DX LISTENING DIGEST 8-051, April 25, 2008 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 2008 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 1405 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 Fri 2230 WBCQ 5110-CUSB Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 1630 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1515 WRMI 9955 Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [irregular, time varies] Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1130 WRMI 9955 Wed 2300 WBCQ 17495-CUSB 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: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** ANGUILLA. The Caribbean Beacon, 6090, 0644-0710, 24 June 06 [sic]. Received a full data card in 325 [sic] days for an English report. and $2. V/S Doris McSingleton (?). Station address: Caribbean Beacon, Attn: Reception Reports, PO Box 690, Anguilla, British West Indies. Email addy: beacon @ anguillanet.com (Joe Wood, TN, MARE Tipsheet April 24 via DXLD) Either it was reported in 2007 or add 365 to 325 days, or this report is a year old when just published, or the report was not sent until a year after the reception, or is the result of a follow-up. Which? (gh) ** ANTARCTICA. LRA36, Arcángel, 15476, from 1902, best at 1920 with nice Spanish music and info by female. Good signal to S point 7, audio fair with noise. At 1945 again good audio, nice waterfall line on the Perseus SDR receiver. 2004 ID. At 2025 the audio is poor. RX; Perseus, LW 25 antenna. Gr (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, April 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15476, Radio San Gabriel, Esperanza, Argentinian sector, Antarctica, tango programme, female announcer, 1945z April 23 (Pat Privat, Northern France, HCDX via DXLD) LRA36, Arcángel, 15476. Best at 1920 with panflute music, copy from Hymn, Vangelis music (nice to hear) good signal and audio, little noisy. RX: Perseus. Gr (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. Nuevos horarios para dos programas de RAE, Radiodifusion Argentina al Exterior, los que entraran en vigencia a partir del 1 Mayo 2008. PORTUGUES 1100-1200 UT 11710 kHz (ex 0100-0200 UT) JAPONES 0100-0200 UT 11710 kHz (ex 1100-1200 UT) Los demás horarios de estos idiomas, siguen sin cambios. 73s GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, April 23, condiglist yg via DXLD) Ambos idiomas duran dos horas, así es que cada uno tendrá una hora por la mañana y otra por la tarde. (Japonés a las 10 y 01, portugués a las 11 y 00.) ¿Así se duplican el contenido en vez de dos horas distintas c.u.? Sería menos programación diaria que antes. Y ¿se cree que el japonés propague mejor al Japón a las 01 que a las 11? Lo dudo; a ver (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No reply yet from Gabriel to clarify; meanwhile, we have a contradictory version: During today's (24 April) broadcast from RAE in English at 1800 (via webcast), they announced that from 1 May they would be broadcasting in Portuguese twice a day at 0000-0100(ex 0000-0200) and new 1100-1200 UT and in Japanese also twice a day at new 0100-0200 and unchanged 1000- 1200 UT. This was announced three times, so can only assume that RAE will be using a second transmitter at 1100. Of course, no frequencies were given! From the RAE website, RAE currently uses 11710 in the 0000-0200 slot (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Re. DXLD 8-050. Yes, their new web site looks much better and is easier to use, BUT the frequency chart still seems to be the old, not updated one, as for instance the widely reported 11945 isn't shown. Heard while writing this. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, April 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Re: Radio Australia has reduced use of 11880 and introduced new 11945 in English 0700-1300 (Nigel Holmes via John Wright, Australian DX News via DXLD) Heard here fair to good at sign on; 9475 has also been added for English 0700-1300 (Mike Barraclough, England, May World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. It`s brain-in-a-jar day, April 25! Such was the theme both on ABC and CBC --- All in the Mind on RA, 1330 about the sad case of Ishi, the last of his tribe; a rerun? And Canadia 2056 on CBC Radio 1 at 1432+, in the latter case science-fixional (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. 6507, VMC Charleville, QLD. E-QSL in 33 days from Mike Dalakis at m.dalakis @ bom.gov.au Usual attractive multi-colored QSL with flag, map, reception details, and sked (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 4716.73, Radio Yura, Yura signing on before 1000, as early as 0930 with good signals, rustic Bolivian music. A favourite station here! Sign on is often without announcements, into beautiful Bolivian Music (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, South Florida, U S, 20-24 April, 746 Pro, R75, NRD 535D, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. LOS AVIONES ATERRIZAN GUIADOS POR UNA RADIO LOCAL EN POTOSÍ http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jfeKMxR_LmCSJs7VPR5sNt6ErODQ LA PAZ (AFP) — Las aeronaves que aterrizan en la ciudad de Potosí, en el sur de Bolivia, deben guiarse por las ondas sonoras de una emisora local a falta de una antena de posicionamento en la torre del aeródromo local, informó este martes una fuente de la prefectura de esa región. El informe arrancó risas que cedieron luego a expresiones de incredulidad y preocupación, reportó el diario El Potosí de esa sureña ciudad ubicada a 3.900 metros de altitud sobre el nivel del mar. Un informe técnico de la Fuerza Aérea Argentina, que recientemente evaluó el aeródromo, constató que la pequeña pista de aterrizaje - que solo abastece para avionetas - carece de una antena de posicionamiento, lo que suple una radio local. Los pilotos de las aeronaves saben que están sobre Potosí cuando escuchan la señal de Radio Kollasuyo, relató el delegado de la prefectura, Alfonso Russo, citado por el diario El Potosí. (via José Miguel Romero2, Spain, dxldydg via DXLD) INCREIBLE¡¡¡¡¡ será cierto????. Es posible??? (Romero, ibid.) Sure; why not? WTFK? (gh) ** BRAZIL. Re 8-049: Cidade Oldies, the pirate, original item had frequency as 7695, but in my two-line summary translation transposed it to 7965. So it should read 7695 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA. Dear DX Friends, The following email IDs were not working. Kindly check them: english @ bnr.bg radiobulgaria @ bnr.bg (Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India, April 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. Phil, I believe you mentioned that you get a big groundwave signal from Sackville on SW, so I wonder if you could check out a bit of a mystery. The Cuban clandestine R. República is on 6100 at 0200-0400 UT. Altho earlier transmissions at 22-24 on 6135 and 00-02 on 6155 are believed to be via UK site, the 6100 is believed to be via Sackville. Strange thing is, RCI Sackville in Mandarin is also on 6100 on its skewed schedule until off at 0204! From your vantage point, what is your opinion on whether República on 6100 is really from Sackville? Is there any significant signal difference before 0200 and after 0204? Of course, different antenna bearings are probably involved. Also if you get a chance to compare the signals on the earlier RR frequencies 6135 and 6155, to groundwave signals from Sackville on same band, that might be enlightening. All the RR transmissions are jammed by Cuba, so that is another factor to consider. Thanks, (Glenn, to Phil Rafuse, PEI, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I've got the R-390A warmed up and ready! OK Glenn, here's the scoop: 1. 0010 UT, RCI on 6100 with a moderately strong signal. I then checked 6155 and noted R. República with an intense signal. 2. 0100 UT, very weak signal on 6100, likely the Mandarin you referred too. I'm no expert on languages, but certainly sounded like Chinese. 3. 0155 UT, listening again, still the weak Chinese signal. 0158 UT jamming started - moderately strong totally wiping out the weak signal. 0200 very intense signal in Spanish, IDing as R. República. Noted that 6155 off the air. My conclusion? I think 6100 at 0200 UT is from the same site, same power as the early signal on 6155. I think all they do is switch frequency. A signal from the UK, beamed to Cuba, would likely have a much stronger signal here in PEI than a signal in Sackville NB beamed to Cuba. PEI would be a little off the beam from the UK, but not by a lot. On the other hand, if the signal was from Sackville, I'd be in the "null" almost directly opposite the beam so to speak. Receiver: Collins R-390A, Antenna LF Engineering, M-601C active whip remotely located 20 plus feet from the house. Playing radio detective is fun! All the best, 73 and good DX! (Phil VY2PR Rafuse, PEI, UT April 23, WORLD OF RADIO 1405, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks, Phil. I would still like to approach this the opposite way, if possible someone right near the Sackville site, like within visual range, where its signal when on would be overpowering by direct wave and ruling out something more distant. Any takers? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [non]. Bible thumpage --- Know a site that gives Bible Voice sked with transmitter sites? (15470 at 1500) (Harold Frodge, MI, April 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The target area listings here give sites http://www.biblevoice.org/listings/east-africa but times for this 15470 broadcast as 1630-1730+, so I suspect the times on their website are NOT UT, or at least not reliably so. But if Sudan is on UT+3 why would the listings be in UT +2? Axually, Sudan is on both +2 and +3, depending. Best thing to do would be to cross-check any transmission of interest with the provider, such as DTK/M&B, and/or HFCC, Aoki, EiBi (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Re 8-048: Zhoushan Meteorological Bureau websites: http://www.zshyqx.com/gzfw_ybg.asp this is the older site and http://220.189.205.5/ is the updated one (Ron Howard, CA, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. Unidentified ELCOR transmitter, Guápiles, 5954.13, near local level on 23 April, 2008, tune in at 2131 with nonstop, mostly Spanish male vocals, abruptly off at 2155 after the last song ended. (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. Surprised to find REE Cariari relay missing from 5964, April 25 at 0530; not on 5965 either, but on as usual 9630, 3350. Could the off-frequency transmitter be down for repairs? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SPAIN ** CROATIA. 1557 --- Re: ``Radio Osijek could still be on air as well; at least http://www.hrt.hr/hr/radioosijek/Index.htm still shows it, and I think the jumble I have right now on this frequency includes a third signal besides Fontbonne and Sitkunai.`` Thanks, Kai, for reminding me about Radio Osijek. I made another query to OIV about this station, and they confirmed that Radio Osijek 1557 kHz was switched off too. 73, (Patrick Robic, Austria, WORLD OF RADIO 1405, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA [non]. Re 8-049: ``From April 18-19, Croatian Radio via DTK on 7285 changed to these three overlapping transmissions: 2300-0300 Wertachtal 125 kW, 255 degrees C&SAm 2300-0300 Wertachtal 125 kW, 300 degrees ENAm 0100-0500 Nauen 125 kW, 320 degrees WNAm Any echoes? Who can confirm the exact times for English, Spanish?`` Or rather: this has been on 9925 in A08, and I think still is, so 7285 may be a backup plan (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Another day RHC missing from super-strong 15370 in the morning, at least when checked at 1315 April 23. Still missing April 24, 25; gone for good?? RHC 6060 in English again suffering from big hum, April 24 at 0541 introducing music segment. Wiggle that patchcord! 