DX LISTENING DIGEST 14-30, July 23, 2014 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 2014 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html [also linx to previous years] 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 1731 CONTENTS: *DX and station news about: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Diego Garcia, Ecuador non, Egypt, Eritrea non, Germany, Greece, India, Korea North non, Lesotho, Malaysia non, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nigeria, North America, Papua New Guinea, Perú, Rwanda non, Solomon Islands, Ukraine, USA, Zimbabwe non SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1731, July 24-30, 2014 Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 [confirmed, with France via Taiwan QRM] Thu 2100 WBCQ 7490 [confirmed on webcast] Fri 0328 WWRB 3185 [confirmed, still instead of 5050] Sat 0630 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sat 1430 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Sun 0030 WRMI 9495 [confirmed previous 1729] Sun 0131 KVOH 9975 [confirmed] Mon 0300v WBCQ 5110v-CUSB Area 51 [confirmed] Mon 2100 WRMI 15770 [NEW; may join late or be 1729] Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 [still with France via Taiwan QRM?] Wed 0630 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 1315 WRMI 9955 Wed 1430 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio Wed 2100 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0330 WRMI 9955 [or 1732 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 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS HAVE RESUMED starting with #1701: Tnx to Dr Harald Gabler and the Rhein-Main Radio Club. http://www.rmrc.de/index.php?option=com_podcast&view=feed&format=raw&Itemid=156&lang=de http://tunein.com/radio/World-of-Radio-p198/ AND NEW ALTERNATIVE, tnx Stephen Cooper, because RMRC was down: http://shortwave.am/wor.xml 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/ ** AFGHANISTAN. BBC UZBEK COMES TO SARAISH RADIO IN AFGHANISTAN 22 July 2014. BBC World Service has extended the availability of its Uzbek-language radio programming in north-western Afghanistan. Thanks to a new co-operation with Saraish Radio 91.1 FM, which reaches audiences in the Jowzjan and Sar-e Pol provinces with large ethnic Uzbek population, the station now broadcasts BBC Uzbek service’s hour- long radio programming every day at 17.30-18.30 local time. Saraish Radio 91.1 FM is a private station which sees women as its main target audience and covers sensitive issues such as women’s education and role in society. It broadcasts news and current affairs, youth and educational programmes, talk shows, short dramas and sport. Uzbek is widely spoken in the area covered by Saraish Radio. Saraish Radio Founder and President, Farida Rahim Azizi, comments: “Everyone at Radio Saraish is excited about our cooperation with the BBC. Thanks to this new arrangement, BBC radio will reach Uzbek- speakers in our region, bringing them unbiased, objective news and information. This is an excellent development for Saraish Radio and our listeners.” Over 20 years of its existence, BBC Uzbek service has built a strong reputation for impartial news, reporting to a region where unbiased news is hard to come by. Editor of Central Asia Hub, BBC World Service, Hamid Ismailov, says: “International news and current-affairs content is not readily available in this area of Afghanistan. We are delighted that, thanks to this new link with Saraish Radio, BBC Uzbek radio programming will reach a large audience of Uzbek-speakers, especially women in rural areas, bringing them news and analysis from the wider region and the rest of the world, in their own language.” BBC Uzbek is part of BBC World Service. Ends// For more information please contact: BBC World Service Group Communications - Lala Najafova lala.najafova@bbc.co.uk (BBCWS PR via DXLD) ** ALASKA [and non]. I spent the last week on a cruise to Southeast Alaska, and since I brought my radio and camera I return bearing gifts for everyone. In the next few weeks I'll be posting these videos to YouTube: * Local AM/FM bandscans for Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan (in one video) * Clips of nighttime AM catches while 100km NW of Sitka (includes a great recording of KXEL in Iowa) * Local AM bandscan for Victoria, British Columbia * Local FM bandscan for Victoria, British Columbia One video is already uploaded. It's a teaser I recorded while at sea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puejBy7U7Sk This was quite a break from the congested FM band we're all used to, and the mountains were quite good at blocking signals inbetween cities. Unfortunately I couldn't bring anything for TV bandscans, and surprisingly I never heard AMs from mainland Alaska or Yukon. The ship itself was blocking signals from the other side, so sometimes I would go up to the observation deck and hear a lot more. RF noise from the ship's electronics wasn't as bad as I'd feared. I just stayed out of sight of the radar. The logs are attached below. . . http://forums.wtfda.org/showthread.php?9076-Alaska-Bandscans (Ryan Grabow, Ft Myers FL, WTFDA forum via DXLD) ** ALBANIA. 9845, July 18 at 0125 and still 0130, no signal from R. Tirana. Finally cuts on the air at *0131:22, joining English program in progress; poor-fair (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALGERIA [non]. 13820, July 21 at 1829, fair signal with Qur`an, good modulation, 1830 some other music, 1832 Arabic talk, maybe sermon, 1847 another bit of music. Had me mystified until uplooked: RTA via FRANCE at 18-20, no longer clashing with Martí moved to 13605. BTW, the RTA collision on 9535 with Spain at 0500-0600 goes on and on now that we are halfway thru the A-14 season, and we bet it will last the entire season; who cares? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALGERIA [non]. What about the Algerian plane that crashed in Mali on the way from Ouagadougou to Algiers? See http://www.flightradar24.com/flight/ah5017 for July 24 which still July 25 does not show that it was ``canceled``, i.e. crashed, but the callsign was ECLTV, i.e. registered as from Spain (like the crew was reported to be), while some other dates this flight had a real Algerian plane, 7TVKG, 7TVKC, 7TVJM, 7TVJL, or even LYVEO, which would be from Lithuania! Not a lot of info about these flights (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. 4949.7, RNA-Canal "A", Mulenvos, 2220-..., 18/7, texto; 35332, modulação a nível reduzidíssmo. Bons DX e 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 1620.0, 2310-2318 11/7, AM 16-20, La Plata. Songs. Better on 15/6, 2245. 35342 1630.0, 2302-2314 11/7, R. Rivadavia, B. Aires. ID "AM 1630, R. Rivadavia", anns., ads., 35342 1670.0, 2242-2251 13/7, R. Rubi, Matanzas, B. Aires, Argentinian mx, 35332 (Carlos Gonçalves, SW coast of Portugal, JRC NRD-545DSP & DRAKE R-E; Advanced Receiver amp.; raised, 4 loop K9AY, 30 m 180º/0º mini- Bev., 80 m 300º/120º Bev., 200 m 270º/90º Bev., 270 m 145º/325º Bev., 300 m 225º/45º Bev, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Mediumwave also not bad last night; Perseus + super Kaz: 1629.85, LRM991, Radio América, 24-07-14 0230, ID Radio Melody, San José. 1670, Radio Rubi ,Rafael Castillo, 24-07-14 0257, Radio Rubi ID. 73, (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, HCDX via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 11710.3, RAE at 0207 with a man talking about the just concluded World Cup where Argentina lost in the final – Good Jul 15. RAE has moved closer to the 11710 frequency since the last time I heard them (Mark Coady, Ont., ODXA YRX via DXLD) 15344.43, Radio Argentina Exterior; 2246-2301+, 16-July; Spanish phone interview, con embajador a Panamá; 2252+ mix of classical guitar & EZ jazz with numerous IDs in Spanish, French and German, including, Rae, Radio Exterior Argentina, Radio Argentina al Exterior & La Radio Pública Exterior; continued in Spanish after 2300. SIO=3+33 with Arabic splash from 15355 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) Oman 11710.644, RAE Buenos Aires. Tiny S=6 signal of sidelobe azimuth at Europe at 0455 UT July 19, Chinese 'UT Tue to Sat' only program, IDs at 0456-0457 UT. 0457:20 UT transmitter switched OFF. But came on air again for only two seconds appearance at 0458:10 UT! (Wolfgang Büschel, July 19, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11710.24, July 23 at 0108, RAE has shifted down about 500 Hz, snuggling up to Cairo on 11710.02, making a lower-pitched het than before. Those frequencies estimated independently by the 40-Hz clicker method on the DX-398. I was going to get the relative pitch of the het on my keyboard, but too late --- Argentina left alone by 0153 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Later back up ** ASIA [non]. Frequency changes of Radio Free Asia from July 11: Uyghur 0100-0200 NF 9780 TIN 250 kW / 313 deg to CeAs, ex 17540 Tibetan 1000-1100 NF 21465 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Mon, ex 21525 1000-1100 NF 21455 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Tue, ex 21505 1000-1100 NF 21525 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Wed, ex 21495 1000-1100 NF 21505 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Thu, ex 21485 1000-1100 NF 21495 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Fri, ex 21475 1000-1100 NF 21485 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Sat, ex 21465 1000-1100 NF 21475 TIN 250 kW / 295 deg to CeAs Sun, ex 21455 (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) Frequency change of Radio Free Asia in Cantonese: 1400-1500 13585 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg EaAs Mon, ex 13635, re-ex 12095 1400-1500 13595 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg EaAs Tue, ex 13700, re-ex 12095 1400-1500 13585 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg EaAs Wed, ex 13635, re-ex 12095 1400-1500 13595 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg EaAs Thu, ex 13700, re-ex 12095 1400-1500 13585 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg EaAs Fri, ex 13635, re-ex 12095 1400-1500 13635 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg EaAs Sat, ex 13585, re-ex 12095 1400-1500 13700 TIN 250 kW / 287 deg EaAs Sun, ex 13595, re-ex 12095 Frequency change of Radio Free Asia Korean from July 17 1700-1900 NF 15425 TIN 250 kW / 325 deg to EaAs, ex 5820 Parallel freq 9975 TIN 250 kW / 329 deg to EaAs. Videos July 20/22: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWzpQnz1qUI&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK2ZnCZLVz4&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIa0KXVmrgA&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMHis0Q5RoY&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uok3XFPaXNc&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 2368.48, Radio Symban, 1307-1325, July 23. Usual Greek music; am certainly not able to hear this every day; takes good propagation for any above threshold level reception; weak, but able to distinguish repetitive Greek singing (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. [Continuing discussion from 14-29 about RA and the future of SW]: The 80 positions that are being cut are from many staff that are close to retirement. Also positions that are being done twice. For example, Nigel Holmes took early retirement 2 years ago, because there was someone at the ABC in Sydney who was more or less doing the same job. Sames goes for John Westland who was in charge of ABC content on RA. There was already someone at ABC International doing the same job for television. In Melbourne the news operation in many ways made no sense. First you had the RA newsroom, and then a newsroom producing international news for Radio National. It makes sense to just have one. Considering how many hours of RA's schedule is from the domestic ABC services. It's not surprising to add more since many of these programs are more popular than RA programs. Shortwave, Rob, is not vital important in the ROK or in Japan. There is almost no SW audience in South Korea and Japan accounts for less than 2% of the total population of Japan. I don't where you ever hear that shortwave is vital to the ROK (Keith Perron, July 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Shortwave radios until a few years ago were *banned* in South Korea, supposedly a free democracy (gh, DXLD) Thanks, Keith. I stand corrected on those references. I was perhaps a bit less careful than I should have been. I recognize that South Korea and Japan do not have broad shortwave audiences at this point in time. When referring to Asia and the Pacific, I was thinking of substantially less developed countries. My point was simply that there are still many places, particularly those in rural or remote areas, where shortwave is relevant. However, as broadcasters abandon shortwave, it’s clear it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and audiences will abandon it, too. My biggest worry is what is filling the “gap” as listeners will get their news and information from other sources (Rob de Santos, dxldyg via DXLD) Did a bit of a fact check with my sources at RA on some recently proffered information in an effort to separate fact from opinion and continue to round out the story. This is in no way intended as criticism of what has been offered by others. In some ways, this kind of situation requires interested observers to take what they learn, combine it with what they already know (or think they know) and then draw conclusions to try and fill out the picture. Inasmuch as those of us doing so need to exercise caution and qualify our missives on the topic accordingly, this further analysis also is offered with the aforementioned qualifiers. ``The 80 positions that are being cut are from many staff that are close to retirement.`` Apparently not so. While this may be true with regard to the Australia Network, many of the affected staff at Radio Australia are middle aged or younger and would not have chosen to retire. Journalists, who work for the Asia Pacific News Center (APNC) are also being targetted and the majority of them are also middle aged or younger. ``Also positions that are being done twice. For example Nigel Holmes took early retirement 2 years ago, because there was someone at the ABC in Sydney who was more or less doing the same job.`` I am told that Nigel Holmes did not willingly take early retirement. He was to be made redundant, was informed of this and decided to retire. There was no one in Sydney who was 'more or less doing the same job'. Part of the problem for RA is that 'Sydney' (ABC Headquarters at Ultimo in Sydney) had and has no regard for or real knowledge of international broadcasting or shortwave, except when it comes to the ABC's domestic shortwave service. Nigel had a remarkable knowledge of shortwave and, taking into account what's happened since he left, that expertise has been sorely missed. ``Sames goes for John Westland who was in charge of ABC content on RA. There was already someone at ABC International doing the same job for television.`` John was not 'in charge of ABC content on RA'. Quite the contrary, he was Distribution Manager looking after RA's programming links with other broadcasters including WRN. RA's link with the latter organisation was severed at the end of 2013. He's somewhat closer to retirement age but in no hurry to bring that day on. ``In Melbourne the news operation in many ways made no sense. First you had the RA newsroom, and then a newsroom producing international news for Radio National. It makes sense to just have one.`` The Asia Pacific News Center (APNC) serves both ABC International (RA & Australia Network) and domestic networks, including Radio National. Journalists in what was once the RA Newsroom are part of the APNC. Axed programmes such as Asia Pacific and Asia Review were also produced by the APNC. Pacific Beat, which has survived, is also produced by staff from the APNC. There has not been an RA newsroom for quite a few years. ``Considering how many hours of RA's schedule is from the domestic ABC services. It's not surprising to add more since many of these programs are more popular than RA programs.`` It is true that an increasing number of mainly RN programs have been added to the RA schedule, most recently following the axing of the live afternoon program for the Pacific. Then, at the end of last year, the co-production with NewsRadio, a three hour rolling news program, simulcast on both RA and Newsradio, was also axed. From the ABC's point of view and spurred on by the need to save money, it makes sense to up the domestic content on RA. Unfortunately, most of these programs are produced with only a domestic audience in mind and often they mean little to listeners of other nationalities across the Pacific or to those who still listen in Asia. They are understandably popular with ex-pats and other overseas listeners with a keen interest in Australian domestic matters. Mention has been made that, in future, some RN programs will be re-oriented to make them more understandable and useful to a Pacific (and Asian) audience while still serving a domestic and ex-pat audience. We'll have to wait and see how that works out (John Figliozzi, The Worldwide Listening Guide - 6th edition now available, http://wwlgonline.com July 17 dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I didn't say all the 80s positions are of those taking early retirement. There are also many contract workers as well. Many of who at the end of the day will move on to other parts of the ABC. Nigel knew almost 6 months in advance what was going to happen and when we met two weeks after he left was happy to be gone. It makes no difference is Sydney does not have the experience, because Broadcast Australia and the staff at Shepperton [sic]. Streamlining is a good thing. We had a number of conference calls with John Westland almost every month when he was at RA and would tell us when certain programs were not for relay and had others that could be used in it's place. I.E programs from Triple J, which has some language that stations outside Australia can not be used. And in 2011 even sent out a survey to find out what programs RA partners were interested so he could source with his team. Asia Pacific News Center was in name only. At the Southbank studios people still called is the RA newsroom. Programs like Asia Pacific and Asia Review are just not needed. Pacific Beat also uses the same pieces, ABC domestic Radio National programs have relevance to listeners in the Pacific. Even programs like Bush Telegraph have content that is also useful to the Pacific nations. Very few is any Australian expats listen to RA. Except for maybe grandstand. But now that it's on satellite they don't for the most part. In 15 years I have not once ever met an Australia in Asia who says they listen to Radio Australia same goes for Australia Network. A few years ago the television side did have huge audiences for sports programs, but these were for the most part dropped. I don't think anyone will notice the cuts taking place. Why produce content yourself when you can already use content that is already available (Keith Perron, ibid.) Thanks to Rob deSantos who put me on to an interesting independent Australian online source that's doing a rather thorough job of following occurrences affecting Radio Australia and the ABC. It will require registration (simply name and e-mail address) which opens a 10 day window for access. http://crickey.com.au In sum, the cuts implemented really are devastating although for now confined to the international services; there is considerable, almost complete loss of seasoned staff and journalists as well as contract staff; Radio Australia effectively no longer exists, though what I'll term a 'zombie service' will still stream 24/7; and there is widespread concern over Abbott government moves and appointments that appear to presage efforts to weaken the ABC overall. The only counter to all this is the notation by some that the government lacks a mandate for any of it, having loudly expressed its commitment not to cut the ABC prior to the election. Therefore, it remains to be seen how the political opposition and public react should the government proceed to cut domestic ABC services in some or similar fashion. The international services are not "visible" for most of the Australian public, so unfortunately (for RA and us) represent easy pickings. The ground is certainly being laid, with government appointments to ABC boards that are hostile to public broadcasting and the ABC and SBS (John Figliozzi, Sent from my iPad July 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Check out "Media briefs: ABC’s unkind cuts … Godwin’s law … brownface …" on Crikey http://www.crikey.com.au/2014/07/17/media-briefs-abcs-unkind-cuts-godwins-law-brownface/ (John Figliozzi, oibid.) The days of the big public international broadcasters are over. In most of Southeast and East Asia mobile apps now have access bigger audiences for content than shortwave. Access, but no one is listening. There are other options now with content providers able to tell better stories than stations like RA, BBCWS or the VOA. In Burma alone mobile phone usage jumped from less than 100, 000 in 2012 to over 28 million in 2 years. This is how people are starting to access content. SW in Burma even in the past never had 28 million people listening. The content they are accessing is text based. The same is for Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and other places. There is no more SW audience. Broadcasters can not keep asking for money if they can't show how many people are listening. Also with new media you get new content providers that are doing a much better job at opening the lines of communication for discussion (Keith Perron, July 22, ibid.) More articles about the future of RA from Australian sources. Still no direct news regarding SW output, but not looking good. https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/abc-cuts-3-radio-australia-programs-be-chopped http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/559116/20140714/job-cuts-radio-australia-fairfax-value-reduced.htm#.U8lDRhaxq0t (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, ibid.) Radio World confirms that the Australian Defense and Foreign Affairs office is insisting that any cuts and redundancies necessitated by the cancellation of the ABC International contract be concentrated in services and personnel associated only with that contract. That would be fine and narrowly targeted had not ABC management decided to integrate the now soon to be defunct international television service with the radio and online international services. One can no longer be affected without affecting the others, hence the carnage at RA. (John Figliozzi, July 22, ibid.) THE GUTTING OF RADIO AUSTRALIA Islands Business 23 July 2014 http://www.islandsbusiness.com/news/australia/5834/the-gutting-of-radio-australia/ The ABC’s international broadcasting to the Pacific islands is being devastated by the latest round of staffing cuts, writes Nic Maclellan SYDNEY, Australia ------ We’re sitting on the grass in the village of Matangi on the island of Futuna. This is one of the more isolated communities in Vanuatu, a small group of houses on a small island at the southeastern extreme of the archipelago. “We rely a lot on Radio Australia when there’s a cyclone coming,” says Miranda, a member of the island’s Community Disaster Committee. “We have no telephone on this side of the island and we often can’t hear Radio Vanuatu.” As Australia debates budgets, debt and deficits, we rarely hear the views of communities affected by planned cuts. Whether it’s the size of the aid budget or the resourcing of the international services of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC, our neighbours have little input into decisions that affect their lives. The latest blow is the planned redundancy of eighty staff from ABC International following the Abbott government’s decision to take Australia Network television away from the ABC. Revoking the $250 million TV contract – with just ninety days’ notice – has had an impact well beyond television. Given the integration of TV, radio and online services within ABC International, the decision affects not only Australia Network but also the other international services providing crucial information to the islands region. ABC International has merged key functions of Radio Australia and Australia Network in recent years in expectation that its contract with the government would be honoured. With only $15 million of ABC funding to work with after the loss of $22.3 million this year from the contract, disentangling these services and activities will cause major problems. According to the ABC, it must find a way to operate “an international converged media service with 60 per cent of the previous budget.” ABC management is still discussing the new service and its impact on staffing with affected employees, but it has revealed that “an approximate eighty staff will be made redundant.” Last week, employees were given a fortnight to respond to forced redundancies and major cutbacks to services. “The new model has been designed to reach as much of our desired audience in the region as possible,” says an ABC spokesperson, “through a converged service based on radio, a limited television offering and digital means.” The broadcaster acknowledges that services will be cut, but says that it is “working very hard” to make sure that the impact on “audiences, partnerships and syndication is minimised as much as possible.” Forced redundancies will have a disproportionate impact on Radio Australia services to the Pacific islands, however. “I can understand why my job has been eliminated,” observes veteran Pacific correspondent Sean Dorney, one of the casualties of the cuts. “I worked mostly for the Australia Network TV news service, which was funded under the Foreign Affairs contract. But I’m really feeling sorry for my colleagues at Radio Australia, who have become huge casualties of the reorganisation following this budget decision. Too few people in Australia understand how important Radio Australia has been in the Pacific.” The government’s revocation of the Australia Network contract may be the original sin, but the gutting of Radio Australia suggests ABC management underestimates the importance of outreach into the Pacific. Whether it’s news, English language lessons, cyclone warnings or the latest cultural programs, there’s a significant audience for Radio Australia – especially in outlying islands and rural communities with limited access to the internet. While there are alternative broadcast and internet services in the crowded Asian media market, the range of options in the small island states is much more limited (That’s not to say that the cuts to staffing in ABC International won’t seriously affect Asian programming. Three international bureaus will close and the long running Asia-Pacific, Mornings and Asia Review are being axed.) Many Pacific media organisations relay news and features from Radio Australia and Radio New Zealand International, providing a crucial window to the world that local media can’t hope to match. There are many excellent Pacific journalists working for private and government broadcasters across the region, but budgets are tight and resources for regional and global coverage hard to come by. Journalists in the region are often faced with government or military censorship, limited advertising, tough defamation laws and a complex cultural environment for investigative journalism; having stories broadcast by Australian or New Zealand media allows them to follow up issues that may otherwise be too hot to handle. My concerns about the proposed changes to Radio Australia are based on thirty years of listening to Australian and New Zealand broadcasting in the islands. A decade ago, I also worked as a casual employee of Radio Australia, reporting for Pacific Beat – an experience that reaffirmed my belief in the importance of Australia’s capacity to broadcast radio, TV and internet into the region, and to carry voices from the Pacific into Australian debates. The latest cuts fundamentally undermine this two-way process. Australia creates strategic problems for itself when key institutions – media, universities, non-government organisations and government departments – fail to allocate the resources needed to engage with a dynamic and complex region. The loss of experienced staff from ABC International will mean that the woeful coverage of the Pacific islands in the Australian media is further weakened. If the story doesn’t fit the paradigm of paradise (swaying palm trees, blue water, sandy beaches) or paradise lost (coups, corruption, climate change), voices from the islands rarely get a run. According to current plans, the ABC will maintain one correspondent in Papua New Guinea and one in New Zealand, but lose its dedicated radio and TV correspondents for the Pacific islands. Pacific Beat will be retained, together with six hours of television broadcast into the islands region. “Radio Australia remains central to our international broadcasting model and will continue to broadcast a 24/7 schedule,” says the ABC spokesperson. “The network will be delivered through deeper collaboration with ABC News and ABC Radio and through collaboration with SBS.” But who will provide knowledgeable, accurate and timely content? The ABC’s domestic service has long relied on the expertise of reporters like Radio Australia’s Pacific correspondent Campbell Cooney, business reporter Jemima Garrett and Australia Network’s Sean Dorney. Dorney, who worked for many years in (and was deported from) Papua New Guinea, is one of Australia’s most experienced Pacific affairs reporters; in recent years, he has covered the region from Brisbane for Australia Network and ABC TV. Dorney believes that there’s a need for specialist reporting of a region that has vital importance for Australia: “I have often said that in the world outlook of most of the Australian media, Australia might as well be anchored somewhere between Ireland and North America rather than in the South Pacific.” According to the proposed restructuring, Radio Australia’s English- language service is “not required,” and “English content will be sourced from ABC Radio and News in future.” The abolition of the English-language unit will be a major setback. In the past, Clement Paligaru, Heather Jarvis, Isabelle Genoux and other talented reporters have crafted radio series including Carving Out and Time to Talk (a twelve-part radio series and website on governance in the Pacific). Innovative content of this kind can only be produced by journalists with cultural understanding, personal relationships and a contact book developed through years of hard grind and travel across the region. I doubt that the skills required for detailed coverage of the twenty- two countries in the islands region can easily be found in press gallery reporters who accompany Australian politicians on whirlwind visits to the islands. Add to this the fact that not one daily newspaper in Australia has a dedicated Pacific islands correspondent. The cuts partly reflect a broader, but mistaken, view of technological change. A leaked summary of the federal government’s efficiency review of the ABC and SBS, which was headed by the former chief financial officer of Seven West Media, Peter Lewis, recommended shutting down Radio Australia’s shortwave broadcasting. “Noting shortwave is a largely superseded technology,” said the review, “discontinuing this service would release resources for other purposes.” In reality, these broadcasts are a vital service for rural communities in neighbouring Melanesian nations like Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. Streaming internet into the islands region is not sufficient for the ABC to meet its charter responsibilities: in spite of broadband advances in urban centres and the spread of digital phones, the vast majority of Pacific islanders still rely on radio for their information, and any loss of shortwave and satellite rebroadcasting will be sorely felt. There will be “reduced original content requirements” and fewer positions in RA’s foreign language section, with the Chinese-language service reduced to three staff, Indonesian to three and just one broadcaster each for Vietnam, Burma and Cambodia. Staff at the Tok Pisin service, which provides a vital service for our closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, will be reduced to just two. “Language services in Tok Pisin will be delivered through a mix of reduced original content coupled with translated ABC content,” says the current restructuring proposal. The loss of “original content” for our northern neighbour comes at a time when foreign minister Julie Bishop has spoken of her “long love affair with Papua New Guinea” dating back to when she wrote to penpals there as a fourteen-year-old. Radio Australia’s PNG service has been broadcasting since Bishop was a lovelorn teenager; in past decades, Pearson Vetuna, Carolyn Tiriman, Kenya Kala and other Australian-based Radio Australia broadcasters were treated like rock stars when they visited their homeland. Proposals simply to translate ABC News into Tok Pisin hardly meet the ABC’s charter obligation for innovative international broadcasting. The future of Radio Australia’s French-language service “remains under consideration” even as the French dependencies of New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna are building closer economic and political ties with Australia and the Pacific Islands Forum. New Caledonia is moving towards a referendum on self-determination in the next few years. Yet Australian audiences would be hard-pressed to find any coverage of last May’s elections, even though the incoming Congress will determine whether New Caledonia reaches a new political relationship with France before 2018. I was the only Australian journalist to travel to report on the elections from New Caledonia, and no newspapers in Australia published a report on the vote. (Ironically, Radio Australia was created during the second world war to complement Australia’s first diplomatic presence in the Asia- Pacific region: a consulate in New Caledonia established to support Gaullist efforts to overthrow the pro-Vichy governor.) As I travelled around New Caledonia in May, a number of indigenous Kanaks mentioned items from Radio Australia’s French-language service that they’d heard or seen online. Australian broadcasting provides a crucial alternative in a media landscape dominated by French government media and a daily newspaper that campaigns against independence. The ABC’s reporting of the region is not perfect, of course, and it’s not unknown for Pacific journalists to criticise the errors and cultural bias that are part and parcel of an under resourced organisation. But the loss of the Australia Network contract is part of a broader pattern that fatally damages Australian broadcasting to the islands region. Even for a government that declares little love for the ABC, this short-sighted budget bushfire is yet another blow to Australia’s declining influence in the Pacific region. With cuts to the ABC, CSIRO, Bureau of Meteorology and other institutions working with Pacific partners, the Australian government is weakening regional initiatives to respond to poverty, development and the climate emergency. The merger of the Australian Agency for International Development into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and multibillion dollar cuts to the overseas aid budget over the next four years have already unbalanced the institutions that implement policy in the region. And what about the villagers in Futuna? There will be an increased diet of ABC reporting of the floods in Queensland, but less timely information about the next cyclone bearing down on them. Surely we can do better than this (via Mike Terry, July 23, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) Personally I don't mind if the VOA or RA cut back. With the VOA gone in Asia, it means we can now take over their frequencies. If RA cuts back it means transmitter time would open up for better primetime slots. So I say let them (Keith Perron, PCJ, ibid.) You've seen the news here regarding Radio Australia's likely cuts; there's an interesting program available from the domestic Radio National service that might shed some perspective in what's going on. You might want to add this to your "Podding Along" hit list. Program: "Counterpoint" Subject: "Australia Update": Australian politics seems to be in a kind of combined crisis: the media in disintegration, the party system crumbling, and a growing inability of the political class to set new policy directions and advocate for them coherently to the public. How did it get to this and what can be done to fix it? URL: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/counterpoint/australia-update-july/5607378 With apologies to John Figliozzi for the idea of "Podding Along"... (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA internetradio via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Podcasts from international and public radio sources that I've found particularly interesting and edifying as I'm "plodding along" in my regular exercise regimen. In addition to via the websites referenced, these podcasts generally are made available through several other popular internet sources such as iTunes and TuneIn. ------------------------------ REAR VISION - ABC Radio National The Cult of Investment: the Fabulous Growth of the Wealth Management Industry. In a recent report, the Boston Consulting Group stated that in 2013 global private financial wealth grew by 14.6 percent to reach 152 trillion dollars. The industry that preserves, invests and sometimes loses that wealth by using exotic and complex investments is one of the largest sectors in financial services. Wealth management has been transformed from private banking for the super-rich to a cult of investment. No longer just a shake of the hand, a gentleman's agreement in a wood paneled office, but managed from what the industry calls a 'platform'. (29') http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/looking-after-the-one-per-cent3athe-fabulous-growth-of-the-wea/5529890 LATE NIGHT LIVE - ABC Radio National The Economy Explained - Joseph Stiglitz; Ann Moyal, A Memoir of Someone Most Americans Have Never Heard Of. The distinguished American economist Joseph Stiglitz won a Nobel prize for describing the macroeconomic consequences of the fact that monetary transactions are not undertaken with perfect information. But less discussed is the way his orientation as a thinker was shaped by a childhood spent in Gary, Indiana, an industrial town named after the chairman of U.S. Steel. He spoke to Phillip Adams at the Sydney Town Hall. "A Woman of Influence" is Ann Moyal's second autobiography and spans the past twenty years of her life and work as an eminent historian of Australian science and technology. Ann's early career as research assistant to Lord Beaverbrook (Canadian media mogul, best friend and confidante of Winston Churchill) and her years in academe back in Australia were exciting and stimulating and rather than slowing down in her older age, she has found it to be full of passion, intensity and involvement, founding the Independent Scholars' Association of Australia, and writing many books. (55') http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/joseph-stiglitz/5577186 THE MEDIA REPORT - ABC Radio National Peter Greste and the Future of Al Jazeera; Young Australian Journalist of the Year Winners. What are the implications for Al Jazeera's reporters around the world after three of its staff were sentenced to seven years gaol in Egypt? Will the network do things differently in the future? And the Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year, Ella Rubeli, and two other category winners discuss journalism, the pros and cons of multi- skilling and why they don't watch television. (29') http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/mediareport/peter-greste-and-the-future-of-al-jazeera/5552006 LATE NIGHT LIVE - ABC Radio National Taking the Mid-Year National Temperature Time to take stock of the many political, economic and cultural issues currently facing Australians. Clive Palmer has being described as the saviour of the ETS, we're about to welcome a new Senate in Canberra, we're out of the World Cup, and we have reports of corruption erupting from all our institutions, including banks, parliaments and the Church. (55') [A personal note: Nothing takes place in isolation, especially in our globalized environment today. I respectfully suggest that observing how other nations handle similar issues can be both useful and instructive when one considers how one's own might best approach them.] http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/taking-the-national-temperature/5551844 BIG IDEAS - ABC Radio National Smaller Government, Bigger Economy? Should we shrink the public sector and give the market a greater share? With the current focus on reducing public debt, the federal treasurer says we have unsustainable expectations about what governments can deliver and so governments need to cut spending and downsize. But does smaller government guarantee economic growth? Will the private sector rise to fill the space? (55') http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/smaller-government-bigger-economy/5576556 (John Figliozzi, Podding Along, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 15450, Reach Beyond Australia (formerly HCJB), Kununurra, presumed at 1400:20 beginning of musical IS, 1401 sign-on by man, very weak but could determine it was English - Very poor July 19 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, by the lake, with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11595, July 21 at 1242 [not 1252 as typoed originally], Kununurra has now replaced the old HCJB IS & ID, with different music, but still ``uplifting`` on steel guitar, fiddle, etc., and periodic IDs as ``This is Reach Beyond Australia; our program on this frequency will commence shortly``; 1245 opening S Asian service, into language, scheduled as Bengali on Mondays; fair signal. That makes it RBA by abbr (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. QSL received from the ORF for the reception 08.05.2014 from 0500 to 0600 UT on the frequency 6155 kHz. This QSL-letter, but if you cut with scissors along said line, obtained QSL-card. On the one hand photo: Winter view of Vienna, on the other confirmation details. The report sent the email. mail: roi.service @ orf.at (Dmitry Kutuzov, Ryazan, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", QSL-world, RusDX July 20 via DXLD) ORF. QSL Verification (QSL-letter). The program is in German. 18.05.2014, 0459-0550 UT, 6155 kHz 12.06.2014, 0500-0615 UT, 6165 kHz. [sic] Plus stickers ORF1. Form filling online http://oe1.orf.at/kontakt/ (Editor Anatoly Klepov, QSL-world, RusDX July 20 via DXLD) ** AZERBAIJAN. 11747v, Ictimai Radio (tentative), vernacular, 1820 UT, July 15. S=9+10dB, O=3/4, FM-Mode (Herbert Meixner-AUTRICHE, A-DX July 15 via BC-DX 20 July via DXLD) 11760-FM, Das Programm kann man im FM Mode und 20 bis 30 kHz Bandweite auch verstehen. Sprazzelt so ueber den gesamten Bereich 11750.5 bis 11767.2 kHz, wobei nach obenhin schon der naechste Sender CRI Deutsch aus Kashgar aus 11768/11775 kHz hereindrueckt. Center liegt fast genau auf 11760 kHz, Messung wegen fehlendem Carrier ist nicht genau messbar. Die Wellenbewegungen des Signals, - siehe Screenshot gelb-gruene Wasserfall Farb-Anteile - kann ich nicht erklaeren (Wolfgang Büschel, July 15, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 20 via DXLD) ** BANGLADESH. 4750, Bangladesh Betar - HS, 1230-1244, July 21. RRI Makassar continues to be absent here; another Ramadan Monday with non-stop reciting from the Qur'an preempting the SAARC news bulletin in English (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. Bad mixture here on: 4749.994, rather Chinese PBS Qinghai Xining at 1400 UT, ID signal, and 4750.0 BGD with South Asian music, latter much stronger (Wolfgang Büschel, some 90 / 60 mb log of 1330 to 1415 UT time slot July 21, presumably via remote receiver in Australia, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews via dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. Bangladesh Betar, 7250 kHz. English programme. Full data QSL card (Baitul Mukarram Mosque) and personal letter received in 51 days for reception report with audio clip sent to rrc@dhaka.net V/S Abu Tabib Md. Zia Hasan, Senior Engineer, Research & Receiving Centre (Rafael Martinez Barcelona Catalunya, via Dario Monferini, July 23, playdx yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5580.27, 0010-0020 21.7, R San José, San José de Chiquitos, Spanish talk, hymns, 15321 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, Here in the summerheat, just a few tips heard in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6024.97, Jul 1 0057, Red Patria Nueva alone and clear. Has been here on the low side for a long time. R Amanencer [Dominican Republic] has been off for a very long time and was last reported in Aug `11 on 6025.07 according to to LA SW logs (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 20 via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. CQ, CQ, CQ…Aquí Pedro F. Arrunátegui para compartir algo con los que disfrutan y aman el DX latinoamericano, todas las horas son UTC, desde la tierra de los incas, les informo mediante este Quipus lo siguiente: [Note: apparently no clips or illustrations this time; also, we suspect that many of the frequencies ending in .00 were not actually measured to that accuracy, but defaulted to such a display --- gh] 6025.00, R. Patria Nueva, La Paz; 18/07 2240-2310, 44444, news, ID "Informa Patria Nueva desde la Paz", px Bolivia Informa, news ads y mx con mensaje político, ads Campo Ferial Yanomarca. 6134.80, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz; 1/07 2245-2310, 44444+, px Bolivia en Contacto, news, ID "Está en sintonía de su Radio Santa Cruz……." saludos desde la red Huarano de comunicaciones el informativo ads. 6155.10, R. Fides, La Paz; 15/07 2340-0005, 44444, mxf, mx, ads Banco los Andes, px El Hombre Invisible, ID "El grupo Fides presentó…", ID "Radio Fides la voz permanente de Bolivia", ID "La historia de Bolivia es Radio Fides", px En Contacto. NOTA. Observo cambio de frecuencia, antes 6154.90, ahora 6155.10 verificado en USB Y LSB. La recepción la he efectuado del 1/07 al 18/07 en compañía de mi sabueso Icom IC R72 acompañado del Mizuho KX-3, una antena de hilo largo de 12 metros y una antena loop. Muchos 128´s PFA (Pedro F. Arrunátegui, Lima, Perú, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. RADIO PANAMERICANA CELEBRA 42 AÑOS DE EXISTENCIA EN EL AIRE DE BOLIVIA --- by gruporadioescuchaargentino Radio Panamericana, la red de mayor presencia en el país y fuera de las fronteras, estuvo de aniversario. El pasado jueves 17 de julio celebró 42 años de vida institucional, 42 años en el corazón de los bolivianos. 1972 marcó el nacimiento de esta emisora líder que es escuchada a lo largo y ancho de la geografía nacional. Panamericana nació el 17 de julio de 1972 gracias a la visionaria inquietud del industrial Miguel Dueri, afirma su director, Daniel Sánchez, agregando que “una constante preocupación fue llegar a los sectores alejados del país en un propósito permanente de integración nacional”. Pese a estar siempre del brazo de la tecnología, inicialmente el alcance fue limitado, pero posteriormente se optimizó la condición técnica hasta cubrir prácticamente todo el territorio nacional y la radio alcanzó dimensión internacional. Actualmente Panamericana tiene también presencia internacional a través de sofisticados sistemas de emisión, vía satélite, vía virtual o los tradicionales enlaces de onda media, corta y frecuencia modulada. Sus contactos internacionales se mantienen con Cadena Solar en el área andina, con Washington en Estados Unidos, Suiza y España en Europa. Según el director de la emisora, “el cherry sobre la torta de este 42 aniversario fue la presencia de Panamericana en el Mundial 2014 con una extraordinaria labor de Ramiro Sánchez desde Brasil”. Como se conoce, el formato de la radio es periodístico en un gran porcentaje; sin embargo, “la ampliación de nuestras emisiones a 24 horas, hizo que introduzcamos segmentos musicales especialmente en horarios de trasnoche. Nuestro sistema aleatorio automatizado nos permite ofrecer una excelente selección musical”, enfatizó. En el aspecto humano, prestigiosos periodistas y gente especializada en radio conforman la plantilla estelar de la emisora. Mencionamos a Juan José Hidalgo, Ramiro Sánchez, Paola Valdiviezo, Paola Ríos, Raúl Velásquez, José Luis Flores, Silvia Alcón, Pablo Loza, Pablo Bustillo, Orlando Linares, Mary Ross Jáuregui, Patricia Gonzales y muchos otros. La planta ejecutiva administrativa está a cargo de Germán Núñez, Mabel Pastén, Doris Tarqui, Adriana Vergara y David Calderón. Los técnicos de sonido son Alfredo Sandy, Enrique Díaz, Simón Prado y Armando Vidal. La dirección técnica está cargo del ingeniero Johnny Dueri y Marcelo Andrade. (El Diario) (via GRA blog via DXLD) 42 is significant? Of course! Note it claims still to be on SW, but rarely reported on 6105v. Here`s one report from a sesquiyear ago in DXLD 13-06 not mentioning any ID; has anyone heard it since?? ``6105.48, Radio Panamericana, La Paz, 1100 to 1112 OM under high noise 26 Jan.; 1050 OM chat en español with piano music to 1100, narrow filter, USB (Robert Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, South Florida, NRD 535D -Icom 746Pro - Drake R8 - 60 meter dipole - AOG, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` Yes, in the 2014 DSWCI DBS is this entry; B = irregular: ``B 6105.4 10 BOL R Panamericana, La Paz 1045v-0300(SS 1100-0100) S JAN14`` Unfortunately the follow-up monthly Tropical Bands Monitor reports don`t cover 49m, stopping at 5580.3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA [and non]. Radio Santa Cruz amid white noise jamming of Voice of Freedom. http://youtu.be/ZU6EktdPok4 (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, July 18, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL: 4785, R.Caiari, Pt.º Velho RO, 2142-2154, 20/7, relato de partida de futebol, anúncios comerciais; 25331. 4885, R. Club do Pará, Belém PA, 0854-desvan. total 0920, 19/7, canções, texto; 15341. 4885, idem, 2015 (surgimento do sinal) -2050, 19/7, música, notícias de futebol, anúncios comerciais; 25331. Pelas 2130, hora a que voltei a observar, já o sinal apresentava um SINPO de 55444. 5035, R. Aparecida, Aparecida SP, 2207-2216, 17/7, A Voz do Brasil; 34332, QRM da R. Educação Rural; entre as duas, notou-se um ligeiríssimo atraso no áudio, da parte da estação paulista. 5039.9, R. Voz Missionária, Camboriú SC, 2132-2157, 20/7, canções durante rubrica de propag. relig.; 45444. 6010.1, R. Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte MG, 2131-2155, 20/7, concurso, info. meteorológica e música, tudo no programa O Sertanejo Moderno; 45444 (!). Tentei outras freqs. do Brasil, e, de facto, algumas estações apresentavam sinais melhores do que os observados dias antes. 