DX LISTENING DIGEST 8-069, June 9, 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 1411 Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 0530 WRMI 9955 [new] Wed 1130 WRMI 9955 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.worldofradsio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. UAE/UK [to AFGHANISTAN] Re: ``CVC, normally dominant on 11665 kHz here was rather weak at 0204 check June 5, and with SAH of about 10 Hz from a station playing Middle East music presumed R. Solh via UAE, as scheduled and just confirmed in England by Mike Barraclough until 0600 UT. I believe they switch to 11675 from 0600 until 1200, also UAE [yes, both Al Dhabbaya 250 kW 45 degrees, wb.] , then 1200-1800 UT 17700 via Skelton [via Rampisham 500 kW 85 degrees instead, wb.] (Glenn Hauser-OK-USA. dxld June 6)`` (Wolfgang Büschel, June 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALASKA. 6890, KNLS Anchor Point, 1028-1048, June 3, English. 80's era pop music; religious talk re trials of Jacob; New Life Station- KNLS ID at 1036; signal deteriorating by 1040; gospel music audible at tuneout; poor (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R8, R75, 8600MK2B, CLR/DSP, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, 60M dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. Re 8-068: R. Tirana frequency changes from Shijak site effective June 12 to resolve some interference problems: 1800-1830 Italian to Eu, 7460, ex-1730-1800 7430 (Drita Çiço, R. Tirana Monitoring, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In Albanian; I hope I have interpreted it correctly (gh) Glenn, I'm afraid, it might be misunderstood your report; only the change for Italian program, the new frequency is 7430 instead of 7460, the time shift with half an hour later is OK. Sorry, that I did not report these changes in English to you. Good night everywhere you are, (Drita Çiço, R. Tirana, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Changes in A08ALR effective 12 June Notification: Radio Tirana, 09 June 2008 In absence of ALR participation in HFCC/ASBU coordination conference for A08 season March-October 2008, Radio Tirana will make the following changes effective on 12 June 2008: 1800-1830 UTC Italian to Eu, 7430 KHz, ex-1730-1800 7460 KHz to avoid interference from IBB 7465 KHz. 2000-2030 UTC English to Eu, 7465 KHz, ex-7460 KHz to avoid interference from IBB 7455 KHz 2030-2200 UTC Albanian to Eu, 9395 KHz, ex-9390 KHz 9390 to avoid QRM by Algiers relay at 2000-2200 UT. Radio Algeria Holy Qur'an program started on May 26th their relay service via Issoudun site in central France. [but see ALGERIA] 2300-2430 Albanian to NoAm, 9345 KHz, ex-9390 KHz to avoid interference from WWCR 9385 KHz overrun until 2355v] [no, WWRB! -gh] 1805-1835 UTC German to Germany, 1458 KHz, ex-1801-1829; this shift in time is made to facilitate studio sites, because of three programs running at the same time at around 1800 (Drita Çiço, Eng. ARTV-HF Manager & Head of Monitoring Center, RADIO TIRANA, June 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALGERIA [non]. Re Tirana frequency change above: But I think it's no longer on air anyway? The story of these Algiers relays via Issoudun has already been discussed I think: They file a number of registrations, then pick out some of these frequencies to run two transmitters simultaneously, and after a few days it's over until the next test period starts. Could it be that TDF desperately tries to sell airtime to Algeria, thus offers them one test round after another? No regular transmissions should be left at the old transmitter complex (the so- called Centre E) since Libya abandoned it, so it would be no surprise if they are really eager to attract new customers (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 11710, RAE, General Pacheco, 0232-0244, June 7, English. Talk re architecture; International service ID in passing; DX program at 0237 tho more talk than tips; contact info at 0242 followed by tango music; poor-fair with nasty het tone (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R8, R75, 8600MK2B, CLR/DSP, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, 60M dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Het no doubt caused by RAE perpetually off-frequency --- except nothing else listed on 11710 at this time in any of the online schedules (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. 5945, Radio Austria International, 2050-2059, escuchada el 9 de junio en alemán a locutora con comentarios, ID, música clásica de fondo, sin servicio en español, fin de transmisión, SINPO 55454. Ya nos adelantó algo Tomás Méndez desde Barcelona; llevaba días sin escuchar el servicio en español de ORF1. Hoy he podido constatar que no hubo servicio en español, ¿servicio cancelado? (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BENIN. Hola! TWR Benin, 1566, received full detailed E-QSL from Mrs. L. Stavropoulos, DX-Secretary. E-mail: lstavrop @ twr.org.sz (Artur Fernández Llorella, location unknown, Spain? June 6, playdx yg via DXLD) So they QSL from a Greek in the Swaziland office Óptimo elenco, Artur! Acá en la Playa la Barrosa de Chiclana de Cádiz, 1566 kHz entra muy bien las tardes después de las 2000 UT hasta S/Off 2230, TWR y también las mañanas a las 0500-0530 UT!!!! Benin. 73's (Dario Monferini, ibid.) ** BIAFRA [non]. Re: ``Per FCC info, V. of Biafra International`s new frequency starting this week will be 15280 instead of previously planned 15665, Fridays only at 2000-2100 in English and Ibo, from WHRI, 250 kW at 87 degrees, ex-17650. To be confirmed (Glenn Hauser, OK, June 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` Nope, still on 17650 at good level right now at 2004 UT (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, June 6, HCDX via DXLD) USA, 17650, Voice of Biafra, 2028-2033, escuchada el 6 de junio en inglés a locutor con comentarios y constantes referencias a Biafra, SINPO 35443 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Glenn, Despite the FCC announcement, I am hearing right now on 17650, but not on 15280 or 15665: 17650, The Voice of Biafra, Fri Jun 06, *2000-2015, English, religious hymns, 2 ID's: "You are tuned to the Voice of Biafra, coming to you from Washington D.C.", talk about Biafra, SINPO 35333. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Okay, thanks Anker. Is scheduled on Fris only 20-21 UT on 17650 till June 1st, and from Sept 12th ONLY. But on 15280 in June 1 - Sept 7th, latter entry came very late to our attention. Maybe next June 13 they will change to lower 15280 then. That's another example of poor frequency management by HRI management or engineering at the station. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) New [sic] 17650, *2000-2100*, CLANDESTINE, Friday 06.06, Voice of Biafra, via WHRI, Cypress Creek, USA. English/Ibo religious hymn, 3 ID's: "You are tuned to the Voice of Biafra, coming to you from Washington, D.C.", talks about Biafra and Nigeria. 2058 announcement: Next broadcast will be on 15385! 25232. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 m longwire, here in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) Listened to last few minutes of June 6 file at their website http://www.biafraland.com/vobi.htm and after God Bless Africa anthem, outro said nothing about frequencies before other African music and cut off. So not really same file? Anyhow, as above, it was supposed to move to 15280 last week, not 15385 next week, which BTW would collide with KJES (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4005.5, 07/06/2008 2147, R. Virgen de Remedios, Tupiza, OM Talk SS "Tú me queres" 35433. 4451.1, 07/06/2008 2155, R. Santa Ana, Santa Ana de Yacuma, Mx OM SS, 25332. 4716.7, 08/06/2008 0110, R. Yura, Yura, Mx OM SS, 35333. 4781.5, 07/06/2008 2235, R. Tacana, Tamupasa, Mx OM SS, 34333 (Ulysses Galletti, Itatiba-SP, Brasil, Latitude: 22 56' 343" Sul, Longitude: 46 43'164" West, GRIDLOCATOR: GG67PB, Receptor: Rohde & Schwarz Modelo EK 47 [see RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM], Acoplador de Antena: Mod. MFJ – 956, Antena Longwire 19.80m posição N/S com Lowbander 9.1 Balun for Longwire Antenas, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Globo, Rio de Janeiro op 11804.74 kHz, 2013 UT, amusement program in Portugees, best met supperkaz antenne (ruisvrij) met ala 1530 slecht, met de LW 100 meter iets beter. Moeilijk tenemen is Rádio Gaucha, P. Alegre, 11915.14 kHz, 2021 UT met sport in Portugees. Op 11915 is namelijk BSKSA in de lucht; deze twee zijn toch goed tescheiden. Gr (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, June 8, BDX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL [non]. Brasil Rising is a new documentary which I heard on KUT Austin Sunday June 8 at 1606-1700 during the Best of Public Radio hour. Brazilians who understand English may well want to listen to it, not that they will learn anything they don`t already know well, but to find out how their country is being portrayed in the USA. Is it fair? Please excuse the awful pronunciation of the narrator. Show website does not yet have audio link, but like previous episodes, expect that to be added shortly: http://www.stanleyfoundation.org/articles.cfm?id=464 (Guilherme Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CAMEROON [non]. Lutheran World Federation/Sawtu Linjiila, 9655, via DTK, received a non detailed e-mail from Mr. Jukka Latva-Hakuni, Media Consultant for e-mail report (Artur Fernández Llorella, location unknown, Spain? June 6, playdx yg via DXLD) 9655, V. of Gospel via DTK, May 20 *1830-1840, 45444, Fulfulde, 1830 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Talk. Also: Jun 03 *1830-1837 45433 Fulfulde, 1830 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Drums, Talk; also Jun 05 *1830-1838 35433 Fulfulde, 1830 sign on with IS, ID, Opening announce, Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** CANADA. RCI, CBC AND RADIO-CANADA CELEBRATE QUEBEC ANNIVERSARY http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2008/15/c8820.html CBC and sister networks are in Quebec City this summer to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city. This includes all language sections at RCI. ON RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL -------------- RCI teams will each present specials devoted to Quebec City, live from Espace 400e. The Chinese section will kick off RCI's summer lineup with its special on June 24 at 9 a.m. The French and Brazilian sections are next, on June 27 at 1 and 3 p.m., followed by: the Arab section on July 7 at 3 p.m.; the Ukrainian section on July 11 at 11 a.m.; the Russian section on July 25 at 10 a.m.; the English section on August 1 at 11 a.m.; and finally, the Latin American section on August 8 at 6 p.m. Listen in on the Web at RCIviva.ca, and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 188). (via Ricky Leong, Calgary, June 7, dxldyg via DXLD) EDT, I guess; ever hear of UT? (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. Montreal's Info 940 (CINW) to switch format --- Corus Entertainement announced the end of the current all-news/talk format for its 940 am station in Montreal. It will be replaced by "greatest hits" station by the end of this month. http://www.940news.com/local.php?news=29081 (Jeff Brulotte, June 6, ABDX via DXLD) Viz.: 940Montreal is changing formats. The NEWS/TALK AM radio station will move to a music format on June 13th at 8 PM. Corus Quebec Executive Vice President, Mario Cecchini, said the change had to be made because the station's ratings never met expectations although the quality of the programming was never in doubt. 18 people will lose their jobs as a result of the change. The new station will be called AM 940 MONTREAL'S GREATEST HITS. More details will be announced in the days to come (above website 2008-06-06 18:55:31 via DXLD) Shux, was hoping for CBC Radio 1 relay (gh, DXLD) RADIO NEWS STAFF GET PINK SLIP --- STRUGGLING AM STATION 940 NEWS PLANS SWITCH TO 'GREATEST HITS' MUSIC FORMAT PAUL DELEAN, The Gazette Published: Saturday, June 07 940 News made news itself yesterday, much to the chagrin of more than a dozen on-air contributors and producers. They'll be losing their jobs next week as part of a radical format change at the English-language AM radio station, which is switching from news, traffic and talk to mostly music, starting Friday. Among those cut loose was veteran broadcaster Dennis Trudeau, who's been hosting a show on the station since September. "I went into private radio with my eyes open," Trudeau said. "I was having a great time but knew somebody could walk up to me one day and say, 'Thank you.' Today was that day." The station, which counted Jim Duff, Joe Cannon and Aphrodite Salas among its marquee talkers, reportedly will keep some of its news team to fulfill regulatory requirements, but otherwise plans to go with a "greatest hits" music format. 