DX LISTENING DIGEST 8-017, February 8, 2008 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 2008 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 1394 [revised] Fri 2130 WWCR1 15825 Fri 2330 WBCQ 5110-CUSB Sat 0900 WRMI 9955 Sat 1730 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0330 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Sun 1615 WRMI 7385 Mon 0400 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [irregular] Mon 0515 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 Tue 1630 WRMI 7385 Wed 1230 WRMI 9955 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: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** AUSTRALIA. [R. Australia] Now back on their regular schedule (after midsummer break in December-January) with the news magazine “PM” well heard on 9580 kHz after 1100 UT news, February 7. A very fine program, with news on: cuts in “Extraordinary Circumstance” funds for drought stricken Australian farmers; the cessation of the advertising campaign of Tourism Australia of “Where the bloody hell are you?” after two years and $180 Million Australian; a new white paper on Australian defense and strategic policy, the first since 2000; serious environmental problems posed by Russian industries where economic growth over the Putin years has ignored environmental consequences of this industrial boom; and finally the discovery (with help of a team from Columbia University) of a new virus as the cause of 3 deaths (in January 2006) of recipients of organs from the same donor in Melbourne in late 2005. It is nice to have this fine news magazine back, after weeks of absence with their summer schedule, compounded by poor propagation much of the last month (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, Grundig YB 400 PE with external wire, ODXA yg via DXLD) So was the news also on vacation? ** AUSTRIA. Re 13730: ``Per HFCC, 13730 switches from a 160 degree antenna to 0 degrees (or non-direxional?) at 1200 UT. (Glenn Hauser- OK-USA, dxld Feb 3)`` 13730 1200-1830 UT antenna type 975 VM8/8/120/3, looks like a non- direxional vertical monopole (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Feb 8 via DXLD) ** BENIN. David Shore would be most interested to learn whether anybody can receive TWR on 1566 kHz between 1800 and 2000 GMT. It is currently in test phase, and due to start regular broadcasting on 3rd February 2008. You may hear David as one of the broadcasters, so please dust down your MW loop antenna and give it a go --- there is a surprising lack of European or African stations on this channel, according to WRTH 2008 (David Morris, Open to Discussion, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) What languages does Shore speak? Per 8-015, English ends at 1825, then African languages (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** BHUTAN. 6035.00, BBS Thimpu, 1529, Feb 07, Dzongkha (?) surfaced after co/channel Polish R off. Lots of telephone interviews mixed with ethnic songs to past 1621 tune-out. Quite a decent signal on clear channel but spoilt as soon as CRI had appeared on 6040 at 1557. No idea why they were running late, their website appears to be out of operation 73, (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, Feb 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4450, R. La Cruz del Sur, 02/06, Spanish, 2330-2356 male and female talks, messages to listeners, presumed news and local events announcements, music at 2350, 2334 mentioned "R. La Cruz del Sur, Cruz del Sur..." , s/off at 2356 (but sometimes it seems at 2345). Like always, very weak and noisy 23222 (LOB-B). 73 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4717, 2335 UT 20 Jan, R. Yatun Ayllu Yura, Andean flute(?) music, 2337 ID, deteriorating quickly from SIO 222 to 121, fade out about 0010, Spanish announcements (Charles Hendry, Bucks., Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. CULTURA AM TEM NOVO PARQUE TÉCNICO Os ouvintes da Rádio Cultura AM (1200 kHz - São Paulo/SP) têm uma boa notícia... O sinal da emissora passará a ter mais qualidade e um alcance maior. A partir deste mês de fevereiro, com a inauguração do novo parque de transmissores da Cultura AM, próximo à Represa de Guarapiranga, zona sul de São Paulo, o público que sintonizava a Rádio com dificuldades nas regiões das Marginais Pinheiros e Tietê e na Avenida Paulista, por exemplo, passarão a ouvir a transmissão da programação em alto e bom som. A emissora transmitirá com 100 mil watts de potência, o dobro do que transmite hoje, além de também transmitir em AM digital, já que possui um transmissor HD Radio. Vale lembrar que as Rádios Record AM (1000 kHz - São Paulo/SP) e Jovem Pan AM (620 kHz - São Paulo/SP) também transmitem seus sinais nas proximidades, onde os terrenos são ideais por terem solo úmido que permite uma maior propagação dos sinais de AM. FONTE: Comunique-se / Rádio Cultura, Colaboração: Fabiano Souza (via Marcelo Bedene, Feb 8, dxclubepr yg via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. 7200, 1555 UT 20 Jan, R. Bulgaria, simulcast from Sofia and Plovdiv, echo effect, IS, Russian, SIO 422 (David Gascoyne, Kent, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Indeed, HFCC shows both during this hour 1500-1600; you`d think one would really be a backup for the other, not intentionally both at once, but if so, why in the world don`t they synchronize the audio? Sofia 100 kW at 30 degrees, Plovdiv 250 kW at 45 degrees (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEET) ** BURKINA FASO. 7230, Radio Burkina, *0802-0820, Feb 8, sign on with instrumental melody. Vernacular talk. Local tribal music. Good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHAD. 4904.97, RNT, *0433-0443+, Feb 8, sign on with National Anthem. Opening French announcements at 0434. French talk & Afro-pop music. Fair signal. (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4904.9 at 0521 UT on Feb 8th noted with Afro-pop music and talk; audio quite muffled so it was difficult to identify the language. Might this be Chad returning to the air after the coup-related interruption? (Jim Ronda, Tulsa, OK, DXplorer Feb 8 via BC-DX via DXLD) Everything back to normal? 4905 heard again Feb 8 at 0630 with usual music, 0641 announcement; heavy CODAR QRM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CHADIAN STATE RADIO BACK ON THE AIR FROM TEMPORARY STUDIOS Chadian state radio and TV have resumed broadcasting, following a break in operations after rebels stormed the capital Ndjamena on 2 February. Hobbyists, who had been listening carefully for shortwave transmissions from Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne (RNT, also known as Radio Tchad), reported on enthusiasts’ websites that erratic broadcasts were heard on 6 February, and more consistent output monitored the following day. The transmissions are being heard on the usual shortwave frequency of 4905 kHz. Studios Radio France Internationale (RFI) noted on 8 February that Radio Tchad was also broadcasting locally in Ndjamena on its usual frequency of 98.05 FM. It said that alternative studios were now being used, after the station’s former premises were looted and burnt during the recent fighting. The French news agency AFP on 7 February said Radio Tchad was now being hosted in the offices of a private radio station inside Ndjamena’s grand mosque. AFP had reported on 5 February that national television returned to the air that day. (Source: BBC Monitoring research 6-7 Feb 08) (February 8th, 2008 by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** CHINA. Re CHINA on latest DXLD [8-015] --- Perhaps CRI is the only SW broadcaster aware of the numbers of SW radios being shipped out of China over the past dozen or so years (Wells Perkins in N.J., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. DENUNCIAN QUE FARC OBLIGARON AL CIERRE DE EMISORA DE RADIO EN TOLIMA http://internacional.eluniversal.com/2008/02/08/int_ava_denuncian-que-farc-o_08A1353921.shtml Bogotá.- La guerrilla de las FARC obligó el cierre de una emisora de radio en el departamento de Tolima (centro-oeste) por transmitir mensajes en los cuales el gobierno invita a los rebeldes a desmovilizarse, informa hoy el diario "El Tiempo" de Bogotá. La denuncia fue hecha por José Joaquín Sánchez, propietario y director de la emisora Acción FM Estéreo, ubicada en el municipio de Anzoátegui y con cobertura en una amplia zona de Tolima, quien dijo que recibió amenazas de muerte de miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). Según Sánchez, las amenazas comenzaron cuando la estación radial, así como muchas otras emisoras del país, transmitió mensajes pagados por el gobierno que invitan a los guerrilleros a reflexionar sobre la situación del país y a deponer las armas, divulgó DPA. Sánchez relató que sus problemas empezaron el pasado 16 de enero y que el domingo anterior tomó la decisión de desconectar sus equipos técnicos cuando recibió la llamada de un hombre que le dijo: "Si no apaga en una hora, se muere, periodista". Por otra parte, medios de prensa informan hoy que el Ejército está esperando el resultado de pruebas de forenses para identificar a cuatro miembros de las FARC que murieron el pasado 1 de febrero en un ataque de la Fuerza Aérea contra un campamento que ese grupo tenía en el departamento de Meta (centro). Informaciones de inteligencia indican que uno de los rebeldes muertos puede ser alias "Mauricio", un médico que creó la denominada "comisión nacional de sanidad" de las FARC (via José Miguel Romero2, Spain, dxldyg via DXLD) ** CUBA. Sitio web de TV Cubana --- La TV Cubana ha lanzado un sitio web donde se colocarán las últimas novedades del acontecer de este medio en Cuba, la dirección es: http://www.tvcubana.co.cu/ Saludos (Ing. Yandys Cervantes Rodríguez, WebMaster, Sede Universitaria Municipal, Buey Arriba, Granma, Cuba, Feb 8, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** CUBA [and non]. EL DÍA QUE LA ANTENA REVOLVIÓ LA HABANA Lucas Garve, Fundación por la Libertad de Expresión Crónica 7 de febrero de 2008 LA HABANA, febrero http://www.cubanet.org - Sucedió el martes 29. La causa de la conmoción de los habaneros fue la transmisión de la primera emisión de “Pellízcame que estoy soñando” por el canal 41 de televisión de Miami, captada en La Habana por las antenas clandestinas mediante las cuales los habaneros siguen la actualidad miamense e internacional. Resulta también que el conductor de la emisión mencionada es nada más y nada menos que Carlos Otero, un ex presentador de la televisión cubana, quien recientemente pidió asilo en los EEUU y se instaló de inmediato en Miami, donde fue súbitamente fichado por el canal 41, propiedad del argentino Omar Romay. El cubano Otero viajó fuera de Cuba a finales de año para grabar una emisión de fin de año en Toronto, Canadá, desde donde aprovechó para escapar a Miami con toda su familia. En la televisión cubana, Carlos Otero era el presunto heredero –por vocación y carisma- de una saga de legendarios conductores que animaron las emisiones de la pequeña pantalla con un savoir faire propio de la televisión de entretenimiento más que de la acartonada televisión estatal dominada por ideólogos del Partido Comunista de Cuba. Ocurre entonces que los cubanos se afanan por ver la emisión sustituta de Carlos y punto –del canal 6- reemplazada ahora por “Pellízcame, que estoy soñando” del canal 41. . . [``Pinch me, I`m dreaming``] http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y08/feb08/07a9.html (via Oscar de Céspedes, FL, condiglist yg via DXLD) Are they getting Canal 41 direct tnx to tropo DX, or more likely via some satellite feed? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** DUCIE ISLAND. 