DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-106, September 2, 2007 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 2007 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1372 Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [irregular; not 8/27/07] Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Mon 0830 WRMI 9955 Tue 1030 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 7385 Wed 0730 WRMI 9955 WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL SCHEDULE: 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 For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN NOW AVAILABLE: http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/podcast.php OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** AFGHANISTAN. Re 7-105: To answer some of Mr Kamp's questions: 1. From which location "Shari'ah Zhagh" should be transmitting? 2. Which equipment the mullahs are using? (which are radically against modern technology...) The station broadcasts on FM for short periods (typically 30 minutes) from a low power mobile facility that is constantly being moved to avoid detection. The BBC has published independent confirmation that broadcasts have been heard. 5. Why doesn´t the allied forces stop the transmissions by bombardment? First of all, they can't find it. Secondly, it no doubt operates close to centres of population. Even if the allied forces knew where it is at a given moment, they are not going to risk dozens of civilian casualties. And because it isn't on the air for long periods, and can only cover a small area at a time, it is not considered a major threat. 6. Do you find any reception report? Of course not. 99.9% of the people in the world do not know what a reception report is. And no DXer is going to hear an FM station than can be only be received in a small area around the transmitter in Afghanistan. Yes, of course the Taliban issue propaganda saying that the station is on the air. That's what they do. If Mr Kamp imagines that we shouldn't publish stories because they come from a source we don’t like, then he clearly doesn't support press freedom (Andy Sennitt, Media Network, Sept 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bombardment? Doesn't usually stop them. At least 50000 killed so far. Or have I misunderestimated the figures (Harry Brooks, NE England, ibid.) ** ARGENTINA. Habla el nuevo director de Radio Nacional APUESTA A LA DIVERSIDAD === PARA EDUARDO GARCÍA CAFFI, LA EMISORA DEBE ALENTAR LA RIQUEZA CULTURAL DEL PAÍS Domingo 26 de agosto de 2007 | Publicado en la Edición impresa –¿Y qué va a pasar con RAE? –RAE trabaja actualmente en onda corta, una banda que generalmente usan los países menos desarrollados. A mí me parece que, sin abandonar la onda corta, lo que vamos a dar es un gran impulso con Internet, porque vamos a poder acceder a todos los países con tecnología nueva y con formatos que te permiten, más allá de escuchar la radio, verla. Es muy importante que sepan cómo somos, cómo pensamos. Y a esto debe sumarse un manual de estilo porque me parece muy importante que estén claros los rumbos, los objetivos, cómo trabajar, cómo desarrollarse... http://www.lanacion.com.ar/entretenimientos/nota.asp?nota_id=937899&origen=acumulado&acumulado_id=120-4 (La Nación, via Arnaldo Slaen, condiglist yg via DXLD) Mostly about the domestic service, but the last question was about RAE. Plans to start webcasting without abandoning SW (gh, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. RAE de vuelta en 15345 con clara señal, 1830, SINP0 35343. Sin interferencia alguna ni de REE ni VOT Turquía [quiere decir Marruecos --- gh]. Transmitiendo preliminares del partido entre Racing y River Plate, denominado según el narrador de turno el Clásico Más Antiguo del Fútbol Argentino. No es costumbre obtener tan buena recepción desde Argentina al mediodía tico, lo cual me ha dejado gratamente sorprendido, a pesar de la pobre propagación actual. 73. (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also FRANCE [non] ** AUSTRALIA. RA Brandon 12080: The best 10 kW transmitter reaching Costa Rica, and that's around 0300 up to 0900 is unable to struggle against the current awful propagation conditions. That most of the time sustained S=4 signal at 80º is now just barely audible after 0600, and I have my doubts about them changing azimuth. So it would be helpful to read someone else`s experience out there on Radio Australia Brandon 12080. Commonly this low power transmitter provides the best Down Under signal here by far. 73s (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hola Raúl, Sept 2 heard RA via Brandon on 12080 with a fair signal (even though a light pulsating noise was present) from 0530-0602. Live sports coverage of a "football" game (rugby league) between the Brisbane Broncos vs. Parramatta Eels till half time, cut away for other scores (Manly vs. Dragons, etc.), ABC news headlines, ToH RA news, // 15240 (fair) and 15515 (fair) (Ron Howard, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Antenna switching matrix at Shepparton: see RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM, this issue and 7-105 ** BENIN. See CUBA [and non] ** BERMUDA. From Chris Dunne on the WTFDA Forum site --- I just read the VUD online about him [Rick Shaftan, NJ] & his wife going to Bermuda. I was there in 2005, and AFAIK, their 100.1 is for some sort of emergency station, maybe hurricane alerts or something. Funny though, 3 of their FM's started up in the last 2 years; in other words, they were not on the air when I was there. I do have a contact there & will ask him via e-mail about the 100.1. But it is not a baby monitor, as he was thinking. Also: Here is the message you can forward to Rick about the Bermuda 100.1 from Glen C. I quote: "The 100.1 FM frequency is the Government Emergency frequency. Just a few days ago, they asked folks to listen out for it as they were doing some testing." cd (via Mike Bugaj, WTFDA via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. Voice of Biafra International was on again Friday Aug. 31 at 2000 UT on 15665. An opening hymn was on when I tuned in at 2003, followed by an ID and still announcing the wrong frequency of 15670. Reception was very poor initially but improved a little after 2030. Usual mix of English and vernacular. Into English at 2035 with a commentary on Biafran independence. Mention of war of independence starting in 1967 and ending in 1970 and problems since. Critical of the government of Nigeria; crimes against humanity, stealing of dollars from oil, etc. Commentary ended at 2058 followed by ID with the wrong frequency again. Then thanks for listening to WHRI, 15665 was closing and to retune to ?? (I missed it). (Bernie O'Shea, Ottawa, Ontario, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Nicoooooooooooooooo[lás Eramo], me equivoco o hay una debil señal donde deberia estar Radio Universitaria de Cobija??? Hay buena recepción para las emisoras bolivianas (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Sept 1, condiglist yg via DXLD) Time? WTFK? 4732 (gh) Hay una portadora, pero mucho ruido, hoy por la noche la chequeo (Nicolás Eramo, Sept 2, ibid.) Sí, yo tb tengo una portadora y un ruido terrible (Arnaldo Slaen, ibid.) ** BOLIVIA. 4875, Radio Estambul, Guayaramerín, Beni seems on *1000 most days this week. Carrier often on for a while before program (Robert Wilkner, Pómpano Beach FL, Icom 746 Pro, R75 Kiwa Drake R8, ABDX via DXLD) This town is spelt Guayaramerín, not Guayamerin, as I keep seeing it, even by Bolivian residents (gh, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5580.36, Radio San José, San José de Chiquitos, 2335-2339, September 01, Spanish, Holy Rosary by female (Santo Rosario) : “….te salve María, llena eres de gracia…..”, 24322. 6134.83, Radio Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1035-1040, September 01, Spanish, Talk by male: hard talk with several critics to Evo Morales government, 32422 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Per the KUNM docu on Bolivia recently linked, which I re-recommend, Santa Cruz is a hotbed of opposition to Morales, inhabited as it is by --- yukk ---, blue-eyed European immigrants (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) 6165, Radio Logos, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 1157-1159, Sep 02, Spanish, comments by man announcer, ID "en los 6165 kilohertz y .... kHz, Radio Logos", 23332 (Nicolás Eramo, Lat: 34º34'49S, Long: 58º32'26W, Villa Lynch, Prov. Buenos Aires, Argentina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Primera vez que escucho una ID de Radio Logos. A las 1157 UT y después presumo s/off (Eramo, condiglist via DXLD) Yo nunca la identifiqué. Siempre la doy como tentativa. Felicitaciones! Buenísimo, Nico. Otras veces, a 1058 UT me la tapaba RNW [Bonaire] en español. Pero nunca intenté después de La Matinal (Arnaldo Slaen, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. DX CLUBE DO PARANA : BASE DE DADOS DE EMISSORAS BRASILEIRAS Amigos, olhem o DX clube do parana http://www.dxclube.com.br e nossa base de dados de emissoras brasileiras http://www.dxclube.com.br/db 73 a todos e ótimos DX (Eduardo Dourado via Dario Monferini, Aug 31, playdx yg via DXLD) You may be prompted to log in, but you can do so as a guest. Here is the handiest version of the frequency list, 500 entries per page taking up only 4 pages, MW, tropical band, SW at the end, no FM or TV. http://www.dxclube.com.br/db/listasimples_list.asp?pagesize=500 Nothing about direxionality, unfortunately; all those N/D entries probably mean no data, rather than non-direxional (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 6089.95, Radio Bandeirantes, São Paulo, 0130-0140, Sept 2, Portuguese talk. Portuguese ballads. Weak. Very poor with DRM QRM. // 9645.23-weak, poor. Anguilla 6090 off the air but DRM QRM on the frequency (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6089.98, R. Bandeirantes, 0925-0940, Sept 2, Portuguese. Ballads at tune-in. Announcements at 0930 followed by OM, music resumes at 0935. // 9645-audible under QRN. Fair/poor (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R8, R75, NIR10, MLB1, 200' Beverages, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9355, 01/09 1715, Rádio Cultura, São Paulo (SP), locutor anunciando música de Vinicius de Moraes e Toquinho; emissora fora de freqüência há quase um mês, espúrio entre 9350 e 9355 kHz, 45343 (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre (RS), Brasil, Receptor: Sony ICF SW7600G, Antena: Loop Blindada by Alexandre Deves, radioescutas yg via DXLD) BRASIL - Em alguns momentos, a Rádio Aparecida, de Aparecida do Norte (SP), leva ao ar programas diferenciados em suas freqüências de ondas curtas. Em 25 de agosto, por exemplo, a freqüência de 5035 kHz, por volta de 2100, transmitia programação diversa das demais 6135, 9630 e 11855 kHz. Naquele canal, uma equipe esportiva acompanhava uma partida de futebol do Guaratinguetá (Célio Romais, Panorama via Conexión Digital Sept 2 via DXLD) ** CANADA. Re 7-105, roadside radio station ID signs: "Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing any in Alberta, so maybe it's the (some) provincial governments?" They do exist in B.C. and Alberta -- I have driven past dozens in the time I have lived here. I have *not* seen them in Quebec and Ontario, nor in Nova Scotia or P.E.I. 73, (Ricky Leong, Calgary, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I think the signs are put up by the provinces -- their appearance changes as you cross borders. Here in BC, they seem to be greatly out of date if a station has left the air. Both CHWK-127 and CFVR?