DX LISTENING DIGEST 17-51, December 19, 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 2017 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 ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1909 contents: Australia, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus non, Europe, Falkland Islands, Germany and non, India, Indonesia, Kiribati/Kiritimati, Korea North non, Liberia, Netherlands non, New Zealand, Oman, Perú, Russia, South Carolina, Sudan South non, Tajikistan, Turkey, UK, USA, Vatican, Zanzibar, unidentified; and the propagation outlook SHORTWAVE AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1909, December 19-26, 2017 Tue 2030 WRMI 9455 11580 [confirmed] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 [confirmed]; 15770 [off the air, post-Irma] Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 [confirmed] 9455 [confirmed] Wed 1415 WRMI 9955 [confirmed] Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v [confirmed] Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Thu 2230 WRMI 5850 [confirmed] Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [not confirmed: inaudible] Sat 0730 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [confirmed Bulgaria] Sat 1531 HLR 6190-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [confirmed in UK] Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB [barely confirmed] Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 [confirmed] Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB Hamburger Lokalradio [pre-empted] Mon 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Mon 0400v WBCQ 5130v-AM Area 51 Mon 0430 WRMI 9955 Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 Tue 2030 WRMI 9455, 11580 7780 [or #1910?] 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/ ** ALASKA. NEW STATION WATCH 840 New AK Kenai – CP granted for new station, U1 10000/1900 at 60-30- 38/151-16-12. 980 New AK Kenai – CP granted for new station, U1 5000/500 at 60-30- 39/151-16-12 (FCC info, AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 16, via DXLD) ** ALASKA. 6110, KNLS (Anchor Point), 1535-1559* 10 Dec. Although Aoki has this listed as Chinese, it was Russian today with inspirational talks/stories/music & closing ID/web site/p-mail address for comments. Thanks to Ivo's info in DXLD 17-49, this really is Russian 15-16, ex- 6155 (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 7560, KNLS, *1400-1405+ 11 Dec. Thanks again to Ivo's info in DXLD 17- 49, 'NLS Chinese service is now here with a good signal (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 7560, Unknown broadcaster, December 14, 2017, 1539–1543 in Chinese. SIO 555. OMs in strident harangue. Strong, clear signal. Sounds almost like a religious broadcast. I could find no reference for this station nor was there a hint of any ID (Vince Henley, Anacortes, WA, WiNRADiO G39DDCe SDR, ICOM IC-R8600, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R8B, TECSUN PL-380, TECSUN PL-660, TECSUN PL-880, Antennas: whips on PL-380, PL-660, PL-880 and Alpha-Delta DX-Ultra installed broadside east west at 30 feet, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) KNLS is scheduled on 7560: 13-15 Chinese, 15-16 Russian, per NDXC/Aoki. Wrong time or wrong language? (gh, DXLD) [and non]. 7355, Dec 17 at 1411, checking the ex-RNZI frequency, some VP talk vs VP Cuban pulse jamming, KNLS as scheduled for English hour? Maybe, but HFCC shows Iran in Kurdish also on 7355, 500 kW, 310 degrees USward from Sirjan at 1400-1500 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALGERIA [non]. FRANCE, Telediffusion d'Algerie in Arabic via TDF Issoudun, Dec 18 from 1830 on 7375*ISS 500 kW / 155 deg CEAf Arabic Holy Quran px from 1905 on 5905 ISS 500 kW / 194 deg NWAf Arabic Holy Quran px from 2005 on 5940 ISS 500 kW / 160 deg CEAf Arabic Holy Quran px from 2105 on 5905 ISS 500 kW / 194 deg NWAf Arabic Holy Quran px * co-ch same 7375 GAL 300 kW / 285 deg WeEu Romanian R Romania Inter http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-telediffusion-dalgerie-in.html FRANCE, Telediffusion d'Algerie in French via TDF Issoudun, Dec 18 from 1908 on 7375 ISS 500 kW / 155 deg CEAf French news bulletin from 2008 on 5905*ISS 500 kW / 194 deg NWAf French news bulletin from 2108 on 5940 ISS 500 kW / 160 deg CEAf French news bulletin * co-ch same 5905 PIN 010 kW / non-dir CeEu German DWD Deutscher Wetterdienst http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-telediffusion-dalgerie-in_19.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 18-19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ANGOLA. Nice powerful signals from southern Africa into Europe this morning. 4949.730 seldom powerful heard of R Nac Mulenvos transmission, Portuguese, S=8-9 at 0448 UT on Dec 14 [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 14, dxldyg via DXLD) 4949.74, R. Nacional de Angola, 0149-0205, Dec 15. Nicely above threshold level audio, but again with QRN (static); chatting on the phone; one caller mentioned "Radio Nacional de Angola"; 0200 time pips; brief news and series of IDs; 0203 played Xmas song "Jingle Bells"; recently doing fairly well (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4949.73, Dec 16, 0304, R. Nacional Angola. End of Portuguese news at 0304, promo, TC by W, then cute 1 minute seasonal station promo song sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells” (“Nacional, Nacional, Radio Nacional…”). Nice to see a SW station getting into the spirit. Then immediately into Tropical song. Fair signal. To see a video of the reception of the station Christmas song, click on this link: https://youtu.be/CRbkk-7jVEA (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** ANGUILLA. 6090, Dec 5, 2320, Caribbean Beacon. Found back on with old strong signal at 2320 with canned loop of music and M giving phone # to call. Then back to The University Network religious programing. Heard again the next day at 2200, but was off again on recheck just 3 minutes later, and came back on at 2205:35. Guess either the hurricane damage wasn’t as bad as they said, or they got new equipment installed quickly, or maybe they’re even using a different site. Youtube video of reception can be found using this link: https://youtu.be/hXBOXz-Qe5c (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** ANGUILLA. / United States --- Got a not very clear message from the Caribbean Beacon. Last time I wrote to this station about five years ago. A couple of years I got QSL, so I did not expect any letters. And so: their QSL card, where it is written that the report is confirmed, although no details are given, and - and this is the main thing, on which the message is stressed - that the station is destroyed by hurricane Irma, but the owners are going to restore it. Apparently, the station decided to inform its listeners that it does not work. But why on QSL cards? That's what happens! That answer will not wait for years, but here it is! (Vasily Kuznetsov, Moscow, Russia / "open_dx" via QSL World, Rus-DX 17 Dec via DXLD) I also received recently from them, but for some reason QSL came not from Anguilla, but from the USA (judging by the stamps). QSL-card is the same as it was in 2010 (Alexander Golovihin, Togliatti, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx" & "open_dx", Rus DX 17 Dec via DXLD) That is not strange, as HQ is in Los Ángeles; Anguilla is merely a transmitter site and you would be lucky to get any reply directly from there, altho WRTH 2017 does show e- and p-mail addresses (gh, DXLD) In DX circles there has been the question of whether Dr Gene Scott’s broadcasts are really coming from The Caribbean Beacon on Anguilla. Was that station knocked off the air by Hurricane Irma and, if so, is it still off? At http://streema.com/radios/country/Anguilla if you click on Caribbean Beacon 100.1 you get a message of “Oops… no streams currently available for Caribbean Beacon.” I have just sent an email to The Anguillan newspaper, asking if they can tell me if the station is broadcasting (Harold Sellers, Dec 14, odxa group.io via DXLD) ``DX Circles`` --- it was I who raised this question since there is to say the least, a disconnect between ``it was destroyed`` and its occasional but not permanent appearances since then. CB or PMS herself could and should explain that (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SPECULATION ABOUT THE STATUS OF ANGUILLA: Sometime after hurricane Irma, Rev. Barbie announced that “progress was being made at Anguilla”. If the intermittant b’casts on 6090 & 11775 since were coming from some place else, you’d think that the broadcasts would be regular. – HF (Harold Frodge, MARE Tipsheet 15 Dec via DXLD) Unless, as I have suggested, they are using some place else merely to assert their presence from time to time, until and unless Anguilla be fully undemolished (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARMENIA. 9910, Dec 16 at 1432, S Asian song at S8-S5, then talk in unID language. Aoki/NDXC shows TWR India, 300 kW, 100 degrees via Yerevan-Gavar, 1430-1445 Saturday in Haryanvi; weekdays in Hindi; Sundays in Mewadi. EiBi`s readme language list: ``HAR Haryanvi/Bangri/Harayanvi/Hariyanvi: India-Haryana (8m) [bgc]`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 5045, Ozy Radio. On Dec 13, clearly the best reception to date; 1128-1318; mostly pop songs; Australian rock 'n' roll band, the Delltones, with "Get a Little Dirt On Your Hands," Australian pop band Leonardo's Bride, with "Even When I'm Sleeping," the band originally from New Zealand who moved to Australia, Split Enz, with "I Hope I Never," etc.; many brief IDs ("Ozy Radio worldwide," etc.); news segments (at 1204, 1239 & 1303 sound bites of Roy Moore, who lost the Alabama election, saying "we also know that God is always in control," etc.); several spots with commercial announcements for radio receivers ("We have thousands of satisfied customers around the world. So why not join them today?"), followed by laughing kookaburra, then "Waltzing Matilda," followed by full ID; at 1316 heard my first Christmas carol this year on SW ("Deck the Halls"). Am very pleased to have heard this very entertaining low powered station, with such a good signal. My audio at http://goo.gl/ELrjYv Craig Allen, owner and operator of Ozy Radio, commented today (Dec 13) in WRTH Facebook, as to the station's current power: "yes 1kw but remember in Sydney Australia we pay $0.29 per Kw for power the Chinese pay $0.03 per Kw using cheap Australian coal." (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I assume he really means per kilowatt-hour (gh, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. 11387-USB, Dec 9, 1300, AXQ421, Volmet from Sidney. While listening for Marconi R. International, saw the signal here. Replayed recording later and noted with Aussie-accented W at 1300, 1330, and 1400. Best at 1330 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Reception of Radio DARC via ORF Moosbrunn on Dec 17 1000-1100 on 6070 MOS 100 kW / non-dir to CeEu German Sun, strong http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-radio-darc-via-orf_17.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 16-17, dxldyg via DXLD) ** BAHRAIN. Good signal of Radio Bahrain on Dec 18 0600-0800 on 9745 ABH 010 kW / non-dir to N/ME Arabic CUSB http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/good-signal-of-radio-bahrain-on-dec18.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 18, dxldyg via DXLD) ** BHUTAN. 6035, BBS (presumed), *0116, Dec 12. Very low modulation; positive indigenous music at 0121. Dec 13, with *0119 and again unusable low modulation; still good grayline reception. Jim Young (southern Calif.) also had the same reception details on Dec 12. 6035, BBS (presumed), *0130, Dec 15. Suddenly on; YL announcer from 0130-0145, then seemed to be music/singing; extremely poor by 0145. Sign on times not consistent. Still with grey line reception (my local sunset at 0052 UT, while Thimphu sunrise was 0043 UT today) (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BIAFRA [non]. 11530, R. Biafra (via WRMI) *0500+ 27 Nov. WRMI IS/ID loop just before TOH, then "This is Radio Biafra broadcasting from London.." + sked/frequency & host name, poor at best with QSB (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 11530, Dec 13 at 0511, WRMI with the R. Biafra guy in English, very poor but recognizable, so confirmed still on this 0500-0530 broadcast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FRANCE, 7240even, Radio Biafra London relay via shortwave 0500-0530 UT mornings via TDF Issoudun site, 10.8 broadband signal at 0515 UT on Dec 14, S=9+30dB here in Germany and France SDR units. Lengthy man talk [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 14, dxldyg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 3310, Radio Mosoj Chaski, Cochabamba 0000 OM in Quechua, good signal to 0040 retune seemingly a call in with announce and second OM, brief music bridge 0047. 17 December (Robert Wilkner, - 746Pro - Drake R8, NRD 525, 60 meter dipole and noise reducing antenna, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6025. RADIO RED PATRIA NUEVA. Diciembre 16. 1022-1031 UT. Transmisión de un discurso sindical cocalero, luego noticias sobre la construcción de un viaducto en Cochabamba, junto a otras informaciones acerca del mismo Departamento. SINPO: 43444 con interferencias provenientes de Martí en 6030 y otras emisoras. (Claudio Galaz; RX: TECSUN PL-660; ANT: Hilo de 50 metros; QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6134.82, R. Santa Cruz, 0208-0211, Dec 15, with "Santa Cruz" song; audio ended at 0211. My brief audio attached (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. 7459.995, VoA relay in English, nice modulation, powerful S=9+20dB signal on winter season propagation from Africa into central Europe at 0525 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 14, dxldyg via DXLD) 4930, Dec 16 at 0046, JBA carrier, as VOA expansion to 24h service due to Zimbabwe appears still to be vigent; why? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOUGAINVILLE. 3325, NBC Bougainville, 1025, Dec 17. Tuned in to hear "The Twelve Days of Christmas"; 1036-1113, with Sunday religious programs (preaching & songs); light RRI Palangkaraya QRM; 1144-1157* pop songs and Xmas song "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"; cut off leaving RRI in the clear (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 6160.03, Super R. Boa Vontade. W announcer in Portuguese at 0904 tune-in, then religious song at 0906-0911. Fading too quickly. Could still hear the studio W return at 0911, also noted on a Brazilian web receiver where she ended with mention of São Paulo. Brief music, then M announcer with cadence matching that on the web receiver with Super R. Boa Vontade ID with frequency and QTH. Unfortunately there was a local static-like noise burst a couple times over ID here, but did catch the Porto Alegre QTH. Have noted this a couple times now, but it fades very quickly upon 0900 s/on. Best on the Delta loop, 19 Dec. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA USA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S and 150 foot Delta loop, Hard-Core-DX mailing list, translated by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 9664.404, Dec 15 at 0714, Voz Missionária with whistling, ID? Has been fairly stable lately around this off-frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 10000, Time Signal Station Observatório Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, 1948-2955, 16-12, time signals, female voice announcements: “Observatório Nacional, 17 horas, 49 minutos, 20 segundos”. 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 6180.03, Dec 14, 2112, R. Nacional Amazônia. Usual M and W announcers in Portuguese hosting “Voz do Brasil” news program from 2112 tune-in. Some actualities. Mentions of Brasil. 2120 tune-in as it was getting stronger. Very quick QSB. First time heard back on here (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. RHC Garbled Audio --- ON NOW: 11760, CUBA, RHC at 2115 allegedly in Spanish with a man and woman with talk but totally garbled – Great signal garbled audio Dec 15 – A transmitter, studio, or STL failure? (Mark Coady, Ont., Dec 15, ODXA groups.io via DXLD) Mark, That`s what I thought at first too, but it`s in Brazilian, and sounds like R Nacional Amazonia Voz do Brasil programming --- totally out of whack from 11780, centered maybe 11762 and splattering out to 11740-11785. Should go off at 2200. More detailed report later. 73, (Glenn Hauser, 2138 UT, ibid.) Viz.: 11762 approx., Dec 15 at 2108, no carrier but S9 signal of extremely distorted Brazuguese. So for a change, it`s not RHC as Mark Coady and I first guessed. Nor is it RHC`s style of a single plodding scripted M announcer, rather lively W&M interchanges, and they`re talking about Brasil, not Cuba. Therefore, it must be the RNA transmitter which is supposed to be on 11780, but totally out of whack --- nothing there as it has been active lately until 2200. The splatter field extends roughly 11740- 11785. It is marginally more readable on the R75 in FM mode, and noise blanker also helps slightly. Much greater signal level than the other ZYs on 25m now, 11854.9 and 11934.9. RHC is not on yet, but by 2206 it has replaced RNA on 11760 with normal modulation in Spanish at S9+20. Will this happen again Dec 16? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6180, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, Brasília, 2125, 16-12, Brazilian songs, ID "Rádio Nacional, Brasília". 25432 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Log in Friol, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non]. 11760-11780, Dec 16 at 1905, 2157 chex, no signals, proper or otherwise from RNA, unlike yesterday. Later we get a tip from Manuel Méndez, Spain, that the other RNA frequency, 6180 was heard with ID at 2125. Maybe they only have one transmitter semi-usable. By the time I`m back at the dials, 2342, could be RNA mixing with CRI, but S8 weaker than adjacents 6175 and Mexico 6185. By 0007 Dec 17, only a JBA carrier on 6180. CRI schedule is 2200-2257 Mandarin, 2300- 2357 Cantonese, both via Kunming. Then there`s Iran in Spanish on 6180 at 0020-0320 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6180, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia at 2128 in Portuguese with a man with talk and into a mix of Brasopops and Brazilian ballads to 2158 and a man with talk – Fair Dec 17 – Nice to see this frequency reactivated as well as 11780 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten- Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA group.io via DXLD) Apparently either 11780 or 6180, and never after 2200 (gh, DXLD) 11780.008, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, Brasília, JBA tiny low power under threshold S=3 or -102dBm here in Germany Europe, at 2118 UT on Dec 18. But much stronger on North American east coast at remote FL-US state SDR unit: Noticias Congress Nacional and new internacional, at 2124:30 to 2130:20 UT. S=9 or -72dBm signal in Florida. No distortion, much clear audio modulation! 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) 11780.007, Dec 19 at 2119, RNA is S8 to S9+10 but somewhat undermodulated, no spurs or distortion, almost on-frequency. Nothing on 6180 now but if 11780 be unheard before 2200, try it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA [and non]. Shortwave Radiogram, 16-17 Dec: five modes The main of edition of Shortwave Radiogram this weekend will include the usual MFSK32, plus 8PSK-125FL, 8PSK-250FL, and 8PSK-500F. The 8PSK-500F will be transmitted with the help of Flamp, a companion software to the Fldigi decoder. Anticipating poor reception most places during this half hour, the Sunday 2330-2400 UTC show on 11580 kHz will be entirely in the very slow Olivia 128-2000 mode. Details and schedule: http://swradiogram.net/post/168569845272/shortwave-radiogram-16-17-december-2017 Decoding can be accomplished with an inexpensive shortwave portable and a low-end PC, using the free Fldigi software (Kim Elliott, Dec 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Last week three different OLIVIA modes, soon one of this kind again. Time for a new comparison: First a look at the intensity of the bit- interleaving. Simply realized by gaps of silence, of varying lengths, until there were data errors. OLIVIA 128-2000 managed an outstanding 1800 ms, good for deep fadings down to zero. The other ones at 1400 to 1000 ms: http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-09.htm#OLIVIA In the SNR test, I reduced the audio-levels to a limit, where there were significant differences. Jointly winners: OLIVIA 128-2000 and OLIVIA 16-500 Just a disaster of text fragments: OLIVIA 64-2000 and OLIVIA 32-1000. http://www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/SW_Radiogram_2017-12-09.htm#SNR And always without problems: The RSID. In multipath experiments, however, it is sometimes inferior to the OLIVIA modes. I hope that I later do not fall asleep because of the slow decoding speed of OLIVIA 128-2K. ;-) (roger, germny, dec 17, ibid.) ** CANADA [and non]. Glenn, In last week’s podcast, you mentioned hearing Canadian beacon YYU on 341 in spite of having a US beacon nearby. This would not be at all surprising since US beacons are modulated at 1020 Hz, DSB, and Canadians are modulated at 400 Hz, USB only. Thus, by audio pitch alone, they are easily separable. Also, the IDs are not continuous, so in the pause between successive IDs, other beacons can sneak through. Interestingly, the very next morning, I heard YYU myself for the first time. I was tuned to 341.4, and DB, Yukon, was in with moderate strength, it faded down, and YYU surfaced for several ID cycles before yielding the slot back to DB. Once in a while, Murphy is asleep! Since it is winter and in the low part of the Solar cycle, this is a good time to hunt LW beacons. A lot of US beacons are being taken O/S [out of service] these days, so as MW has become more and more congested, LW has become less cluttered. And, as my old friend, Shel Remington, was prone to say, what other band can you DX where the stations do nothing but constantly identify themselves? A DXer`s dream. 73, (Art Peterson, Richmond, CA, Dec 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Art, Tnx for the info. For me it has been a bit confusing trying to sort out where the true carrier frequencies are, vs the different modulation pitches. 73, (Glenn, ibid.) Link to a complete beacon database by William Hepburn; it is: http://dxinfocentre.com/ndb.htm (Art Peterson, ibid.) Yes, that`s my reference (gh) ** CANADA. 810 CKJS moving to FM -- From Northpines, Canadian regulators have approved a new major FM signal for Winnipeg. The CRTC has granted Evanov Radio Group's application to move CKJS/810 to 92.7 with 35kW / 154m (class B) from a tower south of the city. The AM signal will remain on the air for three months after the new FM signal signs on and then leave the air permanently, becoming the fourth Winnipeg AM station to go silent in the past quarter-century (joining 580, 630, and 1050). CKJS carries Ethnic and Christian programming, and Evanov said the move to the FM band is necessary to reverse a problem of declining revenues. The new CKJS-FM will force Baldev Gill's 50-Watt "Awaz 92.9" (CKYZ-FM) to change frequency, and the application prompted an opposition from CKYZ claiming that CKJS was simply trying to force it off the air. The CRTC decided that Evanov had followed proper procedures and stated that CKYZ should be able to find a new frequency. Evanov already has two FM signals in Winnipeg, which is the market cap for Canada, but CKJS does not count against the cap because it is licensed as an Ethnic station (via Todd Skaine, MN, Dec 15, ABDX via DXLD) ** CANADA. 7850-CUSB, Dec 13 at 0035, no signal from CHU, while 3330- CUSB is nominal; is 7850 off or MUF drop? Anyhow it`s reaudible S6 at 0354 check (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHILE. 6925. RCW. Diciembre 17. 2220-2320 UT. Conexión con Radio Bio Bio con resultados de la segunda vuelta electoral chilena. SINPO: 45343 (Claudio Galaz; RX: TECSUN PL-660; ANT: Hilo de 50 metros; QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** CHINA. 6015, CNR. On Dec 12, heard UNID station at 0253 till past 0302+; stronger than Zanzibar, which come on about 0300. At 0302 could hear reciting from the Qur'an (Zanzibar) underneath UNID. My audio clip at http://goo.gl/Z8hr63 Thanks very much to Dave Valko for solving the identity of my UNID that is now sadly causing QRM for Zanzibar from 0300 to 0345. Email from Dave (Dec 13): "I just downloaded Fergys lastest combined SW Skeds database posted yesterday and CNR is listed on 6015 from 0000-0345 in Kazakh. In HFCC. So that has to be it. Too bad it isn't anything more exotic. Yep, 6015 just went off at 0345. CNR" (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see ZANZIBAR ?? I already pointed this out with my Nov 25 Zanzibar log, also in DXLD 17-48, altho I was not hearing East Turkistan then (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) ** CHINA. 6015, CNR (presumed), 0303, Dec 15. Tonight had no hint of Zanzibar underneath CNR (late sign on?). Thanks to Bill Bingham (RSA) for informing that this causes no QRM in Africa, which is good news for Zanzibar (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6035, PBS Yunnan (Voice of Shangri-la), 1136, Dec 17. Usual recorded Chinese & English ID - "S W liu(6) ling(0) san(3) wu(5). Yunnan Radio and Television International, the Voice Shangri-la"; no BBS/Bhutan, at that time, but about 1015 BBS heard mixing with PBS, so an early BBS sign off today (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. 7300, CNR1 in Chinese // 6145. SIO 555. Dec 14, 1558–1608. Music and talk, mellow music. Excellent signal, OM announcer. Some QSB. This broadcast is probably aimed at covering up RTI on same frequencies. RTI JBA under the CNR signal (Henley, WA) 7415, CHINA, Firedrake jamming from CNR, December 14, 2017 1550–1554 in Chinese, SIO 555. Loud raucous music, probably covering up RFA from Tinian (Henley, WA) 7435, CRI, December 14, 2017, 1636–1543 [sic] in English. SIO 434. OM reading a story. Jamming or digital signal in background, annoying, but not disabling the CRI signal. Quite listenable, with slight QSB, modest QRM. Listed target is S Africa (Vince Henley, Anacortes, WA, WiNRADiO G39DDCe SDR, ICOM IC-R8600, Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R8B, TECSUN PL-380, TECSUN PL-660, TECSUN PL-880, Antennas: whips on PL-380, PL- 660, PL-880 and Alpha-Delta DX-Ultra installed broadside east west at 30 feet, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) Probably residual Cuban jamming 7470, CNR1 at 2227 in Mandarin jamming RFA in Tibetan via Tajikistan with a man and woman with excited talk – Fair Dec 15 Coady-ON 7480, CNR1 at 2229 // 7470 in Mandarin jamming RFA in Tibetan via Kuwait with promos and an anthem then a man and woman with excited talk – Fair Dec 15 Coady-ON 9620, CNR1 at 2207 in Mandarin jamming the VOA in Mandarin via the Philippines with a man and woman with excited talk – Fair with VOA Dec 15 Coady-ON 9620, PHILIPPINES, VOA at 2210 in Mandarin with a woman with echo chamber-like talk and VOA News theme – Poor occasionally rising to fair with CNR1 jammer Dec 15 (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA group.ioi via DXLD) 7415, Dec 15 at 1537, Firedragon jamming is S9 vs inaudible target, RFA Chinese via Tinian at 15-19 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7415, Firedragon station at 1515 Dec 16. More official censor madness, over unheard target (likely RFA listed here). Very Strong (Rick Barton, report from Arizona, or, more pieces to the short wave puzzle. 73 from the Sonoran Desert, and Good Listening.....! -rb, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11635, Dec 16 at 2355, CNR1 echo jamming against music station, presumably Taiwan in Chinese scheduled 2230-0030; but Aoki shows Voice of Korea also on 11635, 1830-0020, the last hour in Korean (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGETS) ** COLOMBIA. 5910. ALCARAVAN RADIO. Diciembre 16. 2342-2359 UT. Hora local, luego espacio de música llanera, rancheras, ID de la emisora, canción romántica y salsa. SINPO: 45343. 5910. ALCARAVAN RADIO. Diciembre 18. 0034-0058 UT. Música de salsa. Identificación a las 0039, luego música llanera, mambo, reggaetón, música llanera, rancheras, pop. SINPO: 45444 (Claudio Galaz; RX: TECSUN PL-660; ANT: Hilo de 50 metros; QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 6034-6051 approx., peaking around 6042, Dec 19 at 0220, extremely distorted FMy blob of overmodulated music sounding Cuban, but can`t match it to RHC English or Spanish frequencies, nor anything on 49m, nor a twin spur, nor Cubans on 60m. Slightly more intelligible in JRC`s FM mode, so I keep listening. Quick YL announcement at 0222; another one between tunes at 0227 as La Voz de tu Conciencia! It`s S9+5 here, far more than it ever manages on proper 6010v when in AM. Now on that channel there`s a JBA carrier from algo, but it`s not off- frequency. Is HJDH just way out of whack or attempting something new? The other HJDH on 5910.3 is also on, in AM, almost holding its own against het from Romania 5910.0 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5910.257, Alcaraván Radio, played like Cuban Rumba music. At 0035 UT on Dec 20, S=7-8 or -82dBm signal noted in remote SDR on east coast NoAM station in FL-US state. Similar UNIDENTIFIED mx noted on 6009.838 kHz, S=7 or -78dBm low modulated, likely La Voz tu Conciencia, from Colombia. Unstable frequency, signal wandered some five Hertz down at 0039 UT. Adjacent likely also at 0042 UT, 6010.013 kHz the Brazilian Radio Inconfidencia, tiny peak visible JBA (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. 6115, Radio Congo, Brazaville, 0614-0633, 17-12, French, comments, female and male. Very weak. Rare to heard it in the early morning. 14321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S- 8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Beware, over here at least in winter, by that time Radio Nikkei is propagating and dominant/only heard (gh, DXLD) ** CRIMEA [non]. BBC Monitoring reports that Radio Ukraine intends to set up a Tatar language service to Crimea in the new year. http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-42350616 (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, Wash., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CRIMEA [non]. UKRAINE ======== The editorial board of "Ukrainian Radio" plans in 2018 to create a permanent line of programs in the Crimean Tatar language and to establish regular broadcasting to the Crimea. This was said by the general producer of "Ukrainian Radio" Dmitry Khorkin, reports "Crimea.Realii". "For three years now, the Russian-language edition of the Ukrainian Radio has been running, where Russian-language programs about Ukraine for the residents of the occupied part of Donbass, the border regions of Ukraine with the Russian Federation of the Crimea and Sevastopol are on the way. We have Ukrainian-language programs. Now we are trying to make a good, permanent we are looking for partners, because there are not so many leading and announcers who speak Crimean Tatar," said Dmitry Khorkin. He added that this language requires special preservation and dissemination. "Ukrainian Radio" on the average AM wave frequency of 549 kHz can be heard in Dzhankoysky, Pervomaisky districts of Crimea and in the territory of the Kerch peninsula. Dmitry Khorkin explained that this transmitter is evening, when the sun goes down, and there is no interference, the signal is audible far away. It is important that the radio can be easily caught, this requires a simple receiver and batteries. Recall, on the air of the "Ukrainian Radio" broadcasts "Radio Crimea. Reality." Earlier, Sergei Kostinsky reported that in the Crimea, "Ukrainian Radio / Radio Crimea. Realia" is broadcasting on the peninsula at frequencies of 549 kHz and 100.7 MHz. We will add, the Ukrainian broadcasting from the TV-radio tower, which is located near the checkpoint Chongar in the Kherson region, reaches the suburb of Sudak in an anonymous Crimea (Source: Portal "Public Broadcasting"). http://proradio.org.ua/news/2017dec.php (via Rus DX 17 Dec via DXLD For Russia, the status of the Crimea is indisputable: it is the territory of the Russian Federation. Crimea joined the Russian Federation after a referendum held on the peninsula in March 2014, where more than 95% of the population voted for joining the Russian Federation (editor Anatoly Klepov, Rus DX 17 Dec via DXLD) ** CUBA. 11390, Dec 9, 1202, UNID. Marconi R. Int. hoax station!! Heard reasonable audio at 1202 check. About good enough to copy M and lady program hosts. That was the best it was heard though. Did get the same M and lady continuing alternating to at least 1218. Had some peaks at 1203 and 1211 and 1218. Came up just enough to hear a M talking at 1315, 1339, 1341, then a W announcer at 1347, and a music bridge at 1348. That was all. Signal went off at 1357:11. Poor conditions today like all week. After sending MRI a report, they replied "we heard your recording dozens of times before assuming that its contents are not from MRI broadcasts. Our verdict was confirmed after having heard a recording from Larry Yamron in Pittsburgh which is clearer than yours. The broadcast, you and Larry received and recorded, is in Spanish (It seems with Argentine accent but we are not sure) which we understand it can easily confused with Italian (both languages originate from Latin). We think this should be a prankster who wanted to make fun of Marconi Radio International and, above all, DXers in North America.". An audio file can be heard by using this link: https://app.box.com/s/p7krk2f49xyl0t5b5tmp0v88qw8iajwu 11390, Dec 16, 1200, R. Havana Cuba. Mixing product here after 1200. Thought this might be Marconi Radio International at first until Larry Yamron pointed out it sounded like Spanish. And that’s when the thought occurred that it might be more RHC junk. Indeed, looking in the 25 mb, found that it’s a mixing product; 11670 minus the the difference between 11670 and 11950 (11670 - 280 = 11390). Disappointed it wasn’t MRI. Should’ve realized this was the mixing product here last weekend when I found the upper side mixing product on 12230 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) See my Dec 19 log below (gh) 11670, RHC at 0015 with familiar voice of Arnie (CO2KK), but sounding somewhat tired, on his DXers Unlimited program. Dec. 11 (Rick Barton, report from Arizona, or, more pieces to the short wave puzzle. 73 from the Sonoran Desert, and Good Listening.....! -rb, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5025, Dec 13 at 0031, R. Rebelde is S9+35 but suptorted; wiggle that patchcord! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RHC Dec 14 - Something's always wrong at RHC. 5025 / 5040 seen/visible on much different power on air from Bauta site this 0455 UT morning. 5025 kHz S=8-9 small band, 5040 kHz S=9+25dB, latter 14 kHz wideband signal [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 14, dxldyg via DXLD) 5025, Dec 15 at 0707, R. Rebelde is S9 but music is just barely modulated (JBM). Something is always wrong at RadioCuba. Wiggle that patchcord! 6060, Dec 13 at 0350, RHC music matches English service frequencies, 6060 & 6165, at lesser levels of modulation. B17 sked as in DXLD 17-45 shows 6060 is supposed to be in Spanish at 0200-0600, then English. This anomaly happens periodically which is why I include ``6060?`` among English DX program frequencies during the span before 0600. 6060 confirmed in English tonight as ``Ed Newman`` is wrapping up the hour at 0357 from Studio 6. Meanwhile I really hear Spanish on weak 11840, 9640, 9535 and strong 5040. 17430, Dec 14 at 1402, JBA carrier. Checking this since Harold Frodge reported RHC here. I explain that it`s a leapfrog mixing product of 17730 over 17580 another 150 kHz beyond; so possible only when both are on the air and preferably inblasting, which they are not now: only S9 on 17580, S5 on 17730. Reverse leapfrog on 17880 not audible (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RHC Dec 15, 14-15 UT, noted in remote SDR at NJ state USA 11650.010 S=9+5dB in NJ-US state 1428 UT. 11760even S=9+10dB IS, nx Sp at 1430 UT. 11840even S=9+15dB. 11950even smallband audio like ancient world war communication, S=8 in NJ-USA. 15230 S=8 in peaks, backlobe signal. 15370 S=9+20dB at 1440 UT. 17580 S=9+25dB 17730 S=9+15dB at 1445 UT. Nothing on spurs 12230 nor 17430 kHz. 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENIING DIGEST) 15438, Dec 15 at 1526, extremely distorted spurblob from RHC 15370 which is S9+30, no specific carrier to measure, so I go looking for more at 67-68 kHz intervals, approx.: 15302 at S9+10; weaker 15235 causing ACI to intentional other RHC channel 15230; also circa 15167, 15100, 15504. Another further could be light QRM to Trenton 15034-USB. Somethings are always wrong at Radio Habana Cuba (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15700, Dec 15 at 1531, CRI English relay is S9+20 but overmodulated / distorted instead of usual undermodulation. Trying too hard? Something`s always wrong at RadioCuba (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15232, 15301, 15439, 15508, 15576, 15166, Dec 16 at 1420 and later, approx. spots of filthy spurblobs from 15370 RHC transmitter which sounds OK on fundamental. Yesterday I was hearing these during the following hour; and yesterday during the 1400 hour Wolfgang Büschel was monitoring RHC via remote SDR in NJ, without reporting any of them, but maybe not looking at the right frequencies. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11830 & 11850, Sunday Dec 17 at 1440, RHC `En Contacto` is S9 but JBM on parasites, while fundamental 11840 amid is S9+30 but suppressed modulation, altho not distorted. Arnie is talking about WWVB, soon the sporadic E season. Same on // 11760 & 11650 with normal mod, both at S9+20. He writes the whole thing, but during his voice there is hum and reverb; from his hospital bed? 1449 YL co-host who utters words Arnie puts in her mouth, in outro credit line gives her name which is not Marta Ríos. 9720, Dec 17 at 2303, RHC in Spanish // stronger 9640 and weaker 9535, but 9720 is supposed to be in French. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENIING DIGEST) 17430, Dec 18 at 1436, JBA, but enough mod to make a match with 17730 RHC, i.e. leapfrog of that over the other 16m transmitter 17580 further 150 kHz lower. 11390, Dec 19 at 1357, JBA carrier. I am about to compare it to 11670 and 11950 as an RHC leapfrog, when 11390 goes off at 1358*; and 11670 is scheduled to close circa 1400 too. Something`s always wrong at RHC. Not to be confused with Marconi Radio International, low-power Italian, which sometimes publicizes 11390 on short notice (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11735-11785, Dec 19 at 1410, RHC 11760 transmitter is distorted and splattering out to plus/minus 25 kHz. Something`s always wrong at RHC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS [non]. 9955, Wed Dec 13 at 1356, Slovakia in Spanish via WRMI with considerable Cuban pulse jamming; by 1400 it has abated, but not off, as `FG Radio` is starting its long-awaited new episode; the entire program, without any Beatles breaks, is a phone interview with author Gary Powers, Jr., ``Letters from a Soviet Prison``, his multi- year project to acquire and publish writings of his father, the U2 pilot who was shot down and imprisoned for a couple of years before being exchanged at the bridge in Potsdam for a Soviet spy. He kept a journal while in custody, and was able to communicate with family (not explained why this was allowed). Very interesting; have not seen or heard him yet on the American book- tour circuit. Maybe why: the book is a private printing of only 500, which can be ordered direct from him while available, $25 plus postage from Gary Powers, Jr., P O Box 1356, Midlothian VA 23113, or gpowersjr@coldwar.org. Next year it will be published commercially and available from the usual sources. The host is presumably Nathan Morley, but modestly never names himself on the air. Further scheduled broadcasts of FG Radio on WRMI, presumably more new episodes from next week, starting Tue?: Wed 2100 15770 > meaning 9455 [if reactivated] Thu 0245 9955 Thu 2245 9955 Fri 0515 9955 Fri 1015 5850 > meaning also 9455 [if reactivated] Tue 1445 9955 Wed 0515 9955 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 5005, Radio Nacional, Bata, *0508, 17-12, open transmission with songs and female comments in Spanish. Very weak (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Log in Friol, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 7181.5a, VOBME2 1458+ 1 Dec., 1521+ 3 Dec. JBA with HOA music, bits of talk under QRhaM, on the 3rd, possible white noise jammer also messing things up. Thanks to Ron Howard's info on the Radio.Chobi site for the ID. 1450+ 6 Dec. better than usual with chat. A little HOA music up to TOH (1500) on 8 Dec., mostly under QRhaM (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) Nothing heard from Eritrea / Ethiopia on 7140v nor 7181v, nor Ethiopian Gedja jammming after 0500 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 14, dxldyg via DXLD) Good signal of VOBME 2 Dimtsi Hafash on Dec 17: 1353 & 1444 on 7181.6 ASM 100 kW / non-dir to EaAf Amharic http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/good-signal-of-vobme-2-dimtsi-hafash-on.