DX LISTENING DIGEST 8-092, August 12, 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 SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1421 Wed 0530 WRMI 9955 [or 1420] Wed 1130 WRMI 9955 [or 1420] Wed 2100 WBCQ 15420-CUSB Thu 0530 WRMI 9955 Thu 1430 WRMI 9955 Thu 2330 WBCQ 7415 Fri 0100 WRMI 9955 Fri 0800 WRMI 9955 Fri 1930 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 7290 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 1630 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1515 WRMI 9955 Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 0530 WRMI 9955 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.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** AUSTRIA [and non]. Re 8-091: Hi Glenn, Well from what I've heard on Radio Austria on Sunday is that they will end English programs by the end of the year, so is that by schedule change or by December 31; no date was given, just the usual ``by the end of the year``. Sunday's broadcast was rather ... [sic] as a lot of transmissions from Sackville are not very good here in Montreal (Gilles Letourneau, Montreal, Canada, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1421, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BHUTAN. 6035, BBS, 1402-1427, Aug 12, in English, news by woman ("Now the details. Prime Minister Jigme Thinley has come back to the country" after the Colombo summit, recording of the PM talking, over 800,000 rupees stolen from office, Bhutan environmental issues, etc.), Olympic update, gives both IDs: "Bhutan Broadcasting Service" and "BBS", daily continues to improve (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ron, For those of us East of you, what is the earliest you've been able to log Bhutan? (1400z is about two hours after sunrise here in Central Texas). (Jerry Lenamon, Waco, ibid.) Hi Jerry, Suggest you try after 1200 UT. The first time I heard them was from 1253 to 1301, July 28 (was also the earliest time I heard them, but have not actually checked earlier), with chanting and assume the language was Dzongkha, per their website schedule at http://www.bbs.com.bt/radiosch.htm From 1300 to 1400 have observed problems with BBS reception due to Firedrake (music jamming) on 6030 (against Ming Hui Radio?). So my recent pre-1300 reception has been fair, except for PBS Yunnan, which is also on 6035 and some days causes really problems, but recently has not been too bad. Good luck! (Ron Howard, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. Rádio 9 de Julho retornará ao mundo das ondas curtas Está previsto para o final do mês o início das transmissões da Rádio 9 de Julho, de São Paulo (SP), em ondas curtas. A informação é do George Cunha, de Brasília (DF), que conversou, por telefone, com o funcionário Marcos daquela emissora paulistana. No Plano Básico de Distribuição de Canais da Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações consta a freqüência de 9820 kHz, em 31 metros, para a Fundação Metropolitana Paulista, entidade que gerencia a Rádio 9 de Julho para a Arquidiocese de São Paulo. Atualmente, a emissora transmite em 1600 kHz, em ondas médias, desde 1999. No passado, a emissora teve sua concessão cassada pela ditadura militar brasileira, em 1973, quando emitia, inclusive, em ondas curtas (Enviado em 11 de Agosto de 2008, Publicado por Célio Romais blog via DXLD) 9820 has been in worx a long time; finally? (gh) ** BRAZIL. Na terça-feira, dia 12/8, às 10h (hora de Brasília) ou 13h (hora UTC) captei a Rádio Guarujá de Florianópolis em ondas curtas de 49m na frequência de 5755 kHz (harmônicos), ou seja, 225 kHz abaixo de sua frequência original que é de 5980 kHz. Repete-se o defeito de algum tempo atrás. A qualidade de som de um harmônico, como é de praxe, é sempre ruim, com saturação e quase ininteligível. A frequência de 5870 kHz está muda. Ela estava sendo ocupada provisoriamente em caráter experimental pela Rádio Missionaria (Gideões) (Rádio Marumby), emissora religiosa que transmite direto de Florianópolis SC. Não se sabe se está em manutenção ou se não obtiveram autorização para operar em ondas curtas. 73 (Luiz Chaine Neto, Limeira SP, Aug 12, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Being 225 kHz below nominal is NOT a harmonic, but a spur. A harmonic is an integral multiple of the fundamental frequency (gh,D XLD) Então está confirmado colegas (obrigado Luiz, estava pensando que fosse defeito do Degen). Tinha sintonizado essa harmônica e o Huelbe também. Em 11935 kHz a Globo também está com uma harmônica (sei bem que este não é o termo, pois não se encaixa na descrição de harmônicas) com sinal forte e grande distorção. Acho que no ano passado isso aconteceu, e na época eu estava com outro rádio. Essa freqüência de 11935 kHz com distorção e programa da Globo só aparece quando a emissora entra no ar e desaparece quando desligam o transmissor dos 25 metros. Quem puder confirmar, principalmente próximo aqui da minha região, eu agradeceria. Um abraço a todos (Jorge Freitas, SWL1023B, Feira de Santana Bahia, ibid.) Pessoal, Mais uma harmônica capitada: 3120, 0106, Rádio Difusora Vale Curu, Pentecoste CE, identificação e inicio de um programa musical com musicas de Amado Batista "Amado Batista, o amado do Brasil", 25422 Até mais, (Jorge Freitas, Aug 12, ibid.) Caro amigo Jorge e demais amigos da lista, Captar este segundo harmônico da ZYH622 - 1560 kHz, R. Difusora Vale de Curu da cidade de Pentecoste no Ceará, não é uma coisa muito fácil, pois você está em Feira de Santana na Bahia, que é bem longe, e pelo horário de sua escuta, esta emissora já tinha diminuido a potência de transmissào como manda a lei, após as 18 horas. Parabéns...seu Degen DE1103 está mostrando valentia mesmo... Um abraço a todos, (Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, Barbacena - MG, ibid.) ** CHAD. 4905 still audible as late as 0550 Aug 12, presumed this (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. HOW THE CHINESE DUPED THE WORLD’S BROADCASTERS AT OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY Like many people, I enjoyed watching the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008. But that enjoyment has been tarnished by the revelation that not all of it was really live. We saw a display in which 29 firework “footprints” travelled across Beijing from south to north. But Wang Wei, executive vice-president of the Beijing organising committee, today confirmed reports that the scenes had been pre-produced for “convenience and theatrical effects.” “Because of poor visibility, some previously recorded footage may have been used,” he told a press conference. That’s disappointing, but now another story has emerged which has made me feel quite angry. The nine-year-old girl who enchanted viewers all over the world with her singing of “Ode to the Motherland” was actually miming to the voice of another girl. The real singer was seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, but organisers decided she was not pretty enough and substituted Lin Miaoke because they thought she would look better on screen. Look at this page on the BBC website and judge for yourself. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7556058.stm Were the Chinese hoping nobody would notice these things, and they would get away with it? Probably. The whole media culture is so different in China that making these kinds of decisions and not telling anyone is quite normal. But telling a seven-year-old girl that she is not pretty enough to be shown on TV is, in my opinion, an example of child cruelty that would not be tolerated in the West. It’s a reminder that, though China is rightfully proud of its many achievements, there are still some things that are fundamentally wrong. I hope the real singer, Yang Peiyi, will be invited to appear on TV in this part of the world and treated with the respect and dignity so sadly lacking in her home country. (August 12th, 2008 - 16:23 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. DIGITAL BROADCASTING INFORMATION SERVICE "JOURNALINE" FIRST TIME DEMONSTRATED ON DIGITAL RADIO MONDIALE AS PART OF A MULTIPLATFORM IMPLEMENTATION AT OLYMPIC GAMES 2008 To support the increased information need at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, the new text-based Digital Radio information service "Journaline" delivers added value to the listener. Integrated into selected Audi shuttle vehicles used in Beijing, this service provides passengers and drivers with up-to-date information in the form of a "sports and news ticker". Interested members of the DRM Consortium and friends of Digital Radio Mondiale are welcome to try out the service in an Audi VIP car in Beijing in the week 2008-08-09 until 2008-08-15. Detailed information like the event location is available under http://www.journaline.info Journaline resembles the functionality of an electronic magazine or teletext on a TV set. It allows users to interactively access radio accompanying information, or to follow the self-updating scores of interesting matches either in the car (including text-to-speech presentation) or with carry-on radio receivers focusing on textual presentation. Journaline was internationally standardized with ETSI by the WorldDMB Forum. The service is currently broadcasted as part of DAB/DMB and DRM digital radio transmissions; however, the application is suitable for virtually any broadcast platform. The development focused on simple re-use of a broadcaster's existing information sources, efficient low- bitrate transmission, and easy integration in any digital radio receiver class. Through a hierarchical topic structure, users are able to browse the received information, which may comprise both program- related and program-independent textual information. Favorite topics can be stored as bookmarks. The Journaline project partners include Audi, Fraunhofer IIS, Thomson, NXP, Atmel, Microtune, and BBC. http://www.drm.org/uploads/media/Invitation_JournalineChina_drm.org_20080807-C.pdf (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, WORLD OF RADIO 1421, DXLD) WTFK?? I find nothing at either link about how this is transmitted to the VIP Car! Probably some local non-SW sender in Beijing; could even be outside broadcast bands (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Check this : http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1987 Quote .... Hi, BBC World Service are broadcasting from 4th to 24th August from Thailand (Nakhon Sawan) to Beijing. 