940 News is one of 53 radio stations owned by Corus Entertainment, one of Canada's largest media and entertainment companies. It reported net earnings of $35.3 million in the latest quarter ended Feb. 29. A station executive who went on the air shortly after 4 p.m. yesterday said the ratings simply weren't there and they needed to try something else. Sources said the plan was to reveal the change only next week, but executives were pushed to act yesterday after being called about it by other local media. The station 940 News got its start in 1999 as the successor to CIQC. Initially a news, weather, sports and traffic station, it gradually integrated talk and opinion into its format (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** CANADA. Toronto L-Band stations gone! Well, almost all --- I can no longer receive 20 of the Toronto area L-Band stations that have been on the air for years with no listeners. Unless they've reduced power, they're gone. The only group left on the air is the "CBC DAB" group, which includes CBLA-DR-1, CBL-DR-1, CJBC-DR-2, CJBC-DR-1, and experimental data from VX9CUZ (CBLT/RDI). The demise of L-Band digital radio is not a surprise. Analogue rules for now... The groups missing were on Channel 3, 4, 8 & 9 (a.k.a. LC, LD, LH, LI) . The CBC group is on Channel 6 (LF). There are 23 allocated L-Band "channels" in Canada, each channel normally has 5 sub-channels (thus 115 allocations). (William R. Hepburn, Grimsby, ON, CANADA, Web Site: http://www.dxinfocentre.com June 7, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CANADA. 600, BC, Vancouver CKBD Will become CKPK (when flip to 100.5 occurs). BRANDINGS: 600 BC Vancouver CKBD Will become “THE PEAK” (when flip to 100.5 occurs) (Dan Sys, Canadian Radio News, IRCA via MWC via DXLD) ** CAYMAN ISLANDS. Noted by sporadic E, EDT [UT -4]: 6/9 Es 1126 87.9-ZFKP Georgetown, Religious program (965 miles) - solid armchair copy! 1123 99.9-ZFZZ Georgetown RDS Z99 (967) 1120 101.9-ZFKY Cayman Brac RDS Rooster 101 (967) back to the dials at 1135 (Fred Nordquist, Moncks Corner, SC, 33.21756N, 79.95798W, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CHAD. 07 June at 1915 R Chad, 7120, in French peaking through the dominating Russia. 4905 was empty (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Re: Now Firedrake Jammer on 3 QRGs // on 20 m China cares a d... [sic] even if the whole world protests. This is nothing for them when they are chasing an anti Chinese broadcast from Taiwan. The Taiwanese should know better than to invade into the ham bands. As for China they just walk in and take over long established frequencies of other broadcasters which have been in use for donkey's years. A very sad state indeed. 73, (Victor Goonetilleke, RSSL, Sri Lanka, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6937, Yunnan PBS2, Kumming, Yunnan, 1132-1140, June 01, Vernacular, reports and talks, 24432. 7105, Nei Menggu PBS, Hohhot, Nei Menggu, 1112-1116, June 01, Mongolian or Vernacular, talk by male, 24432//9520 with same SINPO. 7620, Voice of Zhonghua (CNR-5), Beijing, 1119-1125, June 01, Vernacular, reports by male & female, 24332 // 5925 with 24332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Zhoushan Maritime Meteorological Radio Station (Zhoushan Haiyang Qixiang Guanbo Diantai, 3303 kHz USB), which started transmission in March, sent me a PFC QSL card in Chinese for my reception report in Chinese after 50 days, with very kind letter of thanks, by registered air mail. Enclosed 10 yuan bill was returned. QSL signer was Mr. Zhou Zhong. My reception report was also reported as a news in their home page http://220.189.205.5/open_news.asp?id=668 (dated May 6), saying “Recently we were surprised to receive the reception report from Japanese friend. He said he could have clear reception of our broadcast, with good signal strength, less interference and less noise. He admitted the usefulness of our station for the safety navigation in East China Sea. The distance to Tokyo is 1700 km, and our original covering distance is 500-800 km. His reception report means our station is completely covering East China Sea, Yellow sea, and other surrounding seas.” cf. DXLD 8-048 URL: http://220.189.205.5/ (Chinese only) Address: Meicen Road, Putuoshan, Putuo District, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China (Takahito Akabayashi, Japan, June 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 17863, China Radio International, 0740-0750, escuchada el 8 de junio en francés a locutor y locutora con comentarios, ID, emisión de música; se observa muy desplazada esta emisión que en principio debería ser de 17865, SINPO 34343 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Kashi ** CROATIA. 3984.9, CROACIA, 08/06/2008 0140, R. Voice of Croácia, YL talk, 25332 (Ulysses Galletti, Itatiba-SP, Brasil, Latitude: 22 56' 343" Sul, Longitude: 46 43'164" West, GRIDLOCATOR: GG67PB, Receptor: Rohde & Schwarz Modelo EK 47 [see RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM], Acoplador de Antena: Mod. MFJ – 956, Antena Longwire 19.80m posição N/S com Lowbander 9.1 Balun for Longwire Antenas, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. While 15460 and 17660 had been overflowing with lovely Cuban music [see UNIDENTIFIED], afterwards at 2208 June 7 RHC itself on 9550 was playing Que lindo es México, and some Andean music until 2217 outroing ``Cancionero Iberoamericano`` program, a time for it I was not aware of. This long-running show appears nowhere on the RHC Spanish program schedule at http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/programacion.htm but we have heard it reliably Saturdays at 1430 when their sked claims it`s ``Sonido Cubano``; now Saturdays 2200 is being added for C.I. to MONITORING REMINDERS CALENDAR. RHC just shows ``Revista Iberoamericana`` Mon-Sat 2100-2300 without detailing any programs within it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also VENEZUELA RHC once again with nothing but open carrier on 11760, while 9550, 11805, 12000, 13680, 13760, 15370 were funxioning normally in Spanish, 1436 June 9 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780, Radio Djibouti, *0259-0325, June 7, sign on with National Anthem. Opening Arabic announcements at 0300. Kor`an at 0302. Local music at 0325. Poor with strong CODAR QRM (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EASTER ISLAND. NDB "IPA" on 280 at weak level, 1119 UT (Steve, NE Oregon, Ratzlaff, June 9, R75, AR7030, longwires; (narrow audio filter for IPA), IRCA via DXLD) Isla PAscua ** ECUADOR. Continues to provide excellent signals on: 3220, HCJB Pifo blasting in, 0950 4 June [`NVIS`] 3279.9, La Voz del Napo, Tena, 1000 strong signal daily 4814.9, Radio El Buen Pastor, good signal 1000 to 1030 with "palabras de Dios" mixing with USB voice utility en español. 6 June 4909.22, Radio Chaskis, Otavalo not heard last two weeks (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, Southeast Flórida, US, June 7, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 9250, Radio Wadi el-Nil, 2150-2201*, June 7, local Mid-East music. Arabic talk. Koran at 2154. Talk at 2159. Anthem at 2200 & off mid-song. Fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. R. Cairo, 11549.4, June 7 at 2206 with YL in English, S9+18 but distorted and undermodulated, virtually unreadable, despite absence of the usual equal or stronger signal from WEWN which is still scheduled on 11550.0 until 2400* Maybe off the air for some reason or totally not propagating (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR [and non]. Central America TV2-4 with ID's YSR-2 San Salvador with distinct white 2 in light blue circle logo came in strong, then ID'ed was HRJS-2 San Pedro Sula, Honduras with inverted triangle and loop around it, then in came YNTC-2 Managua, Nicaragua with their doubled 2 logo spun in from the backdrop only for a second. YSR-2 keeps their logo up constant. Es CCI on TV3 and 4 (Randy KW4RZ Zerr, Ft Walton Beach, FL, June 6, WTFDA via DXLD) YSR-2 does keep their logo up most of the time, except during newscasts. For years, the logo was supered lower right. For a few years after that, the logo was upper right. When I last saw them a while back, the logo was lower left again. YNTC-2 also was putting their logo lower right almost continuously during the two times I saw them last year (Danny, Shreveport, LA, Oglethorpe, June 6, WTFDA via DXLD) see also MEXICO YSR-2 had their logo in the upper left the entire time they were in. If they are indeed 100 kW and broadcasting from the top of the volcano above San Salvador then this one ought to be an easy catch further into the US. Especially after Feb 2009. I made a couple quick videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP4TWcVeRp0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z4kFbHGpwU Unfortunately I missed recording when YSR was in full color and when YNTC showed up briefly. All of these TV stations are regular E skip visitors from 1036, 1166, and 1264 miles. I'm just having fun with the video feature on the camera (Randy KW4RZ Zerr, Ft Walton Beach, FL, June 6, WTFDA via DXLD) ** EL SALVADOR. E skip FL - El Salvador --- 72.9 FM "Radio Selectos" is in from El Salvador. Receiving on the PRO2004 in wide FM. Also weak TV2 and TV4. Good luck (R. Zerr KW4RZ, Ft Walton Beach, FL, EM60, 1554 UT June 7, WTFDA via DXLD) That`s not a typo. As previously reported, El Sal has some FM background(?) music services in the gap between TV channels 4 and 5, 72-76 MHz (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 6110, Radio Fana, 6/2, 0257-0335, with WHRI absent, IS heard 0257, opening ID, great seguéd modern instrumental Ethiopian music! Deep voiced man announcer once in half hour. 0330, clear ID, then into news in Amharic. Astronishingly strong signal! (Don Jensen, Kenosha WI, June 8, NASWA yg via DXLD) WHRI occupies this frequency-hour only 5 days a week, but which? EiBi says M-F, but June 2 was Monday. HFCC says Tue-Sat, so should also be in clear UT Sundays right after Mighty KBC via Lithuania (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. 7110, R. Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 0302-0317, June 3, vernacular. Announcer with presumed news; techno music bit at 0303 followed by HoA music until presumed program intro at 0310, then an interview; fair; // 9704.2-weak (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R8, R75, 8600MK2B, CLR/DSP, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, 60M dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7110. Radio Ethiopia (Gedja), 0407-0410, 6/6/2008, Amharic. Lively horn of Africa music. Talk by man at 0408 over and between a few bars of music. Moderate signal with weak co- channel interference and significant fading (SINPO 32222). Parallel noted on 9704 with weaker signal but clearer frequency (Jim Evans, Germantown, TN, TenTec RX- 340, Drake R8B, RF Space SDR-14, 90' Random Wire, Eavesdropper Dipole, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** FINLAND. 11720, Scandinavian Weekend Radio. Heard yesterday 6 June at 2200-2215 with a strong signal - 434444. Slight cross channel QRM from the Riyadh/Panaji battle on 11715. Playing oldies and it had the style of pirate stations from English offshore during the 1970's - it sounded dated. I was disappointed with Virrat's choice of programming but was pleased to have logged the station so easily. 73's (Dan Goldfarb, Brentwood, England, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) My impression is that most European pirates, pseudo-pirates are living in the past (gh, DXLD) ** FRANCE. 17575, presumed AWR Issoudun, 1641-1658, June 3, listed Somali. Continuous HoA music until announcer at 1649; more music at 1655 with brief announcer; signal pretty much disappeared at 1658; poor with deep fades (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R8, R75, 8600MK2B, CLR/DSP, 200' Beverages, MLB-1, 60M dipole, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also ALGERIA [non] ** GERMANY. INTERVIEW WITH DEUTSCHE WELLE DIRECTOR ERIK BETTERMANN ABOUT SHORTWAVE EXIT ETC. Last Wednesday the German newspaper taz published an interview with Deutsche Welle director Erik Bettermann: http://www.taz.de/1/leben/medien/artikel/1/wir-sind-keine-pr-agentur-deutschlands/ Key points: Abandoning shortwave is unavoidable, not only because it's so expensive, also because even people in classical [traditional? gh] radio continents like Africa make only little use of it anymore, mostly limited to rural areas. In the towns one has to be on FM to reach listeners, and DW does not want to become a Landfunk [that's a sneering reference to programmes for farmers which were decades ago scheduled on some German stations -kl]. Presumably we will be on shortwave a bit longer in certain areas like China, we are very flexible in this regard. There are problems in China for years. In 2004 we applied for a licence to distribute our TV service in China via satellite, but the Chinese authorities made no decision about this until today. The DW website is also disturbed, again and again it gets switched white. In this case simply nothing is on, even in such harmless matters like the football site http://www.germanfootball.cn At least DW-TV is amongst the 20 stations that can be received in the Olympic Village. How will DW reach its audiences in future: TV will be the buzzer [or "what opens the door", the German word "Türöffner" is ambiguous here], and for deepening the coverage there will be either a radio service or our website in the respective languages, including audio and video podcasts. We want to further strengthen the convergence between our three media, TV, radio and online. The now launched reform projects of course result in fears amongst employees. Take the shortwave exit: This concerns a complete engineering department. But media companies must be ready for reforms. I guarantee that no lay-offs will take place while I'm in office. But it is a matter of course that people have to be prepared for changes, as an example to be willing to retrain. Comment: It appears that "it concerns a complete engineering department" means that DW plans to wind up its transmission management. This could be related to other statements from outside DW, in this case from Radio Taiwan International, where it had been said in reference to visits at DW in Bonn and Berlin that the shortwave transmissions of DW will end altogether by 2012 or 2013. Maybe a few services will still remain after that deadline, but entirely managed by VTC (or whoever they may choose as contractor then). But this just remains to be seen. It should be noted that the interview uses the wording "analogue shortwave". I omitted that because it appears that there is no need for such a specification anymore (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Re NETHERLANDS: "Lots of Dutch songs (if not Schlager)" Just out of curiosity, is Schlager the word for song, or a particular type of song? There is a program on the DW Russian Service called "Schlager" which I listen to online occasionally which seems to have quite a variety of tunes (Fred Waterer, Ont, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is a particular kind of songs, not reflected by any English word (like gemütlich, which has a certain connotation the obvious English translations do not reflect). And some Dutch songs are the only foreign ones that ever reminded me of typical German Schlager. Perhaps the easiest way to find out about Schlager is to listen to hr4, either one of the SWR4 stations or WDR 4. The playlists of these stations still have the most pronounced emphasis on Schlager. Streams are here: http://web.ard.de/radio/radionet/ I'm not aware of any commercial station still maintaining a Schlager format, because it attracts mainly elder listeners, which are of no interest in this business (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. TVDX: see EL SALVADOR ** INDONESIA [and non]. VOI, 9526, June 9 at 1438 making big het with CRI in Russian toward NAm on 9525 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR [non]. PAKISTAN. New [sic] 4790, *2345-2400 05+06.06, R Pakistan, Rewat, Islamabad. Kashmiri announcement, Call to Prayer, talk, muslim song, 44444 Heterodyne to PERU. An hour earlier due to daylight saving [sic] time just introduced. