DX LISTENING DIGEST 11-51, December 21, 2011 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 2011 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 WORLD OF RADIO 1596 HEADLINES: *DX and station news about: Afghanistan, Anguilla, Australia, Bhutan, Canada, Cyprus, Czechia, Ethiopia, Korea North, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oklahoma, Peru, Puerto Rico, Slovakia non, Spain and non, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, USA SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1596, December 22-28, 2011 Thu 2200 WTWW 9479 [confirmed] Thu 2230 WBCQ 7490 [confirmed] Fri 0430 WWRB 3195 [confirmed; no longer on 5050] Fri 0600 WRMI 9955 [inaudible] Sat 0900 WRMI 9955 Sat 1600 WRMI 9955 Sat 1830 WRMI 9955 Sun 0500 WTWW 5755 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Sun 1630 WRMI 9955 Sun 1830 WRMI 9955 Mon 0330v WBCQ 5110v-CUSB [maybe] see http://www.worldmicroscope.com Tue 1030 HLR 5980 Hamburger Lokal Radio 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://193.42.152.193/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN: http://www.wrn.org/wrn-listeners/world-of-radio/ http://www.wrn.org/listeners/world-of-radio/rss/09:00:00UTC/English/541 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg without delay. When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and location, and say something about why you want to join. Those who do not, unless I recognize them, will be prompted once to do so and no action will be taken otherwise. Here`s where to sign up: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** AFGHANISTAN. [Re 11-50:] 7200 [former 6100/6102 kHz] Radio Afghanistan in Pashto, English, and Urdu, 1530-1630 UT. YAK is Kabul "Yakatut" - a suburb at 34 32 23.59 N 69 12 41.82 E B-11 of Radio Afghanistan in English and Urdu from Nov. 27: 1530-1630 NF 7200 YAK 100 kW 125 deg to SoAS, ex6102 to avoid CRI & AWR (R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, Dec 14 via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews 17 Dec via DXLD) Authorities in Germany featured this direction finding screenshot today Dec 16, in order to help IARU INTRUDERALERT ng [for members only] Distance Germany Direction Finding monitoring station to Kabul-AFG is 5230 kilometers in 89 degrees azimuth, (fineness plus/minus 2 degrees deviation!), 7200 kHz checked from DF monitoring station east of Cologne-Bonn Germany on Dec 16, shots at 1540 UT, and 2nd DF at 1602. See attached screenshots. Afghan Telecoms authority, the address is: Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) c/o Chief of Staff (MCIT) Mr. Ghulam Jelani Waziri, Kabul E-mail: Note: in Australia 7100 to 7200 kHz the amateur service is secondary. wb. vy 73 de Wolfy df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews 17 Dec via DXLD) 17 Dec, 7200, once again found with just carrier at 1525 and signal S5-8 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) AFEGANISTÃO, 7200, R. Afghanistan, Kabul, 1536-1609, 17/12, English to S Asia, news, Urdu (presumed) at 1600; 35433 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Afghanistan: Listening at the moment to 7200 (using LSB to avoid the ham splatter on the upper side which is always there). Tune in at 1528 UT 19 Dec. Best reception yet with local vocal music. Music continued past 1530 to 1530:40 when a woman said something, but again too muddy to make anything out clearly. May not have been English, though? (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Dec 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) At 1535z English news by OM (Alokesh Gupta, ibid.) Radio Afghanistan putting in quite a good signal here daily, 1530-16 UT, 7200 kHz. The audio quality is excellent. The signal itself clashes with hams in the same band. Afghanistan is technically the source of interference to them. There is an Afghan news bulletin, followed by “International News.” The latter is often focused on Pakistani politics and policy. Much of the Afghan news is about development projects in health, welfare or education. Today’s broadcast featured a story about Kabul’s biggest ever supermarket. The two news bulletins are followed by Afghan music. Some days, there is an abrupt end to the English at 1550. But it is regular and very easy to listen to in comfort, if the hams are quiet (Derek Lynch, Ireland, Dec 20, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Afghanistan 7200, I tuned in around 1528 Dec 20 and they came on in English at 1530. There wasn't much of any co-channel this morning, relatively in the clear, "this is the National Radio of Afghanistan" by male, then by a woman, mention of 49 meter band as well. Strong enough signal but audio not too easy to understand, some polar flutter. English news to past 1540, long musical section, then more English news items, another long musical selection to past 1600 and then no longer in English. Some hams zero beat and also up around 7202 weren't helping. (ICOM 7800 and 3 el 40m yagi) (Don Moman, Lamont, Alberta, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Don, 7200 was very strong this morning (at least the music portion). But, I wasn't 100% sure that I was hearing Afghanistan and not Sudan. I tuned in around 1505 to this strong station. For some reason, the signal suddenly dived right at 1530 here, so my anticipated ID didn't materialize. OK, so the question is: Do we have Omdurman cochannel at this time? (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria BC, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Walt and Don, My attempts recently here in California to hear R. Afghanistan have been severely hampered by what sounds like Sudan. There is another station underneath, but too weak to tell anything about it. Would take a day with poor propagation for Sudan and good for Afghanistan, this has not happened yet (Ron Howard, Dec 20, ibid.) Ron (and Don): I'm thinking that I likely was hearing Sudan, and not Afghanistan this morning. I guess what I'll need to follow, is exactly when Radio Afghanistan signs on, as Omdurman is obviously there earlier. Should be interesting to check when I'm in Masset in a few days (Walt Salmaniw, ibid.) Although I didn't expand the Perseus display to look closer, there was no obvious sign of two carriers here, so perhaps both very close to being spot on. I was barely up in time for the English at 1530 this morning and will try to do so again tomorrow. 73 (Don Moman, AB, Dec 20, ibid.) Walt, Don, and Ron, I rechecked my Winradio recording from this morning and may have had three stations on 7200. At the start of the recording (1515 UT), I had two carriers - 7199.993 and 7200.015 kHz, with the latter a couple of db stronger. The dominant station was playing music with a very repetitious drum cadence, occasionally a flute, possibly with vocal accompaniment, definitely sounding more African than South Asian. At 1520, there was some talking in a language I didn't recognize. It may have later doubled with more music beginning at about 1523. I'm not sure if I had two stations at that point or if the talking and music were part of the same broadcast. At 1527:20, the carrier on 7199.993 suddenly disappeared and never returned. The drumming continued. At 1529:40, the drumming suddenly ended, coinciding with a sudden 10 db drop in signal strength on 7200.015. I didn't hear any more audio after that, so either there were two stations within a Hz or two of each other, or I had one station which cut power or had some other technical issue. The carrier remained there, gradually fading into the mud around 1600. I'm not sure what to make of the recording, but I would guess I had both Sudan and Afghanistan. However, the carrier dropouts don't match the stations' schedules (Bruce Portzer, Seattle WA, Dec 21, via Walt, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks, Bruce! This is identical to my observation as well with the type of music, and sudden drop in signal strength. I too thought it sounded more like Sudan than Afghanistan (the music). Fellas, I'm monitoring the frequency from 1452 UT. I saw 3 carriers on the display: 2 equally strong and fairly "wide" on 7199.999 and 7199.982; wondering whether they are from the same (presumed Sudan) transmitter, as they're identical side by side with a little gap between them. I hear Horn of Africa music only. There's a weak carrier on 7199.960 as well. Rechecking at 1517, I now measure things on 7200.004, 7199.986, and the weaker one again on 7199.961. Same Horn of Africa music with talk. I'm not clear whether this is talk over the music (same station) or two different stations. Perhaps the muddy audio I'm hearing has to do with the width of the carrier, and that I'm seeing the double pattern. Each one measures some 12 Hz wide with a 5 Hz gap between them. I wonder if persons closer to the transmitter site could provide us with exact frequencies. By 1534, no change in the situation. Signals not as strong as yesterday morning, and we now have ham QRM. I'll check once more before heading to work (Walt Salmaniw, Dec 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That's right, three stations: 7199.982-3, Eritrea, ID at 1500 with "Irtray" and Asmara mentioned. 7199.999, Arabic at 1500, so most probably Sudan 7200.000, Afghanistan, signed on today around 1510 and English started at 1530. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, via Don Moman, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Just a quick check this morning Dec 21, English seemed to start a tad late, maybe 1531 when I heard the same ID as yesterday. Afghanistan was certainly more bothered by co channel today - a woman talking, not in English. The polar path has smeared the carriers into one fuzzy lump about 50 Hz wide so impossible to tell anything about how many signals. 73 (Don Moman, Alberta, ibid.) The following is very tentative and speculative as I had no clear IDs. Station that I assume was Sudan was heard at tune in at 1456 with African sounding music. Sudan was consistently much stronger than assume R. Afghanistan. MP3 audio at http://www.box.com/s/coazf7vqfvmo00hxs11y has the following: 00.00-03.00 segment. About 1500 I started to hear another station underneath Sudan; mixing together; tentatively heard several mentions of Sudan on the stronger station. 03.00-06.30 segment. About 1530. Sudan with YL announcer with assume R. Afghanistan underneath with musical fanfare about 1532 and sounded like the news in English, as others have been reporting. This format is consistent with other receptions I have had here. The stronger station is on well before 1500, which is one reason I am assuming Sudan and is stronger the whole time. Both mixing together from 1500 to past 1535 on December 21. Appreciate others` feedback on this. Thanks (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Dec 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) You are always welcome to check via my remote receiver. One important correction to my earlier report: Victor from Sri Lanka reports that the other station very close to nominal was actually Ethiopia, not Sudan. They carry V of Dem. Alliance at 1500 and on Weds it's in Arabic. They signed off at 1702, so they probably were there for jamming Eritrea. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, via Wolfgang Büschel, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks to the very kind assistance of Mauno Ritola (Finland), Victor Goonetilleke (Sri Lanka) and Sei-ichi Hasegawa (Japan). There are three stations on 7200. The External Service of Ethiopia (the strongest and NOT Sudan as I thought!), Eritrea and also Radio Afghanistan. Thank you gentlemen for your expertise in this matter! (Ron Howard, ibid.) But ETH / ERI nominal mostly on 7130 and 7175 kHz, as TWINs hopping between 7110 and 7185 kHz, but VERY SELDOM UP TO 7200 kHz. Usually Omdurman Sudan is heard here on 7200 kHz from 1400 UT. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, but this was the 1st prgr transmitter moved from 7210 kHz, maybe due to co-channel interference. Also ETH didn't use digital noise jamming; maybe they were unsure what to do. There was the usual cat- and-mouse race going on below 7200 kHz. I don't think Sudan was there at all earlier; when ETH signed off at 1702, the frequency was totally empty. But later in the evening I noticed Sudan there with definite ID. 73, (Mauno Ritola, ibid.) I don't know, Ron. I still think what I was hearing was Sudan, based on past experience. Time will tell, I suppose! 73 (Walt Salmaniw, ibid.) ** AFGHANISTAN. RADIO AFGHANISTAN RETURNS TO THE AIR ON SHORTWAVE - 4: On the Air at Pole-i-Charke The radio station located at Pole-i-Charke, a few miles out east from Kabul in Afghanistan was a very modern facility at the time, contained in a large functional building. It was constructed some distance off the south side of the highway running towards the famed Khyber Pass, Highway A1. This entire facility was constructed under the auspices of Deutsche Welle in Germany, and a resident engineer from Deutsche Welle was in charge of its operation. The Pole-i-Charke station was brought into regular broadcast service during the year 1966, with just one transmitter, a 100 kW mediumwave unit made by Siemens in Germany and operating initially on 1280 kHz. When the frequency alignment took place in Asia a few years later, the frequency was modified to 1278 kHz. This station also contained a fully complete on air studio for use during emergencies. During the Russian era, four additional Russian made transmitters were installed at Pole-i-Charke; two at 100 kW shortwave, and two at 500 kW mediumwave. Although some reports indicated that the Pole-i-Charke station was destroyed by coalition forces in 1996, this is untrue, though some damage did occur. In fact, it was subsequently reported that the station was largely undamaged at this time, though all five of the transmitters were in a bad state of disrepair. However five years later, on October 8, 2001, this station was totally destroyed in a bombing raid. During the following year, it was announced that the Pole-e-Charke station would be completely rebuilt, and that it would contain two American made Harris transmitters at 400 kW each. One unit was planned for use as a relay station for the programming of the Voice of America & Radio Free Asia, and the other for on air use with the programming of a revived Radio Afghanistan. This brand new station was inaugurated on April 30, 2003, and the main channels of operation have been 1107 & 1296 kHz. This unique radio station at Pole-i-Charke near Kabul in Afghanistan has been in use on mediumwave & shortwave for some 45 years, ever since its original inauguration in 1966. It is currently on the air with just the two large mediumwave transmitters on the aforementioned channels, 1107 & 1296 kHz (Adrian Peterson, IN, AWR Wavescan script for Dec 11 via DXLD) That was a misleading title for this episode (gh) ** AFGHANISTAN. NVIS SHORT WAVE TECHNOLOGY IN AFGHANISTAN http://www.southgatearc.org/news/december2011/nvis_short_wave_technology_in_afghanistan.htm ISAF report that a Virginia National Guardsman has found a new use for Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) short wave radio in Afghanistan. The song "video killed the radio star" was the first video played on MTV in 1981 and launched a music revolution. Soldiers of the Virginia Army National Guard´s 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are deploying technology in a revolutionary way in Afghanistan using a short wave radio transmitter that can reach almost every radio in Zabul province. This is the first time a province-wide transmitter has been used in Afghanistan. The transmitter allows the Zabul provincial and district government to send messages to rural Afghan homes. "No other unit in the International Security Assistance Force has ever done this at any level," said Master Sgt. Joel E. Fix of Fort Belvoir, Va. speaking of the novel application of the technology. "We have the ability to target the signal toward specific districts or the whole province." Radio and word of mouth are the primary means of spreading news and information in rural Afghanistan. Listening to the radio - thousands of which were distributed by NATO-ISAF - is a cultural norm for Afghans, many of whom follow both the BBC and Voice of America. Fix, a 14-year veteran of the Guard on his third overseas deployment, came up with the transmitter solution in response to a problem raised in discussions with Afghan officials: "How could the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan communicate to their people in remote areas?" It was a particularly timely dilemma. As GIRoA expanded its influence into every district, GIRoA´s continued legitimacy rested on the ability to reliably reach and involve ordinary Afghans in their parliamentary democracy. Specifically, the district governors of Mizan and Day Chopan in Zabul province each wanted to invite the elders of their districts to grand shuras in September 2011. Day Chopan has the highest elevations of Zabul province with deep valleys unreceptive to radio signals. The 116th "Stonewall Brigade", in partnership with Romanian troops and Soldiers of the Alaska-based 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, all members of Combined Team Zabul, came together to brainstorm a solution. Traditional options raised by CTZ such as leaflet drops, broadcasting radio transmissions from aircraft and even flying aircraft with loudspeakers attached were all denied. "The government was looking for ways to communicate with people on a greater scale, but there were gaps in the coverage. Short wave radio is the solution we came up with," said Fix. Short wave radio is known in the U.S. as ham radio [sic] which allows two way communications. The Zabul transmitter is one way. Most radios used by Afghans are receive-only. "I was soliciting for bids for a transmitter and was referred to Don Butler to assist with the project," said Maj. William R. O´Neal a Smithfield, Va. native with the 116th. Butler, an Air Force veteran from the `60´s, is a ham radio enthusiast from Gun Barrel City, Texas who provided design help for the transmitter. Butler´s call sign is N4UJW. "Ham radio is two way communications over short wave. Our transmitter is one way," said Fix. "With this configuration, no matter where they are, there´s no reason the Afghans can´t get a signal. The frequency is close to but not the same as the one for the BBC. That makes it easy to find and remember," he added. The transmitter owes its success to a technique called NVIS - Near Vertical Incidence Skywave - which involves bouncing radio signals off the ionosphere - a layer of the atmosphere. Two NVIS antennas are placed horizontal to the ground unlike a traditional vertical transmitter. The second part of the NVIS antenna is called a ground wire and helps to boost the signal by forcing it to go straight up instead of outward and limited by the curve of the earth. "In a traditional short wave broadcast, you get your antennas up as high as you can go," said Fix. "It bounces off the F2 layer of the ionosphere but gives you limited coverage with `skip points´. Using NVIS and our reflector wire, the signal goes up at a very steep angle and straight back down which can penetrate deeper into mountain valleys. When we were looking at this system, it was a no brainer," he added. The transmitter is operated and maintained by coalition forces including the U.S. and Romanian soldiers and broadcasts content from the local government. At first glance it doesn´t seem very impressive: two antennas, the ever-useful 550 cord, and some wire that feeds into a box with one port and an on/off switch. "Our goal is to transfer the transmitter to the provincial government as part of the transition," said O´Neal. Unlike some new technologies developed and used as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, this transmitter is inexpensive and effective. "It has resulted in a savings of around 3,100%," said Fix. "It would take 30-32 FM systems to cover the same area. Source: Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) http://www.isaf.nato.int/article/news/video-killed-the-radio-star-virginia-national-guardsman-finds-new-use-for-old-radio-technology-in.html (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) Same: http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/virginia-national-guard-offers-radio-solution (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Same: Full article at http://www.dvidshub.net/news/81428/video-killed-radio-star-virginia-national-guardsman-finds-new-use-old-radio-technology-afghanistan#.TvCkdjVSTTq (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD; AFGHANS TARGET VALLEYS WITH SHORTWAVE on 12.20.2011 http://www.radioworld.com/article/afghans-target-valleys-with-shortwave--/154934 (via Zacharias Liangas, Artie Bigley, DXLD) NVIS is old technology, and someone has just now thought of it? WTFK! No clue in any of these versions, it seems, except ``close to the BBC``. Well, what are the best BBC Pashto/Dari SW frequencies in Afghanistan? Of course, there are several, but let`s pick only the 5-8 MHz ones most suitable for NVIS: 5865 5875 5910 6140 6195 7360 7445 7505. Looks like the 5s are the best bet with three of them nearby and on bandedge where there may be a free spot (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. 7420, Dec 18 at 0235, no signal from R. Tirana (nor alt. 7425), yet with lots of other European signals making it on 7 MHz, so must really be off the air; why? Haven`t checked the 00-01 Albanian broadcast lately, whether still on 7425 mixing with China or on clear 7420 as I have recommended repeatedly, but no word received of any change. Inertia is a powerful force. 7420, UT Tue Dec 20 at 0226, open carrier, 0228 R. Tirana IS, 0230 sign-on English, barely audible with my domestic noise sources not suppressed, but enough to confirm back on air after missing 48 hours earlier. Drita Çiço explains: ``Last week Fllaka was off air due to blocking r/relay problem in Shijak or Fllaka r-st - as reported by Fllaka r-station. During the last days, Shijak is off air due to power interruption according to Shijak r-station. While TWR and CRI via Fllaka r-station are on air, with no interruption at all! - Radio Tirana Monitoring Center`` 7420, Dec 21 at 0227, R. Tirana is on the air tonight, good signal with IS before 0230 English. Earlier at 0050, Albanian hour was still on 7425, not too much QRM from China at the moment, but would be QRM- free on 7420 too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. Radio Tirana Hoererklub, neuer Mitgliederrundbrief + neues Faltblatt. Der Radio Tirana Hoererklub mit Neuigkeiten: Der RTHK Mitgliederrundbrief Nr. 46 (Dezember 2011) und ein neues Faltblatt sind erschienen. Beides steht ueber die Web Site des Radio Tirana Hoerer Klubs zum Herunterladen bereit. Viel Spass! (Dr. Anton J. Kuchelmeister-D, A-DX Dec 11 via BC-DX 17 Dec via DXLD) Viz.: http://www.agdx.de/rthk/Rundbrief-46.pdf Illustrates i.a. a planned new QSL card (gh, DXLD) ** ALGERIA. ARGÉLIA, 198, R. Algérienne, Ouargla, 1058-1122, 19/12, Arabic, music, ID + announcements prior to the usual jingle for the news; 33442, QRM de G[reat Britain] which is dominant on this channel. 253, R. Algérienne, Tipaza, 1721-..., 16/12, French, pops; off channel again, but reverted to the correct fq on the following days; 55454. Also observed off channel on 12/12. 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGUILLA [and non]. 6090, Caribbean Beacon/University Network is missing again tonight, UT Dec 15 at 0344, audiblizing ETHIOPIA, q.v. Day frequency 11775 is still heard around 1337 tuneby. Could be it`s stuck there 24 hours, as happens periodically, but not propagating at night. Or does it still go off circa 2200? 6090 missing for at least the third night, Dec 16 at 0615, just weak signals from something, maybe Nigeria; and also have to beware of RHC leapfrog mix of 6010 over 6050 in English. Everyone should be cleaning up with other 6090 stations, such as Ethiopia which I heard the night before. DGS/PMS/TUN remains active on day frequency 11775, and still unsure whether, unpropagable, it is just staying on all night instead of 6090. 11775, altho it was on earlier Dec 17, Caribbean Beacon is gone at 2224 check, after nominal switch to night frequency 6090, but it too remains missing. See NIGERIA, BRAZIL (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6090, 18/Dec 0546, Caribbean Beacon, In English. Back with traditional religious sermons of Mrs. Scott. In the background, the signal of R Bandeirantes. 33433 (Jorge Freitas, Bahia, Brasil, dxldyg via DXLD) 6090, Dec 18 at 0603, shux, PMS is back on after several nights missing while 11775 remained on at day. AFAIK, no one reported Uruguay or Chile in the meantime, if they were ever even on the air, let alone Liberia listed as inactive in last year`s WRTH. At least we heard Ethiopia, Nigeria and Brasil (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, Dec 15 at 1339 and 1442, no trace of a carrier from LRA36 during its last known hours of 13-15 Thursdays (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 6215, 2239-2245, Spanish. Above and below noise floor. ID is presumed as too weak to make positive ID. Ranchero music heard with male announcer. QRM from usb station. 11 Dec (Robert Montgomery, KB3WHS, French Creek State Park, Elverson, PA USA, NRD535d, random 500 ft wire, Clifton Labs 1503 active antenna, Marantz Tape deck, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) So what was the presumed ID? Presumably R. Baluarte, the 800-watt pirate listed in Aoki, which hasn`t been reported in ages, even from the Cono Sur. But before presuming that, I would want to rule out leapfrog mixing products from 49mb transmitters, if it was definitely in Spanish, or even the other 6215 listed, YFR via Taiwan in Chinese, 100 kW, if the language was not firm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 11710.722, RAE, General Pacheco. 0150 December 15, 2011. Excellent with Japanese programming winding down, eight-note interval signal from 0157, time sounders 0200, multi-language ID loop, into English from 0202, opening with female, "... Tuesday, no, Wednesday December 14..." then apologizing for forgetting what day it (was). Tango and light news segments almost all read live by the same announcer. Time sounders (three) 0230 across programming. Brief "DXer's Calling" with logs read by the announcer, but compiled from contributors by (I think she said) Arnaldo Slaen, for which we thank him for his efforts if so (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Collision on 15345 at 1830-1930: see IRAN [and non] ** ARGENTINA. DRM Radio (Digital Radio Mondiale) --- DRM Radio Argentina es una estación que emite vía internet las 24 horas, con música internacional con un toque de smooth jazz. Difunde noticias propias y boletines de las Naciones Unidas, siendo una emisora asociada a la radio de ese organismo mundial. Se identifica como una radio libre y fue creado por un grupo de diexistas de la ciudad de Córdoba. Pueden escucharla en: http://radio.solumedia.com.ar:8048/listen.pls Sus integrantes investigan y realizan experiencias en el sistema DRM (osoquerrell, Dec 19, condiglist yg via DXLD) Buena noticia! Según lei en otros medios, esta misma radio empezaría desde Cordoba a emitir en DRM por la banda de OC de 25 m. Estaremos atentos. Cual es el grupo de diexistas que lleva adelante esto? (Alejandro D Alvarez, LU8YD, ibid.) ** ASIA [non]. RFA on 21450 kHz: I contacted the operator of RFA last week. They promised to QSY. As far as I know, they are no longer using 21450. If anyone hears RFA on that frequency again, please let me know. 73, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ. ARRL, INTRUDERALERT mailing list Dec 13 via BC-DX 17 Dec via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 2368.5, R. Symban (presumed), 1344-1415, Dec 20. It was back in early August that they abbreviated their schedule down to 1200*; was therefore surprised yesterday and today to find them still on the air well past 1200 playing Greek music; poor reception, so perhaps still at 500 watts (please see DXLD 11-35 and 11-42 for details). 2368.5, R. Symban (presumed), 1439-1455, Dec 21. Continues their expanded schedule; stronger than yesterday; respectable signal if still 500 watts; Greek songs; short MP3 audio of music at http://www.box.com/s/ker3zjiukzuglbcj9rp9 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. December 16, 2011 --- Radio Australia has increased shortwave broadcasts to PNG during the political crisis: an extra frequency, 17750 kHz, between 0930-1700 (Deborah Steel, ABC News, Melbourne on Twitter, via Mike Terry, Dec 16, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) Radio Australia increases shortwave broadcasts into Papua New Guinea on 17750 kHz: http://swling.com/blog/2011/12/radio-australia-increases-shortwave-broadcasts-into-papua-new-guinea-on-17750-khz/ Cheers, (Thomas Witherspoon, HCDX via DXLD) Here`s why: SOMARE INSISTS HE IS PNG'S RIGHTFUL LEADER Sir Michael Somare says he is determined to be returned as prime minister. [Reuters] PHOTO 1 of 3 VIDEO PNG's Peter O'Neill tells Radio Australia he has the numbers in Parliament to seize power. Created: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:03:06 GMT+0000 AUDIO from Pacific Beat --- We are in total control: Peter O'Neill. Created: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:03:06 GMT+0000 AUDIO from Pacific Beat --- O'Neill's accession to prime ministership 'inevitable', says ANU researcher Jon Fraenkel. Created: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:03:06 GMT+0000 Campbell Cooney, Pacific correspondent Last Updated: 13 hours 4 minutes ago Papua New Guinea's former Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare has accused Prime Minister Peter O'Neill of disrespecting the constitution and intimidating the governor-general. . . http://australianetworknews.com/stories/201112/3395263.htm?desktop (via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) ** BAHAMAS. Beacon: 526, ZLS, Long Island, Bahamas, Stella Marais International Airport; 0320, 13-Dec (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) I picked this item, since I figured it`s time to remind people of this beacon which can be heard on AM radios that tune down far enough. But then I have to add a correxion cum language lesson: It`s Stella Maris = Star of the Sea, from Latin. I`ve also seen this misspelt as Stella Maria. My HS study of Latin has served me well and would to everyone if they had the opportunity any more (gh, DXLD) ** BELARUS [non]. 6155, Dec 15 at 0426 strong signal in funny Russian repeatedly mentioning Belarus, and very good modulation too. So is it R. Belarus, as used at 17-23 for external service? No! It`s R. Liberty, via Wertachtal, GERMANY at 04-05 in Belorussian (also 03-04 via Lampertheim), a neat setup to `inherit` Minsk`s listeners the next morning: 0431 ID in passing as R. Svoboda. Strangely enough, Belarus` own 6155 schedule is missing from EiBi, but not from Aoki or HFCC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. 7255, Dec 21 at 0609, Slavic sorta-Russian talk, poor signal with bits of music, stingers. First thought maybe Golos Rossii, similar sounding to 7320 Pet/Kam, but after 0610 definitely not //, 7320 with talk and 7255 with music. Might have been a local- programming split on one of them from R.R., but no. Second choice must be Belarus` as I know 7255 is one of their frequencies, but seldom heard here. Yes, HFCC shows 05-08, 250 kW, 75 degrees from Minsk to CIRAF 29 and 30 which means the eastern half of Belarus, most of Ukraine, western subarctic Russia as far east as meridian 90. Aoki shows Belaruskaye Radio 1 from Minsk-Kalodzicy except time as 04-07, no doubt confusion on timezone changes or not. Anyhow, this overlaps at least one hour with BBCWS English via ASCENSION which dominates 7255 at 03-06. HFCC also shows VOR Vladivostok 50 degrees at 04-06, but probably wooden, not in Aoki or EiBi (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BHUTAN. New frequency of Bhutan BS on 5030 kHz --- Some Japanese DXer received UnID station on 5030 kHz from about 1030 UT on Dec. 15. After continuing monitoring it, they confirmed English ID at 1500. S/off at 1501. Audio files: http://ani.atz.jp/FBDX/NowBBS/img/4660.mp3 at 1100 by Hiro in Akita http://ani.atz.jp/FBDX/NowBBS/img/4682.mp3 at 1500 by Show in Nagoya, NDXC BBS // 6035.05 kHz s/off at 1501 UT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSnrFlywAEk by DFS in Shimane (S. Hasegawa, Dec 15, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5030.03v, BBS, 1244-1500:44*, Dec 15. Decent reception; an excellent frequency choice as it has been vacant since Sarawak closed down in the middle of this year. Mostly in what sounded like French although I thought I heard a different dialect too? Slowly drifted down to 5030.0. Very nice! Their external service? Played a lot of nice indigenous music! 1244-1330 on air phone calls. 1330-1359 cute on air phone calls from young children singing songs. 1400-1423 talking followed by indigenous music. 1500 - English “This is the new service of the Bhutan Broadcasting Service” and shortly off. MP3 edited audio in no particular chronological order, with ID in English at 1:01 - http://www.box.com/s/jd191ljp5lruprrqorkr (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6035.04, Bhutan Broadcasting Service, 1242-1331, Dec 15, presumed the one here, at first carrier only, later audio building up but not enough for meaningful contents. Slightly off-frequency hetting what must have been Yunnan PBS. So does this mean BBS has two frequencies on the air simultaneously and that this is // 5030?, cf report by Seiichi Hasegawa (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands (TenTec 340, 25 m. longwire), ibid.) Back in late 1989 they were on 5023.1, so a return to somewhat familiar territory (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, ibid.) Yep, 5030 was those years the BBS frequency. Real hard to QSL back then. I have one QSL from the UN Radio via BBS on 5030 from 1993. Later got direct e-mail card from BBS in 2008 when they were on 6035. Good target for DX (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) Sarawak (?) - Bhutan - NOW - 12/15/11 --- 5030.00** RTV Malaysia, Sarawak (??) On currently 12/15/11 at 1218 tune-in. Brief music 1259- 1300. Talking resumed at 1301. 6035.03, BBS, Thimphu, Bhutan, presumed at 1209 under PBS Yunnan (6035.00). Both carriers equal strength, but seems no audio under Yunnan Chinese program. 1300 V of Shangri-La ID in Englkish. Talking under Yunnan Chinese after 1302. Terrible splatter from 6030 kHz (Jim Young, Wrightwood, CA, ICOM IC-756 ProIII + 40-M yagi, 1305 UT Dec 15, NASWA yg via DXLD) Follow-up: It is very difficult to listen to two stations at the TOH and still get what you want. The two stations (PBS Yunnan and BBS on 6035 kHz) went off the air sometime after 1500. I was trying to also get 5030 kHz at the TOH; 5030.00, RTV Malaysia, Sarawak (??). Listened here to 1502*. Program had conversation with adult and child from 1332 to 1349. Music with stringed instrument, possible ID in language at 1401. At 1500, music still playing, so tuned to 6035 (see next). Upon my return at 1502, F in English seemingly said, "This is Sarawak, The Voice of Malaysia Radio", and immediately off during next word of additional announcements in English. ID is my best interpretation of the unexpected voice in English two minutes after TOH! This station has a very similar hum on the audio, just like AIR Shillong (4970) has, just not as strong. My recollection is that this was true years back when RTM Sarawak was here regularly. 6035.03, BBS, Thimphu, Bhutan, presumed from 1302-1501. After 1434, M voice talking under F voice of Yunnan PBS. Distinct M voice would surface during breaks in Chinese F talking from Yunnan. Was hoping for BBS to continue after 1500. Caught 5030 kHz as above to 1502, and upon my return here, both Yunnan and BBS off! (Jim Young, CA, 1528 UT Dec 15, ibid.) [after reading Ron Howard`s report above, also posted to NASWA:] My logging on 5030.00 this morning was certainly incorrectly ID! In my haste between frequency jumping between 5030 and 6035 at 1500, I wrote what my mind told me in that rush. No excuses! Great logging, Ron! So what was on 6035.03 that went off at the same time as PBS Yunnan at 1501? (Jim Young, Wrightwood, CA, 1755 UT, ibid.) Jim, RE: 5030 - no problem. We have all been there and done that :) - - - posted to dxldyg on Dec 15: ``BBS //6035.05kHz s/off at 1501UT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSnrFlywAEk by DFS in Shimane. S. Hasegawa`` - - - So by sign-off, both 5030 and 6035.05 were // (Ron Howard, ibid.) Ron, Nice; terrific audio of the broadcast including the ID. Nothing propagated in the 60 meter band for us while at French Creek earlier this week. Glad to know the tropical bands have not completely died. 73, (Rich D`Angelo, PA, ibid.) 6035, BBS (tentative), 1258, Dec 16 with two stations mixing together; stronger station at ToH with pips and clear “This is the Voice of Shangri-La brought to you by Yunnan Radio”; two station continue mixing; both in talk; 1303 tuned away; checked at 1337 to find only Yunnan. Another early sign off again. Received the following email in response to assume my Dec 13 reception report sent for 6035. ``Dear Sir, I got your reception report about our short wave transmission. Thank you for the your kind report. We are broadcasting alternatively on 100 kw and 50 kw short wave transmitter. Our transmission starts from 0:00 to 14:00 Hours GMT in different languages. Thanking you Thinley Dorji Transmission head Thimphu, Bhutan`` Therefore I assume 6035 on Dec 13 was 100 kW, off the air Dec 14, Dec 15 was 50 kW and today 100 kW? 5030.0, BBS (presumed), 1244, Dec 16. Testing their transmitter here; no audio just strong open carrier; believe they were alternating between running full power and reduced power as the signal strength continually changed. Carrier not heard later after 1300 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BHUTAN [tentative] Noted Dec 17 at 1100 UT on 'footprint' 6035.045 kHz, used a remote receiver unit in Japan, mixed with Viennese Waltz from YNDT PBS Yunnan Kunming program on nearly even 6035 kHz. Nothing noted on 5030v at that time. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) Was using their old 30 kW transmitter on 6035.048 kHz on the 15th from around tune in 1050 UT till 1500 sign-off. They had used the newer 100 kW on 5030 kHz at the same time. An AIR engineer is in Bhutan, training the technicians and also making repairs to the transmitters. At 0125 UT also heard on 6035 kHz. Good luck, guys. Bhutan is still on test basis on 5030 // 6035.48 kHz, Dec 17. Last night they had audio on 6035.48 kHz but badly beating with V of Shangri-la, but 5030 kHz had only open carrier throughout closing around 1300 UT, Dec 16 (Victor Goonetilleke, 4S7VK, Sri Lanka, DXplorer Dec 16/17 via BC-DX Dec 17 via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) Hi Wolfy, Thank you so much for posting Victor`s comments. This clears up some misunderstandings (wrong assumptions) that I had. To correct and recap --- Please disregard my idea of what the power was on 6035. Victor indicates it is the old 30 kW transmitter that is now repaired and must be running full power. He measured BBS on 6035.048, but impossible for me to tell the difference between the frequency of BBS and PBS Yunnan. The nice email I received from the BBS Transmission Head was in fact for my reception report of 5030; not for 6035 as I thought. Therefore his response was fairly quick. It must therefore be 5030 when he says ``We are broadcasting alternatively on 100 kw and 50 kw short wave transmitter``. Which would also correspond to what I observed on Dec 16 while they were testing the 5030 transmitter; alternatively full power and reduced power. Dec 18 had them not broadcasting on 5030, as you also reported, Wolfy. You also reported 6035.045 on earlier, but when I checked at 1404 they were off the air; with only PBS Yunnan in Vietnamese being heard, so another early sign off. Thanks again for all your feedback, as well as Victor`s! (Ron Howard, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi all! Earlier the BBS never had any transmitter other than the 50 kW Brown Boveri Transmitter. This was when they metamorphosed from the Radio NYAB to BBS. Then All India Radio donated and made this transmitter and one of the biggest Studios in Asia operational for this purpose. The Chief Engineer (E) of AIR, Mr. P. K. Sikdar personally supervised the installation of the whole setup on a turnkey basis. A detailed report was published in DX-Kuntelijaa at that time. Regards (Sudipta Ghose, VU3TKG, dxldyg via DXLD) 6035.05, BBS (presumed), 1248*, Dec 18. Suddenly off the air during their phone in program; according to their website schedule was in the “Sharchop” language. Sharchops are considered descendants of the earliest inhabitants of Bhutan, and a large number speak Sharchhopkha (also known as Tshangla). With PBS Yunnan being unusually weak here today, I was actually able to get an approximate measurement. Clearly higher in frequency than Yunnan. 5030 remains silent Dec 18 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 19 Dec 2011, 1042 UT - BBS playing local song 6035, better signal strength than earlier. Nothing on 5030. Heard 6035 also on 17th & 18th Dec 2011 around same time. Regards, (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 6035, looking for BBS after its re-appearance last week, Dec 20 at 1301, can only detect a VP signal with splash from China radio war on 6030; more likely Yunnan PBS. BBS also appeared on 5030 which others have heard, but not even a carrier there. Of course, that one has ACI from Cuba too. If we do hear anything on 5030, it won`t be Sarawak. Both frequencies have been sporadic so far, going off at unexpected times (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Just got a confirmation BBS 6035 is now on full power 50 kW (ex 35 kW) Regards (Alokesh Gupta, 1317 UT Dec 19, cumbredx via DXLD) Glenn, I'm curious if this current frequency will provide the best reception of the BBS in the USA? Now that they are back on 5030 and the frequiency is clear of Sarawak. Hope you discuss this on WOR!!! This is one of the stations I could not hear from San Antonio in all of the mid to late 80s because of co-channel interference (Artie Bigley, OH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, 5030 kHz transmitter off the air December 17 through 20. 6035.05 suddenly off the air at 1248 on December 18, while on December 19 heard till sign off at 1400. Per email received from BBS by Mauno Ritola (Finland): "The 6035 KH will be broadcast on 50 KW transmitter and 5030 will be on 100KW transmitter with test transmission program. From the begin[nin]g of first January 2011 [2012] we will be star[t]ing second channel." This means 5030 will be broadcasting starting on January 1? We will see (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Dec 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ----- Original Message ----- From: G. Victor A. Goonetilleke Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 2:23 PM Subject: [DXplorer] Bhutan active Bhutan active right now 1220 on 5030 kHz, also appears // to badly clobbered 6035 – (G. Victor A. Goonetilleke, 4S7VK, "Shangri-la"' 298 Madapatha Road, Piliyandala. Sri Lanka, Dec 21, DXplorer Via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) Yes, noted also here at 1255 UT on both frequencies. 