DX LISTENING DIGEST 8-127, December 10, 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 SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1438 Wed 2200 WBCQ 15420-CUSB Thu 0630 WRMI 9955 Thu 1530 WRMI 9955 Fri 0030 WBCQ 7415 Fri 0200 WRMI 9955 Fri 0900 WRMI 9955 Fri 2030 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 7290 Fri 2130 WWCR1 15825 Sat 0000 WBCQ 5110-CUSB Area 51 Sat 0900 WRMI 9955 Sat 1730 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0330 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Mon 2300 WBCQ 7415 [confirmed December 8] Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 Tue 1630 WRMI 9955 Wed 0630 WRMI 9955 [or new 1439] Wed 1230 WRMI 9955 [or new 1439] WBCQ is also airing recent archive editions of WOR M-F 2000 on 7415; except on Wednesday or Thursday this should be the latest edition. 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. Malfunctioning exciter causing warble, today Dec 10 around 0730 UT on 9494-9496 kHz (124KB) listen to the Sukhumi Abkhazia outlet. Similar malfunctioning transmitter noted some 2 months ago, also by Erich Bergmann. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. R. Tirana, 13720, English to NAm, Dec 8 at 1530 with usual full schedule in English to open each broadcast; fair modulation. This being a Monday and/or a holiday, no news, but immediately into feature about a Moslem holiday and how well the Orthodox, Catholix and Moslems get along in Albania, their customs, etc. What about Protestants and Atheists? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALGERIA [non]. 5865, weak with Qur`an at 0652 Dec 10; relay via FRANCE. DX Mix News asserted that these relays of RTA via France are no longer the Qur`an program, but we sure hear a lot of it anyway. Can Arabic-speakers please identify which Algerian program is really being relayed, or does it vary? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 5960v (sounded better), RNA. December 10, Spanish, 0825- 0830 news program, 0829 "panorama nacional". Distorted, disseminating QRM on both sides, 44444 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) But where was the carrier, if any, and is it ever heard on 6060 too? (gh, DXLD) ** ASCENSION ISLAND. 11985 kHz, TWR Africa relay, full/data card (no site), personal letter, program schedules; in 120 days, via the P. O. Box 64, Manzini, Swaziland address. V/s: L. Stavropoulos, DX Secretary, QSL Manger. The letter says that the location is not given due to the sensitive nature of the broadcast. But the enclosed sked identifies the site as Ascension (DXer V. Korinek, South Africa via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) Sensitive? Do these gospel huxters consider themselves clandestine? An annoying thing about many QSL reports is that they don`t give any details of the original log. Checking A-08 schedules, the only TWR broadcast on 11985 via Ascension was 0830-0900 in Bambara. I wonder what content of that VK could understand and what is sensitive about it that Ascension site should be hush-hush (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is the latest religious broadcaster claiming with a straight face that the transmitter sites are secret. Quite absurd, but does anyone have any ideas on what's the real reason for stations not "giving away" the transmitter sites? Perhaps just a convenient story to avoid having to look up the information? Or simply the lack of information? (Vashek Korinek, RSA, DXplorer Nov 31 [sic], via BC-DX Dec 10 via DXLD)) Dear Vashek, Here is another case in point. A few years ago the AWR started broadcasting in French to North Africa at 0800-0830 on 12010 kHz. In an email letter from their Geneva office, whose address was announced on the air, they refused to reveal the location of the transmitter (which is Juelich), saying this information was too sensitive. In a subsequent message though, they did reveal the transmitter site (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, DXplorer Dec 1, ibid.) Re: TWR outlets of suspicious nature ... probably due of poor relations with Muslim target governments and societies. Vashek, that's not lack of information, but protection of their intruder activities in the MUSLIM word in West Africa or the Middle East countries. That's common policy of few western Lutheran or Adventist sect broadcaster, in order to protect their aggressive transmissions as well as missionaries and mission organizations as intruder in the MUSLIM world target. Sorry, I don't know the exact target and the language of the 30 mins transmission on 11985 kHz, but West Africa target could mean TWR are aimed at a MUSLIM target in this region of the world too? Similar happened during the last decade, when IBRA Radio, http://www.radioibrahim.com Cyprus branch in Arabic [mostly 5.925 MHz via Armavir] vailed their activity widely. Similar happened on AWR French outlets to North Africa [LBY, ALG, TUN etc.], Sahara and Sahel region. History. Similar happened for example in A06 season, when all TWR outlets towards TKM, KGZ, KAZ, UZB, AZE and Tatarstan were of vailed nature on TWR Europe's schedule, like this NOT PRINT OUT, no official announcing. ARMENIA 1377 As from Febr 11, TWR via Gavar Yerevan extended daily 1825-1925 UT sce in various NE/ME langs. Now on Sat only also addit 1925-2025 UT in Tatar, Farsi, Farsi/En, Farsi, Kurdish-Sorani. Other TWR sces on 864, 5855 kHz 1710-1810, -1840 Suns. 1910-1940 UT. 864 kHz 1810-1925. 1350 kHz 1930-2100, -2030 Thur. 0400-0430 UT. All checked and noted. (Rumen Pankov-BUL, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 14, 2006) yes, TWR coming from Gavar, Yerevan, Armenia. 1377 VoRUS 1458-1800 UT, TWR 1825-1925 in 1825 Mon Tabasaran, Tue Lezgi, Wed Lak, Thur Dargwa, Fri Kumyk, Sat Tatar, Sun Chechen. 1840- 1910 Farsi. 1910-1925 Kurdish-Sorani. Saturday only: 1925 Tatar, 1940 Farsi, 1950-2000 Farsi/En, 2000-2010 Farsi, 2010-2025 Kurdish-Sorani. (acc of time table by Rumen Pankov-BUL, Feb 14, 2006) or see B-05 TWR schedule: Broadcasts via Gavar, Armenia NOT PRINT OUT on this B-05 TWR file. 5855 1710-1840 30,31 ERV 100 78 ENG/KAZ ARM TWR \\ 864 kHz MW 5855 1910-1940 30,31 ERV 100 100 PES ARM TWR Also 864 and 1350 kHz used on various ME/NE languages on other times of the day. (wb) Oct 11, 2005 Similar behaviour noticed in the past too: Radio Reveil Paroles de Vie heard at 1830 s/on on 15 in French. Program is broadcast via Julich and is apparently put on by some Swiss religious organization and is directed to Africa. Program airs on Thursdays. In B-08: 9760 1830-1845 52,53 160deg Tue/Thur 100 kW RRP Radio Reveil Paroles de Vie, Les Chapons 4, CH-2022 Bevaix, Switzerland http://www.paroles.ch e-mail (Dec 1) (all via Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Dec 10 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 2325, VL8T Tennant Creek NT strongest of the three NT stations at 1110 10 December. 2485, VL8K Katherine NT 1050 strongest of the three on 8 December (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The third being 2310, VL8A Alice Springs (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. 15540, HCJB Australia heard at 1230 on 08 Dec with English religious programming and IDs. Poor sigs but no QRM. Hard to dig out of the grass. Transmission aimed at SE Asia. QSL Report: AUSTRALIA, HCJB, 15540, f/d "Summer in Australia" eQSL in about 14 hours for the above log! eMail came from one "Margaret." I think I could get to like this eQSL thing (Al Muick, Kabul, Afghanistan, WinRadio G303e, 200m Longwire/Randomwire, Palstar MW-550P Mediumwave Preselector, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL: 4754.94, ZYF904, Radio Immaculada Conceição (tentative); 0056-0104+, 6-Dec; Portuguese Catholic religious program with responsive readings & mentions of Maria Immaculada; no break at 0100. SIO=423-, good copy despite swiper QRM (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 65 ft. folded dipole + 500 ft. SW-NEish unterminated beverage, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4755 kHz, Radio Imaculada, Campo Grande, partial-data Email verie in 16 days after a postal report, V/s: (Missionaria) Maria, Email: 580am @ miliciadaimaculada.org.br (DXer V. Korinek, South Africa via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) para-military gospel huxters like Sal Army? (gh) ** BULGARIA. Harmonics. The unknown station often referred to on 2881 kHz in various bulletins is the 5th harmonic of a Bulgarian transmitter on 576.2 kHz relaying the “Christo Botev” National program (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Dec 8 via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. Re 8-126, BULGARIAN NEWSPAPER SAYS SALE OF TRANSMITTERS TO ORF IS 'SCANDALOUS'. Rather an example of grasshopper attack on the identity crisis in worldwide finance business these days. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Telecommunications_Company The Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (Bulgarian:, Balgarska telekomunikatsionna kompaniya, abbreviated as , BTC) is the largest telecommunications company in Bulgaria and a former state-owned monopoly. Founded as a joint stock company in the end of 1992 as part of the separation of Bulgaria's post and telecommunication services into separate companies, it serves a total of 2.6 million fixed phone lines and employs about 10,000 people. In June 2004 65% of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company were sold to Viva Ventures, owned by Advent International, for ?280 million. As part of the deal, BTC was provided a GSM operator license and launched Vivatel, Bulgaria's third GSM operator, in 2005. An UMTS license was additionally purchased in May 2005. In May 2007 the company was sold again. AIG purchased both the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company and the third Bulgarian mobile operator, Vivatel for total price of ?1,661 million.[3] Besides serving the vast majority of fixed telephone lines in the country, BTC is also the biggest Bulgarian ADSL Internet service provider with 100,000 customers. ===== AIG = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_International_Group It suffered from a liquidity crisis after the downgrading of its bond rating from AAA, and the Federal Reserve Bank on September 16 2008, created an $85 billion credit facility to enable the company to meet collateral and other cash obligations that arose following the downgrading of its credit rating, at the cost to AIG of the issuance of a stock warrant to the Federal Reserve Bank for 79.9% of the equity of AIG (via Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) SOFIA --- TOO CORRUPT TO BE FUNDED: The European Union refused this week to give Bulgaria its full annual subsidy because the country’s government is so corrupt. The E.U. warned Bulgaria last July that it must crack down on bribery and extortion or lose up to $650 million. This week, it announced that $285 million would be withheld. “Corruption affects the entire population, from clerks in the countryside to senior government officials,” said Ognian Stefanov, a Bulgarian journalist who had both of his arms and legs broken by thugs after he exposed links between organized crime and government. Corruption watchdog Transparency International rates Bulgaria the most corrupt country in the 27-nation E.U. (The Week, Dec 5 via DXLD) ** CANADA. Hello Glenn, Well, the day has come when the frequency of CHU will be changed. The change goes into effect January 1, 2009. Below is the text that will appear on our web site. Have a happy holiday. Raymond Pelletier ============================================ Frequency and Time Institute for National Measurement Standards National Research Council Canada M-36, room 1026 1200 Montreal Road Ottawa, Canada K1A 0R6 Tel: (613) 993-3430 Fax: (613) 952-1394 raymond.pelletier @ nrc-cnrc.gc.ca Government of Canada ======================================== CHANGE YOUR SHORTWAVE RADIO DIAL After seventy years of broadcasting Canada's official time, NRC's shortwave station CHU will move the transmission frequency for the 7335 kHz transmitter to 7850 kHz. The change will occur on 01 January 2009 at 0000 UTC. CHU is a part of NRC's system for disseminating official time throughout Canada, broadcasting 24 hours a day from a location approximately 20 km south-west of Ottawa. Listeners hear tones to mark the seconds, voice to announce the time in French and English, and digital data to set computers. The atomic clocks at CHU are part of the ensemble of clocks in the time and frequency research laboratories in Ottawa, at the National Research Council Canada. The NRC clocks are used in conjunction with clocks in the time laboratories of other countries to construct the internationally accepted scale of time, UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), which is now the reference for official time used by all countries. UTC is the modern implementation of Greenwich Mean Time. "Coincidentally, this frequency change comes at a time when NRC is investing resources to refurbish the aging transmitters at CHU in order to provide clear, dependable shortwave services as part of NRC's mandate to disseminate time to all Canadians." said Ray Pelletier, Technical Officer at the NRC-Institute for National Measurement Standards, who oversees the CHU facility "The shortwave time service is especially beneficial for those in remote locations where there is limited access to internet and telephone communication. CHU also provides a back up against failure of other services." In April 2007, the International Telecommunications Union re-allocated the 7300-7350 KHz band from a fixed service to a broadcasting service. Since then, interference on the 7335 KHz frequency has come from many information broadcasters around the world. CHU listeners in Canada and around the world who have for so long considered the 7335 kHz frequency exclusively for time signals, are very vocal about this interference. We have heard from amateur radio operators, watchmakers, astronomers, and navigators who use the tones and voice signals. As well, comments were received from those who use the carrier as a calibration source at a distance for their equipment. To give notice to users, CHU will broadcast an announcement in both English and French. More information can be found at http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/main_e.html and http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/main_f.html Comments about the CHU change can be sent by e-mail to radio.chu@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca (Raymond Pelletier, CHU, WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As of Dec 9, nothing at above site about 7850. This NRC website also mentions a leap second to be added at the end of 2008y: http://time5.nrc.ca/timefreq/bulletin_tf-b.html Monitored around 1430 UT Dec 9 on 7335, no announcements being heard yet about the frequency change or the leap second. And here`s another website with the history of CHU, etc.: http://inms-ienm.