6180 had the usual collision with VOA English, leaving only 6000 usable for RHC on this band; also audible but only fair on 9550, inaudible on 11760 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. SHORTWAVE RADIOS FIGURE IN THE END OF A WHITE HOUSE CAREER "In late March, [Felipe] Sixto suddenly resigned [as special assistant to the President] as the Justice Department and U.S. Agency for International Development investigated allegations he misused an unspecified amount of U.S. grant money intended to promote democracy in Cuba. [Frank Calzon, head of the Center for a Free Cuba} realized something was wrong back in January, when he wanted to buy shortwave radios. His group has sent around 30,000 shortwave radios to Cuba over the last 10 years, so dissidents and others can get unfettered news about Cuba and the world. Though Calzon was not specific about what drew his attention to the problem, he apparently found discrepancies in what the Center paid for the radios when Sixto handled the transactions and what they cost now." Miami Herald, 24 April 2008 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) And some of those cheap shortwave radios can't pick up all the frequencies used by Radio Martí (Kim Andrew Elliott, Posted: 24 Apr 2008, ibid.) Viz.: FRAUD CHARGES STUN CUBAN EXILE ACTIVIST [illustrated] Prominent exile Frank Calzón said he feels 'personally betrayed' by former colleague Felipe Sixto, who is accused of pocketing taxpayer money intended to promote change in Cuba. . . [much more] http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/507476.html (via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. DRM on 15345-15350-15355, April 23 at 1331, no doubt HCJB German, but that`s supposed to run at 1100-1300 only. As already reported in DXLD 8-049, on April 28, HCJB plans to replace this with 2000-2200 on 15355-15360-15365 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. Dear DX Friends, The following email ID was not working. Kindly check it. POSTMASTER @ ertu.org 73's (Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India, April 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. No trace of R Africa here again on 15190 this morning (Dave Kenny, England, April 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I was under the impression that it was a bit more active in the mornings than in evenings, i.e. could be on in the morning even if not on in evening (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ERITREA. 5100, 24.4, strong signal 1655-1700, then fade-out of modulation, 1702 modulation back, local language until 1800, carrier remaining for another few minutes, song heard weakly, probably small Bana TX also there; today 25.4 empty carrier 1700-1730. 7175, 24.4 // 5100 until 1700, then strong QRM, 7100 mostly clear the past few days, no sign of Asmara. [7220: see UNIDENTIFIED] 7999.4 (ERI tent.), 24.4 -1700 carrier under strong QRM, 1700+ frequency clear, 25.4. 1700+: fair signal in local language, mentions of Somalia etc., no QRM, no // heard (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms April 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. Re unID 5950: Dear Glenn, The station on 5950 is definitely not Voice of Russia. Best reception of VoR in Arabic at 1800 UT here is on 12030 kHz. Some other frequencies are heard (except 5950 kHz) but not so well. The language on 5950 is "Arabic-like" but not pure Arabic when compared to VoR. The music sounds like Ethiopian or "Sahara" (the kind of music heard on V. of Western Sahara 6300 kHz), so it must be Voice of Tigray Revolution but the power has certainly raised, as 10 kW should not arrive here so well. I'll try to get a QSL card. Thanks again for your help. 73's (Max Benard, France, April 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And the complete VOR A-08 schedule in 8-050 does not include 5950 for Arabic or any other language; thus the info dated 15.04 in the ADDX by-language listing must be outdated. Wish they would just indicate which season the info pertains to (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Tigray Revolution being heard on 5950 around 1825 after VOIRI signs off, generally fair to good reception now that adjacent channels are clear especially now that there is no DRM on 5955. Station signs off at 1900 (Edwin Southwell, Basingstoke, England, May World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. Can you help; I listen to a French Radio Station in the South of England on LW 235. The signal is poor and I would to get a better reception, (presumably online). It carries news, and late at night, great music, (with a 'powerplay`, as with the old Radio Luxemburg), and no adverts, so I guess it's a state run affair. Regards, (Michael Connolly, UK, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That would be 234 kHz, RTL. Out of Paris, but 2,000,000 watt transmitter in Luxembourg, so surprised you don`t get a better signal. They have streaming via: http://www.rtl.fr/ Regards, (Glenn to Michael, via DXLD) ** GABON. I love your show, and get so many tips from it, so now I think I am able to give you one, although I doubt it possible that you don`t know everything on SW. Perhaps a year ago you led me to the great Kilimandjaro music show on 15475 at 17 UT, on Radio Africaine, and I`m an avid listener every weekday, although the programing seems to take a turn for the worse every time I recommend it to somebody else. Did you know that Radio Africaine has a program at 21 UT on 9580 called Flash Black that plays vintage US soul music? It`s fantastic, and it`s color blind, because I`ve also heard the soulful sounds of Joe Cocker and Blood, Sweat and Tears, and even a very soulful live version of ``Whiter Shade of Pale`` by Procol Harem. And as I write this, they are playing a soulful version of ``I fall to Pieces`` by Trisha Yearwood. I`ve only been listening to WOR since October 2006, but I haven`t heard this mentioned. You probably mentioned this before, and if so, please consider this a reminder to your new listeners (Kent D. Murphy, New Martinsville WV, April 17, by P-mail, retyped by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) So happens both these shows were mentioned in a different context quite recently in 8-047. Your reminder will help get them mentioned on a near future WOR (gh) ** GERMANY [non]. DW`s Amharic service at 1400-1500 has apparently had enough of CVC Chile colliding on 15410, for it is dropping that frequency via South Africa at Aprilend. Not sure what if anything will replace it, but earlier on April 24, the Rwanda relay of same service moves from 15660 to 15650. How much are these being jammed now? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. DEUTSCHE WELLE SCHEDULE CHANGE VIA BONAIRE As a result of the test transmissions on 5905 kHz this week, Deutsche Welle is changing its schedule in German to Australia/NZ via Bonaire at 0800-1000 UT as from Saturday 26 April to: 0800-0900: 9855 kHz (230 ) 0900-1000: 5905 kHz (210 ) (April 24th, 2008 - 11:00 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4799.77, Radio Buenas Nuevas under Mexico at 1150. Radio Buenas Nuevas signal may be blocked outside of Guatemala? (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, South Florida, U S, 746 Pro, R75, NRD 535D, NASWA yg via DXLD) See also MEXICO ** INDIA. Just as I tuned in 6165, April 24 at 1230, heard AIR IS and ID, weak over some co-channel. Looked up later, this is Delhi, 250 kW, opening Sindhi service to Pakistan at 334 degrees. Grayline map shows this more than an hour before sunset in Delhi, and half a sesquihour after sunrise here (1146). 334 would be favorable azimuth for us if it weren`t across the dayside, so I assume back radiation across the nightside was the route. The great-circle path from Delhi to Enid runs about 5 degrees from the poles (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Solar-terrestrial indices for 23 April follow. Solar flux 71 and mid- latitude A-index 27. The mid-latitude K-index at 1200 UTC on 24 April was 3 (32 nT). Space weather for the past 24 hours has been minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level occurred. Space weather for the next 24 hours is expected to be minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level are expected (SWPC via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Pleased to still hear the Big 3 RRI on 60 meters, this late in the season, if I monitor early enough, April 24 at 1223, 4605, 4790 and 4870 were // as far as I could tell using only one receiver, in talk, woman in studio, man on phone, and 1226 into music. 4605 and 4790 were about the same strength, 4870 a bit weaker. Recheck at 1238, 4605 was in music, 4790 in talk, and 4870 gone. Today`s sunrise in Enid was 1146 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4790.04, RRI Fak-Fak, 1221-1233+ Apr 25. Kor`an to 1225, then M in Bahasa Indonesia past BoH. Tuned out at 1233. Fair signal with pesky CODAR accompaniment. 4750, RRI Makassar missing for a month now. 3976, RRI Pontianak missing for about a month. 3987, RRI Manokwari missing for a few days. These observations noted in the 12-14 UT range. Hope this isn't a trend (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) See also PAPUA NEW GUINEA [and non] ** JAPAN [non]. Oi pessoal! Faz anos que memorizei a qualidade do som da R Japão para o Brasil (via Guiana Francesa) como 'estreito'; tinha sensação de que o áudio vinha dos estúdios japoneses por telefone. Mas tive uma agradável surpresa. Agora há pouco (0245U/23:45BR) sintonizei a emissora em 9660. O sinal estava fraco para mim, mas acho que o áudio melhorou! Não havia mais a característica 'telefônica'. Está com qualidade similar á de outras emissoras de grande porte de OC. Pergunto aos amigos se também perceberam estas peculiariades em relação ao áudio da R Japão. Um abraço, (Huelbe Garcia, Porto Alegre, RS, April 24, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. 11775, "N. KOREA", Furusato no Kaze via Darwin, 1449-1500*, Apr 22, Japanese. W between musical bits; ballad at 1453; back to announcer at 1456 with sigh-off announcement; filler music from 1459; fair with co-channel DGS QRM. 11690, Nippon no Kaze via Darwin, 1501-1530*, Apr 22, Korean. W over music with frequency sked and tentative mention of Australia and Taiwan; two M interview; W mentioned Tokyo with "live" report, soundbites; W between music bits at 1523; sigh-off announcement at 1526; filler music from 1529; fair (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R8, R75, NIR10, MLB1, 200' Bevs, 60M dipole, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1405, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. see UNIDENTIFIED 11640 ** KYRGYZSTAN. Do any of the readers here know of a working email for Kyrgyz State Radio? Tried ntrk @ ktr.kg (but came back as mailbox full). Also tried snbckr @ hotmail.kg - but delivery failed permanently. Any help much appreciated. Regards (Ian Baxter, Australia, April 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. Re 8-044, 6130, Lao National Radio: monitoring from about 1415 to 1430 (start and end of the programs varies by 1-3 minutes): April 20 (Sun.) – non-stop talking in assume Laotian (scheduled "Virtue Program"?). April 21 (Mon.) – English language lesson, in English with assume Laotian translations throughout the program. April 22 (Tue.) – English language lesson, in English with assume Laotian translations throughout the program. April 23 (Wed.) – French language lesson, unlike the English lessons, heard only in French, played some songs in French. April 24 (Thurs.) – French language lesson, unlike the English lessons, heard only in French, played some songs in French. This corresponds well with their listed schedule at their website. Would seem that my Sat. (March 29 and April 5) receptions of English language lessons (programs "New Dynamic English" and "Functioning in Business") were anomalies for that day. The daily reception varied, but were mostly fair to poor (Ron Howard, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. Dear Friends, Lao National radio email ID were also not in work. But this ID is mention in WRTH. Laonatradio @ lnr.org.la 73's (Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India, April 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LATVIA. The Radio Caroline shortwave transmissions on 9290 with 20 kW brought 16 replies from the UK, Italy, Norway, Japan, Greece, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Sweden and South Africa. I also received a report from Germany for 945 and from the United States for 6925. They were all from QSL seekers not listeners in the true sense, the music and presentation was noted for verification not for enjoyment. I spent three hours writing replies and forwarded the reports to Raimonds in Latvia. Some people sent recordings on cassette or mini CD disc. I have 10 dollar bills and 8 IRC's. Raimonds gifted us the airtime so we will probably break even and of course the geographical spread of the signal was interesting but aside from state broadcasters shortwave really is just a novelty. Radio Caroline may have a further dabble to see if listeners would come to a permanent shortwave music channel but mostly this is a project we are trying to complete out of respect for our departed colleague Rob Leighton. It has to be considered of course that only among a small anorak clique did anyone know about this broadcast; the reports were from people who discovered the signal and only had a three hour window to do so. One could assume a better response if the signal was on full time. Rob Leighton loved shortwave and had built, at the time of his death, an almost complete and very efficient transmitter with a final output of 1 kW. We had a loose arrangement that Raimonds in Latvia would link it in to the big aerial for 9290 and run a regular Caroline service. In his memory we will do our best to finalise that. Of course it will not be a mighty 100 kW but it will be an affordable project (Peter Moore, Caroline station manager, Pirate/Free Radio message board, via May World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** LATVIA. RELAYS THIS WEEKEND VIA 9290 KHZ Sat April 26th Latvia Today 1000-1100 UT Radio Casablanca 1100-1200 UT Sun April 27th Latvia Today 1500-1600 UT Good Listening 73s (Tom Taylor, April 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA SARAWAK. 7270, Limbang FM via Kuching 1300-1320 Apr 21. KL news relay to 1310, then Limbang FM relay, i.e. vocal music, talk in languange with mentions of Limbang. Fairly good signal this day (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** MEXICO. 4800, MEXICO, presumed XERTA, 0955-1010, Apr 22, Spanish. Testing? Continuos SP ballads thru ToH; poor-fair under band noise & mild CODAR; poor-fair. Tnx R. Wilkner tip (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R8, R75, NIR10, MLB1, 200' Bevs, 60M dipole, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1405, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4800, XERTA noted 0950 with subdued signal then full strength from 1000 on 24 April, seems non stop music. Very strong FM quality signal here (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, South Florida, U S, 746 Pro, R75, NRD 535D, NASWA yg via DXLD) [and non]. Big het on 4800, April 24 at 1224, roughly 200 Hz, a bit below my memory of middle C = 256 Hz. Presumably R. Buenas Nuevas, Guatemala, and XERTA both on, as others have reported XERTA reactivated and much stronger than before, some 3 hours earlier. Same het still audible at 1239 recheck. 4800, presumed XERTA, April 25 at 0541 with what others have called ``romantic music``, but I detect a gospel-rock tinge to it, tho can`t really follow the lyrix. Plenty of CODAR but no het from Guatemala at this hour. Never heard any announcements past 0616 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XEXQ, 6045, not checked until 1310 April 23 and surprised to hear it better than usual in classical music, no strain level. April 24 I checked 6045 as early as 1209 and found XEXQ already on with classical music, so maybe they do open around 1200. Signal is so marginal that it may or may not be making it here whether or not it is really on. Today`s sunrise in Enid was 1146 UT. April 25 started monitoring for XEXQ at 1155, when CRI Sackville was still on 6040; that went off by 1159, so could concentrate on 6045. Nothing heard until 1204, Elgar`s ``Pomp & Circumstance March No. 5``, which may very well be their daily overture, to be confirmed. Very poor with low het, Hohhot? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOZAMBIQUE. RADIO NOSTALGIA: LM RADIO MUSEUM AND SOUND ARCHIVE I’ve been spending some time checking and updating some of the entries in our Hitlist. In the process I came across a website that records the History of Rádio Clube de Moçambique, and Lourenço Marques Radio, the first commercial radio station in Africa. LM Radio was on the air from 1936 until 1975 and played a very important role in shaping the style and content of broadcasting in South Africa. The website is the work of Chris Turner, who worked as a broadcaster in South Africa and now lives in the UK. There’s also an online audio documentary about LM Radio, produced by Chris, which includes audio clips and jingles. This site is well worth a visit if you’re interested in the history of broadcasting. There is a connection between Media Network and LM Radio. The late Fritz Greveling, who preceded Jonathan Marks as presenter of DX Jukebox, which became Media Network, worked at LM Radio. I knew that because I remember him telling me stories about it. What I didn’t know was that he used a different on-air name (Fritz Greyling) on LM Radio. I thought this was a typo, until I listened to the jingle, and it does sound like Greyling. Sadly, Fritz passed away in 1994. LM Radio Museum and Sound Archive: http://www.lmradio.org/ (April 25th, 2008 - 13:32 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. I received Myanma Radio on 5985.00 kHz (just on nominal frequency) at 1250-1600 UT (KOed by CRI-Swahili) on Apr. 21. Followed English ID of a Female at 1530 and became English service. Audio file by S. Yamamori on Apr. 23 at 1529: http://bcl2isid2jp.cocolog-nifty.com/bcl2isid2jp/files/080424_002920_5985.mp3 (S. Hasegawa, Japan, April 25, NDXC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Heavy adjacent splatter on recording, leider. So English one hour later and 830 Hz lower (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, An interesting log! On April 19, I heard a station on 5985.0 from 1416 to 1435, with EZL pop songs, in an Asian language with poor reception, due to adjacent splatter. Had first thought the language was right for Myanma Radio, but then they did not change over to English as they normally do at 1430, so thought I must be wrong, but thanks to S. Hasegawa observations, it really was them with a new schedule for their English programming. There was no sign of anything on the usual 5985.83. Have not checked on this again, as every day I have been involved in monitoring the activity of Lao National Radio on 6130, checking what was actually heard against their website schedule (Ron Howard, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) RM not heard on usual 5985.83 for over a week. Ron Howard says they're on 5985.0 now. I've heard a weak signal on 5985.0 but have not been able to pull anything out yet. RM was rock-solid on 5985.83 for many years (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND [non]. Re 8-050: Oops, CNR1 was on 6175, my apologies for typing ahead of thinking (Dan Sheedy, CA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So not co-channel to RNZI 6170 analog ** NEW ZEALAND [and non]. CONTEMPORARY RADIO IN FIJI, NAURU & SOLOMON ISLANDS --- RNZI Mailbox Documentary May 12 It's 20 years since the first military coup in Fiji. What does contemporary radio in this Pacific nation sound like in 2008? There are two main players [state owned Radio Fiji and private Communications Fiji Ltd] both operating a series of national networks from Suva studios, and a small handful of independent stations, nearly all located in Suva as well. Community radio stations in this country of 850,000 people don't exist, and is this a consequence of military rule and fear of grassroots media? In the Solomon Islands, itself suffering civil tension, eight small villages on Isabel Province have been broadcasting their own local community programs five hours daily from 'radio in a suitcase' systems. Well supported by local villagers, these new community radio stations offer a glimpse of a successful future for low tech, low cost and low environmental impact FM radio across the Pacific. A similar system operates on crisis torn Nauru, successfully introduced by the University of the South Pacific and broadcasting as Triple Nine FM. Listen to Mailbox on RNZI on Monday May 12 as David Ricquish of the Radio Heritage Foundation explores some of the issues, and plays audio clips from four Fijian FM stations recently recorded in Suva. Visit http://www.rnzi.com for shortwave frequencies and times, and to download an audio on demand version of the program that will remain available on line for four weeks from May 12. For more information about broadcasting in Fiji, Nauru and the Solomon Islands, visit http://www.radioheritage.net An online version of the program script along with images will be available later from http://www.radioheritage.net Full searchable lists of operating AM and shortwave radio stations in the Pacific are available free on line in the Pacific Asian Log Radio Guides. An FM guide will be available shortly. The Radio Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization connecting the heritage of radio broadcasting and popular culture across the Pacific. Radio New Zealand International is the award winning shortwave broadcaster serving the Pacific from Wellington, New Zealand since 1948 (David Ricquish, Radio Heritage Foundation, April 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. VON, 15120, April 24 at 2045 in English, discussion by M&W mentioning Nigeria. Modulation not too bad but far below normal. 2058 wrapped up ``60 Minutes`` show, said we could listen live at http://www.voiceofnigeria.org --- a bit of music and cut off at 2059* Website says Testing Live Transmission, via Flash popup, whose timer started running immediately, nothing heard but I first tried it at 2315 when they would be off the air anyway, http://www.voiceofnigeria.org/voiceOfNigeria.html There are also mp3 links to Sixty Minutes, World News, and apparently a bad one to VONScope. Still nothing heard from that after 0500 April 25, altho the embeded player says ``connected to live stream`` and timer runs. Rechecked April 25 at 1552, and it started immediately --- AWFUL, worse than their SW modulation ever has been. Big hum, buzzes, extreme distortion, extraneous phone-ringing noises, cannot recognize language (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORTH AMERICA. TCS Sunday Night 04/20 --- The Crystal Ship is going on the air this evening, just after 2330 UT, on or about 6700.1 kHz and about 5385.6 kHz (according to reported frequencies). Hey, the crystals hit the transmitters where they hit 'em. Programming should last several hours this evening, probably closing out close to 0300 UT as usual, but that's optional, too. Early in the evening, we will feature the music of one of our favorite rock bands ever, "And on the seventh day, god created The Who". Also news reports from Free Speech Radio News, and "Shots from the Port Side" from The Radical. Beyond those things, programming will be stream of consciousness, or possibly dead air, if I pass out while the gear is still running. CHeeRs! 