10/02/2008: The final countdown for the VP6DX Ducie Island (OC-182) team (Dietmar/DL3DXX, Ben/DL6FBL, Carsten/DL6LAU, Andy/DL8LAS, Tonno/ES5TV, Eric/K3NA, Milt/N5IA, Harry/RA3AUU, Leszek/SP3DOI, Robert/SP5XVY, Cliff/SV1JG, Andy/UA3AB and Robin/WA6CDR) has started. The team expects to reach the island at the local sunrise on February 9th and to be QRV not earlier than the local night on the 11th. They plan to set up seven stations on two widely separated locations, with one 26m-tall vertical for 160m, five 4-Squares (80, 40 and 30m), five vertical dipole arrays (20, 17, 15, 12 and 10m) and one 5-element Yagi for 6m. Actual QRT time will be dictated by weather and sea forecasts; if conditions are good, operations will end February 28th. An expedition to Ducie Island (OC-182) is being organized to take place in February 2008. QSL via DL6LAU, direct only (Carsten Esch, Drosselweg 3, 21376 Salzhausen, Germany). Bureau card requests will be accepted only through the Online QSL Request System, which can be used for direct cards as well (see http://www.vp6dx.com for full information on QSLing). All of the remaining QSOs will be confirmed automatically via the bureau after 8-12 months. Details on how to contribute, news, on-line logs and much more can be found at: http://www.vp6dx.com/ [425 DX News] (via I.C.P.O. Bulletin (February 07-15, 2008) Islands, Castles & Portable Operations, via Dave Raycroft, ed., ODXA yg via DXLD) Sigh, remember when VP6 was Barbados? Why not leave well enough alone? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ECUADOR [non]. 3895 kHz, 1611 UT Jan 1, HCJB, OM religious talk in German // 3955 Wertachtal, transmitter [spurious] product? SIO 233 (David Gascoyne, Kent, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Wadi el Nil planned from Mar 30: 9250 1900-0030 48,53 ABZ 100 kW 160 deg Arabic (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Feb 8 via DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, 1058 16 Jan, R. Africa No. 2, Bata, African music, vernacular, SIO 333 (Richard Thurlow, Suffolk, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ?? I thought this existed only to broadcast American gospel huxters; or do they ever fill with such music and vernacular? I must again point out that CRI is scheduled on 15190 in English at 10-11; and also, if you hear something on 15190 at 1200-1300, be sure it isn`t VOA in English via Sri Lanka. List-logging should first take into account all the possible alternatives and rule them out, or at least mention them (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15190 Guinea OFF again, at least 2-3 weeks absent on 19 mb (Wolfgang Büschel, Feb 5, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Feb 8 via DXLD) 15190, R Africa still off apparently, just CRI here at 1020 check Feb 8 via DX Tuner Sweden (Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. RE: Maarten van Delft`s report in 8-016: Thanks a lot for those infos! Will include it in the africalist.de.ms update soon! Concerning 9704: I'm quite sure that it's mostly inactive for several months now. Not even a het to La Voix du Sahel in the mornings or afternoons. Regarding the Info on VoTR: I heard a quite strong signal around 1800 on 5950 lately, and no parallels. So that does also fit to your information. Don't believe they serve 5950 and 6170 by one transmitter, but I'm not an expert also. The Oromo Service schedule does not fit to the one given at wrth.com, but I didn't recognize any Ethiopian signal on 6030 much later than 1800 lately. R. Fana 6110/7210 and R. Ethiopia 5990/7110 are quite strong sometimes. Regarding External Service: old schedules give 1500-1600 as Anti- Eritrean programs; have they been included into regular external service now? And what about the 0400 broadcast to Eritrea? 73 from (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, http://www.africalist.de.ms Feb 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GIBRALTAR. 50 YEARS ANNIVERSARY OF RADIO GIBRALTAR ON FEB 16TH, 2008. http://www.insight-gibraltar.com/article.asp#2 Am 16. Februar 2008 feiert Radio Gibraltar 50-jaehrigen Geburtstag. Hier ein schoener Artikel dazu. (Christian-D, A-DX Feb 8 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** GREENLAND. Greenland gets 5 MHz. The Greenlandic telecom administration has announced seven 5 MHz frequencies for OX operators to use SSB, CW and digimodes. They now have 5260, 5280, 5290, 5368, 5373, 5400 and 5405 kHz. [GB2RS] (via I.C.P.O. Bulletin (February 07- 15, 2008) Islands, Castles & Portable Operations, via Dave Raycroft, ed., ODXA yg via DXLD) Regarding the 60 meter ham band, check out a Web page devoted to that band. http://www.60meters.info/ (K7RA Solar Update, ARRL Feb 8 via Steve Lare, dxldyg via DXLD) About Greenland and the few other countries allowing ham operation on such frequencies, more like 55-58 meters (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 4799.79, Radio Buenas Nuevas, 0415-0433*, Feb 8, local religious music. Spanish talk. Closing announcements with ID at 0432. Poor signal in noise, CODAR QRM and slight het from presumed Mexico 4800. Thanks to Mark Schiefelbein for tip (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4799.8, R Buenas Nuevas, 1238-1350+, 02/08/08, Spanish. Male announcer playing music with a couple of "Radio Buenas Nuevas" IDs between songs, then long dialogue by M/F announcers with brief pauses like they were reading off a script. Theme music with longer RBN ID mentioning meter bands, some further talk with low audio, then back to the tunes after 1300, with occasional longer talks to 1350 fadeout. CODAR QRM much worse than yesterday, making speech difficult to follow. Frequency seemed to drift a little. Fair/poor (Mark Schiefelbein, MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Excellent log! Have them at 1250 with *very weak signal*, YL. CODAR major problem but Mexico is off and on schedule on 4800, seems off at the moment. 4799.816 drifting, Radio Buenas Nuevas, thanks! M. Schiefelbein log. Noted from 1230 to 1308, same YL as before, marimbas on the hour, om ID after the hour (Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Evening all, There is a shuttle launch tonite (if it`s not scrubbed due to weather). We're having a gathering in #hearsat IRC channel which you can get to here: http://www.starchat.net/chat/applet.php?chan=hearsat You should be able to copy the shuttle direct in its 'air to ground' channel of 259.700 AM. Start around 259.710 MHz and tune down as the shuttle flies over. Please pop in and say hello if you are interested in monitoring shuttle or satellite comms. Regards, (Paul J Marsh, UK, Feb 7, monitoringmonthly yg via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. GO ATLANTIS! WOO-HOO! Excellent launch this afternoon! Believe me, we here at the NASA/Johnson Space Center were quite happy that we were able to get STS-122/ISS Flight 1E into orbit! It's delivering the Columbus Module to the ISS for the European Space Agency (Steve N5WBI Ponder, Houston TX, Feb 7, ABDX via DXLD) I was listening to Cape Radio working Liberty Star (and Freedom Star) on 5711 USB. These are the SRB recovery vessels. If you have ever wondered just where they come back to earth, today, they were spotted by a/c at (no 1) 30 deg 17.5 min N x 78 deg 42.8 min W and (no 2) at 30 deg 16.8 min N x 78 deg 41.3 min W. The heading to the SRBs from the ship was 062 deg 9.4 NM and 071 deg 10.4 NM and they expected to be on scene in 30 mins. These splashdown coords of course vary widely depending on the launch attitude of the STS, which is a function of why the mission is being done, and where they have to point it. In the mid-1990's when I was in LI they did a launch with a very high angle orbit, late afternoon and it went right up the eastern seaboard (unusual) and I watched it on CNN then went outside and about 8 minutes later got a visual sighting. In 2002 or so I saw, from Orlando, a dawn launch and about 3 or 4 minutes after launch could see the steam trails from the 2 burned out SRBs as they fell to earth (ocean), brilliantly backlit from the rising sun. I'll miss these launches when the program is retired (Bob Foxworth, Tampa FL, ibid.) Space Shuttle-related HF comms Several people who do not live close enough to NASA-KSC to receive the Space Shuttle launch UHF and VHF that I posted yesterday, have written to me asking if there is any HF associated with the launch that they could hear. To those and others who are wondering about this, I offer the following. You certainly could have heard the comms on 5711 kHz USB, and there you would have heard comms between "BRD" (Booster Recovery Director) and the two Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) retrieval ships "Freedom Star" and "Liberty Star." Those comms get fairly interesting too. Before the launch there are comms to make sure the ships position themselves safely yet within range of the touchdown point of the two falling SRBs, as they hit the water. Then after the launch you will hear the SRBs report finding the SRBs, reporting the position of the SRBs, the condition, etc. And you will hear the reports of the divers going over the side of the ships to attach closures to the ends of the spent SRBs and attaching the SRBs to the sides of the vessels in order to tow them into Port Canaveral (AL STERN, Satellite Beach FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. BIG SCREEN MOVIE ABOUT RADIO CAROLINE REPORTEDLY PLANNED Filmmaker Richard Curtis is apparently making a movie about pirate radio. The Love Actually director is moving away from his traditional romantic comedies to make a film about Radio Caroline, which started broadcasting from a boat off the coast of Essex in the 60s, reports The Sun. The paper says Curtis has cast Welsh actor Rhys Ifans in the lead role of the film, currently titled The Boat That Rocked. A source said: “This project is a departure from his usual films. Hugh Grant isn’t in it and there will be no cheesy soundtrack. It’s rock ‘n’ roll all the way.” “Richard and Rhys loved working together on Notting Hill and have remained friends ever since. Rhys is the perfect man for the job and he will be hilarious. The film is set during an exciting time for music and showbiz. DJs became friends of the stars and the story will be brilliant on the big screen.” Radio Caroline, which launched the careers of top DJs including Tony Blackburn and Johnnie Walker, began broadcasting in 1964, with tens of millions of listeners tuning in. (Source: Metro)( February 8th, 2008 by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** IRELAND. Christian station Spirit has been licensed to use the former RTE channel of 612 kHz. There has been some conflicting info as to whether they will use Athlone or will have to build their own transmission facilities. They hope to launch later this year (Dave Kenny, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Feb 7/Thu, 1413 on 9390 I heard Kol Israel with talk mentioning Deutsche Bank, Britannia, America, Palestine, football, NBA, Dollar, Euro, Ehud Olmert, of course Israel and Tel Aviv; ended with shalom. I also heard jingle, promos, website http://www.iba.org telephone number. On 1500 OM opened Farsi service (this time // 9985). (Tony Ashar, Depok, Indonesia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. 15780.52, Galei Zahal army radio at 1429 UT. Today Feb 5, 0900 UT S=8-9 signal, but on 15782.16 kHz. (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Feb 8 via DXLD) ** JORDAN. R. Jordan, 11690, reactivated a few days ago, heard here Feb 8 at 1440 with Arabic pop music, 1446 announcement by YL in French; Jordan strong enough to make RTTY on lo side evitable simply by tuning slightly to hi side. 1500 timecheck, ID in French by OM. Had a SAH of about 4 Hz, presumably with HCJB scheduled until 1500, altho no audio heard from it; but SAH still there at 1530; 1537 phone call on the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. 9345.01, 1445 UT 9 Jan, VOK, bizarre anti-West story including string quartets and the death of Michael Jackson! Fair (Tim Bucknall, Cheshire, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 7510 unID: The station here at 2130-2200 Feb 7 just can't be Yerevan with Open Radio for North Korea; programming isn't right, but per Aoki listing, this is the only thing that is supposed to be on this frequency at this time. It sounds more like a late nite version of VOR, but VOR not on this frequency per Aoki list. Signal strength at least S7 on AOR7030. Anyone have a clue, particularly the European listeners? (Dan Henderson-MD-USA, DXplorer Feb 7 via BC-DX via DXLD) Probably a program feed mixup thru VTC London or Moscow control room; not that unusual, especially when a change has just been made (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks Dan, looking in \\ African soccer Cup Egypt vs Ivory Coast semi-final match on Eurosport TV, so I switched on late around 2148 UT and heard super powerful signal here in Germany. 