DX LISTENING DIGEST 12-29, July 18, 2012 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 2012 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 1626 HEADLINES: *DX and station news about: Alaska, Argentina, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Djibouti, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, India, Kuwait, Laos non, Madagascar, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Romania, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka non, South Sudan and non, USA SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1626, July 19-25, 2012 Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 Thu 2100 WTWW 9479 [confirmed] Fri 0329v WWRB 5050 Sat 0130v WBCQ 5110v-CUSB Area 51 Sat 0630 HLR 7265 Hamburger Lokal Radio [special time, again?] Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 1500 WRMI 9955 Sat 1730 WRMI 9955 Sun 0400 WTWW 5755 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1530 WRMI 9955 Sun 1730 WRMI 9955 Mon 0500 WRMI 9955 Mon 1130 WRMI 9955 Tue 0930 HLR 5980 Hamburger Lokal Radio Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [or maybe 1627 if ready in time] 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://www.wrn.org/listeners/#world-of-radio WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN: http://www.wrn.org/listeners/customize-panel/addToPlaylist/98/09:00:00UTC/English OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org DAY-BY-DAY ARCHIVE OF GLENN HAUSER`S LOG REPORTS: Unedited, uncondensed, unchanged from original version, many of them too complex, minutely researched, multi-frequency, opinionated, inconsequential, off-topic, or lengthy for some log editors to manage; and also ahead of their availability in these weekly issues: http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=Hauser 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/ ** ALASKA. The FCC license for Experimental Radio Service station WE2XRH in Alaska expired today, July 15 2012. The licensee, Mr. Whit Hicks of Digital Aurora Radio Technologies, informed me that he intends to apply for renewal of the license (Benn Kobb, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KNIK: See USA ** ALASKA. 9655, KNLS, 1039 July 12, English, ID, invitation to write/email, song by Maroon Five. Good (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, listening from my car with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALGERIA. QSL: Jil FM, 531/549, full detailed E-letter in 9 weeks for e-rpt to jilfm @ radioalgerie.dz (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) ** ANGOLA. 4950: It does sound Portuguese, though music I've been hearing sounds more Latin than Afro pops. Uses a snippet of an instrumental version of "Hey Jude" as a program theme, promo or the like; noted this at 0055 and 0132 UT July 9. Surely can't rule out Angola with a much better modulated transmitter. But from programming, it has more Brazilian hints to my ear, but that's just a casual impression so don't go to the bank with it. [later] And I was wrong; though the music still seemed with a Brazilian flair. At 0200 UT July 10, 4 pips and into news, called Jornal something or other. At brief break in news, 0203 UT man with definite "Rádio Nacional de Angola." Then back into news with item datelined Huambo, something to do with smoking. A LONG LONG time since I heard this one with anything approaching an intelligible signal (Don Jensen, WI, DXplorer July 9/10 via BC-DX July 13 via DXLD) 4950 right now? Footprint of Luanda station is always around 4949.746 kHz to x.780 kHz. Noted the other way around, across the Indian Ocean in late Dec 2011, on Victor's net rx, at best after 1744 UT. Also observed and reported often in Italy. 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) 4949.75, R. Nacional Angola. Audio was finally up to readable level. 0101 W with news in Portuguese. Had one report from the field. Crowd cheering at 0104 possibly an intro for very short sports segment. Canned ID by M 0104:55, then W returned with another ID 0105:10, and several canned announcements. Into romantic pop music at 0108. Too bad the QRN was high. (10 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) 4949.77, 2225-2235 11.07, R Nacional de Angola, Mulenvos, two men talking in Portuguese, stronger than previous weeks! 35232 (Anker Petersen, done on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Novedades en la Onda Media argentina 730, Concepto AM, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, pasó a esta nueva frecuencia desde hace varios días abandonando su vieja QRG de 1050 en la cual estuvo hasta hace muy poco. En 730 khz operaba hasta hace unos días Radio General Guemes, que transmite desde la zona norte del GBA. [gran Buenos Aires; note below spelt Güemes, which I assume correct] 1050, Radio General Guemes, dejó la frecuencia de 730 y pasó a esta nueva QRG. Da la impresión que han hecho un "trueque" entre las dos emisoras. Llama la atención que Radio Gral. Guemes ya no tiene su programación habitual sino que sólo pasa música y anuncios identificatorios (Arnaldo L. Slaen, July 15, radioescutas yg via DXLD) BUENOS AIRES AM --- Hello, Glenn! A few months ago you published a list I sent you with the stations found on AM in Buenos Aires [DXLD 12-09]. If you don't mind, I wanted to send you a few updates: - As you already know, FM Fantástico (1700 kHz) is now known as FM A-K 89.9. However, it has been inactive for the last couple of weeks, and I only detect a silent carrier of it once in a while, only to go off later. - AM1710 is now called FM Milagros, thus in parallel with a FM of the same owner. It seems nowadays their programming is just pop and dance songs, from the 80s, 90s and today. Their ads are lousily made. Since they can't afford an announcer, they use a trial version of Loquendo to make them... - Radio Antares (1650, from Pilar) has been inactive for the last couple of weeks. - Radio Concepto (1050) has changed frequencies with Radio General Güemes (730). So now Concepto is on 730, and Güemes on 1050. - I forgot to include Radio La Luna (1140, from Capital Federal) on the listing I sent you the last time. - Other stations I forgot to include: Radio Tradición (1580, from San Martín, carrying a folk format), Radio Santiago y Copla (1120, Gregorio de la Ferrere, folk music), Radio Estilo (1100, Longchamps, folk music for a change), Radio Litoral (1230, Lomas de Zamora, folk music again), LRI-220 AM 1420 (1420, Capital Federal, Hot AC), Radio Sensaciones (1490, Tapiales, brokered programming), Radio Armonía (1600, Caseros, variety), Radio Italia (1620, Villa Marteli, tango/Italian songs), Radio Guaraní (1640, San Justo, Paraguayan songs) and Radio Mailín (1330, Gregorio de la Ferrere, folk) - Radio Impacto (1440) broadcasts from Tapiales, La Matanza partido, and not from Capital Federal. And Estirpe Nacional (1250) is in San Justo, same partido. Sorry for all the mistakes. Best wishes for you (Eduardo Peralta, Argentina, July 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Starting on MW dx’ing, I found good conditions in July. South America produces good opening. 20120713, 0154, 1620.0, LRI309, AM 1620, Mar del Plata, 222, Spanish "AM mil seis veinte AM nuevo" 20120713, 0206, 1630.0, Radio Diagonal, La Plata, 233, Spanish "En la punta del dial AM mil seis treinta diagonal" RX: SDR-IQ, Ant: KAZ. 73 de (Vincent F5OIH Lecler, France, MWCircle yg via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA [and non]. 11710+, July 13 at 1047, triumphal choral music from Voice of Korea // weaker 11735, with het no doubt from RAE whose M-F Japanese hour may have just a bit more of a problem being heard in Japan even than here. Never in HFCC, but Aoki shows A09 info that it`s 348 degrees from General Pacheco. We`ve long suspected RAE is really aiming for Japanese immigrants in Brasil, but the 348 azimuth crosses only the western tip, such DX towns as Guajaramirim, Porto Velho and Tefé, then Venezuela, Santo Domingo, New York, and far beyond misses Japan, nearer to Mukden and Shanghai, where I`m sure no one can hear anything but VOK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGESET) ** ARGENTINA. LS5 RADIO RIVADAVIA PODRÍA DEJAR DE TRANSMITIR by gruporadioescuchaargentino [R. Rivadavia is in big financial trouble; has not paid its workers, and may have to go off the air. It`s one of the Buenos Aires stations which used to be relayed occasionally on the SSB SW feeders --- gh] Radio Rivadavia, la histórica radiodifusora dirigida por Luis Cetrá, adeuda los salarios de sus trabajadores y el aguinaldo y de no encontrarse una solución podría dejar de transmitir. El conflicto gremial se suma a una demanda judicial por una deuda millonaria. La emisora desconoció la intervención de la Justicia. Los trabajadores de la emisora Radio Rivadavia evaluaban este viernes si suspendía la transmisión de la histórica señal como última medida para lograr que la empresa deposite los salarios adeudados y el aguinaldo. La medida es la última instancia para los empleados, quienes desde hace varios años ya cobran su sueldos en cinco cuotas y desde junio pasado sólo recibieron el 20 por ciento de sus haberes. Frente a éste panorama, los trabajadores mantienen una medida de fuerza desde el jueves de la semana pasada y profundizarían la medida de no recibir una respuesta favorable de la empresa dirigida por el empresario Luis Cetrá. Según anunciaron, la última instancia sería suspender la transmisión habitual. Las primeras versiones de lo que está aconteciendo en Rivadavia surgieron de las propias redes sociales donde los trabajadores relataron los padecimientos que vienen sufriendo desde hace meses. Trabajadores ? indicaron en su cuenta de Twitter @Lechuzeros: "Estamos de paro en @Rivadavia630 por falta de pago de aguinaldo y sueldo". Ya el 11 de julio la misma cuenta de twitter daba cuenta del conflicto: "@Rivadavia630 paguen los sueldos de sus trabajadores Ladrones". A los problemas económicos se le suma la intervención implementada por la Justicia, y desconocida por Cetrá, luego de la demanda efectuada por Daniel Vila a causa de una deuda de tres millones de dólares. Meses atrás el veedor se presentó en la emisora sin que se le permita ingresar (Diario Uno via GRA blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) ** ARMENIA. 4810, Voice of Armenia Yerevan, in Arabic, 1913-1930*, M talk till 1917; long slow local song; local music; at 1929 M announcement; brief final IS & S/off at 1930; heard in SSB with fast QSB & moderate statics crashes; fair; 07/03 (Giovanni Serra, Roma, Italy, JRC NRD 525; Alpha Delta DX-SWL Sloper-S; RG 8 mini coaxial cable; JPS NIR 12 Noise & Interference Reducer-Dual DSP outboard audio filter; Intek PS-35 5 ampere feeder; JRC – NVA 319 external loudspeaker unit; Yaesu YH – 77 STA stereo headphones; Zoom Corp. H2 handy digital recorder MP3 & WAV files; Oregon Scientific RM912 Radio controlled clock; Toshiba Laptop PC Windows XP2 (offline for loggings); Interkart framed wall board political world map (1: 46,400,000); the DX Edge-Xantek Inc.(daylight-darkness desk world map), DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARMENIA. QSL: Overcomer Ministry, via Yerevan, 15425, E-QSL in 1 day for e-rpt to brotherstair@overcomerministry.org (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) Does he specify it Armenia? See SOUTH CAROLINA non ** AUSTRALIA. VL8A Location --- G’day Glenn, Some info’ on the location of Alice Springs transmitters: According to the ACMA (Australian Communications & Media Authority) website, http://web.acma.gov.au/pls/radcom/register_search.main_page the transmitters at 23 46 08S, 133 62 15E are 8AL (783), 8HA (900) and something on 1665. The site is called Broadcast Site Lot 3697 South Stuart Hwy ALICE SPRINGS. The VL8A transmitters are at 23 48 00S, 133 04 02E (23.800148S 133.067353E), Stuart Hwy 14 km SSW of ALICE SPRINGS. Either the description or the co-ordinates are wrong as this is on Red Centre Way/ Larapinta Drive to the west of AS. Can’t see much on Google Earth. Regards (Ian Johnson, ARDXC, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4835, FULL POWER, Alice Springs, Aboriginal/English service S=9+30dB in Brisbane Queensland AUS at 0930 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. 15160, July 14 at 0230, RA English no longer has CCI from Spain, but CCI from China, i.e. CRI Chinese, 500 kW, 59 degrees via Jinhua, at 01-05 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also FIJI ** AUSTRIA. Gruss auch nach Moosbrunn, ein super-properes Signal heute morgen auf 6155 kHz, die Nachrichten des ORF treiben mir fast Tränen in die Augen, technisch gesehen, wegen der ausgedünnten Schedule und den vielen Erinnerungen auch an Herbert in Höflein, nicht wegen der ewigen OE Quereleien aus dem Parlamenten, Ministerien, Parteien, Korruption... Hier das heutige Morgenlog um 0330-0500 UT. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BHUTAN. 6035.00, 2145-2240 11.07, Bhutan Broadcasting Service, Sangaygang, Thimphu, Dzongkha (presumed) man interviewing a woman, who sang several verses of a native song without music, some laughing; later a choir sang without and with musical accompaniment, 2156 tentative ID: "Bhutan....", announcer/announcement and talk, 2215 native singing with music; the web site was updated with today's schedule, but without live audio!, 44333 (Anker Petersen, done on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) 6035.00, 1915-2215 13.07, Bhutan Broadcasting Service, Sangaygang, Thimphu. Dzongkha (presumed) talks, native songs, 44444. Hum on frequency (Anker Petersen, heard on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in rainy and cold Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 6035.0, BBS (presumed), randomly from 1229 to 1319, July 16. Now that they are on exact frequency, no longer producing het; slightly stronger than PBS Yunnan; the indigenous music played was very similar as I recorded back on Dec 15 when BBS was on 5030; in vernacular; most likely full power now. MP3 audio of today's music at https://www.box.com/s/4e8f98ad9def297a7610 with PBS Yunnan in Vietnamese underneath (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BIAFRA [non]. via GERMANY. 11870, Radio Biafra, London, *2000- 2100*, July 14, sign on with local African music and opening announcements in vernacular. Discussion in vernacular. Some English. Fair to good. Thur, Sat only (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BOLIVIA. 3309.99, R. Mosoj Chaski, Cochabamba. 0122 July 13, 2012. Nice signal with mostly female in always non-Spanish (presumed Quechua). Brief fill music, ID (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Abridged list of junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF- 7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3310, Radio Mosoj Chaski, Cochabamba, 0900-0935 with YL, 14 July (Wilkner) 4716.645, Radio Yura, Yura 0900 on early as was CP, Radio San José, 14 July (Wilkner) 5580.2, Radio San José, San José de Chiquitos at 0900 to 1000, first time heard this early. Noted from 2330 recently (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - R8, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3310, Radio Mosoj Chaski, Cochabamba, 0947 to 1000 YL in Quechua, 16 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - Drake R8, and XM - Cedar Key - South Florida, NRD 525D - R8A - E5 Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6134.83, R. Santa Cruz. Incredible signal with end of LA pop song, then canned promo ending with ID at 0021, then back to music. Another nice promo ID by M and W, then another with FM frequency at 0033. 0035 nice "Santa Cruz" singing jingle, then another "Santa Cruz en la noche" promo ID. A solid 10 over!! Best using the Eton E1 in AM Sync USB to avoid the ute here. (12 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) 6134.82, Radio Santa Cruz, 0025-0208*, July 14, wide variety of Spanish pops, ballads, and Bolivian music. Spanish talk. IDs. Closing announcements at 0204 and sign off with “Santa Cruz” song at 0206. Fair. 6134.82, Radio Santa Cruz, 0105-0110*, July 15, tune-in to closing Spanish ID announcements. Sign off with “Santa Cruz” song at 0107. Fair to good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) Are the one-hour variations in sign-off time correlatable with day of week? July 14 was UT Saturday, July 15 UT Sunday (gh, DXLD) ** BONAIRE. 9895, July 13 at 1102, the legacy RNW Spanish broadcast of `La Matinal` has good strength but severely degraded by IADs! (intermittent audio dropouts, a term I have not had much chance to employ lately as Indonesia 9526 has been too weak and too weakly modulated to detect them). Still no jamming heard despite interview about prospects for US lifting trade embargo upon Cuba; seems some ship has sailed from Miami with authorized cargo. 1106 dumps off the air completely, resumes a semiminute later, off again; 1111 check, on again. During the audio- only dropouts, crackling continues on the carrier. This transmitter has big problems, but they have a couple others they could use; and repeating the show at 1130 is certainly a good redundant idea under such circumstances; unchecked if managed to clear up then. Now they have a weekend to work on it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. 4930, July 17 at 0516, very poor signal in English, no doubt VOA as scheduled 03-06, 100 kW, 20 degrees; seldom hear this at all vs noise level here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. New Brazilian [to his log, that is] --- Thanks to yesterday's geomagnetic storm, I could hear a couple of Brazilians last night which most remains unIDed yet. There's one however that I could ID quickly and it happens to be a new log here. Here's ZYH587, Rádio Shalom from Fortaleza with a clear "...Shalom 690". Heard in spite of various thunderstorms surrounding our area that fortunately, didn't developed here. http://www.quebecdx.com/brazil_690_shalom.mp3 (Sylvain Naud, Portneuf, QC, Perseus & 350ft unterminated baby Beverage NE-SW, July 16, NRC-AM via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) No time in this report or upon the clip Great stuff Sylvain. I envy your quiet QTH! T-storms come and go, but a 'quiet' location is not so common these days (Bill Whitacre, circa DC, ibid.) Until 690 gets refilled by Montreal, 690 can be a great shot at Brazil from the northeast. It is a steady regular in Newfoundland (Jim Renfrew, Holley NY, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. 4805, R. Difusoras do Amazonas, 0931 lucky to catch the complete canned ID by M with frequency and mentions of Difusoras and Manaus. Then short canned ID and jingle, and live studio M announcer with several "Bom Dia"s. Signal strength wasn't too bad but it was very noisy. (6 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4877.75v, Radio Roraima, 0325-0400*, July 13, Brazilian ballads. Portuguese announcements. Sign off with National Anthem at 0357. Was on 4877.75 at 0325 tune-in, drifting down to 4877.67 by sign off. Better than usual. Still somewhat distorted and wobbly, but readable. Sometimes just a blob of noise (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** BRAZIL. 4894.93, R. Novo Tempo?? Canned announcements from 0101 tune/in. Possible ID at 0105, then long talk by deep-voiced M. Mention of São Paulo. Romantic ZY songs. Ad block again at 0131. Not too bad but there was another signal here. This is on 4894.926 while the other signal (Kurseong??) is a closeby 4894.955. Very noisy too. (11 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) 4894.88, Brasil, Radio Novo Tempo, Campo Grande PR 1000 to 1030 on 16 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - Drake R8, and XM - Cedar Key - South Florida, NRD 525D - R8A - E5 Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4914.97, R. Difusora de Macapá, Macapá in Portuguese, 0054- 0136 disco music with one W brief announcement; some chorus jingle IDs "Rádio Difusora!", "Rádio Difusora, Macapá" & M frequency quote & IDs then some announcements; ballad song; M announcement with IDs "Difusora de Macapá....", "...aqui em Macapá..." during talk with final "...Rádio Difusora !!"; fast ballad songs with M & W brief announcements at times; M brief announcement mentioning Difusora; other M howled talk with IDs during talk "...Difusora de Macapá..." "...de Macapá..." & final " Rádio Difusora..."; ballad songs with one M brief announcement; ballad music then M howled ID, local time check & talk mentioning Macapá, Rádio Difusora; slow song; heard in SSB with strong audio; fast QSB & strong static crashes; almost fair; 07/08 (Giovanni Serra, Roma, Italy, JRC NRD 525; Alpha Delta DX-SWL Sloper- S; RG 8 mini coaxial cable; JPS NIR 12 Noise & Interference Reducer- Dual DSP outboard audio filter; Intek PS-35 5 ampere feeder; JRC – NVA 319 external loudspeaker unit; Yaesu YH – 77 STA stereo headphones; Zoom Corp. H2 handy digital recorder MP3 & WAV files; Oregon Scientific RM912 Radio controlled clock; Toshiba Laptop PC Windows XP2 (offline for loggings); Interkart framed wall board political world map (1: 46,400,000); the DX Edge-Xantek Inc.(daylight- darkness desk world map), DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4915, Brasil, Rádio Difusora, Macapá, AP - 0912 OM with Macapá ID, "Bom Dia", woman vocal till 0930 when second Brasilian signed on, Radio Daqui, Goiânia, GO? In SSB, both on exact frequency to 0940 tune out. 13 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D - 746Pro - R8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 6039.970, probably ZYE725 R.Clube Paranaense, Curitiba PR 6059.892, Super R Deus é Amor, Curitiba PR (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via DX LISTENINNG DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Geomag storm caused blackouts of many usual signals except from the south or trans-equatorial. July 16 at 0554-0603+ I was getting several Brazilian signals, mostly still weak but better than usual, besides 9645, 9665, 11765, 11925; and supersig on 11780: 9675-, July 16 at 0602, mentions this frequency. Before 0600 R. Canção Nova was in the clear but now there is a het from a carrier, an open one? Could not hear any other modulation. Aoki has the only thing starting at 0600 as CNR1 from Beijing 572 site, 100 kW, 37 degrees, which I would not expect to be propagating but it is aimed USward. When I logged RCN in Feb 2011 it was slightly on the lo side of 9675. 9820-, July 16 at 0554, a week after its namesake, Brazilian talk and music from R. Nove de Julho, except several mentions of R. Aparecida, which it now relays, a sister Catholic station, including at 0600 ``Sistema Rádio Aparecida`` and time check for 3 horas. As usual significantly on lo side of 9820. ``Geophysical Alert Message Solar-terrestrial indices for 15 July follow. Solar flux 141 and estimated planetary A-index 60. The estimated planetary K-index at 0600 UTC on 16 July was 5. Space weather for the past 24 hours has been moderate. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G2 level occurred. Space weather for the next 24 hours is predicted to be moderate. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G2 level are expected.`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11764.94, Super Rádio Deus é Amor, Curitiba, Paraná. 2314 July 12, 2012. Braso-Portuguese preacher, presumed the one, obviously the Brazilian here regardless. Clear, fair. And rocking in with trading-off male/female preachers re-check 0051 (now July 13 GMT). 11780, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, Brasilia, DF. 2316 July 12, 2012. Excellent with spoon-fed government news feed, parallel very good 6180. 11815, Rádio Brasil Central, Goiânia, Goiás. 2306 July 12, 2012. Braso-Portuguese male ID, Braso rap-rock song, a couple of ads, time check 2309 and ID with mention of Goiânia, more rap-rock-ish vocals. Clear, fair. Seems to be on or about on-frequency. Shocker for a Braso shortwaver. 11829.98, Rádio Daqui, Goiânia, Goiás. 2324-0000* July 12, 2012. Braso-Portuguese male slow-talking male preacher. What sounded like an ID at 2330, male “Rádio Daqui...” (but sounded phonetically more like “Dak-AH”) into more (another?) gospel preacher program, gospel vocal 2342, female a bit later, more vocals. Audio then transmitter abruptly cut 0000. Definitely the Brazilian, whatever ID/programming source it may be. Good signal by the last few minutes. Who the hell listens to all these Brazilians with this type of programming (besides a half- dozen DXers who don't give a flip about the programming)? [apparently above was really YFR via GUF at 22-24: See U S A --- gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1626] 11854.94, Rádio Aparecida, Aparecida, São Paulo. 0012 July 13, 2012. Presumed the one, certainly a Brazilian at least, with Braso- Portuguese canned gospel programming. Clear/fair (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Abridged list of junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC- R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11815.0, July 12 at 0126, obviously R. Brasil Central, but presumed as no ID heard, typical frenetic phony hyper-enthusiasm in Brazilian accent, unsure if covering a game or not, as only poor signal but right on frequency. Slightly better past 0200 with numbers, probably telephones rather than scores as they were multi-digit (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11830, 14/7 2225, R. Daqui - Goiânia, PP predica, suff (Roberto Pavanello, Italy, playdx yg via DXLD) Are you sure it wasn`t YFR via GUF in Portuguese at 22-24? See above and under U S A [non] (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. R N A novos equipos --- A todos que seguem RNA em ondas curtas, apartir de hoje a EBC instalou novos equipamentos para a melhoria da qualidade do som em ondas curtas. Por causa da propagação não consegui verificar a qualidade do som se está melhor ou não. Aqueles que se interessarem mandar mensagem para a central do ouvinte da EBC (Durval 503@, July 11, radioescutas yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) Que equpos foram instalados? (Neto Silva, Brasília DF, ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1626, as gh also wonders, via DXLD) Ontem mesmo ouvi esta informação no programa do Carlos Moreira entre 1:00 e 1:30h na hora de meu almoço e enviei e-mail porém até agora não recebi resposta. Trabalho em Campinas e a qualidade de som está bem melhor nos 25M; já em 49M é impossível sintonizar. A qualidade é boa mas a Transmundial 11735 é muito melhor tanto em áudio quanto em sinal pelo menos por aqui. 73, (Adriano Mansette, Americana-SP, July 12, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. 15191.76, R. Inconfidência. Really nice at 0123 recording start but trailed off and gone after about 0430. (10 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) 15191.69, Radio Inconfidência, 0110-0120, July 15, Portuguese talk. Brazilian ballads. Fair. Very poor on // 6009.98 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 15191.8 approx., July 16 at 0150, weak pop music as R. Inconfidência drifts a bit higher; not much else audible on band (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. The CBC's furthest North AM transmitter at Whitehorse 60 46 59.05N, 135 06 57.45W carrying a non Directional 5 kW (day) and 1 kW (night) relay of CBC Radio 1 as CFWH 570 will close on August 31 2012. http://goo.gl/maps/DyPn Thanks to Patrick Martin (via DXLD) for this one. It will be a sad day to lose this outpost to the march towards FM. The next upload will carry this in Current ready to go into Inactive. 73's (Dan Goldfarb, UK, mwmasts yg via DXLD) ** CANADA. Re: Montreal's TSN Radio 990 to become French all-sports station --- I thought I read that 990 was going to a gay format while sports was moving to 690. What happened to that plan? (René Tetro, Philadelphia PA, ABDX via DXLD) It's still happening, but I think TSN/RDS didn't want to muddy the waters of its press release by having to explain that, too. CKGM will move from 990 to 690 (supposedly as early as this fall) no matter what it's programming --- unless Bell ends up returning the license, which could happen if the CRTC turns thumbs-down on the plan to change the CKGM license from English to French. It's possible the CRTC could treat that application as an application for a new station, in which case it would open a call for competing applications, and Bell does NOT want to go through that process. But no matter what happens, Evanov has a new license for 990 (as French-language gay programming) that's contingent on CKGM leaving the channel. And from your perspective, René, that pretty much guarantees that you'll still be protecting SOMETHING on 990 in Montreal; sorry! :) s (Scott Fybush, NY, ABDX via DXLD) ** CANADA. 6069.951, CFRX / CFRB relay, Toronto (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. QSL: Radio Canada Int, 15455, E-QSL in 6 days for e-rpt to castor @ rcinet.ca v/s Luis Laborda. Some days later, I received a printed QSL (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) July 2012 is a whole different month when it comes to shortwave radio. Our very own Radio Canada International has gone silent on the shortwave bands as of June 24th, with the only programming available from RCI being found on the RCI webpage. Also, an old friend, Radio Nederland, has left the bands as well as of July 1st. They will be returning with an online service but only in the New Year. Unfortunately, there will probably more to follow in the days and months ahead as many governments change the focus of their international voices to the world, if not eliminating them altogether. Getting back to Radio Canada International for a moment, there are still some holding out hope that the decision to end the broadcasts can be reversed. A glimmer of hope came from Conservative Senator Hugh Segal. Senator Segal spoke out strongly against the CBC decision. We urge you to contact him and let him know you care and encourage him to do whatever he can to right this wrong. He can be reached by e-mail at kfl @ sen.parl.gc.ca One major concern is that the CBC has indicated that they want to shut down and either sell or dismantle the Sackville, New Brunswick transmitter station as quickly as possible. There is a strong feeling that if this historical and strategically located transmitter site disappears, Canada will never see another and all hopes of a restoration of the RCI service will disappear with it (Board of Directors Report, July CIDX Messenger via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) Well, it sure was an eventful month of June for international broadcasters as we lost both Radio Canada International and Radio Netherlands along with word that Vatican Radio is cutting their use of shortwave in the coming months. My first words are not only disappointment with these losses but also how they ended. Radio Canada International has known of their demise for a few months so their last day of broadcast was to be an emotional affair. Well, someone really messed up with the final day of English broadcasts as we were treated to a replay of the Maple Leaf Mailbag program from the previous week. I was not very impressed with that even though we were able to hear the final MLM program via RCI’s website (Mick Delmage, AB, Verie Interesting, July CIDX Messenger via DXLD) RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL GOES OFF-AIR, MOVING ONLINE-ONLY AFTER 67 YEARS OF SHORTWAVE SERVICE Jun 25, 2012 - Posted by Angelina Irinici - J-News The final on-air program from Radio Canada International aired Sunday, June 24. World, say goodbye to Canadian shortwave radio. As part of the cuts announced in April’s budget, Radio Canada International has shut down its shortwave transmitters and moved to an online-only Internet stream. But there are some who are continuing to fight for shortwave radio in the Internet age. Radio Canada International’s program Masala Canada aired its last show on Sunday, June 24 [sic: that program was Saturday June 23 --- gh]. Wojtek Gwiazda not only hosts and produces the show — he is a spokesperson for the RCI Action Committee, a union-supported group that is trying to salvage the service. When JSource spoke with him he had just finished lobbying with the committee outside of the CBC/Radio-Canada building in Montreal. When asked what will change after June 24, he took a deep breath and sighed. “Basically everything,” he said. “We stop being a radio station. Our only presence will be on the Internet, but when we say presence on the Internet, all our programming is going to disappear.” In response to the Conservative government’s cuts, CBC slashed 80 per cent of Radio Canada International’s budget — from $12.3 million to $2.3 million — and will change the 67-year-old shortwave service to an internet radio station. The ‘Voice of Canada’ broadcasts will no longer be accessible from countries like China, where the website is blocked, as well as developing countries where Internet usage isn’t as widespread and people depend on radio for national and international news. In addition, 30 of 45 permanent employees are being laid off, as well as more than a dozen contract workers and regular freelancers. In 1990 RCI had about 200 employees and broadcasted in 14 languages. On June 25 it will broadcast in five languages with only a fraction of the staff it once had. “Financial considerations were not only the factor in our decision to update RCI,” Marc Pichette, a spokesperson for Radio-Canada said by e- mail. “Other important factors have dictated this move. Above all, shortwave radio audiences have been in constant decline for years.” Gwiazda says he understands why RCI is a lower priority for the CBC — CBC’s mandate is to serve Canadians, while RCI’s is to serve people outside of the country. Because of this, Gwiazda is calling for financial autonomy from the CBC and Radio-Canada. Gwiazda is afraid that without financial autonomy then anytime cuts are to be made, RCI will be at the top of the chopping block. “I understand why CBC’s priorities are not with us, but that’s exactly why they should not have control of our budget,” says Gwiazda. “We’ve done an amazing job with very little money and now I honestly don’t know how we’re going to do it.” But CBC is not able to give RCI the autonomy it desires — such a move would have to come from the federal government. Gwiazda and the RCI Action Committee have sent an e-mail (in some cases, spoken personally) to each Conservative Member of Parliament outlining their situation and asking for financial autonomy. Gwiazda says that the reaction the committee has received points back to the CBC. MPs say that they tell the CBC how much to cut and the broadcaster is best suited to do this. James Maunder, a spokesperson for Minister James Moore and the Department of Canadian Heritage, said via e-mail that the cabinet “has no plans to move in this direction.” Gwiazda admits that the realities of financial autonomy is a long-shot, but “there’s always hope,” he says. RCI used to have two rules it had to follow: it was legally obliged to provide shortwave services and it had to regularly consult with the Department of Foreign Affairs. There was a proposed injunction on behalf of RCI employees but fell through when RCI’s lawyers discovered that changes to these two rules had been approved on June 7. Heritage Minister James Moore recommended an order in council that got rid of both requirements and Gwiazda says that this information was not broadcast to anyone. After sending a letter to Moore, he is waiting on a response. As Kim Andrew Elliot, a U.S. broadcast specialist, told The Ottawa Citizen, changing the shortwave service to an internet site only, will effectively be removing Canada from international broadcasting altogether. Shortwave service is a “wonderful medium,” he said. “It can get through when the internet is blocked by a dictator, cyber war or a natural disaster like an earthquake — or extreme weather events that seem to be increasing,” he said. However, CBC stands by the decision and Pichette says that streamlining RCI on the internet is the best way to make sure that it still has an existence and remains relevant in the 21st century. “In its renewed formula, RCI can take full advantage of the potentialities of the web, becoming an interactive and dynamic instrument to reach the world,” said Pichette. Although Gwiazda will keep his job, he says he’s saddened of the lack of public discussion about the service and the treatment it has received. “We’ve always been a badly understood orphan,” he said. And to him, it goes farther than just budget cuts. “It’s a question mainly of who should decide how strong or weak Canada’s voice of the world is.” Gwiazda’s voice is clear and strong — but an unmistakable sense of disappointment can be heard (via What`s News, July CIDX Messenger via DXLD) I think that curtailing shortwave is as much about curtailing the production of shows as anything else. Ask RNW (Scott Royall, Conch Republic, swprograms via DXLD) I click on other seasons at the bottom of the RCI page. This then gives me links to the June 22 The Link http://www.rcinet.ca/english/archives/program/the-link/home/ and the June 24 Maple Leaf Mailbag, that wasn't transmitted due to a technical glitch. http://www.rcinet.ca/english/archives/program/the-maple-leaf-mailbag/home/ (Mike Barraclough, ibid.) Radio Canada International continues as online "new version." Employees say "we will not rest in peace." Posted: 18 Jul 2012 For linx see: http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=13477 rabble.ca, 6 July 2012, Garth Mullins: "[A]n ocean of low static is all that emanates from the Sackville, New Brunswick transmitter. Canada's once robust international radio voice has fallen silent, victim of the latest round of budget cuts. ... I am not a cyber- luddite. Podcasting has given birth to a radio renaissance and an explosion of voices. Just listen to Memory Palace, 99% invisible or Transom to see how the format is being innovated. Yet, I would never want to see Vancouver's Co-op Radio or CBC Radio One reduced to an on- line only presence. I want to live in a broad community, not a pod of one. ... Radio silence is a ham-fisted decision. End of transmission." Allvoices, 8 July 2012, northsunm32: "As with vinyl records no doubt many think shortwave radio a thing of the past. Yet there are still many strong stations. It is not expensive to provide. Many church groups use it. Unlike the Internet which can often be disrupted short wave signals cannot easily be jammed. Many in the world just have no access to phones or electricity let alone the Internet. However battery and hand-cranked short wave radios are ubiquitous." (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Shortwave -- this is coming from a shortwave enthusiast -- is expensive, more expensive than using internet to reach audiences around the world. It's debatable (and this should be investigated) whether the internet or shortwave is more immune to interdiction. And shortwave radios are not "ubiquitous." In fact, they are becoming harder to find, even in countries where shortwave was traditionally a dominant medium for receiving domestic and international broadcasts (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) Warren Kinsella, 30 June 2012, Sun News: "Our allies - the U.S., Britain, Germany, France and Australia - have all expanded their national shortwave service. ... Perhaps you didn't notice the death of RCI because you have access to lots of media here in Canada, or because you don't ever need to tune in to shortwave radio. But to people around the world - to our men and women in uniform - the death of RCI won't go unnoticed." (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) -- Actually, all the of the countries mentioned have cut back on their shortwave broadcasts (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) RCI Action Committee, 8 July 2012: "On the last day of radio programming at RCI on June 24, 2012, some of the newsreaders and host/producers ended their last broadcasts and then shared their reflections on Radio Canada International in this series of five videos." RCI Action Committee, 8 July 2012: Audio of first RCI broadcast on 25 February 2012 [sic] RCI Action Committee, 16 July 2012: "Please join us in this new project: “RCI – WE WILL NOT ‘REST IN PEACE’ PHOTO PROJECT – RCI, RIP ? NON! You have been so generous with your time, in reading, and commenting and supporting us. We are now into our fourth (!) week without radio broadcasting. We’re not happy about this. We don’t think you are. Please take a few minutes to read the details here about our project, and then send us your photo." (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) RCI's website, rcinet.ca, carries on. It still has audio, or "Webradio." The RCI program "The Link" has become "The Link Online." The program of 14 July 2012 has reports from "the entire RCI English team": Wojtek Gwiazda, Lynn Desjardins, and Marc Montgomery. A new feature, reflecting RCI's reduced (by 80%) budget, is "reporter for a day," from the audience and presumably unpaid, in this edition from Ghana (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid., WORLD OF RADIO 1626) ** CANADA [and non]. 6110, July 13 at 0512, open carrier/dead air from the NHK World R. Japan relay in English via Sackville; still the case for several minutes but by 0525 programming had resumed. Meanwhile, the other NHK relay via France on 11970 was modulating and sufficiently audible at 0513 with news about the floods on Kyushu. And the other relay still existing via Canada, Vietnam on 9555 was OK at 0515. Vying for the dead-air sweepstakes at the same time were WRNO and WBCQ; see U S A (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [non?]. 9625, July 12 at 1226, JBA carrier while Sackville 9650 with KBS World Radio has fair to good signal. Is anyone still hearing the CBC NQ service? It was supposedly going to last a while longer, but I`m not confirming it since the June 24 cuts. Signal was never very strong here way off-beam, but hi-latitude propagation has been quite degraded lately. Wolfgang Büschel was hearing a ``sermon`` in English at 0350 July 11 on exactly 9625.000, while the CBCNQ transmitter used to be considerably off-frequency. Perhaps if still running, Sackville switched to a different transmitter among the many idle ones now. Nothing else is scheduled on 9625 at that hour, tho RCI hardly protected 9625 from CCI elsewhen. At 12-13 M-F it could be a remnant of Channel Africa in Nyanja that I detect, lacking CBCNQ. 9625, July 13 at 1237, JBA carrier, maybe CBCNQ or maybe not, while KBS relay on 9650 from Sackville is very good. Replies came in quickly to my yesterday`s inquiry if 9625 still be on. Yes, as heard at various times by Chris Lobdell, Jean-Michel Aubier, Richard Cuff, Terry Krueger, Andrea Lawendel. Surely still on the same NQ antenna which is way offbeam for here, but maybe on lower power and/or a different transmitter. Or is it just unfavorable propagation meward (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Still going strong on 9625 as of Sunday when I last tuned in, out at our island cottage [Baker's Island] in Salem, MA. Did I read somewhere it will last till Halloween? 73, (Chris Lobdell, MA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, supposedly approx. Hallowe`en end of A-12. Several others also hear CBCNQ (Glenn to Chris, via DXLD) Hi Glenn - regarding 9625 / CBC NQS - I just checked a couple remotely tuned SDRs in Maryland at 1605 UT, neither SDR had recognizable audio. However a carrier did appear to be present (Rich Cuff, DX LISTENING DIGEST) On July 7 (Saturday), I've heard the NQ service in French at 1600 via a remote control receiver in Canada. Reception was particularly difficult. Also heard on June 25 at 1100. Regards (JM Aubier, France, ibid.) This clip was recorded by Giampaolo Galassi, close to RImini, Adriatic coast, on July 5th, at 0500 UT. Northern Quebec service closing down: https://www.box.com/s/1d39420d491cfc185574 73 (Andy Lawendel, Italy, ibid.) Sackville --- Bands almost completely dead earlier. Now (1900+) find CBC No. Quebec Svc has faded back up on a Perseus in New England. Still not audible here on the Carolina coast (DanFerguson, SC, 1915 UT July 12, NASWA yg via DXLD) 9625, CBC North Québec Service, Sackville, New Brunswick. 