73s and FIGHT for FREE RADIO! The Poet The Crystal Ship (via Will Martin, MO, April 23, DXLD) FYI after the fact ** OKLAHOMA. KCSC has lost another longtime announcer, Clyde Martin, and now the obit for Dave Stanton on the home page has been replaced with: IN MEMORY OF CLYDE MARTIN, JULY 24, 1929 - APRIL 21, 2008 Brad Ferguson and Clyde Martin [caption] The KCSC family is still smaller today, as we mourn the passing of longtime opera host Clyde Martin, who hosted two opera programs a week since 1969. He received the Sigma Alpha Iota Award for Outstanding Classical Programming, and made honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota for Contribution to the Arts. He was a graduate of the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts, and retired as a librarian from the Metropolitan Library System after 37 years. He was Vice President and Chair of the Artists Selection Committee of the Civic Music Association of Oklahoma City. Clyde performed with local area groups including Lyric Theatre, Jewel Box Theatre, Stage Center, Carpenter Square Theatre, and Oklahoma Children's Theatre. His appearances included roles in On Golden Pond, Noises Off, My Fair Lady, Sound of Music, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Tuesdays with Morrie. While speaking about the early days of KCSC, Martin said the station’s reach all had to do with the weather. In the days of a 30-watt signal, Martin said “I’d get calls where people said ‘your station is collapsing’ and I’d say ‘where do you live?’ and they’d say ‘southwest Oklahoma City.’” “And I’d say ‘that’s your problem.' The funny thing was that on cloudy days the signal was strong and on bright, sunny days some people couldn’t hear us.” Martin also said before KCSC collected a large music library, he would bring in his own records to play. “I’d come in on Saturdays, open the place up, turn everything on and we’d play the Metropolitan Opera and then I’d turn everything off and leave,” he said. Clyde’s enthusiasm for and knowledge of music earned him the nickname of “Mr. Opera.” His friendly smile and familiar voice will be missed at the station and on area stages for years to come. He is survived by friends, fans, and cat, Eliza. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 25th at First Christian Church, located at 3700 N. Walker in Oklahoma City. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Civic Music Association or KCSC/KBCW (via DXLD) I also heard an announcement at 1600 UT April 24 that there would be an on-air tribute to Martin during the time his opera show occupied, Wednesday April 30 at 8 pm CDT [UT May 1 0100]. A new webpage has had to be set up, KCSC STAFF MEMORIALS, where the Stanton tribute has been moved: http://www.kcscfm.com/programs/memorials.asp (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. Chuck, Looking over FCC actions, it looks like your Guymon translator on 88.9 will get knocked off by a non- translator Christian station (just what they need). I wonder if you have plans for a replacement in Guymon? Any other such situations in your vast network? I also see that TOT [Top Of Texas] is putting a translator on in Red River NM. It this actually HPPR or a separate station now? Will it carry strictly HPPR programming from the Garden City feed? Any plans for more in New Mexico? Thanks, (Glenn Hauser, Enid, to High Plains Public Radio CE, via DXLD) Hi Glenn, This group is different than ours that have several construction permits around that area. We are working on Guymon. We will probably change frequencies. We are working with GPCR that now has a translator there and are building the new station on our frequency (Chuck, High Plains Public Radio, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA [and non]. 3345, R. Northern, 1151-1304* Apr 22. YL in English, pop and island music to 1304 close-down after brief anthem. Peaked around 1230 at S-9 +5 dB. A very weak carrier noted on 3344.95, probably RRI Ternate. In previous years the situation was reversed, i.e. Ternate with a decent signal and Popondetta very weak (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** PERU [and non]. 4789.6, Radio Nueva Atlántida with *0955 competing with 4790.10 Perú Radio Visión, 1010. A good opportunity to use the IF notch. 24 April. 4824.52, La Voz de la Selva, Iquitos, signing on 1030, to 1044, first noted this morning at 1033. 4825, Brazil, which one? from 0930. rlcw 4826.45, Perú, Radio Sicuani, Sicuani, seem to consistently sign on before, /La Voz de la Selva/, *1025 this morning. 24 April. 73s de (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, South Florida, U S, 746 Pro, R75, NRD 535D, NASWA yg via DXLD) Since a very long time the only two Peruvians am able to get here in Tiquicia are Radio Victoria 9720, always overmodulated or distorted preachings. Nobody at the station seems to be monitoring what's on the air. No luck with // 6020. The other one is that Radio Visión 4790. While practically no other South American is listenable, R. Visión is there all the way during my local darkness, let's say 2330 to 1100. Listed in Eibi but ironically, I should say, not listed by Aoki A08, but Radio Atlántida. Missing Radio Satélite 6724. Used to arrive here in the clear. Is it off the air? 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, April 25, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6724 has not been reported in sesquiyears. Victoria off-frequency from 6020, no doubt source of very annoying het on CRI via Albania, Canada, 0000-0600. Serves the damn Chicom jammers right (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAINT HELENA. Vandaag viel de verjaardags-QSL kaart van R St.- Helena in de bus na 126 dagen. Het is mijn 6e QSL van RSH. 73, (Guido Schotmans, Belgium, April 23, BDX via DXLD) 11 days after despatched by sea to Cape Town, then airmail. How`s the new airport coming along? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ST HELENA BACK ON THE WORLD MAP With the 2009 issue of the World Radio TV Handbook (WRTH) (to be published in December of 2008), the island of St Helena will be back on the map of the World !! In the 2008 issue of the WRTH on page 51 is a map of Southern Africa and the South Atlantic region. This map shows outlines of the countries, lists the capital cities, and marks in red the shortwave transmitter sites. In the WRTH of 2008, 2006, and many other years, St Helena does not even appear on the map. The Radio St Helena Day Shortwave Revival Project was a huge worldwide success in November 2006, and the RSH 40th anniversary was also shared with the world in December 2007 via the shortwaves. The WRTH was the major donor to the Project from the United Kingdom, and the publisher, Nicholas Hardyman, has been keenly following the shortwave adventures of Radio St Helena for the past two years. In a recent email from Mr Hardyman, he promised that the island of St. Helena would appear in the WRTH 2009 and the shortwave transmitter site would also be listed in red. Therefore, supporters of the RSD Revival Project from around the World and all Saints can truly and very proudly say that we have “put St Helena back on the World map” !! (Source: Robert Kipp, Germany, in St Helena Herald)( April 25th, 2008 - 11:18 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) One comment so far: SRG April 25th, 2008 - 16:46 UT It’s a great project. But why doesn’t Radio St.Helena broadcast more often? When is the next broadcast? I can’t find this info on http://www.sthelena.se/radioproject (MN blog via DXLD) Then it would not be so special (gh) ** SPAIN [and non]. Thursday April 24 at 2004 I came upon an English broadcast, ``And now the news`` --- There were two M announcers taking turns with one W, who had a strange accent, Chinese? Since one of the M was Justin Coe, I knew immediately it was REE, and yes, they are scheduled here in English to Africa. But wait, there is co-channel from another station, at 2007, almost zero-beat, and it too is in English! In the next 10 minutes, they took turns dominating the frequency. At 2008, other station had ``African News Panorama``, 2012 to African music. Checking PWBR ``2008``, the only station on 11625 at 2000 is Vatican Radio, with Spain not starting until 2100. Instead of relying on Aoki, Eibi, or REE`s own A-08 schedule, VR apparently believed Passport and/or HFCC. HFCC shows Vatican, 223 degrees to zone 46 at 2000-2100 and then: REE Noblejas, Spain, 161 degrees to zones 46,47,52,57 at 2100-2300, but obviously Spain is really on 11625 one hour earlier. EiBi shows these two colliding in the 2000-2100 period M-F only: 11625 1900-1930 Sa CVA Radio Vaticana S WAf 11625 2000-2030 CVA Radio Vaticana E WAf 11625 2030-2100 CVA Radio Vaticana F WAf 11625 1900-2000 Mo-Fr E Radio Exterior España F CAf 11625 2000-2100 Mo-Fr E Radio Exterior España E CAf 11625 2100-2200 Mo-Fr E Radio Exterior España S CAf 11625 2200-2300 Sa E Radio Exterior España S CAf Aoki likewise for 350 161 Noblejas E 0327W 3957N REE a08: 11625 R.EXTERIOR DE ESPANA 1900-2000 .23456. French 11625 R.EXTERIOR DE ESPANA 2000-2100 .23456. English 11625 R.EXTERIOR DE ESPANA 2000-2100 1...... French 11625 R.EXTERIOR DE ESPANA 2100-2200 1.....7 English 11625 R.EXTERIOR DE ESPANA 2100-2200 .234567 Spanish 11625 R.EXTERIOR DE ESPANA 2200-2300 ......7 Spanish and 250 223 Santa Maria di Galeria CVA 1219E 4203N VAT a08: 11625 VATICAN RADIO 1900-1930 ......7 Spanish 11625 VATICAN RADIO 2000-2028 1234567 English 11625 VATICAN RADIO 2030-2058 1234567 French As did Spain`s A-08 schedule in yet another format, via José Bueno: 11.625 - 25m - 161º - 19:00-20:00 - Francés - Lunes a Viernes 11.625 - 25m - 161º - 20:00-21:00 - Inglés - Lunes a Viernes 11.625 - 25m - 161º - 21:00-22:00 - Español - Lunes a Viernes 11.625 - 25m - 161º - 22:00-23:00 - Español - Sábados So they are both to the same target in the same language on the same frequency at the same time. How much longer till they notice and one of them moves? The two beams cross somewhere over Algeria, and are bound to interfere with each other in much of West Africa, altho Spain is aiming at Nigeria, and Vatican at Liberia/Sierra Leone, to pick English-speaking countries. Later scanning 31m, I found Vatican again, on 9645 at 2018 with a discussion in English on Zimbabwe, ID with website http://www.vaticanradio.org/english and IS but I could not make a // to 11625. That`s because 9645 is a separate English service to Europe, which was just ending (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN [and non]. REE via Costa Rica, April 24 at 0540 had some nice folk music involving bagpipes and whistles, on 9630 via CR and better 6055 direct. REE website inaccessible to look up what show that is, Thursday at 07:40 local time HOE. Checking out the token Co-Official Languages segment, April 24 at 1240 on CR 5930 and 5970, found both with co-channel QRM, so up to better 15170. Music still playing until Galician --- gallego --- finally started at 1245. Big story was Spaniards kidnapped by pirates off Somalia, Djibouti. 1250 switched to Basque, signaled by the word `Euskadi`, the rest incomprehensible for a sesquiminute until they went back to Castilian! for a story about Basque affairs, terrorism. Basque gets only 5 minutes a day on the schedule, and then they turn it back to Castilian! But it was even worse for Catalan, which is supposed to wrap up the block. Instead at 1255, promos in Castilian for REE, 1256 into some Police-style music fill with lots of drumming, lyrix in Castilian, until 1300 news. No Catalan at all today, April 24. On Friday April 25 I remonitored the token Co-Official Languages quarter-hour at 1245 on REE via Costa Rica 15170. This time each was starting about half a minute early, rounded off to: 1245, gallego with usual jaunty sea-tune theme. Number 2 story was about the pirates off Somalia. Galician from REE sounds like Castilian, except for a Portuguese-like word here and there. 1250 Euskadi again went back to Castilian after a minute or two, but the real Basque portion was almost lost due to three breaks in transmission on this frequency, the last one longest. 1255 again no Catalan heard, but Castilian mentioned ``desde Barcelona`` and ``sólo para locos``, rest of segment filled with heavy-beat music, could not be sure of language. So maybe the Barcelona studio was to blame for not providing a Catalan news roundup (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also COSTA RICA ** SURINAME. 