DX LISTENING DIGEST 7-126, October 19, 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 1378 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 1515 WRMI 7385 [ex-1500] Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [confirmed Oct 15] Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies to 0500]s Mon 0830 WRMI 9955 Tue 1030 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 7385 Wed 0730 WRMI 9955 Wed 2300 WBCQ 18910-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 ** ALBANIA. Radio Tirana PROGRAMME MONDAY News, Press Review, Albania in a Week, Sports Round Up. TUESDAY News, Press Review, Note, Mail Box WEDNESDAY News, Press Review, Albania under the Euro Atlantic Integration Process, Entertaining Music THURSDAY News, Press Review, Albanian Economy on Facts, Focus on Albania FRIDAY News, Press Review, Albanian People History through Centuries/Foreigners on Albania, Outstanding Personalities Profile SATURDAY News, Press Review, The Mosaic of the Week, Folk Music (Radio Tirana, via Oct NZ DX Times via DXLD) + next UT day to NAm ** ANTARCTICA. 15476.01, Radio Nacional Arcangel, San Gabriel, 2050- 2100*, Oct 18, woman announcer. Lively LA music. Announcement by man at 2059 & LA music to sign off. Weak, difficult copy. Presumed (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 13363.5 LSB, Radio Continental, Buenos Aires, 0005+, Oct 19, Spanish talk. ID. Fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. I hear very loud signals these days - from time to time - in our mornings, like 0600-0800 UT; 7265 kHz compared to the past - is now noted here with increased signal (never heard such, when SWR Rohrdorf occupied once this channel). And also BLR 6070 kHz noted here few days, when BLR was loud and strong and covered the lower of 6075 DWL UK relay (Wolfgang Büschel, Oct 17, BC-DX via DXLD) ** BHUTAN. 6035, BBS, Sangaygang, *0000-0130 fade out, Oct 01, 04, 05, 06, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17, IS, Dzongkha ID by female, monks praying, short ann, gongs, talk with gongs in background, 54544 best signal ever heard in Germany! (Bernardini via DXLD, Petersen and Roland Schulze, DSWCI DX Window Oct 17 via DXLD) ** BHUTAN. 6035.03, Bhutan B.S. on Oct 07 at 1359-1418 UT. 32432. English, news, ID at 1400 as "This is BBS" (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan,, Japan Premium Oct 12 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4732.2, RADIO UNIVERSITARIA. Cobija. 0140-0212 oct.12. Con transmisión especial por la 4a Feria Expopando 2007. La transmision era conducida por Pedro Picapiedra [pseudonym] "...somos Radio Universitaria en los 4730 kHz banda ancha(sic) de 60 metros onda corta y los 97.9 frecuencia modulada... Radio Universitaria, voz oficial de la Universidad Amazónica de Pando..." (Rafael Rodríguez, Bogotá, Colombia, Oct 18, WINRADIO G303I, SONY ICF 2010, JRC NRD-525, Hilos largos con diferentes longitudes, playdx yg via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 11780, RADIO NACIONAL DA AMAZÔNIA. Brasília, Brasil. 2140- 2153 oct. 12. En // 6180. Anunciando concurso: "30 años en el Aire" que consiste en responder a la pregunta: ¿La Radio Nacional de la Amazônia debe informar sobre cuáles asuntos? Mencionan QTH Caixa Postal 258 CP 70359970. "...uma emissora Radio Bras, volo directo a la informação.. ." (Rafael Rodríguez, Bogotá, Colombia, Oct 18, WINRADIO G303I, SONY ICF 2010, JRC NRD-525, Hilos largos con diferentes longitudes, playdx yg via DXLD) Sic – I assume RNA was really in pure Portuguese (gh, DXLD) ** BULGARIA. Winter B-07 of RADIO BULGARIA 28/10/2007 to 30/03/2008: ADDR: 4, Dragan Tsankov Blvd., 1040 Sofia and P.O.Box 900, 1000 Sofia. Tel.:+359 2 933 66 33; fax.:+359 2 865 05 60; Web: http://www.bnr.bg Programme Director: Angel Nedyalkov e-mail: nedyalkov @ bnr.bg Frequency Manager: Ivo Ivanov e-mail: frequencies @ bnr.bg MW: Petrich (G.C: 23.18E/41.42N): 747 kHz 500 kW / non-dir Vidin (G.C: 22.40E/43.49N): 1224 kHz 500 kW / 205 deg SW: P=Plovdiv (G.C: 24.42E/42.10N): 2 x 500 kW, 3 x 250 kW S=Sofia (G.C: 23.13E/42.49N): 2 x 100 kW, 2 x 050 kW V=Varna (G.C: 27.40E/43.03N): 2 x 100 kW ALBANIAN / e-mail: albanian @ bnr.bg 0630-0700 Mon-Fri Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 0700-0800 Sat/Sun Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 1200-1230 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248 1700-1730 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 2000-2100 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 BULGARIAN / e-mail: bulgarian @ bnr.bg 0100-0200 -daily- North America 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 0100-0200 -daily- South America 7300 P250/245, 9500 P250/258 0530-0600 Mon-Fri Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 0530-0600 Mon-Fri East Europe 7400 S100/030, 9400 S100/030 0530-0600 Mon-Fri West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 0500-0600 Sat/Sun Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 0500-0600 Sat/Sun East Europe 7400 S100/030, 9400 S100/030 0500-0600 Sat/Sun West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 1100-1130 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248 1100-1130 -daily- East Europe 11600 S100/030, 13600 S100/030 1100-1130 -daily- West Europe 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1300-1500 -daily- Balkans 1224 1300-1500 -daily- West Europe 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1600-1700 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 1600-1700 -daily- East Europe 7200 S100/030, 9400 S100/030 1600-1700 -daily- Middle East 9400 P500/126 1600-1700 -daily- South Africa 17500 P500/185 1900-2000 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 1900-2100 -daily- Middle East 9700 P250/115 1900-2100 -daily- West Europe 9700 P250/306 ENGLISH / e-mail: english @ bnr.bg 0000-0100 -daily- North America 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 0300-0400 -daily- North America 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 0730-0800 -daily- West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 1230-1300 -daily- West Europe 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1830-1900 -daily- West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 2200-2300 -daily- West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 FRENCH / e-mail: french @ bnr.bg 0200-0300 -daily- North America 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 0700-0730 -daily- West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 1200-1230 -daily- West Europe 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1800-1830 -daily- West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 2100-2200 -daily- West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 GERMAN / e-mail: german @ bnr.bg 0630-0700 -daily- West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 1130-1200 -daily- West Europe 11700 P500/306, 15700 P500/306 1730-1800 -daily- West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 2000-2100 -daily- West Europe 7400 P500/295, 9400 P500/306 GREEK / e-mail: greek @ bnr.bg 0600-0630 Mon-Fri Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 0600-0700 Sat/Sun Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 1130-1200 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248 1730-1800 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 2100-2200 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 RUSSIAN / e-mail: russian @ bnr.bg 0000-0100 -daily- Central Asia 9700 P250/045 0400-0500 -daily- East Europe 7400 S100/030, 9400 S100/030, 1224 0600-0630 -daily- East Europe 7400 S100/030, 9400 S100/030 1130-1200 -daily- East Europe 11600 S100/030, 13600 S100/030 1500-1600 -daily- East Europe 7200 S100/030, 9400 S100/030, 1224 1500-1600 -daily- Central Asia 7200 P250/045 1700-1730 -daily- East Europe 7400 S100/030, 9400 S100/030 1900-2000 -daily- East Europe 7400 S100/030, 9400 S100/030 SERBIAN / e-mail: serbian @ nbnr.bg 0700-0730 Mon-Fri Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 0800-0900 Sat/Sun Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224 1230-1300 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248 1800-1830 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 2200-2300 -daily- Balkans 5900 P250/248, 1224, 747 SPANISH / e-mail: spanish @ bnr.bg 0000-0100 -daily- South America 7300 P250/245, 9500 P250/258 0200-0300 -daily- South America 7300 P250/245, 9500 P250/258 0200-0300 -daily- Central America 9700 P250/295 0700-0730 -daily- South Europe 7200 P250/260, 9500 P250/260 1200-1230 -daily- South Europe 11600 P250/260, 13600 P250/260 1730-1800 -daily- South Europe 7200 P250/260, 9600 P250/260 2200-2300 -daily- South Europe 6200 P250/260, 9700 P250/260 TURKISH / e-mail: turkish @ bnr.bg 0600-0630 -daily- Middle East 6100 P250/115, 7200 P250/140 1100-1130 -daily- Middle East 7200 P250/140, 9700 P250/115 1830-1900 -daily- Middle East 5900 P250/248, 9700 P250/115, 1224, 747 RADIO VARNA 2200-2400 Sunday Black Sea 6000 V100/ND 0000-0400 Monday Black Sea 6000 V100/ND (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Oct 15 via DXLD) ** CAMBODIA. RADIO FREE ASIA JOURNALISTS FACE TROUBLES IN CAMBODIA Region : Asia and the Pacific Country : Cambodia Topic : Investigative Reporting, Publications 19/10/2007 A recent report details the challenges faced by Cambodians working for Radio Free Asia (RFA) – the country’s only major media outlet not controlled by the government. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) posted the online report on October 10. The article details the Cambodian government’s efforts to intimidate RFA journalists, who often find themselves contradicting the government’s version of events. The article also discusses the unsolved murders of Cambodian journalists, the government’s unwillingness to investigate, and the resulting fear among Cambodian journalists. The full article: http://www.cpj.org/cambodiabroadcasters/index.html (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. The RCI facility in Sackville NB is a curtain site - which gives lots of gain and result in ERPs of several million watts from modest [?] 100, 250 and 500 kW transmitters [sic – I don`t think they have any 500s --- gh]. And, the RCI facility is on the famous Tantramar Marsh - a salt marsh with superb ground conductivity (Phil Rafuse, PEI, ABDX via DXLD) Which shouldn`t matter much for SW, but CBA used to be there (gh, DXLD) And it makes for an impressive sight, while traveling on the Trans- Canada Highway, near the Nova Scotia border. There is a west-bound exit for the facility off the Trans-Canada, in case you ever wanted to "accidentally" wander over there. An old road geek like me notices these things (John Cereghin, Smyrna DE, ibid.) And if one does "accidentally" wander over there, the staff at RCI Sackville is very happy to give tours. (I think advance notice is preferred, but it wasn't required, at least when I stopped there in '98.) Don't try that at a VOA facility! s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) ** CANADA. 4762.49, Radio Nederland via Sackville, 2345-2357*, Oct 18, Another Sackville sub-harmonic with a fair signal. Talk in listed Dutch. ID. ½ x 9524.98 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CKXR-580 Salmon Arm BC - expect to go silent soon CKXR-580 moved to FM about a year ago, but due to the fact that the FM signal did not cover the area served by the AM signal the AM signal has remained on the air, as detailed below. Applications for FM relays in Enderby and Sicamous to fill in the FM signal have been approved, so expect to see the 580 signal to do silent soon. Good news for CKUA. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2007/db2007-378.htm CKXR-FM Salmon Arm – New transmitters in Enderby and Sicamous The Commission approves applications to amend the broadcasting licence for CKXR-FM Salmon Arm in order to operate transmitters in Enderby and Sicamous. Introduction 1. Standard Radio Inc. (Standard) filed applications to amend the broadcasting licence for the English-language, radio programming undertaking CKXR-FM Salmon Arm in order to operate transmitters in Enderby and Sicamous. Standard proposed to operate the Enderby transmitter at 104.3 MHz (channel 282A1) with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 210 watts and the Sicamous transmitter at 102.1 MHz (channel 271A1) with an ERP of 200 watts. Background On 25 February 2005, the Commission approved the conversion of CKXR to the FM band and authorized the licensee to simulcast CKXR-FM’s programming on AM for three months following implementation of the new FM station. Standard commenced operation of the FM station on 27 November 2006. In Broadcasting Decision 2007-122, the Commission approved an extension to the simulcast period. The Commission accepted the licensee’s claim that listeners in several communities within the station’s original AM coverage area, including Enderby and Sicamous, were unable to receive a good quality signal of the FM station. At that time, Standard indicated its intention to file applications to add transmitters of CKXR-FM in Enderby and Sicamous to correct the problem. 73, (via Deane McIntyre VE6BPO, Oct 17, DX LISTENINIG DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6100, Firedrake, 1019-1032, Oct 19, fair. First time I have noticed them here. Has Sound of Hope come this low or is it against someone else? (Ron Howard, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR [non]. SOUTH AFRICA. 11690, Radio Okapi, via Meyerton, 0505-0559*, Oct 19, French talk. "Okapi" jingles. Weak but readable. Not heard in some time (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA. 6165, Croatian Radio-Voice of Croatia, 0600-0604, Oct 19, Four minutes of English with news, sports, weather. IDs and schedule. // 9470 - via Germany. Both frequencies fair to good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Domingo 21 de Octubre - Nuevo Programa Radial en Inglés del CDHD BRIGADA... Glenn: This is a last-minute program change. It begins this coming Sunday at 1500 UT on 7385 kHz. As a result, World of Radio will begin 15 minutes later (at 1515 UT) beginning this Sunday. As far as I can recall, this is the first Cuban exile program in English. It's not intended for Cuba. It's intended for a general worldwide audience to explain the Cuban situation (Jeff White, WRMI, Oct 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Los invitamos a que escuchen nuestro nuevo programa radial en inglés, LA VOZ DEL CENTRO DE DERECHOS HUMANOS Y DEMOCRACIA BRIGADA 2506 Comenzando este domingo 21 de octubre a las 11:00 am [EDT] Nos pueden escuchar ingresando a la página Web de Radio Miami Internacional: http://www.wrmi.net También pueden oír nuestros programas previos ingresando a nuestra página de Web: http://www.cdhd2506.org Agradecemos su apoyo, Remitido por la Secretaría de Organización: Carmen Ferreiro, Fabio Martín Centro de Derechos Humanos y Democracia Brigada 2506 We invite you to tune in to our new English radio program, THE VOICE OF THE CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY BRIGADE 2506 Beginning this Sunday, October 20th at 11:00 am [EDT] Our program can be heard via the Internet on Radio Miami International by accessing their web page: http://www.wrmi.net You can also hear our prior shows on our web page: http://www.cdhd2506.org Thank you for your support, Submitted by the Secretariat Carmen Ferreiro, Fabio Martín Brigade 2506 Center for Human Rights & Democracy SEGUNDO (from cdhd2506 @ yahoo.com via Jeff White, WRMI, DXLD) ** FINLAND. Dear SWR listeners, Next transmission of Scandinavian Weekend Radio will start at 21 UT on Oct 05. We are going with our new higher powers, that is 1500 watts ERP-power on 25 mb frequencies and transmitting powers of 400 watts on MW 1602 kHz and still with lower 100 watts on 49 mb. Contacts: http://www.swradio.net These pages have lot of information of the station and our open discussion Forum as well. Next: Nov 02/03 (Alpo Heinonen, SWR, Oct 05, DSWCI DX Window Oct 17 via DXLD) ** GALICIA [and non]. Solicito información sobre las siguientes emisoras clandestinas. Saludos cordiales, quisiera saber si alguien tiene algún dato de las siguientes emisoras clandestinas españolas que emitieron durante la dictadura española, emisoras que probablemente emitieron desde Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay y Paraguay. Radio Galleguistas Radio Claridad La Voz Patria [Later:] Sobre las radios gallegistas, emisiones antifranquistas. Saludos cordiales, para los que estén interesados en saber algo más de las emisiones antifranquistas de las radios Galleguistas, existe un interesante reportaje titulado “ Os programas Radiais dos Emigrantes Galegos”; este trabajo comienza en la página 190 y termina en la 225. http://www.consellodacultura.org/mediateca/pubs.pdf/estudios_migratorios_6.pdf Principalmente se trataba de programas radiados en gallego emitidos en diferentes emisoras de América. 73 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. VOICE OF GREECE B-07 TRANSMISSION SCHEDULE (SERVICE AREAS) THE VOICE OF GREECE (ERA S.A.) B-07 Short-wave Transmission Schedule (Effective from October 28, 2007 to March 30, 2008) Service Areas Frequencies Languages UTC Avlis1Avlis2Avlis3 EUROPE 0000-0600 *7475 9420 Gr 0600-1000 15630 9420 Gr 1100-1600 9420 Gr 1600-2000 *15630 9420 Gr 2000-2400 7475 9420 Gr FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRANSMISSIONS 0600-0700 12105 Albanian 0700-0800 12105 English 0800-0900 12105 French 0900-1000 12105 Spanish MIDDLE EAST, INDIAN OCEAN 1100-1600 *15650 Gr, Ar ATLANTIC OCEAN 0000-0300 12105 7475 9420 Gr 0300-0600*12105 *7475 9420 Gr 0600-0800 15630 9420 Gr 0800-1000 15630 9420 1100-1600 9420 Gr 1600-2000 *15630 9420 Gr 2300-2400 12105 7475 9420 Gr AFRICA 0000-0600*12105 Gr 2300-2400 12105 Gr AUSTRALIA 1100-1600 *15650 Gr, Ar NORTH AMERICA 0000-0600 7475 9420 Gr SOUTH AMERICA. PANAMA ZONE & SW AFRICA 0000-0600*12105 Gr 2300-2400 12105 Gr (*)Transmission ends 10 minutes earlier Gr=Greek, Eng=English, Al=Albanian. Ar=Arabian, F-French, E=Spanish LIVE AUDIO URL: http://www.ert.gr Reports via e-mail: era5@ert.gr Technical information: bcharalabopoulos@ert.gr ERT S.A. MACEDONIA STATION EUROPE 1100-1650 9935 Gr EUROPE 1700-2250 7450 Gr ERA 5 'THE VOICE OF GREECE' Messogeion 432, 15342, Ag. Paraskevi Attikis, Tel +301 606 6308, +301 606 6297, Fax +301 606 6309 Macedonia Radio Station: Angelaki Str 2, 54621, Tel +303 124 4979, Fax +303 123 6370 General Direction of ERA (Engineering Div.): Messogeion 432, 15342, Ag. Paraskevi, Attikis, Tel +301 606 6257, Fax +301 606 6243 (via John Babbis, MD, USA) Where are the English-language programs: "Hellenes Around The World" and "Greek In Style"? (John Babbis, MD, Oct 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOICE OF GREECE B-07 TRANSMISSION SCHEDULE (AZIMUTHS) THE VOICE OF GREECE (ERA S.A.) B-07 Short-wave Transmission Schedule (Effective from October 28, 2007 to March 30, 2008) UTC Avlis 1 Avlis 2 Avlis 3 0000-0100 12105/226 7475/285º 9420/323º 0100-0200 12105/226 7475/285º 9420/323º 0200-0300 12105/226 7475/285º 9420/323º 0300-0400 12105/226º 7475/285º 9420/323º 0400-0500 12105/226 7475/285º 9420/323º 0500-0600 *12105/226º *7475/285º 9420/323º 0600-0700 12105/002º 15630/285º 9420/323º 0700-0800 12105/002 15630/285º 9420/323º 0800-0900 12105/002 15630/285º 9420/323º 0900-1000 12105/002 15630/285º 9420/323º 1000-1100 SILENT SILENT SILENT 1100-1200 #9935/285 15650/105º 9420/323º 1200-1300 #9935/285 15650/105º 9420/323º 1300-1400 #9935/285 15650/105º 9420/323º 1400-1500 #9935/285 15650/105º 9420/323º 1500-1600 #9935/285 *15650/105º 9420/323º 1600-1700 *#9935/285 15630/285º 9420/323º 1700-1800 #7450/323º 15630/285º 9420/323º 1800-1900 #7450/323 15630/285º 9420/323º 1900-2000 #7450/323 *15630/285º 9420/323º 2000-2100 #7450/323 7475/285º 9420/323º 2100-2200 #7450/323 7475/285º 9420/323º 2200-2300 *#7450/323 7475/285º 9420/323º 2300-2400 12105/226 7475/285º 9420/323º *Transmission ends 10 minutes earlier #ERT-3 Radiophonikos Stathmos Makedonias (Thessaloniki) (John Babbis, Silver Spring, MD, Oct 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII. RICHARD WOOD --- Longtime DXers & SWLs will be sad to learn of the death of Dr Wood in Hawaii on 28 September [sic --- it was about two weeks earlier --- gh], aged 67. Life member PAUL ORMANDY remembers Richard: I had been reading about this DXer in Hawaii who always heard fabulous stuff, even considering his prime location. I was consistently amazed at his grasp of foreign languages and only later discovered he was a professor of Linguistics. Richard E Wood was a Scotsman whose MW DXing predated my efforts by around 20 years and I was fortunate to meet Richard in 1988 after sharing several letters over the preceding decade. Richard’s letters were lengthy and he was always keen to pass on his listening tips and make astute observations about DX from this part of the World. Linda and I holidayed in Hawaii in 1988 and I was keen to meet up with Alan Roycroft, Chuck Boenkhe and Richard (little did I realise we’d be staying at the same hotel as Patrick Martin!). I made contact with Richard and he invited us to dinner, so we headed off into Hawaiian Paradise Park on the Big Island, a short distance from where we stayed in Hilo. Using directions provided by Chuck, who lived nearby, we headed off down a plantation track to Richard’s house. Richard had bought the property partly finished. It was a large two- story cabin, clad in plywood and completely surrounded on all sides by dense vegetation. He greeted us warmly and introduced us to his boarders, Richard and Richard... yes, 3 of them though with names shortened to avoid confusion. His receiver at the time was a Kenwood R1000 and his wires were dragged through the semi-jungle landscape by Rich... it came as some surprise to learn that they were nowhere near straight! We were given the tour of his rustic abode and spent some time pouring over verification letters and cards, neatly filed in albums. He had lengthy letters in a variety of languages like Finnish and Arabic plus the Latin tongues. Richard Mark II had prepared dinner – guacamole, and it was very good. After dinner, we went for a short drive down to the coast where Richard hoped to purchase a small block of land to build on, then back to the house for some listening... Richard’s knowledge of the band was exceptional. Prior to teaching at the local university, Richard ran a couple of fruit stalls, one at nearby Keeau and the other at Waimea, some distance West of Hilo. It was whilst manning one of the stalls, sitting reading a book in Finnish, that a faculty member of Hilo University noticed he was reading a paperback in Japanese and after a short discussion, he was hired as a language tutor. Richard continued to run into Richard at the second stall quite by chance and purchased a pineapple from him. Richard dropped in and out of the hobby over the years and we lost touch until the Internet came along and once more we shared our interests.... until once again, Richard dropped out of the hobby. I am sorry to learn that he has passed on and pleased to have had the chance to meet a real character and top-notch DXer (Paul Ormandy, Oct NZ DX Times [illustrated] via DXLD) OBIT ** INDIA. 4940, AIR Mumbai, 0151, Oct 05, on wrong frequency instead of nominal 4840, local ID's at 0133, 0147 and 0151. QRM Co-channel AIR Guwahati (Jose Jacob and Alokesh Gupta, India, DSWCI DX Window Oct 17 via DXLD). Another switching error! (DSWCI Ed. Anker Petersen, ibid.) 4960 and 5985, AIR Ranchi: Is "regularly irregular." During my two- week stay at Bhubaneswar, eastern part of India, I could hear them only once on 5985, when it was blasting in (Jose Jacob, ibid.) ** INDONESIA. 