6105, R. Filadélfia, Foz do Iguaçu PR, 2143-2152, 20/7, propag. relig. algo "à moda" da SRDA, com pregador exaltado; 33441, QRM adj. e na mesma freq. 6135, R. Aparecida, Aparecida SP, 2215-..., 18/7, A Voz do Brasil; 23431; // 5035, 9629.95, 11854.8. 9629.95, R. Aparecida, Aparecida SP, 2218-..., 18/7, A Voz do Brasil; 55444..., mas sinal sobremodulado e distorcido. 9630, idem, 0902-desvan. total 1040, 19/7, propag. relig., programa musical, por volta das 0915, e o Jornal Brasil Hoje, às 1000; 25432. 9818.7, R. 9 de Julho, São Paulo SP, 0859-desvancimento total 1025, 19/7, propag. relig., texto, que me pareceu ser já um programa não relacionado com religião; 25331. 11735, R. Transmundial, St.ª M.ª RS, 1301-1325, 19/7, texto, anúncio da pág.ª internet, música; 15431. 11735, idem, 1918-1948, 19/7, canções, anúncios comerciais para artigos [relig.] da emissora, programa de propaganda religiosa; 43432, QRM da TZA. O fecho terá ocorrido às 2000. [as I suspected, says will have signed off at 2000; nor heard in evenings here; good for Zanzibar`s last hour, q.v.] 11815, R. Brasil Central, Goiânia GO, 1305-1440, 19/7, canções, ..., anúncios comerciais, rubrica sobre futebol; 15431. 11895, R. Boa Vontade, Pt.º Alegre RS, 2137-2150, 19/7, canções, propag. relig.; 25331; inaudível em // 9550. Bons DX e 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4875.06, 2250-2300 14.7, R Dif. Roraima, Boa Vista, RR Portuguese talk, CODAR QRM 23242 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, Here in the summerheat, just a few tips heard in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. CQ, CQ, CQ…Aquí Pedro F. Arrunátegui para compartir algo con los que disfrutan y aman el DX latinoamericano, todas las horas son UTC, desde la tierra de los incas, les informo mediante este Quipus lo siguiente: [Note: apparently no clips or illustrations this time; also, we suspect that many of the frequencies ending in .00 were not actually measured to that accuracy, but defaulted to such a display --- gh] 4885.00, BRASIL, R. Dif. Acreana, Rio Branco; 15/07 1105-1120, 33333, news y ads, 7 horas y 12 ?. QRM, la señal se perdió por el fuerte ruido. La recepción la he efectuado del 1/07 al 18/07 en compañía de mi sabueso Icom IC R72 acompañado del Mizuho KX-3, una antena de hilo largo de 12 metros y una antena loop. Muchos 128´s PFA (Pedro F. Arrunátegui, Lima, Perú, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4965.010, Jul 6 2300, R Alvorada de Parintins now 100% definite. // to a 2-minute-delayed webstream. Easy to hear the ID from the web but the noise just above 4865 is very annoying, but when you know what will come you can hear the ID. This frequency carries their FM cultural program. The station was gone for a week or two but back again from July 6. Parintins is known for a popular folklore festival held there each June called Boi-Bumbá. See more info below (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 20 via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) Viz.: As R Alvorada de Parintins is a seldom heard station here, it might be appropriate to tell a little about the Rio Amazonas city Parintins in the far east of the state Amazonas. The city has about 110,000 inhabitants. Bio Bumba Carnival show, Parintins, Brazil” the most popular attraction in Parintins. This part is copied from a review on Internet: I was lucky enough to visit Parintins recently on a cruise down the Amazon. Parintins appears to be an innocuous smallish Amazonian town. But it hides a secret!!! Several days after mid winter solstice (21 June) it holds a 3 day competitive festival - of two teams the 'blues' and 'reds', Each takes all year to devise a 70 minute programme of music, dance and costumes based around Brazilian folk legends. Everyone supports one or either team and some 15,000 of each takes turns to cheer their teams' presentation in the Bombadrome - the other supporters have to remain silent. The whole thing is an indescribable continuous cacophony of loud rhythmic Latin music and song; the dancers wear very heavy costumes and there are moveable 'sets. If you are in the area, you must see this, an experience of a lifetime. If not, try and get on an Amazon cruise - it will dock in Parintins and the locals will lay on a smaller version of the Boi Bumba in a local auditorium. This is also terrific. We had a whale of a time.. helped of course by the obligatory photos with some of the stunning lead dancers - both sexes!!! (via SW Bulletin, ibid.) Parintins is on the Amazon river east of Manaus about halfway to Santarém; lat. Circa 2.5 south, so yes, it`s ``winter`` (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 9820v, R Nove de Julho, São Paulo, SP, 0558-0612, Jul 13, religious program "Santuario Nacional", "Com a Mãe Aparecida", comments and songs, 24322 (Manuel Méndez, Spain, DSWCI DX Window July 23 via DXLD) I heard this program "Com a Mãe Aparecida" on 25 Oct 2013. Luckily I got also an own ID of ”Radio 9 de Julho” on top of the hour, so I sent a report and got surprisingly also a QSL. So it's possible to identify the station also during the network programme. Based on the QSL letter the programme is produced and transmitted by Rádio Aparecida and it's on air from 22h00 till 5h00 every day (definitely local time). I mentioned in my report that there were phone calls from Parà also and they replied in Portuguese, that this programme integrates Brazilian people from various states of Federation (Jan-Mikael Nurmela, Uurainen, Finland, DSWCI DX Window July 23 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. BRASIL: 5990.1, Rádio Nacional Brasília; 0408-0415+, 15- July; IDs as Rádio Nacional & Rádio Nacional Brasília to pop music bumper to M commentary in Portuguese; brief Happy Birthday played at 0414+. SIO=32+2+ with splash from 6000 English, Habana (presumed) & others; LSB best (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11780, July 17 at 0543, RNA is off the air! Maybe they finally got the message about all the spurs I have been monitoring. Tim Rahto in Iowa was hearing Iran instead on 11780 at 0420-0435*. As Ken Zichi points out, Iran`s English is scheduled until 0420, normally blocked here by Brasil, but as often happens apparently did not get turned off on time. (11780 an absolutely stupid frequency choice for Iran to North America!) RNA 6180 is still on at 0528 check. Wolfgang Büschel says RNA was still on at 0209 UT July 17, spreading from 11770.3 to 11789.2 but no spurs or splatter beyond that. 11780, July 18 at 0107, RNA is back on tonight, and splattering out to 11800, probably to 11760 except blocked by RHC, but no spurs at 30 kHz multiples. Still overmodulated. Also active on 6180 and 5990 at this time. 11780, July 18 at 0559, RNA is distorted but no spurs audible, with ID for its 300 kW on 980 MW. Aoki shows 360 degrees as azimuth on 11780, presumably meaning due north rather than non-direxional; but Wolfgang Büschel says it`s 310 degrees (source?) which is right toward us, making us also the worst victims of its overmodulation/splash/spurs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11780.002, RNA at 0620 UT on July 18 again on air. S=9+30 signal heard on mainlobe in Edmonton Alb-CAN remote SDR post. Main signal 'seen' 10 kHz wide (5 kHz each side), but some splatter in audio tone peaks for example when strong guitar signal played, latter occured on wide 11743 to 11812 kHz range at 0628 UT. Mainlobe fits CANADA target, the 310 degree antenna outlets from Rodeador Park shortwave transmitting center northwest of Brasilia has mainlobe towards across Cuba, Kansas-USA and Calgary-CAN path. [sic] Both \\ RNA/RNB in 49 mb too: 5990.061 RNA S=9+10dB -62dBm surprisingly strong, must be at least a 125 kW reduced power of 250 kW unit beast in use, never 4 kW of power of their daytime experimental DRM unit on 5990v. Otherwise the 6180.004 kHz unit is rather powerhouse strong there noted in NW Canada remote rx post. S=9+35dB or -41dBm read-out on the Perseus strength window (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 18, dxldyg via DXLD) 5990v not on air at 0320 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, July 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11750 & 11810, July 19 at 0513, spurs from RNA 11780, but at poor level this time. Regarding my previous comment about the azimuth from RNA on 11780, 6180 (and 5990?), rather than the ``360 degrees`` as in Aoki, reply from Huelbe Garcia, PU3HAG: ``Guilherme (Glenn) -/ You are probably already aware, but here it is: Gustavo Maia from Goiânia visited Parque Rodeador (RNA transmitter site) in August 2010. Gustavo left a really good post with several pictures on his blog: http://dxswl.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/visita-ao-parque-do-rodeador-ebcradiobras/ The 4th picture shows maps with radiation patterns. The 310 degree bearing seems the right one`` And Wolfgang Büschel says: ``collected azimuth data some decade ago, according of a Brazilian sw target list: 55 SoEUR/ NoAF / ME 130 SoAF / MDG 235 CHL, PAC / AUS_NZL 310 KS WeUSA/CAN 325 IL CeUSA/CAN 345 NY EaUSA/CAN the AM / DRM tests originate at 325 degree antenna, see attached jpg, so regular RNA could be also either 310 or 325 degree azimuth. http://static.panoramio.com/photos/1920x1280/13424664.jpg FYI, Spurs noted also in 1994 and 1998`` Checking my NGS globe with geometer, the true azimuth from Brasília to Enid (and circa Kansas) is 319 degrees, while 310 goes right along the US/Mexico border, but close enough. One wonders whether the various other antennas are still serviceable as the external service is long since deleted (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11780, July 20 at 0103, RNA is still overmodulated and splattering out to plus/minus 20 kHz but no further spurs. 11750 & 11810, July 20 at 0557, big filthy spurs again from 11780 RNA. Same situation much earlier on July 21 at 0142. At 0152 July 21 6180 is on but 5990 is off. 11750 & 11810, July 21 at 0524 check, still distorted spurs from 11780 RNA. Why don`t they fix all this? 11750 & 11810, July 22 at 0537, the spurs from 11780 RNA are actually louder than the fundamental, during music, but much more distorted; 11780 sounds weaker but the signal is really stronger. At 0544, // 5990 is on and fair, 6180 on and good. 11750 & 11810, July 23 at 0145, RNA is putting out the distorted spurs from overmodulated 11780, which is also splashing 11765-11795 or so (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL [and non]. 11735, July 18 at 1036, Brazuguese promo for Bíblias with phone number, free ones? About equal level and zero-beat with music from North Korea // 11710. 1037 mentions Transmundial more than once, and also www.transmundial.com.br; 1038 into YL DJ. I never hear R. Transmundial in the evenings; must sign off earlier despite Aoki listing 0800-0200. WRTH 2014 attempts to show hours for only a handful of ZY SW stations, not including this one. Unavoidably awake, now at 1040 I find these others active on 25m: 11780, 11855, 11915; not 11765 or 11925; and maybe 11815 under NHK (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Radio Aparecida, Aparecida, Brazil sent a beautiful full color-full data QSL card via postal mail awash in gorgeous Brazilian stamps in 42 weeks for a reception report and two dollars return postage. The card verifies reception in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The address and other information is given at http://www.radioaparecida.com.br/ (Bob Brossell, WI, NASWA Flashsheet July 20 via DXLD) WTFK? ** BULGARIA. Re: Radio Varna observed in English & Russian From DXLD 14-28: "BULGARIA. News on Radio Varna you can listen to and in Russian. From 1 July this year, Varna Radio began broadcasting news in English and Russian languages. Every weekday at 11:30 radio bilingual introduces residents and visitors with relevant information, and at 19:00, seven days a week, you can hear the final news of the day, according to BNR. So regional radio station BNR in Varna revives its traditional program in foreign languages, "Holidays". News in Russian and English, you can listen in Varna on the frequency 103.4 MHz in active summer season - July and August (newsbg.ru / OnAir.ru via RusDX July 6 via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) Times local???" Radio Varna was observed at 1600 UT 20 July 2014 with three minutes of news in Russian followed by three minutes of news in English - therefore the times given above are Bulgarian local time, and the weekday morning broadcast will therefore be at 0830 UT. Both newscasts identified as 'Radio Bulgaria'. This was monitored via their webstream at http://bnr.bg/varna (David Kernick, Interval Signals Online, July 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CANADA [non] ** CANADA. UNDER THE INFLUENCE - CBC Radio One The Elevator Pitch The definition of an elevator pitch is being able to pitch an idea in the time it takes an elevator to go from the first floor to the second. Distilling a selling idea down to a few words is the ultimate test: If it can be encapsulated in one compelling sentence, it's strong. If it can't be, the idea is probably fuzzy. We'll talk about some of the best elevator pitches ever used, from the world of business, books and movies - and we'll talk about why elevator pitches make marketing campaigns better. (28') http://www.cbc.ca/undertheinfluence/season-3/2014/04/05/elevator-pitches-1/ (John Figliozzi, Podding Along #7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Sporadic E opening July 21, UT: (earlier same day was getting Mexico, q.v., 1557-1911 UT) 2122 on 2, aiming NE and algo fades in; 2123 letterboxed show with subtitles, dialog mixing French and English 2126 on 2, PetroCanada ad, Trivago, Moore`s for clothes donations, Philly-up; 2127 Air Canada credit for show sponsorship, which was ``The Amazing Race --- Canada``. This matches sked for CTV on CHBX Sault Ste-Marie, Ontario, the only possibility left from this direxion (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [non]. GERMANY (non) Some changes of Media Broadcast: Bible Voice Broadcasting on 21480 kHz: 1100-1130 MDC 125 kW / 045 deg EaAs English Sat 1115-1130 MDC 125 kW / 045 deg EaAs English Sun Eternal Good News 1130-1145 MDC 125 kW / 045 deg EaAs Japanese Sun Cancelled broadcasts: 1100-1115 MDC 125 kW / 045 deg EaAs Cantonese Tue-Thu 1115-1130 MDC 125 kW / 045 deg EaAs Chinese Mon 1100-1130 MDC 125 kW / 045 deg EaAs English Fri (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) Frequency change of Bible Voice Broadcasting in English 1830-1915 NF 11600 SOF 100 kW / 126 deg to N/ME Sun, ex 9635. Videos: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/frequency-change-of-bible-voice.html (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) so this one via BLGARIA Frequency change of Bible Voice Broadcasting in English 1830-1917 NF 11600 SOF 100 kW / 126 deg to N/ME Sun, ex 9635. Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9_uLg-B1iA&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsByht57Xfo&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh5LK3jkHsk&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gbxMx5vVwo&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-WC4KuKYR0&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) ** CHINA. Firedrake jamming 1414 July 16 on new 12045 MP4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3uBpMhd__4&feature=youtu.be Firedrake jamming 1443 on new 12045 MP4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3uBpMhd__4&feature=youtu.be Firedrake jamming 1458 on new 12045 MP4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD3JtiHPPhs&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Firedrake [non] on 16500: For the past hour I have been enjoying a nice concert of Chinese traditional music on 16500 --- NOT Firedrake, much calmer, no ``crashing & banging``. They must have found a new CD to play at Jamming HQ in Beijing. Tune-in at 1323, no break at 1400 and still at 1422. Good signal with lite fading. Not // usual CNR1 jamming on 11785, 11805, 13830, 15115, 15195, 15265 (Glenn Hauser, OK, 1422 UT July 17, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Same stayed on until exactly 1500*. Never any vocals, never any announcements, and never any sign of a jamming target. It so happens that 16500 is not in the current Aoki list including countless out-of- band jamming frequencies against Sound of Hope, RFA, et al. [WORLD OF RADIO 1731] [and not heard on any subsequent morning until July 25] 19000, July 17 at 1353, CNR1 jammer barely audible vs FRG-7 birdie, as scheduled during this hour on Thursdays only, against RFA Tibetan via Kuwait. Circa 1325, no other CNR1 jammers found 12-19 MHz except inbanders as noted above. 16500, looking for non-Firedrake music concert again July 18 as heard yesterday: nothing, at 1230, 1316, 1343 checks. 16920, July 18 at 1354, CNR1 jammer, poor signal; and no others audible 11-19 MHz except the usual 11 & 15 MHz inbanders. 15195, Firedrake jamming still exists, as heard July 19 at 1333 during drumming segment, atop but mixed with target and/or CNR1 jamming, while 15115 and 15265 had CNR1 jamming only; neither kind anywhere else 12-19 MHz except: 18990, July 19 at 1336, CNR1 jammer is JBA, as scheduled this hour on Sats & Weds to go along with RFA Tibetan via Kuwait CNR1 jammers, July 21: 13530, July 21 at 1230, CNR1 jammer, fair; none now in the 14s, 16s, 17s, 18s; 1248 vs CODAR 13830, July 21 at 1231, CNR1 jammer, very poor but // 13530 15195, July 21 at 1231, CNR1 jammer, poor, no Firedrake today 15265, July 21 at 1231, CNR1 jammer, poor 12370, July 21 at 1235, CNR1 jammer, fair, out of synch with 13530; I think it`s 12370 that is a syllable ahead of 13530 12980, July 21 at 1240, CNR1 jammer, very poor 11785, July 21 at 1241, CNR1 jammer, poor with CCI 12980, July 21 at 1321, CNR1 jammer, fair with flutter, CODAR 15115, July 21 at 1324, CNR1 jammer, with CCI 15195, July 21 at 1324, CNR1 jammer, still no Firedrake 15265, July 21 at 1325, CNR1 jammer, with usual het, Taiwan off- frequency; none in the 16s, 17s, 18s, and 19s CNR1 jamming July 23: 13795, July 23 at 1341, CNR1 jammer, poor 13830, July 23 at 1341, CNR1 jammer, very poor; none in the 12s, 14s 15115, July 23 at 1344, CNR1 jammer, good with target CCI [not 15195] 15195, July 23 at 1344, CNR1 jammer, fair, no Firedrake today 15265, July 23 at 1343, CNR1 jammer, good, and no het for a change 15540, July 23 at 1343, CNR1 jammer, very poor 16100, July 23 at 1345, CNR1 jammer, good but none in the 17s, 18s, 19s, except: 18990, July 23 at 1347, CNR1 jammer, very poor, echo apart from 16100 I continue to wonder if the typhoon thru Hainan last week blew down any of the antennas at one of the PRC`s main jamming sites; no one is saying (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 4800.00, 2235-2250 14.7, Voice of China, Golmud. Back on the air after maintenance. Chinese talk, 2240 ID: "Zhongguo zhi Sheng Guangbo Diantai", report, 45343 // 4750 (15211) (Anker Petersen, Denmark, Here in the summerheat, just a few tips heard in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** CHINA. 6060, Sichuan PBS-2, 1300, July 23. Well above the norm; usual ID in English - “Nationality Channel. This is the People’s Radio Station. SW 6060, 7225, FM 88.1"; // 7225 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Frequency change for Voice of Jinling in Chinese: 1230-1500 NF 6200#NJG 100 kW / 161 deg to EaAs, ex 5860* # very strong co-ch PBS Xizang in Tibetan * to avoid HLL2 Seoul Meteo on 5857.5 USB (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) ** CHINA. 9820, Beibu Bay R, Nanning, 1050-1101, Jul 16, ID, there was a heterodyne signal, from an audible acoustic wave frequency. I believe this signal is produced by signal of R 9 de Julho, CNR started at 1100, 33333 (Tomoaki Wagai, Wakayama, Japan, DSWCI DX Window July 23 via DXLD) ** CHINA. Unregistered additional transmission of China Radio International: 1700-1757 5975 KUN 500 kW / 283 deg to SoAs Hindi. Videos from July 17 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/unregistered-additional-transmission-of.html 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Equipment: Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, dxldyg via DXLD) Additional transmission of China Radio International Hindi: 1700-1757 5975 KUN 500 kW / 283 deg to SoAs but only July 17. Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHx9eAFEkQw&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivSuO2tBIcw&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KupnQaGOrk&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoTnnZpXs4o&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6F40J__vVE&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) So was it a mistake-frequency? Verminderter Frequenzeinsatz fuer die deutschen CRI-Sendungen im August 2014. Wie die deutsche Redaktion von Radio China International mitteilt, fallen im August "aufgrund dringender Wartungsarbeiten" zwei Kurzwellen aus. Dabei handelt es sich um Frequenzen aus Urumqi, und es ist vermuten, dass andere von dort belegte Frequenzen ausfallen oder verlegt werden. Die deutsche Redaktion hat damit folgenden Sendeplan: 0600-1100: 1440 [Lux] 1800-2300: 1440 [Lux] 1600-1800: 5970 7380 1800-2000: 7395 11650 (nicht 1.-20.8.) 11775 0500-0800: 17720 17820 (nicht 14.-20.8.) (Wiederholung vom Vortag) Uhr Weltzeit (+2=MESZ) Frequenz (Sender) Programm. Auf der Homepage bekommt man den ausgelaufenen Wintersendeplan 2013/14 geboten. (CRI via Volker Willschrey-D, via Dr. Hansjoerg Biener-D July 11 via BC-DX 20 July via DXLD) Das sind Hardware Wartungsgruende in China. ... schau besser hier: In Bayern werden die deutschen Steuermillionen der Deutschen Bundespost / DWL / Media Broadcast / TDF in profane Solar Stromerzeuger konvertiert - siehe Peter Jenus' Infomails ueber die Verschrottung der Wertachtal Station. In China herrscht dagegen eine gute Organisation und Ordnung bei den Kurzwellenanlagen, und jedes Jahr werden ein/zwei weitere Senderzentren ausgiebig gewartet. Dieses Jahr werden Urumchi Westchina, und Jinhua-Youbu #831 tx gewartet. Letztes Jahr wurden Beijing und Lhasa in Tibet gewartet. (Wolfgang Büschel, July 11, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 20 via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. CQ, CQ, CQ; Aquí Pedro F. Arrunátegui para compartir algo con los que disfrutan y aman el DX latinoamericano, todas las horas son UTC, desde la tierra de los incas, les informo mediante este Quipus lo siguiente: [Note: apparently no clips or illustrations this time; also, we suspect that many of the frequencies ending in .00 were not actually measured to that accuracy, but defaulted to such a display --- gh] 6010.00, R. La Voz de tu Conciencia, Bogotá, 17/07 2325-2345, 44444, mx himnos religiosos y mxf (joropo) con mensajes religiosos, ID "Por la Voz de tu Conciencia". La recepción la he efectuado del 1/07 al 18/07 en compañía de mi sabueso Icom IC R72 acompañado del Mizuho KX-3, una antena de hilo largo de 12 metros y una antena loop. Muchos 128´s PFA (Pedro F. Arrunátegui, Lima, Perú, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. QSL Radio Congo Brazzaville, dissabte, 19 juliol de 2014 Radiodiffusion Congolaise (Radio Congo), Brazzaville, 6115 kHz. Després de múltiples intents per correu postal i electrònic, rebut finalment per correu electrònic aquest certificat ("attestation") que confirma la meva escolta de fa dos anys (la data és incorrecta; l'escolta va ser l'agost de 2012). Informe enviat finalment a Radiodiffusion Television Congolaise, B.P. 2241, Brazzaville, Republique du Congo. v/s Jean de Dieu Oko, Directeur des Programmes, tot i que per aconseguir aquesta confirmació he comptat amb l'inestimable ajuda de Hyacinthe Mienandi, antic director de l'emissora, ja jubilat. Es tracta d'una QSL molt especial per a mi ja que es tracta del meu radiopaís confirmat número 162 segons la llista de l'EDXC. Artur Fernandez L. 19 July 2014 http://maresmedx.blogspot.com.es/ (via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** CUBA. 1620, July 19 at 0132, Music in Spanish occupies the null of WTAW, not // 5025, presumed R. Rebelde again relaying its FM network (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5025, R. Rebelde, Bauta, 0850-desvan. total 0940, 19/7, canções, texto; 25432. Bons DX e 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Additional frequencies of Cuban Spy Numbers station Hybrid Mode 01: 0500-0555 on 11462 UNID secret site Spanish Tue/Thu/Sat // 14375 0900-0955 NF 11462 UNID secret site Spanish Tue/Thu/Sat, ex-12120 (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) ** CUBA. Correxion: date of this log was July 16, not July 17, fixed: 6165, July 16 at 2324, RHC Spanish translation of a Brazilian, not // 11670, 11760, 13740 with music; 6165 at 2325 ID as `Mesa Redonda` breakaway program at 23-24 M-F more or less; on schedule as also on 6000 but not noticed there. 12010, July 17 at 1318, RHC`s missing frequency today, while still on 11760, 11860. Next check at 1357, 12010 is on. 6070, July 18 at 0104, RHC`s missing frequency tonight; but who needs it with 6060 nearby and several others? Too bad CFRX is still AWOL. 5010+, July 18 at 0118, JBA carrier slightly on hi side, not an image from 5910 Colombia which doesn`t have the same offset; presumably the 5040 over 5025 Cuban leapfrog. 15340 and 11860 are today`s missing RHC frequencies, checked at 1307 and 1344 UT; while still on are: 17730, 17580, 15370, 15230, 12010, 11760, 9820, 9550; is that enough? Lacking 15340 means the leapfrogs are also AWOL from 15310, 15400. 11760, July 18 at 2004, RHC with suppressed modulation, audible only at peaks, seemingly French as scheduled; wiggle that patchcord! And 11840, presumably Portuguese in European service is just barely modulated. 12060, July 20 at 0154, pulse jamming at very poor level from 2 x 6060; much `better` multiple tone jamming on 11930, also against nothing. 9780-9808 peaking around 9798, and 9815-9838, peaking around 9823 but constantly fluxuating, July 21 at 0146, buzzy spur field obviously emanating from the 9810 RHC transmitter, which itself is never very strong here, so it must be awful in its boresight. 9810 has some hum too, during DX program `En Contacto` which is all revolutionary as 26 de julio is almost upon us. Most serious victim is a signal on 9790, which is Iran in Kazakh at 0120-0220 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5990.03, China Radio Int'l; 2318-2326+, 21-July; EE China financial news to ID at 2325+. SIO=4+43 with 6000 Spanish Habana (presumed) splash — Commie splashing Commie (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, ICF7600G + TV beam ant for FMBC, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15310 & 15400, July 22 at 1314, RHC leapfrog mixing products between very strong 15340 and 15370 are themselves reaching S9+12, quite sufficient as Arnie Coro is talking about sugar cane; they are in fact comparable to the other // on 19m, but which is a fundamental undermodulated, 15230. Yet at 1407 recheck, 15310 & 15400 are unheard while the other three sound the same; was something tweaked? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. PUTIN DENIES RECREATION OF THE LOURDES RADIO INTERCEPTION CENTRE IN CUBA (Lev Lytovchenko, Ukraine?, Thu Jul 17, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) He attaches jpg of a headline in Russian to that effect, from an unknown periodical, with a photo of decrepit satellite dishes. But not the full story. Well, if Putin says so, it must be true, for he is an honorable man (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENNING DIGEST) ** CUBA. More information on Cuba DTV --- Digital television? Why yes! You might recall that Cuba is using the Chinese DTMB standard, but there was still a lot we didn't know. Channel spacing and allotments, whether Cuba actually had DTV on the air and other matters were all unknown. Well, I hit the jackpot between the ICRT site and that of state organism LACETEL, the self-described "Institute for Telecommunications Research and Development". Here's what we now know, both about DTV and changes to Cuban broadcast services: Cuban DTMB will be using NTSC channels in high VHF (7-13) and UHF (14- 51) as outlined in the standards (which are in English!). All currently assigned transmitters are on UHF. A list of these transmitters is available; only two are set up for HD at this time. And to receive these signals via tropo you'll need a converter box. Pretty much all of the available equipment is being made by Chinese firms. I have no idea how someone in the US would go about procuring one legally. The DTV service includes three new state channels: Cubavisión Internacional, Canal Infantil (kids' shows) and Canal Clave (music), as well as weather and data broadcasts and six radio streams. Canal Clave does, however, mean the end of the music channel that's taken over CE in past summers. Speaking of which, Canal Educativo 2 now simulcasts Telesur 20 out of 24 hours a day (airing its own shows only from 4:30 to 8:30 pm). (Raymie, AZ, July 21, WTFDA forum via DXLD) VERY interesting and much appreciated! I'm going to guess the microwave network (or satellite uplink?) used to deliver programming to the transmitters elsewhere in the country doesn't support HD. That the transmitters are capable of HD but the video feed reaching them is only SD. (or even analog?) I'm guessing one of the two HD transmitters is at the studio (so no link is necessary) and the other one is close enough that they have a short HD-capable link. (or even, maybe they're rebroadcasting the first HD transmitter off-air) I see Cuba is joining the bandwagon for MPEG-4. Hopefully the U.S. will not be too far behind (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) Much appreciated indeed! Chris and I are the most likely ones to catch these stations. Hopefully a few of these boxes will find their way to eBay. Failing that, a PC tuner could hopefully be configured. This is the system they use in China after all (Ryan Grabow :: egrabow.com/dx :: facebook.com/egrabow440 :: youtube.com/user/egrabow440 Ft Myers, FL, ibid.) Yes indeed, interesting info. A few weeks ago, one of our members had a subdecode on ch 60 of all things, and one of us said that maybe (paraphrasing here) overload of 4G LTE might have caused a subdecode there --- after all, nobody is using 60 for DTV anymore. So, I am wondering, if it's a strong Tropo day down in the Keys, and I brought the CECB with my TV, and, say that Havana is super strong, I wonder if a yellow bar would show on 36 or 50, despite me not being able to get an ATSC picture. Surely the theory of the above paragraph would apply the same way, no? (not that it would be interesting to record) cd (Chris Dunne, Pembroke Pines, FL, ibid.) I doubt it would work. The yellow bar indicates your STB is synchronizing to the received data, even if there are too many errors to decode. The modulation scheme used by the Cuban DTV is so different from that used by ATSC that I don't think your STB will even believe there's a signal there. (and certainly, the 310 kHz pilot signal won't be there) If your CECB displays a yellow bar when an *analog* signal is present, it might do the same for a Cuban DTMB signal. If it doesn't show analog signals, it won't show DTMB. Ryan's comment about USB tuner sticks, on the other hand, holds a lot of promise (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com ibid.) It's an OFDM modulation which is how the other TV standards all work (ATSC uses 8VSB). Proponents of a next-generation DTV standard all are recommending OFDM (Raymie, AZ, ibid.) Has self-styled technical expert Arnie Coro ever dealt with this subject, even peripherally on DXers Unlimited? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** DIEGO GARCIA. 4319-USB, AFN (presumed). From July 20-23 the normal very heavy QRM has been absent here; July 20 heard in the clear from 1335 to 1355; pop songs; military PSA; too weak to dig out an ID; very nice to find them in the clear. BTW - Of course AFN Guam remains silent on both their frequencies (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldy via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CHAGOS, Arquipélago das, 4319-BLS, AFN, Diogo Garcia, 2223-2231, 12/7, música pop'; 34342, QRM adj. de sinal de ponto a ponto. 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 11769.98, Xinjiang PBS, Urumqi, 1145-1201, Jul 15, Chinese talk, ID, I think modulation splash of CNR on 11760 has been some effect, I'm feeling that signal waveform of CNR is wide a little probably, but I don’t have a spectrum analyzer, 34333 (Tomoaki Wagai, Wakayama, Japan, DSWCI DX Window July 23 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 15445, July 21 at 0528, lite vocal music, maybe praise; 0531 French announcement, more music, poor. Thought it might be AWR but HFCC and EiBi show CRI Russian via Kashgar at 0400-0600 on 15445! WRTH shows no French from CRI before 0600, on other frequencies. 15445, July 22 at 0528 I am checking 24 hours after my unID in `French`. Now it`s certainly in Russian, and some Chinese style music, so CRI Russian as scheduled via Kashgar. A toss-up which would be less likely: that I mistook Russian (perhaps with a strange tonal accent) for French; or that CRI really had French on here last night (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. CQ, CQ, CQ; Aquí Pedro F. Arrunátegui para compartir algo con los que disfrutan y aman el DX latinoamericano, todas las horas son UTC, desde la tierra de los incas, les informo mediante este Quipus lo siguiente: [Note: apparently no clips or illustrations this time; also, we suspect that many of the frequencies ending in .00 were not actually measured to that accuracy, but defaulted to such a display --- gh] 6050.00, R. HCJB, Quito; 17/07 2255-2320, 44444, ID "A través de HCJB", mx y news, hablan sobre el canje de la deuda externa de Ecuador con España y otras noticias regionales. La recepción la he efectuado del 1/07 al 18/07 en compañía de mi sabueso Icom IC R72 acompañado del Mizuho KX-3, una antena de hilo largo de 12 metros y una antena loop. Muchos 128´s PFA (Pedro F. Arrunátegui, Lima, Perú, DX LISTENING DIGEST) EQUADOR, 6050, HCJB, Pichincha, 0857-desvan. total 0955, 19/7, quíchua, canções índias, testo, música índia; 25432. Bons DX e 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR [non]. Radio Akhbar Mufriha on 11985 kHz --- I heard clear announcement of "Akhabar Mufriha" and contact address in Paris and e- mail address as listed in their website [where?] during the monitorning of 11985 at 2145-2215. Good signal. Their website shows they broadcast on 7300 at 2100-2145, but nothing could be heard on 7300 kHz here in Japan (Satoshi Wakisaka, Osaka, Japan, July 17, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ASCENSION ISL / U.K. 11985 Radio Akhbar Mufriha program. {HCJB outlet in Fulfulde language via Babcock transmission provider, A-14 11985 kHz 2145-2215UT zone 46W ASC 250kW 27deg Fuc G HCJ BAB B-13 7300 kHz 2100-2145UT zone 37S WOF 250kW 170deg Ara G HCJ BAB, (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid. WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) Two videos of Akhbar Mufriha from the last night, July 18: HCJB Akhbar Mufriha 2133 in Arabic to NoAf on 7300 Woofferton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BODpsBG5LB4&feature=youtu.be HCJB Akhbar Mufriha at 2143 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72kzQGfdn1A&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) Transmissions of HCJB which will be cancelled from August 1: 2300-2330 on 9835 NAU 100 kW / 240 deg to SoAm German 2300-0045 on 11920 NAU 100 kW / 240 deg to SoAm Portuguese (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 12040-12100 approx., July 19 at 0119, rumbling spurfield from extremely distorted 12070 R. Cairo transmitter, gradually declining out to the edges, but very bad between 12055-12085. 13770-13910, July 19 at 0517, R. Cairo on 13850 is nothing but humbuzz, but rather like a broken toothpaste tube, some very distorted modulation squeezes out instead at 13830 and 13870, and there are additional weaker spurs every 20 kHz out to approx. 13770, 13790, 13810; 13870, 13890, 13910. Per Aoki, this is the 'El-Bernameg Al-Aam' service at 0200-0700, 250 kW, 315 degrees from Abis USward. 11715+, July 20 at 0059, BULLETIN! R. Cairo has changed frequency from 11710v, so will no longer het/collide with Argentina 11711v on weeknights (or rather >4 kHz het replacing <1 kHz). Spanish service is now in the clear but with poor modulation, matched by pauses in the horribly distorted and much stronger modulation on // 12070 and its spurfield, as well as 9315 with fair modulation. 11715 is very slightly on the hi side, less than 11715.1. Ex-11710 had been scheduled at 0045-0200 only, 250 kW, 241 degrees from Abis per Aoki. Now the problem on 11715 will be after 0130 when AIR DRM in Nepali allegedly starts from Delhi/Khampur. 12132-12163, July 21 at 0140, horrible racket obviously out of the 12070 R. Cairo transmitter, even tho it`s separated by a silent space 12080-12132, as the central 12070 signal is covering 12060-12080 only. It alone has some kind of music or talk modulation, but too distorted to read, while the spurs exhibit the same pitch of noise. Another weaker asymmetrical spur area approx. 11991—12000. Then I check the other Cairo channels: 11710+, slightly on the hi side is much weaker but open carrier/dead air, July 21 at 0141 --- yes, back on 11710 instead of 11715 last night, so all set to collide again 24 hours later with Argentina! We`ll see. The temporary(?) move to 11715+ was surely deliberate, not a drift. 9315, July 21 at 0142, open carrier/dead air here on the third supposedly Spanish frequency, while 12070 is distorting music at 0144 9965, July 21 at 0148, I find the R. Cairo Arabic frequency is in --- Spanish! Besides the dead air and spurs, they`ve got their feed lines mixed up. Luckily, this transmitter is the least distorted, initially the whine sort of matching the music pitch being played; 0149 ``Radio El Cairo presenta --- Panorama Egipcio``. Seems to be // the horrible mess on 12070 and vicinity. But that`s not all: 9965, July 21 at 0201, now the ``Arabic`` frequency is in English opening the service to ``North America - West Coast on 9315``, which is still dead air. Program summary all in local time UT +2 (back to normal during Ramadan, but to resume UT + 3 in a week?), 4:05, 4:15, etc. 12070, July 21 at 0203, this frequency is still on instead of scheduled closing at 0200 like 11710 which is now off --- and I can make the music on 12070 // to 9965, i.e. English service as well tonight, but 12070 is running about three seconds behind 9965; apparently it takes that much longer for the wrong feed to get to Abis than to Abu Zaabal on 9965. 0207 opens ``The Holy Qur`an and its Meaning``. Aoki shows 9965 is 325 degrees (also for English 2300-2430), while 9315 is at 330 degrees, only 5 degrees apart. (Aoki says 331, or 6 degrees apart). 325 degree azimuth is not for the east coast at all, but crosses the US from Minnesota to New Mexico! 330-331, from North Dakota to southern California. 325 also goes right across England. Who knows which frequencies will be carrying which languages, or nothing, tomorrow? One thing is pretty certain: 12070 will be putting out a horrible mess of spurs. Following the R. Cairo feed mixup UT July 21, I`m out July 22 [see PERU], but eagerly checking July 23: 11710.02 or so, July 23 at 0108, still back here after jumping one night to 11715, so again colliding with Argentina, which however has slipped down closer to 11710, about 11710.24, making a lower-pitched het than before. Not much modulation on 11710, but it is Spanish distorted at peaks // and synchronized on 9315 with better modulation, while 12070 is loud, extremely distorted at 0119 and about 3 seconds behind the others. Meanwhile, the fourth Cairo transmitter, on 9965 is not //, apparently back in Arabic. At 0146 I find dead air on 9315 and 11710, both Abis, while 12070, Abu Zaabal, is still putting out noise. I was getting out my keyboard to measure the het note on 11710 but by 0153 Cairo had already turned off (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA [non]. U.S.A.: 17790 Radio Africa via WRMI; 2053- 2100:10*, 15-July; Walking in Power, English huxterage program from the Soul's Harbor Covenant Church in Miami. 2058 "Radio Africa Network" spot & announcement to tune to 15190. Fady with SIO=3+44 peaks and transmitter? hum. Nothing on 15190 till 2101:30. 15190, Radio Africa via WRMI; *2101:30, 15-July; On abruptly in mid- huxter hymn after switch from 17790 to English announcement as Radio Africa Network via WRMI in Miami. SIO=454 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. Voice of Korea, Unid, & Radio EYSC. Radio EYSC QSL 15245 was interesting during the hour from 1700 to 1800 on Sunday, July 13. At 1700 a weak Voice of Korea opened, as is usual. But another weak station opened at the same time, with segments both in English and in what I’m pretty sure was Arabic. A soft-spoken man with a slight accent spoke about poetry and read poems, one beginning, “Rainbow, Rainbow, where have you been . . .” He also mentioned, “Word of God” causing me to suspect this was a Christian station. I realized other religions use this phrase also, but later I learned that Radio EYSC has some Christian connections. At 1730 both Voice of Korea and the unid station disappeared. But at the same time a very strong Radio EYSC began. There were “Radio EYSC” IDs at the beginning, and the broadcast consisted of a man speaking and Horn-of-Africa music. There was no sign of VOK after 1730 until its theme music was played from 1748:50 to 1750, the time listed for its close, and then it was strong. The R EYSC transmitter went off suddenly at 1756:55 in the middle of a music selection. I wondered if their Arabic broadcasts include some English and what I heard at 1700 was actually REYSC. But that doesn’t account for the huge increase in signal strength at 1730. Perhaps REYSC is only a 30- minute broadcast. Their website shows shortwave broadcasts at 8:30- 9:00 Asmara time, which is 1730-1800 UT, and on Sunday only, although it still shows their previous frequency of 11720. And all of the several broadcasts on youtube are only about 30 minutes in length. I wasn’t able to listen on Monday or Tuesday, but on the days I did listen I heard what I was accustomed to hearing at 1700 and continuing past 1730—both VoK, and Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday presumed REYSC (I didn’t hear any ids), and on Thursday and Monday Radio Asena / Assenna. I had hoped to check on Sunday to see if REYSC was again strong at 1730 or if the strong signal the previous Sunday was just a fluke, but unfortunately I was gone all day. Hopefully next Sunday. QSL: RADIO EYSC via ISSOUDUN 15,245. Brief e-letter, thanking me for my report and verifying my reception, was received in 19 hours from Daniel G. Mikael. My report was sent via the EYSC contact form at: http://www.eysc.net/?page_id=294 According to various websites and a BBC interview, Mr. Mikael lives in Los Angeles, is Chairman of Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change, and is involved with various Christian denominations, including Catholic, Coptic, and Lutheran (Wendel Craighead, Prairie Village, Kansas, USA, July 21, cumbredx yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. 9955, July 22 at 1257, RFI Chinese via TAIWAN is still here, making fast SAH under WRMI`s Anglo-Parade = rock music in English presented in Spanish (why?) as it wraps up. So it must have also bothered WORLD OF RADIO at 1100 Tuesday; while the 1315 Wednesday repeat should be clear, altho Zacharias Liangas thought he was hearing RFI Chinese during that semihour (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. New domestic 10 watt low power station in Germany on 6150 kHz, now at noon 1100 UT on July 19. 6150 re unid, nx und dann pop/rock mx... (Andree Bollin-D, A-DX July 19 via BC-DX 20 July via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) ID as "Six One Five Oh", ... "im Studio Sven Weikam"; Mutmassung: ?? (Roger Thauer-D, A-DX July 19, ibid.) Gestern Abend mit Testansagen, da wurde sogar die fuer die Sendungen verantwortliche Organisation genannt. In Deutschland aber wegen der toten Zone nicht zu hoeren, hier in Doebriach war das Signal zwar aufzunehmen, aber fuer die ID war es dann doch zu schwach. 