DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-077, July 3, 2007 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 2007 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1365: ** tentative Wed 2200 WBCQ 7415 Wed 2300 WBCQ 18910-CLSB or 17495-CLSB Thu 0600 WRMI 9955** Thu 1430 WRMI 7385 Thu 1500 KAIJ 9480 Fri 0630 WRMI 9955** Fri 1030 KAIJ 5755 Fri 1100 WRMI 9955** Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 Sat 1630 WWCR3 12160 [irregular] Sat 2130 WRMI 9955 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1500 WRMI 7385 Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [reconfirmed June 25] Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Mon 0530 WRMI 9955** Mon 0930 WRMI 9955** Tue 1030 WRMI 9955** Wed 0730 WRMI 9955** WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL SCHEDULE: 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 For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN NOW AVAILABLE: http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/podcast.php OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. R. Solh, 17700 via UK, July 3 at 1427-1433 once again with ``Solh Theme`` at its apparent new regular daily time; some enjoyable music before and after as well, same things repeated daily. There was intermittent rapid pulsing QRM, like a ``woodpecker`` spreading roughly 17630-17730 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARMENIA. ARMENIA CLOSER TO LAW DISCOURAGING FOREIGN BROADCASTS "Opposition parties sought changes to scrap the draft legislation's apparent restrictions on RFE/RL broadcasts. But pro-government parties are reported to have amended that new language to restore the text's original intent. A final vote appeared likely to slip to July 3. The proposals would ban foreign broadcasts on public television and radio and heavily tax domestic retransmission on private stations of foreign-made programs. Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE's representative on media freedom, says it 'would amount to a ban' on RFE/RL." Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty News, 2 July 2007. "The new media rules proposed in Armenia do not, precisely, forbid foreign broadcasts on local frequencies. For local broadcasters to air programs from foreign broadcasters there would be, in these times of need, a fee. For RFE/RL that fee would be about $200 per hour. Do the math: 4 hours a day, 365 days a year means more than $300,000, sufficient for a personal assistant or five and that new BMW." Michael Hedges, followthemedia.com, 2 July 2007. See previous post about same subject. Posted: 02 Jul 2007 (kimandrewelliott.com via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DXLD) ARMENIA`S RADIO LIBERTY FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE Marianna Grigoryan 7/02/07 http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav070207a.shtml Dozens of demonstrators took to the streets in Yerevan on July 2 to protest draft legislation that they say could stifle free speech ahead of Armenia`s 2008 presidential election. The legislation, if passed, would enable officials to terminate Armenian broadcasts of the US- funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, government critics contend. Government supporters reject the outcry as misdirected. On June 29, parliament voted by 79 to 16 in the first reading to pass amendments that would ban the foreign media outlets from using Armenian public radio and television airwaves. They would also impose a 70,000 dram (about $205) fee for each rebroadcast via private radio and television stations. There was one abstention from the vote. A second and final reading of the amendments is scheduled for July 3. Some representatives of local media outlets maintain that certain senior government leaders have long distrusted Radio Liberty, and see the legislation as a means of curtailing the station`s operations in Armenia. During his traditional 2007 New Year reception for journalists, President Robert Kocharian criticized the station for allegedly spreading "unbalanced and negative information." Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian has expressed similar misgivings. Yet senior members of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia maintain that the amendments have nothing to do with RFE/RL and are not dictated from "above." "The government has no goal of closing Radio Liberty," said Republican Party parliamentarian Armen Ashotian, using the popular name for RFE/RL`s Armenian Service. "If it had, it would have done so via the Board of the Public Radio and Television Company, without so much transparency." While refraining from commenting on the amendments` implications, Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian, voiced strong support for the station. At a June 29 press conference, Oskanian told reporters that "[i]t will hurt me if [Radio] Liberty stops going on air," according to a report posted on the Panorama.am information portal. "Liberty makes its contribution to democracy." Parliamentary Speaker Tigran Tirosian has argued that the amendments have as much to do with Radio Liberty as they do with this year`s bad apricot harvest. RFE/RL, however, is the only foreign broadcaster that uses Armenia`s public radio frequencies for domestic broadcasts. The Prague-based radio station`s Armenian service relies on the frequencies to broadcast its news programs nationwide several times a day. If the amendments pass, the radio station could have to pay approximately $250,000 to $300,000 per year to maintain the same broadcast schedule. Local observers worry that the changes, if voted into law, may result in a serious curtailment of the Armenian Service`s broadcasts and even the Armenia-based station`s closure. "These new laws clearly restrict access to a crucial independent news source for many Armenians, and deal a serious blow to RFE/RL, and to freedom of the media in general," RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin said in a June 30 statement. Armenian Public Television and Radio Company (PTRC) Board Chairman Alexan Harutiunian, told public television`s 360 Degrees program on July 1 that the conflict boils down to financial issues. Radio Liberty has failed to pay rebroadcast fees "since February," he claimed. "If the goal was to shut down Radio Liberty, there was no need at all for a law to do that," Harutiunian said. The alleged failure to pay retransmission fees gave sufficient cause, the PTRC chairman continued. The board refrained from such action "for different reasons," he added, and "to avoid speculation." Representatives of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty`s Yerevan office declined to comment. Government critics see the legislation as connected to the upcoming presidential election. A similar move was used against popular private television station A1 Plus, which was shut down before the last presidential elections in 2003, commented Suren Sureniants, a member of the political council of the opposition Republic Party. "[I]f the very first legislative initiative of the newly elected National Assembly is aimed at the restriction of democracy, then the idea of parliamentarianism is being discredited itself," said Sureniants, who does not hold a seat in parliament. "For me it`s not only a political, but also a moral issue." "This is not to protect Radio Liberty, but against the violence that reigns among us," commented Amalia Kostanian, board chairwoman for the Center for Regional Development/Transparency International Armenia, who took part in the July 2 demonstration. "Yesterday it was A1 Plus, today Radio Liberty, tomorrow it will be non-governmental organizations, newspapers." Parliamentary Speaker Torosian dismissed criticism as "no more than a provocation spread by deputies and journalists." On June 28, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe`s Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, condemned the amendments as "incompatible with OSCE commitments to safeguard pluralism and the free flow of information in the media." The New York-based organization Human Rights Watch voiced similar worries, saying that the amendments` passage would undermine Armenia`s "international commitments to freedom of expression and the media." "As Armenia prepares for presidential elections in 2008, the world will certainly be watching to see if the government respects freedom of the media and other freedoms necessary for a free and fair vote," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. International observers said Armenia`s May 12 parliamentary elections as the first vote in the country`s post-Soviet history that largely met international standards. [For background see the EurasiaNet special feature, Armenia: Vote 2007]. Editor`s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the independent online ArmeniaNow weekly in Yerevan. Posted July 2, 2007 © Eurasianet (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. VK2RWI on 5423.5 kHz USB: The call sign would suggest a station operating within the Amateur Bands, and, although licensed to the WIA, this new station is within the Utility Fixed and Mobile band and is classified as a Utility station. The WIA, NSW Division weekly Sunday morning broadcasts originate from Dural and are transmitted on 1845, 3585, 71436, 10125, 14170, 28320 kHz, 52.525, 145.6, 147.0, 438.525 and 1273.5 MHz. Listeners in areas distant from Dural have to rely on the HF signals, mainly 3 and 7 MHz (80 and 40 Metres) for direct reception or for relaying through a country VHF repeater. Band conditions often make this difficult with the 80 metre ground wave dropping out before the 40 metre sky wave comes back to earth. ACMA has licenced VK2RWI as a point to multipoint, transmit only, service on 100 watts using USB. Station will only be used to transmit the 1000 (Local Time) Sunday morning [0200 UT midyear, 0100 UT non- midyear] WIA NSW Division broadcast. As one who, from the south west of the State, both listened to, and was also responsible for relaying WIA broadcasts as received on sometimes fading HF signals, on the two metre input frequency for our local VHF repeater, I would imagine use of this 5 MHz frequency will be a great help (A.R. Magazine via July Australian DX News via DXLD) Interesting that they use USB, following the standard “utility” practice, where USB is the norm, rather then the amateur practice of “LSB below 10 MHz” (Jem Cullen, ADXN ed., ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. 11660, RA via Brandon, 2125 6/24/07. Public affairs program was S4 // weaker 11650. Waltzing Matilda at 2158 on 11650. Both stations much stronger on 6/27/07 during same time period (Jerry Strawman, IA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) What is your source that 11660 is Brandon? My source says both are Shepparton 100 kW at 2000-2200, 11650 being 30 degrees, 11660 at 70 degrees, much like the 9590/9580 pair in our mornings, respectively (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Célio Romais in Brazil allowed me to pass this piece of news on R. Guarujá Paulista, which goes as follows: This station will join Rio de Janeiro's R. Globo for a few hours daily (starting with 6 h), with the ID being "R. Globo - Santos" stemming from the fact that R. Guarujá has studios in the neighbouring town of Santos. The DX Club(e) do Brasil airs a DX program via R. Guarujá since 2004, and it's carried at 0030 UT on Sunday, but the station changes make this uncertain. The (recent) changes at R. Guarujá's management makes it also uncertain whether the planned 9715 kHz outlet will be a fact. