DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-082, May 16, 2005 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 2005 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO Extra 56: Tue 0600 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 [also WPKM Montauk LINY 88.7] Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] WORLD OF RADIO Extra 56 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx56h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx56h.rm [WOR Extra 56 is the same as COM 05-02] WORLD OF RADIO Extra 56 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0502.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0502.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0502.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 56 in true shortwave sound of Alex`s mp3: (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_05-11-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_05-11-05.mp3 Now we`re at: http://www.worldofradio.org Thanks to Franklin Seiberling for registering this domain, which is set to forward to http://www.worldofradio.com Also, an easy-to-use and remember link to the latest DXLD issue has been added: http://DXLD.worldofradio.org now redirects the user to http://www.w4uvh.net/dxlatest.txt ** ALASKA. Applications for New Stations: 1330, NEW, AK, Juneau, U1 10000/350 (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News May 16 via DXLD) ** ALASKA. ART PROJECT TURNS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL INTO SIMULATED RADIO STATION --- By ERIC FRY, The Associated Press Published: May 13th, 2005 Last Modified: May 13th, 2005 at 11:06 PM JUNEAU (AP) - The back room of the Glacier Valley Elementary School library has been turned into a simulated radio station in an unusual arts project. Ryan Conarro, artist in residence for three weeks, created KGVE with about 75 students. The station doesn't actually broadcast, but students are creating a CD of up to an hour of school news, commercials, original drama and students' own songs. Parts of the CD could be played on several real radio stations in Alaska, Conarro said. . . http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/6488073p-6368408c.html (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 4835, VL8A, Alice Springs NT, noted quite late on 13 May, viz. 2231-2236, English, talks (news?); 35321 but mixed with a kind of tone signal like the one R. Australia used to inject immediately prior to its IS (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That would be 8 am local in Alice (gh) ** BANGLADESH. Dear DXers, Bangladesh Betar going to air a special program on the occasion of our National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam Birth Anniversary. Both in Bangla and English, External Service of BB will broadcast this special show. Date: May 25, 2005. UT: 1230-1300 (S & SE Asia), 1815-1900 (Eu). Frequency: 7185 kHz. Happy DX-ing (Ashik Eqbal Tokon, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Maybe that will also be in the ondemand audio file on their new website? (gh, DXLD) ** BHUTAN. The BBS at Thimpu advises that it proposes to close down its SW transmitter by the end of 2005. At present, this operates on 6035 for 12 hours daily, in Dzongha, Sharchop, Lhotsam and English. The progressive extension of FM services nationally means that SW operations will no longer be appropriate (Padula, World Broadcast Magazine May 2 via Cumbre DX-digest via SWB via DXLD) Professional Bob would probably object to this being quoted, but it was also on DXing with Cumbre and DX Partyline broadcasts, which I quote with impunity. This contradicts the AIB Channel article we quoted that SW would be ``phased out`` at the end of 2006. Cf recent item here that the FM network was progressing, so the earlier close of SW would not be surprising (gh) ** BOLIVIA. 4498, 12.5 -0110, R. Estambul - nice ID at s/off TBV (Tore B Vik, Norway, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4498, 10.5 0005, Radio Estambul, Beni, Bolivia with good strength and several IDs. New Bolivian-station!! KO (Kenneth Olofsson, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4498.1, 5.3 0035, unID Spanish speaking with minimal elements of Andean music. Could hardly be anything but Radio Estambul found by BM. But the lousy conditions puzzle me - neither Mallku nor Yura with acceptable signals. Far too weak to get an ID or a report. JE (Jan Edh, Sweden, ibid.) 4498.12, 12.5 0000, Radio (sometimes Radioemisora) Estambul began to increase. Was after a while up with QSA 3 at cd 0112. Utility (in Hungarian maybe???) disturbing a few times. JE (Jan Edh, Sweden, ibid.) I have talked by telephone to the owner of 4498.12 kHz, Radio Estambul: "Radiocomunicaciones Yamal". A nice conversation with a woman - she told me they soon will be transmitting also on FM and mediumwave. She also told me that they have received many reception reports from other countries. Telephone: +591 3 8 55 4145 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4498.1, Radio Estambul, 1010-1023, May 15, Spanish, different songs in Spanish, ID: "Escuchaban a... en Radio Estambul", TC and announcement: "Hoy, a las 7 de la mañana, vamos con el servicio de radiocomunicados". Other announcement and ID by male as: "vamos a continuar con ustedes desde Radio Estambul", 24432. 4684.7, Radio Paitití, Guayaramerín, 1031-1050, May 15, Spanish, S/on, short announcement by female and romantic music in Spanish, after, short announcement and ID by female too: "...en Radio Paitití". More music. 24442 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, HCDX via DXLD) Haven`t seen the latter reported in quite a while; was it inactive? (gh) ** BRAZIL. 3375, R. Cultura, Guajará Mirim RO, 13 May 2153-2200*, religious program, ID+frequencies (// 1260 kHz) prior to s/off; 55433 but with noisy audio. 4865, R. Verdes Florestas (tentative), Cruzeiro do Sul AC, 14 May 2118-2156, religious program; 35332 at best, deteriorating and with increasing QRM de Bolivia, dominant by 2150. [Rondônia is on UT -4, so closes at 1800 local. Interesting to see how early tropical Brazilians can make it to Europe. Acre, way out west, is on UT -5, so local time would be 1618-1656 --- gh] 17814.9, R. Cultura, São Paulo SP, 14 May 1422-..., talks, Brazilian rhythms; 15432, strangely best with the K9AY loop. As to the equipment, and in case you'd like to list it when selecting any items from my first report to you --- Receivers: DRAKE R-8E, JRC NRD-545 other: home made amplif. (W7IUV's new model) & Wellbrook Comms. amplif.; YAESU FRT-7700 a.t.u. (with inv. L antenna) Antennas: SW coast: 20 m sloper, 80 m CeAfr mini-Beverage, 250 m CeAm Bev., 300 m SoAm Bev., K9AY. home: 20 m T2FD, 41 m inv. V, 45 m inv. L, elevated K9AY, Ewe, LF+MF vertical. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURKINA FASO. 7230, R. Burkina, Ouagadougou, logged on 14 May 0919- 1421, French, music, talks, etc; 25332 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. BOB'S THE MAN IN RADIO COMMUNITY --- FM FORMAT SPAWNS MANY IMITATORS --- By DEAN PRITCHARD, STAFF REPORTER, Winnipeg Sun, May 15, 2005 BOB is getting around. [BOB FM 99.9 Winnipeg] But if you don't call Winnipeg home, you might know him by his other names ... like JACK, BEN or HANK. Since signing on the air March 4, 2002, Winnipeg's BOB FM has spawned a new radio format and a legion of imitators with similar 'regular guy' call letters across North America. "I'm pleasantly surprised that it has spread as far as it has," said BOB-father Howard Kroeger, director of operations and programming for CHUM Broadcasting in Winnipeg. "I think what makes me feel real good is this is a format that was born and raised in Winnipeg. The influence of the format is felt more than just in the market but right across North America." In recent months, the BOB phenomenon has made the cover of Billboard magazine, the American music industry bible and been covered by CNN and Reuters. Until recently, the station had ranked No. 1 in the city among listeners 25-54 years of age. The station has slid to second place in that category behind Power 97, according to radio ratings released last week. Unlike most radio stations, which are limited by genre, BOB FM is all-embracing. If it was a hit between 1974 and last week, BOB will play it. Tune in to BOB and you could be bobbing your head to Men at Work one minute and rocking out to Nickelback the next. The seeds of BOB were born in 2001 when Kroeger attended a friend's 40th birthday party in Sanford. At that time, CHUM had just purchased Magic 99.9, an adult contemporary station pulling up the rear in local radio ratings race. "When I got to the party CITI FM was playing," Kroeger recalled. "They were joking with me saying 'Sorry, Howard, but we want to rock tonight.' There were over 100 people, all good friends in that late 30s and early 40s range, and we just started talking about music." As the night wore on, Kroeger noticed the songs that really connected with his friends were by bands like Boston, Supertramp, Meat Loaf and The Cars -- bands they had all grown up with. Not so popular were baby boomer "classic rock" staples such as Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and The Animals. 'BEFORE OUR TIME' "When we talked about some of the older acts it was like 'Yeah, The Doors were great, and the Beatles were great but they were a little before our time,'" Kroeger said. Back at home, Kroeger started poring over a stack of Top 40 reference books, revisiting the lost hits of his youth. "I thought to myself, 'I remember a lot of these songs but I certainly don't hear anybody playing them. It became pretty evident that night if you are between the ages of 35 and 44 your music needs were not being met." (via Markewicz, MB, DXLD) ** CHINA. China Radio International is offering QSL cards featuring Chinese endangered rare animals. Reception reports via airmail or email accepted. QSL cards featuring different animals will be sent out accordingly. http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/qsl/ (Mike Peraaho, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. IMPORTANT INFO --- Radio Guangdong has just renovated their English programme website and the new website address is http://e.radio-gd.com (without "www"). (WRN Newsletter May 13 via DXLD) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780 KHz, RTV DJIBOUTI !!! Amigos de la lista: Desde las 0315 UT del día 14/05/2005, pude reportar con muy aceptable señal en los 4780 kHz, a la RADIODIFUSSION TELEVISION DE DJIBOUTI, difundiendo un programa que incluía música local y breves anuncios en idioma vernacular; y desde las 0330 UT, se difundió un boletín de noticias leído por un locutor, en el que en varias oportunidades se mencionó la palabra "Djibouti", también "Somalia" y "Eritrea". El noticioso se extendió por 7 minutos y luego una locutora esgrimió una suerte de identificación de la emisora --- que no pude entender bien - -- ya que lo hizo en su lengua nativa. Posteriormente siguió la música local, con marcados sones de tipo arabesco, y la señal se fue debilitando hacia las 0400 UT, donde la recepción decayó notablemente. Cabe señalar que el SINPO de 0315 a 0345 fue de 34433. De acuerdo a la página Web de la emisora: http://www.rtd.dj la estación transmite por onda corta en 4780 con un transmisor de 20 kW de potencia, además de su onda media en 1539 kHz - (también de 20 kW) - y una serie de estaciones en FM. Según su esquema de emisiones, a partir de las 0700 hora local de Djibouti (0300 UT), ésta comienza con un programa en idioma somalí, difundiéndose el Corán (0300), más tarde el espacio ``Hadis`` (0305), luego un boletín de noticias (0330), al que le sigue un espacio musical (desde las 0740 UT [q/d 0340]). Las direcciones de contacto de la emisora son las siguientes: RADIODIFFUSION TÉLÉVISION DE DJIBOUTI 1, Avenue Saint Laurent du Var Boite Postale 97 Djibouti Republique de Djibouti Tel: (253) 352294, 350484 Fax: (253) 356502 E-mail: rtd@... [truncated by yahoogroups] La sección técnica responde al E-mail: rtdtech@... [truncated] (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Lomas de Zamora, Argentina, May 14, condiglist via DXLD) Well, the new SW transmitter courtesy USA is supposed to be at least 50 kW; some sources say 100 (gh, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 4909, 5.5 -0340, R. Chaskis with nice ID at s/off TBV (Tore B Vik, Norway, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4909, 6.5 0100, Radio Chaskis del Norte, Otavalo, Ecuador strong this night with greetings to well known DX-ers among others Gert Nilsson, Jan Erik Österholm and Rafael Rodríguez in Colombia. A few got a QSL, but several did not, but I can see at BM`s web site that the Director thanks and confirms (??) all reports he got. Could perhaps be good enough as a QSL for the time being(hm). I have seen worse QSL text.- KO (Kenneth Olofsson, ibid.) 4909.27, 12.5 0100, Radio Chaski with oil drum music. Very dull modulation. QSA 2. JE (Jan Edh, Sweden, ibid.) 4909.28, 14.5 0145, Radio Chaskis del Norte de Imbabura have been heard several times, but sometimes they are off. This morning very good QSA 3) until Africa stated up on 4910 at 0230. WIK (Rolf Wikström, Sweden, ibid.) ** ERITREA [non]. ETHIOPIA, 7165.1, V. of Democratic Alliance (?) via R. Ethiopia (?), Gedja, logged on 08 May 1752-1809, Vernacular, ID 1759, talks; gone at recheck 1836; 43432, adjacent QRM only (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. 