4990, presumed R. Apintie, 0452-0506, Apr 22, vernacular / English. Program of continuous EZL ballads in presumed Dutch & English oldies thru ToH; weak with bouts of band QRN (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH-USA, R8, R75, NIR10, MLB1, 200' Bevs, 60M dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [and non]. Glenn, Big trouble. Radio Taiwan Int'l has just revealed that their management is considering ending broadcasts to NA on 5950 and 9680! They are seeking listener comments on whether it would be more convenient for us to listen to them on the internet. The email for comments is: paula @ rti.org.tw This is a neverending nightmare (Chuck E., April 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also covered in 8-050, as Chuck`s msg got sidetracked --- Re: ``E-mail RTI today if you wish to retain this service. Regards (Ian Baxter, Australia, April 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` This is certainly worded as a self-fulfilling prophecy, isn't it? If you want to write in favor of keeping shortwave, you have to listen to the internet broadcast to get the address, proving that you can hear the show on the internet, so they don't need to send it be shortwave (Eric Loy, DWS Sportsnight, WDWS Radio, Champaign IL, 217-351-5613, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGST) ** TAJIKISTAN. Voice of Tajik, English service heard opening at 1700 April 14 with identification and news on 7245, news summary again at 1730, rest of broadcast seemed to be music. Fair signal on clear channel but adjacent channel interference from 7240 and 7250 (Mike Barraclough, England, May World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** TURKEY [and non]. TRT, Turkish service to NAm, with excellent music, on 9460, April 24 at 2017, F-G signal and equivalent to arch- rival Greece on 9420 with its own excellent music; however Greece outlasted Turkey, still going at 2109 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Glen[n], This is a copy of a note I sent to The Economist, which was very vocal in the days of Mark Byford at the BBCWS. The Economist said, ``shortwave radio is a terrible way to listen.`` The Beeb and The Economist share reports and stories --- 3.28.`08 --- Dear Editor at the Economist. Please accept my compliments. The reason for this note is to explain why I have decided to NOT renew my subscription to the Economist. First, this is a protest. The BBC, to which you seem to be a partner, has quit analog shortwave broadcasts in the American mornings. These broadcasts were aimed at the Caribbean. No more --- no más, nyet. THAT really upset my morning routine. I have written, to no avail, to Bush House on Strand. To the BBC presenters I say, ``Fare The Well.`` To the BBC uber-jerks who make the decisions, I say, ``Up Yours.`` So, because your partner the BBC hates its US/Canadian listeners and hates analog shortwave, I will NOT renew my subscription to The Economist. Secondly, if the BBC changes, I will immediately renew. RICK SITZ P.S. No computer here --- just a BUNCH of great, pre-digital, vacuum- tube radios. Best to you (Rick Sitz, Bradenton FL, April 10, by P-mail to gh at MT, retyped by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. BBC Mundo Radio, to give its proper name, via Furman 9410, Thu April 24 at 1212 wrapping up news segment with story about the Brazilian priest missing on party-balloon excursion. Reporter Hernando Álvarez pronounced the town involved, Paranaguá, instead as Paraguaná, which is the Venezuelan peninsula, far away next to Aruba. (I later reconfirmed this mistake on their podcast archive of the 1203 news.) To reconfirm spelling of the Brazilian town, I googled this story; also has a good shot of the multi-balloon vehicle: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2008/04/23/brazil-priest-flying-party-balloons-lost-at-sea.aspx Back to BBC monitoring report: At 1215 introduced another archival program, this time Estudio Abierto, a call-in show, apparently edited down so it moved along rapidly, featuring advice from a sexóloga, Alesandra(?), from San Francisco, who sounded like she was originally from Puerto Rico, Latin male callers even giving their names asking about masturbation, refractory time, quite a frank pro-sex discussion not befitting the good Christians at World Harvest Radio. Recheck at 1234, ``BBC Top Diez de la Semana`` [sic], yes another pop music countdown. Eventually maybe I will figure out which days we can depend on classical music fill. BBC Mundo Radio, via WHRI 9410, Friday April 25: After 1230 Efemérides, at 1230 introduced ``Los Clásicos, Paréntesis Musical``, which is a fancy way of saying ``fill music``. Into Bach unaccompanied violin piece, 1242 movement from Mendelssohn`s Octet, 1248 classical guitar piece, 1251 baroque vocal selexion, before 1257 a violin/piano sonata movement. Never any announcements and off abruptly at 1300*. Hmm, this sounds familiar --- that`s exactly what they played on Monday April 21, as reported in DXLD 8-049! So not only are they demoting classical to unannounced fill music, they are playing exactly the same stuff repeatedly. This is as bad as Radio Solh! From the immense repertoire of great music of the ages, BBC can`t be bothered to give us a new selexion or even tell us what it is! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I agree, Glenn, with your reference to if you get a strong and clear signal, classical music is enjoyable 100% and that's what we're getting from BBC Mundo after 1230, thanks to Furman 9410. // Montsinery 11860 not so reliable. Truth is any kind of music, even the loudest. I was listening this local morning while that Bach violin piece was on the air. But you see, as my dad comments, "what a lack of respect, not mentioning titles, composers and performers". So here come people like you, giving us a hand to those not so connoisseurs. Heard they do it slightly with pop songs. Now, I think that pop music should be left for Fridays, specially when counting the top 10, all this because I hardly imagine young people listening to news and comments, specially on short wave: Ipod-prone, they are. Rest of the week it would be fine to listen to some nostalgia and more classical pieces. But you know, this is like asking the Beeb too much as they take it just like fill music; maybe playing more archivos would be too much. 73 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. FOUR SOUND EFFECTS THAT MADE TV HISTORY The BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop, a pioneering force in sound effects, would have been 50 this month. Ten years after it was disbanded, what remains of its former glory? The BBC website offers four examples of the Workshop’s creations, including what is arguably its most famous and enduring one - the Voice of the Daleks. Go to the article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7365120.stm (April 25th, 2008 - 11:01 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) More than four videos linked there (gh) ** U S A. Re 8-050: ANNE APPLEBAUM DESCRIBES THE "RFE" PART OF THE US INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING ELEPHANT http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/?id=3849 This piece is so jam-packed with misinformation, it requires a Kim's Commentary to sort it out. Ms. Applebaum's op-ed is typical of the misinformation, disinformation, and worst of all, selective information about U.S. international broadcasting lately disseminated by Washington's experts, senior fellows, pundits, and commentators. Let's examine Ms. Applebaum's article, gaffe by gaffe: 1) She calls the station "Radio Free Europe" and never its real name "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Inc." But the real name, a multisyllabic monstrosity of a moniker, does not, as they say, "sing." 2) "Radio Free Europe -- the Cold War news service that was, for decades, the only source of independent information in Eastern Europe -- does exist. In fact, it's as important as it ever was, at least in the 21 countries and 28 languages in which it is still often the only source of independent information: Farsi for Iran, Arabic for Iraq, Dari and Pashto for Afghanistan, plus Turkmen, Azeri, Belarusan, Georgian, Chechen, Tajik, Albanian, Serbian and Russian, among others." Voice of America, Alhurra, Radio Sawa, and BBC are nowhere mentioned in this op-ed. During the Cold War, VOA had a larger audience than RFE in Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, and came close to RFE in Poland. VOA now has a larger audience that Radio Farda in Iran. Granted, RFE(/RL) has Turkmen, Belarusian, Chechen, and Tajik to itself. 3) RFE(/RL) "is better described as 'surrogate radio': a broadcasting service that supplies local, national and international news, in radio, Internet and sometimes video form, in countries where other local news is weak or unavailable." "Surrogate broadcasting" is traditionally described as providing target countries with news about their own country. Ms. Applebaum has expanded this to "local, national, and international news." What global newsgathering capability does RFE(/RL) have? Does this mean that VOA is (in theory) relegated to broadcasting only "about us," i.e. only about the United States? If so, the difference between the "surrogate" stations and VOA is that the surrogate stations will have an audience and VOA will not. 4) "Most of [RFE's] programming is written by local journalists, who follow local politics in the local languages. Many of them live in the countries they cover, sometimes at great risk." Ditto for BBC, VOA, RFI, etc. 5) "When the Newseum was opened in Washington last week, the names of four RFE journalists -- a Turkmen, two Iraqis and an Uzbek -- all killed in the past two years, were already inscribed on a plaque there." The Uzbek, Alisher Saipov, worked more for VOA than for RFE(/RL). 6) "RFE, which at its peak received $230 million annually in congressional funding, now gets $75 million in rapidly devaluing currency." Years ago, I wrote that RFE/RL should move to Chicago rather than to Prague. This is because I foresaw security issues, which ultimately required RFE/RL to move from central Prague to an expensive new building in the outskirts, and currency fluctuations, such as the one now discomfiting RFE/RL employees. I also recommended that VOA and RFA join RFE in Chicago, so that their resources could be combined rather than fragmented. 7) "If RFE vanishes, we may need a lot more helicopters to replace it." Ms. Applebaum is referring to RFE(/RL) president Jeffrey Gedmin's frequent reminder that an Apache helicopter costs $75 million, same as the annual budget of RFE(/RL). She also mention three times the possibility of RFE disappearing. But US international broadcasting is in no danger of going away. The only "danger" is that USIB might be reformed and rationalized, resulting perhaps in the RFE name (as well as maybe the VOA name and RFA name) being eliminated. A few layers of senior level management would also be made redundant. What cause is actually being supported in the recent flurry of op-eds and think tank speeches on behalf of RFE(/RL)? 8) "When I was at the RFE office in Prague several weeks ago, the Afghans there showed me the enormous, old-fashioned canvas mailbags that arrive every week from Afghanistan, full of letters thanking the presenters, offering arguments, making comments -- and asking why there isn't more service, more coverage, more than 12 hours of daily service from Radio Free Afghanistan." This is intriguing, because VOA's Afghan services occupy the other twelve hours. This op-ed may be actually be a salvo in a bureaucratic spitting match between RFE(/RL) and VOA, with RFE(/RL) coveting VOA's transmitter time. 9) "RFE does have a good number of admirers in Washington, as well as a few constructive critics, usually people who wish it did more things better." Cryptic, but this might be a call for RFE(/RL) to get more into television, now mostly VOA's purview. It could also be an echo of Gedmin's ambition for RFE(/RL) to duplicate VOA in even more regions, e.g. Africa. 