DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-117, September 28, 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 NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1375 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 1630 WWCR3 12160 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 [irregular; not 9/10/07] Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies to 0500] Mon 0830 WRMI 9955 Tue 1030 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 7385 Wed 0730 WRMI 9955 Wed 2300 WBCQ 18910-CLSB or 17495-CLSB 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. SENIOR AFGHAN BROADCASTING OFFICIAL RESIGNS Radio Netherlands Worldwide has learned that Abdul Rahman Panjshiri, Director of Planning & Foreign Relations at the National Radio and Television of Afghanistan (RTA), has resigned afer 29 years with the organisation. Mr Panjshiri has told international colleagues of the reasons for his decision: “Following the appointment of Mr Khorram at the Ministry of Information and Culture (MIC), I continuously tried to encourage him to move toward and promote Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) in Afghanistan. With deep regret I failed to succeed in my endeavours in this regard. “Mr Khorram aims to curb the promotion of PSB in Afghanistan, although the Afghanistan Government has made commitments to the international community to move toward PSB. “During my last meeting with Mr Khorram he ignored all values of PSB and instructed me to direct all RTA’s Planning and Foreign Relations works through concerned department of MIC. He was critical why RTA establishes independent contacts with national and international organizations. He cited that RTA has no right to establish such contacts in the future and all contacts should go through the Foreign Relations Department of the MIC. “During my 29 years of services with RTA I have not seen such an attempt to suppress freedom and interference in RTA works. I would like to say that unless the international community takes serious action now all initiatives by both national and International organizations to foster PSB in Afghanistan will go in vain under the leadership of Mr Khorram. “I have decided to resign from my position with RTA due to the above facts.” (Source: Abdul Rahman Panjshiri direct)( September 26th, 2007 - 8:45 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. ANTÁRTIDA, 15476, LRA36, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, 1948-2000, 26-09. Continúan buenas condiciones de escucha para esta emisora. Programa "Otra parte de la historia de la Antártida", sobre una expedición a Base Esperanza realizada en 1903, locutora. A las 1957 identificación por locutor: "De Esperanza al mundo, les explicamos cómo se vive en la Antártida. Estamos en la zona más austral del planeta, pero sabemos lo que ocurre en cualquier lugar del mundo. Llegan las últimas noticias en Radio Arcángel San Gabriel". Noticias. Señal clara y estable hoy. 24332 variando a 34333 (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, Spain, escucha realizada en casco urbano de Lugo, Grundig Satellit 500 y Sony ICF SW 7600G, Antena de cable, 8 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 2310, VL8A-Alice Springs, 1035-1050, Sept 28, talk, pop music. // 2325, 2485 - all very weak (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA [and non]. Austria vs. India: 9870 --- Now that AIR Vividh Bharati is announcing to drop 10330 in favor of 9870, returning to Bangalore 500 kW, guess a big clash is on the way. Austria on 9870 has had impressive arriving here in Tiquicia on that segment after 0100, and if VB returns to the usual azimuth they used on 10330 with that power from B'Lore for the 0025 - 0435, it's just a matter of days to see. 73s. (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 26, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1375, DX LISTENING DIGEST) One thing for sure: whilst on 10330, AIR did not have to worry about colliding with other broadcasters, tho we heard some ute QRM (gh) ** BRAZIL. Caros Amigos, Como já é de conhecimento da maioria, a freq. de 9615 kHz da Rádio Cultura AM - S. Paulo-SP, ainda encontra-se inativa (nada de sinal!). Porém a freq. de 6170 da mesma, tem tido bom sinal aqui no Sul de Minas. Alguém tem conhecimento do que está acontecendo, por qual motivo esta freq. está inoperante !!! Um Forte 73 a Todos (Amilton Paiva, Pouso Alegre - MG, Sept 26, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** BURMA [non]. Democratic Voice of Burma feature --- Just uploaded to YouTube, a three-minute spot from Al-Jazeera English. http://youtube.com/watch?v=oOMs800mr2k Regards - (Martin Peters, Sept 28, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Says DVB have just gone from 2 to 9 hours of radio broadcasts per day; no details. On the very slow-loading http://www.dvb.no/ or the faster- loading http://english.dvb.no/textonly/ I cannot even find a link to their SW schedule. Geez! (gh, DXLD) ** BURMA [non]. RNW “shouts via short wave” as Myanmar curbs Internet Hundreds of people have been smuggling out pictures and eyewitness reports of the protests in Myanmar this week. Thanks to the Internet and mobile phones they’ve been able to break the military government’s monopoly on information. Now the junta has realised just how important these “citizen journalists” are. From today, Internet access in Myanmar has been shut down. Radio Netherlands Worldwide is one of the international radio stations that is reporting in depth on the situation in Myanmar. Twice a day we have contacts with sources inside the country, and their reports are supplemented by British correspondent Phil Thornton on the Thailand/Myanmar border, and Dutch reporter Michael Maas who is also based in Thailand. In an effort to raise international awareness of the situation, and to encourage our listeners and web visitors worldwide to express their solidarity with the population of Myanmar, where English is widely spoken, we have launched an initiative called Shout with Short Wave into Myanmar http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/shout070929 Our English broadcasts are heard clearly in the region on shortwave via transmitters in Russia. See also this story: Everyone is a journalist in Myanmar http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/bur070928mc (September 28th, 2007 - 14:20 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) BTW, RNW transmits one hour of DVB: 1430-1530 Madagascar 17625 055 250 Dem. V. of Burma SE Asia But Al Jazeera reports that DVB have just increased radio broadcasts from 2 to 9 hours daily. Their own website does not show ANY SW schedule that I can find. So where are these new hours coming from? Details, please! (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) See also USA for VOA, RFA Burmese DEMOCRATIC VOICE OF BURMA PRODUCING EXTRA SATELLITE PROGRAMMES The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) has increased its production as a result of the crisis in the country. ”We normally broadcast two hours every day on shortwaves but at the moment, in addition to that, we also broadcast seven hours daily by satellite,” the station’s deputy director Khin Maung Win told AFP in an interview. Including the weekend television programmes that it started running two years ago, the station claims to have a total audience of 20 million people. The country’s total population is 47 million. According to Khin Maung Win, Norway and Denmark have just agreed to donate up to one million kroner (US$180,000) of “emergency aid” to DVB, in addition to the 15.5-million-kroner (US$2.8-million) annual budget funded by the Scandinavian countries, Netherlands, Ireland and the United States. (Source: AFP) (Media Network blog Sept 28 via DXLD) Glenn Hauser Says: September 28th, 2007 at 15:51 e The AlJazeera reports says they have gone from two to nine hours of *radio* broadcasts per day. No mention of satellite. Since the original two hours were on SW (maybe also satellite), the logical conclusion is that the additional 7 hours are on SW. But perhaps not. Would it be too much to ask for reports to be explicit about this? Of course! (ibid.) ** BURMA. INTERNATIONAL RADIOS STEP UP BROADCASTS | Report by Lewis Macleod of BBC Monitoring on 28 September Key international broadcasters to Burma are stepping up transmissions in the light of the mass anti-government protests taking place there. The wide availability of low-cost receivers that can be run on batteries during Burma's frequent electricity blackouts makes radio popular and important. Some 38 per cent of Burmese listen to radio at least once a week, according to the BBC World Service Trust. Most Burmese listen to music and radio plays on the country's two domestic radio stations, while they get their news from foreign shortwave services such as the BBC World Service, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma. Despite being firmly of the "old media", these platforms have nevertheless been utilizing the full potential of internet blogs, mobile phone clips and eyewitness reports, delivering back to Burma the material that most of the population are unable to access themselves by the internet due to restrictions and low penetration. BBC Burmese Service In 2005, a BBC World Service Trust survey found that more than two thirds of radio listeners listen to the BBC World Service at least once a week, with 38 per cent listening to VOA. The BBC Burmese Service, started in 1940, had been broadcasting one hour and fifteen minutes a day; half an hour at dawn and forty-five minutes in the evening. From 27 September, the morning programme has been extended by half an hour and the evening programme by 15 minutes. A first comprehensive independent media survey inside Burma in 2005 found that the BBC Burmese Service had a weekly audience of 23 per cent of all adults, averaging 7.1 million listeners every week; a larger audience than for any other international broadcasters to Burma. [no schedule given] US international radio Voice of America and Radio Free Asia (RFA) operate under the oversight of the US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). Voice of America announced on 27 September that it was doubling broadcasts in Burmese from Wednesday 26 September. Broadcasts can also be followed on its web page, http://www.VOANews.com/Burmese. The new schedule and (kHz) frequencies are: 1130-1230 utc 11965, 15540, 17775 1430-1500 utc 1575, 9325, 11910, 12120 1500-1530 utc 9325, 11910, 12120 1500-1530 utc (Sat, Sun only) 1575 2300-2400 utc 6185, 7430, 11980 In a report on VOA's website headlined "Burmese TV blames protests on Western broadcasters," the BBG chairman, James Glassman, said VOA and RFA airtime to Burma had increased because "the Burmese people are starving for accurate information, both about the world's reaction to their struggle for democracy, and also about what is happening in their own land." VOA is now airing programmes in Burmese for three hours daily up from 90 minutes and RFA's Burmese-language broadcasts have been increased from two hours to four hours daily. RFA is the US government-funded broadcaster in Asia. Founded in 1996, It broadcasts in nine languages to China, Tibet, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and North Korea. RFA broadcasts about 200 hours per week, primarily on shortwave. It also audio streams broadcasts in all nine languages over the internet. Burmese exile broadcaster increases transmission hours The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), an exile-operated shortwave station based in Norway, aims "to provide accurate and unbiased news," according to its website http://www.dvb.no/ This station provides reporting on the activities of opposition parties and exiled political and armed groups, human rights issues, the actions of pro-democracy activists, and other reports on political developments in Burma. The DVB has increased its hours of transmission to report on the continuing anti-government protests. Al-Jazeera English on 25 September broadcast a three-minute video report by Barnaby Phillips, filmed at the organization's studios in the Norwegian capital. Phillips said that radio transmissions had been increased from two to nine