DX LISTENING DIGEST 17-09, March 1, 2017 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 2016 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 1867 CONTENTS: *DX and station news about: Alaska, Antarctica, Australia, Bougainville, Brazil, Cambodia and non, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Europe, India Indonesia, Korea South, Madagascar, Micronesia, Netherlands non, Perú, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey, USA SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1867, March 2-9, 2017 Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 6855 [confirmed] Thu 2130 WRMI 11580 [confirmed] Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Fri 2230 WRMI 5950 6855 11580 [all confirmed except 6855 preëmpt] Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Sat 0630 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [confirmed Bulgaria] Sat 1531 HLR 7265-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [not confirmed] Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM [confirmed from 0420] Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [confirmed] Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v-AM Area 51 [confirmed from 0403] Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 6855 Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 6855 Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Wed 1000 WRMI 5850 6855 Wed 1415 WRMI 9955 6855 Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [NOTE: from March 13, WBCQ and WRMI 9955/6855 times shift one UT hour earlier due to DST] 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: Tnx to Dr Harald Gabler and the Rhein-Main Radio Club. http://www.rmrc.de/index.php/rmrc-audio-plattform/podcast/glenn-hauser-wor ALTERNATIVE PODCASTS, tnx Stephen Cooper: http://shortwave.am/wor.xml ANOTHER PODCAST ALTERNATIVE, tnx to Keith Weston: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GlennHausersWorldOfRadio NOW tnx to Keith Weston, also Podcasts via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/glenn-hausers-world-of-radio/id1123369861 AND via Google Play Music: http://bit.ly/worldofradio 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 NOTE: I have *resolved* to make DXLD leaner, more selective, as I seriously need to reduce my workload, much of which has been merely editing gobs of material into presentable form. This makes it even more important to be a member of the DXLD yg for additional material which may not make it into weekly issues (gh) 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/ ** ABKHAZIA. Apparently Sukhumi increased the duration of their broadcasts on MW 1350 kHz and now they heard this: Tue-Fri 0400-0800, Sat-Mon 0500-0800 (Maybe later, it is not accepted [heard]), every day 1500-1750 (with 1750 changes every day +/- 10 minutes). News in Russian are Monday to (already!) Sat from 0530 till 0543 and from Monday to Friday from 1508 to 1518, and on Sundays there is a thematic program 6 and 15 hours. Hour 1750 apparently agreed with TWR programs in Kurdish 18 hours on 1350 kHz. According to my observation over the years the transmitter (like the one that was on the SW 9535/9510/9495 kHz) is not in Abkhazia (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria, RusDX 26 Feb via DXLD) ** ALASKA. 2800, Feb 20 0330, HAARP Alaska was on air with his first test, here today on 2800 and 3300 at 0330 UT with low signal. Test continue the next two days (Christoph Ratzer, Salzburg, Austria, SW Bulletin Feb 26 via DXLD) HAARP GOES CLASSICAL DURING NEW EXPERIMENTAL CAMPAIGN ARRL February 23, 2017 http://www.arrl.org/news/haarp-goes-classical-during-new-experimental-campaign The just-concluded run of ionospheric investigations conducted from Alaska’s High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) observatory — quite likely the most powerful HF transmission facility in the world — revived the latent short-wave listener (SWL) lurking within most radio amateurs. Operating under Part 5 Experimental license WI2XFX, HAARP this month even aired some classical music as it conducted its first scientific research campaign since being taken over 18 months ago from the military by the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Geophysical Institute. UAF Space Physics Group Assistant Research Professor Chris Fallen, KL3WX, focused on two experiments — one called “airglow” that literally aimed to light up the ionosphere, and another to demonstrate the so-called “Luxembourg Effect,” first noticed on a 1930s Radio Luxembourg broadcast. Public engagement was part of his plan, and Fallen this week said the Twitter and e-mail feedback from his transmissions had been “fantastic,” and that his science campaign had become “quite an event.” “Thank you for making a difference and advancing Amateur Radio as well,” Doug Howard, VE6CID, tweeted. Another Twitter follower enthused, “You’re running the coolest DX station in the world.” Fallen said he also received “a lot of great waterfalls,” as well as video and audio recordings from hams and SWLs. Fallen started and stopped each experiment block with DTMF tones, transmitted in AM on or about 2.8 and 3.3 MHz, each channel fed with audio tones of different frequencies or, in the case of music, as a separate stereo channel. If the “Luxembourg Effect” is present, skywave-signal listeners would hear both channels combined on a single frequency; Fallen said the effect is easier to detect with tones. In addition to tones, he transmitted “a ‘dance track,’ a Pachelbel Canon arrangement, and a variation of ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat.’” Jeff Dumps, KL4IU, composed some of the music, and he arranged and performed all of it. The CW “airglow” artificial aurora experiment followed the Luxembourg Effect transmissions. All week, Fallen despaired that the “ratty” ionosphere and cloud cover were diminishing his hopes for success with the artificial aurora experiments. But on the last night, he tweeted, “Seeing artificial airglow with the spectrometer. Film at 11.” Fallen is now evaluating the results of his HAARP efforts. He said one listener posted “a most excellent” YouTube clip. He was not specific; several have been posted that document this week's experiments, including this one from Stephen Oleson, VE6SLP. Laurence Howell, KL7L, in Wasilla, Alaska, posted an audio file. [Lux effect is supposedly best or limited to longwave --- Did this demo axually produce it on MW/SW? --- gh] “The miracle of crowd sourcing!” Fallen said. “If only the Luxembourg Effect was more pronounced, but it is in the 3,300 kHz recording.” Fallen has been working under a $60,000 National Science Foundation grant. “During campaigns, significant expenditures for fuel and personnel are required,” the grant abstract said. “Large start-up costs make HAARP experiments largely inaccessible to individual researchers unless multiple experiments and funding sources can be bundled together during a campaign of up to two-week duration.” According to the abstract, public participation would maximize “the broader impacts of the investigations.” “HAARP again...perhaps sometime this summer!” Fallen tweeted on February 23. He has posted additional information on his “Gakona HAARPoon 2017” blog. Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Never before in HAARP test info did we see a callsign mentioned for it, and I suppose never transmitted over the air either, but there it is above, WI2XFX (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) They will qsl - picture here Chris Fallen (@ctfallen) on Twitter (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Chris Fallen? @ctfallen Feb 25 #HAARP QSLs ... plz be patient. I'm bouncing back and forth to anchorage next week for university stuff. Trivia: where are these QSLs from? [photo: stack of cards still in shrink-wrap --- gh] Chris Fallen? @ctfallen Feb 23 Chris Fallen Retweeted HAARP_DXing_2017 HAARP again ... Perhaps sometime this summer! (via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) In the event Chris needed some help in this area and not knowing he had already printed QSLs per Mike’s earlier e-mail (quite a supply, it looks like!), I designed the attached and sent to Chris in case he needed something. Well at least part of the attached will show up in any case! (Bruce Churchill, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) Attached generic QSL includes the design shown on Chris`s twit (gh) ** ALASKA [non]. Afternoon on the River --- Tuned into 15770 just before 2200, and after WRMI ID, into dead air. Fair to good signal here. Too early to hear 6855 on the west coast, which will be the better frequency in a few hours. Still OC at 2205 UT (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Feb 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) S7 signal in Central Florida near Orlando on both 15770 and 6855 (typical due to proximity to WRMI). Decent music but respectfully I'm not a fan of the host. RW (John Jurasek, 2215 UT Feb 24, ibid.) Paul Walker tells me that the host is his boss. 15770 is starting to fade to the west coast now. 6855 not yet propagating beyond a carrier (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, 2341 UT Feb 24, ibid.) DJ was "Flyin' Brian" (Brian Landrum?, General Manager of KIYU) for this "oldies" music program. Signal started out very nicely with a strong interference-free signal here in NB (after the brief hick-up of dead air) on 15770 kHz. But it deteriorated gradually during the three-hour broadcast and ended up almost buried in the noise by the end. Really, 15770 kHz is too high a frequency for an evening broadcast to eastern North America at this time of year, let alone expecting it to propagate to Europe, which it did not based on monitoring using the U. Twente receiver. Perhaps the time-slot for the 15770 frequency was all that was available for a three-hour broadcast at this time (-- Richard Langley, NB, ibid.) Even more bad news about this broadcast. I recorded the whole thing and only today got through listening to all of it. There were significant problems with the feed to WRMI for this live broadcast. During the first hour, several times the KIYU broadcast was replaced by WRMI's "World Music" filler for five minutes or so. This also happened once or twice in the second and third hours, too. At no point did I hear any announcement saying that they were also on shortwave for this special broadcast. The signal started to deteriorate here in NB (directly in the direction of the beam of the 15770 kHz transmitter's antenna) at about 0010 UT or 8:10 p.m. local time, well past sunset. The signal came back to listenable strength for a short while later but by the end of the program, the signal was buried again in the noise. I could barely identify the WRMI ID just before 0100 UT and (presumably) the following sign-off of the transmitter. Nevertheless, it was interesting to hear this live broadcast from central Alaska including the local weather reports and the problems that the weather had on the high school sporting events (Richard Langley, Feb 26, ibid.) I enjoyed the music, for sure, as it mostly was from my era. Agree that the frequency was too high for this time of the year and suffered from deep fades and complete loss later on as we entered darkness. A channel below 9 MHz might have been the best choice. I didn't get to check how 6855 propagated as I was in and out during that afternoon/early evening. Once again, I was disappointed by the lack of the feed starting on time, leaving dead air for some minutes before it started properly, which, unfortunately, seems far too common from WRMI these days. Still, I appreciated the efforts of all concerned, especially Paul Walker himself! I'd be interested in the level of feedback, that, perhaps Paul could share with us. Had I been more at the dials, I would have scanned the various remote receivers to check how reception fared around the world. 73 (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, ibid.) Too bad a `public` radio station relayed on SW was not something significant and sorely lacking otherwise, like NPR`s All Things Considered (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. Subject: 1394.968 kHz, Radio Tirana Fllaka --- Radio Tirana's Albanian language morning service Feb 24, BUT mediumwave Fllaka was on air, scheduled 0901-0958 UT daily. 1394.968 kHz exact measured at 0900 UT on Friday Feb 24. Noted S=9+5dB signal in remote SDR unit in southern Italy Calabria / Sicily area. NOT ON AIR on shortwave Shijak 7390v kHz, scheduled 0800-0958 UT. 73 wolfie df5sx. btw. CRI Beijing in Romanian service from RTC Cerrik Albania relay site, non-directional outlet heard on S=9+40dB signal level. 0900-0958 UT Feb 24 (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The external service of Radio Tirana is available online at http://rtsh.al/radio-tirana-3 and http://rtsh.al/radio-tirana-3-live Results of a monitoring project of 1 March 2017 1) schedule before 0800 h UTC silence 0800-1000: Albanian talk 1000-1500: Albanian, parallel to http://rtsh.al/radio-tirana-1-live/ news on the hour, otherwise mainly music, Children’s programmes 1455-1500: interval signal of Radio Tirana External Service 1500-1630: Albanian, continuous talk, not in parallel to to http://rtsh.al/radio-tirana-1-live/, 1628 national anthem 1630-1645: interval signal 1645-1700: Greek ID, music programme 1700-1800: interval signal 1800-2000: German. 1830 French. 19.00 Italian. 1930 Turkish 2000-2030: interval signal 2031-2130: German. 2100 English 2130-2300: monitoring pause 2300-2400: interval signal of Radio Tirana ES 2400-0100: Albanian, continuous talk, 0030 music/more talk with underlying music, 0058 national anthem 0100-...: interval signal of Radio Tirana ES (probably until 0230-0300 English) 0110 end of monitoring 2) In all programmes, the announcers continued announcing the AM schedule as if the station was still on short wave. In the German mailbox programme of 1 March, a listener complained about the loss of the short wave frequency, but there was no comment or additional information given by the announcer Astrit Ibro. The short wave schedule was nonetheless announced twice in the German programme. After sharing my observations with listeners mentioned in the programme, a close friend of the German service suggested that Astrit Ibro might be as ill informed about the technical situation of the station and its future by his superiors as are his listeners. 3) It seems that the internet stream is only mentioned in the Albanian and German programmes. In the Albanian programme they gave the full internet address, while in the German programme only the broadcast times of 1900 and 2130 h CET are given. 4) The foreign language sections featured a music programme about Albanian singer Frederik Ndoci. In the German programme producer Astrit Ibro announced the titles and gave some background information about the singer. The programmes in French, Italian and Turkish just played the songs back to back. 5) Suggestion: In spite of playing their interval signal for up to 90 minutes Radio Tirana should consider additional play out times of their foreign language services (Dr Hansjoerg Biener 1/2 March 2017, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS. 4760, AIR (Port Blair) (Presumed) 1430- 1450+ 23 Feb. Hindi pop, some Bollywood tunes + chat--another "first time using a ULR" log; recheck 24 Feb. only imaginary-level audio. (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. 4949.74, R. Nacional de Angola, on Feb 22, noted off the air. Feb 23, back on the air again; 0303 and subsequent checking; almost fair, on a day with overall very good African propagation; pop African songs and good number of clear IDs (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4949.727, R Nac Mulenvos, S=5 in Sri Lanka at 0151 UT on Feb 25, and at 0347 UT in Florida-USA as S=5-6. 4949.728 at 1706 UT in E Thailand remote unit, S=7-8 signal (Wolfgang Bueschel, Some logs of Feb 25 in Colombo Sri Lanka remote and at 1600-1720 UT on remote unit in Eastern Thailand, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** ANGUILLA. 6090, March 1 at 0725, University Network is off! But something, Brasil? is a JBA carrier. By next check at 2031, day frequency 11775 is on as usual, S9+25 of suppressed/distorted modulation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. LRA 36 on air --- ANTARTIDA, 15476, 1915 UT Mar 01, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, LRA36, portadora y señal muy baja, con leves aperturas con música (ce3BBC, Hugo López C., Santiago de Chile, 1940 UT March 1, condiglista yg via DXLD) 15476, 2106, LRA36 ha cerrado transmisión (ce3BBC, 2110 UT, ibid. ANTARCTICA, 15476.0, LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza, 2000-2015, 01-03. One hour ago Hugo López, from Santiago de Chile send me a wathasapp informing this station is on air with weak signal. I tried here in Lugo at 1930, but strong interference from AWR on 15480 [MADAGASCAR] in Arabic, but at 2000 this station closed and now I am hearing LRA 36 carrier on 15476.0 and very weak comments understandable due tu the signal weakness (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Grundig Satellit 500, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "very weak comments understandable" ? Do you mean "very weak comments NOT understandable"? (Richard Langley, ibid.) Yes, v. Spanish version: Muchas gracias, Hugo, por tan interesante novedad, luego de varios meses fuera del aire. Acabo de probar a las 2000 UT, que cerró AWR en 15480 con programa en árabe y causaba fuerte interferencia; pues bien, al cerrar esta emsora, pude captar la portadora de LRA 36 en 15476.0 y comentarios ininteligibles debido a lo débil de la señal. Un abrazo (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, Noticiasdx yg via DXLD) 15476, March 1 at 2031, no signal from LRA36, which Manuel Méndez, Spain reports is back on the air and JBA there after AWR 15480 closes at 2000. Believe it has been off all northern winter/southern summer. Probably have a new crew for fall/winter season, as station only seems active a few months per year. Normal schedule is approx. 18-21 UT M-F only (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. ACTUALIDAD DX.COM.AR Programas del sábado 25 de Febrero 2017 ACTUALIDAD_DX.COM.AR el programa dedicado al diexismo, la radioafición, onda corta, las comunicaciones y los entornos digitales, editado por Arnaldo Slaen, quien presenta los contenidos junto a Luis María Barassi, Director de RAE Argentina al Mundo. DESCRIPCIÓN DE DX 16 --- ADRIAN KOROL. UN DIEXISTA AL FRENTE DE RAE. Entrevistamos a Adrian Korol, flamante Director de RAE Argentina al Mundo, quien es un apasionado del diexismo desde 1978 y radioaficionado de 1981. En esta edición Arnaldo Slaen y Luis María Barassi conversan con Adrian sobre sus inicios en el mundo de la radio, jugosas anécdotas de la época de oro de las ondas cortas y como se ha ido integrando con las plataformas digitales. Historia, presente y futuro del diexismo, las comunicaciones y la radio que viene. Y, también, algunas primicias sobre la nueva era de RAE [como, sin onda corta!! --- gh] Un episodio para guardar. Se emite los sábados en streaming en: http://www.radionacional.com.ar/rae-espanol/ Web de Radio Nacional http://www.radionacional.com.ar/ Player FM https://player.fm/series/actualidad-dx-com-ar Correo E-mail: actualidaddx.com.ar@gmail.com slaen@ciudad.com.ar Audios a demanda en Programas DX: http://programasdx.com/actualidaddx.htm Para escuchar otros programas diexistas en español en: http://programasdx.com/ En facebook: https://www.facebook.com/programasdx En twitter: https://twitter.com/programasdx Cordiales 73 Programas dx (via condiglista yg via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC cuts protests 'THEY'RE CUTTING ALL THE GOOD THINGS THE ABC DOES' Thursday 23 February, 2017 radioinfo photo Members of three groups have gathered at the ABC's Sydney headquarters today to protest cuts and an impending restructure being considered by the board (see our earlier report). Our reporter at the protest has been talking to some of the protesters to get their views on the proposed cuts: Murray Renshaw and Margaret Lund told .... https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/theyre-cutting-all-good-things-abc-does ABC PROTEST TODAY ABOUT 'ILLOGICAL CHANGES' IN PLANNED RESTRUCTURE Thursday 23 February, 2017 The protest is planned to coincide with an ABC Board Meeting being held to discuss the restructure. https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/abc-protest-today-about-illogical-changes-planned-restructure ABC protest today about 'illogical changes' in planned restructure Thursday 23 February, 2017 radioinfo photo A coalition of protesters will today gather outside the ABC headquarters in Ultimo to protest restructure plans by new Managing Director Michelle Guthrie. The protest is planned to coincide with an ABC Board Meeting being held to discuss the restructure. A spokesperson for the groups has told radioinfo they are extremely concerned that the ABC "is failing to meet its charter obligations and that senior management is not genuinely listening to staff or responding to the needs of its audiences." Members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), Hands off Radio National Music and ABC Friends say a range of management decisions have created a crisis at the national broadcaster, telling radioinfo that recent decisions demonstrate how out of touch the ABC Executive has become. The decisions include: The axing of science program Catalyst Removing music from Radio National Ending shortwave transmission in the NT ABC management’s decision late last year to cut all but one of Radio National’s music programmes from its 2017 schedule drew sharp criticism from artists and audiences. Hands Off RN Music spokesperson Ruth Hazelton says: “Despite gleaning close to 23,000 signatures on our petition, and statements from some of Australia’s most prominent philanthropists, artists and organisations (including Janet Holmes a Court, Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, Archie Roach, Music Australia & APRA/AMCOS), ABC senior management has failed to acknowledge the devastating blow they have delivered to Australia’s music culture and diversity as a result of these cuts, made without industry or artist consultation. “Similarly, Senior Management has failed to acknowledge the impact this decision has had on rural and regional audiences with its premature reliance on digital formats. We believe management is using the digital strategy as a smokescreen for crude cost-cutting. “It has drastically underestimated community outrage, yet seems impervious to the ensuing loss of support from passionate listeners. These are serious issues that need to be addressed at a Board level.” The ABC’s announcement that it has engaged a third party for the provision of the ABC Fact Checking Unit has also come under fire. The groups says that while the return of the service is welcome, the method by which is has been reinstated raises serious concerns. The CPSU’s ABC Section Secretary Sinddy Ealy has told radioinfo: “Australians know and trust the ABC to provide quality news and current affairs, but that trust is at considerable risk as the ABC goes down the path of relying on outside organisations to fund and produce content. “It’s not good enough for our national broadcaster to just slap an ABC logo on it; only producing that content in-house guarantees that the ABC’s exacting editorial standards are maintained. The Fact Check Unit was axed last year because of ABC management’s bungled handling of the non-recurrent funding and the ABC Executive’s off-kilter obsession with digital expansion at the expense of current programming. “Hardworking ABC staff have raised concerns with their bosses about the impact of cuts and illogical changes, but they seem to have fallen on deaf ears. The ABC Executive needs to start listening to staff and the community about what’s needed for the ABC.” The protest will call on the ABC Board to step up and ensure the national broadcaster is properly managed by people who are genuinely committed to public broadcasting. The groups will also call on the ABC Board to not sign off on Managing Director Michelle Guthrie’s restructure plans until they are sure that the ABC Executive has done its due diligence, including properly consulting with affected community stakeholders and staff. ABC Friends National President Margaret Reynolds believes it is "time the ABC learned to communicate with its shareholders, who should be part of the decision making process. Public broadcasting is about responding to the needs and interests of the Australian community, so both the ABC Board and ABC Management need to reach out beyond their urban bases.” (both via William Lee, BC, DXLD) FEW COMPLAIN OVER ABC DECISION TO SWITCH OFF SHORT-WAVE IN NT The Australian February 28, 2017 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/few-complain-over-abc-decision-to-switch-off-shortwave-in-nt/news-story/b92d761af0b47d63733041385922f5b3 Just 14 people in the Northern Territory complained to the ABC about its decision to switch off its short-wave service. “Fewer than 15 people located in the Northern Territory have contacted us since we made the announcement,” ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie told a senate estimates committee. “The impact we have seen over the past three months is very clear by the number of people who have contacted us.” The Senate Communications committee said it had 52 submissions, and the only submission in support of the decision to axe the service was the ABC’s own. Ms Guthrie said the ABC would not reverse its decision. Victorian Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie strongly disagreed with the decision to axe short-wave because it left remote rural communities including farmers and fisherman unable to access ABC services. “It works and has a utility for people and until something supersedes it surely we stick with it?” she asked. David Pendleton, the ABC’s departing chief operating officer said short-wave was “not a reliable technology going forward” and the ABC said many broadcasters around the world were shutting short-wave services. Northern Territory short-wave service cost the ABC $1.2m a year, the international short-wave service cost $2.8 million each year. The budget savings would be transferred into digital services and content, the ABC said. The ABC said other states and territories do not have an ABC short- wave service. It also pointed out that there were 22,000 active decoders for Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) in the Northern Territory, as well as AM and FM radio which people could access instead of short-wave. “We go to VAST being a stopgap here and it’s simply not true.” Senator McKenzie said. “You didn’t talk to the people.” “The continued provision of short wave service for a long contract is not in the best interest of efficient operation of ABC budget,” Ms Guthrie said. Posted by: (Mike Terry, also via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) ABC BOSS MICHELLE GUTHRIE GRILLED IN SENATE ESTIMATES OVER AXING SHORTWAVE RADIO SERVICE --- ABC Online - Feb 28, 2017 ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie has told a Senate Estimates hearing she is confident the organisation has not breached its charter by cancelling its shortwave radio service. Victorian senator Bridget McKenzie in particular grilled Ms Guthrie on ... GUTHRIE GRILLED ON NT SHORTWAVE CUT-OFF 9news.com.au - Feb 27, 2017 http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/02/28/18/28/guthrie-grilled-on-nt-shortwave-cut-off Both sides of politics have criticised the ABC boss over a decision to switch off its shortwave radio service in the Northern Territory and parts of the Pacific. Managing director Michelle Guthrie was grilled about the December announcement when she fronted a Senate hearing in Canberra on Tuesday afternoon. She insisted the ABC would still broadcast via FM and AM frequencies, the viewer access satellite television (VAST) service and online. The public broadcaster was still meeting its charter obligations, she said, citing examples of similar decisions made abroad including the BBC. Ms Guthrie said the ABC had only been contacted by 15 people who relied on shortwave radio with concerns about the decision. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie shared fears from regional residents about getting information during natural disasters and emergencies. "That is still provided by the Bureau of Meteorology by shortwave," she responded. Asked by NT Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy whether she would reverse the decision, Ms Guthrie said "no". She apologised for not being able to attend a Senate hearing into the issue next week, which has received 51 submissions in opposition to the decision. "I agree that it's terrible when 15 people are affected," she said. But she urged people to contact the ABC to find transitional arrangements. © AAP 2017 (9News via Artie Bigley, DXLD) MICHELLE GUTHRIE SAYS IT IS NOT HER JOB TO LOBBY FOR ABC FUNDING The Guardian - Feb 28, 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/feb/28/michelle-guthrie-says-it-is-not-her-job-to-lobby-for-abc-funding MD defends shortwave radio cuts and tells Senate hearing ABC is not official emergency broadcaster --- Michelle Guthrie ABC managing director, Michelle Guthrie, also defended the cuts to ABC RN saying it was not an “extraordinary decision”. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Amanda Meade and Helen Davidson Tuesday 28 February 2017 04.23 EST Last modified on Tuesday 28 February 2017 05.41 EST The ABC’s managing director, Michelle Guthrie, has told Senate estimates she believes it is not her job to lobby government for more funding for the broadcaster but to work within the budget she is given. Under questioning at a fiery Senate estimates committee, Guthrie revealed she saw her role as a manager rather than an advocate for more funding, a marked difference from her predecessor Mark Scott who was a consistent lobbyist for additional funding and critic of government cuts. “On my second day in the job I was handed down the triennial funding in the May budget and as far as I’m concerned we operate within that three-year funding envelope,” Guthrie said. Asked repeatedly if she believed it was her role to seek more funding to fulfil the ABC’s charter she said no because her focus was on providing content and operating efficiently. “We have had budget cuts since 2014 but my view is we operate within the funding envelope we are provided and we make decisions within that as an independent broadcaster. “I think what you’re asking is reasonably hypothetical. We are operating within the government’s funding envelope and making decisions on audience behaviour and technological advancement.” She also refused to concede that anyone other than the 15 people who called the ABC to complain, or the 51 who gave submissions to a Senate committee, had been affected by the decision to scrap the shortwave radio service. She appeared before a Senate estimates committee on Tuesday, answering questions about the decision to end the broadcasting of local radio through shortwave channels in the Northern Territory and Pacific region. The decision was been widely criticised, including by all major parties. Guthrie was unable to provide evidence of prior consultation on the decision and claimed the ABC was not the official emergency broadcaster. Asked by Greens senator Scott Ludlam about the “extraordinary cuts” to Radio National features, religion and music, Guthrie dismissed his premise, saying: “I wouldn’t characterise taking three music programs away from RN as an extraordinary decision.” The vote of no confidence in RN management was “not something we would desire but did not represent all the views of the staff at Radio National”, Guthrie told Ludlam. Coalition handpicks mining lobbyist for ABC board position read more Guthrie defended the hiring of former Rupert Murdoch TV executive Jim Rudder and “business transformation expert” Deb Frances to help restructure the ABC. “I am confident that our executive management have the skills and experience required to navigate the ABC through the challenges ahead but I am also aware that it is sensible to consult with people outside the organisation that have relevant experience,” she said. She confirmed that a restructure would be announced in the next week or so and that she had the support of the board. “The board is very supportive of the changes that need to be made as we experience audience shifts and digital disruption,” she said. She declined to confirm there would be cuts to staff. Guthrie took many questions on notice and referred to her notes to answer the details of many of the questions, at one point saying she had only been in the job for 10 months. She said the ABC had been contacted by fewer than 15 people, including just six from the Northern Territory, over the cuts to shortwave radio. “It isn’t in our interest at all to cut off any person from our services,” she said. “But frankly the low number of complaints from listeners highlights previous research which shows that shortwave is used by very few people as their primary means for listening to radio.” Guthrie returned to the 15 official complaints repeatedly during the estimates hearing. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy pointed to criticism by a number of stakeholder groups, including the NT Cattlemen’s Association, fishing associations, remote Indigenous organisations and the NT government. Guthrie said she had not received a letter from the Cattlemen’s Association. McCarthy questioned why Guthrie was discounting a letter from herself and fellow parliamentarian Warren Snowdon, which outlined the peak body’s concerns. Guthrie was also asked to provide the research which led to the board’s decision, and evidence of prior consultation. She said the ABC hadn’t consulted with the community until after the announcement, but had spoken to stakeholders before it. She was unable to name any of the stakeholders, and took all requests for research or evidence on notice. The committee chair, senator Linda Reynolds, revealed a committee inquiry set up to examine the decision had received 52 submissions about the shortwave cut, and only one – the ABC’s – was in support. At the end of an hour of questioning Reynolds said she hoped the ABC would take the issue more seriously and was disappointed in the lack of answers from Guthrie. Guthrie said the ABC did take it seriously. “I agree that it’s terrible when 15 people are affected, or 52 people are affected, but I will say that we’d love to hear from them directly and find ways in which we can work with them to actually transition those services,” she said. Reynolds responded: “If that’s what you have taken out of what the senators and submissions have said to you – that it’s only 15 people or 52 submitters which is the extent of people affected by that – I think we are going to have some very interesting discussions in the next hearing.” In response to concerns raised that people without shortwave would lose the emergency broadcasts during floods, fires, and cyclones, Guthrie said the ABC was not the emergency broadcaster in the NT. A spokesman for the ABC later clarified Guthrie was referring specifically to ABC shortwave as an emergency service provider. Guthrie said the ABC’s priority “has to be the efficient management of our total ABC budget” and it was clear the continued provision of shortwave was “not in the best interest of the efficient operation of the ABC budget”. Asked directly if she would reverse the decision, Guthrie said no (Via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 17760, Sat Feb 25 at 2253, JBA talk, which HFCC shows must be Japanese service of RBA from KNX, 75 kW, 5 degrees at 2225- 2300 on Sat & Sun (meaning UT Fri & Sat???). Hardly anything else on 16m except 17730 Cuba, but reminds us that R. Australia could be heard on 17840 if it could be transmitting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. If we want to hear a non-Reach-Beyond signal from AUS on 19 m, this is still possible on a daily basis, although it's not Radio Australia ("of course, not!") but rather a utility station: Australia Weather West - Wiluna (VMW) broadcasts HF FAX weather charts among other frequencies right in the 19 m Broadcast band on 15615 kHz, heard here e.g. on 2017-02-26 at 1657z before fading out after 1705z. The schedule per http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/radio-sat/vmw-technical-guide.shtml is as follows: kHz UTC (VMW) ----------------- 5755 1100-2100 7535 24 hours 10555 24 hours 15615 24 hours 18060 2100-1100 Its sister station Australia Weather East - Charleville (VMC) gives the following schedule per http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/radio-sat/vmc-technical-guide.shtml kHz UTC (VMC) ----------------- 2628 0900-1900 5100 24 hours 11030 24 hours 13920 24 hours 20469 1900-0900 The stations also offer marine weather voice weather transmissions as follows: VMC Voice frequencies in kHz, times in local time (EST) at the transmitter. 2201 local night (6pm-7am) 4426 local day (7am-6pm) 6507 local night (6pm-7am) 8176 24 hours (may be interrupted by navigation warnings for a few minutes preceding each hour) 12365 24 hours 16546 local day (7am-6pm) [EST = summer time currently UT +11] [WST = all year time UT +8] VMW Voice frequencies (kHz): Times are the local time (WST) at the transmitter. 2056 local night (6pm-7am) 4149 local day (7am-6pm) 6230 local night (6pm-7am) 8113 24 hours 12362 24 hours 16528 local day (7am-6pm) Since their power is only 1 kW each, don't expect huge signals, but they may well serve as a good propagation indicator for the respective region. There are brief transmission breaks of a minute or 2 between individual images (each image takes between 5 and 10 minutes roughly). The stations are conveniently located in both halves of tha Australian continent, and a map can be found here: http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/radio-sat/broadcast-areas-map.shtml Best regards, (Tobias (T²), Germany, March 1, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AZERBAIJAN / ARMENIA. Station Time table Edaletin Ceci / Voice of Justice, which for many years to produce different editions, 0600 Wed and Sat and 1400 Mon and Fri at 9677 kHz, is bogus and does not correspond to the truth. These transmissions do not already exist. Most likely with about 0810 to about 1410 each day passes the "Voice Talishistan" - the same speakers, burning in the same style and with such pseudo-modulation, as well as at the Edaletin Ceci / Voice of Justice, and probably someone inspired (or is it?) the station is now called "Iktimal Radio" (translated from the language azerskogo [Azeri] - this Public Radio / Public Radio Azeerbaydzhana let someone could compare the 9677 kHz with the Public Radio Azerbaydzhana online and tell what the correct name of the station (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria, RusDX 26 Feb via DXLD) ** BANGLADESH [and non]. 4750, BB, 1439 21 Feb. Surprised to hear BB beating CNR1 this morning! Check on 22 Feb. had CNR1 well atop at 1430 (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4750.00, Bangladesh Betar, Feb 23 1359-1410, 43443, Bengali, Bangladesh music and news, ID at 1405. 9455, Bangladesh Betar, Feb 23 1318-1334, 35433-35333, Nepali, News, Theme music at 1323, ID at 1326 (Kouji Hashimoto, JAPAN, RX, IC-R75, NRD-525+RD-9830, ANT, 130m Sloper Wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. BANGLADESH BETAR - THE STORY OF GLORY These days, when information technology and the internet are not far from our grasp, on hearing the name “Bangladesh Betar (Betar meaning radio in Bangla)”, one might ask, “Who would listen to Bangladesh Betar today?” You may contemplate that their programmes are not interesting enough for this day and age, or even term them “monotonous.” However, to your surprise, there are still a large number of people who feel nostalgic on just hearing the name of the shows that used to air in Bangladesh Betar. --- Full story at : http://www.thedailystar.net/star-weekend/heritage/bangladesh-betar-the-story-glory-1365967 -- (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, Feb 24, dx_sasia yg via DXLD) ** BHUTAN. 