11) "What [RFE(/RL)] does not have, however, is an advocate: someone, in Congress, the White House or on the campaign trail who remembers that Americans have done soft power rather well in the past, that the collapse of the dollar is more than a minor irritant for rich tourists, that with better transmitters we could reach more Iranians, and that we could easily swap a few helicopters for better-informed Afghans." Oh, don't worry about that. Support for stations whose names begin with "Radio Free" makes for great sound bites on the campaign trail. The notion that we can solve our problems with Country X by creating a Radio Free X has simplistic appeal. Courageous and truthful presidential candidates and members of Congress, however, would ask why the United States spends more on international broadcasting than Britain, while the BBC has more audience than all the elements of U.S. international broadcasting combined. Ms. Applebaum offers the universal Washingtonian solution to bureaucratic woes: a budget increase. Her article, however, is a symptom of the problem rather than a solution to it. USIB consists of VOA, RFE(/RL), RFA, Alhurra, Radio Sawa, and Radio/TV Martí, all overlapping to some extent, and competing among themselves for budget, talent, resources, frequencies, news scoops, and audience. This competition involves the flummoxing of commentators, who write myopic pieces extolling one of the elements while ignoring the structural deficiencies of the whole. See comments about the op-ed, especially by Morand. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042102551_Comments.html See previous posts about RFE(/RL) on 17 April 2008 and 1 March 2008. (Kim Andrew Elliott, 23 Apr 2008, kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U S A. Wed April 23 at 1330 found a huge open carrier on 11785. Surely it`s WHRI, which puts a similar signal out Sat & Sun at 13-14 when it`s modulated with Hmong Lao Radio. This led me to inspect the WHRI schedules more closely, since they have day-of-week variations in frequency usage which do not show up on the online schedules, e.g. HFCC and FCC, where they simply register everything as 7 days a week, giving them flexibility of doing that if they like, or using a different frequency one or two days a week if it suits their purposes better. Even the frequency page at http://www.whr.org/Frequencies.cfm does not go into day-of-week variations. For that you have to go to the individual program schedules for each WHR transmitter, which are organized in a very user-unfriendly manner. From this I deduced the usage of 11785 is: 13-16 Sat & Sun A1 20-22 Mon-Fri A2 22-24 Mon-Sat A2 In fact, no programming at all is shown for A1 on 11785 or any other frequency, M-F at 13-16, which would seem to be a major loss of potentially lucrative airtime. This is all assuming that the posted program schedules are accurate, which has not always been the case. Maybe the open carrier during dead time means they have some modulation in store for us, to override IBB Udorn at 30 degrees, which does use 11785 daily until 1400. See what I can squeeze out of hearing a few seconds of open carrier? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Whatever happened to the Checkerboard Café blues program on WBCQ? (Kent D. Murphy, New Martinsville WV, April 17, by P-mail, retyped by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Checkerboard Lounge on WBCQ was sked Sunday 22-23 on 7415; I believe it started on Friday, did it not, and then had to move? Anyhow, Sunday 22 is now an ``available time slot``. I don`t know the reason it`s gone, but a lot of shows come and go like that, presumably for lack of funding, commercial support, or loss of interest by the producer (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Checking for WORLD OF RADIO on WRMI, Thu April 24 at 0536, no signal at all on 9955, tho WYFR was audible on 9930 in Arabic, 9985 in Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: Must have been propagation. We were on, and haven't had any downtime for quite some time. I get 9955 really well at my house 24 hours a day, about 15 miles south of the transmitter. Makes it easy to know if we're on the air! (Jeff White, WRMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Solar-terrestrial indices for 23 April follow. Solar flux 71 and mid- latitude A-index 27. The mid-latitude K-index at 0600 UTC on 24 April was 4 (64 nT). Space weather for the past 24 hours has been minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level occurred. No space weather storms are expected for the next 24 hours (SWPC via DXLD) ** U S A. MARCONI CELEBRATION COMING IN LOUD & CLEAR By: Karen Forman 04/23/2008 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19510293&BRD=1776&PAG=461&dept_id=6363&rfi=6 Centereach's Radio Central Amateur Radio Club will be celebrating the birth of Guglielmo Marconi, credited by many with being the father of radio, on April 26 at the Marconi Shack, which is located in front of the Frank J. Carasiti Elementary School in Rocky Point. Once owned by Marconi, the small white building was built in 1902 and is one of the oldest structures in North America known to have been built expressly for radio communications. According to Natalie Stiefel, who is a member of both the Friends of Long Island Wireless and the Rocky Point Historical societies, the Marconi Shack originally was located in Babylon and was used for communicating with inbound and outbound ships. The facility also served as a training site for Marconi wireless operators. It was later moved to Rocky Point, onto the grounds of the Radio Corporation of America, which often was referred to as "Radio Central." RCA was organized in 1919, as part of General Electric, according to local historian Robert Sisler. During World War I, Sisler explained, GE produced Alexanderson high-frequency motor generators for the Navy. Their system was the best in the world at that time for wireless telegraph communication. The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of England wanted to buy the patents, but GE was persuaded by the Navy to establish an American company to carry on the work and RCA was born. On November 5, 1921, the opening ceremonies for the RCA radio transmission laboratory took place in Rocky Point. According to Stiefel, "As the signal was given to commence the ceremonies, President Warren G. Harding pressed a button in his office at the White House, which signaled the start of the Alexanderson alternators at RCA Rocky Point. As 100,000 volts hurled into the tiny wires pointed to the sky, the president's message was sent on its way, amidst a special display of fireworks. Sisler's father-in-law, C.W. Hansell, had worked for GE and was transferred to RCA. He founded and headed the Rocky Point radio transmission laboratory at RCA in 1925. "It was here that he invented a transmitter using vacuum tubes designed to work at the unprecedentedly high wavelength [sic] of 20 megacycles," said Sisler. "This system could be used to send overseas messages in the daytime, when the traffic was greatest, whereas the longer wave systems previously used were good only at night." Coming up with this higher frequency made obsolete the tall long-wave towers that RCA had just put up. At the time that Hansell took over the lab, there were 12 of these towers, according to Sisler. "Each one was just a little short of half the height of the Eiffel Tower - or one third the height of the Empire State Building," Sisler stated, noting that the 12 towers covered three miles. "At the time they were built, they were the highest man-made structures on Long Island." Sisler added that plans for Radio Central, which were never completed, included 144 towers to be built on the site, covering 27 miles of Rocky Point real estate." Everyone hired to work at RCA in Rocky Point had to climb one of those towers as "indoctrination," noted Sisler, and the towers were a "source of pride for the RCA workers." RCA also had a receiving station, which was located in Riverhead. Long Island's sandy soil was good for radio transmissions, Sisler said, adding, "To help with transmissions, 450 miles of copper wire were buried in the ground underneath the towers in a starfish gridiron fashion." Hansell's short-wave transmitters, which "operated on 25 feet of wire hung up like a clothesline and [cost] only a few thousand dollars instead of the $3 million that the tall towers cost, also greatly improved transmission quality." Noting that the tall towers used the Alexanderson alternator, which weighed 20 tons, to send messages, Sisler said that "now you can make a call from a tiny phone that fits in your pocket." Bob Lundquist was the station engineer at RCA Rocky Point from 1966 to 1976, almost until it shut down, and ran the day-to-day operations at the station. In 1977, the transmitting station stopped operating and the land was given to the state for $1. "At one time, RCA Rocky Point was the world's largest transmitting station," Lundquist said. "We had 7,000 acres at one point. The property bordered the Long Island Sound and went right down to Middle Country Road." Six of the 12 towers in Rocky Point were taken down in the 1950s, Lundquist added, and five more were taken down in the late 1950s, early 1960s. Tower One remained until December 13, 1977. There are now two steel towers, rusted with age on the forest floor, along the bike trail on the land that now is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Rocky Point Natural Resources Management Area. "In the past century, it's unbelievable how far things have advanced," Sisler noted. "Those guys at RCA Labs in Rocky Point opened up the world in their day and no one remembers. RCA was the big thing out here back then." Sisler explained that Hansell had more than 350 patents and was among the top four electronics patentees, along with Thomas Edison, John Hays Hammond and E.F.W. Alexanderson. "Hansell's inventions were the property of RCA, and he used to receive a dollar for each one," Sisler said. "RCA got all the credit." "Kids have all kinds of gadgets nowadays but no interest in how it all works and how it all got here," explained Neil Heft, president of Centereach's amateur radio club. "Long Island has a rich radio history. The Radio Central site in Rocky Point was a big part of that." Following the state's purchase of the RCA property in Rocky Point, the Marconi Shack was later moved to the elementary school, where it now sits. International Marconi Day is celebrated worldwide by ham radio operators, who will set up stations on April 26 at sites that are connected to Guglielmo Marconi in some historical way, according to Heft. Sanctioned by Great Britain's Cornish Radio Amateur Club, International Marconi Day usually is held on the Saturday closest to Marconi's birthday, which is April 25. Centereach's Radio Central Amateur Radio Club will be at the Marconi Shack, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., on April 26. Visitors will be able to meet some of the local ham operators on the Island, take a tour of the Marconi shack, and see an actual ham station in operation. "We started participating in this event back in 1996," Heft said. "There are 75 to 100 other stations coast to coast. We will be trying to communicate with as many people as we can, nationally and internationally." For more information on the history of RCA in the area, visit http://www.rcarc.org/imdvisitorswelcome.htm (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. Re 8-050, WINU 870: I'm not sure about the quality of the signal, but I'd bet the commercials that were aired were NETWORK commercials that every station carrying the game must air. Those are played from the site of the game or from the flagship station and come down the satellite feed. LOCAL commercial breaks usually come down the network feed as dead air and must me covered with some audio, whether it is local ads or PSAs (Eric Loy, WDWS, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN [and non]. See SPAIN [and non], collision on 11625 ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 6300, RASD, Tindouf, Algeria, Arabic monologue 2015z April 23. Cheers (Pat Privat, Northern France, HCDX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 3985 Unknown, 1232 April 23, "How Deep is Your Love" Bee Gees, woman in Chinese. Taiwan? (Dennis, Salmon Creek, WA, Vroomski, JRC 545 Ewe Nw, IRCA via DXLD) Too often I see logs that don`t quite fit time-wise, one hour off, which make me wonder if people not familiar with UT are mis-converting from local time due to DST confusion. This would never happen if you start logging in UT in the first place. Not saying that is what happened here, but: Per Aoki, time fits for Echo of Hope, but sounds more like CNR2 supposedly not on at this hour; no Taiwan. 