2300 July 12, 2012. Still here. Tune-in just as going into, “It's 7 O'clock, CBC News, I'm... [somebody unknown]” by female. Signal indeed appears to be on or very close to 9625, vs. the longtime off-frequency and sloppy, very low modulation days. Modulation, however, remains low. Almost as low as previous (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Abridged list of junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I'm hearing CBC on 9625 right now (1720 GMT July 13) with a good signal, some Birthday greetings by phone, and a rather amusing interview on when to apologize to your spouse/mate (which they signed "for CBC Radio" so no doubt about what it is). Signal is a bit weaker than normal for this time of day, but still quite readable. Listening on a Kenwood TS-590 from a tower mounted MA5B (Julian Smith, VA3SAJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, Glenn, I am still hearing CBCNQ on 9625 at 1812 on 7/13. Signal here in Massachusetts is fair, programming at this time is in a local native language which I have heard before on this frequency. So I'm most definitely sure that this is CBCNQ (Dave Knowles, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9625.0, July 14 at 0230, poor signal in incomprehensible language, presumably CBCNQ in Inuktitut, badly squeezed between stronger REE 9620 Spain and much stronger almost // 9630 REE Costa Rica --- at least the latter finishes DRM circa 0200, which totally wipes out CBC. All three are right on frequency, per 5-kHz BFO stepping on the DX-398 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 6160.88, July 12 before and after 0530, big het between one of the Canadians on 6160.0 and what must be the other one shifted way off-frequency, making an A-pitch slightly wavering tone. Higher one is stronger, just a woman speaking and seems to be in English. Next check at 1221, no carrier audible on 6160.88, but a very weak one on 6160.0, so that points to CKZU Vancouver still in darkness, making 6160.88 CKZN Newfoundland way into the dayside. Check tonight to confirm if this still be the case (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6160.868, CKZN, End of "The Current" at 0547 with CBC ID, then "The Sound-Off" segment. Stronger than 6160 CKZU and slopping over. Filler music 0559, promo for "Metamorphosis" program. Into CBC news by W. I see it was reported on this frequency back in 2009 too. Looking at a Perseus recording from 25 June showed this was on frequency then. So must have jumped up here in the last 2 and a half weeks. (12 July) 6159.991, CKZU, 0549 program with talk about robots. Was hoping to get a local ID at 0600 but too much slop QRM from St. Johns. CBC promo ending at 0605 with ID. Program promo at 0606. (12 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) Hi Chris, Tnx for the quick reply. Maybe you are close enough to the Rock to tell in the daytime whether CKZN is on 6160.88? 73, (Glenn to Chris Lobdell, via DXLD) I can; can hear them here at home starting around 2230. The E1 is useless for that seeing it is already off frequency, but I'll check it on the NRD-545. I used to hear 6160 all day down at the island but not so this year. Not sure why. Always enjoy your postings! 73, (Chris Lobdell, MA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6160.88, July 13 at 0510, big het and audio mix as CKZN [Newfoundland] is still knocked off-frequency vs CKZU circa 6160.0. Chris Lobdell in MA confirmed as early as 2245 July 12 that CKZU was the one on the offset. By 1028 check a het was quite weak; sunrise in St. John`s was 0747 UT, so maybe something else entirely by now. A much stronger het from North Korea infested the hi side of CFRX 6070 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Um, at 2130 UT Fri 13 July, here in Burnaby, BC, CKZU was on 6160 according to my Eton E1 which reads about 60 Hz on the low side, and matched by WWV with the same offset. TD ~0415 UT Sat 14 July, which is basically local sunset in Vancouver for Fri 13 July, there is a very slight squeal accompanying CKZU, and the local transmitter is on 6160. The secondary carrier seems to be upwards of 6160.9, so if Mother Corp's transmitters are at fault, it would seem CKZN is to blame; as was the case a few years ago. TD (Theo Donnelly, primetimeshortwave yg via DXLD) CKZN was being reported on 6160.9 from mid-August to early Sept 2009, in DXLDs 9-062, 9-064, 9-065, 9-067 (gh, DXLD 12-29) 6160, CKZU CBC Radio One, Vancouver, BC. 0830 July 15, 2012. Very weak with male hosting magazine features program (NPR-ish format) on learning French and Hemingway's “A Farewell To Arms” reissued with 47 endings (as if one wasn't enough). CKZN, St. John's, Newfoundland still riding him high on 6160.88 (Terry Krueger, Clearwater, FL. Abridged pile of antiquated junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6159.978 and 6160.853, UNIDentified; 6159.981, CKZU / CBU relay Vancouver BC tentative (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Log those Canadian analogs *fast*; by the time you read the next eVUD, they're likely to be gone: THE CBC IS PLANNING TO SHUT DOWN ALL REMAINING ANALOG TRANSMITTERS AT THE END OF JULY. The CRTC asked them nine questions about their plans. These are paraphrased below: 1. How many people will lose access to CBC TV because they don't subscribe to a BDU? (“BDU” = cable/satellite/IPTV) Based on data from the BBM, (Canada's “Nielsen” ratings) the CBC believes 98% of Canadians either subscribe to a BDU or live within the coverage area of one of the transmitters which has already been converted to digital. 2. How much revenue does the CBC believe it will lose over the next three years as a result of closing these transmitters? The CBC is assuming the closure of these transmitters will have no effect on advertising revenue. 3. How much does it cost the CBC to operate these transmitters? For all affected transmitters, the CBC has been spending $3.8 million/year for electricity; $5.3 million for operational costs; $1.5 million for overhead (tower rent?); for a total of $10.7 million. The CRTC was provided with specific figures for each transmitter. 4. Please elaborate on the assertion that the existing analog infrastructure cannot be maintained. Most of these transmitters were installed between 1977 and 1984. The CBC asked the government several times for funds to update this network, and were denied. At least four of the transmitter manufacturers are no longer in business. The Tandberg satellite equipment used to distribute the CBC signal to the transmitter sites has been discontinued. The analog shutdown in the U.S. has resulted in a shortage of parts for analog transmitters in Canada. In some cases prices have doubled. The CBC estimates the cost of replacing the obsolete analog gear at $56 million or more. (DS note: While I'm certainly not familiar with any possible special modifications in the CBC network, I am quite familiar with the satellite equipment cited. While it has been discontinued, suitable modern substitutes are available and in many cases is less expensive than the gear they replace. I note that no mention has been made of converting these sites to digital.) 5. Have alternative solutions been discussed? Shaw, who operates one of the satellite TV providers in Canada, recently purchased Global TV, Canada's 3rd-largest TV network. Such transactions in Canada require provision of some kind of financial “tangible benefits” to the Canadian public. Shaw is spending $15 million to provide free local-channel service to viewers who will no longer receive the CBC via terrestrial transmitters. Earlier discussions have suggested a local-channel only service would be provided with no monthly charge; viewers would be required to purchase the receiving equipment and pay for its installation. 6. How will the CBC ensure viewers know what's happening? A publicity campaign will begin on the 25th of this month and continue through August 3rd. Besides announcements on the Internet and press releases, the CBC will assign a national reporter to cover the story during the week of July 23rd. They will schedule PSAs to run locally on the CBC's radio stations from July 23rd through August 3rd. A hotline and an email address will be provided. 7. How much will it cost BDUs (cable/satellite/IPTV systems) to replace OTA pickup of the CBC with satellite pickup in areas where no CBC transmitter will exist? The CBC's DTV stations will be available at no charge on its leased satellite transponders. BDUs will need to acquire a HD satellite receiver for approximately $5,600. Arrangements have been made to make suitable receivers available on an expedited basis. (DS note: we have recently purchased a receiver I believe would be suitable for approximately half the cited cost.) For some reason, it was here where the CBC noted that they have canceled their leases on these transmitter sites effective July 31st. 8, 9: Two additional questions were asked about five specific stations, for which the CBC's intent was not obvious. CBET Windsor, CKSH Sherbrooke, CKTM Trois-Rivières, and CKTV Saguenay have already been converted to digital and will continue to operate. CFYK Yellowknife will convert on August 1st; on that date, its relay transmitters across the territories will be closed. Another collection of analog transmitters, all in Ontario, will also close on August 1st; TVO is the educational network in that province. One full-power low-band VHF transmitter is involved. The stations are: 39 Hawkesbury CHLF-TV-2* 48 Hawkesbury CICO-TV-96 13 Huntsville CICA-TV-13 44 Kenora CICO-TV-91 38 Kingston CICO-TV-38 42 McArthur's Mills CICO-TV-93 6 North Bay CICA-TV-6 12 Owen Sound CICA-TV-12 42 Parry Sound CICE-TV-11 17 Pembroke CHLF-TV-13* 29 Pembroke CICE-TV-16 51 Penetanguishene CICA-TV-51 18 Peterborough CICO-TV-74 20 Sault Ste. Marie CICO-TV-20 19 Sudbury CICO-TV-19 25 Sudbury CHLF-TV-1* 7 Timmins CICA-TV-7 * These are the three full-powered Frenchlanguage stations. The statement doesn't say whether they're affected but I'd pretty strongly suspect they are (Doug Smith, TV News, June WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) See also DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV for USA news CRTC DECISION RE: CBC/SRC SHUTDOWN The CRTC approves the shutdown of more than 600 CBC/SRC analog repeaters! The powers that be must be very happy with this. One word: shameful! http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-384.htm One example that comes to mind is the Sudbury area, a very bilingual Ontario town that will lose SRC and TFO. I'm sure other Canadian members can come up with other mind blowing examples. 73, (Charles Gauthier, Brossard, QC, July 17, WTFDA via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) With a huge list of all the revoked stations ** CANADA. CBC 2 Manitoba --- From 1045 to just after 1100 CDT this morning I had channel 2 with CBC programming. Local ads including Boyd Autobody located on Pembina Highway south of Winnipeg mentioned Winnipeg and Manitoba. There is only one CBC station listed on channel 2 in Manitoba so I assume it has to be CBWYT in Mafeking. It repeats CBWT-27 from Winnipeg. That is a new one for me and just before it is scheduled to be shut down. There was a second channel 2 in English mixing with CBWYT, but no additional IDs (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, July 14, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CANADA. Time is running out for TV DX from Canada, at least CBC, which has been authorized to close down *all* its analog transmitters at the end of July! Another sporadic E opening July 18, UT: 1557 on 3, CCI from the north 1602 on 5, toons, presumably CBC with its morning lineup for kids 1610 on 3, something in English from N to NNW, with zero-CCI too 1614 on 3, promo for My News, back to `The View` (from ABC in the USA) 1644 on 3, toon in English, CBC presumed 1656 on 4, something, but nothing on 2 or 3 1733 on 2, local news in English from NNW UT July 19: 0142 on 5, Jeopardy with CBC bug LR. Trebek is Canadian; grafix and set look a little different than usual, tho I am not a regular viewer; could there be a separate Canadian version? Dollars are not specified as Canadian, which is neither here nor there. Others in the northeast were also getting this, saying it`s CST scheduling, therefore Saskatchewan. Unfortunately there are four CBCs on 5 in Sask, altho one of them relays CBWT so may be on the CDT feed. Also CCI on 2, 3, 4 0145 on 5, SaskTel ad, CBC promo, Arctic Air ad [plane purveyor or cooler?] 0153 on 2, Global promo so probably CKND-2 in Manitoba; also something on 6 video. Tried lower FM, but nothing 0210 on 5, promo for `The National`, i.e. CBC newscast; bits of CCI on lower channels further into this hour, gradually losing out (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Part 15 and Pirate FM reception --- There is always the odd surprise ... like the Drive-In Theatre that I can hear on 104.9 every night that's 23 miles away. They must be using an illegal 5+ watt transmitter. The nearby 10 mile drive-in fades out at 1 mile in my car. I've also picked up a church on 87.9 from 42 miles away - again they must have been using an illegal xmtr. I've also just recently started picking up a neighbour's iPod xmtr on 88.1 that even has RDS. On TV, I'm seen an OPP [Ontario Provincial Police] bomb-disposal robot from the Police Academy 1 mile away on chs 14 & 16. I've also seen a video store security camera on ch 14 (it was in a nearby plaza). I also saw "Rabbits" in the 1990s. These were UHF xmtrs that people could buy to send video around their house. On AM, I have heard a talking house on 1680 from my qth - it was about 1 mile away. And of course there are pirates - that can be strong. In Ontario, we also have "special event" stations that are given temporary authority to run a temporary station with up to 50 watts. These are for festivals, auto races, etc. I've recently published a list of some of these stations that can be found in Ontario, to give you an idea of what's out there: http://dxinfocentre.com/ulp-on.htm (Bill Hepburn, Grimsby Ont., WTFDA via DXLD) ** CHAD [non]. 6165, nichts von RNT Radio N'Djamena zu hören, wenn NHK Radio Japan Russisch aus Sitkunai Litauen um 0500 UT das Feld verlässt. - siehe Meldung weiter oben. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Guangzhou Coastal Radio Station (call XSQ) verified by PFC QSL in Chinese for my reception report in Chinese, enclosed 10 yuan note, on their scheduled SSB weather broadcast after 38 days. QSL was issued by Luo, Mingbiao, Engineering Division, with previous notice by E-mail. Address: Engineering Division, Guangzhou Coastal Radio Station, 19F Hangyung Building, No. 48 Ba Qi Er Ma Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510111 China. URL: http://www.gzrdo.com E-mail: gzrdo @ gzrdo.com SSB weather broadcast schedule; Time UT in Chinese 6510/17398-USB: 0100 0200 0300 0400 0500 0600 0700 0900 1100 1300 1500 meteorological and marine forecast 1910 2010 2110 2210 safety and typhoon information, maritime and navigation alert 8782/13107/13149/13182/19770/22735-USB: 1910 2010 2110 2210 safety and typhoon information, maritime and navigation alert (Takahito Akabayashi, Tokyo, Japan, July 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Firedrake July 12 before 1300 in continuing degraded propagation conditions, especially on higher bands, just: 11500, very poor at 1230 16100, good at 1237 16980, JBA at 1239; none in the 12s, 13s, 14s, 15s, 17s Firedrake July 13, before 1100: 15900, poor at 1040 with flutter; no others 12-18 MHz Before 1300: 12980, poor at 1243 13920, fair at 1251 13970, fair at 1251 15560, fair at 1253; none in the 14s 16100, good at 1254; none in the 17s After 1300: 15485, fair at 1311 15560, good at 1311 Before 1400: 12670, very poor at 1342 13970, fair at 1340; none in the 14s 15900, good at 1337 16100, good at 1338 16920, very poor at 1338 17250, fair at 1339 [and non]. Firedrake July 14, no full bandscans, just noted: 13970, good at 1259 14700, very good at 1259-1300* plus a few syllables of Chinese starting with ``Bei-jing`` before cutting off, and then uncovering very weak signal, presumably Sound of Hope, Taiwan 15445, fair at 1202; not checked before 1200 15485, poor with flutter at 1302 15560, fair with flutter at 1302 17450, poor at 1357 Firedrake July 15: 17450, JBA music at 0549, probably this 9970, poor-fair with at 1229 with flutter. None higher. In fact, with K=6 and a blackout, nothing at all heard above a very weak 12050 WEWN Firedrake July 17; still scarce with degraded hi-latitude propagation, before 1300: 14400, poor at 1237, none lower 14700, fair at 1237, none higher The 15 MHz band has only a few weak signals from China, Cuba, WWCR: 15125, 15230, 15250, 15825; and VOA best on 15590, with Es help? After 1300: 15565, poor at 1314 14700, very poor at 1315 Now US Es signals have built up on 15: 15615 WEWN, 15825 WWCR Nothing on VHF by 1500 WWV reported: ``Geophysical Alert Message Solar-terrestrial indices for 16 July follow. Solar flux 138 and estimated planetary A-index 31. The estimated planetary K-index at 1200 & 1500 UTC on 17 July was 2. No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are predicted for the next 24 hours.`` But conditions are still very poor, haven`t really recovered Firedrake July 18, before 1300: 12980, fair at 1227; none in the 11s, 10s 13130, fair at 1238 13530, good at 1226, stronger than 13570 WINB. Thanks to Sound of Hope, this is a new frequency never before in DXLD per Google search. Would you believe the top hit was to ``shop for 13530``?? Only previous mentions of 13530 were as a spur from WINB! 13920, good at 1226 14700, very poor at 1230 There was also one in the 15.4s which was gone by the time I got around to looking at the dial at 1230. None in the 15s, 16s, 17s; and the 16m SWBC band was dead After 1300: 12230, good at 1319 13430, fair at 1320 with CODAR 15560, fair at 1322 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST ** CHINA [and non]. ?Chinese bubbler against RTI at 2200 UT, still parked very early at 2030 UT today, centered around 6106 kHz. Noted on remote unit in Brisbane Queensland. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, July 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Excuse, - a little bit stronger, same signal on 6112-6117 kHz at same time. But only heard in Australia, not in Japan or Europe. Puzzle. 73 (Büschel, 2048 UT, ibid.) ** COLOMBIA. 14950.8, Salem Estéreo; 0133-0138+, 7-July; Latino tune to ID at 0134, accent on the 2nd syllable of Salem (sounded like "Estereo" rather than "Stereo"); into Spanish religious segment. SIO=252+. Previously heard poorly 2248-2300+, 6-July; M in Spanish with baladas; sung anthem [you mean the Colombian national anthem?] 2255-2258+ followed by more tunes. SIO=252; also heard poorly at 1440 & 2019, 6-July with mix of Spanish talk & tunes. Centering frequency varies, but just below 14950.8 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) 14950.76, Salem Estéreo, 0759:45 caught canned ID promo between songs again. Quick heavy QSB. Also getting QRM from that crummy machine gun ute. Basically gone by 0830. (8 July) 14950.76, Salem Estéreo. Recorded on the Perseus all night from 0123. Usual LA Pops and canned promo announcements by M after every 2 songs and at ToH. Long talk by M from about 0725 to 0738, then couple promos/IDs before going back to nice music. Really strong at 0751 but faded very fast right at the ID!! Likes to fade/out right at IDs!! Had problems when an annoying ute here in the early evening. Clear later. Seems best and most consistent here in the 0700- 0800 hour. Can be fairly decent one minute but then fade/out completely for as much as hours. (10 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) 14950.78, (PIRATE) Salem Stereo, Ibagué or Río Blanco, Tolima. 2241 July 10, 2012. Fair with creaky Spanish vocals (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Abridged list of junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC- R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 14950+, July 12 at 0523 check, Salem Stereo music is peaking at S9+5. At 1540 check, a JBA carrier, better than 12140 where I sought the Tamil Tigers clandestine, hearing nothing but CODAR. BTW, maybe S.S. should rethink their slogan if they are going to keep broadcasting on mono shortwave only! (Is the stream in stereo? I have not noticed.) Since they were once a licensed FM on 106.5, what was the callsign? One would have to find an expired official government list, as I already checked the current one and found it absent. One would also like to know why they lost their license. Googling is not productive, except I found this page of an announcer at Salem Stereo, YL with stylish wrap-around shades and hanging cornrows; the one who gives time chex?: https://profiles.google.com/116083705027750392630/about What a name! JHAMILETH ORTIZ YATE --- Probably unique in the universe; another example of the strange JH digraph (like ``Jhon``) which would seem to be just as forbidden in Spanish as it is in English, but rampant in Rioblanco (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) July 12, Salem Stereo, 14950 at 0155z, with music into an ID. Not a bad signal considering reports of low power. Sony ICF 7600 portable, JL Waco, Tx (Jerry Lenamon, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 14950+, July 14 at 0132, Salem Stereo in usual preaching segment rather than music, very poor but recognizable; and also at 0226, back to music by 0240. A little better at 0511, music peaking S9+5. Also poorly audible at 1300 citing a versículo, back to music. 14950.75v, Salem Stereo not heard for a few days; last log was July 14 at 1300. Have checked at least once each evening July 15-16-17, including July 17 just after 0000. Has anyone else heard even a carrier on its giveaway offset frequency since then? May well be due to geomag storms which have degraded higher bands greatly, altho southerly signals are least affected and sometimes even boosted. 14950.75v, July 18 at 0325, still no sign of Salem Estéreo (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 6010+, July 14 at 0237, religious discussion in Spanish, no music, poor signal, presumed La Voz de tu Conciencia, in the protracted absence of R. Mil; but nothing audible on the other HJDH frequency 5910, Marfil Estéreo. 6010 slightly on the hi side; 500 kW, Sirjan, Iran and 5 kW from Belarus are also registered on 6010 at this time but no sign of them (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6010.096, wandered Colombian broadcaster HJDH, La Voz de tu Conciencia, Lomalinda, Puerto Lleras, Meta (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 650, unidentified “wobbler” 0935 July 15, 2012. No audio heard, but the distinctive sporadically wobbling Cuba noise under WSM. Probably the Progreso transmitter. 1121, The carrier-only transmitter actually not on at 0920+ July 15, 2012 check, allowing KMOX to be heard in AM and USB mode clearly for a change. But on early afternoon. 1140, Radio Rebelde (multiple). 0956 July 15, 2012. At least three clearly audible, all out-of-synch, ICRT interval signal X 1 at 1000 into news. Almost as entertaining as 1180. 1550, Radio Rebelde, unknown site. 0954 July 15, 2012. Good over WRHC with Spanish pop vocals, parallel 1140, 1180, 1620 etc. Multiple sites listed of course (Terry Krueger, Clearwater, FL. Abridged pile of antiquated junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 1110, Radio Angùlo, Holguín, Holguín. 0157 July 13, 2012. Cuban pop song, female DJ briefly into another vocal. ID 0202, back to Cuban ballads. Good on very brief peaks with WBT semi-nulled. 1110, Radio Angùlo, Holguín, Holguín. 0034 July 14, 2012. Big signal on post-sunrise, once the local Tampa station is down, and WBT not fading in yet. Cuban techno-pop, 0038 ID by hyper man. Audio way over- mod. Again July 15, 0826, female “Onda ---” (not copied, program name) into Shakira “Suerte” vocal (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Abridged list of junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I know there is no ` accent in Spanish; following the practice of the late DXpert on Cuba, Ron Schatz, who just used an acute, this common word would normally be stressed on the first syllable and require an accent there, Ángulo [but often omitted when capitalized], but as a proper name this is stressed on the middle syllable, thus requiring no accent, but just to make sure you know that`s where it is really stressed (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I stumbled upon the below, posted on the essentially non-station information Radio Angùlo page, this being the English page translation. Radio SG's slogan, per a photo where the staff is holding a sign, is not surprisingly “La Voz del Azúcar.” Is “SG” an acronym for English “sugar” or maybe the nearby town of San German? So, what's the frequency? Hint: see the last link after this article. A very remote at best tropo or e-skip target, I suppose. Original article posted at: http://www.radioangulo.cu/en/news/holguin/16218-radio-sg-at-the-height-of-july-26.html RADIO SG AT THE HEIGHT OF JULY 26 --- By Arnaldo Vargas Castro/ vargas@radioangulo.icrt.cu / Saturday, 14 July 2012 10:04 The 30 staffers from Radio SG, the Voice of Sugar, in the Cuban municipality of Urbano Noris, have reasons enough to amuse the audience with music, sound and information inspired on the ongoing program for the summer season, as this jurisdiction won the right to hold the main event for July 26 celebration in the province of Holguín. “It’s that we’re alongside the people in the embellishment of our city, getting things ready to hold the main event for July 26 in the province of Holguín. We’re also inspired on the 90 years of the foundation of Cuban Radio and the 49 years of the Cuba Journalists Association (UPEC). And in the midst of these historic events we’re also marking the ninth years of the opening of our dear radio station,” said Milagros Rodríguez Peña, the directress of Radio SG, the Voice of Sugar. Rodríguez Peña feels happy with the station’s staffers because “they liven up the station’s programs, that’s why, the audience feels respect and admiration for us. They are indeed part of our shows.” Tell me about the organization of the station’s programs? “We’ve got 20 shows which target different themes, mainly information, and as we share with goers our programs are broadly followed, and not alone musical shows.” "Radio SG has a net of volunteer correspondents living in the main rural settlements from this municipality who report local events and happenings by phone. That is why we’re proud of being a community radio station.” What about the station’s program and the summer season? “We keep a close relation with all the entities and organizations linked to the summer program in order to orient the people on the recreation program, and the cultural and sport events called.” “But we’re also reporting on the ongoing refurbishment works in San Germán (the municipal head town), where homes and state facilities have been renovated, but also the streets have been repaired, and embellishment keeps going in all the neighbourhoods, not alone in the head town.” Radio SG is broadly followed by radio goers from the municipality of Urbano Noris. Its staffers keep trying and give the audience the best they deserve, said Milagros Rodríguez Peña, its directress, who is also a district delegate and a deputy to the Cuban Parliament. And: http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y2010/julio2010/01_C_3.html And (where I finally find the frequency – 104.3 FM): http://www.baibrama.cult.cu/pages/otranoticia.php?id=373 (via Terry Krueger, Clearwater, FL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 4045-USB, Cabo San Antonio 1055 with weather check. http://itouchmap.com/?c=cu&UF=-1641352&UN=-2311522&DG=CAPE 17 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D - 746Pro - Drake R8, Cumbre DX via DXLD) extreme western tip of Cuba ** CUBA [and non]. RHC starts morning broadcasts at 1100, but July 13 at 1050, 9550 and 9540 are already warming up their carriers; and at 1052, 6150 has added some undermodulated Cuban music to its VG signal, source? Frequency announcement at 1100 sounded like the same generic canned one they run thruout the morning show until 1500. VOA Spanish is now jamming-free during the 12-13 morning broadcast, e.g. July 13 at 1234 during frequency announcement, while there were still walls of noise on 9805 vs Martí and 9955 vs WRMI. At 1250 chex, the other two VOA frequencies 13750 and 15590 were also clear of jamming. 9490, VOA Korean, however, is subject to Cuban pulse jamming, really intended for non-Radio República, July 13 at 1238. Aoki shows 12-13 is 38 degrees from Thailand, consequently USward, while HFCC shows it as 333 from Tinian. Whichever, the signal is good here aside from the jamming. 9810, July 14 at 0233, RHC Spanish is undermodulated and suffering from heavy DentroCuban Jamming Command bleeding over from adjacent 9805, where it has no need to be at all, since R. Martí uses 9805 only at 09-13. Commies vs Commies! 9885 also has lighter pulse jamming against nothing, as VOA Spanish is on there only at 2330-0100 except weekends, and 12-13 daily. 9503 approx., July 14 at 1146, distorted spur in Spanish with hum, hetting 9500 something, soon matched to 9550 RHC, except an echo apart, so it must be the missing 9540 transmitter, extraviated to this frequency around where IIRC there have been spurs before. 15340 was way late coming on July 14, still audiblizing HCJB in some Asian language at 1303 for many more minutes tho 15230 was running; first noticed RHC had come on 15340 at 1322. 12300, July 18 at 1235, RHC instantly recognizable talk, very poor with fadeouts, 2 x 6150 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. 9490, July 15 at 0240, lite pulse jamming, of the usual residual type when there is nothing really to be jammed. Missed checking whether a biweek after it started via GUF, there is yet any heavy jamming during the R. República broadcast at 0000-0157. 9490, July 16 at 0157, R. República via RMI must have just signed off, but now there is wall-of-noise jamming in the clear; yet it is not as severe as upon 9955 WRMI itself. I doubt this jamming bothered the supersig from Guiana French much while it was on from 0000. 9490, July 16 at 2356 I tune in ahead of the Radio República transmission via GUIANA FRENCH. Medium-severe pulse jamming is already running, but it`s not at the total wall-of-noise level. RR cuts on at *2359:40 with carrier completely overriding the jamming here, July 17 0000 Cuban NA, ID and 0001.5 first program on Monday evening is `Barrio Adentro`. Jamming here was less than WON on VOA 9885, tho VOA 12000 surpassed the jamming. After 0000, 9955 jamming on WRMI was only pulsing as program was a preacher in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS. 9760, Cyprus BC, OC on at 2214, then "scratchy" effect when attempt to bring audio up a minute later. Went off without success at about 2221 and didn't return. Strong signal though. (14 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD, HCDX via DXLD) ** DIEGO GARCIA. 4319-USB, 2350 to 0000 decent signal quality 14 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - Drake R8, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780, R. Djibouti, Atta, 1750-1806, local solo M voice & chorus sing-song chant till 1800; other local solo M voice & chorus sing-song chant with instrumental sound; heard a bit better in Usb with fast qsb & mild qrn but in increasing; almost good /fair; 07/02. 4780, R. Djibouti, Atta in Arabic 2001-2014, local chant with instrumental music; M announcement mentioning Radio Jibouti twice (2007); same M talk mentioning Djibouti, with brief local chant at times; continuing talking only, mentioning Djibouti; heard in SSB; fast QSB & moderate statics; fair; 07/14 (Giovanni Serra, Roma, Italy, JRC NRD 525; Alpha Delta DX-SWL Sloper-S; RG 8 mini coaxial cable; JPS NIR 12 Noise & Interference Reducer-Dual DSP outboard audio filter; Intek PS-35 5 ampere feeder; JRC – NVA 319 external loudspeaker unit; Yaesu YH – 77 STA stereo headphones; Zoom Corp. H2 handy digital recorder MP3 & WAV files; Oregon Scientific RM912 Radio controlled clock; Toshiba Laptop PC Windows XP2 (offline for loggings); Interkart framed wall board political world map (1: 46,400,000); the DX Edge- Xantek Inc.(daylight-darkness desk world map), WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4780.00, 2030-2040 13.07, Rdif. TV de Djibouti, Arta. Somali ann, Afropop, 45444 (Anker Petersen, heard on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in rainy and cold Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4780, Radio Djibouti, *0306:30-0320, July 15, abrupt sign on with local chants. Arabic talk at 0318. Fair (Brian Alexander, PA, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX Listening Digest) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Dominican Republic in New York --- Primera FM 88.1 in strong at times with fades here in Poughkeepsie, NY. Also noting a mess of analog TV signals on 2, 3, 4, & 5 (Chris Lucas - Poughkeepsie, NY - FN31bs, SONY XDR-F1HD Tuner, Channel Master 9- element Stereo Probe antenna @25', 145' HAAT, Winegard YA-6260 VHF-Lo antenna at 14', with Chromstar 2000 pre-amp, 2252 UT July 16, WTFDA via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 4781.5, Radio Oriental, Napo, strong at 2340 on 14 July. Sign on at 1100 to 1103 on 12, 13, 14, 15 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - Drake R8, and XM - Cedar Key - South Florida, NRD 525D - R8A - E5 Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ECUADOR [and non]. 6050, July 13 at 1059, HCJB Spanish ID with FM and SW frequencies, characteristic timesignal and into hymn; fair signal. I wonder when they will get that 100 kW transmitter going again inside the country? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6049.930, HCJB, Horst Rosiak's baby, nice Andean music from 0830 UT start (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR [and non]. Re my previous query about HCJB: ``I wonder when they will get that 100 kW transmitter going again inside the country?`` Kai Ludwig replies: Never. They had to give up this project, cf. http://www.andenstimme.org/index.php?id=353 and here is part of that Google-translated, improved by gh: ``Department Newsletter May - June 2012 by Horst Rosiak --- Dear listeners of Radio HCJB family and friends, Three years ago we had big plans in Ecuador, we wanted to build our own transmission site! Following the closure of HCJB transmission site in Pifo the German-language service took over responsibility for regional frequency 6050 kHz. In February 2010, we had a large donation from HCJB including a 100 kW transmitter, transmission towers, antenna cable and everything you need to build a transmitter site. The condition: Within two years accomplish this project. Despite all the efforts, we now have to abandon this plan. There was no technical missionary who wanted to be responsible for leading this project``. Maybe that anyway encouraged them to assist setting up the 1 kW, 4810 missionary station in Chazuta, Perú, q.v., target date August 8 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Department Newsletter May - June 2012 Sigrid & Horst Rosiak --- Dear listeners of Radio HCJB family and friends, [here`s the rest of it granslated from German in addition to above] I want to thank you sincerely for your loyalty with these lines. Your letters by mail, fax, email or message on our answering machine in Germany are an encouragement for our radio service with HCJB, the Voice of the Andes. Three years ago, the German-language service of Radio HCJB released into independence and we are registered in Ecuador as an association Vozandes media. The independence did not mean the complete separation, as our offices and our studio is located less than 5 minutes walk from Radio HCJB, wherever we are there continues to be involved in the HCJB family. But there are also joined us for areas that we now had to take on their own, such as accounting, technical services and administrative tasks. This is when so few people here on site - currently there are our short-term employee Saskia Goy, my wife Sigrid and I - a big challenge. We learn every day how God carries us through and give the necessary strength. [. . .] But: even if the doors close in Ecuador in matters of international short wave, opens the door for the short-wave in Germany. Stephan Schaa works diligently at the transmission site in Weenermoor! I hope we can report in the next section letter about it. Finally, I would like rows of Klaue Rüdiger, the longtime director of the German-append service, and leave you with warm greetings and blessings! From Quito, Yours, Horst Rosiak We are very grateful to Horst and his team that they hold the position in Quito and ensure, even under adverse conditions for the broadcasting of radio programs. On 6 May sends the United German Mission from Bassum help us out as a radio missionaries to Paraguay. We will be in Asunción near our daughter Gudrun and her husband Leo Janz with her family and relatives of Dorothea. In our apartment there is also room for a studio. This should become a manufacturing facility, where Dorothy and I can continue to produce radio shows. So we want to deliver in the future with HCJB broadcasts, as well as other locations in South America and various Internet channels in Germany and the United States. Thanks to the Internet today, one is bound not to a particular place. In Paraguay and the surrounding area we have not only listeners, but also German-speaking people who can contribute to the programs. And there are many interesting things to report from Paraguay. A few days ago I could still visit the site for the new short wave transmitters in small Weenermoor, Germany. It's there by setting up the equipment - and hopefully soon we can reach the German-speaking countries in Europe again with short-wave signals from its own transmitter. You will hear from us! Dorothea and Rüdiger Klaue (via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 9305, July 12 at 0258, huge propeller-roar buzz and just traces of Arabic modulation from R. Cairo, usual situation for this totally useless transmission registered for a full semiday, 19-07 UT from Abis site, 250 kW, 315 degrees toward Europe and North America. 9315, next to it July 12 at 0258 is an open carrier, maybe just barely modulated for the so-called English service of R. Cairo, 0200-0330 (following 0045-0200 Spanish), 250 kW, 330 degrees from Abu Zabaal to C&W NAm --- so both sites are totally dysfunxional. At the top of the ERTU A-12 schedule in HFCC, http://www.hfcc.org/data/schedbybrc.php?seas=A12&broadc=ERU 9720 is shown as an alternate/duplicate frequency, same parameters as 9315, and same full-A-12 date span, but DX Mix News, Bulgaria, says 9720 has replaced 9315 or will do so along with changes in other English broadcasts starting July 18. As yet, there is nothing to be heard on 9720. There is certainly nothing wrong with 9315 as a frequency except for R. Cairo`s own total incompetence in modulating it, a minimal requirement for there to be any reason whatsoever for emitting a signal. 9315, July 14 at 0226, R. Cairo with decent modulation for a change, as occasionally happens, showing that it`s possible if they would just get their acts together. YL in English introducing a song; a far cry from the horrible Arabic-service blob on neighboring 9305, very strong signal, undermodulated yet extremely distorted, plus hum. Still nothing on 9720, allegedly about to replace 9315. At 0243, 9315 was starting a new program with some distortion compared to what preceded it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Cairo. English Service. 17.07.2012. I listened at 1600-1700 UT on 17585. Reception was 444 (Abid Hussain Sajid, Pakistan, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, Radio Africa, 0607-0620, 11-07, male, English, religious comments. At 0620 disappears abruptly. 24322. Also heard 0600-0630, 12-07 with religious comments in English, male. 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Reinante, Cantabrian Sea, Lugo, Sony ICF SW 7600 G, cable antenna, 10 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15190, R. Africa. Decent OC from as early as 0520. Still OC at 0537. Came back a minute later and it was in English religious program with hard-sell preaching. So probably no ID. Audio was breaking up at times and unusable. (12 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) ** ERITREA [and non]. 7174.990, eigentlich immer exakt auf dieser minus 10 Hertz Frequenz: Voice of Broad Masses 2nd program in Arabisch und Amharisch aus Eritrea um 0415 UT July 17, S=6 dünne heute morgen. Schon lange nicht mehr von den guten Nachbarn gejammt, das ist wohl den Äthiopiern mit den 3 Sendern zu teuer geworden, diese weissen digitalen Noisesignale von 20 kHz Bandbreite d'rauf zu setzen. 7204.983, um 0420 UT, gleich in der Nähe das Bruderprogramm auch aus Eritrea, Voice of Broad Masses 1st program in Tigrinya, um 0510 UT etwas tiefer auf 7204.976 kHz, die Sender sind bei der dortigen variierenden Stromversorgung dauernd am Wandern. 7200 exakt auf der Frequenz, zwischen den beiden ERI Signalen sendet Radio Omdurman aus dem Sudan auch um 0420 UT. 7234.297 ... x.308 kHz weiter oben immer 10-20 Hertz wandernd: Voice of Peace & Democracy in Tigre Language aus Addis Ababa-Gedja in ETH, 0423 UT July 17. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. Two puzzles now. 21st May at 1730 UT on 15245. This apparently is the Voice of Asena. Their broadcast time was 1700 to 1756 and it seems that V. of Asena is from Eritrea, on the east coast of the Horn of Africa, opposite Yemen and Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea. The language, according to the listing is Tigraniya [sic]. Got that? The puzzle here is that the listed transmitter site is Samara, Russia. Even shows the Russian flag next to the entry. I have no idea how that works and I have only a guess. Could it be an error in the listing? My reason for this guess is that a good sized city in Eritrea [the capital?] is called Asmara which can be scrambled into Samara. Any ideas? (Alan Rayment, Nelson, BC V1L 6N2, The Square Peg, July CIDX Messenger via DXLD) Alan, This is one of many `target` or clandestine broadcasts not from but to Eritrea opposing the government, from external SW sites, in this case Samara, Russia. Nothing unusual about that. Voice of Asena is the correct name, whatever it means, not the same as Asmara or anagram for Samara! (Glenn Hauser, to Alan, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RUSSIA, 15245, V. of Asena (presumed) (via Samara Russia) Heavy percussion from 1704 to 1708, then M announcer, and back to the drums at 1712. Heard the drums again at 1725 but had faded. Too weak and very fady along with local QRN. Modulation seems too low also. First time to hear anything on this. (13 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. Heute sehr heftig abweichend, sonst immer bei 9705.003 kHz. 9705.063 um 0335 UT, 9705.060 um 0401 UT, 9705.055 um 0455 UT, der Sender aus ETH wandert gern, in Amharisch, S=9+10 um 0330 UT. Und immer \\ der noch üppiger wandernd-hoppende 9558.506 .... x.518 kHz welcher um 0455 UT meist QRT macht, der 9705er dagegen aber weiter sendet, auch wenn man dann Rumänien 9700 weg-notchen muss, am Perseus überhaupt kein Problem. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. E-QSL received July 11 from Dick Spacewalker, of Radio Spaceshuttle International for 15843-USB reception at 1233-1421 April 21 when he included some playbacks of WORLD OF RADIO. Says he has been very busy but is sending out e-QSLs first and will post printed ones eventually, ``That might again take a long time, but do not worry; it will happen``. QSL shows a voluptuous piratess in a fancy outfit, {tho I`m not sure how well she could funxion as a piratess in a tight corset} and specifies FINLAND altho mailing address is in The Netherlands. Says 500 watts to a half-wave dipole, 10 meters high. See it as latest addition to my QSL Gallery, http://www.worldofradio.com/QSL.