DX LISTENING DIGEST 8-119, November 21, 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 1435 Sat 0900 WRMI 9955 Sat 1730 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0330 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Sun 1615 WRMI 9955 Mon 2300 WBCQ 7415 [reconfirmed Nov 10] Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 Tue 1630 WRMI 9955 Wed 0630 WRMI 9955 [or new 1436] Wed 1230 WRMI 9955 [or new 1436] WBCQ is also airing repeats of recent WOR editions thru November, M-F at 2030 on 7415 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 ** ABKHAZIA. 9494.74, Abkhazia Radio, Sukhum in Russian, easily readable this morning. S=3-4 at 0630 UT Nov 20 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALASKA. KNOM-780 INFO --- I just received an E-mail verie from KNOM-780 Nome for my reception of 10/27/08 thanks to a contact provided by Paul Walker. Thanks, Paul. His contact provided this information: ``Yes, KNOM changed over to ABC for news some months ago. (I brought this up in my report since there was a definite echo under KKOH's ABC newscast). Most unusual for anyone in "the lower 48" to receive KNOM. Largely because of the co-channel stations you noted but also because of the antenna design. The tower is only 230-feet with a six-fold folded unipole hanging off it. It's pretty much all groundwave. Most effective, too, as the transmitter site is alongside the mouth of The Nome River where it empties into Norton Sound (salt). If you use Google Earth, the transmitter site is easy to find. Go to Nome, AK and then proceed EAST along The Nome-Council Road which runs along the shore. Just before the Nome River the road loops NORTH prior to crossing a bridge. The single tower is just south of the loop; just west of the river. There's a good sized satellite dish just at the North side of the transmitter building. Second building on the site is a generator housing; what looks like a third, smaller, building is the fuel tank for the generator. Just West of KNOM, on the opposite side of the road, are the three towers of KICY which is strongly directional West at 50kW, so chances of reception anywhere other than in Russia are slim to nil.`` Even less than nil here with KHHO five miles away! (Pete Taylor, Tacoma, WA, 12225w 4719n, HQ180 + Kiwa air core loop ICF2010 + " " " ", DX398; Palomar loop, SRF-59 & SRF M37V, Nov 18, NRC-AM via DXLD) Pete, Thanks for passing this along. Unusual? Not here. I should let him know that KNOM often QRMs KKOH here when I am trying to listen to Coast to Coast. Many times I have had to change to another station on the Super Radio, lying in bed. KNOM does get out. No issue in hearing them tonight either. 73, (Patrick Martin, OR, ibid.) ** ARGENTINA. 15345.05, Radio al Exterior; 2010-2031+, 17-Nov; M&W alternating in German; one Spanish tune; "DB" in code repeated -- RAE or QRM? -- at 2024+, RAE ID & into DX program in German. SIO=353- (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Surely they were sending or trying to send ``DX`` in code as they do on other language DX shows: DB is -.. -... while DX is the same except for one dah instead of dit: -.. -..- (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. R. Australia`s normally loud and clear 9580 and less loud but still clear 9590 have sunk into the noise level, as presumably they are hitting summer/equatorial absorption in the middle of the night at first reflexion point. I.e., Nov 20 before 1400, 9580 quite weak, and at 1436, 9590 was JBA. That leaves us 6020 before 1400 and 7240 afterwards for inferior RA reception. RA, Friday Nov 21 at 1433 with Art Works, movie review, and then report on an Aboriginal publishing house in Alice; SSB QRM near 7240, but that`s about the best we can do at this hour, with 9590 not propagating so well (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Re 8-118, English about to end from Austria? Glenn, As of last weekend Murray Hall restated that as things stand now, all English from the ORF will end as of Dec. 31. On previous mailbox programs, he has emphasized that when he says all English, that includes over-the-air, internet text and audio. No more English content. So unless plans change, I would guess that that early morning English newscast on OE-1 (along with the French bit) will disappear at the same time as Report from Austria. He also mentioned that they will be doing the annual holiday Postbox program as usual, and added that it will probably be the final Postbox program ever (Will F., PA, Nov 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) There are obviously some shortwave changes planned from 1 January 2009, as the schedule currently on the website is dated to end on 31 December. What Murray Hall said is in line with what I was told in a private conversation with Wolf Harranth some weeks ago. It's unlikely that the plans will change as this is a cost-saving measure, and presumably the budget for 2009 has already been fixed (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, ibid.) Realizing that the conversation here is focused on Radio Austria International, there is other English language content on ORF (the parent company) via ORF-fm4, albeit not on shortwave. The internet feed and further info is available from http://fm4.orf.at/ (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) Hmmm, an intended allusion to BBC speak? When they write "shortwave changes" they mean shutting it down (and that's really change we need and can believe in). Indeed this must be expected for ORF on shortwave. It only remains to be seen what will happen with the Moosbrunn facilities after zero hour. Concerning the posted schedule: It's valid only until yearend due to the cessation of the English and Spanish programs, still produced for shortwave distribution at present. So in any case something has to change here, one way or the other. It is my understanding that the short news in foreign languages in the morning are part of the regular Ö1 program line-up and not related to the last remains of the former Radio Austria International, and I also understand that Murray Hall spoke only for this but not for Ö1 or FM4 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Nov 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BHUTAN. 6035, BBS (presumed), 0032-0103, Nov 20, thanks to Bruce Churchill's recent tips, heard long interview (woman asking brief questions, followed by long answers by a man), BBS schedule indicates a cultural program in Dzongkha, brief indigenous string instrumental music at start and end of interview, 0051 segment of indigenous chanting till ToH, intermittent light QRM from Spanish speaking station (assume Colombia), mostly poor, but almost certain it was them (their sunrise was 0026 and my local sunset was 0054) (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 3363.8, R. Cultura – Araraquara, SP (Tentative), 0427–0505, 11/12/08 in Portuguese. Talk by man to ToH, Jingle and possible ID at ToH (conditions too poor to get definitive ID), continued talk by same man. Very poor (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, R-75, Winradio g313e, Eton E1, Satellit 800, Kaito 1103; 110’ random wire, Flextenna, NASWA Flashsheet Nov 16 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Station: Radio Vale do Xingu Date & Time (UT): 19/11/2008 1811 QRG: 5025.00 Mode: AM SINPO: 43343 Details: 2 OMS TALKS. INFO VIA AOKI LIST. Receiver: KENWOOD TS-480 Antena: VERTICAL BROADBAND ANTENNA Location: Bilbao - SPAIN Regards, (George ---, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) George, Brasil is pretty unlikely that early in Europe on 60m; however, station is in Pará, closer to Europe than most of Brasil. However, has not been reported since Sept 2001 even in the Brazilian radioescutas group, and offhand I don`t recall any reports of it in years. It`s not in the LA-SW listings as active or as a former report. Of course stations can reactivate after years of silence, in which case this would be big news. Perhaps that`s why Aoki leaves in old info like this, but I wish they would flag it as inactive. More likely would be Benin, reported a couple weeks ago, which by your evening should be the dominant signal on 5025 if it is not having problems like this: ``5025, ORTB, Parakou, 1432- 01 Nov, carrier with extremely low modulation like on the previous evening (31 Oct); 15341 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` One would not expect the big signal from Rebelde, Cuba on 5025 to penetrate the Atlantic that early either, tho maybe Carlos could comment on that. Can you try it again and concentrate on identifying the language? Or ruling out Portuguese, Spanish. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Glenn, We're close to Brazil's Pará region, thence the typical early fade in (and, conversely, the late fade out) of R. Club do Pará 4885, with R. Difusora at Amapá AP 4915 being next. RCdoPará was last observed (with a 300 m Beverage) fading in at 1900 (14 & 15 Nov'08). However, a log at 1800+ is a bit of an exaggeration valid both B & R. Rebelde which doesn't start to mix with BEN until much later; I don't even comment on the SINPO rating. On the other hand, Benin in Portuguese (the reporter was in Bilbo/Bilbao, so being in Spain he's surely a bit familiar with our language, and could at least add a small note on whether he heard standard Portuguese or Braz. Port.) is something I never heard, or seen being reported, but I wouldn't say it's totally impossible. Weeks ago, I heard a music dedication program from RNGE "R. Bata" 5005 when French was being used. As to Benin 5025, I see others reporting it with normal signals; most of the time I observe them, the carrier is all right but the audio is either zero or hardly perceivable. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] I was simply testing my newly modified 10 m vertical antenna on 60 m, and found a poor-fair signal with two men speaking Portuguese, actually northern accented speech filled with a dirty word say every two to three words. This is nothing but another fishing boat QSO, and this time they're on 5025 usb but Benin's carrier is acting as BFO, so the boat signal is audible both on AM & USB. They're still on as I compile this, 1921 UT. Now, whether this explains the mystery or not I don't know, but am inclined to believe it does. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Lisboa, Portugal, Nov 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Re 8-118, RCSP: ``9615 is the nominal frequency of RCSP; long time since they have actually achieved it; so why do you think it`s a spur; bad modulation? (gh, DXLD)`` Glenn, Of course it's their frequency, but it simply didn't sound like a normal carrier - zero beating was hardly possible which may mean they're perhaps using, as they did weeks ago as I seem to remember seeing reported, some other frequency due to transmitter malfunction and one of the spurs, if any, may fall on the frequency I spotted them last weekend. The signal was not that strong, so if a spur, then the fundamental might have been simply covered by a much stronger station. CRI & China "manages" to occupy several 31 m band channels. It's no use checking this here at home in Lisboa, so I'll have to observe it again next time I can observe the bands on the SW coast place. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re 8-118, the other program of R. Cultura SP again reported active on 17815, around 1800 UT at least. I`ve looked for it several times during the day, and so far not even a carrier detectable, e.g. Nov 20 at 1813; however, SAm conditions were not so good, with 17680 Chile only fair (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA. The severely ailing R. Bulgaria transmitter continues to be heard with its very unstable warbling carrier: Nov 20 at 0735 on 7400 the warble so bad that it overrides the modulation on AM mode reception, which I think was in English as scheduled. At 1358 check, 15700 was not on the air at all. At 1820 I was again hearing the warble on 7400 (love these almost-winter lower-band conditions), this time messing up their own French transmission. I am now wondering if I blamed the wrong station in an earlier log on 5900; or possibly BOTH of them on 5900 at that moment were defective. ``Radio Bulgaria`s English broadcast to North America at 0000-0100 is totally ruined on 5900 thanks to that defective motorboating Russian transmitter always operating in B-season from one of the Moscow sites on 5900, as heard 0010 Nov 2. Absolutely nothing was readable either from it or from Bulgaria. As in DXLD 8-115, 5900 is on VOR`s B-08 Spanish schedule at 0100-0300; not sure what service is on it during the previous hour. Aside from the QRM they cause to neighbors, waste of electricity and effort, ¿are the Russian engineers sinvergüenza? But we can still hear Bulgaria on 7400`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA [and non]. At 0125 Nov 21, was getting warbling carriers and little else on both 5900 and 7400, so either both R. Bulgaria transmitters are acting up, or 5900 is still the Russian one. At 1454 Nov 21, R. Bulgaria poor and fluttery but audible on 11700 and modulation seemed OK; usual much stronger // 15700 was again off the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see RUSSIA [and non] ** CANADA [and non]. DRM sounds gorgeous, especially in stereo, when you can get it, but like Dish TV and our new Digital TV format, when you can't get it, you can't get anything. Why was the FCC enforcing digital conversion again, instead of letting the consumer market decide? Time for the Analog Revolution. No DRM audio samples as I haven't figured out how to record them yet - when I try all I get is 12 kHz IF Out hiss... [later:] 21 Nov 08, Radio Canada International, 9800 kHz DRM, 1620 GMT Okay, that wasn't hard to figure out - I just needed to check the "Save Audio" box and switch back to DRM mode: http://www.mediafire.com/?0ojtdtqyikm What did I say about DRM sounding gorgeous? While I like the absence of background noise and adjacent channel interference, this bitrate of 17.16 kbps sounds like a dial-up-speed streaming internet radio station. TDP sounds good and they use a bitrate of 20-something, so I guess that makes all the difference. But here I'd probably be happier with an analog transmission. Didn't DAB have to switch to DAB+ because the bitrate was too lo-res, it sounded bad and the consumers weren't happy? (Terry Wilson, MI, Nov 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) You're on the right lines, but it isn't as simple as that. In the UK, they adopted the original DAB format which uses a less efficient compression system. That means that in a given bandwidth, at a given bitrate, you can only fit in half as many stations as the newer DAB+. There is no difference in quality if the same bitrate is used, but in the UK the broadcasters got greedy and decided to cram in more stations at the expense of audio quality. Many consumers say that stations using lower bitrates sound inferior to analogue FM. The problem is that the DAB radios sold in the UK can't decode DAB+, so even if the transmitters were upgraded, the consumer would have to purchase a new radio (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, ibid.) Compression, not bitrate. Thanks Andy. At least DRM is flexible enough to have good or not so good audio quality at the broadcaster's discretion. I just had to look up what DRM+ is, but that's DRM in the VHF range, not an upgrade to HF DRM requiring new receivers (Terry Wilson, MI, Nov 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. "CBC ICON: STILL HAPPENING AFTER 40 YEARS" --- CBC's 'As It Happens' winds up week-long anniversary retrospective with a selection of favourite memories from listeners Note from Dale: I realize too late for this week but thought you might like to see this (Dale Rothert, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And among the 51+ comments: Neandercon The Barbarian from Canada writes: Neocon not like insult, neocon think eastern urban feminist with hidden adgenda dumm like lemming. Neocon tax dollar same as socialist except neocon make money honest, not like liberal who steal weasel from other liberals trap. Thwak liberal media social engineer, make CBC voice of Canada not babbling liberal snivel. Got to go now and ship dinosaur oil to ungrateful koyotstards who sit in dark with frozen brain and listen to CBC. Posted 20/11/08 at 9:52 PM EST | Alert an Editor | (ibid.) It is already semi-moderated, so there (gh) ** CANADA. MARY LOU FINLAY | Books | As it happens, radio translates well onto paper --- 40 YEARS ON AIR Nov 16, 2008 04:30 AM Greg Quill Entertainment Columnist http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/Books/article/537362 Created 40 years ago this month by then-CBC producer, the late Val Clery, a former British army paratrooper, As It Happens started as CBC Radio's desperate response to television's ascendancy in the news and information business, airing at first on Monday nights, in a series of two-hour segments that rolled across Canada's five time zones. It was a brave and dazzling concept, Clery used to say, that left its producers, researchers and lead-runners exhausted after every marathon. A short time later, the show's success spawned Radio Free Fridays, with the late Peter Gzowski as host, but in the early 1970s, with the late Barbara Frum and Cy Strange as co-hosts, the two programs merged, and As It Happens took the shape and frequency (90 minutes, five nights a week, starting at 6.30 p.m.) and style (a heady mix of hard news follow-up, humour, music and irreverence) that would make it unassailably popular and the envy of broadcasters the world over. As It Happens is celebrating its 40 years on air through this month. Tomorrow's subject is 40 years of Reading, and the reasons this obscure British town been for so many years one of As It Happens' weirder obsessions. On Tuesday night, the actual anniversary, current and former members of the crew pull back the curtain and share stories from behind the scenes. And in coming days, regular listeners will be invited to share memories about their favourite interviews from over the years. Book revisits host's top moments on CBC show. By design CBC Radio's As It Happens – after the network's Ideas, the world's longest-running radio program – is the ultimate listening adventure. Limited only by the imagination of its producers and hosts, the phone- out show reaches around the world every day to interview – via the crudest and most commonplace communication device, the telephone – newsmakers, local heroes and nutters, politicians, pundits and fools, mountain climbers, sailors and astronauts, talking dogs, sports stars, tricksters and brain surgeons. It produces auditory snapshots of characters and events that are in turn thrilling, touching, hilarious, dramatic, informative, sometimes downright frightening, and above all, immediate. It is perfect radio. That the concept might not work so well as non-fiction literature apparently never occurred to Mary Lou Finlay, the veteran broadcast journalist who hosted the program with Barbara Budd from 1997 through 2005. As it happens, her The As It Happens Files (Knopf Canada), published last week, is more than a gripping condensation of Finlay's favourite interviews and reminiscences. It's also an enlightening historical document, a testament to her appetite for a great yarn, and evidence of her sharp wit and keen journalistic sensibilities. "I never kept notes while I was on the show," she told the Star. "So when I decided to write this book, I just dug into the CBC archives, through 10,000 interviews, most of them on 7-inch reels of tape, starting with the moments I treasured – they're the core of the book. "I used the online logs of the show as a map. And each program I listened to reminded me of six others. I just kept going till I ran out of time." The book reveals Finlay's empathy with ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances, like the 80-year-old Miami lawyer who survived a 20-hour ordeal in the open sea after losing his boat, and Canadian harmonica virtuoso Mike Stevens, who stumbled upon a heartbreaking Canadian tragedy, the lost native children – gas-fume addicts – of remote Sheshatshiu, Labrador, and offered them hope and spiritual sustenance through music. She has a thing for battlers and oddballs, too, like the Coquitlam, B.C., businessman who spent $120,000 fighting a traffic ticket; a Hamilton inventor who spent years trying to perfect a Kodiak bear-proof armoured suit; and a British woman who set up a sanctuary for garden gnomes. Finlay's commentary and written introductions to the selected interview segments have the same easy, almost whimsical conversational style that is As It Happens' stock- in-trade. And it's not all light and breezy reading. Her essay on the whys and wherefores of the Air India disaster and the failure of authorities and the government to investigate and prosecute is a marvel of intellectual clarity and plain-spoken common sense. "There's a lot I had to leave out, mostly for space reasons," said Finlay, adding she'd "like to commit more journalism in the future. "We went on a rant once on As It Happens about declining literacy, and about the abuse of grammar, and the misplaced apostrophe. The radio audience loved it, but on paper it was too pedantic. "Writing a book, I have learned, is hard and lonely work. This experience has almost killed the passion I once had for writing. I found myself doing strange things, like washing the windows, to avoid it. But when the deadlines loom, and I forced myself to start writing, all the doors opened, and it was wonderful." (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** CANADA. Another mnemonic for the CBC, Box 500, Station A, Toronto postal code M5W 1E6, as voiced by Matt Galloway, substitute host on The Current, Nov 20 at 1429 via CBCNQ 9625: `Mangle five words, I`ll enunciate six``. But if you wrote it M5W IE6 would your mail go into oblivion? BOH weather break from Montréal dealt with that city and others in Southern Québec, not Northern. Ahem! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Re 8-118, CBC on AM: Scott Fybush wrote: "...CBC still gets to serve urban audiences on FM, where it wants to be, while keeping the CRTC happy by maintaining the AM signals for the hinterlands." And thank goodness for that. CBC would need an inordinate number of FM transmitters to cover the mountainous terrain of southwestern Alberta and southeastern B.C. Driving along Hwy. 3, I can hear CBR and most other Calgary AM stations from about as far as Cranbrook, B.C., some 200 km from Calgary as the crow flies -- and on the wrong side of the continental divide (Ricky Leong, Calgary, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Re 8-118, Audio file - Voice of Strait - 4940 in English Hi David, Thanks for the kind words. Sorry I only know about four spoken words of Chinese and one or two characters, but nowadays it's possible to check out Chinese language sites by utilizing sites such as Yahoo Babel Fish (< http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ >) to translate simplified Chinese to English; either by a group of words or the whole website. By this method I do not see anything like the "Focus on China" program on the page of audio files you referenced. Afraid I am not familiar with any online audio streaming for that program. SW seems to be the only way to catch them. Give them a try! Hope this helps a little. Good luck! (Ron Howard, Monterey/Asilomar Beach, CA, Nov 19, NASWA yg via DXLD) Hi Ron, OK, thanks. I am just trying to figure out ways to ID some of the many stations that come here in from China. Basically what I will try to do with VOS stations is first hear them and then ID them by finding a parallel from the website. Like most people, I would rather keep the computer off when the radio is on, but you do what you gotta do! (David Walcutt, ibid.) ** CHINA. It`s nice to receive trans-oceanic signals both from Asia and Europe [see BULGARIA] on 7 MHz just minutes before local mean noon, i.e. on 7385, Nov 20 at 1821 