6035 kHz, Bhutan Broadcasting Service (tentativo), Thimphu Dzongkha, 28/02/17 0122 UT. Musica típica da região, locução YL, canções regionais. Antes de divulgar este logging, consultei várias fontes de informação, inclusive vídeos no Youtube de outros colegas de rádio que sintonizaram esta estação, inclusive no Brasil. O estilo de comunicação e da música apresentada é completamente semelhante ao que sintonizei. 25332 / 35433. Um idioma impossível de poder identificar algumas palavras ou mesmo a identificação da emissora. Ambas as escutas [com Brasil 4895] foram gravadas em vídeo e podem ser consultadas no meu canal no Youtube GrimmSBC. 73 (Rudolf Grimm, SP, Brasil, Icom IC-R75 + Antena MiniWhip PA0RDT, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 3310. R. MOSOJ CHASKI. Febrero 25. 0924-0935 UT. Avisos de productos agrícolas, la emisora, hora local y luego una meditación en idioma quechua. SINPO: 45444 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 95 metros de largo, QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5952.42, Radio Pio Doce, 0230*, Feb 26. Off with the normal sign off format, but cut off before the chimes; best in USB; fair (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. 4930, VOA (Selebi-Phikwe) 1516-1527 23 Feb. "Border Crossings" with Larry London -- requests, greetings to listeners in Uganda, Nigeria (listening on 94.1 FM) & rundown of "Brit Awards" (David Bowie, Drake, Beyoncé). (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Long path ** BOUGAINVILLE. 3325, NBC Bougainville, 1131-1200*, Feb 28. DJ in Pidgin/Tok Pisin playing Pacific Islands pop songs; several IDs; poor. RRI Palangkaraya not heard till suddenly on about 1159 (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4894.93, Feb 24 at 0216, S8 music vs CODAR; seems romantic pop, not S Asian, and too late for Kurseong, India. But evening bandscans have not been hitting anything here. Must be irregular Brazilian. Or maybe it signs off early, but now an hour later with the end of DST in Brasil. Just music, no announcements to 0224. Recheck 0230, now Brazuguese- intonation announcement, more music. 0257 another try can make out talk, but too weak and too much CODAR, which can`t be notched. Aoki shows R. Baré and R. Novo Tempo, but Baré has been gone for years. An official roster of ZY SW stations from last September includes neither, nothing on 4895, nor Novo Tempo on any frequency. WRTH 2017 shows only Novo Tempo, 5 kW from Campo Grande MS, ZYR200. The DSWCI Tropical Bands Monitor compiled this January shows R Novo Tempo, the only 4895 Brasilian, was reported running 24h in seven of the twelve months in 2016, including December. Probably referring to this from Dave Valko: ``4894.92 BRAZIL?? R. Novo Tempo?? Found a signal here at 0856. Nowhere near enough for audio, but did find R. Novo Tempo on the exact same freq using Artur Nogueiras SDR.hu web rx. Nice ID at 0901. (Valko 24 Dec.)``. Note the close match to my frequency offset. This station is religious, but maybe low-key, like Alcaraván. Without being able to make out the lyrix, could not be sure the ``romantic`` sounding songs were not really about being in love with Jesus. Here`s info about the relatively new station and its target audience, not admitting to being sporadic on onda tropical: http://novotempo.com/campogrande/a-radio/ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4894.9, Radio Novo Tempo, Campo Grande (presumed), 0331-0354. Talk by a woman in what sounded like Portuguese. Sometimes joined by a man. Brazilian style ballad music at 0344. Poor signal with less than optimal audio and relentless CODAR interference. Fading down badly after 0350. Also hearing Brazil on 4885 with an unusually strong signal tonight. Novo Tempo last heard here in 2009. 2/24/2017 (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, IC-R75, Perseus, Various Portables, Random Wire, Wellbrook Loops, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) 4894.92, Feb 25 at 0119, the VP Brazilian is here again, R. Novo Tempo. 4894.92, Feb 25 at 0654, JBA carrier vs CODAR, so R. Novo Tempo is on now. Also a JBA carrier on its off-frequency circa 2335 UT Feb 25, but no signal at 0113 Feb 26 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4895 kHz, Radio Novo Tempo, Campo Grande MS, 28/02/17 0028 UT. Programa de perguntas e respostas sobre ensinos da Biblia, ID ‘Novo Tempo’. Um sinal de boa qualidade recebido em São Bernardo SP. 45544. Ambas as escutas [cf BHUTAN] foram gravadas em vídeo e podem ser consultadas no meu canal no Youtube GrimmSBC (Rudolf Grimm, Brasil, Rx: Icom IC-R75 + Antena loop coaxial RGP, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 6010, 0717, Rádio Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte fair in Portuguese with spoken feature on measured 6010.046 but freq wandered a bit as I listened on 10/2. USB to avoid another 6010 station at weak level. No trace in recent times of their // 19m frequency (Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, Northland, North Island, New Zealand, WinRadio G33DDC and AOR7030+receivers, EWEs to North, Central & South America, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Re RNA/RNB: DEU PANE NO TRANSFORMADOR DA SUBSTAÇÃO DE ENERGIA DO RODEADOR. 25 METROS NO AR, 49 VOLTA AMANHÃ (Ariovaldo Lobrito, Feb 22, radioescutas yg via DXLD) [breakdown of the transformer at the power substation for Rodeador. 25m on the air; 49m returns tomorrow] Nacional em 11780 de volta ao ar 2017-02-23 0248. Transmissão do jogo do Botafogo vs Olímpia. Diferente do outro colega, não acredito que tenha sido propagação... Acho que foi manutenção no transmissor (Huelbe Garcia, Brasil, ibid.) 11780 - R. Nacional at 0207 back with very good signal here tonight. OM with excited talks in Portuguese with a few other OM & YLs throwing in comments. Fanfares, IDs & jingles. Nothing heard on 6180 (Stephen C Wood, Harwich, MA, UT Feb 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11780, Feb 24 at 0250 check, RNA/RNB is gone again after a brief reactivation Feb 22. 6180 is still gone, never came back, AFAIK. Yet weakling ZYs on 25m are detectable, 11764.6, 11855, 11925, 11934.8. 6147-6157 approx., Feb 25 at 0131, huge S9+45 distortion blob peaking circa 6151-6152. I bet it`s Brasília --- yes, barely able to match modulation peaks and pauses with 11780 where RNA/RNB is active tonight. And I am also hearing // 6180 with OK modulation but there the signal is very weak mixed with CRI and I can ID it only by // 11780 which is sufficient but not inbooming; RNA ID in passing at 0133. There is no match 23-33 kHz above 6180, a VERY misaligned transmitter. The crap around 6151 reminds me of sewage bubbling thru a manhole in a flood. What next? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6180, Feb 25 at 2256, not audible here, but VG on 11780; at 2315, RNA/RNB with jazz, audible very poorly on 6180 and // much better 11780. Now how about the parasitic spurblob heard yesterday? Yes! Here it is again, roughly 6144-6157, with the same beat as on 11780. Try the FM mode? No good that way either. 2317 announcement with matching peaks and pauses. 2348, the blob field has drifted to 6142-6152, peaking about 6147, S9+40. Oh oh, this is totally blocking 6145, The Mighty KBC from 0000. See NETHERLANDS [non]. Walt Salmaniw, Victoria BC, replies, ``Ouch! Completely blocking the signal, although occasionally I can hear the Mighty KBC, so it might have been a decent evening into WCNA. 73, Walt`` Chuck Albertson in Seattle says, ``Yech! It's still there (0230Z) - I thought it was my neighbor's flat-screen TV. Chuck``. Yes, very similar blobs do emanate from some of my local devices. 6121, Feb 25 at 2317, approx. center of a weaker blob making the same sound, just above 6115 WWCR. By 2348, blob has become audible in the lower but not upper sideband of WWCR. See also UNIDENTIFIED 9353- (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fairly strong carrier on 11780 at 0200 on 2/26, but audio very faint. Nothing on 6180 (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As of an hour to half an hour ago, most of their RF was going into a huge distorted blob circa 6143-6155 (Glenn to Chuck, via DXLD) [and non]. 6148-6157, peaking about 6153, Feb 26 at 0655, S9+20 RNA/RNB extremely distorted blob squeezed out of the weakened 6180 transmitter, like toothpaste from a broken tube, now extends around here; and with nothing in the way now, the weaker squish is audible 6120-6128 peaking at 6124, S8. Separations are very roughly minus 28 and minus 2 x 28 = 56 kHz. Possibly a third even weaker one circa 6075, but not sure from same source. Cannot hear one circa 6095 vs Anguilla. Still nothing corresponding on the high side of 6180. Wolfgang Büschel reports, ``Checked at 0914 UT Feb 26 on Florida, East Coast North America remote SDR unit: Wide range distorted Blob in range 6142.8 to 6150.6 kHz, S=9 11780.008 kHz, rather weak and tiny signal of RNB/RNA Brasil, bad propagation from the south, S=4-5 or -102dBm at 0919 UT on Febr 26.`` Roger Thayer in Germany sends a .png of The drift between 0100-0200z: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6rrktapf5zh3iol/2017-02-26_6145kHz_KBC-QRM_01-02z.png?dl=1 http://tinyurl.com/jbk8npd including an inset at 0130 of the VOA Radiogram rose during the KBC broadcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Same blob as last night, covering The Mighty KBC, tonight is centered on 6150.9 kHz, so would not have been an issue. Every bit as loud, though! About 3.5 kHz wide. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, 0422 UT Feb 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6152, Feb 27 at 0605, approx. center of RNA/RNB blob at S9+40, // VP 6180 and G 11780. Also second-order blob circa 6123 at only S9. It`s hard to make a match to 11780 during music, but can barely do so by pauses and some modulation during talk. Look for more further down the band, but none at 28-29 kHz intervals. However, a very similar- sounding one about 5931, probably something else locally. Recheck at 0710, the main ones have shifted slightly, to center around 6150 and 6119. 6151v is so strong compared to 6180 that obviously most of the 250? kW is emanating from the parasite (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RÁDIO NACIONAL DA AMAZÔNIA - 49m. A RNA ou EBC voltou a transmitir em 49m, porém, tenho sintonizado a emissora em 6150 kHz com áudio saturado, ruim, e não em 6180 kHz como deveria. O TX deve estar desregulado após manutenção. Aliás, os TXs da emissora devem ser sucateados [scrapped], pois passam por conserto [repair] frequentemente, ou seria pouco-caso com as ondas curtas que servem toda uma população do Norte e Nordeste do país? É o que há. Registrado (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira SP, Brasil, 27-2-2017 segunda-feira, radioescutas yg via DXLD) 6180, Feb 28 at 0714, JBA carrier, but no blob in the 6150 range from RNA/RNB, while 11780 is OK, VG. Then I hear a blob in the 6165-6175 range, but can`t confirm a match to 11780. 6150v, 6120v, March 1 at 0614, by now the Brazoblobs are definitely off and so is 6180, completely. The engineers at Rodeador must have finally realized there`s a problem. 11780 is still good at S9 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11854.16, Feb 25 at 0144, R. Aparecida has varied up to here, and frequency is unstable, only S3 and equivalent to the 11850 RHC spur. Wolfgang Büschel reported during the following hour: ``11855.233 plus minus 20 Hertz HOPPING up and won, very unstable transmission fq-wise, R Aparecida, at 0223 UT Feb 25, S=4-5 on threshold level in Florida remote SDR`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 11924.994, Feb 23 at 0708, Portuguese from R. Bandeirantes, which has tweaked its transmitter much closer to nominal frequency after being up to 200 Hz high a lot of the time; ID in passing at 0710. 11925.18, Feb 25 at 2333, R. Bandeirantes is up to here again, sounds like futebol coverage, with a weak het from something on 11925.0 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Great signals in 25 and 19 mb from Brazil in 20-22 UT range Feb 23: 11764.627 kHz SRDA S=8-9 11780.007 kHz RNB Brasilia S=7-8 11815.018 kHz Radio Brasil Central, S=6-7 11924.976 kHz Radio Bandeirantes S=6-7 11934.836 kHz RB2 S=7 15190.021 kHz R Inconfidencia S=7 compared R Martí Greenville 11930 S=9+15dB (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) All Brazilian radio stations in 25 and 31 mb came-in in Florida remote SDR, RATHER POOR propagation wise tonight! 11780.008, RNB S=7-8 fair, in central Florida remote SDR installation, at 0216 UT. Talk PortBras feature. 11764.625, SRDA S=5-6 at 0217 UT on Feb 25. 11815.014, Weak and tiny fluttery signal by Radio Brasil Central, S=4- 5 just above threshold at 0220 UT. 11855.233, plus minus 20 Hertz HOPPING up and won, very unstable transmission fq-wise, R Aparecida, at 0223 UT Feb 25, S=4-5 on threshold level. Next door on 11860 kHz ARS Riyadh's R Sanaa's HQ prayer program at S=9 level! 11925.002, Probably R Bandeirantes on threshold very tiny ... 11934.837, RB2 on threshold level at 0230 UT Feb 25. \\ 9724.871 RB2 fluttery at 0236 UT, S=5 tiny signal, talk by male and female. 9664.899, Voz Missionária, Jesus Christo Hallejujah, S=7 weak to fair, but nice audio modulation quality, some 5 Hertz wandered/hopping around at 0240 UT on Feb 25. 9630.023, Rádio Aparecida, unstable frequency, hopping 5-10 Hertz up and down. At 0243 UT on Feb 25 fluttery and tiny signal (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. [RE previous audio link]: [radioescutas] DIGITAL Pessoal, Bem interessante o áudio, onde na entrevista, são esclarecidas as duvidas sobre o rádio digital. 73 (Wilson, Feb 25, radioescutas yg via DXLD) OK, qualquer duvidas, estamos à disposição, na ABRADIG e no DRM Brasil ABRADIG - Associação Brasileira do Rádio Digital http://www.drmbrasil.org.br (Ariovaldo Lobrito, 25 Feb, ibid.) ** BULGARIA. POP MUSIC BAN A HIT WITH BULGARIAN RADIO AUDIENCE 24 Feb 2017 https://www.afp.com/en/news/206/pop-music-ban-hit-bulgarian-radio-audience AFP/File / LEON NEAL The row has forced Bulgarian public radio to drop contemporary music and dig up older tunes Bulgaria's public radio has been given a surprise boost in listeners after a copyright war limited the broadcaster to airing music recorded at least 70 years ago. The station has been playing classical music and long-forgotten jazz and folk pieces for almost two months now after its management refused to pay increased annual royalty fees to the Musicautor performers' rights organisation. The refusal has forced the radio to drop contemporary music and dig up older tunes from its dusty archive. Under EU regulations, copyright lasts for 70 years after a composer's death. Instead of Rihanna and Justin Bieber, the crooning sounds of Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters now fill the airwaves. The change in tune unexpectedly struck the right note with listeners, particularly among older generations. Pensioners make up around a third of Bulgaria's 7.4-million-strong population. "Instead of punishing us, the switch has boosted our listener base," BNR spokeswoman Nikoleta Elenkova told AFP this week, as a new round of talks with Musicautor failed. A listeners' survey conducted by the IPSOS institute showed a 20-percent boost in listenership in January, when the changes entered into effect, compared to the average monthly levels in the fourth quarter of 2016. With a share of 16.5 percent, the station moved one place up in the ranking of the most popular stations and was now third behind two music radios, IPSOS said. "The music that the radio played before -- a bad mix of Bulgarian and foreign pop -- annoyed me," said Galina Savcheva, a beautician in her fifties. "Now I love turning back to the BNR for some Mozart, Vivaldi or foxtrot, which reminds me of my grandmother," she added. BNR's chief executive Alexander Velev said the positive feedback had prompted the station to "re-examine (its) music shows and take into account the taste of our listeners". In a further twist, many young performers used the copyright row as a chance to promote their music by voluntarily ceding their rights to the BNR. - 'Dare to be different' - The radio used to pay Musicautor an annual fee of 500,000 leva (256,000 euros), which according to the organisation was much lower than what private broadcasters paid. It now wants a rise of 250 percent. The BNR filed a lawsuit against Musicautor in January. Supporters on social media urged the station "not to give in". "Your musical programme is much better without Musicautor," wrote psychologist Venelin Dimitrov on BNR's official Facebook page. "Dare to be different and your audience will grow," read another comment. But the rights organisation hit back, with director Ivan Dimitrov saying that "the data for a rise in listeners numbers is nothing but a bad attempt for more publicity". "We only demanded a gradual rise over five years," he added. 24 Feb 2017 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) UNA RADIO BÚLGARA REVIVE GRACIAS UNA PARRILLA DE TEMAS DE HACE 70 AÑOS [AFP] Por Vessela SERGUEVA AFP 24 de febrero de 2017 Un grupo de estudiantes de secundaria celebra su graduación frente a la catedral de Alejandro Nevski, en Sofía, el 27 de mayo de 2014 La radio pública búlgara, obligada a prescindir de los grandes éxitos actuales y programar su parrilla con música sin derechos de autor por un pleito judicial, vive un repunte inesperado en su número de oyentes, encantados de poder escuchar clásicos y viejos temas de 'jazz' ya olvidados. Glenn Miller, las Andrews Sisters, pero también Vivaldi o antiguas canciones folclóricas locales; desde principios de enero, la programación de la radio pública BNR se ha ganado de forma involuntaria el sello 'vintage'. Debido a un litigio con la sociedad Musicautor, la radio estatal solo puede difundir música cuyos compositores lleven muertos al menos 70 años y cuyas obras estén libres de derechos. El supuesto castigo se ha convertido en un regalo para miles de oyentes, saturados por el exceso de música pop actual en todas las emisoras: en enero, la audiencia ha crecido un 20% respecto a la media del cuatrimestre anterior, según la medición mensual del instituto Ipsos. "En lugar de penalizarnos, el cambio ha aumentado nuestra audiencia", declaró a AFP la portavoz de BNR, Nikoleta Elenkova. La nueva política musical obviamente hace las delicias de la franja de oyentes de mayor edad, en un país envejecido en el que un tercio de sus habitantes son jubilados. No obstante, también seduce a generaciones más jóvenes, como Galina Savcheva, una esteticista en la cincuentena que escucha la radio mientras trabaja en su salón en Sofía. "La música de antes, con mucho pop búlgaro y extranjero, me aburría", afirma. "Ahora voy a BNR para [escuchar] a Mozart, Vivaldi e incluso 'foxtrot', que me recuerda a mi abuela". Las redes sociales también han celebrado el cambio y se han llenado de mensajes de ánimo: "Sed diferentes y vuestra audiencia seguirá aumentando", escribía una internauta. El conflicto con Musicautor también ha sido aprovechado por jóvenes compositores actuales pero desconocidos. "Esos jóvenes músicos nos ceden sus derechos gratuitamente para darse a conocer" y se benefician de una difusión nacional inesperada, subraya Elenkova. (via JUAN FRANCO CRESPO DXLD) ** CAMBODIA [and non]. CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT CITES TRUMP IN THREATENING FOREIGN NEWS OUTLETS Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia at the National Assembly in January. His government has long fought critical news coverage. Cambodia National Assembly, via Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images [caption] By MIKE IVES February 28, 2017 https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/world/asia/cambodia-trump-press-freedom.html HONG KONG -- In a sign that President Trump's criticism of the news media may be having a ripple effect overseas, a government spokesman in Cambodia has cited the American leader in threatening to shutter foreign news outlets, including some that receive money from Washington. The spokesman, Phay Siphan, said that foreign news groups, including the United States-financed Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, should "reconsider" how they broadcast -- or risk a government response if their reports are deemed to spread disinformation or threaten peace and stability. The White House decision to bar several news outlets, including The New York Times, CNN and Politico, from a briefing last week, Mr. Phay Siphan said in a Facebook post on Saturday, "sends a clear message" that Mr. Trump "sees that news broadcast by those media outlets does not reflect the truth, which is the responsibility of professional journalists." "Freedom of expression," he wrote, "is subject to the law and must respect the state's power." Prime Minister Hun Sen echoed Mr. Phay Siphan's remarks but stopped short of threatening to close problematic news outlets, according to a report in The Phnom Penh Post. Mr. Hun Sen, who has been in office for 32 years, has relied on brutality and intimidation to stay in power, according to rights groups. Critics say that his government is now using Mr. Trump's words to justify a crackdown on critical news coverage before two elections, adding that the move could herald a new tactic in efforts to suppress free speech by governments in Southeast Asia and beyond. The Facebook comments "show pretty clearly that as soon as there are perceptions that the United States has wavered on its commitment to press freedom, then countries with authoritarian tendencies are very quick to abandon any pretense of allowing the media to operate freely," said Shawn W. Crispin, the Bangkok-based Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonpartisan advocacy group based in New York. Mr. Crispin said he worried that Mr. Phay Siphan's comments would "open a can of worms" in Southeast Asian countries where journalists already face official intimidation, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Representatives for Voice of America and Radio Free Asia pushed back against Mr. Phay Siphan's comments on Tuesday. "For decades, Voice of America has been a model of the very American bedrock of values of a free and independent press," Amanda Bennett, the broadcaster's director, said in an email. "Those are the principles we have long lived and worked by, especially in places around the world where those values are under attack." Rohit Mahajan, the director of public affairs for Radio Free Asia, said that the organization planned to "continue bringing the people of Cambodia independent, credible and honest journalism." "The government's efforts to deter and discourage R.F.A. and our esteemed media colleagues only further underscore the need for free press in Cambodia," Mr. Mahajan said in an email. He said that Radio Free Asia broadcasted in local languages via radio, internet and sometimes television in six countries: Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, North Korea and Vietnam. But he said it had accredited news operations in Cambodia, where it has 25 reporters, as well as in Hong Kong and in Myanmar. In 2012, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia were summoned to a closed-door meeting with Cambodian officials to discuss their "professionalism," according to an account by the Paris-based advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. Topics at the meeting included news coverage of the 2012 killing of Chut Wutty, a Cambodian environmental activist, and the sentencing that year of Mam Sonando, the owner of a Cambodian radio station that had criticized Mr. Hun Sen, to 20 years in prison on charges of instigating insurrection and other offenses. In a speech on Monday in Phnom Penh, the capital, Mr. Hun Sen appeared to liken his views on the news media to those of Mr. Trump. Cambodia respects rights linked to the rule of law, "but not the rights of anarchy," he said, according to the Phnom Penh Post account of his remarks. Referring to the barring of the American journalists from the White House briefing, Mr. Hun Sen said that "Donald Trump sees them as causing anarchy," The Post reported. In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Mr. Phay Siphan said that Cambodia had not taken any specific retaliatory actions against foreign news organizations. "We have no intention to expel anyone," he said. But he also urged the organizations to stay on the "right track" and said that he planned to monitor their reports to ensure that they did not violate Cambodia's criminal code. Jay R. Raman, a public affairs officer at the United States Embassy in Phnom Penh, referred a request for comment on Mr. Phay Siphan's Facebook post to the Cambodian government. "The United States has long supported freedom of the press and considers it to be fundamental to any democracy," Mr. Raman said. Cambodia's main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, nearly defeated Mr. Hun Sen's party, the Cambodian People's Party, in a 2013 general election. Members of the opposition party are now facing lawsuits and other challenges that critics say are part of an attempt by Mr. Hun Sen to weaken his rivals before local elections this year and a general election in 2018. Son Chhay, the parliamentary whip for the Cambodia National Rescue Party, said he saw Mr. Phay Siphan's warning to the news media as part of that broader effort. "The public is on the opposition's side, and it worries the government a lot," he said. Although it is too early to tell how seriously to take Mr. Phay Siphan's threats against the foreign news media, any crackdown would have an "incalculable" and chilling effect on reporters who work for domestic news organizations, said Sophal Ear, a Cambodia expert at Occidental College in Los Angeles. "They could be jailed or worse," he said. "There was a time in the 1990s when reporters ended up dead with alarming regularity." Follow Mike Ives on Twitter @mikeives. Nara Lon contributed reporting from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (via Mike Cooper, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) ** CANADA. STUART MCLEAN, WHO CREATED RADIO'S `THE VINYL CAFE,' DIES AT 68 --- By IAN AUSTEN February 17, 2017 https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/arts/stuart-mclean-dead-vinyl-cafe-radio-host.html Stuart McLean, a Canadian journalist who found fame on the radio as a gentle and optimistic humorist, died on Feb. 15 in Toronto. He was 68. His death was announced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which broadcast Mr. McLean's reports on its radio and television networks as well as his long-running weekly variety radio show, "The Vinyl Cafe." The show was also heard on 62 public radio stations in the United States and, until 2008, on BBC Radio. Mr. McLean announced in December that he was suspending the show to concentrate on his treatment for melanoma. The CBC did not specify the cause of death. It was Mr. McLean's focus on small, quotidian events in his later work as a journalist that led him toward writing fictional tales about the owner of a secondhand record shop, known only as Dave, and his family and neighbors. They became the heart of "The Vinyl Cafe." The program rested almost entirely on Mr. McLean's slow-paced storytelling. He read essays about the various communities where the show was recorded along with his fictional tales of Dave's life. In between, he spotlighted live and recorded music performances by Canadian artists, most of them young and little-known folk or acoustic musicians. For many of its fans, the program helped define Canada. The show was first broadcast in 1994 as a summer replacement; when production was halted in late 2015 because of Mr. McLean's cancer diagnosis, it went into reruns. The 11 books of stories from the program were all best sellers in Canada, and several won awards. Vinyl records, the product sold by Dave, the protagonist of most of the stories, already appeared headed for extinction when the show made its debut. While well intentioned, Dave was generally misguided and bumbling -- a gentle, anger-free version of John Cleese's Basil Fawlty. Morley, Dave's wife, was the sensible family member. Like the characters' family names, the location of the stories was never revealed, but, at least in the early seasons, it appeared to be Toronto. The definitive Dave-and-Morley story was first broadcast in 1996 and then every year after that, near Christmas. Its somewhat complex story line eventually finds Dave, tipsy, checking into a hotel on Christmas Day with his family's uncooked holiday turkey under his arm. As always with Mr. McLean's stories, all ends well. Jess Milton, the show's producer for the last 13 years, said that while Mr. McLean regarded his essays as journalism and did extensive reporting before writing them, he was also comfortable with fanciful fiction. "Stuart always tried to tell the truth," she said. "And sometimes you have to go to fiction to tell a greater truth." Andrew Stuart McLean was born on April 19, 1948, in Montreal and raised in Montreal West, a separate, largely English-speaking municipality. His parents, Andrew McLean and the former Pat Godkin, were Australians who moved to Canada after World War II. Mr. McLean attended Lower Canada College, a private elementary and secondary school (where he said he never felt he belonged), before transferring to what is now Concordia University. He moved into broadcasting after managing a CBC journalist's successful campaign for the Montreal City Council. His early career involved producing documentaries for "Sunday Morning," at the time the flagship current affairs program on the CBC's main English radio network. Over time, however, Mr. McLean shifted away from reporting on weighty events and issues. He traveled the country gathering stories from Canadians for both radio and television about matters not usually seen as newsworthy. "He reminded us that everything is important, even little things, and that means we're all important," said Ms. Milton, who was also a student of Mr. McLean's at Ryerson University in Toronto, where he taught journalism for 20 years. "The Vinyl Cafe" was presented in front of an audience and toured for more than 100 days each year in Canada and in cities in the United States, including Bay City, Mich., and Potsdam, N.Y. Only 22 of those dates were recorded for broadcast. Unusually for the CBC, which is owned by the Canadian government, the show was not an in-house production. Mr. McLean owned all the rights and sold the program to the broadcaster. His survivors include three sons, Christopher Trowbridge and Robert and Andrew McLean; a sister, Stephanie Williams; a brother, Alistair McLean; and two grandchildren. His marriage to Linda Read, a potter, ended in divorce. During an interview on a CBC talk show in 2012, Mr. McLean said that because he had aged his Vinyl Cafe characters over two decades, some of them would die in future episodes. "We'll have to handle it sometime," he said. "Either that or me; we're going to lose somebody." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) another obit ** CANADA. Fellas, from an insider at the CBC. Unfortunately, it doesn't look good for CKZU ever returning to the air. :-( Thanks to Colin Newell for digging into this further (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ``Got the answer; not gonna like it. Basically, it broke and they don't have parts to fix it because it's too old and no parts available. The money required to purchase a new transmitter doesn't make sense because of the low numbers of people who use it (changing world, everything's online, blah blah). Before you say it, yes I know, I know. Anyway, there is no other way to voice your displeasure than the 1- 866-306-4636 audience relations number. if enough people call, they might notice, but I doubt it. Sorry to be the bad news messenger. I kinda figured that was the deal of why it was off the air.`` Posted by: (Volodya Salmaniw, BC, ibid.) CBC SAILS INTO THE SUNSET - 6160 KHZ [CKZU] GONE FOREVER. http://coffee.bc.ca/canadiana/954/a-little-bit-of-cbc-radio-history-ades-away -- (Colin Newell - Editor and creator of Coffeecrew.com and DXer.ca - VA7WWV | Twitter @CoffeeCrew | Victoria - Canada, Feb 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz., illustrated with QSLs, map, towers: (gh) If you are much under the age of 40, the concept of “radio, the medium that reaches the masses” is probably not a thing that resonates with you. But for many residents of British Columbia, over the last 70 years, if you lived in an out of the way place, CBC Shortwave on 6160 kHz was likely your only source of news, commentary and entertainment. This service has been on for as long as I can remember. I was a 12 year old when I first discovered CBC 690 in Vancouver was being relayed by a low powered transmitter out on the mudflats of Richmond, British Columbia. It was part of my daily routine as a kid living on the West Coast to see how the news of the day sounded, as transmitted through a crackly and occasionally fading shortwave transmitter. In the last year, however, amidst one more trim to CBC services, the Shortwave service quietly faded into history for British Columbia. And sure, it is easy to say, in an era of satellite and internet communications, “who listens to the radio anymore anyway?” CBC SW Service B.C. 6160 khz Well, through the years, this little 1000 Watt transmitter covered British Columbia and the Pacific North West with a pretty darn good signal – often being heard around the World. It served the fishing fleet in the Pacific, hunters and trappers in the wilds of British Columbia, geologists and foresters working in places served by nothing more than fresh air, sunshine and moon light. But time moves on. In 2017, our news stories comes at us in 140 character snippets on our social media and video footage is viewed in HD quality on our smart phones. Heck, we hardly need television anymore. Illustration below – Telus composite Cell coverage for British Columbia – around 15% of the Province has high speed cell coverage. TELUS Composite coverage There was a time, when radio was king and the hardy and adventurous among us kept in touch the old fashioned way and listened to the sweet sounds of the CBC via radio skip. Many of us still do that in some of the more isolated nooks and crannies of this great province via the old style CBC AM radio service. For those of us who tuned the CBC with a multi-band transistor radio, a cranky ionosphere often made for quirky sounding audio and the fading associated with signal conditions gave this regional broadcaster a very retro and way back sound. Quote from radio operator VE7SL – “Located on the mudflats of far western Richmond (Steveston) and a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean’s Georgia Strait, CKZU’s gets out very well for its compartively small 500W transmitter.” Photo by Mark Matilla – VA7MM of the CKZU Antenna Array CKZU Antenna Richmond Flats In the last year, hobbyists and radio amateurs were noting that the little signal from Vancouver had been struggling after 7 decades on the air – a power supply component was creating distortion that was making the signal unlistenable. The decision was made. The plug was pulled. There was likely nary a moment when an outdoors person or fisher looked up from their work to note that CBC’s long range regional service was gone. When contacted and asked about the regional radio service (via a CBC insider), the engineering department responded… “It’s broken, old and there are no parts…” Right. Steve VE7SL of Mayne Island continues… “It appears to confirm the rumor that the antenna system consists of a two-wire beam (using wide- spaced folded dipole style elements) … one element being driven and the other element being a reflector. According to Mark, the orientation would beam the relayed CBU-690 signal up the coast of British Columbia and not towards the SE as the original Google photo appears to indicate. It is certainly a well ‘overbuilt’ structure. No doubt its height contributes to its ability to radiate a good signal all around North America (and Europe).” On the other coast, in Newfoundland, it’s a different story. Private radio broadcasts began on the rock in 1932 but in 1939 the government of the day took over radio. A shortwave service began there in 1940 and used different frequencies depending on the time of day. Newfoundland`s finest hours happened in 1940 as debate started about what would become of this British colony including thoughts cast towards joining the U.S.A. as a new state! Through the years equipment was updated and many radio stations carrying national broadcasts were added to the out of the way places in Newfoundland. That being so, Labrador, its own territory with its own special needs was covered by station CKZN out of St. Johns and future plans are to consider fully supporting regional shortwave broadcasting to reach the nooks and crannies of this rugged area. So, what of British Columbia? At 365 thousand square miles (Newfoundland and Labrador are 165 thousand square miles combined) you would think we would be still worthy of regional shortwave radio service. There are, arguably, thousands of square miles of this great Province with little or no cell coverage and certainly no radio coverage during the day or night. So the question remains – why has CBC British Columbia simply gone “Meh…” as their primary and only regional Shortwave transmitter has puffed out? I’d love to know. I’m not going to be bitter about it. CBC Shortwave service in B.C. is gone, but not forgotten. Thank you CBC. For decades of service to the small places and reaching the hardy faces of those brave souls who tamed the rugged vista that is British Columbia. Your radio waves are gone, but we will remember the good times when you brought the news, entertainment and music into the distant hills and valleys of this most rugged of Canadian provinces. But if you want to re-think this loss of service or entertain ideas about bringing it back, I am all ears! Video below – CKZU 6160 khz as picked up in Japan https://youtu.be/qvnftYiqGEs Update – By 1946, CBR operated a shortwave relay for remote areas of British Columbia using the call sign CBRX and operating on a frequency of 6160 kHz (in the 49m band). The call sign changed to CBUX in 1952 when the AM station became CBU. In 1965, the call sign changed to CKZU, recognizing that the ITU prefix CB was not assigned to Canada, but to Chile. The transmitter operates at 1000 watts and is located adjacent to CBU’s AM transmitter. Colin Newell is a long time Victoria resident who finds stories in the odd places… and tries to tell them like it is… [Comments:] Too bad — they were helpful as I roamed BC’s backroads (and even into the Alberta/BC mountain parks). I had a Sony SW car radio in my Tercel ef Vancouver — Eric [Floden] Feb 23, 09:00 am # Yes, it was difficult listening recently, but in the mountains and up the coast away from the Low Power FM repeaters, that was all we could get with local/national news and public affairs. CKZU will be missed, greatly. — Dan Say Feb 23, 06:03 pm # CKZU would have a powerful signal all day long across the north. 