7510 from Gavar Armenia, strength of S=9+20dB on Eton E1 rx , Feb 7th 2140-2200* UT. Modern smooth guitar music underneath and much talk of male announcer in Korean language ahead. 2159 UT Final announcement by female voice in Korean. 2200 UT end of final hymn. 2200:13 tx Gavar off (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Feb 7 via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN. V. of Kurdistan is now broadcasting an hour in English at 1600-1700 on 6335. It consists mostly of western and Arab music, with news at 1615, 1630 and 1645. From 1700 until close at 1900v programming is in Kurdish, IDing as ``Dengi Kurdistan``, or Arabic. This station broadcasts from Salah al Din in northern Iraq and is operated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party. It used to ID as V. of Iraqi Kurdistan. Reports may be sent to the KDP`s office in Sweden, party @ kdp.se http://kdp.se (Dave Kenny, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. Re Mesopotamian move, 11530, 7540, from Moldova to Simferopol: Until Jan 31, V. of Mesopotamia was via the Kishinev [old USSR call, rather Grigoriopol Maiac at 47 16 58.78 N 29 25 36.88 E on Ukrainian border], Moldova transmitter site, 500 or 300 kW at 116 degrees, but as from Feb 1 moved to "Simferopol" [old USSR call, rather Nikolaev- Mykolaiv Luch-UKR at 46 48 55 N 32 12 39 E], Ukraine. Signal strength lessened somewhat in western Europe (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Feb 8 via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010, Radio Madagasikara, 0253-0345, Feb 8, nice selection of local music. Talk in Malagasy. Very good. Excellent signal. Anyone else notice these guys broadcast in suppressed carrier USB. No audio heard when using LSB mode (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. Stan Tacker, N5OHM, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, writes that the absence of sunspots and geomagnetic activity is great for 160 meters, but that it creates problems for AM broadcast stations. He operates one in Northeast Oklahoma on 1.57 MHz (191 meters), a portion of the AM broadcast band where stations run low power, sometimes 250 W during the day, and as little as 6-8 W at night. There is also a Mexican "border blaster" station on this frequency and his station is experiencing QRM well into mid to late morning, only hours after sunrise. Stan's station is running 1 KW and broadcasts in the daytime only (K7RA Solar Update, ARRL, Feb 8 via Steve Lare, dxldyg via DXLD) That`s XERF of course --- yes, aside from X-banders, it`s one of the first skywavers to appear in the afternoons and last to disappear in the mornings, just as it should be. The 1.57 MHz station in NE OK is KMUR, Pryor, if that`s still what it`s called (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 9599 kHz, Radio Unam, 1301 UT with classical piano music, Spanish talk, male and female between, into classical guitar, then and mezzo-soprano with orchestral oratorio music. At first SINPO 23222 with deep fades; peaking up 1310 to fairer levels, SINPO 44333. ID at 1310 and 1329, tuneout 1340 February 7 (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, Grundig YB 400 PE with external wire, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** MONACO. 8728-USB, 1303 UT 23 Jan, Monaco Radio, maritime station, English and French IDs, weather reports to 1313*, SIO 343 (Dave Kenny, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** MONACO [non]. Re TWR on 9795: 9800.00, TWR MC English. Checked today Feb 5th, was on 9800 even again, but low signal strength S=6, due of mid winter dead zone condition. But seems stronger on UK/IRL target. // 6105 Wertachtal. 0835 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Feb 8 via DXLD) ** NAGORNO-KARABAKH. Glenn: Per my QSL from VOICE OF JUSTICE/NAGORNO- KARABAKH back in 1999, They do indeed use a 5 kW, non-directional antenna, and were only on Wednesdays back then. They broadcast from Stepanakert from 0500-0635 back in 1998. I tried, but never could hear their evening transmission. I heard them during a visit to Turkey, not from the US, and they had the most over-modulated audio signal that I had ever heard. I am attaching a small sample of their audio for you to judge for yourself. As far as I am aware, there have only been two QSLs from this station -- one from Germany, and mine. The story on how the QSL was received is a story in itself...but I'll keep that for later if you're interested. I documented it back at the time. v/r (Dan Henderson, Laurel, Maryland 20723-1136 USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: RADIO VOICE OF JUSTICE -- A QSL ODYSSEY -- By Dan Henderson In 1997, well known German DXer Harald Kuhl reported the reception of a station known as Radio Voice of Justice located deep in Central Asia in the remote area known as Nagorno-Karabakh, an autonomous section of the Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The station, located in Stepanakert, operates sporadically on 9677 kHz, and broadcasts for one hour on Wednesdays, addressing the key areas of news important to both the Armenian and Azeri population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Shortly after hearing the station, Harald reported the receipt of a German-language QSL letter from the station’s manager, the first known QSL from this exotic station. The station’s transmission is marked by severe overmodulation, which is an easy marker for the station even before the listener can hear the station’s identification in either Azeri or Armenian. I became interested in this station in preparation for a week of DXing during a trip to southern Turkey in May 1998. I have reported on this trip previously, and indicated then that one of the planned goals of the trip was to clearly hear and record Radio Voice of Justice. Its signal strength was excellent (S9+30dB), and although it was heard with strong signals, the characteristic overmodulation of the carrier was present and did hinder the copying of details. I taped its Wednesday broadcast at 0500 UTC and then decided to send in a reception report to the manager, using the address provided by Harald Kuhl. One of the key hints to successfully obtaining a verification from a station in this area of the world is to make the report interesting to the reader, and to convince the reader that he will be aiding his own cause by providing that hard-to-get verification card or letter. As the history of DXers receiving verifications from other shortwave stations in this area has proven (R. Abkhazia, for example), sometimes getting the letter into the correct hands can tax even the most innovative DXer. In any event, I dutifully composed a reception report in English (everyone speaks English in this area, right?) and posted the letter. Of course, nothing was received. After six months, a follow-up report with prepared QSL card was sent, and again, nothing was received. One of the characteristics of a successful DXer is to "never give up" and to use "innovative" methods in addressing shortwave stations that show a reluctance to verify. I have had experiences with stations in Indonesia, Columbia and Angola that required "innovative" methods. I will never forget the use of the Burmese and Yemeni embassies in the early 70s to obtain those "hard-to-get" verifications. The DXer must find that "niche" which will get his point across and yield a verification. Now, with the ongoing, rapid expansion of the Internet, E-mail and websites, the DXer now has a very powerful tool. After doing a search on the Internet on Nagorno-Karabakh, I discovered a possible "insider" track to the area -- a United Methodist mission based in Armenia with ties to Nagorno-Karabakh. After corresponding with the head of the mission, I discovered that personnel from the mission traveled regularly from Yerevan in Armenia to Stepakanert on business. Applying that age old philosophy of "if you never ask, you never receive," my first approach was to ask if it would be too forward to request their personnel to carry a letter for me to Nagorno-Karabakh and post it to the station from Stepakanert. The response was "sure, send it on to the mission in Yerevan and the letter would be mailed to the station from Nagorno-Karabakh on the staff's next visit." I packaged up the letter, a tape of the reception from southern Turkey, and sent the package off to Yerevan. In a week or so I received an E-mail indicating that the package had arrived and the staff would carry it with them to Stepanakhert in two weeks. In three weeks, I received a very long E-mail detailing the staff member's visit to Nagorno-Karabakh. The letter was posted in Stepanakhert, and we waited hopefully for the QSL. After four months, and hearing nothing from the station, I E-mailed the chief of mission again, informing him of the status (or lack thereof). It just so happened that he was planning a visit to Stepanakhert himself in six weeks, and he indicated that he would personally find the station and talk to the manager. I guess I could not believe my good fortune to find someone who would go out of his way to assist a DXer in his eternal quest! I thanked him, and he indicated that he had an ulterior motive: the mission wanted to inquire about the station and how it might have influence in the ongoing peace initiative that was ongoing between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the time. Indeed, he did follow up on his promise, and the following was received from him following his visit: "We did go to the state radio station and met the voice of the Voice of Justice, a Mr. Michael Hajiyan (ha-ja-e-an). He appears to be about 60 with a round face and balding head. He speaks Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani (some call it Turkic). He was formerly a journalist who got interested during the war in the plight of the people (Armenians) and when I began to mention the name of Dan Henderson he said "Maryland" and I knew that he had your letter. In fact I think he said that he had gotten another letter from you. I verified the address (Voice of Justice, Tigranmetz Street 23a, Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabagh [zip unknown]). In any case, he received the tape and cash. He hasn't written because he would have to find someone to translate into English (which incidentally is not all that hard to find, so he didn't put any effort into it). Former Soviets are not very good communicators. Michael did say that he receives letters from many listeners and wants to eventually broadcast in French and English. There is absolutely no e-mail in that office. "The station now broadcasts four times a week: Tuesday from 18:00- 18:30, Wednesday from 10:00-10:30, Friday/same as Tuesday and Saturday/same as Wednesday (all local time which is currently 9 hours ahead of East Coast time). He said the broadcast is shortwave 31 or 9677 megahertz. The wavelength lingo is a little foreign to me, but maybe you can sort it out. This is the first and only short wave radio from NK. It was started August 12, 1997 and is a non-profit org. After that introduction, Michael began to tell with passion his real reason for doing this broadcast. The name of the program, "Voice of Justice" was chosen to emphasize that the conflict will be solved when justice for all people is found. His goal is to improve Azeri/Armenian relations, bypassing the government level and going right to the people. "He doesn't focus on political topics but on trust, love and respect. He wants desperately to repair the relations by talking about the opinions of the people. I believe his broadcast would be very interesting to listen to. Well, I hope you have as much thrill of reading this as I did in finding Michael and talking with him. I will not go to NK regularly, but when I do, I will go back to see him. If there is anything more that you would like to say to him or more questions to ask, just jot them on e-mail and I will keep them in my NK pile." It turns out that the main impediment to the verification I was seeking was simply a language barrier: the station manager spoke only German, Azerbaijan, Armenian, and Russian -- he did not speak or read English. When the chief of mission found this out, he advised me that I should try and