DX LISTENING DIGEST 9-032, April 10, 2009 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 2009 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 1455, April 8-14 Wed 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1900 WBCQ 7415 Thu 0530 WRMI 9955 Thu 1900 WBCQ 7415 Fri 0000 WBCQ 5110-CUSB Area 51 Fri 0100 WRMI 9955 Fri 1130 WRMI 9955 Fri 1900 WBCQ 7415 Fri 1930 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 7290 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 [or 2029] Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 0800 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 9510 [except first Sat] Sat 1630 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1515 WRMI 9955 Mon 0500 WRMI 9955 Mon 2200 WBCQ 7415 Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Tue 1900 WBCQ 7415 Wed 0500 WRMI 9955 [or new 1456] 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 or http://schedule.worldofradio.org or http://sked.worldofradio.org 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://podcast.worldofradio.org or http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/podcast.php OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** ABKHAZIA [and non]. Abkhaz Radio Sukhumi was strong too today 1710 UT on 9495.58v. And close by RA SHP 9475 17-19 UT on S=9+25 dB level. Also 13-14 UT on 11660. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Apr 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. Re 9-031: ``AFGHANISTAN. Re 9-030, Khost 621 kHz: I am told by reliable sources that the Khost medium wave system is nearly complete (Glenn Hauser, April 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` But will it be completed or has the work on this project stopped, probably leaving the almost complete facility as investment ruin? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, April 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS. 4760, AIR Port Blair (presumed), 1445- 1500, April 10. In English (Indian accent) with sermon about Good Friday; not parallel to 9425, but programs were very similar; religious songs (Christian); weak (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGUILLA [and non]. Pastor Melissa Scott's pornographic past is exposed in the May issue of Marie Claire fashion magazine. The article, titled "The Preacher's Unholy Past" profiles Melissa Scott's days in the porn industry, and how she became one of Dr. Gene Scott's "pony girls", ultimately to become pastor of Los Angeles University Cathedral. *** WARNING ADULT CONTENT - NOT SUITABLE FOR WORK *** THE PREACHER'S UNHOLY PAST Pastor Melissa Scott presides over a televangelist empire. Hard to believe that she was once a triple-X plaything known as Barbie Bridges. Gretchen Voss uncovers the true story behind Scott's divine reinvention... http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/news/latest/melissa-scott-porn-pastor (via Chaz Lambrusco, April 10, DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. ANTARTIDA, 15476, LRA 36, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza, 1845-1856, 07-04, canciones en español, identificación, locutor y locutora, el tiempo en Base Esperanza, por locutora. 14321. Señal más débil que en días pasados. Parece que estamos en una buena época para escuchar esta emisora, pues por aquí está entrando todos los días. También escuchada 1843-1916 , 09-04, programa musical, tangos, identificación a las 1900 por locutor: "Desde Base Esperanza transmite LRA 36 Radio Arcángel San Gabriel, por 15476 kHz." Buena señal al principio, para luego irse deteriorando poco a poco. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, escucha realizada en casco urbano de Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 y Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Antena de cable, 8 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476, definite carrier here, not 15475, on portable DX-398 in the yard while noisy computer on inside, but ambient line noise level in neighborhood still makes it tough to pull anything more, 1923 April 9. However, computer off, checked at 2041 on the FRG-7 with longwire, I found the carrier cutting on and off, almost like slow CW. This has happened before with LRA36. Now if they had actually been sending a message by CW instead of AM, it could have been copied (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476 kHz, Argentine Antarctic, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel noted 1945 to 2007 on April 9th with threshold signal, occasional OM en español. On April 10th nothing at the same time. 73s de (Bob, Pompano Beach, Florida, Wilkner, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. Re 9-031, RAE on 9690: Estimado Glenn, Agradeço pelas informações. Já com relação a RAE havia interferência (SINPO 23332). Como dito anteriormente, o tempo em que o rádio ficou ligado na frequência foi bastante razoável, mas tive de dar atenção a outra tarefa, no entanto posso garantir que se tratava de uma transmissão em italiano sim. Uma vez mais meus agradecimentos pelo seu interesse em meus logs (Antonio Garcia, PR7BCP, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11710.73v, RAE, 0106-0125, April 9. In Japanese with tango music; “R- A-E, RAE” IDs; fair; at about 0243 was weak, in English with LA music (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11710.76, RAE 0122, Apr 09, 2009. Spanish ID's with surprisingly good signal of S-9 in the clear. Modulation could have been better but certainly understandable. I know there was some question lately of their existence on SW, either on the 19 or 25 meter band frequency. I remember being so excited to hear them back in the early 80's as an early teenager. (Steve Price, Johnstown, PA, ODXA yg via DXLD) Not bad here also, not S-9, I have had them better. Sign/On in English at 0200 UT, 11710.6 on Icom R71-a with Log Periodic at 160 degrees. 73 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, ibid.) I know some folks consider it cheating, but RAE now has a live webcast for the 0200 English language service, so one can hear them on an Internet radio or their Internet-connected computer. RAE remains one of those services that retains an "exotic" feel, with the programming 100% focused on Argentina and its place in the world. (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, ibid.) Cheating?? Only if you are racking up a SW country total (gh, DXLD) 11710.74, RAE, 0213-0240, April 9, tune-in to English news. ID. Contact information. Poor. Weak. Barely audible by 0240 but heard at 0307 check with a good signal in French (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11710.75, Radiodifusión Agrentina [al] Exterior (General Pacheco), 0005-0112, 4/10/2009, Portuguese. Piano and other instrumental music with announcements and short talk segments by woman. Abbreviated time pips at 0030. IS and multi-language "RAE Argentina" recording by man and woman from 0054 to 0111. Time pips at 0100. Piano music and possible anthem added to ID sequence after 0105, then Spanish ID and announcements by man at 0111. Start of Japanese program at 0112. Good signal with fading, down a bit by 0110 (Jim Evans, Germantown TN, Sony ICF-SW7600G and Whip, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks Ron. Ohh yes noted 11710.73 at 1300-1400 UT here also, suggested first it was KRE!? Co-channel CNR Beijing even. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Apr 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 4910, VL8T, Tennant Creek, 0810-0830*, April 10, program of local ballads. // 4835 - VL8A, Alice Springs. Both frequencies poor in noisy conditions (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 11825, R.A., 1337-1429*, April 10. In Chinese with English language lesson (“Julia will be on a plane between Darwin and Singapore”, etc.); ID at sign-off; mostly fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. Belarus seems to have made plenty of changes to its schedules (both domestic and external) over the past fortnight, so apologies if this is not news - though it was to me. Last night at around 2145 GMT I heard their external service in English on 279. I don't think I've ever heard their English service on longwave before. According to their A-09 schedule, English at 2000- 2200 is meant to be on 1170, 7210, 7255 and 7390 (Chris Greenway, England, April 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Chris, not on tonight, so maybe just a switching error? 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, April 10, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** BELARUS. 7030 kHz mixture: IARU German Bandwatch reported Belarus signal INTERMODULATION from Minsk Kalodziscy site on 7030 kHz in Ham Radio band today 7210 1100-2300 MNS 75kW 270degr BLR BTC SDT 7390 1100-2300 MNS 150 250 BLR BTC SDT 53 57'58.96"N 27 47'13.21"E 53 57'59.20"N 27 46'55.49"E http://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=de&geocode=&q=++53.966445N++27.782081+E&sll=51.151786,10.415039&sspn=19.953152,39.550781&ie=UTF8&ll=53.966437,27.782106&spn=0.018227,0.038624&t=h&z=15 cross checked by various German BNA Bundesnetzagentur monitoring stations. Similar symmetrical outlet on the upper side should be heard on 7390 + 180 kHz = 7570 kHz too (Wolfgang df5sx Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BHUTAN. Bhutan Broadcasting Service in English: http://www/bbs.com/bt/radosch.htm (page dates 6-April-09) 0500-0520, 0800-0820 & 1400-1420 on 6035 (Converting to UTC assuming listed times are local) (MARE Tipsheet April 10 via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. Altho we confirmed by monitoring that V. of Biafra International was on new 11885 via WHRI, Friday April 3 at 2100-2200, as tipped by their online schedule at that time, a recheck of the Angel 1 schedule http://www.whr.org/customcf/dsp_schedule_read.cfm?Search=Angel1 April 9 at 1958 shows that has been deleted and replaced by: 1900-2000 3:00 PM-4:00 PM Fr VOBI Broadcasts Oguchi Nkwocha 17.520 Mhz So look for it two hours earlier on 17520, Friday April 10. Perhaps they are experimenting with different times and frequencies to find out which works best (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Via WHRI, USA, 17520 NF, V of Biafra Int, 1900-1935+, April 10, new time & frequency. Perhaps temporary. Thanks to Glenn Hauser tip. Sign on with African flutes & drums along with opening ID announcements. English programming with Anthem at 1901 followed by IDs, religious music and prayer. English news at 1911. Some African music. Talk about poverty in “Biafraland”. Some English difficult to understand due to thick accent. Fair. Fri only (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As expected, this week V. of Biafra International via WHRI was on 17520, Friday April 10 at 1900 --- as I was barely able to confirm by recognizing the oratorical style at 1945 on the DX-398 portable as I was out and about and paused to check it in a store parking lot. Under those circumstances, it was just barely audible, and with a pretty heavy echo on what there was of it; backscatter? Brian Alexander also got it better in PA. I also checked 11885 after 2100, the time it was on the previous Friday, and this frequency was not even on the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. A CBN/Anhanguera está com harmônicos em 12325 kHz ou 12330 kHz, quando sua frequência correta é de 11830 kHz em 25 metros. É uma "novela" essa frequência. Nunca se encontra a contento. Não há uma regularidade de transmissão. A potência é boa, porém o áudio sempre com má qualidade. Acredito que não haja escuta por parte dos técnicos para checar a emissão. Eles ligam o transmissor e vai que vai. 73 (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira SP, 2011 UT April 8, radioescutas yg via DXLD) These are not harmonics of 11830, but apparently spurs. Another losing battle I have fought for sesquidecades --- simply defining what is an harmonic and what is not (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURMA [non]. 11685, Dem Voice of Burma, Palau KHBN 1300-1400 UT S=5-6 in Europe. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Apr 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. CRI en español, HORARIOS, FRECUENCIAS Y BANDA Para Europa, hora UTC 2100-2300 por 6020 y 9640 kHz, 49,83 y 31,12 m 2200-0000 por 7210 y 7250 kHz, 41,61 y 41,38 m 2300-0000 por 6175 kHz, 48,58 m 0600-0800 por 15135 kHz, 19,82 m [17680? See below] Para Sudamérica, hora UTC 2200-2300 por 9490 y 13700 kHz, 31,61 y 21,90 m 2300-0100 por 9590 y 9800 kHz, 31,28 y 30,61 m 0000-0100 por 15120 kHz, 19,84 m 0100-0200 por 9665 kHz, 31,04 m 0100-0300 por 9590 y 9710 kHz, 31,28 y 30,90 m 0300-0400 por 9665 kHz, 31,04 m Para Centroamérica, hora UTC 0000-0100 por 5990 kHz, 50,08 m Para Panamá, HORA DE PANAMA 1200-1400 A través de Chinavisión por 1180 kHz AM Para escuchar nuestros programas en línea, abra esta página y elija el sector que le interesa por la izquierda (exige instalado el software Media Placer [sic]): http://espanol.cri.cn/cribuenosaires/index.htm O hacer un clic directamente en los días de la semana en la parte superior al lado izquierdo de la siguiente página (exige instalado el software Real Placer [sic]): http://espanol.cri.cn/ ESQUEMA DE PROGRAMACION: LUNES: Boletín informativo Visión de China Actualidad Mundial Microcosmos de la sociedad china Chino cotidiano Actualidad Iberoamericana Prisma de la economía china MARTES Boletín informativo Visión de China Actualidad Mundial Espacio deportivo Chino cotidiano Actualidad Iberoamericana Viaje por China MIERCOLES Boletín informativo Visión de China Actualidad Mundial Presencia de la cultura china Chino cotidiano Actualidad Iberoamericana Microcosmos de la Sociedad China JUEVES Boletín informativo Visión de China Actualidad Mundial Viaje por China Chino cotidiano Actualidad Iberoamericana Espacio deportivo VIERNES Boletín informativo Visión de China Actualidad Mundial Prisma de la economía China Chino cotidiano Actualidad Iberoamericana Presencia de la Cultura China SABADO Boletín informativo Visión de China Actualidad Mundial Vanguardia de Ciencia Tecnología, Educación y Salud Chino cotidiano Carta de Beijing DOMINGO Boletín informativo Visión de China Actualidad Mundial Carta de Beijing Chino cotidiano Vanguardia de Ciencia, Tecnología, Educación y Salud Nuestra dirección electrónica: spa@cri.com.cn Nuestra dirección por correo es: Departamento de Español Radio Internacional de China Shijigshanlu, 16ª Beijing, China C.P. 100040 Y nuestra página web es: http://espanol.cri.cn/ (Información recibida de la emisora via José Bueno, Córdoba, España, April 9, DXLD) Here`s the program and frequency schedule in grid form: http://espanol.cri.cn/742/2009/03/10/1s174199.htm Seems they use CRI rather than RIC thruout. But why is the title on that page ``Radio Antarabangsa China`` --- looks like Indonesian? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hola José y Colegas: Sobre los horarios de CRI, me permito una duda sobre si son los actuales, son un calco de lo vigente en el anterior periodo con una excepción: la emisión para Europa de las 0600-0800 la he escuchado yo el pasado día 4 de abril ya en la frecuencia de 17680, que es la frecuencia habitual para esta emisión en verano, el resto exceptuando las 2100 (correcto) no lo he monitorizado. Cordialmente, (Tomás Méndez, QTH: El Prat de Llobregat-Barcelona España, logsderadio yg via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. UNIDENTIFIED. 2980, 0250-0315, April 9, Spanish ballads. Spanish announcements. Talk. Religious music. Still here at 0555 check. 2nd harmonic of 1490? Weak but readable. (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, TenTec RX-340, two 100 foot longwires, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] Thanks to Henrik Klemetz for IDing this station. It is 2nd harmonic of Radio Vida Nueva, 1490, Colombia. 2 x 1490 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) There are countless Spanish stations on 1490 which might be harmonicizing. Is the ID based on anything more definite than this Colombian having been confirmed recently as one of them? 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Henrik Klemetz helped ID the station by sending me streaming audio of Radio Vida Nueva which I compared to what I was hearing. And later I actually heard a good clear Radio Vida Nueva ID at 0708. 2980, Radio Vida Nueva, 0630-0720, April 9, 2nd harmonic of 1490. Spanish religious ballads. Spanish talk. Weak but readable. Good clear ID at 0708. Thanks to Henrik Klemetz for the help IDing this one. Also heard earlier at 0250-0315+ (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. DentroCuban Jamming Command pulses against nothing on 9545, that frequency used only a few hours earlier by Radio República, but jamming still going at 0628 April 9 --- and QRMing RHC on adjacent 9550, ha ha ha, whose signal was markedly weaker. That gives you a good idea of the priorities in Cuban broadcasting and anti- broadcasting. DentroCuban Commies vs DentroCuban Commies! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. R Havana Cuba new frequencies announced --- On Radio Havana's English Service this morning (10 April) they announced new frequencies from Monday 13th April: 17660 kHz 2030-2130 13790 kHz 2300-2400 6010 kHz 0500-0700 Sadly they didn't announce the full schedule, or which frequencies these were replacing (assuming they are not extra ones). Currently 6000 and 6140 kHz both give good reception here around 0400-0500 so hopefully these will be unchanged. (The new announced 6010 would suffer splatter here from very strong Netherlands on 6015 kHz 0500- 0600). (Alan Pennington, Caversham, UK, Sony 7600GR/ telescopic aerial, April 10, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Ha! Great news for the Mexico/Colombia radio war on 6010. I certainly see no need for RHC to change any of its 0500-0700 frequencies in English, 6000, 6060 or 6140 --- unless it`s Bulgaria on 6000 to the Balkans, which I haven`t noticed here. When WYFR was colliding on 6000, RHC didn`t care about that. Can it be coincidental that these changes are not announced until the HFCC A09 public file is available? As an outlaw nation, Cuba refuses to participate in HFCC for advance coordination. There may be more changes for other languages (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHIA. Czech Republic: The latest edition of Radio Prague's weekly 'From the Archives' programme, broadcast on 9 April in the English service, focused on the efforts of the Czechoslovak communist government to discredit the Munich-based Radio Free Europe (RFE) during the 1970s. The regime's efforts, according to the feature, were 'little short of an obsession'. It recalled that, in January 1976, a Czechoslovak agent who had worked for many years with RFE's Czech Service as an announcer had returned to Prague and, at an international press conference, condemned the station for being controlled by the CIA and accused some of his former colleagues of being CIA agents. After the return of the agent, Captain Pavel Minazic, a popular song had been recorded in his honour and he was regarded by the regime as a national hero. The feature, which contained some archive recordings relating to RFE and the Czechoslovak government's reaction to it, ended with the news that the once- celebrated Captain had been in the news again recently when he was convicted of an insurance fraud and that, subject to appeal, he now faces a lengthy jail sentence (Roger Tidy, UK, April 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. In an unnamed DX bulletin, I see yet another log of the timesignaller on 3810 as ``HD210A``. How many times have I explained that the call really has one number in it, not three? How long will it take for people to catch on that the callsign matches the institution running it, Instituto Oceanográfico de la Armada? Why am I wasting my time trying to educate people about minor but significant points relating to DXing? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. HCJB Quito in DRM mode, ex Sp, Ge at 0830-1030 UT on 11625 kHz, to replaced by 15280 drm Sp 1959-2059, Ge 2059-2200 UT 15280 1959-2200 27,28 QUI 4 kW 35 deg 15280 1959-2200 58-60 QUI 4 225 [probably 35/225 for both] (HFCC public file Apr 9, via BC-DX Apr 10 via DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA ECUATORIAL. 15190, Radio Africa, 0635-0642, 08- 04, inglés, locutor, comentario religioso. 44434 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, escucha realizada en casco urbano de Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 y Sony ICF SW 7600 G, Antena de cable, 8 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15190, Radio Africa, *1429-1440, April 10, abrupt sign on with English religious talk & gospel music. Poor in noisy conditions. Also noted at 2040 & 2135 with a strong signal but somewhat distorted, over modulated audio. 6250, Radio Nacional - Malabo, 2045-2140+, April 10, on late with an eclectic mix of Afro-pops, lite instrumental and classical music. Spanish talk at 2100. Radio Malabo ID. Poor to fair with occasional RTTY QRM & T-storm static. Irregular. They were on late last Friday night also (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. Radio Bana, 5100 --- the station signed and stamped my prepared card, in 45 days. My QSL went to Reijo Alapiha {sic] in Joennu, Finland, who contact me via e-amil before forwarding my card. He asked me if I received his card. I hadn`t but three days later a Radio Bana envelope arrived with his full/data station card. He sent me my card and I sent him hiis. Although I was glad to get the prpared card back, I would have liked the modest station card too! (Rich D`Angelo, PA, QSL Report, April NASWA Journal via DXLD) Well, you could have kept a photocopy, scan or other image of it to admire, notwithstanding its true ownership (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. via Samara, Russia, 15350, Voice of Meselna-Delina, *1730-1735, April 9, Tentative. Sign on with Horn of Africa music and opening announcements. Instrumental music. Talk in unidentified language. Poor to fair. Tues, Thur, Sat only (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 9704.2, R. Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 1850-1940, April 7, vernacular. Various announcers with talk between Afropop bits; ID at 1900 followed by techno-beat and presumed news and reports with lots of talk re Obama; tentative ID at 1931; soft-spoken announcer with music program; poor-fair; much improved by tune/out (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Bevs, 60m Dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. via Samara Russia, 15350, Ginbot 7, *1700-1730*, April 9, sign on with Horn of Africa music & opening ID announcements. Talk in listed Amharic. Some African music. Poor to fair signal but with weak noise jammer. Very weak // 17870. Tues, Thur, Sat only (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. Piratas --- 6870, Playback International and Mystery Radio, 1941-1949, escuchada el 9 de abril en inglés con cuña conjunta de ID entre Playback Int y Mystery Radio, emisión musical, sufre un desvanecimiento largo y se restablece la señal, cuña de Mystery Radio, SINPO 34433 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GRENADA. NOSTALGIA: THE GRENADA REVOLUTION ONLINE http://www.thegrenadarevolutiononline.com/ I came across a site I hadn’t seen before, though it has apparently been online since 2001. The Grenada Revolution Online describes itself thus: “Learn the basics of the story of The Grenada Revolution online. In 1983, the United States was part of Grenada’s history. Discover what happened and why.” One page of the site http://www.thegrenadarevolutiononline.com/radio.html is devoted to radio, and looks at the history of broadcasting in this West Indies island, including its various incarnations as the Windward Islands Broadcasting Service (WIBS), Radio Grenada and Radio Free Grenada (now the Grenada Broadcasting Network - GBN). The site is very comprehensive and well worth browsing, though it could do with some illustrations. (April 9th, 2009 - 14:02 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) WTFK? The radio page doesn`t even mention the memorable (?) Radio Free Grenada frequency, 15045 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA. Colegas, Nesse novo período A09 a frequência de 7125 kHz a partir das 2000 UTC não tem interferências e pode-se ouvir a Radio Conakry com relativa facilidade, nesse momento chega com uma boa portadora, sem praticamente ruídos, mas com uma baixa modulação em francês audível. 73 e boas escutas (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana Bahia - Brasil, dxclubpr yg via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 3339.99, Radio Misiones Internacionales, 0720-0733, April 10, contemporary Spanish religious music. Spanish ID at 0730. English religious talk with Spanish translations at 0731. Fair signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 9425, AIR Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) - National Channel, 1433-1500, April 10. In English; news bulletin; ID for “National Channel”; western music; religious segment with sermon about Good Friday, along with religious songs (Christian); fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9525, V. of Indonesia, Jakarta, 1116-1132, April 8, Mandarin. W & VOI URL; ballad into another URL at BoH; English URL announcement thanking listeners for tuning in to Chinese program, into M with same in presumed Japanese; fair. Been a while since this one last made it to NH (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Bevs, 60m Dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9524.98, Voice Of Indonesia, 1005-1015, April 10, tune-in to English news. ID at 1013. Weak. Poor in noisy conditions. Heard earlier at 0945 with local music & talk in unidentified language (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. WRN is back on the WorldSpace Afristar service to Africa as WRN1, which includes WORLD OF RADIO, Saturdays at 0800 UT (Glenn Hauser, April 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. "FRYING PAN TO FIRE FOR WORLDSPACE BOSS." "Just days after Worldspace’s founder Noah Samara successfully bid to the Delaware bankruptcy court some $28m to 'buy back' Worldspace, comes more unpleasant legal news that concerns Mr Samara. He is named as a key witness in the high profile bribery trial of former Rep. William Jefferson in New Orleans." Rapid TV News, 7 April 2009. "In one letter to the president of the Republic of Congress [sic], Jefferson says, 'I wish to ask your special attention to the WorldSpace education-through-technology project that I discussed with you on our visit.' The date of the letter isn't listed. In its indictment of Jefferson, the Justice Department charged that WorldSpace Inc., which provides satellite radio services to audiences outside the United States, signed a contract through its CEO, Noah Samara, with Andrea Jefferson, Jefferson's wife, on behalf of her ANJ Group in 2002 for help getting satellite transmission services in three African nations. Samara, according to the Justice Department, considered it a brief solicitation." Bruce Alpert, New Orleans Times- Picayune, 7 April 2009. See previous post about same subject. "Isinya, in Kajiado District [Kenya], has become the latest beneficiary of a project by Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN), an organisation working to bring IT to rural villages. ... Mr Noah Lusaka, programmes manager at ALIN, explains that bridging the digital divide for interior villages started when Worldspace Radio was introduced to the country — it has since evolved into the creation of digital villages. He adds that most communities in rural Kenya will open up when the fibre optic cable is finally installed and WiMAX technology put into place." The Standard (Nairobi), 6 April 2009. (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) And, thus, one of the challenges to the Worldspace business plan. Shortly after the satellite radio system was launched, internet access became feasible in much of the developing world, offering a larger variety of media content. Posted: 09 Apr 2009 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. ON 470 MHZ, THE SONGS OF THE KIMS ARE UNHEARD. "Scientists and technicians of the DPRK have succeeded in putting satellite Kwangmyongsong-2, an experimental communications satellite, into orbit by means of carrier rocket Unha-2 under the state long-term plan for the development of outer space. ... It is sending to the earth the melodies of the immortal revolutionary paeans 'Song of General Kim Il Sung' and 'Song of General Kim Jong Il' and measured information at 470 MHz. By the use of the satellite the relay communications is now underway by UHF frequency band." Korean Central News Agency, 5 April 2009. "Stage one of the missile fell into the Sea of Japan/East Sea. The remaining stages along with the payload itself landed in the Pacific Ocean. No object entered orbit and no debris fell on Japan." United States Northern Command, 5 April 2009. "The International Telecommunication Union, the international agency in charge of radio frequency allocation for satellites, has dismissed North Korea's claim that it successfully put a communications satellite into orbit last Sunday. In an interview with Radio Free Asia on Tuesday, Sanjay Acharya, ITU's chief of media relations and public information, said the organization has no information about a satellite." Chosun Ilbo, 10 April 2009. Xinhua's coverage. Danwei, 5 April 2009. "If you're wondering what 'Song of General Kim Jong Il' sounds like, listen here." The New Republic The Plank, 6 April 2009 (see http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=6267 for linx, via DXLD) No one in the satellite or radio enthusiast communities is reporting that they are hearing the Songs of the Kims. I've tuned my own scanner to 470 MHz, with an antenna on my roof cut for 144 and 450 MHz, so I would have a fair chance of hearing it if it were actually transmitting. So far, 470 MHz is Kimless. Posted: 10 Apr 2009 (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** IRAN. IRIB Tehran in Dari on 3rd channel at 0830-1200 11975 kHz. DARI 0830-1427 9940 13720, 0830-1200 11975 (IRIB April 5 via BC-DX April 10 via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. via Wertachtal, Germany, 7280, Radio Farda, 0210-0230, April 10, interesting Middle-Eastern techno-pop dance music. ID. Talk in listed Farsi. Good signal. Weaker on // 5860 - via Kuwait and 7295 - via Biblis, Germany (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. EARTHQUAKE --- Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1652 - April 10 2009 Amateur radio may be assisting in the aftermath of a powerful earthquake struck Italy early on Monday, April 6th. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with more: According to several sources and some DX cluster reports, 3640 and 3634.5 kHz on 75 meters, along with 7045 on 40, are being used as emergency net frequencies into and out of the disaster area. But Alberto Barbera, IK1YLO, who is the IARU National Emergency Communications Coordinator for Italy, says he is not aware of any nets operating on behalf of the emergency communications groups on the High Frequency bands. He believes that any such operation is being done on an individual basis. Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, is CQ Magazine's outgoing Public Service editor. He relays a report from IARU Region 1 Emergency Communications Coordinator Greg Mossop, G0DUB. Mossap says that Barbera is trying to coordinate various groups in light of the recent shutdown of Italy's national emergency communications organization. Bob says that IK1YKO has stated that practically all repeaters are still in operation, and that much of the region's cellphone infrastructure is intact as well. The magnitude 6.2 quake hit Italy very early in the day killing at least 240 people, leaving thousands of people without homes and causing damage to many ancient buildings. The quake's epicenter was in a town of L'Aquila, about 70 miles from Rome. Numerous important churches and castles, some more than 700 years old, partially collapsed in the quake. Thousands of newer homes were leveled as well. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, reporting. -- As we go to air rescue efforts are still reported as ongoing and hams world-wide are being asked to keep the frequencies of 3.640, 3.634.5 and 7.045 MHz clear until further notice, even if its all unofficial at this time (WA3PZO, CQ, other reports) (via Mike Terry, April 10, dxldyg via DXLD) The first references were also in MHz --- I try to keep everything (below FM band) in kHz for consistency and ease of searching. Hams seem to prefer MHz for some odd reason. If you don`t find something searching on a kHz frequency, try a MHz in case one slipped thru (gh) ** KOREA NORTH. ``Satellite launch`` -- see INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non] ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 11680, Korean veiled station? on Gavar- Armenia site S=7 at 1300-1400 UT, and co-channel KRE domestic station on usual odd 11679.84 kHz. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Apr 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11680, Voice of Wilderness, Yerevan Gavar, 1301-1306, escuchada el 9 de abril en coreano, música de sintonía, locutor con presentación, locutora con comentarios, SINPO 24422 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So is VOW aware that there is long-standing North Korean use of this frequency; they do not even have to do anything to jam it? (gh, DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [non]. 6045, KBS World Radio ID in Spanish but pronouncing this name in English, April 9 at 0631 still going with recipe, announcing date of broadcast as April 8, then lecture on the importance of washing your hands. Unfortunately that is still very much needed, if you keep an eye on the other males in the public restroom skipping that final step, so never touch the door handle if it opens inward! 0639 into Hablemos Coreano, LL. This took me by surprise, as I had not noticed on the A-09 schedule that this 0600 transmission via Sackville to Europe, has been doubled to a full hour now. Ahá, they traded that for the English half-hour at 0230 on 9560! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. UCRANIA, 7540, Dengue Mezopotamya, 1906-1909, escuchada el 9 de abril en kurdo a locutora con comentarios, referencia a Kurdistán, segmento musical, SINPO 45544 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010 AM, 0314 GMT, 09 April, 2009. Easy listening music with a 1.1 to 1.2 kHz "tone" messing with their audio. I have been hearing this the past few nights. From what I can make out, is not a het from another transmitter. I can not get it to zero beat at all. I have heard this even when RNM is not signed on yet. Wonder if it is some kind of "intentional" situation (Steve Price, Johnstown, PA, ODXA yg via DXLD) 5009.95, Radio Madagasikara (Antananarivo), 0310-0335, 4/8/2009, French(?). Pop music with occasional low audio talk by man. Talk by man and woman at 0319 with piano music in the background. Talk ended at 0324, and a program of upbeat yet smooth vocal music with a hint of African instruments followed. Talk by man at 0330. Poor signal with fading, improving to good at 0321 peak, then degrading slowly until poor again at 0335. Not certain of language, but appeared to be French or French sounding vernacular (Jim Evans, Germantown TN, Eton E1, 200' Random Wire, DX LISTNENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR [non]. Re 9-031, R. Mada: WRN says the last broadcast was Monday April 6 at 0400; they suddenly stopped, not sure why (Glenn Hauser, April 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Was 5895, also at 1700; site? ** MALAYSIA [non]. Re 9-030: (Henry Umadhay, location unknown, but in SE Asia? April 2, Cumbre DX via DXLD) He is the host of PILIPINAS DX in AWR WAVESCAN program. According to QSL in my collection, his address is: San Pedro, San Jose, Antique, Philippines 5700; email pilipinasdx @ yahoo.com (Tony Ashar, West Java, Indonesia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOLDOVA [and non]. NEWS AGENCY SAYS ALMOST ALL ROMANIAN JOURNALISTS LEFT REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA | Text of report in English by Romanian government news agency Agerpres Chisinau, 10 April: Agerpres correspondent Cornel Ciobanu reports: Almost all Romanian press journalists have left the Republic of Moldova territory starting Thursday evening, in the context of past days events Romania being accused for allegedly organizing the protests in Chisinau and the authorities rebuked the Romanian journalists present in Chisinau for falsified information in connection with the events in the Republic of Moldova Capital. On Thursday, Antena 3 and Realitatea TV cameramen teams returned to Romania after being summoned by the police and underwent some verifications. Antena 3 correspondent to the Republic of Moldova left the territory of the Republic of Moldova together with the accredited team for the elections in this country. Radio Romania correspondent accredited to the Republic of Moldova also left the country on Friday and NewsIn Agency correspondent told Agerpres that she plans to leave for Bucharest shortly for fear of some attacks against her and her two small children. As well, TVR1 correspondent is most likely detained by Chisinau authorities and no contact could be established with him. The Press Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova told Agerpres that journalists employed by four press institutions in Romania have permanent accreditation to the Republic of Moldova and another 13 journalists received accreditation for the parliamentary elections on April 5. Two of the four accredited journalists have left the country, or plan to do it shortly and for the time being nobody knows the whereabouts of TVR1 correspondent. In Bucharest, the Press Monitoring Agency, the Centre for Independent Journalism and the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism created an emergency cell to offer aid to journalists working in the Republic of Moldova, who fear of being arrested in the street or at home, or beaten-up, or their equipment destroyed. The aforementioned institutions asked to be contacted in the case there is information on eventual abuses against the journalists, announcing they are ready to grant technical assistance and that they will apply a case-based approach. The cell will get in touch from time to time with the journalists in the field for their protection and for receiving information. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin made on Wednesday allegations according to which Romania organized some protests in Chisinau and, the same day, Chisinau declared two Romanian diplomats persona non grata, also taking the decision to introduce visas for Romanian citizens. Several Chisinau officials also blamed the Romanian press for incorrectly reflecting the protests in the Republic of Moldova, with special emphasis on the press using the word 'revolution' when commenting the events on Tuesday. Source: Agerpres news agency, Bucharest, in English 1407 gmt 10 Apr 09 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. Hi Glenn, Noticed your call for help and have been doing some digging on 9665. This is what I could make out. 9665.00, Voice of Mongolia, 1429, April 09, Mandarin opening announcement after IS. Poor audio, surfaced after VOIRI Urdu left at 1427. Just about readable in LSB to avoid KCBS on 9665.14, cf DXLD 9-031. Very unfortunately VOM then got bothered by co-channel CRI in presumed Pashto 1500 &1530 but I did manage to trace Japanese 1500 and finally English 1530 with definite ID, frequency announcement and program preview. NF apparently replacing 12085 where VOIRI Bengali was in the clear 1430-1527. 73, happy Easter, (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 5985.0, R. Myanma, 1530-1545, April 10. In English; full ID; news (Prime Minister General Thein Sein and other top generals of the State Peace and Development Council left today for Pattaya, in Thailand, to attend the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] summit, etc.). Back in 1968, while I was stationed at U-Tapao/Sattahip, I had the good fortune to visit nearby Pattaya and enjoy the magnificent beach there. Weather, followed by music program (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEPAL. Radio Nepal in English http://www.radionepal.org (8-April- 09, page not dated): 0215-0227 & 1415-1427 on 5005 (Converting to UT assuming listed times are local) (MARE Tipsheet April 10 via DXLD) I.e., listed as 8 am and 8 pm local time, so at UT +5:45, the conversions are 0215 and 1415. There are also some other programs with English titles, but who knows if they are really in English, such as following the 0215 UT news on Sundays: 08:12 - 08:30 voice of handicapped people. And: Assuming 5005 is on the air, which apparently it is not, or if so, just barely. I found their imaginary SW schedule at http://www.radionepal.org/radionepal/aboutus.php#coverage Khumaltar Transmitting Station SW 3 x 100 KW Summer: 5.005 MHz 6.100 MHz 7.165 MHz [5005, 6100, 7165 kHz] Winter: 3.230 MHz 5.005 MHz [3230, 5005 kHz] 2315-1715 GMT (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Keith Perron has changed the name of the group "The New Happy Station Show" to "The Happy Station Show". To see the group, follow the link below: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48638249355 Here's the introduction: Welcome to the Happy Station facebook page. For those who've never heard of Happy Station, it is the longest running SW show in the world. First hitting airwaves in 1927 via Philips Radio PCJ and then after the second world war VIA Radio Netherlands. The format of the show? Well, tune in to find out. Times: 0100 to 0155 UTC South America & Southern USA Frequency: 9955 khz, 31 meters 1500 to 1555 UTC North America/Caribbean Frequency: 9955 khz, 31 meters Live steam can also be heard at http://www.wrmi.net The show is also heard in Jakarta, Indonesia via Radio Sonora Sundays at 9 to 955 pm local time. Frequencies for Europe to be announced SOON! The new Happy Station crew is: Host/producer: Keith Perron Technician: David Hsiao & Kevin Lee QSL Designer: Theo Lee Consultant: Tom Meijer (via Mike Terry, April 9, dxldyg via DXLD) Hi Everyone, There was a small technical glitch for the 1500 UT transmission of Happy Station on April 9th and the special program with Frank Ifield was not aired, instead the 0100 UT program was repeated. The program that was not broadcast will be on air April 16th at 0100 and 1500 on 9955 kHz. For those who were logging into http://www.wrmi.net as you noticed there was a problem with the audio. Jeff White told me they are working to resolve this problem. So it should be OK by next week. I will inform you all the on the latest on that. Regards, (Keith Perron, Taiwan, April 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEWFOUNDLAND. 