1 Kw to cover most of the Province. Seems like a great deal. — Walter Feb 23, 07:37 pm # This is a report in the May 1942 issue of Radio and Hobbies, about the station as heard in Australia: Readers will remember that in the March issue we gave details of a new Canadian station, which was to open shortly in the 49-metre band, namely, CBRX, Vancouver, and said that reception should be possible in this country, provided operating times were suitable. Our forecast was correct, as we have now heard this new one at quite good strength, operating on 6160kc., 48.1m. Station comes on the air at 12.30 am, and plays light music till 12.45 am, gives a religious service from then until 1 am, and then begins the news service from the CBC news room. Each quarter-hour announcement Is made as follows:- “This is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, station CBR and short wave CBRX, Vancouver, British Columbia.” This newcomer can still be heard at 1.45 am, but by that time it is beginning to fade out. — Colin Miller Feb 25, 09:24 am # (via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) According to swcountry.be, the CKZU transmitter was an Elcom Bauer 701B from 1983. This may have been a modified medium wave unit, as the company was known for lower powered AM transmitters. Here in Houston CKZU was the easier to hear of the two CBC domestics on 6160 (Stephen Luce, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RE: http://coffee.bc.ca/canadiana/954/a-little-bit-of-cbc-radio-history-fades-away "... – a power supply component was creating distortion that was making the signal unlistenable." Perhaps the exact replacement part wasn't available, but it wouldn't exactly take a PhD in Electrical Engineering to fix a problem like that (including replacing the entire power supply with one built from scratch with modern components). Probably most Amateurs would be able to handle it considering the relatively low power. It's a pity they wouldn't let volunteers work on the transmitter and get it going again. More likely they (the CBC) were looking for *any* excuse to close it down once and for all, which is very unfortunate. Maybe a Radio Club somewhere will step in and help out before they (the CBC) tear down the antenna? (--Rodney Johnson, NV, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And yet in this year`s WRTH, there is an article about CKZN. The piece mentions they plan to replace the transmitter with a new unit. More people listen to it? (Andy Reid, Ont., dxldyg via DXLD) by Hans Johnson, pp 30-31 (gh) Re: CANADA: CKZU - More bad news http://swling.com/blog/2017/02/ckzu-unlikely-to-return-to-shortwave/ ``Does anyone in the group have the exact date CKZU left the air?`` Last reported in DXLD on air 30 Sep 2016, reported to be definitely off air 27 Nov 2016. Getting the exact date could be impossible, since that was the moment when the transmitter in the unattended facility tripped off. I would not assume that this little toy was connected to remote control/monitoring. Pictures... https://www.flickr.com/photos/90536753@N00/2993841466/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/46468661@N04/29703452372/ (Kai Ludwig, Feb 25, shortswavesites yg via DXLD) ** CANADA. Re: report on 14 Jan on CKRW-AM ``610, Whitehorse YT, 1 kW, CKRW, Jan 14 1604 - Quite the difference from yesterday AM, when 610 yielded a number of stations, and seemed to change every minute. This morning, tuned in at the end of the newscast, and the frequency is owned by Whitehorse! Excellent reception. ID'd as, '96.1, The Rush' and into modern vocals. ..... [Walt Salmaniw, Masset BC, DXLD 17-03]`` Broadcasting Procedural Letter Addressed to Kevin Benson (Klondike Broadcasting Company Limited) Ottawa, 20 February 2017 http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2017/lb170220.htm?_ga=1.155103281.885677621.1484888034 Dear Mr. Benson, This is in reference to the application by Klondike Broadcasting Company Limited (Klondike Broadcasting), related to the English- language commercial AM radio station CKRW Whitehorse, Yukon Territory in which you are requesting "emergency" temporary authority to originate programming of CKRW from its rebroadcasting transmitter CKRW-FM Whitehorse. Procedural Request 1. In the application, you have requested that the Commission make an exception to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (the Rules of Procedure) in the treatment of this application. More specifically, you have requested that the application be processed administratively (as described in Broadcasting Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-960). Commission staff is of the view that this type of request falls beyond the scope of an administrative route and that the public should be given an opportunity to file submissions as interveners or respondents. Therefore, your procedural request is denied and the application will be processed as a Part 1 application. However, the timeline of the Part 1 process will be shortened as follows:... ---- Radio station CKRW (The Rush) in Whitehorse has applied to the CRTC to temporarily switch its main transmitter from a 50-year-old 1,000-watt AM transmitter to its FM retransmitter, after getting an engineering report that the AM antenna has degraded to the point where it is no longer safe. The temporary switch will be followed by another application to do the same thing on a permanent basis. CKRW also has seven other transmitters in Yukon and one in the Northwest Territories. There were just comments on the transfer of FM to AM transmitter and how the CRTC (Canadian version of FCC) doesn't allow that. I am in New Westminster, Canada and haven't caught CKRW, but several Alberta stations are boomers in our evening (William Lee, BC, DXLD) ** CANADA. 3330-CUSB, March 1 at 0626, CHU is inaudible, not even a carrier. Think it must be off as I should be able to detect it despite storm noise of S9+30 from eastern OK. 3485 NY Radio is audible, as is CHU OK on 7850-CUSB (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CANADA HISTORY: FEB 25, 1945- CANADA’S VOICE TO THE WORLD RCI By Marc Montgomery 24 February, 2017 Canada’s shortwave service officially launched It had been a bit of a bumpy ride for Canada to get its own voice heard internationally. The idea that Canada’s voice and opinions needed to be heard internationally had been bandied about as far back as the 1930’s but little had been done about it. By the late thirties and the declaration of war in 1939, the idea of radio propaganda was firmly established by the enemy. Soon into the war, with things going badly for the Allies, Britain and Canada decided that Canada should join that propaganda war too, especially as a safe location to continue broadcasts should things get even worse for Britain and the continent. Canada also saw it as a way to deliver news from home to the hundreds of thousands of their citizens in uniform serving abroad. Full article here: http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2017/02/24/canada-history-feb-25-1945-canadas-voice-to-the-world/ Posted by: (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) [and non]. Hi All, I sent the following as a note to them in the addendums/omissions dept I think it would be important to include the fact that for many years the BBC on an exchange arrangement did relay RCI from its stations in the UK. Indeed at Daventry some Canadian money was used to replace a mains switchgear assembly such that it was called "The Radio Canada" board. After the closure of Daventry in 1992 the RCI transmissions were transferred to Woofferton which at the time was the main Voice of America Relay site in the UK. WOF and Skelton continued the relays until the end of the HF contract as required by the RCI authorities (Dave G4OYX, Porter, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) And I the response I include below. I have really to wonder if RCI editors feel obliged, or even have been told, to deflect criticism away from the CBC itself. A very special question: Any details about how RCI programming had been fed to the BBC during the eighties? An FM listener in Berlin remembers a telephone sound, completely spoiling the music programmes. In his memory it was no AM sound but indeed the typical 300...3400 telephone audio, as it was back then common also for commentary from TV reporters abroad. And for the China Radio relays from Europe where the phone circuits remained in use well into the last decade. The mentioned TV report is here: http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/rci-deep-budget-cuts-in-1991 I have to agree with Sheldon Harvey. The cuts back then included the elimination of the German service (which the BBC had even transmitted on its FM frequency in Berlin), which from the German point of view was the demise of RCI, since all attempts to save and later restore it remained futile. And very little from this service remains, besides the few seconds from the last broadcast that can be seen/heard in the CBC TV report about the whole massacre. And I think it is imperative to get the facts correct: All decisions in regard to the Sackville facility had, according to all sources I have seen, been the sole matter of CBC management, with no kind of related contracts between government and CBC being in place. For starters, the very disproportionate savings at RCI in 2012, compared to the volume of the general budget cut, had been the very own decision of the CBC. Government only chose to not object to this approach. Probably this is not the whole story, but if so it would only underline the necessity to discuss the future of public broadcasting, instead of just pointing at a government that is no longer in office. By the way, from the location to which the transmitters allegedly went (Madagascar) I heard that they took only a set of spare parts. So it appears that the transmitters themselves have simply been destroyed (Kai Ludwig, ibid.) Hi All, The source of the audio feed is a bit in the past for me as I left Daventry, the UK home of RCI relay in 1977 going to Brookmans Park and returned to HF at Woofferton in 1982, which of course then did not relay RCI at that time. I can recall at WOF by 1992 it was actually a good quality feed in but to be certain I have contacted a mate of mine who was a Control Room Engineer and later a Technical Operations Manager/ Senior \network Engineer at Bush House. Hopefully he will be able to recall the arrangements. I await his reply! 73 (Dave G4OYX, ibid.) Hi All, Below I append a copy and paste of the two replies I have received from ex-BBC/Merlin, VT and Babcock Bush House staffer Ashley Jones. He was an engineer in the BU Control Room rising to the Senior Network Engineer position.prior to his retirement in 2012. The SNE's were one of the point of contact for transmitter staff who were reporting transmission problems and looking for cover at another site or a replacement programme feed! follows>>> As for our relationship with CBC, we always, right from my first day, had a 4 wire transatlantic circuit that appeared on the "source multiple". This was the name given to the banks of Siemens uniselectors in the apparatus room just outside the CR door. There were 150 sources arranged in groups of 50, A,B and C so you just selected the required source e.g. A01 on your remote panel which then motored the uniselector and you received a confidence indication of the source selected. Depending on whether the source was listen only, 4 wire or full facility, you received more or less functionality. CBC was a 4 wire, i.e. with no control line. You are right that we could also take off-air feeds from SAK but we also used the 4 wire for transmission when it wasn't in use for two- way contributions. The feed was indeed originally a physical circuit and inevitably want into the sky along with virtually everything else! I then asked Ashley about the actual programme line quality (Canada to London) follows >>> Yes the cct. was high quality and was well used in both directions. In fact we often relayed off the incoming whilst the outgoing could still be used for contribution to CBC and vice versa. It worked really well until some notable failures when we reached the digital age !!! It would appear that a poorer quality line was in use from London to Berlin for the FM relay as reported by Kai. I hope this helps in the mystery! 73 (Dave G4OYX Porter, Feb 26, ibid.) ** CANADA. Ontario: [entries stricken out] Belleville 26 CICO-DT-53 To go dark July 31st (see text) Chatham 33 CICO-DT-59 To go dark July 31st (see text) Cloyne 44 CICO-DT-92 To go dark July 31st (see text) Kenora 13 CJBN-TV Has gone dark Kitchener 28 CICO-DT-28 To go dark July 31st (see text) London 18 CICO-DT-18 To go dark July 31st (see text) Ottawa 24 CICO-DT-24 To go dark July 31st (see text) Thunder Bay 9 CICO-DT-9 To go dark July 31st (see text) Windsor 32 CICO-DT-32 To go dark July 31st (see text) TVO - NEVER MIND. At the end of January, TVO announced plans to shut down most of their over-the-air transmitters at the end of July. TVO expected to save $1 million by silencing the eight transmitters. Most of their formerly-extensive network of transmitters had already been silenced in 2012, rather than convert to digital. About three weeks later, they changed their mind. The Ontario Government provided TVO additional funding to preserve the transmitters. Either way, TVO would have remained available on cable and satellite. They also planned to maintain the transmitter of CICA- TV Toronto. I *believe* their CRTC license requires at least one over- the-air transmitter (Doug Smith, TV News, March WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. WATER FOR GOOD, 2016 Annual Report Every spring we look back on where we've been, what we've accomplished together, and take a peek into the future of fighting water poverty in the Central African Republic! Check out our 2016 annual report to see the impact of your support! Vew the report online here. https://indd.adobe.com/view/f66c91c2-8c84-407b-8da2-a44034be9a8d (WFG March 1, 2017, via gh, DXLD) 5-page pdf. Any mention of their SW station on 3390 and/or 6030 kHz?? Or is it pps, scrolling horizontally. Much of the print is too fine, and if you zoom in, you can`t scroll. Does claim SW radio [WTFK??] reaches 1 million listeners for expenditure of $45,620, almost exactly the same amount as for Latrines. HQ in Winona Lake, Indiana, USA. WRTH 2017 now shows: Radio Maïngo (Rlg.), Bangui, but SW site Boali, 6030, 1 kW. D.Prgr. in French, Sango, Bayaka and Fulfulde: Mon-Sat 0600-1100, daily 1400-1700 on 6030 kHz. [originally Radio ICDI] Also, Radio Ndeke Luka, FM station, UNDP program is carried on Boali 6030 at 1700-1900. These are NEVER reported by DXers, and we can only wonder if they really exist. 6030 of course is a very bad frequency at night in North America with Cuban jamming and Radio Martí. Otherwise, propagation from CAR should be barely possible at *0600. One would think Eurafrican DXers would be able to pick it up also in evening (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. CENTRAL AFRICANS USE RADIO NETWORK TO STAY SAFE FROM LRA --- Wednesday 8 February 2017, by SIGNIS Central African Republic, February, 8th, 2017 (VoaNews) The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been terrorizing civilians in northern Uganda, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for about two decades now. JPEG - 28.8 kb Severin Bavulo, a high frequency radio operator in Zemio, provides security information over the radio to surrounding communities. (VOA/Z. Baddorf) [caption] The communities most at risk of attack have little protection in remote lawless regions. In the village of Fenzane in southeastern C.A.R., for example, there are no government police officers, no army, and no United Nations troops. What they do have are regular attacks by bandits and armed groups like the Lord’s Resistance Army. . . http://www.signis.net/246/our-action/radio/article/central-africans-use-radio-network-to-stay-safe-from-lra (via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, Germany, Feb 23, DXLD) WTFK? Of course not! ** CHILE. 5825. R. TRIUNFAL EVANGELICA. Febrero 22. 2250-2356 UT. Espacio de música alteza evangélica i.e: Duo Sal- Bienaventurados. A las 2300 hasta las 2320 predicación y luego otro espacio musical. A las 2350, aviso y despedida, luego ¿Canción? ¿Gong de despedida?. SINPO: 35343, desde las 2324 SINPO: 55444 con leves espacios de desvanecimiento que van de 4 a 6 por cada 30 segundos, aunque desde las 2349 en adelante SINPO: 35422. Se adjunta un video correspondiente a las 2338 UT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtXOIS1j0aw 5825. R. TRIUNFAL EVANGELICA. Febrero 25. 2341-2351 UT. Música, luego saludos al cierre. SINPO: 55555. 5825. R. TRIUNFAL EVANGELICA. Feb 27. 2300-2314 UT. Predicación. SINPO: 45343 con mucho ruido ambiental. Desde las 2310 con SINPO: 45444. 5825. R. TRIUNFAL EVANGELICA. Feb 28. 2338-2350 UT. Cantos metodistas pentecostales. SINPO: 45444 con audiosobremodulado (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 40 metros de largo, QTH: Ovalle, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** CHILE. 6925-AM. RCW. Febrero 24. 0000-0053 UT. Música de rock de los años 60’s, comentarios y noticias de la cadena Sputnik Mundo. SINPO: 35333 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 40 metros de largo, QTH: Ovalle, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 6925-AM. RCW. Febrero 25. 0000-0050 UT. Radioteatros, avisos, noticias. Fin del servicio a las 0050. SINPO: 35333. A las 0043 SINPO: 45343 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 95 metros de largo, QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 6925-AM. RCW. Febrero 26. 0222-0256 UT. Avisos de alerta amarilla por lluvias en la zona de San José de Maipo, además de música, luego avance sobre el corte de luz debido a las precipitaciones. A las 0238: ID y nuevamente música. SINPO: 35353 (Claudio Galaz, RX: PHILCO IC 18- R; ANT: Telescópica, QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** CHINA. 5979, Feb 23 at 1357, JBA carrier, so PBS Gannan is still stuck on this strange off-frequency, ex-5970; it`s the CNR-11 service in Tibetan & Chinese, from site Hezuo which is in N Central China, between Baoji and Xining (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5979, Gannan PBS, 1344, Feb 27. In Chinese; ex: 5970 still remains a clear frequency. This must be an intended permanent change, as it has been about three months now since they moved to this new frequency (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6035, PBS Yunnan (Voice Shangri-la), 1205*, Feb 28. No sign of Bhutan; EZL orchestra music till suddenly off; their normal format after 1200 (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6180, Feb 26 at 1415, double CNR1 talk echoing jamming, // single on 6125. 6180 of course is against R. Taiwan International, in Chinese at 10-16, but not audible at all; never mind the other ChiCom service scheduled on 6180, CNR-17 in Kazakh from Lingshi 725 site at 12-15, all per Aoki (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6200, Voice of Jinling, 1427-1435+ 24 Feb. Evening DJs giving a station list with "FM" tags (& one for "AM") followed by chat (presumed) about an English comedy skit ("Hi! How are you?", "Oh, that's a shame", "Hi Dad--who's your new roommate?"). Always a nice signal & some entertaining programming as well (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA PL380/6m X wire, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 7545, Feb 23 at 1408, music mixed with CNR1 talk jamming // 6125. It`s VOA Cantonese via Tinang, PHILIPPINES at 13-15 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also JAPAN ** CHINA. 9590, "The Firedragon" Station, 2/27, 2050 Crash. Bang. Boom. Target? I do show a listing here for RFA at this time, so --- These mostly from backyard table with RadioShack SW-2000629, outdoor 20' wire. 73 and Good Listening! (Rick in Arizona Barton, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. Anyone who continues to insist on logging VOA, RTI, and RFA in Mandarin using program details of a man and woman with talk and 5+1 time pips on the hour should take note below of my loggings for 11640 and 11660. It usually isn’t the station you want to log that is there. 11640, CNR1 at 1239 // 11660 in Mandarin with a man and woman with talk being used to jam RTI in Mandarin – Good Feb 25 11660, CNR1 at 1237 // 11640 in Mandarin with a man and woman with talk being used to jam VOA (via Thailand) also in Mandarin – Good Feb 25 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** CHINA. 15425, Firedragon Station (musical broadcast jamming station) 3/2, 0015. Male in Chinese heard underneath (Chinese service of Voice of America via Philippine relay). Isn`t censorship wonderful? VG signal on mobile SW-2000629. These mostly from backyard table with RadioShack SW-2000629, outdoor 20' wire. 73 and Good Listening! (Rick in Arizona Barton, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. Essentially all of the Active China SW TX sites are known, and I suspect most of the jamming sites. For 60%+ of the China sites, we don't have accurate dates on when they started or finished their SW transmissions. This is one area we need further information on. Other countries in Asia with a long list of unknown SW sites are Vietnam & Indonesia It is often difficult & time consuming researching material in many countries. Often unrewarding too given % of input effort to reward return, but we try as time permits :-) I'm guessing all SW TX sites in China are still guarded with security or military staff these days & I'd strongly suspect tours are definitely not permitted. I've only ever seen one internal video of a Chinese SW TX site (the oldest of the three in Beijing from memory) 73s (Ian, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA [and non]. 5910.25, Feb 24 at 0234, Alcaraván Radio, Puerto Lleras has distanced itself further from Romania, but hardly enough. Even with signal level rivaling fading RRI, quite a wavering het. However, I can notch that out and narrow the bandwidth. No ACI problem from 5915 Zambia with its tone at 0240. Still unpleasant for music, especially when RRI is also musical. Recheck at 0300, now HJDH in the clear with RRI finished, and remeasured at 5910.23, as it does drift, S9 with another brief interruption by ``running water`` ute. 5910+, Feb 25 at 0105, no signal from Alcaraván Radio, only one music here with no het or CCI, i.e. Romania. 5910.264, Feb 26 at 0700, S9 music from Alcaraván Radio has drifted way up to here, but nothing to het it now. Much weaker S8 music signal presumed from sibling station La Voz de tu Conciencia on 6010.134, wavering (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Alcaraván Radio --- Fair signal here in NB and also using the U. Twente receiver this evening at 0315 UT. Frequency measured as 5910.280 kHz using the U. Twente receiver. Just talk at this time (Richard Langley, Feb 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5910.160V, Feb 28 at 0709, Alcaraván Radio is here at the moment, mostly music --- in fact, since latest reactivation, I don`t believe I`ve heard any IDs or automated timechex; maybe just not listening long enough. Audibly varies as I try to measure it. 6010.144V, Feb 28 at 0711, The Voice of Thy Conscience is presumably the weaker one here, also varying. 5910.14, March 1 at 0618, Alcaraván Radio is S9+10 with tropical music. Another check at 0729, now measured on 5910.131, music at S8 vs storm noise crashes of S9+10/20 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. 6115, Radio Congo (presumed), 0515-0518*, Feb 27. Clearly hearing announcers in French underneath strong Japan (IDing as "RN2, Radio Nikkei"), but after 0518 certainly not on the air through checking to 0545. Brazzaville local sunrise at 0505 UT. Seemed strange to me that they went off the air about their sunrise. Perhaps I have been checking for them too late, when I was looking closer to 0600 UT? (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CRIMEA. Re ZAMBIA: "And there is QRM from a CW station (Russian?) on 5916 kHz at times." After decoding some of the recorded cw, the station turned out to be the Russian naval station RCV at Sevastopol in Crimea, still considered by almost all countries to still be part of Ukraine. Apparently this frequency is used for broadcasting weather and nautical warnings. Sample: "RIC87 RIC87 DE RCV RCV QTC" (Richard Langley, Feb 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. 7435, Feb 23 at 1406, FE station with Cuban pulse jamming. It`s Commies vs Commies vs Commies! CRI in Russian the victim (but also in Nepali from another site), while R. Martí finished at 1400; its full 7435 sked is 23-01, 02-07, 12-14. Altho Aoki as*erisks ChiCom jamming, it does not flag CubaCom jamming, which certainly applies to all Martí frequencies (except when slow to catch up with a seasonal QSY). 9330, Feb 24 at 0717, Cuban Spy Numbers alternating with digiblatts, very strong as usual, but finally I can hear WBCQ Brother Scare underneath, and making a weak het, from about 9329.85; easier at 0719 during some dead air from the spies. Since WBCQ expanded to 24 hours, I knew this had to happen, but first time enough signal from WBCQ to confirm they are really on the air vs the DGI hour which has been on 9330 for ages (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. A friend and I were discussing DXing the other day and seeing a post on facebook made me think of something. Radio Havana Cuba's 13740 kHz frequency around 2300-0100 UT in Spanish to South America is so strong and WIDE here in Alaska sometimes, that it interferes with Radio Thailand's 13745 English broadcast to North America at 0000 UT. And Radio Thailand is so strong here itself, it`s like a regular local AM broadcast station; that should tell you how strong and wide Cuba on 13740 kHz is! I am in Galena, Alaska, about 300 miles west of Fairbanks, 350 miles Northwest of Anchorage and 300 miles east slightly southeast of Nome (Paul B Walker Jr, Feb 24, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** CUBA. 15370. RHC. Febrero 26. 2130-2158 UT. Servicio en esperanto. ID en castellano, luego ID en Esperanto. Saludos de los locutores. Avisos de contacto con la emisora. Lectura de un mensaje de un amigo de Argentina sobre Mauricio Macri y ciertas posiciones sobre la cultura y la enseñanza de lenguaje indígenas en Formosa. Informaciones ambientales. Cuba esperanto asocio. Información sobre concurso de CRI Esperanto. Se habla de Graciela Morgado y un concurso de CRI. A las 2145: música. Desde las 2150 se habla de la música cubana y de un músico de jazz que se desarrolló en los Estados Unidos y de sus raíces en la música africana. A las 2153 informe de la UEA. 2155 informaciones acerca de un film venezolano cubano. A las 2156 noticias desde el periódico Granma como una visita de Vietnam, las declaraciones de Machado de Venezuela y del parlamento cubano. A las 2158 música y fin de la emisión. SINPO: 55555. Con algo de sobremodulacion desde las 2157 (Claudio Galaz, RX: PHILCO IC 18-R; ANT: Telescópica, QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 17750. RHC. Febrero 26. 1435-1450 UT. Programa “En Contacto” con Arnaldo Coro y Marta Ríos con lectura del libro fiestero [birthday wishes], un informe de recepción como ejemplo, la aceptación de la frecuencia de 22 metros de R. Habana Cuba e informaciones acerca de los radioaficionados junto a su participación en concursos. Recuerdo de una dirección postal y del libro de bitácora o log book. Luego una reseña de un entusiasta diexista que construyó un receptor que recibía RHC en inglés en 6000 kHz, aunque se desvanecía la señal. Notas técnicas de Arnaldo Coro desde la estación CO2 Kilo Kilo con información de actividad solar que tiene baja cantidad de actividad y de electromagnetismo, 192 de la Guerra de Independencia realizada por Martí, Aniversario de Radio Rebelde, últimos receptores que no poseen antena exterior. SINPO: 55555 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 95 metros de largo, QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 9710, Feb 26 at 1439, RHC `En Contacto` with Arnie mentioning their 22mb frequency as 13760 (or maybe 13770), while it`s really 13740, duh! Which sets him off to extol how great a hamband nearby 20m is (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17580 CUBA RHC at 1352 // 11760 and 17730 in Spanish with a woman with talk over light instrumentals then a man with talk from 1355 – Fair with muffled audio as was 17730 but not 11760 Feb 27 Coady-ON – With both 17580 and 17730 with crappy audio but not 11760 it definitely suggests a problem with two separate transmitters rather than between the studio and transmitter (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA yg via DXLD) 15700, Feb 25 at 1508, CRI English relay is S9+20 but suptorted. (Modulation suppressed + distorted) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15140, RHC at 2048 with “Music with a Message” featuring Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and Mavis Staples’ “We Shall Not Be Moved” - Very Good Feb 25 – If you, like me, grew up in the 60s with folk artists like Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Pete Seeger, this program, broadcast every second Saturday, is right up your alley! (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA yg via DXLD) 6060, March 1 at 0615, RHC English is absent, but still VG on 6165, in fact splattering 6160-6170; 6100 is OK, and 6000 is S9+40 but suptorted. 6060 seems to have been missing a lot lately both before 0500 in Spanish and after in English. 6100, March 1 at 0725, RHC is still on with dead air of S9+20, unlike all the other frequencies (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Problem with Radio República recording using the U. Twente receiver this morning (24 February UT). After normal sign-on on 9490 kHz at 0200 UT, the signal disappeared about 2 minutes later. Either the transmitter left the air or the signal was covered by very strong white-noise jamming. So, only noise from then on, on the recording, which ended at about 0505 UT. Will continue monitoring / recording for the next few days (-- Richard Langley, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re Radio Republica signal disappeared: 639 kilometers distance on 9 MHz 31 meterband in our winter season during deep night between Enschede Twente Holland university and TDF site at Issoudun in France on a sidelobe signal out of Alliss antenna IS MUCH TOO SHORT DISTANCE. Will never work properly. Use instead remote units for recording at least 2500 kilometer distance away in Qatar or east coast north America. 73 wolfie df5sx )(Wolfgang Büschel, Feb 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Wolfie: I appreciate your comment. The reason I just use the U. Twente receiver is that I have an automated procedure for recording using that receiver. I don't want to invest the time dealing with other receivers (other than my own). There is typically SATISFACTORY reception of Issoudun to check for sign on and sign off times. I can also use my own receivers for which I have very good reception of Radio Republica. By the way, there was fair reception of Radio Republica this morning using the U. Twente receiver. It was going along fine but SUDDENLY disappeared. Not a propagation effect! (Richard Langley, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sign-on at 0200 UT and sign-off at 0400 UT (nominal) on 9490 kHz today (25 February UT). Transmitter appeared to go off the air for 4 minutes starting around 5 minutes into the broadcast. Continuous transmission after that until sign-off (Richard Langley, ibid.) 9490, FRANCE, Radio República in Spanish via TDF Issoudun, S=9+30dB proper signal. Broad 9 kHz wide audio modulation. Female Spanish voices talk on religion, ... sistema totalitario and state control, at 0251 UT on Feb 25. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log of remote SDR receiver in central Florida until 0350 Feb 25, BCDX, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I've concluded my week+ automated monitoring/recording of Radio República using the U. Twente WedSDR receiver and can confirm that the schedule is now: Weekday evenings in North America, Tuesday - Saturday (UT): 0200-0400 Weekend evenings in North America, Sunday - Monday (UT): 0200-0500 It seems that the Cuban jammer has found the new schedule and although it doesn't impact reception of Radio República in Europe much, it likely smothers the signal in parts of North America. By the way, sometimes, just before Radio Republica signs on, PBS Xizang can be heard weakly starting up on the frequency (Richard Langley, March 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. From the Isle of Music Test Broadcast via Bulgaria: Good signal on 9400 kHz at 1500 UT using U. Twente receiver despite getting it, apparently, off the back of the beam (to Eastern Europe and Russia). (Richard Langley, NB, 1518 UT Sunday Feb 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also weak 2nd harmonic on 18800 kHz, videos: SPL test of From the Isle of Music on 9400 kHz & 2nd hx 18800 kHz on Feb 26, videos http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/spl-test-transmission-of-from-isle-of.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via DXLD) From the Isle of Music, Week of February 27-March 4, 2017 This week, our special guest tresero Pancho Amat shares music from his extensive career, and we listen to some excellent Sones composed by Lazaro Blanco Kindelan: WBCQ, 7490, Tuesdays 0100-0200 UT (8-9pm EST Mondays in the Americas) Channel 292, 6070, Fridays 1100-1200 UT (1200-1300 CET) and Saturdays 1200-1300 UT (1300-1400 CET), (Bill Tilford, Feb 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. RDS fun outta Cuba --- Hey we were on vacation last week, and Friday we went to my favorite place in the Keys for Cuba FM and TV: Scout Key, Mile Marker 35.2 of US 1. Although DX that day wasn't incredible by any means, I decided to check the "pages" of RDS from stations in Havana. I have three or four more videos to upload, but right now this is it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pNYXwas2AFg Some of their stations have more info than others (how did EE info get on this?). The strong R Mayabeque didn't decode for RDS that day; seems Naples was too much for it. The radio used is the Eton Field 550 which runs on regular batteries. Not the most sensitive rx in the world, but at least I didn't have to use the inverter and have the car jump started. Top 40, eh? c d (Chris Dunne, Pembroke Pines FL, Feb 26, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) ** CZECHIA. Hi Glenn, 2017-03-01 --- Czech Republic. CR1 "Radiozurnal" on LW 270 kHz had odd modulation for a few days, earlier in February, sounding like even more audio compression along with treble boosting, which often overloaded and thus led to audio drop-outs when high- pitched or hissing sounds occurred. Well, this has been fixed since, but I have also noted a significant increase in overall signal strength, making their signal audible even during daytime wel beyond the Czech border. I doubt that this is only due to seasonal effects, but I could not find any other information, so am I the only one experiencing this signal improvement or is it for real? (T2 Tobias, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EAST TURKISTAN. 5059.984, PBS Xinjiang in Chinese from Urumqi site, S=6-7 at 0143 UT (Wolfgang Bueschel, Some logs of Feb 25 in Colombo Sri Lanka remote and at 1600-1720 UT on remote unit in Eastern Thailand, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. TRADUÇÃO DA NOTA ABAIXO [em alemão]: Novo transmissor de ondas curtas 6050 kHz --- Cordial saudação desde Quito-Ecuador. Hoje foi colocado em funcionamento um novo transmissor no Monte Pichincha, que está atuando 24 horas/dia em caráter de teste. Ainda falta ar para o transmissor aos 4000m (altitude), que faz com que a chave do controle térmico por vezes se desativa, e após 5 cerca de 5 minutos novamente o ativa. Quando o sinal atingir a Europa, posso reativar algumas transmissões em idioma alemão. Horst (HCJB Ecuador). (via Rudolf Grimm, March 1, radioescutas yg via DXLD) That explains why I would be hearing it late circa 0630 UT (gh) ** EL SALVADOR. 72.9 MHz Reactivated at San Salvador, El Salvador Hello: Today I noted the reactivation of 72.9 MHz, former Radio Selectos, but now only with music (English and Spanish) and ads of "Alba Petróleos" and "Lubricantes PDV" between the songs. I have been listening 2.5 hours and no ID yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E2gXs4UlN8 Saludos (Humberto Molina, San Salvador, El Salvador, Feb 26, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) Important to know, Humberto---thanks! But, no RDS? Haha. Here is how it sounded from my home back in 2010, for those who haven't heard: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FW08lxTwNQs BTW the song in your clip is "I Won't Hold You Back" by Toto. It made top 10 here but I haven't heard it on radio here in a long time. c d (Chris Dunne, FL, ibid.) ¿Es posible que esa frecuencia haya sido reasignada a Alba Petróleos? (Gargadon, Campeche, ibid.) Sería interesante una respuesta de la SIGET. ALBA realize actividades sobre todo en distribución de los productos de PDVSA en El Salvador. Tiene 55 estaciones de servicio en el país de las cuales 40 cuentan con tiendas de conveniencia. http://albapetroleos.com.sv/estaciones-de-servicio/ (Raymie Humbert, AZ, ibid.) Es una posibilidad, trataré de investigar más (por ejemplo iré a una tienda de ALBA) :-) It is a possibility, I will try to investigate further. (For example I will go to an ALBA store) :-) (Humberto, ibid.) Hi Chris: I heard a chat over a 2m ham repeater than there is a new transmitter, fully digital on 72.9 with 3 kW !! next to the repeater site. On my home computer for some reason didn't work the RDS decoder I will try at the office, ja ja (Humberto Molina, Feb 26, ibid.) What? Is that possible without interfere each one? (Gargadon, ibid.) The frequencies of the transmitters are quite separate, even at the same site of the radio club repeater rent space for other commercial services. In fact the whole area of the volcano of San Salvador is full of antennas of all kinds. Most of them comply with the technical standards to reduce interference (Humberto Molina, Feb 27, ibid.) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 5005.0, RNGE, R. Bata (presumed), on Feb 27, noted decent open carrier at 0522 and subsequent checking; never made out any audio; decent level OC past 0546. No, do not believe it was Madagascar (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. Strong signal of Radio Al-Mukhtar via MBR Issoudun, Feb 28 1500-1558 11670 ISS 100 kW / 125 deg to EaAf Arabic Tue, ex 1500-1530 1530-1558 11670 ISS 100 kW / 125 deg to EaAf Tigrinya Tue is cancelled http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/03/strong-signal-of-radio-al-mukhtar-via.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. 7235.10, ETHIOPIA. Voice of Eritrea, Gedja Jewe, 0406-0427. Talk in Tigrinya by a man. Music at 0419. Talk resumed at 0422. Weak, drifting signal. Started on 7235.10 and moved up steadily until it stabilized on 7235.20 at 0415. Took off again at 0422 ending up on 7235.30. Audio was somewhat distorted and disappeared for 30 seconds at 0411. 2/23/2017 (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, IC-R75, Perseus, Various Portables, Random Wire, Wellbrook Loops, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. R. Ethiopia (presumed), on Feb 28, noted still drifting; 1504 on 7236.23v and by 1520 on 7236.34v; in vernacular; mostly monologue and some HOA music; poor (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. Currently broadcasting on 261 kHz variable Dutch pirate station Luxemburg music from the likes of The Eagles, Ultravox & Belinda Carlisle with some Dutch tracks now and again. Good via http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl and just audible here in Faversham on my JRC NRD-525 73's (John, Faversham Kent UK, Hoad, Wellbrook ALA1530LF, 1800 UT Feb 24, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) ** EUROPE. The next transmission of Radio Pushka will be on Saturday 25th March 2017. This may not be via Rohrbach but may be a relay via a pirate. USB is an option. There should be one session for Europe and one for the USA. Keep an eye on the following blog for full details: http://radiopushka.blogspot.co.uk/ Best wishes, (Martin John Reynolds, March 1, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** FIJI [and non]. The Tecsun 380 came out of hiding on just three occasions. On the two evenings prior to Nuku’alofa at ~0900 UT/10 pm I made a deliberate check to hear what was available from Fiji. It seems 558 as RF1 is the only MW on air, with R. Apna in Auckland ruling the roost on 990 with no interference, and it was definitely them with Apna ID and commercials/phone numbers for mostly southern suburbs of Auckland. Maybe after proving that the new transmitter works, the FBC are saving 990 for true emergency broadcasts only (Theo Donnelly, BC, reporting on a cruise, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 11890. R. FREE EUROPE. Febrero 25. 