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/time_services/shortwave_broadcasts_e.html CHU, 7335, Dec 9 around 1430, operations normal, but I expect them to start announcing the frequency change to 7850 will go into effect January 1, and there will also be a leap second at the end of 2008y (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) He Glen[n] -- Saw your post about the CHU move away from 7335, and the aside about the leap second. Actually, there IS an announcement about the leap second on CHU currently, and it has been running for over 4 months. It is not in voice though; it is in the ASCII code transmitted from the bottom of the minute. The gist of the announcement is that there will be a leap second SUBTRACTED on 31 December (not added as you said). I've not heard any voice announcements on either CHU or WWV but they don't usually start until a couple of weeks before the actual leap second event if memory serves. WWV has them in minute 2 replacing the 440 Hz tone; not sure when CHU has them other than in the data stream (do they make that sort of announcement historically?). 73 //Ken (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ken, Tnx for the info. WWV and WWVH have been voice announcing the leap second for more than a week, as I reported some time ago, at minutes 03 and 04. Well, this leap second is ADDED, as on the CHU/NRC website: http://inms-ienm.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/time_services/shortwave_broadcasts_e.html ``Note: A leap second will be added at the end of December 2008. For more information consult the Leap Seconds. This will be indicated in the digital code until the time of the leap second. DUT1 will go from -0.6 to +0.4 seconds. This will be indicated by double tones near the start of the minute and in the broadcast code.`` No, I don`t recall CHU making voice announcements about the leap second, but they might as well along with the QSY. 73, (Glenn to Ken, via DXLD) Hmmmm. OK -- you made me question my memory. Indeed the page you cite does say add a leap second, however, I've attached a PDF of what the digital stream is saying -- and that is SUBTRACT as I remembered. Obviously these both can't be correct -- I wonder who's messed up here! 73 //Ken (kenneth vito zichi, ibid.) Hi Ken, The earth is slowing down, so I think negative leap seconds would be quite unusual. Perhaps it is confusing terminology? 73, (Glenn to Ken, via DXLD) ** CANADA. R. Canada Internal, 9610, Monday Dec 8 at 1547, surprised to hear them in Portuguese, with program for crianças, then into chanson in French; 1549 RCI ID in English, and back to Portuguese which is actually an English lesson for immigrant children. Now I`m totally confused, since the schedules at http://www.rciviva.ca/rci/PDF/2008Fall/H08_SW_24h_SIMP.pdf and http://www.rciviva.ca/rci/PDF/2008Fall/RCI-TECH-B08-ENG.pdf claim at 1535-1604 on 9610, RCI is in Russian on weekdays, Ukrainian on weekends! Have they decided just to throw out all the individual language segments and mix them all up? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. THE RECKONING: Sixth of a seven-part series TheStar.com | GTA | 9 years on contracts and no full-time job in sight Dec 04, 2008 04:30 AM by Francine Kopun Feature Writer Part 6: A real job for life - unimaginable Plants closing. Markets plunging. Jobs vanishing. The Star takes an intimate look over seven days at people who are coping with the fractured economy. As economy shrinks the nomadic lifestyle of contract workers will continue to grow There was a time, not so long ago, when a job with the CBC meant "cash for life." Dayo Kefentse, 34, has spent a decade working contract to contract and is now taking stock. The hydro station built near the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. of Canada in its industrial heyday in Etobicoke stands now like a puzzling artifact left on a beach by a slipping tide, an elegant red brick building, windows broken, marooned in a tangle of weeds across the street from a stand of new condominiums, townhouses and social housing. As the dim, grey afternoon draws to a close, cars whip past the old station on Birmingham St. They turn into the underground parking lots of the new neighbourhood, buildings that rise steeply where the Goodyear factory once churned out 10,500 tires a day. Dayo Kefentse felt like she was changing her life when she first slipped the key into the door of her very own condo here in January 2007. An enthusiastic participant in the new economy since landing her first job as a star-struck reporting intern at CBC Radio in Toronto when she was 25, Kefentse has lived from contract to contract for nine years, never sure what next year, or even next month, will look like. After nearly a decade in the workforce, Kefentse has next to no pension, some RRSPs, debt she doesn't like to talk about, and no promise of a job past April, when her media-relations contract with the Toronto District School Board ends. Scrambling to make a name for herself has left her with little time to date, let alone marry and start a family. She's a lifelong member of the "you're-on-your-own" economy, a working world where relationships are casual and everyone is permanently temporary. A world that represents the future for a growing number of Canadians in this shrinking economy. . . [much more] . . .Like an old boyfriend, holding out hope of reconciliation, the CBC called recently, offering her casual work during Christmas. The girl who dreamed of being Oprah is not sure if she will take it, but then again, maybe she will. Kefentse shrugs. "It could lead to on- air." . . . http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/548153 (via Dan Say, alt.radio.networks.cbc via Mike Cooper, WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DXLD) ** CHAD. 4905, Rdiff. Nat. Tchadienne, 1609 Dec 9 with talks in vernacular by OM. 1613 with hilife songs. Signal S9, 44334 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, Dec 9, WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Had been inactive on this frequency for some weeks; now here instead of 6165? Check mornings from around 0430 (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Radio Chad toch nog op 4904.97 kHz, 1841 UT. Gr (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, Dec 10, bdx mailing list via DXLD) 4905, Radio Chad, N´djamena, 1940-1954, escuchada el 10 de diciembre en francés a locutor en conversación con invitado, transmisión acompañada de ruido, señal pobre; me ha extrañado no encontrarla listada ni el EiBi, ni en el Aoki, la última edición del Africalist la anuncia cómo inactiva. El listado del Africa on Shortwave del BDXC, lo enumera como frecuencia alternativa, tampoco está mencionada en el WRTH 2008, SINPO 23332. (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It was just reactivated (gh) ** CHINA. A local program in the Uighor [sic] language was received in Sofia at 07 hours with pips, march music, identification “Merkala Radiostancia`` and news in Uighor on 13670 kHz, as well as on 7275, 9560 and 11885 kHz. This is Xinjiang Radio from Uighor Autonomous Region. The QSL address is: Xinjiang Radio, 84 Tuanjie Lu, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830 044, China. The website is http://www.xjbs.com The station broadcasts in local languages only (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Dec 8 via DXLD) ** CHINA. 4750, Qinghai PBS, 1453 adverts, Rave style song at 1458 and seems back to advert or discussion. After the clock with 23 hours Beijing time then ID as Qinghai PBS then with news 44333 some QRM from other stations including a FSK CW on 4751 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, no date on logs but probably same as date posted, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 8400 kHz - 10/12 - 2338 UT - CHN (provável) - só música instrumental chinesa; não houve qualquer comentário ou identificação. Estranho o fato deste tipo de transmissão nesta faixa, por ser a mesma destinada à estações utilitárias marítimas. Sony 7600G, Antena loop coaxial blindada (Roberto Landolpho, São Paulo - SP, dxclubepr yg via DXLD) Estou ouvindo tbem. Transmissão típica de jamming. Mas interferir o que será nessa faixa de 35.7m? (Marcelo Bedene, Curitiba-PR, ibid.) Surely Chicom Firedrake jamming against Sound of Hope, which moves all around this area, previously on 8000, 8100, 8900, 9000, I believe (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) JAMMERS: 9000, crash & bang Chinese music jammer; 2052, 6-Dec; only one heard all weekend! (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 65 ft. folded dipole + 500 ft. SW-NEish unterminated beverage, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 5980, Radio Habana; 0334, 6-Dec; W in English with news & RHC ID. SIO=2+22; new relay or another mixer? // 6000 strong (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 65 ft. folded dipole + 500 ft. SW-NEish unterminated beverage, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That would be leapfrog of 6140 over 6060 another 80 kHz down (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. 11835 with heavy jamming, Dec 8 at 2327 but could not hear any Radio República. May have been replaced by WRMI direct on 9955 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS [and non]. 7210 CYPRUS / ALBANIA. Cyprus Broadcasting Corp. / China Radio International – Cërrik (both P), 2228, 11/30/08, in Greek / Spanish. Both stations at about the same level. Cyprus B. C. with a male announcer with contemporary pop music (some in English). CRI had woman announcer with musical bridges between sections of news / actualities. Either would have been fair alone. A mess together. Cyprus not heard at 0007 recheck (Mark Taylor, WI, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) CyBC Cyprus sked is only 2215-2245, Fri/Sat/Sun (gh) ** ECUADOR. 9745, HCJB, 0500-0504*, 12/1 and throughout the week, fair at a time when most stations simply sign/off and pull the plug, this is one of the great s/off sequences with the national song and anthem; thanks to Don Jensen for calling my attention to this; certainly worth a listen (Jim Ronda, OK, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) I have noted this months ago, the point being that after the national anthem they start playing a bit of Andean music, and then always cut it off in progress, obviously misprogrammed automation, no one paying attention; still the case? (gh, DXLD) Goodbye HCJB`s steerable antenna --- Meanwhile the antenna is dismantled. The 127-metre-tall mast that carried it has been demolished on Nov 9: http://hschirma.blogspot.com/2008/12/das-ende-einer-erfolgsstory.html (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. UNID (tentative from Horn of Africa) station is on 7220 kHz last some days in the mornings (+0350-0430+ UT) and in the evenings at +1430-1800* at least. Strong signal here in St. Petersburg - but it is too difficult to hear any clear ID... Dec 8 [later] 7220 *1355-, 1755-1801* UT. ERI Voice of the Broad Masses (tent.), Dec 9, opening with IS and short OM announcement under CRI empty carrier (but blocked by CRI music from 1358), also at 1755 with final news bulletin by YL and choral NA at 1759 (tx off at 1802) - fair-poor (ex. 7100?); it seems, according to http://www.intervalsignals.net the opening IS was their Program 1 signals (Mikhail Timofeyev, Russia, DXplorer Dec 8/9 via BC-DX Dec 10 via DXLD) Yep Mikhail, don't get surprised to get Eritrea/Ethiopia on any odd channels in the 4/6/7 MHz bands these days :-). (Jari Savolainen, Finland, DXplorer Dec 9, ibid.) ** ERITREA/ETHIOPIA [and non]. ERITHIOPIA today --- Hi again, unlike usually I woke up this morning before 0358 so I made a brief check of more or less all the usual HOA frequencies. Here's the result (add "tent." to all the logs as I didn't wait for IDs): 5950, V. of Tigray Revolution, fair 5990.6, R. Ethiopia, weak 6030, R. Oromia, fair (not very sure about this one) 6110, R. Fana, fair, nothing heard on 6890 or 7210 7165, V. of Peace of Democracy of Eritrea, good, // 9560.3 weak 7200, Sudan? (at least Arabic), fair ...and now the more interesting ones... 7220, ERI 1? weak, somewhat overmodulated 7175, ERI 2? 0358 fair, then covered by jammer, changing to 7165, 7161, 7175, 7165... 7170, empty carrier at 0400, off at 0405 8000, music at 0400, empty before and off not later than 0405 6090, third-strongest signal seemed to be HOA music, but not // to any of the others, which were all airing news or similar... 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms Dec 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. GERMANY (non) Some Media Broadcast changes: Voice of Oromia Liberation Front in Oromo to Ea Af from Dec. 4: 1600-1700 NF 11760 JUL 100 kW / 130 deg Sun/Tue/Thu, ex 9695 WER (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 8 via DXLD) As I stated previously, 11760 is not ex 9695 - both frequencies are in use simultaneously (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Right, Andy. Noted both 9695 and 11760 in \\ on Tuesday Dec 9 (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) ** FINLAND. 