DX LISTENING DIGEST 8-054, April 29, 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 1405 Wed 1130 WRMI 9955 Wed 2300 WBCQ 17495-CUSB SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1406 Thu 0530 WRMI 9955 Thu 1430 WRMI 9955 Thu 2200 WRMI 9955 Thu 2330 WBCQ 7415 Fri 0800 WRMI 9955 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 Fri 2230 WBCQ 5110-CUSB Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 1630 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1515 WRMI 9955 Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [irregular, time varies] Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1130 WRMI 9955 Wed 2300 WBCQ 17495-CUSB 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 ** ALASKA. KCHU, Valdez, 770, also webcasts and is the last known station carrying Riders Radio Theatre, one of my favorites, no longer in production; has been at 0230 UT Saturdays, but April 26 heard local newscast instead past 0300. Website program grid still shows it at 0230, and a blank block at 0300-0400, what`s that? E-mailed station and reply from GM apologizes for out of date grid, attaches new one updated in March; RRT has been pushed back to 0300 UT Saturdays, followed by Story Hour [sic] at 0330-0400 --- wonder if that is a local produxion. However, I listened a bit past 0300 and local announcements were still running. MONITORING REMINDERS CALENDAR has been updated accordingly (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALASKA. DRM EXPERIMENT PROPOSED --- Digital Aurora Radio Technologies of Delta Junction, AK has applied to the FCC for authorization to experiment with statewide DRM in the 5, 7 and 9 MHz shortwave bands. The FCC has assigned the callsign WE2XRH to this station, but its license was pending at the time of this writing. Delta Junction is approximately 130 miles southeast of Fairbanks. More information is at http://www.26mhz.us (Benn Kobb, April 29, drmna yg via DXLD) Viz.: "The ultimate goal of this project is to provide a terrestrial digital radio service to the citizens of Alaska," the company said. "In general, the population of Alaska is underserved with respect to the ability to have a high quality, reliable public radio audio service. This is especially true for sparsely populated areas of the state." Digital Aurora would perform propagation, S/N, field strength, bit rate and audio quality measurements over a two-year period. The signals will be contained in a 10 kHz channel, but the test may include a wider signal to investigate the impact on broadcast quality and "expanded digital capabilities." Transmissions will be coordinated with the High Frequency Coordination Conference (HFCC). "It is clear from the coverage contours that nearly all of the energy is concentrated for reception in Alaska," the company said. Major parts of the planned experiment will be to investigate how well the propagation predictions reflect field conditions and how low the transmit power can go below 100 kW without jeopardizing coverage in some parts of Alaska. A unique element of the proposed station is its use of government surplus over-the-horizon (OTH) radar transmitters. Tests by the OTH system manufacturer, Continental Electronics, demonstrated the capability of the transmitter to broadcast DRM with "excellent performance characteristics" and within the spectral mask recommended by the ITU for this mode. "An Alaskan experiment will fill a gap in assessing the performance of digital terrestrial shortwave broadcasting in the difficult high latitude environment," the company said (http://www.26mhz.us via DXLD) Interesting, very! I was thinking NVIS techniques would be quite usable but from what I recall NVIS wouldn't be able to cover the whole state. If I remember correctly, NVIS is only good for about 400 miles, tops? There's no way a NVIS transmitted signal would cover from the Panhandle down Southeast out to Adak and the Aleutians and then north to Barrow. Sounds like good old dipoles transmitting in at least two separate patterns for good coverage to me, which increases the likelihood of outside listening by quite a margin. Not to mention using gov't surplus OTHR transmitters! Are there any more of those out there? If granted, this would break the ban on domestic SW broadcasting, and that's a good thing! (Brendan, WA7HL, Wahl, who is only about 1300 miles southeast of Delta Junction! Ibid.) WOW! Nice. Has there been any talk of the domestic SW broadcast ban regulations? Perhaps the STA ameliorates that :-) I for one am excited about this! I'd sure love to see more of these type experiments. I'd even welcome weather broadcasts designed to cover a state, like the NOAA broadcasts on the 162 MHz band, etc. Thanks for keeping us up on this stuff Benn! (Fibber, ibid.) ** ARGENTINA. A Rádio Difusão Argentina Para o Exterior - RAE transmite para o exterior, sempre de segundas a sextas-feiras, em japonês, espanhol, inglês, italiano, francês, alemão e português. A partir de 1º de maio, haverá uma nova emissão, em português, pela manhã, entre 1100 e 1200, em 11710 kHz. Já a emissão noturna irá ao ar, entre 0000 e 0100 [terças a sábados TU], pela mesma freqüência. As duas emissões são distintas e contam, como sempre, com os programas de DX produzidos por Gabriel Iván Barrera (from http://www.romais.jor.br via Célio Romais, April 29, DXLD) I listened to the opening of the 0100 UT Wednesday Portuguese program on webcast, and at 0107 the YL announcer Julieta, speaking Brazilian with a porteña lilt, explained the Japanese and Portuguese changes both in local and UT. The way I copied it, from May 1 there will still be Japanese at both 10-11 and 01-02 UT, while Portuguese will be at both 11-12 and 00-01 UT, the latter in accordance with Célio above, in other words, matching our original interpretation. This directly contradicts the version from Barrera, Conexión Digital via DXLD 8-053, which showed one hour of Portuguese at 11, and one hour of Japanese at 01, period. Apparently Gabriel, who does their DX scripts, and lends his E-mail address, is out of the loop about what RAE is actually doing in schedule changes. Or, the announcer I heard is out of the loop. They can`t both be right. It`s futile trying to find an updated schedule on their website. The closest I came was http://www.radionacional.com.ar/programacion/rae.html where if you click on Viernes, it still shows two hours of Japanese in the mornings, and two hours of Portuguese in the evenings, even tho by then it will be May 2. This is in local time of UT -3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. Early X Band Stations --- My fondest memories of the early X Band are of the Australian RPH stations on 1629 and 1620, 2RPH and 3RPH, in the late 1980's from Mass. I believe I bored KAZ with my tapes of those receptions when he visited here in FL a couple of years ago. I sent the stations a tape and they had a fairly lengthy segment on their DX program which they recorded on the back of my tape and sent it back to me. They were running 400 watts at a distance of about 10,000 miles. I later received a phone call from Ms Marjorie Lane of 3RPH while she was visiting the local offices of the Talking Books for the Blind in Boston. She said details on my tape checked exactly with their program and they were thrilled with it. I know David Clark in Ontario heard them, also. There was a East Coast bootlegger on 1620 occasionally and I mused in DX News that I didn't believe NRC should encourage these stations as they were ruining my DX but was lightly chastized for it. Australia can still be logged on Xband today on 1638 right around local sunrise. It is weak but those with good antennas should be able to pull it in on occasion. I have had weak audio on my 23" loop occasionally. It is still there as I have noted their carrier for the last week on my loop and modified 2010 (Ray Moore, Ft Myers, FL, April 29, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** BELARUS. Cyberattack on RFE/RL: see U S A [and non] ** BRAZIL. BRASIL - A Rádio Cultura AM, de São Paulo (SP), continua sem ser captada na freqüência de 9615 kHz. Outra freqüência inativa, no momento, é 9685 kHz, da Rádio Gazeta, também de São Paulo. Da mesma forma, a Rádio Cultura, de Araraquara (SP), não tem sido captada em 3365 kHz. BRASIL - O sinal da Rádio Inconfidência, de Belo Horizonte (MG), tem tido regular sintonia, no Sul do Brasil, por volta de 0400, na freqüência de 6010 kHz. Em 27 de abril, foi captado, em Porto Alegre (RS), pelo colunista, quando Tina Gonçalves apresentava o programa Mutirão Sertanejo. BRASIL - Cidade Oldies é o nome de uma "rádio livre", que transmite, sem fins lucrativos, de algum lugar da região Sudeste, nas madrugadas brasileiras, de sextas, sábados, domingos e feriados, a partir de 0300, na freqüência de 7695 kHz. A estação anuncia que executa "músicas que tocaram nos bons e velhos tempos" e divulga as ondas curtas. Anuncia um cartão QSL para breve para quem enviar informes de recepção para o e-mail: E-mail: cidadeoldies @ live.nl (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX via DXLD) Previous info was UT Sat & Sun; now it`s Fri, Sat, Sun and holidays at 0300 UT (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL – É provável que, em julho, todas as freqüências da Rádio Guarujá Paulista, de Guarujá (SP), voltem a transmitir programação gerada na própria estação e não mais do Sistema Globo de Rádio, como vem ocorrendo (from http://www.romais.jor.br via Célio Romais, April 29, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Radio Gazeta, São Paulo, 15325.020 kHz, 1941 UT April 29, fair with nice Brazil music and info about São Paulo. Gr (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. I notice that last night CBC News was audible on 1070. Has CBA Moncton been resurrected or did someone press the wrong button? (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, Scotland, April 29, IRCA via DXLD) Time? ** CANADA. INTERVIEW: CHANGES TO CBC RADIO 2 AND ORCHESTRA DISBANDING http://www.insidethecbc.com/r2interview#more-1755 There has been lots of talk recently about the forthcoming changes to CBC Radio 2, the dismantling of the CBC Radio Orchestra, and more. So last week, I sat down (via phone) with Chris Boyce, CBC Radio’s director of programming, and Mark Steinmetz, director of music, to get some more details and address some of the concerns raised. The interview text is below and the audio of the interview is coming soon. Please note: There are some crappy edits in the audio — all were from my end (coughing, taking a phone call, and editing out my mangling of questions and stumbling over words ). At no time has Chris, Mark, or anyone at the CBC asked for anything to be taken out. Maffin: There’s been lots of chat these days on the blog, and in the media, and inside the CBC around the changes to CBC Radio Two, specifically the reduction of classical music being played, the addition of a streaming classical music station online and closing the closing the CBC Radio orchestra. It’s been very contentious, and I’ve got a couple people with me from the CBC who will hopefully shed some light and maybe explain some of this. One is Mark Steinmetz. Hi Mark. Steinmetz: Hi. Maffin: Briefly, what do you do? Steinmetz: I’m the Director of Radio Music. Maffin: And what’s your background? Steinmetz: I’ve been at CBC for over fifteen years. Was a producer, did disc shows, recorded concerts, recorded cd’s, and went to music school, and that’s it. Maffin: Chris Boyce is the newly minted Director of Programming. Hi Chris. Boyce: Hi Tod. Maffin: You came through the Director of Program Development, and then you had some time at DNTO. Where have you been, briefly, at the CBC? Boyce: You’re right. Before I got in to management, I was Executive Producer at DNTO and the Content Factory, producing a wide range of content for CBC Radio. And television. Most recently, I was Director of Program Development where I worked developing a wide range of programming, from current affairs, to cultural programming, to music. I just started officially a few weeks ago as Director of Programming. Maffin: Just by way of disclosure, you used to be my boss when I worked at DNTO. I believe I still owe you five bucks. Boyce: You were an exemplary employee. Maffin: That’s so not true. __________________________________________ THE OVERALL ENVIRONMENT Maffin: Before we get to the topics at hand and the controversial aspects, I want to ask a couple of questions on the overall environment. Maybe Chris, you might be best to answer this. How has the way that we listen to radio changed in the last five to ten years? Are we listening more or less? Do we listen in different places than we used to? Boyce: If you look at the overall radio environment in Canada, people are listening to slightly less over-the-air radio. Where it’s most predominant is in the under thirty-five demographic. Thirty-five plus people have lost about an hour of listening a week, still in the twenty hour a week range. The drop off is most noticed when you’re under thirty-five, and incredibly noticeable in the under eighteen demographic. Maffin: It’s sort of an obvious answer, I suppose, but I guess those people are turning to podcasts and satellite radio. Where are we losing them to? Boyce: That’s the million dollar question, Tod. I think it’s safe to say that people are finding any number of places, whether it be satellite radio or podcast. Everybody now seems to own an iPod and essentially programs their own music, so in the digital sphere, it’s not just other programmed radio services. It’s people essentially creating their own programming as the technology has enabled them to essentially replicate the experience of listening to a radio station but programming it themselves. Maffin: I have to say, since podcasting came online a couple years ago, I listen to almost no radio live off