6035 weak but 5030 real nice signal (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) Heard at 1340 UT Dec 21 typical subcontinent music for European ears ... Thanks to Mauno for let in to the remote Perseus unit. Heard much stronger in Finland on 5030 even! - right armchair listening, and \\ 6035.046 kHz, but latter hit a little bit by Yunnan China program on even 6035 kHz. 60 mb was much better audio signal choice. vy73 wolfgang df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 21 via DXLD) 5030.0, BBS, 1252-1406:16*, Dec 21. Had been off the air from Dec 17 to 20; back again with similar format as heard on the 15th; various music (EZL pop, indigenous music, etc.) and phone conversations mostly with young girls; as Jim Young (Calif.) reported today: “Strange audio sounds weakly in background during entire time period.” Very noticeable! I was unable to hear them on 6035; only PBS Yunnan there. Edited MP3 audio at http://www.box.com/s/moh3dn3uoyoxxzqh5d6r Suddenly went off the air (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Great recording and DX again, Ron!! Does anyone know when 5030 actually comes on the air, probably not 0000 (Mark Davies, Anglesey, Wales, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Mark, As for 5030 kHz, it was not on air from Dec. 17 to 20. I was able to receive it strongly today (Dec.21) at +1030 to 1406*UT on 5030 // 6035 kHz (S. Hasegawa, Japan, ibid.) ** BOLIVIA. BOLÍVIA, 4865, R. Logos, St.ª Cruz de la Sierra, 2232- 2240, 17/12, Castilian, news bulletin (starts at 2230); 22431, QRM de B on 4865 + CODAR (see Brazil 4865). (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Re 11-50, Para aonde vão os 100 KW da Tupi AM 1280 do Rio? A Rádio Tupi-Rio em 1280 kHz ondas médias, chega muito bem, à noite, aqui na cidade em que moro, Limeira -sp-. Às vezes, quando a propagação ajuda, eu a sintonizo até mais ou menos 8h30 da matina. Talvez, o lugar em que você reside, na região dos Lagos, seja zona de silêncio. Macaé fica na região dos Lagos? Quando eu estive em Búzios, eu tinha dificuldade de sintonizá-la, mas escutava emissoras de São Paulo, capital em ondas médias. Ondas curtas, nem se fala, chega bem todas as emissoras brasileiras. A zona de silêncio pode ser provocada por situação geográfica, pois as ondas médias caminham de antena a antena. Só à noite elas se propagam via ionosfera. 73 (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira sp, Brasil, 14 Dez, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Boa Tarde! Informo que moro na parte continental de Fpolis SC, e do anoitecer e até perto de umas 8 horas da manhã, dependendo da propagação e do dia é claro, e apesar das interferências locais, chega bem por aqui. Apesar de ter uma aqui que opera em 1230 khz, mas na realidade é de 1150 a 1300. E por isto também é dificil receber os sinais da globo por aqui. Outra que é em 1420 AM e diz que tem SW em 5980 khz, mas na SW nada; o nosso Estado infelizmente não tem rádio em SW, já teve duas, hoje não tem nada. At (Ruy, PU5BMR, ibid.) Aqui em Itapecerica da Serra SP+/- 400 Km ou uns 350Km em linha reta do Rio de Janeiro a Tupi AM em 1280 Khz é a única emissora de AM do Rio que eu escuto 24 horas por dia, agora no horario de verão escuto a nível de ruído entre 9:00 e 16:00 ; entre 6:00 e 9:00 e entre 16:00 e 20:00 sinais alternados entre bom e nível de ruído ; agora no período noturno entre 20:00 e 6:00 sinais locais, parece que a Tupi está localizada na Cidade de São Paulo. 73´ (Fran - Itapecerica da Srra SP, Yaesu FT 757 GX, Antena meia onda p/ faixa de 160 metros, ibid.) A emissora de Floripa que transmitia em 5.980 kHz, a Guarujá, chegava bem aqui. Não se sabe, desativou o TX. Mais uma. 73 (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira sp, ibid.) Olá Lima_Mrcio, amigos -- Felizmente está tudo certo. O azimute entre o Centro do Rio de Janeiro, RS e o Centro de Macaé, RS, medido no Google Earth, é de 68.2º. A estação da Tupi, com você disse, possui um sistema de direcional formado para duas torres. Adivinha qual é a direção do nulo? Exatamente 68 graus! hihi. Não acredita? Confira estes documentos hospedados na agência de comunicações dos EEUU: http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?list=0&facid=103295 http://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/310508-62253.pdf Você tem o privilégio ou o infortúnio (depende do que você se interessa) em estar *exatamente* na pior posição posssível para receber a Tupi AM, com precisão de 1 grau! Talvez você tenha mais sorte com a recepção de FM, usando uma antena externa. Por outro lado, moradores do Sul Fluminense, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraguay, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul estarão justamente no "foco" do sistema da Tupi. Isso explica porque a Tupi é a emissora não-local mais forte durante a noite aqui em Porto Alegre. Um abraço, (Huelbe Garcia, ibid.) And a reminder that MW direxional pattern info from as far away as Brasil is in the FCC database; but may not be up to date (gh, DXLD) Amigos radiescutas, aqui em Alta Floresta d' oeste-RO, a Tupi do Rio pega com som local a partir das 17:30 [UT -4], até demanhanzinha, só que tem noites e principalmente nesta época, que está havendo uma grande invasão de emissoras sulamericanas porém que não interferem muito em sua frequencia. 73 (Joviniano Furtado, PW8001SWL, AFO/RONDONIA, radioescutas yg via DXLD) O sinal da Tupi em 1280 kHz é simplesmente horroroso no município de Itaboraí. Cai imensamente ao passar pelo Viaduto de Manilha e volta sem força logo depois. Isso ficou assim depois do início das trasmissões em sistema digital. Antes não era assim. Por isso criaram esse negócio de FM e Tupi de Rio Bonito. Interessante é que Itaboraí é muito perto do parque de transmissão, localizado em Itaoca, no município de São Gonçalo. 73, (Fabiano Henrique, Niterói - RJ, ibid.) A Tupi 1280 khz, no Rio Grande do Sul, continua soberana, sendo a única emissora carioca que "pega", na região das praias durante o dia; e a noite tem recepção local em todo o estado como se fosse uma emissora local. A diferença é que, quando voce sintoniza a tupi, e voce viaja de carro por exemplo, o sinal é constante em qualquer local, diferentemente das emissoras gaúchas que são sintonizadas em alguns lugares e outros não. A globo 1220 khz, entra mal por aqui (Sérgio Senna, Dec 18, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL, 4815, R.Dif.ª, Londrina PR, 2247-2256, 15/12, IPDA program, but not parallel to SRDA; 34432, adjacent QRM de CHINA on 4820 + utility signal on approx. 4812. 4825, R. Canção Nova, Cachoeira Paulista SP, 2253-2310, 15/12, songs till 2300, then religious propaganda program Escola da Fé; 35322; parallel to 9675. 4865, R. Verdes Florestas, Cruz.º do Sul AC, 2230-2245, 17/12, religious propaganda; 44433 (!), QRM de BOLIVIA [q.v.] on 4865 + CODAR (hardly perceived this time). Best signal ever. 4885, R. Club do Pará, Belém PA, 1932-..., 16/12, traffic reports,..., songs, program announcements at 2001, ID + station songs, frequency announcement including those of affiliated stations, then news bulletin Última Edição; 25432, but improving fast. 9550.1, R.Boa Vontade, Pt.º Alegre RS, 2203-2217, 18/12, rlgs propag., choir, hymns; 23421, adj. QRM. The parallel 11895 was not audible, and seldom is. 9587.1, SRDA, São Paulo SP, 2240-.., 17/12, rlgs propag. by the "one & only" David Miranda; 25422; parallel 11765 very good. 9630, R. Aparecida, Aparecida SP, 2235-..., 16/12, talks; 34433, but useless due to an extremely weak modulation level; adjacent QRM. 9645.4, R. Bandeirantes, São Paulo SP, 1846-..., 16/12, advertisements, talks; 33431, QRM de China RI in French on 9645. 9665.05, R. Voz Missionária, Camboriú SC, 2237-2249, 17/12, preacher; 44433. 9819.7, R. 9 de Julho, São Paulo SP, 1849-1905, 16/12, mass (presumed), TC for 06:57 PM local, infos, ID, mass from the São Judas Tadeu church; 24432, adjacent QRM 11854.9, R. Aparecida, Aparecida SP, 1911-1927, 18/12, announcements & infos, prgr announcements for the coming week; weak modulation; 24432, adj. QRM. 11915, R. Gaúcha, Pt.º Alegre RS, 2127-2153, 18/12, advertisements, f/ball infos; 34432, QRM de ARS. [Saudi Arabia] 11925.2, R. Bandeirantes, São Paulo SP, 2134-2152, 18/12, advertisements, f/ball news, traffic infos; 34422, adj. & co-ch. QRM. 15189.95, R. Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte MG, 1624-..., 18/12, songs, advertisements; 25433. Very fluttery at 2245, but no QRM (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4775, Rádio Congonhas, Congonhas, Minas Gerais. 0058 December 15, 2011. Male ID, frequencies, into soft vocals. Couldn't tell if religious in content after the canned ID, though. Clear and fair (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 6090v, Dec 17 at 2308, after NIGERIA [q.v.] has closed in the absence of ANGUILLA [q.v.], very poor signal left sounds Brazilian, and then I am barely able to // it to equally vp signal on 9645v, i.e. R. Bandeirantes. Other // 11925v not propagating or not on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6089.94, Radio Bandeirantes, 2305-2330, Portuguese talk. Audible with Anguilla 6090 off the air. // 9645.37, 11925.20. All frequencies weak but readable. Dec 16 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Itatiaia 49m e 43m --- A Rádio Itatiaia de BH, que transmite em 49m QRG de 5970 kHz, está com seu áudio também na QRG 6900 kHz como harmônico. Acredito que a Itatiaia tenha aumentado a potência. 73 (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira sp, 17-12-2011, radioescutas yg via DXLD) 6900 is not a harmonic of 5970! Nor could it be an harmonic of this station`s MW 610, which is 100/25 kW per WRTH 2011. Nor does it work out as a SW + MW mixing product (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9654.3, 0635 BRASIl, Rad. Bandeirantes, gd in PP - 12/11 PP (Phil Van de Paverd, Howick, New Zealand, R-71E, EWE, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) Must be typo for usual 9645.3; see Gonçalves (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL [and non]. 9680, 16/Dec 0852, INDONESIA, RRI Jakarta, in Indonesian. OM talk. At 0854 pop music. Still suffering strong QRM of the distorted signal from Radio Canção Nova (Until when? When will they make the maintenance of this transmitter?). 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RCN is on nominal 9675 (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 9696, Rádio Rio Mar, Manaus (presumed), 0908-0920, 18-12, unusual transmission time, Brazilian songs, suddenly power off and power on two times during the listening, and at 0920 the signal cut off abruptly. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Receiver: Sony ICF SW 7600 G, wire antenna, 5 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 15189.92, R. Inconfidência, 0136 with soft drink commercial, and ID mentioning R. Inconfidência and "Música Popular" by OM. 12/11 (Chuck RIPPEL, VA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 15190. ZYE522. Rádio Inconfidência; 1750...2118+, 18-Dec; Hint of audio at 1750 -- sounded like mix of talk/music. Much better after 1800, but only up to audio-definitely-there. By 1859 could tell it was in Portuguese, but poor & no improvement at 1931. Finally at 2113 check, got fair Brasilian tunes and at 2118, "Inconfidência [a]presenta..." At 2113, need LSB to cut out Haroldless WYFR on 15195. 6010 covered by Family Radio via Germany -- EiBi lists Arabic, but doesn't sound like it (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL [non]. Olá amigos, Ótima captação da R. Nacional FM de Brasília em 17495 kHz DRM via Guiana Francesa [q.v.] agora às 1942 Z. Sempre acima de 18 dB SNR (Flávio PY2ZX Archangelo, Dec 21, radioescutas yg via DXLD) So that`s the program content on this test, unspecified (gh) ** CAMBODIA [non]. 17 Dec, 9960, Khmer post, 1220 with OM talks in VN [vernacular or Vietnamese?] and mentions of Kampuchea and Hanoi, S2 max (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. 34-YEAR OLD AM BEACON UNID SOLVED 34 years ago (in 1977)- for one night only - I received a loud, strong radio beacon at the bottom of the AM band (~ 532 kHz). It's ident was clearly "C Y T V". At the time I was at a loss to figure out where that was. CYTV was the ICAO ident for Turner Valley Airport, AB. Couldn't have been that. CYTZ was nearby Toronto Island Airport. But this was not CYTZ, it was definitely CYTV. (Later when I acquired LW- receive capability, I found the beacon "TZ" on 290 kHz. Even picked up Turner Valley's "TV" on 299 kHz in 1991). Back to CYTV... later in the 1980's, I realized that some Canadian ships had call signs starting with "CY" (I thought CY was just for airports. Later found out that no Canadian aeradio stations even had CY callsigns (they mainly used VF) - and that it was just an ICAO ident rather than a radio call sign). In 1987, I came across an ITU list of ship callsigns. Eureka I thought...but alas, no CYTV listed. I'd almost forgotten about CYTV, until I recently revamped my LW logs. With the internet, it didn't take long to figure out that CYTV is the callsign for the Canadian Navy's HMCS Protecteur. Seems that the ITU list may not have listed all the navy boats. Although CYTV roams the Pacific these days, it did roam the Atlantic back in 1977. The beacon was so strong that night that I suspect it may have even been nearby on Lake Ontario or Lake Erie. The good 'ole Internet. I think I can safely put CYTV down as the HMCS Protecteur now. These shipboard NDB's are mainly used for helicopter traffic (William R Hepburn (VEM3ONT22), Grimsby ON CAN 43 10 58.7 - 79 33 34.1, The WTFDA AMDX Daily Digest via DXLD) ** CANADA. Here's another nice surprise that rolled in: 1570, CKMW, Winkler, MB, 1206-1230 UT, 12/20/11, XERF was completely absent/attenuated during this time. Several English-speaking stations were in. The loudest of course was KBCV with their religious yak and music. To the NW was this one with their local area weather forecast and a few ads. Also played a few C&W songs. IDs sounded like "KMW"; I didn't ever actually hear them say the "C". Really nice signal peak around 1220. After 1300, XERF was back up with a solid strong signal. 860, CFPR, Prince Rupert, BC, 1240-1315 UT, 12/5/11, fair sig at best here with C&W music with a male announcer. Near the TOH their ID was "CBC Radio One, Prince Rupert." Some of the talk sounded like it may have been business news of some sort. Tough copy. First time I've ever heard this one. I'm not certain, but I believe 860 is the best Canadian channel for my Okie log so far. This one was the third Canadian logged there. That's pretty much the highlights for December from PC although a lot of new stations have been logged this month (at least 10). I'm on a blitz to try to hear 850 stations total before Jan 1 (on ultralights). 4 more to go (Kirk Allen, Ponca City OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Harold Sellers, Ontario DX Association QSL MANAGER FOR CKMX-1060 & CFVP-6030 CALGARY December 20, 2011 — The Ontario DX Association (ODXA) has been appointed QSL Manager for radio stations CKMX Classic Country AM 1060 (1060 kHz) and CFVP Shortwave (6030 kHz), owned and operated by Astral Media, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Following on from over 20 years of serving as the QSL Manager for Astral Media’s Toronto CFRB (1010 kHz) and CFRX (6070 kHz), the ODXA is pleased to expand this volunteer service to DXers worldwide. Serving as the QSL Manager will be Harold Sellers. Living in Vernon, British Columbia, Mr. Sellers has regular reception of both the mediumwave and shortwave signals from Calgary, providing familiarity with the programming content. QSL cards have been printed and will be sent in response to accurate reports for either 1060 or 6030 kHz. Reports may be sent by postal mail or e-mail to any one of the following: Harold Sellers, 3211 Centennial Drive, Apt. 23, Vernon, British Columbia V1T 2T8, Canada QSLCalgary @ gmail.com Director of Engineering, Astral Radio Calgary, 300 - 1110 Centre St N.E., Calgary, Alberta T2E 2R2, Canada In the near future the Ontario DX Association website http://www.odxa.on.ca will also permit the submission of reception reports. Photographs of the CKMX-CFVP transmitter site may be found at http://www.odxa.on.ca/broadcasting.html (Harold Sellers, Dec 20, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Past unanswered reports can now be sent to me. Use either mail direct to me or email to QSLCalgary @ gmail.com. (Sellers, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** CANADA. 9625, Dec 16 at 0620, CBCNQ is still on with tone test after close-down at 0606; haven`t heard this extension for a while (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHAD. 6165, Dec 15 at 0428, RN Bonaire has just gone off, so now we hear hilife music, fast SAH from some CCI, Zambia? Or BBC Cyprus in Persian. 0430 French, more music, from RNT, which supposedly just signed on at 0427, but lately has been running 24 hours. Currently there is a sesquihour window until Bonaire is back on 6165 at 0600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 13725, Firedrake jammer. Dec. 11, 1645. VG. First one heard today here. 9905, Firedrake music jammer. Dec. 12, 1840. Crash! boom! bang! strong, and probably having a run at R.F.A. from the Mariana Islands. VG, can't hear anything of RFA. 73 and Good Listening! (Rick Barton, Wickenburg AZ (BLM Land at base of Vulture Peak). DX-440 , RF-2200 , DX-375, Slinky, tent: Coleman "Meadow Falls", Dec 15, ABDX via DXLD) [Re 11-50] For the fourth day, no Firedrake at all to be heard! Is anyone, anywhere, hearing FD at anytime? Dec 15 searched 7-19 MHz at 1335-1345 and 1440-1445. Maybe Sound of Hope has quit running all those 100-watt nuisance transmitters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake 15 Dec 2347: 13850, G 11500, weak Firedrake 16 Dec 0024: 13850, Flux/G 11500 G 11500, VG at 0816 past 0900 til 0902 12230, VG at 0831 off at 0900 11500, G 12500 Flux/G at 1145 (Leonard J. Rooney, Delaware County, Springfield PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More a morning of electrical noise, radios Chinese and Firedrake. Nothing beyond the obvious. 11500, 16/Dec 0730 Firedrake present 13920, 16/Dec 0731 Firedrake present 13850, 16/Dec 0733 Firedrake present 13800, 16/Dec 0734 Firedrake present 15900, 16/Dec 0739 Firedrake present 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I heard Firedrake on 11500 at 1030 today - the 16th (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Mr. Hauser, I copied Firedrake last night. I can't provide a log for the night before as I wasn't at home. I used my Sangean ATS-909 and a thirty foot wire attached to the top of the Hills Hoist in the backyard, sitting outside to avoid RFI from the plasma television. QTH: Sydney, AUSTRALIA. My log: FIREDRAKE 16/12/11 0921-0938 UT: 12230 poor, fluttery over OM 12300 poor, over OM 12500 good, nil under 12980 fair, OM under 13920 poor, fluttery over YL 13970 poor, very fluttery over YL 14700 fair, fluttery over OM & YL 15900 strong, nil under 16100 good, nil under 16700 good, over YL 16980 fair, fluttery over YL 1358 UT: 15900 poor, fluttery 16100 poor, fluttery None below or above those frequencies. SOH on 18180 kHz is usually heard with Firedrake accompaniment on the same frequency (or 18100 and 18200, same routine with 17170) but they were in the clear when checked. 73, (Julie Murphy, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fifth day without any Firedrake to be heard, Dec 16 before 1200, and re-searched 10-19 MHz before 1400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17/Dec 0837 Strong signal of Firedrake on 11500. Signal in, 12980, 13130, 13920, 15900 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 16 meters - east/west, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake search Dec 17: still nothing found, 7-19 MHz between 1350 and 1359; and 19-7 MHz between 1455 and 1500. Propagation conditions are certainly subnormal, judging from generally weak signals, especially E Asia above 10 MHz. However, tnx to several (Leonard J Rooney in PA, Noel Green in UK, Chris Scarff in NE, Julie Murphy in NSW), who replied that they are still hearing some Firedrake at various times on previously known frequencies, but mostly in the 09-12 UT period rather than my favorite morning monitoring time of 13-15. Except Julie Murphy in NSW who also logged FD Dec 16 before 1400 on 15900, 16100, same time as I was checking those frequencies without results. Leonard Rooney also heard some before and after 00 UT Dec 15- 16 on 13850, 11500. Their full reports will be integrated into the next DXLD 11-51 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, when you can't find any FD going on, try 12160, I've heard it prior to sign on of and then behind WWCR before [1600-2100]. It sometimes pops up on other 12 MHz freqs too. Just a note, keep up the good work, (Chris SCARFF, N0SYA, OMAHA, NE, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Finally some Firedrake audible here, Dec 17 before 2400 UT: 14700, very poor at 2348, with CCI? 14970, good at 2348 16100, very good at 2349; none above or below these frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, FD is emphasizing their jamming of SOH during their local morning. Dec 18 scanned at 0030 from 19000 down to 8000, finishing at 0048. All //. 12300 fair 12500 good 12670 fair 13130 good 13850 good 14400 good 14699.89 good 14970 good (not on the Aoki database, but reported in dxldyg) 15900 good 16100 good 16980 good At 0225 also found FD on 12230 and 17250 (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Of these, with a weak signal, can still hear at 1043 Dec 18: 16980 16100 15900 14700 better signal 13850 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana Bahia 12 14´S 38 58´W Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake Dec 19: none found 7-19 MHz around 1430. Ron Howard observes that ``FD is emphasizing their jamming of SOH during their local morning. Dec 18 scanned at 0030 from 19000 down to 8000, finishing at 0048. All // [on 11 frequencies]`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake, 9455, 1600 19 DEC. Fluctuating, fair to good (Leonard Rooney, Delaware County, Springfield PA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake Dec 19, before 1900: 9455, very poor at 1850. Tnx to Leonard Rooney, PA for reminder of this which he was hearing already at 1600. Vs RFA Chinese via Saipan at 16-22, unheard 9355, poor at 1850. Also vs RFA Chinese via Saipan at 17-22, unheard RFA Firedrake, except when different broadcaster mentioned: Jamming on Dec 19, here in Europe, at 16-17 UT slot: 6020 S=9+5dB, stronger 6145RTI S=9+15dB. S=7-8 poor on 7285RFA_Uyghur, 7365RTI 7415 7445-multisound jammer, 7470RFA_Uyghur kHz. -- and much stronger both 7530 and 7560VoA_Tibetan kHz, S=9+25dB. at 18-19 UT slot: 6025 7355-viaTaipei-TWN 7415 7445 9355 9455 11790 11945-via-TJK 13670, 9905-S=9+20Db (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) EAST JAMMERSTAN: 11945, Chinese opera music jammer; 2051-2100*, 19- Dec; More musical than usual till about 2056 when the typical crashing & banging started. // 9355 which went off at 2059; // 9455, also off at 2100. Immediately at 2100 M&W in Chinese came up. All strong with no under audio apparent during the crashing & banging. New hours for all and no others found on reported frequencies. EiBi lists Radio Free Asia on all these in Chinese at this time, but continuing till 2200 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) RFA / VOA jamming from China mainland RFA Tibetan nominal registered 0600-0700 17515TJK 17715KWT 21625TIN 21695UAE heard on 17515TJK, 17715KWT, 21490TIN, 21640TIN, 21655TIN, 21695UAE, but not on 21625TIN/21670TIN/21685TIN, Dec 20 at 0600 UT. RFA Mandarin nominal registered 0300-0700 11980TJK 13710TIN 15150TIN 15665SAI 17880TIN 21540TIN 1xhopping: 15150/21450/21465/21480/21495/21510/21525 heard on 11980TJK, 13710TIN, 15665SAI, 17880TIN, 21480TIN 21540TIN, Dec 20 at 0440 UT. But not on 15150TIN. heard on 11980TJK, 13710TIN, 15150TIN, 15665SAI, 17880TIN, 21540TIN, but not 21480TIN, on Dec 20 at 0600 UT. VOA Tibetan nominal registered 0300-0600 15560 17860 21570 kHz. Heard VOA Tibetan on 15560UDO, 17860UDO, and 21570TIN Dec 20 at 0445 UT. and unknown OTH Radar also heard in 21789 to 21811 kHz range. No Firedrake music heard this morning, only domestic CNR1 spoken word jamming. (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews 0916 UT Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Recently I was trying to listen to RFA Tibetan from 12 to 14 UT on 7470 kHz via Mongolia so I can send a reception report and verify, to have a Mongolian QSL via RFA. Found that there is traditional noise jammer on the start up, say 1200 to 1215 or maximum 1230 UT; after 1230 we can hear RFA Tibetan under a strong Chinese station and as the time goes, around 13 UT, RFA Tibetan more clear than the Chinese station and better around 1330, although the Chinese station is still present there - does it means the source of jamming comes from eastern part of China to west? Or the non directional transmissions generating from the other tx site near to the Voice of Tibet's main tx site?! RFA broadcasts from Tinian are most suffered by Chinese broadcast jamming, I don't get them most of the time. Firedrakes seem to be absent for few days (Partha Sarathi Goswami, Siliguri, West Bengal, India, Dec 20, ibid.) Firedrake Dec 20, before 1400: 12230, very poor with flutter at 1335; by 1352 it has built up to fair NO others found from 7 to 19 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake Dec 21, before 1430: 11500, good at 1416 // 11980; none in the 7s, 8s, 9s, or 10s 11980, good at 1416 where first located. RFA is on 11980 only at 03- 07, but Aoki shows 11980 is also another 100-watt Sound of Hope nuisance frequency available 20-17 UT 12230, good at 1420. No others up to 19 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11500, 12600, 12980, 13970 22/Dec 0050-0055 found Firedrake. Back at 0114 YL talk, without firedrake. At 0116 OM and YL talk. At 0118 start firedrake. At 0136 Firedrake presents in 13850, 13920 (Jorge Freitas, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 15374.996, UNID - looked out for Fu Hsing BS via Kuanyin, Taiwan site before 1300 UT, and came across national CNR Mandarin language jamming like program, hit by some annoying 60 Hertz buzz tone additional. Seemingly jammer against co-channel RFA Tibetan via Yangi Yul-TJK site at 13-14 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 10/15, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews 17 Dec via DXLD) I sometimes hear just the noise (gh) ** CHINA. 4940, Voice of Strait, 1506-1530, Dec 17. Their Saturday only English “Focus on China” in progress (scheduled 1500-1530); items about the start of construction after a long delay for the Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau bridge; vigil by students, teachers and monks to mark the anniversary on Tuesday of the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese, etc.; moderate to heavy QRM from AIR Guwahati also on frequency (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6035.00 fading in 1330-1420 14.12, Yunnan PBS, Kunming, Chinese talk and orchestra music, 35433 // 7210 (15221) which got QRM from *1400. 6035 continued at 1400 with time signal, Chinese ID: "Yunnan renmin hwangpo dientai"and Vietnamese programme with news read by man and woman, 1410 jingle and comments, now improved to 44433. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) see also BHUTAN! ** CHINA. 6060, Dec 16 at 1138, Tagalog talk mentioning Pilipinas, mixing in English terms such as cease-fire, chief of staff armed forces, deliberate offensive, but numbers pronounced in Spanish, fair signal and hoped for something more interesting than China Radio International as then pronounced in English. HFCC shows 500 kW, 165 degrees from Beijing site at 1130-1200. Fortunately, the Cuban relay of Venezuela which used to occupy this frequency-hour is long gone (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 14.12, 6890 & 6875 CNR 0455 found in these frequencies. Surely are for jamming someone else as per Aoki's list these are RTI channels (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) They are RTI via WYFR, both carrying Chinese instead of 6890 in Spanish, as we have already reported. I seriously doubt CNR jamming would be applied to WYFR relays, and think you were axually hearing RTI via WYFR (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA [and non]. Radio Alcaraván 5910 --- Hi Glenn, Hope you're well. I remember the other week you mentioned that you had not been hearing Radio Alcaraván on 5910. They were definitely on tonight with a fair signal until 0058 UT, when Radio Romania signed on and absolutely beat them down. They were definitely weaker than in the past, even with this Wellbrook loop pointed N-S, so maybe a change in output power. Still waiting for my QSL, and it looks like this may be another registered airmail operation. :-( The cool thing about the Wellbrook is that the North aim takes me right over into Asia via long haul and I am hearing all sorts of stuff that I would normally not hear in the evenings! 73 (Al Muick, PA, Dec 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Al, No, I get Alcaraván Radio frequently later in the night. It`s just during the TWR 0645-0700 transmission that it was totally blocked, if on at the moment. You know, they are a good QSLer, with QSL manager the DXer Rafael Rodríguez in Colombia. Did you report directly to him? 73, (Glenn to Al via DXLD) Hi Glenn, I had sent a snail mail report to Rafael on September 8th. Perhaps he has not had time to deal with it yet, or it is still in the mail in one direction or the other. I did enclose the 2 IRCs as requested in the WRTH, and have not had the letter returned to me. I'll try again if I have not heard anything by the end of January. Thanks for the information! 73 (Al Muick, ibid.) ** CONGO DR. -Kinshasa, 5066.3, R. Télé Candip, Bunia, 1737-1751, 16/12, Vernacular (presumed), African songs; 25331. Very poor as compared to my latest observation in late November (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. Progress report --- I wish to use this opportunity to issue a big thank you to Mauricio and to the ex-member Björn Tryba for their combined help to revolutionise my Cuban entries within the Current database. As most of you will know in 2009 Mauricio discovered detailed data from Ecu-Red now known as the Cuba plan. I have corrected the old data on my Database. Now it shows the newly designated 200 kW transmitters at several Cuban locations as well as approximately 50 others. To completely confuse DXers, Dentro-Cuban authorities have planted Radio Rebelde on a large network of transmitters throughout the island on 1180. This is designed to swamp the Marathon Key signal carrying Radio Martí. The most powerful transmitter in Cuba on 1180 comes from the town of Martí! To add to the wealth of data from the Cuba plan, I must thank Björn Tryba who diligently scoured the Cuban countryside to uncover the coordinates of over 90% of these new sites. Thanks to these DXers I have already now moved onto México and for this country I must thank the team at IRCA who supply the DX community with superb coordinates data. It now will probably be in January 2012 when I will upload the databases again - when I expect to be working through Brasil. 73's (Dan Goldfarb, UK, Dec 18, mwmasts yg via DXLD) WRTH 2012 and Cuba --- I have just received this year's WRTH and I will see whether this edition highlights any data as being out of date. On my last post I discussed the growth of data about Cuba. Perhaps I am being over observant but I cannot help wondering about a strange by-product of the new coordinates found for the 200 kW sites in that country. Looking at the areas North of both Chambas and Martí I notice that there are 2 lines of 6 towers neatly arrayed pointing North towards USA. Is this a mini Zarya? Do the MW signals come from the Dipoles / Radiators and are these towers used for Dentro-Cuban jamming of shortwave Radio Martí? Are the towers used for the MW signals? If so what are the masts used for? I open this for a discussion point to help take your minds off any holiday blues! 73's (Dan Goldfarb, Dec 22, ibid.) ** CUBA. 570, R Reloj with time announcements every minute and OM Spanish news and CHIMES at the ToM but no "RR" in code until the ToH and then the chimes went away and the RR started up (and the news started being read by a YL and OM alternating. Was the stuff before the ToH more feature oriented, and the RR is reserved for the hard news at the ToH? Interesting; they're playing with the format I guess! 3+44 0355-0405. I did a quick sweep and found no other RR or obviously Latin stations on, but when I tuned back at :13 the format without the RR was back .... Most odd. Reception recovered a bit -- it was starting to fade at 0405 but by 0415 it was back to 3+44 all on 12/Dec (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 16 via DXLD) Once again, Ken is handicapping himself by not reading/digesting DXLD, or for that matter various MW lists --- the chimes have been a feature of R. Reloj on Sundays only, for years, but people keep re-discovering them (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. 6150, Radio Havana Cuba with English news re climate change convention in Durban, S Africa, and into other regional news about Trinidad and Tobago, and cultural items about films, and IDs and info about the web page etc. Some serious splatter from Austria started at 0559 when that station came on! I miss ORF in English. 54+54+4 with a hum in modulation 0540-0559 10/Dec--Zichi MI 11760, R Havana Cuba with English News. Items re "Cuban Five" appeal details and Argentina election news, the Durban Climate Change conference, and at :14 past a T/c (as 14 past the hour) and into a commentary. Then Sports news, headlines at the BoH and into Cuban Music in the second half hour. Into French at 2100. ADDX shows English from them at 19-20 but apparently it is from 20-21! In OK despite local QRM. 4+45 2004-2104 10/Dec (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 16 via DXLD) 6150 was on an occasion when RHC failed to switch to 6125 as now scheduled for English starting at 0500. As reported here soon after it happened Nov 13, the 19-20 English broadcast shifted to 20-21, altho both Ken and ADDX were unaware of it (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13670, Dec 15 at 1439 and also after 1500: today`s anomaly from RHC, this frequency is missing tho scheduled until 1600. See also IRAN 6150, Dec 18 at 1305, RHC is still on with heavy CCCCI instead of closing at 1300. I wondered if it was delaying moving to 9540 where on Sundays only, WHRI blox it until 1400; could not hear any RHC underneath WHRI, but 6150 did not stay on the full hour. Also looked for 13690 which appeared a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning before 1400, since they could hardly use 13750, occupied by jamming and VOA, but no 13690 this week. 13750 was on after 1400 instead of 9850, as well as on 13670 and 13780, including `En Contacto` at 1435. There would be no need for such complexity and uncertainty if Arnie chose frequencies which are clear 7 days a week, but that would require coördination in HFCC or at least astute monitoring. [and non]. 15300-15350, Dec 21 at 1424, bleedspurs from the DentroCuban Jamming Command centered on 15330 against R. Martí are extending this far out, also jamming from RFI to Morocco intermittently. 9955, the DCJC would not let R. Eslovaquia Internacional be relayed unimpeded on WRMI, Dec 21 at 1448, still with pulse jamming altho REI could be understood. The Cubans are so jealous of numerous countries which long ago threw off the yoke of communist dictatorship (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS. 6135, Dec 17 at 2235, good signal with `ME` music, no announcements. Only QRM a bit o` bonker on the lo side which was evitable by tuning to the hi side. Only when it cut off abruptly at 2244* did it occur to me that it`s probably CyBC, scheduled 2215-2245 on Fri/Sat/Sun, but I didn`t realize 6135 is their B-11 channel on 49m. It was 6180 last B-season and 5925 in A-11. 6135 is 250 kW, 314 degrees to W Europe and hence USward too from the BaBcoCk Zyyi site, same as // 7220 and 9760. HFCC doesn`t distinguish between this and BBC relays except for listing language as Greek (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I was also listening at the same time on Dec 17 to Cyprus on 9760 (best reception here) with 7220 and 6135 all heard in parallel. I tuned-in from 2220 with a Radio Play or Radio Serial in progress (plenty of goat/sheep sound efects in background!). This until 2231, then a brief announcement by a woman followed by local music until abruptly off at 2245 (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596,) 9760 18/Dec 2214 UNID, would the R Cyprus, in Greek? Only the strong carrier without modulation. Without modulation until 2245, when off the air (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia 12 14´S 38 58´W Brasil, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Must be ** CYPRUS [and non]. 17687-17712, Dec 20 at 1417, strong OTH radar pulsing, presumed from here, causing heavy QRM even to big broadcast signals RFI Guiana French in Spanish on 17690, BSKSA on 17705 --- and weaker CVC Zambia 17695 hasn`t a chance (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHIA. Radio Bila Hora 2458.3 kHz --- I'm hearing a station tonight (2115 UT, 17/2) on 2458.3 kHz, sounds like a pirate, but can't place the language. Mix of music with some Western pop. Doesn't sound Dutch, but good signal. First heard around 2000 when I'd been listening to a very weak VL8K on 2485. 73's (Nick, UK?, Dec 17, BDXC- UK yg via DXLD) Thanks to tip from Nick Rank (in Buxton) hearing pirate station on 2458.3 kHz at present - which IDed at 2142 UT as Radio Bila Hora which is a Czech pirate. Heard in past broadcasting around New Year (Alan Pennington, Caversham, UK, AOR 7030+ ALA 1530, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, ibid.) Radio Bila Hora, Czech pirate, 2458.3 New Years Eve broadcast --- Czech pirate station Radio Bila Hora says that they will be on 2458.3 from 1600 (UT or Czech local time UT+1?) on December 31. They were reported on the frequency December 17 2000 to past 2142 by Nick Rank and Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK Yahoo group and on the UK based shortwave free radio blog http://shortwavedx.blogspot.com/ Long article about the station and its broadcasts translates quite well into English: http://rbh.czechian.net/ (Mike Barraclough, Dec 19, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECHOSLOVAKIA [non]. RECALLING VÁCLAV HAVEL'S SUPPORT FOR US INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING (updated). Posted: 22 Dec 2011 [linx to 9 stories] http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=12560 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Why did Václav Havel have to tune to two different stations to learn about the United States and about his own country? After 35 years in the practice of international broadcasting audience research, I know of no audiences that are interested in news about their own country to the exclusion of the rest of the world, or vice versa. BBC World Service, the most successful international broadcaster, has no trouble providing news about the target country, about the UK, and about the rest of the world, all in the convenience of one station. Back in the Cold War years, VOA had a larger audience in Czechoslovakia than did RFE. This is because VOA had access to a powerful medium wave relay near Munich (ironically, also, then, the location of RFE's studios). VOA had the transmitter, but RFE had the superior resources to cover news about Czechoslovakia. Then, as now, US international broadcasting was an unassembled kit. It's wonderful that Prague experienced its "spring." I look forward to the day when US international broadcasting liberates itself from its multi- management boondoggle, and thus experiences a "spring" of its own (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** EAST TURKISTAN. CHINA, 3950, Xinjiang PBS, Urumqi, 1622-1630, 18/12, Mandarin, talks, phone-ins; 25432; parallel to 5060, 5960 (very strong. adj. QRM), 7310 (terribly interfered by another station). (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11785, Dec 19 at 1425, Firedrake-like music but soon joined by operatic vocals, so not FD. CRI Chinese to Europe is scheduled 14- 1457, 500 kW, 308 degrees from site Aoki now calls ``Kashi-Saibagh 2022 TKS`` a.k.a. Kashgar (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 6050, Dec 16 at 1129, you have to get up early to hear HCJB direct any more, on its only frequency, blocked in the evenings by the recalcitrant Arnie Coro`s RHC. HCJB IDs, timechex for 6:30/5:30, auto timesignal, `Al Día` morning news show, no het from Malaysia or anything (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR [non]. 3955, HCJB, via Kall Krekel [GERMANY], 1755-1800, Dec 11 and 12, Russian talk and ID – new broadcast! 1800-1830, Monday Dec 12, HCJB fanfare, German ”Blick in die Hörerpost” including birthday greetings to listeners and reports from Uruguay, Paraguay and Germany by Iris Rauscher and Horst Rosiak, 45444 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Dec 14 via DXLD) It is good to hear that the reception is good in Copenhagen. From Germany I get almost no reports, because of the bad reception (Iris Rauscher, Dec 12 [of HCJB apparently replying to Anker], ibid.) ** EGYPT. 6270, Dec 15 at 0425, huge S9+25 signal from R. Cairo, but just barely modulated with Qur`an. It`s listenable by turning the volume all the way up, but more modulation, less signal would be more efficient, and never forget to turn the volume down before tuning away from the frequency. Gone after 0430. HFCC shows this is 200 kW, 325 degrees from Abis, including English to E NAm at 2300-2430, and furthermore exactly same parameters at 1800-2245 to Europe in Italian, German, French, English 2115-2245. 15160, Dec 17 at 1458 past 1500, open carrier; at 1501 some modulation starts but it`s very distorted, on peaks only. Listed as R. Cairo in Ozbaki = Uzbek at 1500-1600, 250 kW, 61 degrees from Abis to CIRAF 30 = W Asia (often referred to as Central Asia, even tho it`s much closer to the Urals than to the middle of the continent around Mongolia) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR. RADIO VENCEREMOS. RADIO Y PAZ Por Tito Ballesteros, el 18 de Diciembre 2011 Radio Venceremos fue la voz oficial del Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN). 