DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-160, December 28, 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 1388 **flexible times Sat 0900 WRMI 9955 Sat 1730 WWCR3 12160 Sat 2230 WRMI 9955 Sun 0330 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Sun 1200 WRMI 9955 [new] Sun 1615 WRMI 7385 Mon 0400 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [irregular] Mon 0515 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Mon 0930 WRMI 9955** Tue 1130 WRMI 9955** Tue 1630 WRMI 7385 Wed 0830 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 ** ALBANIA. As noted last year, RTSh – Albania’s website http://rtsh.com.al/ is no longer active, and appears to have been replaced with nothing. The link provided in Passport 2008 http://rtsh.com.al/radiotirana/index.php doesn’t work, and I haven’t received the 2008 WRTH yet to see if they list a new address. Maybe next year… (Paul E. Guise, Ph.D., Click!, January ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** ALGERIA. Broadcasts from Radio Algerie Internationale are not aimed at North America via shortwave, but there are other options. Visit their website at http://www.algerian-radio.dz/ which is presented in Arabic or French, or go directly to http://www.algerian-radio.dz/radio-international/indexfr.asp (which is in French) and click on the Live Radio link. The stream is in Windows Media format, and appears to offer programming in Arabic, French, English, and Spanish. The link was active as of 19 December 2007, and audio quality was low but listenable (Paul E. Guise, Ph.D., Click!, January ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** ANGOLA. Radiodifusão em Angola http://www.geocities.com/dpmonteiro/index.html It is in Portuguese, but just the names of the stations will get your DX juices flowing Rádio Clube de Benguela, Rádio Clube da Huila, Rádio Diamang, Rádio Clube de Cabin[d]a. This site is devoted to the history of radio in Angola and contains brief histories of the stations, photos of stations, QSLs, radio personalities and station memorabilia. Those who remember the days of Angolan shortwave radio will enjoy this (via Jerry Berg-USA, DXplorer Dec 23 via BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) ?? This was already referenced by Carlos Gonçalves, in DXLD 6-035, of Feb 24, 2006; and we remarked then that it had also been mentioned previously (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ANGOLA. Rádio Nacional de Angola offers two audio streams, Canal A and Rádio Luanda, on their website - http://www.rna.ao/ Neither appears to work, nor does the alternate link provided in Passport 2008, http://www.netangola.com/p/default.htm and the format is unknown (Paul E. Guise, Ph.D., Click!, January ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Radio Nacional (RNA): http://www.radionacional.gov.ar/ Radio Nacional is the national broadcaster of Argentina. To reach the external service, Radiodifusión Argentina al Exterior, click RAE on the main page. This leads to RAE in Spanish, but you can get to English by clicking the Union Jack flag at the bottom (other options are French, German, Italian, Japanese (link not working), and Portuguese). This presents you with a basic history of “The International service of the Argentine Radio” – for the extended history, click The History of RAE, which is the only link from the English page. For program information (in Spanish only) return to the RAE Spanish page and click Ver programación de RAE. Here you’ll find a listing of programs, languages, frequencies, and target areas, as well as fax, postal, and email addresses at the bottom of the page (“Telefax”, “Casilla de correo”, and “Correo Electrónico”, respectively). Live audio from Radio Nacional’s AM 870 is available on the website, but there is nothing specifically from RAE (Paul E. Guise, Ph.D., Click!, January ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. R. Universo FM 103.3, via 1620 kHz (MW!), Mar del Plata, Argentina, SS, 28/12 0112. Seqüência de música pop internacional, várias ID ‘103 FM, 103.3 FM, Universo’. Enviei um informe de recepção via e-mail a eles para o endereço eletrônico citado no site da Universo FM 103.3, porém a mensagem retornou sem envio. Li uma citação de novembro último de uma escuta desta emissora do Samuel Cássio e por esta semana já captei várias noites os bons sinais da 1620 kHz, ‘Universo FM 103.3 (??). Esta noite, novamente o mesmo estilo de programação. Pena que encobriram as possibilidades de se ouvir a WDHP, de Virgin Islands que por essa época do ano chega bem por aqui nas madrugadas, 35433 (Rudolf Grimm, São Bernardo-SP, Brasil, Kenwood R- 1000, loop MCJ81, bobina acopladora da loop ao R-1000, booster (RGP3), dxclubpr yg via DXLD) ** ARMENIA. Public Radio of Armenia/Voice of Armenia provides streaming audio from the main page of their website, http://www.armradio.am/ by clicking Live Broadcast. The site is available in English (this appears to be the default), and streaming audio is in Windows Media format. When off-air, they even stream the broadcast test-tone! (Paul E. Guise, Ph.D., Click!, January ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA – Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Radio Australia (ABC - RA): http://radioaustralia.net.au/ or http://www.abc.net.au/ra/ Radio Australia is the international service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. While Radio Australia is one of the dominant English-language shortwave broadcasters, a quick look at the website reveals additional content in French, Indonesian, Khmer, Mandarin, Tok Pisin, and Vietnamese. For this column, we’ll focus on a few highlights from the English pages. The Radio Australia homepage is visually cluttered, with an array of vertical and horizontal menus. At the top are links to ABC Home, Radio, Television, News, More Subjects…, and Shop, all of which cater to the domestic Australian market. Below this on the right side are links to the RA website in the languages listed above, with Listen Now Online (Windows Media and Real Audio formats) and Tune in Via Radio buttons below. On the left side (still near the top) are buttons for Help, Radio Guide, News, Languages, Tuning In, and About Us. The Radio Guide section is quite handy, providing a printable “Web Stream Schedule” for online listening, selected programming highlights, and two program guides, one alphabetical and the other by genre. It is worth noting that Radio Australia broadcasts over the internet 24 hours a day, so this is a viable option when reception conditions are less than ideal. Speaking of reception, the Tuning In section offers basic reception guides for radio listeners (using FM, shortwave, satellite, international relays, and digital radio in Singapore) as well as web listeners. These guides can be tailored to your listening location, negating the need to convert to/from UTC (although the only option for Canada is Ottawa!); they also list frequencies in use at various times of day. Finally, we’ll look at RA’s Podcast section, found by clicking on About Us and then Services on the main page. There are now 18 programs available (in MP3 format), with most focused on listeners in the Asia-Pacific region. Use these with an MP3 player to enjoy international radio on the go! (Paul E. Guise, Ph.D., Click!, January ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. From Jan 1, CVC is adding a new English DRM broadcast to the British Isles via Jülich, Germany at 1400-1600 on 7140-7145-7150, 40 kW at 290 degrees; replaces one at 0900-1200 on 7115-7120-7125. Note that 7145 has been an RNZI DRM channel. And in Europe it will still cut into the supposedly expanding 40m ham band (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Radio Austria International (ORF): http://oe1.orf.at/ The URL given for Radio Austria is for their domestic service, so to get to the International section click on Service and then International, both at the top of the page. Finally, unless you read German (or Spanish, the only other option), click English Version on the right side of the page. On the sole English page you’ll see a brief description of ORF, followed by Satellite and Shortwave times, frequencies, and targets. Continue to scroll down and you’ll see descriptions of programs, currently Report from Austria, Week in Review, and Insight Central Europe. Below that is a complete list of ORF programming organized by day of the week, target area, and time – the language used for each program is also generally listed. Finally, at the bottom of this long page is an online Reception Report form, complete with plenty of space for comments. For online media, check out the WEBRADIO (Windows Media streams of the domestic Liveradio and Inforadio – excellent sound quality!) and PODCAST (MP3 format) links, at the top of every page (Paul E. Guise, Ph.D., Click!, January ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. BANGLADESH BETAAR - ONGOING PROJECTS Establishment 1000 kW MW Equal Power Transmitter as an alternative of old 1000 kW MW Transmitter at Dhamrai, Dhaka. - To strengthen the MW radio broadcasting of Bangladesh Betar, Dhaka by replacing the 36-year-old worn out valve type 1000 KW Medium Wave transmitter by a new solid-state 1000 kW MW transmitter. - Efficiency of the new transmitter will be much better than the existing one. 95% area of the country will be covered by this high quality transmitter. - The new transmitter has the energy saving provisions which will be helpful to avoid huge electricity consumption. - The new modern solid -state transmitter is compatible for future DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) broadcast - A generator of 1500 KVA is included to meet power failures. - Project Cost : Tk. 620 million - Expected date of completion : June, 2008. BMRE Project of Different Stations of Bangladesh Betar - Under this project different stations` (Broadcasting house and transmitter) audio equipments and existing radio link will be replaced by modern digital system. - Replacement of 2 (two) 100 kW MW transmitters located in Nowapara, Jessore and Kahalu, Bogra. - Set up of 1 (one) 10 kW FM transmitter in Dhaka. - Set up of 6 (six) FM transmitters of power 5 kW each for different regional stations. - Set up of 6 (six) digital STL for the purpose of linking studio to transmitter for different regional stations. - Provide portable, profession CD recorders for different broadcasting houses. - Set-up server with LAN accessories and radio automation softwares. - Set up professional audio work stations with digital mixer. - Integration of digital audio console, computerized audio editing, storing and processing software. - Project Cost : Tk. 240 million - Expected date of completion : June, 2008. Future Development Plan of the B'desh Betaar Engineering Department: i) Establishment of a Country-wide FM Network ii) Replacement of 1 (one) 250 kW Short wave (SW) transmitter located in Kabirpur, Dhaka. Source : (Bangladesh Betaar via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, also via Rachel Baughn, DXLD) ** BELGIUM. VRT Radio 1, transmitter at Wolvertem has been observed regularly off frequency the mast few days. At this very moment they are on 927.332 kHz. 73, (Guido Schotmans, Belgium, Dec 26, MWC via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4781 kHz, R Tacana, Tumupasa, 12/27, Spanish, 2325-2328 local music (sounds like bolero), 2329 male talks, local music (another bolero), 2332 ads "motosierra", and some happy new year messages "para todos", "este año vindoro", 2333-2348 ID by male, female talks, male and female outside talks "La Paz, República de Bolivia", other ID by male "Radio Tacana... una tradición... la sintonía del momento", male talks, nearly recent English pop music "new love generation", male talks near the end of music. Signal turned little stronger and more readable around 2333; 22432. 