the radio now. I subscribe to CBC podcast, NPR, ABC and stuff like that every day. It really changed my listening anyway. Steinmetz: There’s another fact that we just found out. It’s between, I think, sixteen and twenty-five percent of listeners of traditional radio are actually listening off of their computers, so they’re not even listening to radios, like radio units. They’re listening through their computers. That’s across North America, so that’s interesting, as well. __________________________________________ CHANGES TO CBC RADIO 2 Maffin: I want to get to that as well, when we talk about changes to the classical music, because I know that one of the things we’re going to be adding is an online radio station. But let’s start more widely with the changes to Radio Two overall. I was looking through the blog comments, and of course, we’ve had plenty. There was a fellow named Alan Shearn, of course, you never really who’s name it really is, so a person who calls himself Alan Shearn reminded people in there, there’s an old saying that says if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. CBC’s certainly changing. I don’t know whether we’re fixing, maybe we are. Does that mean Radio Two is broken? Steinmetz: No. Radio Two, it’s a quality service. I think there are two things that we’ve realized over the past few years. One is that we’re not adhering to the overall mandate. That is that the Radio Two public space reflects the broad range of music making in this country. We don’t feel that we’re living up to our mandate, and the second reason is we described as a sustainable audience. We’ve got a relatively good audience, but fifty percent of the audience is over sixty-five. We appreciate that audience. We want to keep that audience, but the fact of the matter is the thirty-five to sixty year olds are not coming in behind them. Our audience, over the last twenty years, has grown twenty times faster than the Canadian population. Everyone thinks that the boomers are coming and they’re going to discover classical music, but the truth is that thirty-five to sixty group are not coming to our service. Over the last bunch of years, we’ve been asking ourselves why that is. And there’s many reasons for that, but those are the two reasons. We need a sustainable audience. We need to find an adult audience that will come to us and replenish us and keep us going in to the future. Boyce: Tod, we have a great classical music service, but the reality of music in Canada today is there’s a whole list of genres of music that people listen to and that are made across Canada. Roots, world, folk, blues, jazz, contemporary music. There’s singer song writers, there’s a ton of incredible music being made in Canada today that just isn’t heard on Canadian airwaves. It’s our responsibility as Canada’s broadcaster to bring that music to Canadians wherever they live, across Canada. For us, that’s what this is about. It’s about bringing Canadian music to Canadians and it’s not really something that anyone else is doing in Canada right now. Maffin: I wonder if we sometimes end up accidentally shooting ourselves in the foot though. Sometimes we’ll give examples of artists that would be played. I remember when Freestyle was about to launch here in Vancouver. Somebody, somewhere at the CBC mentioned, probably in passing, that among the many Canadian artists they’ll be playing we’ll see some lighter fare. There occasionally be Madonna. Of course the media reported, CBC Radio goes pop radio. I kind of fear we may have done the same thing by mentioning Celine Deon and Joni Mitchell as examples, so let’s set the record straight. When people tune in to the new CBC Radio Two in the fall, what will they hear? Will it be an easy listening station? Steinmetz: No, it won’t be an easy listening station. It’ll be a station that brings quality music across genres to Canadians. We’ll not be focusing in on the top ten hits of this country, the commercial stations do so at presenting to Canadians. There are thousands of pieces of music across genres, including classical music, made in this country that are not heard. Quality music, across genres. We will be reflecting that music. You’re right about you mention one or two artists, and I think the two artists that were mentioned in passing long ago were Serena Ryder and Joni Michell, and all the sudden that’s what CBC Radio Two’s going to become. I don’t know where Celine Deon came from, but anyway. The fact of the matter is, will there be Joni Mitchell on the service? Yes, there will be some Joni Mitchell on the service, but it’s not going to be exclusively a service that is going to play music just like Joni Mitchell. I guess that’s the key. Whenever you bring up an artists name, then that’s what happens. Anyway, quality music across genres. Boyce: The bottom line, Tod, is tens of thousands of cuts of music are made every year in Canada. A few hundred of them ever get heard with any regularity on commercial radio, so there is a really deep catalog of great Canadian music that nobody gets to hear. We’re going to put that on the radio. Steinmetz: That’s right, and the number is often cited as thirty thousand and acknowledged that there are thousands that aren’t very good. And we will avoid those not very good ones, but there are thousands that are excellent and quality recordings that are heard nowhere else, and we will reflect those recordings. Boyce: And we’re excited because it’s a radio service that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Canada right now. Maffin: As an aside, I actually have a list of music I think is really bad. Can I just email that to you and maybe we can make some sort of arrangement? Steinmetz: Sure. Boyce: A “do not play” list. Steinmetz: I get lots of those lists, Tod. Maffin: It kind of raises in a way, I wonder how diligent we would have to be to ensure that we don’t compete in a way. There’s a commenter on the blog, named Dave, who wrote on April first. This is his comment, the new CBC Radio Two will be more like pop stations than it was before, and I think you’ve addressed that, but he goes on to say, it may not occupy exactly the same terrain as a pop station, but it certainly may appeal more to pop listeners, which I think might be true. Therefore, regardless of whether we attempt to compete with the pop stations, we kind of are in a way competing with them, so will we be paying close attention to make sure we don’t match those, or is that not really in our radar? Boyce: We know what the service is that we want to make. We know what the music is that we think Canadians want to hear, that they aren’t hearing now. We’re going to put it on the air. If that’s something that’s appealing to people who are presently listening to another radio station, that’s great, but for us, this is about what it is to be a public broadcaster in Canada in the year two thousand and eight. Maffin: To be fair, the numbers on Radio Two are not that great. I think, just over three percent of Canadians, who listen to the radio, tune in to Radio Two. Steinmetz: That’s right. Maffin: So how do we defend against charges that these changes are just an attempt to get higher ratings? And are higher ratings that bad? Boyce: We’re a public broadcaster. Our job is to serve the citizens of Canada. If the citizens of Canada aren’t consuming our service, I don’t think we’re doing a very good job as a public broadcaster. That’s very different though, than going out exclusively to get the largest audience possible, by putting whatever we think will go on the air to attract that audience. For me, attracting Canadians is important, because they are our constituencies. They are our clients. They are the people who we serve. How many of them are listening is only one of a whole bunch of measures that you use to measure success. Maffin: Was money, at all, a criteria here? How does this change Radio’s Two budget? Does it save us money, or cost us money? Steinmetz: Neither. Boyce: We’ll be spending about the same on the service after the change as we were before. What we spend it on, that’s where the change will be. Steinmetz: I was just going to say that one of the things that will remain the same is that we’re going to bring quality presentation to the schedule. What separates us from the commercial stations, first of all, is we’re commercial-free and that’s obvious, but the second thing is there will still be the contextualization of music across the schedule. There will still be that in-depth look at music, so regardless of genre, the quality of presentation is still something that’s really important to us. Maffin: Since you brought up the commercial-free point, is it your position to guarantee that Radio One and Radio Two will remain commercial-free? When we’re starting to see a little bit of slippery slope with the podcasts, which are now sponsored, are there any plans, or research, or anything going in to considering adding that to the terrestrial service? Boyce: We have no plans whatsoever to add any commercial sponsorship to our over-the-air service. __________________________________________ REDUCTION OF CLASSICAL MUSIC Maffin: Okay, let’s move on to, more specifically, the classical changes, which of course, have gotten most of the attention around this. I presume we’ve done polling on music tastes among Canadians. Do fewer people in Canada like listening to classical music? Is that part of this decision? Steinmetz: Fewer than what? Maffin: Fewer than in the past? Steinmetz: No, it’s basically been between four and six percent of Canadians listen to classical music at some point in the year. Maffin: So the preference hasn’t changed? It’s not like people are listening to it less as a whole, as a genre? Fair to say? Steinmetz: No, I think it remains stable. In fact, I know in the digital space the consumption of classical music is actually quite high. The changes are not about classical music. Classical music is doing very well. It continues to do well. Our changes don’t mean the death of classical music in this country. And in fact, as I was saying, on the digital space there’s a great demand for it. Boyce: These changes are about everything else that we want and need to be doing, rather than anything to do with whether people are listening or not listening to classical music. The reality, Tod, is that as an over-the-air service we have one music channel, and it’s what is the range of music that we need to put on that channel. The beauty, as Mark says, of the digital space is that we have way more flexibility in targeting music to niche audiences. Come September, if you’re in to classical you will be able to listen to a classical web radio station. Same for jazz, singer song writer or contemporary Canadian compositions. Part of this is the reality, all of those music genres exist on Radio Two, we just have the ability in the digital sphere to target to people’s interests a little better. Steinmetz: Yeah, you heard it here first actually, Tod, because we haven’t announced it yet, but we do want to add a fourth station, a contemporary classical music, all one hundred percent Canadian composed art music digital streamed. We intend to launch that as a fourth one. We’re saving that announcement for a couple of weeks from now, but there, you heard it here first. Maffin: What does “art music” mean? Steinmetz: Good question. I guess it is composers in this country who come from the classical music tradition. It’s not electronica. It’s not contemporary new popular music. It used to be [called] serious [music]. Maffin: Will it dive in to the area that perhaps, Brave New Waves used to cover, which was further on that edge? Steinmetz: We feel that Radio Three does a lot of that similar kind of programming. There was a show we had on the air ago called Two New Hours, and it’s that kind of contemporary music we’re talking about. We haven’t designed the playlist. We haven’t designed what it’s going to be, but it will be that genre, sort of twentieth century, twenty- first century Canadian composed music. Maffin: Mark, how does that process work, you mentioned designing playlists and things? Steinmetz: We’ll be putting a group of producers together to come up with what it would sound like. We create intentions of where we want to go. We set criteria. Then producers get together and they, through program development, come up with what the musical framework and what the musical world and tone is going to be. That kind of work still has to be done. Maffin: Did I read right that we’re calling them Radio Four, Radio Five and Radio Six? Steinmetz: Nope. Maffin: Okay. Boyce: At this point, we’re still figuring out how they’ll all be branded. To be honest, for the online stations we’re still figuring out exactly what the playlists will look like, and what the range of music is. At this point, we know we’re doing them. We know the broad areas that we’re going in to, but we haven’t finished the developmental work on exactly what they’ll be, Tod. Maffin: So how many stations? Steinmetz: We’re looking at four. Generally, one will be a jazz station, one will be a classical music station; I should call them streams actually. I think that’s a better word. One of them will be this contemporary music one that I was talking about. And then one will be feature singer song writers’ songs across genre. Maffin: Will there be commercials on those streams? Boyce: There certainly won’t be commercials, per se. There may be a short, ten second sponsorship message, like a podcast, but certainly no commercials. Maffin: Are these hosted stations? Will we actually hear someone introducing and chatting, or is it essentially like Radio Three has a station on the internet, but it’s primarily just music, music, music, back-to-back, with some pre-taped host? Boyce: It’ll be mostly a music-focused service. Maffin: So no live