convert the letter/card that I had sent into Russian, and he thought that I would have "a much better chance in getting what I wanted." Again the Internet came to my rescue. Using some of the translation services that I found on the Internet, I indeed did have the reception report translated by a professional Russian translator, along with my prepared verification card. Over the Christmas holidays, I used my time off to resend the package, with a new tape, to the chief of mission, now including a Russian language reception report and prepared card. The nice cut-and-paste features of Microsoft Word came into play, for I was able to take the information provided by the translator in Russian and put it into my letter. This left in early January 2000, and was received in Armenia a short time later. I didn’t hear anything from the UMCOR mission chief for several months, until July 15, 2000 when I got the following E-mail message: "Hope all is well with you. I have some good news. One of our staff was recently in NK, and took your material to the station. I now have a signed and stamped card for you and a letter from the station manager. We will be coming to the States in another week and I will drop the material into a mailbox for you. You should have it soon. This is an interesting process for me to follow, although perhaps not as interesting as for you. Your contact with the station manager has apparently been a very positive event for him. He is trying to make a difference in the peace process but having little success. The two Presidents are now talking, so maybe there will be some progress." Well, I was floored -- it was finally going to happen! And on July 26 I received the letter, a photograph, a stamped prepared card, and a handwritten letter from the station manager, who took my involvement with his station as a positive sign of people wanting peace in the region, and got him interested in supporting the peace process even further! I can honestly say that I did not set out to assist the peace process -- just a selfish DXer wanting the elusive QSL from a station that simply doesn't answer reception reports! I want to give full credit to Mr. Terry Wollen, Chief of UMCOR Mission in Armenia, for his tenacity in seeing this project through. Without his assistance, it just would not have happened. I'm sure that many people have similar stories that can be told about some elusive QSLs. I have read some, but for me, getting the card from Radio Voice of Justice from the tiny protectorate of Nagorno-Karabakh ranks toward the top of my favorite QSLs, and it is by far the top story involving others assisting me in receiving a QSL. It comes close to the story of the QSL that I received from RKPDK Jember in Indonesia in 1973, but that is another story! (Dan Henderson, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE LAUNCHES CHINESE WEBSITE On Monday 11 February, Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) will be launching its new Chinese-language website http://www.rnw.nl/chinese in Amsterdam. The site is aimed at Chinese people with a special interest in the Netherlands and provides Dutch news and background information. It is the first time RNW has targetted China. The site is designed to help promote press freedom and pluralism in China long-term. There will be daily news reports from the Netherlands and a review of Dutch newspapers on the site. It will also include topical pieces where the Dutch view is of interest to China, for example, the environment, water management, health care and culture. Chinese people will gain information on the Netherlands and Dutch society. Limits --- The website will have to take some account of the limitations in China. RNW’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief, China expert Ardi Bouwers, explains: “We’ve chosen a realistic approach without setting ourselves editorial limitations. Bearing in mind the very specific information contained on the site, we don’t expect to be blacked out by the Chinese government straightaway”. However, the editorial team are not going to avoid politically sensitive issues. “We intend to make use of what room we believe is available. If risky topics are considered to be within the scope of the site, we’ll publish.” RNW has chosen an approach which looks to the future, and it will continue to analyse China’s media landscape and the state of press freedom into the years after the 2008 Olympic Games. “We hope the website will be a bridge for Chinese people on the lookout for information. We hope to extend what we do as soon as new possibilities open up,” says Ardi Bouwers. Launch event --- RNW is launching the site on 11 February at Amsterdam’s Pakhuis de Zwijger. Speakers at the launch event, whose theme is ‘China and the Internet: opportunities and limitations’, will include Xiaoying Zhang of Deutsche Welle, Jeroen de Kloet from the University of Amsterdam, and China and Internet expert Xiao Qiang, who is flying from the United States to attend. (February 8th, 2008 by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. R. Nigeria, Kaduna, 4769.96, 2138 UT 17 Jan, English talk on conjunctivitis by doctor from Kaduna eye hospital. Distorted audio so mainly unintelligible. Ditto other reports. SIO 343 (Alan Pennington, Berkshire, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Hi Glenn, 0225-0248 UT, 7445 kHz February 08 2008. I monitored the broadcast on the frequency of Hindi Service today. As has been noted for some other language services of R. Pakistan, instead of Hindi, perhaps due to omission of the technical staff, the broadcast of the R. Pakistan News and current affairs channel was being relayed on this frequency. Signal was very weak, SINPO rating was 11111.This is now happening quite often, as in case of evening transmission of Hindi Service 1030-1130 UT, Islamabad station Urdu programs are often being relayed instead of Hindi Service. Technical staff refuses to wake-up despite repeated reminders for rectification (Aslam Javaid, Lahore, Pakistan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN [and non]. INCREASE IN LISTENERS OF VOA PAKISTAN SERVICE RADIO AAP KI DUNYA Hi Glenn, When Voice of America Urdu Service for Pakistan was revamped and re-launched as Radio Aap Ki Dunya (Radio Your World, quite a funny name) in 2004 with a twelve hour broadcast in Urdu language from 1400 to 0200 UT on medium wave as well as some shortwave frequencies, most of the media watchers considered it to be a wastage of time and resources. It was thought that in view of growing anti USA sentiment in Pakistan after 9/11,very few people will be interested in listening to a US propaganda broadcast. At that time no one could have imagined the that in later years the media in Pakistan would have to face such curbs as have been imposed by Musharraf on November 03, 2007. Now no TV station is allowed to broadcast any program in which the Musharraf government is criticized. Print media is also facing one of the darkest periods. Private radio stations have never been allowed to cover news and current affairs. Pakistani public has been left with no other option except VOA and BBC to get independent news coverage. Since BBC has limited broadcast time for Pakistan, VOA Radio Aap ki Dunya is witnessing unprecedented increase in its listeners. The telephone calls received during the broadcast reveal that the program is heard all over Pakistan. VOA main competitor in Pakistan has been BBC. But the BBC Urdu service also covers the Urdu speaking people in India and broadcasts reports of their interest in which the Pakistani listeners are mostly not interested. Since VOA Urdu programs are Pakistan-specific, the listener base is expanding. The live discussion radio shows are getting the type of popularity which some private TV channel shows used to have prior to November 03, 2007 curbs (Aslam Javaid, Lahore, Feb 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Regarding Wantok Radio Light, 8-016 – Yep, I heard it a couple of weeks ago from ECNA. Smatterings of it only for about 40 minutes -- QRM from another station on 7325. Not a good signal here. v/r (Dan Henderson, Laurel, Maryland 20723-1136 USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In his own report, Ron Howard had mentioned my inquiry about any NAm receptions, so that is how my name got into this (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** PERU. 6535.77, Radio LV del Rondero, Huancabamba, 0225-0400+, Feb 8, Spanish talk. Huaynos, Spanish pops/ballads. Sign off around 0405. Presumed. Not able to catch an ID. Very weak. Occasional peaks up to a weak but readable level but a poor overall signal. Occasional QRM from 2-way radio traffic. (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Overcoming the temperature shock after nearly 4 weeks in SEAsia, I would like to present you some photos of the FEBC IBA (Philippines) transmitter site, the one beside Bocaue near Manila. Iba transmitter site consists of two SW and one MW transmitter: 1 Continental 100 kW SW tx (ca. 1980), 1 Harris 50 kW SW tx (ca. 1945!) and another 5 kW MW tx transferred from Saipan. There was a high power MW tx several years ago in use, however FEBC decided that it was not efficient enough and it has been shut down several years ago. The existing 5 kW tx is still of that time and was used as a stand-by tx. So there are two SW tx in use and they are connected with 2 log- periodical antennas through a manual drive 'antenna switching unit'. The beams are 270 for SEAsia and 330 for China. The 4 antenna towers are not radiating itself, each log-periodical hangs between two towers. From the beach side you see a fifth antenna tower, which is an FM repeater of Radio Veritas. No wonder that the local people identify the 4 SW masts behind the FM aerial also as Radio Veritas, no wonder at all. I went to the location IBA just for a few relaxing days at the beach, the hotel "Palmera Garden" http://www.palmeragarden.com/ has been recommended to me by a friend and so I went there. Arrived at late afternoon and checked the beach the next morning. Nearly alone at the beach I looked for someone who could tell me, what station the aerials belong to. As I mentioned, local fishermen said: Radio Veritas. The next day I stopped a tricycle to take me to the gate of the tx site. Of course there was a security guy there, but he let me in instantly. A few steps further I entered the transmitter building and knocked at the control room's door. The senior chief, Mr. Samuel E. Ponilas opened and I told him that I came all the way from Germany just to ensure him that FEBC currently can be heard quite well on 7400 and 9400 kHz in Europe and that I'm interested to see tx's and antennas. He said that the following day around 0100 UT is a good time to take me around, because both tx are off the air that time and the temperature outside is fine for a walk between the antenna towers. This happened to me some two weeks ago and I am still impressed about the instant hospitality of the staff there. As a Christmas present I got a FEBC anniversary booklet, when I left. Very impressive, my instant visit to the IBA tx site (Uwe Volk, Germany, on tour in SEAsia in Dec 2007; wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Feb 8 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. 1431 kHz, VOR --- intriguing for me, this one. I did not know that the Voice of Russia used this frequency in Germany. It has apparently only been theirs to use for the last couple of years. Russia seems to very much still have its fingers in the East German pie, as it were, and it has several MW frequencies for its external services in both the east and west. Broadcasts are in English, German and Russian. The sound quality of this transmitter, located at a place called Wilsdruff beside the A4 Autobahn near Dresden, is very poor, sounding highly overmodulated. This distortion is not evident on the other VOR services that I could hear. It`s a powerful transmitter, too, and its 250 kW was clearly audible all over the parts of Sachsen that we visited. Listening to it was also all rather reminiscent of the Cold War, even down to the insistence of announcing its transmitter frequencies in metres (Andrew Tett, Dresden Bandscan, December 2007, Feb 2008 BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Re: ``11854.9v, 5/2 1140, BSKSA 2, music & talks Arabic, fading, fair (Giampiero Bernardini, rx: Perseus, ant: wire 30 m. long, QTH: Pescia (Pistoia), Tuscany, Italy, dxld Feb 8)`` 11854.91 kHz on Feb 8. Yes, tiny rest signal of back lobe 68 degrees 50 kW unit at Jeddah here in central Europe. Noted after 1030 UT, when VoA Chinese Udorn Thani ends. Gap approx. 