DX LISTENING DIGEST 17-52, December 26, 2017 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 2017 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 1910 contents: Antarctica, Argentina non, Australia, China, Ethiopia non, Germany and non, Kurdistan non, Netherlands non, Nigeria non, Sikkim, Solomon Islands, South Carolina and non, USA, Uzbekistan, Vatican; and the propagation outlook SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1910, Dec 26, 2017-Jan 3, 2017 Tue 2030 WRMI 9455 11580 [1909 replayed] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 [1905 replayed]; 15770 [off the air, post-Irma] Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 [confirmed] 9455 [confirmed] Wed 1415 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v [confirmed] Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Thu 2230 WRMI 5850 [confirmed] Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [not confirmed] Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 [confirmed] Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 [JBA carrier only] Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v-AM Area 51 Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 Tue 2030 WRMI 9455, 11580 [or #1911?] 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-audio-plattform/podcast/glenn-hauser-wor ALTERNATIVE PODCASTS, tnx Stephen Cooper: http://shortwave.am/wor.xml ANOTHER PODCAST ALTERNATIVE, tnx to Keith Weston: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GlennHausersWorldOfRadio NOW tnx to Keith Weston, also Podcasts via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/glenn-hausers-world-of-radio/id1123369861 AND via Google Play Music: http://bit.ly/worldofradio 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 NOTE: I have *resolved* to make DXLD leaner, more selective, as I seriously need to reduce my workload, much of which has been merely editing gobs of material into presentable form. This makes it even more important to be a member of the DXLD yg for additional material which may not make it into weekly issues (gh) 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/ ** ALASKA. 7560, Dec 24 at 1403, KNLS fair in Chinese, except for an Anglic ``Merry Christmas`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA [non]. 5850, USA, Radio Tirana (via WRMI) at 2316 with a woman playing Albanian pop vocals to 2328 and brief sign-off announcements and IS – Fair Dec 20 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre- fed dipoles, ODXA group.io via DXLD) Mon-Sat at 2300-2330. This relay is not getting enough attention and support, as along with the Germany relay, it is the only way R. Tirana continues to exist as a SW station (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. 4949.74, R. Nacional de Angola, 0131-0216, Dec 23. Reception well above the norm; a very good day for African reception - see Zanzibar; on air phone calls; pop African songs, along with Xmas "Jingle Bells"; countless IDs; QRN (static) less than usual; 0200 time pips and brief news (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Dec 24 (UT), with a repeat of yesterdays very good conditions. Angola again at a decent level, with religious songs, as it was already Sunday there. Audio clips attached: Angola with Sunday religious song in English, at 0143 (Ron Howard, California, ibid.) ** ANTARCTICA. 7995-USB, Dec 23 at 2303-2311, nothing heard from net of bases including McMurdo which were allegedly going to sing carols to each other from this time, per Ed Kusalik; source? Unknown for how long. Could be an interesting frequency to keep monitoring (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Checked from before 2300, Dec 23rd 7995 usb but only heard some faint conversations around 2304 and a few short bits afterwards. Accents sounded right but nothing strong enough to understand. Perseus SDR near Edmonton, Alberta, 5 el 40m yagi at 150 feet. 73 (Don, VE6JY, Moman, AB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks for that, Don. I didn't hear a thing, but I checked only at 0000. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, ibid.) I checked 7995 USB several KiwiSDR sites in NZ, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, UK and Sweden at 2300 - not a peep heard anywhere (Bruce Churchill, ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1910) McMurdo Broadcast Dec 23 --- G'Day, Larry et. al. Yesterday, I looked at the propagation possibilities of this broadcast. There aren't any, really! This is a very odd choice of time and frequency for such an experiment! McMurdo is south of New Zealand, and about 4500 km from my home here at Mount Evelyn, Australia. So, for me, the distance is not the issue here. But it's the middle of summer (actually it was the summer/winter equinox [sic] yesterday!). So it's an all daylight path (late morning) between McMurdo and my place (...and in fact, lots of other places, too!!) Here, 8 MHz will most likely be well and truly closed. And the short path track between the US and McMurdo is mostly daylight at that time, too. And the long path is no help either. If it was a few hours earlier, then there would be some hope. But at 2300 UT, I just don't think propagation will be possible from McMurdo on 7995 kHz. Pity. Oh well....! However, in discussion with several others, we have come to the conclusion that this is really an event for the Antarctic workers themselves. It's not geared for transmission to listeners internationally. Especially as it will be most likely on low power. I suspect that the ARRL has picked up this as a special interest news item rather than as a realistic possibility of global reception. For what it's worth! Cheers, all (Rob Wagner-Vic-AUS, VK3BVW, direct wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 22, BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD) (Larry Yamron, Dec 23, ibid.) Antarctica - Suedpol: Samstag, Dec 23, 2300 UT. Caroling from Antarctica: December 23 on 7995 kHz USB mode at 2300 UT. Each year, the "residents" of McMurdo Station, Antarctica, celebrate Christmas by singing and sharing Christmas Carols via HF ? using a non-Amateur Radio frequency just above 40 meters ? for those at remote Antarctic field camps. They'll be doing it again in 2017, on Saturday, Dec 23, at 2300 UT. Weiterlesen: Danke an Tom Kamp DF5JL fuer den Hinweis auf unserer F_B-seite. (Christoph Ratzer-AUT, OE2CRM Dec 22 A-DX ng ibid.) ** ARGENTINA [non]. Some of the RAE relays via WRMI are gone, coinciding with dumping Brother Scare, altho it is not clear why this should coincide! Were they somehow a bonus from TOM money? 7730 and 5850 are no longer on air in evenings with BS, and by 0614 UT Dec 21 had not come back on as I anticipated. Reawake at 0945, I find them still off, so assume all these are gone, weekdays: 06-07 Japanese & 07-08 English on 7730; 07-08 English & 08-09 Chinese & 09-10 Japanese on 5850. 9955 // 9455 at 1257 Dec 22 with music fill, presumably indicating the 12-13 RAE Portuguese is still running. 11580 still carries French at 1300-1330 and 1330-1400, but off at 1400* Dec 22, instead of another hour in Spanish at 14-15. The others, all of which need to be reconfirmed, and considering that some have been appearing on Saturdays, some not: 21-22 German 11580, 22-23 Italian 11580, 22-23 Spanish 5950, 02-03 English 9395. See also USA: WRMI (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11580, Dec 24 at 1425, WRMI with gospel huxter in English. Mon-Sat this is now off at 1400*, no more RAE relay in Spanish, so evidently that was an unpaid bonus broadcast no longer affordable, and RAE was always reluctant even to acknowledge its existence. Make do with 5950 at 22-23 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9455, Monday Dec 25 at 2132, `La Rosa de Tokio` media program on WRMI, while on 11580, Dec 25 at same time is DX segment on RAE German with a bit in Spanish; both of which involve Arnaldo Slaen. DX Aktuell must be repeat/delayed from Friday. 5850 & 7730, Dec 26 at 0601 & 0702, WRMI remains off the overnight frequencies which had been relaying RAE, starting in Japanese, then English; too bad, as were always VG if one were awake to hear them. Brother Scare apparently pulled these down with him (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARMENIA. Regularly in December confirmed the s/on of Voice of Kurdistan (Denge Voice, K-na) on MW 1395 kHz at 1600 UT, \\ with delayed signal 7320 kHz from Gavar Yerevan relay and under sound of TWR on MW 1377 kHz (but not \\ MW 1350 kHz as earlier). By the way in B-17 season there are not broadcasts of Syrian opposition, earlier from 1925 UT on MW 1350 kHz (Rumen Pankov, BULGARIA, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 17, BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD) The funds to opposition have dried up now, taken from UAE, Qatar, ARS and USA - since 2002 the terrorists have been fed by US money ... even payed on SW relay broadcasts via MBR Juelich Germany towards Syria/Near East then ... wb (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD) see also KURDISTAN [non]; See GERMANY: 6010 & 6155 for Gruss an Bord ** ASCENSION. 5960, Dec 26 at 0647, Dandal Kura for Nigeria without the hum, which was also clear last night, while 6005 BBCWS in English is still humming. Thought maybe a transmitter swap with another frequency, such as 5925 which now has a similar hum with French, but this hour the site is Issoudun RFI per HFCC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also NIGERIA [non] ** ASIA [non]. NEW QSL COMMEMORATES 2018 WINTER OLYMPIAD JANUARY 2018 Radio Free Asia (RFA) announces its 66th QSL card. This latest design commemorates the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea scheduled for February 9-25, 2018. The Games always bring people together from around the world in peace and harmony to respect universal moral principles. This new design shows an adaptation of RFA’s first panda design originally used for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This updated version of the original design adds a winter cap stylized to match the Games. This QSL design is used to confirm all valid reception reports from January – April 2018 (Andrew "A.J." Janitschek, Radio Free Asia, USA, QSL World, Rus-DX 24 Dec via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. AUSTRÁLIA, 5045, Ozy R, Newcastle, N.ª Gales do Sul, 1827-1915, 15/12, inglês, música pop', texto; 25331, em perda (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5045, Dec 20 at 1417, JBA carrier, presumed Ozy Radio. Maybe if I listen earlier and continuously I could pull some audio, but seems a long shot from here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More 5045 logs below mixed in with 5055 ones ** AUSTRALIA. 4KZ Fires Up! 5055, 4KZ - Innisfail QLD. Relay of the mediumwave 4KZ first noted at 0840 UT on Dec 20. Weak signal (much weaker than the 5045 kHz Ozy R.) and heavy summertime QRN. Pops and occasional adverts, ID at 0852 UT. At 0900 UT, another ID and then news. Also heard on most of the NZ web SDR remotes with the best being at the Bay of Islands site. At 0904 UT, mention made of the 5055 kHz shortwave outlet! We believe this is the first day of operation (Rob Wagner-Vic, Australia, VK3BVW, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 20, BC-DX 23 Dec via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) 5055, relay of 4KZ (presumed), 1428-1501, Dec 20. Their first day on the air. Thanks to a timely alert by Rob Wagner! Before about 1430 was mostly below threshold level, but by then able to make out YL announcer; 1428-1458 seemed to be her chatting on the phone; 1458 sounded like a commercial announcement; 1500 tentatively the news; poor and a lot of chatter on frequency in SSB, in Spanish, which completely blocked 4KZ reception, as I was listening in USB to get away from Beibu Bay Radio (China) QRM from 5050. On a day with better conditions, believe this could be readable. My local sunrise was at 1515 UT. Will be interesting to find out what power they are running. Rob's audio-video of reception at http://goo.gl/8RZ6N4 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Received the following email from Al Kirton , for a reception report sent directly to Al Kirton . We will have even better reception once he is at full power! Ron, California "Thank you for your report. We are only licenced for 1.2 kW but only running 500 w at the moment due to a faulty RF board. When this is repaired we will go to our full power. I will send you our second shortwave QSL card. Sincerely Al Kirton Radio 4KZ WWW.NQRADIO.COM.AU" (via Ron Howard, UT Dec 21, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) Australian broadcaster 4KZ now on shortwave Southgate December 21, 2017 4KZ - a regional radio broadcaster based in Innisfail, Australia - started broadcasting on shortwave December 20, 2017. 4KZ can be found on 5,055 kHz at 1,000 watts in AM mode - certainly weak signal DX for those living outside of Australia! There are no details yet about where to send reception reports, nor what the shortwave broadcast schedule will be. Click here to visit 4KZ's website: http://www.4kz.com.au/ Click here to read more about this story and follow updates: https://swling.com/blog/tag/4kz/ Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Thank you, I posted this news also on Italian PlayDX blog, giving full credits to you and to DXLD. Nice info! https://playdxblog.blogspot.it/2017/12/4kz-nuova-stazione-australiana-on-air.html Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Milan, Italy, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi, Further details from http://www.nqradio.com.au (web site in preparation): phone: 07 4061 6677 address: 1 Edith Street, Innisfail, Queensland 4860 email: reception@4kz.com.au 73 (Andy Lawendel, Italy, ibid.) Excellent signal Dec 21 on both 5045 and 5055 around 1500. 5055 at 1510 local news re terrorism, phone in program, mainly about local Australian terrorism incidents and attacks 1520 local ads for Innisfail. Perseus and west beverage. 73 (Don Moman, Alberta, ibid.) Don, I was listening to 4KZ on your W Beverage last night (circa 0834- 0933) and they were coming in OK - S2 with occasional peak to S3. My Internet kept dropping the link to your site about every 4-5 min or so - very annoying. I am pretty sure it was my local Internet, which periodically drops its DSL signal due to our being at the far end of the advertised max distance for DSL transmission. Also I was also monitoring 4KZ on the KiwiSDR in Bay of Islands NZ and that link dropped at exactly the same time as yours did. Anyway sounds like your local sunrise or gray line reception is much better than Queensland's local sunset! (Bruce Churchill, Fallbrook CA, Dec 21, ibid.) I wasn't home last night so I was also logged into my remote Perseus just after 1500 (with the remote antenna switch function). The internet link was fine for me. Ed Kusalik was on just before I got in and he also reported the west beverage was the clear winner. The 4-30 [MHz] log was pointed roughly south west but it wasn't hearing well at all. I have rotated it more in the direction of 284 degrees. For the next few evenings I'll try to remember to connect the western beverage overnight from 0600 to 1500, to the other two Perseus remotes and possibly the Kiwi SDR that I host as well. Link is http://ciw321.cfars.ca:8173/?f=5045.00amnz10 73 (Don VE6JY Moman, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. 5045, Ozy Radio, 1225-1243, Dec 21. Mostly pop songs, except for news 1231-1236, which had several sound bites; very close to being readable. 5055, Radio 4KZ, 1433-1505, Dec 21. Much better reception than yesterday; same format as yesterday; 1500 news (mentioned "bomb threat"?); getting closer to being semi-readable, but still with some SSB chatter in Spanish which blocks 4KZ reception. My best reception here seems to start about 45 minutes before my local sunrise and slowly improves a little (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5055, 4KZ, Innisfall, Australia. Heard on the date of Dec 21.17 from 1437 to 1506 + with very strong signals via the remote site at VE6JY's antenna farm, near Lamont Alberta (you can see the photo's ODXA website). The signal was best heard on the 1000 foot western beverage. Initially, I detected marginal signals at my location via the Drake R8A and the 125 foot long wire, with s1 to s2 signal levels, but switching to the Perseus, heard a better signal via the remote site, to confirm their operations. Have submitted a reception report with a audio file, to the Station, c/o of Al Kirton at 4KZ via his e-mail: AL@nqradio.com.au Till the next time (Edward Kusalik, AB, DX'er since 1965, ODXA group.io via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) [and non]. 5055 & 5045, Dec 22 at 1302, JJBA carriers, now that there are two low-power Aussies active, 5055 being 4KZ from northern Queensland, as Ron Howard has been reporting, along with Ozyradio from NSW on 5045. And like Ron, I find 5055 QRMed by much stronger 2-way in Spanish, at 1325. DU conditions are subnormal today with 7390 NZ only fair S7-S9 and fluttery (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5055, Radio 4KZ, Dec 22, on this their third day on the air, the best reception so far; 1513 Xmas song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," followed by ID of song and phone number "if you like to join the conversation." My audio http://goo.gl/kQutXV Finally able to pull in some audio good enough to record, even though it's poor quality! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At the [MW] dials this morning, and didn't think things were as hot as they were yesterday. Continued all Asian. Checked for the new Aussie low power SW outlets on 5045 and 5055 and nothing heard, whereas they were coming in nicely into Don Moman's remote Perseus receivers at the same time. 73 (Walt Salmaniw, BC, 1737 UT Dec 22, IRCA via DXLD) Don, I used your Perseus this morning around 1450 for 4KZ and the signal was quite good – however, I had the same periodic cutout issue and then lost control of the receiver. I switched to your KiwiSDR with the W Beverage (I assume that’s what was connected) on my other laptop and that worked fine. Thanks for the link to that! I had a very good signal from 1502 to well past your gray line passage at 1605. I think the Kiwi was a tad weaker than the Perseus but still a solid S3 signal until 1600 when the signal started to go down. Definitely better reception at 1500 than at 0830. Thanks for the heads up on this! I don’t know what the cutout issue is – could be my Perseus acting up on the 4.1 software or a PC/Internet issue as I had no problems with my other PC and the KiwiSDR… (Bruce W. Churchill, 2491 Palo Vista Rd, Fallbrook, CA 92028-9690, Dec 22, via Moman, DXLD) Glad the bands cooperated even if the internet wasn't. Always good to get feedback. There are lots of remotes on line here and the internet has finite bandwidth so it's not surprising it chokes at times. Being rural we only can get it wirelessly - ratings at 12 meg down and 1 up. Yes, the Kiwi was on the West beverage as well. There is something fishy with that beverage as it seems to pick up broadcast intermod every 10 kHz but it's not created in the amplifier or the splitters. So by the time I attenuate the 10 kHz birdies, the Aussies are weakened too. I just couldn't get the Kiwi to do quite as well as the Perseus - which isn't that surprising. The west beverage may be picking the birdies up from a nearby tower but it's a little chilly up here (that`s my excuse) to get very motivated about fixing anything. I have a 4th antenna to toss into the mix - in place of the log, as, for whatever reason, it wasn't doing well. I've somewhat finished construction of 4 DKAZ double delta loop style antennas, each roughly in the 4 compass points. I've noticed the West one has been doing reasonably well so I'll wire that in place of the log in the 4th position. I'll leave the Kiwi on the west beverage or whatever works the best. ciw321.cfars.ca:8173/?f=5055.00lsbz8 gets you to 4KZ directly. The Kiwi has been discovered by local hams trying to chat so it is almost impossible to get on it somedays! I don't think the 5045/5055 signals were quite as good as previous days but still pretty decent. I checked around 0800 and they were already making a decent showing so I figured the sunrise peak here near 1500 would be fine. The magnetometers at http://www2.irf.se/Observatory/?link[Magnetometers]=Data/ are looking pretty quiet. For now. 73 (Don VE6JY Moman, Dec 22, cc to DXLD) Reception started promising well before local 4KZ sunset at 0800 UT Dec 23 but it took our sunrise enhancement to peak in the 1500 to 1600 area. A fair bit of thunderstorm static but otherwise a decent signal. Tractor ads before 1600, NQ Radio and 4KZ, Macquarie national news at 1600. Audio file attached. Perseus and western beverage (Don Moman, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTER CELEBRATING ON SHORTWAVE Southgate By Jim Linton VK3P December 24, 2017 http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2017/december/australian-broadcaster-celebrating-on-shortwave.htm#.Wj-dTN9l_IU As part of 50th celebrations, radio broadcaster 4KZ in Northern Queensland is now on 5055 kHz and already getting signal reports including from North America and New Zealand. General Manager of NQ Radio (4KZ, 4AM, 4AY, KIK FM & KOOL FM), Al Kirton announced the decision to SWLing Post in May, and now confirms the transmission began on December 20. He told the WIA: “Unfortunately we are on half power for a couple of weeks until one of the RF boards can be repaired, then we will go up to 1 kW.” The shortwave broadcast is from a site at east Innisfail in Tropical North Queensland. Mr Kirton said the USA-made 1.2 kW transmitter being used is feeding an Inverted V antenna at about 14 metres high at the peak. The program is from the 4KZ and 4AY AM band transmitters and designed to cover the Cape York area and the northern outback. However the 60m band signal has been heard further away. He said: “I have had many reception reports, many with audio clips”, some from Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Victoria, as well as from “Monterey USA, Alberta Canada and New Zealand.” The transmission hours are about 0500 to 2300 hours UTC. All confirmed reception reports will receive a 4KZ shortwave QSL card. No return postage is required. Reports by email to Al Kirton (al@nqradio.com.au) or to Radio 4KZ, PO Box 19, Innisfail Queensland 4860 Australia. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation stopped its shortwave services to the northern outback in January 2017 (via MIke Terry, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) Exact frequency of Ozy Radio? Hi folks - I left a receiver running of 5054 [sic] kHz, over the last 24 hours, to try and hear (or, rather, look for) any trace of the 1 kHz hetrodyne on the Argo sound analysis program, running on the PC. Sure enough, there are two periods where a carrier peeps over the noise: 1400-1615 gmt - with a peak at 1515, which coincides with the day-to-night greyline transition in the UK, and again at 1740-2015 - with a peak at 1945, which coincides with the night-to-day greyline transition at the transmitter site in Australia. The signal trace on the Argo display indicates that the transmission is 9 Hz high. So if anyone with a positive ID can confirm the 9 Hz offset, I will be pleased! Thanks - (Martin Peters, Dec 27, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Tuned 5054, for het from 5055? In that case it`s 4KZ, not Ozyradio (gh, DXLD) Presume you mean 5045 kHz (not 5054) as frequency for Ozy Radio Martin? There's also flea-powered Australian 4KZ on 5055 in Northern Queensland, as per report on bdxc-news yg 24 Dec. 73 (Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) You spotted my deliberate mistake, Alan! Yes, I'd left the receiver on 5044 kHz, listening for the 1kHz het from Ozy, on 5045 kHz. Actually, I'd forgotten about 4KZ, on 5055 kHz. Today I shall listen for THAT! Ozy are reportedly running only 500 Watts, from their inland site. So, 4KZ - if they're managing their full 1500 Watts, from a site nearer the sea - may be easier pickings. New Year's greetings to all - (Martin Peters, ibid.) Seems to me these SW stations ought to have their own distinct callsigns, but none given? We already know that 4KZ is not the only MW station of the cluster that is put on the SW (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. RADIO AUSTRALIA EXPANDS NEWS SHOW FOR PNG/PACIFIC "ABC Radio Australia listeners in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific will get an additional two hours of dedicated live morning weekday programming in 2018 with the launch of a new morning news, talk and entertainment show from January 22." http://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/abc-radio-australia-launches-new-extended-morning-show-to-png-and-the-pacific/ But of course not on shortwave. And I could not find any information about local affiliate stations. So internet connectivity in PNG and the Pacific had better be good (Kim Elliott, @kaedotcom, https://twitter.com/kaedotcom Dec 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA LAUNCHES NEW EXTENDED MORNING SHOW TO PNG AND THE PACIFIC --- Posted 20th December 2017 ABC Radio Australia listeners in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific will get an additional two hours of dedicated live morning weekday programming in 2018 with the launch of a new morning news, talk and entertainment show from January 22. Pacific Mornings will be presented by Seini F. Taumoepeau and Tahlea Aualiitia and incorporate Radio Australia’s long-running, agenda- setting news program, Pacific Beat, which returns with a new presenter, Catherine Graue. Manager of ABC Radio Australia, James O’Brien said the extended morning show would allow greater coverage of daily and breaking PNG and Pacific news stories as well as introducing a broader mix of chat, music and entertainment. “We’re keeping Pacific Beat at the heart of our new morning schedule where it will continue to bring audiences across PNG and the Pacific the leading news stories and interviews with regional newsmakers,” he said. “From next year, listeners will be able to tune in from 6.00 am (AEST) to listen to Pacific Beat followed by Seini and Tahlea to help start their day with a fresh take on what is happening in their region.” The Managing Editor of the ABC’s Asia Pacific newsroom, Kellie Mayo, said Pacific Beat would be a shorter and more focused program broadcast from 6.00 am to 6.30 am and from 7.00 am to 7.30 am (AEST) each weekday morning offering original journalism from the ABC’s trusted team of Pacific experts. The afternoon edition of Pacific Beat will continue from 3.00 pm to 3.30 pm (AEST) weekdays presented by Bruce Hill. The remaining ABC Radio Australia schedule will continue to offer its PNG and Pacific listeners a rich mix of live content from the broader ABC which will include a new music program featuring local and indigenous Australian artists presented by Myf Warhurst and a national Australian Evenings program presented by Indigenous performer and broadcaster, Christine Anu. ABC RA’s 2018 schedule will also include daily editions of ABC’s leading news and current affairs programs AM, The World Today and PM as well as the best of ABC Radio National including Late Night Live, Big Ideas and RN Drive. Introducing Seini F. Taumoepeau Seini F. Taumoepeau is a Tongan-Australian who first worked in radio at the age of 13. Seini was born in Australia and spent much of the first eight years of her life living with her grandparents and extended family in Tonga. Seini studied contemporary music, media and indigenous studies at university and has worked in the media, arts, education, music and cultural sectors for more than 30 years. She feels a close connection to First Nations people and each year travels to Ti Tree to teach in the local school. Introducing Tahlea Aualiitia Tahlea Aualiitia has been working for ABC Radio Hobart for the past four years where she is currently producing their Drive program. Tahlea has also presented Sunday Afternoons on ABC Radio as well as ABC Radio Tasmania’s statewide Evenings program. Tahlea attended the University of Tasmania where she received First Class Honours in Journalism, Media and Communication. Tahlea also has a blog “The Opposite of Adulting” where she writes about her “attempts to be a grown up”. Introducing Catherine Graue Catherine Graue grew up in Lae, Papua New Guinea and speaks both Tok Pisin (PNG) and Bislama (Vanuatu). She is a producer/presenter with Australia Plus TV and Radio Australia and produced the award-winning #TalkAboutIt TV show broadcast internationally on Australia Plus TV. Catherine has recently spent time in Port Moresby working on the DFAT- funded Media for Development Initiative. She has also worked for Germany’s international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle and worked remotely on the island of Tanna, where she trained journalists and staff at the local community radio station. For more information John Woodward, Communications Lead, ABC Radio woodward.john@abc.net.au (via DXLD) "Rebroadcasting", once considered as golden future of international broadcasting, indeed does not appear to be of any importance for them at all. Not a single word of it at http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/waystolisten Actually one has to ask what is the point in running a complete radio station but distributing it only via IP and C-band satellite PS. Nice plug for that Twitter handle. Noted! ;-) (Kai Ludiwg, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Internet connectivity in Australia itself is abysmal outside the capital cities and the NBN (National Broadband Network) is still being rolled out (and in many areas, delivering slower than promised speeds). Point being, connectivity is likely worse in PNG and other Pacific Islands. It shows that there’s a disconnect within ABC management, who seem to believe “everyone everywhere” can get what they want off the Net (which simply isn’t the case and was argued when the NT HF regionals went silent). Sent from David Sharp's iPhone My response to the “Radio” Australia media release: Sent from David Sharp's iPhone --- Begin forwarded message: From: David Sharp Date: 27 December 2017 at 04:56:25 Subject: Your new Pacific broadcast Hi John [Woodward], With all due respect, if the programme isn’t on HF, you’ll have very few listeners. You won’t have national coverage even if partnering with local broadcasters and many remote areas (where listeners would likely most benefit from your efforts) have little or no internet access. All the ABC needed to do was keep two HF transmitters on the air and you could have adequately covered the Pacific (a void now being filled by Radio New Zealand). I wish you luck and hope you beat the odds. But without HF it’s a long shot. Sent from David Sharp's iPhone (via Sharp, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. Additional transmission of Reach Beyond Australia Dec 23 1330-1415 on 12040 KNX 100 kW / 310 deg to SoAs Hindi/Urdu & other 1415-1500 on 12040 KNX 100 kW / 310 deg to SoAs English, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/additional-transmissions-of-reach.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23, dxldyg via DXLD) Very good signal of Reach Beyond Australia, Dec 24 1300-1330 on 9610 KNX 100 kW / 305 deg to SoAs English Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/very-good-signal-of-reach-beyond.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23-24, dxldyg via DXLD) Good signal of Reach Beyond Australia on Dec 25 1116-1131 on 15575 KNX 100 kW / 315 deg to SEAs English Mon-Wed/Fri http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/good-signal-of-reach-beyond-australia_25.html Very good signal of Reach Beyond Australia on Dec 25 1245-1300 on 11865 KNX 100 kW / 320 deg to SoAs English Daily 1315-1330 on 11865 KNX 100 kW / 320 deg to SoAs English Mon/Wed/Fri http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/very-good-signal-of-reach-beyond_25.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 24-25, dxldyg via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. SYDNEY TO HOBART YACHT RACE SKEDS Hi all, I hope you have all had a wonderful Xmas. The Sydney to Hobart yacht race commences here in Sydney this morning (local time UT +11) and runs for approx. 2-3 days (depending on weather conditions). Tascoast Marine Radio in Hobart monitors and carries out weather condition and position reporting for all competing yachts on two HF frequencies during the race. I have not been able to find specific information for 2017/18 but found this for 2015/16 on the following website: http://www.sresu.asn.au/sydney-to-hobart-yacht-race-20152016-radio-scheds All times shown on the website are presumed to be local AED time which is UT +11. There may be activity on the stated frequencies at any time during the race. It can also be presumed that the info provided has not changed since 2015 so if someone else knows better, please update us! 0700 – 2000 hours on 6516 kHz (2000-0900 UT) 2000 – 0700 hours on 4483 KHz (0900-2000 UT) Daily position reports will be conducted as follows:- 1905 hours on 26 December 2015 on 6516 kHz (0805 UT) 0005 27 December 2015 and each subsequent day on 4483 (Dec 26 1305 UT) 0735 and 1705 hours on each subsequent day on 6516 (2035 and 0605 UT) A weather report may be issued at this time. The position report routine will be as follows: (a) “JBW” will commence transmission on 6516/4483 kHz (as appropriate) two minutes prior to the sked time with a long tuning call and contact Hobart Race Control. All boats shall tune their radios during this period and not during the schedule. (b) Each boat when called shall make a position report on 6516/4483 kHz (as appropriate) as follows: its Latitude and Longitude in DEGREES and WHOLE MINUTES (not decimals) as at 1900 on 26 December 2015 and at 0000, 0730, and 1700 as appropriate, on subsequent days (not at the time of reporting). If the position is copied, the boat name and its position will be repeated and the next boat called without a break in transmission. All frequencies are in USB mode. Regards, (Brian Powell VK2FBAJ, Sydney Australia, Dec 25, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Anyone hear? ** BANGLADESH. BANGLADEXE, 4750, Bangladesh Betar, Xavar, 1632-1708*, 19/12, bengalês, texto, canções, sinal horário, noticiário (?); 35433. NB: por qq. razão, logo que o noticiário (?) começou, o nível da modulação desceu abruptamente (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BHUTAN. 6035, BBS, with anomaly on Dec 23, with transmitter going on and off. *0107 suddenly on with announcer; 0108*. *0109-0111* with announcer. *0112-0113* announcer and indigenous music. *0114-0119* announcers and the unmistakable indigenous stringed instrument music as often heard on BBS. My audio clip at http://goo.gl/JBFPPz *0123-0129 indigenous music with indigenous chanting/singing. 0129 announcer. Grayline reception, with my local sunset at 0056 UT and Thimphu sunrise at 0048 UT today. Just before listening to BBS Bhutan, took this picture of my local sunset - http://goo.gl/htBn41 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Dec 24 (UT), with a repeat of yesterday`s very good conditions. BBS on at *0109, without any problems today. Usual format. Audio clips attached: BBS with nice indigenous singing. I like their unique music! (Ron Howard, California, ibid.) ** BIAFRA [non]. 11530, Dec 20 at 1905, while checking all WRMI frequencies for Brother Scare, surprised to find this one back on, at least today, with R. Biafra, which had been missing for quite a while and presumed cancelled at this time unlike at 0500. Woman in Igbo mentions ``places to vote`` --- is there another elexion pending in Biafraland, or old program? Then usual request in English for reports on ``these numbers`` meaning strange strings denoting shortwave frequencies. VG signal now. Concludes at 1929 but 11530 stays on air with hilife music, cuts off at 1934:17 but back on in less than a minute, more music (only?), so maybe fill coming from WRMI itself. This lasts until 1959 and WRMI Zanotti ID which is cut off slightly before finished at 2000*. The latest Biafra file (under another name) on the WRMI server is dated Dec 16 (while R. Herwa is Dec 19). This hour continues to be blank on the WRMI frequency grid, http://www.tinyurl.com/WRMIfqs --- Not shown on either transmitter carrying 11530 at other times, #3 or #10, nor any of the other dozen. I also check 9580 for France relay at 1929, but nothing; if audible may have already closed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No. What comes after "these numbers" is just a single Nigerian phone number for text messages. I can send along a clip of this if needed (Richard Langley, Dec 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Richard, I have re-listened to one of my (early) recordings of this, and she says, immediately after citing the SW schedule, ``We`ll appreciate if our listeners can send us text messages of how they are receiving us on any of these numbers, plus 234-810-617-7870; I repeat, plus 234-810-617-7870...`` Since there is only one phone number, I take the word ``any`` to refer to the three (rather than four) shortwave ``numbers`` she has just mentioned. For a successful text one must certainly use *all* of the individual numbers to follow, not just ``any``. We both enjoy nitpicking, so let`s keep it up, hi. 73, (Glenn, ibid.) Guess we differ on the interpretation, Glenn. Perhaps there was the intention to have more than one phone number (hence "any" and "these") and the script wasn't changed. And the "plus," i.e., "+" is the abbreviation for the international call prefix (also called an international access code or an International Direct Dialing code - IDD), the dialing code used to dial out of a country when making an international call. But would there be any need for this unless they are also appealing to the Biafran diaspora outside Nigeria? Not that this all really matters. ;-) (-- Richard, ibid.) 11530, Dec 21 at 0524, no signal from R. Biafra via WRMI. Hard to be sure if due to propagation or not, but it seems both transmissions on 11530, at 05 and 19, are sporadic. 11530, Dec 21 at 1900-1906 check, R. Biafra via WRMI is off again, having come back yesterday. Propagation certainly OK, with big open carrier from 11760 Habana. But 11530 has new life as a diverse- programming channel at 20-21; see USA: WRMI [For one day only] 11530, Dec 24 at 1903, WRMI not on today for R. Biafra; unchecked whether R. Herwa materialized at 1930 like yesterday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see NIGERIA [non] ** BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA. Heard on 11 December with s-on at 0440 UT on MW 1502.8 kHz with folk songs, followed by playing the National Anthem from 0457 UT, ID in Bosnian (near like Serbian) translated: Radio and Television Bosnie i Herzegovine, radio Bosnie i Herzegovine, program radia - counting the freqs on FM in different places: "Morning program of radio Federation of Bosnia I Herzegovina". The following program was not related with Radio Zavidovichi. That program is coming maybe from studio in Republika Srpska, Banja Luka, acc to the content of talks (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 17, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews, BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD) ** BOUGAINVILLE. 