hosts:? Boyce: Again, that’s some of the details we’re working on, but the expectation is the focus is on the music. Steinmetz: Yeah, and you’ll know it’s CBC Radio Two. __________________________________________ DISBANDING OF THE CBC RADIO ORCHESTRA Maffin: Let’s talk about the orchestra briefly. The only question I really have here is why close it? Steinmetz: Why close it? Because we had to make choices. We had to make a choice about where we wanted to direct the money that we have. We thought about it for a long time and we feel that by reallocating the money to other music productions across this country, including classical music, including [orchestral] commissions --- It was a very tough choice, but we felt that was a better use of the money overall. Boyce: It’s interesting, Tod, the CBC Radio Orchestra was created seventy years ago at a time when there were no other orchestras in Canada creating Canadian classical music. Seventy years later, there are essentially, over forty orchestras across the country. The situation that led to the creation of the orchestra is very different than the situation we find ourselves in today. As Mark said, this is about getting the most bang for the buck. It’s about the most efficient use of resources, and it’s a very, very difficult decision to make. Nobody wants to see the orchestra go, but that’s the reality that we work within. Maffin: How much money in real dollar terms was it consuming? Steinmetz: Can’t go there. I think in media it’s between five hundred thousand and a million dollars. Maffin: And do you dispute the figures the media have come up with? Steinmetz: No, I don’t, but budgets change year to year. What I can tell you though, ten years ago the Radio Orchestra did more than it did today. As years go by, it’s hard to sustain, and to keep cutting back the season, keep cutting back the concerts became not an option. Maffin: Just to play devil’s advocate and be fair, the decision to cut back concerts and you mentioned slowly reducing, that’s not something that just happens by osmosis. There’s a decision at the CBC to reduce the level. Steinmetz: Yeah, that’s right. We made a decision. Boyce: But it’s not a cost cutting move, Tod. It’s about using the limited resources we have in the way that will create the most impact across the country. That’s the bottom line. Maffin: Okay, and that makes sense. The details on that I’d love to get a little more sense of. Does this mean we’re going to become a grant giving organization, or we’ll just record more concerts, or are we going to commission specific pieces? Where will that money, specifically [Sound Cuts Out]. Steinmetz: We’re not going to be a grant giving organization, but we are going to be upping what we call the commissions budget here for orchestral commissions. That’s for sure to make up for the decision that we made about the orchestra. Then we’re going to be reallocating to music productions, recording concerts, more concerts than we had before. That’s the goal. __________________________________________ SUMMARY Maffin: Anything that I’ve missed in this quick interview that you want to add? Boyce: I’m just really excited about what we’re launching in September. For the first time there is going to be a truly Canadian music service that reflects the music that’s being made across Canada to Canadians. To be honest, Tod, I’m really excited. I think it’s an amazing opportunity for Canadians to get something that they’ve never had access to before. I can’t understate the impact I think this is going to have for Canadian musicians and for Canadian audiences. Maffin: Fantastic. How can people continue to add their thoughts in to this dialogue? Boyce: If people are looking for more information about what we’re doing, there’s information on the Radio Two website, CBC dot C-A slash Radio Two. There’s a little section that you can look at, which talks about the new Radio Two, what we’re doing, what our plans are. We’ll be updating that as we head towards the launch in September. Maffin: There’s always, of course, commenting on the CBC blog at Inside the CBC dot com, and CBC dot C-A slash contact is a web form there where people can send their opinions in to the CBC, and those emails do get read. We actually have a department. I don’t know how many people it is, a dozen I think, or more, who read those responses, collate them, put them in front of senior managers, as well, so those messages do get through. Steinmetz: Oh yeah. We see them all. Maffin: Just a quick housekeeping note. Some people may wonder why Jennifer McGuire is not on this call. Jennifer, of course, was quoted in the media for a lot of these things. That’s because at the time, she was largely responsible for communicating this. She has now moved on to another role inside CBC News. Mark Steinmetz, Director of Music for CBC Radio. Chris Boyce, Director of Programming. Thank you so much for your time today. Steinmetz: Welcome. Boyce: Thanks, Tod. CBC Radio 2 • Changes to CBC Radio Two April 28, 2008 6 Responses to “Interview: Changes to CBC Radio 2 and Orchestra Disbanding” kathleen Says: April 28th, 2008 at 8:35 pm CDT You make a very poor argument for shutting down the CBCRO. The budget for the orchestra is being spent on your huge ad campaign in national papers. At one point you said the orchestra’s budget will be used for remote broadcasts of other orchestras and then you said it will be spent on commissions. What about all of the commissions performed by the CBCRO in the past few years? I suspect the budget for the CBCRO will be put into general revenue. That money will never again have the artistic impact it had when it was spent on the Radio Orchestra. Mr. Steinmetz, how can you sleep at night, knowing what havoc you have wreaked on music in this country? I hope that very soon you will be called to account for your actions. Gabriel Says: April 28th, 2008 at 10:41 pm CDT Let me get this straight. According to the interview: A. The ones who like classical music are the old people. B. The ones who are turning away from radio and toward the internet are the young people. So why is the solution to reduce the amount of classical music on the airwaves (where “young people” don’t listen), and create a new online classical station (where “old people” don’t listen)?! That’s sheer lunacy! Chip Says: April 29th, 2008 at 1:03 am CDT Statistics cited in this article: 50% of Radio Two’s audience is over 65. Between 16 and 25 percent of people listen to CBC on their computers instead of a traditional radio. This also means that 50% of Radio 2’s audience is UNDER 65, and that between 75 and 84% of CBC listeners listen to CBC on a traditional radio. Emily G Says: April 29th, 2008 at 1:07 am CDT Tod Maffin says: “To be fair, the numbers on Radio Two are not that great. I think, just over three percent of Canadians, who listen to the radio, tune in to Radio Two.” Well, I sure stopped listening to Radio Two after they made the changes in 2007. And they sure won’t win me back with these new changes. Heather Says: April 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am CDT I am 40 and I stream CBC Two on my computer at work. I remember when the CBC in its grand wisdom overhauled CBC One - the programming became repetitive and was pretty lightweight. The CBC lost me as a listener for years. Over the years, the programming apparently has been improving and after rediscovering Radio One during an illness last year, I am listening to Radio One in the car and at home. My concern is that once again there appears to be no plan. I am being asked to trust the CBC, despite the fact that large blocks of mish- mash programming is what is on offer. Why not keep some of the current shows and add new ones, that way you could keep your existing audience while building a new one. From a marketing stand point of view, keeping an existing cliet is easier than finding a new one. This existing client is going to be streaming orchestral and classical music from the UK or the US. The CBC may think we are all going to just simply hang around until they get it right, but they are sadly mistaken (Inside the CBC blog via DXLD) ** CANADA. The application of CHOU-1450 Montreal Quebec to increase its power from 1 to 2 kW-U has been approved by the CRTC: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2008/db2008-87.htm The antenna will remain non-directional CHOU Montréal – Technical change 1. The Commission approves the application by 9015-2018 Québec inc. to change the authorized contours of the commercial ethnic AM radio programming undertaking CHOU Montréal approved in Ethnic AM radio station in Montréal, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2006-82, 15 March 2006, by increasing the daytime and nighttime transmitter power from 1,000 watts to 2,000 watts. 2. The licensee indicated that the changes will improve the reception of its signal in downtown Montréal as well as on the south shore where the signal is almost non-existent. 73, (via Deane McIntyre VE6BPO, April 29, DXLD) It should be noted this makes CHOU one of a VERY few stations running more than 1 kW on a graveyard channel. In fact, I count only four others and one already has a permit to move to FM. (the other four: CBG-1400 Gander, NL CFYK-1340 Yellowknife, NT CHUC-1450 Cobourg, ON (moving to FM) new station in Hawaii) -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, NRC-AM via DXLD) I remember logging & QSLing one of my best Quebec's CHEF 1450 Granby during a DX Test years ago. They were 10 kW. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) Yep, the I-C database lists five now-defunct Canadian stations that once ran more than 1 kW on a GY channel: CHVD-1230 Dolbeau, QC (10 kw day, 1 kw night) CKXX-1340 Corner Brook, NL (10 kw fulltime) CJLS-1340 Yarmouth, NS (5 kw day, 4 kw night) CJFP-1400 Riviere-du-Loup, QC (10 kw day, 5 kw night) CHEF-1450 Granby, QC (10 kw fulltime) I know there were more (someone mentioned CKKW a few weeks ago). -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) ** CHINA [and non]. Re DXLD 8-053 BBG cuts: . . .Part of the Program Plan makes clear the BBG's antipathy to shortwave radio broadcasts: "Expansion of the BBG Internet capability will continue the technological evolution of program delivery from shortwave to Internet". Yes, maybe you have read this on DXLD by now and I wanted to place it in the foreground, then wondering why China Radio International is spending all those millions, taking the first place in short wave broadcasting, the same we heard in the past from Radio Moscow or VOA, while the rest of these all time major broadcasters are downgrading their services. Chinese must be completely wrong, is the only thing I can figure myself. Dumb people? Strategy; what kind of strategy? (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, April 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. /MARIANA ISLANDS. 13760, Firedrake/RFA (Tinian) 0526 28 April. RFA in Chinese holding its own against Firedrake this evening. Firedrake also noted on 15130 (against RFA-Tinian which was also heard weakly), 15270 (presumed against RTI in Chinese), 15490 (presumed against VOA-Irana Wila in Tibetan), 15635 (presumed against RFA-Irkutsk in Chinese) --- all heard 0520+ while killing time during One Africa's pop songs (Dan Sheedy, CA, G5/5m silly wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also TIBET [non] ** CHINA. NPR AND THE NEW CHINA --- NPR News is presenting six months of intensive coverage of China, leading up to coverage of the Beijing Olympics, August 8 to 25. Throughout the spring and summer, and across all NPR programs, we'll hear reports about the rapidly changing nation from many angles: its youth, technology, schools, development, environment and its place in the world. In preparation, NPR staffers in China are giving us a sneak peek at some of the people, places and events they'll be reporting on in a new blog, Chengdu Diary. (Don't miss the video of the pandas!) http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/ (KGOU newsletter via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. RCN LANZA SU PORTAL DE INTENET CONMEMORATIVO Comprometidos siempre con la historia de Colombia, RCN lanza su portal de internet conmemorativo donde quedarán registrados los hechos, los personajes y la historia de esta gran celebración durante todo el año. Además con nuevas herramientas como la posibilidad de dejar su mensaje en audio o el envío de fotografías de los compatriotas en el exterior. Videos, archivos históricos con las voces y los hechos que han hecho la historia de la radio, encuestas y el registro semanal del programa conmemorativo dirigido por Jota Fernando Quintero harán parte de este nuevo medio que tiene como objetivo celebrar con los oyentes los 60 años de servicio a toda Colombia. El portal se une al programa radial de la Cadena Básica que busca recordar la grandeza de nuestra radio durante los 60 años en los que Radio Cadena Nacional RCN ha acompañado todos los días y en toda parte a todos los colombianos (tomado de http://www.rcn.com.co via Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. It looks official now: the new sked for testings from the Guápiles ELCOR transmitter is 2100-2200. 5954 is flanked today Monday April 28 (can't be different tomorrow) by a couple of spurs, 5930 and 5975. 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Raúl, Such spurs usually match at exactly the same distance from fundamental, so if the lower one is 5930, the upper one should be 5978 (altho no doubt with further decimals since 5954 is .l3 or whatever). Can you measure the spurs more closely? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) No trace of ELCOR on Monday, April 28 or Tuesday, April 29 in the 2125-2200 monitored segment. They were seemingly silent based on observations here, though Raúl is a better confirmation source. I believe he had no trace of them on the previous Saturday (and possibly Sunday). I did not have the opportunity to check either day. Briefly inactive again? Or shifting transmission time once again? (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA [non]. HRT 7285 kHz channel will cease on May 10th, 2008. Wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, April 29, WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Per updated MB schedule ** CUBA. 5940, 6300, RHC leapfrogging spurs, 0530-0545, April 28, English programming. 5940-leapfrogging spur of 6180. 6300-leap- frogging spur of 6060. 120 kHz separation between each frequency. Spurs with poor to fair reception. (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Re 8-053: BBG AWARDS NEW CONTRACT FOR AEROMARTÍ I've been to the Etowah Indian Mounds near Cartersville twice and it never dawned on me, or it simply was prior to Phoenix Air Group (located very near the mounds) coming into play. Their address is 100 Phoenix Air Dr SW [cute], Cartersville, GA 30120 which maps directly across from the airstrip with Dallas Road SW a/k/a CR-61 separating them from the airport. It would be interesting for someone who lives near or frequents the area to scope out the airstrip for various aircraft types, tail numbers etc. Yahoomaps.com shows a good runway shot with some suspicious corporate airframe jets and one turboprop airframe I can't ID -- I don't think it's a civilian C-130 airframe -- maybe a CASA? Googlemaps.com sux -- clouds right atop the runway when the shot was taken (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DEUTSCHES REICH [non]. Dear Mr. Hauser: You may remember me as Blue Bell of WBNY Radio. I am also the ex-wife of Kevin Alfred Strom who you knew and loved as the man behind The Voice of To-Morrow. Please see the attached. You will learn way more than you ever wanted to know about Mr. Strom. -- Yours, (Kirsten Helene Kaiser, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Before someone cries ``off-topic``, I repoint out that Strom not only had a SW pirate, but also managed to get on WRNO and some other SW stations, as American Dissident Voices (gh, DXLD) Viz.: "I AM NOT A PEDOPHILE": STROM GETS 23 MONTHS --- 4/22/08 8:28 AM The Hook News Blog » Blog Archive » Crime/Justice, Featured 02:16 pm April 21st 2008 By Lisa Provence The white separatist who pleaded guilty to one count of child pornography possession January 17 was sentenced to 23 months in prison this morning in U.S. District Court. Kevin Alfred Strom, 51, has been jailed since early January 2007, and Judge Norman Moon rejected Strom’s request that he be sentenced to time served–and that he "unwillingly" possessed the kiddie porn found on his computer. Throughout Strom’s trial last year for enticement of a minor and witness intimidation --- charges that were thrown out by Moon --- the prolific writer, radio broadcaster, and founder of the white-rights National Alliance offshoot, the National Vanguard, has been silent in court, speaking only in January to denounce his portrayal in the media as a neo-Nazi and white supremacist. "I’ve been in solitary confinement for 16 months," says Strom. "I ask the court to grant me one minute for every month I’ve been in prison." During his statement, Strom said he’s been a good father to his three children, ages 15, 13 and 11, especially his severely autistic 13- year-old son, and that his predicament resulted from "false accusations" by his wife, Elisha Strom. "I am not a pedophile," says Strom. "I am the furthest thing from a sexual pervert." He shared his disgust of pedophiles and child pornographers with the court, noting that he regarded sex as "holy," and that in high school he was an "absolute straight arrow," and was called a "prude." Strom mentioned his love of art. "I believe when the human body is portrayed, it should be with nobility and respect," he said. Before his marriage to Elisha Strom, his personal website included many photos of the human form in the form of young girls, including a horseback-riding teen Brooke Shields. "I do not like pornography," said Strom. "When I’ve sought out the erotic, it’s never been pornography." He explained that the child porn photos found on his computer were fewer than 10 out of more than 100,000, and that they came from an online forum he’d visited that had been "flooded with spam," including "sleazy, tragic" pictures of children that he deleted. "I possessed them unwillingly," he told Moon, "but I did possess them." "Mr. Strom, this is an unusual case," acknowledged Judge Moon. "But Mr. Strom, you pled guilty to charges that now you’re saying you’re innocent. I prefer people plead not guilty than put it on me." Moon said he was struck by the fact that Strom never inappropriately touched the 10-year-old girl who was a friend of his stepdaughter and whom he was charged with attempting to entice. Nonetheless, calling the child porn guilty plea "extremely serious," Moon sentenced Strom to 23 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release. He did not prohibit Strom from associating with his minor children. Afterward, Elisha Strom, who had contacted authorities and is the witness Kevin Strom, was accused of intimidating, called the almost two-year sentence "a joke." During his October trial, she had testified against her husband, saying that she’d returned home to find him naked and aroused in front of the images of two young, white nationalist-movement singers whose heads had been superimposed onto two nude bodies. Moon ruled that was not illegal, and despite Elisha’s claims that Kevin had choked her to keep her quiet, he dismissed the witness intimidation charge. Kevin Strom finally had his day in court to respond to Elisha. He accused her of selling or burning his possessions, including his art, "[w]hen I left my home to protect myself from my wife’s violence," he said. "At her hands, I’ve suffered innumerable bruises, cuts, and lacerations and went to the hospital," said Strom. And when he refused to give in to his wife’s demands, he alleged, "She followed through on her threat to make these false accusations and ruin me." In court last fall, Elisha admitted bashing Strom in the head with a telephone, and that she had the worse temper of the two. He further claimed that Elisha did not think he was a pedophile because the day after she found him looking at more little-girl pix on October 17, 2005, she allowed her daughter to go with him on a four-day trip to pick up his autistic son. Elisha Strom did not respond to her husband’s charges, saying only, "I did my best to prevent him from accessing children." For more than a year, Kevin Strom claimed he was not a pedophile. Today he admitted that he is. Strom is now a registered sex offender on his way to federal prison. By Terry S. Regis April 21st, 2008 http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2008/04/21/ Now a registered sex offender, Kevin Strom is on his way to federal prison. Don’t come back, Kevin. But of course, he will. Kevin Strom’s mother and stepfather were in the courtroom today to assure us all that their special little freak will be living with them here in Charlottesville, once he is released. For a couple that makes a pretty good living in this town counseling underage pregnant teens in crisis, how could you dare support and offer to house a convicted pedophile with an appetite for underage girls in this community? Strom’s lawyer admitted last year that Kevin "courted" a ten year old girl. He sent her love notes, flowers and gifts. He wrote disgusting poems about marrying her. A fifth grader! Kevin Strom was caught stalking the child at her home and school. And the sick, twisted judge actually commended Kevin Strom today for not physically touching this 10 year old. The only reason Strom did not touch the child is because the FBI arrested him before he had the chance, you moron. What a country! With time served, Kevin Strom will be back on our streets before Thanksgiving. I can see it now, film crews from the Maury Povich Show will come to Charlottesville next year to tell America the story of the neo-Nazi pedophile that lives with his parents, who work as crisis pregnancy counselors for underage girls. Sort of like the exterminator who gets caught letting ants loose in your house, isn’t it? Unbelievable Strom Sentenced April 21st, 2008 "Terry S. Regis" wrote: A white supremacist, neo-Nazi, onetime cvillenews.com troll and pedophile Kevin Strom was sentenced to 23 months in prison today for possession of child pornography. For more than a year, Kevin Strom claimed he was not a pedophile. Today he admitted that he is. That is incorrect, according to the statement attributed to Strom in the article. During his statement, Strom said he’s been a good father to his three children, ages 15, 13 and 11, especially his severely autistic 13-year-old son, and that his predicament resulted from "false accusations" by his wife, Elisha Strom. "I am not a pedophile," says Strom. "I am the furthest thing from a sexual pervert." He shared his disgust of pedophiles and child pornographers with the court, noting that he regarded sex as "holy," and that in high school he was an "absolute straight arrow," and was called a "prude." "I do not like pornography," said Strom. "When I’ve sought out the erotic, it’s never been pornography." He explained that the child porn photos found on his computer were fewer than 10 out of more than 100,000, and that they came from an online forum he’d visited that had been "flooded with spam," including "sleazy, tragic" pictures of children that he deleted. "I possessed them unwillingly," he told Moon, "but I did possess them." Kevin Strom lied yesterday. But perjury is the least of his crimes. The record shows that Mr. Strom "possessed" images of child pornography more than just "unwillingly." In grand jury and open court testimony, it was learned his wife secretly videotaped Kevin Strom sitting nude in front of his computer screen masturbating to images of child porn on more than two dozen occasions in 2005 and 2006 before confronting him about it. The grand jury record and subsequent court testimony shows that Kevin Strom admitted to his wife and mother that he had a "problem" with collecting images of child pornography. His parents paid for and encouraged Kevin to get counseling for this problem. Instead of working through this incredibly horrific behavior, the record shows Mr. Strom went into damage control mode and tried to cover up his evil. Court records and evidence shows that Kevin Strom did not delete these images as he claimed yesterday. Mr. Strom cleverly encrypted these and thousands of other images of child pornography, confident that the feds would never be able to determine what the images were. In fact, in preliminary hearings, the US Attorney admitted they had a great deal of trouble decoding most of these files. The FBI reported to Congress last year that child predators in our society have turned collecting illegal photographs of children into a very high-tech science. They can encrypt images and protect their activities better than terrorists, organized crime bosses or industrial spies. Kevin Strom, an electronics engineer by profession, went even further. Testimony revealed that Strom would disassemble his computers, smash the hard drives and take the broken pieces of his machines all over the region to dispose of in random dumpsters and trash cans. The truth is Kevin Strom is an unrepentant pedophile. And when he admitted to having more than 100,000 images of children on his computer yesterday he was basically bragging that the FBI was only able to find 10 illegal child porn images among them. Court records show the FBI was unable to decode tens of thousands of images in Kevin’s "collection." But the truth is Mr. Strom pleaded guilty because he knew what a jury in this town would decide had they seen exactly what the FBI was able to find on his computer. Everything I have said here is a matter of public record. Let me add that I am friends with and greatly admire Kevin Strom’s parents, Ron and Mary Lou Schneider. I take exception to the post above that in any way blames them for the horrific, unspeakable conduct of their son. They know what their son is and they are heartbroken. This tragic case has tested their faith and strengthened their character as human beings. But it had nothing to do with them. The truth is the Schneider’s are good Christian people who do God’s work here in Charlottesville. They treat all people with kindness, humility and grace. And yes, they extend their humble Christian charity to everyone, even the devious monster that is their son. Please, all of you leave them out of this (all via Kirsten Helene Kaiser, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. DRM on 15355-15360-15365, April 28 at 2205 check. No doubt HCJB`s retimed and refrequencied German to Europe, supposed to run from 2000 to 2200 only, on its first day, but they are not at all careful to turn this off as scheduled, unlike their analog broadcasts which cut as soon as the timesignal finishes. DRM DX schedule shows language is ``various`` implying not just German; maybe accounting for a Low German portion? HCJB has done a pretty good job lately of picking DRM frequencies without adjacent channel collisions, even if they are annoyances right smack dab in the middle of an analog SWBC band. Tuning around 49m a couple minutes later, I first thought there was a new DRM on 6130-6135-6140 until I realized it was DentroCuban jamming against R. República (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good DRM reception this evening --- 15360 kHz at 2040 UT, SNR 13.5 db, RSSI -85dbm (S7) extremely stable and 100% decoding. Sincere Best Regards, 73,s (Eric//KG4OZO// Atlanta, Georgia, April 28, drmna yg via DXLD) Thanks Eric, The bad news is that we aren't gettin' to our target (Europe) very well. :-( (Doug Weber, HC7AW, HCJB, ibid.) ** EGYPT. Re 8-053: EGIPTO, 9280, Radio Cairo, 2117-2120, escuchada el 29 de abril en su servicio en francés a locutora con comentarios y emisión de música pop local; se aprecia una mala modulación, sin servicio en 9300, SINPO 44333 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 7175, VOBME, program 2, *0356-0410, April 28, IS. Talk at 0358 & Horn of Africa music. Weak under Radio Liberty. Program 1 7090/7100 not heard (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. Radio Spaceshuttle International will be on air Sunday 4th May as follows: 5815 kHz from 08 to 12 UT 5815 kHz from 18 to 22 UT We like to play best ever music for every tastes, letterbox (17th February transmission post)... some surprices, contests (with nice prices) etc.... Stay tuned "The Sound of Universe" (Dick Spacewalker, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. 