11720, 7.5 1330, SWR, Finland, with English host – Tricky Trev – at 11-12 and 13-14. Nice. Nothing on 5980 – still nothing on 5980 at recheck at 17 UT. 3 SHN (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. More on the NPR vs VOA in Berlin situation, from a NYT article under USA: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/business/media/16radio.html?pagewanted=print . . .Besides his role at the corporation, Mr. Tomlinson heads the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which supervises most United States government broadcasts overseas, including those of the Voice of America. He has continued the policy of his predecessors on that board of blocking NPR from putting its programs on a Berlin station that the German government gave to the United States in the early 1990's after reunification. NPR, which has a significant presence overseas, has long sought to enter Berlin, the largest radio market in Western Europe. Mr. Tomlinson has instead favored programming offered by a European business executive that includes newscasts produced by the Voice of America, which is restricted by law from broadcasting in English in most European countries. German regulators are considering the two options. In a 2003 letter to Senator Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Tomlinson suggested that it would further the national interest to use the station to broadcast programs by Voice of America rather than NPR. Some NPR officials suggest that Mr. Tomlinson has a conflict of interest as the head of both the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. . . (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** GREECE. Olympia Radio/SVO - 6507 kHz, Recebido carta QSL en 20 dias. V/S: G. Panagiotakis - Sub Manager de Olympia Radio. QTH: 85 Patision Str., 104 34 Athens, Greece (Dino Bloise, Estados Unidos, May 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. 3250.0, 14.5 2300, Alfa AM – a Greek pirate station – on second harmonic from 1625 (a little bit stronger than 3250). Greek folklore music. ID. 3 SHN (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUAM. Applications for New Stations: 1350, NEW, GU, Agaña, applies for U1 250/250 (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News May 16 via DXLD) Yet another one picks an even channel in a 9-kHz worldpart (gh, DXLD) ** HAWAII. 620, KIPA, Hilo (and synchronous transmitter in Kalaoa). 4/16 1942 [EDT]. Noted back on the air with satellite-fed music by Fifth Dimension, net ads; slogan ``Timeless Classics on KIPA, Hawaii`s Memory Station,`` local ads, back to music. ID at 1959 ``Hawaii`s Memories, AM 6-20 KIPA Hilo``, one minute of ABC news (not Information network), Big Island weather, back to DJ Bob Lawrence. Last noted on 12/5 testing with relay off sister station KKOA-FM. Per phone call to station manager, KIPA returned to air late night 4/15 and uses ABC`s Stardust network of adult standards, oldies and big band music, plus a sprinkling of Hawaiian oldies. I actually was tuned to the co-channel synchronous transmitter in Kalaoa on the west side of the Big Island. Much weaker the night of 4/17 listening at home, meaning I was probably hearing the Hilo transmitter in East Hawai`I Island with the Kalaoa transmitter off (Dale Park, East Honolulu, Honda car radio, Domestic DX Digest-West, NRC DX News May 16 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Good enough for government work? Suara Indonesia, 9525, nice music show ended abruptly at 1237 UT May 16, leaving an open carrier earlier than usual; still such at 1321 altho then with two quiet beeps per second, perhaps an open phone line (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) After a long time of not trying this, I went without much expectation to 15150 near 1800 last Sunday 15, and was surprised with magnificent signal from RRI Spanish service. Altho intended for Spain and we are out of azimuth with this in Costa Rica, you got to bear in mind this signal is rounding the globe around 2/3 from its original site. SINPO 35353. Sorry for us, as well as happens with Turkey, we don't have Spanish services from them for the Latin American countries, where most Spanish speaking population is concentrated (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, May 16, dxldyg via DXLD) Spanish is supposed to be at 1700-1800, ¿no? They used to have another broadcast at 0030, I think, which would be the right time, but like the English which followed, would not propagate to Americas (gh, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Thanks to an alert by Robert on Sunday I was ready for an F2 enhancement which brought in the following, 0900-1000 UT May 15: 42749.9, RRI Fak-Fak am bc harmonic (9 x 4750) - 2300 miles (Tony, Perth, Australia, R7000 & Band 1 Yag (via Tim Bucknall, harmonics yg via DXLD) See also PROPAGATION ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. Strangeness on WRN/WRMI Heard something really odd yesterday morning on 7385 (5/14/05). WRMI was relaying WRN, as scheduled. But when I tuned in at 1259 UT, it was R. Bucharest but with an amazing audio phenomenon: a constantly- repeating sentence in English that referred to a "radio station" and "one of Romania's top priorities". This several-seconds-long phrase was all that was transmitted from that tune-in time (unknown how long it had been on before) and was still going when 7385 faded into unintelligibility at 1432 UT. So at least an hour and a half! It had a curious fascination about it; made me think of OCD or autism. Could have been thought of as a "vocal interval signal" and the constant repetition started to move it into the realm of performance art or poetry. I also thought of the repetitive KJES chanting. So I suppose this is a digital artifact, like a skipping CD. Could it have been some sort of buffer-dump in a program loop? I wonder if this originated at WRN HQ or if it was a reception/relay artifact at WRMI? Did anyone else hear this? Did anyone hear this via a net-audio feed from WRN via computer audio or only over-the-air via WRMI? Wonder about the breakdown in monitoring that let it go on and on so long; who is responsible for listening to this stuff, even if just in the background, to make sure that everything is OK? 73, (Will Martin, MO, May 15, dxldyg via DXLD) These things happen. As you know, we broadcast WRN as "filler" between paid programming blocks. It sounds like a digital problem with the WRN feed (Jeff White, WRMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also SOUTH CAROLINA Dirty little secret: it is now the rule rather than the exception that stations do not actually have a live human being monitoring their own output at all times, especially off-the-air rather than program-feed- out; of course, if a station does not care to listen to itself, it may be a bit presumptious to assume that anyone else will want to. A parallel telling situation is when hosts of a program let it slip that they have not been paying attention to their own commercial breaks. Indeed, many do not even pretend to listen to or watch their own commercials --- ``As X was telling me during the break...