UT, rock instrumental music, fair and somewhat fluttery, then announcement in Chinese and some semi- classical music. Presumably CNR-1 jammer against RFA in Chinese via Taiwan as scheduled per Aoki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 7445, NORTHERN MARIANAS, R. Free Asia, heard at 1500 on 20 Nov. with English sign-on by man and YL news in Mandarin. Immediate and terminal jamming by China National Radio (not registered on frequency). Pounding sigs from both stations, but equally unusable. So what happened to Firedrake? The jug band got a month or so off? 73s de (Al Muick, Kabul, Afghanistan, WinRadio G303e, 200m Longwire/ Randomwire, HCDX via DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. CRI in English on 11790, Nov 21 at 2314, with slight echo, long/short path, and running about two words behind // 11970 Sackville, so is this site further from China than Canada? What is the site, PWBR `2009`. You don`t know? You don`t even list CRI on this time and frequency, but EiBi and Aoki B08 do, as Xi`an, 190 degrees to SE Asia, which is certainly a lot closer to Beijing than Sackville is, just an example of how `satellite delays` can be very misleading. Modulation quality also rather different than that heard on the external relays (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. When Emisora Mariana announces "Desde noviembre, la música de diciembre, por los 1400 AM y por Emisora Mariana" they are saying that December music is on the station as from November. So what? you may ask. The answer is probably clear only to those who have been in Colombia during the month of December. Everything changes for the better, weather improves after a period of continuous raining, people are looking forward to cashing in their "prima", which is an extra monthly salary they are legally entitled to. Everyone is getting ready for Christmas and New Year´s with its family gatherings, parties, and exchange of gifts, and it is in this gleeful atmosphere that stations are playing hundreds of old dance tunes which are all associated with this time of the year. Radio Santa Fé appears to be one of the stations that minted the term "música de diciembre". Every year, as from mid-November, their nighttime music is interrupted by announcements like "En Radio Santa Fé la música es de diciembre", which means that they are throwing in the Christmas gear already in November (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, Nov 20, Realdx yg via DXLD) ** CRETE. Last year, I heard Creete (Chania)at 1512. If you wish to listen: http://www.quebecdx.com/greece_crete.mp3 This one was easier to ID with that Greek music (Sylvain Naud, Québec, Realdx yg via DXLD) Dear Sylvain, I enjoyed your signals from Chania, Crete. This is fascinating in many ways! I didn't hear them that good. When I heard them on 1512 kHz I happened to listen to the Manager of the station, who had a program, which I recorded on a cassette. The reply from him (and his wife, because she knows English better) started a long letter exchanging period, ending with an invitation to their newly started family hotel outside Chania. We lived in their family for a whole week, without any permission to pay anything for the rental. Mostly we had breakfast and sometimes a night meal with them in the garden, when having toured all day. We made a long visit to the station and were shown just everything - and he accompanied us through the Samaria Gorde during a very hot day. He had never done that before - but his voice was known by people every time we stopped and talked to others. The nicest remembrance is the Summer Night Eve, when he invited all their friends, most of them writers, musicians and dancers, to a big party in the garden, enjoying a perfect sun, going down in the Mediterranean. I have never heard so many Theoderaki songs performed both in songs, instrumental and danced as that night. Marvellous! We still have a contact, but only once a year, when New Year is coming. Well, that was a story about what might happen if you are a DX-er and listen to a station at the right moment! Best wishes (from Gotland, Sweden and Björn Fransson, ibid.) ** CROATIA. RADIO FIUME DI NUOVO ON AIR+AUDIOCLIP --- Dopo 3 giorni off air Radio Fiume è di nuovo in onda con i suoi 15 minuti in lingua italiana su 6165 e 1134 kHz alle ore 1500 UT. La clip audio è disponibile su: http://blog.libero.it/radioascolto/5931007.html 73's (Francesco Cecconi, playdx yg via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. 6100, OPPOSITION. Radio República, 1152-1159, 11/11/08, Talk in Spanish, rooster crow, several IDs and frequency announcement, mentioned Cuba, 1159 last ID and then out as overridden my "tone tests?" Fair (Rich Mitchell, Raleigh, NC, RX-320D, FRG-100, PAR EF-SWL antenna in attic, MFJ-784B filter, MFJ-1045C preselector, NASWA Flashsheet Nov 16 via DXLD) via RMI via SACKVILLE, M-F 11-12 (gh) ** ECUADOR. HCJB begins a new series of DRM test transmissions Starting today, HCJB is transmitting in DRM on 15275-15280-15285 kHz at 1100-1300 UTC with 4000 Watts. The antenna is a rhombic, azimuth 35/225 degrees (to Europe and Australia) and the transmitter site is Pifo, Ecuador. The schedule is: Monday to Friday 1100-1200 UTC Spanish (Music from Ecuador and Newscast). 1200-1300 UTC Low-German and German. Saturday and Sunday 1100-1130 UTC Spanish. 1130-1300 UTC Low-German and German. (Source: HCJB via DRM Software Radio Forums) (November 21st, 2008 - 13:09 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) HCJB pausing in German hour 2329 Nov 21, VG on 12040 for ID break, claiming time is 1830 in Quito, 2330 UT and 2030 Brasília Zeit; thus HCJB does not recognize current DST there, which makes the clox claim it is 2130 local. We would applaud this if it were really contra-DST, but no doubt just another instance of HCJB not keeping up with the times, so out of touch with its listeners, but at least they got the UT and Ecuador time right. So far I have not heard Portugal colliding on this optional frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. 15710, R Cairo, Bahasa Indonesia 1230-1400 UT, totally distorted audio, S=9+10 dB in Europe, though directed at 106 degrees azimuth, from Abu Zabal site on Nov 17th. wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I was checking 15700 for BULGARIA [q.v.], Nov 20 at 1358, and noted the lack of QRM from that on 15710. Trouble is, R. Cairo`s Indonesian service was putting out its usual extremely distorted and lowly- modulated signal, only the peaks poking thru, and cut to tone already before 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 5005, Equatorial Guinea, R. Nacional, Bata. November-19 SS 0542-0604 tribal music then male talks seems all outside from some event, bad audio, 0548 recorded (presumed studio) African music with much better audio, returning outside alternating with studio music, 0601 studio YL "están en sintonía con R. Malabo", checking 6250 they really (Bata, 5005) was relaying Malabo maybe because for some special event. 24322. 73 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. R. Africa, 15190, good signal but undermodulated, and no QRM, Nov 21 at 2207 with the low-key preaching of jailbird ``Tony Alamo``. BTW, here`s the website tracking all the latest press about his case, including linx to lots of video from Arkansas: http://www.tonyalamonews.com/ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [and non]. ERITHIOPIA radio wars: Seems that since about 7th or 8th of November radio wars around 7100/8000 suddenly stopped. Not much at all heard from Eritrea since. R. Ethiopia is going quite normal. External Service transmitter carries "Dimtsi Ertran" program 1800-1833* on 9560v (actually wildly drifting from around 9559.2 to 9561.4). Btw: this transmitter does not seem to switch off at daytime as it used to be after Somali 0800*. Carrier remains audible until 0900+ in Europe (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 7165, Voice of Peace & Democracy, via Radio Ethiopia transmitters, 0358-0430*, Nov 21, tune-in to Horn of Africa music & announcements in Tigrinya. Talk at 0400. Local drums. Some Horn of Africa music but mostly continuous talk. Fair signal but occasional noise jammer making for poor reception. Fair to good signal on // 9560.13v-varing up to 9560.47 at times. Listed for Mon, Wed, Fri only (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [and non]. 9704, R. Ethiopia heard at 1348 on 20 Nov with Amharic talk and African music. Decent S3 signal until 1358 when a Chinese ether pollution specialist signed on at 9705 kHz. Only Chicom listed on this frequency, is PBS Xinjiang but they are sked'ed to be off at this time. 73s de (Al Muick, Kabul, Afghanistan, WinRadio G303e, 200m Longwire/Randomwire, HCDX via DXLD) ** FAROE ISLANDS. Update on Faroe Islands 531 kHz Transmissions It seems the BC tx Akraberg, Faroe Island on 531 kHz has some problems. This one produces a lot of splatters and noise down to 500 kHz. I have uploaded a screenhot of the spectrum: http://www.h-wolff.de/Latest500kHz/0811/081118/Akraberg%20531kHz.jpg (Hartmut Wolff, Germany, Nov 18, via MWC via DXLD) Hello Hartmut, LF, Yes, the Akraberg TX has been spattering for some time now. I reported it to the station previously, and some improvement was done, but this weekend it became very much worse again. I think they are working on the next (100 kW) transmitter, that was due to be installed in November, following the 50 kW one that came on air in August, and has never been working correctly since then. I would be happy if EVERYONE who notices this interference could report it directly to Utvarp-Foroya. I emailed them again yesterday, but so far have had no reply. Please address your reports to "Hans Andor Johannesen" haj @ kringvarp.fo The more people who report this the more pressure will be applied to fix the problem. I can hear splattering noise down to below 490kHz! Regards, (John GM4SLV, ibid.) This is how Perseus 'saw' 531 at 01:41 this morning: http://www.skywaves.info/mw/faroes.jpg That's messy! (John, ibid.) ** GABON, ANo.1 heard on 9580 only for several weeks, same situation in second half of July. Also RTG is not carried any more on SW. The one on 9580 is the only remaining transmitter active from Gabon at the moment. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, http://www.africalist.de.ms Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GOA. 7115, INDIA, AIR heard at 1730 on 20 Nov. in Maldivian with OM talk and no IS or s/on formalities just carrier and then right into programming. The audio was so distorted, I could barely make out what was being said. The spectral display looked sick and there was a very bad buzz on the audio. Sounds like a filter cap in the main supply or in the modulator section is about to blow its oats. This is one sick transmitter and someone in master control should be called on the carpet for allowing this to get on the air, and their engineer should be hung up by his/her thumbs! 