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, July 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: BRASIL – A partir do dia 16, a Rádio Guarujá Paulista, de Guarujá (SP), vai entrar em rede com o Sistema Globo de Rádio. Com a mudança, ela passará a se identificar como Rádio Globo Santos. Serão mantidas apenas seis horas diárias produzidas nos estúdios da emissora. O DX Clube do Brasil mantém um programa dexista com a emissora, chamado Nas Ondas Curtas da Guarujá Paulista, que vai ao ar, nos domingos universais, às 0030. O seu destino, no entanto, não é conhecido. As mudanças na Guarujá se devem à troca de comando em sua direção, devido ao afastamento do seu diretor, jornalista Orivaldo Rampazo. Não se sabe quais destinos terão as freqüências atuais da estação em ondas curtas, nem se a planejada 9715 kHz será implantada. O certo é que o Sistema Globo de Rádio exigiu uma revisão completa no parque de transmissores da Guarujá. Já estão no ar, após manutenção, as freqüências de 3385 e 5045 kHz. BRASIL – Faz alguns dias que a Rádio CBN Anhangüera, de Goiânia (GO), está sendo captada fora de sua freqüência na faixa de 25 metros. Ao invés de ser ouvida em 11830 kHz, espúrios são espalhados entre os canais 11765 e 11770 kHz. O fato tem sido monitorado em Limeira (SP), pelo Luiz Chaine Neto. O fato, no entanto, não tem sido notado na Europa, conforme constatação do experiente dexista português Carlos Gonçalves (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX July 1 via DXLD) ** CANADA. Re 7-076: checked CBC Radio 1 for Fred Waterer`s recommended show Rewind, Sunday nite, and found in fact that at 0305 UT, the AT and ET zone stations were simul with previous program, so Rewind does not start airing until 0405 UT Mondays +1/2/3 hours. This week it was a Massey Lexure from 1962 by Northrop Frye, with admittedly defective sound on a recording so old, yes confirmed // on ET and AT/NT feeds (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHAD. Hunk of gunk was centred around 7287, July 2 at 0515, leaving BBC Portuguese a little clearer on 7290 than when the badly mistuned 6165 transmitter is on 7288 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Depois de 11 meses atuando no Departamento de Língua Portuguesa, o brasileiro Rafael Codonho deixou a Rádio Internacional da China. Ele retorna ao Brasil na metade de julho. Permanecem naquela Seção, os brasileiros Paulo e Amilton, atuando como especialistas em língua portuguesa. Lembramos que grande parte da equipe do Departamento de Língua Portuguesa é constituída de nativos chineses (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX July 1 via DXLD) ** CHINA. INSIGHT INTO CONTROL OF CHINESE MEDIA By Xiao Fan, Special to The Epoch Times, Jul 01, 2007 Shoppers walk past a kiosk selling Chinese newspapers in Shanghai, China. Critics have warned that media censorship in China is incompatible with building a thriving market economy. However, censorship and propaganda are essential for the ruling Communist Party. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) [caption] Mr Xiao Fan served as a radio journalist for Radio Beijing from 1975 to 1988. The following is his talk given at the Nine Commentaries Forum in Melbourne, Australia June 2007. It gives an insight into how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controls the media. When people describe China's Xinhua News Agency's reports they would say "Nothing is true but the date. When people describe the programs of China's Central TV Station they would say "Nothing is true but 'Animal World'". Chinese people are used to the false news reports. People have even described Chinese news agencies as the Party's dog. A folk song has it: "It is a dog raised by the Party, guarding the Party's gate. It would bite anyone the Party wants it to bite, and bite however many times the Party wants it to." Today, I am going to talk about how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has controlled the media and can the CCP be trusted. 1) Chinese Media Is the Mouthpiece of the Party and Government In China, the media is strictly controlled by the CCP. On the first day when I went to work at Radio Beijing I was given a lecture. I was told: "Our radio is the mouthpiece of the party and government, and therefore serves to promulgate party and government policies. We must follow the party line." The newspapers and the TV stations are the same – they are all propaganda tools of the party and the government. Now let's see how it worked. When any major event happened in China, such as the June 4 Massacre, or elsewhere in the world - for example the Iraq war - we would have briefings from the party propaganda ministry or even higher officials and they would set the tone for how we would report the issue. All the media without exception would be expected to "speak along the same lines". . . [much more] http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-7-1/57122.html (Epoch Times via tribby2001, dxldyg via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC [and non]. Summer A-07 of Radio Prague: CZECH 0130-0157 6200 7345 0230-0257 7345 9870 0830-0857 11600 15710 0930-0957 9880 21745 1100-1127 11665 15710 1230-1257 6055 7345 1530-1557 5930 17485 1730-1757 5930 17485 1930-1957 5930 11600 2100-2127 9410 11600 2330-2357 7345 9440 ENGLISH 0000-0027 7345 9440 0100-0127 6200 7345 0300-0327 7345 9870 0330-0357 9445 11600 + 6080 SAC 0700-0727 9880 11600 0900-0927 9880 21745 + 9955 RMI 1030-1057 9880 11665 1300-1327 13580 17540 1330-1357 9850 RMP in DRM mode Fri/Sat [1400-1427 7385 RMI == what about this; still on here? -- gh] 1600-1627 5930 17485 1700-1727 5930 17485 2000-2027 5930 11600 2130-2157 9410 11600 2230-2257 7345 9415 GERMAN 0630-0657 5930 7345 1000-1027 6055 9880 1200-1227 6055 7345 1300-1327 9850 RMP in DRM mode Fri/Sat 1500-1527 5930 1630-1657 11825 ARM FRENCH 0600-0627 5930 7345 0730-0757 9880 11600 1330-1357 13580 17540 1630-1657 5930 17485 1830-1857 5930 13580 2200-2227 7345 9415 RUSSIAN 0400-0427 9445 11600 1130-1157 11665 15710 1430-1457 7345 13580 1800-1827 5840 DB SPANISH 0000-0027 11665 ASC 0030-0057 7345 9440 0200-0227 6200 7345 0430-0457 9955 RMI 0800-0827 11600 15710 0930-0957 9955 RMI 1400-1427 11625 13580 1800-1827 5930 13580 1900-1927 5930 13580 2030-2057 5930 11600 2300-2327 7345 9415 2330-2357 6000 SAC (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Country Radio will stay on mediumwave 1062 (Praha-Zbraslav, 7 AM to 9 PM [CEST = 0500-1900 UT] 20 kW, at night 1 kW). They were thinking about leaving mediumwave but were quite satisfied with the feedback after asking on air (on 1062 only of course, not on FM) if anybody is out there, so decided to keep it. http://www.radiowoche.de/index.php?p=news&newsid=3827&area=1 Unfortunately I don't understand Czech, but this appears to mention that they had abandoned 1584 due to an insufficient number of listeners in 2003: http://www.radiotv.cz/radio-clanky/4508/country-radio-jiz-neuvazuje-o-odchodu-ze-strednich-vln.html?offset=30&id_diskuse= And here is a nice gallery of Czech MW/LW transmitters, various sites (left) and Tesla equipment (right, with page about LK 12 limiter/ compressor, the secret of the really nice Czech AM sound, "under construction" it seems?): http://www.sweb.cz/stredni.vlny/ (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. HCJB had not used their 500 kW transmitter at Pifo for quite some years. But apparently this HC-500 rig is back on air at present, according to http://www.hcjb.org/docs/radio/HCJB_A07_Sched.pdf 2250-0230 on 11920, running 250 kW. Otherwise this schedule shows transmissions for the three remaining HC-100 transmitters (on 6050 run at half power), the two 10 kW transmitters on 3220 and 6080 (own design, installed in 1978 acc. TDP) as well as the experimental 1 kW transmitter on 21455 (a Gates acc. TDP). In my files I found a mention of Pifo going dark completely not before 2009. So I took a closer look at the German text I quoted: The wording could be also interpreted as such that the antennas used for transmissions to Europe will disappear in the upcoming autumn. Anyway it clearly states that by then the DRM experiments have to cease. So probably things like 3220/6080 will continue for the time being, but not much more (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sorry for researching live here, so to speak: Enclosed a quote from a clarification sent by HCJB German service: Transmissions to Europe (direct from Pifo; Wertachtal relays are of course not affected) will cease in September or October. It is planned to continue transmissions for South America only (i.e. via small antennas) from Pifo until 2009. ECUADOR. HCJB: "...and very soon we won't be broadcasting from Quito in shortwave at all." (Cathi Uhles, Administrative Assistant for Broadcaster Relations, via Dexter-WI, DXplorer via Christoph Ratzer, June 24, ADX via Paul Gager, ADX via Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via DXLD) Dazu eine kurze Anmerkung aus Quito auf Nachfrage: Zitat; "At all" ist etwas übertrieben. Ab September-Oktober 07 werden erst mal keine Sendungen von Pifo aus nach Europa gehen. Bis 09 sollen noch KW Sendungen nach Südamerika ausgestrahlt werden. Unsere Sendungen über WRN, KW-T-Systems etc. laufen normal weiter. 73, (via Paul Gager, Austria, June 26, ibid.) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Some TDP changes: Exiled Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Amharic: 1600-1700 on 15260 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg to EaAf Mon, new from July 2 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) Missed it this week. Anyone confirm whether it was on? (gh, DXLD) Presumed the one heard here on 15260 July 2 [Monday] 1703 tune in with talk in local language and instrumental music, poor strength on clear channel, had improved to fair at 1740 re-check when similar programming (Mike Barraclough, England, July World DX Club Contact via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. See GERMANY ** GERMANY. IBB WILL CLOSE HISTORIC RELAY STATION IN GERMANY The Ismaning facility, in suburban Munich, had been used in previous years to transmit VOA broadcasts on longwave, medium wave, and shortwave. Most recently it has been a satellite relay point. The IBB shortwave stations at Lampertheim and Biblis, Germany, will continue to operate. International Broadcasting Bureau announcement, 2 July 2007. Posted: 03 Jul 2007: Germany Transmitting Station: Ismaning International Broadcasting Bureau announcement, 2 July 2007. The Ismaning Transmitting Station in Germany is one of the oldest overseas facilities operated by the International Broadcasting Bureau. Located in a suburb of Munich, the station began beaming Voice of America programs in December 1946. Over the years, the station broadcast medium wave, long wave and shortwave programs to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. During the Cold War, the stations in Germany were a particularly important part of our network operations. These critical transmitting stations clearly helped end the Cold War and shape the world that we live in today. In recent years, all Ismaning transmitters have been decommissioned and the station has served primarily as a satellite gateway and administrative center. As a result of the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ changing global mission to meet current U.S. government broadcast requirements, along with reduced budgets and changes in technology, the International Broadcasting Bureau will cease all operations from its Ismaning Transmitting Station during the summer of 2007. As operating budgets decrease, we have had little choice but to make difficult decisions to downsize and close some overseas facilities. Shortwave broadcasts from Germany will continue to originate from the IBB Lampertheim and Biblis transmitting facilities located south of Frankfurt. All of us in the IBB and Broadcasting Board of Governors regret the loss of valued and skilled employees at Ismaning as a result of this action. All affected BBG employees will be treated with respect and in accordance with existing U.S. Embassy compensation agreements. This is a very difficult time for all of us, and we are taking this action with the greatest reluctance. The employees and staff of the IBB transmitting stations in Germany have provided outstanding service to international broadcasting, and their contributions have been critically important to the United States. We have every expectation that the remaining stations in Germany will continue to provide outstanding service to the International Broadcasting Bureau. Posted: 03 Jul 2007 (via kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Re: BBC and RFI in Berlin --- MABB now published the invitation of applications for a.o. the BBC and RFI frequencies at Berlin: http://www.mabb.de/content/dokumente/UKW2007-BBC_BBRadio_rs2_KissFM_RFI_100,6_Spreeradio.pdf Gist is