3987.05, RRI Manokwari, 1327-1400, Oct 11. Older English Country and Western , 1329 IS on dulcimer-like instrument; pips to 1330:05, then ID: "Radio Republik Indonesia Manokwari... berita...," and into apparent local news, which ended at 1337 with the same song that is played at the end of Jakarta relays, English and Indonesian vocal music followed, hosted by the same woman; Jakarta news at 1400. Good signal with slight ham QRM (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge CO in DXplorer via DSWCI DX Window Oct 17 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 11784.87, Suara Indonesia/Voice of Indonesia, 1603-1645, Oct 19, programming in Arabic, fair reception, reciting from Qur'an, talk about Indonesia, 1623-1645 YL DJ playing EZL and pop songs and who gives IDs for "Suara Islam". Does VOI now have a Suara Islam program like Malaysia (RTM) has? Seems 9524.96 not on at all today (also not heard about 1014) (Ron Howard, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. 846 MW, Rai, Rome was reactivated after about 36 hours. The broadcasts were abruptly interrupted on Sat Oct 06 due to heavy showers on the area. Listeners worried they had also closed it down only a week after SW were closed. You can imagine how sensitive we all are about this question! Other listeners say DRM broadcasts on 846 MW may be planned for Jan 2008, if a new transmitter will arrive (Luigi Cobisi, Italy, Oct 08, DSWCI DX Window Oct 17 via DXLD) As we feared, Rai International suspended all programs on SW as from Oct 01. Prato Smeraldo transmitting center will be very likely dismissed. Protests from the press and specialized groups like Italradio were not considered. Rai International is now concentrating all activities on TV and a only a few radio services survive, via satellite and the internet, all in Italian only. "Notturno Italiano" - a part of RAI International broadcasted via three home services MW outlet on 657, 900 and 1107 kHz - offers the only remaining opportunity to listen to news in English and French, nightly, at the end of Italian news at 23, 00, 01, 02, 03 UT. After 77 years, Italian SW has disappeared. Some months ago the undersecretary of State responsible for Media affairs declared in Parliament SW was out of date and a reminiscence of the Cold War (Luigi Cobisi, Italy, Oct 03, ibid.) ** JAPAN [non]. RADIO JAPAN: QSL CARD FOR THE LAST TX IN ITALIAN LANGUAGE --- Radio Japan has confirmed with QSL card and broadcast schedule my reception report regarding the last transmission in Italian language on 11790 [sic] kHz (TX via Gabon) the 30-09-2007 in 12 dd. Sent: CD with the audio of the last TX taped in my QTH and my SWL QSL card with report. Address: Radio Japan - NHK - Redazione Italiana - Jinnan, Shibuya-Ku. Tokyo, Japan 150-8001. The pictures is available at: http://swli05639fr.blogspot.com/ 73's (Francesco Cecconi, noticiasdx yg via DXLD) Surely you mean 11970 (gh) O, yeah? --- Ciao ! Ricevuta oggi lunedi la ultima conferma della NHK Italiano TX Moyabi, 21820 kHz, ultima trasmissione, alle 1030 UT del 30 Settembre. La penultima era stata effettuata su 11970 kHz alle 0530 UT. La QSL non è firmata; e riporta un laconico "TANTI SALUTI" che suona un po di presa per i fondelli (Dario Monferini, Italy, Oct 15, playdx yg via DXLD) 11705, via Sackville Canada, NHK World R. Japan, 1400-1430, 10/9/07. News and "What's Up, Japan". I was originally somewhat distraught at the reduction from 2 hours in the early morning slot to the half-hour repeats, but so far they are doing a reasonably good job of distilling things, considering. Better than cancelling altogether, and the J-Pop that filled much of the 2-hour shows was pleasant but expendable if something had to go. They are including traditional music breaks in the short program (Bill Tilford, Chicago, IL, Sat 800, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** JAPAN. Rechecked UT Oct 16, The R. Japan On Air Guide page http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/onairradio_e.html is still FUBAR. The times for the three remaining English programs on NHK Warido have been changed so none of them show any longer in the second half of hours when there is no more English, but except for the weekday show, What`s Up Japan, which has correct times but BTW still shows last week`s topix, they are still wrong when converted to UT, and wrong in the originally shown JST: ``World Interactive Sat. 14:10 - 15:00 (repeat)19:10, [Sun.]2:10, 9:10, 12:10, 20:10, [Mon.]0:10, 10:10`` Subtract 9 hours from most of the repeats and you will get times when there are no English broadcasts at all. And differently for: ``Pop Up Japan Sun. 14:10-14:30 (repeat) 18:10, 21:10, 22:10, 23:10, Mon. 7:20, 9:20`` That includes some times when there really is English. PUJ is shown from Sunday into UT Monday, while WI is shown as Sat, also into UT Mon, rather than just into UT Sun, as would make sense. We have assumed that WI is probably on all the UT Sat broadcasts from 0510 thru 0020 UT Sun, and then PUJ at the same real times UT Sun-Mon but has anyone confirmed this by monitoring? What are we to make of Mon 7:20 and 9:20 JST, which converts to UT Sun 2220 and Mon 0020, the time these truncated broadcasts are supposed to end? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. U.S.-FINANCED RADIO STATIONS TRY TO REACH LISTENERS IN NORTH KOREA By TIM JOHNSON, McClatchy Newspapers, Posted on Sun, Oct. 07, 2007 Young Howard (from left), Han Kwang-hee and Kim Soyoung are part of Open Radio for North Korea, one of three stations that beam programming to the North. [caption] SEOUL, South Korea | In isolated North Korea, the only legal transistor radios have dials permanently set to government stations. But smugglers and itinerant traders bring an increasing number of radios into North Korea, according to anecdotal reports, and that is gratifying news for three tiny broadcasters that beam information north of the border. Each night, the three U.S.-financed radio stations crackle onto the air, trying to reach North Koreans who are brave — or reckless — enough to tune into foreign newscasts in defiance of the North’s Stalinist regime. “Greetings from the voice of hope,” began one recent newscast from Open Radio for North Korea. “We are trying to reach you to provide you with information.” The three Seoul-based broadcasters — Open Radio for North Korea, Free North Korea Radio and Radio Free Chosun — each receive about $200,000 annually from the National Endowment for Democracy, a nonprofit body financed by Congress to promote democracy worldwide. The broadcasters have different styles and offer different programming. North Korean defectors operate Free North Korea Radio, which takes a combative line against the Kim Jong Il regime. Radio Free Chosun broadcasts educational and news programs, and Open Radio for North Korea offers discussions about democracy and civic affairs. . . http://www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/307599.html (Kansas City Star via J. E. Lewis, MO, DXLD) ** KURDISTAN. 3951.04v, R Voice of Kurdistan, No. Iraq, 0325-0340, Oct 07, Kurdish talk mentioning Iran and Iraq, jammed; jumped to 3923.04, then to 3905.04 and then 3930.04, all followed by the Iranian jammers a few seconds later, 43433. 4670, UNID, *0358-0407, Sep 24, 26 and 27, Oct 02, 03, 04 and 07, military music (anthem?), 0400 song, ID "radio de la ... Kurdistan" and then Turkic folksongs, talks unID language, jammed. nothing heard on Sep 25, 22242 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DSWCI DX Window Oct 17 via DXLD) I am quite sure it is the Voice of Free Kurdistan which this spring was heard at 0245v-0430 and 1630-1830v in Sorani Kurdish on 4670-4675. But not heard in Denmark 0250-0355 on Oct 17. Only Airlines in USB on 4675 (Anker Petersen, ed., ibid.) ** KURDISTAN. IRAQ/IRAN, Voice of Iranian Kurdistan noted from Oct 5th at new times with s/on: 0225 and from 1325 UT on vary 3935 and 4860 kHz (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, wwdxc BC-DX Oct 17 vi DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. MOLDAVIA, 11530, Dengue Mezopotamya, 1550-1555, escuchada el 19 de octubre en kurdo con emisión de música folklórica local, SINPO 33433. 73 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Radio Master A-108, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) With K-index up and Solh 17700 not propagating today, I also checked 11530 around 1420 and DM was poorly audible. Hope it improves (gh) Solar-terrestrial indices for 18 October follow. Solar flux 68 and mid-latitude A-index 11. The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 19 October was 4 (56 nT). No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are expected for the next 24 hours (SWPC via DXLD) ** LIBYA. Winter B-07 of LJBC Voice of Africa: Swahili 1200-1400 on 17725 SAB 500 kW / 180 deg to CeAf 21695 SAB 500 kW / 130 deg to EaAf English 1400-1600 on 17725 SAB 500 kW / 180 deg to CeAf 21695 SAB 500 kW / 130 deg to EaAf French 1600-1700 on 15660 SAB 500 kW / 230 deg to NoAf 17725 SAB 500 kW / 180 deg to CeAf 1700-1800 on 11965 SAB 500 kW / 230 deg to NoAf 15215 SAB 500 kW / 180 deg to CeAf Hausa 1800-1900 on 11965 SAB 500 kW / 230 deg to NoAf 15215 SAB 500 kW / 180 deg to CeAf 1900-2000 on 11860 SAB 500 kW / 180 deg to CeAf 11965 SAB 500 kW / 230 deg to NoAf SAB=Sabrata, Libya 32N47 012E29 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Oct 15 via DXLD) ** MICRONESIA. Re 7-125, >> Note: In Middle Europe only something for men listening to the real grass shooting (Walter Eibl, Oct WWDXC DX Magazine via DXLD) Huhh?? << That's German saying. Some people hear the grass growing, sie hören das Gras wachsen. "Shooting" (schießen) is indeed used in conjunction with plants as well, denoting a rapid growth, especially of vegetables were it can severely compromise their quality (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Uh, huh (gh, DXLD) ** MYANMAR. 5770: Last recorded Tropical Bands Monitor logging was in May 2007 (Ed. Anker Petsersen, DSWCI DX Window Oct 17 via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. To RN English-language staff: If I interpret your on-air announcement about the schedule changes coming up at the end of October correctly, you are saying that you are eliminating the 0400/0500 UT regular-AM transmission to North America and replacing it with a DRM transmission. DON'T DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is fine if you *supplement* your AM transmissions with DRM ones, for the twelve people in the country that receive DRM; go ahead and experiment with that. But don't hurt your long-time listening audience who have real SW radios by removing the transmissions we can hear. We need that late-evening analog RN transmission for the audience in the Western time zones of North America and for the audience that is not able to hear the 0000 and 0100 UT transmissions, which are in the early part of the evening here at a time when many other activities may prevent listening to you. We need the later transmission as a final chance to catch your broadcasts each day. Also, you need to adopt the principle that later-local-night in your target zones is really the best SW listening time. Far too many broadcasters seem to think that early evening is when people want to listen -- but that time is when there are tons of distractions or commitments that preclude settling down with an SW radio. Only after the activities are done, when you are back home after evenings out or when family interactions have subsided, can people devote the attention your broadcasts' contents deserve. Please reconsider this change. Just perpetuate your current 6165 kHz transmission, now at 0400 UT, shifting it to 0500. Let the DRM you announced on 6130 kHz proceed (though it would be better to shift it up to the edge of the band at above 6200 kHz so the DRM noise doesn't wipe out other station's signals). (William Martin, Saint Louis, Missouri, cc to dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I haven`t heard the announcement, but tentative schedule shows at 0500-0557 both 6125-6130-6135 DRM and 6165 analog from Bonaire in English for B-07 (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) This is great news to me! I hope that is what happens. As to my e- mail, I *was* going by the announcement, which specifically addresses the 0000 & 0100 UT transmissions changing to 6165 and ONLY addresses the later time of 0500 in regard to the addition of