DX LISTENING DIGEST 9-047, June 6, 2009 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 2009 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 1463, June 3-9 Wed 0500 WRMI 9955 Wed 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1900 WBCQ 7415 Thu 0530 WRMI 9955 Thu 1900 WBCQ 7415 Fri 0000 WBCQ 5110-CUSB Area 51 Fri 0100 WRMI 9955 Fri 1130 WRMI 9955 Fri 1900 WBCQ 7415 Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 [or 2029] Sat 0800 WRMI 9955 Sat 0800 IPAR/IRRS/NEXUS/IBA 9510 [except first Sat: June 6] Sat 1630 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1515 WRMI 9955 [suspended] Mon 0500 WRMI 9955 Mon 2200 WBCQ 7415 Tue 1100 WRMI 9955 Tue 1530 WRMI 9955 Tue 1900 WBCQ 7415 Wed 0500 WRMI 9955 [or new 1464 starting here?] Wed 1530 WRMI 9955 Wed 1900 WBCQ 7415 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 or http://schedule.worldofradio.org or http://sked.worldofradio.org 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://podcast.worldofradio.org or http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/podcast.php OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. DEUTSCHE WELLE TO LAUNCH EDUCATIONAL RADIO PROJECT IN AFGHANISTAN Later this year, Deutsche Welle will launch an extensive educational radio program in Pashto and Dari for a younger target audience in Afghanistan. The interactive educational project “Learning by Ear for Afghanistan” will focus on topics like education, democratization and the country's rebuilding process. Erik Bettermann, Director General of Germany’s international broadcaster, announced the new development at the closing ceremony of the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum in Bonn. "We are building on the extremely positive experience we have had with this innovative concept since 2008 in Africa," he said. "The new series will help convey important educational content in an entertaining and informative way." Deutsche Welle will transmit the distance learning program by radio – the most important medium in Afghanistan – as well as having content available on the Internet. The Director General went on to say that the project is relevant to German foreign and development policies and would be funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. Bettermann said the project should "support the measures involved in the international reconstruction process in Afghanistan and contribute to the acceptance of a modern, democratic society." He added that first and foremost, it will address a young target audience in Afghanistan, as they form the majority of the Afghan society. "Learning by Ear for Afghanistan" consists of entertaining and informative radio modules. In the area of political education, it will cover subjects like democracy, human rights, civil society and good governance. In the modules "Women and Girls" and "Women at Work" the series will take up the issues of the prevailing deficiencies and prejudices. In the area of "Health", the project will cover elementary knowledge in the areas of hygiene, dealing with refuse, healthcare and family planning. Another module will be devoted to the many drug problems in Afghanistan, the economic consequences of the illegal drug trade, drug abuse and alternatives to producing and trading in opium. Bettermann said that Deutsche Welle will be working with Afghani authors on the production of "Learning by Ear for Afghanistan". As part of the project, they will be trained by the Deutsche Welle Akademie. Individual modules will be produced in Afghanistan with Afghani radio partners. This six-month production period will allow for the conveyance of the corresponding know-how. Listener reactions and questions will be integrated in the series in its further development. Deutsche Welle will broadcast "Learning by Ear for Afghanistan" via shortwave, satellite, FM in Kabul and partner stations in the various provinces of Afghanistan. Schools will also be able to access the texts and accompanying material and further information can be supplemented at any time. In addition, "Learning by Ear for Afghanistan" will be made available on CD. June 5, 2009 (Press Release) (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dxldyg via DXLD) Yet, Germany does not want to send soldiers to Afghanistan! (gh, DXLD) ** ANGOLA. New 4949.76, 1845-0045 22+23.05, R Nacional de Angola, Mulenvos, Portuguese announcement, Afropop, 1900 timesignal, news, reports, talk, hymns reactivated! 35232, at times 35333. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, under very poor ionospheric conditions here in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** ANGUILLA. Caribbean Beacon was missing from 6090 at 0620 June 5, see BRAZIL, but at 1318, daytime frequency 11775 was on the air as usual, and with usual clash of two audio sources: underneath, a screaming YL from the 1610 local service bleedthru, and on top, the calm, measured, seemingly reasonable tones of Pastor Melissa Scott. But she does go on. And on. And on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTARCTICA. LRA36, Arcángel, 15476.010, 1745 UT. Al vroeg tenemen, met af en toe verstaanbaar Spaans gesproken (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, May 26, BDX via DXLD) So must have been on the air early, unusual (gh, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Op 15344.040, 1802 UT full IDs (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, June 2, BDX via DXLD) Almost 1 kHz off-frequency (gh, DXLD) ** ASIA [non]. USA [non] A-09 RFA Daily Broadcast Frequencies. All times in UTC. * changes [sites added, except secret ones!] Burmese (4 hours daily) 0030-0130 13820IRA, 13865TIN, 17835TIN 1230-1330 7390IRA, 9320TIN, 13675TIN 1330-1430 7390TIN, 9320TIN, 12140TIN(-1400) 1630-1730* 9945IRA Cantonese (2 hours daily) 1400-1500* 5835TIN, 7280TIN, 11595SAI 2200-2300 9355SAI, 11715TIN, 11785TIN Khmer (2 hours daily) 1230-1330 12140TIN, 15160IRA 2230-2330 7580IRA, 13740TIN Korean (5 hours daily) 1500-1700 1350 , 5810TIN, 7210IRK, 7455TIN 1700-1800 1350 , 5810TIN, 9370IRA 1800-1900 1350 , 5810TIN, 7210TIN 2100-2200 1350 , 7460 , 9385TIN, 12075SAI Lao (2 hours daily) 0000-0100 15545TIN, 15690IRA 1100-1200 9355SAI, 15145IRA Mandarin (12 hours daily) 0300-0600 13760SAI, 15130TIN, 15615TIN, 15635IRK, 17615TIN, 17880SAI, 21550TIN, 21690TIN 0600-0700 13760SAI, 15130TIN, 15615TIN, 15635IRK, 17615TIN, 17880SAI, 21550TIN 1500-1600 9455SAI, 9905PAL, 11540TIN, 11625TIN, 12025SAI, 13675TIN, 15495TIN 1600-1700* 9455SAI, 9905PAL, 11540TIN, 11795TIN, 12025SAI, 13675TIN, 15530TIN 1700-1800* 7260TIN, 7280TIN, 9355SAI, 9455SAI, 9540TIN, 9905PAL, 11540TIN, 11795TIN, 13625TIN 1800-1900* 7280TIN, 7355TWN, 9355SAI, 9455SAI, 9540TIN, 9865TIN, 11540SAI, 11700TIN, 13625TIN 1900-2000* 1098TWN, 7260TIN, 7355TWN, 9355SAI, 9455SAI, 9850TIN, 9865TIN, 9905PAL, 11700TIN, 11785TIN, 13625TIN, 15510TIN 2000-2100* 1098TWN, 7260TIN, 7355TWN, 9355SAI, 9455SAI, 9850TIN, 9905PAL, 11700TIN, 11740TIN, 11785TIN, 13625TIN 2100-2200 1098TWN, 7355TWN, 9455SAI, 9850TIN, 9905PAL, 11740TIN, 11935TIN, 13625TIN 2300-0000 7540 , 11760TIN, 11785TIN, 15430TIN, 15485SAI, 15585TIN Tibetan (10 hours daily) 0100-0300 9365KWT, 9885WER, 11695UAE, 15225TIN, 17730 0600-0700 17510 , 17780KWT, 21500TIN, 21690UAE 1000-1100 15460LAM, 17750KWT, 21530KWT 1100-1200 7470 , 13830 , 15375UAE, 17750KWT 1200-1400 7470 , 11590KWT, 11605TIN, 13830 , 15375UAE 1500-1600 9370 , 11550KWT, 11585TIN, 11795UAE 2200-2300 5865TIN, 7500TIN, 9880LAM 2300-0000 7470 , 7500KWT, 9805UAE, 9875TIN Uyghur (2 hours daily) 0100-0200 9350 , 9490LTU, 11895UAE, 11945UAE, 17640TIN 1600-1700 9350IRA, 9370 , 9555UAE, 11750IRA Vietnamese (2 hours daily) 1400-1500 7520IRA, 9715TIN, 9805SAI, 11605TWN, 11680IRA, 12140IRA 1400-1430 1503TWN 2330-2400 7520IRA, 11580 , 11605TWN, 13740SAI, 15535VLD, 15560IRA 0000-0030* 7525IRA, 11580 , 11605TWN, 13740SAI, 15535VLD, 15560TIN (Radio Free Asia website, via Gordon Brown-UK, NWDXC June 1 via BCDX June 6 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. G'day Glen[n], The change in RA`s programming on 3 June around 1100 was probably due to one of those ball games played by overpaid entertainers. It was the night of Rugby League's 1st (of 3 for the season) State-of-Origin games between Queensland and New South Wales. It was played in Melbourne, Victoria (go figure); they grab at any sort of entertainment in Bleak City. As League is hugely popular in parts of the Pacific, especially PNG, they probably grabbed a couple of appropriate frequencies to carry it. Cheers (Ian Johnson, ARDXC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. R. Rebelde, CUBA, 5025, June 4 at 1156 with subaudible heterodyne of a few Hz. This always makes me suspect that VL8K is stuck here on its daytime frequency instead of 2485; but no 120m reception now to see if 2485 is missing while 2310 and 2325 are not. If it isn`t VL8K under Cuba, what could it be? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You are most likely correct. I did not check the lower frequencies but the faint audio sounded like VL8K around 2000 UT on the 4th. Signal had faded in around 1700. It faded at 2200 with Rebelde appearing 1-2 Hz higher (Alan G4ZFQ, presumably UK, June 5, ptsw yg via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non]. V. of Biafra International, reconfirmed still on same frequency 17520 for several weeks now, via WHRI, Friday June 5 around 1915 with sufficient signal tnx to sporadic E (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4835, R. Virgen de Remedios, Tupiza. June 05, Spanish 0023-0042 news program: possibly fraud in last December elections, eventual reelection of Evo Morales (noted some political editorial tendencies against Evo Morales in this program), “no hay más casos de influenza humana”, Air France airplane news from outside female presumed from Brazil, male ID “R. Virgen de Remedios desde Tupiza”. 34533 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 6155.27, Radio Fides, La Paz, 0105-0159*, June 6, Spanish talk. ID. Bolivian music. Closing ID announcements at 0158 over lite music. Fair (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6155.26, R. Fides. Usual press program with W host and many actualities after 0000. Later, post 0130, had nonstop soft LA music. 0201 full closing ID by M over haunting ethereal music with mention of AM, FM, and the 2 SW frequencies in 49 and 31 mbs, possible address, etc. Bit of music, deadair, and off. Fairly clear. (5 June) 4409.77, R. Eco, 0222-0247, Nonstop LA tropical pop music. Actually hrd for the 2 hours previous. Really faded down and almost inaudible after 0240, but picked back up again after 0310. Not quite strong enough to copy the occas. short anmnt. Seemed like one final anmnt at 0413 and off. Pretty decent early around 0030. A fair amount of QRN. (5 June) (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, HCDX via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6075, R. Kawsachun Coca, Lauka. 1000 UT --- Logs in Pómpano Beach, Cedar Key, Boca Ratón, Clewiston, Coral Springs and Embu SP Brasil. [Florida Group] 73s (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida US, NRD 535D ~ Drake R8, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 4905.01, Radio Anhangüera, Araguaína, 0930 --- Logs in Pómpano Beach, Cedar Key, Boca Ratón, Clewiston, Coral Springs and Embu SP Brasil. [Florida Group] 73s (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida US, NRD 535D ~ Drake R8, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. 5055, R. Difusora, Cáceres. June 01, Portuguese, 0958-1003 happy YL : “vocês estão sintonizados na Rádio Difusora de Cáceres; esta emissora maravilhosa está sob a direção de...”, 1001 Sertanejo music. Fady, 24222 (Lúcio Otávio Bobrowiec, Embu SP Brasil - Sony ICF SW40 - dipole 18m, 32m, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Anguilla was missing from 6090 again at 0620 June 5; wish I had checked earlier, but now a mix of two or three weak signals on slightly different offsets, the one barely on top being in Portuguese, and I think I heard a 3:20 timecheck go by, so no doubt it`s the 24- hour R. Bandeirantes, São Paulo (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURMA. Pray for the safety of Steve Dun and Chuck Mancebo of Blessings for Obedience Ministries as they operate a portable AM radio station to avoid government detection and persecution in Burma (Galcom Prayer Bulletin for Aug 20, 2009, via DXLD) Hope they don`t need any prayers before then (gh) ** CANADA. June 5 at 1350 tuning across 31m, I could not hear any CBCNQ on 9625, but instead DRM-like noise 9620-9630. Could Sackville have been testing DRM here? That transmitter is normally not needed elsewhere until 1505. Or was it just a local noise peak. I have enquired. CBCNQ, 9625, weak in French with SAH from Novosibirsk and/or Meyerton, June 6 at 1406, unlike the morning before when all I heard was DRM- like noise 9620-9630. No reply from Sackville to my inquiry about that. The AM/DRM transmitter there has been known to switch into DRM mode on its own, so maybe that`s what happened (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. 