0600-0900 UTC 21640 kHz 0300-0600 UTC 17840 kHz The broadcasts will be World Service English with some Olympic specific Journaline content. Regards, Julian Regds (Alokesh Gupta, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1421, DX LISTENING DIGEST) O, yeah, I heard 17835-17840-17845 buzz myself, as reported, and I`m in no Beijing VIP car! Er, if this is for a very limited geographical area, what`s the point of shortwaving it in from abroad? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. VOICE OF AMERICA, RADIO FREE ASIA JAMMED IN CHINA By Jason Wyatt, Epoch Times Staff Aug 12, 2008 http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/ccp-ntdtv-voa-jamming-2616.html An elderly Chinese man listens to the news on his radio. (AFP/Getty Images) U.S. radio stations Voice of America and Radio Free Asia have been “almost completely” jammed by the Chinese communist regime, listeners in China say. The two programs, funded by the U.S. Government are dedicated to fostering free information in places shrouded by censorship. They are broadcast into China via satellite shortwave radio but have been drowned out by interference since August. One listener, a doctor based in Beijing, says the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used a jamming signal, making listening intolerable. “I am a loyal listener of the two radio programs,” he said. “However, for a long time, I cannot stand the interference done by the CCP to the two radio programs. The noise, ‘ssslaaa, ssslaaa,’ like machine guns firing all the time, made me really restless. From August, these two radio programs were almost completely blocked out with no signals at all.” Another listener from Guangxi province said while the regime is jamming the signals out of fear, its tactic has only angered people. “I used to listen [to the two radio programs] everyday. Recently, I have to download the program from the website,” said the listener. “The CCP is so afraid of the voice of democracy. When Olympic Games were getting closer, they completely cut off these two radio programs. This makes people so angry.” The jamming is the just latest brick in the wall of censorship that surrounds the nation, commented a third mainland Chinese listener. “It just like how CCP colluded with Eutelsat to shut down NTDTV from broadcasting to China. It is a chain effect. Within China, the CCP blocks the information, engages in ‘Golden Shield’ project, and engages tens thousands of internet police.” French satellite provider Eutelsat dropped independent Chinese- language TV station NTDTV’s signal on June 16, claiming technical difficulties had stopped a satellite from beaming the station into China. On June 23, however, a Eutelsat representative in Beijing claimed in a secret conversation revealed by Reporters Without Borders that the outage was ordered by the company’s CEO in France, Giuliano Barretta, after pressure from China’s Radio, Film and Television bureau. “It is hard to believe that their evil hands have reached to the overseas,” the third listener said. “They threaten the free world.” (Epoch Times [Falungongy] via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) ?? We know for a fact that VOA and RFA were already heavily jammed on SW into China, by Firedrake music, but has it been stepped up this month with additional jamming noise of the kind described? Reading this, you would think they were not jammed at all until this month, and that is nonsense, raising questions about the credibility of this entire story (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. VOA finally has won the battle for 6180 at 0500- 0700. The English to Africa service has been there from Greenville since Morocco was closed at Marchend, colliding with the last two hours of RHC English. RHC finally got the message we have been sending for months that something has to be done about this, combined with our recent observation that there is a large vacant area in the 49m band, at least after 0530, between 6090 and 6165. Aug 12 at 0539 I found RHC English on new 6140, loud and totally in the clear, as is VOA now on 6180. Presumably runs until 0700*, to be determined when 6140 now starts in English, but probably at 0500, since that has already been in use for Spanish until 0500. Also to be determined whether English stays on 6180 in the 0100-0500 period when its major competitor has been Brazil, but that recently shifted to 6188v, perhaps unintentionally, and not for the entire period every night anyway. Could be that English and Spanish have swapped 6180 and 6140 at 0100-0500. The move from 6180 to 6140 also moves the leapfrog mixing product off Sahara`s frequency 6300, another benefit! That`s now on 6220, where it was barely audible at 0540. Another Cuban transmitter was jamming nothing on 6100 at the same hour. RHC is suddenly in a frequency-change mode. As reported Aug 11, there are two new morning frequencies on 19m. Checked again Aug 12 at 1240, the old frequencies 9550 and 11805 were again missing, but at this early hour, 15120 and 15360 were just barely audible. This probably means they start at the beginning of the transmission 1100, when 19m propagation is even more problematical. Tuned in 15370 at 1359 for the frequency announcement, earlier than usual 1402, and it was the same old one taking no notice of these changes, and as always in Moscow- frequency-order, in translation: ``13760 and from 9AM 13680, 11760, 11805, 12000, 9550, 9600, 6000, 6180 and from 9AM also 15370``. What they always fail to make clear is that 6000 and 9600 close at 9 AM = 1300 UT. At this time, 1500, 15120 and 15360 had built up to listenable levels altho still much weaker than 15370, which is aimed this way. 15120 had a hum on it too. It will likely be a long time before these changes are updated on the announcements and website. As for the het on 15360 at 1400-1415, Wolfgang Büschel confirms that TWR Swaziland is likely to be off-frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1421, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Checked 15360 today Aug 12th. Noted an odd signal on 15359.88 kHz around 1400 UT, wandering to approx. 15359.86 at transmitter OFF at 1416:12 UT. The only RHC signals noted here in Europe were 12000, 13750, and 15370 kHz, but all very very weak, just above threshold (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13750? Should have been 13680 or 13760 (gh) Then I find the script of Arnie Coro`s DXers Unlimited for Aug 12, and he does explain these changes as due to propagation, rather than to concede 6180 to VOA! --- ``And now this announcement now from our engineering department amigos. Following an analysis of the current HF propagation conditions and the use of the short wave bands, we have decided to move our 6180 kiloHertz transmitter that is used to broadcast daily towards Central North America, to 6140 kiloHertz. Again, listeners in Central North America can now pick up RHC on 6140 kiloHertz from 01 to 07 Hours UTC in English, and on that same frequency we are broadcasting in Spanish from 00 to 01 Hours UTC. 6180 kiloHertz will now be used in Spanish to Central America. And our morning Spanish language programs are now on two new frequencies, 15120 kiloHertz beaming to 160 degrees from Havana and 15360 beaming to 130 degrees azimuth from Havana. The two new frequencies for the morning program are beaming to South America, so if you pick them up in North America, that´s the back of the main beam. Our evening programs in Spanish to South America are also on 13760 kiloHertz with the 160 degrees beam, and on 11680 with the 172 degrees beam, so again, if you pick them up in North America, you are actually on the back of the beams of the curtain arrays, that have a typical 25 to 30 dB front to back ratio`` (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Aug 12, ODXA yg via DXLD) Glenn, I noticed last night (UT Aug 12) around 0355 that 6180 had RHC in Spanish, weak but in the clear. Did not stay much past 0400 as I thought it was time to see what RNW was saying on 6165 kHz. 73 (Mick Delmage, AB, WORLD OF RADIO 1421, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, 6140 in English around 0150 UT Wed Aug 13 with Arnie, DXUL. If Spanish was on 6180 it was quite weak in a quick check (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. RNGE, 6250, hilife music Aug 12 at 0601 and a few minutes more, 0605 talk, so I assume their clock is still running slow unless news is not supposed to appear at hourtop (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA/ETHIOPIA. Hi there, here's the results from my extensive Erithiopia monitoring today August 12, 1630-1830 UT. First the ones being "normal": R. Ethiopia Home Service: 5990, 7110, 9704, but not 7115 R. Ethiopia Ext. Service: 7165, 9560, both until 1830 with unID programme after French until 1800. R. Fana: 6110, 7210, heard no more on 7215 V. of Tigray Revolution: 5950, 6170 (the latter weak, generally irregular) R. Oromia (presumed): 6030 The noise jammer: changed from 7090 to 7110 between 1640 and 1650, off around 1700. Eritrea 1 (presumed): changed to 7999.4 around the same time, some audio caught when transmitter on 8000 paused, but not on much after 1730. Eritrea 2 (presumed): 7220 from 1700, not heard on 7175 R. Bana (or not): only a weak carrier observed on 5100 UNID 8000: After not hearing it there for over a week (seemed to be on 7100 or 7175 on some days, but probably off or somewhere else on other days), it was back here today until 1659 (cut off) and 1701 to 1732 with blank carrier only from 1715 to 1720. But maybe this one has also a name: Twice today (about 1645 and 1720) I heard the following, spoken into the music somewhat before some kind of feature started, definitely by one of the usual speakers there: "I-Esran" (or I-Esram) .... "Salam" ... and the a sentence ending again with "Esran". 