-850 had signs up for a long time after they went silent . . . ef (Eric Flodén, BC, NRC-AM via DXLD) See also U S A ** CROATIA. Mediumwave transmitting Station ZADAR, Croatia [1134 kHz/600 kW] Dear DXers, Finally we have a chance to look at a photo with antenna towers of Zadar MW station, which is relaying GLAS HRVATSKE (Voice of Croatia) to Europe at 1300-0530. The high quality picture is at: http://www.oiv.hr/Download/2007/05/21/ZadarSV1024x768.jpg Also, during my websurfing, I found some interesting news about Zadar MW station. You can find the story on: http://www.oiv.hr/default.asp?ru=97&gl=200705210000001&sid=&jezik=1 but, unfortunately only in Croatian language. And, of course I've just translated the most interesting parts of the text: MW TRANSMITTER ZADAR IS LOCATED AT RASINOVAC (read Rashinovats) BY THE CITY OF NIN, ABOUT 20 KILOMETERS FROM ZADAR. IN 1991 DURING A BOMBING, ROCKETS DESTROYED THE ANTENNA SYSTEM. THE ROCKETS OVERTURNED (destroyed) TWO ANTENNA TOWERS, WHILE THE OTHER TWO TOWERS AND A ANTENNA FEED LINE WERE DISABLED... FROM SEPTEMBER 2003 WITH A COMPANY "RIZ-TRANSMITTERS" BEGUN A RECONSTRUCTION OF ANTENNA SYSTEM, WITH INSTALLING TWO NEW 132 METER TOWERS, AND THE REPAIRS OF ANTENNA FEED LINE AND ANTENNA HOUSES. FROM APRIL 30, 2004 THE NEW ANTENNA SYSTEM STARTED OPERATING, WHICH INSURES A GOOD RECEPTION OF THE VOICE OF CROATIA (Glas Hrvatske) IN MOST PARTS OF EUROPE AND THE NEAR EAST. Best regards & many 73s! (Dragan Lekic, from Subotica, Serbia, Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Cut numbers, very strong on 5800.0, Sept 1 at 0620, in fact much stronger than RHC on 6000 or 6060, if not 6180. Full continuous carrier on AM, with tones as Continental Code sending only ten letters, each substituting for a number. Whenever I hear this, I am reminded of the DXers Unlimited code message in the produced outro; sounds like made from same equipment (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Re 7-105, CMBA ID on 670: I would think so. I hear this occasionally, and it's across the network feed, never locally inserted. Nothing is ever locally inserted; the only variants you'll ever hear is an occasional audio flip to Rebelde FM network on an AM channel or two instead of the "standard" AM net (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, Sept 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. Tropical Bands propagation also benefits from the autumn equinox season, and this is your opportunity of logging some nice catches on the 60 meters Tropical Broadcast Band, the one that still has a relatively large number of stations on the air. Let’s start with our own Radio Rebelde, from Havana operating 24 hours a day on 5025 kiloHertz for our domestic near vertical incidence skywave coverage of the Cuban archipelago, something that the Tropical band is able to do with just one transmitter and a special NVIS antenna system. But, the NVIS antennas also have minor lower take off angle lobes that send the signals at much longer distances, and that’s why you can pick up Tropical Band domestic services from across the globe. Here are a few stations from Africa that may be logged in North America and Europe during the present autumn equinoctial DX season… From the Republic of Benin, on almost exactly the same frequency as Radio Rebelde on 5025 kiloHerts is Radio Parakou, that you may catch when late in the evening daylight saving [sic] time, around 0500 UT Radio Rebelde’s 50 kiloWatt transmitter on 5025 kiloHertz is off the air for routine maintenance, something that happens about once a month. At other times picking up Benin of 5025 kiloHertz is a matter of luck, when propagation changes in favor of the African station over the Cuban on the same channel (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Sept 1, ODXA via DXLD) 17555, R. Rebelde, 1730* Sept 1, ID before closing: ``Rebelde, Habana, la emisora de la Revolución", QRK3, QSB. Degen DE1103 + randomwire 25 m long+mlb 73 (Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, Sept 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Off Frequency Station on 49 meters --- Does anyone have the slightest clue about a station broadcasting on 6152 kHz. I have picked up this station at 0100 UT on Friday, August 31, 2007 and it appears to be 100% Spanish language. They play a lot of music and even though I do not speak or understand Spanish, I think that they are referring to the station as "Radio República". The reception is really great and I suspect that the broadcast may be coming from Florida. Is this, possibly, a clandestine station broadcasting by Cuban exiles back to Cuba? (Tyrrell C. Burns, location unknown, dxing.info via DXLD) Radio República is a clandestine to Cuba originating in Miami. Schedule believed to be via Rampisham, UK: 22-24 6135 00-02 6155 02-04 6100 Altho not reconfirmed lately. So possibly the 6155 was off-frequency. Most unusual for a VTC/Merlin outlet and this could be evidence, or disinformation pointing to some as yet undiscovered site. Or, they were deliberately trying to escape the jamming. Did you hear any? 73, (Glenn Hauser, DX Listening Digest, ibid., as amended) After reading the reply, I Googled Radio República and found a lot more information. I was able to come up with an email address and have sent them a reception report along with a request for a QSL card. I have an extremely poor understanding of Spanish so in my report I had to plead ignorance but their musical selections were quite good. Before my initial inquiry, I did document the frequency. When I pick up any new station that I have never received or documented, before, I use the capability of my receiver to tune in 1kHz steps above and below. In this case, I initially thought that I had picked up a SSB station on 6150 kHz and when that did not work, I started my 1 kHz step tuning and it landed precisely at 6152. Yes, I tried all the way up to an including 6160 kHz but only 6152 worked. I get the impression that this unusual frequency is intentional so as to throw off Castro's attempts at jamming (Tyrrell C. Burns, ibid.) By ``worked`` do you mean with the BFO/SSB on and getting a zero-beat? To get an accurate reading, you need to turn on SSB or BFO and zero- beat it with a known frequency, then get a reading on the questionable one. So were you hearing any jamming on 6155 itself? What is your location? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 6025.04, Radio Amanecer, Santo Domingo, 0155- 0215+, Sept 1, Thanks to Ron Howard tip. Spanish religious music. Several nice IDs at 0204. Spanish talk. Fair signal strength but poor overall signal due to a lot of adjacent channel splatter (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Noted here this evening around 2342 UT on 6025 kHz with fair signal until Sweden squeezed them at their *2359. Later noted again with talks and music but mixing with Iran around 0030. I have checked this frequency many times in recent months with nothing from them. Budapest and Iran usually dominated the channel. Thanks for spotting this reactivation (Rich D'Angelo, PA, DXplorer Aug 29 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 3279.90, LV del Napo, R. María, Tena, 1/9 0355, religious program and nice music + ID in Spanish. Good, 33333. NRD 545, different antennas, Gr (Maurits Van Driessche from Belgium, BDX via DXLD) ID for both, then? ** EUROPE. PIRATE (Scotland), 6400.10, Weekend Music Radio, 0005-0025, Sept 2, pop music. IDs. Acknowledged listeners' reports. Poor to fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. 11690.00, 2007-09-01, 0645:00, Radio RadioHullut, Fin, BC- AM, FIN, 242 achim48, mx ann (wavetalk online logs http://www.wellenforum.de/select_list_en.php?input=l_logs&l_range=kw via DXLD) Probably Achim Bruckner, pirate-DXing specialist. Must have been Scandinavian Weekend Radio, on regular monthly broadcast first Saturday, already past, with no advance publicity received here. Yes, website http://www.swradio.net/ mentions Radio Hullujen (gh, DXLD) ** FRANCE. DRM special program on 7135 kHz 150 kW at 0700-1600 UT, on the occasion of IFA - International Radio and TV fair. Program started late at 0722 UT. Obwohl bei Dream alle Felder gruen aufleuchten und der SNR bei 25dB liegt, ist nichts von der "Special transmission from TDF/Issoudun to IFA/Berlin" zu hoeren. Da wird wohl einfach kein Programm gesendet. (0707 UT). (Patrick Robic-AUT, A-DX Sep 1, via Büschel) Jetzt aktuell um 0726 UT hoere ich auf der QRG ein franzoesisches Programm mit SNR max von ueber 38 db (Thomas Lindenthal-D, A-DX Sep 1, via Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. RFI, 17630 via Guiana French, Spanish to LAm until abrupt cutoff at 2130* Sat Sept 1 was playing some lively ME music. Per 2005-2006 schedule still posted at http://www.rfi.fr/actues/images/074/RFI%202006_2.pdf and no, it does not help to change 2006 to 2007 or the _2 to _1 --- it was/is ``MUSICAL (TOP RFI / ESCENA LATINA)`` at 2110-2130 Saturdays For more ME music one may, and indeed did, listen for another semihour to Morocco on 15345, hoping the het from Argentina is not too bad, until it too rudely cuts off at 2200 without any farewell (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also GUIANA FRENCH ** GABON. There was no signal on 17630 at 1430, but the African Music Sender is busy at very good strength over Saudi on 17660 until 1530. Africa #1 came up on 17630 (after several attempts) at 1535, and weaker than 17660 had been, and it had gone by re-check 1557. 15475 is on air at fair strength but with low modulation at 1615 (Noel R. Green (NW England), Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GEORGIA [and non?]. Russia, Georgia, Abkhazia. A new radio program announced as Radio of Peace Keeping Forces in Russian was heard in Sofia on August 19 from 11 to 1125 hours on 9495 kHz. The address for reports is: Peace Keeping Forces Radio, Sukhumi, Abkhazia, via Russian Federation. On the following day at the same time and frequency was heard Radio Republic Abkhazia (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Aug 31 via DXLD) ** GREECE. NEWS RADIO STATIONS TARGETED BY MEDIA LAW In early July the Greek Parliament was handed the newest media law draft: "Concentration and Licensing of Media Enterprises and other Provisions." In it were several provisions that drew the ire of European media watchers. In a letter to the Greek Parliament's President Anna Benaki-Psarouda International Press Institute (IPI) Director Johann Fritz and South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO) Secretary General Oliver Vujovic charged the Greek government with "seeking to directly influence the media market through the manipulation of the law." The new law passed July 5th, opposed only by minority political parties. To come into force it needs Greek President Karolos Papoulias' signature. Media watchers have sent strong letters. On the surface the new Greek media law accomplishes nominally understandable effects. Broadcasters will be required to post financial responsibility bonds, not altogether unfamiliar. Newspapers will be required to employ three full-time workers. In other words, the Greek government wants to discourage small media operators; all the better for big media operators. . . http://www.followthemedia.com/mediarules/greece06082007.htm (via Arnaldo Slaen, Conexión Digital Sept 2 via DXLD) See also INDIA ** GUATEMALA. 4052.50, R. Verdad, Chiquimula, 1/9 0414 typical Guatemalan music and female talks in Spanish. Good, 33333. NRD 545, different antennas, Gr (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, BDX via DXLD) 4052.46, Radio Verdad, Chiquimula, 0550-0605*, Sept 1, English gospel music. Closing English ID announcements at 0558. Spanish closing announcements at 0559. Sign off with long National Anthem at 0600. Fair to good signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUIANA FRENCH. 5995 & 17630, Radio France Int'l, Spanish via Télédiffusion de France (TDF) relay. Full data verification letter, indicating both frequencies with data. This for a CD MP3 report sent direct to the transmitter site. Address for reports is: Télédifffusion de France Relay Station, Direction TDF Outre-Mer, B. P. 7024, 97307 Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana. Reply in 113 days (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also FRANCE [non] ** HONDURAS. 3249.5, Radio Luz y Vida, San Luís, 1110 to 1200 with extended religious program en español. Excellent from Central America, 1 September (Robert Wilkner, river site, FL, Sony 2010XA, ABDX via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 3339.96, HRMI, Radio MI, Comayagüela, 1/9, pop music at 0515, full ID "Radio Mi", weak audio, fair, 32222. NRD 545, different antennas, Gr (Maurits Van Driessche from Belgium, BDX via DXLD) 3339.96, R. Misiones Internacionales (presumed), 0955-1037, 1 Sept. End of impassioned talk by M in Spanish, then long slow song. 1001 same live M again briefly, and 2 easy ranchera and 1 (presumably) religious modern song. 1017 different M, then short canned announcement, and back to music. At least 4 more songs. 