6160, CKZN, St. John`s, 0858-0922, April 6, English. Monday edition of "Labrador Morning"; program hi-lites & CBC news re Italian earthquake; N. Korea; etc.; back to program at 0913 with weather; local and business news and humorous Top Ten list re why PM Harper is missing from the G-20 Summit group photo; poor-fair; improving (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Bevs, 60m Dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6160, CKZN, 0129-0206 + 0225-0241, April 9. Fairly good signal strength but mixing with Vancouver; program “Q”, talking about acting; radio drama “Monsoon House”, with subcontinent music; segment about “The Armchair Guide to Survival” (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW GUINEA. RADIO BROADCASTING IN NEW GUINEA – EARLY WIRELESS STATIONS The island of New Guinea, located north of Australia, is considered to be the second largest island in the world, with only Greenland larger. New Guinea is about 1500 miles long with an area of a little over 1/3rd million square miles, much of which is not yet totally explored. The shape of the island, according to many people who live there, is like one of their national birds, the Bird of Paradise. It is a very rugged island with high snow covered mountains in the interior, deep forested valleys, and low lying jungles along the coastal areas that are hot and humid. The total population of the entire island of New Guinea is around nine million people, most of whom are Melanesian and Palauan whose ancestors migrated in pre-historic eras from South East Asia. In addition, there are several minorities whose ancestry is European, Asian, Indonesian or Australian. The peoples of eastern New Guinea speak more than eight hundred and fifty languages with three nationally recognized languages; English, Tok Pison, and Hiri Motu. On the western side, there are more than three hundred languages, with Indonesian as the government language. History tells us that the first European to visit the island of New Guinea was the Portuguese governor of the nearby Molucca Islands, Jorge de Menesses, and this was in the year 1526. He named the island "Papua", a Malay word meaning "frizzy hair". However, twenty one years later, a Spanish explorer, Ynigo Ortiz de Retez, visited the island and he named it New Guinea, due to the similarity to the people he had seen in the country of Guinea in Africa. The first European settlement was established by the English at Fort Coronation at Doreri Bay in 1793, but it was abandoned two years later as untenable due to the poor export quality of the local produce. This settlement was located near the top of the head of the Bird of Paradise map, at Manokwari in what is now Irian Jaya. Following the introduction of European settlements in several locations around the island, the three major powers in the area, Holland, England and Germany, agreed to partition the island; the western half to Holland, the north eastern quadrant to Germany, and the south eastern quadrant to England. However, at one stage, the Australian colony of Queensland laid claim to the south eastern quadrant of New Guinea, and after the Australian colonies were federated into one country, England passed on to Australia the administration of its territory in this bird shaped island. Then, after the end of World War 1, the League of Nations granted the German territory, North East New Guinea, as a mandate under the Australian administration. During the Pacific War, Japanese forces landed on the north east coast of New Guinea in mid 1942, and three months later their overland forces came within just thirty two miles of Port Moresby itself. It was claimed that they could see the lights of Port Moresby from their mountainous viewpoints. A year or two later, American and Australian forces reversed the situation and reclaimed this strategic island. After the Pacific War was concluded, the two eastern territories on the island of New Guinea were combined under the Australian administration as Papua New Guinea. In 1973, Papua New Guinea was granted self-government for its internal affairs; and on September 16, 1975, Papua New Guinea was granted complete independence. When Indonesia assumed independence in 1949, it laid claim to the western half of New Guinea; and ultimately, it became a province within Indonesia as Irian Jaya, though these days, the entire territory is now administered apparently as two provinces, Papua and Papua Barat. The very first attempt at wireless communication in New Guinea took place in Port Moresby in March 1911. The Australian born Catholic priest, Father Archibald Shaw, had joined a search party that went to Port Moresby looking for a group of lost Australian officials. He brought with him some electrical equipment manufactured in his own factory in the Sydney suburb of Randwick. He installed this equipment temporarily at Paga Hill, Port Moresby, and tried unsuccessfully to contact a wireless station on Thursday Island. In the era before and during World War 1, a total of four different permanent wireless stations were established in the mainland territory of Papua New Guinea, though the advent of wireless in the Dutch side of the island was not implemented until after the conclusion of the European conflict. These very early wireless stations were located at Port Moresby, Aitape, Madang and Morobe. The equipment for these stations was assembled in Australia, using a mixture of Telefunken apparatus imported from Germany, items of electrical apparatus manufactured in Sydney by AWA, together with some additional items from the Randwick factory of Father Shaw. All of them at this stage were spark wireless stations which we would describe these days as being electrical transmitters, rather than electronic. The first of these new permanent stations was installed on the edge of Port Moresby, Papua. It was a 5 kW Telefunken transmitter and the receiver was a simple crystal set. It should be remembered that all of the spark transmitters anywhere in the world at this stage were operating only in Morse Code. The Port Moresby station, VIG, was installed and operated by Sydney based AWA and it was intended to be a gathering point for news, information and messages from other stations in the New Guinea area for onward relay to the AWA station located at Pennant Hills, near Sydney in Australia. Station VIG was also intended for use in communication with nearby shipping approaching or departing the harbor at Port Moresby. Station VIG Port Moresby was officially taken into service on February 26, 1913. Photographs of the Port Moresby wireless station taken on the opening day of the European Conflict in August 1914, show two buildings, both about the same size. Perhaps one housed the technical equipment and the other was for use by staff personnel. The station was located in an isolated area beyond the edge of Port Moresby; and the aerial mast was a little under one hundred feet high. The second wireless station installed on the New Guinea mainland was VZX Aitape, and this unit was installed in 1914. The station was located on a flat area in between a muddy river and the ocean beach; and the town itself was built on a rocky headland overlooking two islands in the bay. Aitape town is situated on the north coast of New Guinea a little over a hundred miles from the Dutch/Indonesian border of Irian Jaya. At the time when the station was installed, there were some seventy five foreigners in the town of Aitape, mostly Dutch or German. Station VZX was built to enable the local administration to communicate with government headquarters in Rabaul, and initially the Morse Code messages were relayed to Rabaul via an intermediate Morse Code station on Manus Island. The third wireless station installed in New Guinea was located at Madang, under the callsign VIV. By this time, World War 1 in Europe was well underway and the Australian government moved quickly for the installation of this facility. Madang was settled originally by people from Germany in the year 1884. The town is located on a peninsula overlooking a beautiful harbor on each side and it was finally ridded of deadly malaria mosquitoes twenty years later. The wireless station, VIV, was quickly installed by AWA for the Australian government in 1916. The fourth wireless station installed in mainland New Guinea during this very early era of wireless communication was station VZK at Morobe. The town of Morobe was originally named by the German settlers as Adolfhafen and it was located a little south along the coast from Lae. Station VZK Morobe also came into service during the year 1916. Each of the three smaller regional wireless stations in mainland New Guinea was described as having a normal coverage range of two hundred miles, whereas the main station at Port Moresby had a range of five hundred miles. And that’s the story of our first introductory presentation on the long and interesting research into the history of radio broadcasting on the island of New Guinea. More on a later date! (Adrian Peterson, AWR Wavescan March 29, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Voice of Nigeria heard here at 2030-2100 with a strong signal and unusually good modulation. Included a long interview with a Nigerian scientist, followed by an announcement about the station's regular Highlife Music programme which, if I heard correctly, airs Sunday at 1130, Monday at 1330, Wednesday and 1430 and Saturday at 1930. This was followed by an anti-AIDS advertisement and, at 2100, a news programme (Roger Tidy, UK, April 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) But must have been heard on April 9 or earlier, and presumably on 15120, altho that may not apply to all the airings of the programme cited (gh, DXLD) Yes, it was 15120. I heard them again this evening at 1800 with a news bulletin followed by a programme entitled 'Sixty Minutes'. They seem to have a good network of correspondents around the world. In the news there were reports from the US and Britain by local (and obviously professional) broadcasters. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the recent improvement in this station's audibility will continue. They do seem to have some interesting programmes (Roger Tidy, ibid.) 15120, VON, April 10 at 2047, English talk with distortion, pause for announcement that it`s the 60 Minutes show and the anchor`s audio was clear as well as a musical bit, then back to another muffled reporter. Sounds like they are re-using old worn-out tapes, and/or dirty, worn- out heads, but hey, what counts is that 250 kW transmitter and claims of worldwide coverage (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9690, Voice of Nigeria, 1015-1040, April 10, English talk about agriculture & politics in Nigeria. Short breaks of African music. Promo at 1029 about HIV testing in Nigeria. ID. Some African music at 1032. Poor in noisy conditions. Lost in noise at 1040 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. via Samara, Russia, 15215 NF, Aso Radio, *1600- 1630*, April 9, ex-15180. Sign on with opening ID announcements. Talk in listed Hausa. Short breaks of African music. Fair. Mon-Fri only (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. OKLAHOMA BURNING UP --- Since at least 2200 UT Thursday, Oklahoma City TV stations have blown away all network programming for continuous coverage of wildfires which have erupted S and E of Oklahoma City. I see this still hasn`t made the national news headlines. [at yahoo, anyway] It`s rather like a tornado emergency; KFOR is being relayed on KTOK- 1000, they say. Have not checked but there may be live streaming from KFOR, KOCO and/or KWTV. And there could also be day-at-night MW facilities, etc. Fortunately the area affected is at quite a distance from us in Enid, altho we have also had high winds causing my antennas to wobble somemwhat precariously (Glenn Hauser, 0330 UT April 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It made NBC Nightly News - they had a live Q&A with KFOR-TV's helicopter pilot as he was in the air over one of the fires. He apparently was having trouble hearing Brian Williams at first, as there was a long pause when he was first introduced, and you could hear the producer yelling in his headset, "Go! Go!" s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Glenn: I saw part of the coverage on KWTV's web site and it is looking like the fires out in California. I was especially interested in the wildfires around the Stillwater area since my family lived in Stillwater for a little while in the mid 70's and I went to college at OSU. It really looks bad around the Lake Carl Blackwell area and from all reports north of Stillwater on one the way to Ponca City from Stillwater since 177 was closed at the Payne-Noble county area. I am very surprised that you didn't get any wildfires in the Enid area. I hear that it has been very dry in Oklahoma and Texas so you can say a prayer of thanksgiving that you did not get any wildfires in the area you live in (Richard Lewis, Forest, MS, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It also made the free-to-air (FTA) satellite - KFOR 4 had their live helicopter shots uplinked to AMC 1 on the Ku band with continuous coverage, and KFOR was also streaming continuous news coverage last night from their website (JimThomas, Colorado, ibid.) It is really affecting Dallas, too. I am temporarily a Dallas / Houston gypsy (commuter to a new job through the week). There is a high point about 30 miles south of Dallas where you can see the distant skyline. Not yesterday - I went over that ridge into a sea of - brown. At first I thought it was spillover from an extreme West Texas dust storm (it happens occasionally), but it had a smoky smell. You couldn't see the Dallas skyline more than 3 miles away (Bruce Carter, ABDX via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira has told journalists that the Federal Cabinet has decided to advance clocks by one hour from 15th of this month. “It was decided to advance clocks by an hour from 15th of April to make the maximum use of day light and save the electricity as the similar decision last year had helped to save 250 MW of electricity daily”, he noted. (Source: The Nation) (Media Network blog April 9 via DXLD) ** PALESTINE [non]. A fecha de hoy y habiendo sido anunciada Al Quds TV para 7350 vía Irán, no se ha podido confirmar que esté emitiendo, sin rastro tanto en esta frecuencia cómo en 6220, última frecuencia en la que emitió. Támpoco se ha captado nada ni en 5815 ni en 5835, frecuencias en las que se escuchó tiempo atrás Radio Al Aqsa. Dudo que sean reactivadas, a no ser, que la situación en Palestina de un giro y se complique la situación. Por otra parte, creo que es el deseo de todos que la zona en conflicto le llegue por fín la Paz y la estabilidad. Atentamente (José Miguel Romero, Spain, April 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Luego:] Saludos cordiales, la emisora en árabe que no pude identificar el 8 de abril se trata de Radio Tunez, ex 7190, información recibida por Glenn Hauser en DXLD Yahoo Groups, una vez más gracias por aclarar las dudas. Atentamente (José Miguel Romero, ibid.) Iran`s registered usage of 7350 is: 0230-0530 Kamalabad in Arabic; 1630-2030 Sirjan in various; 2130-2230 Sirjan in Bosnian(?). So is there reason to believe any of the Various is or was any of those Palestinian TV soundtrack relays? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3345, presumed R. Northern, Popendetta, 1038- 1050, April 8, Tok Pisin. W with talk re "education" at tune-in; M & W between music bits; pop-like music selection; poor; fading under band noise by tune/out. 3385, R. East New Britain, Rabaul, 1020-1037, April 8, Tok Pisin. Ads/promos; including one in English re "Saturday night... brought to you by (??) Industries"; local ballad at tune/out; fair at best. Over the past few years, this has been the most reliable PNG I can pick up here in NH (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, NRD-545, RX- 350D, MLB1, 200' Bevs, 60m Dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also NEW GUINEA ** POLAND [non]. FRANCE/GERMANY [Poland non] 9790 iss --- Slight correction. Polskie Radio in English from Apr 15, replaces previous 9555iss. Polskie Radio A09 BC schedule - 29 March to 25 Oct 2009: ENGLISH 1200- 1300 7330nau 9525; 1700-1759 7265DRM 9790iss [x9555iss] (wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Mar 22, updated Apr 9 via DXLD) No 9790iss here around 1750 April 20; just RCI DRM hiss centered on 9800 (gh, DXLD) ** ROMANIA. RRI Tiganesti in German replaced 15220 by 9675 today, 1200-1300, \\ 11875, see new HFCC public list version. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Apr 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. Buenas noticias desde Radio Rumanía Internacional Estimados amigos de Radio Rumanía Internacional: Me agrada informaros que a partir del 12 de abril de 2009, el Rincón Diexista de RRI se emitirá por separado los domingos (o sea ya no formará parte del programa Club de Oyentes) y se repetirá los martes. También recordaros que el próximo 2 de mayo este programa cumple diez años de existencia. Con este motivo os invito a participar en un pequeño concurso que os dará la oportunidad de ganar un CD con música folklórica rumana. Para participar en este concurso debéis realizar un pequeño comentario acerca de lo que significan los programas dx y concretamente el Rincón Diexista de RRI para vosotros: desde cuándo escucháis este espacio, si lo hacéis de manera regular, qué otros programas dx escucháis, cómo os parece el Rincón Diexista de RRI en comparación con otros programas que tratan los mismos temas, etc. El plazo límite de participación es el 30 de abril de 2009. Los nombres de los ganadores del concurso los anunciaré el día 17 de mayo de 2008. Gracias por difundir esta noticia. Un cordial saludo, Victoria Sepciu, Club de Oyentes, Rincón Diexista de RRI Via: Dino Bloise http://es.geocities.com/programas_dx/frecuencialdia.htm April 10, dxldyg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Here http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&w=471 - all the A-09 skeds of all RUVR services can be downloaded (in .xls format). 73! (Alexey Zinevich: a DXer from Minsk, Belarus, April 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: English to NAm: 2200-2300 9890 2300-0200 9890 9665 0400-0600 13775 English to C&SAm: 0200-0300 9665 9890 0300-0400 9665 So the `middle` of the 8-hour span is not really to NAm, but C/SAm, yet on the same frequencies, and 9665 Moldova at least, stays on the same azimuth 295 thruout. The two 9 MHz frequencies work well here, but not 13775; how is it in WNAm? To put the schedule more straightforwardly: 22-03 on 9890, 22-04 on 9665, 04-06 on 13775. That`s not much compared to 40 frequencies at once in the heydey of Radio Moscow --- but two good frequencies should be enough? Poor propagation around 0055 April 11, neither 9665 nor 9890 making it across the Atlantic. What we need, and this should be obvious to anyone who knows the first thing about SW propagation, is a relay in the Caribbean area, say Guiana French (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Stimme Russlands wieder auf analoger KW in Deutsch Andreas Volk ADDX from Munich reports RUSSIA/KALININGRAD, 7330 / 12010, Voice of Russia's German service which [planned] to cease all AM mode transmissions on shortwave after 80 years in service, will be back soon on two AM mode channels in European afternoon. 1500-1900 UT 7330 Kaliningrad (Koenigsberg Bolshakovo) 120 kW at 245 degrees 12010 Samara 240 kW at 285 degrees 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, April 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Die Stimme Russlands hat mir soeben mitgeteilt, dass für die Nachmittagssendungen von 1500-1900 Uhr UTC zwei KW-Frequenzen mit analoger Modulation benutzt werden: 7330 und 12010 kHz. Die Proteste der Hörerschaft haben also doch etwas bewirkt. vy73 Andreas Volk (via Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) Apparently soon = as of tomorrow, April 10. This hasty move is the result of lots of listeners complaints, and some insiders say that VoR's management is simply incompetent, considering this course of events as proof. Btw, does anybody know why Armen Oganesyan had actually been fired? Does he know it himself at all? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, ibid.) All this information originates from German service circles, there is no connection to the English programmes. And they were no empty promises. 7330 has by 1740 already faded out here in eastern Germany, but 12010 comes in with strong signal on a clear frequency. Slight background noises (a whistling growl, so to speak) can be noted, apparently caused by the transmitter, so it seems to be another unit than used at Samara for VoR German until March (Kai Ludwig, April 10, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. 5940, R. Rossii, Arman, 1005-1030, April 6, Russian M & W; several IDs in passing; ads/promos at 1025; opera-like music at 1028; fair as was // 7320-Arman (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Bevs, 60m Dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Arman = Okhotsk in HFCC (gh) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Observed the ARS BSKSA Riyadh BUZZ transmitter on 21505 at 1200-1500 UT, 1st program news, \\ 21640 kHz totally crystal clear quality. HQ at same time at 1300 UT on 17895 and 21600 kHz, no buzz at all (wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Apr 5 via DXLD) ** SERBIA [non]. IRS and CRI still colliding on 9580, April 10 at 0120 check, back to about equal levels, unusable for both. Neither IRS nor RRI audible on 9580 around 0050 April 11, but believe due propagation, not QSY (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALILAND. SOMALILANDIA, 7145, Radio Hargeysa, Hargeysa, 1820- 1830, escuchada el 9 de abril en dialecto africano sin identificar a locutora con comentarios presentando temas músicales africanos, emisión de música pop y folklórica local, SINPO 24432 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. As I tuned across WWRB, 9385, April 10 at 1311, Brother Scare was saying that he was on ``585 and 1251 kHz in China for the next 30 minutes`` --- Really? 1311-1341? What an odd timing. Or does he mean 1300-1330? 1330-1400? Or something totally different if this was a recording --- he can`t possibly be awake and blathering 24 hours a day. In China? I seriously doubt it; but maybe inTO China. Are these frequencies shown here? http://www.overcomerministry.org/calendar/phpicalendar/swrpt.php?cal=itlradio&getdate=20080627&printview=day Of course not! And why in the world are the local times in Asia, Europe, Pacific on this page designated as (US) Eastern?? And why is the title of this page ``Friday, June 27``? B.S. is seriously challenged in just presenting his own scheduling information correctly, let alone having a direct line from God in the future. Is either frequency mentioned anywhere on this version of his schedule? http://www.overcomerministry.org/calendar/phpicalendar/report.php Of course not! I am afraid 1251 kHz may be the 600 kW at Ussuriysk near Vladivostok, but there are also 1251 possibilities in Korea South, Taiwan and Philippines. Similar fears about 585 being the 1200 kW at Belogorsk, DV Russia. What are the poor Asians to make of this apocalyptic nonsense emanating from the styx of SC? We pray they may not assume it is typically American, but only affirms that Americans are free to speak total B.S., even unto the whole wide world. Maranatha! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. via Wertachtal, Germany, 13730, Radio Dabanga, 1715- 1727*, April 9, vernacular talk. ID jingles. Once again I heard English news at 1722-1726:30. Poor to fair with high pitch tone on frequency. Weak but readable on // 11500 - via Madagascar. 13730 running 1 or 2 seconds ahead of 11500 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAJIKISTAN. 4765, presumed Tajik Radio, Yangiyul, 0105, April 6, listed Tajik. Light pop-like music, talk; format similar to my logs of CODAR free, ex-4635; poor under CODAR (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, NRD-545, RX-350D, MLB1, 200' Bevs, 60m Dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. TRT (VOT) website updated on April 6 the frequency schedule: http://www.trtenglish.com/Diger/ingFrequence.pdf (Dragan Lekic, Serbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) But it has some strange errors in it, such as the 2200 English broadcast starting at ``0.92`` ! It also shows an English broadcast at 0100 on 9620 as if it were VOT instead of the RCI relay! So beware of relying on anything else in it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. Çakirlar SW revolving Thomson Thalès antenna [like at Sines Portugal] on the northern corner. Former LW 198 kHz, 120 kW Google Earth 39 58 31.67 N 32 40 36.32 E Emirler 500 kW site, 21 curtain arrays, 1 x Alliss revolving antenna on the western corner. 39 24 05.00 N 32 51 21.00 E (BC-DX April 10 via DXLD) ** U K. I find the BBCWS in English on 15245.00 kHz at 1600z for an hour. I can't find this frequency on their web site or on any English Schedule postings. Any idea where the transmitter is and where the signal in beamed to? Thanks (Gary W. Froemming, CTC, Certified Travel Counselor, Glendale, Arizona, USA, WB7CAG / W7GWF, 33.5601N / 12.1841W, Grid Square: DM33vn74vk, April 8, odxa yg via DXLD) Where are you located? Looks like you got Wooferton [sic], where I did my "job experience" training when I was in school; not supposed to be beamed to the US/Canada at all. If you're in the Americas, as I am now, you got it long path :D Here's some great station info http://www.bbceng.info/Operations/transmitter_ops/Reminiscences/Woofferton/pw-woofferton.pdf The curious thing is that it's not "supposed" to be transmitting WS now according to VT Communications own website and the BBC engineering site, it only does BBC local DRM stuff now (1986944, ibid.) Woofferton has been used for BBC transmissions for years; e.g., an A03 Merlin schedule shows some 30 entries for BBC WOF. As I recall Woofferton has no antennas directed toward NA, but that does not preclude 'short path' reception in NA, which is certainly the most likely here. The planned schedule shows BBC in Russian, so either they've made changes or this is a transmission error (DanFerguson, SC, ibid.) Hi Dan, Wooferton [sic] was used through '07 for BBC World Service, but is only officially slated for use by the BBC local services; or at least, that's what's on record. Can you send me a link for the A03 schedule? I'm interested when they started to use the site for World again, and why it's not listed on the BBC Engineering site. Wooferton's arrays are directed towards Eastern Europe. Since we're at a solar minimum, it makes it highly unlikely that short path reception occurred. There was recently a memo that apparently went out regarding the cost effectiveness of shortwave to reach certain target audiences by the BBC, so maybe this is why the service has been reinstated. Droitwich will be next....(only kidding), LOL!!! (1986944, ibid.) Hearing Woofferton [note spelling] and the other UK sites in North America is extremely common whether they are aimed this way or not, hi or lo sunspots. I hear the Russian service on 15245 on many mornings before the unscheduled English. Don`t you believe that SW transmissions are unidirexional and have to come around the long way or not at all. Those antennas emit a lot of back-radiation. Local services? Woofferton is certainly used for external services in various languages including English. Perhaps they have failed to keep their engineering site up to date. Or are spreading disinformation for some reason (Glenn Hauser to Anonymous, ibid.) Thank you for all your input. All I can tell you is I ran across this frequency over a week ago and it has been running English every day from 1600-1700z. Signals from S2-S7 here in Arizona. It is much better than 15400 or 21470 here most days. OK, it's 1700z and it is now a clear frequency. No English, no Russian. Don't understand, I'm just the reporter. HaHa. Thanks again for the help (Gary W. Froemming, CTC, ibid.) ** U K [non]. Re 9-031, BBC America --- I know this is off topic but it is distressing that BBC America has dropped their three hour morning block of BBC News. It isn't getting any easier to get international news via the conventional media in this country. We are the poorer for it (Mr Sandy Finlayson, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) Agreed, Sandy. I did write to BBC America and they did send me a very nice response saying -- in effect -- that ratings for the morning news were low and that they have decided to place their limited resources into improving the BBC News America evening (7 and 10 p.m.) effort which has shown an increase in viewers. I said exactly what you said, that I would be condemned to watch the meaningless and awful daily diversionary pageant of the Today Show or GMA or CNN. They didn't budge. :-)) (John Figliozzi, ibid.) Dear Andrew, Thank you for taking the time to contact us. Please know that our commitment to providing viewers with access to the BBC's unrivalled international news coverage is a top priority for BBC America. Since launching "BBC World News America" in October 2007, the BBC's first U.S. facing newscast, audience figures have steadily grown for both the 7 and 10pm week night