3325, NBC Bougainville, 1120-1202, Dec 21. DJ in Pidgin playing pop Pacific Islands music and Xmas song - "Joy to the World"; 1157, as usually happens at this time, a full ID and frequencies given; audio ended 1202. Anomaly today. Normally the transmitter would have gone off at 1202, but today their carrier continued on past 1335. First time I have noted this happening. Maybe they will be doing some holiday extended broadcasts? (see Solomon Islands) BTW - Dec 22, had no signal from NBC Bougainville (3325) from 1135+ (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4861.6, R. Alvorada, Londrina PR, 2249-..., 18/12, texto; 25331. 4862.3, idem, 2245-2255, 14/12, canções, texto; 25331. 5039.8, R. Voz Missionária, Camboriú SC, 2239-2250, 15/12, pregador em tom ridìculamente patético, como que fazendo lembrar o "colega" (já falecido, suponho, mas substituído pela cria) da SRDA; 44333. 9564.9, SRDA, Curitiba PR, 2218-2228, 19/12, propag. relig.; 33431, QRM do sinal de empastelamento cubano contra a R. Martí. 9818.6, R. 9 de Julho, São Paulo SP, 1918-1929, 14/12, canções; 35433. 9818.8, idem, 1035-desvan. total 1145, 20/12, texto, canções; 14331, QRM adjacente. 11915, R. Gaúcha, Pt.º Alegre RS, 1813-1823, 19/12, noticiário; 23442, QRM da ARS [Saudi Arabia], desta vez, com sinal bastante fraco... e é pena que não fique sempre assim, ou que vá dar uma volta ao bilhar grande, de vez! (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Selected from a longer list of ZY logs; full report in the DXLD yg (gh) ** BRAZIL. 9564.9, Super Rádio Deus é Amor, Curitiba, 0754-0812, 25- 12, Portuguese, news, “Informativo Super Rádio Deus é Amor”, at 0801: “6 y 1 minuto, AM 1210 kHz, ondas curtas 25 metros, 11765 kHz, 31 metros, 9565 kHz, 49 metros, 6060 kHz, Super Rádio Deus é Amor”, religious comments. 25432. (Méndez) 10000, Time Signal Station Observatoriio Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, 0824-0833, 25-12, time signals, female voice announcements: “Observatorio Nacional, 6 horas, 25 minutos, 40 segundos”. 23322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11855, Rádio Aparecida, 0415-0506, Dec 24. Man announcer with Portuguese language talks, station ID and announcements hosting program of musical selections and vocals. Fair signal but deep fades. (Rich D'Angelo, 2216 Burkey Drive, Wyomissing, PA 19610, U.S.A. Equipment: Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B, Eton E1, Eton E5, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, RF Systems Mini-Windom, Datong FL3, JPS ANC-4, NASWA Flashsheet Dec 26 via DXLD) 11854.9, Dec 25 at 0052, R. Aparecida is missing. Normally it`s quite stronger than 25m ZY companions 11815 and 11934.9 which are still JB audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. R. Nacional, Brasilia, is on the air and putting a VG signal into Maryland. Pop vocals, brief announcements, occasional ID. (Art Delibert, N. Bethesda, MD, 12/23/17, JRC NRD-545, Pennant antenna with DX Engineering pre-amp, 2054 UT Dec 23, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Presumably about 11780 11780, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia at 1205 in Portuguese with a male DJ with excited talk and a mention of “Feliz Natal” and into Brasopops at 1210 – Poor and noisy Dec 25 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via DXLD) Radio Nacional, Brasil, 11780.008 kHz, seems to be working on the transmitter. Good signal here in Maryland around 2030, but it periodically drops off the air for a few seconds, as if someone is making adjustments. No sign of the FM-y blob that Glenn Hauser was reporting [that was just once – gh]. Shortly before 1800, R. Nacional was heard with a good carrier but very low modulation (Art Delibert, North Bethesda, MD, 12/25/17, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, Sent from Mail for Windows 10, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** BULGARIA [and non]. Re: Shortwave Radiogram, 16-17 Dec: five modes Am 15.12.2017 um 22:14 schrieb kimelli@verizon.net [dxld]: > Anticipating poor reception most places during this half hour, the > Sunday 2330-2400 UT show on 11580 kHz will be entirely in the very > slow Olivia 128-2000 mode. Details and schedule: http://swradiogram.net/post/168569845272/shortwave-radiogram-16-17-december-2017 I had a few thoughts on the original AF level of FLDIGI. MSFK modes and the RSID have -3 db, the OLIVIA modes only -4 dB. For the next "SWRG Slow Edition" it might be an interesting test, if there were a short 1 minute block with an OLIVIA64-2000 mode original -4 db + 1 minute normalized to -1 dB. Own tests with a mix of white noise (in audio software) were effective. Especially with weak digital signals, 3 dB more audio level makes the difference (with a remaining headroom of 1 db) Here's a screenshot of what I mean: http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-16.htm#AF-amplification (roger, germany, Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) This time there was a little difficulty, no, not in decoding. The problem was identifying the last song at the end of the datacast. But, after a few tries, it worked out with this Celtic sound. My Christmas spirit was saved. ;-) http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-23.htm#SWRG Otherwise, some program tips for today and the next few days, without "strange sounds": http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-23.htm#NDR-KW (roger, GERMANY, Dec 24, ibid.) MIDOMI was wrong, it's rare, but it happens. At first I thought: That's something Swedish, but I trusted digital technology and their algorithms. From Kim I got the correct information, now everything should be OK: http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-23.htm#SWRG "....This was the closing song ..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lC5gHo03JM And this place I allowed a headline: http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-23.htm#NDR-KW This is the traditional Christmas greeting of a public broadcaster in Germany, exceptionally via the shortwave. On ships, Internet access is still not a common low-cost matter. At one broadcast, MEDIABROADCAST (possibly, according to HFCC) will change the direction by 8 . Otherwise, the exact same destination areas as in recent years will be served (roger, ibid.) ** CANADA. Coast to Coast moves into Canada --- C2C is excited to announce our new affiliates in several Canadian cities: CIRH https://roundhouseradio.com/ in Vancouver (starting 12/25), CFRB http://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1010 in Toronto (starting 1/1/18), and CFKR http://www.iheartradio.ca/am-1150 in Kelowna (starting 1/15/18). We are looking to replace several other markets in Canada, where there has been a switch-up. Stay tuned for further announcements (via Kevin Redding, TN, Dec 26, ABDX yg via DXLD) Will they have to add extra phone lines? You know...." North of the Great Lakes, call 1-800-bla bla bla... Western Provinces... Maritime Provinces, call George at bla"... .etc. (Rick Barton, AZ, ibid.) Oh well, so much for Canada's commitment to education. This should dumb them down to our level within a few months :p (Tim Hall, ibid.) I had a chance to meet Art Bell in person several years ago. Super nice guy and very proud of his ham set up at his house, which I saw (Paul Walker, ibid.) Pahrump NV (gh) CKOC Hamilton 1150 has C2C. At least they did in the past (Todd Skaine, MN, ibid.) CKOC went all-sports on Sept. 7, 2015, so it's doubtful that they have C2C on anymore. And, indeed, a check of their prorgamming schedule shows that they're airing Fox Sports Radio during the overnights these days. 73, (Rick Dau, South Omaha, Nebraska, ibid.) Also on CFRX: See my VATICAN 6070 log (gh) ** CHINA. 5050, Beibu Bay Radio, Dec 26, tuned in at 1509 to hear special programming; audio feed of Queen Elizabeth with her annual Christmas address, in progress; followed by Elton John with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"; in Chinese; Xmas song - "O Come, All Ye Faithful." Video of Queen's message at http://goo.gl/TT7j8w (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) - - - - - Richard wrote: The Queen's Christmas Message to the Commonwealth was carried on BBC WS on Christmas Day at 1506 UT on three SW frequencies: 7405, 12095, and 15420 kHz. Reception on 12095 kHz using the U. Twente SDR receiver was excellent. In Canada, her Majesty's message was carried on CBC Radio 1 at 3:50 p.m. local time. The video version was broadcast several times on CBC TV and CBC News Network and probably by other networks, too. Interestingly, the BBC WS version ended with (God Save) the Queen played by (presumably) a military band while the video version was preceded by the Queen (Canada's Royal Anthem) played and sung by the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra and Choir and ended with them performing the carol It Came Upon The Midnight Clear (quite some talented young musicians!) including video snippets of various royals at different events (-- Richard Langley via Ron Howard, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi Richard, Holiday Greetings! What I found especially interesting was the fact that the Queen's Christmas message was broadcast via a station (BBR) that is primarily in Vietnamese and secondarily in Chinese. A curious program choice? Certainly not a Commonwealth country, hi. (Ron Howard, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ron: Happy Holidays to you, too. Yes, that's curious about BBR carrying the whole speech and at the same time as it was going out on the BBC WS (via various media including SW) and not just reporting on it. Is the primary purpose of the BBR SW transmissions to serve the marine community? If so, perhaps some bilingual mariners listen to BBR? While the Commonwealth has several members that were never British colonies (including Mozambique and Rwanda) and a number of other countries without former British ties have enquired about membership, but not China. ;-) Interestingly, the Queen's Message was aired on BBC Radio 4 beginning at 1500, preceded by the chimes of Big Ben, which have been reactivated for the holidays, having been off for the past some months during the refurbishment of the clock tower: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jrslj? I doubt if we'll hear them on the WS, though. Although there's a chance they could make an appearance on New Year's Eve. All the best (-- Richard Langley, NB, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Richard, Beibu Bay Radio (5050) is not related to marine issues, but instead went on the air back in 2009, to help improve mutual understanding between peoples of China and ASEAN countries, deepen friendship, and accelerate economic development in Guangxi Beibu Bay area. Nanning (station's location), is close to the border with Vietnam, hence they broadcast a lot in Vietnamese. Not often that they have brief segments in English, but over the years, have indeed rarely heard them. So today's segment was unusual, but not a one-of-a-kind-event (Ron Howard, ibid.) Hi Ron. There are several Commonwealth countries that are part of ASEAN (Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei) and some aspiring members (e.g., Cambodia), so perhaps that's it. Can BBR be heard by the U. Twente receiver? I should give it a try (-- Richard Langley, ibid.) Hi Richard, Sorry, don't do any remote receptions myself, so don't know about the possibility of reception via the U. Twente receiver. Sorry, not much help to you in that department (Ron Howard, ibid.) ** CHINA. 11885, Dec 22 at 0039, CRI English chat show has YL mentioning that ``Jesus Christ was born in a barn``, in discussion of Xmas festivities. Is this official ChiCom policy? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 6045, Dec 22 at 1313, CNR1 echo jamming like not echoing on 6125 and other 49m channels, here mixing with something else, i.e. VOA Chinese via Thailand at 12-14, but 6045 is also the current frequency of Voice of Freedom, clandestine from South to North Korea since Dec 6 at 09-15, so there could be double jamming. When will VOF wise up? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Here is a breakdown of what was happening Dec 24, on 6045; my audio from 1157+; http://goo.gl/iwi689 Voice of Freedom (S. Korea) and N. Korea pulsating noise jamming; 00:00-00:30. Start of strong CNR1 program jamming at 00:30+. Start of VOA at 02:34 [recording timer] (Ron Howard, California, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Good signal of China Music Jammer, Dec 22 1200-1300 on 7400 unknown tx site, against anyone In HFCC Database nothing scheduled on 7400 12-13! http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/good-signal-of-china-music-jammer-dec22.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 22, dxldyg via DXLD) ** CHINA. 7410, CRI from both Jinhua and Beijing (Presumed), 1417, 12/23/17 in both Japanese and Mandarin. Mess of a male speaking Japanese and a female in Mandarin. Why would CRI broadcast two programs on the same frequency at the same time? Either would have been fair, together a mess. I can only imagine what this sounded like in Asia (Mark Taylor, Madison, Wisconsin. Perseus, SDRPlay; Icom IC- R75, Eton E1, Tecsun PL 880, and various other portables; 42 meters dipole, 100’ long wire, W6LVP loop, NASWA Flashsheet Dec 26 via DXLD) Altho SWLs, especially outside target areas, know this is not a good idea, on ``paper`` it may look OK to managers, Chinese from Beijing site at 215 degrees, and Japanese from Jinhua site at 59 degrees: close to opposite direxions so maybe one can almost override the other in Japan and SE Asia, but 500 kW each means a lot of surplus. Each should also take measures to suppress signals toward the other target. We should be glad that it means one less frequency occupied by the Chicom all over the bands, and encourage more doubling up (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 5900, CNR1 at 1228 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with a man and woman with excited talk to 1+1 time pips at 1230 Weak Dec 24 7300, CNR1 at 1156 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with a man and woman with excited talk to 5+1 time pips at 1200 and more talk – Weak to Fair Dec 24 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup & yg via DXLD) 7445, CNR1 at 2214 // 11750 in Mandarin jamming RTI in Mandarin with a man and woman with excited talk – Fair to Good in peaks Dec 26 7470, CNR1 at 2216 // 7445 and 11750 in Mandarin jamming RFA in Tibetan via Takjikistan with a man and woman with excited talk – Fair to Good in peaks Dec 26 [not clear whether he also hears the victims] 7480, CNR1 at 2219 // 7445, 7470, and 11750 in Mandarin jamming RFA in Tibetan via Kuwait with a man and woman with excited talk – Good with slight fading Dec 26 11750, CNR1 at 2207 in Mandarin with a man and woman with excited talk – Fair in peaks Dec 26 – The Chinese authorities use the feed for this one to jam western broadcasters (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via DXLD) 9455. Dec 24, 2017 at 0200-0207, China National Radio 1 Jammer, in Chinese. Woman and man announcers talk & talk. Very good signal and modulation, 45544 (DXer: José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo-PB, Brazil, Sony ICF-SW7600GR & Tecsun S-2000, Longwire, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 6043 approx., Dec 20 at 0128, FMy blob at S7-S8, much weaker than last night when IDed as LV de tu Conciencia. Again there is but a JBA carrier on 6010.0. Maybe that`s what`s left of HJDH on its proper frequency; or Brasil, but both were usually slightly off- channel. No major broadcasters are scheduled at this hour on 6010, per NDXC/Aoki, which would you believe it, still also lists Radio Mil in México, despite gone for many years. I expect schedule aggregators which pull in, er copy, Aoki info re-propagate this misinfo, leading the unwary to misIDs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. 6115, Radio Congo, Brazaville, 0603-0612, 25-12, French, female, male, comments. Very weak. 15321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note he has no interference from Japan, which is dominant here, but signs of Congo under (gh, OK, DXLD) ** CUBA. 1620, Dec 21 at 0118, R. Rebelde asserting thrice ``Armando y --- en Concierto!!``, good modulation and not // 5025 Rebelde. I suppose the MW outlet has switched to Rebelde FM feed as it often does (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 5025, Dec 21 at 0056, R. Rebelde is S9+30 but suppressed / distorted [= suptorted] modulation. Wiggle that patchcord! Much like RHC 6000 right now. Something`s always wrong at RadioCuba (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 11845, Dec 20 at 1419, lite pulse jamming against nothing since Martí quit years ago, neatly nestled between RHC parasite on 11850 and RHC fundamental on 11840, a trifecta of cubanos. 11760, Dec 20 at 1424, like yesterday at 1410, RHC distorted and splattering out about 20 kHz, now a little less than 25 kHz then. 15437 & 15303, Dec 20 at 1426, RHC dirty spurblobs out of 15370; looking for further ones at 1549, I can detect much weakers around 15237, 15505, but no more. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 6000, Dec 21 at 0052, RHC in Spanish is S9+30 but just barely modulated & suptorted. Wiggle that patchcord! This is the `Mesa Redonda` hour supposed to be // 11950 only, but the latter is a JBA carrier. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 15370, Dec 21 at 1458, RHC is S9+20/30 but fails to cover the band with filthy spurs. Something`s sometimes right at RHC. Shows they can clean up their act if they want to; or is it all random? 11950, Dec 22 at 0038, RHC `Mesa Redonda` TV soundtrack diversion hour is propagating tonight at S9+5, but undermodulated, not distorted. Only //, 6000 is S9+25 undermodulated and also distorted. Something`s always wrong at RHC. RHC English check at 0605 Dec 22, in increasing order of reception quality, among the Cuban Five: 6165, VP S5-S8, JBM 6000, S9+20, suptorted 6100, S9/S9+10, very undermodulated 5040, S9+10/20, undermodulated 6060, S9+10, full modulation, but het from Brasil. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 11830 & 11850, Dec 22 at 1417, RHC parasites of 11840 are suffering from 11840 splatter out to approx. 11822/11858. 11840 is S9+30. Usually its parasitical spurs are in the clear, but now QRMed by their own fundamental! Something`s always wrong at RHC. ** CUBA [and non]. 13340, Dec 22 at 1423, RHC Spanish JBA mixing with something: i.e. strong local 1390 KCRC, adding to 11950 bigsig from RHC; only with Preamp 2 on the R75, so probably receiver-produced; RHC not to blame in this case {except for excessive kW?} (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 17430, Dec 22 at 1501, RHC JBA // 17580, as 17730 is still on air, leaping over 17580 to land 150 kHz further down. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 15140, Dec 22 at 1909, RHC in Arabic, distorted, squealing, and splattering out to 15120/15160. Squeal problem much like that of WEWN. Something`s always wrong at RHC. 15164, 15233, 15301, 15439, 15508, 15577, Dec 23 at 1454, extremely distorted spurblobs out of S9+30 RHC 15370 where it sounds OK. Also weaker ones audible at the extremes, 15646, 15095, at ~69 kHz intervals. The 15233 one I hear first is QRMing another RHC fundamental, 15230! Something`s always wrong at RHC. But these occur most days, lack other days. 15508, 15439, 15300, 15231, 15161, 15092 approx., Dec 24 at 1433, extremely distorted filthy spurblobs out of 15370 RHC transmitter at about 69 kHz intervals, including one almost upon another real RHC frequency, 15230! And woe betide any innocent bystations. `En Contacto` starts about 1435; if Arnie were listening to his own broadcast at local range, he might notice these; why depend on me for technical monitoring?? Something`s always wrong at RHC. 6000, UT Mon Dec 25 at 0612, RHC is suptorted as `DXers Unlimited` is starting; // 6165 is S9 of dead air, easifying audibility of Arabic from Japan via France underneath. Something`s always wrong at RHC. From least to most modulated, Dec 26 at 0654, RHC English: 6165, 6000, 6100, 6060. 14961, 15029, 15097, 15166, 15233, 15302, 15438, 15507, 15576, Dec 25 at 1359, filthy distorted spurblobs out of 15370 RHC transmitter which as usual sounds fine on the fundamental; these at approx. 68-69 kHz intervals out to 6x below but 3x above. The strongest, closest in, are almost 5 kHz wide. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS [non]. 9955, Wed Dec 20 at 1400, WRMI starting `FG Radio`, another new episode with several subjects, about the situation in Syria, a 94-year-old scubadiver, etc. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHIA. CZECH REP. R Prague feature about Jan Šesták, Tony Prince & R Luxembourg An interesting feature on R Prague today - an interview with Jan Šesták --- "Jan Šesták was a music-obsessed mega-fan of Radio Luxembourg, tuning in every evening, despite the risks, in communist Czechoslovakia. Tony Prince was a top DJ on the Europe-wide station, which regularly reached tens of millions of listeners. This is the story of how the two met when Prince performed in Šesták’s native Brno on a 1970 tour, starting a friendship that continues to this day. It is also a story about the power of radio." http://www.radio.cz/en/section/special/the-music-fanatic-in-communist-czechoslovakia-and-the-radio-luxembourg-dj-an-unlikely-friendship (via Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, Dec 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Indotel cierra cuatro emisoras [que] operaban de manera ilegal en Línea Noroeste --- 19/12/2017 https://gruporadioescuchaargentino.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/indotel-cierra-cuatro-emisoras-operaban-de-manera-ilegal-en-linea-noroeste/ El Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones (Indotel) dispuso el cierre de cuatro emisoras que operaban de manera ilegal en varias provincias de la Línea Noroeste, con la finalidad de continuar garantizando el uso eficiente y responsable del espectro radioeléctrico de la República Dominicana. Resultado de imagen para indotel [capción de logotipo] En el operativo, encabezado por la Dirección Técnica del Indotel, fueron clausuradas las estaciones Killa 96.9 FM, en Mao; Unik 94.5 FM, en Monción; Banda 87.9 FM, en Castañuelas, y Brava 94.9, en Villa Vázquez. “Puesto que estos operativos se ejecutan en estricto apego a la Ley a los fines de asegurar los derechos de las personas, aún estuvieran cometiendo una ilegalidad en el uso del espectro radioeléctrico, el personal actuante estuvo conformado además por personal del Ministerio Público y miembros de la fuerza pública, cuya profesionalidad permitió que la acción del Indotel fuera llevada a cabo sin inconvenientes”, informó el órgano regulador. Durante la intervención fueron incautados transmisores, consolas, computadoras, amplificadores, micrófonos, compresores y procesadores de audio, que utilizaban las estaciones para sus transmisiones clandestinas. El Indotel insistió en que no permitirá la operación de estas emisoras ilegales que afectan la transmisión de aquellas que cumplen con la regulación, que tienen su concesión, que pagan sus impuestos y propaga la depreciación del mercado, por lo que implica la informalidad en términos comerciales (via GRA blog Dec 19 via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Good signal & modulation of Radio Cairo on Dec 24 2115-2245 on 9989.6 ABS 200 kW / 325 deg to WeEu English http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/good-signal-modulation-of-radio-cairo.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 24-25, dxldyg via DXLD) Supposed to be on 9900, not 9990; your typo or theirs? And if it were theirs, wouldn`t you point it out? (gh, DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 5005, Radio Nacional, Bata, *0541-0610, 25-12, open with Afro-pop songs, Spanish, comments, mentioned “la Navidad”, songs in Spanish, “villancicos”, song “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano. 15321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S- 8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sign- on, or rather cut-on time, varies widely after 0500 (gh, DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. Reception of Dimtse Radio Erena via BaBcoCk Secretbrod [BULGARIA], Dec 24 1700-1800 9720 SCB 050 kW / 195 deg to EaAf Tigrinya Sun, weak to fair http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/of-dimtse-radio-erena-via-babcock.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23-24, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. ETIÓPIA, 5950 Voz da Revolução do Tigrê, Geja Jawe, 1807- 1818, 16/12, língua local, texto, canções do chamado Corno de África; 34432, QRM adjacente. 6090, Voz do Estado de Amhara, Geja Jawe, 1842-1853, 18/12, líng. local, texto, música; 34432, QRM da NIGERIA (em 6090, não na freq. habitual de 6089.9). (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6090, Amhara State Radio, 0259, Dec 23. Anguilla off the air; briefy noted clear Amhara State Radio IS; later at 0309 HOA music / singing (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Mauno Ritola: Yesterday at 7:01am [Dec 20] UNID heard on 11600 kHz at 1500. Comments László Tringer: sounds like Kurdish for me. Yesterday at 7:06am Mauno Ritola: To me more like African Horn language. I think I also heard "Oromiya media" mentioned. Yesterday at 7:07am László Tringer: yes at second hear sounds like Somali or Tigrinya. Yesterday at 7:08am Jordan C. J Heyburn: Signal noted here. It sounds from the Africa region. No automatic alt text available. Yesterday at 7:11am Ck Raman: Weak signal here. There was an ID at 1520 with 'radio...' could not copy due to deep fade out. Yesterday at 7:23am Rawad Hamwi: Great signal in my location here in northern Saudi Arabia I am assuming it’s a Somali radio station Yesterday at 7:29am Mauno Ritola: Oromia Media Network has news in Somali, but the programming doesn't sound the same: https://www.oromiamedia.org/ Breaking News, Daily… oromiamedia.org Yesterday at 7:35am Mauno Ritola: Here's the opening announcement: https://app.box.com/s/a54req8pd7m4e31v53jispeyqgckbbo5 Yesterday at 12:31pm Hiroyuki Komatsubara: Thanks to Mauno!! This is Radio OMN (or OMN Radio) Yesterday at 2:03pm Hiroyuki Komatsubara: http://radio.chobi.net/DX/bbs/?res:2867 Yesterday at 2:08pm (WRTH FB via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) What timezones these?? (gh) 11600, Radio OMN (Oromia Media Network) via IRRS (Kostinbrod [Sofia]), 1524-1532, Dec 22. Announcers talking in what must be the Oromo language. OMN is a U.S. based nonprofit organization, licensed under the FCC and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Website - https://www.oromiamedia.org/ Nice grayline reception, as my local sunrise was at 1516 UT and Sofia sunset was at 1456 UT. Thanks very much to Mauno Ritola, Hiroshi and Hiroyuki Komatsubara for info about this station http://radio.chobi.net/DX/bbs/?res:640#2874 My audio at http://goo.gl/7YFmtv (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: ``11600 Bulgaria is also carrying a new US-based clandestine for Ethiopia at 15-16, OMN, Oromiya Media Network, as reported by Ron Howard`` --- gh Not really new; they had already been on air from Kostinbrod for some time (Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) When was it on for the first time, then? On this or another frequency? According to info I got, it *is* new and still testing. And I don't mean the short February 2016 operation. Thank you, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) Of course I referred to OMN, Oromia Media Network, "a U.S. based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, licensed under the Federal Communications Commission", says https://www.oromiamedia.org/about/ They had broadcasts via Kostinbrod from February til April 2016, one hour each on five days of the week, promoted with the attached graphics. Either this is already forgotten, or some really remarkable things are going on here (Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The reference was clear, but "... they had already been on air from Kostinbrod for some time" gave me the impression they had been on *recently* for a longer time. As I mentioned, 2016 operation had been documented, so nothing remarkable. Let's see, how long they continue now via Secretbrod. Merry Christmas, (Mauno Ritola, ibid.) From website above, The graphic of logo o/m/n adds: `DAMBALII: 15170 kHz / GALGALA SAA`AA 3-4 / GUYYAA ROOBII - DILBATAA` It must be in Oromo language, but lacking that, Google translate suggests Somali and renders it, close enough?: ``FULL: 15170 kHz / GALAXY YES 3-4 / FIRE STOP - BREAKFAST`` 11600, Sat Dec 23 at 1539, since I have UTwente running for WOR chex, try this for the new OMN, Oromiya Media Network, via Bulgaria, but nothing heard. Ivo Ivanov says it`s probably M-F only (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [and non]. Ethiopia digital scratching noise jamming, against VoA Oromo 1730-1800 UT Dec 26 --- 9485 WOF, 18 kHz wide jammer 9755 UDO, 16 kHz wide jammer 11900 MEY, not very effective, probably 10 kHz wide jammer 12040 UDO, 16 kHz wide jammer 12140 LAM, free of jamming [see below] 13765 KWT, 22 kHz broadband jamming BUT Gedja Ethiopia 5950 kHz is on air regularly at same hour tonight. [Later:] Too, 12140 kHz also hefty jamming observed at 1855 to 1905 UT, Amharic / Tigre langs. wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SECRETLAND [BULGARIA], IRRS Radio OMN (Oromia Media Network) via SPL from Dec 19: 1500-1600 11600 SCB 100 kW / 195 deg EaAf Oromo, probably only Mon-Fri http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/new-clandestine-radio-omn-oromia-media.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23, dxldyg via DXLD) ** EUROPE. Christmas morning pirates --- Hi Glenn! On the WebSDR in Enschede, the Netherlands: Right now just past 0000 GMT Dec 25. Laser International on 6205 kHz and relay of Coast FM on 6235 kHz. Both nice signals. Thank you! (Eric Loy, Sports Director, Neuhoff Media Danville, WDAN D102 K-ROCK, 0014 UT Dec 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. FRS Holland on air tomorrow December 24th http://www.frsholland.nl/20-latest-news/115-season-s-greetings-christmas-eve-s-broadcast.html "Season's Greetings & Christmas Eve's broadcast Christmas Eve December 24th, we will give it a second try. Following last Sunday's broadcast, the complete schedule will be repeated starting at 08:30 UTC/ 09:30 CET. We will be on 48 metres (likely 6284 kHz) with reduced power and of course 7700 kHz. In the afternoon at 15:00 UTC/ 16:00 CET streaming will commence. More streaming at these dates: December 25th, 26th, 27th and 31st. For details please read our schedule including a full schedule at http://www.frsholland.nl/20-latest-news/113-frs-seasonal-broadcast.html May we take this opportunity to wish each and everyone a Merry XMas. May 2018 become a successful and healthy year !We like to thank you for your support over 2017 and hope we may count on you in 2018, being our 38th year as a Free Radio station on short wave. Have a good Sunday and great Christmas Holiday, Santa Claus(1) 73s from Peter, Jan, Dave, Roger & Bert" (via Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Dec 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) HOLLAND?, 6284.1, FRS Holland on air *0829-0840, 24-12, pop songs, ID "FRS Holland". 35323. Also 7700, *0829-0841, 24-12, pop songs, English, comments, ID "This is FRS Holland, communicating to you". // 6284.1. 45444 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S- 8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FAROE ISLANDS. Members, I have just noticed that thanks to a Google Earth image taken on 31 August 2017 the site at Akraberg is fairly easily visible. What I also see is that at 61 23 44N 06 41 16W or 61.395626, -6.687754 there is a reserve mast. This has been added to the spreadsheet. Given the battering that both masts must receive on this highly inhospitable edge of the country I would imagine that wear would be heavy on the site. 73 and 88 (Dan Goldfarb, 26 Dec, mwmasts iogroup via DXLD) ** FRANCE. 7295, Dec 25 at 0627, Xmas carol in English with an African beat, S9-S7, announcement in Hausa from RFI and off 0630* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. HAMBURGER LOKALRADIO ON SHORTWAVE [CET = UT +1] Hamburger Lokalradio sendet zu folgenden Zeiten auf Kurzwelle: Aktueller Sendeplan (22.12.2017) Jeden Samstag: 08.00 - 11.00 Uhr CET 6190 kHz (1000 W) (3 h) 11.00 - 13.00 Uhr CET 7265 kHZ (250 W) (2 h) 13.00 - 17.00 Uhr CET 6190 kHz (1000 W) (4 h) Jeden Sonntag: 11.00 - 14.00 Uhr CET 9485 kHz (1000 W) (3 h) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Geplantes Sonderprogramm Weihnachten 2017: 24.12.2017 (Sonntag - Heiligabend) 08.00 - 14.00 Uhr CET 6190 kHz (1000 W) (6 h) 25.12.2017 (Montag - 1. Weihnachstsfeiertag) 08.00 - 14.00 Uhr CET 6190 kHz (1000 W) (6 h) 26.12.2017 (Dienstag - 2. Weihnachtsfeiertag) 08.00 - 14.00 Uhr CET 9485 kHz (1000 W) (6 h) Samstag, 30.12.2017: 08.00 - 11.00 Uhr CET 6190 kHz (1000 W) (3 h) 11.00 - 13.00 Uhr CET 7265 kHZ (250 W) (2 h) 13.00 - 17.00 Uhr CET 6190 kHz (1000 W) (4 h) Geplantes Sonderprogramm Silvester 17: 31.12.2017 (Sonntag - Silvester) 08.00 - 14.00 Uhr CET 6190 kHz (1000 W) (6 h) 01.01.2018 (Montag - Feiertag) 10.00 - 15.00 Uhr CET 9485 kHz (1000 W) (5 h) Aktueller Sendeplan ab Samstag, 23.12.2017 08.00 CET 6190 kHz Englisch - Switzerland In Sound 08.30 CET 6190 kHz Englisch - World of Radio – Glen Hauser 09.00 CET 6190 kHz Deutsch [etwas] 10.00 CET 6190 kHz Deutsch 11.00 CET 7265 kHz Deutsch 12.00 CET 7265 kHz Deutsch 13.00 CET 6190 kHz Englisch - New Letters – Making Contact 14.00 CET 6190 kHz Englisch - UN-Radio / Radio City 15.00 CET 6190 kHz Spanisch - Radio Tropical – Mundofonias 16.00 CET 6190 kHz Englisch - Media Network plus 16.30 CET 6190 kHz Englisch - World of Radio – Glen Hauser Sonntag 11.00 CET 9485 kHz Deutsch 12.00 CET 9485 kHz Englisch - Media Network plus 12.30 CET 9485 kHz Englisch - World of Radio – Glen Hauser 13.00 CET 9485 kHz Spanisch - Radio Tropical - Mundofonias Das Hamburger Lokalradio ist ein nichtkommerzieller Rundfunkveranstalter. Zugelassen als Sparten-Kulturradio durch die MA HSH. In und um Hamburg ist das wortgeprägte Programm über UKW 96.0 MHz zu empfangen. Das Hamburger Lokalradio sendet seit Juni 2015 in Hamburg täglich 24/7 auf DAB+. Versuchssendungen wurden auf der Mittelwelle 1242 kHz ausgestrahlt. Das HLR verfügt über 2 eigene Kurzwellenfrequenzen: 6190 kHz und 7265 kHz. Zugeteilt durch die Bundesnetzagentur. Ausgestrahlt werden unsere Sendungen über die Sendestelle MV-Baltic in Göhren bei Schwerin. Das HLR nutzt ebenfalls die MV-Frequenz 9485 kHz. Die Sendestelle verfügt über drei Kurzwellensender: 2 x rft KSG 1300 (1000 Watt Sendeleistung) 1 x tx am – (150 Watt Sendeleistung) Ausgestrahlt über einen automatischen Antennentuner und einer Dreiband-Dipolantenne. Das Hamburger Lokalradio bestätigt Empfangsberichte mit einer QSL- Karte. (Rückporto erforderlich) Ausland 1US-Dollar. Anschrift: Hamburger Lokalradio Kulturzentrum LOLA 21031 Hamburg Deutschland (Michael Kittner, HLR, Dec 22, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Some changes of Hamburger Lokalradio & relays effective Dec 23: [UT] 0700-1000 on 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu Sat CUSB, ex 0700-1100 0700-0730 Switzerland In Sound in English 0730-0800 GH's World of Radio in English 0800-1000 Hamburger Lokalradio in German 1000-1100 NF 7265 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu Sat CUSB, ex 6190: 1000-1100 Hamburger Lokalradio in German 1100-1200 on 7265 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu Sat CUSB, ex 1000- 1100-1200 Hamburger Lokalradio in German 1200-1600 NF 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu Sat CUSB, ex 7265: 1200-1300 New letters in English 1300-1400 Making Contact in English 1400-1500 Radio Tropicana in Spanish 1500-1530 Media Network Plus in English 1530-1600 GH's World of Radio in English 1000-1300 on 9485 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu Sun CUSB is unchanged: 1000-1100 Hamburger Lokalradio in German 1100-1130 Media Network Plus in English 1130-1200 GH's World of Radio in English 1200-1300 Radio Tropicana in Spanish http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/some-changes-of-hamburger-lokalradio.html Special programs of Hamburger Lokalradio, Dec 25/26/31 & Jan 1 0700-1300 on 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu German Sun, Dec.24 0700-1300 on 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu German Mon, Dec.25 0700-1300 on 9485 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu German Tue, Dec.26 0700-1300 on 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu German Sun, Dec.31 0900-1400 on 9485 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu German Mon, Jan.01 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/special-programs-of-hamburger.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 22, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 2017-12-22, today, 14.00 MEZ = 13.00z, 5935 kHz Nauen 125 kW ===> Europe http://welle370.funkerberg.de/ Translation: "....For all radio listeners, "welle370" still has a special Christmas surprise. December 22nd at 14:00 local time (=1300z) we transmit a Christmas concert like the (German) radio pioneers 97 years ago. Broadcasting site is the historic radio station Nauen. From here, the welle370 program will be broadcast with 125 kW transmission power and can be received throughout Europe. It will be broadcast excerpts of the 17th Christmas Concert on the Funkerberg with the choir of the Friedrich Schiller High School Königs Wusterhausen and the District- Music-School Dahme-Spreewald. There is also a "capture of radio history", Funkerberg news and listener reports. We wish all listeners a good reception and look forward to numerous reports. The "welle370" team." "welle370" ====> Usually "wave370" transmits over a low power mediuum wave transmitter on 810 kHz = 370 meter wavelength. The broadcast will be in German, but probably contains a high percentage of music. For the "early birds" outside Europe (beyond the Atlantic), this would probably be the most reasonable reception option: http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/?tune=5935am + ===> AMsynch And take a look at this too: http://museum.funkerberg.de/meilenstein/start_en.htm "On 16 July 2016 the Christmas Concert of 22 December 1920 was acknowledged as IEEE Milestone of engineering history." "...Finally Dr. Barry L. Shoop read the text of the Milestone plaque: Königs Wusterhausen Radio Broadcast, 1920 In early 1920, in this building, technicians of the Königs Wusterhausen radio station together with employees from the Telegraphentechnisches Reichsamt, began experiments broadcasting voice and music using an arc transmitter. By late 1920, tests had become successful enough to transmit an instrumental concert on 22 December - - the so-called Christmas concert. This transmission is regarded as the birth of statutorily regulated broadcasting in Germany." (roger, germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks for the tip, Roger. Excellent signal into the U. Twente SDR receiver right now (-- Richard Langley, 1304 UT, ibid.) I additionally used (also) this SDR-RX. My distance to the transmitter site is only 85 miles which is very short at a foF2 of about 5 MHz here, at that time. I had a varying reception quality of O = 3 to 5 with my equipment. It was more stable over Twente and so I made more miles. :-) Some songs were presented in English, which was certainly beneficial for QSL details. Here are videos concerning the historical transmitter-site "Funkerberg - Königs Wusterhausen". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VQ9CdU0458 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMpVRWoru_0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igJHIy5MUzA + Welle 370 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J5iOL3BxNQ (roger, dxldyg via DXLD) 5935: Thanks, Wolfie. As you know, also good via the University Twente receiver. Since my German is limited (more or less non-existent), is all of the music from amateur musicians or musicians at a school? Hard for me to tell. Leonard Cohen song right now. A Canadian connection! ;-) (Richard Langley, (Dec 22), BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD) Rich, yes, is total an amateurish 17th Christmas concert by pupils of the local high school and the public music school of the kids in that counties district / village. http://museum.funkerberg.de/web-archiv/2017/20171216-weihnacht/index.htm All from the not 'sound optimized' "TRANSMISSION SENDER HALL" at Koenigswusterhausen, Senderberg / Transmitter mountain, at the 9 Watt mediumwave transmitter on MW 810 kHz - museum, were the first transmission went out some 97 years back in past century in 1920 year. http://museum.funkerberg.de/meilenstein/index.htm http://museum.funkerberg.de/ http://museum.funkerberg.de/museum/index.htm Radio Flea Market in the old Transmitter #3 hall http://museum.funkerberg.de/fbb/index.htm QSL, you will get a paper QSL card as confirmation of RR to this transmission, if you tell them your snail mail address, no return postage is needed at Also via MBR Cologne, Mr. Michael Puetz Sales Consultant, Business Unit Radio MEDIA BROADCAST GmbH Erna-Scheffler-Strasse 1 51103 Koeln, Germany t. +49 (0) 221 7101 - 5319 f. +49 (0) 6081 100 78 - 5319 m. +49 (0) 151 - 14 72 52 42 Merry Christmas und a happy new year to New Brunswick, Canada de Wolfie df5sx https://www.wwdxc.de/topnews.shtml (wb, ibid.) FYI, - und hier die Festlegung auf die 5935 kHz. 73 wb ----- Original Message ----- From: "Pütz, Michael" Sent: Friday, December 22, 2017 10:26 AM Subject: AW: 6055 oder 5935 kHz Christmas Concert on "Welle 370" from MBR Nauen Hallo Herr Büschel, die Sendung wird heute von 1300-1400 UTC auf der 5935 kHz ausgesendet. Viele Grüße und schöne Feiertage, Michael Pütz Sales Consultant, Business Unit Radio MEDIA BROADCAST GmbH Erna-Scheffler-Straße 1 51103 Köln t. +49 (0) 221 7101 - 5319 f. +49 (0) 6081 100 78 - 5319 m. +49 (0) 151 - 14 72 52 42 Michael.Puetz@media-broadcast.com www.media-broadcast.com ENABLING MEDIA INNOVATION -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: DF5SX@darc.de [mailto:DF5SX@darc.de] Gesendet: Donnerstag, 21. Dezember 2017 17:31 An: Pütz, Michael Betreff: 6055 oder 5935 kHz Christmas Concert on "Welle 370" from MBR Nauen Wichtigkeit: Hoch S.g. Herr Pütz, auf welcher Welle am 22.12. aus Nauen? 6055 oder 5935 kHz. Danke im voraus. mfg de (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, ibid.) GERMANY, 5935 kHz, Christmas Concert on "Welle 370" from MBR Nauen on shortwave in 49mb. Friday, Dec 22, 1300 UT / 1400 CET/MEZ. - like the broadcasting pioneers 97 years back. Infos: Local on MW 810 kHz within about 10 km around the Funkerberg of Koenigs Wusterhausen, in Dahme-Spreewald. Weihnachtskonzert von Welle 370 aus MBR Nauen am Freitag, 22. Dez, 1300 UT / 1400 CET/MEZ. Ich las soeben die nachfolgende Information der Kolleginnen & Kollegen aus Koenigs Wusterhausen. Was fuer eine schoene Aktion! "Fuer alle Radiohoerer hat welle370 noch eine besondere Weihnachtsueberraschung. *Am 22. Dezember 2017 um 14.00 Uhr Ortszeit senden wir, wie die Rundfunkpioniere vor 97 Jahren, ein Weihnachtskonzert.* Ausstrahlungsort ist die historische Sendestelle Nauen. Von hier aus wird das welle370 Programm mit 125 kW Sendeleistung abgestrahlt und in ganz Europa zu empfangen sein. (via wb, ibid.) 5935 kHz "Welle 370" via Kurzwelle MBR Nauen, remote in Grenoble und an der Belgien Kueste wie folgt zu hoeren 13.8 kHz weites Signal, beides S=9+45dB stark im Perseus SDR, ab 12.59z mit der Kennmelodie gestartet. 73 (wb df5sx, 1332 UT, A-DX via wb, DXLD) Thanks for the tip Roger, it's very strong here. 73 for now, (Alan Gale, England, 1342 UT, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) German broadcaster Welle 370 was observed on 5935 kHz with its special transmission from Nauen starting at 1258 UT today (22 Dec 2017) with an interval signal interspersed with German IDs. The opening announcement (also in German) included everything an SWL listener might want to know - ID, date, contact details, transmitter power & location, frequency - then followed a Christmas carol concert, starting with one sung in English. Reception was excellent via a web SDR receiver in Asferg, Denmark. You can hear an edited clip of this at http://www.intervalsignals.net/files/ger-welle370_221217.m3u (David Kernick, Interval Signals Online, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Special transmission of Welle 370 via MBR Nauen Fri Dec 22 1300-1400 6055 NAU 125 kW / 222 deg CeEu German Christmas Concert http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/special-transmission-of-welle-370-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 20, dxldyg via DXLD) Good signal of Welle 370 via MBR Nauen, Dec 22 1300-1400 on 6055 NAU 125 kW / 222 deg to CeEu German http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/good-signal-of-welle-370-via-mbr-nauen.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 22, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. NDR Xmas special underway --- But a quick check on 11 and 9 MHz frequencies after 1900 finds nothing audible here (gh, 1910 UT Dec 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz: NDR Christmas Special transmissions via Media Broadcast on 24th Dec'17 24th December 2017 (Sunday) 1900-2100 UT 6010 kHz Erevan(ARM) Europe 6080 kHz Nauen(DE) North Atlantic 9740 kHz Nauen(DE) Indian Ocean West 9790 kHz Moosbrunn(AT) Indian Ocean East 9800 kHz Issoudun(FRA) Atlantic(South Africa) 11650 kHz Issoudun(FRA) South Atlantic 24th December 2017 (Sunday) 2100-2300 UT 5930 kHz Nauen(DE) North Atlantic 6155 kHz Erevan(ARM) Europe 9590 kHz Issoudun(FRA) Atlantic(South Africa) 9650 kHz Moosbrunn(AT) Indian Ocean East 9765 kHz Nauen(DE) Indian Ocean West 9830 kHz Issoudun(FRA) South Atlantic Please send your answer and reception reports to: michael.puetz@media-broadcast.com More info at: [checked and correct with the comma in it] http://www.ndr.de/info/sendungen/So-empfangen-Sie-die-Gruss-an-Bord-Sendungen,grussanbord326.html On Christmas Eve, Norddeutsche Rundfunk broadcasts messages to sailors all over the world in the radio broadcast "Gruss an Bord" or "Greeting aboard" - greetings to the ship's crew in their home country. The greetings to the sailors were recorded at two "greeting on board" events in the Adventszeit: on 4 December in the Cultural memory in Wilhelmine gear in neutral and on December 11 in the Hamburg Seemannsmission "Duckdalben". Relatives and friends had the opportunity to wish their loved ones at sea a happy holiday and a good new year. The show "Greeting aboard" was heard for Christmas 1953 for the first time on the radio. It is thus one of the oldest existing radio broadcasts in the world (via Alokesh Gupta, Dec 14, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6010 - Armenia, Very poor but some audio 6080 - Nauen , Solid S7. pleasant audio. Best frequency 9740 - Nauen. Only a carrier visible. No audio 9790 - Moosbrunn. Fair. Listenable 9800 - Issoudun, Very poor only brief occasional audio 11650 - Issoudun. Nothing not even a visible carrier (Stephen Wood, Harwich, Mass., 1946 UT Dec 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST The barest of a signal on 9800 into Victoria, so I switched to a European SDR: 6010 via Armenia very strong with a hum, 6080 good signal, and cleaner modulation via Nauen, Same for 9740 via Nauen, 9790 via Moosbrunn fair, 9800 via Issoudun fair, 11650 via Issoudun only a faint carrier. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, 1948 UT, ibid.) All frequencies audible here in NB save for 11650 kHz. 9800 kHz was the clearest. Will also try to check the 2100 UT broadcast (-- Richard Langley, 2005 UT, ibid.) Dec 24, 2020 UT here in Europe and partly in FL-US east coast state: 6010 S=9+30, S=9+15dB in GRC 6080 S=9+20, S=9+15dB in GRC, S=8 in FL-US 9740 backlobe S=8-9, S=7 in GRC Very bad fq selection, co-channel 9790 RFI Paris via Issoudun, 9790 S=5-6, S=6 in GRC, S=6 in FL-US state. Very bad QRM, useless in Europe. So many empty other channels in 31 mb or 41 mb available. 9800 S=7, S=9+5dB in GRC, S=6 in FL-US 11650 NIL on all northern hemisphere monitoring. Most likely much better reception in AGL, Namibia, AFS, whole South America. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschle, 2057 UT, ibid.) For the 2100 UT broadcast as received here in NB: 5930 kHz - good, clear signal 6155 kHz - weak 9590 kHz - good strength; no QRM (listening to this frequency while recording 5930 kHz on another rcvr) 9650 kHz - O.K. strength but QRM from Radio Guinea 9765 kHz - very weak 9830 kHz - not heard; strong RTTY station on this frequency (-- Richard Langley, 2119 UT, ibid.) NDR Christmas Eve Special as monitored from Mangawhai NZ KiwiSDR starting at 2112: Issoudun 9830 - nothing here except strong CRI station Nauen 9765 - varying S2 to S3 with no QRM and some noise, deep QSB Moosbrun 9650 - S4 and the best heard on 31 mb (not surprising since beamed to Eastern Indian Ocean, closest to NZ) Issoudun 9590 - S2 to inaudible and weakest of the 31 mb channels Program was a church service with many choral Christmas carols, readings, a man talking (all in German of course) (Bruce Churchill, CA, 2154 UT, ibid.) None of the Gruss an Bord, NDR Xmas special frequencies after 1900 Dec 24 were more than JBA carriers here. Checking the second set after 2100, at 2134: 5930 poor, 6155 JBAC, 9590 poor, 9650 very poor, 9765 JBA carrier, and 9830 would have been best if it were not buried by the RTTY! At 2135, ``Stille Nacht`` was being performed by choir and organ. Not the only poor frequency choice. Broadcasters simply don`t know or care about the RTTY on 9800, not doing their homework (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) > Gruss an Bord, NDR Xmas special frequencies --- Without checking if it has already been mentioned in all the enthusiasm: The transmission from Armenia, at least the first two hours on 6010 kHz, was badly distorted, to an amount that in my opinion would be reason for a refund (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-23.htm#NDR-KW Excellent Roger, 24.12.2017: [compared to 2016 frequencies] 6010 kHz 1900-2100z 27,28,29 ERV 100 kW 305 degr 241217 ARM 2016: 6145 6080 kHz 1900-2100z 27,80,36,81,11 NAU 125 kW 250 degr 241217 D 2016: 6125 9740 kHz 1900-2100z 48,53,41,79 NAU 125 kW 130 degr 241217 D 2016: 9470 (interch.#) 9790 kHz 1900-2100z 41,49,54,79,58 MOS 100 kW 115 degr 241217 AUT 2016: ident 9800 kHz 1900-2100z 57,53,48,79 ISS 250 kW 148 degr 241217 F 2016: ident 11650 kHz 1900-2100z 13,46,15,66,52,57 ISS 250 kW 195 degr 241217 F 2016: ident 5930 kHz 2100-2300z 27,80,36,81,11 NAU 125 kW 250 degr 241217 D 2016: ident 6155 kHz 2100-2300z 27,28,29 ERV 100 kW 305 degr 241217 ARM 2016: 6145 9590 kHz 2100-2300z 57,53,48,79 ISS 250 kW 148 degr 241217 F 2016: ident 9650 kHz 2100-2300z 41,49,54,79,58 MOS 100 kW 115 degr 241217 AUT 2016: ident 9765 kHz 2100-2300z 48,53,41,79 NAU 125 kW 130 degr 241217 D 2016: ident 9830 kHz 2100-2300z 13,46,15,66,52,57 ISS 250 kW 195 degr 241217 F 2016: ident http://www.rhci-online.net/files/2017-12-24_HFCC_NDR_Gruss_am_Bord.png http://www.rhci-online.net/files/2015-NAU-250-s.png http://www.rhci-online.net/files/2015-ISS-195-s.png http://www.rhci-online.net/files/2015-ISS-156-s.png http://www.rhci-online.net/files/2017-NAU-130.png http://www.rhci-online.net/files/2015-MOS-115-s.png http://www.rhci-online.net/files/2017-ERV-305.png (via wolfgang bueschel, dxldyg via DXLD) Reception of NDR Christmas "Gruss an Bord", Dec 24 1900-2100 on 6010 ERV 100 kW / 305 deg to We/Central Europe 1900-2100 on 6080 NAU 125 kW / 250 deg to Northern Atlantic 1900-2100 on 9740 NAU 125 kW / 130 deg to Indian Ocean West 1900-2100 on 9790 MOS 100 kW / 115 deg to Indian Ocean East 1900-2100 on 9800 ISS 250 kW / 148 deg to Indian Ocean/SoAf 1900-2100 on 11650 ISS 250 kW / 195 deg to Southern Atlantic 2100-2300 on 5930 NAU 125 kW / 250 deg to Northern Atlantic 2100-2300 on 6155 ERV 100 kW / 305 deg to We/Central Europe 2100-2300 on 9590 ISS 250 kW / 148 deg to Indian Ocean/SoAf 2100-2300 on 9650 MOS 100 kW / 115 deg to Indian Ocean East 2100-2300 on 9765 NAU 125 kW / 130 deg to Indian Ocean West 2100-2300 on 9830 ISS 250 kW / 195 deg to Southern Atlantic http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-ndr-christmas-gruss-bord.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 24-25, dxldyg via DXLD) As mentioned previously, the 5930 kHz transmission from Nauen provided a very good signal here in NB. While playing back my recording, I noticed that there were several messages in English in the latter half of the program in an otherwise almost entirely German program. Some songs had English lyrics and it wasn't too difficult to follow along with the Roman Catholic mass in the first part of the program with familiar Bible passages, etc. (-- Richard Langley, Dec 26, ibid.) 5930, Gruss An Bord – NDR via Nauen, 2157-2300*, Dec 24. annual traditional broadcast for those at sea with several Christmas songs (“Feliz Navidad” and “Silent Night”) and much German language conversation with a “live” audience. At 2248 the woman announcer spoke in English wishing listeners a “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”. Fair and clear until WWCR opened on 5935 at 2259. // 6155 Yerevan, Armenia was poor (Rich D'Angelo, 2216 Burkey Drive, Wyomissing, PA 19610, U.S.A. Equipment: Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B, Eton E1, Eton E5, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, RF Systems Mini-Windom, Datong FL3, JPS ANC-4, NASWA Flashsheet Dec 26 via DXLD) Finally, I added a few links and made additional comments. (hopefully helpful). http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-23.htm#NDR (During the Cold War period, the NDR was (for me) the most important Western Radio & TV broadcaster. He had the strongest cross-border RF signals on FM, even in stereo quality. In addition, the North Germans, especially in Greater Hannover (Lower Saxony) speak the best standard German. That's why the NDR had shaped me culturally already 40 years ago.) (roger, germany, ibid.) After reporting them a few times over the past few years, in my experience they do not QSL nor respond to reports. I did not try this year (Brandon Jordan, TN, ibid.) Actually NDR did QSL for last year's broadcast - I received a complete data card on January 29 this year for the 2016 Christmas Eve special from the Moosbrunn site. The frequency then was 9765 which turned out to be the frequency I monitored last week but in this case it was the Nauen site. We'll see what happens to the QSL for this year's special (Bruce Churchill, CA, Shortwave Listener since 1952, ibid.) ** GERMANY [and non]. Fecha: 22 dic. 2017 11:30 a. m. Asunto: Radio Mi Amigo International Newsletter Christmas 2017 Hello to all Radio Mi Amigo International friends and welcome to the last Newsletter 2017’! The end of the year is near, christmas is coming up, so a good chance to relax a bit and listen to Radio. Besides our normal programs --- see http://radiomiamigointernational.com we have 3 'High-Power-Broadcasts' for you, each 2 hrs and with 100 KW of music power! Our ‘high-power-broadcast’s December 2017: Times and frequencys: Sunday, December 24, 19-21 CET [18-20 UT] on SW 5845 kHz - 100 KW (repeat: Monday, December 25, 15-17 CET [14-16 UT] on SW 6085 kHz), both times also online: http://radiomiamigointernational.com Sunday, December 25, 12-14 CET [11-13 UT] on SW 7310 kHz - 100 KW (repeat: Monday, December 25, 17-19 CET [16-18 UT] on SW 6085 kHz), both times also online: http://radiomiamigointernational.com Both shows will be hosted from our team (see the pictures above) and for those who don't want to hear the same Christmas songs over and over again, this might be a good opportunity, You will hear songs you don't hear on other stations. Sunday, December 31, 19-21 CET [18-20 UT] on SW 5845 kHz - 100 KW (repeat: Thursday, January 04, 15-17 CET [14-16 UT] on SW 6085 kHz), both times also online: http://radiomiamigointernational.com In the first hour as usual all News about our station and we will answer your questions who came in. The second hour, it's Stuart Vincent (ex Caroline, VOP and Laser) telling his radio-story together with the music of that time Our Cpt is verry ill, he hopes to beback from Frb/18: give him your best wisches please, you can do that via post in Berlin, see pic belowe. That`s as usual the portadress of it, also for reports and you want a qsl-card All infos about us you find on :: http://radiomiamigointernational.com Daily news you will find always on our Facebook-page which is open for all (even if you are not a member of Facebook you can see the page): https://www.facebook.com/radiomiamigointernational/ To all of you from all of us: Have a great Christmas time and a splendid start into 2018, stay tuned to Radio Mi Amigo International. The Radio Mi Amigo International Team (via Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, dxldyg via DXLD) Radio Mi Amigo International pone en el aire tres transmisiones especiales con 100 kW de potencia con motivo de las fiestas navideñas: Domingo 24 de diciembre, 1800-2000 UT en 5845 kHz, 100 kW. Se repetirá el 25 de diciembre entre las 1400-1600 UT por su frecuencia habitual de 6085 kHz. Lunes 25 de diciembre, 1100-1300 UT en 7310 kHz, 100 kW. Se repetirá el lunes 25 de diciembre, 1600-1800 UTC en 6085 kHz Domingo 31 de diciembre 1800-2000 UT, 5845 kHz, 100 kW. Se repetirá el jueves 4 de enero entre las 1400 y las 1600 UT, en 6085 kHz. Confirmar siempre los informes de recepción y se pueden enviar a la siguiente dirección de correo electrónico: info@radiomiamigointernatioal.com (via Manuel Méndez, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) The latest Newsletter from Radio Mi Amigo gives details of three high power broadcasts for Christmas/New Year: Sunday 24 December: 1800-2000 on 5845 (100 kW) Monday 25 December: 1100-1300 on 7310 (100 kW) Sunday 31 December: 1800-2000 on 5845 (100 kW) More details at http://radiomiamigointernational.com/newsletter/xmasnews.pdf (BDXC-UK yg Dec 23 via DXLD) We know [sic] 5845 is Armenia, but site for 7310? Only HFCC registration during those hours is for 20 kW from KaLL site in Germany. roger shows 7310 for this is Saftica, ROMANIA (gh, DXLD) ARMENIA?, 5845, Radio Mi Amigo, Yerevan/Gavar, *1759-1810, 24-12, tuning music, ID “Special Christmas transmission, Radio Mi Amigo, 5845 kHz", pop songs, English, comments. 44444 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Log in Friol, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not Armenia, but Tashkent (Christian Milling, shortwaveservice.de, Von meinem Samsung Galaxy Smartphone gesendet, ibid.) [WORLD OF RADIO 1910] RR to christian.milling@shortwaveservice.com UZBEKISTAN, 5845, Radio Mi Amigo music program, noted 1820-1840 UT, on Dec 24 via Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Excellent audio and signal strength all over Europe: Saloniki Greece S=9+20 Grenoble France S=9+20 Belgium S=9+30 Liverpool UK S=9+30 Muensterland GER S=9+30 Flensburg GER S=9+20 Finland Mauno S=9+25 Moscow Russia S=9+20 Hungary / Styria S=9+25dB. 73 (wb df5sx ibid.) Rather weak signal now (1856 UT) via a KiwiSDR in Maine. It would be hopeless here in Michigan. 73, (Andy Robins, Kalamazoo, ibid.) Fair signal into Cape Cod, Mass. at 1936. Announcements and music heard. Audio is somewhat distorted and subject to occasional fades along with some moderate static. Signal at consistent S5 (Stephen Wood, Harwich, Mass., ibid.) Superb reception via a remote Perseus Rx in northern Netherlands, playing the Supremes, "Love Child". S9 + 30 signal. 1951 24 Dec 2017. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, BC, ibid.) ** GERMANY. LOG: 3975 kHz 1250z ID "Shortwave Radio" http://www.rhci-online.net/mp3/2017-12-25_1250z_3975kHz_ID.mp3 List source: userlistHFCC.txt, file date 2017/12/22 15:40 kHz: 3975 UTC/PSN: 1200-1400 Days/PI: 123456 (Mo-Sa) Language: Multiple languages Station: For new organization NEW ===> http://shortwaveradio.de/ Country: DEU (Germany) Transmitter: Winsen Latitude: 52.6667 Longitude: 9.7667 Modulation: Power (kW): 1 Target: 0 (CIRAF 27, 28NW) Distance: 195 Bearing: 311 Notes: 2910-2503 Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur, Germany) Details: 75 m from Germany to Western Europe/Central/Eastern Europe QTH locator: JO42vq20aa LOG: 5970 kHz / 100 kW Issoudun O=5, ID "....member of the studio 52 radiogroup..." name of the Station: "Hitmx - Das Radio" http://www.rhci-online.net/files/2017-12-25_Hitmix-Das_Radio.png https://studio52radiogroup.jimdo.com/ "...... Ur next transmissions on shortwave runs on 25.December 2017 from 1300 to 1400 UT with 100 kW and on 01.January 2018 from 1200 to 1400 UT with 500 kW!! on 5970 kHz for Europe via Issoudun / France..." http://stream.spdns.org:8000/ Vom Netzwerk empfangen: 454079 Byte Server: SHOUTcast Distributed Network Audio Server/win32 v1.9.8 Inhaltstyp: audio/aacp Empfangene Metadaten: 263 Byte Metadaten-Intervall: 8192 Byte Stream-Name: HITMIX-RADIO-STUDIO-BABELSBERG Aktueller Titel: - Sweep Only One Station S52.aac (roger, Dec 25, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE [and non]. The first state radio programme (Proton Programa) was confirmed on 17, 18, 19, and 20 December at 1400-0600 UT (maybe also before and later during the day time) on new MW 1305 kHz (probably the site is Comotini or Thessaloniki as ex-MW 1404 kHz). The strong transmitter on MW 1512 kHz is silent since beginning December and only Ardabil, Iran is heard here ( \\ 1197 kHz). So, Proton Programa is heard now on MW 729 kHz \\ with delaying signal on 1008 kHz \\ on very delay signal on 1305 kHz. By the way a powerhouse 24h non stop (without ID) radio station is confirmed daily on MW 1044 (most likely state station, no pirate) with evergreen songs presented in the 50s / 60s sung in English, French, Italian, Greek etc. (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews December 21, BC- DX 23 Dec via DXLD) Checked at 1755 UT Dec 21 on remote SDR station in Greece, close to Thessaloniki southern Chalkidiki region: 729.0135, ERA, Athens, Bogianti site, S=9+10dB at 1755 UT on Dec 21. 1758 UT female talk, folk mx, 1800 UT Time pips exact! ID, ? bank advertisement? 1007.9985, \\ ERA, Corfu Kerkyra, same S=9+10dB signal at 1803 UT on Dec 21. QRM co-channel 1007.981 IRAN Semnan, Persian. 1044.0005, Athens Daffy, see wrth page #226, Music program, at 1803 UT, S=8-9 in Thessaloniki. QRM co-ch 1044.003 ???; 1044.010 IRAN Dehloran Persian sung. 1305.0005, rather Tripoli 1 kW station, than Komotini, on Turkish border. Weak only S=5-6 QRM co-ch 1305.093 ??? IRN? HQ Arabic at 1840 1349.999, private station, is "7 Islands Radio, from Kefalonia". S=9+5dB or -68dBm strong signal at 1848 UT. Nothing heard, when checked again at 1903 UT. 1350.even, HUNGARY, Gyoer til 1900 UT close-down TX off. then 1902 UT 1350.even, ARMENIA, Powerhouse S=9+15dB Hebrew language, German Christmas songs heard at 1855 UT, is 100% TWR Europe Vienna, via Gavar Armenia relay site. ex1404.006 GRC Komotini, eastern Greece on Turkish border. ex1512.006 GRC Chania Crete isl. off at present, see below. co-ch QRM 1511.992, fair signal 1511.9975, IRAN Ardabil 1512.002, weak and tiny [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (wb df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 21) (Wofgang Büschel, BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD ** GUAM. 11800, Dec 25 at 2205, S7-S9 music and talk in Indonesian; 2212 medley morphs into ``White Xmas``. It`s KSDA, and no sign of Romania in Spanish also scheduled here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM. Upcoming frequency change of KTWR Trans World Radio Asia: 1215-1315 NF 12160 TWR 100 kW / 290 deg to SoAs, ex 11695 as follows 1215-1315 Assamese Mon-Fri & Kokborok Mon-Fri; 1230-1300 English Sat 1300-1315 Nepali Sat; 1245-1300 Kokborok Sun; 1300-1315 Manipuri Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/upcoming-frequency-change-of-ktwr-trans.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 20, dxldyg via DXLD) Fair/good signal of KTWR Trans World Radio Asia, Dec 24 1059-1156 on 11965 TWR 100 kW / 263 deg to SEAs English Sun http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/fairgood-signal-of-ktwr-trans-world.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23-24, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4055, R. Verdad, 0450-0517, Dec 23. Rarely do I check on this, so surprised by the fair-good reception; audio feed of lecture given by former yoga teacher, Mike Shreveat, who converted to Christianity; video at http://goo.gl/Ch9rEc (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII [and non]. Christmas with Voice of America in Hawaii KRHO Tomorrow is Christmas Day! And on this occasion, we honor another important shortwave station that was officially inaugurated on Christmas Day. This station was KRHO, the Voice of America, on the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands; and if it were still on the air today, it would be celebrating its 73rd anniversary. This is the story. Actually the callsign KRHO originally identified the wireless station aboard an American ship, the Margaret, way back just on 100 years ago, 1918. There were several American ships with the same name, Margaret, during that era, and it is difficult to know with certainly exactly which one was identified with the wireless callsign KRHO. However, it is quite probable that the callsign KRHO belonged to the ship known as USS Margaret, No SP527. This ship was built in 1899 at the Roach shipyards in Chester Pennsylvania as a wealthy owner’s venue for entertaining equally wealthy friends and acquaintances. The ship was too narrow, it was top heavy, and it was awkward in the water. In August 1917, the United States navy bought the 18 year old Margaret and refitted it for anti-submarine patrols. The USS Margaret had so many faults and it encountered so many problems that the whole story has been published in a form of humor as a book, and it was also turned into a movie. On one occasion when the ship was out in the Atlantic, it was spotted by a German submarine. However, the submarine surfaced and the commanding officer broadcast a radio message in the clear stating that he had sighted the Margaret but had not bothered to attack her because she was not worth the cost of a torpedo. Anyway, on to the story of the better known KRHO! In February 1942, a series of test transmissions was broadcast from the RCA communication station located at Kahuku on the northern tip of the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu, the state capital, is located on the southern side of this same island. These test broadcasts were on the air for a short period of time under the callsign KRCA, an informal call at the time for the RCA station at Kahuku. Work on the new VOA Voice of America relay station began in early 1944 at a location on the west coast of the island of Oahu, 1½ miles inland. The United States navy was already operating a huge communication radio station on this property which is located at Maili, Lualualei. The largest mobile crane anywhere in the Hawaiian Islands was brought in for the erection of the masts that supported a total of six diamond shaped rhombic antennas. A new General Electric 100 kW shortwave transmitter Model G1008 was installed in a newly built transmitter building. The official inauguration for the new KRHO was Christmas Day, 1944, 73 years ago. At the same time, a 50 kW mediumwave transmitter aboard the USS Triton Maris, anchored in Pearl Harbor, was also officially inaugurated. The mediumwave station subsequently became KSAI on the island of Saipan. The signal from the new KRHO was always strong in Asia and the South Pacific, due mainly to the wide open saltwater pathway in every direction from Hawaii across the Pacific. Hawaii’s KRHO received its program feed via shortwave from the equally powerful new transmitter in California, KWID at Islais Creek near San Francisco. In January of the new year (1945), KRHO emitted a strong harmonic on 12240 kHz (6120 x 2); and in March, KRHO emitted a bad hum on its 16 metre band channel 17800 kHz. Initially, VOA operated a production studio for KRHO in Honolulu for the preparation of programming in several Asian languages. As an additional relay of the Honolulu programming into the islands and the mainland of the Far East, the shortwave programming from KRHO was picked up live by RCA at Point Reyes California and retransmitted towards Asia by transmitter KRCA at Bolinas. Beginning November 1, 1945, local programming for KRHO ended, and the station became a slave relay station for the rebroadcast of programming from California. An additional 100 kW transmitter, same model General Electric G1008, was installed at VOA Maili and it was taken into service as KRHK in October 1949. Beginning in September 1950, the twin callsigns KRHO-KRHK were no longer announced on air, and the only identification stated Voice of America Honolulu. However, the official callsigns were then listed as KRHO1 and KRHO2. Then beginning November 1, 1963, The usage of callsigns was dropped completely and the transmitters were identified simply as Hon1 and Hon2. However, beginning in May 1967, the usage of VOA Honolulu for programming beamed to Asia and the South Pacific was terminated as redundant, due to the upgrading of VOA stations at Dixon and Delano in California. For a few months, transmitter tests were conducted four days each week to keep the two Honolulu transmitters operational. On occasions, Honolulu filled in for California when operational problems occurred at Dixon or Delano. The station was dismantled in 1969, and it is reported that the two quarter century old transmitters were returned to the mainland. At that age (25 years), maybe they were sold for scrap. The three remaining antenna masts at 300 feet were demolished in January 1998. The transmitter building can still be seen on Google Earth, though it does appear to be overgrown with local vegetation. Interestingly, all of the local streets have been given names associated with radio history, such as:- Radio Rd, Tower Dr, Marconi St, Morse St, Hertz Loop, Edison St. While the VOA studio was operational in Honolulu, unique Hawaiian style QSL cards were issued in Honolulu confirming the reception of KRHO. At the same time, Honolulu was verified also with QSL cards issued from the VOA head office in Washington DC. QOTW185 QSL of the Week: VOA QSL card for Honolulu Transmitter No 2 The Voice of America head office in Washington DC issued a star design blue QSL card to international radio monitor Alex J. Allan for his reception of transmitter Honolulu 2 on 15150 kHz on June 9, 1959. In earlier times, this transmitter was identified under the callsign KRHK. The card was verified with a signature rubber stamp for W. E. Dubin (Adrian Peterson, IN, script for AWR Wavescan Dec 24, 2017 via DXLD) ** INDIA. From tonight 22 Dec 2017, AIR Russian Service at 1615-1715 UT will change to 11560 kHz AM Mode (via Bengaluru 500 kW) replacing 15140 kHz. Reception reports of a few days are appreciated and may be sent to: spectrum-manager@prasarbharati.gov.in QSL cards will be issued by AIR. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India Mobile: +91 94416 96043, http://www.qsl.net/vu2jos dx_india yg via DXLD) And there has been ACTION! A well written, well thought out complaint can have good results. I guarantee you this move was because of my complaint of interference lodged with India Prime Ministers Office, The Public Grievance Department, The Telecom Regulatory Authority Of India, The Prasar Bharati Board and All India Radio engineering staff about interference they caused in the Eastern US to Oman on 15140 (Paul Walker, PA, ODXA yg via DXLD) It may also have helped that a number of Russian DXers started a campaign to write mass complaints to AIR, since they couldn't listen to AIR's Russian-language program. 73 (Eike Bierwirth, wbradio yg via DXLD) Frequency change of All India Radio from Dec 22 1615-1715 11560 BGL 500 kW / 325 deg EEu Russian very strong ex 15140* not // 9595 DEL 250 kW / 312 deg EEu not Russian, other language *coch QRM 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg WEu Arabic R Sultanate of Oman http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/frequency-change-of-all-india-radio.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23-24, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 17670. Dec 25, 2017 at 1859-1915, All India Radio, Bangalore, in English. A song; 1900 Man talks, ID; News; 1905 ID and songs. Station with good signal and modulation, 45444 (DXer: José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo-PB, Brazil, Tecsun S-2000, Longwire, Hard- Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Look how well they do on 16m after midnight in India! But it`s a mostly tropical path (gh, DXLD) ** INDIA. Special broadcasts by AIR for Xmas tonight The following stations of AIR in Kerala State will have extended broadcasts tonight bringing in Xmas Mass from Church around 1830 UT (midnight IST) kHz Station 576 Alappuzha 630 Thrissur 684 Kozhikode 1161 Thiruvanthapuram 5010 Thiruvanthapuram Also 666 kHz Delhi Merry Xmas to all members of DX India! Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, 1147 UT Dec 24, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. Year End Review - 2017: Ministry of I&B Broadcast Sector New Delhi: December 19,2017 The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which is entrusted with the responsibility to Inform, Educate and Entertain the masses, took various initiatives in the last one year to attain its objectives. The Information sector witnessed a plethora of initiatives in the form of International cooperation with Ethiopia, devising 360 degree multimedia campaigns, release of RNI annual report on Press in India, etc. Similarly, the Films sector witnessed successful completion of the 48th IFFI and the Broadcasting sector witnessed the launch of 24x7 DD Channel for Jharkhand. The Initiatives of Ministry in different sectors are mentioned below: Broadcast Sector ? Analog signals in Phase III Urban Areas switched off. "Authorized officers" under Sec 11 of the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act can seize the equipment of the MSOs/Cable Operators, if they continue to carry analog signal in Phase III urban areas after 31st January, 2017. ? Digital Radio Round Table Conference organized. Digital Radio technology would provide listeners with significantly improved audio quality and service reliability at an affordable price. All India Radio has already completed the technical installation and upgradation of 37 powerful transmitters in the first phase of Digitization of Radio Broadcast. ? 14 short films produced by Doordarshan on success stories of various Flagship schemes of the Government which had positively impacted people’s lives and had brought a transformational change in the country. ? A separate 24x7 DD Channel for Jharkhand announced. DD Bihar to telecast DD Ranchi programmes till the launch of 24x7 channel. ? 2 new Shortwave Solid State digital transmitters of 100 KW to broadcast across the border for Afghanistan- Pakistan region announced. ? New website of DD News launched. ? Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture 2017 was organised. http://pibmumbai.gov.in/scripts/detail.asp?releaseId=E2017PR2393 --- (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Dec 29, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA [non]. ARMENIA, Good signal of TWR India via Yerevan Dec 22 1300-1315 on 9745 ERV 300 kW / 100 deg to SoAs English Mon-Sat 1435-1450 on 9745 ERV 300 kW / 100 deg to SoAs English Mon-Fri http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/armenianon-good-signal-of-twr-india-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 22, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 3325, Dec 23 at 1412, JBA carrier indicating RRI Palangkaraya, as NBC Bougainville is usually off by this hour, a semihour after sunrise here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Please be advised that Marconi Radio International (MRI) will be on the air as follows: Sunday, 24 December 2017, 1245-1445 UT; Monday, 25 December 2017, 0900-1100 UT. The frequency is 7720 kHz (USB mode). Reception reports to this E-mail address: marconiradiointernational (at) gmail.com Last but not least, we need your help! If you are a DX blogger, or use social networks, please post an announcement on your own blog and/or Facebook or send out a tweet. You can also forward this message to a friend. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2018 (MRI Dec 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST; also via Manuel Méndez, dxldyg) 7720 USB, Marconi Radio International, 1433-1440, 24-12, English, radio news. Very weak. 15321. Also *0900-0910, 25-12, male and female, English, Italian, ID "Marconi Radio International". ID in Spanish and other languages, radio news in Italian. 14321. 7720 USB, Marconi Radio International now on air, *0900-0910, 25-12, male and female, English, Italian, ID "Marconi Radio International". ID in Spanish and other languages, radio news in Italian. 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fair/good signal of Marconi Radio International, Dec 25 0900-1100 on 7720 unknown 100 watts tx to CeEu En/It/Ge/Fr USB http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/fairgood-signal-of-marconi-radio.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 24-25, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ITALY [non]. Good signal from IBC on 5845 kHz --- Hi All, Just a reminder in case anyone has forgotten, the 100 kW broadcast from the Italian Broadcasting Corporation is currently on 5845 kHz from 1900 to 2100 GMT. It's coming in well here in north west England at the moment, mostly Italian so far, but they usually have a little bit in english plus some datamodes in their regular programmes. Posted by: (Alan Gale, UK, 1905 Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) via ARMENIA listed (gh) 1900-2000 is IBC, 2000-2100 is Radio Bclnews (Roberto Scaglione, Sicilia, bclnews, ibid.) Yes, the data mode, that is a funny story --- Obviously a "DJ" wanted to improve the "acoustic impression" of the whole IBC-program a little bit.He expanded the stereo impression by extreme phase shifts and the surround sound by additional echo. But - this also had affected the FLDIGI-data track in mono. And the result: A bad MFSK-32 SNR due to "multipath conditions" in the original MP3 from the stream and thus "echo ghosts" in the MFSK-32 image. (I ripped the original two-channel Radio Studio X-stream via the Internet.) This "ghost" could also be seen in the picture via Armenia. This means: they also sent the mono sum of this "enhanced stereo signal" via shortwave - what a fun. On the other hand, I received fantastic images of the stereo balance and spectral phase from an originally monophonic FLDIGI data signal. If someone does not understand what I'm talking about here, here's a collage: https://www.dropbox.com/s/oadimqw7foaekjn/2017-12-20_IBC_MFSK32-stereo.jpg?dl=0 (roger, germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. MOVES TOWARDS COMPULSORY DIGITAL RADIO --- DAB 22 December 2017 The Chamber of Deputies approved the Budget Law 2018. The provision contains two paragraphs, already approved in the Senate, very important for the development of digital radio. The first one imposes the "maximization" of the frequency resources of the VHF III band to be allocated to this service thus giving the system certainty during the 700 MHz band refarming. The second establishes that from January 1, 2020, all radio receivers (domestic and installed on cars) must have the ability to receive digital radio Six months before, retailers will have to cease purchasing analogue receivers so as to quickly dispose of any inventories. Italy, the first of the eleven European countries that had indicated their intention to make the radio tuner compulsory digital, today takes an important step to promote the technological innovation of the radio. http://www.dab.it/home/ Posted by: (Mike Terry, Dec 24, dxldyg via DXLD) ** JAPAN [non]. 