73s de (Al Muick, Kabul, Afghanistan, WinRadio G303e, 200m Longwire/Randomwire, HCDX via DXLD) Yes, it is Panaji, Goa, per listings. Maldivian? No, Malayalam. No Maldivian or Dhivehi from AIR, unfortunately (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** GREECE [and non]. This is my reception report for Wednesday and Thursday UTC November 20, 2008: WEDNESDAY 11/19 THURSDAY 11/20 2000 2100 2200 2300 0000 0100 0200 MHz. Az. Kw. Station 11111 11111 55455 00000 00000 00000 00000 9.420 323 170 AVL 3 ERA 5 Regards (John Babbis, Silver Spring, MD, USA, daily monitoring report to ERA via DXLD) Just to note the 11111 reception while colliding with Zambia 1Africa, even worse than usual (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** INDIA. Re: [dxld 8-119] AIR Port Blair off frequency? Like any typical Government Office, the Engineers at site of transmitter would not have recorded this frequency 4765, for that day and timings. If a DX reporter sends in a reception report, the New Delhi office says it is incorrect frequency and refuse a QSL. What a lot of confusion they create due to careless operations of the transmitter controls. Only if the DX SWL adds copy of your mails and submits a report, chances are more for his getting a QSL. Bombay is regularly found in the mornings on 7065 with two different audios; similarly Chennai is also found on 7050 with two different audios after 1530 IST [1000 UT]. Do they have the guts to confirm such receptions? Pse publish this mail for the general information. Thank you, 73 de Arasu VU2UR Manohar (via Alokesh Gupta, dx_india yg via DXLD) Dear Alokesh, I really hope they stay on 4765 for at least a week when I come back to Sri Lanka cause that will give me a chance at Leh. Regarding the 7050 AIR, it`s a spurious mix between two of Chennai's 7 MHz transmitters. +- the two frequencies 7160 and 7280 or something. In a bit of a rush. G. VICTOR A. GOONETILLEKE 4S7VK, "Shangri-La," 298 Madapatha Road, Piliyandala. Sri Lanka. (via Alokesh Gupta, ibid.) 7160 0245-1145 41S CNI 50 kW non-dir Program RSW - CNI IND AIR 7270 0645-1215 41SE CNI 100 kW non-dir Program FM Gold IND AIR (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) see also GOA; KASHMIR ** INDIA. WHY IS AKASHVANI (AIR) NOT AUDIBLE IN SOUTH INDIA ? http://www.televisionpoint.com/news2008/newsfullstory.php?id=1227182887 All India Radio (AIR), the world's largest radio network with 385 transmitters and broadcasting in 89 languages, does not have a dedicated national channel that reaches the entire country. Though there is a 1,000 kW medium wave transmitter in Nagpur which is supposed to relay the national programmes under the brand name Akashvani, it is not audible in any of the South Indian states. Also, topical programmes like Radio News Reel, Current Affairs and Live Radio Bridge are not available in the southern states. Most countries beam their national radio programmes to other countries. Stations like BBC, Radio Beijing, Radio Pakistan, Moscow Radio, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Sri Lanka are more popular than AIR. "AIR is constrained by financial crunches and other infrastructure shortages. We should have a series of transmitters to relay the national programmes, and are also handicapped by manpower problems," says P. K. Bandhopadhyay, director general, news, AIR. Bandhopadhyay said that though there was a proposal to set up a national radio channel, it would take time. "I cannot tell you when it will materialise. It may take years. Resources are our main handicap," he added. When it was pointed out that Doordarshan, a late entry, had interlinked all its stations through satellites, he said a process like that would need enormous funding. Doordarshan's national channel is available across the country through terrestrial transmitters and cable TV network. "They have 160 FM transmitters across India. These stations could be networked with the INSAT transponders to form a national channel," said a senior ISRO official (via Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India, Nov 19, dxld yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Re 8-118: ``Massive signal from VOI 9525.9 this evening, S-meter almost on the stop [?]...`` The "stop" is the little metal peg that keeps the needle from moving beyond scale (Harold Frodge, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9525.90, buzz carrier only at 1350-1400 UT S=5-6, seemingly V of Indonesia Jakarta Cimangis. wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. SIRIUS RADIO CO-FOUNDER DEVELOPING DIGITAL IMMORTALITY --- And that's after undergoing sex change surgery and becoming an advocate for transgender rights! http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/custom/today/bal-to.rothblatt18nov18,0,1422693.story (Harry Helms W5HLH, Corpus Christi, TX EL17, http://harryhelmsblog.blogspot.com/ ABDX via DXLD) ** IRAN. 13800, IRIB transmitter Zahedan in Arabic noted accompanied by two terrible audio spurious signals on peaks approx. 13737.50 and 13862.60 kHz, this morning Nov 20th, scheduled 0530-1430 UT. Frequency ranges like 13734.25 to 13739.30, and 13860.25 to 13864.70 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN [and non]. NHK WORLD Radio Japan B08 edited from schedule & frequencies list received on Nov. 21, 2008 Arabic; 0400-0430 9830iss 0700-0730 11905iss Bengali; 1300-1345 15215wer Burmese; 1030-1100 11740sng 1130-1200 9695 2340-0000 13650 Chinese; 0400-0430 15300 0500-0530 15300 0600-0630 17860 1130-1200 6090 1300-1330 6190 11740sng 1430-1500 6190 2230-2250 9560 2240-2300 13650 2340-0000 15195 17810 English; 0000-0020 5920uk 6145sac 13650 17810 0500-0530 5975uk 6110sac 9770iss 15325 0900-0930 9625 9825 11815 15590 17810 1200-1230 6120sac 9625 9695 17585dha 1310-1340 9875 1400-1430 9875 11705&sac 11780uk 21560iss 2200-2220 13640 French: 0630-0700 9800iss 1230-1300 21560iss Hindi: 1345-1430 15215wer Indonesian: 0945-1030 9690 1315-1400 11705 2310-2340 17810 Japanese: 0200-0300 11860sng 0200-0400 11935bon 0200-0500 5960sac 15195 15325 17560 17810 0700-0800 6145 6165 0700-1700 9750 0800-0900 9825 0800-1000 11740sng 17875iss 0900-1000 9795sac 1000-1700 11815 1500-1700 9535 12045sng 17735iss 1700-1900 6035 7225 9575dha 9835 11945iss 1900-2200 9670 2000-2100 9625 2000-2200 6085 2000-0000 11910 2100-2200 7225 13640 2200-2300 7225dha 2200-0000 11665 17605bon Korean: 0430-0500 15300 1100-1130 6090 1230-1300 6190 1400-1430 6190 1630-1700 6035 2210-2230 9560 Persian: 0230-0300 7265iss 0830-0900 15190wer Portuguese: 0230-0300 7265iss 0830-0900 15190wer Russian: 0430-0500 5980wer 1130-1200 11710uk 1800-1820 9750 Spanish: 0400-0430 6195bon 0500-0530 6195bon 1000-1030 6120sac Swahili: 0330-0400 9825iss 1300-1330 15395iss 17870iss Thai: 1130-1200 11740sng 1230-1300 9695 2300-2320 13650 Urdu: 1430-1515 15215wer Vietnamese: 1100-1130 9695 1230-1300 11740sng 2320-2340 13650 (via Tony Ashar, Java – Indonesia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. NHKWNRJ, 6145, Nov 20 at 0715 with live sports coverage, apparently, in Japanese, yelling in background, but I never heard the crack of a bat, so I guess it`s not beisubaru, at 16:15 local time. Maybe sumo? VG signal on 300 kW, 35 degree beam from Yamata, intended for Kamchatka and the eastern end of Siberia, but onward to Oklahoma (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR. INDIA. 4950, R. Kashmir, Srinagar, *0118-0126, Nov 20, at 0109 tuned in to hear an open carrier with test tone, tone went off just before the start of the AIR IS, into subcontinent music and singing, 0125 briefly played IS again, lost after that, very weak, best in USB. Hope this will improve over the next month so I can get some details for a reception report. Their local sunrise was coming up at 0138 (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. UNIDENTIFIED. 7515, Nov 20 at 1349 oscillating whoop-whoop jammer covering up some music. Similar but somewhat slower jammer at same time on 7585. It`s much like the jamming by North Korea on 6350. And sure enough, per Aoki listings, we have two clandestines vs Korea North here: 7515 Open Radio North Korea 1300-1400 1234567 Korean 100 60 Tashkent UZB 6909E4113N _ORNK b08 VT 7585 Radio Free North Korea 1400-1600 1234567 Korean 100 60 Tashkent UZB 6909E4113N _FNK b08 Yes, both transmitted from Uzbekistan; only thing is, 7585 not scheduled until 1400, but perhaps the jammer and/or the target were getting a head start. BTW, these frequencies are supposedly coordinated by Christian Vision, which also uses Tashkent for its overt broadcasts to S Asia; so CVC are also in the North Korean clandestine business? Well, yes, also via their own site Darwin (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: 9690, AUSTRALIA, Nippon no Kaze – Darwin, 1523–1530, 11/16/08, in Japanese and Korean. Woman speaking in a deliberate manner (as though reading a list), mu. br., announcer over music, very mellow ballad (possibly a “we won't forget you” type song), announcement, mu. br., switch to Japanese with similar section as before, postal and internet addy., musical interlude, 1530 off. Fair (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, R- 75, Winradio g313e, Eton E1, Satellit 800, Kaito 1103; 110’ random wire, Flextenna, NASWA Flashsheet Nov 16 via DXLD) ``mu. br.`` maybe means musical break? Please avoid such unnecessary and non-standard abbrs. (gh, DXLD) ** KUWAIT. Hello dear Tarek, R Kuwait this morning noted on 11675 kHz at 0400 UT, \\ 6055, which is covered by powerhouse Radio Romania Int. 6055 from 0458 UT, so I guess R Kuwait closes just on the hour, 0145- 0500 or -0505 UT. 15495 opens at 0500 UT. 0500-0800 daily SoAS, SoEaAS - not traced yet unfortunately! We should ask Tarek Zeidan, to check this English broadcast, propagation from Kuwait towards Cairo should be much better in our morning. Dear Tarek, you can discover a .PDF File Download link of the Winter schedule on website of Radio Kuwait: http://www.moinfo.gov.kw/ RADIO KUWAIT (Gov), kHz: 6055, 7250?, 9855, 9880, 11675, 11990, 13620, 15110, 15495, 15505?, 17885 B-08 Winter Schedule 2008 Arabic 0145-0500 daily ME 6055kbd 0500-0905 daily ME, NAf 15495 0300-0905 daily NAm 11675kbd AM mode 0915-1305 daily Eu, NAm 13620kbd 1200-1505 daily FE, Pac 17885kbd* [different program to 15110] 1315-1800? daily SoAS, SoEaAS 15110kbd - noted still at 1545 UT 1315-2115? daily NAf 9880kbd+ 1515-1800 daily Eu, NAm 13620kbd 1800-2400 daily Eu, NAm 9855kbd 2200-0300 daily NAm 11675kbd+ English 0500-0800 daily SoAS,SoEaAS - not traced yet 1800-2100 daily Eu,NAm 11990kbd Filipino 1000-1200 daily PHL - not traced yet, maybe still 17885kbd Persian 0800-1000 daily ME - not traced yet, maybe 7250kbd Key: + DRM 120 kW; *Holy Qur`an program (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And then there's MOI Kuwait DRM, listed on 11675 kHz 2200-0300 via Sulaibiyah to NE America. I have yet to hear the digital roar of that even in analog mode, let alone have anything to decode. Should that be MIA Kuwait? (Terry Wilson, MI, Nov 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LATVIA. Relays this weekend via 9290 kHz Sat November 22nd Radio City 1000-1100 UT Latvia Today 1100-1200 UT RWI 2000-2100 UT Sun November 23rd Latvia Today 1300-1400 UT RWI 1400-1500 UT Good listening 73s (Tom Taylor, HCDX via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010, RTV Malagasy, 0250-0300, Nov 21, local pop music. Announcements in Malagasy. Good signal in reduced carrier USB (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. Re 8-118: Glenn, There's something not quite right with that Malaysia schedule in latest DXLD - 15295 is duplicated for both English and Chinese at 1200-1300? I checked at 1220 and heard a very weak signal on 15295 - too weak to be sure if it`s RTM but it sounded like Mandarin. It closed at 1231 which would fit with RTM's 0300-1230 HFCC registration for 15295. English has in the past been 0330-0600 V of Islam and 0600-0830 V of Malaysia but your B08 version shows additional English slots - are you sure this is correct? I'm finalising the winter edition of BDXC's Broadcasts in English at the moment and am hesitant to change RTM EE from 0330-0830 without actual confirmation of the expansion (Dave Kenny, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) My mistake at 12-13 – that is listed as Mandarin, as well as on 11885, not English. The additional English hours may be only projected, and need to be confirmed (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** MEXICO. Este día miércoles pude escuchar a la XEQM Candela de Mexico nuevamente con señal aceptable con excelente música de tecnocumbias y varios avisos comerciales así como la identificación de la radio y locutor enviando saludos a los oyentes. La escucha fue entre las 2330 y las 0015 UT y la frecuencia 6105v. Receptor para la escucha Yaesu FT-890 y antena dipolo de 12 metros por lado. atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Barcelona, Venezuela. http://sintoniadx.spaces.live.com/ noticiasdx yg via DXLD) XEQM, 6105, Nov 20 at 1344, Spanish, ad for some business in Mérida and other Yucatán cities, which supplies everything from enfermeras to refrigeradores, which means nurses to refrigerators, so possibly I misunderstood as that would be a rather broad range of products and services, but still possible in the enterprising Third World. We`d better enjoy this while we can in Spanish, as when they switch to Maya it will be even less comprehensible. Frequency was very close to 6105.0 compared to RRI on 15105.0 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. One of the rarely heard frequencies: 11770, VON Ikorudo, Nov. 19th, 1528*, Kisuaheli. Fair (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, http://www.africalist.de.ms Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. Cland [sic] (tentative), 15180, Aso Radio? 