacked the propagation last July! Even the 2 kW Maori underperformer 585-Radio Ngati Porou showed up... despite our best efforts to track down Outback Radio. Anyway, I have "More Than a Feeling" that we will hear Outback Radio again in August-- with a potent signal like it had on the Seaside, Oregon beach in July of 2010 (probably audible all the way to Boston?) http://www.mediafire.com/view/nnbd8qkn0u6cdqg/585-2WEB-1229Z071810PL380.MP3 73, (Gary DeBock, ultralightdx yg via IRCA, ibid.) Thanks for the info. 2WEB 585 used to be not as common with 2 kW. I QSL'd them back in the 80s or 90s (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KGED QSL Manager, ibid.) I QSLed 2WEB in 1992, but I don't think I've heard it since then. It would be nice to give it another try this summer (Bruce Portzer, WA, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. AUSTRÁLIA, 4835, VL8A, Alice Springs, Territ.º do Norte, 1931-1954, 28/3, inglês, noticiário até às 1935, rubrica de chamadas de ouvintes; 25331. Recepção melhor em 30/3, pelas 1830. 4910, VL8T, Tennant Creek, Territ.º do Norte, 2131-2154, 30/3, inglês, notícias, informação desportiva, às 2139, texto, música; 34332. 5025, VL8K, Katherine, Territ.º do Norte, 2133-2155, 30/3, cf. // 4910, mas apenas até à conclusão da informação desportiva, anúncios de programação, texto, relato de Vanuatu; 44332 (Carlos L R de Assunção Gonçalves, Portugal HF logs March 26-31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 12085, Friday April 3 at 1255, RA is wrapping up classical music, about an uncompleted Haydn string quartet. Shortly outro as having been `Keys to Music`, so glad to know this token classical show is back on SW. RA program schedule now defaults to ``London`` so I have to go to the very bottom of the drop down list to put it on UTC! Ha! This sked is also unaware that KtM is on the air, showing instead `The World` at 12-13 Friday, followed correctly by 13- 14 `Conversations with Richard Fidler`. So now I know more, and so do you, dear reader, about what RA is doing than RA itself (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Australia, 9580, 4/3/15 (Easter holiday weekend). I enjoyed the Keys to Music program at 1206 UT this particular morning. The entire program featured fine classical music selections from the composer Joseph Haydn and information about his life (Larry Zamora, Garland, TX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Following Friday, the time was shifted to 1306 UT (gh) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. RA vs China Radio International 07-09 UT 0700-0800 on 17840 SHP 100 kW / 070 deg to EPac English ABC RA 0800-0805 on 17840 SHP 100 kW / 070 deg to EPac French ABC RA 0805-0900 on 17840 SHP 100 kW / 070 deg to EPac English ABC RA 0700-0900 NF 17840 KAS 100 kW / 174 deg to SoAs Chinese CRI, ex 17520 A-14: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/radio-australia-vs-china-radio.html IRAN vs AUSTRALIA, VOIRI/IRIB vs ABC Radio Australia in A-15: 1153-1450 on 11955 KAM 500 kW / 085 deg to WeAs Dari VOIRI/IRIB 1153-1450 on 12065 SHP 100 kW / 355 deg to EaAs English ABC RA 1423-1520 on 12085 AHW 250 kW / 026 deg to CeAs Russian VOIRI/IRIB 1423-1520 on 12085 SHP 100 kW / 030 deg to NPac English ABC RA http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/voiriirib-vs-abc-radio-australia.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 15550, April 3 at 1242, Chinese, first thought maybe a CNR1 jammer, but no het, and 1244 sign-off in English by RBA to 1245*. Yes, HFCC shows KNX 100 kW, 340 degrees at 1140-1245 in Chinese Mandarin except M-F 1140-1215 in Mcn, whatever that is – a tri-letter nowhere in EiBi`s readme language list. Aoki translated Mcn to Cantonese, which makes sense, but strange that whoever established these abbrs. reversed the order rather than the more logical Cmn and Ccn. EiBi`s list shows Cantonese is supposed to be CA, or [yue], as in Yue. 15340, April 3 at 1257, RBA is on here, same transmitter as 15550? With hymntune medley and ``This is Reach Beyond Australia. Our programme on this frequency will commence shortly.``; fair with some flutter and talk CCI underneath; 1300 signs on as to South Asia on 15340, additional slogan ``life-changing radio``, into language, CCI gone but still flutter. Aoki shows the only other 15340 is ChiCom jamming and Sound of Hope, which might be on until 1500 but not today. 11590, April 3 at 1325 is still missing, having initialized in the A- 15 schedule, so I go hunting for RBA elsewhere on the band --- and I find it! On unlisted 12075, fair and flutter, with hymn medley runup and IDs again, 1330 opening to South Asia on ``11590``!! So now I know more and so do you, dear reader, about what RBA is doing than RBA itself! No obvious reason for abrupt replacement of 11590 a few days ago, no collision noted here, but maybe there was one over there. This and 15340 are the ones scheduled to go into partially separate English half-sesquihours at 1445 to conclude each transmission. 12075 puts RBA right between Radio Australia and Radio Australia on 12065 and 12085, just to be neighbourly (and more noticed?). Had I known that IBB TINIAN in Myanmarianese was already scheduled on 12075 at 1430-1500 per HFCC A-15 lookup later, I certainly would have checked whether it`s still there with RBA colliding. Ivo Ivanov later noticed that 15340 stayed on late today until 1600, while 11590 was off since April 1, but he hadn`t found 12075. Extended probably because of ``Good Friday`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Extended transmission of Reach Beyond Australia on April 3 1445-1530 15340 KNX 100 kW / 310 deg SoAs English as scheduled in A-15 1530-1600 15340 KNX 100 kW / 310 deg SoAs English unscheduled, videos: // frequency 11590 KNX 100 kW / 305 deg SoAs English off from April 1. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/extended-transmission-of-reach-beyond.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) 12075, April 4 at 1326 I check RBA 24 hours later, and here it is again with medley leadup to S Asian transmission, good with some flutter, and at 1330 again claims to be on 11590! I retune at 1429 to detect whether there is a collision with IBB Burmese via Tinian as in HFCC for 1430-1500. At first seems like there is, but no, was only own RBA music mixing with talk, for from 1430 talk only there is no CCI. 1451 recheck, 12075 is off! By now, Aoki has 12075 instead of 11590 for RBA, but at 1330-1445 only, no English --- BBC Singapore in Urdu is on 12075 from 1500 so that`s why, but where did RBA English go? Still not back on 11590. I scan the entire 25m band but find it nowhere. The other S Asian service in English is presumably what is poorly audible on 15340 at 1455 and will last until 1530? Not per Aoki, which on this frequency now shows a gap from 1445 to 1515, then English at 1515-1600. Searching Aoki, there is no replacement for 12075/11590 English at 1445-1530. What I heard on 15340 at 1455 could have been instead of RBA, SOH/CNR1 jamming up to 1630. Time for another try at the RBA website for possible accurate update? http://www.reachbeyond.org.au/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/documents/publications/Reach/Beyond/Australia/A15/Program/Schedule.pdf No, it`s still ``V 1.0, March 5 2015`` [sic; a month old!] claiming to run separate English at 1445-1530 on 15340 and 11590. But this is labeled ``Listeners Edition`` --- so maybe it`s disinfo and they really have an internal schedule about what they are really doing, not to be shared. BTW, in this part of my previous report I wrote 11580 instead of 11590, corrected: Ivo Ivanov later noticed that 15340 stayed on late today until 1600, while 11590 was off since April 1, but he hadn`t found 12075. Extended probably because of ``Good Friday`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Reach Beyond Australia 1330-1445 on new 12075, ex 11590, 1445-1530 deleted http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/reach-beyond-australia-1330-1445-on-new.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) Extended transmission of Reach Beyond Australia on Apr 3 1445-1530 15340 KNX 100 kW / 310 deg SoAs English as scheduled in A-15 1530-1600 15340 KNX 100 kW / 310 deg SoAs English unscheduled, videos: // freq 11590 KNX 100 kW / 305 deg SoAs English is off from April 1. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/extended-transmission-of-reach-beyond.html Frequency and time changes of Reach Beyond Australia: all: NF 12075 KNX 100 kW / 305 deg to SoAs: 1330-1400 Hindi Sat-Thu, ex 11590 1330-1400 English Fri, ex 11590 1400-1415 Chattisgarhi Sat/Sun, ex 11590 1400-1415 Malayalam Mon, ex 11590 1400-1415 Telugu Tue/Thu, ex 11590 1400-1415 Kuruk Wed, ex 11590 1400-1415 Marathi Fri, ex 11590 1415-1430 Tamil Sat/Sun, ex 11590 1415-1430 Bahnla Mon, ex 11590 1415-1430 Marwari Tue, ex 11590 1415-1430 Hindi Wed, ex 11590 1415-1430 Telugu Thu, ex 11590 1415-1430 Marathi Fri, ex 11590 1430-1445 Tamil Sun-Fri, ex 11590 1430-1445 Urdu Sat, ex 11590 1445-1530 English, ex 11590, CANCELLED 1445-1530 15340 KNX 100 kW / 310 deg SoAs English, till 1600 April 3 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/reach-beyond-australia-1330-1445-on-new.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) Reach Beyond Australia, wrong frequency announcement in English 1330-1400 NF 12075 KNX 100 kW / 305 deg SoAs Hindi Sat-Thu, ex 11590 1330-1400 on 15340 KNX 100 kW / 310 deg SoAs Hindi Sat-Thu NOTE: 12075 is 20 sec. delay after 15340 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/reach-beyond-australia-1330-1445-on-new.html (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via DXLD) 12075, April 5 at 1327, RBA with medley runup as usual, and 1330 sign- on in English *still* claims to be on 11590. Good with some flutter here, unlike 12085 RA. I didn`t, but Ivo Ivanov was also monitoring 15340 and found Hindi to be // but 20 seconds delayed behind 12075 (except Fridays). Sked for ``11590`` and 15340 does show the same Hindi programming at 1330-1400, while Fridays is `Beyond Words` in English and Hindi. 12075, April 6 at 1412, RBA in S Asian language, good with flutter. Missed checking today at 1330, whether they still imagine they are on 11590. Has their program schedule been updated either? Nope. 12075, April 8 at 1327, good signal from RBA ID & IS prélude, 1330 sign-on to South Asia finally announcing correct frequency 12075 instead of 11590 which I had not heard since March 30, tho it may have lasted a day or two longer. So it took about a week for them to catch up to their own QSY: still announcing ``11590`` as of April 6, unchecked April 7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHRAIN [non]. Ciao a tutti gli amici del gruppo! Ecco i seguenti ascolti in onde corte fatti il 7/04: 9745, 7/04, 2040, Radio Free Asia via Kuwait Px Chi 34533. 73 da (Nino Marabello, QTH Treviso, Italia, RX: SONY ICF SW7600G, Ant.: esterna VHF azimuth 090, bclnews.it yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) That`s rather inconvenient for nearby BAHRAIN on its well-known? SW frequency (gh, DXLD) 9745, 1918, checking for Radio Bahrain and the frequency is no longer clear this hour, covered by Firedrake. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. 15505, April 3 past 1400+ BB IS is still playing, finally until very late mistimesignal ending at 1400:39. First time in ages it`s been slow rather than fast, ending before 1400. Maybe had a power failure and misreset the clox. 15505, April 4 at 1359-1400+, not even a JBA carrier detectable from BB today to clock its mistimesignal, so suspect it`s off. + 6 MHz matcher for fine tuning, 21505 Sa`udi is in well enough. 15505, April 5 until 1400:11, can barely make out the mistimesignal of BB, still running slow rather than fast. 15505, April 7 at 1359, open carrier, poor with flutter, 1359:33 BB IS starts; 1359:56 IS stops, but NO mistimesignal, just opening announcement, and into Urdu theme music (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. Belarussian Radio 1 in Belarussian from March 29 on new frequency 0400-0700 NF 7255 MNS 125 kW / 072 deg to EaEu, ex 11930 in A-14 Radio Belarus Minsk from March 29 also on new frequency 1100-1400 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu Belarussian 1400-1600 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu Russian 1600-1800 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu Polish 1705-1800 NF 11930 MNS 125 kW / 252 deg to WeEu Polish ex 7255 in A-14 1800-1940 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu German 1800-1940 NF 11930 MNS 125 kW / 252 deg to WeEu German ex 7255 in A-14 1940-2000 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu German Tue/Wed/Fri 1940-2000 NF 11930 MNS 125 kW / 252 deg to WeEu German Tue/Wed/Fri, ex 7255 in A-14 1940-2000 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu French Sat-Mon/Thu 1940-2000 NF 11930 MNS 125 kW / 252 deg to WeEu French Sat-Mon/Thu, ex 7255 in A-14 2000-2020 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu Spanish Sat-Mon/Thu 2000-2020 NF 11930 MNS 125 kW / 252 deg to WeEu Spanish Sat-Mon/Thu, ex 7255 in A-14 2000-2020 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu English Tue/Wed/Fri 2000-2020 NF 11930 MNS 125 kW / 252 deg to WeEu English Tue/Wed/Fri, ex 7255 in A-14 2020-2200 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu English 2020-2200 NF 11930 MNS 125 kW / 252 deg to WeEu English ex 7255 A-14 2200-2300 on 11730 MNS 100 kW / 246 deg to WeEu Russian 2200-2300 NF 11930 MNS 125 kW / 252 deg to WeEu Russian ex 7255 A-14 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/03/belarussian-radio-1-in-belarussian-on.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** BELARUS. Radio "Belarus" expands its presence in global media space As BelTA learned from the press service of the BTRC chief media holding of the country and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a joint project: all broadcasting radio "Belarus" is automatically relayed in online at the Belarusian Foreign Ministry http://www.belarusfacts.by Visitors to the portal can now not only read, but also to hear all the needed information about Belarus in eight languages: Belarusian, Russian, English, German, Polish, French, Spanish and Chinese. With the new Internet project jointly by journalists and diplomats will contribute to the promotion of a positive image of Belarus abroad. As the chief of radio "Belarus" Naum Galperovich cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - one of the priorities of the international broadcasting. Information messages Belarusian Foreign Ministry regularly heard on the waves and on the site of radio "Belarus" in Belarusian, Russian, English and German. A new approach, on the one hand, allows to increase of audience, and the other - extends site http://belarusfacts.by Radio "Belarus" has been working since 1962. The total daily amount of the original broadcast today is 26 hours. In the broadcast of the program are presented on the political, economic and socio-cultural life of Belarus. belta.by (OnAir.ru via RusDX April 5 via DXLD) ** BELARUS. BYE BYE BELARUS --- För några år sedan besökte Bengt Ericson och jag Vitryssland på inbjudan av Radio Belarus. Det var en lyckad resa, vi blev väl omhändertagna och miljön i Minsk var angenäm, en vacker stad med många parker och ett behagligt lugn. Visst var vi medvetna om att vi befann oss i en diktaturstat, men den föreföll vara av det mildare slaget. Vi beslöt av ta emot vår kontaktperson på Radio Belarus, Larisa Suarez, för ett besök här i Sverige, och genom fint samarbete mellan dx-are i Stockholm, Norrköping och Småland blev också Larisas resa i Sverige lyckad - reserapporten kan studeras I ett äldre nummer av Eter-Aktuellt. Sedan dess har det hårdnat. Relationerna mellan Belarus och EU- länderna, då inte minst Sverige, har utmärkts av friktioner och konfrontationer. Ett annat irritationsmoment för mig som dx-are har varit det usla samarbetet mellan tekniker och programfolk på Radio Belarus. Påpekanden om stark överton från MV 1170 kHz föll inte vederbörande tekniker på läppen - ingen åtgärd. Vanligt förekommande avbrott i internetsändningen av Radio Belarus engelska program lördagar-söndagar har föranlett många klagomål från min sida - även i den saken har det varit segt. Och förslag om en repris vid lunchtid på 11730 kHz av kvällssändningen på engelska som hörs mycket dåligt på kortvåg möttes av tummen ner. Nåja, att det finns friktioner mellan tekniker och programfolk är sannerligen inte ovanligt, Nils-Olof Franzéns bok Radiominnen ger talande bevis på relationsproblem mellan Telegrafverket och Radiotjänst på sin tid.... här i lyckolandet Sverige.... Men i fråga om Radio Belarus skulle det bli bara värre. När det andra veckohelgen i följd inte fanns någon internetsändning av Larisas brevlådeprogram rann sinnet på mig (efter att ha kollat att Minsk FM och andra kommersiella sändare gick på webben men inte den statliga radion) och jag skrev till Larisa att de som producenter och presentatörer inte borde tolerera att sitta och jobba med program som sedan inte går ut till lyssnarna - om så behövs borde ni protestera hos A.L. själv, skrev jag. Och därmed hade jag tydligen gått över gränsen. Mitt mail hade lästs av andra och setts som uppvigling! Tänk att jag kunde vara så dum, trots många års kontakter och förvecklingar med Enver Hoxhas Albanien! Tänk att jag inte insåg ännu en gång att med en diktatur leker man inte! Det som hände var att mina mail kom tillbaka flera gånger med notering av "Postmaster" (=censuren) att adressen suarez@radio.tvr.by inte är unik! Naturligtvis en ren lögn, dessutom klumpig. E-mail har ju gått fram på den adressen tidigare. Larisa, tidigare gift med en latinamerikan, har ett i Minsk troligen unikt efternamn.... Försök med radions allmänna e-mailadress misslyckades också. Där blev svaret att mailet inte levererades "for policy reasons." Jo men visst, men snarare "for political reasons"! Så för min del är det "bye bye Belarus". Som lyssnare får man antingen hålla god min i elakt spel eller finna sig i att bli blockerad. Efter att ha stött mig med regimen i Tirana och blivit placerad i kylskåp i åratal borde jag begripit det. Stor tok blir efterklok! (Ullmar Qvick via NORDX, via RusDX April 5 via DXLD) BYE BYE BELARUS A few years ago, while visiting Bengt Ericson and I Belarus at the invitation of Radio Belarus. It was a successful trip, we were well cared for and the environment in Minsk was pleasant, a beautiful city with many parks and a pleasant calm. Sure, we were aware that we were in a dictatorship government, but it appeared to be of the milder kind. We decided to take our contact person at Radio Belarus, Larissa Suárez, on a visit here in Sweden, and the fine cooperation between DX-ers in Stockholm, Norrköping and Småland also became Larisa travel in Sweden successful - Trip Report can be studied in an older issues of Ether-News. Since then it has hardened. The relations between Belarus and the EU countries, not least Sweden, has been marked by frictions and confrontations. Another annoyance for me as DX-ers have been the vile cooperation between engineers and software people on the radio Belarus. Observations on strong overtone of MV 1170 kHz [2340 kHz?] did not appear he technician on the lip - no action. Frequently interruptions in Internet broadcast of Radio Belarus English programs Saturdays-Sundays has prompted many complaints from my side - even in the matter, it has been tough. And proposals for a replay at noon on 11730 kHz of the evening broadcast in English that sounds very bad short-wave was met by the thumbs down. Oh well, that there are frictions between technologies and programs people are certainly not unusual. Nils-Olof Franzén's book Radio Memories give eloquent proof of the relationship between Telegraph Agency and Radio Service in its time - here in Lyckolandet Sweden. But in the case of Radio Belarus would become worse. When the second weekly weekend in a row, there was no Internet transmission of Larisa mailslot ran the mind in me (after having checked that the Minsk FM and other commercial stations went on the web but not the state radio) and I wrote to Larisa to those producers and presenters are not should tolerate sit and work with programs that then do not go out to the listeners - if needed you should protest of AL myself, I wrote. And thus, I had apparently gone over the limit. My message had been read by others and seen as sedition! Keep in mind that I could be so stupid, despite many years of contacts and entanglements with Enver Hoxha's Albania! Imagine that I did not realize yet again that with a dictatorship playing one does not! What happened was that my email came back several times with the listing of "Postmaster" (= censorship) to address suarez@radio.tvr.by not unique! Of course, a clean lie, in addition clumsy. E-mail has gone up at that address earlier. Larisa, formerly married to a hispanic, has an in Minsk probably unique last name. Try radio's general email address also failed. Where the answer was that the email was not delivered "for Policy Reasons. "Yeah, but certainly, but rather" for Political Reasons "! So for me it's "bye bye Belarus". As a listener may either put a good face on evil games or resign themselves to become blocked. After having supported me with the regime in Tirana and has been placed in the refrigerator for years should I understood it. Large wrong becomes hindsight! (Ullmar Qvick through NORDX, via RusDX in Swedish, run thru Google translate for English via gh, DXLD) Instead of lamenting and accusing 'dictatorial regime' of all deadly sins, why not snail-mail a registered letter with signed delivery to the chairman or another high-ranking official at Radio Belarus? it may be much more efficient to deal with such sort of issues There is communications ministry of something, too, that must be supervising the transmitting facilities; and they are to react to such complaints in the written form (Leo Barmaleo, Moldova, DXLDYG via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 5952.42, Radio Pio XII, 1143, fair with local music, LSB essential to escape 5955 slop. 3/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. 909, VOA Relay, 1851, editorial about the Nigerian election, // 4930. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL, 5035, R. Aparecida, Aparecida SP, 2237-2248, 26/3, noticiário nacional obrigatório A Voz do Brasil; 44433, QRM da R. Educação Rural de Coari. 5035.05, R. Educação Rural, Coari AM, 2236-2250, 26/3, canções, anúncio da freqüência, informações da hora, ao que se seguiu rubrica de mensagens de ouvintes; 34432, QRM da R. Aparecida (Carlos L R de Assunção Gonçalves, Portugal HF logs March 26-31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL [and non]. 11815, 11745 & 11710, April 4 at 0116 crackling spurs from 11780.1v RNA/RNB. The 11745 one seems to be wider than usual down past 11740, but it`s rather blending with splatter from 11730, now at 0118 VATICAN IS direct to S Asia at 0040-0200, the final third-hour in English. 11745, April 5 at 0007, crackling spur from 11780.1v RNA/RNB, wide enough to QRM 11740 station in Chinese? That would be CNR2 via ubiquitous (see also CHINA) Lingshi 725 site, per Aoki, overlapping with AIR Tamil via Goa. 11710, 11745, 11815, April 5 at 0600 still spurring away, poorly, rather than nully. 11710, 11745 & 11815, April 8 at 0544, crackling spurs from 11780.1v RNA/RNB still have not been eliminated (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also ARGENTINA [and non] ** BRAZIL. 11935, Radio Brazil 2, March 30, 1129-1147 and 1430-1445. excellent signal, S9+ Chinese ethnic music, F announcer, Chinese language in the 1430 segment. Misidentified as CRI in an earlier report (Vince Henley, 4306 Shelby Court, Anacortes, WA. Equipment: Tecsun PL-380, JRC NRD-525, Drake R8B. Antennas are half-meter whip on PL-380 and Alpha-Delta DX-Ultra installed broadside east-west, NASWA Flashsheet April 5 via DXLD) ??? NO way RB2 is in Chinese. At the later hour, VOA Korean is on 11935; at the earlier, CRI in Russian, which could also include some Chinese names or even lessons. Also, I don`t think ``RB`` in this case means ``Radio Brazil`` --- altho it could easily be so misconstrued. Short for the original callsign PRB2 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11935-, April 5 at 0000, numerous ``RB Dois`` IDs with promos, PSA for governo de Paraná, slogan ``a rádio que toca você`` (the radio which touches you), IDs for ``AM 1430`` only, no mention of the three SW frequencies! Unusually loud and clear signal, 42-56 dbu on the PL-880 and good modulation level. Slightly on the lo side, enough to produce a LAH, which now would be very remnant CNR5 and/or RVA; and after 0045, Cairo (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Brazil logs: 6040, RB2, 0925, presumed with threshold talk by a man, mostly unreadable. 26 March 9565.05, SRDA, 0745, long winded sermon, // 9586.9. 26 March 9586.9, SRDA, 0735, sermon, fair signal but peaking to good level. 26 March 9645.38, Rádio Bandeirantes, 0730, lively conversation, into ads or similar, fair. 26 March 9819.68, Rádio 9 de Julho, 0720, Brasopops, talk by a man, very good. 26 March 11764.72, SRDA, 0753, noted in passing and // to 31m outlets. Poor. 26 March 11780.11, RNdA, 0800, strong with news by a man. 26 March 15190.15, R. Inconfidência, 0709, tentative with threshold bits of audio but never more than JBA. 26 March (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA. Vakarel Bulgaria History petition. NO to the destruction of RPS "Vakarel", the symbol of Bulgarian Radio. BULGARIA Petition. Sofia Vakaral history. Historical and technical information on the Vakarel transmitter. Radio transmitter station "Vakarel" is located 2 kms from village Vakarel (Ihtiman) and is situated at an altitude of 900 m. The station was designed and built by the German company Telefunken specialists after long research to find the best place for broadcast in the ranges of long and medium waves. Very best features of the terrain and location ensuring RPS "Vakarel" to 01.01.2015 one of the leading country and Europe places in quality local and international broadcasting. On November 17, 1937 were carried out the first experimental broadcasts, and on 8 December the same year the official Launching and began regular operation of the station. With the start of broadcasts of Vakarel in Europe begin to clearly hear emissions Sofia Radio broadcast wave of 352.9 m / 850 kHz with power 100000 watt. The antenna of this transmitter type Blaw-Knox, is a real technical marvel, not only the time, but today. It has a diamond shape, high is about 200 meters tall and weighs about 130 tons, it is reinforced with four massive steel guyed. Of this type in Bulgaria has one antenna- Stara Zagora-also built in 1936, but the Hungarian company Standard. In Europe there are only two antennas-one in England and Hungary. Transmitter's contemporary, the technician Ivan Pickles tells about the construction of Vakarelska transmitter: "In 1936 year on a high hill near the village began construction Vakarel ... Facing the big spindle diversity antenna, 214 meters high, which ultimately rested on a glass insulator stick with four strong steel ropes. Dug deep ditch, which takes special high-frequency cable to the studio in Sofia. The construction of the transmitter is held by the company-builder "Telefunken", but in construction attended many of our workers, technicians and engineers, including Eng. Martulkov, Eng. Pipev, Eng. Kolarov." Ing. Stanislav Martulkov gives a detailed description of the facility in 1938 in year-on BIAD: "The location of the new transmitter is selected after basic research-about 905 m. Above sea level, 37 kms from Sofia, about 2.5 kilometers before Vakarel ... alarm antenna for airplanes going through the revolving lights of a thousand watts, with a red light, built 15 meters high masts on both sides of the antenna." Eng. Gregory Uzunov describes antenna Vakarel "powerful transmitter antenna near the village Vakarel built by "Hein-Lehmann" Berlin is an iron mast structure with fish shape (wider in the middle of its tapered at the ends) with a height of 179 meters. At the top of the antenna is extended by a metal rod, which rises in height and 17 meters in such a way that the entire height of 196 meters. (In other calculations height was 199.82 m). Conductor current serving four flange beams, power antenna becomes the bottom of tubular wire." Eng. K.Todorov: "From its center are tensioned steel cables (93 th meter), four in number, in 60 mm thick, composed of 121 wires. The base of the mast is concrete block, heavy 48 tons and blocks which are nailed ropes are 67 tons apiece." In the words of eyewitnesses lies only a hint of the colossal work on the construction of a high-quality national transmitter. Work laid with love and professionalism, sent waves of RPS "Vakarel 'homes even English. The transmitter of Vakarel is not affected by any natural disaster-did not hurt nor earthquake or hurricane winds. During World War II survived the bombing because it serves as a reference to the Anglo- American airmen. After 1944, the national transmitter end Vakarel came to be called "Transmitter Hristo Botev". Due to lack of spare parts, the transmitter works with half power-50 kW. In 1950, the General Directorate for broadcasting contract with Hungarian company "Standard" for the repair of "Transmitter Hristo Botev". On February 24, 1954 the facility was put into regular ekspoatatsiya with renewed power of 100 kW. In 1984 vavveden in eksploatatatsiya Bulgarian transmitter development of the Institute of heavy radio electronics (led by the famous engineer. Hristo Bachvarov) with power of 40 kW, reset by means of long waves with a frequency of 261 kHz, a frequency known to thousands of Bulgarians and foreigners. The transmitter works until 2001, when after one month break is replaced by a Russian type DSV-75 with power 75 kW, which is currently unavailable. This transmitter was delivered to RPS "cape", but was never installed there. RPS "Vakarel" is one of the 26 remaining operating transmitters of long waves in the world. Broadcast programs can be heard here very well throughout the country and in Europe, have a loyal following. (6. Januar 2015) NO to the destruction of RPS "Vakarel", the symbol of Bulgarian Radio. Radio transmission station "Vakarel"-78 year old pride of Bulgaria, was stopped on 01.01.2015. Help save her from destruction! Dear compatriots, On 1 January 2015 contrary to the interests of thousands of listeners and national security were stopped long wave transmitter 261 kHz in RPS "Vakarel" and medium-wave frequencies in Gallikos Kilkis, Samuel, Kardzhali, Republic and Targovishte. Despite these many listeners medium-wave frequencies were largely local coverage predvatelyat in Vakarel had even internationally. Currently this site with historic and strategic importance is about to be liquidated following the fate of the majority of suspended radio in recent over 20 years. History of RPS "Vakarel" stretches back to back in 1934, when specialists from the company Telefunken visit Bulgaria in search of the most suitable location for broadcasting. After almost a year and demand measurements, they stop at the height above the Sofia village Vakarel. The location is ideal for a number of natural and geographical reasons. In fact it is the best in the country. In 1936 construction began on the first transmitter and in nearby 1937 already made the first tests. On 17 November 1937, the transmitter enters into operation. And from that moment began the creation of a legend, fought their way with her beautiful voice as hundreds of specialists, engineers and native genius of radiodeloto and millions of listeners. A national pride. Until this New Year's Eve, 78 long and turbulent years. The importance of the station is beyond doubt. Through its program of Bulgarian National Radio reach thousands of listeners outside other coating, whether or VHF television. Director General of BNR Mr. Radoslav Yankulov in a gust of inadequate and incompetent fatal modernism is going to war against the broadcasting of long and medium wave. According to his statements it is obsolete technology, rejected all over the world, too expensive for maintenance and generally meaningless. According to him, Bulgaria has 98% coverage of the country with the FM signal. He is even ready, in his words, a financial scheme by which to buy the poor listeners VHF radios. The truth, my dear compatriots, is much different. Bulgaria is a mountainous country and a considerable part of the population lives in the mountains. Despite the presence of several dozens of regional and national radio stations in VHF range, due to rough terrain their coverage of mountainous areas is very limited. These areas are served until recently by twenty regional and 7 national radio coverage of the SG and ST. These transmitters broadcast programs of Radio, plus news content was provided by the regional studios of Radio, giving listeners an interesting, diverse and relevant information for the region. Due to the nature of the spectrum reached their voice not only to the most remote corners of Bulgaria, but also to our compatriots abroad. Bulgarian speech was reaching tens of thousands from the western suburbs, the Bulgarians southern Romania, the thousands in Europe. According to experts in the industry to achieve too VHF coverage of 98% must be built between 800 and 1,000 new FM transmitter, most of them must be located in rugged terrain. Behind the promise of Mr. Yankulov hide millions of BGN deals for construction of road infrastructure, grid, microwave network and radio transmission network. And it will come to the Bulgarian taxpayer tens of times more expensive than the maintenance of all the destroyed and scrapped transmitters SG and ST will be the peak of stupidity and nekompetenstnostta, wastage of precious and needed resources. The cost would be astronomical. Then he is ready to gift VHF receivers of all poor listeners. If for example we put average supply wholesale price of about 30 lev for receiver and modest Suppose that in our country there are 100.000 people living in remote rural areas receive three million lev, the price of electricity for RPS "Vakarel" for 16 years. By what right Mr. Yankulov discriminates against those 100.000 Bulgarians in Bulgaria and thousands abroad? According to him, the whole civilized world refuses mass stops transmitters ST and SG. Therefore you in central Europe evening heard over 25 stations of the SG and 90 CB? For this reason you constantly modernize existing and build new facilities in the EU Member States? There are several reasons: 1) Huge coverage with lower costs The coverage area of a modern 100-kilowatt transmitter SG, suitably located and having a good quality antenna system is up to 2000 km. The annual cost of electricity would be about 127 546 lev. These are 17 cents per capita per year. The coverage area of this transmitter CB would be around 400 km. Costs 1000 VHF transmitter would be drastically higher. 2) high security communication channel The radio can not be easily stopped. This is extremely important in case of war, natural disasters and accidents. This is one of the main roles of the national radio-to reach all in such cases. In a statement Mr Yankulov expressed the view that it is best to listen to Radio on their mobile phones via the Internet. Due to its high complexity and multi-layered, his proposed transmission medium is the most vulnerable, insecure and chaotic. Radio is extremely safe, in case of disaster, accident or war, transfers can be organized by themselves transmitting stations protected studios, and from pre-recorded programs and others. 3) Extremely low cost and simplicity of terminal equipment National Radio is a public service. It must serve the people of them and for them. Although urbanization of Bulgarian cities, thousands of our fellow citizens live in isolated and remote areas where food is retrieved with a daily struggle with the ground for her gifts. Despite the proven return to rural life, most of these listeners are elderly and low-income. But almost all have a suitable receiver. In our country there are still thousands of fully operable tube and transistor radios. Despite the claims of Mr. Yankulov last repeated on 19.01.2015 in the morning of BNT1 that broadcasts CB of RPS "Vidin" of mediumwave 576 kHz reach all listeners in the country, this is not true. The transmitter is located in a very inappropriate place for broadcasting. Moreover purchased 400 kilowatt transmitter Thompson is poor and causes a number of problems in the operation, which requires to work with 200 kilowatts of power. Despite this power coverage area and signal quality are far from sufficient for the country. We are all aware of the financial, organizational and resource difficulties for the state national media. Abbreviation of regional programs is understandable. But the exclusion of only a transmitter having a capacity for national coverage is not. We appeal to all of you from the ordinary listener, to the members of the parliamentary committee on culture and media! Let us not allow mercantile tear everything built to destroy the little left of a once proud our national radio. Let us save RPS "Vakarel" and turn it into the main transmitter broadcasting center of Bulgaria. We call for: 1) Purchase of the State of RPS "Vakarel"; 2) Purchase and installation of a new transmitter SG from a reputable supplier (e.g. Transradio, Gates or Nautel) with capacity of 50 kW in the estimated annual cost of electricity by 63 773 lev or 9 cents per capita per year; 3) Purchase and installation of new CB transmitter from a reputable supplier (e.g. Transradio, Gates or Nautel) to power 100 kilowatts, at an estimated annual cost of electricity from 127,546 lev or 17 cents per capita per year; 4) preserving old Dvublokov transmitter DSV-75 as a reserve power, proven in the toughest conditions. 