hours a day and that the broadcaster was "doing more television, using tapes smuggled out of the country". Phillips also interviewed the station's chief editor, Aya Chen Naing, who talked of a network of "undercover reporters" who were filing reports by telephone and said that the station was also receiving many secretly filmed pictures of demonstrations, mostly received via the internet. Shortwave All four of these international stations broadcast on shortwave. Their broadcasts are also available on satellite or from the internet. But only about 2 million of the population of 50 million are estimated to have satellite dishes, while internet access is tightly controlled by the government, even in normal times. Battery-run shortwave radio receivers, unlike internet and mobile phone services, cannot be turned off at a stroke by a central authority. Nor are they affected by the electricity blackouts that are frequent in Burma. Source: BBC Monitoring research 28 Sep 07 (via DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC Taglines --- You talked about "Completely Calgary" a few DXLDs ago. I thought I should mention the slogan is an utter lie. By my calculations, CBC Radio One in Calgary airs a little more than 460 minutes of local programming on an average weekday, plus a few minutes of recorded weather forecasts in the evening. Not quite "Completely Calgary." Even more ridiculous, the slogan is used during local news breaks on CBC Television in Calgary. When you take out the commercials, there are just a little more than 70 minutes of local programming on an average weekday -- but none on weekends and stat holidays (Ricky Leong, Calgary, Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Heard another one on CBK stream: ``So, Saskatchewan`` (gh, DXLD) ** CHILE. Calendario Esperanza DX ES EL SIGUIENTE: [Fridays] MES DIA UT FRECUENCIA SETIEMBRE 28 1710 6090 KCS OCTUBRE 5 1710 6090 OCTUBRE 26 1610 6090 NOVIEMBRE 2 1610 6090 NOVIEMBRE 3 1610 6090 [should be Nov 30, or possibly Nov 23?] DICIEMBRE 7 1610 6090 DICIEMBRE 28 1610 6090 73 Y BUENOS DX, (HECTOR FRIAS, CE3FZL, JEFE COMISION RADIOESCUCHAS, FEDERACHI, CHILE, logsderadio yg via DXLD) That finally nails it down as per our inquiry in 7-116. Unfortunately, no chance of hearing it here, but there is talk of adding the 5-minute show to Programas DX audio archive (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 7280, Voice of Strait (presumed), 0933-1001, Sept 28, in Chinese, program of just one type of indigenous chanting/singing, // with 6115 till about 0957, after that each had different programming. Believe them to be Channel 2 - Lifestyle (7280) and Channel 3 - Fujianese (6115). The chanting/singing and being in parallel are consistent with what I monitored in Shanghai earlier this year. It should be noted that from 1100 to 1300 UT, 7280 is covered by a strong CNR-1, which jams SoH, making reception of VoS very unlikely during that time period (Ron Howard, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So SOH is on 7280 ex-7300? (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. China Radio International is on the air now on 702 kHz from Monte Carlo. To 1400 gmt in Chinese, from 1400 in Italian. Good reception in Bologna. 73, (Stefano Valianti, Italy, Sept 26, MWC via WORLD OF RADIO 1375, DXLD) Hello Glenn, Since yesterday (26th September) China Radio International started programmes from MONACO! On 702 kHz from Col de la Madone. Test programmes, but officially launch on October 1st. 0700-1200: in French; 1200-1400: in Chinese; 1400-1700: in Italian; 1700-2200: in French again. Note that every hour, after the time signal there is an identification in French (even in Italian & Chinese programmes): "Il est ....heures, vous écoutez RCI". Best 73's (Christian Ghibaudo, Nice, Sept 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Transmitter really in FRANCE ** COLOMBIA. Marfil Estéreo, 5910 (just a smidgen on the low side), Sept 28 at 0525 with ID and timecheck for 12:31, then kid singing off- key, with harp accompaniment. After 0530 marred by splatter from WBOH 5920 as it went from music to preaching. If M.E. can`t even get timechex right to less than 6 minutes, how can we take their religion seriously? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Radio Florida (Camagüey Cuba) Frecuencia: 104.5 MHZ (FM) 250 Watts --- Emisora Radio Florida, creada el 2 de noviembre de 1969. Actualmente nuestro horario de transmisión se extiende de 7:00 de la mañana a 11:00 de la noche, con una programación variada que incluye dramatizados, programas destinados al público infantil y juvenil, revistas de variedades, informativas y de facilitación social y espacios destinados a la difusión de música latinoamericana y caribeña, mexicana y de concierto. La tira de programación incluye boletines informativos y un noticiero titulado "Acontecer". El colectivo de realizadores lo integran un total de 48 trabajadores, de ellos, siete periodistas, 9 directores de programa, 15 guionistas, 7 locutores e igual número de técnicos de audio, a los que se le suma el personal de apoyo y de servicio. Sitio Web: http://www.radioflorida.co.cu Correo Electrónico: radioflorida@enet.cu (via Ing. Yandys Cervantes Rodríguez, WebMaster. Sede Universitaria Municipal. Buey Arriba. Granma, Noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** CUBA. CLUB DX CLUB AMIGOS DE LA ONDA CORTA EN CUBA. Información facilitada por Nicolas Eramo en Condiglist: Del Club: Les diré que se llama Club DX Club Amigos de la Onda Corta; surgido el 13 de Agosto de 2005; en la ciudad de Holguín, en el oriente de la isla, nos reunimos cada 2 ó 3 meses, debatimos esquemas de frecuencias de las emisoras, esquemas de programaciones, concursos, temas del DX, a pesar de no tener mucha literatura, pero siempre Los más expertos en este hobby exponen algunos temas para Los nuevos que asisten y se inician, temas relacionados con antenas, informes de escuchas, QSL, etc.; y lo bonito es que, en cada nuevo encuentro, aparecen nuevas caras; tenemos bien organizado el Club, actualmente somos alrededor de 21 integrantes de Las provincias Holguín, Las Tunas y Granma; necesitamos de personas Como usted con experiencia para que nos colabore con materiales digitalizados o escritos por correo tradicional; que nos promueva con otros Diexistas para que puedan ver este anuncio, rogamos y solictamos materiales del DX aunque Sean de varios años anteriores, no importa, para nosotros es material nuevo!; banderines de radios locales; o internacionales, pegatinas, folletos, ¿receptores?; en fin, cualquier tema general del Diexismo para aprender más cada día de esta bonita afición. En Cuba este hobby no se desarrolla mucho, ¿¿...??; a pesar de eso, hay cientos y cientos de cubanos que escriben a las radios internacionales. Por Radio Nederland y otras tantas radios internacionales se promovió el gran Encuentro de Oyentes de la Onda Corta en Cuba por su primer Aniversario en Agosto de 2006, precisamente el 13 de Agosto pasado, cumplimos el 2do Aniversario, el día 14 de Octubre vamos a reunirnos para festejar todos juntos ese segundo cumpleaños, en la Loma de la Cruz, una elevación que cuenta con una gran escalinata de más de 362 escalones; y en cuya cima, existe una excelente escucha de Las emisoras. Un abrazo a la distancia para todos Los colegas Diexistas del Mundo. IVAN CARRALERO RODRIGUEZ CALLE 8VA NO. 19 E/ 3 Y 7 BUENAVENTURA HOLGUIN CUBA C.P. 82 600 Correos: ivancr @ CustMail.Com y diexista @ calixto.hlg.sld.cu (via José Miguel Romero, DXLD) Named for Spain`s Spanish DX program ** CYPRUS. From the third quarter 2007 ITU monitoring log, updated 10 August and so no logs since then; in fact most if not all of them are dated in July, so we need to check it again after 30 September and the final version is updated with many more entries. This one has only 30 pdf pages, while the second quarter`s ran to 174 pages. We nevertheless find some interesting items, such as exact frequencies for over-the-horizon radar from Cyprus. These are all from the G Baldock monitoring site in UK; explanation of the other entries is at the head of the listing at http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/terrestrial/monitoring/files/pdffiles/315.pdf 8660.00 30 07 1328 0000 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 25K0E P0N 114 B 9040.00 30 07 1153 0000 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 25K0E P0N 114 B 9150.00 30 07 1050 0000 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 25K0E P0N 114 B 9160.00 26 07 0033 0000 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 20K0E P0N 114 A OTHR 10146.00 29 07 1335 0000 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 20K0E P0N 114 B 10330.00 30 07 1755 0000 * CYP FX 20K0E P0N 115 C CYPRUS PULSE 10830.00 18 07 1025 1030 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 20K0E P0N 114 A OTHR 10866.00 29 07 1345 0000 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 20K0E P0N 114 B 13000.00 18 07 2358 0000 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 20K0E P0N 113 A OTHR 13455.00 13 07 1805 0000 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 20K0E P0N 114 B OTHR 23350.00 06 07 0954 0000 CYPRUS PULSE CYP FX 20K0E P0N 113 A OTHR Presumably all of them are OTHR altho not entered as such (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. Voice of Tigray Revolution, Mekele, Ethiopia was noted 27 Sep 2007 at 1700 UT on 5980 (ex-5970). Parallel was on 6185 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. New 15140, *1205-1233* CLANDESTINE, Sat 22-09, R. Mustaqbal, via Meyerton, South Africa Rep. Somali announcement, song from Horn of Africa, talk, closed with ID 35434 AP-DNK New 15160, *1130-1159* CLANDESTINE, Sat 22-09, R. Mustaqbal, via Dhabbaya, UAE, Somali announcement after test tones and song from Horn of Africa, talk with frequent 2-note gong, music from Horn of Africa, noise on the frequency 23333 splashed from VOIRI in Arabic on 15150 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS, 28 metres longwire in 9 metres altitude, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** EUROPE. PIRATA ESCOCESA. Weekend Music Radio, 6400 kHz. Dicen que emiten con 600 w y su antena es 1/2 wave dipole, Central Scotland, V/S Jack, e-mail, carta y tarjeta, historia de la emisora. Mandé el informe vía formulario en su página, http://www.wmrscotland.com/receptionreport.html (Juan Antonio Arranz, Spain, Sept 25, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. QSL: Station: - Deutsche Welle Date: - 26-06-2007 Frequency: - 9895 kHz (Trincomalee) Time: - 0100-0130 UTC Language: - Bengali Description: - Verified by Horst Scholz, Transmission Management. DW DRM Digital Radio Mondiale. (Mukesh Kumar, Bihar, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ?? But that is an analog transmission, not DRM (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. Deutsche Welle is running an English broadcast toward the southeast from Portugal on 17610, Sept 27 thru 29 at 1715- 1745. Please monitor and determine whether it is regular DW programming or something else; why at this odd time? (Glenn Hauser, Sept 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) No trace of it here at 1723 Friday check. Anyone hear it? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Desde Valencia a las 1731 del 29 de septiembre en la frecuencia de 17610 no se capta señal alguna. Cuando son las 1815 el servicio de DW en 17610 vía Woofferton en su servicio de 1800 a 2000 en alemán, està llegando con un SINPO 45454. 73 JM (José Miguel Romero, Spain, ibid.) I guess they want to replace 21840 by 17610 in French language, for remaining days till Oct 26th. Sines, - no sign of Deutsche Welle organization is visible at the station. Owner is Profunk Portugal construct since 1970 [like R Montserrat - DWL then]. And DWL is NOT ALLOWED to broadcast programmes of third parties, except DWL programs, and programs of bc stations which have transmitter exchange contracts with DWL [like RCI and RNW]. Only Profunk is allowed to transmit third parties programmes on a single tx, like formerly happened in the past: AWR, NHK R Japan. Thomcast revolving aerials need 3 minutes only to turn around 360 degrees. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, ibid.) 17610 not heard here. Nothing noted here on 17610 kHz (when on 135 degrees, minus 90 degrees it's dead lobe angle towards my location), despite Spain, Chile, and 17700 Solh [UK] did propagate well. but observed Sines: 21840 just like under threshold 13820 DRM S=9+40 dB powerhouse 3995 DRM The station has 3 x 250 kW Thales AM txs at their disposal, and a 4th tx for DRM purpose, unknown power. Antennas: 1 x ALLISS revolving aerial like at Issoudun, Montsinery, Nauen, Kuwait, China. But tx feed the antenna via feeder line from the tx building instead. 2 x Thomcast revolving aerials (smaller Alliss type with lesser dipoles) like seen at DWL Sines QSL card (in background) and at Cakirlar, Emirler both Turkey, and at R Kuwait site. 1 x old log-periodic of 35-55 degrees of the 70ties, seen on DWL Sines QSL card, in foreground. 1 x very new curtain array at 40? degrees. Recently erected, Made in Turkey, not from Thomcast. Not visible yet on Google Earth imagery. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII [and non]. I just received the sad news from friend Ginny Boehnke, (wife of Chuck Boehnke, who passed 3 years ago), that Richard Wood of Hawaii died yesterday of a Heart Attack. He was 67. He apparently has had heart troubles the past couple of years. Ginny got this information from Richard Wood's tenant. The tenant said that Richard Wood had no relatives and had no will. So that is all I know. She wanted me to pass on the information. 73, (Patrick Martin, OR, Sept 28, HCDX via DXLD) OBIT What a loss. And he just a year or two ago got involved in DXing again after a long hiatus. Our hobby has lost another of the great ones. This is so sad (Jim Pogue - Memphis, IRCA via DXLD) Sad news. 1960's and 1970's, Richard contributed to the Finnish DX- magazine DX-Kuuntelija (nowadays Radiomaailma) with his column "Letter from the Pacific" and other great info. Those exotic radionews was always a thrill for me. RIP REW (Jari Savolainen, Finland, ibid.) For those who did not know him, Richard was quite the linguist. I believe Finnish was one he spoke; was his column in Finnish? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Richard Wood was probably best known as a linguist who shared his knowledge of how to identify languages with DX'ers. His original home was Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, but as a traveling university professor of languages, he taught above the Arctic Circle in Norway, in the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [Abha, near Yemen --- gh], and, I think, several other overseas locations, at the University of Indiana, at a state university in New Hampshire, at a small private university on Long Island, and at Southeast Missouri State University, in Cape Girardeau, Mo., to name a few as he traveled the world, locating for a year or two at the sites he chose. He was intensely active on shortwave, AM, FM, and TV DX, and attended many radio club conventions in the '60s, '70s and '80s. When he was at SEMo, less than 100 miles from where I lived for 30 years in Mt. Vernon, Ill., he and I exchanged visits, and he was one of very few DX'ers my wife remembers with positive thoughts. My most successful FM DX was done on a Heathkit tuner (I forget the model number) that I had purchased from Richard. Richard was not afraid to express his opinions about DX issues, and I understood that some DX'ers were uncomfortable about that, but I had nothing but good vibes from my relationship with him. Of the second wave of DX'ers who became adults after World War II, Richard Wood was one of the true giants (John Callarman, TX, IRCA via DXLD) Oh my, what a tragic loss to our hobby! I knew of Richard for many years, probably best for his language lessons on Radio Canada International. I got to know him on a more personal nature the past couple of years when he would regularly send in loggings to DX News' DDXD-West. We exchanged a few letters and one phone call (following the Hawaii earthquake of 10/15/06). He was a fine gentleman and a real asset to the DX community, and I feel enriched by my contacts with him. RIP, Richard; you will be missed (Bill Dvorak, Madison WI, IRCA via DXLD) Sorry to hear of Dr. Wood's passing. With his command of several languages, he was clearly a brilliant man and an excellent DXer. Hopefully the part about "no relatives" is not literally true. To die with no relatives would be incredibly sad (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, MA, ibid.) It was very unfortunate the past several years with Richard Wood. He had not taken care of himself and his health failed. His DX reports also declined in quality. I figured he must have some problems. This is very sad. He pretty much kept to himself the past several years, I was told. Before Richard moved back to Hawaii, he looked at property in the NW, but it was too cold for him. I spoke with Richard on the phone several times. I have no idea what will happen to his QSLs or if he had any plans. But having no relatives in Hawaii, they may be discarded. If I was over there, I would check into it. 73, (Patrick Martin, ibid.) I'm also very sorry to hear this. When I first started in the hobby I read his articles and learned so much from his knowledge. He will be missed (Ron Trotto, IL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, that is indeed sad. Richard E Wood was awesome! (Bruce MacGibbon in Gresham, OR, ibid.) ** HONDURAS. 3339.98, HRMI-Radio Misiones Internacionales, 0555-0625, Sept 28, Spanish religious music. "Radio MI" ID at 0603. Spanish religious talk with English translations at 0620. Fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Dear Alokesh, I want to say one sad news, that our Vaanoli Ulagam going to stop on 30th Sep 2007 in the 90th week. Kindly listen the last programme and give your comments. If possible I request you to inform all the DXers to send the personal letter/email to the station director for continue the DX program. He is the in-charge for all. Mr. Srinivasa Raghavan, Station Director, All India Radio, Kamarajar Salai, Mylapore, Chennai-600004, Tamil Nadu, India 73's (Sakthi Vel, via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) DX program of AIR Chennai to end? Dear DXers, In last week's DX program on All India Radio - Chennai, Vaanoli Ulagam (Radio World) produced and presented by Mr. Thanka Jaishativel, it was mentioned that their last broadcast will be next week! We request all DXers to write to them requesting to continue that program. Those still needing AIR QSL cards for this program may send report for this Sunday's program whose schedule is: Between 1115-1215 UT (for about 15 minutes): To Sri Lanka : 1053 kHz Tuticorin (200 kw) 15050 Khampur, Delhi (250 kw) 17860 Kingsway (100 kw) 7270 Chennai (Avadi) (100 Kw) To SE Asia: 13695 Bangalore (500 kw) 15770 Aligarh (250 kw) 17810 Panaji (250 kw) The following items are offered: 1. The special 75th week limited edition World Smallest QSL card No: 5 (6x 3.5 CM), 2. Book mark 3. New 50th week Pennant Please send your Reception Report with 1 New IRC to the following address. Indian listeners to send Rs.10/- mint stamps. Vaanoli Ulagam, Thiraikadal Adivarum Thamizh Naatham, All India Radio, Kamarajar Salai, Chennai 600004, Tamilnadu, India. Yours sincerely, (Jose Jacob, Sept 26, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDIA. All India Radio Vividh Bharati service will be celebrating its golden jubilee on 3rd Oct with special programming comprising of interesting audio from its archives. Times/Frequencies as follows : 0025-0435 UTC on 9870 kHz 0900-1200 UTC on 9870 kHz 1245-1740 UTC on 9870 kHz Regards, (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, dx_india via DXLD) ** INDIA [and non]. New 9870, 1640-1741* 26-09, AIR, Bangalore, Hindi announcement, film songs in Vividh Barathi this first day on their new frequency ex 10330. 53543; strong QRM from VOIRI in Turkish also on 9870 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS, 28 metres longwire in 9 metres altitude, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) see also AUSTRIA ** INDONESIA. Yet another problem at VOI, 9525. Sept 28 at 1315 during Korean hour, bits of audio cut on and off at the rate of about 132 per minute. Monitored this for two or three minutes and then moved on to Radio Australia with no such problem. 1351 recheck, VOI was OK in Korean (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. We`ve had a couple of reports of VOIRI on 3985, before and after 0000 UT, which appears to be a special broadcast for Ramadan, and the language was assumed to be Persian. However, VOIRI does not normally put Persian on SW at all, and HFCC listings show this as Arabic, available between 1630 and 0330, from Masshad site, but apparently not on the air, at least not at this hour, before Ramadan (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1375, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. Zamaneh off? Hi Andy, Perhaps due to its Dutch connexion, you can answer this: if Radio Zamaneh is off the air (SW 6245 via Ukraine at 17-21), as Jose Miguel Romero was reporting a while ago that he was not hearing it. Tnx, (Glenn to Andy Sennitt, via WORLD OF RADIO 1375, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, RNW has nothing officially to do with Zamaneh, and we don't handle their frequency coordination. But my colleague Jan Peter Werkman confirms that it doesn't show up in any of the recent bandscans. By chance, another colleague met the Director of Radio Zamaneh recently, and he apparently said they were thinking of dropping shortwave. Other possibilities are that they have changed frequency, or have a modified schedule during Ramadan. Other than that, I'm afraid I don't have any information, but I will of course let you know if something comes up. 73, (Andy Sennitt, Sept 26, WORLD OF RADIO 1375, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Rai, about to be snuffed out, conveniently heard here on 17780 to NAm, Sept 26 at 1358 with chirping IS, 1400 beautiful opening theme and into Italian program (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS [non]. 15560, *1100-1150, Sri Lanka, 20-09, R Free Asia, via Iranawila. English ID, Laotian news, interview and local song, not jammed 24333. No signal on 9355 as scheduled. AP-DNK. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS, 28 metres longwire in 9 metres altitude, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MEXICO. FIGHTING IBOC INVASION ALONG THE BORDER WITH MORE IBOC México, por la radio digital Publicado: 16:29 25 de septiembre de 2007 CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (CNNExpansión.com) — La Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Cofetel) presentó el anteproyecto del “Acuerdo de Política de Transición a la Radio Digital Terrestre (RDT) de estaciones de Radiodifusión Sonora ubicadas dentro de la Zona de Coordinación de la Frontera Norte de México”. Este acuerdo “permitirá elevar la calidad de las transmisiones que reciben los habitantes de esa región y evitar la invasión del espectro radioeléctrico de estaciones de radio de Estados Unidos”, dijo la Cofetel en un comunicado. La radio digital es una nueva forma de trasportar la señal al hacer más eficiente el espectro radiofónico, lo que permite que una frecuencia pueda ser dividida en tres o seis y transmitir, música, noticias, software, mensajes de tráfico, etc. El anteproyecto, que deberá aprobar la Comisión Federal de Mejora Regulatoria (Cofemer), tiene como propósito que los concesionarios y permisionarios de las radiodifusoras de la frontera norte puedan realizar transmisiones con el sistema digital In Band on Channel (IBOC, por sus siglas en inglés), esto en forma voluntaria y sin necesidad de utilizar un canal adicional. De esta forma, las estaciones mexicanas estarán en las mismas condiciones tecnológicas que las de Estados Unidos cuyo proceso de transición de señal analógica a la digital inició desde hace varios años, lo que ha afectado la calidad de la recepción de las señales emitidas por las emisoras mexicanas. El Acuerdo establece que los concesionarios y permisionarios que quieran realizar transmisiones con el sistema IBOC en formato híbrido, es decir, analógico y digital, deberán solicitar a