5960, FRANCE, NHK World Radio Japan - Issoudun, 12/22, 0440-0457 in Japanese, begins with two OM talking about some sort of competition or exhibition, sometimes excitedly; in the background was a noisy crowd yelling, cheering, chanting, stomping, and banging! What a ruckus! This was downright amusing. After 10 minutes a YL began to talk, and the racket subsided. 44233 (Ronald Sives, South Plainfield, NJ, ETON field radio and 66 ft. random wire, NASWA Flashsheet Dec 26 via DXLD) ** KIRITIMATI. [Re: 17-51] David Ricquish wrote in WRTH Facebook group: "Christmas Island 846 advises power is 10 kW." 73, (Mauno Ritola, Dec 19, IRCA via DXLD 846, Dec 20 at 0704, reliable JBA but steady carrier from presumed R. Kiribati. 846, Dec 21 at 0528, JBA carrier from R. Kiribati, but not heard at next check 0611. Had also to check for it on Xmas day, but *not* heard that night (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 621-Tuvalu and 1440-Kiribati Sign Off Routine MP3's Here are two Pacific island sign off MP3's from the recent Kona, Hawaii DXpedition. Because of overwhelming Asian propagation around 1000 UTC in December, both of these stations usually had TP co- channels to deal with as they signed off (unlike in April). 621-Tuvalu started having a distorted audio signal on December 18th, and the problem continued until I left Hawaii on December 21. Their sign off routine MP3 reflects this distorted signal, which seemed to get progressively worse. By December 20th it was a fine match for the buzzing signal from its co-channel 621-Pyongyang. The 621-Tuvalu sign off is still around 1006 UTC, although the December propagation brought in QRM from China at that time. Fortunately, Tuvalu sends China down into the noise during the sign off routine MP3. This is the 621-Tuvalu sign off on December 18th https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/msy64393v8ty1qxq6hi8kixflb32beqx 1440-Kiribati is parallel with the new 846-Kiribati on Christmas Island, although there is a 19-second time delay between the signal of 1440 and 846 (846 programming is 19 seconds later). 846-Kiribati also has a transmitter issue, with the signal dropping out at irregular times. The sign off time of 1440-Kiribati has changed from 0936 UTC to 1006 UTC. This was the sign off of 1440-Kiribati on December 19th, with QRM from JOWF. There is still a loud 1000 Hz tone before the Kiribati power is cut, making the signal easy to hear through the JOWF QRM https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/79v68rumi2mcmamxgu1vy5rwn989z4bp With the notable exception of the new 846-Kiribati and 1098-Marshalls, the Pacific island DU's generally got hammered by Asian QRM from 0800- 1100 UTC every night, with few of them surviving the onslaught. 621- Tuvalu had three different Asian co-channels at times (Pyongyang, China and NHK1) while 1440-Kiribati was plastered by Sapporo as early as 0800. More details on the other Pacific island DU's will follow in a later report. 73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (DXing in Kona, Hawaii at the Royal Kona Resort Motel), 7.5 inch loopstick CC Skywave Ultralight + 5 inch "Frequent Flyer" FSL antenna, DXing setup photo posted at https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/tapsxbn6x16pm7iotmt35v115ddoh7gt IRCA via DXLD) What time does 846 s/off usually? Same as 1440 I'd assume, which means no sunrise enhancement here in the Midwest for me til summer. 73 KAZ (Neil Kazaross, IL/WI, ibid.) 846 is parallel to 1440, although with a 19-second programming delay. Currently it also signs off around 1006 UT along with 1440, which is a half hour later than the sign off time that 1440-Kiribati was using in April (which was 0936). (Gary DeBock, ibid.) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. Kona, Hawaii Ultralight DXpedition -- NK The 5-day trip to warm and (usually) sunny Kona, Hawaii has wrapped up, and now I've returned with a huge number of obscure TP-DX recordings made with a 5 inch (127mm) TSA-friendly FSL antenna (also known as the "Frequent Flyer" model). This antenna was specifically designed to pass quickly and easily through airports, and provide gain roughly similar to that of a 4 foot (1.3m) air core box loop. December propagation in Kona was a stark change from what was observed during a 4-day trip to Kona with identical gear in April. In April the Pacific island DU's on 540, 558, 621, 1017, 1098 and 1440 had no Asian competition from 0700-1030 UTC, and could pound in at awesome strength all alone on their frequencies during those hours. By contrast, during this week's Hawaii trip the Asian TP's started pestering the Pacific island DU's as early as 0730, and usually drowned most of them out by 0830. The only exceptions were the new 846-Kiribati from Christmas Island, its 1440-Kiribati parallel (although with a 19-second delay between the two, with Christmas Island lagging), and 1098-Marshalls. Overwhelming signals from Japan, North Korean and China were usually all over the band by 0900 UT, with the second-tier Asians sounding like big gun TP's do on the west coast. The 5 inch FSL did a great job in providing gain to record many exotic MP3's at good levels, but the "side effect" was piling up a huge number of obscure TP recordings (including wild TP snarls), and the necessity to "record first, and report later." In an attempt to provide some organization to the wild process, I decided to initially report TP-DX according to the countries of origin, and post links for some of the more memorable recordings from each area. Once the dust has settled a more detailed (frequency-by- frequency) report should be in order. The group of MP3's chosen for this first report were all recorded from North Korea, a bizarre country with even more bizarre programming. Other N.K. stations were received in TP snarls, but these were generally all alone. They include an S7 recording of Pyongyang's Japanese service on 621 (with degraded audio from the transmitter), a transmitter on 801 with a Southern Jammer (sounding like the old 1053 beehive) and an 819 transmitter loud enough to wake up the dead. A curious point was that the usual west coast big gun on 657 was never received -- a victim of loud Hawaiian splatter from 650 and 670. 621 Pyongyang BS (V.O.K.) Chongjin, N.K. Voice of Korea Japanese service at a strong level, complete with a buzzing transmitter. This was one of three Asian TP's (including China and NHK1) that would usually run Tuvalu off the rails around 0900 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/rhfksf381csgtohluxt3e97tjf79fshm Japanese female ID and typical music at 0928 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/v7q9eniu9qq1f27rbq97v4c9zbni2eha 801 Pyongyang BS Kimchaek, N.K. This station was a moderate- strength regular, and had an intermittent Beehive-type jammer from the South https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/e4kr0asg24d1ujyk74zztcbdl8aepazh Jammer and Pyongyang at equal anemic strength https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/2fgnifuus86pd0n9qzsatzps56hk43kb 819 Pyongyang BS Pyongyang, N.K. Far and away the strongest N.K. station in Kona, this signal would pound in around 0830 and vary from S7 to S9+ right up until 1030. Bizarre vocal music from a female group was at legendary strength at 0935 on 12-19 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/gj2deffl7mjuzqr5tocsro100sfhqll9 Typical music and 3+1 time pips at the North Korean "TOH" of 0930 on 12-20 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/v7q9eniu9qq1f27rbq97v4c9zbni2eha 855 Pyongyang BS Sangwon, N.K. Those who remember the tirade lady on 657 will recognize the voice in this recording. This station was always around during good TP propagation, but never at overwhelming strength https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/34r4oayh63kxxigc6hisu3t5bfhz1yeb 73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (DXing in Kona, Hawaii), 7.5 inch CC Skywave +, 5 inch "Frequent Flyer" FSL antenna, Demo video posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRaOnWS-5Ig&t=78s IRCA via DXLD) Some additional information for you, Gary: 1, Your song recorded on 621 can be seen here in full, recorded from KCTV with subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXp7VcsTXrk 2, You can hear the typical KCBS ID in your 819 clip at 1:18: "Joseon jungang bangsong imnida. 18-shileul arryeodeurigessseupnida". ("This is Korean Central Broadcasting. We'll inform you when it's 18:00" [time pips]). The song you recorded on 819 can be heard in full as seen here on KCTV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-t2YRP-iJE (-Chris Kadlec http://www.beaglebass.com/dx/seoul/ ibid.) Thanks for your comments and information, Chris! <<< In addition to the TOH IDs at :30 (obviously because the DPRK is a half-hour time zone a half hour behind South Korea), they usually air a half-hour ID as well, with significant period of silence before the station ID, though no time pips. >>> That's interesting. After multiple recordings of 657 here at home I was aware of the 3+1 time pips and ID's on the half hour, but not the ID's at the top of the hour. Of course it might be helpful to know some Korean in order to recognize the ID's :-) <<< Your reception is better than heard in South Korea due to the lack of jammers that are quite the pest. 621 was always a pretty hard catch for me with the South Korean jammer (which was of the silence/slight buzz type). The transmitter of that station has never been good anyway, but it was also further up the coast too and likely aimed at Japan since it plays Japanese programming early in the daytime. >>> The 621 transmitter did have a buzzing sound similar to 60 cycle hum, but a pretty potent signal on most nights. Since I understand conversational Japanese it seemed to me like the announcers were pretty robotic. I never noticed any jammer on the frequency, but 621 was a real zoo in Kona, with the exotic Radio Tuvalu holding the frequency until around 0800, when NHK1, China and the Voice of Korea would derail it, and fight it out among themselves. <<< And 801 was broadcasting on 802-805 for the longest time to avoid the South Korean jammer, not to mention it was drifting, as can be seen on the SDR images I had previously posted of it. I am surprised of the jammer you posted on there. Either the power has been boosted, or this proves that it really is a powerful jammer, which I hadn't expected. You're hearing the jammer in Hwaseong. >>> Thanks. The 801 jammer showed up about half of the time, in an irregular pattern. Although the audio format was similar to the old 1053 beehive, there were pauses in between the beehive audio, and sometimes the "bees" took a break, or went QRT. I also noticed an 819 jammer similar to a video game zapper, but it never had the power to seriously challenge the monster KCBS signal. <<< And for your logs, please note your typo on 819. This is the flagship station of the KCBS network, not Pyongyang BS. >>> Yes, I know that now. I'm not surprised that it is the KCBS "flagship," since only a handful of other TP signals were in the same league (the NHK2 stations on 747 and 774, and 981-CNR1). (Gary DeBock, ibid.) As expected, great share, Gary! In addition to the TOH IDs at :30 (obviously because the DPRK is a half-hour time zone a half hour behind South Korea), they usually air a half-hour ID as well, with significant period of silence before the station ID, though no time pips. Your reception is better than heard in South Korea due to the lack of jammers that are quite the pest. 621 was always a pretty hard catch for me with the South Korean jammer (which was of the silence/slight buzz type). The transmitter of that station has never been good anyway, but it was also further up the coast too and likely aimed at Japan since it plays Japanese programming early in the daytime. And 801 was broadcasting on 802-805 for the longest time to avoid the South Korean jammer, not to mention it was drifting, as can be seen on the SDR images I had previously posted of it. I am surprised of the jammer you posted on there. Either the power has been boosted, or this proves that it really is a powerful jammer, which I hadn't expected. You're hearing the jammer in Hwaseong. And for your logs, please note your typo on 819. This is the flagship station of the KCBS network, not Pyongyang BS. (-Chris Kadlec http://www.beaglebass.com/dx/seoul/ (ibid.) see RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM for his streaming linx Your song recorded on 621 can be seen here in full, recorded from KCTV with subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXp7VcsTXrk >>> Thanks, Chris. The audio quality in the YouTube video sounds somewhat better than it did on the buzzing 621 transmitter :-) Actually I had recorded this same song from 657-Pyongyang about a year ago, so I recognized the tune immediately. Although I don't know Korean, the 657 music (especially by the female groups) sounded strange enough to make recording it seem like a good idea. You can hear the typical KCBS ID in your 819 clip at 1:18: "Joseon jungang bangsong imnida. 18-shileul arryeodeurigessseupnida". ("This is Korean Central Broadcasting. We'll inform you when it's 18:00" [time pips]). The song you recorded on 819 can be heard in full as seen here on KCTV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-t2YRP-iJE >>> Thanks again, Chris. I've heard this ID about 100 times on different stations, but never had the foggiest idea what they were talking about. Of course the music, announcing style and time pips on the half hour quite possibly take away any mystery as far as station identity long before you detect the ID :-) Gary (ibid.) <<< Not that I care for NK but the signals are mind blowing! Thanks for sharing this! How was 972? >>> Todd Skaine Hi Todd, Well, I don't care much for the country's government either, but the wacky programming and jacked-up transmitter power does provide some interesting entertainment for TP-DXers who have a good sense of humor. It's interesting that you should ask about 972, since almost all the South Korean big gun stations were much weaker than their rivals from the North. 711, 972 and 1566 usually seemed to get swallowed up in a black hole, although to be honest Hawaii splatter from 1570 ruined 1566. 603, 864, 1134 and a few others made it through at modest levels, and the S.K. jammers on 801 and 819 made things interesting at times. But in general the South was pretty wimpy by comparison (Gary, DeBock, ibid.) Chris and All, After reviewing some files from the recent Kona (Hawaii) DXpedition I was able to track down a recording of the Southern jammer attempting to compete with the monster 819-KCBS signal from Pyongyang. Even though the 819-Jammer may sound pretty strong in Seoul it definitely didn't bother KCBS very much in Kona. The 819 jammer seems to be a continuous "Beehive" type signal similar to the old 1053 jammer. Because of the overwhelming strength of KCBS it only shows up during Pyongyang's fades, and even then it sounds pretty wimpy by comparison. This recording was made around 0853 on 12- 18, and the jammer can be heard mixing with KCBS from 22 seconds to 40 seconds into the MP3 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1ueov463q72ht02yq6zi5kcyidnwc4n9 By contrast the 801-Jammer seems to be an intermittent Beehive signal, coming and going at irregular intervals, and on a 50% on-off cycle when it does show up (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), Dec 24, IRCA via DXLD) This was my recording from Alaska, of an 819 jammer, sounding like a video game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mb25e6Iqrc (Paul Walker, ibid.) Paul, Thanks for posting your 819 jammer video link. I thought I heard something like that on one of the NK frequencies, but the "Beehive" seems to be the only one showing up on 819 in my recordings. Still going through a huge number of MP3 files, though. The TP-DXing in Hawaii was awesome -- and no need to listen in subzero temperatures next to the frozen Yukon River! :-) (Gary DeBock, ibid.) The Seoul jammers aren't very strong at all and are meant only to cover the metro area, which is home to half the nation's population with the suburbs butting up against the border. 30 miles south of the city, those jammers are already rather weak and even in the metro area (and especially Incheon), North Korean signals can easily get through the jammers. I estimated that most of them are only about 50 kW tops. As for the signal that Paul posted, as I mentioned to him when he first posted, that video game sound is 819 Pyongyang, not a Seoul jammer. KCBS plays that during their off-air hours after 3:28 am until 5:15 or so. The beehive jammers, as we've started calling them, change over time depending on which elements of the sound they are using at the time or if all the jammer-makers (for lack of a better term) are operating. There's the basic bee sound and then the the other sounds are added to that when everything is up and running and the modulation increased. This can be heard in my audio documentary. I've included the final 44 minutes of my 3-hour documentary here, which is the part that concentrates on jammers and propaganda (MW, FM, SW, TV, and numbers stations): http://www.beaglebass.com/temporary/IRCA_jammers.mp3 The part about components of the "beehive" jammer can be heard starting around the 9 minute mark. The full documentary (and the transcript of the propaganda segment) is at http://www.beaglebass.com/dx/seoul/ which has now been online for a year with 2,500 visits. In addition, 801, depending on changes they are always making, has usually come from the Hwaseong transmitting site. That site was home to tests for the 657 jammer that were on/off for some time, as I had reported back then in May 2016. They were doing test loops for it at varying powers and on/off, 42 seconds off, 1 min 42 sec. on, repeat throughout the day. The tests you hear were recorded in suburban Ansan and were part of what eventually resulted in their final jammer pattern they rolled out 6 months later. Of course, I don't think that the on/off type of pattern you noticed could be attributed to this sort of thing, but it was still something that came to mind that I figured I'd share again out of boredom. http://www.beaglebass.com/temporary/657_ansan.MP3 (-Chris Kadlec, ibid.) Chris, Thanks for the additional, detailed information on the 801 and 819 "beehive" jammers. <<< As for the signal that Paul posted, as I mentioned to him when he first posted, that video game sound is 819 Pyongyang, not a Seoul jammer. KCBS plays that during their off-air hours after 3:28am until 5:15 or so. >>> Thanks. Since the "video game" sound is from 819-KCBS anyway, this saves me from listening through multiple 819 MP3's trying to track it down as a Southern jammer. It did seem kind of odd to me that the South would be using both a "beehive" and a "video game sound" on 819 to block Pyongyang. <<< In addition, 801, depending on changes they are always making, has usually come from the Hwaseong transmitting site. That site was home to tests for the 657 jammer that were on/off for some time, as I had reported back then in May 2016. They were doing test loops for it at varying powers and on/off, 42 seconds off, 1 min 42 sec. on, repeat throughout the day. The tests you hear were recorded in suburban Ansan and were part of what eventually resulted in their final jammer pattern they rolled out 6 months later. Of course, I don't think that the on/off type of pattern you noticed could be attributed to this sort of thing, but it was still something that came to mind that I figured I'd share again out of boredom. >>> The 801 "beehive" jammer only showed up in about half of the 801- Pyongyang BS recordings, and when it did, it had an on-off cycle of about 3 seconds. By contrast, the 819 "beehive" was continuous (during the rare times that it could be heard under the KCBS monster signal). (Gary DeBock, Dec 25, ibid.) 855 South Korean "Beehive" Jammer File review of the wild Kona, Hawaii DXpedition has uncovered yet another "Beehive" jammer, this time on the signal of 855-Pyongyang BS in Sangwon (complete with another UnID TP co-channel). This was the third "Beehive" jammer heard during the DXpedition, after the ones on 801 and 819. This was received at 0948 UTC on December 18th, during exceptional conditions to east Asia. The UnID co-channel is too weak to get any real clues, but possibly has Chinese intonation https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/tzaes67fcgw8rdymhdh9n93mmt7x7r3k (Gary DeBock (DXing at the Royal Kona Resort Motel with a 7.5" loopstick CC Skywave + 5" Frequent Flyer FSL), ibid.) ** KOREA NORTH. 11572-11573, Dec 24 at 1425, noise/buzz peaking about here, inexplicable other than as jamming vs VOA Korean 11570 via Saipan at 14-15 (also via Philippines 12-14); and the other day there was different jamming noise on the low side of 11570. Nothing at all is on 11575 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 4885, Dec 23 at 1415, Korean talk and bits of music, S9 to S9+20, Echo of Hope on the frequency it uses to publicize other broadcasts to North Korea. Never heard it so strong; way above fading 5025 Cuba, and SSOB except for WWV, and about equivalent to 4450 Voice of the People, hit by jamming and CODAR, but no jamming on 4885 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 6015, KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1. Dec 26, a rare day with only intermittent white noise jamming from N. Korea; 1221 till jamming started at 1227; news in Korean; ending each item with "KBS News"; again free of jamming at 1339 till jamming started up again at 1350. Good reception, except for some faint QRM underneath, which I believe was PBS Xinjiang. My audio clip at http://goo.gl/n6QP4U (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. ARMENIA, Denge Kurdistan via CJSC Yerevan, Dec 20 0330-1558 on 7520 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg to WeAs Kurdish 1602-2200 on 7320 ERV 300 kW / 280 deg to WeAs Kurdish http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-denge-kurdistan-via-cjsc.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) Is that there complete schedule now, no other sites active? (gh, DXLD) ARMENIA, BRB Denge Kurdistan on two frequencies in parallel on Dec 24: 0330-1600 7520 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg WeAs Kurdish, as scheduled in B17 1000-1100 7320 ERV 300 kW / 280 deg WeAs Kurdish, scheduled 1600-2200 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/brb-denge-kurdistan-on-two-frequencies.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23-24, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. 11629.775, Dec 22 at 1414, very poor with flutter, sounds like Qur`an. Ivo Ivanov has IDed this as R. Kuwait, clashing after 1430 with RCC RVA via Vatican on 11630.0. A battle of faiths (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nicht sehr stark, aber immerhin S=6-7 in der winterlichen morgendlichen Ausbreitung ganz gut in ganz Europa in Nov bis Febr aufzunehmen: 7249.859 kHz um 0830 UT moderne arabische light-listening Musik, schön anzuhören. 08-10 73 (Wolfgan Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. 6050, ELWA Radio, Monrovia, *0629-0650, 25-12, English, religious comments and songs “Back to the Bible, Merry Christmas”. 15321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. MADAGÁSCAR, 5010, R.TV Madagasikara, Ambohidrano, 1805- 1814, texto, música; 15331 (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 11790, World Christian Bc. at 2200 with Middle-Eastern sounding music, woman in Arabic. Absolute armchair, listening with SW 2000629 and 9 foot vertical, Dec. 25 11610, World Christian Bc. at 2130 with W in Mandarin Chinese (listed and sounded), off just before the hour VG, Dec. 25 (Rick Barton, AZ, Happy Holiday wishes-whatever your preference. Unless otherwise stated, Logs are English, Times & Dates UT, equipment Grundig Satellit 750, Hammarund HQ-180A, RS SW-2000629 with various outdoor wires. 73 and Good Listening! dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR [and non]. 11610, Dec 25 at 2135, MWV Chinese with English lesson about snow and birth of Jesus; after some neat Chinese percussion, off at 2158, but wait, there`s still a JBA carrier on 11610: that must be KSDA Guam scheduled to ensue in Vietnamese. 11790, Dec 25 at 2200, MWV now here in Arabic, both VG signals. What a pity Madagascar sites are not used by anystation for secular broadcasts to North America, they work so well from the near-antipodes (Glenn Hauser, ok, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT this week --- including DTV Four second-wave migrant frequencies and callsigns are now known! They correspond to Radio Fórmula's four migrant stations and were discovered in an ad on MPM, one of the directories of media outlets aimed at advertisers. The calls were also available in the MPM database after seeing the frequencies. These stations are Nogales 89.1 XHEHF-FM Monterrey 89.3 XHMON-FM Guadalajara 89.5 XHBON-FM Nuevo Laredo 96.1 XHNLT-FM (Raymie Humbert, Phœnix AZ, Dec 22, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) Yes, it's been only recently that the FCC has signaled this would be possible. For decades, non-citizens were limited to 25% ownership. In 2013 the limit was increased to just less than 50%, to allow Pandora to buy KXMZ-FM in South Dakota. Last year, the Australian couple that managed four stations in Alaska and Texas received approval to buy the stations. The FCC indicated they would consider these applications on a case-by-case basis (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com Dec 22, ibid.) I'd be very curious to see what limit the IFT in Mexico would consider given this "soft cap" business in the US. The LFTR introduced something brand-new for Mexican broadcasting: reciprocity for foreign ownership (up to 49%, depending on ownership regulations in the country of origin), subject to approval by the National Foreign Investment Commission. It is now possible for an American citizen (or other foreign national) to be a minority owner in a broadcast station in Mexico. But what is the limit for IFT purposes? Could an American own 49 percent or just 25 percent? Prior to the LFTR and constitutional reform, it was not possible for foreign nationals or entities to own broadcast stations in Mexico. This is why non-Mexicans cannot own voting shares of Grupo Radio Centro, the only publicly traded radio broadcaster (Raymie, Dec 23, ibid.) No love for Monterrey --- but Mickey Mouse, yes! The news was not OK, however, for the people with talk programming on XEOK 900 AM. That station will change its format upon migration to Radio Disney. https://twitter.com/RegioAguirre/status/944256486020206592 The change could occur as soon as January 1. Its sports and other talk shows are scattering to other stations. This is ACIR's only station in Monterrey and I'm surprised they're not returning to the FM band with Amor. This could also very well be the format for ACIR's other migrant, XEMIA, which is similarly formatted to XEOK (Raymie, Dec 23, ibid.) I don't expect to see new station sign-ons the rest of the year, and it's the holidays, but I wanted to post this New York Times story because I think it will explain a lot about the way media behaves in Mexico. Official advertising run amok is the primary way that government subdues media outlets, and while the article spends a lot of time on newspapers, these same pressures apply to broadcast outlets as well. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/world/americas/mexico-press-government-advertising.html (Raymie, Dec 25, ibid.) For the first time, we have a callsign for one of the new TV stations from IFT-6. http://www.cdnoticias.com.mx/articulos/marco-trejo-pureco-recibe-del-ift-la-concesion-una-televisora-regional-uruapan/portada XHJGM-TDT on channel 15 at Uruapan, Michoacán, is owned by José Guadalupe Manuel Trejo García, but the station will be operated by his son, Marco Trejo Pureco. That's not the only story in that article, though. You see, Corporativo Trejo is the Michoacán version of Grupo Akustik Media. They're sailing the airwaves without a concession in Morelia! I figured that article came from their own media entity, so I went to read the "About Us" page. In addition to a newscast aired on XHURM-FM 102.1, there was a mention of it airing on a 95.3. I didn't recognize the frequency — there are no licensed stations on 95.3 anywhere in Michoacán — so I turned to Facebook. And lo and behold, "Radio Pop Digital 95.3"! https://www.facebook.com/PopDigitalMorelia/ To confirm that this was the station of interest, the account had just shared a post reading "Gran posada Navideña del CORPORATIVO TREJO". Whoa! Pop Digital does not have its transmitter at its studios at Yunuen 52. According to their own biography, it launched in March 2016. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Yunuen+52,+F%C3%A9lix+Ireta,+58070+Morelia,+Mich.,+Mexico/@19.6824319,-101.188768,3a,22y,187.11h,93.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1snXaq221s8XL-c-IuMOBodQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x842d0ddcb739d169:0xc2d841bb4c8961fb!8m2!3d19.6824123!4d-101.1889447 The connection to XHURM is confusing. XHURM is a Radiorama station with the La Mexicana format. This makes two IFT auction winners this year that operate pirates on 95.3. Last edited by Raymie; 12-26-2017 at 10:27 AM Este programa es público, ajeno a cualquier partido político. Queda prohibido el uso para fines distintos a los establecidos en el programa [tagline] (Raymie, Dec 26, ibid.) ** MONACO. Le radio FM nel Principato di Monaco a cura di Christian Ghibaudo: https://playdxblog.blogspot.it/2017/12/le-radio-fm-nel-principato-di-monaco.html Ciao (Giampiero Bernardini, Dec 22, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5985, Myanmar Radio. Last Friday, noted the absence of the usual NHK production of "Friends Around the World" at 1540. Instead Myanmar carried their "Friday evening music program." Dec 22 (Friday), checked again at 1540 and again found "Friday evening music program." So after many years of running the NHK program, they have decided to drop it from their schedule at this time? (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Following from the Eric van Willegen at the Mighty KBC. "Important news for our listeners across the pond! On December 31 we are moving to 6150 kHz. Sunday 0000-0200 UT. Please spread the word." 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, Dec 21, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) No doubt due to the risk of collision from Turkey on 5960 with overrun in German past 0000, as I had been warning and which did happen on Dec 17. VOA Burmese westward from Thailand at 0000-0030 on 6150 should not be much of a problem over here. But strangely enough, the latest HFCC of Dec 25 shows 6145 instead: ``6145 2300 0200 2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10 NAU 125 300 0 216 1 291017 240318 D 9600 NldEng D MBR MBR 3064 X.namew`` It does look like 6150 would be better. There are other Asian stations on 6145 & 6155 (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No, VOT only caused problems once when they ran late on 5960. Biggest QRM for most is splatter in the upper sideband of 5960 from WEWN on 5970. Wondering if WEWN is using a NVIS antenna? D**n strong signal falling here in Manassas, VA. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, ibid.) ** NEW ZEALAND. 7390, Dec 21 at 1424, RNZI is still here, playing a song named/about the kiwi, including bird calls. Male and female calls to each other included on this long roster: http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/bird-songs-and-calls/ They are not very musical and doubt what were in the song (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF-AOGsDj5E [non] Reminds me of the attached file, back then send to me with the question how it may have sounded in shortwave transmission? (And it is, I'm sorry, obvious how profound their research was. Nightingales do not move further for breeding, and while breeding they sing also during daytime.)(Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6 minutes, Postcard from Berlin, about nightingales (gh, DXLD) 7390, RNZI at 1315. Peter McElwain hosting Christmas program with Dickens readings, vocal music. Absolutely armchair on SW-2000629 and 9' "tomato stake" antenna. Dec. 24 (Rick Barton, AZ, Happy Holiday wishes-whatever your preference. Unless otherwise stated, Logs are English, Times & Dates UT, equipment Grundig Satellit 750, Hammarlund HQ-180A, RS SW-2000629 with various outdoor wires. 73 and Good Listening! dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 7255-, Dec 22 at 0602 check, no signal from VON, which is normally VG here aimed USward across W Africa (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15115-15120-15125, Dec 22 at 1908, DRM noise at S8, as VON has been active here lately. Topside confronts splat from 15140 Cuba (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. FRANCE, Reception of Radio Herwa International via TDF Issoudun on Dec 20 0700-0729 on 13710 ISS 100 kW / 170 deg to WeAf Hausa/Kanuri, weak to very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-radio-herwa-international_20.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 20, dxldyg via DXLD) 11530, Dec 22 at 1940, WRMI is back on with African music, 1943 ID in Hausa(?) for Radio Herwa International, and schedule announcement. Rest of hour seems to be hilife music alternating with such info rather than any substantial programming. So RHI at last has an evening broadcast, after starting some weeks ago at 0700-0730 only on same WRMI frequency. Radio Biafra shows up sporadically on 11530 at 1900, but not today, nothing there at 1900-1902. Since Biafra contracted from an hour to a semihour if it`s on at all, filling the rest of the hour with RHI certainly makes sense, but it could be one or the other, both or neither from one day to the next, either at 05-06 or 19-20. Today 11530 goes off at 2000 unlike yesterday when it carried other WRMI programming instead of 11580. More, See USA WRMI. 11530, Sat Dec 23 at 1922, WRMI is on, not with R. Biafra, but with familiar steel drum piece in World Music fill, distorted modulation unusual for WRMI, at S9+20. By 1927 playing the canned IS & ID loop, saying programming resumes at the ``top of the hour`` --- oops, not in this case. 1930 opens Radio Herwa International in its new evening broadcast, VG in Hausa, and the other language; maybe some headlines separated by stingers, but mostly music alternating with schedule and contact info, judging from all the ``kHz`` and numbers mentioned, such as at 1952 when again the modulation is distorted, so is it an input or output problem? 11530 off at 2000* sharp after partial BZ ID (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "unchecked whether R. Herwa materialized at 1930 like yesterday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)" Yes it did (Richard Langley, Dec 24) FRANCE, Radio Herwa International via TDF Issoudun on Dec 24 0700-0729 on 13710 ISS 100 kW / 170 deg to WeAf Hausa/Kanuri, good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-radio-herwa-international_25.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 24-25, dxldyg via DXLD) 11530, Dec 25 at 1920, WRMI is not yet on, no Radio Biafra any more, but at 1929 in the IS & ID loop before ``top of hour`` programming. 1930 opening R. Herwa International. Is it also on 9580 via FRANCE, like the ex-Biafra hour was? JBA carrier here, but good on UTwente, ID at 1934, while 11530 is inaudible there. Strangely enough, this Herwa broadcast is as yet unknown to Aoki/NDXC and Observer. HFCC does show 87 degree azimuth for WRMI 11530 at 05-06 and 19-20, which is what it should have been all along toward Africa, altho not confirmed on WRMI`s own skedgrid. EiBi of Dec 23 does have Radio Herwa at 1930-2000 on 11530, following my discovery of it Dec 22. 11530, again Dec 26 at 1925, no signal, but by 1929 the ``ToH` IS & ID loop, and 1930 R. Herwa International starting. This is still not on the WRMI schedules (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {WRMI sked update as of Dec 28 finally shows Herwa on 11530 at 0700-0730 & 1930-2000, no Biafra} ** NIGERIA [non]. 5960, 0508 17 DEC - DANDAL KURA (NIGERIA). SINPO = 35323. African language, male announcer reading. 0507z short musical interlude (indigenous bowed string instruments and percussion) fb female announcer. 0509 short musical interlude (same as before) fb different female announcer interviewing male. QSB=moderate-to-slow rate, modulation (with slight 50 Hz? hum) mostly well above the noise floor with occasional fades to just above it for short durations. sf71.1, a4, k3, geomag: unsettled. 250 kW, BeamAz 65 , bearing 102 . Sangean ATS505 w/MFJ-1020C active antenna and MFJ-901B tuner used to preselect ~75 feet of rain gutter running north/south. Received in Plymouth, MN, United States, 9763KM from the transmitter at Ascension Island. Local time: 2308. 5960, 0459 18 DEC - DANDAL KURA (NIGERIA). SINPO = 45434. African language, s/on with music at 0459z ID 0501 by female announcer fb musical interlude (featuring the same indigenous bowed string and percussion selection heard yesterday.). News (presumably) read by a different female announcer. 0509z same musical interlude fb male announcer reading. QSB=moderate to rapid rate, modulation (with moderate 50 Hz hum) mostly well above the noise floor with occasional fades to just above it for very short durations. sf70.8, a24, k4, geomag: active. 250 kW, BeamAz 65 , bearing 102 . Sangean ATS505 with MFJ-1020C active antenna and MFJ-901B tuner used to preselect ~75 feet of rain gutter running north/south. Received in Plymouth, MN, United States, 9763 KM from the transmitter at Ascension Island. Local time: 2259 (Rodney Johnson, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. Radio Illuminati. Saturday, December 16, 2017, 2025, 6920 am. Radio Illuminati per hfu logs. Christmas music, just above the noise floor here. Signal improved dramatically to s15 by 2031, clear ID and more Christmas music, "Santa Baby." Signal faded down below the noise quickly at 2051. (Will-MD) WLVS. Sunday, December 17, 2017, 2139, 6040 usb. Nonstop music by Elvis Presley. 2145, ID "WLVS" and into "Love Me Tender." At 2202, Elvis is interrupted in mid-song by another station with slightly stronger signal, playing rock/rap. Two stations co-channel for about 30 seconds, then the second one went off, leaving an Elvis ballad. ID, "WLVS" twice, then "Good night" at 2304. Fair signal, s3/s5. (Will-MD) Clever Name Radio. Sunday, December 17, 2017, 2305, 6940 usb. Immediately after WLVS signed off, a station signed on with some trance music, cut to "Smoke On the Water" by Deep Purple at 2306. Clever Name Radio ID at 2309. Off at 2349. Fair to good signal, s3/s5. (Will-MD) Unid. Friday, December 22, 2017, 1940, 6945 usb. Instrumental version of "Jingle Bells" and off. Good signal, s5/s7. (Will-MD) Relay Station 5010. Friday, December 22, 2017, 1942, 5010 am. Bouncy music, sounds like Michael Jackson. 