6070, CFRX, they're on but apparently not always at full strength. Checked 2125 UT on May 30 and found them at threshold level \\ strong 1010 kHz. Checked later at 2253 and 6070 was very good with medical programming. Barely audible again on May 31st checks (John Herkimer, NY, DXplorer May 31 via BCDX June 6 via DXLD) CFRX still suffers co-channel interference on 6070, from which it is inconceivable that it would ever move; equally inconceivable that RCI at HFCC would lift a finger to protect 6070. Wouldn`t do any good anyway in this case, as the culprit is an outlaw nation, which refuses to participate in HFCC, hardly the worst of its sins: Voice of Korea, per Aoki on 6070 at 0900-1250 in Japanese, with the usual breaks before hourtop, 125 kW at 109 degrees from Kanggye. June 4 at 1156 a fast SAH from this was marring reception of CFRX. Better news in the evening: CVC Spanish via Chile has replaced 6070 with 11665 at 2300- 0200 as of June 3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. REMEMBERING RADIO PROJECT http://amaclenn.apps01.yorku.ca/radio/ The objective of the remembering radio project is to reclaim early memories of radio in the lives of everyday Canadians. The hope is to discover more about the role of radio in the homes and lives of ordinary Canadians from its inception. This phase of the project is centred on listeners’ memories from the 1930s. Studies of the audience, its members’ opinions, likes and dislikes, program preferences, and the role of Canadian radio are rare. The information that the listeners from that time period have to share is very valuable to this project. Individuals who have time to spend with an interviewer can help to shed some light on this long neglected area of broadcasting history. The project is starting out in the Toronto area this summer. Researchers will come to anyone willing to participate in the project to record their early memories of radio in their homes and the programs they preferred. Available times for the researchers to visit for the purpose of interviews in other Canadia cities and the possibilities for phone interviews will be posted on this site. Please contact the principal investigator on this project at the address, phone number or e-mail below to record your interview. Prof. Anne MacLennan, Division of Social Science, TEL Building 3025, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3 Please leave voice mail messages at: 416-736-2100 extension 33857 Or make contact by e-mail at: amaclenn @ yorku.ca Prof. Anne MacLennan is teaching in the Communication Studies Program at York University. While her teaching ranges from research methods to policy and advertising, the focus of her research is early Canadian radio history. Until this point her research has been centred on the selection of programs available to Canadian listeners. Now she is turning her attention to what, how and why listeners chose from the radio program listings available. To those of you who seek lost objects of history, I wish you the best of luck. They're out there, and they're whispering. - Clive Cussler http://www.doghousecharlie.com [Fred`s tagline] (posted to the SOWNY board http://www.sowny.ca via Fred Waterer, June 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I see no date on the webpage, so I hope `this` summer means 2009y (gh) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC [and non]. Galcom’s Board of Directors identified 39 countries where Galcom radios have not yet been distributed. This weekend, pray for open doors for Christian radio in Libya, Egypt and Central Africa Republic (Galcom Prayer Bulletin for Aug 29, 2009, via DXLD) Never heard of Radio ICDI? ** CHAD. 6165, RNT, *0429-0459, June 5, sign on with Balafon IS. National Anthem at 0432. Opening French announcements at 0433. African tribal music at 0434. Hi-life music. French talk. Fair to good signal but very weak co-channel QRM from possibly Zambia. Chad covered by Radio Nederland at their 0459 sign on (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Hey Guys and Girls, I wanted to know if anyone has thought that maybe we should send in reception reports for Firedrake to the Chinese Embassy in Washington and also to the Government in Beijing. LOL. Personally I think it would be funny if we could get a few hundred people to do so. LOL (Keith Perron, ex-China, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Firedrake check June 5: generally poor reception from E Asia. At 1311, just barely audible on 8400 and not on 9000; at 1321, fair on 13970 and 14420. Firedrake June 6: at 1411, good on 13970, zero on 14420, 11300, 9000, 8400 or any other frequency in bandscans 8-19 MHz (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. SOH seems changed the transmission from Palau to newly by Tajikistan. I confirmed it by a mistake of the switching of V. of Tibet via Tajikistan on 15420v kHz on June 4. 15750, SOH Chinese 1230-1300 and V. of Tibet Chinese at 1300-1300'37" 15727, V. of Tibet at 1300'38-1303 15427, V. of Tibet at 1303'13"-1316'32" 15429, V. of Tibet at 1316'33-1335'12" 15414, V. of Tibet at 1335'12"-1400 And June 5. SOH and VOT via Yangiyul, Tajikistan 15740, 1230-1300 SOH Chinese 15427, 1300-1315 VOT Chinese 15429, 1315-1330 VOT Chinese 15429, 1330-1335 VOT Tibetan 15414, 1335-1400 VOT Tibetan 15750, 1400-1430 SOH Chinese SOH on 15740 at *1230-1240, clear without jamming and Firedrake is interfered with from 1240. http://ndxc.org/aoki/binews/ai/soh-20090605-1230_15740.mp3 de Hiroshi (S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC-HQ June 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note my recent catch of ChiCom echo jamming on 15760, likely also targeting this as above, jumping from 15750, 15740 (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. RADIO BEIJING ENGLISH SERVICE TIANANMEN BROADCAST Complete audio of the Radio Beijing English service announcer Li Dan speaking out against the Tiananmen square massacre has been posted by Bill Pearl, Longbranchreport.com: http://www.lbreport.com/news/jun09/tien20.htm (Mike Barraclough, UK, June 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) It`s no more `complete` than the version we aired; just with the IS and sign-on at the start. And whether it was really Li Dan is still unknown (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) I hadn't got round to reading the latest DXLD yet so didn't realise this had already been published; came up on my Google alert. Keith Perron hasn't uploaded the Happy Station DXing show yet but I notice he's uploaded one 3101-1-rbeijing_1989_2.mp3 which has the official line on the events; presumably this is part of the latest programme. http://www.radio4all.net:8080/files/kperron@gmail.com/3101-1-rbeijing_1989_2.mp3 (Mike Barraclough, England, June 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also U S S R The 1500 UT Happy Station Dxer Tribute will be uploaded June 11 at 1600 after the rebroadcast at 0100 and 1500 (Keith Perron, ibid.) Glenn, as far as I know, it was Li Dan that made that announcement on Radio Beijing. At least the Chinese Students that invited me to the Memorial Service for the students and gave me the nice T Shirt of the guy standing in front of the tank thought it was Li Dan and Amnesty International or Asia Watch I believe thought it was him also, as they sent me an email asking me not to report anything about him. And if you remember, Radio Beijing used a letter they said that came from me asking about Li Dan and Li Dan was actually on the show and said he was OK. But like you say, seeing as how we do not know Li Dan, it may not have been him (Bruce MacGibbon, OR, June 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Unless there were two Li Dans, I don't think it's him. His voice is totally different. Also, knowing how the Chinese government works, I don't think it could be. At the time Li Dan was just another staff member in the English service. In 1991 he became the director of the English service, a position he held until 1998. From there he became the president of CRI, when Li Ping took over as director with Xue Huazhen. In 2004 Li Dan left CRI and moved to CCTV and became one of the many millions of vice-presidents they have. After he left the interim president was Shen Xiatian (nicknamed Summer); he was also from the English service. Li Ping moved to the foreign affairs department of CRI and her position was filled by Li Pei Chun. Lin Shao Wen, who was the English news director and host of People In The Know, moved to the Chinese section. Li Dan still goes to CRI for top level meetings. His wife worked in the English letters department. In China the kind of person Li Dan is, is called a Communist for political gain (translation). (Keith Perron, Taiwan, June 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Re 9-046: Not sure what strategic sense RHC has for all three sites close together. Certainly makes no sense when you look at potential hurricane damage. At least with another small country like Taiwan many of RTI`s SW sites are disbursed throughout the length of the country. Can`t help but think that Quivicán site is more of a replacement for Bejucal site. Doesn`t appear to have been any major antenna work done to Bejucal site between 2002 & 2006 (unlike Bauta site), but then again Bejucal antennas do/did appear to target more directions than Quivicán; Bejucal site looks a little neglected. Wolfy, do you have any records that give the respective commissioning dates of the Bejucal & Quivicán sites? I have start date for Bauta as May 1, 1961 (Ian Baxter, Australia, shortwavesites yg June 4 via BCDX June 6 via DXLD) I would say these memories came in my mind. From the beginning in 1961 till approx. 1970y only transmitting center no. 1 at Bauta was on air for RHC SW broadcasts. Some units put on service in 1961-1962y from Koepenick-GDR, Siemens-FRG, and in 1963y from BBC Brown Boveri, Switzerland. 20 and 100 kW units, even SSB mode PTP communication transmitters. Strong relations with former USSR in late sixties till 1992y revealed on relay exchange contract and also built up the transmitter center no. 2 at Bejucal by the Sowjetunion in 1969-1971y? I guess they put 5 x 50 kW units and 12 curtains on that site. 50 kW units could be combined to 2 x 100 kW gear transmissions, like done on many former USSR sites. These common interests lasted till 1992y, when the former USSR relays to Cuba and Nicaragua on 4765 kHz (Radio Orbita relay in Russian) and Radio Moscow relay on 9600 kHz ceased service. After this, Bejucal transmission quality suffered more and more, due of lack of maintenance and spare parts doesn't available from former USSR anymore. From 1994y onwards old ancient SSB mode PTP communication gear of GDR/FRG/USSR transmitters appeared again as broadcast hardware via Bauta site. Used SSB transmitters on USB mode 9820, 11705, and 13660/13725 kHz till approx. 2002y. From 1999y onwards CRI Beijing broadcast appeared via Cuban relay. And - I guess - a contract signed to erect of latest Quivicán site, started also in that 1999y, - all Made in China -, and work finished in 2003-2004y? And another mystery is La Julia site with many antenna masts visible, like a monitoring receiving station, or direction finding at 23 00 17.35 N 82 13 47.20 W -- up to 100 antenna masts visible. That's not a PTP or rather a big broadcasting center (Wolfgang Büschel, June 5, ibid.) Re: ``WRTH 2009 has a separate entry from RHC for Radiocuba, the transmitter operator, with three sites specified: Bauta, 22N57, 082W32, 6 x 100 kW and 1 x 50 kW Bejucal, 22N55, 082W23, 3 x 50 kW and 1 x 100 kW Quivican, 22N49, 082W17, 5 x 250 kW (gh)`` [really rather 22 57 01.00 N 82 32 44.00 W 22 51 59.18 N 82 20 05.59 W 22 49 36.16 N 82 17 34.18 W – Büschel, ibid.] It looks as if WRTH has just dropped the seconds, rather than rounding up or down as appropriate, so beware of other WRTH G.C. entries --- except Bejucal, which is way off (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** CUBA [and non]. COUPLE INDICTED ON CHARGES OF SPYING FOR CUBA By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer http://tinyurl.com/CubanSpies WASHINGTON – A retired State Department worker with top secret security clearance and his wife have been indicted on charges of spying for Cuba over the past three decades. The indictment unsealed Friday in Washington says Walter Kendall Myers and his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, have been clandestine agents for Cuba since 1979. The pair were arrested Thursday. The indictment says the couple met with Cuban President Fidel Castro in Cuba in 1995, traveling through Mexico under false names. They allegedly made several other trips to Latin America and the Caribbean to meet with Cuban agents. David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security, described the couple's alleged spying for the communist government as "incredibly serious." Authorities said the Myerses shared their views of Obama administration officials that had recently taken over responsibility for Latin American policy. They also accepted a device to encrypt future e-mail. Kendall Myers, 72, worked at the State Department. Early in his career, he specialized in European issues at the agency's Foreign Service Institute. In 2007, he retired from department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. The indictment says in his last year of employment, Kendall Myers viewed more than 200 intelligence reports related to Cuba. The government said that Gwendolyn Myers revealed to investigators that her favorite places to pass information were Washington-area grocery stores. Kendall Myers was known by the Cubans as Agent 202 and his wife went by both Agent 123 and Agent E-634, according to the indictment. The two were charged with conspiracy to act as illegal agents of the Cuban government and to communicate classified information to the Cuban government. Each is also charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Cuban government and with wire fraud. The indictment says the couple own a shortwave radio, which they used to broadcast encrypted messages to the Cuban Intelligence Service using Morse code. In recent years, the documents say, they communicated through e-mail using a false name. An undercover FBI agent approached them in April, pretending to be a Cuban spy. Court documents say the couple fell for the ruse and began meeting with the undercover agent at Washington hotels. The indictment says the two agreed to be spies in 1979 after meeting with a Cuban government official while they were living in South Dakota. At Cuba's direction, authorities say, Kendall Myers attempted to get jobs that would give him access to classified information. He applied for a position at the CIA in 1981. He didn't get the job but later was able to get work at the State Department, where his security clearance rose over the next two decades (via Sergei S., June 5, dxldyg via DXLD) If I remember correctly, a few years ago there was another Cuban spy ring broken in the US. They were accused of owning a SW radio, too (Sergei S., DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fortunately, there was more evidence against them than just ``owning a SW radio`` which in this case meant transmitter. But wait, another version, from Reuters, said they RECEIVED messages via SW, and we know what that means, final final --- (gh) http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5546CA20090605 (via Harry Helms, DXLD) Shortwave/Morse Code Still Have Value for Some People (John Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) AP later rewrote and expanded the story, with more about the radio angle: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090606/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_cuba_spy_charges COUPLE ACCUSED OF SPYING FOR CUBA FOR 30 YEARS Slideshow: Couple accused of spying for Cuba Play Video Cuba Video: Cuban Spies Living in South Dakota ABC News Play Video [this video shows the SW signals emanating from the Isla de Juventud!] By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 35 mins ago WASHINGTON – A retired State Department worker and his wife have been arrested on charges of spying for Cuba for three decades, using grocery carts among their array of tools to pass U.S. secrets to the communist government in a security breach one official described as "incredibly serious." An indictment unsealed Friday said Walter Kendall Myers worked his way into higher and higher U.S. security clearances while secretly partnering with his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, as clandestine agents so valued by the Cuban government that they once had a private four-hour meeting with President Fidel Castro. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said that the arrest culminated a three-year investigation of Myers and that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has ordered a "comprehensive damage assessment" to determine what he may have passed to the Cubans. The Myerses' arrest could affect congressional support for easing tensions with Cuba dating back to the Cold War. Two months ago, the Obama administration took steps to relax a trade embargo imposed on the island nation in 1962. David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security, described the couple's alleged spying for the communist government as "incredibly serious." Court documents indicate the couple received little money for their efforts, but instead professed a deep love for Cuba, Castro and the country's system of government. The documents describe the couple's spying methods changing with the times, beginning with old-fashioned tools of Cold War spying: Morse code messages over a short-wave radio and notes taken on water-soluble paper. By the time they retired from the work in 2007, they were reportedly sending encrypted e-mails from Internet cafes. The criminal complaint says changing technology also persuaded Gwendolyn Myers to abandon what she considered an easy way of passing information, by changing shopping carts in a grocery store. The document quoted her as saying she would no longer use that tactic. "Now they have cameras, but they didn't then." Authorities say her comments came during a series of meetings this spring with an undercover FBI agent. A law enforcement official said the agent approached Kendall Myers on the street on his birthday, April 15, claiming to be as associate of his Cuban handler. The agent gave him a birthday cigar and proposed they meet later that evening at a Washington hotel. Myers fell for the ruse and said he'd bring his wife along. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation. The Myerses had been out of touch with their Cuban handlers for some time, according to court documents. The couple said they lived "in fear and anxiety for a long time." Kendall Myers feared his boss had put him on a watch list in 1995. They told the FBI agent that they were not interested in regular spying again but would help where they could. Authorities said that led to three meetings with the agent, during which they shared their views of Obama administration officials who had recently taken over responsibility for Latin American policy. They also accepted a device to encrypt future e-mail. The undercover agent proposed a fourth meeting for Thursday at a Washington hotel, where the couple was arrested. The couple pleaded not guilty Friday in U.S. District Court. They were ordered held in jail until a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Their attorney, Thomas Green, declined to comment. A call to their home telephone was not answered. The Myerses live in a luxury co-op complex in Northwest Washington that over the years was home to Cabinet members, judges, congressmen and senators, including the late Barry Goldwater. W. Russell Pickering, a retired financier who said he has lived next door to the couple for eight to 10 years, called the charges "absurd." "They're wonderful people," Pickering said, adding that he and Myers traded newspapers and cigars and drank together. "I feel like this is sort of the early stage of 1984," he said, referring to George Orwell's dark novel about government intrusiveness. The Myerses were charged with conspiracy to act as illegal agents of the Cuban government and to communicate classified information to the Cuban government. Each is also charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Cuban government and with wire fraud. Kendall Myers, 72, a former professor with a doctorate in international studies from Johns Hopkins University, was known by the Cubans as Agent 202, according to the indictment. His 71-year-old wife, a former bank analyst, reportedly went by both Agent 123 and Agent E-634. The indictment says Kendall Myers disclosed to the State Department that he traveled to Cuba for two weeks in 1978, saying the trip was for personal and academic purposes. The next year, a Cuban government official visited the couple while they were living in South Dakota and recruited them to be spies, the indictment says. At Cuba's direction, authorities say, Kendall Myers attempted to get jobs that would give him access to classified information. He applied for a position at the CIA in 1981. He didn't get it but later was able to get work at the State Department, where his security clearance rose over the next two decades. Kendall Myers first worked as a lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute and later as a European analyst in the department's intelligence arm, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, from 2000 until his retirement in October 2007. The indictment says in his last year of employment, Kendall Myers viewed more than 200 intelligence reports related to Cuba. Kendall Myers often took notes or memorized classified material to avoid the risk of removing the documents but concealed some documents he removed in a set of bookends, the court documents said. During his time at the intelligence bureau, officials there were dealing with the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and response as well assessments in the run-up to the Iraq war. Court documents say among the information they passed was economic intelligence, which the former intelligence official said makes up much of what information Cuba is interested in from the United States. The indictment seeks the return of all $1.7 million Kendall Myers earned in his State Department career, along with his $174,867 rollover IRA account. The law enforcement official said all they appear to have gotten from the Cubans was a little expense money and their 1980s-era radio. Court documents say Castro came to visit the couple in a small house in Cuba where they were staying in 1995, after traveling through Mexico under false names. Kendall Myers reportedly boasted to the undercover FBI agent that they had received "lots of medals" from the Cuban government. They made other trips to Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina to meet with Cuban agents, the indictment says. Myers apparently sympathized with the Cuban ideology and revolution that put Castro into power. Court documents say he wrote in a personal journal in 1978: "I can see nothing of value that has been lost by the revolution. ... The revolution has released enormous potential and liberated the Cuban spirit." He praised Castro as a "brilliant and charismatic leader" who is "one of the great political leaders of our time." And he called the United States "exploiters" who regularly murdered Cuban revolutionary leaders. One of the most damaging recent spy cases also involved a Cuban agent: Ana Belen Montes. She was a U.S. intelligence analysts who worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency for 16 years. Montes revealed the identities of four undercover agents to Cuban officials during her time as a spy. Like the Myerses, Montes used a short-wave radio to receive her orders. Joseph Persichini, the FBI's assistant director in charge of the Washington field office that investigated the case, said that even as U.S. relations with foreign countries change, the clandestine hunt for secrets continues. "When it comes to the intent of other nations pursuing our classified material, our research and development, the Cold War is not over, this activity does continue," Persichini said. ___ Associated Press writers Devlin Barrett, Matthew Lee, Pam Hess and Christine Simmons contributed to this report (via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Something new on 11625, Sat June 6 at 1350, good signal with kid choir singing hymn in Spanish. Doubt it`s Radio Thailand, the only thing listed now in PWBR `2009`; besides, we know they are using 9455 at this time. 11625 is an HCJB frequency, but only in the evening at 0000-0200, and this is not // 11690 and 11960. At 1352 on 11625, reverb YL outroing show originating in Ada (pronounced as in Spanish), Michigan 49301. Sure enough, at 1359 HCJB ID, no frequency mentioned, timechex for UT -5 and -6, and 1401 apparently live Saturday show, mentioning 690 and 6050 in passing. So this is a relay of the domestic service with separate programming, giving MWLs and SWLs a chance during the 14-15 UT Saturday hour to hear something besides all that geeky mailbag and DX stuff on the external service! And they don`t even know about 11625 in the studio --- another station with a severe disconnect, lack of internal communication between transmission and programming offices. Recheck at 1459, still going with timesignal and off, clearing 11625 for Chinese from RFA Tinian, along with SAH and ChiCom jamming. Per Aoki, 11625 is also used by R. Prague, 245 degrees in Spanish at 1400- 1427, but no sign of that here under HCJB. Is this new transmission on the HCJB schedule? A one-off test? Programmed wrong frequency instead of 6050? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 5005, Radio Nacional, Bata, *0501-0600, June 5, sign on with National Anthem. Afro-pop music at 0504. Hi-life music. Spanish talk. Radio Nacional ID. Poor to fair. Surprised to hear // 6250 at 0517 tune-in with a good signal. These two frequencies do not usually run parallel. Still running parallel at 0600 tune-out. 6250, Radio Nacional, Malabo, 2100-2258:30*, June 5, on late with Afro-pop music. Spanish talk. Speech by man. Radio Malabo ID. African hi-life music. Sign off with National Anthem at 2257. Fair signal. No sign of 5005. 5005, Radio Nacional, Bata, *0504-0600, June 6, sign on with local tribal music. Afro-pop music. Spanish talk. Not // 6250. Weak in noisy conditions. 6250, Radio Nacional, Malabo, 0550-0605, June 6, Spanish talk. Afro- pop music. Radio Malabo IDs. Fair signal. Not // 5005 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re 9-046: I remember that this mailbag programme on Radio Bata was already aired in the 1990´s. Some information about that programm from a QSL letter I received in 2007, which was signed by the presenter of that programme Julián Esono Ela: ``Yo soy presentador del programa "Cartas del oyente" en Radio Bata, por lo cual me gustaría volver a recibir sus cartas para leerles en mi programa que presento todos los domingos a las 21 horas, hora local de Bata.`` 73, (Patrick Robic, Austria, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. 7175.00, 1840-2001* 27.05, Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, Asmara. Arabic talk about Sudan and Darfur, Horn of Africa songs, 1858 news summary, music interlude, 1900 Arabic ID: "Huna Asmara, Idha'at Sawt al-Jamahir al-Iritriyyah" , comments, mention "Democratiyah", closing announcement and martial song 45444. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, under very poor ionospheric conditions here in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. 7110, 2010-2101* 30.05, R. Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Amharic announcement, Horn of Africa songs, National hymn, 45434, AP-DNK NEW 7165.02, 1825-1837* 27.05, R. Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Somali announcement, Horn of Africa songs, closing announcement (new broadcast) 35444 // 9560 (23333 QRM 9555 Arabic). Best 73, (Anker Petersen, under very poor ionospheric conditions here in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** FAROE ISLANDS. Three stations were really strong while I was in The Shetland Islands for the last two weeks in March. Kringvarp Foroya thundered in on 531 kHz. They have a far more efficient transmitter since their old one popped its clogs. It comes into Suffolk late at night, sometimes in armchair quality (Darren Rozier, Holiday Report, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** FINLAND. 963 - Radio86 has started broadcasting China-themed programs on 963 kHz in the medium-wave band from Finland. Daily programs air between 5 and 9 am and between 6 pm and 1 am. The transmission is ensured by Digita transmission services in Pori. The programs are produced by Radio86, based in Tampere, Finland. The radio shows, presented in a number of European languages, all focus on China. Additional content is provided by China Radio International. (11th May 2009 via Mauno Ritola, ARC Information Desk 18 May, via Olle Alm, June 6, DXLD) Times seem to be CET. Noted 1600-2200 on 13 May and until 0600 on 14 May. From 1600 was noted in Chinese instead of previously scheduled Russian. Later in the evening noted with CRI Czech until 2000 (how are the Czechs expected to hear this weak signal with three local signals blasting on adjacent 954 kHz?), and then CRI German until s/off. -oa/ (Olle Alm, Sweden, ibid.) ** GERMANY. Re DXLD 29.4.2009 via ARC: ``594, Hessischer Rundfunk, Frankfurt will no longer broadcast on medium wave as of 2010.`` Yesterday they again confirmed that the transmitters will be closed down, in spite of all the criticism of discontinuing the foreign language programmes. The trick was to tell their council that some of the editors (minus the freelancers I suspect) responsible for these programmes will get involved in the remaining FM services, of course with German-language content. Likewise daily radio programmes for children will be kept by way of rebroadcasting such content from Deutschlandradio Kultur (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re: 1575 Burg - The three year DRM technical tests broadcasting Oldiestar on 1575 kHz ceased the weekend 1-2 May, 2009. (via Mike Barraclough, MWC e-mail news 2.5.2009) All transmissions from this transmitter, including Voice of Russia relays, are off the air. Apparently the site will now be closed. (OA) ARC Information Desk 27 April via Olle Alm, DXLD) Actually it was just 2.5 years. A utility signal on 139 kHz is still on air from Burg. So the site is not closed, but indeed no broadcasting signals originate from there anymore. And I suspect that Burg will never again be used for broadcasting, no matter that licences exist for all three available frequencies. Oldiestar pulled out, Truckradio went bankrupt and the DRM program from Europe 1, promised for 261 kHz back in 2001, is just vaporware. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. GERMAN PUBLIC BROADCASTERS REDUCE WEB OFFERINGS Germany’s public broadcasters will drastically reduce the programing they put online in response to attacks from commercial channels and newspapers that the online offerings represent unfair competition. Markus Schachter, director of public broadcaster ZDF, said the channel will reduce its online offerings by 70 percent and cut the length of time that catch-up programing is available for streaming. Reports on the official websites of ZDF and sister channel ARD will now be taken down after one week, and reports on sporting events, such as Germany’s Bundesliga soccer games, will be pulled after only one day online. Schachter also said ZDF would focus more on posting video to its site and greatly reduce its text-only offerings. The move is a sop to the German newspaper industry, which has complained that ARD and ZDF’s free websites unfairly compete with the online versions of their publications. (Source: Reuters/Hollywood Reporter)( June 5th, 2009 - 14:55 UTC by Andy Sennitt, Media Network blog via DXLD) 3 comments so far 1 Mark June 6th, 2009 - 12:33 UTC There’s something missing in that picture. It’s not like the German public broadcasters had given in voluntarily. Twelve months ago, EU commissioner for information society and media Viviane Reding had complained about the public broadcasters’ web offerings, citing EU regulations. She appealed to Germany that they should set limits to their public broadcasters on what kind of online content is acceptable, and the German states (Bundesländer) followed suit in their new state treaty on broadcast services and telecommunication media (Rundfunkstaatsvertrag). ARD and ZDF really tried to defend themselves. For example, they argued that their fee payers had funded their productions and should have the right to continuously access it. But in the end they had to cave in. I guess some politicians aren’t too unhappy that all the critical reports from political TV magazines will now vanish after one week. 2 Kai Ludwig June 6th, 2009 - 20:41 UTC The matter is even more complicated. Any online activities beyond making broadcast content available for seven days (equivalent to BBC iPlayer, considered as broadcast distribution, not as real online service) requires a procedure that is basically a copy of the “public value test” for the BBC. So it remains to be seen what will be the outcome of these public value tests. However, ZDF indeed choose to eliminate 80 percent (that’s the figure quoted in Germany) of its online content and not submitting it for the public value test at all. Also related to this matter is the closure of two WDR radio channels, presumably prompted by the circumstance that it was no longer possible to run more radio stations than authorized*) by way of distributing them online only. Thus WDR 2 Klassik and 1 Live Kunst have been eliminated. The latter was on digital broadcasting platforms (including DVB-S via Astra 1H) as well, and it has been replaced by Kiraka here, a previous online-only channel with repeats of children`s programmes from WDR 5. *) Yes, the public broadcasters in Germany are basically banned from launching any new radio stations, away from the small detail that in theory each regional broadcasting institution could launch a single new channel for exclusive DAB+ distribution. But on the other hand this is quite irrelevant, since in the real world radio stations are being closed down for budget reasons. RBB’s Radio Multikulti was probably not the last one. 3 Jonathan Marks June 6th, 2009 - 21:59 UTC I wonder why the public doesn’t complain in that they have paid for this content through licence fees. Why did ARD and ZDF lose this argument? (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** GERMANY. MV Baltic Radio is on this Sunday the 7th of June at 0900 to 1000 UT on our normal channel of 6140 kHz. M.V. Baltic Information: MV Baltic Radio relay service Schedule for summer 2009 1st Sunday – MV Baltic Radio 3rd Sunday – European Music Radio 4th Sunday – Radio Gloria International We wish you good listening and good reception! 73s (Tom Taylor, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [non]. Tuning by 15620, June 6 at 1503, instantly heard DW chords, and Russian, but severe QRM from WEWN-15610 ratchity spur, and DW no longer audible even during a WEWN mod pause which diminished the racket on 15620. DW Russian at 14-16 via Kigali is scheduled to move the antenna from 30 to 15 degrees at 1500 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also AFGHANISTAN [non] ** GREENLAND. 3815 USB, 2055-2110* 28.05, KNR, Tasiilaq, Greenlandic talk, 2101 KNR news jingle, news in Danish, 2109 music and off, 15221. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, under very poor ionospheric conditions here in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** HAWAII. 11090/fax KVM70 Hawaii barely in, but with Rorschach-like weather maps. Better in LSB than USB and getting better as the night progressed. I saw a weather chart with a NoAA bug on the bottom left, and then a Greyscale infrared satellite photo of the Pacific. 0600- 0640 23/May (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet June 5 via DXLD) ** INDIA. All India Radio's regional stations have recently been launching their own websites. At least these are up and running at the moment: AIR Ahmedabad - http://www.airahmedabad.in/ AIR Bhawanipatna - http://www.airbpn.org/ AIR Cuttack - http://www.airctc.com/ AIR Imphal - http://cicmanipur.nic.in/html/air_imp.htm AIR Panaji - http://www.airpanaji.gov.in/ AIR Rohtak - http://rohtakakashvani.com/ AIR Thiruvananthapuram - http://www.airtvm.com/ AIR Kolkata (unofficial) - http://www.freewebs.com/airkolkata/ (Moscow Information DX Bulletin via finndxer via ARC Information Desk 27 April, via Olle Alm, June 6, DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR Dibrugarh remained off air last week due to blown transformer/po [sic] --- Massive power cuts in Dibrugarh --- Bureau DIBRUGARH, June 4 - Utter indifference by the Upper Assam Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UAEDCL) has resulted in the total paralysis of broadcast of all programmes by the All India Radio (AIR), here since May 30. The reason: a power transformer going kaput at the AIR transmitter station campus. As this is a serious issue, it is yet to be known if the guilty ASEB employees would be arrested or even penalised. A government - run vital radio station remaining off air for almost a week is possibly unheard of, anywhere in the country. A truncated radio broadcast has commenced from this afternoon, according to Utpal Bhattacharya, Assistant Station Engineer, AIR, here. He added that transmissions would be interrupted in case of power failure. Meanwhile, ASEB has replaced the damaged transformer at the Lepetkata AIR transmitting station late this afternoon. The AIR authorities while talking this newspaper expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to the listeners. Elsewhere in the city, massive power cuts have become a routine, with citizens accepting the electrical load-shedding menace rather meekly. In the past five days, residents have had to endure twelve-to-fourteen hours of power outages every day. The ASEB has no explanation to the sudden deterioration in power supply in the city since April 23 this year, except for run-of-the-mill statements like "scanty rainfall" and "less gas pressure" affecting power generation. However, other places in the state, like Guwahati and Margherita are not suffering such frequent and prolonged power cuts. Guwahati, being the headquarters of the state, and Margherita being the home town of Assam power minister, Pradyut Bordoloi. When asked if the rules relating to power supply have special provisions for better power supply to a state headquarter or the hometown of the power minister, officials at the State Load Despatch Centre at Guwahati had no reply. (Source: Assam Tribune via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, June 4, dx_india yg via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 4750, RRI Makassar, 1034-1100 June 6, Noted a female in Indonesian language comments before music is presented. At 1041 more comments again until 1045 when music returns. At 1100 a female talks over music followed with possible news. Signal stayed at a poor level during the period (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, Watkins Johnson, HF1000, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wonder if any other RRIs are currently active on 60m? (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Broadcasts in English available online: update, all daily: Algeria, R. Algiers Int`l, 1900-1930, http://www.radioalgerie.dz Italy, IRRS Shortwave, 24h: http://mp3.nexus.org/mp3 Malaysia, TraxxFM, 24h: http://www.rtm.gov.my Malaysia, Voice of Islam, 0300-0600: http://www.rtm.gov.my Malahysia, V. of Malaysia, 0600-0825: http://www.rtm.gov.my Rwanda, R. Rwanda, 0515-0530, http://www.orinfor.gov.rw Rwanda, R. Rwanda, 1830-1845, http://www.orinfor.gov.rw Slovenia, R. Slovenia Prvi A1, 2030-2035, http://www.rtvslo.si Yemen, Yemen R., Aden, 1600-1630, http://www.adenradio.net These do not have live programming online, but do have English programmes on demand: Cameroon, CRTV, 0630, 1500 and 1900 news: http://www.crtv.cm Syria, R. Damascus, http://radiodamascusenglish.podomatic.com (June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. Comunicaciones (Aéreas) sobre el mar (A raíz del accidente de Air France Atlántico Centro (En Recife) es 6649 kHz Dakar Centro en 6535. New York Center, Aerolíneas, FAB, FAA (9022 kHz) Fuerza Aérea Brasileña está haciendo toda la operación com SAR- SALVAERO, en 5889, 8834, 8931 kHz. De día recomiendo una escucha en 17955, (Atlántico y Dakar Oceanic) Aerolíneas Argentinas 9013, 13327 kHz (Info via Fernando LU2AUB via Enrique A. Wembagher, June 5, condiglist yg via DXLD ** IRAN [non]. 5940, VOIRI Sitkunai relay, 1838-1846, June 04, French programme preview into news blocking co-channel TWR Africa, cf DXLD 9- 044. First noted here June 01. Wonder why they thought fit to move down from former 5945? (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOIRI noted on Friday 5 June with a strong signal on 5940 kHz via Lithuania, ex 5945kHz, for the 1930-2025 broadcast (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. New AM stations in Italy --- A new station tested 1566 kHz 1930-2100 UT from nord-est Italy transmitting a TV audio. QRM from All India Radio and somewhere from a sort of a +-400 Hz pulsing tone. Broadcast Italia on 1485 kHz is now in stereo C-Quam from Roma area, where another station expected to start soon (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, http://www.bclnews.it June 5, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** ITALY. It clearly seems propagation is favouring the higher portion of HF, with many stations on the 27 MHz CB where I was trying to spot another of those Irish parish stations, and also the tiny Italian station R. Maria: 26000 (AM, not DRM mode) R. Maria, Andrate, 1502-still on as I write, 06 Jun, sermon, prayer, now with cantata; 25442 at the beginning of the observation, more stable and somewhat stronger more than an hour later. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is of course summer sporadic-E peaking, not a bit of F2 layer skip at solar min. See PROPAGATION (gh, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. V of Korea on 14250 is attributed to 5 X 2850, though no 2850 in VoK's "schedule". Japanese MPT does report to ITU-MS that VoK is there, but only spot checks over a few days each month, could be 24/7 but isn't quite enough for me to say it can be presumed to be 24/7 (is close, what they are saying supports the "24" part, just not enough for the "7" bit). (VR2BrettGraham, Hong Kong, June 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I suspect the `24/7` are exaggerations. If your Japanese source is someone else, I copy this to S. Hasegawa; perhaps he can comment. 2850 is certainly on the air. Or was a few months ago when I last heard it. It`s not unusual here, except in summer and maybe would not be unusual now either if I got up before earliest sunrise. But it is not VOK. It`s a domestic service KCBS channel. You will see it on the Aoki list at 20-18 UT, which is close to 24/7. There are many NK transmitters on SW which are not VOK, but domestic services, and just as apt to produce harmonics. Hope this is of some help. 73, (Glenn to Brett, via DXLD) Yes, I saw the KCBS label. I wonder how it IDs itself, as some of the data we receive says folks are also still hearing Radio Pyongyang. As I recall, I never heard anything but VoK IDs on 14250/14280. Is really frustrating, I wonder if any of these guys listen to t-o-h IDs. Anyway, nearly 24/7 KCBS on 2850 means we should be hearing nearly 24/7 KCBS on 14250 & _never_ VoK, if 14250 is really 5f 2850. And then there's what I reckon is out-sourcing of transmission to China. One day when I was still QRV, I found Chinese broadcast IMDs all over 12m amateur band. Next day, around same time, from exactly same direction & on same frequencies, the modulation was VoK. Pardon my language, but bag 'o bastards - both of them. 73, (Brett/p, ibid.) That would be very interesting, but I have seen NO other reports or evidence that China is transmitting any service of North Korea (gh) Dear Glenn, 2850 kHz // 819 kHz are KCBS of the domestic service in Pyongyang at 2000-1800 UT. Even 7140 kHz of VOK are relayed at 0900- 0950. The North Korean transmitter has bad maintenance, scatter spurious and HW. I can receive 21420 kHz of 3rd HW besides 14280 kHz of 2nd HW, too. S. Hasegawa, Japan, NDXC, ibid.) HW = harmonic wave? (gh) ** KURDISTAN [non]. IRAQ / CLANDESTINE. Denge Mezopotamia heard on Friday 5 June from tune-in at 1937 to sign-off at 2000 11530 kHz with traditional Arabic songs and frequent IDs during last 5 minutes up to sign-off. Not listed at this time in EiBi, but shown in AOKI as scheduled 3 May-5 Sept. transmitter listed as being in Ukraine (Alan Roe, Teddington, UK, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. 5009.94, Radio Madagasikara, 0310-0340, June 6, local Afro-pop music. Local folk music. Malagasy talk. “Radio Madagasikara” ID at 0331. Poor in noisy conditions. Full AM mode (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MAURITANIA. 