``. Well, guess what? 99% sure I muted or zapped the ads myself. Indeed, while watching DSC`s Return to Flight last night, I had time to play back most of the paused Global Crisis Watch file during breaks; see SAUDI ARABIA (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. 9133/U, 29.4 1700, Coalition Maritime Radio One with a mix of music from Middle East and the Indian sub continent. Tight announcements in several languages, including English. Noted 6125, 9133 and 15500 kHz. Urged people to report suspected terrorists on telephone 001 800 877 3927. SND (Stefan Björn, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. See SAUDI ARABIA ** IRELAND. RTÉ TO PROVIDE WORLDSPACE SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR REGULAR LISTENERS Irish public broadcaster RTÉ has announced that, following the move of WRN on WorldSpace to a subscription-based service, it is making arrangements to provide some licences for its "regular listeners." Some time ago, RTÉ issued Irish missionaries with WorldSpace receivers after it decided to discontinue shortwave relays of its early evening newscast. The newscast was available free to air on WorldSpace via WRN until 15 April 2005 when it was encrypted. RTÉ says on its website that when it has completed the deal with WorldSpace, it will make a further announcement and will provide the necessary unscrambling details to the listeners with whom it has contact. It adds that "If you have received a WorldSpace radio from us recently, you may wish to give us details of your present address so that we can provide you with the necessary details." [i.e., no cost to users? -- gh] # posted by Andy @ 12:47 UT May 16 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Thanks to an alert by Robert on Sunday I was ready for an F2 enhancement which brought in the following, 0900-1000 UT May 15: 35205, R. P`yongyang am bc harmonic (3 x 11735) (Tony, Perth, Australia, R7000 & Band 1 Yagi (via Tim Bucknall, harmonics yg via DXLD) See also PROPAGATION ** LIBERIA. 4760, ELWA, Monrovia, putting a spectacular signal on 13 May 2233-..., playing hymns; gone at 2300; 55444, which is unusual despite the [close] distance (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALI. 11960, R. Mali, Kati, observed on 15 May 1207-..., Vernacular program, talks; 34432, adjacent QRM only. Best received via a K9AY loop (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MICRONESIA. Tentative, 1503 kHz, V6AJ, Kosrae, coming in fair to weak with terrible KUMU [Hawaii] splatter from 1500. From 0830 to 0904 UT May 15, nonstop country-flavored hymns (Johnny Cash, etc.), at 0904, a heavily accented male announcer, mostly buried by KUMU splatter, but sounded like "....V6AJ...Kosrae", time check at 0905, "5 minutes past seven", into island music (presumed Kosraen), some Radio Sport QRM New Zealand at times, but mostly KUMU splatter. I have had tentatives on this before, but never this good, but still not 100% definite, but pretty sure. No other choices. Listed as 1 kW. Tonga 1017 is really loud this morning too. Going to send a tape and see if I can get a reply. Drake R8, EWE antenna (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, HCDX via DXLD) That was during auroral conditions, mid-latitude K = 9 at 0900, as high as it gets; see PROPAGATION (gh, DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 4830, Mongolian R, Altai, logged on 14 May 2114-2125 (supposed to s/on 2200), Mongolian, talks; 35332; the usually paralleled 4895 outlet was silent (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEPAL. 5005.33, 7.5 2315, Radio Nepal sign-on with short announcement, then music. Strong signal but weak modulation. 2 SHN (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Have missed Frosty Troy`s Oklahoma Observer commentaries on KOSU the past couple weeks, Fri 1230 and 2030 UT. Finally checked the KOSU online schedule and see they have been changed to 1235 and 2144. Perhaps lengthened from 5 minutes? The previous slots supplanted NPR newscasts, while 1235 and 2144 would seem to be odd times to cut away from Morning Edition and ATC (Glenn Hauser, Enid, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Logs of KFXY, 1640, Enid: 4/13 0759 [EDT], legal ID ``Fox Sports Radio 1640 KFXY Enid-Oklahoma City``, then back to FS programming. Dominating on the longwire, mixing with KBJA on the loop. Ex-KFNY and ex-Comedy Format (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge CO, Domestic DX Digest-West, NRC DX News May 16 via DXLD) 4/16 0245 [EDT], PSA for Oklahoma National Guard, ``Fox Sports Radio 1640 KFXY.`` (Patrick Griffith, Westminster CO, ibid.) 4/30 2152-2208 [EDT], 95% readable, with NBA basketball, KFXY call ID (Ernie Wesolowski, Omaha NE, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. 1170, KFAQ, Tulsa, 4/13 0735 [EDT = UT -4], surprised to hear oldies music instead of usual newstalk; songs by Fleetwood Mac, BeeGees, Captain & Tenille, etc.; at one point, gal said ``No more talk, we just want to Rock --- 1170 the Q``; also used ``Music Radio 11-70``. Thought I`d stumbled onto a format change, but they were back to Talk the next day. Strange (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, CO, Domestic DX Digest-West, NRC DX News May 16 via DXLD) That was a Wednesday, when Michael DelGiorno is supposed to be on M-F (gh, DXLD) ** PERU. 5070.72, 13.5 2345, Radio Ondas del Suroriente in Spanish, long speech, later a long block of ads and then an indistinct ID and frequency-announcement. 3 SHN Good conditions Saturday morning (May 14) with among others very nice reception of Ondas del Suroriente on 5070.72 kHz - without problems from WWCR. In contrary lousy conditions here Sunday morning (May 15). Despite the lousy conditions something could be received – among others a couple of exciting Brasilian stations, the most powerful Bolivian stations (as 3310 and 5580) and also surprisingly Radio Imperio on 4386.6 kHz. 5544.66, 13.5 0150, Radio San Andres, Cutervo, with some announcements in Spanish, then almost an hour of nonstop music, studio host again at 0300 and s/off 0315. No ID. 2 SHN 5580.3, 15.5 0130, Radio San José with uptempo dance music nonstop until 0153, then ID: ``Transmite Radio San José``. 