1030-1300 UT. Jeddah's 2nd program schedule is 0900-1700 UT. Maybe Jeddah moves to 11785v instead at 1500-1700 UT?? (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SENEGAL [non]. UNITED KINGDOM (to West Africa), 17860, West Africa Democracy Radio, 0940 Feb 8, pop music program with a few canned ID's as W-A-D-R. Signal was just fair. At 1000 there was news in French. At 1007, there was news in English with another ID at 1009. The news ended at 1013 and they played some cora music. Back to French with same woman announcer that gave the news. ID still as "West Africa Democracy Radio," even during this French segment. Via DX Tuner Sweden (Hans Johnson, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SERBIA [non]. 7115 kHz, International Radio of Serbia, 0140 UT, in Italian, February 7, SINPO 33333; curiously, absent when rechecked at 0155, and again when checked for English at 0205. Absent as well on February 6 when checked several times 0130-0230 (Roger Chambers, Utica, NY, Grundig YB 400 PE with external wire, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** SOUTH AMERICA. Re 8-016: R. Cochiguaz en el aire --- Se escucha en Rosario en los 6307.62 kHz en inglés, múisica del altiplano; en este momento pasan el emblemático tema de "El Cóndor Pasa". Bastante ruido afecta la aceptable señal con un QRM de RTTY en frecuencia adyacente. Identificada a las 0123 UT: "Esta es Radio Radio Cochiguaz" Id en Sp (voz masculina) y en quechua (voz femenina). Sigue música ejecutada en quena. SINFO=34232(3). (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, rx: Kenwood R-5000, ant.: T2FD Dipolo plegada (27 metros), UT Feb 7, condiglist yg via DXLD) Dear Friends; This evening we continue with our 11 years anniversary broadcasts. This evening also from Europe. Here is our schedule: From transmitter in South America: 2200 to 1100 UT on 6307 kHz AM. This is from transmitter in South America. This sched will continue until Monday 11th February. From Europe: This night from about 2300 to 0900 UT on 6308.8 kHz AM. Greetings from Cachito Mamani (via Roberto Scaglione, Feb 8, shortwave yg via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. 11905, SLBC (presumed), 1410, 02/08/08, listed Hindi. Female announcer with subcontinent-style music and brief commentary between songs, continued past 1500 but faded by around 1515, too soon to catch any announcements or IDs for listed 1530 signoff. Fluttery. Mostly poor (Mark Schiefelbein, MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. I found this item while looking for something else and wonder if anyone heard the broadcast? Monday, February 04, 2008 --- SAQ To Transmit on 17.2 kHz Wednesday SAQ, Grimeton Radio in Sweden, is planning a test transmission at 1000 UTC on Wednesday, February 6. The 1-hour broadcast will be made with a 200 kW Alexanderson alternator, basically a large electric generator which produces RF instead of low frequency AC. The frequency is 17.2 kilohertz. Not megahertz, kilohertz. That's low. This is a radio museum with an original, Marconi-era, maritime coastal station in operating condition. The antenna is enormous. This transmitter is audible worldwide with the right equipment and low noise conditions (Dave Bennett, Aldergrove, BC, Feb 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWITZERLAND. Der Mittelwellensender Monte Ceneri 558 kHz wird tatsaechlich per Mitte 2008 abgeschaltet, dies hat mir nun der Radio- Technikverantwortliche der SRG bestaetigt. Somit wird es wohl im naechsten Jahr nur noch Sottens (765 kHz RSR Option musique) als Mittelwellenstandort in der Schweiz geben (Christian Bruelhart-SUI, A- DX Feb 4 via BC-DX Feb 8 via DXLD) ** TANNU TUVA [non]. TURNING THE OLD SOVIET-WHO-DISCOVERED-JAZZ-ON-VOA ON ITS HEAD. "In the 1980s, a blind blues musician named Paul Pena tuned in to a shortwave broadcast on Radio Moscow and heard something he'd never heard before: A vocalist from the Central Asian republic of Tuva sung three distinct pitches at the same time. There was a sustained low note, like the drone on a bagpipe, and two higher notes, like birdcalls or flutes. Intrigued, he spent the next nine years perfecting the technique and eventually won a throat-singing contest in the nation where it originated." Des Moines Register, 7 February 2008. Posted: 08 Feb 2008 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U K. BBC WORLD SERVICE NORTH AMERICAN STREAM I noticed last weekend that the BBC World Service North American Stream which used to be available on Windows Media has disappeared. It is still listed on the Public Radio Fan site http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/station.pl?stationid=2 ...but when you click on the feed you get a canned message saying 'this feed has not started'. Does anyone have information on what is happening with this feed? Many thanks (Mr. Sandy Finlayson, Director of Library Services & Professor of Theological Bibliography, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA 'Nothing makes a man more reverent than a library' Sir Winston Churchill, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) It might come back, but I wouldn't stake my reputation on it (Not that my reputation is worth a hill o' beans anyway). That seemed to be a "back door" feed left alive from the days when Mark Cuban (he of the NBA Dallas Mavericks) ran Broadcast.com in the days before the speculative Internet bubble burst. Back then, both Windows Media and Real versions were available. Broadcast.com was purchased by Yahoo and folded into their Launchcast service, but they stopped offering hosted services to "branded" stations to focus on their own music offerings. I have been surprised that the North American Windows Media stream lasted as long as it has, given that it was no longer promoted by Yahoo or the BBC. I took a quick look at some of the entries for the Americas stream on the PRF website, and the majority of the time another streaming source airs the same program at the same time. If there were specific programs airing at specific times that you were interested in, you could visit the World Service Americas page here - http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/station.pl?stationid=2 - select the program / time slot of interest, select the red "i" next to that program, and then see when that program is on air. If streams other than the Americas streams carry the program at that time, they'll show up in the list. For example, World Business Report -- currently airing -- is also airing on six other streams. Interesting that the canned message uses the term "event" -- as if Yahoo is hosting something like a shareholder's meeting or other event-specific streamed audio. I know Kevin Kelly looks at the swprograms list; hopefully he'll spot this and, for now, remove the stream from the BBC list (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) Thanks for explanation, Richard. I mostly used this stream on Saturday mornings for Sportsworld and I know there are other options; I will just need to hunt for them (Sandy Finlayson, ibid.) Indeed -- that was one of the few alternatives available if you didn't want to shell out for an XM satellite radio. It appears most of those alternatives arent' streaming --- at least not right now. I believe 15400 and 17830 come in OK at that hour, if you have access to a shortwave radio and a decent listening environment at that time (Richard Cuff, 1950 UT, ibid.) Sandy/Richard: I've been researching streaming sites since I got the Phoenix wifi radio. What you're (we're) left with from a BBCWS streaming perspective is a "Information and Entertainment" stream, which is in actuality the Europe stream, and a "BBC News" stream which is one available only over the internet. As I understand it, BBC used to have both WM and Real streams available across the board. Now the WM streams are available only to UK listeners, with Real still provided to international listeners. I, too, am surprised that the WM "Americas" (formerly Yahoo) stream has persisted for so long. They might have just forgotten it was there, if that's possible. The WS web site does provide a schedule for both "supported" streams. "Sportsworld" isn't on either stream, unfortunately. Rights fees issues prevent that. This also affects almost all of the live event coverage on BBC Five Live. An occasional rugby match manages to stay in the clear. The schedule for live sports is posted on the Five Live web site (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) Actually there's a third stream available, sort of --- The PRI stream, offered to US public radio stations, isn't available 24/7 from any single BBC source, but there are stations who stream who base their content largely on the BBCWS; one of these stations does stream the BBCWS 24/7. The PRI stream -- the same as the Sirius stream -- is kind of a cross between the "BBC News" and "Infotainment" streams, but there is some diversity in air times which can be helpful if you want to listen live. Here are three options that stream the PRI BBCWS content for more than half their days One is the "KCRW News" stream, URL http://media.kcrw.com/live/kcrwnews.ram you'll find BBCWS content there weekdays from 0300 to 1000, 1200 to 1500, 1700-1800 (weekdays), and 1800-1900 with NPR and PRI news-oriented content most of the rest of the time. There are some additional BBCWS programs in these other time slots on the weekend. The second is the "WKSU 2" stream from WKSU in Ohio. They air BBCWS programming from 0100 to 1000, 1400 to 1500, and 1800-1900 (weekdays). URL: http://audio1.wksu.org/ramgen/news.smi. PRF link: http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/station.pl?stationid=2860 The third - and the most thorough - is the Vermont Public Radio "BBC World Service" stream -- its URL is http://vpr.net/vpr_files/stream_playlists/vpr_bbc_mp3.pls It's a tad narrow - at 24 kbps - but still decent. The list of programs they air is here: http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/station.pl?stationid=5374 The PRI schedule features the first hour of Sportsworld at 1400 on Saturdays. Hope this helps (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, ibid.) Now the WM streams are available only to UK listeners, with Real still provided to international listeners (John Figliozzi, ibid.) Hmm. I don't see that restriction here in PA...maybe you're "special", John. If you pick a "Listen Live" stream, a BBC player opens up with embedded audio. If you click on "Preferences" in that, you can pick either Windows Media or Real. Let's say you select Windows Media. The stream starts playing again...and nothing looks different. However, if you then click "Launch in Standalone Player", then Windows Media Player (or whichever player you use for WMA files) launches (Richard Cuff, ibid.) ** U S A. INCREASE IN LISTENERS OF VOA PAKISTAN SERVICE RADIO AAP KI DUNYA: see PAKISTAN ** U S A. BBG DETAILS FY 2009 BUDGET REQUEST FOR U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING. http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=3303 "The Administration’s FY 2009 request for the BBG is $699.5 million dollars, an increase of 2.6% from FY 2008 levels. A key focus of the budget request is on building a significant expansion of Internet capability and programming. The Internet is a key source of news and information around the world, and also serves as a means of circumventing jamming and other government interference in our broadcasts. The proposed budget also continues funding initiatives to important Muslim and other critical audiences, including: _•24-hour streams for VOA Persian TV and Radio Farda to Iran, _•a daily three-hour live Alhurra television program broadcast from the Middle East, 24/7 news coverage by Alhurra, and customized news content on Radio Sawa, _•Radio Deewa, VOA Pashto programming, to the Afghanistan / Pakistan border region, _•VOA Urdu radio and television broadcasts to Pakistan, _•VOA and RFE/RL