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FIJI. RADIO AUSTRALIA BACK ON AIR WITHIN FIJI --- ABU News http://www.abu.org.my/Latest_News-@-Radio_Australia_back_on_air_within_Fiji.aspx Radio Australia, the international arm of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, is broadcasting within Fiji again after three years off- air. Amidst tension between the government of Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the media and Australia, Radio Australia’s FM transmitters in Suva and Nadi were switched off in April 2009. Since then Radio Australia has been accessible to audiences in Fiji only via shortwave radio broadcasts and online. Mike McCluskey, CEO of Radio Australia, says that through dialogue with the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation and the Fijian Ministry of Information, Radio Australia’s FM services have now resumed via locally based transmitters in Suva, Nadi and Labassa, with Ba to follow in coming weeks. Mr McCluskey says: “People in Fiji will have access to Radio Australia’s high quality news and talk content from across Asia, the Pacific, Australia and the world. They will also be able to hear some of the best radio content produced by the ABC.” He says the focus of the service to Fiji will be clearly on the Pacific, looking at events, issues and the people of the region. He added that the availability of these frequencies in Fiji complements existing ABC Radio Australia FM services located in 12 other Pacific and five South-East Asia locations (via Mike Terry, dxldyg and via Yimber Gaviria, DXLD) ** FIJI [non]. USA, 11565, Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement R. (via WHRI), 0830 program sign-on with pleasant local Fijian choral vocals and percussion. 0830-0832 opening English announcement by M "Good evening listeners. This is FDFM Radio, Na Domo i Viti, Kacivaka na Dina broadcasting to you on shortwave frequency 11,565 kiloHertz. The station belongs to the Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement in Australia, a group together with our Fiji Freedom groups around the world fighting for the restoration of democracy in Fiji", then continued opening announcements by same man announcer apparently in the Fijian language with another station identification and welcome to the program. Then talks in Fijian occasionally mentioning "...Fiji Democracy Freedom Movement Radio...", mixed with pleasant island vocal music. Apparent closing at 0858 by same man announcer. 0859 Another lively local island song ending the program. 0900 Off the air. Fair and clear and almost no fading. (9 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS [power supply]), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) ** FINLAND. 6170, 1840-1850 Sat 07.07, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat, Finnish ann and Finnish pop songs, QRM 6175, 33322 (Anker Petersen, done on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** FINLAND. 6170, July 13 at 0508, JBA carrier, but suspect it was just overload from some of the super-signals left on 49m; was checking for R. Hami, a temporary low-power station that was supposed to be programming starting at 0500, daytime-only, long after local sunrise there, altho they say it`s on the air 24 hours thru July 15. Not sure exactly where the SW site is, but sunrise/sunset in Helsinki are: 0120/1930 UT, so extra-Europeans had best check between 1930-0120 if frequency is clear and a darkness path. See http://radiohami.fi/ RNZI will not be a problem for them in Europe further into the dayside, not starting 6170 until 0759 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6170, No sign of R. Hami here after 0500. Finland is already in daylight. (12 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) ** FRANCE. Another international broadcaster consolidation attempt gone awry. http://www.english.rfi.fr/culture/20120712-french-international-broadcasting-boss-alain-de-pouzilhac-resigns (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, internetradio via DXLD) Viz.: FRENCH INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING BOSS ALAIN DE POUZILHAC RESIGNS Alain de Pouzilhac AFP By RFI --- France - Article published the Thursday 12 July 2012 - Latest update : Thursday 12 July 2012 Alain de Pouzilhac, the chairman of France’s international broadcasting service, AEF, has resigned. Appointed under President Nicolas Sarkozy to merge RFI with the France 24 and TV5 television channels, he was invited to leave his post by the newly elected Socialist government. In a message to employees, Pouzilhac declared that he was leaving “with much sadness” on Thursday. The merger plan that he headed aroused heated opposition from trade unions at RFI, leading to several months of strike action, as well as criticism at France 24 and the Arabic radio MCD Doualiya, which is also part of the AEF. On Wednesday Pouzilhac met Culture Minister Aurélie Filipetti and Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius. According to reports in the French media they offered him an “honourable way out” but pressed him to quit the company. During the election campaign President François Hollande signed a petition opposing the merger drawn up by the majority of unions at RFI. The new government invited former RFI boss Jean-Paul Cluzel to draw up a report on the AEF. Leaked copies indicate that he has proposed two main options for the future. Either RFI is linked to state-owned Radio France and France 24 to France televisions or the AEF remains but the media’s editorial teams remain separate (via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) This report kind of goes with the recent one referenced by Richard. It's been an ongoing battle that will now take a much different direction with the new government. http://www.english.rfi.fr/culture/20110527-christine-ockrent-quits-post-french-international-broadcasters (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.) Note much earlier date: CHRISTINE OCKRENT QUITS POST AT FRENCH INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTERS Article published 27 May 2011 - Latest update : Friday 27 May 2011 Christine Ockrent in 2010 Olivier Ezratty/Open access By RFI [caption] The deputy head of France’s world broadcasting organisation, of which RFI is part, has left the organisation, vowing to pursue a claim of constructive dismissal. Christine Ockrent has been locked in a long and much-publicised battle with chief executive Alain de Pouzilhac. In an interview with the Le Figaro newspaper, Ockrent insists that she has not resigned because she held a status that meant that she had no contract but that she has put an end to a situation in which, she claims, she was unable to do her job. She has not been into her offices since March, claiming that de Pouzilhac and his allies have harassed her with accusations of spying and attempts to destroy her reputation. She will continue action to pursue the company for damages, she says. In December about 300 of TV channel France 24’s approximately 550 employees voted in favour of a motion of no confidence in Ockrent. Nearly 350 of RFI’s almost 1,000 employees on Tuesday approved a vote of no confidence in de Pouzilhac. The creation of the Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France (AEF) has been dogged with problems, including strikes and legal challenges at RFI. Although Ockrent worked on the creation of the group, she fell out with de Pouzilhac over the merger of the editorial teams of France 24 and RFI. Ockrent’s appointment in 2008 was criticised in some quarters because she is the partner of Bernard Kouchner, who was foreign affairs minister at the time. The credentials of de Pouzilhac, who is a former head of communications group Havas, were questioned because he had no experience in news media. In the Le Figaro interview, Ockrent claims that their relation began to deteriorate as soon as rumours surfaced that Kouchern might lose his seat in the cabinet, which he did in November 2010 (via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) ** FRANCE. QSLs: Radio Gloria, 6140 (via Issoudun), E-QSL in 3 days for e-rpt to radiogloria @ aol.com MVBR, 6140 (via Issoudun), E-QSL in 2 weeks for e-rpt to info @ mvbalticradio.de v/s Roland Rohde. DX Antwerp, 9680 (via Issoudun), E-QSL in 1 day for e-rpt to dxaqsl @ gmail.com. Some days later, a printer QSL was received (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Re 3955: SINPO: 55445 here in Bulgaria, program in German, featuring mostly music, presumably Radio 700, new frequency? 3995 is in use at the moment, any ideas? 73, (Georgi Bancov, Bulgaria, UT July 13, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio 700 from Germany currently very strong on 3955 kHz with usual "Schlager & oldies" format, first observed by Alan Pennington in Lancs at 2200 UT tune-in. // Radio 700's web stream. Possibly a test from Kall? (Similar signal currently to HCJB on 3995 from Weenarmoor) ([unsigned, presumably Dave Kenny, England, moderator], 2303 UT July 12, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) So is Radio 700 still on 3955, and any other frequency? (gh, 0013 UT July 16, DXLD) 3955, 2245-2320 13.07, R 700, Kall-Krekel. German and English pop songs, 2250 and 2257 ID's: "Radio Sieben Hundert" 55544 New frequency! 3995, 2245-2320 Fri 13.07, HCJB, via Weenermoor. American program with English ann [announcer? announcements?] 2259: "This is 93.1 Life FM", "Word of God", 2305 talk show recorded Fr morning, hymn. 55544 (Anker Petersen, heard on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in rainy and cold Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) Neue Aenderungen auf 3995 kHz von Radio HCJB --- nachdem es am Samstag um 400 UT kein DX Programm gab, habe ich in Quito angefragt und den neuen Sendplan erhalten. Hoererpost am Montag und DX Sendung am Samstag nun um 0430, 0630, 1500, 1830 und 2100 UT, die Botschaft des Heils am Mittwoch um 0445, 0645, 1545, 1845 und 2115 UT. Vy 73+55, Bernd Seiser (via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) ** GERMANY. 6070.00, 2025-2250 10.07, R Northsea International, via R 6150, Rohrbach, English/Dutch ann, playing old recordings from RNI with nice oldies in English and French, 2049 time pips and ann: "It's now 7 o'clock. The news. There are new riots in Northern Ireland", then a report about Egyptian President Sadat meeting Jordanian King Hussein! ID's: "This is Radio Northsea International broadcasting on 6285 and (9930 ?) kHz. No ID heard of R 6150! 45333. Also tentatively heard at noon at 0950-1105, 11.07, but so weak, so I was unable to ID the language, 25121 (Anker Petersen, done on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. QSLs: Radio Gloria, 9480 (via MVBR) and 6005 (via R. 700), E-QSLs in 3 days for e-rpt to radiogloria @ aol.com Radio 6150, 6150, E-QSL in a few hours for e-rpt to qsl @ radio6150.de Radio Athmik Yatra (via Wertachtal), 15390, E-QSL in 2 days for e-rpt to ayradio4567 @ gmail.com Missionswerk W. Heukelbach, 1323, via Voice of Russia, QSL, sked, info in 4 weeks for e-rpt to info @ missionswerk-heukelbach.de XVRB, 6045, E-QSL in 10 days for e-rpt to dx @ xvrb.org Radio Dardasha 7, 13740, non detailed E-letter in 4 weeks for e-rpt to dardasha7 @ gmail.com Nord AM, 6005 (via R. 700), QSL in 9 weeks for e-rpt to nordam @ shortwaveservice.com Gemeinde Gottes Herford, 3995, QSL, letter in 5 weeks for e-rpt to info @ gemeinde-gottes-herford.de Transport Radio (via Wertachtal), 6095, QSL, stickers, letter in 2 weeks for e-rpt to info @ transportradio.nl v/s Richard Vaessen. AWR-Wavescan (via Nauen), 17510, QSL, info in 4 months for e-rpt to wavescan @ awr.org (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) ** GERMANY. EMR News and Information! In August 2012 EMR will be Transmitting on 49, 41 and 31 metres via MV Baltic Radio / Hamburger Local Radio and Radio 700 from Germany; we will also have a NEW design QSL for listeners who send in correct reception reports via email. Good Listening. 73s (Tom Taylor, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [and non]. Walter Brodowsky, TDF Group Short-Wave Project Leader, seems to be verifying listener reception reports once again. He seemed to be out of that task for a while with others, presumably reporting to him, taking on that assignment. However, he seems to be the one handling replies at the moment. It is good that Media Broadcast continues to offer this service with replies sometimes difficult through our own Voice of America. The reply consistency from VoA leaves something to be desired (Rich D’Angelo in Wyomissing, PA, July NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. Summer A-12 of Media & Broadcast. Part 1 of 3: Hamada Radio International: 0530-0600 on 9610 WER 100 kW / 180 deg Mon-Fri WeAf Hausa Trans World Radio (TWR): 0545-0600 on 5910 WER 100 kW / 055 deg Mon-Fri EaEu Polish 0700-0750 on 6105 WER 100 kW / 300 deg Daily NoEu English 0830-0900 on 7210 WER 100 kW / 105 deg Daily EaEu Hungarian 1000-1030 on 7295 WER 100 kW / 105 deg Sat EaEu Romanian 1400-1430 on 7215 WER 100 kW / 060 deg Mon EaEu Belarussian 1400-1430 on 7215 WER 100 kW / 060 deg Tue-Fri EaEu Russian 1530-1600 on 9540 WER 100 kW / 105 deg Sat EaEu Romanian Transportradio: 0800-1000 on 6095 WER 100 kW / non-dir Mon-Fri WeEu Dutch/English-Mx Mighty KBC Radio: 0900-1600 on 6095 WER 100 kW / non-dir Sat/Sun WeEu English/Dutch-Mx Hamburger Lokalradio 0900-1000 on 6045 WER 100 kW / non-dir 1st Sun CeEu German/Music XVRB Radio - The Music Museum 0900-1000 on 6045 WER 100 kW / non-dir 3rd Sun CeEu English/Music Radio Iceman 0900-1000 on 6045 WER 100 kW / non-dir 4th Sun CeEu English/Music Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Baltic Radio: 0900-1000 on 6140 ISS 100 kW / 080 deg 1st Sun CeEu German/Music 1300-1400 on 6140 NAU 100 kW / 126 deg 2nd Sun CeEu German/Music European Music Radio: 0900-1000 on 6140 ISS 100 kW / 050 deg 3rd Sun CeEu English/Music Radio Gloria: 0900-1000 on 6140 ISS 100 kW / 080 deg 4th Sun CeEu English/Music Evangelische Missions Gemeiden: 1030-1100 on 6055 WER 125 kW / non-dir Sat/Sun CeEu German 1100-1130 on 13710 WER 250 kW / 045 deg Sat FE Russian 1500-1530 on 11695 WER 250 kW / 060 deg Sat EaEu Russian Missionswerke Arche Stimme des Trostes 1100-1115 on 5945 WER 250 kW / non-dir Sun CeEu German Voice of Oromiyan Liberation Front: 1600-1630 on 15170 ISS 500 kW / 130 deg Sun EaAf Oromo OGM Radio Horiyo Ogadeniya: 1600-1630 on 15170 ISS 500 kW / 130 deg Tue/Sat EaAf Somali Voice of Oromo Liberation (Sagalee Bilisummaa Oromoo): 1700-1800 on 13830 ISS 100 kW / 126 deg Sun/Wed EaAf Oromo/Amharic Christliche Wissenschaft/Christian Science 1800-1900 on 9585 WER 100 kW / 090 deg Sat EaEu Russian Pan American Broadcasting (PAB) 1930-2000 on 9515 NAU 250 kW / 150 deg Sun NoAf English 1400-1415 on 15205 WER 100 kW / 090 deg Sun SoAs English 1415-1430 on 15205 WER 100 kW / 090 deg Daily SoAs English 1430-1445 on 15205 ISS 250 kW / 083 deg Sun SoAs English Radio Biafra London 2000-2100 on 11870 WER 125 kW / 180 deg Thu/Sat WCAf English+Igbo Adventist World Radio 0400-0430 on 6020 WER 100 kW / 120 deg EaEu Bulgarian 1600-1630 on 9830 WER 100 kW / 120 deg EaEu Bulgarian 0900-1000 on 9790 ISS 100 kW / 120 deg SoEu Italian Sun 0700-0800 on 15225 WER 100 kW / 210 deg NoAf Arabic 0800-0830 on 15140 WER 100 kW / 210 deg NoAf French 0800-0900 on 15225 WER 100 kW / 210 deg NoAf Kabyle/Tachelhit 1900-2000 on 9765 WER 100 kW / 210 deg NoAf Arabic/Tachelhit 2000-2030 on 9765 WER 100 kW / 210 deg NoAf French 1730-1800 on 15170 WER 100 kW / 210 deg NoAf Kabyle 1900-2000 on 15260 NAU 100 kW / 215 deg NoAf Arabic 1900-1930 on 11945 WER 250 kW / 210 deg NWAF Wolof 1900-1930 on 15205 WER 100 kW / 195 deg CeAf Fulfulde 1930-2000 on 15205 WER 250 kW / 180 deg CeAf Ibo 2000-2030 on 17610 WER 100 kW / 180 deg CeAf French 2030-2100 on 11755 WER 100 kW / 180 deg CeAf Youruba 0300-0330 on 6065 WER 250 kW / 135 deg EaAf Tigrigna 0300-0400 on 11610 WER 250 kW / 135 deg EaAf Oromo/Amharic 1730-1800 on 15155 WER 250 kW / 135 deg EaAf Oromo 1630-1700 on 17575 WER 250 kW / 135 deg EaAf Somali 0400-0600 on 15225 WER 250 kW / 120 deg N/ME Arabic 1900-2100 on 11605 WER 250 kW / 120 deg N/ME Arabic 1200-1300 on 17535 WER 250 kW / 090 deg SoAs English/Bangla Adventist World Radio via TRM Sri Lanka from July 2, ex via NAU/WER 1300-1330 on 15320 TRM 250 kW / 015 deg EaAs Chinese Mon-Fri, ex NAU 1300-1330 on 15320 TRM 250 kW / 015 deg EaAs Uyghur Sat/Sun, ex NAU 1330-1500 on 15320 TRM 250 kW / 015 deg EaAs Chinese, ex NAU 1500-1530 on 15255 TRM 250 kW / 005 deg SoAs Punjabi, ex NAU 1530-1600 on 15255 TRM 250 kW / 005 deg SoAs English Sat-Wed, ex WER 1530-1600 on 15255 TRM 250 kW / 005 deg SoAs Tibetan Thu/Fri, ex WER 1500-1530 on 15595 TRM 250 kW / 005 deg SoAs Nepali, ex WER 1530-1600 on 15290 TRM 250 kW / 345 deg SoAs Hindi, ex NAU Adventist World Radio via TRM Sri Lanka till Oct. 1, ex till June 30: 1100-1130 on 15540 TRM 125 kW / 105 deg SEAs Indonesian 1130-1200 on 15540 TRM 125 kW / 105 deg SEAs Javanese Mon/Wed/Fri 1130-1200 on 15540 TRM 125 kW / 105 deg SEAs Sundanese Sun/Tue/Thu/Sat 1200-1300 on 15490!TRM 125 kW / 045 deg EaAs Chinese 1300-1330 on 17635#TRM 125 kW / 075 deg SEAs Khmer 1330-1400 on 17635#TRM 125 kW / 075 deg SEAs Khmer Sun 1330-1400 on 17635$TRM 125 kW / 075 deg SEAs Thai Mon-Wed/Fri 1330-1400 on 17635 TRM 125 kW / 075 deg SEAs Lao Thu/Sat 1400-1500 on 12105 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg EaAs Chinese 1500-1530 on 15715 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg SEAs Karen 1530-1600 on 7410%TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Marathi 1600-1630 on 11835 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Urdu 1630-1700 on 11740 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs English 2100-2200 on 11750 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg EaAs Chinese Mon-Sat 2100-2200 on 11750 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg EaAs Cantonese Sun 2200-2230 on 9455 TRM 125 kW / 105 deg SEAs Indonesian 2200-2230 on 9545&TRM 125 kW / 105 deg SEAs Javanese Sun/Tue/Thu 2200-2230 on 9545&TRM 125 kW / 105 deg SEAs Sundanese Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat 2230-2300 on 9730 TRM 125 kW / 105 deg SEAs English 2300-2400 on 9730 TRM 125 kW / 075 deg SEAs Vietnamese 0000-0030 on 11955 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg SEAs Burmese 0030-0100 on 11955 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg SEAs Karen ! 9720 SDA from Oct. 2 #11750 SDA from Oct. 2 $11880 SDA from Oct. 2 %15330 SDA from Oct. 2 &11850 SDA from Oct. 2 (DX Re Mix News 16 July via DXLD) Summer A-12 of Media & Broadcast. Part 2 of 3: Radio Japan NHK World: 0200-0500 on 11680 WER 250 kW / 135 deg NoAf Japanese 1700-1900 on 15445 WER 250 kW / 135 deg N/ME Japanese 2200-2300 on 9620 WER 500 kW / 135 deg NoAf Japanese Radio Dardasha 7: 0330-0345 on 9460 WER 125 kW / 105 deg WeAs Persian 1600-1615 on 15420 WER 250 kW / 105 deg WeAs Persian 0300-0315 on 7310 WER 250 kW / 120 deg N/ME Arabic 0430-0445 on 9460 WER 125 kW / 120 deg N/ME Arabic 1700-1715 on 13670 WER 125 kW / 120 deg N/ME Arabic 2000-2015 on 5930 WER 250 kW / 120 deg N/ME Arabic 0600-0615 on 11655 WER 125 kW / 180 deg CEAf Arabic 2030-2045 on 9515 WER 250 kW / 180 deg CEAf Arabic Radio Farda: 0030-0230 on 5940 WER 250 kW / 105 deg WeAs Persian 0230-0400 on 7280 WER 250 kW / 105 deg WeAs Persian 1230-1330 on 15680 WER 250 kW / 090 deg WeAs Persian 1600-1700 on 15555 WER 250 kW / 105 deg WeAs Persian Radio Mashaal: 0400-0600 on 15560 WER 250 kW / 090 deg WeAs Pashto 0600-0900 on 15360 WER 250 kW / 090 deg WeAs Pashto Radio Ashna: 1430-1530 on 15380 WER 250 kW / 105 deg WeAs Pashto 1530-1630 on 15380 WER 250 kW / 105 deg WeAs Dari Radio Liberty: 1500-1700 on 6105 WER 100 kW / 060 deg EaEu Belorussian 1700-1800 on 6105 WER 250 kW / 060 deg EaEu Belorussian 1700-1900 on 5930 WER 250 kW / 045 deg EaEu Belorussian 1600-1700 on 7355 WER 250 kW / 060 deg EaEu Russian 1400-1600 on 15240 WER 250 kW / 075 deg CeAs Turkmen 1400-1500 on 13615 WER 250 kW / 075 deg CeAs Uzbek 1500-1600 on 13615 WER 250 kW / 090 deg CeAs Avari/Chechen/Circassian 1500-1600 on 15565 WER 250 kW / 090 deg CeAs Azeri 1600-1700 on 15410 WER 250 kW / 075 deg CeAs Turkmen 1900-2000 on 9805 WER 250 kW / 060 deg CeAs Tatar Voice of America: 1600-1630 on 7295 WER 250 kW / 135 deg SEEu Albanian 1730-1800 on 11925 WER 250 kW / 150 deg EaAf Afan Oromo Mon-Fri 1800-1900 on 11925 WER 250 kW / 150 deg EaAf Amharic 1800-1900 on 13570 WER 250 kW / 150 deg EaAf Amharic 1900-1930 on 11925 WER 250 kW / 150 deg EaAf Tigrigna Mon-Fri 1800-1900 on 13870 NAU 250 kW / 140 deg EaAf Amharic 1900-1930 on 13870 NAU 250 kW / 140 deg EaAf Tigrigna Mon-Fri 0300-0330 on 9815 WER 250 kW / 150 deg SDN Arabic "Afia Darfur" 1800-1830 on 9815 WER 250 kW / 165 deg SDN Arabic "Afia Darfur" 1900-1930 on 9600 WER 250 kW / 150 deg SDN Arabic "Afia Darfur" 1630-1700 on 9490 WER 250 kW / 150 deg SDN En "SoSudan in Focus" M-F 1630-1700 on 11655 WER 250 kW / 150 deg SDN En "SoSudan in Focus" M-F 1630-1700 on 13800 WER 250 kW / 150 deg SDN En "SoSudan in Focus" M-F 1500-1600 on 15265 WER 250 kW / 180 deg CeAf English 1630-1700 on 17530 WER 250 kW / 180 deg CeAf Portuguese Fri 2030-2100 on 9810 WER 250 kW / 180 deg CeAf Hausa Mon-Fri 1400-1500 on 11640 WER 100 kW / 105 deg WeAs Kurdish 1400-1500 on 17870 WER 250 kW / 120 deg WeAs Kurdish 1700-1800 on 15130 NAU 100 kW / 113 deg WeAs Kurdish 0130-0230 on 6095 WER 250 kW / 105 deg WeAs Persian 1500-1600 on 13570 WER 250 kW / 090 deg WeAs English 1600-1700 on 13745 WER 250 kW / 090 deg CeAs Georgian 1730-1800 on 7435 WER 250 kW / 090 deg CeAs Azeri Deewa Radio 1700-1800 on 9780 WER 250 kW / 090 deg SoAs Pashto Brother Stair/The Overcomer Ministries: 1400-1500 on 9655 WER 100 kW / 285 deg WeEu English 1500-1600 on 13810 WER 100 kW / 120 deg N/ME English Lutheran World Federation Voice of Gospel 1830-1900 on 11975 ISS 500 kW / 180 deg WCAf Fulani Voice of Croatia: 2200-0300 on 9925 WER 100 kW / 255 deg SoAm Croatian till Sep. 6 2300-0100 on 9925 WER 100 kW / 300 deg NEAm Croatian till Sep. 6 0100-0300 on 9925 WER 100 kW / 315 deg NEAm Croatian till Sep. 6 0300-0500 on 9925 WER 100 kW / 325 deg NWAm Croatian till Sep. 6 2200-0300 on 7375 WER 100 kW / 255 deg SoAm Croatian from Sep. 7 2300-0100 on 7375 WER 100 kW / 300 deg NEAm Croatian from Sep. 7 0100-0300 on 7375 WER 100 kW / 315 deg NEAm Croatian from Sep. 7 0300-0500 on 7375 WER 100 kW / 325 deg NWAm Croatian from Sep. 7 Gospel For Asia (GFA): 2330-0030 on 9520 WER 250 kW / 075 deg SEAs Various SEAs langs 0030-0130 on 9520 WER 250 kW / 090 deg SoAs Various SoAs langs 1230-1500 on 15350 WER 250 kW / 090 deg SoAs Various SoAs langs 1330-1530 on 15390 WER 250 kW / 075 deg SEAs Various SEAs langs 1530-1630 on 15215 ISS 250 kW / 086 deg SoAs Various SoAs langs (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 17 via DXLD) Summer A-12 of Media & Broadcast. Part 3 of 3: Bible Voice Broadcasting Network (BVBN): 0700-0745 on 5945 WER 100 kW / 300 deg Sat to WeEu English 0700-0730 on 5945 WER 100 kW / 300 deg Sun to WeEu English 1800-1830 on 6130 NAU 100 kW / 069 deg Tue to EaEu Russian 1800-1815 on 6130 NAU 100 kW / 069 deg Fri to EaEu Russian 1800-1815 on 6130 NAU 100 kW / 069 deg Thu to EaEu Ukrainian 1815-1845 on 6130 NAU 100 kW / 069 deg Sat to EaEu English 1800-1900 on 6130 NAU 100 kW / 069 deg Sun to EaEu English 0900-1000 on 17535 WER 125 kW / 135 deg Fri to NoAf Arabic 1630-1730 on 13720 WER 100 kW / 165 deg Daily to CEAf Nuer/Dinka 1600-1630 on 17515 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg Mo/Th/Fr/Su to EaAf Oromo 1700-1730 on 17515 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg Mon/Tue/Fri to EaAf Tigrinya 1730-1830 on 17515 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg Mon/Wed/Fri to EaAf Amharic 1700-1800 on 17515 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg Tue/Thu to EaAf Amharic 1830-1930 on 17515 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg Fri to EaAf English 1630-1745 on 17515 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg Sat to EaAf Amharic 1745-1800 on 17515 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg Sat to EaAf English 1630-1800 on 17515 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg Sun to EaAf Amharic 1800-1830 on 17515 ISS 100 kW / 131 deg Fri-Sun to EaAf Somali 1800-1900 on 9430 NAU 250 kW / 125 deg Sat to N/ME English 1815-1845 on 9430 NAU 250 kW / 125 deg Sun to N/ME English 1700-1720 on 13580 ISS 250 kW / 115 deg Mo/Tu/Th/Fr to N/ME Arabic 1700-1735 on 13580 ISS 250 kW / 115 deg Wed to N/ME Arabic 1715-1800 on 13810 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Mon/Wed/Fri to N/ME Arabic 1700-1730 on 13810 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Tue/Thu to N/ME Arabic 1645-1700 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Mon/Wed to N&ME English 1700-1715 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Mon/Wed to N&ME Hebrew 1715-1745 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Mon/Wed to N&ME English 1645-1800 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Tue to N&ME English 1630-1720 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Thu to N&ME English 1720-1730 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Thu to N&ME Music 1730-1745 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Thu to N&ME English 1645-1715 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Fri to N&ME English 1645-1800 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Sat to N&ME English 1645-1900 on 15215 WER 100 kW / 120 deg Sun to N&ME English 0400-0430 on 9410 WER 100 kW / 105 deg Sat-Mon to WeAs Luri 0500-0530 on 9735 WER 250 kW / 105 deg Thu to WeAs Arabic 0500-0515 on 9735 WER 250 kW / 105 deg Fri to WeAs Arabic 1830-1900 on 11855 WER 100 kW / 105 deg Tue/Sun to WeAs Persian 1800-1830 on 11855 WER 100 kW / 105 deg Fri to WeAs Persian 1800-1900 on 11855 WER 100 kW / 105 deg Thu to WeAs Persian 1800-1815 on 11855 WER 100 kW / 105 deg Sat to WeAs Persian 1530-1730 on 15300 WER 100 kW / 090 deg Daily to WeAs Persian till July 31 1530-1730 on 13590 WER 100 kW / 090 deg Daily to WeAs Persian from Aug. 01 1530-1545 on 13630 WER 250 kW / 090 deg Sun to WeAs Persian 0100-0115 on 9490 WER 250 kW / 090 deg Sat to SoAs English 0100-0115 on 9490 WER 250 kW / 090 deg Sun to SoAs Tibetan 1530-1600 on 15275 ISS 100 kW / 090 deg Wed/Fri to SoAs Urdu 1530-1600 on 15275 ISS 100 kW / 090 deg Thu to SoAs English 1515-1530 on 15275 ISS 100 kW / 090 deg Fri to SoAs Punjabi 1515-1530 on 15275 ISS 100 kW / 090 deg Sat to SoAs English 1400-1430 on 17495 WER 250 kW / 090 deg 1st Sun to SoAs English 1430-1500 on 17495 WER 250 kW / 090 deg Sat/Sun to SoAs English 1300-1330 on 15180 TRM 250 kW / 045 deg Mon-Sat to EaAs Japanese 1300-1400 on 15180 TRM 250 kW / 045 deg Sun to EaAs Japanese 1100-1130 on 15270 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg Mon to EaAs Chinese 1100-1115 on 15270 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg Tue-Thu to EaAs Cantonese 1100-1130 on 15270 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg Fri-Sat to EaAs English 1100-1200 on 15270 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg Sun to EaAs English 1500-1515 on 13740 WER 250 kW / 090 deg Sun to SEAs English WYFR (Family Radio): 1900-2000 on 11840 NAU 500 kW / 210 deg to WeAf French 2000-2100 on 9595 WER 500 kW / 210 deg to WeAf French 2000-2200 on 6115 WER 250 kW / 210 deg to WeAf Arabic 1800-1900 on 13750 WER 500 kW / 180 deg to WCAf English 2100-2200 on 9715 WER 500 kW / 180 deg to WCAf French 1700-1800 on 13840 WER 100 kW / 180 deg to NEAf Arabic 1800-1900 on 11955 WER 250 kW / 150 deg to NEAf Arabic 1900-2000 on 9590 WER 250 kW / 150 deg to NEAf Arabic 1600-1700 on 15160 NAU 500 kW / 140 deg to EaAf Oromo 1600-1700 on 15750 WER 500 kW / 150 deg to EaAf Amharic 1600-1700 on 13645 NAU 250 kW / 125 deg to N/ME Arabic 1700-1800 on 15560 ISS 250 kW / 110 deg to N/ME Arabic 1600-1700 on 13615 NAU 500 kW / 095 deg to WeAs Persian 1700-1800 on 13740 NAU 500 kW / 095 deg to WeAs Persian 1400-1500 on 13735 TRM 250 kW / 335 deg to CeAs Uzbek 1300-1500 on 17580 WER 500 kW / 090 deg to SoAs Bengali 1400-1500 on 15570 NAU 500 kW / 090 deg to SoAs Oriya 1400-1500 on 15690 ISS 500 kW / 090 deg to SoAs Malayalam 1400-1600 on 15670 NAU 500 kW / 095 deg to SoAs Hindi 1400-1600 on 17800 ISS 500 kW / 090 deg to SoAs Sindhi/Kannada 1500-1600 on 13790 ISS 500 kW / 085 deg to SoAs Tamil 1500-1600 on 15495 ISS 500 kW / 100 deg to SoAs Gujarati 1500-1600 on 15650 ISS 500 kW / 085 deg to SoAs Marathi 1200-1300 on 13630 TRM 250 kW / 075 deg to SEAs Tagalog 2200-2400 on 11830 GUF 500 kW / 170 deg to SoAm Portuguese 2200-2400 on 15280 GUF 500 kW / 215 deg to SoAm Spanish (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 18 via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. 9470, July 18 at 0445, DW English to Africa via RWANDA starting segment from Bolivia about preserving the Aymara language whose speaker base is steadily declining, but they do have their own Wikipedia site. Quickly found by searching Aymara at the DW site, unAfrican audio from part of the `Pulse` program: http://www.dw.de/popups/popup_single_mediaplayer/0,,16102613_type_audio_struct_266_contentId_16102889,00.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GOA. 15209.982, wie immer ist AIR Panaji aus Goa nicht ganz exakt auf der Schwingung. Arabisch um 0430-0530 UT, S=6 mässig hier in Europa. Heute fehlte die süssliche indische Musik, nur endlose Männergespräche über Politik zu hören. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. 3403.70, 2235-2245 13.07, Greek Pirate. Greek songs, 35232 - nothing heard on half frequency 1702 kHz (Anker Petersen, heard on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in rainy and cold Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** GUAM. Frequency and time changes of KTWR in Kokborok Mon-Fri: 1500-1530 NF 15150 TWR 100 kW / 285 deg SoAs, ex 1230-1300 on 15240 (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 17 via DXLD) Frequency and time changes of KTWR in Santali: 1530-1545 NF 15420 TWR 100 kW / 285 deg to SoAs, ex 1300-1315 on 15240 (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 18 via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4055, July 13 at 1030 tune-in, immediately R. Truth ID in English by Dr Madrid and asking for reports. Altho his announcement was clear, the audio just before, and an English hymn afterwards were somewhat distorted. Has anyone caught them in a formal sign-on circa 1000 now, or when? Good signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR Kohima was noted yesterday 13 July 2012 on 4850 for a few minutes till they went off air at 1315 UT. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India, dx_india yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) 4850, AIR Kohima (presumed), randomly from 1218 to 1316, July 16. Nice to hear this one again! At tune in was unusable, but slowly improved; 1240 with Christian music which they often play; 1316 indigenous theme music, believe is their programming for the local Naga people, which starts and end with same theme music; poor reception; never strong enough to tell what the language was. If they keep on broadcasting, will be able to really enjoy them in the fall (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) AIR Kohima noted on 4850 last night signing off at 1600 and sign on this morning at 2357 UT. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, UT July 16, dx_india yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) ** INDIA. Please read my article on my recent visit to the Super power Transmitter at All India Radio, Rajkot India http://www.idxci.in/a-visit-to-super-power-transmitter-air-rajkot/ Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, India, July 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A previous report said there were three 1000 kW transmitters! Wrong. This report says there are 3 x 400 kW, i.e. 1200 kW total if on one frequency. 1071 kHz AM will carry AIR external services, while 1080 DRM will carry VBS ---- not clear if at the same time! ``In AM mode it can radiate up to 1200 kW while in Simulcast mode it is capable of 836 kW and 550 kW if it uses only DRM mode`` (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR FAILS TO MAKE ANY RECRUITMENT IN LAST DECADE RnM Team 16 Jul 12 21:06 IST http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/air-fails-make-any-recruitment-last-decade NEW DELHI: All India Radio (AIR) has failed to sanction [means fill? and/or authorise? -- gh] a single post in the last ten years despite the large number of stations set up during this period. AIR sources told Radioandmusic.com that a total of 62 stations had been set up in the last three years and the current year, and there was a proposal to set up stations at 225 places in the country. The audio broadcaster has proposed 278 new radio stations in the country during the 12th Plan which commenced in April this year, but the sources said that this will depend on the allocation of funds and approval of the Planning Commission. Meanwhile, a total of 2183 new posts have been proposed in the engineering, programme and administration wings in AIR for Operation and Maintenance of 104 new projects/stations approved under the last three Plans. This proposal was approved by the Prasar Bharati Board in its meeting on 6 September last year and sent to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on 5 October last year, but is still under process in the Ministry. All India Radio and Doordarshan have a total staff strength of 33,800 against a total sanctioned strength of 48,022, leaving a gap of 14222 posts. In the News Services Division/News, there are 146 vacancies in the sanctioned strength of 379 with the present strength at 255. Meanwhile, the annual Operational cost of running a radio station is: Metro station – Rs 260 million, State Capital Station – Rs 150 million, local FM Radio station 15 million; and relay FM stations – Rs 6 million. (via Alokesh Gupta, July 16, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 7289.96v, RRI Nabire, randomly from 0817 to 0848 tune out (gone by 0904), July 12. In Bahasa Indonesia with pop songs; as usual the signal was improving the whole time. 7289.96v, RRI Nabire. RE: DXLD 12-26: My June 26 reception ended at 1016 with song in English and Bahasa Indonesia. I wondered what song it was. MP3 audio at https://www.box.com/s/fcda513c99ebc4cb99dc Thanks to the feedback from DSWCI member Gerhard Werdin (Germany), who is married to an Indonesian woman. He writes: “My wife says the singer is most probably Mus Mulyadi, originally a keroncong singer, now in his sixties (one can find him in wikipedia, but in bahasa Indonesia only), but as to the name of the song, although it sounds familiar, also to me, we are at a loss.” Appreciate both their observations! (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, July 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9526-, July 14 at 1140, VOI with very undermodulated orchestral music, cut off the air at 1142:30*, but back shortly; 1145 vocal music sounds like Chinese. At 1217 now the undermodulation sounds like special Japanese. I listened for a while but could detect no IADs. Those are the languages scheduled, and as always, slightly on the low side of 9526 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9680.06, RRI Jakarta. No sign of this at 1035. Apparently Japan`s signal on at 1055 with a few words in Japanese. (6 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) ?? No Japan or Japanese scheduled here, but RTI in Chinese from *1100 (gh, DXLD) 9680.06, RRI Jakarta. After not hearing this for at least a week, found good signal at 1059 with nice canned ID announcement just before Japan came on. By 1023, Japan way over top and Jakarta quite weak. (10 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) What Japan? (gh) 9680.051, RRI Jakarta home service in Indonesian, RRI Pro-Empat Cimanggis. !!hops 2-3 Hertz always around (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Sirius XM Radio is slated to become a "spun off" company according to the opinion expressed in this article: http://tinyurl.com/SiriusSpinOff (CGC Communicator July 14 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. GPS AND ITS DISCONTENTS We are becoming part of the "machine" without even knowing it. Our society's reliance on GPS for a variety of critical tasks is permeating everyday life and we accept GPS positional data as accurate. Yet there are some very dark sides to GPS that have not been run up the flagpole until recently. The ability to create GPS spoofers can send airplanes to the wrong locations or foil stock market transactions to the advantage of the technically adept (GPS is used worldwide for precision timing in stock trades). As GPS transponders become dirt cheap, the temptation to track not just physical objects but private individuals may become overwhelming. Inside GNSS magazine gives us a glimpse into the near-future by showing where GPS and its discontents are heading. This article is must-reading to stay ahead of the curve. http://www.insidegnss.com/node/2978 Next week: GPS Jammers (CGC Communicator July 14 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. SCIENTOLOGY TV AND RADIO COMING SOON The Church of Scientology plans to start a religious broadcasting center to promote its teachings over TV, radio and the Internet. Reuters July 12, 2012 11:35 Select Language? Public Arrest Records See anyone's past criminal history. Unlimited searches. Peace of mind. Scientology TV --- Pedestrians walk past the Church of Scientology along Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California on July 9, 2012. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images) [caption] The Church of Scientology, the religion whose followers include actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, plans to start a religious broadcasting center to promote its teachings over TV, radio and the Internet. The center, located near the church's West Coast headquarters in Hollywood, would occupy the nearly five-acre studio property the church bought last year from Los Angeles public TV station KCET for $42 million. The station would elevate the public profile of a religion that has mostly relied on pamphlets and books by its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, to proselytize for new members. . . http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/120712/scientology-tv-and-radio-coming-soon (via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia, DXLD) ** IRAN. New additional frequencies of VOIRI/IRIB from July 20: 1930-2327 on 6010 KAM 500 kW / non-dir CeAs in Azeri, alt. 5940 2130-0127 on 7325 SIR 500 kW / 270 deg N/ME in Arabic, alt. 7360 2230-0057 on 7405 KAM 500 kW / 058 deg CeAs in Tajik 2330-0027 on 6080 KAM 500 kW / non-dir N/ME in Kurdish, alt 6005/6010 2330-0327 on 6010 SIR 500 kW / 336 deg CeAs in Azeri, alt 6005/7205 0030-0127 on 9650 SIR 500 kW / 310 deg to N/ME in Turkish (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 18 via DXLD) ** IRAN [and non]. 9500v, Zwei Iranische BUBBLE Jammer fanden meine Aufmerksamkeit um 0330 UT, der Eine bei 9499.912 kontinuierlich (deckt 9497-9502 kHz zu), der Zweite bei 9500.064 kHz welcher um 0343 UT das Feld verlässt und nach 9565v kHz wechselt. Dies alles gegen BBC Persisch 9500 kHz aus Woofferton um 0230-0330 UT, sowie AWR Persisch 9505 kHz aus Moosbrunn mit dem 300 kW Schätzchen in 100 Grad Azimuth. 9565v, dann BBC Persisch aus Zyyi Zypern S=9+10dB hier in Deutschland um 0230-0430 UT, in letzter Zeit immer BUBBLE gestört. Die beiden Jammersignale sitzen heute bei 9564.211 und 9565.125 kHz. Dagegen ist die \\ Frequenz 11855 kHz auch aus Zypern NICHT gestört. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. US-BACKED RADIO FARDA AIRS DAILY PROGRAMME ON POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN | Text of report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website on 13 July Molaghat, or "Visit" is one of Radio Farda's newest and boldest projects. The programme, which airs every week from Saturday to Thursday, shines a light into prison life in Iran, with each installment dedicated to the experience of an individual political prisoner. Launched in December 2011, Molaghat has already introduced Radio Farda's audience to more than 160 activists and individuals imprisoned by the Iranian regime because of their political or religious beliefs. Radio Farda director Armand Mostofi says that, according to Farda's sources, at least 400 political prisoners are currently being held in Iran, including well-known activists, less-familiar politically active individuals, prisoners of conscience and adherents to the Baha'i religion, a group that is systematically persecuted in Iran. "The total number of political prisoners is much higher, but we have complete and credible information for about 400 of them," Mostofi said. One of the biggest challenges faced by the producers of Molaghat, according to Radio Farda editor-in-chief Niusha Boghrati, is gathering reliable information about some of the less-well-known prisoners. They are, however, in regular contact with prisoners who have been released from jail, as well as with the friends and families of those still being held. "We also gather a lot of info from social media as well as human rights activists based in Iran. A lot of prisoners contact us and we get in touch with them directly," Boghrati said. The daily profiles are also reaching the inmates themselves. One recently released prisoner told Radio Farda that radio receivers were smuggled into Tehran's notorious Evin and Gohardasht prisons. Inmates at both facilities started listening to Farda programming in shifts. "Everyone listens to a part and then shares the information with others," the former prisoner recalled. He said that less well-known prisoners anxiously await each program and look forward to their turn to be profiled. Mostofi explained that, after a known political activist is arrested, his or her name might appear for the next month in the Iranian media. But later, everyone forgets. "With Molaghat, we strive to keep their voices heard and unforgotten," he said. [BBC Monitoring note: Radio Farda is the Iranian service of US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website, Washington, D.C., in English 13 Jul 12 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** IRELAND [non]. 5820 kHz 2000 UT WRN - DW not RTE? WRN on 5820 shows RTE Dublin in EiBi at 2000 UT, program started, but announced DW, then playout stopped at 2002, still clear, webstream is currently RTE Drivetime. 