1943, "Puttin' on the Ritz" by the monster and Gene Wilder from the Mel Brooks movie. s7/s9, noisy. (Will-MD) Unid. Friday, December 22, 2017, 2113, 6940 usb. Christmas music, unintelligible ID, more Christmas music. Some songs cut in mid-verse. Het from a nearby utility. 2123, I believe the ID is "Jedi Radio" or "Jerry's Radio" but it is so garbled I can't be sure. Still on at 2151 with Lennon's "Happy Xmas/War is Over." Very good signal with s9 peaks (Larry Will, 28723 Ridge Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771, radio@zappahead.net Icom IC-R75 with G5RV, Tecsun PL-600, PL-660, random wires, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 5010 - Pirate here at 2000 UT with very good signal (In AM). Playing dance version of “Whole Lotta Love” followed by dialog excerpt from movie “Grease” into Travolta & Newton-John “You`re the one that I Need”. Solid signal here in Mass. Transmitter must be pretty close (Stephen Wood, Harwich, Mass., Dec 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Enid`s two Part 15 FM stations for Xmas sound and light shows are on again this year, visited around 0130 UT Dec 24: 89.5 for Singing Xmas Trees on the oil patch at the NE corner of Oak and Oakwood, including Chipmunx tune (Alvin!!); the residence in Pheasant Run on the west edge of Enid was dark last year, but on again now causing traffic jams on suburban streets, 97.7 also with familiar tunes including Mannheim Steamroller (who appear in persons in Enid almost every year, it seems). Both these are extremely limited range, with the lights carrying further, if unobstructed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. Radio Sultanate of Oman in English/Arabic, Dec 20 1400-1418 on 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu no signal 1418-1419 on 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu dead air 1419-1502 on 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu English 1502-2200 on 15140 THU 100 kW / 315 deg to WeEu Arabic http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-radio-sultanate-of-oman-in_20.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 20, dxldyg via DXLD) 15140, Dec 22 at 1428, music poor with flutter, so Radio Sultanate of Oman is still on air contrary to what someone heard them announce, but unknown if English or Arabic now (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman at 1404 with a woman with news then “That was the news. Now the headlines.” at 1408 followed by the end of the news and into a man with “Health Issues” at 1409 – Fair to Good Dec 23 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup via DXLD) Another anomaly, rather than, or in addition to? news at 1430 (gh, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3260, NBC Madang, 1206*, Dec 21. Cut off just after the NBC news in English; poor. 3260, NBC Madang, 1201*, Dec 22. Cut off before they made it into the NBC news (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5025, R. Quillabamba, Quillabamba, 2227-2234, 15/12, castelahno e quíchua, texto; 23331, QRM de CUBA. 5025, idem, 2243-..., 18/12, castelhano, anúncios comerciais, música; 34432, QRM de CUBA, mas a R. Rebelde estava com portadora vazia. 5980, R. Chaski, Cuzco, 2235-2244, 19/12, castelhano, propaganda religiosa; 34432, QRM adjacente (Carlos Gonçalves, SW Coast of Portugal, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND [non]. Poland / Russia ----------------------- Funny guys work in the Russian edition of Radio Poland, again all mixed up, so much so that he himself had a long understanding. Two reports were sent out: 27.10 and 04.11.2017 (738 kHz / KiwiSDR-Moscow), Received on December 22, 2017 two QSL-cards (fresh topics - Warsaw, Gdansk), sent in one day on November 30, 2017, but the date of reception was entered 11/09/2017 in both confirmations! What do they smoke there? Photos: http://qsl-review.blogspot.ru/2017/06/polskie-radio.html E-mail: ru @ polskieradio.pl (Konstantin, Sankt-Petersburg, Russia QSL World, Rus-DX 24 Dec via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. I received a QSL-card about the reception of Radio Targu- Mures + information about the station, dedicated to the 55th anniversary of the station. In November, first sent an electronic confirmation, now a full card. You can see here - http://rusdx.blogspot.ru/2017/11/blog-post_17.html (Anatoly Klepov, Moscow, Russia, QSL World, Rus-DX 24 Dec via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. Radio Romaniâ Actualita?l [question mark = t with cedilla] Noted with news at 15:00 UTC this morning here in NB during Radio Romania International broadcast in Romanian on 9810 kHz with a good signal. Confirmed using Web stream. Radio Romaniâ Actualita?l is the Romanian national news channel. Followed by RRI programming (Richard Langley, Dec 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Richard, Thanks for trying with the accents, but as seen on http://www.romania-actualitati.ro/ the circumflex is on the middle A of Romania and the last letter of Actualitatsi is i not l. Strangely, WRTH 2017 & 2018 page 337 get the first word right, but skip the accents on the second word. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Whoops! Thanks for catching that, Glenn. No excuse for the middle "a" in Romania but the "l" and "i" mixup I could attribute to poor screen resolution and poor eyesight. ;-) But considering that Romanian is a Romance language, a final "i" makes more sense that an "l." ;-) (-- Richard, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. Sakha Radio from Yakutsk in Russian with discussion on economic problems heard from 0445 UT, from 0450 UT advertisements in Russian / Yakutian at 0500 UT pips, ID in Yakutian language, close/down on 7345 kHz on 15 Dec (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 17, BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD) {In case you are wondering about the variety of dates on these items, wb puts the date of the report in the credit line, instead of with the time in the body; and I try consistently to put the date of publication of the BC-DX issue before the via. So Rumen heard this on 15 Dec, did not report it until 17 Dec or when received by wb, and was not published until the 23 Dec issue --- gh} Yakutsk Syrdakh installation mothballed on LW 171 kHz 300 kW, MW 549 kHz 50 kW, 864 kHz 20 kW. SW formerly 6060 6150 7440 7230 7345 kHz, SW DRM 250kW, most are ancient state now ... 62 14 17.99 N 129 48 52.64 E location coordinates (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) 20th of December. In the afternoon, at 1100 UT, Yakutsk at 7345 kHz in the park of Moscow; Degen, the telescope. Edd, member of the forum. http://www.radioscanner.ru/forum/topic49386-28.html (Rus-DX 24 Dec via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Russian military shortwave radio station UVB-76, also known as "The Buzzer" was jammed and play some rap and "Slava Ukraini" words https://russia.liveuamap.com/en/2017/25-december-russian-military-shortwave-radio-station-uvb76 Posted by: (Volodya Salmaniw, Dec 25, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 13710.014, Dec 21 at 1528, BSKSA Qur`an with reverb at S9+10 to S9, beautiful haunting music, not // 15434.985 other program in ME music, no buzz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SIKKIM. new 4836.0, AIR Gangtok, ex: 4835.0, at 1329 & 1510, Dec 21. Only hearing a carrier, but nothing on their former ex 4835..0, so presume it was them (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4835, Dec 22 at 1325, JBA carrier, presumed Gangtok. Was checking for 4836.0, where Ron Howard presumed to hear its carrier yesterday (a low-power private broadcaster in Australia also has his eye on using 4835) (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4835.0, AIR Gangtok. Dec 22, back on frequency again, after their one day anomaly yesterday. Appreciate Dave Valko sending me an interesting Perseus screen shot showing AIR Gangtok on 4836.000, at 1258:20 UT on Dec 21, just after WWCR went off the air. Makes my old Etón E1 look like a dinosaur! http://goo.gl/ii81CM (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, probably Wantok FM relay, during this extended broadcast on Dec 21, at 1208+; pop hit songs and Xmas song "The First Noel"; didn't stay on too long, as gone by a check at 1220. Would like to think that maybe they will do more and longer extended holiday broadcasting? We will see! Also note Bougainville (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5020, SIBC, Honiara, 0745-0806, 25-12, carrier and for moments some songs detected. Extremely weak, barely audible (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. SIBC battles to stay on air Solomon Star By Lynnissha Runa 24 December 2017 http://www.solomonstarnews.com/index.php/news/national/item/19768-sibc-battles-to-stay-on-air The national broadcaster, SIBC, is taking drastic and desperate measures to stay on air. This comes after Solomon Power’s recent disconnection of SIBC’s power supply due to a $65,000 outstanding bill. The national broadcaster, which has the furthest reach and relied on by the rural populace, currently runs on generators, which are expensive to maintain. Chief Executive Officer Ashley Wickham told the Sunday Star they are taking every possible measure available to keep the station on air. “We’ve already shut down the medium wave (MW) transmitter because of the situation,” Wickham said. “Only the Short Wave (SW) transmitter is still being maintained because it reaches the whole country,” he added. “Our streamed overnight service listened to internationally had to be switched off at 11pm so the generators could rest.” Wickham said their poor financial situation came about as a result of the government’s critical cash flow problem. The government is SIBC’s main source of revenue. Wickham said they will review the situation in the New Year. “But our outlook is not so clear. We have not been told when Parliament is likely to sit to look at the budget. If our finances don't improve, we will reduce the transmission hours of the shortwave transmitter so that they are only heard in the early mornings and evenings to close down at 11 pm. Then we start a process of lay-off of staff.” The situation is also affecting SIBC’s proposed television service. Wickham said earlier, due to the government’s cash flow problems, they cancelled a contract payment of $2.5 million which SIBC were to use to set up the early part of the TV service. “We have submissions for capitalisation of the TV Project and for equipment upgrades for radio equipment, studios, administration, provincial studios, provincial FM stations etc. “These total $23 million. Since the government changed we have not heard how the new administration views our SIBC prospects,” Wickham stated. He said SIBC had also complained to the Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Finance that Solomon Power did not seem to know the essential services act and did not seem to know or care about the cash-flow situation everyone reliant on government is affected by. Solomon Power earlier insisted their action applies to every customer that has outstanding bills with them (via Mike Terry, Dec 24, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) ** SOMALILAND. Longtime standing intermodulation on approx 7162.8 was heard on 12 Dec at 1600 UT \\ 7120 kHz. Checking the other probably \\ 7077.2 / 7205.6 kHz, but without any result. So 7162.8 kHz transmission is \\ 7120 kHz (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 17, BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD) It seems only Rumen hears/reports this. To be *inter*modulation, there has to be a second carrier for it to mix with. Lacking that, this is simply a spur out of the fundamental, whether or not there is a match from another one on the other side. Hypothetical 7205.6 would be 2x the distance of the heard spur from the fundamental, and nothing to do with Sudan or some other station (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7120, Dec 23 at 1948, JBA steady carrier among the CW & SSB QRhaM, presumed INTRUDER, R. Hargeisa which is now reported on air until 2000* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 17800, Dec 23 at 1938, VG S9+10 signal here in some African language, the SSOB and the OSOB! on 16m, a band otherwise seemingly dead. Retune at 2000, sounds like a few words of French before cut off at 2001*. NDXC/Aoki shows it`s AWR in Fulfulde, at 1930-2000, 250 kW, 315 degrees from Meyerton, and overkill right on to Oklahoma`s Fulfulde speakers or DXers (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15200, RSA, RDW at 1855 male announcer with ID (listed) Hausa to electronic kill-time music, followed by The melancholy Babcock music. OC at 1900 for a moment before complete closure. Excellent reception on RS SW 2000629 and 9 foot vertical. Dec. 25 (Rick Barton, AZ, Happy Holiday wishes-whatever your preference. Unless otherwise stated, Logs are English, Times & Dates UT, equipment Grundig Satellit 750, Hammarund HQ-180A, RS SW-2000629 with various outdoor wires. 73 and Good Listening! dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AMERICA. LATIN AMERICAN PIRATES --- 6925.15, Radio Compañía Worldwide, 2320-2348*, Mix of old English language pop songs (Volare, The Twist, Tie A Yellow Ribbon) Several IDs. Formal s/off at 2348 and into a little tune, then off. Noisy but usable signal with QRM from USB traffic. 20 Dec 2017. [attributed to CHILE] 6973, Lupo Radio, 2320-2350 tune-out. Non-stop tango music. Chris Smolinski says this is Lupo Radio. A bit weaker than RCW. 20 Dec 2017 [attributed to ARGENTINA] (Don Moore --- donmooredxer@yahoo.com http://www.donmooredxer.com Loja, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [and non]. No signal of Brother HySTAIRical via WHRI Angel 2, Dec 21-22 2200-2400 on 6040 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg to WeEu English Mon-Fri 0600-0700 on 7315 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg to WeEu English Daily 0700-0800 on 7355 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg to WeEu English Daily http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/no-signal-of-brother-hystairical-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 21-22, dxldyg via DXLD) Cancelled frequencies of Brother HySTAIRical via US private stations WHRI: 5920, 6040, 7315, 7355, 9840, 15710 and 21610 kHz. WRMI: 5850, 7570, 7730, 7780, 9395, 9455, 9955, 11530, 11580 and 11825 Old recordings of Brother HySTAIRical TOM from the end of 80 years, continue to be broadcast via WWCR, WBCQ, WWRB & via SPL Secretland. More details may be found here. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/cancelled-frequencies-of-brother.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23-24, dxldyg via DXLD) See https://tinyurl.com/Brother-Staircase-followup and https://tinyurl.com/TheOver-fondler which has much more specific information and details. I don't know about you, but my faith in the South Carolina Judicial system has been renewed since they've denied him bond. The Judge clearly saw what was really going on! This all just adds new meaning to BS's frequent claims that he has problems with the way of the world today, doesn't it? Oh, and before you assume that strange creature you're hearing ranting and raving on SW is not B.S., listen carefully. They are pulling some really old (as old as 1987) tapes, and he sounds quite different in those than he does more recently. But, one wonders how long this will continue. Many MW and FM stations that were carrying him are removing him as they learn of his arrest. I consider it only a matter of time before his legal fees eat up his ability to pay for air time, and at that point he will be off short wave as well; we should probably be recording this stuff! --kvz Viz.: 3185, WWRB, TN, Morrison with a YOUNG Brother Swear with a real fire and brimstone energetic rant. I almost didn't recognize his voice this is from so long ago but he did refer to himself as "Brother Stair" during the middle of things, so yes, it was indeed him. This was apparently just before Ron Reagan was elected President because he was ragging on preachers who were supporting him saying e.g. 'Reagan is not God', Religion has no politics and "God is not Democrat or Republican". He sounds more 'like himself' when he's not screaming, but he screamed a LOT during this broadcast! At 0634 he broke into song (he could actually carry a tune back then!) that was more than just glossolalia silliness, but a song related to that he was preaching even. NO mention of where the "good" Brother was or why they were playing such an old tape. ID dropped in for WWRB at both ToHs. // 3215, WWCR which was also very good: 5554+4+. MANY others //s including 9955, 7780, 7570, 5850 all from WRMI, and 5890 also from WWCR. All the WRMI channels were a good 2 seconds ahead of both WWCR and WWRB. 55555, 0550-0705 19/Dec, SPR-4 +randomwire --Zichi MI 3215, WWCR (presumed), The Overfondler himself from days of yore mentioning the year was 1987 and continuing with the same tape that was aired on the 19th. He was better in his prime than what he's been putting out lately! Blew past the ToH without ID, indeed they blew past BOTH ToHs as I listened and never once IDed. // 3185, WWRB, and 5850, 7570 and 7730, all WRMI, but the 41 metre channels were really weak and noisy. 554+44 with occasional brief deep fades/modulation issues but overall, good. 0510-0710 21/Dec, SPR-4 +randomwire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, ed., MARE Tipsheet Dec 22 via DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [and non]. 1090, KAAY Little Rock (Wrightsville xmtr) AR; 0250-0310+, 12/22; “AM 10-90 KAAY Little Rock on line” promo at ToH. No sign of the Overcomer after ToH as previously scheduled. Into Xmas music with “10-90 KAAY” IDs after each tune. Unlike the shortwavers, they appear to have dumped the recently incarcerated Overfondler. In/out/mixing/CC! Presume the Chinese is WILD Boston; per recent NRC reports, they are on well after sunset. (Frodge-MI) 6040, WHRI Cypress Creek SC (presumed); 2210-2224+, 12/18; Bro. HyStairical the Overfondler; “Time has a beginning and an end, and there there is a duration between the beginning and the end.” (Alert the evil cosmologists!) 2215 abruptly segued to his financial problems. (If the end is really near, why bother?) Ran a bit from Bro. Dmitri. S10 peaks (Frodge-MI) 6040, WHRI Cypress Creek SC (presumed); 2204-2209+, 12/19; Tuned in to non-B.S. announcerr, “...Overcomer. Don’t touch that dial. We’ve got something special for you. It’s real good.” Then another non-B.S. religihuxter attempting to sing. 2207:39 abrupt segué to enthusiastic religihuxter; didn’t sound like a young B.S. that they’ve been running lately, since the Overfondler got carted off to the hoosegow. SIO=453 7730, WRMI, Radio Miami Int’l (presumed); 0502, 12/21; Apparently a much younger Bro. HyStairical the Overfondler on my destruction. SIO=454-; // 7780 WRMI(p) S10+ (Frodge-MI) 7780, WRMI, Radio Miami Int’l (p); 0504-0522+, 12/19; Possible much younger Overfondler shouting gloom & doom; mentioned whores, women who wear pants & the false church system, then this revelation, “My little children, come onto me.” 0521 segued into the old famliar, gravel- voice B.S. S8; // 7730 WRMI(p) S9, //5890 WWCR(p) S15, //5850 WRMI(p) S9, //3215 WWCR S30, //3185 WWRB(p) S20. The Overfondler on at least sextafrequencies. (Frodge-MI) 9370, WWRB, Manchester TN (p); 2137, 12/20; Bro. HyStairical the incarcerated Overfondler ragging on Muslims & Bush. GOAT = Global Opposition Against Terrorism, as referenced to goats in Daniel. SIO=4+54 (Frodge-MI) 9370, WWRB, Manchester TN; 2255-2303+, 12/21; Pre-current incarceration Overfondler working up a lather & chastising his audience for not reacting more. Said he has more fun preaching by himself in the radio room than before an audience. (Maybe he works up a “lather” in there too.) Related a story about running into a man who said he listened but didn’t believe anything he said, referring to himself as Bro. Stair. 2259:22 WWRB ID inserted right into more bather. No mention of TOM. S30 (Frodge-MI) 9955, WRMI, Radio Miami Int’l (presumed); 1516, 12/21; Apparently younger Bro. HyStairical the Overfondler raging on the fiery tribulation & the 4th man with a very enthusiastic audience. SIO=3+53 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! -----, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, Glenn, it`s a great day for shortwave listeners but a bad day for the radio stations that Brother Scare buys time from. It`s about time this thumper went away along with his crazy crap. One less religious wack job on shortwave in my book is a great thing. Praise Jesus and little girl I have a bag of candy. Gotta love these wack jobs!! 73 (Glenn Swiderski, NC, Dec 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Looks like the Weinstein/#metoo movement finally caught up with old Brother Stair. Good Riddance! (Rich Ray, IL, Dec 21, dxldyg via DXLD) 7570 // 7730, Dec 21 at 0109 via WRMI, I force myself to listen to TOM a few minutes for any reaxion to the latest developments. Still playing some very old clips of BS, and some voices so different I suspect they are someone else entirely. 0110 interrupted by the 84- year-old BS, raving about ``silencing this voice``, ``final judgment``, says 40 years since he started (broadcasting?), ``destruxion is being planned``. Seems he confuses his own self- destruxion with The End Times. Here`s another long story from the local press, via Mike Cooper: WOMEN AT SOUTH CAROLINA RELIGIOUS COMPOUND SAY PREACHER SEXUALLY ASSAULTED THEM IN THE NAME OF GOD https://www.postandcourier.com/news/women-at-south-carolina-religious-compound-say-preacher-sexually-assaulted/article_6aeb443e-da86-11e7-bf7a-2779c1133934.html 11825 & 11580, Dec 21 at 1536, two regular Brother Scare WRMI frequencies are off the air. Normally weak 7780 also seems absent, but BS is still to be heard on WRMI`s main frequency 9955. Is The Overgroper being phased out rather than cut out immediately? See USA: WRMI for cancellations of Brother HyStairical. Preliminary observations of other stations: WWRB: BS still on 9370, S8 at 0030 Dec 22, and by 0104 has switched to very strong 3185. If it`s not BS himself speaking, need to listen a little longer to be sure it`s not some other gospel huxter program. But these two have been dedicated to nothing but BS. WBCQ: 7490 too weak to copy for VORW before 0200 Dec 22 but confirmed on webcast, then after 0200 still with BS. Suspect WBCQ will be the last to go, as Allan Weiner has asserted that he ``loves`` that man. Times: On 7490 only: M-F 23-24; Mon 01-04, Wed & Sun 02-05, Fri & Sat 02-04 WHRI: Not yet investigated the various BS scheduled times, not even the new 6040 before 2400. WWCR: not checked much yet, but here is the complete Overcomer sked according to their online pdf program sked dated Dec 4, UT days!: 3215: M-F 06-10, Mon 02-03, Tue-Sat 05-06 5890: M-F 06-13, Tue-Sat 04-06, Sat 06-13, Sun 05-13, Mon 05-06 5935: Sat 2300-2430, M-F 23-24 6115: Wed 23-01 Thu 7490: Sun 15-16 7520: Mon 00-02 9350: Sat 21-23 9980: M-F 13-21, M-F 23-24, Sat 13-24, Sun 13-24 12160: Sun 18-20, Sat 19-21 15795: M-F 11-12 MW Stations: major ones with Overcomer were KAAY-1090 Little Rock AR, WCKY-1530 Cincinnati OH, and WWVA-1170 Wheeling WV, skeds as in my previous post. Harold Frodge says no longer heard on KAAY after 0300 UT Dec 22 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5890, UNITED STATES, "Overcomer Ministry" / WWCR presumed the one at 0800. Preacher preaching, did not sound like Brother Stair. wasn't ID at ToH. There has been more diverse programming noted across the dial this week, due to the remand into custody of "Brother Stair" on multiple sex crimes charges. Some Overcomer Ministry programming appears to either be using other preachers, or really really OLD recordings of Stair when his voice was slightly different. Dec. 22 (Rick Barton, AZ, Happy Holiday wishes-whatever your preference. Unless otherwise stated, Logs are English, Times & Dates UT, equipment Grundig Satellit 750, Hammarund HQ-180A, RS SW-2000629 with various outdoor wires. 73 and Good Listening! dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Although it is not that funny - and kind of sad --- the departure of Back-Rub-Bro-Scary has left the SW dial feeling like it is in the middle of a black-out. Going to miss that 100 year old sounding, nail on blackboard, bad-boy of hell fire and eternal torment (actually NO, I'm not) (Colin Newell, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) An old tape of The Overcomer is still being aired this evening (22 Dec at 1800 UT) on 5900kz via Bulgaria (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) > ``but no, they had to use Gestapo tactix. They took away everyone`s computers, laptops, cellphones, and ministry financial records. They want to get it off the air. [...] Likens this to the Salem witch trials, not only BS but others accused of sex crimes being convicted by public opinion rather than a trial by jury of peers.`` [Allan Weiner on WBCQ] To make sure, because this is significant: "Gestapo tactics" is a verbatim quote? And they obviously did not take away all computers. If so, no playout could still run in the rape room (to put in another gaffe for a change). There would just be silence now, or perhaps sucked up mains hum, as recently broadcast for days by runaway WWRB. Third, I beg your pardon, but to quote another example: At least over here in Europe there had for a long time been unconcealed jokes about James Levine's pedophilia. Calling it a witch hunt when these things can no longer be concealed --- which leads to the primary question: Who has covered Stair for so long? (Kai Ludwig, Dec 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) According to my notes he did use that term. No doubt you are more familiar with exactly what it means in the German context (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Well, the subject of the comment was a raid by police authorities. Associating such a raid with Gestapo means, in the German context, associating it with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabrikaktion Reminds me of Sean Spicer and his "holocaust centers". Or did Weiner really want to make such a comparison, worse than even the most radical Antiamericans over here would ever consider? (Kai, ibid.) From my point of view working in the US Treasury, “Gestapo tactics” normally gets thrown around as a complaint over excessive / disproportionate use of police assets to accomplish an objective. The rise of police procedural TV shows leads to this. Instead of a couple uniformed officers visiting a compound full of Mr. Stair’s supporters to arrest their leader, Special Weapons And Tactics (“SWAT”) personnel as well as strategies were used to storm the compound to arrest the subject as well as gather evidence deemed at risk of destruction. Life isn’t CSI or Law & Order where things go down easily in arresting a suspect. I don’t have enough details to review the on-site incident commander. Facts and circumstances matter. Then again, “Gestapo tactics” gets thrown around so often when we deal with tax collection at work by taxpayers in relation to the littlest things (i.e. sending official Due Process notice letters via mail instead of e-mail) that we tune it out after a while. A ton of that gets dumped thanks to 26 USC 6702 (Stephen Michael Kellat, KC8BFI, ibid.) Thank you for your comment! It had already caught my attention how Allan Weiner, who apparently talked to someone at Overcomer, explicitly mentioned ministry financial records. Is something else, unlike the sexual assaults not covered by news media so far, looming here as well? (Kai Ludwig, ibid.) The finances would be an interesting aspect. The division known as "Tax Exempt & Government Entities" at the Internal Revenue Service has multiple internal barriers to cross before any church could even be audited. Since permission has to be secured from effectively the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to proceed, it is rarely done. Audit rates overall are down. Basically if you're an individual in a face- to-face audit the odds of that are more astronomical than winning the lottery. A common theme to sex scandals recently in the federal legislature in the USA has been the amount of cash settlements paid to quiet accusers. The funds of a non-profit are generally not supposed to be used for things like that if they being used for the private benefit of an individual especially if they lead the non-profit. That would be probably handled under state law issues first but that's only a guess for now. Even though it has an Employer Identification Number of 11- 2440222, Faith Cathedral Fellowship Inc (a/k/a Overcomer Ministry) isn't required to file annual reports with the IRS due to being a church unlike a non-profit group like AMSAT or ARRL. There wouldn't be any public records available unless the church shared them itself voluntarily. There will be many messy yet lurid aspects to this yet to come, I fear. Fortunately I'm not in that division but in the one that deals with individuals who need help filing Form 1040 and tracing their payments (Stephen Michael Kellat, KC8BFI, Dec 24, ibid.) 9980, Dec 22 at 1913, WWCR is still carrying the Overcomer, and so is 9370, WWRB, 4.5 seconds later. 11600, Dec 22 at 1918, poor S8-S6 BS, this one via BULGARIA. Aoki shows 1805-2000, 100 kW, 306 degrees back USward. (BTW 11600 Bulgaria is also carrying a new US-based clandestine for Ethiopia at 15-16, OMN, Oromiya Media Network, as reported by Ron Howard.) 15710, Dec 22 at 1914, no signal from WHRI which had been a big blasting block of BS, per Aoki from 18 to 22. 6040, Dec 22 at 2317 check, this WHRIBS is also off. Probably they have pulled all Overcomer broadcasts. This one only started a few weeks ago, at 22-24 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USA: WBCQ 12160 // 9980, Dec 23 at 1934, WWCR still with Overcomer as scheduled Saturdays for both, but someone other than BS speaking; and followed 6 seconds later by 9370 WWRB, all VG. 15710, WHRI continues absent in daytime when had been BSing; 6040 however is back on Dec 23 at 2307 with YL gospel huxter, not TOM, usual het from Brasil. 9370 & 3185, Dec 23 at 2308, neither WWRBS frequency is on but presumably during a delayed switchover, as both have continued active earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Young(er) Brother Stair --- I don't usually listen for more than a couple of minutes to Bro. Stair's broadcasts when I come across them in my SW listening but since we are perhaps near the end times for this radio preacher, I listened to this afternoon's broadcast as I wrapped Christmas presents using my receiver here in NB. Starting with 11600 kHz from Kostinbrod around 1840 UT, then moving on to WWCR on 9980 kHz, WWRB on 9370 kHz, and WWCR on 9350 kHz. The first sermon was, I think, one of his early sermons from a tent in Florida. He mentions Florida is a 'wicked state" and a "hell-raising state." He also puts down Jimmy Swaggart for his opulence -- another disgraced preacher -- but for his association with prostitutes. Perhaps I wasn't paying close attention but the broadcast then morphed into a sermon from a tent in Kentucky, from a site near Louisville, where he emphasizes the wrath of God rather than the love of God. As for the date of this sermon, he states that it is 3 years since he went on a 21-day fast (do we know when that occurred?). He goes on about the fear of God (clearly, this is Brother Scare at his finest). I have the impression that he is an actor. He could have gone into acting or politics with no problem. He also mentions that he is not trying to be liked for his ministry. He talks about some of his experiences including a visit to India where his wife gets dysentery and he is preaching to "heathens." And he condemns "crazy Indian pagan music" even though the music has Christian lyrics. He also talks about an experience where he was almost mugged in Harlem (he had a church in NYC) and on being called a whitey responds by calling his potential attackers "blackies." So, the guy is not only a pedophile he is also a racist! And again, "thank God for the fear of God." He also condemns women wearing pants. And that women should learn submission. So, pedophile, racist, and misogynist! Towards the end of my listening, he mentions the Soviet Union, so this sermon is likely pre-1990. Switched over to 12105 kHz (WTWW) for Christmas music and ham adds and the Christmas radio contest. ;-) (-- Richard Langley, NB, Dec 23, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Timtron Worldwide 5130 [WBCQ] Tim's show is live tonight from his home QTH. At approximately eighteen minutes after the hour he read one of the news releases on Brother Scare's compound with teletype noise in the background. Immediately afterwards he played a novelty tune about Kinko the pedophile clown, then played Aqualung. After that played some nature sounds and talked some about Brother Scare and what happened and went on to say that while he supported free speech, there was a lot of free speech that made him feel uncomfortable. Moved on to other things at 0037 (John H Carver, Jr, Mid-North Indiana, 0037 UT Dec 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Lumpy Gravy, 5130, 0200 --- Opening montage had a song entitled Christmas in Jail. Talking after the opening, it came out that after listening to AWWW last night, Jane was heard to utter that she hoped Brother Stair wasn't in the same cell as Big Bubba as Big Bubba didn't like child molesters (John Carver, UT Dec 24, ibid.) Re: "WWCR still with Overcomer as scheduled Saturdays for both, but someone other than BS speaking" No, that was a younger BS perhaps from more than 25 years ago. He identified himself several times during the sermon. See my earlier report (-- Richard Langley, Dec 24, ibid.) I just went through my files and found something from 15 years ago, revealing that Stair has now been arrested already for, at least, the third time. Really reminds of Harvey Weinstein or James Levine. Everyone put on the tight blinders, in the sake of keeping shortwave transmission facilities alive. Any word what became of the mentioned Teresa Stair after 2002? ---------- 'Brother' RG Stair Arrested For Sexual Abuse === Brother Stair Arrested: Criminal Sexual Conduct & Breech [sic -- gh] of Trust http://web.archive.org/web/20030501000000*/http://www.reformation.com/CSA/Stair1.htm On Thursday May 16, 2002 the self-proclaimed "Profit [sic] of God" "Brother" Ralph G. Stair was arrested, for two counts of criminal sexual conduct and two counts of breech of trust. [``breech`` --- implying bastards born as a result??] The arrest was the result of an ongoing investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division brought on by numerous allegations from former residents of Stair's "Overcomer ministry." As many know, Stair has a vast radio ministry that crosses international borders. What many do not know, is that for most to become members of the "Overcomers's community" they must sell their worldly possessions and turn over the proceeds to Ralph Stair, or use their life savings to finance the "ministry" through land purchases or cash infusement. [yet AW maintains it is *not* a cult] Mr. Stair's wife Teresa claims "Brother" Stair admits to having sex with several "women" at the community. The claims and charges revolve around the fact that the women in question were underage, which means they were under the age of eighteen when Ralph Stair allegedly had sex with them. "Brother" Stair is sixty-nine. This page created using the webpage creation facilities of Webspawner. Copyright © 2002 (via Kai Ludwig, Dec 26, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) Statement on the Overcomer web site http://overcomerministry.org/ "Attention Overcomer Listeners: Due to legal difficulties, as of January 1st, 2018, the Overcomer Ministry will not be broadcasting on AM/FM radio and Shortwave. The Overcomer Broadcast will continue on satellite and on this website stream." “Legal difficulties” are not specified, it might be that broadcast contracts after 31st December had not been arranged prior to the arrest and detention of Bro Stair on 18 December. He had been appealing for donations in order to continue broadcasting after the end of December only a few weeks ago. WRMI and WHRI have already stopped carrying Overcomer but Bro Stair continues to be heard on other SW stations including WBCQ, WWCR and WWRB – at least until 31st December (BDXC-UK yg Dec 27 via DXLD) ** SPAIN. 15390, Dec 22 at 1906, REE about Catalunya, S9+10 and distorted, but almost tolerable, in AM mode, not SSB; stronger than S9-S6 // but clear 15500. Program ID at 1942 as `Thinko Continentes`, but what about the other two? 9690, Dec 24 at 2136, REE with some holiday celebration, songs and chatter, VG here, while 15390 & 15500 are gone, if they were better earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see UNIDENTIFIED 15390. Dec 25, 2017 at 1915-1930, Radio Exterior de España, Noblejas, in Spanish. Man and woman announcers talk News; 1930 Time pips, ID. REE with a good signal, but muffled audio contunues - a chronic transmitter problem - 45542 (sometimes 45543). 15500. Dec 25, 2017 at 1950-1959, Radio Exterior de España, Noblejas- E, in Spanish. Man and woman talk News; ID. Station with fair signal and modulation, no muffled audio, 35433 (sometimes 35432). (DXer: José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo-PB, Brazil, Tecsun S-2000, Longwire, Hard- Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. Christmas transmission with SAQ radio cancelled http://alexander.n.se/christmas-transmission-with-saq-radio-cancelled/?lang=en The Alexander Association Grimeton SAQ Veteran radio friends, During the year maintenance work has been done on some parts of the long-wave antenna. This was e.g. notable during the summer when the SAQ-transmission on Alexanderson day was cancelled. Unfortunately we have to inform you that also the traditional Christmas transmission will be cancelled this year since we haven’t been able to finish the maintenance work as planned. Which sometimes can be the case when maintaining an almost 100 year old longwave station. We deeply regret this and hope for understanding of the situation and also your continued support for the station. We are doing everything we can to get our “old lady” up in the air again! Camilla Lugnet, Managing Director Grimeton World Heritage Foundation (via Mike Terry, Dec 24, dxldyg via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Meeting with the leading international radio of Taiwan For the first time I met the heroes of the Taiwan broadcast - the chief editor of the Russian service of "International Radio of Taiwan" Vitaly Samoilov and the wonderful Maria Li, who for several years was the host and editor of the MRI. [MRT??] After acquaintance Vitaly asked about the news related to the MRI broadcast. Was surprised to learn that in September this year, the management of Radio Taiwan International had plans to abandon shortwave broadcasting and go online. It turned out. Broadcasts from Taipei to HF continue, reassured Vitali. Ahead, he said, the 90th anniversary of RTI and the traditional "Republic of China" quiz. Vitali also responded positively to my request to publish announcements and images of new QSL-cards in one of the sections of their site, as the French edition does. Masha Li advised me to visit Taiwan. She beckoned to the island with stories about the wonderful Taiwan mountains and the coast. Many thanks to the leading Russian MRI service for interesting communication! (Igor Kolke, Moscow, Russia) https://kolkeradio.blogspot.ru/2017/12/blog-post_20.html#more (Rus-DX 24 Dec via DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. 