73's (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP, Brasil (23 33 S, 46 51 W), Sony ICF SW40, dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. CÍVICO BENIANO AMENAZA CALLAR A RADIO SAN MIGUEL EN RIBERALTA El primer vicepresidente del Comité Cívico del Beni, Marco Jáuregui, amenazó, mediante el Canal 18 de Televisión de Riberalta, con tomar las instalaciones de Radio San Miguel, perteneciente a la red Erbol, por dar cobertura a diferentes sectores sociales, denunció este miércoles el director de la emisora, José Luis López. "Intereses personales e institucionales obligan a que mediante medios de comunicación hostiguen a este medio de comunicación (San Miguel), incluso existe un anuncio de que en el transcurso de las siguientes horas tomarán la Radio", manifestó López en contacto con Erbol. Reconoció que el país se encuentra en momentos difíciles que no habían llegado hasta esa región del país y que actualmente se manifiestan en amenazas públicas por medios de comunicación "queriendo desvirtuar la realidad y generar enfrentamientos en nuestra institución", dijo. Según López, este martes por la tarde por el Canal 18 y el programa Camila y Macarena dirigido por Jorge Melgar y el primer vicepresidente del Comité Cívico del Beni, Marco Jáuregui, amenazaron de tomar las instalaciones de este medio de comunicación. "Que se cuiden los periodistas de Radio San Miguel, que vamos a intervenir en cualquier momento esta emisora que siguen dando la cobertura a los sectores sociales que están a favor del Gobierno", dice un anuncio textual del programa. López dijo que estas amenazas son generadas por el hecho de socializar la información de manera oportuna e imparcial con la sociedad y brindar la cobertura respectiva a los diferentes sectores sociales como los campesinos, fabriles y zafreros, en atención a sus demandas. Además, aclaró que este trabajo es característico de este medio de comunicación perteneciente a la Red de Escuela Radiofónica de Bolivia (Erbol) y la voz apostólica del Beni. También informó que ya se presentó la denuncia correspondiente al comandante provincial de la Policía, como una medida de precaución. (Agencia Boliviana de Informaciones)(via Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Dec 27, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. NEW PREFIX FOR BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED ZCZC AX08 QST de W1AW Special Bulletin 8 ARLX008 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT December 27, 2007 To all radio amateurs SB SPCL ARL ARLX008 In response to a request from the Ministry of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina in August, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) withdrew the call sign prefix allocation T9A-T9Z for Bosnia and Herzegovina and made a new allocation, E7A-E7Z. The change was made initially on a provisional basis under authority of the ITU Secretary-General and was confirmed by the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference to be effective November 17, 2007. According to International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, the Ministry of Communications and Transport (BiH) held a press conference in Sarajevo on December 18 to formally announce the change. Minister Dr Bozo Ljubic explained the desirability of changing a prefix that initially was allocated during wartime and how it was now being replaced with one that has no connection to that troubled time; similar steps have been taken with regard to passports, drivers' licenses and automobile registrations, he said. Ljubic also observed that the costs associated with the change were minimal compared to the benefits. Amateur Radio station licenses bearing E7 prefixes will be issued beginning in January 2008, and the use of other prefixes will be phased out. Sumner and IARU Region 1 President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, of Norway, were invited to speak at the press conference. Accompanying them was IARU Region 1 Executive Committee member Nikola Percin, 9A5W, of Croatia. They expressed congratulations and support for the change, eliminating an issue that has complicated relations among the radio amateurs of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Also invited to speak was Miroslav Nikse, President of the Union of Radioamateur Associations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (URAS), a recently formed umbrella organization of amateur radio associations based in different parts of the country. He thanked those involved in promoting the change. In his remarks, Dr Ljubic pledged support from the Ministry of Communications and Transport to the umbrella organization for the development of Amateur Radio repeater and digital networks that would cover the whole of the country, enhancing emergency communications capabilities. NNNN /EX (via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Re 7-157, Hi, I don't understand - which Brazilians are ACTIVE, which are INACTIVE these days ? vy73 de (Wolfy wwdxc Alemanha to Rudolf Grimm, BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) Ich weiss nicht warum solche e-mails hier in Brasilien geschrieben wurden. Einige aus Brazil koennen mehrere Sendern nicht empfangen (es fehlen vielleicht bessere Empfaenger oder Antennen, oder sogar ein bisschen spaeter schlafen zu gehen, wer weiss es) und dann wird einfach 'vorgeschlagen' dass die 'inactive' sein muessen. So wuerde ich das nicht schreiben. Erstmal sollte das besser geprueft werden. Letztens wurden mehrere die als 'inactive' aufgelistet, und wurden danach ohne Schwierigkeiten empfangen. Was in der Liste NICHT [Not] INACTIVE sein soll: 2460 Alvorada, Rio Branco, es gabe ein Log in 2007. Den muessen wir noch aufheben. 3255 Educadora 6 de agosto, Xapuri, habe ich selbst in Ibiuna-SP empfangen, am 20.12. habe ich informiert: 3255, R. Educadora 6 de agosto, Xapuri-AC, PP, Dec 19, 0017. Mx brasileira, Locutor: comunicação com 'o pessoal de Xapuri', oferecimento musical, 25432 (Rudolf Grimm, Ibiuna-SP, Brasil) 4785 Caiari, Porto Velho, es gab letztens ein logging, und habe selbst vor kurzem die Station in Sao Bernardo (nahe São Paulo) empfangen. 4805 Difusora, Manáus, aktiv. 4825 Educadora, Bragança-PB, aktiv, wurde von Leonaldo Ferreira (Paraíba) am 06.12. empfangen. 4845 Cultura, Manáus, sendet. Manchmal wird um 0000 UT abgeschaltet. 4865 Verdes Florestas, zu empfangen, wenn zeitlich Alvorada Londrina nicht aktiv ist. Haben mir in 2007 bestaetigt. 4885 Clube do Pará, aktiv, habe diese gestern Nacht wieder empfangen. 4885 Difusora Acreana, in 'Konkurrenz' mit Clube do Pará fuer uns in Brasilien. Man merkt zwei verschiedene Traeger auf 4885 kHz, und oft sogar zwei verschiedene Sendungen in Portugiesich, die sich mischen. 4925 Educação Rural, Tefé, aktiv, siehe Logging vom 20.12.: 4925 R. Educação Rural, Tefé-AM, PP, Dec 18, 2333 UT. OM: talks, advts, informacoes sobre o municipio de Tefe, 35543 (Rudolf Grimm, Ibiuna-SP, Brasil) 4975 Rádio Nossa Voz / Mundial (die ID aendert sich manchmal (???)), ein Sender aus São Paulo der die Igreja Pentecostal Deus é Amor Tag und Nacht benutzt. 5035 Educação Rural, Coari: wenn Aparecida zeitlich nicht aktiv ist, merkt mane weitere Traeger (sehr schwach) und es wurde schon eine Sendung in Portug. beobachtet. Dies muss nochmal bestaetigt werden. Soll Educação Rural Coari sein. 5965 Transmundial, habe die letzte Nacht nach 0300 UT empfangen. Kein Problem mit dem Sender (SINPO 45433). 6080 CBN Anhanguera, aktiv. Wird empfangen wenn Novas de Paz momentan nicht aktiv ist. 6105 Cultura Filadélfia, in 2007 gehoert in Konkurrenz mit Canção Nova. Aber CN ist immer besser als CF. [see below] 6160 LBV, Porto Alegre, vor kurzem empfangen. 9695 Rio Mar, Manáus, kann man hier in Suedwest Brasilien (ueber 3000 km weit von Manáus) am fruehen Morgen, vor 1100 UT leise empfangen. 11765 Tupi, Curitiba, sind nicht immer aktiv, aber wir kennen auch keine Info dass die abgeschaltet haben. 15325 Gazeta, São Paulo, aktiv. Habe oft mit H. Benedito da Costa, Rádio Gazeta Kontakt, und selbst diese vor kurzem ueber 15325 kHz empfangen. 17815 Cultura, aktiv. Schoene Gruesse, und eine Frohe Weinacht (Rudolf Grimm, São Bernardo- SP Brasilien, Radio Ways, Dec 23 via BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) Caros Amigos, Conforme tema em discussão, das emissoras inoperantes, pude neste dia (hoje pela manhã) entre 1200-1300 UT, devido a propagação, na ausência do sinal da R. Canção Nova, na referida frequência poder escutar a emissora R. Cultura de Filadélfia em 6105 khz, que é raro por aqui. 6105, Brasil: R. Cultura de Filadélfia/Foz do Iguaçu-PR, 28/12 1200. Mx Evang., Px Sucesso Musical, ID, Locutor disponibiliza o telefone para os ouvintes participarem (45-3572-2410/ 8803-9005) e informa a hora local, 45444. Um Forte 73 e Feliz Ano Novo a todos!! (Amilton Paiva, Pouso Alegre-MG, Brasil, Rx: Sony ICF-SW 7600 GR/ DEGEN DE 1103; Philco Transglobe B-481; Ant: LW de 18 mts / Loop Ativa Degen DE31, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Após algumas semanas sem ser captada aqui na Grande Porto Alegre, a rádio Capixaba de Vitória OT 4935 kHz, voltou a ser sintonizada às 2000 horário de Brasília nesta quinta-feira [22 UT Dec 27]. O sinal é de intensidade regular e apresentando fading (Édison Bocorny Jr., Brasil, Dec 27, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC 9625: Always have seem to me that CBC Radio 1 is in English at 1300, but today Dec. 28, there was an acoustic guitar, no ID at TOH and a female announcer kept going in French, altho is listed is not regular a this time. CBC Radio 1 is presenting these final days of 07 with one of the best signals from North America at my local sunrise and sunset, that is 1200 and 0000, respectively. 73 and Happy Holidays. (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. article: CBC RADIO VANCOUVER NEEDS YOUR HELP TO MOVE TO FM I grew up on AM Radio. I had a Fisher Price turntable/AM radio combo. I would slip it under my pillow every night and listen to Jack Webster and Pat Burns on CJOR. Burns used to place his horse bets with Hastings Racecourse live on air. Somehow, it was endearing. I lit a candle for Burns when he died. Listening to AM radio as a kid convinced me. I had to go into radio. I wanted desperately to be one of those people. Sadly, though, over the years AM radio has become the bastard child of, well, all broadcast media. It's resigned to primarily talk formats — hard to argue considering music sounds awful on AM, and it's mono only (unless you count the crazy-ass attempt at AM Stereo some years ago). But even some AM stations, notably the ones past about AM 1000, sound okay. Everything below that sounds like it's been scrubbed in mud before being aired. read it all [+ Wikipedia, other linx] at: http://www.insidethecbc.com/yvr_am (Eric Flodén, BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That would suck to have CBC Radio move to FM (Bruce MacGibbon, Vancouver BC Resident, ibid.) My reply to the blog: "Colin here, editor and creator of dxer.ca - Canada’s original website for the radio DXer (DX being distance) and DXing being the hobby of listening to radio stations far, far away. It is all well and good to put CBC 690 onto FM for the benefit of you scrubbed city dwellers. But what of those country people and travelers that depend on the far-reaching voice of CBC 690? In Europe they use long-wave for penetration into the countryside. Yes, it is not hi-fi. If you want that, buy a satellite radio for your car or home - I did that so I could pick up the CBC where their AM signal faltered. Why not do both? CBC on AM and FM. In Victoria we have Radio-1 on 90.5, which is essentially CBU 690 with some local content and a fresher signal. Just saying," – (Colin Newell, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, IRCA via DXLD) ** CATALUNYA. CIAO, Mi sembra che ho ascoltato la prima pirata CATALANA: Radio Barretina Catalunya, 26-12-07, 6308 kHz, UT 1540-1620, sinpo: 24222. Molto rumore nel sottofondo; sembra che l'indirizzo è: radiobarretina @ hotmail.com Controlar la frequencia por favor. Salutoni (Silveri Gomez, via Dario Monferini, DXLD) If you want to know what is "LA BARRETINA" in Catalan: http://www.barretina.cat/documentacio/labarretina.htm (Monferini, ibid.) ** CHAD. RNT N'Djamena, 4904.970 kc/s, 2032-2230 UT December 26, 2007. SIO 333 at fade in, ID at 2100. SIO 544 by 2107. Lots of talk by man in French. Rap and high life music 2140-2156. Traditional drumming 2156-2200. ID 2200. Talk by man and woman 2201-2214. High life music 2214-2230. 