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 m longwire, here in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 11677.6, KCBS P`yongyang, Heard between 2215 and 2245 yesterday 6 June. Eerie patriotic stuff - lots of propaganda music. Signal 34333 with minimal het and cross channel interference nil (Dan Goldfarb, Brentwood, England, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Furusato No Kaze, via Darwin, 11775, received non detailed letter and non detailed e-mail from Mr. Sunouchi Tomoyuki. Some brochures too. Address: Policy Planning Division, Headquarters for the Abduction Issue, Cabinet Secretariat, Gov. of jaan, 1-6-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan. E-mail: hai@rachi.go.jp (Artur Fernández Llorella, location unknown, Spain? June 6, playdx yg via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. Voice of Kurdistan, clandestine, 6335, received a non detailed form e-mail letter from Alex Atroushi. E-mail: party@kdp.se (Artur Fernández Llorella, location unknown, Spain? June 6, playdx yg via DXLD) ** LAOS [non]. Altho on unlisted 11750 last Sunday June 1, Hmong Lao Radio via WHRI was back on usual 11785, Saturday June 7, *1300:30 joining music in progress, but then mostly talk including some untranslatable English words dealing with legal matters, Vung Pao`s court battle, I suppose. 1353 recheck, traditional rustic singing with fauna chirps in background. 100 kW transmitter does not override the FE QRM as well as 250 used to, but fortunately this was a very poor FE morning, with hardly any Firedrake heard anywhere. 1359 OCS and WHRI ID, 1400 into Hmong World Christian Radio (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. June 7 at 1313 heard something weak I had not noticed before on 15115, drumming and wailing, then M&W talk sort of Arabic- sounding, but not. Per EiBi this is VOA in Somali at 13-14 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 6104.5, México, Mérida with various IDs , mentions of Mérida, OM and YL blasting in, at 1200 to 1230 on 7 and 8 June, Per Charles Bolland tip. Good AM synchro lock on the Drake R8. 73s (Bob Wilkner, FL, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 6104+ was reported by Chuck as unID recently, after 1000. 6105 Mérida was originally the SW // of 1240, XEMQ and XEQM, or was it vice-versa? Before it vanished from SW it was known for a while as La Pantera, and later as La Candela. Amazingly, lists of stations in Yucatán by frequency show NOTHING on AM above 1120, such as John Callarman`s, now two+ years old. XEMQ is now on 810 as a Maya-language-only outlet. We all know that groundwave is better the lower you go, but this is ridiculous. [see below] Callarman shows this station, which is presumably responsible for 6104, altho it could be with programming now of some other outlet in the group: 970 YUCATÁN XEMH "Candela** La Mera Mera" Mérida. (5,000/500*) 24 hrs 1200-0500 //XHMH-95.3. Música tropical, grupera, hits, salsa. Edificio Publicentro Calle 62 No. 508 Altos (A.P. 217) 97000 T: (999) 923-61-55 F: 928-06-80 (RASA) MPM-03/01-0604 & WRTH-02/04: "Candela AM Tropicaliente" WRTH-06-07: "Candela Tropicaliente" Cantú-04-07: "Candela FM" N 21-01-23 W 89-33-48 (5,000/500)(or N 20-58-54 W 89-35- 20 5,000/500) Here`s the Yucatán page in Fred Cantú`s list: http://www.mexicoradiotv.com/listyuca.htm which shows that 970 is still La Candela. [Fred is morning news anchor on KEYE-TV Austin http://www.keyetv.com - -- John Mayson, Austin, Texas, USA, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD] 6105v has been off for so long that it does not even appear in the ``inactive`` archives of LA-DX http://home.tele2.it/MCDXT/LASWLOGS.htm which it appears go back no further than December 2003, why??? This appeared in DXLD 6-068 of April 30, 2006: MEXICO. The Marzo 2006 edition of MPM's directorio de Medios Audio- Visuales (the Mexican equivalent of Standard Rates & Data Service) discloses that the operators of XEMQ-810 have converted in into la "1a estación comercial en lengua Maya." WRTH-2006 still lists this one as a Radio Fórmula outlet, but it became "La 810 Activando tu Mente" in 2004, according to previous MPM listings. Now, its name is "Yóol Iik," which the company translates to "Esencia de Viento." Address is Edificio Publicentro, Calle 62 No. 508 Altos, (A.P. 217), 97000 Mérida, Yuc. It shares that address with XEMH-970/XHMH-95.3, "Candela, La Mera Mera;" XEPY-680 "Foro 6.80;" and XEUL-930 "La Picosita." MPM shows XEMQ with 2,000 watts, scheduled 06.00 to 18.00, hora de Mérida. I guess I'll have to fly to Yucatán to hear this one! (John Callarman, Krum TX, April 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-068) John, Tnx for this news. XEMQ used to be the call of the Mérida station that had SW on 6105 as XEQM, or was it vice versa? But at that time I think the MW side was on 1240 or vicinity. Probably swapped around the calls in the group, or just moved. The SW has been inactive for several years, and I`ll bet no mention of it anyway in MPM/MAV. 73, (Glenn to John, via DXLD 6-068) And in DXLD 3-064, April 13, 2003: MEXICO. 6105, Candela FM, 0802 4/12 with ballads, OM in SP, "Candela!" quick canned IDs, listener's requests 4/12 (Jilly Dybka, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD 3-064) That one had been inactive quite a while, from Mérida, Yucatán (gh) And in DXLD 3-065, April 15, 2003: MEXICO. 6104.9, (Tent.) Candela FM, Yucatán, I'm pretty sure on this one reactivated with Mexican pops and canned IDs, pretty sure I've got "Candela" more than once, and they're definitely announcing as an FM station with frequency ending in ".6"-- anybody know what Su Pantera/Candela FM's frequency on FM would be --- would be nice confirmation if it ends in .6! Fair amount of QRM and poor modulation made this one tough. (Newman-IN 4/13) The internet listing I saw shows Candela FM as 95.3... I'm a lot more tentative on my ID now... let the record so reflect! PS, on Contributors section, I'm listed as "no equipment listed." I use a Sony ICF-2010 (remember that one?) with a 100' longwire (Newman-IN, NASWA Flashsheet April 14 via DXLD) But does Newman have a first name? Time?? See 3-064 where we had another report of this one reactivated. All Mexican FM frequencies end in an odd number, just like in US, but tres can sound a lot like seis (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-065) Back to the present: I`ve yet to hear any trace of 6104, but I haven`t been monitoring before local sunrise. Must try at 1200+. Is it on in the evening? And in FL it ought to make it all day. Does anyone hear IDs by call letters or Candela? Just what were the ``various IDs`` Bob heard? (Glenn Hauser, June 8, 2008, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6104.77V, Candela FM, Mérida, Yucatán; 2131-2142 June 6, 2008. Spanish pop vocal, ad string, "Candela" slogan and talk. Clear but low modulation. Also heard 1306-1315 only down on 6104.46 with chatter, "... MHz, Candela F-M..." at 1308 June 7, into Spanish pop. Thanks D. Crawford tip for discovering and properly IDing this reactivation (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, June 8, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The station on 6104.63 made comments in Spanish as well as music, so I suppose 6104.6 is Mexico, but I think it only comes up on Sundays or weekends? I didn't hear it this morning since I was sitting there before I heard 6100 working [see UNIDENTIFIED]. (Chuck Bolland, FL, June 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MPM March 2008 shows XEMH-970 // XHMH-95.3 (tres rather that seís?), slogan "Candela, La Mera Mera" plus "La Radio de Yucatán," lists format as "Música tropical, gupera, hits, salsa," and gives profile: "trasmite lo más selecto de la música grupera, trpical y salsa. El noticiero 'En contacto, Yucatán' de 6.30 a 8.00 horas, maniene cautivo a su auditorio formado por jóvenes y adultos de ambos sexos." Address is Edificio Publicentro Calle 62 No. 508 Altos 97000 Mérida, tel. (999) 923-61-55, fax 928-06-80. Director is Dr. Eduardo Laris Rodríguez, and gerente is Ing. Bernardo Laris Rodríguez. Other stations in group are XEMQ-810 "Yóol Iik;" XEPY-680 "Foro 6.80;" and XHMIA-89.3 "Ultra 89.3" (XHMIA has same director, but gerente is Lic. Arturo Iglesias Bermúdez and address is Avenida Alemán No. 99-A Dep. 8 Altos, entre 19 7 19A, Colonia Itzimná, 97100 Mérida.) XEUL-930 is no longer listed in MPM, though still shown by Cantú. (Eduardo and Bernardo also operate XEUM-610, Valladolid, and XEUP-790, both with "Candela, La Mera Mera" slogan. There has been a long-standing trend in México for stations on the high end of the medium wave broadcast band to shift to the low end, where groundwave coverage is considerably better (John Callarman, TX, June 8, 2008, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Underneath a think layer of soil, the Yucatán is a mass of very porous limestone. This is why there are no significant rivers or streams. Water come from cenotes - deep natural wells or holes in the limestone to ground water underneath. I'm no expert on MW propagation, but I'd think that that dry limestone wouldn't make for good groundwave coverage. Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain [Don`s tagline] Radio & Latin American website: http://www.pateplumaradio.com (Don Moore, Davenport, IA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. ‘APAGAN’ RADIO CLANDESTINA EN MONTERREY SCT Y 200 POLICÍAS CATEAN RADIO TIERRA Y LIBERTAD, Y LA CIERRAN http://estadis.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/68698.html MONTERREY, NL. — Personal de la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) y unos 200 uniformados de las fuerzas federales apagaron una radiodifusora que operaba ilegalmente desde hace siete años en la colonia Tierra y Libertad, al norponiente de Monterrey. Está estación, que según su dueño Héctor Camero Haro, se dedicaba a difundir programación constructiva, cultural, de esparcimiento y orientación para la clase trabajadora, operaba en el cuadrante 90.9 MHZ de frecuencia modulada, sin una concesión legal autorizada. Reclaman libertad de expresión Cientos de vecinos del sector ubicado en la calle 18 de Febrero a su cruce con la avenida Almazán salieron de sus casas para reclamar que “la libertad de expresión no la puedan limitar de esta manera”, dijo una señora. El agente del Ministerio Público Federal, con la orden de cateo 54/2008, que fue librada por el Juzgado Cuarto de Distrito de Procesos Penales en Monterrey, Nuevo León, arribó a la estación de la colonia Radio Tierra y Libertad para proceder legalmente contra la emisora. Niños transmitían un programa Provistos de armas largas, los uniformados llegaron al inmueble marcado con el número 6945 para cumplir la orden y encontraron a unos menores de edad que estaban transmitiendo un programa que hablaba sobre los derechos de los niños. Al operativo también acudió personal ministerial de la Unidad Especializada en Investigación de Delitos contra el Ambiente y Previstos en Leyes Especiales (UEIDAPLE) y de la Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Cofetel). Se informó que la diligencia, se realizó derivada de la denuncia presentada por la Dirección General Jurídica de la Secretaría de Gobernación, por el uso ilegal de la señal sin concesión; en el inmueble se aseguraron dos equipos de cómputo, un transmisor, una consola, tres micrófonos y una antena. Tras varias horas de negociaciones, personal de la Cofetel sacó los aparatos para trasmitir sus programas, mientras los federales se llevaron en calidad de presentado a Héctor Camero Haro ante el agente del Ministerio Público Federal en la delegación