5980, 0720-1400, Sat 06.12, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat Finnish talks, Finnish and English pop music (like "Rock around the Clock tonight", 1200-1400 sounded like a live report from the sauna with water sounds and Finnish conversation! , reception best at 1200- 1400: 35333 AP-DNK 6170, 1357-1400 Sat 06.12, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat Finnish, live report from the sauna, 22332 // 5980, QRM 6170 R New Zealand Int. in English QSA 3 and Croatia 6165 in Croatian QSA 5. SWR 25 mb frequencies not audible here (Anker Petersen, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** FRANCE. Frequency change of RFI in Hausa from Dec. 8: 0600-0630 NF 6135 ISS 500 kW / 170 deg, ex 6170 // 7220 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 8 via DXLD) ** FRANCE. RFI: CHINESE COULD BE CLOSED TOO; PRESS ABOUT GERMAN A petition to save the service has been launched not only for RFI German and Russian but for Chinese, too, because it is feared that radio broadcasts for China could be closed as well, although RFI denies such plans. The cessation of the mediumwave service of RFI Chinese in France is believed to be imminent. (WTFK? Only 738 for Paris or also on some high power transmitter, as it was done in the past with German on 1278 and Polish on 1377?) http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualites/medias/20081203.OBS3867/rfi_dement_mais_les_emissions_en_chinois_sont_toujours_.html Deutsche Presseagentur, Nov 21: RFI German service received almost 1,000 letters of protest. Amongst those supporting the service are movie director Volker Schlöndorff and former ARD TV journalist Ulrich Wickert. Berlin's Lord Mayor Klaus Wowereit wrote to RFI director Alain de Pouzilhac, stating that the planned closure could create an impression that France has no interest in the German-speaking countries. http://www2.informationweek.de/wirtschaftsnews/artikel/4037/ Süddeutsche Zeitung, Nov 24: It so happens that RFI's German service is part of the French-German relationships. Thus it can argue with this political pledge, unlike the hundreds of journalists in Germany who will be fired during the next months as a result of the financial crisis. At the same time the handful of editors, most of them Germans that somehow got stuck in Paris, have nothing to fear, they are almost civil servants and will presumably find other positions within RFI. It is hard to say how many listeners the service has, the official reason for its closure is that they are too little. If the closure really happens it will not only in the hectic Berlin result in the loss of a radio format that is otherwise almost extinct: Pieces of seven and up to 20 minutes about exhibitions and literature in Paris, not all of them professionally made but often presented with lots of charm. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/052388/929/2646888/Wickert-hoert-mit.html (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 10, dxldyg via DXLD) RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONAL RUSSIAN WILL DROP SHORTWAVE IN FAVOR OF INTERNET AND CELL PHONE DELIVERY Sergei S. writes: "RFI Russian will be abandoning SW for Internet and cell phone platforms. (Last December RFI voluntarily gave up its AM frequency in Moscow.) Previously RFI Russian reported on this sad development. They say they got many mail/email responses but it seems that RFI's destiny is sealed. Their last hope is a petition that has already been signed by 'French journalists, public figures, Russian émigrés' -- http://www.gopetition.com/online/23691.html The petition mentions that the last day of shortwave will be 31 January. Sergei also forwards this e-mail (in Russian) to RFI Russian listeners. -- See also Ted Lipien, Free Media Online blog, 4 December 2008. Posted: 09 Dec 2008 (see http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=5402 for linx, via DXLD) ** GEORGIA. 1215 kHz, Georgian Public Broadcast, heard at 2044 on 08 Dec in Georgian with many mentions of Tbilisi. Talk/commentary by OM/YL and full ID after dead air at 2100 with ID as "Radio Eerti." Mixing it up real good with co-channel Iran, but Georgia winning most of the time with its 125 kW. Fairly strong signal but mixing and deep fades. Every single email address on their website gets rejected as "does not exist" as does the one from WRTH 2008. Does anyone have a working email addy for them? Thx! (Al Muick, Kabul, Afghanistan, WinRadio G303e, 200m Longwire/Randomwire, Palstar MW-550P Mediumwave Preselector, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [and non]. Joint DRM project with BBC launches: see DIGITAL BROADCASTING below ** GERMANY. DEUTSCHE WELLE: RADIO CHANGES IN 2009 The paper "Fortschreibung und Perspektiven für den deutschen Auslandsrundfunk -- Deutsche Welle 2010-2013" http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_pdf/0,,3444190,00.pdf gives some details about changes planned for the budget year 2009: * Reducing the shortwave service of DW German in Europe by cancelling half of the currently used airtime, * reducing the DRM service for Europe, keeping a "best of" program, probably with partners like the BBC, * cancelling about 30 daily frequency hours via VTC facilities, * cutting back the current affairs magazines in the German radio program to three editions a day, * reducing the radio programs in Greek, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Albanian and Macedonian in favour of online offerings. And perhaps somebody might find it of interest how the DW programming is being fed to the transmitter sites, so here are the signal paths in detail: Bonn -> cable 3 MBit/s -> MB uplink Köln -> Hot Bird 8 -> SIN, MSK, SAM, ARM Bonn -> cable 3 MBit/s -> MB uplink Köln -> Hot Bird 8 -> VTC for internal distribution to WOF, SKN, RMP, MOS, ASC [but WOF must take Hot Bird directly for synchro operation with SIN] Bonn -> cable 3 MBit/s -> MB uplink Köln -> Hot Bird 8 -> RNW for internal distribution to MDG and BON Bonn -> cable 3 MBit/s -> MB uplink Köln -> Hot Bird 8 -> "Moscow" for internal distribution to KCH Bonn -> cable 3 MBit/s -> MB uplink Köln -> Hot Bird 8 -> WRN for internal distribution to DSB Bonn -> cable 3 MBit/s -> MB uplink Köln -> Hot Bird 8 -> TWR Bratislava for internal distribution to ERV Bonn -> Hybnet -> DW-TV Berlin -> cable 5 MBit/s -> GlobeCast uplink Paris -> Atlantic Bird 3 (C-band) -> KIG Bonn -> Hybnet -> DW-TV Berlin -> cable 5.5 MBit/s -> PCM uplink Hong Kong -> AsiaSat 3 (C-band) -> TRM, IRK, NVS, P/K, K/A, VLD Bonn -> Hybnet -> DW-TV Berlin -> cable 6 MBit/s -> uplink Atlanta -> Intelsat 9 -> SAC (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 8, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Harmonics of Greek music pirates have been received on many frequencies – the recent noted are at 20 hours on 3484 kHz, between 14 and 15 hours on 4148.2 and 4162.5 kHz (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Dec 8 via DXLD) ** GREECE. The pirate radio Makedonia was shut down and now the frequency MW 1386 kHz is used by ERA-RSM 2nd program with main frequency 1044 kHz. Some of the programs on both frequencies are relaying on 9935 kHz. Observed on Dec 2nd. Due to the political reasons [sic, ERT never on air Tuesdays due of maintenance ! --wb] Radio Filia was not on the air 0700-1000 UT in En, Fr, Sp on 12105 and in Greek on 9420 kHz on same day. When are the programs in Ge and Ru please and which freq is using in B-08? (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 8, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 10 via DXLD) In winter season ERT's German and Russian services only on MW 666 kHz and on internet livestream. ERT has a total break on short wave at 1000-1100 UT, - lunchtime in Avlis (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) ** GUAM [non]. 11675, Dec 10 at 1500 AWR Voice of Hope ID in English and introducing program in Nepalese; started with nice music but soon overshadowed by bilingual Venezuela via Cuba on 11680. Whence? Wertachtal, GERMANY, per EiBi (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. 3250.00, Radio Luz y Vida, San Luis, 1110 Spanish only religious programming. Often Spanish English translation. 10 December (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ICELAND. Iceland-189 for breakfast --- One thing I really like about this time of year is that Iceland-189 can be heard as late as 1115-1130 UT. At this late hour, there is still a path of darkness between Iceland and North America. It's fun to listen to a LW TA while getting ready for work in the morning. This morning, Dec 8, Iceland- 189 was in with a decent signal with news by man & woman in Icelandic from 1100 to 1109 UT. By 1115 the signal was completely gone. As we approach the Solstice, the signal should stay in a little longer. According to GEOCLOCK, sunrise at the transmitter site near Gufuskalar is around 1105 UT for this date (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, MA http://www.wtfda.info/showthread.php?t=228 NRC-AM via DXLD) That thread is his classic audio clips and some more recent (gh) ** INDIA. Dec 10 may have been a poor morning for Indonesia, but it was a good morning for AIR GOS, 9690, SE Asian service, with ID at 1336 amid news mostly about Indo/Pak situation, often inaudible; still fairly well heard at 1424 check with comments on Mrs. Clinton as Secretary of State. Hmm, we don`t hear her maiden name Rodham much any more; why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. VOI inaudible on 9526, Dec 10 at 1330 check during English hour, but apparently just poor propagation as it had become audible poorly during Malay hour at 1422 on 9525.9 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4790, RRI Fak Fak; 1415-1434+, 6-Dec; W in LL [unknown language, but I bet it`s Indonesian --- gh] with lite pop tunes in LL & English (Midnight Train to Georgia & Have You Ever Seen the Rain); no break at 1430, but ID at end of song. SIO=322 with swiper QRM (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 65 ft. folded dipole + 500 ft. SW-NEish unterminated beverage, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. Radiostations V of Revolution and V of the Iranian Communists are not on air since approx Nov 7th, (please see Syria). On Nov 30th, was re-activated one forgotten station V of the Struggle of Iranian Kurdistan, noted on Sun from 1355 (other days from 1427) UT to 1526 UT on 4270 kHz with demodulated sound (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 8, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 10 via DXLD) ** ISRAEL [and non]. 6971, Galei Zahal, Tel-Aviv, 1920-1925, escuchada el 10 de diciembre en hebreo a locutora con comentarios en programa musical, emisión de música pop-rock; observo a esta emisora muy desplazada de su frecuencia habitual, a veces oscilando a 6970. La señal no es tan buena como en días pasados, SINPO 34433 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15785, Galei Zahal; 1353-1359+, 7-Dec; M in Hebrew taking phone calls; GZ ID at 1358+. SIO=353+. 15785, WYFR, Family Radio, Okeechobee FL; 1632-1639+, 6-Dec; Open Forum commentary program. ID at 1639. Listed Arabic, but may be a dialect, as thought for quite a while it was Galei Zahal in Hebrew. S20 peaks (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 65 ft. folded dipole + 500 ft. SW-NEish unterminated beverage, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 16-17 only (gh) ** KUWAIT. 15110 with good but fluttery Qur`an, Dec 10 at 1505, joined by chorus at 1508. This is R. Kuwait in Arabic to S Asia, per EiBi (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KYRGYZSTAN. KIRGIZ, 4795, Kyrgystan 1505 with OM in news // 4010 but nearly zero modulation, S3 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, no date on logs but probably same as date posted, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Zero modulation on both frequencies? (gh) ** LIBYA. Radio Voice of Africa has resumed its programs in English on 1251 kHz and was received in Sofia at 1920 hours (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Dec 8 via DXLD) V. of Africa, 11860, Dec 10 at 1926 in African language, music, fair. Scheduled 19-20 in Hausa due south from Sabrata (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 7295 kHz, Radio Traxx FM, In addition to an Email verie received a couple of month ago, a personal letter and window STICKERS !!! have now arrived by a courier. This time the V/s: Mrs. Suhaila Mohammed Zaini (Programme Manager). Her Email address is sue @ traxxfm.net (DXer V. Korinek, South Africa via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) What courier; you mean not the postal service? RNV was spending petrobolívares on Fedex, IIRC (gh) ** MEXICO. 6104.81, Candela FM [sic], Mérida, 1455 to 1500 back with strong signal but distorted. 10 December. 6044.9 [XEXQ-OC] Carrier (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So was Mérida really in Maya as is now supposed to be no longer Candela FM programming? See also PHILIPPINES (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. MONGOLIAN PUBLIC RADIO --- Further observations on their new live streams http://www.mnb.mb --- Somewhat confusingly, the 2nd Programme typically identifies in Mongolian as "P3 FM, 100.6"! Apparently, if their bilingual English/Mongolian identification jingle can be used as a guide --- hear it at http://intervalsignals.net --- it stands for "Public radio... programme and radio... people and radio". Voice of Mongolia is not yet streaming or available on demand from the site, though their Russian broadcast is still available via the Voice of Russia website http://ruvr.ru - the link is on the left on the Russian home page. Incidentally, I find a very useful tool in translating numbers in some of the more uncommon languages is YouTube! A few weeks ago it helped me decypher the ID for the curiously-named Ethiopian clandestine Ginbot 7 Dimts, and more recently I typed "Mongolian numbers" into the YT search engine and ended up being tutored by a very attractive lady with a whiteboard! (David Kernick, UK, Dec 8, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA [non]. 12025, Dec 10 at 1350 with IS I first thought was one of the gospel huxters, but a rather odd time for it, followed by ID in Russian which I first thought was saying ``Radiostantsiya Golos Angoliy`` --- but there is no Russian from Angola! Then I realized it is ``Radiostantsiya Golos Mongoliy``, the relay via Golos Rossii, which has been reported on 13600 at 1334-1359 by Rumen Pankov in DXLD 8-125. Could not hear it there, but I previously noted the two were //. Fair signal with flutter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOROCCO. 