that they will do a new allocation procedure because these licences have already been prolonged once. Mentions that they will have to consider in their decision the legitimate interest of the licencees to continue their programs with the human and material resources they have created. Otherwise this decision has to consider 1/ how much the proposed services can contribute to the variety of offerings, 2/ the economic activities proposed by the applicants for Berlin and Brandenburg, in particular how much jobs they will create, 3/ how much own and contracted productions are planned for the proposed services, 4/ the variety in the whole of the media landscape, including the relationship of press and broadcasting, 5/ which possibilities, no matter of which kind, the applicants already have to distribute their programs. This sounds rather like a mere formality, but I'm not sure about this in these cases. "Human and material resources": Nil, zero, nothing. The same goes for 2/ of the general criteria (these are outlined in § 34 of the media treaty of Berlin and Brandenburg), and 5/ could be used against them as well. It appears that the chances of RFI much depend on their German service. Back in the nineties RFI had introduced the additional German broadcasts in the morning and at noon basically in order to get the 106.0 frequency. If they again get it, it will presumably be a licence with the condition of broadcasting in German. Else, good-bye. BBC: Hard to say. No German anymore, no studio at Berlin anymore (to my knowledge the BBC has only a single correspondent there anymore, and all they had to say when some German media enquired about this circumstance was "no comment"). Furthermore they had withdrawn BBC World from the far-ranging DVB-T service on VHF ch. 5 in March, "at their own wish" as GARV (a company working on broadcast distribution, run by MABB, the media authority of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg) emphasizes in their notice at http://www.garv.de Should it be taken for granted that the BBC wishes to keep World Service on FM in Berlin when they pull out BBC World? Best regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. Re 7-076: O Guilherme! Muito obrigado pela ajuda! A escuta ocorreu às 2225; logo o cartão está correto, trata-se de uma transmissão em indonésio, via Sri Lanka. Um grande abraço e forte 73, (Fábio Mattos, Garopaba-SC-Brasil, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [and non]. Some DTK T-Systems Media & Broadcast changes: WYFR (Family Radio): 1500-1600 on 13840 WER 500 kW / 075 deg to SoAs Punjabi 1700-1800 on 9790 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg to EaAf English via VTC 1900-2200 NF 9860 WER 500 kW / 180 deg to SoAf English, ex 9610# #to avoid Vatican Radio in Russian 2000-2030 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Some DTK T-Systems Media & Broadcast changes: Bible Voice Broadcasting Network (BVBN): 1500-1600 NF 15530*WER 250 kW / 090 deg SAs Mo/Th/Fr Bengali, ex 13840 1530-1600 NF 15530*WER 250 kW / 090 deg SAs Tue Hindi, ex 13840 1515-1600 NF 15530*WER 250 kW / 090 deg SAs Wed Hindi, ex 13840 1500-1515 NF 15530*WER 250 kW / 090 deg SAs Sat Hindi, ex 13840 1500-1530 NF 15530*WER 250 kW / 090 deg SAs Sun Bengali, ex 13840 1630-1700 on 11975 JUL 100 kW / 105 deg EEu Fri/Sun Hebrew from 6/15 1800-1830 on 9790 JUL 100 kW / 105 deg EEu Fri/Sun Hebrew till 6/10 1630-1730 on 15495 JUL 100 kW / 145 deg CAf Daily UNID CAf language *strong co-ch VOA in English via BIB 100 kW / 085 deg; see DX MIX NEWS # 473 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. 13780 kHz, DWL German from Skelton spread out a 2 x 29 kHz very wide signal, both sidebands. My location situated direct at 125 main lobe from Skelton towards Brussels, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Slovenia, Macedonia, Thessaloniki direction. S=9+50 dB superb level, which is seldom noted these days, at 0810 UT. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Dear Apodimos and Glenn: Last night, Adrianna had the program "Greeks In Style" in English, featuring Greek songs, and heard here on 7475 and 9420 at UT 2305-0005 Sun-Mon. Later in the evening here, I decided continue listening to the above frequencies to see if there would be another English hour. From UT 0200 to 0300 I was rewarded with an enjoyable hour-long interview in English between former Representative John Brademas and a Greek lady who was especially good in her questioning. This was an up-to-date interview and not something that was broadcast just to fill in time. I am sure that all Americans of Greek descent are proud of his tenure in Congress and his public life thereafter. At the end of the program I heard the song "Around The World"; perhaps that is the title of this program. I have pulled the following article out of Wikipedia for you to look at: (John Babbis, Maryland, July 2, WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DX LISTENING DIGEST) John Brademas --- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Brademas, Ph. D., (b. March 2, 1927) is an American politician and educator originally from Indiana. He served as Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives for the United States Democratic Party from 1977 to 1981 at the conclusion of a twenty-year career as a Member of the United States House of Representative. In addition to his major legislative accomplishments, including much Federal legislation pertaining to schools, arts, and the humanities, he served as the 13th President of New York University from 1981 to 1992, and is a former Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and board member of the New York Stock Exchange and Rockefeller Foundation. . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brademas#Early_life_and_career (via John Babbis, MD, DXLD) Yes, I was listening to parts of both programs too on webcast (gh) ** GREECE. 9935, RS Macedonias, Avlis. 1145-1200 relays Deutsche Welle in Greek and there is no news in English as earlier 1156-1200 Mon-Fri, on 20 & 22/6. 7835, Greek pirate. TC and music in Greek, seems harmonic, strong signal at 1250 on 15/6 (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria, July Australian DX News via DXLD) No on-channel European fundamental MW or SW frequency would produce an harmonic here (gh, DXLD) ** HUNGARY. HUNGRIA – No sábado, 30 de junho, a Rádio Budapest fez suas despedidas das ondas curtas em idiomas estrangeiros. Em diversas partes do mundo, dexistas e radioescutas acompanharam as emissões em idiomas como inglês, alemão e espanhol. O último programa em espanhol começou com um anúncio do encerramento das emissões e o segmento Curiosidades Húngaras, versando sobre um licor daquele país, apresentado por Sérgio Perez. Em seguida, emocionado, Perez fez um relato sobre os últimos anos das emissões em espanhol, sempre usando as vinhetas e trilhas musicais dos diversos programas que a estação irradiava. Anunciou que as freqüências antes usadas nos idiomas estrangeiros serão ocupadas por programas em húngaro. Falou também sobre os antigos e novos integrantes da Seção Espanhola. Lembrou de Laslov Garay que, ao seu lado, foi um dos mais antigos naquele Departamento. Também homenageou vários técnicos que colocaram no ar a programação em espanhol da Rádio Budapest. Ao final, preferiu não nominar os ouvintes que sempre apoiaram as transmissões desde Budapest. Você pode conferir o último programa em espanhol da Rádio Budapest acessando http://www.speedyshare.com/301529877.html (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX July 1 via DXLD) Radio Budapest (Koshut [sic] Radio) effective July 1, all in Hungarian: 0000-0100 on 6195 JBR 250 kW / 306 deg to NoAm 0130-0230 on 6140 JBR 250 kW / 306 deg to NoAm 0300-0700 on 3975 JBR 250 kW / non-dir to WeEu Mon-Sat 0300-2200 on 6025 JBR 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu 0400-0730 on 3975 JBR 250 kW / non-dir to WeEu Sun 0400-0730 on 5995 JBR 250 kW / 288 deg to WeEu Sun 1000-1100 on 3975 JBR 250 kW / non-dir to WeEu 1100-1200 on 21590 JBR 250 kW / 104 deg to AUS 1400-1700 on 3975 JBR 250 kW / non-dir to WeEu 1800-1900 on 11795 JBR 250 kW / 075 deg to AUS 1800-2200 on 3975 JBR 250 kW / non-dir to WeEu 2000-2100 on 11695 JBR 250 kW / 306 deg to NoAm 2200-2300 on 9665 JBR 250 kW / 245 deg to SoAm 2200-2300 on 6025 JBR 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu Sat/Sun (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) But are we sure none of the ex-foreign language blox are filled by more Hungarian? (gh, DXLD) Actually not a remaining but a new sked, with the gone slots of the foreign language broadcasts being replaced by such things like 3975 1000-1100 and 1400-1700. That's interesting for propagation studies: 4 MHz under broad daylight. But that's about all it is good for. Looks very much like merely killing airtime, since the amount of transmitter hours appears to be about the same as before. I can hardly imagine that this is intended on the side of MR but strongly suspect that they indeed just can not get rid of all the airtime agreed with Antenna Hungária (the transmitter operator) at present. So all they saved so far by axing the foreign language broadcasts are the royalties/salaries of the now fired editors. Congrats! Not all these transmissions are relays of Kossuth. There are still dedicated external broadcasts in Hungarian, announced as "Szülöföldünk". These 58 minute-long-broadcasts should be carried on all hour-long transmissions, in particular those for overseas target areas. After 1600 I found 3975 (with faint signal only) relaying Kossuth // 6025 until being cut off immediately before 1700 (at 1659:56 or so). At 1755 recheck 3975 was already back on with open carrier; apparently they had left the transmitter in stand-by on 3975 and did only switch the audio input to the other feed in between. No multilingual ID this time; there was no audio until Szülöföldünk started at 1800 sharp, presumably via the second 250 kW transmitter on 11795, too (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) If 6025 and 3975 transmissions are "non-dir" how could they be directed only at W Eu? :) (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, ibid.) 3975 JBR tropical antenna type 755 non-dir !!! 755 CT1/2/0.3 Tropical antennas Designation: CT m/n/h, where m = number of half-wave dipoles in each horizontal row n = number of parallel rows spaced half a wavelength apart h = height above the ground in wavelengths 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, ibid.) But what does "CT" stand for? Something like "corner tropical", basically the same as what is otherwise known as quadrant antenna, i.e. two dipoles mounted right-angled to each other in order to get the wanted non-dir radiation? The Jászberény site is kind of a mystery anyway. For quite some time now I'm searching for any photos of it, to no avail. Google maps has only poor satellite imagery there, as is the case around Székesvehérvár (ex-6025 site, equipment dismantled there and installed at Jászberény afterwards). Only Diósd is worth a look; in the northwest of the village, near the M10 street, I note a property that looks like a former antenna field. Did Radio Budapest actually use 75 metre frequencies in the past, before the late/mid-nineties? I'm only aware of rather high, often just too high frequencies being used for transmissions to Europe before 3975 (or perhaps for a short time some other 75 metre frequencies) had been introduced (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 2, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) A quick check of the 1968 WRTH shows Budapest on 3995 (Dan Ferguson, SC, ibid.) WRTH 1966 shows 3995 channel for the first time under Hungary. 5 / 15 / and 100 kW of power mentioned under R Budapest shortwave, and 539 kHz MW with 135 kW. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Any indication of the site for 3995 in the old books? What can be found online suggests that the Jászberény station did not exist before the two 250 kW transmitters there opened in 1974. I uploaded to the Yahoo Group a Radio Budapest QSL card which apparently celebrated these new facilities. It gives 49 and 19 metres frequencies for Jászberény and shows not only Székesvehérvár but also Diósd as other Radio Budapest site, so it is obvious that Diósd had been used for shortwave broadcasting also before the new Brown Boveri transmitters were installed in 1983. Perhaps this was the 100 kW site shown in 1966, since only 2 x 20 kW were listed for Székesvehérvár until the new Brown Boveri transmitters came into operation? In particular I wonder when the 4 MHz antenna at Jászberény had been built. Did it exist from the beginning or had it been constructed much later? The latter would be similar to the case of the Wertachtal station which got its 4 MHz capability not before the mid-nineties. And monitoring of 3975 1000-1100: I could spot only a faint carrier, so faint that even some doubt remains if it was really the Jászberény carrier on 3975 or not just something local. This at a distance of about 600 km from the transmitter site. Diósd site today, home of a radio museum: http://www.postamuzeum.hu/english/muzeum/diosd.html Also from Hungary: Bernd Waniewski has now added some pages about the Szolnok mediumwave station to his website at http://www.waniewski.de/id433.htm It had been understood that only the old 135 kW transmitter (same model than once used at Lakihegy for 539/540 it seems, also at Kaliningrad for 1385) there has been replaced by a new one for MR4 on 1188 while Magyar Katolikus Rádió on 1341 still uses an elder transmitter. But not so anymore; the last page clearly shows inscriptions specifying the 1188 transmitter as a TRAM 100 and the 1341 one as a TRAM 200 (Transradio, ex-Telefunken, solid-state transmitters, 100 and 200 kW, respectively). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, ibid.) ** INDIA [and non]. All India Radio in Arunachal Pradesh Monitoring notes from Gautam Sharma in Assam. Regds, Alokesh ----------------------- According to latest Frequency Guide from All India Radio, AIR Itanagar sked via shortwave i.e. for A07 is as follows: 0025 to 0400 UT on 4990 kHz 0700 to 0900 UT on 6150 kHz 1000 to 1630 UT on 4990 kHz And also there are medium wave stations of AIR located at : Itanagar (675 kHz) Tezu (1332 kHz) Tawang (1521 kHz) Pasighat (1602 kHz) Zero (1602 kHz). There may be other AIR Radio Stations but not sure about it. And believe there is no FM Radio Station of AIR at present in Itanagar, etc. But Postiv Radio, a division of North East Television has obtained license to start a Private FM Radio Station in Itanagar along with Guwahati, Shillong & Agartala. Already, its Guwahati Radio Station i.e. Radio Hoo Laa Laa on 91.9 MHz has started its operation. A few days back, I heard & received fair signal of AIR Itanagar on 4990 kHz during 1130 UT (approx.) onwards during my monitoring and it was free from any interference. But from the weekend, I couldn't trace the signal of AIR Itanagar on 4990. There was no other radio station operating on that frequency as per my monitoring. However, for 6150 kHz I didn't find trace of AIR Itanagar from 0700 to 0900 UT till today. AIR-Itanagar on 675 kHz on medium wave is audible during evening & night here. Alokesh, this is just a preliminary report. I'll send you more report on AIR Itanagar via shortwave etc on the basis of further monitoring soon. JUST FOR YOUR INFO, ON THE WEEKEND I FOUND ON SEVERAL FREQUENCIES ON FM BAND STRONG SIGNAL OF CHINESE RADIO STATIONS AGAIN. SO, PERHAPS THEY ARE NOW TARGETTING NOW FM BAND AFTER SHORTWAVE & MEDIUM WAVE PLUS TELEVISION WAVE IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH!!!!!!! NE TV Reports also about Chinese Jamming of AIR & Doordarshan in Arunachal: North East Television also reported last week about reported Chinese jamming of AIR & Doordarshan in Arunachal Pradesh in their News Bulletin. And while a High Level Doordrashan Official declined to comment on reported jammings etc from Chinese side, stating that he was not authorised to talk on that. But he stated that most of transmitters` power are weak, etc., etc., and they have sent already proposal, etc., to higher authority to strengthen & improve the transmissions, etc. The report also mentioned that NE TV have got license to start an FM Radio Station in Itanagar. 73 & 55 GK (Gautam Sharma, via Alokesh Gupta, dx_india yg via DXLD) Dear Alok, Just listen to 4920 in the mornings and the nights IST. You will see that China is blocking AIR Chennai also with its high power transmitter and GoI has not done anything in this regard. From (Arasau vu2ur, ibid.) ÍNDIA – A emissora regional AIR, de Chennai, foi sintonizada, em Villa Lynch, na Argentina, pelo Nicolas Eramo, pela freqüência de 4920 kHz, em 27 de junho, às 0052, emitindo em vernacular (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX July 1 via DXLD) No Chicom QRM? ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. BOEING INVITES THE WORLD TO VIEW THE 787 PREMIÈRE SEATTLE, June 28, 2007 Boeing will broadcast the launch of its newest technologically advanced passenger jet - the 787 Dreamliner - to viewers around the world. The 787 Premiere will be carried live and in nine different languages on via webcast and Satellite TV on Sunday, July 8, at 2230 UT (Monday morning Aust time). To view the Webcast, viewers may log on to http://www.boeing.com or http://www.newairplane.com (July Australian DX News via DXLD) ** IRAN. OFFICIAL ELABORATES ON PRESS TV PROGRAMMES | Text of report by Iranian radio on 2 July [Presenter] Iran's 24 hour English television channel called "Press TV" will go on air this afternoon in the presence of the president. Commenting on the network's programmes, Mr Mosavat, the public relations manager of Press TV, told Iranian radio: [Mosavat] We have a daily programme called "four corners" which covers all the news of the day. We have another programme called "the Middle East today" which is aired six times a week and focuses on the hottest events of the Middle East. We also broadcast documentaries twice a day. We have the news at this hour. We have global coverage and are currently using nine satellites for this purpose. Our target markets where we have the most audience are America; Europe; Middle East; Far East; Australia; Africa, South Africa in particular as it is an English speaking country and India. These are the markets that we aim for and come under our coverage. Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, in Persian 1030 gmt 2 Jul 07 (via BBCM via DXLD) Also an interview about this on NPR`s Morning Edition: IRAN'S PRESS TV TO RIVAL WESTERN MEDIA Morning Edition, July 2, 2007 Press TV, Iran's 24-hour English news network, launches today and is set to compete with Western media. Officials say there are no restrictions for what can be broadcast. Shahab Mosavat, host of Press TV's Middle East Today and Press TV director of communications, talks with John Ydstie. . . http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11650177 (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) PRESS TV GOES ON AIR The English-language Press TV news channel has been launched in the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and some top officials. In a ceremony to mark the launch, he said the 24-hour channel had a duty "to reveal what goes on behind the scenes of the propaganda news networks of mankind's enemies." Ahmadinejad said the channel should stand "beside the oppressed nations of the world but not make news up in their favor. The media are used by the domineering powers to occupy lands and people's hearts," he said, promising that the new channel would "stand by the oppressed." The ceremony was also attended by president of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Ezzatollah Zarghami and deputy president of the IRIB in World Service, Mohammad Sarafraz. The channel's website has already received millions of hits. Source: PressTV.com, July 2 2007 Streaming Video: mms://217.218.67.244/presslive The station just got on the air within an hour or two. Here's a fresh comment from one its first viewers in NYC: IranTV is on air...OMG! I'm so much disappointed. It is such an unprofessional channel: the news studio is horrible, the presenter was like --- I even dunno how to say --- like from countryside, third world. It's absolutely uncomperadble [sic] with Al Jazeera. This way they will never be able to compete with news giants (sources? via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, dxldyg via DXLD) IRAN'S ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PRESS TV IS ON THE AIR -- AND IT IS WEIRD President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the channel has duty "to reveal what goes on behind the scenes of the propaganda news networks of mankind's enemies." Press TV, 2 July 2007. Video and audio stream available at http://www.presstv.ir Plans to broadcast documentaries on American soldiers who quit the military. "AP, 2 July 2007. "Although Iran uses satellite to broadcast programmes abroad, it remains illegal to have satellite television within the country, where officials frequently denounce the 'cultural decadence' spread by foreign channels." AFP, 2 July 2007. "There are also plans for a programme called Children of War, which will examine the effects of war on children in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon." BBC News, 2 July 2007. Posted: 02 Jul 2007 (from http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/index.php?id=1861 for linx to four stories, via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DXLD) Satellite and other info: http://www.lyngsat-address.com/or/Press-TV.html (tribby2001, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. See POLAND [non] ** KOREA NORTH. Checking Wolfgang Büschel`s report of VOK on new 15185v to NAm: July 3 at 1345 I could hear no carrier around that frequency, only RHC on 15190 and something on 15180. VOK was poorly audible on 11710 and still on // 9335 in English; meanwhile, China was strong as usual on jamming frequencies 15265 and 15285 plus Firedrake on 13970; also at 1419 in French, VOK audible on 9335 // 11710, but now there was at least a carrier from something on 15185. WB meanwhile had figured out that 15185v is axually a spur from VOK 15245v to Europe, and 9335 remains on the air (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) viz.: v15185.26 / v15304.89 VOK - mystery solved. KOREA D.P.R. Spurs v15185.26 / v15304.89 VOK, nominal 15245 kHz. I guess I solved the puzzle on the mysterious signals of Voice of Korea near v15185.26 / v15304.89 which observed in past week. The latter v15305 spur seems a little bit stronger signal level. I discussed that matter with the 'Korean expert' Arnulf Piontek this week. And today I checked that 19 mb range on three receivers again - Lextronix E1 Radio, AOR 7030, Kenwood R-1000 -, and heard VoKOR in English on v15185.26 / v15304.89 at 1300 UT again. So, the conclusion made on June 28 / July 1st was wrong. The NAm service at 28 degrees via NW Canada at 1300-1750 is still on usual channels 9335 and 11710 kHz. 9335 is very weak in Europe and suffers by 9335 IBB VOA Kuwait in Pashto/Dari at 1430-1830 UT. Both v15185.26 / v15304.89 are spurious outlets of scheduled v15245 kHz, which is 1300-1950 UT towards Europe. (and \\ 13760). Spur center frequencies vary during the broadcast between 58.90/59.84 kHz on the upper side, and 59.74/60.76 kHz on the lower side. Schedule 1300 En, 1400 Fr, 1500 En, 1600 Fr, 1700 Korean, 1800 En, 1900 Sp, 2000-2050 French. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, wwdxc BC-DX July 1, via dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non]. BELGIUM(non) Some TDP changes: Denge Mezopotamya in Kurdish from July 2: 0400-2000 on 11530 KCH 300 kW / 116 deg to WAs Daily, ex 0400-1600 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. 15110, R. Kuwait, Sulaibiyah. English service reactivated, Arabic here till 0500, then TS, ID, frequencies (MW, FM & SW), then into Mamas and Papas song, before program schedule. Tnx to tip in DXLD, 1/7 (Craig Seager, NSW, July Australian DX News via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DXLD) ** LIBYA [and non?]