1036 canned W, but fading and modulation just too weak to ID. Strong signal but modulation a bit weak. Don't recall hearing this in the mornings before but I see Brian Alexander had it yesterday morning (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, JRC NRD-535D, Hammarlund HQ-129X, Collins R-388, and various portables including the Sony SW-77, 60 meter T2FD, 60 meter Windom, HCDX via DXLD) 3340, presumed HRMI, 0958-1015, Sept 1, Spanish. Ballad with announcer at 1001, music resumes at 1002 thru tune-out. Weak (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R8, R75, NIR10, MLB1, 200' Beverages, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. HTTP://WWW.RADIO.HU has been redesigned. The index page shows only the new logos of MR (Magyar Radio = Hungarian Radio), and the links to 3 new URLs: http://www.mr1-kossuth.hu/ http://www.mr2-petofi.hu/ http://www.mr3-bartok.hu/ Also, audio archive is again available on: http://real1.radio.hu Best regards! (Dragan Lekic from Serbia. Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 4960, All India Radio, Ranchi transmitter. Full data (with site indicated) 'Tomb of General Rein Hart Agra' QSL card, in response to another follow-up attempt. This time, I took a chance sending to the new Director at AIR's Spectrum Management & Synergy, after seeing that change had occurred. Got a reply in 20 months, 58 days after sending my postal follow-up for my Dec. 25, 05 logging. v/s: V. P. Singh, Director (Spectrum Management & Synergy). This makes my 27th Indian regional verified (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. I&B MINISTRY TAKES SERIOUS VIEW OF FM RADIO OPERATORS AIRING NEWS/CURRENT AFFAIRS 19:8 IST It has come to the notice of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting that some private FM radio channels are airing news snippets and current affairs in violation of rules for FM radio operators. These violations have been viewed very seriously by the Ministry. As per the policy, news and current affairs are not allowed to be broadcast by private FM channel in any manner. The carriage of news snippets and current affairs violates the provisions, which have been incorporated in clause 1.4 and 23.4 of Grant of Permission Agreement signed by private operators with the Government. It is, therefore, advised that all concerned parties refrain from any such activities, which are in violation of terms and conditions of FM license. Ever since the implementation of private FM Radio Policy in July 2005, over 100 FM stations became operational within a year and around 150 FM stations are likely to be operational by the year-end . RS/AS (Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India, via Alokesh Gupta New Delhi, India, dx_india via DXLD) World`s Largest Democracy? That obviously does not extend to Freedom of the Press (gh, DXLD) Speaking of Democracy, see also GREECE ** INDONESIA. 3266.42, RRI Gorontalo, 1250-1310 Aug 28. Speech by OM to near ToH; tuned out and came back at 1302 to Arabic-style vocal music. On late today - usually signs off around 1230 or so. On late 29 and 30 Sept. also. 4920, RRI Biak, 1258-1303 Aug 28. Song of the Coconut Isles to ToH, then Jakarta relay. Poor in band noise; did not hear Xizang PBS. Sometimes Xizang is heard on this frequency, and sometimes RRI. Most mornings cannot tell which station is there due to band noise (John Wilkins, CO, DXplorer Sep 1, via BC-DX via DXLD) ** IRELAND. The overnight tests [from RTE, DRM on LW 252 kHz] are continuing and being reported on the drmrx.org forums, as Guido [Schotmans, Belgium] reports they have been using some quite low bit rates and more than one service on the transmitter. I downloaded a recording of RTE Radio 1 at 8.58 kbps mono and played it to the Reading meeting; there was general agreement that it sounded far worse than AM, sounded like there was multipath fading though it was in fact digital artifacts (Mike Barraclough, Sept World DX Club Contact via DXLD) [non]. RTE will be relaying coverage of the All Ireland Football Final on shortwave September 16 to West of Central Africa on 11735 17860, East of Central Africa on 11635 17710, Southern Africa on 9470. Coverage starts at 1200, match kick off is 1430 (Media Network, ibid.) Will be broadcast in DRM from Rampisham 1300-1600 on 17495 and Woofferton 1530-1700 on 11735. Timed AFS signalling is working so interested to hear if any people with Morphy Richards radios find the radios automatically retune to the 11 MHz frequency between 1530 and 1601 (James Briggs, drmrx.org forums, ibid.) Re 7-105, RTE sports special Sept 2: 11735 kHz, both on AM and DRM, that will work well ? I hear N Korea here til 1500 UT? wb (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Sept 2 via DXLD) Checked quickly at 1510 UT Sunday Sept 2, nothing audible on 17860 or 17710. But propagation was worse than usual, below normal with K = 3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RTE in DRM mode: DRM listener #5 in German A-DX list 11735 1530-1700 from Woofferton UK, DREAM software Version 1.6.46cvs cannot handle language codec CELP and HVXC; audio of RTE could not be heard/decoded. But also some co-channel AM peaks destroyed the DRM encoding process. Bad spurious of RDP Lisbon nominal 11905, but also 4 spurs at 83.8 kHz away, symmetrical on 11988.8, 12072.5, and 11821.2, 11737.60 - but latter was destroying the RTE encoding. At same time slot noted DRM Bavaria-5 6085 SNR 22.8dB, Kuwait 9880 SNR 15.5dB. 1630-1800 UT slot. AM 17860 and 17495 DRM were poor at my location, only S=2-3 here in the dead zone of Albion's Rampisham and Woofferton transmissions towards Africa, just above threshold. Nothing noted on 17710 kHz. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISLE OF MAN. BBC'S ANDY KERSHAW JAILED 'OVER ORDER BREACH' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6974064.stm Last Updated: Saturday, 1 September 2007, 14:16 GMT 15:16 UK BBC's DJ held 'over order breach' --- BBC radio DJ Andy Kershaw has been remanded in custody after being charged with breaching a restraining order. Kershaw, 48, who presents a Radio 3 show and was a Radio 1 DJ for 15 years, was arrested on 29 August near the home of his former partner, Juliette Banner. She had previously obtained an order preventing him from visiting her house in Peel, on the Isle of Man. A BBC spokeswoman said the case was "a personal matter for Andy and not something on which we would comment". The restraining order had been granted on 1 August against Mr Kershaw, who has two children with Ms Banner. The Isle of Man Constabulary said Mr Kershaw was arrested after he allegedly attempted to call at his former partner's home. A police spokeswoman said: "The Constabulary can confirm that Andrew Kershaw appeared before the Deputy High Bailiff at a court in Douglas on 30 August. "Mr Kershaw was remanded in custody until 1000 on Tuesday 4 September when he will next appear before the Deputy High Bailiff." The DJ, who was born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, lives on the Isle of Man. He has been with Radio 3 since April 2001 where he presents a world music show, but had been on a summer break when he was arrested (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** ITALY. The information recently spread that RAI International has closed its foreign broadcasts since August 1 are defuted by the fact that the station was heard on August 18 and 19 with its emission in Bulgarian from 1540 to 16 hours on 9870 and 11895 kHz (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Aug 31 via DXLD) We have also had many other refutations in the meantime, altho some are missing or musicked (gh) ** ITALY. Re 7-105, IRRS: ```IRRS is still claiming it is ``Milano`` even in HFCC registrations. WRTH 2007 says ``leased relays abroad ... Eastern Europe`` (gh, DXLD)``` They really have a transmitter in Trezzo d'Adda, near Milano, but I think totally inactive (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN. Iran. Radio Voice of Iranian Kurdistan was received again after some break between 16 and 1625 hours on 4860 kHz (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Aug 31 via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN. IRAQ, 6335, Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan, 0320, Aug 29, vernacular music, degraded at 0330, when was with talks by man. Degen DE1103 + randomwire 25 m long+mlb 73 (Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, Sept 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6335, 1/9 0400, Voice of the Iraqi Kurdistan - ? Kurdish mx, buono (Roberto Pavanello, Vercelli - Italia, shortwave yg via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. 11990, Radio Kuwait, 1800-2100, Sept 1, No sign of Kuwait today (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA. 17870, Voice of Africa, 1400-1600*, Sept 1, English programming with local pop music, IDs. News at 1434. Readings from the Green Book at 1440. // 17725 - both frequencies coming in better than usual (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA. Re DXLD 7-103, ``... shows Libya direct except at 16-18 on 17870 as via France. Can anyone hearing these better notice a transmitter site switch at 1600 on 17870? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` Further to this question - The Voice of Africa from the Great Jamahariya is currently (1425 on Sept. 2) a big signal in English on 17870. This frequency was announced plus another that I unfortunately missed hearing clearly. However, there is a signal on 21695 same time, but far too weak to parallel with 17870. A scan on 17 MHz didn't reveal any other V. of Africa signal. This operation corresponds with a DX Mix (Bulgaria) schedule received in May, although they listed the following.... 1200-1400 17600 17725 Swahili 1400-1600 17725 17870 English 1600-1800 11835 15660 French 1800-2000 9590 11835 Hausa 17725 is registered until Sept. 1 and 21695 from Sept. 2 via TDF, but there is no indication of any short skip on 17 MHz today, and my guess is that 17870 is via Libyan facilities. The switch in frequencies should therefore come at 1400 when 17600(?) changes to 17870. [Later:] V of Africa has come up on both 15660 and 11835 in French at 1600. 15660 in fact began at about one minute past the hour after an unID African language went off at 1600. This frequency is strong, but 11835 poor (Noel R. Green (NW England), Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LITHUANIA. 6255, KBC Radio (Holland via Sitkunai) Sept. 2, 0120- 0200*. Noted with a program of variety of hip hop to pop music, interspersed with pulsing utility QRM. Noted several good ID's, one as 'all over Europe, we are the Mighty KBC Radio on 6255 kilohertz'. Also noted with promotions for KBC Imports, some info in mixed German and English. 0155 closing information, web site, postal address, welcomed reception reports, telephone number given. Signed off with accordion melody to 0200*. Signal was remarkably good, despite the pulsing utility interference (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 7295, Traxx FM, 1101-1122 1 Sept, W announcer with SE Asian news in English ending with brief highlights. Most stories from Malaysia. 1110 immediately into romantic pop ballad. 1113 canned announcement by W and M in English, jingle, and more rom. pop mx. 1121 another jingle and M. Best at tune-in and fading. Some adjacent Ham slop QRM. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, JRC NRD-535D, Hammarlund HQ-129X, Collins R-388, and various portables including the Sony SW-77, 60 meter T2FD, 60 meter Windom, HCDX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. I continue to look for traces of the sporadic XEXQ on 6045; nothing in the mornings around 1300-1400, but Sept 1 at 0625 there was definitely a weak signal causing a SAH under KBS World Radio in Spanish via Sackville. Maybe trace of second audio. But after one RCI IS, that went off at 0629. Briefly I could still detect a weak carrier, but no modulation audible, and too much QRN. It might have worked better had Sackville left an open carrier on to hold down the noise. In addition to its weak and sporadic signal, XEXQ has also been troubled by undermodulation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOROCCO. 