the DRM on 6130. They do NOT say "the current 0400 UT 6165 kHz transmission will move to 0500 UT". That's why I worded my letter to them as "if I am interpreting your announcement correctly". I hope (obviously) that they do not drop the analog 0400/0500 UT but they DID neglect to mention it -- what is a listener to think? The rest of the announcement addresses the 1100 UT on 11675 moving to 1200 UT and the mid-day weekend analog and DRM transmissions. Give the thing a listen – It's in every transmission between the end of "Newsline" and the start of that day's feature. By the way, yet another annoyance: With the WBCQ change of WoR away from its traditional Wednesday slot to Thursday, and with RN's change of "Research File" from its traditional Monday to Thursday this past season, if Research File stays on Thursday, and WBCQ shifts as expected with the time change, now the prime WoR transmission will be on opposite the other most-important-to-listen-to-each-week program on SW, Research File! Am I not right in thinking this? 73, (Will Martin, MO, Oct 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) i.e. 0030 UT Friday. Well, RN should repeat that an hour later, among many other times, and WOR also has many other times. I think it`s safe to say that neither station would possibly have taken such a conflict into consideration (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Indeed so [0500 will be both analog and DRM]. BTW programme distribution has nothing whatsoever to do with the English department. We have a separate department for that. To avoid any other false alarms, until I get the simplified version of our new schedule online, you can avail yourself of the one at http://pdis.rnw.nl/werkman/amschedule.php which is personally maintained by our frequency manager Jan Peter Werkman. The DRM schedule is separately listed at http://pdis.rnw.nl/werkman/drmschedule.php (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) More from the report by David de Jong about RNW no longer using Flevo/ Zeewolde http://dutchmedia.nl/blog/?p=1245 --- They agreed with KPN Broadcast an option to use the site again at a later point. No shortwave transmissions between 1 PM and 5 PM CET [1200-1600 UT winter] anymore because less listening takes place during these hours; resources will be used to strengthen transmissions during peak hours instead. RNW is not afraid of its transmissions via Russian facilities being interrupted by possible onwelgevallig transmissions (???); they think this is unlikely and if it happens other facilities could be used instead. The new transmission on 1296, daily 10 AM to noon, contains a programme called Onderweg ("On the way") which is aiming at truckers, i.e. not just the mediumwave frequency but also the programming is determined for this special audience. France is mentioned as site for RNW transmissions in B07 as well. Aerial images: Does any shortwave broadcaster have transmitters as close to its studios as RNW? The Flevo station is located just 20 km northeast of Hilversum. Actually these are two stations. The shortwave facilities are 6 km northwest of Zeewolde, it appears that there are two HQ antennas (maybe one for 6/7 MHz, in use for 5955, and the other for 9/11 MHz, unused at present) and some curtains (maybe 4/4, often used only with some of the dipoles for steeper and broader radiation): http://maps.google.de/?ie=UTF8&ll=52.361436,5.456085&spn=0.009684,0.020084&t=h&z=16&om=1 The 747/1008 mediumwave site is 2.5 km northwest of the shortwave facilities. Two masts in a diplexing configuration, originally two S4006 transmitters, allegedly for 1008 now replaced by a TRAM unit while 747 could still be the original tube transmitter. http://maps.google.de/?ie=UTF8&ll=52.374774,5.417&spn=0.00484,0.010042&t=h&z=17&om=1 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello from Hilversum, The winter transmission period starts on 28 October, and we're working on a new version of of our technical transmission schedule, which I hope will be online early next week. In the meantime, through information obtained via other sources a number of people have enquired about this schedule, as we shall be using a variety of transmitter sites outside the Netherlands instead of Flevo. This is a business decision following a process of competitive tendering via sealed bids from different transmission service providers as required under European law. Flevo is now commercially owned, and a bid was submitted, but after considering the various bids it was decided not to use Flevo in the coming season. But that doesn't mean that we have ruled out using Flevo again in the future. Because the bids were confidential, Radio Netherlands Worldwide will not be making any further public statements on the matter. There's a buzz of excitement around the building as we've learned today that HRH Princess Máxima will be the guest of honour at our gala evening in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw on 29 November. 1500 people, including many of the staff of Radio Netherlands (including me), their close relatives and invited guests will be present for an evening of international music and entertainment under the title "'RNW60! Hear the World' to mark the close of our 60th anniversary year. The event will be recorded, and shown on national TV here on 23 December (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter Oct 18 via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Estimada audiencia de Radio Enlace: Queremos agradecerles de todo corazón toda esa avalancha de mensajes de apoyo y admiración que han llegado a nosotros por diversas vías. Ese ha sido un regalo inesperado. Estamos seguros que todos estos años han servido para lograr con ustedes un lazo de amistad indestructible que hace que Radio Nederland siga siendo su emisora internacional favorita. Jaime, Director Artístico del departamento Latinoamericano de nuestra emisora, seguirá presente todos los días en innumerables anuncios de nuestra estación y semanalmente con ustedes con el programa "Cartas @ RN", donde seguirá sorprendiendo a la audiencia con visitas sorpresa a sus hogares y con llamadas telefónicas en el momento más inesperado. Alfonso, continuará semanalmente con La Fonoteca, Noticias de Holanda y una vez al mes con el "Europarade", programa que no sólo ha ganado una medalla de oro en el New York Festivals y un micrófono de Oro en Holanda, sino que también ha ganado la admiración de miles de ustedes. Alfonso también estará semanalmente en el nuevo programa de 45 minutos de duración "Estudio Abierto", que tiene una presentación mensual en vivo de diferentes artistas. Radio Enlace ha seleccionado entre todo ese vastísimo número de oyentes a Carlos Tobar, de Santiago de Chile, para que despida el programa en nombre de todos ustedes. Carlos Tobar Mellado ha escuchado Radio Nederland desde los años 70 y ha sido uno de los más fieles oyentes de Radio Enlace en todos estos años. No fue nada fácil seleccionar a uno de ustedes ya que hubiésemos queridos tenerlos a todos juntos con nosotros. Pero las cosas entre más sencillas mejor, así que con una sencilla entrevista despedimos el programa que enseñó el diexismo, la radioafición y el amor por la escucha de la onda corta a dos generaciones de oyentes de nuestra querida Radio Nederland. Gracias a todos y a todas por todos estos años (Radio Enlace website about the Oct 19-21 program, via DXLD) Muy queridos amigos Alfonso y Jaime. Es una muy triste noticia no solo saber que Radio - Enlace llega a su fin, sino además constatarlo. Una radio mundial debe informar pero sobre todo educar, por ello pienso que nunca debe dar la espalda a sus propios contenidos, hoy, más que nunca, necesarios. El desarrollo de los medios de comunicación y su relación con los avances científicos, nunca fue un campo que avanzara con la efervescencia actual. La rápida extensión de Internet, la mejora de la escucha por medio de los sistemas DRM son temas complementarios y de trato diario a todo lo relacionado con la onda corta. Buena muestra de ello fue la inclusíón, junto a los boletines de Glenn Hauser y Gabriel Iván Barrera, de la sección de David Iurescia que une la radioáfición más clásica con las nuevas tecnologías. Por otro lado, la cooperación entre emisoras y la creación de programas como Juntos, con REE, supone un intercambio de información, un enriquecimiento mutuo y recíproco con los oyentes y un acceso a información clave. Radio Enlace no puede dejar de existir. Por ello expreso mediante este mensaje mi más enérgia protesta, pero parece que la decisión es irrevocable. En vista de ello, Radio - Enlace permanecerá en mi corazón y seguro, que en el de muchos de nuestros oyentes, porque su labor, me hizo crecer como aficionado y persona. Su información enseñó, creó escuela y generó conocimiento. ¿Acaso hay algo de que sentirse más orgullosos? Un fuente abrazo a todos (Justino Losada Gómez Getafe - Madrid - España, Oct 19, Radio Enlace blog via DXLD) see also UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ** NEW ZEALAND [and non]. Radio New Zealand International 9615 was coming strong and clear until 0700 when such amount of DRM contamination from DW 9620 Moosbrunn, obliged me to cancel it using sync detection on LSB on 9615. Well, got to tell you it worked! And I have been considering all this time the ICF7600GR has a second hand sync device. 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. LISTENERSHIP OF R. PAKISTAN FOREIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTS Hi Glenn! In continuation of (7-125). The review of listenership of the rest of foreign language broadcasts of Radio Pakistan External Services is as follows: Dari: Radio Pakistan external services broadcasts a 30 minute programme in Dari Language for listeners in Afghanistan on shortwave at 4835 kHz. Till 1999 Radio Pakistan Islamabad used to broadcast a 2 hour transmission on Medium Wave 585 kHz. Later on, the Dari language broadcast was bifurcated into shortwave and medium wave. The shortwave portion is still being broadcast from Islamabad, while the medium wave is being broadcast from Radio Pakistan Peshawar at 540 kHz from 1615 to 1700 UT. The medium wave broadcast has some listenership. The shortwave broadcast is facing transmitter problems. Gujrati: This broadcast is primarily aimed at Gujrati speaking communities of South Asian origin residing in East and South East Africa. This broadcast is also available for listeners of Radio Pakistan Karachi on medium wave. A few years back it had considerable listenership in East Africa but owing to transmitter problem it is losing listeners. Since this is simultaneously available on medium wave and shortwave it used to connect Gujrati speaking communities in Africa and Karachi. Hindi: The service is broadcast twice.The morning transmission can be heard often but the evening transmission is rarely heard. The transmitter is API-3 which is very problematic. The programme content is poor. Listenership has reduced to negligible because of irregular reception. Nepali: The service has been introduced around 1999. The programme is of 30 minute duration. The programme content is of below average standard. The service has been receiving some correspondence. Since the transmission is after sunset the API-3 is not that problematic. Pushto: The service was has been introduced for listeners in Afghanistan recently. No special content. Around 30 minutes of the total broadcast time of 45 minutes is consumed by Pushto music. In the presence of Radio Pakistan Peshawar Pushto broadcasts which are widely heard on medium wave, no special need was felt for this transmission. No particular listenership for this broadcast which also faces transmitter problems. Persian: A few years back when the transmitter problem was not that severe this broadcast had some lisrenership. Now with reduced time and frequencies any listen feedback is rarely received. Russian. This service had developed some listenership in Central Asia after its launch in 1999 (I do not recall the exact year). The presenters