1505-1515 UT. Hombre habla en idioma turcomano, al parecer con informaciones sobre Irán, Turquía y Jordania, a las que nombra de modo constante. Luego ID dado por una mujer. SINPO: 55444 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 95 metros de largo, QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. 15215, R. Oeoemrang (Issoudun) *1600+ 21 Feb. Good signal with opening announcements in (presumed) Frisian, German, English ("Hallo, this is Radio Oomrang..) with website, frequency info; initial BC was in 2006 (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Voice of Greece from Avlis on 9420.005 and 9935.003 kHz, both S=9+20dB signal at Florida remote at 0230 UT on Feb 25. Talk by male and female, followed by Greek folk music program from 0232 UT on Feb 25. Excellent audio quality on shortwave these days from Avlis engineering. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log of remote SDR receiver in central Florida until 0350 Feb 25, BCDX, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 4055, Feb 25 at 0152, Radio Verdad with something devotional in Spanish, but high noise level. Reminder that today is their seventeenth anniversary. Dr Madrid sent this notice: ``Ya hemos publicado Radio Verdad TV Día 083.1, con la Historia Gráfica de Radio Verdad hasta el año 2015. Lo publicamos con motivo de celebrar mañana sábado los primeros 17 años de Radio Verdad. Lo celebraremos mañana sábado en el Monte Horeb, de la Aldea San Esteban, en Chiquimula, Guatemala desde las cinco de la tarde hasta las nueve y media de la noche (hora de Guatemala). Le invitamos a estar con nosotros. Habrá una cena especial a beneficio de Radio Verdad. Éste es el link directo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6d1tUIhy-c Dr. Édgar Amílcar Madrid, Gerente General.`` Previous anniversaries we thought there might be some broadcast of the festivities, but heard only regular programming. Still worth checking from 2300 Saturday until 0330 UT Sunday on 4055 (Glenn Hauser, OK, Feb 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4055, Feb 25 at 2358, R. Verdad with a rapid Spanish sermon, about S4 vs noise level. This is station`s seventeenth anniversary on air, and they were going to celebrate with a dinner tonight. Recheck at 0137 Feb 26, now could well be live, S9+20 in discussion of Radio Verdad and its troubled history, from its cuerpo de locutores and Hermano Édgar; offering a prayer for the occasion, during this ``acción de gracias por los 17 años`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. THE WALTER KAUFMANN STORY --- THE EXILE WHO INVENTED ALL- INDIA RADIO’S SIGNATURE TUNE --- by Dr. Shalva Weil http://www.asianjewishlife.org/pages/articles/AJL_Issue17_Winter2016/AJL_Issue17_The- Walter-Kaufmann- Story.html --- (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 4895.00, 0225-0250 24.2, AIR Kurseong Indian songs, vernacular talk, 0245 musical interlude and English news, 25232 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on the AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire from wintry Skovlunde, which got 5 cms of snow last night, wbradio yg via DXLD) 4896v! 4895.996, AIR Kurseong, Paschim Banga, Hindi service female presenter, tiny S=5 signal at 0203 UT on Feb 25. ? real 1 kHz ODD frequency? S=9+10dB signal in Eastern Thailand remote SDR at 1659 UT. Final announcement and close-down at 1700 UT (Wolfgang Bueschel, Some logs of Feb 25 in Colombo Sri Lanka remote and at 1600-1720 UT on remote unit in Eastern Thailand, dx_india yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) Odd 4896 kHz ends early at exact 1700 UT: AIR Kurseong, Paschim Banga (Wolfgang Bueschel, Some logs of Feb 25 in Colombo Sri Lanka remote and at 1600-1720 UT on remote unit in Eastern Thailand, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 4870.27, AIR (Delhi-Kingsway), at 1357, on Feb 27, with subcontinent music/singing; scheduled to be in Nepali; best in USB to get away from RRI Wamena on the low side. 4970, AIR Shillong, 1506, Feb 26 (Sunday), with Christian songs; 1510 local ID and news headlines in English; "please stand by for the news"; 1512 start of the New Delhi audio feed. Shillong is a hill station in northeast India and capital of the state of Meghalaya. Christianity is the dominant religion there. In fact Christianity is the major religion in three northeastern states (Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya) (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Again unsched English broadcasts of All India Radio, Feb 27 0830-1135 11620 DEL 250 kW / 334 deg to SoAs Urdu, as scheduled B-16 1135-1140 11620 DEL 250 kW / 334 deg to SoAs English, unscheduled px 1315-1415 11560 BGL 500 kW / 300 deg to WeAs Dari, as scheduled B-16 1415-1530 11560 BGL 500 kW / 300 deg to WeAs Pashto as scheduled B16 1530-1545 11560 BGL 500 kW / 300 deg to WeAs English, unscheduled px http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/again-unscheduled-english-broadcasts-of.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR extended schedule on the occasion of "Shivaratri" today: Watch out for extended schedule (past 1740 UT) by AIR Hyderabad 4800 kHz carrying live broadcast in regional language "Telegu" on the occasion of religious festival "Shivaratri`` on 24 Feb, 2017 (Friday). Following MW/SW stations are also expected to carry this extended broadcast : 720 - AIR Chennai 738 - AIR Hyderabad 837 - AIR Vijaywada 900 - AIR Kadapa 927 - AIR Visakhapatnam 936 - AIR Tiruchirapalli 999 - AIR Coimbatore 1197 - AIR Tirunelveli 1269 - AIR Madurai 4920 - AIR Chennai Tamil FM stations from SriLanka also carry live relay of special program for Maha Shaivaratri. ---- (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, 0732 UT Feb 23, dx_india yg via DXLD) The following Stations of AIR from South India was notedlast night with extended devotional programs songs/drama/ talk etc. beyondnormal sign off at around 1740 UT/11.10 pm IST for Shivaratri festival Andhra Pradesh in Telugu: 837 kHz Vijayawada 900 Kadapah 927 Visahakapatnam Puducherry in Tamil: 1215 Puducherry Karnataka in Kannada: 612 Bengaluru 675 Bhadrawathi 765 Dharwad 1107 Gulbarga 1089 Udipi ? Tamil Nadu State in Tamil: 720 Chennai 936 Tiruchirapalli 999 Coimbatore 1197 Tirunelveli 1269 Madurai 4920 Chennai [sic] Telangana State in Telugu: 738 Hyderabad 4920 Hyderabad [sic] Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India Mobile: +91 94416 96043 http://www.qsl.net/vu2jos, Feb 25, dx_india yg via DXLD Mann Ki Baat, the radio programme by Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi in which he addresses the people of the nation is heard right now (Sunday 11.00 am IST) (0530 UT) on all stations of All India Radio. The special SW frequencies observed is as follows: 7500, 9940 all via Delhi, 9380 Aligarh, 9865 Bengaluru, 11850 Delhi http://www.narendramodi.in/mann-ki-baat Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India Mobile: +91 94416 96043 http://www.qsl.net/vu2jos dx_india yg via DXLD) AIR Delhi noted on 7500 today instead of 7520, Nepali at 0700-0800. Urdu Service Scheduled at 0830-1930 has also started on 7500 just now Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, Hyderabad, India, 0840 UT Feb 26, dx_india yg via DXLD) MESSAGE FROM AIR - A SMALL REQUEST TO OUR LISTENERS Dear listeners, Greetings from AIR! First of all, I welcome to our newly registered listeners. It is really great that every day, I find some new additions to our list of registered listeners. Pl ask your friends to join us. It gives us a great feeling n motivate us to serve. I also request you to submit your feedback on our services. It helps us to improve. If you find any interference to our frequency or other technical issue. Pl write to us, we will take suitable action. Recently, we changed our frequencies for our Thai, Burmese services and it worked pretty well. We are also trying to increase the coverage of our FM services. One of you reported problem with Bhuj FM, we are working on it. Similarly please send comments on our live streaming that is going on for 13 channels in different languages. I will wait for your comments. I wish you all a happy weekend. With Warm Regards, Sunil Bhatia, Deputy Director General Spectrum Management & Synergy Division Email : spectrum-manager@air.org.in Website : http://www.allindiaradio.gov.in (via Alokesh Gupta, DX_INDIA YG ** INDONESIA. 3325, Feb 23 at 1324, music at S9-S7, presumed RRI Palangkaraya; nothing on 3345-, so Ternate must be off already (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Atsunori Ishida's confirmation of my RRI Palangkaraya observation, at http://rri.jpn.org/ Thanks to Atsunori for his daily updates "3325 kHz RRI-Palangka Raya - Feb 28 -1200-1701* LA. LN at 1401." (Ron Howard, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) - - - - - - - Ron wrote: BOUGAINVILLE. 3325, NBC Bougainville, 1131-1200*, Feb 28. DJ in Pidgin/Tok Pisin playing Pacific Islands pop songs; several IDs; poor. RRI Palangkaraya not heard till suddenly on about 1159 (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 3344.86, RRI Ternate, 1445-1504*, Feb 27. Off with the usual "Pulau Ambon" (Island of Ambon)/"Love Ambon" (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4869.9, Pro 1 RRI Wamena, as it's Thursday (Feb 23), time to check for "Kang Guru Indonesia." Yes, at 1239 the first "KGI" ID and intro in Bahasa Indonesia, then on to English; KGI is "carried on over 200 stations"; played a few pop songs; segment about rhyming words; "Find a word that rhymes with soldier? . . . shoulder"; segment "Good neighbors make good friends," about the importance of using "Thank you and please" in Australia & Indonesia; about "cultural differences"; better reception than usual, but still less than semi- readable. [see also INDIA, 4870+] BTW - RRI Ternate (3344.87) not heard on Feb 23 (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. Reception of Radio Ranginkaman Rainbow via BaBcoCk Grigoriopol, Feb 24 1700-1730 on 7580 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Farsi Mon/Fri Radio Rainbow, weak: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/reception-of-radio-ranginkaman-rainbow_25.html Very weak signal of Sedoye Bahar via BaBcoCk Grigoriopol, Feb 24: 1900-1930 on 7510 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg to WeAs Farsi Thu/Fri Voice of Spring http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/very-weak-signal-of-sedoye-bahar-via.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY [non]. 11580, UT Sat Feb 25 at 0140, WRMI in Italian with ham DX and QSL news, good at S9+20/25. Mispronounces Curaçao as ``Kurakao``, which is what you get for dispensing with çedilhas! Program is Radio IBC, One of three weekly Italian shows on WRMI (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. 3925, Thursday Feb 23 at 1330, R. Nikkei One, opening weekly American English lesson at S9+10/20, // 6055 at S9+10 and weaker 9595 at S7-S5. Text is from recent news stories about Trump & Abe, etc. Each expression by OM is explained by YL in Japanese along the way. Recheck at 1358, half-hour show is closing ``until next week`; the American guy is named Jesse. 3945, Thu Feb 23 at 1329, R. Nikkei Two with conversation in Japanese at S9+10, so I look for its //s on 6115 and 9760, but NO signals there which would certainly be heard if on, as RN1 is propagating on both bands. HFCC shows 6115 stops at 1000 and 9760 at 0800, while the three RN1 frequencies are registered as available, if not used, 24 hours. WRTH 2017 has different scheduling for RN2: Sun-Thu 2300-1400, Fri & Sat 2300-0900 (9760 -0800). So 6115 should have been on until 1400 this Thursday. But Aoki shows 6115 only until 1000 weekdays, 0900 weekends. And 9760 only until 0800 daily. 3945 had no het or CCI from Vanuatu, should it have been on this late. When DXing that, it`s important to differentiate it from Nikkei2, if during hours when its //s are active (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, The English language program you heard was "Let's Read the Nikkei in English," which is on the air Thursday, 1330-1400 UT and is rebroadcast again on Saturday, 0830-0900 UT. Website, at http://goo.gl/6hlbS9 (translation), with info about the 23rd program you heard. Radio Vanuatu, on 3944.2, has not been heard by me for some time now. Am still hearing them on 7259.95, with best reception about 1430 and usually playing EZL pop songs. Your comments regarding using caution on 3945 to distinguish between Japan and Vanuatu receptions are right on the money. Good advice! There will be an upcoming time however when that will not be an issue, as Japan, on 3945 (RN2) will be off the air for maintenance from March 8 through April 4, except for March 11, 12, 18 and 19 (thanks to Sei-ichi Hasegawa for the tip). So let us hope that Radio Vanuatu will be back on the air on 3944.2, by March 8 and can be heard in the clear. BTW - As you and I both recently observed, Japan on 9760 is currently off the air, due to maintenance (Feb 8 through March 7). Feb 24, when checking for Radio Congo on 6115, at 0553, heard only Japan there, with no trace of Congo (Ron Howard, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. 6190, Feb 23 at 1400, NHK theme and opening Chinese, good with NO jamming; Aoki confirms no *jamming. Why not? Does this mean Japan does not send China any hard news? It`s a badge of honor to be jammed by the ChiCom. We know the two Asian powers are at odds in many ways (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [non]. 4870.26, *0208-0240 28.2, CLANDESTINE, R Sedayee Kashmir, via Kingsway, India. Constant tone until sign on at 0230 with ID in Kashmiri: "Radio Sedayee Kashmiri", ann, short female song, talk by man in Kashmiri, 0232 another song 35233 AP-DNK (Anker Petersen, Denmark, what I heard during the past 3 days in Skovlunde on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire, wbradio yg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. NORTH KOREAN REGIME IS FINDING NEW WAYS TO STOP INFORMATION FLOWS, REPORT SAYS By Anna Fifield, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-korean-regime-is-finding-new-ways-to-stop-information-flows-report-says/2017/02/28/7e7cefd0-d605-427b-b37f-8ec8e266017d_print.html TOKYO -- As ordinary North Koreans have found ways to get information the state denies them -- soppy South Korean dramas and peppy pop songs, novels, news from the outside world -- so too has the Kim regime found news ways to crack down on them, according to a new report released Wednesday. The regime has developed sophisticated new tools to check just what its citizens are up to, according to Compromising Connectivity, a new report from Intermedia, a Washington-based research group. The report underlines the challenges in getting information into the most tightly controlled country on the planet -- and the challenges that North Korea watchers as diverse as the U.S. Congress and small defector-led groups face in trying to penetrate it. "In a lot of ways, the expansion of information is continuing," said Nat Kretchun, the lead author of the report, which draws on interviews with 34 recent defectors from North Korea. "It's just that we also see a lot of signs that the North Korean government is gearing up to combat it." Kim Jong Un, his father and his grandfather have kept a tight grip on the North Korean populace for more than seven decades by denying citizens access to information. State television, radio and newspapers laud the work of the Kim family, telling North Koreans how lucky they are to live in such a strong and happy country. But thanks to dramas smuggled in on USB sticks and illicit shortwave radio broadcasts from the outside, an increasing number of North Koreans have realized that their brethren in the South enjoy unimaginable levels of wealth and freedom. Being caught with such banned media can result in harsh penalties, including imprisonment. At the same time, the introduction of cellphones -- albeit for domestic calls only, and without Internet access -- is allowing people around the country to share information much more freely internally. [Ex-diplomat: `I've known that there was no future for North Korea for a long time'] High-profile defectors such as Thae Yong-ho, who served as a North Korean diplomat in Europe for almost 20 years, have described the transformative effect of outside information and have urged governments and NGOs to flood North Korea with it. While imposing new sanctions on North Korea last year, Congress allocated $50 million over the next five years for radio programming and the promotion of freedom of information inside North Korea. But the real picture is more complicated, the Intermedia report says. "They're clearly trying to innovate their way out of the breakdown of the security apparatus rather than going back to Kim Il Sung times," Kretchun said, referring to the founding president of the totalitarian state. North Korea's security apparatus began crumbling in the 1990s, after a devastating famine that gave the regime no choice but to tolerate markets -- which then became a venue for sharing information. "They now have a vision of a more sophisticated but no less controlled media environment," he said. Take cellphones. North Koreans are now allowed such devices -- including a re-branded Chinese Android-based smartphone called Arirang. As recently as 2013, North Koreans could use these to share files -- including songs and text -- through Bluetooth or micro-storage SD cards. But a mandatory software update rolled out in 2013 included a program called "TraceViewer" that would collect browsing history and take periodic screenshots of activity -- which the user could not delete. That means the security services can see exactly what the user has been up to, long after they have removed any SD card. [North Korea immerses children in cult of the Kims as early as kindergarten] The update also included a "signature system" that would prevent a device from opening any files that don't bear a North Korean state signature -- and, in fact, automatically deletes them. "Even with the network restrictions that were applied at the beginning, cellphones could have been a game-changing device in North Korea," Kretchun said. But the system update stops that from happening. "North Korea has a unique advantage in that it can dictate what devices their people have," he said. He added that the state has made it very difficult for citizens to undermine their technology. "They put a lot of work into making sure you have to be quite technologically sophisticated to do the equivalent of jailbreaking these phones." Access to outside networks has also been curtailed. Residents on the border with China have been able to get signals on Chinese phones, but the regime appears to have cracked down on this, using jammers and signal detectors. "Once, I went into a house and made a call to China and inspectors came within 30 seconds," said a 59-year-old man who used to work for a trading company near the Chinese city of Dandong. "There are inspectors going around with an eavesdropping device to control calls to China," he told the report's authors. [Reaching a South Korean audience by finding laughs from North Korea] But North Koreans are still able to watch movies and dramas at home relatively easily. Previously, they watched foreign movies and soap operas on DVDs smuggled into the country, but in recent years they have developed a preference for USB sticks and SD cards, which are easier to hide. They plug the USBs or SD cards into their DVD players -- which are permitted, although only to watch North Korean propaganda -- and make sure to have a DVD in the drive in case of a spot inspection. Small portable DVD players called "notels" also are used for watching foreign dramas. Using small storage devices not only allows North Koreans to hide them easily during raids but also enables them to share media with each other. All but one of the North Korean defectors Intermedia interviewed said they had shared content with others. Despite the challenges, Kretchun said there was reason to keep trying to penetrate the North Korean regime's information blockade. "Right now, all the arrows continue to point up. People are still certainly watching foreign dramas and listening to the radio," he said (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. Pyongyang's Voice of Korea on 12015 to Europe is so strong and wide it completely obliterates the Voice of Vietnam's 12019 kHz broadcast from Hanoi to Indonesia/Far East. I am in Galena, Alaska, about 300 miles west of Fairbanks, 350 miles Northwest of Anchorage and 300 miles east slightly southeast of Nome (Paul B Walker Jr, Feb 24, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Time? ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 3985. VOH-VOICE OF HOPE. Febrero 25. 0935- 0945. Mujer habla en coreano. SINPO: 42454 con jammer de ruido blanco procedente de Corea del Norte // 6003 SINPO: 41441 con jammer de ruido blanco, splatters y otro tipo de interferencias. En la frecuencia // 6250 no hay señal de la emisora, solamente un jammer con ruido blanco y pulsos // 6348 SINPO: 53443 con ruido blanco pero en menor medida, lo que facilita en escuchar la estación. 3480. V. OF THE PEOPLE. Febrero 25. 0945-0959 UT. Hombre habla en coreano, luego una mujer habla sobre Kim Jong Un. SINPO: 4244 con jammer de ruido blanco, más ruido de alarma // 3912 SINPO: 41411 con jammer de ruido blanco que tapa casi completamente la señal surcoreana // 4450 SINPO: 42432 con jammer de ruido blanco // 4557 SINPO: 43433 con jammer de ruido blanco, medianamente presente en la frecuencia // 6518 SINPO: 31411 con jammer de ruido blanco y pulsos que tapan la señal completamente // 6600 SINPO: 41311 con jammer de ruido blanco. (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 95 metros de largo, QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 5935, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze via Yamata (Japan), 1330, with Thursday (Feb 23) English. Intro to the repeated half hour show that just aired; N. Korean jamming; both totally blocking reception of Tibet (PBS Xizang) (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5935, Thu Feb 23 at 1355, Sea Breeze in English is still here at S9-S7 from JAPAN. Probably another QSY by next week (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5935, JAPAN, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze, 3/1, 1430. W in Japanese with contact address info over soft music. Noted twittering jammer thru the whole broadcast. Earlier (at 1315) M in Korean over both music and DPRK jammer also on this frequency. Good. These mostly from backyard table with RadioShack SW-2000629, outdoor 20' wire. 73 and Good Listening! (Rick in Arizona Barton, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 4885, Echo of Hope - VOH, 1415, Feb 23. Daily heard with good reception and never jammed by N. Korea, as their other frequencies are; as usual at 15 minutes after the hour, strong "V O H" ID. 6135, Voice of Freedom (clandestine). Normally blocked by strong white noise jamming from N. Korea, but Feb 23, found VOF cutting through the jamming fairly well at 1349, with a radio drama in Korean; so today`s propagation favored the south rather than the north. BTW - the KBS station on 6015, was also well heard through the white noise jamming (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. 4900, Korean Numbers Station V24, 1531-1545*, on Feb 25. Mixing with Voice of Strait (China) also on frequency; started out with both stations with singing; at 1535, V24 went to numbers in Korean; both equal strength. My audio at http://goo.gl/PdOxaY Full monitoring history of V24 and current info is posted at http://goo.gl/80GQFu which is maintained thanks to Hiroyuki Komatsubara (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH. KBS World Radio English Service will carry out test transmission from March 6 to 9 ahead of the A17 shortwave frequency adjustment. Please tune into the following frequencies and send us your reception reports. Your feedback will help us greatly in choosing the best frequency option for the new season. Thank you! ---------------------------------------------------------- Date Time (UT) kHz Target Area March 6, 7 2300–2400 11810 Europe March 6, 7 1400–1600 9525 India March 8, 9 1400–1600 9880 India ---------------------------------------------------------- Address KBS WORLD Radio, 13 Yoigongwon-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 07235, Rep. of KOREA E-mail & Website Language E-Mail Website English english@kbs.co.kr http://world.kbs.co.kr/ (Posted by: Nick Sharpe, March 1, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) KBS English to EUR, Central Asia, Near East, North Africa, 11810 2200-2400 28S,31,32,38N,39NW,43,44 KIM 250 304 is far too late for European audience in 0000-0200 hours local time, the technician in Korea are not aware. 1900-2100 UT time slot - would rather fit instead. But at this time slot BBC Ascension powerful 250 kW outlet requested that 11810 kHz channel. 11810 1800-2200 47SW,52 ASC 250 65 English G BBC BAB To Indian subcontinent: 9525 1400-1600 41 KIM 250 264 260317 291017 English KOR KBS This 9525 kHz fq channel is used by Voice of Indonesia Jakarta SINCE DECADES before at this time span !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The 9880 kHz signal from Kimje will only arrive with a terrible devastating crushing mixture in India. 9880 1400-1600 41 KIM 250 264 Eng KOR KBS KBS See the extended signal coverage from Kunming, Nanning, and Xian powerful beasts in mainland China: 9880 1200-1300 55,59,60 KUN 500 135 Eng CHN CRI RTC 9880 1300-1400 49W KUN 100 225 Mya CHN CRI RTC 9880 1400-1500 49SE NNN 100 200 Khm CHN CRI RTC 9880 1500-1600 49,54W NNN 100 200 Eng CHN CRI RTC 9880 1500-1600 30S,31S,40E XIA 500 292 Rus CHN CRI RTC 9880 1600-1700 49S,54W NNN 100 200 Eng CHN CRI RTC Your KBS frequency management staff is completely incapable and incompetent on this selection. There are so many empty frequency channels in 31 meterband these days. 73 wolfie (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) We already knew they were incompetent, from using 15575 yearound to North America at 13-15 UT for years and years (gh, DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. 11600, Feb 24 at 1500, S9+10 with flutter, Denge Kurdistane music stops just as I tune in. No carrier break or level change detected, finally bringing up talk audio in progress at 1502:08. Presumably having changed from PRIDNESTROVYE relay to FRANCE (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11600, BULGARIA. Denge Kurdistan – Kostinbrod (Tentative), 1611, 2/26/17, in apparent Kurdish. Man announcer into an interview with a woman. Not listed at this time (off 1600,) however in listening to the recording later, there was Kurdish music, and a possible ID at 1630. Program continued until 1658 when abruptly off and signal continued until 1700 opening of Bible Voice in Persian at same level and quality. It is my conclusion that Kostinbrod either left the transmitter on and on the Denge Kurdistan feed or the program has been extended an hour. Fair throughout (Mark Taylor, Madison, Wisconsin, Perseus, SDRPlay, RTL2832 V3 dongle; E1, Satellit 800, PL 660, various other portables; 40 meters dipole, 100’ long wire, Mini whip, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Ivo says it isn`t Bulgaria; France? ** KUWAIT. 7530, Feb 24 at 0245, JBA talk from algo. Aoki shows Deewa Radio in Pashto via IBB at 0100-0400. Until & unless MOI gets the Radio Kuwait SW transmitters refurbished, we`ll have to settle for USG stuff relayed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) All these IBB BBG Kuwait relay outlets came in very loud tonight too in Florida in 01-03 UT slot. Is the m o s t effective installation by IBB BBG Washington these days! Compare to CRI Cerrik Chinese on 9570 kHz S=9+35dB, 20 kHz wide signal, GRC 9420.005 and 9935.003 kHz both S=9+20dB signal at 0230 UT. 73 wolfie df5sx, and good night (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. 4010.219, Birinchi Radio (=First R), Krasnaya Rechka (= Red River), Bishkek, S=6 at 0155 UT on Feb 25. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log from 0130 UT Feb 25 at Colombo Sri Lanka remote SDR post on Victor's installation 4S7VK, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Same log but 2 Hz difference, refined later? --- gh] 4010.221, Birinchi Radio (=First R), Krasnaya Rechka (= Red River), Bishkek, S=6 at 0155 UT on Feb 25. Nothing on air on 2nd unit 4819v (Wolfgang Bueschel, Some logs of Feb 25 in Colombo Sri Lanka remote and at 1600-1720 UT on remote unit in Eastern Thailand, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** LAOS [and non]. 6129.974, R Nationale Lao, Vientiane, in Lao language service, S=6 signal at fade-out morning time in Sri Lanka remote post. QRM by co-channel 6130 Xizang PBS, Lhasa, western China in Tibetan language. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log from 0130 UT Feb 25 at Colombo Sri Lanka remote SDR post on Victor's installation 4S7VK, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Time? between 0204 and 0212 UT judging from adjacent logs (gh) ** MADAGASCAR. Log Madagascar - maybe --- Hi out there, I'm just (Feb 23, 1755+ UT) listening to a broadcaster with instable carrier, very Madagascar-like, but even more off-frequency than before, now on 5004v. Some audio, music before 1800, male speaker from 1800, not enough to catch any details. Not daily in the evenings, far from that. 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.muenster.org/uwz/ms-alt/africalist/ Feb 23, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Thorsten, Seems you are probably right. Dan Sheedy (southern Calif.) just emailed me about an UNID he was hearing today (Feb 23) on about 5004, from 1448 to 1518, which indeed sounds like possible Madagascar reception (Ron Howard, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sign-off was just after 1910 - that fits to previous observations on 5008v! (Thorsten Hallmann, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) [?]. RTM, 5004a, 1448-1518 23 Feb. Busy DJ chat, ads, jingle at 1505, non-descript int'l pop songs. Thorsten Hallmann in Germany had unID here 1755+ 23 Feb. so possible RTM sliding around Wolfgang Buschel found them 1600-1720 25 Feb. on 5013.5a, as well). Thanks to Ron Howard for relaying Mr. Hallmann's info (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MALAGASY noted a very weak and tiny signal this afternoon: American DXer report deep {European} night time at 0300 UT some strange wandered signal close to 5008 ... 5009 kHz. Around 16 and 19 UT noted on Uwe's Thailand remote SDR: unstable signal on 5003.863 kHz tiny signal. 73 wb (Wolfgang Buschel, Feb 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Heard Malagasy again on approx. 5013.485 to 5013.640 kHz wandered up 1600-1720 UT (Wolfgang Bueschel, Some logs of Feb 25 in Colombo Sri Lanka remote and at 1600-1720 UT on remote unit in Eastern Thailand, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. 5013.485 kHz faded in in E Thailand at 1600 UT, S=7-8 signal. 5013.610 ... x.640 Probably Malagasy heard here in unstable fq at 1700-1720 UT on Feb 25. S=8-9 signal heard in Eastern Thailand. Nice music selection (Wolfgang Bueschel, Some logs of Feb 25 in Colombo Sri Lanka remote and at 1600-1720 UT on remote unit in Eastern Thailand, dx_india yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) When circa 5005, don`t confuse with Equatorial Guinea which stix close to that frequency (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** MADAGASCAR. Reception of World Christian Broadcast, Madagascar World Voice, MWV 100 kW Feb 23 1800-1900 9570 / 355 deg to EaEu Russian tx#1 KNLS, New Life Station 1800-1900 17640 / 310 deg to WeAf English tx#2 African Pathways Radio 1900-2000 9495 / 355 deg to EaEu Russian tx#2 KNLS, New Life Station 1900-2000 11945 / 355 deg to N/ME Arabic tx#1 KNLS, Radio Feda 2100-2200 11610 / 325 deg to WeEu Chinese tx#1 KNLS, The Light of Life http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/reception-of-world-christian-broadcast.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not any spur signals noted of MWV on 13710 nor 17640 kHz, S=9+20dB outlets heard here in Europe. 11610 kHz S=9+25dB -51dBm strong signal here in southern Germany at 2112 UT and symmetrical unstable spurs, some 258.310 kHz away distance either side, on 11351.690 and 11868.310 kHz at 2120 UT. Spur S=9 or - 70dBm strong (Wofgang Büschel, Feb 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9600, Feb 26 at 0119, MWV with good S9+20 signal, better than heard for a long time for this English hour, with music, 0124 talk with KNLS address. So it`s time to hunt for parasites around this like 258 kHz above and below their 11610 Chinese transmission at 21-22. See UNIDENTIFIED 9353-9363 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11790, World Christian Broadcasting (KNLS) at 2217 in Egyptian Arabic with a man talking about Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits and playing bits of a few of their hits – Very Good Feb 27 – I don’t know what this has to do with Christian evangelism but I like it! (Mark Coady, Ont., ODXA yg via DXLD) bait & switch (gh, DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. 6050, Salam FM, 1503, Feb 22. Islamic programming (reciting from the Qur'an, etc.); in vernacular; many singing IDs; 1518 ID with "shortwave" and "FM" frequencies; still on the air at 1524; fair-good, with light QRM from Tibet (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6050, Salam FM, 1505 till past 1518, Feb 27. Strong signal, with good reception; in vernacular; many IDs. 11665, Wai FM, with the Sunday (Feb 26) "Country and Western" show; at 1534 with American C&W songs (Kenny Rogers - "The Gambler," etc.); DJ in vernacular giving title to songs; good reception (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XEUBS 1180? On my way to rehearsal tonight I heard the Mexican anthem at 0300 UT on 1180 kHz. Thus should be the winter sign-off time. This was probably XEUBS. Western DXers should try for it. 73 Tim, Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone, Hall, ABDX via DXLD) XEUBS-1180 La Paz BCS --- Has to be them with the Mexican anthem at 0300 UT (summer sign-off is 0200 UT). Still can't pull up the ID, but they are the only "daytimer" left on 1180 and they get out well. If you can catch them just before the top of the hour, they have a cute sign-off announcement. The announcer yawns, says "es la hora de cansar," then snores a bit before the anthem starts. I haven't managed to hear that bit from here yet. As an added bonus, I heard the Radio Rebelde interval signal from Cuba poking through KERN and XEUBS. Logged many times in the past but I don't hear Cuba as often as I used to. I'll try some more the next few nights to see if I can pull out some more identifying details. This one should soon be #1352 from San Diego. 73 (Tim Hall, Chula Vista CA, UT Feb 24, ABDX via DXLD) They're (XEUBS) in every night, fighting with Rebelde? Way under KERN. The Mexican anthem is at 0300 or 0301 each night. This will change to 0200 UT when they go to Daylight Savings [sic] time, which I believe for most of Mexico is still in April. The Rebelde station is consistently running their 9-note interval signal at 0300 UT. I need to try a Perseus recording at 0300 to see if I can pick up a few more Rebelde channels, like I did at the Border Inn (Tim, Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone, Hall, Feb 25, ibid.) ** MEXICO [and non]. XEKT-1390 - no más? Driving around at midday, I noticed my local XEKT-1390 (Tecate BCN) was missing, and their FM (88.5) sounds stronger than before. Wonder if they've just finished their migration to FM? KLTX-1390 in Long Beach was in quite well (as they used to be years ago, before XEKT moved from 1380 to 1390) with "radio nueva vida" //KSDO-1130. I also couldn't hear XEEBC-730, but they're not audible 100% of the time so I can't be sure they're off. 73 (Tim Hall, Feb 23, ABDX via DXLD) XEKT-1390 has not been noted for a week now. Good signals midday from KLTX-CA. Wikipedia says "XEKT-AM shut off for good in 2016." XEEBC-730 also not noted for some time. I can't be sure they're off, due to KBRT-740 slop, but it seems likely. Wikipedia says "The AM transmitter went off the air in 2016." 73 (Tim Hall, Feb 28, ABDX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Es la Radio en Mexico buena inversion...