7245, R Mauritania, 1813, June 04, French & Arabic live report on arrival Senegalese president at Nouakchott airport, to sudden 1829 s/off. Running late as on June 03 when noted closing here 1823. Frequency is clear after co-channel Tajikistan s/off 1800. Seems extended use of 41 mb channel rather than 4845 (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 6104.77, Mérida, XEQM ~ 12 May to 20 May as carrier. Logs in Pómpano Beach, Cedar Key, Boca Ratón, Clewiston, Coral Springs and Embu SP Brasil. [Florida Group] 73s (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida US, NRD 535D ~ Drake R8, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re 9-046: 6104.73, XEQM, 0233-0258, June 05, Spanish TC, phone calls, promos / adverts and songs eventually got blocked by co-channel RL sign-on. Just barely audible, could only make out a few occasional words. Seems reactivated quite recently, daily checks on May 27 to June 02 were all negative. No definite ID as such but fairly confident this must be them (Martien Groot, Schoorl, Netherlands, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6104.50, XEQM, presumed, 1108-1210 June 5. Tuned in late when I noted typical Mexican type ballads. After one tune a long discourse by a male in Spanish language. Later more music. At 1205 a female continues the hosting. Signal was fair to poor. The station was still coming in at 1217 UT with a fair signal. It seems that during the interim, they may have retuned since the measured frequency is now 6104.69 instead of 6104.50 kHz (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6104.77, Mérida, XEQM, 0000 to 0035 with OM español, fading signal, on now, locutura 1214, noted since 1100 by Florida DX group; Coral Springs, Cedar Key, et al. 73s (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, US, 1218 UT June 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MICRONESIA. Pray for Pastor Norbert (Nob) Kalau as he re-works his existing tropical band radio signal in order to reach hundreds of remote Micronesian Islands in the South Pacific with the Gospel (Galcom Prayer Bulletin for June 26, 2009 via DXLD) So DXers impatient for 4755 to reactivate may want to hold a pray-in on that date --- is that during the UT day, or UT +11 day? (gh, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. New 4 x 4 dipole curtain array at a new shortwave station in Abuja, Nigeria. Bodo Fritsche, DL3OCH, at Abuja, Nigeria. Take a look here: a German amateur is setting up a new shortwave station in Nigeria and there is a photo of the new curtain antenna (Andrea Borgnino, Italy, IW0HK - HB9EMK, shortwavesites yg June 5 via BCDX June 6 via DXLD) I am in Nigeria to set up a new short wave radio station. I am QRV as often as work permits it on all bands (including 160m) mostly in CW but also some SSB and RTTY. So far I was active on 10m-160m in CW, RTTY, SSB, PSK31, JT65A. The conditions for the lowbands are very poor. I do have high QRM on 80m and 160m. Currently I am able to use a very nice antenna. Its a 16-dipole array into direction North, another array into West. The signals that I had during the last few days were amazing. Europeans were coming up to 599+ 40 dB. The antenna is actually not tuned yet but performing great on 15m, 17m, 20m, 30m. I can also use it on 40m and 12m. It`s a lot of fun. I kindly ask you to not do so many dupe QSOs. There are still many weak stations that want to work me and for some 5N is still a new one, especially outside EU. I was not able to enjoy working NA or OC due to many callers from EU. For 160m I am using a 18m long vertical with 40m long radials. I was able to make 5 QSOs but that required to be QRV for more than 30 hours. Conditions are very poor and I had to fight with extreme QSB. For the five QSOs, I had to stay up two nights and people kept calling me. Then, for a few minutes the signal came out the noise and we could make the QSO. I will be QRV on 160m again, but don`t expect too much from it. It`s not that I don`t want to activate the top band but things are more difficult here than it seems. My operating QTH is about 20 km away from the hotel. I am usually not operating in the night but I will keep trying to be on top band especially during sunset. I might be online in the on4kst chat while I am on 160m. The log is online at qsl.net and can be also reached from my website http://www.dl3och.de --- I try to update the log once a week. I have to disappoint you regarding AF-076. I did find a way to activate the island, but the only time would be in July/August. That would be the rain season, which means rain every day as well as heavy storms. Not the right weather for camping. However, I will come back and will activate the IOTA maybe later this or next year. Other activity as 5N0EME on 2m, 70cm and 23cm in JT65 and if possible CW. Please check http://www.mmmonvhf.de for latest news. I will QSL all QSOs 100% via bureau and also direct but only via DL3OCH (Bodo Fritsche, DL3OCH, at Abuja, Nigeria, May 23 via BCDX June 6 via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. Special News: A couple operators are no longer QSLing via snail mail. Per postings on the Free Radio Network: Kracker of Radio Jamba International: "I have asked the drop operator to return any reports to sender. I have not given the Belfast drop as a contact point in over 2 years. With the advent of technology they can find me via E-mail @ krackerradio @ pmlol.com If I am in the mood to do a QSL I will but not before. I just find it redundant to get a snail mail report for a show that happened 6 months ago and them expecting more than I already gave with my show. Especially when no qsl was offered. -Kracker " The Poet of The Crystal Ship: "Since I finally figured out how to do a basic e-QSL, we are going to switch to those for any Emailed reports-- particularly since I can't really afford all the printing and postage right now, and they'll get done quicker. Please EMAIL any QSL reports to our GMAIL address, tcsshortwave at gmail.com -John Poet" (Free Radio Weekly, June 5 via DXLD) ** NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. QSL: TINIAN, VOA relay. 7575 kHz. 1304- 1357*. 20 Feb 09. Received a full data card including transmitter site in 115 days for an English report, local post card and an applause card. The card featured two technicians working on the antenna system. Also received a nice calendar, schedules and a couple of station stickers. Station addy: QSL Manager VOA, IBB "Robert E. Kamosa" Transmitter Site, P. O. Box 504969, Saipan, MP 96950, USA. The actual reply was mailed from "Grime Island, NC, USA." (Joe Wood, Greenback TN, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) But now the site is TINANG, PHILIPPINES, during this hour only, preceded and followed by Udorn, Thailand (gh) ** OKLAHOMA. KSBI-TV channel 52 in OKC is missing June 6, ahead of the nominal June 12 analog closedown date. And along with it the analog translator in Enid, K45EJ! I feared the translators would keep going, and this one blox both OKC and Tulsa network DTV affiliates. Is there anything about this at http://www.ksbitv.com ? Not that I can find, nothing about the digital transition at all. Of course, absences today could just be an unexpected breakdown. Still going on DTV 51. http://www.ksbitv.com/about has a history of the station, which BTW is now renamed Thunder TV, especially for its M-F 2230-2330 UT local newscast. KOPX still running analog on 62, DTV 50 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I was looking for a handy list of exact transition dates, and tnx to an FCC hearing via C-SPAN finally found it, already for June 1: KSBI IND 405-631-7335 52 51 51 52 06-01-2009 per http://www.dtv.gov/stationlist.htm In the OKC market that leaves KFOR-4, KOCO-5, KOPX-62 to close analog on June 12 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PALAU. Thursday June 4 at 1218 as I tuned past 9930 I noted it was in Japanese, and they mentioned `KWHR`, which is the defunct Hawaii station of World Harvest Radio! Apparently this program is just as confused as WHR HQ in South Bend about which station really exists at the moment. Aoki listings show ``Preparing for Jesus`` is indeed scheduled, in Japanese since May 29, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1200-1300 from T8WH Koror, 100 kW at 345 degrees. Disregard the WHR schedule in DX Mix News which claims Sound of Hope in Chinese is on at this time. If it were, it would have been jammed. In fact, disregard the entire WHR schedule presented there, as much of it is imaginary (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4955, R. Cultural Amauta, 0023 talk by W slowly in what sounded like English over music. Mention of Arequipa. Recheck at 0029 found M with outro mentioning "the program is called ?? ". Then M with intro for next program with what sounded very much like a mention of HCJB. Religious program to ToH, then Spanish religious music program. 0126 M with "Buenos días", mention of San José, etc. Canned announcement by M over music, another canned announcement by M and W. Went off sometime around 0150, but missed it. (5 June) 5120.27, Ondas del Sur Oriente, 0223 canned simple "Ondas del Sur Oriente" ID by M between campesina songs with flutes and shouting. Best heard in a while on good LA night. (5 June) (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, HCDX via DXLD) ** PERU. From bandscan: 6019.65, Radio Victoria, Lima 6173.8, Radio Tawantinsuyo, Cusco, 1000 --- Logs in Pómpano Beach, Cedar Key, Boca Ratón, Clewiston, Coral Springs and Embu SP Brasil. [Florida Group] 73s (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida US, NRD 535D ~ Drake R8, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 6195.84, Radio Cusco, 0025-0100, June 6, Spanish religious programming with talk & Spanish religious music. Several IDs at 0057. Peruvian music at 0058. Poor. Weak in noisy conditions. Wiped out by Radio Prague 6200 at their 0100 sign on. Also had some QRM from possibly BBC on 6195 (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND. Re: 198 kHz, Polish Radio management have decided not to renew the contract with TP EmiTel to broadcast on longwave 198 kHz from Warsaw/Raszyn. This decision has been made because of the financial difficulties of Polish Radio. The contract will expire from the beginning of August. This means Radio Parliament will disappear, as will the longwave transmissions of the Polish Radio External Service, which currently uses 198 kHz on days when it is not broadcasting sessions of parliament (Polska AM 21.4.2009 via Andy Sennitt, RN Media Network via DXLD via ARC Information Desk 27 April via Olle Alm, DXLD) This transmitter runs not only the 200 kW daytime-only signal on 198, it is also still a back-up for 225. As such it was used as recently as in last autumn; somewhere I saw a discussion of this circumstance (225 again a loud and clear signal in Warsaw, no audio processing, each day at the end of the maintenance work at Solec both transmitters were overlapping for a couple of minutes, producing an echo). So in future 225 will be off when the Solec transmitter is under maintenance or suffered a fault. The required frequency-agility was also the reason why after 1990 still a tube transmitter had been installed at Raszyn. It's an Asea Brown Boveri 600 kW model (like Sottens-765 and Pori-963), run at full power when substituting for Solec on 225 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PUERTO RICO [and non]. Recent TVDX, all times UT from Macomb, IL, Antenna: vertically polarized CM 1110 up 12' with hi-band section missing; Rxs: 5 Zenith TVs and an Icom R7100 May 30 1446 2 Es WKAQ-2 PR in/out for about 45 minutes ago with local ads (2119 miles) [rare double-hop! -- gh] May 30 1448 D. R. must be in the channel 2 mess as HI3TEJ is S9+ (de K1MOD 73, Jeff Kadet, WTFDA via DXLD) I`ve been wondering whether PR is facing the same DTV deadline as the conterminous USA; apparently so. Caught a bit of an FCC hearing from June 3, via CSPAN June 6, that PR is further behind than anywhere, with 50% of the people still watching analog, altho there are plenty of STBs available and the TV stations have done everything they can to inform the public (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. THE WINNERS OF THE RADIO ROMANIA INTERNATIONAL “GOLD OF THE APUSENI MOUNTAINS” CONTEST 04/06/2009 And now here comes the long awaited announcement: “and the winners are..” RRI has offered 124 smaller prizes. 21 of them have been won by listeners to the English language Service of RRI. Here they are: http://www.rri.ro/art.shtml?lang=1&sec=14&art=22268 (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) Spanish version: http://www.rri.ro/art.shtml?lang=11&sec=263&art=22309 (via Manuel Méndez, Spain, logsderadio yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 6160.00, 0210-0220 03.06, R. Rossii, Arkhangelsk. Russian announcement and nice Russian songs. 34343, QRM CKZN New Foundland 6160. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, under very poor ionospheric conditions here in Skovlunde, Denmark, on my AOR AR7030PLUS with 28 metres longwire, via Dario Monferini, playdx yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. On 8th April, I discovered that, alas, Russia on 1323 kHz via Wachenbrunn [GERMANY], was not in English in the evening as scheduled: it was in French instead until 2100 GMT, then in some Eastern European language. This has been later confirmed by other sources. Another change just after a couple of weeks from the start of the A-09 season has affected the new DRM transmissions on shortwave from Moscow in Italian, that have already reverted to AM. Maybe in Moscow they have thought that SW audience have already shrunk enough, and it`s not advisable to make them vanish completely by broadcasting in a mode for which average people can find no receivers. Unfortunately, other broadcasters think in a different way (Stefano Valianti, Southern European Report, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. 1630 UT Tuesday 17 March: 1215 kHz, E/W orientation: VOR IS before 1700, followed by German. Kaliningrad transmitter which now carries the English evening service. Since they decided to take it off 1323 kHz two weeks into A09, VOR English has been rendered as good as a chocolate fireguard here in Suffolk! No 1323 in the morning due to nil summer propagation and unlistenable 1215 because of Absolute Radio [UK] being all over it (Darren Rozier, Holiday Report from Shetland Islands, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. News from Victor Rutkovsky via MR: 531, Cheboksary started to relay Mayak on April 1st including regional blocks. 630, R. Mayak is reported off. 738, Evropa Plyus, Vladivostok is off. 873, B. Oskol and Volokonovka have been off for a long time. 909, City FM, Yekaterinburg is broadcast M-F 13-1700. 