2230 national anthem then sign off. Minor interference by lightning static. Antenna 120-11 meter dipole and Icom IC-746 Pro. (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF Lakeland, FL, USA, KN4LF Amateur & SWL Autobiography: http://www.kn4lf.com dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, Chad received here in Sri Lanka too, but only in the evening slot initially mixing badly with CNR. Thanks for the tip. I have been rather slow with my DXing due to too much work. But one by one the antennas are getting refurbished and will come back with a lot of interest, not that I have ever been off the band. How can I, when I earn a living being in front of a radio. One comment, someone said probably Chad is down here due to interference on 6 MHz. Well the reason is, I am sure, that evening and morning 6 MHz is not serving a wider area due to propagation in an area between the ground wave and the first sky wave coverage area. With the sun spots so low for local shortwave coverage the angle of return has to be wider as the frequency goes up. Right now here in the tropics in Sri Lanka which is almost similar latitude to Chad, till about 8 a.m. in the morning and after 7 p.m. it is hard to have any coverage in an area about 200 km from the transmitter site on 6, 7 MHz. So as hams we have to come down to the next band 75 metres. With a lot of people depending on SW in Chad, the 4904.5 [sic] is a logical move (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, 4S7VK, DXplorer Dec 24 via BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) 4905, RN Tchadienne Dec 25 with armchair level signals from 0509 tune to 0645 end recording. Peaked at S5 from 0530 to 0630 with quick improvement from 0509 and slower degradation after 0630. Interesting programming. Nice Christmas program in French from 0605-0632, opening with an instrumental/vocal tune, devotions by men and a woman, many mentions of "Noel" and short choir vocals from a church. Ended with "Joyeux Noël, Amen" at 0630 and an instrumental/vocal tune (same as at 0605) to 0632. Seemed surprising coming from a largely Muslim country. Local indigenous vocal at 0634-0636. Several telephone call-ins heard around 0600 and after 0636. SINPO 4/5-5-4-4-4 with some buzzing QRN from local electrical pole. Best I have heard Chad here on any frequency (Bruce Churchill, CA, DXplorer Dec 26 via BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) 6165 replaced by 4904.97 kHz at 0430-0730 and 1600-2230 UT. 6165 or 7120 on Sat/Sun 0730-1000, daily 1000-1600 UT. History - Schedule of Oct 1999: CHAD RNT Bamako [sic!] also IDs as Radio Tschad, broadcasts on 6165 between 0430-0730, 0730-1000 Sat/Sun, and 1000-2230. 7120 may be used on occasions between 0700-1600 instead of 6165. 4904.5 is also an alternative (BBCM in BDXC-UK Communication magazine Oct, 1999, via BC-DX Dec 28, 2007 via DXLD) Pela primeira vez consigo ouvir a Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne com um bom sinal. A escuta foi realizada no dia 27 de dezembro de 2007, às 0508 UT, QRG 4905 kHz apresentando musicas "afropop" e alguns segmentos de notícias. TCHAD, 4905, 27/DEC 0510-0540, Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne N'djamena FF 35433, TPM, african mx, nx, id, talks by male and female between the songs. Equipamento: Degen DE1103 + Longwire 7 metros. A quem interessar, fiz uma gravação de aproximadamente 25 minutos dessa escuta. Para ouví-la é só acessar o meu blog http://bsbdx.blogspot.com http://usercash.com/go/1/57027/http://media.putfile.com/4905-Radiodiffusion-Nationale-Tchadienne-2007-12-27 Forte 73's a todos!!! (Thiago P. Machado, [PY2002SWL], Riacho Fundo- DF, Brasil [GH54XC], radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** CHINA. Re 7-159, XPBS-5060 --- Thomas, XPBS usually heard here around 0030-0130 // 7310 (// 5960 very tentative under a huge OC before 0130); 0120-0135 25 Dec. XPBS was running what sounded like ads mixed with phone calls and M/W DJ chat. I've heard them run their local programming through the ToH/BoH pips/fanfare/canned Chinese ID by M/W (which was done during this logging). You might listen for XPBS-4980 // 3990 in Uighur around the same time as well (Dan Sheedy, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. CRI FM outlet Berlin 97.2 MHz to be ceased on Jan 1, 2008. Liebe Radio- und Web-Freunde, bedauerlicherweise muessen wir Ihnen mitteilen, dass ab dem 1. Januar 2008 unsere Sendung fuer Berlin von 0600 bis 0700 Uhr MEZ auf UKW 97.2 MHz eingestellt wird. Sie koennen uns aber weiter auf Kurzwelle von 17:00 Uhr bis 19:00 Uhr MEZ auf den Frequenzen 5970 kHz und 7155 kHz, von 19:00 Uhr bis 21:00 Uhr MEZ auf den Frequenzen 6160 kHz, 7170 kHz und 9615 kHz sowie von 07:00 Uhr bis 09:00 Uhr MEZ auf den Frequenzen 15245 und 17720 kHz hoeren. Ausserdem wird die Sendung von 20:00 Uhr bis 22:00 Uhr MEZ ueber Radio Luxemburg auf Mittelwelle 1440 kHz ausgestrahlt. Wir freuen uns, dass Sie weiterhin unser Programm verfolgen. Sollten Sie spezielle Wuensche oder Vorschlaege haben, schreiben Sie uns doch bitte! Mit freundlichen Gruessen von Deutsche Redaktion von CRI. Dec 25 (via BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) More under GERMANY CRI in English via European MW relays: 0300-0400 738 Moscow 2000-2100 1386 Lithuania 0600-0800 1215 Albania 2100-2300 1440 Luxembourg 1400-1700 558 London (1500- Sat/Sun) (CRI website 23 Nov via Tony Rogers, Medium Wave Report, Dec BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA; COSTA RICA. See MEXICO [and non] ** CUBA. Information about Cuban AM stations? I have emailed a well- known Cuban shortwave broadcast journalist a few times asking for information concerning Cuban AM stations, but I have never received a reply. Here are my questions in case someone else would know about these stations: - Radio Rebelde 770 kHz: What is the location of the transmitter? The location is not listed in the WRTH nor Cuban websites. - Radio Reloj 1020 kHz: There is no Radio Reloj transmitter listed here. Radio Reloj only told me that their programming is being relayed by a local station, but which one, Radio Guamá in Bahía Honda or Radio Cadena Habana? - I have heard what sounded like Radio Progreso also on 1180 kHz, although only Rebelde should be on that frequency. Any chance of an unlisted station here? - I have been unsuccessful in getting an email response from Radio Progreso to any of my reports (640 & 900 AM). The only email address that I have found is progreso @ ceniai.inf.cu but despite several emails, I never got a reply. Would anyone have alternative email addresses for the station? (Mika Mäkeläinen, Site Admin, McLean, VA, USA, Dec 27, dxing.info via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. 6185, 27/12 0225, Radio República, clandestine, political talks in Spanish, good. Rx: Perseus; ant: T2FD 15 m long. My SW blog: http://radiodxsw.blogspot.com/ My Latin America blog: http://lasw.blogspot.com/ (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Started B-07 on 6100 during the 02-04 bihour, and was there the last time I checked, having forced Vatican via Canada to move to 6040. 6185 has been used previously by RR, and indeed heard there at 0240 check Dec 28 over DentroCuban Jamming Command. Must be a fairly recent change, and we can say goodbye to any chance of hearing R. Educación, México during this period (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHIA. The impressive architecture of Prague is further enhanced by this giant vintage radio! Other Radio Prague Xmas cards at http://www.radio.cz/en/html/christmas_greeting.html (Dec BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 9558.85, unID station noted at 0700-0730 UT on Thur Dec 27, S=4 signal, Saharic-Sahel music in Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia area ... and supposed to be Arabic language ... Is ETH 9560 so unstable? Wanders down? Only Cuba 9550 and Medi 1-MRC 9575 nearby at this time slot. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later, cf 7-159:] Oooh yes, I see. ETH wandered down to 9558.78 at present, around 0800-0810 UT. 73 wb (Büschel, ibid.) ** EUROPE. 6878, 28/12 0340, Power FM, Pirate relay, Italy, presumed: songs no stop but no ID, good audio, signal between 6 and 7. RX: Perseus; ant: T2FD (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, Italy, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GEORGIA. Willis Conover lives, here: see U S A [non] ** GERMANY. 6005 kHz - Radio 700. Moin, Radio 700 kommt wie auch bei der ersten Sendung schon mit exzellentem Empfang auf 6005 kHz. Heute von 0800-1000 UT (Martin Elbe, Germany. http://home.wolfsburg.de/elbe/ A-DX Dec 25 via BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) Hier 30 km suedlich von Stuttgart kommt Radio 700 leider nur mit schwachem Signal und viel Fading an. Typisch fuer "in der toten Zone". Kommt das Signal doch aus Wertachtal??? Wohnt jemand von der Liste dort in der Naehe und kann das bestaetigen (Bodenwelle)? Schoenen Weihnachtstag wuenscht Juergen, A-DX Dec 25 Ja, Wertachtal mit reduzierter Leistung von 100 kW als Einmietung. Wie HCJB oder Brother Stair auch ... - aber die DTK Leute wechseln auch schnell den Standort von Juelich nach Wertachtal oder vv, je nach Verfuegbarkeit der Sender durch andere Dienste. Hier 120 km von Wertachtal entfernt zeigt das schwache S=5-6 Signal die gleiche 'pumpende' Charakteristik, wie soeben RN 5955, und jetzt 6120 kHz auch R Nederland aus WER. btw. Ich frage mich, warum diese verquaste sibyllinische Darstellung der Radio 700 Leute in ihren Pressemitteilungen sein muss. Warum diese geheimnisvolle Ver„ppelung des Publikums? That Wertachtal 100 kW entry also always missed on queer press releases of Euskirchen Germany freak radio --- Funkhaus Euskirchen, Radio 700 - Das Europaradio, Kuchenheimer Str. 155, 53881 Euskirchen, Germany. Telefon: +49 2251 921300 Telefax: +49 2251 921303 http://www.radio700.de (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 25, BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 9800, Family Radio, Gujarati via Nauen. E-mail verification reply in 48 hours, from D-Telekom. v/s: Walter Brodowsky. 9565, VOA/IBB Pashtu via Wertachtal. E-mail verification reply in 48 hours, from D-Telekom. v/s: Walter Brodowsky. 9730, Bible Voice Broadcast Network, Amharic via Nauen. E-mail verification reply in 48 hours, from D-Telekom. v/s: Walter Brodowsky (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Dec 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. AFN WÜRZBURG IS GONE AFN Würzburg, which not long ago changed its name to AFN Franconia, has apparently closed down without any ceremony. Their webpages have been replaced by an announcement "The AFN Franconia audience is now being served by AFN Bavaria. Please visit http://www.afneurope.net/bavaria for more details!", as can be seen at http://www.afneurope.net/AFNFranconiaSiteUnderRenovation/tabid/691/Default.aspx AFN Bavaria for its part has not updated its frequency information page so far but already added links to the websites of the Ansbach, Bamberg and Schweinfurt garrisons previously served by AFN Franconia. Note also the webcast of their TV news. http://bavaria.afneurope.net I have not seen reports about the current use of the former AFN Franconia radio frequencies so far. It remains to be seen for how long the Würzburg transmitters (1143 and 104.9) will stay on the air (in fact I have so far not seen a confirmation that they are still on air at all), since only a few US facilities are left there and will be closed down soon, as far as I know. Apparently the TV operations of AFN Franconia ceased already earlier, here is a discussion of the Bamberg ch. 39 (European channel with video on 615.25, same as American ch. 38) being noted on November 13 to carry AFN Bavaria now while 1143 still had Würzburg programming: http://forum.mysnip.de/read.php?8773,541197 Herein they discuss that this must be a mistake, wrong feed patched in, because there were no crawls, no nothing. But obviously the plug had been intentionally pulled and patched into the Vilseck feed (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. CRI FM RELAYS IN BERLIN TO STOP In the last days the German service of CRI sent out the enclosed text, apparently to all listeners addresses they have in their system: "Dear radio and web friends, we're sorry that we have to tell you that our transmission for Berlin, 06:00 to 07:00 CET on 97.2 MHz, will be cancelled as of January 1 2008. However, you can still hear us ... [list of SW/MW transmissions]" [see CHINA [non] for original] That's in fact a relay of WRN Deutsch which has a one hour broadcast from CRI on air 0500-0600 and is relayed via Berlin 97.2 at night (cf. page 202 in WRTH 2008). One can only speculate why CRI abandons this slot which they no doubt booked deliberately in order to get on FM in Berlin, a while ago HCJB gave up a similar arrangement and stated that it was too expensive for them to keep, but I can hardly imagine that this is an issue for CRI, with things like the expensive relays via 1440 (apparently run with full 1200 kW) in mind. Of course the other way round FM or local mediumwave relays of Deutsche Welle in Beijing are certainly unthinkable, just to mention it again. The 97.2 transmission facility is the outcome of an interesting Cold War legacy, so here is the story, just in case I have not told it yet: In 1987 private broadcasters were allowed for the first time in Berlin, and for them the 100.6 and 103.4 frequencies were available. But these were new frequencies, not subject to an agreement with the GDR to keep existing Scholzplatz (SFB) and Britz (RIAS) facilities with much more than the coordinated 10 kW and antennas in much greater heights than coordinated, both parameters being related to the circumstance that only Berlin (and here to my best knowledge the whole of Berlin, not just West Berlin) was the service area of these frequencies. Thus the postal office had to set up a transmission facility in accordance with the 10 kW / low antenna requirement, and they put it on the building of their financial services department (nowadays Postbank) at Hallesches Ufer (Kreuzberg district). After 1993 both 100.6 and 103.4 were moved to the TV tower (site designator Alexanderplatz because Fernsehturm refers to the building instead of the location). The Hallesches Ufer site went silent but all equipment had been kept, and from 1998 one transmitter came in use for various temporary relays, running an ERP of 1 kW on 104.1. In 2003 continuous operation on this frequency started with rotating relays of various DAB stations, meant to promote the system, but to no avail (other than providing a great backdoor to get on FM for some guys). Trouble was, for this regular use the power had to be reduced to just 200 watts, with lacking agreements with Poland being the problem as far as I know. Now NPR uses 104.1 and Media&Broadcast made attempts to get 104.1 coordinated for 1 or 1.5 kW again. However, I have not heard about a success so far. Also in 2003 a second frequency of 97.2 had been activated at the Hallesches Ufer site for joint use by Radio Russkiy Berlin, Offener Kanal Berlin, Bluradio and WRN, as it still is in force today. 