broadcasts. At the same time our morning news audience has declined. This has been a tough decision but, with finite resources, we have decided to cease airing news on BBC America 6am-9am and divert resources to the evening news programs which benefit substantially more viewers. BBC America will also continue to cover major breaking news and significant live events as they occur. Viewers can, however, continue to watch international news from the BBC via the 24-hour BBC World News channel – where available. Up-to- the-minute news clips can be viewed on bbc.com/news and half-hour weekday BBC World News bulletins air on PBS stations across the country. We recommend checking your local listings for details. We thank you again for your comments. Regards, Stephanie, Viewer Relations, BBC America (via Andy O`Brien, NY, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC AMERICA REPLACES MORNING NEWS WITH "KITCHEN NIGHTMARES." "BBC America, owned by BBC Worldwide, has axed its three-hour morning international news block due to low ratings. The changes to the schedule kicked in Monday without prior announcement from the BBC. A BBC America spokeswoman confirmed that the simulcast from the BBC World News channel, which aired at 6 a.m. ET seven days a week, is being replaced by lifestyle fare such as 'Kitchen Nightmares,' presented by foul-mouthed U.K. celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay." Variety, 6 April 2009. "Jeremy Paxman's big chance to break the US has ended after BBC America axed its US version of Newsnight as part of a series of changes that includes dropping its daily three-hour block of international news. The BBC's commercial US channel, which is available in more than 63m American homes via digital, cable and satellite, today dropped its daily simulcast from the BBC World News channel, which aired between 6am and 9am, because of disappointing ratings." The Guardian, 6 April 2009. "With his acerbic style and withering put-downs, Jeremy Paxman was expected to be a sure-fire hit in America. ... Newsnight's US edition was actually pulled in November, after the US elections, but nobody noticed it had gone until the BBC admitted it this week." Daily Mail, 8 April 2009. "The challenges of going 'green' in Muskegon [Michigan] will be the focus of a six-part documentary film being aired at 7 p.m. tonight by the British Broadcasting Company during BBC World News America. A BBC reporting and film crew visited Muskegon in February to see how difficult it is for people in the Midwest to adopt environmentally friendly habits." Muskegon Chronicle, 7 April 2009. Posted: 10 Apr 2009 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Never got BBC America here, so hardly miss any of that (gh, OK, DXLD) ** U K. UK LAUNCHES MASSIVE, ONE-YEAR PROGRAM TO ARCHIVE EVERY EMAIL What does this have to do with radio listening? Along with archiving e-mails, they will be archiving "information about every website visited by any computer user in the country." (See the first sentence in the second paragraph.) You can listen to programming from outside the country or elsewhere via shortwave without Big Brother knowing, as people have in totalitarian countries virtually since the dawn of the medium. IMHO, that's just another huge advantage of radio listening, shortwave and otherwise. But the UK's big archive will "log" all of your listening catches on the Internet for you. They might send you a verification you didn't ask for. And with the BPL type interference that is being battled in the UK now, listeners may be de facto forced to the Internet, as their radios may become less and less usable. But that's just in the UK. This could never happen in the USA with our protections of liberty, unless maybe we had Supreme Court justices that referenced foreign laws and precedents in their rulings... ooops. Just FYI. 73, (Curt Phillips W4CP, Raleigh, NC USA, April 6, NASWA yg via DXLD) Viz.: In a move that even the most nonchalant of privacy advocates is crying foul over, the UK has put into effect a European Union directive which mandates the archival of information regarding virtually all internet traffic for the next 12 months. The program formally goes into effect today. The data retention rules require the archival of all email traffic (the identities of the sender and receiver, but not the contents of the messages), records of VOIP telephone calls (traditional phone calls are already monitored), and information about every website visited by any computer user in the country. The rules are being pushed down "across the board to even the smallest company," as every ISP large or small will be required to collect and store the data. That data will then be accessible -- to fight "crime and terrorism," of course -- by "hundreds of public bodies" to investigate whatever crimes they see fit. FULL STORY: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/136610 (via Phillips, ibid.) I thought this was along the line of the "Bill Gates will pay for e-mail" rumor of several years ago. It's legit, but the data being tracked is probably no different from what many ISPs has long tracked. See the BBC's take at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7985664.stm (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) ** U S A. 15530, at 1444 15 March, R. Martí, political talk, fanfare, 32432 (Arthur Miller, Llandrindod Wells, UK, April World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ?? Looks like a typo for 15330 --- EXCEPT, I axually heard RM on 15530 myself, Nov 22 at 1447, as reported in DXLD 8-120, so that `typo` was at the transmitter by the resident lysdexic at Greenville. Unfortunately, in a one-line-per-log report, no clarification or remark about it truly being off the proper frequency can be included (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. VOA Korean service, VG signal on 11740, April 10 at 1316 --- except the audio was cutting out sporadically. Checked // 5890 and the same was happening 4 seconds later, as it is deliberately delayed. 11740 is Tinang, Philippines, while 5890 is Tinian, NMI. Therefore, the problem is somewhere between Washington and the separate transmitter sites. Is anyone paying attention at either end? Why isn`t there a backup system, switching to a lower-quality but non- interrupted dial-up program feed, for example, the instant that the satellite feed starts to act up? During the next few minutes there was no American Song, but continuous [note spelling] Korean talk over music, at one point interrupted by VOA News announcement in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. [Germany/Sri Lanka] R Liberty in Kyrghiz til Apr 13 on 11780 1200-1230 30S,31S BIB 100 kW 085 deg replaced by 17730 1200-1230 30S,31S IRA 250 334 from Apr 14. VOA Azerbaijani program, replace 7235BIB by 5820BIB, from Apr 13 5820 1730-1800 29SE BIB 100 kW 105 deg \\ 7215BIB 13580LAM VOA Burmese program, replace 9325IRA by 9325PHX - old Tinang[Poro]-PHL mobile 50 kW unit, 9325 1430-1530 49 PHX 50 kW 285 deg VOA Burmese program, replace 12120PHX - old Tinang[Poro]-PHL mobile 50 kW unit, by 12120IRA from Apr 14 12120 1430-1530 49 IRA 250 kW 57 deg VOA Creole extension on Wednesdays only ? - from Apr 15 15390 1700-1730 11 GB 250 kW 174 deg 17565 1700-1730 11 GB 250 174 VOA Mandarin program, replace 11615PHT by 11615 Saipan, from Apr 14 11615 1400-1500 42-44 SAI 100 kW 310 deg VOA English program, replace 7430 by 7545 Tinang-PHL, from Apr 14 7545 1400-1600 40,41 PHT 250 kW 270 deg VOA English program, replace 7590 by 9485 Tinang-PHL, from Apr 14 9485 1500-1600 43,44 PHT 250 kW 349 deg VOA English program, replace 9670 by 9780 Udornthani-THA, from Apr 13 9780 1900-2000 39,40 UDO 250 kW 316 deg VOA English program, addit 50 kW unit 9885 Botswana, from Apr 13 9885 1800-2030 46-48,52,53 BOT 50 kW 350 deg VOA Indonesian program, replace 13620 by 7550 Tinang-PHL, from Apr 14, Thu-Sat only 7550 1400-1500 54 PHT 250 kW 200 deg R Liberty Russian program, replace 17730 by 9585 Lampertheim-D, from Apr 14, 9585 1200-1300 29,30 LAM 100 kW 55 deg RFA Cantonese additional from Apr 14 5835 1400-1500 54 TIN 250 kW 279 deg [Thu-Sat only?] (HFCC public file Apr 9, via BC-DX April 10 via DXLD) It seems it wasn't mentioned here yet. R. Liberty in Turkmen - new frequency: 1500-1600 - 7230 kHz - probably Wertachtal - ex 7420 - parallel: 7260 (Found today when monitoring 41 MB.) 73! (Alexey Zinevich: a DXer from Minsk, Belarus, April 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. SHOULD THIS STATION BROADCAST NEWS, OR INADEQUATELY RESEARCHED OPINION? (updated) "If it had the equipment and personnel for the job, the United States could broadcast radio programs for the Pashtuns commemorating Rahman Baba’s life and poetry, thus helping to revive the collective memory of Sufism and inspiring opposition to the Taliban. Other programs could highlight the cultural and physical devastation wrought by the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The United States conducted impressive strategic communications during the cold war. Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and other programs conveyed information and ideas that contributed to the discrediting and ultimate defeat of Soviet communism. Pakistan’s Islamist extremists apparently know the value of strategic communications. They preach and broadcast, understanding that every non-extremist school they close, every artist they force to move, every moderate tribal leader they kill and every Sufi shrine they destroy can increase their powers of intimidation and persuasion." Douglas J. Feith and Justin Polin, New York Times, 29 March 2009. "It's not at all surprising to read today's New York Times opinion section and find that Doug Feith continues to be a font of lazy thinking. ... Strategic communications directed at the Muslim World, patterned after Radio Free Europe? Sorry Doug, maybe you sh[o]uld have gotten involved with al-Hurra, the Bush administration's attempt to replicate the success of Cold-War era public diplomacy, but which has been widely regarded as a sham by the Muslim world." Patrick Barry, Democracy Aresenal, 30 March 2009 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) My job: cleaning up after the experts. All three writers overlooked the fact that VOA's Deewa Radio already broadcasts in Pashto to that very part of Pakistan. So apparently the United States does have "the equipment and personnel for the job." Deewa's output includes programs about poetry, but, as part of VOA, its mainstay is reliable news and information. If Messrs. Feith and Polin prefer a station that is more partisanly anti-Taliban, such a station may not want to be identified with the United States. (And see previous post about Radio Khyber.) This op-ed could inspire an amendment, to some future legislation, to create an RFE/RL Pashto service to Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, to do what Deewa is already doing (and, for that matter, what RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan is already doing), resulting in even more duplication in US international broadcasting. As for Alhurra, it's not up there with Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, but it has too many viewers to be dismissed as a "sham." See previous post (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) Update: "That’s what Voice of America, financed by the American government, has been doing daily since September 2006 with its popular Deewa Radio. Deewa, with 13 staff members in Washington and 23 stringers throughout Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas, covers local, national and international news and engages with its listeners seven days a week." VOA director Danforth Austin, letter to New York Times, 5 April 2009. Posted: 09 Apr 2009 (kimandrewelliott.com, see for linx http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=6215 via DXLD) ** U S A. VOA WEBSITE REDESIGN INCLUDES RELEGATION OF RADIO "VOANews.com has revamped its home page to give news a more central role on the page. ... While the home page retains many of its current special features, including links to all of VOA's 45 language services, it improves navigation to the various features that allow people to access VOA on different platforms. It also prominently displays links to interactive features, including podcasts, RSS feeds, mobile services, and links to the T2A web chat and unique video footage." VOA press release, 6 April 2009. (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) I thought the radio transmission schedule had been eliminated, but I finally found it. Can *you* find it? Users are obviously steered towards online access to VOA content, rather than old fashioned radio reception. The VOA home page betters that of BBC World Service in that links to *all* of VOA's languages are there. They are, however, "below the fold." The non-English user may or may not guess that he/she must cursor down to find the link to his/her language. Posted: 09 Apr 2009 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** U S A. VOA violating separation of church and state: At 2123-2129* April 10, in the Kriyol service on 11895, Agnus Dei and Pie Jesu, beautiful music, but it can hardly be coincidental that it`s ``Good Friday`` and they are playing classical music for a change. Mentioned Roman Catholic Church; adherents of Voudou, or any other belief, should raise hell with VOA and demand equal time. It`s far from the first such violation. R. Martí broadcast Catholic services and may still do so; R. Liberty used to broadcast Russian Orthodox stuff. Thus the US Government is endorsing Christianity of various ilx to the exclusion of countless other religions practiced at home and abroad. Better to keep it secular (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NOW A BLOG EXAMINING THE MURDER OF RFA'S GC "The murder of Robert Wone: it's freaky, complex with loads of bold face names & firms attached. One of the craziest murder mysteries this city has seen in ages, no one has been charged but the three housemates at the Dupont Circle home where Robert was drugged, assaulted then stabbed all face prosecution on multiple charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and evidence tampering charges. The trial is later this spring/summer. Now, a few DC media types (including two C-SPAN alums) are using their new media savvy to help solve this mystery on a blog entitled Who Murdered Robert Wone." fishbowlDC, 6 April 2009 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Wone was Radio Free Asia's general counsel when he was murdered on 2 August 2006. See previous post about same subject. Posted: 10 Apr 2009 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** U S A. 9329.75/USB, WBCQ Monticello ME (presumed); 1900, 3 April; Glenn Hauser's World of Radio with music played on top. Sudden audio loss at 1901+, not back as of 1914 (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet April 10 via DXLD) That was an inadvertent overrun as during the previous hour 9330 is // 7415, and WOR presumably continued on 7415 only (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Ted Randall says he has been getting interference complaints while his shows are on WBCQ 7415, Tue-Wed-Thu 2100-2300. In Puerto Rico, there`s China co-channel until 2200, which is 2000-2200 English via Kashi, 500 kW at 308 degrees for Europe but prolonged trans-Atlantically. And in eastern NAm, YFR 7420 Arabic via Wertachtal, 250 kW at 210 degrees for W Africa. I heard the latter at 2218 check April 9, but not really a problem for WBCQ in CNAm. It may also be bothering WORLD OF RADIO Mondays at 2200 further east. Looking at the schedules, the only other adjacent problem could be 7410, BBC via South Africa, 330 degrees at 2100-2200 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WLS 890 Chicago will air a special two hour 85th Anniversary program on Sunday, 12 April, from 12 n to 2 pm Central Time. [17-19 UT] http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n19133 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, April 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KARZ 42 Little Rock: frozen in time --- Nexstar's MyNetwork TV affiliate in Little Rock. AR KARZ channel 42 had been broadcasting // with KARK's wall to wall storm coverage but for the past hour has been transmitting only a still frozen image with no audio. http://tvdxseark.blogspot.com/2009/04/frozen-frame-transmitted-on-karz-kark.html Mena AR has had extensive tornado damage (Fritze H Prentice Jr, KC5KBV, Star City, AR EM43aw, April 9, http://tvdxseark.blogspot.