1631 18 Oct, with talks in African language (Hausa ) mentioning Nigeria. New tune in 1644 with discussion mentioning Abuja, Afro song then sign off, S3 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. TELEMUNDO`S SIGNAL GROWS --- On Nov. 30 at midnight [CST = 0600 UT Dec 1], T30 Telemundo will terminate its analog signal prior to the digital transition date of Feb. 17. Starting Dec. 1, T30 Telemundo will only broadcast its digital signal, which is located on channel 30 [sic]. For older TVs, viewers may use a digital TV converter box with an antenna in order to receive the digital signal. Also, $40 coupons good towards a digital TV converter box are available. You may apply online at http://www.dtv2009.gov or by phone at (866) 495-1161. Viewers who subscribe to cable or satellite service will not be affected (Viva Oklahoma, 16 de noviembre via DXLD) Viva Oklahoma is a bilingual freebee put out by OPUBCO, i.e. the Daily Disappointment. Strangely enough, there was no Spanish version of this story; nor on the KTUZ website page about the DTV conversion, which is also only in English! http://ktuztv.com/engine/emw.exe/*qshome=sp&st=291&rec=22&kw=news&parm=59&trec=1&lktype=6&snum=1 This is just general info, and concern about how closed captioning worx. Also not addressed is the issue of why this Spanish-language station and the Telemundo network do not supply any ENGLISH closed captioning of their programming, as multiple captioning streams are certainly possible with DTV converters, or even on analog TV if anyone cared to implement it. And how, pray tell, is Telemundo`s signal ``growing`` by turning off its original analog? Seems to me it is contracting, especially as no digital sub-channels are in use. Furthermore, KTUZ` digital signal is NOT LOCATED ON CHANNEL 30 as claimed but on 29, (which remaps to 30, of course). It`s plenty strong here for reliable reception off the rooftop UHF antenna. Its permanent channel will be 29. Despite city of license Shawnee, it tower is right smack dab in the middle of the NE OKC antenna farm. {Gotta hand it to those latino soaperas from Telemundo, as well as Univisión --- the sexier the women, the better, tho we could do without the stereotypical minor characters; and even the female newscasters go low-cut, never so low on Anglo network TV. Must be a cultural thing.} This is the first OKC station I have heard about jumping the gun to DTV only. I only wish OETA would do so, as their KETA-DT-32 is blocked in Enid by KXOK-32 analog. (You may recall I reported some months ago I was able to get KETA-DT part of the time by careful rabbit-ear positioning, but no longer.) KETA-DT will go back to channel 13. I was hoping that if the two signals are on the borderline, falling leaves between here and OKC would give a little more oomph to the OETA signal. But less (or no) slight tropo enhancement in colder weather seems to have trumped that (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Telemundo *does* offer English captions on *some* programs. You'll see a "super" at the beginning of the program reading "English captions on CC3" or something similar. Telemundo here in Nashville is only on DTV (a subchannel of our station WSMV) but if we had an analog transmitter for Telemundo the English captions would work there too (Doug Smith, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KTUZ's website out of date; one page has not been updated since 2004! http://www.ktuztv.com/engine/emw.exe/*qshome=en&st=291&rec=2&kw=news&parm=6&trec=1&lktype=6&snum=1 These stations are doing just enough to get by with on the legal standpoints. I've seen DTV stations with time off an hour (due to DST changes and the station's management not caring), and more. Its the exception, rather than rule to see full program information in the station's PSIP, many just put on "DTV Program" (although in the case of KWBF, "Paid Programming" would work). Multicasting is fine with me, as so long as the station is SD, or 720p on the primary subchannel. The worst offenders are CBS and NBC affiliates which use 1080i for network HD programming, as well as PBS member stations (although some are converting the 1080i to 720p) which by multicasting HDTV plus 2 or more additional SD subchannels over burden the DTV channel bandwidth and the primary HDTV channel (and sometimes the SD subchannels) suffer from macroblocking, On a local note: Except for KETS, I can't think of a analog station in Central Arkansas that is going dark early (Fritze H. Prentice Jr, KC5KBV, Star City, AR Grid: EM43aw http://tvdxseark.blogspot.com ibid.) ** PALAU. I see that the WHRI website now lists T8WH instead of KWHR but I'm not sure if the actual frequencies are correct yet (Dave Kenny, UK, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I.E. Angels 3 and 4 are now T8WH on this page: http://www.whr.org/Frequencies.cfm T8WH - Angel 3 UTC Eastern Frequency 0700 - 1500 2:00 AM-10:00 AM 9930 1500 - 1800 10:00 AM- 1:00 PM 9905 1800 - 1900 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM 9955 1900 - 2200 2:00 PM- 5:00 PM 9875 T8WH - Angel 4 UTC Eastern Frequency 0100 - 1000 8:00 PM- 5:00 AM 15680 1000 - 1300 5:00 AM- 8:00 AM 12130 1300 - 1400 8:00 AM- 9:00 AM 11880 1400 - 1500 9:00 AM-10:00 AM 9955 1500 - 1900 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM 9930 But Angels 3 and 4 are still KWHR on this page! http://www.whr.org/Technical-Information.cfm (Glenn Hauser, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Radyo Pilipinas from Manila in B08 is noted on new 17770 kHz 0200-0330 UT. 11880 kHz and 15285 kHz continue. 15285 is almost unusable because of Chinese interference. The dropped frequency 15510 from A08 is still being announced. The announcement flourish continues to make the station appear exotic. It says "this is the Overseas service of Philippines Broadcasting Corporation, broadcasting from the Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines" (Supratik Sanatani, India, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PRIDNESTROVYE. Radio PMR, European service now making it with winter-onset conditions, Friday Nov 21 at 1437 on 7370 in English, commentary about Ukraine; fair with flutter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. RRI`s new transmitters at Tiganesti continue to put amazing signals into CNAm; Nov 20 at 1816 found the English hour for Europe very good on 9640, going from Traveler`s Guide to Song of the Day; at 1840 from folk music to Letterbox, which also included some music; 1852 pan pipe music, 1855 sign off, with frequencies etc., for next English broadcast at 2130, both nothing about the one we have been listening to. 1856 IS and off 1857* Besides the new 300 kW Continentals which we may safely assume are being run at full rated power unlike most aging SW transmitters, the refurbished antennas must be very efficient and high-gain. These are 8 x 4 curtains, but how much gain in the 307 degree boresight? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Re 8-118: ``As in DXLD 8-115, 5900 is on VOR`s B- 08 Spanish schedule at 0100-0300; not sure what service is on it during the previous hour.`` It's Portuguese. The site is Lesnoy, running two transmitters coupled to a single 500 kW. As you already mentioned the problem persists for years now and continues beyond all seasonal frequency changes; in summer this defective outlet is on 7300. This of course also raises the question how the Bulgarians got the idea to use 5900 at this time at all, since it was already occupied. Check after 0000: The result of Padarsko hetting against the warbling, off-frequency (it's several hundred Kilohertz too high) Lesnoy carrier is appalling, the audio of the dominant Lesnoy signal gets wiped out almost completely. // 7170, which could be (but is not necessarily) another Lesnoy pair, has no such problem, but the audio is somewhat muffled and distorted, also sounding as if still fed through an old STL circuit. 7330 from Samara sounds noticeably better. Also listed for this broadcast is 6135 from Orzu, but I have no any signal on this frequency. And 13575 from Montsinéry just does not propagate. Padarsko appears to be stable on 5900. The warbling PKV-500 transmitter is instead on 7400 now, for the 0000-0400 block to North America. Here two effects can be noted. There is a fast warble, very similar to what the defective Lesnoy pair puts out. But in addition there is also a slow variation of just a few Hertz, periodically cycling between a faster and slower speed. Also in AM the problem is quite obvious, seriously degrading the reception (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Nov 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also BULGARIA ** RUSSIA. 6075, "Radio Rossii Kamchatka" via Petropavlovsk- Kamchatka, 0810-0900, Nov 20, before 0810 heard the news with usual IDs for "Radio Rossii" and "programa Radio Rossii", 0810 musical fanfare and new ID: "Radio Rossii Kamchatka" (in the past I do not recall them ever mentioning Rossii in their ID, was just "Kamchatka Radio"), into local programming, interview, BoH "This is Kamchatka", local news with many mentions of Kamchatka, several more "Radio Rossii Kamchatka " IDs, played Russian songs, ToH pips (5+1), then back to "programa Radio Rossii" IDs, fair. Radio Rossii clearly off the air during same time period on 7200 (Yakutsk) and 7320 (Magadan). Unable to check 5935 due to strong WWCR. Needs more monitoring. Received this additional information from Mauno Ritola: "I don't know when exactly the ID has changed, I think it has come into use gradually depending on the station. A couple of weeks ago I heard "V efire Radio Rossii Samara" on 873 kHz. But I think I first saw a report about such an ID already a year ago." (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Nov 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Recent Updates: ENGLISH Asia 1700-1900 15755 15755 Irkutsk 250 fr Nov 10 1700-1900 6170 6170 P. Kamchatk. 250 fr Nov 10 RUSSIAN-WS Asia 1600-1700 7125 7125 P. Kamchatk. 250 fr Nov 01 1600-1700 6170 6170 P. Kamchatk. 250 fr Nov 10 JAPANESE Asia 1200-1400 6170 6170 Novosibirsk 250 til Nov 10 only Russian-CIS Caucasus / CIS 0700-1400 1089 Krasnodar 1200 fr 17 Nov-31 Dec (B-08; Nov 6, Vadim Alexeew, VoR Russian world service, DX program editor via Michael Bethge-D wwdxc BC-DX TopNews; TX location updated and compressed by wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAINT HELENA. I just returned from our vacation to see Space Shuttle Mission STS-126 launch from the Kennedy Space center. It was a night launch (the last night launch of the Space Shuttle program). It would be an understatement to say it was a VERY impressive event. While I was down there I was able to set up my E-1 and a Sony AN-LP1 antenna up on the beach at Cape Canaveral to receive the broadcast from Radio Saint Helena. I had the antenna set-up about twelve feet in the air. The broadcast was fairly strong with no interference but a bit of noise (as Rich mentioned). I was very happy to hear the signal although I had to contend with the noise of the surf crashing on the beach. Regards, (Mike Rohde, Nov 20, NASWA yg via DXLD) Saludos Amigos Diexistas: Para aquellos que tuvieron la oportunidad y tambien para los que no pudieron hacerlo por diferentes razones les quiero anunciar que dentro de Frecuencia Al Día tendremos una cobertura especial sobre el evento anual realizado el pasado sabado 15 de noviembre --- de la mano del querido amigo Argentino y Diexista, Ernesto Paulero. Esten atentos, este viernes 21 dentro del programa Frecuencia Al Día !!! 