97.2 was previously on air from another site (Schäferberg in Berlin- Wannsee, in the Cold War days responsible for microwave links and UHF TV) with a rather tight beam towards Potsdam. For IFA 2003 it had been put on air with 500 watts, but in the end they had even poorer luck with this one than with 104.1 and to reduce the output to a mere 100 watts. This is of course not sufficient for covering the whole of Berlin, and so a second outlet for this program mix is in preparation (Schäferberg 90.7 with 100 watts, too, recently put on tender but I guess it's already a made deal that it will relay the 97.2 programming). Photos of the Hallesches Ufer site: http://www.senderfotos-bb.de/post.htm And a chronicle of frequency usage in and around Berlin between 1985 and 2002 (beware, it has not been updated since): http://funk.breloehr.de/berlin.htm (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. ALL INDIA RADIO COVERS INDIA - AUSTRALIA CRICKET TEST SERIES 2007-08 IN AUSTRALIA All India Radio will broadcast live commentary off-tube from the studios of AIR Delhi alternately in Hindi & English of the forthcoming India - Australia Cricket Test Series 2007-08 as per following schedule : Live Commentary on Medium Wave, FM-Gold & Shortwave Channels: 26th - 30th Dec, 2007 2315-0630 UT 1st Cricket Test at Melbourne 2nd - 6th Jan, 2008 2315-0630 UT 2nd Cricket Test at Sydney 16th - 20th Jan, 2008 0215-0930 UT 3rd Cricket Test at Perth 24th - 28th Jan, 2008 2345-0700 UT 4th Cricket Test at Adelaide, Oval There will be hourly updates on FM-Rainbow Channels. At 0300 UT following SW channels noted carrying running commentary : 4880 - Lucknow 4910 - Jaipur 5040 - Jeypore 7290 - Thiru'puram 7360 - Chennai Regds (Alokesh Gupta, India, Dec 26, dx_india via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. 2007 CLANDESTINE ACTIVITY SURVEY - PRESS-RELEASE During the year 2007 the activity of political clandestine stations broadcasting on shortwave has increased by 4.8 % to 1321 Weekly Broadcasting Hours (WBHs). This is way below the record 2384 WBHs measured in 1990, but still up from the all-time low of 1116 WBHs in 1999. Activity of clandestine stations broadcasting to target areas on the Asian continent has increased by 7.9 % to 939 WBHs and activity to target areas on the American continent has also increased by 11.4 % to 215 WBHs. On the other hand, activity to target areas on the African continent has dropped by 15.2 % to now 167 WBHs. The three most active target areas worldwide are China with 240 WBHs (+40 when compared with last year), Cuba with 215 WBHs (+22) and North Korea with 196 WBHs (+14). The number of different target areas active worldwide has dropped sharply from 24 in the previous year to only 18 at the end of 2007. While no new target areas have emerged during the past 12 months, the following target areas that were still active one year ago are now thought to be inactive: Maldives, Libya, Sudan, Uganda, Gambia and Cameroon (Mathias Kropf, Germany, Dec 23, wwdxc BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) Seems to me ETHIOPIA & ERITREA are worth mentioning as clandestine broadcasting hotspots in 2007! (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. SRI LANKA TESTED SATELLITE DISASTER WARNING SYSTEM TO BE USED IN INDIA http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?newsID=2122122686&no_view=1&SEARCH_TERM=10 Dec 27, 2007 (LBO) - A digital satellite radio disaster alert system that can be remotely activated which was field tested in Sri Lanka is now ready for use in the region to give early warning of tsunamis, officials said. The Addressable Radio for Emergency Alert (AREA) system can send disaster alerts within seconds of its transmission by government authorities and also has the advantage of activating a siren. The system is also expected to be adopted in India, which along with Sri Lanka, was among several countries that suffered from the 2004 tsunami. The system, which has early-warning emergency messages, audio and visual alarms, was tested in a study conducted by LIRNEasia, a regional policy think tank, and Sarvodaya, a charity, in 32 Sri Lankan coastal villages. "The product is digital satellite radio - it means there's no ground infrastructure at all," said Rohan Samarajeeva of LIRNEasia. "It is a very small device about the size of my palm and can be taken around. It can give warnings in text and audio in multiple languages." The device was designed for community-based disaster relief by LIRNEasia and WorldSpace, a US-based wireless technology major. "We are planning to introduce the product in India as early as possible," WorldSpace's Senior Vice-President S Rangarajan, was quoted as saying in Indian media reports. "Optimistically, we expect to launch the system especially in the coastal districts, which are prone to natural disasters, by 2008. Later, we plan to move to other regions," said Rangarajan, formerly programme director at Indian Space Research Organisation. Radio transmission is a very quick way of communicating warnings but the key ingredient is that the radio must usually be on. "The unique feature of this product is that it can wake you up. Even if the device is off, it can be activated by the disaster warning centre," Samarajeeva said. "If you're watching another channel, it will automatically switch you to the disaster channel - a feature not found in any other technology that we know of." The technology has two applications: it can either be used for public warnings or for a community-based warning model, like the one tested in the island under which designated people in disaster prone areas are given prior training. A pilot project started in December 2005 has just concluded. "We're now in the dissemination phase educating people in the region. We did it in a closed user group, as only government's have the authority for public warning systems, to see it in real life conditions." Samarajeeva said they concluded after the trial that for the community-based kind of service they want to use it for, the ideal solution was to use it with another technology like mobile phone to provide two-way communications capability. "For this sort of thing you don't rely on one technology. It's called complimentary redundancy." The Closed User Group Digital Audio Broadcast station system that was tested uses digital satellite radios over a WorldSpace channel to broadcast information to remote communities (via Alokesh Gupta, dx_india via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. BBC Radio Kent: Dave, Johnnie and the pirates One hour documentary broadcast Dec 24th on BBC Radio Kent now on 7 Day Listen Again: Dave, Johnnie and the Pirates Dave Cash and Johnnie Walker look back at pirate radio. It's a mix of an interview they did before Pirate Radio Essex, some 1960's offshore clips, and material recorded during the Pirate Radio Essex broadcast. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/kent_aod.shtml?kent/johnnie_pirates (via Mike Barraclough, WDXC yg via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Re: Israel`s final week on SW? [no]. A couple of clarifications from a post two weeks ago: RE: "The World Radio Network still offers a single 15-minute daily newscast recorded at 0430 UT" Actually, WRN plays the Israel Radio news twice a day. I was told by WRN that, "the WRN transmissions in English are the 1830 UT broadcast from REQA, except for the 10 PM Pacific which is the 0430 UT REQA." (I hadn't had a chance to listen at 1 AM ET to confirm lately, so I asked them.) RE: "This *may* be still available on the domestic service called "88FM"" Nope - the 25 min Israel Radio International broadcast is gone. 88.2 FM (in Jerusalem) used to broadcast the External Services (Reshet Hey) broadcasts. But, it no longer exists. 88 FM is a separate network, which still does exist (Doni Rosenzweig, Dec 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. 657 MW, RAI Coltano, Pisa. New transmitter has been activated at Coltano, the very place where Marconi built his first global transmitting station back in 1903. It relays Radio 1 at 0458- 2300, exc. regional news (Tuscany) at 0620-0630 and 1110-1130 (Mo-Sa) and 1140-1155 (Su). TV sound for visual impaired people is broadcast in connection with some important TV series (two-three times per week) at ca. 2020-2200. During the night Naples (sharing the same frequency) operates (2300- 0500) the "Notturno Italiano". Last night we had some minor interference between Naples and Pisa as the latter was closing down with some beeps after the national anthem and Naples already relaying the Midnight news. Signal is strong in Florence as well along the Tuscan coast. If tests prove to be good, local transmitters in Florence (1368 MW) and at the same Coltano site (1062 MW) wil be closed down and 657 MW will be the regional station of the Central- West area on the Italian Peninsula (Luigi Cobisi, Italy, Dec 15, DSWCI DX Window Dec 26 via DXLD) ** JAPAN. Re: NHK Radio Japan New Years Eve Hitparade schedule. Dear Mr. Wolfgang Bueschel, Thank you for listening Radio Japan programs and your email. As you may have already known, Radio Japan end its shortwave services to North America, Hawaii, and Europe (excluding the Russian and English language service) from October 01, 2007. Accordingly, we end to broadcast your requested program 'The 58th NHK Red and White Year-end Song Festival'. We are sorry that we cannot meet your request, but your generous understanding would be very much appreciated. Best Regards, (NHK WORLD nhkworld @ nhk.jp Dec 25, via BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) ** KAZAKHSTAN. Almaty transmission to Central Europe --- Just spotted an interesting item in the current Family Radio schedule for Moscow- brokered (Radioagenstvo-M) transmissions of Family Radio, as given by Radio Bulgaria: 1800-1900 on 7490 A-A 200 kW / 312 deg to WeWeEu German How long ago were the shortwave facilities in Kazakhstan used for transmissions to Central Europe for the last time? The power of 200 kW indicates a use of the Dimitriyevka transmitter plant a bit more than 10 km north/northeast of Almaty, with a number of Sneg-M transmitters (100 kW), usually run in pairs. This is opposed to Karaturuk, another site about 70 km east/northeast of Almaty, which has four 1000 kW transmitters and must be the origin of transmissions rated at 500 kW. Both sites are thrown in one "A-A" HFCC bin, just like the Kurovskaya, Lesnoy and Taldom plants all end up as "MSK" (or some old fake site code). I checked it out around 1830: Good signal, by far the strongest one I ever got from Kazakhstan. Overdone upper-mids boost, making it sound quite harsh. The old, famous noise gate is still in the audio chain here and the old, famous background hum is there as well. And the programming: Bible interpretation, immediately providing evidence of what Hansjörg Biener describes as Family Radio representing