3 SHN (all: Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. I have a nice copy of Radio Atlántida, right now (1220 UT May 15), male and female giving news, ID 1219 to music. SINPO 13411. Monitoring in LSB (Chris KC5IIE, Tulsa, OK Rec: FT-897D Ant. Inverted L, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Wow, that`s really late for Peru on 60m; auroral conditions, mid-latitude K index 7 at 1200 (gh, OK, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. RVA will effect some changes in their transmission starting this Sunday, May 22, 2005. Changes are as follows: UTC FROM TO PROGRAM 1330-1500 9565 9520 Sinhala/Tamil/Telegu 1500-1600 9695 11765 Filipino 1500-1600 9570 9685 Russian Final RVA A05 is as follows: Bengali 0030-0057 11770 1400-1430 11875 Hindi 0030-0057 11790 1330-1400 11875 Hmong 1000-1027 11780 Indonesian 2300-2327 9505 2300-2327 11820 1200-1227 11795 Kachin 2330-2357 9625 1230-1257 15225 Karen 0000-0027 11795 1200-1230 15225 Mandarin 2100-2257 6110 1000-1157 9720 Burmese 2330-2357 9805 1130-1157 15450 Filipino 2300-2327 7180 1500-1530 11765; (Wed, Fri & Sun Ext) 1530-1600 11765 Russian 0130-0227 17830 1500-1600 9685 Sinhala 0000-0027 11820 0000-0027 9730 1330-1400 9520 Tamil 0030-0057 15520 1400-1430 9520 Telugu 0100-0127 15530 1430-1457 9520 Urdu 0100-0127 15350 0100-0127 17860 1430-1457 11875 Vietnamese 2330-2357 9670 0130-0230 15530 1030-1127 11850 1300-1327 11850 Zomi-Chin 0230-0300 11895 73's from (Ashik Eqbal Tokon, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. As of today, 16 May, the RDPi-R. Portugal will be making the following amendment to its A-05 schedule: To Europe, Mon-Fri 1600- 1900, 45º 300 kW 11905 kHz replaced by 15555 which is a QRG also used for another broadcast to Eur (Sat+Sun only) and to Venezuela (extra broadcasts Mon-Fri & Sat+Sun) (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. Some further notes on Saftica: When Romania Actualitatsi was still carried on two shortwave frequencies one of them originated from this site, usually with very low modulation. The other one was run from Galbeni with an ancient 120 kW transmitter and horribly distorted modulation. Galbeni had two of these 120 kW beasts (apparently Russian designs from the forties); the second one did the Radio Moldova International service, providing only weak signals with quite poor modulation as far as I recall. The continued use of Saftica actually contradicts earlier statements about Radio Romania International only running a limited number of transmitters anymore. On the 250 kW side also both Tiganeshti and Galbeni are still in use, at least according to their HFCC entries. Makes me wonder about status and extent of their modernization plans? Saftica is also mentioned as transmitter site of Bizim Radyo, the station of the Turkish communist party launched in the early seventies. Known for sure are Bizim Radyo transmissions from Königs Wusterhausen, not from the staff there (they pretend to know nothing, but unfortunately it is common to treat the history of GDR radio in an unsuitable way, to say the least, resulting in many witnesses being unwilling to tell anything) but from local observers. Some sources also mention Bizim Radyo as broadcasting ´´from Leipzig´´, indicating that possibly the Wiederau site was involved as well (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The spelling and pronunciation of placenames can often be tricky. I am noting that my original item in DXplorer was edited by BC-DX, changing the spelling of the transmitter site to "Tiganeshti" from "Tiganesti" as I originally wrote. This place is spelled in Romanian "Tiganesti" ("s" with cedilla), cf. also the HFCC transmitter site reference table. Unlike one may perhaps expect, Tiganesti is pronounced "Tiganesht", and not "Tiganeshti". 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, dxldyg via DXLD) It was I who inserted the =h= into Tiganesti, to make it more phonetically correct, lacking an s-cedilla character, as I am likely to do despite my incomplete familiarity with Romanian names (as well as various Slavic transliterations which are otherwise phonetically misleading in Roman/English.) E.g. Actualiltatsi above instead of Actualitati (Glenn, dxldyg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. THE DRIVE TO CHURN OUT PATRIOTS By Anatoly Medetsky Staff Writer Sergey Ponomarev / AP --- The Defense Ministry's Zvezda television is designed to promote patriotism. [caption] A World War II veteran explains how to derail an enemy train. Children help Soviet security services to capture a foreign spy hiding in mountains. Those are among the military-related documentaries and feature films that form the core of programming at the Defense Ministry's new television channel, Zvezda, or Star, which began broadcasting ahead of this week's 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. . . http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/05/14/012.html (Moscow Times via Gerald T Pollard, DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [and non]. RADIO TAJDEED REPORTEDLY RAIDED BY BRITISH AUTHORITIES --- By Nick Grace May 16, 2005 Radio Tajdeed, a satellite program targeting Saudi Arabia and run by a man with extensive al Qaeda ties, is claiming that British authorities have raided its studios. In an exclusive report for Global Crisis Watch (GCW), Egyptian signals monitor Marwan Soliman said on Sunday that the station disappeared from the airwaves on May 6 but returned on May 11 with a repeated announcement of the raid. He also reported hearing audio of the raid broadcast repeatedly on the station. "The transmission... was offline for almost a couple of days. But suddenly they are back with a station announcement saying that the British police and the MI6 (British intelligence) dashed into their studio while they were having a live program interviewing Dr Mohammad al-Massari, who is the man behind the station. As a matter of fact, you can hear the British police go into the studio, talking in English, and they were trying to tell them 'We are live on the air so can you talk about that later' and stuff like that. Then they say the British police took all the PCs and asked them to stop transmitting so they can get a copy of each and every thing (that was broadcast). That's why they were offline for a couple of days." Radio Tajdeed, he said, also announced that it would return to its normal broadcast schedule on Sunday at 9 pm Mecca time. According to Soliman, the