la Cofetel la autorización para realizar las modificaciones técnicas a las instalaciones de la estación radiodifusora sonora, así como la modificación a la concesión o el permiso respectivo a fin de que éstos sean actualizados. Con este trámite los concesionarios y permisionarios manifestarán su compromiso de que las modificaciones técnicas se realizarán en un plazo de 180 días hábiles a partir de la fecha de notificación de la autorización respectiva. También se comprometerán a mantener la continuidad en el servicio analógico para lo cual deberán transmitir la misma programación de la señal analógica en formato digital y presentar reportes trimestrales de su funcionamiento por un periodo mínimo de dos años a partir de la fecha de inicio de operaciones con el sistema IBOC. A su vez, la Cofetel, previo análisis de las solicitudes recibidas, procederá en un término de 90 días naturales a otorgar la autorización de modificaciones técnicas de las instalaciones de la estación de radiodifusión sonora y a modificar las condiciones de la concesión o el permiso de los operadores que soliciten realizar transmisiones con el sistema IBOC y adecuará la vigencia de las concesiones. La Cámara Nacional de la Radio y la Televisión no estuvo disponible para emitir comentario sobre el proceso de pruebas de digitalización. (via Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Sept 26, condiglist yg via DXLD) AM or FM? Not spelt out, but the characteristics referred to in the above seem to be limited to FM; and so is the below about FM: NAUTEL, RADIORAMA ANNOUNCE MAJOR HD RADIO PROJECT IN MEXICO /Prominent Mexican broadcast corporation announces plans to launch commercial HD Radio broadcasting and multicasting at multiple sites using Nautel transmitters./ September 26, 2007 - *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* Hackett`s Cove, Nova Scotia and Nogales, Mexico --- Nautel Ltd. has announced the sale of thirteen V10 HD Radio transmitters to Radiorama Corporativo, one of Mexico`s largest broadcast corporations, to be installed in cities along the Mexico/USA border. ``Radiorama has been a market leader in broadcasting for many years and has decided to boldly introduce this next phase in broadcast technology along the entire Mexico/USA border,`` said Peter Conlon, Nautel President and CEO. ``This deal marks the first large-scale implementation of commercial HD Radio operations in Mexico, rather than just equipment trials. Nautel and Radiorama have a long-standing, mutually successful relationship and we`re pleased and honored to be the transmitter company they chose for this market-leading deployment.`` ``We are excited and proud to lead the Mexican market in this new broadcast technology, and are happy to be working with Nautel in the implementation of HD operations,`` said Ing. Adrián Pereda López, founder of Radiorama Corporativo. ``This project demonstrates our commitment to bringing the best in programming and broadcast quality to our listeners.`` *About Radiorama* Radiorama, established in 1970 by Lic. Javier Pérez de Anda and Ing. Adrián Pereda López, began operations with 7 radio stations. By 1985, the corporation`s ownership had increased to 140 stations and today numbers more than 220 AM and FM stations throughout Mexico. The company`s mission is to unite Mexico via communication that promotes freedom of expression, using technology and programming creativity that celebrate the quality of life and social responsibility. *About Nautel* Nautel is a global leader in the manufacture of AM and FM radio broadcast transmitters, navigational radio beacons, Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) transmitters, medium frequency (MF) telegraph and NAVTEX transmitters, and high frequency (HF) amplifiers for dielectric heating applications. The latest innovation in broadcasting is digital radio. HD Radio http://www.nautel.com/HDRadio.aspx and Digital Radio Mondiale http://www.nautel.com/DRM.aspx (DRM) are the greatest revolution in radio broadcasting since the introduction of FM. Nautel is a key player in this latest phase of radio broadcast technology, producing transmitters that are fully compatible with all digital transmission methods. Thousands of customers in more than 170 countries have discovered that Nautel delivers world class digital radio solutions - systems that meet stringent quality standards at its ISO-registered manufacturing facilities. # # # For more information please contact: John Whyte Marketing Manager 902-823-3900 ext. 174 902-802-1281 (mobile) John.Whyte @ nautel.com (via Ben Dawson, WA, DXLD) The V-10 is a nominal 10 kW (11 kW capable) VHF (FM + IBOC) transmitter (Ben Dawson, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONACO [non]. See CHINA [non] ** MONGOLIA. 7260, Sep 19, 2300-, Mongolian R 2nd program, Ulaanbaatar. As reported already by Nagoya DXers, the 2nd prgr signs on nowadays at 2300. 1st program s/on heard as normally at 2200 on 4895, 4830 and LW 164, 209 and 227 kHz (Mauno Ritola, Finland, Sept 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. See BURMA [non] and U S A ** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI 9615 is normally one of the best signals here around 0600, but not a trace of it Sept 26. Either the transmitter was off or there was a drastic change in propagation. Recheck at 1330, it was in as normal on 6095, and also the next morning Sept 27, 9615 after 0600 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Antenna Maintenance --- On Wednesday 26 Sep and Thursday 27 Sep there will be interruptions to our short-wave transmission between 1045-1700 NZT [2245-0500 UTC] This is to allow for antenna maintenance (RNZI website 25 Sep 2007 1900 UT http://www.rnzi.com/pages/whatsnew.php#209 via DXLD) Yeah, but what about 0600 on 9615? (gh, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. FRCN Kaduna, 4770. E-mail: We received your report on 4770 kHz dated 09 December 2005 at 05.36.00 UTC. Your report corresponds with our log Book. F/V Bala M Madugu (P.T.O. Studios) balamadugu @ yahoo.com Tardaron 22 meses en contestar (Juan Antonio Arranz, Spain, Sept 25, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** NORWAY. DRM scheduled: see USA: WBOH; UNIDENTIFIED 9410 ** PAKISTAN. 1000 KW Medium Wave transmitter Radio Pakistan Islamabad 585 khz Hi Glenn, Re 7-094: It was reported that PBC will install 1000 kW Medium wave transmitters at Lahore and Umer kot (Border district of Sindh Province) which will extend the range of broadcast to 500 km radius. In response it was exclaimed by you (Glenn) that "in parts of NAm we can cover 500 km daytime radius with only 50 kW, on the lower MW band" In the above context I would like to report that Radio Pakistan Islamabad presently uses a transmitter of 1000 kW medium wave (claimed by them) for transmission on 585 kHz. BUT the signals which reach Lahore are very weak it may be noted that Lahore is less than 450 kM from Islamabad. You have referred to day time radius of 500 km for only 50 kW MW transmitters for North America. The Islamabad signal even during night time covers less than 450 km and is hardly heard in Lahore at night. I have been informed unofficially by some staffers of the Islamabad medium wave transmitter that the 1000 kW transmitter is used mostly below its capacity! Well, if Radio Pakistan is planning to spend Rs 1.200 Billion for the 1000 kW medium transmitter for Lahore and Umerkot, similar to the one which is Islamabad, then it is going to be pure waste. The other high power medium wave transmitter audible in Lahore at 1422 kHz from 1700 to 1800 UT is that of China Radio International Urdu Service. Although the transmitter is of 600 kW and installed at Kashgar (Xinjiang) but is very strong and clearly heard in Lahore and more clear than even local stations. So Glenn, you should not be amazed at the statement of Director of Engineering of PBC that their 1000 kW transmitter will cover 500 km radius. Maybe they are planning to install replicas of Islamabad MW transmitter being used for 585 kHz at Lahore and Umerkot. Regards (Aslam Javaid, 136/H block Model Town, Lahore, Pakistan, Sept 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, I don`t know how the ground conductivity is in Pakistan, but it may be poor and that can make a big difference in MW coverage. The CRI signal at night of course arrives via skywave, and may also be concentrated direxionally, so that is really not comparable (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. New 4790.03, *2300-2337* 21-09, R. Pakistan, Islamabad relaying Rawalpindi III with special Ramadan programme before local sunrise, Call to Prayer, Qur'an recitations, talk in Urdu, weak modulation, 35242 (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, AOR AR7030PLUS, 28 metres longwire in 9 metres altitude, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. See GERMANY [non] ** RUSSIA. 7200, Radio Respubliki Sakha (have also seen spelling as "Respublika") (tentative) via Yakutsk, 0845-0910, Sept 27, indigenous chanting/singing, language clearly not Russian, but assume Yakutian/Sakha (almost sound like a mix of Arabic and Russian?), fair to poor, with no warble. Parallel with 6150 (weak) and 7345 (poor- fair), ToH relay of R. Rossii programming in Russian, 5+1 pips, chimes, R. Rossii and "programa Radio Rossii" IDs, after ToH also in // with 5920, 5940 and 7320. Needs more work to actually get their ID (Ron Howard, CA, Etón E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hearing what I believe to be Radio Respubliki Sakha here at 0900 check on 7200 and parallel 7345. Not much of a signal, but bears further checking when I happen to be up (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. Moscow area LW/MW --- I've been in Moscow since Monday (24 Sep) and have been surprised to find some of the main local AM transmitters on a reduced schedule, not on the air during the evening. This applies to Radio Yunost on 153 and Mayak on 198 and 549. All three have been heard in the early morning (as early as 0230 GMT) and during the day, but are off the air during the evenings and late at night. However, Radio Rossii 261 does appear to be on 24/7. Does anyone know if this is a permanent schedule change, or for some other reason? (Chris Greenway, Sept 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Yunost and Mayak on LW/MW across all Russia (maybe except only some txs) are on the air till 1800 local time. From the spring. In Russia the difference between "permanent" and "temporary" is quite vague. Money, money. Maybe Oct 1 or Nov 1 all will be on the air again. Who knows (Victor Rutkovsky, Russia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Victor, Many thanks for the prompt reply. Yes, I noticed them closing down at 1800 Moscow time a short while ago. I must have missed the news of this schedule change last spring. It means that with my receiver (which does not have the old OIRT FM band) I cannot listen to these stations in the evening (Chris Greenway, Russia, ibid.) ** SPAIN. 8535, REE, 0445-0457*, Sept 28, Thanks to Dan Ferguson tip. Apparent punchup error. Spanish talk. IDs. Strong (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For 9535 (gh) ** SWAN ISLAND. HR - The announced 23-28 September multi-operator activity from Swan Island (NA-035) was cancelled [425DXN 855], but Javier, HR2J is still determined to go and operate from this rare IOTA group. He now hopes to reach the island by a Navy ship, while the return trip will be by an Air Force plane. Javier will be running a one-man expedition from 7 October to 8 November, and he expects to operate barefoot as HQ8R on all bands for at least four hours a day. Further information can be found on qrz.com under HQ8R. QSL direct to HR2J (425 DX News Sept 29 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. 11755: Noted English news of V of Russia via Dushanbe towards S Asia at 1400 UT, seldom noted but OVERMODULATED sound today, Sept 28. 1200-1530 UT. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** THAILAND. 