speak fluent Russian. But now due to transmitter problem the listenership is declining. Initially it was also available on medium wave from Radio Pakistan Islamabad. But on introduction of News and Current Affairs Channel in 2001, Russian service was discontinued on medium wave. Sinhali: This is also a recently started service. The 100 kW transmitter finds it difficult to send its signals to Sri Lanka clearly and the time is not suitable, i.e. 1015 UT. The transmission has not succeeded in developing any listenership. Tamil: The transmission is broadcast twice but the time is inappropriate. A few years back the service had listeners from Middle East and South India. Now just a formality. Turki: This language is really mindboggling and we do not understand the logic for continuation of this broadcast. There is no listenership of this broadcast in Afghanistan. The programme content is mainly the usual radio Pakistan fare, i.e. a brief bulletin, commentary and Pakistani music. I have not heard Turki music on this broadcast. Wonder whether any is available in Pakistan. Turkish: This broadcast is also a formality. No informative programmes. Just brief news and commentary and rest is Turkish and Pakistani music. No particular listenership noted. Now it`s time that Radio Pakistan may reduce the time of its World Service in Urdu for which 250 kW transmitter is used. The 250 kW may be used for some more external services on two frequencies; otherwise in the present conditions we do not feel that any regular listenership could be developed. Regards (Aslam Javaid, Lahore Pakistan, Oct 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 7325, Wantok R Light, Port Moresby, 0800-0910, Oct 11, English from 0830, Back to the Bible service at 0830-0900, ID at 0902, followed by ABC news, 45444 (Takao Miyajima, Yokohama-city, Japan, DSWCI DX Window Oct 17 via DXLD) ** PERU. 4655, RADIO CENTINELA DEL NORTE. Cortegana, 0050-0130 oct. 11. Programación religiosa. Luego de las 0100 con música peruana. "... la mejor programación, los mejores éxitos solo en Centinela del Norte..." escuchada luego de varias semanas. "...solo lo que a ti te gusta, solo lo que tú prefieres está en Radio Centinela del Norte..." 5024.8, RADIO QUILLABAMBA. Convención. 0158-0230 oct. 13. Presentando el programa: Tropicalizando la noche del Sábado. Música tropical y contactos con los oyentes a través del tel. 281002. "...aquí en Radio Quillabamba FM, onda media y onda corta, 3 frecuencias trabajando simultáneamente..." Mejor en LSB durante las últimas semanas mejorando señal; por momentos cubre Radio Rebelde. 5460.4, RADIO BOLIVAR. Bolívar. 0105-0120 oct. 12. Música pop en español. "...acompáñate con Radio Bolívar y siente la diferencia, sintonízanos por los 1240 AM y 54-60 onda corta, Radio Bolívar..." Servicios de mensajes a través de la central telefónica de Radio Bolívar. 5602.5, RADIO LV DE LOS ANDES. El Higuerón. 2358-0020 oct. 13. Al parecer solo está operando en OC los fines de semana. enviando saludos a los "amigos colegas" de Radio LV del Rondero (6535.6 activa) y Radio LV de las Huarinjas (6819.6 inactiva) música folclórica. "...continúa en la sintonía de La Voz de los Andes, desde el Higuerón para Perú, América y el mundo..." 5939.3, RADIO MELODIA. Arequipa. 0205-0215 oct. 11. Anunciando la celebración de las Bodas de Coral. (35 aniversario) . "...desde la volcánica tierra del misti, tierra del montonero y la picota, transmite Radio Melodía..." Luego con el programa: Melodía en los deportes (Rafael Rodríguez, Bogotá, Colombia, Oct 18, WINRADIO G303I, SONY ICF 2010, JRC NRD-525, Hilos largos con diferentes longitudes, playdx yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Re 7-125: 7300 transmitter problem --- This frequency flutter problem on 7300 has been there for years. It follows the transmitter to 5900 during the winter (Olle Alm, Sweden, Oct 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15660 nominal, another spurious pair today Oct 19th at 1200-1300 UT. VOR Vietnamese program. Peaks on 15037 and 16285 kHz. Spur ranges 15031-15038, and 16278-16293 kHz. As usual on three rxs like Eton E1, AOR AR7030, and some SONY ICF 2001/2010. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** SAINT HELENA. A number of members have asked me about Radio St. Helena QSLs for 2006 transmission. Many sent reports but never heard from the station although a number of replies have been reported. I spoke to Robert Kipp who helps organize the transmission. He mentioned that "To my knowledge, ALL QSL's for 2006 have LONG since been posted. I do not know any details about how many were sent to USA or to whom. It would be interesting to learn the email-address to which the emails from USA were sent and to which no reply was received. It would also help to have a list of the persons still waiting for their QSL. Do you have any names of persons that have received their QSL card(s)?" Robert believes that "it is possible that a package of QSLs never made it past South Africa; unfortunately, some mail via South Africa just disappears." In behalf of the club, I am willing to coordinate the development of a list of all those North American shortwave listeners that sent reports to Radio St. Helena but have not yet received a QSL by return post. Please get your name to me as soon as possible. I am targeting November 23rd to get a comprehensive list to Robert Kipp on behalf of North American shortwave listeners. Send your information to Rich D'Angelo, 2216 Burkey Drive, Wyomissing, PA 19610 or by e-mail: rdangelo3 @ aol.com (please indicate Radio St. Helena QSL as the subject). (Rich D'Angelo, NASWA Flashsheet Oct 14, via DXLD) I see on the cover of Oct NZ DX Times, the 2006 QSL from R. St. Helena shows callsign ZD7PU --- an earlier one had ZD7RSD, IIRC. Where do these ham-like callsigns come from, and why do they differ for this single non-amateur service? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. Winter B-07 of Radio Taiwan International via TDF: 1400-1500 on 15430 ISS 500 kW / 060 deg to EaEu Russian 1600-1700 on 9785 ISS 500 kW / 085 deg to SoAs English till Mar. 1 1600-1700 on 11995 ISS 500 kW / 085 deg to SoAs English from Mar. 2 1700-1800 on 6120 ISS 500 kW / 055 deg to EaEu Russian till Mar. 1 1700-1800 on 7135 ISS 500 kW / 055 deg to EaEu Russian from Mar. 2 (7315*) 1700-1800 on 11850 ISS 500 kW / 160 deg to SoAf English 1800-1900 on 3965 ISS 250 kW / 345 deg to WeEu English 1900-2000 on 9365 ISS 500 kW / 190 deg to NoAf French till Mar. 1 1900-2000 on 11615 ISS 500 kW / 190 deg to NoAf French from Mar. 2 (11670*) 2000-2100 on 3965 ISS 500 kW / 215 deg to SoEu Spanish 2100-2200 on 3965 ISS 250 kW / 050 deg to WeEu German 2200-2300 on 3965 ISS 250 kW / 345 deg to WeEu Chinese *alternative frequency (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Oct 15 via DXLD) ** U K. Re 7-124, BBCWS on XM: That's a reasonably fair characterization, Joe. The existence of play-by-play football is what keeps Sportsworld -- the program you were listening to -- off the Internet feed. As we've documented here, there has been an overall shift away from comedy and entertainment on the BBC World Service as the Beeb has decided to focus its output on news and current affairs. That continuing shift has reduced the difference between the XM (Americas) and Sirius (PRI) streams. I believe -- as I have never spoken to PRI about this -- the PRI stream is mostly news at their request; they believe that the news orientation is what their public radio station clients are looking for. The PRI / Sirius stream does not include World Drama (the new name for Play Of The Week), and there is very limited airing of documentaries. I believe only one hour of Sportsworld makes it to the PRI / Sirius stream. The best way to see the side-by-comparison of the two program streams is to look at Kevin Kelly's listings at the Public Radio Fan website. The XM (Americas) stream is here: http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/station.pl?stationid=2 The Sirius (PRI) stream is here: http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/station.pl?stationid=3939 I invite enthusiasts having more free time than I to do the side-by- side comparisons (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. DUMBING DOWN BRAIN OF BRITAIN Hi listers, at the beginning of this series, a list member commented that the questions seemed to have become easier. My gut reaction was to agree, but as only one or two episodes had been broadcast, I thought I would wait for more evidence. I now certainly do agree. My average, before this series was from 10 to 13 correct answers. During this one, I've never got less than 15, and Today, I've scored 17 and we're only just over half way through the program. This includes six in a row, which I've never achieved before. I'd be interested in other opinions. Cheers (Geoff Long, UK, Oct 15, uk-radio-listeners yg via Rich Cuff, swprograms via DXLD) FYI for those interested -- "Brain of Britain" still airs on BBC Radio 4; the program is webcast live, and the most recent edition can be sampled on demand -- see http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/brainofbritain.shtml (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.) ** U S A. R. Martí was again very strong on 7405 // 11845, Oct 19 at 1357 and at this early hour I again think both are Delano instead of scheduled Greenville --- and both again with audio dropouts. However, after 2000, 13820 had OK audio for a change (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. New programs on WRMI; time change for WOR to Sunday 1515 on 7385: see CUBA [non] and VENEZUELA [non] ** U S A. Someday I'll actually get around to putting up the pictures I took during my 2005 tour of the WWV/WWVB site! There are really two sites there - as you drive through the gate off County Road 1, WWVB is off to the left (west) and WWV way over to the right (east). Each station has separate office/transmitter facilities. WWVB's sits between its two antennas. Each one is made up of a tall tower in the center, four short towers on the perimeter and a curtain of wires connecting them. The north antenna was originally WWVL on 20 kHz, and was later repurposed as a second WWVB antenna, allowing the station to double its power. It's about a 5 minute drive over to WWV, which has a transmitter building with a "U"-shaped corridor of transmitters (a main and a backup for each frequency) and an arc of short towers, one for each frequency and a couple of broadband antennas that can be used for auxiliary purposes for any of the frequencies. It's a very neat place! s (Scott Fybush, NY, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. 6370, WWRB, Manchester, TN, 0010+, Oct 19, Very weak second harmonic of 3185. 