73 (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Aug 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GEORGIA [non]. RFE/RL Adds Georgian Broadcasts --- August 11, 2008 A Georgian soldier jumps from his quad as a Russian rocket fire hits a convoy of departing Georgian troops just outside Gorii, 11Aug2008 [caption] (TBILISI, Georgia) Until further notice, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Georgia Service will be adding a fourth hour of live, primetime news coverage to its listeners in Georgia and surrounding areas. Since the fighting broke out, RFE/RL's Tbilisi bureau has deployed correspondents throughout the country, reporting from the front lines of the battle zones. [See exclusive photos of a town under attack] "With the Russian and Georgian media providing, at times, wildly different accounts of what is actually happening on the ground, our listeners are depending on us for accurate, objective information," says David Kakabadze, RFE/RL Georgia Service Director. "Our journalists are sorting through the ethnic and nationalist passions stirred up by this conflict in order to let people on both sides of the conflict know what is really taking place in their cities." [Visit RFE/RL Online's South Ossetia Crisis Page, a comprehensive site with the latest news, analysis, photos and more] If you are a member of the news media and would like to interview an RFE/RL expert, contact Ari Goldberg, Press Officer, at (mobile) 202- 494-0388 or goldberga@rferl.org. RFE/RL's Georgian Service began broadcasting in March 1953 as part of Radio Liberty broadcasting to the Soviet Union. Over the years, it has established a tradition for high professional standards for its news reporting and is widely regarded as the only objective and unbiased source of information in Georgia. Since 1997, RFE/RL has maintained a bureau in Tbilisi (RFE/RL press Aug 11 via WORLD OF RADIO 1421, DXLD) Geez! WTFK?? They issue a press release and then include no details about the subject. The ``waves`` page on the Georgian section of the website one eventually finds now shows, without the transmitter sites which we have added: Broadcast At Frequency Time [site] every day 9725 0500-0600 Biblis every day 11960 0500-0600 Lampertheim every day 17770 0500-0600 Sri Lanka MonTueWedThuFri 12070 1130-1145 Sri Lanka MonTueWedThuFri 15130 1130-1145 Biblis MonTueWedThuFri 15460 1130-1145 Lampertheim every day 13615 1400-1500 Lampertheim every day 15460 1400-1500 Biblis every day 7370 1800-1900 Thailand every day 9370 1800-1900 Biblis SatSun 7480 2000-2100 Sri Lanka MonTueWedThuFri 7480 2000-2045 Sri Lanka MonTueWedThuFri 9840 2000-2045 Lampertheim SatSun 9840 2000-2100 Lampertheim Disregarding day-of-week variations and the quarter-hour 1130 broadcast, that adds up to four hours, so which is the new one? WRTH 2008 B07 had this only starting at 14 and 20 UT, so times above apparently UT, and the 0500, 1130, and 1800 added since then. ``Primetime`` would presumably mean 1800 UT, the others too early or too late. Strangely enough, the May WRTH Update does not show *any* radio broadcasts in Georgian from RFE/RL, and just this one for VOA: Georgian Days Area kHz 1530-1600 daily Cau 11945 ira, 15475 lam And there was nothing new regarding Georgian in the July update, except that it was planned to be cancelled (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1421, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR - INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL BROADCASTS All India Radio will broadcast running commentary of Flag Hoisting Ceremony to be held at Red Fort, New Delhi between 0135-0240 UT on 15th August 2008 as per the details given below: 0135-0240 UT Hindi 6030 (Kingsway), 6155 (Khampur), 9595 (Khampur), 11620 (Aligarh), 15135 (Kingsway) 0135-0240 UTC English 4860 (Kingsway), 9950 (Aligarh), 11830 (Kingsway), 13620 (B'lore), 15050 (Khampur) The regional shortwave transmitters will operate as per following schedule: BHOPAL 0025-0115 UTC 4810 0130-0448 UTC 7180 CHENNAI 0015-0115 UTC 4920 0130-0415 UTC 7160 HYDERABAD 0020-0115 UTC 4800 0130-0430 UTC 7140 IMPHAL 0030-0115 UTC 4775 0130-0400 UTC 7150 KOLKATA 0025-0115 UTC 4820 0130-0400 UTC 7210 PORT BLAIR 0000-0115 UTC 4760 0130-0400 UTC 7115 SHIMLA 0025-0400 UTC 6020 SRINAGAR 0025-0500 UTC 6110 THIRUVANTHAPURAM [sic] 0020-0115 UTC 5010 0130-0400 UTC 7290 Reception reports on the above broadcast should be sent to : Spectrum Management & Synergy Division, All India Radio, New Delhi by email at: spectrum-manager @ air.org.in (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, Aug 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Since all this is Friday morning local time, remember that it`s Thursday evening in NAm (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** INDIA. A few days back AIR Lucknow was on 4888 kHz around 1230-1600 instead of 4880; punching error. Hi! 73 (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, Aug 12, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 4790.03, RRI Fak Fak, 1224-1227, Aug 12, // 3325 (RRI Palangkaraya), in BI with man talking, after 1227 into their own program of pop songs, local ID "Radio Republik Indonesia Fak Fak*", *almost fair with light to CODAR QRM; 3325 at 1227 into program of indigenous music (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA [and non]. Looking for VOI around 11785, Aug 12 at 1413, very poor signal in talk and a weak het, so it`s still not in the clear during this hour. I thought I heard some Portuguese in the mix, and the other station is R. Guaíba, Brasil, which has been reported slightly lower than 11784.84. This time they were about 0.2 kHz apart. Meanwhile, Brasília was quite audible on 11780. The adjacency of these two stations is a matter of consternation for Brazilian DXers (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1421, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 4800 with open carrier at 0546 Aug 12 and several minutes thereafter, presumed XERTA (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Mexico DF DX --- I decided to use the August CME to see how many stations I could log from the capital --- México, Distrito Federal--- of la República de Baja Tejas. All loggings are from last night, August 9, and times are Central [UT -5, in 12-hour system]: 730, XEX Tune-in to call-in show 10:38 pm with male host. Show seemed to be health-related; female caller said she was having trouble sleeping and host asked if she was drinking "suficiente agua"! At 10:40, into apparently taped segment about workers developing cancer because of their jobs. I had trouble following the discussion as many of the words were beyond my limited Spanish vocabulary, but several mentions of "trabajadores," "condiciones peligrosas," and "cáncer" were strong indicators of the subject matter. Very good signal. 860, XEUN, Radio UNAM, assumed one here with non-stop classical music most of the evening. Very strong at 10:20 pm check, completely over unID English sports talk station and no trace of KONO in San Antonio. Too bad SW parallel is inactive to allow checking, but who else could it be? 900, XEW, String of ads at 9:56 pm tune-in, including Radio Shack ("¡los precios más bajos!"), followed by two men with sports talk, frequent mentions of "fútbol de liga mexicana," show seemed to be sponsored by Coca-Cola judging by frequent mentions. Usual killer signal. 1000, XEOY, "en Radio Mil, la música de México" at 9:45 pm and into vocal music. Good strength and parallel to 6010 SW; latter was only poor to fair with deep and rapid fades. 1030, XEQR, "Radiocentro," in with usual talk programming and muy, muy serious-sounding male host 10:14 pm. Signal not as strong as most other nights here, for some reason. 1220, XEB, "desde la capital de nuestro país, una noche de música romántica" and into schmaltzy male vocal that transported me from Corpus Christi into the dining area of an El Torito restaurant on Highway 46 in New Jersey. Very good signals around 10:25 pm. There are a few other Mexico City stations that should be possible from here, and the August CME gives me a good reason to try to dig them out (Harry Helms W5HLH, Corpus Christi, TX EL17, ABDX via DXLD) I'm surprised to not see XERED 1110 on that list. It's a 50 kW station that I used to hear when I lived in southeast Iowa (Thomas Anderson, ibid.) 1110 here has XEOQ in Reynosa, Tamaulipas as a daytime regular and at night it is under KFAB. XEVOZ-1590 would probably be audible here except for my local KDAE. Other DF stations that should be possible here with the right conditions and some luck include XEQK-1350, XEDF- 1500, XEUR-1530, and XEINFO-1560. One thing I like about CMEs is how they give my DXing efforts some focus! (Harry Helms W5HLH, Corpus Christi, TX EL17, ABDX via DXLD) CME = coordinated monitoring event, an ABDX thing ** MYANMAR/BURMA. 5985.00, Myanma R., 1307-1310, Aug 12, for the past 8 days they have been off frequency (5985.78 via Yangon?). Perhaps now switching back to transmitter at Nay Pyi Taw with the exact frequency? (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1421, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. 