11 años rompiendo el "cerco informativo". Con su estrategia de ascenso al poder y emitiendo en difíciles condiciones, la radio, por asalto, se tomó el cielo y se convirtió en testigo y protagonista inolvidable del proceso de paz en su país. Hoy: En El Salvador, una radio para hacer la paz. La radio y la creatividad. La radio y la dificultad por sostenerse en el dial. La radio y la paz. La radio y la participación. La radio que escucha a quienes la escuchan. "Santiago". Locutor. Audio Agareso Radio. Lleve la entrevista en el Podcast de Radios de América. [linked] "Idearon una barra programática adecuada para proyectar la realidad mediante unidades móviles que acompañaban el avance de las fuerzas insurgentes del FMLN, conectadas por medio de radio transmisores a la cabina central, clandestinamente instalada en las cuevas y peñascos del departamento de Morazán, frontera con Honduras. Fue la época de los reportajes, los testimoniales, las mesas de debate, las radionovelas, la educación popular y las noticias del momento. Videos Radio Venceremos [linked to YouTube] Los corresponsales visitaban las lecherías, los talleres de explosivos artesanales, las fábricas, los comités de base o bien narraban las primeras operaciones quirúrgicas de autodefensa". Ricardo Martínez Martínez. Tomado de: http://bit.ly/s6XkHA Enlace: http://titoballesteros.blogspot.com/2011/12/radiovenceremos-fuela-voz-oficial-del.html Imagen de: http://retazosdememoria.blogspot.com (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA [non]. 15190 15/Dec 1939 Only the signal of R Inconfidência. No signal of R. Africa, from Bata, even suffering moderate fading of the R Inconfidência. 73 (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103 - All listening in mode of filter Narrow the 6 kHz. Dipole antenna, 16 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1 Escutas (listening, my blog): http://www.ipernity.com/doc/75006 dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Re 11-49:] Did you ever get a reply from PanAm / Radio Africa? We have no firm evidence it is really on the air, unless it is possibly sporadic. Did you have anything in this log to connect it with Eq. G? Was the music religious? Are you sure it was all in English? Inconfidência, Brasil is all we in the Americas can hear in this period on 15190 (Glenn Hauser, Dec 18 reply to T. L. Breyel, Malaysia on http://shortwavedxer.blogspot.com/2011/11/radio-africa-equatorial-guinea.html via DXLD) It looked as if my Comment had been posted, but upon refreshing, still `0 Comments` hmmm. Can`t find an e-mail address to contact her directly (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ERITREA. 7110.03, Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, 0320-0330, Horn of Africa music. Vernacular talk. Poor. Very weak modulation. Much stronger on // 7174.99. No other //s heard. Dec 18 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** ETHIOPIA. 17 Dec, 5950, V of Tigre Revolution, 1528 with HoA songs. YL with talks in Tigre. Supposedly RNZI under this station. S6 33422 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 6090, Dec 15 at 0344, like 21 hours earlier, Anguilla is missing (stuck on non-propagating day frequency 11775? Or just off the air), so instead we can hear Horn of Africa music; and no het either like after 0600 from off-frequency Nigeria and/or Brasil. 0352 starts talking in presumed Amharic, but signal is weakening vs QRM; 0400 reverbed announcement, ululations. Presumed Amhara State Radio, as in EiBi at 0255-0600, which strangely enough is missing from Aoki, and naturally missing from HFCC. WRTH 2011 says 100 kW, site is Geja, and this Amhara State Regional Radio is in Bahir Dar (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6090, Amharic [sic] State Radio, *0256-0345, sign on with IS. Opening announcements at 0259. Horn of Africa music at 0300. Talk in presumed Oromo language. Weak at sign on but improved to a fair level by 0305. Anguilla 6090 off the air. Thanks to Glenn Hauser tip. Dec 16 (Brian Alexander, PA, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX Listening Digest) ** EUROPE. HOLLAND, 7600 kHz. FRS Holland, 0757-0815, 18-12. Male with identification in English: "From Europe, FRS Holland..., is Sunday December 18, FRS Holland, welcome again". Pop music. 34433. In parallel with 5800, SINPO in 5800: 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Receiver: Sony ICF SW 7600 G, wire antenna, 5 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) PIRATE. 7600, Free Radio Service - Holland, 0820-0920, pop music. DJ chatter. Caught ID at 0848. Very weak at tune-in. Better after 0830. Fair on occasional peaks. Some rtty QRM on low side. An overall poor signal. Much weaker on // 5800.04. Dec 18 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) See also SERBIA ** FRANCE. La futura regional bretona, RADIO BRETAGNE 5, Saint-Gouéno Bretagne, se escuchaba en los 1593 kHz, como se suponía, con una fuerte interferencia del DRM alemán. Su dueño Frédéric Guyon, me respondió muy afablemente en un día en contactradio@ bretagne5.fr su web : http://www.bretagne5.fr http://fr-fr.facebook.com/pages/Bretagne-5-officiel/164613716917966 Un abrazo -- (Ignacio Sotomayor Rcvx: Perseus-SDR, Icom R75, Sangean ATS-909 Aerials: Quantum Loop, LW 15 mts web: http://perso.wanadoo.es/igsosa/Dxp.htm blog: http://lacampinadx.blogspot.com/ via Dario Monferini, Dec 21, playdx yg via DXLD) ** FRANCE. 15360, Dec 19 at 1430, good with RFI ID and sounders amid Persian, fair signal // 17850. This 1430-1500 broadcast is to replace 15360 by 21580 on Feb 26, a nonsensical date when RFI plans many more upward spring shifts for one month before the A-12 schedules kick in. 7220, Dec 20 at 0627, RFI English is still here instead of scheduled Hausa, now with news about KJI until abrupt cutoff at 0630* while much weaker // 9765 continues for the full hour in English. While TDF is SNAFU --- isn`t anyone paying attention at Issoudun? --- I`m not complaining as a semi-hour of good English reception is better than nothing. 13725, Dec 21 at 1429, surprised to hear NHK signing off English with full list of frequencies for next English broadcast rather than this one for reference 23.5 hours later. Must have just come on, 1430 switch to NHK opening Persian, ``Inja Tokyo`` as scheduled to be relayed. I had heard NHK English earlier on 21560 via France, maybe same transmitter, altho on different antenna type and azimuth, as the slopperators at Issoudun did not suppress the audio closing of one service on another frequency before opening of the correct one (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GAMBIA. GÂMBIA, 648, GRTS/R. Gambia, Bonto, silent, after recent transmitter troubles as reported twice back in November. 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, circa Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. 9480, Atlantic 2000, 0850-0900*, 18-12, pop music, male, comments, French. 24322. (Méndez) 9480, Radio Saxonia, *0900-0925, 18-12, identification, English: "Radio Saxonia", pop music, comments, German, male. 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Receiver: Sony ICF SW 7600 G, wire antenna, 5 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Here a 15 minutes MP3 recorded about Radio Saxonia on 9480 kHz today: https://www.box.net/shared/ekq8clq5pqsz8bjfm2mu 73's de Roby (Roberto Rizzardi, Dec 18, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** GIBRALTAR. 1458, R. Gibraltar, Maida Vale, 1438-1510, 19/12, end of the Castilian language program, with songs, some carols, then advertisements in English prior to 1500 when the GBC relayed a news bulletin from the BBC; 45444. At this time, the usual source of QRM, Sunrise R, London, was already perfectly audible. 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. QSL: Voice of Greece 7475, full data Prince of the Lilies card in 97 days for English airmail report and 2 IRCs. Also sent nice wall map of Greece 73 (Al Muick, Whitehall, PA USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUIANA FRENCH. HAPPENING NOW - TDF DRM TEST FROM FRENCH GUIANA TDF is DRM testing from French Guiana as of my 2040 UT tune in on 17755, 20 December 2011. Reports requested to engenharia.radio @ ebc.com.br Go get 'em! Currently 22dBm SNR at my location. 73 (Al Muick, Whitehall PA USA, Dec 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also BRAZIL [non] ** GUINEA. 7425 [sic], 1945, GUIINEA [sic], R Conakay [sic], Fair in French with comment, ID 1747 – KAB 10 Nov (Ken Baird, Christchurch, New Zealand, Kenwood R5000, R1000, 18m Wire, SW Eavesdropper, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) ?? If correct this would be big news, as Conakry has been off the air from 7125 for several months, last heard here and in DXLD 11-37 on Sept 8. If they want to reactivate SW, it should be outside the now- exclusive hamband. But must suspect a typo for 7125, and this was filed in a frequency-order log report between 7390 and 7455. Besides the misspellings, look at the times, the second one almost two hours before the first one. Proofread? Is there anything in French on 7425 around these times? Sort of: Aoki shows quite a pileup. At 1745 would be CRI Kashgar in English, and Iran in German; At 1945 would be RNW in English via Madagascar, and RFI in Russian (which might have been speaking French for a bit). (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. Interesting conditions this morning, with an odd selection of stations audible - at 1000 there were few stations about, the West coast and Alaskan signals rather muffled, making copy less easy than usual. However, at 1200 there were more Alaskans, and the first Hawaiian noted this season, All on the 338 degree beverage. I still have recordings to check for 0900 and 1100, and am looking forward to discovering what they may hold. [including:] 1570, KUAU, Haiku HI; Christmas songs, short religious homily, ID “This is KUAU Haiku Maui 15-70 on your AM dial”; first Hawaiian of the season F/G 1200 19/12. 73 (Martin A. Hall, Clashmore, Scotland. Perseus SDR, RPA-1 preamp, MFJ-1026 phaser (modified), beverages: 550m at 338 degrees, terminated, 506m at 279 degrees, terminated. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clashmoreradio/ MWCircle yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 4990, AIR Itanagar, 1337, Dec 18 found to be off the air, with PBS Hunan doing better than normal (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 5010, AIR, Thiruvananthapuram. 1131 December 18, 2011. English news read by man in progress, a few seconds of fill music 1135, into Hindi news. Clear and fair (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 5050, AIR Aizawl, 1400-1440, Dec 16. Equally strong and mixing with Beibu Bay Radio (BBR); best ever reception; 1400-1429 with rock & roll Christmas songs in English (“Run Rudolph Run”, “Blue Christmas”, etc); 1430-1435 news bulletin in English; 1435-1440 sports bulletin; amazing level. No Ozy Radio yet (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 9425, AIR National Channel from Bangaluru, Dec 15 at 1424 has good signal and modulation in Hindi, but // 9470 from Aligarh is JBM (just barely modulated) as I can tell on weaker signal, despite splash from 9479 WTWW. I listen for the 5-minute English newscast at 1430: soon after it starts there is a semiminute of dead air where apparently a clip of the Chief Minister was supposed to go, then about Indian-Russian coöperation; food inflation in India is at a 4-year low. Caster speaks too rapidly but fortunately with good dixion; can`t decide if the voice is M or F, androgyny being ideal to appeal to all audiences. 1435 back into Hindi, music and talk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 9470, Dec 20 at 1319, AIR National Channel via Aligarh with IS, 1320 ``Vande Mataram`` and sign-on in Hindi. 9470 is usually inferior to // 9425 via Bengaluru, but this time 9470 is better altho with some CCI underneath, presumably VOR Moskva site in Russian as scheduled (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. All India Radio reports that parts of India are experiencing similar temperatures to the UK at the moment. http://www.newsonai r.com/news. asp?cat=national&id=NN2274 AIR's web site is really quite good. There is a good selection of programmes available in good quality audio - I'm just listening to a finance programme called Market Mantra, presented in English and Hindi. I've just heard the "Hindi Anchor" (as he was termed by his English co-presenter) mentioning the telephone number with its "STD code" - a reflection of the links between India and Britain. On the "Reg Audio" tab of their web site is a selection of regional news summaries in Hindi and many other languages which might be of interest to those wishing to study how these different languages sound (Andrew Brade, UK, Dec 18, MWCircle yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. All India Radio From the AIR blog at http://gosair.blogspot.com/ On Christmas day, 25th December to a special musical feature entitled "Joy to the World". It is scripted and presented by Fr. George Praseed. The producer is Dominic Thomas, our Program Executive. Timings: At 1350, 1830, 2130 and 2330 UTC GOS-III 1330-1500 Hrs East and South East Asia 9690 11620 13710 GOS-IV 1745-1945 hrs East Africa 11935 9415 7400 West Africa, North West Africa 9445 7410 11580 West Europe, United Kingdom. 7550 9950 11670 GOS-V 2045-2230 hrs. Australia and New Zealand 9910 11620 11715 West Europe-U.K. 7550 9445 9950 11670 GOS-I 2245-0045 Hrs.East and South East Asia 9705 6055 7305 North East Asia 9950 11645 13605 (via Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDIA. OVER RS 15 BN FOR DIGITISATION OF AIR & DD By BB NAGPAL Indiantelevision.com Team (17 December 2011 7:43 pm) http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k11/dec/dec123.php NEW DELHI: The Government has set aside Rs 9.34 billion for All India Radio and Rs 6.2 billion for Doordarshan for digitisation all over the country in the 11th Plan allocation. Schemes of Rs 9.08 billion have already been sanctioned out of the total amount for All India Radio and are under implementation. AIR is already digitising with the adoption of the DRM standard. Digitisation of AIR would help provide better quality signals to listeners through digital terrestrial transmission; digital transmitters will be able to carry multiple channels and so new programmes can be broadcast all with the existing channel on the same transmitter; digitisation of studio and connectivity would improve the technical quality and efficiency of programme production; digitisation of archives would help preserve the content for a longer period and enable access to heritage programmes; and save power consumption on transmitters In the case of Doordarshan, Prasar Bharati has already begun work on forty digital terrestrial transmitters and other equipment. The allocation for DD covers the networking of DTT through satellite, augmentation of DMCs by providing equipment and facilities for maintaining the digital infrastructure, providing five sets of digital measurement equipment at zonal offices, providing 60 UPS at High Power Transmitters to ensure uninterrupted power supply, R&D and Training, digitalisation of 31 partially digitalised and eight analogue studio centers, digitalisation of Archiving facilities, and digitalisation of news automation system and e-governance and IT Scheme. Earlier, a senior official of the Ministry told indiantelevision.com that the Ministry had prepared a proposal for Rs 8 billion to All India Radio and Rs 6 billion to Doordarshan for completing digitisation. It was pointed out that while private satellite television channels beaming via direct-to-home, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), or the soon to be launched Head in the sky (HITS) were already on digital, DD and AIR which were beaming terrestrially to reach all over the country had stepped up the process of digitisation. The official said the work will involve digitisation of existing studios, establishment of digital transmitters, replacement and augmentation of old studio, transmitter and satellite broadcast equipment and setting up of High Definition TV (HDTV) facilities. It is expected that digitisation will free spectrum currently used for analogue transmission, allowing more channels. There is a possibility that extra spectrum could be used by Doordarshan in a partnership model for revenue generation. Two HDTV studios are being established by DD in Delhi and Mumbai, and field production and post production facilities in four metros. The HDTV uplink will be set up at Delhi, and HDTV terrestrial transmitters will be installed in four metros. Out of 66 studio centres, 23 have either already been digitised, or are being digitised while 39 studio centers, which are partially digitised or analogue are planned to be fully digitised in the 11th Plan (by 2012). The remaining four analogue studios are proposed to be digitised in the 12th Plan. It is planned to take up 40 locations where analogue High Power Transmitters are operational for setting up of Digital terrestrial transmitters (DTT) in the country. 14 obsolete High Power TV transmitters (UPTs) and sixty Lower Power TV transmitters (LPTs) will be replaced. Satellite Earth Stations will be modernised using Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) in the 11th Plan (via Alokesh Gupta, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA [and non]. 9526-, Dec 15 at 1425, VOI poor signal with low modulation apparently in Indonesian; the 9530 Chinese radio war ends at 1400, making the 13-14 English useless, not audible in months, but now VOI is so low that splash from 9520 RVA Philippines in Tamil is bothersome (but would end at 1427). 9680, meanwhile, Dec 15 at 1426, RRI domestic relay has much better signal and modulation during gamelan, but heavy CCI from Taiwan/China; also one of the QRMing stations is putting talking clix on 9680, as well as spikes on 9675 and 9685 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. COMING SOON : HIGH FREQUENCY PIRATE RADIO WEEKEND Thanks to Harri Kujala in Naantali Finland for the following information. The next HF-Pirate-Weekend will be Sat-Sun 14-15 January 2012!! Let's name it now “Global Pirate HF-Weekend”. A test-weekend for pirates from all over the world to broadcast on High Frequencies 10 - 28 MHz (mostly on 15-22 MHz)!! So, I hope also pirate stations from USA and Canada will join this weekend!! I think that the stations should prefer 21-22 MHz, which give best skips faraway, but 15 MHz seems to work also (worse below this). Lets’s also hope that all DX- forums around the world will notice this and we will have more listeners around the world, in Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Africa (via Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) The last one in November had a number of operations in the 20-22 MHz area, some inside, some outside the 13m band, in the middle of the NAm night, but also some after our sunrise (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. NASA TV CHANGING SATELLITES Cable and satellite service providers: NASA TV (Public, HD, Media, and Education channels) is transitioning to satellite AMC-18. NASA TV will provide dual service on AMC-18 and its current satellite, SES-2, through Dec. 18, 2011. On Dec. 19, NASA TV will no longer be available on SES-2. (From Nasa.gov Web site via Mike Cooper, GA, Dec 14, DXLD) ** IRAN. Iran huge on 936 --- A good night for Iran here with fair audio on 1026 & 1503 notably and I didn't took time yet to review my recordings. Worthy of mention is the 936 frequency that went huge at 0201 UT: http://www.quebecdx.com/mp3/iran_936b.mp3 I personally like this clip because I feel that this an interesting sample of the Iranian Radio mood and surely one of my best ever Iran reception (Sylvain Naud, Portneuf, QC, http://www.quebecdx.com rx: Perseus, ant: 1500 ft terminated Beverage @ 35? towards N. Europe & Caucasus region, 100 ft long wire used for phasing purpose, MFJ-1026 phaser with LF mods, UT Dec 20, IRCA via DXLD) ** IRAN [and non]. 7200, Dec 15 at 0333, V. of Justice with Qur`an as always in the first few minutes of VIRI transmissions, atop CCI presumably Sudan which was here first on this bandedge frequency making SAH of about 4 Hz; // 7365 is stronger with Qur`an, but much heavier interference from the Cuban-American radio war; while if VIRI really tried, they could find two clear frequencies this hour on the 7 MHz band, but don`t expect any improvement before A-12. 0335 English translation of Qur`an, 0336 YL with program summary, V. of Justice ID, 0337 hokey news theme by military band, more modern news sounder, and finally, news. Too much QRM to try to listen any further. 0424 recheck, 7200 still with CCI, and 7365 still under the DentroCuban Jamming Command, and Radio Martí. 15735, Friday Dec 16 at 1333, Qur`an really heartfelt by a guy putting more emotion into it than usual, reverb added; 1343 brief YL announcement, more Qur`an; 1352 change to music and soft Arabic discussion; good signal at first, weakening a lot after 1400. HFCC shows it`s IRIB, 500 kW, 289 degrees from Zahedan in Arabic at 0530- 1430 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 15345, 15/Dec 1912, IRIB Voice of I. R. Iran, in French. OM and YL talk. Good signal, but strong whistle from the likely carrier of RAE, at the same frequency. End transmission at 1927, when comes the weak signal RAE, in Italian, playing tango (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103 - All listening in mode of filter Narrow the 6 kHz. Dipole antenna, 16 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1, Escutas (listening, my blog): http://www.ipernity.com/doc/75006 dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) IRIB at 1830-1930 via Kamalabad to Europe. Yes, so now that also ruins the second half of RAE`s English at 18-19 M-F to Europe, despite Morocco having shifted to 15349.1. What a pity RAE is so out of it that they make no effort to protect or move their frequencies. They can`t even make it to the next country (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND [non]. QSL: IRLANDA, 17500, RTÉ International, via South África, Tarjeta QSL, v/s Maewe Anslow. Enviado a RTE Radio Centre, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Irlanda, más follow via e-mail. Demoro: 90 días. Imagenes y mas en http://dxdesdecolom bia.blogspot.com Buenos Dx (Rafael Rodríguez R.Bogotá D.C. - COLOMBIA, Dec 17, condiglistyg via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. 7635 NF, Galei Zahal, 2225-2235, local music. Hebrew talk. No //s heard. Poor. Weak. Dec 16 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) Log 7635 kHz 0044 UT 34333 to 45444 Galei Zahal S650/SDR an Dipol. siehe dazu auch: Automatic Translator, shows summer time ....?: Lmazinino Europe: Army Radio broadcasts also can absorb short-wave: Summer Time (Israel) Frequency Day UTC: From 06:00 to 20:00 AM - 9235 Frequency of night: From 20:00 to 06:00 AM - 7635 Local daylight saving time (in Israel) Frequency Day: From 08:00 to 18:00 AM - 9235 Frequency of night: From 18:00 to 08:00 AM - 7635 [DST is in part of summer, UT+3; elsewhen UT +2, so what do they mean by the above? And they have two transmitters; I have a hard time hearing 9235 or 7635, but 15850 was still heard recently --- gh] 7635 kHz // Internet: leider kein einfacher mms-Stream mehr sondern rtmp-Protokoll in der Art: glzradio.stream.flv http://locator.3dcdn.com/glz/glzradio/300/200/radio.html http://nsa.static.3dcdn.com/live/swf/flowplayer.commercial.nosplash-3.2.16.swf?0.2925811048742454> [or is that supposed to be a single url between the <> ?] hinter dem Stream versteckt sich ein "MP3-Stream (Lame 3.98, joint stereo)" mit 48kbps/44 kHz Sampling im flv-Flash-Container: bzw: glzradio.stream.flv > als Musik erkannte MIDOMI gerade via Kurzwelle: Von der Musik her klingt das Programm teilweise wie ein amerikanischer Piratensender. 73+55 (Roger Roger, Germany, A-DX Dec 16 via BC-DX 17 Dec via DXLD) 7635, Israel's Army radio station Galei Tzahal noted with identification at 0536 UT Dec 20. But hit heavily of ute station in two tone like RTTY mode, latter S=9+10dB signals on both 7634.755 and 7635.255 kHz. \\ 15850 kHz very poor S=4, just above threshold in dead zone at this hour (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 20 via dxldyg via DXLD) 13850, Dec 17 at 1458, IBA IS weakly audible aside 13845 WWCR, so the Persian service at 1500-1630 is still here while // 15760 was to have switched to 9985, also too close to WWCR (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Rai International raises voice to politicians -- Productions for Italians abroad will shut down as of January 1, 2012 after funding cuts --- By Caterina Rotunno It all happened over a few days, to the disbelief and bewilderment of millions of Italians abroad who still cannot believe it could be possible that with one quick swoop and a brief communiqué, a RAI entity that addressed their needs would be shut down. As of January 1, RAI’s general directorship, Radiotelevisione Italiana S.p.A., – the company “at the exclusive service of the Italian radio- TV public” – has decided to end RAI International production destined abroad. All that will be left is the name and a station that will broadcast programs produced by RAI’s three networks and created for a very different public other than for those who left the country last century in search of work and a better life. Realities and issues – those of Italians abroad – that often entail different cultural overtones developed from living outside national boundaries. RAI International was created in 1995 for the expressed purpose of answering to the needs of this TV public outside Italy . . . http://corrieretandem.com/viewstory.php?storyid=11790 (via Yimber Gaviria, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) Gracias también a: https://www.facebook.com/EtherWave http://www.international.rai.it/engl/ (Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, ibid.) Rocco on Dec 16th, 2011 at 23:22 About time too! The terrible and expensive service provided by Rai International was absolutely overrated and pretty useless, as it was. Although probably this deathblow was necessary, unfortunately Italians think that the solution to resolve a hard problem (primarily mismanagement) is to eradicate anything [everything], in this case Rai has “sadly” decided to close anything, instead to copy what DW-TV and TV5Monde/RFI do with their radio and television channels. Anyway few Italians will miss this Rai International; our state broadcaster has never got any interest to provide an adequate external broadcasting service, as desirable. Millions of Italians worldwide and what should be an important country of European Community, without a voice. Even the bankrupted Greece, still has ERT World and the Voice of Greece. #2 Rocco on Dec 16th, 2011 at 23:25 I was forgetting to tell that the correct name for the “Presidenza del Consiglio dei ministri” is “Presidency of the Council of Ministers”. (Media Network blog comments via DXLD) ** ITALY. 5000, Time Signal Station IBF, Torino, 0635-0650, 18-12, Time signals, identification in Italian, French and German. Interference from WWV, Fort Collins. 13321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Receiver: Sony ICF SW 7600 G, wire antenna, 5 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) QSL FROM IBF TORINO --- The commemorative station IBF that broadcasts on 5000 KHz from Torino, confirmed with e QSL in 30 days. Report sent via email to: qsl @ radiomaria.org V/S Giampiero Bernardini and Claudio Re. The picture is available here: http://blog.libero.it/radioascolto/10889246.html 73's (Francesco Cecconi, Central Italy, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** JAPAN. I'm 22 years old, and some of my favorite stations include NHK World Radio Japan, Radio Netherlands Worldwide (Which I am sad about the closing of!) and Radio Romania International. I'm glad to have recently received a Christmas card from that last one. If I'm allowed to take this opportunity to ask, when propagation is right, I listen to NHK World's Japanese language broadcasts at 0700- 0800 UT on 6145/6165 kHz. The broadcasts end with someone whistling Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head along with someone accompanying the whistler on Ukulele. It's completely surreal! Does anyone have the slightest idea why Radio Japan would do something like that? It is usually followed by the normal 'NHK Worudo' announcement with the song 'Kazoe-uta' used as an interval signal, before starting up a Spanish language broadcast. Thank you & 73s (- John (a.k.a. Wolfgang, wolfwere, narvorr), Dec. 18, ptsw yg via DXLD) Yes, listening to NHK in Japanese can be fun with oddities like that. Russian, not Spanish, is supposed to follow on both frequencies at 0800, which are aimed toward Russia, NE and NW (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17 Dec, 9670, NHK??? Possibly R Japan 2137 piano play and YL with stepping lessons including numbers all in Japanese. Possibly aerobics lessons. Fair (from Japan) (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Listed as NHK1 relay, fits for 6:37 am local wake-up time (gh, DXLD) ** KASHMIR. AIR Leh (Radio Kashmir, Leh) presumed to still remain on about 4747.6 (ex 4760). I consistently hear on open carrier, but no luck so far with any audio. Noted from about 1300 to past 1500. Hope that one day I can pull in some audio for this rarely heard station, while they are still on this unique frequency (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. 15.12, 6400 // 6250 Pyongyang Pangsong at 2114 with same program (operas)/ 6400 is a more clear channel but there was some male underground voice. 6250 as always has an FDM in between. Both S6 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9335, Voice of Korea; 1546-1556*, 17-Dec; Stirring music & English feature on a fertilizer factory (If they start carrying manure hauling & dead stock removal service ads like KRVN, I'll listen more often!). ID & sked at 1555. Fair at best. Nothing detected on 11710 or 7570 & 12015 covered by ute. No s/on detected on 9990 or 11545 at 1600. Latter two also not found at 1636 on 18-Dec. Did I catch the last one??? Most VoK transmissions missing past day or so--off or propagation? I guess VoK can't operate without the Dear Leader's blessing. Later found out that the 17th was Dear Leader's passing (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! 0453 UT Dec 19, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Kim Jong-il has died --- North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il is reported to have died. Programming from this country could be interesting over the next day or more (Harold Sellers, 0347 UT Dec 19, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) SATELLITE AND LIVE STREAM OF KOREAN CENTRAL TV Korean Central TV has just opened hours early today on Thaicom 5 to break the news that Kim Jong Ill has died. If you are outside the Thaicom 5 footprint open this URL in VLC Player for a live stream of Korean Central TV Pyongyang. mmsh://112.170.78.145:50000/chosun?MSWMExt=.asf Also CNN 179 Hong Kong 4:2:2 circuit on Intelsat 8 (3811GHz Horizontal S/D14108) is running a live relay of KCTV Pyongyang and Korean Central Radio. I expect the CNN Feed circuit relay will be up for many days as the story develops (Mark Fahey, NSW, 0349 UT Dec 19, ibid.) Checked Korean Central News Agency website http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm at 11:16 PM Eastern on 18 December 2011 (0417 UT on 19 December 2011) only to find the site down with a message in English. "Service Temporarily Unavailable. The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later." Should be interesting to see what happens as the day goes on (Jon Pukila, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada, ibid.) I am wondering if anybody is hearing Pyongyang now. I realise that as soon as it gets dark locally, North Korea comes in very strongly. Also, Mark, the North Korea link on the internet needs a special app. Also expect those Japanese backed clandestines plus those in South Korea will be everywhere to capitalise on the death of Kim Ill Song [sic] (Robin L. Harwood VK7RH, Tasmania, Contributing Editor, Ámateur Radio-Spotlight on SWLing, 0436 UT Dec 19, ibid.) Hi Robin, The stream will open in the standard VLC player: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ but as word has got around the server has become swamped and the stream is down. It has been hit and miss the last few days - though I was surprised to get connected around a connection about an hour ago but closed it once I got home to my dish. Info and schedules for MW and Shortwave here on Martin's page... http://www.northkoreatech.org/2011/12/19/kim-jong-ils-death-monitoring-north-korean-tv-and-radio/#comments Cheers, (Mark Fahey, Sydney NSW, ibid.) You can highlight or sort all the KRE entries in Aoki, EiBi (not HFCC!) (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Voice of Korea B11 courtesy AOKI 11735 0000-0057 Spanish 200 28 Kujang 13650 0000-0057 Chinese 200 238 Kujang 13760 0000-0057 Spanish 200 28 Kujang 15100 0000-0057 Chinese 200 238 Kujang 15180 0000-0057 Spanish 200 28 Kujang 7220 0100-0157 English 200 ND Kujang 9345 0100-0157 English 200 ND Kujang 9730 0100-0157 English 200 ND Kujang 11735 0100-0157 English 200 28 Kujang 13650 0100-0157 French 200 238 Kujang 13760 0100-0157 English 200 28 Kujang 15100 0100-0157 French 200 238 Kujang 15180 0100-0157 English 200 28 Kujang 7220 0200-0257 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 9345 0200-0257 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 9730 0200-0257 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 11735 0200-0257 Spanish 200 28 Kujang 13650 0200-0257 English 200 238 Kujang 13760 0200-0257 Spanish 200 28 Kujang 15100 0200-0257 English 200 238 Kujang 15180 0200-0257 Spanish 200 28 Kujang 7220 0300-0357 English 200 ND Kujang 9345 0300-0357 English 200 ND Kujang 9730 0300-0357 English 200 ND Kujang 11735 0300-0357 French 200 28 Kujang 13650 0300-0357 Chinese 200 238 Kujang 13760 0300-0357 French 200 28 Kujang 15100 0300-0357 Chinese 200 238 Kujang 15180 0300-0357 French 200 28 Kujang 7580 0700-0757 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9650 0700-0757 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9975 0700-0757 Russian 200 28 Kujang 11735 0700-0757 Russian 200 28 Kujang 13760 0700-0757 Russian 200 325 Kujang 15245 0700-0757 Russian 200 325 Kujang 7580 0800-0850 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9650 0800-0850 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 7220 0800-0857 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 9345 0800-0857 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 9975 0800-0857 Russian 200 28 Kujang 11735 0800-0857 Russian 200 28 Kujang 13760 0800-0857 Russian 200 325 Kujang 15245 0800-0857 Russian 200 325 Kujang 6070 0900-0957 Japanese 250 109 Kanggye 7580 0900-0957 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9650 0900-0957 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 6070 1000-1050 Japanese 250 109 Kanggye 7580 1000-1050 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9650 1000-1050 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 6185 1000-1057 English 200 238 Kujang 6285 1000-1057 English 200 28 Kujang 9335 1000-1057 English 200 28 Kujang 9850 1000-1057 English 200 238 Kujang 6070 1100-1157 Japanese 250 109 Kanggye 6185 1100-1157 French 200 238 Kujang 6285 1100-1157 French 200 28 Kujang 7220 1100-1157 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 7580 1100-1157 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9335 1100-1157 French 200 28 Kujang 9345 1100-1157 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 9650 1100-1157 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9850 1100-1157 French 200 238 Kujang 6070 1200-1250 Japanese 250 109 Kanggye 7580 1200-1250 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9650 1200-1250 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 6185 1300-1357 Chinese 200 238 Kujang 7570 1300-1357 English 200 325 Kujang 9335 1300-1357 English 200 28 Kujang 9850 1300-1357 Chinese 200 238 Kujang 11710 1300-1357 English 200 28 Kujang 12015 1300-1357 English 200 325 Kujang 6285 1400-1457 Russian 200 325 Kujang 7570 1400-1457 French 200 325 Kujang 9325 1400-1457 Russian 200 325 Kujang 9335 1400-1457 French 200 28 Kujang 11710 1400-1457 French 200 28 Kujang 12015 1400-1457 French 200 325 Kujang 6285 1500-1557 Russian 200 325 Kujang 7570 1500-1557 English 200 325 Kujang 9325 1500-1557 Russian 200 325 Kujang 9335 1500-1557 English 200 28 Kujang 9990 1500-1557 Arabic 200 296 Kujang 11545 1500-1557 Arabic 200 296 Kujang 11710 1500-1557 English 200 28 Kujang 12015 1500-1557 English 200 325 Kujang 6285 1600-1657 German 200 325 Kujang 7570 1600-1657 French 200 325 Kujang 9325 1600-1657 German 200 325 Kujang 9335 1600-1657 French 200 28 Kujang 9990 1600-1657 English 200 296 Kujang 11545 1600-1657 English 200 296 Kujang 11710 1600-1657 French 200 28 Kujang 12015 1600-1657 German 200 325 Kujang 6285 1700-1757 Russian 200 325 Kujang 9325 1700-1757 Russian 200 325 Kujang 9990 1700-1757 Arabic 200 296 Kujang 11545 1700-1757 Arabic 200 296 Kujang 6285 1800-1857 German 200 325 Kujang 7210 1800-1857 French 200 271 Kujang 7570 1800-1857 English 200 325 Kujang 9325 1800-1857 German 200 325 Kujang 9975 1800-1857 French 200 296 Kujang 11535 1800-1857 French 200 296 Kujang 11910 1800-1857 French 200 271 Kujang 12015 1800-1857 English 200 325 Kujang 6285 1900-1957 German 200 325 Kujang 7210 1900-1957 English 200 271 Kujang 7570 1900-1957 Spanish 200 325 Kujang 9325 1900-1957 German 200 325 Kujang 9975 1900-1957 English 200 296 Kujang 11535 1900-1957 English 200 296 Kujang 11910 1900-1957 English 200 271 Kujang 12015 1900-1957 Spanish 200 325 Kujang 7570 2000-2057 French 200 325 Kujang 12015 2000-2057 French 200 325 Kujang 7580 2100-2150 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9650 2100-2150 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 7235 2100-2157 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 7570 2100-2157 English 200 325 Kujang 9345 2100-2157 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 9975 2100-2157 Chinese 200 271 Kujang 11535 2100-2157 Chinese 200 271 Kujang 12015 2100-2157 English 200 325 Kujang 7235 2200-2257 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 7570 2200-2257 Spanish 200 325 Kujang 7580 2200-2257 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9345 2200-2257 Chinese 200 ND Kujang 9650 2200-2257 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9975 2200-2257 Chinese 200 271 Kujang 11535 2200-2257 Chinese 200 271 Kujang 12015 2200-2257 Spanish 200 325 Kujang 7580 2300-2350 Japanese 200 109 Kujang 9650 2300-2350 Japanese 200 109 Kujang (via Alokesh Gupta, dxldyg via DXLD) Thanks to all, especially Mark and Alokesh for the schedules for North Korea. I shall be monitoring tonight to see what is happening. However think external service programs are recorded in advance like CRI and cannot accommodate late breaking news as the death of the "dear leader". (Robin VK7RH, Norwood, Tasmania, ibid.) With North Korea in the news today following the death of Kim Jong-Il, here is the full schedule for Voice of Korea in English: 0100-0200 AsAm 7220 9345 9730 11735 13760 15180 4405-feeder 0200-0300 As 13650 15100 3560-feeder 0300-0400 As 7220 9345 9730 4405-feeder 1000-1100 AsAm 6185 6285 9335 9850 1300-1400 EuAm 7570 9335 11710 12015 3560-feeder 1500-1600 EuAm 7570 9335 11710 12015 3560-feeder 1600-1700 MEAf 9990 11545 1800-1900 Eu 7570 12015 3560-feeder 1900-2000 MEAf 7210 9975 11535 11910 2100-2200 Eu 7570 12015 3560-feeder Weak signal here on 7570 at the start of the 1500 transmission - might be stronger for the 1800 broadcast (Dave Kenny, Dec 19, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 6400, Dec 19 at 0630, P`yongyang BS is audible with sad music, ute QRM. 0650, YL in Korean sounds distraught about something or other. 6435, MND, from South to North, Dec 19 at 0631 with YL in Korean, 0632 into choral music closing, // weaker 6550. 