10 Watt Leistung soll die Station machen. Das hatte ich verstanden. tent. E-Mail-Adresse (Markus Weidner-at DX-Camp Doebriach Austria, A-DX July 19, ibid.) re 6150.003 kHz. Testaussendung jetzt. Der Standort ist Datteln, zwischen Muenster und Bochum, noerdlich vom Ruhrpott. In Sueddeutschland laut Ansage als "Technische Versuchssendung" gehoert. Datteln in Nordwest Deutschland, 10 Watt Leistung, genau auf 6150.003 kHz Fussprint, S=5 oder -100dBm um 1525 UT mit dem Haenschen- klein Thema auf dem Klavier getastet. Dagegen etwas staerker mit S=8 - 73dBm bei Hans - DL4YBP in Luebbecke - sein Standort ist naeher dran an der Steilstrahlung. Zum Vergleich Kall Eifel mit dem Radio 700 Slovak program S=7-8 - 84dBm, und der richtig grosse RFE/RL Lampertheim 100kW Sender in Belarus lang auf 6105 kHz mit propperen S=9+15dB -61dBm, wenn auch nicht im Zielgebiet. Betrieben wird der Sender vom Verein IG-HF-Technik e.V. in Datteln, nordwestlich von Dortmund. Angesagt wird folgende e-Mailadresse Google zeigt Interessengemeinschaft Hochfrequenztechnik e.V. Johann-Strauss-Str. 22 45711 Datteln die Bundesnetzagentur Liste zeigt DG2YID Bernd Feyock Johann-Strauss-Str. 22 45711 Datteln Der Sender ist bei der Bundesnetzagentur angemeldet. Die Nachrichten der Station stammen nicht aus Datteln, sondern von einem Internet Nachrichtensender (Juergen Lohuis-D und wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 19, ibid.) Erste Hinweise auf die Neuanmeldung bei der BNetzA/FNA kamen am 26. Juni von Christian Milling in den newsgroups: 6150 UNKNOWN NEW STATION TEST. 1312 UT, June 28, Nonstop-Mx. Pop, Country, 1319 UT close down, no ID (Markus Weidner-D, A-DX June 28; Internet: Various features and equipment can be turned on and off by clicking on the features in the GE sidebar. North Leg 24 Curtains East Leg 24 Curtains 1 Log Periodic 1 Horizontal Quadrant West Leg 13 Curtains 4 Horizontal Quadrant JL (Jerry Lenamon, Waco TX, July 21, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. AUSTRIA/BULGARIA/FRANCE/GERMANY/MADAGASCAR MEDIA BROADCAST GmbH (formerly T-SYSTEMS - DTK) A-14 period (30/03/2014 - 25/10/2014) A-14 operational MBR schedule of July 16th, 2014. Times are in UTC. frq startstop ciraf loc pow azi day from to broad 5975 0400-0430 28SE ISS 100 95 1234567 2004-200414 AWR 5975 0400-0430 28SE NAU 100 130 1234567 2104-251014 AWR 9530 0300-0330 48 NAU 250 142 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 9610 1930-2000 37,38W NAU 100 210 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 9610 2000-2030 37,38W NAU 100 210 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 9790 0900-1000 28W NAU 100 180 1 3003-251014 AWR 9830 1600-1630 28SE NAU 100 133 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 11605 1900-2000 38E,39 NAU 250 130 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 11755 2030-2100 46SE,47W ISS 250 165 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 11830 2000-2030 46E,47W ISS 250 180 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 11840 1900-2000 37,38W NAU 100 215 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 11945 1900-1930 46W NAU 250 212 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15140 0800-0830 37,38W ISS 100 170 1234567 2004-200414 AWR 15140 0800-0830 37,38W NAU 100 205 1234567 2104-251014 AWR 15155 1730-1800 48 NAU 250 140 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15170 1730-1800 37,38W NAU 100 210 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15205 1930-2000 46SE,47W NAU 250 180 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15225 0500-0600 38E,39 NAU 250 130 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15225 0700-0800 37,38W NAU 100 210 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15225 0800-0830 37,38W NAU 250 210 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15225 0830-0900 37,38W NAU 100 205 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15265 1500-1530 41N NAU 250 90 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15265 1530-1600 41N NAU 250 90 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 15670 1530-1600 41N ISS 250 75 56 3003-251014 AWR 15670 1530-1600 41N ISS 250 75 12347 3003-251014 AWR 17575 1630-1700 48 NAU 250 145 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 17810 1300-1330 42,43W NAU 250 70 17 3003-251014 AWR 17810 1300-1330 42,43W NAU 250 70 23456 3003-251014 AWR 17810 1330-1500 42,43W NAU 250 70 1234567 3003-251014 AWR 5930 2000-2015 39N NAU 250 120 1234567 3003-251014 BVB 5945 0700-0730 27,28N NAU 100 270 1 3003-251014 BVB 5945 0730-0800 27,28N NAU 100 270 1 0604-060414 BVB 5945 0700-0745 27,28N NAU 100 270 7 3003-251014 BVB 6130 1800-1815 28,29 NAU 100 90 56 3003-251014 BVB 6130 1830-1845 28,29 NAU 100 90 7 3003-251014 BVB 6130 1800-1830 28,29 NAU 100 90 3 3003-251014 BVB 6130 1800-1900 28,29 NAU 100 90 1 3003-251014 BVB 7310 0300-0315 39S ISS 250 100 1234567 3003-251014 BVB 9430 1815-1830 39,4 MOS 300 ND 1 3003-251014 BVB 9515 2030-2045 46N,47NW,38W,37NAU 250 180 1234567 3003-251014 BVB 9550 0400-0430 39NE,40 ISS 100 92 127 2004-200414 BVB 9550 0400-0430 39NE,40 NAU 100 110 127 2104-251014 BVB 9550 0430-0445 39N ISS 125 98 17 2004-200414 BVB 9550 0430-0445 39N NAU 125 120 17 2104-251014 BVB 9550 0430-0450 39N NAU 125 120 23456 3003-251014 BVB 9635 1830-1915 39 SOF 100 126 1 3003-251014 BVB 9735 0500-0515 39,4 NAU 250 120 6 3003-251014 BVB 11655 0600-0615 46N,47NW,38W,37NAU 125 180 1234567 3003-251014 BVB 11855 1815-1900 39,4 ISS 150 90 1 2505-250514 BVB 11855 1815-1900 39,4 NAU 100 105 1 2605-251014 BVB 11855 1800-1830 39,4 NAU 100 105 6 3003-251014 BVB 11855 1830-1900 39,4 NAU 100 105 3 3003-251014 BVB 11855 1800-1900 39,4 NAU 100 105 5 3003-251014 BVB 13580 1700-1715 39,4 NAU 250 130 2356 3003-251014 BVB 13580 1700-1730 39,4 NAU 250 130 4 3003-251014 BVB 13580 1715-1730 39,4 NAU 250 130 7 3003-251014 BVB 13810 1700-1715 38E,39,40W ISS 150 120 23456 2205-251014 BVB 13810 1715-1800 38E,39,40W ISS 100 120 246 2205-251014 BVB 13810 1715-1745 38E,39,40W ISS 100 120 3 2205-251014 BVB 13810 1700-1715 38E,39,40W NAU 125 125 17 1705-251014 BVB 15160 1630-1730 47,48 NAU 100 150 1234567 3003-251014 BVB 15215 1700-1900 39 MOS 100 115 17 3003-251014 BVB 15215 1700-1715 39 MOS 100 115 6 3003-251014 BVB 15215 1700-1730 39 MOS 100 115 5 3003-251014 BVB 15640 1515-1545 40,41 SOF 100 90 7 3003-251014 BVB 15640 1500-1515 40,41 SOF 100 90 7 3003-251014 BVB # 15640 1515-1600 40,41 SOF 100 90 6 3003-251014 BVB 17495 1400-1430 41 ISS 250 83 7 3003-251014 BVB + 17495 1430-1500 41 ISS 250 83 7 3003-251014 BVB 17515 1600-1630 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 100 135 1 3003-251014 BVB 17515 1630-1700 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 250 135 1 3003-251014 BVB 17515 1700-1800 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 100 135 1 3003-251014 BVB 17515 1530-1800 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 100 135 6 0205-251014 BVB 17515 1700-1730 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 100 135 7 3003-251014 BVB 17515 1730-1830 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 250 135 7 3003-251014 BVB 17515 1600-1830 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 100 135 3 0107-251014 BVB 17515 1630-1800 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 100 135 4 0107-251014 BVB 17515 1600-1800 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 100 135 2 0107-251014 BVB 17515 1630-1830 38S,39S,47,48 ISS 100 135 5 3003-251014 BVB 17535 0830-1000 38,39 NAU 125 145 6 3003-251014 BVB 17535 0900-0915 38,39 NAU 125 145 7 3003-251014 BVB 21480 1115-1145 43S,44S MDC 125 45 1 3003-251014 BVB 21480 1100-1130 43S,44S MDC 125 45 7 0606-251014 BVB 9585 1800-1900 28E,29 NAU 100 90 7 3003-251014 CHW 6055 1030-1100 27,28 NAU 125 222 17 3003-251014 EMG 7315 1830-1845 27,28W,37N NAU 125 230 36 2005-251014 EOE 7315 1830-1845 27,28W,37N NAU 100 260 1 2505-250514 EOE 9435 1830-1845 27,28W,37N NAU 125 230 1 2505-250514 EOE 9520 0030-0130 40E,41NW NAU 250 100 1234567 3003-251014 GFA 9520 2330-0030 41NE,43S,49N NAU 250 85 1234567 3003-251014 GFA 15350 1230-1500 41 NAU 250 89 1234567 3003-251014 GFA 15390 1330-1530 41NE,43S,49N NAU 250 85 1234567 3003-251014 GFA 15395 1530-1630 40E,41NW NAU 250 99 1234567 2505-251014 GFA 13800 1530-1630 29S MOS 100 95 7 3003-251014 HCJ 9645 1800-1830 47,48 ISS 250 160 1234567 3003-251014 IBB 9780 1700-1800 40E,41NW NAU 250 95 1234567 3003-251014 IBB 11875 0500-0530 46,47 NAU 250 185 1234567 1806-251014 IBB 11995 1630-1700 47,48 NAU 250 150 23456 2404-251014 IBB 12005 1730-1800 48 ISS 250 130 23456 3003-251014 IBB 12005 1800-1900 48 ISS 250 130 1234567 3003-251014 IBB 12040 2030-2100 46,47 NAU 250 190 23456 3003-251014 IBB 12080 1800-1900 48 ISS 250 130 1234567 1306-251014 IBB 12080 1900-1930 48 ISS 250 130 23456 1306-251014 IBB 13870 1630-1700 47,48 ISS 250 140 23456 3003-251014 IBB 13870 1800-1900 48 NAU 250 140 1234567 3003-251014 IBB 13870 1900-1930 48 NAU 250 140 23456 3003-251014 IBB 15255 1400-1500 30S ISS 250 90 1234567 3003-251014 IBB 15360 0400-0900 40E,41NW NAU 250 90 1234567 3003-251014 IBB 15460 1500-1600 30S NAU 250 85 1234567 3003-251014 IBB 15620 1500-1600 29SE NAU 250 90 1234567 3003-251014 IBB 7330 1000-1100 27,28 MOS 100 283 1 3003-251014 JOY * 7330 1000-1100 27,28 MOS 100 283 1 2004-200414 JOY 6025 0400-0500 27E,28 NAU 125 270 1 2004-200414 KBC per RA 6045 0800-0900 27E,28 NAU 125 275 1 2004-200414 KBC per RA 6095 0800-1500 18SW,27,28W,37NNAU 100 240 17 3003-251014 KBC 7375 0000-0200 2,3,4,6,7,8,9,1NAU 125 300 1 0109-251014 KBC 9925 0000-0200 2,3,4,6,7,8,9,1NAU 125 300 1 0105-300814 KBC 9925 0400-0500 4,8,9 NAU 125 300 1 2004-200414 KBC per RA 15315 1830-1900 46S,47SE ISS 500 180 1234567 3003-251014 LWF 6045 0900-1000 27E,28 NAU 100 270 1 3003-251014 MSM%per RA 5945 1100-1115 27,28 NAU 250 222 1 3003-251014 MWA 11695 1500-1530 29,3 ISS 250 60 7 3003-251014 MWF 13710 1100-1130 19,20,21,22,23,NAU 250 45 7 3003-251014 MWF 5985 0400-0430 11,12 YFR 100 222 1234567 3003-251014 NHK 11680 0300-0500 38,39,40 NAU 250 140 1234567 3003-251014 NHK 15445 1700-1900 38,39,40 NAU 250 140 1234567 3003-251014 NHK 17630 1600-1630 47E,48 ISS 500 130 37 3003-251014 OGM 9515 1930-2000 37,38 NAU 250 155 1 3003-251014 PAB 15205 1400-1430 41 ISS 100 90 1 3003-251014 PAB 15205 1415-1430 41 ISS 100 90 234567 3003-251014 PAB 15205 1430-1445 41 ISS 250 90 1 3003-251014 PAB 17500 1600-1700 48SW,58NW ISS 100 144 7 2106-251014 RIY new 13830 1700-1800 38E,39S,48 ISS 100 125 14 3003-251014 SBO 13810 1400-1600 28,29W,38E,39 NAU 100 130 23456 3003-251014 TOM 13810 1400-1600 28,29W,38E,39 ISS 100 120 17 3003-251014 TOM 6095 0800-1000 18SW,27,28W,37NNAU 100 230 246 3003-251014 TRS 6105 0700-0720 27 NAU 100 285 1234567 3003-251014 TWR 7215 0830-0900 28 NAU 100 135 1234567 3003-251014 TWR 7320 1400-1428 28,29,30 NAU 100 65 1234567 3003-251014 TWR 9835 2300-2330 12,13,14,15,16 NAU 100 240 1234567 3003-251014 VZM 11920 2300-0045 12,13,14,15,16 NAU 100 240 1234567 3003-251014 VZM 15670 1630-1700 40 ISS 500 91 26 0905-251014 WRN * = 1st Sunday of the month + = 1st Saturday of the month # = 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month Day 1 = Sunday ... Day 7 = Saturday per RA = on request booking. List of Broadcasters which are using MEDIA BROADCAST technical equipment: AWR Adventist World Radio BVB High Adventure Gospel - Bible Voice Broadcasting CHW Christliche Wissenschaft EMG Evangelische Missionsgemeinden in Deutschland EOE Echo of Europe GFA Gospel for Asia HCJ Voice of the Andes, Sats only, 1530 UT Russian, 1600 UT Chechen IBB International Broadcasting Bureau, USA JOY MBR internal customer name, - Joystick, * 1st Sun KBC Mighty KBC Radio &) LWF Lutheran World Federation MSM ShortWave Rock 1st Sun, XVRB Radio 3rd Sun and Radio Iceman 4th Sun / EMR 3rd and 4th Sun (wb.) % MWA Missionswerk Arche MWF Missionswerk Friedensstimme, Gummersbach - Germany NHK Nippon Hoso Kyokai OGM NGO [RHU Radio Huriyo Xoriyo Ogaden] PAB Pan Am Broadcasting RIY Radio Inyabutatu, in Kinyarwanda, ex17870 kHz. SBO Sagalee Bilisummaa Oromoo, Voice of Oromo Liberation. TOM The Overcomer Ministry TRS Transport Radio Mon-Fri; KBC Mighty KBC Radio, Sat/Sun. TWR Trans World Radio VZM [HCJB transmissions, Spanish, German, Kulina, Portuguese] [VZM = VoZandes Media --- gh] WRN World Radio Network, Radio Mehr Iranian, Mon/Fri only. &) For reception reports please mail to: or write to: The Mighty KBC Argonstraat 6 6718 WT Ede The Netherlands, Europe Website: %) XVRB Radio - It's The Music Museum Website: E-mail: ---------------------------------------------------------- Michael Puetz MEDIA BROADCAST GmbH Order Management & Backoffice Erna-Scheffler-Strasse 1 D-51103 Cologne, Germany Please send your inquiries and reception reports to: E-Mail: Internet ************************************* WORLDWIDE DX CLUB Postfach 1214 D-61282 Bad Homburg GERMANY Fax: +49 3221 2341432 E-Mail: Internet: ************************************* (MBR - 16 July 2014, transformed by Michael Bethge, WWDXC, Germany, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 22 via wb, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GREECE. Updated summer A-14 shortwave schedule of ERT Open from July 4. Some days the station used only 1 or 2 frequencies or no broadcast on the air. Often the technicians don't make frequency changes, according to the schedule. NOTE: All frequencies are not registered in A-14 HFCC database. [all in Greek] 0000-0355 on 9420*AVL 170 kW / 323 deg NoAm 0000-0355 NF 9935 AVL 100 kW / 323 deg NoAm, ex 7475 0000-0355 NF 15630 AVL 100 kW / 226 deg CeAm, ex 15650 0400-0800 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg WeEu 0400-0800 on 11645 AVL 100 kW / 182 deg NoAf, 9935 on July 14 0400-0800 on 15630#AVL 100 kW / 285 deg WeEu, off air July 14 0800-1000 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg WeEu^ on air July 14 till 0950 0800-1000 on 11645 AVL 100 kW / 182 deg NoAf^ on air July 14 till 0945 0800-1000 on 15630#AVL 100 kW / 285 deg WeEu^ on air July 14 till 0940 1000-1155 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg WeEu^ 1000-1155 on 11645 AVL 100 kW / 182 deg NoAf^ 1000-1155 on 15650 AVL 100 kW / 105 deg SoAs^, ex 15630 1200-1355 on 9420 AVL 170 kW / 323 deg WeEu^ 1200-1355 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg WeEu^ 1200-1355 NF 15650 AVL 100 kW / 105 deg SoAs^, ex 15630 1400-1800 on 9420*AVL 170 kW / 323 deg WeEu^ 1400-1800 on 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg WeEu^ 1400-1800 on 15650 AVL 100 kW / 105 deg SoAs^ 1800-1855 on 9420*AVL 170 kW / 323 deg WeEu^ 1800-1855 NF 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg WeEu^, ex 7450 1800-1855 on 15650 AVL 100 kW / 105 deg SoAs^ 1900-2255 on 9420*AVL 170 kW / 323 deg WeEu 1900-2255 NF 9935 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg WeEu, ex 7450 1900-2255 NF 15650 AVL 100 kW / 285 deg WeEu, ex 15630 2300-2400 on 9420*AVL 170 kW / 323 deg NoAm 2300-2400 NF 9935 AVL 100 kW / 323 deg NoAm, ex 7475 2300-2400 NF 15630 AVL 100 kW / 226 deg CeAm, ex 15650 # 0623-0820 co-ch Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran in Dari * 1623-0220 co-ch Voice of Islamic Republic of Iran in Arabic ^ irregular on the air. Several videos on July 12, 13 and 14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6WNDk2crfQ&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-zo7VPrVKg&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcRUUgs_ffA&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8zseI_ktdU&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFRqCmJAJV4&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qj5837uO4&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNIJAQy_PQQ&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtbVzk-M7t8&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfFGPYHD-Ac&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqK9F-w7CWw&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) Nothing heard of ERT-open rebells radio on July 17th and 18th (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 18, dxldyg via DXLD) 9935, July 19 at 0110, VG signal with Greek music from ERTOpen, but big whine along with it, a lower pitch than Cairo does to itself on 9965, but louder on 9935, yet so is the program modulation. // 9420 from ERTO is loud and clear. 15630 at 0125 check July 19 has good clear signal too with Greek music. First time I`ve noted this on 9935, but others have heard it altho not constantly. Is it jamming as John Babbis suggests also UT July 19? ``ERT Open on 9935 kHz had severe interference from 2100 to 0200 UT, which also appeared on Tuesday, July 15 at 2100-2300. I believe that someone is attempting to drive ERT Open from 9935 kHz``. I`m not convinced that it`s not just a transmitter fault at Avlis. Wolfgang Büschel agrees at 1850 UT July 18: ``and a fence of 180 Hertz apart signals on 9935v, 13 x 180 Hertz spaced peak strings seen on each band side, covered in total on 9929 to 9941 kHz space`` Furthermore he was hearing the same thing later at 0402 July 19 around ``11644.983 signal wandered down to 11644.963 kHz within 25 minutes duration, after a single hour settled down finally on 11644.960 kHz. Is the same faulty unit signal of 9935v kHz yesterday night. S=9+15dB -54dBm, and buzzy audio. And a fence of 130 Hertz apart spacing signals on 11644.9v kHz, 13 x 130 Hertz spaced peak strings seen on each band side, covered in total on 11639.5 to approx. 11651 kHz space`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9420.006, 11644.960, 15630.034 kHz footprints at 0402 UT July 19. NICE GREAT GREEK MUSIC! 11644.983 wandered down to 11644.963 within 25 minutes duration, after a single hour settled down finally on 11644.960 kHz. {I guess 7 MHz channel replaced by 11645v kHz before 0350-0400 UT, I guess is north-southerly target antenna at 182deg, i.e. only poor to nil signal in Americas.} is the same faulty TX signal of 9935v kHz yesterday night. S=9+15dB - 54dBm, and buzzy audio. And a fence of 130 Hertz apart spacing signals on 11644.9v kHz, 13 x 130 Hertz spaced peak strings seen on each band side, covered in total on 11639.5 to approx. 11651 kHz space. On upper sideband 11648-11651 kHz hit and covered by PNW/FPU Radio Tamazuj program in Arabic from SMG Santa Maria di Galeria Vatican State site, S=9 or -70dBm strength signal (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9935, July 20 at 0056, no signal from ERTOpen tonight, nor on 9420 – open for IranQuran, and nothing on 15650, 15630, 7475 or 7450 either (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello John, Yes, I remember Radiofonikos Stathmos Makedonias in Thessaloniki very well indeed, and they often played the more enjoyable music I thought. And I do recall that when Kavala closed it was said that they dedicated transmitters to Avlis, but that only one of them was ever put on air. I always wondered why the VOA closed Kavala yet left two sites in Germany active. It was better sited and had a better "reach" than, say, Biblis does. Still, that was a long time ago now. If frequencies are left unused for any length of time then someone else will eventually use them - that's what has happened to 9420. And despite many broadcasters closing, some bands are still well used - and 9 mHz is a prime one. Let us hope that the situation in Greece soon stabilises, and that we once again hear regular daily broadcasts. Regards & 73 from Noel in England (to and via John Babbis, MD, DXLD) Good UTC afternoon Noel; Thank you for your communications. It seem as though the free help at ERT Open, although doing the best that it can, are unable to keep the three transmitters on the air on a regular daily basis due to the lack of personnel. For example, on this side of the ocean, during the 1900-0200 UT period of July 7-13 they have been off the air three times, and during the 1900-0200 UT period of July 14-20 they have been off the air four times. I am hopeful that this is happening only during the summer vacation season and that they will be back daily when things get back to normal. As for the situation with the VOA transmitters in Kavala and the relay stations in the United States, from the attached letter fron Demetri Vafeas, it is apparent that this is a political problem. It appears that the faithful volunteers at ERT Open are doing their best to keep Avlis open despite the political desire to close it down and sell the equipment as scrap, ending shortwave in Greece. Let us hope for the best (John Babbis, July 20 via DXLD) Viz.: During 2006, John, many negative developments occurred in our company. But the worst of all is the cease of the VOA transmitters. Not only the termination of the local Kavala & Rhodos sites but the United States-based relay stations, too. You know, I am sure that since the new colleagues Dionisios Angelloyiannis, Sotirios Vorgias and Babbis Charalambopoulos took over the job, I am not longer responsible for the MW/SW Radio matters. However, since the VOA personnel contacted me, I tried to explain to various management and political key people, in close cooperation with the VOA personnel in Kavala & Rhodos, about the tremendous loss in front of us. No one seems to understand !!! No one seems to care any more !!! Different personalities were approaching the problem from different incident angles. They did not even look at the details of the Bilateral Agreement. According to it (the ``Agreement``), the Americans were obliged to relay our programs until April 2007. But still when the operation of the transmitters was ended, we did not express interest in getting, at least, the recently installed equipment (like the two powerful MW transmitters). No one cares about the fact that those transmitters are ready to transmit digital signals, like DRM. It seems that the highly-ranked officials cannot realize the importance of the direct communication, via radio, with the remaining Greeks or our foreign friends in the neighboring areas, like Balkans, East & North Europe, Cyprus. I am so disappointed that I cannot really think of anything that can really reverse the situation. And at the same time, I can understand the disappointment of the audience, like you and other good friends in Cyprus, Australia and ship personnel, all over the world. Cordially, (Demetri H Vafeas, Dec 28, 2006, e-mail to and via John Babbis, jpg image retyped by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) GREECE ERT-open: nothing heard July 23, on whole morning, also nothing heard at 13-19 UT today, 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, July 23, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. CQ, CQ, CQ; Aquí Pedro F. Arrunátegui para compartir algo con los que disfrutan y aman el DX latinoamericano, todas las horas son UTC, desde la tierra de los incas, les informo mediante este Quipus lo siguiente: 4054.98, R. Verdad, Chiquimula, 11/07 1100-1116, 22222, mx religiosa, px en inglés, mx religiosa, ID en inglés. La recepción la he efectuado del 1/07 al 18/07 en compañía de mi sabueso Icom IC R72 acompañado del Mizuho KX-3, una antena de hilo largo de 12 metros y una antena loop. Muchos 128´s PFA (Pedro F. Arrunátegui, Lima, Perú, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Dear DX-friends, These are the only stations audible in the 60 mb here in Denmark at your morning sign on: 4800.00, 0027-0030 21.7, AIR Hyderabad, vernacular talk, 35333. 4840.00, 0010-0020 21.7, AIR Mumbai, vernacular ann, Indian songs, 35333. 4920.00, 0017-0025 21.7, AIR Chennai, Tamil ann, Indian string music, 45343. 5010.00, 0022-0030 21.7, AIR Thiruvananthapuram, Malayalam ann, Sitar music, 45343. The others are either too weak or Off the Air, like R Kashmir on 4950. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. All India Radio (AIR) has started, from 21st July, a new service on Short Wave with Vividh Bharati and National Channel combined on 9380 kHz coming from Aligarh towards Southern India. The schedule is: 0100-0435 UT Vividh Bharati 0900-1200 UT Vividh Bharati 1320-0040 UT National Channel (replacing 9470 kHz). 9870 kHz with Vividh Bharati and 9425 kHz with National Channel will continue as before. (Akashvani Prasar Bharati on FB) Reports to spectrum-manager@air.org.in Via Alokesh Gupta -- Thanking you, Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India, July 22, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) Looks like a good move; Per EiBi & Aoki, nothing scheduled anywhen on 9380, while 9470 had CCI from various Chinese broadcasts. However HFCC has three probably wooden entries on 9380: 9380 1200 1400 44 TAC 100 71 0 238 1234567 300314 251014 D Kor UZB WRN WRN 11005 reserve 9380 1330 1530 37-39 ISL 250 282 30 221 1234567 300314 251014 D 12045 urd PAK PBC PBC 4771 9380 1500 1630 44 TAC 100 76 0 902 1234567 300314 251014 D Kor UZB WRN WRN 15566 (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) 9380 had English news from 1532 tune in, copyable with effort, certainly not strong. Didn't hear an ID but several mentions of India. Checking 9425 had classical mx and no sign of anything // 9380. (Don Moman, Lamont, Alberta CANADA, Elad FDM-S2, 4-30 log, July 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) New updated schedule of AIR Vividh Bharati and AIR National Channel AIR Vividh Bharati from July 21: 0100-0435 9380 ALG 250 kW / 188 deg SoAs Hindi, additional frequency 0100-0435 9870 BGL 500 kW / 035 deg SoAs Hindi 0900-1200 6100 DEL 250 kW / 134 deg SoAs Hindi DRM 0900-1200 9380 ALG 250 kW / 188 deg SoAs Hindi, additional frequency 0900-1200 9870 BGL 500 kW / 035 deg SoAs Hindi 1320-1740 9870 BGL 500 kW / 035 deg SoAs Hindi AIR National Channel from July 21 1320-0040 9380 ALG 250 kW / 188 deg SoAs Hindi/English news*, ex 9470 1320-0040 9425 DEL 250 kW / 334 deg to SoAs Hindi/English news* *5 minutes bulletin at 1430, 1530, 1630, 1730, 1830, 1935, 2030, 2135, 2230 (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) ** INDIA. The following stations of AIR was noted with extended broadcast with live commentary on opening of Commonwealth Games, Glasgow last night at around 2030 UT [July 23] (2.00 am IST) alternately in English and Hindi 4810 Bhopal 4835 Gangtok 4910 Jaipur MW: 576 Alappuzha 603 Ajmer 612 Bengaluru 621 Patna 666 Delhi 774 Shimla 846 Ahmedabad 864 Shillong 873 Jalandhar 882 Imphal 972 Cuttack 1044 Mumbai 1143 Ratnagiri /Rohtak ? 1377 Hyderabad 1566 Nagpur 1594 Bhopal I must have missed some more stations. Note: 1566 kHz is on regularly at this time. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India, dx_india yg via DXLD) My observations: SW 4810 Bhopal 4910 Jaipur MW 603 Ajmer 612 B'lore 621 Patna 666 Delhi 747 Lucknow 774 Shimla 846 Ahmedabad 864 Shillong 873 Jalandhar 882 Imphal 990 Jammu 1143 Rohtak 1215 New Delhi 1566 Nagpur 1593 Bhopal Regards, (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, ibid.) ** INDIA [and non]. 4970.015, AIR Shillong in English {!}, female talk at 1330 UT. Surprisingly S=8 or -81dBm signal downunder in AUS. 5040.0, AIR Calcutta. 4989.995, AIR Itanagar. 4920.0, Both AIR Chennai and PBS Xizang, equal freq, equal level. 4910.001, AIR Jaipur at 1340 UT. 4879.995, AIR Lucknow, Hindi lang singer. 4860.001, AIR Shimla 4840.002, AIR Mumbai 4820.0, PBS Xizang, and UNIDENTIFIED heterodyne interfering signal on 4820.728, ... 721 wandered up and down. AIR Calcutta? 4809.996, AIR Mumbai, Hindi lang annmt, unstable TX at 1352 UT. 4800.0, CNR1 Mandarin service, and 4799.998, AIR Chennai in probably Hindi language program. 4760.008, Distorted by UTE signal, probably AIR Port Blair at 1358 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, some 90 / 60 mb log of 1330 to 1415 UT time slot July 21, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews via dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 9690 INDIA All India Radio at 1417, English, //13710, music, 1420 ID and into “Music Box” program - Good July 19 Sellers-BC 13710 INDIA All India Radio at 1346, English, woman with schedule, then Hindi music - Fair until CRI came on before 1358 with English program, then poor July 19 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, by the lake, with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna. Editor of World English Survey and Target Listening, available at http://www.odxa.on.ca dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR celebrates 87th year Akashvani Prasar Bharati writes on the WRTH Facebook group All India Radio is celebrating 87th Year of Broadcasting in India today i.e. 23rd July, 2014. On this very day in 1927, the private Indian Broadcasting Company LTD (IBC) was authorized to operate two radio stations; the Bombay station began on 23 July 1927. The Calcutta station followed on 26 August 1927. That was just a beginning of broadcasting in India. Indian State Broadcasting Service was nam...ed All India Radio in 1936 and its Hindi name ‘Akashvani’ was awarded in 1956. All India Radio became the arm of Prasar Bharati, a statutory autonomous body established under the Prasar Bharati Act on 23.11.1997. All India Radio, today, has the reach to 99.2 % of population, 92 % of area of the nation. Now, it broadcasts programmes in 23 Languages and 146 Dialects through AIR’s 413 Broadcasting Centres and 584 Transmitters, 21 DTH Channels besides its Vividh Bharati Service, External Services Division, News Services Division and above all FM Gold and FM Rainbow channels. It caters programmes of everyone’s interest. All India Radio brings you Live Commentaries on all important events of your interest like Sports, Cultural and International/National/Regional. Programmes of AIR’s Urdu Service and FM Gold are available on internet through live streaming http://www.allindiaradio.org/ http://www.allindiaradio.gov.in/ AIR News is available on Android based Mobile Phones. All India Radio and its News services Division are active on Social Media Network sites- Face book. Twitter, Blog and YouTube. All India Radio has played a great role in preserving our cultural heritage like Classical Music, Folk & Tribal Music besides Classical and Folk Literature. The Sound Archives of All India Radio can be called as the National Audio Archive of the nation as it is the treasure house of precious recordings of more than 17,000 hours containing music and spoken word recordings in different categories. It is the largest library of Indian Music recordings. All India Radio has been playing a pivotal role in creating awareness in the Disasters like earthquakes, cyclones, tsunami, floods, landslides, explosions, fires, bus & train accidents, air crashes, etc. The journey of growth and development of All India Radio still continues (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA [and non]. 3325.0, ? Most probably RRI Palangka Raya program in undoubtedly Bahasa Indonesia language and music, at 1410 UT. 3344.864, Phone in program by females of tentative RRI Tennate Two signals nearby: 4870.001, UNID, and stronger on 4869.916, probably RRI Wamena-INS at 1345 UT July 21 (Wolfgang Büschel, some 90 / 60 mb log of 1330 to 1415 UT time slot July 21, presumably via remote receiver in Australia, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews via dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4870-, July 21 at 1200, JBA carrier on the lo side, probably RRI Wamena; 4835 VL8A in better than usual just after WWCR is off 4840 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9525.9, Voice of Indonesia at 1302 commencing English with woman doing announcements, 1303:20 “Voice of Indonesia with the news.” by woman and then man with news - Poor July 19 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, by the lake, with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello DXers, Checking VOI today 23/7/2014 I noticed that they are having Japanese talk around 1740 UT instead of the Spanish section which is officially from 1700 to 1800 UT. Good DX (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, Sent from my iPad, ibid.) At 1820 UT in German on 9525.9, as scheduled 18-19 (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, ibid.) ** INDONESIA [and non]. INDONÉSIA, 9680.06, RRI, Cimanggis, 1015-1055 (o desvan. total terá ocorrido poucos mins. mais tarde), 21/7, indonésio, texto, entrevistas; 35433, QRM notada após as 1030+/-, talvez de uma emissora da Formosa, em mandarim, que, perto das 1100, já se sobrepunha à estação da insulíndia. Bons DX e 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Recordings of first lunar landing 45 years ago, VOA reports in Spanish: see MUSEA ** IRAN [and non]. First no New Zealand on 15720, now Radio Nacional de Amazonia is missing from 11780, but still present on 6180. Just to make the night even more odd, VOIRI was on the frequency with English until 0420, followed by a language I assume was either Farsi or Arabic until an abrupt sign off at 0435 (Tim Rahto, IA, July 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) VoIRI is actually scheduled at that time for 11780 but is usually well covered by Brazil. The absence of RNdA just revealed what is there but not heard in the Americas usually. – (Kenneth V Zichi, MI, ibid.) Thanks for the info, Ken. I found an older schedule listing VOIRI on this frequency, but couldn't find it on anything more current. I appreciate the clarification (Tim Rahto, ibid.) ** IRAN. Entrevista para a IRIB Radio --- Caros, amanhã pela manhã darei uma entrevista em inglês para a IRIB Radio (Irã) por telefone. Mandei um relatório de recepção para eles e fui convidado a dar esta entrevista. Assim que souber quando ela irá ser transmitida aviso vocês; acredito que não será ao vivo. Abraço a todos (Caputo Floyd, 21 July, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Parabéns, amigo. O serviço em espanhol queria gravar uma entrevista comigo, mas até agora não me ligaram. É que ganhei um prêmio da emissora (um artesanato). 73! (Rubens Ferraz Pedroso (PY5-007SWL). Bandeirantes - PR, ibid.) ** IRAN [non]. 15690, GERMANY, Radio Farda via Biblis at 1312 in Persian, Moody Blues song “Nights in White Satin” followed by woman with ID - Fair July 19 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, by the lake, with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Esto escutando qsa 544 VVV DE 4XZ utc 1951 na freq de 11151 cw. Cidade Santos-sp. Antena g5rv junior. Receptor tecsun pl 660. Descodificador DIGPAN. Transmissões provenientes de Israel? (Sergio Ricardo, 16 July, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Se trata de 4XZ, la estación de la Marina Israelí en Haifa. Ese marcador en CW puede escucharse también en otras frecuencias, como en 6607 kHz por la tarde. http://youtu.be/YG13tbvJM6E Tambien en 6379 kHz: http://youtu.be/SrtWZQr1E3I 73! (Rodolfo Tizzi http://elterrorylavirtud.blogspot.com/ http://cx2abp.blogspot.com/ ibid.) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. JAPAN, Frequency change of Shiokaze-Sea Breeze effective from July 15 1600-1700 6090 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg to KRE, ex 6165 Japanese Mon/Wed 1600-1700 6090 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg to KRE, ex 6165 Chinese/Korean Tue 1600-1700 6090 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg to KRE, ex 6165 English Thu 1600-1700 6090 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg to KRE, ex 6165 Korean Fri 1600-1700 6090 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg to KRE, ex 6165 Kor/Japanese Sat 1600-1700 6090 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg to KRE, ex 6165 Japanese/Kor Sun Three videos from July 16 for Japanese transmission: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/frequency-change-of-shiokaze-sea-breeze.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, July 17, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) This is interesting Ivo. Is this the first time they changed only one frequency, instead of both of them? On July 15 (Tuesday) noted Shiokaze still on 6020 and still mixing with CNR8 (Mongolian Service) at 1333, in Chinese (Ron Howard, California , ibid.) July 17 (Thursday) had Shiokaze-Sea Breeze on 5985.0 (ex 6020) at 1330 in English; ID and into "Today's Newsflash". Scheduled 1330 to 1430. (Ron Howard, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, ibid.) Three videos from July 16 for Japanese transmission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L72ICcreFT4&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHIfOXoGWQ&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxFR3MpfbUk&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) Frequency changes of Shiokaze-Sea Breeze eff. from July 15: 1330-1430 5985 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg KRE, ex 6020 Japanese Mon/Wed 1330-1430 5985 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg KRE, ex 6020 Chinese/Korean Tue 1330-1430 5985 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg KRE, ex 6020 English Thu 1330-1430 5985 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg KRE, ex 6020 Korean Fri 1330-1430 5985 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg KRE, ex 6020 Korean/Japanese Sat 1330-1430 5985 YAM 100 kW / 280 deg KRE, ex 6020 Japanese/Korean Sun Three videos on July 17 of English transmission on new 6090: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwgPVOSFsE8&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X5j5r73VWo&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8xvXLJhafc&feature=youtu.be Two videos on July 22 of Chinese/Korean transmissions on 6090: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2U3HCHqHOo&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlLEWHcQsYE&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. UZBEKISTAN(non), Voice of Martyrs on new frequency from July 12: 1600-1730 NF 7510 TAC 100 kW / 065 deg to KRE Korean, ex 7530. Four videos from July 14 and 16 with very poor reception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Bezibd31Y&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKI97j17nFw&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMSRYM59o5o&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apPDcPIVmWU&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. USA(non) Frequency change of Radio Free Asia in Korean from July 17: 1700-1900 NF 15425 TIN 250 kW / 325 deg to EaAs, ex 5820 Parallel freq 9975 TIN 250 kW / 329 deg to EaAs. Videos from July 20: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/frequency-change-of-radio-free-asia-in.html (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. Glenn, I've attached a picture of both transmitters and the Log Periodic from the Voice of Freedom. The transmitter on the left is the main transmitter. We've been running it at 8 kilowatts. The actual gain of the antenna is only 7 dB. It is about 40 meters above the ground. Best Regards (Jamie Labadia, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Transmitters: http://www.w4uvh.net/VOF6135xmtrs.jpg Antenna: http://www.w4uvh.net/VOF6135ant.jpg (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non log]. 6135, Voice of Freedom (clandestine) continues to be heavily jammed with white noise through July 23; not readable at all (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT. Radio Kuwait observed on July 14 again broadcast in Bangla 1500-1545 21540 KBD 500 kW / 310 deg WeEu, instead of Arabic Genl Sce 1545-1600 15540 KBD 300 kW / 100 deg SoAs, before start of Urdu Sce Several videos from July 14, first two and last two with very poor reception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdX5SSRaJc&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9br1XyP2Sg&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcQC4V-uuVU&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysJythv8QyU&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqlu3wzs7mI&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwwfS-qifPM&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8YhGicUtOY&feature=youtu.be And video for Urdu Sce of Radio Kuwait 1600-1800 15540 KBD 300 kW / 100 deg SoAs, very poor reception today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzTrRhQ-VD4&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) 17550, July 19 at 2110-2147, R. Kuwait Arabic service is mostly Qur`an, good for napping here, and a decent signal today, with little else propagating on 16m, except Australia 17860 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) QSL Certificate received from Radio Kuwait. Issued in honor of the fact that I am an official monitor their radio. And I am about this and did not know. But beautiful card size slightly smaller than A4. Kwtfreq @ media.gov.km (as written on the envelope, but probably correctly will -.kw) (Paul, Belgorod, Russia / "open_dx" & "deneb- radio-dx", QSL-world, RusDX July 20 via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. 4010.075, Kyrgyz Radio 1st service from Bishkek Krasnaya Rechka site at 1415 UT but nothing noted at same time of 4795 kHz Bishkek-KGZ! (Wolfgang Büschel, some 90 / 60 mb log of 1330 to 1415 UT time slot July 21, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews via dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. Glenn, Do you spot anything wrong with this QSL card? Radio Laos QSL Card SWL | eBay http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FRadio-Laos-QSL-Card-SWL-%2F311013653398&ei=dkzNU-nFGcW3yASBjYCIAQ&usg=AFQjCNEqrVcxQ1iBRTdUCAlnAESjs0lO0w&bvm=bv.71198958,d.aWw (Artie Bigley, OH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I don`t know; is the Lao lettering or hammer & sickle backwards? 15190 was a Soviet relay (Glenn Hauser, to Artie, via DXLD) Glenn, That explains it!!! 15190!! (Artie, ibid.) BTW, if you are just interested in capturing images of old QSL cards rather than holding them in your hot little hands, eBay is a great resource, even after they are sold (but for how long?) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LESOTHO. Outlook Radio?? 1197 kHz. Hopefully someone will have some idea on this one. For the past few evenings I have been receiving a station on 1197 kHz from just before local sunset onwards (1530-ish); I presume it is coming from Lesotho, no doubt the old transmitter once used by BBCWS, WYFR, and more lately LM Radio. Programming at fade-in is in English, rather inane with a talk show host and phone in, for example asking people to call in and say what they are planning to do for the weekend! From about 1630 programming switches to endless modern disco music with few announcements, so I give up after an hour or so. I have heard a mention of "Maseru", which again suggests Lesotho, but the closest I have come to an ID is a single mention of "Outlook Radio". It is several months since I trawled this part of the medium wave band, and it wasn't there then, so maybe a new-ish station. And, I think, one well-worth giving a miss. I was under the impression (possibly incorrect!!) that LM Radio didn't last long on this frequency. Does anyone know what it might be? (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D, July 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Bill, What about this? Ultimate Radio 99.8 FM MW 891/1197 online http://www.gov.ls Audio streaming - http://www.gov.ls/home/default.php Facebook - https://mbasic.facebook.com/profile.php?v=timeline&timecutoff=1402395785§ionLoadingID=m_timeline_loading_div_1420099199_1388563200_8_&timeend=1420099199×tart=1388563200&tm=AQAWEqkHkeOJihlV&id=142568755822493&refid=17 (Ron Howard, California, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ron, Well spotted and many thanks. Yes, it looks promising. It's amazing what passes as entertainment in some parts; I'm at a disadvantage because I can't stand that sort of music and on this station it just goes on and on for ever. But I'll give it another listen to see if "Outlook" should really be "Ultimate". And I should get the listed // on 891 as well. The Drake is unpacked at last, but the antenna still leaves a lot to be desired; and even when I had a really good one, reception of 1197 was usually poor. But it`s progress. Many thanks. Regards, (Bill Bingham, RSA, ibid.) Later: Ultimate Radio, 1197, Maseru. Jul 21, 2014, Monday. 1705-1723. Thanks to Ron Howard for suggesting the identity of this station off-list. Although I still have not heard an ID, it does indeed seem to be “Ultimate Radio”, since it is // to 891 kHz. I find the music is more acceptable tonight; perhaps it goes to disco at weekends. But the programming bears little resemblance to what I remember of the old Radio Lesotho on 891. Fair. Jo'burg sunset 1536 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 5010.43, Jul 18 1915, R Madagasikara still there with their unstable transmitter (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 20 via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. U S A. 9955, July 23 at 1240, WRMI with AWR Wavescan, this week a talk at NASB Greenville in May by someone from WCBC about Madagascar World Voice. Missed part of it, and vs the Taiwan QRM and jamming, but gist is that he`s optimistic now that there is a new Minister of Communications who apparently is more amenable to OKing the long-delayed project. In fact their Mad-man was scheduled to meet with him the next day, his first day on the job. Now looking toward getting the transmitters there by end of October, testing by Xmas, and on the air by early 2015. (The key event will be departure of the transmitters from Houston dock storage, once they are certain of a ``go``. Everything else has been built and ready for a long time.) Part of the deal is promoting tourism to Madagascar on the air, that having been ``destroyed``. Meanwhile there has still been no `Update` since first quarter 2014: http://www.worldchristian.org/Updates/LatestNews/updates.php (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA [and non]. MALAYSIA/CHINA, 5964.700, RTM Klasik Nasional FM at 1440 UT, July 18, and co-ch even 5965.0 CRI Xian in Korean. 6049.990, Probably RTM Asyik FM from Kajang, underneath also PBS Xizang Mandarin, via Tibet noted here (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 18, remote receiver in NW Canada, dxldyg via DXLD) 9835, July 18 at 1255, pop music, Sarawak FM mentioned, 1300 into RTM news, ``berita`` with lengthy musical intro, mentions ``tragedy`` with a hard-g. Was not // weaker 11665 before hourtop, the Wai FM service, but joined for the news, altho out of synch with 9835 a few syllables behind 11665. 1311 back to music and ads on 9835. No dirges in the music here; after all, only a fraxion of the victims were from Malaysia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5964.7, Klasik Radio at 1215 with Malaysian pop music, 1244 man in Bahasa Malay into Islamic call to prayer - Poor with ACI July 19 6050, Asyik FM at 1218 with Malaysian pop music, 1230 woman is Bahasa Malay with announcements - Fair July 19 7295, silent July 19 9835, Sarawak FM at 1234 with Malaysian pop music, female announcer, 1249 ID and promo - Fair July 19 11665, Wai FM at 1233 with Malaysian pop music, female announcer, 1253 “Wai FM” ID - Fair July 19 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, by the lake, with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7295, Traxx FM has been off the air for some time now; through July 23 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11665, Wai FM (presumed); 1126-1135+, 24-July; Tune-in to enthusiastic discussion between 2M+W (one M was very enthusiastic); to 1129+ promos with music; 1131+ into news. SIO=2+33-, LSB helps with splash from 11670 AIR (presumed). (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, ICF7600G + TV beam ant for FMBC, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA [non]. While it`s a minor point compared to the immensity of the tragedy, I have to point out again that it was not ``flight 17`` that went down, but a specific airplane which should be identified forever by its unique callsign. This site http://www.flightradar24.com/flight/mh17 shows the aircraft on the flight ``cancelled`` (I`ll say) on July 17 was 9MMRD. Several other craft made the flight on other dates including today July 18, 9MMRL, departed Amsterdam at 1019 UT, ETA 2147 for a duration of 11 hours and 28 minutes. The previous flight by 9MMRA on July 16 took 11 hours and 30 minutes, so avoiding Ukraine is expected to make very little difference in flight time. We`ll have to recheck when it really lands. Altho not dealing directly with radio monitoring, a follow-up on MH Flights 17, which continue to run every day with several different planes, so referring to the crash as ``Flight 17`` is nonsensical. On July 18, the day following the disaster, that flight by 9MMRL left Amsterdam at 1019 UT and landed in KUL at 2200, i.e. flight time of 11:41, so about a dekaminute longer than usual. On July 19, 9MMRF departure was delayed 4:15 until 1415, ETA 0104 July 20, which would be only 10:49, unlikely unless quite a tailwind or speedup. See http://www.flightradar24.com/flight/mh17 Perhaps someone can supply the available ATC/ATG HF channels along the route; since it`s all overland, may not be much HF use instead of VHF. I don`t intend to pursue this endlessly, but one more time: despite all the media shorthand about ``MH Flight 17``, there is such a flight *every day* from AMS to KUL, so either always add the date of the doomed flight (July 17), or preferably refer to the unique callsign of the aircraft which was shot down, 9MMRD (which I have *never* heard or seen in any press about this). {later: Finally there was a split- second shot of the tail crashed on the ground, with ``MRD`` showing, 10:49 minutes into the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, UT July 22. I photoed a freeze-frame of it.} http://www.w4uvh.net/9MMRD.jpg Checking flightradar24.com, for flight delays by avoiding Ukraine since the shootdown, the July 19 flight, aircraft 9MMRF which left more than 4 hours late, took 11:47. July 20: 9MMRQ took 11:38. July 21: 9MMRC took 12:02. Of course part of the delay/variation could be due to stack-ups at the destination. As for possible HF channels used by ongoing flights MH17: Noel Green, NW England, says ``the most active station that might contact one of the MH flights seems to be Mumbai, and possible calling frequencies are 8879, 8909 and 8948 or possibly 6655. I only see one frequency (in the lower range at least) for Kuala Lumpur on 8942, and it *seems* that Singapore may handle international traffic in that area on that frequency. All courtesy of the 2012 edition of Airwaves. Maybe someone from S Asia has better information``. Normally air and ground are simplex on the same frequency. ATC often specifies a secondary frequency. BTW, our condolences to TIME magazine where they must be pulling their hair out, the weekly having gone to press the day before the crash, yet received by subscribers the day after. Planning to make major breaking news? Please avoid Thursdays (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also ALGERIA non ** MALI. 9635. R. Mali, Kati, 1030-..., 21/7, dialecto, música e canções locais; 45444. Nada a apontar à modulação (!). Bons DX e 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Comment literally translated would be ``nothing to point to modulation`` i.e. no sign of modulation, but he just said the opposite?? (gh, DXLD) ** MEXICO. 710-, July 17 at 0548 UT check, XEDP is off-frequency again tonight hetting KCMO on 710.0. 710.0, July 23 at 0557 check, no het but some Spanish in the mix, so XEDP Chihuahua is not off-frequency tonight (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 1570, July 21 at 1145 UT, XERF is still playing ``Mañanitas`` songs at this time every morning, followed by another tune, and at 1150, ``Servicio Social --- Avisos Personales``, mainly missing persons but also missing purses. Lots of people trying to make contact on both sides of la frontera; station phone number announced for input is 877-108-7046. Seems unusual for a 1 to be in 4th place, but maybe not for toll-frees; several phone numbers but not this one are on their contact page http://www.imer.mx/lapoderosa/contactanos/ Starting to fade out at 1154, and at times some English US station occupying its null; LSR here was 1130 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 6185, July 17 at 0528, XEPPM is still on later than usual 0500v*, talking about Michael Jackson and playing some of his music. Until 0530, much more signal from 6175 Vietnam/WHRI than from 6180 Brasil, q.v. 6184.981, Surprisingly R Educación tonight few Hertz 'más' on lower side, 0345 UT, but proper S=9+20dB -51dBm signal logged on Florida-US SDR post (Wolfgang Büschel, July 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Weak sporadic E is trying to get going July 17, UT: 1548 on 2, fade-in with f bug in LR = Televisa-4 net 1602 on 2, looks like the horoscope show again, traced July 13 at same hour to XHFM, TeleVer in Veracruz 1630 on 2, f bug in LR continues to fade in and out occasionally Only a bit of sporadic E, July 19 at 0218 UT as a novela from Televisa net-2 fades in and out, star bug in LR; nothing more. Sporadic E opening July 21, UT: 1557 on 2, heavy CCI once I rotate to Mexico, having started out toward Canada as once again misled by 6m opening maps 1557 on 3, steady signal with SpongeBob, Televisa-5 new logo LR 1559 on 2, HEB presenta `Panorama Agropecuario`, first item concerning Montemorelos, Nuevo León. HEB is a chain of stores in Texas, but also in NL and elsewhere in Mexico. Maybe XEFB-TV Monterrey. CCI from lucha libre, or is it boxeo? Some kind of combat in a square ring 1605 on 2, it`s boxing, labeled TOP RANK, then BOX AZTECA, `Deporte Caliente` dc show and on to fútbol. The Top Rank commentary was in Spanish but the video probably originated in USA 1606 on 4, clear and steady signal, interview with Dr Martín Rivera; maybe infomercial; 1610 crawler with DF phone number (at least) 1616 on 3, film drama, Azteca-13 bug in UR 1625 all gone; 1640 trace of video again 1645 on 2, promo for show on MTY --- this is not XEFB, but another Monterrey station, ch 34, being relayed on ch 2 in Saltillo, Coahuila, as explained at http://tvdxtips.com/mexlogosch2.html XHCNL-2 (? offset) Saltillo, Coahuila Relays XHCNL-34 Televisa Independent MTY TV On to a studio music show mentioning regiomontano = ``Monterreyan`` and no ñ in it, and with 31 degree temp in LR as in the MTY screenshot 1646 on 3, Spongebob with credit roll, Televisa-5 bug LR 1647 on 4, film with Azteca-13 bug UR 1647 on 2, CCI including yelling announcer on music show above 1652 on 2, Azteca-7 bug UR, lucha libre, labeled SMACK DOWN from the W network (as in WWF??) 1700 on 2, I attempt several photos just to get the 7 bug in the UR 1719 on 2, CCI, then fútbol hilites, generic Televisa Deportes oval bug in LR 1751 on 2, farmacia ad fades in; 1753 ad for CONSORCIO, something starting 15 de agosto, and Azteca 13 bug UR 1805 on 2, novela? with Televisa-5 bug LR; (lunch break) 1911 on 2, Azteca-7 bug UR, which morphs around, comes and goes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. DECRETAN FECHA DE 'MUERTE' DE LA TELEVISIÓN ACTUAL Susana Mendieta/Milenio Diario, Ayer Miércoles, 23 Jul, 2014 20:29 http://sipse.com/mexico/apagon-analogico-plazo-final-en-mexico-103446.html En México, a partir del primer minuto del 31 de diciembre de 2015, dejará de existir la llamada señal analógica. La señal de televisión como la conocemos actualmente está en cuenta regresiva: a partir del 1 de enero de 2016 sólo podrá verse con equipo digital. La imagen corresponde a la señal por internet del canal de Gala TV Mérida de Grupos SIPSE, utilizada sólo como contexto. (SIPSE.com)[caption] MÉXICO, DF.- La nueva política de transición a la televisión digital terrestre (TDT) ya no incluye el calendario por localidad o zona de cobertura para los diferentes apagones analógicos, por lo que será el 31 de diciembre de 2015 la fecha única. De acuerdo con lo que han aclarado las autoridades, ahora será por zonas de cobertura y conforme avance la entrega de televisores por parte de la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) como se realice el apagón, hasta completar todo el país, antes de la fecha tope. Por tal razón, el Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Ifetel) abrió una nueva consulta pública para el apagón, ya que se modificó la anterior y se abrogó el segundo transitorio del acuerdo que fue publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF) el 2 de julio de 2004 y cuya última modificación se hizo el 7 de mayo pasado. El artículo 6o. indica que los concesionarios y permisionarios de televisión estarán obligados a realizar todas las inversiones e instalaciones necesarias para transitar a la TDT, y el instituto vigilará el debido cumplimiento de esta obligación. La nueva política incluye la obligación de los operadores de televisión de solicitar canales digitales adicionales, como lo establece la nueva Ley de Telecomunicaciones. El artículo 9o transitorio indica que se deberá proporcionar al Ifetel todos los requisitos técnicos y legales en relación con la operación del canal adicional en un plazo de 60 días naturales a partir de que se les notifique. El artículo 13o establece que los concesionarios y permisionarios de televisión deberán asegurar la continuidad del servicio de radiodifusión, es decir, garantizar la adecuada transmisión de las señales de TDT. Deberán replicar al menos toda el área de cobertura de la transmisión analógica, pero no más allá de la zona de cobertura. El artículo 16 indica que el instituto informará a la población sobre el apagón analógico en medios de comunicación masiva, volantes, sesiones informativas y un portal de internet. Una vez efectuado el apagón analógico, los concesionarios y permisionarios de televisión solo podrán utilizar el canal para realizar transmisiones digitales y el espectro dejará de considerarse concesionado o con permiso, por lo que el Ifetel podrá disponer de él. (SIPSE.com via Israel González Ahumada, Yucatán, July 24, DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. MONGÓLIA, 12085, Voz da Mongólia, Khonkhor, 0905-1038, 19/7, inglês; progr. em mongol, às 0930, em mandarim, às 1000, em japonês, às 1030; 25432. Sinal mais forte notado em 20/7. Bons DX e 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA. 4894.996, Mongolian Radio, flute music from domestic Murun tx site (Wolfgang Büschel, some 90 / 60 mb log of 1330 to 1415 UT time slot July 21, presumably via remote receiver in Australia, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews via dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 5985.22, Myanmar Radio on July 18 something new here. For as long as I can remember they used one of two transmitters; being either on exact frequency - 5985.00 or the off frequency one - 5985.8. Recently have observed on different days both 5985.00 and 5985.8, so today was clearly a new frequency for them; noted at 1235 and 1301 (before clandestine Shiokaze signs on at 1330). Perhaps Wolfy or others can measure the frequency more accurately? Appreciate any help with a Perseus exact frequency! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks to Mauno Ritola for his input - "I get it as 5985.228 kHz." Ron MYANMAR Yes, Ron, you are correct, at 1430-1500 UT in AUS: 5985.228 is footprint frequency of Myanmar Radio at 1430 UT on today July 18, probably from old empire Rangoon transmitting center. S=8 or -75dBm signal strenght on remote SDR unit in downunder Australia. Also heard: 5915.0, Naypyidaw outlet S=9+10dB or -63dBm, co-channel CRI Mongolian from Hohot-CHN #694 txing site. 6165.0, Undoubtedly Pyin U Lwin Myanmar bcasting program noted at same time, co-ch CNR6 Beijing equal level. Nothing heard on 7185/7200/7215 kHz Rangoon channel (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 18, dxldyg via DXLD) Rangoon some 6 Hertz up now. Came across the 5985 kHz channel downunder in remote SDR unit in Australia, in 1415 to 1430 UT time slot July 21. 5985.0, Powerful Shiokaze interval signal over and over again from Yamata JPN relay site noted til TX off at 1430 UT. Then channel let in the clear of Myanmar Radio Rangoon on odd 5985.234 at 1432 UT, and undoubtedly a North Korean ditter jamming signal in the background underneath (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 21, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5985.23, Myanmar Radio continues to be daily heard on this frequency; July 21 at 1315 found pulsating noise jamming in preparation for the sign on of Shiokaze at *1330 and blocking Myanmar. Thanks again to Wolfy and Mauno for the exact frequency reading (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 9925, UT Sat July 20 at 0138, tune-in The Mighty KBC, VG signal via Nauen, GERMANY, just as ``DX Headlines`` are ending, something about three 40m hamband frequencies to be kept clear for emergency traffic. A new feature? Followed by ad and several more before 0200*. Maybe business is picking up. Usual rock music and lively DJ chatter by Eric; seems there is no mourning here, tho I didn`t hear the whole broadcast. 0147 over to Kraig Krist in the USA for his ``Forgotten Song`` segment, this time The Dorels, ex- Brooktones, 1961-1974, with ``The Bristol Stomp`` from Sept 1961. Too bad that the new WOR broadcast via KVOH is on during this same semihour, but we`re grateful for whatever time stations can spare us. BTW, several 6.77-7.00 MHz bandscans during this hour produced no Saturday night pirates at all, perhaps also deferring to KBC if not us? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Radio New Zealand absent from 15720 again --- I've been checking for RNZI on and off all evening, but I am not hearing them at all on 15720 tonight. Their DRM signal is strong and easily decoded here in Central Iowa though. Anyone know what's causing the outage tonight? It seems to me we went through something similar a couple of weeks ago (Tim Rahto, IA, 0355 UT July 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RNZI heard with the usual good signal into Houston at a 0450 check UT July 17, so back on the air. No sign of the numbers station 1 kHz up. (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, ibid.) And an update: The RNZI frequency change at 0458 did not happen, and they are still on 15720 at 0515 with "Checkpoint" program. Apparently having transmitter control problems? Perhaps earlier disappearance wasn't an outage, but on wrong frequency? (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, ibid.) 11720-11725-11730, July 17 at 0534, DRM noise on what is supposed to be the AM frequency of RNZI! While 11690, the DRM frequency, is open carrier AM; both go off at 0535* as someone must have realized they were reversed. At *0536, the open AM carrier comes up on 11725, and the DRM noise on 11685-11690-11695. 1 kHz(?) hi-pitched tone starts shortly on 11725, 0537 dead air again, then very lo-pitched tone QRMing NHK French on 11730. While DRM was on, NHK was totally blocked. 0539 on 11725, tone, dead air, tone again. Recheck at 0543, now 11725 is modulating RNZI as it should be. Our observations contradict those of Ivo Ivanov, which must be based on only partial monitoring of the time period shown: ``0459-0650 on 11725 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg to All Pacific AM, on 15720 July 17 0459-0650 on 11690 RAN 025 kW / 035 deg to All Pacific DRM, cancelled`` He quotes them: ``Expect schedule changes from time to time to take account of propagation to our target audience. Every month on the first and third Wednesday 2230-0600 it is Maintenance day at our transmitter site.`` But this is the third Thursday, not Wednesday, both in UT and in NZ. Wolfgang Büschel refers to: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/listen ``Note: Every month on the first and third Wednesday it is Maintenance day at our transmitter site from 2230 - 0600 UTC. (Thursdays 1030 - 1800 NZST) During this period there may be interruptions to our programmes.`` [that means ending at 0600 UT Thursdays] Tim Rahto and Steve Luce also monitored further discrepancies in RNZI frequency usage before and after this hour; Steve in Houston reports [as above] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RNZI must have had some sort of switching problem; no sign of 15720 ~0425 UT though the digital stuff was present around 17675. A re-check ~0450 found them at better than usual strength so listened to the last bit of Jim Mora's Panel show. The re-tune announcement came up normally. I switched over to 11725 and sat and sat and sat, finally going back to 15720 to find them still there. 19m seems to have been enhanced: R. Australia was unusually strong on 15240 and 15300 ~0430, as well as on 17840. Never checked after 0505, but Bryan Clark in NZ reports Nigeria 15120 was putting in an exception signal for him ~0510. TD (Theo Donnelly, BC, July 17, ODXA yg via DXLD) NEW ZEALAND not on air 9700 kHz at 1220 UT July 17. Maintenance day - see 3rd Wed of the month note !!!!! http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/listen 12 Jul 2014 - 25 Oct 2014, 0250 - 0400 Mon - Fri, 17675 DRM In future our DRM is on air only at times required for rebroadcast by Pacific Stations Vanuatu Bougainville/Papua New Guinea and Timor Transmission 1100 -1300 UT. From 1100 -1300 UTC our programme is directed to the North Western Pacific and Asia. Satellite RNZI is now available on Satellite, courtesy of TVNZ Pacific Service. The coverage area extends from Singapore, and westward to the Cook Islands, which includes Fiji, Tonga, Niue and Samoa. a.. IS19/23 C Slot A b.. DL 4146.5 V c.. FEC 1/2 SR 4.0 Note: Every month on the first and third Wednesday it is Maintenance day at our transmitter site from 2230 to 0600 UT (Thursdays 10:30- 18:00 NZST) During this period there may be interruptions to our programmes. 73 (via Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) A-14 schedule of Radio New Zealand International from July 12: 0000-0400 15720 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg All Pacific AM 0250-0400 17675 RAN 025 kW / 035 deg All Pacific DRM irregular on air 0400-0458 15720 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg All Pacific AM 0459-0650 11725 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg All Pacific AM 0651-0758 11725 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Tonga AM 0651-0758 7330 RAN 025 kW / 035 deg Tonga DRM, ex 9890 0759-1058 9700 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg All Pacific AM 1059-1258 9700 RAN 100 kW / 325 deg NW Pacific/PNG/Timor AM 1259-1550 6170 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg All Pacific AM 1551-1745 5975 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Cooks/Samoa/Niue/Tonga AM ex 9700 1551-1745 7330 RAN 025 kW / 035 deg Cooks/Samoa/Niue/Tonga DRM 1746-1835 9700 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Cooks/Samoa/Niue/Tonga AM 1746-1835 7330 RAN 025 kW / 035 deg Cooks/Samoa/Niue/Tonga DRM x 9630 1836-1850 9700 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Cooks/Samoa/Niue/Tonga AM 1836-1850 9630 RAN 025 kW / 035 deg Cooks/Samoa/Niue/Tonga DRM 1851-1950 11725 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Cooks/Samoa/Niue/Tonga AM 1851-1950 11690 RAN 025 kW / 035 deg Cooks/Samoa/Niue/Tonga DRM 1951-2050 11725 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Solomon Islands/Niue/Tonga AM 1951-2050 15720 RAN 025 kW / 035 deg Solomon Islands/Niue/Tonga DRM 2051-2150 11725 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Solomon Islands/Niue/Tonga AM 2051-2150 15720 RAN 025 kW / 035 deg Solomon Islands/Niue/Tonga AM 2151-2400 15720 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg All Pacific AM Expect schedule changes from time to time to take account of propagation to our target audience. NB: Every month on the first and third Wednesday 2230-0600 UTC it is Maintenance day at our transmitter site Rangitaiki (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) and reworked, all RAN site: Updated A-14 schedule of Radio New Zealand International from July 12: 0251-0400 17675 025 kW / 035 All Pacific DRM, on air only at times 0459-0650 11725 050 kW / 035 All Pacific AM, 15720 July 17 0459-0650 11690 025 kW / 035 All Pacific DRM, cancelled 0651-0758 11725 050 kW / 035 Tonga AM 0651-0758 7330 025 kW / 035 Tonga DRM, ex 9890 0759-1058 9700 050 kW / 035 All Pacific AM, 11725 July 17 0759-1058 9890 025 kW / 035 All Pacific DRM, cancelled 1059-1158 9700 100 kW / 325 NW Pacific, PNG, Timor AM, 11725 July 17 1059-1158 9890 025 kW / 035 All Pacific DRM, cancelled 1159-1258 9700 100 kW / 325 NW Pacific, PNG, Timor AM, 11725 July 17 1259-1550 6170 050 kW / 035 All Pacific AM 1551-1745 NF 5975 050 kW / 035 Cook, Samoa, Niue, Tonga AM, ex 9700 1551-1745 7330 025 kW / 035 Cook Isl, Samoa, Niue, Tonga DRM 1746-1835 9700 050 kW / 035 Cook Isl, Samoa, Niue, Tonga AM 1746-1835 NF 7330 025 kW / 035 Cook, Samoa, Niue, Tonga DRM, ex 9630 1836-1850 9700 050 kW / 035 Cook Isl, Samoa, Niue, Tonga AM 1836-1850 9630 025 kW / 035 Cook Isl, Samoa, Niue, Tonga DRM 1851-1950 11725 050 kW / 035 Cook Isl, Samoa, Niue, Tonga AM 1851-1950 11690 025 kW / 035 Cook Isl, Samoa, Niue, Tonga DRM 1951-2050 11725 050 kW / 035 Cook Isl, Samoa, Niue, Tonga AM 1951-2050 15720 025 kW / 035 Cook Isl, Samoa, Niue, Tonga DRM 2051-2150 11725 050 kW / 035 Solomon Islands, Niue, Tonga AM 2051-2150 15720 025 kW / 035 Solomon Islands, Niue, Tonga DRM 2151-0458 15720 050 kW / 035 All Pacific AM 2151-0250 17675 025 kW / 035 All Pacific DRM, cancelled Expect schedule changes from time to time to take account of propagation to our target audience. Every month on the first and third Wednesday 2230-0600 it is Maintenance day at our transmitter site. http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/updated-14-schedule-of-radio-new.html (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via DXLD) Is there a typo here or will there be no transmission between 0400 and 0459? (John Figliozzi, Sent from my iPad, ibid.) Hi John, There is a transmission shown on 15720 khz from 2151 to 0458 (at the bottom of the sked). (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, ibid.) Thanks. Should have been a bit more specific. Apparently no DRM transmission from 0400 to 0458 (Figliozzi, ibid.) 11725, July 18 at 0556, RNZI seems back to normal tonite in AM --- but the DRM on 11685-11690-11695 is absent. Nor is it circa 13730, a previous DRM frequency at certain hours. The How to Listen schedule at http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/listen has been updated as of 12 July to in fact show a gap in DRM usage at 0400-0651, until 7330 comes on, and again a gap at 0758-1551 when in AM only on 9700/6170. Another DRM gap: 2151-0250 when on AM 15720 only, explained thus: ``In future our DRM is on air only at times required for rebroadcast by Pacific Stations``. Tough luck for listeners beyond in North America who had been getting RNZI as one of the few sufficient DRM signals. The other way round, DRM is still scheduled (but we wonder if continuous depending on stations` needs): 0200-0400 17675 M-F only for Vanuatu [so not on NE beam] 0651-0758 7330 daily for Tonga 1551-1745 7330 daily Cooks, Samoa, Niue, Tonga 1746-1835 7330 daily Cooks, Samoa, Niue, Tonga 1836-1850 9630 daily Samoa 1851-1950 11690 daily Niue, Samoa, Tonga 1951-2050 15720 daily Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands 2051-2150 15720 daily Solomon Islands [so not on NE beam] Except for the 0651 broadcast, none of these are favorable for North American reception. Note that at 0603 July 18 I found DRM-like noise circa 13670 where nothing is listed. 9700, at next check 1025, RNZI good in AM discussing flights avoiding Ukraine; last night they stayed on 11725 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15720, July 19 at 0125, RNZI OK in AM, but no DRM noise circa 17675 in accordance with new reduced DRM schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The last couple of mornings I have noticed RNZI staying on 11725 after the scheduled change to 9700 at 0759 to 1058 when they change their antenna pattern from the Pacific to NW Pacific. Only then did they go to 9700. Their website still lists 9700 from 0759 to 1058 so I wonder if this was a mistake or if the staff on duty at the time were off. (Mark Coady. Selwyn, ON K9J 0C6, July 19, dxingwithcumbre yg via DXLD) 17670-17675-17680, July 21 at 0137, DRM noise is back from RNZI, and AM on 15720 readable without any processing at all! Despite own latest online schedule showing DRM does not start until 0250 M-F. 6170, Monday July 21 starting at 1330:48, RNZI `Mailbox`, not early this week as sometimes we`ve found it in progress already at 1328 or 1329. Reception is holding up a little longer with our later sunrises (but still two hours earlier, 1130), but only poor, starting with a Samoan song (Australia 6150 is much better, tho further). I listen to it later ondemand via: http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20142458 No DX report this week from Kevin Hand due to a misunderstanding of the scheduling, but other usual features: Mike Bird with propagation report and not much news about cutbacks at Radio Australia; chat by Adrian Sainsbury back from 7 weeks in Europe (they must have a great vacation package at RNZI), while Myra Oh has only been to Fiji. Bad news: this program is being canceled after one more episode in a fortnight; summarizing: Mailbox is to retire after 65 years of service, sad to say. Manager Lynden Clark says as part of a review of all our programming, due to increasing costs and decreasing funding, reluctantly decided to end DX program Mailbox, and consolidate funds on our core services. Mailbox has been on since 1990 in current format, first hosted by Tony King. RNZI however will continue on SW. DRM transmission times have also been reduced for cost saving, no longer 18 hpd, but now on and off as required by rebroadcasting stations in the Pacific. Richard Lemke also notifies us of this and points out there is another broadcast of the current show, UT Tuesday July 22 at 0330 on 15720. (We`ve yet to confirm whether there is really another repeat on Friday circa 1935 on 11725, as shown on the schedule.) Let`s hope they leave up the large archive of previous Mailboxes for a while longer. 15715-15720-15725, July 21 at 2023, DRM noise must be RNZI, as now scheduled until 2150. Can`t say I`ve noticed this before, but sounds like it might be strong enough to decode. The // AM frequency, 11725, never propagates here in our afternoons. 15720 should be OK after 2151 when it switches to AM (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Glen[n]: Sad news, Mailbox ending shortwave in two weeks last show, budget cuts Radio New Zealand Int. Hear audio clip of show July 21 2014 on their web site program at 0330 UTC, 15720 kHz, July 22 UT. Good DX (Richard Lemke, Alberta, Canada, July 21 2014, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. http://www.radioheritage.net July 21 2014, Dear radio friend: Radio heritage goes after 65 years --- We were saddened to learn today that the Radio NZ International Mailbox program to which we regularly contribute features about Pacific radio has been cancelled after 65 years. That's a good run, but we're pleased the funds will now be used for the core news and information programs directed to the South Pacific, which is the funded target area for RNZI. We have about 10 years of features we've researched and presented, and we will shortly be working through these and converting them into multi-media features at our website www.radioheritage.net. We've already got an example there, Papua New Guinea Radio, and it's proving quite popular. Why not check it out. Best wishes from the team Radio Heritage Foundation http://www.radioheritage.net Connecting today's people with yesterday's radio (David Ricquish, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sad to say that the RNZI Mailbox program is ending on August 4 after 65 years of service to international radio listeners (Radio Heritage Foundation via David Ricquish 21 July on WRTH Facebook) Why? Funds are being redirected into the core Pacific news and information services that are actually directed at the target audience for which RNZI is funded. This will strengthen RNZI's services to the Pacific. (Radio Heritage Foundation on Facebook) RNZI Mailbox is broadcast fortnightly, so the penultimate edition is today (Monday) at 1130, 1330 and 1630 UT; plus tomorrow at 0330 UT. Shortwave frequencies for R New Zealand Int (updated 12 July) at: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/listen Also listen at: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/mailbox 73 (Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Tried tuning in on 15720 kHz. shortwave to Mailbox, given that this is the penultimate edition of the program, but was met with what I thought was just poor propagation. Kept the radio on to see if it would fade in eventually and listened instead to the live stream on the internet. What I thought was poor propagation (since I was hearing a faint--or maybe phantom?-- signal there), turned out to be RNZI off the air. The frequency came to life just before 0400 with the usual summer S9+ signal. I'm aware that the DRM broadcasts have begun to be more intermittent to save money and use the transmitter only when Pacific stations need the feed. Has anyone heard any announcements about analog shortwave reductions at RNZI. I didn't hear that mentioned on Mailbox, but the program was in progress by the time I got the stream up and running. (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon NY, July 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Noted the same behavior on 15720 AM today. Not on frequency until 0400 (John Figliozzi, NY, UT July 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17670-17675-17680, July 23 at 0129, DRM noise is here again, no doubt RNZI, which is fair in AM on 15720; DRM contrary to own schedule showing large spans with it turned off. BTW, John Figliozzi says 15720-AM was off the air until 0400 UT Tuesday July 22, so the penultimate `Mailbox` could not be heard at 0330. It seems both their AM and DRM scheduling is quite flexible (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It`s on, just not toward us (gh) ** NIGERIA. Radio Nigeria Kaduna back on SW after month of absence 1800-1900 6089.9 KDN 100 kW / ND WeAf Hausa. Videos from July 14/16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIQ7pBBilq0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YDpI3gV6Gs&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXidlOmOEho&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BffaCVCCTrs&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfOY0bFBJAY&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOEhuunMxIA&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) July 16: Radio Nigeria Kaduna in Hausa to Af 1835 on 6089.9 Kaduna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXidlOmOEho&feature=youtu.be Radio Nigeria Kaduna in Hausa to Af 1843 on 6089.9 Kaduna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BffaCVCCTrs&feature=youtu.be Radio Nigeria Kaduna in Hausa to Af 1850 on 6089.9 Kaduna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfOY0bFBJAY&feature=youtu.be Radio Nigeria Kaduna in Hausa to Af 1855 on 6089.9 Kaduna, blocked by CRI carrier at 1857 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOEhuunMxIA&feature=youtu.be July 17: Radio Nigeria Kaduna in Hausa to Af 1758 on 6089.9 Kaduna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJS8Xu2Sv1k&feature=youtu.be Radio Nigeria Kaduna in Hausa to Af 1830 on 6089.9 Kaduna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teoHgLkcZ6M&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, ibid.) Hello DXers, Checking the Caribbean Beacon on 6090 around 0340 UT, came up with a holy Qur`an recitation! A long speech by a man in vernacular with lots of Arabic words and Qur`an recitation. Most probably Kaduna with a Ramadan religious program. Hi Again, At 0400 UT there was the call of the prayer of Dawn (Fajr) so this must be west African country to have Fajr prayers around 2 hours after Cairo. Followed by a note in vernacular with the English words Nigerian Unity. So most probably Kaduna. All the best. 73 and good DX (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, Sent from my iPad UT July 20, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Voice of Nigeria was observed in English, instead [of!] in French 0700-0800 on 15120 IKO 250 kW / 007 deg to NoAf. 5 videos on July 19: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/voice-of-nigeria-on-july-19-in-english.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) Voice of Nigeria was observed in English, instead of in French: 0700- 0800 on 15120 IKO 250 kW / 007 deg to NoAf. 5 videos on July 19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsPjHOC2BJs&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9v7ougjO3k&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB9cMQGyL3E&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zbwkb5V2KY&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5wHelxfqpc&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) Today, July 21, French starting as scheduled at 0700, but they simply seemed to be unprepared to read the news, only music with a few announcements until 0730, now a pre-produced feature. This, as well as the announcements before, on a very low audio level, and the announcer was sounding very lo-fi in addition - almost unintelligible. Last week, I only observed random pre-recorded English shows or music all morning, except one day (Wednesday?), when the news at 0600 were aired, but again: very low audio, unintelligible, and back to the usual taped diet afterwards, loud and clear, sometimes slightly overmodulated. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.muenster.org/uwz/ms-alt/africalist dxldyg via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6924.36-AM approx., July 18 at 0114, JBA pirate music; (BTW, in such an extreme case, I find the DX-398 is more sensitive than the PL-880 with the same random wire antenna clipped onto each in alternation.) It`s slightly stronger at 0127. This post http://freeradiocafe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4697 allegedly from the UK says it was R. Free Whatever on 6924.44 Some more logs of it: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,17719.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6933-USB, July 18 at 0130, must have just come on, very strong pirate music, sufficient on the PL-880 with whip only, incomparably better than RFW on 6924+. 0132 plays ``Dang Me``, segués, 0137 ``6 Days on the Road``, then ``Hello, hello, hello, this is WRR, Whiskey Redneck Radio, on the air once again --- no reason for being on the air ---`` and introducing another Dave Dudley tune fer ya. ``Transmitting in the name of the screamin` electron``, ``Let`s get it on``, 0141 another song. Rather rough with pauses and clix; can almost hear needle drops, enjoyable music. This one measured it on 6933.113-USB and put up a Youtube video: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,17723.0.html Other logs of it: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,17720.0.html These logs say it was on 6933.2-USB: http://freeradiocafe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4698 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Shortwave Pirate Station; Whiskey Redneck Radio http://youtu.be/0xEQwjGFBLw (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, July 18, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6950.8-AM, July 21 at 0133, weak signal with hard rock; 0154 recheck much stronger, even sufficient on the PL-880 with whip only, playing familiar ``Margaritaville`` song --- wait, sounds like lyric goes ``Obamaville``; hmmm. Tough copy with lots of selective fading distortion which could have been avoided by transmitting in SSB. 0157 announcement cut off? another song, but it`s cut off and quickly off the air at 0200:16*. Now to look it up in the pirate fora: This says it was Captain Morgan Shortwave on 6950.7 AM: http://freeradiocafe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4709 and so do these, including ``Wasting Away in Obamaville`` parody: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,17773.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6925-USB, July 23 at 0135, pirate music, poor signal, 0138 lyric includes ``come out of the rain``; 0141 XLR8 ID (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. Radio True North --- 6925 AM, July 20 0252-0415 UT. Heard another great program from this free radio station, with music by Trooper, Bon Jovi. Lot'sa ID's for Radio True North and e-mail address as radiotruenorth@gmail.com OP was asking for signal reports which I did post on the NFU HF Underground website and sent an e-mail report to the station. OP replied that he wasn't sure whether propagation was up to par tonight. Massive signal at over s6 to s7 but by 0415 was dropping off to s2 to s3 level (Edward Kusalik, AB, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. Lode Radio: 6930-USB, July 19 0324-0410. Heard this station with a Call-in program, with discussion on topics such as military service, Bohemian roosters, Craigslist, with a number of woman calling in such as Ali, Cat Girl, Sally from California, David Johnson. Gave the e-mail address as lOde@lOde.com and phone number for the call-ins. Great signal s4 to s6 but deteriorated to s1 to s2 by 0410. Otherwise an interesting program! (Kusalik-AB) QSL: 6925-USB, LOde Radio: received a QSL response for a posting on the NFU HF Underground website for his broadcast of July the 19th. QSL depicts a Mask Marvel with saying that Doom awaits you & Thanks for listening to LOde Radio Hour. Many thanks to the station for his response to postings on the HFU Website !! (Kusalik-AB) COMMENTS: Being the lazy days of summer the free radio scene has been quite active with numerous stations staying on late for us under privileged out here in the west. To those stations who take the time to stay on late, many thanks! (Edward Kusalik, AB, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. YHWH: 15655/AM, 2216-2240*?, 16-July; Finally caught him! M in English with many mentions of Yahweh; ragged on the Catholics for worshipping statues of Mary. He gave an ID & addy (for transcripts) several times involving YHWHpirate, but could never catch the whole thing. Gave a list of freqs, "...at random times." Seems to be your typical, pissed off SW huxter dude, but without the shouting. SIO=243 peaks but fades to zilch; brief pulse burst QRM. Nothing else listed on 15655 at this time (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9599.88-AM, "Radio Station YHWH" (religious pirate), 0335, July 18. Found him off frequency till 0343, when he shifted to 9600.00; very poor at tune in, but slightly improving; mostly unreadable; went till 0435*; at 0430 the usual sign off music/song; now seems to have a different and longer sign off announcement, but too poor to make it out; this was the poorest reception I have ever had for YHWH. Thanks to Dan Sheedy for the alert that there was a new sign off announcement (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, YHWH is active on 11590 right now (1725z), quite weak here, stronger out west: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,17740.0.html (Chris Smolinski, Black Cat Systems http://www.blackcatsystems.com 1726 UT July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) YHWH was on again today, 15655, reported in progress as 2303, off at 2337. A tabulation of the various transmissions is being kept here: http://www.hfunderground.com/wiki/YHWH (Chris Smolinski, Black Cat Systems http://www.blackcatsystems.com July 19 DX LISTENING DIGEST) Station YHWH --- On now 2309z 15655 July 19, S6, some fading, typical rants about blood, animal sacrifices, Babylonian testaments. Apparently the op recently announced 4 frequencies that he will use: 9600, 11590, 15655, and 21850 kHz. Caught in progress at 2302z tune in. Off 2336z Third time heard today (Rich Ray, Burr Ridge, IL, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15655, July 19 at 2318, poor and fading signal from Station YHWH, tnx to tip from Rich Ray, Burr Ridge IL to the DXLD yg. So maybe there will be less jumping around. As in DXLD 14-29, Dan Sheedy heard him say that he monitors reports posted to hfunderground (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) YHWH is on 15655 AM at the moment, talking about (what else?) Christianity. Decent signal here in Central Iowa, peaking at about an S6 to S7 (Tim Rahto, 2203 UT July 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Just at threshold on the WCNA. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, 2238 UT July 20, ibid.) Yesterday (July 20) again heard YHWH on 9600.0 from 0409 till 0444*; more readable than my July 18 reception also on 9600, with 0435*. He is running a real schedule now and becoming regular? (Ron Howard, California, ibid.) YHWH: 9600/AM, 0439-0455+, 19-July; YHWH IDs, "coming Messiah", etc.; weird orientalish, chantyish music at 0450 into more huxterage. Fair peaks but covered by whooshing at times. (Frodge-MI) 15655/AM, 1655-1708+, 20-July; Recognizable voice of the Yahweh dude with mentions of Y. Poor with occasional copyable peaks; a tad better in USB. He's getting more predictable (stupidly bold?) lately using 9600 & 15655 often. Yahweh made him do it. 15655/AM, 2301-2306:23*, 20-July; Yahweh dude ragging on "idol- worshipping, war-mongering Christians"; YHWHPirate spot; off with "Love you." SIO=252+ (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, USA, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, ICF7600G + TV beam ant for FMBC, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 780, July 18 at 0121 UT, KSPI Stillwater is off, well before official sunset; compensating for running their carrier other dates late or all-nite? 780, July 20 at 0053 UT, KSPI Stillwater is off long before sunset. Maybe completely off: must check during the day. WBBM is free to fade in unimpeded when ready, by an hour later. 780, July 21, KSPI Stillwater on the air at various chex during the day, despite missing well before sunset lately. One promo was for religious programming instead of sports on Sundays from 8 am to noon CT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 7325, July 23 at 0142, I`m getting an Enid baseball game from my strongest local, KCRC 1390, external or internal mixing with also very strong 5935 WWCR signal, which is 1390 kHz below it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. We enjoy lunching occasionally at Enid`s best Chinese fast-food, Jiang Yuan, but have to forego listening to KOSU on our portables, since it`s on the north side of a strip mall, apparently inside a Faraday cage with very little FM reception possible. Nevertheless on July 17 circa 1830 UT I tuned around to see what I could get, like maybe Kansas stations to the north, and was surprised to find on 89.1, instead of KMUW, CNN audio! And then three more cable channel audios with plenty of commercials in the non-comm band: 88.1 Cartoon Net (? from the sound of it), 88.5 Fox News, 89.7 TLC (fighting some signal from semi-local KJTH 100 kW from ``Ponca City``). Jiang Yuan also has a TV screen in the corner, maybe from a satellite service, and suspect this includes various audio feeds on the FM band for some reason (I didn`t search further up past 94 MHz, but no others noted below there.) I could still hear CNN etc., outside the restaurant for a couple stores down the line, and doubt a caradio RF setup would be sending on more than one frequency. I know, these are unDXable by anyone further from Jiang Yuan than that, but I wonder if others with satellite TV also get TV channel audio radiating on the FM band as a bonus? We`ll see if this is repeatable on our next visit to Jiang Yuan, which means what? Google translate is confused. Re my getting four cable TV channel audios on the FM band while at Jiang Yuan restaurant in Enid, Steve Luce, Houston TX replies: ``Glenn, regarding your reception of TV audio in the FM band at a shopping center: Is there some sort of fitness club nearby? Many such places have multiple TV's in the exercise area for members to watch while working out. Rather than a cacophony of multiple audio sources coming from many speakers, each TV is connected to a Part 15 FM transmitter (on a unique frequency) so members can listen through headphones/ear buds on their personal FM receivers such as an iPod Nano. I've heard such transmissions while in a parking lot near a fitness place, and have read reports of others with the same experience. Other businesses with multiple TV's might do the same thing.`` By George, Steve, I think you`ve got it. JY is at 2201 W. Willow and there is a Finer Physiques at 2305 W. Willow, really in the same continuous strip mall despite the 104 difference in numbering. Such a setup probably means not necessarily the same cable audio would stay on the same frequencies, depending on desires of the exercisers (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. RF 31 & 32, KXOK-LD Enid: my numerous complaints that there has been *No sound for months* are incorrect! I had found this to be the case on two separate set-top-box converters, and not the case with any other DTV channels they pick up. No, the boxes` own mute button is not engaged, and anyway if it were, would surely apply to all channels? I have a third STB which I hardly ever use, so July 18 at 0100 UT I try it too, and voilà, there is sound on these channels, yet back to the first two and they are still silent. Maybe rescanning them would fix the problem, but I have a bunch of local and DX channels saved I really don`t want to get deleted since they are not coming in all the time. I still suspect KXOK transmission somehow caused this since the sound disappeared independently on two STBs but not on the third (they are all Zenith 900/901) which had been out of use. Anyone else with such DTV/STB experiences? There may have been a time I accidentally hit autotuning instead of manual on the setup menu, but got out of it ASAP and no damage seemed to have been done (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman at 1406 in English, woman talking about raising children under the Islam religion - Poor July 19 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, by the lake, with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PALAU. 17640, July 20 at 0106 vocal music, very poor but stands out, not // all the semi-dozen CNR1 channels surrounding: lucky me, Aoki shows it`s a Sunday-only 01-03 transmission from T8WH with a bunch of English gospel huxters, plus daily at 03-04 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3204.96, NBC Sandaun, 1201, July 22. PNG bird call; news and weather; // 3260, NBC Madang. At 1302 PNG bird call; news; suddenly off at 1311* 3260, NBC Madang, 1201, July 22 with PNG bird call; news and weather in English; off at 1206* cutting short the weather; // NBC Sandaun (3204.96). July 23 Madang off 1215*. 3385, NBC East New Britain continues silent during checking from 1200 to 1230, through July 23. 3905, NBC New Ireland remains silent through July 23. 7324.96, Wantok Radio Light. Wonderful news here! Originally was thought CRI (1000-1257) was off the air due to summer maintenance; Aoki had indicated off till July 15, but that has all changed now, as clearly CRI has been silent well past July 15; now Aoki indicates ("July 23, 2014 1200 UTC") CRI with an "x" - station off the air. WRL heard July 22 at 1231 with clear program ID for "Back to the Bible"; semi-readable program (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR- 1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Radio Logos, No Utility Interference, and with Utility Interference. http://youtu.be/Od_I-8qv-pw (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, July 18, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** PERU. RESOLUCIÓN VICEMINISTERIAL Nº 399-2014-MTC/03 Lima, 17 de junio del 2014 Artículo 1º.- Otorgar autorización al señor VÍCTOR ANCELMO MORILLO DE LA CRUZ, por el plazo de diez (10) años, para prestar el servicio de radiodifusión sonora comercial en Onda Corta Tropical (OCT) en la localidad de La Libertad, departamento de La Libertad, de acuerdo a las condiciones esenciales y características técnicas que se detallan a continuación: Condiciones Esenciales: Modalidad: RADIODIFUSIÓN SONORA EN OCT Frecuencia: 4910 KHz. Finalidad: COMERCIAL Características Técnicas: Indicativo: OAW-2H Emisión: 10K0A3EGN Potencia Nominal del Transmisor: 1 KW. Clasificación de Estación: CLASE “D” Ubicación de la Estación: Estudio: Calle Simón Bolívar Nº 675, distrito y provincia de Santiago de Chuco, departamento de La Libertad. Coordenadas Geográficas: Longitud Oeste: 78 10’ 29.08’’; Latitud Sur: 08 08’ 43’’ Planta transmisora: Área Rural San Cristóbal Parte Alta, distrito y provincia de Santiago de Chuco, departamento de La Libertad. Coordenadas Geográficas : Longitud Oeste: 78 10’ 32.17’’ Latitud Sur: 08 08’ 14’’ Zona de Servicio: Dentro del territorio nacional, principalmente la localidad de La Libertad. La autorización otorgada incluye el permiso para instalar los equipos de radiodifusión correspondientes. De acuerdo con lo establecido en el artículo 52º del Reglamento de la Ley de Radio y Televisión, para el caso de los enlaces auxiliares se requiere de autorización previa otorgada por la Dirección General de Autorizaciones en Telecomunicaciones. El plazo de la autorización y permiso concedidos se computará a partir de la fecha de notificación de la presente Resolución, la cual, además, será publicada en el Diario Oficial El Peruano. The complete resolution in pdf format came from Tore B. Vik. For those who want the complete resolution, please contact me. Thanks a lot TBV for sharing this good news (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 20 via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) So authorization for a new SW station in La Libertad Dept., 1 kW on 4910 (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) A previous 4910: ** PERU. QSL from R Tawantinsuyo, Cusco. Reception: 30.05.2014, 0245 UT, 1190.066 kHz, Winradio Excalibur PRO/CSO, Hari Windom 78 mt. Special thanks to Carlos Gammara in Cusco! (Christoph Ratzer, Austria, SW Bulletin July 20 via DXLD) Christoph, Congrats to a nice verification! (Ed. Thomas Nilsson, ibid.) Take a look to the left on the letter paper where they say 4910 kHz for regional services. That frequency was used a very, very long time ago (see below). This letter paper must be very old. The station was founded for the purpose of spreading Peruvian music, especially the folklore of the Cusco region. Radio Tawantinsuyo was founded on October 30, 1948 and has been transmitting folklore and criolla music as well as cultural, information and sports programs. Radio Tawantinsuyo is a bilingual radio station (Spanish and Quechua), dedicated to the public "Campesinos" (Farmers). Read more at http://www.dxing.info/profiles/peru_tawantinsuyo.dx (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 20 via DXLD) With three very messy blurple rubber stamp imprints upon it merely stating: ``OC. 49 MTS. CUSCO -PERU 5Kw`` (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** PERU. 4955.00, 2300-2320 14.7, R Cultural Amauta, Huanta, Spanish religious talk, Peruvian music 25232 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, Here in the summerheat, just a few tips heard in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** PERU. Re 14-29: UNID on 4985.50 at 2255 UT, Sounds like Spanish to me, very weak. 73, (Icom 7410 end fed antenna, Maurits, Belgium, Van Driessche, Hard-Core-DX mailing list July 15 via DXLD) 4985 Brasil, Rádio Brasil Central, Goiânia, covered by RTTY, 1000 and 0000 in South Florida as reported by four DXers. 4985.5, Radio Voz Cristiana noted most evenings 2330 to 0030 in USB to avoid RTTY. Years ago RTTY noted occasionally in the now defunct DX Florida according to website. 73s (Bob Wilkner, July 18, ibid.) from the DSWCI DBS pdf file: ``4985.5 kHz 1 kW PRU Radio Voz Cristiana, Chilca, Huancán, Huancayo 0950-0200 Spanish/Quechua rlg, nom4985, MARCH 14`` vy73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) more below ** PERU. 5024.92, Jul 15 2300, R Quillabamba Cuszco [sic]. The only chance to hear this station is to listen before 2330, then R Rebelde becomes very strong and blocks the frequency completely (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 20 via DXLD) more below ** PERU. CQ, CQ, CQ; Aquí Pedro F. Arrunátegui para compartir algo con los que disfrutan y aman el DX latinoamericano, todas las horas son UTC, desde la tierra de los incas, les informo mediante este Quipus lo siguiente: [Note: apparently no clips or illustrations this time; also, we suspect that many of the frequencies ending in .00 were not actually measured to that accuracy, but defaulted to such a display --- gh] 4774.90, PERÚ, R. Tarma, Junín, 12/07 1135-1205, 44444, mx, ads, ID "La mejor música en su Radio Tarma" px radio noticias. 4810.00, PERÚ, R. Logos, Tarapoto; 10/07 1120-1135, 22222, px en dialecto de la zona, mx religiosa en el mismo dialecto, ID "Está en sintonía de Radio Logos en los 4810 kHz de la onda tropical", mx himnos religiosos en español. 4835.00, PERÚ, R. Ondas del Sur Oriente; 15/07 2205-2315, 44444+, mx romántica en // con Radio Felicidad de Lima, mx romántica por Daniel Bosé canción amiga ID "Desde Radio Felicidad" 4955.00, PERÚ, R. Cultural Amauta, Huanta; 15/07 1122-1145 44444+ px en quechua advs sobre las iglesias evangélicas de la zona mx religiosa en español ID "En quechua.. Radio Cultural Amauta". 4985.50, PERÚ, R. Voz Cristiana, Chilca, Huancayo; 1/07 2315-2335, 33333, mxf con temas religiosos, ID "Radio Voz Cristiana 1470 AM", px en quechua, ID "Radio Voz Cristiana" 5024.92, PERÚ, R. Quillabamba, Quillabamba, Cusco; 11/07 1138-1200, 33333, Tratan sobre los diferentes partidos políticos en las próximas elecciones municipales, ID "Muchas gracias por su presencia en Radio Quillabamba", mx, ID "Radio Quillabamba", px deportivo comenta sobre el mundial de futbol, ID "Radio Quillabamba pionera en educación y cultura". 5980.00, PERÚ, R. Chaski, Urubamba, Cusco; 15/07 2320-2335, 44444++, px El Camino de la vida, religioso en español en // con la Red Radio Integridad, 700 AM de Lima, mx himno religioso, px Momentos decisivos "Mientras el Señor Regresa" 6173.85, PERÚ, R. Tawantinsuyo, Cusco; 17/7 2350-0010, 44444, fuerte zumbido a la 2300 mejoró, mejor lo escucho en LSB, mx romántica LA, px Noticiero ABC, ID "Noticiero ABC que se transmite desde Cusco a través de Radio Tawantinsuyo". La recepción la he efectuado del 1/07 al 18/07 en compañía de mi sabueso Icom IC R72 acompañado del Mizuho KX-3, una antena de hilo largo de 12 metros y una antena loop. Muchos 128´s PFA (Pedro F. Arrunátegui, Lima, Perú, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5980, July 17 at 0059, JBA carrier, much weaker than usual and a strain to hear it, but it does cut off at 0117:18.5*, which is 5 seconds later than yesterday. 5980, July 18 at 0101, BA carrier from R. Chaski until cutoff at 0117:24* which is 5.5 seconds later than yesterday. 5980, July 19 at 0115-0117:30*, R. Chaski carrier till cutoff, which I forgot to include in previous report; in compensation, I forget to monitor it in time to catch the ~5.8 second later cutoff UT July 20. 5980, July 22 I missed Chaski checking, pre-empted for a performance by Enid`s own fantastic fiddler, Kyle Dillingham, just back from a State-Department-sponsored tour of Liberia. Google his name or start with http://www.horseshoeroad.net/ 5980, July 23 at 0108, NO SIGNAL here, nor later between 0117 and 0118 when it should have been chopping off. A fluke, or have Chaski finally reset their slipping autotimer, as of today or yesterday? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Chaski was on air last night [UT July 23] on 5980. I listen for 30 minute audio just above the noise time at 0029 UT. 73, (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. PERUVIAN GOVERNMENT [sic] ON 40 METERS HAM BAND RANGE. Right now (2014-July-14, at 2320 UT) I'm overhearing and recording what seems to be an established Peruvian hydrocarbon industry related communication network, on 7074 kHz USB. They are talking about a biology brigade, a geophysics brigade, a topology brigade, one of the field-deployed network participants ordered 8 new sheats [?] for their machetes, they read several detailed lists of foodstuff, and so on. They mentioned several names, and I could locate one of them via Google - he is a paramedic, and appears in Peruvian government documents, also has a F_B presence. One of the stations is in Lima. So far at least 4 different stations have been transmitting. They seem very relaxed and comfortable using our 40m ham band, like they do this every day and feel entirely at home. No station IDs have been given so far, only place names. Now someone called Ilo. And now someone called Sagari, which is a natural gas well in Peru. And now they are giving names and property registration numbers of several different rural properties. I can't understand very much, as the signals are low and there is a lot of "QRM" from hams, but it sounds like it's a workgroup related to the expropriation of land to build oil/gas production infrastructure. I just checked on the web - Google knows everything - and found that Peru is building a gas pipeline to Ilo! I'm comfortably 99% sure that I'm listening to these people on 40 meters: I mean, with such an amount of money involved, they should be able to purchase and operate a legal communications system, don't you think? It seems that in Peru very few active hams remain. There are a few good ones, who try to keep the standards high, but apparently they don't have the necessary critical mass anymore to hold onto the bands. And so the companies are taking over our bands. I don't think you can hear these intruders in region 1, as they are weak even at my place, but maybe you are interested in reading about the kind of illegal activity that populates the ham bands here... If anybody wants the recording, let me know. I will store it for some days. But it's quite weak, not easy to understand, and of course it's in Spanish (Manfred Mornhinweg XQ6FOD, Casilla 995, Temuco Chile. Visit my hobby homepage! via intruderalert_iaru-r1 July 16 via BC-DX July 20 via DXLD) Hello Manfred. Very good report. Peru has an active IARU member association (Radio Club Peruano - RCP) and maybe they could inform the authorities. 73! (Flavio PY2ZX, LABRE/GDE, ibid.) ** POLAND. Subject: Re: [SW BCB TX Site Archive] Polish number station located: POL_Polish spy number stn Puchaly near Raszyn, 33masts, TXsite E11_S11a_M03 52 08'37.92"N 20 54'00.40"E image of 9 Sept 2010 at best. address: Sokolowska 10 05-090 Puchaly Poland plate: teren wojskowy, - military area, WSTEP WZBRONIONY - NO ENTRY Gate Wjazdowa - - - - ? probably the RECEIVING site is on similar dimmed image location at 52 09'01.70"N 21 17'12.88"E. POL_former RFE/RL jamming control station Wiazowna, receiving stn former Polish telecom or Warsaw pact or spy RX stn? 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, swsites yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 1593.0 MW, R Bonch, St. Petersburg is a students' station of the Bonch-Bruyevich State University of Telecommunications. I myself organized test MW transmissions. We plan to get a constant licence for amateur radio broadcasting as R Green Eye of Moscow did. And, of course, me and Omar plan to launch DX programme of St. Petersburg DX Club via this station (Alexander Beryozkin, St. Petersburg, Russia, July 16, DSWCI DX Window July 23 via DXLD) Meaning it will be on shortwave, like 11 metres? (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Only few minor MW stations left on air these days. Checked local remote SDR units in St.P. and Moscow today July 23 at 0945 UT St. P.: 828, Tentative. Radiogazeta Slovo, from Sosnovka site, poor S=6 873, registered Olgino site, unidentified cultural literature program, featured elegiac Pushkin poet reading. S=9+5dB -72dBm. 1053 Radio Mariya registered, from Sosnovka, talk progr, S=7 or -87dBm 1089, Probably ?Vesti FM?, S=7 -88dBm. Moscow: 612, Tentative Narodnoya Radio, Kurkino, S=9+40dB -35dBm powerhouse. 738, WRN Kurkino, S=9+45 -30dBm powerhouse. 873, registered Lesnoy site?, unidentified cultural literature program, featured elegiac Pushkin poet reading. S=9+15dB -61dBm. 1134, Registered Radio Teos, Kurkino, guitar singer program, powerful S=9+30dB -43dBm signal strength. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, mwdx yg via DXLD) Hi Wolfgang, 1089 kHz in St. Petersburg is Radio Teos. And 873 kHz is used by Radio Rossii in both cities. My location in Kazan is even more "quiet", there are no audible MW stations at all in the daytime :-( 73s, (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan / RUS, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. RUSSIAN INDEPENDENT SW STATIONS --- Hi all, Have a last managed to compile the nucleus of an article I'd been planning to do for some time. Winter is a great season for sitting in front of the fire and catching up on articles, after all radio conditions are poor in the evenings and its very cold in the shack! The article is Russian Independent SW Stations 1991-1996. By going through the DXTimes magazines conveniently and kindly scanned by Chris Mackerell, I have created an outline which needs some filler. So if anyone would like to contribute or correct the information, please use the Comments box below the article or e-mail me directly (ormandy@orcon.net.nz). http://www.radiodx.com/articles/station-profiles/europe/russian-independent-sw-stations-1991-96/ Have a look around radiodx.com while you're there. Enjoy! Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, ZL4PW, July 21, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) It seems to me that a lot of those mentioned were never on SW, just FM (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. The V of Russia/Radio VR webpages at http://www.voiceofrussia.com are in the process of being archived (although still available, but will presumably be deleted in due course) and Radio VR programmes are now available via the RaiNovosti webpages at http://en.ria.ru/ The WoR Hitlist at http://www.w4uvh.net/hitlist.htm will be updated shortly (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, July 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Russia going back to SW? Glenn, About 15-20 minutes ago, I was listening to Moscow With Love on the internet. It's kind of a silly listener-type program, but I heard something very interesting. At one point, they seemed to hint that Russia might be returning to shortwave. Their e-mail address is moscowwithlove@gmail.com Don't know if they will tell you anything, but you might be able to get some information out of them. All the best, (Kent D Murphy, 1559 UT July 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We already had a report about such plans in a few years, but to be totally under control of the military, and no doubt The Voice of Putin. But this specific program: (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. From our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/wrmiradio "From Moscow With Love" will return to shortwave beginning next Monday night, July 28, in the Americas at 0300-0330 UT (that's UT Tuesdays) on 9955 kHz via WRMI. This is a very different kind of program from the Voice of Russia hosted by Vasily Strelnikov and Natalia Stefanova -- an informal show about all sorts of aspects of life in Russia. If you've never heard it before, check it out. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Let us know what you think (Jeff White, WRMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RWANDA [non]. GERMANY(non) Frequency change of R. Inyabutatu in Kinyarwanda via Media Broadcast: 1600-1700 NF 17500 ISS 100 kW / 144 deg to CEAf Sat, ex 17870. Videos on July 19: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/frequency-change-of-radio-inyabutatu-in.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) Videos on July 19: Radio Inyabutatu in Kinyarwanda, on air Sat only 1600 on new 17500 Issoudun, ex 17870 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELILlYm_Qcc&feature=youtu.be Radio Inyabutatu in Kinyarwanda, on air Sat only 1623 on new 17500 Issoudun, ex 17870 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Ek7J1wvUg&feature=youtu.be Radio Inyabutatu in Kinyarwanda, on air Sat only 1639 on new 17500 Issoudun, ex 17870 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOSu74KCBjo&feature=youtu.be Radio Inyabutatu in Kinyarwanda, on air Sat only 1646 on new 17500 Issoudun, ex 17870 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCiYThsvKzM&feature=youtu.be Radio Inyabutatu in Kinyarwanda, on air Sat only 1652 on new 17500 Issoudun, ex 17870 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2SlS7jtyow&feature=youtu.be Radio Inyabutatu in Kinyarwanda, on air Sat only 1656 on new 17500 Issoudun, ex 17870 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFLHu_fFVLA&feature=youtu.be (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SARAWAK [non]. Radio Free Sarawak signing off with several IDs. http://youtu.be/9duwY8VK42A (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, July 18, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 9545, SIBC back on the air again. July 18, noted test tone from 0447 to off at 0530, but subsequent checking found them back again several times (on and off); fairly good signal strength. Clearly no audio, as I did listen non-stop from 0447 to 0535. July 20, first tuned in to hear the test tone at 0408. Checked again at 0458 till it went off at 0500 and seemed not to return again. Frustrating that there was no audio, as the signal strength was good. July 21, first day with actual audio; 0430-0500*; OM & YL chatting; 0443-0500* pop songs with YL DJ in Solomon Pijin; sounded like a few ads; suddenly off the air; poor with some adjacent QRM. Suspect with better propagation they will do much better. Thanks to Mauno Ritola (Finland) and Bryan Clark (New Zealand) for their kind assistance with monitoring this. Mauno made an interesting observation - "the test tone was on 5020 kHz until 2200, when it switched to 9545 kHz. And the normal SIBC offset carrier on 130 Hz below was missing. So are they are planning to scrap the old transmitter?" Honiara sunset not till 0716 UT (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldy via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5020.00, SIBC, Honiara, 0830, Jul 21, noted on even frequency on remote unit at Sydney, S=9+10dB (Wolfgang Bueschel, DSWCI DX Window via DXLD) Also heard at 1154-1158*, Jul 21, usual evening devotional in English, normal full ID and National Anthem. Is now generally agreed that this is most likely the same newer transmitter that is also used on 9545, thereby replacing the older off frequency one (Ron Howard and and Wagai, Japan, ibid.). Schedule probably now: 5020 1900-2200, 0500-1200 and 9545 2200-0500 (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.)) New frequency 5020.00, SIBC, 1154-1158*, July 21. Thanks to Mauno Ritola's alert, heard the usual evening devotional in English; normal full ID and National Anthem. Is now generally agreed that this is most likely the same newer transmitter that is also used on 9545, thereby replacing the older off frequency one (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, E1 & CR-1, dxldy via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) July 22 found 9545 was off the air at 0440 check. Seems they have been having some transmitter issues with switching between the two frequencies, as 9545 has been silent at times recently. July 23, noted 5020.00 at 1138 UT with two women chatting about "election 2014"; 1151 hymn; 1154 usual religious spot; full ID and Nation Anthem till off at 1158*. July 22 also 1158*. July 24, tuned in to 9545 to an open carrier below threshold level at 0414 UT; by 0435 getting some audio; very slowly improving; 0444 into pop Pacific Island music show with YL DJ; off suddenly at 0500*. (Ron Howard, California, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That's interesting, Ron, as I heard the same last night. At first I thought it was just too weak to hear, but then I realized that it was an OC. Towards 0500, there was definite very weak audio, so perhaps under modulated. Off shortly after 0500. 73 (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, July 24, IBID.) ** SOMALIA [non]. Radio Hilaac in Somali to EaAf 1700, 15180 Issoudun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXqQ4WzxxZY&feature=youtu.be (July 19, Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AFRICA. See UNID 15235 ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non non]. 21600.06, WHRI Cypress Creek SC (presumed); 2042, 15-July; The Last Days Prophet of God, B.S. ragging on the border children. SIO=343- with pipper QRM; 7-8 seconds! ahead of // 15770 via WRMI (presumed) with S30 sig. Not in Aoki or EiBi at this time (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. ESPAÑA CUENTA CON MÁS EMISORAS ILEGALES QUE ESTACIONES AUTORIZADAS La radiodifusión española ha llegado a un punto de difícil gestión: el sector tiene más emisoras ilegales (unas 3.000) que legales (alrededor de 2.000). A esta situación no son ajenas las grandes cadenas, que han ido poco a poco habilitando emisoras sin tener licencia. La Asociación Española de Radiodifusión Comercial (AERC), en la que están representados los principales operadores privados, se han propuesto limpiar el espectro a partir de septiembre. El presidente de este organismo y de Onda Cero, Javier González Ferrari, abogó ayer por exigirle a la Administración un “día D” y una “hora H” para el cierre de las piratas. “Pero antes”, advirtió, “tenemos que hacer hacer examen de conciencia y poner orden en nuestra propia casa”. Las emisoras que emiten sin licencia están interfiriendo las señales de las legales. Para sortear estos problemas técnicos, las cadenas han optado por aumentar su potencia. El resultado ha sido que sus ondas han entrado en el espacio radioléctrico de Marruecos y Argelia. El Ministerio de Industria ha cursado expedientes sancionadores a las tres grandes (SER, Onda Cero y Cope), que oscilan entre los 30.000 y los 90.000 euros. “Rebasamos la señal porque estamos rodeados de emisoras ilegales que nos están interfiriendo”, según el presidente de la AERC. Insisten las radios en que no tienen ningún interés en que sus programas lleguen al norte de África. “No se nos ha perdido nada allí. No buscamos publicidad ni en Marruecos ni en Argelia”, apuntó González Ferrari, consciente de que en los parámetros de potencia “normales” las radios legales no se podrían ni siquiera oír. La AERC aspira a llegar a un acuerdo con Industria para evitar que el ministerio que dirige José Manuel Soria continúe abriendo expedientes —y cursando multas— por este problema. Las radios tienen otro frente abierto con las entidades de gestión AGEDI y AIE, que representan los intereses de los productores de fonogramas, artistas, intérpretes y ejecutantes. El presidente de las radios privadas recordó que durante años han intentado sin éxito llegar a un acuerdo para fijar las tarifas. La AERC presentó una denuncia ante la Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia por un posible abuso de posición de dominio —por parte de las entidades— en la gestión de los derechos de propiedad intelectual. Este abuso deriva, según las radios, de la fijación de unas tarifas “inequitativas y excesivas”. También se quejan de una situación discriminatoria respecto a las emisoras públicas. Al mismo tiempo, la AERC ha presentado enmiendas a la reforma de la Ley de Propiedad Intelectual, que debate la Comisión de Cultura del Congreso. Reclaman los operadores que las relaciones entre las radios y las entidades de gestión estén regidas por la libertad contractual en la fijación de las tarifas, la transparencia a la hora de conocer los repertorios que representan y la reciprocidad en las relaciones con las entidades de gestión de otros países. En este sentido, proponen que la ley determine sistemas de control en la fijación de tarifas y en su aplicación. Y no solo en las que establecen las entidades de gestión españolas sino también las que exigen las multinaciones fonográficas, en el caso de Internet. Además, reclaman a la Administración que combata la piratería a través de medidas “eficaces y directas” contra los enlaces, descargas, aplicaciones y webs ilegales (extraida textualmente de El País, España via GRA blog July 19 via DXLD) ** SPAIN. REE was noted on July 11 in English, instead of Spanish 1900-2000 on 17850 NOB 250 kW / 272 deg to CeAm. Parallel freqs: 1900-2000 on 9665 NOB 250 kW / 050 deg to WeEu 1900-2000 on 11615 NOB 250 kW / 168 deg to NWAf. Videos on July 11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy-2kEF0q5M&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilXhZBwLf3w&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naWz2pJXfdE&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8fBA2h2rZY&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FazxWLEu0IE&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) [and non]. 15160, July 23 at 0131, REE with `Paisajes y Sabores` from REE, well atop music from continuing A-14 collision with R. Australia, and making SAH of about 7 Hz, while RA is in the clear on 15240. This is totally unnecessary with plenty of open frequencies around (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 9720, SLBC, Trincomalee, 1145-1215*, Jul 10, folk song, transmission stopped at 1215, today’s frequency was correct 9720, frequency has been 9719.92 almost every day, I will be careful about frequency from now on, modulation splash on 9725 is hard until 1157, 33232 (Tomoaki Wagai, Wakayama, Japan, DSWCI DX Window July 23 via DXLD) 11905, July 17 at 0115, SLBC with improved signal in musical prélude, mistimesignal right on time ending at 0115:18.5. 11905, July 18 at 0114:49 musical prélude starts from SLBC, 2+1 mistimesignal ends at 0115:18; very poor. 11905, July 19 at 0114:35 tune-in, carrier from SLBC is on, but just before prélude should start, it dumps off air at 0114:50*, and is still off making us miss the mistimesignal circa 0115:18! Shux; recheck at 0120, now it`s back on. 11905, July 20 at 0114 open carrier from SLBC; 0114:46 musical prélude starts, but 2+1 timesignal ends already at 0115:11, a good seven seconds earlier than usual! What`s going on here? 11905, July 23 at 0114:47, SLBC adds musical modulation to its carrier right on off-time, as is the 2+1 mis-timesignal ending at 0115:18.5. Otherwise too poor for listening (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 11650, July 18 at 0556, R. Dabanga with multiple sung IDs (more SW stations should do this!), and announcement I was trying to decide whether in English, but cut off incomplete by VATICAN site at 0557*. Starts at 0429 after R. Tamazuj. Little if any tone jamming infested 11650 in the brief time I heard it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Re GREECE on 11645:] On upper sideband 11648-11651 kHz hit and covered by PNW/FPU Radio Tamazuj program in Arabic from SMG Santa Maria di Galeria Vatican State site, S=9 or -70dBm strength signal. At 0427 UT started many IDs and jingle R Dabanga in Sudanese Arabic (Wolfgang Büschel, July 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN [non]. U.K.(non), IBRA Radio in Arabic and other strange signal, also via Kigali: 1800-1930 on 9550 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg to N/ME Arabic. Video from July 23 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/ibra-radio-in-arabic-and-other-strange.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 9200, Sound of Hope at 1333 in Chinese, man speaking, poor and //9280 very poor, no Firedrake or other jamming July 19 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia. Listening in my car, by the lake, with the Eton E1 and Sony AN1 active antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. 11915, July 21 at 1301, RTI in non-Mandarin Chinese, listed as Amoy, after familiar theme also used by `Religion & Ethics Newsweekly`` on PBS TV in the USA; fair (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USA: WRMI 9735, July 18 at 1024, thought I heard ``phat-thanh`` mentioned so figured it was Vietnamese, but listed in Aoki as Cantonese from RTI Tainan site until 1030, then Hakka. Also with low audible heterodyne, and Taiwan is renowned for operating off-frequency, but nothing else listed for it to beat against (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. 9955, UT Sat July 19 at 0147, as I tune across WRMI during the PCJ Radio International hour, I hear Keith Perron introducing a vintage clip of Voice of Free China`s IS and ID, anthem, same as heard exactly two weeks before on July 5. So PCJ programs repeat week after week? Not a bad idea, considering up against Cuban jamming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. FRANCE, Frequency changes or Radio Taiwan International via Issoudun: 2000-2100 NF 5915 ISS 250 kW / 210 deg to SoEu Spanish, ex 3965 2100-2200 NF 5915 ISS 250 kW / 050 deg to WeEu German, ex 3965. Videos on July 21: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/frequency-changes-or-radio-taiwan.html (Ivo Ivanov, Blgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) FRANCE, Frequency changes or Radio Taiwan International via Issoudun: 2000-2100 5915 ISS 250 kW / 210 deg to SoEu Spanish, ex 3965. Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ZQL4fIhjE&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R3HSF5oQas&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1j2BUjfK-I&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZUeQq4vybc&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPxwGyCxjVE&feature=youtu.be 2100-2200 5915 ISS 250 kW / 050 deg to WeEu German, ex 3965. Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uts1OgHPEVU&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYWQw4hXBXU&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL0Z2_vQn7o&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8nyYepyOqs&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. 4765.06, 2335-2345 20.7, Tajik R 1, Yangiyul Tajik ann, folksongs 45333 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, Here in the summerheat, just a few tips heard in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4765.047, Tajik Radio 1st program from Dushanbe Yangi Yul, flute music 1355 (Wolfgang Büschel, some 90 / 60 mb log of 1330 to 1415 UT time slot July 21, presumably via remote receiver in Australia, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews via dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. 15590, July 17 at 0107, poor signal in Thai from HSK9`s puny North American service direct, when they could have been inbooming via Greenville; better than the usual zero signal I get. OOFSOB == one of few stations on band (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. Thanks to Harold Frodge for tip about this: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,17716.0.html D0N, 14027 kHz CW, 2200-2330+ UT, REBEL STATION DONETSK PEOPLES REPUBLIC --- worked on 20m CW. Sending occasional propaganda messages but also making ham DX contacts. Earlier in June I worked D0A from Donetsk Peoples Republic, also on 20m CW. It was the day of the Ukrainian airport assault and he was sending "THEY ARE KILLING DONETSK", "STOP THE MURDER OF DONTESK", etc. Not sure exactly where this fits on HFU --- ham-clandestine-pirate- other - or ALL OF THE ABOVE! But surely relevant, current, and interesting (DeltaCharlie, coastal North Carolina, P.O.Box 1262, Swansboro, NC 28584-1262, 2320 UT July 17, barefootdipole@yahoo.com hfunderground via DXLD) Not sure if this is the same station but hearing a strong CW signal at 2358 (Jul 17) on 14027. Off at 0004 (Jul 18). Don't know Morse code (John Sedlacek, Just a boy with his radio and some wire. QSLs always appreciated. john.sedlacek@gmail.com ibid.) Hearing CW there now, not sure if this is the same station, or just normal ham comms. Strike that, I am hearing the D0N call. Extremely strong here! A very interesting catch, thanks! (Chris Smolinski, Administrator, DX Legend, Westminster, MD, 0036 UT July 18, ibid.) Checked at the same time, Glenn, and used fldigi to decode. There was N8OO (Victor Petcherkin from LA) on the air. Decoded the occasional word, but very weak on the west coast. Nothing noted from the Donetsk terrorists. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. Radio Dniprovska Hvylya relay Ukrainian Radio HS 1 in Ukrainian: 0600-0900 on 11980.1 ZPR 0.3 kW / non-dir to UKR in CUSB. Videos on July 19 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/radio-dniprovska-hvylya-relay-ukrainian.html R. Dniprovska Hvylya relay Ukrainian Radio in Ukrainian 0634 on 11980.1 Zaporizhia in USB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8UAuLporqo&feature=youtu.be R. Dniprovska Hvylya relay Ukrainian Radio in Ukrainian 0659 on 11980.1 Zaporizhia in USB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL2EtDhvpY0&feature=youtu.be -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) Radio Dniprovska Hvylya relay Ukrainian Radio HS 1 in Ukrainian: 0600- 0730 on 11980.1 ZPR 0.3 kW / non-dir to UKR in CUSB (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. "UKRAINE TODAY" INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE TV TO LAUNCH | Text of report by UK-based Broadband TV News website on 20 July A satellite channel named Ukraine Today will shortly make its debut in Ukraine. Speaking in a press conference and quoted in several local media outlets, Yuriy Artemenko, the chairman of the National Council on TV and Radio, said that the launch of the service, which would cover events in both Ukraine and abroad and be aimed at viewers outside the country, was a priority. Some sources say that Ukraine Today would be seen as a counterbalance to Russia Today [RT], offering a different perspective on events currently taking place in Ukraine. Source: Broadband TV News website, Cambridge, in English 20 Jul 14 UKRAINE TODAY TV TO LAUNCH IN AUGUST, IN ENGLISH | Text of report by UK-based Broadband TV News website on 20 July The Ukrainian group 1+1 Media will launch an international TV news channel named Ukraine Today next month. It will go on air in test mode on August 11 and broadcast in full from August 24. According to the company, all broadcasting will be in English, though in due course it will also do so in Russian. Commenting on the channel, Oleksandr Tkachenko, CEO of 1+ 1 Media, said: "For us, as one of the leading Ukrainian media companies, it is important to provide the international community with access to the real facts and events in Ukraine, Russia and the CIS. Unfortunately, in recent years we have witnessed a large-scale information war conducted by Russian state media. We believe that we can respond to it, especially by providing objective information based on the principles of the civilized world: with all-round points of view, without lies and distortions. Ukraine Today is our contribution in support of Ukraine's European choice." Tetyana Pushvona, who has been the chief editor of TSN [1+1 news programming] since September 2011, has been appointed the general producer of the channel, which will employ both Ukrainians and EU citizens. Ukraine Today will be distributed FTA [free-to-air] via [Eutelsat's] Hotbird this year in Europe and will become available in the US from next year. The announcement of Ukraine Today's launch comes only days after Yuriy Artemenko, the chairman of the National Council on TV and Radio, said that the launch of such a service, which would cover events in both Ukraine and abroad and be aimed at viewers outside the country, was a priority. Source: Broadband TV News website, Cambridge, in English 20 Jul 14 (both via BBCM via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) ** U K [and non]. Summer A-14 shortwave schedule of BABCOCK Relays: Radio Australia 0000-0030 12005 SNG 100 kW / 340 deg SEAs Burmese 0100-0130 11780 SNG 100 kW / 340 deg SEAs Burmese 0400-0500 17800 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs English 1100-1300 6140 SNG 100 kW / 013 deg SEAs English 1300-1430 9965 HBN 100 kW / 318 deg EaAs English 1600-1630 9540 SNG 100 kW / 340 deg SEAs English 2200-2330 9900 DHA 250 kW / 105 deg SEAs English 2200-2400 9855 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg SEAs English 2300-2330 5955 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg SEAs Burmese IBRA Radio 0000-0030 9390 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Bengali 1700-1730 11610 MEY 100 kW / 015 deg EaAf Tigrinya 1700-1730 12045 WOF 250 kW / 114 deg N/ME Arabic 1730-1800 11610 MEY 100 kW / 030 deg EaAf Somali 1730-1800 11785 DHA 250 kW / 220 deg CeAf Swahili 1730-1800 15510 WOF 250 kW / 140 deg CeAf Beja 1800-1830 15510 WOF 250 kW / 140 deg CeAf Fur 1830-1900 15510 WOF 250 kW / 140 deg CeAf Arabic 1800-1930 9550 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg N/ME Arabic 1900-1930 7425 WOF 300 kW / 140 deg CeAf Arabic 1900-1930 11875 WOF 250 kW / 170 deg WeAf Fulfulde 1930-1945 11875 WOF 250 kW / 170 deg WeAf Moore Sun-Wed 1930-1945 11875 WOF 250 kW / 170 deg WeAf Tamajeq Thu-Sat 1930-1945 12070 WOF 300 kW / 140 deg CeAf Sara Ngambai Sun/Mon 1930-1945 12070 WOF 300 kW / 140 deg CeAf Zaghawa Tue/Wed 1930-1945 12070 WOF 300 kW / 140 deg CeAf Shuwa Thu-Sat 1945-2000 11875 WOF 250 kW / 170 deg WeAf Malinke Wed/Thu 1945-2000 11875 WOF 250 kW / 170 deg WeAf Jula Fri-Tue FEBA Radio 0200-0230 9750 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Urdu Sun 0200-0215 9750 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Urdu Mon-Sat 0215-0230 9750 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Balichi Mon-Wed 0215-0230 9750 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Sindhi Thu-Sat 0230-0300 6125 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg WeAs Dari R Sadaye Zindagi 0300-0315 6125 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg WeAs Hazaragi R Sadaye Zindagi 0800-0830 15260 MOS 100 kW / 115 deg N/ME Arabic Voice of Forgiveness 1200-1230 15215 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg CeAs Tibetan 1330-1345 9720 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs English Mon 1330-1345 9720 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Telugu Tue/Thu/Fri 1330-1345 9720 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Tamil Wed 1330-1345 9720 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Kuvi Sat 1330-1345 9720 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Kannada Sun 1345-1400 9720 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Tamil Mon/Wed/Sat 1345-1400 9720 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Malayalam Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat 1400-1430 11880 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Urdu 1430-1445 11880 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Balti Sun/Mon/Thu/Fri 1430-1445 11880 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Urdu Tue/Wed/Sat 1430-1500 9500 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Hindi 1500-1530 9390 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg SoAs Bangla 1500-1530 9590 ERV 300 kW / 100 deg WeAs Dari Radio Sadaye Zindagi 1530-1600 9590 ERV 300 kW / 100 deg WeAs Pashto Radio Sadaye Zindagi 1600-1630 11655 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg EaAf Afar 1600-1630 12125 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg EaAf Amharic Thu-Sun 1600-1630 12125 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg EaAf Guragena Mon-Wed 1630-1700 12125 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg EaAf Amharic 1630-1700 9820 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg EaAf Tigrinya Sun-Wed 1630-1700 9820 DHA 250 kW / 230 deg EaAf Amharic Thu-Sat 1700-1730 6180 DHA 250 kW / 215 deg EaAf Somali 1700-1730 9630 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg EaAf Orominya 1730-1800 7510 ERV 300 kW / 192 deg EaAf Silte 1730-1800 9630 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg EaAf Tigrinya 1830-1845 15250 ASC 250 kW / 070 deg CWAf French Voice of Vietnam 0100-0128 12005 WOF 250 kW / 282 deg NoAm English 0130-0228 12005 WOF 250 kW / 282 deg NoAm Vietnamese 0230-0258 12005 WOF 250 kW / 282 deg NoAm English 0300-0328 6175 HRI 250 kW / 173 deg SoAm Spanish 0330-0358 6175 HRI 250 kW / 173 deg SoAm English 0400-0428 6175 HRI 250 kW / 173 deg SoAm Spanish 0430-0528 6175 HRI 100 kW / 260 deg CeAm Vietnamese 1700-1728 9625 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg WeEu English 1730-1828 9625 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg WeEu Vietnamese 1830-1858 9625 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg WeEu French 1900-1928 9890 WOF 250 kW / 075 deg EaEu Russian 1930-2028 9430 DHA 250 kW / 315 deg WeEu German 2030-2128 5930 WOF 250 kW / 114 deg SEEu Vietnamese Radio Japan NHK World 0100-0130 11590 TAC 100 kW / 163 deg SoAs Hindi 0400-0430 5985 YFR 100 kW / 222 deg MEXI Spanish 0400-0430 12015 HRI 250 kW / 167 deg SoAm Spanish 0400-0430 15140 TAC 100 kW / 236 deg WeAs Farsi 0500-0530 5975 WOF 300 kW / 140 deg WeEu English 0800-1000 12015 ASC 250 kW / 245 deg SoAm Japanese 0900-0930 6195 HRI 250 kW / 152 deg SoAm Portuguese 0930-1000 6195 HRI 250 kW / 152 deg SoAm Spanish 1030-1100 11740 SNG 250 kW / 340 deg SEAs Burmese 1100-1130 11740 SNG 250 kW / 000 deg SEAs Vietnamese 1100-1200 9760 WOF 060 kW / 105 deg WeEu English/Russian Fri DRM 1115-1200 9625 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs Indonesian 1130-1200 11740 SNG 250 kW / 000 deg SEAs Thai 1200-1230 11740 SNG 250 kW / 000 deg SEAs English 1230-1300 11740 SNG 250 kW / 000 deg SEAs Thai 1300-1330 11740 SNG 100 kW / 000 deg SEAs Vietnamese 1300-1345 11685 SNG 250 kW / 315 deg SoAs Bengali 1315-1400 11705 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs Indonesian 1400-1430 11705 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg SEAs English 1400-1430 15735 TAC 100 kW / 163 deg SoAs English 1430-1500 11740 SNG 250 kW / 330 deg SEAs Burmese 1515-1600 13870 DHA 250 kW / 060 deg SoAs Urdu 1800-1830 9755 MEY 250 kW / 328 deg CeAf English 2130-2200 17540 HRI 250 kW / 152 deg SoAm Portuguese Adventist World Radio 0100-0200 15445 TSH 100 kW / 250 deg Asia Vietnamese Sat Radio Payem e-Doost 0230-0315 7460 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg WeAs Farsi 1800-1845 7480 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg WeAs Farsi Trans World Radio Africa 0330-0345 11710 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Amharic Sum/Mon/Fri 0330-0345 11710 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Oromo Tue 0330-0345 11710 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Sidamo Wed/Thu 1300-1315 13660 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg EaAf Afar Thu-Sun 1630-1645 11635 DHA 250 kW / 215 deg EaAf Somali Sun 1630-1700 11635 DHA 250 kW / 215 deg EaAf Somali Mon-Sat 1800-1815 6120 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Tigrinya Mon-Thu 1800-1830 6120 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Tigre Sat 1800-1830 6120 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Kunama Sun 1815-1845 6120 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Tigrinya Mon-Fri 1830-1845 6120 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Amharic Sun KBS World Radio 0700-0800 9860 WOF 250 kW / 102 deg WeEu Korean 1100-1130 9760 WOF 060 kW / 105 deg WeEu English Sat DRM 1800-1900 15360 WOF 250 kW / 074 deg EaEu Russian 1900-2000 6145 WOF 300 kW / 172 deg WeEu French 2000-2100 13585 DHA 250 kW / 290 deg NEAf Arabic 2000-2100 3955 WOF 250 kW / 114 deg WeEu German Radio ERGO 0830-0930 13685 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg EaAf Somali Eternal Good News 1130-1145 15525 DHA 250 kW / 100 deg SoAs English Fri Nippon no Kaze 1300-1330 9950 TSH 100 kW / 002 deg NEAs Korean 1500-1530 9975 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg NEAs Korean 1530-1600 9965 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg NEAs Korean Furusato no Kaze 1330-1400 9950 TSH 100 kW / 002 deg NEAs Japanese 1430-1500 9960 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg NEAs Japanese 1600-1630 9960 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg NEAs Japanese Radio Taiwan International 1900-2000 6185 WOF 250 kW / 078 deg WeEu German 1900-2000 7325 WOF 250 kW / 140 deg WeEu French RTE Radio One 1930-2000 5820 MEY 100 kW / 000 deg SoAf English Mon-Fri HCJB Akhbar Mufriha 2100-2145 7300 WOF 250 kW / 170 deg NoAf Arabic 2145-2215 11985 ASC 250 kw / 027 deg WeAf Pulaar Thu-Tue. Videos July 18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BODpsBG5LB4&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72kzQGfdn1A&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) ** U K. MORE CUTS AT BBC NEWS --- BBC CUTTING 415 NEWS POSITIONS. Not BBCWS or SW specific, but not a good sign for the near future. http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28342929 (Steve Luce, TX, July 17, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC CUTS: PANORAMA REPORTERS GO BUT "CRAP BBC BUZZFEED" STAYS It's a total fuc*ing outrage that a frontline, flagship show like Panorama is taking the brunt of the cuts, when the BBC is packed to the gills with worthless leeches... http://www.newstatesman.com/media-mole/2014/07/barmy-bbc-cuts-panorama-reporters-go-crap-bbc-buzzfeed-stays (via Des Preston, Sent from my iPhone, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A former BBC journalist was killed in the MH17 [sic] crash. Richard Porter, controller of BBC World News in English, said Mr Thomas's death was "a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to Glenn's family. Article here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-28363989 (via Mike Terry, DXLD yg via DXLD) A comment by Rob Crilly, the Pakistan correspondent of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/robcrilly/100280638/dont-kill-off-the-bbc-world-service-it-still-puts-the-great-in-great-britain/#disqus_thread (Art Preis, Canada, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) Viz.: By Rob Crilly World Last updated: July 18th, 2014 292 Comments === Comment on this article When William Hague stepped down as Foreign Secretary this week, many newspapers focused on the Angelina Jolie factor, complete with dozens of pictures. That is to say, commentators wondered whether Mr Hague's legacy might be his effort to reorientate the Foreign and Commonwealth Office towards advocacy campaigns, ending HM Government's obsession with punching above its weight on the world stage, in favour of exercising "soft power". Yet one of his longer lasting contributions may be the utter destruction of the greatest instrument of soft power the world has ever seen: the BBC World Service, an institution beaming British values around the world to 190m listeners. It was on his watch that the Foreign Office ended its funding of the World Service. Since April, its budget is drawn only from the licence fee, forcing it to scrap it out with domestic radio and TV for cash. So when James Harding announced sweeping cuts to BBC News this week, it was inevitable that the World Service would be badly affected. More than 100 jobs are to go, mostly in the newsroom and in news gathering. There was a silver lining. An extra £5m in funding will come to the World Service – but that still leaves it well short of the £272m it received in 2010. In fact, the most worrying consequence is to rob the World Service of its remaining identity as executives treat it as some sort of embarrassing maiden aunt. After five years of cuts, much of the programming has become dull. Its one remaining jewel, Newshour, is the latest victim of the never- ending reorganisation. Its brilliant mix of hard-hitting news, Sony Gold-winning production standards and occasional joyous sense of fun are being merged with Radio 4's tedious The World Tonight. If The World Tonight is reborn as Newshour for British audiences, then great. But I suspect it will be the other way around. Already we have an arts show which is nothing more than a mishmash of bits from the rest of BBC output, cobbled together into an incoherent mess. Whenever I air my complaints to BBC executives (former and present), the response is the same. I – as a British expat from Tunbridge Wells living in Pakistan (Disgusted of Islamabad, perhaps) – am not the target audience. And the world is changing. More and more people get their news from the telly, not a scratchy short wave radio. OK, maybe I'm a dinosaur. I've listened to the World Service for the past 20 years. First in the UK, and then as a foreign correspondent living in Africa – where it brought me John Peel, football on a Saturday and Network Africa's cockerel. But those executives are wrong. I have yet to meet the rebel leader who has followed his own war from a cave by tuning his TV to BBC World News. I have yet to walk into a politician's office for an interview and then waited as they finished listening to the Today programme via the Internet. I have yet to meet the gardener who learned their English from the BBC website. The reason the BBC is the world's greatest broadcaster is not because of The One Show, Jeremy Paxman or Top Gear. World leaders do not say yes to Hard Talk because they like the Ten O'Clock News on BBC One. It is because of the dedication of journalists who have turned the World Service into a global brand and a byword for excellence. They still manage to produce some of the finest documentaries and news shows on air anywhere, but have been sold out by a government and senior management with an eye on future licence fee battles. So every year it loses a little part of its identity, the BBC loses a little of what makes it great and Britain loses a little more of its influence in the world. (via DXLD) I see you one foreign correspondent and raise you one major editor of the BBC WS and creator of the indispensable BBC East Asia Today, Robin Lustig http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/robin-lustig-bbc-cuts-risk-real-damage-world-tonight-and-newshour (Dan Say, BC, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) Unfortunately another voice that will be disregarded by the powers to be (Art Preis, ibid.) ROBIN LUSTIG: BBC CUTS RISK REAL DAMAGE TO THE WORLD TONIGHT AND NEWSHOUR [1] --- Dominic Ponsford [2] 17 July 2014 Long serving former BBC journalist Robin Lustig has spoken out about plans to merge the editing of Radio 4’s nightly current affairs programme The World Tonight with the Newshour on The World Service. Lustig presented both programmes from 1989 to 2012. He spoke to Press Gazette has it was revealed today that both programmes face cutbacks as part of changes aiming to cut £48m a year from the BBC News budget. Some 415 jobs are being cut, with a further 195 created, making a net reduction of 220 jobs over the next two years. Lustig said: "I think it's a real shame to deprive two excellent programmes, both of which I presented for more than 20 years, of their own editors. “They need their own leadership and their own identities to serve their very different audiences. I totally understand the BBC's need to make savings, due to the last dismal licence fee settlement, but the savings that these proposed changes will make are peanuts compared to the real damage they risk to the programmes themselves. I really do hope the management of BBC News will reconsider." (via DXLD) ** U K [non]. SOUTH AFRICA/ASCENSION ISLAND --- Few BBCWS outlets with powerful signals heard in northwestern Canada this July 18 morning. 12095.043, Odd frequency Sentec Meyerton relay site signal carried BBCWS English sce with latest news on Malaysian Airlines plane crash blow up in eastern Ukraine at Grabovo village site, some 42 kms off the Russian border. S=8 -75dBm signal after 0610 UT sunrise in South Africa. \\ BBCWS En program noted also via ASC relay site transmission on both 6005 (S=9+5dB -53dBm) and 7355 kHz (S=9 -71dBm), nice signals in northwestern Canada remote post (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 18, dxldyg via DXLD) [and non]. 13580, July 18 at 0601, BBCWS news with VG signal // weaker 15105. This explains it: HFCC shows 13580 at 06-08 is 250 kW, 315 degrees from MADAGASCAR, also USward; too bad it`s in our nightmiddle. 15105 is Woofferton UK at 06-07, 250 kW at 158 degrees, backwards to here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Noting Glenn's recent report, I checked BBCWS on 13580 at 0600 Saturday July 19. Very nice signal from MGLOB. Best reception I've had of BBCWS since we lost the favorable backlobe on 7355 at 0500. Crisp audio, but occasional distortion on peaks, not overmodulated. Too bad it's the middle of the night here (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7355, July 20 at 0142, poor signal in Persian, what? Also 7355, July 21 at 0151 better signal, talk with background noise. Aoki shows it`s really BBC Dari at 0130-0200, 100 kW, 125 degrees via Yerevan-Gavar, Armenia; strangely, paired with Pashto at 0100-0130 but from a different site, Austria, why? However, HFCC shows that since May 5, BOTH are from Moosbrunn, AUSTRIA, 300 kW at 95 degrees (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. The two-month Promenade Concert season began July 18 with live broadcasts on BBCR3 (and also now the other networks according to website). Perhaps a few excerpts will appear on BBCWS? We normally try to hear almost every concert online, but this year the BBC website has been very uncooperative, often with dead linx where the concerts are supposed to be. Our best luck so far has been hitting the pop-up player reached via http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007v097/episodes/player which is also fussy about which browsers it will accept. Supposedly these are available now for 30 days rather than 7, altho the menu already lacks some of the earlier concerts less than one week after them. One can also listen live more reliably on BBCR3, but it`s much more convenient to listen a few days later ondemand for pausing, skipping. If your cookies are properly baked, you can even close out a file and reopen it later automatically picking up at that point (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC SAYS IPLAYER TECHNICAL PROBLEMS 'FIXED' BBC News Technology 21 July 2014 Last updated at 12:35 ET http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28400908 The iPlayer was only intermittently available for most of the weekend The BBC says the technical problems that hit the iPlayer and many other online services have been resolved. The iPlayer service was out of action over most of the weekend thanks to problems with the database behind the catch-up service. The faults also meant only a simplified version of the BBC's homepage was shown, while online video and audio clips were also disrupted. A BBC spokesman said it was "pretty confident" the faults were now cleared. "BBC iPlayer, BBC iPlayer Radio and other parts of BBC Online that were affected by problems over the weekend are now up and running," he said. "Our teams continue to investigate the problem to ensure this doesn't happen again." He added: "We will be publishing more details about the problem in due course on the BBC's internet blog." The duration of the outage led reporters to question BBC boss Tony Hall about the problems on a day when the corporation unveiled its annual report. Mr Hall said that he would look into the cause of the problems and added: "99.9% of the time the iPlayer works very well". Internal investigation While the iPlayer was not working the corporation put out statements via Twitter apologising several times for the inconvenience. The apology did not mollify many people who strongly criticised the BBC about the length of the disruption. BBC director general Tony Hall: "99.9% of the time the iPlayer works very well". The problems for the iPlayer and many other sites started on the morning of 19 July when engineers noticed that there was a "severe load" on the servers underlying the video-on-demand system. In addition, reports reached the BBC that viewers were getting slow response times for some services or were seeing errors saying a programme or clip was not available. Soon after the BBC noticed, messages were also received from network engineers at internet service providers (ISPs) including Virgin Media, which were also logging problems with the iPlayer and other BBC video traffic. Later in the day, the service became unavailable via the web and through smartphone apps. Internal logs of the incident and how it was handled showed that database administrators, network engineers and system analysts were all called on to see if they could diagnose the problem and fix it. Work continued throughout the weekend to try to stabilise the servers and database supporting the iPlayer and many other BBC services. The final fixes for the problems were expected to be applied on 21 July when the vast majority of people should be able reach the web- based video services as normal. The BBC said it would issue a statement when it knew more about the cause of the glitches (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. IN OUR TIME - BBC Radio 4 --- Hildegard of Bingen Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss one of the most remarkable figures of the Middle Ages, Hildegard of Bingen. The abbess of a Benedictine convent, Hildegard experienced a series of mystical visions which she documented in her writings. She was an influential person in the religious world and much of her extensive correspondence with popes, monarchs and other important figures survives. Hildegard was also celebrated for her wide-ranging scholarship, which as well as theology covered the natural world, science and medicine. Officially recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church in 2012, Hildegard is also one of the earliest known composers. Since their rediscovery in recent decades her compositions have been widely recorded and performed. (45') http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b047c312 (John Figliozzi, Podding Along, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5202-USB, July 18 at 1356, digital mode, then voice from AAR6IA, closing down the net at 1357*. It`s Texas Army MARS, and he is Tom Morton, per this document picturing him on page 5, the guy in khaki in the middle: https://www.txarmymars.org/downloads/2011-TxEmergMgmtConf.pdf 5202-USB is either frequency M137 or M146 depending on whether it`s primary or secondary for Fridays at 1301. 7302-USB and 7305-USB, July 17 at 1307, TWO Air Force MARS nets QRMing each other (at least on the normal bandwidth of the FRG-7); 7305 with pauses and at 1317 in digital mode. Bothered to copy only two of the calls: at 1320 on 7305-USB, AFA7PQ, apparently the NCS; he`s Frank Miller, with North Central in Nebraska: http://www.afmars.org/PictureGallery/AFA7PQ.htm and at 1321 on 7302-USB, AFA6LP, searched out to Russellville AR (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FWIW, WWV is still broadcasting on 25 MHz. I just tuned them in here at Paxton, Illinois. The last I'd heard, this was just going to be done for a short while. Also FWIW, this can be a good indicator of Es activity a bit higher up on low-band VHF (Curtis Sadowski, 1845 UT July 18, WTFDA via DXLD 25000, QSL Radio Station WWV - Fort Collins, verified an electronic report with a full data foldout "Indians on the Prairie" card in 14 days from v/s John B. Milton, Engineer-in-Charge. QSL #30422 (Rich D'Angelo-PA-USA, DXplorer July 13 via BC-DX July 20 via DXLD) ** U S A. We have published a lot of anti-management material about VOA, so here is what the manager has to say: (gh, DXLD) David Ensor's Blog --- VOA in 2020 Imagine the VOA newsroom of the year 2020: a multi-ethnic, multi- skilled global hub connected with hundreds of reporters and stringers worldwide. By then, the VOA News Center will gather and distribute trustworthy information to perhaps 250 million people a week in many languages. Most of it will be video news and analysis, much of it watched on phones and tablets. The bulk of our audience by that time will see or hear us through an affiliate partner - dramatically increasing not only our footprint in the market, but our influence as well. Already today-in 2014-56 percent of VOA's global audience is reached through television and radio affiliated broadcasters. By 2020, it could be 75 percent. By 2020, today's 15-year-olds will be the innovators and game changers in their societies. This tech savvy demographic will set the standard for content delivery: portable, immediate, and interactive. VOA will position itself to meet those needs, with more cutting-edge efforts like the new Hausa Service programming stream - audio, pictures, text - designed especially for the mobile device. At VOA, we are keeping on track with the human communications revolution and we are doing it cost effectively. In fact, VOA provides our country with some of the best "bang for the buck" of anything America does to reach out to the world. For $196.4 million-the approximate cost of two F-35 jet fighters-VOA currently reaches 164 million people a week. That is enormous reach and gives VOA powerful impact worldwide. It is in our national interest for people around the world to have knowledge about what is really going on, and especially about America, its policies and its values. Credibility is the key Of course, building the VOA of the future requires a strong foundation and a clear sense of identity. In today's world, what is VOA for? From time to time, since its founding in 1942, the question has been posed this way: Should it be the Voice of America, or the Voice of the United States Government? In 1942, the United States faced one of the greatest crises in its history, as U.S. and allied forces suffered reverses in Europe and Asia. The first VOA director, John Houseman, had a choice: Accurately report the grim news or, as we would now say, spin it for the sake of America's image. Looking back on that perilous time a few years later, Houseman said, "In reality, we had little choice. Inevitably the news that the Voice of America would carry to the world in the first half of 1942 was almost all bad. [But] we would have to report our reverses without weaseling. Only thus could we establish a reputation for honesty which we hoped would pay off on that distant but inevitable day when we would start reporting our own invasions and victories." The issue came up again in the seventies. President Nixon's administration began applying pressure on VOA, not only for its coverage of the Vietnam War but also of the Watergate scandal that eventually forced Mr. Nixon's resignation. How did VOA respond? That is captured in Alan Heil's Voice of America: A History. Heil, a former correspondent and deputy VOA director, cites a Wall Street Journal story praising VOA for broadcasting, in its entirety, a call by a senator from Nixon's own Republican Party for him to resign. "[His] open call for resignation was news," the Journal wrote, "and the Voice of America is in the news business." VOA is, indeed, in the news business, and that was made the law of the land in 1976, when Congress approved and President Ford signed the VOA Charter mandating that it serve as a "consistently reliable and authoritative sources of news" that is "accurate, objective and comprehensive;" that VOA report on America and American thought, and that it present "the policies of the United States." Quite simply, the Charter is the foundation upon which VOA has built its credibility. It is an indispensable reason for our sizable audiences. Moving forward, VOA will continue to set a standard, to be widely emulated, for principled, objective and trustworthy journalism, based on the notion that the proper response to propaganda is honest reporting, not counter-propaganda. It will reflect the conviction that if people have good information, they will make better decisions on matters that affect their lives. Done properly, this will not only ensure a wider understanding of American values and viewpoints, but also enhance respect for the United States as a nation where truthfulness and fairness are highly valued. Change is Needed While it would be a mistake to damage that solid foundation, major changes are needed, both in the structure of U.S. international broadcasting and at VOA. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees VOA, as well as Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Network and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, is wisely planning to hire a Chief Executive Officer of U.S. international broadcasting. The Obama Administration has asked Congress to pass legislation giving such a CEO full control of all personnel and budgets currently under the BBG. This reform is needed. A complex enterprise with an overall budget over $730 million needs a fulltime boss, and has suffered without one. By 2020, we should be in much better shape under a fulltime leader chosen by the BBG. At VOA, we are not only embracing new ways to distribute our content, but also reforming the way we collect and prepare news. This summer we are rethinking the way VOA Central News and our English Division are organized, and moving to a "digital first" newsroom. New beats have been established on topics such as corruption and Internet freedom- topics our audiences have told us they want. Coverage of U.S. foreign policy and New York business news is getting more resources, as is news about American efforts in health, technology and higher education-areas where the world looks to this country for leadership and innovation. That increased coverage comes from journalists from Persian, Chinese, Spanish, Hausa and other language services as well as Central News correspondents. Making a Difference Critics sometimes ask: why should the U.S. government fund a VOA when the world already has an American network in the form of CNN? For three reasons: First, CNN, FOX, NBC and Bloomberg are commercial enterprises, broadcasting, for the most part, in English. I once reported for CNN and ABC News-formidable news organizations which choose their markets based on profitability. The decisions about which audiences VOA should reach for are made instead by our Board, the Administration and Congress based on U.S. national interests. Thus, VOA news broadcasts reach terrified residents of northern Nigeria where Boko Haram recently kidnapped 200 school girls and they do it in Hausa, the language of the region. In Ukraine, our television audience has doubled since the Russian invasion of Crimea, and we have added Russian language news for eastern Ukraine. In Iran, even though home satellite dishes that can receive us are illegal, a quarter of the adult population watches at least one VOA TV show a week in Farsi- the largest reach of any western broadcaster in Iran. The second reason is that not only does VOA reach larger, more diverse audiences than CNN by doing news in 45 languages, but we also define what is "news" differently than commercial networks tend to do. It does not have to "bleed to lead" on VOA. In Afghanistan, for example, we not only report the latest bloodshed or Taliban bombing, we also report on school and health clinic construction, and other kinds of nation building by the Afghan people and their government, as well as reports on the essential help provided by the West. The final reason VOA is needed is one that perhaps does not readily occur to many Americans, because in this country we do not have a domestic state broadcaster. There is no real American equivalent of the BBC on our airwaves. In most of the rest of the world-as in Britain--the state broadcaster is influential, so the significance of the role is well understood. VOA is the international state broadcaster of the United States. That fact brings with it a prestige and influence that is quite simply, priceless. Combine it with our commitment to honest journalism-even about news stories like the Abu Ghraib Iraqi prisoner scandal, that require Americans to examine our own consciences-and you have a winning formula. It is one that has radio and TV networks in many parts of the world lining up to partner with VOA, and to broadcast the work of our trusted journalists. They do so because each day, we answer an essential question on people's minds in Karachi, Kyiv, Lagos and Caracas: "what is Washington saying?" In countries where we have a national interest, or where anti- Americanism is an issue, VOA must seek to be part of the conversation. There must be an American voice. VOA exports the First Amendment concept of freedom of speech and of the press. It combats ignorance, propaganda and anti-Americanism, promotes American ideals and culture, and even saves lives with information for refugees in troubled regions. Americans understand the importance of hard power-a strong military- but many of our fellow citizens seriously underestimate the potential of our "soft" power, and as a nation, we underfund it. With sensible reform by 2020 VOA can-and should-be doing much more for our country and for the world. David Ensor 330 Independence Ave., SW Washington, District of Columbia 20237 202-203-4959 (VOA PR via DXLD) ** U S A. DON'T MAKE VOICE OF AMERICA AN ARM OF STATE DEPT. - Letter to Obama from Paul Westpheling July 11, 2014 - BBGWatcher - Analysis, Congress, Featured News, Hot Tub Blog - 1 Comment http://bbgwatch.com/bbgwatch/dont-make-voice-of-america-an-arm-of-state-dept-letter-to-obama-from-paul-westpheling/ A Guest Commentary BBG Watch occasionally publishes guest commentaries. This one is from Paul Westpheling, Former General Vice-President of AFGE Local 1812, former member of the Union Executive Board, a member in good standing of the union who retired from Voice of America (VOA) in 2013 after a 25+ year career as an English radio broadcaster. We invite those with opposing views and others who want to comment on this or other issues followed by BBG Watch to submit their op-eds for consideration. Dear President Obama, It has been gut-wrenching for those of us who have given most of our working life to VOA to watch the back and forth over the Royce-Engel legislation. Your leadership is urgently required. I hope what I've heard from many different quarters isn't true --- that you just don't care. HR 4490 would change VOA's mission and charter by making it an overt tool of public diplomacy under the direction of the State Department instead of remaining an objective, unbiased and trusted source of news and information as it has been since the VOA Charter was passed by Congress and signed by President Ford in 1976. The opposition clings to the somewhat naive view that to defeat HR 4490 would be a victory for journalistic purity of purpose by keeping VOA out of the policy promoting business. That is faulty logic and everyone in VOA knows that. For years VOA has presented editorials, which are policy statements from the government, so a component of public diplomacy is already in place. I would like to begin by emphasizing two words: substantive content. The best way to attract an international audience that believes in what the United States stands for is to be credible, believable and trustworthy. Ask any parent about diplomatic approaches to their children. Editorials outline policy ... the VOA Charter attracts a following. An audience won't listen just to hear policy. The current structure has been broken for many years and is need of a complete overhaul. Replacing the current structure is the best approach, but HR 4490 is a poorly written substitute. Mr. President, the BBG Board of Governors is indeed dysfunctional. There is certainly no shortage of possible explanations, but here's food for thought. The part-time board meets once a month or even less frequently. Some members spend the time and energy to do their homework, but not all. That has left the foxes in charge of the chicken coop. For the most part, the nine-member part-time Board can't agree on how to give directions to the nearest water cooler, leaving BBG senior staff to provide advice, and that's the real problem. Staff does what it pleases, knowing nobody can force them to do otherwise. One of those senior managers has said over the years he hates broadcasting VOA in English. June 30th, VOA English shortwave radio stopped, except to Africa. He has said he hates broadcasting using shortwave and look what has happened to that dependable legacy medium. The BBG senior staff will claim - and indeed they have claimed for years - what they do has the approval of the board. But one recent board member told me: "If a decision was made that I thought ill-advised, it would have been a cold day in hell before I could have it vetted much less overturned. They (the senior staff) always presented tons of paperwork substantiating their proposals. We didn't have time to read the material so it was approved, oftentimes with little scrutiny. Senior staff just didn't like some of us meddling in their domain." If a member of the BBG Board had trouble getting anything done and the senior staff could cook the books at will, why would the senior BBG and IBB staff listen to the Board knowing they wouldn't be disciplined, much less replaced? A better snake oil sales staff can't be found anywhere on earth. The entire structure of International Broadcasting can be fixed by appointing a strong CEO to run U.S. International Broadcasting. Congress is at least trying and soon will consider the ill-conceived plan to change this institution. However it is you, Mr. President, who needs to become more involved. Given the political climate these days, I realize it will be difficult to do. But spreading truth, not peppered with overt propaganda, is a must if VOA is to win hearts and minds. Actually I should say win back hearts and minds. The world used to tune-in VOA, but now once-loyal listeners are flocking to the BBC and Al Jazeera ... places where people now get what is perceived to be unbiased information. Simply put, Mr. President, you need to say to the world, "I have your back." Nobody likes propaganda, at least not those yearning to be free. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Radio Free Asia and Radio and TV Marti do surrogate broadcasting. But remember, all of them combined have only 30 percent of the audience for U.S. International Broadcasting. It is indeed puzzling why VOA gets only 30 percent of the funding. VOA needs more resources and support for its mission, and protection from those who would take the VOA brand and ruin it by making it an arm of the State Department. It also needs strong leadership and support from you. Also remember: countries with sinister ideological agendas are spending untold billions on their own propaganda games. Propaganda is certainly not substantive content. Fix what's broken in the management structure but please don't change the Charter or VOA by making it an arm of the State Department. Sincerely, Paul Westpheling, Former General Vice-President of AFGE Local 1812, former member of the Union Executive Board, a member in good standing of the union who retired from Voice of America (VOA) in 2013 after a 25+ year career as an English radio broadcaster. (via BBG Watch via Mike Cooper, dXLD) ** U S A. VOA Radiogram for the weekend of 19-20 July 2014 will include an invitation to a shortwave DXers meeting in Mexico, and news about a water wheel in Baltimore that takes trash out of waterways. It's mostly in MFSK32. Details at: VOA Radiogram, 19-20 July 2014: Baltimore water wheel collects trash http://voaradiogram.net/post/92146497952/voa-radiogram-19-20-july-2014-baltimore-water-wheel (Kim Elliott, dxldyg via DXLD) In the case of spoken words I must say: "That seemed to me to be Spanish" ["Das kommt mir Spanisch vor"]. This pun works only in German language --- In English that would be: "That's Greek to Me" In Spanish: "Esto me suena a chino" But in the radiogram, it is a fine thing to have messages in a foreign language as text. This way the translation is (almost) no problem. http://www.rhci-online.de/VoA_Radiogram_2014-07-19.htm (roger Thauer, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17895, July 21 at 1827, VOA news in English, fair with fades, off by 1830. Note: this is the LAST VOA ENGLISH BROADCAST FROM GREENVILLE (except for those beeping Radiograms), daily 1730-1830 eastward for Africa. Should normally be fine beyond the skip zone off the back in central and western North America (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO alternate PODCAST: I used to use that RSS feed for listening to WOR as a podcast and with it not working at the moment I have set up http://shortwave.am/wor.xml --- It automatically checks for a the next filename in the series (e.g. wor1731.mp3, wor1732.mp3 etc.) every night at 0600 GMT and if it doesn't get a "file not found" error it adds the latest podcast to the XML file. As long as the filenames continue in that format it should work indefinitely. At the moment it`s just got 1730 on but it will build up with each subsequent podcast added to it (Stephen Cooper, July 17) Thanks, Stephen! (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1730 monitoring: confirmed first airing, UT Thursday July 17 at 0330 on WRMI, 9955 --- but very poor reception. Second airing also confirmed until 1259 July 17 on 9955 --- now good reception, better than usual; the CCI from France via TAIWAN is still detectable as a fast SAH rather than a LAH; it goes off at 1301 after another WRMI program has started. There is also some hum on the WRMI signal both during WOR and the next show. Next: Thursday 2100 on WBCQ 7490v UT Friday 0327v on WWRB 3185 (presumably like last weeks, not 5050?) Saturday 0630 & 1430 on Hamburger Lokalradio 7265-CUSB UT Sunday 0030 on WRMI 9495 (may be 1729 instead) UT Sunday 0130 on KVOH 9975 UT Monday 0300v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB, etc. WORLD OF RADIO 1730 monitoring: confirmed on WBCQ webcast, Thursday July 17 after 2100, but inaudible here on 7490. Also confirmed on WWRB, once again 3185 while 5050 is BSing; previous preacher stops and after a respectful pause, WOR 1730 playback starts about 0328 UT July 18, initially blasting in overmodulated until turned down. Sure wish we were on somestation in North America sometime on Fridays/UT Saturdays while still fresher; Next: Saturday 0630 & 1430 on Hamburger Lokalradio 7265-CUSB UT Sunday 0030 on WRMI 9495 (maybe 1729 instead) UT Sunday 0130 on KVOH 9975 UT Monday 0300v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB, etc. BTW, our podcast via RMRC is currently down, but Stephen Cooper has set up an alternative: http://shortwave.am/wor.xml A reminder to check the Saturday evening airings of WORLD OF RADIO on UT Sunday July 20: 0030 on WRMI 9495 (maybe previous edition); and 0130 on KVOH 9975 (Glenn Hauser, OK, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1729 monitoring: last week`s played back after 0030 UT Sunday July 20 on WRMI-9, 9495. Good signal, better than usual this week. Preceded by AWR Wavescan when checked at 0015. WORLD OF RADIO 1730 monitoring: standing by for KVOH to come on 9975, UT Sunday July 20: *0118 with 1 kHz tone; 0127 musical prélude; 0130 ID, then Ray Robinson introducing Saturday evening programming with summary of next 2.5 hours, starting with WORLD OF RADIO 1730 from 0131:05. There is some hum on 9975 and not full modulation level. On the PL-880 but not the DX-398 I can turn the volume up full without discomfort or distortion. And now to recharge it. Next: UT Monday 0259v on Area 51 via WBCQ, 5110v-CUSB Monday 2100v on WRMI-9, 15770 Tuesday 1100 on WRMI-10, 9955 [see if France/Taiwan QRM still there] Wednesday 0630 on Hamburger Lokalradio, 7265-CUSB Wednesday 1315 on WRMI-10, 9955 Wednesday 1430 on Hamburger Lokalradio, 7265-CUSB Wednesday 2100 on WBCQ, 7490v (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi, Glenn. WOR will be carried on the KVOH webstream in parallel with (or, to be precise, a few seconds behind) the SW airing at 0130 Sun UT, and a repeat will be carried on the webstream only at 0630 Mon UT. Direct stream URL: http://184.154.43.106:8113 (Ray Robinson, KVOH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9975, July 21 at 0149, I find `AWR Wavescan` is already running on KVOH; apparently it`s been moved up from 0200 UT Mondays to 0130, the new English start time, to make it symmetrical with WORLD OF RADIO at 0130 UT Sundays. Schedule still not updated to show either: http://kvoh.net/wp-content/uploads/KVOH-Program-Grid-English.pdf WORLD OF RADIO 1730 monitoring: confirmed on Area 51 webcast from about 0302 UT Monday July 21, and presumably also 5110v-CUSB. Next: Monday 2100v on WRMI 15770 Tuesday 1100 on WRMI 9955 Wednesday 0630 on HLR 7265-CUSB Wednesday 1315 on WRMI 9955 Wednesday 1430 on HLR 7265-CUSB Wednesday 2100 on WBCQ 7490v 9955, July 21 at 1249, the CCI with SAH from France via Taiwan in Chinese is even stronger than WRMI and the pulse jamming, while nearby frequencies go unused. WORLD OF RADIO 1730 monitoring: July 21 check on the new 15770 airing via WRMI: 2059 BS plugging his website; 2059:30 cutaway to Bob Zanotti ID; 2100 back to BS; 2101:30 join WOR 1730 in progress. Fair signal at best here off the side, aimed 44 degrees toward Europe. Meanwhile, 15190 with Radio Africa Network is much stronger at 87 degrees. I suspect the delay with WOR may be due to not enough hands to manually manage the RAN QSY from 17790 to 15190 at the same time as the program shift on 15770. Next: Tue 1100 on WRMI 9955 [see also log of Taiwan QRM still there] Wed 0630 on HLR 7265-CUSB Wed 1315 on WRMI 9955 Wed 1430 on HLR 7265-CUSB Wed 2100 on WBCQ 7490v WORLD OF RADIO 1730 monitoring: confirmed on WRMI 9955, Wednesday July 23 from 1315, now in the clear from collision with Taiwan before 1300. Next: Wednesday 2100 on WBCQ 7490v. Hope to have new 1731 ready for first airing UT Thursday 0330 on 9955 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Some gleanings from WRMI`s Facebook: We still have a studio and small office in Miami where we record local programs on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon/evening. Most of our administrative functions have been transferred to our offices at the transmitter site in Okeechobee, where we have a studio also. You are welcome to stop by anytime; just give us a bit of notice, so we will be sure to be there and expect you. We can be at our office in Miami on Wednesday also, and there is always someone in Okeechobee 24/7/365. July 20 at 12:06am [caption] Thursday evening, July 17, engineer Don Frish, assisted by Bob Constantino, replaces a filament ring that burned out on transmitter #4, a 100-kilowatt Continental Electronics unit in Okeechobee. Chief fabricator Pat Travers refurbishes these parts when they burn out under normal operation (via gh, DXLD) #4 is the one used only on 11730 at 22-23 with TOM; 23-24 Family Radio in Spanish, 00-05 TOM (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Chanced upon the AWR Wavescan DX programme hosted by Jeff White on unscheduled 15770 kHz this evening (Tuesday 22 July) from 2105 tune-in to 2129 UT. Followed by Bob Zanotti with WRMI ID and then tx closed at 2130 (this presumably followed on from Overcomer Ministry, scheduled on 15770 via WRMI Okeechobee Florida until 2100) Good reception (SIO 453) here in the UK and a convenient time (2100 UT = 2200 BST) to listen to some interesting radio features, so hope this is a permanent addition to the schedule. 73 (Alan Pennington, Caversham, UK, AOR 7030plus, longwire, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) I tried to hear 15770 at 2100 July 22, but it was too weak vs noise level here; whether there was also a delay in cutting over to WS like for WOR. BTW, Ivo`s recording of WOR on Monday was JBA in noise level there (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also EQUATORIAL GUINEA [non] ** U S A. 5109.752, odd frequency of WBCQ at 0325 UT. Signal strings 'seen' up to 5118 kHz. TERRIBLE WBCQ SIGNAL. Same station on 7490.427 kHz, very odd frequency, distorted oscillating audio modulation. There appears to be a serious transmitter fault here with a loud high-pitched wobbling whistle tone accompanying the audio in their 40 mb transmission. S=9+5dB or -70dBm strength noted so far (Wolfgang Büschel, July 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sounds OK on chex since (gh) 15419.9-CUSB, July 20 at 0111 and still 0145, here`s WBCQ on 19m with sufficient signal much later than usual 2100*, proving that they can run four frequencies and four transmitters at once if they want to. This is // 7490 and better than // 5110-CUSB just about synchronized, while 9330-CUSB has Good Friends Radio Network. May be live or very recent show as they mention we are at zero sunspots, then 0112 playing some Michael Jackson. I suppose it`s the ``Lumpy Gravy Radio Show`, online scheduled via 5110 only, with a one-hour 01-02 gap on 7490 UT Sundays, and nothing on 15420 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I asked Allan if it would be possible to simulcast Marion's Attic on Sunday, July 20 at 2100 on 15420, as lately it is propagating nicely and has been much better than 7490 at this time. He said this was no problem and we did hear Marion on 7490//15420 this past Sunday, with the latter much better at our place in central Maryland. I was very surprised to hear Area 51 on 15420 on Saturday after 2100, and even more surprised to see your log of Lumpy Gravy during the 0100-0200 hour. 15420 is usually good here until a bit before local sunset when it fades away. This is about the time that 5110 picks up. I'm not sure if the weekend simulcasts on 15420 will continue, so we will have to keep checking. By the way, the closest thing to Michael Jackson we've ever played on Lumpy Gravy is a Weird Al Yankovic parody of one his songs, or the infamous song by Wesley Willis called "Michael Jackson." On Saturday our announcement of "Michael Jackson" was an inside joke -- the song, in fact, was one performed by our greatly missed friend, the late, great Michael Ketter. Regards, Lw (Larry Will, MD, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Additional 30 minutes of KVOH Voice of Hope in English from July 13: 0130-0400 on 9975 VOH 050 kW / 100 deg to CeAm Sun/Mon, ex 0200-0400 (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) 0131 UT Sun: WORLD OF RADIO; 0130 UT Mon: Wavescan ** U S A. 12105, July 18 at 2003, WTWW-3 with Bibling in Brazuguese, but only poor signal, while neighbor WWCR is inbooming on even higher bands, 13845 and 15825, so I conclude WTWW-3 is on low power. Next check however at 0118 July 19 with PPP, 12105 is back to very good strength. 9930, Saturday July 19 at 2315 check, WTWW-2 is bountiful, with equal audio levels from the moaners & wailers at the Brother Scare tabernacle (as usual at 7 am and 7 pm ET), and from Ted Randall with another QSO playback, seemingly from Dayton. Remains doubly unlistenable until 0000 QSY to 5085, and then continues with both, as if he made the frequency change without even listening to the signal to notice what was on it on it. Kept making periodic chex, and still both BS and Ted at 0044, but next check at 0052, both are off, leaving open carrier/dead air --- and that`s what continued past 0200 (when I was listening whether a canned ID would fire anyway, but it did not). At 0249 check there is organ music not // BS on 7570 et al., and then a canned ID, before resuming dead air. BS audio finally comes on at 0255. Another example of WTWW under the operational control of Ted, who when he was speaking to me, explained that he`s running WTWW as a sideline to his major responsibilities working for several local Nashville broadcast stations. It`s clear where his priorities are, and that the three WTWWs suffer as a result. 12105, July 20 at 0104, extra PPP broadcast is again at only fair-poor level vs CODAR, while 9475 is still strong. 9475, July 23 at 0125 on WTWW-1, it`s PPP vs PPP, as the main modulation has crosstalk from a very weak different sermon, bleedover from the 12105 WTWW-3 transmitter. Altho there seems to be a very slight delay between them, propagationally? The extremely strong 9475 signal is also splattering out plus/minus 13 or so kHz until PPP starts singing, then more like 25 kHz, altho obscured on the hi side by 9490 Cuban jamming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I assume it was this one on 9475 audible at my location in NW England at good strength around 06345 [sic; typo for 0634 or 0645?] UT today (23.10.14). Brother Stair was at fair level on 9955 same time accompanied by Cuban jamming (Noel R. Green, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9475, July 23 at 0547, WTWW-1 has failed to switch to night frequency 5830 - nothing there. By now 9475 is no longer solid, but fair-good with fades. I figure it will stay on all night, and apparently so as it`s still there at wakeup check, 1215, obliterating a trace maybe of R. Australia; instead of normal 9475 start for WTWW circa 1400. Meanwhile, WTWW-2 is really on its night frequency 5085, still audible poorly in noise with BS at 1348 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also noted at 05-06 UT at 9475 (NOT 5830 as expected at 00-10 UT or so) with usual Scriptures for America programming on 07/23/2014. Is WTWW going to 24/7 on 9475 to avoid WRMI's 5850 sometimes splattering signal during the overnight hours? Signal was fading by 06 UT (but by then I was ready to track the weaker than usual HM01 on 10345 at 06 UT as "she" was issuing a whole new set of numbers -- and, most likely, new marching orders). (Shawn Fahrer, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Your imagination is getting the better of you. They simply screwed up, again. Next night, back to 5830. The nominal hours on 5830 are 02-14 UT, not 00-10 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7505.234, Weak signal CARRIER ONLY seen here on Perseus screen at 0645 UT July 18, supposedly from 'stand-by ready' unit of WRNO New Orleans site. Poor S=4 or -104dBm string visible (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 18, remote receiver in NW Canada, dxldyg via DXLD) a.k.a. exciter 7505.230, Came across WRNO New Orleans program at 0357... to 0400:20 UT transmitter sudden off. Smooth nice chorus singer program, I liked it. S=9+20dB or -52dBm strength in FL-US post. Covered 7499.8 to 7511 kHz frequency range (Wolfgang Büschel, July 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7505.2, July 20 at 0143, WRNO with big buzz on gospel huxter, perhaps the boss himself; haven`t remeasured it lately, so there they stay (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. 7555, July 20 at 0145, no signal from KJES, off tonight, but the ute hash on the hi side circa 7557-7558 is audible from France without robo-QRM. 7555, July 21 at 0150, KJES is off again tonight. It was on in the morning July 20 circa 1330 on 11715. 7555.0, July 23 at 0143, KJES is on tonight, VG signal with catechisms in English among adults (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WHRI Angel#2 11635 back to usual schedule, except for EGN: 0500-0600 on 11635 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg to WeEu English Sat-Thu 0500-0515 on 11635 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg to WeEu French Fri 0515-0600 on 11635 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg to WeEu English Fri 0445-0500 on 11635 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg to WeEu English Sun EGN*, cancelled *Eternal Good News, no signal on July 13. Eight videos on July 10/11/14/17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiAVTY9h4bs&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXYTDD20FK8&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwEBxclyRGA&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLhwaNsiy8w&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYa-9tqJx5w&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSt6IzHxEXM&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuWAcUaNFqM&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT4rg-B6xV4&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) ** U S A. 9955, July 18 at 1250, during AWR Wavescan on WRMI, Jerry Plummer of WWCR at NASB in May mentions that they had to get off an OOB frequency immediately due to an interference complaint from St Petersburg, Russia. Presumably a utility/military, accounting for the abrupt shift from 15825 to 15795 on May 19, but only in the 09-13 period, which happens to include some Russian. 9955 still has CCI from Taiwan until 1300 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 750, July 17 at 0548 UT, Spanish mixing with WSB, so KAMA El Paso still out of whack. 750, July 20 at 0605 UT, WSB Atlanta clear in English, for a change no sign of Spanish out of order from KAMA El Paso, but we`re not concluding yet that it`s permanently fixed. 750, July 23 at 0600 UT, Univisión América Radio in Spanish over WSB, so KAMA El Paso Tejas is again/still out of whack (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. IN MIDWEST, MORE RADIO STATIONS SWITCHING TO SPANISH By Jessica Montoya Coggins For many Latinos in Cleveland, Ohio, waking up on January 1st to the sounds of Marc Anthony on 87.7 [sic] FM (WLFM-LV [sic]) was a dream come true. The arrival of "La Mega" was a welcome arrival in the state's second most populous city. But the story of the Cleveland station's switch to español and bilingual programming mirrors what other Midwestern radio managers have discovered - the potency of the Hispanic radio audience. “[Latinos are] the only growing population that exists in those markets, and there was nothing for them,” said Murray Hill Broadcasting Director of Advertising Josh Guttman, explaining the company's decision to introduce the station in Ohio. Since 2000, the state's Latinos have increased by over 63 percent to account for about 10 percent of the state's population. . . http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/midwest-more-radio-stations-switching-spanish-n159346 (via Dennis Gibson, ABDX via DXLD) That`s a Franken-FM in Cleveland OH --- since when was that northeastern city in the ``Midwest``? Maybe for writers trapped east of the Hudson. No, references claim the term applies from Ohio to Kansas. Later on about a station in Madison WI, a.k.a. ``northwest``. (Glenn Hauser, Oklahoma which contains ``Midwest City``, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC SNARES HAM OPERATORS http://www.radioworld.com/article/fcc-snares-ham-operators/271472 Enjoy & 73z – (GREG HARDISON, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KZ8O, K3VR Finally Busted http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/AmateurActions/Welcome.html Sent from my iPhone (Des Preston, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Michael Guernsey, KZ8O: http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2014/DA-14-1030A1.html [excerpt:] BACKGROUND ``Mr. Guernsey has a long history causing interference to the communications of other amateur radio operators and has been warned repeatedly in writing by the Enforcement Bureau that his actions violate the Rules. On March 7, 2014, in response to several complaints of intentional interference from amateur licensees operating on the frequency 14.313 MHz, agents from the Enforcement Bureau's Detroit Office (Detroit Office) used mobile direction finding techniques to identify the source of the transmissions to 2026 Travis Road, Parchment, Michigan, the address of record for Mr. Guernsey's amateur station KZ8O. The agents monitored the transmissions emanating from Mr. Guernsey's station for approximately 40 minutes and heard him transmit a prerecorded song and various animal noises on the frequency. These transmissions prevented other amateur licensees from communicating over the frequency. During the monitoring period, the agents did not hear Mr. Guernsey transmit his assigned call sign.`` And Brian Crow, K3VR, who has been a fierce critic of Glenn Baxter, K1MAN, who recently had his license revoked as reported here. Now Brian is in trouble (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2014/DA-14-1031A1.html ******************************************************** NOTICE ******************************************************** This document was converted from Microsoft Word. Content from the original version of the document such as headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers will not show up in this text version. All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the original document will not show up in this text version. Features of the original document layout such as columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins will not be preserved in the text version. If you need the complete document, download the Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Brian Crow Licensee of Amateur Radio Station K3VR North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania File No.: EB-FIELDNER-14-00014489 NAL/Acct. No.: 201432400010 FRN: 0009895590 * NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE Adopted: July 22, 2014 Released: July 22, 2014 By the District Director, Philadelphia Office, Northeast Region, Enforcement Bureau: INTRODUCTION * We propose a penalty of $11,500 against amateur radio station operator Brian Crow for intentionally causing interference to other amateur radio operators and failing to provide station identification. Amateur radio frequencies are shared and licensees may not monopolize any frequency for their exclusive use. Deliberate interference undermines the utility of the Amateur Radio Service by preventing communications among licensed users that comply with the Commission's rules. In addition, the failure to transmit call sign information disrupts the orderly administration of the Amateur Radio Service by preventing licensed users from identifying a transmission's source. Mr. Crow was warned previously in writing by the Enforcement Bureau about causing interference to other amateur radio operators, warranting an increased penalty. * In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL), we find that Mr. Crow, licensee of Amateur Radio Station K3VR in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, apparently willfully violated Section 333 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act), and Sections 97.101(d) and 97.119(a) of the Commission's rules (Rules) by causing intentional interference to licensed radio operations and failing to transmit his assigned call sign in the Amateur Radio Service. BACKGROUND * On March 14, 2014, in response to several complaints of intentional interference from amateur licensees on the frequency 14.313 MHz, agents from the Enforcement Bureau's Philadelphia Office (Philadelphia Office) used mobile direction finding techniques to identify the source of the transmissions to 12201 Longview Drive, North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, the location of Mr. Crow's amateur station K3VR. The agents monitored the transmissions emanating from Mr. Crow's station for approximately three hours in the morning and heard him transmit Slow-Scan Television (SSTV) emissions and a prerecorded voice transmission of another amateur station on the frequency. These transmissions prevented other amateur licensees from communicating over the frequency. During the monitoring period, the agents did not hear Mr. Crow transmit his assigned call sign. Later that day, the agents approached Mr. Crow's residence, identified themselves, and requested to inspect the radio station located on the premises. Mr. Crow allowed the agents to inspect the station and they confirmed that it was capable of operating on 14.313 MHz. The agents interviewed Mr. Crow, who stated he did not operate his amateur radio station that morning and was not home when the interfering transmissions occurred. DISCUSSION * Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person who willfully or repeatedly fails to comply substantially with the terms and conditions of any license, or willfully or repeatedly fails to comply with any of the provisions of the Act or of any rule, regulation, or order issued by the Commission thereunder, shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty. Section 312(f)(1) of the Act defines "willful" as the "conscious and deliberate commission or omission of [any] act, irrespective of any intent to violate" the law. The legislative history to Section 312(f)(1) of the Act clarifies that this definition of willful applies to both Sections 312 and 503(b) of the Act, and the Commission has so interpreted the term in the Section 503(b) context. * Causing Intentional Interference to Licensed Communications * The evidence in this case is sufficient to establish that Mr. Crow violated Section 333 of the Act and Section 97.101(d) of the Rules. Section 333 of the Act states that "[n]o person shall willfully or maliciously interfere with or cause interference to any radio communications of any station licensed or authorized by or under the Act or operated by the United States government." The legislative history for Section 333 of the Act identifies willful and malicious interference as "intentional jamming, deliberate transmission on top of the transmissions of authorized users already using specific frequencies in order to obstruct their communications, repeated interruptions, and the use and transmission of whistles, tapes, records, or other types of noisemaking devices to interfere with the communications or radio signals of other stations." Section 97.101(d) of the Rules states that "[n]o amateur operator shall willfully or maliciously interfere with or cause interference to any radio communication or signal." * On March 14, 2014, agents from the Philadelphia Office located the source of interference to frequency 14.313 MHz to Mr. Crow's amateur station K3VR. Although Mr. Crow stated he was not present at his house at the time, the agents heard Mr. Crow intentionally interfering with other amateur licensees by transmitting SSTV emissions and prerecorded communications from other amateur radio operators on the frequency. These transmissions were a deliberate act to monopolize the frequency and prevent other amateur radio operators from conducting legitimate communications. Based on the evidence before us, we find that Mr. Crow apparently willfully violated Section 333 of the Act and Section 97.101(d) of the Rules by intentionally interfering with other licensed amateur radio communications. * Failure to Transmit a Call Sign Identification * The evidence in this case also is sufficient to establish that Mr. Crow violated Section 97.119(a) of the Rules. Section 97.119(a) of the Rules states that "[e]ach amateur station . . . must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions." On March 14, 2014, agents from the Philadelphia Office monitored frequency 14.313 MHz for approximately three hours and heard transmissions by Mr. Crow in which he failed to transmit his assigned call sign. Based on the evidence before us, we find that Mr. Crow apparently willfully violated Section 97.119(a) of the Rules by failing to transmit his assigned call sign. * Proposed Forfeiture * Pursuant to the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Section 1.80 of the Rules, the base forfeiture amount for interference is $7,000 and the base forfeiture amount for failure to provide station identification is $1,000. We retain the discretion, however, to issue a higher or lower forfeiture than provided in the Forfeiture Policy Statement or to apply alternative or additional sanctions as permitted by statute, subject to the statutory cap. In assessing the monetary forfeiture amount, we must take into account the statutory factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(E) of the Act, which include the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violations, and with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and other such matters as justice may require. * Mr. Crow was warned previously in writing by the Enforcement Bureau that causing interference to other amateur radio operators violated the Act and Rules. The fact that Mr. Crow subsequently interfered with other amateur licensees following the warning demonstrates a deliberate disregard for the Commission's authority. Thus, we find that a $3,500 upward adjustment to the proposed forfeiture is warranted. Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement, Section 1.80 of the Rules, and the statutory factors to the instant case, we conclude that Mr. Crow is apparently liable for a total forfeiture in the amount of $11,500. We caution Mr. Crow that future violations of this kind may result in significantly higher forfeitures or revocation his amateur license. ORDERING CLAUSES * Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Act and Sections 0.111, 0.204, 0.311, 0.314, and 1.80 of the Rules, Brian Crow is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of eleven thousand five hundred dollars ($11,500) for violations of Section 333 of the Act and Sections 97.101(d) and 97.119(a) of the Rules. * IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Rules, within thirty (30) calendar days of the release date of this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, Brian Crow SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture. * Payment of the forfeiture must be made by check or similar instrument, wire transfer, or credit card, and must include the NAL/Account Number and FRN referenced above. Brian Crow shall also send electronic notification on the date said payment is made to NER- Response@fcc.gov [HYPERLINK: mailto:NER-Response@fcc.gov]. Regardless of the form of payment, a completed FCC Form 159 (Remittance Advice) must be submitted. When completing the FCC Form 159, enter the Account Number in block number 23A (call sign/other ID) and enter the letters "FORF" in block number 24A (payment type code). Below are additional instructions you should follow based on the form of payment you select: * Payment by check or money order must be made payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission. Such payments (along with the completed Form 159) must be mailed to Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000, or sent via overnight mail to U.S. Bank - Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63101. * Payment by wire transfer must be made to ABA Number 021030004, receiving bank TREAS/NYC, and Account Number 27000001. To complete the wire transfer and ensure appropriate crediting of the wired funds, a completed Form 159 must be faxed to U.S. Bank at (314) 418-4232 on the same business day the wire transfer is initiated. * Payment by credit card must be made by providing the required credit card information on FCC Form 159 and signing and dating the Form 159 to authorize the credit card payment. The completed Form 159 must then be mailed to Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000, or sent via overnight mail to U.S. Bank - Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63101. * Any request for making full payment over time under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief Financial Officer -- Financial Operations, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625, Washington, D.C. 20554. If you have questions regarding payment procedures, please contact the Financial Operations Group Help Desk by phone, 1-877-480-3201, or by e-mail, ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov. * The written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture, if any, must include a detailed factual statement supported by appropriate documentation and affidavits pursuant to Sections 1.16 and 1.80(f)(3) of the Rules. Mail the written statement to Federal Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Northeast Region, Philadelphia Office, One Oxford Valley Building, Suite 404, 2300 East Lincoln Highway, Langhorne, Pennsylvania 19047, and include the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption. Brian Crow also shall e- mail the written response to NER-Response@fcc.gov * The Commission will not consider reducing or canceling a forfeiture in response to a claim of inability to pay unless the petitioner submits: (1) federal tax returns for the most recent three-year period; (2) financial statements prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP); or (3) some other reliable and objective documentation that accurately reflects the petitioner's current financial status. Any claim of inability to pay must specifically identify the basis for the claim by reference to the financial documentation submitted. * IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture shall be sent by both Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, and first class mail to Brian Crow at his address of record. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION David C. Dombrowski District Director Philadelphia Office Northeast Region Enforcement Bureau (via Des Preston, DXLD) I asked Brian Crow if he had any comment on this, and he sure does; says he was FRAMED: (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Hi Glenn, The incompetence of certain agents in the federal government shouldn't surprise anyone. Naturally, I'm referring to scandals regarding the IRS, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, the failure to enforce immigration laws, the VA deaths and cover-up, our new health care act, etc., etc., etc. Let me hasten to say, most of the federal agents I've dealt with are well meaning and honest. However.... Unfortunately, this FCC notice reads like some kind of kafkaesque trial-by-press-release. All fluff - no substance. I was accurately apprised of this pending action by a fellow amateur who threateningly announced there would be 'reprisals' for my cooperation in the Baxter and Madera cases, as well as other cases. They even discussed the plan to set-up the FCC's "helper-in-chief." Unbelievably, no one informed PA District Director Dave Dombrowski about my efforts on behalf of the FCC over the past 14 years. There have been several hoaxes perpetrated: There was a hoax regarding fake anthrax (debunked) another regarding a sex-slavery operation (debunked) and several involving deliberate interference to others (all debunked). In fact, there have been so many fraudulent attempts to get me in trouble with authorities, I'll have to take a few hours and go through the thousands of emails regarding same. I've never received a Warning letter. That's a simple and blatant lie. Therefore, the "upward adjustment" of $3,500 is a sad joke on top of a sad joke. Also, Dave Dombrowski has conveniently ignored my gratis contributions to FCC in several high-profile cases, which would, in fact, justify a downward departure. Apparently Dave is in the dark, in more ways than one. Back in March, two FCC agents were sent to monitor my location on a day that I was supposed to be at home. According to the notice, they monitored for 3 hours and heard an SSTV transmission and a recording of another amateur. First, let me say, Dave Dombrowski told me he heard transmissions in the morning. I just found out this afternoon that the recordings consisted of SSTV and a recording of another amateur. Tellingly, my voice was NEVER heard! They didn't initially give me a time regarding these transmissions, nor did they indicate what they had heard. They interviewed me at approximately 1:15 PM. Presumably this was several hours after their monitoring session. At the time, I was not surprised, and I informed them it wasn't me they heard because: A) I wasn't operating in the morning. B) My radio was ice cold. C) My radio was not tuned to the frequency in question. D) My amplifier was ice cold. E) There are many other operators in my neighborhood. F) Tellingly, they never heard my voice on the air that morning. G) There is a long history of my detractors stalking my home and taking pictures. H) There's a long history of others using my call from the vicinity of my location when I'm not at home. I) Perhaps most importantly, the FBI has informed the FCC that they are aware of several hoaxes staged against me in retaliation for the Baxter/Madera cases, as well as other cases. In sum, I am quite sure the FCC heard transmissions and I'm quite sure I know where they came from. A few days after the afternoon inspection regarding the mystery transmissions in the morning, my neighbor informed me that he had seen trespassers in my yard and the yard next door. I kept a close watch and sure enough, there was a trespasser the next night. The police were called (all on record of course) and a 3 vehicle police response was the result. There were clear footprints in the snow leading to the road where the prints disappeared. The next day, those footprints were seen and followed to a tree in my neighbor's yard where a hidden dipole was left hanging in the tree. I informed the FCC about all of this and the FBI informed the FCC about the hoaxes, and what you see published by Dave Dombrowski is merely a blatant refusal to accept reality. They didn't inspect the rear of my radio equipment. If they had, they would have seen a disconnected antenna system, broken by 40 mph gusts prior to their visit. They failed to credit the numerous hoaxes; they failed to credit the FBI report; they failed to credit the fact that at *no time* was my voice heard on the air during the morning of March 14. They would have you believe their equipment can distinguish between my antenna and an antenna hanging in a neighbor's tree a few feet away. Why then, for years, have they been crying to Congress about their obsolete and decrepit equipment while begging for budget increases? They would have you believe they monitored for 3 hours... Very well, how many minutes in those 3 hours did they monitor actual transmissions? Who informed them I'd be home on a Friday morning? Who told them I'd been issued a Warning letter in the past? Whose communications were supposedly interrupted by the transmissions on March 14th? Why was my "Warning" one that was never issued or received by me? Was it perhaps written in invisible ink? Was I on double secret probation? Why do the so-called "investigators" ignore information freely offered, in my favor, by the FBI? All interesting questions, and there are many, many more, and I'm sure if we're both alive in 10 years when the matter goes to court, the answers will be even more interesting and illuminating and amusing. However, the matter will never go to court and it will never get to an Administrative Law Judge, because the only facts in evidence to support the FCC are that they parked near my home and monitored signals. The overwhelming evidence supporting my side will clear me of any wrong doing. Feel free to publish this as widely as possible, via satellite and shortwave, and I look forward to an interview discussing this and all of my in-depth knowledge of FCC practices and procedures over the past 14 years. I have quite an archive of communications between myself and the FCC and I'm sure your audience would appreciate an in-depth view of matters that are usually outside of the public view. Best wishes and keep up the great work you do! (Brian Crow, July 22, WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. VIETNAME, 5925, R. Voz do Vietname, Xuan Mai, 2213-2223, 17/7, vietnamita, texto; 35332. 6020, R. Voz do Vietname (?), Buon Me Thuot, 2221-2232, 17/7, idioma não identificado (esta freq. é utilizada para difusão em várias línguas nacionais), texto; 24331. 9635.8, R. Voz do Vietnam, Son Tay, 1024-desvan. total, 1045, 21/7, vietnamita, texto; 23441, QRM do MLI. Bons DX e 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. 12005, July 19 at 0119, no signal from VOV via Woofferton; must be off the air, as other Eurafrican signals are OK on the band; however, a JBA carrier on 12005 with nothing else scheduled, so maybe a mix, overload or possibly WOF on very low power. 12005, July 20 at 0104, VOV is back on tonight via Woofferton UK with VG signal, but English so accented and stilted that I am not sure it`s really English at first (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 1550.0, *1700-1802 13/7, ALGERIA, POLISARIO FRONT (cland.), Rabouni. Anthem, prayer till 1815, tks, mx; no Castilian program 1715-1800 (absent for days). 