4770 with some music at 0545 Aug 12, with heavy QRM from CODAR and ute beeps from the hi side, presumed FRCN Kaduna currently active (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. RRI English to NAm at 0000 peepless here at 0030 UT Aug 12 check on 11790; maybe still not regular transmission from new 300 kW Galbeni Continental transmitter. A few nights earlier we had pronounced it a winner. It could also be subject to uncoöperative MUFs (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RRI excellent at 2200-2256 Aug 12 on 9790 with English programming (didn't take detailed notes since I was composing an e-mail essay for one of their current contests, "Why I Listen to the Radio" or something similar). Their announced e-mail adx is engl @ rri.ro --- couldn't find it on their website (some of the linx work and some don't). The transmitter upgrade is quite successful, and it would be nice to support their continued investment in SW. Very 73 de (Anne Fanelli in please-make-the-rain-stop Elma NY, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWAZILAND. TWR 15360 varying: see CUBA ** U S A [non]. Due to the local time change in Pakistan the following changes are effective from 1st September for VOA URDU SERVICE : - MW 972 1539 kHz is available at 1400-0200 instead of 1300-0100. - SW service 0100-0200 (ex 0000-0100) on 7135 11805 kHz. - SW service 1400-1500 (ex 1300-1400) on 9510 11690 kHz. (Alok Dasgupta, http://dxasia.info/news/ via Alokesh Gupta, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6180 conceded to VOA: see CUBA; RFE/RL increased: GEORGIA ** U S A. BONNEVILLE BLOWS UP WASHINGTON, D.C. TALK TRIMULCAST 3WT Gone is the tri-cast WWWT-AM & FM (1500 & 107.7) and WWWB (820) Frederick, MD --- a joint venture it had created with the Washington Post. Bonneville will soon simulcast co-owned News WTOP (103.5 and WLTP/ 103.9) on the 107.7 signal in suburban Virginia, and put its Federal News Radio on the 1500 signal - a directional 50,000 watter - and WWWB (820) up in Frederick. The change begins with morning show simulcasts now, and then a complete switch about September 15. That's when the current syndicated shows of "3WT" go away. Federal News Radio, which serves the employees and agencies of the federal government, has been heard on WFED (1050) licensed to Silver Spring, MD, and is only 3500 watts day and 44 watts night. That means Bonneville will eventually need to do something new on WFED due to overlapping signal contours with WWWT-AM. This set of moves will free up former Washington Post sports columnist Tony Kornheiser, who had joined 3WT after he left the Post. The Washington Nationals baseball team will still be heard on the original three signals of "3WT." (Radio-Info.com via Brock Whaley, HI, DXLD) ** U S A. SALEM MEDIA OF NEW YORK ANNOUNCES NEW RADIO STATION Posted : Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:13:22 GMT Author : NY-SALEM-COMMUNICATIONS Category : Press Release New York Business Wire http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/salem-media-of-new-york-announces-new-radio-station,495347.shtml At 9:06am Salem Media of New York gets its newest radio station, WNYM (970AM) The Apple, The Talk of New York. The Apple features Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt, Dr. Laura Schlessinger and around the clock national news from Fox News and local news. The Apple is the alternative for radio listeners who need something more than the choices currently on the dial in New York. Sean O'Neill, General Manager, commented, "With our recent upgrade to 50,000 Watts, we now have the capability to reach 16 million New York and Tri-State listeners at their office, homes and cars with intelligent, compelling talk. Now our advertisers will have a better way to reach more consumers than ever before." "WNYM (970AM) The Apple is here because New York deserves another choice for entertaining, intelligent conversation," says Peter Thiele, Program Director. "New York is the birthplace of modern talk radio and New Yorkers want a choice. Now broadcasting at 50,000 watts New Yorkers can now hear WNYM (970AM) The Apple in offices and buildings better than ever before." Salem Communications (Nasdaq: SALM) is a leading U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher targeting audiences interested in Christian and family- themed content and conservative values. In addition to its radio properties, Salem owns Salem Radio Network(R), which syndicates talk, news and music programming to approximately 2,000 affiliates; Salem Radio Representatives(TM), a national radio advertising sales force; Salem Web Network(TM), an Internet provider of Christian content and online streaming; and Salem Publishing(TM), a publisher of Christian- themed magazines. Upon the close of all announced transactions, the company will own 95 radio stations, including 58 stations in 23 of the top 25 markets. Additional information about Salem may be accessed at the company's website, http://www.salem.cc Salem Media of New York, Peter Thiele (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Just what we need in New York City, more of the same old, same old tired voices of the right on the airwaves. You'd think in a market with well over a hundred radio stations, someone could come up with a fresh, new format that thrills, rather than the shopworn yawner of a format this stations proposes. Better to have just shut down the frequency in my view (John Figliozzi, ibid.) It's because of Salem's extremely narrow world view, which allows only for these very same old tired Right-wing voices, who you may notice, are rarely heard on any stations NOT outright-owned by Salem --- meaning, they're all "force feeds". A respected veteran programmer I know is now several years along, having been "absorbed" into Salem by way of station acquisitions. He says he's no longer a Programmer; he's now a "Salesman", although his actual function hasn't changed (Greg Hardison, CA, ibid.) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. RN RASD, 6300, now clear of spur from CUBA [q.v.], but not on the air yet at 0601 Aug 12 when Equatorial Guinea was audible on 6250. Recheck at 0609, 6300 now on with Qur`an (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. 4828, Voice of Zimbabwe, Gweru. August 11 2304-2312, two instrumental musics presumed from same musician, repetitive marimbas and tribal vocal music. Het but progressive signal enhancement, 32333. 73 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Probably mbira rather than marimba (gh) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ MWLIST Updates Hi again, the first major update for MWLIST data from North America (CAN and USA) is now complete, these first steps included converting coördinates to precise arcsecond readings, updating station names and call signs, removing or updating inactive stations in Canada, a few coördinates on Caribbean islands. This means that if you now go to the MWLIST country list and select to show a transmitter map CAN or the US you can see almost all transmitters at once on Google Earth; try it out! The next planned major update includes adding low power MW and TIS stations from CAN and the US, plus updating coordinates from Mexico to arcsecond readings. Next we plan to integrate day and night antenna diagram maps for US MW transmitters. Another big data update is planned for Brasil including very presisce coordinates, already a few stations like 1220 Radio Globo use arcsecond coordinates (visible on a map link). Any reports or suggestions, comments are most welcome. Reports can easily be done using the interface of the database software, anyone wanting to edit or update data can join our team. Best regards (Björn Tryba and Günter Lorenz (FMLIST and MWLIST database team) http://www.mwlist.org - http://www.fmlist.org Aug 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) TINY TRAP +++++++++ CNN reporter in Georgia, Aug 12 at 2103, refers to Georgia as ``tiny``. Has heavy Brit accent and speaks to locals in Russian, not Georgian. As usual, grafix all over the bottom of the screen but CNN is loath to include the IDENTITY of the reporter on air at the moment, but finally briefly flashed MATTHEW CHANCE. Has lock of hair in middle of forehead, reminiscent of an incipient Mohawk at certain angles. I suggest he hike from one end of Georgia to the other and then tell us whether he still thinx it`s tiny (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MUSEA +++++ The Australian Radio World Vol. 5 No. 9 February 1941 Glen[n], Thought you might enjoy a few tidbits from above magazine: Burma XYZ Rangoon 6007 kc China XGOX Chungking 15190 kc FFZ Shanghai 12090 kc XGOK Canton 11605 kc Radio Falange Tangiers 17090 kc EQC Tehran 9680 kc Since the oldest of my receivers is a Hallicrafters (in the 50's we also called it Halliscratchers) -early model- SX-71 which did not become available till the late 1940's I guess I won't be able to hear those programs tonight. :( 73 Joe K2JT Mead, ex WV2IRS (1959-60), WA2IRS. Receivers: SX-71, R8, R-75, FRG-7,DX-160 & Sony 2010 w/Kiwa filters, DX LISTENING DIGEST) A copy of 1959 "The Plain Truth" magazine at http://www.herbert-w-armstrong.org/Plain%20Truth%201950s/Plain%20Truth%201959%20(Vol%20XXIV%20No%2008)%20Aug.pdf shows a list of the stations (scroll down to page 6) that carried "The World Tomorrow" program. Many nostalgic stations like Radio Goa, Radio Elisabethville, etc. (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ah yes, I used to get The Plain Truth --- it was free and full of nonsense, just like TWT --- mainly for those radio listings; also neat woodcut illustrations of Biblical horrors (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ BRAZILIANS EMBRACE AMERICANISMS Subject: [radioescutas] Re: Radio Mauritânia está no ar ... ``Na realidade, sem confirmação que voltasse ao ar em 4845. As escutas minhas feitas em-linha. Outro informe refirindo-se ao satélite. 