DX LISTENING DIGEST 8-004, January 10, 2008
Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING
edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com
Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full
credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies.
DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission.
Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not
having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of
noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits
For restrixions and searchable 2007 contents archive see
http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html
NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but
have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself
obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn
SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1390 **flexible times
Thu 0700 WRMI 9955**
Thu 1530 WRMI 7385
Fri 0030 WBCQ 7415
Fri 0730 WRMI 9955**
Fri 1200 WRMI 9955**
Fri 2130 WWCR1 15825 [not expected 7465]
Fri 2330 WBCQ 5110-CLSB
Sat 0900 WRMI 9955
Sat 1730 WWCR3 12160
Sat 2230 WRMI 9955
Sun 0330 WWCR3 5070
Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215
Sun 0900 WRMI 9955
Sun 1200 WRMI 9955 [new]
Sun 1615 WRMI 7385
Mon 0400 WBCQ 9330-CLSB [irregular]
Mon 0515 WBCQ 7415 [time varies]
Mon 0930 WRMI 9955**
Tue 1130 WRMI 9955**
Tue 1630 WRMI 7385
Wed 0830 WRMI 9955**
Latest edition of this schedule version, including AM, FM, satellite
and webcasts with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at:
http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
For updates see our Anomaly Alert page:
http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html
WRN ON DEMAND:
http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24
WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS VIA WRN NOW AVAILABLE:
http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/podcast.php
OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO:
http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html
or http://wor.worldofradio.org
** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Radio Solh, 15265 via UK, enters another month
and another year still playing exactly the same music every day at the
same time, including the sticking CD at 1346-1349+ as reconfirmed Jan
10. The final tune before 1500* is growing on me (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** AFRICA [and non]. The BDXC Africa on Shortwave list has been
updated for January of 2008. http://www.bdxc.org.uk Click on Articles
Index Page. In addition to the Africa on Shortwave list you'll find
that the Indian Sub-Continent on the Tropical Bands and the Middle &
Near East on Shortwave lists have also been updated (Steve Lare,
Holland, MI, Jan 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ALBANIA. Radio Tirana Webradio --- Hello from Switzerland, I really
appreciate the German service of Radio Tirana, but it is a real pity,
that I can't receive it most of the time, because I have to work in
the evening hours. In the office I can't use a shortwaveradio; we only
have Internetradio as a possibility to receive radio.
I'd really like to listen to Radio Tirana more often and like to ask
you if you know if there are any plannings to put Radio Tirana on the
web as webradio in the next time.
If not, I would really like to help Radio Tirana to a bigger audience.
I could provide a private streaming server for audio. The only
question would be how to get the audio from your transmitter to the
server? Best regards (Martin Stoeckli, Switzerland, Jan 10, to and via
Drita �i�o, R. Tirana Monitoring Center, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Hello Martin in Switzerland! The new present web page of Albanian
Radio television is http://www.rtsh.al where Radio Tirana Channel 3 is
the foreign service, where you will have the 'Internet' option to
listen to in the future (Drita �i�o, ARTV-Albanian Radiotelevision,
Head of Monitoring Center, RADIO TIRANA, ibid.)
Hello Drita, thank you for your eMail. It would really be a pity to
lose Radio Tirana on Shortwave. Put everything on the internet, so
every information can be controlled by other countries and
governments. I think, Internet can only be a addition to other ways of
distribution. Mobile internet? Not the next 10 years. Using mobile
internet in foreign countries? Not payable (I don't pay 39 [euro?] per
Megabyte...).
Internet as a addition would be great, because I cant use shortwave
here in the office, because of all the PCs and electronical devices.
They make too much interfering noise to hear anything. And at the
moment the conditions are not the best here to receive Radio Tirana.
For the omnidirectional aerial we are too far in the West in
Switzerland, the French programme can be heard much better. And on
Mediumwave the English Radiostation Sunrise is the winner on the dial,
unfortunately. So I hope for a internetstream soon. If I can help you
with that, let me know. Best regards, (Martin (who is 32 years old and
listens to shortwave since he's 16 ;-)), via Drita, ibid.)
Thanks Martin, for your comments. I hope that our Internet stream will
begin this year (Drita �i�o, ibid.)
** ARGENTINA. 6059.97, R. Nacional, upbeat vocals and instrumentals at
0840 UT on Jan 1, brief announcements with quick IDs after every other
song; pips at 0900, but never interrupted the program for a ToH ID.
Good signal, with moderate QRM from smaller Brazilian signal on 6060.0
kHz (Jerry Berg, MA, DXplorer Jan 6 via BC-DX Jan 11 via DXLD)
** AUSTRALIA [non]. VT Communications changes:
CVC International, cancelled from Jan. 7
1000-1100 on 11815 MOS 035 kW / 295 deg to WeEu English DRM
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** BAHRAIN. 9744.6, Radio Bahrain Following up on Zacharias' tip.
Heard via DX Tuner Sweden. Arabic music at 1545 tune in. Lots of
splatter, but best in LSB. World news in Arabic at 1600-1604 Jan 9.
Lots of program promos after the news, but the splatter made it hard
to catch an ID; I finally got one at 1608 (Hans Johnson, Naples FL,
Cumbre DX via DXLD)
** BHUTAN. 6035, Bhutan Broadcasting Service, Sangaygang, checked them
from 2355: no signal till 0055 when heard weak tone and carrier. Then
suddenly at 0100 started music. I feel since the SW would not
propagate at 0000, they bring up the transmitter on SW at 0100
straight into the programme. On Jan 06 at 0033 I was hearing them
weak, a bit stronger at 0050 but bad splatter from 6030 Bible Voice to
India from Wertachtal (500 kW). (Goonetilleke, WORLD OF RADIO 1390,
DXLD) It seems they have a new s/on time around 0100. I heard them at
*0050, Jan 04; *0100-0140, Jan 05; on Jan 07 it was very weak and only
audible at 0140-0155; *0100 on Jan 08, instrumental music, native
songs, talks in Dzongkha, 34333 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX
Window Jan 9 via DXLD)
** BORNEO. RADIO BROADCASTING IN BORNEO - BALIKPAPAN, KALIMANTAN
We continue in our onward series of programs here in �Wavescan� that
present the story of radio broadcasting on Borneo, the world's third
largest island. On this occasion, we visit Kalimantan, which is the
Indonesian area of the island, and in particular, the town of
Balikpapan. In fact, there is so much radio information associated
with Balikpapan that we will concentrate on this location for this
occasion, and then in another forthcoming program, we will visit the
other areas of Indonesian Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.
The city of Balikpapan is located on the east coast of Borneo and it
is the second largest city in the Indonesian state of Kalimantan
Timur, East Kalimantan, with a current population around half a
million. Balikpapan has a good natural harbor and a large
international airport, and it is a hub for the export of timber and
petroleum. However, in its earlier days at the time when radio was
wireless, Balikpapan was a small coastal town under the colonial
administration of the Dutch East Indies.
Balikpapan's Oldest Continuous Radio Station
The Dutch authorities at The Hague in their homeland over in Europe
began an interest in the usage of wireless very early. They
established a Wireless Company in 1916, they installed two spark Morse
Code stations on the Dogger Banks in 1917, they made their first
wireless broadcast in 1920, they installed their first wireless
stations in their East Indies in 1921, and they made the first
wireless communication between Holland and their colonial enterprise
in Java in 1923.
The first wireless station in the Dutch East Indies territory on
Borneo was established in Balikpapan close to ninety years ago, in the
year 1921 and its story extends over a lengthy period of time. It was
a commercial facility established by the Dutch for Morse Code
communication with shipping. This station was installed for the
Batavia Petroleum Company and it operated under the Dutch East Indies
callsign PKF. The original installation was a simple electrical
facility, and as time went by, the mode of operation was upgraded with
the implementation of electronic valve or tube equipment.
Somewhere around the year 1936, station YCP made its appearance in
Balikpapan as a 3 kW facility on the international communication
channel 8575 kHz and we would guess that this was the same station in
a new vogue.
As was the custom in those days, many communication stations also
entered into a spate of irregular broadcasting as time and
circumstances permitted. The available information would suggest that
this was also the case with station YCP in Balikpapan during this pre-
war era. Back in the year 1939, there are at least two references to
the fact that QSL cards were issued from the colonial radio
administration in Bandung on behalf of transmissions from station YCP
in Balikpapan. In fact, at this stage, station YCP in Balikpapan was
administered from station YBZ in Menado, and it is well established
that the Menado station was in use with both communication traffic and
program broadcasting. A year later, the callsign of the radio station
in Balikpapan was amended from YCP to YCC and the channel in use at
this stage became the more familiar 9120 kHz.
With the changing fortunes of war in the Pacific, the Japanese took
over the Balikpapan station undamaged on January 24, 1942, and history
tells us that the station was used by the Japanese administration as a
communication facility for the next two and a half years.
Surprisingly, six months before the coming change of political
administration in Balikpapan from the Japanese to the Australians,
presumably this radio station was heard in the United States as Radio
Borneo on 9120 kHz with a program of music and talks. It would be
interesting to learn who made these radio broadcasts at this time, and
for what purpose.
Then on July 1, 1945, Australian troops arrived at Balikpapan Harbor
on board HMAS Kanimbla, a ship that itself had been a noted radio
broadcaster a few years earlier. During its earlier usage as a
passenger liner, the Kanimbla was on the air with program broadcasting
under the callsign 9MI. A black and white photograph lodged in the
government archives in Canberra, Australia, shows the undamaged aerial
masts at the Balikpapan station at this stage and the caption states
that the station had been in use by the Dutch, the Japanese and the
Australians. We might also add, that it was in use again subsequently
by the Dutch, and then the Indonesians.
Australian Radio Stations in Balikpapan
As soon as things settled down in Balikpapan, the Australian army
personnel got themselves busy in the area of radio broadcasting. They
began to make program broadcasts over the camp amplifier system under
a pretend radio station callsign TBC, which had the probable meaning,
�The Balikpapan Company�.
The first actual radio broadcasting station in this sequence was 7KM,
which could be understood as a valid callsign for a mediumwave
broadcasting station on the island of Tasmania in Australia. This
shortwave station was established in August 1945 by the Australian
Signal Corp and it operated with just 12 watts in the 7 MHz band.
Station 7KM was originally allocated the channel 7880 kHz but it soon
moved to 7960 kHz to avoid interference. The transmitter itself was a
low power Australian army unit, though the auxiliary equipment was
assembled from abandoned Japanese equipment. Broadcasting station 7KM
was on the air for three broadcast sessions daily, it was on the air
for just 10 weeks, it was heard quite regularly up to 500 miles
distant, and it was closed in October when the AAAS station 9AG was
inaugurated in Balikpapan.
Next on the radio scene in Balikpapan was the mobile station 9AG. This
200 watt broadcast facility was part of a 21 station network
established by AAAS, the Australian Army Amenities Service. Original
government announcements in Australia at the end of 1944 and in early
1945 indicated that this particular unit was not allocated to a
specific location, but it would be available to move to any desired
location in the Pacific/Asian arena. It was stated at the time that
each of the seven mobile stations at 200 watts would be built into
three army trucks, each truck rated at three ton capacity.
Although several of these mobile mediumwave stations were heard
throughout Australia and New Zealand with test broadcasts beginning
around mid 1945, there is no tangible evidence that 9AG was heard with
any test broadcasts. Perhaps mobile station 9AG did make a series of
test broadcasts in Australia and these broadcasts escaped detection by
radio monitors? Perhaps 9AG did not make any test broadcasts before it
was taken up into the islands? Or perhaps 9AG was taken up to
Balikpapan in crates with the intention of installing it into a
regular building that was already under construction? Who knows?