1224, Love Radio, Khabarovsk is reported off. 1584, R. Svobodnaya Nakhodka is reported off. Local programming on Russian AM, as monitored by Victor Rutkovsky: 567, Volgograd (1810-1900 (Moscow Time) 612, Makhachkala (1850 Moscow Time) 639, Omsk (0410 - Moscow Time) 738, Chelyabinsk (0410 -/1610-1700 Moscow Time) 873, Samara (1710-1800 Moscow Time) 945, Rostov (- 1830 - Moscow Time) 1080, Saransk, (local advertisements to 1830 Moscow Time) 1098, Vologda 1359, Radio Mayak, Perm (-1900 (Moscow Time) (according to timetable on the site must be on the working days 0450, 0650, 0850, 1050, 1250, 1450, 1650, 1850, the 2050 of Moscow Time) (open dx via finndxer via ARC Information Desk 27 April, via Olle Alm, June 6, DXLD) 1242 kHz, Information and music radio station Novyi Den (New Day) is new station (ex-Radio 7-y Etazh). It targets city of Angarsk and Irkutsk region and broadcasts round-the-clock. The music format: domestic and foreign variety, jazz, rock 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, classic. The station has website at http://radionoviyden.narod.ru/ (Victor Rutkovsky via open_dx and stations website via finndxer via ARC Information Desk 18 May, via Olle Alm, June 6, DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Re: SW Commercials, DXLD 9-045, WOR 1463 --- Yep, it's an old story. VoR's Russian WS still runs an occasional announcement trying to entice businesses into ordering a commercial or two. No takers for 20 years now. Should you decide to give VoR a try though, here are the contact details: http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&w=417&p= R. ex-Free Chechnya is part of the deal! Back in the very end of the 90s the gracious host of the VoA Tour told me that VoA would soon start running commercials in its broadcasts. She even named Pizza Hut as one of the future advertisers! Anyone heard those? :) I believe, only R. Beijing was mildly successful in selling commercials. CRI's Russian service used run some kind of commercial announcements in the past. But I guess in China it's easy. An enterprise gets an interest-free loan from the government but then it's required to spend a tiny part of it on buying commercials on state radio, including external service. In case you haven't noticed already, RFI heavily uses its website trying to make a few extra euros. BBC's online commercial efforts were highly publicized but I'm not sure how successful those were in the end (Sergei S., Russia, June 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also USSR ** SINGAPORE [non]. Dear Tony, How are you my friend? I read your April 2009 DX listening digest and you mentioned about Pilipinas DX and my address. Anything that I can help you my friend? Please watch for the new Wavescan Program that will be produced in WRMI Miami, Florida starting June in the same frequency over AWR. I will still be a part of the team and Pilipinas DX will be aired every second Sunday. Kindest regards, (Henry L. Umadhay, June 3 via Tony Ashar, Indonesia, June 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Brother Scare check, Sabbath June 6 at 1421: on three stations-frequencies, WBCQ-15420, WWRB-9385 and WINB-9265v -- - same kind of music, organish, but NOT //, far out of synch due to different feed routes (satellite/internet/telephone?). The medley went into ``Holy3`` at 1455 on 9385, at 1457 on 9265. 15420 is available to WBCQ between 12 and 23 UT, but on other days of the week per http://schedule.wbcq.com/main.php?fn=sked&freq=15420 it opens at 1700, and in fact the early start on Saturdays for B.S. is never shown. On Saturdays only(?) WINB stays on 9265 late for B.S. rather than switching to its midday frequency 13570. WWRB of course has him on 9385 plus spurs, harmonix, every day, all day. Non- synchronized music still running at 1502 on all three, with audio dropouts. This was the musical prélude to TOM Sabbath service, so never heard B.S. at all, tsk3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. REE`s mailbag program for worldwide listeners again dominated by DentroCubans: UT Sat June 6 at 0530 on 11890, Correo del Oyente started with two Cubans wanting pen pals, and at 0551 another Cuban. In between there was a musical request from someone in Argentina. They also announced several times a toll-free 800 phone number to reach REE from several countries including the USA, but I didn`t get it copied. Furthermore, the DX program in the previous semihour, Amigos de la Onda Corta, also featured a DentroCuban radio announcer. ¿Would REE ever grant such treatment to a FueraCuban exile with R. República or Martí? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. Trans World Radio has initiated a new short wave Christian radio signal from Spain into Northern Africa. Pray that Galcom radios provided for distribution in Morocco will be effective in reaching many with the Gospel (Galcom Prayer Bulletin for July 13, 2009 via DXLD) Pray for open doors into Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Trans World Radio’s new SW Christian broadcasting reaches into these North African countries but to date, Galcom has not been able to send radios there (Galcom Prayer Bulleitn for July 24, 2009 via DXLD) ?? The only SW station in Spain is the government`s REE. WTFK? Or has GALCOM admitted to piracy, as in BURMA, q.v. (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** SUDAN. 7200, SRTC, *0228:30-0429*, June 5, abruptly on with Qur`an. Arabic talk at 0240 with “Huna Omdurman” ID. Radio-drama at 0241. Local music. Time pips at 0300 & possible news. Good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. 1630 UT Tuesday 17 March: 1179, Radio Sweden, Swedish news bulletin. Thumping signal, similar to what you get in Suffolk, 45554. I believe they`ve installed a new unit recently. They used to be at 600 kW at the Solvesborg site and even that could be hit-and-miss with a muffled-sock sounding output. These days the transmitter is 300 kW, but it`s better than when it was 600, with much clearer audio as well! (Darren Rozier, Holiday Report from Shetland Islands, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 1179, Radio Sweden schedule A 09 will be 1545-2200 UT. Saturdays a program in Romany will be aired 2200-2300. This schedule from March 29th, 2009. Power will remain 300 kW. They have asked for 600 kW due to complaints from listeners in southern Germany - QRM from Romania. The management has answered "no money"! (Radio Sweden via Bengt Ericson 19.3.2009 via ARC Information Desk 27 April via Olle Alm, DXLD) I'm surprised. What are these listeners in southern Germany interested in? There are no German broadcasts from Radio Sweden left on this frequency. The Sölvesborg transmitter has a null towards south to protect Galbeni. Thus it of course gets the other way round creamed by Galbeni in Germany, which happens to be in this null (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA. Damascus visits and news.... * visit to Radio Damascus * resuming of daily podcast of the English program * a full report, including about a meeting of the chief engineer of Radio Damascus' shortwave station at Adra to follow soon Dear Radio Friends, I just arrived back home in Belgium today after a fabulous 4-week visit to the beautiful and friendly country Syria. My very dear friends of Radio Damascus organised a whole program for me, reflecting the legendary Syrian hospitality. The head of the English section, Mr. Rasheed Haidar, also organised several meetings for me with the director of the External services, the chief engineer of Radio Damascus' shortwave station in Adra and the other staff of Radio Damascus. I will very soon send you a full and detailed report of all the meetings I had with the motivated team of professionals at Radio Damascus, working very hard to bring us every day an attractive and informative program as well as what the chief engineer had to say about the known problems (modulation...)... be patient, good news is in the pipeline :-) . From today on I again started to put the daily audio recording of the English program on the unofficial website of Radio Damascus I built for them at : http://www.radio-damascus.net or alternatively at : http://radiodamascusenglish.podomatic.com The podcast is in a regular MP3 format so you can take it with you on your Ipods or other MP3 players. You can alternatively listen to the daily program of Radio Damascus on the official website of RTV Syria at : http://www.syriaonline.sy/radio.php A major update of the http://www.radio-damascus.net website will follow in the coming days. And please send a letter or email to the good people of Radio Damascus. They love to hear from their listeners what they like about the programs. The address is : Radio Damascus P. O. Box 4702 Damascus Syrian Arab Republic Or you can send an email to radiodamascusenglish @ yahoo.com which will be forwarded to the Radio Damascus staff immediately. I also ask you, dear listeners of Radio Damascus, to let me know how you receive Radio Damascus in your part of the world on the shortwave bands. On which frequency you listen (9330 or 12085 kHz). And if there is an improvement in modulation and reception conditions in general of Radio Damascus. In this context I also urge you to make a short audio recording of how you receive Radio Damascus on shortwave. All reception reports and audio recordings will also be forwarded to Radio Damascus and be rewarded with a Radio Damascus QSL-Card. Stay tuned... more to follow soon! (Kris Janssen, Radio Damascus Listeners Club http://www.radio-damascus-listeners-club.tk or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/radio_damascus Belgium, June 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. The Voice of Kuanghua, via Kuanging, 9745. Received three QSL cards in the form of a jigsaw puzzle which when put together formed a map of Taiwan, received in 218 days; also schedules in Chinese for the Voice of Han, and the Voice of Kuanghua. Return postage was 2 IRCs. Address: Radio Voice of Han, Kuanghua. B Building; 5F No. 3, Hsin Yo Road, Sec 1. Tapei, Taiwan [spelling and punxuation sic] (Chris Stacey, Eastbourne, East Sussex, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Only three pieces would not be very challenging; were the three axually chopped up into many smaller pieces? I think I see a new Wavescan contest (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. 15275, Radio Thailand, *0000-0030, June 5, sign on with English ID announcements. “News Hour” program at 0001 with national and international news. Promo for Thailand retail attractions for tourists. Good signal until 0029 when the signal abruptly dropped down to a threshold level due to switching of antenna beam heading from east coast of North America to the west coast of North America (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S S R. Has audio of the broadcasts of Radio Moscow announcer Vladimir Danchev being critical of Soviet policy in Afghanistan ever been aired and if so is it available online? Two most detailed accounts of this I can find are: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,950875,00.html http://www.mail-archive.com/hard-core-dx@hard-core-dx.com/msg09417.html (Mike Barraclough, England, June 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz., the latter: It was Vladimir Danchev, in 1983. He was quite young (23 or so I believe) and his father was a Party official. He had become very disillusioned with life in the Soviet Union, and one night he spontaneously decided to change some of the words in the script, e.g. intervention became aggression. Amazingly, nobody at Radio Moscow seemed to notice, or turned a deaf ear to it. So he did it again on his next shift, and his next... Monitors at BBC Monitoring in Caversham could hardly believe their ears, but initially decided not to draw attention to it, as they knew the consequences for the guy concerned would be serious. But after five days of such behaviour, they decided that this was a huge story that they had to report. The young man was sent for "re-education", and it was implied by the Soviet authorities that he was suffering a breakdown and needed psychtiatric help. I suspect the fact that his father was a Party official may have helped him to avoid the worst treatment handed out to such people. The immediate consequence for Radio Moscow was that live newsreading stopped, and all bulletins had to be recorded in advance and passed for transmission by someone senior. Danchev subsequently returned to work at Radio Moscow, but not as an announcer! (Andy Sennitt, 15 July 2005, HCDX via DXLD) cf CHINA ** U K. SOUT AL KHALEEJ REPLACES ZEE ON SPECTRUM 558 Spectrum International Radio, London is now relaying Sout al Khaleej (Voice of the Gulf) in Arabic on 558 kHz every morning instead of Asian station Zee Radio which closed at the end of May. Sout al Khaleej is a Qatar government music and arts station from Doha which was already on DAB in London since February this year (via Spectrum's DAB service). Schedule for Sout al Khaleej on 558 kHz is 0700-1300 BST (0600-1200 UT), the same time slot Zee Radio used to occupy on medium wave. Spectrum interrupted the Arabic programme with English Spectrum ID and news at top of hour and called Sout al Khaleej 'Sound of the Gulf' when switching back to their programmes. Full Spectrum 558 schedule is at: http://www.londonethnicradio.com/schedule/ (Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Wonder what they get from PBS Tue-Fri, Sun at 0300-0400 on AM. Charlie Rose? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. June 4, 2236 UT, 13775 kHz, Voice of America in non English has a echo effect and sounded like two stations together, other station was in English. 