7245. Dec 21, 2017 at 0334-0350, Voice of Tajik, Dushanbe, in Tajik language. A song; Man and woman talk; Woman announcer talks and pieces of songs. Very poor broadcasting and last log on B16 period, 25422. DXer: (José Ronaldo Xavier, Cabedelo-PB, Brazil, Degen DE1103, Antenna: Longwire, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Weak to fair signal of Voice of Tajik on Dec 24 1300-1400 on 7245 DB 100 kW / non-dir to CeAs English plus co-ch on same 7245 BEI 150 kW / non-dir to EaAs Chinese CNR2 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2017/12/weak-to-fair-signal-of-voice-of-tajik_24.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23-24, dxldyg via DXLD) ** THAILAND. I received a QSL card from Bangkok Radio Volmet - The Meteorological Department of Thailand for the report of September 5, 2015. The report was initially left unanswered. I recently found out the new email address of the station and resubmitted the report. Card and letter here http://freerutube.info/2017/12/19/qsl-bangkok-radio-volmet-tailand-2015-god/ (Dmitry Elagin, Saratov, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", QSL World, Rus-DX 24 Dec via DXLD) ** TIBET. Re: "4905 // 6200, Xizang PBS via Lhasa, 1600, Dec 15. The “Holy Tibet” program in English; "China Tibet Broadcasting"; news of Tibetan manufacturing developments and cultural projects, etc.; fair- poor. "Holy Tibet" scheduled 1600-1700 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)" Noted on scheduled frequencies yesterday (Wednesday) morning using the U. Twente SDR receiver around 1630 UT: 4905: S7 4920: S8 6110: Only Radio Fana (?) here 6130: S9 + 10dB (by far the best frequency) 6200: Nothing heard 7255: Strong CRI signal here 7385: Weak signal with adjacent-channel QRM (Richard Langley, NB, Dec 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TONGA. 1017, Dec 20 at 1134, JBA carrier vs 1020 splash, presumably R. Tonga now reported to be leaving its carrier on all night. But there are also Christchurch and Sydney stations on 1017 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see UNIDENTIFIED ** TURKEY. 11815, VOT, Emirler, 12/23, 1500-1512, in listed Turkish; an OM begins commentary about a bullfighting event. No doubt, because of the spoken word matador. An excited stadium crowd is in the background. (Is it live, or is it Memorex?) The OM speaks in rising and falling tones. Apparently, there IS a genuine interest in Kafkasor bullfighting in Artvin, Turkey. A tourist destination, in fact. Who knew? OLE´! 33233 (Ronald Sives, South Plainfield, NJ, ETON field radio and 66 ft. random wire, NASWA Flashsheet Dec 26 via DXLD) ** TUVALU. See KIRITIMATI [and non] ** U K. How things have changed! The BBC now publicising Caroline's start on 648 kHz tomorrow morning. Here is the article: 'Original' pirate radio station returns http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-42424163 (Mike Terry, Dec 21, dxldyg via DXLD) Radio Caroline has started regular operations today on 648 kHz using a studio on the Ross Revenge moored on the River Blackwater in Essex and the transmitter at Orford Ness on the coast of Suffolk. Good reception right now (around 1230 UT) using the U. Twente SDR receiver (Richard Langley, Dec 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC confirms MW local frequencies closing in Jan 2018 --- The BBC has stepped up its information campaign surrounding the imminent switch-off of a number of Medium Wave services, due to take place in a few weeks. http://www.a516digital.com/2017/08/bbc-starts-medium-wave-switch-off.html As announced by the BBC in August, seven local radio stations will see their Medium Wave services being cut at the beginning of 2018, with three further stations having one of their current MW frequencies being closed. A total of thirteen MW transmitters are affected. With the switch-offs about to commence, the BBC has begun to provide more information about the changes, with a detailed listing of all of the transmitters and frequencies affected being published for the first time: Listeners who tune in on FM, DAB, Freeview or online are unaffected by the changes. The switch-offs are due to complete next month, although exact dates still haven't yet been confirmed by BBC Reception Advice and we are awaiting clarification. The BBC says it decided which transmitters would be shut after assessing the coverage of each BBC Local Radio station on FM, MW and digital radio, which highlighted stations where MW transmitters duplicated good FM or digital radio coverage. It added that the cost savings from these closures "will allow the BBC to continue to modernise its infrastructure in order to meet our listeners' changing needs." For most affected listeners, switching to FM or DAB is likely to be the solution for continued reception, although for those without good FM or DAB reception, the BBC points out that the stations are available on Freeview and the internet. Other BBC MW services, including BBC Radio 5 Live's broadcasts on 693 and 909 kHz, are not affected. The process is also not related to the proposed digital radio switchover and the broadcaster has emphasised it has no plans to end FM transmissions of BBC Local Radio services. http://www.a516digital.com/2017/12/bbc-alerts-listeners-of-imminent-mw.html [confirms list on page 11 of December's 'Communication' and that 1458 kHz Torbay is the BBC Radio Devon site to close] See also http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/news/item181 http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/reception/pdfs/BBCLocalRadioMWclosuretuning.pdf http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/reception/pdfs/MWclosures.pdf Posted by: (alan.pennington1, Dec 22, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) With the switch-offs [of BBC Local Radio MW] about to commence, the BBC has begun to provide more information about the changes, with a detailed listing of all of the transmitters and frequencies affected being published for the first time: These BBC radio stations will no longer be available on AM/Medium Wave BBC Service Transmitter Frequency BBC Surrey Duxhurst 1368 Bexhill MF 1161 BBC Sussex Brighton MF Southwick 1485 Radio Humberside Hull 1485 Radio Kent Rusthall 1602 Littlebourne 774 Radio Lincolnshire Lincoln, Swan Pool 1368 Radio Nottingham Clipstone Fishponds Hill 1584 Radio Wiltshire Lacock 1332 Swndon Rodbourne 1368 These BBC Radio stations will lose the following AM / MediumWave frequencies only: Radio Devon Torbay Torquay 1458 only BBC Essex Rayleigh Southend 1530 only Radio Lancashire Oxcliffe 1557 only (via BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD) ** U K [non]. 5930, Dec 20 at 0131, VP S6-S8, sounds like Farsi. It`s ``Dari``, BBC, 300 kW, 95 degrees via AUSTRIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC WORLD SERVICE APPOINTS NEW LEADERS FOR EAST AND WEST AFRICAN LANGUAGES Date: 20.12.2017 Last updated: 20.12.2017 at 10.03 http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/new-leaders-east-west-african-languages The BBC World Service has appointed Rachael Akidi Okwir (right) and Toyosi Ogunseye (left) as heads of language services for East and West Africa respectively. The appointments are part of the BBC World Service’s continuing expansion in Africa. Rachael Akidi Okwir, Head of East Africa Languages, is based in Nairobi, Kenya and oversees services in Afaan Oromo, Amharic, Somali, Swahili and Tigrinya. Head of West Africa Languages, Toyosi Ogunseye, is based in Lagos, Nigeria will be starting in January 2018 where she will be managing Afrique, Hausa, Igbo, Pidgin & Yoruba. Rachael was the Editor of the flagship radio programme Focus on Africa. She joined the BBC World Service as a producer in 2002 and has worked across various platforms and programmes including Network Africa, The World Today, Focus On Africa TV and the website bbcafrica.com In recognition of her leadership qualities and potential, Rachael was selected for the inaugural BBC News Leadership Programme. Born in Uganda her career in journalism started as a freelance contributor to Ugandan newspapers and radio stations whilst a student at Makerere University. Rachael says: “I am deeply honoured to be leading the BBC's expansion and digital transformation in the East and Horn of Africa. The media landscape in the region is rapidly evolving. It is a vibrant, challenging and competitive market, but with massive potential and opportunities. I am excited to be part of the team that will be at the forefront of this transformation.” Toyosi Ogunseye was the Editor of the Sunday Punch, one of Nigeria’s most widely read newspapers. She was the first female editor in the 45 year history of the company. An award winning journalist with a passion for investigative reporting, she has won over 30 awards and was the first Nigerian to win the prestigious Knight International Journalism award. Toyosi is a fellow of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative and currently sits on the board of the World Editors Forum. She holds an MSc in Media and Communication and is currently studying for a PhD in Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester. Toyosi says: “It is a huge honour to be appointed Head of West of Africa for the BBC. I’m excited about this new role and I look forward to working with BBC’s amazing journalists in the region. I have no doubt that we will continue to produce the quality journalism that our audiences love us for.” Solomon Mugera Regional Editor for BBC Africa says: “Rachael and Toyosi are talented journalists, each with an impressive track record of strong editorial focus and inspiring leadership. They are passionate about original journalism and finding creative ways of engaging with the audience.” (via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD) ** U K. Laser Soul Hits server failure --- Sorry to inform you that the server for Laser Soul Hits crashed after it was temporarily restored on Monday morning. This means LSH is currently off air on the internet but every effort is being made to switch to another server or provider if the current situation cannot be resolved. There will be a radio service for LSH on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day on 95 FM in some areas even if the internet streams are still down by then. The website remains online at http://lasersoulhits.bravesites.com/ A message will be posted on the listen live page and the outage has also taken off Laser Dance Hits and the Laser listen again streams. Meanwhile Laser Hot Hits is now running on a temporary server at http://185.142.30.31:9582/listen.pls and the mobile phone apps have been updated to the temporary stream. All the remaining Laser International stations will be back as soon as possible. Keep the faith folks ?? [unID emoji] this is not the end. Sent from my iPhone (Gary Drew, Dec 20, DX LISTENNG DIGEST) see USA [and non]: WORLD OF RADIO ** U K. COMMERCIAL RADIO FORMATS TO BE SCRAPPED Southgate December 19, 2017 http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2017/december/commercial-radio-formats-to-be-scrapped.htm#.Wjqdhd9l_IU Radio Today reports on UK Government plans to bring in new rules on commercial radio formats as soon as possible – meaning stations will be free to change their music format without Ofcom approval Digital Minister Matt Hancock said the changes would give commercial radio stations the ‘freedom to adapt and compete with online stations’. Analogue licence holders would no longer be required to play a particular genre of music, and there will be no requirement for Ofcom to approve changes to programme formats. All current format requirements which stipulate where local radio stations are broadcast from, and how many hours per day can be shared, would be scrapped. But the government says strong requirements will remain on commercial stations to provide national and local news, travel information and weather. Ministers also say the legislation will include permission for Ofcom to license overseas stations on DAB multiplexes in the UK. At the moment, only UK-based stations are permitted (via Mike Terry, Dec 20, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** U S A. This should be apparent to astute readers of DXLD, but I think I have never spelled out how the huge amount of USA info is organized: 1, amateur, utility, oddity items, sometimes harmonix, usually in frequency order 2, US government SW broadcasters, BBG, IBB, then VOA and the others 3, WORLD OF RADIO monitoring 4, WBCQ or WRMI items get next priority; I try to alternate which comes first 5, all other SWBC stations in no particular order 6, USA [non] SWBC stations, e.g. AWR, TWR 7, MW items in frequency order 8, FM, TV items if any 9, FCC related info (maybe further up if dealing with particular stations) 10, general broadcasting industry news Items about ALASKA, GUAM, HAWAII, PUERTO RICO, OKLAHOMA, SOUTH CAROLINA, VIRGIN ISLANDS and other US overseas territories get main entries (Glenn Hauser, ed., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 3269-USB, Dec 20 at 0140, MARS net, discussing messages, 6TG called by 6UK. Probably Air Force with truncated suffix-only calls; then a long silence. This strongly resembles the last log of mine on this frequency found in my archive earlier this year a dekamonth ago: ``3269-USB, UT Tue Feb 14 at 0138, another MARS net, this one with radiochex and/or relays among abbr`d calls 6VK, 6GE, 6RB and 6IN, calls fonetikaly`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. UNIDENTIFIED, 6221-USB, Dec 23 at 1422, coastal station KJM calling M/V Todd(?) – something; they agree to try 8104-USB instead. KJM is stronger there for me, but still no contact between them, nor anything heard back on 6221. No luck here searching for info about KJM. Not even any hits searching UDXF group.io. Maybe it was KJN? Call not given fonetikaly. Where is it? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No replies so far ** U S A. 7637-USB, Dec 22 at 1405, paramilitary Civil Air Patrol, ``Triblade 55 Net One``, with NCS much stronger than stations contacted, but many colorful calls heard followed by numbers: Capstone, Red Dragon, Mudbug, Shiprock, Oilwell, Big Ben(d?), etc. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Xmas eve Santa reports --- Glenn. Don't know how it's done in other states, but here in mid-North Indiana every county dispatch starts broadcasting reports of Santa over the scanner. Since the power was out yesterday for a bit, all the frequencies I had locked out on the scanner are unlocked now. From 0100 to past 0200 I've reports from nine different counties so far. Some are rather generic. Man in red suit has been reporting speeding down the roads at a high rate of speed and officers are warned to stand down and leave him alone. One county released a report of several break ins at houses by a man that climbs up the side of houses. Description was given. List of names that the man might answer to. Description of sleigh and reindeer. Blacked out license plates on sleigh. Said they didn't think he was causing any harm and anyone seeing him was to stand back and not engage with him. Another county urged police to render any assistance to the old man that they could and so on. Several counties warned children to go to bed so they wouldn't be involved in the break-ins. Expecting more before the evening is over (John H Carver Jr, Mid-North Indiana, 0213 UT Dec 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And then, there`s NORAD -- hope they are still monitoring for ICBMs (gh) ** U S A. 15740, Dec 22 at 1916, big S9+20/10 open carrier, obviously VOA Greenville warming up for French broadcast on 15730 from 1930, by when 15740 has gone off. That`s to avoid overlapping the previous hour of VOA French already on 15730 via Vatican, violating Separation of Church and State (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENNG DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Frequency changes of VOA via Tinang/Udorn/São Tomé: 1330-1430 9580 PHT 250 kW / 270 deg SEAs Khmer, additional frequency 1430-1530 15450 PHT 250 kW / 283 deg SEAs Burmese, ex 17680 1730-1800 11695 UDO 250 kW / 276 deg EaAf Oromo Mon-Fri, ex 11830 1800-1900 11695 UDO 250 kW / 276 deg EaAf Amharic, ex 11830 1900-1930 11695 SAO 100 kW / 076 deg EaAf Tigrigna Mon-Fri, ex 11830 2200-2230 7590 PHT 250 kW / 270 deg SEAs Khmer, ex 7460 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/frequency-changes-of-voice-of-america.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23, dxldyg via DXLD) VOA News relays via WRMI are filed below in the WRMI department (gh) ** U S A [and non]. 5850, WRMI at 1051 with Glenn Hauser’s “World of Radio” - Good Dec 20 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA group.io via DXLD) WORLD OF RADIO 1909 monitoring: confirmed Wednesday December 20 at 2200 on WBCQ 7489.878v, fair S9+10 to S8; by 2228 varied down to 7489.860. Modulation seems a little lower on this backup transmitter, but sufficient. Not confirmed UT Thu Dec 21 at 0037, the 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB: no signal (while 9370 WWRB is S9+12; 9265 WINB JBA carrier, but unusually, so is 9395 WRMI). Next: Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE [or #1910?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] Full WOR schedule via all media, and podcast access: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1909 monitoring: confirmed Thursday December 21 at 2230.5 on WRMI, 5850, good. Not confirmed UT Fri Dec 22 on WBCQ 9330v- CUSB: once again, NO signal detectable (neighbors: 9265 WINB S9, 9370 WWRB poor S4-S8; 9395 WRMI fair; even the other more propagable WBCQ, 7489.8v is JBA carrier now). Next: Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE [or 11530 to SSE? See WRMI logs], 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE [may be canceled] [or #1910?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] WORLD OF RADIO 1909 monitoring: news from Hamburger Lokalradio is that the Saturday broadcast at 1531 has been moved from 7265-CUSB to 6190- CUSB (same as at 0730). That will escape ChiCom CCI from East Turkistan --- but Aoki shows TWO ChiComs at same time on 6190, hopefully less of a factor in Europe: CRI Vietnamese, 500 kW, 193 degrees from Beijing site; and PBS Xinjiang in Mongolian, 50 kW ND from Urumqi. HLR also has special holiday programming on Dec 24-25-26-31-Jan 1 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See GERMANY WORLD OF RADIO 1909 monitoring: not confirmed UT Saturday December 23 after 0030 on WBCQ, 9330v-USB: no signal detectable (neighbors: 9265 WINB VP, 9370 WWRB S9+10, 9395 WRMI JBA carrier). Next: Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW [ex-7265! Hopefully less CCCCI] Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW [probably preëmpted this week & next] Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] WORLD OF RADIO 1909 monitoring: Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria reports: GERMANY, Reception of World of Radio via HLR 6190 CUSB, Dec 23, 0730-0759 on 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu Sat, fair http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-world-of-radio-via-hlr_23.html His recordings indicate a subaudible heterodyne from something. The next broadcast has been moved from 7265 to 6190-CUSB as well, as Michael Kittner of HLR told us: ``Aktueller Sendeplan (22.12.2017) Jeden Samstag: 08.00 - 11.00 Uhr CET 6190 kHz (1000 W) (3 h) 11.00 - 13.00 Uhr CET 7265 kHZ ( 250 W) (2 h) 13.00 - 17.00 Uhr CET 6190 kHz (1000 W) (4 h) Jeden Sonntag: 11.00 - 14.00 Uhr CET 9485 kHz (1000 W) (3 h)`` However, there will be some holiday special pre-emptions. Sat Dec 23 I spot-check 6190 via UTwente during the entire 15-16 UT hour, the first half being `Media Network Plus`, but no trace of HLR, just two stations mixing, seemingly the ChiComs in Mongolian and Vietnamese, altho I also thought I heard some Korean. Also rechecking 7265 in case HLR were still there: nothing but CRI to Sri Lanka. However, Alan Gale in England reports: ``Hi Glenn, I'm pleased to say that HLR's switch from 7265 to 6190 seems to have worked, as World of Radio was coming in well here at 1530 UT today. It wasn't thundering in, but it was definitely stronger than it was on 7265 when I last heard it there, and it was fully readable all the way through the programme I'm pleased to say. [His recording atop slight QRM] I was recording KBC on my other receiver when your programme was on, but I found the attached short clip from when I briefly switched over. I just made a screen shot of the path between here and Göhren, and it is almost directly east from here about 644 miles away. Twente is almost right in between us, so it looks like the signal is going right over it and they are in the 'dead zone' at that time. Looks like I'm just in the right place for them at that time of day! :-) Alan`` [WORLD OF RADIO 1910] WOR 1909 confirmed, barely, Sat Dec 23 after 2230 on WBCQ 9330.0v- CUSB. At first a JBA carrier, while neighbors 9265, 9350, 9370 and 9395 are all good to very good. Then I start to hear a trace of me, and by 2255 definitely, but still too weak to copy. Fortunately, I already know exactly what I said. (Also have a high local noise level around S8, Xmas dex?) Also confirmed Sat Dec 23 after 2300 on WRMI 11580, S9 but deep fades to S3; by 2309 at peaks S9+25 it`s the strongest of all WRMI frequencies, and VG modulation level emphasizing my glitches. Next: Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW [probably preëmpted this week & next] Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] WORLD OF RADIO 1909 monitoring: At first not confirmed, UT Monday Dec 25 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB: no signal while neighbors are: 9265 WINB S9+20; 9370 WWRB S9+5; 9395 WRMI S9+25; 7490 WBCQ S9+30; but at 0044 recheck, now I am there, JBA S4. Next: Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] 9455, listen to the enclosed recording of WoR #1909 via WRMI Okeechobee, taken in Alberta Canada, in 2130-2200 UT slot, Dec 26. #1909 heard. On both remote at Detroit-MI-US and Edmonton Alberta Canada on S=6-7 level. But on Canadian north-western province Alberta noted also strong China mainland music jammer against RFA Agingan Point Saipan, best signal on remote Perseus at VE6JY's installation, used the change antenna selection, weaker on Port(s) 8014 and 8050, but strongest up to S=8 level on Port 8023 with ATT -off- selected, Most China mainland Chinese music jamming heard on Port 8023 ATT +10dB. vy 73 wolfie df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not surprised, as some of that becomes audible here (gh) WORLD OF RADIO 1909 monitoring: confirmed UT Monday December 25 from 0359 on Area 51 webcast, and S7-S8 on WBCQ 5129.83 at 0428 check. Also confirmed UT Mon Dec 25 at 0430 on WRMI 9955, good S9+10. Also confirmed UT Tue Dec 26 at 0030 on WRMI 7730, S9+30/40, and also JBA on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB. Also confirmed Tue Dec 26 at 2030 on WRMI 11580, S9+20, and 9455, S9; 7780 not on. Also confirmed Tue Dec 26 at 2130 on WRMI 9455 (considerable China music jamming, says Wolfgang Büschel on a remote receiver in Alberta). Also confirmed JBA UT Wed Dec 27 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB. Because of holiday delays, WOR 1910 not ready until 0152 UT Dec 27. Contents: Antarctica, Argentina non, Australia, China, Ethiopia non, Germany and non, Kurdistan non, Netherlands non, Nigeria non, Sikkim, Solomon Islands, South Carolina and non, USA, Uzbekistan, Vatican; and the propagation outlook WORLD OF RADIO 1910: Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW, 9455 to WNW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW [ex-7265] Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE [or #1911?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1911?] Full WOR schedule via all media, and podcast access: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Laser Soul Hits world service restored Hi Glenn, I hope you're having a nice Christmas --- Laser Soul Hits internet streams are now back online. This is on test until Saturday evening then all normal programming will be restored including World of Radio in the same time period anytime from midnight to 0600 UT. The web address is the same.. http://lasersoulhits.bravesites.com/listenlive LSH is online 24/7 with a lot of Soul. Happy New Year! From (Gary, Sent from my iPhone, Drew, Dec 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also UK ** U S A. 9395, WRMI with VoA Newscast, WRMI ID/promo at 2123 and into oldies including Simon and Garfunkel "America" (It took me far less than 4 days to hitchike from Saginaw, but I don't think I'd do that any more!....) Pop Muzic by "M" (Tunatic helped with that ID, I would NEVER have gotten it!) "Earth Angel" and Starship's "We Built This City (on Rock and Roll)" among many others. Good stuff belying the 'there's nothing on SW' trope that so many use to justify not turning on the radio! ;) Ads for a 'low cost' travel 800 number, at 2143 and then more oldies like 'Rainy Days and Mondays (Remix) from the Carpenters, and Beatles "Twist and Shout". In pretty well, 4+44+44 with my local QRM present but not causing real issues. 2119-2156 16/Dec, SPR-4 +ANC-4 +r-wire (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, ed., MARE Tipsheet Dec 22 via DXLD) 9395 // 9455, Dec 20 at 0702, WRMI Oldies is just ending VOA News relay, so it must have started at 0657 and run thru hourtop, and so also must have been downloaded at least an hour before. 9955, Wed Dec 20 at 1445, latest `Viva Miami`, still lacking the ``Miami Vice`` theme, just Jeff acknowledging reception reports, mostly only with name, location, frequency, but occasional additional comments in English or sometimes Spanish. Finished by 1456, back to fill music. He mentioned that 9455 is beamed to the southwest from Okeechobee, but it`s listed as 285 degrees which is closer to WNW. 9955, Dec 20 at 1543 and still at 1522, I notice that this WRMI frequency is now off when it normally carries Brother Scare, and so is another BS frequency, 11825; hmmm, could this be coincidence, following The Overgroper`s latest arrest on multiple charges? Other WRMIs are still running, 7780, 9395, 9455, 21525, so no power problem. Via Artie Bigley, here`s another story about Brother Scare being pulled from some of his MW affiliates, but not (yet?) SW: https://www.postandcourier.com/news/several-radio-stations-pull-s-c-preacher-s-program-in/article_82e6d668-e506-11e7-951e-db4e0160c95c.html 7780, 9955, 11580, 11825, Dec 20 at 1905 check, back to presumed TOM on all these WRMIs, altho someone else is preaching; Oldies on 9395 and 9455; and 11530 back with BIAFRA, q.v. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SOUTH CAROLINA 11580 & 11825 & 7780, like 3+ hours earlier, Dec 21 at 1858, WRMIs which would have been carrying Overcomer, are still off the air. Power is still on and 9955 is still running with TOM, while 9395 & 9455 are audible with Oldies. Not checked again until 2036 Dec 21, when 11580 is still off during an hour when it had been carrying diverse programming! 9955 with TOM // 9980 WWCR: not BS now but a British Voice, presumably TOM since it`s same on 9980. NOW, the diverse programming: today Thu Dec 21 at 2036 being Voice of the Report of the Week, to be heard not on 11580 but on 11530 instead (which was OFF the air too at 1900-1930 when sometimes it carries Radio Biafra, like yesterday). VORW is also // on 9455, but another mostly-BS frequency, 7780, which this hour had been // 11580 & 9455, remains off. So is 11530 instead of 11580 a permanent change for the 20-21 diverse hour? Or possibly a mistake? If on same antennas as before, now 160 degrees on 11530, ex-44 on 11580. Not checked again until 2230 when 11530 is off and 11580 is back on during the Argentina relay hour in Italian. 11825 and 7780 still off. 11825 & 7780, next check at 0024 UT Dec 22, still off, and so is 7570, the formerly all-BS XMTR 11 on the schedule from 2300 to 1400, via a 315 degree antenna right across North America with the biggest of the 7 MHz signals, even better than 7730 here, and which would be ideal for diverse programming. At this time all the other frequencies are nominal: 5850, 5950, 9955, 11580. 9395, WRMI had been carrying BS at certain hours, and it still is, at 0030 check Dec 22, // 9370 WWRB. An oversight to be deleted too? 7730, XMTR 13, which had been on before 0100 with VORW, is OFF at 0103, as it would have switched to BS all evening. Should be back at 06 for RAE in Japanese. Meanwhile VORW is playing again! As I see it was already scheduled: 9395 // 9455 // 5850, UT Fri Dec 22 at 0103, now all three are carrying the VORW hour (and so is 7490 WBCQ). 5850 is the new one here, replacing TOM which had started at 0100. After 0200, 5850, XMTR 12, is now off along with all three 7 MHz channels! 5850 should be back at 07 for RAE in English. 11580 remains on for another hour with Ukraine and Prague, JBA, and off at 0300, no more BS there either. A lot of WRMI diverse programming has been ``attached`` to TOM transmissions. Let us hope that they will not become collateral casualties of this affair, but chances are there could be some cutbacks, with not as much spare time available (nor spare cash!). BS had been implying that his SW contracts were valid until yearend, so some other stations may be waiting until then to take him off, especially if they cease to be paid. But kudos to Jeff for not waiting, after depending so much on BS for the entire existence of multi-transmitter WRMI. The WRMI skedgrid has still not been updated to show any of this, as of 0200 UT December 22. Nor is there anything on WRMI FB about Stair; last post there was Dec 16, about a special Dec 22: ``WRMI Radio Miami International, December 16 at 2:51pm Las Noches con Mirka presenta un programa especial de Navidad y Año Nuevo el viernes 22 de diciembre de 5:00-6:30 pm hora de Miami (2200-2330 UTC) en 9955 kHz y streaming via www.wrmi.net. Feliz Navidad de todos nosotros en WRMI`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SOUTH CAROLINA [non] for preliminary observations of his other outlets Drastic cutbacks at WRMI as Brother HyStairical, the Overfondler, is being eliminated at last, also impacting other programming, as further observed UT Dec 22, continued from last report: 5850 & 7730 remained off during the previously scheduled Argentina relays [q.v.], at 0614 & 0945 chex. Still off at 1008, but 9455, which had duplicated 5850 during this diverse hour, is back on with `Viva Miami`. 7780 remains completely off; had been 24h with BS or `Power Hour`, or diverse at 20-21. Off at 1317 check. At 0945, all frequencies off except 9395 & 9455 Oldies. At 1008, 9395 Oldies, and 9455 diverse. 9395 at 1257 open carrier, so had been off for a while? 1300 starting `The Power Hour` replay from 21-23 yesterday. Speaker immediately refers to this being ``after the break`` so this must be in the middle of the 2-hour show, rather than the beginning: conspiracy nonsense, electing Drumpf is reclaiming science and the country from Atheist control to Christianity, ha2. Now also on 9455. Surprisingly at 1504, 9395 // 9455 are still on with `Power Hour`, alleging elexion fraud and Xmas takeover, so there are 3 hours of repeats of 2-hour show. 11580 at 1257 open carrier, so about to resume, 1300 RAE in French. But off at 1400* already instead of continuing an hour in Spanish. By 1410 I am noticing an OTH radar(?) blob slowly drifting downward from 11600, across 11580 by 1413. 9955 // 9455, Dec 22 at 1313, usual R. Prague in English, and no doubt the further diverse programming, but 9955 closes at 1500* sharp after ID giving the phonecasting number. But what would anyone hear on that now with BS gone? Friday afternoon need to confirm what`s happening on all frequencies 1900-2200, partially monitored yesterday. WRMI skedgrid still not updated about any of this (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tracking WRMI frequencies Friday December 22 after 1900: 11530, 11580 and 9955 are off at 1902. 11825, 7780 always off. 9395, 9455 and 21525 are on at 1902, the latter JBA as usual 11530, at 1940 recheck is now ON with African music: it`s Radio Herwa International. See NIGERIA [non] 11530 is off again at 2000 unlike yesterday, and 11580 is still off. 9455 at 2000 with gospel huxter, as per schedule, `Walking in Power` from a Miami church; 9395 continues with Oldies this hour 11580 at 2042 recheck is now on with `Wavescan`, routine loggings from some downunderite. Must have come on at *2030, and // 9455. Former third frequency at this time 7780 remains totally off. 9455 at 2100 now airs `Walking in Power` again from an hour earlier, this time substituting for 15770. 11580 with RAE in German. 11530 still off. 9395 with `The Power Hour` but no // 7780 or anything. 9455 at 2130 with `Studio DX` in Italian, also as if on 15770. 11580 at 2212 music in Spanish, but presumably RAE in Italian service. During this hour 9395 is joined by 9455 for `The Power Hour`. 11580 at 2305 with `Viva Miami` mailbag as sked M/W/F. 9395 // 9455 sound like Biermann with `Your Weekend Show`, but not on sked, just Oldies. 9955 with `Noches con Mirka` Xmas special, not jammed?? It would have started at 2200 for a sesquihour until 2330, pushing back start of PCJ`s `Happy Station` Xmas show until 2330 (scheduled as `Media Network Plus` --- NOT, normally at 23-24 Fridays). 5850 after 2300 with Radio Tirana. 5950 weak Spanish, presumed AWR altho HQ does not acknowledge this service exists. UT Sat Dec 23: 7730 is back on at 0017 with normal non-BS programming; and 5850 continues, both off again after 0200. MUF is plunging, and by 0018, 9395 & 9455 & 9955 & 11580 are JBA carriers. 11530 also supposed to be on now. From 0030, 7730 still VG with `Wavescan`; 5850 VG with Slovakia. 9395 at 0219, JBA carrier, so can`t confirm if it`s still RAE in English, but probably. 5850, 7570, 7730, 7780 all off now, and 11580 inaudible but maybe on another hour like last night. Jeff, the stuff on 11580 and/or on the 9 MHz channels after 2300 or 0000 should be put on available 7570 which will still propagate in the evenings! 9395 // 9455, Sat Dec 23 at 1452, WRMI with Oldies; 11580 is off instead of RAE Spanish; 9955 with the Japo-Mississippian gospel huxtress. 11580 // 9455, Sat Dec 23 at 2000, YL introducing Jesus music on WRMI. 9395 & 9455, Dec 23 at 2308, WRMI Oldies with floating delayed VOA News relay; announcer has similar voice to Jeff. See also NIGERIA [non] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Cf ARGENTINA non] We also wonder whether 7730 still be turned on Sundays at 06-07 for Radiogram and Radio Panorama in Russian, and what about UT Mondays? Kim thinx so: http://swradiogram.net/ [gh] Apparently not. From Radiogram Twitter feed: "It appears that WRMI will not sign on for Shortwave Radiogram at 0600 UT. Apologies to those who woke up at an inconvenient hour. We'll see if the 2030 and 2330 UT shows will be broadcast." (Richard Langley, Dec 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Later: will be at 0800 Mon 7500, WRMI-Okeechobee, 12/23 into 12/24; the tail end of "Your Weekend Show" is winding down when I SCAN INTO this frequency at 0457 Saturday. Bob Biermann coming in nicely, SIO 545. Announcer says Oldies follow on 9395, but I leave on 7500 for 2 songs. Not bad, SIO 444. Switch to 9395, manual tuning needed of course, SIO 322. Strange thing is that I can't manually tune back into 7500, nor get it clearly. I have to auto scan to get it back. Tried this whole process twice more with same result. Nudge fine tune up or down a notch, then go back for same result. Uncommon experience to me, and first time I noted anything clear on 7500 kHz (Ronald Sives, South Plainfield, NJ, ETON field radio and 66 ft. random wire, NASWA Flashsheet Dec 26 via DXLD) Strange indeed, as 7500 is not a WRMI frequency; unless they were very out of order, suspect it was a receiver anomaly (gh, DXLD) 9395, VOA (via WRMI) at 0203 with a man with “From Washington, this is V-O-A News” and news with correspondent reports to 0208 and “That’s the latest news from V-O-A” - Good Dec 24 – Tuned it at 0200 to CCR music and WRMI ID and station info (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre- fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup & yg via DXLD) 9395, Sunday Dec 24 at 2139, surprised to encounter this WRMI carrying `Voice of the Report of the Week`, as host who never (?) names himself opines that goose meat is too fatty, and plays music request from some Soundcloud listener. The VORW hour shows up more and more, so expenses must not be a problem. WRMI skedgrid at http://tinyurl.com/WRMIfqs just shows Oldies during this hour. Maybe it`s considered a filler for a frequency-hour occupied weekdays by `The Power Hour` --- but that change still does not show on the sked either. Yet I do spot something new: 9395, after RAE, at 0300-0400: R. Prague, R. Slovakia. Jeff`s icon is often logged in to this googledocs spreadsheet but that doesn`t mean he is axually actively editing it; *still* has lots of green C blox for disgraced Brother Scare, even totally silenced frequencies 7570, 7780, 11825. Docs also displays animal icons for anonymous viewers, now llama, lemur and camel. Which one am I? (Glenn Hauser, OK, Dec 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) re: ``9395, Sunday Dec 24 at 2139, surprised to encounter this WRMI carrying `Voice of the Report of the Week`, as host who never (?) names himself opines that goose meat is too fatty, and plays music request from some Soundcloud listener. The VORW hour shows up more and more, so expenses must not be a problem." His first name is John and he hasn't revealed his last name due to privacy concerns. He's just a kid but has made money doing food reviews (Richard Langley, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Richard! I'm actually the person that does VORW Radio Int., so you are correct, my name is John and I'm in my 20s. I've had a passion for shortwave radio for a while and this show is just a misc. light entertainment program that'll have some random talk and take some listener requests. It's able to be funded thanks to listener support and from the revenue from YouTube (TheReportOfTheWeek), I know the programming isn't for everyone and that's all good, I just hope that it can be a little break from the usual doom and gloom preachers (John, ibid.) I thought it might have just been my receiver but it seems others also noted that WRMI's broadcasts on 11580 kHz on Christmas Eve were slightly distorted. Noted during playback of my recordings of Shortwave Radiogram (didn't seem to affect decoding of text and images) and Wavescan (Richard Langley, UT Dec 26, ibid.) 7780, Dec 25 at 2132, WRMI is VP but on this frequency which seemed to have been dropped along with Brother Scare; during `The Power Hour` // 9395. Maybe it`s just back for these two hours, 21-23? Not on before 2100 and not on for the morning repeat of TPH, at 1430 check Dec 26. 