15345: see FRANCE [non] ** NETHERLANDS. Re Delft University of Technology started experimental DRM transmissions on 28100: Photos of equipment on the [ukwtv.de] forum were later removed and the transmissions appear to have ceased (Mike Barraclough, England, Sept World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Re 7-105, 1008 kHz: In fact, there was apparently special farewell programming on 1008 kHz from 1700 to 2200 UT, presented by Roland Snoeijer till 1900, then Rene Verkerk. This programme was only carried on 1008 kHz. I did not know about it in advance, and I was out all evening so I didn't hear it. Perhaps the audio files will be available on line somewhere (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, Sept 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. 3935, ZLXA Reading Service, 1/9 0527 Verry poor, talks and pop music in English; this is no second or third harmonic, try different antennas, the LW 100 meter is the best, receiving from 0500 to 0600 UT. SINPO 22222. NRD 545, different antennas, Gr (Maurits Van Driessche from Belgium, BDX via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. 6089.84, Radio Nigeria, Kaduna, 2140-2300*, Sept 1, vernacular talk with mentions of Kaduna, Africa & Lagos. African folk music. ID at 2200. Sign off with National Anthem at 2300. Weak. Poor with adjacent channel splatter. Anguilla 6090 not on the air tonight (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. U.S.A., Pirate. 6850.85, MAC Radio, 0020-0030, Sept 2, rock music. IDs. Gave e-mail address. Good signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. Re ``Radio Sultanate of Oman, 15140, English at 14-15, seldom reported lately. I think this transmission is quite irregular (gh)`` Not heard at 1415 check August 29 but heard from 1423 August 30, best on LSB as weak and interference from 15145 (Mike Barraclough, England, Sept World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Radio Pakistan was reported with news in English from 16 to 1614 hours on 9380 and 11570 kHz on August 18 and 19 and on 4790 and 5080 kHz only on August 18 (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Aug 31 via DXLD) ** PERU. 4790.2, Radio Visión, (Chiclayo), 0220­0315, 9/1/07 in Spanish. Man speaking at length, W announcement and ``Radio Visión, La Voz de la Salvación``, return to M, 0249 somewhat mournful song (organ with vocal), 0254 2nd M, 0255, 3rd M with announcement and ID, 1st M preaching. CODAR QRM throughout and periodic digital QRM. Poor - fair and improving. Not heard in a long time, possibly reactivated? Thanks to Manuel Méndez's report in HCDX yesterday (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, USA R75; Flextenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4790.20, R. Visión, Chiclayo, 1/9 0439, male singing speech cont. in Spanish. Good, 43333. NRD 545, different antennas, Gr (Maurits Van Driessche from Belgium, BDX via DXLD) 4790.14, Radio Visión, Chiclayo, 1000 to 1020 noted during sixty meter band scan on 29 August. Since on a 24 hour a day schedule? At 0250 "..Señor Jesus [sic] Cristo.." by OM then into more Palabras de Dios. 31 August (Robert Wilkner, Pómpano Beach FL, Icom 746 Pro, R75 Kiwa Drake R8, ABDX via DXLD) 4790.2, Radio Visión, Chiclayo 1030 to 1110. Enjoyed hearing "El Cóndor Pasa`` played followed by Radio Visión. ID by OM. 1 September (Robert Wilkner, river site, FL, Sony 2010XA, ABDX via DXLD) 4790.15, R. Visión, Chiclayo, heard with strong signals in Denmark this morning 0350-0445 with religious programmes in Spanish and frequent time announcements (UT -5). During 0405-0435 a priest said "Gloria, Gloria... Halleluya" all the time! Complete ID 0436, SINPO 34333 with slight CODAR QRM. Strongest Peruvian here for months! (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DXplorer Sep 1 via BC-DX Sept 2 via DXLD) 4790.1, unID at 0408 to past 0440 with fervent preaching in Spanish; many hallelujahs and calls to read La Palabra de Dios; considerable audience response; shift to female voice at 0439; all at fair level but with noisy band conditions; readable even with the E-5 and a whip antenna! (Jim Ronda, OK, Sept 1, ibid.) 4790.16, R. Visión, 0836-0851, Sept 2, Spanish. Continuous instrumental music and occasional voice-overs with vox effects making copy difficult. ID announcement at 0846. Fair/poor (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R8, R75, NIR10, MLB1, 200' Beverages, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. FEBC regular at 1000-1030 in English on 15325; station does QSL if IRC's are enclosed (Allen Dean, England, Sept World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Just a syndicated gospel huxter, probably from USA; why bother? We lament the long-lost local semi-secular programming in English FEBC used to broadcast from Manila (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. Bad spurious of RDP Lisbon nominal 11905, but also 4 spurs at 83.8 kHz away, symmetrical on 11988.8, 12072.5, and 11821.2, 11737.60 - but latter was destroying the RTE encoding [1530-1700 UT Sept 2] (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See IRELAND [non] for more ** PRIDNESTROVYE. RADIO PMR EXPANDS INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST SCHEDULE Propaganda-station "Radio PMR" has expanded its international broadcast schedule. It now broadcasts in six languages for sixteen hours a day. The signal is reached in Africa, Australia, Asia, USA and South America. --- By Karen Ryan, 31/Aug/2007 GRIGORIOPOL (Tiraspol Times) - A shortwave and mediumwave radio station which broadcasts worldwide from the unrecognized republic of Pridnestrovie has expanded its international schedule to sixteen hours a day. The move comes as the country prepares to celebrate its 17th anniversary of independence, which was declared on 2 September 1990... Effective immediately, Radio PMR (the Trans-Dniestrian Radio from Tiraspol) has expanded its broadcasting time from 1 to 16 hours on the mediumwave frequency of 549 kHz. The transmitter of 150 kW is located in Grigoriopol, and the broadcasting schedule consists of local programmes mainly in the Russian language, a few short programmes during the day in the Romanian and Ukrainian languages, and also consists of the relaying of the Russian radio station "Mayak". Transmissions are on the air from 05:00 to 21:00. Full article including two photographs: The humble headquarters of Radio PMR, "the voice of the rebel republic" that broadcasts worldwide and Antonina Voronkova, the head of Radio PMR which broadcasts worldwide on the shortwave band. http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/node/1200 (via Mike Barraclough, dxldyg via DXLD) Reading the article through a second time, prompted by Andy Sennitt's summary on Media Network: The medium wave times are presumably local so currently 0200-1800 UT. On shortwave transmissions it says: "Radio PMR from Tiraspol is transmitted on shortwave to listeners in Europe and North America, with daily news and updates in a variety of languages including English. They broadcast live every day at 4 pm GMT on frequency 6235 kHz shortwave, 49 meter band. The station transmits daily news and information about Pridnestrovie from a powerful transmitter located within the national borders of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica. The English-language segment lasts 20 minutes and starts at 1700 UT on 6235 kHz in North America at this time." The schedule I have in my English broadcasts file is 1600-1620 Monday to Thursday, 1600-1640 Friday on 5965, Eike Bierwirth also has this with German 1620-1640 Monday and Wednesday, French 1620-1640 Tuesday and Thursday. 6235 was used in B06 when broadcasts started at 1700. Needs monitoring to confirm whether shortwave transmissions are now daily, for how long and on what frequency (Mike Barraclough, England, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I found this at http://blog.zaq.ne.jp/radioworld/article/454/ : Radio DMR (6235 kHz) --- Dear Mr. Satoshi Wakisaka, Thank you very much for your taking time and listening to our program on September 20, 2005, 1600-1620 UT and on February 23, 2007, 1659- 1720 UT as well as for your reception reports from Düsseldorf, Germany and from Osaka, Japan. This is to acknowledge that both of your reception reports are quite accurate and fair and that the chronological detailed account of the broadcasts is quite to the point. It was very nice of you, indeed. We are glad to receive such a savory, and intelligent feedback, which is really of paramount importance not just for our radio station but also for our republic. We appreciate your kind regards and comments. By the way, in one of our next broadcasts we are going to publicly thank you and other people who have sent us their reports. We have been receiving tons of them since our frequency has changed. Each of them is very useful to us. Note that yours is the sole letter from Japan. By the way, we also had a report from New Zealand. It is wonderful that our signal can be heard that far, taking into consideration that the site of transmission is Moldova, Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika, Grigoriopol area, Mayak village. We would like to apologize for not having responded to your previous letter. Of course we remember the bright letter you had sent from Germany. It is only until very recently that we have become aware of the fact that some of our listeners do not receive a proper response from us. We are not sure yet of the exact reason for that. Please, be advised that our editorial staff never receives snail-mail directly from the post office. As a matter of fact, we are always handed only the already unsealed letters provisionally and exclusively for translation, as we are in no way authorized to engage in overseas correspondence, eventually. P.S.: This in an e-mail copy of the letter we have sent you on March 7, 2007. Should you receive no official confirmation letter (QSL-card) by regular mail, feel free to contact us via the Internet and we shall send you a substitute one without fail. It is very important to us. Thank you very much in advance. The usual address is: radiopmr @ inbox.ru (the Radio PMR mailbox). An alternative address is: irpmr @ mail.ru (the English Service mailbox). Warm wishes from Tiraspol, Radio PMR, English Service. ul. Rozy Lyuksemburg 10 MD-3300 Tiraspol Moldova -- END QUOTE -- So it appears that the broadcasts do change time from summer to winter, so English is probably at 1600 UT until the end of summer time (28 October). But note the comment: "We have been receiving tons of them since our frequency has changed." (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Strange they refer to own broadcasts as ``propaganda``. These certainly make DST one-hour timeshifts, but to claim to serve North America is ludicrous, and the `tons` of reports they get must be from somewhere else. Certainly with a megawatt(?) they should have a big signal in Europe and beyond with a darkness path, but at midday in NAm on 49m, whether 5965 or 6235??? I prodded DXers in NE Am to try for this last winter, and I believe some could barely detect it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A very confusing report but I suspect the expansion may only refer to MW 549 kHz. The shortwave summer A07 schedule is Mon-Fri at 1600 on 5965 kHz (6235 at 1700 was the old B06 winter schedule as Mike says). Did anyone hear it today at 1600 on 5965 or is it still only Monday- Friday? (Dave Kenny, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nothing here at 1600 on either 5965 or 6235 (Mike Barraclough, England, Sat Sept 1, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. Sankt-Petersburg, From 1 September 2007, 1494 kHz UTC / Programme / Languages 0400-0600 daily / VOR - Russkoe Mezhdunarodnoe radio / Russian 0600-1500 daily / VOR - Radiokanal Sodruzhestvo / Russian 1500-1700 daily / VOR - Russkoe Mezhdunarodnoe radio / Russian 1700-1730 Mon-Fri / VOR / Finnish 1700-1730 Sat-Sun / VOR / English 1730-1800 Mon, Wed, Fri / VOR / Swedish 1730-1800 Tue, Thu / VOR / Norwegian 1730-1800 Sat-Sun / VOR / English 1800-2000 daily / VOR - Radiokanal Sodruzhestvo / Russian http://spb.rtrn.ru/news.asp?view=8311 (Mikhail Timofeyev, Sankt-Petersburg, Rus-DX Sept 2 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Re BBC removed from FM in Moscow: Bolshoye Radio's owners, financial group Finam, said the BBC's output was "foreign propaganda". Spokesman Igor Ermachenkov insisted management had taken the decision to remove BBC programming without outside interference. "It's no secret the BBC was established as a broadcaster of foreign propaganda," he said. The BBC said 730,000 people listened to the Russian Service in Russia, with around 93,000 listening via FM. Approximately 20,000 of those were dedicated FM listeners. The Russian Service is still available on mediumwave frequencies, via satellite and online. Bolshoye Radio was the BBC's last FM distribution partner station in the country after two other FM stations, Radio Arsenal in Moscow and Radio Leningrad in St Petersburg, stopped taking programmes in the last nine months (Daily Telegraph via Mike Barraclough, Sept World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** RWANDA. Rechecking almost 24 hours later at 1840 UT Sept 1, DW Kigali in German was back to normal on 15275, not sweeping all over the place, and not interfering with RCI on 15235. No reply from RCI, but Wolfgang Büschel had passed on my observation to DW Monitoring in Germany. No reply thence either. You`re welcome (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5019.85, 1246-, SIBC, Sep 1. Ron Howard e-mailed me a report that this station was off the air, but today I can hear them (presumably them) at weak but readable levels in English with presumed BBC relay programming. Signal seems to be gradually improving as dawn approaches (Volodya Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Walt, Bob Wilkner alerted me to this signal yesterday morning, so I set up an overnight SDR-14 recording to monitor this. 5019.86-.87, (tentative) SIBC, Honiara, 0627-1320 - carrier noted rising above the noise floor at 0627 UT, about an hour before SIBC sunrise, and was well above the noise floor by 0718 sunrise at transmitter. Signal peaking from 0830-1030 with bits and pieces of threshold audio in there during that time, man talking in presumed Pidgin or extremely accented English. Signal faded somewhat until peaking again at 1130 UT Memphis sunrise. The carrier finally disappeared into the noise floor at 1320, at which time it had drifted upward approx. 10 Hz. Rebelde was playing music most of the time the signal was peaking, which causes major slop here. Thanks to Bob Wilkner for heads up on this signal (Brandon Jordan, Memphis, TN USA, http://bcdx.org Sept 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5019.85, SIBC, Honiara, 1/9 from 1907 UT, verry poor signal and audio in English program, news to the Pacific. RX; NRD545, Diff. Antennas, option MFJ 1026 and Dierking filter. Gr (Maurits Van Driessche from Belgium, BDX via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. The Sunday DX Program of the South African DX Amateur League in English is on the air from 08 to 09 hours on 17590 kHz and not on the announced frequency of 17700 kHz, as well as on 7082 kHz USB in the 40 m amateur band (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Aug 31 via DXLD) ** SPAIN. RNE Radio 3 revamps its program schedule Sept 3: http://www.rtve.es/rne/r3/index.htm Including La Bañera de Ulises moves 5 hours earlier on Sats from 1700 to 1200 UT, inconvenient for us. Fortunately, a shortened version airs several times on REE. La Salamandra, which used to follow it at 1800 has definitely been canceled with its replacement El Guirigay continuing at that hour. Here`s the new sked grill in UT +2: http://www.rtve.es/rne/r3/pr/parrilla.htm (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Andy Kershaw gaoled: see ISLE OF MAN [non]. BBCWS off air in Moscow: see RUSSIA ** U K. Steam Fair FM 87.9 --- Anybody still suffering from withdrawal symptoms after the closure of "Pirate BBC Essex" might find some consolation this weekend by listening to Steam Fair FM, the RSL for the Great Dorset Steam Fair, Europe's largest festival of vintage heavyweight vehicles - but also, as Steam Fair FM's slogan puts it "The home of Vintage hits". My brother Matthew and I made the 100-mile trip down to Tarrant Hinton near Blandford Forum for the show yesterday, and we were amazed by how far out the signal from the RSL can be heard. I don't know what power they are running, but it comes through clearly as far as Salisbury - some 20 miles away - and even patchily as far as Micheldever on the A303, about 50 miles away. The programming is a wonderful assemblage of hits mainly from the sixties, though with some earlier and later stuff too. Last night offered the treat of the rarely-heard full version of "Leyla" by Derek and the Dominoes (a.k.a. Eric Clapton!). I didn't catch the name of the presenter of the show, but in one of the station's many look backs to the "Summer of Love, 1967", he told of how he worked for "Radio London Holidays", I think in Spain, and worked with Tony Blackburn and others of the big names providing the evening entertainment to early package tourists, I presume. I'm bound to say the best place to hear Steam Fair FM is en route to or even on the massive (600 acre!) site itself, which runs from 11 til late today (the spectacular steam funfair will be open til 1.00 a.m!) and til 5 tomorrow. There is so much to see at the show, now in its 39th year that you could never see it all in a day. However, take a trip down "Memory Lane" and you can see a few wonderful old radios, including a tranny with an Australian dial, which the owner says was actually made by Phillips, as well as many other fascinating exhibits. However, if you'd just like to hear the music but still capture some of the atmosphere, you can either try 87.9 if you're near enough to Tarrant Hinton, or listen live on the web at http://www.gdsf.co.uk/steamfm.html Whatever you do, have a happy weekend's listening! (Mark Savage, Middlesex, Sept 1, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Continues thru Mon Sept 3 (gh) ** U S A. Station after station has dropped one of the best programs ever on radio, Schickele Mix, just now WFIU, but you can hardly blame them as explained at http://www.schickele.com/mix/ “Dedicated to the Proposition that All Musics are Created Equal`` For over 15 years, Schickele Mix explored Duke Ellington’s maxim that “if it sounds good, it is good”, in more than 175 episodes, combining such seemingly diverse music as Ravel, the Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, and Cole Porter into suites that demonstrate how these pieces unexpectedly share a similar musical technique or idea such as, in this example, glissandos. The highly regarded Schickele Mix, distributed by Public Radio International, won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award in 1993 and also received the Gold Award for Programming Excellence from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that same year. The first episodes of Schickele Mix were broadcast in January of 1992. Mr. Schickele first introduced his concept with a suite of music by Gershwin, Webern, and Mozart, followed by a suite of music by Philip Glass, Lenny Tristano, and Frédéric Chopin. The first year of programs covered music from patter songs to melismas, techniques such as parallel motion and singing in the cracks, and song topics from birthdays to death, all illustrated with different types of music from all over the map and Mr. Schickele’s unique and insightful commentary. The program was originally produced with funding provided by the American Public Radio Program Fund, whose contributors included the Ford Foundation. Such funding is designed to be gradually replaced by contributions from corporate sponsors, but obtaining sponsorship for the program proved difficult, and ultimately it became impossible to produce new programs after funding ran out in the late 1990’s. Public Radio International continued distributing the program, allowing the episodes to be rebroadcast in order to reach new listeners. Considering that there was only a limited number of programs available to be rebroadcast, PRI kept distributing Schickele Mix for an impressively long time, even as some public radio stations stopped broadcasting the program figuring that after repeating some episodes five times that most of their listeners must have already heard them. It became necessary for PRI to stop distributing the program in June of 2007 after 169 different programs, 12 listener support specials, and 810 weekly broadcasts. Over the years, many listeners have asked about obtaining CD’s or podcasts of this program. Unfortunately, this has not been possible because of the large amount of copyrighted music used on the program, which is much more difficult and expensive to license for use in recordings than for radio broadcasts. Other listeners have followed the instructions at the end of the program to write for a playlist giving information about all of the music on the program “with record numbers and everything,” or have found the information in this Web site’s searchable database. The Schickele Mix playlist database is still available using the links below --- the database might be much less useful with the program no longer on the air, but it can still serve as a scholarly resource or a lasting tribute to the program that coined the phrase it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that certain je ne sais quoi. Program Database Search — program information can be retrieved and viewed in a variety of ways: programs can be found by name or program number; music can be found by searching for composer or artist or song title or even record number; you can look up specific suites or tidbits. Questions like “which program included that dust mite song?” and “who was that lady I heard sing Queen of the Night?” can all be answered using the Program Database. Complete List of Programs — an ordered listing of all of the different Schickele Mix programs, with links to the playlists. Schickele Mix was written & hosted by Peter Schickele, produced by Tom Voegeli Productions, and distributed nationwide by Public Radio International. Funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and your public radio station (via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Re 7-105, CANADA, OKLAHOMA: radio station signs on highways: How is it in other states? 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid, ibid.) FLORIDA = white on blue. All seem to be NPR affiliate stations, too. Mostly on evac routes heading inland and usually Interstates (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Along I-95 Miami to Orlando WLRN, WHRS, WMFE are touted as emergency hurricane evacuation stations (Ken Simon, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, During last year's trip to the Midwest, I finally located someone (DOT crew) who knew what the signs were for. This was at a rest stop in Illinois (Missouri?) as I recall. The thought is that in an emergency (tornado and the like), travelers will stop at rest stops. The signs list audible radio stations in the area to which the traveler can tune for information. I've seen these/similar signs for years and have noted that occasionally the frequency listed is silent (Mike Hardester, NC, Sept 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Axually, I think it is white on green that are the real official road signs on Interstates. Blue backgrounds are also used for obvious paid advertising of road services near exits, in lieu of ugly billboards. See also CANADA (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KCKK flips again! --- You may recall that NRC Broadcasting struck a deal with Mile High Sports Radio a few weeks ago to LMA KCKK/1510 to them pending FCC approval of their intended purchase of the station. Mile High reportedly failed to come up with the money to continue the LMA and NRC repossessed the station and flipped it back to classic country. Mile High Sports Radio has apparently found the money for the LMA and the station flipped back to Mile High Sports Radio again on Friday afternoon. When they are not live with local programming they carry the Sporting News Radio network. They appear to be // to KSXT/1570 (the Sports Extra) in Loveland CO. All of the TOH IDs I have heard are dual IDs for both stations (Patrick Griffith, CBT CBNT CRO, Westminster CO, Sept 1, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. Re 7-105: DC Radio Experiment Ended From "Raw Fisher", a blog by Washington Post writer Marc Fisher Why Washington Post Radio Died (Jump to bottom for an update on what will replace Washington Post Radio.) From its sudden and fascinating inception to its slow and awkward demise, Washington Post Radio was a work in progress. It never came close to fulfilling its original promise -- "NPR on caffeine," in the spicy phrase of the newspaper's radio-TV guru, Tina Gulland -- but it was a radio station bubbling with possibilities. Not that many listeners cared to explore those possibilities. The radio station -- which will die next month by mutual consent of its clumsily-paired parents, The Washington Post and Bonneville broadcasting -- never showed much of a pulse in the ratings, even though its programming ran on one of the most powerful and storied spots on Washington's radio dial, the former home of all-news WTOP. In an era of rapid change in the news and media businesses, when both print newspapers and broadcast radio stations are seeing huge chunks of their audience migrate to online news and entertainment sources, Washington Post Radio was an experiment in stretching the idea that it doesn't really matter through what platform you get your news--what's important, rather, is who the storytellers are. From the start in March of last year, Post Radio was intended to serve several purposes: 1) Promote the Post's print and online journalism by reaching a new audience on the radio. 