Suffice it to say that station 9AG was inaugurated in its own building
in Balikpapan in October 1945 and it was on the air as an AAAS
entertainment mediumwave station at this location for a period of a
little under half a year. The last day of operation for station 9AG as
an AAAS station was February 28, 1946. Next day, this station was
taken over by the Dutch colonial government in Borneo.
Radio Balikpapan
Now, in assessing the available information, we would suggest that the
Dutch colonial authorities took over both of the radio stations in
Balikpapan from the Australian army; that is, the mediumwave station
9AG as mentioned earlier, and also the long established shortwave
station that utilized generally just the one channel, 9120 or 9125
kHz. The date for this acquisition was March 1, 1946; and it would
also be suggested that they activated both units, mediumwave &
shortwave, with their programming in Dutch & English on that date.
However, due to propagation conditions, it would appear that the
mediumwave unit was not heard in Australia nor New Zealand, though the
shortwave unit was heard in both the South Pacific and North America.
In fact, both the noted Rex Gillett in Adelaide and the equally well
known Miss Sanderson in Victoria received QSL letters from this
station during this era.
A news report published in the United States declares that Radio
Balikpapan shortwave was off the air for about a month, and we would
read this as the time interval during which the station was
transferred from Balikpapan on the east coast of Borneo to Pontianak
on the west coast. When this station returned to the air at its new
location, the on-air identification announcement stated: �Radio
Balikpapan Pontianak�. And we note that the two locations, Balikpapan
& Pontianak are more than 500 miles apart. Interestingly, at this
stage there were three shortwave transmitters on the air in Pontianak,
one of which was listed as 125 watts, the exact power rating of the
transmitter at the previous location in Balikpapan.
Now, around the same time as the Dutch authorities took over the
mediumwave and shortwave stations from the Australians in Balikpapan,
a new shortwave station in Balikpapan appeared on the radio dial. This
station also identified on air with a Tasmanian callsign, 7ER. This
new shortwave station emitted a mere 8 watts and it began operation on
6980 kHz, though this was soon modified to 7205 kHz to avoid
interference. Radio station 7ER utilized Australian army equipment,
though plans were announced for the installation of a 100 watt
shortwave transmitter abandoned by the Japanese. We would guess that
the make shift studio for the broadcast of this programming was in
reality the camp amplifier system that was on the air earlier with
programming under the callsign 7KM.
Summary
In summary then, there were three different wireless and radio
installations in Balikpapan in the earlier days, which were as
follows:-
1. Wireless communication station PKF which apparently morphed into
YCP which became YCC, and which was in use successively by the Dutch,
the Japanese, the Australians, and again the Dutch, and lastly by the
Indonesians in two widely different locations as Radio Balikpapan.
2. Camp amplifier radio station TBC which probably served as the
makeshift studio for the low power shortwave stations 7KM & 7ER.
3. Australian army mobile station 9AG which was taken over by the
Dutch authorities and became Radio Balikpapan.
Radio Broadcasting in Borneo - Kalimantan Balikpapan
The Balikpapan Station
Year Date Location Event Reference
1921 Balikpapan PKF Batavia Petroleum Co YBWT&T 82.7 544
1923 Balikpapan PKF Batavia Petroleum Co YBWT&T 82.7 482
1936 Balikpapan YCP 8575 kHz 3kW, address c/- YBZ Menado RST-TK
02.166 94
1938 Dec Balikpapan YCP QSL card black print on buff IDXA-TGC 1-39 RD
1-39
1939 Feb Balikpapan YCP QSL black/buff from Bandung 9120 RN 3-39 45
1940 Balikpapan YCP callsign changed to YCC, 9125 kHz IDXA-TGC 2-40 5
1944 Dec Borneo Music & talks heard in USA on 9120 kHz NNRC 1-45 12
1945 Aug 31 Balikpapan Photo radio station masts, used by Dutch,
Japanese & Australians http://cas.awm.gov
1946 Sep Balikpapan Heard as phone station on 7460 & 7960 RN 10-46 136
1947 Pontianak ID Radio Balikpapan Pontianak, on 5480 & 6650 & 8090
kHz WRHB
1948 Pontianak ID Radio Balikpapan Pontianak, on 5480 & 6650 & 8090
kHz WRHB
1949 Pontianak ID Radio Indonesia, Studio Pontianak on 8090 kHz WRHB
1950 Pontianak Radio Indonesia, Studio Pontianak YDW 2350 kHz WRHB
1951 Pontianak Radio Indonesia, Studio Pontianak YDW 2350 kHz WRHB
======================================================================
6. Radio Broadcasting in Borneo - Kalimantan Balikpapan
WRHB Entries
Year Identification YCN 40 W YCN2 125 W YCN3 250 W
1947 Radio Balikpapan Pontianak 5480 6650 8090
1948 Radio Balikpapan Pontianak 5480 6650 8090
1949 Radio Indonesia, Studio Pontianak 8090
1950 Radio Indonesia, Studio Pontianak 2350 YDW
1951 Radio National Indonesia Pontianak 2350 YDW
(Adrian Peterson, AWR Wavescan Dec 30 via DXLD)
** BRAZIL. BRASIL - A emissora brasileira que est� ocupando a
freq��ncia de 3325 kHz, atualmente, � a R�dio Mundial, de S�o Paulo
(SP). Foi sintonizada, em Porto Alegre (RS), pelo colunista, em 23 de
dezembro, �s 2342, quando estava no ar o interessante programa Arm�nia
Eterna. Na ocasi�o, foram executadas m�sicas t�picas da Rep�blica da
Arm�nia. Mais detalhes sobre o programa podem ser conferidos aqui
http://www.armeniaeterna.com.br/
BRASIL - A R�dio Congonhas, de Congonhas (MG), encerra a sua
transmiss�o na freq��ncia de 4775 kHz exatamente �s 2300. Foi o que
constatou o colunista, em 23 de dezembro, em Porto Alegre (RS). Na
ocasi�o, a emissora apresentava um programa com dupla sertaneja que
executava m�sicas ao vivo no est�dio. Em seguida, um locutor leu uma
mensagem de otimismo e terminou a programa��o com rezas e a ben��o.
BRASIL - As for�as armadas t�m aten��o especial para com a Amaz�nia e
usam tamb�m o r�dio para a sua miss�o de defesa da regi�o. Est� no ar,
na R�dio Difusora, de Manaus (AM), em 1180 e 4805 kHz, aos domingos,
das 1000 �s 1045, o programa Amaz�nia Verde Oliva, que � produzido
pelo Centro de Instru��o de Guerra na Selva, unidade do Ex�rcito
Brasileiro sediada em Manaus. Na pauta do programa, m�sica,
informa��es sobre a regi�o e as atividades da for�a terrestre na
Amaz�nia. A dica � do bi�logo Paulo Roberto e Souza, desde Tef� (AM).
BRASIL - O governo brasileiro tem interesse em manter as ondas curtas,
conforme manifesta��o do ministro das Comunica��es H�lio Costa, dada a
um grupo de professores e pesquisadores da radiodifus�o, recentemente.
BRASIL - A R�dio Cultura, de S�o Paulo (SP), � a �nica emissora
brasileira que ainda transmite na faixa de 16 metros. Foi captada, em
Jarinu (SP), pelo Rudolf Grimm, em dois de janeiro, �s 1840, pela
freq��ncia de 17815 kHz, quando emitia m�sica popular brasileira.
BRASIL - Para aprender os meandros da l�ngua portuguesa, a dica �
acompanhar o programa Nossa L�ngua Portuguesa, irradiado, nos s�bados,
�s 7h, na hora brasileira de ver�o, pela R�dio Cultura AM, de S�o
Paulo (SP). O professor Pasquali Cipro Neto comenta os erros que a
maioria da popula��o comete e indica os caminhos corretos para o bom
uso da l�ngua portuguesa. Em ondas curtas, o programa pode ser captado
em 9615 e 17815 kHz. Confira! (C�lio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX
Jan 6 via DXLD)
** BRAZIL. Nacional da Amaz�nia, nem em 6180 e 11780 kHz! � lament�vel
constatar que a cada dia que passa, a R�dio Nacional da Amaz�nia est�
com o sinal cada vez mais enfraquecido aqui no Rio Grande do Sul.
Estava tentando sintoniz�-l� a pouco, e para minha surpresa em tanto
em 6180 como em 11780, emitiam uma emissora em Mandarim com sinal
local. Nos 11780 kHz, escutava-se apenas e de fundo, quando a emissora
que estava emitindo nesta l�ngua, ficou somente com a portadora,e da�
surgiu a Nossa Nacional bem l� no fundo do po�o. Em 49 metros nos
6180, a mesma emissora que estava na mesma canaleta nos 11780,
comandava o dial. Pois nem com a aus�ncia de �udio, nada se captava da
Nacional. ACORDA SR. MINISTRO H�LIO COSTA.!!! Acorda.!!!! (�dison
Bocorny Jr., Jan 7, radioescutas yg via DXLD)
Aten��o, boa noite... N�o adianta criticar o sr. Ministro das
Comunica��es, para os bem informados, que a respons�vel pelas
emissoras do Governo � a Radiobras
http://www.radiobras.gov.br/estatico/contatos.htm (Clovis Sobrinho,
ibid.)
Eu aqui a r�dio que pego melhor ainda � a RN Amazonia em 25 metros
11780 (S�rgio, Fatima, Portugal, Jan 8, ibid.)
[and non]. 11780 was inbooming here Jan 9 at 0653 check, with
wakeupshow, 4:53 am in the DST areas, but mostly for Amaz�nia at 3:53
am? Nothing, however, on 6180, unQRMing XEPPM 6185 for a change, which
had some nice and clear jazz going. But Jan 10 at 0641 check, 11780
was missing, tho Chile was VG on 11805, also audible on 11745 (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CANADA. Hi Glenn, Just received this e-mail:
Hello Ron: The future of CKZU is currently being evaluated. There is a
distinct possibility that the operation could close. However a final
decision has yet to be made, and will depend in part on whether the FM
application is approved and the new service is implemented. At this
point a "wait and see" approach is best. Thank you again. Kim Belle
CBC Audience Relations (via Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, Jan 9, dxldyg
via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
I would hate to see CKZU go, having listened to it over much of
western Canada when no other CBC was available. I think CKZU shares
the valuable-for-housing CBU-690 transmitter site in Steveston BC
(Steveston is the SW corner of Richmond) Thanks, Ron (Eric Flod�n, NC,
ibid.)
Hi Eric and Glenn, I have responded to Kim's e-mail and expressed my
opinion that as a listener of CKZU-Vancouver, I would be disappointed
to have them close their SW operation. Perhaps it would be appropriate
if others who feel the same way were to also e-mail Kim Belle (CBC
Audience Relations) at: cbcinput @ toronto.cbc.ca (Ron Howard, ibid.)
I don't know about the evaluation, but you have the site correct.
Except I don't think where they are would be considered valued for
housing, unless you mean house boats! I used to live practically under
their towers, even visited the site with an engineer once. The towers
sit on the flood plain, outside the sea-side dyke, on the western end
of Lulu Island, the main island of Richmond, which sits in the mouth
of the Fraser River (Steveston is part of Richmond). (As an aside, I
used to be able to watch CBU's modulation on an oscilloscope just by
hooking a short piece of wire to the 'scope's input, the signal was
that powerful.) At the time, CKZU was using a dipole strung between
two wooden poles, but I haven't seen the place for a long time, so
don't know if that's still the case (Dave Bennett, VE7YJ, Aldergrove,
BC, ibid.)