1640 kHz, RTM-"B", site?, reactivated, 2319-..., Arabic, talks, pops; 45444 but barely copied due to its FM like signal (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Dec 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 5770, Myanmar definitely, 1431 , heard some high pitched tones followed by talks. Very low modulation, mixed with RN background. Better using LSB to avoid a FSK stream. At 1438 with a pop like music, max S1-2 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, no date on logs but probably same as date posted, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) What do you mean by ``RN background``? Surely not R. Netherlands on 5770 (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 11520, under WEWN Spanish heard station in English giving frequencies at 1358 Dec 9. That`s RNW opening hour via Madagascar at 50 degrees, so they assume there will be no collision in S Asian target area. Still, knowing a bit about SW propagation, I would not pick a frequency also used by a superpower station on the other worldside (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. First e-QSL --- Last summer, a few of us heard [probably only in WA/BC] a weak unID on 765 kHz that seemed (by propagation pattern) to be coming from NZ. I think that I may have been the only one of us to finally get just above threshold audio and it was not English, but sounded Polynesian to me. I sent a tentative report to an interesting fairly new station on 765, a Maori station called Radio Kahunguru in the Hawkes Bay/Hastings area of North Island and I never got a reply. Ten days ago or so, I was preparing to send a snail mail follow-up, but I checked with their website again and decided to use their listener e-mail to ask for a confirmation of their snail mail address. I just this minute received the following: Tena koe (It's used as a formal greeting to one person and a way of saying hello in the Maori language). I did receive your letter but I didn't get around to answering it. I'm sorry about that. You are correct that recording you made was off our frequency 765AM which is based in Hastings, Hawke's Bay, which is half way down the East Coast of the North Island in New Zealand. The audio was of one of our link stations this one being based in Auckland called Radio Waatea. There are 21 Iwi radio stations based around New Zealand and we are called the Maori Radio Network. Each Iwi (Tribal region) has a radio station. If you would like to check the radio station's out you can do so on http://www.irirangi.net/ It's always a pleasure to receive these types of enquiries. Please keep in contact. Thank you Patricia Te Rangi Programme Director/Daily Operations/Sales P O Box 2615 Stortford Lodge Hastings 901 Heretaunga St, West Stortford Lodge Hastings Phone: 06 872 8943 Fax: 06 876 4157 Mobile: 027 245 8598 http://www.kahungunu.irirangi.net I'm really pumped up about this QSL!!! One of my more exotic stations. There does seem to be a problem with the station website listed above.... In any case, now we know the identity of this "mystery station." (John Bryant, Stillwater OK, Dec 7, IRCA via DXLD) What is the problem with the website? (Paul B. Walker, Jr., ibid.) Paul, I keep getting some nasty security alert that I've never seen before that won't even let me go to it. Can you see the site??? (John B., ibid.) I can see both sites you linked in your email.. both work fine for me. I wonder if there's an issue on your end because the website isn't in English, so maybe your ISP or virus stuff thinks it's spam? (Paul B. Walker, Jr., ibid.) ** NIGER. NÍGER, 9705, Voix du Sahel, Niamey, 1916-1919, escuchada el 10 de noviembre en francés a locutor con boletín de noticias, locutora con comentarios, transmisión acompañada de un molesto pitido, posiblemente fruto de la colisión con Radio Etiopía, SINPO 22332 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. "NIGERIA" - 15180, Aso Radio International, *1600- 1655 Dec 9. Popped on at 1600 with drum/flute music, then a couple of ID's followed by a variety of talks in presumed Hausa, with an occasional selection of enjoyable West African music. VG at tune-in but signal deteriorated after 1630 and was largely unreadable by 1655; think closedown may have occurred around that time. Went to the announced website http://www.asoradioonline.com and found out the station has been around for a long time on 93.5 FM. Wonder if there's any connection to the former "Radio Saa" that was on 15180 at this same time a couple of years ago? (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** OMAN. [Re 8-126] 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman; 1400, 7-Dec; No sign of them. Splash from WYFR on 15135 in Spanish (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 65 ft. folded dipole + 500 ft. SW-NEish unterminated beverage, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WYFR on 15130, still splashes 15140 ** PALESTINE [non]. IRAN, 7250, IRIB Voice of Palestina, Kamalabad, 0415-0420, escuchada el 9 de diciembre en árabe a locutor en conversación telefónica con invitado, comentarios, música y saludo en árabe, cuña presentando espacio, lectura de poema, en paralelo por 9505, SINPO 45444 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Re 8-126, is Atlántida back on 4790? Querido amigo, a las 2325 UT estoy escuchando en los 4790 kHz la señal de Radio Atlántida de Iquitos con mucha musica añeja al estilo de Julio Jaramillo y música andina. La señal con un sinpo de 22222. Acaban de anunciar el acto que se realizará con motivo del nuevo aniversario de la iglesia Pentecostal en Chiclayo. Un fuerte abrazo, querido amigo, y efectivamente sigue en la onda corta Radio Atlantida 4790 (José Elías, Dec 6, condiglist yg via DXLD) [Corrected a few minutes later:] Saludos cordiales, amigo Arnaldo. Oye, Arnaldo, creo que tengo que corregir la información anterior, lo que me parece que estoy escuchando es Radio Visión porque con razón están nombrando mucho a Chiclayo que es desde donde transmite Radio Visión en los 4790 y es donde está la iglesia Pentecostal a la cual están haciendo referencia a cada instante. La música sigue igual. Han identificado y entre el ruido creo escuchar que dicen Radio Visión. La info anterior queda anulada con esta. Un abrazo (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, Dec 6, condiglist yg via DXLD) Hola Josesito!!!! Un gustazo leerte mi viejo!!!!! Gracias por contestar mi inquietud. Me daba la sensación que no la había visto reportada. En el blog que mantengo en el Diario El País, de España, varios peruanos, desde distintos puntos de su país, venían justamente haciendo comentarios elogiosos al reinicio de emisiones en OC de la emisora. Ello me generó la inquietud. A lo mejor, y arribo a esta conclusión que no se si será correcta, la emisora reactivó su OC pero sólo en un segmento horario determinado siendo tal vez, éste, de difícil audibilidad para los colegas de otras partes. Gracias de nuevo mi viejo por el aporte!!! (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, ibid.) He thinx the Peruvians may be hearing R. Atlántida only at certain hours, daytime? Well, either they hear a definite ID, or not. It should not be that hard for Peruvians to tell them apart (gh, DXLD) Hola mis estimados. He de comentarles ante tal inquietud que no tengo con las peruanas (las emisoras, claro está) la misma suerte de muchos otros colegas en la banda de 60m. La única que puedo recibir durante mis horas oscuras, +/- 2300 a 1300 UT, es Radio Visión. Pienso que esa es la que los demás compas han estado escuchado realmente, pues el mismo Glenn Hauser me sacó del error cuando reporté que era Radio Atlántida y tuve que rectificar por RV tras una escucha más a fondo. ¡Felices fiestas, muchachos! (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Dec 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 3329.53, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco continues to provide a strong signal 1020 to 1100, signal much better than in past seasons, om and yl, Feliz Navidad, Atenciones. Music absent during this period. 8 December 5460, Radio Bolívar, Cd. Bolivar noted at 1115 with fair signal 10 December. 6047.17, Radio Santa Rosa, Lima, 1105 to 1120 on 8 December; same time on 10 December. Weak signal with cochannel problems (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Another check of 6105 at 1359 Dec 10 to see whether IBB Tinang has managed to avoid relaying one minute of Radio Netherlands in English: almost; at 1359:55 heard a fragment of RN`s instantly recognizable carillon IS, but then into VOA Chinese. Meanwhile the constant het which is believed to be Yucatán on the low side, and also co-channel, probably Chinese jamming other than Firedrake (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND [non]. Re 8-126, DRM: As of Dec 15 they will also run a DRM transmission of German 2030-2100 on 5965-5970-5975, with Jülich being the rumoured site. They say that it worked badly in AM but believe that it will be completely different with DRM: http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2037 Of course a rude awakening is unavoidable, because 49 metres from within Germany (the time and again discussed "NVIS" approach) simply skips over the target area, five hours after local sunset in winter. (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. Operational B-08 schedule of RDP Internacional/R Portugal West Europe Mon-Fri 0600-0655 on 7130 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 0700-1300 on 9815 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 0745-0900 on 11660 SIN 250 kW / 055 deg 1700-2000 on 9455 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg West Europe Sat/Sun 0800-1155 on 12020 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 1200-1455 on 11885 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 0930-1100 on 9815 SIN 250 kW / 055 deg 1500-1655 on 11635 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg 1700-2100 on 9455 LIS 300 kW / 045 deg Middle East/India Mon-Fri 1400-1600 on 15690 LIS 100 kW / 082 deg São Tomé/Príncipe/Angola/Moçambique Mon-Fri 1100-1300 on 17745 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg 1700-2000 on 13720 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg São Tomé/Príncipe/Angola/Moçambique Sat/Sun 0800-1455 on 17590 LIS 100 kW / 144 deg 1500-1655 on 15520 LIS 100 kW / 144 deg 1700-2100 on 13720 LIS 300 kW / 144 deg Brasil/Cabo Verde/Guinea Bissau Mon-Fri 1100-1300 on 21655 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg 1700-2000 on 15465 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg Brasil/Cabo Verde/Guinea Bissau Sat/Sun 0800-1055 on 15555 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg 1100-1655 on 21655 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg 1700-2100 on 15465 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg South America/Brasil Tue-Sat 0000-0300 on 11655 LIS 300 kW / 226 deg Venezuela Tue-Sat 0000-0300 on 9855 LIS 100 kW / 261 deg USA/Canadá Tue-Sat 0000-0300 on 9455 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg USA/Canadá Sat/Sun 1300-1655 on 15560 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg 1700-1855 on 17825 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg 1900-2100 on 12040 LIS 300 kW / 300 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 8 via DXLD) But, but, we have just been reporting that 12040 runs past 2230, colliding with HCJB; axually I think that transmission is open-ended depending on sports or whatever. And hasn`t Carlos repeatedly outpointed that some are not really 300 kW, but less? (gh, DXLD) ** PRIDNESTROVYE. PRIDNESTROVIA [sic] - Radio PMR, 1432-1445 Dec 9. Tuned in to English news in progress by man, with lengthy items on South Ossetia, area archaeological mounds, and the Russian Orthodox Church; ended at 1443 with sked and address; into French at 1444 with "Ici Tiraspol..." VG signal (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx via DXLD) WTFK? 7370. I was hearing it again with tune-up tones before 1430 Dec 10 (gh, OK, DXLD) ** ROMANIA. RRI on new 11970 ex-17745 for the 1300 English broadcast to Europe (and NAm beyond); Dec 9 just tuned in 11970 in time to hear the IS at 1356 but quite poor signal compared to Romanian on 11940 which continued another hour; how could that be? 17745 was 300 kW, 307 degrees from Tiganesti, so 11970 should be too, while 11940 is 300 kW, 285 degrees from Galbeni. 17745 used to come in well on good days, but that leaves // 15105 which should remain reliable. Anyhow, 11970 collides with WYFR until 1345 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. Frequency changes or Radio Romania International to WeEu: 1100-1156 NF 11970 GAL 300 kW / 285 deg, ex 17845 \\ 15150 15255 17790 1200-1256 NF 11970 TIG 300 kW / 307 deg, ex 11940 \\ 9690 1300-1356 NF 11970 TIG 300 kW / 307 deg, ex 17745 \\ 15105 [ENGLISH] (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 8 via DXLD) 11970 suffers now co-channel QRM probably by YFR Okeechobee in English (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Dec 8, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. Escuchando el cierre de transmisión en español de Radio Rumania Internacional, Diciembre 10 a las 0056 UT en 9525, me llamó la atención que la locutora haciendo el acostumbrado repaso de frecuencias para cada uno de sus servicios en castellano, mencionó 9523. Es entendible este corrimiento 2 kcs más abajo, porque parecen estar recibiendo a ratos una pronunciado "pringue" (splatter, eso es) a esa hora de CNR 9530 en tibetano apuntando a 255º. 73 + Felices Fiestas (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Probably a typo in the script, and she did not know any better to correct it (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. Look at http://www.media-broadcast.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads/B08_operational_281108.pdf Voice of Russia on 7335 originates from Montsinéry only from 0400 [when English starts]. Between 0200 and 0400 it's Wertachtal instead, running full 500 kW (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAINT HELENA. Hello all, WE MADE THE NEWSPAPER IN SAINT HELENA FOR THE RADIO SAINT HELENA DAY BROADCAST! Click on the link and allow the pdf to load. Scroll down to page three http://www.news.co.sh/Newspapers/SHH%2021.11.08.pdf (STEVE AND NOAH PRICE, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 22-page newspaper with a lot more about what St Helena is like (gh) ** SENEGAL. 6535/USB, Dakar, ATC; 0223, 0417, 6-Dec; ATC working aircraft calling Dakar-Dakar (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 65 ft. folded dipole + 500 ft. SW-NEish unterminated beverage, WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No SWBC from this country, so this will have to do (gh, DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. U.K.