9835, Radio Thailand, *1230-1259*, Sept 28, English news, commentary. IDs. weak. Poor signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TINIAN. SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUIT INVOLVES IBB TINIAN RELAY "A federal lawsuit on employment-related discrimination alleges a male supervisor for a contractor to the Voice of America relay station on Tinian allegedly sexually harassed a female subordinate." http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070927/NEWS01/709270317/1002 (Pacific Daily News (Guam), 27 September 2007 via kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Viz.: FEDS SUE TINIAN CONTRACTOR By Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno, Pacific Daily News A federal lawsuit on employment-related discrimination alleges a male supervisor for a contractor to the Voice of America relay station on Tinian allegedly sexually harassed a female subordinate. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states the victim is a female electrical equipment operator, who allegedly was "subjected to egregious sexual harassment and retaliation, including physical assault and rape." The contractor named in the lawsuit, Rome Research Corp., could not be reached for comment. The EEOC charges in the suit that the supervisor allegedly made repeated sexual comments, allegedly inappropriately touched the female subordinate, and allegedly raped her on multiple occasions. Additionally, the EEOC says, the male supervisor allegedly threatened the employee with termination if she were to resist his sexual assaults. "When the employee attempted to oppose him, the supervisor falsified policy violations against her and issued unwarranted disciplinary actions," according to the EEOC. "No matter how remote their facilities, employers need to understand that they are responsible for protecting workers from sexual harassment," said Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC's Los Angeles District Office, which recently took jurisdiction over the Northern Marianas. Tinian is about 115 miles north of Guam. The island is about 10 by 5 miles long, and had a population of about 2,600 as of the 1995 Census, according to http://www.cnmi-guide.com $10.3M contract Rome Research is a subsidiary of PAR Technology Corp., which won a $10.3 million contract to provide information technology support, operations and associated services at federally funded radio relay stations on Saipan and Tinian, according to a PAR announcement about the contract. Under the five-year contract, awarded a few years ago, Rome Research transmits Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and other broadcasts, and maintains the station equipment and facilities. EEOC stated it filed the lawsuit only after exhausting its conciliation efforts to try to reach a voluntary settlement. The federal agency seeks back pay, and compensatory and punitive damages for the claimant (via DXLD) Officially, it's the International Broadcasting Bureau's shortwave relay, operated by contractor Rome Research. Posted: 27 Sep 2007 (Kim Andrew Elliott, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U K. TWO'S NOT COMPANY FOR RADIO RIVALS By Kevin Young, Entertainment reporter, BBC News BBC Radio 2, which began 40 years ago this week, has the highest audience of any station in the UK. But are its dominance and power to attract top talent bad news for its commercial rivals? Article posted yesterday at BBC News, includes Terry Wogan and Jimmy Young, John Dunn tribute and Ray Moore recording: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6922280.stm RADIO 3 SHRUGS OFF FALLING RATINGS When the Third Programme was rebranded as BBC Radio 3, its controller promised "programmes that matter enormously to certain significant minorities". But now, exactly 40 years later, listening figures are at their lowest ever. So is there a need for Radio 3 to broaden its appeal? Article today at the BBC Entertainment website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6922282.stm (via Mike Barraclough, BDXC-UK via DXLD) HOW WILL RADIO CHANGE IN FUTURE? By Kevin Young, Entertainment reporter, BBC News New technologies and changing habits mean the way people listen to the radio has been revolutionised in recent years. A week of articles on the 40th birthdays of Radios 1 to 4 concludes by asking leading industry figures how they believe radio is shaping up for the next four decades. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7014952.stm (via Mike Barraclough, England, BDXC-UK via DXLD) RIVALS TALK OF CHALLENGING RADIO 4 By Kevin Young, Entertainment reporter, BBC News BBC Radio 4 dominates speech broadcasting in the UK, attracting a weekly audience of 9.5 million and more listeners in London than any other radio station. Can commercial radio, traditionally dominated by music, ever overtake Radio 4, created 40 years ago this week with the rebranding of the Home Service? Article published today with archive audio from Just A Minute, Letters from America and Home Truths: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6922285.stm (via Mike Barraclough, England, BDXC-UK via DXLD) RADIO 4'S SHIPPING FORECAST'S 'BAFFLING' LEGACY By Kevin Young, Entertainment reporter, BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/6940597.stm The Shipping Forecast can be heard four times a day on BBC Radio 4, giving details of conditions in the seas around the UK, Ireland and beyond. Each broadcast attracts hundreds of thousands of listeners, many of them with no connection to coastal waters - so what is its enduring appeal? There is a certain mystical quality to the names of the 31 marine areas included in the Shipping Forecast. The sea is divided up into sections with names such as Viking, North Utsire, Humber, German Bight, Lundy and Fastnet. And although references to "north veering north-east, three or less" and "smooth or slight" might mean nothing to land-based listeners, they are hugely significant to sailors who tune in to Radio 4. "What we're interested in is the wind force direction and how quickly it's going to change," says Captain Paul Wood, who regularly sails cross-Channel ferries for P&O. "The forecast will tell us what we're getting, but we can also find out what's causing that problem for us. If it says 'low Finistere', I know where that is. And if it says 'moving deep and north-east to Forties', I can immediately get a mental picture of where it's going and what the weather will do. I know the sea areas like the back of my hand and they make perfect sense to us." 'Eccentric' appeal Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer describes the forecast as "baffling". "It scans poetically. It's got a rhythm of its own. It's eccentric, it's unique, it's English. It's slightly mysterious because nobody really knows where these places are. It takes you into a faraway place that you can't really comprehend unless you're one of these people bobbing up and down in the Channel." The broadcast was already part of the Home Service when it was rebranded as Radio 4, 40 years ago this week. The schedule for the first day of Radio 4, on 30 September 1967, has an entry from 2345 to 2348, describing a "forecast for coastal waters". Produced by the Met Office in Aberdeen and scripted for the BBC's weather presenters, it is now nine minutes in length. "It's about the only bit of blurb that we read without having any input. Everything else is ad libbed, and this is scripted," says weather presenter Rob McElwee. If I'd actually sat down and thought about the logistics, I would never have started --- Mark Power, who photographed the UK's coastal waters [caption] He prefers to read the bulletin "cold", rather than rehearsing it, and uses his thumb or a pen to keep his place on the page. "The art of the writer is to try to make it fit into the artificial sea areas, even though the weather may not fit there," Mr McElwee adds. "Sometimes you get some pretty bizarre occurrences - the south of North Utsire, west Cromarty and east Forth all combined in one area, which sort of defeats the object of having the areas in the first place. But sometimes it happens." Photography The 31 areas were brought to life a decade ago when Magnum photographer Mark Power took a picture of each and turned them into a book. He was inspired by a tea towel showing the coastal divisions, which he had bought in an RNLI charity shop in Great Yarmouth. "These are quite common now but I'd never seen one before. It did spark off certain pictures in my mind of these imaginary landscapes that I had built up in my head over all of these years." He spent four years travelling around the coast, using his own savings when his applications for grants were turned down. "If I'd actually sat down and thought about the logistics, I would never have started. But I guess, in the end, I just didn't, and I thought I would see how it went." He put a caption on each image, giving the 0600 forecast for the day when that photograph was taken. A "book-of-the-week" recommendation in The Observer led to a first print run of 2,000 being snapped up "in about three weeks", Mr Power says, with two subsequent editions also selling out. "Ten thousand copies doesn't sound very much, but I'm not David Bailey - I wasn't anybody, in fact. I'm very proud that there's a serious photography book on the shelves of 9,500 people who wouldn't normally buy a book like that." But he admits many people did write to him, expressing disappointment that he had gone ahead with the project. "I suppose it was like making a movie of a book and realising the characters are not supposed to look like that." So does the forecast have a future on Radio 4 in these days of satellites, mobile phones and computers? Mr Damazer admits to being "slightly worried about anybody who is bobbing up and down in the Channel whose sole way of keeping from sinking is by listening to us on long wave". "My advice would be to invest in a GPS system," he jokes. "But I still won't take it off because it's a glory of its own." Published: 2007/09/27 07:11:28 GMT © BBC MMVII (via Salvatore Scifo, London, Radio Studies via David Goren, swprograms via DXLD) Some errors and misleading text in the BBC News piece you'll find at the link. Hope these clarifications are of interest - The old "Home Service" carried only the "Inshore Waters" (i.e. 'coastal waters' forecast) at 23.48, and prior to the 1979 changes was on Medium Wave only. The main "Shipping Forecast" covering the wider sea areas beyond sight of the British shoreline was always on Long Wave - which was Radio 2/Light Programme prior to 1979. The 9-minute broadcast referred to, which Rob McElwee talks about, is only broadcast at 05.20, and starts with the wider sea areas, before moving on to the inshore forecast, which since April of last year has given more localised forecasts for the whole of the British Isles coastlines, including the Isle of Man, Bristol Channel and the coastline and loughs of Northern Ireland. This splits the coastline into chunks based around physical features on the land (e.g. Selsey Bill, Land's End) rather than arbitrary areas on the open sea. The 05.20 (04.20 GMT/UTC late March-late October) bulletin is read by a Met. Office forecaster, like McElwee, but the other three forecasts are still read by the duty Radio 4 continuity announcer. The late 00.45 forecast (23.45 GMT/UTC) starts with the main sea areas forecast and reports from weather stations, such as automatic lightships, then moves on to the inshore waters forecast which is less detailed than the 05.20 bulletin, because it covers larger areas. Finally, just before Radio 4 closes down and passes overnight control to Bush House, there are also further reports from weather stations along the British coastline. My favourite has to be "Scilly Automatic", which I always like to call "Stupid Automatic". Perhaps the shipping forecast also has a use as a predictor for DX conditions along a sea path, too? (Mark Savage, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U S A. The Voice of America’s radio broadcasting in Burmese doubled beginning Wednesday, 26 September. Follow our broadcasts at your convenience on our web page as well, http://www.VOANews.com/Burmese Our schedule and frequencies are: 1130-1230 UTC 11965, 15540, 17775 1430-1500 UTC 1575, 9325, 11910, 12120 1500-1530 UTC 9325, 11910, 12120 1500-1530 UTC (Sat. & Sun. only) 1575 2300-2400 UTC 6185, 7430, 11980 (from