I'll defer to Dave's knowledge -- my view came from a conversation
with a co-worker (who works in Steveston) who, as it turned out, did
not know the precise layout of the antennas . . . as I learned in a
conversation today (Eric Flod�n, BC, ibid.)
** CANADA. TERRY O'REILLY AND THE AGE OF PERSUASION: Canadians
sometime like to sneer at the ugliness of "attack" ads in U-S
politics. But Canada isn't free from that kind of thing � remember the
short-lived ad that targeted a certain Liberal leader's facial tic?
Terry O'Reilly returns this week to kick off another great season of
The Age of Persuasion with a look at political advertising. Parties
and candidates spend a fortune to come up with ads. Yet somehow these
campaigns invariably descend into a paint-by-numbers litany of
personal attacks and stratospheric promises. The media have changed
the way politicians campaign, from a discussion of issues to a clash
of personalities. Terry O'Reilly and The Age of Persuasion, Saturday
morning at 11:30 a.m. on CBC Radio One (CBC Hotsheet via Eric Flod�n,
BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
His past shows have been well worth listening to -ef (Flod�n, DX
LISTENING DIGEST) Heartily agree. Sat 1530v UT +1/2/3/4 h (gh, DXLD)
** CHINA. Beijing PBS News Service on 828 kHz now operating 24 hrs
service. (ex 2130-1700 UT). Programe sked of Beijing PBS is not
updated. http://www.bjradio.com.cn/06jmsjb/200701/t20070108_338339.htm
Streaming: http://listen.bjradio.com.cn/xinwen/index.htm
(S. Hasegawa, NDXC-HQ, Jan 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CHINA. 6065, CNR-2/China Business Radio, 1301-1400, Jan 10, "This
is English Evening, on China Business Radio", mostly in English,
business news, segments "BBC Learning English" and "Studio Classroom
Worldwide", played some music (Rihanna with "Good Girl Gone Bad",
etc.), fair, // 6155, 7130, 7245, 7315, 7375 and 9820 (Ron Howard,
Monterey, CA, Et�n E5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CROATIA. Winter B-07 schedule of HRT HS-1 in Croatian:
0557-0856 on 6165 DEA 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu/NoAf, ex 0457-0856
0857-1356 on 9830 DEA 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu/NoAf, no change
1357-2156 on 6165 DEA 100 kW / non-dir to WeEu/NoAf, ex 1357-2356
2157-0556 on 3985vDEA 010 kW / non-dir to WeEu/NoAf, ex 2357-0456
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** CUBA. YouTube: Radio Havana Cuba --- Field producers for Media
Television Timothy Speaks Fishleigh takes an inside look at Radio
Havana Cuba's English service. A small group of dedicated Cubans and
international people struggle to get a Cuban point of view out to the
short-wave community. Hear them tell their story. 7 minute feature:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YwTny_4AeNY
(via Mike Barraclough, dxldyg via DXLD)
Includes Arnaldo Coro, identified as ``Founder, RHC``. Altho he
certainly played an important r�le, I doubt that even he would claim
to be THE founder of RHC. I wonder how old this is? He was axually in
the studio, not phoning in from home. Watch the backgrounds for an
idea of their antiquated equipment, our fault of course. Starting the
third minute, graphics about Radio Mart�, not with its theme music,
but RHC`s! Note the little-known names of some of the other RHC
personnel, not all Cubans. Even the head of the Creole service speaks
with an American accent (gh, DXLD)
** CUBA [non]. CLANDESTINE from [unknown] SITE to CUBA: 5955, R.
Rep�blica (tentative). I tuned in at 2310 Jan 10 and heard nothing but
Spanish and English pop and rock music until 0000. Best tune I heard
was one from Rush at 2327. I could not hear any jamming on this
frequency tonight. I just heard an open carrier after 0000 Jan 11; I
can't tell you if they perhaps signed off sometime after this point as
the station was fading. Just a weak carrier when I tuned out at 0019
(Hans Johnson, Naples, FL Kaito KA-1103 whip antenna, Cumbredx mailing
list via DXLD)
Much like my recent log of same, 5954.1 --- but is it really R.
Rep�blica without R. Rep�blica, any more so than WDHP 1620? (gh, DXLD)
** CZECHIA [non]. Some VT Communications changes:
Radio Prague, all cancelled from Jan. 2
0100-0127 on 11665 ASC 250 kW / 245 deg to SoAm Spanish
0200-0227 on 5995 SAC 250 kW / 268 deg to NoAm English
1100-1127 on 17515 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg to WeAf French
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) But I guess keeps 0000 ASC
11665, 0400 SAC 5990, 2330 SAC 6000 (gh, DXLD)
** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. The shortwave transmitter at Radio Amanecer
Internacional near Santo Domingo went off the air last February, but
it was re-activated again in August. This 1 kW unit on 6025 kHz has
since been heard widely in Europe and North America. Radio Amanecer is
owned by the Seventh-day Adventist denomination in the Dominican
Republic, it is located in the three storey HQ building in Santo
Domingo, and it is affiliated with Adventist World Radio. Recently,
Adventist World Radio made available some of the electronic equipment
from San Jos� in Costa Rica for use at Radio Amanecer. In addition to
the shortwave transmitter, Radio Amanecer HIAJ also operates AM & FM
transmitters in the capital city, as well as three additional
mediumwave transmitters in country areas for nationwide coverage
(Adrian Peterson, AWR Wavescan Dec 30 via DXLD)
I think Radio Amanecer may be off frequency at the moment and may be
up on around 6048 as heard in Florida. Can anyone confirm? 73's (Hans
Johnson, Naples, Dec 27, Cumbre DX via DXLD)
Did not see any responses to this; have not noticed anything around
6048 here (gh, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EGYPT. EGIPTO. Todo parece indicar que Radio Cairo ha ampliado sus
servicios en 6225; hoy 9 de enero la estoy escuchando emitiendo m�sica
a las 1950. El servicio parece en �rabe; espero a ver lo que ocurre a
las 2000 UT, ya que ayer 8 de enero pude escuchar un servicio en
franc�s de esta emisora, tanto hoy como ayer observo una emisi�n
digital sin identificar. Tambi�n observo de forma espor�dica una se�al
de burbuja, �quiz�s jammer? A las 2000 UT se escucha la presentaci�n
del servicio en franc�s, sin embargo cortan la emisi�n bruscamente.
Supongo que lo de ayer fue una emisi�n accidental. El servicio en
franc�s se escucha sin problemas en 6250 (Jos� Miguel Romero, Burjasot
(Valencia), Spain, Sangean ATS 909, Antena Radio Master A-108, YAESU
FRG-7700, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** EGYPT. 9250, Nile Valley Radio, 1653 Jan 9. Heard via DX Tuner
Sweden. I hoped to catch their 1700 sign on to see what schedule
information they would give. Checked at 1658 to hear music, but the
only frequency they announced at 1700 was an AM channel. IDs and then
into Qur`an (Hans Johnson, Naples FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD)
** ERITREA [and non]. ERI/ETH jamming moved --- 10 Jan 1600 UT noted
Eritrea hopping between range 6180-6240 to avoid Ethiopian digital-
ute-like jammer. Same thing in the vicinity of 7175 (Jari Savolainen,
Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ETHIOPIA [non]. CLANDESTINE from NOWHERE? to ETHIOPIA. 11900,
Tensae Ethiopia Voice of Unity. I believe this one is off the air, or
at least not on 11900 any longer. I checked for them this morning Jan
9 at 1543 via DX Tuner Sweden and heard nothing. I then took a look at
their website and noticed that the last audio file was from November.
I then checked the audio files on the RMS system and found that I
couldn't hear either the program or any jamming (Hans Johnson, Naples
FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD)
** ETHIOPIA [non]. VT Communications changes:
Radio Mustaqbal, all cancelled from Jan. 2
0545-0615 on 15400 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg to EaAf Somali Mon-Wed/Sat
0620-0650 on 15400 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg to EaAf Somali Mon/Tue/Sat
0730-0800 on 15530 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg to EaAf Somali Mon-Wed/Sat
0805-0835 on 15530 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg to EaAf Somali Mon/Tue/Sat
1130-1200 on 15340 DHA 250 kW / 225 deg to EaAf Somali Mon-Wed/Sat
1205-1235 on 17660 MEY 250 kW / 019 deg to EaAf Somali Mon/Tue/Sat
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** FRANCE. SARKOZY VEUT EN 2008 UNE CHA�NE "FRANCE MONDE" NE DIFFUSANT
QU'EN FRAN�AIS [08/01 - 20h13]
La salle de la r�gie principale de France 24 � Issy-Les Moulineaux en
novembre 2006Le pr�sident Nicolas Sarkozy a souhait� mardi qu'une
nouvelle cha�ne publique appel�e France Monde, regroupant les moyens
de TV5, France 24 et Radio France Internationale, soit cr��e "cette
ann�e" et qu'elle ne diffuse qu'en "fran�ais".
"Je pense qu'une cha�ne publique, France Monde, qui garderait
l'identit� de chacun des participants, ne peut que parler fran�ais", a
dit le pr�sident. "Avec l'argent du contribuable je ne suis pas
dispos� � diffuser une cha�ne qui ne parle pas fran�ais", a-t-il
d�clar�.
Nicolas Sarkozy a expliqu� qu'"on peut parfaitement avoir un sous-
titrage par r�gion : espagnol, arabe, anglais, pour porter une vision
fran�aise".
L'id�e est de cr�er "le plus rapidement possible, en tout cas cette
ann�e" un "label France Monde, c'est-�-dire une holding, qui
regrouperait les moyens de TV5, de France 24 et de RFI selon des
modalit�s � d�battre" pour "porter une pr�sence de la France beaucoup
plus massive que ce ne l'est aujourd'hui", a d�clar� le pr�sident. . .
http://actu.dna.fr/080108115130.ema5buhv.html
(via Mike Cooper, DXLD)
SARKOZY PLAN FOR FRANCE MONDE �JUST PLAIN STUPID� - JONATHAN MARKS
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a new state-owned
channel called France Monde, bringing together the resources of TV5,
France 24 and Radio France Internationale, to be set up �this year�
and to broadcast only in �French�. �There could perfectly well be
subtitles according to region - Spanish, Arabic, English - to provide
France�s point of view�.
International media consultant Jonathan Marks believes this plan is
�just plain stupid�. Jonathan says this is clearly a case of death by
integration. RFI and France 24 are two completely different beasts.
Read the commentary France 24- Sarkozy Remark is Bonkers
http://criticaldistance.blogspot.com/2008/01/france-24-sarkozy-bonkers-decision.html
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 at 2:30 pm and
is filed under For Consumers, For Media Professionals, Full feed. You
can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You
can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Responses to �Sarkozy plan for France Monde �just plain stupid� -
Jonathan Marks�
Richard Hunt Says: January 9th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
The idea of using French audio only is truly bizarre and seems like
�typical Frog arrogance�. They need to look to Deutsche Welle TV which
has alternating one hour blocks in German and English. Or emulate
Euronews - no on screen presenters, but several languages on different
soundtracks.