special doctrines, opposed to those of the official churches. For a look at the Dimitriyevka site: http://maps.google.de/?ie=UTF8&ll=43.500068,77.007895&spn=0.045387,0.080338&t=h&z=14&om=1 After more research I noted with quite some surprise that not much else besides Family Radio (schedule as reproduced in DXLD 7-156) is left on the Kazakh transmitters. There is Deutsche Welle in German via Karaturuk, 1000-1200 on 15430 and 2200-2400 on 5875, there is La Voix de l'Orthodoxie via Dimitriyevka, Tue and Fri 1630-1700 on 7460, and that's all. No IBB and no Voice of Russia anymore. Too expensive, too unreliable? I seem to recall that RNW left years ago and moved on to Uzbekistan because their relays via Kazakhstan always suffered from distorted audio. Perhaps some more details about La Voix de l'Orthodoxie are of interest as well: This French operation had been launched in 1981 and started with 45 minutes per week via Moyabi, later they moved to Sines where they used 2 hours per week. In the mid-nineties relays via Jülich started, finally they moved on to Kazakhstan: http://www.biener-media.de/ru-orthodoxie.html (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Broadcasts to the North Korea in Korean – Furusato no Kaze 1600-1630 9780 via TWN (Japanese) – Nippon no Kaze 1700-1730 9820 via TWN (Korean) – JSR Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) 1400-1430 5985 (Japanese/Korean/English/Chinese) via YAM 2030-2100 5965 (Japanese/Korean/English/Chinese) via YAM – Free North Korea Radio 1000-1100 9730 via TWN 1300-1400 9930 (M-F) via HWA [KWHR] 2000-2030 7510 via RUS 2030-2100 9645 via TWN – Open Radio for North Korea 1100-1200 9930(M-F) via HWA – Radio Free Chosun 1200-1300 9950 via RUS 1330-1400 9950 via TWN – CMI: Voice of Wilderness 1300-1330 9940 via TWN 2000-2030 9795 via TWN – North Korea Reform Radio (New Station) http://nkreform.net/ 1200-1230 9630 via TWN Started on Dec. 24- – Voice of America 1200-1500 5890, 7235, 9555; (1300-1400 648MW via RUS) 1900-2100 6060, 7110, 7135 – Radio Free Asia 1500-1700 5860, 7210, 9385 1700-1900 5860, 9385 2100-2200 5835, 7460, 9385 – Radio Japan 0430-0500 15300 1100-1130 6090 1230-1300, 1400-1430 6190 1630-1700 6035 2210-2230 9560 de S. Aoki NDXC-HQ (S. Hasegawa, Dec 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The last few not being exactly clandestine (gh, DXLD) ** LATVIA. Relays this weekend via 9290 kHz Sun December 30th Radio Caroline Eifel 0900-1000 UT Latvia Today 1000-1100 UT Good listening, and a Happy New Year (Tom Taylor, Dec 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA. Libyan Radio observations: ``Jamahiriyah Ozma`` heard on 675 1125 1251 and 1449 kHz at 1545 with Radiotheatre, 1600 news in Arabic, 1620 songs, and at 1630 continuing on 675 1125 and 1449 in Arabic. However, at 1630-1647 a tone was heard on 711 and 1251 kHz until 1647 when a man read a list of times, frequencies in Arabic, followed by a prayer at 1700, and then ID at 1715 ``Sowt Africa`` (Voice of Africa) and news in Arabic (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, 17 Nov, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. R. Mauritanie seems back up to full strength after missing a few weeks, or on but with low modulation per other reports. Dec 27 at 0625, found 4845 with OM vocal chants predominantly at a single pitch, shifting irregularly up or down a note. 0631 announcement by YL and the chanter (or someone else?) speaking for a moment, then choral music. Roughly same level as Chad 4905. However, Ndjamena is much further east than Nouakchott, by 31 degrees of longitude, so propagation from 4845 should hold up about two hours longer than 4905. Nouakchott is 16 degrees west long., which should really put it in the UT -1 timezone. It is further west than any part of Ireland, let alone Portugal, lines up with eastern Iceland (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. Re 7-159: Creo necesario matizar un poco la descripción histórica que hace el Sr. Bonilla, ya que en ella hay algunas inconsistencias. Veamos. Bajo el epígrafe 2 el Sr. Bonilla nos afirma textualmente lo siguiente: "En 1990 Radio Mil onda corta adquirió un nuevo transmisor y aumentó su potencia a 1 kW, hasta ese año lo hacía con 500 vatios". Es posible que así sea, pero en la edición de 1960 del World Radio Handbook se nos indica que Radio Mil emitía en 6010 con una potencia de 2.5 kW. En efecto, y según el mismo manual, era ésa la potencia del transmisor desde el comienzo de los años 50. Durante esa primera década, la propiedad pasó de una mano a otra, cambiándose sucesivamente la dirección postal de la emisora de Donato Guerra 26, a Reforma 51 y a Bolívar 27, en la capital mexicana. (Los datos actuales son diferentes, como es apenas natural). Luego, bajo el epígrafe 7: "Stendal afirma que ´por décadas´ los 6010 kHz han estado asignados y utilizados en Colombia; miente nuevamente este Sr. El último registro de esta asignación a Colombia es en 1980. Miente de nuevo Stendal. Y si llegó a emplearse esta frecuencia en Colombia antes de 1980, nunca hubo conflicto registrado con Radio Mil." Tomando como referencia nuevamente el WRH del año 1960, año en el que O. Lund-Johansen publicó una edición en castellano del libro, vemos que la frecuencia de 6010 la ocupaba la colombiana La Voz Amiga, de Pereira, habiéndola desocupado luego de 10 años de uso la también colombiana La Voz de Armenia. Estos son datos verificables por las correspondientes ediciones del WRH. Veamos ahora qué emisoras latinoamericanas se encontraban registradas en 6010 kHz en el año 1952. Cito la lista del World Radio Handbook: HJFC La Voz Amiga, Pereira, 1 kW OAX4V R América, Lima, 1 kW CE601 Emisora Norte, Antofagasta, 0.2 kW XEOI R Mil, México, 2.5 kW En la edición del año 1950-51 aparece además en 6010 la emisora COCO, de La Habana, con 5 kW. En 6011, y por tanto capaz de producir un bonito heterodino, OAX4Q R Victoria, de Lima. A la última le sustituyó Radio América, mientras que la cubana quizás dejara de emitir debido a la presencia en la frecuencia de Radio Mil. En vista de esto, no me atrevería a decir que no se haya registrado nunca un conflicto anterior respecto de la frecuencia de Radio Mil. Es más. Hace cosa de medio siglo, las distintas administraciones estatales latinoamericanas monitoreaban la actividad radial de propios y extraños para evitar que se produjeran choques innecesarios. En un librito titulado "Latin American Commercials" publiqué, hace más de 30 años, el facsímil de un reporte enviado por el Ministerio de Comunicaciones de Colombia a su homólogo costarricense, en el cual se dijo que Radio Reloj de Costa Rica se encontraba en una frecuencia desfasada de 2 kHz, al emitirse su señal en 4832, y no en 4830. El informe fue redactado en un formulario impreso similar a los que los radioaficionados acostumbramos usar para el envío de nuestros reportes. Las autoridades colombianas en ese momento se cuidaban mucho de la limpieza de "la banda internacional de 62 metros", que había sido creado unas décadas antes, de resultas de una propuesta colombiana. En el Minicom colombiano vi muchos reportes del mismo tipo, y recuerdo uno de Radio Iris, de Esmeraldas, Ecuador, en la banda de 90 metros, pero pedí que me regalaran una copia del reporte relativo a Radio Reloj, ya que se refería a un caso muy conocido. No sé hasta qué punto continúa efectuándose este tipo de ´"monitoreo oficial". (Henrik Klemetz, Suecia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Además, R. Reloj de CR se encontraba en 6006v durante muchos años (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Estimado Glenn: aquí algunas aclaraciones al Sr. Klemetz.: Efectivamente Radio Mil inició con una potencia de 250 vatios; a mediados de los años 70 la incremento a 500 vatios y en 1990 a 1 kW. Nunca hice la descripción desde su inicio; solo indiqué lo que había en 1990, así que no hay ninguna inconsistencia. En referencia a los 6010 kHz y asignaciones a colombianas, es en el Manual Mundial del 1980 en que por última ocasión aparece esta frecuencia asignada a una colombiana, efectivamente la de Pereira. Lo que afirma Stendal es que dicha asignación ha estado siendo utilizada por emisoras colombianas, y bien sabemos que desde los años 80, dicha frecuencia no se utilizó por colombiana alguna. Lamento nuevamente decirle al Sr. Klemenz que no hay inconsistencia en mi afirmación. Por otro lado ha habido cambios de direcciones postales por cambio en las instalaciones y solo tres concesionarios de Radio Mil. Todos ellos han mantenido a la onda corta; esto tampoco es una inconsistencia. Pregunté al Ing. Serafín Carrasco, quien vió nacer y desarrollar a Radio Mil en onda media y corta, y me dijo jamás tuvieron conflicto alguno con emisora colombiana, canadiense, brasileña o chilena que han ocupado los 6010 kHz. Es hasta ahora desde el 2002 en que hay este problema; Sr. Klemetz, esto tampoco es una inconsistencia. Gracias Glenn por la hospitalidad de mis comentarios. Saludos, (Julián Santiago Díez de Bonilla, DF, ibid.) Igual le da 500 que 1000 o 2500; si el año es 1980 o 1950, lo mismo le da. Cambiando guarismos o letras se escribe la historia. ¿No es así, Sr. Boniya? (Henrik Klemetz, Suecia, ibid.) ** MICRONESIA. Von Pacific Missionary Aviation aus Mikronesien war auf 4755.xx kHz nicht mal die Spur eines Traegers auszumachen. Insofern gehe ich davon aus, dass man tatsaechlich nicht sendete. Vielleicht ist der Sender mal wieder reparaturbeduerftig. (Thomas Lindenthal-D, A-DX Dec 26 via BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. VOM`s English broadcast is now at 0930-1000 on 12085, often heard with good reception here, but sometimes with echoey multihop signal (Dave Kenny, Reading, 17th Nov, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. ``One thing you can be sure of: if you hear Radio Netherlands, it`s not transmitted from the Netherlands`` (gh) Germany, 9750, Radio Netherlands Dutch to Europe via Nauen. Full data (with site) #8 Series 'A Dutch Morning' QSL Card. Philippines, 9795, Radio Netherlands Indonesian via Tinang. Full data (with site) #3 Series 'A Dutch Morning' QSL Card. Russia, 6050, Radio Netherlands Dutch to Europe via Armavir. Full data (with site) #5 'A Dutch Morning' series of QSL Card. South Africa, 11805, Radio Netherlands English to East Africa via Meyerton. Full data (with site) #7 'A Dutch Morning' series of QSL Card. QSL Cards from Radio Netherlands were for a CD MP3 postal report. In the reply, enclosed was a nice pocket calendar with note pad. Reply in 22 days (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Dec 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. I have recorded a few samples of Portuguese IDs for RNZI, and from what David Ricquish has just told me, it seems at least one was used during their Xmas day broadcast. I can't tell for sure, but will try to listen to their 31st Dec. transmission liks last year when they did use (very bad) Portuguese besides other announcements, viz. in Italian, French, Castilian. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Dec 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN [and non]. First heard about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on V. of Turkey`s headlines at 1420 Dec 27. BBCWS and NPR coverage recommended, but --- For the record I tried to get R. Pakistan`s only webcast as linked via http://www.publicradiofan.com but no connexion (Glenn Hauser, DX dxldyg via LISTENING DIGEST) From Nov 21 DXLD: Hi Glenn, The details of Radio Pakistan broadcasts in English language in its external and domestic broadcasts are as follows: Time (UTC) Frequency Target Comments 0045-0115 7445 kHz South Asia The program is in English but don't know why it is called Assamese service. Perhaps the target area is Assam, India. API-3 100 kW is used. Poor reception. 0300-0400 4835 kHz South Asia English News and Discussion. Good reception within and outside Pakistan. API-4 100 kW is used. 0730-0830 15100 kHz Europe Composite English Program. News at 17835 kHz 0800 UT. Transmitters are 250 kW. Often give good signals. 1100-1104 15100 kHz Europe English News Bulletin. 17835 kHz 1300-1400 585 kHz Pakistan, English News Bulletin followed by Radio Pakistan Islamabad English Program. 1600-1615 6240 kHz Middle East, English News Bulletin and Comment. 