(non) Winter B-08 of FEBA Radio: WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA 1830-1900 on 7160 MEY 100 kW / 345 deg smtwtfs French 2145-2215 on 11985 ASC 250 kW / 027 deg ....tf. Hassinya MIDDLE EAST 0800-0830 on 15220 MOS 300 kW / 115 deg smtwtfs Arabic 1900-1930 on 7235 WER 250 kW / 105 deg smtwtfs Arabic 1900-2030 on 9550 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg smtwtfs Arabic EAST AFRICA, ETHIOPIA, SUDAN 1545-1600 on 12125 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg smtwtfs Amharic 1600-1630 on 12125 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg s...tfs Amharic 1600-1630 on 12125 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg .mtw... Guragena 1630-1700 on 12125 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg smtwtfs Amharic 1600-1630 on 11875 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg smtwtfs Afar 1630-1700 on 9850 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg smtw... Tigrinya 1630-1700 on 9850 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg ....tfs Amharic 1700-1730 on 11655 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg smtwtfs Somali 1730-1800 on 11655 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg smtwtfs Tigrinya 1700-1730 on 6180 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg smtwtfs Orominya PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN 0200-0300 on 7120 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg s...... Urdu 0200-0230 on 7120 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg .mtwtfs Urdu 0230-0300 on 7120 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg .mtwtfs Various 0200-0230 on 6125 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg smtwtfs Pashto 0230-0300 on 6125 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg smtwtfs Dari 1400-1445 on 7150 NVS 250 kW / 195 deg smtwtfs Urdu 1445-1500 on 7150 NVS 250 kW / 195 deg smtwtfs Various 1430-1500 on 7250 ARM 200 kW / 104 deg smtwtfs Pashto 1500-1530 on 7250 ARM 200 kW / 104 deg smtwtfs Dari 1530-1545 on 7250 ARM 200 kW / 104 deg smtwtfs Hazaragi 1545-1600 on 7250 ARM 200 kW / 104 deg smtwtfs Various NORTH INDIA, NEPAL, TIBET 0015-0030 on 7370 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg smtwtfs Bangla 0030-0045 on 7370 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg s..w... Hindi 0030-0045 on 7370 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg .mt.... Various 0030-0045 on 7370 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg ....tfs Bangla 0045-0100 on 7370 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg smtwtfs Hindi 1200-1230 on 15215 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg smtwtfs Tibetan 1430-1445 on 12045 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg smtwtfs Urdu 1445-1500 on 12045 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg ...wtfs Kashmiri 1445-1500 on 12045 DHA 250 kW / 070 deg smt.... Various 1430-1500 on 7370 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg smtwtfs Hindi 1500-1530 on 7370 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg smtwtfs Bangla SOUTH INDIA 0030-0100 on 5885 ERV 100 kW / 125 deg smtwtfs Tamil 0130-0200 on 6140 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg s...tf. Telugu 0145-0200 on 6140 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg .mtw..s Various 1400-1430 on 12045 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg s...... English **** 1400-1415 on 12045 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg .mtwtfs Malayalam 1415-1430 on 12045 DHA 250 kW / 110 deg .mtwtfs Various Transmitters sites: ARM=Armavir, Russia ASC=Ascension Island DHA=Al-Dhabayya, UAE ERV=Yerevan, Armenia KIG=Kigali, Rwanda MEY=Meyerton, RSA MOS=Moosbrunn, Austria NVS=Novosibirsk, Russia TAC=Tashkent, Uzbekistan WER=Wertachtal, Germany (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 8 via DXLD) **** the ONLY English on this sked, semi-hour per week; is there more included in VARIOUS? (gh, DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA [and non]. No luck so far here with reactivated Solomon Islands on 9541.5v; Dec 10 at 1420 all I could hear was Russian on 9540, which is RSI, and worse, QRDRM from DW 9540-9545-9550 via Woofferton UK. Doesn`t Slovakia kind of ruin the DRM reception around Europe? And vice versa (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. On November 10 at 20 hours on 5020 kHz in Sofia was heard Solomon Radio with news in English. Most likely after a long time Radio Solomon has again become audible at least in Sofia. It has also been received between 18 and 19 hours relaying the BBC World Service, followed by a program of its own (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Dec 8 via DXLD) But now on 9541v, not 5020 (gh) 9541.54, SIBC (presumed); 1401-1410+, 6-Dec; English BBC news/sports. SIO=2+22, need USB due to 9540 Slovakia (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 65 ft. folded dipole + 500 ft. SW-NEish unterminated beverage, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. ALEMANIA, 9815, Affia Darufur, Wertachtal, 1903-1915, escuchada el 10 de diciembre en árabe a locutor y locutora con boletín de noticias, constantes referencias a “Sudanía y Darfur”, cuña de ID acompañada de música, “Affia Darfur”, emisión paralelo por 9380 vía São Tomé; aunque se anuncia emisión en paralelo por 5880 vía Botswana, no consigo captarla, SINPO 45444 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA. I am trying oftenly since Oct 30th, to catch Radio Damascus on shortwaves 9330 or 12085 kHz, but always there are no any signals at 1700-2000 and 2100-2315 UT. Rather their Foreign Service is cancelled maybe? But the MW broadcasts to Israel are on the air on 783 kHz: 1700-1830 Hebrew, 1830-1900 Russian (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 8, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 10 via DXLD) On Internet livestream these days. (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) I have also been unable to hear even the 9330 carrier lately. WBCQ remains on 9330.0 at 19-20 (gh, DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. 7245, V of Tajik, heard at 0945 on 08 Dec with "English" program consisting of continuous pop music and one English announcement at 0951. Tajik programming started at 1000 with some pretty dramatic martial music, thundering ID by OM, into soviet-style national anthem and long-winded station ID by OM/YL. Good sigs with minor QRM from 7240 and splattery PBS Xizang (Al Muick, Kabul, Afghanistan, WinRadio G303e, 200m Longwire/Randomwire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wonder what happened to the planned major expansion of Tajik external broadcasts from a year or two ago. Remember they were going to have extensive English broadcasts on a number of frequencies --- never happened. 7245 is the only channel I've ever heard them with their external English broadcast (Walt Salmaniw, BC, ibid.) ** TAJIKISTAN. 9819.79v, Voice of Russia. Das arabische Programm der Voice of Russia ist auch auf Abwegen. Um 1950 UT zu hoeren auf 9819.79 kHz \\ zu 6060, 7420 kHz (Patrick Robic, Austria, A-DX Dec 7 via BC-DX Dec 10 via DXLD) 9819.79, Dushanbe-TJK, Biest mit 500 kW wetter.com zeigt 5-11 Grad C Temperatur plus, also am Frost kann es nicht liegen (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Watch out when seeking R. 9 de Julho, Brasil (gh, DXLD) ** THAILAND. 9535, HSK9, Radio Thailand; *2030-2046+, 6-Dec; S/on after chimes IS, This is HSK9 Radio Thailand...; National Headlines/National News; All in English till off abruptly in mid- sentence at 2044:30 then back in LL [unknown language]. SIO=3+43 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 65 ft. folded dipole + 500 ft. SW-NEish unterminated beverage, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. Sometimes on 5562 kHz can be received the 6th harmonic of Radio Izmir, Turkey on the fundamental frequency of 927 kHz (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Dec 8 via DXLD) ** UGANDA. 4750, Radio Dunamis, full/data card, schedule, in 35 days (Vashek Korinek, South Africa via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** U K [non]. 9625, two stations in English mixing with 3 Hz SAH at about equal level, one surely CBC NQ, but at 1428 Dec 8 the other IDed as BBC World Service --- what? Same Dec 9 at 1423 check, quickly confirmed as BBCWS by // 5975 via Thailand, interviewing Jamaican PM. Not scheduled on this frequency; supposed to be Channel Africa in English at 14-16. Meyerton putting the wrong feed on the air? SENTECH has been notified (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not only Dec 8 and 9, but still Dec 10, 9625 carrying BBCWS in English instead of expected Channel Africa, at 1423 check mixing with CBC Northern, and // a reverb away from BBCWS via Thailand 5975. I check the SENTECH schedule and see that yes, 9625 is still supposed to be Channel Africa: http://www.sentech.co.za/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=101&bid=25&btitle=Frequencies&meid=116 Kathy Otto replies with monitoring clips from Harare on Dec 8 and 9 during that hour proving that Channel Africa was indeed the programming on 9625. So there must be some other explanation. Rampisham is scheduled from 1500 in BBCWS Russian, so possibly VTC has added an hour of English before that from one site or another. Also Sackville could have a double feed, except that on Dec 8 there was a 3 Hz SAH indicating separate transmitters if not separate sites. And if Channel Africa is still there as usual, I am not hearing a third station in the mix now, tho I have heard it previously colliding with CBC. She also suggests it could be a mixing product. I doubt that, as we do not have any strong BBCWS signals around here on 31m or elsewhere (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Joint DRM project with DW launches: DIGITAL BROADCASTING below ** U K. BBC`s I-player system of listening to shows on demand for one week after broadcast is getting more problematical. Always with too much to keep up with, I often waited until the last hour to hear the previous week`s show, e.g. The Music Goes Round, and Friday Night Is Music Night on Radio 2. Not long ago one could depend on last week`s file staying there until a few minutes after the new show had aired. But now, even before the new show starts, the old file is getting deleted, so to be safe we`d better not wait more than six days before listening (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. HENRY LOOMIS --- THE PHYSICIST WHO LED THE VOA AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING, 1919–2008 Henry Loomis was a physicist and the son of one of the most intriguing Americans of the early 20th century. But he is best remembered as the man who greatly expanded the reach of the Voice of America, before resigning to protest President Lyndon Johnson’s demand that the network not report on American planes flying over Laos during the Vietnam War. He died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Henry’s father, Alfred, was “a fabulously wealthy Wall Street tycoon” who survived the stock market crash in high style, said The Washington Post. Devoting himself to science, he built a “magnificent private laboratory” in his massive stone mansion in the exclusive enclave of Tuxedo Park, N.Y., 40 miles northwest of Manhattan. He also gave Henry a check for $1 million for his own personal scientific experiments. Father and son worked together researching radar and brain waves. Visitors to the home included Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, and Niels Bohr. With World War II approaching, young Henry dropped out of Harvard to enlist in the Navy. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Loomis helped to establish radar training schools. He also accompanied pilots and ships’ officers to demonstrate the new technology, “which was initially regarded with some suspicion.” He later obtained a graduate degree in physics at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1958 President Eisenhower appointed Loomis director of the Voice of America with a mandate to expand its operations, said The New York Times. Loomis increased the VOA’s broadcasting power, established transmitters “in previously unserved countries like Liberia and the Philippines,” and helped create a 1,500-word vocabulary called Special English to spread English as an international language. But his tenure ended under LBJ. “Under increasing pressure from the White House not to report awkward foreign-policy news” during the Vietnam War, Loomis resigned in protest. In 1972, President Nixon named him president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, where he generated controversy for his efforts to give local stations more control over programming. He resigned that post in 1978 and returned to private life, “indulging his outdoor passions: sailing, hunting, and riding to the hounds.” (The Week, Nov 28 via DXLD) OBIT But, but, the point of establishing transmitters in Liberia and Philippines was NOT to ``serve`` those countries, but to reach other nearby countries at a one-hop skip distance. Someone doesn`t know the first thing about SW (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. SHOULD GLASSMAN STAY PUT? "To fight terrorism of the kind that brutalized Mumbai, India, President-elect Barack Obama should retain James Glassman, the Bush administration's commander in the 'war of ideas' against extremism. In just six months in office, Glassman has invigorated and modernized U.S. programs to not just improve America's image in the world, but confront radical ideologies, including on the Internet." Morton Kondracke, Daily News Tribune (Waltham MA), 7 December 2008 (originally in Roll Call). "I don't want to take a job away from a deserving Democrat. But Glassman is an ideal successor to himself. He is not an ideologue. But he is a man of ideas, of democratic ideas. And he believes still in the power of the America message. No one in our politics dislikes him. That's not because he's soft. It's because he is straightforward and honest. He doesn't laugh at people with whom he disagrees." Marty Peretz, TNR The Spine blog, 5 December 2008 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Glassman is willing to listen and to learn. Most importantly, as past chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and now under secretary of State for public diplomacy, he understands the *complementary* roles of international broadcasting and public diplomacy. Most U.S. decision makers and experts don't, thinking that international broadcasting, public diplomacy, psyop, disinformation, and goodness knows what else, should all be smooshed together as coordinated "strategic communications." I have doubts about some of Glassman's Public Diplomacy 2.0 ideas. But what's important is that he is trying stuff, and some of those new approaches will actually work. So, yes, let Glassman succeed himself. Posted: 08 Dec 2008 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** U S A. I've been unable to find a schedule of English broadcasts on the VOA Web site. They used to be included as part of the PDF excerpts of the printed Program Guide. Those PDF links are still there -- but the documents only list SW frequencies and local relays, with no programming schedule. Yes, you can alphabetically look up programs by name, but what if you want to find out what's on when? (Mike Cooper, GA, Dec 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re 8-126, VOA calendar: I just downloaded my copy and beyond the well designed it is, ended up overwhelmed by the beauty of Miroslava, Aneka and Lina (March, September and November, respectively). Surely I'll marry one of those queens of the mike, if I could. Happy Holidays! (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Dec 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. 