73. (Dino Bloise, Miami, E.U.A http://es.geocities.com/programas_dx/frecuencialdia.htm dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) e.g. 2200 UT Fri, but not Mon? on WWCR 7465 (gh) ** SLOVAKIA. Re audio archives not updated: As of Thursday, November 20, 2008 in the morning still wrong. How do I know? In the November 9, 2008 "Listener Tribune" program the announcers were talking about giving blood and eating biscuits afterward. Same content in the November 16, 2008 download. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. Re: R. Omdurman schedule item in dxld 8-118: 8-117 contains a log from 0500+, so probably Africa on SW or Africalist are closer to reality than Aoki (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, http://www.africalist.de.ms Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7200, SRTC, heard at 1702 on 20 Nov. with Arabic news and commercials, including singing commercials. Quite slick production and S4 signal in Kabul. I remember negotiating for our FM license with these guys (who claim they are a corporation with no connection to the government, but then claim to be a governmental entity which issues licenses) when I was working in Sudan with the UN DPKO and it was not pleasant. They are very tough to do business with. In the end, we only got on the air in South Sudan where the Christian government loved us. But SRTC have come a long way in their production quality. From an engineering standpoint, I am impressed. 73s de (Al Muick, Kabul, Afghanistan, WinRadio G303e, 200m Longwire/Randomwire, HCDX via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. NEW clandestine (via Madagascar) 13800, Dabanga, 0504 20 Nov, with Afro pops and numerous IDs on 0508 in vernacular language with mentioning of kHz at 0510. Songs, then continue. Signal S5, 35434. Thanks Anker and Glenn for this tip! (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Dabanga, the new Dutch project for Dafur, Sudan was heard very good this morning on 13800 and 7315 kHz at 04.30 UTC. The programming was announcements and local music - nothing else. They announced the address radiodabanga @ yahoo.com in the programme and my report to that e-mail address gave a reply and confirmation in a few hours from Leon Willems, Network Manager, Radio Darfur Network, Press Now. His email address: willems @ pressnow.nl and the postal address is: Press Now, Witte Kruislaan 55, 1217 AM Hilversum, The Netherlands. Radio Dabanga is part of the Radio Darfur Network, a project of Press Now. On December 1st they will commence news and information programmes. 73 from (Björn Fransson, the island of Gotland, Sweden, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Via Germany. 7315, Radio Dabanga, 0435-0527*, Nov 21, mostly continuous Horn of Africa style music. Some Arabic announcements. Short talks. Many IDs. Good signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA. Re Dunamis 4750 item in dxld 8-118: "if not, then what?": China, Bangla Desh, R. Peace, the latter reported to be back in dxld 8-116, but no definite log seen, check 5895 as a possible //, maybe until 1800! (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, http://www.africalist.de.ms Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Re 8-118: This is all part of the centenary of Alistair Cooke's birthday, which occurs this week. Also on BBC Radio 4 yesterday (Tuesday): REMEMBERING ALISTAIR COOKE James Naughtie presents a tribute to Alistair Cooke, who would have been 100 this week. Friends, family and colleagues remember his life and career in broadcasting, including the late Charles Wheeler and his biographer, the late Nick Clarke. As well as his weekly Letter from America broadcasts, the programme appraises his work in television and as a public speaker and essayist, his interest in sport and jazz, and his many friendships with some of the leading lights of politics, music, sport and Hollywood. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/alistair_cooke_remembering.shtml ALISTAIR COOKE MEMORIAL LECTURE As part of the BBC's celebrations of Alistair Cooke's centenary, David Mamet delivers this year's lecture before an invited audience at the newly opened Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California. The subject of the lecture is language, and it is introduced by the BBC's North America Editor Justin Webb. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/alistair_cooke_lecture.shtml BBC Radio 7 is running classic episodes [of Letter from America] all week. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00f6hbp (Fred Waterer, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** U K [non]. BBCWS, Have Your Say, which occupies the 18 UT hour daily, Nov 20 at 1811, fairly good on 15420, no sign of WBCQ. It would have been quite a collision otherwise. BBC is still competing for 15420: 13-14 280 degrees from Seychelles; 14-17 173 from Cyprus; and 17-19 5 degrees from South Africa, best in NAm. And indeed frequency was clear at 1902 check (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi Glenn, Just a note that beginning December 1, 2008, have to drop the WOR time Mon-Fri 3:30-4pm Eastern. Moving Amos & Andy and Herald of Truth into that time. Thanks, (Allan Weiner, WBCQ, Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx for doing it a while. New WOR 1435 was on Nov 20 at 2030 UT, but missing from its regular airing UT Fri Nov 21 at 0030. Operator told me they had a computer problem. Confirmed UT Sat 0000 on 5110 Area 51; also confirmed on WRMI UT Fri 0200 9955; well, I was really checking the webcasts (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. You asked about reception of WOR in Europe at 2130 on 15825 a while ago. During winter, and especially this year with the lack of sunspots, there is simply no propagation from N America at this time in Europe most days; even at 2030 the 15825 channel has been above the MUF much of the past summer at least here in the UK. There is a slightly better chance of hearing WOR at 1730 on 12160, but even 12 MHz is very weak by 1730 some days. 73s (Dave Kenny, England, Nov 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s what I figured. The question arises, if 15825 is not making it to Europe at 2130, and it is not making it to OK either, unless there is a sporadic E opening, rare this time of year, is it propagating anywhere? How about further west, even tho it`s mainly aimed 46 degrees toward Europe, but those rhombix have lots of extra lobes. Until last winter, WWCR was making the switch to 7465 an hour earlier, thus putting WOR Friday 2130 on that much more propagative band for 3 months, anyway. Changing that at solar min really does not make sense, but I suspect they were just trying to simplify the transmission schedule and do away with a lot of those 1- or 2-hour changes in band switches every few months, even tho they are required for the most effective SW broadcasting. Furthermore, as of UT Nov 22, WWCR has STILL not updated its frequency schedule on website showing A-08 usage, nor the program schedules dated Oct 6, still showing 5-hour difference between CT and UT. Anyone there? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. R. Martí, 15330, Nov 20 at 1402, splattering between 15320 and 15345, and somewhat distorted on fundamental, which at least was atop the DentroCuban Jamming Command. Perhaps the Greenville transmitter had not warmed up adequately before opening at 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. US PUBLIC DIPLOMACY COUNCIL PUBLISHES PROPOSALS FOR REFORMING INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING The US Public Diplomacy Council has published its recommendations to the new Administration and Congress for an urgent reform of America’s publicly funded international broadcasting. Recommended steps for the new administration include: An immediate restoration of all radio services reduced at the Voice of America in FY 08. The Broadcasting Board of Governors should be replaced by a new nonpartisan oversight commission that would assume more of an advisory role, leaving daily management in the hands of a commission-appointed professional CEO, the VOA director, and the presidents of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcast Networks (Radio Sawa and Alhurra TV), and Radio-TV Marti to Cuba. Through direct and public reporting on a regular basis, the commission should be accountable to the legislative and executive branches of the federal government for operations of all these networks, including program content. A long range commitment to consolidation and integration of the networks. The CEO of international broadcasting should immediately formulate a new strategic plan, 2010-2014, that would include a series of target dates for the consolidation of all five broadcast entities into a single international network. Cooperation with private sector public service NGOs. It has been a decade since the consolidation of the United States Information Agency into the Department of State except broadcasting. During that time, non-governmental, nonprofit American media beamed overseas have grown rapidly. US-funded international networks should collaborate with this community and draw strength and support from it. The CEO should abolish the International Broadcasting Bureau, placing its administrative functions related to VOA within VOA, as is now the case with the other four networks. An office of Engineering and Technical support should continue to provide state of the art distribution channels for all of them. The CEO should be empowered to coordinate all program and technical operations to eliminate redundancies, cut costs, and straighten out tangled lines of authority. Maintaining at the Voice of America core services essential to the nation’s security: a strengthened central news service and important languages such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Persian, Russian, Spanish, and particularly our own predominant language, English. VOA Arabic should be restored immediately under this proposal. Neither Radio Sawa, despite its popularity, nor Alhurra TV, despite its wide availability, offers consistent, authoritative news and perspective. Essential throughout US international broadcasting: In-depth news and programming content for elites as well as youth and rural audiences. Interactive programming taking full advantage of Internet technology, chat lines, and cell phone distribution. Radio should be retained at present levels at all the networks, committed to promoting a global dialogue and journalistic integrity protected by law. Sufficient funds and flexibility for crisis surge broadcasting. In the troubled world of this digital age characterized by the 24/7 multimedia news cycle, such agility is essential. Read the comments of Kim Andrew Elliott on the Council’s proposals http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/?id=5268 Andy Sennitt comments: The Council stresses that it is not asking for additional funds for international broadcasting, and indeed it believes that cost savings can be made by implementing its proposals. To me, the single most sensible recommendation is “A long range commitment to consolidation and integration of the networks”. Sorting out the tangled web that has been created in recent years into a well- managed and integrated organisation will not be easy, but is an essential step if US international broadcasting, and VOA in particular, is to recover the prestige that has been lost in the past eight years (November 21st, 2008 - 13:41 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) Related story: VETERAN US JOURNALIST APPEALS TO OBAMA TO RESTORE VOA Murray Fromson, veteran journalist and professor emeritus at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, says that “the international buzz caused by President- elect Obama earlier in the month offers him an opportunity to revive what had been a valuable American resource for so many years. In short, the reputation of