5) Construction of new diplexer that will allow simultaneous operation of two transmitters with existing antenna system; 6) Restoration of broadcasting program "Horizon" Radio station SG and ST for the country and abroad. 7) Construction of the area of one of the residential buildings in the station of a modern museum of Bulgarian radiodelo an information center and a library. The museum is open for organized visits of Bulgarian and foreign citizens, students from technical schools and universities. A good example of suitable transmitters are Nautel NX50 / NX100, Transradio TRAM50 / TRAM100, and Gates Flexdivia 3DX50 / 3DX100. These actions would provide not only 100% coverage for much less money than those needed to build a grand network of VHF transmitters, but also a safe, inexpensive and proven method to reach foreign audiences from countries like Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Serbia, Albania, Belarus and others. All this can be achieved with the vote of confidence of German experts, chosen height of the village Vakarel as the best option for broadcasting in the country, with the vote of confidence of the Bulgarian State again be the master and guardian of a legendary station. Only in this way Bulgaria's voice can be heard again from all its podannitsi home and away. (via Wolfgang Büschel, April 2, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) ** BULGARIA [non]. Utwente hears no signal on 9525 at 1820-1845 UT. Please check around the 31mb (or beyond?) in case there is an unknown replacement for the Global 24 Saturday broadcast, which last week was 18-22 UT, starting with The Rock Pile at 18-20, Blues Radio International at 20-21, G24 News at 2100-2130, World of Radio at 2130- 2200. As I mentioned before, CRI Russian in A-15 is now scheduled from Beijing site on 9525 at 19-21, which would make a big collision (also Indonesia could be on 9526-). I asked Jeff Demers about this and he says that Bulgaria gave them no options for this week, so not sure if that means staying on 9525, or nothing at all. It`s also not clear whether the previous WRMI transmissions will be happening this weekend. Rechecking Utwente remote at 1857, still nothing on 9525, but 9515 is on with CRI prélude, 1900 opening Czech; back to 9525, and now it`s on in Russian, bigsig and nothing else (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CAMBODIA [non]. New frequencies of clandestine broadcasts in A-15: CMN Cambodia Media Network Radio: 2300-2330 7510 DB 200 kW / 125 deg to SEAs Khmer Sun/Tue/Thu, ex 9945 in A-14 (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, April 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) April 2: CMN Cambodia Media Network Radio in Khmer to SEAs 2328 on 7510 Dushanbe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FujKZuVO8o&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. [Re 15-13]: Radio Canada International to return to air Rudolf, Independente do partido no poder, acabar com a CBC seria o máximo para os políticos. So não aconteceu ainda por causa da pressão popular. Os políticos adoram a CBC quando são oposição; quando viram governo, a coisa muda completamente. A morte está sendo lenta, atravez da redução orcamentária ano a ano. Quanto à volta da RCI, é tão improvável que nem primeiro de Abril ajuda. :^) Abraços, (Vince, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** CHINA. 1170, CNR1, 2043, on top of frequency with traditional music, 2CH well underneath. 4/4. 1521, CNR1? 2012, sudden fade-up out of nowhere to take over channel with ethnic music and very strong on peaks. 4/4, 1530, Zhejiang, 2018, well on top of 2VM with Classical Chinese music and talk by enthusiastic woman. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 13980-, April 3 at 0453, CNR1 jammer, very poor, slightly on lo side at least compared to 11980 TURKEY 13980, April 3 at 1253, CNR1 jammer, very poor; here it is again 13920, April 3 at 1254, CNR1 jammer, poor, so better than 13980. No other OOBs found this hour up to 18 MHz 16100, April 3 at 1358, CNR1 jammer, poor with flutter 14870, April 3 at 1359, CNR1 jammer, very poor 14920, April 3 at 1359, CNR1 jammer, very poor but none further sought as I am rushing to 15505 Bangladesh. CNR1 jammers morning of April 4; none in the 18s or 16s but: 17900, April 4 at 1425, CNR1 jammer, very poor with flutter and ute? QRM. Unusual spot; latest Aoki shows unusually precise frequencies: 17900.293 2330-1330 TWN * SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chi ? 1-7 I don`t try to measure it. At this time the only other 16mb signals are 17790 WRMI, 17730 RHC, 17615 Cairo; not even the East Turkistanis 12870, April 4 at 1432, CNR1 jammer, good with flutter 12910, April 4 at 1432, CNR1 jammer, good with flutter 12980, April 4 at 1432, CNR1 jammer, good with flutter 13530, April 4 at 1434, CNR1 jammer, good with flutter 14870, April 4 at 1435, CNR1 jammer, very good with flutter 14920, April 4 at 1435, CNR1 jammer, very good with flutter 15970, April 4 at 1435, CNR1 jammer, good with flutter 15775, April 4 at 1435, CNR1 jammer, good with flutter 15115, April 4 at 1436, CNR1 jammer, very good with flutter, CCI 11785, April 4 at 1442, CNR1 jammer poor with flutter 11500, April 4 at 1443, CNR1 jammer, fair 11470, April 4 at 1443, CNR1 jamer, poor with flutter 10870, April 4 at 1444, CNR1 jammer, fair with flutter; none in the 9s, 8s or 7s After logging all these I put one receiver on 14870 and quickly recheck the others for synchrony: the only ones matching 14870 are 14920 and 11500; but I can`t be sure all the others are synchro with each other. [and non]. 17580, April 4 at 2353, poor signal in Chinese, must be per Aoki, CNR1 via Lingshi, and in this case not a jammer! 11785, April 5 at 1350, CNR1 jammer with Sunday-evening cultural hour, i.e. a Chinese (Peking?) Opera replete with hyper-soprano screeches; also on numerous other CNR1 jammer (or non) channels on 7, 9, 11 MHz. 1354 spoken outro to the show. 18990, Sunday April 5 at 1357, JBA signal probably CNR1 but too weak to be sure of a // match --- and another weak signal on 19010, so RFA Tibetan via KUWAIT has faked out the ChiCom jammer? No, the Sunday 13- 14 hour of RFA is listed in Aoki as supposed to be on 19010; with 18990 on Weds & Sats; wake, up SARFT Jamming Command! CNR1 jammers morning of April 6: 9155, April 6 at 1244, CNR1 jammer, poor 9200, April 6 at 1244, CNR1 jammer, fair 9230, April 6 at 1244, CNR1 jammer, poor 9280, April 6 at 1244, CNR1 jammer, poor-fair 9500, April 6 at 1245, CNR1 jammer, poor-fair No full bandscan during this hour 15970, April 6 at 1416, CNR1 jammer, fair 16920, April 6 at 1416, CNR1 jammer, poor with flutter 16530, April 6 at 1416, CNR1 jammer, fair with flutter 17900, April 6 at 1418, CNR1 jammer, very poor, ute QRM No full scan of 12-15 MHz. I think SARFT are still following the strange protocol of jamming vs Sound of Hope: turning it off at top of hour, and back on circa :20 after, but these are already on, early? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 17705, April 8 at 1314, CNR1 jammer echoing and ruining SAUDI ARABIA, but the real target is All India Radio, Chinese service which has just moved here for A-15. Recheck at 1318, BSKSA in the clear as AIR ends at 1315. [WORLD OF RADIO 1768] 18990, April 8 at 1317, very poor signal only here on this band, i.e. the Wed & Sat 13-14 channel for RFA Tibetan via KUWAIT; can`t really tell whether it`s that or a CNR1 jammer. 16100, April 8 at 1319, CNR1 jammer, poor with flutter. No other OOBs found in the 17s, 15s, 14s, 13s or 12s. Yet the East Turkistani non- jammer CRI services in French and English are in very well on 17560, 17630, 17650 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 3900, Hulun Buir PBS, 1134, fair with talk by a man and local music. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 3990.00, 2315-2325 1.4, Gannan PBS, Tianshui. Chinese talk under stronger Xinjiang PBS in Uighur 22422 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, what I heard recently in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, WB yg via DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. 12055, April 4 at 2357, fair signal, S Asian sounding? But mixing with `East is Red` Chicom NA, timesignal a sesquisecond late from 0000 UT April 5, and then some Russian words? Aoki shows the collision is this: CNR-17 Kazakh service from Lingshi 725 site starting at 2355, and FEBC Bocaue Philippines in Lu from 2345 to 0015, both daily. Signals add up to 47-53 dbu on the PL-880 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. 1520, April 6 at 1242 UT, with KOKC off for antenna replacement [see OKLAHOMA], CRI English with item about artificial snow for skiing in the Siena Valley, clip in Italian, i.e. the 25 kW daytime relay via KYND Cypress (Houston) TX. I was going to check for // on 9570 via Cuba but during this hour it`s in Chinese. Our Enid sunrise today: 1211 UT; in one week, 10 minutes earlier, closing in on 1200 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. 6115, Radio Congo, 1822, just caught fill music they sometimes use at end of broadcast, plug pulled at 1825. Good. 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR. 5066.33, 1835, R. Candip, Bunia, DR Congo – talk in French, mention Brazzaville. 242, 09/03 APs 5066.34, 1955, R. Candip, Bunia, DR Congo – long talk in French, occasional Morse [? as QRM?], off 2016, 242, 07/03 APs 5066.34, 1951, R Candip, Bunia, DR Congo – continuous African music. Off at 2015. 242, 14/03 Aps (Alan Pennington, Sheigra DX-pedition, Sutherland, Scotland, UK, AOR 7030plus, multiple Beverage aerials, April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 5066.32, 1944, R. Candip, Bunia, Dem. Congo – very nice songs, final ID by woman. Off at 2015 fair/good, 14/03, BOC (Giampero Bernardini/Dario Monferini, Bocca di Magra, Italy Excalibur Pro, Perseus; MaxiWhip 10m long, Wellbrook LFL1010 loop, ibid.) 5066.4, Radio Candip, 1743, fair with hi life, battling utility. 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 6060, April 3 at 0445, RHC in English already: supposed to stay in Spanish until 0500, now // 6165 and 6000, all of which are undermodulated to the extent that copy is difficult with local storm noise added to otherwise strong signals. 6000 is slightly better than the others. Remaining frequencies all still heard at 0450 in Spanish: 5040 VG, 9535 P, 11670 VG, 11840 VG, 13740 VG. 6100 is not yet on; and 6090 PMS Anguilla is much louder than any RHC English frequency. Time to check the online sked whether finally updated for A-15? http://www.radiohc.cu/interesantes/estaticas/frecuencias NOPE, as of 1650 UT April 3, still showing the old sked expiring in March, which was not even updated for the DST shifts made March 8! Could be that a few late frequency changes are about to be made within 10 days of the real start of A-15, as Arnie always takes his time on that. When I tuned in 6060 at 0445, the announcers were mentioning that there are technical issues with their ``Real Audio channels``, which of course aren`t Real at all. They would let us know when they are back. Checked at 1655 UT April 3, I do get RHC to play on Windows Media: http://media.enet.cu/radiohabanacuba 15370, April 4 at 2357, RHC Cuban music, with big hum; wiggle that patchcord! 11670, April 5 at 0008, RHC Spanish, VG level 54-59 dbu on PL-880, but undermodulated. 5990, April 5 at 0013, CRI Spanish relay via CUBA is suptorted; // 15120 is suppressed but not distorted, plus hum which is missing on 5990. 15370, April 5 at 1314, RHC Spanish playing neat marimba song with lyrix about ``las frutas que adornan la cruz`` such as mangos, a sly reference to Pascua? 1317 opening ``Correo Internacional``, hardly, starting with a Cuban listener, since they may safely contact their own SW station, full addresses looking for penpals abroad. BTW, altho Pascua is the official Spanish for Easter, they confusingly also apply it to Xmas = Navidad. 15370, April 6 at 1410, RHC AWOL from one of its best frequencies; still on 15230, 17730, 11760, 9640, but not on 11950, 11860, 9820 or 9550. More than a week after A-15 officially began, it`s about time for Arnie to be making any seasonal RHC changes, and putting up a real new schedule, but 15370 absence may just be a temporary anomaly. I also make quick scans of 17, 15, 13, 11 MHz bands for possible replacement without finding any. Still the old B-14 at http://www.radiohc.cu/interesantes/estaticas/frecuencias 15370, April 7 at 1326, this RHC frequency is still missing. Old B14 sked is still on website, showing it at 14-16 UT, but from DST March 8, it really shifted to 13-15 UT. 15370, April 8 at 1313, RHC still absent; barely audible on 15230, better on 17730, 9640, etc. No, website schedule still hasn`t been updated beyond B-14 until March 7. Wake up, Arnie! A-15 RHC sked effective April 11-12 via wb has few major changes: Bauta site, 11-15 on 15730, typo for 15370? 15-18 on 11950 midday frequency instead of 11760 (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No, BOTH 15370 and 15730 are on the new sked (gh) ** CUBA [and non]. 13605, April 3 at 1251, R. Martí, GB open carrier is already on with brief tone test and silence, while I can also already hear Cuban jamming underneath, but not yet building up to full bore for the 1300- transmission. 13605, April 7 at 0546, R. Martí is long gone at this hour, but the DentroCuban Jamming Command angrily keeps attacking its A-15 frequency with pulse jamming, and irregular beeping more audible with BFO, like the clip I previously recorded on 11930. In fact, 11930 is doing the same thing now (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 75 Years of HCJB Shortwave --- On Easter Sunday, 1940, a new radio station had just come on the air and was conducting its inaugural broadcast with a new 10 kW shortwave transmitter. The station wasn’t entirely new, but it had just installed the new transmitter, and it now had a strong signal to North America. That station was HCJB, the Voice of the Andes, in Quito, Ecuador. Full article here: http://onetuberadio.com Posted by: (Mike Terry, April 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 9315, April 3 at 0053, R. Cairo, poor, just barely modulated with hum during scheduled Spanish 9965, April 3 at 0053, R. Cairo, good signal but open carrier/dead air except for whine; Arabic frequency 12070, April 3 at 0054, R. Cairo, fair signal but suptorted modulation in presumed Spanish --- but that`s not all! 11897-11913 or so, April 3 at 0102, huge extremely distorted FM blob of mostly talk, but impossible to discern language, let alone a single word. On second receiver I try to find a match with other 25m bigsigs, 11920 YFR/WRMI, 12105 WTWW, 12005 Vietnam/UK, 11870 WEWN, 11760 RHC, but they are off the hook. Impossible to pinpoint center of this with no specific carrier, but sounds loudest circa 11909. On PL-880 with short random wire, dbu readings are 44-53. ``Modulation`` is very dense, and a roar remains during pauses between words. Altho there was too little mod to match with 12070 Cairo, I suspect them as a well-known source of engineering malfeasance, so now I check for a match on 9315 --- after listening a couple of minutes, I can tell there is a match --- only by lining up the pauses. Then I also confirm // 12070 to 9315. So this is a totally out of order (rather than partially) ERTU transmitter. Not checked again until 0243 when it`s off. It was however, still on at 0115 totally blocking any trace of Sri Lanka 11905 and its mistimesignal. Tonight I am thwarted on that! By 0243, SL is apparently finished with 11905 anyway (not in HFCC). So which frequency could this blob be scheduled for? Per HFCC A-15, Spanish at 0045-0200 is over-registered not only for 9315 and 12070, but also 9720, 9860, 11710, 11935, 12035, 12080, all Abis. So likely closest 11935, except never used before while 12035 has been, both unheard now. We`ll see if one of them is back in whack next time. [and non]. 11897-11913, April 4 at 0110, no blob tonight from R. Cairo as reported last night, a horrible wideband FMy distorted mess. So now I try to figure out where it was coming from. Of the previously listed alternative registered frequencies from Abis, 12035 is not on the air, but on 11935, RB2, Brasil has some CCI making a LAH since ZY is always off-frequency. 12070 is on as usual, very suptorted during Spanish service. Recheck at 0145, I can now barely tell that the music under Brasil is // 12070, so that`s it! But this 11935 Cairo signal is even weaker than Brasil, nowhere near the level it was putting out as an extremely distorted spur. 13850, April 4 at 0531, this distorted Cairo frequency now has wobbly spurs at plus and minus 10, QRMing R. Japan in French on 13840 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) New A-15 frequencies of Radio Cairo in German/French/English 1900-2000 NF 9665 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu German, ex 9410 A-14 2000-2115 NF 9665 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu French, ex 9410 A-14 2115-2245 NF 9800 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu English, x 9895 A-14 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/new-15-frequencies-of-radio-cairo-in.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) [and non]. 13840-13850-13860, April 8 at 0547, suptorted bigsig from R. Cairo in Arabic toward N America on 13850 again putting out spurs 10 kHz above and below, the 13840 one messing with NHK French via MADAGASCAR during this semihour only (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 7184.98, VoBME, 1726, talk by a man, HOA music, strong. 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6030, Radio Oromiya, 1953, presumed, strong with HOA vocals. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [and non]. CLANDESTINE Sagalee Radio Risala-ti, Radio Risala International, April 3: 1830-1900 on 15165 secret / hidden site to EaAf Oromo Fri Transmissions are jammed by Ethiopia with white noise digital jamming http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/sagalee-radio-risala-ti-radio-risala.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. CLANDESTINE, Sagalee Radio Risala-ti, Radio Risala International, April 3: 1830-1900 on 15165 secret / hidden site to EaAf Oromo Fri Transmissions are jammed by Ethiopia with white noise digital jamming http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/sagalee-radio-risala-ti-radio-risala.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** EUROPE. PIRATE-EURO. Abu Dhabi, 6290 AM, 0003-0023+, 03-28-15, SIO: 444. Mr. Black Bandit under his other name, played "Boots" by Nancy Sinatra, "Son Of A Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield, etc., not the full songs but just clips. Talking and IDs by BB (Chris Lobdell, Box 80146, Stoneham, MA 02180 USA, Receivers: Eton E1, NRD-545; Aerials: G5RV, 40 Meter Dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. Free Radio Service Holland till 1500 UT on 9300.5 kHz http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/free-radio-service-holland-till-1500.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, April 5, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) April 5: Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1256 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmuHpN3bljI&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1325 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBt9QbbXCRY&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1325 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBt9QbbXCRY&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1400 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-xUex1OwE0&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1428 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uerlNk6w8qo&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1456 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S5IP3E9pfo&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1458 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVnNcDWr6oY&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1548 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKtxNEoZ5vo&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1624 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrDUYeESIeg&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1706 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjYi6fZkMJ4&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1804 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfXAVjJzA4U&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1902 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGsAzmMHYV8&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 1957 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHoXJIRmaV0&feature=youtu.be Free Radio Service Holland to Eu 2000 on 9300.5, parallel 7699.9 not heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMpJLFF-6WU (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FALKLAND ISLANDS. Sabotean el servicio de radio de las Islas Malvinas | Malvinas http://www.minutouno.com/notas/359223-sabotean-el-servicio-radio-las-islas-malvinas (via Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, April 3, condiglista yg via DXLD) Several Government websites of Argentina hacked and defaced by ‘Libero’, from Argentina Hack Team --- Falkland Is. Radio Service was among the hacked websites. http://www.techworm.net/2015/04/anonymous-member-libero-hacks-malvinas-tv-and-radio-websites.html (via Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, dxldyg via DXLD) ** FIJI. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide a grant aid of FJ$15m for the construction of a new mediumwave transmission system to the Fiji government. The signing ceremony was held the past week between JICA, the Ministry of Public Enterprises and the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. The equipment will include two transmitters (558 and 990 kHz frequency), complete antenna system and other related equipment together with transmitter building. The rehabilitation of the AM transmission will provide vastly improved coverage to whole of Fiji thus ensuring that the populations in the maritime islands have access to the much needed radio service (Fiji Sun, 17 March via Alan Pennington, April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Scandinavian Weekend Radio on 11720 & 11690 on April 4: Next monthly broadcast of Scandinavian Weekend Radio-SWR will be on 1st Saturday of May from 2100 UT May 1 till 2100 UT May 2: 2100-2200 on 6170 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 2100-2200 on 11720 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 2200-2400 on 6170 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 2200-2400 on 11690 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 0000-0500 on 6170 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 0000-0500 on 11690 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 0500-0700 on 5980 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 0500-0700 on 11690 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 0700-0800 on 5980 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 0700-0800 on 11720 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 0800-1300 on 6170 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 0800-1300 on 11720 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 1300-1400 on 6170 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 1300-1400 on 11690 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 1400-1600 on 5980 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 1400-1600 on 11690 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 1600-1800 on 5980 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 1600-1800 on 11720 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 1800-2100 on 6170 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish 1800-2100 on 11690 VIR 0.1 kW / non-dir to FIN Finnish http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/scandinavian-weekend-radio-on-11720-and.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** FRANCE. SARKOZY EX-AIDE TAKES THE AXE TO RADIO FRANCE LARGESSE http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32209048 -- (Via Terry Krueger, April 8, DXLD) viz., nothing about SW or RFI: Sarkozy ex-aide takes the axe to Radio France largesse By Hugh Schofield BBC News, Paris 8 April 2015 From the section Europe Radio France has been hit by strikes For three weeks the morning ritual for millions of people in France has been rudely interrupted by a strike at one of the country's great public sector institutions: Radio France. Instead of the familiar 0700 jingle-and-bulletin that got us moving kettlewards, listeners to the news channel France-Info have had to endure 21 days of recorded messages and music. Non-striking journalists periodically manage to put together short sequences on the station, but it is a pale shadow of the real thing. The corporation never felt the stern hand of reform Masses of listeners are defecting to private channels such as RMC and Europe 1. And there is the same empty airtime on the six other channels that operate from Maison de la Radio in Paris (France Inter, France Bleu, France Culture, France Musique, FIP and Le Mouv'). No-one can remember a strike at Radio France lasting this long, because no strike ever has. There is a reason for that. For decades Radio France has enjoyed the status of a cosseted state asset. No reform Constantly lauded - its mission of public service placing it above reproach - the corporation never felt the stern hand of reform. But now the country's coffers are empty. There is no more buying off the protest with a sneaky handout from the culture ministry. Mathieu Gallet has upset the unions Today the years of accumulated waste and inefficiencies cry out for an overhaul. A report a couple of weeks ago from the French treasury watchdog, the Cour des Comptes, showed the scale of the problem. From 2004 to 2013, expenditure at Radio France went up 27.5% - with no increase in audience. Salary costs went up by 47% because at a time of growing pressure on jobs everywhere else Radio France took on 20% more staff. Because of the layers of accumulated privileges (often negotiated with unions after previous strikes), the 5,000 workers enjoy up to 68 working days off a year - more than 13 weeks. There are 388 staff members who are paid union representatives - a whopping 8% of the workforce. Renovation of Radio France's landmark Seine-side headquarters was supposed to cost 262m euros (£191m, $285m). Instead it is costing 575m euros. Right-winger Changing all this requires a mix of vision, toughness and dialogue, but the man whose job it is might have been purpose-picked to antagonise the unions. Radio France's new president Mathieu Gallet is handsome, young, energetic - and right-wing. One of his previous jobs was in the culture ministry under President Nicholas Sarkozy. Mr Gallet has warned that the corporation's annual deficit of 21m euros is unsustainable. He wants a voluntary redundancy plan to shed 300 or so jobs. The danger is that we news junkies will start looking elsewhere, and discovering the competition He says that Radio France's two orchestras are one too many; that the separate news rooms at France Inter, France Info and France Culture need to be integrated; and that the network of local stations at France Bleu should commission shared material. But all this has merely infuriated the unions at Radio France. The hardliners there mainly represent technicians, although many journalists have also stopped work. Inevitability of reform The strikers have made it quite clear that they want Mr Gallet to go. And usefully they have discovered that even as he was advising drastic cuts at the corporation, he spent 100,000 euros doing up his personal office there. It is the sort of gaffe that could easily have brought him down. But so far Mr Gallet continues with the backing of the Socialist government, which presumably sees as well as he does the inevitability of reform. For those of us who depended on France-Info's round-the-clock news output, it is an infuriating time. Though the station has a discernible left-wing bias - the ratio of union leaders to company bosses interviewed must be about five to one - it is in general thorough and professional. It is also, by comparison with private stations, mercifully light on adverts (though, for all its vaunted public sector ethos, Radio France does permit some). The danger is that we news junkies will start looking elsewhere, and discovering the competition (via Terry Krueger, DXLD) ** FRANCE. 15560, April 8 at 0552, poor signal in Arabish? No, must be Swahili as HFCC shows RFI at 0530-0600, 500 kW, 135 degrees from Issoudun (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. All transmissions of RFI in French via Meyerton in A-15 are cancelled. Transmissions in other languages are moved to Issoudun and Madagascar, videos: 0430-0500 on 11790 ISS 500 kW / 135 deg to ECAf Swahili, ex MEY 0530-0600 on 15560 ISS 500 kW / 135 deg to ECAf Swahili, ex MEY 0600-0700 on 11605 MEY 100 kW / 345 deg to WeAf French, cancelled 0700-0900 on 15170 MEY 100 kW / 345 deg to WeAf French, cancelled 1200-1300 on 17660 MDC 250 kW / 305 deg to CeAf French, ex MEY 1500-1600 on 21690 ISS 500 kW / 135 deg to ECAf Swahili, ex MEY 1700-1730 on 21690 ISS 500 kW / 160 deg to SoAf Portuguese, ex MEY 1700-2000 on 9800 MEY 100 kW / 350 deg to WCAf French, cancelled 1900-1930 on 17660 ISS 500 kW / 155 deg to SoAf Portuguese, ex MEY http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/03/all-transmissions-of-rfi-in-french-via.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 17810, April 7 at 1342, poor signal with hymn, language sounds Chinese, only signal in the 17.8s. HFCC shows it`s AWR, 250 kW, 70 degrees via Nauen at 1300-1500 in Chinese (except Sat & Sun 1300- 1330 Uyghur). Would any of that merit jamming? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It's a weak fluttery signal at my location in NW England with occasional echo at 1400. There is no jamming to be heard though - but it might be worth trying it on Sat/Sun in Uyghur! (Noel R. Green, April 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. 7265.00, 1230-1255 4.4, Hamburger Lokalradio, Göhren. English programme "With Good Reason" with interviews first about dialects in Germany, then about Germany' s colonial experiences in Africa, 1251 English ID, song 45344 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, what I heard recently in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, WB yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 6940, 2011, R Dardasha 7 via Germany. OM with Arabic talk to 2015, ID & off 444, 07/03 MLF (Michael L Ford, Newcastle-u-Lyme, Staffs, UK, NRD515, NCM515, NRD545, 85' lw, Wellbrook 330ALA loop, April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Part of Bible Voice Broadcasting network. Supposed to be on 5940, 2000-2015 via Nauen in B-14. Your typo or theirs? (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY. April 1: DPØ7 Seefunk mit dem Seewetterdienst in German to CeEu 0730 on 9560.2 Kall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMnPwJ-ajvo&feature=youtu.be DPØ7 Seefunk mit dem Seewetterdienst German CeEu 0758 on 9560.2 Kall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K319FwHJ0A&feature=youtu.be DPØ7 Seefunk mit dem Seewetterdienst German CeEu 1200 on 9560.2 Kall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS25RgJceHE&feature=youtu.be DPØ7 Seefunk mit dem Seewetterdienst German CeEu 1224 on 9560.2 Kall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQtmO8OVI-Q&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. ERT Open only on two frequencies on March 31 from 1830 on 9420*AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek from 1830 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEu Greek is off from 1830 on 15650 AVL 100 kW / 105 deg to SoAs Greek *co-ch VIRI in Arabic http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/ertopen-only-on-two-frequencies-on.html ERT Open on a single frequency on April 6: from 0625 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg to WeEu Greek and continues at 0830 from 0625 on 11645 AVL 100 kW / 182 deg to NoAf Greek is off from 0625 on 15630 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg to WeEu Greek is off http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/ert-open-on-single-frequency-on-april-6.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** GREECE. News about the Greek TV stations and ERT --- The new government is now requiring from the TV broadcasters to pay of 25 million Eu for their usage of the digital UHF spectrum excluding the Nova multi channel TV subscription service This has been announced on 2th [April 2]. This amount refers to years between 2012 and 2015. As for the moment the response from the broadcaster association, advised that they paid from the arbitrary adverts of the elections in that period. Subject 2: ERT workers to be back : The bill has been submitted on 2-4 to the parliament together with two more > the president of the parliament requested the bills to be separated one per one and is supposed to be discussed after the orthodox Easter, i.e. after 13th of April (Zacharias Liangas, DX LISTENING DIGEST) --------- Greece: The resurrection of ERT http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2015/04/challenging-coverage-conflict-yemen-150404092029886.html Nearly two years ago, the Greek government shut down the country's state broadcaster ERT in what it claimed was an austerity measure. However, many journalists at the channel called the move political. They refused to leave the headquarters in Athens and kept broadcasting from the building without pay. The occupation became symbolic in the fight against austerity which in part explains why the newly elected government, Syriza – which won on an anti-austerity campaign – has been so determined to get the channel back on air. Critics say that the new government was in too much of a hurry and have questioned its draft bill to reinstate ERT, saying that it fails to address previous issues. There is also a legitimate concern over how Syriza plans to fund the state broadcaster and whether the license fee will be enough to rehire the former employees and leave the channel with enough to produce worthwhile content [WORLD OF RADIO 1768] Friday, April 3, 2015 DISCUSSION OF ERT RELAUNCH LEGISLATION TO START TUESDAY The Greek Parliament’s public administration committee will on Tuesday begin discussing the draft legislation the government submitted to the House this week foreseeing the reopening of public broadcaster ERT... http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/04/03/greek-govt-tables-bill-to-reopen-ert/ GREEK GOV’T TABLES BILL TO REOPEN ERT A bill paving the way for the reopening of Greek public broadcaster ERT was tabled by the government on April 1. The draft law was tabled after an Athens court ruled that some 3,000 ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) employees were fired illegally in 2013. The court also decided that the 198 former employees who appealed against their dismissals should be rehired immediately. The court’s decision comes in complete contrast to the country’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, which found the government was within its rights to close the broadcaster and fire its staff. On June 11, 2013, the Greek government announced ERT would close and all its employees would be fired. The Greek public broadcaster was dissolved by a Common Ministerial Decision as amended by an urgent government legislative act. Despite running a budget surplus on income from a license fee outside the state budget, in a televised statement, the at the time minister responsible for media and New Democracy, PASOK and Democratic Left (DIMAR) coalition government spokesperson Simos Kedikoglou, characterized ERT as a “haven of waste” that cost more and had fewer viewers than private stations. “The Greek people are paying for ERT, which has three times, even eight times, as much staff as it needs” he said, adding that the government was sacrificing one of the public sector’s “sacred cows.” Later in the evening, riot police forced their way into the transmitting stations and all ERT transmitters were closed down. Using satellite offices and other spaces that had not been closed down, ERT journalists continued to broadcast to the Internet. ERT consisted of five TV channels — ET-1, NET, ET-3, ERT World and ERT-HD — as well as seven radio stations in Athens, three in Thessaloniki, 19 peripheral radio stations across the country, a symphonic orchestra and one of modern music as well as a choir. It also had magazines, and a website http://www.ert.gr digital archives, web TV at http://www.ert.gr/webtv some 2,324 regular employees and 792 provisional workers. - See more at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/04/03/greek-govt-tables-bill-to-reopen-ert/ (all via ZL, April 4, DXLD) ** GREECE. 