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Another Spanish gospel huxter on 16m? 17705, VG signal April 10 at 2024 with YL telling the story of Jesucristo, complete with inspirational music past 2032, as if it were historical fact. It has to be Radio Nacional de Venezuela as scheduled during this hour via Cuba, violating separation of church and state. Back to politix! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. RTZ, 11735, April 9 at 2023 check with ME music, poor modulation with rumble, and signal weakening perceptibly in the next minute (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Family Radio en los 1190 AM --- Saludos cordiales queridos colegas diexistas. Espero se encuentren todos muy bien. Día jueves a las 0115 UT pude escuchar en los 1190 kHz a Family Radio con su programa Foro Abierto, donde se respondía a las preguntas de los oyentes. Pude escuchar muy bien la identificación de Radio Family y grabarla, cuando dicen que transmiten desde Oakland, California. Anexo imagen del recorrido de las ondas de Radio Family de mas de 6480 km. Pero me pregunto ahora ¿es esta una frecuencia de Family Radio o es la de otra emisora que la retransmite? La he sintonizado con el Digital Tuner Sony SRF-M37. Atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Apartado Postal 488, Código Postal 6001-A, Barcelona, Venezuela, April 10, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) Hola JE, Como no, no está transmitiendo desde Oakland en 1190. Puede ser una emisora venezolana o cercana. O imagen de la OC -- debe probar las frecuencias paralelas de WYFR a ver si correspondan precisamente. Me parecía una posibilidad la WBMJ de Puerto Rico, pero según su esquema hay Luis Palau a esa hora. O como digo en inglés --- Of course FR is not transmitting direct from Oakland on 1190; I wouldn`t be surprised if one of the three Venezuelans on 1190 is relaying it, or else some other country close to you. Or even an image from SW on that radio. Did you try // any WYFR SW frequency to see if it matched? WBMJ in Puerto Rico looked like a good prospect with its religious format, but schedule at http://community.therockradio.org/guide/ shows Cruzada con Luis Palau at that time (9:15 pm local) (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Excelente tu comentario amigo Glenn, quien quita entonces que pueda ser la la venezolana Ondas de Libertad desde San Felix transmitiendo a Family Radio, esta noche volvere a estar a la escucha a ver si repito esa captación y posible identificación de la emisora que retransmite. Lo que sí no creo es que sea imagen de la onda corta, ya que en la misma frecuencia anoche estaban tres emisoras luchando por entrar en los 1190. Un abrazo amigo Glenn y gracias por tu comentario (José Elías Díaz, Venezuela, ibid.) Hola Joselito, Felices Pascuas desde Italia. Es muy probable que en los 1190 kHz sintonizaste WBMJ-AM (1190 kHz) localizada en Puerto Rico, 10 kW, en frente a tu bonita costa Venezuelana. WBMJ-AM (1190 kHz) is part of The Rock Radio Network: WBMJ AM-1190, San Juan • WCGB AM-1060, Juana Díaz/Ponce • WIVV AM- 1370, Vieques Island Calvary Evangelistic Mission, Inc. 1409 Ponce de Leon Ave., 4th Floor, San Juan, PR 00907-4023. PO Box 367000, San Juan, PR 00936-7000. Tel: (787) 724-1190 Fax: (787) 722-3595. Jacqueline Rodríguez, Radio Office Coordinator. The radio stations broadcast 18-20 hours daily touching lives in Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles Islands http://northernstar.no/wbmj.htm Muchos 73's (Dario Monferini, http://www.playdx.com radioescutas yg via DXLD) But see sked above UNIDENTIFIED. Re 9-031: 15150, RRI Jakarta at 1244 with gamelan music. Poor Apr. 4 Are you sure about 15150? That`s normally used only for VOI external service, but not at this hour. So not // 9525 or 9680? Beware; Iran`s lengthy Arabic service is on 15150 at 0530-1630, 500 kW, 295 degrees from Sirjan (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn: I could have mistaken Iran for Indonesia, but it sure sounded like gamelan music to me. Thanks for your suggestions (Harold Sellers, VA3DXO, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, Managing Editor, "Listening In" Ontario DX Association, http://www.odxa.on.ca April 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ HFCC A09 SCHEDULE is now available at http://hfcc.org/data/index.html Direct Link: http://hfcc.org/data/a09/a09allx2.zip (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, April 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) HFCC A09 public schedule [13% reduced data lines] (BCDX via DXLD) EIBI A09 SCHEDULES now available: http://www.eibi.de.vu/ Sincerely, (Dave Jeffery, April 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF HOROLOGY see also PAKISTAN +++++++++++++++++ IRAN DOESN`T GET IT INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTER PRESS TV HAS YET TO LEARN ABOUT INTERNATIONAL TIME "As many countries around the globe adjust their clocks one hour forward to save daylight, Press TV schedule will accordingly switch to DST for the viewers' convenience. Press TV programs will be broadcast in Daylight Saving Time (DST) starting from 23:00 GMT on Sunday April, 5, 2009. The programs, which have so far been broadcast in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), will be aired one hour early in the non-DST-observing regions." Press TV, 5 April 2009. (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) This is a tricky business. Twice a year, some countries move their clocks forward, some countries (in the opposite hemisphere) move their clocks back, and some don't move them at all. And not all countries changes their clocks the same weekend. This is why real international broadcasters stick to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), more traditionally known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Audiences sufficiently motivated to tune in international broadcasts will understand that when their clocks change, the broadcaster's clock will stay where it is. And they might even keep a clock in the house set to UTC. Posted: 09 Apr 2009 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) We recently had a similar confused announcement from IRIB`s Spanish service --- in Iran they must think the world revolves around them, even tho they are out of step with most of the world, observing a wacky half-hour-offset timezone (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ EDXC 2009 DUBLIN, IRELAND Dear DX-Friends all over the World! If you book your hotel room (Grand Canal Hotel, Dublin) through the internet hompage of the hotel http://www.grandcanalhotel.com you can arrive at l o w e r hotel room rates, like EUR 89,--- / Room / Night (Tibor Szilagyi, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING: IBOC DRM: see ECUADOR; POLAND; UK ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ HD RADIO CRYING OUT TO BE HEARD Today's New York Times (Thu. 9 April) has this piece by David Pogue in the State of the Art feature which is a pretty fair analysis of HD Radio and where it is in the marketplace today. It runs about 35 column-inches and is on page B-1 (business). Interestingly the author is on Twitter and solicited comments from other "tweeters' (?) who follow him, and out of a field of a hundred thousand, found 16 who had tried HD radio. The author's email addy is given in the piece. I have little doubt he would enjoy hearing from the select group of readers of _these_ email groups (NRC, IRCA etc) who have first hand knowledge of the features and foibles of HD, especially on AM. 73 (Bob Foxworth, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/technology/personaltech/09pogue.html?_r=1&8dpc starts Q: How do you make an HD radio executive bang his head against the wall? (Eric Flodén, April 9, dxldyg via DXLD) David Pogue always does a very good job of deconstructing technology into understandable, relevant pieces. A couple key points in the article: "To get a wider sampling [of experiences with HD], I asked my 100,000 Twitter followers if they’d tried HD radio. Sixteen people responded." and: "That explains the five Twitter pals who independently mentioned that they listen to Internet radio more than HD radio these days, especially on the iPhone. It may not sound as good, but wow, what programming — radio stations from all over the world, all available free." I've posted a comment (the first) to the article...pointing out the 5 fundamental flaws that I see in how HD Radio has been developed. Once the content is approved I expect you'll see it on the NYT website (Richard Cuff, skeptical in Allentown, PA, ibid.) At last count there were 37 comments, mostly negative when someone (David Pogue?) cut off access to comments for this article, I get it online. BTW this guy is associated with both NPR and CBS who are both HD proponents. it looks like comments on this puff piece didn't go the way the author wanted so he pulled them all. Even if it was an opinion piece of which I don't think it was, you shouldn't be able to pull comments from readers who are in disagreement with your ideas; since when does a paper like the Times print articles like they are blogs with writer approval on all comments? (Bob Young, Analog, MA, 1642 UT 9 April, ibid.) Comments still open for me, apparently, at 1045 PDT [1745 UT] (Eric Flodén, BC, NRC-AM via DXLD) NO comments visible here appended (gh) The last paragraph says it all: But the number that counts ? people actually listening to HD radio ? is shockingly low. Unless the economy turns around, unless satellite goes away, unless reception improves, unless HD gets a reputation for great shows (and not just great sound), HD may have a tough slog ahead. FM IBOC is circling the drain. AM IBOC is toast. Even if the economy hadn't driven off a cliff. The recession and the potential demise of GM and/or Chrysler only put the last nails in the 'ol coffin. 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, IRCA via DXLD) RDS TRAFFIC In the New York City market, two stations leave their RDS traffic tags on 24/7. Doesn't this defeat the purpose of this feature? How do you get the stations to turn off these tags? Does 'traffic' alerting actually work in some markets? Also, some of the format tags are not correct. Stations love to list themselves as MISC. Others are equally inappropriate. Religious stations listing themselves as ROCK, etc. I'm presuming there is no group watching over RDS behavior. Also, my car prohibits showing message information while the car is in motion. What a great feature! Outside of helping DXers ID stations more easily, what is the point of RDS? Does RDS mean 'really dumb system?' Thanks for listening, (Karl Zuk N2KZ, April 10, WTFDA via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ SILICON VALLEY HAMS to the rescue The evening news led, the SF Chronicle's top story, and what a story it was: Vandals opened 300' [pound?] manhole street covers at 4 southbay locations in the early morning hours and cut fiber cables. This wiped out band ATM's 911 emergency phone and the internet for the entire silicon valley. AT&T was hardest hit, but Sprint and Verizon got their share, as they all carry traffic in the same subterranean holes 8-10 feet under the asphalt. Hardest hit was Morgan Hill. They activated their emergency operations center can called in HAM radio operators to provide missing telecommunications. HAMS were able to get out the story enough to where the media were all copying THEM instead of the other way around. ............... comment Forgive me, but I cannot refrain from putting in my two cents worth: Somehow the entire society has taken signals so for granted, we have been in signal gluttony for so long, that nobody could even recall what signal starvation is like. You don't miss your water until your well runs dry. There are hundreds of manholes, millions of feet of fiber running under the floor of that valley. Yet all the 'competation' carriers chose to lease space from eachother in an incestious relationship that sets the stage for one pair of hands with knowledge and a pair of bolt cutters could be so effective in reminding society of what signal starvation means. .................. Radio to the rescue Microwave radio is virtually immune to such, it heals in seconds where fiber takes days and weeks. Nobody believes in 'diverse and redundant' routing. When I left that industry, it was possible to carry a considerable portion of fiber's capacity on microwave radio. At least the HAMS were there with their