Dari and Pashto programming to Afghanistan, _•VOA Somali to Somalia; and _•a 10-hour coordinated RFA and VOA stream to North Korea." ... "The FY 2008 appropriations bill included $12 million for the BBG that was designated as emergency supplemental funding and was used to continue the language services proposed for reduction in the FY 2008 request. The FY 2009 budget request does not assume the continuation of these supplemental funds, and reflects implementing most of the language service reductions proposed in the FY 2008 request by September 30, 2008. The FY 2009 budget request supports a continued, more robust VOA English website as a core news delivery system, as well as shortwave English broadcasts to key markets such as Africa and China where they continue to be viable." ... "With the shifting of priorities to the Middle East and the increasingly free media market in the former Yugoslavia, the BBG proposes eliminating RFE/RL’s South Slavic and Albanian language programming." Broadcasting Board of Governors press release, 7 February 2008, with accompanying BBG FY 2009 Budget Request. See previous post for summary of languages "proposed for reduction." (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) This would include the BBG's long-desired elimination of VOA News Now, or "Worldwide English." VOA worldwide English would carry on as a "more robust" website. But keep in mind that VOA is one of only two media organizations with a truly global shortwave capability. VOA will be only one of hundreds of English-language news websites. Posted: 08 Feb 2008 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** U S A. YOU CAN READ THE REPORT, OR JUST USE IT AS BALLAST. The 2007 Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic Communication has issued its 158-page report. It calls for the creation of a Center for Global Engagement, a 501(c)(3) corporation to serve as a "hub for innovation in cultural understanding, technology, and media." It also wants a permanent Strategic Communication Policy Coordinating Committee, with the participation of various federal agencies, including the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The Task Force recommends a "review of the mission, structure, funding, and performance of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, as an integral element of overall U.S. strategic communication capability." Download the report from the DSB's reports web page http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm "There is no reason why the United States cannot sustain an activity analogous to the UK government-funded BBC World Service, which has tremendous credibility around the world and serves as an instrument to promote truthful news and British values. Building up that credibility — building up that 'brand' — requires a decade or two of persistence." Report of the Defense Science Board 2004 Summer Study on Transition to and from Hostilities, accessible from the same DSB reports web page (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) The main reason the United States will probably never sustain an activity analogous to the BBC World Service is that U.S. experts insist on the "coordination" of U.S. international broadcasting by some White House office, and positioning U.S. international broadcasting "as an integral element of overall U.S. strategic communication capability." What U.S. experts consistently fail to understand is that audiences tune to foreign broadcasts to get news that is more reliable and comprehensive than the news they get from their state-controlled domestic media. Credibility is therefore key to successful international broadcasting. Credibility is achieved through independence, not coordination. The audience for international broadcasting will sniff out a "coordinated" newscast within a few minutes, and retune to the BBC World Service. Posted: 08 Feb 2008 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** U S A. IBC, which claimed to broadcast on SW from Greenland, busted by SEC for lying about US affiliates, etc. – See DXLD 8-015, GREENLAND [non] --- I meant to cross-reference this in same issue (gh) ** U S A. WBCQ, 5110.6, 0710 UT 10 Jan, lively religious songs, SIO 252 (David Morris, Dorset, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 5110.7- USB, 2354 19 Jan, old comedy program with child star and incidental music like a TV program? Later at 2402 Bible talk `phone-in`, English, SIO 243 (Alan Pennington, Berkshire, ibid.) 9329.71, 1426 UT 9 Jan, tentative, string of ads and Eagles music, poor (Tim Bucknall, Cheshire, ibid.) ** U S A. We are "halfway" done with repairs. We've made it up to 500 Watts. In repairing stuff today, we found a part in the back of the transmitter had burn/blownout in a previous incident and we can't go to a full 1000 Watts with the part like it is. That being said, we are at 500 Watts and will do a test from 12:01 AM to 1:30 AM Eastern Tonight (Well, really Friday February 8th, but you get the idea). PLEASE pass this along to other members, lists and websites. When I get this transmitter up to 100 percent power, we're going to fiddle around with it again (Paul B. Walker, WABV 1590, SC, UT Feb 8, via DXLD) Tnx to Paul B. Walker, Jr., for putting on an impromptu DX test from WABV 1590 in South Carolina. Since he said it would run until 0630 UT Feb 8, it was more convenient for me to start listening after 0600 than 0500. I made the great sacrifice of hearing ESPN Radio with stupid sports talk for 15+ minutes, and trying to detect some signs of the DX test underneath, but never any sign of it, so I wonder if WABV really ran until 0630? At least I was rewarded by a new (?) log of a station I would otherwise avoid, WAIK 1590 in Galesburg IL, which did give a full ID at 0622, along with Sunny 97.7, WMOI [COL: Monmouth], after which I upgave. Whoopee! Per NRC AM Log, WAIK runs only 55 watts at night, and it was dominating the frequency! Could it be they forgot to switch from 5000 watts day power? The least they could have done for WABV test. NRC Antenna Pattern Book shows them with an almost circular pattern to the south of city only (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Interesting - I wonder if WAIK was running something other than normal configuration. I also heard them here in Memphis for the first time last night. Thanks for sharing Glenn - again, interesting (Jim Pogue, IRCA via DXLD) Paul, Code copied here without any problems, my friend. And for the record, I'd say 99% of all DX tests are done using pre-recorded or computer generated Morse Code. If you need it for the tests this week, I'll be happy to generate code ID's, send you a whole package of the sweep tones, etc. We are all grateful for any tests that broadcasters run for us. Even as close as I am to SC, I only have perhaps a dozen stations from the state in the logbook , and WABV was a new one for me. Thank you for staying up late and putting on the test for all of us! 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, Birmingham, AL, ibid.) ** VATICAN. VR heard on 1530 kHz 27 January with Spanish at 0145, French 0230, English 0250. These are not listed in the VR schedule as being on 1530 at these times, only on SW to the Americas (Tony Rogers, England, Feb BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. VOV`s ``Letter Box`` programme is on Wednesdays, the first airing at 1900 UT. Reception reports are welcome, with no IRCs required for a QSL. Reports should be sent to Voice of Vietnam, English Service, 45 Ba Trieu, Hanoi (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Feb BDXC- UK Communication via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 8-016, `CBS` on 1270: The stations I've logged on 1270 are KAJO Grant's Pass, and KTFI Twin Falls, but I don't know if either of them are CBS network stations ... not as far as I know, but I don't know everything "O) (by a long shot!) (Dave Bennett, Aldergrove, BC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I understand it, the ``CBS`` satellite feed carries various talk shows not necessarily identifying as CBS, so you might not hear CBS news on the hour from the same. Hoc dicto, 2007-2008 NRC AM Log does show KTFI as CBS, and KAJO as AP network (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That would sort of clinch it as KTFI then. I don't have access to the NRC book, relying on a couple of web sites for information, some of which is either inaccurate or out of date (Dave Bennett, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 2772 kHz, 1930 UT 8 Jan, OM and music, difficult to copy language. Harmonic of Sitkunai [LITHUANIA] 1386? SIO 111 (Mark Davies, Anglesy, UK, Feb BDXC UK Communication via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4640-USB? Thanks Harold Frodge's tip. I started listening at 0328-0331 Feb 8 via DX Tuner Pennsylvania. Just dead air at this time. 0331 series of short tones, then a few words by man in language that sounded like Arabic and I did hear him say "Inshah Allah" (God willing) a few times. I found it hard to understand the nature of the program. It seemed like it was a net at times with pauses (or perhaps just fades) from the speaker being when other stations were talking that I could not hear. Recitations from the Qur`an were heard from 0335 to 0339. 0339 talk by man resumed, but once again with very long pauses. I wish I could have understood more but the signal was weak and the band was noisy. (Hans Johnson, FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Nothing heard here in Finland on 4640 kHz at 0330 on 5th February. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Feb 8, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 6220, 0928 UT 23 Dec, Overcomer Ministry via where? Bro. Stair, announcements and address, English, SIO 333 (David Gascoyne, Kent, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Would you believe that not a single station is ever listed on 6220 in Aoki, EiBi, HFCC, WRTH and PWBR? But it`s a heavy Europirate hangout, e.g. Mystery Radio, Laser Hot Hits, FRS Holland, which the same reporter also logged at various times around Xmas. 6220 not on the Overcomer SW sked, not revised since September! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. NUMBER STATION, 11780.00, Five number station in Russian language noted in 0930 to 0935:50 UT slot midst in the 25 mb bc band, S=9+10dB signal on Eton E1 set. Friday Feb 8th. In the background the usual CNR8 station in Kazakh noted co-channel, with nice easy listening music last till 1000 UT. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hi Glenn, Following item [BHUTAN] for upcoming DXLD which I always check first thing in the morning. 