de la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) en Nuevo León. Buscaron permisos seis años Citlali Camero Cortés señaló que durante seis años estuvieron buscando los permisos de autorización correspondientes ante la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), para operar de manera legal, pero siempre les fue negada la concesión. Indicó que Radio Tierra y Libertad estaba al aire de lunes a sábado en un horario de las 8:00 a las 23:00 horas, comprendiendo en su programación, durante las primeras 10 horas, música popular variada, intercalada con programas dedicados a público infantil (via José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DXLD) ** MEXICO. I finally had some Mexicans this week besides XEWO-2, XHG- 4, and XEPM-2. XHGV-4 Las Lajas ("rtv" upper left) was received earlier this week, while XHCSA-2 San Cristobal (supered text upper left 1928 CT) and XEFB-2 Monterrey ("TELEACTIVA" upper right) were in tonight (Danny, Shreveport, LA, Oglethorpe, June 6, WTFDA via DXLD) Yesterday, it was mostly XEWO-2 and XEPM-2 again. However, I did ID XEZ-2 San Miguel de Allende for the first time this Es season (text ID lower left 1155 CT). Just in case anybody wants to know, a few other Mexicans are being received here, but they are not being IDed (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, June 8? WTFDA via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. EKFM via Nauen on 5955 [see 8-068] As announced Nauen right now [WHEN?] relays EKFM, the special event station of RNW and the Dutch public broadcasting system (or can that be confined to NOS in this case?), on 5955. I have a rather weak signal here, just 130 km away from the transmitter site, thus getting it bouncing back from almost vertically upwards. The WKFM stations here in Germany two years ago were apparently run by the Dutch public broadcasting systems alone. This time RNW appears to have a major role, although Radio 1 is prominently mentioned on the station's web presence. But this website has been put on an RNW server at http://blogs.rnw.nl/ekfm , EKFM relays RNW news on top of the hour if I got it right, and jingles appear to be produced by RNW, at least they use their Dutch station voice. Lots of Dutch songs (if not Schlager), chatter about a certain topic, the whole thing apparently originating from a temporary set-up at Bern (as shown on the website; how old may this NOS-owned MD21 mic http://blogs.rnw.nl/ekfm/files/2008/05/microfoon.jpg be?) and presumably fed to Nauen by way of ISDN dial-up. And now, at 1400, the signal became even weaker with even more rapid fading. Until 1400 it was 250 kW, thus one of the ALLISS units extensively in use by RNW since last autumn. Now it's 100 kW, thus must be the 1964-vintage antenna, designed by Rundfunk- und Fernsehtechnisches Zentrum at Berlin-Adlershof, with no connection whatsoever to Thomson designs. It's in fact a return after at least eight years, since Deutsche Welle used to put RNW's now gone noon service of English for Europe on this transmission unit, either until they abandoned it in 2000 or even only until 1998 (it went to Wertachtal afterwards). In 2000 the old transmitter had been shut down, but the antenna was kept in operational condition (it's under preservation order anyway) and finally in early 2006 brought back on air with a transmitter pulled out at Jülich, as own initiative and outside the Deutsche Welle contract for the new transmitters which had still a bit more than a year left to run at this point. Did I already point out the postal office stamp featuring this antenna? If not: http://www.jans-radioseiten.de/rbi/rbi1970.jpg At 2010 check the actual ballgame special of RNW was strongest on 5990, with // 5955 being considerably weaker, just what was to expect from the antennas in use at the Wertachtal plant (5990 was one of the HQ's, 5955 directional to Southwest). Regular 6125 from Nauen came in quite good as well, and regular 6040 from Grigoriopol was strong as usual, with different audio (not the razorsharp modulation of the German transmitters) and almost two seconds ahead, so apparently still no DVB-S audio source is in use there. Issoudun was audible only weakly on 9895, Tinang on 5840 was just a faint carrier, and Bonaire as well as Montsinéry were no-shows at all. At 2040 recheck the 9895 signal was gone and the signals from within Germany had started to fade out as well (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) June 9 was the first day of special RNW broadcasts of ``the national team`` -- I guess playing some silly ballgame, never revealed what in the DXLD 8-068 item from Media Network! Tuned in 17765 at 1842 when my ear was caught by a big signal on a normally clear frequency as a crowd were singing the Netherlands national anthem, 1843 into announcement in Dutch. 17765 is Guiana French at 300 degrees toward us. Still going at 2033 check when I also tried 15650, very weak from Issoudun, France southwards, and I could not even tell if WBCQ was on the 15420 air, the frequency RNW first planned to use. Next date for all this, whatever it is: June 13 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NICARAGUA. TVDX: see EL SALVADOR ** NORTH AMERICA. Pirate. 6925 USB, Radio Maple Leaf, 0132-0144*, June 8, pop music. Announced they only play Canadian music. Sign off with O Canada at 0143. Booming in. Very good Signal. Pirate. 6925 USB, WTCR-Twentieth Century Radio, *0144-0245+, June 8, sign on with 20th Century Fox theme music. ID & into R&B music. Oldies pop music by Stevie Wonder, Kool & the Gang, Byrds, Beach Boys and others. IDs. Booming in. Very good signal. Sure seemed like same transmitter as Radio Maple Leaf (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PIRATE: WTCR "Twentieth Century Radio" 6925 kHz USB with enormous signal 0305 to 0314 sign off June 8. Heard Credence Clearwater Revival songs; sign off announcement by woman requesting reports to Box 1, Belfast, NY, maildrop. Signal loud enough on peaks to light all LEDs on the signal strength meter of my ICF-2010 using only its whip antenna. This is one pirate making no effort to "fly below the radar"! (Harry Helms W5HLH, Corpus Christi, TX EL17, http://harryhelmsblog.blogspot.com/ dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. KOSU WORKING TO RESTORE SIGNAL TO NE OKLAHOMA LISTENERS Nature's fury has dealt the KOSU radio network a major blow in northeastern Oklahoma and we need your help. KOSU suffered significant lightning damage to its Ketchum transmitter system during a Memorial Day weekend thunderstorm. As a result, our network of stations in northeastern Oklahoma, 107.5, 107.3 and 101.9 fm is off the air. KOSU 91.7 fm, Stillwater-Oklahoma City, was unaffected by this outage. The initial diagnosis indicated transmitter-only damage. Since then, we have discovered additional major damage to the antenna system that continues to keep us off the air in Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma. Consultants and tower crews are working to repair the damage, but have been hampered by additional severe thunderstorms and wind. We do not have a return to air date as of yet but will keep you posted once the problems have been resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience to our northeastern Oklahoma listeners. In the meantime, KOSU programming is still available in northeastern Oklahoma through our live streams at kosu.org. Also, click here and help support the effort to fully restore our radio service with your pledge or call 1-800-228-4678. Thank you! (KOSU website June 6 via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. WWLS 640 IBOC was off when checked June 9 at 1857 UT, clearing 650, and mostly clear 630 which also gets it from much weaker here KMKI 620 in The Metroplex. It`s also been sporadic around KTOK 1000, but was running at this time, and also audible around KFAQ 1170 Tulsa (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 15140, R. Sultanate of Oman, May 19 1426-1436, 35433, English, Music, Gongs and ID at 1430, News. Same: May 24 1429-1440 35433; May 31 1422-1433 35333; Jun 5 1426-1437 35433 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) I wonder if he checked for this every day and only found them on the air these days. Haven`t heard any sign of them here for a long time (Glenn Hauser, OK, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 1737 kHz, KUT, PNG beacon poor at 1141 UT (Steve, NE Oregon, Ratzlaff, June 6, R75, AR7030, 1600' E/W longwire, IRCA via DXLD) 1737, KUT, PNG beacon at good level, and heard anytime I checked from 1111 to 1200 UT June 7 (Steve, NE Oregon, R75, AR7030, RF590, G313e; longwires, ibid.) Will Austin protest? What is this being reported on WC? Is there a chain of these around the globe? Condx very boring this AM so tried 1737. Very strong signal here alternating constantly between single tone and hash every couple of seconds. Definitely not PNG - rough DF places it either on Diego Garcia or Western Carib. Seriously, judging by its fade out time I would guess Western Cuba or central America. Do they ever ID either in voice or morse? Obviously I don't know much about beacons but will try to scan 1700-1800 when I get a chance (Ray Moore, FT Myers, FL, June 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) Hi Ray, 1737 KUT is an offshore beacon on an oil platform. It IDs with morse code over and over -- a standard NDB. It appears to only have an upper sideband modulation, and is heard in USB mode. With a very narrow audio filter it can be heard on an offset of 1737.373 kHz. There's another PNG beacon, 1725 GA, but I haven't heard it for a number of months now, and it's not known if it is currently on. There are some other beacons in the expanded BCB range, but none can be heard here anymore due to raised noise floor from the expanded band stations. Drift net beacons (not NDB's) can sometimes be heard in the 1720-1800 kHz range as well -- they usually have 4 characters in their ident and often have a dash after the ident, and can have a minute or more space between the idents. A normal NDB repeats its ident every 5-10 seconds. (Canadian NDBs generally have a dash after the ident, but there are none in the BCB frequencies.) (Steve, NE Oregon, Ratzlaff, IRCA via DXLD) ** POLAND. RADIO STATION SWIT --- The Polish Radio "Multimedia" programme last week (Wednesday 4th June) had an interesting, although short, item on Radio Station Swit. This was a Polish-run station broadcasting during the Second World War - pretending that it was broadcasting using a mobile transmitter in Poland, but in fact was actually being transmitted from Britain. The programme is still available as a podcast on the Polish Radio website at http://www.polskieradio.pl/zagranica/gb/ Click on Multimedia in the left-hand column, and the programme will be listed under the "Archiv" heading. (Swit starts at about 9 minutes in). (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, June 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Swit means sunrise, dawn or hope, pronounced shveet, aired from Bletchley (see MUSEA) ** RUSSIA. 31/05, 13666 / 0830 / Radio Rossii. Russian / 45444 (Anatoly Klepov, Moscow. QTH: Kushadasy, Turkey. Rx : Mason R761L. Telescopic antenna, RusDX via DXLD) Would be routine log unless really off-frequency from scheduled 13665 at 0630-1400, rather than typo. Would people reporting such things please remove any ambiguity by stating explicitly without making us guess (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. BUZZ --- I have received a reply to my email reporting this problem from Vladislav Cip, HFCC secretariat. My email was forwarded to the Riyadh shortwave technical staff and he has forwarded their reply which says in part: "We faced unstable electrical mains supplying our transmitters for a few days, which might have affected our transmission. We took an action against this problem by repairing the affected transmitter that broadcast the two mentioned frequencies. Please advice us if the mentioned problem was cleared and if the programs are normal." I had mentioned 15205 and 11915. Just checked 15205 and it is fine, as is the transmitter on 15435, which was also buzzing though not interfering with other channels (Mike Barraclough, June 9, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I don`t buy their explanation, and it was more like a few years than a few days, but thank a god if it is gone anyway (gh, DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 9555, Broadcasting Service Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2024-2122 Jun 1, woman announcer with Arabic talks hosting program of Middle Eastern vocals. 5+1 time pips at 2100 followed by a man announcer with news. Fair (Rich D'Angelo, 2216 Burkey Drive, Wyomissing, PA 19610, U.S.A. Equipment: Ten-Tec RX-340, Drake R-8B, Eton E1, Lowe HF-150, Eton E5, Alpha Delta DX Sloper, RF Systems Mini- Windom, Datong FL3, JPS ANC-4, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SERBIA [and non]. 6100, Radio Serbia Int. [sic], 1900-1905, escuchada el 5 de junio en español con sintonía, locutora con ID y presentación, locutor con boletín de noticias; se aprecia emisión en paralelo por 7200 con señal inaudible, SINPO 45433 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) If they call themselves International Radio Serbia in English, shouldn`t it also be Internacional Radio Serbia, in Spanish? (gh, DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. 