¿? Javier Tejado Dondé // Los millones en la licitación de radio 14/02/2017 El Universal En el Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT) deben estar muy satisfechos con los resultados de la primera licitación de radio en la historia del país y con la primera entrega de estaciones comerciales de radio en más de 20 años. El IFT estableció que daría 191 estaciones de FM y de éstas logró colocar cerca de 140. En la licitación logró una recaudación superior a los $1,500 millones de pesos (cuando el valor mínimo estaba fijado en $37 millones). Además, lo hizo mediante un mecanismo de subasta electrónica remota, mismo que por primera vez se usa en el país y abona a la transparencia, al todo mundo poder ver en tiempo real el movimiento de las pujas. Eso sí, cada jugador tenía un “número secreto”, por lo que hasta hoy los oferentes y ganadores de estaciones permanecen en el anonimato. Sin embargo, la gran sorpresa en la licitación de radio, llamada por el Instituto Licitación No. IFT-4, fue lo mucho que se pagó por estaciones de radio. Por ejemplo, está el caso de la estación en Playa del Carmen a la que el órgano regulador puso como valor mínimo de referencia $340 mil pesos y se acabaron pagando por ella más de $60 millones de pesos. Esto es, un incremento de 186 veces el valor que había fijado el IFT. Pero los montos pagados también fueron millonarios en otras plazas: Cuatro Ciénegas $14 millones de pesos, Lázaro Cárdenas $29 millones, Acapulco $49 millones, Puerto Vallarta $54 millones, Mazatlán $57 millones y, la más cara, Cancún, por la que se pagaron $89 millones de pesos. En toda la industria de la radiodifusión mexicana hay sorpresa por lo mucho que se pagó. La mayoría de los grupos radiofónicos establecidos piensan que se erogó demasiado por estas estaciones de radio y señalan no hay mercado que dé los retornos para recuperar la inversión realizada. Gran parte de estos radiodifusores comentan — pidiendo el anonimato — que los fines de varios de quienes ganaron la licitación de radio podrían ser distintos a los de la información y el entretenimiento. Se especula que, dado que los mayores montos se dieron en lugares turísticos y que habría nuevos entrantes a la industria de la radio, en realidad sus fines serían utilizar las estaciones de radio para presionar a alcaldes con los usos de suelo, lo que sí deja ganancias inmobiliarias muy rentables para hoteles y desarrollos inmobiliarios a costa de la planeación urbana y de zonas naturales protegidas. Los empresarios de la radio no encuentran otra razón que justifique lo que se ofertó. Sin embargo, fuentes directas me han confirmado que quien pagó más por cualquier estación de radio sí fue un radiodifusor de abolengo: Francisco Aguirre, presidente de Radio Centro. Este habría estado liderando las operaciones de la licitación de radio desde un “bunker” creado en sus oficinas en Constituyentes desde donde ofertaron por la estación de Cancún $89 millones de pesos. Grupo Radio Centro tiene ya la estación líder en Cancún, pero ésta se la renta a un tercero. Tener una estación propia le permitiría dejar de rentar o hacer, con dos estaciones, un mix de música y radio hablada. El hecho de que sea un radiodifusor establecido quien haya pagado más por una estación de radio habla de un mercado dinamizado y que en los márgenes financieros es probable que se pueda obtener la rentabilidad necesaria, pero también se trata del mismo grupo radiofónico que sobre-ofertó en la licitación de TV, realizando un impago que le ocasionó una multa de $415 millones de pesos. Si esta vez Radio Centro sí paga lo ofertado se pondrá en un nuevo nivel en el mercado y reestablecerá su credibilidad con el regulador de las telecomunicaciones. Lo cierto es que la oferta hecha por Radio Centro y por otros postores pone en un aprieto al resto de la industria, pues los montos que se han pagado serán un referente para lo que todos los radiodifusores establecidos pagarán este año por el refrendo (prórroga) de las estaciones existentes y también encarecerá lo que pagarán por las estaciones de AM que están migrando a FM. Así que los nuevos montos afectarán a la radio existente al pagar más por las renovaciones de las radios que ya operan. El IFT está realizando la mayor sacudida que ha recibido la industria de la radiodifusión en años. La medida hasta ahora parece buena y obligará a la radiodifusión a operar con mayor eficacia y profesionalismo, pero si una vez que se haga público quiénes son los ganadores (el 22 de marzo) se revela que efectivamente muchos de quienes pagaron altos montos en zonas turísticas son operadores sin experiencia en medios de comunicación, se abrirá un debate sobre el modelo de licitación y los fines que se persiguen. También se abrirá un debate sobre el escrutinio público para quienes participan en licitaciones públicas, pues los nombres de los participantes se mantuvieron secretos. Los resultados de la licitación de radio están generando un cisma en la industria de la radiodifusión y desde luego una mayor competencia, lo cual debería beneficiar a los radioescuchas. Esperemos que la Licitación No. IFT-4 sea para bien y dinamice a una industria anquilosada. Por lo pronto, ya todos los concesionarios estarán sufriendo consecuencias como el pagar más por sus refrendos y si el mercado radiofónico funciona adecuadamente — y no hay intereses ajenos — el precio de los spots de toda la radio deberá subir de valor para recuperar costos. Cambiando de tema: el misterioso postor 05324. En la licitación de radio, ¿quién — o qué grupo económico — tiene el interés y el poder económico para tramitar 67 solicitudes de concesión, con su respectiva carta de garantía de seriedad? ¿Quién tiene el interés y el poder económico para haber subastado de forma simultánea en 67 plazas y en algunos casos superando los $50 millones? ¿Quién pudo ganar Playa del Carmen pagando más de $60 millones de pesos? ¿Qué grupo económico pudo diseñar una estrategia para encarecer las principales plazas de radio a licitar? ¿Quién se “atrevió” a desbancar a radiodifusores y desalentar a nuevos participantes? ¿A qué participante se le agendó la entrega de su documentación el último día a la ultima hora? Todas las respuestas tienen un mismo nombre, o mejor dicho, número secreto: el 05324. Continuará… Twitter: @Jtejado (Carlos JV, via Juan Franco Crespo, Spain, DXLD) INVERSIONES EN LA RADIO EN MEXICO Los misteriosos empresarios de la radio Desbalance 20 Febrero, 2017 Excelsior. La duda se resolvió a medias el viernes, cuando el Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), que preside Gabriel Contreras, publicó la lista de participantes que hicieron las mayores ofertas en la licitación de radio. Ahí se descubrió que el “misterioso” postor cuyo folio es T1-005324 se llama Tecnoradio, es nuevo en el negocio y nadie lo conoce pese a las cantidades que pujó por algunas frecuencias, como la de Playa del Carmen, por la que se comprometió a pagar 55 millones 700 mil pesos. Pero Tecnoradio no fue la única sorpresa, pues un nuevo grupo denominado Escápate al Paraíso (en serio) hizo ofertas por 14 frecuencias en AM, y también es desconocido en la industria. De manera oficial la incógnita se resolverá el 22 de marzo, fecha en que se dará el fallo y se conocerá la razón social, dirección y otros detalles de estas enigmáticas empresas. El Jueves 23 de febrero de 2017 21:26, "'Carlos Tecnoradio: 37 frecuencias, ¿Slim, Diamond Electronics? 23/02/2017 México La semana pasada el Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Ifetel) dio a conocer los resultados de la licitación IFT-4, mediante la cual fueron puestas a concurso público 191 frecuencias de radio en la banda de FM y 66 en la de AM. El “gran ganador” de la subasta, para sorpresa de muchos, no fue uno de los tradicionales grupos que controlan las redes nacionales de radio en el país, sino una empresa prácticamente desconocida en el medio: Tecnoradio SA de CV 287 millones Tecnoradio obtuvo, mediante una oferta de 287 millones pesos que deberá pagar al Estado como contraprestación, las concesiones de 34 frecuencias de FM y tres de AM en diferentes entidades de la República, suficientes para formar una cadena con presencia importante en el territorio nacional: Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chihuahua, Chiapas, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Querétaro, Sinaloa, Sonora, Veracruz y Zacatecas. El monto de la contraprestación que habrá de pagar Tecnoradio por esas 37 frecuencias — la más cara corresponde a Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, con 55.7 millones de pesos —, aunado al hecho de que esa empresa es nueva en el ámbito radiofónico y de que el Ifetel habrá de “revelar la identidad de todos los participantes” en la licitación hasta el 22 de marzo, han provocado la aparición de especulaciones acerca de quiénes son los dueños de esa firma. ¿De quién es? En esos rumores se ha mencionado una posible vinculación de Tecnoradio con Carlos Slim o con la Comercializadora Milenio SA de CV, la empresa que ganó la licitación efectuada en 2015 por la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes para fabricar los receptores de tv digital que se repartieron con motivo del apagón analógico y que es subsidiaria de la firma estadunidense Diamond Electronics. El lunes, en su columna de MILENIO, Joaquín López-Dóriga publicó la versión de que quienes están al frente de Tecnoradio son los señores Alí Eduardo Bañuelos Santana, René Padilla y Javier Márquez. Trayectoria De esos nombres llama la atención el de Alí Bañuelos, cuya trayectoria profesional ha estado ligada en años recientes a Diamond Electronics. Bañuelos Santana es ingeniero en Sistemas Electrónicos, egresado del Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, carrera que realizó de 1987 a 1991. En el propio Tec hizo de 1992 a 1994 la maestría en Ingeniería Electrónica y Telecomunicaciones, y de 2004 a 2006 cursó en la Escuela de Negocios McCombs, de la Universidad de Austin, Texas, la maestría en Administración de Negocios. El ingeniero Bañuelos trabajó en Motorola de 1994 a 2012 y a partir de 2013 se desempeña en Diamond Electronics como director de Negocios de Telecomunicaciones de Polaroid (Polaroid es una de las marcas filiales de Diamond Electronics). Con esa representación presentó ante los medios, en junio del año pasado, los nuevos smartphones de Polaroid — el Cosmo 550 y el Turbo C4—, producidos y comercializados en alianza con la firma taiwanesa de tecnología Media Tek y la operadora mexicana de telefonía Telcel. Nuevo jugador ¿Están Telcel, Diamond Electronics, o alguna otra empresa poderosa, “detrás” de Tecnoradio, o sencillamente los señores Alí Eduardo Bañuelos Santana, René Padilla y Javier Márquez tienen la solvencia económica para ofrecer 287 millones de pesos por 37 frecuencias radiofónicas? Esperemos que el Ifetel devele la incógnita el 22 de marzo cuando, según prometió, revelará “la identidad de todos los participantes” de la recientemente concluida licitación para obtener frecuencias de AM y FM. Por lo pronto, si no se atraviesa algún problema económico o político, todo indica que la radio comercial mexicana contará con un nuevo grupo que operará inicialmente 37 frecuencias, pero podría ir creciendo con el tiempo utilizando diferentes recursos: 1) convenios con emisoras para que se incorporen a él como afiliadas; 2) “arrendamiento de espectro” concesionado a otras radiodifusoras, figura que reconoce la Ley Federal de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusión; 3) compra de estaciones mediante el procedimiento llamado “cesión de derechos”, lo cual le permitiría ingresar a mercados radiofónicos donde no hay frecuencias para licitar, como el de la Ciudad de México y otras localidades del país (Via Juan Franco Crespo, Spain, DXLD) ** MEXICO. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT this week [including DTV] First on the Mexico Beat: A New Social Station Lands in Tampico by Amparo It's not often a new radio station goes unnoticed this long, but that's precisely what has happened! And the story of its birth looks to be complicated. http://www.ift.org.mx/sites/default/files/conocenos/pleno/sesiones/acuerdoliga/pift1601176.pdf That document is a response to an amparo filed by a potential permit seeker, Martha Morales Reséndiz. In 2012, Morales went to Cofetel and sought a permit. On June 18, 2014, the IFT found the request improper (evidently due to lack of spectrum in Tampico). On October 28 of that year, she filed an amparo in Tamaulipas state court, which handed it over to the Specialized Broadcasting and Telecommunications Court in Mexico City. In November, the court came down in favor of Morales Reséndiz. Instead of 102.3, the new XHMRT-FM will launch on 102.5 MHz from coordinates 22 15'05.79", -97 52'23.04". It will be a Class A station and Tampico's first social station. The station appeared in the RPC today, prompting me to track down the rest of the story as the name was unfamiliar and I had no idea of new stations in Tamaulipas. This may not be Martha's first rodeo in radio. As soon as I heard the last name, I was reminded of another station, XEVI-XHVI San Juan del Río, Qro. It is owned by a concessionaire whose controlling shareholders are all members of the Morales Reséndiz family, including one Martha Laura Morales Reséndiz. It is worth noting that it appears that Martha lives in Tampico judging by some of the items in the amparo. I'm not sure if these are the same person, but it's more likely than not in Mexican broadcasting... ——— In other, and related, news --- more permit requests from 2011-13 that haven't been acted upon, listed on the Cofece site: Valores y Tradiciones de Mi Tierra, A.C. - Pabellón de Arteaga, Ags.; Miguel Hidalgo, DF; Chapala and Guadalajara, Jal.; Zinacantepec, Mex.; Los Ramones, NL; Cuautlancingo, Pue. (AWOO!) CODIPAC, A.C. - Ensenada, B.C. Asociación Cultural Fronteriza, A.C. - Ensenada, Mexicali, Playas de Rosarito and Tecate, B.C. Asociación Radiofónica Fronteriza, A.C. - Tijuana, Tecate, Playas de Rosarito and Ensenada, B.C. (these border associations have the same legal rep) Radio Digital Cultural, A.C. - Tijuana, B.C. (Rep is Gustavo Enrique Rafael Astiazarán Rosas, or in other words, Uniradio) Fundación de Radio Social de Baja California, A.C. - Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada (Maneadero), B.C. (where?) Miguel Ángel Valle Chan - Campeche, Camp. Fomento Educativo y Cultural Francisco de Ibarra, A.C. - Chihuahua, Chih. (that's Universidad Autónoma de Durango for you) Fundación Ararat en Pro de la Mujer, A.C. - Chihuahua, Chih. (rep Eugenia Guadalupe Palma Ruiz) Expresión Cultural Regional, A.C. - Amatan, Chis. José Luis Ocaña Castellanos - Arriaga, Chis. Erick Zenteno Nucamendi - Bochil, Chis. Avelino Andrés Chantiri Espinosa - Cintalapa, Chis. Lucema Guadalupe Camacho Caballero - Cintalapa, Chis. Promoción y Fomento Cultural, A.C. - Cintalapa, Comitán, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Tapachula and Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chis. (Note: rep is Sofia Valanci Penagos, who appeared in IFT-4. The last name should say it all. You may recall they attempted a station in Coatzacoalcos. More wolves!) Adolfo Gutiérrez Cruz - Ocosingo, Chis. Ismael Rodríguez Damas - Palenque, Chis. Runolfo Alvaro Vazquez - Palenque, Chis. Valores Culturales de Mayas de Chiapas, A.C. - San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chis. Isabel Victoria Galvez Roblero - Tapachula, Chis. Natividad Sánchez de la Cruz - Yajalón, Chis. Antonio Bernabé Pérez Pérez - Bochojbo Alto, Zinacantan, Chis. Radio Cultural del Centro, A.C. - Monclova, Coah. (Luis Abelardo González Galindo) Universidad Millennium Internacional, S.C. - Saltillo, Coah. (has a station in Torreón) Sergio Guevara Guevara - Durango, Dgo. Unidad de Televisión de Guanajuato - Cortázar, Gto. (this is the Gto state network) Ciencia, Comunicación y Tecnología de Irapuato, A.C. - Irapuato, Gto. Alejandra Chávez Puerta - León, Gto. Fundación Cultural para la Sociedad Mexicana, A.C. - Pachuca, Hgo. (hmm I wonder what this could be?) Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo - Pachuca, Hgo. (TV) Ajijic Radio, A.C. - Ajijic, Jal. Fomento Cultural de Cihuatlán, A.C. - Cihuatlán, Jal. Radio Educativa y Cultural de Arandas, A.C. - Jesús María, Jal. Sergio Manuel Arista Dumont - Zapopan, Jal. (Guadalajara metro) Espacio y Cultura Radiofónica, A.C. - Zapotlanejo, Jal. La Chaviza Musical, S.C. de R.L. de C.V. - Chiconcuac, Mex. Calacoaya Centro Cultural, A.C. - Jilotzingo, Mex. Radio Cultural de Villa del Carbón, A.C. - Villa del Carbón, Mex., Peñamiller, Qro. (rep Carlos Pérez Alcaraz) Laura Amparo Otto Díaz - Lázaro Cárdenas, Mich. Abdiel López Rivera - Morelia, Mich. Dulce María Reyes Sánchez - Morelia, Mich. Flavio René Acevedo - Morelia, Mich. (TV) (Medios Radiofónicos Michoacán incl. social wolf XHMOM-FM) Sistema Cultural de Michoacán, A.C. - Morelia, Mich. (TDT) (rep Isllali Belmonte Rosales) Ayuntamiento de Puruándiro, Mich. Carlos Manuel Sesma Mauleón - Cuernavaca, Mor. (a broadcast lawyer) Fundación Ecoforestal, A.C. - Orizaba, León, Pachuca, Culiacán (already known), Oaxaca, Tampico, Puebla, Cancún, Mexico City, Xalapa, Durango, Toluca, Querétaro, Mérida and Villahermosa (also Sesma Mauleón...ruh-roh, this might be a GREEN permit wolf!) Isaías Olivar Libertad - Tepalcingo, Mor. Silvia Montes de Oca Bernal - Apodaca, NL Erika Graciela Bonilla Ochoa - Monterrey, NL Hernán Edgardo García García - Monterrey, NL José Efraín Martínez Roa - San Nicolás de los Garza, NL Fundación del Norte Quadra, A.C. - Villa de Santiago, NL; Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. Fundación Cnltural Tokuela, A.C. - Ocotlán de Morelos, Oax. Crecer Libre, A.C. - San Andrés de Azumiatla, Pue. (rep Julián Gaudencio Herrera Arzola) Comunicación para el Desarrollo Humano, A.C. - Cancún, Q. Roo (rep Alan Sánchez Bravo) Comunicadores con Principios y Valores, A.C. - Cancún, Q. Roo Luis Fernando Arista Reyes - San Luis Potosí, SLP Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa - Los Mochis and Mazatlán, Sin. Democracia y Deliberación Desértica, A.C. - Hermosillo, Son. Universidad Olmeca, A.C. - Villahermosa, Tab. (reported by ACIR to be running an 88.9 pirate) Vidalia Castillo Javier - Villahermosa, Tab. Impulsora Tamaholipa, A.C. - Ciudad Victoria, Tamps. Impulsora Tenek, A.C. - Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. (these two Impulsoras are also related to Pro Difusión Social, same rep - Marco Antonio Daniel Hernández Ramírez) Radio y Televisión Cultural de Tamaulipas, A.C. - Ciudad Victoria, Tamps. (with Antonio Gallegos González as the rep, this is a permit wolf) Elsa María Esther Cuellar Armenta - Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. Juan Manuel Cervantes Cabada - Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. José Luis Vargas Rodríguez - Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. Maximino Muñoz Sánchez - Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. Universidad Tamaulipeca, A.C. - Reynosa, Tamps. Patronato Pro Difusión Social, A.C. - Río Bravo, Tamps. Rradiotl, A.C. - José Cardel, Ver. (XHPER-FM owner; the representative is Carlos Ferráez Cortés. The first and last names scream Avanradio. Sounds like a SOCIAL WOLF!) Toskitl, A.C. - Alvarado, Catemaco and Cosoleacaque, Ver. (same legal rep as Rradiotl) Jorge Luis Lucio Sánchez - Coatzacoalcos, Ver. Radio Naranjos, A.C. - Naranjos, Ver. Luis Arturo Rivera Garza - Poza Rica, Ver. Instituto Tecnológico Superior Zacatecas Sur - Tlaltenango, Zac. Ayuntamiento de Tlaltenango de Sánchez Román, Zac. OPMA - Ciudad Juárez, Chih.; Zacatlán, Pue. (TV) Música de Mis Recuerdos, A.C. - Saltillo, Cd. Obregón, Mochis, Cd. Victoria, San José del Cabo, Tapachula, Chetumal, Cd. del Carmen, Uruapan and Chilpancingo (wowza! rep Luis Fernando Mondragón Río) Impulso a la Música Mexicana, A.C. - Aguascalientes, Colima, Zacatecas, Campeche, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Tapachula, Morelia, Tepic, Puebla, Chilpancingo, Oaxaca, Ensenada, Toluca, Cancún (same rep) Rate Cultural y Educativa de México, A.C. - Cabo San Lucas, Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, Puerto Escondido, plus Zacatecas (XHGPE- FM) I could have gone on, and on, and on... Noteworthy approvals: XHJUX, XHBAK, XHCIF, XHFC, XHUHV among others; XHSPG Acapulco and XHOPCO Colima; whatever the UAIS station is (as Universidad Autónoma Indígena de México) EDIT: A few more of interest: Fundación Garza Limón - Durango, Dgo. (TV) (AWOO!) Noé Farrera Morales - Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chis. Voces Urbanas, A.C. - Nezahualcóyotl, Edomex (this civil association is a currently operating pirate and member of AMARC) Universidad Tecnológica de Tecamachalco - Tecamachalco, Pue. Chiapas state network - stations at Amatan, Siltepec and Yajalón Tec de Monterrey - various radio stations at campuses in the Mexico City metro area and Atizápan de Zaragoza, Mex. Last edited by Raymie; 02-24-2017 at 11:49 AM. Reason: XHVI connection? (Raymie Hubert, Phœnix AZ, originally Feb 23, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) It's not a new station, but a new station it will be in the books. On February 22, the IFT gave the green light to the Sistema Chiapaneco de Radio, Televisión y Cinematografía for a new public radio station at Siltepec. This station has been operating for years http://forums.wtfda.org/showthread.php?9803-Caribbean-June-6-2015 and was DXed in 2015 by Randy from Fort Walton Beach. Another, actually new, station was also awarded on 2/22, the first social indigenous station in Chiapas for the Comunidad Indígena Tseltal in the Locality of Bachajón, Chilón Municipality, Chiapas. (Raymie Humbert, March 1, ibid.) ** MICRONESIA. FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, 4755 kHz. The Cross. In a EMail from Melinda R Espinosa she states they still have plans to return to shortwave in the future. “At present we are raising funds for a Solar System to generate power. Power in Pohnpei is not reliable and is very expensive - so we are going for this alternative.” (Editor John Durham, March NZ DX Times via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. Re: ``Hi Glenn, Actually I now think they are lightning rods.`` And now you may stare at the small, brownish poles close to the equipment buildings at Choibalsan and Ulgii. They could be the same -- - or indeed the antennas of the former max. 12 kW shortwave transmitters, dwarfed by the LW/MW antennas of course. To avoid a possible misunderstanding: The latter are still in use, and the eight mast array at Choibalsan will presumably carry BBC Korean once it starts, whenever this may be (I have not spotted related shortwave frequency plannings for A17 so far, unless they are hidden). (Kai Ludiwg, Feb 25, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) These 12 kW units used til 1994 - 1995. 8 masts shortwave at 48 00'23.22"N 114 26'32.20"E non-directional steep angle MNG_SW Choybalsan 4995 kHz 12kW 48 57'36.31"N 89 58'18.05"E MNG_Ulgii v4750 kHz 12 kW and also on GE image 21 July 2007 at 47 47'56.94"N 107 10'44.49"E U-B Khonkhor 4850 kHz, east of TX house 43 32'05.25"N 104 24'55.09"E MNG_Dalanzadagad 3960v kHz 12 kW 80 mb non-dir probably formerly 47 43'23.86"N 96 50'54.90"E MNG_Uliosxai_Uliasutai 3960kHz 5kW even destroyed 6 of 8 masts already in 2002 year 46 19'20.71"N 96 15'23.72"E MNG_Altai 4830 kHz 12 kW image 12 Nov 2012 44 53'33.28"N 110 09'40.31"E MNG_SainShand 4865kHz 12 kW image 22 March 2007, remains tentat. 49 59'27.09"N 92 04'12.82"E MNG_Ulaangoom 4865kHz 5 kW tentat. seemingly visible in G.E. on Murun 4895/4897 kHz 12kW 25 Febr 2017 image 49 36'52.28"N 100 10'14.16"E MNG_Murun_4895kHz 12 kW formerly 8 masts - now 8 fundamental white stons visible, now only 2 mast towers remain, on different stons location. [non] btw. re Choibalsan Mongolia 8mast sidefire MW 1000 kW nothing of BBC Korean visible in A-17 SW request table seen yet. But additional English sce to Ciraf zone #43NE insert, English language entry could be a 'veiled fake' Transmissions are in deep local night, when also the MW Choibalsan signal would reach North Korea target during dark path. 5810 1730 1900 44NE NAK 250 40 0 216 Eng THA BBC BAB 12525 EINWS 9540 1500 1630 44NE SNG 250 25 0 211 Eng SNG BBC BAB 12522 EINWS 9540 1730 1900 44NE SNG 250 25 0 211 Eng SNG BBC BAB 12523 EINWS 9940 1500 1630 44NE TAI 300 2 0 145 Eng CHN BBC BAB 12526 EINWS 9940 1730 1900 44NE TAI 300 2 0 145 Eng CHN BBC BAB 12527 EINWS 1350 Choibalsan-Dornod, Mongolia 48 00 03 N 114 26 18 E 500 kW 150 degrees, 8 mast directional. 15-19 and 21-22 UT. Was used by IBB USA Korean in 2009 til 2011 years. 73 wolfie (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) ** MYANMAR [and non]. 5914.988, Myanma Radio, Naypyidaw, minorities program, S=7 signal at fade-out morning time in Sri Lanka remote post. Hit by lower level co-channel CRI Russian service from Kashgar western China even 5915 kHz. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log from 0130 UT Feb 25 at Colombo Sri Lanka remote SDR post on Victor's installation 4S7VK, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) TIME? between 0204 and 0212 UT judging from adjacent logs (gh) ** MYANMAR. 5985, Myanmar Radio, on Feb 22 (Wednesday), at 1545, with "VOA American Stories, Learning English," with a dramatic presentation of the story “A Princess of Mars,” by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Transcript and audio streaming at http://goo.gl/nxM1DU (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. 6164.996, Myanma Radio, Thazin R, Pyin U Lwin, in Kachin minorities program, female news reader still on air at 0212 UT Feb 25. DBC list show 0130 UT close-down? [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log from 0130 UT Feb 25 at Colombo Sri Lanka remote SDR post on Victor's installation 4S7VK, dxld yg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. GOVERNMENT BROADCASTER'S MINORITIES SERVICE STREAMING LIVE ONLINE The National Programme of government broadcaster Myanmar Radio has already been available on a live online stream for several years, and now they've recently added a live stream of their Minorities Service. Schedule observed is 23:30 to 14:00 UT and programming is in several minorities languages, including Chinese language(s) noted at 11:00- 12:30 UT. The stream was noted in parallel on 5915 kHz at 23:40 UT last night (23 Feb 2017), when it dominated co-channel CRI English and gave fair reception via a web SDR receiver in Haparanda, northern Sweden. It was also observed on the same frequency at 12:00 UT today with poor reception via a web SDR receiver on North Island, New Zealand. The broadcaster's website is at http://mrtv.gov.mm and the Minorities Service link is the bottom one on the 'Live Stream' page [Google Translate labels it as 'NATIONAL PROGRAM (2)']. The link labelled in English as 'MRTV Radio Station' is the National Programme as transmitted on 5985 kHz etc. The middle "link" is labelled 'NATIONAL PROGRAM (1)' but it's not yet active - possibly earmarked for the Yangon local service (David Kernick, Interval Signals Online, Feb 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Blob from Brasil blox KBC --- In case you are wondering what that awful bubbling noise is blocking The Mighty KBC on 6145, its`s RNB/RNA Brasil. Like last night the blob was first heard in the 6144-6157 range at 2315, and by 0000 had shifted down to 6142- 6152 or so, peaking about 6147, so maybe before KBC is finished it will have drifted out of the way. A secondary weaker blob of the same sort circa 6121, and by 2348 it was audible in the LSB of 6115 WWCR (Glenn Hauser, 0014 UT Feb 26, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ouch! Completely blocking the signal, although occasionally I can hear the Mighty KBC, so it might have been a decent evening into WCNA. 73, (Walt Salmaniw, 0029 UT Feb 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 6145, Feb 26 at 0001, JBA carrier from The Mighty KBC via GERMANY, weekly broadcast, since it is buried by huge parasitic spurblob from Brasília (see BRAZIL), covering roughly 6144- 6157. Recheck at 0103, now KBC is clear with LSB tuning only, as spur range has shifted to 6145-6154, peaking about 6149. No longer find a lower one circa 6115. At 0150 recheck, Kraig Krist introducing a Lost Song, by Donovan from 1965y, but now the Brasoblob has shifted slightly lower and can still hear it tuned to 6145-LSB, rather like a chicken continually clucking. U. Eric outroduces song as ``Catch the Wind``, and we know what kind of wind here, don`t we? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Example of horrible QRM. Brief audio February 26, 2017 0148 UTC http://misc.kg4lac.com/2017-2-26-MightyKBC-QRM.mp3 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, VA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Does anyone have any idea what the horrendous noise blob is that's covering up Mighty KBC tonight (Sun at 0140)? Looks like the garbage is centered on 6150 with an S-9 to S-9+10 signal here in North Texas. 73, (Jim K5JG, 0148 UT Feb 26, ptsw yg via DXLD) More under BRAZIL! This probably is someone other than Brazil as the QRM blob is causing reception problems in Europe too. Brazil is probably too weak to QRM listeners in Europe. More likely Chinese jamming especially with the blob moving frequency. 73, (Kraig Krist, Feb 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have again matched the modulation on the blob to Brazil 11780. It`s barely possible when talking rather than music. Both the pauses and some sounds. Nor at this time of day would it be so strong from China here. Nor is this behavior at all typical of Chinese jamming. Brasil has gone haywire before both on 49 and 25 m (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) The Mighty KBC will use two frequencies for the March 5, 2017 0000- 0200 UT broadcast. Usual 6145 and test 6040. Engineers in Nauen know 6040 had QRM problems in the past, but they now believe the frequency is clear. Please let the Mighty KBC know of reception conditions, if possible, on both frequencies. Contact is themightykbc at gmail dot com 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Watch out for off-frequency Brazilian from 6040, Rádio RB2, Curitiba. Because of the RNA spurblob last week around 6145? But that`s gone as of March 1. No doubt Uncle Eric would also appreciate it if you also attach a sound file of a fart (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** NEWFOUNDLAND. CANADA, 6159.970, Nice girl singer performance of CKZN St. John`s program at 0906 UT on Feb 26, S=7-8 signal in central Florida, US east coast. 73 wolfie df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. See TAHITI ** NORTH AMERICA. SW Pirates: --- North American 3430, TCS Shortwave with oldies music and announcements, JUST barely above the noise floor. Heard an ID that I couldn't understand but I recognized the voice at around the top of the hour, and things slid downhill fast. Back up a bit by 0113 with "Ode to Billie Joe", and at 0118 into Santana "Black Magic Woman", and at 0125 into The Guess Who "No Time".... This is all really good stuff; unfortunately, I wouldn't call this 'listenable' -- too much noise on the band! 3+3342! 0058- 0128 24/Feb, using a Hammarlund HQ-150 + randomwire and ANC-4 noise canceller (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Willaimston MI, MARE Tipsheet Feb 24 via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. Just one log this week! PIRATE-NA. Moonlight Radio, 6940 USB, 2343-2353+, 02-18-17, SIO: 222. Fading in and out of the noise playing Albert Collins' tunes, ID 2352 (Chris Lobdell, Tewksbury, MA USA, Receivers: Eton E1, JRC NRD-535, Aerial: G5RV Dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6925.00-AM, Feb 25 at 2255, pirate music at S9; 2259 announcement something about ``dear transmitter`` and another voice with Liquid Radio ID. Seems I was hearing it earlier and better than most of these: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,33096.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6955-USB, Feb 26 at 0107, torch song with VG S9+25 signal, best of the pirates. 0110 Wolverine Radio ID as expected, next two songs: ``You`ll Never Know``, ``Now or Never``, so Never must be the theme tonight. As usual, too much else going on during a Saturday evening monitoring session to stay with it, even with two radios, but recheck 0148 another Never song, S9+25; 0153 in SSTV so must be about to go off. Many other logs, playlists: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,33104.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 910, Feb 23 at 1307 UT, military medley on piano catches my ear, Anchors Aweigh, Marine Hymn, 1309 UT into vocal hymn solo and loops E/W, so presumably KVIS Miami, monarchists` ``King`s Vision`` (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. AM Log updates: 1050, KXCA OK Lawton – Adds // K229DG-93.7. (FCC) 1050, KGTO OK Tulsa – Format to UC:AC/OLD (ex-UC:AC). (AM Switch, NRC DX News March 6 via DXLD) For a while last year these two were taking the same satellite fed music service; AM Log says KXCA is now SPT ESPN et al. (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. CPs granted: 1210, KGYN, Guymon – Granted CP for U7 50000/10000 (ch 39000); replaces expired CP (AM Switch, NRC DX News March 6 via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. 1340, KIHN, Hugo – Deleted from FCC’s amquery (Log update via AM Switch, NRC DX News March 6 via DXLD) So off air a long time? ** OKLAHOMA. 1640, KZLS Enid OK News/Talk (X-band update by Tony King, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) This raises the question: if a talk station does no local news, but carries some network news on the hour, is it justified to list as News/Talk? What about a music station which also has net news on hour? That wouldn`t be classified as ``News/Music`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. 92.1-FM, Feb 23 at 2048 UT check, KAMG-LP Enid is still dead air. I`ve been checking it maybe once a day at random times since first noted silence on Feb 18. (During tropo openings, something overrides it, probably Woodward or Tulsa.) Owned by Maranatha with Spanish religion satellite relay. 68 watts from site I visited on the NW edge of Enid near Carrier & Oakwood, when it debuted as a real local LPFM station from a church on the east side (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. RF 48, Feb 24 at 0120 UT, I see that KOCY-LP is visible again in analog with Estrella TV, now that it`s after sundown with a little help from the troposphere, after a very warm day before a plunge tonight to near freezing. Then it`s gone again, as the signal is cutting off the air and on, like in the morning, e.g. 0120-0121*, *0122-0123*; then, mostly off. So if we do NOT see it in Enid, it could be because it is really off the air, rather than not propagating. I wonder how long this has been going on? Surely a turn- off for OTA NTSC viewers in OKC area, if any. RF 42, KBZC-LD, Feb 24 at 0123 UT, another OKC low-power, is also in again, and stronger than this morning, stays locked in for a while with all seven channels. I try Country on 42-4, with headphones, and indeed the music is stereo but with some IADs. This does not seem to correspond to video breakup so suspect it`s transmitted that way. 42-1 is indeed American Sports Network, with BKB; and 42-2 Tuff TV has an icehockey game. Faded below threshold decoding circa 0200 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. Comments on your report in March VUD [and DXLD before] (not necessarily in order:) ) - Regarding KOCY-LP 48: The CP for 15 kW is for conversion to digital. 15 kW is the maximum power permitted for a digital UHF LPTV. We have one analog LPTV left in Nashville as well (WJNK-LP channel 34, with 3ABN religion). It, too, has a permit to convert to digital on its existing channel. - Regarding KETA and repacking: There was no mechanism in the auction for stations to move *from* VHF *to* UHF. They could offer to move the other way in return for a payment from the government, but they couldn't offer to pay the government to move from V to U. I suppose after the whole repack shakes out, someday the FCC will accept applications to move from VHF to UHF in the same way they did before the auction came along. In most markets it is unlikely there will be any UHF spectrum available. - Regarding KBZC-LD, apparently "QVCover" means QVC Over the Air. I've seen a bug with that text on their affiliate here. Not sure what KBZC stands for. Our WKUW-LD also carries BUZZR, with old game shows (most of them not very good, but they do have Let's Make a Deal with Monty Hall). - Regarding power levels on KETA: the power difference with KOCO is negligible. The 101 kW/370m figure is for a backup transmitter. KOCO's normal transmitter is 65.7 kW/451m. At a distance of 108 km (found on a website as the distance from OKC to Enid) the predicted signal is 41.892 dBu at half of locations 90% of the time. For KETA the predicted signal is 41.172 dBu. Due to the lower antenna, KOCO's 101 kW backup transmitter is actually *weaker* than KETA, 40.506 dBu. Some high-VHF DTV stations have been affected by second-harmonic interference from FM stations (sometimes, this interference is generated in the receiver -- or any antenna "booster" -- not transmitted by the FM station). Channel 7 (KOCO) would be affected by FM stations at the bottom of the dial, between 88 and 90 MHz. Channel 13 would be affected by stations at the top of the dial, between 105 and 108. How far are you from the KNID 107.1 transmitter? == (Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View, TN EM66, Feb 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Doug, Tnx for all the comments! Yes, I didn`t notice that the KOCO entry was under backup rather than main. Also, the 15 kW CP for KOCY is listed as -LP rather than -LD so I did not assume it concerned DTV (Glenn to Doug, via DXLD) Ah. Look over at the right (on my site) where it says "CP-LD" for the 15 kW record and "LIC-TX" for the other record. That's where the "service" is listed. Sometimes the FCC doesn't get around to changing the suffix in the callsign when a LPTV converts to digital. Digital Replacement Translators get the same call letters as the main station; really the only way to know it's a DRT is to look at the service. On the Wisconsin page, look for WMVS Milwaukee. You'll find it listed on both channel 8 (three times) and on channel 36 (once). If you look at the service listing, you find channel 8 listed as "DT": this is the main transmitter (there's also a "DX" which is a backup transmitter). Channel 36 is listed as "LD" and is a DRT (Doug to Glenn, via DXLD) I think you`ve got it about the KETA breakup. About 2 miles [sic] from 107.1, I think (as well as thousands of Enidians). I just looked at the STB signal meter, and see 13 is well into the Good range, but keeps fluxuating and breaking up. But this happens on my antenna with amp and FM filter engaged, as well as on the other one (Glenn to Doug, via DXLD) It would be interesting to try disengaging the amp. At your distance from OKC that might leave the signal too weak to decode - but it might be OK. == (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, to Glenn, ibid.) Doug, Distance from KNID - I was thinking of the KCRC 1390 site, where they used to have the FM antenna mounted [when on 99.7], but checking FCC, I see it is now NW of Enid on hwy 132, which is about 9.7 miles from me. Close enough? (Glenn to Doug, ibid.) Yes, probably. 14 kW, so not a totally puny signal (Doug to Glenn, ibid.) KETA breakup in Enid --- Mark, Doug Smith of W9WI.com provides some additional info, correcting some of what I said, for the record: KOCO power I cited is for their backup transmitter. There is negligible difference between their main power/coverage and KETA`s. He suggests my reception problem could be caused by the second harmonic of local KNID 107.1 = 214.2 MHz, falling right in the middle of ch 13. I am less than 10 miles from that transmitter. One of my antennas has an amp on the mast, but the FM trap/hi pass filter is supposedly engaged, yet this happens both on it and the other antenna without an amplifier. So it`s unclear whether KNID is actually transmitting enough signal on 214.2 MHz to bother KETA, or whether there is enough overload on 107.1 into the receivers to cause this. My Zenith STB signal quality (not strength) meter shows KETA well into the Good range, but it keeps fluxuating as the video and sound break up. The same kind of thing could be happening elsewhere in KETA`s fringe area if there is a nearby station on the high end the FM band. Of course, this would not be happening on the UHF channels (tho there could certainly be other interference problems, more likely from other TV stations.) Regards, (Glenn Hauser, Enid, to Mark Norman, OETA via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. RF 48, Feb 28 at 1753 UT, KOCY-LP, OKC, analog video only, fades in briefly. Now I know that this one may or may not be on the air at any moment; only way to be sure it is off is to see it strong enough one moment, and cut off the next rather than fade out. Doug Smith of W9WI.com responds to my previous comments: the reason why KOCY has a CP for 15 kW is that would be the max power once it`s finally converted to DTV --- (but that will never happen with all channels above 37 being evacuated). Also, he points out that the power and coverage of KOCO-7 are virtually the same as KETA-13; twice the power I quoted from his list was for KOCO`s backup rather than main transmitter. I also think Doug has the answer to why my KETA-13 reception keeps breaking up: QRM from second harmonic of KNID 107.1 on 214.2 MHz right in the middle of RF channel 13, running 14 kW from less than 10 miles away (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman at 1430 with a man and woman talking about small scale hydro electric systems in the Middle East to avoid the pollution caused by burning oil to produce electricity then an ad at 1433 for Oman Tel – Very Good Feb 25 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA yg via DXLD) 15140, RSO, 1451 22 Feb. Quick check of 19M found first readable audio at Moonlight from RSO in months, jingle with echo for 90.4 FM, into Stevie Wonder song (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PALAU. Furusato no Kaze & Nippon no Kaze via WHRI/T8WH Angel 3, Feb 24: 1428-1430 9960 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to NEAs English WHRI/T8WH program 1430-1500 9960 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to NEAs Japanese Furusato no Kaze 1500-1530 9975 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to NEAs Korean Nippon no Kaze 1530-1600 9965 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to NEAs Korean Nippon no Kaze 1600-1630 9975 HBN 100 kW / 345 deg to NEAs Japanese Furusato no Kaze http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/furusato-no-kaze-and-nippon-no-kaze-via.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3260, R Madang (presumed the one now) 2/27 1040, M in what sounded like Tok Pisin (Pidgin) and pop vocal music, but like that broadcast in the Pacific region. Fair/Good signal with some chop and light T-Storm static. Note: signal lost steam before 1100 so I was not able to positively ID, but I know of nothing else here at this time. These mostly from backyard table with RadioShack SW- 2000629, outdoor 20' wire. 73 and Good Listening! (Rick in Arizona Barton, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4955. R. CULTURAL AMAUTA. Feb. 27. 