radios to help restore 911. Yours in DX, (-- Tim Alderman, Microwave Engineer, FCC License PG00011282, April 10, WTFDA via DXLD) hams, not HAMS (gh) DAMAGING PORTABLES BY OVERLOAD? Re 9-031: ``I talked to someone at Universal Radio last week and he told me that using wire antennas over 40 ft. could result in your portable being desensitized -- reduction in weak-signal reception due to damage to the radio's circuitry -- if used over time`` So damage must be expected only after an extended period? Torturing my ATS 909 next to transmission antennas for periods of some minutes, on which it reacted by screaming out in bad distortion, did apparently not hurt it (Kai Ludwig, Germany, April 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ETON & GRUNDIG NEWS I have the 2009 Etón Product Catalog which includes Grundig products. There has never been, and there is not going to be, a Grundig E1. The Eton E1 is going to be taken off the market. The Grundig G5 is going to be taken off the market. The Grundig G4 (records) is going to be taken off the market. So, if you want an Eton E1 or a Grundig G4 or G5, start thinking of paying for it now. There is going to be a Grundig G3 with SSB, RDS, synchronous detector and aircraft band. For the UK, Nevada is the importer for Eton and Grundig radios (David Crystal, Israel, April World DX Club Contact via DXLD) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ I enjoyed reading Keith Perron's commentary [9-031] on the importance of shortwave radio. For me, the message is more important than the medium, i.e. international broadcasting, by whatever means, is more important than the method whereby it reaches the listener's ears. Having said that, however, I think Keith is correct to point out the continued importance of shortwave, a medium that, unlike the internet and local radio relays, cannot be 'switched off' arbitrarily by an organisation over which the originating broadcaster has no control. Keith's point about the importance of shortwave radio in an emergency, when other media are not available, was also well made. I also agree with his point about the domination of news broadcasting, with station after station trying to imitate (badly) the major news providers such as the BBC. Even the BBC World Service, which used to provide a much more varied fare, has succumbed to the temptation to saturate its transmissions with news programmes. News, of course, is important, but not to the detriment of drama, literature, the arts and science, etc. I also feel that there is too much unnecessary 'actuality' in some news programmes (this applies to domestic as well as international broadcasting). I am a fan of the old-fashioned nine-and-a-half minute straight reading of the news that the BBC, and many other stations, used to broadcast. Adding extra voices, even if they are on-the-spot, is fine but only if it adds to the listener's understanding of the story. In my opinion this practice is grossly overdone in modern news programmes - but on this point I'm pretty sure I will be in the minority! Does anyone remember what happened to Swiss Radio International back, I think, in the early 1980s when its splendid and leisurely entertainment programmes were replaced with a news programme called 'Dateline'? From that point on SRI lost its magic and, probably, much of its audience: I know that I rarely listened to it after the changeover. Within 10 years or so, SRI had decided - probably on the basis of its falling audience, for which its own programming errors were responsible - that shortwave had no future. It then perpetrated another mistake by concentrating on satellite delivery, which must have further reduced its audience, and a few years later it died altogether. Another problem, to me, is the soullessness of many station's presentation as a result of automation. How many stations these days open their programmes with a live announcer saying, 'Hello and welcome to our programme. I'm ... and here's what we've got lined up for you tonight...' I get no sense of this personal touch from many of today's shortwave stations. I also feel that some stations lose out on valuable feedback by not soliciting listeners' responses and by not given out their contact details often enough. But there is also a problem with many shortwave listeners who, while grumbling about the cut-backs that have affected their listening, are slow to respond to what they hear with reasoned comments and suggestions concerning programme content (Roger Tidy, UK, April 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) >>> My first question was "Have you ever listened to shortwave or do you even own a shortwave radio?" His answer was "No!" And he's running a shortwave station? <<< --- He's running an organization that no longer considers radio as their primary medium but just as something else besides TV and online. And the answer is no surprise also because the director of Blablabla Broadcasting is no radio guy but was formerly a politician or rather a civil servant from the political field. To my knowledge he never sat behind the mic, away from some interviews. >>> And you're bringing in a new audience? Who? <<< --- Blablabla Broadcasting calls them the "information elites". The organization is not interested in reaching ordinary people anymore. They are no longer interested in reaching compatriots abroad either and explicitly send them away. Thus there is just no point in arguing that abandoning shortwave altogether could cut off such audiences, because this doesn't matter anyway. >>> Some stations feel that maybe shortwave to the People's Republic is not a good idea because of the amount of jamming done by Chinese authorities with FIREDRAKE. This is silly. I lived in Beijing for over 8 years and never had a problem to tune in. Yes, it's true that frequencies directed to China were jammed, but all I had to do was tune to a frequency for let's say Africa or Eastern Europe, and had no problem to listen. <<< --- So those were broadcasts in other languages than Chinese it seems? Are such programmes jammed by China at all? In regard to Chinese it appears to be indeed difficult but not impossible to get listenable signals into China, especially with a brute-force approach to use as many frequencies as possible. But this is no argument against shortwave, since in this case the related webcasts are of course blocked as well. >>> My feeling is that over the next 10 years or hopefully less, the stations, people and governments that have cut shortwave will wake up and say "What have we done?" <<< --- And my feeling is that a number of the classical international broadcasters will get lost in cyberspace and fall into oblivion within less than ten years (Kai Ludwig, Germany, April 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION ++++++++++++ LOGGING HAWAII IN CALIFORNIA Now that we have several FM (and TV) DXers in (southern) California, it might be a good time to review the 'basics' of what it will take to 'hear' Hawaii on the infamous duct which appears sporadically between late May and September - sometimes even in mid-winter (but not often). The reverse path (California plus Mexico, et al) heard in Hawaii is the stuff of legends; Sheldon Remington living at around 1,500 ' elevation in Hawaii has logged tens (hundreds?) of stations from the lower extremities of Mexico north to at least San Francisco but being a quite reclusive individual his exploits have never been properly detailed. Sheldon's interest in TV DX never matured so as we approach the end of the analog era (Hawaii switched off virtually all analog in January) the odds are neither he nor anyone else will find ducted (TV) reception in either direction anytime soon. Observation of tropospheric ducts from Hawaii to the 'mainland' date back to at least the 1950s; the first hints came from airline pilots landing in San Francisco who, when switching to a 120 MHz region frequency to talk to San Francisco found Honolulu there instead as they were settling into the California landing pattern. John Chambers (deceased), W6NLZ, and a New Jersey transplant ham living in Hawaii (KH6UK) turned this knowledge into the first two meter (144 MHz) contact over the 2,500 mile path and from those late 50's events all has flowed. Ducts vary in intensity, height, 'depth' and over the 50 intervening years much has been learned. First, the Hawaii end of the duct(s) nominally remains more elevated than the stateside end; hams in Hawaii often (but not always) have to go 'up' to elevations approaching 8,000 feet to break into the tropospheric layer while in California a 25 watt two-meter mobile on the shoreline in San Diego is 'perfect copy' on both VHF and UHF bands. On rare occasions the mainland side actually moves inland enough that hams in the Sierras well off the coast make the grade if their antennas are large enough and their power high enough. Hams as far north as British Columbia have at least heard the Hawaiian signals and from Seattle to Baja California there have been two-way contacts on 144 and 432 MHz. One time a ham in Reno, Nevada even made it across the Sierras! Alas, working a Morse (CW) contact with a signal buried in the noise is one thing; hearing a Hawaiian FM station on the mainland is another. The primary problem is not the lack of signal; it is 'too many, too strong' signals - originating in California (or Oregon etc.). The first step is to get rid of the band-clobbering signals nearby and for any location in southern California that may not be possible. Every frequency from 88.1 to 107.9 is occupied, sometimes two, three or four times, between Santa Barbara and San Diego and while the Hawaiian signals could possibly be quite strong, they will seldom if ever be strong enough to override a much closer station. Step one: Research and make a 'cheat sheet' of all higher power, elevated Hawaiian FM stations. Know their frequency, their format, and if they are in fact operating from an elevated location. Sheldon Remington's experience at 1,500 feet ASL might be instructive; or it may not. Now find yourself a spot - no matter how difficult it may be - where you can set-up to listen on one or more of these identified channels without mind numbing overload from 'local' signals. Frankly, if I were making this my challenge, I would immediately search out a location between Santa Barbara and Monterey along or west of Highway 1, preferably right on the (Pacific) water around Grover Beach-Avila Beach, or better yet perhaps between Cambria and Big Sur. Here's why. Duct signals wander up and down (elevation and area illuminated) as a function of time of day. Fifty years of experience tells us the 'at- water' seacoast locations usually work best between 3pm and 10pm but predicting when ducts will function for any given location is a fool's game. Next, have a way to know 'when' the ducts exist. The best suggestion I can make is to monitor the web site http://www.dxworld.com/50prop.html and look for reports from K6QXY (he is northeast of San Francisco) who can be counted on to report when there are ducting conditions to Hawaii. You can also once on the site click on '144 prop' at top for two-meter reports from others along the California coast. Not all ducts of course are created equal; some last hours, some days; some are strong, some are weak. Some favor 144 MHz, others 432 MHz or higher. FM (88.1-107.9) will be best when there are many reports of 144 MHz contacts between Hawaii and the west coast (even six meters or 50 MHz has made it on ducting on occasion). When K6QXY or others on that site say 'the duct is in' head to your pre-selected spot armed with your research; which frequencies to listen on, which format to listen for and note the easy to spot 'time zone' difference (Hawaii is typically two hours west of California [winter; 3 hours summer]). The real advice here is to pre-hand-pick your DX-pedition location (just as Saul does in Ontario and Chris does in Michigan!) carefully, preferably in advance by making a test run to locate where you can park (a decent car radio may - 'may!' - be all you need) and have local shielding from the multitude of interfering stations along California's coastal area, on one or more frequencies known to be occupied by Hawaiian stations of moderate to high power and at some elevation. Would it be helpful to include a fold-up transportable FM antenna - even a Radio Shack version? Probably but if you are car-radio only, that presents a coupling challenge (not insurmountable but involving some wiring changes). The primary reason why I would seriously consider this option is to help with phasing out the unwanted California layers of signals. I have personally been on Mt Pinos (8,816 feet asl; drive to the top) off of highway 33 and south between Cuyama and Maricopa (northeast of Santa Barbara) with a suitable yagi under 'dead band' (summer) conditions and literally been able to log every FM station from Sacramento and San Francisco on the north to the Mexican border (a span of approaching 500 miles) with as many as ten (10!) on some channels. This is a wonderful spot NOT to try for Hawaii because you would never - ever - have enough antenna to eliminate one, two or five California stations on the same frequency. Plus - at 8,816 feet, you would most likely be above the duct anyhow. Remember - the great majority of Hawaiian ducts at some point stick to the ground on the eastern end which explains why one guy in San Diego actually made it to Hawaii with a two-meter handheld radio a few years back (oh yes - he had replaced the 'rubber ducky' antenna with a homebrewed five element two meter yagi but his power was under 5 watts; it works out to 0.002 watts per mile which is pretty good in anyone's book.) TV? Sorry - the (analog) opportunity has passed and unless you are prepared to use a suitable antenna (such as Dennis Smith's five foot parabolic dish) and carefully select a location where the set top box might decode a Hawaiian UHF signal. The odds are against you but then if you did it, you'd have a distance record that might never be surpassed! In summary, it has been a curiosity to me (after nearly 60 years of TV-FM DXing) that nobody has ever logged a Hawaiian station via ducting (setting aside double hop Es and F2) from the mainland. It is not really a big challenge but it will require some careful research and planning - and like all things DX - 'Being in the right place at the right time - on the right frequency!' (Bob Cooper in New Zealand, April WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) ###