45444 (Carlos Gonçalves, SW coast of Portugal, JRC NRD-545DSP & DRAKE R-E; Advanced Receiver amp.; raised, 4 loop K9AY, 30 m 180º/0º mini-Bev., 80 m 300º/120º Bev., 200 m 270º/90º Bev., 270 m 145º/325º Bev., 300 m 225º/45º Bev, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** YEMEN. Extended broadcasts of Radio Sana'a in Arabic for Ramazan today: 1522-1607 on 6135 ALH 050 kW / non-dir to N/ME. Five videos on July 16 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqrmSEnQmss&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcqh1F-w9w4&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_P2eiFJC2k&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L58aiesIWM0&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32_NcM0mmxk&feature=youtu.be http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/dx-re-mix-news-862.html -- 73! Ivo Ivanov (DX RE MIX NEWS #862 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 17, 2014 via DXLD) ** ZANZIBAR. TANZANIA: 11735, Radio Tanzania-Zanzibar (presumed); 2053-2059:10*, 17-July; W in Swahili? to Arabish tune; brief announcement at 2058+ into Afro-chant, then off abruptly in mid- announcement. SIO-353 (Harold Frodge, Midland MI, Drake R8B + 85 ft. RW & 180 ft. center-fed RW, All logged by my ears, on my receiver, in real time! DX LISTENING DIGEST) TANZÂNIA, 11735, Zanzibar BC, Dole, 1921-1940, 19/7, suaíli, texto, oração corânica; 44433, QRM do B, até às 2000. Bons DX e 73 (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. SWRA SHORTWAVE BROADCASTS TO END Gerry Jackson, SW Radio Africa, 17th July 2014 It is with regret that SW Radio Africa announces that after 13 years, our shortwave broadcasts are to end on Friday 18th July. You have welcomed us into your homes since our first shortwave broadcast on 19th December 2001. Our broadcasts will continue on our website, via Channel Zim through TV decoders, and by various other forms of new media. More at : http://www.swradioafrica.com/2014/07/17/swra-shortwave-broadcasts-to-end/ (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, July 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: SW Radio Africa, July 17, 2014 It is with regret that SW Radio Africa announces that after 13 years, our shortwave broadcasts are to end on Friday 18th July. You have welcomed us into your homes since our first shortwave broadcast on 19th December 2001. Our broadcasts will continue on our website, via Channel Zim through TV decoders, and by various other forms of new media. We know how much these shortwave broadcasts have meant to our listeners in more remote areas who have so little access to news and information, and we sincerely regret that we will no longer be able to provide this service. We would like to thank our listeners who have been such loyal supporters for so many years and also for their willingness to share the stories of their lives with us on our Callback program. This has allowed people all over the world to have a better understanding of the many crises that Zimbabweans continue to face. We can only hope that one day, sooner rather than later, there is real media freedom that allows Zimbabweans, wherever they are in the country, easy access to what is a basic human right – freedom of information and expression (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Was 1700-1800 UT M-F on 4880, 100 kW, 5 degrees via SOUTH AFRICA (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Last shortwave broadcast of SW Radio Africa on Fri, July 18: 1700-1800 on 4880 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg to SoAf English Mon-Fri. Videos: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/sw-radio-africa-to-end-shortwave-on.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DXLD) I suppose these are historical documents, but there is little but noise to be heard until the very end, the BaBcoCk themesong (gh, DXLD) U.K.(non), Last shortwave broadcast of SW Radio Africa on Fri, July 18: 1700-1800 on 4880 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg to SoAf English Mon-Fri. Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIOP_uUQnUs&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9hhwWz4Rw8&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEGRueb_1qs&feature=youtu.be (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Searching for the latest schedule of Radio Dialogue, I find none, not even on their website/facebook site. Does anybody know, whether the programme is still on the air? With the end of Radio VoP in 2013 and the recent closure of SW Radio Africa on short wave, VoA's Studio 7 may be the only special programme for Zimbabwe left (Dr. Hansjoerg Biener, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Has not been reported in a long time, maybe not even this year. It had been at 16-17 UT on 12105 via Madagascar, so with WTWW off before 1700, it should be easy to hear at least in Europe, if it`s still on. HFCC A-14 has an entry but labeled as OLD-A13: 12105 1600 1700 53SW,57NE MDC 250 265 -15 158 1234567 300314 251014 D 12771 Sna MDG NEW MGB 4681 OLD-A13 Aoki still has it too, allegedly as A-14: 12105 Radio Dialogue 1600-1658 1234567 English/Shona/Ndebele 250 265 Talata-Volonondry MDG 1843S 04737E ZCR a14 MGB But EiBi has dropped it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Confirming nothing heard from Radio Dialogue on 12105, July 22 at 1600-1615. I guess I could be regarded as not far from the target area. Regards, (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bill, I guess at this afternoon time 16-17 UT downunder winter season, the skipzone from MDG for 12 MHz ends behind Johannesbourg your location. 73 wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Checked 12105 at 1615 and nice African music was heard with announcements. No doubt Dialogue. However, no ID was heard during my short check. Kind Regards (Erik Køie, Holte/Copenhagen, Denmark, ibid.) I'm hearing a station now (Tuesday 22 July on 12105 kHz at 1630 UT in local language which I presume is R Dialogue). Playing music and also discussion by man in studio with another on the phone. Waiting on an ID. By the way, just for the record, from my logbook I had previously logged R Dialogue on 28 June 2014 (12105 kHz at 1600 UT as usual). (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, ibid.) MADAGASCAR, 12105.000, Probably still from MDG relay site, noted in 1628 to 1630 UT July 22 slot here in southern Germany. Listen to 3 minute duration recording. Station ID - probably - was read VERY FAST, I couldn't understand either. S=9+10dB or -73.4dBm strength. listen to MP3 recording. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) Seems to be with a SAH; wonder if WTWW carrier already on; or jamming? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) I'm hearing Radio Dialogue right now (July 22 at 1643 UT) on 12105 kHz, phone-in programme in local language and music. The signal is good but the modulation seems to be low/fluctuating (Tudor Vedeanu, Gura Humorului, Romania, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, definitely Radio Dialogue - man in studio talking (as Wolfy says) very fast, and a couple of mentions of Radio Dialogue, but hiccup and you'll miss them! Audio cut at 1658 UT. TX off 1700 (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, ibid.) I also heard R. Dialogue, 1640 UT on 12105 on July 22, plus strong additional unmodulated carrier for OTH Radar after 1700/1730 UT. Two videos OTH Radar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpQsdrmXe0g&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvQM4tQ6bR8&feature=youtu.be UNIDentified unmodulated carrier is on air only at times over Radio Dialogue. 1600-1700 on 12105 MDC 250 kW / 265 deg to ZWE English/Shona/Ndebele. Videos http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/unidentified-unmodulated-carrier-over.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Equipment: Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. VOA relay on 1550 --- I have tried to get a TOH ID on a station on 1550 that is relaying VOA programming in what sounds to me like a southeast Asian language. My AM DX log doesn't ID anyone with this programming. There was a clear VOA ID at 0705 this morning. I'm still hearing it quite well at 1240 EDT. Any ideas? (Rick, Hendersonville, NC, Robinson, W4DST, July 18, IRCA via DXLD) Rick, Can you find a shortwave parallel? That you're getting it during midday eliminates skywave reception, so it makes we wonder if you're getting a shortwave mixing product. VOA's Greenville transmitter site isn't too far from you. VOA is not allowed to broadcast domestically (though obviously DXers find ways to listen to its programs). (Jim Renfrew, NY, ibid.) Greenville does not broadcast in any SE Asian language. Was the ID at 0705 (EDT?) in English? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Sure sd/lk a spur to me. Try a couple of different radios. 73 KAZ (Neil Kazaross, IL/WI, IRCA via DXLD) I assume he means image (receiver-produced) rather than spur (transmitter-produced). This is a very important distinxion! (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Nothing but Spanish (R. Martí) out of Greenville at that time (Dan Ferguson, IRCA via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4790-, July 18 circa 0600 and again at 1030 check, open carrier slightly on the lo side, vs CODAR swishes; also with some hum. Suspect R. Visión, Chiclayo, Perú, Aoki-listed as 500 watts, 24 hours, known to have transmission problems. But nothing much else audible from S America. Not the other 4790, R. Nueva Atlántida, Iquitos, which is long-defunct but still in Aoki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 14-29, 5965: Thanks for the following feedback: From Dan Sheedy (Southern Calif.) July 16 – “yup, heard here as well this morning 1130+; even gumming up CRI-5965 *1400..the noise doesn't sound quite like the NK version on 6003/6015/6135 but that probably doesn't mean much.” From Mauno Ritola (Finland) July 17 – “Yes, jamming there already at 1030, but no other carrier present except MLA. Strange. Maybe it spreads all the way from 6003 kHz jammer?” Appreciate receiving their comments and observations (Ron Howard, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5964.701 kHz footprint, RTM Klassik Kajang MLA transmission at 1630 UT on July 19, S=7-8 or -78dBm signal into southern Germany target. Rather Turk folks language melody like smooth song heard in 1634-1638 UT slot. At 1640:10 UT another - stronger - carrier came on air on even 5965.0 for few seconds. I guess a TX-/antenna-ready check of Yamata or Beijing txing site, who use this channel later at nighttime (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 19, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. HELP NEEDED PLEASE! Perhaps our US friends can help me with my log entry below??? 6185, Spanish speaker at 1100 with possibly news then into music (sounded sort-of Mexican in style) at 1115. More talk at 1118. Is this XEPPM R. Educacion at an unscheduled time (its usual is around s/off 0500 approx. isn't it?) or something else? Weak under China Huayi and faded by 1145. Also monitored on the Lexington Kentucky remote receiver where the signal was a tiny bit stronger (and in the clear with no Chinese QRM). Cheers, (Rob VK3BVW Wagner, July 17, ARDXC mailing list via DXLD) Rob, Can`t be positive, but XEPPM schedule is somewhat flexible (they are really on the air in the daytime/afternoons at least), and if it was definitely in Spanish on 6185 I don`t see how it could be anything else. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Thanks Glenn. My thoughts also. It faded out around the right time for a Mexican into Mount Evelyn. Nothing heard the following evening. We used to hear this regularly years back. But these days, with it finishing somewhere between 05 and 06 UT, it rarely appears here (Rob Wagner, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 6925-USB, July 19 at 0127, JBA signal presumed pirate. Several unID reports here but one says it`s Lode Radio Hour: http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,17729.0.html 6945-AM, July 19 at 0127, JBA music, presumed pirate. No logs of this at hfunderground or freeradiocafe. Both gone at 0144 recheck here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7661-AM, July 22 at 0541, big open carrier, steady but with lite fading. Could be a broadcaster or a utility (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Drm interference on 9350, on top of WWCR just prior to 0000. Sometimes it starts up as early as 2230. It is sporadic, not every night. Completely obliterates WWCR and I'm only 250 miles away. WWCR has been contacted (Lou kf4rca, Atlanta, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Are you sure it`s DRM? It would take an awful lot to obliterate that WWCR signal here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. On 9730 at 0630 July 23 there was a very strong DRM transmission - even stronger than I usually hear the DRM signal from Spain on 9780. Meanwhile the DRM(?) sounding noise on 13670 appears to have ceased (Noel R. Green, NW England, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also hearing the DRM signal on 9730 around 0345 UC (24 July UT). Receiving Frame Sync so seems to be valid DRM signal but S/N is too low and lots of fading so no ID displayed or audio. It was gone when I checked back at 0425 (Bob LaRose, San Diego, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Could it be rather WHITE NOISE digital jamming stn from China mainland? Aoki Nagoya JPN list shows: 9730,024 * SOH relay R. FREE ASIA 2330-1400 UT Chinese/RFA 0.1 ND TWN SOH a14 from July 18- marked * asterix = jammed channel. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) This was, DRM Wolfy - and not heard today (24th) around same time. The signal was about 30dB over 9 and far too strong for anything from China at 0630+UTC. No CNR's or CRI's audible with me on 9 MHz at that time currently. Reception by Bob LaRose could have been jamming - but he seems to think not (Noel R. Green (NW England), ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. 13570, July 17 at 0120, JBA carrier seems with music; certainly not WINB long gone from here; could be 2 x 6785 if a pirate like Old Time Radio be there, but not so heard; or some mixing product; or overload (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [and non]. Some nice signals on 22 meters tonight. Wonder who is running the strong open carrier on 13580 around 0400 July 21? Still there past 0520. Not local source, as there is ionospheric fading. Perhaps MGLOB on way too early for the BBCWS transmission at 0600? Elsewhere on 22m very good signal from IRIB Iran in Russian on 13590 at 0500. Also RFI in French at the same time very good on 13695, and North Korea in Spanish also good on 13760 with typical military chorus around 0505. Radio Australia also decent on 13630, but not quite as good as 15300 (Steve Luce, Houston, Texas, 0536 UT July 21, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) re 13580 kHz: Maybe China mainland parked a jamming tx equipment here for few hours a day, signal came across Alaska-Pacific path into Bush- land? Often are the jamming stations as standby units on extended hours on air, against western English language programs, or against SOH intelligence Taiwan services. see Aoki Nagoya list 13580 chennel is marked as by asterix * like: 13580 * BBC 0600-0800 1234567 English 250 315 Talata-Volonondry MDG BBC a14. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. DRM on 13670 at 0610 UT. Who might this be? Too weak for decoding. 73, Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, UT July 20, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Rather white noise 24hrs CHN mainland digital jamming on that channel? 73 wolfgang (Büschel, ibid.) 13670 drm: Thanks, Wolfy! I kind of suspected that to be the case! 73, (Walt Salmaniw, ibid.) I had heard this too, mentioned in connexion with absence of DRM from NZ. Only thing scheduled per Aoki is: ``13670 PBS Xinjiang 0200-0730 1234567 Uighur 100 230 Urumqi TKS 4408N 08653E XJBS a14``. BTW, the typhoon in Hainan could have knocked out some jammers and regular broadcast antennas. Anything missing from there? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) UNIDentified. Station in African language like a Hausa was noted on July 22, 1800 on 15235, after end of broadcast of Channel Africa in English. Video: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2014/07/unidentified-station-in-african-language.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, QTH: Sofia, Bulgaria, Equipment: Sony ICF-2001D 30 m. long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ivo, At the risk of being shot down again like last night, nothing at all heard on 15235 tonight (July 23) after Channel Africa went off at 1754*. Checked until 1810. Am I once again the only DXLD member not hearing it? Regards, (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Bill, Yes, nothing at all heard on 15235 on July 23, after Channel Africa went off at 1754. UNIDentified. Station in African language like Hausa was noted on July 22, 1800 on 15235, after end of broadcast of Channel Africa in English. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOa-IH5uoEo&feature=youtu.be Nothing on July 23 (DX RE MIX NEWS #863 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, July 23, 2014 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re: "1601 on 92.9, two guys with car race coverage ..... ideas?" (gh) WZGC Atlanta perhaps; all sports as "92.9 the Game" (GREG HARDISON, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Greg, Tnx. That looks like a good possibility (Glenn to Greg, ibid.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ No one new to thank this week on WORLD OF RADIO; contributions may be via PayPal, not necessarily in US funds, to woradio at yahoo.com or by check or MO in US funds, please on a US bank to: World of Radio, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 (Glenn Hauser, WOR 1731) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ OFFICIAL FCC INFO AND COMMERCIAL SITES` VERSIONS OF IT Re: I noticed the CP on Radio Locator but accuracy and being current isn't their forte' (Todd Skaine, ABDX via DXLD) ...sigh... Once more, with feeling: The technical data that appears on Radio-Locator *is* the accurate, current data from the FCC, as of the daily database dump that the FCC provides. The only thing R-L adds on its own, at least for US stations, is to link the callsign to a slogan, format and website listing that comes from R-L's own data. Because of a well-known quirk in the way R-L constructs its database (linking to callsign rather than facility ID number and not breaking those links when a callsign changes), the format and website information can be squirrely at times on R-L. That very same FCC data that appears on Radio-Locator also appears on several other sites that serve as privately-run front ends to the FCC database. Those include FCCInfo.com (my favorite) and http://cdbs.recnet.net:8080/fmq.php? which is the RECNet version of the database, and is also quite useful. For US stations, whatever data you see should be consistent and fairly timely (within 24 hours) across any of those sites, as well as several others that mine FCC data. As for the KMZQ CP: Think of a CP as "you may," not "you must." In most situations, the CP says "you may construct a facility with these parameters, and may begin operating it under automatic program test authority." At some point before the CP expires, the station has to file an application for a "license to cover," which is the full and final authorization for those new facilities as specified in the CP. BUT - and it's a big but - as long as the CP is valid, the station can begin operating under those new facilities long before it files for a license to cover. There are stations that have operated under a CP without a covering license for years, in some cases. That's why R-L is actually quite smart to list CP facilities with the notation "the station may be operating with these new facilities:" It's not R-L's fault. They are as accurate and current (at least on that part of their data) as the FCC's database system allows them to be. KMZQ, at least for now, holds authority to operate with either the 30 kW day facility licensed in 2009, or the 25 kW day facility for which it received a CP in 2013. Until such time as it files for a license to cover against the 25 kW CP, or until the CP expires, the only way to know with certainty which power level KMZQ is using is to ask them. Does that make sense? s (Scott Fybush, NY, ABDX via DXLD) It made sense to me. Unless I have heard it myself or from another DXer, I will always question an online database (Todd Skaine, ibid.) Respectfully, I'd submit that that's not really the right attitude, either. The FCC's CDBS database *is* the governing authority for what's licensed and permitted in the US. Any online database that draws on CDBS data and retrieves it daily (and yes, that includes Radio- Locator) can therefore be depended on as an accurate list of what's authorized. If R-L says that KMZQ is licensed with 30 kW and has a CP for 25 kW, then KMZQ has a license for 30 kW and a CP for 25 kW. What, exactly, is there to question about that? Now, understand that what's authorized isn't always what's actually on. Stations sometimes operate at variance with what the FCC has authorized. In an ideal world, the FCC catches all of those variances and cracks down on them. This is not an ideal world. s (Fybush, ibid.) FACEBOOK PROS and CONS I am not on Facebook, and am free of the everchanging privacy issues that it presents. Nor do I feel like I am missing a thing by not being there (Mike Hawkins, old, cynical and malware-free, IRCA via DXLD) Many DXers tend to "go dormant" this time of the year. Certainly here in the northeast US, lightning has a lot to do with it. Some just shut down their activities even though some good DX can still be enjoyed during dry high-pressure weather when static-causing storms are pushed at least 500 miles out of the way on bearings of DX interest. Some of us take advantage of this time of year in terms of the sunset / sunrise terminator tending to put DX from below the equator more in the forefront. Here in the east we're talking Brazil and maybe even Argentina, at least for those close enough to the seashore. I've reported some of these from here on Cape Cod. Brett Saylor's recent trip to Cape Hatteras, NC produced decent Brazilian activity as well. Deep Africans should also be part of the plan but, other than VOA Sao Tome (1530), there aren't that many decent-power stations from sub-equatorial Africa anymore now that everyone's going to FM, satellite, and webcasting. Up in Newfoundland, Allen Willie is continuing to knock 'em dead just as Gary and Chuck are doing out in Oregon. Short story: There is no substitute for being right on the ocean ... especially at this time of year. In autumn / winter, big Europeans can get several hundred miles inland at least to the Great Lakes area and the major Japanese make it as far east as Oklahoma pretty often. But in late spring / summer, when we're concentrating on trans-equatorial long-hauls (5000+ miles), you really have to be at a site where you smell salt spray and hear seagulls. As far as Facebook goes, I am aware of some of the privacy concerns. You have to be careful of security settings, whom you choose as "friends", and what you post. Consider that, one way or another, anything posted can become public even if you thought otherwise. If you've just downed a six-pack, not only should you not be driving but you shouldn't be posting on social media either. I do use Facebook (at times) since it brings the ability to communicate many interests to many people. You can also communicate with companies you patronize as well as with its other customers. Of course DX, the broadcasting business, ham radio, and electronics design are high on my interest list. This IRCA reflector and a few other e-mail lists and Yahoogroups do a fair to good job covering those. But I also enjoy talking about music, travel, photography, language / dialect study, architecture, cars, trains, TV, '50s/'60s nostalgia (diners, drive-ins, jukeboxes, and so on), gardening / botany, weather, sports, tools / d-i-y, and history (local, WW2, etc.) - among other things. Understandably a list such as IRCA or NRC is not going to accommodate lengthy "off topic" discussions about coffee or public transit or spy novels. DXpedition reports (Newfie, PEI, Grayland, Haida Gwaii, Rockworks, etc.) have always had a bits of "human interest" narrative beyond the raw loggings and technical details. But those have always been just a little spice to make the report a bit more readable rather than just having the dry details. You couldn't, on the other hand, go into great detail about salmon dinners and white wine you enjoyed and then a quick blurb "Oh yeah, we heard some DX too." Facebook, on the other hand, often provides varied insights into people you know from hobbies, work, school, family, etc. Sometimes Facebook "friends" from different spheres of one's life read about a formerly-unknown common interest and wind up gaining useful new connections possibly even leading to professional advancement. Sometimes a person I know quite well for one particular interest turns out to have other interests that are equally (or more) valuable to my exploration of knowledge. Some examples include: Local DXer Bruce Conti also happens to be a serious bird photographer. Boston Radio Interest Group member Kevin Vahey is also (perhaps) the biggest Red Sox fan and basically a sports encyclopedia. Shortwave / ham guru Skip Arey is also a huge fan of Celtic music. He and I have had several Facebook chats about the merits of singers such as Maddy Prior and Sandy Denny. There are numerous special-interest groups on there including, of course, the NRC, IRCA, and Medium Wave Circle ones. Paul Walker's transmitter sites group is worth mentioning. Some of these groups have greater participation and enthusiasm levels than some of the older-school radio-related e-mail reflectors / Yahoogroups. The ability to include photographs is a big selling point. Of course I'm on those DX groups but, among other things, I'm also on several for plant identification, a couple for my favorite singer (Helen Shapiro), one about the '64/'65 NY World's Fair, a WJIB/WJTO fan page (where users often post oldies music selections from YouTube), and several about my old hometown of Arlington, MA. These are just some. There are often links to full-length books and archived magazines (on many topics) in PDF files you can save to your local drive. I don't know where else on the internet I could have this sort of "one stop shopping" at low / no cost for a wide variety of interests and how I could otherwise connect with as many resources of information as well as enabling others from different spheres of my life to make similar connections, often to those of whom they had no previous knowledge (at least within a particular interest domain). A downside, beside privacy concerns, is simply "too much information" - once you get above 100-or-so "friends", even a few hours of aggregate newfeed activity can take a substantial amount of time to read and process. You are mining for about 5 to 10 percent "gold nuggets" out of the remaining slurry of irrelevant "here's a crummy out-of-focus picture of my cute kitty" and the inevitable political / religious axe-grinding. If you're off Facebook for a few days, many potentially useful newsfeed items have been shoved so far down the line at that point that you are likely never to see them unless you look at specific "friends" known to post quality items. This is definitely a case of exercising moderation. If you're blowing away several hours daily in front of your computer, you could be ignoring necessary / desirable in-person interactions, errands, exercise, work, prayer, proper diet, sleep, and - yes - actual DXing. I have at times deactivated my account. Sometimes, despite the attraction of such an "information shopping mall", you just have to give it a rest. Off soapbox (Mark Connelly, WA1ION, South Yarmouth, MA, IRCA via DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ DX TESTS Brandon Jordan - PO Box 338 - Rossville TN 38066 E-mail: bdjorda @ gmail.com Brandon Jordan is our new DX Tests co-ordinator, working for both IRCA and NRC. He has established the above PO Box/email for correspondence. He is also available at 901-592-9847 or FAX: 866-240-4221. Brandon has registered dxtests.net url and will be working on getting a Wordpress blog set up there in preparation for the upcoming season. He is also anticipating former DX Test workers to be assisting him in his efforts. In addition, he is also considering arranging DX tests on SW stations. DX Tests are ?arranged? with various AM stations across the US and Canada. A DX Test broadcast would most likely be conducted sometime in the overnight hours, between midnight and 6:00 am typically just after midnight, or just prior to 6 am. These are the best hours for an AM station to skip to distant locations. DX Test broadcasts used to be popular during the early days of AM radio, and they continue to this day. When done overnight, they?re perfectly within FCC regulations, as is broadcasting with full authorized power under the "Experimental Hours" rules of 47CFR73.72. In fact, stations have often combined DX Tests with needed maintenance work or proof-of-performance testing, and engineers have often told us that the reception reports they received indicated the quality and strength of their signal, and gave them an opportunity to see how far it travels under varying conditions. Tests typically consist of tones and easily identifiable music such as marches, polkas or anything else you might classify as eclectic. This kind of material really cuts through the interference and makes a station easily recognizable. Morse code identifications using a 1000 Hz modulated tone are also widely used. Recordings for broadcast during a DX Test can be provided by our committee. Please join us in welcoming Brandon on-board for the next DX season. We anticipate hearing from him often (Phil Bytheway, IRCA President / Goodie Factory, Seattle WA, Drake R-7 / KIWA Loop, 17 July, IRCA via DXLD) DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ NEW ZEALAND [and non]. Oregon Cliff (Rockwork 4) Ultralight DU's for 7-16 Hello All, It was a pleasure to welcome noted DXpeditioner Chuck Hutton to the humble Highway 101 turnoff this morning-- possibly for the psychological assurance that somebody else was also fanatical enough to chase DX on the side of an ocean side cliff on busy Highway 101 at 0400 local time (actually, Bill was there before me, at around 0300, to set up his small flag antenna). So with the reassurance that both of us were indeed halfway normal, we proceeded to chase Kiwi DX in both an "Apples and Oranges" setup (Perseus SDR + Flag antenna, and PL-380 Ultralight Radio + FSL antenna). Fortunately Chuck encountered the same New Zealand-slanted propagation that I have been experiencing for the past 3 days (which happens often at Rockwork 4, but which is particularly intense this week). We both DXed independently, so the report below contains only the Ultralight + FSL highlights of the session. Once again it was primarily an all-Kiwi session, with S/N pegging signals from 531-PI, 567-RNZ and 657- Southern Star. At the 1115 UTC start time New Zealand stations were already on the warpath, with 531-PI leading the charge at an S-9 level. Signals continued to improve until the peak sunrise enhancement from 1230-1300, including the strongest signals ever received from 567-RNZ and 657-Southern Star. Despite multiple searches the Australians seemed to be back in hibernation, with the intense Kiwis totally shutting them out on all the low band frequencies. Around 1256 UTC a fairly decent carrier finally showed up on 576, and I figured that the Aussie big gun 2RN was finally making its first appearance this week. When tuning in, however, I heard a fairly weak station with a solemn DU voice reading something (or maybe preaching), backed up by a two-tone organ -- with apparent mentions of "the Lord" at :54 and :57 into the MP3 recording. Because this format doesn't sound at all like the Aussie big gun 2RN, it makes me wonder whether the intense Kiwi propagation delivered a very rare New Zealand station apparently never before heard on the west coast-- the 2.5 kW The Word / Bible Radio in Hamilton. The only Aussie to make it through the twisted propagation was the Brisbane big gun 1116-4BC, which somehow managed to deliver a vibrant signal around 1247. Chuck and I wrapped up DXing around 1330, and plan to hit the Rockwork 4 cliff again very early on Thursday morning. 531 PI Auckland, NZ (5 kW) Another day, another thunderous PI recording-- so what else is new? http://www.mediafire.com/listen/er60cl7pivjaj02/531-PI-1217z071614PL380.MP3 567 RNZ Wellington, NZ (50 kW) Monster signal from the Kiwi big gun pegging the PL-380 S/N with news at 1302; this was the strongest signal it's managed during any of the ocean cliff DXpeditions http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ei3fcu7fmpm7bs2/567-RNZ-1302z071614PL380.MP3 576 UnID-DU Weak DU English speech with apparent religious format-- possibly the 2.5 kW New Zealand station? (headphones required) http://www.mediafire.com/listen/glgibkqqw67x72w/576-UnID-DU-1256z071614PL380.MP3 603 Radio Waatea Auckland, NZ (5 kW) The standard late-night Maori male announcer showing up on 585-603-765 http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ikesbfefho6h1yl/603-R.Waatea-1234z071614PL380.MP3 657 Southern Star Wellington, NZ (50/ 10 kW) Huge signal at 1224 with Christian hymns and female DU speech http://www.mediafire.com/listen/y51tg4z4m9g22zb/657-SouthernStar-1224z071614PL380.MP3 783 Access Radio Wellington, NZ (10 kW) Temporarily vibrant with pop music at 1311 http://www.mediafire.com/listen/kx3l6fk73d7sfb2/783-AccessRadio-1311z071614PL380.MP3 1116 4BC Brisbane, Australia (17kW/ 6.3 kW) The sole Aussie signal managing to get through Kiwi-slanted propagation this morning, with vibrant speech around 1251 http://www.mediafire.com/listen/xsxewoew3ah7rou/1116-4BC-1251z071614PL380.MP3 Oregon Cliff (Rockwork 4) Ultralight DU's for 7-17...Wild! Hello All, Chuck and I again hit the Rockwork 4 ocean cliff around 1100 UTC this early morning, with Chuck setting up his small flag antenna for Perseus-SDR spectrum capture, and my own 15" FSL antenna and PL-380 Ultralight radio set up for independent DXing about 100 feet southeast at the same Highway 101 turnoff. Strong New Zealand propagation was again in effect throughout sunrise enhancement, although some weak Australian signals did come out of the noise way under the Kiwis. My top priority was to go after the very obscure 2.5 kW New Zealand station 576-The Word, which had apparently never been received on the North American west coast because of the Aussie big gun 2RN on the same frequency. A trace of this station showed up yesterday at the cliff, but I was out for solid evidence. My luck held up as the twisted Kiwi propagation prevailed for yet another morning, providing solid reception of DU English Bible reading on 576-The Word at 1246. In addition the Kiwi-slanted propagation provided the strongest MP3 yet of Chinese from the 1 kW station 936-Chinese Voice in Auckland, and in the freakish signal category, the strongest DU signal that I've ever heard (during any DXpedition) from 531-PI at 1253. Chuck and I shared notes at various times during the morning session, and it was great having an experienced DXer offering his perspective on the freakish New Zealand propagation. Rockwork 4 is definitely a unique place -- the perfect cure for any DXing boredom! 531 PI Auckland, NZ (5 kW) Freakishly strong signal with a Samoan call-in program at 1253 -- the strongest DU signal that I've ever heard http://www.mediafire.com/listen/azwdpwb6zj2x0q4/531-PI-1253z071714PL380.MP3 531 UnID Australian A big surprise-- an Australian pop music station showing up way under the nuclear-powered 531-PI at 1233. Unfortunately the Australian just didn't have the steam to get through the Kiwi- slanted propagation with any real identity clues. This was the first DU competition that 531-PI has had for 5 days at the Cliff http://www.mediafire.com/listen/7baj6r0w1y0yx7y/531-UnID-Aussie-1233z071714PL380.MP3 576 The Word Radio Hamilton, NZ (2.5 kW) Very obscure Kiwi station with fair-level Bible reading at 1246, fading into a mix with (apparently) a weak 2RN signal. Twisted Kiwi propagation provided this bizarre logging http://www.mediafire.com/listen/o38siapebaec7i8/576-TheWordRadio-1246z071714PL380.MP3 585 UnID Australian The mystery of the morning-- a weak DU English station not // with 603-R. Waatea (i.e. not the Kiwi Maori station Radio Ngati Porou) with male-female speech at 1238. Previous experience would indicate that this might be 585-2WEB ("Outback Radio"), but I have no definite clues http://www.mediafire.com/listen/sx699ey6dnss8qv/585-UnID-DU-1238z071714PL380.MP3 Apparently the same station, with weak music at 1313. If someone knows this song title, I would appreciate the information (2WEB's David Sharp is a member of our Ultralight group, and can check a song title in his log) http://www.mediafire.com/listen/7bvvjk8rpstnj18/585-UnID-DU-1313z071714PL380.MP3 603 Radio Waatea Auckland, NZ (5kW) Maori music and speech at typical strength at 1240, // 765-R.kahungunu http://www.mediafire.com/listen/o3o8n74a4730ja4/603-R.Waatea-1240z071714PL380.MP3 828 UnID-DU Female DU speech at 1303, most likely from the 2 kW NZ station Radio Trackside/ Live Sport due to freakish Kiwi propagation http://www.mediafire.com/listen/7wxyhp0fgq3dga5/837-UnID-DU-1223z071714PL380.MP3 936 Chinese Voice Auckland, NZ (1 kW) Chinese at fair level from this very low powered Kiwi station -- an apparent DX distance record for Ultralight radio reception of a 1 kW station in North America (but heard by Bill W. at a strong level previously at Grayland) http://www.mediafire.com/listen/br2t5h1q7162523/936-ChineseVoice-1204z071714PL380.MP3 73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (in Cannon Beach, OR), DXing at the Rockwork 4 ocean side cliff on Highway 101 (Tillamook Co,, OR) Tecsun PL-380 Ultralight radio + 15" DXpedition FSL antenna, irca via DXLD) Great loggings, Gary! Sure looks like there's something 'special' about the Rockworks 4 location. And it appears it'll take one heckuva wideband set-up to match what you're able to accomplish with the single-frequency, hi-Q FSL/Ultralite solution. You may well have found a very compelling situation where LIVE, single-frequency listening is still 'the only way to go!' I'm holding out hope for Chuck finding something that's close to what you're able to hear with a wideband set-up. Many of us have kinda gotten used to having huge WAV files to pore over at our leisure instead of having to either stay up all night or be truly AWAKE at sunrise to take full advantage of openings (Bill Whitacre, ibid.) Oregon Cliff (Rockwork 4) Ultralight DU's for 7-18 Hello All, Intense Kiwi propagation slacked off slightly at the Cliff this morning as a few Australian stations managed to finally show up at decent levels. The regular New Zealand blasters like 531-PI were at their normal meltdown strength, but very obscure Kiwis like 576- TheWord no longer held down their frequencies over Aussie big guns. The most interesting signal of the morning was on 558, though, as Radio Fiji One (the last surviving AM station in Fiji) made a very rare appearance over daytimer 560-KSFO's splatter. The Rockwork 4 ocean cliff featured awesome scenery at the 1100 UTC (0400 local) start time, as the half moon reflected beautifully off the smooth ocean surface 400 feet (122m) below the site. Chuck had wrapped up his two day visit yesterday, after we compared notes briefly on our DU-DXing results. He seems to have hit the peak of the Kiwi-centered DX, as this morning's results were slightly more balanced. The Kiwi big guns took quite a while before hitting their stride, with 531-PI waiting until 1225 to hit an S9 level (when Chuck was here, it was S9 well before 1200 on both days). At 1233 I noticed a strong heterodyne on pest 560-KSFO's signal, and figured that it must be a rare appearance of the Kiwi 558-Radio Sport (heard at cape Perpetua last August, for the first time). Upon tuning in, however, I heard the Polynesian choral music typical of Radio Fiji One, familiar to all DU-DXers from the now-defunct 639 kHz station. With no parallel to check or WiFi to access a web stream, the Polynesian choral music was about as much identity confirmation as I was likely to get (no other station on the frequency plays this format). It was the first time in four years that I've been able to get a decent signal from 558-Fiji, and certainly a big surprise in this Kiwi-slanted DXpedition. I wish that Chuck could have stuck around for a third day and snag it also, but he mentioned the need to catch up on sleep (something of which I am all too familiar). 531 PI Auckland, NZ (5 kW) Beautiful Samoan music at s9+ level around 1227; this station seems immune to any type of propagation drop off during the entire month of July (six days straight of S9+ signals this week) http://www.mediafire.com/listen/7wf36njma9f9v7u/531-PI-1227z071814PL380.MP3 558 Radio Fiji One Suva, Fiji (10 kW) Typical Polynesian choral music building up strength at 1233 to break free of daytimer 560-KSFO splatter; first DXpedition appearance in four years for me http://www.mediafire.com/listen/qb5t8ivirbsj7ck/558-RadioFijiOne-1233z071814PL380.MP3 576 2RN Sydney, Australia (50 kW) Aussie big gun finally managing a good signal with a female to female interview after chasing this week's obscure Kiwi overachiever 576-The Word off of the frequency http://www.mediafire.com/listen/hrf5uyuxt2d5frc/576-2RN-1241z071814PL380.MP3 603 Radio Waatea Auckland, New Zealand (5 kW) Maori rhythm music slightly underpowered this morning as the intense Kiwi propagation takes a break http://www.mediafire.com/listen/7t02pi5pnb80nv8/603-R.Waatea-1250z071814PL380.MP3 738 Radio Polynesie Mahina, Tahiti (20 kW) For Nick-- the typical meltdown signal of this station at Rockwork 4 each morning in July http://www.mediafire.com/listen/g0dz4j04pvnh9f9/738-RadioPolynesie-1244z071814PL380.MP3 891 5AN Brisbane, Australia (50 kW) Aussie LR network big gun plus one anemic DU co-channel (The Breeze?) at 1254 http://www.mediafire.com/listen/pj16fcix5um81tv/891-5ANmix-1254z071814PL380.MP3 936 Chinese Voice Auckland, NZ (1 kW) Deep-voiced male Chinese speaker (plus weak co-channel) -- late at 1315 -- maybe the answer to 603- HLSA's late night announcer? http://www.mediafire.com/listen/mc1nbxg0sqe0koc/936-ChineseVoicemix-1315z071814PL380.MP3 1008 Newstalk ZB Tauranga, NZ (10 kW) The best signal managed so far from this Kiwi station, with news and multiple ID's at 1303 http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ihx44a7epi7o2uu/1008-NewstalkZB-1303z071814PL380.MP3 Oregon Cliff (Rockwork 4) Ultralight DU's for 7-19 Hello All, Well, Nick certainly wasn't wrong about the Kiwi stations going on a romp at the ocean coast today. Several of them (594, 603, 1017 and 1386) managed their best signals of the entire week, while 1017-A3Z in Tonga finally had a late sign off around 1205, rising in and out of splatter from a Spanish domestic pest on 1020. This was the last day of the Rockwork 4 DXpedition, and it certainly seemed like one of the best. At the 1100 UTC start time it was obvious that 1017-Tonga was still on the frequency, although splatter from the 1020-Spanish pest made reception dicey. Tonga was showing up only about 20% of the time, with the usual male and female voices slowly speaking a foreign language on "island time" (bizarre pauses between sentences). I was able to make a few MP3's as the station rose above the splatter occasionally, but hopes of making a nice recording of the sign off (like Bill W.'s awesome recording at Grayland last year) were dashed as the Spanish pest went on the warpath after 1200. In any case, 1017-Tonga was the fifth DU country to be received during the DXpedition, after NZ, Australia, Tahiti and Fiji. Kiwi stations were extremely potent after 1200, with 531-PI equaling its "strongest DU signal ever" level at 1230, and both 594-NZ Rhema and 603-r.Waatea pegging the PL-380 S/N with awesome signals around 1255. The 2.5 kW Kiwi station on 1017 was potent indeed at 1241, while the Australian big guns 702-2BL and 774-3LO made their first appearances. South Australian blaster 891-5AN once again pegged the PL-380 S/N at 1313, while about 15 other Kiwis and Aussies managed audio on the wild morning. Altogether the 7-day DXpedition at the sheer ocean cliff site was one of the most thrilling experiences any DXer could possibly have, and I'm happy that Perseus-SDR DXer Chuck was able to share in the fun on a couple of days. The new 15" DXpedition FSL made DU-DXing a lot of fun, and provided a new level of sensitivity to chase even the most obscure Kiwi stations. 531 PI Auckland, NZ (5 kW) This awesome Samoan-language Kiwi station pegged the PL-380 S/N on all 7 days this week, and finished off the DXpedition with this monster signal at 1230, equaling its "strongest DU ever" level http://www.mediafire.com/listen/bpi940b1byig1eo/531-PI-1230z071914PL380.MP3 594 NZ-Rhema Timaru/ Wanagnui, NZ (5 kW/ 2 kW) Low-powered Christian network pegging the PL-380 S/N with a monster signal at 1252; this was the strongest signal ever received from this network in 10 ocean coast DXpeditions http://www.mediafire.com/listen/zvag6239o66cyb9/594-NZ.Rhema-1252z071914PL380.MP3 603 Radio Waatea Auckland, NZ (5 kW) Pegging the PL-380 S/N at 1250 with pop music and Maori ID; strongest signal from this Maori language station all week long http://www.mediafire.com/listen/6qo8rndrtzl8st8/603-R.Waatea-1258z071914PL380.MP3 792 4RN Brisbane, Australia (25 kW) First appearance all week for this RN network big gun with female interview // 567 at 1302; no sign of the Kiwi co-channel Radio Sport, which held down the frequency for most of the week http://www.mediafire.com/listen/htpkj3w3iitcq7t/792-4RN-1302z071914PL380.MP3 891 5AN Adelaide, Australia (50 kW) LR network big gun managing another huge signal with pop music and male-female interview at 1313, pegging the PL-380 S/N for the second time this week http://www.mediafire.com/listen/l3u9l8u6ugfgnwf/891-5AN-1313z071914PL380.MP3 1017 A3Z Nuku'alofa, Tonga (10 kW) The usual foreign-language male speaker rising up out of 1020 splatter at 1154 (headphones recommended) http://www.mediafire.com/listen/el5z3pufpapaf3n/1017-A3Z-1154z071914PL380.MP3 Good-level interval music and the same male speaker at 1158 before the 1020 Spanish pest reclaimed the frequency http://www.mediafire.com/listen/apvnigvqwyg0vin/1017-A3Z-1158z071914PL380.MP3 1017 Radio Sport/ Newstalk ZB Christchurch, NZ (2.5 kW) Excellent signal from this low-powered Kiwi station at 1241; female voice advertisement end end of MP3 with "right here in New Zealand" http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ftuh8lufktz38ta/1017-R.Sport-NewstalkZB-1241z071914PL380.MP3 1386 Radio Tarana Auckland, NZ (10 kW) Female-voiced Hindu music at fair-good level around 1311; best signal managed during the DXpedition http://www.mediafire.com/listen/yq91aqyr2upm943/1386-R.Tarana-1311z071914PL380.MP3 73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (back in Puyallup, WA, USA). DXing at the Rockwork 4 ocean cliff site in Tillamook Co., OR http://www.mediafire.com/view/2jtmctq7as7448o/Rockwork-Sites-003.jpg 7.5" loopstick Tecsun PL-380 Ultralight + New 15" DXpedition FSL antenna http://www.mediafire.com/view/7bkbc9rzg2koq2k/15inchDXFSL-014.jpg IRCA via DXLD) South Pacific DXing Demonstration Video -- 531-PI in Auckland, NZ Hello All, In response to several requests, on the last day of the recent Rockwork 4 ocean cliff DXpedition I recorded a demonstration video of the process of receiving an actual South Pacific DX station on the modified PL-380 + FSL combo at the cliff side location. The 1230 UTC reception time was ideal for reception of a strong signal from 531-PI, a 5 kW Samoan language station at 6,858 miles (11,035 km) distance. Although the lighting just after local sunrise wasn't exactly ideal, the entire process of reception (checking the DX station carrier strength on the ICF-2010 SSB spotting receiver, tuning the 15" FSL antenna to boost the signal on the ICF-2010, entering the DX station's frequency on the modified PL-380 and finally coupling the PL-380 to the FSL to receive a huge signal boost) is shown in the demonstration video. 531-PI's signal was S9+ at the time, and an actual English ID from the station was fortunately recorded as it boomed in on the modified PL-380. Despite what the sleep-deprived narrator says, however, the actual distance to 531-PI from the Rockwork 4 DXpedition site is actually 6,858 miles (11,035 km), NOT "over 8,000 miles." After running on limited sleep for seven days straight, it was amazing that this guy could even remember how to turn on the camcorder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITBJ31cEAH0 73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA), DXing at the Rockwork 4 ocean cliff site on Highway 101, Tillamook Co., Oregon, ibid.) Gary, Great Video!!! Thanks for showing everyone what you have to go through to hear these amazing receptions!! It was nice of 531-PI to give a Beautiful English ID while you were filming!! What are the chances of that, eh??? Good show, Gary!!! 73 (Robert S. Ross, London, Ontario CANADA, ibid.) ROCKWORK 4 DU-DXPEDITION -- SOUTH PACIFIC UNID'S AND MYSTERIES Hello All, As usual, the recent visit to the Oregon ocean cliff site resulted in a mix of definite and not-so-definite DU loggings. Most of the mysteries were related to Australian stations trying to break through the strong NZ-slanted propagation. Posted below are several MP3's of these mysteries, along with descriptions of what I can make out by myself. The 702 kHz recording is pretty strong, so anyone in NZ or Oz could probably tell me the accent of the female presenter. Any assistance would be appreciated! 531 UnID Australian In general the Oz stations on this frequency had a very rough time breaking through the heavy 531-PI signal, but in this recording at 1233z on 7-17 there is an Australian pop music station mixing with PI at a fair level, with a female presenter giving some speech from :08 until :17 into the recording. Not too much to go with, but does anyone in Oz recognize her voice? (headphones recommended) http://www.mediafire.com/listen/6226aomeihz2ek9/531-UnIDAussie-1233z071714PL380.MP3 531 UnID Australian Another Oz station trying to break through PI's hammerlock on the frequency. At 1258z on 7-16 a male-voiced presenter on an Australian station is speaking under 531-PI's Samoan male presenter. Being close to the 1300 TOH, this may have been some type of news. Does anyone in Oz recognize his voice? (headphones recommended) http://www.mediafire.com/listen/bbx02dq4d9aq55s/531-UnIDAussie-1258z071614PL380.MP3 585 UnID Australian At 1238 on 7-17 a fairly weak station was received on 585, but it was clearly not // with 603-Waatea (i.e., it was not the 2 kW Kiwi station 585-Radio Ngati Porou). This leaves only two Oz stations as real possibilities -- 585-2WEB "Outback Radio" (received three times previously on the Cliffs) or the 10 kW ABC station 7RN in Hobart, Tasmania (never before received). Both male and female presenters are giving either an interview, or news. Any suggestions from Oz? (headphones recommended) http://www.mediafire.com/listen/sx699ey6dnss8qv/585-UnID-DU-1238z071714PL380.MP3 702 UnID DU This fairly strong station at 1211 on 7-19 is obviously either the Kiwi 10 kw station Radio Live or the Aussie 50 kW big gun 2BL, but since an LR network // wasn't available at the time I couldn't confirm the ABC identity. My guess is that this is 2BL because of the complete lack of commercial advertising from the female presenter, but could someone in either NZ or Oz confirm her Aussie accent? http://www.mediafire.com/listen/d6781cbulgix8ha/702-UnID-DU-1211z071914PL380.MP3 Thanks for any assistance! 