the Voice [of America] needs to be revived and treasured - not squandered as it has been by the Bush Administration the past eight years.” Mr Fromson says that “The curiosity and excitement that followed VOA’s opening music theme of Yankee Doodle Dandy almost vanished during the past eight years. From my frequent travels around the world, I have been shocked by how negative the image of the United States has become.” Read the whole article http://murrayfromson.com/fromsonfile/tag/voa/ The clamor to repair the damage done to US international broadcasting in the past eight years is gathering pace. FreeMediaOnline reports that the Public Diplomacy Council, a nonprofit organization which includes former diplomats, academics and other foreign policy experts, has called on President-elect Obama and Congress to take urgent action. The Council blames the bipartisan Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), whose members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to manage US international broadcasting, for ignoring strategically important target areas such as Russia, the Balkans, India and the Western Hemisphere. The best place to keep track of latest developments in US international broadcasting and public diplomacy is the blog of Kim Andrew Elliott, which is permanently linked in the sidebar of this Weblog (November 20th, 2008 - 13:07 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** U S A. LAW PROFS TO HEAD UP OBAMA'S FCC TRANSITION TEAM Susan Crawford, a law professor at the University of Michigan and former ICANN board member, and Kevin Werbach, an assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and the organizer of the Supernova technology conference, have been tapped by the incoming Obama-Biden administration to helm the FCC transition team. Their appointment reportedly took some observers by surprise because former FCC Commissioner Henry Rivera had been thought to be the pick to lead the FCC effort; Rivera is in charge of the transition team for the National Science Foundation (TVNewsday (free registration) (11/14) via NAB via Sheldon Harvey, DXLD) ** U S A. TUBE-SIDE CHAT? OBAMA TAKES RADIO ADDRESS ONLINE --- By ANN SANNER, The Associated Press, Friday, November 14, 2008; 8:36 AM CHICAGO -- The traditional White House radio address is going virtual. President-elect Barack Obama is taping Saturday's weekly Democratic address not just for listeners, but for YouTube viewers, his office said Friday. And he plans to keep videotaping the radio addresses after taking the oath of office on Jan. 20. Before then, the videos will be posted on Obama's transition Web site, http://www.change.gov Obama is turning the radio address into a "multimedia opportunity" to communicate directly with the American people, his transition team said in a statement. The modern era's Saturday radio addresses were initiated by President Ronald Reagan and have evolved into a weekly fixture of the presidency, accompanied by a response from the party out of power. The broadcasts owe a debt to President Franklin Roosevelt, who seized on the new technology that was all the rage in the 1930s for his "fireside chats," famously reassuring through times of Depression and war. YouTube, the video-sharing Web site embraced by Obama, didn't exist when George W. Bush was elected president. Bush does put the audio of his radio addresses online, at http://www.whitehouse.gov (c) 2008 The Associated Press (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. A week ago, someone confirmed WHRI 7315 was carrying DXing with Cumbre, UT Sat 0430. This week, UT Nov 22 I checked at 0455 and could only detect a weak carrier there, which could easily have been Radio Dabanga, via Germany to Sudan. Sackville 7325 and Vatican 7350 were audible. Was WHRI really on? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also PALAU ** U S A [non]. Some AWR transmissions to AfroAsia are putting big signals into CNAm, rather inefficiently. Nov 20 at 1400 on 15440, Voice of Hope English ID, next program in Urdu, and so it was. Site? They won`t say but listed Moosbrunn, Austria, 300 kW at 90 degrees. Nov 20 at 1903 on 15240, VG signal bearing rustic African music with vocalizations, nevertheless talked over by announcer in Swahili- sounding language, at least with ``Sautu``. Transmission cut off for a semiminute within 1904-1905; carrier came back on a few sex before modulation did. At 1910 was giving E-mail address using ``arroba``, the Spanish word for @ and also ``adventist``, a dead giveaway. But what language is this? PWBR `2009` doesn`t care, just ``other`` and claims Greenville is also on 15240 at this time, obviously wrong. WRTH, EiBi and Aoki say Fulfulde, 250 kW, 317 degrees from Meyerton, South Africa, which means also toward US (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. CVC A Sua Voz, Miami, via Calera de Tango, 15410, Friday Nov 21 at 2228 outroing a version of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2, 3 minute pause for commercials (oops, promos), in Sem Limites show of classical music. So it and apparently everything else have been shifted one UT hour earlier for the duration of DST in part of Brasil. This should be appear Mon-Sat 2200-2300 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. East Coast Station, West Coast Calls --- FCC records confirm that the Commission did, indeed, assign a set of call letters beginning with "K" to a station east of the MISSISSIPPI -- well east - - on NOVEMBER 11th, allowing COMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCH's new non- commercial shared-time FM in NAPEAGUE, LONG ISLAND, NY to carry the calls KCBE. KCBE will be broadcasting from 7p to 10a weekdays and all day SUNDAYS, sharing time and an antenna with HAMPTONS COMMUNITY RADIO's WEER (Allaccess.com via Brock Whaley, HI, DXLD) ** VATICAN [and non]. 21 Nov 08: Vatican Radio, 7370 kHz DRM, via Sta. Maria di Galeria, 2320 GMT. Nearly perfect decode of a silly program on how to say random things in Latin: http://www.mediafire.com/?kk2tmjjznaw Ms. Vatican Reporter apparently didn't like the levity, so she immediately changed the topic to child sexual abuse. While transatlantic digital was working well, I was unable to decode anything from TDPradio via Sackville. I could see and hear the signal, but it wasn't strong enough for DReaM to do anything with it. Also, Vatican Radio was off by 2330, rather than 2345 as scheduled (Terry Wilson, MI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. Is VOV still broadcasting via Sackville? I was enjoying it on 6175 during A08 after Cuba moved from 6180, but I haven't found VOV since B08 started (Terry Wilson, MI, Nov 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I have noticed it on various bandscans, but the signal is seldom very good. Is the skip distance and / or low MUF keeping the signal from your area? (Glenn, OK, ibid.) Voice of Vietnam, 6175 kHz, starting at 0102 GMT (which makes it 21 November, World Day) --- No wonder I haven't been hearing VOV. Be it MUF/LUF limitations, seasonal propagation vagueries, or broadcasting tips from CFRX, this is pretty terrible: http://www.mediafire.com/?02yf4avnymj By way of contrast, here's the regular quality of reception I was enjoying only a few months ago (Wow, that's a really bad song in this clip, but maybe I just think that because I've been listening to my old Kiss LPs recently): http://www.mediafire.com/?y4nyhrw3myz Maybe reception of VOV will be good again next summer, at about the time AIR becomes unreadable in the mornings again (Terry Wilson, MI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Second clip is 14+ minutes of good quality, for those pining to hear VOV well this winter. From 5:35 to 8 minutes in the file, VTC fill music plays. Do they do this all the time between languages? After that, into Vietnamese (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Pirate beacons on CW heard Nov 20 around 1330: MO on 4077, about 1 kHz higher, WW [but it`s just W]; also around 4100, did not measure, KX. And at 1343, PA near the KX frequency. Looked up later at http://www.hfunderground.com/wiki/High_Frequency_Beacons the info is refined, from many additional listings: 4078, W 300-400 mW Inverted L night time only Location: Colorado 4077.27, MO Solar 200 mW 118ft end fed wire 24/7 Location: Oklahoma 4094.2, PA Solar power 200 mW Dipole 24/7 Location: Arkansas 4097.4, KX "KX" ten times, then "TEMP IN F", then the temp (three times) inside the enclosure, then "TEMP OUT F", and the outside temp, again three times [no location; I did not listen long enough to hear the temp stuff] (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4820.0, 1233–1246, 11/16/08, in Spanish. YL announcer, S. American pop sounding music, OM, 0446 buried in digital pounding QRM. No ID or place names referenced. La Voz Evangélica, Tegucigalpa, GTM last reported here in 11.06 (according to Mosquito Coast list). Poor (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, R-75, Winradio g313e, Eton E1, Satellit 800, Kaito 1103; 110’ random wire, Flextenna, NASWA Flashsheet Nov 16 via DXLD) You mean Honduras (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. November 20, 2008, 4910 kHz with OM talking in English. Mixing with another station. Definitely English. At 0159 OM made announcement about changing frequency to 5090 (I believe). Checked 5090, but could not hear them. Any idea of the English broadcaster? Sounded like a religious program. Thought maybe CVC via Zambia. Checked latest EiBi. Not seeing anything fitting what I heard. Anyone? 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, Manassas, Virginia, dxlkdyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WWCR mixing product, 9980 minus 5070 = 4910, reported before. The frequency 9980 transmitter was about to move to: 5890, not 5090. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. `Puta Madre` seems to be the favorite expletive of the 2-way Spanish poachers or narcotraffickers invading the broadcast bands, for that`s the first thing I heard when I demodulated the SSB I found aside remnants of Radio Australia [q.v.], Nov 20 at 1435 on 9583.5 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Nov 20: Lots of OHR splatter rattle signals this morning on wide ranges on 14-16 MHz, seemingly from China appearing like the former Russian woodpecker? On air 0500 till 0540 UT, when I monitored the 19 mb, with short 5 minute breaks in between, like breaks at 0508- 0513, 0515-0525, 0531-0535 UT. Also OHR on 9480 at 0620-0640 UT, 16371-16402 at 1209 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ When DXLD used to be more or less daily it was easy to overlook the country list and usually I kept in mind those three or five or so items I wanted to read (so in my case all about Africa and a few more). When DXLD is only about once a week, there are several dozens of countries almost always in the list and some dozen of others and I want to read ten or twenty items each time and usually can't remember all by reading the list. Maybe it's worth considering to sort items by continent instead to make it more easy to overlook? (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, http://www.africalist.de.ms Nov 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You mean look over --- about opposite to overlook in English. I don`t want to keep doing large issues once a week; they were simply necessary to try to catch up with the huge flow of info, when I fell behind on a daily basis due to other time commitments. Anyhow, I don`t want to organize DXLD any differently, as that just adds to my workload. Remember RIBOLD? That was perhaps more user-friendly, sorted into different categories, and indexed too, but too much work. Surely you can take a large issue in three or four parts at a time at your convenience, if that helps (gh) World of Radio #666 ran on October 31, 1993. It was devilishly good. (http://www.666beast.net/ did not have this!