73, Glenn`` [as posted on that group] Dear Glenn, as I learnt you really like Spanish and Portuguese languages and their 'tricks', I would like to let you know the usage of the term 'on-line' and 'em linha'. Currently in Brazil it's widespread the term 'on-line'. You see it being used everyday in the press and people talk. It is usually associated to a) information acquired via Internet (as you used) or b) to express the idea of 'real-time'. So, you can build phrases like: "Escutei a emissora on-line" or "Escutei a emissora pela web/pela Internet" "A apuração dos votos é feita on-line" or "A apuração dos votos é feita em tempo real" Up to 1990 it was common to see the expression "em linha", specially on control panels of dot-matrix printers and modems which suffered a 'tropicalization' (adaptation to Brazil) process. However, "em linha" is deprecated nowadays, 'on-line' is the current term. Brazilian's portuguese seems to adopt english term too easily. Names like mouse, monitor, site were accepted without translation. European portuguese (used in Portugal) seems to be much more conservative: rato, ecrã, sítio. Um abraço, (Huelbe Garcia to gh, via DXLD) Huelbe, Tnx for explaining, and please feel free to do so in other instances. As a non-native one is more inclined to go with `correct` usage than `intrusions` from another language, especially one`s own. Yes, I have heard Brazilians saying ``site``, and I think the pronunciation is sort of a mixture of Portuguese and English, Sai- chee. 73, (Glenn to Huelbe, ibid.) Thank you, Glenn! The 'chee' particle seems very common here on urban and TV/Radio media. Actually, it's often related to a 'joke' with people coming from the rural Brazil to the cities, for example: leite : you can say it as 'lei-tê' or 'lei-chee' sabonete : 'sa-bo-ne-tê' or 'sa-bo-ne-chee' Whenever a person says 'leitê' or 'sabonetê' in the capital, he/she would be victim of some type of kidding 'are you from the interior?'. The urban form for words terminating in //te// is, almost always, 'chee'. So 'sai-chee' is the portuguesed, urban form of 'site'. I am sure every country has this kind of situation and jokes whenever a person from a region travels or move to another. The obvious example is the New Zealand / British / American english (came to mind the 'egg' example, pronounced 'iigg' in NZ). :) –hg (Huelbe Garcia, ibid.) My original Portuguese professor learned the language in Recife (gh, DXLD) BHUTANESE LANGUAGES on broadcasts: see 8-091 BHUTAN WORLD OF HOROLOGY +++++++++++++++++ RAMADAN The Islamic holy month of Ramadan takes place August 31 - September 30. Expect radio stations in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other Muslim nations to be on the air for extended hours (NRC International DX Digest July via DXLD) Are other months really un-holy? 11 out of 12 ain`t bad (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ TRENDS IN TROPICAL BANDS BROADCASTING 2008 --- BY ANKER PETERSEN Since 1973 the Danish Shortwave Club International has published an annual publication which first covered the frequency range of 2200 to 5800 kHz and was called the "Tropical Bands Survey". But since 1999 I expanded it as editor to cover all Domestic broadcasting stations on shortwave from 2.200 kHz till 30 MHz. That is now called the Domestic Broadcasting Survey - the DBS- and it is popular worldwide among hard- core DX-ers. Our latest edition was published in April 2008. The task for the editor of the DBS is, throughout the year until the next publication, to check the bands himself and follow the loggings from our members and other DX-ers around the world. For each station in the list, a note is taken of the months when it has been heard. If a station has not been heard by any DX-er during the past 12 months, it is deleted. By this measure, the DBS contains only the active domestic broadcasting stations. With this systematic registration of broadcasting stations on the Tropical Bands each year, it is possible to make some statistics on how many frequencies were active in each region of the world and compare these numbers. I have selected the Tropical Bands Surveys published with 12 years intervals in 1973, 1985 and 1997, and the Domestic Broadcasting Surveys from 2003 and 2008. For each of these five years I have then counted the number of active Domestic Broadcasting stations between 2200 and 5800 kHz. International broadcasters, Clandestine and Pirate stations are not included in these statistics. Active domestic transmitters on 2200 – 5800 kHz Region 1973 1985 1997 2003 2008 Central Africa 102 76 40 26 17 Southern Africa 57 39 33 9 8 Middle East 9 4 1 0 0 Indian Subcontinent 62 45 45 36 31 South East Asia 40 29 21 7 4 Indonesia 171 105 65 19 14 China, Taiwan, Mongolia 119 110 75 44 32 CIS (former USSR) 61 59 47 21 5 Far East 38 28 28 17 9 Papua New Guinea 17 20 20 20 16 Australia and other Pacific 10 4 13 7 12 Central America, Mexico 21 23 24 17 6 Caribbean 29 3 3 4 2 Northwestern South America 98 41 19 5 3 Ecuador 47 33 22 13 8 Peru 78 69 78 53 33 Bolivia 35 42 25 15 18 Brazil 107 87 67 50 40 Southern South America 5 2 1 0 0 Totals 1106 819 627 363 258 We are approaching the end of the Era of Domestic broadcasting on the Tropical Bands for two main reasons: The technical standard of a large part of the transmitters in the tropical countries is poor and they cannot be repaired for economical reasons. In more developed countries the domestic shortwave transmitters are being replaced by FM- and Internet-networks. The trend above is clear: The falling trend continues and has become more steep during the past year. The average number of closed domestic stations per year during 1997- 2003 was 44 whereas it was only 14 during 2003-2007. But a total of 49 have left the bands during the past 12 months! If that pessimistic trend continues, the end of domestic broadcasting on the Tropical Bands may appear already in year 2014! A more realistic closure is around 2021. Countries like Brazil, Peru, China, India, Bolivia and Papua New Guinea are still dominating the Tropical Bands. Stations on the Tropical Bands which have closed down in 2006-2007, including International stations and Clandestines. kHz kW Station Country Last log 2371, - Minsk utility station (USB) Belarus APR06 2390, 0.5 R Huayacocotla, Veracruz Mexico JAN06 2460, 1 Super R Alvorada, R. Branco, AC Brazil SEP07 2490, 1.6 R 8 de Setembro, Descalvado, S. Paulo Brazil APR06 3215, 10 RRI Manado, CN Indonesia FEB07 3220, - KCBS, Hamhung, Bangsong North Korea JAN07 3231.8, 10 RRI Bukittinggi, SW Indonesia JAN06 3270, 100 WWRB, Manchester, Tennessee USA APR06 3306, - ZBC, Guineafowl, Gweru Zimbabwe JUN06 3344.6, 0.5 R Ayopaya, Independencia, Cochabamba Bolivia FEB06 3375, 10 R Western Highlands, Mount Hagen Papua N.G. JAN06 3385, 1 R Guarujá Paulista, Guarujá, SP Brazil SEP07 3815, 0.2 Kalaalit Nunaata R, via Tasiilaq(USB) Greenland MAR07 3930, - R Voice of Komala, via No. Iraq Clandestine APR06 3955, 100 Voice of Russia, Vladivostok Russia JAN06 3960.1, 10 RRI Palu, Tondo, CC Indonesia JAN06 3970, - Voice of Iranian Kurdistan, No. Iraq Clandestine FEB07 3980, 100 R Liberty, via Biblis Germany MAR06 3985, 250 VOIRI, Ahwaz Iran MAR06 4030, - V. of Struggle of Iranian Kurdistan Clandestine JAN07 4394.5, - Onda Cero R (USB), Madrid-Spurious Spain DEC07 4620.5, - R Espacial, Otuzco, La Libertad Peru JAN07 4728.2, - R Aripalca, Aripalca, Nor Chichas Bolivia FEB07 4760, 100 R Liberty via Yangiyul Tajikistan FEB06 4761.7, - R Guanay, Guanay, La Paz Bolivia FEB06 4839.9, 15 Heilongjiang PBS, Shangzhi, Heilongjiang China PPPPP 4855, - Minsk utility station (USB) Belarus JAN06 4874.6, 10 RRI Sorong, PP Indonesia MAR07 4875, 100 R Hara, via Dusheti Georgia FEB06 4890, 250 R France International, Moyabi Gabon JAN06 4890, 40 NBC, Port Moresby Papua N. G. JUL07 4890.1, - R Macedonia, Arequipa Peru JAN06 4890.4, 1 R Chota, Chota, Cajamarca Peru JAN07 4900, 50 AIR Guwahati A, Assam India MAR07 4915, 50 GBC, Accra Ghana NOV06 4925, 0.5 R Difusora, Taubaté, SP Brazil JAN07 4960, 50 AIR Ranchi, Jharkhand India MAR07 4995, 100 R Liberty via Yangiyul Tajikistan FEB06 5010, 1 HRMI, La Voz de Misiones Int. Honduras APR07 5015, 1 R Pioneira, Teresina, PI Brazil FEB07 5026, 10 R Uganda, Kampala Uganda MAR07 5035, 100 R Centrafricaine, Bangui-Bimbo Central Af. Rep JAN06 5035, 500 WEWN, Vandiver, Alabama USA MAY06 5040, - Hrvatski R, Deanovec, Spurious Croatia JUL07 5135, 1 R Amazonas, Pt. Ayacucho, Orinoco Venezuela APR07 5323.7, - La Voz del Alta, Acobamba Peru FEB07 5420, 50 Voice of Minorities, Beijing China FEB07 5500, - Voice of Peace & Democracy of Eritrea Clandestine JAN06 5500, 10 Voice of the Tigray Revolution Ethiopia DEC06 5699.8, - R Triple SH, San Ignacio, Cajamarca Peru FEB06 5699.8, 0.15 R Frecuencia, San Ignacio, Cajamarca Peru JAN07 (DSWCI DX Window Aug 6, reformatted by Glenn Hauser for DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ INTERFERENCE TO UK SHORTWAVE: E-PETITION NOW STARTED The UKQRM group, mentioned in the recent editions of DX Listening Digest, now has a webpage: http://www.mikeandsniffy.co.uk/UKQRM If you are in the UK or able to vote in UK political matters please note that a petition to 10 Downing Street has now been approved. Provided the petition gets 200 votes or more it will receive a considered reply from government. The petition says: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Immediately ban power line adaptors of the type currently supplied by BT. These units are used to establish a network within the home, TV and data signals are passed between the adaptors by means of radio frequency energy directly into the mains wiring of that home. The frequency used is 3-30 MHz. The resulting interference extends many 100's of feet from the household using them. This prevents users of the short wave radio spectrum from being able to use their radios. World broadcast stations and many other services are blocked out by the interference. We feel this is an assault on our human rights and freedom, preventing us from hearing world band radio. It is also very dangerous as many safety, military, aviation and shipping services will also suffer! Look on You Tube for powerline adaptors. Current EMC regulations say: the electromagnetic disturbance generated should not exceed a level above which radio and telecommunications equipment or other equipment cannot operate as intended. Clearly these units do not comply and we want them banned and strong regulations put in place to prevent such technologies from being approved for use within the UK in the future. Link to the petition: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveShortwave (Mike Barraclough, England, Aug 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) CUBA TOO CONSIDERING PLC, HAMS CONCERNED Today I will be discussing the latest events related to the dreadful broadband over the power lines system, that is already causing severe problems to radio reception at every location where it has been installed. No matter what the