Martin Says: January 9th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Another channel like Euronews which has a pro-French/European bias
(Media Network blog via DXLD)
More about this:
http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=3096
(kimandrewelliott.com, via DXLD)
FRENCH MINISTER DISAGREES WITH SARKOZY ON FOREIGN BROADCASTING
Text of report by French news agency AFP
Paris, 9 January: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on
Wednesday [9 January] that he did "not completely" agree with
abandoning the broadcasting in foreign languages advocated by
President Nicolas Sarkozy for the future publicly-owned channel
"France-Monde". . .
http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/french-minister-disagrees-with-sarkozy-on-foreign-broadcasting
(January 9th, 2008 - 18:12 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD)
** GERMANY. CVC International via DTK T-Systems Media&Broadcast from
Jan. 1:
1400-1600 7145 JUL 040 kW / 290 deg to WeEu English DRM >> not active
1400-1600 13865 JUL 100 kW / 060 deg to EaEu Russian >> not active
1400-1800 9885*JUL 100 kW / 090 deg to EaEu Ukrainian# + Russian
* strong co-ch from 1600 WYFR in English via WER 500 kW / 135 deg to
EaAf, also Voice of Russia in Russian/Hindi/Bengali/English till 1700
# Svitle Radio Emmanuil (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** GERMANY. AFN W�rzburg update --- Radio operations of AFN W�rzburg
("AFN Franconia") are still up, but meanwhile they announced on air
that the farewell programme will go out on Jan 31. Probably only the
morning show is still on air, recently only automated programming
without real content had been heard during their drivetime slot
anymore. http://forum.mysnip.de/read.php?8773,485588,page=2
(Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** HONG KONG. HONG KONG MAGISTRATE RULES FOR ACTIVISTS OVER RADIO
LICENSING | Text of report by Radio TV Hong Kong Radio 3 on 8 January
"Newswrap":
[Presenter] A magistrate has thrown out provisions in the
Telecommunications Ordinance which govern applications for radio
licences. Eastern Court Magistrate Douglas Yau ruled that they were
contrary to freedom of expression guarantees in the Basic Law and the
Bill of Rights. This came after five activists were charged with
operating a radio station without a licence. The magistrate later
agreed to put his ruling on hold pending a hearing by a higher court.
Maggie Ho has the details.
[Ho] The five, including lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung and former
legislator Tsang Kin-sheng, were charged over broadcasts they made
through a station called Citizens' Radio. They applied for a licence,
but the government rejected the application.
The five argued in court that the prosecution was unconstitutional.
Eastern Court Magistrate Douglas Yau agreed, arguing that the decision
on whether to grant a licence lay solely at the unfettered and
unchecked discretion of the Executive Council, which was not
independent of the government.
The magistrate also noted that the recommending body, the Broadcasting
Authority, also lacked independence. He said that the lack of
independence of the deciding and recommending bodies was not in
accordance with the requirement that any restrictions on freedom of
expression must be prescribed by law, and was therefore in breach of
the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights. He said that to comply with
constitutional requirements, a licensing system should set out the
scope for discretion, the criteria for a decision, reasons for
rejection and a way to challenge such a decision. The magistrate noted
that the law was silent on all these matters.
[Presenter] In the afternoon, the prosecution told the magistrate that
the government would appeal to the High Court. It asked for the ruling
to be put on hold until an appeal had been completed. The prosecution
argued that if the ruling was implemented, anyone could set up a radio
station illegally and this would affect radio frequencies now used by
the emergency services and air traffic controllers.
The magistrate agreed to the request and adjourned the case to the
11th of next month to see how it was progressing.
One of the defendants, Leung Kwok-hung, vowed to continue broadcasting
through Citizens' Radio. Source: RTHK Radio 3, Hong Kong, in English
1000 gmt 8 Jan 08 (via BBCM via DXLD)
** INDIA. Dear Friends AIR Delhi noted on 6085 instead of 6030 at
0200-0310. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS National Institute of Amateur Radio
Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad, Jan 9, dx_india via DXLD)
** IRAN. Frequency changes for VOIROI/IRIB in Kazakh:
1300-1357 NF 11750 KAM 500 kW / 058 deg, ex 11745 \\ 9660
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** IRAN [non]. Fair and fluttery signal in Russian, or similar, Jan 9
at 1437 on 5815. Per Aoki this is VOIRIran via Lithuania, 100 kW at 79
degrees, something you really don`t expect to hear on 50+ meters at
this hour, but there have been some other reports of this from C&W
NAm. From 1527 to 1530 they make a beam switch to 259 degrees for R.
Racja from Poland to Belarus (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ISRAEL. Frequency change for Kol Israel effective Dec. 15, 2007:
1400-1455 NF 9390*ISR 250 kW / 330 deg, ex 15760 in Hebrew Daily
1500-1600 NF 9390 ISR 250 kW / 330 deg, ex 15760 in Farsi Fri/Sat
1500-1625 NF 9390 ISR 250 kW / 330 deg, ex 15760 in Farsi Sun-Thu
1600-1725 NF 9390 ISR 250 kW / 330 deg, ex 15760 in Hebrew Fri/Sat
1625-1725 NF 9390 ISR 250 kW / 330 deg, ex 15760 in Hebrew Sun-Thu
* strong co-ch VOA in Pashto (Deewa Radio)
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** KOREA NORTH [non]. VT Communications changes:
North Korea Reform Radio, new station from Dec. 24
1200-1230 on 9630 TAI 100 kW / 002 deg to KRE Korean
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** LAOS. A friend of mine recently returned from a trip to Vietnam &
Laos. The feedback from Vietnam will probably be published in the next
DXLD (is currently in the message area of Glenn's Yahoo Group).
Regarding Laos from my friend's feedback:-
This a country, unlike Vietnam, where you can find many people who do
speak some English. Usage of the French language is quickly nearing
extinction in Laos. I was informed, as my friend's bus travelled past
the suspected LNR transmitter near the airport, that he was only able
to see a couple of mediumwave towers on the antenna site. I had hopped
he might have been able to see some shortwave antennas on the site; I
recall these certainly weren't seen on the Google Earth image (this
site was discussed within our group message area previously).
He was later able to contact LNR & was told that this was their
mediumwave site, but the SW site descriptions of Ban Chommany Neuk,
KM6 was correct for the SW transmitter site as was the site of
Transmitter Hill in Sam Neua for 4678 kHz. Attempts to obtain
coordinates proved fruitless, unfortunately.
It appears transmitter installation dates for the following
frequencies are as follows:
6130 kHz - 1995
7145 kHz - 2001
4678 kHz - 1980?
LNR confirms that only two SW sites now exist with Laos.
Transmitter manufacturers:-
567 kHz - Harris DX-200 (USA)
6130 kHz - Continental (USA)
7145 kHz - JRC (Japan)
So it "appears(?)" that the SW site is not where we thought it was;
co-located with the MW site - so where is it??
The provided (rather than monitored) SW transmission schedule of 6130
& 7145 kHz was:
6130: 0500-1500 & 1600 to 2300 UT
7145: 2330-0030, 0500-0630 & 1130-1400 UT
'Viang Chan' seams to be the appropriate name for the capital given
that the name 'Vientiane' is a relic from the French colonial era.
[later] Vientiane - further clarification. Just realised that some of
the information that was posted about LNR was previously posted by
Wolfgang in BCDX-795 Feb 2007 issue from the LNR website; apologies
for the repeat.
[km 49 Harris MW tx site] Anyway the MW site near the airport must be
for 640 kHz as the site for 567 kHz is definitely around 50 km north-
ish of this site, (maybe closer to 45 km) as mentioned in BCDX & WRTH
2007. Area not Hi-Res at the moment.
Further clarification: The date of operation of the 50 kW shortwave
transmitter on 6130 kHz is from May 1995. For the 10 kW on 7145 kHz,
date of operation was from February 2001. Prior to these transmitters,
there was another shortwave transmitter which operated from 1960; its
antenna still exists to this day but is no longer used. I wonder what
frequency this used? My WRTH's only go back to 1983 with 6130 & 7145
kHz both in use as separate txers/services. Some further info coming
(Ian Baxter, Australia, SW TXsite yg Jan 9 via BC-DX via DXLD)
** LIBYA [non?]. SITE? Libya's Voice of Africa --- This station has
made some changes that I noticed while listening to their English
program on 17725 today Dec 14. The first is in modulation. When I have
listened to this service in the past, there was always quite the hum
that made listening difficult. That hum is now gone and the signal
strength and modulation are both very good.
The second is in programming. It seems there used to be more music and
"facts and figures" type of programming. After a few songs, I heard a
program talking about the achievements of the Palestinian Al-Fatah
movement, which was from 1410 to 1433.
I did get a kick out of the man who gave the opening announcements. He
was speaking in English and using quite flowery language about how
great Africa will be once it is a single state and the resources it
will have at its disposal. Arabic has a tradition of using flowery
language, but it just doesn't sound right in English; it comes off
sounding to me as crude propaganda.
News was announced as starting at "4:30 PM," but it did not start
until 1433. Not sure why there was the 3 minute delay. News was read
by a man with Qaddafi referred to as the "leader of the revolution,"
but they did not give his name. Heard via DX Tuner Sweden (Hans
Johnson, Naples FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD)
** LITHUANIA. Updated winter B-07 KBC Radio in English via Sitkunai:
2200-2258 NF 6265 SIT 100 kW / 259 deg to WeEu Daily, ex 6235 Fri/Sat
0100-0158 NF 6265 SIT 100 kW / 310 deg to NoAm Daily, ex 6235 Sun
[above already corrected here to 2130-2230 -- gh]
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
En realidad de lunes a s�bado de 2130 a 2230. Web de KBC Radio. 73
(Jos� Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DXLD)
** LUXEMBOURG. For at least a week now Luxembourg DRM on 5990 and 6095
kHz has been off nights. The schedule seems to be 0730-1800 UT. Has
there been any official information? (Olle Alm, Sweden, wwdxc BC-DX
Jan 10 via DXLD)
** MEXICO [non?]. Op 4, 5 en 6 januari, hoorde ik op 1610 kHz vanaf
0100 +- utc een signaal. Met soms lichte mx and talks in het spaans.
Bij nadere informatie via e-mail, zou dit radio Universidad Aut�noma
de Chapingo, Chapingo, M�xico moeten zijn. Met name ook nog UACH
genoemd (250 watt zender). Ik zal proberen in de komende dagen om evt.
een opname temaken, indien ik hem natuirlijk kan ontvangen!! Mvg.
(Maurits van Driessche, Belgium, Jan 9, Benelux DX [not a yg] via
DXLD)
Hallo Maurits, Jammer dat je geen opname hebt. Laat jij niet standaard
een opname meelopen? Had je ook een tijd waarop 1610kHz wat harder
was? Groet (Han Hardonk, ibid.)
Maurits, 1610, CHHO, Toronto ligt meer voor de hand. Zij hebben ook Z.
Amerikaanse px's met ID "Radio Voces Latinas" (Max van Arnhem,
Netherlands, ibid.)
** MEXICO. Despu�s de m�s de tres semanas se escucha nuevamente la
se�al de XEXQ Radio Universidad de San Luis Potos� en los 6045 kHz. La
escucho desde las 2230 UT (16:30 del centro de M�xico) con un SINPO de
4. La programaci�n es de m�sica cl�sica. 73�s (Juli�n Santiago D�ez de
Bonilla, Jan 9, WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. As Juli�n Santiago advised, XEXQ has returned to the air
after more than two sesquiweeks; classical music, but only a poor,
squeezed signal here on 6045 at 1318 Jan 10 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. XEYU, 9599+, Jan 10 at 1330 with RFI news relay for about
10 minutes; good signal and no significant het (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** NETHERLANDS [non]. While scanning through the 49 meter band Sunday,
happened to come across an English language news cast from Radio
Netherlands on 5955 kHz at 1500 UT. Transmitter had a heavy buzz on
the carrier. Went off air for a second, literally, and returned
without buzz. Must have been an audio Mix up. Anyone tell me where
this transmitter is located? Best Wishes (Chris Lewis, England, Jan 9,
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
RN`s usage of 5955 is extremely complex, differing on weekdays vs
weekends, a mixture of Dutch and English, a mixture of DRM and analog,
and a mixture of transmitter sites --- and has undergone several
changes in the last few weeks. As of Jan 6, on Saturdays and Sundays,
Wertachtal in Dutch is supposed to close at 1458, and Armavir open in
Dutch at 1500. But a conflicting listing is supposedly still in
effect, Armavir daily from 1458, language not specified. On weekdays,
Armavir opens an hour later at 1600. All the above concerns analog, no
English mentioned. So what you observed may have been a handover from
Wertachtal to Armavir, or just Armavir, which I suppose would be more
likely than Wertachtal to have a buzz problem.