6518 & 6600, V. of the People, from South to North, at 0633 Dec 19, lite jamming on 6518, no jamming audible on 6600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) There's a lady in tears now at 0900 on 9345, 9665, 9975, 13760 and 15245 (Dec. 19). Martial music on 9650 (Japanese service) Probably something to do with this event (Noel R. Green (NW England), dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I just posted a recording of the 1000 GMT broadcast (first 25 minutes, up to the end of the news) on 6285 kHz. http://www.northkoreatech.org/2011/12/19/voice-of-korea-announces-death-of-kim-jong-il/ (Martyn Williams, Tokyo, ibid.) Harold Frodge, MI, noted that VOK transmissions were missing earlier on Dec 17 and 18; that should have been a clue that something significant had happened! However, VOK was back when I checked: 9335, Dec 19 at 1414, French about Kim Jung Il [hereafter KJI], what else? Dead or alive. Poor signal but could still hear mixture with NK- style jamming noise bleeding into the broadcast. At this moment WBCQ was missing from 9330-CUSB, tho it was there a few minutes earlier. At 1441, it was back, impeding weakish signal from Kujang. // 11710 not propagating. At 1500 could make out VOK IS and English IDs on 9335, but too weak vs WBCQ and still no 11710 making it. Here`s one convenient source of latest VOK info and scheduling, clips: http://www.northkoreatech.org/2011/10/29/voice-of-korea-b11-schedule/ And as pointed out by Mark Fahey, NSW: http://www.northkoreatech.org/2011/12/19/kim-jong-ils-death-monitoring-north-korean-tv-and-radio/#comments Tnx to Martyn Williams in Tokyo. By lucky coincidence, KJI garnered the top spot in this week`s issue of Parade magazine, Dec 18, printed far in advance, but who was the Second Worst Dictator in the World? Isaias Afewerkio. Who? Where? Eritrea. He`s certainly managed to maintain a lower profile abroad. Now must be temporarily #1 pending KJU making his mark. See http://www.parade.com/dictators (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6250, 1755-1810 19.12, PBS, Pyongyang, Korean man and woman reading mourning texts about their dear leader Kim Jong-il, who died 17.12, with another man shouting in between, 45444 // 6400, but this only till 1801* (carrier off at 1805) (44333 CWQRM). Not heard on 3250 or 3320 (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with a 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) I've been checking all the EiBi listed English VoK broadcasts the past couple of days (except 1000 & 1300) and the ONLY ones heard are 9335 & 11710 at 1500 (Harold Frodge, MI, 1947 UT Dec 19, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PYONGYANG FM RUNNING DOUBLE AUDIO FEED Pyongyang FM is oddly running two simultaneous audio feeds tonight (Monday night and early Tuesday morning): the main music feed and far in the background, a far quieter audio feed of an over-emotional lady talking. She's been going at it for quite a while! It's clearly audible between songs and behind the talking during the station's typical drawn-out 11:10pm blabberfest. I strongly believe this may be a feed from elsewhere in the main studio that is being erroneously played, although in two years, I have never heard such a mistake from the network. It's been playing for at least two hours on all the network frequencies. Sure, they ID whenever they darn well please, their sign-ons and sign-offs are about as uneventful as watching paint dry, but they never make mistakes! At least as of tonight, it seems mostly business as usual on the airwaves (aside from opening each hour with the same song). I'm sure they'll expand to a 24-hour schedule for the funeral of Kim Jong-il next week. Sadly, I'll be working, but may be able to disappear for a while to tune into the happenings. I'd have a hard time believing they wouldn't be live on the air for it, although the Pyongyang FM network leaves most of that stuff to the TV network typically. Naturally, all the media excitement over this event is limited mostly to television (Chris Kadlec, Songtan, Korea, 1650 UT Dec 19, WTFDA via DXLD) ?? I couldn`t hear any double audio under the main audio (gh) When checked today at 1045 UT, the official VOK website http://www.vok.rep.kp/CBC/english.php had not been updated, and there was no mention of the death of Kim Jong-il, not even on the Korean page. It was eventually updated around 1500 UTC. Visit this page on our main website http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/north-korean-media-caught-surprise-kims-death for a video of North Korean TV announcing the death of Kim Jong-il. And PCJ media has made available audio of the Voice of Korea’s announcement, repeated in every broadcast. This one was at 1808 UT http://www.radio4all.net/files/kperron@gmail.com/3101-1-Voice_Of_Korea_-_Dec_19_2011.mp3 (Andy Sennit, Media Network blog Dec 19 via DXLD) 9 Comments on “Kim Jong-il dead - full schedule of Voice of Korea” #1 Keith Perron on Dec 19th, 2011 at 17:25 Since VOK launched its website I have never been able to check any of the audio that [they] have. #2 Andy Sennitt on Dec 19th, 2011 at 17:36 No, the files are in AAC format, which is not natively supported by earlier versions of Windows. But I see that Media Player 12 will play them natively. But I’m not about to upgrade to Windows 7 purely to listen to propaganda from Pyongyang :-) #3 Keith Perron on Dec 19th, 2011 at 17:40 I know AAC is a mac format, but I still can’t get them to play. #4 Andy Sennitt on Dec 19th, 2011 at 17:46 Well, allegedly you can download a player from their website, but I’ve never been desperate enough to risk it :-) There are some other options mentioned at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Audio_Coding #5 lou josephs on Dec 19th, 2011 at 18:17 Mac audio is OK but good luck finding a player. Unless you have an Ipad or Mac. Nothing in the Windows World works; won’t even play on my kindle fire #6 Keith Perron on Dec 19th, 2011 at 18:47 I just updated the post on PCJ with audio from VOK recorded at 1808. It’s the same announcement that has been running for hours now. #7 Andy Sennitt on Dec 19th, 2011 at 18:59 Thanks Keith. I have added a direct link to the audio file above. BTW I’d love to see the user stats for the audio files on the VOK website :-) #8 Kai Ludwig on Dec 19th, 2011 at 23:50 The audios on the Voice of Korea website are indeed in AAC format but distributed through a proprietary protocol (kms://) that requires the offered HMSPlayer.exe application. The whole thing works like the common Flash players, i.e. the audios are per definition no downloads but once the transfer is complete ordinary AAC files can be taken out of the temporary files folder. Concerning the time when the website has been updated: The new files were already up in the German section when I first checked at 1420 UT. And actually I would not have expected Voice of Korea to produce extra broadcasts today, so all further slots are just repeats as always. Btw, in fact Voice of Korea is not the only radio station for which I would love to see the user stats (MN blog comments via DXLD) "Kim Jong Il’s death – How DPRK websites broke the news." Posted: 19 Dec 2011 http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=12559 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) I can just imagine how dramatic the reaction to Kim Jong-il's death is. I was in North Korea a couple of years ago and saw his late father. The setting was quite dramatic and we heard recordings about his death and how the people mourned so. It would make great radio drama and I wish I had a copy of it. There were North Korean people there lined up to see his body and many were crying. Brainwashing is quite effective there. It will be interesting to watch news coverage tonight. Of course, we will only see what the North Koreans want us to see and they are pretty good at making things look good (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, ibid.) Aloha from the land where just speech at low modulation was heard on North Korean MW stations this morning just prior to 1630 UT. None of the usual martial music, just Korean speech (Brock Whaley, Kailua, HI 0114 UT Dec 20, IRCA via DXLD) 6100, Dec 20 at 1304, extremely emotional OM in Korean; wonder what he`s pretending to be so upset about? Also // 6400 at 1307 but an echo apart. Aoki lists these as different services: 6100 KCBS Pyongyang, 250 kW ND, and 6400 Pyongyang BS, 50 kW ND, but both from Kanggye site. 9335, Dec 20 at 1310, VOK English to NAm is making it today, altho bothered by WBCQ 9330 which favors the upper side. Continuous Juche jamming is also still mixing into the VOK broadcasts, but at a low level so we can still copy the content, as I tune in a long string of Korean syllables, probably names of other officials. One of KJI`s post-mortem honorifix is ``benevolent father of the people``, yeah right, the genocidal maniac. Glad I am not having breakfast yet, as a bit of this crap is pukeworthy. Nothing audible yet on // 11710, but at 1400 it`s in with IS and French ID ``La Voix de la Corée``, also with Juche jamming mix underneath, which was also audible unimpeded on 9335 during its open- carrier break at 1357 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11710, Voice of Korea; 1319...1501+, 21-Dec; 1319 tune-in with M&W reading condolences, including long list of Chinese Communist Party officials & letter from Cuba. English close at 1355 with ID & sked. Audio off at 1356 to D.A. Back on at 1400 with IS to French IDs at 1400:28, anthem at 1401:06 & continued in French. SIO=3+32 at tune-in & found better SIO=433 at 1350. QRM was pulsing drone--jammer? which was present throughout-- especially noticeable during D.A. //9335, poor due to 9330 WBCQ (presumed) & // 7570 poor. Latter two still //11710 after 1400. Too late for 3560 & 12015 covered by ute, as usual. Checked back at 1452-- no sign of VoK on 11710 & KJES (presumed) now 11714.8 in English splashing. Found stirring music on 9335. French went off at 1457. IS back up at 1500 to English IDs & anthem. USB makes 9335 copyable & better than at 1300. Could hear IS on 11710 at 1500, but KJES splash makes vox uncopyable (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 6135, Thursday Dec 15 at 1331, Shiokaze is opening in Japanese; besides nearby bonker in the background, some Juche noise jamming too, not audible here until today, so it`s about time for Sea Breeze to jump frequency again, maybe back to 5910 or 5985; 6015 and 6140 other alternatives registered by JIC MIC in HFCC from Yamata, JAPAN. 6135, Dec 17 at 1348, Shiokaze via JSR Tokyo/Yamata, JAPAN hasn`t jumped frequency yet, distinctive news sounder, tho poor signal, seems Korean language today (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A Japanese DX website is reporting Shiokaze will begin the following special schedule from December 20th. Times UTC. JSR Shiokaze via YAM 1330-1400 6135 1...... Japanese 1330-1400 6135 ......7 Korean 1330-1430 6135 .2345.. Japanese 1330-1430 6135 .....6. English 1400-1430 6135 1...... Korean 1400-1430 6135 ......7 Japanese 2000-2030 5910 1...... Japanese 2000-2030 5910 ......7 Korean 2000-2100 5910 .2345.. Japanese 2000-2100 5910 .....6. English 2030-2100 5910 1...... Korean 2030-2100 5910 ......7 Japanese (1=Sun-7=Sat) Source: http://hiroshi.mediacat-blog.jp/e73943.html (Martyn Williams, Japan, dxldyg via DXLD) ? Looks the same as before, at least for 1330-1430 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. 6550, Dec 16 at 0612, YL in presumed Korean, poor signal but stronger than jammed services on 6600 and 6518. At 0613 also on // 6435 a bit stronger but with ute QRM unlike 6550. Next check at 1133 just in time to hear female choral music and now 6435 is S9+20, considerably stronger than 6550, which goes off first, open carrier past 1134 on 6435. So far have not heard any jamming on these two. It seems we heard this new service on its very first day Dec 8, followed up by the Japanese DXers with this schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Korean MND Radio [Ministry of National Defense, South to North] 0500-0540 6230 via Chuncheon Male version 0600-0635 6550, 6435 New from Dec. 8 Female version 0700-0740 6135 via Chuncheon Male version 1000-1040 6135 via Chuncheon Male version 1100-1135 6550, 6435 New from Dec. 8 Female version 1200-1240 6230 via Chuncheon Male version --- de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, Dec 10, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1595, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KOREAS, 7590, Bubble jammer ahead of Korean "North Korea Reform Radio" from Tashkent-Uzbekistan, S=8-9 at 1638 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. 4450, Dec 15 at 1325 YL singing, with buzz jamming, // 3480 where no jamming audible, but local noise level remains hi. Am lucky to pull anything thru it on either: V. of the People, clandestine from South to North (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. FREQUENCY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS! By Mok Yong Jae [2011-12-17 17:13 ] http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=8546 Calls have again been made for civilian short-wave broadcasters focusing on North Korea issues to be allocated frequency in South Korea for the purpose of enhancing efforts to improve North Korean human rights. A senior researcher with the Hansun Foundation for Freedom and Happiness, Lee Young Hwan told a conference for political, religious and other social organizations to discuss new policies regarding North Korea, "We need to come up with a real plan regarding unification and diplomacy that will actually do something for the human rights of our brethren in North Korea." Lee went on, "Those currently broadcasting on North Korean issues in this country have never been assigned a frequency, and as such they rent frequency abroad," before emphasising, "We need to make it so that these civilian broadcasters on North Korea actually have a frequency to use." He also spoke of the need to "Overcome difficulty and be patient in pursuing liberation of broadcasting in both countries, and finding a route for the peoples of North and South Korea alike to be able to freely listen to whichever broadcasts they choose." The conference was attended by people from all sectors of society, including left- and right-wing politicians, representatives of Christian and Buddhist groups and other social organizations, all gathering together to discuss the direction of future unification policy. The standing president of the KCRC, Kim Deok Ryong said in his opening address, "Conservative and progressive sides of politics both have the same objectives when it comes down to it. We are all here to search out a new paradigm for the continuing and forward-looking direction of North Korea and unification policy through rational discussions and debate." Below is a summary of some of the other highlights of the conference. ? Choi Dae Seok (Chief Researcher, Institute for Unification Studies, Ehwa Women´s University) "A large problem is that the stance of principled engagement completely collapsed starting with the Kim Dae Jung administration, while the current government has lost the momentum created from several decades of policy through its overemphasis on unbending principles. In creating a position of principled engagement, the most important thing is to balance what is in the best interests of the Korean people with those of the state. In the short term a stance of principled engagement means expanding inter-Korean exchanges through humanitarian aid and other means, while in the medium to long-term we must work to exert continuous pressure on the nuclear issue and other problems affecting relations between our two countries." ? Park Joo Seon (Democratic Party National Assembly lawmaker) "China has been consistent over the last ten years in its support for Korea´s `Sunshine Policy´ and policy of engagement towards North Korea. China´s support allowed South Korea to wield further influence in the US-ROK alliance, relations with North Korea and at the Six Party Talks. There is a need for a sophisticated and creative effort to convince China to support our policy initiatives." ? In Myeong Jin (Priest, Galilee Church) "The next two to three years are a crucial time in inter-Korean relations. For this reason the Lee Myung Bak administration must work to establish an environment in which it can achieve some sort of `grand bargain´ before it is too late. The environment could be created by normalizing humanitarian aid, restarting tourism to Mt Geumgang and abolishing the May 24 Measure. If trust between the two Koreas can be built up through these initiatives a grand bargain will be possible (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) Andy Sennitt comments: This is a good example of well-meaning people talking nonsense about a subject of which they know little. First of all, I believe there are four or five ‘civilian broadcasters’ producing programmes for North Korea. They hire airtime on existing shortwave facilities in the region, and there is plenty of spare capacity. Secondly, allocating a specific frequency (or frequencies) would be no use at all, since the North Koreans would certainly jam it. And unless a very large budget was allocated, how would these tiny operations be able to use it effectively, other than by hiring airtime on existing facilities which they are already doing? (Media Network blog via DXLD) There are several stations, operated by defectors and other opponents of the Kim dynasty, broadcasting into North Korea. These include Free Radio North Korea, Radio Free Chosun, and Open Radio for North Korea. (Some of these stations receive funds from the National Endowment for Democracy.) http://www.ned.org/where-we-work/asia/north-korea They all use leased shortwave transmitters located in countries other than South Korea. Mr. Lee is probably calling for the allocation of one or more medium wave frequencies from inside South Korea to reach North Korea. FM frequencies could also be assigned, but they would only be able to reach 100 km or so into North Korea (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. 11530, Dec 20 at 1355, Kurdish talk instead of usual music, with lite het on hi side 11532 or so, suspected spur from WEWN 11550, 18 kHz away, altho this transmitter is normally their only one without spurs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Via UKRAINE. 11530, Denge Mezopotamya, 0402-0430, tune-in to National Anthem. Indigenous vocals at 0404. Kurdish music. Fair at 0402 but slowly deteriorated and barely audible by 0430 in noisy conditions. Dec 21 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** LAOS. 6130, Lao National Radio, Vientiane. 1157 December 18, 2011. First solid log of this one here in quite awhile, with Asian female vocal, five time sounders at 1200 (or five + one, but if so the latter was not audible), into the usual gongs, male announcer, Asian instrumental music fill, then male talk through tune-out from just before 1202 forward. Clear and fair (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Dec 18, Abridged pile of junk: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Hammarlund HQ-180A; Aqua Guide 705 Radio Direction Finder; Sangean PR-D5; Sony ICF-7600GR; GE SuperRadio III; RadioShack DX-399; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X in-room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA. 11700 [sic], 1801, R. Libya in French at quite good level. Doesn`t appear to be regular, 16/11 (John Durham, Tauranga, New Zealand, JRC 535Db with Eavesdropper trap dipole, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) Typo by you or by them for 11600? In a by-frequency log report, this was placed between 11690 and 11710. On usual 11600, it would have been about to sign off, varying a bit past 1800. Is there anything really on 11700 in French at 1800? No (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11600, Radio Television Libye in French. At present fair to good signal of RTV Libye from Sabrata transmitter site, S=9+15dB at 1645 UT Dec 9. Very different signal level, music portions are well modulated and loud, but pre-recorded announcer and spokeswoman pegel are low modulated and mumbled (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 9, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 17 via DXLD) 11600, Radio Télévision Libye? 1740-1750, looking for Libya but only heard an open carrier. No programming. Fair. Dec 16 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 11600, 1715-1750 19.12, R TV Libye, Sabrata, French talk about the revolution with French music in the background, poor voice audio, but excellent music audio. Who will send them a new microphone? 55543 (Anker Petersen, in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with a 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 11600, Radio Télévision Libye - Radio Libye, 1745-1804*, French talk. Short breaks of light instrumental music. IDs. Some lite French pop music. Fair but audio somewhat muffled. Dec 21 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** MADAGASCAR. MADAGÁSCAR, 5010.17, R. Madagasikara, Ambohidrano, 1733-1754, 16/12, Malagasy, phone-ins, local songs; 45433. AM signal (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5010.18, Radio Madagasikara, 0225-0245, tune-in to local Afro-pop music. Short 25 second IS at 0231 followed by choral National Anthem. Opening ID announcements at 0234. Malagasy talk. local Afro-pop music. Poor to fair. Dec 16. 5010.18, Radio Madagasikara, *0230-0250, sign on with local choral music. Malagasy talk. No IS or National Anthem tonight. Poor in noisy conditions. Dec 18. 5010.18, Radio Madagasikara, *0231-0250, abrupt sign on with Malagasy talk. Local choral music. Local pop music. Weak. Very poor in noisy conditions. Dec 21 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** MADAGASCAR. PHOTOS OF EX-HÖRBY SW TRANSMITTER IN MADAGASCAR Several people asked us if we had any photos of the first ABB transmitter to go into service at our Madagascar relay station. The transmitter, formerly used by Radio Sweden at the Hörby transmitter site, is in regular service in place of an old Philips transmitter following successful tests a few weeks ago. These photos are all © Radio Netherlands Worldwide. http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/photos-of-ex-horby-sw-transmitter-in-madagascar (Source: RNW Programme Distribution)(December 19th, 2011 - 10:38 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) 2 Comments on “Photos of ex-Hörby SW transmitter in Madagascar” #1 Anders Crona on Dec 20th, 2011 at 06:04 As an engineer from the former shortwave station in Hörby is great to see that our transmitters survived the long trip to Madagascar :-) #2 Al Muick on Dec 22nd, 2011 at 16:33 Hi Andy, The tx’ers look beautiful and I see a very professional installation! I hope the Madagascar site will see a long period of service! (MN blog comments via DXLD) ** MALI. 5995, RTVM, 0745-0800*, rustic local music. French talk. Weak. Co-channel QRM from Radio Australia at their 0758 sign on. Dec 21. 9635, RTVM, *0801-0825, sign on with flute IS and opening French ID announcements. Vernacular talk at 0802. Some local rustic string music at 0816. Fair. Dec 21 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** MAURITANIA. 7245, Dec 16 at 0618, IGIM is on this Friday with chanting. 7245, Dec 17 at 0611, IGIM already on with chanting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7245, IGIM, *0638-0650, abrupt sign on with Arabic talk. Local chants at 0640. Short breaks of local music. Good. Dec 18 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 7245, Dec 18 at 0621, IGIM is still not on the air. If they had a consistent sign-on time, there would be no need to log notes of this [and non]. 7245, Dec 19 at 0637, IGIM is on with Arabic talk, singing, not chanting or Qur`an; weaker than Vatican Hungarian massbit on 7250 7245, Dec 20 at 0627, IGIM is on and chanting, free for another minute or two of ACI from 250 kW VATICAN 7250. 7245, Dec 21 at 0553, IGIM is already on earlier than usual in chanting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7245, IGIM, *0552-0625, abrupt sign on with local chants. Arabic talk at 0623 and local music. Good. Dec 21 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** MEXICO. Pre-sunrise MW DX Dec 16: 830, Dec 16 at 1200 UT I look for Mexican national anthems where it`s 5 or 6 am, and find one here, choral version. Hard to null WCCO, however, then 6:01 TC, ID(?) as R. Sótano, Piedras Negras, local news. So is XEIK, Coahuila, IRCA 2010-listed as La Norteñita, 5 kW day and maybe as much at night, roughly collinear with Minneapolis. 940, Dec 16 at 1204, Mexican NA in a version I have not heard before, YL very nice alto voice, but faded before any ID heard. Need to pursue this one further. 980, Dec 16 at 1206, choral NA looping WSW, sign-on by YL mentions Cananea, Sonora, then OM continues with ``radio pública``, addresses, Instituto Mexicano de la Radio, then to live announcer with 5+ am timecheck, temperature as -7, which is not that unusual along the northern frontier in winter. Is XEFQ, La Voz de la Ciudad del Cobre, 1/0.5 kW, heard before (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 1180, XEDCH, Ciudad Delicias, Chihuahua, 1237-1300 UT, 12/16/11, first time ever heard this one here for some reason. Great sig with many "Ke Buena" and "Ke Buena en Chihuahua" slogans/IDs. Ranchera music was featured. This was // their online stream. No sign of KOIL [Omaha] at all during this time. They also mentioned "Romántica FM" (Kirk Allen, Ponca City OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 1700 XEPE Tecate (presumed); "You're listening to ESPN Radio 17 hundred" - no call letter ID at toth; at 0803 "The new ESPN 17 hundred"; I think this, rather than KBGG F/Gpks 0800 16/12 73 (Martin A. Hall, Clashmore, Scotland. Perseus SDR, RPA-1 preamp, MFJ-1026 phaser (modified), beverages: 550m at 338 degrees, terminated, 506m at 279 degrees, terminated. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clashmoreradio/ MWCircle yg via DXLD) XEPE has been coming in here but with no ID. They have commercials / announcements in Spanish as well as English in the minutes before the TOH, but I heard an announcement that was duplicated on their web stream: 1700 XEPE Tecate BC; "Hi I'm Colin Cowherd. You're listening to EPSN Radio 1700 Catch me weekdays at 7 a.m. ESPN Radio 1700" - announcement matches XEPE web stream. W 0800 13/12 Strangely KVNS [1700 Brownsville TX] seems to have largely disappeared here recently. 73 (Andrew Brade, UK, ibid.) ** MEXICO. 65 AÑOS DE GRUPO RADIO CENTRO Felipe Calderón Hinojosa: “Se dice fácil, pero son seis décadas y media de formar opinión pública, a través de su programación" Carlos Aguirre, Felipe Calderón, Margarita Zavala y Francisco Aguirre (Foto: LEO MORALES EL UNIVERSAL ) Jueves 15 de diciembre de 2011 --- Claudia Ramírez | El Universal El alcázar del Castillo de Chapultepec sirvió de escenario para la celebración del 65 aniversario de Grupo Radio Centro. Para iniciar el festejo, todos los asistentes entonaron respetuosamente el Himno Nacional, tras lo cual tomó la palabra Carlos Aguirre Gómez, director general de Grupo Radio Centro, quien, además de darle la bienvenida a todos los presentes, comentó: “hace 65 años mi padre, un hombre emprendedor que ya había tenido que vencer muchos obstáculos, entró a la industria de la radiodifusión; no contaba con conocimientos especializados, simplemente era emprendedor...”. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estilos/69869.html (via Yimber Gaviria, DXLD) Grupo Radio Centro cumple 65 años En la Cena de Gala ofrecida a Grupo Radio Centro el Presidente de la República: FELIPE CALDERÓN refrendo su apoyo a la labor de la familia Aguirre durante los 65 años de esfuerzo y dedicación por ofrecer contenidos útiles a la sociedad, asi como la estrategia de modernizar las señales, además de dar a conocer que cumplirá con sus más de 400 refrendos a la radio y contar con certidumbre jurídica en cuanto a concesiones se refiere. [VIDEO:] http://radiocentro.com.mx/grc/gral.nsf/vwALL/PAGF-8PJLXH (via DXLD) Leads to this 22-minute video from the President`s office: http://www.youtube.com/v/j6mET4WZOkw is the president`s speech at the affair, with crummy audio (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Compromiso con la Radio --- "Al cierre de este sexenio serán entregadas 500 autorizaciones de migración de AM a FM con locual se abre la puerta de la radio digital de la modernización del servicio" FELIPE CALDERÓN (from GRC anniversary page above via DXLD) ** MICRONESIA. 4755.45, The Cross R, Pohnpei, 0834-0839, Dec 08, F. Schubert: ”Ave Maria”, English ann, 34322 (Tomoaki Wagai, Wakayama, Japan, DSWCI DX Window Dec 14 via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 12085, V of Mongolia, 1037, English. Female announcer with local news at 1038. Muddy reception but able to pull a few words from audio. Mongolian tune at 1040. Brief Announcement and ID at 1045. Thanking everyone for listening and will verify by reception report. ID again 1048, ''Letter Box'' program. Heard Allen Loudell's name mentioned at 1054. Said ''Good Bye'' at 1056 and to music 1056. Sudden off 1058. 13 Dec (Robert Montgomery, KB3WHS, French Creek State Park, Elverson, PA USA, NRD535d, random 500 ft wire, Clifton Labs 1503 active antenna, Marantz Tape deck, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) 12085, Voice of Mongolia, 0956-1010, tune-in to local music and talk. Mongolia’s IS at 0959. Talk in unidentified language at 1000. Too weak in noisy conditions to pull out any further program details, but definitely heard Mongolia’s IS. Dec 21 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** MOROCCO. MARROCOS, 711.07, SNRT-"R", El Aiún, 1129-..., 19/12, Arabic/relay ch. 1, chanting; 45454, modulation not bad this time, stronger than usual. 936, SNRT-"A", Agadir, 1315-..., 18/12, Arabic/ch. 1 relay, talks; 24431, QRM de E[spanha]. This is surely at much reduced power, not the listed 300 kW. On 08/12, they were relaying ch. 1/Arabic, at 2320. 1114.3, SNRT-"A", Ouarzazate?, 1729-..., 16/12, Arabic, interviews; 34443, adj. QRM de E on 1116. Last observed on 1116.4, but then drifted again (see below). 1115, SNRT-"A", Ouarzazate?, 1110-..., 18/12, Arabic, music; very weak modulation level, QRM de E on 1116. 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. BURMESE GOVERNMENT MAY AIR SOME VOA PROGRAMMES Burma’s information minister, ex-Gen Kyaw Hsan, has agreed to air programmes produced by Voice of America (VOA) on state-run radio stations, according to the head of the VOA’s Burmese-language service. Than Lwin Tun told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Kyaw Hsan agreed in principle to broadcast some VOA programmes using local FM and mediumwave stations totally or partly run by the Ministry of Information. “The minister agreed to broadcast some programmes, such as international news, English education, health, science and technology programs, on MRTV and local FM stations,” said Than Lwin Tun, who visited Rangoon and Naypyidaw in the first week of December. “We will have to send the programmes in advance and then they will air them,” he said. VOA has re-broadcasting agreements with local stations in Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand, and Than Lwin Tun said the Burmese Information Ministry expressed interest in reaching a similar agreement with VOA. Read more from The Irrawaddy http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22670 (December 16th, 2011 - 13:30 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NAURU. FM 105, the only radio station on the island of Nauru in the South Pacific Ocean now has a website. Depending on when you view this message, you may get a 404 Error or you may find the very crude one page picture/message setup as a placeholder. Their website is http://www.fm105online.com Don't expect any streaming audio, but do expect after the New Year to see some pictures, a program schedule and more information on the radio station posted there (Paul Walker, Radio Guy Extraordinaire, Dec 21, IRCA via DXLD) ** NEPAL. Band 2 logs - 21 Dec 2011 --- Super duper condition on band 2 this morning .... http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo_mid.html Logs 21 DEC 2011 0225 - 0500 UTC Beaming at 35 degrees [skipping logs from India, Punjab, UP, J&K, HP, etc.] 92.4, Unid Nepali Talk 94.6, Unid Nepali Talk 96.2, 0.5 kW Radio Mahakali, Kanchanpur, Mahendranagar, Nepal 93.2, PHOOLBARI FM , NEPAL 0410 UTC 93.8, DINESH FM, DHANGHADI, KAILALI DIST, NEPAL - 1 kW 0419Z 94.0, KRISNASAR FM , NEPAL 0425 UTC 94.6, BAGESHWARI FM, NEPALGUNJ, BANKE - 1 KW 0437 UTC 97.9, UNID 0440Z 98.2, TINAU FM BUTAWAL, RUPANDEHI 0447 UTC 98.6, BHERI FM, BIRENDRANAGAR, SURKHET 0450 UTC 99.4, 1 kW Shuklaphanta FM Kanchanpur, Mahendranagar Nepal 100.6, Phoolbari FM, Bardiya 101.2 0.5 kW Kohalpur FM, Banke, Nepal 101.8, Kantipur FM, Nepal 103.0, Radio Nepal , Buditola Sony XDR-F1HD + Triax 5 Ele Yagi Hor (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dxsasia yg via DXLD) Distance ranges? (gh) ** NEW ZEALAND. Mailbox MP3 Updated: 2328 on 11 December 2011 UTC MP3 Updated: 2313 on 27 November 2011 UTC Mailbox is taking a festive break and will be back on w/c 23 January 2012. Mailbox presented by Myra Oh - with regular contributors , Bryan Clark, and John Durham who provide DX Reviews. Kevin Hand reviews the "Utility Bands". Occasional features on Pacific Radio from David Riquish and Chris Makerell reports on digital radio DRM. Frequency Manager Adrian Sainsbury, has the latest Solar Weather forecast from IPS Radio & Space Services. This programme is for the short-wave listener enthusiast. (dur: 20 minutes) (from http://www.rnzi.com/pages/audio.php via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) see also VATICAN [non] QRDRM ** NIGER. NÍGER, 9705, La Voix du Sahel, Goudel, 2240-2304*, 16/12, French, phone-ins, anthem; 55433. There was a 2nd distorted, FM-like feed audible underneath the signal that went through up till 2304, i.e. some 2-3 minutes after the anthem was played. 9705 ditto, 1057-..., 17/12, Vernacular, tribal songs; 24432, QRM de ETHIOPIA, but very weak (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9704.99, LV du Sahel, 2101-2300*, audible after Ethiopia 9705 sign off at 2100. Indigenous vocals. French talk. Short flute IS at 2258:25 followed by National Anthem at 2259. Short test tone at 2300 and off. Weak to very weak levels. Threshold signal at times. Irregular. Dec 16 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 9704.99, LV du Sahel, 2101-2300*, once again heard here with weak to very weak levels. Threshold signal at times. French talk. Indigenous vocals. Short flute IS at 2258:45 followed by National Anthem at 2259. Dec 17 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** NIGERIA. 6089.87, Radio Nigeria, *0432-0450, sign on with choral National Anthem. African choral music. Talk in presumed Hausa. Local tribal music. Poor. Weak. Anguilla 6090 off the air. Dec 16 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6090, Dec 17 at 2225, since ANGUILLA [q.v.] is missing, what else can we hear? Sounds like a TAL [tonal African language], such as Hausa as scheduled from FRCN Kaduna; also rumble QRM from something else and lite het; bits of singing mixed in, off at 2300* apparently uncovering BRAZIL, q.v. (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NIGÉRIA, 6089.9, R. Nigeria, Kaduna, 2212-2223, 18/12, Vernacular, talks; 44422, QRM de AIA (parallel to 1610). (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 7255, Voice of Nigeria; 2054-2101+, 15-Dec; French commentary to ID at 2056 as La Voix Nigeria (Nigerie?)--no "du", then promo about French programs. Drum chant & flutes 2058-2100:36 into unknown language with ID & commentary. SIO=3+33- with continuous whine/buzz, on/off tones & QRhaM; LSB helps (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 125 ft. bow-tie; 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 15120, Dec 16 at 0625, VON is the SSOB, virtually the OSOB, peaking S9+15 with hum, English, discussing World Trade Organization. Usually doesn`t make it any more (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. Merry Christmas, News & Blog Updates from TCS Shortwave Relay Network! Merry Christmas, shortwave and pirate radio friends! The Crystal Ship, a shortwave pirate radio station until its run-in with the FCC earlier this year, has been transformed from a 'station' into a 'program'. The program has been run for a couple months now, on what we are calling the "TCS Shortwave Relay Network". This 'network' is composed of a handful of free radio operators who have been kind enough to relay our programs for us, and has now been reported at various signal levels across most of the United States and Canada. The shows have been carried by the Northern Relay Service, the new High Plains Relay Service, and other operators who choose to run our shows without providing station identification. Transmissions have been in upper sideband as well as AM modulation. (New relay stations are welcome -- whether you'd like to run our shows one time or twenty, IDed or anonymously! Interested parties should contact us at tcsshortwave @ gmail.com ) In recognition of this transformation, we have created a new eQSL for the "TCS Shortwave Relay Network" and will be happy to eQSL anyone hearing any of the programs, run by whatever operator they manage to catch on the air. Listeners should send reception reports with full date, times and frequency information to: tcsshortwave @ gmail.com Pirate DXers should keep an ear on the usual North American pirate radio spectrum of 6800-6960 kHz for our shows. So far, most shows have gone out on the most popular pirate channel of 6925 kHz, and on the Northern Relay Service's usual frequency of 6930 kHz. For the latest news & not-unbiased commentary by John Poet about the ongoing 'pirate radio war', visit our blog at http://www.tcsshortwave.com or see the most recent postings below: Commander Bunny's phony offer of peace, made while publishing scads of alleged names, locations, and addresses of pirates, ex-pirates, bloggers and suspected bloggers: http://www.tcsshortwave.com/2011/12/commander-bunny-offers-peace-treaty-in.html JUST POSTED! How Commander Bunny & His Gang of FRN Sockpuppets started the 'pirate radio war of 2011' (Extensive documentation of CB's covert attacks against Radio Yellowknife and his public vendetta against the Northern Relay Service, and how TCS's John Poet was drawn into this feud): http://www.tcsshortwave.com/2011/12/how-commander-bunny-his-gang-of-frn.html My thanks to all of our listeners, fans and friends who have given me so much support this year. Merry Christmas, and wishing you a prosperous New Year in 2012! John Poet, The Crystal Ship http://www.tcsshortwave.com Free Radio Cafe Pirate Radio forums http://freeradiocafe.com/forum/ Pirate Radio War of 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k8-70lmrTI (TCS mailing list Dec 21 via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. 89.5, the stereo open carrier all day is still being heard, altho seemingly not as strong as initially, when one drives around the western half of Enid. And after dark, still playing Xmas- rock tunes, presumably to accompany a flashing light show at some residence. Saturday afternoon, Dec 17 I decide to spend some time trying to find it by DF/strength before the music and lights start. Still get it best circa intersexion of Oakwood and Chestnut, but unless I spend a lot more time to drive more streets in the neighborhood, or get some other tip, it will remain unfound. I also drove out to the house on Pheasant Run which was doing this last December on 99.7. He`s set up again this year, but the sign in lights, almost invisible in daylight, now says ``TUNE TO 99.9``. I did, and he is also leaving his stereo carrier on all day, when I was there at 2120 UT, but this one is really Part 15, losing out by only 100 meters away. It`s at the extreme western edge of inhabited Enid in a development of expensive ticky-tacky, while the unfound 89.5 must be further east in west-central Enid. Of course, I don`t expect anyone further to be able to DX either one, but this is an example of what others could find in their own towns at yearend (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Altho there was more fog last night, a bit of area tropo builds up tonight, UT Dec 16 at 0420 as both KUOK-LP ch 48 with Univisión, and weaker KUOT-CA ch 19 with GCN religious network are analogically NTSC-visible from OKC. Notably the latter is in squeeze- o-vision, as apparently their network feed is 16:9 and they don`t want to letterbox it; makes the preacher wandering around the stage rather narrow, to go right along with his theology. Checking listings at W9WI.com, I was surprised to find no KWDW on channel 48 any more. The calls have now changed to KUOK-LP, not to be confused with the real full-power (if not really a megawatt yet), plain old KUOK, channel 35 in Woodward. 36, Dec 20 at 1530 UT there is enough tropo enhancement (?) for KUOK to lock in DTV with Univisión programming, local commercials inserted, PSIP ID as KUOK. FCC TV Query searching on those calls hits 9 entries revealing the call consolidation by licensee Oklahoma Land Company, LLC (not even a Spanish name!): The *real*, plain-old KUOK is still ch 35 in Woodward with 8 kW ERP, CP MOD for 1000 kW --- will they ever complete that? Huge power to cover sparsely-populated area in NW OK, while the real market is in the dense OKC area. Ch 36 in OKC is really KUOK-CD, only 7.3 kW but with CP for 14.65 and application for 14.3 (haven`t checked whether site changes are also involved). At this time, there was no enhancement of still-analog ch 48 in OKC carrying same programming, which as I recently noted is no longer called KWDW, but KUOK too --- except that one is really KUOK- LP, with 18.1 kW, a CP for LD with 15 kW, and an APP for 10.6 kW as a ``TX` service, meaning same analog as currently, and a CP for LD (low- power digital) with 15 kW. Furthermore, the KUOK-CD call is also licensed for channel 59 (which I have never seen) in OKC, as a 20 kW TX analog service despite the -CD suffix. While KUOK-CD 36 remained locked in as late as 1820, and aspect ratio changes are allowed, I reconfirmed that there is no 36-2, and the signal on 46 from KOCM, 50 kW DT Daystar in Norman was too poor to decode, altho it nominally has enough signal into Enid to get onto Suddenlink cable ch 95 unlike KUOK. Suddenlink provides Univisión but off the satellite, not KUOK. I have continued to notice that KUOK, Univisión keeps up a good signal on `36` even when there is no tropo enhancement and its analog low power on ch 48 in OKC is barely visible. Something strange is going on here. Finally, Dec 21 after 1543 UT, once I have tuned to ``36-1``` on the DTV converter, I change to manual tuning, and guess what, it displays I am axually watching KUOK on RF 29! That`s the high-power transmitter which carries bitter rival competing network Telemundo on KTUZ. In OKC the same company, Tyler Media has both affiliations. I had wondered months ago why Tyler didn`t just put UNI on a subchannel of their big ch 29 transmitter instead of messing with several low-power transmitters, and now they have, except they are hiding it. If I go directly to 29, all I get is KTUZ as 30-1, and no subchannels by stepping up. If I go to 36-1, I get KUOK, but now I know it has really remapped to RF 29. I HATE this remapping crap --- primary tuning should always be real RF channels, and then they can label them as something else, rather than vice versa! More anomalies: the KUOK signal has aspect ratio changeability, while the KTUZ signal never has. Altho they must be both coming out of the same RF 29 DTV transmitter, KUOK still seems weaker, sometimes on the verge and breaking up, while KTUZ never does. As pointed out in my last report, KUOK does have a LP DTV license on RF 36, which may also be on the air but not really propagating this far. {And I wonder what happens when Citians can get KUOK on RF 36 DTV. Does that `forward` them to RF29?} (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. 5095, R Pakistan, Islamabad (100 kW 270 degrees) 1345- 1445 Pashto, 1445-1545 Dari towards Afghanistan (Ivanov direct and via BC-DX and Gupta Dec 06 via DSWCI DX Window Dec 14 via DXLD) Station was off the air on Dec 12 at 1450 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, ibid.) Is this frequency ever really on the air? (gh, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 5960, R Fly, Kiunga: [re Churchill, DXLD 11-50] I had rather the same experience, but with a couple of additional stops. First try was to one of the on-air personalities, Jobby (I forget his last name now), but my e-mail arrived after he left the station for another job. But somebody forwarded my email to Jobby at his new job. Amazingly, since he had no continuing responsibilities for R Fly then, he responded, giving me the names and email addresses of three of his friends, still at the station. I sent e-mails to all of them, but only James “Jayso” So-So replied, and, in fact, gave me a good verie, noting he was sure because of the MP3 I had attached. He promised a later QSL card. But I did want the card. Hearing that Kaltobie was, last summer, beginning to send out cards by mail, I e-mailed him with a follow up copy. Some received cards in the mail, but I didn’t. So I followed up in October with an e-mail to Kaltobie. No response. Then, finally, Jari’s word that Momo was sending our e-cards. Another follow up and a return e-card from Momo arrived Dec 07, 2011. A really nicely designed card and pleased to have it, especially for its attractive and colorful graphics (Don Jensen, WI, in Dxplorer via DSWCI DX Window Dec 14 via DXLD) 3915, 5960. Radio Fly, F/D (but wrong year) QSL card via surface mail, apparently, 14 days after an e-mail reminder to James Kaltobie, who signed the accompanying form letter. Attractive card has Ok Tedi Mining name and logo and Radio Fly logo on one side and the reception data and logo on the other. Address is Ok Tedi Mining Ltd., PO Box 1, Tabubil, Western Province, PNG. Nice to get the paper version after receiving the e-mail QSL over a year ago. 23rd PNG station QSL'ed on SWBC (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Dec 20, cumbredx via DXLD) ** PERU. JPJ en 3355 --- Este fin de semana hice poco DX. Lo único notable era que JPJ, de Lima, estaba en 3355 kHz. Un abrazo (Miguel Castellino, Argentina, Dec 12, condiglist yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) Estos no estaban en 3360 kHz? Ernesto, vos preguntabas días pasados por una emisora en 3355 khz. No sería ésta? (Arnaldo Slaen, ibid.) Efectivamente, antes estaban en 3360. Los escuché en 3355. Voy a monitorear un poco las frecuencias a ver si es un cambio definitivo. Un abrazo (Miguel Castellino, Argentina, Dec 14, condiglist yg via DXLD) Averiguación --- Qué emisora habían reportado ayer en 3355 kHz? Hay algo entre el ruido pero no la logro identificar (Ernesto Paulero, Argentina, 0034 UT Dec 16, ibid.) La peruana JPL, de Huánuco. Ex 3360. Debería pasar boleros y música romántica (Arnaldo Slaen, ibid.) Sí, está en 3355 pasando música pero no tan romántica; parece música autóctona (Paulero, 0051 UT, ibid.) Vos la escuchas, Arnaldo?? La escuchas en 3355; hay música, ahora parece música local o autóctona (Paulero, 0053 UT Dec 16, ibid.) En 3355 música del Altiplano; no sé si es Bolivia o Perú (Paulero, 0059 UT Dec 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, ibid.) Ernesto: JPJ se ha corrido a esa fq (antes estaba en 3360). Un abrazo (Miguel Castellino, ibid.) Hoy llegaba bajito sobre las 0945 UT, cuando ya teníamos plena luz de día sobre Buenos Aires. Es de Huánuco no? (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Dec 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, ibid.) Me parece que es de la periferia de Lima (Miguel Castellino, ibid.) En efecto Miguelito, es JPJ Radio desde la periferia de Lima. 73! (Alfredo Cañote, Perú, ibid.) En 3355 KHz está la misma emisora de anoche con música autóctona, supuestamente Perú (Ernesto Paulero, 0038 UT Dec 17, ibid.) Ahora está llegando un poco mejor; se advierten cumbias o algo parecido con algunas intervenciones del locutor (Paulero, 0053 UT, ibid.) Se trata de OAW4Y Radio JPJ, Lima. Antes salía por 3360; ahora al parecer han cambiado a 3355 kHz. Puedes comparar lo que escuchas con su página web http://www.radiojpj.com Esto es lo que suelo hacer para confirmar que en efecto se trate de la misma emisora. Adicionalmente, podrás apreciar el retardo que hay entre lo que oyes por radio (tiempo real) y lo que oyes via internet (puede llegar hasta 1 minuto la diferencia) Saludos y Buen DX (Jose Luis de Vicente T., HK3ORT, Dec 17, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, ibid.) Sí, gracias, sí, es la misma música la estoy escuchando con un sinpo de 23222 (Ernesto Paulero, Argentina, 0046 UT Dec 18, ibid.) ** PHILIPPINES. 