http://www.voanews.com/english/About/2007-09-26-burmese-expansion.cfm via DXLD) U.S. DOUBLES BROADCASTS TO MYANMAR The Associated Press Thursday, September 27, 2007; 7:38 PM WASHINGTON -- Voice of America and Radio Free Asia have doubled their broadcasts to Myanmar in response to the military-run government's crackdown on protesters. The two U.S. broadcasters made the change Wednesday, but it was announced Thursday by the agency that oversees them. Voice of America increased Burmese language programs from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours daily; Radio Free Asia boosted broadcasts from 2 to 4 hours daily. "The Burmese people are starving for accurate information, both about the world's reaction to their struggle for democracy and also about what is happening in their own land," said James K. Glassman, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the federal government agency that oversees both VOA and RFA. "Our expanded Burmese-language broadcasts are more important than ever in satisfying this hunger." Separately, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., recorded a video message Thursday for the people of Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. In the video, the two senators sought to let the people know that the U.S. supports their efforts for freedom and democracy. "Your struggle is our struggle. The world is watching and we are cheering you," McConnell says. Some 20 percent of adults weekly in cities across Myanmar listen to VOA and RFA. Programs are available through the Internet at http://www.voanews.com/burmese and http://www.rfa.org/burmese (c) 2007 The Associated Press (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Well, RFA`s own website still claims Burmese runs for only 2 hours: http://www.rfa.org/english/frequencies/ 0030-0130 13820, 13865, 17835 1230-1330 9320, 9455, 13675 And nothing about it here either: http://www.rfa.org/english/burma/ (Glenn Hauser, Sept 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I just received an official press release from the BBG, which confirms that both VOA and RFA have doubled their output, but fails to mention a single time or frequency for either of them! It's clear to me that the only reason the BBG sends out press release is for domestic consumption. This one is not a blind bit of use to anyone who actually wants to listen to either station! (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, Sept 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also BURMA [non]! ** U S A. MORE VOA TO THE HORN OF AFRICA? House Foreign Affairs Committee passes Ethiopia democracy bill includes "expansion of Voice of America broadcasts directed to Ethiopia." http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-09-26-voa79.cfm (VOA News, 26 September 2007 via kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) A Dan Robinson report, audio available Thankfully, the bill doesn't call for a "Radio Free Ethiopia," to duplicate the work VOA is already doing in Amharic, Afan Oromo, and Tigrigna. Actually, I hesitate to mention this: the idea is so bad that it has a good chance of adoption. Posted: 27 Sep 2007 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) see also TINIAN; See also WORLD OF HOROLOGY ** U S A [and non]. Is that VOA (Chinese) clashing with WWCR on 5890 at 1200. About a 50/50 mix here in Atlanta (Lou KF4EON Johnson, Sept 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Actually VOA Korean, 250 kW, 325 degrees from Tinian. WWCR is usually more than 50% here, but still it`s not a good share (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As in Aoki: 5890 WWCR 0400-1400 1234567 English 100 90 Nashville USA WWCR4 5890 VOA 1200-1300 1234567 Korean 250 325 Tinian Island 2 MRA IBB a07 5890 VOA 1300-1330 1234567 Korean 250 325 Tinian Island 2 MRA IBB a07 5890 VOA 1330-1400 1234567 Korean 250 325 Tinian Island 2/3 MRA IBB a07 (via DXLD) ** U S A. Since the former first-weekly airing of WoR on WBCQ has been moved to Thursday evening, I decided to try hearing it this morning on the KAIJ Thursday 1500 UT transmission on 9480 kHz. At least here in St. Louis, MO, this wasn't very rewarding... :-) While the frequency was middling-quality receivable prior to the start of WoR and during the first few minutes, it rapidly deteriorated and then the transmitter appeared to drop off the air entirely about 10 minutes into the program. Came back on in mid-program about 1516 UT and was listenable for a while, but signal quality varied and was generally poor. I'm planning on actually listening to WoR 1375 on WBCQ 7415 this evening at the new 2330 UT time! 73, (Will Martin, MO, Sept 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, KAIJ is aimed NW from Dallas, so can`t expect a reliable signal off the side to the NE. WOR at 2330 on 7415 started promptly without a hitch, right after Goddess Irena, and naturally the signal was much better here a sesquihour later than it had been at 2200 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5755, KAIJ-Texas, 1110-1130, Sept 28, WOR heard at 1110 tune-in to 1130 instead of scheduled 1030-1100. Religious programming heard at 1030 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I enquire (gh) ** U S A [and non]. WBOH, 5920, Sept 28 at 0520, usual gospel music, but noticed there was a SAH varying from 0 to about 4 Hz; could not detect any other audio, however, but this indicates another carrier was present. Nothing else scheduled in the usual lists; but during Sept only, Kvitsoy, Norway is scheduled in DRM at 0600-0700, 65 kW, 190 degrees. Possibly a warmup for that? Then at 0530 WBOH went to talk from Sheldon Smith, Sword of the Lword, and started splattering, bothering 5910 Marfil Estéreo which had no problem before 0530 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. AN NPR PROGRAM AIMS TO AWAKEN A YOUNGER CROWD By ELIZABETH JENSEN September 27, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/arts/television/27npr.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print [why is this radio story filed under television in the NYT??] Many National Public Radio news programs covered the recent contract negotiations between car makers and the United Auto Workers. Only NPR`s new morning show, The Bryant Park Project, began the report by labeling it Make Me Care. Set to start officially on Monday, the two-hour Bryant Park Project is aiming for what many other news organizations are seeking today: a younger audience. The program hopes to do that by acknowledging that listeners need convincing that some topics are important, and by making video, blog posts and listener commentary on its Web site http://npr.org/blogs/bryantpark a crucial part of the mix. A segment called While You Were Out looks at weekend reports that listeners might have missed; The Most lists the top e-mailed articles on the Web. Unlike other NPR newsmagazines, which pretape a lot of material, the hosts, Alison Stewart and Luke Burbank, are live as they banter about O. J. Simpson`s arrest; recreate the television show Match Game to honor the passing of a panelist, Brett Somers; or interview correspondents about the day`s top events. The show, which has a first-year budget of $2 million, is one of two entrants hoping to shake up the morning public-radio lineup. WNYC in New York and Public Radio International are preparing an as-yet- unnamed program that will begin sometime in late winter, with New York Times Radio as a collaborator. The hosts of the live show, which will take a conversational approach to the news, will be Adaora Udoji, an anchor at Court TV and, previously, CNN, and John Hockenberry, a former NBC News and NPR correspondent. As for The Bryant Park Project, which takes its title from new studios overlooking the park, just six stations plan to broadcast it, some on digital signals and none in New York. The difficulty in breaking through is in part an indication of the dominance of the 28-year-old Morning Edition, whose weekly audience of nearly 13 million is public radios largest. NPR executives said they expected more stations would quickly sign up to carry The Bryant Park Project, which will also be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio. Mr. Burbank, 31, a former NPR correspondent with a quirky streak, said The Bryant Park Project was a show for people who take the news seriously but not themselves, noting that he had plenty of friends who read both The New Yorker and Us Weekly. Ms. Stewart, 41, referred to the programs wide range of topics as the whole newspaper. But some alarmed listeners who have found the program`s pilots online in recent months have worried that it represents NPR lite. Jay Kernis, the network`s senior vice president for programming, said die-hard NPR fans, sensitive to changes, should not worry that their favorites would adopt a similar style. I think their fear is this is the direction were going to take public radio in, and that isn`t the point, he said. Were not doing this for core listeners; we`re doing it to reach new listeners. He noted that the median age of people listening to NPR`s newsmagazine programs is 53. When you talk with younger audiences or potential younger audiences, there is an enormous interest in health care, he added, but they don`t really want to know about prostate cancer. They`re much more interested in child rearing and those issues. One size can`t fit all. The Bryant Park Project comes with extensive news credentials. The executive producer, Sharon Hoffman, arrived from a stretch at NBC News; the supervising senior producer, Matt Martínez, logged years at NPR newsmagazines. Ms. Stewart comes from MSNBC, where she led a show also called The Most; she still contributes there and at NBC News. [as one of the subs for Keith Olbermann on Countdown --- where she gets to plug Bryant Park at sign-off --- gh] But they all bring a looser attitude, reflecting an audience that digests news in different ways in a digital age. At a recent editorial meeting, a proposal to follow up on a New Yorker article about Aspergers syndrome veered into a discussion about hypochondria inspired by online medical sites and then to Mr. Martínez`s fascination with a Web site on airplane disasters. A possible report on Condoleezza Rice`s Mideast trip received a lukewarm response; a report on insurance coverage for fertility treatments was given the go-ahead. A visit by the indie rock band Arcade Fire was also mentioned. The difference between traditional NPR programs and this one is perhaps best illustrated by their approaches to sports. When the commentator Stefan Fatsis appears on NPR`s afternoon All Things Considered, he is never interviewed by the co-anchor, Melissa Block, his wife. At The Bryant Park Project the sports commentator is Bill Wolff, MSNBC`s vice president of prime-time programming and Ms. Stewart`s husband. Darling, she called him in a recent playful exchange dissecting their weekend football viewing. Ms. Stewart, a self-proclaimed radio junkie who once worked at the New York station Z100, said she was initially reluctant to expose her private life to scrutiny, but now the segment is a staff favorite. Mr. Burbank plans to interview his 13-year-old daughter occasionally. Personality is certainly an important part of the show, Ms. Hoffman said, but so is the Web site. There, listeners can hear live streams, download podcasts or leave comments. Already, Mr. Kernis said, there is a conversation that the show is having with the audience ``in a way that we`ve never really had before`` (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. A WAY WITH WORDS --- Done deal: The Show Continues! Estimados amigos and chers amis, We’ve been a little quiet because we didn’t want to start making a fire before the logs were stacked, but the news can now be told: "A Way with Words" is alive! That’s right: the show will continue, new episodes are already in production, and they’ll air just as they always have in San Diego and all across the country. Read here about our new production company and our plans: http://www.waywordradio.org/continues/ Thanks to all of you who wrote letters of support or made phone calls asking for the show's return: you made a big difference. You made it plain that you care about language, you care about