Then there`s DRM also on 5950-5955-5960, a schedule which just changed
January 9, M-F only. Wertachtal 210 degrees in English and Nauen 240
degrees in Dutch alternate hour by hour: 1200 Wertachtal, 1300 Nauen,
1400 Wertachtal, 1500 Nauen, both 40 kW (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING
DIGEST) More detail about that from the Media Network blog:
RNW schedule change for 5955 kHz DRM transmissions
Starting today we have a change on our 5955 kHz DRM transmissions.
This will be the new schedule on weekdays only:
1159-1257 UTC
Site: Wertachtal
Antenna: W314 - Omni
Power: 40 kW
Mode B; MSC=64QAM; SDC=16QAM; Long Interleaver
Parametric Stereo
17 kbps AAC+SBR
Service ID: E38300
RNW English
1259-1357 UTC
Site: Nauen
Antenna: N501 (2/4/0.5)
Azimuth = 240 degrees
Power: 40 kW
Mode B; MSC=64QAM; SDC=16QAM; Long Interleaver
Mono
17 kbps AAC+SBR
Service ID: E38400
RNW Dutch
1359-1457 UTC
Site: Wertachtal
Antenna: W314 - Omni
Power: 40 kW
Mode B; MSC=64QAM; SDC=16QAM; Long Interleaver
Parametric Stereo
17 kbps AAC+SBR
Service ID: E38300
RNW English
1459-1557 UTC
Site: Nauen
Antenna: N501 (2/4/0.5)
Azimuth = 240 degrees
Power: 40 kW
Mode B; MSC=64QAM; SDC=16QAM; Long Interleaver
Parametric Stereo
17 kbps AAC+SBR
Service ID: E38400
RNW Dutch - Uruzgan FM
(January 9th, 2008 - 15:16 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD)
[non] In A-08, RNW plans to add some broadcasts via another new site
for them: Tinian (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PAKISTAN. I had noted that there has been no English from Pakistan
the past few days, so I e mailed the organization and asked them if it
has been cancelled. In a return e mail, it was stated that this
service had been cancelled as of January 5th 2008 (English to Europe
0730-0830 15100 and 17835) (Chris Lewis, England, Jan 9, WORLD OF
RADIO 1390, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PALESTINE [and non]. ISRAELI MILITARY �JAMS PALESTINIAN RADIO WITH
PROPAGANDA�
The International Middle East News Center, quoting local sources, says
that several Palestinian radio stations on FM in the Gaza Strip have
been jammed by Israeli military propaganda. The stations, which were
affiliated with the Islamic Jihad and Hamas, have been replaced by
recorded messages in Arabic broadcast from the nearby Israeli military
bases.
Some of the messages broadcast on the jammed signals include, �The
army warns you of the consequences of cooperation with the �ravagers�,
and those who do so will be reached and punished. Hamas brings you
only suffering. We promise that your suffering will come to an end,
and you will feel soon that the Israeli army will deal with you better
than Hamas did. You will soon see the strength of the Israeli army.�
This development took place on the heels of an Israeli attack that
resulted in the deaths of three Palestinians earlier on Wednesday. In
addition, according to the report, the Israeli military broadcast
encouraged the Palestinian population of Gaza to rise up and overthrow
the democratically-elected government led by the Hamas party.
(Source: International Middle East News Center) (January 10th, 2008 -
12:28 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD)
** PRIDNESTROVYE. Transdniestria --- Its a rare thing when
Transdniestria gets mentioned outside the DX Press; in fact, other
than in an (I assume) out of print book called Stalin's Nose (a sort
of travelogue around eastern europe in the early stages of the post-
communist era) and another book called Balkan Ghosts, I've never seen
it mentioned anywhere.
So this item in todays Wall Street Journal (Opinion Journal- Best of
the Web) e-mail got my attention, and reinforced my impression of the
place as a real-life "Duchy of Fenwick"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053084/
The item links to an article at The Tiraspol Times online about the
local's impressions of the US presidential race. It does have some
interesting information about this little would-be nation, including a
map. The page is here:
http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/news/ron_paul_wins_in_freedom_loving_transdniestria.html
(Fred Waterer, Jan 8, ODXA yg via DXLD)
From today`s WSJ email:
Red Alert --- Ron Paul may be a fringe candidate in the U.S., but he's
very popular in at least one foreign locale, reports the Tiraspol
(Moldova) Times:
If Transdniestria could vote in the U.S. Presidential election, Ron
Paul would win. So says local journalist Roman Konoplev, editor-in-
chief of news agency Lenta PMR, after polling voters and publishing a
comparative analysis of the candidate's foreign policy positions.
Paul, a ten-term Congressman from Texas, is seeking the Republican
Party's nomination for the U.S. Presidency on a platform of a non-
interventionist foreign policy which respects democracy and the right
to self-determination.
"What this means, for us, is that he will not make it U.S. policy to
oppose our freedom and independence, " says Roman Konoplev. "Instead,
the issue will be decided strictly on the basis of legal principles.
And according to international law, we have the same right to
independent statehood as our two neighbors, Moldova and Ukraine, and
as a number of other countries which also declared independence in the
breakup of the Soviet Union nearly twenty years ago."
Transdniestria, also spelled Transnistria, is part of Moldova but
exercises de facto independence. In a 1997 news article, The Wall
Street Journal described the place:
Here Lenin is venerated, journalists are muzzled, dissidents are
jailed and history is invented. Run by a crowd of unrepentant
Communists led by Lenin-look-alike Igor Smirnov, Transnistria is a
haven for arms smugglers, money launderers and outlaws on the lam. It
has only 750,000 people, but has become an outsized irritant to
international efforts to pacify and rebuild its troubled region. . . .
"It's as if a tiny terrorist group took over part of the U.S.," says
Charles King, a political scientist at Georgetown University.
Maybe Paul should move there and run for office. Sounds as though he'd
be an improvement (via Fred Waterer, ODXA yg via DXLD)
** ROMANIA [non]. ROMANIA/MONACO-FRANCE/AUSTRIA, Radio Armonia in
Romanian now is on the air on Saturdays 1100-1130 on 9795, repeated
1630-1700 on 5950. Announced address is: Radio Armonia, Smardan street
13, 700399 Iasi, Romania (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, wwdxc BC-DX Jan 6
via DXLD)
We previously had the axual transmitter site for this program; what
was it? (gh, DXLD)
** SAUDI ARABIA. Second Program is heard here regularly 0600-0700 on
9675 \\ 11855 kHz (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Jan 6, via wwdxc BC-DX Jan
11 via DXLD) Jeddah always odd 11854.92...96 kHz (Wolfgang B�schel,
ibid.)
** SERBIA [non]. Hello Glenn, Noted International Radio of Serbia with
excellent reception here at 2200 on 6100 kHz, with strong signal and
good modulation, with special feature on Christmas in Serbia. DRM on
6095 was off, so no interference. 7115 also received well here at 0100
in English, then into Italian at 0130 (Chris Lewis, England, Jan 9,
WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SUDAN [non]. 9825 R. Miraya FM relay via IRRS, at 1735-1810 UT in
Ar talks, discussions, phone-ins. Very good signal until 1800 when AWR
s/on on the same channel. If this AWR programme (for Sudan) is relayed
by Austria as listed, then we have two transmitters literally next to
each other broadcasting to the same country at the same time. Rather
absurd with more and more clear SW channels becoming available all the
time (Vashek Korinek, RSA, DXplorer Jan 5 via BC-DX Jan 11 via DXLD)
Miraya is supposed to run at 1500-1800. At the beginning they were
starting as early as 1300, and now they are running past 1800? We now
know that is via Rimavsk� Sobota, Slovakia, if that is what you mean
by transmitter ``literally next to`` the one in Austria? (Glenn
Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SUDAN [non]. The Sudan Radio Service broadcast in English, M-F at
0300-0330 on 5975 via Kigali, which is well heard in NAm, is being
moved to another site, Dhabbaya, UAE at 240 degrees, likely to worsen
reception here (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** SWAZILAND [non]. VT Communications changes:
Trans World Radio Africa from Jan. 2
0830-0900 on 11985 ASC 250 kW / 027 deg to WeAf French, ex 0830-0915
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** UKRAINE. Radio Ukraine International reactivated transmissions to
NAm from Jan. 1
0000-0100 on 7440 LVV 600 kW / 303 deg in Ukrainian
0100-0200 on 7440 LVV 600 kW / 303 deg in English
0200-0400 on 7440 LVV 600 kW / 303 deg in Ukrainian
0400-0500 on 7440 LVV 600 kW / 303 deg in English
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD) As first reported here (gh)
Radio Ukraine International - Livestreamlink
http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=1 Ukr
http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=2 En
http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=470 De
ohne Problem.
Und auch Real Player (bei mir �ber Ersatz "Media Player Classic"
rtsp://real.nrcu.gov.ua:7554/encoder/rui.rm
rtsp://real.nrcu.gov.ua:7553/encoder/ru1channel.rm
rtsp://real2.nrcu.gov.ua:7555/encoder/ru3channel.rm
(Wolfgang B�schel, wwdxc BC-DX Jan 6 via DXLD)
Da der Stream auf
rtsp://real.nrcu.gov.ua:7554/encoder/rui.rm
lautet brauchst Du den RealPlayer oder andere Software die RealAudio
kann.
Mein Noxon kann das nicht und unter Linux habe ich den RealPlayer noch
nicht installiert. Insofern kann ich mit einem Testergebnis nicht
dienen.
und wer den "Media Player Classic" Ersatz nicht mag
http://www.surfmusik.de/radio/radio-ukraine-int,5104.html
(Lutz Andreas, Germany, A-DX Jan 6 via BC-DX Jan 11 via DXLD)
** UKRAINE [non]. Kai, may you can read the Russian text entries on
website http://www.svitle.org/news_ru.php ??
(Wolfgang B�schel, wwdxc BC-DX, dxld Jan 3/5)
Well, svetliy means "shining", so this station is called "Immanuel's
Shining Radio", on their website I also see a short reference to
"Radiostantsiya Emmanyil". It appears that this station has a Catholic
background.
The 67.28 MHz frequency on their website belongs according to Victor
Rutkovski to its own 500 watt transmitter in Kiev. They also mention
that they are on air via the Sirius 2 satellite (which would be a
likely audio source for the presumed Juelich relays of course, if they
did not simply pick up the audio stream). I found nothing in frequency
lists so far, but recently unID test transmissions in the Ukrainian
mux on 11.766 GHz were reported, so probably Radio Immanuel had been
put on satellite just a few days ago?
The first partner they mention in such a list is HCJB (being referred
to as "Radio Golos And"). They also mention rebroadcasts by stations
in Kanada, "various American countries" and the CIS. Also noteworthy a
"what we need" page: Furniture, studio maintenance, equipment, just
anything a radio station could need. Perhaps the three small images
are authentic, but I very much guess that the Neumann U 87 is merely a
"symbol photo". That's what I find on a first look (Kai Ludwig,
Germany, dxldyg Jan 3 via BC-DX via DXLD)
** U S A [non]. Frequency changes for Voice of America:
0300-0330 on 7380 and 9440, new additional txion in Swahili Mon-Fri
1500-1530 NF 7145 LAM 100 kW / 080 deg, ex 11630 in Uzbek
1500-1530 NF 11550 KWT 250 kW / 046 deg, ex 15390 in Uzbek
1600-1700 NF 7430 UDO 250 kW / 300 deg, ex 5840 in Hindi
Frequency changes of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
0900-1100 NF 7220 PHT 250 kW / 021 deg, ex 9355 in Russian
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** U S A. CNN'S STEVE REDISCH IS NEW VOA EXECUTIVE EDITOR. He was
"most recently CNN�s deputy Washington bureau chief and executive
producer in charge of the CNN White House unit." At VOA, Redisch "will
supervise the daily operations and activities of VOA�s news, programs,
language services, broadcast operations and Internet departments."