sellers of those digital systems affirm about the adding of selective notch filters that supposedly protect the amateur bands from the horrible digital noise, the fact is that BPL, the Broadband over the Power Lines also known by the name of Power Line Communications or PLC is now under very careful scrutiny by telecommunications authorities around the world, due precisely to the harmful effects not only on amateur radio bands, but also on frequencies devoted to public safety and even aviation related communications. Also contributing to the BPL or PLC rejection is the fact that so far it has proven not to be capable of providing the supposedly low cost reliable broadband connections to Internet users. According to several recent articles published by specialized engineering publications, not trade magazines, the interference levels generated by the BPL systems are much higher than the figures claimed by their designers. The most recent move among the sellers of BPL systems seems to prove what engineers are denouncing, as announcements are now made that BPL new systems are now aiming at using microwave bands frequencies instead of the medium frequency, short wave and lower VHF bands now used. At the same time the lower cost and increasing ubiquity of fiber optics plus Wi-Fi, Wi-Max and similar technologies is acting as a deterrent to further BPL deployments. Amateur radio associations around the world are carefully keeping an eye on BPL systems and Cuba is now [sic; must mean no] exception with our national amateur radio federation of radio clubs, the Federación de Radioaficionados de Cuba technical committee watching what is going on, as ETECSA, the national telecommunications services provider enterprise is, like many other similar companies around the world, exploring all available digital distribution systems, including several of the BPL technologies options. Digital equipment noise levels from computers and related equipment is already at very high values in urban areas, making reception on the range of frequencies from VLF to the top end of the VHF low band around 50 megaHertz more and more difficult (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited, Aug 12, ODXA yg via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING DRM: see CHINA ++++++++++++++++++++ MORE IBOC DISCOVERY Well, I try to limit comments on IBOC to once a month or so. Here's a current bit. Recently I helped install IBOC at a local AM station (Infidel! Infidel!). It was a rather interesting and informative job. We all know about the adjacent channel trash that is put out by design. What is not publicized are the undesired sidebands caused by mixing products beyond that first adjacent. This job had sidebands at around +/-25 kHz that were about 65 dB down though perfectly legal in the mask that the FCC mandates. This makes hearing a third adjacent station in that area of the transmitter site quite unpleasant. It does carry a fair distance and is visible on my home SDR-14. There were also wider sidebands further out than that of consequence. All this IBOC noise is additive and destructive to the band. Since a third adjacent can be geographically close, it may be more of an issue than we realize. It can raise the overall noise floor. I have to wonder if my local 1320 station has damage from local 1290 IBOC which is 24/7. Another thing that came out of this is that not all antenna systems can be made compatible. Night pattern in this place was too narrowband. The IBOC carriers were there and as noisy as ever. The distortion caused by the narrowband antenna system prevented the receiver from decoding them even in the transmitter building (!). Neither of my radios would decode it even a few miles away. It just flat out wouldn't work. The consultant spent a lot of time on that system and got it as good as it can be. I'm not convinced that even all digital mode would work on this system. The bottom line of all this is that a significant fraction of AM stations may never be able to implement IBOC. Therefore, either all those stations eventually fail or IBOC in general fails. Mutually exclusive. I should also mention that the labor costs for all this is far greater than many stations can handle. Sales of IBOC receivers isn't exactly as they present. Let's face it, how many DXers have bought the Sony XDR-F1HD because it's a stellar analog receiver and not because they want HD capability? And how many HD radios are factory equipped in cars, not because the buyer wanted it? And how many are bought by the industry itself? And how many are bought and returned because they "don't work"? None of this is factored in to the sales numbers posted by the proponents of IBOC. I've been in radio a long time. There has not been even one complaint to any of my clients that they don't have IBOC. In fact, in the nearly 40 years I've been in radio, there have been less than a handful of calls complaining about audio quality. These radios don't sell because the average listener doesn't give a flying fig. This whole system is badly designed, shoved down our throats by over- financed and blinder-equipped companies, and flawed in excecution. The public is apathetic toward it. It's dead, Jim... (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, Aug 10, IRCA via DXLD) Truth's out about iBLOC. Check out http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com and http://www.stopiboc.com Check out Jerry del Colliano's blog and that of John Gorman, two radio pundits who view HD as at best a costly blunder. It's no longer merely we 'DX'ers' - a group specifically targeted and 'demonized' by Robert J. Struble of http://www.ibiquity.com - who express concern about jamming. Many others caught the stench of State Sponsored Jamming and they're spreading the truth about the HD 'carny shill'. HD radio sales are grossly inflated. HD cheerleaders omit the fact, many are returned by disappointed customers. Many were purchased by broadcast employees who had to show solidarity - or hit the road. People are dismayed by HD gangsters' demand that we discard billions of radios worth trillions of dollars and buy HD stooge radios which, as Estimado Healy well illustrates, are deafer than a fencepost in a pile of pig plop - a fitting repository for this puddle of lies masquerading as innovation. HD as innovation? My foot. Every modulation advance such as FM Stereo - to which HD cheerleaders compare their garbage system - has been backward compatible. HD is not only backward incompatible, it's backward-destructive. Every modulation advance carried more information over less bandwidth. HD eats acres of spectrum to carry vapid garbage - just like a slicked up East Bloc Jammer. That's why HD regardless of whether it prevails, fools no one. According to Bridge Ratings, the more people learn about HD jamming the more they reject it. No one wants it except a few BigCorpseorate shonks who're presently the laughing stock of the industry. Don't take my word for it. Check out del Colliano, Gorman, hdradiofarce, and many others. For that matter, check out the stock prices of the biggest HD radio boosters. What a show of investor confidence, not! Many now realize HD jamming conveniently jams competitors to ruin. They're increasingly seeing through the too-clever-by-half ploy to deny new licenses on grounds the bands are saturated with iBLOC noise - the very jamming these greaseball shonks straightfacedly deny. They can't have it both ways. Either HD doesn't jam, or it does and therefore no new licenses can be given. The Mob operates the same way. Draw your own conclusions. z (pv zecchino, manasota key fl, IBID.) http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com This is a interesting, albeit lengthly read - worth every minute you spend on it --- And reassuring that this "technology" may die way sooner than we thought. Combine that with the slightly remote possibility that we will not be experiencing any sunspot related MW-LW black-outs over the next decade (I did say remote!) - These are indeed happy days for the medium-wave DXer. Let's not crack the bubbly just yet (Colin Newell, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, ibid.) One wonders what lies station management believed in order to justify spending all this money on installation and consulting! No surprise that it doesn't work well, if at all at night due to array patterns. However, I bet said station will leave it on at night anyhow and will, like many other stations leave IBOC on for several years more. If I understand correctly, don't stations pay iBiquity a monthly license fee? How long is the contract minimum? I.e., let`s say a station has been using IBOC full time since last September, and now they realize it's a waste of money. When can they stop paying iBiquity if they turn it off. Re: increased noise floor. This was quite apparent Friday when I was giving an area DXer a daytime demo of my Phased BOG System in Grafton WI. Pre-IBOC I could do lots better daytimes, i.e. basically copy at least half of the audio from WABC and WOR, although phasing is a big help, it only helps when the IBOC QRM is from a different direction than the DX. During the demo, there was background hiss in lots of places, and as IBOC stations continue to come on the air (morons) hiss on channels that I couldn't even explain where it was from. At night, skip signals are strong, and fewer stations use IBOC and some fringe area stations have lower power or directional patterns not aimed at me, but there still was hiss and in strange unexpected places on the band. IBOC has put a damper on TA DX here and also my efforts to chase TP's (when I can manage to wake up). Here's an example of what I had to do to get decent audio from Croatia 1134 (often the strongest TA) Friday night. 