73s (Tony Malloy, UK, 2010 UT July 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The RTE relay on SW from South Africa contracted to a semihour at 1930 months ago. Anything heard after that was slipshod overrun by Meyerton (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) QSL: SOUTH AFRICA, RTE, via Meyerton, 17500, QSL letter in 7 months for rpt to Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland. v/s Bernie Pope (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) A sport special ** JAPAN [non]. NHK Presents Brahms --- I checked the Grey Line Map on my computer at 2330 GMT (6:30 p.m. CDT in Dallas) and found that all of South America now lay in darkness. I thought this a good time to hunt for signals from that continent. I was instantly rewarded by a strong, pure signal from NHK on 15265 via Bonaire, a program narrated in Japanese featuring the music of Johannes Brahms! My S-Meter (10 scale) registered a steady 7-9, filling my ears with the rich, sonorous and deeply affecting music of Brahms. The first full piece I heard was his famous "Lullaby" sung by male voice in German. Other pieces were played, but I particularly enjoyed the medieval university drinking song "Gaudeamus Igitur" that Brahms orchestrated for his famous Academic Festival Overture. All of this manifest beauty suggested that in this brutish world there may sometimes be discerned a bit of divinity. The fine man who narrated the program gave us all an elegant "Sayonara" at 2354 which concluded the program. What a wonderful half-hour spent on shortwave radio (Grayson Watson, Dallas, TX, using a Sangean 909x portable with an Apex Radio 700DTA antenna, July 14, cumbredx via DXLD) This is the weekly Sunday-morning western classical music hour ghetto fortunately and presumably relayed from the domestic service, UT Saturdays 23-24, which I have also stamped with my approval (gh, DXLD) ** JAPAN [non]. New relay of Radio Japan NHK World from Aug. 18: Portuguese 0900-0930 6130 GUF 250 kW / 185 deg to BRA, ex SGO 100 kW / 060 deg 2130-2200 11880 GUF 250 kW / 185 deg to BRA, ex SGO 100 kW / 060 deg Spanish 0930-1000 6195 HRI 250 kW / 167 deg to SoAm, ex SGO 100 kW / 350 deg (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 18 via DXLD) Fleeing CVC CHILE site ** JAPAN. UPGRADE LIKELY FOR JAPANESE BROADCASTER’S DISASTER WARNING SYSTEM --- ABU News July 13 http://www.abu.org.my/Latest_News-@-Upgrade_likely_for_Japanese_broadcaster’s_disaster_warning_system_ABU_News_Group_told.aspx Japan’s National Public Broadcaster NHK is looking seriously at upgrading its disaster coverage domestically and globally. According to Mr Takehiko Kusaba from the NHK newsroom, disaster coverage and reporting has been a vital mission for NHK since 1923. He said as a public broadcaster his organisation played an important role in providing accurate messages and information to the public on time. “We are not satisfied with our coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in March last year,” he said, “therefore we have a few logistic initiatives to upgrade our coverage on disasters in the future”. “NHK has learnt lessons from the previous disaster and we came up with an Automatic Disaster Warning System, an Automatic Script Generating System, an NHK Helicopter Network and a Backup System which will help NHK with its disaster coverage and reporting in the future. We are also improving our announcements to urge people to evacuate by stressing a sense of crisis’’. Currently NHK has 470 remote controlled cameras nationwide and 14 helicopters at 12 stations around the country. Mr Kusaba was sharing NHK’s experiences and lessons learned from the great earthquake with ABU members from Asia-Pacific countries attending the ABU News Group Workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam, hosted by Vietnam Television (VTV). (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [non]. 9650 via CANADA, Saturday July 14 at 1249-1252, Kevin O`Donovan`s ``Listening Tips`` segment following KBS World Radio`s mailbag; he mentions VR relays via Canada about to end July 31, with the English schedule, and CVC`s reduced schedule via Chile; something about SiriusXM as I was distracted. Still no annoying audio artifacts on the feed. 9650, July 17 at 1228, KBSWR via CANADA starting a ``Tuesday corner``, `Style Korea`, YL with tips on applying makeup when it`s hot and skin is oily. OMG! I`ve just realized that this program topic has been neglected by all other SW stations, a gaping hole in their schedules. We still don`t know what will happen to KBS once Sackville be gone. 9650, July 18 at 1243, KBSWR via CANADA is starting Wednesday feature I frequently try to catch, `Sounds of Korea`, this time about a traditional instrument and its master, neither name could I catch, but it`s flutish. Started with a folk tale about it. VOK could be heard underneath. Ended at 1259, then a few plaintive iterations of the otherwise now-defunct RCI IS and IDs in French and English before cut off the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. 15540, July 14 [not 15 as in original report] at 1940, R. Kuwait fair signal in English, during `This Day in History` daily feature until 1945 back to western pop music. This all depends on the western calendar, e.g. matching up July 14 with the same date in previous years. Do the Arabs have any such parallel concept? The lunar Islamic calendar makes ``this day`` a totally different one from year to year insofar as where the earth is in its orbit, which also accounts for the precession of Ramadan earlier and earlier each of our years, i.e. in ``2012``, July 19- August 18, more or less, as flagged in our Calendar, http://www.w4uvh.net/calendar.html Ramadan influences expansions or changes in SW and other broadcast schedules to keep up with temporary fasting-and-feasting lifestyles, inevitably leading to different waking-and-sleeping hours and consequently potential listenership (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. 6130, LNR, 1159, July 16. In Laotian; indigenous music; 1200 gong/bell rung 7 times; anthem; news. Seems that 4412.64v is still off the air (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS [non]. 9325, July 14 at 1151, intriguing rustic Hmongish music, singing with 2?-string accompaniment, fairly good signal. It`s R. Free Asia in Lao, 100 kW, 285 degrees from SAIPAN at 11-12; North Korea does not start 9325 until 1300 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX ILSTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS [non]. TAIWAN, 11570, Suab Xaa Moo Zoo (V. of Hope) (via Taiwan) Signal already on at 1126. Program start at 1130 with announcement by deep-voiced M presumably in Hmong, then instrumental Asian music with flute prominent and possibly some vocals. Weak but clear and never got any better. Downloaded the program from the website and matched it up with what I heard. (10 July).) 11570, Suab Xaa Moo Zoo. Just caught the end of the opening announcement by M at 1131. Sounded like there was a fair amount of English in the broadcast today. (12 July). 11570, Suab Xaa Moo Zoo. Carrier came on at 1119:05. Program start at 1130 with instrumental music and opening announcement by M with mention of frequency in kHz. Immediately into pleasant SE Asian music, then into preaching by M with audience and apparent translation in presumed Hmong by another M. Finally went into a religious song at 1155-1159, and closing announcements by deep-voiced M at 1159. I guess this was their "Evangelism Explosion" program per their website. Went immediately into WYFR relay at 1200. (14 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010.00, Radio Madagasikara, 0300-0325, July 15, in full AM mode for a change. Malagasy talk. Some African choral music. Poor in noisy conditions (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) 5010.00, 1840-1910 16.07, R Nasionaly Malagasy, Ambohidrano. Malagasy ann with some French words, DJ playing Malagasy and French pop songs and music, 1858 ad, ann, 1901 talk by two men, one in Malagasy and one in heavily accented French, 35333. Now audible again in AM, LSB and USB! (Anker Petersen, heard on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in rainy and cold Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR [and non]. RNW Madagascar relay --- I've just learned the good news that the RNW Madagascar relay will continue operating beyond the end of 2012, as the employees there have formed a private company. That means there will be no need for any of the current clients to move to other facilities. I have just received the draft documents that will be sent out to existing and prospective clients as I have been asked to check that the English is correct. I was always confident that the facility would not be closed, given the recent acquisition of transmitters formerly used at Hörby in Sweden. The only question was who would operate it (from Andy Sennitt in PCJ Media & PCJ Radio Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/48638249355/ via Partha Sarathi Goswami, WB, July 14, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) That would explain this in DXLD 12-27 already: ``MADAGASCAR. 22-JUN-2012, Reference Table Freq. Management Org. 22- JUN-2012: add: MGB, Malagasy Global Business S.A. (MDG) (Wolfgang Büschel, June 25, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews June 29 via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) What`s this --- the successor to RNW at Talata, and/or involved with still incomplete MWV? (gh, DXLD)`` Would the new company be something similar to Merlin Communications being launched in 1997 by employees of the various BBC transmission facilities, purchasing the UK sites and signing operational agreements for the overseas relays? (What is now Babcock.) The secondhand Telefunken transmitters should be good for another 10 to 15 years of operation (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That's a bit simplified it seems, since it's hard to imagine that the staff members are the only share holders of this Malagasy Global Business S.A. company. And will indeed the whole properties flatly transferred to it, as a generous gift? And perhaps I have overlooked something, but substantial details about the transmission equipment at Talata Volonondry are still missing, except the well known installation of ex-Hörby transmitters, as shown at http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/photos-of-ex-horby-sw-transmitter-in-madagascar But what about the third 250 kW transmitter? It is shown under installation at http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~BCLSWL/Madagascar.html So an Asea Brown Boveri SK 53 or SK 55 as well. When did the production of this transmitter series cease? Almost ten years before 2004 I think. So this appears to be a used transmitter as well, but from where? What came first to mind was Sottens, since the SK 55 there had a red housing, too. But in 2004 it was just barely still in operation, so it must have ended up somewhere else (scrapped or picked up and still in operation somewhere? never saw any mention of the fate of this rig). And what about the 50 kW transmissions from Talata Volonondry? Here any equipment information is missing, other than that this transmitter can be tuned between at least 3.2 and 17 MHz (Kai Ludwig, shortwavesites yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) Leo Kool, the former manager of the station did a lot of second-hand shopping in the start of this century. I remember he sourced Russian tubes which were much cheaper than the Thomson tubes. http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/rnw-madagascar-boss-leo-kool-retires-with-honour Will see if I can find a contact address for him (Jonathan Marks, Netherlands, ibid.) I remember talks about what was at this time Merlin obtaining tubes from Russia as well. While we're talking about tubes: Just came across this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15476439@N04/1716648363/ Reminded me of talks by transmitter engineers who said that Werk für Fernsehelektronik was better than Siemens, perhaps just out of a singular experience in 1992 when several tubes failed within weeks or even days, starting with the first one going BOOOOM after just 30 minutes. The transmitter in this photo (there is a chance of 50 percent that it carried the swan song of RNW) is the SV 2500, listed as being installed at Santa Maria di Galeria in 1976. There was a mention of Sentech now facing problems in obtaining tubes for theirs. And here's the transmitter in Vatican City from 1952, until a few years ago run with up to 80 kW (to the very big surprise of people that have been told what this antenna appearing in TV footage did) on 6245 and later, after Radio Vatican had been forced off this frequency, on 5885: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15476439@N04/1716648363/ (Kai Ludwig, ibid.) ** MADAGASCAR. Radio Feon'ny Filazantsara --- Broadcast via Talata- Volonondry in Madagascar, this Malagasy religious programme was observed opening with a trumpet fanfare at 1700 UT on 6155 kHz, closing at 1726 UT. This was monitored via the Global Tuners remote receiver in Johannesburg; most days this signal is dominated (if not obliterated) by co-channel AIR, but reception was fair this time - you can hear a clip at Interval Signals Online http://intervalsignals.net (David Kernick, England, July 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) FWIW, I continue to consider this a program rather than a ``station``, as WRTH denotes it on page 262, ex-frequency 3215. If this less-than- semihour broadcast is a ``station``, so are countless other gospel huxters buying a bit of time on someone`s transmitter (gh, DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. Listening to TRAXX FM on 7295. Now QRM from CRI. Receiver- Degen DE 1103, Antenna- Telescopic (Avijit Mondal, Nadia, West Bengal, India, 1904 UT July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 9835, Sarawak FM, 1105 July 12, Bahasa Malay, man with news until 1110, music bridge and then songs, ID as “Sarawak FM” at 1118. Fair with RTTY QRM (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, listening from my car with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA [and non]. INDONESIA/MALAYSIA, 9680.06 and 9835 RRI Jakarta/Sarawak FM Interesting both airing the Koran at 1056, but of course the latter was airing their usual 1030-1100 Koran program at this time. (15 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD, HCDX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Some sunrise MW DX July 14: 680, July 14 at 1117, ``en L-G, la Grande``, i.e. per Cantú 680 XELG La Grande + FM 95.5 León, Gto. 10,000 3,000 So the L-G has a double meaning. Also with IFE PSA, same heard on several other stations, congratulating themselves on carrying out the elexion, and with an artificially sped-up disclaimer at the end, something about not representing any particular party. 700, July 14 from 1120, a weak Spanish station with no QRM unlike all the other frequencies; 1128, promo for 1,110 Radio Red, i.e. relay of México DF, and by now there is a weak SAH from something else. As this signal is weakening, a mention of Grupo Radio Centro, i.e. per Cantú: 700 XEDKR Radio Red AM Guadalajara, Jal. 10,000 150 Site axually Tonala, Jalisco. Standard remark about day vs night power 770, July 14 at 1126, ``Los 40 Principales`` slogan and ID sounded like Radio Ka (the letter K), with an FM ID I could not copy, but also definite 5:25 timecheck, so the only one fitting is, per Cantú 770 XEREV Los 40 Principales + FM 104.3 Los Mochis, Sin. 5,000 100 Standard remark about day power vs night power 860, July 14 at 1112, ``Radio Frecuencia`` which sounded like a station name rather than a generic mention, into a balada. But nonesuch listed in Cantú, IRCA or WRTH. KKOW Kansas no problem yet. 990, July 14 at 1105, XET Monterrey NL, ``La T Grande`` with morning newscast, temp 24 and pleasant, child electrocuted, as he was wet, barefoot and grounded when he potentially touched something. 1320, July 14 at 1059, unfamiliar presumably state anthem in progress, 1101 segué to familiar choral NA, heavy QRM and lost by the time any ID would follow (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTIENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Hola Julián, ¿Se permanece en el aire esta vez la 1650? (Glenn to Julián Santiago Díez de Bonilla, DF, July 13, via DXLD) Hola Glenn: Desde el día que informé "ZER Radio" ha estado al aire; ocasionalmente solo se escucha portadora para después presentar música instrumental e identificaciones. Saludos y un buen fin de semana, (Julián, July 14, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 6185, July 15 at 0454, XEPPM, songs with guitar accompaniment; sufficient modulation, and not too much ACI from Brasil 6180 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Ch 2 with color bars on peaks, no audio although some CCI with another station w/audio at 5:54 am CT [1054 UT]. MUF observed at least to 4. Not familiar with auroral reception though, what should I be looking out for? Just seen minutes ago another series of bars with the graphic "TELEVISTA [sic] GUADALAJARA" prior to 6 am CT. – (Fritze H. Prentice, Jr, KC5KBV, Star City AR EM43aw twitter.com/fritzehp July 16, WTFDA via DXLD) Not much sporadic E activity last few days, but some finally UT July 17: 0115 on 2, turn on TV to find f-bug in LR, and below it 20:15 clock. Which station(s) use(s) 24-hour clock? 0115 on 3, net-5 promo 0117 on 4, signs of something visual 0129 on 2, before my very eyes the temp changes from 30 to 29 below f 0131 on 2, weather grafix, 5-day? for Guadalajara, presumably XEWO, but 20 kHz offset CCI with other station. There is also some `wavy` video CCI, not usually seen, wonder if it could be auroral? Turn antenna north, nothing there. Back to south. As for offsets, the map at http://www.dxinfocentre.com/TV2.pdf shows XEWO is plus, and XEFB is minus, tho there are plenty of other 2s in between and all over Mexico at plus, even or minus offsets 0133 on 2, news with M&W presenters side by side; LR bug has NOTICIAS on one line, 29 8:34 below it inside rectangle, and no f bug now; then I see a promo with the MTY 2 logo in a circle of Monterrey, XEFB, ad for the salón de belleza at S-MART 0150 on 2, faded to just barely visible 0200 on 2, brief audio surge as newscast is closing 0236 on 2, +tv bug in UR fade up and down, i.e. XEWO, MásTV Sporadic E MUF made it into VHF TV now and then UT July 17: 1544 on 2, from SSW, NTSC video with f-bug (Foro TV = net-4 from XHTV) in LR, `Matutino Express` newscast; and another bug harder to make out in the upper right: then I can see it`s the Grupo Pacífico oval with an italic 3 inside. Per Oglethorpe`s local IDs page for channel 2, link below, this has to be XHQ Guamúchil, Sinaloa, i.e. relay of XHQ on 3, since its other stations on 2 have the same design logo with a 2 in it. Guamúchil is about halfway between Los Mochis and Culiacán, filling in a coverage gap for the regional network. 2324 on 2, TELEACTIVA bug in white, UR, during film featuring humans and a horse. Therefore XEFB, Monterrey. Bits of signals in and out past 2400. UT July 18, 0132: fade in news about Yucatán more from the SSE than SSW, bug at lower right I believe is SIPSE with an horizontal oval, and above it 20:32 clock, like the one at the bottom of this page: http://tvdxtips.com/mexlogosch2.html Interviewing a military/uniformed guy who mentions ``el malecón de Progreso``, i.e. the breakwater at Mérida`s neighboring port city. A very large S N flashes on screen now and then, maybe meaning Sipse Noticias; XHY-TV fades out in a few minutes. As for what SIPSE means: http://sipse.com/corporativo/ ``¿Quiénes Somos? Servicios Informativos y Publicitarios del Sureste, SIPSE, es el grupo líder en medios de comunicación con presencia en tres estados de la República Mexicana: Yucatán, Campeche y Quintana Roo. Grupo SIPSE es el único corporativo de la Península de Yucatán, que ofrece servicios especializados y confiables en los tres medios de mayor importancia en el país: Radio, Prensa y Televisión. El éxito de SIPSE, a lo largo de más de 47 años, radica en la satisfacción de los clientes a través de la solidez de contenidos, propuestas creativas eficientes, calidad de producción y audiencias cautivas en todos nuestros canales`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And one hour later than I was getting it: Very good signal at times from XHY-2 from Merida, YU with local news. SIPSE Noticias with large SN in background and SN on microphone of reporter. Weaker signal in and out on channel 4 with "cinco " network programming (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, 0229 UT July 18, WTFDA via DXLD) ** MEXICO. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO MEXICAN DTV POLICY The Mexican government has made some significant changes to their DTV transition policy. The original document is on http://cft.portaldesarrollo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/TDT_rev2012_1.pdf someone more fluent in Spanish than myself may wish to read this & confirm (or attack!) my interpretation... Anyway, what I think are the high points: - MEXICO'S ANALOG DROP-DEAD DATE IS NOW 31 DECEMBER 2015. - MEXICO WILL NOT AUTHORIZE DTV STATIONS ON LOW-VHF. Mexican DTV will be on channels 7-51. - MEXICO WILL ALLOW THE USE OF H.264 (MPEG-4) VIDEO CODING. - In many markets, the drop-dead date is earlier. - There will be a pilot conversion project in Tijuana; analog stations there will go dark on April 16th of *next year*. - As in Canada, this now applies only to stations in larger cities; rural relay stations may remain analog indefinitely. However, a much larger proportion of Mexico's stations lie in what Canada calls "mandatory markets". - Cofetel will encourage stations to operate below channel 37 -- they presume there will be a further repacking into 7-36. - Some use of H.264 has already been observed on Mexican stations. Many (most?) U.S. DTV receivers will not decode H.264. - Mexico will accept applications for new DTV-only stations. They will also accept applications for new *analog* stations but only in areas that will not be required to convert. - Mexico is encouraging the use of subchannels. If a station does *not* use subchannels, its main channel *must* be in HD. - I am not very confident of my interpretation of point 4.5 in the linked document, but I *think* (and Google Translate seems to confirm) that it allows for a station to use its existing analog channel for "intermittent" digital transition -- to operate alternately in analog and digital on the same channel. i.e., XHAB-7 might broadcast in analog on channel 7 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; in digital on channel 7 on Tuesday, Thursday, and on weekends. There'll be more in the August eVUD (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, July 18, WTFDA via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) Who will be the first to compare newer generation (I assume) Mexican DTV boxes to the Insignia/Zenith? (Jeff Kadet, IL, ibid.) Wow! That's big news. Especially the part about no low band stations. I was kind of looking forward to getting some new stations (Es) via their PSIPs, but not now (Jeff Kruszka, ibid.) I hoped there would at least be a few, but with none then that should really open up Central and South America and Cuba for a short time anyway. When and if stations are all packed into channels 7-36 it will be a real mess --- not just for DXing but just for watching TV. Too many stations in too few channels. And just when OTA is so good with high definition (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, ibid.) ** MICRONESIA. 4755.4, Pohnpei, The Cross Radio, 1045 with good synchro lock 10 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, Logs during 10 July local thunderstorm using Sony 2010XA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 12085, V. of Mongolia. Apparent Mongolian language lesson at 1025. Instrumental music, off the air at 1029, back on and audio extremely low. Could only detect the audio in USB to avoid 12080 Australia splash. A little stronger at 1032 with news. They always seem to have some sort of tech. problem. (6 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Well, it sure was an eventful month of June for international broadcasters as we lost both Radio Canada International and Radio Netherlands along with word that Vatican Radio is cutting their use of shortwave in the coming months. As for Radio Netherlands, their much publicised last day of English broadcasts was a farewell to their audience including re-activation of transmissions to North America. The program was, at least to me, a real disappointment. For many listeners my age starting to discover shortwave broadcasts in the 60’s and 70’s, Radio Nederland was a source of many entertaining programs. The farewell broadcast only briefly mentioned this era, and that only being the Happy Station program. There was never a mention of the many popular shows like His & Hers, DX Juke Box, What’s New or even mention of the many broadcasters from that era. Instead RNW focused on shows from their more recent years consisting of news and documentary programs. I am not saying that Radio Netherlands was not a great broadcaster in recent years but to ignore what was probably their most listened-to period was a real disgrace to those dedicated broadcasters that many of us remember. Also, after asking for listeners to send in their memories of Radio Netherlands, none were mentioned. A really poor way to end what was to many one of the best stations on the shortwave bands (Mick Delmage, AB, Verie Interesting, July CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** NEWFOUNDLAND [and non]. Maybe you are close enough to the Rock to tell in the daytime whether CKZN is on 6160.88? 73, (Glenn to Chris Lobdell, via DXLD) Yes, it is reading 6160.86 here tonite at 2245 UT (Chris Lobdell, Stoneham MA, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6160.88, CANADA, CBC Radio One, St. John's. 0054 July 13, 2012. Clear and fair, light news-ish items, future programming promo, Radio One ID into news. Way off-frequency as per Glenn Hauser's observation. So, bets on how long until CBC executes these last couple of 6160 regional transmitters? (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Abridged list of junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Um, at 2130 UT Fri 13 July, here in Burnaby, BC, CKZU was on 6160 according to my Eton E1 which reads about 60 Hz on the low side, and matched by WWV with the same offset. ~0415 UT Sat 14 July, which is basically local sunset in Vancouver for Fri 13 July, there is a very slight squeal accompanying CKZU, and the local transmitter is on 6160. The secondary carrier seems to be upwards of 6160.9, so if Mother Corp's transmitters are at fault, it would seem CKZN is to blame; as was the case a few years ago. TD (Theo Donnelly, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6160.88, July 15 at 0452, CKZN is still off-frequency producing an A- note het with CKZU. If CKZU is slightly on the low side of 6160.00, CKZN would be slightly below 6160.88 too as this measurement is only by comparison (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CANADA ** NICARAGUA? 8989-USB, "Pescador Preacher" 2345 impassioned sermon en español 14 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - Drake R8, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** NIGER [and non] ?? 9705, La Voix du Sahel?? Dead air at 0626, but playing local African vocal music (not HoA style) at 0628 recheck. M announcer in African vernacular at 0630 but modulation too weak to copy. Back to music at 0632. Although Ethiopia or Eritrea have been in daylight for some time, they aren't out of the question. Music and modulation makes me suspect Niger. Will have to try this one an hour earlier for s/on. (15 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD, HCDX via DXLD) ETHIOPIA, 9705.003, Radio Ethiopia in Amharic language service, S=8-9 signal at 0348 UT July 11, HoA music. Very same program also heard on a second channel in 31 mb on 9558.611 kHz, as widely DX press reported, WANDERING station centered today July 11 around 0355-0400 UT segment (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 11, ibid.) In past months only Ethiopia observed here on that channel. Footprint is +3 Hertz, and ETHIOPIA \\ v9560 too, lately on 9558.611 kHz (Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Und jetzt um 0630 UT noch mal in den 9705er Kanal hinein gehört. Jetzt scheint auch Niger dort auf, das müsste man checken, ob die exakt um 0500 UT aufschalten? Also um 0630-0645 UT Radio Ethiopia Addis Ababa- Gedja etwas höher auf 9705.054 kHz, sowie ORTN La Voix du Sahel aus Niamey Niger auf 9704.990 kHz. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 6089.843 kHz um rund 0500 UT, höchstwahrscheinlich FRCN Radio Nigeria aus Kaduna, und einem dünnen Dr. Scott Schreier auf 6090 kHz im Hintergrund. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 15120, V. of Nigeria. Nice full English ID by W with e- mail address, etc. at 0557. Came back at 0610 and W with English African news, then world news at 0613. Power kept dropping down just after tune/in. Nice ID at 0616. Financial news. 0621 sports. 0626 another ID by W, then news headlines. 0627 ID and website URL. 0628 different W with TC and ID and program preview. 0629 "You're listening to the Voice of Nigeria in Lagos". M and W with national promo "Nigeria, great people, great nation", then family planning PSA with discussion between W and girl. 0631 nice ID by studio W again and into Reggae music. Voice audio just a tad low. Still has a bit of a hum as well. Faded pretty badly around 0625, but then picked back up. (12 July) 15120, V. of Nigeria. Found here by accident at 1530. "Africa Hour" program. Talk on human rights violations. 1558 W with e-mail, and mailing address. Program announcement, and sked for Sunday, drum IS briefly, then off the air. Surprised to find this here. Fair and very fady. Was also getting some QRM from some sort of ute transmission, similar to the machine gun, varying around 15180-15200. (14 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) OTH radar? ** NORTH AMERICA. 6930-USB, July 15 at 0456, dense music with no residual carrier, making if hard to tune in, as the music would sound no less weird if the BFO is slightly off. 0500 cut off music, ID as something-Radio, can`t make out the word yet, acknowledging real-time reports posted on hfunderground.com forum. DJ speaks with funny forced voice making it harder to understand him. 0519, addresses audience (and many more times later) as ``Boys and girls, and bald-headed squirrels``. Acks reports on hfu from Mr. Shortwave, Aurora. Long pauses between talk and music segments. Now I think the ID is ``Cool Head Radio``? 0525 ID adds slogan ``Voice of the Midweek Contact``? Not at all sure of the last two words; refers to ``goddamn war hero``. Mentions ``with your host, Colonel Coolhead(?)`` and website, coolhead.com? No, that has a squatter. 0532 address as coolheadradio@gmail.com ? Again not at all sure of that name. Then reception and/or enunciation improves a bit, and I think he is really saying: Turtlehead Radio. Keeps acknowledging same reporters to hfunderground, K5WRT(?), Mr. Shortwave, Aurora. 0543 more shoutouts to same; someone else copied the slogan wrong; says his mother would call it ``voice of the mentally handicapped``, but that is not what he was saying. 0545 calls himself ``Good ol` Turtlehead``. Music was interspersed but I can`t identify any of it, none of it vocal, I think. Afterwards I find that there is a http://www.turtlehead.com whose opening page says this is an herb, but it`s really a young woman(?) long-haired musician, vocalist at keyboard with lyrix displayed; doubtful if any link to this pirate. And only the next morning do I check http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php where the main thread on this is at http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,7701.0.html And all agree it`s Turtlehead Radio, with some SSTV ID captures; I never heard any SSTV while I was listening. The one with the ham-like handle is KE5WRT (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Got this reply July 15 from Turtlehead Radio pirate on 6930-USB: ``THE Glenn Hauser? Wow! I have listened to you and have read your articles for almost 30 years! What an honor. Thank you very much for your report. I will certainly get an eQSL to you in a bit. Thank you so much! Take care. Turtle Head Radio - Colonel Turtlehead`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6925, July 15 at 0515 as I am listening to 6930-USB, Turtlehead Radio, q.v., AM carrier pops on the side, Red Mercury Labs ID, ``just screwing around``, but goes back off in less than a minute and nothing heard further. Perhaps he discovered neighboring Turtlehead was in progress and went off in deference (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. [Pirates]. 6925, Radio Whatever, 0030-0050, July 15, electronic dance music. IDs. Ads for internet radio station _www.di.fm_ = http://www.di.fm Fair 6925, WMPR, 0135-0140, July 15, very strange electronic music. IDs. Strong (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) ** OKLAHOMA. A bit of area tropo enhancement visiblizes a weak analog signal on ch A19 with antenna toward OKC, while 48 Estrella TV is quite viewable. 19 not strong enough to lock in video, and audio remains JBA, circa 1400 UT July 12. But this means KUOT-CA ch 19 still has not cut to DTV for which they have a CP, and judging from its feebility, is still 23.7 kW rather than CP for 150. W9WI.com shows affiliation is COR = Cornerstone, tho last I saw it was GCN; maybe both, or one gospel-huxtering minor network is a subsidiary of the other. {If I can get my old 5-inch Radio Shack portable TV with continuous VHF/UHF tuning working again, I must take it with me on the next visit to OKC to find if there are any other low-power analog TV signals left; or, it would be nice if someone inside OKC who still has an antenna and an analog TV set would check this out} (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. Regional tropo after sunrise July 16: first noted at 1315 UT when KWOU 88.1 Woodward was axually better than 91.7 KOSU Stillwater during NPR Morning Edition with different local cutaways, as KOSU had ACI from the Kansan gospel huxter on 91.5, which has really cut into KOSU effective coverage in this direxion. By 1355 I started checking TV with antenna westward. Woodward`s RF 34 KOMI-CD, virtual 24, was decoding with infomercial, while 35 KUOK only had a `bad` signal bar, so KUOK is *still* not up to its CP megawatt power, and may never be, but just 8 kW, while KOMI is 15 kW, per W9WI.com and the latter is now affiliated with some network called Pursuit. BTW, despite being the major town in NW OK beyond Enid, Woodward does not merit an OETA translator, unlike from the big 4 OKC commercial stations, who also have translators in many smaller towns. I guess Wwd is supposed to get adequate reception from the full-power OETA relay KWET Cheyenne, 60 kW on RF ch 8, virtual 12, which also briefly decoded this morning. I also had OETA breaking thru on RF 48, which is K48KE-D in Buffalo, 11.8 kW, assisted by no tropo boost from still analog KOCY-LP OKC on same channel. Also had a ``bad`` DTV signal on channel 6, no doubt Dodge City KS, sticking to its ex-analog channel. At 1410 UT onwards with antenna west, I was getting very weak NTSC video, as usual on my set not enough to attain horizontal lock, on chs 47 and 49; there are several towns with translators on those channels, but most of them are listed as licensed digital now in W9WI.com, i.e. Elk City & closest Seiling OK, Clarendon TX. But per this, two in the near TX Panhandle are still analog: K47BP, Booker TX, 924 watts of KACV-2 Amarillo K49BB, Follett TX, 1040 watts of KAMR-4 Amarillo Tho licensed to different towns, the coordinates for these two are identical. I`ve logged them with better signals before (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Upcoming frequency changes of Radio Pakistan: 0045-0215 NF 11600 ISL 250 kW / 118 deg to SEAs, ex 15490 in Urdu WS 0900-1000 NF 15370 ISL 100 kW / 118 deg to SoAs, ex 15620 in Bangla 1000-1030 NF 15370 ISL 100 kW / 118 deg to SoAs, ex 15620 in Nepali 1230-1300 NF 15290vISL 100 kW / 147 deg to SoAs, ex 15540v in Sinhala 1300-1330 NF 15290vISL 100 kW / 147 deg to SoAs, ex 15540v in Tamil (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 18 via DXLD) ** PANAMA [and non]. Panama on TV today, New country #12: PANAMA - TVN Channel 3, Colón. Plus 4 Nicaragua relog. Details here: http://dxinfocentre.com/hepburn/logs/dxlog.htm#Z A couple of pix ... http://dxinfocentre.com/pix/3-Colon.JPG http://dxinfocentre.com/pix/temp/4-Managua.JPG A fun & busy Es session ! -- (William R Hepburn (VEM3ONT22) Grimsby ON CAN 43 10 59.5 -79 33 34.3 DX PIX : http://dxinfocentre.com/hepburn/ DX LOG : http://dxinfocentre.com/hepburn/logs/dxlog.htm#Z AUTOLOG : http://dxinfocentre.com/hepburn/logs/dxtv.htm TWITTER : http://www.twitter.com/vem3ont22 TUNERS DT : Hauppauge Aero-m + TS Reader Zenith DTT900 TV : Samsung SV-5000W ?W : WCS 99X-II FM : Sangean HDT-1 Sony XDR-F1HD SCMO : JRC NRD-535D PSB: Icom R-8500 + Microtelecom Perseus SDR ANTENNAS H : modified CM-3671 @ 70' AGL 209' HAAT (w/separate V& U feeds) V : Create CLP 5130-2 @ 74' AGL 213' HAAT V<45 : longwire July 16, WTFDA via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. [Re 12-28] 6039.98, NBC. 0924-1000 national general election coverage with M and W studio hosts in the English. Of course voter turn-out numbers and results were announced. Included were reports from journalists in the studio as well as many phone reports. Parties mentioned included the People's National Congress Party, and People's Democracy Movement. IDs for NBC National Radio, and e-mail news @ nbc.com.pg Usual bird call, percussion/wind instrumental native music signature at ToH, then NBC national news to 1015. Several promos with phone and e-mail, and ID announcement. Deadair 1018-1021, then what sounded like "Wonderful Tonight" by Kenny G. More talk by studio M announcer about the election. Fair and fading. Nice to hear the NBC again. (10 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) 6040, 1030, rough copy of om with news items 10 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, Logs during 10 July local thunderstorm using Sony 2010XA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 6040, NBC Port Moresby with NBC National Radio, the Voice of Papua New Guinea programming, randomly from 0817 to 1000, July 12. Amazing how this 10 kW station has fair reception on a daily basis. In Tok Pisin reporting on a “power blackout”, “standby generator”, etc. (so is not entirely in English!); usual ad for BSP (Bank of South Pacific) in English; local time checks; many IDs: “N-B-C National Radio, the Voice of Papua New Guinea”; today intermittently played some pop songs; 0901 bird call and into the NBC National news in English with election coverage. Today was not able to confirm all the // stations, but clearly Wantok Radio Light on 7324.95 was the strongest // by far, with the news till 0914 when they had their usual announcement (“Wantok Radio Light management thanks the National Broadcasting Corporation for allowing us to relay the daily bulletin. Join us at 7 AM for the next N-B-C National News”). Checked 4890 till 1000 with no results of anything. https://www.box.com/s/a3e6dadde006d7ea2cb2 contains MP3 audio (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Port Moresby (4890 kHz) off the air with power blackout? Hi Glenn, Continuing to send my reports to Dave Ricquish, PNG Country Editor, WRTH, Radio Heritage Foundation. Here are his insightful comments today: “No, could not hear 4890 yesterday [July 12] either. Your report mentions a power blackout etc. The land on which the power station that supplies Port Moresby is located is claimed by one of the local tribes, who have blocked access to it. This means that different parts of PM are shut down on a rolling basis throughout the day and night. As a result, it's possible that 4890 was off to avoid overloading the system and they relied on 6040 only for SW yesterday. I would imagine they've little money to pay for the fuel for the standby generators so therefore only powered up 6040. They are supposed to have a 100kW rig there so I don't know if it's being used here on 6040, maybe on reduced power. Thanks for your continued monitoring. Cheers, Dave” (Ron Howard, ibid.) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 6040 . . . July 11 at 0901 ID; local TC for 7:00; NBC National news with election coverage . . . with the start of the news found the following //: . . . 3905 NBC New Ireland (doing well today) (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, More useful comments from Dave Ricquish: “You commented that 3905 Radio New Ireland reception was 'doing well today' [July 11]. An NBC technical team was in the province just last week on a long overdue radio upgrade project, adding several new FM transmitters and doing maintenance to expand coverage of the shortwave transmitter. This is part of a program that has so far upgraded Kavieng [NBC New Ireland] and Rabaul. A recent internal report on NBC states that most provincial services use 'run down shortwave transmitters operating below capacity' so I'd say 3905 is currently running at the full 10 kW, the antenna is properly tuned and the connections are all working for the first time in over two years. Log it whilst it remains so :) Cheers, Dave” Is wonderful to have such insights into what is happening with NBC (Ron Howard, July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Recorded 6040 off my Perseus SDR using Total Recorder Pro from 0859 to past 1400. Quite excellent reception at 0859 with ID as, "National Radio, the Voice of Papua New Guinea". Audio was a bit muffly, but otherwise very strong. I was quite surprised with the strength, judging from what others have been hearing. Deteriorated gradually. Must be off later, as all I heard was CRI IS and CC ID at 1400. At 1300, rather weak, but I think it was still PNG. Nothing over the top of the hour. Same muffly tone, and the transmitter cut about 1400:30 in mid-sentence. At 1200, signal was about the same: poor to fair, with muffly modulation. Nothing noted over the TOH (or too weak to hear). Much better reception at 1100, positively in PNG in English. Transmitter problems over the top of the hour at 1000 with drop-outs very frequently with typical PNG islands music interspersed. Bottom line, listen earlier, at least from the west coast for best reception. I'll set up my timer function again tonight, a little earlier. Grayline seems to occur between 0800 and 0900 across PNG (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, July 12, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6040, NBC Port Moresby, 1020 July 12, English, song ending and ID as “National Broadcasting Corporation of Papua New Guinea”, announcements about their election coverage and at 1024 began giving vote counts, parallels noted were 3205, 3315, 3905, nothing heard on 4890 which was reported active yesterday. Fair (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, listening from my car with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6040, NBC Port Moresby with NBC National Radio, the Voice of Papua New Guinea programming, randomly from 0851 to 1000, July 13. Poorest reception since first heard on the 9th. Continues with the same format of election coverage; today at 0854 instead of back-to-back ads for BSP (Bank of South Pacific), was split by a PSA given by teenage girls talking about condom use; first time I have heard then ID as “N-B-C National Radio, the Voice of P-N-G” (normally they say “Papua New Guinea”) (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6040, July 13 awake at 1025, the first thing to check is NBC`s new frequency: very poor signal talking, presumed this, further hindered by additional QRM from DentroCuban Jamming Command 6030 spurs extending past 6040 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6040, NBC Port Moresby simulcast (NBC National Radio/Kundu 2 TV), 1017, July 15: “Today’s announcement from the official broadcaster of the 2012 national general election, N-B-C National Radio, the Voice of P-N-G. Quarter past eight and we now bring to you NBC coverage of the election counting both on NBC Radio and Kundu 2 TV”. https://www.box.com/s/f872cf61f3b6c604b63c (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hearing NBC PNG on 6040, requests & messages 0745. Very strong signal. Assume Port Moresby, though could conceivably be a relay I suppose. IDs as NBC National Radio, news 0800. Appears to be associated with elections. I don't have my reference material with me, but I think one of the regionals used to use this channel in the 1970s (Milne Bay?). Interesting, whichever way (Craig Seager, on DxPedition at Seal Rocks NSW with Phil Ireland and John Schache, July 16, ARDXC mailing list via DXLD) 6039.98, NBC, Port Moresby. 1004 July 15, 2012. English female in studio with lots of remote phoned reports of some type, presumed the NBC net news capture. Very hard to copy useful audio. At 1018, instrumental version of Elton John's “Sacrifice” then Tok-Pisin programming, with more remote audio reporting and a speaker with crowd cheering. Parallel very weak 3260 Madang. 