6080, Radio Singapore International, 1133-1230, Jun 7, English, News, Program "Connections with ?". Talking about world food prices and rice prices in particular. Program "Perspectives" Talking about interior design concepts to help employee be motivated, energetic and refreshed. Also on 6150 both have interference but 6080 is the better of the two. I finally nailed this after more than 4 months of trying! Poor (Mike Rohde, Hilliard, Ohio, Ten-Tec RX-340, EW-SWL sloper, NASWA Flashsheeet via DXLD) And none too soon ** SLOVAKIA. 15725, NEXUS-IRRS, 1417-1430*, June 8, new English broadcast. Sundays only. English religious talk. Poor in noisy conditions (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. ESTA ES LA NUEVA IMAGEN DE RADIO TELEVISIÓN ESPAÑOLA. "SIN REE" --- En Septiembre RTVE estrena nueva imagen en su logo; curioso, en la presentación se puede ver el nuevo logo de RTVE y RNE pero omiten a REE, ¿es que ya tiene fecha de cierre?? (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: "Es una imagen que alude a lo que fuimos y expresa la emoción con la que afrontamos nuestros retos. No se trata de un cambio de símbolo, sino del símbolo de un cambio. Expresa movimiento, acción e ilusión", ha afirmado Luis Fernández, Presidente de la Corporación. La Corporación Radio Televisión Española (CRTVE) estrenará nueva identidad visual y de marca en todos sus canales y soportes la próxima temporada. Esta nueva imagen, inspirada en la luz como idea central y metáfora de movimiento y renovación, refleja los cambios introducidos en la Corporación a lo largo de su primer año y medio de existencia. A juicio de Luis Fernández, Presidente de la Corporación "la nueva etapa de RTVE exige una modernización acorde con todo lo que está ocurriendo en el sector audiovisual. Al igual que hemos hecho con la web, saltando de golpe sobre todos los años de retraso que llevábamos respecto a la competencia, nuestra identidad tiene que dar también el gran salto". Con este cambio, será la primera vez que RTVE tenga logotipos y grafismos coherentes para todas sus compañías. Unos símbolos que sustituirán a los actuales, cuyo origen se remonta - en sus diferentes formatos y con diversas evoluciones - a hace dos décadas. Más en: http://www.formulatv.com/1,20080607,7802,1.html (via José Miguel Romero2, ibid.) See the new logos at link. I like the old ones better too. 5+ pages of reader comments appended, and in a quick skim thru them I don`t see any mention of REE. Why don`t you post this query there? (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Glenn, se puede ver también la noticia en la web de RTVE, acompañada de un video: http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20080607/rtve-presenta-nueva-imagen-corporativa/79590.shtml Como se puede ver, aquí también omiten a REE; creo que no hace falta más pistas, sin lugar a dudas REE tiene fecha de caducidad, en Onda Corta seguro. Ahora falta ver si continúa en Internet o la hacen desaparecer del todo, que por desgracia es lo que intuyo. Para saber cómo están las cosas en el Ente Público me remito a una noticia un poco atrasada pero que da un poco de luz de cómo están las cosas: http://www.prnoticias.es/content/view/10015068/124/ En lo que a la política que está llevando a cabo con las distintas emisoras que conforman el ente público desde el sindicato también se recriminan distintas cosas. ‘Se ha abandonado Radio Clásica y se está usando Radio Exterior como Radio Castigo para los que se portan mal', nos afirman. Así están las cosas (José Miguel Romero, Spain, ibid.) The video has a soundtrack in English, so I guess they are abandoning Castilian too (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) No cabe duda de REE tiene fecha de caducidad; todo parece indicar que el servicio exterior de la radio pública española va a desaparecer. Las razones parecen obvias, total desidia por parte de los dirigentes políticos españoles, que por cierto no es diferente al resto de países; algunos ya han eliminado sus servicios y otros se lo están pensando. Está claro, más que claro que ya no se apuesta por las emisiones en Onda Corta; el panorama político internacional no es el de hace 20 o 30 años. Las prioridades pues han cambiado; mantener estos servicios son caros, muy caros, el grado de implantación en cada vez menor. Más de 99.99 por cien de los españoles no conocen la Onda Corta y mucho menos el servicio exterior de la radio pública española. Siendo sinceros y honestos, que necesidad hay de mantener un servicio caro, desconocido y con pocas perspectivas de futuro. Los medios de comunicación de hoy en día apuestan por tecnologías más avanzadas, y sobre todo en busca de negocio o rentabilidad económica. Sin lugar a dudas todo esto requiere un planteamiento nuevo; estos servicios ya no pueden ser mantenidos por la mayoría de los gobiernos, ¿que hacer al respecto? Seguir dilapidando dinero público??, bufff, la verdad es que todo esto requiere un gran debate, pero las personas encargadas no lo van a hacer, ¿porqué?, por que nadie está en disposición de coger el toro por los cuernos. 73 (José Miguel Romero2, Spain, June 9, condiglist yg via DXLD) ** SUDAN. 7200, R. Omdurman, May 31, 1523-1535 32432 Arabic, Local music and talk, ID at 1530; also Jun 05, 1550-1603, 33433, Arabic, Local music and news, ID at 1600 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. via SLOVAKIA. 15650, Miraya FM Radio, 1509-1512, June 7, Presumed with English news about Sudan. Arabic at 1511. Poor in noisy conditions (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. 15660, *0630-0645, CLANDESTINE [sic], Monday 02.06 Southern Sudan Interactive R Instructions, via Meyerton, South Africa. English language lesson "My name is ..." 35333 only weak carriers audible on // 15530 (Dhabbaya) and 15760 (Skelton) Best 73, (Anker Petersen, AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 m longwire, here in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** TIBET. Some of Ron Howard`s reports from China mixed in TIBET items under the CHINA heading, contrary to usual DXLD practice, so I`ve pulled them out to repeat here; hope I have found them all (gh) PBS-XZDT, Lhasa, 6200 still with CNR-1 relay May 25, 1306+1345+1447. PBS, Lhasa on 4905 // 4920 not a relay of CNR-1, decent signal. 6200, PBS-XZDT, Lhasa, 1205-1328, May 30 & June 1, 2 and 3, with fair reception, still only with CNR-1 relay. 4905 // 4920, PBS Lhasa, May 30 & June 1, 2 and 3, with no relay of CNR-1, decent signal (Ron Howard, visiting Shanghai, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOA Greenville with another messup. 17530 is supposed to be English news at 1400-1430, but June 7 at 1406 I found an open carrier; 1408:45 joined music fill, 1415 C&W gospel song about Jesus! Violating separation of church and state. 1417 announcement in French! Then Aretha-like singer with ``Almost Persuaded``; 1421 another French back announcement, of that song. 1423 ``Midnight Train to Georgia``. 1430 YDD sign-off. Did Greenville axually lose the program feed from Washington and have to substitute something like this? French is not even sked on VOA anywhere near this time, nor Creole, but this wasn`t Creole (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 13800, June 7 at 1403, quena music but not from HCJB, // 15130 and 17555, WYFR of course, 1404 into FR theme, La Biblia Habla. They should play a lot more Andean music and forget the Bible stuff; fat chance. I can hardly wait to hear Harold Camping in DRM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 4440, WSRC, Fair Bluff, NC, 0605-0640+, June 8, 3rd harmonic. 3 x 1480. Presumed. Country music. Weak with deep fades. Also heard on fundamental 1480 with a very weak signal. (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 25910.0 kHz FM, WBAB [sic] 820-AM STL from Dallas/Ft Worth with good levels but deep fades 0250:07 UT (2008-06-05) (Vambo in Colorado, USA on StarChat#monitor) 25870.0 kHz AM, WQGN983 suspect this is a IFB backhaul for traffic reporter subcontractor for KLTD FM 101.7 Temple TX, 0339:22 UT (2008- 06-05) (Vambo in Colorado, USA on StarChat#monitor) These are the loggings from the NSA logbot on several IRC channels. They are listed by... Freq, Mode, Comment, UTC time, nickname, QTH and IRC channel These logs are provided to promote and advance the hobbie of Utility Radio Monitoring. IRC is a mode of realtime internet chat that utilizes servers and users from all over the world. To join in the fun of live interactive utility monitoring, please visit #monitor, #wunclub and/or #popcomm on StarChat, or #monitor and #popcomm on IRC- GLOBAl where this logbot resides (via UDXF yg via DXLD) 25910: The correct callsign for this station is WQGY434. Licenced as a "Broadcast Auxiliary Remote Pickup" for the broadcaster WBAB [sic] at two locations (fixed at Cedar Hill, TX and mobile). Other allocated frequencies for them are 25990 and 26430 kHz. 25870: another licenced Texan "Broadcast Auxiliary Remote Pickup" on this channel is KLC636 at NACOGDOCHES, TX (mobile & fixed). But I'm too far away from Texas to say which BC station is operating this pickup. Nice loggings; maybe in 3-4 years we will get these one here in Europe again too. 73, (Tom Rösner, DL8AAM, ibid.) Notice similarity of KLTD to KLDR, 25870 Eldorado/Sonora TX also reported recently on 25870. WBAP, not WBAB (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WWCR, 9980, Scriptures for America service, Saturday June 7 as I tuned by at 2210, found huge carrier but barely modulated, not PPP speaking but someone with a German accent, I suppose proud of his shade (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9980, WWCR, Scriptures for America with Pastor Peter Peters (is that his REAL name?) singing homey cowboy-poet type songs, and preaching down-home style stories and homilies. What is this seeming 'explosion' in the pseudo-Jewish (Old Testament) 'Christian' broadcasts? This guy was blathering about why 'whirlwinds' mentioned in the Bible are tornados and are the wrath of God made manifest, and how it shows we are evil, and then flubbed a question from a caller as to why LA, New York and Las Vegas didn't get tornados but little towns in the Midwest did. It was actually kind of entertaining! :) Many mentions of Passover and the like as well. 1330-1400 ID at 1339 SIO 444 14/May (Ken Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. Perhaps WHRI has started running Angel 6, 11785 on its entire schedule instead of with large gaps on weekday mornings: anyway, Monday June 9 it was on with gospel rock at 1436, bad news for Firedrake (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also LAOS [non]! ** U S A. Re: TRACY, CALIFORNIA SW SITE BEING DISMANTLED I just got off the phone with the gent from the city in charge of the site. He said he had no problem with me accessing it, but needed to make one phone call and then call me back before I could get an official approval. I probably need to prove I have insurance or something. No problem, as a commercial broadcast communications business owner and contractor, I am sure that I already have everything they are going to need. I hope! Also got confirmation that SW broadcasts DID come from that site; there was a lot more than just talking to airplanes going on there. I am excited. Wish me luck (Paul Shinn, June 5, shortwave sites yg via DXLD) Apparently, this site was used for some 'numbers station' transmissions at some point. It was built in 1959 and was used for AM and SSB voice transmissions to foreign listeners. Before it was supposedly 'decommissioned' in 1981, it was used mostly by the FAA to send weather bulletins and forecasts and reports. However, field meter readings from dates much later than that show that something was coming from there, but not sure exactly what. I had no frequency counter at the time, just a broadband FIM. Update- I GOT PERMISSION!!! I got a call from the city and have been granted permission to enter the site. Photographs soon!!! As long as some guys in suits don't whisk me away and you never hear from me again (Paul Shinn, June 6, ibid.) ** U S A. My local KCTA-1030 was running open carrier last evening from tune-in around 10:30 pm Central to past 11:00 when I called it a night. They are supposedly a daytime-only station but were really cranking it out last evening! I will check again tonight to see whether this was a one-off mistake or part of a pattern (Harry Helms, Corpus Christi TX, June 8, ABDX via DXLD) My local KCTA-1030 is still on with OC. According to their on-line schedule, their regular programming for Sunday ended around 6:15 pm Central. KCTA is 50 KW non-directional, so if you have an unidentified OC on 1030, it's them. And I would guess this is now their "normal practice" instead of shutting the transmitter down like they're supposed to. [Later: 7:20 pm CDT June 8] Did a recheck and KCTA-1030 is now back with canned religion. Weird! [Later2: 10:08 pm CDT] My local KCTA-1030 is still running its OC. With 50 KW into a non-directional array, this one should be getting out! [Later3: 10:21 am CDT June 9] Checked 1030 when I was up in the middle of the night and it was still running OC. I guess they just "sign off" their audio and leave their transmitter running all night! With their OC last afternoon, this must be an unattended and very sloppy operation (Harry Helms W5HLH, Corpus Christi, TX EL17, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. A NEW VOICE: PRICE PLANS TO ESTABLISH SECOND VALLEY COMMUNITY RADIO STATION June 7, 2008 - 10:05PM By Laura Tillman, The Brownsville Herald Betsy Price wants to give the Rio Grande Valley a new voice. Price, the liaison to part-time faculty at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, is planning to harness what she calls the Valley's untapped potential to create a new community radio station. Price