17 Dec, 9920 unIDed, 1223 in possibly Hmong language with religious program. At 1226 when I started recording; look for audio on http://www.mediafire.com/?5vnzlzhzcttoiwj heard also the mention of Jesus. After 1230 lang seems VN [Vietnamese?]. As per Aoki again the lang of 1223 is Bru and after 1230 is Koho (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I.e. if it`s FEBC as listed (gh, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 9555, Dec 20 at 1457, VOA Korean via Tinang-2 in well except for hum, so I decide to monitor how long it takes them to change to 9760, and what else happens. 9555 cuts off in mid-word before Korean is finished, at 1458:54*. Then waiting for it to come up on 9760: cuts on late at *1500:24 with news in English already under way, cuts off again at 1500:54*, back on apparently to stay at *1501:07. So it took at least a sesquiminute to change frequencies, which would not be bad, if only VOA HQ would build in a programming pause so the English news would not have to be upcut! But that would make too much sense. Or not try to use the very same transmitter for adjacent broadcasts. The delay would be even worse if not for both Korean and English being on the same antenna, type 217 at 21 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 15190, 18/Dec 1803, R Pilipinas, in English?? (Aoki, HFCC) No English, Tagalog probably (Eibi). YL talk happily. At 1806 local pop music. // 11890, 9825, 15190 good signal. At 1815 in 15190 almost cannot hear the signal of R Inconfidência, almost local signal. At 1828 ID, only carrier without modulation. At 1832 OM talk, ID (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES [and non]. Winter B11 R Veritas Asia [no winta in Manila] Bengali 0030-0057 on 11710 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1400-1427 on 11870 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg to SoAs Burmese 2330-2357 on 9720 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1130-1157 on 15450 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Chin 0130-0157 on 15255 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1430-1457 on 9620 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Filipino 2300-2327 on 9720 PUG 250 kW / 331 deg to CeAs 1500-1557 on 15350 SMG 250 kW / 130 deg to N&ME Hindi 0030-0057 on 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1330-1357 on 11870 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs Hmong 1200-1227 on 11935 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Kachin 2330-2357 on 9645 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1230-1257 on 15225 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Karen 0000-0027 on 11935 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1200-1227 on 15225 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Khmer 1000-1027 on 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs Mandarin 2100-2257 on 6115 PUG 250 kW / 350 deg to EaAs 1000-1157 on 9615 PUG 250 kW / 355 deg to EaAs Sinhala 0000-0027 on 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 0000-0027 on 15460 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1330-1357 on 9520 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs Tamil 0030-0057 on 11935 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1400-1427 on 9520 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs Telugu 0100-0127 on 15530 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs 1430-1457 on 9515 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SoAs Urdu 0100-0127 on 15280 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg to SoAs 0100-0127 on 17860 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg to SoAs 1430-1457 on 15435 SMG 250 kW / 070 deg to SoAs Vietnamese 2330-2357 on 9670 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 0130-0227 on 15530 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1030-1127 on 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs 1300-1327 on 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg to SEAs (DX Mix News 21 Dec via DXLD) Note a couple SMG = VATICAN relays ** PITCAIRN ISLAND. VP6, (Update). Operators Jacques/F6BEE, Nigel/G3TXF, Gilles/VE2TZT, Michel/FM5CD and Vincent/F4BKV will be active as VP6T from famous, mythical Pitcairn Island (OC-044, CQ Zone 32) between January 20th and February 4th. From the VP6T Web page: "This DX operation from Pitcairn has a target of more than 30,000 QSOs. With good propagation forecast for early 2012, efforts will be made to give this extremely rare entity to deserving DXers on as many bands as possible, but especially on the low bands. The rarity of VP6 ensures that all operators will be kept fully occupied during our nine full days on the island. We will be travelling there by boat. We are planning to have three stations active round-the-clock." Activity will be on 160-10 meters including the 30/17/12 meter bands, using CW, SSB and RTTY. The VP6T log will be uploaded to LoTW during the operation if possible, if not immediately after the operation. They will try to update their VP6T log on "ClubLog" several times a day during the operation. This will help you track your progress across the bands. QSL Manager is Nigel, G3TXF. In addition to the usual routes (Direct QSLing, QSLing via the Bureau and E-mail requests for Bureau cards to "QSL at G3TXF dot com"), they will also be using the new "Online QSL Request Service (OQRS) provided by ClubLog. For more details and the suggested frequencies, visit the VP6T Web site at: http://www.vp6t.org (The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 1041, December 19, 2011, Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW, Provided by BARF80.ORG (Cleveland, Ohio), via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** PUERTO RICO. [Re 11-50]: Ciao, ancora qualche emittente identificata tra il materiale registrato nella magica notte di lunedì scorso: 1660, 12/12/2011 0320- PTR, WGIT, R. Voz, Canóvanas, commenti, annunci, numeri di telefono, ID "Noti Luz 16-60", 44343 (Saverio de Cian, Perseus, K9AY, Sedico (Belluno) Italy, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) La primera satisfacción me la dio NOTILUZ 16-60, nueva emisora puertorriqueñ a. Tardaron en responderme doce horas desde eMAIL : notiluz1660 @ gmail.com WGIT R. Voz Canóvanas Puerto Rico http://perso.wanadoo.es/igsosa/NOTILUZ_1660.mp3 Un abrazo -- (Ignacio Sotomayor Rcvx: Perseus-SDR, Icom R75, Sangean ATS-909 Aerials: Quantum Loop, LW 15 mts web: http://perso.wanadoo.es/igsosa/Dxp.htm blog: http://lacampinadx.blogspot.com/ via Dario Monferini, Dec 21, playdx yg via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. 17530, Dec 15 at 1342, // slightly weaker 15460, RRI with folk music, German announcements. Despite VG signals and modulation levels, there is something amiss with sort of a ringing sound artifact, especially noticeable on the sidebands of each, evidently a defect in the studio-transmitter-link program feed to Tiganeshti. 17530 and 15460, Dec 18 at 1340, the RRI German hour is still marred by strange ringing artifacts on the sidebands of each, but inescapable by center-tuning either, as earlier noted on Dec 15, and some weeks before that. Something wrong with their program feed in this service, presumably also affecting English at 12-13 on same, which the Tiganeshti transmitters are not filtering out (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. QSL report: Arctic Radio Club, via IRRS, Tiganeshti, 9510, QSL in 9 weeks for report to Ronny Forslund, Vita Huset, SE-179 95 Svartsjö, Sweden. Sent 1 $. Overcomer Ministry, via IRRS, Tiganeshti, 15190, E-QSL (with transmitter site) in 1 day for e-report to brotherstair @ overcomerministry.com (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, Dec 17, HCDX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 6074, Dec 18 after R. Rossii closed with late timesignal at 1300*, kept tuned with BFO and could barely hear the start of a CQ at 1301, from 2MTL or 8GAL, no doubt. 6074, Dec 20 at 1300, V/CQ marker on CW from 2MTL, presumed Russian army tactical somewhere in the Far East, is audible right after R. Rossii, Pet/Kam signs off 6075 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 6075 17/Dec 0751 RUSSIA, R. Rossii Speaks Tchita, in Russian. OM short talk and instrumental music. At 0758 OM and YL talk. At 0800 signal beep and OM talk, ID maybe, but electrical noise prevents me from identifying. OM and YL present news. At 0810 Vignettes female voice. At 0812 clear ID: “Radio Rossii” by OM. Followed by YL talking about background instrumental music. Weak signal (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 16 meters - east/west, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s the way Aoki lists numerous segments on 6075, = Govorit Chita, mostly starting at 10 past the hours for 20 or 50 minutes, but the site is still 3 megameters away from Chita, at Petropavlovsk- Kamchatsky, where it`s strange to me they would be relaying this, not only in Russian but in native languages Koryak, Klyuchi, Tigi (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. 9670-9675-9680, Dec 17 at 1405, DRM noise also interfering with 9860 analog. It`s VOR at 13-18, 100 kW, 260 degrees from Moskva-Taldom site, the first two hours with double service in English and Russian, per Aoki. Strong enough to be a nuisance, not strong enough to decode here, I expect. 9680 bothered by the noise, but apparently open or barely-modulated carrier. Could be another RRI breakdown, but Taiwan/Chinese jamming are also here, and HFCC shows NHK Yamata on 9680 at 14-16, apparently wooden, not in Aoki or EiBi (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [non]. I hear a new frequency of 9705 carrying R. Liberty in Russian from today (19/12). It was on air at 0730 and is still going at 0900++ and now // 9360 and 11705 for the FE. I checked 25 and 41m but can't hear any additionals on those bands. My guess is that it's from one of the sites in Germany. 73 from (Noel Green, England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RWANDA. 6055, Radio Rwanda, 2055-2100*, Afro-pop music. French talk. Abrupt sign off. Fair. Dec 17 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** SARAWAK [non]. QSL FROM RADIO FREE SARAWAK Radio Free Sarawak confirm an old transmission on 7590 kHz with eQSL and email in 24h. Report sent via contact form on the site: http://www.radiofreesarawakorg Pictures available here: http://blog.libero.it/radioascolto/10904521.html 73's (Francesco Cecconi, Central Italy, condiglist yg via DXLD) No-frills card, no art, maybe really PFC? For Nov 28, 2010. Accompanying letter dated Dec 16 says they are on a new frequency, see website: OK, http://radiofreesarawak.org/ says daily 10-12 on 17560, which is no longer new and haven`t seen it reported much lately. Website is in form of blog with linx to almost-daily podcasts (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 17.12, 15250 unIDed but presume Riyadh, 1203 with news in English, many times mentioning Bin Abdul Aziz. 1215 with program Network Channel presented by Oomar (exact pronunciation!). Abdul Salam with theme on firewire and internet connection. Treasure and landmark program by Nurai Damani. Suppose S Arabia? S7, 44444. Sometimes echoed. Returned back 1234 but freq was vacant (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SERBIA. Radar Serbia Radio on air Sat 17.12.2011! Small Serbian pirate station, Radar Serbia Radio, will have test broadcast to Europe on Saturday 17th December 2011 ! Station will be on the air from 2000- 2300 UT!! Frequency is very exceptional: 2023 kHz!! The power is only 40 Watts AM. Music will be rock. Real challenge to hear! More info at: http://hkdx2.blogspot.com/2011/12/radar-serbia-radio-on-air-sat-17122011.html (Harri Kujala, Naantali, Finland via Alokesh Gupta, Dec 16, dxldyg via DXLD) Trasmissione test di Radar Serbia Radio il 17/12/2011 Dal sito di Harri Kujala http://hkdx2.blogspot.com [as above] Una piccola stazione pirata serba, *Radar Radio Serbia*, farà una trasmissione test per l'Europa sabato 17 dicembre 2011. La stazione sarà in onda dalle 2000 alle 2300 UT. La frequenza è del tutto eccezionale: */2023 kHz!/* La potenza è di soli 40 Watt AM. La musica sarà rock. Una vera sfida ascoltarla! *Radar Radio Serbia* ha intenzione di iniziare sui 48 mb. Sarebbe quindi la prima stazione SW internazionale dalla Serbia (Radar utilizzerà anche le frequenze tra 1600-1800 kHz, ma non spesso, perché sovraffollate nel SE Europa). -- (Roberto Rizzardi, SWL I/0216/GR, Porto S. Stefano (GR) Italy, Dec 16, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Ciao, io sul Perseus vedo un picco, basso, a 2023.312 kHz, però nessun audio. A dire il vero però ho cinque metri scarsi di filo sul poggiolo che guarda a nord (Alessandro Groppazzi, Trieste, ``11:33 pm`` Dec 17, ibid.) Ciao Ale, io avevo ascoltato appena qualcosa prima delle 21 utc, ma poi più nulla. Davide Morotti è riuscito a ricevere qualcosa di più. Roby (Roberto Rizzardi, 11:44 pm 17 Dec, ibid.) ** SIKKIM. 4835, AIR Gangtok, 1510, Dec 16. One of their better days; sub-continent music; 1512 clear tone/gong for the start of the New Delhi audio feed with ads in Hindi till another tone/gong at 1515 and into the news in Hindi. After 1512 was // 4775, 4810, 4880, 4970, 5010, 5050 and 9425. 4990 was already off the air and 5040 signed off at 1501 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Continuing the AIR regional theme: 4835, AIR Gangtok, 0100 UT intro with Vande Mattaram, no ID so this is a "pres". What is strange are the announcements or whatever they are before AIR comes on some kind of message? This is what I heard http://www.box.com/s/7l25r9qprlojn149kkhm Nadolig Llawen pawb (Mark Davies, Anglesey, Wales, Dec 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is AIR Gangtok; the typical announcement in Nepali normally says "on MW 213.67 meters, i.e. 1404 kHz and SW 60 meters, i.e. 4835 kHz, this is Akashvani Gangtok" This morning announcement sounds almost similar to hindi [Midiumwave dowso-tera dosomlog chaw-saat meter yaani choudasaw-char kilohertz... Yo Akaashvani Gantok Ho] (Partha Sarathi Goswami, Siliguri, West Bengal, India, ibid.) ** SLOVAKIA [non]. 9955, Dec 19 at 1444, Spanish in strange accent, soon talking about Slovakia, and `Encrucijadas musicales`, Xmas tunes. So RSI relay, best I have heard WRMI in some time; only lite residual pulse jamming. 1459 apparently switches to RMI fill music, as hit by fast SAH, 1500 RFA opening Tibetan with English announcement, much stronger signal despite much greater distance and wrong direxion, 297 degrees from Tinian. The 1430-1500 period lucks into a gap after KTWR is on 9955 until 1430, before RFA at 1500. Then WRMI goes off for its 8-hour siesta weekdays until resuming at 2300. But WRMI continues to register 24 hours on 9955, including the 15-17 UT segment as 317 degrees, altho that antenna has been down for almost two years; everything is really on the 160 antenna. New WRMI program grid dated Dec 13 shows RSI as follows: Spanish: 1430-1500 Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri [gospel huxter on Tue]; 1030- 1100 Mon-Sat; daily 0330-0400. English: Tue-Sat 0130-0200. See USA for more about WRMI (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Chinese Radio ?? 1269, Midrand (Jo'burg), still testing but now getting worse instead of better. Dec 14, 2011, Wednesday. 0815-0926. Still chopping and changing and testing, with no announcements or id. Good. Jo'burg sunrise 0310. Dec 14, 2011, Wednesday. 1803-1825. Getting better; no chopping and changing, just continuous music and songs, with no announcements or ID. Some songs are in English. Good. Jo'burg sunset 1656. Dec 16, 2011, Friday. 0740-0810. Nothing there from 0740-0810, and at later check 0840. But they were there from 0931 till I gave up at 0954, with sinewaves and horribly distorted music, still chopping and changing. Too awful and distorted to listen to; I can't believe they still haven't got it right. But then, today is Reconciliation Day, a public holiday in SA, so I should be thankful they are making the effort. Strong signal, presumably overmodulated, very distorted. Jo'burg sunrise 0311. Dec 16, 2011, Friday. 1635-1645. Music and OM talking mandarin, sounds like a recording. Still no announcements. Awful distortion and horrible howlround. I thought testing was a prelude to making things better? They've been at it for almost a week now and it's getting worse. Three words spring to mind: "Made in China". Terrible. Jo'burg sunset 1657. Dec 17, 2011, Saturday 0851-0853. Nothing but howlround with very faint music in the backqround. Oh dear! I just can't listen to it. They really should be using a dummy load for this. Awful. Jo'burg sunrise 0311. Dec 18 2011, Sunday. 0715-0724 Still howling, with an OM talking mandarin in the background. Judging by the audience response it is a recording of a Chinese stand-up comedian. If they would at least make some announcements, even give a phone number or e-mail address, they might get some useful feedback (no pun intended) from listeners to help them out. I'm damned sure they are not monitoring at the studio. Awful. Jo'burg sunrise 0312 (Bill Bingham, RSA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. QSL: Channel Africa 15325, full data thank you letter from Sikander Hoosen of Sentech, the national transmitter network owner in 644 days for English airmail report and US $3.00 and follow- up in English via registered airmail with US $2.00 to Channel Africa address. QSL comes 106 days after follow-up report. I have to admit a certain amount of disappointment and confusion with the Channel Africa QSL. They have always been listed in WRTH as having a QSL card. Not only did they not verify, but the report was eventually just passed on to Sentech, the national transmitter owner who QSL'ed with a letter. Sentech has always been represented in the WRTH as having a QSL card as well. This holds true for the new 2012 edition. When was the last time anyone has received a QSL card directly from Channel Africa? When was the last time anyone has ever received a QSL card from Sentech? Inquiring minds want to know! 73 (Al Muick, Whitehall, PA USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Al, Re SENTECH verification, in my collection I have followings: 1. QSL card for Channel Africa - Feb 14, 2001 2. Letter for ARMI - Aug 15, 2005 and BBC WS - Feb 16, 2006 3. Letter for TWR - Nov 28, 2007 All verisigned by Kathy Otto, Broadcast Planning. Rgds, (Tony Ashar, Indonesia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Unfortunately, Kathy Otto retired at the end of March, 2009, and she axually worked for SENTECH, not Channel Africa: ``Dear Glenn, Attached is the schedule of transmissions from Meyerton for the A09 broadcasting season starting on 29 March 2009. I must also let you know that in a few days time I shall be retiring from Sentech, which brings me to the end of a long period of association with the world of shortwave which has given me lots of pleasure. My colleague Sikander Hoosen will be taking over where I left off. His e-mail address is: hoosens @ sentech.co.za I wish you everything of the best for the future (Kathy Otto, Sentech Ltd, March 23, 2009, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` Hi Tony, Thanks for your info. It would seem time to update the WRTH listings to reflect that Channel Africa does not QSL direct, and that Sentech only replies with a letter these days. Sikander Hoosen is also HF Coverage and Planning, so I surmise he may be replacing Kathy Otto. At the end of the day, a QSL is still a QSL, so I know I should be grateful that I received even this. 73 (Al Muick, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. 9460, Dec 15 at 1420 I can barely make out the unmistakable rasp of Brother Scare on weak signal amid QRM; HFCC shows 100 kW, 300 degrees via Wertachtal, GERMANY at 14-16, altho TOM`s own schedule claims: ``UK 9460 Europe 10 Am-11 am Daily``. 17580, Dec 15 at 1509 there is BS again, better signal here, strangely running one second ahead of // 9385 WWRB. HFCC shows this as 14-16, 100 kW, 165 degrees plus another 100 kW at 180 degrees, both from Wertachtal, while TOM sked claims: ``EUROPE 17580 Europe 11 Am-Noon Daily``. The 165 transmission is noted ``afly`` in HFCC, while the 180 is ``342``, whatever those mean (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. 770 kHz, RNE ??? What is Radio Nacional de España doing, with a good signal, on 770 kHz? (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, Scotland, 2314 UT Dec 15, MWCircle yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) Yes! and it is my local transmitter in Cáceres! It must be some technical problem. My remote Perseus is 6 km away. I have a monster signal of -2db (S+70) when pointing my antenna in that direction. 73s (Mauricio Molano, Salamanca - SPAIN, 2328 UT, ibid.) It has been corrected at 0830 UT. Now it is on 774.000 (Mauricio Molano, Salamanca, Dec 16, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, ibid.) ** SPAIN [and non]. 17850, Dec 15 at 1834 a bit surprised to hear REE in Portuguese. This VG signal is the COSTA RICA relay aimed 340 degrees to NAm. It`s also on // 15125 aimed 110 degrees to SAm. HFCC is useless for details of REE schedule, as it`s over-registered without language details. This version put up by DXers: http://programasdx.com/principal_archivos/frecuenciasreeb11.pdf and this one which appears to copy it http://aer-dx.org/novedades/index.php?IdRSS=211 both show Portuguese M-F at 1830-1900 on *all* REE ``Spanish`` frequencies, which if read literally show Spanish *also* on those frequencies at 1830-1900, in addition to before and after. Portuguese is just an aberration, or subset of Castilian (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17715, 15/Dec 1845, ESPANA, REE, in Portuguese. ID at 1849, soon after flamenco music. // 15125 weak signal, 17850, 17755 very weak signal. In 17715 good signal. Full ID at 1856. I do not understand the broadcast time of REE to Brazil. It may be good for Africa, but not to Brazilian listeners (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103 - All listening in mode of filter Narrow the 6 kHz. Dipole antenna, 16 meters - east/west - Balun 4:1 Escutas (listening, my blog): http://www.ipernity.com/doc/75006 dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6055, VG signal Dec 17 at 2356, REE is concluding French hour with music, sign-off giving 6055 and 5970 (the latter Sat/Sun only) interrupted by IADs; 2358 IS, 0000 Dec 18 sign-on by Justin Coe in English but then right into ``no sólo hablamos español`` promo, and then music without IADs. At least they are modulating this time instead of almost two hours of dead air as previously logged. 15385, Dec 19 at 1430, REE is already managing to modulate the Monday- only Sephardic service at 1425-1455, as usual too close for comfort to Habana 15380 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. 7200, SRTC, 0305-0328, local chants. Indigenous vocals. Arabic talk. Chirping birds. Fair to good but completely covered by Iran at their 0328 sign on. Dec 21 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 9845, BOTSWANA, Afia Darfur/Hello Darfur - Selebi Phikwe (so listed, including station name), 0308. News and reports in Arabic by M & W ending at 0313 with march theme. Ann. by M then W. Talk by M at 0314 about Darfur and Sudan; Arabic throughout (no dialect). Talk interrupted suddenly and followed by long silence then an instrumental music selection was played (twice!), then a different tune at 0320. Talk by M at 0327 and sudden off in mid-sentence at 0328. Almost fair 12/16 (Victor C. Jaar, Longueuil, Québec, IC-R75, Long wire, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. SAQ TRANSMISSION ON CHRISTMAS EVE DECEMBER 24TH, 2011 There will be, as before, a transmission with the Alexanderson 200 kW alternator on VLF 17.2 kHz from Grimeton Radio/SAQ on Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24th, 2011. The message transmission will take place at 0800 UT. The transmitter will be tuned up from around 0730. There will be no activity on amateur radio frequencies with the call SK6SAQ this time. QSL-reports are kindly received: - E-mail to: info @ alexander.n.se - or fax to: +46-340-674195 - or via: SM bureau - or direct by mail to: Alexander - Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner, Radiostationen, Grimeton 72 S-432 98 GRIMETON S W E D E N Also read our web site: http://www.alexander.n.se Yours, Lars Kalland, SM6NM (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND [and non]. Switzerland in Sound --- Hello. This week's SIS entry on PCJ Media features a nice, timely old reportage I did back in the early 90's, when I was at the Vatican to report on the Swiss Guard. BTW, you'll find that and other vintage SRI productions I did at http://www.switzerlandinsound.com That section of SIS isn't visited very frequently, so I thought it would be good to call your attention to it. Merry Christmas to all! (Message on Facebook from Bob Zanotti via Mike Terry, Dec 18, dxldyg via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 7580, Dec 15 at 1320, YL with 8 tonal syllables, separated by pauses. Aoki shows it`s XingXing guanbgo diantai with ``random numbers`` at 1300-1330 in H3E mode, 10 kW nondirexional from Kuanyin site; other half-hour broadcasts from same at 0500, 0600, and 1200. All these miss colliding with VOK`s Japanese service at 0700-1250, except the one at 1200. XingXing means StarStar. If the numbers are really random, the whole thing is pointless, disinformation. More likely they are not random, coded with some hidden significance. Aoki also shows the 07 and 08 broadcasts are on 7688; at 02 and 03 on 9557; at 04 on 9570; at 09 and 1330 on 7553. H3E means single sideband, full carrier, but which? I did not notice one side was missing (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. Log of midday-UT path from Asia into Europe in our winter months: [notable for the many off-frequencies] odd 9664.985, CBSC RTWN Internat in Chinese at 12-13 UT via Paochung- TWN site, hit heavily by KCBS Pyongyang on co-channel 9665v kHz. 9780, RTI in Chinese from Kouhu observed at 1210 UT Dec 15, with classical flute music and female announcer. 9464.906, RTI in Amoy (Hokkein) from Tainan, scheduled 12-13 UT, S=6 signal in Europe, female announcer at 1217 UT Dec 15. 6105, even frequency CBSC RTWN Internat in Chinese from Kouhu-TWN, at 1220 UT Dec 15. 11764.988, Vietnamese from Tainan-TWN, heard at 1223 UT Dec 15. 11915.090, CBSC RTWN Internat in Cantonese, from Tainan-TWN, - then Hakka from 1230 UT Dec 15. 11624.973, CBSC RTWN Internat in Indonesian via Paochung-TWN site, at 1230 UT Dec 15, much interference from adjacent R Kuwait HQ prayer on 11630 kHz. 11519.991, YFR in Indonesian via Paochung-TWN relay site, sermon by male announcer, 1236 UT Dec 15. Poor signal towards different azimuth, only side lobe into Europe. 11569.989, YFR in Burmese, via Hu Wei relay site. Poor signal towards different azimuth, only side lobe into Europe. 1239 UT Dec 7459.992, YFR in Vietnamese language via Paochung-TWN relay site, heard at 1253 UT Dec 15, S=7 poor signal in Europe. 11534.998, YFR in Chinese via via Paochung-TWN relay site, 1200-1257 UT on Dec 15, S=8 signal, proper signal on long distance, piano music, YFR ID at 1255 UT, tx off little early at 1256 UT. 6085.004, CBSC RTWN Internat in Mandarin language, via Hu Wei relay site, 1313 UT Dec 15. S=8 signal on remote SDR unit in Austria. 6149.975, CBSC RTWN Internat in Chinese from Kouhu-TWN, hit by mainland jamming. 1319 UT Dec 15. S=8 signal into Europe, usual big signal here on Dec/Jan winter months. 7384.994, CBSC RTWN Internat in Mandarin language at 1325 UT Dec 15. S=9+5dB strength in peaks. 6240, YFR in Mandarin via BauJong/Paochung-TWN relay site, not jammed. 1330 UT, scheduled 11-16 UT. Weak S=6 signal, only side lobe into Europe. 9679.996, CBSC RTWN Internat in Mandarin language at 1335 UT Dec 15, via Taipei-TWN site. 11-1705 UT registered. 6030.017, Ming Hui Radio via Tanshui-TWN in Chinese language, 13-14 UT, noted at 1337 UT Dec 15. 7539.988, YFR Vietnamese service 13-14 UT, via Taipei-TWN relay site. Poor S=6 signal here, only side lobe into Europe. 9734.983, Very weak signal just above threshold observed at 1340 UT Dec 15. Tentative CBSC RTWN Internat in Japanese via Tainan site. 9959.868, YFR in Vietnamese language via Tainan-TWN site at 1346 UT on Dec 15. Very weak signal, only side lobe into Europe. 11540, YFR in English via Hu Wei-TWN relay site, 13-15 UT scheduled. But not heard due of continuous STANAG digital mode signal. 7445, CBS2 RTWN Internat in Mandarin language at 1435 UT Dec 16, via BauJong/Paochung-TWN relay site, registered 13-15 UT. S=8-9 here in Europe. Jammed by CHN mainland domestic talk jamming. 9279.988, YFR very SLOW SPECIAL English service noted at 1445 UT Dec 16, scheduled 13-16 UT, via BauJong/Paochung-TWN relay site. Poor S=7- 8 signal here, only side lobe into Europe. 11605.110, RFA in Vietnamese via Tanshui-TWN relay site, 1455 UT Dec 16. Weak, only side lobe into Europe. 11634.979, CBSC RTWN Internat in Thai via BauJong/Paochung-TWN relay site, 1458 UT Dec 16, til 1600 UT. Weak, only side lobe into Europe. (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 15/16, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 17 via DXLD) 15290.138, RTI in Chinese from Tainan-TWN, and 15244.916 from Tanshui site, at 0515 UT Dec 20, S=7 on remote unit in JPN. Also \\ 11639.997 at 0529 UT. 11744.894, Radio Australia in Indonesian 0500-0530 UT Dec 20, via Tainan-TWN relay, station ID at 0525 UT, S=8 signal noted on back lobe in Japan. 15290.138, Radio Australia in English 0600-0630 UT Dec 20, via Tainan- TWN relay, news heard at 0603 UT, illegal fishing vessel of Indonesia absorbed in last season, compared with 2004-2005y situation (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 20 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. New RTI TX site QSL cards - Special SWSites YG advance notice - Dear group members, Ian's Christmas gift to our YG members Just a quick note (that was the intention), for the moment to let you know that I have been working behind the scenes to bring you this great offer. Back several months ago I contacted my friends in RTI (Radio Taiwan International) management if they might be able to print some special QSL cards. I requested the following:- 1. QSL showing the current English staff 2. QSLs showing former (now extinct) SW txer sites used by RTI under it's numerous earlier titles, e.g. the Bali (PaLi) site used when RTI was known as VOFC. AND finally 3. QSLs for each of the existing RTI SW transmitter sites. Well here's what is now available: QSL showing the current English staff (photo image is available on the RTI English website) AND Two RTI SW transmitter site QSLs: One showing a curtain array at the Tainan site & the other showing transmitter building & antennas at the Paochung site, or branch station as RTI refers to them as. (I was advised just two weeks ago that these were now printed.) I happily received my QSLs of the two RTI SW sites today & have a sample of the English staff QSL sent some weeks ago. These QSLs are a special run & are not listed on the RTI website, so if you would like one of these special QSLs do request one. Importantly do make detailed program observations & comments with your reception report. RTI is primarily here to offer programs to listeners & is not a QSL service. It really values its genuine regular listeners & I think they do a great job with their programs. Nice people too. When you do receive one of these special QSLs please write back to RTI & thank them & say that you really liked the SW transmitter site QSL/s & (if so inclined) that you would like to see further tx site imagery depicted on future QSLs of the other sites such as their Kouhu, Tamshui, Minshuing & Huwei branch stations. AND provide further program feedback. A personal thank you also encourages me too . The QSL cards are verified with FD including the site. I will scan imagery, for those interested, of the QSLs & post up on our YG later in the month. Happy listening & Merry Christmas to all our members. P.S. Did this special request cost me you ask? Yes & I'll announce what it was at the end of the year :-) (Ian Baxter, Shortwavesites Yahoo Group, Dec 14, via DXLD) And now these should be available to all, as supplies last (gh, DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. 6890, Dec 15 at 0422, RTI via WYFR is in Chinese, not scheduled Spanish, and is // much stronger 6875, another long-running screwup in relay scheduling, as apparently they can only feed one language at a time. 6875, Dec 19 at 0634 check, yep, RTI via WYFR still in German instead of Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also U S A ** TAIWAN. QSL: CLANDESTINA, 7105, SOUND OF HOPE RADIO, Tarjeta QSL, No v/s, Incluye Calcomanía. Enviado a: 6-4 Lane 84, Guotoi St North District, Taichung 404 Taiwan, Repl. de China. Demoro: 63 días. Imágenes y más en http://dxdesdecolom bia.blogspot.com Buenos Dx (Rafael Rodríguez R., Bogotá D.C. - COLOMBIA, Dec 17, condiglistyg via DXLD) Sound of Hope, 7105, QSL, sked in 4 weeks for report to 6-4 Lane 84, Guotai St, North Dist, Taichung 404, Taiwan. Sent 1 $. You can see some images in my blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, Dec 17, HCDX via DXLD) ** THAILAND. 13745, Radio Thailand, 0006-0045, tune-in to English news. Ad for Bangkok Airways and Intercontinental Bangkok Hotel. Talk about cures for hangovers. Business news. IDs. Fair. Slightly reduced signal strength at 0030 when they switch antenna beam headings from eastern to western North America. Dec 18 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET. 4905, Xizang PBS-Lhasa with the “Holy Tibet” program in English from 1530 to 1600, Dec 17 (Saturday). A change in their usual format; normally they run the announced “Sunday” arts and culture show on Saturday, but instead today played a repeat of the program they played on Dec 13, as regular weekday show of news items about Tibet; six poachers turned themselves in after being in hiding for 17 years for allegedly killing wildlife ranger Sonam Dargye, a hero in saving Tibetan antelopes from extinction in the northwestern province of Qinghai, etc.; good reception (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. 5960, sufficient, Dec 17 at 2316 I tune to VOT as it`s an on-week for the fortnightly `DX Corner`, but Sheref Isler is reading a script about Mevlana, who apparently died on this date, mentioning whirling dervishes. It seems there is a W.D. festival each year at this time. I subsequently learned much more about that by Googling, topped by this from a commercial tour promotion site http://www.istanbullife.org/whirling-dervish-sufi-ceremonies-in-silivrikapi.html ``Known to the west as Whirling Dervishes, the Mevlevi Order was founded by Mevlana Rumi in the 13th century. The Order wrote of tolerance, forgiveness, and enlightenment. They survive today as a cultural brotherhood. They are not theatrical spectacles but sacred rituals. The ritual of the Mevlevi sect, known as the sema, is a serious religious ritual performed by Muslim priests in a prayer trance to Allah. Mevlevi believed that during the sema the soul was released from earthly ties, and able to freely and jubilantly commune with the divine. Dervish literally means "doorway" and is thought to be an entrance from this material world to the spiritual, heavenly world. The Whirling Dervishes played an important part in the evolution of Ottoman high culture. From the fourteenth to the twentieth century, their impact on classical poetry, calligraphy and visual arts was profound. Rumi and his followers integrated music into their rituals as an article of faith. Rumi emphasized that music uplifts our spirit to realms above, and we hear the tunes of the Gates of Paradise.`` This lasted until 2322:30, then the familiar `DX Corner` theme and YL (mumbles name, Gemma?) says this will be a ``short program due to time limitations``, presumably the preceding special, but it turned out to 15+ minutes. For those of us who keep up with radio-related press, it`s mostly familiar stuff: EDXC Conference with DSWCI AGM to be in Germany; world`s first reception report, an Adrian Peterson item lifted from Wavescan; 2330 NASA internet radio station; Steve Wozniak, WA6BND, interviewed 14 Dec on BBCR4 Today program, and on demand; new Philippine radio station on 864 kHz; ham balloon, K6RPT-11 on 144.390 MHz crossing the Atlantic from California; Bhutan back on 6035 after 2+ years; Radio Seagull, 1395, heard in Canada by Allan Willie; DXpedition from Jan 29 on a beach in El Salvador listing a bunch of German ham calls, to activate a rare prefix, see http://www.hu2dx.de/ Some of the items were credited to Southgate and you`ll find them via http://www.southgatearc.org/ Some of those surely came from Media Network, also quoted by Southgate, such as the Philippines item, http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/philippines-new-radio-station-opens-in-puerto-princesa which was credited only to MN`s source, the Philippine Information Agency. Wrapped up and into music fill at 2338 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. 9-12, 12015 at 0856 heard V of Turkey's IS with signal S2. Spur? (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes! At 07-10, 11925 in Turkish, at 08-09, 11835 in Azeri, leapfrog another 90 kHz higher. Maybe also on 11745 (gh, DXLD) 12035, Dec 19 at 1422, TRT closing English and into IS, poor with flutter. Interspersed Turkish IDs and still on past 1424. Insufficient, so I didn`t miss anything earlier from 1330. Previous winters this was often listenable but now barely makes it here beyond intended target Europe. 17715, Dec 20 at 1332, surprised to find good signal from V. of Turkey in English news! Supposed to be on 12035, vacant. 1337 jingle and pause for ID, more news by YL, but 17715 cut off abruptly at 1342:41* as someone woke up in Emirler. Then I retune to proper channel 12035 and find a JBA carrier; by 1350 it has built up to very poor level, but recognisable as VOT. I wish they would stay on 17715! I figured that, as happens all too often with this negligent station, TRT must have failed to change frequency after previous hour broadcast on 17715 --- but it`s not scheduled on 17715 at any time! Instead German at 1230 on 17755 which we often hear well, much better than English in the mornings. So it was a double SNAFU, wrong frequency to start with, and stayed on the air overtime! The Emirler operators are just not paying attention. VOT was not the only station on wrong frequency this morning: see U S A WWCR (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) QSL: SWBC: TRT V of Turkey with full/data "people dancing in traditional costumes" card in 3.5 weeks for an email entry to their 'question of the month' contest (I didn't actually ask for a QSL!). Xmtr listed as EMR which I assume means Emirler Turkey. Do they use another site for their transmissions? Nice card. Now here's the fun part. I got curious, so I dug through the archives and pulled out my old QSLs. Turns out I last QSLed VoT in 1976 and FIRST QSLed them in 1974 (remember when they were only on 11880?). 35 years between QSL cards! That was kind of fun (altho digging back into the archives was a tad scarey!). I may have to start sending reception reports out again. I wonder if anyone still has pennants? ....— (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 16 via DXLD) TRT`s other site Çakirlar went dark a year or two ago. Now there is no need to specify EMR as everything is Emirler, just as there was no need to publish every transmission as DSB, years after some were on USB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U A E. I will be active for the next 5 weeks as A6/VE6LB on 40-10 CW. 100 watts and a G5RV. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 73, Gerry VE6LB/VA6XDX, VE6 QSL Bureau Team, DXCC Field Checker ve6lb @ telus.net 403-251-0384 http://www.qsl.net/ve6lb (via Joe Talbot, AB, DXLD) Handy reference of ham radio prefices, including those like A6 which have no correspondence in broadcasting: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/DXCC/2011e%20DXCC%20Current.pdf (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** U K. 1296 Orfordness interval test signal 1296 kHz is currently (1300 UT 19-12-11) on with a musical loop playing, no ID at top of the hour. 1296 kHz now off at 1330. Link to test loop: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15836400/1296%20khz%20interval.mp3 (Chris McCarthy, Ipswich, Suffolk, Dec 19, MWCircle yg via DXLD) Yes, it`s the ``VTC`` = Babcock loop we also hear on SW (gh, DXLD) ** U K. LONDON EMAILING and BBC R4 LW. Hi Glenn, Indeed it's many moons since BBC World Service commenced with "LONDON CALLING" but when a senior royal dies both our domestic BBC Radio and TV News starts with "THIS IS THE BBC LONDON..." as with the death of princess Diana. I guess we'd get the same if a serving Prime Minister dies. I'd not thought of it as quaint but rather from days of Empire, er dark days by and large, since at its peak a third of its subjects were all but starving, both in UK and abroad. PS: I relay a fact from 'our' 2012 Radio Listeners Guide (an independent production) wherein; 'the "BBC Radio 4 LW" 198 kHz transmitter in Droitwich, Worcestershire is under threat due to relying on glass valves. They are so rare that the BBC have bought up the world's stock, i.e, about 10'. They add; 'they can last between 1 & 10 years and after which it's the end'. Or 'kaput', as they might say in German Bight! Seasons Greetings from (Tony, SW London [22:48 Sat 17 Dec], DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also TESTIMONIALS ** U K. BBCWS: Your World - Goodbye to Bush House --- Upcoming two part series on Bush House, John Tusa presents memories and archive about the BBC World Service in Bush House, from 1941 to leaving Bush House in 2012. First airing of Episode One listed as Christmas Eve at 1905, full details: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00m98kf (Mike Barraclough, Dec 16, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From Jonathan Kempster: Just to let you know of the special programme 'Goodbye to Bush House' in which I (Jonathan Kempster) will be appearing! It is presented by John Tusa, a former managing Director of the World Service. The programme is on BBC World Service in 2 parts as follows:- Part 1 Sat 24th Dec at 1905 Sun 25th Dec at 1105 2205 Mon 26th Dec at 0205 Part 2 Sat 31st Dec at 1905 Sun 1st Jan at 1105 2205 Mon 2nd Jan at 0205 (via Chrissy Brand, Dec 19, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) BBC Bush House - The Final Year [192-photo slideshow!] http://www.flickr.com/photos/47903765@N00/sets/72157626188396223/ In case someone is wondering: BBC consoles are reversed to the rest of the world, i.e. faders closed in the upper position. Leipzig-based DHD was apparently willing to implement also such a quite special wish. Does anyone know when the first BBC WS transmission will go out from Broadcasting House and the last one from Bush House (the move will apparently be spread over weeks if not even months)? I have not seen real information about this so far, beyond hints that it will happen during the first half of 2012. By the way, I recently noted that BBC WS has returned to 19.2 deg. East, after leaving this satellite position some years ago, resulting in the loop advising of the closure being relayed on FM in Thuringia for weeks. Now they have again two channels in a French mux on Astra 1L, in mono but this apparently of decent quality (listed are 96 kbps), with English and Arabic it seems. Wonder which audiences they are aiming at here? Oh, and their European shortwave service in Dari, Pashto and Farsi is still there as well, 1400-1700 on 6195, just now from Woofferton instead of Skelton from which it used to be carried almost throughout the last decade. Quite an oddity; smacks like kind of an unofficial domestic service to me. It appears to be little publicized, perhaps even being run under the camouflage of an alleged test (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 18, shortwavesites yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) I noticed over the weekend that the BBC World Service sports coverage has already left Bush House and in fact (according to the phone numbers announced) comes from the brand new facilities at Salford Quays near Manchester. 73's (Dan Goldfarb, England, Dec 19, ibid.) Couple of things for you all re the above post: In the BBC magazine for retired staff ''Prospero'' the subject of those faders was raised. The BBC engineer who proposed the opposite to the norm system said it was because in the UK we had for many years been operating light switches for houses, etc., the opposite way to the rest of the world so he kept it the same for the UK! Not sure what you mean about 6195 Dari Pashto Persian etc., being for a Euro service from SK or WOF, as of course those languages are very much for the Middle East? 73 (Dave G4OYX Porter at WOF, ibid.) > I noticed over the weekend that the BBC World Service sports > coverage has already left Bush House and in fact (according > to the phone numbers announced) comes from the brand new > facilities at Salford Quays near Manchester. And it was produced especially for the World Service? Interesting. So far I saw the new Broadcasting House extensions exclusively mentioned as new home of the World Service, with no references to Salford whatsoever. (To explain it: This new Salford facility has, correct my wording if necessary, primarily been created as an attempt to make the BBC less London-centred. ) ---------- > The BBC engineer who proposed the opposite to the norm system > said it was because in the UK we had for many years been > operating light switches for houses etc the opposite way to > the rest of the world so he kept it the same for the UK! Opposite light switches are not too uncommon here in Germany as well. It just depends on the placement of the line: If it goes down the switch is mounted upside down. Someone else said that the idea behind the opposite operation of faders was to avoid accidentally turning them up by just touching them. No idea how authentic this statement is, although it indeed makes sense. East German operators had to get used to western consoles where the faders run much lighter than on the old RFZ warships, and things get somewhat awkward in conjunction with fader starts. And then there are the BBC level meters which show no decibels, just numbers from 1 to 7 of which 6 means 0 dBr and every number more or less means four decibels more or less, respectively. .. > Not sure what you mean about 6195 Dari Pashto Persian etc > being for a Euro service from SK or WOF as of course those > languages are very much for the Middle East? The target of this 6195, on air 1400-1700, is shown in HFCC as CIRAF 27S, 28W and 37N, i.e. England, France, Central Europe, Morocco and Algeria. The antenna, with an azimuth of 114 degrees, is specified as a 2/3/0.3, so not a real wide-range system either. Not a surprise in as far as 6195 is one of the former traditional European frequencies of the BBC World Service. Now it is, if I do not miss something, the only remaining analogue BBC transmission to Europe at all. With these three single hours each (kind of excerpts) of Iran/Pakistan [sic] programming. Indeed so, I checked back and it is indeed still on air as listed. What's the purpose of this? The only possible audience I can imagine are expats, but this still leaves the question why the BBC World Service in this particular case, and only in this very special case, still considers shortwave as suitable distribution platform in Europe (Kai Ludwig, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, ibid.) ** U K. 3950-3955-3960, Dec 20 at 0638, DRM noise disrupting what would otherwise be a fully-occupied myriahertz of the American hamband. It`s BBC English per HFCC, 100 kW, 121 degrees from Skelton at 05-08 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Log 15080 kHz Radio Farda in Persian, 1420 UT Dec 3. Location? Fading. O=3 on Dec 14 at 1420 UT (Ralf Ladusch, Germany, A-DX Dec 3/14 via BC-DX Dec 17 via DXLD) Farda website shows FARDA 1400-1600 UT. 1314 and 1575 MW DHB Abu Dhabi 800 kW, 11750 Biblis, 13615 Lampertheim, 13635/13680 Wertachtal, 15410 Woofferton. 15245 (ex registered 15770 Skelton-UK 300 kW 92 deg) R. POLONIA 1400- 1430, Russian 125 kW, 70 deg Woofferton-UK. Ja, die 15080 kHz Angabe war jetzt zielfuehrend. Da sieht die Formel gleich anders aus. Das Misch-Spur Signal - Intermodulation - kommt aus Woofferton England. Um 1430 UT endet der Polnische Rundfunk in Russisch auf 15245 kHz aus Woofferton, eine 165 kHz Frequenz Differenz zu 15080/15410 kHz. Also Formel +/- 165 kHz ergibt 15080 kHz, und die regulaere FARDA Frequenz lautet 15410 kHz aus Woofferton noch bis 1600 UT. Das PRW Russisch Programm muesstest Du bis 1430 UT auf 15575 kHz hoeren {15410+165 kHz}, wenn der defekte REE Sender 15585 kHz nicht wieder alles zu-splattert. Warum sich aber bei der Aussendung von Polskie Radio in Belarus ab 1430 UT nicht das gleiche Signal einstellt? Da ist statt Antenne typ #611-mit Schielung -12degr, eine ganz andere Antenne in Gebrauch, vom Hochleistungs Vorhangtyp #218 und Feederline in Woofferton... slew type 15245 1400-1430 29N,29SE WOF 125 62 -12 611 Russian G PRW BAB 15245 1430-1500 28NE,29SW WOF 125 75 0 218 Belorussia G PRW BAB 15410 1400-1600 40 WOF 300 92 17 216 Persian G IBB IBB (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 14, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 17 via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) i.e. leapfrog mixing product, 15410 over 15245 another 165 kHz lower (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. U.S. OFFICIAL VICTOR ASHE CALLS FOR KEEPING A RADIO FACILITY CAPABLE OF REACHING CHINA --- By BBGWatcher on 20 December 2011 in Featured News, Hot Tub Blog, Statements This is an exclusive report by BBG Watch (BBGWatch.com). Republication is permitted with attribution. BBGWatch.com – December 20, 2011 – Victor Ashe, a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), has called for keeping open the radio broadcasting facility on U.S. territory that is capable of transmitting shortwave radio programs to China. Some Obama Administration officials want to shut down the last remaining U.S.–based international broadcast station located in North Carolina. Ashe also called for urgent reforms in the way the federal agency in charge of U.S. international broadcasting operates. Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have criticized the BBG for lacking transparency and exercising bad judgement with regard to broadcasting to China. Victor Ashe’s statement released as a personal wish list for 2012 is unprecedented for a member of the BBG since these presidentially- appointed officials usually do not publicly express their misgivings about how their agency is being managed. Ashe has become an outspoken critic of the permanent BBG bureaucracy in charge of planning and day-to-day operations of U.S. international broadcasting. He has made his displeasure known by visiting broadcasting services and technical facilities that some of the other BBG members wanted to eliminate based on the recommendations they had received from their executive staff. It is not clear how the BBG Chairman Walter Isaacson and the other members of the bipartisan board will react to Ashe’s statement. Isaacson, the former Chairman and CEO of CNN, former editor of Time Magazine and the author of the best- selling biography of Steve Jobs, is a Democrat. Ashe, a Republican, was the longest serving mayor of Knoxville and the President to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He had also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Poland from 2004 to 2009. In his statement, Ashe calls for keeping open the Edward R. Murrow Greenville Transmitting Station in Greenville, North Carolina, which he had recently visited despite objections from some of the BBG executives who want to close it down. Ashe said in his statement that this facility is the only one on American soil where the U.S. government has jurisdiction. He pointed out that a similar station in the Philippines, operated by the BBG, is barred from transmitting radio programs to China due to the Philippine government’s reluctance to upset the Chinese government. “That could not happen on American territory,” Ashe noted in his statement. BBG Governor Victor Ashe and VOA Director David Ensor meeting with VOA China Branch employees - BBG photo Ashe, joined by the Voice of America Director David Ensor, also met last week with broadcasters of the VOA China Branch in Washington, D.C., 45 of whom were at risk of being fired and their radio and television programs terminated. BBG officials wanted to rely only on the Internet to deliver VOA news in Mandarin to China despite the fact that the Chinese government censors the Internet and blocks VOA Chinese websites. BBG officials claimed that the money saved from ending broadcasts and firing journalists would be used to expand online and new media presence in China. BBG members had initially accepted their staff’s recommendation to end VOA radio and television programs to China on October 1, 2011, but later reversed their decision after a storm of protests by Chinese Americans, human rights organizations, and the action by members of Congress from both parties to block the silencing of broadcasts. Ashe was reportedly instrumental in getting other BBG members to sign a Certificate of Recognition, which he and Ensor presented last week to the VOA China Branch to mark the 70th anniversary of VOA broadcasting to China. Ashe expressed his confidence in Ensor’s leadership. Earlier, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) public affairs office had refused numerous employee requests to issue a press release about the Capitol Hill reception, hosted by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Voice of America (VOA) broadcasting to China. BBG public affairs experts also ignored an unprecendented video statement in support of VOA broadcasting to China recorded by the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Rep. Ileana Ros- Lehtinen. Ashe is said to be also concerned by the way of some of the BBG top managers treat their subordinates and by the second-class status of the agency’s full-time contract employees. In his statement, Ashe refers to the government-wide employee surveys conducted by the Office of Personnel Management, in which the BBG has been consistently rated as being among the worst-managed federal agencies. Ashe’s comment about “boorish behavior in the work place” may be a partial reference to a description used by a yet to be identified top official appointed by the BBG who was said to be discussing his desire to promote his favorite employees and contrasting them with “old white guys.” Sources have told BBG Watch that some BBG members wanted to have the official fired for making that remark but could not get a majority vote. The official is believed to be a former CNN associate of the BBG Chairman. Several former CNN employees have been hired in recent months by the BBG. BBG Watch sources describe Isaacson was well-meaning but too removed and distracted by the promotion of his recently published biography of Steve Jobs. Ashe’s statement points to one success in his efforts to improve employee morale. Due to his recent intervention, contract employees at the BBG headquarters in Washington, D.C. were able to receive flu immunization shots to limit the risk of infection to the entire workforce. Until Ashe raised this issue in an open meeting, BBG executives were preventing these employees from receiving free flu shots, as well as denying them most other usual employment benefits, which these full time contractors still do not get. In his statement, Ashe called for action and not just words to improve employee morale. Contract employees represent nearly half of the Voice of America workforce. Ashe also paid a recent visit to Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa headquarters in Northern Virginia and praised Brian Conniff, President of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN), and his staff for their dedication in preparing broadcasts to the Middle East. Ashe is believed to be the only current BBG member who regularly meets with groups of employees and listens to their complaints. The BBG is likely to face further scrutiny from Congress in 2012. The same BBG executives who wanted to end VOA radio and television broadcasts to China have proposed a merger of Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and MBN into a large corporate bureaucracy and want to de-federalize VOA and Radio and TV Marti. The Broadcasting Board of Governors encompasses all U.S. civilian international broadcasting, including the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio and TV Martí, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) — Radio Sawa and Alhurra Television. The Broadcasting Board of Governors is a bipartisan board comprised of nine members. Eight, no more than four from one party, are appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate; the ninth is the Secretary of State, who serves ex officio. BBG Watch (BBGWatch.com), an independent website managed by former and current BBG employees, has obtained a copy of BBG Governor Ashe’s statement, which we post below. Statement of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) member Victor H. Ashe I hope that 2012 sees a new era of employee-management relations for BBG. I feel the Governors are becoming increasingly aware that having 45 percent of all VOA employees as contract employees presents major issues of fairness, concern and accountability. It creates two classes of employees for a single work force. I hope BBG director Dick Lobo will appoint a broad based committee representing all groups to review the issue and make recommendations to the Board. The BBG governance committee must take a hard look at this. The recent flu shot issue which was favorably resolved highlights how foolish the two classes of employees had become as it made no sense to deny contract employees flu shots while offering them to federal employees all working in the same building and office space. How this ever occurred in the first place surprised me. Surveys have consistently shown bad morale. We must turn this around. Contract employees are not surveyed by OPM. Recently, IBB sent out a limited survey on the contracts themselves but not on general work place issues. While well intended, that attempt falls short of what is needed to gauge employee thoughts. We must make a New Year’s resolution to do better in this area. We must walk the walk and not just talk the talk. We must also ring the bell that boorish behavior in the work place will not be tolerated. We must be open and transparent in how we deal with it. I am confident that the new engaged leadership of David Ensor will prevail and create a new climate in this field. He is implementing new procedures. I felt my visit to the Edward Murrow Transmission facility in Greenville, NC on December 7 was a good one and I learned a lot. I am convinced it is a serious mistake to close this facility which is the only one on American soil where the American government has jurisdiction. The station in the Philippines is barred from transmissions to China due the Philippine government’s reluctance to upset the Chinese government. That could not happen on American territory. The Murrow facility has been hidden from public view and I urge it to be more visible. Its name had become Site B which is effectively nameless. However, President Kennedy had participated in 1962 naming it for Edward R Murrow, one of our nation’s most respected newscasters. The signs should be re-erected in North Carolina and the public of Pitt County invited to visit. We should be proud of the Murrow facility. On December 14, I spent most of the day visiting and meeting employees of MBN in Springfield, VA and was deeply impressed by Brian Conniff and his dedicated staff. They are outstanding. In March the full Board plans to meet there. Free Media Online supporting free media worldwide FreeMediaOnline.org BBGWatch.com GovoritAmerika.US Truckee, CA (via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO REMAINS THE BBG CHAMP by Paul McLane on 12.19.2011 http://www.radioworld.com/article/radio-remains-the-bbg-champ/154928 Radio suffers its share of jabs as dated technology. But radio´s critics might reflect on data from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The BBG recently said that its aggregate weekly audience via radio (including shortwave, FM and AM) is 106 million people, while its TV audience is 97 million and its Internet audience is 10 million. I find it notable enough that radio remains the medium with the largest reach among BBG´s efforts, given the commonly heard sentiment (and not only in government-funded circles) that radio in general is "yesterday´s technology." But I was interested too in any trend lines, so I asked for more data. Spokeswoman Letitia King gave me numbers for 2009 and 2010. I´ve listed them side by side and calculated growth compared to last year. (Individual numbers won´t equal the totals because some people use more than one platform.) Uncle Sam´s radio and TV outlets regained some mojo in 2011 after slipping the prior year, while Internet continued to grow. We´re talking here about Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio and TV Marti', Radio Free Asia, Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa. Overall, those BBG broadcasters reached an estimated 187 million people every week in 2011, up 22 million, for 13% growth (though 2010´s total of 165 million was down a bit from 2009). We can´t extrapolate too much from any one organization´s broad data. Necessarily, these are only estimates and subject to survey error. Also, such trends are affected by policy and resource choices as much as consumer tastes. And while Internet consumption might be only a tenth of radio consumption right now, I suspect that proportion will change significantly in future years. Nevertheless, these totals and percentages suggest to me that radio´s role as part of Uncle Sam´s face to the international community is understated and underappreciated. We see a similar theme in ongoing media coverage of the U.S. commercial radio industry, which so often is criticized and dismissed, yet continues to post total listening statistics (241 million weekly listeners) that other media envy. Radio - the media´s best-kept secret! If you´re interested in far greater detail from Uncle Sam about activities of his broadcast entities and grantees, read the BBG´s "Fiscal Year 2011 Performance and Accountability Report" in PDF at http://tinyurl.com/rwbbg2 (via Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DXLD) ** U S A. Re: Please QSL Greenville direct --- While all correct reports are appreciated and will be QSLed, please don`t use remote receivers to pick up Greenville. They need to hear from direct listeners, especially in Europe, Africa and Latin America, and it`s certainly possible to hear Greenville direct anywhere in the world. See schedule link below. Reports must be by postal mail only to the address below (Glenn Hauser, Dec 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: VOA Greenville recently offered to QSL direct with its own card. Lots of reception reports, especially from abroad, should help encourage the powers that be in Washington that this shortwave site is still being listened to and worth keeping on the air. Its closedown has already been postponed more than once. You can find the current Greenville-B frequencies here: http://hfcc.org/data/schedbybrc.php?seas=B11&broadc=IBB Repeating the QSLing details, which shows the curtain antennas: Reports are to be sent to: Voice of America Transmitting Station 3913 VOA Site "B" Road Grimesland, North Carolina 27837-8977 USA No return postage needed (Glenn Hauser, Nov 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I've just closed the envelope with my report and letter to Greenville after heard them on 15580 at 1700 UT with my "old" Kenwood R5000 and a windom antenna; SINPO 34443 here in Italy. Regards, (Alessandro Groppazzi, Trieste, Italy, 17 Dec, playdx yg via DXLD) Thanks to gh and DXLD, I obtained a Greenville NC VOA QSL. Please visit http://www.kg4lac.com to see. Scroll the left hand side and click United States of America. The VOA via Greenville, NC QSL is at the top. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOA Audio files:: ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/mp3/voa/europe/alba/ this link has previous days Albanian broadcasts in mp3 format (broadcast times are included in the file name) Also at this site mainly mp3 files but also mp4 wma and rm of all the different language broadcasts of VOA split by language. ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/mp3/voa/ ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/mp4/voa/ ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/wm/voa/ ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/real/voa/ ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/ThePlatform/ingest/anystream/ ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/ThePlatform/ingest/dalet-audio/ ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/MediaAssets2/ ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/xfer/FEED/Africa/ ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/xfer/FEED/Eurasia/ (Harry Brooks, North East England, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. REMEMBERING PEPE DEL RÍO, HOST OF VOA'S BUENOS DÍAS AMÉRICA Posted: 17 Dec 2011 Washington Post, 15 Dec 2011, George González: "For many Spanish- speaking people throughout the world, Pepe del Rio was a trusted voice for news. Known across Latin America for his reports and smooth delivery, del Rio spent 25 years as a broadcaster and host of 'Buenos Días América,' the morning radio show for the Spanish branch of the Voice of America. Although he was mostly unknown to English audiences within the United States, del Rio did much to shape international coverage of the major political and social events of the second half of the 20th century. Del Rio, who died Feb. 13 at age 84 from a blood disorder, was born in Tampico, Mexico, where he ran errands at a nearby radio station before emigrating to Texas as a teenager. In 1961, he was recruited by Voice of America producers away from a Spanish-language radio station in San Antonio." See previous post about Pepe del Río. http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/?id=10697 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. 9930, Dec 19 at 1504, fluttery VOA news in English, a couple words behind Philippines 9760. HFCC shows it`s 25 degrees from SRI LANKA, filling a one-hour gap in Palau usage of 9930. 17655, Monday Dec 19 at 1825 surprised to find VOA Portuguese on this unlisted frequency, VG signal, must be Greenville. Had been and still supposed to be 17650 per latest HFCC info, 1800-1830 being the M-F extension of the daily 17-18 broadcast plus 1630-1700 on Fridays. Looks like ex-17650 to avoid collision with Saudi Arabia in Bambara, daily 1600-1800, 500 kW, 250 degrees from Riyadh, which must have been ongoing since B-11 began. Next day Dec 20 at 1740 check, 17655 still, not 17650. I guess the HFCC registrations will eventually catch up with this change. 15620, Dec 19 at 1826 big open carrier, het from 15619 spur of WEWN 15610; 1829 VOA sign-on, 1830 fragment of English programming, switching error before welcoming us to the VOA in French. This is the only semi-hour from Greenville on 15620, daily, with seven(!) other sites used during the day for various other IBB services (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 3350, WCBM Chicago (Harmonic), 2318-2330, English. Football game Buffalo vs San Diego. A little over-modulated but clear ID heard at tune in. Dropped out at 2321. 11 Dec (Robert Montgomery, KB3WHS, French Creek State Park, Elverson, PA USA, NRD535d, random 500 ft wire, Clifton Labs 1503 active antenna, Marantz Tape deck, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ?? WCBM is 680 in Baltimore. Surely it was WSCR 670 Chicago, which has also been reported on other harmonix lately, and this would be 5 x 670. Possibly WCBM carrying the same game and it was clearly mentioned on WSCR? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. If you are wondering what happened to WBAP and KSCS on 25910 and 25990: They are moving from their old studios in Arlington TX to 35 miles ENE in Dallas where they have joined a new radio group. Turned off the IFB transmitters in Arlington so they can be moved to the new studios in Victory Plaza, downtown Dallas. I`ll let you know when they pop back on. KRLD can also be heard, on UHF 450.650 MHz (Mark Sills, Dallas, via George Thurman, Houston, Dec 21, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) They are both on right now at 1643 UTC, 21 December 2011. 73 (Al Muick, Whitehall, PA USA, dxldygd via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mark says they may have reactivated it from new location (George Thurman, Dec 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So, different ``stations``? ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1595 monitoring: Dec 15 at 0500 check, 9955 is nothing but jamming, so it`s safe to assume that the first airing of WOR, on WRMI at 0430 UT Thursday, was also inaudible. Tnx a lot, Arnie! Further WRMI SW broadcasts are: Fri 0600, Sat 0900, 1600, 1830, Sun 0900, 1630, 1830, Mon 1230, plus many more webcasts. On WTWW: Thursday 2200 on 9479, UT Sunday 0500 on 5755 On WBCQ: Thursday 2230 on 7490 On WWRB: UT Friday 0430v on 3195, 5050 On HLR: Tuesday 1030 on 5980 Also on WRN via SiriusXM 120 to NAm: Sat & Sun 1830, Sun 0930 Full schedule at http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WORLD OF RADIO 1595 monitoring: confirmed on 9479 WTWW, Thursday Dec 15 at 2200. At 2229 I tuned in 7490 to confirm it on WBCQ, but it was just ending! About 30 sex behind WTWW, and 2230 starting Amos `n` Andy, plus continuing with another episode after 2245. For some reason the two were swapped this week. No reply from WBCQ as to whether this is a permanent change. So next Thursday check at 2200 just in case. Also confirmed after 0430 UT Friday Dec 16 on 3195 and 5050 WWRB. On 9955 WRMI at 0600 UT Friday: inaudible, with only very lite residual pulse jamming. Next best chance is UT Sunday 0500 on 5755 WTWW. WORLD OF RADIO 1595: is scheduled to appear this week on Area 51, on WBCQ 5110v-CUSB, says http://www.worldmicroscope.com/ UT Monday Dec 19 at 0330, following Larry Will`s `Free Radio` live show at 0300. Also on WTWW 5755, UT Sunday 0500; on WRMI 9955, Sunday 0900, 1630, 1830, Monday 1230. On WRN via SiriusXM Channel 120, Sunday 0930 and 1830 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. 7490, Dec 17 at 2230, WBCQ is on again this Saturday with gospel rock on `I Sing Radio`, and with heavy QRM de BBCWS Thailand in English, as I have repeatedly had to report to no avail. Recheck at 2345, same QRM situation during the 22-24 BBC transmission. Meanwhile, a nice clear frequency nearby, 7505 goes vacant, tied up by imaginary WRNO, off the air for over a year. 9330, Dec 18 at 1308, `Glad Tidings to Zion` passage from Handel`s Messiah by a great singer, but GFRN via WBCQ doles out only small doses of great music, segué to some more modern hymn, both marred by IADs, and it`s just as well not to subject Handel to those or SSB any longer than that. 7490, Dec 20 at 2305 check, WBCQ with M-F paid programming `Money Talks` with heavy interference from BBCWS Thailand as usual, clashing 22-24 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi folks, Google Street View imagery is 'now' date stamped within Google Maps (only) :-D I note an update to the Street View imagery of the WRMI SW site & it's improved resolution imagery too. 25 54N, 80 22W (Ian Baxter, NSW, Shortwavesites YG via DXLD) WRMI has a new program grid up dated Dec 13, via http://www.wrmi.net/pb/wp_d12a1732/wp_d12a1732.html If you think that`s convoluted, you should see the axual URL for the program grid at http://spreadsheets.google.com New M-F at 1200-1300 is `Tempranito y de Mañana`, Early in the Morning. What`s that about? [see below] Exile show, ergo must be jammed? Replaces the 1230 Monday airing of WORLD OF RADIO. Another big block is `Cuba al Día`, M-F at 23-24, the Radio Martí program which WRMI trial-ran a few weeks ago, and which per RM`s own schedule is UT Tue-Sat at 0000 and 0400, so it gets advance play by one hour on WRMI?? Compare to Greenville frequencies to see if really // now. There`s also a `Noticiero` of unknown origin Wed-Fri at 04-05, suspect also originating with R. Martí. That takes care of the ex-0430 UT Thursday WOR broadcast. So the remaining WORLD OF RADIO times on the 9955 SW schedule are: Fri 0600, Sat 0900, 1600, 1830, Sun 0900, 1630, 1830. On webcast only: Mon-Tue-Wed 1630, Thu 1600, Fri 1530. Mon 2230, Thu 2200. Some of the newer shows are yet to be described in the list of programs, but here is one not yet started: ``Blues Radio International Web Page: http://www.bluesradiointernational.net Blues Radio International, beginning January 1, 2012, brings Blues music to the world, with a potential audience of many tens of millions. It is the only weekly international shortwave radio broadcast devoted entirely to Blues music. . .`` [more below] (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re previous report on R. Martí via WRMI 9955: Jeff White explains that the new morning hour at 12-13 M-F, `Tempranito y de Mañana`` is also a direct relay of Martí, part of their 4-hour morning magazine. The 23- 24 UT `Cuba al Día` is delayed from RM at 2000 (or 2030, their website claims); the 0000 and 0400 UT times I had found for same title were for TV Martí, not Radio. There may be further changes on WRMI come January (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Blues Radio International sounds like something I'd be really interested in. I know that it comes out of WRMI, but doesn't WRMI broadcast mostly to Latin America? I can't seem to figure out if there will be a United States feed, but I certainly hope there will be. The fact that they're offering free recordings of music that they broadcast is something that already attracts me to them. I'll certainly be a listener, if I can be (John, [a.k.a. Wolfgang, a.k.a. wolfwere, a.k.a narvorr, ABDX via DXLD) WRMI broadcasts only to Latin America, so it`s hard to hear in North America, plus often jammed even during non-Spanish, and/or non-exile programming. You`ll probably have to listen not on SW. Here`s the full announcement about BRI from WRMI`s website. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ABDX via DXLD) Viz.: Blues Radio International 1063 Hillsboro Mile, Suite 303 Hillsboro Beach, FL 33062 USA E-mail: bluesradiointernational @ gmail.com Web Page: http://www.bluesradiointernational.net Blues Radio International, beginning January 1, 2012, brings Blues music to the world, with a potential audience of many tens of millions [sic]. It is the only weekly international shortwave radio broadcast devoted entirely to Blues music. BRI broadcasts worldwide through Radio Miami International, a privately owned, FCC-licensed international radio station based in Miami, Florida. The show can be heard on shortwave radio every Sunday at 9:00 pm Eastern Time (0200 Monday UT) on 9955 kHz in the 31 meter shortwave band. BRI also is streamed simultaneously on the Internet at http://www.wrmi.net The program features both classic and new Blues music. BRI is a proud supporter of the Blues Foundation. We are honored to broadcast recordings of live performances from the Blues Music Awards, the premier musical event sponsored by the Blues Foundation. We also bring you recordings of stunning live performances from another worldwide event sponsored by the Blues Foundation: the International Blues Challenge. These live broadcasts of the world's best Blues artists give listeners an audio backstage pass to amazing live music not found on any CD or the Internet (WRMI website via gh, ABDX via DXLD) WRMI: see also CZECHIA [non], SLOVAKIA [non], CUBA [non] ** U S A. 11520, Dec 15 at 0503, WEWN English is the strongest signal on band (SSOB), and enough to bring with it the squeal and spur field peaking plus and minus 9 kHz; Second SSOB was its Spanish on 11870 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. 11580, WYFR "Unshackled" like programme with kid running away because his mother wants to remarry, and kids singing Christmas carols. At :14 into more 'kids' oriented programming -- who do they think is out there listening to SW? This channel is listed in the HFCC list as being in Spanish and directed to SE South America. ID and offer of free Family Radio post cards at BoH and into a "science and creation" feature. I have a theory about this station: they have cut back on transmissions for a very simple and logical reason. Before May, they were happy to spend money like there was no tomorrow because, well there wasn't going to be a tomorrow. Now they have to be a little more careful with the bucks, so they've cut way back with the transmission schedule! Seems logical to me. Not as strong as Florida was in ye olden days, but still in OK: 3+4554 with my local QRM screwing things up. 2205-2235 10/Dec-- (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Williamston MI, MARE Tipsheet Dec 16 via DXLD) 6875, Dec 16 at 0616 check, RTI via WYFR is still in wrong language, German instead of Spanish. Now I have an idea why I was previously hearing weak duplicates on 7000 and 6750 --- super-strong 6875 mixing with Wadley-loop even-MHz, FRG-7 birdie at 7000 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also TAIWAN [non] 9390, Dec 20 at 1318, Harold Camping with Bible study, not rapture stuff. Seems we are hearing more of him lately on YFR, as the power struggle fluxuates? Aoki shows this one is 300 kW, 132 degrees from Almaty-Nikolayevka, KAZKAHSTAN at 13-14. And it is undermodulated, fluttery (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non] Winter B-11 of WYFR Family Radio via CIS txs: 1500-1600 7565 A-A 100 kW / 187 deg to WeAs Pashto 1300-1400 12130 A-A 200 kW / 132 deg to SoAs Nepali 1400-1500 9440 ARM 300 kW / 110 deg to SoAs Assamese 1400-1500 11520 A-A 300 kW / 177 deg to SoAs Urdu 1400-1600 7550 A-A 500 kW / 177 deg to SoAs Punjabi 1600-1700 7505 A-A 300 kW / 177 deg to SoAs Urdu 1100-1200 13795 A-A 300 kW / 094 deg to EaAs English 1100-1400 9310 A-A 300 kW / 121 deg to SEAs Ilocano/Tagalog/English 1200-1400 9390 A-A 200 kW / 132 deg to SEAs Cebuano/English 1300-1400 7560 A-A 200 kW / 132 deg to SEAs Burmese 1400-1500 5835 A-A 500 kW / 132 deg to SEAs English Winter B-11 of WYFR Family Radio via RNW: 1600-1700 on 9590 MDC 250 kW / 320 deg to EaAf Swahili 1700-1800 on 7385 MDC 050 kW / 310 deg to EaAf English 1800-2000 on 7395 MDC 250 kW / 320 deg to EaAf English 1900-2100 on 6020 MDC 050 kW / 255 deg to SoAf English Winter B-11 of WYFR Family Radio via TWN: 1500-1700 on 9940 TAI 250 kW / 352 deg to CeAs Russian 1300-1500 on 11540 HUW 100 kW / 285 deg to SoAs English 1500-1700 on 6280 TSH 300 kW / 285 deg to SoAs English/Hindi 0800-0900 on 11895 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg to EaAs Korean 0900-1000 on 11565 TAI 100 kW / 310 deg to EaAs Chinese 0900-1100 on 9545 TAI 100 kW / 310 deg to EaAs Chinese 0900-1100 on 9945 TAI 100 kW / 310 deg to EaAs Chinese 1000-1100 on 9920 TAI 100 kW / 310 deg to EaAs Chinese 1100-1600 on 6240 BAJ 100 kW / 310 deg to EaAs Chinese 1100-1600 on 9280 PAO 100 kW / 335 deg to EaAs Chinese 1200-1300 on 11535 BAJ 100 kW / 335 deg to EaAs Chinese 2100-2400 on 9280 PAO 100 kW / 335 deg to EaAs Chinese 2200-2400 on 6230 BAJ 100 kW / 310 deg to EaAs Chinese 2300-2400 on 9540 TAI 100 kW / 310 deg to EaAs Chinese 0000-0100 on 11630 PAO 100 kW / 225 deg to SEAs Vietnamese 0000-0100 on 11865 PAO 100 kW / 180 deg to SEAs Indonesian 0900-1100 on 9465 PAO 100 kW / 180 deg to SEAs English 1000-1100 on 9455 TAI 100 kW / 267 deg to SEAs Vietnamese 1100-1200 on 6220 HUW 100 kW / 265 deg to SEAs Burmese 1100-1200 NF 11915 TAI 300 kW / 205 deg to SEAs Indonesian, ex 11550 1100-1300 on 11520 BAJ 100 kW / 180 deg to SEAs Tagalog/Indonesian 1300-1500 on 11520 BAJ 100 kW / 180 deg to SEAs English/Indonesian 1200-1300 on 7460 PAO 100 kW / 225 deg to SEAs Vietnamese 1200-1300 on 11570 HUW 100 kW / 265 deg to SEAs Burmese 1300-1400 on 7540 TAI 100 kW / 250 deg to SEAs Vietnames 1300-1400 on 9960 TAI 100 kW / 267 deg to SEAs Vietnamese (DX Mix News 21 Dec via DXLD) HUW = Hu Wei 23 43 35.06 N 120 25 01.92 E BAJ/PAO = Bao Jhong / Pao Chung 23 43 29.10 N 120 17 58.68 E TAI = Tainan 23 02 35.16 N 120 10 07.62 E TPI/TSH = Tanshui (Taipei) 25 11 08.36 N 121 24 52.01 E (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 17 Dec, 11714.8, KJES at 1405 as per just reading the news on Glenn's 3/12 newsletter has been found here with just audible carrier (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Artie Bigley has found and forwarded an FCC NOV (notice of violation) dated Dec 14, 2011, sent to KJES, charging them with operating on 11714.803 kHz, which at 197 Hz off is 21 Hz beyond the .0015 % tolerance allowed, i.e. plus/minus 176 Hz from 11715.000! KJES has been off-frequency for years, and the FCC has finally caught them. FCC hardly ever cites US SWBC stations for anything, e.g. WWCR spurring over half the 19m band, WEWN with its eternal spurs at 9/18/27 kHz on each side. Yet, even a tolerance of 176 Hz is intolerable in international SW broadcasting, far too lax, where properly-operated stations maintain a tolerance of say 15-20 Hz max, often much closer, regardless of how high the frequency, i.e. not causing audible heterodynes. James T. Lyon at FCC San Diego gave Our Lady`s Youth Center in Vado NM 20 days to respond with an explanation of each violation and what they are doing to correct them. At this point they are not facing a fine, apparently. So have they been on the air since then, on-frequency or off-? As in DXLD 11-50: Dec 3 at 1432-1437, Ken Zichi in Michigan had them on 11715.0, ``on channel for a change`` Dec 10 at 1947 I had them on 15385.4 [where there is a 231 Hz tolerance! far too much] Dec 13 at 1551, Terry Krueger in Florida had KJES on 11714.78v, even further off than in their citation. Those were all before the date of the NOV. One later report from Zacharias Liangas, Greece: Dec 17 at 1405 on 11714.8. Now I`m looking for KJES: Dec 22 at 2028, nothing around 15385. Dec 23 at 1407 and 1520, nothing around 11715. Of course, their operation has long been sporadic, and at times we may be in the skip zone. The nominal current schedule per WRTH 2012 is daily, but irregular: 0200-0330 7555 [tolerance 113 Hz, far too much] 1300-1700 11715 1900-2100 15385 The full text of the KJES NOV from FCC appears in DXLD 11-51, published shortly (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Before the Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Our Lady's Youth Center ) File No. EB-11-SD-0208 Licensee of Radio Station KJES ) ) NOV No. V201232940003 Vado, New Mexico ) NOTICE OF VIOLATION Released: December 14, 2011 By the District Director, San Diego Office, Western Region, Enforcement Bureau: 1. This is a Notice of Violation ("Notice") issued pursuant to Section 1.89 of the Commission's Rules, to Our Lady's Youth Center. ("OLYC"), licensee of International Broadcast station KJES in Vado, New Mexico. 2. On August 6, 2011, the FCC's High Frequency Direction Finding Center monitored radio station KJES, located near Vado, New Mexico (32-o 08' 02" north latitude and 106-o 35' 24" west longitude), and observed the following violation: a. 47 C.F.R. S: Section 73.732: "Authorizations issued to international broadcasting stations by the Commission will be authorizations to permit the construction or use of a particular transmitting equipment combination and related antenna systems for international broadcasting, and to permit broadcasting to zones or areas of reception specified on the instrument of authorization." KJES is authorized to operate on 11,715 kHz with transmitting equipment with a frequency tolerance of 0.0015 %, which is plus or minus 176 Hz from 11,715 kHz. Radio station KJES was measured to have a center operating frequency of 11,714.803 kHz, which is 197 Hz below its authorized frequency, therefore, the station was operating 21 Hz beyond its allowed frequency tolerance. 3. Pursuant to Section 308(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 1.89 of the Commission's Rules, OLYC must submit a written statement concerning this matter within 20 days of release of this Notice. The response must fully explain each violation, must contain a statement of the specific action(s) taken to correct each violation and preclude recurrence, and should include a time line for completion of pending corrective action(s). The response must be complete in itself and signed by a principal or officer of the OLYC. All replies and documentation sent in response to this Notice should be marked with the File No. and NOV No. specified above, and mailed to the following address: Federal Communications Commission San Diego District Office 4542 Ruffner Street, Suite 370 San Diego, California 92111 4. This Notice shall be sent to Our Lady's Youth Center, at its address of record. 