11805, Dec 10 at 1428 in what seemed like Arabic music, 1430:15 cut to non-Arabic talk about George Bush. What does PWBR `2009` say? VOA via Biblis, GERMANY in Russian! This was no Russian, but EiBi agrees it is Biblis, with VOA Kurdish instead. Some CCI, but nothing else known to be on frequency at this time. Surely not R. Globo, Brasil, back where it belongs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi Glenn, Freedom Now quit so I am running WOR Mon-Fri 3- 3:30 pm Eastern. Cheers, (Allan Weiner, WBCQ, Dec 9, WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I.e., archive playbacks resume a semihour earlier than before, M-F 2000-2030; except should be latest edition ASAP, either Wed or Thu (gh, ibid.) ** U S A. WRMI, 9955, Tue Dec 9 at 0610 in Viva Miami, Jeff & Thaïs White in Spanish about Cusco, Peruvian Xmas music. Good with no jamming but deep fades. S Florida was dominating 31m at this time, also WYFR but not much else. 0619 WRMI into DX Partyline but not the latest edition, dated Nov 29. Did not have these on my DX program schedule, as not on WRMI`s program schedule, just 06-07 M-F miscellaneous repeats of DX and other programs. Viva Miami is sometimes only 7 minutes long now to fill out odd purchased times. Also AWR Wavescan after 0630 Tue. Jeff White tells me that the Sunday 1615 airing of WORLD OF RADIO is replaced by other programming effective immediately; maybe a replacement time will be found, but there are still a number of other WOR broadcasts via 9955 and WRMI webcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. XMAS IN MIAMI --- Viva Miami - A series of short 7-minute Viva Miami segments with Christmas music from throughout the Caribbean and Latin America will air during the entire month of December, UT Tuesday-Saturday, in English at 0107 and Spanish at 0152. Radio Prague - Our relays of Radio Prague will include many features about Christmas in the Czech Republic in the days around December 25. The English relay is daily (7 days a week) at 1000-1030 and 1500-1530 UT, plus UT Tuesday-Saturday at 0300-0330 and 0700-0730. Cuban Programs - WRMI airs many programs from Cuban exile organizations in Miami, which will include many special Christmas features around the holiday period. All of these are in Spanish, except for the Voice of the Center for Human Rights and Democracy Brigade 2506, which is in English, aired Sundays at 1600-1615 UT. Check December 21 for Christmas specials. The Brigade 2506 program will feature stories about Christmas in a Cuban prison by two former political prisoners, including ex-Ambassador Armando Valladares, author of the book "Against All Hope" about his experiences as a political prisoner in Cuba. Trova Libre - This is a musical program in Spanish (mostly Cuban music), which will have a special Christmas edition on UT December 22 at 0000-0030. Religious Programs - WRMI airs many religious programs in English and Spanish, which will air Christmas specials during the holiday period. Maravillosas Palabras de Vida, a Spanish program from the Salvation Army, will have Christmas music from the Salvation Army brass band, UTC Mondays at 0100-0115 (Jeff White, Oct 16, updated Dec 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WINB is quite flexible about when it switches frequencies. 13570v missing Monday Dec 8 at 1540, so I check 9265v --- yes, still going there, non-Brother Stair preacher. On Saturdays for sure they extend 9265 much later to accommodate the B.S. Sabbath service (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. 9385, Dec 8 at 1541, usual huge signal from WWRB in Brother Scare service, but now some other preacher in progress, obviously influenced by B.S., accusing the Jesuits of ``dirty work``. More interesting was the undercurrent of co-channel interference in Korean. EiBi and Aoki say it`s R Free Asia via Sri Lanka, while HFCC says Saipan. What does PWBR `2009` say? Saipan, but language is only ``other`` and jammed. Hey, what about WWRB! NO listing of WWRB on 9385 at all, despite having used that frequency as early as the A-06 season per FCC. WWRB also does not make the cut on page 326 about US stations. If you think PWBR info is comprehensive, you are seriously mistaken; for that you need the World Radio TV Handbook (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. RTI in Spanish via WYFR, 5950, Dec 10 at 0654 was splattering or spurring plus and minus 10 kHz, not usually the case (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. 13700 with talk in S Asian language, Dec 8 at 1512 past 1530; at 1523 paused for a different announcer to mention something about kiloHertz. I`m not going to specify their presumed genders but you have a 50-50 chance of guessing right. Fair signal and would have been OK if not for much stronger WYFR in Spanish on 13695 splattering. What does PWBR `2009` say, stored right next to the radio, and the computer in another room not yet upfired? NOTHING. Believe me, I don`t have to go looking for PWBR`s shortcomings. They just keep appearing frequently when I try to look up an unID! B-08 online listings, of course, have the answer. YFR in Hindi at 14-16 via Germany, tho which site is contradictory, Nauen or Wertachtal. Family Radio vs Family Radio! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. GERMANY. Some Media Broadcast changes: WYFR Family Radio from Nov. 21/25: 1600-1800 NF 11955 NAU 500 kW / 115 deg EaAf Amharic/Swahili, ex 13660 1700-1800 NF 9885^WER 250 kW / 060 deg RUSS in Russian, ex 5970@NAU 1800-1900 NF 7180#WER 250 kW / 060 deg RUSS in Russian, ex 5970*NAU @ to avoid China Radio International, German and Ukrainian Radio HS-1 * to avoid China Radio International, French and Ukrainian Radio HS-1 # co-ch China Radio International in French via CER/ALB!!! ^ co-ch Trans World Radio Africa in Tigrinya Sat-Thu (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 8 via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Frequency changes of WYFR Family Radio via TRW: 1400-1600 NF 6150 ARM 300 kW / 110 deg SoAs, ex 7175 Urdu from Dec. 1 1400-1600 NF 7565 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg SEAs, ex 7505 Bengali Dec. 4- (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Dec 8 via DXLD) ** U S A. NPR TO CUT 7 PERCENT OF WORKERS --- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. radio network National Public Radio will cut 7 percent of its workers and eliminate two shows because of budget shortfalls, the network said Wednesday. Facing a $23 million shortfall, NPR will eliminate the shows “Day to Day” and “News & Notes” in March because they failed to attract “sufficient levels of audience or national underwriting necessary to sustain continued production under these tough financial circumstances,” Dennis Haarsager, NPR’s CEO and interim president, wrote in an internal memo. Many of the job cuts will come from those two programs. “All our revenue sources are under pressure,” wrote Haarsager in the memo. “All industries, including the financial, automotive, and media industries, historically our biggest underwriters, are cutting back significantly.” NPR, which has a staff of 889, said it will cut 85 jobs, including 21 unfilled positions. “Travel and discretionary expenses have been cut across the organization,” NPR said in a statement. (Reporting by Diane Bartz, editing by Anthony Boadle) REUTERS Reut20:18 12-10-08 (via Ricky Leong, AB, Dec 10, DXLD) Day to Day is on 98 webcasting stations, per PublicRadioFan, plus no telling how many non-; but it was started to fill a mid-day hole in NPR programming service which wasn`t really necessary. There is plenty of other programming, more than any affiliate can possibly accommodate on one station. News & Notes? What`s that? Not carried on any Oklahoma station, and I see at NPR site that it is targeted at African Americans (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. HOLIDAY SPECIAL PAGES ON WEBCASTING PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS: http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html/#holiday I am listening to the first available airing of Paul Winter's Annual Winter Solstice Celebration, special from the Cathedral of St. John the [Allegedly] Divine, on WUOT webcast at 0100-0300 UT Dec 11. It`s still nice but not like it used to be, a must-hear each pre-Xmas, such that before webcasting, I would even drive halfway to Tulsa to be able to hear it on KWGS, or when I could get it at home, listen to it in the dark with no distraxions. Last year it became quite obvious from the early scheduling that it couldn`t possibly be live, or even be that year`s concert. They refer to it as annual, but they never say WHICH year --- now running on the air is the ``28th annual concert``, but if you go to the church website, you find that the 29th annual concert occurs Dec 18-19-20, 2008, with four performances. So what we hear on NPR is something that has taken a year of post-production; and/or holdup for the next winter solstice. Figuring out the year from the guest artist lineup isn`t easy either, as Renato Braz is on both #28 and #29. They are also building in more breaks than just the intermission, completely ruining the mood, as WUOT did by playing a Click-n-Clack promo less than half an hour into it! If I were in NY the week before Xmas, this would still be a must-hear in person --- or maybe not with tix ranging from $35 to $75 which I suppose is moderate for NYC: http://www.stjohndivine.org/WinterSolstice08.html O well, maybe once in a lifetime (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. This past week I received a nice e-mail from Bob Souza of Vast Westland stations KCKN-1020 NM and KCKM-1330 TX. In it he says: “I read in the Domestic DX Digest in the November 24th edition where John Tucker wondered why KCKM-1330 Monahans TX would ID with the phrase ‘The West Texas Powerhouse’ at night when the station was only running 1000 watts directional. Other than the editor’s comments “every watt is bigger in Texas” (which was a great answer), the slogan is primarily used as a marketing ploy to brag about the daytime signal where KCKM operates with 5000 watts non-directional using a half wave tower. The other stations in cities within a 40-mile radius of Monahans all run 1000 watts or less. Rather than alter the top-of-the- hour ID for the nighttime, we left it as is. Remember, perception is reality except for the experienced DXer who knows better!” Thank you very much for the information, Bob, and it was great hearing from you! (Oh, and I agree -- the editor’s comment on Texas watts was brilliant!) (Bill Dvorak, DDXD-West, NRC DX News Dec 8 via DXLD) ** U S A. GROSS OVERPOWERED OPERATION AT KSFV-LP, CH-6 (LOS ANGELES) There is news to report in the "Channel 6 acting as an FM radio station" department. KSFV-LP, CH-6 on Mt. Harvard (adjacent to Mt. Wilson and serving Los Angeles), has been cited by the FCC for running almost eight-times the allowable aural transmitter power. Their aural transmitter is apparently primarily used to broadcast to FM receivers tuned to 87.7 MHz. http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-286914A1.html LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: ANONYMOUS COMMENTS ON THE KSFV-LP NOTICE OF VIOLATION o Re KSFV-LP being cited for running almost eight times the allowable aural transmitter power: I was disappointed that (1) the FCC continues to allow CH-6s to act like FMs and (2) KSFV-LP was not cited for grossly excessive modulation. ... Still, the citation is a step in the right direction. Maybe the FCC will use this opportunity to stop CH-6 stations from acting like FMs. This is crazy. o Yeah, and now [KSFV is] asking the FCC to allow them to [run excessive power] legally. Now THAT'S chutspah! Here is KSFV's request: http://earthsignals.com/add_CGC/KSFV_LP_Waiver_App.pdf (CGC Communicator Dec 8 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) I DXed KSFV by sporadic E last summer, and also sent my report to CGC Communicator, but they ignored it, perhaps because they don`t want to read letters of more than a few words. So it wasn`t as low powered as it seemed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. “DECEPTION AND DISTRUST: THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION UNDER CHAIRMAN KEVIN J. MARTIN” Committee Releases Staff Report On Findings Of FCC Investigation Wednesday, December 10, 2008 For immediate release: Tuesday December 9 Contact: Jodi Seth/Dingell, 202-225-5735 // Nick Choate/Stupak, 202-225-4735 http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1455&Itemid=1 Washington, DC – Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-MI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, today released a Committee on Energy and Commerce Majority Staff report detailing the findings of the Committee’s bipartisan investigation relating to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). “Our investigation confirmed a number of troubling allegations raised by individuals in and outside the FCC,” Stupak said. “The Committee staff report details some of the most egregious abuses of power, suppression of information and manipulation of data under Chairman Martin’s leadership. It is my hope that this report will serve as a roadmap for a fair, open and efficient FCC under new leadership in the next administration.” “Any of these findings, individually, are cause for concern,” said Dingell. “Together, the findings suggest that, in recent years, the FCC has operated in a dysfunctional manner and Commission business has suffered as a result. It is my hope that the new FCC Chairman will find this report instructive and that it will prove useful in helping the Commission avoid making the same mistakes.” The report, titled “Deception and Distrust: The Federal Communications Commission Under Chairman Kevin J. Martin,” is the culmination of a bipartisan investigation into