4777, Radio Gabon, *0459-0515, April 28, rough sign on with bits & pieces of National Anthem. Talk at 0500 with low modulation & distorted audio. Afro-pop mx. French pops/ballads. Audio much better at 0527 check (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. I'm delighted how right now MDR 1 Radio Sachsen has the common overnight programming from their sister station at Erfurt on air without Optimod. What a relief from the hefty processing they otherwise use, leaving on-air talent giggling when somebody gives feed-back about a mix being not so good. What mix when you can't do any fades because -20 dB will still be sucked up to 0 dB and when you have to turn the fader way down when talking over a bumper bed because otherwise the Optimod will turn anything into a mess? (See also the Dresden bandscan thread recently in DXLD.) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM. Re KTWR, 8-053, WTFK? 11840, Long path from GUM via S Pacific, Colombia, Bonaire, Azores into Europe: KTWR English starts at 0800 till 0835 UT Mon-Fri (-0845 Saturdays, not Sundays). S=4. (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Apr 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. Updated A08 Hungarian Radio on short waves via JBR 100 kW: 0400-0500 on 3975 / non-dir 1000-1100 on 6025 / non-dir 1600-1700 on 6025 / non-dir 2200-2300 on 6025 / non-dir --- All others cancelled! (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 29 via WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DXLD) But there`s still: ** HUNGARY. Summer A-08 for IBB via JBR 250 kW: 0300-0400 on 7155 / 065 deg Radio Liberty in Russian 1700-1730 on 9520 / 065 deg Voice of America Russian 1800-1830 on 9520 / 065 deg Voice of America Russian 1300-1330 on 11725 / 055 deg Voice of America Russian 1330-1430 on 11725 / 055 deg Voice of America Special English 1400-1500 on 15265 / 065 deg Radio Liberty in Uzbek (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 29 via DXLD) ** INDIA. LOVE`S IN THE AIR: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=27_04_2008_015_002&typ=1&pub=47 (Hindustan Times April 27 via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. RE: DXLD 8-046: Kang Guru Radio English program on 9680, via RRI Jakarta. Sue Rodger of KGRE has been informed by RRI Jakarta that they have a new schedule: 0800-0820 UT on Wed. and Fri. (ex: 1000-1020 UT on Wed. and Sun.), which would explain why I have not heard them on their former schedule for almost two months now. Within the past hour Kevin has updated their website with the new schedule http://www.kangguru.org/broadcastschedule.html This change is an unfortunate development for me, as I had enjoyed their entertaining programming for some years now, but think the new time is too early for reception in Monterey, whereas the former time of 1000 was close to perfect for me. Jakarta sunset will not be till about 1045 UT. The only other alternative is to attempt to hear another RRI station that carries KGRE programs, but that would be a real challenge (Ron Howard, CA, April 29, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. Summer A-08 for IBB via KWT 250 kW: 1930-2130 on 5830 / 046 deg FAR Farsi 0200-0530 on 5860 / 058 deg FAR Farsi 1900-1930 on 5860 / 046 deg VOA Farsi 0000-0100 on 9765 / 046 deg RFE Kazakh [sic, out of order, due QSY?] 1000-1400 on 7125 / 046 deg FAR Farsi 0100-0200 on 7430 / 094 deg VOA English 2200-2300 on 7460 / 058 deg VOA English 2300-2400 on 7500 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 1600-1700 on 7555 / 054 deg RFE Uzbek 1830-2030 on 7555 / 070 deg ASH Pashto/Dari 2030-0030 on 7555 / 070 deg VOA English 1700-1830 on 9310 / 078 deg DEE Pashto 1430-1530 on 9335 / 070 deg ASH Pashto/Dari 1530-1730 on 9335 / 070 deg ASH Pashto/Dari 1730-1830 on 9335 / 070 deg ASH Pashto/Dari 0100-0300 on 9365 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 0300-0400 on 9555 / 046 deg FRE Turkmen 1830-1900 on 9780 / 078 deg DEE Pashto 1330-1430 on 11550 / 078 deg AFG Dari 1500-1600 on 11550 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 1630-1730 on 11565 / 070 deg ASH Dari 1730-1830 on 11565 / 070 deg ASH Pashto/Dari 1630-1730 on 11580 / 070 deg ASH Dari 1730-1830 on 11580 / 070 deg ASH Pashto/Dari 1200-1400 on 11590 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 1400-1500 on 11975 / 078 deg RFA Tibetan 0230-0330 on 12140 / 070 deg AFG Pashto 0830-0930 on 15090 / 070 deg AFG Pashto 1130-1430 on 15090 / 070 deg AFG Dari/Pashto/Dari 1430-1530 on 15090 / 070 deg ASH Pashto/Dari 1530-1630 on 15090 / 070 deg AFG Pashto 1500-1530 on 15265 / 046 deg VOA Uzbek 0330-0530 on 15615 / 070 deg AFG Dari/Pashto 0730-0830 on 15615 / 070 deg AFG Dari 0230-0330 on 15690 / 070 deg AFG Pashto 1400-1500 on 15790 / 070 deg AAP Urdu 0430-0630 on 17670 / 070 deg AFG Pashto/Dari 0630-0830 on 17685 / 070 deg AFG Pashto/Dari 1000-1200 on 17750 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 0600-0700 on 17780 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan 1000-1100 on 21510 / 070 deg RFA Tibetan AAP=Aap Ki Dunyaa AFG=Radio Free Afghanistan ASH=Radio Ashna DEE=Deewa Radio RFA=Radio Free Asia RFE=Radio Liberty FAR=Radio Farda VOA=Voice of America (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 29 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. De nuevo al aire en los 9600 kHz Radio UNAM onda corta después de casi tres semanas. Buena señal (SINPO de 4) en la Cd. de México (1915 hrs. UT) con programa de música clásica a piano. 73´s (Julián Santiago, DF, April 28, WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [and non]. I kept meaning to check, and forgetting to do so, whether Vatican Radio`s unscheduled 3-minute English broadcast is still a problem over here at 2311 on 9600.0, preceding the scheduled Vietnamese broadcast direct and eastward from SMG. Following Julián Santiago Díez de Bonilla tip that XEYU had reactivated April 28, I did check at 2339 April 28, and sure `nuff, the old ~700 Hz het is back, and the Vietnavatican signal is stronger than XEYU, 9599.3. Only hope is using LSB and tightest possible selectivity while Vatican is on, and then there`s Cuba on 9600. Also at 1221 check April 29, classical music, het from RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Estoy buscando cómo subir audios a mi blog, porque a veces NO sirven los links. Pero, acabo de subir un audio de la Radio Huayacocotla, una emisora que antes se podía escuchar en onda corta también. http://entre-ondas.blogspot.com/ Dar click en el encabezado de "Radio Huayacocotla" para que escuchen una identificació n que grabé en tierras potosinas a finales del 2007 en FM. Gracias. Que tengan buenos DX's!!!!!!!! !! (MAGDIEL CRUZ RODRÍGUEZ, JIUTEPEC, MORELOS, MÉXICO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: XHFCE, Radio Huayacocotla. "LA VOZ DE LOS CAMPESINOS" en su momento transmitió por los 2390 kHz. Desde el 2005, lo hace por los 105.5 MHz de Frecuencia Modulada, alcanzando a una buena parte de la región veracruzana, potosina, hidalguense, y tamaulipeca. Esta es una grabación de la señal de FM, de Radio Huayacocotla, Veracruz. México. Realizada en el mes de diciembre 2007, desde mi pueblo natal: Coxcatlán, San Luis Potosí. Ahora, ya no más en Onda Corta. Más información en: http://www.sjsocial.org/fomento/proyectos/plantilla.php?texto=radio (Si quieres escuchar el audio, da un click en el título de esta entrada. Gracias por tu visita) Viz.: http://www.esnips.com/doc/a1f78618-dbb8-4cc4-87db-840eb8cfd544/XHFCE-Audio1-ID (Entre Ondas blog via DXLD) 2390 kHz call was XEJN (gh, DXLD) ** MOROCCO. Good morning, if an observed absence of 15335 raised questions if the Briech site is off air now: No, it is not, this night 7135 was again on air 2200-2400 as always (Kai Ludwig, Germany, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes right, RTM program Briech 15335 noted again today Apr 29th at 1100-1500 UT, in \\ to RTM Nador relay 15340 0900-1500 UT. Delay - latter is three-quarter second behind Briech programm. 11920 1-5 UT is the planned night frequency though. But 0500 UT is too early at my place, I wake up usually around 0630. Somebody should check the 4-5 UT hour on 11920 soon. RTM Briech 0100-0500 11920 (winter season 5980) 1100-1500 15335 2200-2400 7135 Briech Nador 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. Re 8-053, reply to Figliozzi: Thanks, John. Yes, we have had to make more cuts this year, including some to our Dutch service to Europe. We have to continually examine the cost- effectiveness of everything we do. When we asked for input, we were completely open-minded. I would have been prepared to argue the case for continuing the transmissions we dropped, if there had been sufficient evidence that they had a significant number of regular listeners. If we had specifically said we were going to drop these services, we would have been flooded with requests not to do so - from SWLs and DXers who rarely listen, but routinely insist that shortwave broadcasts are continued, however much they cost and however few people listen, just because they're on shortwave. I believe the response we got was more representative of the general RNW audience, and we responded accordingly. We are in the process of setting up a listeners' panel for English. We already have one for our Dutch service. If anyone is interested in joining, please let me know (Andy Sennitt, RNW, andy.sennitt @ rnw.nl April 28, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI has revised its frequency schedule again. The main change I see is back to 9615 at 05-07 instead of 11725, as Adrian previously told us was pending (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [but see below!] Viz.: AOTEAROA, O TE MOANA-NUI-A-KIWA P O Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand Phone: +(64 4) 4741 437 Facsimile +(64 4) 4741 433 E-mail address: info @ rnzi.com Web Address: http://www.rnzi.com 28/04/2008 5:59 AM FREQUENCY SCHEDULE Effective from 28 April, 2008 ANALOGUE SERVICE UTC kHz Primary Target 1300-1550 6170 Pacific 1551-1850 7145 Cook Islands Samoa, Niue, Tonga, Fiji 1851-1950 9615 Pacific 1951-2050 11725 Pacific 2051-0158 13840 Pacific 0159-0458 15720 Pacific 0459-0658 9615 Pacific [? See below] 0659-1058 7145 Pacific 1059-1258 9655 NW Pacific, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, Timor DRM SERVICE - A DRM Capable Receiver is required for this service UTC kHz Primary Target 1200-1550 NO SERVICE AT THIS TIME 1551-1850 6170 Cook Islands, Samoa, Niue, Tonga, Fiji 1851-1935 9890 Samoa, Niue, Fiji, Cook Islands, Tonga 1936-2050 11675 Tonga, Samoa, Niue, Fiji, Cook Islands 2051-0158 15720 Solomon Islands, Vanuatu 0159-0458 13840 Pacific 0459-0658 9890 Pacific 0659-1158 6170 Pacific (Adrian Sainsbury, RNZI, April 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) According to http://www.rnzi.com/pages/listen.php the only real change is between 2051 and 0158. 0459-0658 still on 11725, and heard this morning at 6 UT. 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, April 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) When updated website conflicts with info direct from station, one is at a loss (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sorry about that - that is a mistake - 11725 is working well at the moment and we will continue to use it for the time being (Adrian Sainsbury, Technical Manager, Radio New Zealand International (via gh, DXLD) I don't have any doubts that 31m will work marvelous for RNZI, as I experimented here last year on this same season. They were supposed to go there this Tuesday 29, but I found them all the way on 11725. So, if they change to 7145 at 0700 is still good, guess that 9615 would be better again, as it did last year. 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA [and non]. Re 8-053, 3325, out of date info in Aoki: Not the only one, Ian. If you go to 5954, Radio Casino, Puerto Limón is still there, as well as the long time suspended Peruvian Radio Satélite 6725 (rather 6724), Santa Cruz. At least WRNO isn't listed on 15420 anymore. If anyone has the patience will find some other "inconsistencias". Anyway, we all got to be thankful for the helpful information Aoki or Eibi represent. 