2) Create another outlet for Post reporting and thereby add one more justification for keeping a big, sprawling newsroom at a paper that, like almost all U.S. papers, is otherwise shrinking its staff. 3) Give Bonneville, the owner of all-news WTOP and several other D.C. radio stations, a way to capture some of the Washington region's enormous audience for public radio's more in-depth and upscale news and information programming. 4) Build on the powerful profits that WTOP draws as the dominant local station in morning drive time. The radio industry by and large found the experiment intriguing but foolhardy -- a difficult marriage of two very different news cultures. The station, owned by Bonneville in a contract with the Post, was managed primarily by executives at WTOP's headquarters on Idaho Avenue NW in McLean Gardens, while most of the people who appeared on the station sat in a studio built in the Post's downtown newsroom. Both companies provided producers who worked in their respective newsrooms organizing each day's programming. Not long after Post Radio launched, National Public Radio helped local public stations WAMU (88.5 FM) and WETA (90.9 FM) finance a series of focus groups with listeners "to help us see what Washington Post Radio would mean to us," said Caryn Mathes, general manager of WAMU, the third-most listened to public station in the nation, after outlets in New York and San Francisco. The four focus groups were united in their perceptions of Post Radio: Listeners said that after they tuned in to the Post station, which launched with the slogan "There's always more to the story," "there wasn't more to the story," Mathes said. "People felt the station didn't deliver on deeper, more insider kind of stuff from the reporters who were on the air." For the Post's hundreds of reporters and editors, going on the radio was something new. From the start, some people were good at it, some were just awful and a lot perhaps had potential, but didn't have much idea of what we were doing. This was learning by doing--in a very public way. At first, the idea was to create a throwback to radio's golden era, with a station designed like a magazine, with different departments each hour -- an hour on travel from the folks in the paper's Travel section, an hour with the editors from Book World, an hour of politics, and so on. But with the station making not a blip in the ratings and with its producers increasingly convinced that too many of the Post's writers had perhaps chosen a career in print for a good reason, the executives at Bonneville quickly moved to scrap the original format and go to something they knew more intimately -- a tightly-organized hourly clock with different stories and personalities appearing every five minutes or so. Listeners had every reason to wonder what had happened to the increased depth they had been promised. Print editors accustomed to a more serious news menu clashed with radio producers who argued that their medium required a more populist and lowbrow selection of stories. In each newsroom, too many people rolled their eyes over the cluelessness of their cross-town partners. When the radio-side producers one morning invited on the air and lightly questioned some nutball hawking a conspiracy theory about how the U.S. government had arranged for the 9/11 attacks, editors in the Post newsroom went ballistic. Although many attempts would follow to find a happy medium between the two news sensibilities, the basic reservoir of mutual respect had dropped suddenly and permanently to a dangerous low. At its best, Washington Post Radio was a comfortable, personable and conversational way to learn what was in that day's newspaper and sometimes even to get the story behind the story. The station's anchors were top-shelf professionals, from NBC veteran Bob Kur and former local TV weather forecaster Hillary Howard to CBS and NPR newsman Sam Litzinger and longtime local radio host David Burd. And some of the Post's voices worked splendidly on radio, winning praise within the industry and from listeners as well -- Lisa deMorães on television, Stephen Hunter on movies, Emilio García-Ruiz on sports, and columnist Gene Robinson on just about anything. Sometimes, the theory behind the station became reality, and a foreign correspondent could phone in from the scene of an earth-moving event with the kind of firsthand account that radio was invented to deliver. More often, however, the reporters who came on the air did little more than repeat what they'd said in that morning's paper. In the end, there were too many oh-my-God, Martha, this person is freezing up live on the radio moments. A Book World segment crashed and burned when a writer insisted on reading his pearls of wisdom verbatim from his newspaper work. And on more occasions than either side cared to admit, reporters were told to come on the air to talk about one story, only to go live and hear an anchorman ask them about something wholly different, about which the reporter knew not a thing. In the end, though, Post Radio's competitors say it was the basic concept that was flawed: "It sounded like a bad college seminar where neither the professors nor the students knew how to keep anyone listening," said the program director of an FM music station who asked not to be named because he might work with people at Bonneville in the future. And from the other end of radio's spectrum, this from the chief of the region's most powerful public radio outlet: "This assumption that people don't have an attention span is kind of offensive," WAMU's Mathes said. "People who want a deep contextual approach to news do have an attention span." For those of us who tried our hand at radio, Washington Post Radio was enormous fun, a chance to dive into a form that might seem similar, but really requires very different skills. The idea that Post executives fell in love with remains an important one: If the American newspaper is to survive as the basic foundation of newsgathering in this country, the companies that produce daily papers will have to find ways to sell their wares in various other media. But what the demise of Post Radio teaches is that that expansion into other crafts will mean that news organizations must hire and train people with a different set of talents and passions, and that inevitably entails a different concept of what the news is. It's a new world out there. Read all about it. 2:30 PM UPDATE: This just in from Bonneville, the owner of the stations at 1500 AM and 107.7 FM, as well as 820 AM in Frederick, that were Washington Post Radio -- the new station will be called Talk Radio 3WT and will feature syndicated right wing talkers Neal Boortz and Glenn Beck, as well as liberal talker Stephanie Miller (via John Figliozzi, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. FEARING FINES, PBS TO OFFER BLEEPED VERSION OF 'THE WAR' - By Paul Farhi Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, August 31, 2007; C01 Ken Burns's upcoming PBS documentary "The War," which has weathered complaints from Latinos about their World War II contributions being represented, is now prompting responses from another group: managers of public TV stations. The stations are concerned that four words of profanity in the 14 1/2-hour documentary could subject them to hefty indecency fines from the Federal Communications Commission. Their worries have prompted Arlington-based PBS to take the unprecedented step of distributing two versions of "The War" for broadcast next month: Burns's original film and an FCC-friendly version from which the profanity has been removed. Several stations, including WETA in Arlington and Maryland Public Television, say they will air both versions. WETA and MPT will carry the unedited "War" when the documentary begins its multi-night run during prime-time hours Sept. 23, and will switch to the "bleeped" version when they rebroadcast it during daytime hours the following weekend. WHUT, operated by Howard University, will carried the scrubbed version only, a spokeswoman said. WETA's decision is particularly notable given that the station is a co-producer of Burns's work. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/30/AR2007083001945_pf.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** URUGUAY. SODRE on SW --- more than a week now since monitored inactive on 9620/6125. When visited the station two weeks ago, along with DXers Monferini and Pavanello, Mr. Pedro Ramela confirmed they will keep SW active, though still with low power and added that some parts have been ordered for replacement on their SW transmitters. An international section (multilingual) is being planned, focused mainly via Internet, but which could include the SW. Degen DE1103 + randomwire 25 m long+mlb 73 (Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, Sept 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Answering my question of Fri Aug 31, no, the RNV transmission at 19-20 via Cuba on 15290 is not M-F only, because there it was again on Sat Sept 1 around 1910 check, inbooming as usual; no numbers instead. However, on Sunday Sept 2 at 1915, 15290 was missing. Aló, Presidente was still running on 11875, so that would be because of transmitter availability and/or non-competition with another Venezuelan service. However2, rechecking both frequencies at 1957, 15290 was on wrapping up RNV CI service, and 11875 was off, so they made the switch sometime in the interim (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. I tried tuning in to RTZ at 1800 to hear the English broadcast, but it was largely covered by R. Transmundial from Brazil, which is on 11735 until 2000. At 2004, I tuned back in to 11735 and heard English language news. Sure enough, at 2010, ID for Spice FM, the local station on Zanzibar that provides the daily newscast. It`s a shame RTM is on the frequency; RTZ has served as afternoon listening for a good two or three hours a day here. Now I can only hear them one hour a day, from 2000 to 2100. That`s better than nothing, and with the English having moved to 2000, I can even understand some of it, hi (Ralph Brandi, Middletown NJ, Sept NASWA Journal via DXLD) Undated item. I thought the English at 20 instead of 18 was a brief fluke, then back to 1800 regularly; or not? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. I also noticed for first time a strong het on 1180 kHz USB from a carrier on 1181 kHz. Presume this was the unID Cuban signal. As far as I could tell I could hear Cuban audio on 1180 at the same time. 73 (Steve Whitt, York, England, MWC via DXLD) Sometime after 0000 UT Aug 30, time not specified. I suppose he meant he was tuning in USB, not that the transmission was in USB (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ AM RADIO LOG 28TH EDITION, 2007-2008 The National Radio Club`s AM Radio Log is a source for info on AM radio stations in the US and Canada. The 28th edition contains 281 pages of data and cross references, and 18 pages of instructions in 8.5 x 11 inch size, 3-hole-punched, US loose-leaf format; fits nicely into a one-inch three-ring binder. Nearly 7000 updates since last year`s edition! Recent additions to the log: call letters of FM simulcasts, regional groups of stations, and a cross reference to those stations that are licensed to use IBOC digital audio. Orders are shipped postpaid Media Rate. USA and Canada add $3.00 for Priority Shipping. Order by p-mail to NRC Publications, P O Box 473251, Aurora CO 80047-3251 or at our web site http://www.nrcdxas.org $19.95 for NRC members in US $25.95 for non-members in US $23.00 for NRC members in Canada $28.95 for non-members in Canada $31.45 for members or non-members outside US/Canada, Overseas (Wayne Heinen, editor, BOD Chairman, NRC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The main list is in frequency and then geographical order by state and province, then city. Cross references by callsign and by city. Absolutely essential if you do any MW DXing or listening. I`m constantly referring to it. Available on paper only (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: BRAZIL; FRANCE; IRELAND; NETHERLANDS ++++++++++++++++++++ Re: [IRCA] Will WYSL-1040 fight WBZ's night-time IBOC? Such horrid propaganda! Don't they realize HD is the 'only way to save radio'? Why do they not accept the incontrovertible ``truth" HD does not interfere? Roadmaster Estate Wagon runs good, no malfunctions attributable to HD. Nothing unusual in garden. Whatta they talkin' 'bout? Wasn't this long predicted? Did big, fat HD slobbyistas think they'd greasze off lapdog regulators, jam competition to bankruptcy and public into submission, and all would gratefully genuflect? Fight has yet to begin. Payback may or may not be a female dog, but as an old friend states, and The Zecchino Estate Grifters are discovering, 'Recovery is lots of fun." (paul vincent zecchino, man ayatollah so key, fl, NRC-AM via DXLD) During our tour of KSL SLC, one DXer asked "Are you ready for the law suits?" I was a bit taken back. The station is not concerned, was the reply. We shall see. There are a lot of station on 1150 & 1170. 73, (Patrick Martin, OR, ibid.) If Mr. Savage intends to get anywhere, he best start putting together some facts. All I've heard was "I dropped to my 500W nighttime power and it was awful". - Where was he listening? Inside his 2mV/M nighttime interference free contour, or 75 miles away in his null? If he was inside his MEASURED 2mV/M contour, he may have a leg to stand on. - He is a Class B. WBZ is a Class A. If push comes to shove, the rights of the Class A will win. - I wouldn't bet the farm on his getting anywhere, especially with his present "case". - It's stuff like this that is going to kill the AM band, not HD. (Tom Ray, WOR, ibid.) Agreed that he needs to clarify his remarks, and quantify his findings. He would be well advised to make some nighttime recordings of reception at points near and inside the current NIF contour. He should do this sometime in the next two weeks, so that he has something to compare with after WBZ goes to 24/7 IBOC. Well, that would be true if they were on the same channel, but WBZ is on thinner ice if they're interfering with an adjacent channel station. The "myth of the mask" strikes again... I took a quick look at the numbers, and it looks like the digital interference from WBZ on 1040 at WYSL will be similar in magnitude to the co-channel interference from WHO. This is certainly significant, as it will raise their effective NIF contour considerably, but it is far from being a worst-case scenario. There will be quite a few stations with more severe interference problems than WYSL, and quite a few of them are in Canada. Their "cases" could pose some interesting problems for the FCC. But "stuff like this" is directly attributable to "HD". The AM band is doing fine in some areas. If it's dying in the big metro areas, that's mainly because of rising noise levels and listener indifference. The hybrid IBOC system won't cure either problem, and to make matters worse, it has nasty side effects (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) Tom, I would bet that he has some legal counsel that will put everything down. But WYSL is only one station. I am sure there will be dozens, if not more that will complain, especially if the IBOC hash cuts into their advertising market. What the FCC should do, if a station is covered with the IBOC QRM, if they are not willing to make the offending station drop the IBOC, then they should allow the QRM'd station to run full power 24/7, like in the case of the Cuban QRM. These QRM'd stations are not going to go away. If it was me and I had a mom and pop operation and it was cutting into my pocketbook, I would do everything I could to stop it. This is their income. Of course a QRM'd station is not going to be worth as much if they would ever sell it either. It is a different story if the QRM is outside their market. But time will tell. 73, (Patrick Martin, OR, ibid.) Barry, You are sure right about that! IBOC is not going to save AM. I still don't see the public jumping up and down wanting their HD radios. They may want their MTV, but I doubt HD Radio. hi. IBOC is just another fad in my book. If AM dies, it will be the fault of noise like IBOC and the lack of good programming. I know people that no longer even listen to regular radio. They have TV and interest radio , plus their IPod's. 73, (Patrick Martin, OR, ibid.) The AM band has been here for how long? 80-90 years with no problems, IBAC has been here and operational for how long, 2-3 years? All of a sudden we have the imminent demise of the AM band. Where and what is the problem? Don't know about anyone else ma, but looks pretty clear to me. Jumping up and down? They are running in the other direction despite all the malarky that's being forced down their throats from the misleading ads the chain stores are running. Any mom and pop that is getting IBOCed to death will be worthless on the market, unless it has valuable real estate and then the station would get bulldozed into the ground (Bob Young, Analog MA, ibid.) I have asked a lot of people in the past couple of years about "Are you interested in HD Radio?" I either get a blank stare, or they say "You mean HDTV, don't you?" AT KSL, they are giving the radios away we were told. I see few being sold. I have no plans to buy one. Why would I support an industry that has the potential to ruin my hobby? 73, (Patrick Martin, OR, ibid.) Bob, Maybe that is the plan to make the stations worthless, so the real estate can be sold for more condos. :) 73 (Patrick Martin, ibid.) Could be, maybe the big boys are going into real estate as a hedge in case this whole thing blows up in their face? This is ham related but I just had a nice talk with Ashtabula Bill who is out of Ohio on 7290 Kc AM radio, no IBOC up there and there is a big resurgence in AM modulation in ham circles. I am getting into it at just the right time. Check out 1885, 3885, 7290 and 14826. for AM'ers, very interesting people for the most part (Bob Young, Analog, MA, KB1OKL, ibid.) Bob, I see others spreading out and DXing other bands along with MW. But it will take the broadcasting industry to shut down IBOC. We have no control. If the radios are not sold and the QRM is bad enough, it will have a short life. However, there is a lot of money into IBOC, so there will be a lot of fighting. But FM IBOC has the best chance of surviving probably. I did notice in SLC, the FM IBOCers do not cause near as much side band noise. If you are really close you get it, but distant signals, I never heard any hash generated. But AM IBOC is a different story. 73, (Patrick Martin, iid.) I am trying really hard, but dang it, I can't think of anyone - anyone - outside of a few DXers I know and people who get traffic reports from the all-news stations who actually listen(s) to AM radio. Yes, I'm exaggerating a bit, but not that much. We're witnessing the end of terrestrial-based radio as we have known it since the 20s (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) Bob, Good luck in your "fight". This [above] was posted by Tom Ray, Director of Engineering at WOR. Note the sarcastic tone. We'll be watching. Again, Good Luck, and we will be mailing out emails and snail mails after 9/14. P.S.: Scott Fybush knows Mr. Ray (Chris Johnson, Taylors, S.C., ibid.) Yo Chris - thanks for forwarding this. I appreciate it and your sentiments. Well, well, well. Let's see now: Have I ever seen Tom Ray out in the WYSL transmitter facility? Never. Have I encountered him lugging an FIM around Rochester & environs? Nope. Has he ever spoken with anyone from WYSL? Never - the only contact I have had with Tom Ray is secondhand via caustic, mean- spirited comments in radio industry periodicals - of the kind you just forwarded to me. So: for some guy who chooses to lecture a fellow broadcaster on "putting together some facts," the irony is that Tom Ray's actual knowledge of the WYSL-WBZ issue amounts to....zero. For the record for those who ARE interested in facts, as opposed to a barrage of pro-IBOC dogma: I actually HAVE conducted actual measurements evaluating the WBZ-WYSL situation. Will the Boston station's upper IBOC sideband encroach upon our nighttime 2.0 m/v? Absolutely. Will it encroach on the NIF of 13.687 m/v? Yep. Does it objectionably invade coverage in our City of License of Avon, New York? In spots - yes. Will it be destructive to WYSL and a disservice to our listening public? I would give an emphatic "yes." And this experiment was conducted during a critical-hours period when WBZ wasn't even coming in all that well. In the winter months of enhanced ground conductivity [sic], when WBZ's skywave starts hitting Rochester around 3:30 pm local time, this will be a serious problem. And I would like to say another thing for the record here. I note the subject line suggesting that WYSL will "fight WBZ's nighttime IBOC." I have personally been in contact with E/D Mark Manuelian and with WBZ's President & GM about the nighttime IBOC issue, and they were both gracious and willing to listen to our concerns. It is certainly WYSL's intent to resolve this issue cooperatively, as much as that is possible. Naturally we will do whatever is necessary to defend our station and our livelihood, but from my initial contacts with WBZ, I would expect them to be reasonable. Nor am I, contrary to Tom Ray's claim, demanding a course of action which "will kill the AM band." Of course this is a 'school of thought' argument, but my view is that driving away the vast majority of AM listeners who still consume our product in analog mode, with objectionable noise, interference and digital artifacting, is a marketing strategy bordering on the insane. There are far better ways to "save" the AM band. Like with good programming, for one. The quotes Tom Ray attributes to me are inaccurate. On the eve of the rollout of AM-IBOC at night, with its highly likely adjacent-channel interference problems, the rhetoric of the system's disciples appears to be getting a little shrill. HD-AM has little likelihood of widespread consumer acceptance regardless of passionate promotion by those I will describe as "being in the Ibiquity sphere of influence." If Tom Ray wants to win over IBOC skeptics, he would be well advised to behave like a reasoned professional instead of an arrogant, obstinate zealot. And he should begin with a little humility and a lot more respect for broadcasting colleagues with legitimate concerns. Feel free to post this e-mail to your site if so desired. Best wishes (Robert C. Savage, President/CEO, WYSL NewsPower 1040 Savage @ wysl1040.com (585) 346-3000, Sept 1, ibid.) Mr. Savage: I am not going to get into a p***ing contest with you. Nor will I allow you to attempt to draw me into one, and I am not going to get into a name calling event with you. You, sir, have made some rather strong claims. For your information, we