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 16-17, dxldyg via DXLD) 7181.553, Dec 17 at 1412, S6-S9 carrier but no modulation detectable amid hamband, surely VOBME`s off-frequency INTRUDER transmitter by long-path. Nothing audible for the other VOBME circa 7140. See also ETHIOPIA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 7236.360V, Dec 17 at 1417, S7-S5 carrier, no doubt R. Ethiopia always way off-frequency, via longpath. See also ERITREA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 5940, Dec 11, 1929, R. Deegaanka Soomaalida, 1929-1938 fast talk by M with mention of Eritrea (Air-Ah-Try) and occasional instrumental music bridges. Possible mention of Hargeisa. Went into HoA ballad with western style at 1938. 1940 M returned. 1947 brief deadair and M announcer with maybe ID. 1950 subcontinental music briefly, M announcer, then song continued. 1957 great stringed music, still going when the Algeria OC came on at 2000, and could still hear the song when Algeria program started at 2001. Best signal yet from this one. An audio file can be heard by using this link: https://app.box.com/s/npe8x3e5y5h2ozsr9mngxh3325j21ett (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, on a micro-DXpedition with a Beverage on the ground (BOG) aimed at Europe, 50 degrees, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 5950, Dec 11, 1758, V. of the Tigray Revolution. Could barely hear a M talking at 1758 and went right over ToH. HoA music at 1819. Getting QRM from 5945 Turkey at 1828. Much better by 1930 but QRM from Romania on 5955 then. M announcer. Blasted by slop from 5960 CRI Albania, and eliminated by co-channel KBS France at 1959. An audio file can be heard by using this link: https://app.box.com/s/23a7sx84iumwxyon0p9u1nkb61hxodiq (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, on a micro-DXpedition with a Beverage on the ground (BOG) aimed at Europe, 50 degrees, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) Despite name, this is not cland but Ethiopian regional government (gh) ** ETHIOPIA. 6030, Dec 11, 1816, R. Oromiya. Good signal with HoA music as early as 1816. Couldn't hear it though at 1800. W DJ. Usual closing routine at 1959. Audio file can be heard by using this link: https://app.box.com/s/1496rra2j9wikn5ncrvum6wn8fymonx1 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, on a micro-DXpedition with a Beverage on the ground (BOG) aimed at Europe, 50 degrees, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 6090, Dec 11, 2030, Amhara R. Tremendous signal and just as strong as CFRX in the last half hour from 2030. Earlier had QRM from co-channel China to 1930. W announcer DJ. Nice soft HoA Jazz music to end the show at 2056, then usual closing ID routine. An audio file can be heard by using this link: https://app.box.com/s/mncel1rwknaug6d4x2rixsdes0yfyofb (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, on a micro-DXpedition with a Beverage on the ground (BOG) aimed at Europe, 50 degrees, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) 6090, Amhara State Radio, 0251, Dec 13. Anguilla off the air. Carrier already on; 0257 clear Amhara State Radio IS; later at 0312 had nice HOA music/singing (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [and non]. /NIGERIA, 6090.003 kHz, S=8 strength, signal from Gedja ETH, at 0500 UT also co-channel odd 6089.948 kHz FRCN Radio Nigeria Kaduna at 0501 UT, same power level. 5940even switch on and off, some breaks and start again from "Ethiopian Somali Regional State Radio" of Jijiga SRS signal S=9+10dB at 0502-0504 UT on Dec 14. Other Ethiopians similar strength: 5950even, 6029.999, 6090.003, and 6109.999 kHz, nothing on 7234-7235v kHz [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 14, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 6110, Dec 11, 1730, Fana Broadcasting Corp./FBC Talk by M but QRMed from co-channel Iran from 1730. 1759 same jazzy wind section fanfare heard at 0300 s/on. Fana way on top of Iran by 1810. Played a Blues song and then Johnny Cash's “Nearest Place to Heaven” song with M breaking in at 2048:55 for ID and announcements, then restarted the song at 2051. Huge signal in the last half hour with audio a bit distorted. An audio file can be heard by using this link: https://app.box.com/s/2jre315xidkk25c4q9bk4rmqzmnc1ow0 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, on a micro-DXpedition with a Beverage on the ground (BOG) aimed at Europe, 50 degrees, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [and non]. Reception of Radio Xoriyo Ogaden via MBR Issoudun on Dec 19: 1600-1630 11970 ISS 500 kW / 130 deg EaAf Somali Tue/Sat, weak signal Jammed by Ethiopia with strong white noise digital jamming! http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-radio-xoriyo-ogaden-via_19.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** EUROPE. 6239.98, Dec 3, 0935, PIRATE, Coast FM. Just a weak signal noted here, no audio, at 0935 and found it strongly on a European web receiver on the exact same frequency. Surprised it was a little stronger with audio on very brief peaks later at 1050. Was able to // to web receiver at 1053. And still there at 1125 along with a signal from LHH on 6205.01 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** EUROPE. On the FRS website you will find info about our upcoming traditional Seasonal December broadcast. This Sunday December 17th FRS will take to the air at 0830 UT/ 09:30 CET. But, there will also be a possible repeat on the 24th as well as several streams. For full details watch http://www.frsholland.nl/20-latest-news/113-frs-seasonal-broadcast.html A brand new full size/color A5 QSL card is from now on available. But: only if you send a correct & complete reception report. For all of you: have a good weekend! Hope to 'meet' you next Sunday. 73s Peter Verbruggen on behalf of the FRS team (via Roberto Scaglione, via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) FRS' traditional Seasonal broadcast will be aired on Sunday December 17th. This year’s broadcast will be aired between 0830-1430 UT/10:30- 14:30 CET. Frequencies will be 7700 //9300 kHz. Our seasonal programmes will be presented by Jan van Dijk, Roger Davis, Bert van Leer, Dave Scott & Peter Verbruggen. The music of your life, radio related items, FRS goes DX (radio news) and much much more…all in a pleasant Christmas mood. XMas Clocks FRS-HOLLAND Schedule for Sunday December 17th 2017 . . . Repeat Most likely there will be a repeat on Christmas Eve Sunday December 24th. However: time & frequencies will be decided in the days following the 17th. Watch the website! Possibly 48 metres will then be used replacing either 7700 or 9300 kHz. We wish you good listening!! (via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) http://www.frsholland.nl/20-latest-news/113-frs-seasonal-broadcast.html FRS-HOLLAND Schedule for Sunday December 17th 2017 Programme Schedule 0830 UTC Non-stop music 0852 UTC Station-opening: ID's & Theme tune 0902 UTC FRS Magazine- Peter Verbruggen with the best music from the past decades.Inclusing the Day Calendar for December 27th. 1000 UTC German Show- Jan van Dijk. 1045 UTC Dave Scott's Radiowaves featuring classic rock. 1130 UTC FRS Goes Dxmas - Peter Verbruggen with News from around the World & SW news 1200 UTC Musical Express - Bert van Leer 1245 UTC FRS Golden Show - Roger Davis plays the best from the 60s/70s 1330 UTC Close down Streaming Choosing for ‘the best of both worlds’ FRSH goes for broadcasting on short wave in good old AM and digital high quality web streaming. Four foremost priority is and remains broadcasting on short wave but the streams offer a good opportunity for those who cannot hear us on SW or would like to listen in perfect auudio quality. You can make your choice out of no less than three streams: Streaming service 1 [http://nednl.net:8000/frsh.m3u] Sunday December 17th 1500-1930 UT / 16:00- 20:30 CET 2 [http://nednl.net:8000/frsh.m3u] Sunday December 24th 1500-1930 UT / 16:00- 20:30 CET 3 [http://laut.fm/jukebox] Saturday Dec. 23rd 0700-1200 UT / 08:00- 13:00 CET 4 [http://laut.fm/jukebox] Wednesday Dec. 27th 1400-1900 UT / 15:00- 20:00 CET 5 [http://laut.fm/jukebox] Sunday December 31st 1700-2200 UT / 18:00- 23:00 CET 6 [http://laut.fm/fmk-radio]* Sunday December 25th 1200-1700 UT / 13:00- 18:00 CET 7 [http://laut.fm/fmk-radio]* Boxing Day Dec. 26th 1200-1700 UT / 13:00- 18:00 CET *This stream is being used for the first time; it’s a second Laut.fm test stream. Repeat Most likely there will be a repeat on Christmas Eve Sunday December 24th. However: time & frequencies will be decided in the days following the 17th. Watch the website! Possibly 48 metres will then be used replacing either 7700 or 9300 kHz. We wish you good listening!! (via Manuel Méndez, Spain, Dec 15, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) FRS Holland on air, 1615 UT, 17-12, 7700 kHz with good signal, and 9300 kHz with fair signal. Very nice musical program (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Log in Friol, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) HOLLAND? 9300.4, FRS Holland, 0945-1130, 17-12, English, "the best music from the past decades", pop songs and comments in English, ID "Free Radio Service Holland", at 1000 time signals, "This is FRS Holland December broadcast on short wave". at 1002 German program, pop songs and comments and more programs in English. // 7700. 25332, and 34433 on 7700 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S- 8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Looking back on December 17th http://www.frsholland.nl/20-latest-news/114-looking-back-on-december-17th.html Dear FRS listeners, Knowing that quite a few of you were eagerly awaiting our Seasonal broadcast, it’s more or less our duty to inform about yesterday’s happenings. Sometimes there are days a lot goes wrong. All of our team did his very best to produce a good and interesting show. But we have learnt that you cannot always control everything. Due to ‘circumstances’ programmes started at 10:40 CET instead of 0930. That was when 20 minutes remained of FRS Magazine. At a moment that Bert van Leer’s show had to be played, the German Show was repeated (although already played). From that moment all shows were played in the right order and after official close down a full repeat was done on both freqs except the last hour when only 7700 remained on air and 9300 was off air. It was 21:00 hours CET when the broadcast ended! Band conditions were far from good yesterday. Very noisy bands. Nevertheless 7700 did quite well, in particular in the afternoon. 9300 lacked from the usual loud audio. That had a technical cause. At 16:00 hours CET we had planned a first of a series of streamings but something happened what we didn’t experienced before: the transferring of files failed. So…no streaming at all. Looking back, no one is to blame, just a combination of factors. Bad luck… Upcoming Sunday, Christmas Eve December 24th, we will give it a second try. Most likely on 48 metres and 7700 kHz. We will send out a mail as soon as we know at what time we will start. Next Saturday & Sunday will also see Internet streams: see the news item about last Sunday’s broadcast, that includes a full schedule. http://www.frsholland.nl/20-latest-news/113-frs-seasonal-broadcast.html Have a good week, 73s, FRS crew (via Roberto Scaglione, Sicilia, shortwave yg via DXLD) ** FALKLAND ISLANDS. The furthest-ever journalist internship --- depending on where you live One of the world's more remote broadcasters is inviting applications for paid internships. Falkland Islands Television is seeking what it describes as "adventurous candidates" the chance to work in the "fast developing" TV station. It's a 12-month position to cover news stories including political interviews, history, wildlife and everyday life. Candidates will start in February 2018. Know someone who might be interested? Details here. http://www.mediargh.com/paid-internships-falkland-islands-television-falkland-islands-3 (AIB industry briefing Dec via gh, and Dr Hansjoerg Biener, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) Viz.: Paid Internships @ Falkland Islands Television (Falkland Islands) Journalism Jobs TV, Film & Video Jobs Paid Internships Deadline: 5 January 2018 Salary: £1,140 per month Contract: 12 months Start: February 2018 Falkland Islands Television (FITV) is offering adventurous candidates the unique chance to work for this small but fast developing TV station in the South Atlantic. As a member of the FITV staff, you will cover news stories including political interviews, history, wildlife and everyday life in the small island community. You will also have the chance to produce advertisements and short documentaries. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of producing articles for the weekly programme Falklands In Focus. Ideally, interested candidates will want to improve their skills and obtain experience in news and features reporting, editing, directing, presenting, producing, and script writing. The position is for 12 months with a start date of February 2018 and would ideally suit someone who has graduated in the last few years. The Candidate: Essential: A degree or equivalent level of training in Broadcast/ Multimedia Journalism or TV production Excellent communication skills, computer literate and fluent in English A knowledge of camera work and previous experience with editing using Adobe Premiere Pro Hold a full, clean, UK driving licence or equivalent Desirable: Ideal candidates should be outgoing and armed with curiosity to seek out interesting stories, keeping a small community audience in mind Be proactive and use their initiative to work on their own and as part of a dynamic team Be adaptable to a new environment and be enthusiastic to embrace the opportunity to explore the islands history, culture and community. Remuneration: The package consists of a salary of £1,140 per month. Accommodation (including electricity, water and gas) is provided at a cost of £300 per month. In the first instance please email your CV and a covering letter to Paula Fowmes by emailing stationmanager@fitv.co.fk before Friday 5th January 2018 (via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) ** FRANCE. No signal of Radio Al-Mukhtar in Arabic via MBR Issoudun: 1500-1558 on 17580 ISS 100 kW / 125 deg EaAf Tue Dec 5/12/19, nothing (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. De: "Atlantic 2000 International" Para: "Listeners" Enviado: 13/12/2017 22:02:38 Asunto: Atlantic 2000 on the air this weekend - Saturday 16th of December, from 0900 to 1000 UTC on 6070 kHz - Sunday 17th of December, from 1400 to 1500 UTC on 6070 kHz + streaming at the same time on our website: http://radioatlantic2000.free.fr Only detailed reception reports will be confirmed by eQSL. Reports to: atlantic2000international@gmail.com Good listening! -- Visit our website : http://radioatlantic2000.free.fr (via Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, dxldyg via DXLD) 3975, Short Wave Radio de., *1959-2018, 16-12, English, ID “Short Wave Radio...”, pop songs, comments.. 24322. (Méndez) 3995, HCJB, Weenermoor, 1939-2018, 16-12, German, comments. 15321 (Méndez, dxldyg via DXLD) 3975, Dec 11, 2115, 3975 AM Shortwave R. Found at 2115 while looking for Birinchi R. Announcement at 2116 between songs, but a ham right on top. 2116 to at least 2131 long version of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”. A lot of ham QRM especially after 2130. Clear though at 2133 with Dance song. 2134:10 M with mention of “shortwave” in UK accent. Heavy QSB and signal dropped down after 2130. When I got back home, I checked one of the European web receivers and caught the very end of the closing announcement at 2200 and the M announcer was the same heard at 2116 and 2134. An audio file can be heard by using this link: https://app.box.com/s/r3fwhx3h1cbpc6ibmkkfnl8tfwo8k9f6 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, on a micro-DXpedition with a Beverage on the ground (BOG) aimed at Europe, 50 degrees, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) 3974.999, Very special music selection heard 2045 to 2110 UT tune in tonight. 2001 and Rosenberg 1973 album played. Requested 20-22 UT. Web address given at 2114 UT. Rather westerly azimuth direction from Winsen Aller Germany into England target? Here sidelobe in southern Germany at 2057 UT S=7 or -85dBm strength. Compare KBS Germany via Babcock Woofferton 3955 kHz at S=9+40dB or - 37dBm powerhouse level; Kall Eifel 3985 kHz S=8-9; HCJB Weenermoor Germany 3995 kHz S=9+10dB -68dBm. 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENNG DIGEST) Fair signal of New Shortwave Radio for Europe, Dec 18 1400-1600 on 6160 WIS 001 kW / non-dir to NWEu English Mon-Sat http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2017/12/fair-signal-of-new-shortwave-radio-for_18.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 18, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. 6070, Dec 11, 2040, DARC R. (via Channel 292). While listening to Fana and Amhara, noticed something under CFRX at 2040. W in German. Song with W vocal at 2044-2049, CW sounding like “QTM” at 2050 and M in German. 2052:15 same CW again and the M in German with what sounded like mention of “…perfect day…good DX” . 2052-2056 W vocal song, then M in German over instrumental music with mention of “…amateur radio…” at 2056:05, and possible website URL or e-mail address at 2057:45 (“…radio D-A-R-C…”). Program ended at 2059. Would have been easy if not for CFRX. Audio file can be heard by this link: https://app.box.com/s/mdkgfhh1czjck618wx7cjgbovajzz50t (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, on a micro-DXpedition with a Beverage on the ground (BOG) aimed at Europe, 50 degrees, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) A few of the DARC Ch 292 broadcasts on 6070 come via hi-power Austrian site instead; not sure if this is one of them (gh, DXLD) No, this one: AUSTRIA. Reception of Radio DARC via ORF Moosbrunn on Dec 17 1000-1100 on 6070 MOS 100 kW / non-dir to CeEu German Sun, strong http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-radio-darc-via-orf_17.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 16-17, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY. R Ohne Namen Christmas Schedule Radio Ohne Namen is amongst my favourite programmes on Channel 292 on 6070 kHz, and it always includes a fantastic selection of 1930's Big-band, Jazz and Swing music. Highly recommended. R Ohne Namen has two special Christmas editions this year, as well as a repeat of last year's special Christmas edition. The full schedule is as follows, UT: 24 December (Christmas Eve) 1200: the first Christmas edition 1900: repeat of the first Christmas edition 25 December (Christmas Day) 1000: the second Christmas edition 1100: the 2016 Christmas episode 1500: repeat of the second Christmas edition 1900: repeat of the 2016 Christmas edition 26 December (Boxing Day) 1000: repeat of the 2016 Christmas edition 1100: repeat of the first Christmas edition 1200: repeat of the second Christmas edition Further additional and repeat episodes of R Ohne Namen are then scheduled for 27 Dec at 0800, 29 Dec at 1400, 31 Dec at 1500 and 1 Jan at 1000, 1100, 1500 and 1900. The email address to let Ron know that you listened to any of these broadcasts, and for reception reports, is radio.on@gmx.de (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, Dec 18, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Christmas Schedule of Radio Ohne Namen Dec 24-26 1200-1300 on 6070 ROB 025 kW / non-dir to CeEu German Sun 1900-2000 on 6070 ROB 025 kW / non-dir to CeEu German Sun 1000-1200 on 6070 ROB 025 kW / non-dir to CeEu German Mon 1500-1600 on 6070 ROB 025 kW / non-dir to CeEu German Mon 1900-2000 on 6070 ROB 025 kW / non-dir to CeEu German Mon 1000-1300 on 6070 ROB 025 kW / non-dir to CeEu German Tue http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/christmas-schedule-of-radio-ohre-namen.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 18-19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. ARMENIA/ROMANIA/UZBEKISTAN SWS Programmtipps fuer den Rest des Dezembers Liebe Radiofreunde, das Jahr neigt sich dem Ende zu und wir melden uns ein letztes mal mit einer Uebersicht an Sondersendungen und Programmtipps. Die Dezember-Sendung von Radio. "Menschen und Geschichten" ist die Ausgabe, in der wir nur Radiomenschen und deren Geschichten bringen. Alexander Tauscher geht seit Jahren auf Radioreise. Er war schon an vielen Orten der Welt und dennoch gibt es ueber 1000 Ziele, die entdeckt werden wollen. 38 Jahre war Juergen Kolb Sprecher beim Hessischen Rundfunk. Was unterscheidet Menschen die sprechen koennen, von jemandem, der Sprecher ist? Wie wird man Sprecher und wie hat sich der Beruf in den letzten 40 Jahren gewandelt? Garniert mit schoenen Anekdoten aus seiner Radiozeit freuen wir uns, ihn am 31. Dezember ab 10 Uhr auf der Antenne zu haben. Habt auch Ihr eine schoene Radiogeschichte, die Ihr erzaehlen wollt? Bis Mittwoch, 20. Dezember 2017 koennt Ihr diese uns noch zukommen lassen - per Mail an oder per Telefon: +49 2251 146085 Alle Sondersendungen im Ueberblick, UT: Mittwoch, 20.12.2017 19-21 5845 kHz IBC Italian Broadcasting Corporation (via Gavar-ARM 100 kW) Sonntag, 24.12.2017 18-20 5845 kHz Radio Mi Amigo International (via Tashkent-UZB 100 kW) Montag, 25.12.2017 11-13 7310 kHz Radio Mi Amigo International (via Saftica-ROU 100 kW) [WORLD OF RADIO 1909] Mittwoch, 27.12.2017 19-21 5845 kHz IBC Italian Broadcasting Corporation (via Gavar-ARM 100 kW) Sonntag, 31.12.2017 09-10 7310 kHz Radio. Menschen und Geschichten (via Saftica-ROU 100 kW) Sonntag, 31.12.2017 17-18 5845 kHz Radio. Menschen und Geschichten (via Tashkent-UZB 100 kW) Sonntag, 31.12.2017 18-20 5845 kHz Radio Mi Amigo International (via Tashkent-UZB 100 kW) Ein schoenes Weihnachtsfest und viel Spass beim Einschalten! Beste Gruesse (Christian Milling (A-DX ng Dec 16 via BC-DX 16 Dec via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. NDR Christmas Special transmissions via Media Broadcast on 24th Dec'17 24th December 2017 (Sunday) 1900-2100 UT 6010 kHz Erevan(ARM) Europe 6080 kHz Nauen(DE) North Atlantic 9740 kHz Nauen(DE) Indian Ocean West 9790 kHz Moosbrunn(AT) Indian Ocean East 9800 kHz Issoudun(FRA) Atlantic(South Africa) 11650 kHz Issoudun(FRA) South Atlantic 24th December 2017 (Sunday) 2100-2300 UT 5930 kHz Nauen(DE) North Atlantic 6155 kHz Erevan(ARM) Europe 9590 kHz Issoudun(FRA) Atlantic(South Africa) 9650 kHz Moosbrunn(AT) Indian Ocean East 9765 kHz Nauen(DE) Indian Ocean West 9830 kHz Issoudun(FRA) South Atlantic Please send your answer and reception reports to: michael.puetz@media-broadcast.com More info at: [checked and correct with the comma in it] http://www.ndr.de/info/sendungen/So-empfangen-Sie-die-Gruss-an-Bord-Sendungen,grussanbord326.html On Christmas Eve, Norddeutsche Rundfunk broadcasts messages to sailors all over the world in the radio broadcast "Gruss an Bord" or "Greeting aboard" - greetings to the ship's crew in their home country. The greetings to the sailors were recorded at two "greeting on board" events in the Adventszeit: on 4 December in the Cultural memory in Wilhelmine gear in neutral and on December 11 in the Hamburg Seemannsmission "Duckdalben". Relatives and friends had the opportunity to wish their loved ones at sea a happy holiday and a good new year. The show "Greeting aboard" was heard for Christmas 1953 for the first time on the radio. It is thus one of the oldest existing radio broadcasts in the world. (via Alokesh Gupta, Dec 14, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GOA. 15185, AIR via Panaji, 0318, Dec 13. Subcontinent music / singing; in Hindi; almost fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11560, Dec 16, 1528, AIR Panaji. Weak signal at 1528 with talk by M in mid-east language. 1529 subcontinental music. 1530 apparent program intro by M, brief music, then English talk by M. Could only get a few words here and there. Music at 1544, and off at 1545:02. Is supposed to be Bengaluru to 1530, then Panaji, but I didn’t see or hear any difference in the signal over 1530. So is it Panaji before 1530 as well?? (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4055, Dec 18 at 1300, R. Verdad is still audible with hymn, S6-S8, well before our sunrise of 1338, heading toward its latest of 1343 in two or three weeks; while Chiquimula`s was 1217, heading toward 1228. 4055, Dec 19 at 1338, TGAV is JBA with talk, as the sun is rising here (allegedly, behind the fog/clouds) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. Kossuth Rádió on 540 kHz with 2 Megawatts The transmitter at Solt was recently upgraded to 2 MW by the Nova Scotia company Nautel. Radio World story here: http://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/0002/nautel-completes-antenna-hungaria-mw-install/340849 Strong daytime signal using the U. Twente SDR receiver. AM sync frequency typically locked within 0.02 Hz of exactly 540 kHz! Guess I should have been clearer. The old Communist-era tube transmitter was also rated at 2 MW but was getting long in the tooth and so has been replaced by 5 x 400 kW ganged solid-state transmitters. – (Richard Langley, NB, Dec 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) viz.: NAUTEL COMPLETES ANTENNA HUNGARIA MW INSTALL Radio World By Marguerite Clark December 6, 2017 The new 2 Megawatt NX2000 medium wave system is now on air Antenna Hungaria’s new Nautel 2 Megawatt NX2000 medium wave system is now operational. Located at the broadcaster’s transmission facility near Solt, Hungary, Nautel says the project, on which it worked in collaboration with Porion Digital KFT, involved large infrastructure changes at the site as well as installation of the new transmitter. Modifications included building renovation and air handling updates as well as interfacing the NX2000 to Antenna Hungaria’s existing 11 kV voltage supply. The new solid-state Nautel system replaces a custom- built tube transmitter that had been in use for 40 years. “The NX2000 system incorporates five Nautel NX400 transmitters along with a large, versatile combiner,” said Wendell Lonergan, Nautel head of Broadcast Sales. “Our new NXC2000 combiner can be reconfigured if one or more transmitters is shut down, which ensures that maximum power is delivered to the antenna in all cases.” According to Nautel, the new NX2000 system offers an efficiency of 90% as well as a compact footprint for space savings. Individual transmitters are available in 100, 200, 300 or 400 kW designs, along with lower power units ranging down to 3 kW. Control and monitoring are managed via Nautel’s Advanced User Interface (AUI). Antenna Hungaria is wholly owned by the government of Hungary and provides broadcast, telecommunication and multimedia services throughout the country. The signal of its Solt operation can be heard on 540 kHz all over Europe as well as in parts of Africa, Russia and Asia. Nautel states: "Building the Biggest Power savings, outstanding reliability and world-class customer service were key to Nautel’s 2 Megawatt NX2000 system selection at Europe’s most powerful MW station – Antenna Hungaria, Solt, Hungary. It’s now on-air on 540 kHz and can be heard all over Europe as well as in parts of Africa, Russia and Asia. Five solid-state, DRM-enabled NX400 transmitters and a 2,000 kW combiner comprise the 2 Megawatt system which replaced an aging custom-built tube transmitter that had been in operation since 1977. The large-scale deployment involved large infrastructure changes at the site; including interfacing with existing 11 kV voltage supply, building modifications, and air handling modifications." A video explaining the project is available here: http://www.nautel.com/solutions/digital-radio/2-megawatt-transmitter-antenna-hungaria/ Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) There is also a 4 minute video on You Tube: FINAL PREZI SOLT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoYI7nSEA1M&feature=youtu.be (Mike Terry, ibid.) A video explaining the project is available here. http://www.nautel.com/biggest (via DXLD) Kossuth Rádió on 540 kHz with 2 MW By Kai Ludwig , in rbb Babelsberg Mediamagazine https://www.radioeins.de/programm/sendungen/medienmagazin/radio_news/beitraege/2016/solt.html Medium wave 540 kHz with new transmitter system On December 1, 2017 at 11.00 clock on the station Solt, 80 km south of Budapest, the new transmitter for the medium wave 540 kHz was put into operation. With 1680 kW, it generates by far the highest transmission power, which is still emitted by a medium-wave transmitter in Europe. Supplier of the transmitter system is the Canadian company Nautel. She realized a solution with five copies of the strongest single transmitter (400 kW) from her program and a parallel switching unit. This installation found its place in the existing broadcasting hall. This required major conversions, resulting in longer interruptions in 2016. With the exception of the 500 kW strong, now with 300 kW at 1188 kHz operated transmission system Marcali, the other medium wave stations in Hungary were already equipped in the past decade with new Tranistorsendern. At the time, the supplier was the Berlin company Transradio. Since August 1, 2017 insolvency proceedings over the assets of this company are due to insolvency and over-indebtedness. The insolvency administrator wants to be authorized by the creditors both for a sale of the enterprise as well as an attitude of the business enterprise. (District court Berlin Charlottenburg, 36t IN 2479) The transmitters installed by Transradio in Hungary include, in addition to the equipment that continues to broadcast Magyar Rádió programs at 873, 1116, 1188, 1251 and 1350 kHz (at 1188 kHz at the second location Szolnok), also transmission equipment for the 1341 kHz frequency. It was during the extensive shutdowns of the station Solt in August / September 2016 was additionally switched on to compensate for the significantly lower performance of the replacement operation at 540 kHz (with greater technical difficulties over old tube transmitters in Budapest-Lakihegy and Balatonszabadi near Siófok). The transmitters of frequency 1341 kHz were actually intended for Magyar Katolikus Rádió, which had been broadcast on this medium wave since 2004. Because of excessive costs Magyar Katolikus Rádió gave up the distribution path AM at the beginning of 2011, accompanied by clearly articulated displeasure of his audience. The transmitter Solt had taken over in 1977 after a construction period of three years, the operation of the 540 kHz frequency from the Budapest station Lakihegy. The antenna was set up here is a 304 meter high mast. The 2000 kW strong, consisting of two blocks transmitter system came from the company Maschinopriboj in the former Leningrad. This plant will remain as a reserve even after the commissioning of the new transistor technology, especially since it has been classified as an industrial monument since 2013. In 1985, this transmitter system was converted to a more powerful tube type (GU-88P). In 1987, the Swiss company Asea Brown Boveri added a protection circuit and a dynamic carrier control system to save electricity (via Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) (sorry, automatic translation - wb. - of rbb medienmagazine, Dec 2017)(BC-DX 16 Dec via DXLD) Which has a particular problem choosing the correct pronoun in English (gh) The old Soviet TX unit is mothballed now ! wb The 2000 kW strong, consisting of two blocks transmitter system came from the company Maschinopriboj in the former Leningrad. This plant will remain as a reserve even after the commissioning of the new transistor technology, especially since it has been classified as an industrial monument since 2013. [apparentlhy intro to Kai`s article, via BC-DX via DXLD] ** INDIA. 4970, AIR Shillong, 1238, Dec 17. Usual Sunday "Country Roads" C&W music show with DJ in English; songs "Jolene" (Dolly Parton), "Elusive Butterfly" (Bob Lind), Xmas song "I'll Be Home for Christmas," etc.; DJ with modulation at a very low level, whereas the music level was good; 1315 into Hindi. It will be recalled that the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya (means "The Abode of Clouds") has a population of about 75% Christians, while the capital city of Shillong (known as the "Scotland of the East"), has close to 50% of the population being Christian. So Christmas is widely celebrated. Today 1342-1358 with non-stop Xmas songs; "Winter Wonderland," "Joy to the World," "The First Noel," "Jingle Bells," etc. (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Very odd frequency of All India Radio on Dec 15 1515-1530 on 7555.7 DEL 100 kW / 065 deg to SoAs Hindi 1530-1600 on 7555.7 DEL 100 kW / 065 deg to SoAs English http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/very-odd-frequency-of-all-india-radio.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 15, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 11780, Dec 16, 1330, AIR Delhi. Found horrible 100 Hz buzzing on this transmission at 1330. Same as heard on 11560 two days ago. Obviously the same faulty transmitter. 11560 goes off at 1140 and this comes on about an hour later. 1330 M announcer, music briefly, then possible W announcer. Very difficult to get any audio due to the buzzing (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** INDIA. Hi Glenn, Update to your DX Programs List: AIR Faithfully Yours was aired today, 18 December at 2210 and is scheduled again at 2330 (rather than 0005). I think that Faithfully Yours is only aired at 0005 UT on the first Monday of the Month (well, Tuesday following first Monday), to make way for a half hour of Studio 1 from 2330 to 2400 UT. Other weeks, it's usually at 2330UT (unless pre-empted for some other special program). (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, Dec 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 9525.932, Dec 16 at 1426, JBA carrier, no doubt VOI currently on its upper-off-frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOI, Cimanggis, English / Chinese 1155-1205 UT today on 9525.938 kHz, not strong only S=5-6 here in southern Germany, but station reception will be stronger in few hours in our afternoon (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) INDONESIA. Atsunori Ishida's website http://rri.jpn.org/ has today (Dec 17) posted the following: "This site will not be updated after December 31, 2017." So he will no longer be doing his daily monitoring and posting his results there for a while? At his site, note "Previous Results" that he started back in March 2010, a time that had a good number of stations to keep track of, very much unlike the present situation today. Certainly I appreciate the excellent info that he has provided over the years (Ron Howard, California, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In fact, updates already stopped (Ron) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET & VACUUM. Hi Glenn, A quick update on WRN which I raised with you earlier this year. I`m not sure if you know but WRN`s website has resurfaced as a part of the Babcock group at the usual address wrn.org. It`s looking good. All the best and seasons greetings (Joseph McTaggart (UK), Dec 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. 6040, IRIB, English Radio ID, into English news at BoH. They spent 11 minutes talking about the impact of Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Including mention of Pence's 19/Dec [canceled] visit to the area, protests around the world & the like. In an era when 'news' is expected to be 3 minutes or less on US media, this was amazing! Then a FOUR minute item about Yemen & the air strike on a Sana'a TV station, etc., then shorter items re poverty in Afghanistan, allegations against Dustin Hoffman re him sexually harassing a 17 year/old intern & the Russia/Ukraine 'clashes' still going on. ID into reading a Guardian editorial at 1949 entitled "Universal Credit has caused untold hardship" 3+4443+. About as good as IRIB gets these days! 1929-1954 9/Dec (Ken Zichi, MARE DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR4 + 500’ RW unless noted otherwise, MARE Tipsheet 15 Dec via DXLD) 6180, Dec 18 at 0108, S9-S7 but undermodulated in Spanish, not Portuguese so it`s IRIB as scheduled and no sign of Brasília (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6180. IRIB. Diciembre 17. 0300-0320 UT. Noticias sobre Perú, Fraude electoral en Honduras, las elecciones en Chile con declaraciones del candidato Piñera, Venezuela sobre declaraciones de Maduro en contra de los Estados Unidos, el Alba y la causa palestina. A las 0318, se dan datos de la emisora y luego la señal de cierre. SINPO: 45343. 6180. IRIB. Diciembre 18. 0240-0320 UT. Noticias sobre Nicaragua, República Dominicana, La elección presidencial chilena, informaciones acerca de la franja de Gaza y Palestina, Venezuela y su economía, España, Declaraciones de apoyo a Palestina en contra de Donald Trump, los refugiados palestinos en Siria. A las 0258, se inicia un programa de reflexiones morales y espirituales. A las 0400 se emite una reflexión con base en el Corán, junto a algunos canticos, sobre la grandeza de Dios y los elementos creados como el agua. Luego se emite una canción y los datos de la emisora como finalización. SINPO: 45343 (Claudio Galaz; RX: TECSUN PL-660; ANT: Hilo de 50 metros; QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** IRAN. 7380even, probably 2nd unit at IRIB Zahedan in Arabic. Cleared tx oddity, aligned the faulty tx unit? Not variable anymore at 0519 UT on Dec 14, IRIB Arabic service at S=9+25dB into southern Germany [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 14, dxldyg via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. 7480even, Moldova, R Payam eDoost program in Persian, via Radiotelecentr (PRTC) transmitter Grigoriopol Maiac in Moldova Pridnestrovie, S=9+15Db 1800-1845 UT, heard at 1813 UT on Dec 17. Wonderful audio quality on shortwave band [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, aAfternoon log on Dec 17 at 18-19 UT slot, heard here in Germany, Belgium, and England remote SDR installations, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Please be advised that Marconi Radio International (MRI) will be on the air today, Saturday, 16 December 2017, as follows: 1430-1630 UT on 7720 kHz (USB mode). Reception reports to this E-mail: marconiradiointernational (at) gmail.com Last but not least, we need your help! If you are a DX blogger, or use social networks, please post an announcement on your own blog and/or Facebook or send out a tweet the day before the broadcast. You can also forward this message to a friend. We hope to hear from a lot of shortwave listeners about our transmissions. ****************************** ****************************** Marconi Radio International (MRI) sarà di nuovo in onda oggi, Sabato 16 Dicembre 2017, come segue: dalle 14.30 alle 16.30 UTC su 7720 kHz (USB).Per i vostri rapporti di ricezione scrivete a: marconiradiointernational (at) gmail.com Come al solito Vi preghiamo, qualora abbiate un vostro blog dedicato al radioascolto od un profilo su Facebook o altro social network, di pubblicare un annuncio sulle nostre trasmissioni. In alternativa potreste inoltrare il presente messaggio ad un amico (MRI, 0234 UT Dec 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7720 USB, Marconi Radio International, *1430-1514, 16-12, English, Italian, songs, radio news, Italian. Extremely weak. 7720 USB, Marconi Radio International, *1430-1550, 16-12, English, Italian, comments, radio news, pop songs. Very weak. 15321 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, Logs in Friol, Tecsun S-8800, cable antenna, 8 meters, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ITALY, Marconi Radio International, received snail mail QSL card for a transmission on 7700 USB, November 4, 2017 in 40 days. Reception report send to marconiradiointernational@gmail.com And quite weak using the U. Twente SDR receiver. Often buried in the noise. Better after 1600 UT but still difficult to listen to at times. (-- Richard Langley, Dec 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KIRIBATI. Didn't Kiribati use to broadcast on 844 kHz? I recall logging them a couple of times on that frequency in the early '70s. (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, Wash., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KIRITIMATI. 