. LIBYA. Checking Libya's Voice of Africa on July 1 at 2130 on 1251, 11835 and 15550 I noted that 11835 had a delay of several seconds over 1251 and that 15550 had a further delay. This seems to indicate that the studios are located at Tripoli, near the 1251 location, while both SW sites are located elsewhere. The good late evening signals from both SW sites seem to exclude a relay from France (Olle Alm, Sweden, July 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MICRONESIA. Hi Glenn, Another Log from Chris Hambly [Victoria]: 4750v, Federated States of Micronesia, Pacific Missionary Aviation, no ID so tentative, heard June 27 (Wednesday ) at 1200z, under heavy QRM from RRI Makassar, had a religious programme, at least three stations on frequency, so looks like another test. 73, Chris Hambly, Melbourne, using Icom R75 dipole PS: have monitored the frequency since Chris called and not heard anything from Micronesia, messy frequency, jumble of stations. 73 (Dave Vitek, Adelaide, SA, 1252 UT July 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONACO [non]. TWR Monte Carlo Monday to Friday English to Europe now reduced to 0700-0750 on 9800, 11865, weekends remain the same, Saturday 0715-0750, Sunday 0645-0820 (Edwin Southwell, UK, WDXC Contact via DXLD) 9800 = ``Monaco`` site, axually FRANCE; 11865 = Shijak, ALBANIA. I suppose they are not synchronized? (gh, DXLD) ** MONACO [non]. Hallo! Again more news from Monaco. On 1467 kHz, RMC is no longer on the air. But this morning, I received a mail from Pascal Busard of "Zone 80", in Belgium. After the tests made in late May, he told me that Zone 80, with a local programme will be back on the air from Col de la Madone, in some days (around July 15th). He don't tell me the frequency, but it will be certainly on 702 or 1467 kHz as in Col de la Madone, there are only MW antennas. He also sent me pictures from the antennas taken in Col de la Madone (Christian Ghibaudo, Nice, Cote Azur , France, July 2, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 12085, V. of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. Good level signal but subject to deep fades. Speaker in English about attitudes to use and transport of uranium in Mongolia. Poor audio, 1015 14/6 (Charles Jones, NSW, July Australian DX News via DXLD) 1000 on 22/6 ID: "The broadcasts in English are to Australia, Southeast Asia and Europe from 1000 to 1030 on 12085 and to Central Asia from 1100 to 1130 on 990 MW" heard on 22/6 (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, July Australian DX News via DXLD) So only one SWBC? (gh) ** NAVASSA. KP1, NAVASSA ISLAND. As of this month, Navassa Island (the 5th "Most Wanted Country" according to "The DX Magazine" 2006 survey) became an American possession only 150 years ago. There is an interesting article online about Navassa Island that you may want to read. It talks about some interesting history and details about the island. Go to the New York Times Web page to read it at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/30/opinion/30widmer.html (KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 July 2 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) Very interesting, but article never gets around to mentioning ham DXpeditions attempted here (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. SAVE PUBLIC RADIO WEBCASTS! TIME IS RUNNING OUT Your ability to continue listening to Public Radio 89.5 and Classical 88.7 over the internet is in immediate danger. The recent ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) exposes public broadcasters that stream their musical content to huge increases in royalty payments and threatens to drastically curtail the programming diversity found on internet websites. Because the CRB’s decision requires public radio stations to pay royalties on a per song/per listener basis, it directly contradicts public radio’s public service obligations and mission. In a very direct way, the CRB decision penalizes public radio stations for their service to the public. Artists, listeners, and public radio webcasters have joined together to help preserve this public service. We strongly believe in compensating artists, but public radio music webcasting as we know it cannot survive under the new rules. As it stands now, royalty rates for webcasters will increase drastically come July 15th and will be retroactive to Jan 1, 2006! Public Radio Tulsa almost certainly [will not!] be able to continue broadcasting Public Radio 89.5 or Classical 88.7 (or begin streaming any of our four new HD Radio channels) over the internet if this ruling stands. We need your help! Please take a moment to contact your Members of Congress to let your representatives know how much Internet radio means to you. Ask them to co-sponsor the Internet Radio Equality Act to save public radio webcasting. Act now! Learn more about what you can do before the July 15 deadline to insure that Public Radio Tulsa internet broadcasts and thousands of others from around the country remain on-line. http://www3.capwiz.com/saveinternetradio/alert_9738601.html Here’s a short [11:23] audio explanation of the issues involved. http://www.kwgs.org/stream/SaveNetRadio.mp3 (Credit: Written & Produced by Dave Solomon at Digital Audio Tracks- featuring the voices of: Chuck Matthews, Christy Brittain, Meaghan Brooks, Jay Johnson, Dave Merz, Anthony Johnson & Dave Solomon. Interviews provided by Ray Gauthier.) (KWGS Tulsa via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Gangue, I have exchanged email with several of you over the years about a search for a specific KOMA jingle from the late 1950's. I finally found it. For those who might collect jingles, or air checks and might be interested in KOMA see: ftp://krxo.serveftp.com/pub/airchecks/KOMA%20airchecks/OLD%20KOMA%20Ai rchecks/ Between the middle of summer and the lightning, conditions here are weird to awful (Steve NG0G, IRCA via DXLD) why mess with ftp? (gh) ** POLAND. The 6105 broadcast is now the only transmission from Poland on shortwave, heard 1925 June 26 transmitter already on with characteristic rumbling sound, Radio Racja identification and talk 1930, fair strength, stronger at 2100 recheck (Mike Barraclough, England, July WDXC Contact via DXLD) ** POLAND [non]. DAILY HEBREW RADIO SHOW FROM POLISH RADIO LAUNCHES ON FM ACROSS ISRAEL As from 1 July, Polish Radio has launched a daily, 30 minute Hebrew language radio show broadcast across Israel at 9.30 pm local time. The show will be available on 107.2 FM to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the other coastal cities and 89.3 FM to the north of the country including Afula and Nazareth. WRN, the international transmission service provider, has organised this relay on behalf of Polish Radio and will operate the content backhaul and distribution. Michael Hermon, Polish Radio’s Head of the Hebrew Section says: “Kol Polin, the Hebrew Service, is a new development for Polish Radio. We are looking forward to our launch on FM in Israel which is the first terrestrial relay for our Hebrew Service anywhere in the world.” He continues, “Our daily 30 minute show will offer news from Poland six times a week, Saturday to Thursday and listeners will also hear Polish press reviews, business news, reports on cultural events, political analysis, news and reports from Jewish communities, interviews with people from Israel and Poland and also Polish/Jewish music.” (Source: WRN)(July 2nd, 2007 - 8:37 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) Dave Kernick Says: July 2nd, 2007 at 10:02 e This is via Radio All For Peace, broadcasting from Ramallah. According to the schedule on their website http://www.allforpeace.org it appears to be also on at 0930 local time (currently 0630 gmt). (Media Network blog via DXLD) PRES axually started Hebrew several months ago on SW --- altho there was a report recently that the assigned time contained nothing but music. So do the SW broadcasts (via Germany, of course), continue? If so, why were they not even mentioned here? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** SCOTLAND. THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY (SNP) SAYS IT IS STILL FIGHTING FOR AN INDEPENDENT SCOTTISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION Councillor James Dornan, SNP spokesperson on culture and sport for Glasgow City Council, says in a letter to The Scotsman that just last Thursday he put a motion to Glasgow City Council supporting the idea of both this and, as an interim measure, the creation of a Scottish Six (news at 6 pm). Mr Dornan says the SNP believes that Scotland deserves the chance to hear, see and broadcast Scottish, UK and international news from a Scottish perspective. The SNP also believes that Scotland should have the opportunity to buy in programmes that the people of Scotland want to see and not “just have them foisted on us from afar”. According to the SNP, BBC Scotland does not get back a fair share of the licence revenues paid to the BBC, nor does it receive a fair share of programming in Scotland. The SNP argues that programming and news broadcasting have declined rapidly over the past few years in Scotland. It says that “If Scotland had control of our own broadcasting there is also no doubt there would be more jobs created in this highly paid and high quality industry.” (Source: The Scotsman via Media Network blog July 2 via DXLD) 2 Responses to “SNP still fighting for an independent Scottish broadcasting corporation” Mike Barraclough Says: July 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 e Are these statistics the same ones as the SNP used last year when they claimed that BBC Scotland should receive 9% of the licence fees as it has 9% of UK households ignoring the fact that Scottish viewers for the most part listen or watch national BBC radio and television offerings and that the Scottish transmitter network is particularly expensive to maintain. We are now in the situation where a greater percentage of people in England think that Scotland should be granted independence that the Scots do themselves. Stewart Fenwick Says: July 2nd, 2007 at 11:43 e Well timed comments, prior to Saturday’s terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport, when it took the BBC’s understaffed Scottish news team 3 hours to get their coverage on air. This despite, worldwide news outlets like Fox & CNN covering the story within minutes. At weekends, BBC, ITV, and many commercial stations have only a part time news service (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SENEGAL [non]. 17875.0, 0729, G, West Africa Democracy R., Woofferton, ID + Com salud (prevención del cólera), 02/07, Inglés, 45444 (Tomás Méndez, Spain, Noticias DX via DXLD) 17875 kHz, 0830 UT, West Africa Democracy Radio program missed today. Only continues VTMC pause alternate CELLO music from London control room noted over and over again. Strong signal into Europe at S=9+20 dB level. Scheduled 0700-1100 UT (ex-Woofferton). (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, July 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. Summer A-07 of Radio Slovakia International: ENGLISH 0100-0127 5930 9440 0700-0727 9440 15460 1630-1657 5920 6055 1830-1857 5920 6055 GERMAN 0800-0827 6055 7345 1330-1357 6055 7345 1600-1627 5920 6055 1800-1827 5920 6055 FRENCH 0200-0227 5930 9440 1700-1727 5920 6055 1930-1957 5920 6055 RUSSIAN 1300-1327 7345 9440 1500-1527 7345 9535 1730-1757 5920 7345 SLOVAK 0130-0157 5930 9440 0730-0757 9440 15460 1530-1557 5920 7345 1900-1927 5920 6055 SPANISH 0230-0257 9440 11990 1430-1457 9440 11600 2000-2027 6055 11650 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) Any changes since outset?? ** SYRIA. 12085.0, 2236, R. DAMASCO-Adra, com[entario?], pésima audición, 02/07, español, 25332 (Tomás Méndez, Spain, Noticias DX yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DXLD) ** TAIWAN [non]. /USA - Frequency change of R. Taiwan International in German to WEu: 0600-0700 NF 7780 YFR 100 kW / 044 deg, ex 7520 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) ** U K. Log of Skelton outlets on July 3rd: 17875 kHz 0830 UT West Africa Democracy Radio program missed today. Only continues VTMC pause alternate CELLO music from London control room noted over and over again. Strong signal into Europe at S=9+20 dB level. Scheduled 0700-1100 UT (ex-Woofferton). 13780 kHz DWL German from Skelton spread out a 2 x 29 kHz very wide signal, both sidebands. My location situated direct at 125 main lobe from Skelton towards Brussels, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Slovenia, Macedonia, Thessaloniki direction. S=9+50 dB superb level, which is seldom noted these days, at 0810 UT. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) These brief items duplicated at GERMANY, SENEGAL [nons] ** U K [non]. BBCWS in Berlin? See GERMANY ** U K. BBC NEWS MAGAZINE LAUNCH PENCILLED IN FOR AUTUMN http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=38080&c=1 (Press Gazette via Dan Say, BC, July 2, DXLD) ** U K. Media | MPs slam BBC Siemens sell-off Bobbie Johnson, technology correspondent Thursday June 28, 2007 MediaGuardian.co.uk http://media.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,330100512-105236,00.html The BBC's decision to sell off its technology arm to Siemens came in for stinging criticism from MPs today, with senior management accused of taking a "distinctly second rate" approach to the contract. A report published today by the House of Commons' influential public accounts committee said BBC management omitted millions of pounds of hidden costs when encouraging the board of governors to approve the sale of BBC Technology in 2004 to Siemens. The report also suggested that parliament should be given greater control over the BBC's accounts. Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP who chairs the PAC, said the technology sale to Siemens did not inspire "confidence in the BBC's ability to negotiate and manage large-scale commercial contracts". "The BBC's submission to the governors seeking approval for the Siemens deal gave the impression that annual savings of some £35 million for 10 years were guaranteed," Mr Leigh said. "This is not the first time BBC governors have been given inexact figures when asked to approve spending on major projects. "The BBC must make sure that all of its future business cases are subject to robust quality assurance," he added. "The BBC's approach to the contract has been distinctly second rate. Its estimates of annual savings have fluctuated widely; many parts of the BBC are still using other suppliers; and there was no provision for the BBC to share profits above an agreed level. "Indeed, the BBC has chosen not to check on how profitable the contract actually is for Siemens. "None of this inspires confidence in the BBC's ability to negotiate and manage large-scale commercial contracts. "The BBC's arguments for resisting full independent audit scrutiny by the National Audit Office are looking increasingly threadbare." The PAC report stated: "When BBC managers sought approval for the deal with Siemens, they told the governors that savings were guaranteed at £35.2m a year, but they made mistakes when they estimated the cost reduction that the contract would deliver. "Contrary to the advice provided by the BBC to the board of governors ... the annual savings achievable under the contract were not guaranteed." BBC Technology, which provides IT support and hi-tech infrastructure for the corporation, was sold to Siemens in 2004 as part of a 10-year outsourcing deal worth an estimated £1.9bn. The move, instigated by former director general Greg Dyke and signed off by his replacement, Mark Thompson, came as the corporation faced intense pressure to cut costs. But nearly three years after the deal was made, the committee said that the BBC's board of governors was not given the complete picture when it made its decision to sell the technology division. The result is that savings were drastically lower than predicted. "In the first year of the contract with Siemens, savings were £22m, 38% lower than the BBC's original forecast," the PAC said. The PAC report added that BBC managers did not include substantial extra costs totalling £60m when seeking approval for the sale from the board of governors. And although Mr Thompson has said that the corporation now expects savings to increase to £40m per year, the PAC remained sceptical of such promises. The sale - which means that Siemens now controls the BBC's computer, broadcast and satellite transmission systems - faced strong opposition from many staff, including the 1,400 workers who were working for BBC Technology at the time. Broadcasting union Bectu warned that the sell-off meant that the BBC was effectively "handing its central nervous system over to the private sector". Reports from inside the BBC suggest that staff are less than happy with the new arrangements, with many complaining that the relationship with Siemens is proving inefficient, overly expensive and is unable to deliver in some crucial areas. The PAC investigation found that 60% of projects commissioned from Siemens in its first year ran over budget or were subject to delay. Its report also suggests that the National Audit Office, the parliamentary spending watchdog, should be given increased access to the BBC's accounts, bringing it in line with other public bodies. At the moment the corporation is exempt from such scrutiny. "This is not the first time the BBC governors have approved multimillion-pound deals without the full facts," said Richard Bacon, the Conservative MP for south Norfolk and a member of the public accounts committee. "The BBC needs to get a grip on its contract management, and the corporation as a whole must now open its book to full independent scrutiny by the National Audit Office." The board of governors was replaced as the corporation's governance and regulatory body in January by the BBC Trust, headed by chairman Sir Michael Lyons (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) ** U K. BBC Proms 2007: Glenn: Listings now up if you weren't aware: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2007/ (Mike Barraclough, England, July 3, WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DX LISTENING DIGEST) July 13 to September 8 on Radio 3 primarily: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2007/whatson/1307.shtml (gh) ** U K. Intelligent Radio on an Unintelligent Channel The recent contribution in DX Digest on 'intelligent radio' reminded me that there is an exceptionally intelligent and riveting talk show twice a week on the otherwise very downmarket and bigoted Talksport Radio. The show I'm referring to is aired every Friday and Saturday evening at 21.00-00.00 nationally in the UK on 1089 and 1053 kHz and on the web at http://www.talksport.net Its host, George Galloway (who is also a well-known MP) is a major thorn in the side of both the British and US governments for his outspoken and impeccably argued denunciation of the war in Iraq. He is also, in my opinion, probably the finest living orator in the English language, as well as a brilliant and spell-binding broadcaster. US readers will remember he created a sensation a couple of years ago when he effectively debunked sanctions-busting allegations made against him in the US senate, answering the sneering allegation that he had twice met Saddam Hussein with the riposte that that was precisely the number of meetings that Rumsfeld had had with the Iraqi dictator when Saddam was Washington's blue-eyed boy. If you're fed up with right-wing bigotry, racism and prejudice of all descriptions, you could do worse than tune into to Galloway's programme, which is increasingly attracting feedback from an international audience, including Bush's detractors in the US. By the way, to the person who wrote in this column a few days ago that Galloway is 'controversial', you're right. But the fact that he is described thus while establishment politicians such as Blair and Bush are spared such a label demonstrates just how biased much of our so- called free and impartial media can be (Roger Tidy, UK, July 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Time above presumably UT, but website shows Friday ``2200-2359`` BST only, nothing at 0000-0100 Sat; however, Sat 2200-2359 is followed by Sunday 0000-0100 BST; both this week the same content about ``Britain`s Biggest Curry Party`` http://www2.talksport.net/whatson/show_detail.asp?Day=6&show_id=100051 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Kim, so is the VOA Talk 2 America chat session on Wed or Thu at 1800? Have seen both reported. And what will occupy the 14-15 UT hour? (Glenn to Kim Elliott, via DXLD) Hi Glenn, It will be Wednesdays at 1800, beginning 11 July. I thought I had heard Thursdays, but confirmed today it will be Wednesdays. The standard News Now news fare will fill the 1400-1500 slot, with Reporters' Notebook Friday at 1430-1500. I offered to revive Communications World, and it looked like it would happen, Fridays 1430-1500, with repeats during the weekend, but ultimately that was not approved. The last TTA on radio will be 6 July. 73 (Kim Andrew Elliott, WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOA's Talk to America: from microphone to keyboard. On 6 July, the Voice of America's "Talk to America" ends its 12 1/2 year run as VOA's live English-language radio talk show. On 11 June, "Talk to America" will become an online live text chat, T2A, accessible via http://www.voanews.com For the time being, T2A will be once a week, Wednesdays, at 1800 UT. On VOA News Now, news programming will take over Monday through Friday at 1400-1500, with "Reporters' Notebook" Fridays at 1430-1500. See VOA press release, 2 July 2007. http://www.voanews.com/english/About/2007-07-03-t2a.cfm And Talk to America web page. http://www.voanews.com/english/newsanalysis/talktoamerica.cfm And VOA Snapshot, 24 June 2002. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2002-06/a-2002-06-24-4-VOA.cfm Posted: 03 Jul 2007 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Some TDP changes: Suab Xaa Moo Zoo in Hmong: 2300-2330 NF 11655 TAI 100 kW / 250 deg to Asia Daily, ex 11650 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) but: The TDP schedule website now shows 2330-2400 for the religious "Suab Xaa Moo Zoo" program in Hmong on 11655 (ex 2300-2330). The program is aimed at East/SE Asia. There are about 4 million Hmong speakers in the world, most of them in China (3 million), followed by Vietnam (790.000), Laos (320.000) and Thailand (150.000). In the USA, there are about 275.000 Hmong speakers (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, July 3, dxldyg WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Would someone explain how to pronounce Suab Xaa Moo Zoo? (gh, WOR) ** U S A. You’re reading it here first! KMUW’s Signal Expansion Project is one of the biggest initiatives the station has undertaken since we increased our power to 100,000 watts in 1987, and will result in Wichita Public Radio activating two additional 24-hour digital radio broadcasts, expanding its coverage area, and improving the quality of its signal. KMUW currently broadcasts it news, information and music programming in the standard analog FM format, as we’ve done since the station signed on in 1949. HD Radio ™ is a new radio broadcast technology which allows a station to use its existing channel, such as 89.1FM, to transmit programming in a digital format as a simulcast of its existing analog service. The digital signal won’t be susceptible to the interference that sometimes affects analog FM, so we’ll offer a higher-quality audio in the digital mode. You’ll need to purchase a new receiver capable of picking up HD Radio ™ signals, but those receivers will also pick the analog signal of KMUW and any other station you might listen to which hasn’t added a digital service. One of the most exciting features of HD Radio ™ is that KMUW will have the capability of broadcasting two additional full-power FM signals – essentially two additional radio stations – on our same 89.1 frequency. HD1 will be the main simulcast of our current analog FM signal. HD2 will be a 24-hour music service based on Adult Acoustic Alternative (AAA or A3 – think “World Café”), singer-songwriter, indie rock, world music, blues and AOR. HD3 will be a 24-hour global news service anchored by the BBC. Wichita Public Radio began the process of adding digital services about two years ago with the receipt of a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That grant was matched by funds from the state of Kansas and private contributions and allowed us to purchase a digital transmitter. In order to operate that digital transmitter – along with our existing analog transmitter – we would have needed to increase to increase