73, (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ A CONVERT APP FOR EIBI UPDATED Hi friends, I just uploaded the latest conversion application (ACONVERTAPP.EXE) to my web page. To get the "no charge" application, download the file ACONVERT.ZIP, which can be found by going to http://www.orchidcitysoftware.com As you may or may not know, this application is comprehensive program that manuplicates Eike Bierwirth`s text file in a number of different formats. The user can sort the database by Country, Frequencies, Languages, Schedules, and Radio Station name. In addition, the sort engine grabs data by QBE. If you download the original Aconveertapp.exe which I uploaded a week ago, then you should know that this updated version is the same name and will override the original file. Consequently, you will lose any data you accumulated with the original. If you decide you want to save your old data, just create a new folder and copy the original application into it. Hope you find the new file useful (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida http://www.orchidcitysoftware.com ka4prf @ peoplepc.com Feb 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DTV TRANSITION IN USA With the DTV transition just a year away, I have some questions/musings for the denizens of your group..... -- When all analogs are shut down, will call letters change the suffix from "-DT" to "-TV" or will the "-DT" suffix be the norm ever after? -- How soon before someone comes out with a relatively inexpensive small battery-operated DTV set -- in time for the 2009 hurricane season, perhaps? (And I bet they will not be anywhere as cheap as the formerly ubiquitous little 5" B&W jobbers that you could buy on sale for 20 or 30 bucks, huh?) -- In the same vein, my understanding is that the converters being developed for purchase with the coupons MAY, if the manufacturer wishes, have a provision for battery operation, but are not required to do so. I wonder if any of them actually will have a DC option? -- Analog stations on channel 6 have long promoted the ability of most FM receivers to tune their audio on 87.75 MHz, and it is very popular among many who use that listening option in their cars, etc. (I know here in Central FL, WKMG-6 has traditionally bragged about this option heavily in promos.) Of course, DTV ends all that. Given that this listening option was available to just a handful of stations due to an accident of frequency placement, do you think any of them might be inquiring as to whether the FCC will ever license FM translators to repeat a TV station's audio? (Stan Jones, Orlando FL, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The following was not a direct response: (gh) I've said on a couple of occasions I'm surprised no station whose permanent DTV channel is different from their temporary assignment has yet filed for that permanent DTV facility yet. Turns out I was wrong. A few handfuls of applications have snuck through but don't appear to have gone on Public Notice. They appear in this month's column as channel-change requests for DTV stations, for example KHOU-DT's (Houston, Texas) application to move from channel 31 to channel 11. There are 55 in all. This all seems a bit “stealth”. The records are marked as “archive records”, normally used only for deleted stations, and they aren't coming up on the FCC's search tools (nor on my website. I'll have to find a way to fix that...) On the last day of 2007, the FCC released a Report and Order to move along the DTV transition. Their actions: ?? Establish February 17, 2009 as the deadline for stations whose DTV facilities are moving to new channels to complete construction on that new channel. Those stations among this group that have not yet built a DTV facility on their temporary channel will not be required to do so; those stations which have built a reduced power DTV facility on that temporary channel and have a permit to increase power will not be required to do so. ?? Establish May 18, 2008 as the construction deadline for stations whose permanent DTV channel is the same as their temporary channel and which already have a construction permit for their permanent facilities. ?? Establish August 18, 2008 as the deadline for stations that aren't moving to a different DTV channel but don't yet have a construction permit for their permanent DTV facilities. ?? Establish February 17, 2009 as the deadline for stations demonstrating a unique technical challenge to complete their permanent DTV facilities (for example, a station that must move a sidemounted DTV antenna to the top of the tower to operate their DTV at full power – and must remove their analog antenna to do so.) ?? Require all full-power TV stations to file, by February 18th, new FCC Form 387. This form shows the station's progress towards DTV transition and a timeline for any further necessary steps. The information in this form must be periodically updated after the 18th if it changes. ?? Stations that are moving to a different DTV channel may be allowed to continue operating on their temporary channel for up to a year after February 17, 2009. Permission to do so will depend on the station operating the interim facility at high enough power to replicate their analog coverage, and upon the temporary operation not interfering with other stations or impeding their ability to implement their permanent DTV facilities. ?? Stations that are not able to immediately operate their permanent DTV station at full facilities may be granted Special Temporary Authority for reduced-power operation. They will be required to notify viewers of this reduced-power operation. ?? Remind stations that under long-existing rules, it's legal for a station to temporarily reduce power or suspend operations on their analog or interim digital channels for up to 30 days, upon notification to the FCC. Commission approval is not necessary, only notification. This may be necessary to complete construction of permanent DTV facilities (for example, it may be necessary to move the analog antenna onto the side of the tower, operating at a lower antenna height than authorized, in order to mount the DTV antenna on top of the tower to match the permanent DTV permit.) ?? If the station asks for, and receives, FCC permission, it may permanently reduce analog or interim DTV power or shut down these services altogether if the reduction or termination is necessary to complete permanent DTV facilities and the audience is notified. Furthermore, after November 19, 2008, stations may shut down or reduce power without FCC permission, as long as the Commission is notified at least 30 days in advance and the audience is also notified. ?? Stations will be allowed to move from a temporary DTV channel to a different permanent channel before February 17, 2009, if no interference is caused and the new facilities will continue to serve the existing audience. ?? On August 17, 2008, the FCC will begin accepting applications to increase permanent DTV power. ?? The station ID rules have been clarified for cases where a subchannel of a DTV station relays some other station (for example, in Milwaukee where WDJT-DT carries WMLW-LP on their -2 subchannel). The subchannel must ID the main station (in this case, WDJT-DT) and may also ID the station being relayed. “WDJT-DT2, Milwaukee, relaying WMLW-LP, Milwaukee”. Chances are the station will just put both “WDJT- DT2 Milwaukee” and “WMLW-LP Milwaukee” on the WMLW ID slide & not worry about the audio at all... Whew. Glad I'm not the FCC's typist. WMAO-23 in Mississippi seems to be the first station to take advantage of these changes. Their DTV facility is operating under STA at 50 kw, sharing the feedline and antenna with their analog station on channel 23. They hold a permit to increase the DTV power to 625 kW. Problem is, their feedline won't handle the combined power of the analog transmitter at the station's current analog power (581 kW ERP) and the full 625 kW DTV power. And, the transmitter building isn't big enough to handle a large enough DTV transmitter to deliver 625 kW. So, Mississippi ETV proposes to remove most of the power amplifier stages of their analog transmitter. They'll keep one rack, with an output of 1 kilowatt, enough to deliver a bit more than 19 kW ERP. The feedline will handle this reduced power, along with the full power of the DTV transmitter. And, removal of the analog power amplifier stages will also free up enough room to install enough DTV amplifiers to deliver full 625 kW power. One might expect a large decrease in service. However, the network has shown that three other co-owned stations – WMAV-18, WMAB-2, and WMPN- 29 – will continue to cover much of the WMAO-23 service area. Indeed, WMAB delivers a decent signal to WMAO's city of license, Greenville. KFMB-DT in San Diego was granted an experimental permit of some kind. I can't find any details (maybe the FCC's typist wore out his keyboard?) The new channel 38 station in Texas is an analog station. It will be expected to flash-cut to digital on the same channel in just over a year. (I hope they bought a convertible transmitter) I've not been able to dig up any programming information. Good DX! (Doug Smith, TV News, Feb WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) I think Comcast and other cable companies very well understand the DTV transition and know that it means money in their pockets if viewers are confused and think they need cable in order to get digital (HDTV). Here Cox is running spots on the Topeka commercial TV stations telling viewers that they won't lose their programming and they will need to do nothing if they subscribe to Cox cable. Of course, there is no mention that TV stations will still be able to be viewed free over- the-air in digital. And the stations themselves have done little to reduce the confusion. They are running spots that announce the end of analog TV in 2009 but don't really tell viewers they will be able (and already are) able to watch local stations after the transition. Local CBS station WIBW-13 has been running ads saying they have been providing programming free and have been providing a community service since 1953. Now they are running a spot saying that Cox subscribers might lose WIBW-TV programming. Apparently they do not have a digital carriage agreement with Cox. There is nothing on their website about it. I have not seen similar announcements on KSNT-27 (DT-28) or KTKA- 49 (DT-48) which are the NBC and ABC stations. LPTV KTLJ-43 is the local Fox outlet which is analog only (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, Feb 7, WTFDA via DXLD) The cable companies see the DTV transition as a way of getting those "rabbit ear" holdouts into the Cable fold. The pitch of course will be to keep your TVand not deal with those ugly "boxes"--painlessly. Of course when the local broadcasters realize this will in turn cause even more fights over retransmission consent. Currently, KTBS is pulled on the Sheveport locals lineup over this issue. I expect some involving Little Rock stations in the near future. Home OTA antennas are never obsolete, even in the era of flat screens and DVRs – (Fritze, KC5KBV Prentice, Star City, AR, ibid.) Cable and satellite firms (and others like RS) do appear to be trying to mislead the public about DTV in an effort to make money. Although KTBS-3 was dropped by Dish Network on January 1, the station remains on Comcast Cable here in Shreveport. Unfortunately, there are no good guys in this situation (neither Dish nor the Wray family/KTBS). (Danny, Shreveport, LA, Oglethorpe, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ THE FIRST UHF CONVERTERS Okay, just a rambling here, but I've seen at hamfests among the old tube radios the odd "UHF converters" that were made mainly in the 1950's to adapt VHF-only TVs to receive local UHF channels. These converters often resembled small Tube Type radios. I recall reading in the book Arkansas Airwaves (Ray Poindexter, 1974), these converters were required in 1953 to receive Little Rock's first local TV channel KRTV ch 17 (which was purchased by KATV in March 1954 and promptly shutdown) and were used in the Fort Smith AR area until KFSA opened a VHF outlet (ch 5) and shutdown its UHF channel in the late 1950's. A story from my youth about the era of VHF dominance in OTA TV. I recall from an early age (early 1970s) at my Grandparent's home town 10 miles east of Eureka Springs AR their TV was one of those old RCA B&W consoles and had only one tuning "knob"--the place where the UHF tuner knob was supposed to be was covered by a small panel "For UHF Tuner". They only mainly watched the 2 VHF channels (KYTV, and KOLR) from Springfield MO (KNWA-51, KAFT-13, and KHOG-29 from NW Arkansas weren't of course on the air yet), although I think what is now KSFX-27 may have been on the air, but they lacked a UHF tuner or antenna. I recall my Grandfather saying on occasion they would "watch Ch 12 from Joplin (KODE) if the weather was right". A few years later, they got a color TV and eventually cable (Fritze, KC5KBV H. Prentice, Jr., KC5KBV, Star City, AR EM43aw http://tvdxseark.blogspot.com WTFDA via DXLD) Hi Fritzie, My parents bought a UHF converter in 1953 to receive KCTY- 25 licensed to Kansas City, MO but with the transmitter only one mile south of us in Overland Park, KS. It was a Mallory converter and converted UHF to channel 3 as I think most converters did. However, I did at one time have a Regency that converted to channel 12. WDAF-4 was the only station on the air in Kansas City when channel 25 went on the air. Unfortunately for KCTY, channels 5 (KCMO-TV) and 9 (KMBC/WHB) went on the air later that year. As a result, KCTY only lasted 9 months. Their signal was weak in much of the city and who needed four stations anyway when only one was available since 1948. KCTY was purchased by the DuMont network and shut down after only a couple of months. KCTY was owned by the Empire