3905 New Ireland presumed in as well, but no useful audio pulled and thus not possible to tell if parallel. No trace of 4890, if on, with CODAR clanging away here. Still there at 1103 re-check, but weak and fading fast (Terry Krueger, Clearwater, FL. Abridged pile of antiquated junk used here: JRC NRD- 535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6040, Port Moresby was recorded here from 1100 to 1300 UT on July 15 with good results. Also recorded from 0800 to 1000 and from 1057 to 1215 UT on July 13. Signals were a steady S-3+ at these dates and times with decent readability by using USB. At this QTH, 6040 kHz starts to become S-2 around 0800 UT, improving to S-3 after 0815 UT and then significantly drops off after 1300 UT. Generally programming was man and woman announcers with continuing election coverage. There were also frequent remote reports from the "field" (Bruce W. Churchill-CA-USA, DXplorer July 16 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) 6039.971, PNG heard in English on Brisbane SDR remote unit, S=8-9 signal at 2014 to 2026 UT July 16, continuously PNG election result figures read. 73 (Wolfgang Buschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Und gestern Abend auch noch in Brisbane Australien gehört: 6039.971 PNG mit endlosem Verlesen der Wahlergebnisse in Englisch, S=8-9 in Queensland um 2020 UT July 17. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3205, Radio Sandaun, West Sepik, 1030 seem same om as 6040, could not reset preselector quickly to check for parallel. 10 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, Logs during 10 July local thunderstorm using Sony 2010XA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. I still find that checking PNG stations on Sunday to be very productive, as they often carry Christian programming that is easily identified as such. 3905, NBC New Ireland, 0924, July 15 (Sunday). Religious music; preacher in English with Australian accent; 0936 scheduling in Tok Pisin. (San Francisco at Ocean Beach) 3905, NBC New Ireland, randomly from 1209 to 1328, July 16. Doing well since reactivation; in Tok Pisin and English; Pacific Island pop songs; frequent IDs; 1303 to 1313 was // 6040 (NBC Port Moresby) with the NBC “News Roundup” in English; DJ attempting on air phone conversations, but none went hrough. (Asilomar State Beach, CA) 3915, Radio Fly, 0944, July 15 (Sunday). Christian preaching in English; local preacher with many mentions of P.N.G.; 0959 Radio Fly ID; poor (San Francisco at Ocean Beach) 7324.95, Wantok Radio Light, 0842, July 15. Usual preaching of Dr. Tayo Adeyemi; 0902 bird call and NBC National News which was // 6040 (NBC Port Moresby) till 0915 when they had their W.R.L. thanks N.B.C. announcement; PSA; almost fair (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3260, NBC Radio Madang, Madang. 1004 July 15, 2012. Very poor but clearly parallel audio to 6039.98 during the NBC net news (Terry Krueger, Clearwater, FL. Abridged pile of antiquated junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR- D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3385, NBC East New Britain, randomly from 1159 to 1406*, July 17. After a long absence this has been reactivated. Another visit by the NBC technical team? Ex: 1237*; mostly poor; mostly in Tok Pisin except in English for the 1204 and 1301 NBC National News (news // NBC Port Moresby on 6040); several IDs heard; gave program scheduling, listed frequencies and often mentioned “shortwave”; between reporting on the election they played Pacific Island pop songs. Very nice to finally have this one back again! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3345, NBC Northern. At 1305 on July 18 I had a definite open carrier on 3345, but no audio (not surprising with the very poor conditions today). It seemed to be 3345.0. Last month I briefly heard RRI Ternate when they reactivated for a very short time on 3344.91. So based on just the frequency it would seem not to be RRI. PNG a possibility? Dave Valko (located in Pennsylvania) also heard the same 3345 open carrier from 0930 to 1000 today. Definitely something was there. - - - - Confirmed PNG: email from Mauno Ritola (Finland): “I got your message just in time to check it for the morning transmission via Brisbane Perseus and yes, there it was! From 1950 onwards on 3345.03 kHz, female speaker in Tok Pisin saying that news will follow from NBC National Radio. Started to faded out soon after 2000. Thanks for the tip. I hope they stay! 73, Mauno” (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WOR 1626 NBC East New Britain and NBC New Ireland --- Hi Glenn, https://www.box.com/s/fbc0893eade265448849 has MP3 audio (4 ½ minutes long) of my July 17 reception on 3385 (NBC East New Britain). Also noted the following interesting item that confirms they worked on the NBC New Ireland (3905) transmitter this month, as also commented on by Dave Ricquish. Who knows which PNG station will be worked on next? Via Facebook of NBC East New Britain Maus Blong Tavurvur: NIPA Media Unit Press release July 2, 2012: After more than 2 years New Irelanders throughout the province will be able to receive the Radio New Ireland short wave signal by tomorrow [3905 kHz], the National Broadcasting Corporation Executive Director of Engineering, Mr. Robin Vuvut said today. The NIPG had released a commitment of K100, 000 last year to extend the transmission of the station especially to the outer islands of Murat and Lavongai LLG, especially the short wave frequency. Mr. Vuvut today [July 2] confirmed his technical team is in the province to immediately upgrade the services and allow transmission waves from the station reaching the outer Islands of Kavieng and Namatanai and to the West Coast of New Ireland. Mr. Vuvut says the exercise will see the upgrading of both FM and Short wave radio transmission signals throughout the New Ireland Province. Mr. Vuvut accompanied the Managing Director of NBC Mr. Memafu Kapera to the province and reaffirmed its partnership with the NIPG and the Administration to extend and revitalize the services of NBC in the province. Governor, Sir Julius Chan says, “the people of New Ireland have constantly expressed dissatisfaction with radio coverage especially during the election period. The remote Islands in both Districts as well as Namatanai itself have suffered the plight of no access to radio transmission. I could not be more pleased that NBC is finally addressing this long standing issue and that the dissatisfaction by the people will now be a thing of the past”. Funding assistance for the exercise has been allocated by NIPG but the management of the local station has not been able to liaise appropriately with stakeholders to utilize the funding. (Ron Howard, Monterey, Calif., July 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, NBC Northern, today's reception in Hokkaido, Japan: http://bclnakanaka.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/718%E3%80%80nbc-northern%E3%80%803345khz/ Yesterday`s NBC East New Britain reception: http://bclnakanaka.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/717%E3%80%80nbc-east-new-britain%E3%80%803385khz/ Who will get the next PNG facelift? I will now need to put into my E- 1's memory ALL the PNG frequencies, no matter how outdated, just in case they re-appear! (Ron Howard, July 18, ibid.) Great information from Ron as usual. I haven't heard R. New Ireland in some years; as I recall, 3905 is (was?) also shared by an Indo. "Who knows which PNG station will be worked on next?" DX'ers wish, maybe Radio Enga? (Chuck Rippel, Chesapeake, VA, NASWA yg via DXLD) Hi Chuck, Has been many years since RRI Merauke was reported active on 3905, so there presently is just NBC New Ireland (plus some hams, hi). (Ron Howard, ibid.) ** PERU. Starting on MW dx’ing, I found good conditions in July. South America produces good opening. 20120717, 0400, 1340.0, OAQ4Q, Radio Alegría, Pucasana, 222, Spanish "veinte cinco....Radio Alegría" 20120717, 0401, 1360.0, OAX4Y, Nueva Q, Lima, 222, Spanish, "nueva" 20120717, 0402, 1400.0, OBX4W, Callao, Super Radio, Lima, 233, Spanish, "Golazo...servicio de deporte del país, una universidad a la peruana". RX: SDR-IQ, Ant: KAZ. 73 de (Vincent F5OIH Lecler, France, MWCircle yg via DXLD) ** PERU. Glenn, Thought you might be interested in a new SW station we are putting in here in Chazuta, San Martin, Peru. The call sign is OAW-9A Frequency 4810 kHz Power 1 kW (HCJB TB1000 solid state) Antenna 4 dipole array, phased to 20 degrees off vertical toward the NE quadrant --- Should be good into Eastern USA and Europe We expect electric to the transmitter building Thursday July 19, and probably carrier testing soon after that. There will probably not be regular programming right away as the recording and control studio is yet to be finished so time on air may not be regular. Installing an HCJB Alas satellite feed so that may be on. Eventually programming will be religious, cultural, development orientated with potential programming in the languages spoken in the N. Peru Amazon region. Good luck on the DX, (Wayne Borthwick, VA7GF, July 18, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wayne is the same visiting engineer who fixed up R. Verdad, Guatemala a couple years ago. I asked him what the name or slogan of the Chazuta station will be (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** PERU. Can one of the Peruvian DX experts help me figure out what (if any) Peruvian shortwave stations are in the general region of Carhuaz, Ancash Peru. Thanks. dg (David Goren, HCDX via DXLD) No replies on HCDX (gh) ** PERU. 3329.46, Perú, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco. 0045 strong carrier but no audio. - 0945 carrier with no audio, 1016 OM under T- storm crackle, 1024 same gent, 1030 YL heard first time, 1033 back to gent, fade 1043. No music heard at all 16 July (Wilkner) 3329.54, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco, 0940 carrier noted to 1020 off, 1040 with om chat, fading out. 17 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - Drake R8, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 3329.54, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco, 1035 om and yl en español to 1050 on 13 July; om no music, with transmitter slight drift at 1040 to 1050 on 14 July. Not noted 2330 to 0030 on 13/14 July 4826.52, Radio Sicuani, Sicuani, Cusco on at 0850 seems one of the earliest Perú. 14 July (Wilkner) 4940, Radio San Antonio de Atalaya, 1035 mentions de "provincia de ...ahora ...república..." brief music bridge, 1050 YL talking over flauta andina, fading out, at 1100 five time pips.... possibly China? 12 July (Wilkner) [more below] 4986.345, Perú, Radio Manantial, Huancayo, OM with music mix, 2351 laser sounds 2358 "emisora Manantial" tentatively under T-storm, 0010 seeming religious vocal, same om DJ with music at 0025, 0105 signal under ute pings 9/10 July (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - R8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Cf 12-28 that this may no longer be using Manantial name (gh, DXLD) 4986.346, Perú, Radio Manantial, Huancayo 2340 to 2350 15 July. Noted 14, 13, 12 July same time (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - Drake R8, and XM - Cedar Key - South Florida, NRD 525D - R8A - E5 Cumbre DX via DXLD) 4986.41, 0005-0020 17.07, R Manantial, Chilca. Spanish talk and orchestra music, 24212, best in USB due to heterodyne from Brazil on 4985 (Anker Petersen, heard on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in rainy and cold Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** PERU?? 4939.97, R. San Antonio (presumed), 0556-0602 long LA religious-sounding song. Distorted echo-like audio quality. 0603 M and W announcers, but distortion in the audio made it impossible. Language did sound like Spanish. Into another religious song. M and W again at 0615 but no way. Couldn't copy even with bandwidth opened up. Canned announcement by W over definite campo music, then into more religious music. (15 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD, HCDX via DXLD) 4940.00, 2253-2305* 14.07, R San Antonio, Villa Atalaya. Spanish talk, flute music, 2300 exact time pips, 2305 disappeared from frequency! 45444. Heard again 0000-0010 17.07 with much weaker signal, Spanish ann and songs, 25232 (Anker Petersen, heard on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in rainy and cold Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) I`m wondering if the first one on 4940.00 until 2305* could instead be another one of those European difference mixing products, e.g. Spain as no ID reported, but cannot get any pair to match. Or leapfrog. Timesignal is suspicious as is exact frequency for a Peruvian. Also see Wilkner log above with a timesignal at 1100, axually China? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 9855, FEBC Radio, 1053 July 12, keyboard music (like a xylophone) IS and English ID repeated, “This is FEBC Radio broadcasting from Manila, Philippines.”, would have been 1100 s/on in Vietnamese but RHC signed on 9850 at 1058 overwhelming 9855. Fair until RHC s/on (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, listening from my car with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES [and non]. 11945, July 14 at 1155 tune-in, IS and English ID as R. Veritas Asia, the following broadcast at 1200 UT would be in Hmong on 11935; then 11945 off at 1155:43*. It was way over R. Australia, then uncovered; this was end of 2-hour Chinese broadcast on 11945, 250 kW due north from the PUG site. RVA employs English only for linx between languages. So then I retune to: 11935, July 14 at 1158, CRI fill-music, 1200 theme and IDs in Chinese and Russian, each twice, once by a man, once by a woman. If RVA Hmong was on there too, it was only weak CCI under CRI. That is listed as 250 kW, 280 degrees from Palauig, so the azimuth change made a big difference here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 11720, 1845-1900 07.07, R Pilipinas Overseas, Tinang Filipino ann with many English words, Tagalog song with English refrain: "Remember me", talk about hypertension, 45434 (Anker Petersen, done on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 11720, Radio Pilipinas, Station ID at 1800 UT - steady S9+30dB with some noise (Tony Molloy, nr Winter Hill, UK, SD639114, 53.6 N 2.55 W, IO83ro, July 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. 17795, July 13 at 1042, French talk, then folk ``musique romaine``, fair signal and SSOB from RRI, 300 kW, 285 degrees from Galbeni to France; lucky to hear anything from Europe at this hour on this band, but if anystation can accomplish it, RRI can. 11830, July 18 at 0502 surprised to hear some French here, then cut off at 0503 and shortly DRM blast hit 11825-11835. What happened: RRI Galbeni started this semihour in analog by mistake, HFCC scheduled 0500-0530, 300 kW, 285 degrees in DRM to France. Are they really running `full` power in DRM equal to AM power? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. New regular transmission slot for monthly "Radio City" program, starting July 21st 2012: Third Saturday of each month, 1800- 1900 UT, 7290 kHz. "Radio City" shows are aired as part of the Nexus- IRRS line-up via shortwave transmitters in Romania. E-mail address for feedback and reception reports: citymorecars @ yahoo.ca (Thomas Völkner, Germany, July 17, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 4831.00, 2040-2050 13.07, Voice of Russia, Tbilisskaya, Russian conversation - mixing product (5920 - 1089 = 4831), 35232, heard // 1089 MW disturbed by UK (32332) (Anker Petersen, heard on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in rainy and cold Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. 15760.082 - eigentlich recht selten, Voice of Russia auf einer krummen Frequenz, aber seit einigen Jahren weicht einer der Sender in Dushanbe Orzu TJK etwas ab, HFCC zeigt eine 500 kW Unit auf diesem Kanal. VOR in English um 0400 UT und Kurdisch um 05-06 UT kommen hier mit einem mässigen S=5-6 Signal an. Europa target ist ja auch nicht die Hauptkeule des Signals. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. QSLs: Voice of Russia, 6090, QSL in 14 weeks for e-rpt to letters @ ruvr.ru Radio Rossii (Moskva-Taldom Radio Center 3), 7215, E-QSL in 3 days for e-rpt to rc-3-buch @ mail.ru v/s Andrey Shaydurov (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. RADIO MOSCOW WORLD SERVICE: MOSCOW NIGHTS RECORDING I asked the Voice of Russia programme `From Moscow with Love` about the wonderful recording of Moscow Nights, used from 1978 when the World Service started as a theme leading up to the news, and got the answer from Nataly Stefanova who was working there at the time on the July 14 edition which is now online. It was recorded especially for Radio Moscow by George Garanian and the band Melodia. There's more about George on Wikipedia. The complete recording was uploaded to YouTube a few weeks back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT0aeNLHB54 (Mike Barraclough, UK, July 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. In this Tuesday, July 10, from 11:00 Moscow time, at a frequency of 1584 kHz, the radio station of the Moscow Technical University of Communication and Informatics (MTUCI) will make his first official broadcast. I think that the joint broadcasting will last until the evening. And there, as the spot.... Because, air Studio built in the premises of the kinobudki in a large lecture hall (amphitheatre), and it is possible public speech by the artists in a live broadcast. Invitations sent out, and who is to come, in advance we do not know. The radio must be heard in all the territory of Moscow and because of the Moscow ring road-Ohm noise level is much lower, and on a large territory of the Moscow region. Antenna we hung high (the upper end of the 100-meter trekhkhvostki raised to 45 meters), well tuned and very effective. Well, of course, in the us we have to listen to on medium waves in the external antenna. Please send the reports here: http://tubes.radiostation.ru/arb/index.php?fm=35&act=msg&topic=6639 Make notes of the ether. All the same, this event in the national broadcasting! In autumn we plan to print QSL cards. http://www.radioscanner.ru/forum/topic45298-6.html#msg911611 (Victor Rutkovskiy, Ekaterinburg, Russia / “open_dx” via RusDX July 15 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. A CABLE-NEWS MYSTERY, RUSSIAN-STYLE --- By Will Englund, MOSCOW -- First, a few customers complained, but the people who run Akado, a major Internet TV and cable provider here, ducked calls from the press. Then Alexei Navalny, a crusading blogger, tweeted it Thursday morning: Akado had dropped CNN International and BBC World, two mainstays of English-language news. The retweets poured out, adding a spin: Either Akado is an awfully lame cable company, or something was going on -- and it might be related to President Vladimir Putin's complaints Monday about how Russia is portrayed in the foreign news media. At midday, an Akado spokesman, Sergei Fyodorov, issued a statement saying that the channels had been canceled for reasons "beyond" the company's control. That helped stir the pot. A little later, another spokesman said the problem was that CNN and the BBC had not obtained proper licenses. And, by the way, Bloomberg TV was taken off the air for the same reason. Akado is a big provider, but it is not the biggest. It has about a million customers in Moscow, reaching 54 percent of pay-TV subscribers, but the standard cable provider, Mostelecom, is about three times as large, said Elena Krylova, an analyst with iks Consulting in Moscow. There are dozens of Internet TV competitors, so it wasn't as if Akado was blacking out the whole city or leaving viewers with nowhere else to turn. And that licensing business? Krylova said it doesn't, on the face of it, make any sense. Among the alternative explanations circulating: Maybe someone was hoping to garner a little favor on high by acting on Putin's complaints. Maybe the company was trying to show its loyalty a day after the Russian parliament passed a law expanding government control of the Internet. Or maybe Akado was trying to put the arm on the three channels for its own reasons, and all three just happened to be news stations. (A request for a response from CNN elicited the suggestion from a Turner Broadcasting representative in Moscow that The Washington Post should call back Friday.) But maybe, in the end, Akado was taken aback when respected news Web sites -- as well as the Ekho Moskvy radio station, the swashbuckling TV Rain Internet television channel and even the foreign media -- took notice and asked questions. Late in the day came yet another statement, this one from Akado Vice President Sergey Nazarov. "The company has received required confirmation from CNN, BBC and the Bloomberg channels, which allows us to resume broadcasting," he said. In Russia, it seems that trial balloons are never a complete loss, even when they deflate. If this episode really was about taking a swipe at the foreign media, and the person behind it decided to back off, it wouldn't be seen as a defeat so much as a useful shot across the bow. It coincided with a denial-of-service attack on the Web site of Ekho Moskvy, a homegrown news organization but one that has long been a thorn in Putin's side. By late in the day, Ekho Moskvy, too, was up and running. (c) The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** SERBIA [and non]. No signal from Serbia today on 9635 at 1620 UT (also on various remote radios), but the program is still streamed online. Power down or gone from SW for good? 73, (Eike Bierwirth, Leipzig / Germany, Perseus + DX-10 Pro Active Antenna, July 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) As you may have heard, 6100 is on the air at 1758 S/on. Regards (Jean- Michel Aubier, France, ibid.) Here in eastern Germany with same signal level as Lampertheim on 6105, carrying Radio Liberty, in Russian as well I thought, until seeing the remark "Belorussia" in HFCC. Or is this just a political statement? And I see neither 6100 (right now no doubt going out from Jabanusa) nor 9635 in the latest HFCC data. Why are they missing, with this unfortunate 6100/6105 constellation being a possible result? The site designators BIJ and BEO still show up in the reference table, so the Serbians have not been completely erased so far. Anyway it would be only the Stubline site if really something is gone for good here (Kai Ludwig, Germany, ibid.) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5019.90, SIBC. This was the only interesting reception today (July 13), from about 0950 to 1030 with coverage of the Solomon Islands Festival of Pacific Arts from Honiara; was waiting for some English, but could only make out vernacular; poor with heavy Cuba QRM (5025). 5019.90, SIBC. 1032, July 15. Wonderful reception of the coverage of the closing ceremony of the Solomon Islands Festival of Pacific Arts from Honiara; speech by Festival Chairperson Doreen Kuper in English with audio hum; “All good things must end and we have come to the end of the biggest event in our nation’s history”; 5 ½ minutes MP3 audio of speech at https://www.box.com/s/88ebe355a297a4303bff (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ron, 5019.877, SIBC SLM heard on remote Brisbane Queensland SDR receiver unit at S=9+15dB level, at 0940 UT July 15. Noted Fidji'ian music 0930-1000 UT. Time annmt given 10 UT (additional 11hrs locally) = 21 LT / 9 p.m. (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) 5019.877, SIBC, Honiara, Radio Happy Isles in English. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 3320, Radio Sonder Grense, 0129 July 13, 2012. Fair and in the clear except for a little beep-beep (distant CODAR?). Unfamiliar pop vocal, Afrikaans male ID 0130, talk until 0132 filler, more talk (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, FL, Abridged list of junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Updated schedule of Brother Stair via secret/hidden transmitter site SIE: 0400-0600 on 15750 EaAf Daily 0600-0700 on 15750 EaAf Sat only 1600-1700 on 15425 SoAs Sat only 1700-1800 on 15425 SoAs Daily 1900-2200 on 9400 WeEu Daily 2200-2300 on 9400 WeEu Sat only, new confirmed on July 7 and 14 (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 17 via DXLD) This is not from HFCC registrations, so where does he get the SIE site designator? Now to start guessing what that could mean. These frequencies were previously attributed to ERV = Yerevan = Gavar, ARMENIA. Could it just be a new designator for that same site? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) See also ARMENIA, which was previously QSLed by BS ** SPAIN. QSL: REE, 7275, special QSL 70th anniversary in 10 days for e-rpt to ree @ rtve.es v/s Secretaría Técnica (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) ** SPAIN [and non]. 15160, July 12 at 0122, almost equal mix of REE in Spanish, slightly stronger than RA in English // 19000. A totally unnecessary collision with lots of open frequencies in the 19m band at this hour. RA is still boycotting HFCC, which shows only Noblejas at 23-05, 242 degrees to S America, but that`s a typical over- registration, not really on air for six hours. Aoki includes RA at 01-05, 65 degrees from Shepparton USward past the Pacific, and REE at 23-02 only, so only this one hour overlap. Both also have CRI via Jinhua-Youbu site, 59 degrees USward in Chinese at 0100-0457, but unheard. [until later date: see AUSTRALIA] 11880 via COSTA RICA, Thursday July 12 at 1232:45, REE goes into Basque right after ID as ``la emisora global en castellano``; so Basque is back, unlike some weekdays missing without explanation. When on, REE is certainly also the only ``emisora global en euskadi``. 9765, July 18 at 0507 surprised to find REE in Spanish // much stronger 9630 via COSTA RICA. 9765 is not scheduled beyond 15-23 UT, the exact span depending on M-F, Sat or Sun. The three Cariari frequencies after 0500 are supposed to be 9630, 5965, 3350. I should have checked which of the others was missing. Presumably the latest in a long line of operational errors at Cariari (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Next night 9765 back off If you speak Spanish, or, are learning Spanish, I recommend the many transmissions of REE (Radio Exterior [de] España) for their signal strength and clarity (most days), and as an alternative to the ubiquitous, but strong signals & propaganda of Radio Habana Cuba. Nevertheless, I listen to Cuba regularly, and like the challenge of evaluating their state-driven "point of view." I also enjoy Cuban music regardless of ideology. The REE transmission I tuned this morning began at 1200 GMT on 11880 kHz and was, even on this summer day, strong and clear because it beams from their relay site in Costa Rica, Sunday thru Friday every weekday morning. Check out the many frequencies and times for REE transmissions, including several in English (Grayson Watson in Dallas, TX, using a Sangean 909x portable with an Apex 700DTA antenna, Cumbre DX via DXLD) He concurs with me (gh) ** SRI LANKA. 11750, 1700-1720, CLN [how quaint], 17.07, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Trincomalee. Sinhala ann, phone-in's, traditional Sinhalese songs, 44434; Splashes from R Romania Int. 11740 in English (Anker Petersen, heard on an AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in rainy and cold Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. Adventist World Radio Scheduling from the Trincomalee Relay Station ---------------------------------------------------------------------- UT kHz All AWR Usages at 125 kW ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 0000 - 0100 11955 Burmese (0000-0030) - Karen (0030-0100) 1100 - 1200 15540 Indonesian 11:00~11:30 Javanese 11:30~12:00 1200 - 1300 15490 Chinese 1300 - 1400 17635 Malay / Cambodian - Laotian / Thai / Cambodian 1400 - 1500 12105 Chinese 1500 - 1530 15715 Karen 1530 - 1600 7410 Marathi Reported overlapping Hindi on 15 MHz band same time 1600 - 1630 11835 Urdu 1630 - 1700 11740 English 2100 - 2200 11750 Chinese / Yue 2200 - 2230 9455 Indonesian 9545 Javanese/Sundanese 2230 - 2400 9730 English - Vietnamese (Partha Sarathi Goswami, Siliguri, W.B., India, UT July 13, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ex DW now SLBC Txers on MW and one at least on SW are DRM capable, indeed did run DRM 1700-1800 UT, 1548 in DRM for a couple of months. Any takers???? (Victor Goonetilleke, ibid.) ** SRI LANKA [non]. Is anyone still hearing the Tamil Tigers clandestine, 12140 at 1530-1630? Since first reported over a week ago, I have been trying for it almost every day at 1530 with not even a carrier, including today July 14, but that`s not surprising considering it`s from the opposite worldside during very poor propagation, blackouts. If it could be propagating to your location, look around other 12 MHz frequencies in case it changed --- and look out for the SL jammer too. As earlier reported in DXLD and the yg by David Kernick, schedule in Tamil shows 2100-2200 local time on 12140, at http://votradio.com and also see Voice of the Tigers, http://pulikalinkural.com (Glenn Hauser, 1537 UT July 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Early answers: David Kernick in England has not been hearing it either July 8-13 but S. Hasegawa in Japan got it today as well as some other days by other Japanese DXers. Andrea Lawendel says Davide Borroni gets it in Italy, sounds like a DX signal, and who`s the broker? (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: I can receive it on 12140 kHz now. The reception since July 7. (S. Hasegawa, 1624 UT Saturday July 14, ibid.) With the monitoring of Japanese DXer on 12140 kHz, who received it on Jul. 5, Jul. 7 and Jul. 14 only. Jul. 5, 1558(tune in)-1630* Jul. 7, *1530-1630* Jul. 14, *1530-1630* // Live streaming http://www.votradio.com/live/live.html (S. Hasegawa, 1711 UT, ibid.) Moderate but pleasant signal also in Italy, north of Milan, by DXer Davide Borroni. Any idea about which relay broker is being used? It does sound like a DX signal here. 73 (Andy Lawendel, ibid.) I checked 12140 kHz (and also adjacent frequencies in latter days) at 1530 UT daily from Sunday 080712 to Friday 130712, using Global Tuners Sydney receiver and some days their HK rx also - with negative results. Webstream also checked (from 090712 onwards, n/a on 080712), but only carried music (Dave Kernick, ibid.) Scheduled on Saturdays only as mentioned on their website, confirmed by Jaisakthivel, July 9. Audio file July 7th: http://soundcloud.com/alokesh/unid-tamil-12140-1612utc July 14th: http://soundcloud.com/alokesh/unid-tamil-12140-khz-1629-utc 73, (Alokesh Gupta, India, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12140, re last report of non-reception of Tamil Tigers clandestine here, David Kernick says he was not hearing it either at 1530 last Sunday thru Friday, even using remote receivers. Alokesh Gupta says, ``Scheduled on Saturdays only as mentioned on their website [in Tamil], confirmed by Jaisakthivel, July 9`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 15400.008 kHz, der Kanal des Radio Dabanga Programms in Arabisch für den Sudan, IDs um 0444 und 0447 UT, auch dazwischen kämpferische Anstachlungs-Schreie der Crowd-Menge, sowie HoA Musik. S=9+15dB schönes Signal aus dem Madagascar Relay. \\ gleiches Programm um 0429-0557 UT auf 11650 kHz starkes Signal aus dem Vatikanstaat Relay SMG, sowie auch odd 15549.955 kHz, sehr dünnes Signal, letzteres nur S=4-5 aus Al Dhabbaya UAE. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 11800.041, Die odd krumme Frequenz vom SRS - Sudan Radio Service aus Dafur Region im Süd-Sudan, in Arabisch um 0428 UT, über das UAE Relay Al Dhabbaya, S=5-6 nur ein mässiges Seitensignal hier nach Europa. \\ 13720.0 auch vom UAE Relay. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN SOUTH. SOUTH SUDAN STATE RADIO OFF THE AIR --- I hear from the region that South Sudan state TV and radio has been off the air since yesterday (16 July) because of the budget crisis in the new country. The government in Juba has imposed austerity measures after the dispute with Sudan halted the oil exports which accounted for 98 per cent of South Sudan's budget. "South Sudan National Radio" (the formal ID it had been using since last year's independence) was on 693 AM and 105.0 FM in Juba, on 558 and 99.0 FM in Bentiu, on 909 AM in Malakal and on 1071 AM in Wau. The FM outlet in Juba only opened in May this year. The latest schedule I have says the radio was on at 0700-1800 GMT. However, another report I saw said the Juba AM outlet on 693 (nominally 100 kW) was only operating at 1200-1800. The main news in English was at 1530 (Chris Greenway, England, July 17, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN SOUTH [non]. CLANDESTINE, 15725, V. of South Sudan Revolutionary R. (presumed). Set the NRD to record from 0355 but only went to about 0440 before the MD ran out. Severe adjacent QRM though during that time. Found in the clear with long impassioned talk by M announcer 0715. 0736 very exotic Afro music with feverish vocals and chorus by men. Better signal with more talk in African language by M 0736-0751 but definitely not Arabic. Kept repeating word sounding like "Jambi"!! Actually quite readable and IDable from 0736 to 0741 or so, but then faded. 0751 more of the exotic Afro music 0751. Went off apparently with out any announcements at 0754:34. (8 July) CLANDESTINE, 15725, V. of South Sudan Revolutionary R. Set the NRD timer/MD to record from 0555. Same M with impassioned preaching-like talk from the start. Sounded like English at 0603 with mention of "the people of the.revolution . . . you have the right", and possibly weapon, fight, and "the law". 0604 native male chorals, then more talk by different M in African language but definitely not Arabic 0604- 0620. Pretty decent by 0609. 0620-0623 more choral vocals. Another M 0623. Really faded badly and quickly at 0635. Nothing by 0651 and never did come back by 0800. Best reception yet but did have some annoying local noise on the frequency. Programming, and especially the music sounds a lot like the reception videos on Youtube. (9 July) CLANDESTINE, 15725, V. of South Sudan Revolutionary R. Again, set the NRD timer/MD recorder on this. Was shocked to find a good signal. And since I'd set the AGC off trying to suck up every microvolt of signal, the recording ended up being distorted unfortunately. Signal on the air a little late at 0503:58, then program start 15 seconds later with native chorals and drums mixed with short announcements by M. Arabic ID at 0506, 0507, and English ID at 0507:30 "This is the Voice of South Sudan Revolutionary R. The voice of South Sudan Revolutionary Radio stands for freedom, justice, equality, and human rights". Talks began then at 0611 in local dialect. 0541 finally back to native choral music bridge. Then M with another English ID at 0542 and political commentary in English!! "(ID) ?? radio is today ?? Sudan. The program today is broadcast a lot of items and the kind of situations, political situations in southern Sudan as well as communist(?) situation in southern Sudan. The first item of the program today is about the pain and suffering to ?? in southern Sudan. First we have achieved our independence last July." Started fading at 0547 and barely there by 0600. Completely gone at 0605 and still hadn't returned by 0715. But for the first 45 minutes, it was good. Glad to finally get the English ID on this. Haven't noted it on any of the other sked transmissions. (11 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) 15725, Voice of South Sudan Revolutionary Radio, *0501:40-0515, July 13, sign on with African tribal music. Talk. English ID at 0505 and into talk in listed Arabic and local African tribal music. Fair (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Equipment: Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15725, July 13 at 0503, Arabish announcement mentioning Sudan, chanting crowds, whistling resembling CW; 0505 English ID for V. of South Sudan Revolutionary Radio, with their lofty lema as copied before; poor-fair signal and modulation somewhat distorted. 15725, July 14 at *0503:27, I was waiting for V. of South Sudan Revolutionary Radio to come on with carrier. At 0504 started sign-on routine with chanting in Arabish, 0505 ID, drumming and `CW` whistling (not by mouth but some instrument) --- the rhythm spelt out ``KX``, of some significance? 0506 Arabic ID ``Huna Idha`at ---``, 0507 English ID with motto. Peaks only S9+3 tonight. Would be nice if someone could get a quality recording of this opening. How about http://www.intervalsignals.net/countries/sudan.htm --- not yet, tho David Kernick has quite a good collexion of other Sudanese stuff, domestic, extraterritorial and clandestine clips. Where is this, anyway? VOSSR has settled on this frequency (only?), which would seem a bit high for good propagation from north to South Sudan. Just how far is it from Omdurman to Juba? 1205 km or 749 miles, says Distances-between-cities, std disclaimer, after it first tried to put Juba in Bolivia! Yes, a bit close for ideal F-layer skip distance at this frequency, unless sporadic E is often in play, which could well be the case near the Equator. Then I tried the latest ITU monitoring report at: http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/terrestrial/docs/monitoring/files/pdffiles/334.pdf but on 15725 it only has R. Dabanga at an earlier hour from Sri Lanka (which is obviously the reason VOSSR chose this same frequency, perhaps trumping propagational theory, if they know anything about it). The question remains whether 15725 is really emanating from further than Sudan. 15725, July 15 at 0547, JBA carrier from presumed V. of South Sudan Revolutionary Radio. Maybe it was better earlier in the half- sesquihour when I was distracted by pirates and MW DX test. Re my previous report, Dave Kernick points out that he does have a clip of their sign-on at http://www.intervalsignals.net filed under http://www.intervalsignals.net/countries/south_sudan.htm SOUTH SUDAN instead of SUDAN, of course. It matches what I have been hearing around 0504. One can copy the `Morse code` a bit better at the end of the clip, tho the first and last letters are uncertain due to fading in and out: AOLKKXK --- Doesn`t mean much to me (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, A different time period, but clear ID in English at 04:23: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_oC52R4cQc Also note very nice reception at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BefyWYa_Q68 (Ron Howard, San Francisco, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of South Sudan Revolutionary Radio in Arabic & English: 0500- 0800 on 15725 co-ch till 0700 Radio Pakistan World Service in Urdu --- Start/end of morning transmission variable from 0503/0505 til 0740/0820 1200-1500 NF 11650 co-ch CRI English/Esperanto/Amoy, ex 15725, re-ex 11650 (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 18 via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) ** SWEDEN. Hörby SW - in memoriam --- A short film from Sveriges Radio about the closure of Hörby SW. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD_PfMHTuG4 (Christian Stödberg, SM6VPU, July 15, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. 5895, 1840-2200* 07.07, R Nord Revival, Sala English / Swedish test programme e.g. by "a Handyman from Georgia", pop songs. Last programme within license in AM and LSB, but not in USB! 55555 (Anker Petersen, done on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** SYRIA. Radio Damasco, 9330, QSL, stamps, view card, magazine in 6 months for e-rpt to radiodamasco @ yahoo.com v/s Amelia Puga (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 9464.912, YFR in English via Paochung Taiwan sender relay (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [and non]. 9665, July 18 at 1245 surprised to hear some Bach here on a keyboard; normally is KCBS in Korean from NK for whom Bach would be a bit tame, if not too Western. Also with flutter, or is it SAH? 1247 announcement in Chinese. 1249 on to some other keyboard music. 1257 all I hear is one carrier, 1300 definitely KCBS starting hyper-emotional assertions in Korean, and no more SAH. HFCC is absolutely no help here, not covering any of the three stations involved as we find in Aoki: RTI in Chinese is here at 12-13 only, and it is of course *jammed by the ChiCom. KCBS supposedly operates 20-18 altho I was not hearing it before 1300 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. 8743-USB, Bangkok Meteo. R. W in apparent Thai at 1048. IS at 1050 and mechanical M voice in English at 1052 with ID, sked, and weather info, IS, then W again at 1054. Better than it has been lately. (15 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD, HCDX via DXLD) ** TIBET. 6050, *2000-2030, CHINA, 10.07, Xizang PBS, Lhasa, Opening tune, Chinese announcement, non-stop songs e.g. "Don't cry for me, Argentina", QRM R Rwanda 6055, 44434, // 4820 (45434), 5935 (25332) and 7240 (43433, adjacent QRM) (Anker Petersen, done on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. TAJIKISTAN/CHINA, 15488, Usual odd channel broadcast of Voice of Tibet in Tibetan via Yangi Yul Dushanbe site, transmitter signing off suddenly at 1359:10 UT midst on talk by Tibetan woman. S=9+20dB powerful signal in Germany. And accompanied by China Mainland Firedrake jamming next even channel 15490 kHz. Also sometimes on other TJK crooked number on .2/3/7/8 split frequencies 15432 15442 15487 15488 15492 15542 15543 15558 15562 15567 15613 15603 kHz (Wolfgang Büschel, July 11, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 13 via DXLD) ** UGANDA. QSL: Dunamis Broadcasting, 4750, QSL in 3 weeks for report sent to mail @ biblevoice.org and Box 425, Station E, Toronto, ON Canada M6H 4E3 (Artur Fernández Llorella, Catalonia, Spain, You can see some images in my DX blog: http://maresmedx.blogspot.com/ HCDX via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. Radio Ukraine International --- In the ever-diminishing world of SW radio, RUI is long gone, but they still have a web presence. What I can't find anymore is the page for on-demand audio downloads. What I had used previously has not been updated in months. Their "Hello from Kyiv" show still shows an April edition. Any idea whether they're still being produced, and if so, where to download them? Thanks, Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, UT July 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) They have deleted all references to mp3 downloads from their web site, so it seems that NRCU does not produce them anymore (Aleksandr Diadischev, Ukraine, ibid.) The webstream right now carries English programming with apparently current programming (presentation of the uniforms for the upcoming commerce spectacle in London etc.). So they indeed still produce it, just no longer offer it on-demand for whatever reason. By the way, is there really a 25 minutes Romanian broadcast at night, as http://nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=162 states? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, 0924 UT July 15, ibid.) I've been unable to check it since the Voice of Russia started broadcasting on 657 kHz via Grozny. Maybe Tudor Vedeanu can clarify this. – (Aleksandr Diadischev, Ukraine, ibid.) Yes, there is at least one Romanian broadcast daily on 657 kHz. I often listen to it at night in my bed (Tudor Vedeanu, Romania, ibid.) But the times on the web page are in local time, although said to be UT. And the first time is only half an an hour, although the transmission is one hour. Checked tonight, with frequent "Radio Ucraina Internationale" IDs. The schedule seems to be as in http://wrth.com/files/WRTH2012IntRadioSuppl2_A12Schedules.pdf page 34. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) ** UKRAINE. Das 25 mb ist früh recht üppig durch ukrainische Relaisender Denge Mezopotamya 11530 in Kurdisch und Radio MIRAYA FM in Arabisch - TDP brokered, sowie durch Voice of Russia / Tatarstan Aussendungen belegt. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, um 0330-0500 UT July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. [Re 12-28] Alert: Final broadcast from Bush House today (12th July 2012) at 1100 UT, five minute English news bulletin. Freq's to check : 17640 SEY 11760 OMA 15575 CYP 17790 OMA 12095 AFS 15400 G 21470 SEY 17830 G 15285 SNG 17760 THA 6195 SNG 9740 SNG (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, 2244 UT July 11, dxldyg via DX LLISTENING DIGEST) BBCWS reception is very difficult on SW at this time of day, the only frequencies I am currently hearing at 1050 are 15575 via Cyprus, also 15310 via Thailand, but both poor. 73s (Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Same here in Germany, Dave. 15575 kHz from Cyprus by far provided "the best" signal (still only around S6 on the S-Meter of the WR-G33DDC) here at 1100 UT. So, Bush House is gone. Many years ago I visited the former German service there. What will happen to the complex now? 73 (Harald Kuhl, 1220 UT, ibid.) Here is a recording I made with the last BBC news bulletin from Bush House: http://youtu.be/pshEQ0CX17Y Transmitter is Cyprus 15575 kHz. My location: Gura Humorului, Romania. 