5. The Privacy Act of 1974 requires that we advise you that the Commission will use all relevant material information before it, including any information disclosed in your reply, to determine what, if any, enforcement action is required to ensure compliance. Any false statement made knowingly and willfully in reply to this Notice is punishable by fine or imprisonment under Title 18 of the U.S. Code. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION James T. Lyon District Director San Diego District Office Western Region Enforcement Bureau 47 C.F.R. S: 1.89. 47 U.S.C. S: 308(b). P.L. 93-579, 5 U.S.C. S: 552a(e)(3). 18 U.S.C. S: 1001 et seq. Federal Communications Commission (via Artie Bigley, Dec 21, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. 7465, Dec 20 at 1257 surprised to find strong gospel-huxtering going on here, a WWCR frequency but not scheduled after 1200. Have they revived the #4 transmitter which had been taking a break between 12 and 15? Just 25 kHz away, at *1259 WWCR-2 is signing on, and then both continue for hours and hours. Turns out that 15825 is absent, so 7465 is really WWCR-1 which failed to QSY at 1200. 15825, if on, should have been detectable, propagating as 15610 WEWN at similar distance was audible, and even weak Galei Zahal, ISRAEL was in on 15850 at 1326. After 1300, 7465 is still on, while 7490 has usual Joyce Riley // 13845. (Ever notice how much the WEWN talkhost on `Catholic Connexion` at 14-15, Teresa Tomeo, sounds like her?) At 1309 I can hear some co-channel under 7465. That would be R. Thailand in Japanese, also in Mandarin and Thai during this hour which without WWCR are easily audible here; at 15-16, VOA English via Tinang is also on 7465. Operating two adjacent transmitters on two frequencies so close to each other increases the risk of radiating mixing products. At 1340 I look for those, and indeed I can hear both audios mixing weakly on 7515; while 7440 had too much ACI from 7445. At 1401 and 1450, 7465 still continues with `Inspirations Across America` instead of on 15825. 7465 still on at 1502. And still on at 1645 check when it has weakened a lot and 7490 has already moved to 12160. Still detectable poorly at 1740. When will anyone at WWCR realize that they have failed to come up on their all-day frequency 15825? What about clients who are paying for the very different coverage area of 15825 and are not getting it? Rebate? Strangely enough, WWCR website displays a revised transmission schedule effective Dec 19, but for #1 it still shows 15825! ``WWCR B11 Schedule December 19, 2011 to March 10, 2012 Transmitter #1 - 100 KW - 46 Degrees 7.465 1000 – 1200 (4:00am – 6:00am CT) 15.825 1200 – 2100 (6:00am – 3:00pm CT) 7.465 2100 – 2300 (3:00pm – 5:00pm CT) 3.195 2300 – 0200 (5:00pm – 8:00pm CT) 3.215 0200 – 1000 (8:00pm – 4:00am CT)`` I haven`t tried to figure out what change they think they have made (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15825, Dec 21 at 1423, WWCR remembered to change to this frequency today, VG signal, and nothing on 7465 where it was on all morning yesterday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 820 WVSG Columbus, ex-WOSU: 820, WVSG, OH, Columbus - 12/17 0100 - "WVKO Columbus... AM 820, the new permanent home for listener supported Saint Gabriel Catholic radio, WVSG Columbus, Ohio," into EWTN network program (Bruce Conti, NH, 0638 UT Dec 17, mwdx yg via DXLD) So was it 0100 UT or EST? (gh) WVSG 820 already has a complete Wikipedia entry on the web here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WVSG_%28AM%29 (Artie Bigley, OH, Dec 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1300, Dec 16 at 1211 UT, `Gospel Hour` from ``Shreveport`s premier station`` , i.e. KSYB. Found website http://www.amistadradiogroup.com/ with audio greeting pronouncing Amistad with short A`s as if it were an English word: ``The Gospel Power House --- The Station God Listens To!!!`` Tnx for the promotion. 5000 watts day, 30 watts night, and it`s definitely still night. NRC AM Log 2011-2012 does not show a PSRA, but there is one of 500 watts, which is more like it after 6 am local, per: http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=5041 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1460, Dec 16 at 1213 UT, S Asian songs, segués including one at 1222, no announcements. Hard to get a fix, seems sort of E-W, but the only ETHnic format in NRC AM Log anywhere around here is KBRZ, Houston TX, and their ``International Language Radio`` schedule fits: http://www.kbrzradio.com/5.html with `Sangeet Radio` M-F 6 am to midnight, more variety on weekends (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1690, FLORIDA (MIS), Pinellas County Emergency Management, Largo and Clearwater. 1405 UT December 18, 2011. The nearby Largo audio is again malfunctioning, with just a big open carrier, while the second transmitter (which relays the same audio in synch) remains audible underneath with the usual stale compu-female "click it or ticket", watch for motorcycles and US-19 road construction loop, along with a weak WMLB, Avondale Estates, GA with folk and traditional oldie C&W (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W Florida Low Power Radio Stations: http://sites.google.com/site/floridadxn/ Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Report of WDOR harmonic on 1820 --- A ham DXer in Ontario is reporting a harmonic from WDOR-910 in Sturgeon Falls WI on 1820, which is in the CW part of the 160 meter ham band. He reports this on the 'topband' list and says the modulation is usable. This is not always the case for harmonics. I don't know if they are AN or have a s/off. Can anyone else hear this? 73 (Bob Foxworth, FL, Dec 21, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. FT. MYERS-AREA FM PIRATE IS BUSTED BY LOCAL POLICE Pirate Radio Al Knighten's "Dunbar Community Radio" at 107.5 not only ran music, it aired PSAs and public affairs shows for the Dunbar area. WBBH-TV says local leaders such as the chairman of the Ft. Myers Citizens Police Review Board actually hosted a talk show, and at least one Ft. Myers council member had been on 107.5. Ft. Myers Police Captain Dennis Ead admits that the station was "providing a service...but the bottom line is that it's illegal." Florida has an unusual state law that allows law enforcement to take action against unlicensed radio operations, shortening a process that could take many months under the FCC's cumbersome procedures. (from radio-info.com 12/16/2011 via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W Florida DX News and "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" are at: http://sites.google.com/site/floridadxn/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ft. Myers, FL area pirate arrested. In contrast, the chairman of the Fort Myers Citizens Police Review Board had reportedly hosted a show on the station and later said, "Our community has to be educated...." http://www.rbr.com/radio/ft-myers-fl-area-pirate-arrested.html (via CGC Communicator via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. LAWMAKERS APPROVE FUNDS FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING The nine-bill omnibus appropriations package Congress passed last week to fund the government preserves funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at $445 million in FY 2014 [sic]. The president signed the measure into law on Saturday. The package also preserves the policy of a two-year advance appropriation to CPB that makes possible the long-term, multi-hour productions made for public television. The legislation also includes $27.2 million in funding for FY 2012 for the Ready To Learn program, public television's core on-air and online educational content designed to build children's reading skills. CPB distributes these federal funds to local stations like KGOU in annual grants, and we are in the process of making our yearly request to CPB. KGOU's grant is usually 10 to 12 percent of the station's annual operating budget (KGOU newsletter Dec 21 via DXLD) Great News...Thank You! Dear Glenn, Great news! Over the weekend, the President signed the final funding bill for FY 2012, which was approved by Congress on Saturday. Included in this bill is level funding of $445 million for public broadcasting through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and level funding of $27.2 million for Ready To Learn, which funds public television programming and services for kids. In these tough economic times, these funding levels are a real testament to the vitality of public broadcasting. You Did It This year's success in securing funding for local public television and radio stations wouldn't have happened without you. You called and emailed your Members of Congress, and they responded. They listened to you, one of the 170 million Americans who connect with public broadcasting each month, telling them that local public radio and television programs and services are critical. Let's Take A Moment For Some Fun... In the next week, keep an eye out for an email with details regarding a fun giveaway about supporting public broadcasting! We hope you'll enjoy it. Thank you! Thank you for all of your support of public broadcasting throughout this year. You made all the difference. We hope the end of 2011 and the start of 2012 are wonderful for you and your family. We look forward to continuing to work together in the coming year to strengthen public broadcasting! Jeff Nelson and Stacey Karp 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting is a collaboration of public radio and television stations, national organizations, producers and our viewers and listeners throughout the country in favor of a strong public media in the United States. This project receives no government funding. 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting 480 Cedar Street St. Paul, MN 55101, USA ©2011 All rights reserved (170MA mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) ** U S A. I am no longer compiling extensive directories of special holiday program pages from webcasting public radio stations, but here are a couple. You may be able to find one from your favorite stations where many of the same shows will be appearing at various times: http://kgou.org/index.php?holiday-programs http://www.wuot.org/h/programming/holidays2011.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. 7249.9, 0543, VATICAN STATE, Vatican Radio, 10 kW local transmitter poor-fair in French, 0600 ‘Laudateur [sic] Jesus Christus’ and into English for 30 minutes 10 November. Frequency measured as 7249.89 (Bryan Clark at Mangawhai, New Zealand, with AOR7030+ and Alpha Delta Sloper, EWEs to NE, E and SE, plus various 100 metre BOGs to the Americas, Dec NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** VATICAN [non]. 9865, Dec 16 at 1145, Spanish from R. Vaticano, er, Vaticana, with homilies or something for Dec 16 date; QRDRM from 9865- 9870-9875, i.e. RNZI, now scheduled 0759-1158. VR is 100 kW, 227 degrees from Sackville to E USA, Mexico, CAm and Caribbean, so this DRM is QRMing an analog service in its own target area (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. Acabo de recibir un cuadro enmarcado y con su vidrio, con una hermosa artesanía de 5 años de permanenecia con la Voz de Vietnam y además el diploma, es una belleza. Si consigo que mi hijo con el celular le saque una foto, la subo. De los montones de recuerdos que he recibido de las emisoras, realmente esto es uno de los más hermosos; además la suerte de que llegó entero, je je (Ernesto Paulero, Argentina, Dec 14, condiglist yg via DXLD) 6020, Voice of Vietnam 4, Daclac, 1404, Dec 04, vernacular speakers talking. Very Good (SIO 544). (Michele D'Amico, visiting Johor Bahru, Malaysia, DSWCI DX Window Dec 14 via DXLD) 7210, VOV-1, 1316-1323, Dec 18. Briefly noted in Vietnamese and indigenous music; // 5975 (fair and the best heard), 7435 (fair with QRM) and 9635 (poor-fair). Better than usual reception (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. ESTAÇÕES CLANDESTINAS: 1550, Polisario Front, 1012-1305*, 18/12, Arabic, the usual propaganda, music, anthem at 1304, but incomplete as the feed was suddenly cut off. On 14/12, the program in Castilian, 2300-2330, was observed past that hour, and closed at 0002, but I can't say whether it started at 2300 or later, at 2330. 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. SW RADIO AFRICA REACH 10 YEARS OF BROADCASTS UK-based SW Radio Africa on Monday celebrated a major milestone in reaching 10 years of independent broadcasting into Zimbabwe via shortwave and the internet to the rest of the world. A statement issued by station manager Gerry Jackson said they started broadcasting on Wednesday 19 December 2001 and “had no idea that 10 years on we’d still be here – or that the crisis in Zimbabwe would still be dragging on, with no solution in sight.” Read more from Nehanda Radio http://nehandaradio.com/2011/12/21/sw-radio-africa-reaches-10-years-of-broadcasts/ Andy Sennitt comments: One of the notable things about SW Radio Africa is how few staff changes there have been in the past 10 years. They have a very small but extremely dedicated team. Gerry Jackson, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in 2006 when she visited RNW, is an inspirational leader who is desperately sad at what has happened to her homeland. It’s hardly appropriate to say “congratulations on achieving 10 years” because she had always hoped that SWRA wouldn’t be around that long. But we can pray that its mission will have been completed long before another 10 years have passed (December 21st, 2011 - 16:47 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Atlantic carrier search on 10-kHz-step caradio UT Dec 16 around 0235 found hets on: 530, 670, 690, 890, 910. The last two look TA for sure, 891 likely Algeria and 909 most likely BBC Radio 5 Live totalling 401 kW, altho I couldn`t tell which side of the NAm frequencies. 531 probably Algeria too unless LYQ is back on 529, but I doubt it. 671 of course Cuba. The 690 het was less than 1 kHz, so some off-frequency American station; ideas? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. I want you to know about a station I heard on 1600 kHz. On UT 12/18 from 1032 to 1140 UT, a Spanish speaking station which certainly sounded like an XE station. They were playing ranchera and bandera music with a few Christmas songs in Spanish as well. At times the signal was very good. A male announcer between some of the songs with rapid talk briefly. I could understand very little of what he said as the sig seemed to always be in a fade down during his announcements. I THINK maybe he said something about Tejano or Texano, but I really can't say for certain. Could this be XEAE reactivated? Reception was best before 1130 UT. QRM only got worse after that. During the work week I can't get the headphones on until around 1200, and I'm not hearing any signs of it because of KATZ with their wonderful black gospel screaming, I mean singing. I figured you might be interested in this UNID for sure (Kirk Allen, Ponca City OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. NÃO IDENTIFICADA, 2330 kHz, 1940-..., 16/12, Castilian (LAm accent), reports, interviews; off at 2000; 25432. RNE or other generating an external mixing spur. 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Pirate, presumably North American: 6924.9 AM, Dec 17 at 2312 music with a heavy beat, but I decide to go with Turkey q.v. as the DX program is about to start. When it ended at 2339, 6924.9 was off (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Pirate, presumably North American: 6925.0-USB, Dec 19 at 1400, ``Tainted Love``, 1402 segué to another song by same YL. I have no idea whether it was the original by Gloria Jones, or someone else; too much info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tainted_Love Some ute QRM; next check 1430 it`s gone, but a huge swatch 6750-6985 occupied by OTH radar presumably from China or vicinity; same sound on a weaker, smaller segment 5780-5830 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Pirate, presumably North American: 6950.0-SSB, Dec 17 at 2340, Xmas stories and music to tune of Jingle Bells. Next check at 2352, this one is off. Some weak SSB on 6945 then appears to be 2-way, with pauses (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7000-SSB, Dec 19 at 1408 I am hearing bits of talk and North-Korean-like jamming; clandestine? pirate? ham? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7275+, Dec 18 at 0552, Tunisia has a very weak het of less than 1 kHz on the hi side, not noticed before. AM ham always possible, but could it be a broadcaster, such as Nigeria? When IWT cut off at 0630*, could no longer hear anything else (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7480, Dec 20 at 1256, oscillating tone jamming, but nothing scheduled here which would `need` that. 7480 does bear Open Radio North Korea, via Armenia but at far different time 21-22. FEBC Philippines starts at 1300, however, due west for an hour in SE Asian minolity languages, so maybe the jamming is really for that from Vietnam, in which case Aoki ought to a*terisk it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. 18-12, 12365-USB, seems to be with news with mentions of Victoria, 7AM, etc., signal S7. Seems to be from Eire or UK (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Time? (gh) I guess the 12365U station is VMC, Charleville, Australia with maritime weather info (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, HCDX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 12670, 17/Dec 0842, Very weak signal, but there is modulation and voices, in AM, no Firedrake (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 16 meters - east/west, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) A Sound of Hope frequency where we usually hear only Firedrake (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 15290, 15/Dec 1908, UNID, Probably the RN Venezuela, listed Aoki, but here only carrier with good signal (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jorge, This has been off the air for 7 months, last reported in DXLD on May 19. Same goes for all the RNV daily relays via Cuba. Aló, Presidente lasted a couple more weeks before it was gone for good. Altho it too was missing more than present for months before. Such is the risk of consulting only Aoki, which claims 15290 at 19-20 is the B-11 schedule of RNV. There is no such schedule, as it is off the air! Aoki also misses listing what this most likely really is: Cairo in English as confirmed in DXLD 11-47 and listed in HFCC, EiBi. I assume you mean modulation was lacking, which is also terribly typical of Cairo. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Actually I use Aoki, Eibi and EIBIview. But I'm also using the HFCC, if in doubt. There was failure in this research. Thank you very much, 73 (Jorge Freitas, Brasil, ibid.) See PUBLICATIONS below UNIDENTIFIED. 15700, Dec 17 at 1507, open carrier, off a few minutes later. HFCC has something `new` registered this hour for WRN due south via KCH = Pridnestrovye, but probably not in effect. More likely R. Bulgaria tune-up prior to its 1600 broadcast on 15700, during a break after the 14-15 broadcast on 15600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 16700, 17/Dec 0902, female voice. At 0904 short smooth instrumental music, no Firedrake music, and YL talk. At 0907 OM talk. Very weak signal (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14´S 38 58´W, Brasil, Degen 1103, Dipole antenna, 16 meters - east/west, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) A Sound of Hope frequency where we usually hear only Firedrake ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACKNOWLEDGED ON WORLD OF RADIO 1596: Thanks to Gerald T Pollard, North Carolina, for a check in the mail for winter solstice to Glenn Hauser, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED ON SUBSEQUENT PROGRAMS: Thanks to Will Martin, St Louis MO, supporting WOR and DXLD with a check in the mail to P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702. Glenn, Thanks for your good work. I heard WOR on 7490 kHz at 2200 UT Thursday [Dec 15], not at 2230 as listed for WBCQ. Reception was very good here in central Illinois. Best wishes, Martin Gallas (with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) A contribution in my appreciation of all your radio related activities (Kraig Krist, Manassas VA, with a check in the mail to P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702) I don't mean to be rude, but I remember a Glenn Hauser from WWCR. You can't be the same one, can you? It's really great to 'meet' a celebrity - I'm in total awe! - (John, [a.k.a. Wolfgang, a.k.a. wolfwere, a.k.a narvorr, ABDX via DXLD) John/Wolfgang, I`m the one and only Glenn Hauser, formerly heard on WWCR (gh) Your broadcasts are akin to poetry with a reassuring rhythm much like our BBC Radio 4 "Shipping (weather) Forecast". I can only imagine all the hours it takes to collate the info. Seasons Greetings from (Tony, SW London [22:48 Sat 17 Dec] (Listening via WRN through Virgin Cable at 09:00 GMT, er UT, Sats) WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx, Tony! I like that better than ``he speaks in a monotone`` (gh) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WRTH HELD UP AT AMAZON? FYI, I received an email from Amazon that the distribution of the "WRTH 2012" has been delayed until Feb - Mar 2012. No stocking stuffer this year! (Bill, KD5XN, West Texas, Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD RADIO TV HANDBOOK 2012 EDITION -- A NON-REVIEW: We are once again highly amused to pre-order the WRTVH via amazon.com, which (then) showed a receive date window of next week, only to now be told it won't be received until the beginning of March. A publication, by then, that will be three months old in the era of something called the Internet. So, is it held up in Customs again? Who knows. But sadly, I think it may finally be time for the WRTVH to follow Passport To World Band Radio and cease publication in a dignified manner. A hardcopy publication is such a wonderful reference both to hold at home and to use in the field. But it is of diminishing return if only available almost a quarter of a year after the release. We truly lov(ed) the WRTVH, but if it is not available in a timely manner, what's the point? (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is not *only available* with a delay. I have *never* bought anything off Amazon and don`t understand why everyone thinx that`s the [only] way to go. I got mine direct on Dec 19 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I ordered direct from WRTH (yes, it's a higher price with airmail), but have had my issue for a week now. 73 (Al Muick, Whitehall PA USA, Dec 18, ibid.) WRTH 2012 arrived already, when ordered via DX Clubs, in England on Dec Mon 5th, in Germany on Dec Fri 16th... 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Glenn, Copies have been delivered to our distributors (Innovative Logistics in New Jersey) and they should have shipped them out to Amazon and the other accounts. I am checking to find out if that has happened. [later:] Glenn, Copies of WRTH 2012 have been delivered to Amazon. Still trying to find out why they have sent that report (Nicholas Hardyman, WRTH Publisher, Dec 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRTVH contacted me directly and indicates North American copies arrived at the New Jersey distributor this Monday, and Amazon is also in the process of receipt. So, the books should be arriving soon for those who ordered, and Amazon's claim of March delivery is likely not (or will not be) accurate (Terry Krueger, FL, Dec 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Last year there was a problem with that distribution once it arrived in New Jersey and deliveries were delayed by weeks. Hopefully not the case this year (John Figliozzi, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Today Amazon informed me that WRTVH is an item that "normally ships in 1 to 3 months." Normally when I think books, I think Amazon - but from now I'll be supporting our local radio dealers for radio books (Ben Chiludo, Dec 21, ibid.) THE BIG THREE ONLINE SHORTWAVE SCHEDULE REFERENCE LISTINGS Aoki list is a reference for what you are hearing (Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Direct link to text version, updated daily is: http://www1.m2.mediacat.ne.jp/binews/bib11.txt Caveat: this list includes lots of inactive minor stations, especially in Latin America. It is most useful for keeping up with current schedules of international broadcasters. It is a good idea to compare with two other references, which don`t always match: EiBi, updated every few weeks, with less technical detail: http://www.eibispace.de/dx/freq-b11.txt HFCC: http://hfcc.org/data/b11/b11allx2.zip download the first zip file, also updated frequently. While the HFCC listings are close to ``official``, they include `wooden` registrations, alternatives not actually in use, and do not include a number of countries which do not participate, major ones being Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Ethiopia, India, Korea North, Morocco, Serbia, Taiwan (Glenn Hauser, ABDX via DXLD) EiBi B11 English Extract posted to files section The EiBi B11 English Extract as of December 18, 2011 posted to the files section. Filename: 2011-12-18_EiBi-B11-English-Extract.pdf Virus scanned. Yes, I created it. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Manassas, Virginia USA, Dec 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) accessible to dxldyg members ELECTRONIC HOBBY PUBLICATIONS Don't know about you, but I subscribe to both Monitoring Times and Popular Communications electronically. Pop Comm has just started this service, and it's wonderful. They use a system via "Zinio Digital Magazines". MT is an older, pdf format. Unfortunately, I find MT not at all user-friendly on tablets, which would be my preferred method to read the magazine (in bed, or sitting on the couch). The format doesn't seem to fit the page terribly well. It's more appropriate to a desk top with a large screen, not really where I want to read magazines. Now along comes Pop Comm. The Zinio system is great! They have an Android app which is extremely user-friendly and a real joy to use. I'd appreciate comments from others re how they find the user interfaces available out there. I use PC on my lap tops, and Android on my Acer tablet. 73 to all! (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) TRYING TO GET A HANDLE ON FCC DATA 1. When you look at FCC data, either the query or CDBS format, how do you tell if an AM/FM station has a translator? I see most stations in CDBS database have a field named `Associated ID` --- is this the translator facility ID or is it just listing an another station this owner has in its control? (James Niven, NRC-AM via DXLD) This works backwards. In the record for a translator, this is the facility_id of the full-power station which the translator relays. The "facility_id" for station KSFI (100.3 Salt Lake City) is 60452. So if I run this query: select facility_id, assoc_facility_id, fac_callsign, comm_city, comm_state from facility where assoc_facility_id=60452 I get a list of the 33 translators (actually, 32 translators and one booster, and ten of the translators' licenses have expired) that relay KSFI. This list is not complete. I ran the same command for facility_ids 72879 (WAMB-1200) and 6139 (WHA-970); both queries returned nothing (both stations are known to be relayed on FM translators). A translator record doesn't always show who the primary station is. I don't know of any way to run this query without downloading the database & importing it to a local database engine. (I do that on a regular basis. I'd be surprised if there are more than a half-dozen other people who do so.) `` 2. FCC Rules, How does one obtain a pdf copy or a copy of the rules, I would love to jump in a learn about the rules that stations must adhere too. I have found this page on the FCC website, http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/amfmrule.html this appears to be the rules, correct?`` That's the link I use, but it's not entirely up to date. The following links are the most recent I can find: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title47-vol4/pdf/CFR-2010-title47-vol4-part73.pdf http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title47-vol4/pdf/CFR-2010-title47-vol4-part74.pdf Note that translators are regulated under Part 74 -- full-power stations under Part 73. ``3. With stations that have translators on FM for instance, is it a good rule to assume if the main station`s format is Country, the translator is also Country format, or are there variations of this rule?`` A translator is required to be a 100% relay of the primary station. There are three limited exceptions to that: 1. A translator may originate emergency announcements, warning of imminent danger. 2. A translator may originate up to 30 seconds an hour of announcements soliciting or acknowledging contributions towards the financial support of the translator. 3. A translator relaying a daytime-only AM station may continue to operate at night, while the AM station is off, provided the AM station has operated in the previous 24 hours. So almost completely, yes, the translator's format is the same as the primary station's. It should be noted that it's legal for a translator to relay the HD2/HD3/HD4 subchannel of an FM station -- and to relay that HD signal in analog mode. For example, W271AB-102.1 Nashville: the translator's primary station is WPRT-FM 102.5, an all-sports station. But W271AB's format is urban gospel. That's because W271AB isn't relaying WPRT-FM's analog signal -- it's relaying WPRT-FM's HD2 subchannel -- which is indeed urban gospel. – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, Dec 15, NRC-AM via DXLD) Good Morning Doug, Thanks so much for the information, this is very helpful. I ran the query as you stated and I returned 34 matches, for 60452 facility ID, but the cdbs database shows 2 stations as FVOID as fac_status. The "facility_id" for station KMBI-FM (107.9 Spokane) is 66099. So I run this query: select facility_id, assoc_facility_id, fac_callsign, comm_city, comm_state from facility where assoc_facility_id=66099 I get a list of the 16 translators that relay KMBI, so I get your meaning. I download the CDBS dat files everyday and import into my MS Access database looking at only 6 of the dat files. Thanks for the links to the rules, this will be helpful (James Niven, Austin, Texas, ibid.) IRCA MEXICAN LOG, 16TH EDITION (WINTER 2011) The IRCA MEXICAN LOG lists all AM stations in Mexico by frequency, including call letters, state, city, day/night power, slogans, schedule in UTC/GMT, formats, networks and notes. The call letter index gives call, frequency, city and state. The city index (listed by state, then city) includes frequency, call and day/night power. The transmitter site index (listed by state, then city) tabulates the latitude and longitude of transmitter sites. This is an indispensable reference for anyone who hears Mexican radio stations. Size is 8 1/2" x 11". IRCA/NRC members - $9.50 (US/Canada/sea mail), $11.50 (Mexico), $12.50 (rest of the world). Non-IRCA/NRC members - add $2.00. To order from the IRCA Bookstore, send the correct amount (in US funds payable to Phil Bytheway) to: IRCA BOOKSTORE, 9705 MARY NW, SEATTLE WA 98117-2334. Or, pay electronically with PayPal (add $1). Go to http://www.PayPal.com, then send your funds to phil_tekno @ yahoo.com (Phil Bytheway). Please state club affiliation when ordering. (from http://www.ircaonline.org/bookst.htm also listing many other publications including the next one, via DXLD) I`ve received my copy, and it`s an essential reference I will constantly refer to in the coming year. Info in this edition is updated to 30 Sept 2011 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IRCA TIS/HAR LIST (Winter 2011) The IRCA TIS/HAR LIST lists all US TIS/HAR stations, by frequency, including call letters, state, city, county, licensee, coordinates, expiration date and dates of DXM/DXN reports. It has been updated with FCC data and DXM/DXN reports through November 15 2011. Prices: IRCA/NRC members - $9.50 (US/Canada/sea mail), $11.50 (México), $12.50 (rest of the world). Non-IRCA/NRC members - add $2.00. (IRCA Bookstore, ordering info as above, via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ INITIAL DETAILS ANNOUNCED FOR NASB-DRM USA 2012 ANNUAL MEETING The 2012 Meeting will take place May 10 and 11, 2012 at the headquarters of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036 USA. Registration for the meeting is free of charge, and it is open to anyone with an interest in shortwave broadcasting or listening. To register, send your name and e-mail address to Jeff White at radiomiami9 @ cs.com NASB AND TDF TO HOST HFCC B12 CONFERENCE IN PARIS We are pleased to announce that the NASB and our associate member Télédiffusion de France will be organizing the HFCC B12 Conference in Paris, France. The tentative dates are August 27-31, 2012. More information will be published soon on the NASB Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/nasbshortwave and also on the HFCC webpage http://www.hfcc.org (both: Dec NASB Newsletter via DXLD) LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ CZECH IT OUT BEFORE PRONOUNCING The sad passing of Václav Havel provides another opportunity for many ignorant broadcasters such as Charlie Rose to mispronounce his name, unaware that the c represents a ts sound in Czech, not a k. The least they could do in memoriam to him would be to pronounce his name properly. Some pronounce it as an s, which is better (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ THE DAYS GROW LONGER My wishes as well for the season. From now on, the days lengthen for us in the North, although imperceptibly at first. I found a site 'gaisma.com' which plots such solar data, it was mentioned in someone else's [gh] DX report. You can input your own locale, and easily see that, while the earliest sunsets are in earliest December, the latest sunrises are well into January, and the average (least daylight total) is occurring about now. I have my own 'stonehenge' here. This time of year I can look out the kitchen window and see the sun set between two adjacent pine trees. 73 (Bob Foxworth, FL, Dec 21, ABDX via DXLD) SOME TIMELY INFORMATION or BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT THIS YEAR... We finally made it to the end of another year. It seems almost incredible that at one "time" we were afraid of George Orwell's 1984 becoming reality (notice however, that I said "almost"!), or worried about the implications of Y2K, or had crackpots have us believe that the movie "2012" is factual. However, this Beginner's Classroom will deal with more timely issues -- namely the scientific world's argument to change from GMT to UTC or UT1, and the recent changeover from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time in North America. Will we be hearing from the BBC that it is 0200 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), or 0200 UTC (Co-ordinated Universal Time) or even 0200 PMT (Paris Meridian Time)? Currently there is a case being made both pro and con for GMT versus UTC as the set standard throughout the world. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is debating this issue with a vote scheduled for January 2012. As I write this column there are 13 UTC member states who control UTC that are for it and 3 against, with the others weighing their options or making some kind of nationalistic plea for one or the other. The ITU is basically discussing whether to keep UTC unadjusted (called UT1), or continue with leap seconds when needed. This would mean UTC and UT1 would be a few hours apart in about six centuries. Are we even more confused? Only time will tell! Most radio listeners know that there is a slight difference between GMT and UTC and how they are calculated, but let's take a brief look at the two all the same. GMT is calculated using a specific place on Earth as a starting point -- in this case, the longitudinal line called the Prime Meridian that runs through Greenwich Village [sic] in London, England. Every 15 degrees of longitude allows for one hour difference in time, and with 180 degrees in each direction from the Meridian, we have 24 hours in our day. UTC is calculated by use of atomic clocks -- about 400 of them. Because of some time differentials and the slowing down of Earth's rotation, we occasionally add a second to the end of a day or year in GMT in order for it to align properly all over the world. If we did not do so, scientists have stated that in a few centuries we would be having the sun high in the sky... at midnight, local time. Evidently there is another problem. Using GMT as the standard set time in the world is causing GPS's (Global Positioning Systems) to be inaccurate. Now I don't know if this is why one GPS caused a person to drive into a church last year instead of down a particular street, but many scientists believe that using UTC would make GPS more accurate. Then there is the nationalistic problem -- GMT is based on Great Britain (Greenwich Village [sic] in London, exactly). UTC was developed in France, hence my unoriginal quip about PMT. If arguments exist only on this nationalistic plane, then some people really do have too much time on their hands! We'll keep up with the argument as long as time permits and as it develops (Joe Robinson, VA3MRF, Beginner`s Classroom, Dec ODXA Listening In via DXLD) Note: for normal non-precision use in giving log and schedule times, I insist on designating it `UT` rather than `UTC` since this is not for scientific purposes, and we are really not making any distinxion between UT1 and the other variations. So I am constantly taking out the `C` everyone thinx they have put into the abbreviation. (Let alone thinking they have to put it after every single time ever mentioned, instead of once per item is enough! Same goes for kHz after every single frequency ever mentioned.) However, in an article like the above and when quoting NOAA/SWPC, etc., I let the -C stand (gh, DXLD) MUSEA +++++ INSIDE A 1938 REMOTE BROADCAST VAN by John Schneider on 12.15.2011 http://www.rwonline.com/article/inside-a--remote-broadcast-van/50869 Here are two views of WWJ´s elaborate remote broadcast truck in 1938. The lettering on the exterior of the vehicle shows the Detroit News radio station´s 960 [corrected to 920; eventually 950] AM frequency as well as W8XWJ, the call sign for WWJ´s early ultra-high frequency high-fidelity AM "Apex" station, which operated on 41,000 kHz. The interior view shows a shortwave transmitter on the left, with the W8XWJ call sign on the microphone. The nameplate at the bottom says "The Detroit News Radio Transmitter - Power Output: 100 Watts - Freq. Range 1,500 - 50,000 kc. - Designed and built by the staff of WWJ- W8XWJ." (click thumbnail) Photos from the Detroit News Archives (click thumbnail) Elsewhere in the vehicle we can see a number of National HRO, Hallicrafters and Collins shortwave receivers. The wooden cabinet on the right rear is an especially interesting device. It´s a Finch radio facsimile printer, which could be used to receive news bulletins and photographs transmitted by the W8XWJ. (WWJ was one of the stations that experimented with facsimile broadcasting in the late ´30s.) These photos are from the Detroit News Archives (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ BBC TRIALS SURROUND SOUND THROUGH HEADPHONES Press Office: BBC Radio is launching an experiment that will offer surround sound through standard headphones. From today, a Christmas service from the BBC archives will be available online in a `binaural' format that creates realistic immersive (or `surround') sound through ordinary headphones. The Radio 3 website will offer a recording of Nine Lessons and Carols from 2007 in binaural sound until the end of the Christmas period. The service was recorded in surround sound as an experiment by BBC engineers and processed to create binaural audio by BBC Research and Development. Listeners can simply plug their standard headphones into any computer with a stereo output and then stream the specially processed audio, which should make them feel as if they are hearing the music from speakers around them, not just their headphones. There are six different surround settings to choose from, to suit different types of headphones and head shape. Tim Davie, Director of BBC Audio & Music, said: "We have stepped up our innovation within the BBC so that listeners can enjoy an even better experience of radio. If successful, our intention is to offer surround sound on a whole range of BBC programmes. This is part of an exciting series of trials such as HD Sound, and personal control of crowd versus commentary audio during events such as Wimbledon." Rupert Brun Head of Technology BBC Audio & Music said: "This experiment is an attempt to enhance the standard `stereo' sound headphone users have had for over 50 years and, although it is only a trial at this stage, if listener feedback is positive it could offer a significant improvement to audio quality in the future." At the same time, both the 2007 recording and a pioneering experimental stereo recording of Nine Lessons and Carols from 1958 will be available in a surround sound format suitable for loudspeakers, such as those used as part of a home cinema system. The 1958 stereo recording has been converted to surround sound using technology from Fraunhofer IIS in Germany. Harald Popp, Head of Department Multimedia Realtime Systems at Fraunhofer IIS, said: "We are glad to support the BBC's efforts through underlying technologies such as the MPEG Surround audio codec, that allow the creation and delivery of natural surround mixes from original stereo or surround recordings. The multi-channel audio stream is encoded in the most efficient way, backward compatible to stereo players." The pieces were chosen as King's College Cambridge – where the recordings took place – has a rich reverberant acoustic and the location of choir, organ and congregation offers good opportunities for surround sound. The recordings also offer listeners a seasonal opportunity to hear this famous annual event. The trial is part of BBC Radio's continuing innovation in audio, including the launch of HD Sound, the Wimbledon NetMix experiment and ongoing trials of `3D Sound' technology. This year's `Nine Lessons and Carols' will be broadcast live on Radio 4 on Christmas Eve and will also be available online in HD Sound. You can read more about the experiment on the Radio 3 blog. There are three different versions of the 2007 service available for in-ear headphones and three for over-the-ear headphones. If the binaural sound works for you, you should experience the effect of listening to four speakers in a room including some front-to-back localisation of the sound. Radio 3 blog entry: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio3/2011/12/the-festival-of-nine-lessons-and-carols-in-surround-sound.shtml (via Mike Barraclough, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) EVEN PARKED CARS CAN CAUSE RF INTERFERENCE I've been suffering from interference, largely in the lower part of the MW band. I'd assumed that it was a neighbour's TV but this evening I decided to do a little direction finding with a portable radio. I thought at first the house next door was the guilty party but then realised that when lining up the portable radio it was pointing a little to the right of their house. Direction finding from different parts of my house and garden led me to conclude the source was very close to my front door. Just outside the front door sits my car. "Sniffing" around the car increased my belief the car was the source. I got into the car, turned the ignition one notch, i.e. not starting the car but switching on lights, heater, etc. and the noise disappeared on the portable. I went into the shack to check my Perseus and the noise had gone!! So now the car has been driven off my drive, onto the road and I have interference- free reception. Question: What, in my parked car, could be causing the interference! (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, Scotland, Dec 6, MWCircle yg via DXLD) Hi Paul. How long does the interference last? Most modern cars have *strobed* electronic sensors; these do not turn off immediately after a car is parked up. On my car they run for about 30 minutes to control systems after a hot engine has been switched off. One car causing interference on my driveway was a hooded convertible with concealed 'radar' burglar alarm. Cheers (Graham Maynard, ibid.) Hi Paul, What is the make and model and year of your car - and what did the noise sound like? (Presumably like a plasma TV - Raspy?) All modern cars seem to cause interference to a greater or lesser degree but some worse than others - some harder to cure than others. As a generalisation, modern cars have ECUs (possibly several of them depending on make & model) using microprocessors which run all the time and can cause horrendous interference. Other culprits that 'run' while the ignition is off are things like clocks (clocks as in timepieces) and immobilisers (and central locking/immobiliser systems have ECUs). Worst car I had (for RFI) was an Audi A6 which caused awful interference with the car stationary and everything turned off. Never did cure it. Best car I had from this point of view was a Land Rover Discovery Mk 1 diesel. No engine management electronics, in fact very few refinements at all, electronic or otherwise - and a good thing from a radio point of view too. Stationary or running it was as quiet as a mouse RF-wise. I believe the military insisted on being supplied earlier spec Land Rovers without ECUs for a long time after everyone else HAD to have all singing all dancing electronic ones - just so their radios would work in them. You`re a lucky man if you can get rid of a source of interference by moving it down the road. 73 (Paul Swain, G4GXQ, ibid.) Hi Paul and Graham, The car is a Volvo V70 Estate, 2002 which hasn't been driven for 3 or 4 days. It sounds as if it must be the engine management system causing this. As you say, Paul, it's good to be able to drive away with the interference! When the weather is a bit more clement I'll 'sniff' around under the bonnet (Paul Crankshaw, ibid.) Hi Paul, No engine management should be running for that length of time unless there is a faulty ECU. Is it the car's burglar alarm system - strobing the door switches, etc.? Cheers (Graham Maynard, ibid.) Hi Paul, Interesting problem - glad you've found a form of solution. I've observed QRM from vehicles whilst monitoring from my Toyota RAV4 (quite a quiet set up especially when the ignition is off), but curiously the only vehicles that I've noticed radiating noise as they drove past were lorries. As to the real solution, I wonder if it would be worth: 1) checking the adequacy of earthing in the car. Is rust compromising good electrical contacts anywhere (probably not on a 2002 Volvo)? Has the battery been removed and perhaps the contacts are not perfect? Does the noise level increase when you open the bonnet (if not, maybe the bonnet is not acting as a screen and maybe is not making good contact to the rest of the bodywork 2) Trying a portable ultralight radio under the bonnet to try to see from where the noise originates. If it is the ECU, is it in a metal box? Is the lid firmly closed making perfect metal-to-metal contact? 