the FCC’s regulatory processes and management practices that was formally launched on January 8, 2008. Read the Report (pdf) http://energycommerce.house.gov/images/stories/Documents/PDF/Newsroom/fcc%20majority%20staff%20report%20081209.pdf Listen to Dec. 9th Media Conference Call with Chairman Stupak regarding the report and the investigation (audio) http://energycommerce.edgeboss.net/wmedia/energycommerce/stupak.conf.audio.wax (House Committee on Energy & Commerce, via gh, DXLD) If you want to see what's happening behind the scenes at the FCC I can think of no one better than Mr. Copps to explain it. I went to the December 2007 hearing where he read this statement below and it was truly amazing. Please read Mr. Martin's statement to get the other side too (George KC2SCI Magiros, IRCA via DXLD) Viz.: Mr. Copps: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-279035A3.pdf Mr. Martin: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-278932A2.pdf STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS, CONCUR IN PART, DISSENT IN PART Re: Promoting Diversification of Ownership in the Broadcasting Services et al, Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, MB Docket Nos. 07-294, 06-121, 02-277, 01-235, 01-317, 00- 244 and 04-228 Today's decision would make George Orwell proud. We claim to be giving the news industry a shot in the arm --- but the real effect is to reduce total newsgathering. We shed crocodile tears for the financial plight of newspapers --- yet the truth is that newspaper profits are about double the S&P 500 average. We pat ourselves on the back for holding six field hearings across the United States --- yet today's decision turns a deaf ear to the thousands of Americans who waited in long lines for an open mike to testify before us. We say we have closed loopholes --- yet we have introduced new ones. We say we are guided by public comment --- yet the majority's decision is overwhelmingly opposed by the public as demonstrated in our record and in public opinion surveys. We claim the mantle of scientific research --- even as the experts say we've asked the wrong questions, used the wrong data, and reached the wrong conclusions. I am not the only one disturbed by this illogical scenario. Congress and the American people have done everything but march down to Southwest DC and physically shake some sense into us. Everywhere we go, the questions are the same: Why are we rushing to encourage more media merger frenzy when we haven't addressed the demonstrated harms caused by previous media merger frenzy? Women and minorities own low single-digit percentages of America's broadcast outlets and big consolidated media continues to slam the door in their faces. It's going to take some major policy changes and a coordinated strategy to fix that. Don't look for that from this Commission. Instead we are told to be content with baby steps to help women and minorities --- but the fine print shows that the real beneficiaries will be small businesses owned by white men. So even as it becomes abundantly clear that the real cause of the disenfranchisement of women and minorities is media consolidation, we give the green light to a new round of --- yes, you guessed it --- media consolidation. Local news, local music and local groups so often get shunted aside when big media comes to town. Commissioner Adelstein and I have heard the plaintive voices of thousands of citizens all across this land in dozens of town meetings and public forums. From newscasters fired by chain owners with corporate headquarters thousands of miles away to local musicians and artists denied airtime because of big media's homogenization of our music and our culture. From minorities reeling from the way big media ignores their issues and caricatures them as people to women saying the only way to redress their grievances is to give them a shot to compete for use of the people's airwaves. From public interest advocates fighting valiantly for a return of localism and diversity to small, independent broadcasters who fight an uphill battle to preserve their independence. It will require tough rules of the road to redress our localism and diversity gaps. Do you see any such rules being passed today? To the idea that license holders should give the American people high quality programming in return for free use of the public airwaves, the majority answers that we need more study of problems that have been documented and studied to death for a decade and more. Today's outcome is the same old same old: one more time, we're running the fast-break for our big media friends and the four corner stall for the public interest. It is time for the American people to understand the game that's being played here. Big media doesn't want to tell the full story, of course, but I have heard first-hand from editorial page editors who have told me they can cover any story, save one --- media consolidation, and that they have been instructed to stay away from that one. But that's another story. Today's story is a majority decision unconnected to good policy and not even incidentally concerned with encouraging media to make our democracy stronger. We are not concerned with gathering valid data, conducting good research, or following the facts where they lead us. Our motivations are less Olympian and our methodology far simpler --- we generously ask big media to sit on Santa's knee, tell us what it wants for Christmas, and then push through whatever of these wishes are politically and practically feasible. No test to see if anyone's been naughty or nice. Just another big, shiny present for the favored few who already hold an FCC license --- and a lump of coal for the rest of us. Happy holidays! (via George Magiros, IRCA via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. VENEZUELA'S RADIOSUR WILL START "FIRST QUARTER OF 2009" "Venezuelan Minister for Communications and Information Jesse Chacón announced on Tuesday the creation of RADIOSUR in the first quarter of 2009, with a similar conception to that of TELESUR. In a press conference at the Miraflores Palace, the government headquarters, the Venezuelan minister said both structures would become defenders of the change projects in progress in developing countries." Prensa Latina, 9 December 2008 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Radiosur has been planned for at least a year. See previous post. How will it transmit? Via shortwave? Construction of new shortwave transmitters and antennas in Venezuela was reported by Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, via DX Listening Digest, 12 February 2008. Posted: 10 Dec 2008 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** VENEZUELA [non]. RNV via Cuba, 15290, Dec 10 at 1922 somebody other than Chávez giving a speech but big hum; pause for some music without the hum, and resume speech by Jesse Chacón with hum. If he was talking about RadioSur, I should have kept listening (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YEMEN. 9780, Yemen R. & TV Corp., San'a, 1812-1825, 7 Dec, English, news, western songs, feature about the Kor`an, Arabic music; 43343, adjacent QRM, mainly until 1830. Weak audio, very hard to read. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Dec 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. RTZ, 11735, good signal Dec 10 at 1927 with hilife music, but the unstable transmitter warbling is getting worse. I was thinking they got a new transmitter only a few years ago, but TDP shows the 50 kW Dole unit started in 1984y, http://www.tdp.info/tza.html so is TDP not up to date, or was the transmitter refurbished? It was off the air for a considerable period (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Re 8-126: Niel's 950 unID likely solved. Yay - almost. In downtown Toronto this morning, where conditions seem to always favour the south - possibly due to the construction of my house and/or location fairly immediately adjacent to very tall buildings to the west - I had a very dominant SSB by a woman start at about 0558 [EST = 1058 UT] as Niel had experienced. But not crystal clear, and the calls didn't make it, unfortunately. But I heard a Neal Boortz show promo, and seemed like a mention of talk programming, and it went right into network news. A check of 100000 watts lists WVTS as the most likely candidate with Boortz. The only other ID this morning there in that frame was Cuba's Reloj, faintly behind. So I am ready to rule out the Ohio station and to presume this as Charleston, West Virginia, which is actually a fairly common Class B visitor here. Class A being WIBX, WROC, WWJ and Cuba. I'd put WVTS in the second round of things heard *between my two Ontario DX sites) behind the big four, along with CFAM MB, WCLB WI, WXGI VA, WROL MA and WPEN PA. The good news, perhaps, is that they can be checked or monitored. The web link isn't working this morning at http://wvtsam950.com but contact info includes dave @ wqbe.com - I've sent him an e-mail, ccing it to Niel, and will report back any response to this list. [Later:] Heard Daybreak USA at 0650 on 950, 0655 Super Talk 950 ID at 0655, ad for Marty's Tire in Charleston at 0656. Faded down. Back at 0659 I heard tail end of the same woman singing the SSB, just as she did an hour earlier, followed by a slight drop-off but quickly followed by a full ID with show promos and mention of the station's web site. No question this is WVTS (Saul Chernos, Toronto, Dec 10, IRCA via DXLD) So she sings the SSB every hour?! (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 6195.82, 1047-1100 Dec 9. Noted a signal off frequency slightly with a female in Spanish language comments. Judging from the "tone" or speech tempo, she sounds like a Peruvian person. The signal is too poor to copy details unfortunately. At 1054 a male joins in with Spanish comments. If I had to decide who this is, I'd go with Radio Cusco from Cusco, Peru. Didn't do any research to see if Cusco has been up this high lately. BBC is sharing part of this frequency. 6195.84, 1030-1100 Dec 10. Listened for a second day to the unID on this frequency. Again it's signal was just audible in the noise. It consisted of Spanish comments mainly by a female, but some comments from a male too. I believe I heard "Lima" mentioned often, but no other place names heard. Signal was just threshold. Possibly an earlier time would be beneficial in identifying this target. I am 50 percent convinced however, that it is a Peruvian (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, NRD545, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6195.77, Latin discovered by Terry Krueger; recent log by Charles Bolland. Fading out at 1125. 10 December, weak at 1030 on 8 December. 73s, (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Look at http://www.media-broadcast.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads/B08_operational_281108.pdf What's "ADM", on air since November 5 on Wednesdays only, 1600-1657 on 13790, Issoudun 500 kW with beam 128 degrees? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Unfortunately got this too late to check this Wednesday. I don`t know but from Jan 1 it is supposed to expand to 7 days a week. Target area is Sudan including Darfur, and Horn of Africa (Glenn Hauser, Dec 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks to Tim Hendel, Huntsville AL, who sent a check in the mail to P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702. PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ RADIO SHACK CATALOG LIBRARY ON-LINE From Fort Worth with love: http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/index.html (Harry Helms W5HLH, Corpus Christi, TX EL17, Dec 10, ABDX via DXLD) Wow! The memories! Hundreds of hours I spent drooling as a kid. Thanks Harry for this! YMMD [you made my day!] (Phil Rafuse, PEI, ibid.) I bookmarked it. Radio Shaft sucks today but back in the day I would look at the catalogs and save pennies, collect bottles for deposit money, mow yards, throw newspapers and anything else I could do to go to the RS and get some newfangled radio or antenna. Those days were cool but they are sure gone now (Kevin Redding, TN, ibid.) I saved my allowance and lunch money to buy Radio Shack project books [many written by Forrest M. Mims, III], electronic parts and P-Box kits. I'd walk to the "Radio Shop" (which was a TV sales and service shop and Radio Shack dealer store in downtown Antigonish NS) to buy the stuff. Often the electronic parts had to be ordered in, and they often forgot to order the stuff. In spite of the fact that I was a kid, then a teenager buying stuff there on a weekly basis, never once did they invite me in back to the repair area. Of course, being a shy geek, never once did I ever ask! (Phil Rafuse, Stratford PEI, ibid.) Phil, it's been my pleasure to have had Forrest as a friend since the late 1970s. We first met when I worked in Radio Shack's technical publications group in Fort Worth and Forrest was doing the first edition of "Engineer's Notebook." We got to know each other over the course of a long afternoon as we sprayed clear protective lacquer on the transparent Mylar sheets he had use to hand-draw the pages for Engineer's Notebook --- we commandeered a vacant floor in the then-new Tandy Center and spread out the book pages over several thousand square feet of empty office space! Forrest is one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. I described him years ago as "Tom Swift as an adult" and the description still fits. He has interests far beyond electronics. For example, he has recently been conducting ozone detection experiments under a NOAA contract at the Mauna Kea observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii. Forrest lives up Interstate 37, north of San Antonio, in the small town of Seguin, TX. He and his wife Minnie were the first visitors we had after moving to Corpus. I've been very lucky to have had him as a friend! (Harry Helms W5HLH, Corpus Christi, TX EL17 http://harryhelmsblog.blogspot.com/ ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ TV TRANSITION NOTES o WECT, Wilmington, made the DTV switch early and offers valuable lessons for all of us facing the Feb. 17 deadline: http://www.rbr.com/features/viewpoints/11655.html (CGC Communicator Dec 8 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Re: DTV questions: remapping As I pointed out some months ago, KXOK-LP-32 here in Enid has KXOK-DT- 31, very low power, which remaps to 12, a channel with which it has no connexion whatsoever, even on cable system. It looks like they got to pick a remap channel out of the hat. Or is it totally SNAFU? 