73, (Tudor Vedeanu, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks for the tip, Alokesh. I was able to hear the final bulletin on 9740 at 1100 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, ibid.) Recording here: http://www2.zshare.ma/fbqo6x0i0trn (Mike, ibid.) for which one would have to download a RAR to ZIP converter, freeware (gh, DXLD) Many thanks for this! Two random thoughts prompted from this morning’s broadcasts: 1. I wish they had used Lilliburlero one last time from Bush House for this broadcast. 2. As I was fighting to listen to this using the TuneIn radio app on my iPad, I couldn’t help thinking to myself that my silent short wave radio would have provided more reliable service than the internet! Thanks again for sharing this recording. It’s one to keep! (Sandy Finlayson, swprograms via DXLD) Perhaps; unless there had been a solar flare, or you were stuck somewhere that shortwave couldn't be heard (i.e. inside a reinforced concrete building). Failures of Internet streaming and shortwave can somewhat be circumvented but not always. RC (Rich Cuff, ibid.) This is true. I was just struck by the fact that the BBCWS has been claiming for years that they didn't need shortwave because the internet was (almost) everywhere. And yet, in the suburbs of Philadelphia on a July morning in 2012, the BBC feed I was listening to sputtered several times. The BBC website now has a video of the last broadcast. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18810309 Does anyone here have the technology to record the video of this? SF (Sandy Finlayson, ibid.) Like the previous video, Real Player Downloader gives me: This clip is not available for download. You'd have to look for proxy servers or software to make the site think you're in the UK or some video download programme that can defeat the geolock they have put on the clip (Mike Barraclough, ibid.) Real player actually downloaded the commercial for me but not the actual video! SF (Finlayson, ibid.) The BBC World Service site is linking to this video. Is that how you came across the link, Sandy? If so I would have thought it should be accessible to a worldwide audience and if it is not either take the geolocking off or don't link to it from the BBC World Service site. Or am I getting a UK only version of their site? http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/institutional/bbc_world_service_80.shtml (Mike Barraclough, swprograms via DXLD) I did get the video to play but it won’t download using Real Player. All it downloaded was the commercial. SF (Finlayson, ibid.) The commercial software Replay Media Catcher works well with flash- formatted BBC audio and video. But I haven't tried it yet on the clip in question. RC (Rich Cuff, PA, ibid.) Video download links of BBC WS leaving BVSH HOVSE BBC director general bids farewell to Bush House [1 min 35s / 17.1 MB]: http://news.downloads.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/mps_h264_hi/public/news/uk/891000/891942_h264_1500k.mp4 BBC's Bush House departure 'memorable' - Mark Thompson [2 min 35s / 27.9 MB]: http://news.downloads.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/mps_h264_hi/public/news/uk/891000/891995_h264_1500k.mp4 BBC World Service leaves Bush House [1 min 30s / 16.3 MB]: http://news.downloads.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/mps_h264_hi/public/news/entertainment/892000/892045_h264_1500k.mp4 VIDEO OF THE ENTIRE FINAL NEWS BULLETIN - JULY 12,2012 1101-1106 GMT (BBC World Service signs off from Bush House) [5mn 7s / 55.2 MB]: http://news.downloads.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/mps_h264_hi/public/news/uk/892000/892145_h264_1500k.mp4 (Dragan Lekic, Serbia, July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I just listened to the 1100 UT News from the BBC in Bush House on 16 meters. The final broadcast from Bush House. From John Peel to John Wing, Brain of Britain to Rock Salad, From Just a Minute to the World Radio Club, Aloha my friend. In your studios great radio was created. (Brock Whaley, Kandahar, Afghanistan, ibid.) BBC WORLD SERVICE AIRS FINAL BROADCAST FROM BUSH HOUSE 12 July 2012 By Paul McNally http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=49645&c=1 The BBC World Service has today bid farewell to its central London home for more than 70 years, broadcasting its final news bulletin from Bush House. The global broadcaster has been moving its operations to a new state- of-the-art newsroom at an extended Broadcasting House in London's Oxford Circus, which will be shared with all of BBC News's London- based journalists. The final news bulletin from Bush House was read at midday and included a report narrated by the BBC's outgoing director general Mark Thompson. Thompson said: "I'd like to pay tribute to all those who made Bush House such an enduring beacon of truth and objectivity. "The World Service's London base may be changing but the BBC's commitment to serve our audiences around the world remains as strong as it's ever been." He said of the new Broadcasting House newsroom: "It's a gleaming new digital centre full of the latest technology and its own proud broadcasting heritage." The World Service has been broadcasting from Bush House, on London's Aldwych, since 1941. The lease on the building expires at the end of this year. The move to Broadcasting House will see all of the BBC's news services - UK and international - based together for the first time. The aim is to create "the world's newsroom" - enhancing the BBC's global newsgathering and creating a forum for the best journalism in the world (via Martin Gallas, IL, DXLD) BUSH HOUSE: BBC WORLD SERVICE MOVES HOME The BBC World Service has been synonymous with Bush House for 70 years, but on 12 July the news is broadcast from the building for the last time. Here Bogdan Frymorgen and Emma Crowe bid farewell in sound and pictures. Below, Anna Horsbrugh-Porter talks to a producer who first heard the BBC in a Soviet labour camp, and recalls letters from African listeners addressed to The Queen, c/o Bush House. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18801251 (via Mike Barraclough, July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Above includes a nice 3-minute B&W slide show (as a video). I am glad I got a personally guided tour of Bvsh Hovse on a visit to London long ago (Glenn Hauser, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fascinating feature just broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Today programme (Mike Terry, ibid.) Slide along to 2 hours 46: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01kkr40/Today_12_07_2012/ (Mike Barraclough, ibid.) 5 minutes long Sunday 15th July - Good Bye to Bush House BBC Radio 4, 1230-1300 UT (repeat of former Broadcast on BBC World Service -- Source Radio Times Page 121 of issue 14th to 20th July 2012) (Ken Fletcher, P-Code CH43, July 12, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) World Service History going cheap: http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showpost.php?p=59502650&postcount=24 (Mike Barraclough, swprograms via DXLD) THIS BUSH HOUSE NOSTALGIA IS PATHETIC – WE SHOULD REALLY WORRY ABOUT THE EMACIATED WORLD SERVICE – Telegraph Blogs Here's a contrarian view on the flurry of nostalgia surrounding the Bush House departure. Worth a read. RC http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/robcrilly/100170649/this-bush-house-nostalgia-is-pathetic-we-should-really-worry-about-the-emaciated-world-service/ (Rich Cuff, PA, July 12, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) I'd like to be able argue the point with him, but I really can't. He's far more right than wrong about what's happened to the WS (John Figliozzi, NY, internetradio mailing lisst via DXLD) I agree with him that we should be very concerned for the future of the BBCWS, but I also think it`s good to remember, celebrate and feel nostalgic for the WS's past. I don't see any conflict between these two things. SF (Sandy Finlayson, PA, ibid.) Another Look at the Last Bush House Broadcast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pshEQ0CX17Y Interesting that this feed did use Lillibulero (Sandy Finlayson, PA, swprograms via DXLD) At the risk of being accused of furthering nostalgia, J [an emoticon transformed] I thought I would draw attention to this program… http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00vyz58 (Sandy Finlayson, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) Viz: THE DOCUMENTARY --- ECHOES OF BUSH HOUSE Media : Listen now (26 minutes 30 seconds) Availability: Available to listen. Last broadcast on Friday, 00:32 on BBC World Service. Synopsis --- Episode image for Echoes Of Bush House As the BBC bids farewell to Bush House, home to the World Service for more than 70 years, this special programme charts the relationship between this iconic building and the broadcasts produced there. Originally designed for an Anglo-American trading company, Bush House has been a London landmark for generations and a place of pilgrimage for radio fans from across the globe. But few people know that this is the building that once saw a duel between staff of its language services or that this was the first part of the BBC to serve "proper" coffee. Join BBC historian Jean Seaton and architect Mark Hines as they enter Bush House under the impressive portico dedicated "To the Friendship of English Speaking Peoples" and take an audio journey through the corridors and stairwells, eavesdropping on some of the sounds and memories from key moments in the history of both the BBC World Service and of this very special building. (Image: BBC Bush House) Bush House Inside Out BBC World Service celebrated 80 years of international broadcasting with a special day of programmes live from the heart of Bush House Listen to the programmes http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/institutional/bbc_world_service_80.shtml [linx to many more programmes or segments previously aired] (via DXLD) Just so there's no misunderstanding , my remark supporting the rather sarcastic gentleman writing for a British newspaper was intended to support his view that the nostalgia should not be used to obscure the very real danger the entire WS enterprise finds it`s in. (Not that I'm at all sensitive about such things. ) I love the history and, frankly, maybe if some are given an opportunity to savor it and appreciate it, maybe, just maybe that will favorably inform subsequent decisions made and provide more favorable results in future in that regard. Keep 'em coming, Sandy! (John Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) Understood! I totally agreed with his concern for the future of BBCWS. But rather than poke fun as he did (not you John) at some of the emotion displayed on the World Service the last few days I totally understand it and don't think there's anything wrong with it. If that makes me a romantic, then so be it! (SF, ibid.) CRITICAL DISTANCE WEBLOG: GOODBYE TO BUSH HOUSE - COUNTDOWN CONTINUES http://www.criticaldistance.blogspot.ca/2012/07/goodbye-to-bush-house-countdown.html PLAYING DEVIL'S ADVOCATE IN THE ORCHESTRA OF CHANGE! Thursday, July 12, 2012 It's 1105 Greenwich Mean Time on July 12th 2012. A rather momentous moment for those of us in international broadcasting. For the last news bulletin has just been read from the studios of Bush House. It's the last human voice that will be heard from the building on the radio airwaves. The staff of the BBC World Service have been gradually leaving Bush House and move into its new home at BBC Broadcasting House at the Langham. There have been some tearful on-air farewells (Julian Marshall on Newshour on July 1st for instance). I can imagine why. Foreign language broadcasting builds strong families because of a common purpose. The walls of Bush House must have heard more stories than many hundreds of buildings in London put together. I saw an interesting article yesterday about how the contents of the studios are being sold off at auction. Some of the studios were quite new - others more like museum pieces. Pete Myers, with Dheera Sujan and Maggie Ayre. Took the picture in the garden of Radio Netherlands in 1993 http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03bW_CGgtr0/T_oAzn1CZMI/AAAAAAAAD6g/OGxZJe-F6bE/s1600/1-dheera-petemyers.jpg I was pleased that Newshour honoured the late Pete Myers by including his famous "Goooooood Morning Africa" call in their sign-off piece. I often thought he must have inspired Adrian Cronauer's famous call in Good Morning Vietnam, although, apparently, the film was largely fictitious. Pete later came to Radio Netherlands to start Afroscene and Mainstream Asia. I remember him showing me his scrapbook of newspaper cuttings compiled during his days in Ghana and at the BBC African Service. How quickly will the memories fade? I do wish the BBC World Service would compile one page with all the tributes to Bush House. I note that some of the programmes are already getting disconnected, appearing on different pages. And I'm sure that some will disappear forever as they descend to the bottom of archive. So, I've made an audio compilation of what I heard about Bush. I can hear a characteristic 50 Hz hum in the background to the documentary from John Tusa. But only on the bits that he voiced. They weren't doing much to maintain the studios in the last couple of years. Two videographers have made a superb video compilation of the now empty Bush House. They've used bits of the John Tusa documentary as a background. Beautiful - a great tribute. Shame it is not shareable. It should be, just this once. And that reminds me that Margaret Howard, a familiar voice on World Service in the 70's and 80's, also mentioned her work as a studio manager in Bush House. http://player.vimeo.com/video/12542380 (via Dan Say, BC, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) THE BBC WORLD SERVICE: A WORLD-CLASS INSTITUTION THAT MUST BE PRESERVED http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/13/bbc-world-service-lunacy-tyranny Another article on the BBCWS that is worth reading (Sandy Finlayson, PA, July 13, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) Towards the end of the summer <<<<< August [September? gh] we have an open weekend in London when many buildings are opened up for public visits. Last year I queued for about 2 hours with a lot of others for a guided tour of Bush House (knowing it would be the last time). We wandered the corridors and spent 15 minutes or so in one of the bigger studios. Everyone there, staff as well, were enjoying the nostalgia and sad to see the passing. The new wing at the other BH (Broadcasting House) looks very dramatic in the evening when walking up Regent St. Hopefully those that remain will soon get into the swing of it there (Paul Webster, internetradio via DXLD) BBCWS: WITNESS PROGRAMMES ABOUT BUSH HOUSE The BBC World Service website page on the Bush House closure links to one episode of Witness about Irving T Bush. There are in fact two episodes of Witness about Bush House. The second episode is about Bush House in wartime, with an interview with Lisa Hirsch who worked there at the time, including when it was hit by a German V1 bomb. Witness Irving T Bush, Builder of Bush House http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00v3xlc Witness, Bush House in Wartime http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00v3y0h (Mike Barraclough, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mike, The mention that BBC was in Bush House for 70 years sounds like they may have moved in in 1942. Is that correct? Is the actual date known? I'm curious because I was 70 on July 12, the day they ended programming there. ;-) (Dan Ferguson, SC, via Mike Barraclough, swprograms via DXLD) Dan, The BBC moved into Bush House early 1941. There's an interesting blog entry about the background to the move posted last Friday. http://davidboyle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/real-origins-of-bush-house.html (Mike Barraclough, ibid.) Viz.: THE REAL ORIGINS OF BUSH HOUSE Friday, 13 July 2012 So Bush House has shut up shop for the first time since 1941. Sad. But one thing you won't hear from the BBC is the true origins of the headquarters of the World Service, because it lies in a revolution against their authority at the height of the war. Frustrated by the bureaucracy of the BBC, the director of the BBC European Service led a kind of coup that made his broadcasts semi-independent of the BBC controllers. Noel Newsome was one of the most extraordinary broadcasters of the century. The BBC never forgave him, kicked him out after the war and never mention his name in the official histories of the period. He is a reminder that, the great days of BBC broadcasting - the voice of freedom from London broadcasting to occupied Europe - was actually done outside BBC control. In the first few weeks of 1941, Newsome forged an alliance with the diarist and junior information minister Harold Nicolson, whose concern was to keep propaganda outside the control of Hugh Dalton, the economic warfare minister. "We'll give you Kirk," Duff Cooper said to Newsome over lunch with Nicolson and, as part of the deal they hammered out, Noel was given as 'advisor' the senior Foreign Office official Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick. It would then be just a short step before Kirk took over completely as Controller (European). Avuncular and with a small black moustache - not completely different from Hitler's - Kirkpatrick was known to everybody as 'Kirk'. He was a diplomat's diplomat, and an expert on Germany: he had been Chamberlain's interpreter - much to Kirk' disgust - as he signed the Munich agreement in 1938. He was about to become the interrogator of Rudolf Hess, and, unlike his BBC predecessors, he was absolutely clear what he wanted. He embarked almost immediately on an enjoyable feud with Sir Stephen Tallents, who was then the BBC's rather distant Controller (Overseas), having made a name for himself as PR man first for the Empire Marketing Board and then for the Post Office. Kirk was a ruthless political operator, and by October Tallents was out. Kirkpatrick also saw his role as allowing Newsome to do what he wanted, pioneering his own form of propaganda at the BBC, which was primarily about culture, history and getting the truth out first. But the part of his job which lasted longest was finding Bush House, which had been built as the headquarters for the American advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, and which Kirkpatrick managed to requisition within a few days of his new role. The European Service was then based at the former ice-skating rink in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, which had a glass roof. So Newsome's assistant Alan Bullock (the future historian) was sent as an advance party to their new headquarters at Bush House. It was not a moment too soon: the Delaware Road studios took a direct hit a few weeks later. Once the European Service had arrived at Bush House, the maze of corridors and lifts were filled with nationals from every country in Europe, from all the countries which Hitler had invaded. In the labyrinthine corridors, Newsome presided over a miniature Tower of Babel gathered around the Bush House microphones, with all the bizarre disadvantages and petty irritations which that entailed - broadcasting on what was by then two networks for 24 hours a day. Upstairs was Dalton's Political Warfare Executive (PWE). Sitting in the vast canteen in the basement, open round the clock, you could catch a glimpse of Jan Masaryk, who would later exit from the first post-war government of Czechoslovakia through a Prague window in 1948, possibly at the hands of the communists. Or of Dick Crossman of PWE - known as 'Double Crossman' by European Service insiders - whose cabinet diaries so shook the establishment a generation later. Or of James Bond's creator Ian Fleming, waiting impatiently for his broadcast in German. Or Jacques Duchesne, already a French national hero for his popular European Service programme Les Francais Parlent Aux Francais. This was then the biggest broadcasting operation in the world. And drawing up in their taxis outside were an array of Europe's crowned, soon-to-be and almost crowned heads - General de Gaulle stooping out of the his car door, hotfoot from his headquarters in Carlton Gardens. Generals Sikorski or Montgomery, ushered in with uniformed assistants. Even occasionally Winston Churchill himself, pondering his radio diatribe in awkward French. They would arrive along the wide streets leading to the Aldwych, with its boarded up shop windows covered with imaginative murals, along the white painted kerbs for the black-outs, the missing stumps which used to be iron railings, and the posters for Wills Capstan Cigarettes. Or from the other direction, perhaps, past the shell of St Clement Danes church, bombed six times in the Blitz - its Rector died of grief, they said - and on its blackened walls a poster shouting 'HIT BACK with WAR SAVINGS and STOP THIS'. Then on past the newly-built Gaiety Theatre and the Aldwych underground station, where ENSA were playing concerts in the evening to entertain people sheltering from the raids. Or past the Aldwych Hotel, where senior European Service staff disappeared in the evenings for a quick drink, before returning to watch the hand over to the Night Shift at 8pm. This was Bush House, and in many ways you could say that it was the very beginning of the European Union, but that is another story. I'm sorry it has finally been handed back. See more in my tongue-in-cheek history of the BBC in Eminent Corporations. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eminent-Corporations-Great-British-Brands/dp/1849010498 Posted by Davidboyle at 11:36 (via DXLD) NEXT FOR THE CHOP - TV CENTRE Now that all BBC broadcasts from Bush House have ended, the next high- profile BBC building to be vacated is Television Centre. This will be empty by April next year. Various programmes are being moved out in stages. For example, all the radio production currently done in TVC will be in New Broadcasting House by the end of this year (Chris Greenway, July 13, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** U K. BBC WORLD SERVICE ANNUAL REPORT 2011-12 The Report has been published today at http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/annual_review/bbc_world_service_annual_review_2011_12.pdf tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/cud86df There's an interesting chart on page 50 which shows that almost as many people now listen to BBCWS via an FM partner station as via AM (MW or SW), and this does not include those who listen via one of the BBC's own FM relays (Chris Greenway, July 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I should have added this interesting quote from the report: "for the first time, television audiences this year overtook short wave in our global operations." (Greenway, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** U S A. PERSONNEL CHANGE ON "MUSIC TIME IN AFRICA" --- This is probably news only to me, but I just noticed today that Matthew Lavoie is no longer hosting the program "Music Time in Africa" on the VOA. It has been taken over by ethnomusicologist Heather Maxwell. She has revived the blog postings (African Music Treasures) and revised the show format somewhat as well. I enjoyed today's show very much. The last time I tuned in to the program (in June) it was a repeat of an old show, so it is nice to see that the new host is doing new shows for her listeners. [2000-2100 UT Sat & Sun, 15580 et al.] More details can be found here: http://blogs.voanews.com/african-music-treasures/2012/06/11/welcome-to-the-new-african-music-treasures/ (Scott Walker, New Cumberland PA, July 15, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) She has quite a CV ** U S A [non]. Frequency changes of IBB: Radio Liberty in Russian: 1400-1500 NF 15180 LAM 100 kW / 077 deg, ex 5970 1800-1900 NF 11760 LAM 100 kW / 055 deg, ex 6090 Radio Free Asia in Cantonese: 1400-1500 NF 11715 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg Mo/We/Fr, ex 12135 1400-1500 NF 12130 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg Tue/Thu, ex 12135 1400-1500 NF 12140 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg Sat/Sun, ex 12135 2200-2300 on 15320 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg Mon, x same Daily 2200-2300 NF 15350 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg Tue, ex 15320 2200-2300 NF 15360 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg Wed, ex 15320 2200-2300 NF 15370 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg Thu, ex 15320 2200-2300 NF 15385 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg Fri, ex 15320 2200-2300 NF 15290 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg Sat, ex 15320 2200-2300 NF 15305 TIN 250 kW / 280 deg Sun, ex 15320 Voice of America in Kinyarwanda/Kirundi: 0400-0430 NF 7225 SAO 100 kW / 100 deg, ex 6100 [from July 19 - Dan Ferguson, shortwavelistening yg] (DX Re Mix News, Bulgaria, July 17 via DXLD) ** U S A. 15470, July 13 at 1335, very good signal with tone test, open carrier and off 1336*, no doubt VOA Greenville testing prior to scheduled broadcast several hours later. [and non]. 13750, July 14 at 1204, I notice that VOA Spanish is missing from this frequency, and on 9885 I only hear jamming. But at 1205, 15590 is operational with the usual off-topic ``Música Country`` show, and so is 9885. Left a receiver on 13750 the rest of the hour, and it never came on, so one of the GB transmitters is down. 15590, however stayed on with open carrier until 1306:32* 9510, July 14 at 1229, only 50 kW, 285 degrees from the PHX site, VOA is concluding `American Café`, a show new to me, 1230 into `Press Conference USA`, a very old show. Why is it, searching the entire VOAnews.com website on ``American Café`` with or without the acute, I get only one generic hit on that phrase, not program title. But looking at the list of programs, I do find it: http://www.voanews.com/archive/american-cafe/latest/706/1440.html ``Join us at the American Café on the Voice of America. Every weekend, host David Byrd introduces you to stories from and about the United States of America - whether it's a topic making headlines, a discussion of new trends, or just sharing a slice of life as it's lived in the U.S. American Café provides you with just the right mix to keep you interested and informed. Join the conversation, by submitting questions and comments, via email, telephone, or through the post. Broadcast Schedule Friday @ 2305 UTC/GMT Saturday @ 0105, 0505, 1205, 1505, 1705, 2305 UTC/GMT Sunday @ 0305, 1405, 1905 UTC/GMT Listen to Our Latest Show MP3 | Windows Media`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non non]. WFED [1500] July 15, 2012, 0530 UT, surprised to hear VOA's "Issues In The News". Isn't this illegal? VOA programs directed to domestic listening. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, Manassas, VA USA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) We had a previous report of this on WFED. No, it`s not illegal, as long as the station initiates it and not VOA. And that goes for everything from VOA, as Kim Elliott has pointed out. Some domestic ethnic stations take VOA programs in their language (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** U S A. JULY BBG BOARD MEETING CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST By BBGWatcher on 12 July 2012 in Featured News, Hot Tub Blog How can anyone, particularly members of Congress, take the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) seriously when members of its bipartisan board, nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to run U.S. international broadcasting operations, simply refuse to work? BBG Watch has learned that the current seven members of the BBG board have decided to cancel their already scheduled July board meeting because not enough of them wanted to participate and they would not have a quorum. The board meeting was scheduled for July 24. The BBG's Governance Committee meeting, scheduled for the same day, was also cancelled, sources told BBG Watch. BBG members regularly miss their monthly and sometimes bimonthly meetings. Dana Perino, a Republican member, has not attended the last eight BBG open meetings. Others, with the exception of Ambassador Victor Ashe, Dennis Mulhaupt and Under Secretary of State Tara Sonenshine who recently has started to represent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have also missed meetings. BBG members are paid for the number of hours they work on international broadcasting matters. They are also reimbursed for travel, meals, and hotel expenses when they travel on BBG-related business. Because BBG members don't want to do their jobs, the agency is run by executive staffers who have been rated in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) employee opinion surveys as the worst managers in the federal government. They have proposed cuts in broadcasts to China and Tibet and have drafted legislative proposals that embarrassed the board and were rejected by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) has written a letter to the BBG Interim Presiding Governor Michael Lynton protesting the BBG plans to consolidate grantee broadcasters -- Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) -- as violating of Congressional intent. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has criticized the lack of transparency at the BBG. There are widespread reports of poor employee morale at the BBG, particularly at the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. There has been a widespread Congressional and public opposition to the plan to modify the Smith-Mundt Act to allow BBG officials to target Americans with government information programs. Yet none of these issues, including the latest controversy over a VOA official requesting the U.N. to review the press accreditation of an independent American journalist, will be dealt with by BBG members in an open meeting in July. They sometimes conduct meetings by telephone, but those are not televised and are not available for public review. Even these meetings are very rare. The U.S. Congress should take a close look at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, its executive staff, and how the agency operates. If BBG members don't want to work, they should not have accepted these important positions. It's a public institution in deep crisis. Something needs to be done to protect the very critical mission of communicating with the world from neglect and lack of leadership. SIGN A PETITION TO SAVE VOICE OF AMERICA to TIBET, CHINA and OTHER NATIONS WITHOUT FREE MEDIA http://www.change.org/petitions/save-voice-of-america-radio-to-tibet (BBG Watch blog via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. 25910/FM, WQGY434, Fort Worth TX (Dallas transmitter); studio relay for 820 WBAP; 1418-1425+, 12-July; Ben Ferguson talk show on mortgages; ad string for Dead Sea scrolls exhibition, political bash ad, Rodeo Capital of TX in Mesquite. Good peaks; // 25990 poor in hash. No KOA on 25950. Bits of audio on 25910 at 2117; nothing on 25990 (or 25950). (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 26110/FM KOVR-TV Sacramento CA is coming in around 1500. It's in/out but w/occasional, lengthy ins. Lotsa coverage of a water main break backing up hwy 99 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, July 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) While I was getting Canadian TV from the N/NNW, probably thru same Es path (gh, OK, DXLD) 26110/FM, KOVR-TV Sacramento CA studio relay; 1443-1514+, 18-July; Tune in to comedy show; beginning about 1458, Ken & Maryanne with lengthy coverage of a water main break, backing up traffic on hwy 99; Sacramento set a record low high temperature of 74 yesterday; spot for "CBS 13". Fair peaks with dropouts -- some lengthy. First time heard after many, many checks (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) After first reports from New Zealand ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1625 monitoring: confirmed Thursday July 12 on WTWW 9479: started before hourtop at 2059:50, cut away for canned ID in the middle of my opening, resumed rest of show intact; usual excellent signal here, despite blackouts restricting most signals further away than Tennessee. In fact, this and WWCR 9980 were the OSOB. The latter should be signing off at 2100, per own program schedule. WOR 1625 also confirmed UT Friday July 13 starting at 0329 on WWRB 5050. I didn`t tune in early enough to time how much of a respectful pause there was before me this week, but did hear at least several seconds of open carrier first. Further airings: UT Sat 0130v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB UT Sat 0630 on Hamburger Lokalradio, Germany, 7265 (low power; not confirmed but has appeared the past two weeks) UT Sun 0400 on WTWW 5755 WRMI 9955: Sat 0800, 1500, 1730, Sun 0800, 1530, 1730, Mon 0500, 1130 WRN via SiriusXM 120: Sat & Sun 1730, Sun 0830. Full schedule: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WORLD OF RADIO 1625 monitoring: confirmed on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v- CUSB, UT Saturday July 14 from 0130. WRMI 9955 times: Saturday 1730, Sunday 0800, 1530, 1730, Monday 0500, 1130. WTWW 5755: UT Sunday 0400 Also on WRN via SiriusXM 120: Sat & Sun 1730, Sun 0830 WORLD OF RADIO 1626: completed late UT July 18. Presumably aired first on WRMI 9955 at 0330 UT Thursday July 19; repeats there are Sat 0800, 1500, 1730, Sun 0800, 1530, 1730, Mon 0500, 1130. Also: Thu 2100 on WTWW 9479 UT Fri 0330v on WWRB 5050 UT Sat 0130v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB UT Sun 0400 on WTWW 5755 Also on WRN via SiriusXM 120, Sat & Sun 1730, Sun 0830 Complete schedule including many more webcasts: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WTWW Transmitter 2 tour 7 minute video posted to YouTube July 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc8tFYhX1jI (Mike Barraclough, July 13, dxldyg via DXLD) George McClintock has just posted a new 7+ minute high-quality video tour of the newest WTWW transmitter, #2, which is yet to go into full service on 9990, 5085, at the top of this page: http://wtww.us/pages/transmitters.php 12105, July 13 at 1244, WTWW is on in Russian, which has long been on their posted schedule for 12-15 but not really in effect until now. Slowly and clearly spoken, mentioning Yesus, Yersualem, Bible stories, or dramatic readings from the Bible, but no chapters or verses cited. Either one reader changing his voice or a second reader at times; also with SFX such as crowd noises, some music. Initially there is CCI from a weaker signal producing a fast SAH, but that stops at 1259. However, KSDA northwestward from Guam is scheduled 11-15 in Mandarin. Maybe the 13+ portion is currently off for antenna work? There would be no such collision if WTWW had been allowed to stay on its initial frequency, 12100, where no other broadcaster is ever scheduled. Next check at 1540, WTWW has switched to Arabible, also with some music, nominally scheduled 15-18, and still heard at 1728, tho recently has extended way past 1800. 12105, following up previous July 13 WTWW report: still in Arabic at 1905, and 1959 past 2000, but at 2002 pause and English ID by Ted Randall with reverent music, saying ``daily broadcasting the word of God to the entire world in ten different languages`` and then into French. I assume that announcement is ``forward-looking`` since we only know of six, tho seven are on the website schedule; not sure I have ever caught them in German. Rather, I think I have heard Portuguese in our afternoon, not just in the Brazilian nightmiddle. WTWW just started the Russian segment, and as noted, Arabic really runs from 15 to 20, while 12105 is off the air from 05 to 12 UT. And Central time probably rules, which means the +6 UT conversion below applies to winter, not summer; they can`t both be correct now: ``Transmitter 3 Scripture readings 12.105 Mhz New schedule to start shortly: Central UTC 6 - 9 am Russian 1200 - 1500 9 - 12 noon Arabic 1500 - 1800 12 - 3pm French 1800 - 2100 3 - 6pm German 2100 - 0000 6 - 9pm Spanish 0000 - 0400 9 - 12 midn Portuguese 0400 - 0600 12MN - 3am English 0600 - 0900 3 - 6am English 0900 - 1200`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5755, WTWW, small 2 kHz audio, rough voice quality (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, heard 08-10 UT July 15 in Europe, USA, and Australia on remote gear, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 12105, July 18 at 1228, Russian service of WTWW-3 is gone again, just something weak in Chinese, no doubt AWR which is on here from 11 to 16 via Guam or Sri Lanka. Ditto at 1301, 1319. Still nothing from WTWW at next check 1459-1501+, just CODAR pulses at the rate of exactly two per second (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9330-CUSB, July 13 at 0517, WBCQ lost GFRN programming again, open carrier, and still so at next check 1050. By 1238 it had resumed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VIAJE DE RUBEN GUILLERMO MARGENET A EE.UU. «Un viejo anhelo mío era conocer los estudios de WRMI Radio Miami Internacional y volver a encontrarme, después de 13 años...» Así comienza el primer relato de Rubén, con motivo de su reciente visita a los Estados Unidos de América. Lo hemos dividido en cuatro partes, que se han emitido en el programa VIVA MIAMI de WRMI y que nos cuenta, junto con cuatro grabaciones, todo el recorrido y las diversas visitas que realizó a los Estudios de WRMI (Radio Miami Internacional), la visita a VOA (La Voz de América), también visitó WYFR (Family Radio) y un pormenorizado recorrido por las diferentes emisoras de AM y OC que emiten en español y se escuchan desde Wáshington. Al final de cada página encontrarán los enlaces para escuchar o descargar los audios de cada relato. También está disponible un enlace que nos lleva a una página con las fotografías de este viaje. Desde aquí pueden acceder: http://programasdx.com/vivamiami/primera.htm http://programasdx.com/vivamiami/segunda.htm http://programasdx.com/vivamiami/tercera.htm http://programasdx.com/vivamiami/cuarta.htm http://programasdx.com/fotografias/index.htm Página de Viva Miami: http://programasdx.com/vivamiami.htm Que los disfruten. Cordiales 73 (José Bueno, Spain, July 12, condiglist yg via DXLD) En el horario de las 0145 UT por 9955 kHz, Radio Nacional de Venezuela hasta ahora las 0155 ?alguien sabe algo de esto? Ahora hay partes en inglés, mencionan Radio Caracas (Ernesto Paulero, condiglist yg via DXLD) Será el programa bilingue de Jeff, Viva Miami, según su horario a las 0145 de los domingos TU. También en WRMI hay Acontecer Venezolano, igualmente nada que ver con Radio Nacional de Venezuela, media hora antes y demás. 73, (Guillermo Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Aquí la respuesta de Jeff referente a la inquietud de Ernesto Paulero. Saludos y buen domingo (muy frío en el cono sur de América) RGM Hola Rubén. Lo que el amigo Ernesto estaba escuchando fue un programa que nosotros transmitimos. En la edición de Wavescan del pasado domingo (y repetido varias veces esta semana) yo hice un segmento especial de aproximadamente 15 minutos sobre los medios de comunicación en Venezuela. También hice una versión similar para Viva Miami que comenzó el viernes y se transmite varias veces hasta el próximo viernes. El segmento es en inglés, pero con muchas grabaciones de emisoras venezolanas incluyendo Radio Nacional de Venezuela. Muchos saludos de nosotros! Jeff White (via Ruben Guillermo Margenet, ibid.) ** U S A. 7506+, July 12 at 0253 check, WRNO Worldwide is managing to modulate again instead of dead air the last few nights, preaching in progress. I compare the het pitches produced on the YB-400 by tuning BFO to 7506.0 and 7507.0. Below 7507, it`s close to E-flat above hi C, and above 7506 it`s right on F above middle C from my keyboard (whose calibration has not been confirmed). Per the equal-tempered scale based on A = 440 at http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html the carrier is 349 Hz above 7506, and 622 Hz below 7507, so with margin of error it`s somewhere between 7506.35 and 7506.38. Such an exercise is a lot more fun than axually listening to the gospel huxter; tnx, WRNO for possiblizing this by your illegal beyond- tolerance off-frequency operation subject to FCC notice of violation 7506+, July 13 at 0520, open carrier, only fair signal, but typical offset of WRNO which must have left the transmitter on after 0400, before which I did not confirm this date whether they had managed to modulate. Not heard at next check 1050. 7506+, July 15 at 0240, WRNO is on with very good signal and modulation from gospel huxter; as usual still way off-frequency far beyond FCC`s legal tolerance. 7506+, July 16 at 0150 check, WRNO has resumed transmitting dead air Worldwide (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WRNO 7506 - Now With Audio --- 7/17 0120, WRNO presumed on 7506 with religious program, low audio, distorted. But definitely not dead air at this hour. And it switched to dead air by 0128 recheck (Gerry Bishop, West Florida, UT July 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) At 0300-0306 WRNO at 7505 is back on with audio. I am 190 miles from New Orleans and it comes in as ground wave, so sometimes it fades in and out. I don't know what part of West FL you are in but if you are closer to Pensacola it will fade in and out. I also get that with WEWN out of Birmingham also since Birmingham is at least 190-200 miles as the crow flies (Richard Lewis, Forest, MS, Kaito KA-1103, ibid.) Richard, I remain unconvinced that your reception of WRNO on 7.5 MHz at that distance is groundwave, rather than ionospheric backscatter or some near-vertical incidence direct ionospheric propagation. Unlike me, perhaps others have experience with 7.5 MHz high-power signals at similar distances? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I hear various WYFR transmissions on 6 and 7 MHz from a little over 100 miles (Clearwater to just north of Lake Okee). Certainly the same propagation as Glenn suggests, not ground. (Terry Krueger, FL, ibid.) WRNO 7506 with poor signal/deep fades into Houston at a 0315 check July 17. Man talking, pretty much unlistenable. Modulation seems low, although there are some bursts at what would seem to be almost normal level. My QTH is 330 miles (530 km) west of New Orleans (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 0411 July 16, strong OC on 7506.4 (Harold Frodge, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7506.4, July 18 at 0325, WRNO with VG strength but music has a lot of distortion and still way off-frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have been trying to take a drive to the transmitter site as it is about 15 miles from my house. It has been about 20 years since I first came across the site. I stopped to look at the antenna and the engineer came out and we talked. He turned out to be a ham that I had worked many time on six meters from Chicago area both on MS and E's. The station changed hands later and he left the job. As I remember it was a 100 kW originally but I maybe wrong. Somebody built a house about 100 feet or so from the end of the antenna and then sued the radio station and of course they lost the case as the station was there first. I remember hearing WRNO WW when is was simo with the FM side. Great signal in Chicago area at night (Tom Miller, AC5TM, Flex 5000 (in for repair lightning damage) ICOM 756PII StepIR Big IR and G5RV, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Second puzzle. Some time ago, about a year to be exact, I heard an oddball station on 2390 MHz. This was before the Square Peg began, or I would have mentioned it before. Just remembered it and checked the logging. I suspect it was some kind of Pirate outfit for the following reasons. The content was a rather virulent anti US government rant and lasted about half an hour. Fairly good signal too. They were there for a week or three and nothing since. Details are 2390 MHz, 0430 UT and ID'd as Air Command Radio. Odd thing was that on one occasion at the end of the rant there was a brief silence followed by a dial tone and then a phone operator asking if the call was finished. A guess: Was it phoned from somewhere in the weeds to another party with transmitting equipment? It was the kind of stuff you might expect from one of the militia type groups. Has anyone else heard them at any time? (Alan Rayment, Nelson, BC V1L 6N2, The Square Peg, July CIDX Messenger via DXLD) I guess you mean 2390 kHz, 120 meter band SW, not something on MHz UHF? What you heard sounds like some typical programming broadcast by WWCR and WWRB, among other licensed US SW stations. WWCR in Nashville used 2390 for a while several years ago, but last summer and still this summer, WWRB in Morrison TN is registered on that frequency at any time between 2200 and 1300 UT. I was not aware they had actually used it, but this may have been an experiment. If you hear it again, see if it matches 5050 kHz or one of their webstreams. In fact, Air Command Radio is a now program on the WWRB 5050 schedule, UT Mondays at 0300-0400: http://www.wwrb.org/schedule/global_1/combined.pdf I believe I checked it out once, not sure what it was about, until I found it was militia Glenn Hauser (to Alan via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 13570, July 14 at 1204, WINB is missing tho Vatican / Sackville 13730 is well audible. It was on by 1359. That`s to be expected as the Saturday schedules shows a start at 1245, unlike 1200 on weekdays with Brother Scare, and much earlier on Sundays. Program schedule now at http://www.winb.com/schedule.htm is dated effective July 22! Anticipatory, or did they mean June 22? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 11715.16, KJES Vado NM (presumed); 1425, 11-July; English robo-kid (just one) repeating sentences where Jahweh is. SIO=3+43+ with drone QRM & hint of co-channel, nothing else on at that time in the lists (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) Careful! KJES already got cited by FCC for being too far off- frequency. The official tolerance is .0015%, which at 11715 amounts to plus or minus 175.725 Hz. This is far too lax in the real world of HF worldwide co-channel interference and audible heterodynes, but on 11715, KJES usually is in luck with nothing else active during its span, to make it obvious that it`s strayed. Is the .0015% the same as on mediumwave? At 1700 kHz, that would be only 25 Hz; at 540 kHz, only 8 Hz, and such deviations are not unusual on US stations. In fact the hugely fading interference we hear on just about any MW channel at night is not due to propagation but to all the stations being on slightly different frequencies. The allowed deviation ought to be flat across a given spectrum slice, not as a percentage (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15550/USB, WJHR Milton FL; 2125-2132+, 12-July; Olde timey English Bible huxterage & hymns. SIO=3+53+ with tinny audio; tough to home in, but seems to center about 15550.07 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. ASCENSION: 15195, Family Radio; 2021-2028+, 6-July; Harold droning from the Bible; 2023-2028 Beyond Intelligent Design, a Family Radio science & creation feature. A few pearls included: Naturalism is a disease and creationism is the cure. The theory of evolution will be one of the greatest jokes in the history books. Living cells don't have "Made by God" imprinted on them, but that's not the point. Also worked in a dig at "the ruling elite" (didn't specify who they are). SIO=353. No QRM, but causing a problem for Radio Inconfidência (presumed) on 15191.5 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11829.98, FRENCH GUIANA, WYFR, Montsinéry, 2354-0000* July 13, 2012. Very good signal level with Braso-Portuguese male preacher, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” instrumental filler at closing of the canned program, and -- just like yesterday -- transmitter abruptly cut at 0000. WAFWHIJ didn't seem to be the same version WYFR uses, but: Gerry Bishop in Ft. Walton Beach followed up on my log, and reports (July 14): “I’m hearing a program now, ending, at 2359, with WYFR’s IS music. Aoki does have them in Portuguese, and pulling the plug at 0000, on 11830, French Guiana.” So, my hoping this was Rádio Daqui, Goiânia, Goiás is probably a not (Terry Krueger, Clearwater, FL. Abridged pile of antiquated junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Can`t confuse with 15190 Inconfidência any more, so WYFR got to usurp some other Brazilian frequency. See BRAZIL for previous log and another one who thought it was Brasil on 11830. HFCC shows 22-24 YFR via GUF in ``PorEng`` but Aoki shows both hours in Portuguese (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Dallas Talk Show Shuffles --- In addition to Mark Davis moving from WBAP 820 to KSKY 660, Laura Ingraham has moved from WBAP 820 to KFXR 1190 at the horrid hours of 5 to 7:30 AM [CDT]. Glenn Beck's website has Beck on KFXR 1190 from 11 AM to 1 PM (formerly on KLIF 570), but that is not reflected at the station's website (David R Block, TX, July 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Daytimer 810 WQIZ St. George-Charleston, South Carolina, has been operating overtime. First noted last night, JUL 16 0300 UT, with EWTN in English presumed from Puerto Rico, but got an ID tonight at 0300 over WGY (Bruce Conti, NH, http://www.bamlog.com July 16, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) I fixed it. for the past 2 days we had severe Thunderstorms that knocked out the power long enough to time out the UPS the Sine Remote is on. Thanks to Paul for letting me know as I cannot hear ANY Medium Wave due to a Neighbor's Plasma TV. 73, (Kevin Raper, KJ4HYD, CE WCKI WQIZ WLTQ ABDX via DXLD) But how could there be a program feed into it in such a case? (gh) ** U S A. 1430 AM, 1100 to 1115 UT, Location unknown. US AM Station relaying BBC broadcasts, this one the popular news-talk program "World Have Your Say". Reception fair to good after I walked back into house and into my bedroom. If anyone in the group can tell me where this AM station (perhaps a public radio station) is broadcasting from, inform me. I have heard this station numerous times during the winter months (J K Johnson, Atlanta, GA, July 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The only station which meets these parameters is WPLN, Nashville. It's a good catch near ATL, or they're not switching to night time power. -- (Stan W. Baker, Austin, Texas, ibid.) I agree it must be WPLN. NRC pattern book shows its predecessor in Nashville as non-direxional daytime, somewhat nulled toward Atlanta nighttime with most of signal going southwest. Current FCC AM Query has better look at pattern, not a sharp null at all toward Atlanta, and anyhow official sunrise in July at Madison TN is 1045 UT so would be on 15 kW day power and pattern already (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I Goolged WPLN and yes, it is a public radio station located in Nashville, TN. It's on AM 1430 (NPR Daytime/BBC Overnight), FM 90.3 (NPR/CBC), 91.1(Classical), and FM-HD 90.3 (News). Thank you very much (J K Johnson, ibid.) ** U S A. WBCP AM 1580 Urbana, Illinois --- Once again, this station is displaying their usual technical standards, or lack thereof. For the past couple of weeks, in addition to the horrid sound quality they always have (think tin can and string telephone), the transmitter malfuctions and is pulsing at an irregular (but fairly quick) rate on and off. This seems to calm down when the temperature drops. It is unlistenable; either everyone listens to it online (which still works) or no one does at all. I'm thinking that someone with the right software could probably detect it, as it is now something along the line of a CW signal (Curtis Sadowski, Paxton, Illinois, July 16, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) Hi Curtis, When they stabilize a few times during the day, they seem to be running at the 6-watt nighttime authority. A listenable signal gets out about 8 miles. The transmitter behaves almost like it has a bad lightning detection system (we're in the worst drought since 1988, not much real lightening). Their 4-wire folded unipole on the WLRW-FM tower may have some serious impedance issues. The 135-watt day rig hasn't been on since late May. The live announcers soldier on during the regular weekday schedule, presumably for the web listeners. I can't imagine anyone is listening to the OTA signal. They ought to turn this thing off and file an STA to go silent until they can fix the audio chain and the transmitter (Steve Branch, Savoy, IL, ibid.) Hi Steve, I can sort of hear the station here in Paxton during the day; at night it's overpowered by skip. Of course, skip now overpowers them at night in Champaign, but that's a different story. It used to be that they ran full power all the time. When they did that, I could pick them up on a crystal set at night. BTW, I stumbled on one bit of trivia the other day - at 135 Watts, WBCP is the lowest powered daytime signal in the United States. I figured that since they are the African-American station in this area, they were only interested in reaching Champaign-Urbana and Rantoul (which is where the audience they wanted is at) so they decided not to bother with keeping the original power they had been licensed for (Curtis Sadowski, Paxton, Illinois, ibid.) The reason for the low power is an unusually efficient antenna (at least, a *theoretically* unusually efficient antenna...). They're shunt-feeding the WLRW-FM tower, which is 238 degrees in electrical height. (360 is one wavelength.) At 1580, the minimum antenna height is about 58m; WBCP is using a 130m tower. Class D stations like WBCP are required to operate at at least 250 watts daytime, *or* with a radiated field of at least 141 mV/m. That field can be accomplished at lower power if the antenna is more efficient. WBCP's application claims a radiated field of 158 mV/m. Looking at the exhibits, their coverage with the original antenna at 250 watts, and with the new one at 135 watts, are essentially identical (but again, we're talking about *theoretical* numbers here, it is very possible the numbers on the ground are different!) – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) ** U S A. 1590, July 15 at 0504 UT, trying for the WGBW bihour DX test from Wisconsin, I think I hear some Morse code, but very heavy QRM on 1590, and from KATZ 1600 IBOC, always a problem on 1590 and moreso 1610. Several other chex in next half-sesquihour, such as 0520-0524 and finally 0552 were unproductive, with 1590 dominated by a sports- talk station. However, Tom Jasinski, much closer in Joliet IL, reported WGBW to the IRCA list: ``At 0004 CDT WGBW noted with tone, code and EBS alert noise`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Listened 0455-0705 UT July 15, 2012. Only able to hear sweep tones and WGBW in morse code. Terrible QRM from WAKR, WFBR, WKTP and an unID station with ESPN radio also on 1590 kHz. Emailed report to Mark Heller, CE of WGBW. He confirmed I did hear the WGBW DX Test and also wrote "Conditions were terrible, at the beginning, and settled down a bit. We were only on for an hour and five minutes, as we got our work done, ahead of schedule." 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, Manassas, VA USA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I sent an e-mail to Mark Heller at WGBW, and got this quick response. (Jim Renfrew, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) viz.: Hi Jim: Great to hear from you! We've been hearing from a lot of NY DXers, since this morning's test. We only ran one hour and five minutes, as we got our project completed, ahead of schedule. Your description is correct. Watch your mail, in the coming days. Best wishes, Mark Heller, WGBW Radio, Denmark-Green Bay, WI wgbw@lsol.net (via Jim Renfrew, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) For the record only, the WGBW test did not make it Florida. Thanks to all for running the test, better luck next time (Gerry Bishop, West Florida, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1590, FLORIDA, WPSL, Port St. Lucie. 0745 July 15, 2012. St. Lucie Jewelry & Coins and other local ads, ESPN Radio promo, “ESPN 1590, WPSL, The Talk of the Treasure Coast” and back into net feed feature on a Moroccan training for the Olympics. Fair-good with my local, WRXB, St. Pete Beach partially nulled. Surely not really on their listed night 63 watts (Terry Krueger, Clearwater, FL. Abridged pile of antiquated junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF- 7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Some of the Worst Crooks I have ever worked for and got screwed by were so-called "Christian" Radio Stations. They burned me bad. But I will say that Catholic Radio in South Carolina is the very first and ONLY Group of stations where the Staff and Management actually ACT like Real Christians and treat me better than any other place I have ever worked. That means more to me than any amount of Money. Perhaps the WEEC Staff should look at a Move to Sacred Heart Radio, Catholic Radio in Ohio http://www.sacredheartradio.com/ 73, (Kevin Raper, KJ4HYD, CE WCKI WQIZ WLTQ, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. FRANKEN FMs --- To clarify: 87.9 is a legitimate channel in the US for FM broadcasting, but its use is severely restricted, and as a result there are just two licensed stations using that channel. Unless you're hearing KSFH in northern California or translator K200AA in Reno, anything you are hearing on 87.9 in the US is a pirate. 87.7 is not a legitimate channel in the US for FM broadcasting, period. It is in the spectrum occupied by TV channel 6. All "FM stations" being heard on 87.75 (or 87.74 or 87.76) are so- called "Franken-FMs": they are ALL licensed as low-power analog TV stations on channel 6, and they're on that offset frequency because that's the aural carrier frequency for TV channel 6. I would count any of them as TV stations if I were counting them. At least in theory, those analog channel 6 operations now have a drop- dead date in late 2015. We'll see if the FCC extends that or not. s (Scott Fybush, NY, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. There are a lot of different Spanish pirates that pop up with transmitters. We have found in our area, that the people who run internet radio stations (in the NYC area) supply the transmitter equipment and a computer to someone locally. The local person then sets up the equipment on their house, broadcasts the internet radio station feed. They are receiving a monthly fee from the people who run the internet based radio station. These pirates are in many areas and when they are discovered and addressed by the FCC, they move on to another location and frequency. They are especially prevalent in metropolitan areas which have a fairly large concentration of Spanish speaking people. If you come across the websites of these internet radio stations, they often list various transmitters in different communities which carry their webstream based programming. Almost all of them that I have seen on these websites are pirates. They list them on the website and assume that no one will even come across the information who would use it to track down these pirate transmitters (Bob Seaman, WTFDA via DXLD) One of my favorite "FM" stations in Anchorage was KNIK 87.7. They supposedly transmitted a video signal of their studio on channel 6 but I was never able to see it. Even drove to a point close to the transmitter with a portable TV set but nothing showed up on channel 6. Their audio ID was for KNIK-FM, but on occasion mentioned KNIK-LP. Sure would like to get one of these via skip (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, ibid.) ** U S A. FM STATION DROPS LOW-RATED ALL-NEWS FORMAT FOR ADULT HIT MUSIC - CHICAGO BY EMILY MORRIS Staff Reporter July 17, 2012 12:34PM Updated: July 17, 2012 9:43PM http://www.suntimes.com/business/13831744-420/q101-drops-all-news-format-for-adult-hits-music.html The music is back at the radio station that for years was alternative rocker Q101 and less than a year ago became an all-news FM station. Now WIQI-FM (101.1) is playing throwback adult hits. In late July, Merlin Media, controlled by former Tribune CEO Randy Michaels and private equity firm GTCR, switched the format of WKQX-FM (101.1), shutting off the music, turning to 24-hour news and hiring a local news staff. Those staffers lost their jobs Tuesday morning when the station switched back to the FM music scene with an “adult music” lineup and changed its slogan from News 101 to i101. It promises to play such throwbacks as Alanis Morissette, Britney Spears and ’N Sync. On its website, the station claims to be packed with “stuff from the ’90s, stuff from the 2000s and some stuff that doesn’t make sense at all!” WIQI didn’t fare well in the radio market, earning only a 0.3 percent share of listeners last month, according to Arbitron ratings. By comparison, all-news WBBM-AM (780) drew 4.3 percent, and WGN-AM (720) took 3.9 percent. “It was a difficult decision to make, but after a year of minimal audience engagement, coupled with the format’s inherent expense, I felt it was time to make a change,” Michaels said in a statement. About 25 to 30 Chicago journalists were laid off from the company Monday, according to sources who declined to be named. John Gehron, chairman of the advisory board of Merlin Media in Chicago, would not release numbers but said a majority of the employees at the station were laid off. Charlie Meyerson, who left WGN Radio in 2011 to report primarily on local politics as News 101’s Chicago bureau chief, found out Tuesday he lost his job. Though he said the rumor mill had been churning out speculation that the company was planning layoffs, “I think a lot of people were surprised,” said Meyerson, especially about the job cuts and the complete transformation of the station’s content. Gehron said the company hopes the new pop lineup draws women ages 25 to 44, a lucrative audience from an advertising standpoint. At the time the station switched to the news format, Michaels said: “My favorite format has always been spoken radio. I’ve long had a nostalgic love affair with the big AM stations known for the format, and today — as music moves to the iPod — it’s time for spoken word to move to FM. I’m proud to be part of Chicago’s only 24-hour all-news station.” The attempt to be the only all-news FM station was knocked out when, just as Merlin was adopting the format, WBBM-AM (780) announced it was giving news listeners an FM option. It dropped its adult contemporary music format on WCFS-FM (105.9) to simulcast WBBM’s 24-news cycle there. Now, the new 101.1 music station faces competition from similar stations such as 101.9 “The Mix,” 93.9 “Lite FM” and 103.5 “Kiss FM.” Merlin Media also switched its FM News 101.9 in New York to New Rock 101.9 (via Kevin Redding, July 17, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. BREAKING NEWS: House Bill Contains Language that Ends Federal Funding for Public Radio & TV On Tuesday morning, July 17th, the House Appropriations Committee released its draft fiscal year 2013 Labor, Health and Human Services bill, which will be considered in subcommittee on Wednesday, July 18th. THE BILL SIGNALS A PHASE-OUT OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. It contains a 25% rescission for FY 2013 (which begins Oct 1, 2012) and a 50% rescission for FY 2014. The subcommittee also seeks to terminate the special two-year advance funding process for public broadcasting that has served for more than four decades as a "firewall" from political interference in programming. Funding cuts of this magnitude will severely disrupt the programming and community service of hundreds of stations, including WUOT. It is critical that members of the U.S. House of Representatives hear from YOU that this bill would be devastating to your community's radio and television stations. More than 34 million people rely on public radio stations every week for fact-based, independent news they can trust, for civic and civil dialogue and for music and cultural programming that can't be found anywhere else. Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee has already passed their version of the bill keeping 2013 and 2014 intact and providing full funding for FY2015. Eventually, the two bodies will go to a Conference Committee to resolve these very significant differences. If you want your voice to be heard, NOW IS THE TIME to contact your Congressman - THE SUBCOMMITTEE IS MEETING WEDNESDAY, JULY 18TH TO DISCUSS THIS ISSUE. More information at 170 Million Americans. http://170millionamericans.org/ (WUOT mailing list via DXLD) TAKE ACTION: A DISASTROUS BILL ELIMINATING FUNDING FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 18, the powerful House Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee will meet to recommend funding for public broadcasting stations. Draft recommendations were released earlier today proposing a phased elimination of all federal funding for America’s local public television and radio stations. We need your help TODAY! Yesterday, we asked advocates of 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting to call their Members of Congress who sit on this subcommittee. Today, we’re asking all advocates of 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting to call every Member of Congress to ask for their help in keeping this legislation from becoming law. What would the bill do? • The bill phases-out federal funding for Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), including: Rescinding roughly 25% (or $111 million) for FY 2013 and 50% (or $222 million) for FY 2014 for public radio and television stations. Ending the special two-year advance funding process for public broadcasting that has served for more than four decades as a “firewall” from political interference in programming. • The bill prohibits stations from using any federal funding to pay dues, acquire programming such as Morning Edition and Car Talk or otherwise support NPR. • The bill provides no funding for Ready to Learn, a public television service that builds the reading skills of children between the ages of 2-8, especially those from low-income families. What you can do? • Tomorrow at 10 a.m. EDT, the House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee will meet to finalize this disastrous legislation. Please call [YOUR CONGRESSPERSON] TODAY. Here are talking points you can use when leaving a message: • I am very disappointed to learn of the cuts proposed to local public broadcasting stations in the recently released House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations Draft bill. • The bill phases-out federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), including rescissions of roughly 25% (or $111 million) for FY 2013 and 50% (or $222 million) for FY 2014 for public radio and television stations. • The House Subcommittee also seeks to terminate the special two-year advance funding process for public broadcasting that has served for more than four decades as a “firewall” from political interference in programming. • These cuts would drastically affect the services my local stations provides in our community. • This proposal flies in the face of the will of the American people, who routinely rank public broadcasting as one of the best investments the federal government makes and who overwhelmingly support our work and our public service mission, across the ideological spectrum. • Public broadcasting funding has already been cut by 13 percent over the past two fiscal years. • But the House Labor-H proposal to eliminate public broadcasting funding entirely would mean the end of public broadcasting in America, as reports from the Government Accountability Office found in 2007 and as the Labor-H Subcommittee requested report last year concluded. • This would be particularly devastating to many rural public broadcasting stations, which are often the only local media outlets in their communities. These cuts would force many such stations to close. • Placing restrictions on how locally controlled stations program for their audiences substitutes congressional decision-making for local control. NPR programs are key to helping stations increasing local audiences and raising private sector funds from listeners and businesses in their communities. Loss of audience will mean the loss of local funds, which translates into less locally news, information and cultural programming. • We are grateful that the Senate Appropriations Committee has already recommended level funding of $445 million for public broadcasting and that the President has made the same recommendation in his current budget proposal. • We hope the final FY 2013 appropriations bill recognizes the tremendous value public broadcasting provides our community, and as such, provides public broadcasting with continued federal funding to help carry out this invaluable mission. Glenn, please let Rep. Frank D. Lucas know how important public broadcasting and its programs in the Labor-HHS bill are to you and your local community. Thank you for your continued support and for speaking up on behalf of public broadcasting! Stacey Karp and Lisa Radzak 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting 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 (via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. 7295.0, July 15 at 0536, loud & clear AM signal with very good modulation from W0VMC, ``voice modulated carrier``, over to a much weaker AM-er, W6? ARRL FCC lookup shows W0VMC is Robert M Smith in New Richmond WI (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. South American TV Es --- The Es tonight gave me around 2 minutes of video from Venevision on ch 4. They had a comedy that looked like Ugly Betty around 6:30 pm with the Venevision logo on and off the upper left side of the screen. I'll post the video on YouTube later on. 2160 miles. Ch 3 had the VEN siren on the scanner strong but video was mainly CCI as there was someone else dead on 61.250 almost all of the time. Toward the end the siren left and I did get some video. I still have to look for it to see if there are any clues as to who it was. Ch 2 and 4 were trashed most of the time. Ch 5 came up weakly but no IDs although Jeff R got one really nice logging on 5. I could go for more of this (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, July 16, WTFDA via DXLD) Video of Maracaibo Ch 4, VEN yesterday at 6:30pm http://youtu.be/jjKv44HrY0s Venevisión logo is in the upper left corner half way through the video. Shows up best during the last third of the video. Heard around 6:30 last evening. 2160 miles. Equipment: Winegard VHF antenna at 13 feet agl. Analog TV card with SAA7130 chipset, dScaler for noise reduction, Jurgen Bartel's TV Controller for unlocking the vert and horiz sync (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, July 17, ibid.) Date on clip then should be 7/16, not 7/17 (gh) ** VIETNAM. 7906-USB, Ho Chi Minh Radio, Vietnam Coast Radio Station (VISHIPEL), 0906-0909*, July 15. Thanks to the timely tip from Dave Valko, I checked out this much earlier than normal broadcast (I usual hear Ho Chi Minh Radio at *1305); in English: “All stations, all stations, all stations, this is Ho Chi Minh Radio, Ho Chi Minh Radio, Ho Chi Minh Radio" and had some type of info which I missed as I had just tuned in and was trying to get ready to recorded it, but I was too slow; also in Vietnamese and // 8294-USB. This earlier time gives folks on the east coast a much better chance of reception, as Dave has proved! I asked Takahito about this earlier reception, as he is an expert on Vietnam Coast Radio Stations. He wrote: “It seems not a new schedule. Vietnamese coastal radio stations transmit temporal broadcast in case of storms and typhoons. As you see [he attached a weather map], there is a very low pressure in South China Sea, which will cause severe storm. Ho Chi Min Radio might transmit their temporal warning “as usual”! Takahito Akabayashi (Tokyo, Japan)”. Appreciate Dave’s alert and Takahito’s response (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 6165, Zambia Nat. BC. A nice surprise; caught a canned English ID promo by W at tune/in at 0513. Followed by another announcement, brief instrumental Afro music, then another English ID at 0516 and what sounded like national news in English by W. Fair and fady with a little slop QRM. (12 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) 6165.000, exaktes Signal aus Zambia von [Z]NBC, um 0408 UT, S=6, etwas dünnes Signal bis hier hoch nach Deutschland, aber immerhin guter Empfang im südlichen Winter. Schöne Bongo Musik, aber bestimmt nicht von RNT N'djamena aus dem Tschad, das seit dem letzten Offiziersputsch sehr unregelmässig sendet. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Deutschland, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non?] Hi everyone, I would welcome opinions please. Since there seems to be some doubt about whether Chad is back or not, I wonder if it really is a het, or something else, that is currently spoiling ZNBC2 from Lusaka. I attach .wav files just recorded around 1930ut on 14 July, one from ZNBC1 on 5915, the other from ZNBC2 on 6165, both equal powered, both situated in Lusaka, both received at about s9+10, both recorded in Jo'burg. Note the difference in quality from what used to be identical-sounding stations. Any ideas what might be causing the whistling noise on ZNBC2? Theoretically, at this time, so far as I can tell nothing but Chad can be interfering. All suggestions welcome. Thanks. I have never tried this before, so hope the attachments work. Regards, (Bill Bingham, RSA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ZNBC2 Zambia seems to be heard in Europe now at 2135 UT. Exact Frequency is 6164.997 - .996 kHz. Footprint: Usually RNT Tchad is more 43 Hertz away varying on very odd frequency, last heard on 6164.957 kHz. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Bill, The `whistling` on 6165 sounds a lot like what I get on various spots all over SW from household device radiation, perhaps from their power supplies, i.e. cable or off the air DTV converter boxes; or maybe a computer. You might look around and unplug, not just turn off, any suspects when you hear this. I suppose it could also be from a very out-of-order SW transmitter on a nearby frequency, not necessarily Chad. You might be able to narrow down a center frequency for that blob on one side or the other. Altho we probably have plenty of space for attachments on the yg (as opposed to Files), it`s best to avoid the bandwidth-hogging wav files, except for very brief clips. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** ZAMBIA. 9505, One Africa (tentative); 2148-2200*, 7-July; Peppy W in English with Jeezus pop tunes & movie review; Closing at 2159+ with non-ID, One-by-One, One-by-One. Sed tune to 17695 tomorrow. SIO=353; tone after s/off 2200:06-2201:34 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. ZBC Radio, 6015 Dole. July 14, 2012. Saturday. *0259- 0310. At *0259 carrier on and directly into OM talking Swahili. Sounded like "….BC Radio …. Shortwave" at 0300 and straight into Koran to 0305 followed by another OM talking. Mostly unreadable from 0306, so I gave up at 0310. Fair until severe fading (to below noise level) suddenly began at 0306. Jo'burg sunrise 0455 (Bill Bingham, RSA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11735, Tanzania/Zanzibar, 2005-2033 with Spice FM relay, Afro pops with om mentions around 2020; never quite good enough to pull out real details, began to deteriorate around 2025 and was gone by 2032. Lots of QRN from storms also a problem (Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -746Pro - Drake R8, and XM - Cedar Key - South Florida, NRD 525D - R8A - E5 Cumbre DX via DXLD) No date; mid-July 11735, Spice FM via R. Tanzania Zanzibar, 2055-2059 Arab music, then Spice FM promos to ToH, and into lively Afro pop music with M voice- over at 2104 with mentions of Spice, Zanzibar, Tanzania, and radio. Really nice signal. Had some local QRN at the beginning. (14 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) 11735, ZBC, 2030-2121*, July 14, wide variety of African hi-life music, Hindi style music and Middle-Eastern style music. Swahili talk. Several IDs at 2059 as “ZBC” and “Spice FM”. Afro-pop music after 2100. Abrupt and late sign off. Fair to good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA, Icom IC-7600, two 100 foot longwires, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1670.20, 0752 July 15, 2012. Weak carrier, no audio making it, with presumed WPLA, Dry Branch, GA with FOX Sports Radio on 1670.00 (Terry Krueger, Clearwater, FL. Abridged pile of antiquated junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR- D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1680.15, 0754 July 15, 2012. Weak carrier also here, with presumed KRJO, Monroe, LA with Urban Gospel preacher, and WOKB, Winter Garden, FL with Urban gospel vocals both on 1680.00 (Terry Krueger, Clearwater, FL. Abridged pile of antiquated junk used here: JRC NRD-535; ICOM IC-R75; Sony ICF-7600GR; Sangean PR-D5; Aqua Guide 705 RDF Marine Radio; GE Superadio Tres; 1 X roof dipole; 1 X room random wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. En 5902 kHz, se advierte de a ratos una señal, es una modulación en español y lo único que pude entender en una mini apertura es 99.7 dijo el locutor que será una imagen de una FM? (Ernesto Paulero, Argentina, 1508 UT July 12, condiglist yg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 7197.46, Japanese ham(?), 1028 till tune out at 1040, July 11. Playing non-stop songs with no announcements. Thanks very much to Sei-ichi Hasegawa (Japan) for listening to my audio and responding with: “I think probably is mischief of Japanese ham. The title of “Kanda-gawa”, i.e. “Kanda River”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBCxUC-QrIg S. Hasegawa” (Ron Howard, San Francisco at Ocean Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 9674.77, Getting a carrier here at 0521. Both still on the air after 0600. QRM from 9675. Canção Nova?? (12 July) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD (Wellbrook is down with a bad PS), Hard Core DX mailing list via DXLD) See BRAZIL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACKNOWLEDGED ON WORLD OF RADIO 1626: Thanks to Jason Poplaski, PA for a check in the mail to P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 Hi Glenn, Many thanks for the service you continually provide, seemingly without fail (Gavin Hellyer, Australia) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ AM RADIO LOG 33RD EDITION PRE-ORDERS Hi all, We are now accepting pre orders for the 33rd edition of the AM Radio Log. Unfortunately printing and postage increases have caught up with us and we just can't absorb them any more... Member Price $22.95 NonMember Price $28.95 All Canadian $32.00 Overseas Price $36.00 USA shipping is via Book rate, Canada and Overseas is Global Priority. Add $3.50 to have a Priority mail shipping in the USA Please feel to pass this along to other lists that may be interested in the publication. 73 (Wayne Heinen, AM Radio Log Editor, NRC-AM via DXLD) I recommend it highly! (gh) Further info and online purchasing: http://www.nrcdxas.org/catalog/books/index1.html#ARL Expect to begin shipping August 27, 2012 The NRC’s AM Radio Log is a source for information on AM Radio Stations in the United States and Canada. The 33rd edition of the Log will contain approximately 285 pages of data and cross references and 18 pages of instructions in 8-1/2" x 11" size, 3-hole punched, U.S. loose leaf format. This publication fits nicely into a 1" three-ring binder. 6,000+ updates since last year's 32nd Edition of the log! Additional reference lists include call letters of FM simulcasts, listings of regional groups of stations in the groups section (separate section of the log book) and a cross reference of those stations that are licensed to use IBOC (In Band On Channel) digital audio. Also, listing section and cross reference of AM stations using FM translators as relays. Orders are shipped postpaid Media Rate to the USA, Global Priority to other locations, including Canada. USA add $3.50 for Priority Shipping to the United States. Order by snail mail to NRC Publications, P.O. Box 473251, Aurora, CO 80047-3251. To Order the AM Radio Log by credit card using Paypal click on the appropriate button to the right. To add optional U.S. Priority Mail Shipping to your order, click this Paypal button in addition to your order (via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) New Pacific Radio Guide for Free Radio Heritage Foundation http://www.radioheritage.com July 17 2012 PACIFIC RADIO LISTENER GUIDES THOUSANDS OF RADIO STATIONS The latest version of the famous PAL Radio Guides covering all AM [mediumwave] radio stations across the Asia and Pacific region is now available from http://www.radioheritage.com. The PAL Radio Guides list all known AM and SW radio stations operating in the region with detailed station data such as operating times, languages, location, and much more. Download the very latest mediumwave [AM] version today from http://www.radioheritage.com The PAL Radio Guides are compiled in Seattle [USA] by our editor-in- chief Bruce Portzer from monitoring reports, official sources and feedback from listeners across the region. Search the two guides online now by location or frequency or download copies from http://www.radioheritage.com Access is free for non-commercial use. Also available: *Australia Radio Guide covering AM, FM and Digital stations *Pacific Travellers Guides including AM and FM stations in Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia *New Zealand Low Power FM Radio Guide Feedback, corrections and updates from users are always welcome to radioheritage @ gmail.com Radio Heritage Foundation is a registered non-profit connecting popular culture, nostalgia and radio heritage. Volunteer run. Want to support us this month? Suggested Paypal donation is just $6.25 (David Ricquish, RHF, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MUSEA +++++ "BROADCASTING FROM A SUBMARINE" (Mar, 1931) "Millions of radio listeners recently experienced for the first time in history the vicarious thrill of diving in a submarine and cruising along the ocean floor when announcers, stationed before a mike placed aboard the Submarine 0-8, gave a word picture of the boat’s maneuvers. This amazing feat was made possible by use of short wave radio, which also provides a means for transmitting from airplanes, autos and trains..." --- This is a great article from the past http://blog.modernmechanix.com/broadcasting-from-a-submarine/ Enjoy! (Mike Terry, July 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [La Galena del Sur] 1972 – 2012: 40 AÑOS DEL DX CLUB DEL URUGUAY. En conmemoración de los 40 años de la fundación del DX Club del Uruguay, que se cumple el próximo domingo 15 de julio, he publicado la siguiente entrada en "La Galena del Sur" Posted on julio 13, 2012 El DX Club del Uruguay, fue una Institución que nucleó radioescuchas y DX-istas del Uruguay y del extranjero, y cuya vida se extendió desde 1972 a 1989. Ha quedado un poco "gorda" la página, y quizá cueste cargar al principio, al menos ocurre eso en mi navegador. Pero por el momento no puedo recortarla más. En otras próximas entradas, continuaré publicando material que tuve que retirar esta vez (vistas de algunos primeros boletines del Club). Pueden comentar, si lo desean, al final del post, como en cada uno de ellos. . . http://lagalenadelsur.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/1972-2012-40-anios-del-dx-club-del-uruguay/ (Horacio Nigro G., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ANTENNA MUSEUM I suspect everyone BUT me already knows about this extensive site. Guy should be an FM DXer! http://www.godarusa.com/id69.html (Bob Cooper, NZ, WTFDA via DXLD) Love the pictures. The antennas he manufactures and sells have got to be a joke, right??? The FM1A - gets an impressive 2dB gain - WOW - now that's worth $59.95 any day, right??? http://www.godarusa.com/id67.html OK, so in all honesty 2 dB is almost 3 dB which is 2x the gain of a dipole antenna. And the thing is low profile - most people probably think it looks pretty cool compared to a pair of rabbit ears on top of your FM tuner. The HDTV antennas are equally as funny to read about - 100 mile reception - OK, was there tropo or are the signals 5 MW across the AZ desert??? (Bill Nollman, ibid.) I didn't really pay much attention to the antenna stuff, just having bought two sets of bunny ears at a garage sale yesterday, one for 50 cents and another for a dollar, for use with the only CRT TV I have left for outside use. But what I liked are his tuner pages. They brought back memories of some of the tuners I've had over the years. The Harmon Kardon TU920, for example, a great sounding tuner. Or the TX-11, an OK sounding tuner but a much better DX tuner. Looking at those tuner pics made me a little sad though. The state of audio is so bad these days with compressed audio and loud/distorted audio on CDs. Just run a song recorded in the 70s/80s through Cool Edit or something similar and compare it to a recent song and you'll see how loud and crapped up it is. Compare the state of the FM band to what it's like today and you might find that the audiophile and the FM Dxer are a dying breed (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, ibid.) Good morning Mike, and I'm going to chime in as a early Gen X'er (born in late 1965). Back in HS I managed to scrape up enough money doing part time work, etc., and got one of those Pioneer "rack" systems. It had a decent (not great) FM tuner, so so speakers, turntable, integrated amp, and cassette deck. Other than the ho hum AM sensitivity off the built in antenna, and rather wide bandwidth for FM (poor for DXing by today's standards) it was my first real FM DX rig. I still have airchecks surviving from those days of FM DX (E's and tropo) and some local stuff. What is amazing is that FM radio in the early-mid 1980's had such great audio quality in comparison to the past 15 years. Recently, I went through some old cassette tapes recorded off-air and was shocked of how clean the FM audio was then. It seemed though in the late 1980's that some stations (such as the late KZOU) locally and others started compressing the audio chain. Add the over-compressed CD's and modern digital audio and that adds up to a "hot mess". Even the non-com community station in Little Rock (KABF) when it`s doing local shows, had bad audio due to the music source of someone's mid-bitrate mp3's. (Fritze H. Prentice, Jr KC5KBV, Star City AR EM43aw twitter.com/fritzehp ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See CANADA; INDIA; ROMANIA; SRI LANKA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See also CANADA; MEXICO! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CLEARING OUT CHANNEL 51 In the USA: Note that 14 full-power stations and three Class A operations propose to move from channel 51 to lower channels, often channel 14. Actually, the stations don't know about this yet (grin). [including KSBI OKC -- gh] Trip noticed several new applications in the FCC database, all with the rather cryptic callsign “WTB”. The technical parameters for each “WTB” record correspond exactly to those of a full-power or Class A station operating on channel 51. Actually, “WTB” isn't a callsign. It's the acronym for the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. This is the bureau that regulates channels 52 and up. Clearing channel 51 of TV stations will reduce the risk of interference to the new users of channel 52. The stations listed are not all the stations operating on channel 51. I might guess the FCC has not yet completed finding new channels for the remaining channel 51 operations. The FCC has released the first set of rules for DTV channel sharing. As you may remember, this concept is similar to that of DTV subchannels. Indeed, from a technical standpoint, it's *identical* to the concept of subchannels – the only difference is that the two (or more) subchannels are licensed to and operated by different owners. Channel sharing is voluntary. No station will be required to split its channel. Stations must decide who they want to share with, the FCC will not assign sharing partners. At this time, only stations participating in the incentive auction will be eligible for channel sharing. An incentive auction has been proposed that will allow stations to sell their spectrum for wireless use. In the initial plan, if someone buys a station's spectrum, that station goes off the air. With channel sharing, that station can "move in" with another station that agreed to auction spectrum as well. Each station gets half the auction proceeds – and gets to stay in business. Each sharing station is licensed separately. Each station will hold a separate license and callsign. Each station is independently responsible for compliance with FCC programming regulations. For example, assume WXXX and WYYY share a channel. WYYY decides not to keep a public file. WYYY will be sanctioned with a large fine – WXXX will not be sanctioned. Each sharing station is entitled to the same must-carry rights on cable & satellite as they'd have if they had their own transmitter. I have a couple of questions the FCC release doesn't answer: What happens if there are technical violations involving the shared transmitter? If one of the partners in a sharing arrangement loses its license (or voluntarily goes out of business) what happens to the other one? Sharing makes strange bedfellows The FCC decided not to allow LPTVs to engage in channel-sharing arrangements. Only full-power and Class A stations may do so. Strangely enough, they may share with each other. The Commission has not yet decided what to do with the technical rules if this happens (as the vast majority of full-power stations use far more power than is allowed for a Class A). Also, they haven't decided what to do if a Class A that hasn't converted to digital yet volunteers to share (seems to me the sharing process would inherently require the Class A station to go digital). Commercial and non-commercial stations may share a channel. The FCC has not yet decided whether to allow them to share a channel that's reserved for non-commercial use. However, it looks to me as if they're inclined to allow it. The Commission anticipates future situations where a station may wish to change its city of license in order to move in with a sharing partner whose facility cannot serve the station's existing community. Good DX! (Doug Smith, TV News, June WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) HIGH NOON FOR DILLER’S AEREO Wall Street Journal 5-25-12 Christopher S. Stewart and Merissa Marr When Barry Diller backed a start-up that streams local broadcast signals over the internet, it looked like another unorthodox move by a famously offbeat mogul. Now that start-up has become a grenade that is threatening to wound the television industry. Major TV networks’ legal efforts to shut down the service, called Aereo, will be tested in federal court next week. Lawyers not involved in the case say the company has a decent argument, based on legal precedents set in prior media industry lawsuits. The TV industry is closely watching how the case plays out, particularly because Aereo doesn’t share any of the fees it collects with broadcasters, who claim copyright infringement. So, as Time Warner Cable, Inc. Chief Executive Glenn Britt hinted recently, a victory in court by Aereo could embolden cable and satellite-TV operators to stop paying fees to carry broadcast networks’ signal. That revenue has become increasingly vital to broadcasters over the past couple of years, offsetting weak growth in advertising. For the 70-year-old Mr. Diller, who made his name rebelling against conventional practice in television, the havoc that could be wreaked by Aereo is unavoidable. “Nothing gets created unless it disrupts something,” he said…” Aereo launched its service in March, charging $12 a month to stream the local broadcast signals of TV stations via the Web to consumers’ iPads or computers. It is currently available only in New York City, where several thousand residents subscribe. It could expand by the end of the year to more than 100 cities. Unless, that is, the federal court in New York grants broadcasters’ request for a preliminary injunction at hearings on Wednesday and Thursday. The litigation is “going to be a great and important contest.” Says Mr. Diller. Grandly, he describes Aereo as an attack on the “closed system” of mainstream television. Broadcasters have a different view. “You can’t take our signal. You just can’t,” CBS Corp. Chief Executive Les Moonves said last week. “He is stealing the broadcast programming,” said another broadcast network executive. “Is he going to pay his writers and producers or get them to work for free?” In February, Mr. Diller’s IAC led a group of investors in a $20.5 million round of funding, imagining what he calls an “alternative system.” He believed it could exist alongside the current television ecosystem, but major broadcasters NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and a unit of Univision Communications Inc. filed two lawsuits before it launched. The lawsuits argue that Aereo violates copyright law at least in part because it reformats and re-transmits the networks’ TV signals and then charges a fee for it – without getting consent of the broadcasters. Aereo claims it is simply transmitting broadcast TV signals to customers and allowing them to record programming, arguing that each user is essentially renting a dime-sized antenna. Aereo locates the antennas – tens of thousands of them — in a converted warehouse in downtown Brooklyn. One suit says Aereo’s contention that it is renting antennae to consumers who are doing the rebroadcasting is a “fiction.” “No amount of technological gimmickry by Aereo – or claims that it is simply providing a set of sophisticated “rabbit ears” changes the fundamental principle of copyright law that those who wish to retransmit Plaintiffs’ broadcasts and may do so only with Plaintiffs’ authority,” broadcasters say in filings. And if Aereo gets shut down? “If the court says you can’t do it, it’s over.” Mr. Diller said. “There’s no Plan B.” And later, on May 31st: News Corp.'s Fox and other broadcasters went to court on Wednesday to try to pull the plug on a start-up that takes live TV programming and sends it to mobile devices in New York for a monthly fee. If granted, a preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs would devastate Aereo, the company's chief executive told a judge at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan. Extended litigation "would be the end of the company," Chaitanya Kanojia said. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Alison Nathan in New York dismissed a separate claim of unfair competition, saying it was preempted by the Copyright Act. No immediate ruling was expected on the motion for an injunction in the copyright case (Submitted by David Mackes via July WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) Remember Aereo? Well, they won! http://news.yahoo.com/judge-lets-startup-relay-live-tv-iphones-nyc-215503323.html (via Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT USA, July 12, WTFDA via DXLD) Viz.: JUDGE LETS STARTUP RELAY LIVE TV TO iPhones IN NYC By LARRY NEUMEISTER | Associated Press – Wed, Jul 11, 2012 NEW YORK (AP) — A startup company can continue to send live TV programming to iPhones and other mobile devices in the city despite objections from major broadcasters that say expansion can threaten the free broadcasting of events such as the Super Bowl, a judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan said she understood how the service provided by the company, Aereo, may be unfair to broadcasters. But she said the law left her no choice but to reject a request by News Corp.'s Fox and other broadcasters to pull the plug on the company. Aereo lets customers capture over-the-air broadcasts for viewing on iPhones, iPads and computers for $12 a month. A copyright infringement lawsuit was filed by Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC and others, accusing Aereo of copying and retransmitting their programming over the Internet unlawfully. Aereo argued that it was providing a legal, alternate platform for free TV broadcasts and was merely letting users rent a remotely located antenna to access content they could receive for free by installing the same equipment at home. Its chief executive told the judge at a hearing that extended litigation would be "the end of the company." Nathan's ruling was on a request for a preliminary injunction. Generally, more evidence is presented before a judge makes a final ruling that can then be appealed, but Nathan said the broadcasters have indicated they are likely to appeal immediately. Lawyers on both sides did not immediately respond to messages for comment Wednesday. The judge said the broadcasters are likely to suffer irreparable harm as a result of her ruling, including to their ability to negotiate with advertisers once viewers are siphoned from traditional distribution avenues, making it seem that fewer people are watching programs than actually are. She said it also will affect their retransmission agreements because companies will demand concessions from broadcasters to make up for the apparent loss in viewership. These deals, she said, amount to billions of dollars a year for broadcasters. The judge said Aereo's service has only just begun to operate on any significant scale and the company has conceded that it intends to expand. She noted that the service had grown from 100 users to 3,500 users this year before a hearing she conducted several weeks ago and that Aereo had conducted surveys suggesting its services could prompt a substantial portion of its subscribers to cancel their cable TV subscriptions. She added that broadcasters' "showing of imminent irreparable harm is substantial, but not overwhelming." In siding with Aereo, the judge said the case probably would have been decided in favor of the broadcasters were it not for a ruling by the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan in a case challenging Cablevision's Remote Storage DVR system. Cablevision was found not to violate copyrights in the case. The judge noted that Aereo's lawyers had argued that, like Cablevision, it effectively rents to its users remote equipment comparable to what they could install at home. The broadcasters had argued that the judge should conclude Aereo engages in a public performance by transmitting the programming. The judge said arguments by broadcasters in the Aereo case were "profoundly similar to those already considered and rejected" by the appeals court. "This court does not believe it would be appropriate to blaze a trail that runs opposed to the direction dictated by Cablevision," she wrote (via DXLD) Aereo has a novel way of distributing over-the-air TV signals but the method is much to the dislike of TV stations. Now, a court has upheld Aereo's right to continue its operation, but a big battle looms: http://tinyurl.com/AereoDecisionViaAP http://tinyurl.com/LegalBattleAgainstAereo Update: Some cable operators are rooting for Aereo in its clash with broadcasters: http://tinyurl.com/AereoUpdate (CGC Communicator July 14 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) I've been following this, too. The Aereo effort is backed by some TV industry people with wide reputations and having won the first big court test, they are getting more financing and looking to expand. If they gain any real traction, it's one more hole in the current distribution scheme and a winner for viewers. Roku/Boxee/Google TV + Aereo = no cable or satellite -- (Rob de Santos, internetradio via DXLD) And the marvels just keep on coming. Here's a potentially copyright- busting product allowing anyone to download video from a satellite, convert the signal to IP standards, and stream it to the world. A single satellite TV subscriber could thus become an internet TV pirate station at low cost relaying any program material available at the level of the subscription. http://www.spacemart.com/reports/SES_Announces_First_SAT_IP_Converter_Certification_999.html (Joe Buch, ibid.) FRACTAL ANTENNAS FOR DTV I have had involvement in one way or another with the DTV transition over the last 16 years. Unfortunately at the time of the NTSC shutdown OTA was not fully ready for prime time. The early tuner chips did not handle multipath well and because of this we did not really have the tools to learn the old fashioned NTSC antenna would not be the proper approach for DTV reception. Two things happened over time. The first was the drastic improvement in the tuner chip sets. The primary advantage is that they take advantage of multipath rather than deal with it as a detriment. This opens the door to the use of fractal and other omnidirectional types of antenna. I keep hearing stories of people who have difficulties with the old highly directional antenna on a tower with a rotator. This is not how to receive DTV. Those who need height and gain are better served with a vertical stack of a bowtie antenna. This works if the desired stations are in the same general direction. If they are not, an omni may work. I do not know the best solution for a non engineering type living in a fringe area where transmitters are in all directions. My own experiments over the years have resulted in the following results: Early generation DTV set and a Terk so called 'digital' rabbit ear with small UHF log antenna, no usable reception either analog or digital. The same Terk antenna and a newer generation Eye TV tuner for my Mac was awkward to aim and use but much better than the TV. The newest tuner is part of a Tivo. It was even better but the rabbit ears still posed problems. A $29 fractal antenna off the shelf at a local electronics dealer gave much better but still annoying results with the TV. The eye TV was much improved and useable but the Tivo (newest tuner chip set) produced nearly flawless results. With NTSC, I was never able to receive any over the air but with a modern 'digital' indoor antenna and a recent tuner chipset there are more programs recorded than there is time to watch including WKRP on Antenna TV. I know a lot of people with absolutely no connection to or understanding of broadcasting who have discovered the fractal antenna and dropped cable. I also know two senior engineers for one of the largest TV broadcast groups who in addition to cable have some off air secondary sets in their homes. Surveys show that in multi-set homes OTA is common on secondary sets. It is unfortunate that there is no campaign to more widely promote OTA (Robert Meuser, "The BROADCAST eList", June 20, via Craig Healy via July WTFDA VHF UHF Digest via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ THE BURIED FM ANTENNA The FCC has denied KWVE(FM)'s application to go non-directional. The Commission continues to pretend that the antenna of co-channel station KUZZ-FM is buried 686 feet underground resulting in inflated and unrealistic contours for KUZZ that are the sole obstacle in preventing KWVE from achieving non-directional status. If you say, "Wait a minute, a buried antenna won't radiate at all," you would be 100% correct. The "buried FM antenna rule" defies the laws of physics and remains one of the most bizarre rules ever adopted by the Commission. Fortunately, KWVE has pending a Petition for Rule Making (RM-11620) to amend the buried antenna rule. The Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE) agrees that the rule needs to be changed in some way. Their letter was dated October 25, 2011 and filed in a related proceeding, RM-11643. So, we will wait and see what happens. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-12-1100A1.doc (CGC Communicator July 14 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) BROADCAST ENGINEERS GROW OLDER, MORE SETTLED by Scott Fybush on 07.12.2012 Scott Fybush reports on the "age bubble" engulfing broadcast engineers: http://tinyurl.com/AgeBubble (Radio World via CGC Communicator via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) CONVERTING WAV FILES Re: Bill, Altho we probably have plenty of space for attachments on the yg (as opposed to Files), it`s best to avoid the bandwidth-hogging wav files, except for very brief clips. 73, (Glenn to Bill Bingham, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Bill, What I do is convert audio files to MP3, which makes for a smaller file size. By doing this I turned your 2.5 MB file down to only a 939 KB file, per attachment. I did this with free Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ and free LAME encoder software. I find Audacity great for doing some light editing of the audio files I post to BOX (mostly cut and paste). Anyway, just something to think about. As always, I enjoy reading your observations from RSA. Thanks for sharing! (Ron Howard, San Francisco, Calif., USA, ibid.) Bill, MyMp3 is good also --- and free! (Mark Davies, Wales, ibid.) REPORT ON THE DE1126 http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/10563 DE1126 is my last and latest radio. I found it via ebay from a very respected seller I know since 2005 from other Degen radio forums. It has been bought for a total of 70 USd (45 for radio, 15 shipping and 2x5 for battery replacements). This article here is a abridged article of a soon to be posted in my page on http://sites.google.com/site/zliangas/ (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DRAKE REPAIRS Hello, I just spoke to John Kriner, at Drake, and he advised that ALL repair of Drake amateur and shortwave products has ceased. He has sent requests for changes to their web master, however the changes have not made it to the web site as yet. If you need repair service of a Drake product or a need a Drake part, contact John at home, jkriner @ cinci.rr.com --- he may be able to assist you or refer you to someone that can assist you. Tnx & 73, (Bill Frost, WD8DFP, Drakelist, via Chuck Rippel, NASWA yg via DXLD) In our past conversations, some lengthy, that's what John mentioned was being discussed. At that time, John was not sure if "all Drake servicing" meant Drake products, or also the Sat 800, but we both feared that would be the case. At this time and in the past, Eton (USA) provided Drake and John's team and parts department, with the Sat 800 replacement parts and copies of the known 800 service manuals. The word from Etón is that another qualified Grundig Sat 800 service group would be selected, as there was and presume still is a go-to list. Last but not least, those who know John Kriner know the class-act person that he is. Hopefully John or someone of his caliber will continue to be knowledgeable and involved in future Sat 800 endeavors. Stay tuned, as it is likely going to get somewhat Sat 800 exciting. Joe info(at)windowgroup(dot)com (via Charles Rippel, NASWA yg via DXLD) John has told me that his own repair business will service the R8 series, E1XM and S800 (M Machakian, cumbredx via DXLD) Drake Not Servicing Ham or SWL Products Thanks to Chuck Rippell and others at NASWA and Cumbre DX we have found out that R.L. Drake are no longer servicing ANY of their Ham or SWL products NOR any Grundig/Eton products like the Satellit 800 or the E-1. Their website lists a number of repair technicians who may be able to help you although John Kriner, who works for Drake and appears at the top of the list, is most recommended by some DXers. It remains to be seen if their Canadian repair technician, Shane Curry in Peterborough, Ontario, will also be able to provide service. http://www.rldrake.com/support-repair.php -- (Mark Coady, Ont., July 16, ODXA yg via DXLD) The website says something different -- stating that they won't be supporting products more than 20 years old...so I would presume (at minimum) they'd still support the R8B - that is newer than 20 years old. Or is the truth actually worse than what's posted on the web? (Rich Cuff, ibid.) The Drake website needs a serious updating as they are NOT SERVICING anything to do with ham or SWL equipment. News of this has been on NASWA and Cumbre DX Yahoo Groups but part of it came from the Sattelit 800 Yahoo Group who had an e-mail from John Kriner (Coady, ibid.) Which reminds me, I called them last year sometime and was told which trimmer on the R8B to adjust to re-center the passband tuning control. I've lost the note I made while on the phone. Does anyone know that answer? (Dan Ferguson, ibid.) Here is a notice posted to the Drakelist group by Bill Frost [as above]. Bill was one of the last of the ham radio era employees at R. L. Drake and he was the service department manager when he retired. He is a regular speaker at the Drake forum each year at the Dayton Hamvention. As this was directed to a mainly American audience on the mainly American Drakelist, I have no idea about the Canadian arm of Drake but I highly doubt that they would be providing service. There are many people, mainly in Ohio who are the gurus of all things Drake. Some specialize in the 4-line, some the pre-4-line and some the 7 line and later vintage. In other words, there is still hope for my early-mid 70s vintage R-4B (Bill Leal, VE3ES, Windsor, Ontario, ibid.) Japan Radio Co. and Drake The NRD-545 listserv has noted that JRC has just announced that it will not be supporting the receiver with parts or service after Dec. 15, 2017. (Though with the way stations are leaving the air, a 545 probably will have little practical use other than as a large paperweight by that date, five years out.) The DrakeR8 list notes some ambiguity concerning whether Drake (now owned by Blonder-Tongue) is still supporting the R8/A/B series. The consensus seems to be that officially, Drake no longer is supporting the rx, but that one or more of their service techs still do on their own, more or less as before. In this case, Drake`s discontinuance is probably more significant in terms of any unusual parts availability, rather than actual servicing (Don Jensen, July 18, NASWA yg via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ GEOMAGNETIC INDICES Compiled by: Phil Bytheway Geomagnetic Summary May 1 2012 through May 31 2012 Tabulated from email status daily. Date Flux A K Space Wx 1 110 4 1 no storms 2 116 5 3 no storms 3 114 8 3 no storms 4 114 4 1 no storms 5 116 4 4 minor, R1 6 117 5 0 minor, R1 7 122 4 1 minor, R1 8 123 9 4 minor, R1 9 127 24 4 minor, R1 10 131 12 4 moderate, R2 11 136 12 2 no storms 12 130 10 3 no storms 13 131 12 3 no storms 14 130 6 2 no storms 15 129 5 2 no storms 16 131 9 4 no storms 17 136 6 1 moderate S2, R1 18 132 8 2 minor, S1 19 131 5 1 no storms 20 131 13 2 no storms 21 125 7 2 no storms 22 121 16 3 no storms 23 117 18 2 minor, G1 24 116 8 2 no storms 25 117 6 1 no storms 26 110 4 0 no stroms 27 111 4 0 minor, S1 28 110 6 1 no storms 29 106 6 2 no storms 30 111 6 1 no storms 31 117 10 1 no storms Geomagnetic Summary June 1 2012 through June 30 2012 Tabulated from email status daily by Phil Bytheway DateFlux A K Space Wx 1 129 6 2 no storms 2 129 9 4 no storms 3 129 19 1 minor, G1, R1 4 128 16 3 no storms 5 139 17 3 no storms 6 140 17 3 minor, R1 7 128 8 2 no storms 8 124 8 2 no storms 9 128 8 2 minor, R1 10 128 6 3 minor, R1 11 134 14 5 minor, G1 12 141 13 1 minor 13 143 6 1 minor, R1 14 149 4 0 minor, R1 15 145 4 1 no storms 16 135 19 6 moderate, G2, S1 17 124 39 4 moderate, G2 18 118 15 1 minor, G1 19 110 3 1 no storms 20 104 4 1 no storms 21 98 3 1 no storms 22 88 5 1 no storms 23 84 4 1 no storms 24 85 5 1 no storms 25 89 9 2 no storms 26 99 8 2 no storms 27 106 6 2 no storms 28 120 6 1 no storms 29 117 5 3 minor, R1 30 124 22 4 minor, R1 Sx – Solar Radiation Storm Level Gx – Geomagnetic Storm Level Rx – Radio Blackouts Level (IRCA DX Monitors via DXLD) X-RAY EVENT EXCEEDED X1 (R3) Space Weather Message Code: SUMX01 Serial Number: 81 Issue Time: 2012 Jul 12 1735 UTC SUMMARY: X-ray Event exceeded X1 Begin Time: 2012 Jul 12 1537 UTC Maximum Time: 2012 Jul 12 1649 UTC End Time: 2012 Jul 12 1730 UTC X-ray Class: X1.4 Optical Class: 2b Location: S15W01 NOAA Scale: R3 - Strong NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales Potential Impacts: Area of impact consists of large portions of the sunlit side of Earth, strongest at the sub-solar point. Radio - Wide area blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication for about an hour. (SWPC 1738 UT July 12 via DXLD) Earth-Directed X-flare and CME Space Weather News for July 12, 2012 http://spaceweather.com EARTH-DIRECTED X-FLARE: Big sunspot AR1520 erupted on July 12th around 16:53 UT, producing an X-class solar flare and hurling a CME directly toward Earth. Forecasters expect the cloud to arrive on July 14th. Its impact could spark moderate to severe geomagnetic storms, allowing auroras to be seen at lower latitudes than usual. Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates (via Mike Terry, July 13, dxldyg via DXLD) SOLAR CME: ANOTHER BIG B*TCH IS ON THE WAY! [BATCH? BLOTCH? There is no T in BELCH --- gh] http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/solar-flare-cme-aurora SOLAR STORM’S AURORAS MAY DANCE ABOVE MID-U.S. THIS WEEKEND Updated: NASA intensified the severity of its space weather predictions, and this story was updated to reflect them on July 12, 2012 at 7:15 p.m. EDT. A giant solar flare shot out of a sunspot Thursday, hitting Earth with a powerful burst of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation. Solar researchers expect a moderate geomagnetic storm to follow and strike Earth this weekend, causing satellite glitches, power disruptions and colorful auroras possibly as far south as Washington D.C. At 12:11 p.m. EDT, the flare began unleashing about a billion hydrogen bombs’ worth of energy. Radiation temporarily jammed some radio frequencies for about an hour. Right behind the flare is a belch of solar atmosphere called a coronal mass ejection, or CME, which is now traveling toward Earth at about 3 million mph. The resulting solar storm at Earth, which NASA predicts will be a G2 to G4 (on a scale of one to five), should start Saturday morning and conclude by Sunday’s end. “It’s the biggest of the summer so far,” said heliophysicist Alex Young of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “This could produce auroras as far south as northern California and Alabama [and] into central UK and Europe or southern New Zealand.” “At its worst it could lead to some intermittent satellite/radio navigation problems, surface charging on satellites and power grid fluctuations,” Young wrote in an email to Wired. “But the larger storm is less likely, these are just rough estimates.” Every solar cycle, which is an 11-year period that ramps up activity toward the end, produces between 150 and 180 large flares and related CMEs. This year has been one of the most active in recorded space weather with a flare almost four times larger striking a glancing blow to Earth in March. If and when a solar megastorm hits Earth — and there’s a 1-in-8 chance by 2020 — the outcome would be much different. A powerful CME could temporarily peel away a significant portion of Earth’s protective magnetic shield, exposing satellites, power grids and other electronics to disruptive magnetic fields and radiation. “We have more to expect from the sun through late 2013, perhaps through the beginning of 2014,” Young said. “That’s when we’ll reach solar maximum and see we’ll continue to see more solar eruptions.” Image: An orbiting spacecraft called the Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this view of the sun about an hour before it launched an X- class solar flare. The purple coloring shows the strength of magnetic fields of the sun. (NASA/SDO/AIA) [high-res] (via Kevin Redding, July 13, ABDX via DXLD) ARMSTRONG STATION ON AIR SATURDAY AM WA2XMN will be on the air on 42.8 megacycles [per second --- gh] from the Armstrong tower in Alpine, NJ on Saturday, July 14th, starting at about 11 AM [EDT = 1500 UT] See: http://www.wa2xmn.ar88.net/ Transmitter power is 200 watts, so coverage is pretty good even 50 miles out. So dust off you vintage FM receivers or VHF scanners. We will not do QSL cards this time, but we will be watching for real-time signal reports at howard @ ar88.net Sorry for the short notice, Al Klase - N3FRQ, Jersey City, NJ (via Karl Zuk, July 13, WTFDA via DXLD) There could well be a sporadic E opening at this time, in which case it would really get out (gh, DXLD) SOLAR STORM INCOMING: FEDERAL AGENCIES PROVIDE INCONSISTENT, CONFUSING INFORMATION By Jason Samenow Posted at 12:31 PM ET, 07/13/2012 TheWashingtonPost http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/solar-storm-incoming-federal-agencies-provide-inconsistent-confusing-information/2012/07/13/gJQAkm06hW_blog.html Visualization of a solar flare and wave of charged particles known as a coronal mass ejection (NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory) Update, 9:53 p.m.: NASA has responded to questions about its forecast and differences with NOAA. Scroll down to the bottom of this post. Meanwhile, NOAA has produced an excellent video about this event - click here to view. From 12:31 p.m.: A wave of plasma stoked by an X-class solar flare, the most intense type, is headed towards Earth. This blast of charged particles, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), is forecast to ignite a geomagnetic storm on Earth over the weekend. NOAA predicts it will be minor, maybe moderate. NASA says it will be moderate to severe. I ask: which intensity will it be and why aren't these two science agencies on the same page? The intensity of the inbound CME matters. If NOAA's right, and the ensuing geomagnetic storm is minor, it's no big deal. It means the high latitudes could be treated to some brilliant auroras over the weekend with few, if any, negative effects on earth-orbiting satellites or the power grid. On the other hand, if NASA's right, and the geomagnetic storm is strong to severe, Earth-orbiting satellites could get disoriented and the electrical grid, according to NOAA, could experience "widespread voltage control problems" among other issues. Aurora could be seen as far south as Alabama and northern California. IFRAME: http://www.youtube.com/embed/qAPv7fpYOww?rel=0 Video of Thursday's X-class solar flare courtesy NASA's Solar Dynamics Laboratory NOAA and NASA's predictions about the CME also differ on timing. Last night, NOAA was forecasting a 1 a.m. Saturday arrival of the CME while NASA projected a 6:20 a.m arrival. NOAA has since revised its estimate to 9:00 a.m. NASA tweaked its estimate to 5:17 a.m. The differences in these predictions raise the question why two government agencies aren't coordinating and issuing one clear, consistent forecast along with estimates of the uncertainty. Consider this scenario: A hurricane is approaching the East Coast. What if one U.S. government agency predicted the storm would make landfall as a category 1 to maybe category 2 storm, at worst, while another agency forecast the storm to reach the category 2, 3 or even 4 level? Imagine the widespread confusion that would ensue. How would anyone know if and how to prepare? There's a reason the National Hurricane Center closely works with local National Weather Service offices to coordinate hurricane and tropical storm information. This needs to happen with NOAA and NASA and space weather. The differences in the geomagnetic storm forecasts for the weekend probably reflect different roles and responsibilities in space weather at the two agencies. NOAA is the nation's official source of alerts, watches and warnings about space weather and its impacts. NASA's primary motivation for space weather forecasting is more specialized for "addressing the space weather needs of NASA's robotic missions". Based on these different functions, it would appear NOAA's information should be considered the most authorative [sic] and credible for impacts on Earth and NASA the go-to source for spacecraft. But while NOAA may well be the "official" source of information for our planet, the public and media take what NASA says seriously and NASA's issuing Earth-based forecasts. Citing NASA information, the very popular SpaceWeather.com website writes [bold text conveys my added emphasis] "According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the [NASA] Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME will hit Earth on July 14th around 10:20 UT (+/- 7 hours) and could spark strong geomagnetic storms." Contrast this with NOAA's statement on its public Facebook page last night to expect [bold text conveys my added emphasis] "only minor geomagnetic storming here when the blast arrives likely Saturday, with few impacts noticeable to most people." The discrepancies between NOAA and NASA's information are made worse by the fact their main website updates (on SpaceWeather.gov and the NASA Goddard Space Weather Center) are seldom accessible to the layperson. Consider NOAA's latest update, replete with acronyms and technical terms that non-specialists are likely to have trouble understanding: The latest model run now indicates the CME associated with yesterday's R3 (Strong) Radio Blackout event will impact the earth's magnetic field around 9:00 a.m. EDT (1300 UTC) on Saturday, July 14. SWPC is forecasting category G1 (Minor) Geomagnetic Storm activity then, with a chance of G2 (Moderate) levels at times through July 15. The S1 (Minor) Solar Radiation Storm persists just above event threshold. Region 1520 has decayed in the past 12 hours, but is still potentially eruptive. Here's an excerpt from NASA's latest update - which is no better: Based on preliminary heliospheric modeling carried out at NASA GSFC Space Weather Center, it is estimated that the CME may impact Earth, Messenger, Spitzer, MSL, Mars. Simulations indicate that the leading edge of the CME will reach Earth at about 2012-07-14T09:17Z (plus minus 7 hours). The roughly estimated expected range of the Kp maximum (Kp is a measure of geomagnetic disturbance levels ranging 0 - 9) is 6-8 (moderate to severe). Why don't these agencies prominently publish forecasts and explanations in plain English on their main websites for events attracting media attention? This is a sorry state of affairs and I'd have to give NOAA and NASA very low marks for their space weather communication efforts. I fully recognize forecasting space weather events is incredibly challenging and complex and that these two agencies have different scientists with different sets of expertise and different tools in their toolboxes. But this does not absolve these Federal agencies from working together to provide clear, consistent information. At some point in the future - especially with the solar cycle nearing its peak, it's possible that a severe geomagnetic storm could threaten Earth with serious implications for satellite-based navigation and our power grid. Related: Are we ready yet for potentially disastrous impacts of space weather? The stakes are high, and it's unfortunate, at the moment, we cannot rely on Federal government to provide particularly helpful, harmonized information. (Note: This morning, I contacted both NOAA and NASA to comment on these issues, and have not yet received responses except from NOAA to affirm they are the official source of space weather forecasts. I will publish anything more substantive I hear back from either agency.) NASA response to this blog post, emailed 5:14 p.m. ET, posted 9:53 p.m. 1) Why are these projections different in this case? NASA scientists and the NOAA space weather prediction officials use different methods and models for their work. Estimating the level of geomagnetic storm activity that will result from a CME is difficult until the CME flows past NASA's ACE spacecraft and the CME speed and orientation of the magnetic fields can be directly measured. In recent years, both NASA and NOAA have derived methods for estimating the initial CME speed just after it has lifted off the sun using images from NASA's STEREO mission. Both groups also make assumptions about the likely orientation of the magnetic field when the CME impacts the Earth system. Different sets of variables, models, versions of models, and parameters are used. NOAA's methods have more test and validation history and so properly make up an operational system. NASA's job is to continually improve the state of the art in space weather understanding. While this explanation overly simplifies the different methods in place at NOAA and NASA, the aspects illustrate the major reasons one might anticipate variations in the projection information posted from event to event. It is interesting to note that since the initial alerts, additional data have become available and the two centers are converging to a consistent picture. 2) Why don't NASA and NOAA coordinate on space weather forecasts to ensure a consistent message to the public? NASA and NOAA and many other space weather professionals continually communicate, share data, and share perspectives during these space weather events. That said, the National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center is our nation's official source of space weather alerts, watches and warnings. Those that depend on space weather information are always advised to consult those official predictions. Those that enjoy witnessing the progress of science and our nation's ability to continuously improve on its prediction capabilities will also enjoy following the work of the NASA researchers as they enable the creation of our nation's next generation prediction systems. By Jason Samenow | 12:31 PM ET, 07/13/2012 Categories: Latest, Astronomy, Space, Government (via Mike Cooper, 0731 UT July 14, DXLD) ``15-Jul-2012 at 0910 UTC, SFI = 148 A = 17 K = 6 Conditions during the last 24 hours: Space weather for the past 24 hours has been moderate. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G2 level occurred. Solar radiation storms reaching the S1 level occurred.`` Not one signal noted in 19 meters at 1045, no doubt due to conditions above. Still, only 2 signals noted at 1200. MUF was 11 MHz. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, USA, NRD-535D and Perseus SDR, T2FD, HCDX via DXLD) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts [complete] :Issued: 2012 Jul 16 1434 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/weekly.html # # Weekly Highlights and Forecasts # Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 09 - 15 July 2012 Solar activity ranged from low to high levels due to activity from a complex of closely spaced regions in the southern hemisphere. These spotted groups were made up of Regions 1519 (S15, L=107, class/area Hsx/120 on 05 July), 1520 (S16, L=86, class/area Fkc/1460 on 12 July), and 1521 (S21, L=96, class/area Eki/300 on 12 July). Region 1520 grew into a large Fkc spot group with a Beta-Gamma-Delta magnetic configuration with over 1300 millionths in area by 09 July and continued to remain large and magnetically complex as it rotated across the visible disk. Region 1520 produced M1 flares at 09/2307 UTC and 10/0514 UTC, an M2/1f flare at 10/0627 UTC, and a long duration X1/2b flare at 12/1649 UTC. Associated with the X1/2b flare were Type II (1268 km/s) and Type IV radio emissions along with an 800 sfu Tenflare and a geoeffective CME with an estimated plane-of-sky speed of 1453 km/s. Region 1521 produced an M1/1f flare at 14/0458 UTC. Region 1521 continued to grow through the period into an Eki spot group with 300 millionths of area and a Beta-gamma magnetic classification. A greater than 10 MeV proton event at geosynchronous orbit began at 09/0130 UTC, reached a maximum of 19 pfu at 09/0430 UTC and ended at 09/1445 UTC. This event was likely associated with the 08 July M6/1n flare at 08/1632 UTC from Region 1515 (S18, L=206, class/area Fhc/900 on 06 July). A second greater than 10 MeV proton event began at 12/1835 UTC, reached a maximum of 96 pfu at 12/2225 UTC, and ended at 15/0200 UTC. This event was associated with the X1/2b flare at 12/1649 UTC from Region 1520. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at moderate levels on 09 and 15 July, but reached high levels 10 through 14 July. Geomagnetic field activity was at unsettled to minor storm levels, on 09 July, with high latitude major storm intervals due to residual CME effects likely associated with the 04 July M1 event. July 10 began with an isolated period of active levels and decreased to quiet to unsettled levels for the remainder of the day. On 11 and 12 July, activity was mostly quiet to unsettled with an isolated active period with high latitude intervals of minor to major storm levels. Quiet conditions were observed from 13 July till late on 14 July when a CME associated with the 12 July X1/2b flare arrived. At 14/1728 UTC, a shock was observed at the ACE spacecraft followed by a sudden impulse (27 nT) at the Boulder magnetometer at 14/1811 UTC. Solar wind speed at the ACE spacecraft increased from approximately 350 km/s to 630 km/s while the Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) went south to around -12 nT. At around 15/0600 UTC, solar wind speed was around 600 km/s while the IMF Bz went south around -16 nT and stayed steadily southward through the end of the period. The geomagnetic field responded with active to major storm levels while minor to severe storm conditions were observed at high latitudes through the end of the summary period. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 16 JULY - 11 AUGUST 2012 Solar activity is expected to be at low to moderate levels through 18 July when Region 1520 is due to rotate off the West limb. Very low to low conditions are expected from 19 July through 20 July. Low to moderate conditions are expected from 21 July through the end of the period as old Regions 1515 and 1520 are due to return on 21 July and 01 August respectively. There is a slight chance for a greater than 10 MeV proton event at geosynchronous orbit until Region 1520 departs the visible disk on 18 July and again from 21 July through 11 August as old Regions 1515 and 1520 return. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels from 16 - 22 July, 24 - 27 July, and 03 - 11 August. High levels are expected on 23 July and again on 28 July - 02 August due to recurrent coronal hole effects. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to begin the period with minor to major storm periods due to the continued influence of the 12 July CME. Conditions will gradually return to quiet to active levels by the end of the day on 16 July. Mostly quiet to unsettled conditions are expected from17 - 21 July. On 22 - 23 July a coronal hole high speed stream is expected to become geoeffective causing mostly unsettled conditions. Quiet to unsettled conditions will prevail from 24 - 26 July. On 27 July, a co-rotating interaction region followed by a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream is expected to become geoeffective. Active to minor storm conditions are expected on 27 July while unsettled to active conditions are expected on 28 - 29 July. Conditions are expected to return to quiet to unsettled levels on 30 July through the end of the forecast period. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2012 Jul 16 1434 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 2012-07-16 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2012 Jul 16 135 30 6 2012 Jul 17 130 8 3 2012 Jul 18 120 5 2 2012 Jul 19 110 5 2 2012 Jul 20 100 5 2 2012 Jul 21 100 5 2 2012 Jul 22 100 12 3 2012 Jul 23 100 8 3 2012 Jul 24 105 5 2 2012 Jul 25 120 5 2 2012 Jul 26 115 5 2 2012 Jul 27 125 25 5 2012 Jul 28 135 20 4 2012 Jul 29 165 20 4 2012 Jul 30 165 10 3 2012 Jul 31 165 10 3 2012 Aug 01 165 15 3 2012 Aug 02 160 15 3 2012 Aug 03 160 10 3 2012 Aug 04 165 10 3 2012 Aug 05 170 5 2 2012 Aug 06 170 5 2 2012 Aug 07 160 5 2 2012 Aug 08 165 5 2 2012 Aug 09 150 5 2 2012 Aug 10 150 5 2 2012 Aug 11 140 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1626, DXLD) ###