the electrical and air conditioning capacity at our transmitter site. As we looked at the cost of upgrading that site we got to wondering about the possibility of relocating to a new site – one that would allow us to expand our coverage area and reach more listeners at the same time as we implement new services. We were fortunate to find a location on the KSNW [channel 3] tower near Colwich which will allow us to more than double the height of our antenna. This means we will maintain our existing service area to the east and south of Wichita, but will expand our primary coverage area to include Hutchinson, McPherson, Kingman and Hillsboro. We expect those communities to receive the quality of signal we now enjoy in Wichita. And, since we will locate our antenna at a much higher elevation, we expect to eliminate some of the interference or reception problems some listeners occasionally experience around the metro area. The Federal Communications Commission approved our request to relocate, and we have already begun to order the new equipment and make plans for the transmitter facility. The total budget for our Signal Expansion Project is over $700,000. We’ve raised $400,000 from federal, state and private sources already to purchase the digital transmitter, new digital production gear, a new microwave system to get our signal from our studios to the transmitter, a new transmission line for our analog service and a lot of computing and network equipment to tie it all together. We’re gearing up a major fundraising effort right now for the remaining $300,000 for a new antenna with a thousand feet of 4” copper transmission line, a new transmitter building and a new analog transmitter. One of our biggest expenses will be for the installation and relocation of our antennas. We’ll keep a tower crew busy this summer installing a new antenna and transmission line at over 925’ at the KSNW tower. Then we’ll have to remove our existing antennas and lines from our current site and re- install them at the new location. In addition, we will be installing back-up electrical generators at the transmitter site and at our studios, to further prevent interruption of our signal during storms and power failures. Our goal is to have the relocation complete – without interruption to your current listening habits – and also begin operating the new digital services this fall. We are developing an information page on our website to track progress, and also to serve as a place to make contributions. Please check it out and check back often to see how the project is moving forward. We’re very excited about the new technology we will implement in order to improve and expand the KMUW services you’ll have at your disposal. The additional programming capacity will triple your options for news, information, entertainment and music – all from your favorite station – Wichita Public Radio. Expansion map: http://www.kmuw.org/ExpansionMap.html (from http://www.kmuw.org/Expansion.html via DXLD) Looks like that will be a minor improvement in the direxion of Enid. But ``adding two full-power FM signals`` by implementing HD1 and HD2 [and HD3] ???? From everything I have read, these are NOT full-power, if that implies equivalent coverage to the main analog signal. HD2 coverage is much smaller than analog coverage (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn - They are full power digital signals in that they are as high of power as they can be legally, to protect the analog from major interference. I do understand your point as to our wording, and we are aware of the slightly smaller range of digital signals. That is one of the key reasons we are moving and doubling our height, so we can still grow our signal coverage area while adding digital. So our current listeners will notice a range increase, but that range increase won't be quite as large for the digital. But it's still an increase to what they are used to with our current signal. While we don't know the exact range of either of the signals until we actually move and put them on the air; we did commission a study from one of the most respected RF study firms. I attached a drawing that wasn't posted on the website with our expected digital range on it. As you will see it is bigger than our current analog footprint, but not as big as our expected analog coverage. Thanks! (Jon Cyphers, CBTE, CBRE, Director of Engineering, KMUW-FM 89.1 to gh, ibid.) That map shows the 55 dBu digital radius just slightly less than the outer ring 60 dBu on the website map. But I was under the impression from DX reporters who are trying to get HD on FM, that a much stronger signal is required (i.e. closer range) to get decent HD than decent analog reception, so in practice, without special external antennas of course, I`ll bet the EFFECTIVE HD coverage of KMUW is much closer in to the site (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. High Plains Public Radio is now broadcasting from our new and much taller tower south of Garden City. If you listen to our signal on KANZ 91.1, you can expect to hear HPPR at much greater distances, and in places where you may previously have encountered reception difficulties. We are inviting you to send a message to our staff on the quality of the reception you are receiving now as well as any other comments you feel may be relevant. Click here to send a reception report. hppr @ hppr.org (HPPR via DXLD) ** U S A. Re 7-076, KUNM`s upcoming 91.9 relay station in Española NM --- I then took a look at the tigermap of the projected coverage area. From the site N of Española, it has a minor lobe toward Taos, but with nulls a few degrees to either side, perhaps due to terrain obstruxions (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGETS) ** U S A. I have urged KANW 89.1 Albuquerque several times to add streaming, but then they went and did it without notifying me, apparently as from May 9. Just in time for the CRB! Station features a lot of New Mexico Music, or rather, just to be clear, as they now call it, New Mexico Spanish Music. http://www.kanw.com mms streaming link via: http://www.kanw.com/cgi/annview2.cgi?1 or has embedded WM player but also linking to stand-alone player http://209.189.173.19/kanw_kanw.htm?20070701185700 Here`s their Spring 2007, 6-page newsletter just issued a biweek ago: http://www.kanw.com/users/station/Data/announcerspring07.pdf which includes a program grid showing NM Spanish Music, here in UT: Sunday 0100-0400, 0800-1100, 2000-2400 Monday 0600-0930, 1800-0100 Tuesday 0400-0600 Tue-Fri 0600-1000, 1800-0600 Saturday 0600-2100 That totals 101 hours and a half per week! KANW carries some NPR staples such as Morning Edition, and others which may be heard on countless other webcasting stations. But a few more local unique programs worth outchecking: Native Music Hours UT Tue 0100-0400 Varied programming M-F 1400-1430 [used to include Letter from America, by Alistair Cooke, twice a week], but really what, now?? Mon 0930-1000 Aspectos Culturales [yes, 3:30 am local] Mon 1500-1530 Concerning New Mexico Mon 1530-1600 Dialogue [axually not local; link at MR CALENDAR] (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn -- Good news, I'd been waiting for this station ever since a trip to NM several years ago. The embedded player crashes Firefox on my system, but IE is OK and the direct link works. They were already off-schedule with ATC at 9-10 pm MDT Sunday night, but nonetheless, a nice addition. Thanks for letting me know (Kevin Kelly, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA PublicRadioFan.com ibid.) ** U S A. The Arizona Radio Reading Service has some excellent programs, not just for the blind, if you`d like to hear magazines and newspapers being read to you; the schedule has been updated, with entries in MONITORING REMINDERS CALENDAR, as SSOA, and live stream is here: http://sunsounds.org:8080/sundial/live.ram I listened to a long Sy Hersch piece from The New Yorker, which is on Mondays at 2000-2100 UT, then at 2100-2130 parody & satire from The Onion, and 2130-2200 a semihour of jokes. Full schedule: http://www.sunsounds.org/schedules (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Capitol Steps – Politix Taxe a Holiday, another quarterly comedy special appears on many public radio stations July 4; but some started as early as June 29, and one runs it on July 5; many but not all on the list webcast, in local time: http://www.capsteps.com/radio/ (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE READ WUOT’s webcasting is in immediate danger of being discontinued. The recent ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board exposes public radio stations that steam their musical content on the web to huge increases in royalty payments and treats public broadcasters the same as commercial entities. As it stands now, royalty rates for webcasters will increase drastically AS OF JULY 15TH, and will be retroactive to January 1, 2006! WUOT does not have the financial resources to absorb this kind of increase and if the current ruling stands, WUOT WILL HAVE TO DISCONTINUE OUR STREAMS in mid-July. Please take a moment to click on this link to find out how you can help public radio music webcasting survive: http://www.tellthempublicmatters.org/radio.html (http://www.wuot.org via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DXLD) I`ve sent my messages to my rep and senators! Please send yours thru the above link. See also OKLAHOMA (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. These logs were made while driving from Tampa to Sarasota mid-morning, June 30th with David Crawford. 1610, FLORIDA, (TIS) DoT WNNC526, I-75 Hillsborough County; two DoT transmitters are now active on I-75 for the road embankment revamp project. One transmitter appears to be north of the I-4 interchange and has been running open carrier only (overtakes Tampa International`s TIS just east of downtown). That transmitter is likely the open carrier signal I was hearing in Clearwater, and David was hearing across the state (Titusville) last week when the Tampa International Airport TIS was off the air. The southern transmitter is located in the median near mile marker 259, airing a looped female with construction times, call sign and (interestingly) the sound effects of trucks passing. Probably the same transmitters that were previously deployed along I-4 in the Tampa/Plant City area. 1610, FLORIDA, (TIS), Tampa International Airport WYZ235; back on the air since Saturday morning and still spewing a huge signal across much of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. 