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Raúl, Thanks for the feedback & info. Absolutely agree on the thankful bit. In answer to Glenn's question/s. Yes, I got the spelling wrong, sorry. It is indeed 'Kieta' - I realised the error immediately after sending the message. Glenn, I haven't heard the station for some time so I can't say if name has changed to Radio Buka from Radio Bouganville. I wish we had some email addresses for these provincial NBC stations so we could discover more with greater ease. Cheers (Ian Baxter, Australia, ibid.) ** PERU. 9720.03, Radio Victoria, Lima, 0435-0510, April 28, Spanish talk. Phone-talk. National Anthem at 0501. Spanish music at 0504 followed by sermon. Weak. Better on // 6019.44 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. ROMÊNIA - Quem enviar um informe de recepção para a programação em espanhol da Rádio Romênia durante o mês de maio, receberá um cartão QSL que retrata a Chaenomeles. A foto foi feita no Jardim Botânico de Bucareste. Durante todo o ano, a série de cartões de confirmações da RRI homenageiam flores daquele país dos bálcãs (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. RÚSSIA - Onda DX é o nome do programa de dexismo que a Voz da Rússia leva ao ar nas emissões, em português, das quartasfeiras. Tem a produção do experiente jornalista Francisco Pancho Rodriguez que, há muitos anos, apresenta o segmento Frecuencia RM, dentro das emissões em espanhol da Voz da Rússia. O Onda DX tem a locução de Jonas Bernardino. Você pode conferir, entre 2300 e 0000, em 7200, 7300, 11510 e 12010 kHz. A última edição que foi ao ar pode ser ouvida, na Internet, acessando aqui, http://www.news-of-russia.info/radio/dx.htm (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** SAINT HELENA. UN RECORD MÁS: QSL DE RADIO ST. HELENA!!!!!! 73's!!!! Y con muchísima emoción quiero compartirles que el día de hoy saqué de mi apartado postal UNA QSL (LA PRIMERA!!!!) DE RADIO ST. HELENA. Deposité mi informe de recepción el 28 de Diciembre 2007. La QSL fue "DESPATCHED Date 11-04-08" desde ST. HELENA ISLAND. Llegó el 26 de Abril 2008 a la oficina postal de CIVAC, Morelos; y el día de hoy 29 Abril la saqué del buzón. Espero que pronto les llegue la QSL a quienes la solicitaron. Así que paciencia. Adjunté: $ 3.00 US Un fragmento de mi escucha reportada: http://entre-ondas.blogspot.com/2008/02/lo-que-omos-en-la-onda-corta-radio-que.html Espero comentarios. Pronto estaré subiendo la respectiva QSL a mi blog. http://entre-ondas.blogspot.com/ (MAGDIEL CRUZ RODRÍGUEZ, JIUTEPEC, MORELOS, MÉXICO, SANGEAN ATS-818, ANTENA V INVERTIDA, April 29, DXL ISTNEING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Qur`an on 11820, April 28 at 2120, can give one the willies. This is BSKSA Riyadh, 500 kW at 320 degrees to Europe, but also toward us, scheduled 18-23. This is one of their buzzless transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA [non]. IRIN, via South Africa in Somali, daily at 1730- 1745, has moved from 9665 to 9735, obviously to avoid the collision with Spain`s imaginary German broadcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, April 28, WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. Hi Glenn, I had good reception of a Radio Exterior de España (REE) transmission in English at 2039-2057 at 9690 kHz on April 28, 2008. The broadcast was similar to the simultaneous REE English language broadcast on 11625 kHz (note: the 11625 kHz transmission suffered from a collision with Vatican Radio). Just before signoff at 2057, the announcer mentioned the transmission frequencies of 9665 kHz and 11625 kHz, but never mentioned the 9690 kHz frequency. I could not receive the 9665 kHz transmission from 2039-2057 on April 28, 2008. Could 9690 be a new frequency to replace 9665? There is no listing for REE at 9690 kHz on the HFCC (Public Data), Aoki, EiBi, or Prime Time Shortwave websites at this time. Information from these websites indicates 11625 and 9665 kHz as the frequencies for the 2000 - 2100, Monday - Friday, English broadcast of REE targeted to Europe and Africa for A08 (Bill Hodges, Atlanta, GA, (Kenwood R-2000 and 50ft long wire), WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bill, Looks that way; I have no info about such a change yet. It could be that 9690 was a mistake for 9665, the next frequency on the roster as Noblejas does use 9690 at 02-04 UT and they could have just punched up the wrong frequency this time. So if you could check tomorrow or subsequently, that would help. I tried at 2000 April 29 but could not hear any of them (Glenn to Bill via DXLD) ** SPAIN. 6055, R. Exterior de España, 0156 with rock tracks and to IS and ID at TOH, into Spanish language programs. Once again, have not resumed Summer schedule. Cupola years ago, Glenn had mentioned the drastic gap between Spain's summer [15385] and winter frequencies, and suggested R.E.E. try use of 31 m band. But R.E.E. has made it worse by not using a higher frequency at all in summer, making reception pretty much impossible here in the West during months with long days (Rick Barton, Phoenix, Arizona, Drake R-8, lw & rw, Palomar loop, April 28, ABDX via DXLD) ** SPAIN. ESPANHA - O Espanhol no Brasil é o único programa da Rádio Exterior da Espanha que é bilíngüe, ou seja, em espanhol e português. Ele vai ao ar entre 1800 e 1900, em 17595 kHz. Depois, é reprisado, entre 2100 e 2200, pela mesma freqüência, sempre de segundas a sextas- feiras. A apresentação é de Víctor Guerrero e Estela Viana (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** SYRIA. SÍRIA - Em 2008, Damasco é a capital da cultura árabe. Os ouvintes que escreverem para a programação em espanhol da Rádio Damasco citando algumas atividades desenvolvidas por tal ocasião, receberão prêmios da estação. A Rádio Damasco também preparou novos cartões de confirmação com motivos que lembram o tema. A programação em espanhol vai ao ar, entre 2215 e 2330, pela freqüência de 9330 kHz (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX via DXLD) How sad that the ``capital of Arab culture`` is in a police state dictatorship, etc. Or would some other Arab capitals dispute this claim? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Re 8-053: Current sked of Voice of Han on 9745 kHz. *0755(ex 0855)-0105* (S. Hasegawa, NDXC, April 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. I almost concluded RTI English to Europe, 44 degrees via WYFR, 15600, was absent, April 28 at 2209 check, but listening closely a signal was JBA on 15600, so assume poor propagation. Okeechobee on 15440 at same time was audible, but NVG contrary to usual strong signal at 285 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Solar-terrestrial indices for 28 April follow. Solar flux 69 and estimated mid-latitude A-Index 12. The mid-latitude K-index at 2100 UTC on 28 April was 3 (24 nT). No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are expected for the next 24 hours (SWPC via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. CHINA (NON)/N. MARIANAS. Interesting piece in the April 29 Wall Street Journal on Radio Free Asia and its reporting of events in Tibet. A seeming put-down of SW radio, they make it sound like the miracle of the steam locomotive. There's even a link to RFA's how-to for listeners that want to defeat the Chinese orchestra jammer. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120943421014951627.html?mod=links_from_todays_paper_asia (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, Wash., DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: TIBET REPORTS BY U.S.-FUNDED RADIO ANGER CHINA The Perfect Foil To Jamming: Rubber Bands By NICHOLAS ZAMISKA and GEOFFREY A. FOWLER April 29, 2008; Page A7 HONG KONG -- The earliest reports of unrest in Tibet last month didn't come from a major newspaper, wire service or TV station. They came from a U.S.-funded shortwave radio broadcaster that advises listeners to get around Chinese signal jamming with tinfoil, plywood and rubber bands. With a current annual budget of $34 million from Congress, Washington- based Radio Free Asia broadcasts news about Asia across the region in nine languages, including Mandarin, Tibetan and Uighur, a Turkic language used in China's Xinjiang province. • The Scoop: U.S.-funded shortwave broadcaster Radio Free Asia broke news about recent unrest in Tibet. • The Concern: RFA's federal backing has led to claims it's a propaganda tool, which station executives deny. • Bottom Line: Some listeners rely on RFA for news, and it has earned credit for its scoops. RFA's reporting on the crisis in Tibet has reignited longstanding ill will with China over the U.S. government's Cold War-era broadcasting system, while also highlighting a question that hangs over the radio service's mission: Is it a news outlet or a propaganda tool? . . . http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120943421014951627.html (Wall Street Journal via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K [non]. More 24/7 BBCWS audio on HD radio --- Every once in a while I go looking for US public radio services that have added the BBC World Service to an HD2 or HD3 service, especially instances of 24/7 access to the World Service. Wichita, Kansas' KMUW-FM is in the process of establishing additional HD subchannels, and its HD3 channel - which will feature the BBC World Service 24/7 - is already being streamed. The service is a 128 kbps ASX stream, which provides a higher-quality service than the BBC's own streaming. The only downside is that this service is the news-heavy PRI service offered to US public radio stations. Check it out at http://www.evolutionofkmuw.org/hdradio.php - look for the HD3 stream (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, April 29, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. TEST OF THE TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGIES: RFE/RL HIT BY "MASS CYBERATTACK`` Shortwave is the only medium of international broadcasting granted immunity from interdiction by the laws of physics. This is because shortwave signals travel better over long distances (e.g. from the listener to the distant foreign station) than over short distances (e.g. from the listener to the jamming transmitter in his/her own country). The internet is more vulnerable to interdiction because its information is usually transmitted via landlines in the target country, and thus subject to the regulation and interference of the government of the target country. Shortwave is the failsafe, but if we reach the point where not enough broadcasters have shortwave transmitters, and not enough audiences have shortwave radios, the shortwave communication system breaks down, and the dictators win. Posted: 28 Apr 2008 more: http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=3890 (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DXLD) RADIO FREE EUROPE SAYS IT'S UNDER CYBER ATTACK Hello Glenn, Believe it or not, I found this story via Kim Komando's daily tech news roundup. http://apnews.myway.com:80/article/20080428/D90B0NJ80.html (via 73, John Wesley Smith, KC0HSB, DXLD) Cyberjamming -- REVIEW & OUTLOOK FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE April 29, 2008 Eight Internet sites operated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty were knocked out or affected in recent days by what the broadcaster calls an "unprecedented cyberattack." Welcome to the front lines of the 21st century's information wars. The medium and the means may have changed from the days when this legendary U.S.-funded station set up shop to beam news behind the Iron Curtain. But the conflict is no less pitched. Despots live in fear of accurate information and go to extraordinary means to stop it. The likely source of the cyberstrike is Europe's longest-ruling dictator, Belarus's Aleksander Lukashenko. The Web site of RFE/RL's Belarusan-language service on Saturday was brought down by 50,000 "fake hits" a second. The Minsk regime may have wanted to limit access to coverage of opposition protests. Saturday marked the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl accident and the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. In the old days, the Soviets and their satellites jammed radio broadcasts. "They did not succeed in the last century and they will not succeed now," Jeffrey Gedmin, RFE/RL president, said yesterday. The cyberattacks spread to the Iranian, Russian and other Web sites of the radios' local-language stations. By last night, the sites were back up. Cyberattacks are the latest threat to this plucky broadcaster, and freedom of the press in general. In the past year, numerous RFE/RL journalists have been killed, kidnapped and intimidated in the course of reporting the news. They deserve our respect and support (Wall Street Journal via David Cole, OK, DXLD) RFE/RL BELARUS SERVICE DIRECTOR DISCUSSES CYBERATTACK http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/04/C63E2EA2-431B-4FE4-9CC2-C748E49F8D99.html Belarusian - RFE/RL's Belarusian Service Lukashuk Alexander Alyaksandr Lukashuk (RFE/RL) [caption] Following a cyberattack on April 26 that targeted the website of RFE/RL's Belarus Service and affected a number of other RFE/RL websites, service Director Alyaksandr Lukashuk discussed the attack and what his service did to get their message out to their audience in Belarus. RFE/RL: Can you explain what happened to the Belarus Service's website? Alyaksandr Lukashuk: On Saturday, April 26, we were preparing special intense coverage of mass protests in Minsk dedicated to the anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. Several thousand people were gathering in Minsk and usually we cover them online as we are off-air at this time. At the moment when the march was to begin, 2 p.m. local time, all of the sudden we noticed that we could not operate normally on our website. It became slower and slower and literally within a couple of minutes we lost the site. RFE/RL: How did you react? How were you able to get the news out to your audience? Lukashuk: There was not much we could do because at this moment we also lost e-mail communication and Skype communication with Belarus. As we found out later, the attack was so massive that the firewall that protects Radio Free Europe went down. And a number of other [RFE/RL] sites went down as well. So we went back to our old methods, calling our correspondents over the phone, taking their messages, recording them here, and making [shortwave] radio programs. And as for the radio program, we were able to put it together as it should have been, and