is hoping to utilize her broadcasting background to help create a new Brownsville-based public radio station that will not be restrained by what she sees as the limitations of KMBH, the current National Public Radio affiliate in the Valley. A former KMBH board member, Price says she "was born into radio," with a father who worked at a community station in Chicago. Since her childhood, Price has worked in virtually every aspect of the medium, from ad sales in Dayton, Ohio, to an eight-year stint co-hosting three programs at a radio station in Salt Lake City. "I'm a strong believer in public radio,'' Price said. ``Community radio has the freedom to express a diversity of concepts and opinions that commercial radio doesn't have." Price envisions a new public radio station in the area that will be representative of the Valley's community and culture. She wants to create a local public radio station that will examine key issues, seek a range of perspectives, and provide an effective medium to publicize worthy events. Price came to her latest radio project after her term as a KMBH board member abruptly ended just a few months after it began. She, along with the board's chair Bill Elliot, and longtime member Chelse Benham were mailed letters from the station's president, Msgr. Pedro Briseño, informing them that their board tenures would not be renewed... [more] http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/radio_87489___article.html/community_second.html (via Kevin Redding, ABDX, but gh had to research the link, DXLD) ** U S A. As of May 28, WTND-LP 106.3 in Macomb, IL has been QRT for over a month due to non-payment of electric bills. I like to call them "WTND-NP" (Jeff Kadet, K1MOD, Macomb, June 6, WTFDA via DXLD) O o, that`s a WORLD OF RADIO affiliate, owned by Tom & Darryl, who were also on WBCQ until recently. This website is still up: http://www.tomanddarryl.org/wtnd.html Read the About Us page. Let`s hope T&D are OK (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. No Longer On The Air But Still Webcasting --- Glenn: I have an interesting article on Boston Based WHAV which won protection of the use of the former call letters of its former on air station by the USP&TM Office. Enjoy and 73's from Tennessee! Noble NO LONGER ON THE AIR, BUT STILL WHAV --- 6.06.2008 An Internet audio service says it has won protection for the call letters WHAV so that no radio station can “steal” part of the local community’s heritage. “The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded WHAV federal protection from service mark infringement,” states the station. “Federal registration was sought to ensure the call letters would forever be associated with audio broadcasting in Haverhill, Mass.” It explains that these calls were once used by the Haverhill Police shortwave station, and later turned over to a broadcast station in 1947. The organization has posted an extensive and interesting history of the call letters and its related owners. http://www.whav.net/vintage.html “The letters remained in use through several owners until 2002, when they were abandoned. COCO+CO. received a service mark for the call letters in 2004 for its Internet and cable television station from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” WHAV President/GM Tim Coco says in the announcement, “Federal registration of the WHAV name was necessary to prevent another radio station elsewhere in the country from adopting the calls and stealing a portion of Haverhill’s heritage.” The company airs a “Soft Gold” format online and says it has a strong Web presence as well as access to cable subscribers in several local communities. It said the application for a service mark was reviewed and approved by the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks (via Noble West, TN, DXLD) Also http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0100/t.13814.html (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) Funny, according to the F.C.C. the call was applied for: Vessel Name: Penn No. 91 Vessel Number: 1208556 Licensee: Penn Maritime, Inc. Requested by: Rebecca Williams (JNR, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Has the FCC approved use of FM translators for AM stations? I know there was some talk of it but never saw a ruling (justplaythehits, WTFDA via DXLD) There's a rulemaking proceeding working its way through the system; the comment period was a few months ago, and commenters were almost uniformly in favor of allowing it. In the meantime, the Commission has been handing out Special Temporary Authority for such translators. There are probably about 100 of them now; I've yet to see a comprehensive list. I have two in my area - WCJW 1140 Warsaw on W279BO 103.7, and WCGR 1550 Canandaigua on W283BF 104.5. In both cases, those daytime-only stations are able to program the translator 24/7. s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) ** U S A. OBITUARY - EDWIN TORNBERG; RADIO STATION OWNER PIONEERED MULTILINGUAL BROADCASTING --- By Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb Washington Post Staff Writer June 7, 2008 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/06/AR2008060604093.html Edwin Tornberg, 82, owner of a Washington area broadcasting company that provides multilingual programming for ethnic communities in Washington and Philadelphia, died of pulmonary fibrosis May 23 at his home in Potomac. For the past 15 years, Mr. Tornberg served as chairman of New World Radio, which owns and operates radio stations WUST (1120 AM) in Washington, WBIS (1190 AM) in Annapolis, WAGE (1200 AM) in Leesburg and WNWR (1540 AM) in Philadelphia. "Mr. Tornberg was regarded as something of a pioneer in the Washington radio-TV market," said his business partner, James Weitzman. "He went against conventional wisdom in 1992 by founding Washington's first and only exclusively multicultural broadcast station, WUST." The station broadcasts programs, many of them local, in about a dozen different languages for the Washington area's diverse population of diplomats, international civil servants and immigrants. Three years after launching WUST, Mr. Tornberg bought WNWR, a 50,000- watt station in Philadelphia that he converted to multilingual broadcasting. Mr. Tornberg, who had worked in telecommunications since 1960, was a pragmatic man who learned about the business in "the school of hard knocks," his partner said. "His attitude was take what was in front of you and deal with it, and never obsess over things not in your control," Weitzman said. Edwin Joshua Tornberg was born in Plainfield, N.J., and grew up in New Jersey and New York. He attended Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., and served in the Army. He started in business brokerage and consulting in 1954 and formed Edwin Tornberg and Co. five years later. His company, which specialized in brokerage, consulting and appraisal work for the banking, broadcasting and cable television industries, was based in New York for 17 years. Its clients included Bankers Trust, Bank of New York and the New York Times Co. Mr. Tornberg previously owned radio stations in Virginia, California, Kentucky, Oregon and Indiana and cable television systems throughout the Western United States. They were sold to Telecommunications Inc. He recently retired as a director of Citizens Communications Co. of Stamford, Conn. Mr. Tornberg, who enjoyed working with his hands, could take apart and put together a radio. He was skilled in woodworking and built many items for his children and grandchildren. His marriage to Shirley Tornberg ended in divorce. His second wife, Chi-Chi Tornberg, died in 1992. A son from his first marriage, Gary Tornberg, also died in 1992. Survivors include his wife, Ina Smith Tornberg of Potomac and Stuart, Fla.; a son from his first marriage, Donald Tornberg of Shelby Township, Mich.; two stepchildren from his second marriage, Alan Hahn of Fairfax County and Alexandra Chesterton of Providence R.I.; three stepchildren from his third marriage, Ronald Smith of Potomac, Martin Smith of Arlington and Lawrence Smith of Arlington; a brother; five step-grandchildren; and two step-great-grandchildren (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD, also via Mike Cooper, Kim Elliott) OBIT – they always mention the divorce(s) ** U S A. GREEN 1640 AM SET TO LAUNCH IN DECATUR --- By Jonathan Springston, Senior Staff Writer, The Atlanta Progressive News (June 07, 2008) http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0343.html (APN) DECATUR -- If all goes according to plan, a new progressive radio station, Green 1640 AM, is set to launch in Decatur, Georgia, just outside Atlanta, on July 01, 2008. Green 1640 will offer community-oriented news with a progressive point of view, Jeremy Brasseal, 35, told Atlanta Progressive News. The station will start modestly, reaching only a three or four mile radius in Decatur. Through an arrangement with the FCC, Brasseal said his station will broadcast through two transmitters that will have a maximum one milliwatt of power per transmitter. With the help of a couple of friends, Brasseal will run the operation in the basement of his Doraville home from 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. "It’s a move to have a voice heard in Metro Atlanta that you don’t hear often," Brasseal said. "The waves are overbalanced with Conservative talk radio, especially in Atlanta. I want to give a different point of view to people who listen to the radio a lot but know there is a different option out there." Ever since he was a young teenager growing up in Alabama, Jeremy Brasseal had a passion for radio. While he has made his everyday living working in business management, Brasseal has always worked in some aspect of radio, from advertising to programming to even some on-air work, on the side. Brasseal’s first radio experience came as 16-year old working at a small country music station outside of Birmingham, Alabama, in the early 1980s. Brasseal came to understand the power of radio through the owner of the station, a kindly man who worked tirelessly to raise money for local charities and school athletics, he said. "To be able to see how small time radio could have such a big impact drove me to get into a career [in radio]," Brasseal told Atlanta Progressive News. “We will run on a sponsorship and advertiser base,” Brasseal said. "We will be able to lease some airtime on nights and weekends to anyone who wants to lease that time as long as it fits the format. [We’ll] use that money to further build [the station] and cover a larger area." Brasseal said he is still in negotiations to secure some syndicated programming for times when the station is not broadcasting local news or talk. This could include Air America programming, Brasseal wrote in an email to APN. Brasseal's limited liability company, Zypradio, was incorporated on May 30, 2008, according to the Georgia Secretary of State's website. Currently, progressive radio in Metro Atlanta is limited to 89.3 FM WRFG. Radio Free Georgia is an independent station which carries some Pacifica Radio content. WRFG recently expanded its antenna to reach the Greater Metro Atlanta area, as previously reported by APN. About two years ago, a local Air America Station closed down after a brief stint, disappointing many local activists. Erstwhile Air America station, WWAA-AM 1690, was purchased by J.W. Broadcasting and its format changed in 2006. Activist Harold Buehl set up an online petition at http://www.atlantaprogressivetalk.com in 2006, to re-establish another progressive talk option in Atlanta, but it is unclear what became of his effort. Air America nearly escaped bankruptcy in 2007, but despite being purchased by new owners, Atlanta did not re-establish a local affiliate because right-wing Clear Channel Communications owns most of the market, Sander Bellman, East Cobb County activist and a colleague of Sinton's wrote in a 2007 email obtained by Atlanta Progressive News. Atlanta-based Jon Sinton and Steve Sinton, were co-creators of the national radio syndicate, Air America. Steve Sinton challenged US Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) for Congress in 2006. Brasseal told APN that he wants to use his radio know-how to encourage a different debate on the issues. "I’ve been disappointed with the way radio, especially Atlanta, goes," he said. Always an advocate for voting, the 2000 election really provided the spark Brasseal needed to get more into the political process, he said. "That pretty much sews it up in a nutshell," Brasseal said, laughing. "I’m not exactly happy about where the country is right now." A self-described progressive Democrat, Brasseal said he is fed up with the drone coming from Conservative talk radio and wants to put a fresh voice into the mix. "You hear [Sean] Hannity and [Rush] Limbaugh and some of the big talkers and [Atlanta commentator Neal] Boortz…and I meet so many people in the real world everyday that only believe what they hear from these people. It’s one of those things that gets me stirred up to speak." Brasseal’s goal is to have a place where the community can voice their concerns and have honest and open discussions about important issues. "In a dream world…I would love two people who are running for the same office to come in and debate on the issues," he told APN. "I would encourage that with this station as we build it." "We chose to go into the Decatur area because looking into the demographics for progressive talk, it seemed to be the best location," Brasseal said. "We can expand as we need to [but we] had to start small." Some members of the DeKalb County