Voice of America director Dan Austin e-mail to staff, 7 January 2008.
(kimandrewelliott.com via WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DXLD)
"Executive editor" is a new job title, and appears to function like an
all-purpose deputy director. Posted: 08 Jan 2008 (Kim Elliott, ibid.)
REDISCH JOINS VOA AS EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Washington, D.C., January 9, 2008 - Veteran television news executive
Steve Redisch joined the Voice of America (VOA) this week as Executive
Editor. He supervises the daily operations and activities of VOA's
news, programs, language services, broadcast operations, and Internet
departments.
Redisch joins VOA after a 20-year career with CNN, where he earned two
Emmy Awards and a National Headliner Award.
"Steve's record of strong news judgment, keen competitive instincts,
experience working in audio, video, and Internet media, and his
reputation as a team builder and leader, make him the ideal individual
to help VOA continue to grow as an international multi-media provider
of exclusive, trustworthy news and information," said VOA Director
Danforth W. Austin.
Redisch began his broadcasting career in 1979 at WTOP all-news radio
in Washington, D.C. after attending American University. In 1987 he
moved to CNN's Washington bureau as a television writer and producer,
and in 1992 he relocated to Atlanta as a producer for the growing CNN
International network.
Some of the many highlights of his CNN career include launching the
network's flagship primetime news show, The World Today, as executive
producer in 1998; serving as executive producer of such special events
as political conventions, State of the Union addresses, and the 2001
Presidential Inauguration; and managing the news gathering staff and
directing editorial content as Deputy Bureau Chief and Executive
Editor in Washington, D.C from 2002 until 2005. Most recently, he
oversaw the bureau's multi-million dollar budget while coordinating
White House coverage with other networks and media outlets, and
adapted the bureau's reporting to meet the different demands and
requirements of CNN's many distinct shows, networks, and Internet
platforms.
For more information, please contact VOA's Office of Public Affairs at
202-203-4959 or via E-mail at publicaffairs @ voa.gov # # # (via
DXLD)
** U S A. HARRIS CORPORATION AWARDED CONTRACT TO HELP MODERNIZE VOA
WASHINGTON
Harris Corporation has been awarded a contract from broadcast systems
integrator Communications Engineering Inc to help modernize the
International Broadcasting Bureau�s Voice of America (VOA) facility in
Washington, DC. Communications Engineering Inc. (CEI) is designing the
facility�s new broadcast system.
Under the contract, Harris Broadcast Communications will provide
master control, routing and quality control systems - including 12
channels of master control playback controlled by a Harris automation
system, extensive ingest and record list control, NEO modular series
frame synchronizers and converters, and Videotek VTM-3100 test
monitors. (Source: Harris)(January 9th, 2008 - 15:40 UTC by Andy,
Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DXLD)
VOA DEBUTS AFRICAN MUSIC BLOG
The Voice of America (VOA) has launched African Music Treasures, its
first weblog (�blog�) designed especially for African music fans
around the world. Matthew Lavoie, host of VOA�s popular Music Time in
Africa music show, will moderate the blog featuring music from VOA�s
extensive and rare African music collection, music commentary, audio
clips, bios of interesting musicians, and chats with online
participants.
�Our archive is overflowing with rare music from every country in
Africa,� said Lavoie. �I�m excited to share it with my fellow
enthusiasts,� he added. One of the featured artists on the new blog is
Rwandan musician Bizimungu Dieudonne. Dieudonne became a well-known
performer throughout Kigali in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was
later killed in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Audio clips of Dieudonne
favorites, including �Tabara Ryangombe,� a song depicting the
struggles of Rwandan youth, are available on the blog.
VOA�s African music archive houses more than 10,000 music titles,
including the Leo Sarkisian Library of African Music. Sarkisian, an
internationally known musician and ethnomusicologist, amassed the
collection during nearly 50 years of traveling in and broadcasting to
Africa.
Join African Music Treasures by logging on to http://www.VOAafrica.com
and clicking on the African Music Blog link.
(Source: VOA) (January 9th, 2008 - 13:26 UTC by Andy, Media Network
blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DXLD)
VOA LAUNCHES RADIO PROGRAM FOR RWANDAN YOUTH
http://voanews.com/english/About/2008-01-08-heza-launch.cfm
PRESS RELEASE - Washington, D.C., Jan. 8, 2008 -- The Voice of
America (VOA) has launched Heza, a weekly, half-hour Kinyarwanda-
language radio program that addresses issues of concern to Rwandan
youth.
Heza includes roundtable discussions, news stories by young
journalists, and music by some of Rwanda's most popular music bands.
The first program featured music by and an interview with "Kigali
Boys," one of Rwanda's most popular hip-hop bands.
"I am very excited by the first Heza broadcast," comments VOA Central
Africa Service Chief Robert Daguillard. "The show is energetic and
fast-paced. This is youth radio at its best!" he added.
The roundtable discussions and much of the music heard in Heza are
recorded at the Maison des Jeunes de Kimisagara, a youth center
operated by Forum des Jeunes and located in Kigali, the capital.
The program is a co-production of the German Development Service (an
international development aid organization funded by the German
government), the Voice of America, and the Forum des Jeunes Giramahoro
in Rwanda. The partners' goal in producing Heza is to help promote
inter-ethnic reconciliation, to help foster civil society, and to
combat hatred and prejudice.
The program, broadcast on shortwave and 104.3 FM, VOA�s 24-hour
station in Kigali, Rwanda, airs on Sundays at 0330 UTC (repeats:
Sundays, 1630 UTC and Saturdays, 1600 UTC). (VOA press via Zacharias
Liangas, Greece, WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DXLD)
** U S A [non]. Some WYFR Family Radio changes:
1400-1500 13840 NAU 500 kW / 105 deg SAs in Pashto, new from Jan. 2
1800-1900 7490 ERV 300 kW / 305 deg WEu in German, ex A-A 200/312
1900-2000 NF 5820 SAM 250 kW / 284 deg WEu in German, ex 7240
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** U S A. Winter B-07 of WEWN:
English
0000-0500 on 5810 EWN 500 kW / 020 deg to NoAm
0000-0500 on 5810 EWN 500 kW / 285 deg to CeAm
0500-0800 on 5810 EWN 500 kW / 040 deg to WeEu
0500-1500 on 5850 EWN 500 kW / 020 deg to NoAm
0500-1500 on 5850 EWN 500 kW / 285 deg to CeAm
1500-2200 on 11530 EWN 500 kW / 020 deg to NoAm
1500-2200 on 11530 EWN 500 kW / 285 deg to CeAm
1600-2000 on 15785 EWN 500 kW / 040 deg to WeEu
2000-2200 on 17595 EWN 500 kW / 085 deg to WeAf
2200-2400 on 7560 EWN 500 kW / 040 deg to WeEu
2200-2400 on 9975 EWN 500 kW / 020 deg to NoAm
2200-2400 on 9975 EWN 500 kW / 285 deg to CeAm
Spanish
0000-1100 on 7540 EWN 500 kW / 220 deg to SoAm
0000-1100 on 11870 EWN 500 kW / 155 deg to SoAm
1100-1500 on 7540 EWN 500 kW / 220 deg to SoAm
1100-1500 on 11875 EWN 500 kW / 155 deg to SoAm
1500-2000 on 11550 EWN 500 kW / 220 deg to SoAm
1500-2000 on 17510 EWN 500 kW / 155 deg to SoAm
2000-2400 on 11550 EWN 500 kW / 220 deg to SoAm
2000-2400 on 15745 EWN 500 kW / 155 deg to SoAm
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Jan 9 via DXLD)
** U S A. KAIJ DEMISE? Glenn, the item in DXLD 8-003 regarding the
removal of the KAIJ transmitting facility does not surprise me. If you
drive by the site along U.S. Highway 380 you can easily see that it is
being rapidly overtaken by urban sprawl from the Dallas suburbs. The
land alone might be worth quite a bit. When the facility was built in
the early 80's, it was WAY out in the country. Big question is: will
they find another site, or just fold up operations completely?
(Stephen Luce, Houston, TX, WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WMLK suffered antenna damage in a recent ice storm and is
off the air pending repairs, according to station engineer Gary McAvin
(Hans Johnson, FL, Jan 4, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 9265
** U S A. A few weeks back, I took the opportunity to visit the silent
shortwave station WJIE, the old WJCR, which is located at Millerstown
in Kentucky. The son of the founder, Don Powell Jr, states that the
shortwave facility was sold to WJIE in Louisville, though all of the
equipment, transmitters and antennas, still remain at the original
location in Millerstown. The shortwave facility was on the air for a
brief period of time only as WJIE, and it has remained silent ever
since (Adrian Peterson, AWR Wavescan Dec 30 via DXLD)
** U S A. Jan 10 at 2230 I found Radio Weather running on WHRI 11765.
I forced myself to listen for a few minutes to confirm my suspicions
that Rod Hembree is palming off on gullible listeners not only his
wacky religious views, but communications news items which are
anything but. One of the topix was a Notice of Apparent Liability for
alleged indecency, issued to station WCZR. This is not easy to look up
on the FCC website, but a google search quickly found an FCC page
showing that a NAL for that station was dated February 20, 2004! So
here is a show almost four years old. He later included a Stardate
capsule, which are extremely dated but I did not catch what date if
any was announced (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. Re 8-003, sporadic E on 26 MHz --- Hello Dave and all,
``25.910 USA WBAP Ft. Worth, TX in FM at 1942 with mentions of Senator
Huckabee. 333 Jan 8/08 (Ross, ON)``
This broadcast auxiliary remote station callsign is WQGY434. WBAP
would be for the AM broadcast on 820 out of Fort Worth and the
broadcast auxiliary remote transmission you monitored is licensed as
WQCY434. Actual transmitter location: .2 MILES EAST OF CLARK ROAD & .4
MILES SOUTH OF BELTLINE ROAD CEDAR HILL, TX DALLAS County 32-34-39.4
N, 096-56-21.0 W. And the output power is 100 watts, 265 watts ERP.
``25.990 USA KSCS Arlington, TX in FM at with fiddle music at 1952
"All the best Country" at 1954 into country music selection. 333 Jan
8/08 (Ross, ON)``
Ditto above. Radio License Holding IV is the licensee of WBAP-AM,
KSCS-FM and WQGY434 above.
``26.130 USA WIBC Indianapolis, IN in FM at 2002 with "WIBC FM 93.3"
mentioned at 2004 Ad for Garleek and Indianapolis Monthly Bridal Show
Jan 13 http://www.indianabride.com Several IDs "Indies News Centre
"FM Ninety Three One". 333 Jan 8/08 (Ross, ON)``
Broadcast auxiliary remote callsign - WQDS396. Actual transmitter
location - 40 Monument Circle, Indianapolis, IN MARION County 39-46-
03.2 N, 086-09-33.0 W. Transmit power 100 watts, 63 watts ERP (not
very efficient but does what they need in their local broadcast area).