846.00, Dec 16 at 0656, very weak but steady carrier past 0700, not registering on the S-meter amid heavy 840 & 850 signals. Presumed R. Kiribati. I have not been seeing any routine loggings of this lately from the Victorians; so common that of no interest, or sporadically active? Nor from anyone deeper into North America like me (Glenn Hauser, OK, Dec 19, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 846, Dec 17 at 0707, JJBA carrier from presumed R. Kiribati; I keep looking for any other reports of this and find one: ``A couple Japanese powerhouse stations in this evening along with a weak Radio Kiribati 846. CHRISTMAS ISLAND, 12/15 poor to weak from 0717 to 0721. Music. Best regards, (Dennis Vroom, Kalama, WA, JRC NRD 545 + Drake R8B, Random wire 380', IRCA via DXLD)`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [and non] Kona, Hawaii Ultralight DU's for 12-17 The 5 inch (127mm) Frequent Flyer FSL started tracking down the DU's right away here in Kona this evening, but T-storm activity made reception of the weaker DU's a little dicey. I was able to confirm a 19-second time delay between the programming on 846-Kiribati (Christmas Island) and 1440-Kiribati (Tarawa), as documented in one of the MP3's linked below. The sign-off routine off 1440-Kiribati was also confirmed to still start at 0933 UTC, with the loud 1000 tone still there until power is cut at 0936. 846-Kiribati seems to have intermittent transmitter issues, as documented in one of the MP3's below. 1098-Marshalls was S9+ around 0700, but the signals from 540-2AP, 558-Fiji and 1017-Tonga were hit hard by the T-storms. 621-Tuvalu was somewhere in between, with fair to good strength female speech (in English) at 0724. Other than that is was another awesome evening in Kona, where the temperature was 79 degrees today. 540 2AP Apia, Samoa Christian worship music at fair to good level through the T-storms at 0752 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/tsr7nd52srbxdjbphms7a0jxqoblo2vq 621 R. Tuvalu Funafuti, Tuvalu Female speech at good level in English at 0724 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/25fbu2pk27b3umyicostm5rd6y70nmn8 846 R. Kiribati Christmas Island S9 level Christian music at 0620, but with a sudden signal drop out at the 49 second point in the MP3; transmitter issues? [music only, lightning crashes] https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/p89gsi1wm6vjqdi6jzhwrkl3r2v9h8w3 1017 A3Z Nuku'alofa, Tonga Female speech in English through the T- storms at 0735; no idea why there is a heterodyne on this frequency https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/9do7nf5d5uzgk0m98g0qob5fgc3cplfv 1098 R. Marshalls S9 level Christian music prior to the 0700 TOH, with male native language announcer giving apparent ID after that https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/l9grx1p2c05j3ronyrsme3yw417ie317 1440 R. Kiribati Bairiki, Tarawa Parallel check with 846-Christmas Island; the MP3 starts out on 846 at 0635, switches to 1440 at the 1:02 point, then switches back to 846 at the 1:34 point, with a 19- second time delay evident between the 1440 and 846 programming (846 lags behind) https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/piokzgok85kwg77oz4rvoetv2f8gko8x 73 and Good DX, (Gary DeBock (DXing in Kona, Hawaii), 7.5" loopstick CC Skywave + 5 inch "Frequent Flyer" FSL; Demo video posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRaOnWS-5Ig&t=77s IRCA via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) Interesting about the 19 second delay, as the delay is maybe 1 second only between the on-line relay and 846 itself! 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, IRCA via DXLD) Which makes me wonder if Kiritimati-846 is snagging their master signal off the internet somewhere somehow? Presumably a lot cheaper than any dedicated line. Paul W., do you have any inside information? best wishes, (Nick Hall-Patch, BC, ibid.) Thanks, Walt and Nick, 846-Christmas Island is by far the strongest DU here in Kona, but it seems to have a serious issue with the transmitter cutting out intermittently. It did this about 3 times last night. I recall that Bryan Clark of NZ also mentioned that the signal was gone on one of the recent days -- maybe the same issue? The 19-second delay with 1440-Kiribati also seems pretty bizarre, but it was checked repeatedly last night and confirmed. Both 846 and 1440- Kiribati are easy catches here in Kona, so the delayed programming is pretty obvious. Wish you guys were here -- 80 degrees F today! (Gary DeBock, Dec 17, ibid.) I started seeing 846 from Christmas Island at 0300ish today, and the audio is fair to good at 0338 as I type this. I enjoy watching this station fade in most nights! 73, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Dec 18, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, ibid.) 846-Christmas Island isn't doing too bad in Kona tonight at 0435 either, Walt https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/5pjqqcgmvz2vb12xiixvpjbvtq0cgznw (Gary DeBock, Dec 18, IRCA via DXLD) Super powerful, although pretty uninspiring programming (I think it's political). I'm measuring S9 + 5 at 06:11 UTC into Victoria, best on my west directed corner fed loop/FLG 100 LN. After calibrating my Perseus earlier in the day, I notice that Christmas Island measures 3 Hz on the low side, in case that helps! 73, (Walt Salmaniw, ibid.) You could weld aluminum with the signal tonight! (Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA - 0655 UT Dec 18, ibid.) Looking at a remote SDR in Hawaii, I can see the signal on it but can`t hear much. I so wish I was there, I miss Hawaii (Todd Skaine, MN, ibid.) Todd, if the remote SDR in Hawaii couldn't get much of a signal from 846-Kiribati last night, its antenna probably needs to be replaced. (Gary DeBock (in Kona, Hawaii, where Christmas Island was S7-S9 all evening long), ibid.) Todd, Most likely the SDR is located on the eastern side of one of the islands. The western sides (like Kona) have reduced mainland reception because of the Hawaiian hill terrain, but somewhat enhanced reception to the west and south (Gary, ibid.) What power is 846 using? Is it 10 kW or could it be more? 73 KAZ (Neil Kazaross, IL/WI, Dec 18, ibid.) 846, Dec 18 at 0629, JBA but steady carrier from R. Kiribati. Walt Salmaniw in Victoria BC says he is ``seeing`` it as early as 0300ish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nothing seen from Christmas Island tonight until close to 0400, and much weaker than last night. Snippets of audio only tonight compared to good audio last night. 73 (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, 0518 UT Dec 19, IRCA via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 2850, KCBS at 1430, with saccharine instrumental music, soprano vocalist. VG today at local daybreak on SW 2000629, tomato stake vertical. Dec. 16 (Rick Barton, report from Arizona, or, more pieces to the short wave puzzle. 73 from the Sonoran Desert, and Good Listening.....! -rb, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. 6400, Pyongyang BS, Kanggye. Big signal with orchestral / opera music from 2208 to 2229. Studio W announcer in Korean once or twice. Dear air briefly at 2229, same W announcer, 3+1 higher pitched time ticks, then alternating M and W announcers at 2230-2243+. Very strong around 2225 peak, but faded very quickly after 2235. About the best ever heard at this time, 18 Dec. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA USA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S and 150 foot Delta loop, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. UZBEKISTAN, Frequency change of Radio Free North Korea from Dec 15 1200-1300 9345 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg to NEAs Korean, fair/good, ex 9470 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/frequency-change-of-radio-free-north.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #1048 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Dec 19, 2017 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. UZBEKISTAN, Radio Free North Korea via BaBcoCk Tashkent, Dec 19 1200-1300 on 9345 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg to NEAs Korean, strong signal http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-radio-free-north-korea-via.html Voice of Wilderness via BaBcoCk Tashkent, Dec 19 1330-1530 on 7625 TAC 100 kW / 070 deg to NEAs Korean, very good: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-voice-of-wilderness-via_19.html North Korea Reform Radio via BaBcoCk Tashkent, Dec 19: 1431-1530 on 7590 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg to NEAs Korean, very good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-north-korea-reform-radio_19.html Voice of Martyrs via BaBcoCk Tashkent on Dec 19: 1530-1700 on 7510 TAC 100 kW / 076 deg to NEAs Kor/Eng, weak/fair http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-voice-of-martyrs-via.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 6085, Shiokaze/SeaBreeze 1355-1400* 5 Dec. VP with closing announcements with severe interference from high speed ute data transmissions on 6086.5 & 6087.5 (thanks to Wolfy's info in DXLD 17-49 about those pests) (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 5935, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze (via Yamata) *1405-1415 11 Dec. Clear with opening piano/announcements in Japanese (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 5935, Dec 14 at 1407, good S9+10 signal in Japanese. YL turns over to OM speaking in an echoey venue. 1429 with contact info .jp, website pronounced in English but too much accent; 1430 mentions kirohertz several times, 1432 switch to different announcer for ID ``Kochirawa Shiokaze desu``. It`s the 1405-1435 relay of Furusato no Kaze on its December frequency, 300 kW, 290 degrees from JSR, Ibaragi-Koga-Yamata, JAPAN; quite better here than I have been getting for Sea Breeze itself before 1400 on 6085, whose English on Thursday I missed today (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 7295, Dec 14 at 1434, S9+10 sweet song in waltz time, 1438 Japanese announcements. Per Aoki/NDXC, this is Furusato no Kaze, 1430-1500, 300 kW, 352 degrees via BaBcoCk, Paochung, TAIWAN (also same at 1330-1357, a prepeat? And Korean version before that at 1300-1330) (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 9465, TAIWAN, Nippon no kaze (Japan Opposition v. NORTH KOREA), at 1545, woman in Korean over soft music. Station went down just before the top of the hour. Good, Dec. 16 (Rick Barton, report from Arizona, or, more pieces to the short wave puzzle. 73 from the Sonoran Desert, and Good Listening.....! -rb, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [and non]. 3910. V. of THE PEOPLE. Diciembre 16. 0930- 0946 UT. Mujer y hombre hablan intercaladamente en coreano. SINPO: 43343 con leves interferencias desde Corea del Norte // 3255 no se escucha // 3480 SINPO: 33343 con interferencia marcada // 3930 SINPO: 33343 también con interferencia marcada de ruido blanco // 4450 con interferencia de pulsos // 6520 con marcado ruido blanco // 6600 con marcado ruido blanco y fading (Claudio Galaz; RX: TECSUN PL-660; ANT: Hilo de 50 metros; QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 4450, CLANDESTINE, V. of the People. Didn’t appear to be jammed at 2211 when M announcer heard very weakly. Signal strong enough, just not that much audio punch, 18 Dec. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA USA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S and 150 foot Delta loop, Hard-Core- DX mailing list via DXLD) 6600, CLANDESTINE, V. of the People, 2209 jammer went off, then heard M in Korean. 2216 instrumental music bridge, then next segment by W to BoH. M after 2230. Jammer returned at 2240. Haven’t heard this without the jammer in a while. Peaked nicely around 2215-2220. The white noise jammer here and on 6520, 6350, and 6015 all went off at the exact same time. Unfortunately there’s some local noise on 6350 18 Dec. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA USA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S and 150 foot Delta loop, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. 4880.9975 kHz - Korea-Rep, Hwaesong, probably station intermodulation? listen recording of 0511 - 0520 UT on Dec 16. Hello Alan, hello Mauno, did you ever receive any mention of intermodulation signals of Hwaesong site in South Korea? MW 1134 kHz in Aoki Nagoya list as KBS3 R, HLKC Hwaesong, 500 kW. Key station in WRTH 2018 page #263, program noted with S=9+25dB or -51dBm strength 10 kHz wide signal in South_KORean Perseus unit at Anyang_KOR, some 25 kilometers away of the broadcast center Hwaesong, this Dec 16 morning at 0510 to 0530 UT observation, also on Intermodulation of 4880.9975 kHz at S=7 or -87dBm level. Fundamentals formula could be as follows 6015 kHz KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, from Hwaesong site, minus 1134 kHz KBS3 R HLKC Hwaesong, = 4881 kHz. On symmetrical v7149 kHz nothing could be traced, except regular ham radio operator in progress though. Distance for his location 37.399861 N 126.937985 E to Hwaesong site is approx. 25.005 kilometers, that's very close distance, and in azimuth of the 30degr two-mast antenna. vy73 de wolfie df5sx [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 16 via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. 4900, V24 (South Korean #s station) 1528-1533+ 27 Nov. OC, Korean song to open & Korean # groups, mostly over V of Strait 5715, V24 (South Korean #s station) *1458-1503+ 19 Nov. OC to TOH, nice Korean pop/romantic song to open then usual Korean # groups 4925, V24 (South Korean #s Station) *1430-1435+ 12 Dec. Instrumental tune to open (different from the Korean romantic/pop song I've heard on other V24 frequencies) then Korean # groups. 6310, V24 (South Korean #s Station) *1530-1533+ 1, 3 Dec. OC on at 1519 tune-in, Korean pop/romantic song to open, then # groups (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 4925-AM, Korean Numbers Station V24, 1440-1443*, on Dec 15; YL reading numbers in Korean. My audio clip at http://goo.gl/QvXeBm 5900, Korean Numbers Station V24, 1611*, Dec 15; OM reading numbers in Korean; fair (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. 6045, V of Freedom (Hwaseong), good 1415+ 6 Dec. with no NK pulse jamming, but pre-1400, CNR1 jammer (v. VOA Chinese 12-14) is pretty annoying. Pulse jammer also off at 1411 check on 12 Dec., but back on by 1418 (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach / Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 6045. V. OF FREEDOM. 6045. Diciembre 16. 1011-1022 UT. Espacio de música pop en coreano, intercalados por comentarios de una mujer. SINPO: 54444 con interferencia tipo alarma de automóvil (Claudio Galaz; RX: TECSUN PL-660; ANT: Hilo de 50 metros; QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) 6045, Dec 17 at 1427, ballad, maybe in English? at S9-S7, 1430 Korean? talk, with lite pulse/tone jamming. Is the current frequency of Voice of Freedom, 10 kW clandestine (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6045, CLANDESTINE, V. of Freedom, 2112 getting some music here at this time. Flute song at 2119 plainly audible. Then song by what sounded like Stevie Wonder at 2122. Went over BoH with music. W announcer in Korean mixed with instrumental music 2156-2159. Music leading up to ToH. M and W with short announcement, peppy music, then talk by M announcer maybe news. Wiped out by 6040 WHRI. Also heard on a web receiver in South Korea, jammed with pulsing noise, but no jamming detected here, 18 Dec. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA USA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S and 150 foot Delta loop, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** KUWAIT [and non]. VATICAN, Radio Veritas Asia via SM di Galeria, Dec 15 1430-1457 on 11630*SMG 250 kW / 089 deg SoAs Urdu, good * with QRM 11629.8 KBD 250 kW / 230 deg CeAf Holy Quran Radio Kuwait http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/radio-veritas-asia-via-sm-di-galria.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 15, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. Good signal of MOI of Radio Kuwait on Dec 19 0800-1000 on 7249.9 KBD 250 kW / non-dir to WeAs Persian http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/good-signal-of-moi-of-radio-kuwait-on.html Strong signal of MOI of Radio Kuwait on Dec 19 1000-1200 on 17760.0 KBD 250 kW / 084 deg to SEAs Filipino http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/strong-signal-of-moi-of-radio-kuwait-on.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. Reception of Afghan Christian Radio/Radio Maranatha, Dec 12: 1500-1800 5130 BI 100 kW / non-dir to CeAs Pashto/Dari, fair signal http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-afghan-christian.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 11-14, dxldyg via DXLD) [and non]. KYRGYZ REPUBLIC/USA, 5129.950, KGZ, SW Relay Sce, Krasnaya Rechka, Bishkek, only EMPTY carrier, seemingly Afghan religious Radio in Pashto language on other days of the week, via Bishkek frequency. S=6-7 poor at 1734 UT on Dec 11. {sic} Seemingly rather: 5129.84, WBCQ Monticello ME-US (presumably); at 0218-0232+ UT on Dec 10; Rock & oldies; 0231 UT "Lumpy Gravy Radio Show". SIO=353 when on & fady; on/off problem. (Harold Frodge-DXP, MI Expedition, dxld Dec 12) [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (wb df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 11)(BC-DX 16 Dec via DXLD) There should be little chance of confusing these two unless KGZ start broadcasting during the early UT hours like WBCQ (gh, DXLD) E- QSL letter received from Radio Kyrgyz. Program was broadcasted 02.12.2017, 1725-1755 UT in Kyrgyz on 4010 kHz. E-mail with confirmation of my reception report was signed by Ms. Cholpon Temirbekova - International Relations and Protocol Department Officer of Public Broadcasting Corporation of the Kyrgyz Republic (Piotr Skorek, Poland, QSL World via Rus DX 17 Dec via DXLD) ** LAOS [and non]. MY FATHER FOUGHT THE CIA'S SECRET WAR IN LAOS By Peter Lang-Stanton BBC World Service, The Documentary 15 December 2017 . . . http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42314701 Click here to listen to the documentary, The CIA's Secret War in Laos. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05psvz1 (via Gerald T Pollard, NC, DXLD) ** LIBERIA. Pretty good conditions to Africa, about 1.5 to 1 hour before local sunset. 6050, ELWA at 2207, song, male speaker in English, mention Christmas and Jesus, 2210 Christmas song “What Child is This”, 2225 man mentioned Liberia, followed what sounded like broadcast schedule, 2229 heard “broadcasting from Liberia” and “E-L-W-A”, 2230 man with news. - Poor, Dec. 15 (Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Columbia, listening in my car, parked by the lake. CommRadio CR-1a radio and Sony AN-1 active whip antenna on car roof, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. WCB Madagascar World Voice Radio Feda on Dec 18 1900-2000 11945 100 kW / 355 deg N/ME Arabic tx#1 2000-2100 11945 100 kW / 355 deg N/ME Arabic tx#1 2200-2215 11790 100 kW / 325 deg NoAf Chinese tx#1, instead of Arabic 2215-2300 11790 100 kW / 325 deg NoAf Arabic tx#1 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/wcb-madagascar-world-voice-radio-feda.html WCB Madagascar World Voice The Light of Life, Dec 18 2100-2200 11610 100 kW / 325 deg WeEu Chinese tx#1 2200-2215 9490 100 kW / 055 deg EaAs Arabic tx#2, instead of Chinese 2215-2300 9490 100 kW / 055 deg EaAs Chinese tx#2 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/wcb-madagascar-world-voice-light-of.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #1048 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Dec 19, 2017 via DXLD) They keep mixing up Arabic & Chinese broadcasts (gh) ** MARSHALL ISLANDS. 1098, Dec 19 at 1333, JBA carrier on the R75 with E-W longwire, no doubt V7AB, which leaves it on all night, after sign- off circa 1130(?). I was first checking 1017 kHz for Tonga which reportedly just started doing the same, but could not detect it. (846 Kiritimati signs off much earlier and does not leave carrier on, so no sunrise DX from it) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MAURITANIA. It’s a country twice the size of France, yet has a population of just 4.5m. It’s mainly desert, and is on some governments’ lists of “only travel there if essential” destinations. And now it’s in the media news as the head of state-run Radio Mauritanie has been dismissed for fraud. In a country where the average household income is well under US$500, general manager Abdallahi O. Hormetalla has been dismissed for allegedly making fraudulent payments totalling 33m Mauritanian Ouguiya – around GBP70,000, mostly to relatives and fictitious companies likely controlled by relations. The annual budget of Radio Mauritanie is understood to be around GBP1.77m. Hormetalla, who had been appointed in 2016, has been replaced by presidential adviser Abdallahi O. Ahmed Damou (Dec AIB via DXLD) ** MEXICO. RAYMIE`S MEXICO BEAT his week --- [including DTV] From time to time I call out some of the worst headlines I've ever seen about broadcasting in Mexico. And I'd like to present this one on a silver platter. The dry wire service recaps of IFT meetings are already one level of confusion added. They are paraphrases of the press releases, which can be full of language that to someone not used to the IFT can just be a headache to understand. But when newspapers get a hold of them, they get even more confusing. El Heraldo de Coatzacoalcos seems to have thought it had found a local news story. A new radio station is certainly news! https://heraldodecoatzacoalcos.com.mx/estado/coatzacoalcos/54714-autorizan-nueva-radio-para-coatza.html But a close reading of the meeting agenda does not support that reading. Here is the title of the agenda item in question: "Resolución mediante la cual el Pleno del Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones otorga un título de concesión para usar y aprovechar bandas de frecuencias del espectro radioeléctrico, así como un título de concesión única, ambos para uso público, a favor del Municipio de Coatzacoalcos, en el Estado de Veracruz de Ignacio de La Llave." OK, so they got a concession for some frequencies and the obligatory concesión única. But there are five words I do not see there. Here are some of the other agenda items that were plated the same day: "Resolución mediante la cual el Pleno del Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones otorga una concesión para usar y aprovechar bandas de frecuencias del espectro radioeléctrico para la prestación del servicio público de radiodifusión sonora en Frecuencia Modulada en Ocosingo, Chiapas, para uso público, a favor del Sistema Chiapaneco de Radio, Televisión y Cinematografía." "Resolución mediante la cual el Pleno del Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones prorroga la vigencia de dos concesiones para operar y explotar comercialmente una frecuencia de radiodifusión, para lo cual otorga respectivamente una concesión para usar, aprovechar y explotar bandas de frecuencias del espectro radioeléctrico para la prestación del servicio público de radiodifusión sonora en Frecuencia Modulada y, en su caso, una concesión única, ambas para uso comercial." "Resolución mediante la cual el Pleno del Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones otorga a favor de Estéreo Peñasquito, A.C. una concesión para usar y aprovechar bandas de frecuencias del espectro radioeléctrico para la prestación del servicio público de radiodifusión sonora en Frecuencia Modulada en Mazapil, Zacatecas, así como una concesión única, ambas para uso social." What do all three of these have in common that the Coatza item does not? This phrase: "radiodifusión sonora en Frecuencia Modulada" If the municipality of Coatzacoalcos was getting a radio station, that magic phrase would be in the agenda item. What we have here is probably an authorization for frequencies for private communications for the municipality, telemetry, or some other use like that. These sorts of authorizations do come from the Pleno and have been given to municipalities, federal agencies, and municipal water systems. They deal with spectrum use, but in more of a telecommunications sense than a broadcasting one. ——— After that look into the recent past, we can look into 2018 and the excitement of another radio auction. Over the weekend, Nicolás Lucas of El Economista sat down with Alex Navarrete, head of the IFT's spectrum unit, to discuss what's coming next. https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/IFT-habra-licitacion-del-2.5-GHz-antes-que-prendan-la-Red-Compartida-20171210-0006.html IFT-8, the next radio auction, will likely start up in the second half of the year, including the commercial station allotments in the last three PABFs (2016, 2017 and 2018, including any new petitions for the 2018 PABF); stations that had winning bidders but were not claimed in IFT-4 (for nonpayment or other disqualification); and other IFT-4 stations if there is interest. It is worth noting that IFT-8 might have happened sooner if IFT-4 had not dragged on so long. There will also be another TV auction, apparently. Other matters discussed primarily concern new telecommunications auctions and a change for short-term use of frequencies for events that is of no interest here (Raymie Humbert, Phœnix AZ, Dec 15, WTFDA Forum via DXLD) The stick's going up for XHPACP-FM... https://www.facebook.com/atnnoticias.atnnoticias/posts/1544037089014237 (Raymie, Dec 16, ibid.) It's been exceptionally difficult to find information on new migrants when they're not XHCH or in Puebla. Grupo ACIR did confirm https://twitter.com/ManoloLarrieta/status/930862970195841025 last month that XEMIA and XEOK were among the 41 second-wave migrants — it appears theirs will sign on in the first quarter of 2018 — but frequencies and callsigns were missing. (I also suspect the talk/news formats on these stations will be jettisoned, particularly in Monterrey where ACIR has not been on the FM band in some time.) ——— What we do have info on is yet more new social stations. In one case, it's a permit discontinuity, and the other is an ex-pirate. According to ORC, Radio Erandi, A.C. (Tangancícuaro, Mich.) and Comunicadores de Tancítaro, A.C. (Tancítaro, Mich.) were given the green light on December 12. The latter is the first radio service in the municipality, which has 29,000 inhabitants. "Radio Cultural Tancítaro" is an ex-pirate, formerly on 107.1, that was forced off the air on June 15, 2016 — not because of a raid, but because lightning struck their antenna. They appear to be moving to 105.1. https://www.facebook.com/Radio-cultural-Tanc%C3%ADtaro-648678395232191/ The former is a permit discontinuity for XHFC-FM, whose previous permitholder was Frente Cívico Tangancícuaro, Pueblo Unido, A.C. XHFC dropped from the permit books this year, and while no supporting documents tell us why, my guess is a late or failed renewal of its permit in 2012. It almost certainly will not be getting that four- letter callsign back. There is one final ordinary meeting slated for December 20, which is also the final day of business for the IFT this year. ——— Also available are some documents from older meetings giving us two callsigns and channels/frequencies. Gobierno del Estado de Coahuila in Saltillo - XHPBSA-TDT 17 Por un Cuerámaro Mejor Comunicado in Cuerámaro, Gto. - XHCUE-FM 96.5 (they got their callsign they had been using unofficially as a pirate, new frequency; formerly 103.3) (Raymie, Dec 18, ibid.) Terminated? Well this is a stunner. Four stations now appear in the RPC as having expired permits. These are XHWT-FM in Culiacán; XETIA-FM and XEAD-FM in Guadalajara; and XHIRG-FM in Irapuato. These are the first commercial radio stations to expire in Mexico since XEQC-AM 1390 in Puerto Peñasco saw its concession expire. What happened? (Raymie, Dec 18, ibid.) There are ways to celebrate your birthday, and then there's the announcement that XETLA is actually adding an FM soon. http://imparcialoaxaca.mx/los-municipios/101163/celebran-35-aniversario-de-xetla-la-voz-de-la-mixteca-de-oaxaca/ This is the first news about one of the fairly recent CDI FM assignments. The actual FM callsign is XHPBSD-FM 95.9 Barrio San Diego (Tlaxiaco), Oaxaca. The others are XHGJO-FM 88.3 (for XEGLO in Guelatao de Juárez, Oaxaca), XHSQB-FM 95.1 (for XEQIN in San Quintín, Baja California), and XHSEB-FM 91.7 (for XEVFS in Las Margaritas-San Sebastián, Chiapas). (Raymie, Dec 20, ibid.) [and NON] Time for a north-of-the-border interlude to talk a bit about something related that the FCC announced it would take up this week. KQMX and KRPH are rimshot grupera stations in the Bakersfield and Phoenix markets, licensed to Lost Hills and Morristown, respectively. (KRPH is a rimshot enough that it cannot be heard reliably where I am — I get more KIIM on that frequency than anything else.) They are owned by a licensee called Deportes y Música Comunicaciones. Deportes y Música is currently majority owned by Roberto Medina, a citizen of the United States. However, the two Mexican principals — Juan Carlos Rodríguez and Francisco Javier González Chávez — want to be 100% owners. Because they are Mexican citizens, an MB docket (17- 360) has been opened up. As the licensee name might hint, both of these principals have backgrounds in sports broadcasting. Juan Carlos Rodríguez is the president of Univisión Deportes https://corporate.univision.com/corporate/leadership/juan-carlos-rodriguez/ and came to UCI from Televisa Deportes. Televisa Deportes had acquired Grupo Estadio, a company he co-founded. Televisa Deportes also shows up in the case of González Chávez, who is the Editorial Director of Televisa Deportes. His bio in Líderes Mexicanos https://lideresmexicanos.com/300/francisco-javier-gonzalez-chavez/ tracks his career from Imevisión to Grupo ACIR, through to Estadio W radio, where he became the Vice President of Content in 2005. Four years later, he became the vice president of Televisa Deportes Network and was promoted two years ago. The 100% ownership stake proposed is something of a pilot — we may see other companies minority owned by foreign interests, such as the GRC stations in Los Angeles and El Paso, or KCKO Nogales, pursue this in the future. However, the principals' relationship to Univision and Televisa could very well raise some eyebrows (Raymie, Dec 21, ibid.) With a casting call for announcers, XHPTLA-FM 104.7 "Mezkla FM" San Andrés Tuxtla Ver. has made its presence known. https://www.facebook.com/mezklafm/ XHPTLA was on program test sporadically until December 13, when they went off air until their official inauguration. This is the third commercial radio station to operate in the Tuxtlas. It will compete with XHSAV and XHDQ (Raymie, Dec 21, ibid.) ** MYANMAR. 5985, Myanmar Radio, 1530-1559, Dec 15, Friday. In English with the news (Myanmar's President meeting with Japanese Prime Minister, in Japan, etc.) and the weather. It was back in Dec 2014, at 1540, that I first heard Myanmar broadcasting NHK's production of "Friends Around the World." Have enjoyed many such programs over the years. Therefore was surprised this Friday, at 1540, to hear instead the "Friday evening music program" with music from different cultures (songs from Argentina) till 1553; then "Panoramic Myanmar" about an ancient city; at 1559 covered by strong CRI sign on. Was this just an anomaly or a permanent schedule change? Need to check again next week. 5985, Myanmar Radio, 1242-1250, Dec 13, Wednesday. Another English language lesson "Say It In English"; Tom's Aunt Jennifer had a water leak in her flat (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 5960, Saturday Dec 16 at 2348, Voice of TURKEY signs off English, starts playing IS. Tonight I am monitoring continuously to see what happen when The Mighty KBC start its weekly broadcast at 0000 UT Sunday via GERMANY. VOT keeps going with IS but no IDs; 2356 a slight glitch in the music, maybe feed input switch, and then repeated more often than once a minute over music, ``Die Stimme der Türkei``, so as I have been warning, the sloppyrators at Emirler are overrunning 5960 tonight with German, instead of turning it off after English. Nauen carrier from *2359 comes on atop, producing fast SAH with off-frequency Turkey. UT Sunday Dec 17 at 0000 timesignal presumably from VOT, as KBC starts modulating. They add up to S9+5, and there is more QRM from the SAH than from Germodulation, but it`s quite annoying if you are trying to listen to KBC, and still going past 0020 when I QRT. TRT may not quit until German be over circa 0050, but surely will be off for the second hour of KBC with Uncle Eric. KBC could have avoided this collision by not risking a TRT frequency when it is supposed to be off. BTW, there is also ACI from Cuban pulse jammer on 5955 against nothing since Radio República disappeared years ago from 5954.2v. See DXLD 10- 50 for the last reports of it in 2010y! (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. 9400, KBC (Kostinbrod) *1500+ 18 Nov. Poor but readable with The Giant Jukebox. Much better *1500 25 Nov. listening much closer to the beach with TGJ [2 AC-DC songs, Lee Michaels, etc.] & usual fading past 1515 (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) TGJ --- not to be confused with long-gone 880, Radio Nuevo Mundo, Guatemala (gh) ** NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR. 2598-USB, Dec 18 at 0119, VP S8 vs S6 band noise level, YL with marine weather in English. CG sked http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/Marine-Communications/RAMN-2017/Part2 shows starting at 0107 is VOK Labrador, apparently controlled from Goose Bay but transmitted from St. Anthony, Newfoundland. Nothing heard on 2749-USB at this time from Nova Scotia area (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. 7430, Dec 17 at 1355, RNZI is still here with Maori(?) music, good S9. Nothing on 7390. On Dec 15, Ivo Ivanov reported: ``Upcoming frequency change of Radio New Zealand Pacific, Dec 16 1259-1650 7390 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Pac English AM mode Dly, ex 7430 1651-1758 7390 RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Pac English AM mode Sat, ex 7430 or alternative frequency of Radio New Zealand Pacific effective Dec 16 1259-1650 7320*RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Pac English AM mode Dly, ex 7430 1651-1758 7320*RAN 050 kW / 035 deg Pac English AM mode Sat, ex 7430 *strong 7320 ERV 300 kW / 280 deg WAs Kurdish BRB Denge Kurdistan!`` Before 1400 Dec 17, 7390 is clear as is 7395, while there is a JBA carrier on 7385. At 1403 now 7395 has some S6 in Japanese, which is CRI via Xi`an. Latest HFCC of Dec 15 shows: 7390 1300 1700 61S,62,63W RAN 50 35 0 148 1234567 161217 250318 D 7390 1300 1700 51,56,64S,65S RAN 50 325 0 148 1234567 161217 250318 D but it`s now a day later and still on 7430 which is also registered for the rest of B-17. As of 1643 UT Dec 17, RNZI`s own website sked shows 7430, nothing about 7390 or 7320 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Frequency change of Radio New Zealand Pacific in 41mb from Dec 18 1059-1258 on 11610 100 kW / 325 deg to NWPac/PNG Dly, very strong 1259-1650 NF 7390 050 kW / 035 deg to All Pacific Dly, weak, ex 7430 1651-1758 on 7430 050 kW / 035 deg to All Pacific Sat, is unchanged Videos will be added later today -- 73! (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via DXLD) 7390, Dec 18 at 1304, RNZI on another new frequency, as predicted a few days ago, news about Nauru refugees, 1308 into `Dateline Pacific`. It`s S9 to S9+10, and no QRM, co-, or adjacent-. So improved over ex- 7430 which lasted a few days after Radio Martí and Cuban jamming moved in on ex-ex-7355; but was still adjacent to another Cuban radio war on 7435. Own sked now shows in part: ``1259-1650 7390 Pacific Daily from 18 Dec 1651-1750 7285(DRM)Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga Sun-Fri 1651-1758 7430 Pacific Sat from 9 Dec`` So they are keeping 7430 for the Saturday-only extension (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1259-1650 NF 7390* 050 kW / 035 deg to All Pacific weak/fair,x 7430 1651-1758 on 7430 050 kW / 035 deg to All Pacific Sat, is unchanged * QRM 7385 PBS Xizang in Tibetan/English and 7395 CRI in Japanese/English/Hindi! http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/frequency-change-of-radio-new-zealand_18.html (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) [and non]. 7390, Dec 19 at 1348, RNZI is OK on second day of new frequency, but there is a huge S9+20/30 open carrier on adjacent 7385. As long as it`s not modulating, NZ is unmarred even with LSB tuning. 7385 is obviously WHRI, which FCC has registered here until 1400. WHR own site shows Angel 6 at 1300-1600 is OFF 7385 weekdays for maintenance, but ON with programming, Saturdays and Sundays. Ivo in Bulgaria from his vantage point says there is also ACI to NZ from China on both sides; so yet another QSY may be called for (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RNZI changes of Dec 1st, 9th and 18th: Here's the whole sked in case there have been some other adjustments UT kHz Target Days 0000-0458 15720 Pacific Daily 0459-0758 13730 Pacific Daily from 1 December 2017 0759-1058 9765 Pacific Daily 1059-1258 11610 Solomon Isl, PNG Daily 1259-1650 7390 Pacific, PNG Daily from 18 December 2017 1651-1750 7285 DRM Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga Sun-Fri 1651-1758 7430 Pacific Sat, from 9 December 2017 1751-1850 9780 DRM Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga Sun-Fri 1759-1958 11725 Pacific Sat 1851-1950 11690 DRM Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga Sun-Fri 1951-2050 13840 DRM Pacific Sun-Fri 1959-2058 13840 Pacific Sat 2051-2400 15720 Pacific Daily. (Dec 18) 11610.008 kHz - jetzt um 1145 UT mit S=9 oder -69dBm Signal hier. Newscast phone-in von Samoa, und NZ companies ... 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. 15120, Voice Of Nigeria DRM Broadcast, Abuja, 1908 11-Dec, various OM & YLs, English LL [language lessons? Or just language?] & several IDs for The Voice of Nigeria, Abuja. I heard a YL financial report. At first the signal was spotty, there then gone. Luckily, I got a solid signal for about 10 minutes, then nothing. Hardware: SDRPlay RSP2 & PA0RDT antenna. Software: SDRUno & DRM Dream. Heard in real time (Gary Vance, Grand Ledge MI, MARE Tipsheet 15 Dec via DXLD) [and non]. 7255v CHINA/NIGERIA, both co-channel programs, CRI Russian from powerhouse Shijiazhuang site, S=9+10dB more than fair signal sidelobe in central Europe, but also 7254.922, Voice on Nigeria, Abuja in English, female and male at 1822 UT here in Germany, Belgium, and England remote SDR. Same time also DRM mode outlet heard in MI-US SDR on east coast [sic] N America, 15120-drm, Voice of Nigeria DRM block of S=9+15dB at 1827 UT on Dec 17. 10 kHz wideband digital data block visible on screen [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, aAfternoon log on Dec 17 at 18-19 UT slot, heard here in Germany, Belgium, and England remote SDR installations, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA [non]. 11530, Dec 17 at 0708, Radio Herwa International via WRMI, S9-S7 in Hausa? talk, with slight echo, music. This time it`s *much* stronger than the nearby WRMIBS on 11580, JBA only S1-S3, why? The echo via long path?? No, I think the delay is not long enough for that; so backscatter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FRANCE, Radio Herwa International via TDF Issoudun on Dec 18 0700-0729 on 13710 ISS 100 kW / 170 deg to WeAf Hausa/Kanuri, good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/good-signal-of-radio-herwa.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 18, dxldyg via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6924.97, PIRATE (NA), Partial India Radio. Holiday program 1938-2026+ with ”The Indian 12 Days of Christmas”, canned IDs by Mrs. Krishna. E-mail QSL request announcement as haroldkrishnaPIR@gmail.com. Played The Beatles “Christmastime is Here Again” song/comedy recording. Also had sitar versions of Christmas songs. Fair signal and a bit fady, 18 Dec. e-QSL received in quick time from Partial India R. for today`s reception. Total time, 3 hours 41 minutes 18 Dec. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA USA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S and 150 foot Delta loop, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6940-USB, Dec 13 at 0023 tune-in, immediate ID by synthyl for Clever Name Radio, heavy beat music S8. 6940-USB, Dec 14 at 2216, hard rock pirate, 2220 synthyl ID about four times, ``Welcome to Clever Name Radio``. 