2315-2324 UT. Avisos de organizaciones de la zona de Huanta, especialmente de ayudas sociales. A las 2318, se vuelve a un programa en quechua. SINPO: 45444 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 40 metros de largo, QTH: Ovalle, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 5025. R. QUILLABAMBA. Feb 27. 2325-2336 UT. Rezos del Rosario en español. SINPO: 55444 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 40 metros de largo, QTH: Ovalle, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 5980. R. CHASKI. Febrero 24. 0053-0102 UT. Música docta [erudite] i.e.: Mozart. Luego a las 01 ID: “Red Radio Integridad” y pequeño devocional hasta las 0102. SINPO: 45343 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 40 metros de largo, QTH: Ovalle, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 5980, Feb 26 at 0101, JBA carrier from R. Chaski, until autocutoff at 0102:41.5*, which is 61.5 seconds later than last catch 9 nights ago, Feb 17 until 0101:42*, i.e. averaging 6.83 seconds per, close to nominal slippage (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5980. R. CHASKI. Febrero 26. 1230-1240 UT. Cantos, hora local, ID: “Red Radio Integridad 700 am” y devocional sobre el arrepentimiento. SINPO: 53453 con QRM de otras emisoras sin identificar, probablemente PBS y no Martí que desapareció por la propagación de la banda (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 95 metros de largo, QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) [note: he reports from two different QTHs, antenna lengths --- gh] 5980. R. CHASKI. Feb. 28. 0046-0103 UT. Programa “El amor que vale” hasta la 0056, luego breve espacio musical. A las 0100 ID: “Red Radio Integridad”, avisos, devocional hasta las 0103, cuando sale del aire. SINPO: 53443 con QRM de PBS Gannan. Aunque desde las 0058 con SINPO: 54444 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 40 metros de largo, QTH: Ovalle, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 6174. R. TAWANTISUYO. Feb 28. 0005-0017 UT. Informaciones sobre la elección de Alcaldes durante este año, además de denuncias a la corrupción. A las 0010, un pequeño espacio musical con ID. SINPO: 55444 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 40 metros de largo, QTH: Ovalle, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** PERU. WEBSTREAMS OF ACTIVE PERUVIAN SHORT WAVE STATIONS Just in case that terrestrial short wave reception does not work, all remaining Peruvian short wave stations have websites and web audiostreams. 4747 „Radio Huanta Dos Mil“, Huanta, Ayacucho, http://radiohuanta2000fm.com/ 4775 „R. Tarma“, Tarma, Junín, http://www.radiotarma.com/ 4955 „R. Cultural Amauta, desde la ciudad de Huanta”, Ayacucho, http://www.radioamautafm.net/ 5025 „R. Quillabamba“, Quillabamba, Cusco, http://www.radioquillabamba.com/inicio/ 5980 „R. Chaski“, Urubamba, Cusco, http://www.radiochaski.com/ 6173 „R. Tawantinsuyo“, Cusco, http://www.radiotawantinsuyo.com/?i=1 (Dr. Hansjoerg Biener, 28 February 2017, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 17820, R. Pilipinas, 0231-0241, Feb 26. Only this frequency very readable; // 15640 // 17700 not so readable. News about the activities of the president and of tourism in the Philippines; “From the presidential palace Manila, Dateline Malacañang,” which of course is the name of the presidential palace (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. 15310, Feb 26 at 1458, exotic music, sort of African? More likely Romanian, as that language announcement mixes with a few seconds late 1500 timesignal [not 1400 as typo in original report]; S8 to S3 fades. RRI in Romanian at 1400-1557, 300 kW, 285 degrees from Galbeni (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Romania International (DRM) 0400-0500 English 13730 (Ind) 0500-0530 Chinese 13730 (Chn) 0500-0600 Romanian 6145 (Eu) 0530-0600 Russian 5940 (Rus) 0600-0630 French 6040 (Eu) 0630-0700 English 9770 (Eu), 15450 (Aus, NZ, Pac) 0700-0730 German 9770 (Eu) 1600-1630 Russian 6030 (Rus) 1700-1800 French 5935 (Eu) 1800-1900 English 7350 (Eu) 1900-2000 German 7425 (Eu) 1900-1930 Italian 5955 (Ita) 2100-2130 French 6030 (Eu) 2130-2200 English 6030 (Eu) 2300-0000 English 6015 (Eu) I just took some time to compile this DRM Schedule for RRI. Hope it's of interest. Best wishes, (Martin John Reynolds, Feb 28, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) Hmmm, according to this, no DRM broadcasts to NAm, altho they have plenty of AM; what are they trying to tell us? But the ones to Eu are in the same direxion, we can hear on 6010-6020, 6140-6150, etc. This does not totally match WRTH 2017, e.g. 6015 at 2300 is not plussed as DRM (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Reception of Adygeyan Radio on Feb 26 & Feb 27 1900-2000 on 6000 ARM 100 kW / 188 deg to CeAs Sun Adygeyan 1745-1755 on 6000 ARM 100 kW / 188 deg to CeAs Mon test tone 1755-1800 on 6000 ARM 100 kW / 188 deg to CeAs Mon dead air 1800-1900 on 6000 ARM 100 kW / 188 deg to CeAs Mon Ad/Ar/Tu http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/weak-to-fair-signal-of-adygeyan-radio.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #996 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, February 28, 2017, via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 7345 // 7295, Radio Sakha, via Yakutsk. Feb 26 (Sunday) noted at 0246, with their weekend schedule (0000-0500), as opposed to the weekday schedule 0300-0500; pop songs; 0250 usual ID and ads; covered at *0258 by strong RRI sign on (IS), which is often not so strong as today. 7345 // 7295, on Feb 27 (Monday), 0450-0500*; usual ID and ads; music; 0500 IS (Jew's harp - khomus) and 3 pips; 7295 with much better reception than normal, with 7345 still stronger (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [non]. US CHALLENGES KREMLIN WITH NEW RUSSIAN TV CHANNEL 28 Feb 2017 https://www.afp.com/en/news/206/us-challenges-kremlin-new-russian-tv-channel AFP/File / Michal Cizek Thomas Kent, president of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty which hopes the new venture will reach an audience of more than 270 million people [caption] Nearly three decades after it helped topple communist totalitarian regimes in Eastern Europe, US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is challenging Moscow again, this time with a new 24-hour TV news channel in Russian. Officially launched in Prague this month, the "Current Time" channel targets an audience of more than 270 million people, mostly in the former Soviet area, with news and views that provide an alternative to the Kremlin's version of reality as channelled through state- controlled media. The new channel's launch comes as relations between Moscow and the West have hit their lowest point since the Cold War, triggered by Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its military campaign in Syria a year later. Suspicions also linger in the West about the extent to which the Kremlin may be using the internet and other means to spread fake news that could boost the popularity of pro-Russian politicians, thereby destabilising NATO and the European Union. Moscow has been quick to denounce the new channel, with prominent Kremlin-appointed talk show host Dmitry Kiselyov -- known as Russia's chief spin doctor -- labelling it a scam. It's "mostly money laundering under the guise of fighting Russian propaganda," he said on Russian state TV last week, without elaborating or offering any proof of fraud. RFE/RL, which reaches 23 countries in 26 languages, has launched the venture jointly with the Washington-based Voice of America. As the official US international broadcaster, VOA targets more than 236 million people a week in more than 45 languages. - 'Need for objective news' - For decades, the stations fought a key ideological battle for the West during the Cold War. AFP/File / STF Prague residents listen to the radio for news during the Prague Spring before the short-lived period of greater freedom was brutally crushed by a Soviet invasion in August 1968 [caption] Banned across the communist bloc, the stations regularly had their signal jammed by various regimes, but people behind the Iron Curtain still managed to listen in secret to broadcasts that inspired them to oppose totalitarian rule. Current Time executive editor Kenan Aliyev told AFP the new station, known as Nastoyashcheye Vremya in Russian, has similar aims to win viewers in Vladimir Putin's Russia. "Our ambition is to gain the audience in this important region which has lately been bombarded by a lot of disinformation, lies and propaganda," he said. "We feel there is a need for objective news and we will try to provide this type of service to our audience." Current Time programming ranges from breaking news to business, documentaries and even cooking shows. Coverage of issues like poverty, corruption and healthcare also features prominently. Some programmes focus specifically on the Baltic states, Moldova and Ukraine, all under Moscow's thumb during Soviet times and now home to significant ethnic Russian populations. The station broadcasts via satellite, cable and the internet from Prague, where RFE/RL has been based since its 1995 move from Munich. "Most importantly, we do social media and digital coverage for audiences that are particularly hard to reach, like those in Russia," Current Time director Daisy Sindelar told AFP. - Riga: a hub for independent media - Conceived during the administration of former US president Barack Obama who took a firm line against Moscow over Crimea, the station officially launched its around-the-clock broadcasts under US President Donald Trump, known for his seemingly pro-Moscow stance. AFP/File / ILMARS ZNOTINS Riga has become a hub for independent Russian media who have trouble operating in Russia itself [caption] RFE/RL President Thomas Kent says that while the US Congress has approved funding for "decades", he told AFP that possible federal cost-cutting under the billionaire reality TV star-turned-president could affect programming. Current Time's operating budget for this year is $10 million (9.5 million euros). "We hope that the uniqueness of what we do will help preserve our funding," Kent told AFP. Similar channels that operate free of Kremlin control include the BBC's Russian language service, which is setting up a new bureau in Riga, the Latvian capital. Ethnic Russians make up a quarter of Latvia's population of two million people. Authorities in Riga are concerned Moscow is trying to target the country's largest minority with propaganda designed to destabilise the Baltic NATO and EU state. Last April, Latvia banned broadcasts by the Russian-language Rossiya RTR TV channel for six months, claiming it had incited hatred and made anti-Ukrainian statements. Latvian state broadcaster LTV has a Russian-language TV and radio station as well as a news website to draw ethnic Russians away from almost exclusively pro-Kremlin media beamed in from Russia. Riga has also recently become a hub for independent Russian media who have trouble operating in Russia itself, including the Meduza website run by former journalists from the Russian news site Lenta.ru. Estonia's public broadcaster ERR has also created three Russian-language media outlets. According to a 2016 TNS Emor poll, the stations, including ETV, ETV2 and ETV+, captured an audience of around 20 percent of ethnic Russians who account for a quarter of Estonia's 1.3 million people. 28 Feb 2017 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. REVOLUTION-100: BBC RUSSIAN CONNECTS WITH EVENTS OF 1917 28 February 2017. From Monday 6 March, the Revolution-100 season of content on BBC Russian will connect audiences with the events of 1917 that led to the seizure of power by Bolsheviks and the birth of the Soviet Russia. BBC Russian takes a new look at the crucial episodes between the two Russian revolutions - in February and October 1917 - often challenging conventional knowledge. Through documentaries, animation, infographics, picture galleries and stories on bbcrussian.com, TV, and via digital and mobile platforms, BBC Russian connects the events of 1917 with the world of today. Between March and November 2017, Revolution-100 will feature a wide range of content including: - A four-part video series, The Train from Zurich to the Revolution, tracing Lenin’s train journey from Zurich to Petrograd, which put him in the centre of the struggle for power in the Russian capital. Starring the popular Russian actor, Mikhail Yefremov, the documentary asks why Germany had facilitated that momentous journey. - A special video feature filmed at the Russian Duma, re- enacting the drama of the political struggle of 100 years ago. The country’s budding legislative organ of the time - set up to establish democratic governance in Russia - was soon obliterated by the Bolsheviks. - Research into the economic situation in the country as the February Revolution was largely triggered by bread riots and strikes in Petrograd - asking what an average worker could buy and if hunger was really widespread. - Research into the social layout of the country whose monarch abdicated after centuries of absolute rule. - Letters from the frontline: a personalised look at the role of the First World War in the disaffection that brought the soldiers - and their families - into the ranks of the protesters. - Faces of the revolution: portraits of seven key members of the Provisional Government – Mikhail Rodzyanko, Alexandr Protopopov, Pavel Milyukov, Vasiliy Shulgin, Prince Georgiy Lvov, Generals Nikolai Ruzsky and Mikhail Alekseev. - The world press reaction to the revolution as it unfolded. - The story of three brothers from Nizhniy Novgorod, whose different political choices and resulting lives reflect the trials and tribulations of 20th century Russians. Throughout the season, BBC Russian will report the centenary of the Russian revolution as it is reflected in Britain’s cultural scene. BBC Russian brings global stories to the Russian-speaking audience and puts Russian and regional stories in a global context. The website bbcrussian.com offers a rich content of international and national news and analysis, video news bulletins and pieces, live and on-demand audio, interactivity and reports. BBC Russian connects with its audiences via Facebook, VKontakte, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, YouTube and Google+. BBC Russian TV news bulletins broadcast on Dozhd TV in Russia Monday to Friday and are available on bbcrussian.com. Twice a week, BBC Russian delivers news updates on the Russian TV channel, RBK. Ends// For more information please contact: BBC World Service Group Communications - Lala Najafova lala.najafova@bbc.co.uk (BBC PR via DXLD) same: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/bbc-russian-1917 (via Dr. Hansjoerg Biener 28 February 2017, DXLD) ** SAIPAN. 1080, KCNM, MP, Saipan – Applies to extend STA, U1 500/500 from temporary antenna (AM Switch, NRC DX News March 6 via DXLD) originally 5000 watts, as licensed (gh) ** SAIPAN. 11850.038, Feb 24 at 1426-1430+, bandscanning in 1 kHz steps with BFO, anything a bit off-frequency raises a red flag. This one is speaking some English but it`s just a clip within Vietnamese. I figure it`s most likely R. Veritas Asia, but checking Aoki, the Viet at 14-15 is instead RFA via Agignan Point, while RVA Viet is on Palauig 11850 during the previous hour. Unusual, of course, for an IBB site to be so far off-frequency, but the NMI sites seem more prone to it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAMOA AMERICAN. And in Pago Pago, it was strange to hear the casual “K-H-J” ID’s from KKHJ; not what I remember from 930, while in a local store looking for a T-shirt (Theo Donnelly, BC, reporting on a cruise, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) 930, the original KHJ in Los Ángeles (gh) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 9695.039, Feb 24 at 1455, talk in Asian language, poor. Aoki shows it`s R. Saudi International, 500 kW, 55 degrees from Riyadh in Pashto amid the 1358-1558 broadcast. Long path? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9714.920, BSKSA Riyadh's morning HQ prayer in Arabic, non-directional Middle East service outlet, tiny S=7 at 0238 UT. [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log of remote SDR receiver in central Florida until 0350 Feb 25, BCDX, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SIKKIM. INDIA. 4835 kHz: Now that the ABC has vacated this frequency it may be possible to hear AIR Gangtok [SIKKIM]. “EIBI” has Gangtok as 1325-1512. Also listed on 4835 kHz is AIR Delhi 1355-1405 and 1512-1530. (Editor) Has been heard and verified in Malaysia (Chief Ed. Stu Forsyth, Cyberjaya, Malaysia, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) On 4835, what it means is that Sikkim is RELAYING Delhi during those hours (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) 4835, AIR (Gangtok) (Presumed) 1426-1443 23 Feb. Exceptional conditions this morning brought readable audio (Hindi chat, music) from Gangtok for the first time using a ULR (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4835, AIR Gangtok, 1452, Feb 28. Subcontinent music/singing; 1500 switched to solo sitar instrumental; nicely above threshold level audio; would have been almost fair reception except for QRN (static). Rather late today signing on, as not there at 1214, nor at 1247 check, but clearly there at 1257 (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, Wantok-FM, 1434-1509+ 21 Feb. Mix of pops with a reggae-ish cover of S&G's "Mother & Child Reunion", couple of jingles ("Wantok FM 96.3" clear at 1456). Wantok FM? 1420-1505+ 22 Feb. Segued reggae, hymns, pop across BOH/TOH, so unsure if Wantok or SIBC ($ is on Wantok, tho). Rechecks at 1430+ 23, 24 Feb. still running late (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach, CA PL380/6m X wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Dan, On Feb 22, I listened non-stop 1310-1415, as well as many other random times till past 1525. Did not hear even one announcement between the songs; no IDs at all. So would seem to have been SIBC format (non-Wantok), but even with SIBC broadcasting, I expected to catch at least one PSA or an ad during the hour+ of listening, but nil. Unusual format on that day! Most days of extended broadcasting past 1200, are in fact the Wantok FM relay, but their format is easy to tie down with the numerous IDs between every two or three songs, plus never any PSA or ad announcements. Always enjoy seeing your logs, to compare how southern Calif. reception is compared to mine up the coast here in Monterey. Thanks! (Ron Howard, March 1, via DXLD) 5020, Wantok FM relay, via SIBC, 1309, Feb 23. Yet another day of extended broadcasting (now daily?); non-stop songs (Lionel Richie - "Stuck on you," Men At Work - "Who can it be now?," etc.); frequent brief IDs; not as strong as yesterday; still on at 1410. Yesterday, Yoshiyuki Ohashi (formerly active in SWL as "Peace-J") was also hearing this at 1321, with nice reception in Japan. Wantok FM 96.3, was established in 1999, as a part of SIBC, to attract a younger audience - http://goo.gl/TLliig (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5020, Feb 23 at 1343, SIBC music at S9-S7, another extended broadcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5020, Wantok FM relay, via SIBC. Feb 28 another day with an extended broadcast; 1206 with pop songs (Ellie Goulding - "Love Me Like You Do," etc.); mostly fair reception; IDs ("Listen non-stop, non-stop, 96.3," etc.); audio still there at 1326, but by 1340 only a strong open carrier till past 1526+ (dead air) (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) March 1, heard 5020, with yet another day of extended broadcasting; non-stop listening, to non-stop songs (20 of them!); 1503-1617; never any announcements (no IDs, no PSA, nor any ads), so clearly a SIBC format (non-Wantok FM relay). The reason I so often listen to this station is the simple fact I normally have fair to good reception, while listening in my car at Asilomar State Beach. Once the sun comes up, is a pleasure to watch the waves roll in from the Pacific, while at the same time listening to music from far off Solomon Islands. SWLing does not get any better! (Ron Howard, California, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALILAND [and non]. 7120, Feb 23 at 1401, tune-in to JBA S5 carrier from R. Hargeisa via longpath just in time to hear it cut off at 1401:42*. Then I check for higher 41mb AM carriers. Eritreans are still gone below 7200. 7205, presumed Sudan. 7236.925, presumed Ethiopia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7120, R. Hargeisa, 1517, Feb 27. Call-to-prayer for the Islamic Maghrib prayer, just after sunset; their sunset today was at 1514 UT (6:14 PM at Hargeisa), while my sunrise was at 1440 UT (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. SECRETLAND Brother HySTAIRical via SPL Feb 25 1700-0200 on 9465 SCB 100 kW / 306 deg to ENAm English 1800-2000 on 9700 SCB 100 kW / 306 deg to WeEu English http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/brother-hystairical-via-spl-on-feb25.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN SOUTH [non]. FRANCE, Good signal of Eye Radio via TDF Issoudun, Feb 28 1600-1700 on 15250 ISS 250 kW / 130 deg to EaAf Arabic/English* *including other languages Dinka/Nuer/Shilluk/Bari/Zande/Lutoho http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/03/good-signal-of-eye-radio-via-tdf.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SURINAME. 4990, Feb 25 0723, JBA carrier, presumed R. Apintie, which is still reported from time to time, and nothing else would be on 4990 overnight. I remain hopeful for hearing it identifiably sometime (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1 kW irregular (WRTH) ** SYRIA. SYRIAN RADIO STATION FOR LIVE BROADCAST RECORD http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=9780&SEO=syrian-radio-station-for-live-broadcast-record Damascus, Feb 25 (Prensa Latina [CUBA]) Fuse FM Syria has started an 81-hour live program since the morning of today and try to set a record in the Guinness Book for the longest radio program in the world. 'This challenge is an opportunity for joy to return to Syria and elevate its name to the top,' said Atef Darwish of the Syndicate of Lawyers in Damascus and one of the referees to verify the transmission The director of the program, Mutaz al Kud, told the press his hope for success. He aims to win the challenge that would be a message of support for Damascus to be within the creative cities for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The station Fuse FM began its transmissions in the year 2013 in the frequency 91.1 Megaherzios. sus/lma /pgh (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** TAHITI [and non]. I can confirm that R. Polynésie Première isn’t on 738. Tahiti had had a major weather event the previous day and overnight into Sunday with flooding, road washouts, land slips, ‘electricity cut, water supplies not pumping, and the airport at Papéete closed. That was second story on RNZI Pacific News at 0100 UT with a massive signal on 17675; who needs DRM with that performance? Local authorities wouldn’t allow passengers off the ship but it was a miserable day anyway. Mebbe such a situation might cause a re-think to the shutting of 738. 73 (Theo Donnelly, BC, reporting on a cruise, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Latest changes of Radio Taiwan International from Feb 15: 1600-1700 NF 9405 PAO 300 kW / 225 deg to SoAs English, ex 6185 (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. On February 20, the first time in a long time heard on 4765 kHz speech in Russian - were advertising and announcements in Tajik and Russian language in 0109 UT (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria, RusDX 26 Feb via DXLD) ** TANZANIA. 1377, 28.02.17 0200-0222, TZN, Radio Free Africa, Mwanza, Swahili: African music, many IDs, 45333, Jingle, Commercials, At 0204 Song "Winter of Love" by Moompax & Vix. At 0210 "Muana Tokyo" by Papa Wemba (Antonello Napolitano in Taranto (Italy). RX: ICOM IC R70, Sony ICF 2001. ANT: 20 metre outdoor wire. Tecsun AN-200 Medium Wave Tunable Loop antenna, Feb DX Fanzine published March 1, via DXLD) Despite the name, it`s a commercial station, not clandestine (gh) ** THAILAND. 13744.96, R. Thailand, Feb 27, 0030-0040, 45444, English, News, ID at 0031 and 0038. 17639.96, R. Thailand, Feb 25, 0537-0547, 35333, English, News, ID at 0545 (Kouji Hashimoto, JAPAN, RX, IC-R75, NRD-525+RD-9830, ANT, 130m Sloper Wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND [and non]. A friend and I were discussing DXing the other day and seeing a post on facebook made me think of something. Radio Havana Cuba's 13740 kHz frequency around 2300-0100 UT in Spanish to South America is so strong and WIDE here in Alaska sometimes, that it interferes with Radio Thailand's 13745 English broadcast to North America at 0000 UT. And Radio Thailand is so strong here itself, it`s like a regular local AM broadcast station; that should tell you how strong and wide Cuba on 13740 kHz is! I am in Galena, Alaska, about 300 miles west of Fairbanks, 350 miles Northwest of Anchorage and 300 miles east slightly southeast of Nome (Paul B Walker Jr, Feb 24, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** TONGA. In Nuku’alofa, I nosed around A3Z’s compound taking a few photos. A very serious BIG young man came out to see what I was up to, but acted deaf when I suggested I might be allowed to take a look inside; this after explaining why I was interested. It’s not easy explaining DXing to a non-hobbyist; you can see eyes glazing over and the mind asking ‘Why?’! (Theo Donnelly, BC, reporting on a cruise, March NZ DX Times via DXLD) ** TURKEY. 5960.02, Sat Feb 25 at 2320, VOT English reads S9+5 but sounds weak and fading, hard to copy, commentary about parliament, rule of Allah; 2327-2329 Question of the Month, something about a bridge, 2329 music. So no fortnightly Letterbox this week, corresponding to the Feb 18 date in our DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS schedule (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. UNID station program on 11475 kHz, - nominal TRT Turkish of 11925 kHz to S Asia, drifted continously downwards. Hallo Liste, ich habe hier gerade einen unbekannten Sender mit S8 auf 11475 kHz. Tendenz Frequency fallend! Ist in der letzten halben Stunde um 5 kHz gesunken. Habe eine ID, Sprache klingt aehnlich wie Farsi. Welcher Sender ist das? Aktuell auf 11473.8 kHz, 0918 UT Febr 26. (Reinhard Weiss-D, A-DX ng Febr 26 vis Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) Unstabiles fq Signal laeuft innert einer Minute mal gleich 50 Hertz tiefer, um 0931 UT auf 11472.035 kHz stetig wandernd, S=9+10dB signal in southern Germany, ist eindeutig eine Turksprache - oder Kaukasus ? - ein Hoerspiel, aber kein \\ 11600 kHz Denge Kurdistani. Ist ein TRT Sender in Emirler 'weg gelaufen' ? Ja, TRT Tuerkisch 11925 kHz ist nach unten durch gewandert: 11925 0700-1000 29SE,39NE,40NW 500 105 205 Tur TUR TRT 15480 0700-1300 39, 40 500 150 205 Tur TUR TRT 15350 0700-1400 27,28 500 310 205 Tur TUR TRT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Febr 26, 2017 via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) TRT Voice of Turkey, EMR, on strange drifting freqs 11480-11464 kHz, Feb 26: 0700-0955 11480-11468v 500 kW / 105 deg WeAs Turkish, instead of 11925 1000-1055 11467-11464v 500 kW / 210 deg NEAf Arabic, instead of 11955: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/trt-voice-of-turkey-on-strange-drifting.html 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA [non]. Radio Munansi still gone: see U S A: WWRB ** UKRAINE. Teleradiovyshka worth over 30 mln [million, rubles?]. UAH will be built in the town of Pokrovsk Donetsk region, in the village of Bahmutovka Lugansk region and in the village Chaplinka Kherson region. This was at the briefing Deputy Minister for temporarily occupied territories George Tooke, writes "Ukrainian Truth". According to him, the towers are built of local budgets, as the state budget due to failed to lay the necessary amount of the deficit. State Secretary of the Ministry informpolitiki Artem Bidenko said that one tower would cost about 12-17 million hryvnia. TV tower in Intercession build height of 200 meters instead of the current tower at 69 meters. By increasing the height, will be able to capture television signals 852 thousand people (now 573 thousand) and a radio signal - 581 thousand (currently 198 thousand). TV Tower is 150 meters Bahmutivtsi instead of the current 60 meters. Number of TV signals users will increase from 15 to 46 000 people, the radio - from 42 to 140 thousand people. The current tower in Chaplinka is 92 meters, it will raise up to 110 meters. Number of users of the television signal will increase from 35 000 to 37 000 listeners - from 22 to 44 thousand members. Tuck also explained that most of the time no construction takes a long conciliation. "This is a complex and heavy equipment construction site, it is necessary to do a huge amount of payments, approvals, consents, and most of the time it takes the paper work," - he explained (Source: Portal "Media Detector") http://proradio.org.ua/news/2017feb.php (via RusDX 26 Feb via DXLD) ** UKRAINE [non]. Radio Ukraine International: Stalled on WRMI? While reviewing my recording of WRMI on 11580 kHz taken on 26/27 February 2017, I thought that Radio Ukraine International's program sounded awfully familiar. It turns out it was the same as the one broadcast on 30 January 2017 (UT). I don't listen to RUI every day so don't know if WRMI is continuously airing an old program or for how long this has been going on (Richard Langley, March 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Which time?? Cf. my previous obs that a week-old program was airing at 1330 since a new audio file had not overwritten the last one, and a different file name for each day of the week (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) As per my listing in message 95145: 'WRMI on 11580 kHz Sunday Night (29-30 January)"; this would be for the 0200 UT broadcast (Richard Langley, ibid.) Checked March 1 on the server for System D: ``Current`` RUI file upload dates are: Wed 12/14/2016 Thu 2/24/2017 Fri 2/24/2017 Sat 7/2/2016! Sun 7/2/2016! Mon 2/27/2017 Tue 2/28/2017 Also there are (mistaken?) file names starting with a hyphen and a space: Mon 2/13/2017 Thu 10/20/2016 Of course it is also possible that the source re-uploaded an even older program which would have a later date on it now (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) So, does this mean that on multiple days of the week, ancient editions of the program are being repeatedly aired? Does Radio Ukraine International know? Or care? Has Jeff White alerted them? (Richard Langley, ibid.) Programmers are supposed to be responsible for assuring the latest files are uploaded, and properly named, for automatic playout (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) see also CRIMEA ** U A E. 9580.103, Feb 26 at 1426, JBM talk until off just before 1430*. It`s DW in Pashto from 1400, following Dari from 1330, 250 kW, 45 degrees via perpetually inaccurate Al Dhabbaya site. Tnx so much to the ABC for getting R. Australia out of the way! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC MONITORING - CAVERSHAM PARK Not so much news, but more of an opinion piece that came to my notice via the local Reading Area "Memories of Another Day" group on Facebook, concerning the BBC's plans for the current home of BBC Monitoring, here in Berkshire. http://readingonthames.com/2017/02/23/caversham-park-blue-sky-thinking/ Hope this of some interest (Ian Kelly, Tilehurst, Reading, Feb 28, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** U K. R. Dandal Kura, R. Sama & R. Akhbar Mufriha via BaBcoCk Woofferton, Feb 26 Radio Dandal Kura International 0700-0800 on 15480 WOF 300 kW / 165 deg to WeAf Kanuri FEBA Radio, Radio Sama 0800-0830 on 15260 WOF 250 kW / 107 deg to N/ME Arabic HCJB Radio Akhbar Mufriha 2100-2115 on 7300 WOF 250 kW / 170 deg to NoAf Tachelhit 2115-2145 on 7300 WOF 250 kW / 170 deg to NoAf Arabic http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/rdandal-kura-rsama-rakhbar-mufriha-via.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 4517-USB, Thu Feb 23 at 1337, another AF MARS net, NCS adding a check-in to the lineup, but nothing more heard for three minutes except CODAR; move on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5346.5-USB, Feb 23 at 1346, one side of ham QSO about running over cats, musing that might should switch to 80m; finally a call mentioned, tentatively KP5GM, not sure whether the one heard or unheard (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5394.5-USB, Feb 23 at 1351, MARS net with abbr`d calls 5AP, 5BR, 5PM/T, and finally a full call AAR5ED but unheard (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOA Radiogram, 25-26 Feb --- VOA Radiogram this weekend includes some MFSK64 (240 wpm) in case reception conditions are good. But if conditions are poor, it also includes some MFSK16 (58 wpm). And if conditions are typical, it also includes MFSK32 (120 wpm), our usual mode. Try all three. http://voaradiogram.net/post/157657442897/voa-radiogram-25-26-february-three-flavors-of (Kim Elliott, Feb 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: ``VOA Radiogram is a Voice of America program experimenting with digital text and images via shortwave broadcasting. It is produced and presented by Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott. With reception conditions apparently improving, we will take a chance with MFSK64 (240 wpm) for one of our news stories this weekend. When using the faster MFSK64-mode one should also use the possibilities of FLMSG. This allows you to check the CRC of the received (formatted) texts. But if reception conditions are poor, we will also transmit one story in MFSK16 (58 wpm). Tuning for MFSK16 needs to be precise, so if the RSID does not work, I precede it with a 10-second tuning signal`` (VOA Radiogram website via roger, germany, DXLD) A precise frequency tuning is only important for LSB or USB, if you use "own" demodulation carriers. If one demodulates in AM, or in S-AM, the relative distance of the useful signal / carrier does not change. So you can always work with a FLDIGI fixed to 1500 Hz. Even a frequency drift of receiver or transmitter of 1 kHz would be no problem - in AM (roger, ibid.) ``So this will be a weekend to compare MFSK16, 32, and 64, including one image transmitted in both MFSK64 and 32, and another image transmitted in both MFSK16 and 32`` Images in MFSK-16 have the lowest resolution, despite the same transmission time. In addition, they are particularly susceptible to interference patterns from the audio intermodulation products of the aged station in Greenville. Perhaps the HAARP transmitters could also broadcast the VOA-radiogram, while they heat up the Ionosphere .... ;-) http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/VoA_Radiogram_2017-02-25.htm#HAARP (roger, germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. WORLD OF RADIO 1866 monitoring: confirmed Thursday February 23 at 2130 on WRMI 11580, S9. Also confirmed at 0056 UT Fri Feb 24 the 0030 airing on WBCQ 9329.8v-CUSB but JBA. Next: Fri 2230 WRMI 11580 to NE, 6855 to WNW, 5950 to S Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1530 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to SW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW, 6855 to WNW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1866 monitoring: confirmed Friday February 24 at 2230 on WRMI 11580, good, // barely audible 5950. But the third frequency, 6855 is carrying some music show instead in a special pre-emption. WOR also confirmed UT Sat Feb 25 at 0030 on WBCQ 9329.9-CUSB, good! signal, much better than usual, often JBA. Proto-springtime propagation upperk? Next: Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1530 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to SW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW, 6855 to WNW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GERMANY, Reception of Hamburger Lokalradio on 6190 kHz, Feb 25: Media Network Plus 0700-0730 on 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English Sat CUSB World of Radio#1866 0730-0800 on 6190 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English Sat CUSB http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/reception-of-hamburger-lokalradio-on_25.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1866 monitoring: confirmed by Ivo in Bulgaria, the Sat Feb 25 0630 airing on Hamburger Lokalradio, 6190-CUSB. I missed checking both the Sat 1530 7265-CUSB HLR, and the Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v- CUSB. Confirmed UT Sunday February 26 at 0432 on WA0RCR, 1860-AM, Wentzville MO, about 10 minutes into show, so started circa 0422. SSB ACI tnx to a ham contest hypering activity on 160m, two when I checked as close as 1859-LSB and 1865-LSB. Next: Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to SW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW, 6855 to WNW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GERMANY, Hamburger Lokalradio relays on 9485 kHz on Feb 26 World of Radio#1866 1130-1200 on 9485 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English Sun CUSB http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/hamburger-lokalradio-relays-on-9485-khz_27.