7780 audible again Dec 26 at 2130, very poor (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Tonight`s `Allan Weiner Worldwide` --- Disappointing evening. Show started on time. No signal on 7490. Allan and Angela in studio one again with two working mics. Allan started talking about Brother Stair and the audio went to hell at 0102. Noise came up and over the audio and couldn't hear but a word now and then. At 0110 the audio came back up until 0112 but had no idea what the discussion was. Audio back up at 0127 for a minute or two but in all honesty I can't tell you what they've talked about so far this evening. Audio back up over the noise at 0136 and Allan was answering a question from Fred Flintstone about the fire. Some general talk about the cleanup after the fire and the condition of the other transmitters. He did say that the transmitter for 9330 had been switched out for another in the recent past. Lost audio again at 0151 and 5130 went off the air at 0200 (John H Carver, Jr., Mid-North Indiana, UT Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fortunately: 5129.76, Dec 23 at 0056, WBCQ is on and fair with The Planet IS & ID loop. Sked still shows `The Smart Money Guy` on 5130 at 0045-0100 UT Saturdays, but it must be gone. I might have been able to follow `Allan Weiner Worldwide` here after 0100, unlike 7490 which was already a JBA carrier by 0038, but instead I listen on webcast as he is sure to talk about the arrest of Brother Scare. More than the first half is a monolog about that, except for occasional supportive comments from Angela. Says he has been a friend of BS for 25 years. Tells a somewhat different story about what happened Monday morning Dec 18, than we have seen from the local press. At 7 am, more than a hundred police, with armored vehicles and helicopters descended on the compound, pointing guns at them, terrifying 50-60 friendly and peaceful mostly elderly residents, some of whom are using walkers or wheelchairs. All just to arrest one 84-year-old-man. Says BS had offered to turn himself in, earlier, to avoid such disruption, but no, they had to use Gestapo tactix. They took away everyone`s computers, laptops, cellphones, and ministry financial records. They want to get it off the air. Says the timing of this raid was because they knew courts and magistrates would be on holiday for two weeks, so no bail hearings possible, causing him to remain in jail. Likens this to the Salem witch trials, not only BS but others accused of sex crimes being convicted by public opinion rather than a trial by jury of peers. But he is well-represented by attorneys and hopes for the best. Allan finds it hard to believe his old friend is guilty of any of the eight charges, but is withholding judgment, concedes if convicted should pay the penalty. As a result, Allan says that TOM has canceled all radio broadcasts. The ones on WBCQ 7490 will end Dec 31, except per a promise Allan made to him long ago, will keep him on the air gratis, M-F at 23-24, replaying old broadcasts. The 3-4 hours later in the evening will then be for sale to other programmers. Rest of hour discusses the WBCQ transmitter fire of Dec 10. $2-3 K has been raised so far, applied to paying three people to clean up the transmitter building, which is just about complete. There were three 50 kW transmitters in that building: #1 for 7490 which burned; #2 for 5130; and #3 the backup which is now on 7490. Says it costs more to operate than #1, but has better modulation (I thought it sounds somewhat lower). #3 used to be on 9330, but had already moved 9330 to #4 in another building. The replacement transmitter he wants weighs 20,000 pounds, which means cost of shipping it alone is a major expense (from California as before?). Has not raised airtime rates since WBCQ started (not even for inflation?), but has had to cancel all discounts. Throughout his hours, AW frequently refers piously to `Our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ`, etc. Yet some commenters think he is still Jewish (at one point he almost slipped and referred to Jews as ``us``). After only a bit of e-mail, benedixion, finishes at 0207 dead air, 0208 rock music, 0209 jingle IDs about 6 in a row, more DA; 0210 joins BS (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7490.08, Dec 23 at 2256, WBCQ not on early this Saturday; but S9-S6 at 2258 playing rock music rather than IS & ID loop, past ToH, no ID until 2301.4, then ``Valkyries`` theme of `SW Saturday Night`. 5130 not on yet (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. From the Isle of Music, December 31–January 6: Happy New Year! We welcome the new year with a Cuban Dance Party with some of our favorite dance tunes from recent decades. Four opportunities to listen on shortwave: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100 kW, Sunday 1500-1600 UT on SpaceLine, 9400, from Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK) 2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 UT on WBCQ, 7490 from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9 PM EST in the US). This is running on a backup transmitter due to a recent fire. 3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UT and Saturday 1200-1300 UT on Channel 292, 6070 from Rohrbach, Germany. Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, December 31 Global New Years Party --- Episode 43 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot will include some new year’s music from several different countries. Sunday, December 31 2300-2330 UT (6-6:30 PM Eastern US) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 shortwave from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe. Reception reports are especially welcome right now due to WBCQ’s recent transmitter fire (William "Bill" Tilford, Owner/Producer, Tilford Productions, LLC, Dec 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9475, WTWW, Lebanon TN (presumed); 2130, 12/20; Permanently Planted Pastor Pete Peters, Perplexing Purveyor of Provocative Puffery ragging on gun control; program was “The Accursed Thing--The War Against Us” (send 12$ & you can have a copy). Managed to relate that to “Talmudic nonsense”, “mongrelization” & “aliens controlling our gov’t”. SIO=4+54 on peaks (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 185' RW, ----- All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! -- ---, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12105, Dec 20 at 0648, JBA carrier, presumably WTWW-3 left to run all night minus propagation? 12105, Dec 20 at 1816, better but still very poor signal on here with talk; is it WTWW? 9930 has very good signal with Xmasmx, so not //. But shortly I hear the same thing delayed about 11 seconds (why?) asynchronously behind 12105 on 9930, and it is Ted`s voice with his ham radio commercials. On to a version of ``Carol of the Bells``. Furthermore, 9475 WTWW-1 is on with SFAW, so at last we have confirmation that all three transmitters are funxioning, two-thirds of them with the Xmasmx all-the-time (except for all the commercials). 12105, Dec 21 at 0113, Xmasmx is S7 with ``OC,AYF``, so WTWW-3 is still on, now // 5085 WTWW-2, but 5085 is timed running 14 seconds behind 12105, why? My earlier figure of 11 seconds delay on 9930 after 12105 was just an estimate, but this time I am watching my watch. 12105 JBA carrier still at 0524. 12105, Dec 21 at 1902, WTWW-3 with Xmasmx, and much louder on 9930 WTWW-2. 12105 still on at 0037 Dec 22, very poor Xmasmx, now much louder on 5085 WTWW-2 with unmodulated parasites. 12105, Dec 22 at 1421, VP S3-S5 but can recognize a Ted ad, so WTWW-3 with Xmasmx not-all-the-time. 12105, Dec 22 at 1910, Xmasmx from WTWW, ID, and repeated 27 seconds later on 9930; why? 12105, Dec 23 at 1453, WTWW Xmasmx is already S9+20, still distorted and carrier wobbling slightly. 9942.9, Dec 23 at 1941, S6-S7 carrier matched by another on 9917.1, the plus/minus 12.9 parasites of S9+40 WTWW-2 which I know I will find as I tune down to 9930. No modulation on the spurs, just Xmasmx on 9930, which is also splattering out across them. 12105, Dec 24 at 0633, WTWW-3 is on again with Xmasmx at S7—S8, and repeated in less than a minute on very strong 5085 flanked by silent parasites; greeting from a canned ham in Oklahoma. 5085, Dec 24 at 1352, still on at odd hour, Ted with Xmas promo. At 1429, 12105 is off, 5085 still on and 5830 with SFAW still on. 12105, Dec 24 at 2138 is JBA, while 9930 is VG with Xmasmx 12105, Dec 25 at 0051, JBA carrier, while 5085 is blasting Xmasmx 5085, Dec 25 at 1540, WTWW-2 is on much later than usual with Xmasmx, but not on 12105 this time, nor 9930. By 1923, 12105 is audible VP, while 9930 is VG. 9930, Dec 26 at 1457, Xmasmx at S9+40 today instead of 5085 even later yesterday; while 12105 is inaudible, off. Usual ad-hoc operation (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KVOH spurs --- No solution yet to the white noise hiss from KVOH. They don't seem to take it very seriously. I guess I will have to ask the FCC compliance division to look at it. Had hoped that wouldn't be necessary. 73 - (Ronnie K5WLT Miller, Seguín TX, Dec 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17775, Dec 20 at 1546, KVOH with Xmasmx in Spanish, S9+10 but very undermodulated (much like the only other significant 16m signal, Cuba 17730 at the moment). Maybe undermodulation reduces the spurrage, maybe not; but I have not been hearing the wideband noise lately, altho Ronnie Miller, K5WLT in Seguín TX continues to complain of ``white noise hiss`` from KVOH QRMing even the hamband above 18068. 17774.888, Dec 21 at 1524, JBA carrier from KVOH, off-frequency to low side for a change, about the same offset (112 Hz) as previously on the high side. 17774.888, Dec 22 at 1529, JBA carrier from KVOH, but barely enough to remeasure it to the same off-spot as yesterday. Some slight strength surges, from the transmitter rather than ionosphere? 17775-, by 1904 Dec 22, KVOH signal has built up to S9, but just barely modulated. Can`t they tell this at the station? Why not just turn it off? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KVOH, 17774.889 kHz at 1620 UT Dec 25, S=3 in FL, S=5-6 in MI and NJ, S=5-6 low modulated KVOH reception though in Alberta-CAN at VE6JY site, and at best signal, special ATT -10dB antenna selection switch. 73 (wolfie df5sx, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 3215, Dec 25 at 0047, WWRB is S9+40 of dead air, maybe going to modulate its non-BS huxters? BS channel 3185 is not on, nor is 9370 which had been a few minutes earlier; in process of QSY? 9229.67 approx., Dec 26 at 1502, S3 dirty spur matching modulation of 9370 WWRB, and readable in AM mode, not SSB. Frequency measured in ``resting`` position, since it varies with the modulation. Then found another match on hi side, but much weaker, about 9510.35, i.e. plus and minus about 140.34 kHz. Have not noticed any such spurs when same transmitter is on 3185 at night, but if at same offset, would be: 3325.34 and 3044.66. Or, if the offset be proportional to the frequency, i.e. roughly one-third as far on the 90m band: plus and minus 47.7 kHz, or 3137.3 and 3232.7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5845, Dec 26 at 0646 JBA talk, seems mixture, i.e. TUN on WWCR 5935 leaping over TOM 5890 another 45 kHz beyond, to match the pervasive one transmitted on the other side, 5980. 5845 audiblized by the disappearance of 5850 WRMI (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 30.11.2017 --- SHORTWAVE TRANSMITTER WITH A SIMPLE TO HANDLE UCS CONTROL SYSTEMS [sic] http://ampegon.com/news/?id=91 Turgi, Switzerland, November 30, 2017. Ampegon has received a new contract from WLMK [sic] Radio, based in Pennsylvania, United States, for development and installation of a new 300 kW high power Shortwave Transmitter with test load, matrix switch and remote control system. In spring 2017, WMLK Radio's transmitter building caught fire and the previous Ampegon transmitter (originally built in 1975 under our heritage BBC brand, and working reliably until the fire) was completely destroyed. Ampegon is now pleased to be working with WMLK to provide a replacement transmitter as quickly as possible and get their radio station back on-air. Ampegon will provide our latest transmitter model featuring a high performance PSM power supply, the latest filter technology and Ampegon’s intuitive UCS control system. This allows the entire transmitter to be operated from a single touch screen, or even remotely over the internet. These features provide significant benefits over the heritage generation BBC transmitter, including greater electrical efficiency, significant reliability improvements, and the ability to retune rapidly. Ampegon’s Radio Transmitter Construction Group aims to give WMLK a high priority in order to have the station back on-air by October 2018. A new transmitter building is already being constructed (via WMLK Radio Facebook, 20 December, via Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) ** U S A [non non]. TRANS WORLD RADIO: FIRE 'REIGNITES' AT CARY OFFICE BUILDING 1 DAY AFTER FIRST BLAZE CARY, N.C. — According to officials in Cary, crews on Saturday once again responded to a fire in an office building located at 300 Gregson Drive. Investigators are working to determine why the building, which houses Trans World Radio (TWR), caught fire just 24 hours after firefighters battled a blaze at the same address. According to its website, TWR is a multinational evangelical Christian media distributor https://www.twr.org/ The call about the fire on Saturday came in around 9:15 a.m., according to officials, who have not released details about injuries or damage….. http://www.wral.com/fire-reignites-at-cary-office-building-1-day-after-first-blaze/17209855/ (via Jay Novello, Wake Forest NC, Dec 23, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: FIRE 'REIGNITES' AT CARY OFFICE BUILDING 1 DAY AFTER FIRST BLAZE Posted 10:12 a.m. Saturday [with photos, video] Updated 2:32 p.m. Saturday 2 Reactions Cary, N.C. — According to officials in Cary, crews on Saturday once again responded to a fire in an office building located at 300 Gregson Drive. Investigators are working to determine why the building, which houses Trans World Radio (TWR), caught fire just 24 hours after firefighters battled a blaze at the same address. According to its website, TWR is a multinational evangelical Christian media distributor The call about the fire on Saturday came in around 9:15 a.m., according to officials, who have not released details about injuries or damage. The fire on Friday started around 6:45 a.m., officials said. http://www.wral.com/crews-battling-fire-at-cary-office-building/17207854/ No one was inside the building at the time of that fire, but fire crews said the side of the building and the interior was significantly damaged. Crews battling fire at Cary office building Trans World Radio building damaged in fire Trans World Radio building damaged in fire [caption] Authorities have not yet said what caused either incident. More On This: Cause sought after fire damages Cary building http://www.wral.com/crews-battling-fire-at-cary-office-building/17207854/ sidebar: Busy morning for #CaryNC firefighters. Crews are working a commercial building fire on Gregson Drive. When they arrived they found heavy fire showing from the building. Please be aware if traveling in the area. pic.twitter.com/vaMPgbq7zA — Town of Cary Safety (@TOC_Safety) December 22, 2017 (via DXLD) ** U S A. LEGENDARY AM STATION GOING DARK AFTER ALMOST 100 YEARS http://sowny.net/viewtopic.php?id=1902 Sat Dec 16 5:58 pm #1 RadioActive Member Legendary AM Station Going Dark After Almost 100 Years This isn't local, but I couldn't help feeling a tinge of sadness at the news that a once legendary Top 40 station is going off the air forever beginning January 1st. You may never have heard of KQV Pittsburgh, which signed on way back in 1919, is one of the oldest radio stations in North America and one of only three in the east that starts with the letter "K". (The rest all begin with a "W".) I well remember passing through Pittsburgh on family trips when I was a kid and finding KQV on the radio, and being impressed with it even back then. A lot of famous people worked there, including Merv Griffin and Rod Roddy, but one stands out, and love him or hate him, you can't deny he went on to bigger and better things. "Jeff Christie" abandoned jocking to become a talk show host. You know him better these days as Rush Limbaugh. RIP KQV. It will remain on air as an all news station until the stroke of midnight Jan. 1st, when the news wheel slows to a stop for good. KQV going off the air at end of the year http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/12/15/KQV-radio-going-off-the-air-Dec-31-all-news-format-Robert-W-Dickey-Jr/stories/201712150145 Sat Dec 16 8:43 pm #2 RadioActive Member Wonder what Rush Limbaugh sounded like as a jock? Here's a brief sample: https://youtu.be/FPgO9NLy-7A Sat Dec 16 9:11 pm #3 Old Codger Member I didn't realize 'til now that he is a freekin' soprano. Never really thought about it before. At any rate, with THAT 'voice', I can imagine why he thought that just yackin' about 'stuff' would likely take him farther down the road. Too bad he decided that pissing people off to the Nth degree was a route he could handle. So when they bury KQV, here's hopin' that they bury Limbaugh with it. The less 'Cyber Space' knows about me the better. As a result I do not use my real name. I would be willing to use yours' though. No? OK then. So you 'get' it. We're good (from sowny.net | The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum via Eric Floden, Ottawa, nrc-am gg via DXLD) NRC AM Log does not show KQV as a Rush affiliate now, but with Red Eye Radio, which is bad enough (gh, DXLD) I just read about KQV going of the air and am shocked. I grew up in Pittsburgh where KQV was one of the original five and I listened to them often. In the 30's they were 500 watts on 1380 kc and for many years they shared time with WSMK Dayton, Ohio every evening. They played phonograph records most of the time and had a nightly program called Club Celebrity which featured a band each night on records and was run by Joe Vallella. One day I went to my Pittsburgh record store to get some Kay Kyser records and was sent to the KQV studio to get them from Joe Vallella, which I did. In those days the radio stations temporarily borrowed new records for their use, played them a few days, bought some and returned the rest. KQV was a sister station of WJAS and shared the transmitter in Greentree. I visited their studios at the 1990 NRC convention. And KQV also had a studio band, the Blues Chasers in the 30's. So what's left in Pittsburgh? KDKA and WJAS (Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, PA, nrc-am gg via DXLD) Pittsburgh Radio Station KQV Going Off the Air Mr Hauser, Pittsburgh radio station KQV (1410 kHz) announced today that it will cease broadcasting on December 31. KQV is one of the oldest commercial radio stations in the US, broadcasting continuously since 1919. In 1975, it switched from a top-40 format to an all-news format. It is a family-owned radio station, a rarity today in an industry dominated by a few corporations. This link to a news story in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provides more information on the station. http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/12/15/KQV-radio-going-off-the-air-Dec- 31-all-news-format-Robert-W-Dickey-Jr/stories/201712150145 I am a long-time listener to World of Radio on WBCQ (7490 kHz) (Bob Lang, Pittsburgh, PA 15229, Dec 21, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As for KQV, most of the staff is probably, from the way they sound on the air, able to apply for Social Security. I wonder how long it's been since they hired any new on air talent. News stations seem to hang on to their announcers forever. WWJ, Detroit, for example, had for 40 years three or four guys who were all veterans of the CKLW news staff back when they were the Top 40 king of the whole region. In fact, I'm not sure Joe Donavan isn't still there. 73 (David Faulkner, Albany OHIO, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. 1540.12, Dec 21 at 0120 UT, KGBC Galveston is off-frequency again making big het with 1540.0 stations; sounds like Aretha, and shortly at 0123 UT, ``We`ve got you covered`` on 1540, naming three more suburbs. I wonder how many separate announcements they have like this? Houston has *lots* of suburbs, but how well 1540 & 1480 cover them, especially at night, is debatable, and Siga is obviously having a hard time drumming up business. 1540.12, Dec 22 at 0020 UT, KGBC Galveston TX off-frequency tonight with Houston ad, music, hetting 1540. Amid all the QRM I thought I was also hearing some Brazuguese, but if so, surely not from Brasil (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1540, KGBC definitely creating a low growl here against KXEL (Todd Skaine, Bloomington MN, 2359 UT Dec 22, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. 1710 kHz, Dec 22 at 1310 UT, screaming gospel huxter in Spanish, so presumed Retén lo que Tienes, pirate from Bâton Rouge LA, very poor signal. But I am not the only one sometimes hearing some other pirate here, from where? On the NRC gg, David Yocis posted an FCC NOUO dated Dec 19 about RlqT`s FM 107.7 being busted Nov 21 ---- but no mention of the AM 1710, as if the FCC were completely unaware of it (check the website!). The full notice will appear in DXLD (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz., obviously altho name never cited per se: Radio Reten (Baton Rouge 1710 pirate) busted by FCC - for FM operation only (David Yocis, nrc-am gg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ENFORCEMENT BUREAU REGION TWO Atlanta Regional Office P.O. Box 1493 Powder Springs, GA 30127 December 19, 2017 Iglesia La Nueva Jerusalen and Francisco Guzman Baton Rouge, Louisiana NOTICE OF UNLICENSED OPERATION Case Number: EB-FIELDSCR-17-00025638 On November 21, 2017, an Agent from the New Orleans Office (New Orleans Office) of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s or Commission’s) Enforcement Bureau (Bureau) responded to a complaint of an unlicensed FM station operating on the frequency 107.7 MHz in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Agent confirmed by direction finding techniques that radio signals on frequency 107.7 MHz were emanating from Iglesia La Nueva Jerusalen located at 8290 Siegen Ln., Suite A, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Commission’s records show that no license was issued for operation of a radio station on 107.7 MHz at this location in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The New Orleans Office investigated and determined you are the owner or operator of the unlicensed FM station on 107.7 MHz. Radio stations operating on a range of frequencies,[1] including 107.7 MHz, must be licensed by the FCC pursuant to Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act).[2] The only exception to this licensing requirement is for certain transmitters using or operating at a power level or mode of operation that complies with the standards established in Part 15 of the Commission’s rules.[3] On November 21, 2017, the field strength of the signal on frequency 107.7 MHz exceeded the maximum permitted level of 250 microvolts per meter (µV/m) at 3 meters for non-licensed devices. Thus, this station is operating in violation of Section 301 of the Act.[4] You are hereby warned that operation of radio transmitting equipment without a valid radio station authorization constitutes a violation of the Federal laws cited above and could subject the operator to severe penalties, including, but not limited to, substantial monetary fines, in rem arrest action against the offending radio equipment, and criminal sanctions, including imprisonment.[5] UNLICENSED OPERATION OF THIS RADIO STATION MUST BE DISCONTINUED IMMEDIATELY AND MUST NOT RESUME. You have ten (10) days from the date of this notice to respond with any evidence that you have authority to operate granted by the FCC. Your response should be sent to the address in the letterhead and reference the listed case number. Under the Privacy Act of 1974,[6] we are informing you that the Commission’s staff will use all relevant material information before it to determine what, if any, enforcement action is required to ensure your compliance with FCC Rules. This will include any information that you disclose in your reply. You may contact this office if you have any questions. Ronald D. Ramage Regional Director Region Two Enforcement Bureau Federal Communications Commission Attachments: Excerpts from the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended Enforcement Bureau, "Inspection Fact Sheet", March 2005 [1] 47 CFR § 73.201. [2] 47 U.S.C. § 301. [3] 47 CFR §§ 15.1 et seq. [4] 47 U.S.C. § 301. [5] See 47 U.S.C. §§ 401, 501, 503 and 510. [6] 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(3). (via David Yocis, nrc-am gg Dec 21 via DXLD) ** U S A. WCVE Richmond Going To All News, Purchases Two FM Stations For Music POSTED BY STAFF WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2017 https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/ArticleArchives?author=1357508 https://www.styleweekly.com/Studi/archives/2017/12/20/wcve-going-to-all-all-news-purchases-two-fm-stations-for-music ON WED, DEC 20, 2017 AT 2:05 AM click to enlarge https://media1.fdncms.com/styleweekly/imager/u/original/6379712/unnamed.jpg Community Idea Stations has released an e-mail noting that it is now reprogramming 88.9 WCVE-FM to all news, as well as picking up two new FM stations to play classical, jazz and other music programs. Although still subject to Federal Communications Commission approval, the two stations purchased from Alpha Media are WBBT (107.3 FM) and WWLB (93.1 FM). The email reads that approval is expected in early 2018 and that the new formats should begin on all three stations as early as spring 2018. Among the shows that 88.9 will continue to broadcast are Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air and Marketplace, according to the email. It will be adding Here and Now, BBC Newshour, CBC Radio's As it Happens and cultural talk shows such as Only A Game, The Big Listen and The Splendid Table. The stations broadcasting music will feature local classical hosts George Maida, Shawn Evans and Mike Goldberg and jazz host Peter Solomon in the evenings. "With so many more hours available for music, weekend favorites, such as Ian Stewart’s The World Music Show and Steve Clark’s Sound of Swing, will be joined by additional local and national music shows," the email reads. “This transaction fulfills a long-held objective, enabling us to meet the dual listening demands of our radio audience,” said Curtis Monk, president and CEO of CPBC, in an embargoed press release. “For the first time ever, we are excited to be able to dramatically expand our programming to our listeners, providing wall-to-wall news and public affairs programming on one station, while delivering the best in classical music, jazz and other music offerings on the other." (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. CONGRESS CONTINUES TO DEBATE PUBLIC MEDIA FUNDING By Cait Beroza | December 20, 2017 As 2017 comes to a close, the congressional funding debate for 2018 funding, including public media funding, will continue into the New Year. 2017 Successes --- This year, you sent more than 436,000 messages to Congress and over 320,000 new advocates joined our Action Network. Thanks to your ongoing action, public media has achieved solid congressional support. Where We Are Now: Congress has approved a series of short-term funding bills to keep the government operational. Final decisions about Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funding still need to be made early next year, but thanks to your ongoing action, public media funding is in a good position. Here is a quick review of where funding for your local stations stands today: https://protectmypublicmedia.org/blog/2017/12/20/congress-continues-to-debate-public-media-funding/ (via gh, DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. 5845, Radio Mi Amigo International, Tashkent, *1759- 1950, 24-12, tuning music, ID “Special Christmas transmission, Radio Mi Amigo, 5845 kHz", pop songs, English, comments. 44444 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Most items about this filed under GERMANY [non] ** VATICAN. Re: ``Christmas Eve Mass from the Vatican on SW According to the Vatican Radio website, the mass will be broadcast on SW starting at 20:20 UTC with different language commentaries as follows: Portuguese for Africa on 13765 kHz French for Africa on 6080 kHz English for Africa on 7275 kHz Chinese for Asia on 6185 kHz (-- Richard Langley, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) Wrong! The frequencies, as displayed through the old Radio Vatican CMS, have changed again. Now they are supposed to be for Chinese 5910, for English 7365, for French 9700 and for Portuguese 11625. (Did they really consider using 22 metres at all?) Also shown are now transmissions for 25 Dec, 1055-1130: French on 17520, English on 17535, Portuguese on 17550. No clean feed on shortwave anymore, it will now be limited to "(YouTube)". Also no studio mass in Chinese on 24 Dec, 1600-1652, anymore. Not via shortwave (was in 2016 on 5975 and 7200), nor via any other distribution platform. And the remaining shortwave specials could, of course, turn out to be the last ones of this kind, with the not unlikely scenario of the Santa Maria di Galeria station being closed altogether in one year from now (Kai Ludwig, Dec 22, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN [and non]. Vatican Radio via three different txs, Dec 23: 2200-2230 on 6090 PUG 250 kW / 350 deg to EaAs Chinese, weak/fair 2200-2230 on 7410 SMG 250 kW / 068 deg to EaAs Chinese, powerful 2200-2230 on 9600 *TIN 250 kW / 319 deg to EaAs Chinese, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/vatican-radio-via-three-different.html RVA PHILIPPINES, Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy; TINIAN violating SOC&S Reception of Vatican Radio via IBB* Tinang [PHLIPPINES] on Dec 24 1230-1300 on 7330 PHT 250 kW / 332 deg to FERu Russian, weak/fair 1230-1300 on 9695 PHT 250 kW / 332 deg to FERu Russian, poor/weak http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-vatican-radio-via-ibb_24.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 23-24, dxldyg via DXLD) *violating Separation of Church & State [gh] VATICAN RADIO SPECIAL CHRISTMAS TRANSMISSIONS ON SW Christmas Eve 24th December: 1600-1652 Mass in Chinese to China: 6055pht, 7225pug, 7260smg 2020-2215 Christmas Mass: Portuguese to Southern Africa: 11625smg French to West Africa: 9700smg English to West Africa: 7365smg Chinese to China: 5910smg Christmas Day 25 December: Urbi et Orbi 1055-1130 Portuguese to South Africa: 17550smg French to West Africa: 17520smg English to West Africa: 17535smg (Mauno Ritola WRTH Facebook via BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) 11625, Vatican Radio presumed the one at 2024 in Portuguese with a man with talk with mentions of ‘Brasil” and “Jesus Christus” then a version of “The First Nowell” and the man with comments of “Nowell, nowell” and more talk over the hymn then mentions of “La natal” and still going strong at 2039 with choral hymns – Fair to Good Dec 24 – Not listed at this time. Possibly a special broadcast for Christmas. They did this last year on Christmas Eve (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre- fed dipoles, ODXA iogroup & yg via DXLD) 11625, Dec 24 at 2018, Bach at S9-S7 from Vatican News (ex-Radio) about to diffuse live Xmas eve mass, but 2021 starts in Italian before switching to scheduled Portuguese on this channel; still going at 2132 check. Other three frequencies on lower bands JBA to JBA carriers, 9700, 7365, 5910 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Seems that they put the 105.5 FM programming, still called Radio Vaticana, on this program output before bringing up the special coverage, not meant to be already transmit at this point, twelve minutes early. The priorities were obvious in the German version, done by Bernd Hagenkord himself (not bad at all, by the way) and announced as to be relayed by their radio partners in Germany and Switzerland: It was primarily commentary to a TV/video feed, with additional descriptions of picture content limited to what would be absolutely indispensable for audio-only listeners (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hopefully the 7365 kHz frequency with the English commentary had better reception in Africa than in Europe (as monitored using the U. Twente SDR receiver). There was heavy splash from Iran on 7360 kHz and Romania on 7375 kHz. Marginal signal right now (at 2150 UT). (-- Richard Langley, Dec 24, ibid.) Here (in Europe) we have a foF2 of less than 4 MHz. The Skipzone at 7 MHz is larger than 800 miles. This is normal for this time of the day and the season. You can not cover Europe with a 41mBand frequency, from Rome. Thus, only Africa can be the only possible target area, in this constellation. ;-) List source: userlistEIBI.txt, file date 2017/12/23 11:36 kHz: 7365 UTC/PSN: 2020-2200 Days/PI: 7 (Su) Language: English Station: Radio Vaticana Country: VAT (Vatican City State) Transmitter: Santa Maria di Galeria Latitude: 42.0500 Longitude: 12.3167 Modulation: Power (kW): Target: Af (Africa) Distance: 1056 Bearing: 178 Notes: 24Dec (Su) Details: 41 m from Vatican City State to Africa QTH locator: JN62db82aa (roger, ibid.) Agreed. But, the U. Twente SDR receiver is convenient for checking reception and recording signals as there is no other online receiver that I'm aware off that is so convenient, covers all of the SW bands plus more, allows hundreds of simultaneous users, and allows recording and download. If there were others in this category, I would use them. And even in Africa, the adjacent QRM from Iran and Romania might have been a problem. -- (Prof. Richard Langley, ibid.) OK, I did not want to lecture someone here, that should be more of an explanation. Also, I use Twente SDR more often when there are unfavorable propagation conditions and to bypass skip zones. Yes, the Twente SDR is an elegant option, with very high capacity. But, it's just not useful in one respect: it does not have stable audio sampling. This gives (sometimes) "snake lines" in vertical structures in MFSK32-images. Only KIWI SDRs provide a constant slant here. This one is wrong, but at least constantly wrong, so correction very easy. There can be a maximum of 4 users in KIWI-SDRs, which of course sounds pretty low. But: Here's the amount of KIWI-SDRs, similar to the swarm intelligence. Plus, the KIWI SDRs offer the full RF frequency range, not just slots. You only have to pick out the raisins, depending on the location and conditions. This, then, is another kind of challenge, finding an "African KIWI". ;-) Still nice Christmas holidays, (roger, ibid.) Special Christmas liturgy of Vatican Radio on Dec 25: 0810-0920 on 7250 SMG 250 kW / 050 deg to EaEu Romanian, strong 0810-0920 on 9645 SMG 250 kW / 054 deg to EaEu Romanian, strong http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/special-christmas-liturgy-of-vatican.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 24-25, dxldyg via DXLD) Pope's Urbi et Orbi Blessing over Vatican Radio --- Clear but noisy reception with English commentary on 17535 kHz beamed to Africa from Santa Maria di Galeria starting around 1050 UT on Christmas Day as received using the U. Twente SDR receiver. Again, not the best receiver for this signal, and definitely not as good as last year when it was specifically broadcast to Europe on SW: https://shortwavearchive.com/archive/radio-vaticana-popes-christmas-message-and-urbi-et-orbi-blessing-december-25-2016 (-- Richard Langley, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6070, Dec 26 at 0651, startled to hear S9+20/10 bigsig with organ music, Adeste Fideles, Vatican ID, way over poor CFRX which off- frequency minus, causes a fast SAH. VR has suddenly reactivated supposedly abandoned frequency, for Latin mass broadcast at 0630-0715; temporarily? Alan Roe in England was hearing it too and also on 7250. Kai Ludwig suggests it`s a last gasp of the SMG SW site which is due to be dismantled (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Vatican R/Vatican News is on air now, 26 December at 0640 UT, on 6070 and 7250 with a service in Latin and some carols being played on the organ. I cannot find any reference to this broadcast on their "beta version" website at http://www.vaticannews.va/en.html (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For such things you have to go to their old website. This particular broadcast is shown at http://it.radiovaticana.va/epg-web#!/detail/1292 The use of 6070 and 7250 kHz is remarkable, because these are old frequencies for Central/Western Europe, otherwise no longer used since August (up to then only these Latin radio masses and Arabic were left there). I had already wondered if they have taken down antennas, since there had been mentions of such dismantlings from the editorial offices. But apparently not so. What remains is the question about the purpose of such unannounced transmissions. Really looks like a desperate, pointless attempt by the technical department of Vatican Media, facing plans to finally close the transmitter plant. Have they at least checked in advance that these frequencies are still clear after the transmission season change? (Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) Aus Zeiten nach Christi Geburt ... leftover Christmas special 6070 0630-0715 27,37NW 100 326 16 386 1234567 Lat VAT VAT Mass_in 6070 0630-0715 27SE,28NW 250 4 -6 386 1234567 Lat VAT VAT Mass_in 7250 0630-0715 27E,28NW 250 326 16 386 1234567 Lat VAT VAT Mass_in Als einziges Bauwerk, nur die High Power MW 1530 kHz ist in G.E. ge- scrappt, als sichbares Zeichen für die Umweltschützer - Krebserkrankungs-Meldung Initianten 42 02'48.79"N 12 20'32.00"E https://goo.gl/maps/mU78G8jPiZq am 29 April 2017 standen noch auf G.E. G.M. beide AEG Telefunken Drehbare Antennen, sowie die drehbare log-periodic mittig im Picture, auch die beiden 585 / 1611 kHz Masten südöstlich, sowie all-over die 32 Curtain Array masts. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Perhaps it's worth to explain this further: Reportedly Dario Viganò, prefect of the Secretariat for Communications established in 2015, explicitely plans to shut down this facility, against the opinion of the technical department. One year ago Deutschlandfunk, with its well informed church affairs reporters, labelled Viganò "almighty". So one can guess how much the opinion of the technical department is worth. The frequencies in question are no longer in regular use for these Latin studio masses since 1 Aug and have meanwhile been removed from HFCC. Thus their reactivation is a complete surprise, and it is just pointless, unannounced and at a point when no one expects such transmissions anymore. Do they really believe that desperate listeners in Europe would dust off their shortwave radios to see if Vatican Radio will at least for Christmas...? Sorry, but: Come on. And my main point was: It remains to be seen if the whole SMG facility will still be operational in one year from now at all. Which would, by the way, be bad news for those who try to keep shortwave alive at BBG, too. They would have to lease for cash what they now get for providing their own spare capacity in Asia and Greenville (Kai Ludwig, ibid.) ** VIETNAM. Something must be wrong today at VOV Son Tay site? Only Vietnamese domestic service on 9635.832 kHz heard in 13-14 UT slot on air, but nothing heard of foreign service in 31 and 25 mb, 9839v and/nor 12018v kHz. I'll check 7220 kHz channel next at 1500 UT. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, 1437 UT Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Much weak and tiny noted only at New Delhi remote SDR, 7220.134 kHz odd frequency, Vietnamese at 1508 UT. 15-16 UT 290degr to West Asia. 73 (wb 1513 UT Dec 20, ibid.) ** VIETNAM [non!]. 7315, Dec 25 at 0039, WHRI is playing praise music in English, NOT VOV in Spanish. Holiday anomaly default, or relay canceled? VOV was 0000-0030 & 0100-0130 English, 0030-0100 & 0130-0200 Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {resumed by Dec 27} ** YEMEN [non]. 11860, 1536 14 DEC - REP. YEMEN RADIO SANAA (YEMEN). SINPO = 25222. Arabic, male a cappella chanting, male announcer. QSB=moderate-to-fast fade rate, modulation on noisy carrier mostly just above the noise floor with frequent fades to mixing with it. sf71.9 a7, k1, geomag: very quiet. 