station did return to the air as promised and broadcast a program called "Tajdeed Forum." Al-Massari said during the program that they would no longer discuss the raid but that British police suspect his group's involvement with the kidnapping of Douglas Wood, an Australian enigneer who was taken hostage in Iraq in late April. A video of Wood, clearly beaten and bruised, was released to al Jazeera on May 1 and despite the passing of a deadline for his murder. Al- Massari denied involvement with the kidnapping during Tajdeed Forum and instead said that it was a "joke" being pushed by the Saudi government to get the U.K. to silence his voice. When asked by GCW about the nature of Radio Tajdeed's programming, Soliman said that the content is militant, sympathetic with al Qaeda and "Sheik" Usama bin Laden and that its music clearly promotes violence against kaffir (non-Muslims) and is clearly hate speech. Freelance Jordanian journalist Tamara Aqrabawe, who also listened to the broadcast, told Clandestine Radio Watch that one song in particular calls for a global Jihad against the West and kaffir (non- Muslims). She said that its lyrics call on Muslim youth to raise weapons and the Koran in this violent struggle. Radio Tajdeed broadcasts on Eutelsat's Hotbird satellite. Eutelsat, a French company, also broadcast Radio Islah, whose sponsor, Saad al- Faqih was designated by the U.S. and E.U. as a sponsor of terrorism last year, and al-Manar TV, the Hezbollah mouthpiece that was pulled off the air after global condemnation of its hate speech against Jews. The report can be heard on this week's edition of Global Crisis Watch: http://www.clandestineradio.com/gcw/050516.mp3 [runs 37:27] Global Crisis Watch, Clandestine Radio Watch and ClandestineRadio.com's weekly current affairs podcast, brings listeners to the front line on the War of Ideas and interviews people who are fighting tyranny and terrorism with the pulse of freedom. It is hosted by Richard Lafayette in St. Paul, Minnesota, and co-hosted by Nick Grace in Washington, DC. ------------xxxxxxxxxx Team CRW xxxxxxxxxx--------------------- Martin Schoech, Editor in Chief Nick Grace, CRW Washington Richard Lafayette, CRW Midwest Marwan Soliman, CRW Egypt Takuya Hirayama, CRW Japan (CRW Extra May 16 via DXLD) Tsk, tsk, Ludo Maes` TDP Shortwave Airtime page http://www.airtime.be/whose.html carries a link to Radio Tajdeed, http://www.tajdeed.net/ as well as to Radio Islah http://www.islahi.net/ altho no SW broadcasts have materialized. As for Global Crisis Watch, after this story, about 9 minutes into the file, they went on to deal with V. of Justice, Iran --- where there is no justice, or rather, someone from the Iran of Tomorrow movement; from 22 minutes, about China, with someone from Sound of Hope, phone interviews; being a podcast rather than a broadcast, 37 minutes odd length doesn`t matter (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. Brother Scare talks about his own schedule so much, even more than Marie Lamb, that there`s a good chance you`ll run across that in random tuning, without the painful process of waiting for him to do so! Here`s what I happened upon, May 15: at 1811 on 9975, said he may drop WWCR broadcasts on 5765 and/or 5070, and that 5070 is currently running only 4 hours overnight. He is now 24 hours on WWRB, tho I never heard him mention that station, just the frequencies: 9320 at 8 am to 6 pm ET, 6890 at 6 pm to 8 am [1200-2200, 2200-1200 UT respectively], and the antenna on 6890 changes at midnight [0400 UT] ``from east to west``. He said 6890 is a ``permanent`` all-night frequency, targeted at Europe, but also audible in NAm. Are these 7 days a week? There are often variations at weekends, u.o.s. Also still on 7385, no details, but that of course is WRMI. And now 7 days a week on 9430 at 8-11 pm [0000-0300 UT; what station would that be? WSHB/WHRI used it in the past, but no US station is currently scheduled there per FCC; HFCC shows it widely used by DTK/T- Systems in Germany from Nauen and Jülich, at other times of day; aha, EiBi has 0000-0300 as Jülich]. But he never mentioned the frequency I was listening to him on, WWCR 9975 --- does he even know he is on there still, weekends, instead of Pastor Pete Peters? Another tune-by at 2050 on 9975 found him again talking about scheduling: 702 from France has gotten very little listener response, so that will be dropped; he referred 702 listeners to the DTK SW schedule. Well, he tried and dropped it once before; will there be another time? Due to disturbed propagation conditions, there were hardly any signals making it thru on 9 MHz at 2050 except 9975 and 9320, but sorry, Dave, WWRB was still much weaker than WWCR, and running about a second behind it. Now why would that be? You`d think they would both be taking the same satellite feed without further processing delay. Meanwhile, at 2008 I noticed presumed WWRB on 11920 with some other preacher, making fun of Dr Gene & Melissa Scott, and Oral Roberts` big ears. It seems this frequency is only active on Sundays. Guess what: WWRB http://www.wwrb.org/schedules/newguide.htm makes no mention now of 6890, 9320 or 11920, or for that matter 15250! Checking 9320 at 1241 UT May 16, a non-BS preacher, VG signal now, so is this TOM? Yes, // WRMI 7385, but running at least two seconds behind it; wonder why7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. Re 5-081. The V. of Sudan item, 7999+, should have been specified as [non]. Sometimes these niceties slip by me, especially when quoting another publication which does not make any such distinxion. If I catch it in time, I fix it on the `permanent` posted file of that issue, if not the initial `dxlatest` version (gh) ** SURINAME. 