6940-USB, Dec 16 at 2240 S9-S5 rock music from pirate; 2241 ``thanks to the listeners in C-K`` repeated a few times by that synthyl voice we have been hearing from Clever Name Radio. These logs agree that`s it, altho the first one`s times are one hour ahead: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,39286.0.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6960-USB, Dec 16 at 0041, hard rock. Several logs of it as unID: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,39273.0.html including SSTV images such as ``Nobody tells the truth``, and Chris Smolinski assumes it`s Pee Wee (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6930-USB, Dec 16 at 2341, algo with hard rock, S8 vs band noise level of S6. (6940 CNR is off by now.) More unID logs of it: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,39290.0.html There was also a 6930-LSB a few minutes earlier: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,39289.0.html 6930-USB is off by 0008 Dec 17 check, leaving no pirate activity (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. 6929.99-USB, Dec 18 at 0120, S9 pirate but deep fades, folk song, same guitar chords over and over, but different libretto, sounds sorta like Dylan, including ``What Goes Up ---``. 0124 DJ says he has tears in his eyes over this music; building a studio, improving audio, beamed to western United States; maybe ID in passing during fade sounds like perhaps ``Yaddy-Man``, ``Merry Christmas to you all``. More music, 0127, ``You`re tuned to the Bloody(?) Man``; Or is it Boogy-Man? Says he is old, mad as hell, talks over music, swears against the FCC, ``what the -uc- are they going to do to me?`` 0134 ``music that makes you cry``; swears against classic rock stations, FCC net neutrality ruling, and one more ID in which the second word is definitely ``Man``. More logs of same here: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,39320.0.html who say the first singer was Tom Petty, but no one says anything about the ``--- Man`` ID (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. YHWH MIA? I've asked this before, but once again, I don't recall YHWH being heard for quite some time. Anyone hearing and not reporting? Anyone with news about this unusual pirate? Thanks, (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Dec 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Walt, Dec 12 & 13 (UT), checking at night (0100+ UT), didn't find YHWH anywhere in 40m band. I sat on several carriers to see if I could detect his unique voice at any time, but nothing (Ron Howard, California, ibid.) Walt - last I copied him and saw him logged was mid Oct (Rich near Chicago Ray, ibid.) Rich, I agree. I don't think I've heard him in B17 so far (Walt, Dec 14, ibid.) Perhaps he got the proverbial "knock". Again... (Rich Ray, ibid.) Walt, Searching the web today for "Yahweh Martin K. Elliott" doesn't bring up anything new regarding FCC. This is the old info: http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-331583A1.html (Ron Howard, Dec 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Checked a number of frequencies tonight (Dec 15 UT) - YHWH not found anywhere!! (Ron Howard, ibid.) ** NORWAY. NATIONAL NORWAY RADIO STATIONS SWITCH OFF FM Radio Today 14 December 2017 https://radiotoday.co.uk/2017/12/national-norway-radio-stations-switch-off-fm/ National radio stations went fully digital in Norway on Wednesday 13th December, at 11:11..11 am, after a year-long transition. The last regions to get the FM stations were Troms, Finnmark and Svalbard. Now there’s only local stations left using the FM band, which will continue for some time. Ole Jørgen Torvmark, CEO of Digital Radio Norway (DRN) says listeners are leaving it till the last minute to buy new radio sets, with most buying just after the FM switch-off. Norway currently has 31 national radio channels on DAB, compared to the 5 national channels previous on FM. The new National channels, transmitting only on DAB, have gained more listeners in 2017. New channels now account for about one-third of the total listening. Every day, 1.4 million Norwegians listen to channels that had not existed without the digital radio shift. Total listening is expected to increase gradually in 2018 when the last listeners do the conversion. Ford Ennals, CEO, Digital Radio UK, had this to say: “We congratulate the Norwegian broadcasters and Digital Radio Norway on completing the transition to digital radio and becoming the first country in the world to switch-off FM transmissions for major stations. Digital radio continues to make great progress in the UK and, with digital listening now at 48.8%, we are looking forward to the majority of all radio listening being via a digital platform in the new year. There are many lessons that we can learn from the Norway experience, particularly in relation to making sure there are the right products and resources to help listeners upgrade to digital radio in their car.” Posted by: (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) NORWAY FM RADIO FANS AIR PIRATE BROADCASTS: Views and News from Norway-9 hours ago http://www.newsinenglish.no/2017/12/14/fm-radio-fans-air-pirate-broadcasts/ Norway officially switched over to DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) on a nationwide basis this week, but that doesn't mean FM radios are only full of static around the country. Nearly 200 local FM radio stations are allowed to keep broadcasting through 2022, while DAB dislikers and FM defenders are starting up pirate ... Norway officially switched over to DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) on a nationwide basis this week, but that doesn’t mean FM radios are only full of static around the country. Nearly 200 local FM radio stations are allowed to keep broadcasting through 2022, while DAB dislikers and FM defenders are starting up pirate broadcasts as well. AM/FM radios like this one haven’t become entirely obsolete after all, with various FM stations still heard in Oslo and around the country. PHOTO: newsinenglish.no The chief of national state-controlled broadcaster NRK shut down its last FM radio transmitter for Norway’s northernmost counties of Troms and Finnmark and for Svalbard on Wednesday, forcing all those keen on listening to NRK and other national commercial broadcasters to switch to DAB. Both commercial national broadcasters P4 and Radio Norge had to turn off their FM transmitters last weekend. NRK officials claimed all those who felt compelled to invest in new DAB radios now have more stations to choose from overall, with access to what they called “the world’s best radio offering around the country.” Not everyone agrees. Those clinging to their FM radios still have various locally broadcast commercial and special-interest stations from which to choose, at least for a few more years, and more may start up. Many Norwegians remain angry over the DAB switchover, with newspaper Aftenposten reporting pirate broadcasts now starting up in the heart of Oslo. “This is my protest against the DAB madness,” one activist told Aftenposten. DAB protest groups have formed on social media. One station was streaming foreign online radio broadcasts over an FM frequency using illegal transmitters, at least two of which are placed somewhere in Oslo. Officials at Norway’s national communications authority (Nkom) aren’t pleased and have already tracked down some transmitters and shut them down. “All use of an FM frequency requires permission,” John-Eivind Velure of Nkom told Aftenposten. Various stations could still be heard on the FM dial in Oslo Thursday morning, some of them legal, some of them not. Pirates’ so-called “unregistered use of radio frequencies” have also been picked up in Bergen, Tønsberg, Ålesund, Fredrikstad and Førde. newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) SOME FMS IN NORWAY DEFY SHUTDOWN ORDERS OSLO — Norway’s Metro Group is continuing to broadcast on FM in Oslo, despite the order to shut down last Friday. Radio Metro, The Beat and Radio Rox remain on-air, according to http://www.radionytt.no/r17263.php http://www.radiomagonline.com/around-the-world/0020/some-fms-in-norway-defy-shutdown-orders/39445 Posted by: (Gareth Foster, Dec 15, BDXC-UK yg via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Altho MWDXers overseas, especially Scandinavia in Arctic Radio Club, and Britain in MW Circle, amazingly log scads of USA stations, even graveyarders, hardly ever is anything reported from Oklahoma. I have taken to searching entire issues of MW News, and mv- eko on ``OK`` without getting a single significant hit. Least of all our X-banders one would expect to get out, 1640 KZLS (not to mention 1650 KFSW which is really in OK, not AR) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 6100, Dec 17 at 1421, suspicious low-audible- het with weak audio mixture. Without making a match, strongly suspect it`s WWCR 7490 minus local KCRC 1390v; vs real 6100 stations KCBS P`yongyang and/or CRI English via Urumqi (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. LINDA CAVANAUGH SAYS GOODBYE TO KFOR FAMILY AND YOURS Posted 10:00 pm, December 15, 2017, by Katrina Butcher, Updated at 10:51PM, December 15, 2017 [with audio-video, of course] http://kfor.com/2017/12/15/linda-cavanaugh-says-goodbye-to-kfor-family-and-yours/ OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma legend is leaving the anchor desk. After 40 years, Linda Cavanaugh is leaving Channel 4. Linda began her career as a reporter/photographer and in a short time, became the first female co-anchor of the evening newscasts at Oklahoma’s News Channel 4. She has earned more than 30 national awards for her reporting as well as twice that many state and regional awards in addition to 15 Emmys from the Heartland Chapter of NATAS. An Oklahoma native, she has worked throughout her career to better her community and the state she calls home. Through her efforts, the first hospice in Oklahoma was born. Her documentary, “A Time to Die,” raised the seed money that was used to start Hospice of Oklahoma County, a non-profit organization that brought home care to the terminally ill. Her investigative reports on conditions inside Oklahoma restaurants resulted in changes in the law. “Behind Kitchen Doors” moved lawmakers to open the inspection records of the health department so that consumers, for the first time, could be aware of violations. In the early 90s, she became the first journalist allowed to photograph ancient Indian rituals that had been closed to all except tribal members. Her resulting 12-part series, “Strangers In Their Own Land” brought a sense of understanding and pride to Oklahoma’s 37 Indian tribes. So, what's next for Linda? "If I'm lucky, I've inherited by dad's DNA gene for longevity. If that's the case, I have another couple of decades to contribute to our state. I intend to take a few months to reboot and then I'll make decisions about my future. I never thought I'd find myself anchoring news for 40 years. So, I'm sure I'll be equally surprised and challenged by whatever comes next. What I do know, is that I'm as excited about the future as I am grateful for the past." More videos: A look back at Linda Cavanaugh’s 40 years at 4 KFOR dedicates studio to longtime anchor Linda Cavanaugh Oklahoma broadcasting icon celebrates 40th anniversary Members of KFOR family honored at media awards show Broadcast icon Linda Cavanaugh makes big announcement after celebrating 40 years at KFOR “What an opportunity to learn from her,” Friends say goodbye to Linda Cavanaugh WKY pioneer, Ernie Schultz, dies at 87 Saying goodbye: Linda Cavanaugh leaves KFOR after 40 years (via gh, DXLD) ** OMAN. 15140, Radio Sultanate Oman, 1459, 12/16/17, in English. ID, end of transmission announcements including announcement that they will be suspending transmissions until 1/7/18, then will resume on another frequency, noted as “the nation station,” change to Arabic with ID at 1500. Good (Mark Taylor, Mini DXpedition with Bill Dvorak and Carlie Forsyth, 12/16/17, 1330–1530 UT. Lake Farm County Park near Madison, WI (About 34 degrees F. / 1 deg. C. with nice sun once dawn broke.) Thanks to Carlie and Bill for the help with finding and ID’ing stations. NASWA Flashsheet via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) 15140, Dec 19 at 1416, pop music at S3-S7, poor but better than usual from RSO English hour; never in really well enough for entertainment (and who needs western pop from there?) Mark Taylor, WI in NASWA Flashsheet heard them announcing at end of English hour, 1459 Dec 16, that they ``will be suspending transmissions until 1/7/18, then will resume on another frequency``. I wonder if the QSY refer to FM 90.4 source rather than SW? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. R. Turbomix moved from 1540.5 to 710 kHz. NOV 23 0100 - Strong dominant signal. Chicha music, ads, and announcement about the big change coming. "Soon" Turbomix will be moving from 1540 to 710 kHz. Update - Not heard NOV 30-DEC 2; appears to have made the move to the new frequency. [Don Moore, MW Logs Made in Peru, http://www.donmooredxer.com/lam/sam2017/peru/peruDXMW.html via NRC IDXD Dec 15 via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) Should have made it to North America tnx to its off-frequency, but hardly ever reported; certainly heard in Europe, but gone now (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) 1540.5 kHz, R Turbomix Peru has moved. Hello. This item from the Arctic Radio Club: 710, OCU2X, R Turbomix, Cajamarca (CJ63) – ex 1540 kHz. May have moved to this new frequency. According to Don Moore it has announced this move during his stay in Peru. Not logged on the usual 1540.5 kHz the last weeks neither in Peru nor here in Europe. --- Don Moore in http://www.donmooredxer.com/lam/sam2017/ peru/peruDXMW.html Best wishes (Barry :-) Carlisle UK, Davies, Dec 18, MWCircle yg via DXLD) Most of their website refers to 1540 AM but this screen capture from their scrolling banner suggests they have moved. https://s8.postimg.org/hjomckbmd/turbomix.jpg (Paul Crankshaw, mwcircle yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 4764.10, Perú, Radio Huanta 2000, 2340 OM talk into music, recheck at 0035, decent signal with music OM chat, under CODAR 16/17 December (Wilkner) 4810, Perú, Radio Logos, Chazuta, Tarapoto, 2350 over CODAR, chorale music 2359, Hymns 0000, chorale 0017 and music 0051 16/17 December (Robert Wilkner, -746Pro - Drake R8, NRD 525, 60 meter dipole and noise reducing antenna, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** PERU. 5980. R. CHASKI. Diciembre 16. 2301-2333 UT. Espacio de himnos protestante instrumentales i.e.: “Loores [praises] dad a Cristo el Rey”, entre otros y cantos. Luego avisos de la emisora como: “Red Radio Integridad” y después prosigue el espacio musical. Desde las 2330 se emite: “Jungla semántica”. Salida del aire a las 2333. SINPO: 55444, desde las 2314 se oye con sobre modulación (Claudio Galaz; RX: TECSUN PL-660; ANT: Hilo de 50 metros; QTH: Barraza Bajo, IV Región, Chile, condiglista yg via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 9883 & 9717 approx., Dec 14 at 1434, big dirty spurblobs in Korean, as the VOA Tinang transmitter on 9800 is radiating these awful spurs again, but sounds OK on S9+10 fundamental. The spurs have easily matchable audio in AM mode, but not with BFO on, where one cannot pinpoint exact frequencies for them, plus and minus ~83 kHz. Scheduled at 1300-1500, 250 kW, one of the numerous 21 degree antennas from Tinang, which means it carries right on across North America (Pusan-Barrow-Sioux Lookout-Ohio-South Carolina) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Some other days it`s clean (gh) 9800, Voice of America at 1500, heard under unidentified station. I was looking for Nippon no kaze, but I didn`t catch a clear ID, and they appeared to be on even before the "hourtop". VoA ran the Yankee Doodle IS a cupla times, then off. Very strong over co-channel, Dec. 14 (Rick Barton, report from Arizona, or, more pieces to the short wave puzzle. 73 from the Sonoran Desert, and Good Listening.....! -rb, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND [non!]. A new QSL card was received from the Russian service of the Polish Radio in response to the report of November 14, 2017. A card from Warsaw was sent on November 30. On the card is a photograph of the old city of Warsaw. QSL here http://freerutube.info/2017/12/14/qsl-polskie-radio-polsha-noyabr-2017-goda/ (Dmitry Elagin, Saratov, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", QSL World via RusDX 18 Dec via DXLD) site Lithuania, 1386 kHz it`s marked (gh) ** POLAND [and non]. POLISH TOP JOURNALISTS OPPOSE FINE ON US-OWNED BROADCASTER http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/APFN_EU_POLAND_MEDIA_FREEDOM?SITE=RIPRJ&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-12-13-07-29-18 WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- The jury of Poland's main journalism award has condemned the imposition by a state regulator of a fine on a private American-owned television station for its coverage of 2016 anti- government protests. The jurors of the Grand Press award also called on the regulator, the KRRiT, to cancel the nearly 1.5 million zlotys ($420,000) fine it imposed Monday on the TVN24 all-news station, that is owned by the U.S. Scripps Networks Interactive. They said late Tuesday that the fine could be interpreted as an "attempt at intimidating the broadcaster whose message does not suit the ruling team." The U.S. State Department has also expressed concern. The regulator alleged that TVN 24 promoted unsafe behavior in its reports from last year's streets protests. The station said it would appeal the penalty (via Mike Cooper, Dec 13, DXLD) ** PUERTO RICO. SILENT STATIONS --- Formerly silent stations informing the FCC that they are back on the air: 760 WORA PR Mayagüez – Silent Sept. 20; on the air Nov. 1 using a generator (FCC info, AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 16, via DXLD) FCC HURRICANE MARIA UPDATE ISSUED DECEMBER 14, 2017 Per the FCC, as of 1100 EST on December 13 – On Puerto Rico: 42 AM stations are confirmed operational (WPAB-550, WKAQ-580, WYEL- 600, WEXS-610, WUNO-630, WAPA-680, WA2XPA-680, WKJB-710, WIAC-740, WI2XAC-740, WORA-760, WXEW-840, WABA-850, WPRP-910, WIPR-940, WPRA- 990, WOQI-1020, WCBG-1060, WLEY-1080, WSOL-1090, WVJP-1110, WMSW-1120, WOIZ-1130, WLEO-1170, WBMJ-1190, WGDL-1200, WALO-1240, WISO-1260, WI2XSO-1260, WI3XSO-1260, WCMN-1280, WTIL-1300, WSKN-1320, WENA-1330, WCPR-1450, WKUM-1470, WMDD-1480, WDEP-1490, WMNT-1500, WUPR-1530, WKFE-1550, WPPC-1570) 8 AM stations are suspected to be out of service (but the stations listed are all on FM). 21 AM stations are confirmed out of service by the Puerto Rican Broadcast Association (WKVM-810, WQBS-870, WFAB-890, WDNO-960, WOSO- 1030, WBQN-1160, WHOY-1210, WNIK-1230, WJIT-1250, WEGA-1350, WIVV- 1370, WOLA-1380, WISA-1390, WIDA-1400, WUKQ-1420, WNEL-1430, WLRP- 1460, WRSJ-1520, WIBS-1540, WCMA-1600, WGIT-1660). 2 AM stations have been granted STAs to remain off the air (not named, but WNVI-1040 has been granted). 1 AM station has an unconfirmed status. Not mentioned in the FCC report: WYKO-880, WYAC-930, WNVI-1040, WMIA-1070, WQII-1140, WWNA- 1340, WRSS-1410, WRRE-1460, WBSG-1510, WBYM-1560, WVOZ-1580, WXRF-1590 (via NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 16, via DXLD) See also VIRGIN I ** PUERTO RICO. WGIT 1660 Faro de Santidad was noted on the air this morning 19th December. I also see that it was heard in Scandinavia on 15th December by Fredrik Dourén via a remote Swedish receiver. WGIT has been silent since Hurricane María on 20th September. 73 (Andrew Brade, MWCircle yg via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. Radio Maria România 1485 kHz For those who discussed it so much here (sorry, but: auf Deutsch). [i.e., source of spur on 1363 kHz in DXLD 17-50, Unidentified [non]] -----Original-Nachricht----- Betreff: Radio Maria România 1485 kHz Datum: 2017-12-15T22:23:13+0100 Von: "ab27@arcor.de" Lieber Herr Professor Biener, lieber Herr Ludwig, diesmal melde ich mich mit einer Neuigkeit aus Rumänien: Am 10. Dezember 2015 wurde in der Nähe der rumänischen Stadt Roman, genauer gesagt in Rotunda (Kommune Dolje?ti, Kreis Neam?) eine für das katholische „Radio Maria România“ aufgebaute MW-Sendeanlage in Betrieb genommen. Sendefrequenz ist 1485 kHz, die Reichweite soll bis zu 30 km betragen. Das zum 25. März 2006 gegründete Radio Maria sendete bereits auf mehreren UKW-Frequenzen. Von der Inbetriebnahme der neuen MW-Sendeanlage berichtete auch Radio Vatikan, dessen Beiträge in rumänischer Sprache von Radio Maria übernommen werden: http://ro.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/12/15/ia%C8%99i_radio_maria_poate_fi_ascultat_%C3%AEn_zona_ora%C8%99ului_roman/1194497 Dabei bezieht man sich auf folgende Meldung der römisch-katholischen Diözese Iaschi, die noch einige interessante Informationen enthält: http://www.ercis.ro/actualitate/viata.asp?id=20151259 „În?tiin?am, de asemenea, viitorii ascultatori ca s-ar putea sa apara uneori întreruperi ale emisiei din cauza întreruperii curentului electric în zona respectiva schi de fiecare data este necesara o repornire manuala. Potrivit preotului Doru Popovici, toate aceste neajunsuri vor disparea în momentul în care se va reu?i achizi?ionarea unui generator electric.” „Wir weisen außerdem unsere künftigen Hörer darauf hin, dass manchmal Unterbrechungen des Sendebetriebs aufgrund von Stromausfällen in der betreffenden Gegend auftreten können, da in diesen Fällen jedes Mal ein manueller Neustart des Senders erforderlich ist. Laut Pfarrer Doru Popovici werden all diese Unannehmlichkeiten verschwinden, sobald der Kauf eines Elektrogenerators gelingen wird.“ Die 51 Meter hohe Sendeantenne wurde auf einem von Pater Carmil Duma zur Verfügung gestellten Grundstück aus dem Besitz der örtlichen Pfarrei aufgebaut. http://www.ercis.ro/actualitate/viata.asp?id=20160537 Der eben verlinkte Online-Artikel zur „Segnung der Antenne von Radio Maria in Rotunda“ zeigt auch ein Foto der Sendeanlage: [FOTO_1]: http://www.ercis.ro/actualitate/imagini27/20160537rotunda_antena_radio_maria01.jpg Ein Artikel des ITRC (= Institutul Teologic Romano-Catolic „Sfântul Iosif“ din Ia?i) zu diesem Ereignis zeigt die Sendeantenne aus einem anderen Blickwinkel: http://itrc.ro/sfintirea-antenei-radio-maria-de-la-rotunda/ [FOTO_2]: http://itrc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Antena-Rotunda.jpg Mit Hilfe von Google Earth kann der Aufbau der Sendeanlage nachvollzogen werden. Koordinaten = 47.015214, 26.976089 Aufbau der MW-Antenne 1485 kHz in Rotunda (Sendebeginn war am 10. Dezember 2015): Im Juli 2014 war da noch nichts ... [EARTH_1]: http://ab27.bplaced.net/rou/rotunda-20140720.png ... im September 2014 hatte der Aufbau aber bereits begonnen ... [EARTH_2]: http://ab27.bplaced.net/rou/rotunda-20140901.png ... und zu guter Letzt eine Ansicht von August 2016 mit der fertigen Sendeantenne. [EARTH_3]: http://ab27.bplaced.net/rou/rotunda-20160810.png Abschließend ein Überblick über das LW-/MW-Sendernetz in Rumänien: Neben dem LW-Sender 153 kHz (Antena Satelor, 200 kW) sowie den 41 MW- Sendern der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkgesellschaft SRR („Societatea Româna de Radiodifuziune“) mit Leistungen zwischen 10 und 400 kW, gibt es den nun neu aufgebauten MW-Sender von Radio Maria auf 1485 kHz, sowie ein derzeit aus 8 Standorten bestehendes MW-Sendernetz (auf 1485, 1584 und 1602 kHz) des zu „Adventist World Radio“ gehörenden „Radio Vocea Speranzei“ (= Stimme der Hoffnung). http://www.rvs.ro/despre-noi Eine aktuelle PDF-Übersicht der rumänischen LW-/MW-Sender habe ich unter der folgenden Adresse zusammengestellt: [PDF_1]: http://ab27.bplaced.net/ul-um_romania.pdf Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Alexander Busneag Posted by: (Kai Ludwig, Dec 16, dxldyg via DXLD) I hope it wasn't too much :-) Tudor Vedeanu checked, that it really has wandered to 1365 kHz, nothing heard on 1485 kHz. Best regards, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, ibid.) And to add, here's a short news video about the transmitter site https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsyNpJvHPaY 73, (Jari Savolainen, Finland, ibid.) ** ROMANIA. 7325, R Romania International via Galbeni with English item re death of King Michael of Romania, the last sovereign royalty of Romania who ruled from 1940 to 1947, credited with shortening WWII through his actions. His remains will be repatriated & there will be a funeral on the 16th. Then a poll of listeners asking who WE think left a POSITIVE impact on 2017 & they will then do a 'year end' programme with some of the suggestions. 454+4+4, 0105-0115 10/Dec (Ken Zichi, MARE DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR4 + 500’ RW unless noted otherwise, MARE Tipsheet 15 Dec via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. IRRS via ROU --- So IRRS has now completely crossed over to the other side of the Danube again? As well known this article from four years ago, from a PR outlet that passes for a technical/trade journal in the broadcasting industry, included photos from the TIG transmitter hall anyway. http://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/0002/texas-instruments-ships-software-development-kit/327105 (Yes, that's the URL under which I get right now the article in question.) -----Original-Nachricht----- Betreff: IRRS via ROU Datum: 2017-12-15T23:12:54+0100 ----------------------------------------- Dear Ivo Ivanov, I found a little error here: http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.de/2017/10/radio-romania-international-irrs.html 1900-2000 on 7290 SAF 100 kW / 300 deg to WeEu English 1st/2nd/4th Fri 1900-2000 on 7290 SAF 100 kW / 300 deg to WeEu English Sat/Sun 1900-2000 on 7290 SAF 100 kW / 300 deg to WeEu German 3rd Fri Contrary to 9510 kHz transmitted from Saftica (SAF), 7290 kHz between 1900-2000 UT does not come from Saftica (SAF), because there is only one single transmitter, which is already used between 1300-1400 as well as 1500-2100 UT for Radio Romania International's programmes. 7290 kHz comes from ?igane?ti [Tsiganeshti] (TIG), via the third 300 kW transmitter (maybe only with half power of 150 kW?), since RRI only uses two parallel frequencies via TIG. Best regards from Germany, Alexander Busneag Posted by: (Kai Ludwig, Dec 16, dxldyg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Saha Republic -- 10 December. The NYK [sic] Radio Sakha's regional broadcast was logged in Chennai at the distance of 6688 km from 2230 UT in Russian / Yakut languages on 7345 kHz. Thanks to Ron Howard, Dimitry Mezin, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Christian Diemoz, Esa Ronkainen, José Hernandez Madrid, Anatoliy Ashmyanskiy for confirming the logging (Shaikh Jawahar / WRTH Facebook via Rus DX 17 Dec via DXLD) 7345, Radio Sakha, via Yakutsk, 0351, Dec 13. Series of commercial announcements and promos; fair-good; recently doing well; 0400 time pips without their distinctive IS of Jew's harp and in fact recently have noted they have dropped the IS at ToH. Former // 7295 remains off the air. My audio at http://goo.gl/eABtte (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [and non]. A Look At RT's 'Redacted Tonight' --- 7:23 audio December 16, 20177:48 AM ET Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon https://www.npr.org/2017/12/16/571305374/a-look-at-rts-redacted-tonight The satirical program Redacted Tonight mimics the style of The Daily Show but it airs on RT America, produced by a company the Trump administration required last month to register as a foreign agent. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Russian programming is no longer breathless proclamations about tractor production or accolades to the Kremlin. Look at a show called "Redacted Tonight" on RT America, a Russian network broadcast in the U.S. The show is hosted and written by an American comic in black jeans with a hipster beard and long, bobbed hair, Lee Camp. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "REDACTED TONIGHT") LEE CAMP: You guys are looking good. You're looking good. I like it. All right. Welcome to "Redacted Tonight." The Senate and the House have both passed their version of the new tax bill. Now it's in reconciliation, which means they all - they get into a room together. And the senators go, we want to (expletive) the American people this way. And then the representatives go, no we want to (expletive) them this way. SIMON: A lot of profanity. Actually, one profanity over and over is bleeped, if not redacted. But the show is also pointed and packed with information from a certain point of view, delivered with flip irreverence in what they may hope is the style of "The Daily Show," "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee" or "SNL." "Redacted Tonight" doesn't proselytize for Russia. It satirizes America. And Lee Camp can be devastating. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "REDACTED TONIGHT") CAMP: This is the last call on the remainder of the quote, unquote, "American dream," Which has turned into a fever dream where you were already kind of sick to begin with. So you got whacked out on NyQuil. You got snot running down your face. JULIA IOFFE: It's very shrill. I mean, Lee Camp is very shrill. SIMON: Julia Ioffe, who writes critically about Putin's regime in Russia for The Atlantic and other platforms, has seen "Redacted Tonight." IOFFE: And it just - it looks like, you know, the kind of rantings that I would engage in when I was an angry 15 year old. SIMON: The U.S. Justice Department ordered RT America to register as a foreign agent last month. The BBC and Al-Jazeera, which also have American services, aren't required to register. But U.S. intelligence agencies call RT America a Kremlin-financed channel that tries to disguise its ties, and is part of what they call Russia's state-run propaganda machine. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SICK, TIRED AND WASTED") ROOFTOP REVOLUTIONARIES: (Singing) We're all sick, tired and wasted. SIMON: We attended a show recording last week with little more than 20 people in the studio who laughed and cheered when prompted - but sincerely. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "REDACTED TONIGHT") CAMP: Welcome. Welcome. I'm Lee Camp. Now, let's take the news from behind. OK. So in that last segment, I went over how the ruling elite are stealing every last dime from the American people. SIMON: Lee Camp ridiculed Republicans and Democrats and jeered U.S. support for a repressive regime in Honduras. One of the show's reporters, Naomi Karavani, did a story on a Berlin exhibit that shows how the CIA encouraged abstract art during the Cold War. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "REDACTED TONIGHT") NAOMI KARAVANI: The CIA promoted modern art movements such as Abstract Expressionism, including artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko, in contrast with the social realism of Soviet painting. And in Central America, the CIA eliminated any recognizable self-government. They created more of an abstract government. SIMON: We asked Kelly Leonard, executive producer at Chicago's Second City, simply, is "Redacted Tonight" funny? KELLY LEONARD: It is funny, but there's a problem. When you find out that it's financed by Russian television and the Russian government, you start to question what's not there. And you know what's not there? Any talking about hacking the election, any talk about, you know, Putin's misdeeds. And that's a little troubling, especially for someone who's in the satire business. SIMON: Surely, as a man of comedy, just the fact that he can make you laugh is worth a lot, isn't it? LEONARD: Yeah, absolutely. That's the troubling thing about this. There is - you know, I think comedy is a superpower. And a very smart person once said, if it can't be used for evil, it's not a superpower. And in this case, that's kind of what I feel is going on. SIMON: No one from the audience we interviewed said they missed not hearing jokes about Michael Flynn, Russian meddling or Vladimir Putin's repression. Troy Hung told us... TROY HUNG: I liked it - definitely better than talking about General Flynn - something more important that actually impacts people's lives. Now talk about the tax plan, how it's going to affect the American people. And yeah, I thought it was good. SEHA ALTURK: This is my seventh time. So I love it. SIMON: Seha Alturk and Chloe Sedlak say they're fans of "Redacted Tonight." ALTURK: I think it's the best political standup comedy in America. And I think it's better than even Russell Brand. SIMON: So you don't think of this as Russian propaganda? CHLOE SEDLAK: I was looking for that to some degree. And who can say? ALTURK: Let people say whatever they want to say. Don't label anybody. And people decide what they want to decide. SIMON: RT says no topics are off-limits on "Redacted Tonight." Lee Camp and his correspondents have full control. We asked Lee Camp for an interview but couldn't agree to his ground rules. Our exchange was professional and cordial. He said on his show last January 17... (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "REDACTED TONIGHT") CAMP: My script is not written by me. It's written every week by a group of heavily bearded Russian hackers... (LAUGHTER) CAMP: ...Living in caves in Siberia. (LAUGHTER) CAMP: Once they are done with the first draft, they pass it on to Julian Assange and the New Black Panthers, OK? (LAUGHTER) CAMP: They make a few tweaks - just a few. They then email that to a team of naked, angry, Third Wave feminists. SIMON: Julia Ioffe of The Atlantic says, despite such pointed japes, RT produces "Redacted Tonight" to assist its mission. IOFFE: There's a term called useful idiot. SIMON: But that was Lenin. IOFFE: It's apocryphally attributed to Lenin. I'm sure Lee Camp and his co-conspirators on the show have the best intentions. But they're being used for propaganda purposes. You know, it's the kind of a classic page out of the old Cold War playbook where you sponsor the people who kind of agree with your message in other parts of the world, which is, you know, you're against American imperialism. You think both parties are just as bad. You decry American actions abroad and American social injustices domestically. But the thing is the kind of underlying hypocrisy of it - which is they're not doing it for the rights and the lives of the little man or the little person. It's for Putin's power. SIMON: RT says it reaches 630 million people around the world. But that could just mean the number of people who have cable systems that carry the channel. RT segments sometimes get millions of views on YouTube, but studies show that's often sensational disaster clips, not their talk shows or "Redacted Tonight." And right-wing websites, including breitbart.com and Info Wars, have reposted some RT clips that boost Bashar al-Assad and Julian Assange. RT's actual audience in the United States has so far not been large enough to crack the rankings of cable news services, which means fewer than 30,000 people may be watching. That's not far from the average attendance at a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game. (SOUNDBITE OF HYDRUS' "QUPEX") (via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Reception of BSKSA Al-Azm Radio on Dec 19 0925 & 1142 on 11745 JED or RIY tx ??? kW to N/ME Arabic http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-bsksa-al-azm-radio-on-dec19.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 15205, Dec 3, 1736, BSKSA. Still has the awful buzzing signal here. Massive signal too at the remote site at 1736. Youtube video of reception can be found using this link: https://youtu.be/ldlHV6TeyKo (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** SOMALILAND. 7120, R. Hargeisa, 1458-1500+ 6 Dec. Tune-in with OC, anthem & Somali chat; QRhaM, but better than VOBME2. Also *1458 8 Dec. OC, anthem & chat (Dan Sheedy, Moonlight Beach/Encinitas, CA, PL380/6m X-wire, via Robert Wilkner, NASWA yg via DXLD) 7120, Dec 11, 1715, R. Hargeisa. Blasted by CW and FR[ench? speaking?] hams at 1715, but totally clear a half hour later at 1745 with end of Kor`an and talk by M. Disappointed there was no sign of the Eritreans 7140 and 7181.56, nor Ethiopia 7236v. An audio file can be heard by using this link: https://app.box.com/s/2ujktzkdf6ujotn017096137kto5k084 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, on a micro-DXpedition with a Beverage on the ground (BOG) aimed at Europe, 50 degrees, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) SOMALIA, 7119.999, Radio Hargeysa in Somali Arabic sounded, S=8-9 at 0508 UT [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 14, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. 3320, R Sonder Grense with classical music including Edvard Grieg & much other good stuff, in FANTASTICALLY. Whoever maintains their transmitters needs to visit Cairo & show them how to do it! Great modulation & nice clean signal, even the static co- operated to make listening pleasant! Announcements were in Afrikaans. 4+54+4+4+ 0330-0350 10/Dec (Ken Zichi, MARE DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR4 + 500’ RW unless noted otherwise, MARE Tipsheet 15 Dec via DXLD) 7229.982, Channel Africa English service from SenTec Meyerton transmission center, scheduled 05-09 UT, S=8 at 0512 UT in southern Germany. 7285.021, Radio Sonder Grense in Afrikaans language, S=9 at 0517 UT here in southern Germany [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Dec 14, dxldyg via DXLD) 3320, R. Sonder Grense, 0310, Dec 15. Nice signal; assume in Afrikaans; dedications and ads, plus pop songs. Brief audio clip attached (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ron, Great recording of Sonder Grense. Just confirming the language is indeed Afrikaans, but don't ask me what they're saying! (Bill Bingham, RSA, ibid.) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [and non]. SOUTH CAROLINA PREACHER ARRESTED FOLLOWING SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS AMID ONGOING FBI PROBE Authorities on Monday said the founder of a rural Christian compound near Walterboro was arrested on sexual assault charges after several women came forward with allegations. Preacher Ralph Gordon Stair, 84, was arrested by Colleton County sheriff's deputies Monday morning, and S.C. Law Enforcement Division agents were serving a search warrant at the Overcomer Ministry, which is located on a rural property tucked off S.C. Highway 61, said Lt. Tyger Benton. Authorities said Stair is charged with three counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, one count of assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, one count of kidnapping, one count of burglary in the first degree, one count of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor...... https://www.postandcourier.com/news/amid-state-and-federal-probe-walterboro-preacher-arrested-following-sexual/article_8545f2d6-e402-11e7-8550-3ba89e550f5c.html Posted by: ("Jay Novello", NC, Dec 18, 2017, dxldyg via DXLD) Seems familiar, old news? No, ``Dec 18, 2017 Updated 1 hr ago``. Add the rest of story to 3 grafs above: (gh) Following his arrest, Stair waived his right to appear before a magistrate for a bond hearing Monday afternoon. Ralph Gordon Stair [portrait; er, mugshot] Ralph Gordon Stair. Colleton County Sheriff's Office/Provided The Post and Courier confirmed that Stair has been the subject of a wide-ranging state and federal criminal investigation — including the involvement of the FBI in the probe — since October. Benton said that the Department of Homeland Security, SLED and the Sheriff's Office were on scene during an early-morning raid of the premises. For more than three decades, people from across the country have flocked to Stair's secluded Christian commune near Walterboro to worship and live off the land. Drawn by Stair’s preachings broadcast to radio stations around the world, members of Overcomer Ministry surrender their possessions and often sever contact with people outside the compound as they await the second coming of Christ. Natosha Lehr, a 16-year-old who said Stair sexually assaulted her numerous times over the course of five months this year, rejoiced at the news of his arrest. Lehr said Stair groped and molested her during her frequent visits to the farm, where she worked and attended worship services with her parents. She detailed the alleged sexual assaults in a video posted to YouTube this fall. "Everybody's happy now," said Lehr, who now lives with relatives in Pennsylvania. "I hope the whole compound actually shuts down." Stair in 2002 was arrested on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. In that case, two young women at Overcomer Ministry reported he raped them on numerous occasions, which he denied. He eventually pleaded guilty to two lesser counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. He was sentenced to time served. This story will be updated (via Jay Novello, Dec 18, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) End Times for Bro. Stair? ;-) (Richard Langley, NB, dxldyg via DXLD) Right now they're broadcasting a gathering with someone else. Could be worth to keep an ear on the broadcast of course (Kai Ludwig, 2040 UT December 18, ibid.) NOW, will any/every US SW station he infests have the courage/excuse to be rid of him once and for all? (Glenn Hauser, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) Unfortunately, I doubt it, Glenn. It's all about the dollar, I'm afraid (Walt Salmaniw, BC, ibid.) Has anybody done a breakdown charting what stations Stair is airing on and how many hours each? This could be a pretty drastic blow to our USA-based shortwave broadcasters (Stephen Michael Kellat, KC8BFI, ibid.) http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/10/brother-hystairical-overcomer-ministry.html (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, ibid.) Hour by hour schedule as of Oct 31 on WHRI, WWRB, WBCQ, WRMI, WWCR, Bulgaria (gh) Dave Frantz had not too long ago already written to Glenn that game will be over when Stair is gone. Right now still someone else, talking and partly screaming in front of the community, is being broadcast... (Kai, 2127 UT Dec 18, ibid.) I worry about the future of Shortwave broadcasting in the US after Brother Stair, especially. Just look at WRMI's schedule. I haven't done the math, but he must make up the majority of transmission hours. How can WRMI, or the other smaller broadcasters keep their heads above water without their support. Personally, I think there'll be a few more going off the air in the next few years (Walt Salmaniw, ibid.) I worry about a number of stations as well, WRMI can keep their head above water if they keep their transmitters off when no other clients are on the air, they have a decent number of other programmers and if they do that, I feel they can keep things running. I don't think WWCR or WHRI will be impacted too bad, they have so many other religious clients that they'll be able to make up the loss, WHRI probably quicker than WWCR since BS had more airtime on that one. WWRB and WBCQ are the ones I worry about the most. WWRB considering the owner's comments regarding his plans to shut down when BS is gone, WBCQ because they're already in some financial trouble as is (especially with the damaged transmitter) and the loss of a major client will deal a large blow. Keeping my fingers crossed for the best. Posted by: galactic172 (John Jurasek, a.k.a. VORW, ibid.) Could indeed be a drastic blow, but good riddance nevertheless. No one would ever confuse BS with a true man of faith; if that's all some broadcasters could survive on, then we need less broadcasters (Bruce Churchill, dxldyg via DXLD) As a Christian I have just one word to say, "FANTASTIC." 