50 kW?, Omni?, bearing 36 ?. Sangean ATS505 with MFJ-1020C active antenna and MFJ-901B tuner used to preselect ~230’ chainlink fence surrounding rectangular backyard. Received in Plymouth, MN, United States, 11234 KM(?) from the transmitter at Riyadh(?). Local time: 0936 (Rodney Johnson, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. 6015, ZBC Radio, Dec 23, with reception well above the norm; a very good day for African reception - see Angola; normal format: 0339 the usual brief chanting followed by YL always mentions "Zanzibar"; 0359 usual drums leading up to time pips. Earlier (pre- 0300) had CNR (China) here, but very light QRM for Zanzibar (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. I have been filing my recent logs of JBA carriers from Pacific MW stations under their countries, since there is very little doubt about their source, and very unlikely I will ever get any audio. But anyone is free to consider them better headed UNID: so far, see KIRITIMATI, MARSHALL ISLANDS, TONGA. I don`t count countries logged, so I am not trying to push the limits to gain something I don`t deserve; nor would I try to QSL (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Odd CW station on 3323 1 Files 490KB WAV websdr_recording_start_2017-12-21T01_37_19Z_3323.0kHz.wav Hi Glenn, Heard on the UTwente WebSDR on 3323 kHz at 0147 12-21 GMT: Station sending morse about once a minute: "=99T552??T?????" The second batch of numbers went up by one each repeat. 553, etc. Maybe a sort of time station? (Eric Loy, Sports Director, Neuhoff Media Danville, WDAN D102 K-ROCK, with a clip including other numbers, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4100.124-CW, Dec 20 at 0143, ``ZN``, the Zebra beacon, sending nothing but ID about 14 x per minute, barely audible. Last time I heard November 1, it was on about 4066, and back in February on 4070. I frequently scan this region but rarely hear any of these (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7200-LSB, Dec 23 at 1946 hamwars are still going on here, music jamming, tone/carrier jamming, threats to ``break your *u*k*n* neck``, etc. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7400, Hiroyuki-san (Japan) and I have been following an UNID station here since Dec 22, which has been heard only playing non-stop Chinese instrumental music (not firedragon); no announcements so far; strong signal. On Dec 24, at 1135 and 1219 to 1233. My audio at http://goo.gl/MzGnAK Who is testing here? (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 9690, Dec 25 at 0041 past 0100, huge S9+35 open carrier, slight fades, in fact the SSOB, exceeding similar bigsigs from 9395 WRMI S9+30, 9455 S9+25. Seems must be intracontinental, VOA, WRMI or WHRI. At 0050, 9720 RHC is S9+25 but more fading. Surprisingly, CRI Albania 9570 is S9+25/10, while often it`s very weak, so could 9690 be European? Spain maybe left transmitter on after 2300? WRMI has used 9690 in the past too, and now plenty of spare transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11560-11570, peaking 11565, Dec 20 at 1421, some kind of loud noise jamming, unseems DRM, containing a slightly shifting tone. Guess what: Nothing is scheduled anywhen, anywhere on 11565 per current EiBi, Aoki/NDXC and HFCC. However, there is VOA Korean on 11570 via Saipan (and before 1400 from 1200, Philippines). The last item found in our archive about 11565-CUSB, was August 30, 2017 at 0830-0834, from Ivo Ivanov, a Russian numbers station, S06s. He reports a lot of these, many inside SWBC bands (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACKNOWLEDGED ON WORLD OF RADIO 1910: Happy Holidays, Glenn! Thank you for WOR! Best wishes, (Scott Gamble, with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FUTURELY: One may also contribute by MO or check in US funds on a US bank, to Glenn Hauser, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 Thank you Glenn from my new home of New Orleans. With my move here after decades in Atlanta, I listen to SW less often but I still appreciate your service and dedication (Tom Roche, with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) Thanks to an Anon., via PayPal Note from Henning Vahlbruch: quote ``Keep up the good work!`` also via PayPal Tnx to Ron Howard, Monterey CA, for a check with 2018 wishes to P O Box 1684, Enid OK, 73702 I've enjoyed your broadcasts (when I catch them) on the various stations you're on. Keep it up. 73 - (Ronnie K5WLT Miller, Seguín TX, Dec 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ AMERICAN RADIO HISTORY Site where you can see and download archival editions of various magazines ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.americanradiohistory.com/index.htm#P_Q_ Six million pages of AM FM & TV Broadcasting history online (Pavel Ivanov, Belgorod, Russia / "open_dx" via Rus-DX 24 Dec via DXLD) I wonder if David Eduardo Gleason includes REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING ? Probably not (gh) Hello, Info about the 23rd edition of the "Broadcasting in Russian" Handbook has been just published on dxsignal.ru. Direct link: http://dxsignal.ru/read/BiR_23e.htm 73, (Dmitry Mezin http://dxsignal.ru signal yg via DXLD) "GENIUSES AND VILLAINS. SAMUEL MORSE" Film. In Russian. TV "Culture". December 22, 2017. 17.10 (MSC). You can see the repetition in the archive of TV "Culture" http://tvkultura.ru/video/show/brand_id/21985/episode_id/1575306/ SOS distress signal - three letters of the Morse code - the whole world knows. A lot of stories of salvation are connected with it. Yes, and the inventor of the alphabet, the American inventor and artist Samuel Morse, for his long life was more than once ready to scream from despair. Only at the end of life Morse felt at the peak of success: the hero of the era, the founder of the American National Academy of Design, the inventor of the electromagnetic writing telegraph and his own alphabet (Ruslan Slavutsky, Moscovskaya oblast, Russia, via Rus-DX 24 Dec via DXLD) LANGUAGE LESSONS See ROMANIA ++++++++++++++++ RADIO PHILATELY +++++++++++++++ INTERNATIONAL REPLY COUPONS A reminder that if you have any of the current International Reply Coupons (IRCs), they have an expiry date of 31st December 2017 and should be redeemed at Post Offices before this date. Although post offices in the United Kingdom no longer sell IRCs, they are still obliged to exchange them for stamps as a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Currently you will receive a £1.17 stamp for each IRC in the UK. AS IRCs are rarely used nowadays, Post Office staff are unlikely to know how to redeem them initially, but their system still has an option to redeem IRCs (under vouchers) on their screens. I have redeemed IRCs in recent months at Trafalgar Square Post Office in London, and yesterday at the main post office in Reading town centre. Please do not send any of the IRCs with expiry date 31.12.2017 to the club now, as we will not be able to redeem these. The new design IRC has an expiry date of 31.12 2021 and is pictured here: http://www.upu.int/en/activities/international-reply-coupons/new-illustration-for-2017-2021.html The UPU website also lists countries still selling IRCs: http://www.upu.int/en/activities/international-reply-coupons/countries-selling-ircs.html 73s (Alan Pennington, Dec 20, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) What is the status of IRCs in the USA with the USPS???? (gh, DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 14th GLOBAL SHORTWAVE COORDINATION CONFERENCE [HFCC A-18] MALAYSIA: Vom 22. bis 26. Januar richtet die Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union in Kuala Lumpur, Hotel Istana, 73, Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, MLA, Asia die Abstimmung der Sommersendeplaene 2018 aus {joint HFCC/ASBU/ABU group} Ziel der 14. Global Shortwave Coordination Conference ist die Minimierung von Interferenzen zwischen den internationalen Kurzwellenstationen. Nach Angaben der Pressearbeit werden fast 90 Prozent der weltweiten Kurzwellenbelegung vertreten sein (Prof. Dr. Hansjoerg Biener, ADDX Kurier magazine, issue 2018/1, Dec 13, via BC-DX 23 Dec via DXLD) SECOND CASTING CALL FOR THE 2018 WINTER SWL FEST Hi - There are just four time slots that remain open for 2018’s edition (the 31st!) of the Winter SWL Fest, sponsored by NASWA, the North American Shortwave Association. If you have an interest on just about ANY radio-related topic and would like to share with others your knowledge (or obsession) with the topic, now would be the time to step up and let us know. Details below. In the meantime, best wished for a Happy Holiday season. 73 (John Figliozzi, Dec 21, dxldyg via DXLD) -------------------------------- Yes, it’s (already!) that time of the year again. We invite one and all to be a part of the 2018 Winter SWL Fest on March 1, 2 and 3 at the Doubletree Guest Suites in fashionable Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. That's just 105 days away as I type this. This will be the 31st such annual gathering and due to popular demand we have added an extra half day, opening the event on Thursday afternoon and continuing through all of Friday and Saturday. Details and background info from . One of the centerpieces of the Fest weekend is our line-up of informative and entertaining forums. How do we get them? These excellent sessions are put together and presented by you and people just like you — people with a deep and abiding interest in radio and a willingness to share what they've experienced, learned and know. So, how about it? Have you a topic that you think Fest participants will find interesting and would be willing to present? Tell us about it. If you’ve already contacted us, chances are we have your e-mail on file. However, chances are also that we don’t. So, please re-contact us at this time just to make sure. Your role will be to lead a one hour session forum. That means preparing about a half-hour presentation that leaves plenty of time for audience questions and interaction. It can be anything from a serious (or comic) lecture (or both) to a multimedia extravaganza. Your choice! And as a gesture of appreciation (and perhaps some measure of small compensation for your efforts), the Fest will comp your registration fee if your proposal is accepted by the Organizing Committee (which consists of Rich Cuff, yours truly and a Magic 8 Ball we found in Rich’s attic when looking for old Fest printed programs and giveaways. We are seeking your help in fashioning a balanced and diverse line-up of topics and speakers. Make your suggestion/proposal to John Figliozzi at If you have any questions, we'll be happy to discuss them with you. And even if you've never led a forum before, don't hesitate. We've learned that people tend to unfairly and inaccurately minimize their own abilities. We know you'll be great...but you have to let us in on what you're thinking! We promise a quick turnaround on your proposal once we are able to survey the field. Be a part of the 2018 Winter SWL Fest program! 73 and 88 to the Ladies (with due apologies to Ian McFarland) (John Figliozzi, Richard Cuff, 2018 Winter SWL Fest (and apparently for life) Co-Chairs Dec 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX-PEDITIONS See KOREA NORTH; PROPAGATION: Meteor Scatter ++++++++++++ DIBITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See MEXICO ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See NIGERIA; RUSSIA; UNIDENTIFIED 11565 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB See GERMANY; ITALY; UK ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Re: ENTERCOM SHAKES UP CHICAGO AIRWAVES "Besides WJMK, other former Chicago CBS stations moving under the Entercom banner are: news stations WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9, Top- 40 station WBBM-FM 96.3, sports-talk station WSCR-AM 670, country station WUSN-FM 99.5 and adult alternative station WXRT-FM 93.1." I suppose it's too much to hope that a result of this change would be WBBM and WSCR dropping IBOC (Mark Pettifor, KC9DOC, Goshen, IN, Dec 15, ABDX yg via DXLD) That's an interesting question, Mark. As you may know, Entercom never put IBOC on any of its AM's, so we'll see how it plays out for their CBS AM acquisitions (Brian, Dec 23, ibid.) Unfortunately still IBOC for 670 and 780. Rumor has it that WCCO will keep its IBOC. Sad (Todd Skaine, MN, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM See also PROPAGATION: Meteor Scatter +++++++++++++++++++++ TRANS PACIFIC STREAMING AUDIO LINKS For those of you who often listen to the TP signals from East Asia, I have compiled a list of links if you guys ever need to confirm audio reception via Internet streams. Naturally, not all of the stations have streams, though most do. The more serious problem with this is that many are geographically restricted. Japanese stations use the Radiko service that came into being some years back as a way to restrict all Japanese station audio to Japanese residents only. If you want to listen to any of them without a VPN (if that even works), you`re out of luck. NHK doesn't use it, but it appears to be restricted in its own way along with many Korean station audio. Sometimes, it also depends on browsers and add-ons though. Either way, here is my current list I typed up: http://www.beaglebass.com/dx/seoul/streaming.pdf Anyone who has stations or networks they frequently hear that are not in this list and you'd like it to be, send a message along and I'll see what I can do. Some are left off for lack of streaming options or that a network has moved all their content to an app and deleted their website (Liaoning, for example). (-Chris Kadlec http://www.beaglebass.com/dx/seoul/ IRCA via DXLD) Thanks, Chris, for a very valuable resource. Any chance it could be incorporated into PAL and MWList? 73, (Walt Salmaniw, ibid.) WEB SDR UTWENTE FOR SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS via smartphone aus Uni Enschede http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/m.html This is an experimental version of the University of Twente's WebSDR receiver for smartphones and tablets. It should work using Safari on iOS devices; Firefox or Chrome on Android devices; and Edge on devices running Windows 10. Tuning is different from the normal WebSDR: do not drag the yellow filter curve, but the waterfall. Comments can be sent to pa3fwm@websdr.org (Wolfgang Büschel, A-DX, DX LISTENING DIGEST) HAPPY MEMORY: THE HALLICRAFTERS SX-42 COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER http://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/0003/happy-memory-the-hallicrafters-sx42-communications-receiver/340890 It was an important calibration tool and part of annual proof-of- performance measurements December 13, 2017 By Tom Vernon http://www.radioworld.com/author/tom-vernon/article If we were to journey back in time and visit the engineering shop of a radio station in the 1960s or ’70s, it would look very similar to the repair facilities of a hi-fi or radio-TV repair shop of the day. There would be a carpeted workbench and a shelf above filled with test equipment — VTVMs, RF signal generators, an audio oscillator, distortion meter, signal tracer and an oscilloscope. The quantity and quality would vary as a function of the engineering budget. Front view. Also, we would find a stock of electronic components, resistors, capacitors, diodes, vacuum tubes, transistors and a bit later, integrated circuits. Bins with pinch rollers, belts and heads would be on hand to keep the station’s cart machines and tape decks rolling along. Unique to the radio station’s shop, however, there would also be a quality communications receiver connected to an outside antenna. Most likely, it was used by the engineer to listen to some of the great top 40 stations of the day while working alone on long overnight maintenance shifts, or possibly to hear shortwave broadcasts from around the globe on cold winter nights. But the real purpose of having a communications receiver at the station was not to provide entertainment for the chief engineer. It was all about compliance with FCC rules. This time around in our Plugging into the Past feature, we’ll examine the Hallicrafters SX-42 communications receiver, and talk about why these radios were an important calibration tool and also a part of the annual proof-of-performance measurements. SX-42 The SX-42 was the flagship of the post-war Hallicrafters product line, replacing the 1940 SX-28 Super Skyrider. Released in 1947, it had the most extended band coverage of any receiver in the early ’50s. Originally, that meant five bands topping out at 55 MHz. But when the FCC announced that the FM broadcast band would be moved from its prewar 42–50 MHz home to its current 88–108 MHz location, Hallicrafters quickly added a sixth band, bringing coverage up to 110 MHz. This double-conversion receiver sold for $275, quite a chunk of change in those days. But then, it had a lot of features most receivers didn’t have. Its 15-tube chassis featured a crystal filter, BFO, six- position selectivity switch, noise limiter and continuous FM coverage from 27 to 110 MHz. To make this complicated receiver less intimidating for non-technical users, the various switch positions for AM/FM broadcast were clearly marked with red dots. Bottom view. Not only did the SX-42 have more features than pre-war sets, it looked entirely different. Plastics had evolved during the war years, creating a lot more options for cabinet designs than the black and brown bakelite that was the norm before the war. To capitalize on these new materials, Hallicrafters commissioned the noted industrial designer Raymond Loewy to create the cabinet design for the SX-42. Loewy is well remembered for his work on the Pennsylvania Railroad, Studebaker and NASA. The traditional black crinkle front panel was replaced by one with a pleasing light grey finish and green lettering. The main tuning dial, bandspread dial and S-meter face were green plastic, which filled the DXer`s radio shack with a pleasing green glow. For the radio enthusiast of the late ’40s, it must have looked like something that arrived from out of the future. Part of the annual proof for AM stations was measuring spurious radiation, including RF harmonics, to ensure they were low enough to prevent harmful interference. The procedures for doing this were not that well defined in the regulations, as no numerical measurements were spelled out. A communications receiver was normally used. Steps needed to be taken to ensure that the front end of the receiver would not be overloaded, and that could entail adding an RF attenuator ahead of the antenna. Usually the studio was located well within the station’s coverage area, and measurements were taken from the shop using an external long wire antenna. The receiver was slowly tuned up from the fundamental frequency, paying particular attention to the second and third harmonics. Good engineering practice dictated a sweep all the way up to the 10th harmonic, or the upper limits of the receiver’s frequency range. The details were noted in the proof, adding that no harmonics were audible. When problems did occur, it was usually with excessive second or third order harmonics, which often boiled down to misaligned or lightning-damaged harmonic traps in the transmitter. For FM stations, a communications receiver with a BFO such as the SX- 42 was essential for calibrating the modulation monitor by using Bessel’s Function. This was typically done before the proof. First, the receiver’s antenna was connected to the first limiter tube of the monitor by wrapping a few turns of wire around it. Then, it was tuned to the monitor’s IF frequency by peaking the S meter. Typically, this was 21.5 MHz to 22.7 MHz, depending on the station’s frequency. The receiver’s BFO was adjusted for around 300 Hz. The FM monitor was set to display total modulation on the meter. Next, precise audio frequencies which corresponded to various percentages of modulation at different null points were fed to the FM transmitter. There was usually a chart in the monitor’s manual that listed these. For example, a frequency of 8,670 Hz corresponds to 100 percent modulation at the third null. The amplitude of the audio oscillator was increased while noting the nulls from the receiver. With the third null, the transmitter was modulating at 100 percent. Then, the calibration tweaks on the monitor for meter and flasher were adjusted. It was usually good practice to repeat the process for nulls yielding lower modulation levels to confirm the meter’s linearity, and the flasher’s accuracy. All this, of course, was logged in the station’s maintenance log. In addition to assisting with proofs, the SX-42 was often used to assess the overall quality of a station’s AM and FM signals. With its 6V6 push-pull output stage and high-quality output transformer, this receiver was capable of impressive audio quality. Many communications receivers of the day had single-ended audio output stages and mediocre wideband performance. This was not surprising, since the audio quality of short-wave broadcasts and amateur communications traveling half way around the globe was far worse than that of AM radio. THE END OF THE LINE? In the end, the inevitable march of time and newer technologies took its toll on those communications receivers in the engineering shop. By the 1970s, many of them were approaching the 30-year mark. While they were still working, they were probably not working well. A complete overhaul and alignment was needed, but it was usually much more cost- effective just to purchase one of the many high-end portable communications receivers, which could do double duty on the bench and in the field. At the same time, RF spectrum analyzers such as the Tektronix 491 were being introduced. They were much better diagnostic tools for tracking down harmonic and intermod issues than a communications receiver. Early spectrum analyzers were expensive, but typically at least one station in a market had one. Usually it was the TV guys. As to calibrating FM mod monitors, the newer solid-state devices were much more stable, and had internal calibrators. Their calibration was a bit more complicated than older devices, and they usually made a trip back to the factory to be tweaked every five years or so. The SX-42 shown in this story has just such a history. It came from the engineering shop of a suburban Boston radio station. It had been forgotten in the attic until the mid-1980s. When new cable troughs were being routed above the ceilings, it was rediscovered. When plugged in, it fell into the “working, but not working well” category. The first step was rounding up the usual suspects. Switch contacts and pots were given a good cleaning with DeOxit. Many of the original wax capacitors remained, and they, along with the aging electrolytics were replaced. All the tubes were tested, and several in the front end were renewed. A service manual was located, then it was a matter of measuring and logging voltages at the tube sockets and replacing numerous out-of- tolerance resistors. Restoration work on this SX-42 has been interrupted by a few long distance moves, as well as being locked away in storage for 15 years. It works reasonably well, but needs a thorough cleaning and careful alignment. The SX-42 was a landmark receiver when it was introduced in 1947. Its sleek industrial design, high quality construction, extended band coverage and high-quality audio output are what made it a such a standout receiver, and why it is still sought out by collectors and radio amateurs (via Kevin Redding, Crump TN, ABDX via DXLD) INTO THE SIMPLE/COMPLEX, HYBRID ANALOG/DIGITAL WORLD OF SDR Software Defined Radio; where one can replicate the basic Crystal Radio, TRF, Regenerative, Reflex, Homodyne/Direct Conversion, Superheterodyne, & beyond. Where the holy grail questions(s) will be, which combinations of store bought and homebrew "subroutines" will be best Software-defined radio (SDR) is a radio communication system where components that have been traditionally implemented in hardware (e.g. mixers, filters, amplifiers, modulators, demodulators, detectors, etc.) are instead implemented by means of software on a personal computer or embedded system.[1] While the concept of SDR is not new, the rapidly evolving capabilities of digital electronics render practical many processes which rapidly evolving capabilities of digital electronics used to be only theoretically possible. A basic SDR system may consist of a personal computer equipped with a sound card, or other analog-to-digital converter, preceded by some form of RF front end. Significant amounts of signal processing are handed over to the general-purpose processor, rather than being done in special-purpose hardware (electronic circuits). Such a design produces a radio which can receive and transmit widely different radio protocols (sometimes referred to as waveforms) based solely on the software used. Back to Best SWLing Radios, where is a range of new & old, price and physical size/format to consider. Also, note that a basic SDR could / should be considered; IMHO My Basic main radio is the SonyICF 2010/2001D. I have used several that I feel are very good and worthy of one's consideration, Grundig Satellit 700 Radio Shack DX-440/Sangean ATS 803a, Sangean ATS 909x, TVDIO v-115 (TVDIO v-116) which I purchased to use the Flash Card MP3 player to replace my portable CCD/MP3 Disc Player and found that they were a pretty good SWL Radio. Best Shortwave Radios of 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDSiOol6420&t=34s Let me preface the discussion the importance of a good low noise, outdoor, external, Antenna for Swling/MW Dxing. Also, note that I use eHamnet Reviews to assist in selecting Radios for a/the "Short List I have an interesting MW/Scanning Antenna array on my Balcony. A C.Crane Twin Coil AM antenna remotely tuned on a TV Antenna rotator; and low cost, lightweight (from eBay /Amazon) Outdoor Amplified HDTV/VHF Yagi with Rotator so I can rotate them independently https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-shortwave-radios Shortwave radios included in this wiki include the tecsun pl-360, kaito voyager pro ka600, kaito ka550, tecsun pl880, sony icf-sw7600gr, tivdio v-115, c crane cc skywave, sangean ats-909x, and eton field grundig. Thanx de (jordan ve7jjd, shortwave-swl-antenna yg via ptsw yg via DXLD) OCEAN DIGITAL INTERNET RADIO Example of an Ocean Digital WR-233 Internet radio receiving Russian radio stations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl_eWpSGPJc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVOOkcNZv8 (Mike Peraaho, Dec 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ MASSIVE METEOR SCATTER And my complete PEI FM Dial Skan is ready for download. What started as a chance to join a MW DXpedition in PEI turned into a nice FM tropo opening and what might be one of the greatest recorded FM DX Meteor Scatter events ever. At least as far as I know. The FM Dial Skan that happened Sunday night 10/30/17 into Monday morning was a decent tropo event. Being right on the water on the East side of PEI certainly helped but the approaching high wind and heavy rain event also helped the Tropo reach out to Maine, Quebec and Newfoundland. Not bad and completely worth staying up until 4:30AM. The next day, with the antenna lowered to 15' due to the high wind and rain storm, I let the ELAD SDR capture local and semi-local recordings in 3 directions - 210 degrees towards Halifax, 280 degrees towards Charlottetown and Moncton and 90 degrees East. What I didn't expect was what I found after I had edited all of the Dial Skan and dubbed off the airchecks. I decided to check the captures for some distant signals that didn't come in on the dial skan. Instead what I found was 6 hours of Meteor Scatter pings, bursts and trains (a new term to me). Pings are <1 second, bursts are >1 second and trains are, well, really long - almost auroral or E-skip-like. In the end I logged 84 more stations by MS from 246 miles to 1226 miles (I used to think MS was most often from 400-900 miles). I don't know if anyone has ever done anything like this before but I attribute it to being in a very quiet radio area, having an SDR that can capture 6 MHz at a time, a high gain FM antenna and just plain dumb luck! So if you are interested in seeing or hearing what I received the edited audio files are available now as is a spreadsheet of everything received (and other stuff in the Excel file). Here are Dropbox links: Just the spreadsheet (9 MB) - All of the Audio Files (400 MB) - Enjoyed this crazy DX on a recent trip to eastern Prince Edward Island. The band was very quiet, no IBOC at all, all locals over 40 miles away and lots of open frequencies. Sunday night into Monday morning featured some nice tropo while Monday afternoon was the fantastic Meteor Scatter. The SDR recordings and RDS was the reason this many ID’s was even possible. I’d love to know if anyone else has had this many MS ID’s in one afternoon. I know for me it’s more MS than I’ve heard in 35 years of DXing highlighted by the super long trains and super short back scatter MS I'd love to know what you think of this after listening. Enjoy! [later:] Heard a few more trains although not as good as the first one. It's interesting that the single pings and bursts tend to be much clearer than the trains. The trains seem to fade up a bit slower and hit almost every frequency. Unfortunately they are also somewhat auroral in that the stations you can hear are a bit muffled and rarely break into stereo which also means RDS seems to be less frequent. At least this is what I've observed so far. The trains I've heard so far have lasted as long as 80 seconds another 40 seconds and another around 10 seconds. And here I thought I knew everything there was to know about FM DXing!?! One question for the group. Is there a historical listing of Meteor activity? I'd be curious to see if it is tracked how this day and time period compares to other times and expected showers (Bill Nollman, Farmington, CT, Dec 24, WTFDA gg via DXLD) Most meteors are small like the size of a pea. When they enter the earth atmosphere they burn up before they hit the ground. Most never hit the ground and only large ones will reach earth. Depending on size they will leave an ionized trail and the signal bounces off this trail. The trail much like the trail by an aircraft high up in the sky. The people DXing using this mode will bring in many new stations. Also they will find many stations come in more than others. This I believe because the station is non-directional and with high power and some with directional ants. toward the location of the DXer. Way back while I was DXing analog TV, I had 3 stations on one large burst. It was channel 3 and at that time late at night many would go off and leave a test pattern or I.D. on screen. It was very exciting watching the VCR tape as 1 station would appear and leave and the next would show up and be gone and the last one was caught. I believe they were from SC, KY, and NC. It was just luck that this would happen but then again it's like a lot of things, being at the right place at the right time. Russ Miller from Maine use to pick up a lot of backscatter meteor scatter from N.B. and NS only around 100 miles away. Enjoy, (Roy Barstow, Falmouth MA, ibid.) I have two ELAD FMD-S2’s right now (and two matching laptops, one personal, one work) and that is one reason I was able to record 6 hours of Meteor Scatter in PEI. If not I would only have recorded half of that as I didn’t know the MS was going on until I got home and was looking for a few extra stations to add to the dial skan. I plan to try out the FDM-S3 when it becomes available although I have my doubts about recording 24MHz without buying a very expensive computer with SSD drives. And I’m not sure I’m willing to do that. Hopefully it will work on my current hardware and the big expense will just be the S3. I’ve had amazing Meteor Scatter twice. This time in PEI and once in Western Nebraska 20 miles South of Valentine. My theory is that MS happens a lot more than we think but the noise floor has to be very low or else the received will miss most of it. PEI was definitely that way as was Western NE although I didn’t have an SDR then so I don’t know how low. I’m still amazed by the long Trains. Never had I experienced those before. Never heard anyone talk about them either (Bill, ibid.) METEOR SCATTER PROPAGATION AND THE NOISE FLOOR In the ham radio world, these long train meteor bursts are called “Blue Whizzers.” I’ve heard them on six meters at times when they almost sounded like e-skip. One of the best books on meteor scatter propagation is "Meteor Science and Engineering” by D.W.R. McKinley, even though it was published in 1961, the data is very solid. Another great one is "Beyond Line of Sight: A History of VHF Propagation from the Pages of QST.” Both cover meteor scatter propagation in great detail. A low noise floor is essential—and I think most FM DX’ers take the noise floor for granted. Many people started in the hobby years ago when the noise floor on FM was well below the NF figure of most receivers. On my own small yard, I noticed a huge increase in both weak tropo and meteor scatter when I relocated an antenna to the far side of my lot, about 100’ from my house. This side of my lot borders a protected wetlands area with no other house — the noise floor there drops 8-10db from other spots in the yard. That makes a huge difference on all bands. If I could build a time machine, I’d relocate my shack to the unused bedroom on the opposite side of the house from where it’s located now. That would put all my antennas in this quieter area of the yard. BTW, rooftop mounted antennas or those on towers can still pick up a lot of noise from your home or neighbors unless they are VERY high above it. The EMI field from my home extends at least 50’ from it—and I’ve seen very few rooftop mounted antennas that were that high above the home. SDR’s are great for helping to visualize the EMI fields. In my case, I took an FM-6 antenna and literally walked it around the yard to various spots and would then go inside and look at the waterfall to see how noise levels on FM were affected. I took screen shots of each location and labeled them. After checking out the potential mounting locations, it was easy to determine where the RF floor was lowest. I then mounted the FM-6 there, and pointed it NNE for MS DXing. This antenna feeds two different receivers that I use to monitor two of the three “quiet” channels. The plan is to relocate the Korner 9.2 antenna and rotor there before e-skip season. Can’t wait to see what impact the lower noise floor has on weak tropo with that antenna. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, 121 Mayfair Park, Maylene, AL 35114, Dec 26, ibid.) SOLAR CYCLE AND MW RECEPTION Colin, as we get to the bottom of the sunset cycle, one would expect better MW reception. At a similar point in the last cycle, I remember having close to 24/7 MW reception in Masset which was exciting, especially since it was all into Iran and Africa in my local noon and early afternoon time (January). Have not seen that again since. Yesterday's conditions were REALLY good. Up there with great days during the equinox. Have a great time in Hawaii, and best DX! (Walt Salmaniw, BC, Dec 22, IRCA via DXLD) Aren't we still quite a way from minimum, Walt? I think 2008 and 2009 were our minimum years last time, and even if the cycle is a normal one, that's still a couple of years to go to the minimum of this one. Because it's been such an unusual cycle anyway (low maximum, which can mean a longer period to the minimum), it's hard to say. We're being foozled too by the second maximum of the cycle it seems, which shows the highest Ap conditions of the entire cycle right now http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/space-weather-enthusiasts despite sunspot numbers declining, so conditions have actually deteriorated from that wonderful early fall of 2014 when we heard TA's in late August, followed by poorer conditions in early October and beyond. And this year does also seem poorer for high latitude paths than even last year's. A roundabout way of saying all bets are off with this anomalously low level solar cycle; maybe 2014 was our best time for high latitude this cycle judging by the lowest Ap conditions. best wishes, (Nick Hall- Patch, Khartoum, ibid.) The trending Global Ap is somewhat out of synch with the trending Sunspot numbers and also the 10.7 MHz Solar Flux trends. That said, most indications are that we're roughly 2 years in advance of Minimum -- presuming the remainder of the cycle behaves more or less normally (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH, Blue Bell, PA, Grid FN20id, ibid.) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2017 Dec 25 0211 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 18 - 24 December 2017 Solar activity was at very low levels throughout the period. Region 2692 (N18, L=087, class/area=Eai/160 on 24 Dec) was the only active region with sunspots this period and produced multiple low and mid-level B-class flares throughout the week. No Earth-directed CMEs were observed. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached high levels on 18-23 Dec with moderate levels observed on 24 Dec. Geomagnetic field activity reached active levels early on 18 Dec in response to the influence of a recurrent, positive polarity CH HSS. Quiet to unsettled conditions were observed on 19 and 23-24 Dec and generally quiet conditions were observed throughout the remainder of the week under a nominal solar wind regime. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 25 DEC 2017 - 20 JAN 2018 Solar activity is expected to persist at very low levels throughout the 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 26-30 Dec, 02-06 and 14-19 Jan. Normal and normal to moderate greater than 2 MeV electron flux values are expected throughout the remainder of the forecast period. Geomagnetic field activity is likely to reach G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels on 01 and 13 Jan with active levels expected on 25 Dec and 02, 08, 14 and 20 Jan under the influences of multiple, recurrent CH HSSs. Quiet and quiet to unsettled conditions are expected throughout the remainder of the forecast period. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2017 Dec 25 0211 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 2017-12-25 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2017 Dec 25 75 12 4 2017 Dec 26 75 8 3 2017 Dec 27 75 5 2 2017 Dec 28 75 5 2 2017 Dec 29 75 5 2 2017 Dec 30 74 5 2 2017 Dec 31 72 10 3 2018 Jan 01 72 25 5 2018 Jan 02 72 15 4 2018 Jan 03 72 10 3 2018 Jan 04 72 5 2 2018 Jan 05 72 5 2 2018 Jan 06 72 5 2 2018 Jan 07 72 10 3 2018 Jan 08 72 12 4 2018 Jan 09 72 6 2 2018 Jan 10 72 5 2 2018 Jan 11 72 5 2 2018 Jan 12 72 5 2 2018 Jan 13 74 22 5 2018 Jan 14 75 16 4 2018 Jan 15 75 6 2 2018 Jan 16 75 5 2 2018 Jan 17 75 5 2 2018 Jan 18 75 5 2 2018 Jan 19 75 5 2 2018 Jan 20 75 12 4 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1910, DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ “DECODING THE RESISTANCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE” --- IDEAS - CBC Radio One Naomi Oreskes is the author of 'Merchants of Doubt', an historical analysis of how climate change denial became a subject of propaganda to sell to the public. She is professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Her talk was delivered in Vancouver at the Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies. (55”) http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/decoding-the-resistance-to-climate-change-are-we-doomed-1.4288483 (via John Figliozzi, Podding Along, dxldyg via DXLD) ###