15650, April 5 at 2101, poor signal with ``Edho Athinai`` ID rather than Makedonias as in my previous log. 15650, April 8 at 0551, poor signal in Greek // fair 9420, so ERTOpen (or whatever it`s currently calling itself), with MUF holding up late (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good reception in Hanwell, New Brunswick, Canada (east coast) yesterday of ERT Open on 9420 kHz. Noted at 2030 UT on 8 April with classical music and fair to good signal. Then again after about 0200 UT on 9 April with enjoyable eclectic DJ'ed music program of jazz, blues, easy-listening, soft rock, and Greek music. No signal on other known ERT Open frequencies could be detected. IDs at the top and/or bottom of the hour: "ert open" (pronounced as two syllables). Transmission was in parallel to Internet streaming: http://www.ertopen.com/apps/radio/?name=ERA+Athinon&type=mp3&url=radio.ertopen.com/erasport but the online streaming was about 20 seconds AHEAD of the radio transmission. Transmission continued to about 0508 UT when the transmitter switched off. Equipment: Tecsun PL-880 with built-in telescopic whip antenna (Richard Langley, Fredricton NB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM. How come no AWR transmissions registered for GUAM; KSDA off? http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbybrc.php?seas=A15&broadc=AWR http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbyfmo.php?seas=A15&fmor=AWR No, HFCC groups them instead with all the other FCC stations: http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbyfmo.php?seas=A15&fmor=FCC (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 11580, April 3 at 1313, Vietnamese, from KTWR, no longer colliding with WRMI/BS which is now closing at 1300*, but KTWR starts at 1200 in Yi, 1245 in Viet. 11825, April 3 at 1313, WRMI/BS, however now has lite CCI, which would be FEBC Bocaue in Tibetan this semihour only (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) New summer A-15 of KTWR Agana, Guam (Trans World Radio Asia) in English 1000-1020 11840 TWR 100 kW / 165 deg AUS Mon-Sat no change time/freq 1030-1110 11965 TWR 100 kW / 263 deg SEAs Mon-Fri, ex 0850-0930 15200 1500-1518 15110 TWR 100 kW / 285 deg SEAs Mon-Sat, ex 1400-1418 15190 1500-1530 15110 TWR 100 kW / 285 deg SEAs Sunday, ex 1400-1430 15190 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/new-summer-15-of-ktwr-agana-guam-in.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg April 6 via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4055, Radio Verdad, 1122, poor with sermon or similar by a man, hymn, distant t-storm QRN. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3290, Voice of Guyana at 0535 with BBC news, item about South Carolina policeman shooting fleeing black man - Poor, // various BBC frequencies, Apr 8 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, listening in my car by the lake, with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna. Editor of World English Survey and Target Listening, available at http://www.odxa.on.ca dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. Short documentary about Radio Progresso in Honduras http://ignatiansolidarity.net/la-voz-del-pueblo/ Regards, (Vince, Ottawa, April 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You are here: Home / La Voz del Pueblo La Voz del Pueblo The most violent country on the planet isn’t halfway across the globe; it is a 2.5 hour flight from Houston. Most U.S. citizens are at best dimly aware of the bloodshed that is the defining feature of present- day Honduras. Last summer, 2014, Honduran children surfaced on the southern U.S. border by the tens of thousands, prompting a Texas congressman to decry this “invasion of our nation.” Likewise, protesters in California met the young immigrants with angry slogans like “return to sender!” But did protesters have any understanding of the situation these youth were escaping? The violence they’d be thrown back into if they were indeed “returned to sender”? La Voz Del Pueblo is an 18-minute documentary that explores the difficult and violent Honduran reality through the perspective of journalists at the Jesuit-run radio station, Radio Progreso (intro to audio-video, via DXLD) Note: there is no double-S in Spanish! Except foreign names such as Italian. IIRC, R. Progreso used to be on SW; if so, predating even the LA-DX archive, wherein that name appears nowhere, not even as Progresso. Nor was it even in the WRTH 1994 I handily consult. Likewise looking for a LV del Pueblo other than Bolivian (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Here’s something interesting: All India Radio (Bengaluru listed) on 17895 at 1000 in DRM has English news 4/4, and a second channel is also present in the Dream display labelled “Test Music”. It in fact had a Hindi drama production. I’ve seen data such as pictures and news headlines before piggy-backed onto various DRM services, but two distinct programs that can be toggled between at will has been less common. The Indians are really getting into this technology, whilst most of the rest of the world has moved on (for shortwave, at least). Regards, (Craig Seager, NSW, ARDXC via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) All India Radio really has to fix their audio. They are making DRM sound like the worst AM sound you can ever hear. When you compare AIR audio quality to Radio New Zealand International. It makes me wonder what is the point (Keith Perron, Panchiao, Taiwan, circa April 6, Facebook via Drita Çiço, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) I have been waiting to get back to my WinRadio Excalibur ever since Craig posted about the second AIR DRM audio stream a few days ago (my life is now continuous travel with very short stops back at the shack). Tonight I am tuning in - top signal S9 +10 here with no drop outs and I am turned into the second stream playing classic 1970's Hindi Film Music. I also have a Bonito RadioJet that receives DRM, I will try that another day. When I am here, I tune to AIR DRM almost early every morning while having my first coffee and toast. It`s a DRM service for Europe, but also reaches me here at very good strength. Tomorrow I will check if there is a secondary stream there too. There may be, because if Craig didn't post about it, I would have always overlooked the number 2 stream button was activated in the WinRadio user interface. Perhaps I have been missing out on the alternative audio for ages. I have a massive collection of recorded AIR DRM spectrum, I will have to load some up and see if the second channel is in them as well. Cheers, (Mark Fahey, NSW?, ARDXC via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 1053, RRI Jayapura, 1300, news by a man, in null of 2CA but mixing with Brisbane and Korean bubble jammer noted underneath. 2/4. 1107, RRI unID site, 1332, gamelan and soft pop noted in partial 2EA null. 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 3 x RRI reception, SouthEast Asian Tropical band transmitters heard between 1300 and 1330 UT. 3324.9 kHz Palangkaraya O=3+ (excellent, not before heard on this level) 1334 UT March 30, s/off 3344.9 kHz Ternate O=2-3 (for very first time on this installation) 4869.9 kHz Wamena O=2 (from 1320 UT India = AIR in Nepali language) (Uwe Volk, Tha Mai, Provinz Chanthaburi, Thailand, A-DX via BC-DX 2 April via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET & VACUUM. Re: ``CBS SUNDAY MORNING: As I mentioned before, we have been relying on the Smithsonian Channel...`` They used to mention the replay on Smithsonian Channel on every broadcast, somewhere closer to the end, though I haven't bothered to notice when they (presumably) stopped mentioning. I want to say the 'partnership' with their partly-owned network lasted no more than a year. I almost always catch it on the 1300 UT airing via my CBS affiliate (Terry Krueger, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. ARE ALIENS BEHIND MYSTERIOUS RADIO BURSTS? SCIENTISTS WEIGH IN http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/02/radio-bursts-alien-signals_n_6984870.html (via Alfredo Cañote, Perú, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** IRAN. In response to Des Walsh’s letter in the March issue of “Communication mentioning the mysterious 'two tones' that are often heard on 28 MHz, thanks to a report in the IARU's latest 'Intruder watch' website, this has now been identified as an Iranian Over the Horizon System. It's a real pain for sure when it's on air, especially as it wipes out a lot of the 10 metre Beacon Band when it's active. Details can be found in the 'Latest News' section on the IARU site at http://www.iarums-r1.org/ Des is correct that they are in wideband FM, at least that is what is shown in the IARU data: FMCW - Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave, 307 and 870 sps (sweeps per second).” Thank you to ALAN GALE for that response (April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** IRAN. Unscheduled frequency on VIRI/IRIB in Arabic: 1420-1650 on 17550 KAM 500 kW / 259 deg to NEAf, scheduled till 1420 // frequency 9420 SIR 500 kW / 185 deg to NEAf, co-ch CNR 13 Uyghur // frequency 9850 KAM 500 kW / 178 deg to N/ME, videos on April 3: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/unscheduled-frequency-17550-of-viriirib.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) 9510, April 3 at 0052, poor signal with Qur`an, long pauses. Could that be because the cantor is trying to remember what comes next --- or does he have a script, since after all, there is no video to give him away. Could it be OMAN? No signal on 11650 or 12015; no, per HFCC it`s just IRIB, 0030-0230 Arabic, 500 kW, 289 degrees from Zahedan: a station psychically obsessed with Qur`aning. Why isn`t this a :20-:20 transmission? Looking over sked from Iran in WRTH 2015, for B-14, most but not all of the Arabix were :30-:30. 17715, April 3 at 1248 poor signal with flutter, Chinese talk, mentions ``Chung-kuo`` several times, and then a website in .ir, fragment of IRIB IS and pulling plug at 1250*. HFCC shows 500 kW, 64 degrees from Kamalabad at 1150-1250 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. A-15 schedule of Radio Ranginkaman/Radio Rainbow: 1600-1630 7575 secret / hidden site WeAs Farsi Mon/Fri till Sept. 18 1600-1630 15630 SCB 050 kW / 090 deg WeAs Farsi Mon/Fri old Soviet tx 1700-1730 7575 secret / hidden site WeAs Farsi Mon/Fri from Sept. 21 1700-1730 13810 SCB 050 kW / 090 deg WeAs Farsi Mon/Fri old Soviet tx http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/summer-15-schedule-of-radio.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) March 29: Radio Ranginkaman, Radio Rainbow in Farsi to WeAs 1600 on 7575 Grigoriopol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuQFa-rMBbs&feature=youtu.be Radio Ranginkaman, Radio Rainbow in Farsi to WeAs 1628 on 7575 Grigoriopol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6dLwG_uzrg&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. 15960 [sic], 1306, R Farda, USA. ID by OM and YL, ??, 444, 18/03 TMR (Tim Ritchie, Felixstowe, Suffolk, England, UK, Sony ST-SA3ES/6 elemt beam, Eddystone S940 QTek vertical, April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) A station in this part of band would more likely be CNR1 jamming and/or Sound of Hope. Your typo or theirs? In B-14, R. Farda was scheduled on 15690 via SRI LANKA at 0430-1400 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [and non]. ISIS radio in English --- The Islamic State's Al- Bayan Radio has been on FM in Mosul (Iraq) and Raqqa (Syria) for a while. IS supporters post recordings of their Arabic news bulletins on the internet. For the record: reportedly on 99.9 in Raqqa (the IS "capital") and 89.4 in Mosul. Today, a recording of their daily English news bulletin has also been posted on the internet. It's at http://archive.org/details/en18ggg The recording, which gives today's date, starts with an introduction in Arabic, including the ID "Idha'at Al-Bayan", and then the English bulletin read by a man with a American accent. They also broadcast in Russian (Chris Greenway, April 7, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND [and non]. RTE’s longwave transmitter was off the air for maintenance for a few days in March and Des Walsh writes that: “on Monday [24 March] I tuned to 252 kHz and heard French programming, loud and clear, thinking RTE was possible doing a special French opt out until I heard the announcement ‘programacion ou Chain trois’ [sic] and the penny dropped that I was listening to Algeria 3, RTE1 being off the air. Well, the signal strength from Algeria since recent upgrades is huge. For the past three days on my car radio it is listenable all day long and at times has nearly been as strong as Radio 4. It’s travelling inland a considerable distance as it’s been heard in Co. Limerick and Kilkenny so must be causing interference in the south of England too. Massive increase in Algerian signals. Time for RTE to move to 261 kHz, but they just want to shut it down. Look how fickle the on-line and DAB systems are! Long wave is RUGGED and SIMPLE, but the powers that be do not want to know, too busy playing with the latest digital technology!” (April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** ITALY. A quick reply from Italian station Radio Latino. In his reply the operator said: "Radio Latino has been broadcasting irregularly since 2006 with low power (50 watts p.e.p.) from central Italy. You have been listening to one of the first test transmissions of 2015 with the new transmitter (500 watts p.e.p), but we still have to set up correctly the audio section of the station (that's why you heard some overmodulation). The antenna at the moment is an inverted V dipole working from 7530 to 7610 kHz. In the next weeks I should be quite active from 7530 up to 7610 (main frequency will be 7540) during evening and night and, during 2015, we hope to be on air regularly on a daily basis, with one hour programme". The station has a website at: www.radiolatino.bigbig.com (Axel Röse, via UK-Dxers http://www.shortwavedx.blogspot.de/ via April BDXC-UK Communication via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) ** JAPAN. 774, NHK Akita, 1320, fair with general talk by a man, in null of 3LO and mostly on top of 4TO. 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [non]. 5910, April 3 at 0448, VG signal in Japanese, as NHK is now scheduled 03-05, 500 kW, 290 degrees from FRANCE to CIRAFs 10 & 11 = Mexico, Central America and Caribbean, but inadvertently covering the USA too, where mere English-speakers are of no interest to R. Japan. No het at the moment, but this bihour is the time NOT to expect to hear COLOMBIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [non]. Radio Japan (Via Singapore), 11740, 4/1/15. Heard with a good signal at 1200 UT s/on and news; 1215 with Focus program talking about Japanese lacquer ware. Overall, the reception was much better than usual on this particular morning considering that the Voice of Korea was not on the air to cause adjacent [11735] interference (Larry Zamora, Garland, TX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. New frequencies of clandestine broadcasts A-15: Radio Free North Korea: 1230-1330 NF 9330 DB 100 kW / 071 deg to NEAs Korean, ex 1530-1630 on 11550 A-14 Radio Free Chosun: 1300-1500 NF 11570 TAC 100 kW / 070 deg to NEAs Korean, ex 15630 A-14 (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, April 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) March 31: Radio Free Chosun in Korean to NEAs 1300 on new 11570 Tashkent, ex 15630 in A 14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIan5EV2uVA&feature=youtu.be Radio Free Chosun in Korean to NEAs 1358 on new 11570 Tashkent, ex 15630 in A 14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm_37ZFD4K8&feature=youtu.be Radio Free North Korea in Korean to NEAs 1309 on new 9330 Dushanbe, ex 1530-1630 on 11550 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEJz3Z6d3c0&feature=youtu.be Radio Free North Korea in Korean to NEAs 1320 on new 9330 Dushanbe, ex 1530-1630 on 11550 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqYUBr7JYyc&feature=youtu.be Radio Free North Korea in Korean to NEAs 1328 on new 9330 Dushanbe, ex 1530-1630 on 11550 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGm7neNtkjg&feature=youtu.be North Korea Reform Radio in Korean to NEAs 1430 on new 11550 Palauig Zambales, ex 11560 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUCghYF_lKU&feature=youtu.be Shiokaze Sea Breeze in Korean to NEAs 1428 on 6020 Yamata https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziecQUztSV4&feature=youtu.be Shiokaze Sea Breeze in Korean to NEAs 1649 on 5985 Yamata https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS5H4_NRBLY&feature=youtu.be Voice of Wilderness in Korean to NEAS 1302 on 11860 Palauig Zambales https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z4JVRBsmZ4&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Shiokaze Sea Breeze effective from March 29: 1330-1400 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Mon 1330-1400 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Chinese Tue 1330-1400 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Wed 1330-1400 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs English Thu 1330-1400 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Fri 1330-1400 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Sat 1330-1400 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Sun 1400-1430 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Mon 1400-1430 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Tue 1400-1430 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Wed 1400-1430 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs English Thu 1400-1430 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Fri 1400-1430 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Sat 1400-1430 on 6020 YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Sun 1600-1630 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Mon 1600-1630 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Chinese Tue 1600-1630 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Wed 1600-1630 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs English Thu 1600-1630 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Fri 1600-1630 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Sat 1600-1630 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Sun 1630-1700 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Mon 1630-1700 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Tue 1630-1700 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Wed 1630-1700 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs English Thu 1630-1700 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Fri 1630-1700 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Japanese Sat 1630-1700 on 5985*YAM 300 kW / 280 deg to NEAs Korean Sun * co-ch China Radio International in Swahili http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/shiokaze-sea-breeze-effective-from.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 11570, Tuesday April 7 at 1335, fast tone jamming, about 8 pulses per second, offset at 11571, a modulated carrier, against weak station. At first I think KTWR Vietnamese must have shifted down from 11580 to 11570, but it would have closed at 1330 anyway except on a Saturday. For more options, consult Aoki, which has something else on 11570, missing from HFCC: 11570 1300-1500 UZB Radio Free Chosun Kor Tashkent 1-7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. 11510, April 3 at 0304, Denge Kurdistan fair now with Kurdish music, still at 0326, presumably via PRIDNESTROVYE; OTOH, just about inaudible around 1300 today (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. 17550, April 4 at 2353, Arabic, fair with heavy flutter, 31-47 dbu on the PL-880, so the 20-24 UT Central & Western North American service is propagating today, at least toward the end of it. 17550, April 8 at 2035, I find the best source of soporific SW music for my nap is the Qur`aning from R. Kuwait`s peculiar C&W N American service, which is propagating today; but it would have been better without so much flutter fading. It does help me doze until alarm at 2058 when I have to check WBCQ for WOR. This starts at 2000; I gather that earlier in the day, Iran has been showing up on new 17550: 1420- 1650 in Arabic per Ivo Ivanov (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010.79, Radio Malagasy, 1830, strong with local vocals, much better modulation than during prior log of 21/3. 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. 540, April 5 at 0651 UT, immediately upon tune- in, ID for ``La Ranchera de Paquimé`` 540 and FM 90.5, i.e. XETX, 1000/250 watts in Nuevo Casas Grandes, northern Chihuahua. Rotating DX-398, sharing 540 with CBK, not XEWA. XETX is usual night owner of 540, and IDs at every break, a DXer`s dream (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. [Re 15-13, 1100 log]: Glenn, Radio Cañón 1100 made it up here with a huge signal over-topping WTAM a few weeks ago. A month or so previous had an anthem on 1100 and was keeping an eye on the channel (Saul Chernos, Ont., April 3, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 6185, April 5 at 0555, XEPPM with jazz song in Spanish, good modulation, better than usual, and good signal too. This is the final nite for 7 months that Radio Educación will normally be on the air until 0600v, since DST finally starts in most of México, including the DF, so local midnight signoff will henceforth be 0500v. (We still don`t know what time of day they turn it back on, but do know it is running by the afternoons.) This Mexico timezone map now answers our question whether Quintana Roo has gone to UT -4 EDT since it was already on UT -5 EST unlike any other state? http://www.worldtimezone.com/time-mexico12.php NO: Q.R. still EST so now back to being the same UT -5 as CDT for central Mexico (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. El IFT licitará 191 frecuencias de radio FM en 2015 en México --- by gruporadioescuchaargentino El Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT) licitará 191 frecuencias de radio frecuencia modulada (FM) para uso comercial, según el acuerdo del Pleno publicado recientemente en el Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF). Las nuevas licitaciones son parte de las modificaciones al Programa Anual de Uso y Aprovechamiento de Bandas de Frecuencias 2015 aprobadas por el Pleno del IFT el pasado 27 de marzo. IFT aumentó el número de concesiones para atender las solicitudes de interesados en obtenerlas. En diciembre, el IFT contemplaba la licitación de 97 frecuencias FM para uso comercial, cifra que aumentó hasta 191 tras la incorporación de las modificaciones al Programa 2015. El IFT también otorgará concesiones de 14 frecuencias para uso público y 97 de uso social, además de 69 frecuencias para uso comercial de amplitud modulada o AM. Los procesos de licitación pública de estas concesiones iniciarán durante el segundo semestre de este 2015. El fallo se dará en el mismo periodo, salvo causas justificadas, aclara el IFT (CNN Expansión via GRA blog April 7 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. [Re 15-13, 970 log remark]: That is correct, Cd. Madera [Chihuahua] only has XHMAC-7. However it is going to also be a transmitter site for the two new Mexican networks. The FCC says Madera is also allotted 13 in analog but I don't think anything was actually built on that frequency. The closest city with Azteca stations is Nuevo Casas Grandes at 85 miles NNE (Raymie Humbert, AZ, April 2, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) ** MEXICO. From Raymie`s Mexico Beat blog for another week: Today Danny Oglethorpe has begun updating http://TVDXTips.com You'll find information I've contributed, including my Guide to Shadow Channels, logos and other information, and it even links here now. Updating has just begun and I'll be helping Danny make sure that there is more current information on Mexico on the site. It's a great resource and with all the information I can add to it it will only get better. I speak Spanish so you don't have to (Raymie Humbert, AZ, April 1, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) Yes, I do, and so should every Anglo. Al contrario, sí lo hablo, como deben todos los anglos (gh, DXLD) Thanks to Scysmo we now know that Ensenada indeed has digital stations: XHEBC-TDT 26 (57.x, CE) XHENE-TDT 16 (13.x, A13) XHENT-TDT 20 (2.x, A7) Authorized but not on (cochannel) is XHS-TDT 23 (Televisa Regional). Not authorized at all is XHENJ-17 (Canal 5) or endangered XHENB-29 (local). (Raymie Humbert, AZ, April 2, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) And we also now know that Azteca snuck a quick one past us and turned two more stations on at the end of February: XHKYU-TDT 23 (4.x) and XHVAD-TDT 24 (10.x) Valladolid/Kahua, Yucatán. It's kinda unclear what's up with XHVTT. It went on 41 (which is the correct allocation), then jumped to 32 apparently and now someone says it's off. But the same guy that said XHVTT was on also said the Aztecas were off. I really don't know what's going on here. I'm going to guess all three are on: XHVTT on 32 and the Aztecas at a power too low for the one guy. Last edited by Raymie; 04-04-2015 at 06:48 PM (Raymie Humbert, April 3, originally, ibid.) It's official: the Canal Once digital construction continues with the launch of regular programming on XHCHI-TDT 20.x (as foretold by the diver's appearance in Chihuahua). Physical channel is not yet known. This will leave XHAUC (Gala TV) and endangered XHABC as the remaining analog-only stations in Chihuahua City. XHAUC has a digital authorization and has been surprisingly slow in getting on air. XHABC has nothing of the sort and may face significant financial difficulties in transitioning. Also it looks like XHCCU Cancún is nearing a launch of its digital signal. XHCCU does not have an authorization (Raymie, April 5, ibid.) Continuing with the theme of stations whose callsigns start with C, XHCRT-TDT Cerro Azul, Veracruz is known to be on the air. VC 10.x in the CE net. The converter used to see this station (see below) shows the RF frequency, which is neither of the allocated 36 or 51 but is instead channel 18 (!) — the box gives a reading of 497 MHz. The source for this information is someone who did an equipment test of an antenna at Gutiérrez Zamora, Ver. He caught XHZAP-TDT 20 Zacatlán Pue. (67 mi), XHOPXA-TDT from Las Lajas (60 mi) and XHCRT, which was 65 miles from him. XHCRT is one of three stations in the Poza Rica/Cerro Azul area. (Edit: forgot XHAZL-2, Azteca 7 net.) Cerro Azul also has XHVCA-33 in the Veracruz state network. It is not in digital. I believe Televisa is trying to avoid new station sign-ons in the 600 MHz band if they can help it, just look at XHVTT sliding down from 41 to 32; also XHCRT-TDT may be the first operating TV station on channel 18 in Mexico. If you're wondering how that happens, I believe when land mobile came along, Mexico took the step of not allowing television stations on channels 16 and 18 and severely limited the operation of future UHFs on channels 14-20. In fact XHTC-16 Mexico City had its concession changed to specify channel 28. There was only two channel 14s, one channel 15, two channel 17s, one channel 19 and two channel 20s (later five). The 19 (XHLUC) is in very tightly packed central Mexico, and all the others are on the US-Mexico border. With digital television, this frequency range has been identified as ideal for intensive broadcasting use in Mexico, and indeed there are many more digital stations being allocated to these frequencies. Two 15s, five 16s, four 17s, one 19, and seven 20s have been made for existing stations. A 14, three 15s, four 16s and three 18s are part of the new national networks (mostly in northern Mexico). A 15 in Arandas, Jal., and a 14 (old analog allotment - Magdalena de Kino Son.) are available as well as conversion frequencies. Last edited by Raymie; 04-05-2015 at 11:08 PM. Reason: oops (Raymie, April 5, ibid.) Here is another Mexicali analog shutdown video that was on youtube. check out how the picture on the TV on XHMEX-32 starts rolling before the signal is shut down. The station must have had a round knob or long shaft switch that increase or decrease the signal power slowly instead of a button or short flip switch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMShtHSe1Yg For anyone who would like to know what a Station ID In Mexico looks like in HD, here is XEW-TDT-48 & XHGC-TDT-50 ID IN HD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NQ__6fQwGM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU0MhDu-wmY (Bâton Rouge, Louisiana, DXer, April 6, ibid.) There's some big radio news today (actually it came out a week or two ago but it got DOF'd so we have full detail now). Hundreds of new radio stations and even 12 new allotments for public use television stations from La Paz BCS to Chetumal Q. Roo (Raymie, April 6, ibid.) Another new digital television station to report: XHJP-TDT 23 (currently 23.2 PSIP but should be 11.1), Puerto Escondido, Oax. (A7). The 23.2 PSIP is not entirely unexpected of course. Certain Azteca stations are using their physical channel number — if they are, A7 stations will always have their only subchannel as .2 and A13 stations as .1. It's the second of four stations in Puerto Escondido to sign on. Azteca for whatever reason does not have a digital authorization for XHPCE-7 (A13), which I believe is one of just two Aztecas to lack one (the other is XHHR-6 Ojinaga Chih., and that's almost certainly an international coordination case). Also, of course, the Oaxaca state network (Raymie, April 7, ibid.) Mystery of the night: Is XHCOZ-5 Cozumel Q. Roo (1.5 kW, permit) still on the air? Sure, they're still broadcasting local programming, but part of their site seems to make me think they have gone cable-only. Here's the section that has me thinking: "TV Cozumel, Canal 5 is a television station available on Cablemás cable systems. We are on channel 25 analog and 135 digital. Canal 5 began operations in 1997 over the air broadcasting as XHCOZ (currently on the air). Given the increased cable penetration rate in Cozumel and given that Cablemás is the leading cable system in Cozumel, it was decided in 2007 to add Canal 5 to that system which is what we currently operate and market." Most Mexican cable systems have local cable origination stations which help to fill the local void missing from broadcast. And cable penetration rates in the country have gone up a good bit in recent years (Raymie, April 7, ibid.) ** MONGOLIA. Reception of Voice of Mongolia due to absence of Voice of Korea: 1400-1430 on 12014.9 U-B 250 kW / 178 deg to SEAs Mongolian 1430-1500 on 12014.9 U-B 250 kW / 116 deg to EaAs Chinese 1400-1457 on 12015.0 KUJ 200 kW / 325 deg to EaEu Russian, at 1451 was back http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/reception-of-voice-of-mongolia-due-to.html Reception of Voice of Mongolia due to absence of Voice of Korea: 1500-1530 on 12014.9 U-B 250 kW / 116 deg to EaAs Japanese 1500-1557 on 12015.0 KUJ 200 kW / 325 deg to EaEu Russian, at 1530 was back http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/reception-of-voice-of-mongolia-due-to_2.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** MOROCCO. 1.4.2015, 13:11, Georgi Bancov [dxld] kirjoitti: > It turns out that Radio Amazigh is a private Moroccan radiostation, > situated in the capital city of Rabat and broadcasting on various FM > frequencies and also on satellite (HotBird). Or SNRT channel? Do you have a link to its web page? > It is dedicated mainly to the culture of the Berbers. 99% sure it is a 1st April hoax. But a bad one, because it was published already on 29th March. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, April 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Looks like it's the SNRT Berber service, designated as 'Network C' in the current WRTH. http://www.snrt.ma/nos_chaines_presentation.php (David Kernick, Interval Signals Online, ibid.) ** MYANMAR [and non]. 6165, CHINA / MYANMAR. Both CNR 6 and Thazin Radio – Beijing and Pyin U Lwin (both Presumed), 1255, 4/4/15, in Mandarin and Burmese. CNR 6 with traditional music to ToH ID sequence with Male announcer. Thazin Radio with talk by male and female announcers through top of hour. If there was an ID I missed it in the mess. Usually there is one or the other here. This was pretty much a mess here, I imagine it must be a real tangle in Asia. It is noticeable that there was another Myanmar / China clash on 7200 this morning. 7200, MYANMAR / CHINA. Both Myanma Radio (Presumed) and CNR 1 jammer, 1318, 4/4/15, in Burmese and Mandarin. Myanma Radio on top with female announcer. CNR jammer under with music and female announcer. CNR jammer // 7230 legitimate CNR 1 via X’ian. It is noticeable that there was another Myanmar / China clash on 6165 this morning (Mark Taylor, Madison, Wisconsin. Equipment: Perseus, WinRadio g313e, Eton e1, Grundig Satellit 800 & G3, Sangean 909X with clear mod, Tecsun PL 660; 40 meters dipole, RF Systems Mk 2, Flextenna, NASWA Flashsheet April 5 via DXLD) CNR1 would not be on 7200 to jam Myanmar, but R. Taiwan International which per Aoki is there, but only at 10-13 (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Bruce Parsons, Radio Netherlands --- Just wanted to let you all know that I just spend over an hour talking to someone you may remember from Radio Netherlands. Bruce Parsons began work at Radio Netherlands in 1963 and spent 15 years with them before going to Deutsche Welle for 2 years. He's not 87 and lives in Englewood, Florida and is still very active (Keith Perron, Taiwan, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) And presumably to be on a Media Network + show (gh) Thanks for the update on Bruce Parsons. I particularly remember his good humor and upbeat personality. RNW had an amazing array of on-air talent back in the 1960's and 70's, much of the reason it was one of the most popular SW stations in the world at the time (Stephen Luce, Houston, Texas, April 3, ibid.) ** NEW CALEDONIA. 666, Nouméa, 0840, fair with French talk, in null of 2CN but still contending with 4LM. A tough catch even here. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. 15720, April 3 at 0457, good signal from RNZI QSY announcement to 11725, chirp IS once and a fragment before cutoff at 0458:00*. So I tune to 11725 awaiting it, which cuts on with more chirping at *0458:43, very good now, unlike absent 24 hours earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. No signal of Radio APC, Radio Chanji from Sunday, March 29: 0600-0630 on 11720 NAU 125 kW / 185 deg to WeAf Hausa, cancelled or change time and frequency. My last videos of Radio APC, Radio Chanji on March 25: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/03/no-signal-of-radio-apc-radio-chanji.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA [non]. March 29: Hamada Radio International in hausa to WeAf 0530 on 11740 Nauen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPFnzw_vz8E&feature=youtu.be Dandal Kura in Kanuri to WeAf 0534 on 7415 Ascension https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh9XdI3xoVw&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. PIRATE-NA. Wolverine Radio, 6945 USB, 0110-0149*, 03-29-15, SIO: 454. Strong as usual with songs with the word "Devil" in them. Brief ID, a SSTV image just prior to sign off. [Lobdell-MA] PIRATE-NA. TCS-The Crystal Ship, 6876 AM, 0106-0131+, 04-03-15, SIO: 343. Tunes by The Who, including "I'm Free:", "Going Mobile", Magic Bus". Promo for The Free Radio Cafe by Commander Bunny (Chris Lobdell, Box 80146, Stoneham, MA 02180 USA, Receivers: Eton E1, NRD-545; Aerials: G5RV, 40 Meter Dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6876-AM, April 3 at 0046, very poor signal also fighting nearby storm noise, music, 0158 synthetic ID for The Crystal Ship (as John Poet had tipped his mailing list such a relay (for which as a bustee, he himself is not responsible) was expected to start around 0000. Still detected at 0117, 0129 but never enough signal to enjoy the music here; sorry (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. Three pirates in a row: 6940, April 5 at 0317: AM carrier, but no modulation now? Gilles Letourneau in Montréal earlier at 0200 was getting Wolverine Radio here but in USB, SSTV. Numerous logs in hfunderground say that ended at 0236*. Also reports of the unID 6940 carrier at 0312-0321 here: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,21359.0.html 6935-USB, April 5 at 0317, fair signal with Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer ad, presumably a parody. Many other logs of this as Renegade Radio: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,21352.0.html 6930-USB, April 5 at 0317, good signal with hard rock. Several other logs of this, all unID, and with Weird Al: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,21357.