73, (Thomas F. Giella W4HM, Lakeland, FL, ibid.) Not a loss. Maybe something better will appear on the airwaves. Now if we can only get rid of Radio Marti. Posted by: (gobuxfla, ibid.) This is not the first time! Ron --- "In 2002, Stair, then aged 69, was arrested in Walterboro [South Carolina] on two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree... In 2004, Stair pleaded guilty to the charge of assault and battery and was sentenced to time served, a total of 77 days in custody. During his incarceration, recorded programs continued to be broadcast." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Stair (via Ron Howard, dxldyg via DXLD) Another version: Update | ARREST OF BROTHER RALPH STAIR CONFIRMED ON MULTIPLE CHARGES | News | by The Press and Standard | December 18, 2017 11:18 am http://walterborolive.com/2017/12/update-arrest-of-brother-ralph-stair-confirmed-on-multiple-charges-news-the-press-and-standard/ Stair during 2004 arrest and trial. [caption] Colleton County Sheriff’s Office personnel arrived at the Overcomer Ministry at 12680 Augusta Highway early Monday morning to take Ralph G. Stair, the leader of the religious compound, into custody on eight criminal charges. Lt. Tyger Benton, public information officer of the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said a large contingent of law enforcement officers arrived at the church compound Monday at approximately 7:30 a.m. to take Stair, 84, into custody. The charges, all filed by the sheriff’s office investigators, include three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and single counts of assault with the intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, second-degree assault, first-degree burglary, and third- degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Stair was transported to the Colleton County Detention Center on the charges and is expected to have a bond hearing Monday afternoon. The sheriff’s office personnel arriving enmass at the compound were joined by agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations. Thom Berry, public information officer for SLED, said the state agents and their federal counterparts were at the Overcomer Ministry armed with a search warrant for the compound. Berry said the search was part of an active and on-going investigation and the investigation work by SLED is continuing. He explained, “We will go where it leads us.” The Colleton County began an investigation of Stair in early October and a few days later, requested SLED’s assistance in that investigation. The local investigation was started after the sheriff’s office learned of two videos that showed up on the You Tube website on Sept. 30. One video focused on a young woman who alleged she was targeted by Stair’s sexual advances while she was at the Augusta Highway compound. The second video, a collection of clips of Stair’s church services, allegedly showed him suggestively touching underage females during church services. Monday’s allegations against Stair based on the video are not the first time he has been accused of inappropriate contact with an underage female. Stair appeared in Colleton County General Sessions Court in November of 2004, approximately two years after being charged with improperly touching two of his young female church members. In that court appearance, Stair, as part of a plea agreement, pled guilty to two reduced charges — assault and battery — and was given two 30-day jail terms with credit for time already spent in custody. comments » 5 Comment by Sydria December 18, 2017 at 1:43 pm This guy is a paedophile of the worst kind. He is using religion and God to assault girls then makes them feel guilty. He needs to be put away for good, because if he gets out he will do the same thing over and over again. He sees nothing wrong with what he is doing, that`s how SICK he is. And how can the people of the so called church sit and watch him do those things??? They all are very sick people. There is no church or man of God in the world that would tolerate such behavior. Comment by Craig E Witt December 18, 2017 at 2:38 pm About time he meets Jesus and rectifies his wrongdoings. Comment by Marie Pignatarp December 18, 2017 at 5:55 pm Book um Dano! Comment by Daniel Jackson December 18, 2017 at 8:52 pm Claiming to be what he is, the last day prophet of God, if he were such then he would know he is expected not only of God but of men to be a devout and holy man, but I learned some years ago that this is not what he is. I have heard him use the scriptures to try and vindicate and excuse him self, but I believe this time he has dug him self deep and I have seen the video evidence and understand that people at his farm have more videos to come (via DXLD) Brother RG Scare finally arrested! ALLEGED COLLETON CO. CULT PREACHER CHARGED WITH 8 COUNTS WAIVES BOND HEARING http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/37089883/alleged-colleton-co-cult-preacher-charged-with-8-counts-waives-bond-hearing So, does this mean he won't be on the air after December 31, as promised? (Jonathan Graham, Dec 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) One can only hope - it is, after all, the Christmas season! (Bruce Churchill, dxldyg via DXLD) One good thing (besides the obvious end to "bad behavior") is that maybe Stair's demise will lead to some frequencies/times opening up for reception of other SW broadcasters (Rich Ray, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non non]. Good signal of Brother HySTAIRical via WHRI Angel 1 & 2 on Dec 18 2200-2300 6040 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg to WeEu English Mon-Fri Angel 1 2300-2400 6040 HRI 250 kW / 047 deg to WeEu English Mon-Fri Angel 2 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.com/2017/12/good-signal-of-brother-hystairical-via.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #1048 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Dec 19, 2017 via DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [and non]. 9455, Dec 19 at 0209, Brother Scare [on WRMI], but a much younger old recording; apparently from the late 80s, referring to the State of Israel starting 40 years ago. More of same, sometimes otherhuxters, on the usual TOM frequencies. Such as 3185 WWRB Dec 19 at 1335. In case you haven`t heard, BS has been arrested and charged again. Local newspapers are covering it. From https://www.postandcourier.com/news/amid-state-and-federal-probe-walterboro-preacher-arrested-following-sexual/article_8545f2d6-e402-11e7-8550-3ba89e550f5c.html Jay Novello found this on Dec 18, [as above] Another version: http://walterborolive.com/2017/12/update-arrest-of-brother-ralph-stair-confirmed-on-multiple-charges-news-the-press-and-standard/ This is hardly surprising, since videos emerged a few weeks ago of Stair openly groping girls during Tabernacle services. Stair had been talking about going off the air at yearend, not due to prosecution, but funding and god`s will. If he does not quit, will US SW stations now have the courage/excuse to be rid of him once and for all? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RALPH STAIR ARREST FOLLOWS MULTIPLE VICTIMS COMING FORWARD WITH SEX ABUSE ACCUSATIONS by ALEX HEATON, ABC News 4 http://abcnews4.com/news/local/solicitor-says-multiple-victims-came-forward-with-accusations-against-stair Ralph G. Stair. (Colleton County Sheriff's Department) [mugshot] COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) - Multiple victims came forward to tell Colleton County deputies that their preacher, Ralph G. Stair, had sexually assaulted them over the past two decades, according to 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone. Stair, 84, was arrested Monday on several sex-crime charges ranging from different degrees of criminal sexual conduct to attempting to commit criminal sexual conduct. He also faces kidnapping and burglary charges. Stair is the voice that led Overcomer Ministry, an expansive church commune in the Candays community near Walterboro. The evangelist started the widely popular radio-based ministry more than two decades ago, and records indicate the sexual assault allegations against him date back that far as well. In 2002, Stair was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct second degree. In 2004, he faced two additional charges of the same type. Those charges were all dismissed. Stone couldn’t comment on why the charges were dismissed because he wasn’t in office at the time, and Stair’s criminal history is part of the ongoing case against the defendant. With Stair’s arrest on Monday came the revelation that allegations of sexual abuse of girls in the commune dated back years before his 2002 arrest. A juvenile victim said Stair had sexually assaulted her in his office in the winter of 1992, according to an affidavit signed on Monday. Another affidavit reveals Stair forced another girl to have sex with him at least 35 times from 1998 to 1999. WCIV spoke with a teen on Monday who said Stair had sexually assaulted her starting just before she turned 16. ”This was in his radio room,” she said. “He calls it his radio room. That is where he was most of the time, and that is where I was molested at.” At least three of the arrest warrants served on Monday also state Stair sexually assaulted other victims inside his radio room. Another victim told deputies that Stair fondled her in front of the congregation during a sermon and told the members he was “the only person who could touch her.” The remaining warrants reveal far more graphic information. WCIV found newspaper articles in archives dating back to the late 1980s when the coroner warned pregnant women to seek medical care. The warning came after an infant died because it was born 20 days after its due date. Property records reveal the church site is sprawling, with dozens of mobile homes and shared bathhouses. A search of the ministry’s 501(c)(3) name (Faith Fellowship Cathedral, Incorporated), however, came back with no information other than its designation as a men’s service organization. As for the teen who spoke with WCIV, she hopes Stair’s arrest will provide some comfort. “I want to see that he goes to jail and he doesn't get out,” she said. “He can serve his time for what he has done to other people and young girls.” Stair was moved from the Colleton County Detention Center on Tuesday to the Charleston County Detention Center due to safety concerns and his age. Stone also encouraged anyone else with information about the case to contact his office, since South Carolina does not have a statute of limitations on these types of crimes. (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) WOMEN AT SOUTH CAROLINA RELIGIOUS COMPOUND SAY PREACHER SEXUALLY ASSAULTED THEM IN THE NAME OF GOD * By Angie Jackson and Michael Majchrowicz * Dec 18, 2017 Updated Dec 19, 2017 https://www.postandcourier.com/news/women-at-south-carolina-religious-compound-say-preacher-sexually-assaulted/article_6aeb443e-da86-11e7-bf7a-2779c1133934.html For more than three decades, people from across the country have flocked to Ralph Gordon Stair's secluded Christian commune near Walterboro to worship and live off the land. Drawn by Stair's preachings broadcast to radio stations around the world, members of Overcomer Ministry surrender their possessions and often sever contact with people outside the compound as they await the second coming of Christ. It's here where multiple women say they were sexually assaulted by Stair, the group's 84-year-old leader who's at the center of a state and federal criminal investigation. Stair was arrested and taken into custody Monday on charges including criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, burglary and assault, according to the Colleton County Sheriff's Office. Four women interviewed by The Post and Courier described incidents ranging from groping to rape they said occurred in Overcomer Ministry's radio room, dining hall and mobile homes on the rural property tucked off S.C. Highway 61. The women said Stair's sexual contact with them began with hugging -- sometimes in private and other times in front of members of the congregation -- and later escalated. The preacher and self-proclaimed "Last Day Prophet of God" reportedly told several women the alleged sexual acts were "God's will." The allegations bear strong similarities to charges leveled against Stair in 2002, when he was arrested on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. In that case, two young women reported that he raped them on numerous occasions, which he denied. "It was a consensual simple act of committing fornication or committing adultery. ... It was not a rape or an assault," he said when questioned about the incidents during a 2006 deposition in a civil case alleging financial misconduct. Stair eventually pleaded guilty to two lesser counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. He was sentenced to time served. Stair continued to proclaim his innocence after that case and even invited a Post and Courier reporter to tour the compound in 2007. In recent months, however, he has resisted multiple attempts by the newspaper to discuss new allegations that have surfaced against him. "I have nothing to say," Stair told a reporter when reached by phone in October. He did not respond to two follow-up voicemail messages, an email and a certified letter seeking comment prior to his arrest. In late November, a man approached by reporters while exiting the compound that's surrounded by "no trespassing" signs said Stair "isn't doing any type of interviews." Colleton County investigators launched their probe in early October after officials were notified of videos published on YouTube. One video showed Stair touching a 12-year-old girl's breast during a worship service and subsequently saying, "I'm gonna touch them things till nobody else can touch them." In the other video, a 16-year-old girl accused Stair of sexually assaulting her over the course of five months this year. Agents from the State Law Enforcement Division, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security later joined in the probe as the list of potential victims grew, authorities said. Authorities on Monday charged Stair with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, one count of kidnapping, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of second-degree assault and battery, and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Stair waived a bond hearing Monday. One of his attorneys, Scott Lee, declined to comment about the case. Affidavits detail allegations of sexual assault dating to 1992, and the documents corroborate the stories of four women who told The Post and Courier that Stair assaulted them. Incident reports name at least 13 individuals who have talked to authorities in the Sheriff's Office investigation. Pamela Brown, who left Overcomer Ministry this summer, said she did so after Stair repeatedly groped her, exposed himself to her and, on one occasion, sexually assaulted her, threatening to evict her from the commune if she didn't comply. Hannah Brown, Pamela's 19-year-old daughter, said she also was repeatedly groped by Stair over the course of three years, beginning in 2014 when she was 15. Natosha Lehr, the 16-year-old who told her story in the video posted to YouTube, said in an interview that Stair groped and fondled her when she attended church services and worked at Overcomer this year. Stacey Belford, 35, was among the young women whose allegations against Stair led to criminal charges in 2002. In 2000, the preacher allegedly forced her to have sex with him multiple times, Belford said. "He told me it was what God wanted," she said. "I just put my hands over my face and just let it happen because I was terrified. ... You don't say nothing against him because nobody's going to believe you." Brother Stair To the followers of his non-denominational ministry, he's known as Brother Stair. Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Stair has said he started preaching at age 16. He pastored several churches in other states, considering himself a "traveling evangelist," before forming Overcomer Ministry in the unincorporated community of Canadys during the early 1980s. His commune sits on 130 acres of land about 2 miles from the din of Interstate 95. Here, livestock roam and residents live in modest mobile homes and hand-built houses secluded from the road by a line of trees. The commune's roughly 70 residents give all their "worldly goods and monies to the Lord," according to the ministry's website. Stair's life at Overcomer revolves around a radio operation he runs on the commune, which broadcasts to AM, FM, satellite and shortwave stations around the world, according to the ministry's website. At any hour of the day, listeners can call a phone number to hear Stair's preachings. Radio broadcast is the ministry's biggest expenditure. At one point, Stair's sermons were being broadcast across 120 stations and attracting letters of support from people in 192 countries, The Post and Courier reported in 2007. That same year, a Colleton County jury awarded more than $731,000 to a group of defectors who sued Stair alleging he'd misled them about how their donations would be used. The defectors said they were told their contributions would help fund Stair's radio program but later discovered he had used some of the money for personal expenses, including attorney fees in the 2002 sex assault case. The S.C. Supreme Court later reversed the trial court decision, stating that "as reprehensible as R.G. Stair's misconduct (financial and otherwise) may be," the plaintiffs could not recover unrestricted gifts donated to a church. The preacher, a lanky man with a white beard and a striking, high- pitched voice, delivers exuberant sermons that stretch on for hours. His weekly Sabbath preachings often meander from religion to current events to outsiders' opinions of his ministry. "They call us a cult. What in the world is a cult? Huh? All we do is live on a community," Stair said during an October service that Overcomer Ministry posted on YouTube. "We're striving to live in unity." A brochure for prospective church members makes it clear: the world outside the walls of Overcomer Ministry may as well not exist. "We go nowhere, no shopping, or trips to see what have you. Your life will be here on the farm until Jesus comes," it reads. During his sermons, Stair occasionally draws attention to specific parishioners, such as Craig Mack, a former rapper with the Bad Boy Records label whose 1994 single "Flava in Ya Ear" earned a Grammy nomination. Mack has associated with the community for years but does not live on the property. In a YouTube video from several years ago, he is seen jumping up and down in the tabernacle after he denounces "wickedness" and rap, telling Stair he now practices "righteousness." More recently, Stair seemed to address the allegations against him in a video of a sermon uploaded to his ministry's YouTube page in October. "You know the last time that I went through this, they accused me back then of molesting ..." he told his followers during a service. "Now they're doing it again. And I've never done that. Never." In another YouTube video published in November, Stair appears to talk about coaching a young girl how she should respond if anyone ask if he hugs her. "She doesn't quite understand," he said to the congregation. "So when I give her a hug, I told her last night, I said, `If they ask you if I hug you, what're you gonna say?' I told her, `No, he hasn't hugged me. I hugged him.'" "Amen," one parishioner replied. Stair then proclaimed God's love for his congregation: "He's the one that does the lovin'." The parishioners raised their arms above their heads, cheering and clapping. On an afternoon in late November, the exterior of the unassuming property was quiet, save for the traffic that barreled past on the other side of a wire fence. At one of two long gravel driveways leading into the commune, two signs read, "Maranatha," the Aramaic expression meaning "the Lord is coming." The worshippers who live and work at Overcomer Ministry call themselves "the saints" and they believe the end of days is near. Photos on Overcomer's website depict a life that's simplistic and bound by Old Testament norms: women perform traditional domestic tasks such as meal preparation and laundry; men work in the woodshop and toil on the farm. A dress code requires modest and simple attire: women wear long dresses or skirts; men wear pants and collared shirts. Those who live on the compound work to maintain the expansive farm. A Post and Courier reporter who visited Overcomer in 2007 saw men laboring in fields as Stair's voice boomed from a speaker mounted to a pole. Defectors who were interviewed for this story said Stair's voice can usually be heard day-long from anywhere on the compound. Residents meet for communal meals in the dining hall, where Stair occasionally preaches and rebukes members whose actions he disapproves. The dining hall is his stage for hurling harsh criticisms at his followers, said a young woman who defected from the commune a few years ago. "You would get yelled at, touched upon, kicked out, emasculated. He would pick on anyone who comes into eye contact," said the woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. "Sometimes kids were afraid of him. He would call them up and call them out. Kids have cried. I've cried too myself." Thea Butler, 37, who grew up at Overcomer Ministry and defected in 2001, said Stair's dining hall rants sometimes veered to humiliation of women who didn't return his sexual advances. "If they didn't let him do those things, he would yell and scream at them in the dining hall, and nobody wanted that to happen," Butler said. `Overcome by fear' Pamela Brown, 44, was drawn to Stair's words when she heard his impassioned shortwave radio sermons. "It was like nothing I'd ever heard before," she said of Stair's sermons. "He preached conviction, so it really got my attention." In July 2010, she and her husband left the Upstate city of Seneca and moved to Overcomer Ministry so their family of four could live in harmony on the self-sustaining farm. At first, they were extremely thankful to be part a part of the saints' world. But several months after their arrival, Brown's husband left the compound, citing theological disagreements with Stair. That's when the preacher took a newfound interest in her, Brown said. For five years beginning in 2012, she said, Stair sexually harassed the mother of two, and would find her on the grounds and offer up suggestive remarks. By 2016, Stair was groping and fondling her against her will. In 2017, she recalled, he groped, fondled and exposed himself to her on multiple occasions. Eventually, Stair issued Brown an ultimatum: have sex with him or be banished from the grounds. Stair would find her on the grounds and offer her unsolicited hugs, allowing his hands to travel down her back and touch her inappropriately, Brown recalled. "He'd grab me real quick and pull me close to his body," she said. "`Are you ready yet?' he'd say. He just kept saying, `I won't hurt you. I'll make you feel good.'" Joshua English-Short, 24, said he observed Stair grope and kiss Brown multiple times, usually out in the open during dining services, when he worked at Overcomer Ministry from 2013 until October. "When people would look," he said, "he'd tell people to stop being carnal." Brown said she didn't realize it at the time, but her daughter Hannah, now 19, also had been the target of the preacher's unwanted advances. Hannah later told her mother that Stair groped her for three years, beginning when she was 15. "He would even do it openly, and adults would walk by and act as if nothing was happening," Hannah Brown said. The problem got worse as she got older, Hannah Brown said. Overcomer Ministry, a commune, near Walterboro is run by Ralph Gordon Stair who has been accused of sexually assaulting several members who have lived or worked on the farm. Grace Beahm Alford/ Staff By Grace Beahm Alford gbeahm@postandcourier.com "(Stair) would say, `Don't you wanna please God? This is God's will. If you love God, you should do this,'" the teen said. Up until this year, Pamela Brown said she resisted the preacher's advances, but eventually relented during an April encounter in which Stair pressured her into having sex on an outdoor path near the cafeteria, she said. Brown said she worried about his threats to kick her off the land if she didn't give in to him. Her family had surrendered everything they owned to live at Overcomer. "It was not me desiring to be with him," she said. "It was something I was coerced into doing, something that was fearful." Looking back, Brown reflects on a sermon Stair delivered last year when he asked his followers for their absolute loyalty. He explained that he was there in God's place, like Jesus in the flesh, and deserved their utter obedience, she said. "That means no matter what it is, even if it is wrong, do it anyway," she said Stair explained, "because God has a purpose in it." `I wanted to run away' Natosha Lehr, the 16-year-old who shared her story in a video posted on YouTube, lived at Overcomer Ministry with her family off and on throughout childhood. Most recently, she and her parents visited the commune regularly to help with weeding and other chores on the farm, but they did not live on the property. Lehr said Stair started paying extra attention to her when she was 13. After she turned 15, he would seek her out alone in the dining hall, where she said he repeatedly fondled her. "He started saying things like, `Do you feel nice when I touch you?' and stuff like that. And I wouldn't answer because I just didn't know what to say," she said. On one occasion, Lehr said Stair asked her to visit his radio room, where he groped her. When she turned to leave, Stair grabbed her from behind and continued to molest her, she said. "When he was doing stuff like that, it felt like inside I wanted to run away but in reality I just kind of stood there because I never had anything happen like that before," she said. "It was just one of them moments where you just stay still like a brick." Lehr's interactions with Stair left her confused. He'd whisper sexual comments about her body and also put her down about her weight, she said. Stair would call her out if she tried to resist his hugs. The teen told her mother about the incidents. But when the alleged sexual contact with Stair continued, she confided in her 21-year-old sister, who lives out of state and encouraged her to contact authorities. Lehr has since moved to Pennsylvania with relatives. She's focused on healing and has enrolled in classes toward earning her GED. On Monday, Lehr rejoiced at the news of Stair's arrest, saying she expects the court case to bring a sense of peace to those who have suffered under Stair. "Everybody's happy now," she said. "I hope the whole compound actually shuts down." Pamela Brown said the news of Stair's arrest came with mixed feelings. "It's very humiliating. It's very humbling. It's shameful. I don't rejoice in seeing someone fall ... it's like a wound, and it's not healed." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) SEVERAL RADIO STATIONS PULL S.C. PREACHER'S PROGRAM IN LIGHT OF SEX ASSAULT CHARGES --- By Michael Majchrowicz and Angie Jackson Dec 19, 2017 Updated 4 hrs ago https://www.postandcourier.com/news/several-radio-stations-pull-s-c-preacher-s-program-in/article_82e6d668-e506-11e7-951e-db4e0160c95c.html [NO SW stations mentioned specifically in this story] Several stations across the country that broadcast Ralph Gordon Stair's radio show say they will no longer air his program in light of the embattled preacher's arrest Monday on sexual assault charges. Many of the six dozen or so followers who live and worship at Overcomer Ministry were drawn to the rural Christian compound outside of Walterboro thanks to Stair's impassioned radio sermons, according to multiple defectors interviewed by The Post and Courier. The 84-year-old's show, which is commonly billed as "Overcomer Ministry" and often referred to as the compound’s most effective recruitment arm, airs at various times throughout the day and night on at least 28 AM and FM stations. Ralph Gordon Stair. Colleton County Sheriff's Office/Provided [mugshot] Shortwave radio has also enabled the preacher, commonly referred to by his followers as Brother Stair, to reach listeners in far-flung countries. Stair has said radio broadcast is his ministry's biggest expenditure. Authorities on Monday charged Stair with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, one count of kidnapping, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of second-degree assault and battery, and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. A months-long investigation by the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, State Law Enforcement Division, FBI and Department of Homeland Security culminated Monday with the execution of a search warrant on the ministry, a secluded 130-acre swath of land where worshippers live in modest homes. Stair remains jailed without bail after multiple women came forward with sex assault allegations against Stair dating as far back as 1992. The allegations range from acts of groping to rape in Overcomer Ministry's radio room, mobile homes and during a sermon on the rural property along S.C. Highway 61 in Canadys. When reached by a reporter Tuesday, KCAA General Manager Mark Westwood, who operates several AM and FM stations that aired Stair's show across Southern California, said the preacher’s contract had been terminated. "We replaced him right away," Westwood said, adding that KCAA’s webmaster was working Tuesday to remove all references of Stair from the group’s website. In the Philadelphia area, AM radio station WTMR pulled Stair's program, according to the station's owner, Beasley Broadcast Group. The broadcast group also removed the programming from WAEC, an Atlanta-based AM station. Employees at most stations reached by The Post and Courier on Tuesday expressed surprise at the news of Stair’s arrest, with several of them saying they will reconsider their business relationship with Stair going forward. "We’ll definitely be looking into it," said T.R. Bumgardner, general manager of WKGM, an AM station in Virginia that has aired Stair’s program since at least 2005. A general manager at another station said "Oh my gosh. I haven’t heard a word about that," before hanging up on a reporter. Meanwhile, Stair's followers, who call themselves "the saints," will be permitted to remain on the rural compound, Colleton County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Tyger Benton said Tuesday. Members of Overcomer Ministry surrender their possessions and often sever contact with people outside the compound as they await the second coming of Christ. Neither of Stair's two defense attorneys could be reached for comment Tuesday (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Here`s the full list of AM & FM stations, details probably notoriously outdated and inaccurate like the SW info; the times and days of week line up better on the original. I`m copying here in case it soon be removed. Let us know if he`s pulled from any of these. Major stations where we often run across BS have been WCKY, KAAY: http://overcomerministry.org/radio-schedule/ AM STATIONS FREQ LOCATION TIME DAY (# of hrs) TIME ZONE WCKY 1530 AM Cincinnati, OH 1am-3am 2am-3:30am 3am-5am Daily (2hr) Sat (1.5hr) Sun (2hr) Eastern WSNR 620 AM New York, NY midnight-5AM 2am-3am Sun. Morning 5hr Mon-Fri (1hr) Eastern WWVA 1170 AM Wheeling, W. VA 12:05am-1am 6am-7am Tue-Sat (1hr) Sat (1hr) Eastern WTMR 800 AM Camden, NJ 1pm-2pm Mon-Fri (1hr) Eastern KAAY 1090 AM Little Rock, AR 9pm-10pm 1am-2am 11pm-midnight Mon-Fri (1hr) Mon-Fri (1hr) Sat, Sun (1hr) Central WNAH 1360 AM Nashville, TN 10pm-6am 6pm-6am 1pm-2pm Sun-Fri (8hr) Sat Night (12 hr) Sunday (1hr) Central WKGM 940 AM Norfolk, VA 1am-5am Daily (4hr) Eastern WACE 730 AM Springfield, MA 10am-11am 1:30pm-3pm 4pm-5pm Mon-Fri (1hr) Mon-Fri (1.5hr) Sat (1hr) Eastern WMKM 1440 AM Detroit, MI 1am -5am Mon-Fri (4hr) Eastern WSIV 1540 AM Syracuse, NY 11am-12am Mon- Fri (1hr) Eastern WVOG 600 AM New Orleans, LA Midnight-5:30am 1:00am-5:30am Monday- Saturday Sunday Central WAEC 860 AM Atlanta, GA midnight-5am midnight-6am Mon-Fri (5hr) Sat, Sun (6hr) Eastern KFIO 1050 AM Spokane, WA 11pm-midnight Daily (1hr) Pacific KTRW 630 AM Spokane, WA 11pm-midnight Daily (1hr) Pacific KTBI 810 AM Moses Lake, WA 11pm-midnight Daily (1hr) Pacific KYAC 930 AM Yakima, WA 11pm-midnight Daily (1hr) Pacific WMRO 1560 AM Gallatin,TN 10pm-7:00am 7:30am-8:30pm Saturday (night) Sunday Central WCVG 1320 AM Cincinnati, Oh 11pm to 6am Monday-Friday Eastern KYAH 540 AM Delta, UT 3am-5am 6am-10am Monday-Friday Sunday Mountain KCAA 1050 AM San Bernardino, CA 2am-5am Monday-Friday Pacific FM STATIONS WVOA 87.7 FM Syracuse, NY midnight-7am Daily (7hr) Eastern WHLQ 105.5 FM Lawrenceville, VA 2am-4am Daily (2hr) Eastern KGDN 101.3 FM Pasco, WA 11pm-midnight Daily (1hr) Pacific KTAC 93.9 FM Moses Lake, WA 11pm-midnight Daily (1hr) Pacific KSPO 106.5 FM Spokane, WA 11pm-midnight Daily (1hr) Pacific KCAA 102.3 FM San Bernardino, CA 2am-5am Monday-Friday Pacific KCAA 106.5 FM San Bernardino, CA 2am-5am Monday-Friday Pacific NZ Radio 107.7 FM Nelson, N.Z 24 hours Daily (24hr) NZ Time (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA. More and more press from the Charleston SC area is coming out about Brother Stair; tnx to Artie Bigley: [as above] http://abcnews4.com/news/local/solicitor-says-multiple-victims-came-forward-with-accusations-against-stair Two more via Artie: https://www.christianpost.com/news/radio-evangelist-rg-stair-who-touched-12-year-old-congregation-watched-arrested-sexual-assault-210663/ UNCENSORED VIDEO FROM THE OCTOBER NEWS REPORT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig-WIQNVPcY (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USA: WRMI ** SPAIN. 15390even, REE Madrid Spanish live coverage of football league match via Noblejas, 1834 UT, some team games played Tenerife, Valencia, Real Madrid mentioned. Totally overmodulated distorted audio, transmitter faulty. \\ 15500 kHz weak and tiny S=7 heard too. \\ 9690 kHz S=9+25dB signal in Europe [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, aAfternoon log on Dec 17 at 18-19 UT slot, heard here in Germany, Belgium, and England remote SDR installations, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. Reception of Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation SLBC on Dec 14 1115-1215 9720 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Hin/Mal/Hin/Tam, weak/fair from 1200 9720 XIA 500 kW / 145 deg SEAs Filipino CRI co-channel http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-sri-lanka-broadcasting_14.html Good signal of Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Dec 16 1630-1730 on 11750 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to N/ME Sinhala City FM Daily 1730-1830 on 11750 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to N/ME Sinhala City FM Sa/Su http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/good-signal-of-sri-lanka-broadcasting.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #1048 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Dec 19, 2017 via DXLD) Reception of Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) on Dec 19 1115-1215 9720 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg SoAs Hin/Mal/Hin/Tam, fair signal from 1200 9720 XIA 500 kW / 145 deg SEAs Filipino CRI co-channel http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-sri-lanka-broadcasting_19.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SUDAN SOUTH [non]. BELGIUM(non), No signal of Eye Radio via TDF Issoudun on Dec 11-13: 1600-1900 on 15250 ISS 250 kW / 130 deg to EaAf Arabic/English/other http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/no-signal-of-eye-radio-via-tdf-issoudun.html (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) Today also no signal of BRB Eye Radio via TDF Issoudun, probably deleted 1600-1900 on 15250 ISS 250 kW / 130 deg EaAf Arabic/English/and other http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/no-signal-of-radio-al-mukhtar-in-arabic.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. 7314.990, UAE, RTI Taiwan in French language, S=9+35dB or -42dBm powerhouse from Babcock Al Dhabbaya FMO outlet, at 1852 UT into Germany. 11 kHz wideband audio, ballgame discussion, talk by female and male, about championat, spectacle party [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, aAfternoon log on Dec 17 at 18-19 UT slot, heard here in Germany, Belgium, and England remote SDR installations, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAJIKISTAN. Weak to fair signal of Voice of Tajik on Dec 16 1300-1400 on 7245 DB 100 kW / non-dir to CeAs English plus co-ch on same 7245 BEI 150 kW / non-dir to EaAs Chinese CNR2 http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/weak-to-fair-signal-of-voice-of-tajik.html (Ivo Ivanov, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) ** TIBET. 4905 // 6200, Xizang PBS via Lhasa, 1600, Dec 15. The “Holy Tibet” program in English; "China Tibet Broadcasting"; news of Tibetan manufacturing developments and cultural projects, etc.; fair-poor. "Holy Tibet" scheduled 1600-1700 (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET [non]. 11507 / 11512 / 11513 kHz Voice of Tibet, Yangi Yul Tajikistan relay --- TAJIKISTAN Voice of Tibet, on Dec 15. 1200-1207 11507 DB 100 kW 95 deg to EaAS Chinese, S=9+15dB at SDR remote unit in eastern Finland and S=9+20dB on remote SDR in Brisbane Queensland, Australia. 1207-1212 11513 DB 100 kW 95 deg to EaAS Chinese, but from 1207 UT only EMPTY carrier, no audio modulation ... 