3985 ECHO OF HOPE 11-19 Korean 10 ND Gimpo 126..E35.. EOH b07 3985 CNR 2 13-14 English 100 ND Geermu 09459E3624 CNR2 a08 3985 CNR 2 14-16 Chinese 100 ND Geermu 09459E3624 CNR2=6190 a08 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 7220: 24.4 1705 NAf music, 1715 news in Arabic, then more music not // 5100, 1730 covered by strong signal, 25.4. definitely Horn of Africa music at 1655, FM frequency announcements in local language and Arabic at 1659, News in Arabic 1700-1725+, short music bridges definitely Horn of Africa type, not // 7999.4 (tent. ERI). 55+73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, http://www.africalist.de.ms April 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11640, Korean? Via Irkutsk at 13-14 UT towards SE Asia, tiny in EUR S=5 today, lousy condition. Irkutsk 250 kW, 155 degrees shows direction of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines. ? former 9370 Radio Free North Korea - Jayu Joseon Bangsong ? Listen to the tiny signal here in Europe. Regards de Wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, April 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From your clip I agree it`s in Korean, but can`t make out any ID (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks to Will Martin, MO, for a check in the mail for WOR and DXLD support, to Glenn Hauser, PO Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 (gh) & see GABON PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ LATEST EIBI DATABASE UPLOADED BY CHUCK Hi Folks, I just uploaded the latest database from Eike Bierwirth which I converted to a database language that is easy to used and sort. It can be found at http://www.orchidcitysoftware.com/IMAGE59.HTML Down load "Aconvert.zip" then unzip it. Load the program with the resulting unzipped program called "setup.exe". The program should open automatically. Drop me a line at ka4prf @ peoplepc.com if you have any problems. Thanks (Chuck Bolland, FL, April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IMPORTANT QUESTION ON EMWG HISTORY PART Dear DXer, As you may or may not know, the EMWG web site contains a vast section on LW/MW history. This section is growing substantially. I have asked EMWG mailing list members for their opinion on how this history section should be available, but the results were fully inconclusive. I am therefore directing myself to you, because I believe you can give me a structured opinion. If you know that the history section is to grow substantially, this is the dilemma I am faced with: The EMWG history section can be: a. an integral part of the EMWG web site as it is now + advantages: link with EMWG is maintained - disadvantages: difficult to keep an overview on my local hard drive as it is intertwined with the rest of the EMWG, no collaboration possibilities b. a completely separate web site + advantages: every neatly together, better but still no excellent overview, EMWG site is strictly limited to the current frequency info - disadvantages: no collaboration possibilities c. a wiki + advantages: several people can participate, less burden on my shoulders, easy search function, other typical wiki advantages - disadvantages: little control on entered information, not so good overview on what's already there, all info and files etc. are on a foreign server (should they shut down, all is lost) Of course I am sufficiently grown up to make a decision myself, but I'm always in for some good advice from knowledgable people. That is why I am so blunt in asking your honest opinion. Feel free to answer me in your mother tongue language! And last but not least, don't hesitate to send me any historic info you may have (sounds, images, texts, frequency info, ...)! I want to turn this history thing in something really worthwhile! Thanks! (Herman Boel, herman @ hermanboel.eu April 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO PHILATELY +++++++++++++++ HAM RADIO STAMPS I have an example of a ham radio stamp collection on my website --- http://www.k5ilf.com Check it out (Bill in Las Cruces, radiostamps yg via DXLD) Quite an extensive collexion, countries one by one (gh) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: ECUADOR ++++++++++++++++++++ WBBM-DT APPROVED FOR 8 KW ON CHANNEL 12 I just read that WBBM-DT, Chicago has received a CP from the FCC for 8 kW (ND) at 497 meters on channel 12. This station will finally get off ch. 3 and will have some power for viewers in the suburbs of Chicagoland. http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?list=0&facid=9617http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=616895 Engineering exhibit..... http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=629658 (Steve Rich, Indianapolis, IN, April 24, WTFDA via DXLD) I take it the 8 kW would be for them to change channel number and power now, so that they protect WISN-TV to the north and WILL-TV to the south. Then after February 17, 2009 I assume they could increase the power to 300 kW? (John L., WI, ibid.) No way would the FCC allow 300 kW on ch 8 for digital. Maybe 15 kW max? (Mike Glass, Indy, ibid.) Apparently, WBBM-DT (12) will be using the existing WTTW-TV, Channel 11 analog antenna, on the day-of transition, once WTTW shuts down their analog transmitter for the last time (2/17/09). I hope the WTTW analog antenna is broadbanded enough to go up to Channel 12 for WBBM- DT operation. Usually, this is not the case as the antenna was specifically designed for Channel 11. I would not be surprised if WBBM would have to make some adjustments to the tuning network. But, using an existing antenna for this operation seems to be a logical thing to do. And let's face it, a DT on Channel 3 (as WBBM-DT is currently on) will not work. Anyone who decided to go to a post-transitional channel on VHF-lo (2-6) will find out soon enough that they would be better off on either VHF-hi or UHF. IMHO. FOOTNOTE: IMHO, I'll betcha that chances are, the analogs will have to be re-activated once the FCC is inundated with calls from people (on 2/17/09) who will complaining on how they are not getting their TV stations anymore. Sounds crazy, but with human nature being as it is, I would not be surprised. Any thoughts? (Peter Q. George (K1XRB), Whitman, Massachusetts, ibid.) 160 kW, if no interference to other DTV channel 8s and the antenna isn't higher than 305m. For VHF-low, the limit is 45 kW, again subject to further limit due to potential interference (and to antenna heights in excess of 305m). I think I'm calculating something wrong as for channel 12 in Zone I at 497 m I get a maximum ERP of 7.72 dBk which I calculate as a bit less than 6 kW. It should be noted only two high-band VHF DTV stations have actually been allowed 160 kW in the initial post-transition table (KIII-8 and KOAB-11). Only one station got 45 kW on low-band VHF, and it's in Alaska (KYES-5). However, 328 stations got the max on UHF, 1000 kW. I'm 99% certain that channel 12 facility for WBBM-DT is post- transition only. They might be able to swing a STA to test it late some nights before next February but I'd be VERY surprised if they're allowed to begin regular operation on channel 12 any sooner than that. Either their signal in Lake County would be even worse than it is on channel 3, or the interference to WISN in Kenosha and Racine Counties would be ruinous (Doug Smith, TN, ibid.) The main issue with DTV on channel 3 is that it ruins everyone`s VCR with RF output on channel 3. Whatever happened to the channel 4 alternative? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Peter Q. George wrote: ``And let's face it, a DT on Channel 3 (as WBBM-DT is currently on) will not work. Anyone who decided to go to a post-transitional channel on VHF-lo (2-6) will find out soon enough that they would be better off on either VHF-hi or UHF. IMHO.`` Can you tell us why this is so? (Allan Dunn, K1UCY, WTFDA via DXLD) Certainly, Allan, DTV is more delicate than the standard analog TV. You either have it, or you don't. VHF-lo requires a much bigger antenna than the typical VHF-hi (7-13) or UHF (14-51). Oh, for sure for DX'ing (E-skip), VHF-lo is tops. But, for digital signals in the local market, especially the VHF-lo are more susceptible to the interference caused by e-skip. Trying to get a good VHF-lo signal inside a dwelling, especially in a suburban area (never mind trying to get a digital signal), can become quite noisy. VHF-lo inherently has a high noise level than the upper frequencies. VHF-hi and UHF have a better penetration inside buildings, especially multi-family apartment buildings. I live 25 miles from the Boston antenna farm in Needham. Channels 2, 4 and 5 are noisy and require an outside antenna to get a solid signal. Many apartment dwellers are not that lucky to do so, due to tenant restrictions. Channels 7, 25, 38, 44 and 56 are more solid, even inside the building. I got to admit, the less-than-par signal from Channel 2 is of a benefit for me as when the e-skip fires up, no problem. It's all coming from the sky (skywave) anyway. Channel 3 always seems to be WEDU (Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL) as the first catch of the day (until 2/17/09). A majority of people in Chicagoland are apartment dwellers. WBBM-DT saw the writing on the wall, due to their less than adequate coverage on Channel 3. So they made the move to Channel 12. I'm sure they will do better on 12 than 3. They lucked out by getting an existing antenna from a previous tenant, one channel down (Peter Q. George (K1XRB), Whitman, Massachusetts, ibid.) Agreed about channel 2 and 3. WBBM DT 3 doesn't have all that good a signal. I take care of my mother-in-law`s TV reception and she uses outside antennas and no matter what I put up for multi-band it seems her reception of CBS 2 stinks and she's only 35 miles from downtown Chicago. Adding to that problem is that fact that on most antennas the longest element(s), i.e. those affecting 2 and 3 the most, are most prone to bending or breaking. Can someone link me to a site telling me all the DTV allocations that will be in effect after Feb 17 2009 analog shut off in the US ? 