it went on the air ok. RFE/RL: Since you have been off the air for so long, how did you get the word out for people to tune in to their shortwave radios again? Lukashuk: That was a problem. That is why we used other friendly sites to advertise our radio programming. RFE/RL: And what about the website? Lukashuk: As for the website, we regained out ability to receive materials from Belarus via e-mail in a couple of hours. We received dozens of excellent photos from the march, we received 15 video clips, and we posted them. The only unfortunate thing is that we were the only ones, as it turns out, that could see this material. RFE/RL: So how were you able to get that material out? Lukashuk: The attack continued for two days and for two days we were announcing on air to our listeners. [In the past] we would say [on the radio that] you can go for more details to our website. But now we were telling people who usually go to the website to tune in to the radio. We started to alert our friends. There is a group of supporters in Belarus called the Friends of Liberty who are active on LiveJournal, who have their own chatrooms, which is called "circle of friends of Radio Liberty." They started to send out the news that we are not accessible. We gave them our publications, our articles, and they started to send them out over the weekend. But the major event happened on Monday [April 28]. RFE/RL: What happened then? Lukashuk: This morning [April 28] when we came to the office, we decided to issue an appeal to the independent media and Internet community in Belarus asking them for solidarity. More than 30 organizations that have their own sites responded positively and began to take our material that was posted on LiveJournal and publish it on their websites as their top story. Among them is the site of European Radio for Belarus, the site of Charter 97, the site of the independent trade union organization Solidarity. These are quite popular sites and they now deliver our coverage as their top story. RFE/RL: It isn't a new thing for RFE/RL to be attacked. What other attempts have there been to silence RFE/RL and how did you deal with those and how does it compare to this situation? Lukashuk: In terms of the Internet, our site is 10 years old. This is the worst attack that has ever happened on the Belarus site and, as far as I know, on RFE/RL in general. As far as the bigger historical picture, yes, there were decades of jamming and our audience had a hard time looking for the RFE/RL signal on different shortwave frequencies. That was the reason why the same program was broadcast on three, four, sometimes five different frequencies simultaneously to make it more difficult for jamming. So there is some history to this kind of thing. RFE/RL: In terms of effect, is there a difference between a cyberattack and old-style jamming? Lukashuk: The new aspect to this is that during the old times, when the authorities in the totalitarian countries jammed RFE/RL, they jammed only the signal from the broadcaster. But nowadays, the Internet is an interactive tool. By jamming our Internet publication, those who do it also jam the voices of hundreds of people who participate in the online discussions, who send their comments, questions, photos, and videos to us. Now they are also deprived of this. So in a way, this was a more harmful attack. RFE/RL: Do you see anything positive coming out of this experience? Lukashuk: What we see now is the first attempt in the Belarusian Internet community to act in solidarity to an attack on press freedom. And it may be the most valuable -- and unexpected -- result of this attack (via Bob Wilkner, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Actually, most people in Belarus are unaccustomed to reading Belarusian texts. Like it or not, but they prefer do Russian. Same is true for many Ukrainians, especially in eastern Ukraine. It’s similar to many young people in Nordic countries and Germany preferring English-language pop music over their native languages. No wonder DW quietly switched their much-touted “Belarusian” service to 99% Russian. DW is also is the process of gradually shutting down their failed Ukrainian-language service. All in all, RFE/RL shouldn’t overestimate their role in informing their audiences in the former Soviet Union. The station’s glorious days are long over. RFE/RL sites are just a small bitter drop in a bucket of diverse information (SRG, April 28th, 2008 - 18:02 UTC, Media Network blog via DXLD) See also: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/rferl-website-operating-normally-after-denial-of-service-attack (via DXLD) ** U S A. SHOP TALK: VOA PROGRAM DISCUSSES U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING On 26 April, the topic on VOA's Press Conference USA was "U.S. International Broadcasting, and the challenges that lie ahead." Guests were two retired senior VOA officials: Alan Heil and Barry Zorthian. Audio available at the PCUSA web page http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/pressconferenceusa.cfm The program was introduced as "the need to take a serious look at why America is losing its friends in the world, and what can be done to reverse the trend." It would be miraculous if U.S. international broadcasting could reverse that trend. I would think that U.S. policies would have a greater role. Mr. Zorthian described "surrogate broadcasting" (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia) as "the presentation of a radio broadcast that the target audience would have had in its own territory if it had a free press. It's a substitute for a national radio network." On the other hand, according to Mr. Zorthian, "the Voice of America's mission, as defined by its charter, is to project the United States, its actions, it policies." VOA does that. But as anyone who listens to VOA would attest, VOA spends much of its time providing listeners with information about their own countries. I.e., it also has a significant "surrogate" role. VOA must do this to attract an audience. And so there continues to be a disconnect between U.S. international broadcasting as described by prominent persons, and U.S. international broadcasting as it really is. Later in the program, Mr. Zorthian said: "Let me point out that numbers of listeners are not the end goal. Sure it's great to have an audience and to have widespread popularity, but it's the makeup of that audience, and in the case of the Voice, reaching the people who want to know what the U.S. is doing. Most viewers want to see what is happening next door, but there are certain ones who want to see beyond that. And if we can get those viewers, they're the ones who tend to set the outlook of a country, and help determine the actions of the other country, that's what we want to reach." This view, shared by others, is that U.S. international broadcasting should be divided as follows: VOA will provide information about the United States, and the surrogate stations will have an audience. Much of the interview dealt with issues discussed in a new book edited by Mr. Heil, Local Voices/Global Perspectives: Challenges Ahead for U.S. International Media, published by the Public Diplomacy Council. See also Amazon.com. Posted: 28 Apr 2008 (Kim Andrew Elliott, see http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=3889 for linx, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U S A. TALK 2 AMERICA CHAT 30 April: Journalism and Diplomacy http://www.voanews.com/english/t2a.cfm Amb. Pat Gates Lynch Ewell --- Join us at 1800 UT, when we meet former Ambassador and VOA program host Pat Gates Lynch Ewell to learn about journalism and diplomacy during the second half of the 20th century. Pat served the government during the Vietnam War and discusses the aftermath of pivotal events including the Shuttle Challenger and Chernobyl disasters, the Lockerbie bombing, the Iran / Contra affair, Tiananmen Square and the fall of the Berlin Wall. These and other chronicles of her life are detailed in her book Thanks for Listening: High Adventures in Journalism and Diplomacy. That's at at 1800 UTC. Pat Gates was co-host (with Phil Irwin) of VOA's Breakfast Show, years ago. 73 (Kim Elliott, APril 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WHRI, 11785, April 28 at 2121 check, in hymn, plus audible squeal in modulation, just like heard during Hmong Lao Radio in the 13 UT hour Sunday --- in the morning it`s supposed to be Angel 1, and in the afternoon Angel 2, i.e. two different SC transmitters. Either they both have the same problem, or it was really the same transmitter. Surely the Angels are not interchangeable, each with their own personality and watchover assignments? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Frequency change for WYFR in Urdu via Media Broadcast: 1700-1800 NF 11970 WER 500 kW / 075 deg, ex 11785 to avoid V of Indonesia in Spanish (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, April 29 via DXLD) ** U S A. It`s ORGY MONTH again on WHRB at Harvard starting May 1. All the details: http://www.whrb.org/pg/MayJun2008.pdf (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. When you get out to Grants, New Mexico, there is an incredible Oldies/One hit wonder station out by the painted desert area. It's called KDSK and you can stream them at http://www.kdsk.com/ One of the most fun stations I have ever heard- and all local and hometown! An excerpt: "KD Radio, Incorporated purchased KMIN AM and KDSK FM in Grants in January 2001. Having had much success with kdradio.com in California, it was decided to put the massive KD Radio oldies format of 7000 songs on the broadcast station KMIN. The response has been very good. KDSK was a hot country station at this time." Yep- 7,000 songs! (KXOJBob, April 28, radio-info.com Oklahoma board via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MATT LAUER? It isn`t even May Sweeps yet (I think), and The Today Show`s co-host is off on another whirlwind tour of the world to mystery destinations. I missed the first one, Buenos Aires, since I zap/mute all commercials and promos even if I am watching NBC or MSNBC and didn`t know it was coming, but it seems all(?) the Bs. As. video segments are here, as subsequent ones will be, more convenient to view anyway: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/24315287/ It seems the WITWIML portion occupies segments in the first two hours of the now four-hour-long Today Show. From the Today homepage you can link to further WITW pages, day 2 being Amsterdam (Glenn Hauser, OK, April 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. THE BLUE ANGELS --- I was down in Vidalia, GA this past weekend and went to see The Blue Angels at the Vidalia Onion Festival Air show. Amazing as always, but what made it even more amazing was being able to listen to the pilots as they flew the show. Popular Communications and Monitoring Times published a list of frequencies they use and I took along my HT and had a blast listening to them. I highly recommend taking along a scanner or HT the next time you hit an airshow. You'll be glad you did. I also had the opportunity to ride in a UH-1 that was built in 1970. It had been used in Vietnam before being shipped back to the states. It was one of the most incredible rides I have ever taken! The doors were open and they did several moves that just about took my breath away. Another thing I highly recommend (Bert New, Watkinsville, GA, Proudly Serving You Since 1964! April 29, 2008, dxhub yg via DXLD) ** VATICAN. See MEXICO [and non] ** ZAMBIA. 9430, One Africa/CVC (via Lusaka) 0512-0530 28 April. Usual Christian contemp-pop/hip-hop with new SMS/text message #, fax: +2721 9149 261, email: oneAfrica @ cvc.tv URL: http://www.oneAfrica.tv and mailing address: One Africa, POB 3933 Tiger Bay 7536, South Africa. Apparently the new studios are up and running, although I can't seem to access the e-mail address (probably my ineptness). (Dan Sheedy, CA, G5/5m silly wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Shouldn't that be Tygervalley instead of Tiger Bay? Did they change the station name, earlier they announced "Voice Africa"? Best 73, (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) Hi Jari, Tyger Valley is correct, my ears aren't working up to spec., hi. "One Africa" was used as slogan/ID a few times and in their URL. If time/conditions permit, I'll check tonight for their closing ID at 0600.Thanks for the info! 73 (Dan Sheedy, CA, ibid.) We pointed out some time ago that they had a new website and new name, 1Africa. The question was whether they axually started using that ID exclusively on the air, not to be confused with Africa 1, Gabon, hardly a missionary station (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. SW Radio Africa, 1700-1900 on 12035, originally reported to be Kvitsoy, Norway site, is now believed to be back at Rampisham, UK (Glenn Hauser, April 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: ALASKA; ECUADOR; NEW ZEALAND ++++++++++++++++++++ SYNCING TV AND RADIO SPORTS BROADCASTS Re DXLD #8-053: The University of Illinois football and basketball networks have been trying to sync up to local (Champaign-Urbana, IL) cable as best as possible. The network engineer takes a digital delay with him and calls back to us at the flagship, WDWS-1400. We then adjust the delay over the network to match local cable. There is a big problem when the game is on HD, as mentioned here as the delay is far too great for the box, or if the game is on satellite only. That just gets us angry calls form listeners used to being able to "turn down the sound". Thank you as always, Glenn! (Eric Loy, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ultimate solution: use the radio announcers and radio version for the original TV soundtrack so there will be no point in turning down the sound; it`s all the same (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) DTV TRANSITION AND TRANSLATORS Jim Thomas wrote: ``I am curious how the atv/dtv transition is going to affect *minor market* areas. What I mean by *minor market* areas are areas that *MAY* have one full power dtv station, but mostly even now rely on translators for television reception.