7520 kHz Middle East 11570 kHz East Africa 1600-1700 4835 kHz South Asia, English News followed by discussion programs. Good reception within and outside Pakistan. API-4 is used (Aslam Javaid, Lahore, Pakistan, Nov 20, WORLD OF RADIO 1383, DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-141 via dxldyg Dec 27, 2007 via DXLD 7-160) ** PAKISTAN [non]. España: Pakcelona, la única radio en Europa que habla urdú. 105.4 FM [surely there are Urdu stations in the UK - gh] Reproducimos el artículo de Joan Palomés publicado en El Triangle sobre la emisora barcelonesa que fomenta la integración de los inmigrantes a través de su presencia en los medios: http://www.canalsolidario.com/web/noticias/noticia/?id_noticia=9515 (via José Miguel Romero, DXLD) ** PERU. Radio Manantial is a truly new station --- This will interest station collectors. Radio Manantial, 4990.8, is a truly new station, and there is no connection whatsoever with Radio Ancash. Pastor Leoncio Paco Conce says the 1 kW transmitter was built by Ramón Chang. The transmitter site is in the district of Huancán, in the Huancayo area. The station´s website is at http://www.radiomanantial.tk The postal address is in care of I.E.P.J. "Templo La Hermosa", Jr. Santa Cecilia No. 107, Chilca, Huancayo, Peru (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, Dec 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) a.k.a. TURKEY [non] ** PERU. 4834.92, Radio Marañón, 1125-1135 Dec 27, Surprised Perú is still audible at 1125. Noted a series of canned promos and IDs until 1130, then a male in live comments pops up. He provides time checks during the comments. Signal was poor (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Re: "FRECUENCIA RM" DESDE: (( LA VOZ DE RUSIA )) Nuestro correo electrónico: cartas @ ruvr.ru o bien, pcortes @ orc.ru (via José Bueno, Córdoba - España) Hola: Sobre las direcciones de contacto de La Voz de Rusia: Lamentablemente el contacto con las emisoras adolece siempre de muchos problemas, son contadas las emisoras que hacen un uso del correo electrónico ágil y satisfactorio para los oyentes. No es que esté precisamente contento con esta emisora en este aspecto, comprendo que responder a los emails de los oyentes representa un tiempo y un esfuerzo, pero desde luego se ha de reconocer que mucho menos esfuerzo (y coste económico) que responder vía correo postal. Aún así no acaban de comprenderlo. Mi experiencia con esta emisora y con este programa vía email es negativa. P.D. Aparte de todo esto ¡Feliz día de Navidad! Cordialmente (Tomás Méndez Losa, Spain, playdx yg via DXLD) Estimado amigo Tomás: Nos hemos enterado de su descontento con la política de atención a la correspondencia, por parte de nuestra emisora. Debo informarle que si bien recibimos mucha correspondencia electrónica, la emisora estima conveniente responder por correo habitual para enviar las correspondientes QSL y algún suvenir. Claro, hay que reconocer que pasa cierto tiempo en todo esto, pues no contamos con el personal suficiente, que esté dedicado exclusivamente a ello. Veremos qué se puede hacer para mejorar. Por cierto, desde mi punto de vista, creo que hay ciertos errores tácticos, podríamos decir, de parte de quienes se encargan del servicio de internet en la emisora. Yo, desde hace algún tiempo comencé a dar una de mis direcciones personales (pcortes@orc. ru), pues el filtro anti - spam de la radio, comenzó a rechazar parte de la correspondencia que llegaba a la dirección de Frecuencia RM. En cuanto al correo de la radio, hace poco nuestro servicio encargado de internet, cambió la dirección para la correspondencia en español a: post_es@ruvr.ru Su crítica la haré llegar a quien corresponde y espero que ayude a agilizar las respuestas. Mediante su carta, me he enterado también que Ud. tiene una nueva dirección electrónica. La anterior: tomas@i.(borrado) ..... ¿ya no es válida? Lo consulto para hacer los cambios en nuestra libreta de direcciones. ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Atentamente, (Francisco Rodríguez, Frecuencia RM, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** SAINT HELENA. Dear Glenn, Re. "11092.5-usb, "Rádio Santa Helena", Pounceys, 2338-0040, 15 Dec, songs, postoffice info, announcements, address; 25443, then better signal at 0030 despite azimuth change; 25443 and only marginal audio (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Dec 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You mean you heard them ID in Portuguese? (gh) " No, I didn't hear them in Portuguese - but I simply wanted to use our name for, after all, Ascenção, Santa Helena, Tristão da Cunha are all names coined by Portuguese navigators, remained as such [i.e. the islands] but, to my knowledge, were never claimed as part of the Portuguese crown due to lack of interest. Question of strategy I suppose. Those and many other islands were subsequently used by us for ship supplies, like water and even game, if the goats we took can be called so. "Tristão da Cunha" is an exception - it got the name of a navigator. The other two have their names after the religious calendar. As you know, there's a nice handful of similar cases on the east side of Africa, just to mention this continent (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Dec 27-28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. BBC español --- Rara vez hago un chequeo matutino, pero estos días de vacaciones, por lo menos hasta hoy viernes 28 Dic., me sorprendió encontrar la BBC resucitando en español por 6095 a las 1135, servicio que no aparece registrado en los listados de Aoki ni Eibi, aunque sí en un vistazo a la página de BBC Mundo, mencionada en // con 11825, frecuencia ésta que no escuché. Lo que hasta ahora no me queda claro es si este servicio está apoyado en Greenville o Montsinery. Señal de categoría 5 total con comentarios sobre el fumado en sitios públicos. 73 y Felices Fiestas (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica. Sony ICF7600GR + "V" invertida, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Raúl, 6095 es Greenville; a probar 13760 para Montsinéry en vez de 11825? [1100-1200] (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Emitir especialmente con destino a la audiencia cubana es lo que motiva que sigamos aun escuchando a BBC en Onda Corta en nuestro idioma (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, ibid.) ** U K. PERL ON RAILS - WHY THE BBC FAILS AT THE INTERNET Dec 2nd, 2007 by seb http://iamseb.com/seb/2007/12/perl-on-rails-why-the-bbc-fails-at-the-internet/ Perl on Rails is a project by the smart chaps over in BBC Audio and Music Interactive that replicates the Ruby On Rails MVC framework in Perl. They’re obviously rather proud of themselves, and I understand that internally the project is making waves. Whilst I applaud the technical achievement of the individual developers, I deplore the situation that has forced them to do this. The problem is that the BBC doesn’t control its own technical infrastructure. In an act of staggering short-sightedness it was outsourced to Siemens as part of a much wider divesting of the BBC Technology unit. In typical fashion for the BBC, they managed to select a technology supplier without internet operations experience. We can only assume that this must have seemed like an acceptable risk to the towering intellects running the BBC at the time. Certainly the staff at ground level knew what this meant, and resigned en masse. Several years later this puts the BBC in the unenviable situation of having an incumbent technology supplier which takes a least-possible- effort approach to running the BBC’s internet services. In my time at the BBC, critical operational tasks were known to take days or even weeks despite a contractual service level promising four hour response times. Actual code changes for deploying new applications were known to take months. An upgrade to provide less than a dozen Linux boxes for additional server capacity - a project that was over a year old when I joined the BBC - was still being debated by Siemens when I left, eighteen months later. The BBC’s infrastructure is shockingly outdated, having changed only by fractions over the past decade. Over-priced Sun Enterprise servers running Solaris and Apache provide the front-end layer. This is round- robin load balanced, there’s no management of session state, no load- based connection pool. The front-end servers proxy to the application layer, which is a handful of Solaris machines running Perl 5.6 - a language that was superseded with the release of Perl 5.8 over five and a half years ago. Part of the reason for this is the bizarre insistence that any native modules or anything that can call code of any kind must be removed from the standard libraries and replaced with a neutered version of that library by a Siemens engineer. Yes, that’s right, Siemens forks Perl to remove features that their engineers don’t like. This means that developers working at the BBC might not be able to code against documented features or interfaces because Siemens can, at their sole discretion, remove or change code in the standard libraries of the sole programming language in use. It also means that patches to the language, and widely available modules from CPAN may be several major versions out of date - if they are available at all. The recent deployment of Template Toolkit to the BBC servers is one such example - Siemens took years and objected to this constantly, and when finally they assented to provide the single most popular template language for Perl, they removed all code execution functions from the language. So talented, underpaid, and frustrated software engineers at the BBC are forced to make a decision. Either they can produce websites using static HTML, and make a few remote calls to limited Perl functions, decorating their page with SSIs, or they can fight against a reticent and incompetent technology supplier to make use of a crippled and outdated language on servers that more than likely are unable to meet the capacity requirements of a dynamic application being used by the BBC’s audience. Software engineers at the BBC must become masters of the sleight-of-hand, using every smoke and mirrors tactic they can to conjure the appearance of dynamic websites, not exactly what you would expect from one of the largest media corporations in the world. Oh, and if you’re an external agency working for the BBC and hoping to write a new application or build on technologies that the rest of the world has taken for granted for the best part of a decade, you might as well forget it. There’s only one externally available development server, and it’s not in synchronisation with the live environments. It doesn’t have to be this way. If, instead of forcing its teams to waste valuable license fee payers’ money on duplicating existing free software, the BBC decided to take control of its technical infrastructure and provide a viable platform for complex, dynamic applications, then that creativity, effort, and time could be directed at making more of the kind of applications that make the BBC great. Some work is already progressing in this direction. A large part of the BBC’s Creative Futures project is what the BBC calls “BBC 2.0? (often mistakenly referred to by executives and television-types as “Web 2.0?). The last I heard this was planning to deploy an architecture based around Java, Tomcat, Hibernate, Velocity, and MySQL. Whilst I disagree with the choice of technology for many reasons, this is at least an important step in the right direction for the BBC - as long as they exert control over the infrastructure from end to end. It’s a ridiculous situation, and I know that many talented and respected technical staff have left the BBC in the past few years citing frustration at the insufficient technical infrastructure, and the inability of both Siemens and BBC management to keep up with the pace of technological change. Unfortunately, unless something dramatic changes with the upper levels of BBC management to recognise the nature of the problem, it’s a situation that will remain the status quo for a long time to come (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Willis Conover lives --- in Georgia. Wandering the web between the holidays, I came across a mention of Willis Conover - longtime VOA jazz program host and global jazz emissary - at the US's embassy site in Georgia. As of October, 2007, the VOA has made Conover's programming available to Tblisi's Radio Syndicate 104.3. Interesting to see that Conover's legacy lives on; kudos to the VOA for recognizing the role of Conover in establish global dialogue. See http://georgia.usembassy.gov/releases/2007/release20071019.htm (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Dec 28, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. KAIJ remains off the air from 9480 and 5755. On Dec 27, GM George McClintock told me that the owner of Two If By Sea, Mike Parker, has not informed him of his intentions for KAIJ, but he is currently working on higher priority projects. He has not revealed to anyone when it will return to the air. George adds that it`s sad that KAIJ is off SW, since it was so successful in Asia, getting a lot of mail for broadcasts in English, including from people in China well-educated in English, and was just starting to broadcast in Mandarin. George is not aware of any imminent sale of the station, despite rumors about this. For the time being the webcast is still running, altho it may not be updated. WOR 1386 ran Thu Dec 27 at 1600 instead of the new 1388, or even last week`s 1387, but they have agreed to put the latest WOR on successive webcasts, such as Fri 1200 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 6370, WWRB, Manchester, TN, 0550-0605, Dec 28, English religious talk. Fair signal. 