1134 is where KMOX has a big IBOC hiss spike, so I have to phase KMOX (somewhat off the back end of 65 degree BOGs) and luckily local WISN 1130 (also IBOC) is from the same direction and reduced. The 1138 IBOC from WISN is far enough from 1134 to not overpower it using a 4 KHz filter. Additional tweaking of the phaser was usually needed to further reduce the crud/hiss on 1134 to make it decently audible. Pity the poor DXer in the mid-west without a superb antenna setup as IBOC QRM comes from nearly all directions. I phoned the area DXer who lives 7 miles south and almost as close to Lake Michigan as I, and he thinks he may have just been able to get audio traces on 1134 with a loop, while easily hearing what I had, played over the phone. I remain shocked that IBOC was ever allowed on AM as it is an extremely flawed and destructive technology and doesn't, unlike FM, even allow for additional channels (sub channels or what ever they are called). Hiss can be heard behind analog audios here, and back in IL where I live about 18 miles from WSCR 670, it was very very touchy to tune the ULR to not have a sideband hissing when listening to WSCR as an example. 73 KAZ expecting even worse hiss for several years until stations or lawsuits or the FCC wakes up and turns off AM IBOC for good (Neil Kazaross, IL/WI, IRCA via DXLD) I'm certainly in this category, at least as far as Croatia-1134 is concerned. Before IBOC nighttime operation on KMOX it was often audible, sometimes nearly armchair copy, on good TA nights here in Missouri. After IBOC, forget about it from my location with just a loop (no phasing capability here at present). Needless to say, my ability to hear a European superpower station that is probably clearly readable this far inland only 5 or so times a year at BEST isn't a concern for a station like KMOX. I'm not even saying it SHOULD be. It's just frustrating (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, ibid.) They are a corporation supporting iBiquity. Their engineering management is very much a stickler for compliance with regulations, fortunately. Regardless of the corporate mindset, if it isn't legal it isn't happening. Otherwise they wouldn't be a client of mine. I am basically happy with them and do my best to meet their standards. In this particular case, it's off at night. The array is too narrowband which forces the unwanted sidebands well out of compliance with the FCC mask. 920 in town also shuts their IBOC off at night and (apparently) is not in any hurry whatsoever to make it work. 1290 is the only 24/7 IBOC in town and they often do not decode. I think their pattern is also not really agreeable with the HD requirements, but they've chosen to ignore it. If I can, I'll do a spectrum analysis of them one of these days. If they aren't in compliance, I'll rattle a cage or two. With my discovery of the hiss in places I wasn't expecting, it's not a surprise. It's also quite difficult to track the source of the noise. It can be pretty far away from the assigned frequency and obviously doesn't ID (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) The noise floor on AM BCB here in the Denver area is also noticeably increased due to IBOC. 560 seems to be the worst, spewing various degrees of hash on everything from 530 to 590. Stating the obvious: the AM band is not laid out to accept IBOC - the bandwidth needed is too great for the current channel definition (10 kHz). Hence, there will be interference, reduced coverage ranges, and now we know there's an increased noise floor. It's legalized jamming blessed by the FCC political haxors who knew this would be the case from the beginning. Thus endeth my rant. lol. 73 (Chris Knight, Fort Lupton, Colorado, ibid.) Some DX-favorable IBOC news The following Denver area stations have IBOC capability from a few years ago to present: 560, 630, 670, 760, 810, 850, 910, 950, 1090, 1150, 1220, 1340, 1390, 1490, 1600, 1690. The following stations still run IBOC 24/7 NSP: 560, 670, 850, 910, 1340, 1490, 1690. I don't know about 1220 and 1390 because they are very weak at night at this QTH. The following station runs IBOC days only: 760. The following stations stopped running IBOC altogether (from bandscans): 630, 810, 950, 1150, 1600. The following station occasionally runs IBOC: 1090. 1150 stopped running IBOC a few years ago, because they received complaints from 1170 in Windsor. 630 stopped running IBOC about the time nighttime IBOC was approved. I get no traces of IBOC these days from 810. 950 underwent some programming changes recently. The last 3 bandscans showed no IBOC on them and none on 1600. 1090 very seldom has IBOC turned on. The Denver area has fewer IBOC stations now than what it started with! Hopefully, this trend continues. On another note, there are two stations with problems: 710-KNUS puts a spurious signal on 740 and 1360-KHNC puts out a horrendous buzz 30 kHz each side of 1360. I'm sure these aren't concerns of the new, modern- day FCC. Yet another note: 1570 in Loveland seems to be testing IBOC. I believe this station is co-owned by the same people who own 950, 1510, and 1600 (if they are indeed co-owned). I would've thought they'd put IBOC on 1510 rather than on 1570. 1570-KHPN is not a problem at my QTH unless they run their day power at night which they do quite often (and have been heard on the west coast as a result). 73's. (Chris Knight, Fort Lupton, Colorado, Aug 12, IRCA via DXLD) A few days ago, I dropped by my local Radio Shack to pick up a multivoltage cigarette lighter socket power adapter. Sitting on their clearance table was an Accurian HD radio. It had been opened, and the clerk said it had been returned. Answering my question, the clerk said they had no more HD radios and no plans to stock them in the future. Are there any cars in the 2009 model year that include HD radio as standard equipment? (Harry Helms W5HLH, Corpus Christi, TX EL17, ABDX via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM ++++++++++++++++++++++ FCC ANNOUNCES SITES FOR WHITE SPACES FIELD TESTING Aug 10, 2008 8:00 AM Several organizers and producers of large-scale events have recently contacted the FCC to volunteer the use of their venues in the ongoing FCC field testing of proposed white space devices (WSDs). In the meantime, FCC field testing continues in the suburban and rural Maryland area. The commission also announced WSD testing specifically for wireless microphone detection from 10 a.m. through 8 p.m. on Aug. 9 at FedEx Field in Landover, MD, and during the week of Aug. 11 in the Broadway district of Manhattan, with dates and times to be announced. Tests at both venues will be conducted before and during live performances. FULL STORY: http://broadcastengineering.com/audio/fcc-announces-sites-white-spaces-testing-0810/ RE: "White Space" === The Commission is conducting a proceeding in ET Docket No. 04-186 to consider authorizing the operation of new, low power devices in the TV broadcast spectrum at locations where channels are not being used for authorized services, including broadcast television, broadcast auxiliary services such as wireless microphones, and private land mobile radio (primarily public safety). This unused spectrum is often referred to at the “TV white spaces.” As part of the proceeding on this matter, the Office of Engineering and Technology is conducting a test program to assess performance capabilities of devices that would operate in the TV white spaces. These tests focus on examining the ability of such devices to sense the signals of broadcast television and wireless microphone signals and their potential for causing interference to those services. 73, (Curt Phillips, CEM CMVP, W4CP ex-KD4YU; WB4LHI ARRL Life; QCWA; SKCC; NASWA; OOTC, Tar Heel Scanner/SWL Group Scanner/SWL Net- Mondays, 9PM, 146.64 repeater, Raleigh, NC USA http://www.w4cp.com NASWA yg via DXLD) WHAT BECOMES OF OLD AM TRANSMITTERS? Those old transmitters return to the air all the time, and most of us never know it. Here's why: There is an industry of brokers who buy used equipment and refurbish and resell it. But in the case of transmitters, just because it once operated on 960 or 1070 doesn't mean it ALWAYS has to operate on those frequencies. Retuning a modern transmitter, while not a trivial task, isn't all that difficult, either - some new coils, a reprogrammed exciter, and away you go. Transmitters do cross the border. My local WYSL 1040, when it upgraded to 20 kW, bought a used Nautel AMPFET transmitter from a broker. It came from the old Alberta station on 840, I'm told. Unless you happen to know that (and often the buyers don't!), you'd have no way to know that the signal now being heard up here on 1040 comes from the same box that once powered 840 in Alberta. There's also a booming international market in old transmitters, so the old CBA or CFFX rigs could just as easily end up in Brazil or Chile as in the US or Canada. As for the former FREQUENCIES used by dark Canadian AMs, a handful eventually return to the air - that 840 in Alberta will soon be occupied by CFCW Camrose, moving from 790, for instance - but many stay dark for good, of course (Scott Fybush, NY, Aug 8, IRCA via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Re: 8-090, PORTUGAL --- Shortwave Loggings: 21655 Portugal Longpath ``That`s very interesting, but I must say counter-intuitive. ``The short-path MUF between Florida and Portugal at 16 UT in summer`` implies that`s theoretically computed, rather than measured, but do you know what the MUF actually was at 18+ UT on the date in question? MUFs sometimes take unexpected spikes which the prediction programs don`t anticipate. Also would be great if you would include your directional antenna findings in logs like that.`` The highest MUF along the path was 18 mc. I will indicate LP headings on loggings that come from that direction. ``If this happens with Portugal, perhaps it would also happen with other 21 MHz signals from Europe, notably Spain, or those close to the long-path route, such as Libya and Saudi Arabia. But the only other one currently on the air after 1800 is Spain in Arabic on 21610 at 1700-1900. Could you check for it and see if it`s also coming long- path?`` Yes, I will check those stations and let you know. ``After that it`s pretty much over water, but close to Perth, Shepparton and Rangitaiki. Unfortunately there are no 21 MHz SWBC operations from Australia or New Zealand in their early morning hours. Maybe you could raise some hams in the area on 15m, altho if chordal hops are involved, they might not get into the mode anyway.