`` Here in Grand Marais, MN [far northeastern MN] pop. 1400, we have no TV stations. We have 4 translators. All these translators are for Duluth, MN stations. We receive WDIO-10 on 61. KDLH-3 on 63. KBJR-6 on 65. WDSE-8 on 67. All of course must leave those channels next year. The ch. 65 translator broke down last year and KBJR said they would not repair it because they had to take it off the air soon anyway. The other three are still operating. Duluth is 100 miles from here. Too far for any over-the-air reception to be reliable. All the Duluth stations said they would not move these translators to another channel or change them to DTV. So the people in this town will have no TV translators after next Feb. Satellite TV is of course available. No more free TV after next Feb. What will become of the towers is anyone's guess (Paul LaFreniere, Grand Marais, MN, WTFDA via DXLD) I recently installed a box at my brother-in-law`s at Dubuque, Kansas. He can now get digital from Great Bend (NBC), Hutchinson (CBS) and Bunker Hill (PBS), but no ABC. I sent a message to KAKE-10 in Wichita which responded that they would convert translators in Hays, Russell and Great Bend to digital between February and June next year. They are all on lower UHF channels and will stay on those channels. FOX is received on analog channel 14 from Hoisington which will need to flash cut to digital. KTWU-11 (PBS) will switch their Iola translator on channel 30 to digital. There are two digital only TV stations in Kansas --channel 19 in Colby and channel 21 in Dodge City. Channel 19 is a new station that never did operate in analog. Both are PBS (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, ibid.) HOW DO MULTIPATH-TOLERANT CECBs WORK [Coupon-Eligible Converter Boxes] Recently, I've received quite a few comments about my review of the Philco TB100HH9 CECB, which, in particular, praised the CECBs ability to reliably decode ATSC signals that are affected by multipath, far more so than my 27" SDTV set or my old RCA HDTV boxes. Less read was my observation that the Zenith box had as much multipath tolerance as the Philco (and, depending on your needs, may be the better buy, with regard to its ergonomics and [at least the appearance of] better build). Many web forums and web sites have compared the sensitivity of CECBs, but few if any have tried to evaluate them for multipath tolerance. This is unfortunate, as multipath is a more serious problem for most users of DTV tuners - this goes for common consumers and DXers alike! My question, for which I can't seem to find an answer anywhere on the Web, is what makes these multipath-tolerant DTV tuners work. Two observations made with my Philco box may provide a clue. In fixed reception of local stations with an outdoor antenna, it was not uncommon to find a null point whilst rotating the antenna, at which the Philco (and Zenith) boxes would lose lock on the ATSC signal they were tuned to. However, when I would keep the antenna pointed into this null point, the receiver would quickly regain its lock on the ATSC signal and excellent reception would resume. An attempt at mobile reception (tried only with the Philco) was much more disappointing. Once the vehicle was placed into motion (FTR, I was in a back seat being chauffered), lock was impossible unless the surrounding field was extremely clear of features. From this, I have my suspicion of how these receivers work. They may have a "smart" decoder that analyzes the value of each byte, and looks for values that are not a product of an eighth. Any figure not a product of an eighth is a result of multipath, the "smart" decoder may determine the value (intensity) of the reflection signal, and the delay (path distance) of the reflection, then use math to effectively subtract the undesired path from what is received, restoring the signal as it had been in the main path. In fixed reception, the "smart" decoder can quickly find the right correction for an antenna null, but, mobile reception fails because the multipath environment is always changing, faster than the "smart" decoder could recalculate the necessary corrections. Two other questions about multipath-tolerant ATSC tuners: Which (if any) Integrated-tuner TV sets and/or Integrated-tuner DVD recorders have multipath-tolerant tuners? (I notice that Panasonic advertises onf of it's DVD recorders as having a "high performance tuner"). And is there anything about multipath-tolerant ATSC tuner technology that is limited to SDTV converters? Put another way, are there HDTV sets out there with multipath-tolerant ATSC tuners? Some of the forums and websites make mention of the tuner and decoder chipsets used in the various models of CECBs. Do we have any idea of which chipsets are multipath-tolerant, and which are not? If we had this information gathered in a list, DXers and TV viewers could make better choices in their purchases. I've been eyeing the Sansonic FT300, with its compact size and 5V DC input, for portable DTV DXing, but, if it lacks multipath-tolerance (and I have no reason to believe it does), it would be of little use to me (Robert Grant, Michigan, April 28, WTFDA via DXLD) I think it depends on the generation of the DTV tuner chip - with each chip being better for multipath. For instance, I'm sure that my HDTV has a later generation than my DVR, as both are about equal if pointed directly at weak stations - but the HDTV easily outperforms the DVR on 30-60 mile locals & semi-locals when pointed in the wrong direction (thus multi-pathing). That's when I'll see decent signal strength on the DVR but flaky decoding. Seeing a good signal strength but flaky decoding is much rarer on the HDTV. My guess is that my HDTV is 5th- gen, the DVR 4th-gen. The new Zenith is apparently 6th-gen (Bill Hepburn, Ont., ibid.) I think one should also take into consideration the power of the broadcast facility one is attempting to receive. Is the facility still operating at a lower power from what it's final post-transition power will be? Many dtv facilities are operating at reduced power output until the February transition date. I have been able to experience lower kilowatt usage here north of Denver, as the main network stations in Denver await their move to the Lookout Mountain facility (tower & transmitter), which in itself will change the reception abilities of dtv receivers, even without a power increase. Keep in mind that I am 45 miles north of Denver and don't have to move the antenna much to receive the individual stations. When reading on the AVS forum for Denver, I notice the dtv viewers in the immediate Denver area have more multipath issues than I do. Viewers in the Boulder area, which sits against the Flatiron Mountains, are really having a tough time receiving the dtv signals. The Flatirons really have a high concentration of iron ore and have always caused multipath problems, even for the analog channels. (As a sidenote, many of the Denver fm's have translators in Boulder, only 20 miles northwest, because of what those mountains do to radio signals.) Doug Smith is probably much more aware of how much power KCNC-DT 4, KMGH-DT 7, KUSA-DT 9, and KTVD-DT 20 are currently running from Republic Plaza in downtown Denver, which is currently the tallest building in Denver. I believe that none of them exceed 20kW currently. Now that we've moved into spring time with warmer temperatures, I notice the *enhancement* early in the day of the aforementioned channels. I can typically expect them to be received on the Insignia stb during the early morning hours, and again, late in the evening. Generally, their signal begins to degrade and break up mid to late mornings, with 4, 7, & 20 completely dropping out. KUSA-DT 9 is running enough power now that they generally do not drop out. The bottom line from my take is, there are a lot of variables to consider when deciding which receiver does the best with multipath issues. Once, full power analog signals begin to disappear, the dynamics of dtv multipath will again change (JimTonne, CO, ibid.) CURRENTLY-AUTHORIZED POWERS OF DENVER DTV STATIONS: Stations that seem to be downtown: KCNC-35: STA 11kw/177m, 39-44-37/104-59-18 KRMA-18: STA 13.8kw/183m, 39-44-37/104-59-18 KTVD-19: STA 6.47kw/180m, 39-44-37/104-59-18 KUSA-16: STA 10.9kw/178m, 39-44-37/104-59-18 KMGH-17: STA 1.91kw/20m, 39-43-34/104-59-06 (presumably KCNC, KRMA, KTVD, and KUSA are on the Republic Plaza and KMGH is on a nearby downtown building.) Stations elsewhere: KCEC-51: STA 10kw/138m, 39-23-07/105-25-02 (this would seem to be in the general vicinity of Evergreen. Their analog tower would seem to be just west of downtown?) KPXC-43: STA 10kw/96m, 39-40-31/104-52-22 (a bit southeast of town) KDEN-29: LIC 540kw/379m, 40-05-59/104-54-02 (near but not on analog tower) KDVR-32: LIC 223kw/296m on analog tower KRMT-40: LIC 74.8kw/344m on analog tower KWGN-34: STA 450kw/248m on analog tower KTFD-15: LIC 200kw/351m on analog tower KBDI-38: STA 42kw/732m on analog tower -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ALURATEK'S BIG STEP IN INTERNET RADIO The new alarm clock radio from Aluratek has drawbacks, but it offers the joys of listening to broadcast programs from around the world by Arik Hesseldahl Editor's Rating: star rating The Good: Easy setup when using an Ethernet connection The Bad: Setup is trickier over Wi-Fi. No AM tuner. The Bottom Line: A promising start for Internet-connected radios. Reader Reviews When I was a boy, I wanted a shortwave radio. I was fascinated by the idea of listening to radio programs from around the world. I didn't get one until I was an adult, by which time the reason I had wanted one was diminished: In recent years, most of the national radio services around the world have stopped or cut back on their shortwave broadcasting, opting instead to broadcast via the Web. Britain's BBC is a prime example. Some years ago its World Service stopped broadcasting directly into North America via shortwave. Meanwhile, although radio broadcasters have embraced modern times, with some 10,000 around the world now streaming their programs online, radio makers haven't caught the hint. Why don't more radios feature an Internet connection? . . . http://www.business week.com/ technology/ content/apr2008/ tc20080428_504429.htm (via Bob Wilkner, Cumbre DX via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Re 8-053: NOTHING UNUSUAL WITH THIS SOLAR CYCLE ``...CONCLUSION: AT THE MOMENT IT IS UNJUSTIFIED TO ASSUME THE SUN IS UNDERGOING A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN BEHAVIOUR. ON THE BASIS OF SUNSPOT NUMBER DATA, WE CANNOT ASSUME ANYTHING ODD IS HAPPENING UNLESS THE NEXT CYCLE DELAYS ITS START INTO 2009 OR 2010...`` That is an incorrect statement. My prediction of a smaller and later peak of solar cycle 24 peak (smoothed sunspot number of 105 in 2012) is based on the slowing of the internal meridional circulation of the Sun and related weaker than normal magnetic field line packing at the poles of the Sun. Normally the internal meridional circulation (kind of like a conveyor belt) moves at approximately 1 meter per second. In the past ten years the circulation has slowed to approximately .75 meters per second in the north and .35 meters per second in the south, the slowest since the 1800s. This a significant change in the behavior of the Sun. The current state of these processes are precursors of a smaller and later solar cycle 24 peak. BTW as of March 1, 2008 solar cycle 23 became the longest in recorded history, which is the anecdotal evidence of a smaller and later solar cycle 24 peak, that I mentioned in a previous email. The NOAA Space Weather Forecast Center (SWPC) currently has two forecasts out for solar cycle 24. Forecast #1 calls for a sunspot number peak of 140 in October 2011. Forecast #2 calls for a sunspot number peak of 90 in August 2012. The SWPC also has a very long range forecast out for solar cycle 25 that would be smaller still than the previous four. Are we headed for another Dalton Minimum? http://www.kn4lf.com/Dalton%20Minimum.jpg Only time will tell! Anecdotal evidence is pointing towards another one. A Dalton Minimum is a miniature version of the infamous Maunder Minimum, where the number of sunspot groups drop to a below normal level and corresponding total energy output of the Sun also drops. This would bring on a mini mini ice age for a period of 30-50 years. 73 & God Bless, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, Lakeland, FL, USA, kn4lf @ arrl.net KN4LF Daily Solar Space Weather & Geomagnetic Data Archive: http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf5.htm April 29, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SOLAR-ACTIVITY FORECAST FOR THE PERIOD APR 25 - MAY 1, 2008 Activity level: predominantly very low Radio flux (10.7 cm): a fluctuation in the range 67-75 f.u. Flares: weak (0-3/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 APR 25 TO MAY 1, 2008 quiet: Apr 27 to 30 quiet to unsettled: Apr 26 and May 1 unsettled: Apr 25 active: 0 minor storm: 0 major storm: 0 severe storm: 0 Geomagnetic activity summary: geomagnetic field was quiet from Apr 17 to 22, active on Apr 23. 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: Apr 26, May 6-7, 9-10, (16,) 19 active to disturbed: Apr (25,) May (1,) 2, (3-4,) 5, 13 quiet: Apr 27-30, May 8, 11(-12,) 14-15, 17-18 Survey: quiet on: Apr 18 mostly quiet on: Apr 17, 19-22 quiet to unsettled on: Apr 16 unsettled to disturbed on: Apr 23 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 WORLD OF RADIO 1406, DXLD) ###