Nice stuff, Dave. 73 de LVH (Larry Van Horn, N5FPW dxldyg via DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
The Studio Links are coming through on 25.990 and 25.910 MHz this
morning again. Also heard yesterday. Times UT.
25910, WBAP Ft. Worth, TX in FM. Noted again Jan 9 at 1624 with
political talk. 444.
25990, KSCS Arlington, TX in FM. Noted again Jan 9 at 1624 with
Country music selection. 444 (David Ross VA3MJR, ODXA yg via DXLD)
** U S A. KKMO-1360 Seattle, WA DX Test, 1/13/08 READY TO GO
An e-mail from CE Monte Passmore indicates everything is set to go for
the test this Sunday morning. Please note, the station WILL now use
Morse code and sweep tones to maximize opportunities to hear the
station. Here are the details:
Date: Sunday morning (late Saturday night), Jan. 13, 2008.
Time: 12 - 12:15 a.m. Pacific Time, 0800-0815 UT.
Modes of Operation: 5,000 watts using non-directional antenna pattern.
Programming: From 12:00-12:10 a.m. PST, programming will consist of
1,000 Hz tone at 0 db. From 12:11-12:15 a.m. PST, programming will
consists of college football marching songs. Morse code and sweep
tones are now also scheduled as part of the test.
For info on QSLs, please click on this link:
http://www.dxtests.info/2007/11/kkmo-1360-khz-seattle-washington-dx.html
Good luck to everyone in hearing this most exciting test (Jim Pogue,
IRCA/NRC Joint Broadcast Test Committee Coordinator, Memphis, TN, Jan
9, WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. RADIO TOWER TO RISE AGAIN NEAR FULLERTON AIRPORT --- LA
MIRADA CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES KFI ANTENNA TO RISE 684 FEET.
By ERIC CARPENTER The Orange County Register Tuesday, January 8, 2008
LA MIRADA - The La Mirada City Council late Tuesday unanimously
approved a much-debated plan to rebuild a radio fdown three years ago
when a plane crashed into it, killing the pilot and his wife.
Clear Channel Communications, which operates KFI radio, will erect a
684-foot tower at 16608 Trojan Way in La Mirada, less than two miles
northwest of the Fullerton Municipal Airport. The previous tower,
built in 1948, was 76 feet taller.
Officials with KFI said a rebuilt tower will help boost the station's
radio signal again, helping it reach an area that covers 11 million
people across Southern California.
Since the tower was knocked down, the radio station has broadcast from
a temporary 200-foot tower that reaches about 6 million people.
KFI serves as an emergency-alert station in the case of a major
earthquake or other natural disaster.
Fullerton city and airport officials fought the proposal to re-build a
taller tower since it was introduced shortly after the December 2004
crash. They contended that anything taller than 500 feet would
continue to pose a serious hazard to local air traffic.
Fullerton pilots said the old tower was the most dangerous obstacle
when flying near the airport and sometimes surprised even the most
experienced pilots when landing because of "ground clutter," meaning
that the tower was sometimes hard to spot on approach among the rows
of business parks and homes on the ground.
"If you were starting fresh, you could not find a worse place to put a
tower," Fullerton Airport Manger Rod Propst told La Mirada council
members, reminding them that another pilot died when he collided with
the tower in 1970.
"If the tower was not there, three people would still be alive," he
said.
La Mirada officials said they studied the issue for more than two
years and leaned heavily on the opinions of aviation experts,
including the Federal Aviation Administration, which ruled that the
tower would not pose a serious risk to air traffic.
"I know this is a very delicate situation and it's not something that
we take lightly," said Councilman Hal Malkin. "The FAA and all kinds
of experts say it's an obstacle, but not a hazard�And it's something
worthwhile for the public good."
Before the vote Tuesday, council members asked Propst back to the
speaker's podium and challenged his assertion that rebuilding the
tower would be bad land-use planning. Two council members argued that
Fullerton should consider its own land-use decisions and consider
whether to close the airport.
"I'm not sure the airport is the best use of land," Malkin said. Then
citing Fullerton Airport crash statistics since it opened in 1927, he
added: "I could argue that if the airport had not been there, 38
people would be alive."
Propst defended Fullerton airport's safety record and said there is no
talk of closing the airport.
La Mirada Mayor Steve Jones tried to calm the debate, saying both the
airport and the radio tower are valuable to the community.
Officials with KFI said they looked for other locations for the radio
tower, but could not find an adequate alternate location. They said
that they volunteered to conduct a full environmental impact report to
ensure experts reviewed all safety issues.
"We are all excited that the tower will soon be back at full
strength," said Greg Ashlock, market president for Clear Channel.
Once construction begins, the tower will take about a month to erect.
That could be as early as this summer, Ashlock said (Orange County
Register via Erik Swanson Jan 10, via Ben Dawson, DXLD)
** U S A. KOOP RADIO PRESIDENT OFFERS REWARD TO NAB ARSON SUSPECT
Posted: Jan 8, 2008 02:58 AM Updated: Jan 9, 2008 09:17 PM
http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=7591028&nav=0s3dDJGv
Investigators: KOOP Fire Was Arson [caption; includes video link]
The weekend blaze was KOOP's third fire since 2006. [caption]
The Austin [TX] Fire Department has announced that the blaze at KOOP
radio is being investigated as arson, and the station's president has
offered a reward for help in finding who started it.
KOOP suffered more than $300,000 in damages to its studio in the 3800
block of Airport Boulevard when a fire broke out over the weekend.
Kim McCarson, executive president of KOOP, said she hopes to be back
on the air in two to three weeks.
Andrew Dickens, president of KOOP, is offering a $5,000 reward for
information leading to the arrest of an arson suspect. People with
information may call the state arson hotline at (877) 434-7345.
"The possibility that someone would want to cause harm to this
community radio station is disturbing," McCarson said.
"In my opinion, the reason KOOP radio keeps burning down is their own
bad karma," said Jim Ellinger, founder and former on-air personality.
"They treat people really bad, myself included."
Ellinger was fired from the station in 1999. KOOP would not comment on
his remarks. The station said it plans to move forward from this fire
and will be back on the air soon.
The station has had its share of problems with fire. Almost two years
ago, a fire caused by a lit cigarette knocked the radio station off
the air for a week. Less than a month later, a huge downtown blaze in
a neighboring dance club destroyed the radio station's equipment and
offices, forcing KOOP to move to the Airport Boulevard studio (via
Artie Bigley, DXLD)
** U S A. Strange QSL report --- I just received a F/D QSL letter
confirming my February 28, 2004 reception of KRZI / 1580 in Waco TX. I
sent a cassette recording of my reception with the original report and
I sent a followup report during the 4th quarter of 2004. Of course the
KRZI calls are now on 1660 in Waco and 1580 no longer exists. What's
even more strange is that the QSL letter was dated 2006 and outdated
items mentioned in the letter seem to indicate that it was indeed
written in 2006. But the envelope it arrived in was postmarked
01/05/08. Strange! QSL report.....
1580 KRZI TX Waco. F/D V/L in 3 years and 11 months for a report with
a cassette recording and a followup letter in late 2004. Of course
1580 no longer exists in Waco and the KRZI call is now on 1660 there.
The QSL is dated 2006 and includes outdated information that seems to
indicate that it was written in 2006. It also contains an apology for
the delay in responding. The envelope was metered with current US
postage date stamped 2008. Very strange! They also returned my
original and followup reports. V/S Jcole McClellan, Technician. Add:
220 S. 2nd Street, Suite 2B2, Waco TX 76701.
(Patrick Griffith, CBT CBNT CRO, Westminster CO
http://community.webtv.net/AM-DXer/ http://community.webtv.net/N0NNK/
DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** UZBEKISTAN. Frequencies used by R. Tashkent until its demise some
three years ago, are again being coordinated for the A-08 season, such
as 17775, 15295, 11905, 9715, 9540, 7285. Could this augur its axual
revival? Or just wishful thinking? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** ZANZIBAR. 11735, RT Zanzibar surprised to find this on Jan 4 at
1518 tune, expecting to find little or nothing as has been typical at
my QTH in past years. Signal was marginal at first but continuously
recorded from 1518 to 1900 and again from 1939 to s/off at 2100. By
1600 the signal had improved to nearly S3 and on its way up. I was
able to hear the IS of drums at 1759.5-1800 and Spice FM En news by a
man at 1800-1809.5 at a nice S3 level. News summary at beginning and
end of this program.
Signal peaked from 1800-1900. Drum IS again at 1859.5-1900 and into
another news broadcast in vernacular. At 1939 re-tune a man
reading/singing Kor`an with transition into a man singing with drums.
Woman at 2000.5-2006 followed by vocal/instrumental Arabic music to
end of program. Ended with woman announcer and s/off at 2058-58.5,
band with national anthem 2058.5-59.5, carrier off at 2100:40.
In years past (pre-Chinese transmitter upgrade) this station would be
barely audible at 1500 and by 1545 or so would be gone for good
amongst heavy co-channel QRM. Deep QSB (S1 to S7 on the meter) but no
QRM. Average SINPO of 35433 (Bruce W. Churchill, Fallbrook CA,
DXplorer Jan 7 via BC-DX via DXLD)
** ZIMBABWE [non]. CLANDESTINE SITES to SOUTH AFRICA. 7125, SW Radio
Africa, 1704 Jan 9. Heard via DX Tuner Sweden with English
announcement giving their email address. Co-channel interference with
SW Radio Africa often in the background, but I could not hear any
jamming (Hans Johnson, Naples FL, Cumbre DX via DXLD)
UNIDENTIFIED. I checked this morning at 1400 and did catch the CW on
6075, it's either 8GAL or 8GAR, unsure here. One thing I did notice
was that there seemed to be either CW or other time pips at about 1359
+ 15 seconds. Either something else there off time, or just part of
the 8GAx preamble? (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, Jan 9, dxldyg via DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
Saludos cordiales, se da por hecho que el sistema Morse utilizado sea
el occidental, pero y si no lo fuera??, supongamos que sea CW en Ruso,
quiz�s saldr�a otra cosa, la cuesti�n es que no aparece nada c�mo en
8GAL y 8 GAR. Lo �nico parecido que e encontrado es un beacon checo
"8BL", probablemente militar. 73 JM (Jos� Miguel Romero, Spain, ibid.)
Hi Glenn, I was unable to hear 8GAL, 6075 this morning at 1400 Jan 10,
nor did I note any off time pips (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
The 6075 CW marker: Did not manage to check at 1400 UT Jan 9 or 10,
but on Jan 10 I tuned in earlier at 1320. At that time there was RTTY
running, over Radio Rossii, and the RTTY was centered on the low side,
about 6074. I suspect this is the same station, 8GAL, but I am not
equipped to copy RTTY. BTW at 1326 I also noticed continuous
``dithering`` like RTTY but with no variations, around 6087, possibly
as jamming, still there at 1435, and I also sat on 6074 at 1435-1445
but no CW or RTTY heard then (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 6128 bubble jamming? Bubble jammer - or maybe faulty
transmitter from somewhere in Europe or NE/ME/NoAF, still on air in 49
mb around 6128 kHz, 12 kHz wide. Assume ETH ... 1740 UT - Jan 9th.
[Later:] ?? Iranian bubble jamming against Coalition Maritime Service
from Manama Bahrain. Reported a year ago on 6125 kHz. Arabic/English.
Sabre-rattling between Iranian and US marine yesterday on Persian Gulf
- seen on German TV. 73 wb (Wolfgang B�schel, WORLD OF RADIO 1390,
dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGSET)
UNIDENTIFIED. NUMBERS: Tuned across 9152 kHz at 1315 UT January 9 to
find a real mess. There was a CW "cut numbers" station on
approximately 9152 and a second CW "cut numbers" station with a very
harsh, buzzing tone spread across the spectrum from about 9145 to 9165
kHz! Both stations used the letters A, N, D, U, W, R, I, G, M, and T.