good radio, and you care about having a place to enjoy them together. Especially if you can vent your peeves. :) By the way, be sure to listen to our most recent podcasts. In the last few weeks, we've had one about what people mean when they say "this Friday" or "next week," one about the winner of our collective noun contest, and one about the expression "buffet flats." Also, our discussion forum is as active as ever and we've got plans for more book give-aways: http://www.waywordradio.org/forum/ With all of our thanks, Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett Co-hosts, "A Way with Words" http://waywordradio.org Call or write with your language questions 24 hours a day: (877) WAY–WORD (877) 929-9673 words @ waywordradio.org (AWWW mailing list Sept 28 via DXLD) The press release indicates they are ``delighted`` and ``excited``! -- http://www.waywordradio.org/A_Way_With_Words_Inks_Deal_to_Continue.pdf but no details of stations axually carrying it except KPBS. Public Radio Fan shows the only other is Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas network (WHA) Sundays at 1400 UT, along with KUWS Superior with separate stream. This show ought to be cleared by as many stations as Car Talk --- that`ll be the day (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) One thing that bothers me about public radio shows with call-ins: they urge you to call right now, and give the impression that the program is live --- but chances are very great when you hear it, it is NOT live. E.g. Calling All Pets, which I just heard opening on KERA, 1800 UT Friday Sept 28: PRF shows it scheduled on different stations at all kinds of different times. http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/program.pl?programid=923 Others which do this are A Way with Words, Car Talk, Zorba Paster and Your Health, Splendid Table, etc., etc. Altho I have never called such a program, what must be happening is this: whenever you call you actually get to a recorder to take your question or comment; or more likely, leave your number for a call-back whenever the show is actually being produced. If you leave your question at first, chances are also good that the resident expert has had plenty of time to research the seemingly off-the-cuff answer. Then it`s all edited together to make it `flow` into a seemingly live, or at least all-in-real-time, and then delayed hour. This complaint does NOT apply to KERA`s excellent Q&A show, Anything You Ever Wanted to Know, http://www.kera.org/radio/anything/ Fridays at 1706-1759 UT. It surely is live, and thrives on live give- and-take, only on KERA itself. The host often doesn`t know the answer, but that`s the point, to get answers from listeners who do know (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. One goes the other direction! After seeing public radio service disappear in Tyler, Texas and two West Tennessee areas this year, one is apparently flipping the other direction: http://897spiritfm.com/index.asp?str_string=Home~Home~none Radio-Info.com reports the buyer is Minnesota Public Radio and WMCU will be going classical. -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, Sept 27, WTFDA via DXLD) That`s good news. Arkansas itself has few public radio outlets and those few are operated by state supported universities and not a statewide network. I am aware that only Jonesboro, Fayetteville, and Little Rock have local public radio (KUAR with NPR and KLRE with classical music and lower power). "College radio" is almost non- existent. However, AFR and K-Love outlets are common and audible between 88.1-91.9 in Southeast Arkansas. But playing the Devil's Advocate.... These stations are an alternative to the Dollar-a-holler AM'ers that are also part of the "Christian Radio" scene. The ones that have music limited to Southern Gospel, taped sermons of Dead-For-Thirty-Years preachers (Lester Rolloff, and J. Vernon McGehee?), and rather dubious fringe programming (I knew a Little Rock area "gospel" station -- KMTL 760 that was airing the infamous American Dissident Voices program back in 1995-96). The K- Love, Air One and even AFR outlets appeal to and has younger listeners with families and have a niche. That said, AFR's spoken-word/talk programming tends to be less about the Gospel and more about anti GLBT propaganda. – (Fritze, KC5KBV, Prentice, Star City, AR, Grid: EM43aw http://tvdxseark.blogspot.com ibid.) MINNESOTA Public Radio? In FLORIDA? That will be confusing for the DXer. Maybe they have a winter snowbird audience? Seems odd (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) They had a translator at Sun Valley, Idaho at one time. I don't know if they still have that any longer. We are blessed with two MPR stations here at Grand Marais. Both 6 kW. Classical on 88.7 and News & Info on 89.7 (Paul LaFreniere Grand Marais, MN, ibid.) Yay, one less non-comm frequency wasted on gospel huxters. Axually, not so strange. MPR owns a station in Los Ángeles, and has tried to acquire another ailing religious outlet in Washington DC, unsuccessfully. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Do not be so quick to judge the previous owners as "huxters". NPR begs for money quite regularly and relies heavily on donations. The only difference is what you perceive as the value of their programming. For example, as a financial supporter of K-Love, I appreciate the music they play and the attitude of the DJs. It is worth the investment (Mike Glass, Indianapolis, ibid.) I'll tell you something else. These K-Love stations have some decent audience numbers. Even K-Love translators show up in my surveys (Rick Shaftan, NJ, ibid.) My only real problem with them is that I can receive seven of them here ;-). And I believe they just filed for 100.1 as well to translate a primary that broadcasts on 89.3 from a tower that's a mile away (Dave Williams, Bend OR, ibid.) Ah yes. MPR. The Clear Channel of public broadcasting. MPR acquired Southern California Public Radio in 2002. And there was quite a stink over the deal, but it went through. SCPR operates KPCC FM in Pasadena pursuant to a Public Service Operating Agreement with Pasadena City College. SCPR is a subsidiary of American Public Media, in that the Trustees on the Board of SCPR are appointed by the APM Board. At least 75% of such Trustees must be residents of Southern California. William H. Kling, the President of MPR is also the President of APM and the Vice Chairman of SCPR. The mission of American Public Media is to provide significant long- term financial strength for Minnesota Public Radio (Paul LaFreniere, Grand Marais, MN, ibid.) I think Glenn's point is that the religious stations have grabbed up the slots in the non-commercial educational band, to the exclusion of the educational institutions that the band is reserved for. There's a great book about this issue by the legendary community radio pioneers Lorenzo Milam and Jeremy Lansman. It's called "The Case Against God." (David Goren, ibid.) I appreciate your point, David, but the non-com band has been there longer than the recent Christian Radio boon [sic] and many institutions have made use of it. Would you rather have foreign religious organizations discover and snatch up these slots through local institutions and "preach" to the American public without the need for any support? They would not care what anybody thinks. You might find Christian Radio to be annoying, but it does have a sizeable audience that appreciates and supports it. It is primarily aimed at existing Christians who want an alternative to what is occupying the rest of the dial (Mike Glass, Indianapolis, ibid.) KNCT in Temple sure is NPR and they play elevator music which I like as much as classical. I listen to KJZZ here with jazz at night on occasion when I do listen to terrestrial radio (Kevin Redding, Gilbert, AZ, ABDX via DXLD) NPR stations are generally as interesting as cold oatmeal when they aren't doing news. When NPR started cutting back on their classical offerings (like "Performance Today), I knew the "fix was in". The truly interesting stations are the college stations in the non-comm band that have not sold their souls to the dev...er...NPR. That can be some mighty interesting listening at times...IMO! And by the way, I used to work at a non-comm...WOEL-FM in Elkton MD, from 1986-1998, but we were an independent Christian non-com (insert evil laugh here). (Rev. John Cereghin, KB3LYP, Smyrna DE, ibid.) We may wish that NPR itself were not skewing toward news/talk instead of music, especially classical. However, there is still tremendous variety of both music and talk on the broader public radio scene. I`m afraid ``cold oatmeal`` tells us more about the listener than the broadcasters. Performance Today is still very much around; it merely shifted to APM and remains on a great many public radio stations just as if nothing happened. Public Radio Fan http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/program.pl?programid=360 enumerates 128 broadcasts of it. BTW, there is no such thing as an `NPR station` -- or very few. Affiliates of NPR also take programming from APM and a variety of other sources. NPR is only one network programming source of several but tends to get all the credit/debit. It does not own any stations. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) I listen 9 hours a day, seven of those Classical. That's enough for me. By the way, NPR programming is not cheap. I actually have purchased music I have heard (Classical). I just wish I didn't have to listen so much. With that said, it makes my non work listening hours interesting (Juan Gualda, Ft Pierce FL, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. ESTADOS UNIDOS --- Mi primera QSL de onda media de este país. WTWP-AM, 1500 kHz, antigua WTOP. Carta QSL computerizada con foto del edificio y cartel de la antigua WTOP. F/V Dave Kolesar, Broadcast Engineer. Dkolesas @ bicdc.com Bonneville Internacional Corporation, 3400 Idaho Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016, Estados Unidos. Se demoraron 9 meses (Juan Antonio Arranz, Spain, Sept 25, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) And WTWP QSL is now a collector`s item as they have changed calls again to WWWT (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CHANGES IN DC AT THE HIGH END OF THE DIAL "Washington Post Radio" WTWP was a financial bust for Bonneville's 1500 KHz outlet, widely heard at night up and down the East Coast, so the call sign is now WWWT and the format is talk. Sister station on 820 in Frederick, MD is now WWWB. Meanwhile DCRTV, and confirmed by a friend of mine, has it that "Vegas Radio" WTRI-1520 will switch from nostalgia to SS as of October 1, though the Vegas Radio website will continue streaming audio for its fans. Regards, (Fred Laun, Temple Hills, MD, The WTFDA AM DX List via DXLD) This switch was a huge blunder for Bonneville --- WGMS had great ratings on 103.5 and WTOP had great ratings on 1500/820/107.7. 