2 x 3185. English preacher. This is probably Scott Barbour's unidentified station back on Sept 30 in DXLD 7-119 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Family Stations, Inc. Shortwave Schedule aired from Taiwan, 28 October 2007-30 March 2008 LANGUAGE TIME (UTC) FREQ (kHz) TARGET Burmese 1200-1300 11560 Burma English 0100-0200 15195 India 0900-1100 9465 Philippines 1300-1400 11520 Indonesia 1300-1500 11560 India 1500-1600 6280 India Hindi 0000-0100 15195 India 1500-1600 11560 India 1600-1700 6280 India Indonesian 1100-1200 11550 Indonesia 1200-1300 11520 Indonesia Korean 0800-0900 11895 Korea Mand/Cant 1100-1600 7250 ChinaMand/Cant 1100-1600 9280 ChinaMand/Cant 2100-0000 9280 ChinaMandarin 2100-2200 7435 ChinaMand/Cant 2200-0000 7235 China Russian 1500-1700 9955 Eu/CIS Tagalog 1100-1200 11520 Philippines Vietnamese 1200-1300 7445 Viet Nam 1400-1500 9585 Viet Nam (Evelyn Marcy, WYFR Okeechobee, Oct 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. SOME FACTS AND FIGURES ON REQUIRED ADDITIONAL SPECTRUM FOR BROADCASTERS 4 – 10 MHZ In response to our earlier report quoting the US ambassador to the World Radiocommunication Conference, we have received the following response from Jan Verduijn, CEPT coordinator and European spokesman on Agenda Item 1.13: “In a press release Mr Richard Russell, the US Ambassador to the forthcoming World Radio Conference, states that the shortwave broadcasters will lose the battle with the military users for their extra broadcasting requirements in the band 4 – 10 MHz. However, the arguments used by Mr Russell are very wrong and misleading. . . http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/some-facts-and-figures-on-required-additional-spectrum-for-broadcasters-4-%e2%80%93-10-mhz (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** U S A. First DX test of season is a GO --- A check with Wayne Miller, Chief Engineer at WIRL-1290 in Peoria, IL, indicates we are right on track for the first DX Test of the 2007-2008 season. “We are all set; I am programming the CW IDs and announcements in as I write this. I am interested to see who hears us,” he wrote in an e- mail. Here are the details of this weekend’s test: WIRL-1290 Peoria, IL DX Test Date: Sunday morning (late Saturday night), Oct. 21, 2007. Time: 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM Central Time (0700-0900 UT). Modes of Operation: 5,000 watts using normal daytime pattern. Programming: Programming will consist of voice IDs, Morse code, 1,000 Hz tones and regular format Classic Country music. For more information, please click on these links: http://www.dxtests.info/2007/08/wirl-1290-peoria-il-dx-test.html http://www.dxtests.info/podcasts/BTC_Podcast_1.mp3 And please let me know the results you have regarding reception of the test. 73s, (Jim Pogue, IRCA/NRC Joint Broadcast Test Committee Coordinator, KH2AR @ comcast.net Oct 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re: ``Is 1450 KHIT not Spanish? NRC AM Log shows it as ``SS:SPT ESPN``, and yes, SS does mean Spanish, but this would seem to be self-contradictory, unless ESPN has a Spanish sports network, and/or it`s part-time Spanish, which seems unlikely. 73, Glenn`` According to Wikipedia, "KHIT is a Spanish language sports radio station serving the Reno, Nevada area as an ESPN Deportes affiliate. This station broadcasts on AM frequency 1450 kHz and is under ownership of Lotus Communications Corporation". The other day I heard English country western music and then this morning I heard Spanish sports. I really don't know for sure. I know sathe Chief Engineer, Mike Weaver for this station group, here in Reno. Do you wish me to ask him? It would not be much of a problem. I have been meaning to call him anyway to see how he is doing. We were both Chief Engineers here in Reno until I got out of broadcast a couple of years ago. 73's, (Art Hernández, Reno NV, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I think you have answered the question, tnx (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. 1700 kHz, 09/10 0530-0536, presumed reactivated WJCC, Miami Springs, with relay another station in English "all night all day we do doubleyouviii" ????? taped ID, but not ID, hi!!!! Poor/suff boc10 (Dario Monferini & Giampiero Bernardini, boc-10 report DX- nights, Bocca di Magra (La Spezia), Italy, AOR 7030, RF Space SDR-14, Ciao Radio H101, Palstar MW 550-P, (2) Degen 1103 (filters 80 + 110 kHz), ATS 909 with pi code f. arpino. Ant.: Wellbrook LFL 1010 (outdoor), DX Clube Paraná yg via DXLD) ** U S A. WMCU Miami FL (Miami Christian University) 89.7 and its translator in West Palm Beach FL seem to be off. It appears the station is off and asking (via web site) to write FCC (Ken Simon, FL, Oct 16, WTFDA via DXLD) That`s the one being sold to MPR, over objexions of local ichthians (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. A PRIVATIZED FCC IS NOT SO FAR FETCHED CGC #810 quoted a letter stating: "As our government continues to be dismantled, I wonder how long it will be until the FCC is privatized." I have never hidden the fact that I joined the FCC 40 years ago and retired from it 12 years ago. In the last 20 years, the following FCC functions have been privatized: o Amateur and commercial radio operator examinations. o Frequency coordination in almost all land mobile services. o Interference investigation and resolution in almost all services. o Compliance inspection of broadcast stations. o Technical standards formulation. o Certification of equipment technical compliance. Don't look - we're almost there (Phil Kane, CGC Communicator Oct 15, via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Glenn: Here's another last-minute new program beginning tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 20) -- this one in Spanish. (Jeff White, WRMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Acontecer Venezolano --- Productor: José Torrellas E-mail: acontecervenezolano @ gmail.com ACONTECER VENEZOLANO: Programa de opinión, Actual, versátil. conducido y producido por JOSE TORRELLAS quien con sus diálogos busca de una manera personal, dinámica y objetiva informar en temas de interés político, económico, deportivo, etc. con lo que esté aconteciendo en el país. A través de este programa conozca más sobre Venezuela -- una linda patria con deseos de continuar en LIBERTAD y DEMOCRACIA, como debe ser! Horario: Sábado 9:45 p.m. hora de Miami (0145 UT domingo) en 9955 kHz, banda 31 metros. Duración de programa: 15 minutos (via White, ibid.) ** VIETNAM. 5975, Voice of Vietnam, Son Tai, *2259-2350, Oct 04 and 05, new sign on time (ex *2200), Vietnamese time announcement, 2300 ID by man and woman, instrumental national anthem, news with short music bridges, political reports with mention of Myanmar and other Asian countries, 45433, no parallels heard (Roland Schulze, Stuttgart, Germany, DSWCI DX Window Oct 17 via DXLD) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS US. WDHP 1620 is a tropical breath of fresh air. Last winter, evening grey line was almost a sure thing daily in coastal Georgia before the terminator waked up WNRP Gulf Breeze on the Panhandle and the Aggies on WTAW. One of the highlights of my DXing career was last winter on a Sunday hearing a live steel band on WDHP playing America the Beautiful. Hearing one of its weather reports in the dead of winter can almost take the chill out of the local air. 73 (Gil NN4CW Stacy, IRCA via DXLD) WRRA is their station on 1290 (a 500 Watter) which is what WDHP 1620 grew from. Their two AMs and one FM seem to simulcast some of the time. Their website: http://www.reefbroadcasting.com (PAUL Walker, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. Would you believe I am hearing voices on 530 kc, but the only stations shown on that frequency are Canadian stations? I doubt I could copy those station so far, at this time of day (1515 local) -- wonder what I'm hearing??? (Earl KD5XB Needham, Clovis, New Mexico DM84jk, mwdx yg via DXLD) On 530, if it`s the voice of Ricardo Montalban, it`s one of the New Mexico TIS (travellers info service) stations extolling local tourist spots. These used to be all over the state (maybe one for Blackwater Draw?), but have been allowed to deteriorate and there may be few if any left active. Aside from those, 530 is used for TIS and Highway Advisory Radio all over the country, low power, of course. At night on 530 you will likely get Turks & Caicos or Cuba or maybe Radio Marti airborne over the Keys. There is no substitute for a definite ID, so I suggest you use online or any other station list references as a guide only, lest you make incorrect assumptions. 73, (Glenn Hauser, OK, ibid.) Roger that! Thanks for the info. Right now it's a woman's voice. She's speaking fast, like news announcers do, but she repeatedly says something that sounds like "state flag", so I suspect it's one of the TIS units. Fairly weak just now, but if I turn the preamp on I get several at once and have difficulty hearing any ONE of them. I can hear the female voice on LSB but not USB, not using DSP or the narrow filter. Either one makes her intelligibility worse. 73 (KD5XB -- Earl Needham, NM, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. I am hearing something on 1610 from southeast Florida, with beam to the west-west-northwest/east-east-SE. Was hearing SS or PP music (light salsa). I thought maybe the Caribbean Beacon, but no // on 6090 SW. Now it's some kind of wild traditional-Cuban-style music. Any clues here? Maybe a local irate pirate? BTW it is 0230 UT Monday 15 Oct 2007. Sincerely (Christopher Dunne, dxing.info via DXLD) Anguilla 1610 does not run // 6090 all the time, or at all? (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Tried again for reported R. República on 5954v, 24 hours later, Oct 19 at 2345. Tried to get a good frequency reading on the DX-398 in the yard, but barely enough signal, especially with WYFR 5950. Did not find anything above 5954 this time, but something closer to 5953. By 2355 I decided it was about 5952.55, which makes it more likely the Bolivian. No audio to help with ID this time; I have never heard a R. República ID myself tho two others report it. It`s hard to see how this tiny signal would have any effect in Cuba right next to WYFR (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 14130, 7-125: 2 x 7170 = 14130 kHz ???? (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, DX LISTENING DIGEST). Oops; if the harmonic was really on 14130, the fundamental would be 7165; at that hour, 1400, could be VOR Vladivostok in English beamed due west. Was it in English? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ No puedo creerlo, simplemente no puedo creerlo. Cuando comencé a escuchar Radio Nederland, hace ya casi 20 años me volví especialmente oyente de Radio Enlace. Aún tengo algunos programas grabados de aquella época. Por esos años mencionó un directivo de RNW que "la onda corta estaba desapareciendo, pero que RNW sería la úlima estación en dejar la onda corta". Eso nos daba tranquilidad a los que somos fanáticos de la onda corta, y pensé que el fin de Radio Enlace llegaría junto con el de RNW. Alfonso, Jorge, muchas, muchas gracias por los gratos momentos que pasamos en su compañía, Gabriel Iván Barrera, Jeff White, nuestro querido Glenn Houser [sic]. Muchas gracias, y aún no lo puedo creer; espero que pronto los directivos de RNW se den cuenta de este GRAN ERROR que dañará irreversiblemente la escucha de nuestra querida Radio Nederland. Un triste, pero caluroso abrazo desde México (Luis Lara, 05-10-2007 - México, Radio Enlace blog via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ TESTING A PROGRAM TO MANAGE EIBI SCHEDULE Some easy tips testing new Andrea Russo's (Italian DXer) software to manage Eibi schedule lists. I find it really useful and easy to use. http://www.andrearusso.it/RadioSchedule/RadioSchedule.html (Giampiero Bernardini, Milano, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ II How lucky some of us are to have grown up speaking English. Getting it just right as a second language is a big challenge. I was reminded of this when I heard a Radio Tirana announcer mention ``World War the Second``. Hmmm, How come for Elizabeth II we say ``Elizabeth the Second`` while for World War II we say ``World War Two``, and never vice versa, except perhaps in jest re The Queen (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ TIME-TELLING WOMEN Here are priceless photographs of various women reading the time of day for telephone customers. The "time lady" was live in the 20s before time-of-day recording machines were invented. A few distinctive voices eventually emerged -- the fourth and final picture in this series shows Joanne Daniels who became the voice Californians heard when they called for the time (CGC Communicator Oct 15 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) time by phone now abolished in CA (gh, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ 'WORLD'S SMALLEST RADIO' UNVEILED The world's tiniest radio is a step closer to reality. US scientists have unveiled a detector thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair that can translate radio waves into sound. According to a University of California team, the study marks the first time that a nano-sized detector has been demonstrated in a working radio system. Made of carbon nanotubes a few atoms across, it is almost 1,000 times smaller than current radio technology. Peter Burke and Chris Rutherglen incorporated the microscopic detector into a complete radio system. More at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7050477.stm That's really great. But the question is: does this radio have a SW band? And if so, is it DRM-ready? :) (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, Oct 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING RADIO By Ker Than, LiveScience Staff Writer LiveScience.com October 18, http://news.yahoo.com:80/s/livescience/20071018/sc_livescience/theincredibleshrinkingradio A new wireless radio receiver thousands of time slimmer than a human hair could lead to radios far smaller than those of today. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, created a carbon nanotube "demodulator" that can translate AM radio waves into sound waves. In a recent demonstration, the researchers used it to transmit classical music wirelessly from an iPod to a speaker several feet away. Carbon nanotubes are man-made microscopic mesh rods composed entirely of carbon atoms. Their incredible strength and other unique properties have led scientists to investigate them for use in everything from nano-electronics and space elevators to scaffolds for growing customized bone. A demodulator converts an AM radio signals into electrical signals that can be fed into a speaker to produce sounds. The new device is about 100 times smaller than similar technology used in commercial wireless radio receivers, said study team member Peter Burke. The device marks an important step in the evolution of nano- electronics and could lead to the production of the world's smallest radio, the scientists say. The researchers are also investigating other possible uses of their device. "We are currently researching what the advantages would be for such a small component," Burke told LiveScience. "The significance of the work here is that it shows a systems application of nanotubes." The device, created by Burke and graduate student Chris Rutherglen, will be detailed in the Nov. 14 issue of Nano Letters, a publication of the American Chemical Society (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Interesting read. No doubt the buckyball resistor will be tested by placing it in the collector leg of a 1 transistor amplifier, and proclaiming it to be the world's smallest amplifier. That`s // to the logic of the diode article; the radio does not work without a diode [the amplifier does not work without a collector resistor], but the diode [collector resistor] alone does not make a radio [amplifier] ! Wonderful reporting as usual by the 21st Century media (Paul Shaffer, Cheshire, CT, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) NEW TIVOLI INTERNET RADIOS DELAYED This notice was posted today, 16 October 2007, on the Tivoli Audio web site http://www.tivoliaudio.com "NetWorks and NetWorksGo Announcement Internet Radios, initially scheduled for release late in 2007 are now scheduled to be available early 2008. If you want to be notified when shipments arrive, please call 866-848-6544 or email networks @ tivoliaudio.com Thank you!" (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: ITALY; NETHERLANDS; NEW ZEALAND; ++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM PÁGINA COM INFORMAÇÃO SOBRE RÁDIO DIGITAL? Olá pessoal, Encontrei o site http://www.arlindojunior.com.br/radio_digital.htm que na minha opinião muito bom e completo, pois explica detalhadamente sobre rádio digital. Tem inclusive um link que ingressa em um simulador de HD Radio. 73 (Antonio Schuler, DX Clube PR yg via DXLD) NEW ANTI-HD RADIO SITE... http://www.stopiboc.com/ (via R. Smith, DXLD) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ THE SINKING OF RADIO CACIQUE It was 3:30 AM when I staggered out of the bed to a cold house. I turned up the heater control in the hallway as I made way to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Finally the aroma of the coffee popped open my eyes enough make my way to the radio room that was once a bed room. I had won it the conquest of 2005 when the last one of the kids moved out. I was wondering if I was going to get some good DX this morning with these cold temperatures as I opened the door. Flipping the many knobs and switches to the growing jungle of gadgets and radios piled high on the desk and watching all the lights, leds and digital displays come to life. And finally back to the kitchen to pour that great smelling cup of coffee before settling down in the captain’s chair in front of the dazzle of the radio displays. Ready for some high sea adventure I flipped the antenna switch to the Marconi T antenna to quick scan the 120 meter Tropical band for traces of faint sounds to peer above the static and crackles coming from the speaker. The signal meter was showing a S1 to 2 levels, which meant calm seas and easy sailing. First stop on the adventure through the high seas of frequency numbers, WWVH out of Kauai, Hawaiian Islands on 2500 kHz came through. The young lady’s voice was strong and clear with a signal of S9+10 registering on the meter. Considering I was hearing in the background sound of a gentleman’s voice meant that WWV Fort Collins Colorado was coming in view of my spyglass also. Let’s see what else the tide and wind would bring in. Placing my finger into the recess of the dial and a quick twist ship’s rudder down to 2485 kHz. Yes, music from distant far away lands. It was the Australian Domestic Service from Katherine in the Northern Territory. About S 3-5 variable with good sounding audio. Another twist of the ship’s rudder but this time a bit slower. What’s this, a faint and barely audible signal on the near horizon, the compass dial showing 2395 kHz. The signal just at the noise floor was hard to make out. Quickly out of the Captain’s chair I dashed to the charts and maps from the bookshelf. Nothing showing in the WRTH and PASSPORT books. Hum, if nothing was showing up on this heading, I wonder who this could be? Deciding to set anchor, I peered for what seemed to a lifetime, not enough being heard to make out even a language. OK, I’ll put this into the ship’s log and maybe come back to investigate later. With the thrill of the hunt coming on strong, I weighed anchor and gave the rudder another slow turn. Another faint distant object came barely into view. 2370 kHz was the compass heading. Yes, it’s two ships bobbing in and out of sight, just at the horizon. One was diffidently my arch nemesis, the 50,000 watt man of war called the “KOH” (780 kHz) with it’s AM IBOC HD canons, who has beat me out of several bountiful treasures before. The other sounded like a Spanish galleon heavily laded with gold from somewhere around South America. A glance at the S meter indicated about S3-4 signals, just above the Sea State of S1-2 noise floor. Let me see if I can out maneuver this beast of the sea. I reached my hand out to the latest gadgets at my disposal, my secret weapon. Yes you guessed it, the “Tunable RF Notch Filter” which was written about by Don Moman in the War Chronicles of the IRCA A063 reprints, had been a recent addition to my arsenal. Cursed, it was already engaged, no help here. Now I’ll pull out my big guns – the four direction EWE antenna. The noise floor was too heavy about S5-7 on the S-meter and no signs of any signals on the South American heading. The man of war was out sailing me again and the seas were starting to get a bit choppy with heavy winds. My mind started to race, I just knew I had a chance to nab this booty if I knew more about this Spanish vessel. The ship’s bell rang 1211 UTC when I glanced back to the maps and charts spread out over the desk. WRTH showed nothing on this compass direction. OK, plan “B” now in full swing with lion determination, I opened the “Passport” book which showed a South American vessel named “Radio Cacique” from Brazil running only 250 watts of power. The “Passport” also showed this was an alternate to the compass direction of 2470 kHz. The signal was fair and the audio was equal or slightly above the carrier level. Yes, my conclusions indicated I had captured the gold of Radio Cacique, a South American vessel with Spanish dialect, on a compass heading of 2370 kHz, which matched the charts. With great pride I entered the ship’s log of this treasure and sent an email to claim the prize. Basking in the glory I turned to my daily chores. Well the glory didn’t last too long when several days later I got two emails from some of the most respected Captain’s of the high seas wrote me. They questioned my log of capturing one of the prizes of the seas. They stated that Brazil would have been in full daylight at that time (about 9:00am their local time) which 120 meters would have been closed by that time for that direction and secondly was that region should had been a Portuguese language spoken. My heart sank but now came up the question - then who could have been this station? The one gentleman suggested it was a mixing signal of two local MW band stations. So the next morning I turned on the radio, about the same time as I had reported the golden logging. Yes, KKOH and a Spanish speaking station on the same frequency as before on the same Marconi T antenna. Since the Marconi T antenna is an omni- directional, low radiation angle antenna I needed to refine the signal direction of the Spanish station. I flipped over to the EWE antenna and found the noise floor a lot lower than the previous day. Scanning through the directions of 30, 120, 240 and 300 degrees I found the signal on 30 degrees to be faint and 120 degrees to be the best, nothing at all on the 240 and 300 degree directions. A Google search indicated three MW band Spanish stations locally – 1340 KXEQ, 1550 KXTO, and 1590 KQLO. I tuned in each of the three frequencies on the other receiver and compared the signals. Yes, 1590 kHz, KQLO matched the signal I was hearing on 2370 kHz. Then a little arithmetic showed that 780 plus 1590 kHz would produce a signal on 2370 kHz. When mixing occurs you will get the two original signals including the sum and difference of the two original signals. In this case it was the sum of the two original signals. I had been out gunned and witted by my arch nemesis KKOH. With hurt pride and humbling spirit I corrected my log and confess to my fellow sea-farers of the radio waves that I did not get Radio Cacique. But I won’t give up because some day I will get this golden treasure. Conclusions: This is a hobby for me and I enjoy it very much. Each time I turn on the radios or add a new gadget to my arsenal, the adventure begins afresh. It remains this way ever since the late 1960’s when I first began. I can only image the scenery of these far away lands and the cultures in which they live. It’s truly an adventure to fill in the blanks with your mind. DXing the radio waves is still one of the last frontiers for both the rich, poor, young and old from any country. But remember don’t let yourself be convinced of a prize until you review the facts. Is it the right frequency and time of broadcast, is it in the “grayline” path and did the language match to the area which it originates from? Lastly, compare your loggings with your friends and associates of this great hobby and if it passes all this then you have found the treasure chest. Many thanks for the advice and help of Glenn Hauser and Patrick Martin, I tip my hat in full respect, True shipmates. Submitted with egg on my face, (Art Hernandez, IRCA member, USN retired, DX LISTENING DIGEST) SHORTWAVE MUSIC +++++++++++++++ REQUEST-A-MONTH SUGGESTIONS: MUSIC PROGRAMMING Many thanks to those who provided suggestions on music programming – not necessarily in English. Here are the suggestions of NASWA members: First, from Bob Fraser, Belfast, ME: My favorite is Music and Musicians on the Voice of Russia. I hear it Saturdays and Sundays at 1700 UT on 11675 with a super signal. Often I can hear the repeat on Sundays at 2000 on 12070 kHz with a fair signal. These are the