1212-1216 11513 DB 100 kW 95 deg to EaAS Chinese, S=9+15dB. 1216-1229:53 11512 DB 100 kW 95 deg to EaAS Chinese, S=9+15dB. TX Dushanbe Yangi Yul still on air, empty carrier from 12.29:54 UT til TX OFF at 1233:00 UT straight. S=9 string visible on 11507 kHz even early at 1152 UT already, on Dec 15. Poor S=5 Chinese jamming traced nearby on 11515 kHz here in southern Germany, in Finland and in Brisbane Australia though (Wolfgang Büschel, Dec 15, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TONGA. Radio New Zealand reports that Tonga Broadcasting Commission has begun 24-hour operation for the first time. Presumed to include R. Tonga on 1017 kHz. http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/345935/tonga-s-tbc-goes-24-hours (NRC IDXD Dec 15 via DXLD) Is Tonga-1017 leaving its carrier on these mornings? In spite of poor conditions, that has been one of the stronger carriers as local sunrise approaches, with no apparent modulation. best wishes, (Nick Hall-Patch, BC, Dec 18, IRCA via DXLD) Yes, Nick. There was an announcement that Tonga would be on 24/7, but it wasn't clear whether that meant there would be any programming on, or not! 73, (Walt Salmaniw, BC, ibid.) Hi Nick, according to an article found by David Ricquish and linked in WRTH Facebook group, Tonga 1017 kHz operates now 24h. 73, (Mauno Ritola, ibid.) Thanks, Mauno and Walt. Last info I had on Tonga was the post here from Theo Donnelly in October about shake ups in their staff, and other problems. When did the change take place? It's beginning to look like Borgbook is the place to be for information now, hi. best wishes, (Nick Hall-Patch, ibid.) Looks like very recently: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/345935/tonga-s-tbc-goes-24-hours It is still heard now? at 1630 via NZ web receiver (Mauno, ibid.) Nick and All, 1017-Tonga has a lot more competition on the frequency here in Hawaii in December, compared to last April. In April you could tell right away whether it was broadcasting right up until around 1400, but in December the Asian TP's seem to start a massive onslaught as soon as their local sunset approaches. Tonga's programming was lost by about 0830 last night (apparently to Japan, and CRI's Korean). I don't know if last night's Asian bonanza is standard fare for mid- December Kona, but 1017-Tonga was toast after 0830 (Gary DeBock, ibid.) After a decades worth of listening sessions in Hawaii: Japanese stations are in before 11 PM Kona time, often earlier. Korea often follows less than 1/2 later (Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA, ibid.) [non] Noted KOA in already on the Oahu SDR (Todd Skaine, MN, 0322 UT Dec 19, ibid.) ** TURKEY. 5960, Dec 13 at 0027, German at S9+10 with strange accent presumably Türkish, since it`s VOT once again overrunning the English broadcast supposed to end well before 2400. With Emirler so slipshod, I expect eventually this will happen on a UT Sunday colliding with The Mighty KBC via GERMANY which has risked using this 5960 one day a week (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5960, Voice of Turkey at 2253 with IS and ID loop to time pips at 2300 and a man with ID and sked and web platforms followed by program highlights and into a man with news at 2302 – Fair Dec 14 – I wonder if a better winter frequency can be found for this one as we take the ride through solar minimum over the next number of years (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA group.io via DXLD) Well, there is not an interference problem, is there? Could hardly go to a lower band than this. Practical improvement would be to get a relay on WRMI, but TRT has never used any relays (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) see also NETHERLANDS [non] [WORLD OF RADIO 1909] ** TURKEY. TRT, Intermodulation 500 kW aus Emirler Man gönnt sich ja sonst nix, :-) heute war's mal wieder eine Gelegenheit in die Voice of Erdogan Transmission aufzuschalten, snobistisch auf der Intermodulation 15430.069 kHz aus Emirler, möglicherweise durch die dortige Antennen Schieleinrichtung beim Feed der 500 kW hervorgerufen? TÜRKEI, 15189.998, Türkisch S=7 stark, eine Intermodulation aus TRT Emirler broadcast center, 1230-1330 UT am 13. Dezember. Und auch symmetrisch TRT in Deutsch auf 15430.069 kHz auch mit S=7. Circa 80.024 kHz Frequenz Distanz von den Fundamental 500 kW beasts 15270.021 1230-1330 27,28 500 310 205 German TUR TRT 15350.045 0700-1400 27,28 500 310 215 Turkish TUR TRT Sehr stark 15350 kHz S=9+45dB power. Deutsch 15270v kHz aber dagegen eher weniger bei S=9+25dB. Die Offsets sind jeden Tag anders. 73 wb Dec 13 15190.044, Came across an S=8 strong intermodulation from TRT Emirler bcast center, this 1230-1330 UT slot on Nov 29. 79.982 kHz frequency distance apart of two fundamentals 500 kW beast 15270.025 1230 1330 27,28 500 310 205 German TUR TRT 15350.007 0700 1400 27,28 500 310 215 Turkish TUR TRT Fundamental 15350 kHz had tremendous level here on powerful S=9+45dB. Maybe also on upper sideband approx. 15429.989 kHz, but tuned-in too late to check the upper side. At 1325 UT heard a live speech transmission Turkish service of ?parliament? by Pres Erdogan(?) on bad Turkish nation economy and currency Lira exchange rate against EURo and US-Dollar. 73 wb [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (wb df5sx, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 29, dxld Dec 5) (via Büschel, Dec 13, DXLD) ** UKRAINE. Quoting from a short article in the Guardian newspaper. Radio Ukraine will from next year be broadcasting in the Tatar language (Jon Collins, Birmingham UK, Dec 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For CRIMEA [non], q.v. ** U K. ---LWBC: 198 kHz, 5XX, BBC Radio 4, YL Talx in English [sic] into OM reading a "Bodice Ripper" story. It was quite titillating! Getting stronger as I listened, making it possible to actually follow the story. Much heaving breasts & rippling muscles! Pips to ToH then OM reading News & gave t/c as "11 O'Clock. USB helped & DIW [2 kW Hi Power Homing Beacon in Dixon NC also 198 kHz] was absent most of the time, but started to be heard later. 24342 up to 2+43+43 by ToH. Best I've heard in a dog's age. 2240-2305 8/Dec. 198, 5XX, BBC World Service overnight with a feature with Kai Ryssdal from NPR Marketplace and Talx re new UN Environmental conference. DIW more prominent than earlier, but the signal from UK was stronger too and the notch cut the code out OK. 34+3+4+3+, 0150-0155 9/Dec (Ken Zichi, MARE DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR4 + 500’ RW unless noted otherwise, MARE Tipsheet 15 Dec via DXLD) 5XX? Callsign for BBC Radio 4? I bet they never utter it or show it in their lists, but yes, per this repository of secret callsigns, http://www.dxinfocentre.com/Call_Signs.htm ``198 G5XX (2) Droitwich G5SC Westerglen footnote 2: G5XX reassigned to Daventry amateur station`` WRTH lists Droitwich as 500 kW, Westerglen at 50 kW, and there is another 50 kW on frequency (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U K. Just heard on R. Caroline North, relayed on Manx Radio that "you might well want to check 648 kHz from 7 am Friday 22nd Dec" Start of programmes? 73s (Nick. Buxton. Rank, Sent from Samsung Mobile on O2 Dec 17, bdxc-uk yg via DXLD) Confirmed by Tony Paul on his breakfast show this morning. Friday morning 648 will commence relaying the main service from 7 am, with the morning programmes live from the MV Ross Revenge. (Thanks to Dave on the Radio Caroline newsgroup for this information) This is something that should have happened in the UK in 1964; it`s been a long-time coming! (Mike Terry, Dec 18, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Announcement today on the Radio Caroline website: Radio Caroline AM service to open Our aerial mast at the transmitter site [caption] Weather and technology permitting, our programmes on 648 kHz will commence originating from the Ross Revenge at 7.00AM on Friday 22nd December. The changed schedule for the day will be : 7am Johnny Lewis 9am Top Fifteen 10am Ray Clark – with the official launch at midday. 2pm Kevin Turner 5pm Resume normal programmes No doubt Bob Lawrence, Martin Fisher and Jerry Wright will personalise their evening shows to mark the day. Of course we are delighted to have found and secured what must be the best possible AM transmission site for our service. We thank Cobra Mist Ltd for this facility whilst noting that this is a private site which cannot at this time be visited. So, another date for the Radio Caroline calendar of events and the inevitable question. Where do we go from here? Radio Caroline http://radiocaroline.co.uk/#home.html Posted by: (Mike Terry, Dec 18, dxldyg via DXLD) So, we finally have official confirmation that the old BBC tower at Orford Ness is being used (-- Richard Langley, NB, ivid.) There is also an announcement of the start date of regular broadcasts going out on the Radio Caroline test transmissions. A recording, using the U. Twente SDR receiver, of one such announcement at 1338 UT this morning http://www2.unb.ca/gge/test/SWL/RadioCaroline_2017-12-18T13_38Z_648_ID.mp3 (Richard Langley, ibid.) ** U K. DIABETES NIGHTMARE: A HYPOGLYCEMIC ATTACK ON AIR 12 December 2017 Media caption Alex Ritson in the radio studio When BBC World Service presenter Alex Ritson's nightmare became a reality, he was glad his team recognised he was having a hypoglycemic attack as a result of his diabetes. Here he explains how you could help if one of your friends finds themselves in his position. Most newsreaders I know have one thing in common: a recurring dream where everything starts going wrong a few minutes before the top of the hour and they only just make it into the studio on time. When the pips finally sound, they look down and realise all their scripts are blank, and they end up spouting seemingly endless gibberish before finally waking up in a cold sweat, only to find they are safely in bed. On 1 December, it happened to me, live on the BBC World Service and Radio 4 at 05:00. But it wasn't a dream. This time, it was real. Terrifying The reason - as you'll know if you listened to the whole tape - was medical. I have type 1 diabetes and my on-air nightmare was caused by a severe hypoglycemic attack. . . http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42316493 (via Gerald T Pollard, NC, DXLD) ** U K. BBC DIRECTOR OF NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS APPOINTED: FRAN UNSWORTH Date: 15.12.2017 Last updated: 15.12.2017 at 09.15 The BBC is pleased to announce that Fran Unsworth has been appointed as the BBC's Director of News and Current Affairs following an open competition. Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC, says "The Director of News and Current Affairs is one of the most demanding of any in broadcasting. “News is at the very heart of the BBC. I am delighted Fran Unsworth is taking up the role. She brings a combination of excellent news judgement, authority, management knowhow, and the trust of her colleagues both in news and across the BBC." Fran Unsworth says: “I am delighted to lead BBC News and Current Affairs. We are living through a period of significant change at home and abroad. In a complex world, the BBC’s journalism matters more than ever. I am proud to lead a team of such dedicated and talented people.” Fran will sit on the BBC’s Executive Committee and will oversee the BBC’s News and Current Affairs programming. She takes up the role at the start of the new year. BBC Press Office Notes to editors Fran began her journalistic career in 1980 in BBC Local Radio, joining Radio 1's Newsbeat. She spent some time as a network radio producer in Washington DC, and later joined Radio 4's The World At One and PM.Fran was appointed the BBC's Home News Editor and then, in 2001, Head of Political Programmes. In 2005 she became Head of Newsgathering, running one of the world's largest newsgathering operations with bureaux across the world. For periods between November 2012 and June 2013, Fran was the BBC's Acting Director of News and Current Affairs. Fran Unsworth was made Director of the BBC World Service Group on 8 December 2014. In this role she led the BBC's global news services - BBC World Service, BBC World News and BBC.com/news - as well as BBC Monitoring. Prior to her appointment to the World Service Group, she was Deputy Director of BBC News and Current Affairs. In the past year Fran has overseen the biggest expansion of the World Service since the 1940s. This includes adding 12 new language services around the world, including services in Korean and Pidgin, and enhancing existing services, such as extra Russian language news bulletins. Salary details will be set out as part of the usual disclosure arrangements. BBC News is the largest broadcast news operation in the world providing trusted impartial news and analysis to audiences in the UK and internationally. BBC News is responsible for daily bulletins on the BBC’s main TV channels and radio stations, as well as flagship programmes like Today, Newsnight, Daily Politics, Question Time and Panorama. It also produces and runs regional TV and radio news programmes in England, the BBC News website, the BBC News Channel, BBC Parliament and BBC Radio 5 live. In 2016/17, BBC News reached 76% of the UK adults each week across all platforms, more than any other news provider. In 2017, overall, more than 60% of UK adults tune in to BBC TV news on average each week in the UK. The BBC regional 6.30pm news slot is the most watched UK bulletin. The BBC News Channel is the most watched news channel reaching almost 8m adults weekly in 2017. BBC News online is now used by around 30 million UK browsers each week. The BBC News UK app reached 7.5m monthly unique browsers in 2016/2017. BBC Network Radio news consistently reached more than half of adults in the UK weekly. The audience to Global News in 2017 was 348 million, up 8% on the previous year (BBC PR via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD) ** U K [and non]. BBC WORLD SERVICE AND SUNDANCE INSTITUTE JOIN FORCES ON NEW AUDIO STORYTELLING SERIES http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/sundance-institute-audio-storytelling The BBC World Service and Sundance Institute, who are collaborating on a series of radio programmes and podcasts under the theme of Neighbour, have selected five projects from a pool of nearly 200 applications to take forward into production. The selected projects will look at a range of stories with independent perspectives from around the world, including: a community garden in a diverse Massachusetts neighbourhood a land claim by Shinnecock Native Americans in an upscale Long Island enclave the impact of rapid urbanization in Lagos, Nigeria a look at how Finland’s unique national identity has been shaped the experiences of young unmarried couples in India. The series is expected to air on BBC World Service in 2018. Simon Pitts, Commissioning Editor, BBC World Service English, says: “We’re collaborating with Sundance Institute because they share our passion for storytelling, and together we’ve selected these five exciting projects on a diverse range of stories from across the globe. Many of the producers come from a TV and film documentary background and we’re delighted to be working with them as they turn their skills to audio.” Tabitha Jackson, Director of Sundance Institute's Documentary Film Program, says: “These projects, and the teams behind them, embody the possibilities of artful non-fiction narratives in today’s crowded media environment. We and the BBC World Service share a keen interest in enabling independent storytellers to describe the world as they find it.” The collaboration provides an opportunity for documentary makers to tell stories in the English language for radio broadcast on the BBC World Service with its global audience of 75 million. The BBC World Service will provide creative mentorship for the duration of the production. Each project will comprise an audio documentary for radio and podcast, together with an accompanying short visual piece for the BBC’s web and social channels. The working titles of selected projects include: How The Garden Grows, by Alexis Pancrazi and executive produced by Gini Reticker. Shining a spotlight on a community garden in Massachusetts which aims to build bonds between neighbours and communities. Gini Reticker is a Sundance Film Festival Alum with six credits at Sundance Competitions. Alexis Pancrazi was formerly production manager for Moyers & Company, who joined the Fork Films team in 2017. This will be her first audio producing credit. Conscience Point, directed by Treva Wurmfeld and produced by Amanda Spain, Treva Wurmfeld and Charles Certain. Following Shinnecock Native American activist Rebecca Genia, as she faces down her powerful Hamptons neighbours to resist the continued carve up of her ancestral land. Amanda Spain is a Sundance Creative Producing Fellow who has produced and directed shorts for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, and also directed In Their Boots, nominated for an IDA award. Treva Wurmfeld's directorial debut, Shepard & Dark, premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2012 and won top awards at the Woodstock Int. Film Festival, the Cleveland Int. Film Festival and the Florida Film Festival. Charles Certain, Owner of Certain Media, is a Shinnecock Montauk Native residing on the Shinnecock Reservation in South Hampton, New York. The Battle For The Future Of Las Gidi by Ishan Thakore and Katie Jane Fernelius will look at the impact of rapid urbanization in Lagos, Nigeria, on some of the city’s poorer communities. Ishan Thakore is a multimedia journalist and recently completed a Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship. Katie Jane Fernelius is a writer and radio maker who has worked on multimedia documentary projects in Africa. She recently returned from a Fulbright research fellowship in Lagos. We Might As Well Be Finnish by Kavita Pillay, explores how Finland’s unique identity has been shaped by its relationship with its two very different neighbours, Sweden and Russia. Kavita is a documentary filmmaker and was a 2016 Fulbright Nehru Scholar. She has been a freelance radio reporter for PRI’s The World and has also worked for WGBH in Boston, a BBC partner. Good Marriages Make Good Neighbours by Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya is about young couples in Mumbai fighting the stigma of being unmarried while living together. Fellows of Sundance Institute, MacArthur Foundation, Bertha Foundation and Arts Council England, Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya are visual artists from India and their debut feature documentary The Cinema Travellers won a prize at Cannes 2016, amongst 15 ?other national and international awards. The series is a partnership between BBC World Service and Sundance Institute and the projects were selected by Mary Hockaday, Controller BBC World Service English and Simon Pitts, Commissioning Editor, BBC World Service, in consultation with Keri Putnam, Executive Director, Sundance Institute and Tabitha Jackson, Director of the Documentary Film Program at Sundance Institute. For more information on the collaboration, please visit http://www.bbcworldservice.com/bbcsundance (12 December 2017 via Dr Hansjoerg Biener, DXLD) ** U K [non]. 7530even, UZBEKISTAN, BBC London in Korean language, S=9+10db here in Europe backlobe, 1810 UT. Played old 'war end' recording tapes, ?of US Army?, interview in English "... are you Free ?" [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, aAfternoon log on Dec 17 at 18-19 UT slot, heard here in Germany, Belgium, and England remote SDR installations, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BaBcoCk Test transmissions in 31mb, Dec 11-12 1300-1312 on 9775 probably via Woofferton, very good till 1001 on 9915 probably via Woofferton, fair/good Both frequencies are using in winter B-17 as follows 1700-1830 on 9775 WOF 250 kW / 107 deg to N/ME Arabic FEBA Radio Sama 0700-0800 on 9915 WOF 300 kW / 170 deg to WeAf English BBC World Sce 1800-1900 on 9915 WOF 250 kW / 170 deg to WeAf English BBC World Sce 2100-2200 on 9915 WOF 300 kW / 170 deg to WCAf English BBC World Sce http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/babcock-test-transmissions-in-31mb.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 11-14, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. 4102.2/CW, "W" Wind beacon from California desert, with W & a series of 4-15 dits (it HAS been windy in CA of late!) & ALSO sending other letters like J P B 1 2 & others, but the static was so bad it was hard to make out what that was all about. ROUGH copy, but clear enough. 0410-0415 9/Dec (Ken Zichi, MARE DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake SPR4 + 500’ RW unless noted otherwise, MARE Tipsheet 15 Dec via DXLD) ** U S A. 15700, Dec 14 at 2040, S9+20 open carrier. I`m quite sure it`s VOA Greenville-B, warming up for the only-one-hour 2100 broadcast on 15580, which usually is done on nearby 15570 to avoid overlapping with Botswana on 15580 until 2100, but not now. 15700 cuts off at 2048* and I immediately retune to 15570 where the same level OC is now running there (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. from the logbook: 5850, WRMI at 1040. In progress, World of Radio, Glenn H., confirmed on with excellent reception on SW- 2000629 and 9' vertical. Dec 13 [Wed]. HI GLENN: not usually up at 1000Z this time of year, but I was up to verify this this week. Sounding GOOD! 73 (- Rick Barton, AZ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1908 monitoring: confirmed the Wed Dec 13 at 1030 broadcast at wake-up 1054 check, VG S9+20 --- but // 9455 is OFF, no signal, while 9395 & 9955 are S9-S8. Also confirmed Wednesday December 13 at 1415.5 on WRMI 9955, fair-good with lite pulse jamming; tnx a lot, Arnie! Next: Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW 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 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [if reactivated; or #1909?] Full WOR schedule via all media, and podcast access: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WORLD OF RADIO 1908 monitoring: confirmed Wednesday December 13 at 2200 on WBCQ, 7489.928v, fair S9-S7. By 2215 drifted down to 7489.900v. Not confirmed UT Thu Dec 14 at 0030 on WBCQ, 9330v-CUSB: No signal (while neighbors: 9265 WINB VP, < 9370 WWRB, < 9395 WRMI). Despite inaudibility, I am not removing the 9330 broadcasts from my schedule until and unless WBCQ inform me, directly or indirectly, that they are no longer intending to broadcast it. Still shows on sked: http://schedule.wbcq.com/index.php?fn=sked&freq=9330 Next: Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW 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 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW [if reactivated], 7780 to NE Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [if reactivated; or #1909?] WORLD OF RADIO 1908 monitoring: confirmed Thursday December 14 at 2230.5 on WRMI 5850, S9+20; carrier did not come on until *2228.5. Not confirmed UT Fri Dec 15 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB, tho there may be an imagination-level JJBA carrier at times (neighbor 9265 WINB is very poor now too). Next: Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW 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 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1909?] WORLD OF RADIO 1908 monitoring: not confirmed UT Sat Dec 16 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB, altho a JBA carrier could be it (9265 WINB is VP, 9395 WRMI better, 9370 WWRB best). Not confirmed, Sat Dec 16 at 1531- 1600 on Hamburger Lokalradio, 7265-CUSB as scheduled, on the UTwente SDR, only S Asian music and talk from CRI East Turkistan. Next: Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW 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 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1909?] WORLD OF RADIO 1908 monitoring: Hi Glenn, No luck with HLR again today on 7265 [WORLD OF RADIO, Sat 1531 UT via Germany]. I suspect it's just the time of year, and will improve again in a few weeks once the days start lengthening. Looking at last year's logs, I didn't receive it between the 3rd of December and the 15th of January, so it seems to be following the same pattern. I'll keep checking for it though if I'm in (Alan Gale, England, Dec 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9330v-CUSB, Sat Dec 16 at 2230, NO signal detectable from WBCQ for WOR (Nor is it audible after 2300 when Blalock would be blasting nor at 2338.) Confirmed Sat Dec 16 at 2300 on WRMI 11580, good S9 to S9+20 (but by 2340 has faded down to S2; also back at 2247, 11580 had World Music fill, Greek, rather than RAE Italian on weekdays). As usual, by 0200 UT Sunday Dec 17, 11580 is JBA, but it sounds like me. Now, WA0RCR, 1860-AM, Wentzville MO is already in much better with ham news, prior to its WOR airing circa 0415. Besides that, further nexts: Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW 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 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1909?] WORLD OF RADIO 1908 monitoring: ham news still going at 0425 UT Sunday December 17 on WA0RCR, 1860-AM, Missouri, but at 0448 check WOR S9+30 at its mid-pause, which means it started about 0434. Next: [note: 9330 broadcasts inaudible and not confirmed lately, but still on schedule and allegedly on air; if anyone detect them, let us know!] 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 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1909?] WORLD OF RADIO 1908 monitoring: GERMANY, Reception of World of Radio via HLR 9485-CUSB, Dec 17 1131-1200 on 9485 GOH 001 kW / 230 deg to CeEu English Sun, fair http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-world-of-radio-via-hlr_17.html (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Confirmed UT Monday December 18 at 0046 on WBCQ 9330.033v-CUSB, at midpoint, S8 but deep fades, later S7 and ending at 0058:49. Glad to be able to confirm this on the bigrigs after not much heard the past week; when tried at 0032 on the PL-880 I was hearing something else on 9330, in fact two talk stations mixing, I guess that receiver`s imagination. By 0112, 9330 is still audible with Blalock the blaster. Also confirmed UT Monday Dec 18 from 0402 on Area 51 webcast, and via WBCQ 5129.8, fair at 0423 check. Also confirmed UT Monday December 18 after 0430 on WRMI webcast, and 9955 checked a few minutes earlier was good but with some pulse jamming; tnx a lot, Arnie! Next: Tue 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Tue 0030 WRMI 7730 to WNW Tue 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1909?] WORLD OF RADIO 1908 monitoring: not confirmed, UT Tue Dec 19 at 0030 on 9330v-CUSB, NO signal from WBCQ. This time may be blamed on propagation, as 9265 WINB and even 9370 WWRB are JBA, while 9395 WRMI remains VG with its southern advantage. However, WWV report does not show any disturbance: ``Solar-terrestrial indices for 18 December follow. Solar flux 72 and estimated planetary A-index 17. The estimated planetary K-index at 0000 UTC on 19 December was 1. No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are predicted for the next 24 hours.`` Likewise 7730 WRMI is VG on this day, UT Tue when it is really radiating WOR at 0030. Next: Tue 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1909?] Full WOR schedule via all media, and podcast access: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1909 contents: Australia, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus non, Europe, Falkland Islands, Germany and non, India, Indonesia, Kiribati/Kiritimati, Korea North non, Liberia, Netherlands non, New Zealand, Oman, Perú, Russia, South Carolina, Sudan South non, Tajikistan, Turkey, UK, USA, Vatican, Zanzibar, unidentified; and the propagation outlook WORLD OF RADIO 1909 monitoring: this week, as is my objective every week, I am finished early enough on Tuesday for the first, rather than last weekly broadcast to emanate at 2030 Dec 19 when WRMI is running three frequencies, 7780, better 9455, best 11580; also repeated at 2130 on 9455 only. By 2127, I notice that 9455 closing Wavescan, has a SAH, no doubt from ChiCom jamming and/or RFA in Chinese via Saipan; also more obvious when WRMI/WOR fades a bit during rest of hour, but still well readable and atop. Next: Wed 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Wed 1030 WRMI 5850 to NW, 9455 to WNW Wed 1415.5 WRMI 9955 Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW 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 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE [or #1910?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] Full WOR schedule via all media, and podcast access: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF RADIO 1909 monitoring: NO signal UT Wednesday December 20 at 0030 on WBCQ 9330v-CUSB (closest other US SW station, 9265 WINB is now a JBA carrier; even 9370 WWRB is VP, but 9395 WRMI is good. So this may be due to or exacerbated by poor propagation; however, stations need to compensate for that by using lower bands in winter nights. All the 9330 programming could be moved with little disruption to 5130v which is mostly off the air weeknights; if not 3265 which must be kept in reserve for a major client?) Confirmed Wed Dec 20 at 1058, woke up just in time to check the 1030 broadcast on WRMIs: 5850 very good, 9455 good. Also confirmed Wed Dec 20 at 1415.5 on WRMI 9955, fair-good S9, no jamming, slight ACI. Next: Wed 2200 WBCQ 7490v to WSW Thu 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Thu 2230.5 WRMI 5850 to NW Fri 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0030 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 0729 HLR 6190-CUSB to WSW Sat 1531 HLR 7265-CUSB to WSW Sat 2030v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sat 2230 WBCQ 9330v-CUSB to WSW Sat 2300 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0200 WRMI 11580 to NE Sun 0410v WA0RCR 1860-AM ND Sun 1130 HLR 9485-CUSB to WSW 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 2030 WRMI 11580 to NE, 9455 to WNW, 7780 to NE [or #1910?] Tue 2130 WRMI 9455 to WNW [or #1910?] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Many I’m sure know what’s going on here already, but for those who don’t. WBCQ had a fire and the total loss of one of the main transmitters (last night) ?). https://twitter.com/AllanWBCQ 73 (Dave Zantow N9EWO, 1746 UT Dec 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Tweets Tweets, current page. Tweets & replies Media Allan Weiner? @AllanWBCQ 3h3 hours ago Lost one of our main transmitters in a fire. Total loss. Need to replace. Please help. http://gofundme.com/wbcq-radio-replacement-transmitter Donate what you can. All other transmitters are OK. Plenty of backup. Please help if you can. http://gofundme.com/wbcq-radio-replacement-transmitter Thank you. 0 replies 1 retweet 1 like (via DXLD) Several photos. Transmitter for WHICH frequency?? So this is where we have to go for current info from AW. Too bad! (Glenn Hauser, Dec 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At least $20000 is required to buy a used transmitter and have it shipped to the radio station in Maine. We are on a reduced power backup transmitter and need to return to full 50 KW power as soon as possible. Thank You (via swling.com via DXLD) What caused the fire? Was there insurance?? (gh, DXLD) > Transmitter for WHICH frequency?? 7490 kHz it seems. I understand that the transmitter for this frequency has been described as a 50 kW mediumwave rig, modified for shortwave. And the two photos, posted to Twitter three hours ago, appear to show exactly this (Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via DXLD) Yes, the main 7490 transmitter is the one that suffered the fire. Glenn, the fire occurred this past Sunday night. The backup 7490 unit was placed into service almost immediately but 5130 was left offline the rest of the evening as a precaution. The 5130 unit is undamaged but required a thorough cleaning with the rest of the transmitter building. 5130 should be back online this evening for Allan's show at 0100, and on its regular weekend schedule. Regards, Lw (Larry Will, ibid.) Allan Weiner? @AllanWBCQ Vor 17 Minuten Cleaning. Working all day removing soot. Two other transmitters in there are ok. Listen tonight on my show at 8 for more details. Thank you Allan Weiner? @AllanWBCQ Vor 16 Minuten AWWW tonight at 8 pm eastern on 7490 and 5130 shortwave. Streaming on the net at http://wbcq.com Please listen and help (via Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via DXLD) WBCQ transmitter fire --- To our friends and fans: WBCQ suffered a transmitter fire earlier this week, destroying one of our main transmitters. Fortunately no one was hurt, the damage to our facility and other equipment is minimal, and our backup equipment is online and working well. This is quite devastating to us. There is much work to be done but we will survive. Your support at this time is greatly appreciated. Allan will discuss this on his show tonight at 8:00PM US eastern time (0100 UT) on WBCQ 7.490 and 5.130 MHz. We've started a fundraiser at https://www.gofundme.com/wbcq-radio-replacement-transmitter thanks for your support. Regards, Lw (Larry Will, dxldyg via DXLD) (also on WBCQThePlanet FB via Artie Bigley, DXLD) 7490.080, Dec 15 at 2114, WBCQ is S7 to S9+10 during `Financial Survival` conspiracy theories. It`s the backup transmitter running 30 kW as we learn later, following a disastrous fire which destroyed the original WBCQ-1 transmitter on Dec 10. Allan Weiner was going to tell us all about it on his Friday night show, so I made a point of listening to it all on webcast, taking extensive notes, UT Saturday Dec 16 from 0100 on (7490). At 0040 check, 7489.80 itself was found to be a JBA carrier; 5130 not yet on but might have been better. It`s a monologue by AW, with interjexions from others mostly off-mike in the studio. If this seem somewhat disjointed, I am presenting the info roughly in the order it came over. Says this broadcast is on 7490 and 5130; with Angela, Scott and Timtron. AW is not feeling well, has had an atrial fibrillation [irregular heart rhythm] attack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrial_fibrillation which hits him about three times a year. Disaster hit Sunday December 10, as it was snowing. Fire destroyed the #1 transmitter. There are five other transmitters, including the new #6 which is for 3265. (One of the others is apparently a backup.) Last year`s fund drive with a goal of $500K raised only 4 or 5K$, but he`s grateful for that; paid part of the $6K cost for shipping the new transmitter from California. He and the crew had just been rebuilding #1 the past three years. The renovation cost $50-80K. And it went back into service about 6 weeks ago, working fine. Originally a Harris MW-50, converted to a SW-50. Has very good efficiency of 90%, but a flaw. Surrounding the tubes running 22 kv is a fiberglass ducting plenum, dating from the original unit 40 years ago, so deteriorated. It caught fire. Last Sunday signed on at 5 pm as usual for Marion`s Attic; by 6 pm, it was burning as AW walked into the transmitter building; turned off the HV. Fiberglass is made of explosive resins, impossible to put out. Caused extensive devastation, debris all over the building which contains two other transmitters. Along with the atrial fibrillation, AW is on heart and blood pressure meds. This situation was not good for his conditions. The #2 transmitter is for 5130; #3 is the backup 30 kW for 7490, which was untouched and soon switched on to resume broadcasting. Fortunately the building did not burn down, which it could have; it has three-quarter-inch plaster which deflects heat. The wiring, power supply, etc., are OK; just that there is soot over everything which must be cleaned up, as electricity and soot=carbon do not mix! He has been unable to get insurance for WBCQ, since it`s ``at the end of nowhere`` and as an international broadcast station a ``terrorist target``. Has tried to get insurance for ten years. [Merriam-Webster Definition of plenum. 1b: an air-filled space in a structure; especially: one that receives air from a blower for distribution (as in a ventilation system)] Plenum is an air ducting system, from the main blower to cool the two main tubes. He thinks this happened in a flash, as the fibreglass, which has metallic fibers (?) within it, broke down. It had only been on air for an hour when the ducting ignited. The blower kept running, fanning the flames. He wants to replace this ASAP and needs to raise $20K to purchase another used SW transmitter. AW has one in mind, which apparently has already been converted from MW to bona fide SW, but will need further parts and work, and high shipping costs. Frequent plugs for gofundme or contribute via the WBCQ.com website. Even JL has contributed via gofundme!! WBCQ is not making a profit; depends on unpaid volunteers. AW says he has not raised rates since starting in *1998! (despite inflation), charging anywhere from $10 to $60 an hour depending on the amount of time purchased. This is to accommodate free-speech clients who he knows could not afford higher rates. The 3265 #5 [6?] transmitter has the same plenum problem, so that is being replaced with half-inch teflon. Still waiting for a major client for it. Anyone else running a Harris transmitter with fibreglass plenum should take note and replace it before they have such a fire! ``Get this right, Glenn Hauser --- all the other transmitters are fine``. For this very reason, they are in two other buildings. (?? IF I did not get something right, it`s because no one tells me directly what`s happening -- gh) A new SW transmitter from Ampegon or CCA would cost $300K to $500K, out of the question. WBCQ has always relied on used equipment, converted for SW. The replacement transmitter is of a different shape than the burned one; the building walls will have to be modified so it will fit, but this is doable. Most work will be volunteer, but will pay a crew to clean up the building. Temp is now 4 degrees, minus wind chill. Not much work can be done until spring, but plans to have the new rig going by mid- summer, better than ever. This was a chemical problem that no one foresaw. Harris cut corners by using fibreglass. ``Harris built a time-bomb``. I was wondering if Allan would ever say anything about the 9330 transmitter, and why we can`t hear it. He does say it`s #4 in another building, and unaffected by the fire. It`s now past 0200 when he starts to reply to e-mail, acknowledge some contributors. His benedixion starts at 0217 as the show is almost over. Of course, we wish Allan and everyone at WBCQ the best, and good luck in carrying through on getting back to 50 kW on 7490. John Carver, mid-north Indiana, sends his report on this same broadcast: ``Tonight's show started on time this evening. Listening on 5130 as 7490 was plagued with long, deep fades and coming in with the high point in the swing being S5. 