`` True, chordal propagation could pass over. It will be difficult to find any hams in that region but I will try. Globally the number of active hams is way down from just five years ago. It's probably due to poor propagation and an increase in silent keys. ``When I hear Portugal, Spain, Libya or Saudi Arabia on 13m in summer around 13-15 UT, and I do occasionally, do you think I`m also getting them by longpath? I don`t have directional antennas to give any clues there (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Between 1300-1500 UT the MUF on the SP is only around 15 MC, so LP. This winter the SP will be open for us (Thomas F. Giella, Lakeland, FL, USA, Aug 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Direct distance from Portugal to Florida is only 4000 miles. The 226 degree antenna never has a strong signal backwards lobe at 59 degrees towards long path via RUS, KAZ, TIB, VTN, PHL, AUS, NZL, Tahiti, Easter Islands, GTM into Florida. At this time of the day from Kazakhstan to Tahiti in the dark zone of the earth! I've strong doubts that a 21 MHz signal reaches FL from back lobe on long path! 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Wolfgang, Very nice to hear from you. I respect your opinion but you are nevertheless incorrect. Yes, the path from Kazakhstan to Tahiti was in darkness but chordal hop propagation between the E and F layer allowed the signal to waveguide through the darkness path. Speaking of Kazakhstan, recently I worked that country as an amateur radio operator using the PSK31 mode on 20 meters at 0120 UTC. The QSO was also long path. He was using a three element beam antenna and heard me from his SSE not NNW. I was only using 100 watts at the time. I'm not just an SWL hobbyist and amateur radio operator who has an interest in radiowave propagation. I have an MS in Space Plasma Physics and over many years conducted ionosphere radiowave propagation research and produced forecasts for a myriad of alphabet U.S. federal government agencies. Take Care & God Bless, (Thomas F. Giella, Lakeland, FL, USA kn4lf @ earthlink.net ibid.) F2 MUFs In last week's Bulletin Jim Henderson, KF7E, provided some good observations and comments about the day-to-day variability of the ionosphere. A good supporting example of his observations is the F2 region MUF over the Millstone Hill ionosonde (in Massachusetts), assuming it's the mid point of a 3000 km hop. In July, when the solar flux was for all intents and purposes constant, the 3000 km MUF varied from a low of 8.9 MHz to a high of 19.6 MHz. KF7E's comments, along with the Millstone Hill data, are in agreement with ionospheric studies showing that although solar radiation is the instigator of the ionization process, two other factors appear to be more significant in determining what the F2 region ionosphere is doing right now. These two factors are geomagnetic field activity and events in the lower atmosphere coupling up to the ionosphere. What does all that mean? It simply means plugging the daily solar flux into your favorite propagation prediction program really doesn't tell you what the ionosphere is doing today. This day-to-day variability is the reason our prediction programs were designed to be statistical over a month's time frame. We do not have daily predictions, and the developers never intended that they be daily predictions as they were aware of the unpredictability of the day-to-day variation of the ionosphere. Perhaps some day we'll figure all this out, but for now the best way to tell if one of the higher bands is open is to listen to the NCDXF/IARU beacons http://www.ncdxf.org/beacons.html (ARLP033 Propagation de K7RA, Propagation Forecast Bulletin 33 ARLP033, From Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, WA August 8, 2008, To all radio amateurs, via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) DTV PILOT FREQUENCIES AS SPORADIC E PROPAGATION CUES For those of you with scanners, I *highly* recommend programming in: 54.31 MHz 60.31 MHz 66.31 MHz 76.31 MHz 82.31 MHz These are the "pilot carriers" of DTV channels 2-6. The signals will be somewhat weaker than the existing analog carriers, but I suspect they'll be adequate for detecting TV-band Es. They're unmodulated carriers; they should open the squelch but you'll hear nothing further. 50.10 and 50.15 MHz for monitoring the 6m ham band could also prove useful. Neither frequency will be intelligible without a BFO but the mere fact you're hearing loud signals probably means the band is open. (the first frequency will have Morse signals and the second no-carrier SSB AM, as is used by hams on the shortwave bands.) -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) You can also program those frequencies into a communications receiver, but 1 kHz lower and kick into USB mode. When the carrier breaks squelch you will hear a 1 kHz tone all over your house (or anyone who does hear it will tell you rather quickly !). So the list becomes.... 54.309 MHz USB 60.309 MHz USB 66.309 MHz USB 76.309 MHz USB 82.309 MHz USB (Bill Hepburn, Ont., ibid.) AURORA PHOTOS FROM MANITOBA I'm spending the weekend in Thompson Manitoba with my brother, and noticed that the K-index was 4 for most of yesterday. Thinking that there might be a good aurora, we made plans to get out of town to a dark sky sight. I've posted my photos to a Facebook page which should be visible to all. Here is the link: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144011&l=e7f7e&id=707320192 Out to Vancover tomorrow, so I expect that I won't see any more aurora for a while, lol. 73 (Brent Taylor, VY2HF/VE4, Aug 10, Thompson, Manitoba, ABDX via DXLD) PROVISIONAL INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY MEAN SUNSPOT NUMBER for July 2008 : 0.5 (zero point five) Yes, you heard it right, the mean Sunspot Number for July 2008 was LESS THAN ONE, a clear indication, in my opinion of a second solar cycle 23 minimum, with just two days, on the 18^th and 20^th of July when a very small sunspot was seen by optical observers. Well amigos, it is quite a challenge to be able to produce a solar activity forecast at this moment. Some experts are now emphasizing that the extended period of solar ultra quiet conditions will lead to a slow start for cycle 24, something that is already proven to be quiet right. The solar GURUS, also affirm that a prolonged, extended, solar minimum has previously been associated with smaller solar activity at the peak of the following sunspot cycle, but that will take some time to be verified. If we see a solar peak below 100 average monthly sunspot count, then those gurus were right, but a solar peak sunspot count of 120 or higher will not provide enough statistically significant information so that it can be affirmed that cycle 24´s smaller peak was associated with the previous extended solar minimum. My own estimate is that we won´t see a significant increase in solar activity, one that will really improve HF propagation conditions above 20 megaHertz, until the second half of 2009, and even later!!! So, as I have said here many times since 2005, you should install the best possible antennas for operating on frequencies between 3 and 15 megaHertz, with special emphasis on the frequency range between 3 and 10 megaHertz (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Aug 9 via ODXA yg via DXLD) Geomagnetic field activity was at quiet levels through 07 August. Activity increased to unsettled levels late on 08 August. A further increase to minor storm levels occurred on 09 August. Activity decreased to active levels on 10 August with minor storm levels observed at high latitudes. ACE solar wind data indicated the increased activity during 09 - 10 August was due to a recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream (HSS). A co-rotating interaction region (CIR) occurred on 09 August. Interplanetary magnetic field changes associated with the CIR included increased Bt (peak 20 nT at 09/0510 UTC) and intermittent periods of southward Bz (minimum -12 nT at 09/0411 UTC). The HSS began late on 09 August and continued through the rest of the period with a peak velocity of 688 km/sec observed at 09/2000 UTC. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 13 AUG - 08 SEPT 2008 Solar activity is expected to be very low. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels during 13 - 23 August and 07 - 08 September. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet levels during 13 - 15 August. Activity is expected to increase to unsettled to active levels during 16 - 20 August due to a recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream. Activity is expected to decrease to quiet levels during 21 August - 03 September. Activity is expected to increase to unsettled levels on 04 September. A further increase to active to minor storm levels is expected on 05 September due to a recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream. Activity is expected to decrease to quiet to unsettled levels during 06 - 08 September as the high-speed stream subsides. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2008 Aug 12 2325 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center # Product description and SWPC contact on the Web # http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2008 Aug 12 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2008 Aug 13 66 5 2 2008 Aug 14 66 5 2 2008 Aug 15 66 5 2 2008 Aug 16 66 8 3 2008 Aug 17 66 10 3 2008 Aug 18 66 10 3 2008 Aug 19 66 15 4 2008 Aug 20 66 10 3 2008 Aug 21 66 5 2 2008 Aug 22 66 5 2 2008 Aug 23 66 5 2 2008 Aug 24 66 5 2 2008 Aug 25 66 5 2 2008 Aug 26 66 5 2 2008 Aug 27 66 5 2 2008 Aug 28 66 5 2 2008 Aug 29 66 5 2 2008 Aug 30 66 5 2 2008 Aug 31 66 5 2 2008 Sep 01 66 5 2 2008 Sep 02 66 5 2 2008 Sep 03 66 5 2 2008 Sep 04 66 8 3 2008 Sep 05 66 20 5 2008 Sep 06 66 10 3 2008 Sep 07 66 8 3 2008 Sep 08 66 5 2 (SWPC via DXLD) Too late for WOR 1421 ###