104.1 was their ratings dog. So, they blew up WGMS, moved WTOP there, which as Rick noted, did fine. But 1500 slid from top 3 to something like 26th in the ratings with "Washington Post Radio". And now they LMA 104.1 to Radio One who is doing black gospel and will make a pretty penny from it. So they went from two very successful stations to one, 1500 now has to be completely rebuilt and will likely never see those kind of numbers again, and they're watching someone else succeed on 104.1. Duuuhhhh!!!!!!!! Bonneville seems a bit lost these days. 73, BC (Bruce Collier, ibid.) ** U S A. Calendar of upcoming MW DX tests, times EDT/EST: Sun 10/21/07 0300-0500 1290 WIRL Peoria IL (Miller) Sat 10/27/07 0400-0430 1220 WLPO La Salle IL (Vogler) Mon 10/29/07 0400-0500 780 WCXH Monticello ME (Weiner) Sun 11/ 4/07 0500-0530 1420 WIGG Wiggins MS (Turner) Sun 12/16/07 0300-0400 1400 KQMS Redding CA (Myers/Mena) (Jim Pogue, coordinator, IRCA DX Monitor Sept 29 via DXLD) Details have appeared or will appear in DXLD before the broadcasts (gh) ** VENEZUELA. CUBA/VENEZUELA. QSL: Canal Internacional de Radio Nacional de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela. 11670 kHz, carta y tarjeta con todos los datos, postales y medio kg de propaganda chavista por correo certificado. F/V Freddy Santos freddysaac @ hotmail.com Dos meses antes ya mandó un e-mail anunciando el envío y desde entonces me llena el buzón de spam. Final calle Las Marías, Entre Chapellin y Country, La Florida, Caracas Zona Postal 1050, Apartado Postal 50700, Venezuela (Juan Antonio Arranz, Spain, Sept 25, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. Voice of Zimbabwe on -- Mr Ilpo Parviainen in Finland told me he's been hearing Voice of Zimbabwe since 25 September with talk programs until around 1735 UT on 4828. After 1735 again non-stop music (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Sept 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jari, and the group, Voice of Zimbabwe, Gweru, Zimbabwe, 4828 (ver) 1700-1730, With recorded talk, pro-Mugabe govt, then back into non stop music (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, Zimbabwe, Sept 28, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. Hi everyone, I had one of those where I woke up at 3, couldn't get back to sleep, so I listened to the radio for a while. Heard definite jamming sounds, not the bubble type frequently used by Cuba, nor the firedrake type used by China, but jamming was very audible on the following frequencies: 600, 640, 720, 890, 930, 970 and to an extent on 1050. All heard between 3:15 and 3:30 AM EDT (0715-0730 UT). If any of the night owls on our list would care to take a stab at this, I would be most be most grateful. LXXIII de (Joe Miller, KJ8O, IRCA via DXLD) Joe, You tell us what it did not sound like, but not what it did sound like. Please describe. On 1050 I should think you would be hearing IBOC from WHO, on 720 IBOC from WOR, and so on. Are you sure this was not IBOC? Or are you making an oblique point about that? 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Hi Glenn --- valid questions. This was new kind of jamming sound, unlike anything I've ever heard before, including Soviet block jamming from the 1960's. I'll keep one of my radios on tonight and see if I can capture this on tape. It's clear that the intent is jamming, just that it's a new sound unlike previous jamming sounds that I've heard. No oblique point to be made. As you know IBOC emits this hiss. From my point in S. E. Michigan the only IBOC hiss I get is on 750 & 770 (WJR) 940 & 960 (WWJ) 900 & 920 (WFDF) and 690 & 710 (WLW). I am close enough to Toronto to hear CHUM on 1050 from time to time (including last night) but I clearly heard the same type of jamming under CHUM as I did on the other channels mentioned. Lastly, WHO is about 700 miles from here, so their IBOC hiss is not an issue here. WOR is about 550 miles and their IBOC is not an issue either. 73 de (Joe Miller, ibid.) Whoa! You may want to re-think that assessment, Joe. WHO's IBOC is certainly an issue for me, and they're more than 900 miles from here. They even bother juggernaut WBZ (325 miles away) at times. Similarly, the Chicago stations are all huge issues here (in terms of interference to 1st adjacents), and they're about 650 miles away from me (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) I got IBOC "jamming" from WLW 700 which is more than 1000 miles away from me the other night and it was strong, it covered up WOR 710 which is a great example of poetic justice in my mind, (Bob Young, Analog, MA KB1OKL, NRC-AM via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. My unident on 5011.19 kHz is starting to fade in at 0038 UT. At this time all I hear is a carrier. Don't know if it will improve enough later for details? Maybe if you happen to be listening, you can catch an ID or some other detail? Thanks (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston FL, UT Sept 28, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Re 7-116, 6210: Isn't this Cairo with their always-real-poor modulation on 6210? (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes Jari, quise decir Radio Cairo, 1600-1800. Radio Cairo, No Voz de Turquía. 73 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. From the third quarter ITU monitoring log at the Tarnok, Hungary site: HNG TARNOK 6766.00 20 07 0000 0130 21.2 UNIDENTIFIED BC 10K0- A3E 11 HNG TARNOK 6770.03 20 07 0100 0200 29.3 UNIDENTIFIED BC 10K0- A3E 11 French See CYPRUS for link to how to read this. Any ideas? 6770 could be 2 x 3385 except nothing in French there. Perhaps more likely is a leapfrog from within the 41 mb (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. From ITU monitoring log in Baldock UK for third quarter: 9200.00 03 07 1835 0000 * RUS BC 9K00E A3E 56 E 57 55 N 35 61 B They say it`s a Russian broadcaster, including coördinates putting it NE of Ufa, but Chinese Firedrake jamming is the usual occupant of this frequency. Nothing else listed there. See CYPRUS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 9410, is it DRM or jamming? Some kind of noise, not very strong, at 1327 Sept 26. RNW and DRM DX schedules show nothing on 9410, but HFCC has something new from Kvitsoy, Norway at 0930-1600, 65 kW, 190 degrees since Sept 1. What programming, if really on the air? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USA: WBOH UNIDENTIFIED. BROADCAST INTRUDER --- Hi Glenn, I am getting an AM signal on approximately 18105. I will let you figure out who/what it is. 73 (David Ross VA3MJR, Ont., 2044 UT Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] 18105 AM mode signal gone at 2200 recheck. While on the air I tuned the AM carrier in ssb mode and noted the carrier was very wobbly. 73 (David Ross VA3MJR, Ont., Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi David, Colombia 6035 [La Voz del Guaviare] has been heard on x 2 = 12070, so could be third harmonic of that. Would be nice if you could have confirmed it as Spanish. 73, (Glenn to David, via DXLD) Hi David, Hi Glenn. Due to poor conditions La Voz del Guaviare's 2nd harmonic on 12070 has been arriving very weak lately; heard it quite diminished yesterday Sept. 25 around 2200, but today practically inaudible. Last Sunday 23 it was coming unusually late, 2330, when normally has faded out by then. You know, really strange for me that up till now, somebody else seems to have logged it altho in a 3rd harmonic. 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 26, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ FORMER VOA DIRECTOR HOCKS A CLOCK "A sunny yellow Fabergé clock stole the show at Sloans and Kenyon's latest auction, selling for $123,900, four times the expected price. The piece, sold by well-known Washingtonian Richard Carlson, former head of the Voice of America and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, was bought by a phone bidder." http://www.forbes.com/collecting/2007/09/25/collecting-auctions-art-forbeslife-cx_nw_0925faberge.html Forbes, 25 September 2007. Posted: 27 Sep 2007 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) Bigger illustration on page 2 (gh, DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ LA LISTA DI MOHRMANN "ITALIANA" La nota LA DX list di Mark Mohrmann è ora hostata su un servizio italiano, sullo spazio del Mosquito DX Team, il nuovo indirizzo per raggiungerla è http://home.tele2.it/MCDXT/LASWLOGS.html Come già detto, è una pagina dello spazio web degli attivissimi dxer del MCDXT raggiungibile all'indirizzo http://home.tele2.it/MCDXT/ Lunga vita a quella che è una delle risorse fondamentali per il nostro hobby (Roberto Scaglione & Dario Monferini, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Note that part of the URL has to be in caps; but we found that both .htm and .html work on the first one (gh, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO HUMOUR FROM YESTERYEAR Take one radio station and add Three Stooges. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8svmdAyWat0 Pt 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY5tZC-laKM Pt 2 (Fred Waterer, Ont., Sept. 27, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: GERMANY; NORWAY; USA WBOH; UNIDENTIFIED 9410 ++++++++++++++++++++ IBOC [see also MEXICO; UNIDENTIFIED] Glenn, Just to comment on the IBOC, that has to be what I have been really experiencing, worse than ever on the R-5000. I guess that I will never hear ORTM Mauritania on 783 again. What is next ?? Croatia on 1134 ? What is now happening to radio is just SAD ! (Stephen J. Price, Johnstown, PA) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ METEOR SCATTER ON HF CAUSES ``SWOOPS`` Hi Ralph [Brandi], Long time old buddy. I just saw your logging of WMLK in DXLD 7-116. I missed it in the NASWA Flashsheet. I have an explanation for the "swoop" sound you heard coupled with enhanced signal level for a few seconds. This is a phenomenon I once experienced on a VOA transmission from Greenville to Europe in the 1950's when I was living on Long Island. I was in the skip zone and the beam to Europe was passing over my location. The frequency was in the 17 MHz band so I was in the skip zone but had some steady weak backscatter. Meteors entering the upper atmosphere at high velocity are ionizing the air molecules in the high temperatures produced by friction with the air molecules. The ionized cloud causes the temporary enhancement of WMLK's signal. As the cloud of ions recombines into ordinary air molecules, the reflective properties of the cloud gradually dissipate. So what causes the "swoop" sound? The meteor is traveling at high velocity. The leading edge of the ionized cloud will be traveling at the same velocity as the meteor. This reflective surface will impart a Doppler shift to the WMLK reflected signal. What you heard was a beat between the normal backscatter/ground-wave signal you were hearing and the Doppler-shifted reflection from the leading edge of ionized cloud. Initially the pitch of the beat note is high. As the meteor slows down due to atmospheric friction, the Doppler shift becomes smaller resulting in a rapidly declining beat note. That causes the "swoop" sound you observed. A friend of mine, Dr. Rob Suggs, works for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. His job is to assess the probability of hazardous meteor collisions to manned space flight missions. He counts meteors by noting similar reflections from meteors passing through the beams of over-the-horizon TV stations in the VHF range. He uses the decay rate of the reflections to estimate the initial size of the meteors. SWLs and hams properly located inside the skip zone of SW broadcasters could make monitoring of such reflections an interesting adjunct to chasing QSLs from Nibi-Nibi and monitoring tractor production statistics from Bulgaria. 73, (Joe Buch N2JB, Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT – SEC BECOMES SWPC The NOAA Space Environment Center has been approved to officially change its name to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). The center is one of the nine National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) within NOAA's National Weather Service. The new name aligns the space weather center with the other NCEP centers and more clearly conveys its operational nature. The date for the name change is Monday, October 1, 2007. Our new name will begin appearing in web pages and product headers on October 1. Some web pages will have an updated 'look and feel' and use NOAA web page standards, but the data displays and content will not change. Text and graphical products will have Space Weather Prediction Center (or SWPC) in headers, but there will be no changes to the file formats or content (SEC Sept 26 via DXLD) I`ve never cared for the ``space weather`` expression. ``Weather`` ought to be reserved for what happens from the troposphere to the ground, involving air (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WSJ (of all places): NEW SUNSPOT CYCLE: "WE ARE SET UP FOR A NASTY SURPRISE" http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119091398309341475.html?mod=djemTECH "Space weather forecasters are bracing for a new season of intense sunspot activity that could begin by March and peak in 2012." The article is classically alarmist in tone, but highlights how our dependence on electronic technologies increases our vulnerability to sun-induced electrical upsets (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) That`s free content at WSJ (gh) ###