Democratic Party have already expressed interest to Brasseal about helping in some way with the station. Brasseal also has two more transmitters on back order that he wants to place in Little Five Points or the Virginia Highlands area in order to expand the station’s reach, he said. "I don’t think initially it’s going to be a profit maker," Brasseal said. "[But] as we’re able to add more transmitters on, we can expand our ad revenues. We’ll be able to grow." For now, Brasseal is just happy to provide an alternative voice to the right-wing talk format that dominates the AM band. "There is a large enough group in Atlanta of intelligent people that want to hear what they don’t get on box radio stations," Brasseal said. "I want it to be something where people can share their points of view as well." This article contains additional reporting by Matthew Cardinale, News Editor (via Artie Bigley, Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. Something VERY interesting regarding the way FCC intends to handle enforcement cases... http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520012887 Important Information for FCC Licensees As a result of the Bill Crowell (W6WBJ) case, the Commission appears to be poised to press for a much broader interpretation of their character policy, signaling the court that they no longer intend to be bound by narrow definitions of character. Instead, it appears the FCC intends to pursue a course where a definition of 'insufficient character' will not be constrained merely to those with convictions for crimes of moral turpitude and other felonies, but that character should be considered in its broader societal context, including conduct both on and off the air, including conduct on the internet. A large measure of the FCC's Hearing Designation Order regarding Crowell will focus on his character. The FCC called Judge Steinberg's attention to court precedents discussing character. The FCC wrote, "a person's character is usually thought to embrace all his qualities and deficiencies regarding his traits of personality, behavior, integrity, temperament, consideration, sportsmanship, altruism, etc., which distinguish him as a human being from his fellow men... His disposition toward criminal acts is only one of the qualities which constitute his character." The FCC's paradigm shift, if accepted by the Administrative Law Judge, Arthur I. Steinberg, will have monumental significance in the way the FCC will tackle present and future enforcement issues (Brian Crow, Pittsburgh, K3VR, June 7, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. 4940, 0140-0155 04.06, R. Amazonas, Puerto Ayacucho. Spanish announcement, cumbias, noisy transmitter. Audio disappeared at 0155, but carrier was still on at 0210 25232. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 m longwire, here in Skovlunde, Denmark, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) 4939.39, Radio Amazonas, Puerto Ayacucho very distorted, OM en español, nothing at 0900-0930; noted very strong 1010 to 1020. 6 June (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, Southeast Flórida, US, NASWA yg via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. RNV via Cuba, 11670, June 7 at 2204 had a slightly variable SAH averaging 2 Hz, but no other modulation to be heard. Nor is there any other station on 11670 at this time in any of the online schedules. Maybe confusion among the different RHC sites with more than one of them transmitting? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. 4739.56. R TV Son La, May 30 1256-1310, 35343, Vietnamese, Talk, ID at 1258 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. 15655, Que Huong Radio, May 30 *1200-1209, 35333, Vietnamese, 1200 sign on with opening music, ID, Opening announce, Talk. 15655, Que Huong R., Jun 05 *1200-1216, 35433, Vietnamese, 1200 sign on with opening music, ID, Opening announce, Talk. 15665, Que Huong R., May 23 *1200-1205, 25332-22332, Vietnamese, 1200 sign on with opening music, ID, Opening announce, Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) So they moved from 15665 to 15655 sometime between May 23 and 30? I hope there is not a typo, since the higher frequency is listed last even tho it was first logged by date. 15655 is not shown on any of the current online schedules, for this or any station at any time. O, here`s the answer in the May WRTH Update: QUÊ HUONG RADIO (Clan) kHz: 15675 Summer Schedule 2008 Vietnamese Days Area kHz 1200-1300 daily VTN 15675orz* Key: * Frequency variable between 15650-15680 kHz due to jamming. Original WRTH 2008 just showed it Mon-Sat at 12-13 on 15680 via Orzu, Tajikistan; HQ in San José CA, http://www.quehuongmedia.com where there is nothing visible about SW scheduling, but it`s all in Vietnamese. It seems it`s also the name of a newspaper. There is a circumflex over Quê and apostrophes at upper right corner of the u and o of Huong. Aoki June 7 edition has it only Tue-Fri on nominal 15680: 15680 QUE HUONG RADIO 1200-1300 ..3456. Vietnamese 100 117 Dushanbe- Yangiyul TJK 06848E3829N QHR a08 15655-15680 Above logs were on Friday, Friday and Thursday, so which days does it really operate? If anyone has heard the jamming, please describe it. A similar situation was reported a year ago in 7-070, 15650 ex-15680; and in 7-075 on 15655, 15670 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Radio VOP, Voice of the People, 11695 via Madagascar heard at sign on 1100 June 7 with traditional songs and station announcement in English. Discussion in Shona vernacular heard regarding forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe (David Pringle-Wood, Zimbabwe, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Today (June 8) on 5100 I caught the last minute of an English religious-sounding broadcast mentioning a sponsor from Nova Scotia. The program ended at around 1758 and the carrier staid on for a couple of minutes more. Could this be Bana? The signal was too strong for my expectations (Alexander Koutamanis, The Netherlands, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Bana was recently reported with English during this hour, but certainly not expected to be religious (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. United States, 6100, World Harvest Radio, 1015-1100 June 9, with steady Spanish language music and most of it dealing with Cuba i.e. "Cuba Linda, mia vida ..." No comments or ID heard. Signal continues to get better. At 1100 ID given in English as World Harvest Radio, Cypress Creek. After that, back to Spanish music. What a disappointment! (Chuck Bolland, June 9, 2009, Clewiston, Florida, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not disappointing. Must be same music as tested on 15460, 17660 [q.v.] the previous few days, but never with ID, perhaps from different site. Let`s keep looking for those or others during the day. Thru Saturday, but not Sunday, the sked was 16-19 15460, 19-22 17660 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15190, 1600-1700+, June 7, strong, badly distorted FMing open carrier. No programming heard. Not heard at 1925 check. Equatorial Guinea? (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 15460, same as yesterday, same Cuban music repeated, no announcements, off abruptly at 1859*. Then at 1911 I found same on 17660; how long will it last there? (Glenn Hauser, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos Glenn, aquí en Valencia estoy captando en 17660 la emisión de música cubana a las 2014 UT. Sin lugar a dudas se trata de la misma emisión, a las 2017 emitiendo "Guantanamera". Observo en 17620 a RFI en francés [GUIANA FRENCH to Africa], con la misma señal y el mismo nivel de ruido que la emisión musical no identificada, SINPO 34333. Por otra parte la señal de la Voice of Biafra en 17650 via WHRI con mejor señal SINPO 35443. ¿América o Europa?, otro misterio. 17660, NO ID, 2014-2025, escuchada el 6 de junio con emisión de música cubana, la misma emisión que se emite anteriormente por 15460, frecuencia apuntada por Glenn Hauser, tema “Guantanamera” y otras, SINPO 34333 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 17660 paused briefly before 2100 but then resumed the same old music. But it was gone when rechecked at 2158 June 6. June 7 was waiting for Cuban music to appear on 15460. At 1558 there was a weak carrier, but at 1559:30 a very strong carrier cut on and a few seconds later the music, with no announcements. Previous days this has run until 1859, then 17660 from 1900 past 2100. If these are tests to assess a new clandestine service, could be from more than one transmitter site. I left 15460 on in background but not paying close attention; at 1730 turned it up and heard Cuban jamming on it for first time. So the DentroCuban Jamming Command isn`t losing any more time in going after it, clinching it is certainly to, rather than from Cuba. Arnie no doubt tipped them off from all these DX monitoring reports the past few days. We should take note of whether the music has changed any and if and when any announcements ever appear. Presumably made usual (as in like yesterday) switch to 17660 at 1900; checked at 2002 with perpetual music, Cuba Libre --- I think the lyrix might be offensive to the Free Territory in America; and at 2016:30 Guantanmera. These play at almost the same minutes every hour. 17660 was even stronger than 15460, S9+22 and could never detect any jamming on 17660. Hmmm, 17660 was used in A-07 for RNW weekend relay via Sackville during this time period, 285 degrees; Sackville now at 2016 with RCI on 17735 is much weaker, 105 degrees, the reciprocal azimuth, not that this proves anything. If R. República is behind this, we know that they already have dealings with Sackville. Be alert for RCI IS/ID slipping in as giveaway at sign on/off, none so far. This hour Guantanamera started at 2016:30; Cuba Linda ended at 2100, pause, and then Cuba Libre started. Kept listening until 2159* abruptly off shortly after another replay of Cuba Libre had started. I then scoured all bands from 6 to 22 MHz for a successor frequency, but none found (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15460: Lucky listeners in Europe can enjoy this wonderful music without Dentro-Cuban jamming from 1600 to at least 1820. Signal 44444. Oh how it reminds me of my fabulous holiday in that wonderful country (Dan Goldfarb, England, 1824 UT Jun 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Cuban music tests on 15460, heard past three days, missing Sunday June 8 when checked at 1610. However, hardly anything audible on 19m except a big signal from WWCR 15825 in Latin tnx to sporadic E. 17660 may also be gone after 1900 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, it was. See also 6100 above UNIDENTIFIED. The mysterious never-IDing Cuban music tests heard June 5, 6 and 7 at 16-19 on 15460, 19-22 on 17660, were gone at several chex June 8 and 9. Meanwhile, Chuck Bolland in FL heard the same music in the before and after 1100 June 9 hour on 6100, IDing as WHRI. Around 1840 June 9 I scanned all the bands but found no replacement for 15460; however at 2020 I was able to detect lite residual jamming on 17660, while Cuba`s Venezuela relay on 17705 had a good signal. When the music tests were on, I could never hear jamming under 17660. I hope people will tune around at all hours on all bands and see if they can find more such Cuban music tests (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MUSEA +++++ SIGN THE PETITION TO HELP SAVE BLETCHLEY PARK Released : May 29, 2008 --- Bletchley Park website: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/news/docview.rhtm/516816 Help preserve Bletchley Park for future generations. Please go to http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/BletchleyPark/ to lobby the Prime Minister. The true Bletchley Park Story is more incredible than fiction. A desperate race against time, pitting Britain's best brains against Hitler and his chief commanders. The WW2 codebreakers' mission was to crack the German Enigma machine and decode other seemingly unbreakable messages. Against them? Odds of 158 million million million. [But they did it!] So effective was Bletchley Park that the decoded messages sometimes reached the Allies before the enemy Generals and perhaps shortened the war by two years saving countless lives. Today, Bletchley Park Trust is a charity; conscious of the debt we owe to the brilliant, unsung intellectual warriors among whom Turing and Welchman were pre-eminent. The mission of the Trust is to build a world class Heritage Site and Educational Centre. Heritage Visitor numbers at the site at Milton Keynes are better than ever before, the Science and Innovation Centre is thriving and the conference and wedding business, in partnership with Zest Leisure Group, is steadily growing. But now is the time to act to help save Bletchley Park and the Trust are currently in talks with the Heritage Lottery Fund and other potential funders [to help restore crumbling but historic buildings] (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) I've shortened this press release; please visit the website for the full story as the link is included. Having been on the enjoyable BDXC trip some years ago, I made a return visit with my younger brother last week who had not been before; I was amazed by how much more there now is there including a lot more radio equipment and other attractions. And - a bargain for anybody travelling through the area regularly - the £10 admission charge to BP actually entitles you to unlimited visits for a whole year, though there is a separate charge of £3 for parking each time. Nevertheless, recommended (Mark Savage, moderator, ibid.) see also POLAND SHORTWAVE MUSIC +++++++++++++++ Pixar sound designer Ben Burtt: "There are sounds in the movie I recorded when I was a kid from my grandfather's shortwave radio. I would tune it between stations and tape the weird electronic noises. I've used something from those original recordings in every science- fiction movie I've worked on." . . . http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/WallE--Pixar-animation-feature.4161895.jp (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) Now we have to watch Wall E. and other Pixar movies and try to spot the shortwave sounds. 