444445 [sic] (Larry Fields, Guam blog via DXLD) 13775 at 22-23 is VOA Chinese via Thailand, so the echo was certainly the CNR1 jamming. As for the English, don`t know what that could be unless it was a bit mixed into the CNR1 or VOA programming (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. VOA EXPANDS BROADCASTING TO WAR-TORN PAKISTAN BORDER REGION Washington, D.C., June 3, 2009 – Deewa Radio, the Voice of America’s (VOA) popular Pashto service broadcast to the war-torn Pakistan- Afghanistan border region, is expanding to nine hours daily starting Saturday, June 6, 2009. “The time is right to add three more hours to Deewa’s original programming,” said Steve Redisch, VOA’s executive editor. “Deewa is often the only source of accurate news and information for the millions of people living in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and elsewhere. They rely on us daily for basic information.” Created in October 2006, Deewa is aimed at an estimated 40 million Pashto-speaking people in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, including the NWFP where some 2.5 million people have been displaced as Pakistani military battle Taliban fighters. Deewa also reaches Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan. Along with news, Deewa provides information about health, shelter, food, social issues, education, science and culture. The program reaches people in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and elsewhere. Up to 300 people routinely call in to Deewa during shows. “Deewa is full of information,” said Syed Inam Rahman of the Centre for Media and Communications, International Islamic University of Islamabad, Pakistan. Rahman estimated the majority of people in Charsadda and Peshawar districts listened to Deewa regularly. The newest block of programs will focus on news and current affairs, including regional and international news, reports from a network of more than 20 local free-lance journalists, segments on Muslims in America and on youth, a world press round-up and interviews with significant personalities. The second hour will be a topical call-in show featuring a wide variety of issues affecting those in the targeted region. The final hour will be a repeat of the previous day’s morning call-in show, until July 4, when it will become a live news and current affairs program. Deewa Radio is distributed on shortwave, FM, and by the Internet at http://www.VOANews.com/Deewa (VOA press release June 5 via DXLD) WTFK?! A press release took two days, as usual without the necessary details of times and frequencies so anyone could actually HEAR the subject of the item. This is considered only PR for the non-listener! The Deewa Radio website schedule, http://www.voanews.com/deewa/schedule.cfm in script but the numbers altho backward are pretty clear: 13-15 7455 9565 11510 15-16 7455 5835 11510 16-17 7455 5835 9310 17-19 7455 5835 9310 The original times must be UT, because in the text at the left of each entry pm times are given which are 5 hours later, and in parentheses 4.5 hours later, i.e. Pakistan when it was on standard time, and Afghanistan, respectively. Deewa was faced with whether to shift the real timing of the broadcasts one hour earlier due to DST in Pak, or leave them the same due to no DST in Afghanistan. We see which one won out. But that only covers six hours, so the new ones are missing, less than a day before their début. While the A-Z schedule http://www.voanews.com/english/about/frequenciesAtoZ_d.cfm shows 1200-1800 on 7495 9310 9380 9780 --- simple as that. Well, which is (was) it, 13-19 or 12-18 UT? Probably the latter due to DST in Pakistan of UT +6 shifting everything one hour earlier, but notice that only ONE of the frequencies, 9310, matches in the two versions. Why hasn`t Deewa`s own website in Pashto been kept accurate? They are running off any would-be listeners who may be trying to consult it. WRTH A-09 update agrees with 12-18, on the same quartet of frequencies but breaks down all the site shuffling that goes on during these four sesquihours: BBG – VOA DEEWA RADIO (Gov) kHz: 7495, 9310, 9380, 9780 Summer Schedule 2009 Pashto Days Area kHz 1200-1230 daily WAs 9310kwt 1200-1500 daily WAs 9780ira 1200-1800 daily WAs 7495ira, 9380udo 1230-1300 daily WAs 9310udo 1300-1700 daily WAs 9310ira 1500-1700 daily WAs 9780udo 1700-1800 daily WAs 9310kwt, 9780wer The press release refers to adding a repeat of the morning call-in show. You may notice that there has been NO morning broadcast --- on SW, so was it on FM only? Is that 100.5 only, from where and does it cover the entire area? We are still left wondering just when the additional three hours will be appearing, before 1200 or after 1800? Local morning might make more sense. And whether they will be on SW, and if so, WTFK? (Glenn Hauser, OK, June 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: Thanks. I'm sure a memo went around with the actual times and frequencies but, as the only IBB employee specifically prohibited from receiving any frequency information, I can't help. I suspect the frequency schedule at voanews.com won't be updated until after the weekend, at the earliest. Anyone who wants to listen to the expanded Deewa broadcast is strictly on his/her own. 73 (Kim Elliott, ibid.) VOA DEEWA Radio in Pashtun: 1200-1300 9780 IRA 340 1200-1300 9380 UDO 311 1200-1230 9310 KWT 070 1200-1300 7495 IRA 340 1230-1300 9310 UDO 300 1300-1500 9780 IRA 340 1300-1800 9380 UDO 311 1300-1700 9310 IRA 334 1300-1800 7495 IRA 340 1500-1700 9780 UDO 300 1700-1800 9780 WER 090 1700-1800 9310 KWT 078 ADDITIONAL transmissions from UT June 7: 0000-0230 12015 KWT 078 0000-0100 11535 KWT 078 0000-0230 9380 IRA 334 0100-0200 11535 IRA 332 0200-0300 11535 UDO 300 0230-0300 12015 UDO 297 0230-0300 9380 IRA 332 (via Dragan Lekic, Serbia, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Instead of unID, I am so certain that these open carriers and intermittent tentative-sounding tone tests are coming from Greenville, despite lack of any ID, that I am filing them under USA: June 6 at 1405-1411, OC and 1408 brief TT; at 1504 same on 15390, both of which are VOA Greenville frequencies at other times; but why? Greenville for sure on 17585, Saturday June 6 at 1420 interview about Tiananmen, 1425 wrapping as ``On the Line``, guest Gordon Chang, who was optimistic that ultimately the ChiCom will have to acknowledge what really happened; ``thanks for watching``, and music fill for a few minutes, sign-off, and carrier off promptly for a change at 1430:40*, uncovering no Botswana. Watching? How can I possibly be watching, since I am listening to a shortwave radio?? This must originally be a VOA TV show, with radio only incidental, not worth mentioning. Shouldn`t that be View of America? Or Voice and Vision of America, VAVOA, à la Iran? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Pastor Pete Peters intoning with weak signal on 9498.7 or so hetting 9500. Must be spur from super-strong WWCR 9980. This can easily overload the receiver, putting his unwelcome voice at many spots on the dial, unless attenuated, but I think this was a transmitted spur, as it behaved like a real signal: still there with two levels of attenuation switched in; FRG-7 preselector properly peaks there; fades in and out, while any fading on 9980 is undetectable; and also audible on the YB-400 where I measured it. Still there at 1354 recheck. Could be a matching spur on the hi side of 9980, but nothing detected on 10461.3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. As of June 3, CVC La Voz in Spanish via Chile: 1200- 2300 on 17680, 2300-0200 on 11665 ex-6070; so CFRX should have a lot less co-channel QRM (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See CANADA ** U S A. The KSM schedule will be slightly modified for 6 June, the 64th anniversary of D-Day. Transmitter Supervisor Steve Hawes will be aboard SS RED OAK VICTORY / KYVM while QSL Mistress Denice Stoops will be aboard SS JEREMIAH O'BRIEN / KXCH. Both ships will be active on MF, communicating with each other and with KSM. The calling frequency will be 500 kc [sic]. The KXCH and KYVM working frequency will be 425 kc. KSM will be on 500 kc and 426 kc. [While a `heritage` station is certainly entitled to avoid `kHz`, `kilocycle` is meaningless without a per/time unit, i.e. second, altho we prefer Megacycles per hour == MegaHausers, MHs --- gh] RTTY service will be unavailable since Steve provides this from the Bolinas transmitter site. Steve usually provides the recently initiated CW press service too. But since this has proven popular with many listeners I will key the CW press service from the receive site beginning at 1000 pdt/1700 gmt along with the normal KSM Pacific high seas weather broadcast at 1430 pdt / 2130 gmt. All broadcasts will be keyed on 426 kc and all HF channels except 22 Mc with interruptions for traffic to or from ships. In that case all transmitters will be keyed with the traffic no matter what frequency is used for contacting the ship so that listeners on any frequency will be able to hear the KSM side of the exchange. The ship's QSS will be announced so that listeners may attempt to hear the ship as well. Amateur station K6KPH will be available as usual, guarding 3550 kc, 7040 kc, 14050 kc and 21050 kc. K6KPH may best be contacted using commercial calling procedure: call K6KPH repeatedly until the operator responds with DE, then send your call. VY 73, RD ================================= Richard Dillman, W6AWO Chief Operator, Coast Station KSM Maritime Radio Historical Society http://www.radiomarine.org ================================= (via Paul Dobosz, MARE Tipsheet June 5 via dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. I was listening to REE on 15110 on the FRG-7, so preparing to tune up the 13 MHz band, I went down 2 MHz, and found an SSB weather broadcast on exactly 13110.0, June 5 at 2015. Never heard an ID or city mentioned except Miami once, and the forecasts were for segments of the high seas designated by their geo coordinates. Seemed they were in the Pacific rather than Atlantic due to the big 100+ longitudes. Rough copy as did not have all local noise sources closed down, but I repeatedly heard the robot YL say ``nautical smiles``, which certainly brought a nautical smile to my face. 2028 switched to traffic list, naming a few vessels, ID as WLO and KLB, and off, i.e. QRZ. Apparently this is Mobile rather than Kent, at least per some previous logs in UDXF yg, including this one which also criticized the robot`s dixion: ``020308 2114 13110//13152 USB WLO WX, kept running words "knots" and "seas" together to sound like "nazis" -- Tom Sevart N2UHC, Frontenac, KS, on a Caribbean cruise``. Heard the same robot YL June 6 at 1506 on 17362.0 SSB with marine weather, lots of millibars, positions of low pressure areas, ``nautical smiles``; once she pronounced `winds` of 25 kts with a long I, then later a couple times with a short I. Forecast areas on the hi seas defined by G.C., e.g. 41N-55N-179E-163E, which is in the north central Pacific. Maybe some mariners have a good grasp of seapatches by their G.C., but this is the type of info which would be conveyed much more effectively by fax maps or even by plain text, than by robotic voices which have no idea of the proper intonations or pronunciations. They also deprive a 24/7 shift of several real humans from having an announcing job, turning all this data into something with feeling, expression, even throwing in a few jokes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. LOW POWER RADIO STATIONS SAVED BY D.C. CIRCUIT COURT RULING Court vindicates FCC's effort to save small stations from loss of channels Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and against the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), affirming the December 2007 Federal Communications Commission decision to protect low power FM (LPFM) stations against `encroachment` by full power radio stations. Had the FCC not intervened, these low power stations would have been forced off the air by full power stations wanting to change their broadcasting location. The Prometheus Radio Project, represented by Media Access Project attorney Parul Desai, was an intervenor in the case on behalf of the FCC and the threatened LPFM stations. In the lawsuit, the NAB alleged that the FCC defied the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act when it granted waivers to keep LPFM stations on the air. The court denied some of the NAB's claims as lacking merit, and dismissed others as being unripe for review at this time. Thus, the FCC is free to continue balancing the interests of LPFM stations and full power stations that want to change their facilities. The Prometheus Radio Project, on behalf of hundreds of low power radio stations across the country, thanks the D.C. Circuit Court for their decision vindicating the FCC's new procedures regarding low power stations threatened with encroachment. "This is terrific news for the low power radio community," said Sakura Saunders, a board member of the Prometheus Radio Project. "The few protections offered to these small stations were threatened by this lawsuit. Now, these stations can focus on serving their local communities, rather than live in fear of displacement due to the whims of their full-powered neighbors." Prometheus would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of the low power radio stations across the country, whose public service has won them a measure of protection in the face of full power encroachment. According to Pete Tridish of the Prometheus Radio Project, "Many lesser organizations would have folded in the face of the sheer financial and legal resources of the National Association of Broadcasters. However, the dedication of the volunteers at low power stations to their mission --- to serve their communities with local content and democratize the airwaves --- has proven so great that they will endure any challenge in their work to free the electromagnetic spectrum from corporate dominance." Prometheus would like to thank the Justices on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals for their careful attention to this complex case. We would also like to thank the attorneys in the office of General Counsel at the FCC for their sophisticated handling of the issues. We also credit the team at the Media Bureau for their thoughtful solutions to the problem of encroachment that have now been borne out by the court. We also commend the Chairman, Commissioners and their staff at the FCC, who have given much time in recent years to defending their service of the public interest from the private trade associations that seek to undermine it. Prometheus also thanks the attorneys at Media Access Project, Parul Desai and Andrew Schwartzman, for their tireless support in Prometheus' intervention in the case. Also, we would like to thank radio engineer Mike Brown, attorney Michael Couzens and Senior Policy Advisor to Senator Maria Cantwell, Michael Daum, who against great odds first defended the low-powered radio station KYRS in Spokane, Washington. for background: http://prometheusradio.org/rahrahrah -30- (Prometheus Project press release via Benn Kobb, DXLD) ** VATICAN. 4004.84, Vatican R., 2230 13 May, English program, Pope in Bethlehem, AM+USB, no LSB, not on schedule, SIO 444. 4004.93, VR at 2321 17 May, English, music version of ``Sailing By`` usually heard before the shipping forecast on BBCR4!, USB+AM (Alan Pennington, Berkshire, Tropical Bands Logbook, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) 4005, VR, 0100 18 April, extreme noise and interference, signal retainer at 0059, SIO 322 (Scott Caldwell, Cheshire, ibid.) ¿Whát`s a signal retainer? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** VATICAN. Re 9-046: Dear Glenn, I can confirm that you picked up the June edition of my DX News on Vatican Radio. I used to present the DX News on HCJB's Swedish programme for many years. In the mid 1990's HCJB ceased broadcasting in Swedish. Lars Rooth on Vatican Radio offered to include my DX news report as part of the station's mail bag programme in Swedish. Mr Rooth was the legendary head of the radio's Nordic department for a great many years. He's a Jesuit priest and now enjoys retirement back home in Sweden. Occasionally he can still be heard on Vatican Radio commenting of different aspects of the Catholic Church. He is a radio amateur and frequently attended the Swedish DX Parliaments (= the annual meetings of the Swedish DX Federation). I doubt there are any DX news reports on any of Vatican Radio's other language sections. However, they do offer a nice show of classical music at 14.30 UTC on 5885, 7250 and 9645 kHz. It's on six days a week and the programme is introduced in Italian. Kind regards (Christer Brunström, Sweden, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. VENEZUELA: MILLONARIA MULTA A GLOBOVISIÓN Deberá pagar al fisco US$ 2.3 millones CARACAS.- Poco después de que el presidente, Hugo Chávez, pidiera públicamente el cierre de Globovisión, el fisco venezolano multó ayer a este canal opositor en 2.3 millones de dólares, en una medida que, según el director de la emisora, Alberto Federico Ravell, busca forzar la clausura del medio. El monto surge de la omisión del pago de impuestos, la multa y los intereses moratorios, a raíz de los espacios televisivos que "donaron" durante el paro general ocurrido entre fines de 2002 y comienzos de 2003. explicó Fanny Márquez, gerente general de servicios jurídicos del Servicio Nacional Integrado de Administración Aduanera y Tributaria (Seniat) de Venezuela. Aclaró que la decisión "no tiene contenido político", y añadió: "Ellos cedieron sus espacios, los donaron, transmitieron propaganda de todas las organizaciones políticas de ese momento", justificó. Sin embargo, la medida despertó fuertes críticas de la emisora, que transmite por cable. Ravell acusó a Chávez de hacer "terrorismo judicial y fiscal" en contra de la empresa y de buscar una manera de "ahorcarla para que no pueda funcionar". Ana Cristina Núñez, abogada de Globovisión, afirmó que la acción del fisco es "absolutamente política e irregular" y aclaró que los espacios donados por la emisora no tenían valor comercial y eran "invendibles", por lo que no deberían tributar. El anuncio de la multa se produce en medio de las tensiones generadas por los dos procesos que le abrió recientemente la Fiscalía General a Guillermo Zuloaga, presidente de Globovisión, por el presunto almacenamiento irregular de 24 vehículos en una vivienda de su propiedad, y por coleccionar animales disecados. Anteanoche, la vivienda de Zuloaga fue allanada por segunda vez, en un operativo solicitado por una fiscalía ambiental. En las imágenes mostradas por Globovisión y la televisión estatal, efectivos de la guardia nacional cargaron en un camión ejemplares disecados de animales diversos, como antílopes, felinos y hasta un oso. Las autoridades retiraron todos los trofeos de caza para verificar si se trata de animales nacionales y si sobre ellos hay medidas de prohibición de caza, según informó la defensa de Zuloaga. Al respecto, el presidente de Globovisión dijo: "Si esos señores son expertos ambientales, deben saber que estas especies no se encuentran en Venezuela". La Fiscalía General imputó anteayer a Zuloaga en el delito de "usura genérica" porque, hace dos semanas, en el primer allanamiento en su casa, se detectaron 24 vehículos nuevos. Según los fiscales, tales automóviles eran almacenados irregularmente para ser vendidos después a mayor valor. En el caso de ser declarado culpable, Zuloaga, de 67 años, podría ser condenado a tres años de cárcel. Agencias AP, Reuters y EFE Via URL: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1136381 73 de (Yimber Gaviría, Colombia, DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. R. Nacional de la RASD with good signal on 6300 as late as 0625 June 5 with local music and announcements, a pleasant way to end the day here as the day starts there (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZANZIBAR. R. Tanzania Zanzibar is no more relaying the English news from "Spice FM". They are coming now from the own house from "Voice of Tanzania, Zanzibar" as it is announced. The time is 1800- 810. I observed the English news on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. There were no English news broadcasted on Thursday and Saturday (Erich, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews June 5 via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. via Madagascar, 9895, Radio Voice of the People, *0400-0455*, June 6, sign on with Afro-pop music & opening multi- lingual ID announcements. Vernacular talk at 0402. Short breaks of African music. Many IDs. Vernacular/English mix at 0435. Into English at 0440 with preview of upcoming programming. English news at 0441 about human rights violations in Zimbabwe. IDs and contact information at 0453. Good signal (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. I've been hearing a Spanish speaking station for the past couple of weeks on 2859.8, both in the evening after dusk at about 0130z (20:30 CDT) and in the morning before dawn at about 1100z (06:00 CDT). The format is a mix of music and conversation. The music doesn't sound typically Mexican and the jingles have been very reserved. It doesn't sound like a commercial station, at least a Mexican commercial station. I haven't heard any hets on 1430 but the harmonic might propagate much better. I suspect a harmonic, I can't think of a way to come up with an image or mixing product for this frequency. I'm using a sloper antenna for this, my loop won't resonate at this frequency so I have no idea of a bearing (Jerry Lenamon, Waco Texas, Drake R8B & Eton E-1, June 5, ABDX via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ AUDIO CON EMISORAS ESCUCHADAS EN EL CARIBE Hola colegas, Adjunto encuentran el enlace a un mix de emisoras que preparé con algunas de las escuchas realizadas en San Andrés isla: http://www.goear.com/listen/70b9a51/EMSIORAS-EN-EL-CARIBE-Rafael-Rodriguez-R (Rafael Rodríguez, Colombia, June 6, playdx yg via DXLD) autolaunches DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DTV See also OKLAHOMA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Staggering Toward DTV: June 12 Cut-Offs Vary --- NAB says majority of stations will cut off analog signals between 6 and 11:59 p.m June 12 By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/5/2009 11:15:36 AM MT http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/278483-Staggering_Toward_DTV_June_12_Cut_Offs_Vary.php FCC Acting Chairman Michael Copps always said he favored a staggered analog shut-off strategy. Given the early switches in Wilmington, Hawaii, and the Feb. 17 move of 784 stations, which was the original hard date, It turned out to be something of rolling start after all. June 12 will also be a rolling start. According to the latest figures from the National Association of Broadcasters, the majority of TV stations cutting off their analog signals (447) will do so between 6 p.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. on Friday, June 12. But 175 will have pulled the plug by the time most people get up (midnight-6 a.m.). Another 200 will make the switch between 6 a.m. and noon, leaving the balance (152) turning off the analog switch between noon and 6 p.m. Among the top 10 markets, three have at least one station going at all four times of day -- including the FCC's own home of Washington, D.C. But there will still be some analog nightlights burning even after June 12. About 100 stations (actually 99 so far, according to the FCC), will keep an analog signal on for up to 30 days after the transition date to transmit DTV transition information (via Curtis Sadowski, WTFDA via DXLD) DTV CHANNEL INFO Is there a listing of what channels DTV stations will use after all have switched after June 12? I simply cannot find this info anywhere. I don't care what channels they are on know, either analog or DTV, just for after 6/12 when all should have gone to their final DTV resting places (Neil Kazaross, IL, WTFDA via DXLD) http://Rabbitears.info has what you want. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Thx Scott!! As I thought WBBM-DT 3 is moving to 12. I have at least one inlaw's place to DTV ready here when things change on the 12th, maybe 2. I also have two old CM 8 Bays in good shape. These are way better for UHF than what my mother-in-law currently has and also work adequately on VHF-HI so this is what I am replacing her old antenna with. 73 and thx .. KAZ (Neil Kazaross, ibid.) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- DRM See also CANADA; GERMANY; ITALY; RUSSIA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DIGITAL MEDIUM WAVE TRIAL REPORT --- 855 kHz, Plymouth For a year from April 2007, the BBC – in conjunction with the transmission company Arqiva – trialled digital radio mondiale (DRM), the standard for digital broadcasting on medium-wave. Read the trial's report here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2009/05/11/digital_medium_wave_report_feature.shtml Follow the links to the DRM summary report, 11 pages, Audience Research Report, 26 pages, and BBC tech white paper, 43 pages. There is also a Media Guardian article on the report at http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/may/22/bbc-trial-digital-radio-mondiale-medium-wave DIGITAL MEDIUM-WAVE TEST RUNS INTO TROUBLE AFTER DARK Year-long BBC trial positive on extra digital radio technology, but warns of problems with signal at night (via Alan Pennington, June BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) The latter, I believe, already linked in DXLD (gh) DIGITAL BROADCASTING --- IBOC +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ IBOC FLATLINES http://topazdesigns.com/ambc/ I see the IBOC page was recently updated as well, and it is as far as I know the only good list out there. Have the number of total stations, and number of nighttime operators, gone up or down since the last update? Just curious what direction the industry is going (Kevin Satya, WA, IRCA via DXLD) AM IBOC has pretty much flatlined. The numbers really haven't changed significantly in the past year. More telling is the fact that some very prominent stations, such as WGN and WJR, have turned it off completely, and don't show any inclination to turn it back on again. The diehards, most of whom are iBiquity investors, are sticking with it for now, but it's not gaining any traction at all. I think it's a dead system walking (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) Thanks, Barry - that was my sense, but wanted to check it out. Let's hope the flatline in new stations growth leads to a total flatline of its heartbeat in general (Kevin S, Bainbridge Island, WA, ibid.) The only "new" IBOCer is KRKO-1380 is recent months around the NW [Seattle] (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KGED QSL Manager, ibid.) I was sweating KRKO a bit, but bless their hearts, they keep to their new pattern fairly well. I pity the guys up in Vancouver and Victoria, though! (Kevin Satya, Bainbridge Island, ibid.) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ VIDEO CARRIER INJEXION This reminds me of an effect I noticed as a teenager. I was experimenting with my own pirate AM transmitter on my 300-1 model kit. It slew out harmonics well into VHF (I could even listen to it on several points in the FM band). Anyhow, I noticed that if I wiped out Channel 8 on the TV and fiddled with the transmitter tuning a bit, then all of a sudden the audio for WROC-8 would come booming in. The 8 video was too weak, but injecting a fake video carrier allowed the audio to come in. Worked kind of like how SSB works I guess (inserting a local carrier). Yes, I it even was giving a name - "Video Carrier Injection", I remember reading about in a hardcover book about 30 years ago, which actually had a detailed chapter on television DX. [sounds like something I may have written --- Having SW radios handy in the TVDX shack, I used this technique and wanted to popularise it - -- gh] I used this trick to ID my only identified TV DX by auroral scatter mode, Auroral scatter on TV usually looks like pure noise on a TV set, and the audio is (in my experience) never audible on a TV set. WDIV had signed off for the night, and a strong aurora was in. Channel 4 had a relatively strong signal going, and, though the nature of aurora had made the video unwatchable, it was obvious that the picture had steady horizontal bars of differing brightness. I tuned a shortwave radio to that a harmonic of its LO was at 67.25, which made the screen of the old Zenith go dark gray, but I could now faintly make out the audio content- easy listening music and the non- ID "Key 103". This was the FM sister station of WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, who I called. They confirmed that their channel 4 audio at the time was a simulcast of their FM station. The video? News and announcements in text in the same fashion as was found on so many cable TV systems back then - hence the horizontal bars (Robert Grant, WTFDA via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ LAZY HAMS MISS 10-METER OPENINGS UNLIKE 11-METER CB-ERS David Witkowski, W6DTW of San José, California, continued, "Regarding the question of "dead" versus "unoccupied" bands; I wrote a blog article recently on this topic. See http://sparqi.blogspot.com/ During Summer Es I used to listen to 28.4 and/or tune from 28.3 to 28.5 to check for openings. Recently I made the discovery that listening on CB channel 38-LSB (27385) is a much better way to do a quick check for openings; I have monitored stations from all over the western US burning up "38 lower" well into late evening, while 10 meters sits idle. Many times there is propagation; we're just not using it." Howard Estes, WB4GUD of Franklin, North Carolina also likes to check Citizens Band activity for a 10-meter propagation indicator. He wrote, "I agree with W1ZI, the bands aren't dead, we're just lazy. How often do you scan a band, don't hear anything, and go somewhere else? I've started checking the CB channels for activity. If I can hear the Big Frog Gigger in LA (that's lower Alabama), probably 10M is open to somewhere." (QST de W1AW, Propagation Forecast Bulletin 23 ARLP023, From Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, WA June 5, 2009, To all radio amateurs, via Dave Raycroft, ODXA yg via DXLD) ###