73, (Glenn Hauser. Dec 5, ABDX via DXLD) The latter, I think. As long as there's nobody else using virtual channel 12 in the vicinity - and I think the closest are probably Wichita KS, Joplin MO and Sherman TX - they can probably get away with it. It's not something the FCC is spending much effort enforcing at the moment. s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Full-Power Channel 36 in Charlotte, NC IDs on the air as "NBC 6" and remaps to 6 on the digital, but Charlotte has no Channel 6 and never did! They are too close to Augusta, GA's WJBF 6 (Kevin `possumhunter` in Upstate SC, KJ4HYD, ibid.) ARRL lookup shows: RAPER, LEWIS K, KJ4HYD (General), 107 MOORE CT, SIMPSONVILLE, SC 29681 – now we know why he never uses his last name (gh, DXLD) LAUNCH: BBC & DW IN EUROPE ON DRM DIGITAL RADIO Dear All, "London, UK – The BBC and Deutsche Welle (DW) today launched a new Digital Radio MondialeTM (DRM) digital radio channel for Europe. The channel is an 18-hour daily broadcast of the best international programmes in English from the BBC World Service and DW. It also brings to the audience all the advantages of the DRM digital radio including near-FM quality audio, text messages, Journaline and an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG). This first ever joint BBC-DW DRM radio channel has been launched using six transmitters, which are used in pairs, to cover much of Western Europe. The signal covers France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and other neighbouring countries. […]" If you want to know more, please read the attached release or click under: http://www.drm.org/news/detail/news/launch-bbc-deutsche-welle-in-europe-on-drm-digital-radio/ A complete flyer as well as a coverage map is also available on the DRM website. Yours sincerely, Fanny Podworny, Communications & PR Assistant, Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) Fanny.Podworny @ bbc.co.uk pressoffice @ drm.org work: +44 20 7557 3271 fax: +44 20 7557 0280 address: DRM Project Office, Postal Box 360, CH - 1218 Grand-Saconnex, Geneva - Switzerland http://www.drm.org (via DXLD) WTFK?!?!?! Not on this nor on any of the three pdfs linked at above site do they give the actual FREQUENCIES for this except: ``shortwave and 1296 mediumwave`` 0500-2300 UT. There is a link to this version of the DRM schedule of ALL stations: http://www.drm.org/index.php?id=20 From that you have to filter the programmes separately for BBC (NOT BBCWS) and DW to finally get all the times and frequencies, which are only the center-channels not the 10-kHz-wide bandwidth each DRM transmission occupies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) THE NEW BBC/DW DRM SERVICE IS ON THE AIR. NOW TRY TO FIND IT ON YOUR RADIO. "BBC and DW join in creating a new radio channel with a mix of global news and current affairs on Digital Radio Mondiale. On Dec. 10, European listeners will get the best of both stations in a single quality channel. Broadcast in clear digital quality, the new DRM channel will be available from early morning till late at night with global news and current affairs along with a rich mix of in-depth analysis, documentaries and cultural programs. The channel will target Western and Central Europe with a potential audience of 170 million listeners. ... Because it is digital, DRM reception is of equally high quality no matter where a listener turns it on -- in cities and in dense forests, inside a house or an apartment complex or even while driving a car. Plus, DRM is still a radio, meaning that listeners do not need an internet connection to listen to their favorite programs." DW, 12 [sic] December 2008 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) This is a DW news story, but it reads like a press release. And it does not provide the frequency of this new DRM service, or even indicate if it is medium wave or shortwave. DRM reception may not be of "equally high quality ... inside a house or an apartment complex" because DRM is vulnerable to signal loss due to the interference typically experienced inside these domiciles. See also the DW press release, 10 December 2008, which *does* provide, at least, the medium wave frequency: "The broadcast can be heard from 06:00 to 24:00 CET on shortwave and on 1296 medium wave." The 1296 kHz is via a 500-kilowatt BBC transmitter in Orfordness, England. See program schedule and other information at the DRM Consortium website, 10 December 2008. The DRM site has this schedule of all DRM transmissions, but the shortwave frequencies of this new BBC/DW service are not clearly identified, if they are there at all. Why are the parties involved making it so difficult to hear this new service on shortwave? U.S. members of the Yahoo drmna discussion group have been hearing the BBC/DW DRM transmission on 9545 kHz shortwave. David Murphy in Dresden writes: "I'm listening to BBC/DW on DRM on 3995 kHz. (A frequency previously used for DW DRM in English.) They have their own trails. At the top of this hour they said 'It's just approaching 18 CET and you're welcome on our very first day to the new DRM channel from the BBC and Deutsche Welle. It's great to have you with us. DRM Digital Radio. The BBC and Deutsche Welle on DRM Digital Radio. Better radio. Altogether.' From the schedule, it doesn't appear that any content will be available which is not already available through other means. (One of the arguments made about how to attract listeners is that it should be unique content.) But I'll not complain too loudly, since this DRM service is a reasonable replacement for my recently-lost FM BBC relay here." Posted: 10 Dec 2008 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) UK/GERMANY/NORWAY/PORTUGAL DW-RADIO - 09.12.2008 Aenderungen vorbehalten. DRM - BBC & DW - Europa (Englisch) Sendezeit/ UTC Frequenz (kHz) Sender Station Gueltig von - bis 0500-0559 3995 BBC SINES 101208-280309 0500-0600 1296 BBC ORFORDNESS 101208-280309 0600-0700 1296 BBC ORFORDNESS 101208-280309 0600-0700 3995 BBC SKELTON 101208-280309 0700-0800 5990 DW SKELTON 101208-280309 0700-0800 6130 DW SINES 101208-280309 0800-0900 9610 DW SINES 101208-280309 0803-0900 13810 DW SINES 101208-280309 0900-1000 9610 DW SINES 101208-280309 0900-1000 13810 DW SINES 101208-280309 1000-1100 9545 DW WOOFFERTON 101208-280309 1000-1100 13810 DW SINES 101208-280309 1100-1200 9545 DW WOOFFERTON 101208-280309 1100-1200 13810 DW SINES 101208-280309 1200-1300 9545 DW WOOFFERTON 101208-280309 1200-1300 13810 DW SINES 101208-280309 1300-1400 9545 DW WOOFFERTON 101208-280309 1300-1400 13810 DW SINES 101208-280309 1400-1500 9545 BBC WOOFFERTON 101208-280309 1400-1500 13590 BBC SINES 101208-280309 1500-1600 5790 BBC WOOFFERTON 101208-280309 - not on air Dec 10, wb. 1500-1600 13590 BBC SINES 101208-280309 1600-1700 3995 BBC SKELTON 101208-280309 1600-1700 5790 BBC WOOFFERTON 101208-280309 1700-1800 1296 BBC ORFORDNESS 101208-280309 1700-1800 3995 BBC SKELTON 101208-280309 1800-1900 1296 DW ORFORDNESS 101208-280309 1800-1900 3995 DW SKELTON 101208-280309 1900-2000 1296 DW ORFORDNESS 101208-280309 1900-2000 3995 DW SKELTON 101208-280309 2000-2100 1296 DW ORFORDNESS 101208-280309 2000-2100 3995 DW SKELTON 101208-280309 2100-2200 3995 BBC SKELTON 101208-280309 2100-2200 5875 BBC KVITSOY 101208-280309 2200-2300 3995 BBC SINES 101208-280309 2200-2300 5875 BBC KVITSOY 101208-280309 Bei Rueckfragen wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an uns: DEUTSCHE WELLE Kundenservice 53110 Bonn Deutschland Tel.: +49.228.429-4000 Fax: +49.228.429-154000 e-mail: (DWL via Michael Bethge-D, wwdxc TopNews Dec 10 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLDyg via DXLD) The programme schedule is available here : http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/drm/drmbbcdwwin0809v2.pdf Webpage : http://www.bbcdw.org (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, ibid., who also forwarded the DW press release) Unfortunately, there is a factual error in the press release, as discussed in the Media Network Weblog. 1296 kHz is not on the air 18 hours a day as the press release indicates, but only at 0500-0700 and 1700-2100 UT. RNW continues to hire three hours a day on this transmitter in AM mode as in our schedule: 0900-1100 in Dutch and 1600-1700 in English, the first half hour of which is Euranet (Andy Sennitt, RNW, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15+ comments so far, mostly negative: http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/bbcdws-new-drm-service-launches-ahead-of-schedule#comments (Media Network blog via DXLD) After more and more testings and program schedules, I keep wondering on the matter, where are the receivers to listen DRM...? Am I missing something or I'll have to ask Santa for one of those? 73 and Happy Holidays! (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIWAVE DRM RECEIVER I have put up a page at http://uniwave.info and http://uniwave.us It is simply a summary of data about the UniWave receiver. I have no connection to UniWave. But I noticed on my website http://26mhz.us just lots of people looking for information on this radio (as shown by webserver logs). So to convey information more directly about this radio, it would be helpful to have a page devoted to it. UniWave's website is not ready but there is an interesting, if brief, flash animation on that company's site at http://uniwave.fr Hopefully the receiver will please customers, but the success of DRM will depend on more than just receivers (Benn Kobb, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DRM: see also GERMANY; POLAND; SLOVAKIA RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ DX VS THE EYES & EARS Hi, Not too happy today. Got socked with a bill of over $600 for new glasses for me & my wife. Had to do it, though --- my wife was not willing to watch TV, especially my TV DX, because she said it bothered her eyes and made her dizzy. As for me, my work demands good eyesight, and the doctor said I needed new glasses as well. Watching a lotta TV DX might have exasperated my eye problem. So --- Has anyone here had a medical problem possibly related to DX? Can it be bad on the eyes to a point where a new eyeglass prescription is needed? Also, has anyone had hearing problems due to listening to DX too much? Wouldn't surprise me here in the least. If anyone has a story to share, feel free.... cd (Probably Chris Dunne, Pembroke Pines FL, Dec 4, WTFDA forum via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ 24 UUR TROPENBANDEN !? Hallo iedereen, Het valt misschien niet iedereen zo op, maar op de tropenbanden is de afgelopen week een merkwaardig fenomeen waar te nemen : de mogelijkheid van ontvangst rondom de klok. Zelf had ik afgelopen zaterdag al bemerkt dat enkele Chinezen in de 60m band al vóór 1200 UT met verstaanbaar signaal te horen waren. Dat roept de vraag op of een verlaat LA station misschien ook .... – en jawel, maandag op de A-DX lijst een mededeling van Nils Schifhauer die rond 1100 UT zowel de fade out van R. Rebelde (5025 kHz) als de fade in van CNR1 (4800 kHz) waarnam. Bovendien ook rapporten (T. Lindenthal, via A-DX) van PNG ontvangst in de namiddag op 90 m (3235 kHz, 1355 UT). Ik heb de opname afgespeeld, en ben geneigd dit te bevestigen. Kortom – unieke condities. Ik kan me niet herinneren dit al eens zo meegemaakt te hebben. Enig probleem : Weliswaar is al dit moois nu eens niet ’s nachts te horen, zodat het geen slaap kost, maar overdag betaalt mijn werkgever mij voor andere dingen dan op verre radiostations te jagen. Hopelijk blijfven deze kondities tot het weekend, dan kan ik er ook nog eens tegenaan gaan. (of natuurlijk : Wie leent mij een Perseus ?) Groeten, (Aart Rouw, Bühl, Duitsland, bdx mailing list, Dec 10, via DXLD) Geomagnetic field activity was at mostly quiet levels on 01 - 03 December. From 04 - 07 December, activity increased to unsettled to active levels, with isolated minor to major storm periods observed at high latitudes. This period of activity was due to a recurrent coronal hole that rotated into a geoeffective position. By midday on 07 December, activity decayed to mostly quiet levels and remained so through the balance of the summary period. The period began with ACE solar wind velocities at about 290 km/s. These velocities persisted through early on 03 December when wind speed gradually increased to about 325 km/s by midday on the 03rd. Velocities continued to increase through the period and reached a maximum of 570 km/s at 07/0748 UTC. During this timeframe, the Bz component of the IMF varied from a high of +8 nT (05/1746 UTC) to a low of -8 nT (05/2128 UTC) with a Bt max of 11 nT (05/2019 UTC), all associated with the coronal hole high speed stream. The summary period ended with solar wind velocity near 500 km/s. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 10 DEC 2008 - 05 JAN 2009 Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels during 10 - 12 December and 02 - 05 January. Normal levels are expected during 13 December - 01 January. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at mostly quiet levels on 10 - 12 December. Activity is expected to increase to quiet to unsettled levels on 13 December due to a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS). Activity is expected to decrease to quiet levels during 14 - 21 December. Activity is expected to increase to unsettled levels on 22 - 24 December due to another recurrent CH HSS. Activity is expected to decrease to quiet levels during 25 - 30 December. Activity is expected to increase to unsettled to active levels on 31 December - 02 January due to another recurrent CH HSS. Activity is expected to decrease to quiet levels during 03 - 05 January. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2008 Dec 09 2152 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center # Product description and SWPC contact on the Web # http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2008 Dec 09 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2008 Dec 10 70 5 2 2008 Dec 11 70 5 2 2008 Dec 12 70 5 2 2008 Dec 13 70 8 3 2008 Dec 14 70 5 2 2008 Dec 15 70 5 2 2008 Dec 16 70 5 2 2008 Dec 17 70 5 2 2008 Dec 18 70 5 2 2008 Dec 19 70 5 2 2008 Dec 20 70 5 2 2008 Dec 21 70 5 2 2008 Dec 22 70 10 3 2008 Dec 23 70 8 3 2008 Dec 24 70 8 3 2008 Dec 25 70 5 2 2008 Dec 26 70 5 2 2008 Dec 27 70 5 2 2008 Dec 28 70 5 2 2008 Dec 29 70 5 2 2008 Dec 30 70 5 2 2008 Dec 31 70 8 3 2009 Jan 01 70 15 4 2009 Jan 02 70 10 3 2009 Jan 03 70 5 2 2009 Jan 04 70 5 2 2009 Jan 05 70 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1438, DXLD) ###