73 KAZ (soon to be back on Mom's roof) (Neil Kazaross, IL, ibid.) If Channels 2-6 become so wide open & avoided by the big broadcasters, they might eventually become filled up with tons of LPTV's as they look for empty channels to move to as UHF fills up. This could add a new twist to Es DX, making it very challenging & interesting! (Bill Hepburn, Ont., ibid.) No. Ain't gonna happen. Without use of channels above 51, there simply isn't the room, and, the auctioning off of the spectrum makes it impossible to keep for TV. Further, to require TV stations to return to analog would be yet ANOTHER unfunded mandate that would simply be unfair. Take, for example, my local channel 13 -- they had to build out a full-power DTV facility on channel 53, they will shut down on transition day. Total cost (according to the GM, who I know pretty well)? About $3M. If they are told to resume analog, there would be owners and GMs from all over the country converging on the FCC with torches and pitchforks -- like something out of an old black & white movie from the 1930s. Never mind the money laid out to but DTV boxes for the unwashed masses. Nah. Ain't happening (Peter, N4LI, Baskind, J.D., LL.M., Germantown, TN, 901-624-5295, http://applezombies.wordpress.com/ ibid.) I am sure they will still be selling the converter boxes. I do hope for the taxpayers` sake that the government will continue to issue coupons after that date. I am hoping they would consider expanding the FM Radio Band with channels 2-6 (John L., WI, ibid.) Would these LPTVs be digital or analog? (Craig, ibid.) There's a phased schedule for the coupons. The current round of "anyone can apply" lasts for a few more months or until the money for it runs out (at last check, only about 10% of the budgeted funds had been issued as coupons). After those coupons expire, there will be a second round, closer to the 2/17/09 drop-dead date, that will be limited to people who don't subscribe to cable or satellite TV. The size of that coupon program will be determined by how much is left in the till after all the coupons from the first round have either expired or been used. In the end, I'm quite certain that anyone who wants a box will be able to get one with the $40 discount - here in Rochester, the membership staff at our public TV station is collecting coupons from people who don't need/aren't using theirs, to make sure any member who needs one can have one for the asking. s (Scott Fybush, WXXI, ibid.) Maybe they could move the IBOC frequencies down to the current TV 2-6 frequencies so the regular FM band will be easier to DX in analog! (David Pierce, Woodbridge, VA / Washington, DC metro area, My DX website: http://home.comcast.net/~dlp85x/ ibid.) ANALOG PASSTHROUGH WITH DTV BOXES There was an article on CNN.com yesterday about the DTV conversion, and they sort of compared the Insignia to the Radio Shack boxes. One interesting point in the article was how to get analog with the Insignia (and other boxes) hooked up. I haven't tried this, so I really don't know if the author is correct or not. Here is that part of the article. "Lack of analog passthrough may not be a fatal flaw. You may not miss the low-power stations. If you have a TV that takes a "composite" input, usually via a yellow socket, you can plug the converter into that, leaving the antenna socket free for a second antenna, which you can use for remaining analog broadcasts. (Even if you don't plan to use a second antenna, plugging the converter box into the composite jack is a good idea, because you'll get better image quality.)" (via Craig, Denver, ibid.) If there is an available video input on the TV, that is definitely the best way to connect the boxes. The problem is that many older sets never had inputs, and those that do, may already be in use with a DVD player (most of which do not have an RF modulator). (Neil Griffin, Bainbridge, GA, ibid.) Under the current rules new analog LPTVs are still possible. My gut feeling is that analog LPTV doesn't have long to live though. Will new TVs continue to have analog tuners? Will viewers bother to select & deselect their STB (even if it does pass through analog)? Will viewers bother to watch fuzzy noisy analog signals? I think analog LPTV will be a thing of the past in 2-4 years. It's my understanding the Feb. 17th deadline is an act of Congress. The FCC can't overturn it on their own. I'll have to beg a bit of ignorance: will Congress be in session next February 17th? I suppose President Nader *could* call Congress into special session next February 18th to consider legislation to repeal the deadline. I think it's far more likely that Ralph Nader will be President next February than that President Clinton/McCain/Obama would call a special session for this (Doug Smith, TN, ibid.) Congress will be in session - and will be 21 months away from the next election cycle, diminishing the political pressure to "solve" this theoretical "problem." If everything goes according to plan between now and then, a fair amount of the analog TV infrastructure will be gone by then, anyway. There's absolutely no way the deadline to vacate channels 52-69 gets pushed back - the new users of those frequencies are already using them in many areas, as witness all the analog 55s that left the air early at Qualcomm's expense for the MediaFLO rollout on that channel. Other stations will have to vacate their analog or interim DTV channels to allow digital operations to move down the dial from 52-69 when those channels leave broadcast use. I'm thinking of Dallas, for instance, where KFWD 52 goes to 9, sending WFAA-DT from 9 back to 8. There's no room there for both KFWD and WFAA to continue operating analog and digital once 52 goes out of core. Or LA, where KCBS-DT goes to 43, presently the interim home of KCAL-DT, which reverts to 9. KCBS gets rid of both its present analog on 2 and its interim DT on 60 when that happens. There's no way the industry would accept a situation in which some lucky stations (with separate analog and digital operations on channels that are both within core and not getting reassigned to other users) get to stay on the air with analog, while others don't. There's also the problem of stations coaxing aging analog transmitters along to the finish line. We've already started seeing stations pull the plug early on analog because they don't want to spend the money on expensive replacement transmitter tubes after one dies (WNIT 34 South Bend, for instance). There's not a station left out there that's budgeted for continued analog operations after 2/2009, and most TV station budgets these days are stretched to the breaking point as it is. That's not to say some politicians won't try to make hay by proposing extended analog operations, but it won't survive lobbying by NAB, AMST and the other industry organizations (never mind CTIA and the other trade organizations with an interest in channels 52-69 post- transition!) s I really wonder about the business model for most LPTVs as it is. I understand that the big religious operators (TBN, 3ABN, TCT, Daystar, et al.) aren't in it to make money, per se, but to spread their messages. Most of these groups already see the points that Doug is making, and appear to be making plans to take their LPTVs digital. Then there are a relatively small number of LPTVs that function as full-market, full-service TV stations, providing network service in markets too small to support the full complement of full-power stations. NBC in Binghamton, Fox in Bangor, ABC in South Bend, half the networks in Palm Springs, even the MyNetworkTV here in Rochester. These stations have cable carriage, probably get most of their viewers on cable, and are also mostly on track to convert to DTV pretty quickly after the 2009 full-power switchover, if they're not there already. But then there are those other LPTVs that seem to chug along without ever getting any attention from anyone. We have a few here that pop on and off the air with home shopping. Presumably they get a cut of whatever meager sales they generate for HSN - but is that really enough to pay tower rent, power for the transmitters and whatever maintenance expenses are involved in keeping them on the air? And can it possibly be enough to pay for a new DTV transmitter (or at least exciter) to keep the signals alive in the minds of whatever viewers they might have as analog OTA full-power goes away? I doubt many OTA viewers will refrain from converting to digital here just because they'll still have access to two home-shopping channels, MyNetwork TV and a TCT religious signal after 2/2009. All of which makes me more than a little pessimistic about the notion that we'll see a lot of new LPTVs staking out turf on low-band V next spring. Even if DTV turns out to be good news for some LPTVs with strong signals in their core markets - and I imagine it will indeed put at least some big-signal LPTVs at or near par in signal quality with their full-power brethren - low-band VHF seems to me like a really lousy place for an LPTV to be. The challenges of overcoming electrical noise will be high for even the full-power DTV signals down on low band, and I get the impression most OTA DTV viewers will be using antennas like the Silver Sensor, which is barely adequate even for high-band VHF DTV and utterly useless for low-band V. No TV station can survive if nobody can see it. Will anyone actually be able to see these theoretical new low-band V LPTVs? I think the only potential business model will be for more "FM 87.7" channel 6 LPTVs to show up, but that's not a long-term strategy, and issues with spacing to NCE FMs will still block new channel 6s from appearing in many markets. s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) IBOCLE I'd bet that financials are going to be the killing shot for IBOC. Stations are putting a lot of money into equipment upgrades, licensing fees to Ibiquity, and programming for the HD+ channels. And what do they have to show for it? Just about 400,000 radios extent in the country capable of receiving HD, and no real prospect that number is going to increase significantly. A lot of money and effort has expended to reach a very, very small audience. Eventually some top executives are going to say, "Why are spending so much on this when no one's listening?" And when the first high-profile defection happens, the stampede away from IBOC will be on (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19 http://harryhelmsblog.blogspot.com/ ABDX via DXLD) I really think *little* money is being spent on HD programming, certainly very little for the secondary channels. IF that is the case, they should anyone purchase a radio to hear "the same old stuff" (except with the added bonus of dropouts and poor coverage)? The fact that the car manufacturers are finally coming on board I find interesting. They are in such a cost sensitive area that I doubt they pay much to Ibiquity. And, as has been pointed out, if someone buys a new auto and switches to the HD radio and notices all the dropouts and lack of original programming, they will surely listen to CDs instead. And if the auto repair shops get tired of hearing about the dropouts and nothing new anyway, I will place money that the car manufacturers drop it after a year or two. It would be fun to be a little mouse in the corner and listen in on the line that Ibiquity feeds the auto guys! - JimT (Jim Tonne, Oak Ridge, ibid.) Car manufacturers aren't really on board with HD; a few are offering it as an option, but how many HD-equipped autos are on dealer lots compared to, say, cars with XM or Sirius factory installed? When you start seeing car ads boasting the model comes equipped with HD radio --- like ads today boast of having XM or Sirius as standard equipment --- then I'll believe HD might have a future (Harry Helms, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ WEAK SUNSPOT CYCLE? I am currently listening to CKNW 980 Vancouver and the host is interviewing an Australian scientist, Dr. Phillip Chapman who says, this new sunspot cycle is overdue by a year, which could produce this coming one as a weak cycle. An educated guess, this cycle may bring on a period of climate change, not global warming, but global cooling. The last time a cycle like this showed up was in the 1800's when you could skate across the Thames. Any "global warming" or "global cooling" is an educated guess anyway. But it is interesting to hear Dr, Chapman talk about a weak cycle with few sunspots. What effect will this have on the coming DX season, if true? 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, April 24, IRCA via DXLD) Recent cycles have become more erratic in terms of historical cycles. There have been some experts who saw signs that the new cycle had started about a year ago while others aren't sure it has even now. A larger group seemed to think it started only within the past 4 months or so. There are lots of different theories, but nobody really knows, and any predictions made are mostly guesswork at this point, but prior ones have indicated a more active one this time, so.... (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ), NRC-AM via DXLD) ###