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Earthquake report: April 6 at 1530:45 UT, my Acer computer screen shakes, but nothing else seen or felt (or heard) to indicate a tremor: USGS confirms it 22 seconds earlier, just about the same spot I last reported a 4+ quake, presumably from fracking, now: 4.2, 22 km SSE of Medford, Oklahoma 2015-04-06 15:30:23 UT 3.4 km deep. Earthquake report: the DXLD/WOR room shakes for a few seconds, April 7 at 0352:24 UT. USGS info looked up later shows: M 3.1 5 km SE of Enid, Oklahoma 2015-04-07 03:52:17 UTC 5.0 km Location 36.357 N, 97.838 W Once again, note the delay, only 7 seconds, and this one is indeed closer! Meanwhile, the previous one we logged, which felt weaker here, has been slightly downgraded from original mag 4.2: M 3.9 - 20 km SSE of Medford, Oklahoma 2015-04-06 15:30:23 UTC Location 36.634 N 97.657 W Depth 5.2 km (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 1520, April 6 at 1235 UT, KOKC is off the air again: this time presumably during demolition of remaining tornado-folded tower, and/or erexion of one new tower, which was supposedly going to be accomplished last week. This allows CRI/TX to be heard, i.a., q.v. under CHINA [non]. This early after sunrise, at 1243 UT April 6, still too much TX on 1560 from KGOW stupid sportstalk to hear KOKC-via-KEBC. Finally checked at 1602 UT April 6, 1520 is still silent, and CBS News is on weak 1560; 1605 UT ID (only) as ``News-Talk 1520 [sic] KOKC``, weather, so KEBC presumably has kept carrying KOKC programming ever since the disaster almost a biweek ago, and now is useful again. [non]. 1520, April 7 at 0556 UT, KOKC is still off, allowing KOLM Rochester MN to dominate over some weaker signals: 0559 UT weather on ``Sports Radio 1520, The Ticket``. Beyond cheatin` KOLM, should be a great opportunity to DX others while lacking usual KOKC dominance, probably not much longer once their new antenna be up. Recheck in daytime 1539 UT April 7, KOKC is still off, but there`s always KOKC-via-KEBC on 1560 for those who can get it; weak here, but usually readable on caradio at least (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1520, April 8 at 2129 UT check, KOKC is still off for reconstruxion. Dennis Gibson posted this to IRCA also on April 8: ``KOKC standby tower status --- On Facebook, Chief Engineer Mike Fields says it should be back on the air "by the weekend". He is working on modifying the antenna tuning unit to match the shorter tower. It will be 190 feet, a little over a quarter wavelength. It doesn't have to be painted or lit as it's less than 200 feet. The power will be 10 kW. Here's the STA: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101674910&formid=911&fac_num=73981 Sent from my iPhone`` That was quoted already in DXLD 15-13 and in my previous log report. I say, that since KOKC was taking forever to rebuild its full-power 50 kW DA system, will this expedite that process, or delay it even further? Maybe they are satisfied with 10/10 kW U1, plenty for local coverage, and never mind all the listeners in New Zealand. If KOKC were to permanently reduce to 10/10 kW U1, it would lose peripheral interference protexion. Of course, it`s still off the morning of April 9, facilitating ChiCom penetration into deep North America; see CHINA [non], KYND log. At 1321 UT, KOKC programming via KEBC is stronger on 1560 than KYND on 1520 (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. RF 5 thru 51, with only a few exceptions, almost every channel in this range has at least a BAD DTV signal, tnx to heavy regional tropo, April 7 from tune-in 1428 UT. Most of them not enough to decode, but notable is RF 27, where KFOR OKC, normally a bigsig, is NOT decoding, meaning it has too much co-channel interference. My antenna is still stuck toward OKC, remember, so I can`t rotate and chase other direxions. One which does decode is RF 35, KMTW DT, i.e. the megawatt in Hutchinson KS, off the back. On RF 5, brief sign of a BAD signal is intriguing. W9WI.com listings in the area include not a single Kansan, but a single Oklahoman not too far off the antenna heading: Durant, OK KXDA-LD 100 33-07-57N 096-39-39W LIC 47.1:S:REL Durant, OK KXDA-LD 3,000 32-54-04N 096-41-15W CP 47.1:S:REL And of course several in further TX, notably but unlikely: KCWX Fredericksburg TX, 23.7 kW or ``special-temporary`` with 45 kW The Mountainlake tropo map shows huge overlapping red blobs over OK and all adjacent states; the more refined Hepburn map for 1200 UT today shows the major area around Louisiana, but a separate minor area from OK into KS. In legacy-mode, after being sure my analog TV set is still connected to the same antenna thru amp and splitter, I still step thru all the channels, 2 up to 56 in case there be any NTSC left; discounting cable radiation here and there, not a raster to be seen, except something on ch 52 --- this must not be real either, as W9WI.com shows there is only ONE US station of any kind left on this channel, a TBN analog translator in Pennsylvania. Here, utility occupancy starts at 57, and many more, but not all, upwards thru 83, which my old Zenith 12-incher B&W still tunes. I reset it to channel 2 hoping for some sporadic E analog DX from the few Canadians, Mexicans, Cubans, Americans left (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. RF 32, April 6 at 1429 UT, FINALLY some signs of life from TV-OK in Enid --- infomercial selling old Carol Burnett shows, the same kind of crap they used to air fulltime in lieu of any real programming. 1723 recheck, STILL Burnett, maybe the only thing loaded to play. There are periodic crawlers abottom about this wonderful DVD offer, but only the top edge of the letters are visible, making them impossible to read, so the video is further disordered. And it`s at the very bottom edge, so cut off another overscanned screen. KXOK-LD is really on RF 31, but its main transmitter is still down; while the intercity relay to Lamont, WQOS306 on RF 32 has stayed on the air. For months its 31.1 had been black and silent. With nothing on RF 31, forcing Suddenlink cable 15 to display !Weak Signal for as many months --- headend is only a block away from Broadway Tower KXOK/TVOK antenna in downtown Enid, but retuning to RF 32 to get it is beyond them. Anyhow it would still be pointless, as there is no sound on the infomercial, except for occasional humbuzz peaks, as if a device is struggling to find some sound. Oh, later at 1748 UT during other commercials, sound is on! Maybe engineer is working on it, making some progress. 1752 UT: sound gone again. 31.1 aspect ratio CANNOT be changed. But 31.2 continues with silence and full-screen color bars, PSIP label M-FOX, and aspect ratio CAN be changed. 31.3 continues with silence and full-screen color bars, PSIP label Azteca, aspect ratio CANNOT be changed --- but neither of these Spanish channels has been seen with any programming for many months. Tropo is up, and BAD signal is detected on RF 31, but I`m sure it`s not KXOK, as when on, it was much stronger than RF 32 relay. Also a BAD signal on RF 45. Both channels have low-powers in OKC, but I assume I am getting full-power Wichitans off the back, as my rotor is still dead and aimed at OKC. Also getting BAD signal on 8 = KPTS Wichita. I park on RF 31, and indeed at 1659 and 1705 UT, video starts to lock briefly, and it`s Univisión, which means Wichita, but PSIP ID only as Univisi. The 7-letter limit to these relieves them of worry about whether to put the accent on the o --- but Univision corporate avoids it to seem less alien (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. RF 39, Sunday April 5 at 1500 UT, astounded to find that KWTV continues with the second half of CBS` `Face the Nation` on main channel 9.1. Ever since the show expanded to a full hour a couple years ago, primary KWTV has refused to carry it all, instead switching to gospel huxters at 10 am CT Sundays --- but most of the time would put `FTN` Pt 2 on its 9.2 `News 9 Now` subchannel, which is mostly wasted on hours-old local newscast replays. FTN was always getting upcut at the join, due to automation and no one paying attention. Another option would have been to put it on KSBI RF 16, 52.1, the full-power station KWTV acquired last year. Now online skeds for April 5 confirm that this was no accident, with all of FTN on 9.1 from 1430 to 1530 UT, then Joel Osteen, g.h. IIRC, the 1500 religion was a local church: maybe their contract finally ran out (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. RF 50, KOPX 62.2 OKC, Ion`s qubo kidvid subchannel, April 3 between 1430 and 1745 UT chex, is still cutting on Spanish SAP channel only for a few seconds every quarter-hour; why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 9500, April 4 at 0124, fair signal with Qur`an, i.e. RSO, as now registered for 00-02 on 315 degree antenna for W Europe, but easily carrying on to N America. How many Europeans are up in the middle of the night to listen to this?? It isn`t even Ramadan yet. Stronger than 9510 Iran, which we heard Qur`aning 24.5 hours earlier, but no 9500 then. Currently registered alternatives for the 00-02 period from RSO are 9650, 12015. Of course, from previous behavior, they could also show up on earlier frequencies supposed to end at 2400 or even 2200 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Surprisingly broadcast of Radio Pakistan in Chinese on April 8: 1200-1300 on 15700 ISL 250 kW / 070 deg to EaAs, QRM powerful R.Farda 15690 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/surprisingly-broadcast-of-radio.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) WRTH 2015 for B-14 had this on 9670 and 11905, both Islamabad and daggered as irregular (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** PERU. Peruvian logs: 4747.52, Huanta Dos Mil, 1143, very strong with huaynos, LSB always good to escape 4750 slop. 2 April 4774.9, Radio Tarma, 1136, uptempo man with huaynos noted in passing. 2 April 4810, Radio Logos, 1130, fair with talk by a man, no CODAR. 2 April 4955, R. Cultural Amauta, 1110, strongest OA on the band with huaynos, ID by a man, mensajes. 2 April 4985.51, Radio Voz Cristiana, 1116, very strong with local music and comments by man. 2 April 5024.9, R. Quillabamba, 1053, noted as het against Rebelde and partial copy in LSB. 2 April 5980, Radio Chaski, 1152, tune/in to convenient "Radio Chaski" ID by a man, poor. 2 April 6173.95, R. Tawantinsuyo, 1148, noted in passing as het against nominal but fair copy of huaynos in LSB. 2 April (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5980+, April 3 at 0044, very poor carrier, slightly on hi side compared to neighbors, with some modulation from R. Chaski, suffering heavy splatter from 5990 China via Cuba before hourtop; and now in A-15 remains alone on 5980 itself past 0100, facilitating capture of sliding autocutoff time today precessed to 0107:09.5*. Last check was 5 nites ago on March 29 until 0106:38.5* so this is 31 seconds later, or averaging 6.2 seconds later per 24 hours. 5980, April 4 at *0107 my streetlite fires up, clear sky after sunset at 0055*. And at 0107 the JBA carrier of R. Chaski is on until cutoff at 0107:14.5*. This time it was so clear that I could tell it did so in two steps, first step weakened, then in a split second, totally off*. Last nite it was timed at 0107:09.5* so this is 5.0 seconds later. 5980, April 6 at 0108, JBA carrier from R. Chaski cuts off at 0107:27*. One binite ago it was at 0107:14.5* so this is 12.5 seconds later, averaging 6.25 later per (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 11990, April 8 at 1405, VOA Korean is overmodulated and distorted from Tinang transmitter, a recurrent problem on this and other/previous frequencies; also splattering plus/minus 10. This is on the 21-degree antenna. Usual strong signal since that azimuth crosses: Pusan (slightly off North Korea), Barrow, Sioux Lookout, Ann Arbor, Myrtle Beach, ergo, also a North American service (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. Radio Romania International, 17680, 4/5/15, 1145 UT. Good listening level for their European service. It was strange, but the host mentioned they were devoting the music program to Palm Sunday when the actual day was Easter Sunday. It even got more strange when they led off the music program with a music piece from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite which is associated with Christmas (Larry Zamora, Garland, TX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Larry, Tnx for the reports. I believe that Orthodox Palm Sunday & Easter are one week later this year (Glenn to Larry via DXLD) Glenn, You are correct. Thanks for clarifying (Larry to Glenn, ibid.) 11800, April 5 at 0006, RRI English now here, news with Romanian angles concluding, 0007 `Week in Review`, very good, 53-66 dbu on PL- 880, and // 9730 merely good at 45-54 dbu. 17745, April 5 at 2103, RRI in Spanish with classical music, something about Transilvania; poor-fair with heavy fading, 19-30 dbu on the PL- 880 with short random wire. This is 247 degrees from Tiganeshti at 21- 22. It seems no one but me bothers to respell ``Tiganesti`` fonetikaly to account for the missing diacritix. The S has a sedilla under it, which makes it sh. Checking Wikipedia, we find there are more than that! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C8%9Aig%C4%83ne%C8%99ti i.e. a tedilla (comma) under the T, and a soft (semi-circle) accent over the a, all of which are not reproducible in standard Western fonts. So the T should also be replaced by Ts, but maybe we can do without the accent on the a. Analogous to cedilla for ç, I call the subscripts sedilla and tedilla as I don`t know the proper names for them in English, or Romanian. The word axually means Gypsy, (as in Tzigane, French version), and there are several villages by this name in Romania: I haven`t tried to find out which one in Wikipedia hosts the major SW site. Anyhow, from now on I will be spelling (and pronouncing) it Tsiganeshti! Perhaps our monitor Tudor in Romania can clarify this (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Got 2 QSL-cards from the Krasnodar regional radio and television transmitting center of the reception program "Radio Adygea" 20.03.2015 year frequency of 6000 kHz. One card is filled in Russian, the other on English. The report sent by electronic mail: krasnodar @ rtrn.ru and ru6ax @ land.ru Also sent a large-size booklet with photos transmitting center (Dmitry Kutuzov, Ryazan, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx" via RusDX April 5 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Hi Everyone, Just noticed Foxtel (Australia) has added RT to the channel line-up. Amateurish and factually incorrect presentation (in my opinion) - but perhaps I am outside their target demo, which mostly seems geared towards younger viewers. The one big surprise is "Politicking with Larry King." The first thought which crossed my mind, "This channel is beneath him." Foxtel offers a good range of news channels, including: Al Jazeera, BBC, Bloomberg, CCTV, CNBC, CNN, Fox, NHK and Sky. And I have to think channels like RT are the new mouthpiece for their respective governments/countries? Right now RT is talking about how Saudi intervention in Yemen is illegal because the locals have the right to self-determination with their government but not surprisingly, fails to draw a parallel with Russian intervention in the Ukraine. We have all discussed previously the vulnerabilities of satellite and Internet-delivered product, as opposed to HF radio. Just makes me wonder how governments and others would deliver their message if satellite channels or the Internet were blocked? Sent from (David Sharp's NSW, iPhone, April 3, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also being offered on SlingTV app (Steve Wood, ibid.) RT is a highly sophisticated organization whose aim is to obfuscate the stories they wish to cover, resulting in the reader to give up in frustration over ever getting to the truth. Such was the case, for example, with the shoot-down of MH17 last summer. Whereas the evidence is absolutely overwhelming that this occurred as a result of a missile launched by the terrorists in the Donbas, provided to them by Russia, you never, ever hear this from RT. Instead, all sorts of wacky theories are promulgated. I recommend this very good article about RT (now Sputnik): http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/14/world/europe/russian-tv-insider-says-putin-is-running-the-show-in-ukraine.html?_r=1 73 (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) Believe me or not, no official media ever has shown us the full truth. All of them (both pro-western, such as CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera and pro-Russian, such as Sputnik) are owned by the corporations and serve not our interests, but the interests of the corporations. Do not close your eyes, the war is business that brings the corporations billions of dollars every year and they have no reason to show us what is happening behind the scenes (Georgi Bancov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) I would not use the word "sophisticated" to describe RT. Its presentation is worse than when CNN launched so many years ago. People who follow world events know the skulduggery behind RT, but others, including those who rely upon social media as a primary news source, are easy targets for this channel. It is true there is a certain degree of bias amongst all the major news networks but RT goes beyond this level to the point of pure propaganda and mis-information on behalf of Putin's government. As a sidebar - how would the Russian government get this rubbish out in front of people if satellite and cable companies pulled the plug? And it could happen. Sent from (David Sharp's iPhone, ibid.) As they say, apple doesn`t fall far from the tree. Was radio 'liberty' his father worked for, any better? Furthermore, how can a person get to the bottom of it if he "never been, just pretended"? His mentality is much too different. “I couldn’t get the jokes and I couldn’t get all the cultural associations.” At the beginning of the century the city was, he said, “full of vitality and madness and incredibly exciting” and “the place to be.” There was optimism, he said, because Russia appeared to be heading in the direction of European democracy. They are now being deployed, not just against Western policies, but against basic Western values, Mr. Pomerantsev argues (Leo Barmaleo, Moldova, ibid.) But do not miss one important aspect mentioned in this article as well: "Mr. Pomerantsev fears that the financial pressures and Western sanctions, instead of compelling Mr. Putin to change course, are likely to make Russia more closed and dictatorial." In the field of media: Painting the B&W picture is merely counterproductive. But this appears to be something many media organizations simply do not grasp. Neither does, it seems after a recent report, Peter Horrocks, someone the BBC considered worth 400,000 Euro per year if I recall correct. I was quite irritated by his war rhetorics, as quoted by the Guardian. The core of this is a dramatic slip in quality over the last ten years. The recent plane crash threw a dazzling light on this issue. Here in Germany news media found itself heavily attacked, and it may or may not be justifiable how this piece essentially says that news media from other EU countries is not better, rather even worse: http://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/zapp/Draufhalten-Medien-in-Montabaur,germanwings256.html (Particularly remarkable the BBC [?] girl that has the nerve to ask the mayor of Montabaur if he has his statement that he has nothing for the press in English, too. What was she thinking who she is?) What this has to do with Russia Today: This dramatic slip in quality has apparently been identified by them as a market possibility. They developed a strategy to position themselves as the underdogs, the schmuddel childs that speak out what is indecent to say. Thus attacks on Russia Today will end up in its own marketing, such as in this trailer, typical also for its extremely fast pace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecbFtyqNSWc#t=695 Saw it by chance in this German-language production that then continues with an interview with this presenter. And the earlier interview in this video was the first time where I saw it mentioned that already in last year a copilot had locked out the pilot, just in this case only to deroute the plane, like in the old days of the so- called hijackings of Polish planes in Berlin which then preferred Tempelhof over Schönefeld. Quite interesting. Have I heard this on German media? No. Oh, and at 10'20 a political joke: "So, what do we have in Yemen: A corrupt, unpopular, authoritarian president, affine with a foreign power, an uprising, violent and disputed as well, and the president simply sets off. Does this sound familiar?" These German-language productions are made by obviously unexperienced newcomers and often quite murky. Still these people report things no one else reports, often with no discernible political reasons of any kind. This situation is, referred to German media, just pathetic. Does it really surprise anyone that Russia Today simply uses the opportunities they get as a present? Also interesting: Hardly anyone seems to speak about Sputnik, the other brand obviously aiming at audiences that do not like the RT style and want to have it serious. But what is there of interest appears to be very much focussed on the websites. I have not the impression that radio plays any real role here anymore. Just as one could hear from Voice of Russia circles in last year: Simonyan did not simply shut it all down (except for the AM transmitters, which she deemed as horribly expensive, related to the listener numbers, meanwhile having dropped below the level detectable by audience research), but did from the start not expect much from this medium at all. And no, I don't think that this is a specific aspect of Russian foreign media. Classic foreign radio, even shortwave as distribution platform? In developed countries the sun has already set (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RWANDA [non]. Radio Inyabutatu on new 21480 Issoudun, ex 17500 in A-14 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/radio-inyabutatu-on-new-21480-issoudun.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, April 4, dxldyg via DXLD) New frequencies of clandestine broadcasts in A-15: Radio Inyabutatu: 1600-1700 21480 ISS 100 kW / 144 deg to SoAf K'rawanda Sat, ex 17500 in A-14 (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, April 5, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 1521, BSKSA, 2000, fair with news or similar by man, in null of 2QN but soon lost to China. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 21505, 1223, BSKSA, Arabic talk, low distorted modulation, 452, 07/03. The dirty transmitter output of BSKSA on 21505 kHz, sounding very distorted and putting out spurs all over the 13m band (Simon Hockenhull, Bristol, England, UK, Grundig Sat 700, YB 400, ferrite rods, AKD Target HF3+4m LW, April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) [and non]. 11805-11835, April 4 at 2130, while I have the Netherlands` Utwente receiver running for WOR check, also try some other frequencies. BSKSA Qur`an 11820 is incredibly strong, and splattering out to 15 kHz above and below, impossible closer in, blasting away what`s left of Brother Scare 11825 WRMI (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SINGAPORE. 3915.00, *2158-2210 23.3, BBC, via Kranji. Big Ben IS, ID, 2200 English news - reactivated after two years, 45333 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, what I heard recently in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, WB yg via DXLD) ** SOMALILAND. 7120, Radio Hargeisa, 1738, very strong with local vocals. 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) = 2 April --- David has gone native (gh) 7120-, April 3 at 0330, open carrier slightly on the lo side, and only JBM by 0332, as R. Hargeisa attempts to broadcast. Look out: as quoted in WOR 1767, Rumen Pankov in Bulgaria caught some anomalies in late March, on the air more than an hour earlier and jumping to 7130 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. USA, Overcomer Ministry, 15770 at 2013 Mar 5. Preacher telling all that we are losing today in the world. He states they spend 100,000 dollars a month to be heard around the world. Fair signal (Mike Yohnicki, London, ON, DX-394, Antron 99 antenna, April CIDX Messenger via DXLD) 11825, April 3 at 1239, Brother Scare via WRMI is plugging big Passover event tonight at 8 pm ET = 0000 UT Saturday, inviting visitors to his Tabernacle, which exit to take off the hiway. It`s the same canned announcement he has been airing for a couple of weeks, yawn. Hey, is he a secret Jew, or what? Right now there is heavy Asian CCI vs the 355 azimuth from Okee. That would be VOA 250 kW, 332 degrees via Tinang, PHILIPPINES at 09-13, so the evil Obama government is blocking the holy word of the Last Day Prophet of God!! By speaking the language of our evil enemy China. WRMI-8 is now on air from 10 to 22 with TOM, extended weekends until 02 with Global 24 [see also GUAM and non]. 11580, WRMI-9 at 44 degrees with TOM is now scheduled only at 03-13 and 21-23, other programming at 23-01, and at 01-03 with System B, same color coding as main 9955, so really duplicating it? Unchecked yet. WRMI was doing this a few months ago but it didn`t last long. Programming during that bihour includes several DX programs, mostly Spanish, musical shows, R. Slovakia and Praga in Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USA: WORLD OF RADIO ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non non]. 11700, April 6 at 1249, surprised to find Brother Scare here with good and steady signal, so surely American rather than Eurasian, but totally NOT // WRMI 11580, 11825. But WRMI is the odd-one-out, playing backup recording? since 11700 is a few seconds ahead of otherwise // 9980 WWCR. Subject on the non-WRMI stations is the Pope`s September visit to Philadelphia, with various unattributed news clips about it. 1258 cuts to Jesus tune, BS ID, but no station ID, 1300 cut to a few notes of other music, open carrier and off. HFCC A-15 shows what it is: WHRI registered 11-13, 250 kW, 152 degrees to CIRAFs 12-15, i.e. S America. The first hour is daily, the second hour except Sundays. So anyhow, BS is back on his home-state SW station. Is this info included at http://www.overcomerministry.org/ or ftp://www.overcomerministry.org/RadioSchedule/Short%20Wave%20Radio.html Of course not! His own website info is worse than useless. But searching on the redesigned WHR sked, http://lesea.com/whr/program-schedules/ we get a whole bunch of BS --- strange I had not noticed much of the rest. I would rather delete the EDT column, but retain it to match up with the DAY column: ``UTC EASTERN TIME DAY 0700-0800 3:00 AM-4:00 AM Su,Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa 7315 0800-0900 4:00 AM-5:00 AM Su,Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa 7315 1300-1400 9:00 AM-10:00 AM Su,Sa 21610 1400-1500 10:00 AM-11:00 AM Sa 21600 1800-1900 2:00 PM-3:00 PM Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr 21600 1900-2000 3:00 PM-4:00 PM Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr 17610 2000-2100 4:00 PM-5:00 PM Su 11670 2000-2100 4:00 PM-5:00 PM Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr 11670 2200-2300 6:00 PM-7:00 PM Su 11670 0000-0100 8:00 PM-9:00 PM Mo 5920 0200-0300 10:00 PM-11:00 PM Su,Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa 5920 1000-1100 6:00 AM-7:00 AM Su 9610 1100-1200 7:00 AM-8:00 AM Su,Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa 11700 1200-1300 8:00 AM-9:00 AM Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa 11700 1600-1700 12:00 PM-1:00 PM Su,Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa 9840 1700-1800 1:00 PM-2:00 PM Su,Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa 9840 1900-2000 3:00 PM-4:00 PM Su 9840 2000-2100 4:00 PM-5:00 PM Sa 11670 2200-2300 6:00 PM-7:00 PM Sa 11670 2200-2300 6:00 PM-7:00 PM Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr 11775 2300-0000 7:00 PM-8:00 PM Sa 7315 2300-0000 7:00 PM-8:00 PM Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr 11775 [and one more: this alone appears to be T8WH PALAU] UTC EASTERN TIME DAY 1600-1700 12:00 PM-1:00 PM Su,Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa 9930`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Brother Stair via World Harvest Radio, according to program schedule: 0700-0900 7315 HRI 250 kW / 152 deg SoAm WHRI Angel 1 Daily, confirmed 1000-1100 9610 HRI 250 kW / 152 deg SoAm WHRI Angel 1 Sun 1100-1200 11700*HRI 250 kW / 152 deg SoAm WHRI Angel 1 Daily confirmed 1200-1300 11700*HRI 250 kW / 152 deg SoAm WHRI Angel 1 Mn-Sa confirmed 1300-1400 21600 HRI 250 kW / 085 deg CeAf WHRI Angel 1 Sat/Sun 1400-1500 21600 HRI 250 kW / 085 deg CeAf WHRI Angel 1 Sat 1800-1900 21600 HRI 250 kW / 085 deg CeAf WHRI Angel 1 Mon-Fri 1900-2000 17610 HRI 250 kW / 085 deg CeAf WHRI Angel 1 Mon-Fri 2300-2400 11775 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg WeEu WHRI Angel 1 Mon-Fri 0000-0100 5920 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg WeEu WHRI Angel 2 Mon 0200-0300 5920 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg WeEu WHRI Angel 2 Daily 1600-1800 9840 HRI 250 kW / 025 deg ENAm WHRI Angel 2 Daily confirmed 1900-2000 9840 HRI 250 kW / 025 deg ENAm WHRI Angel 2 Sun 2000-2100 11670 HRI 250 kW / 173 deg CeAm WHRI Angel 2 Mon-Sat 2000-2100 11670 HRI 250 kW / 173 deg CeAm WHRI Angel 2 Mon-Sat 2200-2300 11670 HRI 250 kW / 173 deg CeAm WHRI Angel 2 Sat/Sun 2300-2400 7315 HRI 250 kW / 173 deg CeAm WHRI Angel 2 Sat 1600-1700 9930 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs T8WH Angel 4 Daily confirmed * will be changed to new frequency 15320, registered in HFCC before few minutes. -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) WHRI on new 15320, ex 11700, 1100-1300 UTC effective from today, April 9 (Ivo Ivanov, ibid.) ** SPAIN [and non]. 15490, Saturday April 4 at 1455, REE is fair here with silly ballgame hype, but no signal on 15450; 17715 has a JBA carrier, maybe this; no 17855 and nothing on 21 MHz. April 4 at 1906-1908 after any frequency changes should have happened, I look for REE again: 17715 fair and 15490 good, none of the others: no 17855, leaving France 17850 unscathed; nothing on 21 MHz; no 15450, 17755; and for good measure nothing audible on former 12030, 11940 or 9620 but unlikely to propagate anyway now. 17715 // stronger 15490, Sunday April 5 at 2101 check, only REE frequencies audible, none of the others on 17 or 15 MHz. I wonder if they will ever come back to 17855 which had the best signal in North America? Yes! --- 17855, April 7 at 1912, REE reactivated here with SBG in Castilian; first time heard since the early few days of A-15. VG signal on the N American beam, much stronger than // 17715, and also stronger than // 15490 which is second best (and which had been first-best during 17855` absence). Also JBA on // 15450, so congrats, four transmitters running at once. This time, no France adjacent on 17850, or is there a JBA carrier there? HFCC does have RFI registered 19-20 from ISSoudun from 29 March to 29 August only (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [non]. GERMANY, Radio MiAmigo via Kall effective from April 4/5: 0800-1200 on 9560 KLL 020 kW / non-dir to CeEu German Sat/Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/radio-miamigo-via-kall-effective-from.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. [Re 15-13, RWANDA:] The only death in the Trincomalee station with 27 years of civil conflict, and the station was a no man`s territory, was a German engineer who took a chance and left the station to get to Colombo (200 km away) to catch a flight. There was firing in the area between Tamil Tigers and the Government forces and he was advised not to leave the station. Both the Tigers and Government commanders always informed the DW station if there were any activities. He took a chance and paid the price, sadly. Trincomalee was in a safe place after the conflict, well established and Commercial National grid power was just a few months away after the end of the conflict on May 2010 when the decision was taken to close the station on 30th October and hand over to SLBC on the 1st of Jan 2011. It would have been even cheaper to run the station as the SLBC now finds it. We all tried hard to make DW management keep Trinco as it was good to cover Africa too and Asia compared to limited use and more expensive Kigali. But we feel closing Trinco and keeping Kigali was short term and a trick to close down short wave in the short term as they have now done. If the German government can't afford 3 million Euros, I wonder who can. It is just that there is no will. Trincomalee is running with 10% of that budget. :) (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, March 29, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 11905, in the clear April 4 at 0115, but zero signal from SLBC, so no mistimesignal to monitor either. Were they scared off by the Cairo blob last night? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [and non]. 11650, April 3 at 0451, tone jammer, and (via VATICAN) R. Dabanga ID in passing, poor. 13800, April 3 at 0452, R. Dabanga signal via MADAGASCAR is better here tonight, but double tone jamming is worse, hi and lo pitches. 13800, April 7 at 0547, heavy tone jamming mixing with R. Dabanga, fair signals at about equal levels. // 11650 the same situation, but both at poor levels. 13800 is via MADAGASCAR; 11650 via VATICAN. 13800, April 8 at 0549, R. Dabanga, very good via VATICAN, and NO tone jamming for a change. But // 11650 is only fair and with tone jamming. HFCC shows a confusing site swaparound for 13800, content of which must be 0400-0429 R. Tamazuj, 0429-0559 R. Dabanga: 0400-0430, 250 kW, 138 degrees from FRANCE 0430-0530, 250 kW, 335 degrees from MADAGASCAR 0530-0600, 250 kW, 150 degrees from VATICAN So at 0529 amid the Dabanga broadcast there would be a site change. Meanwhile on 11650: 0400-0430, 250 kW, 145 degrees from VATICAN 0430-0600, 250 kW, 146 degrees from VATICAN What`s the point of a separate listing with a 1-degree azimuth shift? Really a transmitter change? Both are on Antenna type 216. And BTW amid this also on 11650 at 0400-0500 is CRI Vietnamese via Kunming (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non] & SUDAN SOUTH [non]. New frequencies of clandestine broadcasts in A-15, part 2: Radio Tamazuj: 0400-0430 7315 MDC 250 kW / 320 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic 0400-0430 11650 SMG 250 kW / 146 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic 0400-0430 13800 ISS 250 kW / 138 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic ex 15550 MDC 1500-1530 15150 MDC 250 kW / 340 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic 1500-1530 15550 SMG 250 kW / 150 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic 1500-1530 17600 ISS 250 kW / 138 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic ex 13800 SMG Radio Dabanga: 0430-0600 11650 SMG 250 kW / 146 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic 0430-0530 13800 MDC 250 kW / 335 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic ex 15550 SMG 0530-0600 13800 SMG 250 kW / 150 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic ex 15550 MDC 1530-1600 15150 MDC 250 kW / 340 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic 1530-1600 15550 SMG 250 kW / 150 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic 1600-1630 15150 SMG 200 kW / 146 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic 1600-1630 15550 SMG 200 kW / 150 deg EaAf Sudanese Arabic (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, April 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN SOUTH [non]. March 31: Radio Miraya in English to EaAf 0540 on 11560 secret tx site https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lroghgVpNTo&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11560, PRIDNESTROVIE (MOLDOVA) Radio Miraya at 0518 in English with an interview with a UNHCR official discussing wildfires in South Sudan - Very good, Apr 8 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, listening in my car by the lake, with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna. Editor of World English Survey and Target Listening, available at http://www.odxa.on.ca dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Transmitter site for this is subject of dispute (gh, DXLD) ** SWAZILAND. 1170, TWR, 2025, urban themed religious vocals, Bible talk by two women in English. Presumed and only briefly on top. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWAZILAND. 15360, April 6 at 1412, hymn in presumed Urdu, good signal, TWR`s sole Asian broadcast from its African site, 1400-1415, 100 kW, 43 degrees per HFCC. Retune too late to hear music box IS which should open and close it: 1415 open carrier to 1415.5*. In WRTH, you won`t find any Urdu under SWAZILAND, and not under SOUTH AFRICA either, since that`s for the TWR Africa service only (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAHITI. French Polynesia, 738, Radio Tahiti, 0826, noted briefly with French talk in partial null of 2NR. Mostly poor. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAJIKISTAN. 14295, Tajik Radio, Orzu. 3 x 4765, talks in Tajik, 1248, then into local music. In amongst the hams! Fair, 3 April, but couldn’t hear the fundamental this night. Rgds (Craig Seager, NSW, ARDXC via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. 18980, April 7 at 1344, JBA signal here. Try to // it with CNR1 jammer on 15265, but not, tho it could be, merely not synch. 18990, April 7 at 1344, an even weaker JBA broadcast signal, also with some noise. So what`s the Tuesday registration for RFA Tibetan via Kuwait? 18980 at 13-14, 18990 at 12-13. So both RFA and the jammer should be on 18980 during this hour, but April 5 I did find them uncoördinated. By 1358 today, 18980 is off, 18990 still on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Free Asia in Tibetan on 19 MHz, updated 1300-1400 UT slot: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/radio-free-asia-in-tibetan-on-19-mhz.html (Ivo Ivanov, April 6, dxldyg via DXLD) KUWAIT, Radio Free Asia in Tibetan 19 MHz 1100-1200 18930 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Mon 1100-1200 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tue 1100-1200 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Wed 1100-1200 19000 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Thu 1100-1200 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Fri 1100-1200 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Sat 1100-1200 19010 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Sun 1200-1300 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Mon 1200-1300 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tue 1200-1300 19000 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Wed 1200-1300 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Thu 1200-1300 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Fri 1200-1300 19000 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Sat 1200-1300 18930 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Sun 1300-1400 18930 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon, not 18980 1300-1400 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue, not 18990 1300-1400 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed, not 19000 1300-1400 19000 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu, not 18980 1300-1400 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri, not 18990 1300-1400 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat, not 19000 1300-1400 19010 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun, not 18930 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/radio-free-asia-in-tibetan-on-19-mhz.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** TURKEY. 13635, April 5 at 0602, good signal in Turkish from TRT, and to the extent they play music, should be good background entertainment, now scheduled 0600-1300, 500 kW, 310 degrees from Emirler to W Europe, and furthermore, N America when propagation permit (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. 3310-USB, 0033, Odessa Coastal R, “Ukraine Navigation Warnings” in English, 233, 13/03 DKs (Dave Kenny Sheigra, Sutherland, Scotland, UK, AOR 7030plus, multiple Beverage aerials, April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. [Re BELARUS, BYE BYE]. Well, it's about the same with R. Ukraine International. I have tried all possible email addresses, giving them technical reports but never any reaction and some addresses bounce. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, via NORDX, via RusDX April 5 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. CHELMSFORD CALLING WORLD SERVICE ANNOUCE A NEW RELAY Chelmsford Calling World Service just posted on Facebook: Today (Sunday) is a good day to tune in to us on short wave! - We're starting a new relay via CHANNEL 292 on 6070 kHz at 1600 UT (that's 5 pm UK time), and current propagation conditions mean that their signal is booming in all over Europe (& beyond ?) at this time! Further relays coming up. Don't forget - we'll also be relayed across Europe via our good friends at HLR - Hamburger Lokalradio - as usual on 7265 kHz at the slightly different time of 1200 UT next Saturday 11th April. Thanks to all at HLR for carrying our programme for 6 months! Oh yes - we're also worldwide on Wednesdays at 2200 UT on 9955 kHz via the excellent WRMI - Radio Miami International from Okeechobee, Florida! 'THANK YOU' to above & all our other relay friends! Details as always: http://www.chelmsfordcalling.com/ Posted by: (Mike Terry April 5 dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. NEW MANAGING EDITOR OF VOA NEWS CENTER Washington, D.C., April 2, 2015 - Voice of America has named Clara Domínguez as Managing Editor of the VOA News Center, the main source of news-gathering and production for a weekly audience of more than 172 million people in nearly 50 languages. Domínguez moves to the News Center from the Latin America Division, where she helped build a network of more than 350 television, radio, and on-line affiliates, reaching record audiences throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean. Broadcasting Board of Governors Interim CEO André Mendes and VOA Director David Ensor announced the appointment Thursday at a meeting of News Center staff. "Clara is the right person to lead us to a 'digital first' newsroom for the 21st century," Ensor says. "She is a clear-headed, highly- intelligent, seasoned journalist with a track record of extraordinary success building audience." Domínguez has more than 28 years of experience as a broadcast journalist. Prior to joining VOA in 2010, she was News Director at the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. "Clara is uniquely positioned to help the news room deliver the timely and robust news products that today's complex media environment demands," Mendes says. "Coming from one of our most important language services, Clara will provide a fresh perspective to the rapidly- evolving role that the VOA newsroom plays in carrying out our ever- more-important mission." "I am honored to be taking on this new challenge at an important time for VOA," Domínguez says. "There is a strong tradition of great journalism in the VOA newsroom. I look forward to working with this impressive cadre of reporters, editors, and producers to reach new audiences with reliable and influential journalism." Domínguez has a Masters in International Affairs from The George Washington University and an MBA from the University of Miami. A native of Havana, Cuba, she is fluent in Spanish and has a working knowledge of French (VOA PR April 2 via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) ** U S A. DAVID ENSOR STEPPING DOWN AS VOA DIRECTOR http://www.insidevoa.com/content/david-ensor-stepping-down-as-voa-director/2709706.html WASHINGTON, D.C., April 7, 2015 -- Voice of America Director David Ensor today announced his resignation after nearly four years leading the nation's international state broadcaster. During Ensor's tenure, VOA's radio, television, and online audience grew by 49 million people to 172 million a week, according to survey data prepared for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Voice of America and four other media organizations funded by the U.S. government. "I am honored to have had the opportunity to work alongside so many fine journalists," Ensor said during a meeting with VOA staff. "You have made VOA a social-media leader in South East Asia and an affiliate-model innovator in Latin America." Under his leadership, VOA has launched new television programs in Russian, Ukrainian, Persian, Mandarin, Burmese, Urdu, Kurdish, Pashto, Somali, Dari, Creole, English and many more. Ensor initiated a "digital first" reorganization of VOA's central newsroom and a boost in programming to Africa. "We are grateful for the leadership David Ensor brought to VOA," said BBG Chair Jeff Shell. "His deep journalistic roots and rich knowledge of world events were tremendous assets he enthusiastically invested in this venerable organization." Prior to joining VOA in June 2011, Ensor was Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. He came to VOA as an award-winning journalist in his own right. During his 30 years as a radio and television correspondent, he reported for NPR, ABC News, and CNN and covered such major stories as the fall of Communism in Poland and the Soviet Union, the travels of Pope John Paul II, and U.S. national security issues in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Despite the constraints of diminishing budgets in each of his years as director, Ensor said "VOA has found creative ways to respond to the lies of Vladimir Putin and to the threats of ISIS. And it will be ready to do much more under its next director, if resources can be identified." At the meeting with VOA staff, Ensor said, "So long as the VOA Charter of 1976 is never weakened, I know VOA's professionals will be able continue to serve our country by providing accurate journalism that is honest and independent and thus earns the trust of millions around the world." Ensor also thanked the Broadcasting Board of Governors for their trust and said he will stay on the job until the end of May to allow the Board time to search for VOA's 29th director. For more information about this release, contact the VOA Public Relations office in Washington at (202) 203-4959, or write to publicrelations@voanews.com For more information about VOA, visit the Public Relations website at http://www.insidevoa.com or the main news site at http://www.voanews.com VOA reaches a global weekly audience of more than 172 million people in nearly 50 languages. VOA programs are delivered on satellite, cable, shortwave, FM, medium wave, streaming audio and video and more than 2,350 media outlets worldwide. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (VOA PR April 7 via gh, Hansjoerg Biener, J. Burke N0LSD, DXLD) And no explanation whatsoever, not even the lame substitute phrase of "personal reasons". So are we supposed to take this as veiled explanation? "So long as the VOA Charter of 1976 is never weakened..." In case it has anything to do with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n6SS-U9_5g ``VOA Director David Ensor Takes Shots at Ambassador, Former VOA Reporters, and NGO Media Website --- FreeMediaOnline.org`` my comment would be: This organization is beyond help (Kai Ludwig, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIRECTOR OF VOICE OF AMERICA IS PLANNING TO STEP DOWN - NYTimes.com http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/director-ofvoice-of-america-is-planning-to-step-down.html Sent from my iPhone (via David Cole, OK, DXLD) Viz.: DIRECTOR OF VOICE OF AMERICA IS PLANNING TO STEP DOWN By RON NIXON April 7, 2015 WASHINGTON -- David Ensor, who as director of the Voice of America has presided over significant growth in the news agency's audience despite budget cuts, announced Tuesday that he was stepping down. Mr. Ensor, who joined the Voice of America in June 2011, said he would leave the government-funded broadcaster at the end of next month. He did not explain his decision or discuss his plans. The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America, credited Mr. Ensor with creating new television programming in Russian, Ukrainian, Persian, Mandarin, Burmese and Creole, among other languages. It also said he had led a digital transformation of the agency's newsroom and expanded media programs in Africa. According to survey data prepared for the board, the Voice of America's international radio, television and online audience has reached 172 million people a week, an increase of 49 million during Mr. Ensor's tenure. Mr. Ensor, 64, a former reporter for NPR, ABC News and CNN, was the director of communications and public diplomacy at the United States Embassy in Afghanistan before joining the Voice of America. His time at the news agency has not been without controversy. Dan Robinson, the former chief White House correspondent for the Voice of America, said its central news operation had been devastated by staffing cuts, and he and other former employees said a number of veteran correspondents had resigned or retired in frustration. Last year, BBG Watch, a blog that is written in part by current and former Voice of America employees, obtained emails under the Freedom of Information Act showing that Mr. Ensor and a number of his subordinates had planned a skit that mocked former employees who had been critical of the agency. Mr. Ensor announced his resignation during a noon meeting with Voice of America staff members, whom he said had continued to produce high-quality journalism despite budget constraints. "I am honored to have had the opportunity to work alongside so many fine journalists," he said. Mr. Ensor is the second government broadcasting executive to leave in recent weeks. After just 42 days on the job, Andrew Lack resigned as chief executive of the Broadcasting Board of Governors last month to return to NBCUniversal. Critics say the departures are the latest in a series of problems at the Voice of America and other government-backed broadcasters. The agencies have been accused of floundering while other countries, particularly Russia and China, have built competing international media outlets. The House passed a bill last year saying that the Voice of America should support American "public diplomacy" and policies. The move set off a revolt among staff members, who said the change would affect their editorial independence. The Senate did not take up the measure. It is expected to be introduced again in the House (NYT via Mike Cooper, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) VOICE OF AMERICA DIRECTOR DAVID ENSOR STEPPING DOWN BBG Watch > Congress > Voice of America Director David Ensor stepping down --- BBGWatcher April 7, 2015 5 Comments Congress, Featured News, Hot Tub Blog Alan Heil, Andre Mendes, Andy Lack, Barack Obama, BBG, BBG Watch, CEO, Dan Robinson, David Ensor, Elizabeth Portale, Facebook, Gary Thomas, H.R. 4490, Hillary Clinton, Internet, journalism, S. Enders Wimbush, social media, U.S. Congress, VOA, VOA Charter [caption] At today's Town Hall meeting at the Voice of America (VOA) in Washington, DC, Director David Ensor announced that he has submitted his resignation to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) yesterday and wants to leave by end of May. Well-informed sources told BBG Watch that a permanent replacement for David Ensor is not likely to be named until the federal agency in charge of VOA and other U.S. taxpayer- funded media organizations serving audiences abroad also has a new permanent CEO. First BBG CEO Andy Lack had left earlier this year after only a few weeks on the job. Interim CEO André Mendes said at the All-Hands meeting today that "David has taken his lumps here at VOA." Among many news and management failures at the Voice of America, President Obama's recent video statement on the Iran nuclear deal framework announcement was not posted on Facebook and YouTube for hours by VOA English and VOA Persian services. On Obama's Iran nuclear deal video statement, Al Jazeera, BBC, Germany's Deutsche Welle (DW), Russia's RT news websites and even U.S. State Department public diplomacy websites in English and Persian were getting better audience engagement stats through social media than VOA by a factor of more than 10 to 1, and 20 to 1 in some cases. Prior to the announcement of David Ensor's resignation, a new study, "Reassessing U.S. International Broadcasting," written by a former Broadcasting Board of Governors member S. Enders Wimbush and a former Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) executive Elizabeth M. Portale, offered a sometimes blistering critique of the current setup and management of U.S. international broadcasting and called for a comprehensive reform. The study recommended that "Broadcast strategy should be replaced by media strategy." The "Digital First" strategy announced only recently by David Ensor and his deputy, VOA's Executive Editor Steve Redisch, a 20-year CNN veteran before joining VOA, has been mired in confusion, according to VOA journalists who spoke with BBG Watch on condition of anonymity. Those interviewed for the study critical of the BBG and VOA included former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former chairmen of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Marc Nathanson and Amb. James Glassman, former Voice of America directors Geoffrey Cowan and Robert Reilly, former RFE/RL President Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, National Endowment for Democracy President Carl Gershman, former Freedom House President David Kramer, Dr. Francis Fukuyama, and several other prominent American scholars, diplomats, journalists and media experts. The full text of the study has not yet been published online. David Ensor said that his decision to step down later this year was made some time ago, presumably before the study was made. The study says that "U.S. international broadcasting should use good journalism as its platform." But it also states that "Its networks are not independent news agencies, as if they were CNNs that happen to receive their funding from the U.S. government," and concludes that "The journalism `firewall' that has come to characterize the relationship between U.S. international broadcasting and other parts of the government is overblown and frequently counterproductive." "Thank god we have a strong firewall. ... I believe in it (the VOA Charter)," David Ensor said at today's meeting. "It's important that we distinguish between journalism and propaganda going forward...," Ensor added. Ensor served as CNN's National Security Correspondent from 1998 to 2006. Shortly before announcing his resignation, David Ensor started referring publicly to the Voice of America as "America's international state broadcaster." But Ensor was quoted as saying at today's meeting with employees that the VOA Charter must be retained in whatever "son of 4490'' bill emerges this session of the U.S. Congress. He was referring to the somewhat controversial bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4490, introduced last year to reform the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The U.S. Senate did not vote on the bill which Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) and other lawmakers want to reintroduce this year with the support of the State Department and the White House. During testimony on January 23, 2013 before the House Foreign Affairs, chaired by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton stated that the "Broadcasting Board of Governors is practically defunct in terms of its capacity to be able to tell a message around the world. So we're abdicating the ideological arena and we need to get back into it." A Voice of America press release on David Ensor's resignation refers to VOA as "the nation's international state broadcaster." In a Facebook post, former VOA White House, congressional and foreign correspondent Dan Robinson listed other problems at the Voice of America. FORMER VOA SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT DAN ROBINSON: "During his tenure VOA lost a number of veteran news correspondents who resigned or retired in frustration (including myself), and VOA's central news operation was devastated by staffing cuts and mismanagement. VOA, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) which oversees all U.S. international broadcasters, have been at the bottom of federal employee satisfaction ratings for years." In a controversial and unprecedented performance by a VOA director, at the December 2014 VOA employee holiday party satire skit David Ensor himself lampooned former VOA reporters, former BBG member Ambassador Victor Ashe and the BBG Watch. Documents recently released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request showed that David Ensor used government email system to plan with his subordinates a satire skit against what is a private U.S. media watch dog website which has published reports and commentaries critical of the VOA management. VOA and its parent federal agency, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, state that their mission, which is 100% funded by U.S. tax dollars appropriated by the U.S Congress, is "to broadcast accurate, balanced, and comprehensive news and information to an international audience" and "to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy." "As of now I intend to leave in late May or early June. I'm considering a number of interesting options for the future," David Ensor said at today's meeting with Voice of America employees. He also said he and his wife agreed some time ago he would not stay at VOA go beyond this year. He engaged in some self-praise for all he has accomplished in his nearly four years here, mentioning new programs, new managers, new work by many branches. Ensor also remarked today: "I'm not going to become another Alan Heil," although he added he is a member of the Alan Heil fan club. Alan L. Heil Jr. is a former Voice of America deputy director and program director known for long tenure at VOA and his book "Voice of America - A History." One former VOA correspondent who wants to remain anonymous had this reaction to the Voice of America press release on David Ensor's resignation: ANNONYMOUS FORMER VOA ENGLISH CORRESPONDENT: "The press release on this has a few gems, describing VOA as a state broadcaster and quoting Ensor as saying VOA responded to Putin's lies under aegis. Also bogus audience numbers." A comment left on the closed Voice of America Alumni Facebook page noted that the VOA press release on David Ensor's resignation had very little to say about building up a following in closed societies and put emphasis instead on expanding audience numbers and TV programs. The person commenting described the the current model of "expansion" as being at the root of the mismanagement problem at VOA. Former VOA senior national security correspondent Gary Thomas, who in the past had voiced strong opposition to the wording of H.R. 4490, posted this comment on Facebook: FORMER VOA SENIOR CORRESPONDENT GARY THOMAS: "A move long overdue, IMHO. VOA's first animatronic leader just kept leading the organization deeper into the weeds until it no longer knew the way out." (...) "When policymakers try to expropriate journalism for a policy purposes, it de facto ceases being journalism and becomes something else: PR, public diplomacy, outreach, advocacy, whatever. That is why so many of us opposed the language in HR 4490. The constant tension between journalists and policy mavens creates institutional schizophrenia, which leads to a nervous breakdown - which is exactly what has happened at VOA, thus escalating the calls for reform. But Ensor and Redisch - especially Ensor - cannot be absolved. They must shoulder much of the responsibility for this sorry state of affairs for their slavish pandering to policy demands over journalistic imperatives, as Ensor's pathetic performance at the most recent Board meeting demonstrated." More information and reactions can be found in a Facebook post by former VOA senior White House correspondent Dan Robinson. VOA director David Ensor announced his resignation on Tuesday, after nearly four years in the position, saying he... Posted by Dan Robinson on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 BBG Watch also received this David Ensor announcement which was emailed to VOA employees: DAVID ENSOR: As I announced at this morning's All-Hands meeting, I have submitted my resignation to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, to take effect at the end of May. That will give the Board time to search for the 29th director of this wonderful organization. Some time ago, my wife and I planned for me to step down later this year. I had assumed that once Andy Lack learned the ropes he would be ready to choose a new director. André Mendes does not need as long as Andy. He knows this organization and I am confident will do everything he can to keep VOA strong and effective. I am honored to have worked alongside so many fine journalists here who have been building bigger audiences and dynamic new programming despite smaller budgets over the last four years in a row. I want to thank the Broadcasting Board of Governors for their trust. It has been an honor serving our country this way, and I look forward to doing so with energy until my last day in office. I will have more to say near the end of that time. But I promise you this: I will remain a champion of VOA for the rest of my life. David (BBG Watch via Mike Cooper, DXLD) 5 Comments: 1. dsfgdsfg April 7, 2015 at 5:00 pm You were really, really late with this news! I'm very disappointed in this site. 1. BBGWatcher April 7, 2015 at 7:08 pm To grace your very funny comment with a funny but true answer, we can only say that we are somewhat encouraged we were still considerably faster on this than Voice of America English newsroom under its current senior VOA leadership has been in recent years on many important White House, State Department, U.S. Congress and other U.S. and international news stories, and missed some of them altogether. But we can assure you that reprimands will be issued. It appears that some of our reporter volunteers were too busy talking to The New York Times about VOA Director's resignation rather than sending us their updates from the capital city of Washington. We can only say in their defense that they have been doing this for BBG Watch for free. In other words, their public service reporting for BBG Watch doesn't cost U.S. taxpayers a single penny whereas VOA's budget is now about $200 million and it employs well over a thousand of full-time employees and exploited contractors. Toute proportion gardee, while BBG Watch did not break this story, as we did with our exclusives on Andy Lack's appointment and several other BBG-related stories, we did not do too badly, in our modest opinion. But don't take any of this too seriously. Don't worry. Be happy. 2. Roderick Beningborough April 7, 2015 at 6:49 pm: During testimony on January 23, 2013 before the House Foreign Affairs, chaired by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton stated that the "Broadcasting Board of Governors is practically defunct in terms of its capacity to be able to tell a message around the world. So we're abdicating the ideological arena and we need to get back into it. That was over 2 years ago, "journalists". 1. BBGWatcher ()April 7, 2015 at 7:13 pm: Yes, true, but under the current senior VOA leadership and, according to a most recent study, there has been no improvement since then. VOA's social media performance on President Obama's Iran nuclear deal framework was a good example of the lack of progress, if not regression. Therefore, Secretary Clinton's comment is highly relevant. 3. Mr. Bubble April 7, 2015 at 10:43 pm: BBG Watch is quite right to point out that whereas it is not a large organization, with millions of dollars budgeted [approximately $200 million annually plus additional tens of millions in program and technical support], VOA always has been, as shown by numerous BBG Watch posts has, frequently unable to get important breaking news stories up on its website quickly. The South Carolina story was another perfect example of this. Outgunned again by the folks in London, who really know how to do the job. Why not bring some of them over to Washington for a two week seminar on how to do it right. (BBGWatch comments to above, via Cooper, DXLD) VOICE OF AMERICA DIRECTOR USED GOVERNMENT EMAIL SYSTEM TO PLAN SATIRE AGAINST U.S. WATCH DOG WEBSITE BBGWatcher April 1, 2015 0 Comments Featured News, Hot Tub Blog BBG, BBG Watch, David Ensor, FOIA, Jehovah's Witnesses BBG Watch Commentary In some countries to which U.S. taxpayer-funded Voice of America (VOA) directs its broadcasts, independent bloggers and journalists who expose government corruption are frequently jailed and sometimes tortured and even killed. VOA and its parent federal agency, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), proudly proclaim that their mission, which is 100% funded by U.S. tax dollars appropriated by the U.S Congress, is "to broadcast accurate, balanced, and comprehensive news and information to an international audience" and "to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy." Recently released documents show that Voice of America director David Ensor used government email system to plan with his subordinates a satire skit against a private U.S. media website critical of the VOA management. "Sure Neil. With writers like you, what could go wrong?!," Director Ensor writes to one of his subordinates, expressing support for the idea and promising his participation. Government records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests show that David Ensor and a number of his subordinates exchanged emails at the Broadcasting Board of Governors federal agency to plan their mocking session against BBG Watch. We at BBG Watch were somewhat surprised when the Voice of America director chose our independent watch dog blog run by former and current VOA journalists and other volunteers to lampoon in a satire skit at a holiday party held last December on government time at a government building in Washington, DC. David Ensor could have chosen to lampoon Vladimir Putin, Iranian ayatollahs, ISIS, others who persecute journalists and undermine free press, or to poke fun at himself. But he mocked BBG Watch instead, comparing its audience numbers to those of The Watchtower, an illustrated religious magazine published semimonthly in 228 languages by Jehovah's Witnesses, a religious sect persecuted in various countries. The release of agency records subject to at least one of the FOIA requests about the December event does not appear to be complete. It does not include any video recordings of the event at which David Ensor lampooned not only BBG Watch but also two former senior VOA correspondents, a former VOA executive, and a former member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) who was appointed to this position by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate and is also a former U.S. ambassador. All of these individuals being mocked by VOA director were private citizens. They were not invited to the event at which they were made fun of and which likely cost U.S. taxpayers several thousand dollars in lost work time and other expenses. This could probably pay for a few VOA reporting assignments about a country or countries that lack free media. It appears that instead U.S. taxpayers in effect subsidized an attempt to discredit a private U.S. media blog and private U.S. citizens who are exposing waste and abuse at a U.S. government agency charged with supporting similar private journalist bloggers in other countries -- the effort being led by one of the agency's top officials. Several VOA journalists said that such a public performance by VOA director was unprecedented. There is also no record of any former VOA director making comments in a public setting about a religious group that could be construed in any way as making fun of that religious denomination or its activities. While some VOA journalists participated in the skit, others told BBG Watch that they were appalled by the performance and Director Ensor's role. U.S. government employees using government-issued equipment were seen videotaping Director Ensor and a few of his subordinates making fun of BBG Watch. Agency lawyers did not release the video tape which was listed in the FOIA request, but BBG Watch had posted earlier an audio recording and transcript of David Ensor's holiday skit. BBG_Watch_bus_stop_ad300 We don't mind being mocked. Our U.S.-based blog has had several scoops in reporting on the BBG international media outreach agency and exposing government waste and abuse. Our investigative reporting was mentioned in Congressional Record, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Mother Jones, NPR and by other U.S. and international media. It is disturbing, however, that leaders at a federal agency charged with supporting free press abroad choose to spent tax money on trying to discredit citizen journalists in the United States rather than use their time and tax dollars to advance the actual media freedom mission of the Voice of America and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. ### Emails Obtained Under FOIA VOA FOIA Dec2014 1 VOA FOIA Dec2014 2 VOA FOIA Dec2014 3 VOA FOIA Dec2014 4 ### Audio Recording and Transcript Posted by BBG Watch IFRAME: http:////www.youtube.com/embed/5n6SS-U9_5g?rel=0 VOICE OF AMERICA DIRECTOR DAVID ENSOR, DEC. 16, 2014: " . . . [in response to] parties urging that we all be accurate, objective and balanced, I have as promised, 10 fun facts about BBG Watch. And the first one is, on BBG Watch, [name of former VOA Foreign and Intelligence Correspondent] ... is writing far more than he ever did. The second one is kind of a interrogatory Here's my question -- where the hell is Truckee, California [managing location of BBG Watch website] anyway? No. 3. BBG Watch has its own version of the two source rule. Unfortunately, the two sources are [former U.S. Ambassador to Poland, former Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) member, former multiple-term Mayor of Knoxville, TN] and [former VOA White House Correspondent]. Fun fact No. 4. [Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB - cusib.org) co-founder and co-director and co-founder of BBG Watch] is more in love with himself than with Kim Jong Un. No 5. Even people who argue a lot, like say [names of current VOA journalists] ..., even they can agree how bad it [BBG Watch] is. This is one you may not know. [name of Head of Digital Strategy] ... secretly hired BBG Watch to drive traffic to the VOANews.com website. And it's working. No 7. BBG Watch now has as many anonymous posters as HookUP.com No 8. It's in the running for a literary award for best work of fiction. No 9. It meets the standard definition of a blog -- boring, lousy, obscure, gibberish. And No 10. According to the Pew Internet Research Report, the BBG Watch audience rivals that of two media powerhouses, the Watchtower magazine [illustrated religious magazine published semimonthly in 228 languages by Jehovah's Witnesses] and the weekly circular for Shopper's Food Warehouse (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Transatlantic Connection Elisabeth Braw --- Subscribe to RSS - Elisabeth Braw's blog AMERICA’S VOICE IN EUROPE TO COUNTER THE KREMLIN --- 3 April 2015 http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/elisabeth-braw/america%E2%80%99s-voice-europe-counter-kremlin (World Affairs via DXLD) and %E2%80%99 stands for some kind of apostrophe; why make it so complicated? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Am 03.04.2015 um 05:41 schrieb VOA Radiogram: Last week's test of the 8PSK FEC modes was interesting. In general, the 8PSK FEC modes did not perform as well as well as the MFSK modes. However, Richard in New Brunswick and I, using a receiver in Nova Scotia, had 100% copy of all the modes, including 8PSKR250F at 635 wpm! This mode might be useful for high-speed data transmission, including formatted web pages, over distances of 1500 km or less, especially when propagation is stable. This weekend we will do one more test of 8PSK125F. This will actually be two transmissions, one without the pilot tone, and one with the pilot tone. You do not need to make any adjustments to detect the pilot tone, other than to have the Fldigi RxID on (green). "The RsID signal will both determine the mode and the mode center frequency (to the nearest 2.6 Hz). A finer resolution of the mode center frequency can be made using the optional pilot carrier," according to the Fldigi Users Manual. If a bandwidth of 2.5 kHz or more are available, then the usage of narrow modes is less reasonable. I'm still hoping for a robust fast mode of 2x or 3x MFSK-32. When decoding of the backscattered signals from KBC via Nauen (European night/86 miles/skip zone for me) MFSK64 is at the limit of its possibilities. For the text-decoding the error correction helps. http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2015-04-04.htm (roger, Germany, April 8, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. 