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1866 monitoring: confirmed by Ivo Ivanov, B`lgariya, Sunday February 26 at 1130 on HLR 9485-CUSB; also confirmed by gh UT Monday February 27 at 0030 on WBCQ, 9330v-CUSB, JBA. Also confirmed UT Monday Feb 27 at 0403 on Area 51 webcast, and at 0427 check on WBCQ 5129.85-AM; also confirmed after 0430 UT Mon Feb 27 on WRMI 9955 webcast. Also confirmed UT Tuesday February 28 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330.0v-CUSB, fair. Also confirmed UT Tue Feb 28 at 0030 on WRMI 7730, S9+20/30. Next: Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW, 6855 to WNW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1866 monitoring: confirmed Tuesday February 28 at 2130 on WRMI 15770; probably // 6855, but JBA and reception on this will only worsen as we get into spring and summer, everything else being equal. Missed checking UT Wed 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB --- (Since I was busy at Enid High School for ceremony dedicating the Currie-Gregg Observatory, in name of astronaut Dr Nancy Currie-Gregg. The dome and telescope were a project of my late science teacher Mr James Smeltzer, just after I graduated in 1963y. His daughter was also present and glad to selfie with one of his former students. See http://www.wewillfindstars.space --- But I digress.) WOR 1866 also confirmed Wed March 1 at 1030 on WRMI 5850 and much weaker // 6855. I happen to be awake for this rare check. Also confirmed Wed Mar 1 at 1421, the 1415.5 airing on 9955 at S9+20, well atop pulse jamming, but 6855 is inaudible, faded out or off? Also confirmed Wed March 1 at 2200 on WBCQ 7490, fair, after a semiminute of dead air instead of ID. Also confirmed UT Thu March 2 at 0030, WBCQ 9330v-CUSB, fair. WORLD OF RADIO 1867 ready for first airings March 2: Thu 1230 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Thu 2130 WRMI 11580 to NE Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Fri 2230 WRMI 11580 to NE, 6855? to WNW, 5950 to S Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1530 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to SW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW, 6855 to WNW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW WORLD OF RADIO 1867 monitoring: confirmed first SW broadcast Thursday March 2 at 1230 on WRMI 9955, S9 over lite pulse jamming at first, but relative jamming level increases during the semihour as WRMI weakens; tnx a lot, Arnie! Yet WOR still 100% readable, including my error saying ``March 28`` instead of February 28 regarding Xmas Radio. // 6855 is S9 at start, but much higher local noise level on it. By 1322 during R. Prague, little or no jamming on 9955. Next WORs: Thu 2130 WRMI 11580 to NE Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Fri 2230 WRMI 11580 to NE, 6855? to WNW, 5950 to S Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1530 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2330 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to SW Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v Area 51 to WSW Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 to SSE Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 1200 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2130 WRMI 15770 to NE, 6855 to WNW Tue 2300 WRMI 9955 to SSE Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW, 6855 to WNW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 to SSE, 6855 to WNW Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) With daylight shifting (NOT SAVING, and NOT NOT ``Savings``) time imposed March 12 upon North America (most of Canada, most of USA, all of Cuba, and Mexican border cities only), program times from most private US SW stations shift one UT hour earlier in order to appear to be at the same local clock time. Notably WBCQ, and WRMI 9955 (but mostly NOT the other WRMI frequencies). This means WORLD OF RADIO times will shift to: On WRMI 9955 (and presumably 6855 when that is duplicating): Mon 0330, Tue 1100, 2200, Wed 1315.5, and the first broadcast each week, Thu 1130. On WBCQ: 5130v-AM, Monday 0300v; 9330v-CUSB, daily 2330 UT except Saturdays 2230; 7490v-AM, Wednesday 2100 (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. (7490), UT Fri Feb 24 at 0030, WBCQ webcast with `Furthermore 29-54`, Ramsey show which had been airing as repeat filler a semihour earlier, but here instead of `Broad Spectrum Radio`. No recent info on BSR website about WBCQ scheduling, but James Branum had told me he would no longer be weekly on WBCQ. 7489.95-AM, carrier vibrating but sounds OK in AM, UT Sat Feb 25 at 0108, surprised to hear continuous rock music, no announcements, instead of `Allan Weiner Worldwide` on WBCQ. 0138 someone says ``Hit me, hit me, hit me`` over the music, but seems part of the performance. Suddenly at 0146:25, 7490 cuts to Allan Weiner in progress, about it being 83 degrees in Florida while there`s 3 or 4 feet of snow on the ground in Monticello. No indication Allan was aware he had not been on the air on both frequencies since 0100. Sharing the mike with someone, I think Scott Becker, by phone, or with Allan? How the #2 transmitter is a 50 kW Collins, with 6 or 8 final amplifier tubes, used on 5130 for compatible SSB --- huh? It`s been AM mode for months now, altho previously was running CUSB. I figured when in AM, 5130v would be a different transmitter. Says main studio is in a trailer, which was originally for his AM station on 710 (later 780 to avoid WOR); and that there are two backup (presumably SW) transmitters. Again brags about the super audio quality on 7490-AM despite 5 kHz bandwidth limitation on SW, ``the best-sounding AM signal on shortwave``. This is definitely live, as he then talks about the collision a week ago Thursday when WWCR was on WBCQ`s frequency 7490, during Radio Mi Amigo. Amazing how many E-mails he got about it. Could not reach anyone at WWCR, so tried George McClintock, who no longer can help with WWCR problems, but served as a mentor to Allan when he was preparing to put WBCQ on the air (and programming was on WWCR initially). It was NOT jamming, just a total accident. It`s now past 0200, as Allan implores acting president Trump whom he LOVES, to maintain Net Neutrality, and leave marijuana alone. 5129.85-AM, Feb 25 at 0109, AWWW is playing on this frequency, unlike 7490, as Allan is reminiscing about the old pirate days, Western Electric equipment, his love for classic cars; sounds familiar, like a replay rather than live, altho he says it already feels like summer in Deland of Fla, which could be current. But the audio keeps cutting out for a few seconds at a time, and stops altogether after 0117. I keep monitoring, and suddenly at 0119:30, Brother Scare is JIP! After 7490 switches to AWWW at 0146+, I check 5129.81 and find it too is now AWWW and synchronized, so again not run thru Area 51 server in Maryland like used to be done. At 0203 I measure it on 5129.87-AM. John Carver in Mid-North Indiana was also monitoring this and says, ``7490 went into music after Fred Flintstone signed off. 5130 was running an older AWWW until nineteen minutes after the hour and then switched to Brother Scare. The inmates are running the asylum. AWWW came up on 7490 and 5130 at 0146. Have no idea what happened`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also CUBA [and non] 9330 Further AWWW observations --- Glenn, the reason why I assumed it was an older AWWW on 5130 was the story about visiting a MW station in Maine with his father and then later on visiting the same station with JP. The story about the female receptionist smoking a cigarette and the observation that everyone else was smoking also and that, back then, everyone in radio smoked is a story I've heard before. However, I did hear Dr. Becker in the background so maybe it's just a story that Allan has told often enough to tell it the same way. Also at approximately 0210 or 0212 AWWW dropped off of 5130 and Brother Scare started again. I have noticed in the last few weeks that AWWW ends at 0200 on 5130 and Brother Scare starts. A real problem as this winter 7490 has been dropping out early and the only way for me to hear AWWW is 5130. With the changeover at 0200 to Brother Scare I routinely lose on average thirty to forty-five minutes of AWWW. Also, Allan started to end the show twice and then kept talking for another twenty minutes and once he finally ended the show, they ran a couple of Allan's promos, then they ran a short clip from the AWWW that Michal Schietman? hosted back in 2005 or whenever it was. It was Michal's closing of the show back then (John Carver, Mid-North Indiana, Feb 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9329.940, ... x.980 kHz VERY UNSTABLE FQ-wise SIGNAL. Frequency hops 20-30 Hertz either side. S=9+10dB signal into central Florida SDR installation on east coast North America. English sermon BS? TOM?, annmt of South Carolina little ranch ministry installation, program to be relayed via many radio stations, phone-# given, website address URL read at 0258:10 UT on Feb 25. 0259 UT religious most modern song played. Upper sideband side signal. At 0300:04 UT for 3 seconds insert the WBCQ station annmt, 6.6 kHz wide signal on upper sideband flank of the channel [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, Log of remote SDR receiver in central Florida until 0350 Feb 25, BCDX, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7490.12-AM, Sat Feb 25 at 2257 tune-in, WBCQ with rock music, soon closing for `Atlantic Oldies 2NG Radio`, ``God bless and goodbye``. This is the third Saturday in a row I have heard this show in the 22- 23 hour on WBCQ, altho still missing from its schedule. Own website http://2ngradio.com/ confirms this date and time plus two other SW broadcasts in February, but what about March? 9329.9-CUSB, Feb 25 at 2257, this WBCQ is dead air at S9, but maybe just a pause, for at 2302 recheck now it`s Overcomer, and likewise on 5129.8-AM which has just come on the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) New Program From Tilford Productions Invades the Airwaves -- Tilford Productions, which brings you From the Isle of Music, is launching a second program, Uncle Bill's Melting Pot, a half-hour musical variety program on WBCQ 7490 KHz perhaps best described as indescribable, or as host Bill Tilford states, "from the ridiculously sublime to the sublimely ridiculous with genres from A-Z". The inaugural broadcast is Friday, March 3, 0000-0030 World Date/UT (Thursday, March 2, 7:00-7:30 pm EST in North America) (Bill Tilford, IL, Feb 28, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 21675. PAB RADIO AFRICA. Febrero 24. 1545-1605. Predicación acerca del papel de China y Rusia, en los acontecimientos mundiales, según la biblia. A las 1601 Identificación de la emisora y luego un programa de evangelismo. SINPO: 55444 (Claudio Galaz, RX: TECSUN PL 660; ANT: Hilo de 95 metros de largo, QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) Usually this WRMI is a JBA carrier here now, but apparently propagating to the south, tho aimed to the east centred on Equatorial Guinea, whence Radio Africa formerly emanated. PAB = Panamerican Broadcasting (not Pan-African!), HQ in California (gh) ** U S A. 6855, Sat Feb 25 at 2254, WRMI is S9+5 playing one of the African percussion/choral tunes as part of the `World Music` rotation heard many times on other frequencies. 11580, Sat Feb 25 at 2330, WRMI is replaying the months-old special with Robert Kipp introducing `DSWCI, the Last AGM, from Sri Lanka, part 2 from WRMI``, explaining how to QSL this via RMRC; later at 2341, interviews with Jawahar Almeida of Goa, Aleksander Beryozhkin of St Pete, Toshi Ohtake of Japan, each invited to say a few words in their own language. They all seem to regret that DSWCI is disbanding. This semi-hour from WRMI is supposed to be Hobart Radio International per sked grid (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6855, UT Mon Feb 27 at 0028, WRMI is playing Andean World Music instead of Christmas Radio. At 0030 M. T. Kelly, DJ is outroing some show, but soon cut off, plugged into wrong feed? 0032 back to World Music, African thumb piano (meanwhile my streetlight has ignited at *0031:20, clear sky at sunset which was 0024 UT). So another failure, but a week ago it was just dead air. Skedgrid still shows Christmas R. at 0000-0100 UT Mondays only on 6855, but rest of week unaccounted for during this hour. The transmission sked now colors 6855 magenta at 2200-0100, but no info at all about 2200- 2400 content. 6855, UT Tue Feb 28 at 0036 check, nondescript maybe novelty tune, but 0036 program ID as ``Christmas Radio, where it`s always Christmas``. For all Xmas-all-the-time they must scrape the barrel to avoid playing the same carols every few minutes. WRMI skedgrid still asserts ``Times and Days are UTC``, but the Monday show showing up on Tuesday makes me wonder about that; likewise the Media Network Plus consistently showing up at 0700 on Thursday instead of Friday (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5850 // 7730, Mon Feb 27 at 0716, WRMI with Jeff White himself, admittedly ``just back from Jordan``, but being interviewed by Bob Biermann on `Your Weekend Show` -- general info about WRMI, how it is the largest SWBC site in the western hemisphere, and what a great opportunity it would be for more evangelists. Biermann is in Port St Lucie, but I gather he does some engineering work for WRMI. 0734-0743 long break for some praise music. Now I can tell 6855 is also // this hour, but JBM. The WRMI Programming page explains: Your Weekend Show is hosted by veteran broadcaster Bob Biermann. Bob has been in radio since 1971, and his career has spanned every aspect of the industry from On-Air, Engineering and even station ownership. Bob brings a unique perspective to his worldwide audience and shares from his own personal life experience in helping others on this life's journey. Besides being a longtime broadcaster, Bob is a Bishsop in the Anglican Church. You can visit the show's website at http://yourweekendshow.com (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. I finally received a reply on Feb 27 from Fred Moe of `Christian New Age Radio`: ``Greetings Glenn, Thank you for your email, I don't check my email often, and am just now responding to you. First and foremost, I do not have the funds per se to broadcast on WRMI and am surprised to hear that the program is still running. There are eight half-hour programs recorded as of now! You are the first listener that I have heard from. Yes I am Fred Moe who has listened to shortwave radio off & on for 20 years. I'm pleased that you find Christian New Age Radio refreshing; my intent is very different than what the over-zealous folks are doing. CNAR is an outreach of Christian New Age Quarterly (a periodical) and my humble house church. I shall try & come up with a suitable QSL for you which I will mail`` Here is what I had sent him two weeks ago: Hello Rev. Frederick, I`ve run across your Christian New Age Radio show a few times, but it seems to be the same episode #2 (as you refer to previous pilot #1). Nor is it on the WRMI schedule the last time I checked, but the time I hear it is 2230 UT on Mondays, when three frequencies are carrying the same program (including mine, World of Radio, at the same time on Fridays.) 11580 is by far the best, with a good signal and no interference altho it is supposedly aimed NE from FL and I am NW of there. Also on much weaker 6855 to the WNW and 5950 to the south. I normally don`t spend time on religious shows, but yours is a refreshing respite from the screaming preachers infesting so much of shortwave, including much of the time on WRMI. Also enjoy the pleasant music. At the end, 2258 UT today February 13, you mention QSL, so I would appreciate one, either to this e-mail address or by postal to Glenn Hauser, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702. Your name caught my attention immediately, since years ago we used to hear from a SW/DXer named Fred Moe, and wonder if you are the same person?? Your outro at 2258 also mentioned that the music just played had been Failing Dream; and the homily came from The Liturgy. I was listening on my Icom R75 with about 100 feet of east-west longwire. I see in the WRMI server that your file is dated November 2, 2016, so apparently you have not uploaded any further episodes. I wonder what happened --- and if you are aware that #2 is still being played every week? Best wishes, Glenn Hauser`` And here is my reply to him: ``Fred, Good to hear from you. I don`t think I checked last Monday, but you and I should check today at 2230 whether you are still on the three frequencies. Several programs which were limited run or specials have kept showing up on WRMI long after they were supposedly over. Glenn`` So I do check Mon Feb 27 at 2230, and yes, there he is again on 11580 and VP 5950, introducing his episode #2 and saying he never listens to his own shows; now 6855 is no longer //, playing some other World Music (so what will happen Friday at 2230 for World of Radio, which was pre-empted on 6855 Feb 24?). The WRMI skedgrid still has a blank for 5950 at 2230 Monday, and no info at all for 11580 at 22-23 anyday (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5850 // 6855 // 7730, March 1 at 0720, WRMIs are all playing the same World Music; but before 0700 I had noticed that 6855 was playing different WM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Dear DXLD Members, VORW Radio International will be conducting a test transmission on March 2nd, 9th and 16th on 5850 kHz at 1000 UT via WRMI. While this broadcast is beamed toward the Pacific Northwest, the purpose of the test is to observe how transmissions are received in Northeast Asia. Programs are 1 hour in length and feature a mixture of commentary and music. If listeners in North America, Asia (or any other region, for that matter) can hear the broadcast, contact me at vorwinfo@gmail.com with a reception report, it will receive E-QSL verification. There will also be a transmission to Northeast Asia on March 9th via ShortwaveService, additional details will be forthcoming. Transmission Schedule: Thursday 1000 UT - 5850 - To Pacific Northwest / NE Asia [WRMI] Thursday 1300 UT - 6070 - To Europe [Ch 292, Germany] Thursday 2000 UT - 6070 - To Europe [Ch 292, Germany] Friday 0100 UT - 7490 - To North America [WBCQ] Friday 1130 UT - 3210 - To NSW Australia [Unique Radio, inactive?] Posted by: galactic172 @ gmail.com (John Jurasek, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. Hi Glenn: I wanted to let you know that I will be doing a live Shortwave Shindig broadcast again from the Winter SWL Fest on Friday 3/3/17 from 10 pm to 1 am [EST]/Saturday 0300-0600 UT 3/4/17. It will be on 6855 khz via WRMI (David Goren, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Details, see CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES below ** U S A. 15240, Feb 25 at 1736 and 1802 chex, NO signal from WWRB for Radio Munansi, third weekend in a row unheard, so more and more likely to be gone for good. 3215, UT Sun Feb 26 at 0136, WWRB is AWOL here too from its usual UT Sun-Mon-Tue evening schedule; nor on 3195, nor on 5050, where it`s too early for a seasonal shift upward. 15240, Sunday February 26 at 1838, still *no* signal from WWRB, altho neighbor 15825 WWCR is detectable. Radio Munansi not heard since February 4, and assumed canceled. No further non-logs from here, until/unless it or something appear on 15240 from WWRB weekends. 3215/3195 is another matter, bigsig WWRB not on air UT Sunday when I checked the only other WWRB activity, but what about UT Mon & Tue in the 00/03 UT period? Supposed to change from 3215 to 3195 by 0200 in time for WWCR to start 3215. DST from March 13 might change that (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9930, Sat Feb 25 at 1917, WTWW-2 with `Theater Organ from the Ozarx` playing ``Under Paris Skies``, as I think I have heard before on this series which has only been running a few weeks; replay? It`s S9+40 but with some deep fades; worse, constant hum, and distortion. Despite the huge signal, the audio response lacks treble, and too much bass, all of which detract from what could be a very enjoyable music show, unique on the short waves (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** USA. 7505v, WRNO, 0424, Thursday (Feb 23). In Chinese, with "Praise for Today," already in progress; poor-fair. Hi Glenn, Feb 24 (Friday), had WRNO (7505v) again in Chinese; 0440- 0500*; formerly was Thursday & Saturday; suddenly went off the air without ending announcements/IDs; noted drifting frequency. A permanent change or an anomaly? Much better reception today than yesterday (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7504.959 kHz WRNO S=9+10dB signal into Florida US east coast location SDR, at 0306 UT on Febr 25, sermon in English, religious program (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 11965-12135, Feb 28 at 1548, WEWN 12050 is again out of whack with splatter spikes out to this range. So I notify Glen Tapley again at 1642 UT Feb 28, two weeks after last time: ``Glen, It seems that whenever 12050 gets tuned up it gradually goes bad again. Same is the case now Feb 28 checked around 1548 UT: Modulation peak spikes can be heard between 11965 and 12135, gradually diminishing toward the edges of this range. Severe up to 12100 and down to 12030 at least, impacting 12095 BBC via Madagascar. BBC uses 12095 much of the day from additional sites, and earlier FEBC Philippines does too. And 12035 which at this time is AWR via Sri Lanka, i.e. two other Christian broadcasters. Your own signal on 12050 is so distorted that it must be driving away listeners rather than attracting them. Regards, Glenn`` No reply received, but by 1427 UT check March 1, 12050 is back in whack, no more splatter spikes --- for now (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 12160, WWCR, 2/21 2000. Alex Jones in a notable meltdown even for him, with a long string of white hot expletives and saying he is going to sue his presumed enemies "into Hell". Then went to promos and ad spots. This was pretty heated for, uh, "World Wide Christian" radio. Armchair reception. These mostly from backyard table with RadioShack SW-2000629, outdoor 20' wire. 73 and Good Listening! (Rick in Arizona Barton, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) WWCR-1 World Wide Christian Radio with FM modulation on 15795, Feb 27: 1200-1214 15795 WCR 100 kW / 046 deg WeEu English, distorted/FM mode* 1214-1229 15795 WCR 100 kW / 046 deg WeEu Arabic Mon-Fri, distorted* 1229-1244 15795 WCR 100 kW / 046 deg WeEu Russian Mon-Fri, distorted* 1244-1258 15795 WCR 100 kW / 046 deg WeEu English, distorted/FM mode* from 1259 15825 WCR 100 kW / 046 deg WeEu English, with good AM audio * wrong FM modulation like Voice of Justice & Ictimai Radio on 9676.9! http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/wwcr-1-world-wide-christian-radio-with_27.html Good signal of WWCR-1 World Wide Christian Radio in AM mode on 15795, Feb 28 1215-1230 15795 WCR 100 kW / 046 deg Arabic M-F, ex FM mode Feb 27 1230-1245 15795 WCR 100 kW / 046 deg Russian M-F, ex FM mode Feb 27 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/03/wwcr-1-world-wide-christian-radio-in-am.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NRC AM Log Update: 1120, KLIM, CO, Limon – Format to REL; networks to EWTN. If this is on, it is so weak it can’t be heard in Aurora. – wh (Wayne Heinen, AM Switch, NRC DX News March 6 via DXLD) Previous report said it`s on STA of only TEN WATTS, daytime (gh) ** U S A. CATCH THE DRIFT: 1289.71, WOMP, OH, Bellaire – 2/11 1800 [EST = 2300 UT] – Fair and easily separable from 1290 kHz; “You’re listening to... ESPN Radio on 1290 WOMP AM Bellaire-Wheeling” (Bruce Conti, NH, DDXD-E, NRC DX News March 6 via DXLD) ** U S A. 1330, TEXAS, KCKM, Monahans. 1219 February 25, 2017. Bubbling up briefly with male "... 24-hours... We are the... station, KCKM" into Classic Country song. About 40 miles SE of the SE corner of New Mexico with Carlsbad NM the closest town of any remote size over the border. And on February 26: faded in at 1209 with long ad string for something in New Mexico, Monahans Tires, and a hotel with -- of all things -- "wireless internet, right off the Interstate." First time logged here (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Application to amend CP received: 1580, KHEP, AZ, Tempe – Has CP for U1 50000/95 from a new site; applies to amend CP to U1 50000/700 (AM Switch, NRC DX News March 6 via DXLD) ** U S A. BEYOND REALITY --- Westwood One announced today that it has partnered with Entercom Communications to nationally syndicate its popular Beyond Reality Radio program, a two-hour talk show about the paranormal, launching on Monday, March 6, 2017. The show is co-hosted by Jason Hawes, co-founder of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) and creator and star of Syfy’s blockbuster hit Ghost Hunters, and JV Johnson, a long-time paranormal investigator and former publisher and editor of TAPS ParaMagazine, 16 Entercom stations, including KJCE/Austin, WRKO/Boston, WBEN/Buffalo, KEZW/Denver, WSKY/Gainesville, WYRD/Greenville, WBZU/WKZN/WILK/Wilkes-Barre, KMBZ/Kansas City, WWL/New Orleans, WBT/Charlotte and KNSS/Wichita. Westwood One will roll out syndication to stations nationwide and represent ad sales (Radio Insight via AM Switch, NRC DX News March 6 via DXLD) Time??? ** U S A. Approval has been granted for an Australian couple to purchase several radio stations. They already manage the stations and own a 20% share. Normally, foreign ownership in excess of 25% is not permitted. The Commission has in the past waived the limit to allow as much as 49.99% foreign ownership, but to my knowledge this is the first time 100% foreign ownership has been allowed. The Commission staff consulted several Executive Branch agencies before approving the transfer (Doug Smith, TV News, March WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) ** U S A. RF DTV channel 31, Feb 28 at 1608 UT, area tropo is up, this time from across the Kansas border. This is one which barely decodes for a split second showing text in English along bottom of screen, yet the PSIP ID which already shows with Bad signal is KDCU-DT 31-1 which is Derby KS (Wichita market), despite W9WI.com showing ``46.1`` as Univision and ``46.2`` as UniMas, but I can`t get #2 at all, nor #1 long enough to confirm network. Also, just reading the font on the Zenith STB PSIP, at least on an SD screen, I couldn`t be sure whether it was: KOCU, KDCV, KOCV; or KDCU, which has to be it. BAD signals on all these channels: 35, 36, 42, 45, 28, 26, 22, 20, 17, 12, 11, 10, 8, many of which correspond to Wichita. Only one other manages to decode briefly with my antenna toward OKC, after all: RF 19, 12-1, KWCH-DT (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UZBEKISTAN. 5855, Feb 23 at 1354, conversation in unknown language, S7-S9, and by now 5850 WRMIBS about to sign off is weak enough not to ACI it. HFCC and Aoki show this semihour only is BBC Bengali via Tashkent. 7600, Feb 23 at 1408, VP undermodulated talk at S9; Aoki shows BBC Hindi at 1400-1430 via Tashkent. 15755, Feb 19 at 1407, S Asian song at S4-S6 with heavy flutter. HFCC B-16 shows since 30 Oct: 1300-1530 TWR via Tashkent, multilingual. But what is it, exactly? NOT in latest Aoki of Feb 18, nor in EiBi of Feb 7. Not in WRTH B-16 update version 2 (incorporating some of my correxions), either. Plowing thru the extremely complex TWR INDIA schedule in the WRTH 2017 itself, the only Sunday 1400+ transmission listed via Tashkent is Hindi on 7505, so perhaps 15755 is a replacement for that. The 7505 schedule showed 100 kW at 131 degrees, 1400-1415 Hindi daily except Awadhi on Wednesdays. Nor have I found 15755 in Ivo Ivanov`s reports (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TWR-UZBEKISTAN. 15755 FROM 1345 UT ONWARDS ACCORDING TO DX ASIA BY VICTOR G IS FROM Grigoriopol Moldova. WHO'S RIGHT WHOSE WRONG PL EXPLAIN. HOWEVER I'M NOT RECEIVING 7505 ON MY GRUNDIG YATCH BOY 80 (Zenon Teles, where? DX LISTENING DIGEST) I asked Victor about the source for that info and whether it`s up to date, but no reply (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VANUATU. 7259.96, R. Vanuatu, Feb 26 0855-0905, 34343, English, Music and talk, ID at 0859 (Kouji Hashimoto, JAPAN, RX, IC-R75, NRD- 525+RD-9830, ANT, 130m Sloper Wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. 17895, VoA (via S. Maria di Galeria site) 2/25, 1640. Newscast in progress, followed by good ID. This sounds good enough to be via Greenville, but I have lists showing this as via Santa Maria di Galeria. ID, news at ToH by M, then to political talking heads show hosted by Fred Barnes. Armchair reception. These mostly from backyard table with RadioShack SW-2000629, outdoor 20' wire. 73 and Good Listening! (Rick in Arizona Barton, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN. EL TRISTE FINAL DE RADIO VATICANA [sic] --- 25/02/2017 https://gruporadioescuchaargentino.wordpress.com/2017/02/25/el-triste-final-de-radio-vaticana/ [with some grafix, embedded linx] Hace una semana monseñor Dario Edoardo Viganò, prefecto de la secretaría para la comunicación, informó al Papa Francisco y a los nueve cardenales que lo coadyuvan en la reforma de la curia sobre cómo procede la reorganización de los medios de comunicación vaticanos que le fue confiada. La última novedad es la unificación de la Radio Vaticana y del Centro Televisivo Vaticano en el dicasterio presidido por Viganò. Resultado de imagen para Radio Vaticana y del Centro Televisivo Vaticano [capción] Efectivamente, desde el 1 de enero de 2017 el nombre “Radio Vaticana” ya no tiene ningún valor legal y ha desaparecido de las nóminas de sus 350 empleados. Pero no se trata sólo de esto. El 1 de diciembre pasado se dejó de transmitir definitivamente en onda media; también la onda corta -histórico canal de comunicación para los católicos de países sin libertad, defendido hasta el final por el padre Federico Lombardi– tiene los días contado. Aún funcionan para África y parte de Asia, pero su estación de transmisión en Santa María de Galeria está a punto de ser cerrada. Viganò ha aducido contención de los gastos y modernización tecnológica. También las transmisiones en FM serán poco a poco sustituidas por la difusión audio digital. Viganò ha cedido la frecuencia ex vaticana y romana FM 93.3 a RTL, la radio más escuchada en Italia, para obtener a cambio el uso de la difusión digital en todo el territorio nacional. Y para África ha anunciado un acuerdo con Facebook gracias al cual, en 44 países, se podrán recibir los mensajes del Papa en el móvil mediante una aplicación. En lo que respecta a los costes, es verdad que la Radio Vaticana tiene un déficit de aproximadamente veintiséis millones de euros anuales, por lo que es indudable que el cierre de las transmisiones en onda corta constituye un ahorro; pero el 70 por ciento del déficit deriva de los gastos del personal periodístico y técnico, que no se puede despedir por ordenes superiores y que, como máximo, podrá ser parcialmente trasladado a otras oficinas vaticanas. Sin embargo, los cambios que más preocupan a los periodistas de la Radio Vaticana -y que ya están en marcha-, son de otro tipo. Atañen al contenido de su trabajo. Los noticiaros radiofónicos que se transmiten entre las 12 y las 17 horas han sido suprimidos y sustituidos por ediciones flash importadas de la red católica nacional InBlu. Y ha sido suprimido también el programa vespertino en lengua francesa que se emitía cada día a las 21.30. Decisiones ambas que van en contratendencia en una radio cuyos noticiarios han sido, durante decenios, una escucha obligada en las cancillerías y embajadas. Pero lo que más preocupa es el cambio que atañe al SeDoc, Servicio de Documentación, es decir, la oficina que recoge y selecciona la documentación procedente de los distintos dicasterios vaticanos y del mundo entero relacionados con los actos futuros del Papa y de la Iglesia, con la que compone agendas que envía a un circuito reservado de destinatarios oficiales y, sólo en pequeña parte, a la prensa acreditada ante la Santa Sede. Viganò ha trasladado el SeDoc desde el edificio de la Radio Vaticana a las oficinas de la sala de prensa vaticana, a la que ha reforzado con tres periodistas de renombre de la propia Radio Vaticana, que han recibido la orden de ocuparse, a partir de ese momento, exclusivamente de esta nueva tarea. La impresión es que Viganò quiere convertir a esta nueva versión del SeDoc en la task force del futuro “content hub” por él anunciado en distintas ocasiones, el portal multilingue y multimedia en el que quiere hace confluir todos los medios de comunicación vaticanos, en las distintas modalidades de texto, audio, vídeo, foto, según el modelo -ha dicho- de la Walt Disney Company. Para que se lleve a cabo un “trabajo de equipo en una lógica de omnimedia” Viganò ha inscrito a cincuenta de sus empleados a un curso de la Escuela de Negocios de la LUISS de Roma, la universidad de la confederación italiana de industria, para que reciban la formación necesaria. El protagonista absoluto del futuro “content hub”, ha dicho Viganò, será naturalmente Francisco, “que tiene un grandísimo tirón”. El Papa estaría rodeado por todos los medios vaticanos, desde la radio a la televisión, desde los boletines oficiales a “L’Osservatore Romano”, desde el servicio fotográfico a la librería editorial. Todo bajo el mando de una única dirección editorial a la que, según establece elestatuto, le competería “la dirección y la coordinación de todas las líneas editoriales”. Dirección editorial que está en manos del propio Viganò. Y aquí empiezan los problemas. Ante todo porque el propio estatuto de la recién creada secretaría para la comunicación asigna a la secretaría de Estado, y no al director editorial, la gestión de las comunicaciones oficiales y, por lo tanto, también de la sala de prensa, entre otros. Y, además, porque no sólo lo que queda de la Radio Vaticana, sino aún más “L’Osservatore Romano”, están haciendo todo lo posible para no ser absorbidos y aniquilados en el “content hub” deseado por Viganò. Éste había predicho que el periódico de la Santa Sede acabaría reducido a “boletín” interno. Pero lo que esta sucediendo es exactamente lo contrario. “L’Osservatore Romano” ha vuelto a lanzar con gran pompa su suplemento mensual “Donne Chiesa Mondo” y la edición semanal en lengua italiana, que han sido presentados por el cardenal secretario de Estado, Pietro Parolin, y por el sustituto secretario de Estado, Angelo Becciu, respectivamente, con Viganò en silencio entre el público. Y esto sin contar el lanzamiento de una nueva edición semanal de “L’Osservatore Romano” para Argentina, con el protestante Marcelo Figueroa, amigo desde hace mucho tiempo de Jorge Mario Bergoglio, como director. Tampoco parece ser un obstáculo para esta potenciación el déficit de casi seis millones de euros anuales del periódico vaticano que, para su suplemento femenino, ha encontrado la generosa contribución de Poste italiane [el servicio postal italiano]. En resumen, la secretaría de Estado no quiere en absoluto ceder a Viganò y a la secretaría para la comunicación el control sobre los medios de comunicación vaticanos. Hay, además, un tercer centro de poder, a saber, la casa de Santa Marta. A Francisco y a su círculo hace referencia, de hecho, un extraño sitio web llamado “Il Sismografo” que, oficialmente, no forma parte de los medios de comunicación vaticanos, pero que se mueve dentro de ellos con gran desenvoltura. Está dirigido por el chileno Luis Badilla, ex periodista de la Radio Vaticana, que no sólo selecciona y relanza cada día un gran número de artículos que atañen a la Iglesia publicados en los medios de comunicación del mundo entero, alternándolos a menudo con sus comentarios polémicos contra los opositores, verdaderos o presuntos, del Papa, sino que también proporciona anticipaciones y documentos exclusivos claramente sacados de los materiales reservados del SeDoc. Y, por último, tenemos a “La Civiltà Cattolica”, la histórica revista de los jesuitas de Roma, que tiene un vínculo estatutario con la Santa Sede y que se ha convertido en el portavoz más autorizado del Papa Francisco. Al celebrar a principios de este mes su número 4 000, “La Civiltà Cattolica” ha empezado a publicar cuatro nuevas ediciones mensuales en inglés, francés, español y coreano. Los jesuitas, por lo tanto, habrán ciertamente perdido el control de la Radio Vaticana, de la que el padre Lombardi ha sido el último histórico director. Pero con el hermanamiento entre Bergoglio y “La Civiltà Cattolica”, dirigida por el padre Antonio Spadaro, siguen más que nunca en el ápice de la comunicación de la Iglesia. (Infovaticana) (via GRA blog via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non] USA. 7315. VOV. Febrero 23. 0000-0010 UT. Noticias acerca de innovaciones tecnológicas, café brasileño, posición de Irán entre otras informaciones. Después un programa de lectura de cartas y saludos. A las 0022, música, 0027 avisos de la emisora y despedida del servicio en inglés. SINPO: 54454 con interferencias de una emisora CNR-2 en la misma frecuencia. Desde las 0015, queda solamente la portadora al aire hasta las 0019 (Claudio Galaz; RX: TECSUN PL-660; ANT: Hilo de 40 metros; QTH: Ovalle, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [and non]. Pyongyang's Voice of Korea on 12015 to Europe is so strong and wide it completely obliterates the Voice of Vietnam's 12019 kHz broadcast from Hanoi to Indonesia/Far East. I am in Galena, Alaska, about 300 miles west of Fairbanks, 350 miles Northwest of Anchorage and 300 miles east slightly southeast of Nome (Paul B Walker Jr, Feb 24, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Times? ** ZAMBIA. 4965.02, 2145-2150 23.2, Voice of Hope, Makeni Ranch, Lusaka English ann, hymn by choir, 25232 // 6065 (33433 QRM CNR2) (Anker Petersen, Denmark, on the AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres of longwire from wintry Skovlunde, which got 5 cms of snow last night, wbradio yg via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. 5915, ZNBC/Radio One, 0458, Feb 23. In English; promo for the "Zambia Bureau of Standards"; music & call of fish eagle; "One Zambia, one nation"; news & sports ("Bank of Zambia projects a 3.9% economic growth rate this year," etc.); 0515 weather and repeat promo for the "Zambia Bureau of Standards"; 0517 into vernacular; no "load shedding" today, unlike yesterdays closing down at sunrise (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Poor to fair reception of ZNBC1 on 5915 kHz yesterday (24 February) from tune-in just after 17:30 UTC using the U. Twente receiver. Apart from a weak signal, there is bothersome QRM from strong stations on either side of the frequency at different times during the afternoon. And VOIRI in Japanese is on the same frequency for an hour starting at 20:50 UTC. And there is QRM from a cw station (Russian?) on 5916 kHz at times [see CRIMEA]. Selecting either LSB or USB depending on the source of the QRM helps a bit. But, ZNBC1 is often in the clear and provides a readable signal -- quite nice when indigenous music is playing. English news noted at 18:00 UTC. Seemed to go off the air at about 21:50 UTC but a bit difficult to tell given the low signal level plus the noise. Is this their usual sign-off time? Will have to see how well the signal comes in here in NB given that Voice of Hope - Africa often yields a good signal in the late afternoon on the 49-metre band (Richard Langley, NB, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5915, ZNBC/Radio One, 0500, Feb 27. In English with news, sports, weather and government promo ending at 0512 and into vernacular. Have found the length of the English segment varies daily, ending between 0512 to 0518 (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Richard, March 1, from 0415 to 0515 UT, was hearing Zambia on 5915; religious hymns (Christian); in vernacular; mostly announcers chatting and some pop African singing; 0449-0454 promo for GOtv, starting with English ("Get more with GOtv. Entertaining Zambia."), then promo spot in vernacular and ending again with promo in English; 0500 usual music & call of the fish eagle; "One Zambia, one nation"; news in English by soft spoken announcer, so unreadable. Lusaka sunrise at 0407 UT, so mostly fair reception here in California (Ron Howard, Calif., ibid.) ** ZANZIBAR. 6015, ZBC Radio, 0340, Feb 23. Normal format at this time; brief chanting and mention of "Zanzibar"; almost fair; better than usual (Ron Howard, Calif., dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 243 kHz, unID, FEB 5 0500 - Talk by man; weak (Mark Connelly, WA1ION, South Yarmouth MA; Microtelecom Perseus, cardioid- pattern SuperLoop 10m vert. by 11m horiz. (peak 165 , null 345 ). (NRC IDXD Feb 24 via DXLD) Abundantly cautious; how can be unID? Only one Euro on 243, the remnant 50 kW Denmark service of news and weather, 0445-0505 being one of its scheduled segments per WRTH. But see also EUROPE: LW Pirate (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Pacific JBA MW carrier search Feb 23 at 1259-1302 UT, all from NW, i.e. Japan, Korea: 774, 747, 594, 1566. LSR here 1309 UT, to surpass 1300 in one week (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4070.3, Feb at 0228, CW beacon GT is JBA, and I do mean JBA! Had to listen over a minute to be sure I was copying GT rather than the other one recently heard, ZN. Still no idea whence, so time to guess: how about Grand Teton? Or could refer to golfing while tangoing, or vice versa (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Neither one heard since despite frequent chex, as of March 6 (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 4700-USB, Feb 25 at 2344, 2-way or more with some talkovers, sounds Slavic, but they use ``cambio`` for ``over`` which is of course Spanish. A strange combo, unless Russo-Cuban (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4862.308 ... x.328 Heard Unknown Urdu Kashmiri program, little audio distorted, from Pakistan or India Kingsway origin? (Wolfgang Bueschel, Some logs of Feb 25 in Colombo Sri Lanka remote and at 1600-1720 UT on remote unit in Eastern Thailand, dx_india yg via DXLD) 4862.308 x.328 ? PAK or ?INDIA, some Azad Kashmir Urdu like music heard, distorted audio S=9 signal, could be Air Voice of Kashmir Kingsway special outlet ? 1600-1730 UT slot (Wolfgang Bueschel, Some logs of Feb 25 in Colombo Sri Lanka remote and at 1600-1720 UT on remote unit in Eastern Thailand, dx_india yg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9353-9363, peaking about 9358, Feb 26 at 0119, an S7 bubbly blob maybe coming out of the MADAGASCAR 9600 transmitter, which would be minus ~242 kHz. I try and try to match its pauses and peaks to 9600 but cannot be sure. It sounds very much like the Brazilian blob circa 6146; possibly the same kind of transmitter defect. This blob weakens in next several minutes and so does 9600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. EGYPT [sic] Station with Egyptian music on Feb 25 0845-0850 on 9400 unknown tx / unknown to UNID, dead air 0850-0900 on 9400 unknown tx / unknown to UNID, test tone 0900-0910 on 9400 unknown tx / unknown to UNID, very poor http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/02/unidentified-station-with-egyptian_25.html -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. ?