They were sending different five-letter groups separated by "AR AR AR"
and the break (dahdidididah) signal twice. Signals on both were
strong, and I originally thought the second station was jamming the
first. Frequencies approximate to the nearest kHz because I was using
the Eton E5. Tuned out at 1328 with both signals still going strong.
If this follows the usual practice with numbers stations from Cuba, it
should be again active around this frequency next week (January 16) at
about the same time (Harry Helms, W5HLH Smithville, TX EL19, dxldyg
via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
2008 WINTER SWL FEST
Registration Season has opened for the 21st (!?) SWL Winterfest (or
Winter SWL Fest) in beautiful and scenic Kulpsville, PA! For more
information, check out http://swlfest.com and
http://swlfest.blogspot.com/
Both sites have links to discussion lists and contact addresses for
more information about the Fest. Hope to see many folks there (Richard
Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Jan 10, swprograms [not a yg] via DXLD)
LANGUAGE LESSONS
++++++++++++++++
``ONDA CORTA``
On this page you will find an interesting translation from Spanish
"Onda Corta" to English...
http://www.radiorebelde.com.cu/programacion_ing.htm
(From the world's northernmost DXer, Bjarne Mjelde
http://www.kongsfjord.no weblog: http://arcticdx.blogspot.com
dxing.info via DXLD)
RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM
+++++++++++++++++++++
ONE REASON PEOPLE MIGHT BE GETTING TIRED OF LISTENING TO RADIO.
"I do subscribe to your podcasts feeds. However, I rarely listen to
the podcasts. I am quite sensitive to the clipping and compression
artefacts that are so evident in low-bitrate audio files like
podcasts. I would much rather listen to a shortwave broadcast with
some whistles and fading than to listen to a highly compressed audio
file." Robert Sillett, writing to Radio Netherlands, 7 January 2008.
(kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD)
A shortwave broadcast, even if it experiences some fading or
interference, is nevertheless an uncompressed, analog, double-
sideband, amplitude modulated signal. The fatigue brought on by
listening to compressed digital audio probably deserves more
attention. Posted: 08 Jan 2008 (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.)
TWR FIXED-TUNED MW ANTENNAS
In an article [Nov Monitoring Times] by Ernie Franke, who is the chief
engineer for Trans World Radio, details are given of an antenna that
TWR is sending out to listeners through the post. This antenna is
electronically tuned to a particular mediumwave station and it is
posted out in a large sized envelope. The listener places this antenna
close to his radio receiver, and according to listener reports, the
signal strength is significantly enhanced (Adrian Peterson, AWR
Wavescan Dec 30 via DXLD)
FUTURE OF ETON E1 / GRUNDIG-USA G1:
It looks like the E1 is being discontinued, and the fate of the
"virtually identical Grundig G1" is uncertain. See
http://www.passband.com/category/receivernews/
Tnx to Paul McDonough of the Boston Area DXers for the alert.
(Jerry Berg-USA, DXplorer Jan 10)
Infos on http://www.passband.com/2008/01/
(Reinhold Schuttkowski, Germany, A-DX Jan 10, all via BC DX via DXLD)
DIGITAL BROADCASTING
++++++++++++++++++++
NPR, HARRIS CORPORATION AND TOWSON UNIVERSITY LAUNCH GLOBAL EFFORT TO
MAKE RADIO ACCESSIBLE TO HEARING AND SIGHT IMPAIRED
First Over-The-Air Transmission From Special CES Station [WX3NPR]
LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2008 � (LVCC S227) � NPR, Harris Corporation and
Towson University today announced a new initiative to make radio more
accessible to the hundreds of millions of hearing and visually
impaired people around the world.
At a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas,
the three organizations announced the global accessible radio
technology initiative and provided the first live demonstration of the
accessible radio technology. The group also announced a new research
center for developing future technologies on the campus of Towson
University near Baltimore, MD. Additional plans call for the
establishment of an international consortium of equipment
manufacturers, broadcasters and other organizations to help foster
broad adoption of the initiative.
The initiative will be spearheaded by the three founding organizations
and will leverage cutting-edge HD Radio� technology to enable hearing-
impaired people to �see� live radio content on specially equipped
receivers by applying television closed-captioning processes to radio
broadcasts. . .
http://www.harris.com/view_pressrelease.asp?act=lookup&pr_id=2315
(via Benn Kobb, DXLD)
DRM AS SEEN BY THE ECONOMIST
Glenn, in an uncharacteristically partial story, The Economist
endorses using DRM as an alternative to FM in wide coverage
broadcasts. Not a single word on "minor" hurdles such as actually
finding stand-alone receivers in adequate volumes on the market, after
5 years of "testing".
It's nice to know that "DRM provides the same range as [...]
traditional AM transmissions without the interference � on the face of
things, the best of both worlds. It is also cheap. It can be
broadcast by modifying existing AM equipment and does not use as much
electricity as an equivalent AM service."
(I can't recall reading such a press release jargon in an otherwise
proverbially ironic publication). And what about electricity burned by
the PCs people are forced to rely upon in order to be able to - not so
easily - decode it? (Andrea Lawendel, Italy, Jan 10, DX LISTENING
DIGEST) Viz.:
DIGITAL RADIO --- STAY TUNED Jan 8th 2008
How broadcasters plan to hop, skip and jump around the world with
long-range digital radio . . .
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10490842
(via Lawendel, DXLD) Including:
``Reinhold B�hm, a senior research engineer at Dolby, a big audio
company that is part of the DRM consortium, says that in one test a
signal transmitted from Europe was received well in Australia with
only two "hops" along the skywave.``
You mean how many "hops" a SW signal takes depends on the type of
modulation used?? Wow, it's only 9:48 am here and I've already learned
something new today!! (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, dxldyg
via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
DIGITAL RADIO MONDIALE IN THE NEWS. "Unlike FM and existing digital-
radio services (which also use VHF) they do not need transmitters
every few kilometres. Indeed, some AM broadcasts, especially on
shortwave, bounce between the ionosphere and the ground in a way that
allows them to travel huge distances�sometimes halfway round the
world. This phenomenon, known as skywave, is particularly powerful at
night. DRM provides the same range as these traditional AM
transmissions without the interference�on the face of things, the best
of both worlds. It is also cheap. It can be broadcast by modifying
existing AM equipment and does not use as much electricity as an
equivalent AM service." Economist, 8 January 2008. [as above, via
kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD)
Some problems even within this one passage: 1) Americans will be
confused by the phrase "AM broadcasts, especially on shortwave," given
that "AM" and "SW" are separate bands on most American multi-band
radios. It should have been explained more clearly that the longwave,
medium wave (America's "AM"), and shortwave broadcasts bands all
employ amplitude modulation (AM). 2) "Skywave is particularly powerful
at night." Well, on shortwave, it is also "powerful" during the day,
generally above 12 MHz. 3) "DRM provides the same range as these
traditional AM transmissions without the interference." Actually, no.
DRM is much more sensitive to interference and reduced signal
strength, and completely drops out if vexed by one or both, whereas
analog shortwave may still be intelligible, even if there is low
signal strength or some interference on or near the channel. For this
reason, DRM may be more useful for short- and medium-range
transmissions, while keeping analog for long-haul circuits and adverse
conditions such as jamming. Posted: 10 Jan 2008 (Kim Andrew Elliott,
ibid.) DRM: see AUSTRALIA; GERMANY; LUXEMBOURG; NETHERLANDS; SERBIA
PROPAGATION
+++++++++++
ARNIE CORO�S DXERS UNLIMITED HF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST
Solar activity is once again is expected to be between low and very
low for the next several days of this week. Solar flux is now near 80
units, and the A index was at a rather high 16 on Monday due to the
effects of a high speed solar wind. No sporadic E events expected to
occur in the Northern Hemisphere, but good chances of nice E skip
openings do appear to be possible South of the Equator. Best bands for
daytime short wave broadcast listening are the 25, 19 and 16 meter
bands, and nighttime reception will be best on 49 and 31 meters, with
25 meters also good on North to South propagation paths (Arnie Coro,
CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited Jan 8, HCDX via DXLD)
The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels through 04 January. For
the remainder of the summary period (05 - 06 January), quiet to
active levels were observed at middle latitudes, while high
latitudes experienced unsettled to minor storm levels with an
isolated major storm period. ACE solar wind measurements indicated
a recurrent co-rotating interaction region (CIR) late on 04 January
followed by the onset of a recurrent high speed stream. The CIR was
associated with increased densities, velocities, and interplanetary
magnetic field. Densities increased to a peak of 31 p/cc at 05/0610
UTC. CIR-associated IMF changes included increased Bt (peak 18 nT at
05/0645 UTC) and intermittent periods of increased southward Bz
(minimum -14 nT at 05/0712 UTC). Velocities increased during 05 -
06 January. and reached a peak of 705 km/sec at 06/0007 UTC.
FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 09 JAN - 04 FEB 2008
Solar activity is expected to be very low. No proton events are
expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux
at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels during
09 - 11 January, 14 - 27 January, and 02 - 04 February.
The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet levels during 09 -
12 January. Activity is expected to increase to unsettled to active
levels during 13 - 18 January due to a recurrent coronal hole high
speed stream. Activity is expected to decrease to mostly quiet
levels during 19 January - 01 February. Activity is expected to
increase to unsettled to active levels during 02 - 04 February due
to a recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream.
:Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt
:Issued: 2008 Jan 08 2024 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction
Center
# Product description and SWPC contact on the Web
# http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html
#
# 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table
# Issued 2008 Jan 08
#
# UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest
# Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index
2008 Jan 09 80 5 2
2008 Jan 10 75 5 2
2008 Jan 11 75 5 2
2008 Jan 12 70 5 2
2008 Jan 13 70 15 4
2008 Jan 14 70 15 4
2008 Jan 15 70 10 3
2008 Jan 16 70 10 3
2008 Jan 17 70 10 3
2008 Jan 18 70 10 3
2008 Jan 19 70 8 3
2008 Jan 20 70 5 2
2008 Jan 21 70 5 2
2008 Jan 22 70 5 2
2008 Jan 23 70 5 2
2008 Jan 24 70 5 2
2008 Jan 25 70 5 2
2008 Jan 26 75 5 2
2008 Jan 27 75 5 2
2008 Jan 28 80 5 2
2008 Jan 29 80 5 2
2008 Jan 30 80 5 2
2008 Jan 31 80 5 2
2008 Feb 01 80 5 2
2008 Feb 02 80 10 4
2008 Feb 03 80 10 3
2008 Feb 04 80 10 3
(SWPC via WORLD OF RADIO 1390, DXLD)
THOMAS GIELLA`S PROPAGATION FORECASTS MOVE TO FRIDAY ISSUANCE
Hello to all of the new subscribers. As of 1930 UTC today Thursday
January 10, 2008 we have 10,261 subscribers!!!
Just a note, I'm changing the day that my forecast is issued. In the
past I issued my forecast at 2200 UTC on Thursday and the forecast
covered Friday 0000 UTC through Thursday 2359 UTC.
I will begin issuing my forecast on Friday at 2200 UTC and it will
cover Saturday 0000 UTC through Friday 2359 UTC. The reason for the
change is so that contesters will have a more timely forecast for the
beginning of most contests.
So look for my propagation forecast #2008-02 at 2200 UTC on Friday
January 11, 2008 and it will be valid for Saturday 0000 UTC January
12, 2008 through Friday January 18, 2008. 73, (Thomas F. Giella,
KN4LF, Lakeland, FL, Jan 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###