--ed.) (Harold Frodge, Free Radio Weekly Nov 14 via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: CANADA; ECUADOR; KUWAIT; VATICAN. ++++++++++++++++++++ DAB: CANADA. DTV: OKLAHOMA DIGITAL TV TRANSITION --- Ford Fusion Doesn't Crash in Final Race!!!! Summary: Elvis has left the building. The 2008 NASCAR season wrapped up on November 16 at the Ford 400 in Homestead, Florida, where the good news was that the Number 38 Ford Fusion finally managed to finish a race while sporting the bureaucratically text-heavy/graphics- free/black-and-white standards of its sponsor, the FCC. View the full post by clicking this link: http://www.commlawblog.com/2008/11/articles/broadcast/digital-tv-transition-ford-fusion-doesnt-crash-in-final-race/ (via Benn Kobb, IEEE, DXLD) IBOC GRAPHIC Here's what the IBOC interference caused by 1230 WTKG in Grand Rapids, MI looks like. On this lower side, the interference covers 1220 kHz to 1215 kHz (the spike on the right is 1230): http://www.mediafire.com/?ydzzmnmtwmy (Terry Wilson, MI, Nov 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RULES FOR UNLICENSED WHITE SPACE DEVICES o Synopsis from Broadcasting & Cable magazine: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6614879.html o FCC's Second Report and Order and Memorandum Opinion and Order (long but ever so important): http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-260A1.doc o Commissioners' Statements: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-260A2.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-260A3.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-260A4.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-260A5.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-260A6.doc BARRY MCLARNON OPPOSES 10 DB POWER INCREASE FOR FM HD RADIO Barry McLarnon is a well respected consulting engineer from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He has filed comments with the FCC opposing the 10 dB power increase proposed for FM HD Radio and presents his arguments in a clear and compelling way: http://tinyurl.com/McLarnonComments (CGC Communicator Nov 19 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ROHDE & SCHWARZ INTRODUCES RUGGED SECURE DATA TRANSMISSION CAPABILITY VIA SHORTWAVE RADIO http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/345446/32/ARTCL/none/INDNW/1/Rohde-&-Schwarz-introduces-rugged-secure-data-transmission-capability-via-shortwave-radio/ MUNICH, Germany, 16 Nov. 2008. Rohde & Schwarz in Munich, Germany, is introducing the STANAG 4539 modem waveform and third-generation automatic link establishment (ALE 3G) in line with STANAG 4538 to its R&S M3SR Series 4100 and R&S M3TR families of software defined radios. The radios provide interoperable data exchange via shortwave between allied forces. The software makes it possible to transmit text-based messages, file attachments, and IP data by using an HF modem in line with the STANAG 4539 standard. This waveform enables the families of radios to provide data transmission rates from 75 bits per second to 9600 bits per second (coded) in the shortwave channel. The functions are simply enabled as embedded software options by the user using option keys. The R&S M3SR Series 4100 shortwave radios is for use at sea and in stationary units, and the R&S M3TR is for tactical operations. The STANAG 4539 and ALE 3G functions make interoperable voice and data links secure between allied forces and within naval and army forces. The embedded software options for ALE 3G and the STANAG 4539 HF waveform are available for the R&S M3SR Series 4100 and R&S M3TR families of software defined radios. http://www.rohde-schwarz.com (via Kim Andrew Elliott, DXLD) What shortwave is still good for (Kim, ibid.) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ NEW LIFE FOR BPL http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/cip/?p=453&nr=VDC STICK A FORK IN IT: A BROADBAND OVER POWERLINE POST MORTEM: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081023-stick-a-fork-in-it-a-broadband-over-powerline-post-mortem.html FYI. 73, (via Curt Phillips W4CP, Raleigh, NC USA, ODXA yg via DXLD) Do Power Line Communications at VHF or UHF have harmonics which will mess up our SWL? (Terry Wilson, MI, Nov 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Strictly speaking, harmonics go to higher frequencies, not lower ones, but I would sure be worried about bleedover or other kinds of spurs from VHF PLC still messing up HF, especially at close range (gh, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ NVIS PROPAGATION MODE, by Jacques d’Avignon monitor @ igs.net WHEN talking about radio transmissions in the HF bands, it is always assumed that these transmissions are made for long-range communications using the multihop skywave propagation mode. Most textbooks always discuss the use of the HF for medium to long-range circuits, and we regard that portion of the spectrum between 1.5 and 30 MHz to be of use to reach stations that cannot be reached by VHF/UHF. But very seldom do we think and look at what system could we use to communicate in the geographical area where the VHF/UHF systems can no longer reach and inside the HF skip zone that encircles every HF transmitter. In our regular use of HF, a skip zone always occurs between the termination of the ground wave radiation from the transmitter and the first return to earth of the skywave component of the transmission. This zone also covers an area where, under normal propagation conditions, the VHF/UHF systems cannot access: the two terminals not being within line of sight of each other. But there is an HF propagation mode that is used in commercial and military operations that can fill this wide gap in our communications capabilities. Unfortunately, this mode does not appear to be discussed and explained very often. It is not mentioned in many text books dealing with communications. This forgotten HF propagation mode is called NVIS, Near Vertical Incidence Skywave. This mode also has other names that you may find in the literature. It is sometimes called “Showerhead Propagation Mode” and the Australians call it “District Propagation Mode” in their propagation forecasting software, ASAPS. I have also seen it called the “Jungle Broadcasting Mode.” This last name must have been derived from the tropical broadcasting stations using this technique to reach their scattered audiences. If you want to experiment and see for yourself how NVIS works, you can try this very simple and wet experiment. When you water your garden, point your hose straight up inside an umbrella, and look at the water coming back down and how much it disperses in a large area compared to the size of the hose nozzle! (Please wear a bathing suit when attempting this experiment, as I cannot be held responsible for wet clothes!) You also have the name “District” being used for the area being illuminated around the NVIS transmitter site, this name “District Propagation” is used by the Australian. The “district” is an administrative entity smaller than a province or a state, and this type of propagation is used to communicate within that particular area. In the tropical areas of the world, the extreme attenuation of the normal broadcasting ground wave mode by the dense, and in some cases jungle-like vegetation, makes the ground wave mode impossible to use. The lateral attenuation of the ground wave has been demonstrated by Hagn and Barker (Ref 1) to be an increasing function of frequency: aL(dB/m)˜0.009 ü(MHz)+0.1 If we use this equation, we find that at 3.0 MHz the lateral attenuation due to vegetation would be 127 dB/km and at 10 MHz, along the same path, the attenuation is now up to 190 dB/km! In the same reference, Hagn and Barker cite the losses using NVIS as being only 97 dB for 600 km or 0.16 dB/km along the ionospheric virtual path, when using NVIS at 3.0 MHz. This is a substantial difference! This extremely high loss for ground wave is obviously the reason that this mode cannot be used for broadcasting in a jungle or tropical environment. If the normal HF ionospheric mode was used for local broadcasting, the “local” audience, widely scattered in small pockets around the transmitter site, would be located inside the skip zone of the HF transmitter and, looking at the equation above, it is obvious that it would not be commercially viable to increase sufficiently the power to use the ground wave mode. Increasing the power would not insure that you would reach your audience but, because of the absorption, would definitely warm up the vegetation surrounding the transmitter site! So for tropical broadcasting, we are left with one option: the NVIS mode of HF propagation. Some stations in the interior of Australia - Alice Springs is one example - have been broadcasting using this technique as their audiences are widely scattered and the “District” propagation was the only way to reach them. These Australian stations are broadcasting in the “tropical domestic” band that extends from 2.300 to 2.495 MHz in the tropical broadcast band in use in that area of the world. The transmissions, designed to be local in nature, are fulfilling their role very well, but can also be heard in Eastern North America in the early morning hours at certain times of the year. This broadcasting technique is also prevalent in Africa and South America for daily domestic broadcasting use. Check your shortwave receiver in the “Tropical Bands” and listen to the stations from those regions in late afternoon if you live on the East Coast of North America. The specific tropical bands are located between: 2.300 and 2.495 MHz, between 3.200 and 3.400 MHz and finally between 4.750 MHz and 5.060 MHz. In addition, there are the “domestic bands” between 3.900 and 3.950 MHz in Asia and 3.950 and 4.000 MHz in Europe. Yes, that is the top of the 75 metre band in use for the radio amateurs! And in Europe it is a very popular broadcast band used by many international broadcasters. So NVIS does work. It is being used commercially for local broadcasting, but it is not assured that your signal will not be heard half way around the world. A NVIS circuit is not secure circuit! (Ref 1). Hagn, G. H. and G.E. Barker, 1970, “Research-Engineering and Support for Tropical Communications”, AD-889-169, Final Report, Contract DA-36-039 AMC-00040(E), SRI Project 4240, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, CA (Nov ODXA Listening In via DXLD) But WHICH tropical band stations are really using NVIS antennas? This information is not easy to obtain. HFCC registrations include antenna types, but little of this pertains to domestic tropical broadcasting, and I am not even sure that NVIS is one of the antennas assigned a type number. I suspect such use is quite scattered, with stations using all kinds of antennas, including just longwires or dipoles. One station which says it uses NVIS is HCJB for its Quechua frequencies 3220 and 6080 (no, not really tropical band! Apparently the NVIS tactic still works up to 7 MHz or so). Antenna type 755 is specified for those HCJB frequencies, and for only three others: Hungary on 3975 and CVC Zambia on 4965 and 6065. In all these cases the azimuth listed is 0. HCJB in its own schedules lists 90, meaning straight up, perpendicular, not east. The three NT Australian 120 mb stations have ``700`` antennas. There are a lot more of these listed up to the 7 MHz band, mostly from India, Indonesia --- and Lithuania. The 60 mb frequencies from NT are using 701 antennas instead. That number also applies to Vatican Gardens 5005, and even Greenville 5890. Many of these also have horizontal azimuths, not 0. Another station using NVIS is Radio Rebelde, Cuba, on 5025. Arnie Coro has talked a lot about this, and what a great job it does of covering the island. Yet, all these frequencies are well-received by DXers megameters away, even on the other worldside. 5025 is a huge signal out here at a low angle from the transmitter, well into daylight. HCJB 3220 is often reported from Florida with a ``local-like`` signal. 4965 Zambia is an easy catch in North America. Enough signal gets out from the VL8s to make them listenable under good conditions here in Oklahoma and beyond (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###