96.5 MHz, FLORIDA, WSLR-LP, Sarasota; operated by the New College Student Alliance, 100 watts. This was a target since it's an LPFM I've not heard (and I haven't been down to Sarasota for a while). Contrary to reports I've seen on radio-info.com's Tampa board, this one has a decent signal in the Sarasota-proper area. Format -- at least on this listen -- is eclectic to say the least. Oddball, mostly annoying unknown folkie songs about a pissed-off a Vietnam vet; a lesbian couple; a song that randomly referenced unrelated objects; and an Allen Ginsberg clone. Legal ID illegally timed at 11:18 a.m. by a very amateurish male jock (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, Visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html or: http://www.geocities.com/geigertree/flortis.html DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re: KXTO 1550 Reno NV DX tests from July 1 (?) ``So is the KXTO DX test still starting tonight? I suppose reports should not go to Les as previously announced. http://www.dxtests.info/2007/06/kxto-1550khz-reno-nv-dx-test-qrss-mode.html 73, Glenn Hauser, Enid`` Please do continue to send reports for any DX Test heard to me, until we formally hand over the reins to Jim Pogue and his team later this summer. E-mail reports to: les @ highnoonfilm.com (Les Rayburn, AL, IRCA via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. Extended transmission of CVC The Voice Asia Hindi to India: 0000-0400 on 9975 TAC 100 kW / 153 deg, ex 0100-0400 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 2, via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. RCTV TIENE ESTIPULADO SALIR POR SERVICIO DE PAGO EN JULIO. La televisora privada venezolana RCTV, que quedó fuera del aire el pasado 28 de mayo, se propone volver a emitir a través de los servicios por suscripción en el mes de julio, anunció su vicepresidente de comercialización Julián Isaac. En una entrevista con el diario El Nacional publicada este sábado, Isaac indicó que tres empresas de televisión por cable estarían dispuestas a emitir su señal, y sólo una se muestra reticente. Sobre la programación que transmitirá RCTV, el directivo indicó que será la misma que mantenía hasta su salida del aire, que combinaba telenovelas con deportes, programas de concurso y de información y opinión. "No hay ningún canal en el mundo que mantenga una programación como la nuestra en cable. Somos una estación de entretenimiento global y las plantas por suscripción son segmentadas", dijo. "Nos da mucho dolor decirle a nuestra gente que para vernos ahora tendrán que pagar. Nuestro objetivo es mantener el canal y la nómina para cuando recuperemos la señal abierta, porque seguiremos trabajando en eso", agregó. RCTV quedó fuera del aire luego de que el presidente Hugo Chávez decidió no renovar su concesión para emitir por señal abierta. Sin embargo, la empresa sigue abierta y produce programas para el extranjero. La televisora, creada en 1953, era la más antigua de Venezuela y la única de alcance nacional en señal abierta que mantenía una fuerte línea opositora. Su salida del aire ha movilizado en Venezuela protestas estudiantiles y de otros sectores, que consideran la decisión gubernamental como un atropello a la libertad de expresión. Fuente: AAS Globovisión/AFP Publicado el 30-06-2007. Nota: Por cierto el pasado Jueves en marco de celebrarse en Venezuela el Día del Periodista (Fue el Miércoles 28), la Facultad de Ciencias Econónomicas y Sociales (FACES) conjuntamente con la Escuela de Comunicación Social de la Universidad Santa María Núcleo Barinas, tuvimos una exposición por parte de nuestros estudiantes, presentando sus trabajos durante la visita a medios de comunicación Nacionales y Regionales, promoviendo la plena libertad de expresión en nuestro país, la cual está siendo peligrosamente limitada en estos últimos años. Radio Caracas Televisión el canal que fue cerrado por el gobierno el pasado 28 de Mayo; está funcionando vía Internet a través de la página de Youtube. Pueden ver el siguiente video donde el corresponsal de RCTV me hace una breve entrevista: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx8qtP5TaTE (Jorge García R., Venezuela, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Clip with Prof. JGR is around 2 minutes into the 10+ minute report. This is apparently one of RCTV`s regular news shows on the medium it is now restricted to (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1752 kHz, et al.: Beacon "PUN" possibly in Ecuador - Here's a MW and HF mystery. Beacon "PUN" which is believed by some to be in Ecuador, and is putting harmonics in the ham and SW bands. The fund is apparently on 1752 kc, but could be in the LW band. There is a very detailed page on the W8JI website http://www.w8ji.com/PUN.htm W8JI is a world class LF DXer and has a location as good as anything I could imagine in GA. His page is a reminder of our 1610-1020 kc fun last winter. I first learned of this from postings on the DX Summit (a ham DX board) Who can add to the mystery? Who can hear it? (Bob Foxworth, FL, 2300 edt July 1, ABDX via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DXLD) I listened to the voice ID before reading what others thought it says: my guess was ``Ciclo Cien`` or maybe ``Ciclo Seis`` in which case it might not be a locality at all. More DF bearings seem to cross Panamá than Ecuador. If the FCC knows where it is, why the hell don`t they tell us. FOIA?? Perhaps some readers closer to the area can hear it on 1752, or native speakers can be sure of what they say (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 14TH ANNUAL MADISON-MILWAUKEE DX GET-TOGETHER It is time again for the Madison-Milwaukee Get-together for DXers and Radio Enthusiasts! This popular DX event has been held on the third Saturday in August in every year since 1994. The purpose from the beginning has been to promote camaraderie among all DXers and radio hobbyists --- making new friends and renewing old friendships. This is an all-band event, and brings together a diverse group of hobbyists who have one thing in common -- a love of radio. The 14th annual Madison-Milwaukee DX Get-together returns to Madison this year, after a highly successful gathering in Grafton WI last year: WHEN: Saturday, August 18, 2007 1:00 PM until approximately 11 PM (come when you can and leave when you must) WHERE: 3358 Ridgeway Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin (Bill and Nina`s new home) HOSTS: Bill and Nina Dvorak We have another great day of socializing and radio activities lined up this year, with some fine demonstrations planned. Also on this year's agenda is an optional side-trip to Stan Broome's storefront radio museum in neighboring Sun Prairie. The annual dinner will once again be held at the Esquire Club. The program immediately following dinner includes door prizes and other surprises. An evening session including the annual cake cutting follows back at Bill and Nina's. The contingent of medium-wave DXers, many of them your fellow club members, has always been strong. There is sure to be much talk about the latest developments in medium-wave DXing at this year's get- together. It ought to prove interesting! For more details about this event, directions, information on accommodations, or the answer to any event-related question, please e- mail Bill off-list at dxerak @ aol.com (please include "Madison DX GTG" in the subject line), and we will send you an invitation and information sheet. Every year interest in and attendance for the GTG has grown, and once again this year we expect in excess of 30 DXers to attend. We hope that you can come and promise that you will have a great time if you do. Hope to see you in Madison on August 18! 73 (Bill Dvorak, WI, IRCA via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: CZECH REPUBLIC; ECUADOR. HD: USA KMUW ++++++++++++++++++++ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ A fascinating look into international TV/FM DX: Two years ago, I assembled a list of TV and FM DX links from around the world using Google, which can be found (unedited) farther down the page at http://www.geocities.com/tvdxer/ipas.html Last night, I looked at this page again for the first time in a very long time, and was happy to see that most of the links still worked. Some had actually bloomed into much larger pages. One that particularly caught my eye was http://www.ukwtv.de (UKW is German for VHF - literally "ultra short wave", and used for the FM radio band). The site itself is quite nice, but what's really amazing are the very active German FM / TV DX forums. It's fascinating to see where tropo and skip is going over there, and how setups differ. This thread: http://forum.mysnip.de/read.php?13738,330407 is particularly interesting. The questions ask what receiver, antenna, and mods the posters have, as well as what their best DX catch is. It's interesting to see that unlike in the U.S., where dedicated serious FM tuners and yagis dominate the scene, in Germany much of FM DXing is done with simple portable radios like the Sangean ATS-909 and Degen 1103 and indoor antennas. Tropo catches also tend to be much shorter - while many U.S. DX'ers receive 300-mile distances via scatter on a near-daily basis, that would apparently be an exciting catch for a German DX'er. TV and FM DX from Northern Minnesota Interweb site under Construction at http://www.geocities.com/tvdxer (This message courtesy of Jacob Norlund Ham Radio ---- KC0LTV Latitude ---- 46.8N Grid Square -- EN36US Longitude --- 92.3W July 2, WTFDA via DXLD) Do they routinely report the distances of their catches? I`ve found this seldom the case outside North America. Without distances, you can`t evaluate fully the extent of the opening, or sometimes even the mode (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Field activity was at quiet to unsettled conditions at all latitudes. Solar wind speed reached a low of about 340 km/s late on 26 June and a high of 565 km/s early on the 30th. The Bz component of the IMF generally did not vary much beyond +/- 5 nT throughout the period. Beginning at about 1800 UTC on 29 June, temperature, density, and wind speed all recorded sharp increases. These increases indicated a co-rotating interaction region in advance of a recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream. Bz showed a brief disturbed period from 29/1800 UTC to 29/2100 UTC where values fluctuated between +10 nT to -12 nT. The geomagnetic field reacted with isolated unsettled periods late on 29 June. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 04 - 30 JULY 2007 Solar activity is expected to range from very low to low levels. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels during 04 - 05, 16 – 17, and 22 – 23 July. Field activity is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels during 04 - 10 July. Activity is expected to increase to quiet to active levels on 11 - 12 July due to a recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream. Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected during 13 - 17 July. An increase to quiet to active conditions is expected during 18 - 20 July due to another recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream. Mostly quiet conditions are expected 21 - 26 July. A weak coronal hole high-speed stream is expected to rotate into a geoeffective position on 27 - 28 July, and will result in quiet to isolated active conditions. The field will return to quiet to unsettled levels on 28 - 30 July. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2007 Jul 03 1623 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2007 Jul 03 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2007 Jul 04 75 8 3 2007 Jul 05 75 5 2 2007 Jul 06 75 5 2 2007 Jul 07 75 5 2 2007 Jul 08 70 5 2 2007 Jul 09 70 5 2 2007 Jul 10 70 5 2 2007 Jul 11 70 15 4 2007 Jul 12 70 10 3 2007 Jul 13 70 8 3 2007 Jul 14 70 5 2 2007 Jul 15 70 8 3 2007 Jul 16 70 5 2 2007 Jul 17 70 5 2 2007 Jul 18 70 10 3 2007 Jul 19 70 15 4 2007 Jul 20 70 12 4 2007 Jul 21 70 5 2 2007 Jul 22 75 5 2 2007 Jul 23 75 5 2 2007 Jul 24 75 5 2 2007 Jul 25 75 5 2 2007 Jul 26 75 5 2 2007 Jul 27 75 10 3 2007 Jul 28 75 10 3 2007 Jul 29 75 8 3 2007 Jul 30 75 5 2 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1365, DXLD) ARNIE CORO’S DXERS UNLIMITED’S HF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST ITEM ONE: TV DX and FM band season well in progress at this moment, with sporadic E skip events happening all around North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Northern Africa. Several recent sporadic E openings sent the maximum useable frequency up to the FM band, making reception of FM broadcast stations from more than one thousand miles away possible, even with handheld radios and their telescopic whip antennas, as it happened here this week, when I was able to pick up a Chicago FM station on my portable radio while sitting in my balcony! More information about the sporadic E season later at the end of the program when Arnie Coro’s HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast will be on the air. [Viz.:] HF propagation conditions are very poor during your local daytime hours, but will certainly improve gradually after sunset in the northern hemisphere. Solar flux is hovering just above 70 units and the A index was at a nice and low 3 units. The sunspot number Tuesday was 11, indicating a very low solar activity. The good news is that Sporadic E openings are going to continue to be plentiful, surprising, interesting and challenging during the next few days, so monitor the low band TV channels for them. If you have a 10 meters or 6 meters band amateur radio rig, keep it on during the time that you are at home, keep them scanning from 28 to 28.5 megaHertz and from 50 to 50.3 megaHertz for signs of openings, that in many cases will be detected when automatic beacons start to come in as the opening starts (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited July 3 via DXLD) ###