3) Trying clamp-on ferrite beads - this might help if you can isolate the cabling that is radiating the noise. 4) Checking whether there are any add-on-accessories (not factory fit). These might have lengthy connecting leads and inappropriate earthing. Good luck (Steve Whitt, England, ibid.) Hi Paul, All very sound advice from Steve, re earths, etc. Can you tell from a handbook what the fuses are? If so, locate the ones that are still live without the ignition on, and pull each fuse in turn to see if the noise stops. I don't suppose it's something simple like the clock per chance! Some cars used to have an electric cooling fan which ran on after you left the car sitting and the engine temperature rose, before cooling again. Just a thought looking for a possible offending circuit. Good luck with it. Regards John GM6LYJ, ibid.) Hello Graham I have a noticeable crackle in the X band. Spurred on that my 2009 Ford Focus may be the cause I tried the key test and moved it off the drive. Alas the crackle remains. Best wishes (Barry : -) Davies, (Carlisle UK, PERSEUS), ibid.) Hi Paul and All, Just wondered if your make and model of car was one I had come across as being a particular RFI problem - but can't say I do. Meant to mention, any unit containing or fed by a voltage regulator is worth investigating, whether in a control unit or something like a clock. I note what you are saying about having to put on the lights, heater, etc. before the noise stops (if I read correctly) and it would make me suspicious that maybe by loading the electrical system and reducing the voltage on the whole system the operating conditions of a voltage regulator is being altered. When accessories are turned on and off different sections of wiring can radiate interference and all sorts of phasing effects can happen - anyone who has tried tracing interference radiated by house wiring will know what I mean - but I doubt that is what is happening here. A couple of words of warning in general about pulling fuses. (Not that I am suggesting John is advocating a cavalier approach.) Maybe obvious, but anyone doing this should have their car radio code handy in case power to the radio is lost - even momentarily. On some models of car I have known, pulling fuses at random result in control units having to be reprogrammed by the agent. On modern cars, don't just go down a row of fuses pulling each one in turn. On most cars you will do no harm doing this. On some it could prove expensive. And, on some new cars it is even important in which order units are disconnected and reconnected, powered down and powered up. Not using the manufacturer`s correct procedure can result in voltage spikes causing very expensive damage to ever more sophisticated, vulnerable, electronic control units. My comments and warnings are 'in general' for anyone trying to locate the source of such vehicle interference. Your Volvo might well be very tolerant in this respect - but I have learnt to tread with very great care nowadays. Since the problem is on MW (and as Steve mentioned) a pocket tranny, possibly wrapped in Al foil to desensitise it, should find the source - but I'd expect under or behind the dash rather than under the bonnet. Most manufacturers put sensitive electronics and anything with computers inide well away from the harsh environment of the engine bay but there are exceptions (and failures from inappropriate placement of such items). It`s all possibly academic unless you are planning a mobile dxing trip. (It looked like I was going to have to remove the dashboard to get to the noise source in my A6 so I put off doing anything about it - and the car was sold soon afterwards.) Good luck in your investigations. 73 (Paul Swain, ibid.) Politico reports that House Republicans on a communications committee want to buggerize FCC process: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70669.html (Clara Listensprechen, DXLD) Viz.: PROPOSED FCC 'REFORM' COULD TEMPER ITS BITE FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is pictured. | Jay Westcott/Politico The FCC has been criticized by Republicans for several recent actions. | Jay Westcott/POLITICO By ELIZA KRIGMAN | 12/19/11 11:21 PM EST The campaign by congressional Republicans for “process reform” at the Federal Communications Commission is as much about lawmakers wanting to handcuff the commission as it is about how the agency operates. A half-dozen Republicans who sit on the telecommunications subcommittees were quick to point out in recent interviews about the FCC the issues on which they think the commission has abused its mandate — net neutrality, the AT&T/T-Mobile deal and Universal Service Fund reform, to name just a few. But rarely did the FCC’s processes come up. Only two lawmakers mentioned them, and one, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), is the author of legislation to overhaul how the commission operates. While it’s true that Walden’s proposal would make the FCC more transparent — preventing last-minute “data dumps” before controversial votes, for instance — the proposal also would undeniably make it a lot harder for the FCC to regulate the telecom industry. . . Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70669.html#ixzz1hCaV9AWG (via DXLD) FCC STUPIDITY... This is a perfect example of why I think the FCC is run by bozos these days... http://ecfsdocs.fcc.gov/filings/2005/05/18/5512762027.html (William R Hepburn (VEM3ONT22) Grimsby ON CAN 43 10 59.5 -79 33 34.3 DX PIX : http://dxinfocentre.com/hepburn/ AUTOLOG : http://dxinfocentre.com/hepburn/logs/dxtv.htm Dec 15, WTFDA via DXLD) If your concern is that the FCC is involved with a Canadian railroad, please be advised that the Canadian Pacific Railroad has lots of tracks in the United States. If your concern is for something else, then I missed it (Allan Dunn, K1UCY, ibid.) No, no. My concern is that the FCC would include critical railroad frequencies as part of an auction. These channels are used to control track switches, etc. The channels are common throughout the US & Canada. It's like the GPS / LightSquared fiasco. A bunch of suits making decisions until someone taps them on the shoulder afterwards and says "you do realize this could mess up GPS don't you?" See this ... http://www.bgr.com/2011/12/15/lightsquareds-network-still-causes-gps-interference-federal-officials-say/ LightSquared says that their transmitters aren't bleeding into the adjacent GPS band.... it's the GPS receivers fault for picking up signals from the LightSquared band !!! IMO, it's time for the NTIA to take over from the FCC and look after the licensing of both government & private frequencies. wrh (Bill Hepburn, ibid.) Arguably they're right -- while I haven't seen a spectrum analyzer display, it is very possible the LightSquared transmitters are indeed not radiating enough signal outside their authorized band to interfere with GPS. The problem may well be in the receivers -- in that they are unable to reject very strong signals on nearby frequencies. That happens in other radio services as well. It is, for example, why some non-commercial FM stations in the U.S. use vertical polarization: FCC regulation 73.525 requires non- commercial FM stations to protect TV-6 from overload. Nobody believes non-commercial stations are actually radiating enough signal in the 82-88 band to cause interference -- the problem is that many TV sets are not able to tell the difference between 83.25 (today, 82.31) and 89.3 MHz. Most likely, the same problem is seen with LightSquared & GPS. GPS receivers are designed down to a pretty low price point, and don't include enough filtering or dynamic range to reject strong terrestrial signals just outside the band. That said, it would hardly be difficult to predict this adjacent- channel overload problem. – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) More FCC stuff under USA In Canada, the best way to describe regulation by the CRTC is that it has outsourced the technical stuff to Industry Canada. I think having a wing of an agency that is dedicated solely to technical issues is in principle a good idea. The CRTC grants licences but licencees must meet IC technical approval for these to take effect. Want to switch frequencies? IC has the final word. I don't know how well they've handled railroad safety issues here. We also have a transportation safety board, I think, and I'm not sure what role they play (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) Our company is also spending money on OTA transmission gear. It's not been written off. Whether any viewers are actually watching the OTA signal or not, remember that that OTA signal is a guarantee of a free spot on cable & satellite. That's REALLY valuable (Doug Smith, WSMV Nashville, ibid.) In Canada, the program schedules of the stations on the main networks *ARE* exactly the same except for local newscasts. Same program schedule from Newfoundland to B.C., just time-shifted. No local or regional programs whatsoever. It's all about maximizing profits. (OT, but as far as I'm concerned CTV, Global & CITY could go off the air tomorrow and I wouldn't notice. 90% of programming is US, the Canadian stuff not worthy of watching in our family. These Canadian networks basically make a profit by simply relaying US networks. Might as well shut 'em down and cut out the middle man!). (Bill Hepburn, Ont., ibid.) Universal Sports, an NBC service seen on digital virtual channels nationwide, is being pulled off the air as of 1/1/2012. I don't know what will replace it - if anything. Details at: http://www.universalsports.com/tv-listings/channel-finder.html (Karl Zuk N2KZ, ibid.) Frankly, I doubt there was enough audience for minor-minor sports, especially when it was competing with 3 flavors of ESPN, one or tweo of Comcast, plus a few other networks. Therefore it also couldn't make money, and I don't think NBC could have dome much about that. I had heard a couple of years ago that Universal Sports was simply fill-in programming until NBC could figure out something better to do with the extra channel (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH, 15 mi NW of Philadelphia, ibid.) NATIONWIDE EAS TEST PLANNERS LOOK AHEAD (again): http://tinyurl.com/EAS-by-RS (Radio World via CGC Communicator Dec 21 via Redding, ABDX via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV see also INDIA [DTT]; OKLAHOMA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TV CHANNEL SQUEEZE PROPOSED TO PAY FOR TAX CUTS AP By ANICK JESDANUN | AP – Fri, Dec 16, 2011 http://news.yahoo.com/tv-channel-squeeze-proposed-pay-tax-cuts-173304914.html NEW YORK (AP) — Call it the Great Channel Squeeze. Congress is considering letting cellphone companies pay television stations to give up their frequencies so they can be put to better use for wireless broadband. The idea is to squeeze over-the-air television, which has few viewers, into a smaller slice of the airwaves. The government would be the broker in the deal and would use some proceeds to fund tax cuts and unemployment benefits. In years to come, you might see Channel 17 cease to broadcast and Channel 49 take its place, for instance. The empty slot at Channel 49 would then become available for a range of wireless services. That could mean faster downloads for smartphones and tablet computers. Although vast swaths of broadcast spectrum were freed when television signals converted from analog to digital in 2009, much of that has already been claimed. Technology companies have been clamoring for even more airwaves to satisfy growing consumer appetite for movies, books and websites on mobile devices. The Federal Communications Commission sees more spectrum as a way to extend high-speed Internet access to places where phone and cable TV companies don't have enough customers to offer landline broadband connections. "Unless we free up new spectrum for mobile broadband, the looming spectrum crunch risks throttling our mobile economy and frustrating mobile consumers," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement this week. In a sense, this proposal is a reflection of the times. In the U.S., there are more wireless devices in use than there are people. Meanwhile, various studies show that fewer than 10 percent of households get their TV signals over the air — the rest have cable or satellite service. The FCC's national broadband plan envisions freeing up 500 megahertz of spectrum over the next 10 years. As much as a quarter of that could come from television. But many things need to happen first. For starters, Congress needs to give the FCC authority to do this. The House included that authority in a bill it passed Tuesday to extend Social Security payroll tax reductions and unemployment coverage. Congress estimates that $16.5 billion could be generated over 10 years by auctioning the broadcast channels and another slice now used for public safety. But President Barack Obama opposes the bill for reasons unrelated to spectrum, and the Senate is working on its own version of the package. Once the FCC gets authority, it needs to find broadcasters willing to cede their frequencies. Station owners would share in auction proceeds if they turn in their broadcasting licenses and either cease operations or become cable-only channels. They would be compensated to build new towers and make other adjustments if they need to switch frequencies. Congressional revenue estimates already factor that in. The National Association of Broadcasters isn't sure how many stations would go along. "Local TV stations are doing pretty well in terms of advertising sales," NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said. "It would surprise me if there would be the sort of stampede to go out of business." That said, the NAB supports the proposal as long as stations aren't forced or pressured to give up their frequencies. If stations must move, the NAB wants to make sure they aren't the ones paying for it and won't face more interference or any reduction in how far their signals go. Wharton says the House bill includes good protections for broadcasters, but a similar measure in the Senate does not. Television stations once had Channels 2 to 83, except for 37, which is used for astronomy. Channels 70 to 83, mostly used to retransmit signals from other channels, disappeared in the 1980s and have been reassigned to other uses. Stations gave up Channels 52 to 69 in 2009 as part of a transition to digital broadcasts, and much of that has already been reassigned. The House-passed bill would allocate some of what's left from the digital transition to build a broadband network for public safety. It would also auction off spectrum that police, firefighters and emergency workers now use for voice communications. Depending on how many stations want to participate, Channels 31 to 51, excluding 37, could be freed up under the proposed program. The changes could ultimately take several years and won't be easy. The NAB says nearly 40 percent of the nation's 1,735 full-powered stations now use one of the 20 channels targeted. Broadcasters would have to upgrade equipment, and viewers using antennas would have to find the station's new home (via Mike Bugaj, Enfield CT, WTFDA via DXLD) The end of the TVDX hobby as we know it (more so than what happened in 2009)? Okay that might be a bit harsh and nihilistic. Still there are several paths this could take. **** Stations moving back to VHF (including low VHF channels) **** Stations leasing their multicast streams to competitors and duopoly broadcasters such as Nexstar putting their all their stations on one RF channel (KARK, KARZ; KOLR, KOZL; KARD, KTVE) in each market and shutting down the other frequency. **** Local stations giving up OTA all together for cable/Sat only carriage. Any thoughts??? (Fritze H Prentice Jr, KC5KBV, Star City, AR, ibid.) On 12/17/2011 3:59 PM, Lee Molineux II wrote: > I don't know many TV stations that would give up their signals and profits from advertisements that they put on for us to see. Why not, if the price is right? > The other side is the advertisers will not go for it either as it would be less viewership of their products. Gotta remember that 90% of viewers are on cable or satellite. Only 10% aren't. These are the "poor" folk with no money to buy anything anyway. Advertisers don't care about these people. They already have the viewers on cable and satellite. > so I don't see this going very far very fast, lawsuits will fly fast If government wants something bad enough, they will find a way to get it, even if it ends up getting it by executive order. Sorry, but I can't be optimistic about this. UHF now ends at channel 51. Remember when it ended at ch 69? Ending at ch 30 is just the next step (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, ibid.) I remember when it ended at ch 83! (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Mike, you are right. I guess it's just the DXer in me that's holding out hope that this move will not take place, but we know how it will end. TVDX'ing is basically over and when can we expect the sell off of the 31 to 51? (Lee Molineux II, ibid.) Even though there is a small group of "cord cutters" (including myself) whom are former cable/Sat customers, that use OTA to supplement "non-traditional" TV viewing (Netflix, Boxee, AppleTV) it won't be enough to overcome public perception that OTA is "old fashioned" and redundant. The wireless industry have a great friend in Julius Genakowski and I will be sure that he will take care of his friends at Sprint/AT&T/Verizon. The two tiered Internet that came about from the recent "net-neutrality" legislation is just the start (Fritze H Prentice Jr, KC5KBV, Star City, AR, ibid.) Aside from the loss of TV DX, I will lament the loss of OTA television as a viewer. I just returned from Alaska to be at home for the holidays. Wow, I sure am impressed with how good HDTV can look. We have GCI cable included in the rent so I don't want to invest in an antenna system for a short term use and am putting up with cable. The system includes the HDTV tier and I now understand why a neighbor here in Topeka put up an antenna to be able to watch Topeka and KC stations although they also have Cox cable. Since I retired six years ago, I'm not keeping up with information about cable/satellite penetration as I did when I was at KTWU. But I do recall that the number of homes using OTA is not limited to the number of homes that don't have cable or satellite. There are a lot of folks out there with sets in garages, spare bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. that are using an antenna despite also subscribing to pay TV. And around here, many of those sets are used to watch local stations during tornado season (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, ibid.) OTA has been on the long road to oblivion for some time now. This isn't going to come about overnight. The logistics are daunting, and coming on the heels of the digital conversion and the recession, there will not be a big rush. I think this will happen at some point, and in fact we could circle back to where OTA TV is confined to 2-13 just as some of us remember it, and all other TV is via cable or internet. Even those who have left cable are relying primarily on the internet, so OTA viewership isn't going to increase. And at some point further on, OTA TV will probably become extinct, although I don't expect to be around to notice that (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH, 15 mi NW of Philadelphia, Grid FN20id, ibid.) That may be but if the economy keeps worsening, more and more people will be cutting the cable to free up at least $65 a month (Kevin Redding, Crump, TN, ibid.) Isn't it in the best interests of those in power to keep the masses entertained, particularly those who might be on or already beneath the margins? (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) Well, the Romans built colosseums for that but I doubt they would go over too well, although these days you never know. And OTA TV is less messy (Mike B, Enfield, CT, ibid.) Apparently there has been some increase in OTA and antenna sales have even gone up a bit. I'm sure some of it is due to the economy as people try to save some money. I did hear one radio commentator talking about the economy telling listeners that they could save by cutting back on some cable tiers or relying on OTA. Here it would cost us about $100 a month to get HDTV on cable. That's $1200 a year! No way. I think part of the problem lies with TV stations themselves which do little to promote their OTA service including multicast services that aren't on many cable systems as well as the superior quality of HDTV with an antenna. I suspect there aren't many who have any idea of what they could be getting OTA. When looking for a TV recently I was asked who my "provider" was I replied Channel Master. The salesperson had no idea what that was and insisted I had to have cable or satellite to get high definition (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, ibid.) When a reported 90% of your viewers are via cable, there's not much incentive there (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH, 15 mi NW of Philadelphia, Grid FN20id, ibid.) I'm another one who dropped cable. When Comcast went to digital, they upped the monthly cost by twenty bucks to close to $90. Ridiculous cost. 8 bay Channelmaster antenna on my 80' tower and a CM-7778 preamp set to FM filter. It's aimed to Boston (north). Works very well with about 35 stations all the time (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) As one of a handful of members on the list who work (at least part- time) at a TV station, I think I can speak in at least a somewhat well-informed manner on this point. The importance of OTA signal these days seems to vary widely by market. At least anecdotally, I know that some markets (Dallas and Houston come to mind) enjoy OTA viewership rates far above the rest of the nation (cable penetration as low as 60-65%) while others such as Binghamton and Scranton have almost zero OTA viewership. Obviously, terrain makes a big difference, as do socioeconomic factors. Here in Rochester, my best guess is that we're somewhere around 80-85% cable penetration. There has certainly been a bit of drop-off in cable usage due to the economy, but the cable company has been aggressive in its retention deals. That said - we're well aware, at least at WXXI, that OTA viewership is still an important part of our outreach. Our budget plans include a new directional antenna mounted higher on our tower in hopes of better reaching outlying portions of our coverage area. That's not money that you spend when you think OTA viewership is unimportant...and we're not the only ones doing that. (WJW in Cleveland, for instance, is trying to convince the FCC to let it spend half a million dollars to go from VHF 8 back to UHF 31.) Point being: the TV industry understands that OTA viewership is still important, and they're not going to sit back quietly and watch the FCC take away their spectrum without a fight. That, in turn, means TV DX is far from dead. It will be different in years to come, yes...but we've all learned a lot in the last few years about how to "DX different," haven't we? s (Scott Fybush, WXXI-TV, Rochester NY, (speaking, as always, only for myself and not my employers), ibid.) It's been a sad state of affairs since I first saw TV while my dad was visiting friends in Chicago in 1948. UHF has come and been reduced to a lot fewer available channels. VHF 2-6 as we knew it, has really changed. Remember the freeze back in the '50's when Es first became a problem? They didn't know what to do -- and the FCC still doesn't with OTA TV. The FCC, in my opinion, are a bunch of suits who are ignorant of technical problems. If we could get rid of the Chairman, maybe things would tend to be different -- we could hope, anyway. I have and don't want anything but OTA TV. Perhaps, at my age (79), I won't be around to see the forthcoming mess that the public air waves seem to be headed for. My thoughts (John Ebeling, MN, ibid.) My earlier post was situated looking far down the road - not in the near future. I still believe that eventually OTA will be either gone or limited to markets where it is the only economically viable option. I noted I didn't expect to be around to see that day, and I'm 65, so that gives you an idea of how far out I think that might be. Cable will continue to lose viewership as their cost-benefit equation gets worse and users latch onto other alternatives. Wireless internet TV is going to start growing and has the potential to put a big dent in cable (Russ Edmunds, WB2BJH, 15 mi NW of Philadelphia, Grid FN20id, Dec 18, ibid.) How will it work in NYC and LA with only 17 UHF channels? With adjacent markets like Philly, Hartford, etc. it would be utter QRM chaos for those in between markets (where probably a big chunk of the antenna people live); never mind what happens during a tropo event. wrh (Bill Hepburn, Ont., ibid.) I don't want to see local OTA TV stations fade into the sunset, but local TV certainly isn't very "local" these days. For the most part, no matter whether you are watching OTA stations from New York City or Terre Haute, IN or Hazard, KY it looks the same EXCEPT for local newscasts, and sometimes those look very similar. Virtually all programming comes from a network, like ABC or Fox, or is syndicated and received via satellite so everybody is watching the same stuff like Judge ........., Dr. Oz, etc. And don't get me started on these local marathon newscasts that go on for hours and hours with about 10 minutes of information. Remember the days when satellite TV and internet news were just dreams and the local TV stations offered a 30 minute newscast?? Now there are various ways to receive news updates and some local TV stations have decided that a 6 hour morning newscast is necessary! If you are a sports fan, it's almost mandatory to have a pay TV service such as cable or satellite in order to watch even one sporting event, or one particular team. As an example, The Crossroads Classic, a college men's basketball doubleheader between Butler & Purdue and Indiana & Notre Dame here in Indy yesterday, was divided between two TV networks. The Butler/Purdue game was OTA via CBS while the second game Indiana/Notre Dame was pay TV only via ESPN2. So two different networks were needed in order to watch one event from the same site. Plus, it's almost as if local TV stations are starting to give up on presenting competitive programming when infomercials are being aired in various dayparts. I guess making a few bucks is more important than providing some innovative and/or local programming (Steve Rich, Indianapolis, IN, ibid.) As a viewer of local television beginning in the early 50s, I have to agree with you that not much TV on "local" stations is local anymore. Stations then (even stations such as KQTV-2 in small St. Joseph and KSLN-34 in Salina, KS) produced their own news-weather sports, women's shows, children's shows, documentaries and local athletic events). Hard to believe today with local news the primary local programming on commercial stations. Public TV stations in many cases do provide a greater variety of local programming. Many stations in smaller markets that used to produce local programming now rely on stations in larger markets for their "local' programming. No commercial station in western Kansas any longer produces local newscasts. They all come out of Wichita. Smoky Hills public television in Bunker Hill, KS (8 in Lakin, 16 in Bunker Hill, 19 in Colby and 21 in Dodge City) does produce local programming for the area but the new governor has promised to cut funding next year so that could soon go away leaving a large area without any local television. However, I still see the need for OTA stations for several reasons. First of all is cost. I checked with Cox cable yesterday which confirmed that it would cost our family almost $100 a month to have high definition cable service for our four HDTV sets. That's almost $1200 a year. We have other things to use the money for and there are others who can't afford it. If over-the-air goes away and that is looking more likely what is to keep networks like NBC, Fox, etc. from becoming cable only services? The stations that are now providing local news, weather, etc. need that programming to attract viewers in order to be able to support what local programming they do. In this area that includes essential weather information such as tornado warnings that save lives. And when the cable goes out local stations continue to provide a service. There are some stations in my mind that provide nothing of value (but some may find them useful) and are a waste of the spectrum but other than for DX reasons I would rather see them used for other programming. We still don't have Retro TV on a Kansas City or Topeka station although Antenna TV and Me-TV are now available on WDAF-34.2 and KMBC-29.2. I am still amazed that stations do little to promote their multicast services, but yesterday I did see KMBC-TV promoting a program on their virtual channel 9.2 on channel 9.1 so maybe their is hope. KCPT-18 does list the schedule for channel 18.2 during station breaks. They are PBS. Here in Topeka KTWU-11 does all they can to keep channel 11.2 a secret (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, ibid.) You've read where Universal Sports on NBC's OTA stations will end the last day of December. That's too bad because we watched it. Of course WVIT never promoted it on 30.3. Did it fail because nobody watched it? Or because it just couldn't make a profit? Or both? If so, I'd blame NBC for that. Is it possible that the amount of viewers the OTAs have for these just isn't enough to support them? Anyone remember The Tube? Is Cool TV, RTV, MeTV, etc. headed for the same fate? If they are not carried on cable then I'd think they are (Mike B, Enfield, CT, ibid.) There is some pretty good programming out there on the multicast channels and we have been watching more and more of it. I had not heard of NBC's Universal Sports until I bought an antenna in Anchorage where it is on channel 5.3. My wife has watched a lot of skating and gymnastics on it. It is not listed in the Anchorage Daily News so how can anyone really know it is around unless you happen to run across it? Stations need to work to get the word out including getting the schedules published. By the way, no station in the Kansas City, Topeka or Wichita markets carried Universal Sports and I have never seen it while DXing. Yes, there is a digital channel 5 in Anchorage, but I have never seen it. However, we can watch on a UHF translator but I don't recall the channel number at this time (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See also ARGENTINA; BRAZIL; FRANCE; ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GUIANA FRENCH; INDIA; NEW ZEALAND; RUSSIA; UK; VATICAN; CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES DRM MW DX FROM EUROPE? How many DRM MW stations are noted in Europe and Asia? Has anyone actually heard them as DX? I happened to read that the Excalibur receiver can be licensed to decode them and I'd wondered if anyone had tried live or with a recorded file (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, IRCA via DXLD) Hi Craig, I do catch from time to time the German, Deutschlanfunk Kultur on longwave 177 kHz during their DRM segment but I don't have any DRM decoder linked with the Perseus. I did try in the past however to link the Dream software to the Perseus using VAC (Virtual Audio Cable) but it failed for me while it succeeded for others and having other priorities, I didn't stuck on this case more than needed. I may give another try one day, who knows? (Sylvain Naud, Portneuf, QC, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ PAPER ON USING METEOR SCATTER ON MARS ! Describes SNOTEL, then goes on to describe potential use on Mars... http://www.sei.aero/eng/papers/uploads/archive/NIAC_CP-01-02_Phase_I_present.pdf More MeteorBurst xmtrs : SCAN 44.2 --- Besides the Boise ID & Ogden UT SNOTEL (SNOwpack TELemetry) master station transmitters on 40.67 MHz (with remote sites on 41.61 MHz)....there is also a meteor burst network called SCAN (Soil Climate Analysis Network). SCAN has master station transmitters on 44.2 MHz in Bozeman MT, Tipton MO, Stoneville MS & Mount Gilead OH. Remote sites transmit on 45.9 MHz. Another possible skip beacon (William R Hepburn (VEM3ONT22), Grimsby ON CAN 43 10 59.5 -79 33 34.3, WTFDA via DXLD) 53-page PDF, but very readable in outline form. Mostly about meteor burst communication theory applicable on Earth; last part has some nice illustration mock-ups of Mars landers communicating. Not clear to me, tho, is how well MB would work in Mars` much less dense atmosphere; and how is its ionosphere doing? (Glenn Hauser, Earth, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DISAPPOINTING DX CONDITIONS I think the poor MF conditions compared with last year are due to the increased solar flux. In fact, I put that idea to the rest of the RSGB's Propagation Studies Committee. One came up with an ITU document that might help. Not as easy read, but Section 2.2.5, paragraph 4 might give us a clue as to why MF performance is less good for higher SSN. Quoting: "During sunspot maximum years, the base of the ionosphere is lower and the electron density gradient is steeper than during sunspot minimum years. Thus, VLF waves which are reflected from this lower layer are more strongly reflected in sunspot maximum years, whereas MF waves, that are reflected above this lower layer, are more strongly absorbed." If interested, the document can be found at: http://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/p/R-REC-P.684-5-200910-I!!PDF-E.pdf Careful with the actual link as Yahoo tends to truncate it! (Steve, G0KYA, Chairman, RSGB Propagation Studies Committee, Dec 16, MWCircle yg via DXLD) Hi Steve, A very interesting paper. I won't pretend to have understood (or even read) it all, but did find a lot to think about there. The point you highlighted - that VLF propagation improves at solar maximum unlike, as we all know, MF propagation - came as a surprise. Perhaps in the next few years I'll finally manage to hear the Alexanderson station at Grimeton, which has eluded me so far. Do you happen to know if ITU-R P.1147, which covers MF propagation, is available for download? I can only find it being offered for sale by ITU. Best regards, (Jack Weber, ibid.) We have had periods like this also during the last minimum: very quiet geomagnetic field and still only poor conditions. Yes, solar flux is 125, but I don't think it can be the main reason. I am more inclined to the idea Sigge wrote here: it is too peaceful and maybe reflecting layers weaken or something like that. A _slight_ disturbance should shake the ionosphere and we would start hearing again. But during maximum it will be something else than slight, when it comes. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) Yes, I quite agree. MF propagation is undoubtedly very complex - which makes it interesting - and anyone who thinks that they can predict it or explain it by looking at just the K-index or looking at just the SSN will be disappointed. When propagation has been poor for a while, I think a slight shake up of the ionosphere can often help, as Sigge said. And we've all seen the sudden enhancements that can come just before a solar event hits us. For the past few days I've had some fairly good propagation, but only between about 0200 and 0300 UT. After that, the band is almost dead and the usual sunrise enhancement is completely nonexistent. That's quite unusual because I normally expect to see better propagation around 2300-2400 and then again from 0500 to a bit after sunrise, with a dip in between. What I found interesting in the ITU paper (maybe others already knew this) is that the ionosphere reflects VLF better at sunspot maximum. I had assumed that sunspot minimum was best for ALL frequencies below about 8-10 MHz, while sunspot maximum only helped at frequencies higher than that. Best regards, (Jack Weber, ibid.) Anyone know if conditions are the same for trans North Pacific? (Graham Maynard, UK, ibid.) For me they have been a better for East Asia than North America, but no chance for Hawaii for example, not even proper carrier traces (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) Still difficult conditions but KXEL 1540 and CFRB 1010 still get through. This morning CFRB clear at 1011 UT and trace of KXEL still at 1047. Otherwise most channels have no discernible trans-Atlantic signals. 73 (Steve Whitt, England, Dec 17, ibid.) A little better here today, with some audio from the big E Coasters still around at 1100. On 1570 CKMW noted at 0900 and XERF at 1000! 1700 ESPN noted at 0200 with no further aid to identification. The bottom of the band was very poor after being relatively good during the recent disappointing conditions (Paul Crankshaw, Troon, Scotland, ibid.) Just finished this morning's WAV files. 1470 CJVB did make it South of the border with what sounded like a CC drama. That was just after 0800. Also noted around 0200 was 1160 WYLL and 1280 WFAU. Best wishes (Barry : -) (Carlisle UK, PERSEUS) Davies, ibid.) It's been variable here in Victoria BC, Graham; the only mornings recently with a reasonable sunrise enhancement have been the 11th and the 16th (around 1530 to 1545 UT particularly), though Steve Ratzlaff in eastern Oregon reported some of the best conditions on the 17th. Generally, the best DX here has been above 1300 kHz, and it is nothing too exciting compared with a couple of seasons ago, particularly considering the geomagnetic conditions. Oddly, the CNR1 transmitters on 1593 kHz seem to have been more consistent this season than past ones, and occasionally has been the strongest station heard from across the Pacific. There hasn't been much North Pacific "sunset at the transmitter" enhancement for some weeks. Best wishes, (Nick Hall- Patch, ibid.) Geomagnetic field activity was at mostly quiet levels during most of the period, with isolated periods of unsettled levels observed at high latitudes. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 21 DEC- 16 JAN 2012 Solar activity is expected to be at low levels during the period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels during the period. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet levels during 21-27 December. Activity is expected to increase to quiet to unsettled levels during 28-29 December and 5-6 January due to recurrent coronal hole high-speed streams. Quiet levels will prevail 30 December - 4 January and 7-16 January. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2011 Dec 20 2011 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center # Product description and SWPC contact on the Web # http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2011-12-20 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2011 Dec 21 130 5 2 2011 Dec 22 125 5 2 2011 Dec 23 125 5 2 2011 Dec 24 120 5 2 2011 Dec 25 120 5 2 2011 Dec 26 125 5 2 2011 Dec 27 120 5 2 2011 Dec 28 120 8 3 2011 Dec 29 120 8 3 2011 Dec 30 120 5 2 2011 Dec 31 120 5 2 2012 Jan 01 120 5 2 2012 Jan 02 120 5 2 2012 Jan 03 125 5 2 2012 Jan 04 125 5 2 2012 Jan 05 128 8 3 2012 Jan 06 128 8 3 2012 Jan 07 128 5 2 2012 Jan 08 128 5 2 2012 Jan 09 130 5 2 2012 Jan 10 130 5 2 2012 Jan 11 130 5 2 2012 Jan 12 130 5 2 2012 Jan 13 130 5 2 2012 Jan 14 130 5 2 2012 Jan 15 130 5 2 2012 Jan 16 130 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1596, DXLD) ###