73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, July 23, IRCA via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ BDXC 40TH ANNIVERSARY TWICKENHAM MEETING - SATURDAY 2ND AUGUST Greetings from a very warm Feltham. I thought it was time for a reminder about this year's "Twickenham Summer Gathering", at the customary venue of 'The Barmy Arms' Embankment Twickenham Middlesex TW1 3DU Saturday 2nd August from 15.00 BST - late evening The main reason for the later date this year is that we are celebrating the Fortieth Anniversary of the British DX Club, which began in the late summer of 1972 as the TDXC (briefly TDC) in the town most famous for its rugby, but also the original home of what became a leading British radio club. If you haven't been to the area before, you might not know that The Barmy Arms is located alongside one of the loveliest stretches of the urban Thames in an area often called "London's Arcadia". The Barmy Arms has a fascinating history itself, not least in the name, and many distinguished names in art, politics and literature made this their home. But for music fans, this was once more of a mecca for those following the early career of such names as The Strawbs (after nearby Strawberry Hill) and even The Rolling Stones. Either on Eel Pie Island opposite - also for a long time the home of clockwork radio inventor Trevor Bayliss - or indeed at the Barmy Arms. they brought their ground- breaking music to Middlesex long before the world's radio stations ere playing their tunes! All of which makes this an ideal and very appropriate venue for a relaxed afternoon and evening of congenial conversation about radio and many other topics besides, and favourite refreshment (whether real ale. your personal tipple or soft drinks for the drivers). The Barmy Arms was also chosen because it has a large terrace with sunshades and patio heaters, which most years have served us well even when the English summer has failed to excel. However, just in case the weather should turn inclement or if it gets a little too hot, don't worry. This year, we have arranged with the pub management to have use of an indoor area of the pub, the restaurant area adjoining the terrace. This meeting will start a little earlier than in previous years, at 15.00 BST (14.00 GMT). This will allow plenty of time to roll back the years, with or without beers, and maybe talk about how much radio has changed, moved on, improved or not, since those very different days of the 1970s. It would be lovely if you could join us. Watch out for radio memorabilia if you don't spot us immediately! At about 19.00 we then aim to have the traditional meal, usually a curry, at a nearby restaurant probably in historic Church Street just a short walk from the pub. For those unable to stay, though, there is food available all afternoon and into the evening at The Barmy Arms If you do intend to stay for a meal, however, please let me know (ideally before the meeting). Twickenham is easily accessible from Central London and also Heathrow Airport, where there are coach services to many areas. Twickenham railway station is on the South West Trains network with frequent trains to and from London Waterloo and the journey taking about 20 minutes. Alternatively the London Underground district line serves nearby Richmond from where it's a short bus ride to Twickenham. Please note, however London Buses no longer accept cash, but journeys can be paid for with contactless bank cards or credit cards, or a Travelcard, Oyster card or bus pass. Sorry if this seems more like an essay than a notice, but in this very special year for BDXC, I really wanted to "upsell" the meeting and hope that we will see a few new faces, as well as those we haven't seen in a while, on the 2nd August. Don't hesitate to contact me by e-mail - mark@bdxc.org.uk or mobile (07711 616908) if you need any more information. By the way, Hampton Waterworks, about two miles from Twickenham, was the hottest place in Britain yesterday. Whether today's balmy temperatures can be sustained for another fortnight, I don't know- but at least the Thames is very handy for a quick cooling off paddle, while the Barmy will provide ample liquid refreshment! (Mark Savage, July 18, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) B-14 SEASONAL INTERNATIONAL HFCC-ASBU CONFERENCE 25-29 AUG 2014, SOFIA, BULGARIA Ventsislav Georgiev Technical Manager Spaceline Ltd, Sofia, Bulgaria Space Line Ltd. James Baucher blvd 71, Fl. 6, Office 5, 1407 Sofia , BULGARIA Phone: +359 (2) 962 50 62, Fax:+359 (2) 868 54 08 Mobile: +359 888 554 297 Web: e-mail: (hfcc website, July 15 via BC-DX 20 July via DXLD) INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING CONVENTION Discover All That IBC2014 Has In Store --- IBC is the industry's indispensable and inspirational source of new product and topical information, hard-hitting debate, world first demonstrations and sparkling networking opportunities sprinkled with valued added features that reflect and advance the changing face of media and entertainment innovation. IBC is a mind-blowing exhibition. It is a visionary conference. It is all of this and more – and you can experience it between 11 - 16 September this year. [Amsterdam] http://ems.ibc.org/q/1bnMrqfMyr5lhoTSGct/wv (via DXLD) MUSEA ++++++ VOICE OF AMERICA COVERAGE OF THE SPACE PROGRAM, IN SPANISH http://lagalenadelsur.wordpress.com/2014/07/19/mision-apolo-11-en-la-luna-45-anos-1969-2014-las-grabaciones-de-la-voz-de-america/ Los sonidos de la VOA en la Épica narración del vuelo del Apolo XI. Rescate de las grabaciones del radioaficionado argentino Luis Hondareyte en los 60s. Otros audios y testimonios. (Horacio Nigro Geolkiewsky, Montevideo, Uruguay VOA reporting Lunar landing 45 years ago tonite (via Horacio Nigro Geolkiewsky, Montevideo, Uruguay, condiglista yg, via dxldyg July 20 via DXLD) In English? It seems that VOA had a ``Cadena Espacial`` covering the space program in Spanish. This source has linx to a great many audio recordings, but the audio-icon merely leads to jpg of the icon itself rather than to any audio! Here`s the big moments: Radio Cadena Espacial Continental, Voz de América. 12ª parte. Operaciones de aproximación al descenso. Descenso: “The Eagle has landed”. [20'27] Radio Cadena Espacial Continental, Voz de América. 15ª parte. Neil Armstrong pisa el suelo lunar. A las 2:56:20 (Tiempo Coordinado Universal) del 21 de julio de 1969, Neil Armstrong pisó la Luna y pronunció su famosa frase: «Es un pequeño paso para un hombre, pero un gran salto para la humanidad» (orig.: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind” ). [19'33"] Many of the historic recordings were ``recovered`` from original reel tape, with explanation and illustrations of this process (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Glenn, Yes, indeed. VOA LA Division had a great role covering the NASA Space program, including Apollo 11. In that post in my blog I present the condensed history of the Space Staff for the Intercontinental network who was relayed in part or total by thousands of radio stations in LA via shortwaves, in those years. Details are explained on how the historical recordings on VOA coverage were made by an Argentinian ham, and only recently digitalized by other enthusiasts in Astronautics and audio engineers. It's strange you cannot open the audio tracks. I use Firefox as browser. Chrome also works OK wit the page. Anybody else can tell what happens on your respective end? 73 (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, ibid.) Horacio, The play buttons did not appear at all on IE. OK on Firefox. Tnx for an excellent historical archive (Glenn, ibid.) Glad it worked. I don't know why IE doesn't open the audios. Original files come from my account in Dropbox. Everything is standard. It's been sesquiyears (??) since I abandoned IE as a default browser. Those years in VOA's Spanish to Latam were formidable! Very professional people, several of them from my country who were popular before entering that international broadcaster. We'll never forget their voices. Their charisma. 73 agn (HAN, ibid.) ABU MEMBERS OFFERED 50TH ANNIVERSARY RADIO DOCUMENTARY ABU Weekly News Digest 18 July 2014 ABU members are being offered a free radio documentary marking the 50th Anniversary of the Union. The 30-minute documentary has been produced by Tracee Hutchison and Nadia Hume of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It features interviews and audio excerpts from ABU pioneers such as the Union’s longest serving General-Secretary and ABU historian Hugh Leonard, its inaugural Secretary-General Sir Charles Moses and the late NHK President Mr Yoshinori Maeda, as well as looking at present- day challenges through the eyes of the current Secretary-General Dr Javad Mottaghi and the immediate past President Mr Gil Hwan-Young. Ms Hutchison said the early recordings “set a wonderfully rich and inspiring benchmark for our documentary and set the tone for the approach we took to try and do justice to the many and varied stakeholders in the ABU story”. “It tells of harmonious collaborations and altruistic and unifying intentions for the greater good of the Asia-Pacific region,” she added. “The ABU is one of those rare beasts we love so much in the media – it’s a good news story!” The package includes the full 30-minute documentary, an episodic version of the documentary, scripts and text copy for use by broadcasters, including a full English transcript of the program, ABU archival images from 1964 in a zip file and images of the program creators Tracee Hutchison and Nadia Hume. Dr Mottaghi said he hoped ABU members would take advantage of the offer and broadcast what was a very professional and enthralling documentary. “Just to hear the voices of those early pioneers is a thrill in itself,” he said. A television documentary marking the ABU’s 50th Anniversary is has been produced by NHK in Japan. The ABC had also produced a 50th Anniversary web story, which can be found here: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/onairhighlights/close-ties-united-voices-broadcasting-in-the-asia-pacific-over-50-years/1322540 (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See CUBA; MEXICO; OKLAHOMA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See BRAZIL; EGYPT; GREECE; INDIA; NEW ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ZEALAND; UK; UNIDs 9350 9730 13670 RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ RF INTERFERENCE FROM LIGHTING What type of "local interference" are you getting on some of the weak channels? Is it from local FM, VHF TV, or broadcasts above 108 MHz? Or is it from electrical sources? The commercial grade (FCC Class A) electronic ballasts used on fluorescent, LED & halogen lighting actually "broadcast" or radiate RFI over a fairly large spectrum. The RFI from the electronic ballasts and LED lights will appear as "white noise" on the FM band because they actually radiate radio signals over a broad part of the spectrum. Some local businesses have installed new fluorescent or LED lighting and it will radiate out 50 to nearly 100 feet from what I have noticed while listening to FM & AM radio in the car. There are FCC Class B Residential or Consumer rated ballasts which are filtered or shielded to eliminate interference to wireless devices such as Wifi, cell phones, portable phones, radio (AM & FM) and TV (especially VHF). If you are getting interference that appears to cover up weaker signals, it might be from these electronic ballasts or LED radiators of RFI. The electronic ballast radiated "white noise" could be coming from a neighbor's house. It could also be generated by a power supply, electric motor, water pump, etc. If the interference is being generated by a neighbor, the local FCC field office can be called in to eliminate the interference source to a "fixed radio receiver" in your home (Bob Seaman, WTFDA via DXLD) LIVE DXING vs POST-MONITORING I am a firm believer in "both kinds of DX": live and after-the-fact capture analysis. Whenever possible you should use a mix of the old- school and new-school methods. Advantages of live DXing: * You can use webstream, remote-receiver, and shortwave parallels. * You can use high-Q tuned antennas rather than broadband. In two situations this is the way to go. One would be when you have very weak signal conditions and not enough space for a broadband antenna of sufficient sensitivity. The other would be when you are in an urban situation where any broadband antenna of sufficient gain to hear DX is going to present locals at such high levels that the receiver will create spurious signals. * You can use a phasing unit to target the specific "pest" affecting the frequency on which you're actively DXing at the time. It takes a very good antenna system (e.g. physically-large array) to deliver much better than a 25 dB null in a broadband sense. But narrow bandwidth nulls of better than 40 dB are easily had with a Quantum Phaser (or similar) and a pair of different-pick-up antennas (e.g. loop vs. whip, loops at right angle), or with two similar-pick-up antennas spaced at least 50m / 164 ft. apart. Advantage of after-the-fact capture analysis (Perseus, Excalibur, etc.) * During a "hot" opening, a single top-of-hour capture gets you a whole medium-wave band worth of ID's. This would take much more time to accomplish with live DX sessions. Optimum conditions may have gone away by the time you're even halfway through the band doing it live. At US/Canada East Coast beach sites around local sunset, two top-of-hour captures (+/- 3 min.) can get you an amazing amount of choice DX. Same is true for West Coast around local dawn. And, if it's auroral, admittedly a fairly rare occurrence in recent years, you'll be busy all night on tops-of-hour as well as on the half-hours for the Venezuelans. * You can repeatedly replay a given target, trying AM, synchro AM, USB, and LSB modes; various IF bandwidths; notch filters et al. On live DXing you have less time to figure out the optimum receiver settings. Since you typically won't have webstreams and shortwave to assist you on after-the-fact analysis of medium wave capture files, use the periods BETWEEN the tops-of-hour (:00+/-3) and bottoms-of-hour (:30+/-2) captures to do live DX, making sure to avail yourself of things that are only feasible when DXing the old-school way. You can still have TotalRecorder (or your other favorite audio recording tool) running during the live DX activity since you won't want proof of a breathtakingly rare catch passing you by. What you find out during the between-captures live DX will feed into antenna-aiming etc. decisions you may want to make before the next capture session. When I'm in the car at the seashore, I usually start with the roof-top cardioid-pattern antenna nulling towards NYC (255 deg.) but I may later take a crack at things with the antenna null aimed 345 deg. to take Boston and Montreal down instead. Or I'll re-position somewhere between those two bearings to affect maximum reduction of the Lakes area (Buffalo / Toronto / Cleveland / Detroit / Chicago) instead. The between-captures live listening is often the thing that dictates what the most productive nulling / antenna-aiming strategy will be (Mark Connelly, WA1ION, South Yarmouth, MA, IRCA via DXLD) IS RADIO MOBILE? Amazing (to me) article in Radio World magazine today. http://www.radioworld.com/printarticle.aspx?articleid=271316 Apparently, lots of people in their 20's and 30's don't understand that they can access radio outside of their cars anymore. Increasingly, they consider radio a medium that works in their cars -- and don't realize that portable or even fixed radios inside the home are an option anymore. For someone who grew up listening to baseball on a transistor radio under his pillow, and hiding earphones in the spines of books during class at school -- this is nothing short of amazing to me. Then again, I've noticed that none of the young people who work for me wear watches either. The "phone" is all to them (Les Rayburn, WTFDA, ABDX via DXLD) Viz.: Is Radio ``Portable`` Anymore? Leslie Stimson, 07/16/2014 While Baby Boomers grew up listening to transistor radios, the youth of today have not, leading to their perception that the medium isn't portable. Even if they want to listen to radio outside the car, they don't know how. That's why consumers age 20 to 39 believe they have little access to radio outside their cars, and turn to other sources of audio entertainment when not driving, according to a study from Coleman Insights conducted in cooperation with Emmis Communications. When exposed to, and after using the Emmis-backed NextRadio app, these same smartphone users said they believe NextRadio would make radio mobile, allowing them to listen while they do other things, according to the NAB-funded research. Coleman Insights President/Chief Operating Officer Warren Kurtzman, along with Coleman's knowDigital Division President Sam Milkman, conducted interviews with 31 Chicago consumers. The market was chosen because stations in that market have populated the NextRadio platform with content. "The idea that radio isn't mobile is striking," said Kurtzman, "That is, however, the perception among many consumers in their 20s and 30s and it appears that NextRadio has a great opportunity to address that challenge." "It's radio on your phone," says Kurtzman, who adds that based on the findings, Coleman recommends a promotional campaign should be built around this premise and shared with all participating NextRadio stations. While other benefits, such as lacking a data plan impact and minimal battery impact are also important, they will have little value unless NextRadio is first seen as a source of portability, he adds. View a streaming _video presentation_ of the study's findings --- the respondents were roughly evenly divided between men and women. Some 50% were mobile streaming users and 50% were not. There was also a roughly equal division between those who had an unlimited smartphone data plan and those with capped data plans. This is the first of two releases; the second phase of the research, a national, representative quantitative study of 18- to 49-year-old smartphone owners on their interest in NextRadio is due out later this month. - See more at: http://www.radioworld.com/printarticle.aspx?articleid=271316#sthash.Auamk2Ph.dpuf (via WTFDA, IRCA via DXLD) Here's your proof that the powers that be have taken free radio and TV and made it so you will have to pay for it (Kevin Redding, Crump, TN, ABDX via DXLD) The 1930 US census had a question under the heading of HOME, ownership, renting, etc. In Column #9 it asked about a Radio Set. (Does the family residing at this address have a Radio Set? Y/N) That question reflects how important radio was back then! Perhaps in the year 2020, the 100th anniversary or radio broadcasting the census may ask a similar question like - When was the last time your actually listened to a radio? Or, maybe technology will have advanced far enough to ask a question like this on a future census - "Do you have a cell phone with an RF ID chip implanted into the back of your ear? Y/N" (Tom Jasinski, Joliet, IL, ibid, IRCA via DXLD) It is quite concerning. Have you walked into one of the bigger retailers (Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart) recently and try to buy a portable analog AM/FM radio? It is not easy and you may walk out empty handed. Couple this with Clear Channel shoving iHeart Radio down your throat as well as all the other stations that tout their streaming capability and it's not hard to see why it is not perceived as a portable medium. At least Radio Shack still has a small selection of portable radios (after all they are called Radio Shack). I grew up in the walkman generation but still had and still have plenty of AM only transistor radios as well. Today, life is on your phone. I am not surprised that radio is considered something you only get in your car. A distant second would be an alarm clock radio but even those have iPod or external audio jacks for your phone (Steve W., K3PHL, near Allentown, PA, WTFDA via DXLD) What's striking to me is that within the article there are a total disconnects between the idea that a radio in the car somehow isn't mobile and that the ubiquitous iHeart Radio is somehow different from this Next Radio app. Or how satellite radio fits in. Certainly radios for the home are not readily available as Steve pointed out. Neither are portable radios. The issue I see is - as again Steve points out - everything now has to be tied in to the phone or it somehow doesn't count. Personal electronics today need to serve multiple purposes rather than just one. And then there are multiple surveys over the past few years which assert that the same demographic cares less about music programming via any kind of radio because they prefer to create their own playlists on their own devices and listen to them. Any more I place less and less credibility in some of the stuff that gets published in RW (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, (15 mi NW of Philadelphia), ibid.) I think Russ makes an excellent point. While I enjoy reading Radio World, it could be accused of being a shill for the National Association of Broadcasters, and their advertisers. Honestly, I think radio is somewhat missing the boat on a number of fronts. They have relinquished their undisputed leadership in a number of areas chasing higher profits while reducing service to their audience. For example: 1.) Radio enjoyed a unique role as the launching pad for new musical artists. While some could argue that the Internet has increased the ability of new acts to be heard, I think it's really generated so much clutter that it's nearly impossible for new acts to break out. 2.) It is the original "wireless" app--and should have been among the first technologies adopted to cellular phones. Instead, the industry resisted inclusion into other wireless networks--and got left behind. 3.) The whole "HD" experiment, especially on AM has been a major failure. Delivering nothing of real value to the consumer. Instead it generated a lot of profits in terms of equipment and licensing...but sales of HD radios was a huge failure because there was no unique content. 4.) Radio was the original "local" medium, until they figured out that it was cheaper to use automation and satellite to deliver content. Short term profits lead to radio using it's personality and brand identify in most markets. Lacking that, it has been easy for consumers to live without it when alternatives became available. Is it too late to rescue the medium? No, I don't think so. But they need to recognize what they are, and the advantages that provides. Radio is "broadcasting" not narrowcasting. They have a unique ability to deliver content to a broad audience wirelessly and without subscription fees. To be relevant to their audience, they must provide content that users cannot get elsewhere in a format that is better suited to them. Among the most popular stations here locally is WJOX 94.5, which delivers sports talk, but with a heavy concentration on locally produced content. Basically they talk about college football about 18 hours a day. Would that work everywhere? Probably not. But in football crazy Alabama, it works just fine. The point is that each market is different--and only locally produced content can address that. Does that cost money to produce? Sure--but it also generates a big audience, brand loyalty, and something that advertisers want to buy (Les Rayburn, Director, High Noon Film, 130 1st Avenue West, Alabaster, AL 35007-8536, ibid.) Where else would I get talk about Arkansas sports but the small network of local/regional stations airing that? I heard this via Es last week. IBOC and other digital conversion issues should be soooo far down the list. Content rules. Well put, Les! (Saul Chernos, Ont., July 17, ibid.) ``I think Russ makes an excellent point. While I enjoy reading Radio World, it could be accused of being a shill for the National Association of Broadcasters, and their advertisers.`` I have to take some exception to this statement. I've been a freelance writer for Radio World on and off since 1999, and I can tell you that I have never been told to slant an article for or against any particular POV, nor has anything I've written for them ever been edited in such a way as to create a slant. I wouldn't still be writing for them if it were otherwise. This idea that RW is somehow an industry shill tends, I think, to come from some of the opinion pieces they publish. As with any good newspaper, RW's "op-ed" page publishes a wide variety of opinions. Unfortunately, the design of RW's website means it's not always clear online which articles are op-ed and which are reported stories that are supposed to be without slant. RW's editor, Paul McLane, is always eager to publish opinions that come from outside the usual industry sources. If there aren't enough of those in the mix, it's as much because nobody's writing and submitting them as anything else. Over the years, he's happily published pro-DX, anti-IBOC pieces from all sorts of very non-shill writers including Barry McLarnon, Bob Savage, and even Bob Young. Take issue with something in RW's pages? Paul would love to hear from you at pmclane@nbmedia.com. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Scott, I have nothing but respect for your work and your opinions. I apologize if I caused any offense. I was thinking more about some recent content such as the beautiful, four-color, multi-page spread on HD signal level testing or the recent news article touting tests of IBOC on AM. http://www.radioworld.com/TabId/64/Default.aspx?ArticleId=270329 A skeptical reader might question who funded such studies, and provided the resources necessary for the crafting of the articles. It's clear that many, though clearly not all, writers for the publication have some "skin in the game". Their so-called "scientific studies" are presented to the FCC, NAB, and station owners under the guise of being editorial content. The implication is that some level of journalism is involved. In point of fact, most publications would have considered these articles nothing more than press releases or even advertising until just the past few years. Among it's many sins, the Internet has lowered our overall standards of what constitutes journalism. Speculation is now an accepted way to fill time while waiting for facts, opinion is spewed with no effort to separate it from researched and documented facts. In Radio World-like many other publications, this type of misinformation is no longer limited to the op-ed page. The FCC has neither the resources nor the mission to conduct their own independent studies on technical matters that affect regulation. Instead they take their cues from "independent" organizations like the NAB. Industry trade publications struggle to maintain any semblance of editorial review in the face of increasing competition and shrinking audiences. I applaud Radio World and it's publisher for attempting to chart the middle ground. But honestly, how can anyone with even a basic understanding of the technical facts continue to conclude that IBOC HD on AM "works" by any definition of the word? It's an unmitigated disaster that has caused nothing but pain to most station owners, and the listening public. I feel that publishers have an obligation to reveal when the author of any editorial content has a conflict of interest. Note by simply publishing who their employer is, but by clearly stating it up front so that readers can judge everything that follows in the light of that fact. Press releases should be labeled as such. Or at least that's how I remember it being taught to me in an "ethics in journalism" class long ago. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, 121 Mayfair Park, Maylene, AL 35114, ibid.) My concern is pretty much what Scott indicated. There are too many pieces which are clearly not objective reporting, which are not always labelled as op-ed. They also publish too many op-eds in general, especially from promoters of IBOC. That's why I don't consider RW as an authoritative source across the board. But the reality is that any publication only stays in business if they meet their subscribers' and advertisers' wants and needs, so this isn't all that unusual. Slanting against the industry would be suicidal (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) Bob Young wrote: ``They are very selective with the letters they print, I wrote something along the lines of the second writer and it wasn't printed. I also added that many of the stations that now broadcast with something like 23 watts at night should go back to daytimer status, obviously contrary to many of their advertisers.`` One of the jobs of any editor is to edit. I know I've seen your letters printed at some length in RW in the past. I can't speak for Paul, but it may be that he felt there was nothing in that latest letter that he hadn't printed from you before. I'm not sure (getting back to some other points that have been raised here) that it's really possible to run "too many" op-eds. I suspect Paul would be very interested to hear that particular opinion. His stance, in the 15-plus years I've been writing for him, is that he wants everyone to be able to have a say, at least once, in the pages of RW. He's actually been much more open than many trade publications when it comes to writing about (or running letters from) those who don't actually work in the industry. The concept of a "trade publication" versus general-interest journalism is nothing new. Go through the zillions of back issues of magazines going back almost a century at americanradiohistory.com and you'll see there's absolutely nothing new about what RW does or the standards it follows. Trade publications are, and always have been, somewhat biased toward the newest developments in their industries. The internet certainly hasn't changed that. Again, I submit that in the 15 years that I've been an RW contributor, I have never been told to slant a story or to favor an advertiser. I wouldn't still be writing for them if it were otherwise (Scott Fybush, NRC-AM via DXLD) Well Scott, 99.9% of my past letters to RW were anti-IBOC and that wasn't even mentioned in this one, I feel no need to bash IBOC anymore for obvious reasons. Incidentally Paul has written to me in the past asking me for my opinion on certain things, actually only one time but that was enough for me (Bob Young, Millbury, MA, ibid.) 87.9 DX AND THE "EDUCATIONAL BAND" Please pardon more of the newbie FM DX'ing questions. I'm curious if DX'ers back East ever manage to log KSFH or K200AA on 87.9? Are either of these stations good E Skip targets? Also how common is it for pirates to operate on this frequency? With only two stations licensed to operate there in the U.S. it would seem like a natural spot for pirates to occupy. Just wondering if I should bother to check it during openings. Also, I'd like to know more about the so-called "Educational Band" from 88.1-91.9 FM. Are there power restrictions or other unique qualities to this part of the band? 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, 121 Mayfair Park, Maylene, AL 35114, EM63nf, 6M VUCC #1712, AMSAT #38965, Grid Bandits #222, Southeastern VHF Society, Central States VHF Society Life Member, Six Club #2484, Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10 GHz & Light, WTFDA? via DXLD) Cayman Island and maybe others from the south on 87.9. I have not logged these but this summer did hear urban-formatted music fading in and out during Es to the s.e. US. Others believe they've heard pirates, one possibly from the Dallas-Ft Worth area. So indeed, 87.9 bears watching. As does 87.75, where audio from channel 6 allotments is often used for radio. There's a sportst station in Germantown-Memphis, for instance, and I've had Spanish on the channel. And Cleveland via tropo. 88.1-91.9 has most university and college broadcasters - ranging from NPRish to 20-somethings with microphones. There's also a ton of religious stations - I'd say way more of these than the educationals. It does pay to record or check these channels at the TOH and BOH, say 3-4 minutes on either side, because it's a waste of time listening to AFR Talk or K-Love for a half hour during a skip opening (Saul Chernos, ibid.) 87.9 is an interesting channel. George Town, Cayman Islands has a religious station there that has been heard via Es in places. A few years back I may have heard a Spanish religious station from Guatemala there (never really confirmed, though). I've heard XM/Serius with various programs occasionally there. No pirates heard here. It probably should be renamed the educational/religious band. My edu band here is almost totally clogged with the usual stations, IBOC hiss and religious translators. The the only good channel for Es and weak stuff is 89.1. I don't think there are any power restrictions. I've heard stations with a few watts up to 100 kW (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, ibid.) 87.9 is a valid non-commercial FM frequency ("Channel 200") but there are SEVERE restrictions on its use: - Only available for use by Class D stations bumped from their frequencies by stations of higher class. - Not available within 402km of Canada or 320km of Mexico. - No frequency is available above 92MHz. - Must not interfere with a channel 6 TV station (this is obviously a LOT easier to accomplish today than it was when there was still analog TV) K200AA managed to convince the FCC a translator is technically a "Class D station". I'm not sure I buy their argument, but translators are listed as Class D stations in the engineering database. The FCC stopped licensing new Class D stations some 30 years ago. Most either upgraded or turned in their licenses. I count 119 left. A significant fraction are in Alaska where due to the vast open spaces, new ones are still permitted. Class D stations are a secondary service; they can be "bumped" from their frequency by new stations of any higher class, or upgrades by existing stations. Oh, with regard to pirates, definitely! Two of the three I've heard from this location operated on 87.9, and this area is hardly unique in that way. ``Also, I'd like to know more about the so-called "Educational Band" from 88.1-91.9 FM. Are there power restrictions or other unique qualities to this part of the band?`` For the most part the technical rules are the same as for frequencies above 92, with an important exception. To start a new station above 92, you must be able to show it can run at least 6,000 watts to an antenna 100 meters high without interfering with anything else. Even if you plan to use far less power and/or a far lower antenna. New stations below 92 need to show they won't interfere using the power they actually plan to use, which may be as little as 100 watts.* To put it a bit differently: If you want to start a new 100-watt station on 92.5, it must be located at least 92 km from the nearest other station on 92.5. If you want to start a new 100-watt station on 91.5, it must be located at least 24 km from the nearest other station on 91.5 (in both cases we're assuming the existing station is using the lowest permissible power for the channel) * if the antenna is higher than 34 meters, powers of less than 100 watts may be authorized There are some serious limitations regarding interference susceptibility of TV sets tuned to channel 6. A non-commercial station may need to protect a channel 6 TV station as much as 265km (more than 150 miles) distant. The rules are fairly complicated. Two unusual ways used to meet them include - using vertical polarization. (normally, FM and TV stations use horizontal or circular polarization) - Co-locating the FM station with the channel 6 station. (IIRC a non-commercial FM station in Philadelphia is actually diplexed into the channel 6 transmitting antenna) These limitations are obviously a LOT less cumbersome now that analog TV is gone and most channel 6 TV stations now broadcast on UHF frequencies. Finally, note that the numerous FM stations operating on 87.7 are NOT FM stations! They're TV stations. Low-power TV stations hold a special class of license. They aren't required to convert to digital until next September. And, due to some omissions when the LPTV service was created, certain technical rules that applied to full-power analog TV stations don't apply to low-power stations. Which means they can legally broadcast an audio signal fully compatible with FM radios (and not particularly compatible with TV sets). Because 87.7 is a TV frequency, it's not reserved for non-commercial use. So you'll hear fully commercial stations on this frequency, and it's perfectly legal. (for another 14 months) == (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) There are pirate stations that operate on the lower part of the FM band. There was a "pirate" station operating on 87.7 even though there is WPVI-DT 6 in Philadelphia and their primary coverage area extends north of the area where the pirate was operating. A few e-mails were sent to the engineering department at WPVI and to the FCC field office. Within 10 days the pirate was contacted by the FCC to cease broadcasting. I did discover that when the FM transmitter was operating, not only did WPVI-DT 6 not decode, but a check of the signal meter on the Zenith digital box indicated NO Signal at all for WPVI. Usually the signal strength for WPVI is to the top of the meter. (Bob Seaman, Hazleton, PA, ibid.) On most of these boxes, I think the consensus is that those "signal strength" meters don't really directly indicate the amount of RF present. Instead, they're measuring the bit error rate (BER) of the digital stream. There could still be plenty of WPVI RF present, but if the pirate is wiping out the top part of the WPVI spectrum, none of the remaining RF can decode, hence the "zero" on the "signal level" meter (William Hepburn, Ont., ibid.) I've also heard a pirate " Island FM " with reggae IDing from "Miami- Fort Lauderdale". Also have heard one with sci-fi audio - similar to the stuff you hear on 6.955 MHz shortwave. I've tentatively heard Cayman Islands (had an EE preacher but not in long enough for ID). 87.9 is definitely a channel to keep an eye on during skip (Bill Hepburn, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ EERIE QUIET DESCENDS ON THE SUN Space Weather News for July 17, 2014 http://spaceweather.com/ SUDDEN QUIET: Less than two weeks ago, the sun was peppered with large active regions. Now, the face of the sun is almost completely blank. Suddenly, the sunspot number and the sun's x-ray output have dropped to their lowest levels in years. Is Solar Maximum finished? Probably not, but the ongoing quiet spell is remarkable. Check http://spaceweather.com/ for forecasts and further discussion. INSTANT FLARE ALERTS Despite the quiet spell, the sun will erupt again. Solar flare alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com/ (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com/ (voice). (via Mike Terry, July 17, dxldyg via DXLD) LONGWAVE FROM EUROPE Great opening to Europe tonight here, 150 miles inside the east coast of the U.S., starting around 0250 UT and still going strong at 0315. 162 - France Inter, Allouis (France) 183 - Europe 1, Saarlouis (Germany) 189 - RUV Ras 2, Gufuskalar (Iceland) 198 - BBC Radio 4, Droitwich (UK, relaying BBCWS overnight) 216 - RMC, Roumoules (France) 234 - RTL, Beidweiler (Luxembourg) All this using a Roberts Revival Radio R250 (!) and a passive PK loop antenna I ordered from Australia. The latter is an amazing piece of kit, as they say (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, UT July 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) SUNSPOT NUMBER DROPS TO ZERO Space Weather News for July 18, 2014 http://spaceweather.com/ ZERO SUNSPOTS: On July 17th, for the first time in nearly 3 years, the sunspot number dropped to zero. Is Solar Max finished? Forecasts and further discussion of this "All Quiet" event highlight today's edition of http://spaceweather.com/ (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) SB PROP ARL ARLP029 ARLP029 Propagation de K7RA From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA July 18, 2014 Solar activity is suddenly weakening, and yesterday, Thursday, July 17 the daily sunspot number was zero. We had no other zero sunspot days so far this year, none last year or in 2012, and only two in 2011, on January 27 and August 14. We had 48 days with a sunspot number of zero in 2010 (although Spaceweather.com reports 51 days, and they may be correct), and 260 days with a daily sunspot number of zero in 2009. 2008 had 239 spotless days, and 2007 had 152 days with zero sunspots. Just to revisit the deep trough of solar inactivity we emerged from a few years ago, 2006 had 70 spotless days, 2005 had just 17 days with no spots and 2004 saw only four spotless days. Prior to that we have to look way back to the twentieth century to 1998 to find any spotless days, (three) and 1997 had 57 days with zero sunspots. We have not seen any new sunspot regions emerge since July 10 and 11, when there was a new one each day. On July 8 two new regions appeared. Prior to that we saw a new sunspot region appear each day, from July 1 to 6. Randy Crews, W7TJ has some interesting observations about cycle 24 and where we go from here. "http://www.stce.be/newsletter/images/2013/19SolarCycleFC2.png clearly shows how cycle 24 compares relative to other cycles. Note that we are at the 72 Month mark, 6 years into this cycle. Looking at other cycles, it's easy to see cycle 24 is reaching the end point as other cycles have done. Additionally, if a cycle starts weak (as cycle 24 did) it will finish weak - thus far holding true to history. Speaking of starting weak, it took cycle 24 two and one half years from the bottom in late 2008 until the solar flux climbed above 100 (February, 2011) typically the average time for this to happen is 12 months. This was the first time the solar flux reached 100 since 2005! (More at ARRL website) (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) http://spaceweather.com/ THE "ALL QUIET EVENT": For the 4th day in a row, solar activity is extremely low. Compared to the beginning of July, when sunspots were abundant, the sun's global X-ray output has dropped by a factor of ten. Moreover, on July 17th the sunspot number fell all the way to zero. We call it "the All Quiet Event." As July 19th unfolds, the sun is no longer completely blank. Three small sunspots are emerging, circled in this image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory: These small sunspots are not about to break the quiet. None of them has the kind of complex magnetic field that harbors energy for strong flares. NOAA forecasters estimate the odds of a significant flare (M- or X-class) in the next 24 hours to be no more than 1%. Before July 17, 2014, the previous spotless day was August 14, 2011, a gap of nearly 3 years. What happened then provides context for what is happening now. Overall, 2011 was a year of relatively high solar activity with multiple X-flares; the spotless sun was just a temporary intermission. 2014 will probably be remembered the same way. Or not. Almost anything is possible because, as one pundit observes, (via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) PROPAGATION OUTLOOK FROM P I G Solar activity forecast for the period July 18 - 24, 2014 Activity level: mostly very low to low X-ray background flux (1.0-8.0 A): in the range A9.0-B7.5 Radio flux (10.7 cm): a fluctuation in the range 85-135 f.u. Events: class C (0-10/day), class M (0-5/period), class X (0/period), proton (0/period) Relative sunspot number (Ri): in the range 0-105 RWC Prague, Astronomical Institute, Solar Dept., Ondrejov, Czech Republic, e-mail: sunwatch(at)asu.cas.cz __________________________________________________________ Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period July 18 - August 13, 2014 Geomagnetic field will be: quiet on July 18 - 19, 25, 28 - 29, August 1, 13 mostly quiet on July 20, 22, 24, 26, August 4 - 5, 12 quiet to unsettled on July 27, 30 - 31, August 6 - 9 quiet to active on July 21, 23, August 2 - 3, 10 - 11 active to disturbed - Amplifications of the solar wind are expected on July (25 - 29, 31,) August 5 - 6, 9 Remarks: - Reliability of predictions is temporarily reduced with respect to significant changes in the configuration of active regions. - Parenthesis means lower probability of activity enhancement. F. K. Janda, OK1HH, Czech Propagation Interest Group (OK1HH & OK1MGW, weekly forecasts since 1978) e-mail: ok1hh(at)rsys.cz (via Dario Monferini, July 19, DXLD) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2014 Jul 21 0624 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 14 - 20 July 2014 Solar activity was low, with the only C-class activity observed on the first two days of the week. Region 2009 (S08, L=221, class/area=Hhx/300 on 14 July) produced C1 flares on 14 July at 1246 UTC and 15 July at 0305 UTC as it rotated around the west limb. The remainder of the week was characterized by only B-level activity, with Region 2113 (N07, L=167, class/area=Dao/40 on 14 July) producing a B5 on 16 July at 2300 UTC and a B2 on 18 July at 1756 UTC. On 18 July, a 17-degree filament eruption centered near N26E09 was observed lifting off the visible disk in SDO/AIA 304 imagery beginning at approximately 0200 UTC. Another filament eruption centered near S24E22 was observed in SDO/AIA 304 imagery beginning at approximately 0748 UTC. Available coronagraph imagery from SOHO and STEREO did not conclusively suggest any Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CME) accompanied these events. Later in the week, an prominence erupted from he east limb beginning at approximately 20/0200 UTC. A CME was subsequently observed off the east limb in SOHO/LASCO C2 imagery at 20/0312 UTC. Neither this, nor other CMEs observed during the week were judged to be particularly geoeffective. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal levels. Geomagnetic field activity reached unsettled levels from 12-21 UTC on 14 July then declined to quiet levels for the remainder of the week. On 14 July, a corotating interaction region and negative polarity coronal hole high speed solar wind stream arrived in a geoeffective position. The CIR arrived at the ACE spacecraft around 14/1300 UTC accompanied by a solar sector boundary change from a positive to a negative sector and followed by increasing wind speed and temperature. Remnants of a 09 July CME glancing blow may have been intermingled with the high speed stream. Wind speed at ACE rose to about 500 km/s between 11-12 UTC on 15 July. It declined afterward; falling to 274 km/s by the end of the week. Following the CIR arrival at ACE, a geomagnetic sudden impulse of 10 nT was observed at the Boulder magnetometer at 14/1443 UTC. Unsettled conditions were observed for three synoptic periods: 12-15, 15-18 and 18-21 UTC, before returning to quiet levels which persisted through the 20th. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 21 JULY - 16 AUGUST 2014 Solar activity is expected to begin the forecast period at low to very low levels. By 23 July several large active regions are expected to begin returning to the visible solar disk. These are expected to bring activity to low levels with a chance for moderate level flares (R1 radio blackouts). The threat of moderate or greater activity is expected to persist through 09 August, after which a return to low or very low levels is anticipated. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels throughout the forecast period. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at mostly quiet levels for the majority of the forecast period in the absence of transient features. Unsettled to active conditions are possible associated with high speed solar wind streams on 21-22 July, 25-26 July, 05-06 August and 10-11 August. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2014 Jul 21 0624 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 2014-07-21 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2014 Jul 21 90 8 3 2014 Jul 22 90 8 3 2014 Jul 23 100 5 2 2014 Jul 24 105 5 2 2014 Jul 25 110 10 3 2014 Jul 26 115 8 3 2014 Jul 27 115 5 2 2014 Jul 28 125 5 2 2014 Jul 29 140 5 2 2014 Jul 30 145 5 2 2014 Jul 31 145 5 2 2014 Aug 01 150 5 2 2014 Aug 02 155 5 2 2014 Aug 03 150 5 2 2014 Aug 04 150 5 2 2014 Aug 05 150 8 3 2014 Aug 06 145 8 3 2014 Aug 07 140 5 2 2014 Aug 08 135 5 2 2014 Aug 09 125 5 2 2014 Aug 10 120 8 3 2014 Aug 11 115 8 3 2014 Aug 12 110 5 2 2014 Aug 13 105 5 2 2014 Aug 14 105 5 2 2014 Aug 15 100 5 2 2014 Aug 16 95 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1731, DXLD) UPCOMING SOLAR ECLIPSES 2014 & 2017 On October 23, 2014, in the afternoon - partial eclipse between 40% and 60% over all but far NE US. Moon's shadow will be above the earth about 400 miles, This could result is some great northern DX CX on that afternoon and early evening. But, the biggie is coming in 2017! I know this is still three years in the future, but start planning now! On August 21, 2017, there will be a total eclipse of the sun at mid- day. The path is from Oregon to South Carolina. Maximum totality is 2min 40 sec at a point near southern Illinois and western Kentucky. http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html (Tom Jasinski, Joliet, IL, July 23, 2014, NRC-AM via DXLD) http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2017/TSE2017.html Here's a good view of what's happening on 10/23/14 http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/eclipse/0422014/ (Neil Kazaross, IRCA via DXLD) If I study the "Local Circumstances and Animations" map correctly, it looks like the DXers who will enjoy the greatest benefit from this event are in the Pacific Northwest, where maximum obscuration will occur just after 3 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. That's approx. 3 1/2 hours before local sunset in that region. Here in Omaha, the eclipse itself won't get going until nearly 4:30 Central Daylight Time, and that's practically at the start of critical hours here on Oct. 23, anyway, so I would imagine that there won't be much of a difference between eclipse-enhanced signals and sunset-skip bounce. 73, (Rick Dau, South Omaha, Nebraska, NRC-AM via DXLD) ###