Coil Company which built the first commercial UHF on channel 27 (KPTV) in Portland, OR. There was a similar situation in Wichita where KEDD- 16 was the first station. It was NBC and survived for a few years until KARD-3 went on and took NBC. KEDD operated as an independent for a short while as most sets had UHF but couldn't survive the VHF competition. Most new sets didn't have UHF. The Mallory converter cost my parents $40 in 1953 -- that was a lot of money and now I don't know how they afforded it. I took it out of the closet in 1961 when KCSD-19 went on and they used it. We only needed a built in loop for KCTY since it was so close but I had to put up an antenna pointed to downtown KC to get KCSD-TV. We were the first household to report home reception of channel 19 as it was used exclusively then for classroom instruction. My curiosity led to my going to visit KCSD-TV and getting a job there in 1962. That led to my career in public television that ended at KTWU-11 in Topeka three years ago. By the way I have an old local TV magazine from Tulsa that includes KFSA-TV from Ft. Smith that was on channel 22 at the time. I have since donated the converter to the Kansas State Historical Society. It still works. Also, it was possible to buy UHF tuning strips to tune UHF channels. To use them you needed to remove one of the VHF tuning strips and replace it with a UHF one. I later removed channel 12 from one of my parent's sets and added channel 19. We had a neighbor who moved from Wichita and he was able to retune the channel 16 strip to channel 19 (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, WTFDA via DXLD) I didn't recall that KFSA was on ch 22, but remember reading about it being originally UHF. My mother remembers her first TV viewing was from Memphis (most likely, WMCT ch 5) and it was not common for people in Central and Eastern Arkansas to put up large antennas pointed toward Memphis in those days. KRTV (the 1953-54 Little Rock station) had their tower constructed behind the old Prospect Theatre (which was KATV's studio 1954-1957 when it burned) and caused an uproar with the old-money Hillcrest crowd. Apparently, the signal was lucky to make it to Hot Springs and Pine Bluff (this was *way* before my time). My first dabbling with UHF was with the loop supplied with my first TV, a Zenith B&W portable I received as a Christmas gift (that started me down this evil hobby ;) ). I picked up the signals of WPTY -24 occasionally and also those of channel 27 (KMTC?--present day KSFX) Springfield MO, KLMN (now KARD) channel 14 Monroe LA, and WXVT-15 Greenville MS. I was DXing before I really knew what I was doing. The summer before my senior year in high school KLRT -16 signed on as an Indie and our first "local" UHF 29 years after KRTV (ch 17 Little Rock) signed off. Unfortunately, I grew up in a rural area that lacked cable and among the channels I or my parents didn't get was MTV in its glory days (early 1980's) unless I was visiting friends in a neighboring town until I moved away. Today, I get that channel but never watch it, and consider it a waste of space --- ah, how times have changed (Fritze, KC5KBV, Star City, AR EM43aw http://tvdxseark.blogspot.com ibid.) INTERNET RADIO SET ON SALE IN ALDI Members may be interested to know that the Aldi chain is currently offering a Tevion "Internet Radio and Media Player" at £49.99 or less. This is a compact set, similar in appearance to most DAB radios. It links wirelessly to your broadband wi-fi router or access point and gives instant access to almost 10,000 radio stations from over 100 different countries. (There are more than 2000 stations from the USA alone.) There is no need for your PC to be switched on, and the radio will work anywhere in the house. This model has twin speakers and supports stereo when available. It also has the FM broadcast band as a bonus. Additionally, you can stream audio files that reside on your PC's hard disc. Audio quality is variable, and depends upon the bit-rate of the individual broadcaster's internet stream. However, on stations with the best bit-rates it is broadly comparable to DAB quality. I bought one a couple of days ago and it has worked perfectly, straight out of the box. The purist may argue that this is "not radio", but it does give the opportunity to listen to a vast number of radio stations from home and abroad, free from the vagaries of shortwave propagation (Walt Davidson, Feb 5, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Thanks for this recommendation, Walt - but can I offer a note of caution to anybody thinking of buying this bargain (wish I'd seen it a month ago!) or any other internet radio set - there seem to be an increasing number available, including some that also receive DAB and even one that is DAB+ ready. The promise that these sets will "Work Straight out of the box" is not always as straightforward as it claims, I have found from my own experience. I'd fancied getting hold of an internet radio for a while, and my generous brother said I could buy one as part of my Christmas present. With my usual "can't wait" enthusiasm, I settled after some dithering and some on-line Windows shopping, for a Bush internet radio, which I picked up from a local Argos branch on 30th December. Naturally I couldn't wait to get it home and try it. Should I have any problems, there was apparently a customer helpline. All seemed to be going well, inasmuch as the radio soon found our wireless network. But when I tried to "select" this, all I got was a message saying "Network Not Supported". OK, no problem, I expect there's an explanation in the manual and a solution to this, I thought. If that doesn't work, contact Bush. Well, this error message was not in the manual and, to cut a long story short, two weeks later and after much exasperation with a singularly unhelpful Customer Helpline and even writing to the manufacturer, I took the Bush back to Argos - it was no good to me like it was and Bush didn't seem to care about trying to get me using it. I replaced it with a more expensive Intempo, which I hoped would work. At least it had more features and a remote control. Got it home and took it out of the box, on the day after the Heathrow 777 crash, actually. Same story "Network not supported". Aagh! OK then, clearly the problem's not with the radios but with the wireless router. Try Belkin for a solution, I thought. Let's send their tech support team an e-mail. Fat lot of use that was: they didn't even seem able to acknowledge that the product I am using IS a wireless router - they identified it as a cable router - even though it's been serving two laptops wirelessly for months now! I could have taken the Intempo back as well and given up for the time being, but at least it can also operate through a wired local area network, and that's how I'm currently using it. The results are very pleasing, and I can still listen to it "wirelessly" in a way- by using a pair of Philips cordless headphones which I think operate on 963 kHz. A Tunecast (ironically from Belkin) would do the same job on any FM frequency, of course, by re-transmitting the output. I agree with Walt about what the purists might say, but then in a way, surely, it still IS radio? When you are listening to it wirelessly, you are still receiving a radio signal, after all! The great advantage of these sort of sets though is that you can indeed choose from a vast range of stations, free as Walt says from the vagaries of propagation but also without the hassle of having to remember or type in a long URL. And that's right, you don't even need to turn your PC on at all. Think of an internet radio in a way as a kind of dumb terminal - though in fact some models have the rudiments of interactivity built in. I've been very happily listening these past few days to station 2CH in Sydney which, quite clearly, I'd never hear on 1170 kHz in the UK! It's the best easy listening station I've heard in many a year. Not only that, but here's another thing to consider. You can still enjoy all the strange pleasures of a DX catch, using your communications receiver, or any other station you choose to listen to - but you can use internet radio alongside it. The internet radio station can act like BDXC Tape and CD circle does with recordings for it's members (plug, plug!) as an example of what a station sounds like, if, when, ever, you manage to hear it through the ether rather than the ethernet. Take your internet radio, your WRTVH 2008- and your Eton E5, which is just what I intend to buy today from Maplins following Mike Barraclough' s excellent demonstration of another little bargain at last Saturday's Reading meeting. You've got the perfect combination, whether you're a short wave listener or a purist DXer. Happy listening, however you take it - but make sure you know what you may be letting yourself in for before investing in a wireless internet set! (Mark Savage, BDXC-UK, via DXLD) I suppose the same units are not available at Aldi in USA? (gh, DXLD) RADIO JAMMING This article entitled Radio Jamming in the Soviet Union, Poland and other Eastern European countries, features a profile of the various types of jamming used by these nations to block out radio broadcasts aimed at shortwave listeners. The article contains excellent photographs of the stations, equipment, antenna installations, etc. http://cbc.am/jamming.pdf (via Sheldon Harvey, Greenfield Park, Quebec, Feb Radio HF Internet Newsletter via DXLD) Yet another version of the Rimantas Pleikys article, focusing mainly on the Baltix. Including at the end a photo of the jammer near Kashi, China, ALLISS rotatable antenna. Thank you, France! Also note that this website has nothing to do with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, tho it would clearly like to mislead you into thinking so. Go back to just http://cbc.am and you find it`s a squatter. CBC has not taken the bait (gh, DXLD) BBS MATES On this website, you can search a list of 75,000 BBSs that existed from the 80's to present! If you were a sysop, look for your old BBS or add it if it's not already in the database. Add yourself as a member to BBSs that you called. Find members that you used to chat and game with! http://www.bbsmates.com/ (via Sheldon Harvey, Greenfield Park, Quebec, Radio HF Internet Newsletter via DXLD) PROPAGATION ++++++++++++ SOLAR-ACTIVITY FORECAST FOR THE PERIOD FEB 8 - 14, 2008 Activity level: very low Radio flux (10.7 cm): a fluctuation in the range 68-75 f.u. Flares: weak (0-4/day) Relative sunspot number: in the range 0-25 Astronomical Institute, Solar Dept., Ondrejov, Czech Republic e-mail: sunwatch(at) asu.cas.cz (RWC Prague) ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period Feb 8 to Feb 14, 2008 quiet: 0 quiet to unsettled: 0 unsettled: Feb 8, 11, 12, 13 and 14 unsettled to active: Feb 9 and 10 active: 0 minor storm: 0 major storm: 0 severe storm: 0 Geomagnetic activity summary: geomagnetic field was quiet on Jan 31, Feb 5 and 6, unsettled on Feb 2, 3 and4, unsettled to active on Feb 1. RWC Prague, Geophysical Institute Prague, Geomagnetic Dept, Czech Republic, e-mail: geom(at)ig.cas. cz ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period of one solar rotation unsettled to active: Feb 11-12, 14, 20-21, 24 active to disturbed: Feb (8-9,) 10, (13, 15, 27,) 28, (29,) Mar 1, (2, 4) quiet: Feb (16-17,) 18-19, (22,) 23, 25-26, MARCH 3 Survey: quiet on: Jan 30, Feb 5 mostly quiet on: Feb 6 quiet to unsettled on: Jan 31 quiet to active on: Feb 4 quiet to disturbed - mostly unsettled on: Feb 3 unsettled to active - unsettled to disturbed on: Feb 1-2 mostly active - active to disturbed - disturbed - Notice: Days in brackets refer to a lower probability of possible solar activity enhancements depending on previous developments on the sun. F. K. Janda, OK1HH, Czech Propagation Interested Group e-mail: franta.janda( at)quick. cz (via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) The KN4LF Daily LF/MF/HF/6M Frequency Radiowave Propagation Forecast #2008-06 has been published on Friday 02/08/2008 at 2100 UTC, valid Saturday-Friday 02/09-15/2008 at http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf6.htm 73, Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF Lakeland, FL, USA, 2006 UT Feb 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###