summer times and frequencies; I notice it is an hour later in winter. Another favorite was Music At Your Request also on the VoR this year; I got an incomplete and erroneous schedule of the VoR off the Internet. So I don’t know if it is on or not. [2030 on Tuesday on 12070…ed.] As you can see, this is the European beam; it is much too late for me on the American beam. Another good musical program is Musica Italiana on RAI weekdays at 2300 on 11800, in Italian. The music varies but it is mostly ballads and classical opera. Its theme song is Volare. At times the Male DJ adds comments and even interviews the singers. Years ago, Happy Station with Tom Meyer on Radio Netherlands was a favorite, but it is, unfortunately, long gone. Too bad, it is a quiet show and a relief from rock. [I agree…part of my weekend shortwave ritual back in the day as well…ed.] Another was Música del Ecuador on HCJB in Spanish, but I have no idea if it is still on or not. [Looks like it is on HCJB’s medium wave service, daily at 1600 UT; two weeks’ works of programs can be streamed or downloaded from HCJB’s website – look in the left margin at http://www.radiohcjb.org/ –ed.] Next, from Bill Tidford: ARGENTINA: RAE (Radio Argentina Al Exterior) can be a difficult catch at certain times of the year and in certain parts of North America, but Argentine musical selections are regularly embedded into the English-language weekday programming (in Sept 2007 this is 0200-0300 UT Mon-Fri on 11710), and there is enough of it to warrant mentioning. Wonderful guitar, bandoneon and vocal music when the SINPOs are cooperative. Come for the signal reception challenge, stay for the great music if you make the catch. BRAZIL: After Radio Habana Cuba signs off 6180 at 0700, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia (a.k.a. Rádio Nacional OC do Amazonas) becomes audible. On the weekends, 0700-0800 has a solid music block after a short news segment (and occasionally a mid-program news break). Tends to be heavy on Brazilian folk music rather than Bossa Nova, Samba or Tropicalia, all of which this writer is still seeking. CUBA: Two stations are worth mentioning: 1. Radio Havana Cuba’s English-language broadcasts have music programs on Sundays towards the end of the second programming hour (in September 2007 this is 0230-0300 or 0430-0500 UT, best frequencies 6000 and 6180). Programs rotate and include The Jazz Place, usually dedicated to Cuban Jazz musicians (and occasionally sublime); Top Tens, a rundown of music currently at the top of the Cuban charts (alas, Rap is now popular in Cuba so this program mixes good music with the sometimes not-so-good) and From Havana, a program that focuses on specific Cuban musicians and bands (often excellent, sometimes repeated). 2. Radio Rebelde, which is Spanish-language 24/7, has a half-hour Monday-Friday segment on 15370 at 1630-1700 UT which is usually music except when preëmpted by sports or special events (the music segment is called Hecho en Cuba). This is a very eclectic mix of older and current Cuban music of various styles with the occasional folk or rock tune thrown in, but usually very good listening. The weekends are when huge blocks of music programming kick in on 5025: On Friday beginning at 0230, a series of programs (Estaciones, Portada Rebelde, Nosostros, A Esta Hora) interrupted by news near the hour and some chat runs overnight. Better still is Saturday evening, which begins with Música Viva at 0000 to 0230, then Todo Música, Rebelde’s flagship music program, which runs from 0230 to 0700. There is a little chat, and short newsbreaks throughout the evening, but Todo Música is very highly recommended for any serious fan of Cuban music, regardless of Spanish fluency. There is also technically another round of Todo Música on Sundays at 1730-2200 UT (again on 5025), but unlike the evening broadcasts, this is of extremely variable signal propagation (often poor). GREECE: Albania, Bulgaria, Egypt, Romania and Turkey all have wonderful music segments when you can hear them, but Foni Tis Helladas (Voice Of Greece) deserves special mention because it has bounced back from the loss of the Delano relay with a transmitter that combines excellent music with often-excellent audio. I’m not familiar with the fine print of the formal Greek-language programme schedule, but I periodically punch in 7475 and 9420 after 2300 to see if there is music going. The regular program in English is Greek In Style, which in September (this may change for the new season) is Sundays 2305-0005 UT on 7475 and 9420. The program generally focuses on a specific composer, musician or theme and is a solid hour of music. Song titles are frequently missing, but this is a minor fault in an otherwise- excellent program. PORTUGAL: Weekends only (Sat-Sun), RDP International has a solid broadcast block in Portuguese nominally from 1200 to 2000 UT (but sometimes runs later, particularly for soccer). Soccer preempts anything else when it’s happening, but when there is no game, there is a great deal of music stashed between the news and chat. Music is embedded throughout the program day, but one of the best target times is usually between the 0010 and 0050 sections of 1700-1900, and it’s a grab bag: folk, rock, psychedelica, fado, Brazilian music, and occasionally jazz, most of which is done quite well. Since the music- to-chat ratio is variable, and my Portuguese is extremely limited, I use this as a background station, turning it up when the music is on and down when it isn’t. Patience and persistence are occasionally rewarded with wonderful segments of Fado (Portugal’s answer to The Blues) and the Bossa Nova that is often missing from many Brazilian stations. In September (this may change for the new season), most reliable frequency was 15560. Next, Sheryl Paszkiewicz checks in with the following: The music programs I like best are: Any music played on Voice of Turkey. I find that they play the same songs on a given day regardless of language service. For instance, what they play on the German service is what they play that day on the English service. The Turkish service seems to have its own schedule including more music than dialog. World of Music hosted by Charlie Gillett on the BBC 2330 Sundays. I actually listen to this on XM. [For shortwave, try Saturdays 2230 targeting Africa – 12095 and 15400 kHz — ed.] Another program I like which I wasn’t sure is still on (but is) is on Radio Exterior de España Sundays about 0035 called Pop the Rock. It features rock music from Spain. Radio Morocco plays some good music Saturday mornings on 15340 or 15345. From Jim Ronda, Tulsa, OK: When reception is good on 60 meters I enjoy listening to the rustic South American [sic] music broadcast on R. Cultural Coatán [4780 kHz- ed.] and R. Buenas Nuevas [4800 kHz-ed.]. Because I am interested in both traditional and modern African music, I always try to listen to Music Time in Africa with Matthew Lavoie. This VOA program is broadcast in English on Saturday and Sunday. I listen to it on VOA-Greenville, 15445 at 2000 to 2100. Reception is almost always very good. The program is filled with great music and the commentary is both lively and well informed. When there is just too much static in the attic on 60 and 90 meters, I often tune in my local evenings to R. New Zealand on 13730 and R. Australia on 15515. They are gardens in the desert. I really had no idea that country music was so popular in Australia until I heard the Saturday Night Country program. And of course every once in a while R. Farda hits just the right up-beat tempo. I'll be interested to see if anyone selects one of the Middle Eastern stations -- maybe Egyptian Radio's domestic service on 12050 or RTV Marocaine or RTV Tunisienne. [Looks like you and Sheryl P. both enjoy listening to Morocco. Thanks to Bob, Jim, Sheryl and Bill for your contributions – muchly appreciated! (Rich Cuff, Easy Listening, Oct NASWA Journal via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ MORE LONG-HAUL TRANS-EQUATORIAL FM DX, CARIBBEAN TO SOUTHERN BRAZIL SAINT KITTS & NEVIS 96.7, 0103 09/10 ZIZ, Basseterre, YL/OM, nxs, EE 33333 96.9, 0114 09/10 ZIZ, Basseterre, OM/??, talks, EE // 96.7 MHz 24232 GUADELOUPE 97.0, 0105 09/10 RFO, Basse-Terre, YL/OM, anúncios, FF 34333 102.6, 0108 09/10 NRJ Antilles, Basse-Terre, OM/YL, talks, FF 25232 MARTINIQUE 94.0, 0106 09/10 RFO, Trinité, OM, nxs, FF 25232 SAINT VINCENT & THE GRENADINES 99.9, 0146 09/10 WE FM, Kingstown, OM/OM, talks, EE 33333 107.5, 0148 09/10 NBC, Kingstown, OM/OM, talks, EE 25232 (RUBENS FERRAZ PEDROSO, BANDEIRANTES-PR, BRASIL, @TIVIDADE DX Oct 14 via DXLD) SAINT KITTS & NEVIS 96.7, 0055 13/10 ZIZ, Basseterre, mx caribenha, EE 45344 96.7, 0027 14/10 ZIZ, Basse-Terre, OM em entrevista c/ OM, EE 44344 96.7, 0033 15/10 ZIZ, Basse-Terre, OM/OM, talks, EE 45344 GUADELOUPE 97.0, 0056 13/10 RFO (Radio Guadeloupe), Basse-Terre, OM/OM, talks, FF 35343 102.6, 0109 13/10 NRJ Antilles, Basse-Terre, mx pop EE, FF 34333 97.0, 0019 14/10 RFO (Radio Guadaloupe), Basse-Terre, mx SS, jingle: "Radio Guadeloupe", OM, FF 45344 98.6, 0038 14/10 RCI Guadeloupe, Point-à-Pitre, mx caribenha, FF ???? 102.6, 0043 14/10 NRJ Antilles, Basse-Terre, mx caribenha, FF ????? 97.0, 0034 15/10 RFO (Radio Guadeloupe), OM/YL, talks, FF 45333 102.6, 0036 15/10 NRJ Antilles, OM, nxs, FF 33333 SAINT VINCENT & THE GRENADINES 99.9, 0059 13/10 WE FM, Kingstown, mx caribenha rítmo reggae, OM, EE 43443 107.5, 0103 13/10 NBC, Kingstown, OM/OM, talks, EE 35333 90.7, 0104 13/10 NBC, Kingstown, OM/OM, talks, EE // 107.5 MHz 33333 103.7, 0115 13/10 Hitz FM, Kingstown, mx caribenha, EE 43333 99.9, 0028 14/10 WE FM, Kingstown, mx, OM, EE 44344 107.5, 0029 14/10 NBC, Kingstown, OM/OM, talks, EE 35343 95.7, 0032 14/10 Praise FM, Kingstown, YL, relg, EE 33333 103.7, 0037 14/10 Hitz FM, Kingstown, mx caribenha, EE 44333 103.7, 0042 15/10 Hitz FM, Kingstown, OM, EE 25232 MARTINIQUE 94.0, 0021 14/10 RFO (Radio Martinique), Trinité, OM/OM, talks, FF 45444 94.3, 0044 14/10 RFO (Radio Martinique), Morne-Rouge, OM, mx, FF // 94.0 MHz 44243 92.0, 0045 14/10 RFO (Radio Martinique), OM/OM, talks, FF 25332 97.9, 0048 14/10 NRJ Antilles, Martinique, id OM: "NRJ Antilles", mx, FF 35333 94.0, 0044 15/10 RFO (Radio Martinique), Trinité, mx caribenha, FF // 94.3 MHz 45333 ANTIGUA & BARBUDA 91.1, 0035 14/10 Observer FM, Saint John's, OM/OM, talks, EE 34333 91.9, 0047 14/10 Hitz FM, Saint John's, mx pop, EE 45333 92.5, 0051 14/10 Faro del Caribe, Saint John's, OM c/ pregação, relg, SS 33333 92.5, 0037 15/10 Faro del Caribe, Saint John's, YL/OM, relg, SS 33333 UNIDENTIFIED 101.1, 0056 14/10 Unid, mx caribenha, idioma?? 32332 (RUBENS FERRAZ PEDROSO, BANDEIRANTES-PR, BRASIL, Sony ICF SW 7600GR. Antena: LW de 12 metros, DX Clube PR yg via DXLD) ### PROPAGATION OUTLOOK FROM PRAGUE Solar-activity forecast for the period Oct 19 - 25, 2007 Activity level: very low Radio flux (10.7 cm): a fluctuation in the range 65-71 f.u. Flares: weak (0-3/day) Relative sunspot number: in the range 0-25 Astronomical Institute, Solar Dept., Ondrejov, Czech Republic e-mail: sunwatch(at)asu.cas.cz (RWC Prague) Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period Oct 19 to Oct 25, 2007 quiet: Oct 23 quiet to unsettled: Oct 22 unsettled: Oct 19, 20 and 21 unsettled to active: Oct 24 and 25 active: 0 minor storm: 0 major storm: 0 severe storm: 0 Geomagnetic activity summary: geomagnetic field was quiet from Oct 11 to 17. RWC Prague, Geophysical Institute Prague, Geomagnetic Dept, Czech Republic, e-mail: geom(at)ig.cas.cz Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period of one solar rotation unsettled to active: Oct 21-22, 27-28 active to disturbed: Oct (19,) 20, 24-26, (30) quiet: Oct 23, 29, (31,) Nov 1-7, (8,) 9, (10,) 11-12, (13,) Survey: quiet on: Oct 6-11, 13, 15-17 mostly quiet on: Oct 12, 14 Notice: Days in brackets refer to a lower probability of possible solar activity enhancements depending on previous developments on the sun. F. K. Janda, OK1HH, Czech Propagation Interested Group, e-mail: franta.janda(at)quick.cz (via DXLD) ###