2nd harmonic of 3185 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9840, Shepherd's Chapel Short-wave via WHRI. Full data (with transmitter site) Shepherd & Cross QSL card, with religious promotion materiel, CD and order forms in 12 days. v/s: Doug Griffith. Address for Reports: Shepherd's Chapel, P. O. Box 416, Gravette, Arkansas, 72736 USA (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Dec 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Family Radio via Almaty: see KAZAKHSTAN ** U S A. INTELLIGENCE ANALYST PAUL S. MCPHERSON, 87 By Joe Holley, Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, December 27, 2007; B05 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/26/AR2007122601977_pf.html Paul Shedd McPherson, 87, a retired official with the Foreign Broadcast Information Service and an ardent Anglophile, died of emphysema Dec. 17 at the Washington Home hospice. He was a D.C. resident. Mr. McPherson, a Chicago native, was a student at the University of Chicago when he enlisted in the Army in 1942. After graduating from Officer Candidate School, he served with the 278th Engineer Combat Battalion in the Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe campaigns. Discharged in 1946, he remained a reservist until 1963, retiring a major. Returning to the University of Chicago, he received an undergraduate degree in international relations in 1948, took graduate courses and later that year joined the Foreign Broadcast Information Service as an intelligence analyst. The service at the time monitored Soviet, Chinese and East European radio broadcasts and other media for the CIA and other national security agencies. He served as acting chief and chief of the service's analytical office, then called the special reports branch. He became chief of the service's London bureau in 1961 and of the Okinawa bureau in 1966. Mr. McPherson was an acknowledged expert at drawing inferences about the intentions of Soviet and Chinese leaders, based on the content and behavior of the media in their respective countries. He was credited with identifying some of the earliest signs of the Sino-Soviet split. He retired in 1971. Mr. McPherson's Anglophilia was nurtured in the 1960s when he lived with his family in Streatley-on-Thames, west of London. He also lived in the village for five years after he retired, on property above the Thames Valley that included three greenhouses, apple and plum orchards, rose beds, an ambitious vegetable garden and a grass tennis court. Deeply interested in archaeology, he immersed himself in the subject of Roman roads that laced England and enjoyed traveling the length and breadth of the country with a sheaf of maps published by Great Britain's national mapping agency. He also was a longtime contributor to "The Good Food Guide" and "The Good Pub Guide" and was a member of the English Place-Name Society. A skilled photographer, he compiled a large collection of prints, slides and home movies of the English countryside and its people. He collected English Windsor chairs and antique English treen -- small, intricately crafted wooden items with a functional purpose. Despite his love and respect for all things English, Mr. McPherson thought the world's most beautiful city was Kyoto, Japan's old capital. He studied its history and collected original art and poetry. Mr. McPherson returned to the District in 1977 but continued living in England for three or four months every year until failing health about six years ago made it difficult for him to travel. His marriage to Rozanne Armstrong McPherson ended in divorce. Survivors include three daughters, Camilla McPherson Jacobs of Sykesville, Ellen McPherson Simmons of the District and Priscilla McPherson Phillips of Vienna; a sister; and four grandchildren. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) OBIT ** U S A. After watching a few more episodes of Firebrand, the all- ads-all-the-time hour on Ion TV network, some of the same commercials have appeared repeatedly so this is looking more and more like a commercial coöp than an artistic exercise. Still undeniably a lot of creative effort goes into the best of them --- just so you aren`t really persuaded to buy crap you don`t need (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FORMAT CHANGES POPPING UP ALL OVER THE DIAL [INDIANAPOLIS] http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=7544451&nav=menu188_2 Updated: Radio formats changing WIBC is moving its talk format to 93.1 FM ESPN Radio takes over the 1070 signal on the AM dial Kris Kirschner/Eyewitness News Indianapolis - If you wondered why your radio sounds different today, you're not just hearing things. Local powerhouse station WIBC made the move from AM to the FM dial, marking the beginning of a rash of changes in the local radio market. The station can now be found at 93.1 FM after more than seventy years as 1070 AM. The station, now all talk, hopes to appeal to a younger demographic and a wider audience. "Just like TV, radio's going to high-definition. New receivers are coming in, we really need to be ready for the future," says WIBC Director of Operations John Quick. "The audience is now moving to FM, especially the new generation is moving to FM. We're hoping to capture that." Taking over the 1070 spot on the AM dial is an all-sports format powered by ESPN Radio. "The Fan" takes to the air January 7, making it one of the largest ESPN affiliates in the country. They're planning a series of television commercials to promote the switch. There's another change on the dial at 93.9 FM, which became a Christmas channel after a year of unsuccessful talk radio. Programmers say the motive behind the format change, which will be revealed at 9:39 a.m. on January 2, is to improve ratings which underperformed over the past year under the talk format. At 101.9, what's old is new again, as the station now plays hits from the 1960s and 1970s. "The challenge is really getting the word out, letting people know we have a new home," Quick said. While it may take listeners some time to get used to Indy's version of radio roulette, station owners are hoping the gamble pays off with bigger audiences and better ratings (WTHR news via Artie Bigley, DXLD) CUMULUS IS KEEPING FORMAT CHANGE A SECRET Emmis and Radio One continue transitions --- Fri. December 28 - 2007 Anthony Schoettle - IBJ staff Several central Indiana radio stations will ring in 2008 with new formats and on-air talent, and new marketing campaigns bellowing the changes to listeners and advertisers. One station is keeping its plans secret, fearful of an industry domino effect if its strategy leaks out. There’s plenty at stake. Listener ratings for the first quarter of 2008 will be watched closely, local media buyers said, and could affect spending later in the year. . . http://cms.ibj.com/ASPXPages/6iframes/FrontEndArticlesDetailPage.aspx?ArticleID=09255&NoFrame=1 (Indianapolis Business Journal via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Re 7-159, WCNZ 1660 Irrelevant Radio address: I'm am always baffled as to why people just don't do a Google search for answers. http://www.relevantradio.com/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=479&srcid=204 Relevant Radio 1410 AM / 1660 AM Bob Ladd Operations Manager 239-732- 9369 email: bladd @ relevantradio.com Also, what does he mean by "...after they have left X-band?" 1660 remains active (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UZBEKISTAN. 6260, CVC International (Voice Asia) via Tashkent. Full data (with site) QSL card, along with decal, religious material, pen and a very Nice CVC ball cap. This was a response from Richard Daniel, who took the time to respond to my QSL attempts to get 6260 broadcast verified. All my attempts to CVC VoiceAsia went unanswered for their 1400 broadcast in Hindi. It took 9.5 months to get my report verified for this one, with the last attempt via e-mail to Mr. Daniel, asking him for his assistance. v/s: Richard Daniel. The QSL package (very large brown envelope, sent via airmail) came from CVC International Australia. All my correspondences to Mr. Richard Daniel was via e- mail. After I received his package I wrote back and thanked him for his extra effort on my quest for this verification (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Dec 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR [and non]. Regarding my Zanzibar item, 7-159: seemed to be specifically about the trafficking of children and some of them had just been flown home. They said many Tanzanian children end up in Saudi Arabia. This website talks about their new campaign: http://appablog.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/tanzania-counter-trafficking-information-campaign-launched/ BTW - Sorry, I used the wrong reference, should be "East Africa Time". Wish you all the best for 2008 and continued success with your various radio activities! (Ron Howard, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Trafficking in Tanzania is both internal and international, but most cases identified so far are of internal trafficking. Girls and boys are routinely trafficked from rural areas to urban areas where they are abused and exploited in domestic worker, commercial agriculture, fishing and mining industries, and in child prostitution. Women and children are also trafficked for sexual or labour exploitation to neighbouring countries and as far afield as the Middle East and Europe. Tanzania is also becoming a transit country for victims of trafficking from the Horn of Africa who are taken to South Africa (excerpt from above site, via gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Hi, Anybody having info about this station which I heard last night on 3927 kHz at 2045 UT? Email: radiomistletoe @ live.com 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15750 kHz. Seit 0850 UT hoere ich eine Station auf 15750 kHz, die ein etwa einminuetiges, ruhiges Instrumentalstueck spielt, wieder und wieder. Ich dachte, ein mir bisher unbekanntes Pausenzeichen. Laeuft aber ueber die 0900 Uhr-Grenze. Scheint ein Platzhalter zu sein, um die Frequenz freizuhalten. Was oder wer ist denn das? (Martin Elbe, Germany, A-DX Dec 26 via BC-DX Dec 28 via DXLD) 15750 puzzle, continuously played music similar to VTC guitar pause music, but different copy. approx. 