5130 is not great this evening at S5-S7 but the fades don't seem to be as bad here. Allan opened the show with the news of the 7490 transmitter fire. Angela, Dr. Becker and TimTron were in the studio with him. Allan is not feeling well, suffering effects of stress and the smoke from the fire. At 0108 the noise came up making it hard to copy. Allan said he was having some heart problems from the stress, smoke and not being able to breathe in the transmitter building while putting out the fire. Lots of details about the fire and the clean up. It sounds like they're still running with one mic in the studio this week. Understandable with all that's been going on since last week's program. No insurance on the station as Allan states that the insurance companies consider the station to be a terrorist target. Has started a Go Fund Me page to raise money to buy another transmitter. Has another transmitter in mind if they can raise the money. Transmitter would be shipped to a warehouse in Presque Isle and converted there and then moved to the station probably in the spring. Transmitter for 3265 is being torn down and the fiberglass air ducting is being removed as this is what caused the two previous fires in the 7490 transmitter and the 3265 transmitter has the same fiberglass ducting in it. Wants to raise at least twenty thousand dollars to defray the costs of another transmitter. New transmitter would cost three hundred thousand dollars. No damage to the transmitter buildings or any of the wiring or other equipment contained there. Losing large hunks of the conversation in the fades. Signal has dropped to S5 and less now. As usual 5130 transmitter shuts down at 0202 right in the middle of a sentence. I know they're having all sorts of problems at the station but they really should fix that and leave 5130 on till the end of the program. John`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In case you missed it, here's Allan's show from December 15, 2017 https://goo.gl/jb48Li (FB via DXLD) TimTron Worldwide on 5130 was live for both hours as Tim was at the station. He did say during the show that the 7490 backup transmitter had been bucking and farting and went down during Shortwave Saturday Night and he got it fixed and back on the air. He also said that he had repaired an old ribbon mic while there so there were now two working mics in the studio (John Carver, IN, UT Dec 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7490, WBCQ, at 2249 with “Marion’s Attic” and a mix of really old music and a high-pitched DJ – Good with deep fades Dec 17 [Sun] – Since their transmitter fire WBCQ is on reduced power (Mark Coady, Selwyn, Ontario, Kenwood TS440S or Ten-Tec Argonaut II and 40 and 80 meter off centre-fed dipoles, ODXA group.io via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. From the Isle of Music, December 17-23: This week, our special guest is Cuban rock artist and producer David Blanco. We will listen to tracks from some of his albums plus an epic 18 minute jam from Anima Mundi, this year's Cubadisco winner in Rock. Four opportunities to listen on shortwave: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100 kW, Sunday 1500-1600 UT on SpaceLine, 9400, from Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK) 2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 UT on WBCQ, 7490 from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9 PM EST in the US) 3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UT and Saturday 1200-1300 UT on Channel 292, 6070 from Rohrbach, Germany. Uncle Bill's Melting Pot, December 17 --- Brazilian Jazz, Part 1 Episode 41 of Uncle Bill's Melting Pot will be dedicated to some beautiful Brazilian Jazz. We'll revisit this theme a few times over the next year. Sunday, December 17, 2300-2330 UT (6:00-6:30 PM Eastern US) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 shortwave from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe Thanks for all you do for radio! (William "Bill" Tilford, Owner/Producer, Tilford Productions, LLC, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. From the Isle of Music, December 24–30: This week, a potpourri of excellent albums from 2017 plus a touch of Cuban Christmas Jazz. Four opportunities to listen on shortwave: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100 kW, Sunday 1500-1600 UT on SpaceLine, 9400, from Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK) 2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 UT on WBCQ, 7490 from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9 PM EST in the US) NOTE THAT UT CHANGED BUT EASTERN US TIME IS STILL THE SAME. 3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UT and Saturday 1200-1300 on Channel 292, 6070 from Rohrbach, Germany. Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, December 24 If We’re Going to Hell, We Want Company… Episode 42 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot will include some “XXXmas music” for people who can’t take any more Christmas music. That parental warning at the beginning of every show is real for this episode due to language in some of the songs. Fans of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation of the 1970s will also enjoy this. Sunday, December 24, 2300-2330 UT (6-6:30 PM Eastern US) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe. Thanks for all you do for radio! (William "Bill" Tilford, Owner/Producer, Tilford Productions, LLC, Dec 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9455, Dec 13 at 1054, 1435 and 1640 chex, this WRMI #5 transmitter at 285 degrees is missing, when it should be audible like 9395 & 9955. 9455, Dec 14 at 0659, 1442 and 1537 chex, this WRMI transmitter, #5, continues to be off the air; easily confirmed by comparing to 9395 & 9955 which are always on. This could impact two Tuesday and one Wednesday broadcast of World of Radio, as well as many other programs, including all those originally on still silent 15770 at 21-22. 9455, Dec 15 at 0710, WRMI-5 is back on the air, S9+10 with Oldies // 9395. 9455 had been AWOL since at least 1054 Dec 13 when first noticed. Still on at 1428 with `The Power Hour`; 1520 back to Oldies // 9395 & >> 7780, as TPH replay only lasts two hours now at 13-15 weekdays. It would make more sense for the replay of Friday afternoon to go out on Saturday morning rather than Monday; unsure which without checking yet. 11530, Dec 16 at 0652, WRMI with Brother Scare singing at S9+20, about equal to // 11580; so Radio Herwa International likely to ensue at 0700, and probably R. Biafra presued until 0530. There are extreme variations in reception of these in the nightmiddle, often JBA carriers. 9395, Dec 16 at 2118, WRMI `Oldies` service with VOA News relay ending at 2120 (instead of `The Power Hour` on weekdays) [and non]. 9955, UT Sunday Dec 17 at 0009, YL in Spanish is talking about (her?) paintings in the Cuban exile community, vs. jamming of a different type than usual: machine-gun-like bursts interrupted by quick pauses about 25 times per minute. Is it Mirka? No, WRMI sked shows 0000-0015 Sunday is `Moderna` which gets one other airing UT Monday at 0115-0130. It`s hardly clear that she is finished at 0015 when WRMI suddenly switches to gospel huxter in English, `Words of Life Ministry` from Buford GA, as the jamming continues, also with some traditional pulsing. We`ve noted `Moderna` before, with a blurb on the Programming page, http://wrmi.net/index.php/programming/ identifying her as Yadira Escobar, but totally confused scheduling info. She promotes reconciliation across the Straits; tough, jam her anyway! 9455, Dec 17 at 0713, comparing WRMI Oldies with // 9395, I can tell that the 9455 transmitter is slightly unstable, wobbling while 9395 is not. See also NIGERIA [non] 9955, UT Mon Dec 18 at 0115, WRMI introduces `Moderna` and blogger Yadira starts her commentary in Spanish, main subject being the FCC voting against Net Neutrality. Apparently this will also impact Cuba`s fledgling internet, already tightly government-controlled. Points out that SW is also regulated, requiring a license. VG S9+35 fading to S9, no jamming audible this time, unlike the previous broadcast until 0015 December 17. 9395 // 9455, Dec 19 at 0630, WRMI Oldies with Beach Boys? song about ``two girls for every boy``. I never listen to this for any length of time, just tune across, but am sure I have encountered this tune many times before, making me wonder just how limited their playlist may be? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5970, Dec 13 at 0701, WEWN Spanish is continually breaking up with crackle, splattering plus/minus 10 kHz. Still scratchy at 1427. 12065, Dec 13 at 1418, WEWN English in Teresa`s RCC talkshow, S9+30 with squeals, and spurblob peaks approx. plus and minus 9 kHz, and double that weaker at 18 kHz --- just like we would hear whenever 15610 arrived with a very strong fundamental signal. I.e., circa 12047, 12056, 12074, 12083. The spur field range is detectable out to plus/minus 25 kHz, 12040-12090, bad news for innocent bystations (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 17775.150, Dec 13 at 1526, KVOH playing `Feliz Navidad` tune, José? Distorted and considerably off-frequency. Splatter field only 17765-17785, not further into the 18068+ hamband at the moment, altho fundamental is quite strong. (BTW, I have remeasured and refined the correxion factors on the R75 for precise frequency measurements to the Hz. Probably accurate to within 2 Hz) 17775.149, Dec 15 at 1521, KVOH is S9+30 and distorted in Spanish, but no spur field audible, still off-frequency like Dec 13 at same time. 17775.017, Dec 15 at 1911, KVOH Spanish sermon is S9+20 and somewhat suptorted, but closer to frequency than last few days. Perhaps they saw my measurements of +150 Hz or so. No spur field detectable (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5085, Dec 13 at 0705, WTWW-2 is still on with S9+20 of dead air. Wonder when the music stopped? 12105, Dec 15 at 1917, WTWW-3 reactivated after several months! I bandscan past here just about every day and nothing until now. It`s S9+20 with ``Wish Upon a Star``, not exactly Xmasmx, but at 1920, KI4OSH from Fairview TN utters Xmas wishes, then to Armed Forces too; Ted ad for Icom transceivers, 1923 ``All Xmasmx all the time from WTWW``. Modulation is somewhat distorted, a pity for a music service, and carrier wobbles with BFO on. 2107 recheck, still on but faded drastically to S5-S7. More hams are making recorded Xmas greetings. 12105 was originally dedicated to ``Bible Worldwide` in a few strange languages such as Yoruba, but now there is reason to add it to my caradio BSR-1 memories in order to keep track of it. Xmasmx is the stuff Ted has been running on 5085 at night, and one would expect the same on WTWW-2`s day frequency 9930, but not. The only other user of 12105, per NDXC/Aoki is RFA Burmese via Tinian at 1230-1430. As far as FCC is concerned, WTWW may use 12105 any time between 1400 and 0600 during B-17. See the schedule at https://transition.fcc.gov/ib/sand/neg/hf_web/B17FCC01.TXT which among many other versions of B-17 info can be reached via http://www.worldofradio.com VP carrier still on 12105 at 0044 and 0053 Dec 16, but can`t hear any music or other modulation. Guess what: next check at 0651, I still get a JBA carrier, exciter? then Xmasmx about Santa Claus blasts on at S9 for a few seconds, and gone again. At 1359 Dec 16, the JBA carrier is presumably Tinian, tho FCC allows for a 30-minute overlap. When was 12105 last logged from WTWW? April 2017, per the MARE Log Summary issued in late September. Searching my logs, I last had 12105 with dead air on May 13 and 16, no signal on May 20, 2017. IIRC, the Bibling had ceased quite a while before then. The #3 transmitter is a different model than the others, and we concluded that when it broke, Ted couldn`t fix it. Or course the current 12105 activity could be from #2 transmitter, since it`s not on 5085 or 9930 when we are hearing 12105. 9475 is running as usual with SFAW. Only if we ever hear three WTWW frequencies at once, shall we know that all transmitters are operational (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12105, Dec 16 at 1905, 2157 chex, no signal on the WTWW-3 frequency, unlike yesterday afternoon (and nightmiddle) when it was Xmasmx. Nor is 9930 on, no `Theater Organ in the Ozarx`, but 9475 with deviant `QSO` show after 1900. 5085, UT Sun Dec 17 at 0204, Xmasmx, ``First Noel``, not organ now either. 12105, Dec 17 at 1432, poor signal with music, unseems Xmas, until 1437, ``Winter Wonderland``, so no doubt the #3 frequency of WTWW but hardly propagating yet. In the Bible-Worldwide days it was never on air until afternoons. But FCC-available from 1400, and as already heard, could be run anytime Ted feel like it. 12105, Dec 17 at 1707, now it`s inbooming, soul version of ``Santa Claus is Comin` to Town`, 1708 Xmas greeting in English by another canned ham in Ohio. What does Ted have against SWLs greeting on a SW broadcast station? Carrier remains wobbly and music modulation distorted. 12105, Dec 17 at 2305, no signal from WTWW Xmasmx, nor 5085, but that is on a couple of hours later. 12105, Dec 19 at 0634, music VP S2-S4, must be WTWW still with Xmasmx all the time, and that includes the nightmiddle when hardly propagating. We were wondering why they weren`t running this on WTWW-2 9930 daytime frequency for better coverage; by 2122 Dec 19 check, 12105 is off, and indeed after AWOL for weeks, 9930 is on with Xmasmx at S9+30/40. 9475 also on with SFAW but we have still never heard all three transmitters on the air at once (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later: all three are being heard] ** U S A. 9228v, Dec 8, 2104, WWRB. Found a spur of 9370 here at 2104 drifting down from 9228.75 to 9228.52 by 2135. Religious preaching by M, and promo for Bro. Stair at 2116, //9370 of course. Good and easily readable at tune-in, but faded badly by t/out. Nothing noted on the upper side. An audio file can be heard by using this link: https://app.box.com/s/fw8iflbc22g1js6nceh39i9jw740oio3 9229.4v, Dec 15, 1844, WWRB. Found the spur of 9370 WWRB here again at 1844 during Bro. Stair program. Then found the weaker 9510.6v spur on the upper side. Upon generating a screenshot of the spurs, found that 9229.4v was in LSB and 9510.6v was in USB. Strange (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) 3215, UT Mon Dec 18 at 0101, WWRB is S9+40 with far-right politico- religious talk (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7505v, Dec 19 at 0204 check, no sign of WRNO (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15555-USB mode transmission, out of WJHR Milton FL according Aoki database list. At 1837 UT, S=9+15dB in east coast [sic] N AM in MI-US state, religious? talk on drugs, alcohol, "Word of God" needed, CLEAN AUDIO modulation heard on software defined radio in usb mode tuning selection [selected SDR options, span 12.5 kHz RBW 15.3 Hertz] (Wolfgang Büschel, df5sx, aAfternoon log on Dec 17 at 18-19 UT slot, heard here in Germany, Belgium, and England remote SDR installations, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WINB TO ADD NEW TRANSMITTER --- This routine FCC HF announcement indicates that it has received an application from WINB. http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db1213/DOC-348229A1.pdf According to Ms. Ghavami, the FCC's engineer on HF broadcast matters, the application is to add a transmitter to the existing station, for which a new construction permit is required (Benn Kobb, AK4AV, Dec 13. DX LISTENING DIGEST) viz.: PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 445 12th STREET S.W. WASHINGTON D.C. 20554 News media information 202-418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov (or ftp.fcc.gov) TTY (202) 418-2555 Wednesday December 13, 2017 IHF-00144 Report No. re: Applications Accepted For Filing International High Frequency The applications listed herein have been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing. The Commission reserves the right to return any of the applications if, upon further examination, it is determined they are defective and not in conformance with the Commission's Rules and Regulations and its Policies. For more information concerning this Notice, contact Shahnaz Ghavami at 202-418-0740; Shahnaz.Ghavami@fcc.gov; TTY 1-888-835-5322. Note: At present, technical data regarding these applications is not available via internet reports. However, all IBFS technical data may be downloaded in a database form at from the following web location: https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/general/search-fcc-databases IHF-C/P-20171126-00004 P Construction Permit World International Broadcasters, Inc. World International Broadcasters Inc. requests authority for construction permit to build an International Broadcast Station located in Windsor Twp., PA. Page 1 of 1 (via DXLD) That explains the extra schedule WINB already registered with HFCC for B-17, which I pointed out a sesquimonth ago. HFCC of Nov 30 shows the full schedule, and 9265 beyond its previous limited hours, may also be partially on the new transmitter. Language for all as Eng/Spa, dates for entire B-17 season, obviously an exaggeration. Other items are kW power, azimuth, slew (none), antenna type, and days of week Sun-Sat: 7315 0700 1000 27,37,38 50 62 0 902 23456 9265 0600 1100 37,38 50 62 0 902 1234567 9265 0700 1000 27,37,38 50 62 0 902 1 7 9265 1000 0700 10,11 50 242 0 902 1 7 9265 1000 1200 27,37,38 50 62 0 902 23456 9265 1100 0600 10,11 50 242 0 902 1234567 9265 1700 0700 10,11 50 242 0 902 23456 15670 1200 1700 27,37,38 50 62 0 902 23456 Present operations believed to be on 242 degrees only; 62 is merely the reverse direxion toward Europe. It would seem they don`t have enough business to fill one transmitter. It`s very old and seems in rather poor condition, so the idea may be merely to replace it (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC Report 12/17: WCAZ Defies FCC’s License Deletion By Lance Venta on December 17, 2017 Comments Closed --- FCC Actions 990, WCAZ, Carthage [IL] Ralla Broadcasting was issued a Notice of Unlicensed Operation as it has continued to operate the former 990 WCAZ Carthage IL since the station’s license was deleted earlier this year. WCAZ was notified by the commission in June 2015 and December 2016 that it had a red light delinquency owed but received no response either time leading to the deletion of the license in April. WCAZ had been fined $3500 in 2007 for filing a late renewal application in 2004. An FCC agent visited the former WCAZ on June 28 and ordered the company to cease operations immediately as it no longer had authority to broadcast, which the station’s management refused to do. As of Friday, DWCAZ is still broadcasting (Radioinsight via Artie Bigley, WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) ** U S A. 1280, Dec 14 at 1347 UT, 1352 UT, and 1427 UT chex, KSOK Arkansas City KS is open carrier, dead air, but music finally resumed at 1511 UT check. Who cares? As long as they`ve got the paltry FM translator going, inaudible here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WZHF 1390 AM recibió una notificación del Departamento de Justicia de EEUU sobre su posible inscripción en calidad de agente extranjero --- 14/12/2017 [from Sputnik news iself] https://gruporadioescuchaargentino.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/wzhf-1390-am-recibio-una-notificacion-del-departamento-de-justicia-de-eeuu-sobre-su-posible-inscripcion-en-calidad-de-agente-extranjero/ (GRA blog via DXLD) of RUSSIA ** U S A. KQV GOING OFF THE AIR AT END OF THE YEAR http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/12/15/KQV-radio-going-off-the-air-Dec-31-all-news-format-Robert-W-Dickey-Jr/stories/201712150145 Gary Rotstein Pittsburgh Post-Gazette grotstein@post-gazette.com KQV radio, the historic local “all news/all the time” AM station that has been broadcasting for nearly a century, intends to go off the air at the end of the night Dec. 31. Station general manager and owner Robert W. Dickey Jr. said he delivered the news Friday morning to his staff of about 20 in the KQV office at Centre City Tower, Downtown. “Candidly, I think it’s a sad day for broadcasting,” Mr. Dickey told the Post-Gazette afterward. “It’s fair to say we’ve been trying to provide a community service. The bottom line is I just can’t sustain the business model. We’re an independent, labor-intensive format, and we were happy to take it on as long as we could financially do it.” Deaths in his family were also a factor in ending the station’s run on 1410, Mr. Dickey said. His father, a former station manager, joined with billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife to form Calvary Inc. and purchase the station in 1982. The senior Robert W. Dickey died in 2011, Mr. Scaife sold his shares to the Dickey family in 2013, and Mr. Dickey Jr. had been running the station with his sister, Cheryl Scott, its president and business manager, until she died last month. The station traces its roots to 1919, and Mr. Dickey said he is unsure now what will happen to the license and 1410 frequency. He did not consider a sale or format change at the station, he said, because of his family’s longtime focus on delivering news as a mission. “We perceived the world of reporting on the news as a sacred one,” he said. “There’s got to be commitment to the product, and that attitude kept the station on air for as many years as it has.” The station has used an all-news format since 1975, and before that was one of the favorite stations for local teens to discover the growing pop and rock music scene from the late 1950s into the early ’70s (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) KQV 1410 Pittsburgh to go off the air! https://radioinsight.com/headlines/121783/kqv-pittsburgh-sign-off-december-31/ (via Artie Bigley, OH, DXLD) References the P-G story (gh) [WORLD OF RADIO 1909] It's ending its current operations on 12/31. The license is for sale and 1410 could survive under a new owner. Whether it survives at its current 5-tower facility is another matter. The site is right off the biggest commercial drag on the north side and is reportedly worth over $2 million... which is probably 10x what the 1410 license is worth (Scott Fybush, NY, ABDX yg via DXLD) One of Oldest US Radio Stations to Go Dark ---- ARRL-3 hours ago Unofficial accounts indicate that KQV started out as “special amateur station” 8ZAE, to be used by the Doubleday-Hill Electric Company primarily for two-way communication with another station in Washington, DC. (Doubleday-Hill also sold radios.) In October 1921, the Federal Radio Commission issued the station a “limited ... http://www.arrl.org/news/one-of-oldest-us-radio-stations-to-go-dark (via Artie Bigley, OH, Dec 18, DXLD) KQV, Pittsburgh's oldest all-news station, to go off air Jan. 1 --- Aaron Aupperlee, Pittsburgh Tribune – Dec. 14, 2017 http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/13078377-74/kqv-pittsburghs-oldest-all-news-station-to-go-off-air-jan-1 (via Dave Schmidt, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 16, via DXLD) ** U S A. NRC AM Log Updates: 1480 KLVL TX Pasadena – Format to OLD (ex-Asian); slogan & Group to Grp=Gulf Coast Radio. (GH) 1540 KGBC TX Galveston – Slogan & Group to Grp=Gulf Coast Radio New Groups: Grp= Gulf Coast Radio – KGBC-1540, KLVL-1480, K235CS-94.9, K269GS-101.7 (GH) (FCC info, AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 16, via DXLD) So is processed my log of KGBC 1540.11 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. BUYER FOUND FOR SILENT 1510 WMEX BOSTON By Lance Venta on December 19, 2017 No Comments https://radioinsight.com/headlines/121866/buyer-found-silent-1510-wmex-boston/ 1510, WMEX, Boston --- After no bidders came forward in an auction of Daly XXL’s Silent 1510 WMEX Boston on Friday, Ed Perry’s Marshfield Broadcasting Company agreed to pay $125,000 to purchase the license for the station. The auction on Friday sought a minimum bid of $300,000 plus a ten year lease at $12,000 per month for the station’s current transmitter site. Northeast Radio Watch reports that Perry will need to find a new site for the station as well as new call letters as Daly XXL will retain the WMEX letters albeit with no other station right now to park them on. https://www.fybush.com/nerw-extra-20171219/ WMEX went silent at the end of June as its current lease with the tower site owner expired. Perry currently owns Silent 1460 WATD Brockton (with translator CP for 101.1) and Full Service AC 95.9 WATD-FM Marshfield MA. In confirming the purchase he told NERW’s Scott Fybush, “I’m excited about the prospect of helping to revive the station I grew up with and truly loved as a kid in Natick. Should be fun and I’m sure there’s a lot of air talent around to fill the frequency with great music and memorable words.” (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) I`ve always wondered about the calls WMEX --- did they ever correspond to a Spanish/Mexican format, or mean something else? Squatting on the calls hoping a real Mexican station would buy them? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. All times/dates GMT, Clearwater, FL, NRD-535, IC-R75, longwires, active loop 1500, GEORGIA, WSEM, Donalsonville. 0958 December 16, 2017. Nonstop mostly traditional Christmas vocals with occasional male canned "WMGR 930 and WSEM... 99 point 3... Your new home for contemporary Christian favorites" (and variants of). Smashing WFED hard despite only 1000 watts, and again violating their D1 license. 1580, SOUTH CAROLINA, WDAB, Travelers Rest. 1058 December 16, 2017. Mexi-tunes and occasional male canned "Ke Buena 15-80 A-M." Male English ID 1057 as "WDAB... Columbus and Greenville." Not to be confused with WLAA, Bithlo, Florida (D1) which is also phonetically the same ("Que Buena") and strong by sunrise on the frequency, and also with Mexi-tunes, sometimes sloganing as "La Jefa Que Buena." WPMO with CBS Sports co-channel, then by 1120, WTCL Christian talk co- channel followed by WLAA dominating. Presume, like so many others, not operating pre-sunrise proper power. 1580, ALABAMA, WVOK, Oxford. 1119 December 17, 2017. Automated Classic Oldies Rock (Linda Ronstadt, Led Zeppelin, Don McLean, Bee Gees) and a Country semi-local (Bobby Jewel), just a Country (Blake Shelton) and a quasi-Hair Band (Tesla). Male canned "A-M 15-80, WVOK, Oxford" at 1200 immediately into old time Country/Bluegrass Gospel vocals (on a local Sunday). At least they're back on frequency after a spell just below 1580. 1580, UNIDENTIFIED, 1120 December 17, 2017. Someone popped up at 1120 with a loud 60-cycle hum, live male quick something "... 15-80" and on/off a couple times. Back on briefly with the hum at 1141 then off. Someone on maintenance testing this Sunday morning? 1649.71, UNIDENTIFIED, 1011 UT December 17, 2017. Big het against on- frequency WHKT, KSVE, CINA and the I-275 Tampa HAR. Wasn't audible the previous morning, same time span. Measurement approximate on the R75. 1650, ARKANSAS, KFSW, Fort Smith. 1206 December 16, 2017. Twisting the loop out of XEARZ which was playing an instrumental "Stranger In Paradise" that made me want a martini (without rocks but with a cream cheese-stuffed olive), I hear English pop-ish vocals. Paralleled to the KFSW Life 98.7 Streema feed. "It Feels Like New Year's Day" by Christian pop-tart boys band Abandoned. Quickly became threshold by 1215, with the I-275 Tampa HAR and WHKT dominating. [KFSW is really in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, yet I seldom hear it; and it seems everyone else insists on attributing it to Arkansas -- gh] 1680, NEW JERSEY, WTTM, Lindenwold. 1020 December 17, 2017. Cuban- accented Spanish man with news items. Checking the Cuban national nets, not parallel. Then into Spanish mostly romantic ballads from 1031. Finally, Male English canned "WTTM, Lindenwold-Philadelphia" at 1100 an back to vocals. Over and under WOKB (Urban Gospel). First time here, in fact probably the first NJ log from here. Slogan is listed as Radio Unika, and simulcast 1350 kc/s WHWH (which Craig Cook in Central Florida was able to parallel weakly upon me sending out an alert regarding 1680). Here, only a strong Radio Ciudad del Mar occupying 1350. Running day power, or just decent propagation today? 1680, UNIDENTIFIED, The Sweeper. 1018 December 17, 2017. Pointing NNE/SSW, this one which has sporadically appeared for a few years, here again with rapidly ascending whoop-whoop tone, about three per second. Same as David Crawford's 1650 sweeper on December 11? Where I've also occasionally heard the same or similar for years. Florida Low Power Radio Stations: https://sites.google.com/site/floridadxn/florida-low-power-radio-stations (Terry Krueger, DX LISTENING DIGEST ** U S A. 1700, Dec 15 at 1422 UT, dead air from stronger station, presumably KKLF Richardson TX, DF seems to fit, while English talk audible from understation, presumably KBGG Des Moines IA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1710 kHz, Dec 1, 1024 --- PIRATE (USA) R. Reten lo que Tienes, 1024 UT, plainly recognizable Spanish talk by M, 1044 soft music, 1049 definite LA music. 1101 preaching by M, which was found // to their web stream. Tough with the Flight 93, Hudson Co. NJ, and Springfield MA armory TIS’s vying for prominence. Had to wait for the peaks (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) See also UNIDENTIFIED 1710 1710, Dec 18 at 0630 UT, screaming Spanish gospel huxter, so that`s typical Retén lo que Tienes spewage from the Bâton Rouge LA pirate, poor signal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. CUMULUS TO RESTRUCTURE USING CHAPTER 11 --++==ooOoo==++-- '...the company’s current common stock will be “canceled and will not receive a recovery in the restructuring.” http://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/0002/cumulus-to-restructure-using-chapter-11/340829 (via Larry Russell, MARE Tipsheet 15 Dec via DXLD) ** U S A. A bit of area tropo DTV DX here, having had hardly any earlier in the fall; today there is fog in the region, and unseasonably warm temps. Dec 19 at 1458 UT, my DTV bandscan, which I perform whenever there is even a slight chance of DX, finds BAD signals on RF 9, 11, 18, 22, 30, 34, 35, 36, 42, 47, and decodes on: RF 26, KSAS, 24, Wichita KS RF 19, KQCW, 20, Muskogee (Tulsa) OK RF 28, KFDX-DT, 3, Wichita Falls TX RF 31, KDCU-DT, 32, Derby (Wichita) KS RF 35, KMTW-DT, 36, Hutchinson (Wichita) KS RF 45, KSNW-DT, 3, Wichita KS Virtual channel 3 was especially interesting as the STB mixes in KFDX and KSNW from different RF channels: 3-2, KJBO-DT and Telemundo 3-3, Laff and Ion Back in the analog era, of course, it was not unusual here to have KFDX and KSNW (né KARD-TV) mixing on 3, often synched with NBC programming. WF is somewhat further than W (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. W1AW to begin scheduled transmissions on 6 meters starting January 2, 2018 ZCZC AG24 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 24 ARLB024 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT December 1, 2017 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB024 Beginning with the 9 AM EST fast code practice on Tuesday, January 2, 2018, W1AW will add 6 meters - specifically 50350 kHz - to its regular CW code practice, and CW, digital and phone bulletin transmission schedule. Prior to late 1989, W1AW had a presence on 6 meters for all its CW practice, and regular bulletins. Since that time however, the station was absent on 6 meters, with the exception of regular visitor operations and contests. In addition to providing regularly scheduled transmissions on 6 meters, another goal is to act as a beacon on 6 meters, especially from the Northeast US. Signal reports will be welcome. A web page that will allow listeners to provide signal reports will be made available after the start date. Reports may also be emailed to W1AW at, w1aw@arrl.org (via Paul Dobosz, MARE Tipsheet 15 Dec via DXLD) ** VATICAN [and non]. Radio Veritas Asia via SM di Galeria, Dec 15 1430-1457 on 11630*SMG 250 kW / 089 deg SoAs Urdu, good * with QRM 11629.8 KBD 250 kW / 230 deg CeAf Holy Quran Radio Kuwait http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/radio-veritas-asia-via-sm-di-galria.html (DX RE MIX NEWS #1048 from Georgi Bancov and Ivo Ivanov, Dec 19, 2017 via DXLD) RADIO VATICAN DISAPPEARS TONIGHT At midnight (CET of course) it will turn into "Vatican News". http://de.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/12/14/radio_vatikan_%E2%80%93_ein_abgesang/1354716 Apparently the editorial offices learned this date, it seems even the new name, only on Wednesday from a newspaper (!). http://de.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/12/13/seien_sie_nicht_%C3%BCberrascht_vatican_news_steht_vor_der_t%C3%BCr/1354463 Concerning special transmissions: Last year they also run, as far as shortwave is concerned, on Christmas Evening a studio mass in Chinese 1600-1652 on 5975+7200, on Christmas Day 1055-1130 a clean feed on 9645+11740+15595 and commentary in English on 15570, French on 17520 and Portuguese on 21560. Least likely to reappear are 9645 and 11740, they aimed into Europe (Kai Ludwig, Dec 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Updated info below, below At least German has been switched over to the new http://www.vaticannews.va already during the afternoon. They explicitely mark it as "Beta version", using a murky embedding of the old platform for radio services, obviously being forced to rush out an unfinished product as birthday present for you-can-guess-who. The embedded radio services are untouched, so it seems that no further "changes" (to use BBC speak) will be made here in this moment. I would not be surprised if it turns out that the broadcasts will continue to be presented under the old name. The website prominently presents two image videos. I earnestly hope that they are no first signs of a style the service has to adopt in future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJeLavzU6hQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTJrnnQ5TfM (Kai Ludwig, 2223 UT Dec 16, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Statements by Bernd Hagenkord, former head of the German service: Former Radio Vatican will continue to produce audio content, but "little of it will still be transmit by us. Rather we will do it as we already do with German: feeding it to other stations and platforms". "Vatican News" at present comprises the Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, English, French and German services. Next ones to join are, perhaps, Arabic and Chinese. The other language services still produce audio content under the old "Radio Vatican" label. It is completely unclear so far how long the complete transformation will take. The editor-in-chief will be choosen by "Monsignor Eduardo Dario Vigano" who is at present the editor-in-chief himself. "Of course the pope has always priority", they will not be able to report as much about other matters as they did in the past. http://www.medienkorrespondenz.de/leitartikel/artikel/aus-radio-vatikan-wirdnbspvaticannbspnews.html Posted by: (Kai Ludwig, Dec 18, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) The new website is in beta stage. Some of the links go nowhere, some don’t go where the site indicates they are supposed to go. Take a test drive for yourself: vaticannews.va (John Figliozzi, FL, ibid.) In this interview Bernd Hagenkord admitted that they worked even on their new logo up to the last minute before going live. Rushing out a new product that obviously is unfinished only to deliver the internal prestige of presenting a birthday present to the pope, less journalistic coverage than before --- the new image of Vatican communications... (Kai Ludwig, ibid.) ** VATICAN. CHRISTMAS EVE MASS FROM THE VATICAN ON SW According to the Vatican Radio website, the mass will be broadcast on SW starting at 20:20 UTC with different language commentaries as follows: Portuguese for Africa on 13765 kHz French for Africa on 6080 kHz English for Africa on 7275 kHz Chinese for Asia on 6185 kHz (-- Richard Langley, Dec 15, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) Above info I quoted, all wrong! (gh): The frequencies, as displayed through the old Radio Vatican CMS, have changed again. Now they are supposed to be for Chinese 5910, for English 7365, for French 9700 and for Portuguese 11625. (Did they really consider using 22 metres at all?) Also shown are now transmissions for 25 Dec, 1055-1130: French on 17520, English on 17535, Portuguese on 17550. No clean feed on shortwave anymore, it will now be limited to "(YouTube)". Also no studio mass in Chinese on 24 Dec, 1600-1652, anymore. Not via shortwave (was in 2016 on 5975 and 7200), nor via any other distribution platform. And the remaining shortwave specials could, of course, turn out to be the last ones of this kind, with the not unlikely scenario of the Santa Maria di Galeria station being closed altogether in one year from now (Kai Ludwig, Dec 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. 9839.81, V.O.V. Signal suddenly on at 0959 with orchestral music already playing. 1000 usual instrumental music and English IDs by W and M. Opening with W announcer. Music briefly and news headlines and in detail by W. Peppy Caribbean-flavored instrumental music at 1009 recheck, then same W announcer, and into local traditional music. 25mb outlet much too weak to //. 19 Dec. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA USA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S and 150 foot Delta loop, Hard- Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) A new QSL card from the Russian Voice of Vietnam service was received in response to the report of November 8, 2017. Unfortunately, the topic of the card is the same. I asked the editors about the cards with a different design and brought links to the blog of listeners of the English station service. They answered: "Regarding your question, unfortunately we do not have cards with such an image." The letter was sent from Hanoi on 18 November. The card is here http://freerutube.info/2017/10/24/qsl-vetnam-voice-of-vietnam-golos-vetnama-oktyabr-2017-goda/ (Dmitry Elagin, Saratov, Russia / "deneb-radio-dx", QSL World via RusDX 18 Dec via DXLD) WTFK? 7280 & 9730 direct (gh) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS US. SILENT STATIONS --- Stations informing the FCC that they are silent: 1090 WUVI VI Charlotte Amalie – Silent Sept. 7; Hurricane Irma. (FCC info, AM Switch, NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 16, via DXLD) FCC HURRICANE MARIA [sic] UPDATE ISSUED DECEMBER 14, 2017 --- Per the FCC, as of 1100 EST on December 13 In the U.S. Virgin Islands, 2 AM stations are confirmed operational (WUVI-1090, WSTA-1340), while 2 AM stations are suspected to be out of service (WSTX-970, WDHP-1620), and the status of 1 AM station is unconfirmed (not named, but presumably WIGT-1690 (via NRC DX News Dec 26, published Dec 16, via DXLD) ** YEMEN [non]. Reception of Republic of Yemen Radio on Dec 19: 0900-1800 on 11860 unknown tx / unknown to N/ME Arabic, good http://swldxbulgaria.blogspot.bg/2017/12/reception-of-republic-of-yemen-radio-on.html (Ivo Ivanov, SWLDXBulgaria News, December 19, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. ZNBC1 --- Hi Bill, This holiday season will not seem the same without hearing my favorite African Xmas song in English ("Happy Christmas, Happy New Year"), via R. One/ZNBC, on 5915. A fun song with a nice African accent. Will also miss the New Years Eve neat programming that Zambia always had. For many years had very much enjoyed their festivities. Here is a typical fun recording from 2015 - http://goo.gl/vmeGn0 Maybe they will be back for Christmas 2018? BTW - As of Dec 15, still finding 5915 silent of Zambia 0240+, so not looking good for Christmas 2017 reactivation? (Ron Howard, California, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ron, Yes, I know exactly what you mean. ZNBC1 always appeared to be a cheerful station, and I miss it too. Whilst daytime reception in RSA was always a problem (and usually a failure) its early morning and evening transmissions were fairly reliable here, so much so that I tended to use it as a makeshift propagation beacon for 49 and 60 metres at those times! Programming was good too. ZNBC1 had a vibe which I can't pin down, but which I have not noticed on any of our local stations. As you know, their sign on time is early morning here in Southern Africa. So for the past six months I have been automatically checking in the mornings if I wake up early (including this morning at 0250 and subsequently,) but I have heard no sign of them reactivating. Sad (Bill Bingham, RSA, ibid.) ** ZAMBIA. 13680, Dec 16, 1333, V. of Hope Africa. Audible with music at 1333. Returned at 1457 and heard music once again. M announcement at 1458 including ID, and back to music. Sounded like spiritual talk at 1504, then English ID at 1506 before going back to music. 1556 Jazz version of “How Great Thou Art”. Another canned English ID by M at 1600, brief talk, and into “That’s Just the Way it Is” by Bruce Hornsby. 1656 ID and spiritual message by M on recheck, pop song, 1659 M with announcement with website, brief instrumental music, and canned closing ID by M “With love from Zambia, this is the V. of Hope Africa service broadcasting on 9680 and 13680 kHz, and streaming worldwide on voiceof-hope.com. V. of Hope is now closing down. Please join us again tomorrow with more music and ministries from the Word of God”. 1 kHz tone, and off at 1700:54. Best at the end (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S loop antenna, SW Bulletin Dec 17 via DXLD) ** ZANZIBAR [and non]. 6015, ZBC Radio, Dec 12, come on about 0300. At 0302 could hear reciting from the Qur'an (Zanzibar) underneath CNR (China), with CNR stronger than Zanzibar. This new development is unfortunate for Zanzibar! (Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, Etón E1, antenna: 100' long wire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see CHINA 6015 Zanzibar, ZBC Radio. Dole. Dec 14, 2017 Thursday. *0300-0312. Monitored this frequency from 0235. ZBC Radio signed on at *0300, missing most of the 0300 time pips – only part of the last one was audible. Early morning greetings by YL, then at 0301 an OM introduced the daily Koran reading. Koran ended at 0306, followed by monologue from another OM. Tuned out at 0312. No sign of the QRM reported yesterday by Ron Howard in California and identified by Dave Valko as CNR. Good reception initially, but deteriorating with our local dawn; Zanzibar will be full early morning daylight already, and the path from China to Jo'burg will be daylight as well. So hopefully no QRM in Zanzibar itself. Jo’burg sunrise 0309 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6015 Zanzibar, ZBC Radio, Dole. Dec 15, 2017 Friday. 