17600, April 3 at 1357, good signal, heated conversation in Somali, as I`ve been hearing since A-15 began, so investigate it: HFCC shows VOA via VATICAN at 13-14; violating Separation of Church & State, etc., etc. 6180, Monday April 6 at 0555, poor signal in French mentions Côte d`Ivoire et al.: it`s VOA at 0530-0630 M-F via SÃO TOMÉ. 6185 Mexico is now out of the way, closing an hour earlier circa 0500* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Jumping A-15 frequencies of Voice of America and Radio Free Asia 0000-0100 on 13630 UDO 250 kW / 324 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon VOA 0000-0100 on 13640 UDO 250 kW / 324 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue VOA 0000-0100 on 13670 UDO 250 kW / 324 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed VOA 0000-0100 on 13690 UDO 250 kW / 324 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu VOA 0000-0100 on 13740 UDO 250 kW / 324 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri VOA 0000-0100 on 13760 UDO 250 kW / 324 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat VOA 0000-0100 on 13780 UDO 250 kW / 324 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun VOA 0100-0200 on 17685 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon RFA 0100-0200 on 17635 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue RFA 0100-0200 on 17685 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed RFA 0100-0200 on 17635 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu RFA 0100-0200 on 17685 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri RFA 0100-0200 on 17665 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat RFA 0100-0200 on 17700 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun RFA 0200-0300 on 21550 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon RFA 0200-0300 on 21560 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue RFA 0200-0300 on 21575 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed RFA 0200-0300 on 21585 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu RFA 0200-0300 on 21595 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri RFA 0200-0300 on 21610 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat RFA 0200-0300 on 21620 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun RFA 0300-0400 on 21600 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon VOA 0300-0400 on 21610 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue VOA 0300-0400 on 21620 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed VOA 0300-0400 on 21630 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu VOA 0300-0400 on 21640 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri VOA 0300-0400 on 21650 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat VOA 0300-0400 on 21660 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun VOA 0400-0500 on 21610 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon VOA 0400-0500 on 21620 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue VOA 0400-0500 on 21630 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed VOA 0400-0500 on 21640 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu VOA 0400-0500 on 21650 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri VOA 0400-0500 on 21660 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat VOA 0400-0500 on 21600 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun VOA 0500-0600 on 21620 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon VOA 0500-0600 on 21630 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue VOA 0500-0600 on 21640 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed VOA 0500-0600 on 21650 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu VOA 0500-0600 on 21660 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri VOA 0500-0600 on 21600 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat VOA 0500-0600 on 21610 PHT 250 kW / 315 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun VOA 0600-0700 on 17635 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon RFA 0600-0700 on 17750 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue RFA 0600-0700 on 17635 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed RFA 0600-0700 on 17750 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu RFA 0600-0700 on 17635 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri RFA 0600-0700 on 17750 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat RFA 0600-0700 on 17750 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun RFA 1000-1100 on 21465 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon RFA 1000-1100 on 21455 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue RFA 1000-1100 on 21525 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed RFA 1000-1100 on 21505 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu RFA 1000-1100 on 21495 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri RFA 1000-1100 on 21485 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat RFA 1000-1100 on 21475 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun RFA 1100-1200 on 18930 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon RFA 1100-1200 on 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue RFA 1100-1200 on 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed RFA 1100-1200 on 19000 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu RFA 1100-1200 on 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri RFA 1100-1200 on 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat RFA 1100-1200 on 19010 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun RFA 1200-1300 on 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon RFA 1200-1300 on 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue RFA 1200-1300 on 19000 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed RFA 1200-1300 on 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu RFA 1200-1300 on 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri RFA 1200-1300 on 19000 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat RFA 1200-1300 on 18930 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun RFA 1300-1400 on 18930 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon RFA 1300-1400 on 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue RFA 1300-1400 on 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed RFA 1300-1400 on 19000 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu RFA 1300-1400 on 18980 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri RFA 1300-1400 on 18990 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat RFA 1300-1400 on 19010 KWT 250 kW / 078 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun RFA 1400-1500 on 17485 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon VOA 1400-1500 on 17760 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue VOA 1400-1500 on 17485 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed VOA 1400-1500 on 17760 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu VOA 1400-1500 on 17485 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri VOA 1400-1500 on 17760 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat VOA 1400-1500 on 17760 UDO 250 kW / 321 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun VOA 1400-1500 on 13755 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Cantonese Mon RFA 1400-1500 on 13740 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Cantonese Tue RFA 1400-1500 on 13755 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Cantonese Wed RFA 1400-1500 on 13740 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Cantonese Thu RFA 1400-1500 on 13755 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Cantonese Fri RFA 1400-1500 on 13640 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Cantonese Sat RFA 1400-1500 on 13820 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Cantonese Sun RFA 1500-1600 on 13790 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon RFA 1500-1600 on 13745 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue RFA 1500-1600 on 13790 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed RFA 1500-1600 on 13745 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu RFA 1500-1600 on 13790 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri RFA 1500-1600 on 13745 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat RFA 1500-1600 on 13745 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun RFA 1600-1700 on 15495 BIB 100 kW / 085 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon VOA 1600-1700 on 15505 BIB 100 kW / 085 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue VOA 1600-1700 on 15495 BIB 100 kW / 085 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed VOA 1600-1700 on 15505 BIB 100 kW / 085 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu VOA 1600-1700 on 15495 BIB 100 kW / 085 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri VOA 1600-1700 on 15505 BIB 100 kW / 085 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat VOA 1600-1700 on 15505 BIB 100 kW / 085 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun VOA 2200-2300 on 11830 KWT 250 kW / 080 deg to CeAs Tibetan Mon RFA 2200-2300 on 11870 KWT 250 kW / 080 deg to CeAs Tibetan Tue RFA 2200-2300 on 11965 KWT 250 kW / 080 deg to CeAs Tibetan Wed RFA 2200-2300 on 11995 KWT 250 kW / 080 deg to CeAs Tibetan Thu RFA 2200-2300 on 12035 KWT 250 kW / 080 deg to CeAs Tibetan Fri RFA 2200-2300 on 12040 KWT 250 kW / 080 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sat RFA 2200-2300 on 12125 KWT 250 kW / 080 deg to CeAs Tibetan Sun RFA 2200-2300 on 15260 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Cantonese Mon RFA 2200-2300 on 15270 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Cantonese Tue RFA 2200-2300 on 15280 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Cantonese Wed RFA 2200-2300 on 15290 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Cantonese Thu RFA 2200-2300 on 15300 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Cantonese Fri RFA 2200-2300 on 15375 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Cantonese Sat RFA 2200-2300 on 15390 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Cantonese Sun RFA Observer ? 1:44 PM (Bulgarian DX Blog April 8 via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Summer A-15 of Radio Free Asia in Cantonese and Vietnamese: Cantonese 1400-1500 on 13755 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Mon 1400-1500 on 13740 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Tue 1400-1500 on 13755 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Wed 1400-1500 on 13740 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Thu 1400-1500 on 13755 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Fri 1400-1500 on 13640 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Sat 1400-1500 on 13820 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg to EaAs Sun 2200-2300 on 15260 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Mon 2200-2300 on 15270 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Tue 2200-2300 on 15280 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Wed 2200-2300 on 15290 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Thu 2200-2300 on 15300 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Fri 2200-2300 on 15375 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Sat 2200-2300 on 15390 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg to EaAs Sun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiEFCtJWD0k&feature=youtu.be Vietnamese 1400-1500 on 9950 TIN 250 kW / 270 deg to SEAs 1400-1500 on 12045 SAI 100 kW / 270 deg to SEAs 2330-0030 on 9940 TIN 250 kW / 270 deg to SEAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxkymSuHRyI&feature=youtu.be http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/dx-re-mix-news-904.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) See also TIBET [non] ** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1767 monitoring: WRMI has rearranged its schedule including some WOR airings: Thu 2100 on 7570 new Fri 2130 on 7570 only, not 15770 Sat 1000 on 5850-canceled; on air Sundays only Sun 2100 on 15770-new Sun 2300 on 11580-still The 9955 WOR times remain the same: Thu 0330 Thu 1230 Tue 1100 Wed 1315 Meanwhile, Global 24 still hasn`t put up a schedule for this weekend, whether last week`s Bulgarian relay of WOR Saturday at 2130 on 9525 will continue, be re-timed and/or re-frequencied. See also SOUTH CAROLINA [non] WORLD OF RADIO 1767 monitoring: confirmed Friday April 3 at 2130.5 on WRMI 7570 AND still 15770 (a new schedule showed 7570 only, maybe from next week?) Next, including further WRMI changes: Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sat 2130 Global 24 9525 via BULGARIA [last week; but apparently not this week; see BULGARIA] Sun 0315v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sun 2100 WRMI 15770 NEW Sun 2300 WRMI 11580 Mon 0300v WBCQ 5110v Area 51 [SW not on air last week but webcast] Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Wed 0630 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 1315 WRMI 9955 Wed 1430 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [or 1768 if ready in time] Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 [ditto] Thu 2100 WRMI 7570 [ditto; NEW] WORLD OF RADIO 1767 monitoring. 9525 Bulgarian relay of Global 24 was missing earlier, from 1900 occupied by China; just in case, on Utwente remote receiver, recheck circa 2130 when WOR aired last Saturday: still nothing. See also separate USA: Global 24 1860-AM, WA0RCR, UT Sunday April 5, previous programming really running late past nominal 0315 time for WOR: at 0321, digital beeps; 0325 ARRL News has started with interruption for WA0RCR ID frequently during it, so expect WOR to start circa 0338. Yes, from 0337:31, and this time Vern has removed our musical opening and replaced it with his own intro. Next: Sun 2100 WRMI 15770 NEW [check whether in effect this week already] Sun 2300 WRMI 11580 Mon 0200v WBCQ 7490 Area 51 [temp replacing 5110, 0300; see WBCQ log] Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Wed 0630 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 1315 WRMI 9955 Wed 1430 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [or 1768 if ready in time] Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 [ditto] Thu 2100 WRMI 7570 [ditto; NEW] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1767 monitoring: new time on the WRMI schedule is Sunday 2100 on 15770, but no show April 5: instead `End Times Coming` from Manchester, England. This is scheduled on 7570 only, and too noisy to tell if it`s //. Apparently what has happened, like on Friday at 2130, is that the plan to split to separate programming on 7570 and 15770 has not yet been fulfilled; but maybe by the following week? WOR 1767 confirmed at usual time of Sunday 2300 on WRMI 11580, good. And as Larry Will advised us, WBCQ 5110 transmitter is still off the air, so Area 51 programming is on 7490 instead. WOR would also be one hour earlier than it had been on 5110, 0200 instead of 0300 UT Monday. And confirmed as such: First monitored the A51 webcast as WOR started at 0200, then I switched to the 7490 webcast, and same started within the following minute. Then confirmed really on 7490, with VG signal. Unknown what will happen next week. Rest of this week: Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Wed 0630 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 1315 WRMI 9955 Wed 1430 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [or 1768 if ready in time] Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 [ditto] Thu 2100 WRMI 7570 [ditto; NEW] WORLD OF RADIO 1767 monitoring: confirmed Tuesday April 7 at 1106 on WRMI 9955, VG signal, atop lite pulse jamming: tnx a lot, Arnie! Next: Wed 0630 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 1315 WRMI 9955 Wed 1430 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [or 1768 if ready in time] Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 [ditto] Thu 2100 WRMI 7570 [ditto; NEW] (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. LOG: 7265 kHz/CUSB HHLR 0630-0700z, WOR, O=4 (222 km) 0700z start: "Jazz & Literatur" (roger Thayer, Germany, 0711 UT Wed April 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1767 monitoring: confirmed Wednesday April 8 on WRMI 9955: gh ID at 1315.1; WOR from 1315.6, good signal but lite pulse jamming: tnx a lot, Arnie! Next: Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [or 1768 if ready in time] Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 [ditto] Thu 2100 WRMI 7570 [ditto; NEW, unconfirmed] WORLD OF RADIO 1767 monitoring: confirmed on WBCQ webcast, Wednesday April 8 at 2100; and also very poorly audible by 2128 on 7490v. Presumed another play at 0330 UT Thursday April 9 on WRMI 9955, unchecked as I am still producing 1768. WORLD OF RADIO 1768 monitoring: confirmed first SW broadcast Thursday April 9 before 1259 on WRMI 9955; sufficient and no jamming, but ACI from louder 9950 gospel huxtress in English, ID as T8WH Palau 1259 before closing. Next for WORLD OF RADIO: Thu 2100 WRMI 7570 [NEW on schedule; unconfirmed yet] Fri 2130 WRMI 7570 [and no longer 15770? But both last week] Sat 1930v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sat 2130 Global 24 9525 via BULGARIA [not last week, no longer, or to be rescheduled??] Sun 0315v WA0RCR 1860-AM [last week started 0337.5] Sun 2100 WRMI 15770 [NEW on schedule, but not last week] Sun 2300 WRMI 11580 Mon 0300v WBCQ 5110v Area 51 [SW not on air last week, but on 7490 instead at 0200, also webcast on both; 5110 now back on air] Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Wed 0630 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 1315 WRMI 9955 Wed 1430 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [or 1769 if ready in time] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A reminder: starting with you UT Saturday at 0130 with a repeat at 1330 UT Tuesdays, WORLD OF RADIO via http://www.dishnuts.net (Ray T. Mahorney, WA4WGA, Akron OH, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 11825, Saturday April 4 at 2344, Global 24 via WRMI with rock, so it must be `The Rock Pile` as scheduled. 5850, April 4 at 2344, the simultaneous G24 service with Old Time Radio as heard last two weeks, is missing. Maybe a carrier? At 2350, definitely a strong open carrier, 52-58 dbu on the PL-880, as WRMI will be Slovaking after 0000 anyway. 11825, another check at 0005 UT Sunday April 5: FSN news outro, Global 24 ID and like-us-on-facebook, waltz theme and `News Review` from European News Network, but it`s about the Alps crash ``yesterday``! So still replaying last week`s show originally aired March 25, now a sesquiweek outdated. Old programming is not Global 24`s fault this week, since Jeff White notifies us that the ISP furnishing ftp access for programming to WRMI had a serious accident and is down until maybe Tuesday. However, he has now set up an alternative route. BTW, there is nothing new on G24 Facebook or its own website since last weekend`s programming lineup March 28-30 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also BULGARIA ** U S A. 11580 // 9955, UT Sat April 4 at 0122, confirmed RMI main channel 9955 programming is now getting duplicated for a bihour on 11580, as shown in the graphic sked for 9-11 pm [EDT = 01-03 UT]. `Walking in Power`, pervasive preaching is wrapping up on both with Miami address; and at 0135 `Wavescan` is underway with Jeff quoting Solomon Islands and Vanuatu cyclone info from DSWCI as of early March. 11580 is on 44 degree antenna toward Europe, while 9955 remains on 160 to Caribbean and S America --- but here, 11580 is quite stronger (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11580, April 6 at 0221, WRMI in Spanish, must be R. Praga relay, VG here as on weaker and still jammed // 9955; so the duplication is a good idea and should be expanded beyond 01-03 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9330, 1640, WBCQ, USA. Non-stop soul pop music, slight QSB and distortion, 544, 22/03 (Charlie Wardale, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, UK, Yaesu FRG-7, Tecsun PL-600, Datong FL1 audio filter, 15m lw, April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) While I was not monitoring on that date at that time, whenever I have checked 9330 since early January, there has been NO signal from WBCQ, despite appearing on their schedules. The last time I noted it was Jan 4, and by Jan 19 I reported it missing. It was later reported that the 9330 transmitter had been moved to 7490 to replace the previous transmitter there with problems. Possibly WBCQ put 9330 on the air with some transmitter as reported above, but I don`t see any ID, and furthermore that`s an awfully big signal to get into Europe across the noon meridian, presumably aimed oppositely across the USA like all WBCQ antennas. Some Europirates have been heard in this part of the band. That was in B-14, but in A-15, R. Free North Korea is reported by Ivo to emit at 1530-1630 on 9330 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7490v, April 4 at 0108, WBCQ with UT Sat`s `Allan Weiner Worldwide` now in his second hour with timeshift to start at 0000 UT. Nothing on 5110, 9330 or 15420, so it appears The Planet is down to only one funxional transmitter! But at 0115 he`s bragging about 7490 being hi fidelity, due to a hi-modulation level exciter tnx to TimTron, who can make any transmitter sound like a much more powerful one by optimizing modulation, which is more important than sheer power on AM. He rebuilt the exciter to make this the ``highest fidelity shortwave station, period, on the Planet, guaranteed``. Recheck at 0120 he`s nevertheless talking about programming on 5110 (sounds familiar, is this really a rerun instead of live?), Tuesday night shows at 9 and 11 pm ET; Thursdays at 8 pm, the Lakeside church, 9 pm DJ Fred Moe (originally supposed to be a one-shot), 11 pm Report of the Week (?); says to check the website for sked. OK, but now this is all it shows for 5110 on local Tue or Thu: Tu 5110 11:00PM 12:00AM ET 0300 0400 UTC VORW Th 5110 11:00PM 12:00AM ET 0300 0400 UTC VORW And the only link to more info about that is from our report in January, quoting RW Observer on hfunderground. Apparently still operating remotely from the Land of Fla, AW thinx 5110 is also on the air, but going thru the current e-mail, someone said there was a carrier but no modulation earlier in the hour (I check again: still nothing at all now). By next check at 0141, 7490 has reverted to Brother Scare and his big Passover event, // 9370 WWRB but not synched, solo hymn with organ ``Calvary Love`` [I notice that original MS Word spellcheck redlines this, trying to get us to change it to Cavalry?!] 7490v, Sat April 4 at 2351, WBCQ with rock music. Larry Will notified us a bit earlier: ``Schedule changes for WBCQ 5110, 7490 --- The 5110 transmitter is down, and Pirate Joe is unable to do his show Shortwave Saturday Night on 7490 this evening, so we will be running some Area 51 programming on 7490 today and tomorrow. 7490 2300 April 4 Radio Timtron Worldwide 7490 0000 April 5 The Lumpy Gravy Radio Show 7490 0200 April 5 Brother Stair (as normally scheduled) (Area 51 programming continues on our webcast) 7490 0300 April 5 Area 51 7490 0000 April 6 Radio Timtron Worldwide (as normally scheduled) 7490 0100 April 6 Plastic Magic 7490 0200 April 6 World of Radio [instead of 0300, evidently] 7490 0230 April 6 Grits Radio Area 51 webcast http://www.splatterbox.us:5110 WBCQ 7490 webcast http://www.splatterbox.us:7415 Regards, Larry Will`` (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DX LISTENING DIGEST) But presumably only for that weekend, back to 5110 next? (gh) ** U S A. 7555, April 4 at 0534, no signal from WEWN Spanish, just the hash from French military on the hi side. Other two transmitters are on, 11520 English, and 11870 Spanish, with, what else, ``dolorosa pasión`` lamentations every few seconds (which they also do every afternoon, when there is precious little moonlight), but as I tune across this time, it`s a YL caller reciting it rather than the unxuous OM host. 7555, April 5 at 0557, another nite with no signal from WEWN Radio Católica Mundial. One third of their transmitters is down, so in daytime I pay attention to what else be missing: 11550, nothing at 1312 check, while 12050 is sufficiently in Spanish, even tho it`s prime Pascua time. 7555, April 6 at 0557, WEWN Spanish is still down; also at next check 1251 April 6, no signal on 11550 while 12050 Spanish is on and 11520 English. But by 1407, all three are revivified: 11550 & 12050 Spanish, 15610 English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) New summer A-15 of EWTN Global Catholic Radio: WEWN-1 plus videos 0000-0900 11520 EWN 250 kW / 085 deg WeAf English 0900-1300 11520 EWN 250 kW / 355 deg SEAs English, ex 0900-1200 A-14 1300-1500 15610 EWN 250 kW / 355 deg SEAs English, ex N/ME in A-14 1500-1900 15610 EWN 250 kW / 040 deg N/ME English, ex 1200-1800 A-14 1900-2400 15610 EWN 250 kW / 085 deg WeAf English, ex N/ME in A-14 WEWN-2 0000-1000 11870 EWN 250 kW / 155 deg SoAm Spanish 1000-1700 12050 EWN 250 kW / 155 deg SoAm Spanish 1700-2400 13830 EWN 250 kW / 155 deg SoAm Spanish WEWN-3 0000-0500 5810 EWN 250 kW / 220 deg MEX Spanish 0500-1300 7555 EWN 250 kW / 220 deg MEX Spanish, ex 0500-1200 A-14 1300-1800 11550 EWN 250 kW / 220 deg MEX Spanish, ex 1200-1800 A-14 1800-2400 12050 EWN 250 kW / 220 deg MEX Spanish http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2015/04/summer-15-of-ewtn-global-catholic-radio.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #904 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, April 07, 2015 via DXLD) ** U S A. W5KUB webcast also on shortwave Southgate April 6, 2015 We are expanding our w5kub.com webcast. As you know we have started a weekly ham radio program on Tuesday nights. Beginning Tuesday April 7 we will be simulcasting our webcast on shortwave station WTWW. This station runs 100 kW and has 18 dB antennas. That equates to about 3200 Kilowatts ERP. Since this is shortwave, depending on propagation you may or may not hear it. It is heard in many countries. The frequency is 9930 kHz. Since most of us got our start in shortwave listening, I plan to add a shortwave segment to the show. You can also tune in to the website at w5kub.com Tuesday nights 8 PM central or 0100 UT Weds. ________________________________ Live ham radio show Amateur Radio Roundtable every Tues night at 8:00 PM central (0200 [sic] UTC Weds) on W5KUB.COM Please check out our ham radio video broadcast page at http://w5kub.com/ and please join our W5KUB video facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/279273778772594/ Posted by: (Mike Terry, April 6, dxldyg via DXLD) What do they mean by ``add a shortwave segment``? Was only about ham radio on VHF+? Too many hams are only interested in repeaters on 2m. If this is really on air, will be first time for 9930 WTWW in several weeks (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 720, April 3 at 1814 UT on caradio in central Enid, talk show, so I stop between some powerline or traffic light noise peaks: WGN ID in passing, weak but readable, once again midday log of this distant station. Later has a bit of CCI, presumed KSAH San Antonio. This of course leads me to check for other rarities: see 830. 720, April 6 at 1901 UT on caradio, here`s WGN radio again at midday, weak but clear and fully readable (as long as I am between powerline and traffic light buzzes), during ``WGN News``. This is really getting weird: as we are more and more into hi solar angles, and this is less than a semihour beyond local mean noon, it seems less and less likely this could be residual skywave breaking thru. WGN is capable of getting here on extended groundwave, but previously not so reliably nor so strongly. Of the big Chicago stations, this is the only one with a really Clear channel. Has something improved the ground conductivity between there and here? With general drought conditions above ground, one would not think so. However, the Extreme Drought is only here in OK, not so much up toward Chicago (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Following afternoons, WGN not so audible (gh) ** U S A. 830, April 3 at 1813 UT, weak signal, continuous talk, partly readable, sermon probably inspired by `Good Friday` --- WCCO might be a propagational suspect, since WGN is in, but unlikely that secular station would be doing this even on an alleged day like today. I`m on errands, so monitor intermittently; by 1828 UT in downtown Enid it`s axually a bit stronger, and hope for an ID on the semi-hour. Now with gruesome details about crucifixions and speculating about exactly how J.C. may have died in modern medical terminology, but keeps going, and by 1832 UT (which is exactly noon here), fading a bit and some CCI appears, along with ACI splash from WBAP. Try again on caradio at 1854 UT. Yay, ID in passing is JBA, sounds like KGYL. NRC AM Log for 830 shows very likely match with a religious format is KUYO in Evanville (Casper WY), a 25 kW ND daytimer. I also had this circumstantially but without even such a close ID, Jan 31, 2015 at 1908 UT on one of my daytime DX-peditions as in DXLD 15-05. Would hardly have suspected this would still be happening in April with much higher solar angle. Or is it extended groundwave? 632 miles, a bit less than Chicago, in a totally different direxion. Something also audible on 650 in the 640/660 splash (but no IBOC), likely KGAB in closer Cheyenne; and of course 670 KLTT Denver groundwave as usual (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1020, April 5 at 0634 UT, ``Hollywood 360 Radio Network``, with nearby KOKP Perry OK nulled as much as possible, still making SAH of 235/minute = almost 4 Hz. This is of course KDKA Pittsburgh PA, one kilomile or a sesquimegameter away, which would be dominant were it not for stupid sportstalker KOKP, 400/250 watts U4, night pattern with lobes to the northwest (Enid) and south. Show confirmed on KDKA dated schedule for Sunday April 5, 12-3 am EDT: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/newsradio-1020-kdka-on-air-schedule/ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1090, April 3 at 0507 UT, with KRLD IBOC nulled as much as possible, talk show about religious freedom, nevertheless 0509 ID in passing as Fox Sports Radio. I would have expected KVOP Plainview TX which has been showing lately in this hole, but could it be FSR`s 5 kW daytimer in Rice Lake WI, WAQE? KVOP by now should be running Texas State Network`s `Texas Overnight` originating at neighbor KRLD. By recheck 0523 UT, the 1090 is indeed on that show and as before running 21 seconds ahead of KRLD. So I think KVOP was late switching from FSR to TSN network feed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1090, April 5 at 0614 UT, C&W music in the WSW/ENE null of IBOC from KRLD 1080, where I have been getting KVOP Plainview TX in the Panhandle, but should be talk format. 0627 UT, oh oh, it`s gospel, with ``This Is My Father`s World``, and 0630 ID and plug for programming at KAAY.com --- so Little Rock is back on the air after copper theft! Also making 3 Hz SAH; maybe that`s with KVOP. The KAAY signal is not strong at all, and would dearly like to know what power and antenna pattern they are on, probably by STA. Nominally it`s tight toward Manitoba and Yucatán and not much signal over here anyway. Ooops, the ``powerful`` KAAY.com site is for sale; it`s really http://www.1090kaay.com But there is nothing obvious about its death and resurrexion. Full programming schedule http://www.1090kaay.com/common/more.php?m=10&mode=schedule&r=2 displays ``airtime available`` 24/7! Another schedule link covers M-F only. I think I saw the same many months ago. Latest informal letter in the correspondence folder at FCC says: ``ON MARCH 13, 2015, THE LICENSEE DETERMINED THAT SOMEONE CUT THE TRANSMISSION LINE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO STEAL COPPER. THE LICENSEE PLANS TO REPLACE AND BURY THE LINE UNDERGROUND. UNTIL THAT IS ACCOMPLISHED, THE STATION HAS SUSPENDED OPERATIONS.`` Two years and five weeks *before* is the next one on file: ``Exhibit 3 Description: PARAMETERS OF OPERATION RADIO LICENSE HOLDING CBC, LLC, RESUMED BROADCAST OPERATIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 73.1560(D) OF THE RULES. BEFORE GOING SILENT THIS STATION WAS OPERATING PURSUANT TO SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY. SEE BESTA-20121105ANP GRANTED 12/10/2012. STATION KAAY RETURNED TO THE AIR WITH DIFFERENT TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS THAN THOSE PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED, THEREFORE, A NEW REQUEST FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY WAS FILED. SEE BSTA-20130208ABL GRANTED 2/15/2013.`` And that leads to this: ``Accordingly, the request for STA IS HEREBY GRANTED. The December 10, 2012, STA is hereby modified to permit Station KAAY(AM) to operate with an emergency nondirectional antenna and reduced power not to exceed 5 kilowatts. It will be necessary to further reduce power or cease operation if complaints of interference are received. This authority expires on June 10, 2013`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KAAY came back on sometime early yesterday afternoon and KARN was back on sometime late afternoon/early evening yesterday, as reported by a DXer near Little Rock. 1250 which had picked up KARN programming is not back to simulcasting KIPR Power 92 Jamz (Paul B Walker, CA, April 5, NRC-AM via DXLD) I actually noticed KAAY back on Friday evening just before Midnight Central Time with a program hosted by Roy Masters, then a short legal ID. Like Glenn, I'm curious to know what their current power is -- I've seen conflicting sources saying either 10 kW non-directional or 5 kW non-directional, based upon the STAs that have been extended several times over the past few years. Friday night, it sounded to me like the latter was the case. 73, (Rick Dau, South Omaha, Nebraska, Sunday April 5, ibid.) Glenn, KAAY 1090 returned to the air on Friday night April 3rd, 2015 per reports via social media (Facebook). I was able to confirm the return via a brief bandscan on Saturday morning (April 4th). Also on Saturday afternoon April 4th, KARN 920, a.k.a. The Sports Animal, returned to the air with CBS Sports Radio programming. Power is at 5 kW nondirectional for daytime and nighttime for KAAY, and the normal 5 kW for KARN. As a side note, the other Cumulus AM station in Little Rock, KPZK 1250 was back to simulcasting KIPR/"Power 92.3" after carrying CBS Sports Radio programming in the absence of KARN (AM). BTW, there is one program on KAAY that breaks the normal religious programming format: "Tin Can Alley" which is a one-hour show of classic hits and old KAAY audio (ads, sweepers, and other assorted clips) airs on Saturdays at 1 pm Central. I recorded TCA via KAAY and the program was a 30th Anniversary show of "The Last Day". Tin Can Alley can also be heard via the webstream of KAAY at http://www.1090kaay.com/ KUAR (89.1) Public Radio in Little Rock did an extended piece on the KAAY reunion held on Friday April 3rd, which includes classic audio of KAAY plus interviews of former KAAY on-air talent. http://ualrpublicradio.org/post/former-employees-kaay-mark-anniversary-day-music-died (Haley Prentice, Star City AR, April 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1200, April 3 at 0125 UT I hear a tone mixing with WOAI; nulling it, the tone leads to an automaton NWS tornado *warning* but I cannot copy the counties mentioned. There can`t be too many of those at the moment, so within the following hour I consult the national severe weather map at: http://www.wunderground.com/severe.asp which shows the only tornado spot is southwest Missouri. So now I`ve got it --- has to be my closest 1200 which so far had eluded me, KYOO in Bolivar, 1 kW daytimer. But could be legitimately on air now due to emergency. Details of this tornado warning: http://www.wunderground.com/US/MO/088.html?MR=1 ``Tornado Warning Statement as of 9:03 PM CDT on April 02, 2015 ... A Tornado Warning remains in effect for north central Newton and Jasper counties until 930 PM CDT... At 900 PM CDT... a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Webb City... and moving east southeast at 30 mph. Hazard... tornado and half dollar size hail. Source... radar indicated rotation. Impact... flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs... windows and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely. Locations impacted include... Airport Drive... Carterville... Carthage... Diamond... Duenweg... Duquesne... northeastern Joplin... Oronogo and Webb City. Interstate 44 between mile markers 8 and 27 will also be impacted by this dangerous storm. Precautionary/preparedness actions...This storm has a history of producing tornadoes. Take cover in a basement or storm shelter now! A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 200 am CDT Friday morning for southeast Kansas and southern Missouri. Lat... Lon 3693 9424 3696 9433 3700 9442 3705 9448 3709 9451 3714 9453 3717 9452 3720 9448 3725 9440 3723 9426 3715 9413 3700 9415 3695 9418 time... Mot... loc 0202z 275deg 28kt 3713 9445 Tornado... radar indicated hail... 1.25in Cramer`` Golly, Cramer, spare us all those dots. Ever hear of commas or semicolons? Newton and Jasper counties = Joplin and northward. Webb City is northern suburb of Joplin. It`s 66 miles southwest of Bolivar. If it were daytime, KYOO`s fringe coverage area would not quite reach Joplin per (standard disclaimer) radio-locator.com. At night it`s got to be heavily QRMed by WOAI. BTW, 1200 apparently duplicates ``Your Country 99`` = KYOO 99.1, 25 kW ERP. From a site NE of Bolivar, 99.1 gets even less signal into Joplin area. Haven`t heard how they pronounce Bolivar, but fat chance it`s correct as in Spanish Bolívar; so is it BALL-uh-var, or BOWL-uh-var? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WEGP 1390 Presque Isle coming back on as The Presence RadioInsight Community Radio's Social Forum RadioInsight Community › Forums › Northeast › Northern New England › This topic contains 0 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by Profile photo of Andy Taylor Andy Taylor 7 hours, 52 minutes ago. Viewing 1 post (of 1 total) Andy Taylor Participant Decelles-Smith Meda [sic] is selling Silent 1390 WEGP Presque Isle, ME to The Presence Radio Network for $67,500. WEGP was airing a News/Talk format until the sale was filed, at which time it was taken off the air (via Artie Bigley, April 4, DXLD) A regular in Europe (gh) ** U S A. 1510, April 4 at 0133 UT, plug the show on now, ``weeknights at 7-10 on The Rock``, from NW/SE amid heavy CCI, ergo KCKK Littleton CO, 10/25 kW (correct) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. [re 15-13:] 1520: WXYB regularly runs what surely is the day power all night. WPSO on 1500 -- usually simulcast -- is D1 250 watts, but it too is often heard running overnight. The FCC field office and Ralph Barlow is in Tampa, just across the bay, but doesn't care. And Indian Rocks Beach is not north of Clearwater. St Petersburg yes, Clearwater, no (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater FL, April 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1520, KYND: See CHINA [non] ** U S A. 1580, April 4 at 0130 UT, ``Hometown Radio, KGAF`` ID in the QRM, soon overtaken by sportstalk, presumably KREL CO. KGAF is 250/250 watts U2 from Gainesville TX, which is almost-Oklahoma. Night pattern lobito is supposed to head southwest but we are NNW from it. IIRC, KGAF calls used to apply to a bigger station on another frequency, 910? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1630, April 4 at 0614 UT, as often at bedtime, I had dozed off while bandscanning MW, but wake up a bit now to hear what sounds like ``La Jota de Iguala, 94.7 FM y 1630 AM` during music break. [Iguala was site of some horrific news laterly.] I had earlier nulled KCJJ and was wondering where KKGM in Dallas was. All the while it`s making a fast SAH with one or the other. Thought I had discovered a new Mexican! But fully awake, I realize it was just KRND in Fox Farm WY and what they really must have said was `` La Jota Mexicana``, i.e. NOT Mexican. 94.7 is its FM: See previous logs in DXLD 15-09 and 15-11 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. (88.7), April 3 at 1500 UT, KRZA Alamosa CO/Taos NM on webcast starts playing the `Hightower Lowdown` early, mixing with NPR News from 1501, and then cutting off Jim Hightower incomplete. 1506 after NPR, restarts Hightower at his scheduled time, but upcut missing first few seconds. It`s only 2 minutes long. This is typical. I usually listen to KRZA on Mon/Tue/Fri from 1430 UT for a good variety of cultural regional shows, but they seldom manage to transition to NPR News on time. Must have very inaccurate clock and/or very hamfisted amateurish slopperators, really a shame for the public radio station of the area (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 90.1, Sunday April 5 at 15-16 UT, `Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival 2014` is back for another quarterly season on KUCO OK, and many other classical public radio stations --- seek it out; this leads into their new live season July-August 2015, and o, how I wish I could be there for it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Regional tropo enhancement again this morning April 8, Hepburn map much like yesterday, OK into KS. This time on the Zenith STB DTV converter I try a different approach than stepping directly thru all the RF channels. Instead I start tuning thru the virtual channels, and if I see any hesitation of the NO SIGNAL response to show up, I know there is really a BAD signal hiding there, and then convert it to what the real RF channel is being tuned. Of course this only works, I think, on channels previously saved, but there are a lot of them by now. On 5.1 I am getting two BAD signals in addition to local KOCO RF 7: One of them is on RF 18, and the other on RF 41. Checking W9WI.com listings it`s obvious what both of them have to be in this area, even tho they never decode any video; and both are gone by 1430 UT: RF 41, April 8 at 1418 UT, must be KXAS, 390.1 kW, 5.1, Fort Worth TX RF 18, April 8 at 1418 UT, must be KFSM, 550 kW, 5.1 in Fort Smith AR [and BTW, the refusal of KFOR OKC RF 27 to decode 24 hours earlier was likely caused by CCI from another RF 27, KFTA, 600 kW in Fort Smith] RF 21, April 8 at 1426 UT, BAD signal displays as 40.1, which means it also has to be Fort Smith AR, 325 kW KHBS. RF 30, April 8 at 1424 UT, bad signal but labeled 30.1. Listing shows a KCLJ-LP, 15 kW in Joplin/Carthage MO, but I suspect it`s really K30AE in Alva OK, OETA translator, which W9WI.com thinx should be displaying as virtual 13, but IIRC other OETA translators also show real RF channels as virtual. RF 31, April 8 at 1425 UT, decode as Univisi, i.e. megawatt KDCU-DT licensed to Derby KS (Wichita market). W9WI.com claims virtual channel 46, but I see it says 31.1. W9WI.com also shows this with 46.2 UniMAS. I must look for that as 31.2 next time it tropos in. Furthermore, W9WI.com on ch 31 also has a ``USA DTV channel allotment change request`` with everything the same except suffix KDCU-DR. What`s that about? Does that mean applying for a permanent change of channel? If so, which one is not displayed. (RF 31 is still open in Enid, no KXOK-LD tho its relay on RF 32 continues active as described yesterday.) Meanwhile, the other major VHF and UHF signals from Wichita market are also in, but no deeper into Kansas, some of them decoding as my antenna remains aimed at OKC.) RF 43, April 8 at 1426 UT, BAD signal, displays with EIGHT total virtual subchannels, 43.1 thru 43.8. That means it has to be KCTU-LD, Wichita KS, only 2.7 kW. I`ve previously got it to decode. See W9WI.com for the eight different programs it allegedly provides (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Official FCC Blog CONSIDER A NEW WAY TO COMBAT PIRATE RADIO STATIONS by: Michael O'Rielly, FCC Commissioner April 8, 2015 - 10:43 AM http://www.fcc.gov/blog/consider-new-way-combat-pirate-radio-stations Everyone should agree that pirate radio stations – by any definition – are completely illegal. Given other responsibilities and obligations, however, the Commission’s resources are stretched, and it seems that stopping pirate radio is not at the top of the priority list. While this reality is not surprising, we need to consider other ways to remove the scourge that is pirate radio. One approach would be to give broadcasters a new right to use the legal process to go after such stations, letting loose broadcasters’ legal bloodhounds to root out the violators. This isn’t a new idea as it has been done in other circumstances outside of spectrum policy, such as to combat email spam, and we should consider it here, too. It is important to start by recognizing the truth about pirate radio stations. They are not cute; they are not filling a niche; they are not innovation test beds; and they are not training grounds for future broadcasters. If broadcasting were a garden, pirate radio would be poisonous crabgrass. Put another way, pirate radio participants are similar to outlaws who rob a retail store and then sell the stolen inventory online. In practice, pirate radio causes unacceptable economic harm to legitimate and licensed American broadcasters by stealing listeners. Pirate operators also cause “harmful interference” that inhibits the ability of real broadcasters to transmit their signals and programming, which provide such vital services as emergency alerts, critical weather updates, political information and news. And, pirate radio can disproportionately impact minority-owned stations as they undercut their financials and can cause harmful interference to legitimate stations serving minority populations. Let’s also dispel another myth: pirate radio does not increase media diversity. From time to time, arguments have been made that we should look the other way because some pirate radio operators may be minorities, or the stations’ content appeals to minority listeners. To be clear, the race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or any characteristic of a pirate radio operator should be completely irrelevant to the discussion. Their operations are illegal – end of story. Just imagine if we allowed this argument to be persuasive in other spectrum enforcement decisions: Commission spectrum and licensing policies would be thrown into complete chaos and wireless systems would cease to operate. Instead of embracing pirate radio, approaches like the NAB’s Broadcast Leadership Training Program should be encouraged to prepare underrepresented populations for leadership and ownership positions in broadcasting. Alternatively, those truly interested in operating a legal broadcast station can seek to participate in the Commission’s July 2015 auction, in which 131 FM construction permits will be available, many in smaller and less expensive markets. If there are unmet needs or underserved populations, the solution is not to condone an illegal station, but to convince the applicable existing broadcaster to be more responsive. Collectively, broadcasters are uniquely attuned to the needs of their communities and promoting localism because the success of their stations and ultimately, their livelihoods depend on it. Moreover, there are other technologies available to target broadcasts to a distinct group within a community, such as low power FM stations or Internet radio stations, which are free, easy to establish and not regulated by the Commission. To combat pirate radio, I am suggesting that we replicate a concept contained in the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Specifically, section 7(g) authorizes an Internet Service Provider to “bring a civil action in any district of the United States with jurisdiction” against (1) false or misleading header information; (2) aggravated violations relating to commercial electronic mail; (3) failure to place warning labels on commercial electronic mail containing sexually oriented materials; or (4) a pattern or practice involving deceptive subject headings, failure to include return address, or continuing to transmit after a recipient objection.[1] This provision provides a mechanism for ISPs to enjoin further violations and recover actual and aggravated damages and attorney fees. In other words, it authorizes ISPs to seek out the bad actors for a host of illegal activity and recoup their losses. The framework serves as a good model to provide additional options – outside of the FCC process – for eliminating and deterring pirate radio. There is no doubt that pirate radio stations are often highly mobile, making tracking and finding such stations tedious and sometimes futile. But with the right technology to pinpoint signal strength and a little luck, the origination point of the pirate radio broadcast can be located, often leading to some back office or mobile van. In fact, broadcasters have told me of instances where they were able to accurately detect and locate pirate radio stations, meaning it can be done. And locating mobile pirate operators, while difficult, is no more so than trying to locate the purveyors of unwanted spam who can be stationed anywhere in the world with Internet access and a server. If it can help in the case of spam, or even if it acts as a further deterrent, why not give it a try here? Who do you think would cause more concern to a pirate station: the busy FCC or a broadcaster seeking to protect its station’s rights and revenues? In all fairness, the CAN-SPAM’s private right of action for ISPs hasn’t been used all that often and hasn’t magically eliminated spam. No one who worked on the law ever expected it to do so. Instead, the private right of action was meant to be one more tool in the toolbox. In practice, the provision has been used by a select number of companies determined to be ISPs by the courts, including Yahoo!, Facebook, and My Space. Facebook has been of the more frequent users of the provision, using it to obtain judgments in no fewer than three cases leading to statutory damages and injunctive relief. On a side note, pirate radio has been mentioned recently in conjunction with the Commission’s proposal to reorganize and close certain FCC field offices. To be clear, I am not taking a stance on that matter at this time, and my proposal should not be seen in any way related. Few details have been made available to me regarding the field offices, and I was not a party to the plan’s development. The field office discussion should remain completely separate because the problem with pirate radio and lack of attention exists today under the current enforcement structure. Whether altering the field offices would further denigrate our enforcement efforts against pirate radio is a debate for another time. Private enforcement of spectrum license rights in court should remain limited in any event. I am in no way suggesting that the Commission transfer its spectrum enforcement authority to the court system, and any private right here would be in addition to, not supplanting, the Commission’s responsibilities, nor undermining any common law rights of broadcasters. And to allow for some private action in this specific case should not be interpreted as my support for more lawsuits and certainly not more class-action suits. As in the case of spam, I would not recommend allowing consumers (e.g., a station’s listeners) to file lawsuits. But if we can narrowly permit a limited and targeted private right of action here to be used only by broadcasters, it could provide a valuable tool to tackle a persistent problem in some radio markets. To the extent that this idea garners consideration, it may require a change in current law, which is solely within the purview of Congress. At such a point, I would leave the discussion in the capable hands of our elected representatives. [1] 15 U.S.C. § 7706. See also id. § 7704. Updated: April 8, 2015 - 06:10 PM 1 comment === David Snavely • 42 minutes ago: Florida made it a state crime to operate a pirate station and that cleaned up Ft. Lauderdale considerably. Used to you couldn't drive more than a few blocks without running into one. Car stereo hookups through wireless FM onto unused channels were useless because there weren't any unused FM channels. The problem in Commissioner O'Rielly's thing is that, if indeed there is a critical audience mass for a pirate, it DOES mean that there's an itch the legitimate broadcasters aren't scratching. "The marketplace is deciding," as the Commission loves to say. For radio to thrive it needs to have the freedom to serve the "marketplaces" the pirates are (FCC Official Blog via DXLD) ** URUGUAY. 6125.1, April 4 at 0138, JBA carrier, surely the slowly sinking 813 in the final down to 150-watt Rdif. Nacional del Uruguay on its characteristic off-frequency. HFCC A-15 shows nighttime 6125.0 competition is now only: 0230-0300 IBRA via UAE in Persian 0300-0400 DW via South Africa in Swahili I think we can dispense with RRI Nabire, Indonesia, supposedly at 23- 02 & 05-08 which even if active would be local daytime (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VANUATU. 3945, Radio Vanuatu, domestic VBTC, March 30, 1235-1248 in English. Popular music, light rock, excellent signal, clear with no QSB or QRN. ID around 1240, from Emten Lagoon. Enya music and announcements in English (Vince Henley, 4306 Shelby Court, Anacortes, WA. Equipment: Tecsun PL-380, JRC NRD-525, Drake R8B. Antennas are half-meter whip on PL-380 and Alpha-Delta DX-Ultra installed broadside east-west, NASWA Flashsheet April 5 via DXLD) What about R. Nikkei 2, JAPAN on 3945, which would more likely provide an excellent signal or at the very least impose some QRM. They are on 3945 until 1400 on Monday-Friday, and March 30 was a Monday. Also Nikkei occasionally are in English. But an ID is an ID. Or maybe there was a hi-latitude blackout? No, 3/30 had A & K of 5 and 2, and no storms per the monthly summary below (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. A15 schedule for Vatican Radio in English 0140-0200 Daily As 11730-va 15470-ph 0300-0320 Daily As 15470-ta 0300-0330 Daily Af 7360-md 9660-va 0500-0530 Daily Af 9660-md 11625-va 0630-0700 Daily Af 11625-va 13765-va 0630-0645 .mtwtfs DomME 585 15595-va 0700-1050 irreg Af 21550-va (irregular - special events) 0750-1000 6w6 DomEu 585 7250-va (Papal audience - multiple languages) 1530-1550 Daily AsAu 11695-rv 15470-ph 17485-va-drm (Sat: Mass -1600) 1615-1630 Daily DomME 585 15595-va 1730-1800 Daily Af 11625-md 13765-va 15570-va 2000-2030 Daily Af 13765-va 15570-va 1130-1200 .....f. AsAu 17590-va 21560-va (Vatican Radio web site/HFCC) April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) What means 6w6 as to days? (gh) ** VATICAN. Vatican Radio, 21550, 4/4/15. I tuned in at 1835 UT to the special live Easter Vigil broadcast with English translation and commentary of the service. The reception was fairly good with some fading. Broadcast ended at 2106. I also noted another nearby Vatican frequency (21560) carrying the same broadcast but in a different language translation and commentary (Larry Zamora, Garland, TX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 21550, April 4 at 1905, Catholic cantor in Latin, soon with YL English commentary, good signal but deep fading in Vatican Radio special, since it`s ``Holy Saturday``. Then I look for others: 21560, April 4 at 1905, don`t have to look far for here is same but weaker in Portuguese. 17590, April 4 at 1907, here`s another weaker //, Latin bit, but not staying for translation as I know I can then look all these up at: http://en.radiovaticana.va/special-broadcast Which shows I found all but one, as far as SW goes: Easter Vigil began at 1830, and as always no length specified: 21550 to Africa in English, 9535 to Asia in Chinese 21560 to Africa in Portuguese 17590 to Africa in French While we`re at it, what`s in store for the Big Day tomorrow? Sunday April 5 from 0815 UT, Holy Mass & Easter Message, Urbi et Orbi 21550 to Africa in English 17590 to ME in Arabic 21560 to Africa in Portuguese 21570 to Africa in French VR obviously appreciates that SW really helps the Orbi bit. 21550, April 4 at 2100 check, Vatican R special is still on and propagating; started at 1830, and I first encountered at 1905; it`s the `Easter Vigil`, whatever in Latin with English commentary. Maybe also a trace on 21560 which was weaker in the first place (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also BRAZIL ** VIETNAM. 9635, VOV Son Tay, 1200, worth noting this is back on (or very close) to nominal freq, quite strong. 2/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12001-, April 5 at 1307, Chinese, fair signal is off-frequency making almost-1-kHz het with the FRG-7 MHz Wadley birdie. Offset confirmed on the DX-398 with no such birdie, no het but about one 40 Hz click below 12001. Aoki shows the only SWBC station anywhere, anytime on ``12000`` is VOV, from Hanoi-Sontai site at 1100-1330 alternating Russian and Chinese, plus 2200-2230. Yes, gone at 1341 recheck. I also noticed this off-frequency the last day or two, but that`s nothing unusual for this VOV site, e.g. also 9635v and 9840v (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. 11735, Radio Zanzibar, 1926, good with Swahili man, East African and Arabic vocals. 4/4 (David Sharp, NSW, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. New frequencies of clandestine broadcasts in A-15: Radio Dialogue FM: 1600-1700 12115 MDC 250 kW / 265 deg to ZWE Shona/Ndebele, ex 12105 in A-14 (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, April 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. I continue to hear the many wobbly AM transmissions at night in the 3 MHz area, some very strong , presumably in Russian and most nights too in the 1.7 MHz area, such as 1719, 1741 1752, 1776, 1794 kHz and other frequencies. I still cannot even guess what they are!” (Des Walsh, Ireland, April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Buzzer Jamming? This evening (6 April PDT) I came across something funny that may be old news to everyone else but I guess I missed it before. There was a repetitive "buzzer" sound about same strength (strong) as VOA Botswana on nominal 6080 and was also on nominal 7430 and 7480. It went away promptly about 0400 UT on 6080 as the VOA was changing sites and also left 7430 but stayed on 7480. There it went off briefly at 0415 but came back in less than a minute. It is not the same buzzing pattern as the famous Russian buzzer on 4625 kHz. This one has a repetition rate of somewhat less than a second and from what I can see has a number of discrete tones (hard to count the number because of fading) that key on and off together. The signal on nominal 7480 is actually spread from about 7478.8 to about 7480.3 kHz. If I didn't hear it on 6080 I wouldn't have thought much about it but it piqued my interest to see if VOA English was being jammed by someone (Zimbabwe?). However, the other frequencies don't correspond with any other stations broadcasting at that time. Any ideas? (Bob LaRose, San Diego, April 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Update - I tuned back at around 0520 UT and nominal 7480 kHz was still there (quite strong) and nominal 6080 kHz was back on, stronger than before. Tried to listen to Twente to see if it is audible in Europe but the SDR apparently needs to be rebooted (Bob LaRose, San Diego, April 7, ibid.) Bob, I think these are strays or spurs from Cuban jamming transmitters, as I have pointed out before. Like from 6030, 7365, 7405. Each would be only one transmitter while on the really jammed frequencies there are a whole lot of them piled up so the sound is rather different. But also rather the same as one hears on jammed frequencies off-hours when they leave some of the jammers running most of the time, like 9565, 11930 (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Thanks. Yes, I should have thought of that. Let me see if they are back tonight and see if they somehow correlate to known Cuban jamming frequencies (Bob LaRose, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. Alguem tem idéia sobre uma tx em 7535 kHz, com programação musical estou ouvindo ela neste momento 1006 UT, sinais forte qdo aponto a loop para o Norte, somente musica continuamente, o operador deve ser fã do Zé Ramalho pois cada 2 musicas uma é do Zé (Dinan Rogerio, PU2UIB/PY2162SWL, Iracemapolis SP, April 7, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Implication being that it`s a Brazilian pirate (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Numbers stations --- Egyptian music station. Thanks to Michael Ford for more information on the unidentified station playing Egyptian music which has been reported recently on various frequencies in the 31m band (recently 9600 or 9550 kHz in the 0900-1230 period). Michael says: “This is a numbers station which has the designation of V08 in the Enigma 2000 Control List. I have heard this station myself, although not for a very long time (approx. 15+ years ago), and back then the transmission almost always consisted of 5 - 10 minutes of Egyptian music and songs then abruptly off. But, just occasionally, there was a message. This, on the rare occasions it happened, consisted of a few minutes of Arabic numbers, then close. It’s interesting to note that this station is still playing the same songs by the same singer they did all those years ago (April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) That still doesn`t positively place it in Egypt (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9740, At 2315, on 4 April. The station is playing a pop song with a female singer. At 2318 the song ended followed by a male announcer talking in Arabic. At 2319 a new song started with several males singing with no music, and then drums started playing. The male announcer made a remark while the drums and music is playing. The singing with drums continues at 2325. The song ended at 2329 with two males definitely speaking in Arabic. The chanting/singing starts up again at 2331. BBC Singapore is scheduled in English at this time but this station is not BBC. Fair (John Cooper, Lebanon, PA, Equipment: Winradio-G33DDC, CommRadio CR-1a, RF Space-SDR-IQ, Sangean ATS-909X w/ Clear Mod, Tecsun PL-660, GAP Hear It In Line Module, ANC-4, Wellbrook ALA-1530S+, PARS-SWL End Fed x 2, NASWA Flashsheet April 5 via DXLD) (Bahrain? – Flashsheet Ed., ibid.) Not unless it was 9745. 9740 is one of the frequencies in A-15 registered for R. Sultanate of Oman at 22- 24. Other possibilities for the single active transmitter would be: 15355 also at 22-24, or even one supposedly closing at 2200 such as 15140 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I later heard 9740 Oman (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 13562 approx., April 3 at 1317 I hear the beacon again this time a bit stronger and less CODAR, enough to copy a definite CW ID: V1RGO/B --- not V1RGM/B as there are three dashes instead of two. Google search assumes I must mean VIRGO and puts up millions of hits. Thinx I`m too stupid to tell the difference between a 1 and an I, especially on CW? Yahoo search suspects that but also offers the alternative to search only for V1RGO/B which leads nowhere, but V1RGO apparently is also the name of a slim wallet. That`s still less than helpful. I try the UDXF yg: no hits on V1RGO or V1RGO/B. It must be a brand-new beacon, but how are we to locate it? Try the HIFER lists again: nothing at hfunderground.com --- nothing at http://www.on5ex.be/clipboard_view_unreg_freq.php but neither are much interested in the 13 MHz band for some reason nothing at http://www.lwca.org/sitepage/part15/index.htm which does specialize in this band. Up around 13564, I am also getting at 1322 April 3, beacon K6FRC, which is well-known in California, a real ham call; LWCA shows him on 13565.05; maybe so. Could the other one really be VE1RGO? No such call at QRZ.com. Well, maybe eventually the details of V1RGO/B will emerge (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 13815-SSB, approx., April 6 at 1302, distorted SSB calling for checkins from different states or regions. Is mushy/squishy, the frequency shifting depending on modulation, so not very readable. Presumably a MARS or multi-agency net like we have heard before below 15 MHz. This could just be spurious, as no answers heard on 13815 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15760-15795, April 3 at 0057, heavy rapid pulsing on and off, OTH radar? Mostly on, and no WRMI to QRM on 15770, since it`s no longer 24 hours, but only 13-21 BS, and 21-22 other RMI programming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 16530 kHz, SINPO 35444, Very close in freq. Marine Ch- 121. 031730Z APR 15. Male to male conversation, sound like Filipino or with background motor noise, possible fishing vessels. Some English, mention "...california marina ... del Rey ... " Conversations ended around 1745 but restarted again at 1755 UT (Martin, KB3MXM, Baltimore, MD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 19000/18990. Found a station on 19000 at around 1225. Not very strong but I could tell it was NOT // CNR1. Language sounded possibly Asian. At 1259 it suddenly jumped down to 18990. Then had a fanfare that sounded familiar at 1300, and into probable news by W. When it jumped down to 18990, there was another signal on 19000 which remained for about 15 seconds before it went off. Was one jamming the other?? Anyone know what these stations were?? It stayed on 18990 for the next hour and went off at 1400. Here’s a link to a video I posted on Youtube; https://youtu.be/RsfA6-kM50k (4 April) (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Radio Free Asia in Tibetan (bod) via Kuwait, on its complex A-season jumparound schedule between 11 and 14 UT as in HFCC, Aoki. Lucky not to hear the jammers this time (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACKNOWLEDGED ON WORLD OF RADIO 1768: Thanks for the show, Glenn! Look forward to it every week (Max Heidel, with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) Greetings, I’m a follower of your SWL radio programs and Website. A long time ago I would do hours of SWLing in the 60’s as a youth. So few SWL stations left but I’m doing SWL again after 45 years. Slowly tuning the bands for hours and enjoying every moment. So sorry to hear about the cancellation of your regular SWL reports on Global24, 9395 kHz (Martin KB3MXM, Baltimore, MD) Mr. Hauser, Letting you know that I enjoy the information that you provide for the SWL community and the World of Radio. Since SWL is a hobby of mine and only enjoy in the late evenings, I do enjoy what I can find. My set up is a (primary) Drake R8B with either a MFJ 1024 outdoor active antenna or my Icom PCR1000. Now since I am not as experienced as others, I am finding that while tuning for shortwave broadcast or AM broadcast I usually tune in USB and cancel out any tones by fine tuning. What kills me on looking for DX on AM is all the Mexican AM stations causing interference. However I am into a good challenge. Once again thanks for providing all of us with good information (Glenn Blum, KD5DGA, Killeen, Texas, April 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, It was remiss of me not to congratulate DXLD Yahoo on 11 years of superb work when that milestone was reached last Thursday (Dan Goldfarb, UK, of mwmasts yg, April 8) Dan, I appreciate your congratulations, altho I was hardly waiting for anyone to do so, especially on a non-multiple of 5 or preferably 10, as I myself do not pay too much attention to anniversaries. 73, (Glenn to Dan, via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ The DOMESTIC BROADCASTING SURVEY 17 (DBS-17), April 2015 edited by DSWCI Chairman, Anker Petersen. ISSN 1399-8218 PRESS RELEASE FROM THE DANISH SHORTWAVE CLUB INTERNATIONAL (DSWCI) http://www.dswci.org NEW SURVEY AVAILABLE : The 58-year-old DSWCI which counts experienced DX-ers in 34 countries all over the world as members, has just issued the 17th Edition of its annual Domestic Broadcasting Survey. This survey is divided into three parts: Part 1: The 43rd edition of the Tropical Bands Survey covering all ACTIVE broadcasting stations on 2300-5700 kHz, including clandestines. Part 2: Domestic stations on international shortwave bands above 5700 kHz broadcasting to a domestic audience. Part 3: Deleted frequencies between 2 and 30 MHz which have not been reported heard during the past five years, but may reappear. This new Survey is based upon monitoring by our members, many official sources and DX-bulletins. A15 schedules are included when available. In order to make the DBS reliable, our own monitors around the world have checked throughout the period April 2014 – March 2015, if each of the 530 station frequencies is on the air. ACTIVE stations are marked with an A (”Regular”), B (”Irregular”) or C (”Sporadic”) in the list. means ”Likely inactive”. A unique feature is the right column called ”Last log”. It shows the last month and year before DBS deadline on March 31, 2015 when the particular station was reported logged by a DX-er somewhere in the world. This is another way of indicating the current audibility of the station. *To avoid inactive stations in this DBS, most frequencies which have not been heard during the past year, have been deleted* and are moved to Part 3. No other frequency list has this feature! Other useful features for easy identification (ID) are the parallel frequencies and reference to Station ID slogans. Reviews can be found on http://www.dswci.org All buyers of DBS-17 will get a username and password to the monthly updates on the tropical bands published as "Tropical Bands Monitor" on our website. The similar, historical data from 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 are available to anybody at www.dswci.org/tbm The 20 pages A-4 size DBS-17 is available by e-mail as pdf-format (about 350 kB). A limited number is also available printed on paper. It is sold by the treasurer: DSWCI, c/o Bent Nielsen, Egekrogen 14, DK 3500 Vaerloese, DENMARK E-Mail edition: DKK 30,00 or USD 6.00 or EUR 4,00 or GBP 3,50 or SEK 40,00 or IRC 2. Printed edition: DKK 60,00 or USD 12.00 or EUR 8,00 or GBP 7,00 or SEK 75,00 or IRC 4. Payment by cash notes are accepted whereas checks and postal money orders are not accepted. DSWCI’s Bank is Danske Bank, 2-12 Holmens Kanal, DK-1092 Copenhagen K. BIC/SWIFT : DABADKKK. IBAN: DK 44 3000 4001 528459. Danish buyers please use: Reg. 3001- konto 4001528459. If you have EURO as national currency, you are advised to pay to our representative in Germany, Andreas Schmid. Andreas Schmid, Lerchenweg 4, D-97717 Euerdorf, Germany. E-mail: schmidandy@aol.com Account 2912472076 at Targobank BLZ: 30020900. BIC: CMCIDEDD. IBAN: DE24300209002912472076 If you want to pay via PAYPAL, you have to contact Andreas Schmid, before you send your payment. Payment via PayPal only in US$ currency and only for persons, living outside the European Union (EU). Best 73's, (Anker Petersen and Bent Nielsen, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TEKTRONIX GUIDE TO RF SIGNALS [starting with spectrum chart] Electronic reference recognition and understanding of the various RF signals. The handbook detailed examples of the most common signals are often transmitted through the air, including cellular, WLAN, P25, airports and radar signals microwave ovens. Each example contains short fragments of signals, measurements, recordings or FM demodulation, as well as installation files SignslVu-PC and stored waveforms IQ. http://info.tek.com/rs/tektronix/images/eGuide-to-RF-Signals.pdf (Andrew Strigunenko, Moscow, RusDX April 5 via DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ I don't do April Fools jokes, so there won't be any here. But I will take a little break from my Mexico-heavy focus to look at items of interest in the April 1975 VUD, the first April VUD available online. It's what DX was like 40 years ago: [VHF-UHF DIGEST] -A new column, the WTFDA Mailbox, mostly with reports of new members. -New CPs: Channel 15 at Phoenix, Arizona; channel 20 at "Wassau", Wisconsin. KNXV took four and a half years to come to air; WHRM, in the WPT network, was on before the year was over. -A review of the GE "TV Band Radio", now allowing DXers to discern frequency offsets on TV stations with continuous tuning. -DX Statistics: Glenn Hauser (some things don't change) holds the record for XHOX-FM 95.4 Tampico. (How it got that high up, who knows.) XHOX-FM is still around; it's an Exa FM on 95.3 running 30 kW ERP. -Eastern TV DX: Ken Simon reports that in fog on February 12, Delray, FL police heard Ocala on high-band VHF. -Central TV DX: Paul E. Petosky adds new log CFVO-30 Hull, Quebec (it was only on the air less than three years!) -Western TV DX: Pat Dyer somehow pulls in WXLT-40 Sarasota (now WWSB) at signoff at 990 miles via tropo—and no other Florida UHFs were in! -Photo News has all variety of photos, some of which are old. One is of WUSN-2 Charleston as received from Massachusetts at 1,000 mi (which soon after became WCBD). -An actual April Fools joke as Ken Simon in TV QSL Corner reports getting a QSL from Guam! (Raymie Humbert, March 31, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) See also CANADA ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY CROSS-BAND MILITARY/AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS TEST, 9-10 MAY 2015 The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are co- sponsoring the annual military/amateur radio communications tests in celebration of the 65th Anniversary of Armed Forces Day (AFD) and the 90th Anniversary of MARS. Although the actual Armed Forces Day is celebrated on Saturday, May 16, 2015, the AFD Military/Amateur Cross- band Communications Test will be conducted 09-10 May 2015 to prevent conflict with the Dayton Hamvention (15-17 May 2015), which is the same weekend as the actual Armed Forces Day. The annual celebration is a unique opportunity to test two way communications between Amateurs and military communicators authorized in 47 CFR 97.111, and features traditional military to amateur cross band SSB voice, Morse Code, practice using legacy interoperability waveforms, as well as an opportunity for Amateurs to utilize more modern military communications modes such as MIL-STD Serial PSK and Automatic Link Establishment (ALE). Participating military stations will transmit on selected military MARS frequencies and listen for Amateur Radio stations in the amateur bands. The military station operator will announce the specific amateur band frequency being monitored. Duration of each voice contact should be limited to 1-2 minutes. The annual Secretary of Defense message will be transmitted via digital modes, including RTTY, PACTOR, AMTOR, PSK-31, MFSK and MT63 from certain stations. These tests give Amateur Radio operators and Short Wave Listeners (SWL) an opportunity and a challenge to demonstrate their individual technical skills, and to receive recognition from the appropriate military radio station for their proven expertise. QSL cards will be provided to those stations making contact with the military stations. THE 2015 Annual Armed Forces Day package with the schedule of events and frequency plan can be downloaded from the link found at http://www.usarmymars.org/home/announcements or at http://www.n2ckh.com/PC_ALE_FORUM/2015%20ARMED%20FORCES%20DAY%20V2.pdf (via Paul Staupe, April 8, MDXC yg via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ DX CONVENTION 2015 FORT WAYNE! Hotel Registration is now open With big thanks for your patience as we've been busy negotiating for a good rate; I'm pleased to announce that hotel registration is now open for the NRC/IRCA/WTFDA/Decalcomania DX Convention, July 10-12, 2015 in Fort Wayne, Indiana! Our hotel will be Don Hall's Guesthouse Hotel, 1313 W. Washington Center Road, Fort Wayne IN 46825, and our specially-negotiated rate is $85 per room per night. That includes comfortable lodgings and a very tasty breakfast buffet each morning. The hotel is conveniently located right off I-69, the main drag through Fort Wayne. Reservations for the hotel are due by JUNE 10, 2015 and must be made directly with the hotel by calling 260-489-2524 or 1-800-348-1999. The Group Number is 7110. *PLEASE BE SURE TO GIVE THE GROUP # TO MAKE SURE WE ARE PROPERLY CREDITED FOR ALL THE ROOMS THE CLUBS ARE USING!