0845-0957 UT Dec 26. IRRS Milan religious program feed via Rimavska Sobota, Slovak Rep.? Or just a transmitter equipment check with continuous music loop on air? Universal Life - Universelles Leben Wuerzburg Germany via IRRS via RSO 15750 site is registered on Suns 1300 UT only. IRRS Nexus parallel stream at 1300 UT = 1400 CET 15750 1300-1330 to zones 30,31,40-43 MIL 150kW 95 degrees http://www.nexus.org/NEXUS-IBA/Schedules/sun.htm (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 26, BC-DX via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for all your hard work on DXLD. I've been looking at the stats and it could be a record number of postings this month; who says radio has had its day! (Mike Terry, UK, dxldyg) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ LONDON CALLING Kelly Books had a complete set of bound ``London Callings`` from 1939 to 1957 for 1500 pounds, with other bound copies available at 50 pounds per year. Something to add to your Xmas list? http://www.radiotimesbacknumbers.com (Dec BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ HISSSSS My gut feeling is that: - IBOC is only a small part of the reason for the shrinkage of DX News. While it has certainly had an impact on the dial, there aren't enough stations running it at night to render DX impossible. Indeed, at this location I would say fewer than five channels have been rendered "un-DXable" due to IBOC. I've only heard one IBOC signal in regional-channel spectrum at night. (I mean, only one set of IBOC buzz. The chances of actually decoding anything on a regional channel are pretty close to zero!) I'm not sure what accounts for the other 80% of the reason for skinny magazines. I might suggest the growing use of syndicated programming. (which means there isn't anything interesting to listen for, and it's a LOT harder to ID stations) Increasing noise from computers/poorly maintained power lines/noisy TV sets/etc. probably is part of the problem. And the difficulty in putting up outdoor antennas in the modern world of deed restrictions, though I think that probably hurts FM/TV DXers more than it hurts AM. - I would concur that there will probably be less TV DX DXed in the all-digital era. For at least a few years I think quality will at least in part make up for it - we'll be logging less low-band DX but what we do log will be more interesting. People who might not have bothered to report their 173rd logging of WESH-2 will report their first logging of TTT-2 from Trinidad. (I think we'll see a LOT more multi-hop Es reported. My experience on 6 meters suggests this is really fairly common, it's just that we don't see it on TV due to interference from closer stations at the first hop.) Eventually the Latin American countries will also go DTV. Mexico already has a drop-dead date for analog (2020?) and most South American countries are reported to have DTV plans. - I do not think it's a foregone conclusion that IBOC will continue to spread on FM. Growth has certainly stalled around here. The receivers simply are not selling. I occasionally hear deals with automakers touted but they seem to involve only the high-end vehicles. The same thing happened with AM Stereo - and we see where that got to... The "big box" stores are selling Sirius and XM, not HD. It will take a few years for the HD push to peter out. There's a lot of "face" to be lost right now. In a few years, the executives who committed their group's money to HD will be retiring and their replacements won't have a stake in keeping it running. Stations won't actively turn the HD off, but it will go away by attrition. They won't bother to fix it if the HD exciter dies; they won't bother to include HD when they build a new transmitter site. There will probably still be HD FM stations in ten years - but only maybe half as many as there are today. - I do not sense that what we already have has completely ruined DX. New England and the NYC area have to be worst-case, yet folks like Mike and Keith and Rick are still reporting plenty of DX. We've embraced HD as a new mode to DX, to a much greater degree than the AM folks have. We're DXing the digitals, and reporting them. The umpteenth logging of KKOB-FM may not end up in Southern FM (though it should!) but a logging of KKOB-HD certainly will! -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, Dec 28, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) There are many unknowns about how DTV DX will behave without the presence of ATV CCI (and with the 6th generation chip). It might actually be *easier* to decode DTVs on the low-band via *Es* than it is currently. Only seven DTVs have been decoded via Es at present, and Greg Barker is the *only* DXer who has received two of those. If they put FM stations or something else on low-band channels, that might kill TV DXing even in the south, where DXers are looking forward to empty channels for Latin TV DX (Danny Shreveport, LA Oglethorpe, ibid.) DRM RECEPTION WITH MORPHY RICHARDS Hi Glenn, I have been trying out the DRM shortwave after been given a Morphy Richards receiver for Christmas. Mainly I have been listening to Deutsche Welle programs in stereo, on 13590 13810 and 3995 kHz. I have also heard Ministry of Information from Kuwait on 13620. Voice of Russia has also bought pleasing results and audio quality. I tuned them at 0800 on 11615 and at 1500 on 5905 via Taldom with 40 kW. Data shown on VOR transmissions indicated that this was a test transmission from Talsom [their typo or yours? Hey, another advantage of DRM – typos! -- gh], and mentioned QSL e mail address and also transmitter site address at Taldom. The audio quality is excellent when the signal is there, but during periods of rough reception, there are dropouts. I very much enjoy listening to international programming and music in high quality audio, but passion remains with analog (Chris Lewis, England, Dec 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DRM: see also AUSTRALIA [non]; BANGLADESH RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ SHORTWAVE RECEIVER MANUFACTURING Re DXLD 7-159 --- Jin Changge's information on SW Receiver Manufacturers. A small correction is required. The Sangean ATS-909 is still being manufactured in Taiwan, well it certainly was a few months ago. I'm not aware of this radio also being produced in China. Having said that, most other Sangean receiver models are manufactured over in China. Regards (Ian Baxter, Australia, Dec 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ETON E5 REVIEW ONLINE AT MT WEBSITE In DXLD 7-159 in the RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM, Harry Helms mentioned about doing a review of the Eton E5. If you don't want to wait for that review we have a Monitoring Times First Look review of the Eton E5 online at the Monitoring Times website, address: http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/mtfirstlook-etone5.pdf You will find just about every recent PS scanner and SW receiver review online at the MT website. These are in the public section of the website and are available free of charge as a public service to the radio hobby community. 73 de Larry (Larry Van Horn, N5FPW, President, Teak Publishing, Brasstown NC Monitoring Times Assistant/Technical Editor MT Milcom/Help Desk/What's New Columnist Milcom Monitoring Post: http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/ Dec 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) But Larry, my review is worth waiting for since it will be much more insightful and informative!! ;-) While I haven't used the E5 enough to be comfortable enough to do my own review yet, I do agree with most of the points in the MT review. Here are some additional items I've noted since my initial Christmas Day assessment: 1) I don't know whether this is a peculiarity of my unit or if it affects all E5s, but sensitivity seems really low in the 1700-3000 kHz range. WWV is there on 2500 but is not loud; Australia-2310 is nicely audible on my ICF-2010 but not even a trace on the E5. Sensitivity seems to dramatically increase past 3000 kHz. 2) MW and FM sensitivity is really outstanding for the price; it's hotter on 530-1700 kHz than a C Crane radio, for example, and seems fully equivalent to the ICF-2010. On FM, it is more sensitive and selective than the ICF-2010, and that's a major, pleasant surprise. 3) I find the narrow bandwidth useful on my unit, especially on the 5 kHz SW channel spacing. However, the skirts are broad and the narrow bandwidth doesn't help when a powerhouse is 5 kHz away from the desired signal. 4) There are lots of AM stations "breaking through" the LW range at night, so many that its usefulness on LW is severely compromised. That's a shame, as the E5 is very sensitive on LW. 5) As might be expected, there is a killer spur around 455 kHz and another around 2360 kHz. There may be more I haven't found yet. 6) Images are also an issue on SW. I spent some time yesterday morning trying to identify a faint "new" religious broadcaster in English on 4900. On the hour, I heard an ID for WEWN, and then it hit me. . . . 4900 + (2*455) = 5810! 7) Dynamic range is very good for its price class. On MW I've used it with my Quantum Loop, and there's been no sign of overloading or cross-mod. I think the E5 could handle external antennas very well. I was looking for a small, light portable with decent performance, and for its price I'm satisfied with the E5 (Harry Helms W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19 http://harryhelmsblog.blogspot.com/ ibid.) NEW WIFI INTERNET RADIO $150US Re 7-159: Must have been a Boxing Day sale price. Today it is listed at $179.99 on bestbuy.com. It is not on bestbuy.ca at all (Jim VA3JNO, Dec 27, ODXA yg via DXLD) Good catch, Jim. I called them about it this morning because after agonizing all night, I decided to go ahead and buy one. But I too saw it had jumped to $179.99 + shipping. (It had been $149.99 with free shipping!) They told me it was a Tuesday-Wednesday special and when they said they wouldn't sell it to me at the lower price, I told them I wasn't buying at their inflated price. That was that (John Figliozzi, NY, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SOLAR CYCLE UNDERWAY [it`s always underway, silly --- gh] Solar cycles last, on average, 11 years. Solar Cycle 24 may have started this month. Since Solar Cycle 23 peaked between 2000 and 2003, solar activity has been declining. Amateur radio operators and shortwave listeners have been closely watching for the new cycle to start, knowing increasing solar activity will lead to higher maximum usable frequencies (MUF) and better high-frequency propagation. Satellite operators and TV engineers at stations on low VHF channels are also watching the solar cycle, but their concerns are that solar storms could damage satellites and higher MUF could allow distant stations to interfere with TV reception. . . http://www.radioworld.com/pages/s.0101/t.10418.html (TV Technology contributor Doug Lung, Radio World December 28, 2007 via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) It was hard for me to read any further. As any TV DXer knows, F2 skip at high MUFs of TV frequencies, even channel 2, is extremely rare, but does occur at solar cycle peaks. Causing FAR greater interference is sporadic E which occurs every summer and winter, and seems to peak when the solar cycle is in trough (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: Solar Cycle Underway? I have the following posted on my propagation website at http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf5.htm : .....Anecdotal evidence points to solar cycle 23 minimum in October 2007 with a monthly International Sunspot Index (ISSI) number of 0.9. The lowest daily solar flux reading since July 1996 of 64.4 occurred on September 28, 2007. The lowest maximum daily Solar Flux Index (SFI) reading since October 1996 of 71 occurred on September 01, 2007. However a brand new Coronal Hole #299 formed on 11/14/2007, then #301 on 11/24/2007 and #302 on 11/30/2007. We have also seen new sunspot group activity on 11/06/2007, 11/13/2007, between 11/24-26/2007 and 12/01-07-2007. All of these recent sunspot groups carry a solar cycle 23 magnetic polarity. This puts in doubt the anecdotal evidence that solar cycle #23 bottomed out in 10/2007. However we will have to see what the Smoothed Sunspot Number (SSN) is for September and October 2007. Some good news for pending solar cycle 24 is a new mid latitude plage/sunspot group that rose above the eastern horizon of the Sun on Wednesday 12/12/2007. It has a magnetic polarity of a solar cycle 24 sunspot group. Check out the following NASA site about it. IS A NEW SOLAR CYCLE BEGINNING? NOAA/SWPC predicted that solar cycle 24 would begin in January 2007, which did not occur. Their next prediction was for March 2007, which did not occur. Their latest prediction is now for February 2008. My prediction was that solar cycle 24 will begin in June 2007 which did not occur. It appears that my retirement in 2001 has made my forecasting skills a bit rusty. The SWPC currently has two forecasts out for solar cycle 24. Forecast #1 calls for a sunspot number peak of 140 in October 2011. Forecast #2 calls for a sunspot number peak of 90 in August 2012. I predict a solar cycle 24 peak at a (SSN) smoothed sunspot number of 105 in October 2012 and of course I hope that my forecast is incorrect. If correct solar cycle 24 would be smaller than the previous three..... Speaking of TV, or actually VHF DX, I see some every day via Tropo and Es on the NOAA Weather Radio frequencies. 73, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF Retired Space Plasma Physicist, Lakeland, FL, USA KN4LF Daily Solar Space Weather & Geomagnetic Data Archive: http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf5.htm KN4LF Daily LF/MF/HF Frequency Radiowave Propagation Forecast Subscription Site: http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf6.htm KN4LF 160 Meter Radio Propagation Theory Notes: http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf8.htm Dec 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###