-9845, 2/22, 2000 missed ID by a second, M in French, African music. Sudden close at BoH. note: Have heard on subsequent dates and not able to catch an ID. Monitoring the frequency BEFORE the hour and waiting for sign on since 2/25 has revealed station not still signing on. Don't have in my refs and not sure who this would have been. They may be gone now, I checked in again today (3/1) at just before 2000 to no avail. These mostly from backyard table with RadioShack SW-2000629, outdoor 20' wire. 73 and Good Listening! (Rick in Arizona Barton, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACKNOWLEDGED ON WORLD OF RADIO 1867: Hi Glen[n], Just wanted to let you know we are still out here. Thanks for the info and mention of WBCQ in your reports. All the best from the Tippecanoe River in Indiana & Furthermore 29/54. Ramsey (James Reynolds, with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) One may also contribute by check or MO in US funds on a US bank to World of Radio, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 Waning SW offerings --- Glenn, It seems that without China broadcasting on every band and Christian nut-jobs, there would be very little to hear on the bands these days. What are your favorite SW programs? How do you maintain interest in SW with so few offerings these days? Thanks, (Mike Igo, Feb 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mike, My interests are pretty broad, from programming to hard-core DXing. Rather than try to answer specifically, I refer you to my almost daily log reports, where I make clear what I like and don`t like. Here`s one place they are archived: http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=Hauser There certainly is less programming worth sitting back and listening to, but keep tuning and there is worthwhile listening to be found. I`m always looking for anomalies, off-frequencies, transmission failures, unIDs and the fun of tracking them down (Glenn TO Mike, via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ SCHEDULES BY LANGUAGE; RHC IN ENGLISH Hi Glenn, How are you doing? A good week for me! Where can I find the following: Cuba in EE (Arne Cora), any German available? 73 (Jerry Ervine, Feb 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jerry, This site lets you select broadcasts in individual languages, starting with German: http://www.addx.de/Hfpdat/plaene.php My DX program list includes Habana, and by extension all the English broadcasts from there: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html (Glenn to Jerry, via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ SHORTWAVE SHINDIG--SHORT WAVES/LONG DISTANCE BROADCAST Hi Glenn: I wanted to let you know that I will be doing a live Shortwave Shindig broadcast again from the Winter SWL Fest on Friday 3/3/17 from 10pm-1am/Saturday 0300-0600 3/4/17. It will be on 6855 khz via WRMI The first hour will be the usual sort of Shindig. Live shortwave inspired music from our resident folk singer, Saul Broudy, interviews and audio features including a live archival smackdown with Thomas Witherspoon and Mark Fahey who will be playing rare shortwave gems from their collections. 0400-0600 will feature the top 15 entrants of Short Waves/Long Distance, an open call for shortwave inspired audio works co-sponsored by NASWA and Wave Farm, a media arts organization. The open call commemorates the 30th Fest, and Wave Farm’s 20th anniversary. https://wavefarm.org/ta/calendar/vgckss https://wavefarm.org/calendar/xbccx5 We had 68 submissions from all over the world. The top 15 feature works from 7 countries. There will be a web based repository of a broader selection released in early March. I’ve made a special Short Waves/Long Distance QSL card for those sending reports. Reports can be sent to david@davidgoren.net Finally, I’d like to ask if you’d record a greeting to the Fest crowd and worldwide audience on the occasion of the 30th annual Winter SWL Fest. Brother Stair has made one, so the pressure’s on! 8*). I’d be grateful for your contribution. All the best, (David Goren, Feb 24, WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DX LISTENINIG DIGEST) I did, as on WOR 1867 (gh) ``So my best wishes and greetings to everyone at the SWL Winterfest near Philadelphia, the first weekend in March. Wish I could be there; if only it were within 300 miles away like Kansas City or Dallas. Best of DX and 73 from Glenn`` NOTE: Jeff White tells me this will probably also be on 9395, which should have a better signal in most of North America (gh, DXLD) it was Website Update! Hey! Check out the Updated Prize List for the Grand Raffle at http://swlfest.com See you there! (Richard Cuff, John Figliozzi, Co-Chairs, 2017 NASWA Winter SWL Fest, Feb 24, NASWA yg via DXLD) LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ Re PORTUGUESE/BRAZILIAN items as edited by gh in DXLD 17-08: Glenn, In the rpt. below, it's clear the Braz. chap doesn't seem to know the correct word for what they term as "esportes", so he writes "desportes" instead of "desportos". ANGOLA 4950. 0203 "RNA Desportes": sport news TERÇO = ROSÁRIO ``4865, R. Verdes Florestas, Cruz.º do Sul AC, 2336- 2344, 17/2, recitação do terço [third part of rosary], ID e anúncio das freqs., música; 35342`` Please note "terço" and "rosário" do mean the same, although in "technical terms" the former refers, yes, to a 3rd part of the latter, if one's considering the action of prayer. The object itself, used as a guide in the prayer, is *also* called Terço, not just Rosário, and I'd say the most common name for such object is indeed Terço. ``6040.7, R. [R]B2, Curitiba PR, 2216-2226, 16/2, retransm. da R. Aparecida c/ o prgr. Com A Mãe Aparecida; 45433.`` There's a reason why I don't write R. RB2, and that's because the 2nd r stands for rádio, so you'd get "Rádio Rádio B2". The way I see it, they're using "RB2" as a logo, and precede it with an unnecessary word, i.e. "rádio". Good DX and 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Carlos, tnx for the L.L. Axually it was I who ``corrected`` Desportos to Desportes --- As for RB2, it is my understanding that the brand derives from the original callsign PRB2 in which the R did not stand for Radio or anything, but simply part of the Brazilian prefix, with the P later dropped. Thus ``Rádio RB2`` would not be redundant. 73, (Glenn to Carlos, via DXLD) It`s rather like the old Radio RSA being referred to by some as ``RSA``, i.e. Radio South Africa, while the R really stands for Republic (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See ROMANIA; also incidentally, BRAZIL, ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TAHITI DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV see also MEXICO; OKLAHOMA; USA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SPECTRUM AUXION – REPACKING UHF DTV You may wonder why I've been rather silent about the spectrum auction. Strict anti-collusion requirements were placed on auction-eligible stations. I work for such a station [WSMV Nashville]. The idea is to preserve the integrity of the auction. Imagine, by analogy, a farm auction. Acme Farms are selling their land to developers – and putting their farm implements up for auction. Farmer John and Farmer Dave show up at a coffeehouse before the auction. Farmer John says "I really want that tractor – and I know you want the combine. If you don't bid on the tractor, I won't bid on the combine and we'll both come out ahead." Of course, at the expense of Acme. The Commission doesn't want WAAA-TV to tell WBBB-TV they're not participating in the auction. WBBB would bid higher, knowing it would be more likely their station would need to be purchased to clear the desired amount of spectrum. Collusion doesn't need to be direct or intentional. Maybe Farmer John doesn't tell Farmer Dave he's not bidding on the combine – he just tells his wife. But Farmer Dave overhears the conversation from the next booth. Anyway, as an employee of an auction-eligible station I've been prohibited from discussing the auction while it was running. Now that it's complete, we're beginning to see results discussed. All of this is based on unofficial information. Some unofficial information has been just plain wrong. I don't intend to publish any details in this column until the FCC issues its Public Notice with the official results. The Commission has told us to expect that Notice at the end of March. Murphy's Law requires it will happen the day after the deadline for the April VUD. [I don't have a contract with Murphy. Maybe I can give Doug some wiggle room. - Your humble VUD editor ;)] The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which would allow TV stations to convert to ATSC 3.0. The proposal would: - Allow stations to voluntarily switch to ATSC 3.0. - *Not* require new TV receivers to contain an ATSC 3.0 tuner. - Require "local simulcasting" in ATSC 1.0. - *Not* require cable to carry ATSC 3.0 signals (they would continue to be required to carry ATSC 1.0). "Local simulcasting" means a station broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 would be required to arrange for some other station to simulcast their signal in ATSC 1.0. They do ask whether it might be advisable to allow creation of new temporary "host" facilities to implement this simulcasting. Doing so would require the use of vacant channels – assuming any still exist after the repack. The Commission believes the A/321 standard is sufficient to ensure ATSC 3.0 signals won't interfere with each other, or with ATSC 1.0. They seek comment on that topic (Doug Smith, TV News, March WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) STATIONS GET WORD ON POST-AUCTION CHANNELS Broadcasters are now reviewing so-called confidential letters from FCC telling them if they have to move to new channels in the post-auction repack of the TV band. Those that do have to relocate are being given new channel assignments and technical parameters for them. Written by Harry A. Jessell for TVNewsCheck [Feb 9, 2017] Source: http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/101428/stations-get-word-on-postauction-channels The FCC has begun sending out the co-called "confidential letters" to TV broadcasters telling them whether they have to move to new channels in the post-auction repack on the TV band, and if so, which ones, according to broadcasters and their attorneys. For the migrating stations, the letter stipulates when they have to move and the technical parameters of the new channels, including tower location, antenna height, type of antenna (directional or non- directional) and power. The FCC is sending the letters out now so that broadcasters have as much time as possible to plan for their mandated channel moves. "Some preliminary activities include but are not limited to: retaining a technical or zoning specialist, conducting structural analysis, planning construction, installing a new power line, selecting equipment and placing orders," the letters say. The repack — or reorganization — will segregate the remaining TV spectrum from the newly reallocated wireless spectrum. The FCC will not publicly announce the total number of stations that will be moving and their channel assignments until March when the incentive auction is expected to be completely closed. That notice will also include a complete list of the auction "winners," what stations they sold and how much they got for them. Once that public notice is issued, stations will have no more than 39 months to get to their new channels. After that deadline, stations can no longer broadcast on their current channel. Some stations will have considerably less time. In an effort to insure the repack proceeds are efficiently as possible, the FCC is conducting the repack in 10 phases rather than all at once. Each phase will have a different completion deadline. The confidential letter specifies which phase each station is in and its deadline for completing the move. Congress has mandated that the FCC set aside $1.75 billion of the auction proceeds to reimburse broadcasters for their redo expenses (March WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ FCC EASES AM ACCESS TO FM TRANSLATORS The Federal Communications Commission today expanded the site locations where FM translators can rebroadcast AM radio stations. The amended rule provides greater flexibility for an AM station to place a rebroadcasting FM translator in a location where it will better serve its AM station’s listeners. AM radio stations that want to improve their service area with a clearer signal can do so by using an FM translator, which receives the AM signal and re-broadcasts it on an FM frequency. This is particularly useful for the many AM stations forced to reduce their power at night, since the FM translator can operate at the same power 24 hours a day. At issue is a current FCC rule that may make finding a location for these translators unnecessarily challenging. Under the old rule, an AM station could place a rebroadcasting FM translator either within its daytime service contour or within a 25-mile radius of its transmitter, whichever distance was less. The new rule allows the rebroadcasting FM translator to be located anywhere within the AM station’s daytime service contour or anywhere within a 25-mile radius of the transmitter, even if the contour extends farther than 25 miles from the transmitter. The current rule proved too restrictive for some AM broadcasters, especially those whose transmitters were far from their communities of license. AM transmission systems require large amounts of land, and many AM broadcasters have been forced to relocate to sites far from the cities they serve, where land is available or affordable. The rule change today especially benefits these AM stations, and also helps other AM stations whose highly directionalized technical facilities currently limit the area where they can locate a cross-service FM translator. The Commission first authorized AM stations to rebroadcast over FM translators in 2009. In 2016, two filing windows opened that enabled more than 1,000 AM stations to acquire and relocate FM translators to rebroadcast their signals. Because of these actions, nearly 2,000 FM translators are currently rebroadcasting AM station signals, allowing many AM stations previously forced to reduce or eliminate nighttime power to now provide 24-hour service to their communities (Radio Insight via AM Switch, NRC DX News March 6 via DXLD) 49 MB SHORTWAVE STATIONS HEARD ON THE X-BAND Hello my friend, it´s been a long long time since I wrote you few lines. I´ve been listening to the extended AM band lately due to really poor conditions in shortwave, there is too much QRM, computers, lack of maintenance in electric lines, new light bulbs and cheap cell phone chargers make it impossible to hear anything. Since January 5th, I´ve been listening to Radio Martí in 1690 khz, almost daily and in occasions near local quality. The problem is that nobody else seems to catch it. Could please check that frequency and see what can you get? The WRTH people don´t know about the frequency, they were asked by Santiago Sangil and there was no answer to this. Hope you can check it. Best regards, 73´s (Fernando Viloria, Venezuela, Feb 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Fernando, That`s very interesting. As WRTH lists, there is only one station in the Caribbean area on 1690, WIGT in Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands. It has been simulcasting WGOD-FM, with of course, religion in English. It`s only 920 watts, but possibly has rented time to Radio Marti and on a relatively clear frequency (unless/until it gets jammed) could get into eastern Cuba, maybe. Can you get a bearing on it? Could also be some really secret new transmitter?? One other 1690 is listed in Argentina, no way. Is Santiago hearing it too, on what radio? Or was he just asking WRTH on your behalf? WIGT must be related to 1660 in Puerto Rico, WGIT, Spanish religion, Faro de Santidad. However, I think there is a more likely explanation. An image from SW 5980 produced inside your receiver. What kind is it? This has happened before to other DXers, strong signals from 49m band appearing on the X-band. The formula is: 1690 x 3 = 5070. 5070 + 2 x 455 = 5980. 455 being the intermediate frequency of the radio. It`s basically a defect of some receivers to allow this to happen. Surely not on your Icom 720 if you are still using that. Unless its MW section is not important, and poorly engineered. The acid test would be to try it on a different receiver, preferably with a different IF and see if you still get it. 5980 is on the air with RM only from 07 to 13 UT, so if this is what is happening, you would not be hearing it in the evening or at any other hours than 07-13. When are you hearing it? If you are hearing it before 0700, then this explanation must be all wrong. The same thing could happen with the other night SW frequency of RM, 6030. In this case it would show up on 1706.667 kHz (6030 minus 910 = 5120; divided by 3 = that). Likewise any other very strong signal on 49m band. Yes, a long time. I found this e-mail from you in 2006. Is this info still correct? ``Fernando Viloria - Guacara, Carabobo State - Venezuela Rx: Icom 720 Transceiver Antenna: 30 mts slopper Antenna Coupler: MFJ - 956`` 73, (Glenn to Fernando, via DXLD) Thank you Glen[n] for your quick answer. It seems I am the only one hearing it. I´m using an Eton S350DL, with a loop antenna inductively coupled, because it gets overloaded when I connected directly to the radio. There was another DXer in Valencia that told me catching Radio Martí in that frequency several months ago; he is going to check tomorrow morning. This is my log in Cadena Dx: 1690 R Martí, 0825 UTC, Hip hop mx, Reggae, Rap en Programa: "Archivo mx", ID como "Somos Martí", referencia a la frecuencia de 1180 Khz y martinoticias.com/ By the way I´m also catching Radio Católica Mundial in 1633 kHz, with good signal when propagation helps, Any idea? Another thing, my main receiver is a heavily modified Kenwood R-1000, which is sick right now. hoping "cure" it shortly. I´ll keep you informed on this soon. 73, (Fernando Viloria, ibid.) Fernando, That makes me sure this is the receiver image phenomenon I described. WEWN on 1633 : 3 x 1633.3 = 4900 + 910 = 5810, its true frequency. These signals are not really on the x-band. It`s all in the receiver, so not a real logging (Glenn to Fernando, ibid.) WHAT'S THE BUZZ? POT-GROWING LIGHTS VEX HAM RADIO OPERATORS Marina Villeneuve, Associated Press Updated 8:10 am, Wednesday, March 1, 2017 http://www.seattlepi.com/business/technology/article/Growing-problem-Pot-lights-give-ham-radio-10964438.php In this Feb. 21, 2017 photo, lifelong ham radio operator and expert tinkerer Tom Thompson, looks at a representation of radio waves on his computer, inside his basement home office, where he operates a ham radio and other devices, in Boulder, Colo. After discovering that radio interference was being caused by high-powered lights from home marijuana growers, Thompson built an electronic filter and has given them to nearby growers. Photo: Brennan Linsley, AP / Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Retired Coast Guard officer Roger Johnson sometimes notices a harsh buzz when he turns on his amateur radio, and he blames high-powered lighting used to grow pot. Amateur radio operators say the legalization of marijuana is creating a chronic nuisance thanks to interference caused by electrical ballasts that regulate indoor lamps used to grow pot. The American Radio Relay League wants the Federal Communications Commission to take a stand against devices that give off much more interference than federal law allows in homes. Ham radio operators generally say they don't have a problem with pot but worry amateur growers may not be aware that cheap ballasts can have phony FCC-compliance stickers. The operators point out they serve as backup communication during emergencies — but concede it's unlikely any lighting devices would still be on if the power goes out. Johnson, one of the radio league's 166,000 members, said he worries interference will only become a bigger inconvenience in years to come in Maine, which recently legalized growing up to six flowering marijuana plants, 12 immature plants and unlimited seedlings. Graphiq When he recently heard suspicious noisy static, Johnson said, he drove up and down side streets with a spectrum analyzer hooked up to his laptop to determine the source, which turned out to be a licensed grower a mile away who said he had no idea he was causing a disturbance. "My prediction is that as more and more states legalize marijuana, the number of growers is going to increase exponentially and overwhelm the FCC's ability to regulate it," he said. The American Radio Relay League has filed four complaints against the FCC and said it hasn't heard back, and says complaints concerning alleged interference continue to trickle in, particularly in Colorado and California. Cultivation of recreational marijuana is also now legal in Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Alaska, Washington state and the District of Columbia. Will Wiquist, an FCC spokesman, said the agency takes all interference issues seriously and sends warning letters after receiving complaints about unlawful interference, including from lighting. He declined to comment further. Grow lamps are distinctive because they power on and off for 12 hours at a time, and marijuana grow lighting can be powerful enough to produce the same amount of radio interference as a 1,000-watt AM radio station, said Bill Crowley, the Maine section manager of the Radio Relay League. One inexpensive ballast sold by big-box retailers produced 640 times the level of interference of a legal unit, said Mike Gruber, the league's resident radio interference expert, who did the test. The interference often sounds like the kind of harsh, grating static generated by a lightning strike — except it doesn't stop, said Tom Thompson, an amateur radio operator in Boulder, Colorado. Thompson said he has dealt with independent pot growers causing interference a half-dozen times. Given the weak federal enforcement and declining FCC manpower, he said, he has created his own solution: a filtering device that almost eliminates the static by suppressing interference from non-compliant ballasts. "Some won't cooperate, but most do," he said. "I go to their places and give them a filter and give them instructions how to install it." Last year, Kalkaska, Michigan, began requiring medical marijuana growers to use FCC-compliant lighting equipment. Scott Yost, the village's manager, is an amateur radio operator himself. In Maine, Johnson wants legislators to get the state to step in and ban ballasts that produce radio frequency noise extending beyond the user's property. Out-of-compliance ballasts could be refunded or replaced with a unit that doesn't produce noise, he suggests. Several legislators said such a move would likely pre-empt federal law, and a committee recently voted to kill such a bill. Other ham radio operators say the federal government should do its job. Crowley said he has experienced a disturbance himself, and hopes President Donald Trump's new FCC chairman, Ajit Varadaraj Pai — who has praised pending federal legislation aimed at helping amateur radio operators — will be more sympathetic. Education might be the answer and could make growers more aware of the need to use ballasts approved by the FCC, said Erin Worthing, of Cape Elizabeth, a recreational marijuana caregiver. The FCC-approved grow lighting he uses for his crops lead to a higher- quality product, he said, as noncompliant ballasts also tend to be cheap and poorly designed. The White House said last week that the Justice Department will begin stepping up enforcement of federal laws prohibiting recreational marijuana. Noting that marijuana remains federally illegal, Worthing said, "Under the current climate, we don't want feds knocking on doors." (via Chuck Albertson, WA, and Mike Cooper, GA, DXLD) PANORAMIO - LAST MONTHS. RECENT (2015) POSTED MATERIAL FROM ENGINEER Here's a great selection of photos of transmitter sites that this antenna/broadcast engineer has attended over past two decades. Countries include: UK, Kuwait, UAE, Libya, Nigeria & China. SW & MW antenna pics. I'm guessing the Engineer is of Croatian origin. http://www.panoramio.com/user/2965009 I've so far determined all site locations, haven't had time to confirm the UK one as yet. Enjoy the pics (Ian, Feb 28, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) The UK site is most probably WOF as the rigger's Land Rover is in shot as is an adjoining pic of a shot taken in Leominster some 7 miles south of Woofferton. There were Croation riggers on site in 2007 when the two new wide band antennas 929 and 930 replaced some single band arrays. The new arrays were Thomcast types with German engineers on site assisted by Croatian riggers. 73 (Dave G4OYX Porter, ibid.) ANTENNA WORK AND REPLACEMENT NEEDS Dave Pomeroy : Feb 28 05:44PM I think I have found someone, maybe two, to do antenna work. I may need to have some major work done included replacement of part of the tower. Everything except the rotor has been up there for over 25 years. I'd like a little advice on what would be the best replacement parts. I will be able to continue to use a Channel Master 6-foot parabolic for UHF as I have a new one still in the box to replace the current one. Below that is a Winegard VHF antenna but I cannot remember the model number. I may be able to continue to use it but likely will want to replace it. What are recommendations for a replacement to use for skip and tropo VHF? I also use the current Winegard for FM. Below the rotor is a Channel Master 4228 used for viewing Kansas City stations. It still works but has some damage due to blowing trees (tree trimmers are here now). Any suggestions on a comparable replacement? Also suggestions regarding a new rotor and amplifiers would be appreciated. At age 74, whatever goes up should last me until I stop DXing for some reason or another. Thanks for any help any of you can provide (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, Feb 28, WTFDA gg via DXLD) Dave, if you are replacing the FM I’d go with an InnovAntenna 11 element (or larger) - http://www.innovantennas.com/our-antennas/view/category/virtuemart_category_id/26.html The larger ones need bigger than standard 1.25” mast so just be aware although they are amazing and will last many lifetimes. The pictures on their web site could be better but the 14 element B&W picture you see is when I had the 14 in my backyard and it compared well to the APS-13. The 11 is a decent size vs. mounting convenience IMHO (Bill Nollman, ibid.) Regarding the CM 4228, IF it is the old-style 4228, there are no 'comparable' UHF antennas in that design on the market. Even the re- designed NEW 4228 lost about 3 dB in performance. IF you can hang on to the older one (if that is what it is) it's better to do repairs on it and try to keep it in service. I have learned how to repair my 4228 and have even completed some mods on it that made it an even better antenna. FYI (Jim Thomas, Springfield, Missouri, ibid.) FM TRANSLATORS OF AM STATIONS FM xlator questions --- Just curious: Does an AM transmitter actually have to be on the air in order to legally run an FM translator? The reason I ask: Local xlator W277CH 103.3 is supposed to be running parallel to WRIK 750 AM. I haven't heard WRIK on air in a loooong time. Is this legal? Other local AMer-xlators: W258AN 99.5 runs parallel to WPAD 1560. Often just a carrier or very weak audio from 1560. W273CH 102.5 runs parallel to WDXR 1450. Often just a carrier or very weak audio from 1450. Are these non-modulated / under-modulated AMers legal? 73, (Ed NN2E, Owner / Operator - Murphy's Law Test Site & Thunderstorm Proving Grounds, Thunderstorm KY, March 2, WTFDA gg via DXLD) As far as I know the answer is "yes". In fact I believe that is the case for any translator --- whether it relays an AM station, an FM station, or a HD sub-channel. Someone more current with FCC rules might have different info. However, the FCC has become exceedingly lax in any enforcement, such as AMer's staying on at night with daytime facilities, allowing pirates free reign of the airwaves, and so on. The FCC probably doesn't really care if the AM signal is on or not (Chris - Poughkeepsie, NY, Lucas, DTV DXer since April 2009, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ HOW TO PREDICT AND PREPARE FOR SPACE WEATHER --- TALES OF WONDER The Economist | The American Association for the Advancement of Science: Tales of wonder http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21717348-tales-wonder-how-predict-and-prepare-space-weather?frsc=dg%7Cc From the print edition | Science and technology Feb 25th 2017 | Boston SOMETIMES the sun burps. It flings off mighty arcs of hot plasma known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). If one of these hits Earth it plays havoc with the planet’s magnetic field. Such storms are among the most spectacular examples of what astronomers call space weather, a subject to which a session at this year’s meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in Boston, was devoted. A big CME can have profound effects. In 1859, for instance, a CME subsequently dubbed the Carrington event, after a British astronomer who realised its connection with a powerful solar flare he had observed a few days earlier, generated auroras that could be seen in the tropics. Normally, as the names “northern” and “southern” lights suggest, such auroras (pictured above) are visible only from high latitude. More significant, the Carrington event played havoc with Earth’s new telecommunications system, the electric telegraph. Lines and networks failed, and some operators received severe shocks. Today, the damage would be worse. A study published in 2013 by Lloyd’s, a London insurance market, estimated that a Carrington-like event now would cause damage costing between $600bn and $2.6trn in America alone. A year before this report came out the sun had indeed thrown off such an ejection—though not in the direction of Earth. A much smaller storm did, however, do serious damage in 1989, by inducing powerful currents in Quebec’s grid, blacking out millions of people. It would therefore be useful, Jonathan Pellish of the Goddard Space Flight Centre, a NASA laboratory, told the meeting, to be able to forecast space weather in much the same way as weather is forecast on Earth. This would permit the most vulnerable equipment to be disconnected, in advance of a CME’s arrival, to prevent damaging power surges. Sturm und drang It sounds straightforward enough, but is harder than it sounds. Though CMEs are common, they cause problems on Earth only if they score a direct hit. The so-called “empty” interplanetary space of the solar system is, in fact, suffused by a thin soup of charged particles. These particles interact with moving CMEs in ways that are hard to predict. That makes forecasting a storm’s track difficult. On top of this, CMEs themselves have magnetic fields, with north and south poles, just as Earth does. The way the poles of a CME line up with those of Earth can affect the intensity of the resulting electrical activity. To try to understand all this better a number of satellites already monitor the sun, looking for, among other things, CMEs. These include a fleet of American environment-modelling craft and also the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, which is a joint European-American venture launched in 1995. Several new sun-watching instruments are planned for the next couple of years. One is the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter. Another is NASA’s Solar Probe Plus. A third is a special telescope, called DKIST, to be built in Hawaii. The eventual goal, said Dr Pellish, is to make space-weather forecasts as easy and routine as terrestrial ones. Preparing for the extraterrestrial equivalent of hurricanes in this way is surely wise. But space drizzle can cause problems too. Even when the sun is quiet, Earth is bombarded by a steady stream of high- energy subatomic particles. Some come from the sun, which is always shedding matter in small quantities even when it is not throwing off CMEs. Others are cosmic rays, which originate from outside the solar system. Both types, when they smash through the atmosphere, create showers of secondary particles in their wake. And, as Bharat Bhuva, an engineer at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, described to the meeting, this shrapnel can cause problems with the electronic devices on which people increasingly depend. If such a particle hits a computer chip, it can inject an electrical charge into the circuit. Since chips work their magic by manipulating packets of charge, that can create all sorts of problems. Dr Bhuva described how, in 2008, the autopilot of a Qantas airliner had been knocked out by a rogue particle. The resulting sudden plunge of about 200 metres injured many of the passengers, a dozen seriously. Subtler effects can be just as worrying. During a local election in Belgium in 2003, a single scrambled bit of information, almost certainly caused by an errant particle, added 4,096 votes to one candidate’s tally. Since this gave an impossibly high total, the mistake was easily spotted. But had the particle hit a different part of the circuit it might have added a smaller number of votes—enough to change the outcome without anyone noticing. Moreover, as the components from which computer chips are built continue to shrink, they become more sensitive, making the problem worse. A modern computer might expect somewhere between a hundred and a thousand space-drizzle-induced errors per billion transistors per billion hours of operation. That sounds low. But modern chips have tens of billions of transistors, and modern data centres have millions of chips—so the numbers quickly add up. The trick is to design circuits to cope. That is where Christopher Frost, who works at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, near Oxford, thinks he can help. He and his team have modified some particle accelerators in a way that offers designers of electronic equipment the ability to test their products—and, crucially, to test them quickly. Dr Frost’s particle beams are millions of times more intense than the radiation experienced by real-world devices. They deliver in minutes a dose that would take years to arrive naturally. This sort of pre-emptive action makes sense. The threats from space drizzle (constant, though low-level) and from CMEs (rare, but potentially catastrophic) are real. Hardening equipment against drizzle, and developing forecasts that tell you when to disconnect it to avoid CME-induced power surges, are merely sensible precautions. This article appeared in the Science and technology section of the print edition under the headline "Tales of wonder" (Economist via David Cole and Gerald T Pollard, DXLD) :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2017 Feb 27 0113 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 20 - 26 February 2017 Solar activity was at very low levels on 20-21 and 25-26 Feb with low levels observed on 22-24 Feb. Region 2638 (N19, L=111, class/area Dso/150 on 22 Feb) produced three C-class flares, one each on 22-24 Feb. The largest of these was a C4/1f flare observed on 22/1327 UTC. Several weak CMEs were observed during the period, but none of them had an Earth-directed component. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at moderate levels on 20, 22-24 and 26 Feb. High levels were observed on 21 and 25 Feb. Geomagnetic field activity was at predominately quiet to active levels with an isolated minor storm (G1-Minor) interval early on 24 Feb. Quiet to unsettled levels were observed on 20-21 and 25-26 Feb under a nominal solar wind regime. Quiet to isolated G1 levels were observed on 22-24 Feb under the influence of a positive polarity CH HSS. Solar wind speeds reached a peak of 671 km/s at 24/0516 UTC. Total field (Bt) reached a peak of near 12 nT late on 23 Feb while the Bz component reached a maximum southward extent of -10 nT, again late on 23 Feb. Phi angle was in a predominately positive solar sector throughout the summary period. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 27 FEBRUARY - 25 MARCH 2017 Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a chance for isolated C-class activity during the outlook period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 27 Feb, 01-13, 19-20 and 24-25 Mar. Normal to moderate levels are expected on 28 Feb, 14-18 and 21-23 Mar. Geomagnetic field activity is likely to be reach G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels on 01-02 and 16 Mar due to recurrent CH HSS influence. Unsettled to active geomagnetic field activity is expected on 28 Feb, 03-04, 15, 17-19 and 21-24 Mar due to CH HSS influence. Mostly quiet conditions are expected for the remainder of the period under a nominal solar wind regime. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2017 Feb 27 0113 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 2017-02-27 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2017 Feb 27 79 5 2 2017 Feb 28 77 12 4 2017 Mar 01 77 25 5 2017 Mar 02 79 20 5 2017 Mar 03 79 15 4 2017 Mar 04 79 8 3 2017 Mar 05 75 5 2 2017 Mar 06 72 5 2 2017 Mar 07 72 5 2 2017 Mar 08 73 5 2 2017 Mar 09 74 5 2 2017 Mar 10 75 5 2 2017 Mar 11 75 5 2 2017 Mar 12 75 5 2 2017 Mar 13 75 5 2 2017 Mar 14 75 5 2 2017 Mar 15 74 10 3 2017 Mar 16 75 20 5 2017 Mar 17 77 15 4 2017 Mar 18 79 10 3 2017 Mar 19 80 8 3 2017 Mar 20 82 5 2 2017 Mar 21 82 8 3 2017 Mar 22 82 10 3 2017 Mar 23 82 15 4 2017 Mar 24 80 8 3 2017 Mar 25 80 5 2 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1867, DXLD) GLENN`S PROPAGATION OUTLOOK FOR MEDIA NETWORK PLUS AS OF MAR 2, 2017 Keith, From IPS in Australia, the global HF propagation forecast thru March 4: normal at low latitudes, normal to fair at mid latitudes; fair to normal at high latitudes. From Spaceweather South Africa, thru March 4: magnetic conditions unsettled to active, shortwave fadeouts unlikely, MUF unstable. From Met Office UK thru March 5: Solar activity very low with a 30% chance of C-class flares; March 4th and 5th a gradual return to quiet or unsettled geomagnetic activity with solar wind speeds returning to nominal levels. From F K Janda in Prague, the geomagnetic field will be: quiet to active on March 3 - 5, 16, 19 - 20 mostly quiet on March 6, 14 quiet on March 7 - 8, 11 - 12, 15 quiet to unsettled March 9 - 10, 13, (21 - 22) active to disturbed on March 17 - 18 From Space Weather Canada, the 27 day magnetic activity forecast shows highest DRX nanoteslas in the auroral zone on February 28, dropping to lowest quiets from March 10 to 14; but another active peak on March 17, more so in the polar zone. All quiet in the subauroral zone. From SWPC in Boulder: Geomagnetic field unsettled to active March 3-4, 15, 17-19 and 21-24; likely to be reach G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels on Mar 16 with A and K indices reaching 20 and 5. Lowest A`s and K`s of 5 and 2, from March 5 to 14. Solar flux declining from 79 March 4, to 72 on the 6th and 7th, up to a peak of 82, March 20-23. William Hepburn`s VHF UHF Microwave DX maps call for extreme tropospheric ducting: along the lower west coast of Mexico thru March 5; between India and Myanmar until March 5; around Cabo Verde off west Africa, off the west coast of South Africa and Namibia, and some areas between Yemen, Oman, Pakistan and India, all March 6 and 7; all around the north and west coasts of Western Australia thru March 7, and also South Australia March 4. And: very strong tropospheric ducting along the Texas Gulf coast the morning of March 7 (via DXLD) ###