have stations in Syracuse. While I am not versed in the actual signal of WYSL, I am familiar with the area. And I asked specifically: what quantifiable, reproducible, facts you have that your nighttime signal will be severely impacted inside your NIF contour? Were your observations made: inside the nighttime NIF, or outside the NIF? If they were made outside the NIF, you have no claim. If you have made no measurements, but have based your statements on the hearsay listed on this and other message boards, you would have no claim. I have made actual nighttime measurements on several stations. None were impacted inside their NIF contours. I have also been personally involved in at least one interference claim with a station....and know of yet another. Both were dismissed. The claim of interference with these stations signals were not only well outside the NIF contours, but in both cases, involved classes of stations that, under the regulations, were not protected against anything at the signal levels they were claiming, particularly the class A stations the claims were against. I base my statements on fact and experience. Before you start getting people worked up, I am asking you to present your facts. And yes, unless we collectively get off our duffs and change the way we are doing radio - and this includes changing from analog to digital modulation - we might as well just start shutting the doors on all AM facilities. Digital is yet another tool in the toolbox for all stations - it is not a "savior of the band", and I have never stated that. The landscape of AM radio is changing. I would hope that all will change with it and help nurse it along. Doing nothing and leaving things just as they are is foolhardy...on everyone's part. You may feel free to call me a cheerleader or whatever you so choose. I have been called much worse. I ask again that you provide your facts. I would like to know them - especially if stations like yours are going to need help. Only with valid information can any of us help others (Tom Ray, WOR, ibid.) ``He is a Class B. WBZ is a Class A.`` - Ray Is WBZ a class A on 1040? NOT (Powell E. Way III, SC, ibid.) That's what I have assumed all along, wipe out the small time competition, get all those advertising dollars back home from all those upstarts, good scheme, even got the FCC to go along with it. Kill them with noise, clean up the band good, ahhh!!! Fear is always beneath sarcasm, Chris; Mr Ray said: ``I base my statements on fact and experience. Before you start getting people worked up, I am asking you to present your facts.`` I say: I personally don't think Mr. Savage has gotten anyone worked up; we were already worked up, it's nice to finally see a broadcaster stand up to the fat cats who are trying to put them out of business with this farce that is called HD! Digital!!! Let's rally behind him and educate the public about the scourge that is about to be thrust upon them, creeping in like a deadly disease does, slowly at first and all of a sudden there is an epidemic (Bob Young, Analog, MA, NRC-AM via DXLD) New month, different IBOC rant. This one is just a simple question: Night AM allocations are calculated by a study. This study collects all the signals aimed at a location, runs it through a formula, and comes up with a signal strength called the Night Interference Free (NIF) contour. It's a number where the signal strength of the station is considered to be listenable, and thereby protected. What if this number were to include IBOC subcarriers? For example, WYSL-1040 in upstate New York has to deal with WHO obviously, and other stations on 1040 that put signals in their direction. Factor in the IBOC carriers from WBZ-1030 and the potential from WEPN-1050 in NYC, both right on 1040. Isn't it reasonable to expect that the WYSL NIF contour would shrink? So, the question is, why does the FCC intend to allow this? It favors the large stations at the expense of the smaller ones which may be the single source in their community for news and even EAS alerts. Seems to me this not only inconveniences people, but potentially puts them at risk. All for a slight improvement of sound quality that nobody asked for in the first place? (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, IRCA via DXLD) SUBSCRIPTION RADIO GETS REAL --- WHETHER OR NOT THE FCC ALLOWS IT, HD RADIO IS READY FOR SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE by Skip Pizzi, 9.01.2007, contributing editor of Radio World. The Reference Room :: Skip Pizzi / The Big Picture We conclude our examination of the remaining unknowns of IBOC with a look at RadioGuard, the conditional access system proposed by Ibiquity Digital for use on HD Radio subscription services, which if the FCC’s final IBOC rules permit, could be the primary mechanism for radio subscription service delivery. First, a word about conditional access, or CA: This is a generic term for any technology used to block access to a broadcast channel. Its original development was largely enabled by the analog cable TV industry, where it has been used to distinguish premium (“pay”) channels from basic cable services for many years. Today’s digital cable and satellite TV systems offer further CA sophistication, but the basic concept remains the same as always: Premium channels are protected by encryption when broadcast from the head end, and individual receivers in the homes of customers who subscribe to these services are authorized via communications from the head end to selectively decrypt the appropriate channels. . . http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0054/t.8141.html (Radio World via DXLD) In other words, "it's okay to screw early adopters of HD radio over so long as they don't realize they're being screwed over." Somebody needs to take a baseball bat and beat some sense into the HDroids. I volunteer (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX, EL19, Aug 31, ABDX via DXLD) EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME, let me at them !!!!! This should have all been settled on and well planned before ANY HD radios were released. First generation HD radios did not support multicast, BURNING those that jumped in. Now we get burned AGAIN because they just want to keep shoving things down our throats. So as it stands over a billion analog radios are being (or trying to be) made obsolete along with any HD radio right out of the box now !!!! (Norbert Here, ibid.) I said this was going to happen back in 1999. All the HD cheerleaders, and we know who they are on other mail lists, said this would never happen. Eventually ALL BS gets exposed. It looks like some just got exposed again (Kevin Redding, AZ, ibid.) I agree, Norbert. They are trying to suck every last penny out of the consumers. That's why they'll NEVER get a dime of my money for their POS technology and crappy radios that need external antennas just to pick up locals. The average Joe isn't going to want to fool with putting up antennas so they'll just ditch radio and go straight to Ipods and WiFi. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't iBLOC touting the fact that their service was free as a major selling point? Let me at them too! I'll hobble over there and give them a whoopin' Cholly style. Hi! 73's (John Hunter, Rossville GA, ibid.) Night HD in Phoenix --- KFYI 550 has their HD on right now (Kevin Redding, AZ, 0402 UT Sept 1, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ SHORTWAVE ANTENNA SWITCHING MATRIX Re 7-105: Hi Jerry, I did see this very selector switch in 1984 when I last visited the Shepparton site. I can tell you that the switch is no longer on site & hasn't been for many years. The switch was semi- circular in appearance (from memory). I didn't see it in operation unfortunately. Back in those days Radio Australia (or should I say the site managers Telecom Australia) used open wire feeders from the Txer building to this switch & direct to some antennas. The open wire feeders wire a little troublesome with some induction between feeders, I suspect the switching matrix might well have been a source of x-mod problems too. I did take a picture of the matrix atthe time but unfortunately the picture didn't turn out well enough to post in the Photo section. Two photo of this site appear on ourYahoo Group website in the Photo section. Much has changed to the site since those days: The outdoor water coolers for the txers have gone. The open wire feeders have all been replaced The switching matrix has gone Many curtain antennas gone & one of the rhombics have gone. I last drove past the site over 18 months ago. I think the height of the matrix might have been on the lower side of your estimations, well it was when I saw it & it was newly installed as I recall when I saw it. Regards (Ian Baxter, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ METEOR ECHO - REAL TIME ONLINE AUDIO AVAILABLE Further to Mark's post about this weekend's meteor shower. If you don't have a home setup to listen to meteor echoes there are a couple of sites run by NASA that provide real time online audio for the specific purpose of hearing these echoes. They are: icecast.nis.nasa.gov:8000/forward-scat icecast.nis.nasa.gov:8000/meteorburst icecast.nis.nasa.gov:8000/navspasur Plug these URL's directly into an audio player such as "Winamp" and the audio will come up. As an alternative plug these following URL's into your web browser and they should come up automatically in whatever audio player you have set up on your computer. http://science.nasa.gov/audio/meteor/forward-scat.m3u http://science.nasa.gov/audio/meteor/meteorburst.m3u http://science.nasa.gov/audio/meteor/navspasur.m3u Even when there is no meteor shower you will periodically here a "ping" from a sporadic meteor entering the earth's atmosphere. Right now as I listen while I'm typing this I'm hearing a ping every couple of minutes. When there is a shower the number of echoes you hear will increase by quite a bit. Of course since this meteor detection method is being done by radio and not visually it does not matter if it is daytime. Please note that sometimes you can also hear echoes from aircraft flying near the locations of the NASA receivers. You can make audio recordings of these pings, or you can use a waterfall spectrographic display program such as "Spectrum Lab" to make a visual record of the meteors. Download program from here: http://freenet-homepage.de/dl4yhf/spectra1.html Give it a try. It can be pretty interesting listening (John, VE3CXB, Aug 31, ODXA via DXLD) Well, here we are, now right at the start of the autumn equinoctial DX propagation season, as I like to properly call it; because there is no doubt that no matter how the solar cycle is behaving as the autumn equinox approaches short wave propagation conditions around the world improve dramatically for a period that usually lasts from four to six weeks, starting just now, when during the first week of September one starts to notice how the HF bands begin to improve. For example 20 meters, the queen of radio amateur DX bands will be open to one part of the world or another for many more hours every day. Wednesday afternoon I heard a very loud signal on 20 meters single side band coming from the United Kingdom into the Caribbean. The UK station was benefiting from the typical local sunset propagation enhancement, and he was an S 9 plus 10 dB on peaks perfect copy on my 20 meters band half wave dipole “slopper” [sic] antenna, that is tilted at a 45 degrees angle with the lower end aiming at Europe, to make one of the lowest cost “beam antennas” that you can imagine. So amigos, follow your friend’s Arnie Coro advice and devote more time, from now on to operating your radios, because propagation conditions will continue to get better and better for the next three to five weeks. ARNIE CORO’S DXERS UNLIMITED, HF PLUS LOW BAND VHF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST Solar flux still at very low levels and a new sunspot group is growing, but it would not produce big solar flares according to what can be seen. The equinoctial propagation conditions are now very much in progress, so if the flux increases above 80 units we are going to see much better propagation by mid September (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Sept 1, ODXA via DXLD) ###