73 (Kim Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: USA: WYFR ++++++++++++++++++++ DAB: see CANADA IBOC FLOP [Re 8-068, OKLAHOMA, KFAQ another Tulsa IBOC]. See also OKLAHOMA above I don't get it. With so many flaws in AM IBOC and no one buying the radios, why any AM station would even consider IBOC. Maybe KFAQ needs to compete with the IBOC next door at KSL. I cannot detect KFAQ IBOC because KSL-1160 and KEX-1190. Sorry to hear KFAQ has gone the way of some others (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, June 6, NRC-AM via DXLD) Sometimes these kind of things become "corporate initiatives" and people in high places have sold this up the food chain as "the cure." Because they become invested so deeply in the program (and have likely convinced their company to invest mega-dollars), "failure" is not in the realm of consideration - *regardless *of what the facts or reality are. I have seen this many times in my career. Ultimately, a lot of heads roll but it takes a long time for that to happen --- long after even casual observers in an organization figure out that the latest management craze or initiative has failed. Admitting failure or defeat is a difficult thing - much more so at the higher levels in a corporate structure where the egos are massive. Usually admitting failure is substituted by finding someone/something to blame (Russ Johnson, K3PI, ibid.) I just happened to be recording Steve and Johnnie on WGN while they got into talking about IBOC and other things of radio interest. It is about eight minutes in length and you can listen to it or download it at: http://www.73kn.net (Tom, ibid.) I enjoyed listening to the clip of Steve and Johnnie on WGN -- especially the part about kissing the post BUT, when one of them referred to HD subchannels and implied that WGN would be using them, I knew he was either misleading or misinformed. I don't think Tribune has any FMs in Chicago (decades ago, they donated their FM, WGNB, to the Chicago public TV station, WTTW--I think). As an AM, WGN can't transmit an HD subchannel because the subchannel technology requires more bandwidth than is available on AM (Dan Strassberg, ibid.) AM IBOC is growing at a snail's pace, there have been on the average only about two conversions per month since that black day about nine months ago, The IBOC alliance and NAB are very powerful and have very powerful propaganda machines but in the end it is the consumers who speak and their silence is deafening. Even most pro-IBOC FM engineers know AM iBOC is dead in the water and most of them are now speaking in "if" terms about FM iBOC not "when" anymore. IBOC will be remembered as one the biggest marketing flops ever, equal to or worse than the Edsel and New Coke (Bob Young, Analog, MA, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ WHBQ 560, MEMPHIS, STRANGE TRANSMITTER PROBLEM For the last several days, WHBQ 560 AM here in Memphis has had a very strange transmitter problem. It only shows up when they are on night power/pattern. It goes away the moment they switch to day power. What happens is that the transmitter cuts out about once a second. It varies randomly, but that is the average. It will stay off for about a quarter of a second, then come back. This, of course, makes the station unlistenable. I can't believe that nobody's complained, but maybe they have no listeners. It occurs to me that this might be a real DX opportunity. I'd bet that those with computer software to show carriers could pick this out pretty well. Mainly, I'm curious as to why this is only happening at night, and what it could be. Anybody have any ideas? (Adam Myrow, TN, June 6, NRC-AM via DXLD) The fact that it only happens at night, when WHBQ switches from its two-tower day array to its five-tower night array, suggests a problem in the phasor. There could be something arcing in there, or perhaps a stuck contactor. These problems can be frustrating to fix. At WXXI here in Rochester, the AM signal was on non-directional day mode (at reduced power, under special temporary authority) for a few months last year because of problems with the phasor that were hard to track down and even harder to repair. Since WHBQ's night pattern is much more complex than WXXI's, with more stations to protect, it may be that using day pattern/reduced power at night is impractical for them. I would hope WHBQ's engineers already know they have a problem, but if not, it would be a kindness to give the station a call and let them know (politely, of course!) s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) ROHDE & SCHWARZ MAKES RECEIVER GOOD FOR BRAZILIAN PURCHASER Agradecimento: Recebi recentemente um receptor Rohde & Schwarz Modelo EK 47, que adquiri na Alemanha. Como não estava conseguindo operá-lo, escrevi para a Rohde & Schwarz do Brasil, informando o meu problema, como radioescuta, dexista e radioamador brasileiro em apuros. Imediatamente um alto dirigente da empresa Sr. José B. Oliveira Jr, me enviou e-mail, solicitando que eu levasse o radio para avaliação no laboratório daquela empresa em São Paulo, em horário que foi combinado. No dia seguinte levei o rádio para a avaliação técnica prometida. Ao chegar encontrei 3 experientes representantes da equipe técnica , que haviam sido convocados especialmente para analisar o meu radio : Engenheiro Marcos Barreto – Suporte Técnico Senhor, Roberto R. Baptista – Engenheiro de Projetos e Paulo Jun Iti Kajita – Técnico Eletrônico. Prontamente o problema que eu havia encontrado no rádio foi detectado e resolvido . O fato estava na voltagem de entrada estava preparada para uso daquele receptor na Alemanha, Em poucos minutos o radio já estava funcionando perfeitamente. Foram feitos inúmeros testes, e analisados muitos dispositivos do rádio, que também foi fotografado (interior e exterior). Poucas horas depois, saí da empresa muito satisfeito com o ótimo atendimento recebido e sem a cobrança de qualquer valor. Entendo que o atendimento que recebi foi algo muito especial dessa conceituada empresa , que fabrica na Alemanha equipamentos profissionais, para os radioescutas, dexistas, radioamadores e pessoas ligadas a radiocomunicação do Brasil. Meu Muito obrigado (Ulysses Galletti – PY2UAJ, Itatiba-SP, Brasil, Latitude: 22 56' 343" Sul, Longitude: 46 43'164" West, GRIDLOCATOR: GG67PB, Receptor: Rohde & Schwarz Modelo EK 47 [see RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM], Acoplador de Antena: Mod. MFJ – 956, Antena Longwire 19.80m posição N/S com Lowbander 9.1 Balun for Longwire Antenas, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MY REVIEW OF THE SONY XDR-F1HD RADIO HAS BEEN UPDATED I wanted to let everybody know that I have updated my review of the Sony XDR-F1HD radio here: http://home.comcast.net/~dlp85x/review.htm I've added information as to its performance during Es openings (especially compared to the Denon TU-1500RD), and other things too. The updates may be of interest to those who are still thinking of getting the radio, but are unsure of how it performs under Es conditions, etc. (David P., [ Location ] Woodbridge, VA, [ Grid Square ] FM18iq, [ My DX Website ] http://home.comcast.net/~dlp85x/ June 8, WTFDA via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ "SOLAR CYCLE DELAYED A YEAR" The next 11-year cycle of solar storms will most likely start next March and peak in late 2011 or mid-2012. That's up to a year later than expected according to a forecast issued by NOAA's Space Environment Center in coordination with an international panel of solar experts. The complete story is at http://www.swpc.noaa.gov:80/SolarCycle/ (From Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1608 - June 6, 2008 via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Graphs show peak in mid-2011 or mid-2012 RAY MOORE'S FLORIDA TP REVIEW [trans-Pacific/polar mediumwave DX] May 23: Testing my portable rig this morning in anticipation of a trip to the Keys (Marathon) early July and noted best TP signals in ages. Wish I had driven down to the beach where might have had some audio. No audio as usual but carriers all over the band mostly New Zealand; 4 - 1098, 693, 567; 3 - 1332, 1035, 882, 558; 2 - 1512, 1503, 1386, 1107, 702, 657, 1008; 1 - 1566, 1584, 1296, 1125, 1116, 828 kHz. Why don't West Coasters list 882? It is the most consistent DU signal here, not strong but almost always there. May 27: 20 mostly very weak carriers until about 5 minutes before LSR (1035Z) when they suddenly peaked and hung in until about 15 min after LSR. Nothing new, same old suspects. May 28: Repeat of 27th conditions, peaked late about 10 min before LSR. No audio of course. 4 - 1575(?); 3 - 1098, 1017, 882, 567; 2 - 738, 702, 558, 1296; 1 - 1548, 1512, 1503, 693, 657, 612, 1116, 1638, 963, 837, 576, 549, 1629 kHz. I'm having 2nd thoughts about 1575. While it certainly isn't Thailand this time of year, it has been reported by several in the northwest. I haven't paid much attention to it but will try to get some reliable bearings on it. 702 is another mystery. There is often a pronounced sub-audible het (SAH) on it and in addition there is another carrier on 702.1 which is audible all day long on all my receivers bearing about 200 which I'm still trying to track down. May 29: Nothing exciting this morning - the same stations putting in carriers. The 2010 only has 32 memories and the window is so short here I don't have much time for other frequencies. Some of the best channels are blocked here, notably 774 by local WWCN and usually those 1 kHz from domestics due to inadequate deep skirts on the 2.4 kHz filter. WWCN 770 IBOC actually blocks out DU carriers +/- 40 kHz - sometimes I can get Japan carriers (e.g. 774, 747) in WWCN's null. Here are today's carriers: 4 - 1098 with SAH; 3 - 1017, 738; 2 - 1575(?), 1512, 882, 702, 1008; 1 - 1503, 1296, 1107, 1089, 1008, 1035, 963, 648, 612 kHz. May 30: Listened 1006-1039, LSR 1035Z - only carriers were below 1200 with nice dawn enhancement about 10 min before LSR lasting until 12 min after LSR. One mystery was 747 in the null of local scourge WWCN's IBOC. Their null also nulls DU but points the loop right at Japan which is all I've ever heard here before. Weak but positive carrier but is much too early for Japan here I believe. Tried 693 but carrier there DF DU. Audio none. 4 - 1575(?); 3 - 612, 576, 567; 2 - 1098 with SAH, 1017 with SAH, 882, 558, 1116, 1107 with SAH; 1 - 1035, 1008, 747, 738, 702, 693, 549, 837 kHz. May 31: Activity mostly mid-band, no pronounced dawn enhancement, audio none. 3 - 1098 with SAH, 1017 with SAH, 882; 2 - 1512, 1008, 891, 738 with SAH, 702 with SAH, 1503 with SAH, 558; 1 - 1548, 693, 567, 1116, 963, 945, 936, 657, 648, 1035 kHz. Pedro (my Chihuahua) and I are heading back to bed for a little more sleep. June 5: Best DU signals in some time during strong, but short, dawn enhancement. Thought I might have had some audio on the strongest but in and out too fast to linger over them. LSR 1034Z - enhancement started 1029 and out after 1038. 4 - 702, 693, 567; 3 - 738, 657, 576; 2 - 1098, 1008, 882, 612, 549; 1 - 1512, 1503, 1107, 1116, 1089, 1035, 1017, 963, 837, 828, 648, 558 kHz. June 6: Listened 1004-1036, unusual conditions, all low band, all early, all (most) New Zealand, no dawn enhancement. LSR 1034. New Zealand in strong at tune in, mostly gone 10 minutes later, no audio. 4 - 1098; 3 - 882, 657, 567, 702 with SAH; 2 - 693, 648; 1 - 1008, 738 kHz June 7: Listened 1013-1035 (LSR 1034). Not much today. No audio. We are approaching the peak DU season here in SW FL as the terminator puts most of East and mch of mid west in daylight before sunrise here. 3 - 738, 1098, 702; 2 - 882, 693, 612w/sah, 1503, 567, 1638; 1 - 648, 1008, 657, 1629. June 8: Not much today. Listened 1003-1034. LSR 1034. Audio none. 4 - 1098; 2 - 882, 738, 702, 693, 1116; 1 - 1512, 1503, 657, 648 (Ray Moore, Fort Myers FL; Modified 2010 (2.5 kHz Kiwa narrow filter, et. al.), passive hi-Q 23-inch spiral loop, NRC IDXD via DXLD) TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING ++++++++++++++++++++++++ LAST CHANCE TO ESCAPE BUSH, CHENEY MADNESS The fate of millions was sealed the moment Dick Cheney selected himself as The Destroyer whose charge to keep for the next eight years would be -- as Capitol Hill Blue's Doug Thompson so succinctly described George W. Bush -- a "criminally insane, pill-popping dry drunk." I don't know about that. I've seen some drunks in my time -- even dry ones -- and George Bush appears to be more than a little moist. Bush was the perfect foil for Cheney. The Scalia-driven 2000 election coup catapulted Bush to the top of the political heap. For the first time in his worthless, impotent, cruelly indifferent life, Bush was suddenly important -- the most powerful man on the face of the earth - - and all because he had been told to scream, "Jezus! Jezus is my philosopher!" to the swooning masses. . . http://www.politicalcortex.com/story/2008/5/15/214947/281 (Sheila Samples, KS, also in Oklahoma Observer May 25 via DXLD) ###