0305-0330. Nothing heard at several checks throughout this time slot, no carrier found. I gave up at 0330 because at this time of year I would not expect to reliably hear them after this time, although I should find their carrier, however weak. No sign of CNR either. Jo’burg sunrise 0310 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks very much to Bill for his confirmation that there was no Zanzibar on the air when I checked at 0303 today. Always appreciate his comments and observations direct from RSA (Ron Howard, Dec 15, ibid.) Zanzibar 6015 is OK --- 6015 Zanzibar, ZBC Radio, Dole. Dec 16, 2017 Saturday. *0256-0326. Early start to make up for yesterday? Tuned in at 0250 to find presumed Spice FM programming, with a cheerful YL talking and local pop music in the background. The 0300 time pips were early today, at *0259, and the first one seemed slightly out of sync. Then a “Zanzibar” ID and morning greetings by YL, ID again. At 0300 an OM introduced the daily Koran reading. This ended at 0303, and was followed by the usual monolgue by another OM. At 0316 a new OM took over, with a short break at 0318 for small-crowd applause before he resumed. Good at first, but noise began to win out from 0315. By 0326 Zanzibar was losing the battle with noise and fading, so I tuned out at 0326. Jo’burg sunrise 0310 (Bill Bingham, Johannesburg RSA. Drake R8E, Sony ICF2001D. dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Also a mystery on 630, where I've been trying to nail down the Cook Islands. Some English Christian music was at fair strength at 0450, sounding like many other Pacific Island stations this time of year. But on the domestic frequency of 630 you could easily be fooled by a weak west coast station playing the "exotic." https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/whnd4ica29jsami2sl8zjuw3wxy6phm7 (Gary DeBock, Kona, BIHI, Dec 18, IRCA via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 1500+, Dec 15 at 1416 UT, het on the plus side to KSTP, roughly NNW/SSE. Doubt it`s my closest KJIM Sherman, often audible and on-frequency; there are three other Texans, closest to the bearing being KANI Wharton; or from LA, KCLF New Roads (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1710, Dec 15 at 0724 UT, music is JBA but S9 on the meter, sounds like pop and then English? announcer. In that case probably not Retén lo que Tienes, Baton Rouge pirate which typically aired screaming gospel huxter in Spanish, not heard for some weeks (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1710 kHz, Pirate?? Tune-in at 2246 “Never Gonna Let You Go” by Dionne Warwick, 2248 “Yakety Sax” by Boots Randolph, 2251 “Together Forever” by Rick Astley, 2253 “When I Fall in Love” Natalie and Nat King Cole, and 2258 “525,600 Minutes” by Tuks. Lost at 2259 and didn’t return. No announcements. Brett Saylor said he brought up the webstream for the Louisiana Pirate R. Retén lo que Tiene and they had preaching. So this is someone new, 17 Dec. 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo, PA USA, Perseus SDR and Wellbrook ALA1530S and 150 foot Delta loop, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 6087.4, Dec 17 at 1428, CW including numbers and letters, and off, INTRUDER (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6940, "The Foghorn" UnID utility (believed OTHR radar) at 1205. Format not heard in years, dubbed by the late Harry Helms "The Foghorn" due to the loud low bassy tones, alternating two notes (like a foghorn). Today, there were a handful of notes, making it sound like some giant synthesized tuba playing music on the channel. Tones stopped after five minutes. VG Dec 14 (Rick Barton, report from Arizona, or, more pieces to the short wave puzzle. 73 from the Sonoran Desert, and Good Listening.....! -rb, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACKNOWLEDGED ON WORLD OF RADIO 1909: Many thanks for a generous solstitial cheque from Gerald T Pollard, NC TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FUTURELY: Happy Holidays, Glenn! Thank you for WOR! Best wishes, (Scott Gamble, with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) One may also contribute by MO or check in US funds on a US bank, to Glenn Hauser, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 Thank you Glenn from my new home of New Orleans. With my move here after decades in Atlanta, I listen to SW less often but I still appreciate your service and dedication (Tom Roche, with a contribution via PayPal to woradio at yahoo.com) Glenn, Many thanks for a year`s worth of radio reports. It's been helpful to me for finding out what is on the air. Hope that you heave a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (John Spicer) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS updated: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html PACIFIC ASIAN LOG UPDATE Hello everyone: I updated the Pacific Asian Log a few weeks ago. The November 2017 version is now posted on the Radioheritage website: http://www.radioheritage.net/ You'll need to go through a couple of the site's internal links to get to the proper page, but you'll be able to either download the PDF version or use the interactive version. If you have problems finding it, let me know. I can also send a copy directly. This time there were a modest number of housekeeping changes since the log was last updated in September. I'll have many more changes in the next update, targeted for early 2018. Corrections and updates from users are always welcome and can be sent to bportzer@comcast.net or portzerbt@gmail.com. First issued in 2001, The PAL lists medium wave and domestic shortwave broadcasting stations in southern and eastern Asia and the Pacific. It includes about 5000 stations in over 50 countries, with frequencies, call signs, locations, power, networks, schedules, languages, formats, networks and other information. Posted by: (Bruce Portzer, Dec 16, dxldyg via DXLD) see also INDONESIA CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 31ST (!!) WINTER SWL FEST REGISTRATION IS NOW AVAILABLE Hi everyone - The 31st Annual Winter SWL Fest will be March 1st - 3rd, 2018, at the Doubletree Guest Suites hotel in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Registration and additional details are available at http://swlfest.com. We have a group e-mail reflector available at http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swlfest I won't spend much time posting info regarding the fest here - since we have a separate group for that. However, if you need any motivation, we're the largest gathering of shortwave radio enthusiasts in the world -- as far as we know -- and we're still here after 31 years. If you have any questions you want to raise outside of the list setting, feel free to drop me an e-mail. Hope to see many ODXA members there!! (Richard Cuff, Co-chair, Winter SWL Fest, Dec 14, odxa group.io via DXLD) DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ OCT / NOV 2017 DXPEDITION LINKS Listening Waters AM & FM DXpedition, Murray Harbour North, Prince Edward Island, Canada http://www.bamlog.com/2017pedx.htm Lubec, ME, USA (report) http://realmonitor.com/am_logs_qh10.php (remote RX) http://qhkiwisdr.proxy.kiwisdr.com:8073/ Long Beach Island, NJ, USA http://www.radiodxing.com/ Beyond these, there are Facebook postings on the NRC page covering this period. These include reports from Newfoundland and other useful sites. https://www.facebook.com/groups/509246815818550/ Put all these reports together and you get a pretty fair impression of international MW DXing on the East Coast of North America (Mark Connelly, MA, Dec 11, ABDX via DXLD) DXPEDITION WRITE UP FROM BELGIUM Really interesting write up of a recent European Beverage DXpedition: http://knollehofdxped.blogspot.ca/ And yes, it is in English. Please note that N. Korea's Kim seems to have become quite an international DXer. After making an appearance in last year's PEI report, he now pops up in Belgium as well! best wishes, (Nick Hall-Patch, Victoria, BC, Canada, Dec 17, IRCA via DXLD) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ HOLIDAY SPECIALS ON PUBLIC RADIO Many P.R. stations have dedicated webpages to all their special holiday programming. Remember when we used to round up as many as possible? Now, just one, but a good example, WUOT 91.9 Knoxville TN and webcast (gh) 2017 Holiday Programming [EST = UT -5] http://wuot.org/2017-holiday-programming We have some new and traditional holiday program favorites for you this holiday season. From all of us at WUOT, we wish you the very best holiday season! Tuesday, December 12 at 7 p.m. – Chanukah: In Story and Song Narrated by Leonard Nimoy and sung by the acclaimed vocal sextet The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, "Chanukah in Story and Song" is a unique holiday program created especially for public radio listeners. This delightfully engaging program presents 25 eclectic selections, from the Ladino songs of the Spanish Jews and Yiddish melodies of Eastern Europe to modern Israeli tunes and the ensemble's original version of "I Have a Little Dreydle." Thursday, December 14 at 7 p.m. – Jazz Piano Christmas Join the Kennedy Center and NPR Music for a special Mardi Gras themed holiday concert. Hosted by Felix Contreras. Friday, December 15 at 10 p.m. – Paul Winter’s Annual Winter Solstice Celebration Celebrate the Return of the Sun - and the Warming of the heart with Paul Winter’s Annual Winter Solstice Celebration. On the darkest night of the year, we head back to New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine to hear The Paul Winter Consort and the glorious Cathedral Pipe Organ. The performance brings traditional holiday favorites and new sounds from around the world with special guests Fabiana Cozza, Gary Booker, Theresa Thomason, Paul McCandless, Eugene Freisen, the percussion troupe Forces of Nature. [I listened to the above just in time; Many other public radio stations will be carrying Paul Winter, probably closer to the Solstice. We suspect these programs were recorded from the year before, allowing post-produxion time, but no less enjoyable --- gh] Sunday, December 17 at 6 p.m. – Candles Burning Brightly Mindy Ratner hosts a new edition of this holiday favorite, in celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. "Candles Burning Brightly" explores Chanukah foods and traditional activities - and plenty of music. Monday, December 18 at 8 p.m. – Jonathan Winters’ A Christmas Carol An updated version of a public radio tradition hosted by NPR's Susan Stamberg. Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of Dickens' holiday classic, with a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations. Also featuring Mimi Kennedy. From NPR and KCRW. Monday, December 18 at 9 p.m. – Advent Voices Host Lynne Warfel presents an hour of gorgeous, contemplative music related to the Advent season, the Christmas story, and its symbolism. Selections include "I Wonder As I Wander," "Gabriel’s Message," "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime," and "Still, Still, Still." Tuesday, December 19 at 7 p.m. – Hanukkah Lights A perennial NPR favorite with all new Hanukkah stories. Hosted by Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz. Tuesday, December 19 at 8 p.m. – Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Chamber Classics Christmas Christmas concert performed in the Bijou Theatre on Sunday, November 26. The Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra was joined in performance by the Webb School's Madrigal Singers. Wednesday, December 20 at 8 p.m. – St. Olaf Christmas Festival This service in song and word has become one of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works, as well as orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs, and the St. Olaf Orchestra. SymphonyCast host Alison Young shares the sights and sounds of this choral favorite. Thursday, December 21 at 8 p.m. – A Chanticleer Christmas This unique, one-hour program of holiday music is presented live in concert by Chanticleer. Hear why this superb 12-man ensemble is known as "an orchestra of voices," as they perform holiday classics and new favorites, with choral commentary by host Brian Newhouse. Thursday, December 21 at 9 p.m. – Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir The world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir continues its tradition of great artistry this holiday season, with touching arrangements of familiar carols, and lesser-known melodies that are fast becoming the new classics. Julie Amacher hosts this annual favorite. Saturday, December 23 at 6 a.m. – St. Olaf Christmas Festival (repeat) Sunday, December 24 at 6 a.m. – Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Handel's much adored oratorio, Messiah, returns to Heinz Hall! Led by Music Director Manfred Honeck and featuring a cast of guest vocalists and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, this work is a religious story of hope, inspiration and timeless expression. Sunday, December 24 at 10 a.m. – A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (Live) Pipedreams host Michael Barone presents this live service of spoken- word and music (choral and organ) broadcast from the chapel of King's College in Cambridge, England. The 30-voice King's College Choir performs the legendary Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service of Biblical readings and music. Sunday, December 24 at 1 p.m. – Tinsel Tales In keeping with a well-loved NPR holiday tradition, hear the fourth collection of extraordinary Christmas stories that will transport you to unexpected places. NPR's past and present tell stories of the season in this hour-long special. Some tales are funny; some are touching; some are insightful or irreverent or nostalgic or surprising. You might recognize them from our broadcast archives — or you might fall in love with them for the first time. Hosted by Lynn Neary. Sunday, December 24 at 6 p.m. – Welcome Christmas! New for 2017, "Welcome Christmas!" is a perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world's premier choral ensembles. Join host John Birge for an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including the world premiere of two carols from the annual Christmas Carol Contest. Sunday, December 24 at 7 p.m. – Christmas with the Morehouse and Spelman Glee Clubs One of the great holiday traditions in America, the choirs of Morehouse and Spelman Colleges -- two of the most prestigious historically black institutions in the nation -- get together to present a spine-tingling concert program. This encore presentation features the best works of the last several years. It's a joyous celebration of the schools' tradition of singing excellence, with their trademark mixture of spirituals and carols. Korva Coleman hosts. Sunday, December 24 at 8 p.m. – Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Clayton Holiday Concert (tentative) One of East Tennessee’s greatest holiday traditions, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Aram Demirjian, features special guests for the annual Clayton Holiday Concert: Music from the Movies. Enjoy all your holiday favorites such as the Hallelujah Chorus Handel's Messiah, and special scores from holiday films including Polar Express, Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street and a few surprises. We will welcome our friends to the stage from the Knoxville Choral Society, GO! Contemporary Dance Works, the Knoxville Handbell Festival Ringers, and singers from the Farragut High School Ensemble. The featured soloist will be Knoxville-native Alex Ward, tenor. Sunday, December 24 at 10 p.m. – A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (Repeat) Monday, December 25 from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. – Classical holiday music Tuesday, December 26 at 7 p.m. – A Season’s Griot This one-hour celebration in story and song is public radio's only nationally syndicated Kwanzaa program. Hosted for nearly 20 years by acclaimed storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson, this annual special captures the tales and traditions of African American and African peoples. Sunday, December 31 at 11 p.m. (until 1 a.m. January 1) – Toast of the Nation An NPR tradition every New Year's Eve since the 1970s, Toast of the Nation is the perfect audio complement for the occasion. It's festive jazz you can party to, all night long. Spirited, improvised, and swinging, each segment stops in a special venue, throughout the country. Monday, January 1 at 11 a.m. – New Year’s Day from Vienna (Live) The Vienna Philharmonic presents its ever popular annual New Year's Day concert from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. You'll hear your favorite waltzes, polkas and more -- a festive way to start off the New Year. Presented by NPR Music (via gh, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See MEXICO; USA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See HUNGARY; NEW ZEALAND; NIGERIA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DAB See NORWAY ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC See REF below +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ACTRESS HEDY LAMARR LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR SOME OF TODAY’S WIRELESS TECH --- ‘Bombshell’ tells the story of Lamarr’s double life as a Hollywood starlet and inventor By Maria Temming 8:00am, November 26, 2017 DOUBLE LIFE Actress Hedy Lamarr longed to be recognized for her inventions. adrian curry/ZEITGEIST films [portrait caption] Film --- History of Science, Technology, Science & Society Magazine issue: Vol. 192 No. 10, December 9, 2017, p. 28 https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bombshell-hedy-lamarr-actress-tech-inventor Once billed as “the most beautiful woman in the world,” actress Hedy Lamarr is often remembered for Golden Age Hollywood hits like Samson and Delilah. But Lamarr was gifted with more than just a face for film; she had a mind for science. A new documentary, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, spotlights Lamarr’s lesser-known legacy as an inventor. The film explores how the pretty veneer that Lamarr shrewdly used to advance her acting career ultimately trapped her in a life she found emotionally isolating and intellectually unfulfilling. Lamarr, born in Vienna in 1914, first earned notoriety for a nude scene in a 1933 Czech-Austrian film. Determined to rise above that cinematic scarlet letter, Lamarr fled her unhappy first marriage and sailed to New York in 1937. En route, she charmed film mogul Louis B. Mayer into signing her. Stateside, she became a Hollywood icon by day and an inventor by night. Bombshell Now playing Zeitgeist Films Find showtimes Lamarr’s interest in gadgetry began in childhood, though she never pursued an engineering education. Her most influential brainchild was a method of covert radio communication called frequency hopping, which involves sending a message over many different frequencies, jumping between channels in an order known only to the sender and receiver. So if an adversary tried to jam the signal on a certain channel, it would be intercepted for only a moment. During World War II, Lamarr partnered with composer George Antheil to design a frequency-hopping device for steering antisubmarine torpedoes. The pair got a patent, but the U.S. Navy didn’t take the invention seriously. “The Navy basically told her, ‘You know, you’d be helping the war a lot more, little lady, if you got out and sold war bonds rather than sat around trying to invent,’ ” biographer Richard Rhodes says in the film. Ultimately, the film suggests, Lamarr’s bombshell image and the sexism of the day stifled her inventing ambitions. Yet, frequency hopping paved the way for some of today’s wireless technologies. Throughout Bombshell, animated sketches illustrate Lamarr’s inventions, but the film doesn’t dig deep into the science. The primary focus is the tension between Lamarr’s love of invention and her Hollywood image. With commentary from family and historians, as well as old interviews with Lamarr, Bombshell paints a sympathetic portrait of a woman troubled by her superficial reputation and yearning for recognition of her scientific intellect (Science News Dec 9 via Will Martin, DXLD) a.k.a. spread spectrum (gh) Probably showing mainly at arthouses, such as Guild Cinema Albuquerque visit our website for more specific details on these and others upcoming at http://guildcinema.com/comingsoon/ MORE SPECIFICALLY WHAT'S GOING ON! BOMBSHELL: The Hedy Lamar Story - view a trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKXAkITImGU Dec 15 to Dec 19 Friday to Tuesday 3:45, 8pm Dir. Alexandra Dean - 2017 - 90m Starlet. Screen Siren. The Most Beautiful Woman in the World. All phrases used to describe 1940’s Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr. Alexandra Dean’s illuminating documentary adds Inventor to the list. Known for her matchless beauty and electric screen persona, Lamarr’s legion of fans never knew she possessed such a beautiful mind. An Austrian Jewish émigré who acted by day and drew mechanical and electronic inventions by night, Lamarr came up with a “secret communication system” to help the Allies to beat the Nazis. Weaving in Lamarr’s own voice from archival recordings, Dean reveals how Lamarr gave her patent to the Navy, received no credit for her contributions, and wound up impoverished in her latter years. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story is a film for lovers of history, Hollywood and science. - Tribeca Film Festival “A thoroughly engaging, eye-opening showbiz doc.” - John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter “[An] engaging profile.” - Jason Bailey, Flavorwire “Bombshell becomes not just a stupendous tribute to Lamarr, but also a tribute to every brilliant woman ignored.” - Kristy Puchko, Nerdist (via gh, DXLD) EXPLOSION - THE EVER GROWING LIST OF FM TRANSLATORS Mild curiosity --- should I get my Sony XDR tuner back out of packing? I packed my tuner away because the FM dial is just about trashed here in SW MO, with IBOC, satellators, and the plethora translators. I just noticed on the Forums today and over the past couple weeks that Doug Smith has posted a gazillion new FM translator assignments for AM radio stations. Will this make the E-skip season any better for new DX opportunities or is the beginning of an FM graveyard? I'm really curious about this (Jim Thomas, http://db.wtfda.org Dec 16, WTFDA gg via DXLD) Jim, I guess you have to decide the future of your Sony tuner, but I know here in Indianapolis at 5 miles from the main TV/FM antenna farm, the FM dial is a total mess of RF. The old CM Probe 9 antenna outdoors was performing its duties quite well a couple years ago, but now even it doesn't seem to be able to cut through much of the new FM swamp. Compared to DXing FM when I was much younger in the late '60s and through the '70s, there is an amazing difference. When I read through Doug's recent posting of those "gazillion" new FM translator assignments for AM stations, I could only shake my head in amazement. Before long the FM dial will take on the noisy sounds of the AM dial, especially at the "graveyard" spots like 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490. Sad (Steve, Indianapolis, Rich, ibid.) You may be pleasantly surprised just how well your XDR does with IBOC. It won't do much with translators though. - I just counted and I see 566 translator applications on file. I'm not certain they're done (we may see more next week). They also have to deal with mutually-exclusive groups (those will go to auction). - There will be another window early in 2018, where Class A and B AM stations will be allowed to apply. Class A stations are the big "clear channel" operations; class B stations are those on other-than- "graveyard" channels allowed to run significant power at night. I suspect there will be few frequencies left by the time they apply. - Jim, I only see ten in Missouri: 98.7 Boonville (forgot to look up the primary) 95.7 Cape Girardeau (KAPE_1550) 93.5 Carthage (KDMO-1490) 95.3 Columbia (KFAL-900) 94.3 Fredericktown (KYLS-1450) 105.7 Houston (KBTC-1250) 103.3 Osage Beach (KRMS-1150) 92.1 Piedmont (KPWB-1140) 101.3 Sedalia (KDRO-1490) 107.9 Warrensburg (KOKO-1450) - I'm not sure I entirely understand what the qualifications were for this window. I thought you weren't eligible if you already had a translator but I see at least two applications in here proposing to relay AM stations that already have translators (but at different sites). - The official protected coverage area of an FM station may be far less than one thinks. Class Protected area radius C (100 kw/600 m) 92 km C1 (100 kw/300 m) 72 km B (50 kw/150 m) 65 km A (6 kw/100 m) 28 km D (250 w/100 m) 13 km (typical translator. Higher antennas are possible leading to larger protected radii) LPFM (100 w/ 30 m) 6 km - There was an interesting proceeding earlier last week. There's a regulation that prohibits two translators with substantially identical coverage areas from relaying the same primary station. Someone challenged the operation of a translator -- in North Carolina if I recall properly -- because it was relaying the HD3 sub of its primary, while another translator at the same site was relaying the HD2. The challenger argued that the translators were violating that regulation. The FCC said that since they haven't yet ruled on the validity of relaying a HD2/HD3 sub into analog they weren't going to sanction the translator in question (with an emphasis on "yet", although it is hard to see a way they could put that genie back in the bottle). - There have been FAR more recent pirate busts than I've posted. I found a stack of them in the Enforcement Bureau which never went on Public Notice. One operator in New Jersey was operating pirates on three different frequencies at the same site! == (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, ibid.) There will definitely be more next week. The applications that are going on file this week aren't actually new - they're the survivors from about 900 applications that went in to the window the FCC opened in July and August for class C and D stations to apply. As Doug notes, about 100 of the applications in that window were mutually-exclusive; the rest were "singletons" and the FCC has a window open until this Thursday for those singletons to file grantable long-form applications. The MX'd stations had an opportunity in November to file settlements - they could negotiate amongst themselves either for technical settlements (stations A and B both applied for 99.3, and perhaps A can work on 98.9 and B can stay on 99.3) or for financial settlements (station B pays A to make its 99.3 app go away). Only a very small handful that couldn't reach settlements will go to auction. I don't expect that to be more than a dozen or so groups. It really all depends on the location. There are still places where there are channels available, and others that are completely filled up. The important thing to remember whenever you hear anyone say "this will make all of FM like the graveyard channels" is that it won't. The graveyard AM channels are bad because skywave exists. If you put 1000 watts into the air on 1490 in Springfield, Missouri, it will add (maybe not a lot, but at least a little) to the cumulative noise floor in Springfield, Illinois and Springfield, Tennessee. Multiply that by 400 stations on the channel nationwide and you have cacophony. Put 250 watts into the air on 99.3 in Springfield, Missouri and it has no effect at all on 99.3 in Springfield, Illinois - or probably even an hour down the road in Joplin. Yes, the translator windows are filling local dials, but they're not having the same kind of cumulative effect that the graveyard AM channels had, because FM on VHF just doesn't work the same way AM on MW does. s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) FWIW I count 72 pirates issued Noticed of Unlicensed Operation since the beginning of October. Two were fined a total of $18,800. There was an AM pirate busted, although there's a bigger story to that. The station (WCAZ-990) was once licensed. Their license renewal was dismissed due to unpaid fees, but the station continued broadcasting. Most of the pirates busted were in the NYC, Boston, or Miami areas (but there were busts in Alabama, Connecticut, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, and Texas). At least 14 of the pirates in the NYC area were adjacent-channel to licensed stations (Doug Smith, ibid.) The majority of the actions against pirates were not “busts” but just notices of unlicensed operation. Most, if not all, of the pirates that got notices or fines here in the Boston area, are still on the air. (Jeff Lehmann, Hanson, MA, ibid.) Doug, Thanks for the additional information. I see that WSYW-AM 810, Indianapolis, 250 watts, ND antenna, "DAYTIME ONLY" has submitted an application for an FM translator on 94.3. The AM has been violating its license stipulation of "Daytime Only" for YEARS by staying on the air hours past local sunset. Just recently have I noticed that it is signing off the air closer to local sunset. It seems that this station should have had its license revoked YEARS ago (Steve Rich, Indianapolis, ibid.) It's not like listening to multiple stations simultaneously in the background as is the case with AM, but with the multitude of new FM stations all crammed in an area, there is an interference issue, especially while moving in a vehicle. A weaker station now starts getting pounded by another station with a slightly stronger signal. It's more congested and not nearly as easy to listen to somewhat weaker stations as in prior years. There is a lot more co-channel interference because the stations are so closely packed together. For example, stations that used to be very listenable for say 35 miles from the transmitter site, are now reduced to 20-25 miles before another station or stations start walking over it. Nothing like having that "frying" sound of another FM station in the background of an FM station you are attempting to listen to. And let's not get into the ugly issues that IBOC causes with many of these same stations. I rarely listen to any radio station these days. With so many listening options, many of which are commercial-free, terrestrial radio almost seems obsolete (Steve, Indianapolis, Rich, ibid.) I still listen to a lot of terrestrial radio, even though I have lots of other options at home, in the car, and at work. For example, the car is equipped with XM/Sirius, but it also is equipped with an Alexa Echo dot for hands-free options to listen to podcasts, or Wi-FI stations. At home and at work, desktop receivers provide XM/Sirius, bluetooth, Alexa, etc. Heck, I still can listen to my jazz CD collection at the office if I want. But I find myself more often using Alexa to tune in terrestrial radio stations in other markets as I work. For example, WTOP in Washington, DC is one of my favorite news sources. I also enjoy listening to KTLA in Los Angeles. FM DXing has grown more challenging, even in the short three-year time that I’ve been active in this part of the hobby. I’m trying to combat the challenge by employing new equipment and techniques. The narrow beam width and high F/B ratio of the Korner 9.2 antenna help a lot. Automated overnight recording and RDS monitoring of multiple channels have put two dozen new MS stations into the log this year. But the translators are a problem. Without at least “semi-quiet” channels, it’s going to be nearly impossible to DX outside of strong e-skip openings. The FCC seems to be concerned about creating hot- spots of coverage within a very localized area, and whatever happens at the fringes of those spots is acceptable to them—even if it’s a complete jumble of stations. Ironically, I turned to FM DXing because noise levels and congestion had made the AM band unlistenable. With stations leaving AM now, that band may actually improve for DXIng even as FM gets more difficult. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, 121 Mayfair Park, Maylene, AL 35114, EM63nf, ibid.) Your next to last paragraph is basically right. With a few exceptions (Class B/B1 stations, protected to 54/57 dBu respectively), stations are protected from interference out to the 60 dBu contour. But in reality, the signal is still listenable down to something like 40-45 dBu. So, yes, there is usually a fringe area where the signal can be heard, but that area is not considered part of the station's licensed "service area." In that region, you could easily have a jumble (- Trip Ericson, http://www.rabbitears.info ibid.) I've found, even here is the jam-packed Northeast Corridor that FM Es comes through all but the strongest translators and LP's. These are often nullable as well. I haven't given up on FM yet for that reason. I have one overpowered and useless LP locally which just runs more rock music that some of the commercial channels also offer, and it's killed a good DX channel. The loosened COL rules permitted it to have its transmitter closer to me and higher as well, and the initial idea that LP's wouldn't duplicate commercial programming was laughable from early on. I've lost one other Es channel to a local AM translator but I'd largely heard almost all I could there (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 15 mi NW of Philadelphia ), Grid FN20id, ibid.) FM DXing is done for me. No use trying to fight it anymore. IBOC and the translators and the LPFMs won and I lost. Not sure about TV DXing but I'm sure they'll muck that up also. I will be spending much more time with my wife and grandkids this summer (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, ibid.) Same here. Almost completely given up on DXing from home because the band is a wasteland of IBOC and LP's. If I was just getting into DXing maybe I'd give it a go but remembering what it used to be like makes it a dead issue for me. On the other hand I DX when I travel for work and pleasure. The SDR captures I did in PEI a few weeks ago have some nice tropo and the most intense Meteor Scatter I have ever heard in 35 years of DXing (recordings and listing will be posted here when completed, stand by!). So in this way the hobby for me is still going strong. I just don't have a home total that matters to me any longer. Back to Jim's original question, I think, about taking out the Sony HD tuner and using it. I'd say give it a good try from March through August and see what tropo and eskip make it through the mess. You'll never know until you try it. In all fairness I found eskip here still quite possible on nearly all frequencies as long as I tweaked the antenna just right to null the locals at the Meriden Mountain transmitter site. The SDR makes that very easy as you can see the HD sidebands rise and fall at a very specific spot. Having a very selective antenna for that is also quite necessary and thank goodness my APS-13 still is alive although I discovered last week the old CM9515HD rotor might be frozen or dead (Bill Nollman, Farmington, CT, ibid.) I try to take Mike Hunter's attitude as well. I have doubts that many of the commercial translators can be valuable assets to their owners, given that they are crowding each other out in a broader terrestrial radio advertising market that is generally not growing. I forsee a lot of flips, moves, sales, etc. amongst especially the smaller and signal-challenged translators, that will create at least temporary DXing opportunities on "lost" frequencies. Our technology has also improved. SDR hardware and software is improving, including the ability to establish or utilize "remote bases" in less crowded areas. I am hoping some of these will arise with FM-oriented antennas and receivers in good DXing areas. I have some ideas myself if I had the time and money. It's definitely a challenge, but part of the fun of FM DXing vs AM/SWL/Amateur DXing is the rarity and challenges that come with the chase. Cheers, (Bryce Foster, KG6VSW, Dec 17, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ :Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts :Issued: 2017 Dec 18 0340 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 11 - 17 December 2017 Solar activity was quiet throughout the entire reporting period. The strongest event was a B6 flare from a plage region on the E. limb at 11/0052 UTC. A filament was observed in SDO/AIA 304 imagery lifting off of the SE quadrant, near S25E47, at approximately 15/1229 UTC. The event was modeled using WSA/Enlil which suggested the potential for the periphery of the CME to become geoeffective around 19 Dec. No additional Earth-directed CMEs were observed. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal to high levels on 11 and 17 Dec, normal to moderate levels were observed on 12 and 13 Dec and moderate levels were observed on 14-16 Dec. A maximum flux of 2,300 pfu was observed at 11/0000 UTC. Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to G1 (Minor), mostly due to CH HSS influence, during the reporting period. Quiet levels were observed on 15-16 Dec; quiet to unsettled levels were observed on 11 and 13-14 Dec; quiet to active levels were observed on 12 Dec; the peak levels of quiet to G1 (Minor) levels were observed 17 Dec. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 18 DEC 2017 - 13 JAN 2018 Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels throughout the forecast period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach moderate levels on 18 Dec, 22 Dec - 01 Jan, and 07-13 Jan; high levels are likely on 19-21 Dec and 02-06 Jan. All increases in electron flux are anticipated due to the expected influence of recurrent CH HSSs. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to reach G1 (Minor) storm levels on 18-19 Dec, 01 Jan, and 13 Jan. Active conditions are likely on 20 Dec, 27 Dec, 02 Jan, and 08 Jan. Unsettled levels are likely on 21-22 Dec, 28 Dec, 31 Dec, 03 Jan and 09 Jan. All elevations in geomagnetic field activity are anticipated from multiple, recurrent CH HSSs. The remainder of the forecast period is expected to observe quiet conditions. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2017 Dec 18 0340 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 2017-12-18 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2017 Dec 18 72 22 5 2017 Dec 19 72 20 5 2017 Dec 20 72 16 4 2017 Dec 21 72 10 3 2017 Dec 22 72 8 3 2017 Dec 23 72 5 2 2017 Dec 24 74 5 2 2017 Dec 25 74 5 2 2017 Dec 26 74 5 2 2017 Dec 27 74 12 4 2017 Dec 28 74 8 3 2017 Dec 29 74 5 2 2017 Dec 30 74 5 2 2017 Dec 31 74 10 3 2018 Jan 01 74 25 5 2018 Jan 02 76 15 4 2018 Jan 03 76 10 3 2018 Jan 04 76 5 2 2018 Jan 05 76 5 2 2018 Jan 06 74 5 2 2018 Jan 07 74 10 3 2018 Jan 08 74 12 4 2018 Jan 09 74 8 3 2018 Jan 10 74 5 2 2018 Jan 11 74 5 2 2018 Jan 12 74 5 2 2018 Jan 13 74 22 5 (SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1909, DXLD) GLENN`S PROPAGATION OUTLOOK FOR MEDIA NETWORK PLUS AS OF DEC 21, 2017 Keith, seasonal greetings to everyone, and remember to check the tropical bands for extended holiday schedules or reactivations combined with the darkest night propagation in the north. From Spaceweather Services Australia, the global HF propagation forecast thru December 23, normal to fair at all latitude bands. From Spaceweather South Africa, thru December 23, magnetic conditions quiet to unsettled; shortwave fadeouts unlikely; MUF unstable From Met Office UK, a chance of active G1 minor geomagnetic storms from December 23rd into 24th. From F K Janda in Prague, the Geomagnetic field will be: quiet to active on December 22, 27 - 29, 31, January 3, 9 quiet on December 23 - 24, 26, January 5 - 6, mostly quiet on December 25, January 4, quiet to unsettled on December 30, January 7 - 8 active to disturbed on January 1 - 2, 10 From Spaceweather Canada, greatest DRX nanoteslas in the Auroral zone, of 100 on January 2, 130 on January 13. From the Space Environment Predixion Center, China, the planetary A index rises to 10 on December 27, 27 on January 1, 24 on January 14. Solar flux 73 thru Dec 27, down to 69 on January 4, creeping up to 72 by January 12. From the Space Weather Predixion Center in Colorado, solar flux 72 thru December 23, rising to a peak of 76 on January 2-5 Geomagnetic field activity expected to reach G1 (Minor) storm levels on January 1 with A and K indices of 25 and 5, and on January 13, 22 and 5. Lowest A`s and Ks of 5 and 2 on December 23-26, 29, 30, January 4-6 and 10-12. We are near the peak of the southern hemisphere sporadic E season for VHF DX on the FM band and lower TV channels, also the minor winter peak in the northern hemisphere (via DXLD) Off next week, resuming in January (gh) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ THE FAKE-NEWS FALLACY Old fights about radio have lessons for new fights about the Internet. By Adrian Chen, A Critic at Large, September 4, 2017 Issue Radio, in its early days, was seen as a means for spreading hysteria and hatred, just as the Internet is today. . . [much more] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/04/the-fake-news-fallacy (via Gerald T Pollard, NC, DXLD) ###