* Once you've made your reservation, please drop me a line at scott@fybush.com so I can keep track of who's staying with us. Stay tuned in the next few days for additional registration information. I expect the registration fee to be about $55/person, which will include a Hall's-catered banquet at the hotel Saturday night, a convention program and meeting room snacks. We'll also be making tickets available separately for a Fort Wayne TinCaps baseball game on Friday night, July 10 at Fort Wayne's beautiful Parkview Field downtown. Please share this notice widely through the DX community - all are welcome to join us at this exciting joint convention this summer! And please reach out to me with any questions - I'll try to answer them as quickly as I can. See you in WOWO-land!! Your Convention Host, (Scott Fybush scott@fybush.com April 7, NRC-AM via DXLD) LANGUAGE LESSONS See also ROMANIA: Tsiganeshti; HONDURAS: Progresso ++++++++++++++++ [Re 15-13, BRAZIL]: LOREM IPSUM Radio Alvorada is not the station on 6135, but R. Aparecida. If it was // 4965, it must have been only a relay of Aparecida, or both stations relaying something else, since Alvorada is also obviously Roman Catholic per its homepage, but going on to the programação page link: http://alvoradaparintins.com.br/programa%C3%A7%C3%A3o.html we find it only says LOREN IPSUM, but with a link at the left to a full page of Latin nonsense, no doubt in tribute to the RCC: http://alvoradaparintins.com.br/esporte/copa-alvorada/49-texto-loren-ipsum-8.html Tnx, Bob, for eventually leading us to this amusement (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, this pseudo-Latin text is a standard filler in typography which gets used when the actual content is not yet available. As such, it found its way into the template files of ready-to-go website packages. Those surely aren't intended to go online, but sometimes they slip through. It has its roots in (definitely non-Catholic) Cicero. For more info, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum "Loren ipsum" must be another scrambling of the already scrambled original "Lorem ipsum". Best, (Eike Bierwirth, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ TV TEST PATTERNS Happening to be linked from the above item about Lorem ipsum, is this article about the many different TPs, seldom seen on broadcast TV any more; skewed toward European styles, but with a few Americans exhibited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testcard (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ZENITH TRANS-OCEANIC, THE "ROYALTY OF RADIOS" | WSHU http://wshu.org/post/zenith-trans-oceanic-royalty-radios Last month, we took a look at the beginnings of what would be the age of connectivity on the go, the battery portable radio. This month I'll feature a line of battery powered tube radios that brought the technology to its pinnacle. The Zenith Trans-Oceanic series of shortwave portables would stretch from 1941 through 1982, with tube models produced until 1963. The radios performed so well, and became so popular, that they earned the nickname "The Royalty of Radios." One of the sets that I featured last month was the Zenith Model 5G401, the beginnings of a long line of such sets. The Zenith Corporation was founded in 1918 by amateur radio operators Ralph Matthews and Karl Hassel in Chicago as Chicago Radio Labs. They produced and sold amateur radio equipment. In 1921 they were joined by Eugene F. McDonald, who had served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy in WWI. Under McDonald, the company incorporated in 1923 as the Zenith Radio Corporation. By 1924, the company began marketing consumer radios and in 1926 began the mass production of its first AC powered radio. McDonald remained a naval reservist until 1939, but was never recalled to active service. He did however, become an avid yachtsman. Zenith was a significant player in the 1920s radio market, but, prior to the Great Depression, did not hold the same market share as Atwater Kent or RCA. The closing of the Atwater Kent factory in 1936 and RCA's decision to make the greater part of their income from licensing their patents rather than be a major producer of radios at this time, opened the door for Zenith to become the leading manufacturer of mid-grade to high-end radios. With the development of tubes in the late 1930s to support portability, McDonald came up with the concept of a portable shortwave radio that he could use while at sea on his yacht. Although the series of radios was inspired by his yachting experience, Mr. McDonald correctly assumed that consumers were hungry for portables that could receive international shortwave broadcasts. By this time, the popularity of international shortwave broadcasts was growing rapidly. Using the circuit developed for the Model 5G401, Zenith first refitted it to a larger chassis and cabinet resulting the Model 6G601 shown below. The larger chassis would allow for the addition of the components required to receive shortwave. The AM only radio became known as "The Clipper" because it had the image of a sailboat on its grill. The greatest challenge facing the Zenith engineering team, lead by Chief Engineer Gilbert E. Gustafson, would be to design a tuning assembly that would result in stabile operation and still be able to fit into the 6G601's cabinet. Starting in 1939, and continuing through the remainder of that year, no less than 20 prototypes were submitted to CEO McDonald for his approval. All but versions 19 and 20 were rejected for one reason or another. (Trans-Oceanic, The Royalty of Radios, John H. Bryant and Harold N. Cones, Schiffer Publishing Co., 2008) The final version consisted of a six button band selector from which the user could select between the AM broadcast band, and five shortwave bands ranging up to 16 MHz. The components used in the tuning unit were of the highest quality to ensure stability in the often rough environment that a portable radio might be operated in. The outward appearance of the radio was the work of Robert Davol Budlong, and industrial designer who was a graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa. He was also well known for designing other appliances, such as Sunbeam toasters, shavers, and mixers, all featuring a modernistic appearance. He chose to make the radios look like radios, a trend away from attempts to make them look like furniture or other objects. The first version of Zenith Trans-Oceanic line of portable shortwave radios, the 7G605, pictured at the beginning of this article, was released less than two months before the Pearl Harbor attack. It bore the sailboat image, and continued to be known as the "Clipper. " It sold for $75, and was an instant success. It was just the beginning, though, of the series' long and colorful history. Zenith planned to heavily promote the radio for the coming holiday season. Then, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor came. Most manufacturers halted production of consumer goods for the war effort. Zenith had other plans for their new radio, though. They changed the image on the grill from that of a sailboat to the likeness of the B-17 bomber. The change was implemented in such a hurry, that collectors have reported finding the bomber grill inserted over the top of the sailboat grill. Such radios fetch a premium on the collector' s market. It is not documented as to how many sets shipped this way. As the original radios were called Clippers, collectors often refer to these as "Bombers." Zenith continued to produce the radio based on parts that it had ordered and received prior to the start of the war. On April 22, 1942, Zenith was forced to discontinue all consumer production by the government decree known as the "war planning board federal edict" ordering all manufacturing efforts to be directed to the war effort. By then, 35,000 sets had been made. At the time, it left approximately 100,000 orders unfulfilled. (Trans-Oceanic, The Royalty of Radios, John H. Bryant and Harold N.Cones, Schiffer Publishing Co., 2008) Government edict or no, and despite a ceremony in front of the press celebrating the "last" 7G605 to roll off of the assembly line, the company did produce a limited number of additional sets, rumored to be about 1000 (some sources have Zenith sitting aside 1000 sets from the final run). These were retained and used as presentation pieces given to Zenith executives, dignitaries, war heroes, and celebrities such as movie stars who promoted war bonds. The radio would have the recipient' s name silk screened on the face plate. When I was trying to acquire a 7G605 for my collection, I was outbid on one such presentation radio, bearing the name of a Zenith vice president. The 7G605 in Clipper or Bomber form is the rarest of the civilian series, and is highly sought after by collectors. Beginning with WWII, Zenith also pushed the idea of Trans-Oceanics being sold to soldiers not as military radios, but as a way for troops to keep in touch with what was going on back in the states. To this end, they frequently ran advertisements featuring pictures of the radios being used by soldiers in the field and included stories (presumably real) of the radios surviving nearby bomb blasts and even being dropped in salt water. I have my own doubts as to the radio's ability to function after immersion in salt water, but the radio did have performance specifications that make stories of it being used as a backup when a military radio was destroyed in battle quite credible. They were not able to sell this idea to the government until after the Korean War when, in 1956, they landed a small contract to supply 2,973 of the radios known as the R-520 to the army for such purpose. The R- 520 was a militarized version of the civilian Model H500 shown above. It was ruggedized, damp- and fungus-proofed, had additional shielding, a set of spare tubes, and alignment tools included inside the cabinet. Extremely rare, it is identified by the army green vinyl covering stamped USA at one end, and the spare set of tubes clipped inside the rear cabinet door. After the war, Zenith returned the radio to production in the form of the Model 8G605 and then a slightly improved Model G500 which, outwardly, looked the same as the 8G605. These were produced from 1946 through 1951. The sensitive, high performance portables remained a favorite amongst shortwave listeners and radio enthusiasts in general. In 1951, the H500 was introduced with an additional shortwave band, giving the user an additional band button to select. The H500 was the first model to use the new miniature tubes which had been developed as part of the war effort. In 1954, the 600 Series went into production. It featured a "slide rule" dial, a departure from the traditional dials used by its predecessors. It was produced until 1962 and was the last portable vacuum tube radio produced in the United States. All of the Trans-Oceanics featured Zenith`s detachable "Wave Magnet" loop antennas. On the original 7G605, the antenna was taken to the extreme and made to look like a giant horseshoe magnet. It was toned down on subsequent models. The series also introduced the telescoping stick antenna that we are more familiar with today. The listener could switch between the two antennas to see which performed better under different conditions. The 7G605 came with a faux snakeskin covering. After WWII, almost all of the radios came in black leatherette- covered cabinets, with two exceptions. On later models a brown leatherette covering was offered as an option. I would not call these rare, but they are far less common than the black ones. The other exception being the very rare R-520 which was covered in either an army green vinyl covering or the brown leatherette, both stamped "USA" and bearing military insignias. By now, the elegant high performance radios had earned the nickname "The Royalty of Radios," so when the first transistor version came out, overlapping the 600 series from 1958 on, it was named the Royal 1000. The line continued through several more solid state models ending with the Royal 7000, which remained in production until 1982. Just as the Model B600 was the last vacuum tube portable manufactured in the United States, Its descendent, the Royal 7000, was the last solid state portable radio to be made in the USA. The Trans-Oceanic and the saga of the 1L6 tube For those interested, read my June 2014 article about the heterodyne circuit for more on what a mixer tube does. Pictured below are three mixer tubes (left to right), the 1A7, used in the older model 5G401 radio, the 1LA6 used in the earlier Trans-Oceanics, and the miniature 1L6 used in the Trans-Oceanics starting with the H500. Zenith wanted to keep up with the latest technology and so they switched to the miniature tubes starting with the Model H500. This presented one major problem. The 1LA6 was a complex pentagrid converter which performed quite well at the higher shortwave bands. No one had yet created a miniature version of this tube. With few manufacturers building shortwave portables, most companies used the 1R5 mixer that worked just fine on the AM broadcast band and well enough on the lower shortwave bands to suffice. It did not perform well at frequencies above 10 MHz, though. Zenith contracted several tube manufacturers to attempt to design a mini version of the 1LA6. Doing so was the equivalent of putting 5 lbs. of groceries in a 3 lb. bag. Zenith delayed the release of the H500, and was prepared to ship the radios with 1LA6 tubes if need be. Sylvania, the leader in battery powered tubes was, in the end, able to produce such a tube in the form of the 1L6. The tube was used almost exclusively by Zenith. By 1958, with the demise of tubes on the horizon, Zenith was again faced with the possibility of not being able to get the tube for the release of the R600. In the beginning, the chassis of the R600 was stamped to fit the older 1LA6 socket, and then, when they secured a source for 1L6 tubes, was fitted with an oversized socket for a 1L6. Today, finding 1L6 tubes is a challenge. Prices may range up to $120 for a new old stock 1L6, whereas you can purchase a 1LA6 for less than $7. Since I owned an R600 with a somewhat scruffy case and was not worried about keeping the radio completely original, I decided to try an experiment. I refitted the set with the larger 1LA6 tube and socket. The 1LA6 is electrically identical to the 1L6, and it even has slightly lower inter-electrode capacitance, which suggested that it might slightly outperform the smaller tube. After retuning the H600 per factory procedure, I discovered that, indeed, the performance on the highest shortwave band was slightly better. If you are restoring a radio and need a 1L6, you can substitute a 1R5 and it will work on the AM broadcast band, but give poor performance on shortwave. There are also a few people selling solid state replacements made to look like the tube and directly replace it (via Kevin Redding, TN, ABDX via DXLD) RadioShack's BLUEPRINT FOR A REBIRTH, PLANNED BY A HEDGE FUND A RadioShack in Brooklyn. Standard General will take over 1,700 of the company's 4,000 stores [caption] Sam Hodgson for The New York Times By HIROKO TABUCHI April 5, 2015 A day after RadioShack's narrow escape from liquidation in bankruptcy court, Soohyung Kim, the financier who led the contentious rescue, retreated to a back office to make a conference call with the chain's almost 2,700 workers, vendors and landlords. For many of those listening, it was their first direct real introduction to the chief architect of the retailer's unlikely reincarnation. "It's time for a new day," Mr. Kim said, his voice tense yet steady. "We're here today because we know this can work." Minutes later, relieved and exhausted, Mr. Kim sat down with his small team at Standard General, his New York hedge fund, and pondered their feat. "The fact that we actually pulled this off is. ..." he trailed off. "Gratifying?" Robert Lavan, a team member, suggested. RadioShack is a shadow of its former self, an afterthought in a world dominated by Amazon and Best Buy that has little need for scrappy stores that peddle cables and connectors. But Standard General, whose lender takeover of about 1,700 of RadioShack's 4,000 stores won court approval last Tuesday, does not see it that way. "We always believed that when you stripped away its relatively heavy cost structure, and some of the legacy ways they did business, there actually was a core here that was worth saving," Mr. Kim said. Many in the industry are skeptical. "In the consumer's mind, RadioShack is a name that has come and gone," said Craig R. Johnson, founder of the retail consultant Customer Growth Partners in New Canaan, Conn. "What's its reason for being? What consumer problem are they solving?" That is a question that RadioShack, the 94-year-old electronics chain, has tried to answer for years as the digital revolution sapped demand for its staples and its stores tracked a slow decline. In February, it filed for bankruptcy protection, buckling in the face of bigger rivals and online competition. RadioShack's biggest creditor, Salus Capital Partners, pushed a plan that would probably have liquidated the retailer, prompting a showdown in bankruptcy court. But Standard General's bid, and its promise to save some 7,500 jobs, prevailed. Now, the new RadioShack is pushing a revised raison d'être. RadioShack will slim down to become an electronics convenience store of sorts, focusing on things like Bluetooth headsets, chargers and other accessories that shoppers may need immediately rather than waiting a day or two for shipment of a web order. One of the most profitable RadioShack stores is a Bridgehampton, N.Y., outlet that is frequented by weekend vacationers who have forgotten their smartphone chargers or earphones. And one of RadioShack's top-selling products is hearing aid batteries. Tablets, laptops and digital cameras will disappear from RadioShack stores, and mobile phone sales and services will be handled by its new partner, Sprint, all of which affects just 7 percent of RadioShack's sales. Remaining product lines will also shrink, to 60 headphones from about 180, for example, and to just one fitness wristband from 34. In an interview, Ron Garriques, a former Dell and Motorola executive chosen last week to lead the new RadioShack, said the chain would also focus on small cities with populations of 5,000 to 100,000, where demand still exists for a neighborhood electronics store. When he and the Standard General team studied the old RadioShack's 4,200 stores by profitability, they found that the best-performing stores were not in big cities or fancy malls, where the rents are high and competitors also sell electronics. Most of those stores will close. The number of stores in Manhattan, for instance, will fall to just three from more than 30. But in many smaller communities, Mr. Garriques said: "RadioShack is part of the neighborhood. We are the `go to' store for electronics." Then, there is the partnership with Sprint. RadioShack long profited from selling mobile phones, but in recent years, as the market matured, the retailer suffered under increasingly unfavorable contracts with the mobile carriers. To make matters worse, RadioShack did not have its own credit underwriting system for cellphone customers, and when any customers defaulted on monthly payments, RadioShack was required to make up the difference. So as competition among the networks intensified, RadioShack found that its associates struggled to properly explain the ever-changing payment plans. Now, Sprint will take over the selling of mobile phones, paying RadioShack to take up 60 percent of the floor space plus a sales commission and freeing RadioShack from what had weighed heavily on its bottom line. RadioShack hopes that the Sprint shops-inside-shops, which will appear on Sprint's store locaters, will also drive more traffic to its stores. (Sprint will increase its store count by almost 50 percent.) "The parts of the business that you think are unsexy are the ones that are doing great," Mr. Kim said. "And the parts that you'd think are cool, the smartphones and the prime locations -- horrendous." Standard General is now looking for more partners to set up displays or shops-inside-shops at RadioShack. Those partners, from start-ups in the United States to overseas suppliers, could sell anything, Mr. Garriques said: consumer electronics, home security systems, solar panels, wireless chargers. One immediate uncertainty is the RadioShack brand. Salus, the largest creditor, still owns the rights to the RadioShack name. Without a deal, the retailer has only six months left to use the often-mocked yet highly recognized moniker. Standard General said that it would try to buy the name, but that it was also open to calling the stores something new. Salus also owns vast amounts of RadioShack's customer data, though Standard General contends that much of that data is outdated, and privacy agreements probably prevent Salus from selling it. The RadioShack deal has thrust Standard General -- until recently a little-known player in several television broadcasting transactions -- into one of the most visible corporate turnaround efforts this year. The hedge fund is also leading a turnaround at another troubled retailer, American Apparel. Mr. Kim said his fund's work with highly indebted companies meant that he sometimes encountered bankruptcies. But RadioShack's difficult bankruptcy -- which, unlike many recent cases, was not an accelerated, "prepackaged" process -- appeared to have taxed him and his team. Still, he said, that is what he does. "We do our best to make lemonade out of lemons." (via Mike Cooper, April 6, DXLD) RADIOSHACK, BACK FROM THE DEAD, WANTS TO BECOME A BODEGA FOR BATTERIES By Drew Harwell April 7 at 2:45 PM Follow @drewharwell http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/04/07/radioshack-back-from-the-dead-wants-to-become-a-bodega-for-batteries/ RadioShack filed for bankruptcy protection in February after 94 years in business. But it's not dead yet. (Shawn Thew/European Pressphoto Agency) [caption] RadioShack, long derided as the "cockroach of retail," has evaded another stomp. The dusty electronics chain, looking every bit of its 94 years, has emerged from its steady walk toward the light with a big new rebirthing plan: Act more like a convenience store. After the increasingly irrelevant gadget mart waved the white flag of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, its biggest creditor, Salus Capital Partners, fought to liquidate the Shack and squeeze out whatever value the brand had left. But Standard General, a hedge fund, pushed to keep open 1,740 of RadioShack's 4,000 stores, and a Delaware court last week approved the fund's takeover proposal. In its new life, the surviving Shacks plan to drop the unprofitable big-name gadgets -- like cameras, laptops and tablets, which shoppers increasingly scooped up online -- and rebrand itself as "the premier community destination for consumer electronics," a national bodega of batteries and earbuds. [RadioShack may be facing the end after decade of decline] Think of the new Shack like the modern equivalent of a small-town corner store: Instead of milk and medicine, it will have cellphone chargers, headphones and all the other little easily forgotten doodads that keep our Web-connected lives running. (One of the Shack's biggest bestsellers: Hearing-aid batteries.) The company expects these little tech outposts to take off in small-town America, where online shopping and quick deliveries are not pervasive, but where gadgets remain just as much a part of life. The best-performing Shack outlets, leaders said, weren't often in busy cities or high-rent shopping centers, but in slower areas and strip malls, where competition was low and RadioShack was perhaps the only gadget game in town. "The parts of the business that you think are unsexy are the ones that are doing great," Soohyung Kim, Standard General's managing partner, told the New York Times. "And the parts that you'd think are cool, the smartphones and the prime [retail] locations -- horrendous." But not all market-watchers are holding their breath for the Shack's revival to health. The cannibalization of RadioShack's main business model by online shopping -- and the rise of smartphones as a replacement for GPS units, music players and the other gizmos that once filled the Shack's shelves -- has not changed, they argue, and won't be diverted by the new unveiling of a convenience mart. "The fact that they have a new lease on life does not change the competitive dynamics here," said Anthony Chukumba, a senior research analyst with BB&T Capital Markets. "And to me it does not change the so many reasons that led them to going bankrupt in the first place." [Bankrupt RadioShack wants to sell off user data. But the bigger risk is if a Facebook or Google goes bust.] Only 7,500 of RadioShack's 27,000 jobs will survive in the thinned- down chain's surviving stores, most of which will share space with cellphone carrier Sprint. Salus, which sought to liquidate the Shack, still owns some of the company's most critical pieces, including customer data and the RadioShack name, meaning the new creature may have to start from square one with an entirely untested brand. It is unclear what the stores Standard General keeps open will be called. Standard General representatives on Tuesday declined to comment. But RadioShack has proclaimed its resurrection across social media, saying the store looks "forward to continuing the journey": Thank you for the last 94 years, #TeamRadioShack. We look forward to continuing the journey. Posted by RadioShack on Thursday, April 2, 2015 The retailer has championed other Shack-is-back turnaround efforts before, but they've always been "too little, too late," as Will Frohnhoefer, an equity research analyst at BTIG, told the Washington Post. "They had multiple years -- a decade of decline -- to try to reverse things, and they didn't seem to come up with a coordinated strategy until very late in the game." Perhaps the Shack has a slim chance as a gadget supplier in a world where electronics are increasingly complicated and fancy cords, like "the world's most advanced charging cable," can raise half a million dollars from crowdfunding sites. But if the effort proves unsuccessful, its new leaders could once again seek to put the Shack out of its misery, and some analysts expect the illnesses of the past will once again plague Shack's shot at a second life. "Even if you live in podunk U.S.A.," Chukumba said, "you still have the Internet." Drew Harwell is a national business reporter at The Washington Post (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Welcome to another edition of our rather sporadic “Ether to Speaker” column. This time, it comes from something of a backlog of occasional items that have been passed my way or have caught my eye. Ofcom Consultation Most notably so far this year, for me, has been the rather strangely titled Ofcom consultation document “Notice of proposals to make the Wireless Telegraphy (Control of Interference from Apparatus) Regulations 2015”. In the Daily Telegraph article on the subject on 6 January, the suggestion was made that people operating powerline broadband extenders could be prosecuted if they caused radio interference. Since the very same organisation appeared to be saying not so long ago that it was not so convinced that they would cause interference, it was one of those drop-jaw moments for me. If the journalese of the Telegraph article is correct, it would suggest that the people who mainly innocently buy these pieces of equipment – and have been encouraged to do so for years now – would now be liable for the interference caused and not the manufacturer. At any rate, if this were so, so many items of equipment cause terrific amounts of radio interference that the courts would surely be full. At any rate, I have to admit to being quite encouraged by the rather minimal reading that I have done of the document. I am not one of those people who shone academically at school and I never did go to university – as my daughter puts it, “and while it was free, too!” My eyes glaze over when I attempt to read Ofcom’s tome so I have not delved very deep. However, it seems that – finally – the nation’s guardian of the radio wavebands has caught up with the reality of self-certification and the commercial opportunities that our wonderful technical advances have brought and are hoping to tame the tiger of radio interference. All rather late, but better late than never! This paragraph on page 8 is balm to the disquieted radio soul: “Before electrical and electronic apparatus can be placed on the market or put into service in the United Kingdom, it is required to comply with the Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006 No. 3418) (the “EMC Regulations”) which implemented the EMC Directive.” That first word is actually in italics in this document – I have simply made it bold so it stands out even more. If these devices are causing interference – and it is not due to a fault – I think it could be argued that the manufacturer is the guilty party. I await with baited [sic] breath to see if this document actually has any useful effect on our hobby (BDXC’s Technical Section with Andrew Tett, April BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See INDIA; VATICAN ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See MEXICO; OKLAHOMA; USA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ GEOMAGNETIC INDICES – Compiled by: Phil Bytheway Geomagnetic Summary March 1 2015 through March 31 2015 Tabulated from email status daily (K at 0000 UT) Date Flux A K Space Wx 1 128 28 3 minor, G1 2 130 28 2 minor, G1 3 125 11 3 moderate, R2 4 124 10 3 no storms 5 130 6 2 minor, R1 6 127 13 3 minor, R1 7 138 20 4 moderate, R2 8 124 11 1 no storms 9 123 6 1 moderate, R2 10 121 5 1 minor, R1 11 132 9 1 strong, R3 12 127 8 0 minor, R1 13 119 6 1 minor, R1 14 116 5 2 minor, R1 15 114 7 1 minor, R1 16 117 11 1 minor, R1 17 114 117 8 severe, G4, R1 18 115 52 5 moderate, G2 19 109 28 4 minor, G1 20 113 24 5 minor, G1 21 114 14 2 no storms 22 122 24 1 moderate, G2 23 128 21 3 minor, G1 24 133 15 2 no storms 25 138 13 2 no storms 26 136 8 3 no storms 27 138 8 2 no storms 28 146 9 3 no storms 29 145 14 2 no storms 30 134 5 2 no storms 31 128 9 2 no storms Gx – Geomagnetic Storm Level Rx – Radio Blackouts Level Sx – Solar Radiation Storm Level (IRCA DX Monitor April 12, via DXLD) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2015 Apr 06 0133 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/weekly.html # # Weekly Highlights and Forecasts # Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 30 March - 05 April 2015 Solar activity was at low levels throughout the period. Region 2303 (N19, L=066, class/area=Hkx/400 on 17 Mar) produced low to mid-level C-class activity early in the period while Regions 2318 (N10, L=199, class/area=Dao/199 on 05 Apr) and 2320 (S12, L=212, class/area=Dai/140 on 05 Apr) each produced only low-level C-class flare activity throughout the remainder of the period. A filament eruption centered near S29E28 was observed in SDO/AIA 193 imagery between 04/2225-2330 UTC. A long-duration C3/1f hyderflare was measured during this event and had an associated Type-II radio emission. The subsequent fast-moving coronal mass ejection (CME) was first observed in SOHO/LASCO C2 coronagraph imagery beginning at 04/2336 UTC. WSA-ENLIL model output suggests a glancing blow arrival of this CME late on 07 April. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal levels on 30 Mar and normal to moderate levels on 31 Mar-05 Apr. Geomagnetic field activity was at quiet to unsettled levels on 02-04 Apr with an isolated period of active conditions observed between 2100-2359 UTC on 02 Apr due to the effects of a positive polarity coronal hole high speed stream. Quiet to unsettled levels were observed on 30 Mar-01 Apr, and 05 Apr under a mostly nominal solar wind environment. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 06 APRIL - 02 MAY 2015 Solar activity is expected to be low (below NOAA Scale event thresholds) with a slight chance for M-class (R1-Minor) flare activity throughout the outlook period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 22-24 Apr and 02 May, moderate levels on 06-08, 11-14, 17, 20-21 Apr, and 27 Apr-01 May, and at normal levels for the remainder of the period. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels on 15-16, 18-19, and 25-27 Apr due to coronal hole high speed stream effects. Active conditions are expected on 07-09 Apr due to the anticipated arrival of the 04/05 Apr CME. Active conditions are expected on 17, 20 Apr, and 28 Apr-01 May due to coronal hole high speed stream effects with generally quiet to unsettled levels likely for the remainder of the period. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2015 Apr 06 0134 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 2015-04-06 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2015 Apr 06 120 8 3 2015 Apr 07 125 12 4 2015 Apr 08 125 15 4 2015 Apr 09 130 12 4 2015 Apr 10 135 12 3 2015 Apr 11 135 5 2 2015 Apr 12 135 5 2 2015 Apr 13 135 5 2 2015 Apr 14 130 5 2 2015 Apr 15 130 20 5 2015 Apr 16 140 20 5 2015 Apr 17 145 15 4 2015 Apr 18 145 20 5 2015 Apr 19 145 20 5 2015 Apr 20 135 12 4 2015 Apr 21 130 12 3 2015 Apr 22 130 8 3 2015 Apr 23 125 8 3 2015 Apr 24 120 8 3 2015 Apr 25 125 25 5 2015 Apr 26 125 29 5 2015 Apr 27 130 29 5 2015 Apr 28 130 15 4 2015 Apr 29 120 12 4 2015 Apr 30 115 18 4 2015 May 01 115 12 4 2015 May 02 115 8 3 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1768, DXLD) SWPC will be continuing the testing of its backup processing system on Wednesday April 8 and Thursday April 9. During each of these days, users should anticipate that there could be outages between the hours of 1500 to 2100 UTC (1100 am - 500 pm EDT). If active space weather conditions exist before the beginning of these testing intervals, they will not be performed on that day (SWPC April 7 via DXLD) GLENN`S PROPAGATION OUTLOOK FOR MEDIA NETWORK PLUS AS OF APRIL 9, 2015 Keith, IPS in Australia`s GLOBAL FORECAST calls for normal HF propagation thru April 11 at low latitudes; fair to normal at middle and hi latitudes. South African space weather thru April 11: magnetic conditions peaking at unsettled to active on April 10; shortwave fadeouts unlikely; MUFs stable. Met Office UK forecasts solar activity to be low, but with a chance of moderate flares and radio blackouts. Geomagnetic activity quiet to unsettled on April 11 and 12. The outlook from Prague: Geomagnetic field will be: mostly quiet on April 10, 20 - 22 quiet to unsettled on April 11 - 12, 17 active to disturbed on April 13 - 16, quiet to active on April 18 - 19 From SWPC in Boulder: solar flux peaking at 145 April 17 to 19, down to 115 by April 30. G1 minor storm levels expected April 15 and 16, 18 and 19 with A and K indices of 20 and 5; also April 25 to 27 with indices of 29 and 5. Lowest As and Ks of 5 and 2 from April 11 to 14. Bill Hepburn`s VHF-UHF DX maps show extreme tropospheric ducting this week over the Arabian sea between Oman and India, likewise from the other side of India around the Bay of Bengal to Myanmar; also along the coast of west Africa and the morning of April 14 between Texas and Yucatán (via DXLD) ###