4990.0, 13.5 0100, Radio Apintie could always be heard, Dutch, this evening directly from a meeting with (political) speech. http://www.apintie.sr 2 SHN (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET. 5240 kHz - PBS Xizang-TB, Lhasa, --- Recebido cartão QSL e cartão postal, 103 dias, V/S: ilegível, QTH: 180 Beijing Zhonglu, Lhasa, Tibet 850000, China (Clederson Jean Fischer, Guabiruba-SC, Brasil, radioescutas via DXLD) ** U K. THE MSF ANNUAL MAINTENANCE PERIOD IN 2005 --- The MSF 60 kHz time and frequency signal broadcast from the BT Rugby Radio Station is occasionally taken off-air to allow maintenance work to be carried out in safety. The dates and times (in UK local time) of the scheduled maintenance periods for 2005 are as follows: 23 May 2005 until 6 June 2005 from 0800 to 0800 BST (Steve Whitt, May 15, MWC via DXLD) = UT +1 ** U K [non]. Big L 1395 transmitter problems This from Ruud on the Skywaves list - explains why Big L has been unheard on 1395 this afternoon/evening. A bit of a disaster for this to happen on their launch day! Copy from another forum: Just spoken to Ray Anderson and have his permission to put you all in the picture regarding 1395. Apparently Nozema engineers were on scene within an hour of when the transmitter went down. The engineers are working on the fault right now. Ray is not sure what the main problem is as he has not had contact with the engineers as yet. As to regards when the transmitter will be back on, he cannot confirm at this time. Could be back on tonight. Ray said that the output this morning should have been as good as 10 Gold when that station used the frequency. I said that the power output was poor earlier this morning so hopefully that will be rectified as well. If Ray can get the same power as 10 Gold did, that'll do nicely (via Dave Kenny, May 14, BDXC-UK via DXLD) [Later:] With Big-L from Holland off the air, I was hearing a relay of the Dublin pirate Sun 80s on 1395 kHz - ads for Sun 80s events and "Sun FM" jingle heard at 2120 UT. Then, just as I was writing this message to the list, the Big L transmitter sprang to life on 1395 completely drowning out the Irish station. So Big L is back now, with a good signal here, at 2126 (Dave Kenny, Caversham, England, ibid.) OVERHEATING TRANSMITTER SAID TO BE PROBLEM ON 1395 KHZ Reports circulating in the Netherlands say that overheating of the transmitter at Trintelhaven on 1395 kHz is the reason why the signal disappeared shortly after 1300 UTC on Saturday. It's believed that a component inside the transmitter has been burnt out or damaged. Engineers from Nozema Services are said to be working on the problem, but so far the frequency remains silent. Meanwhile Big L - Radio London has continued its programmes on Sky Digital and has continued to announce 1395 kHz. # posted by Andy @ 16:53 UT May 15 (Media Network blog via DXLD) Just heard on RL that the problem in the transmitter has finally been localised: a large capacitor. That heats up rather slowly so that made it hard to find. I certainly hope that the playlist will be longer than that on most stations. "Strict format" radio is to be found on many other stations so like in the US of A with its "jack" format something different is what people could be waiting for (haweeha, 05.16.05 - 7:05 pm, ibid.) Thanks for that: hopefully they will replace it in the course of the day tomorrow. Regarding formats, strangely enough I was just reading a piece today that suggested changes are afoot in US radio, probably as a result of competition from Internet stations. It seems that more "free format" stations are emerging. If that's the case, and Radio London does what you hope they'll do, it could yet lead where others follow (Andy, 05.16.05 - 7:53 pm, ibid.) ** U S A [and non]. KCNC-4 Denver now has availablized the spy-numbers story from Friday night. It runs about 4 minutes and goes into considerable detail, with lots of irrelevant video of antennas on tops of buildings, radio dials, etc. Advances the theory that (instead of one-time pads), the first 3 numbers in the `Atención` header refer to the page in a specific published book known only to the recipient, the next two to some grid system to find words on the page, etc. (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Watched this CBS4 video on and wanted you to watch it! Head to http://kcnc.dayport.com/launcher/5775/?Contract_ID=10&tf=kcncviewer_noads.tpl to check it out (J. Armani, CO, May 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. US AIR FORCE EXPANDS FLEET OF COMMANDO SOLO AIRCRAFT Defense Industry Daily reports that Lockheed Martin Logistics Management have received a $9.4 million contract modification that will allow the Air Force Special Operations Command's 193rd Special Operations Wing at Harrisburg International Airport, PA to have a seventh EC-130J Commando Solo III aircraft assigned and modified to conduct Psychological Operations, Combat Delivery or Command and Control missions. The EC-130J Commando Solo III is a specially-modified C-130J Hercules medium transport aircraft that conducts information operations, psychological operations and civil affairs broadcasts in AM, FM, HF, TV and military communications bands. These missions are flown and run by the the 193rd Special Operations Wing, an Air National Guard Unit. Commando Solo was used prior to and during military operations in Iraq, and more recently for broadcasts to Cuba. Read the full story http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/05/94m-for-another-ec130j-flying-broadcaster/index.php # posted by Andy @ 10:50 UT May 16 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** U S A. 9330, WBCQ --- went looking for Syria on this new frequency at 2125 5/14 and of course found WBCQ doing live (I think) show selling air time on 7415 kHz and promoting new radio ship; promises radio ship transmission tests in July; a free-wheeling, let-it-all- hang-out show; ID at 2159 (Jim Ronda, Tulsa OK, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. The AWR website was down for a while; rechecked at 1735 UT May 16, The Wavescan page was back, still referring to a return at the end of March! http://english.awr.org/wavescan/ --- and I was astonished to see in the lower left corner (maybe no longer there when you check), a link to an adults-only HotMatchups site, tho flagged as an ad along with real news items. Is this endorsed by the Seventh Day Adventist church? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK (EWTN) (The world's largest religious media network) BY FRANCIS NORONHA Friday, May 13, 2005 http://www.nassauguardian.net/sports/361218878824705.php "Unless we are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous" is the motto of Catholic nun Mother Angelica who, with virtually no experience of television, started EWTN in 1981 with $200 and a television transmitter located at the back of a garage in Birmingham Alabama, USA. Experts mocked the "ridiculous" venture, stating that it would soon fold up, and the "Wall St. Journal" scoffed: "We've had the singing nun and the flying nun; now comes the broadcasting nun." Today, the "ridiculous" has become the "miraculous": the transmitter at the back of a garage has developed into the world's largest religious media network! Currently, the studio comprises a state of the art audiovisual complex funded totally by donations and gifts from supporters, and is visited by many thousands of pilgrims annually. From there, EWTN transmits programmes 24 hours a day to 104 million homes in 110 countries and 16 territories on 3,400 cable systems, wireless cable, Direct Broadcasting Satellite (DBS), low power TV and individual satellite users. In 1992 Mother Angelica established the world's largest privately- owned short wave radio station on a mountain top 20 miles away from the TV studio. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day in English and Spanish even to remote areas of the world not accessible by television, and telephone calls, e-mails and letters are received from Australia, China, Germany, India, Nigeria, Russia and other countries. Many years ago, Franciscan nun Mother Angelica, who is now 82 years old, was involved in a serious accident, resulting in a 50-50 chance of being able to walk again. She made a vow that, if she walked again, she would build a convent in the South, and her prayers were answered. The result was Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama, and subsequently EWTN. Currently, EWTN transmits Holy Mass and the Rosary three times daily in English and Spanish; stories from the Bible and on religious personalities; specials on Papal visits and the weekly Papal audience from Rome; features on saints, shrines, world events, family life and topical and current issues; special programmes for all age groups, especially the youth and the elderly; music (classical and contemporary); and a wide range of spiritual and inspirational material. In The Bahamas, Cable Bahamas transmit EWTN on Channel 58. The feedback from the general public has been positive. On EWTN, Catholics and others can hear the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church; people can view spiritual programmes at any time of the day or night; and the ill, infirm and elderly can participate in the life of the Church and not experience a sense of isolation. Today, ailing Mother Angelica relies completely on Divine Providence for EWTN, believing in proceeding to any place, "where God opens the door." She is living proof that with God's support, the ridiculous idea can become a miraculous reality. Copyright (c) 2005 The Nassau Guardian. All rights reserved (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. On May 10, 2005, on Free Radio Olympia 98.5 FM, dj ? interviewed Ash, a prisoner support activist working to raise awareness of the case of incarcerated environmental activist Jeff "Free" Luers and the upcoming Weekend of Resistance for "Free", June 10-12 2005. Download MP3 6.1 MB 26 minutes suitable for licensed radio play http://www.frolympia.org/website/mp3/0510freefreenow.mp3 June 2005 marks the five-year anniversary of the imprisonment of our friend and comrade: Oregon environmental political prisoner, Jeff "Free" Luers. Jeff was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for burning three Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) at a car dealership in Eugene, Oregon, and on attempted arson charges. Jeff set fire to SUVs to call attention to climate change and to protest oil wars and environmental destruction. Go to the Free Free Now! Website: http://www.freefreenow.org Go to the Free Radio Olympia Website: http://www.frolympia.org *** we stream! (FRO via DXLD) ** U S A. IBOC discussion: I was quite surprised to see a mention of the Apparatchiks there. Has this Russian word really emerged also on the other side of the Big Pond meanwhile? Provided it is a genuine Russian creation and not an East German one as I suspect ... [Oh, yes, ``apparatchik`` has been used in English for a long time, tho I do not find it in my early 1950s Merriam Webster Collegiate -gh] On the actual matter: You had recently a notice about Clear Channel introducing EON and for this reason turning ``RDBS`` into true RDS, if my understanding is correct. RDS has another feature, called Radiotext. So ordinary FM can deliver the promised texting as well. And actually it is quite interesting that Clear Channel introduces EON at all. One could say that this makes a mockery of the US broadcasting system since it creates an immediate association between various, allegedly independent stations. Next logical step would be AF, or are there no close-by Clear Channel ´´stations´´ with identical programming (satellite feeds, as discussions use to put it) except for the legal ID's? (AF transmits a list of alternative frequencies. Car radios check them and automatically switch to another frequency when it provides better reception. This useful feature is of course designed for the European transmitter chains, not for the US system with every transmitter considered as being a station on its own, probably with a few gap-fillers.) A final musing: The marketing term ´´HD Radio´´ qualifies radio as a mere appendix of TV. Have a nice Sunday, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) If IBOC is so good, if it provides great sound, cures the heartbreak of psoriasis, and quiets neighborhood barking dogs, they why has it taken over eight years to sell a handful of systems to stations owners, never mind listeners? Color TV and FM stereo sold itself and caused no interference to existing stations. Channel Five's color signal did not wipe out Channel Six, u.s.w. Oh yes, let's treat this deliberate scheme to create interference by a handful of cynical radio monopolists for what it is, worth reporting to affected station owners. This is like forcing everyone into Zils just because Algores' family friend was Armand Hammer..... -Z.- (Paul Vincent Zecchino Manasoviet Key, FL BT NRC-AM via DXLD) One thing that I have wondered is, how will retailers sell HD Radio (IBOC) equipment? With XM/Sirius well-established and competing for retail floorspace, and given that the retailer surely must get a commission on both the equipment and subscription fees collected, what is the motivation for Best Buy or Circuit City salespeople to sell something that competes with satellite? Will the in-store demo look like this: "well, over here are 150 channels of high-quality brand-new content on XM, and over there are two local AM and a handful of FM stations on IBOC with the same content you heard on the drive to the store" ?? Also, what organization will bankroll the costs that will accrue early-on as they sell the equipment at a loss to try to build market share? Equipment manufacturers, car companies, IBiquity...? (Brett Saylor, ibid.) Recalling that, in theory, radio stations operate in part to make money, I can appreciate the trend towards utilizing IBOC. In a way, it's like AM Stereo being the hoped for panacea for declining audiences years ago. AM stations are trying to recoup lost audiences while keeping their present listener base. For those of us in the DX Hobby, IBOC presents as a threat to our hobby, and I understand that aspect also. In a way, the recent DX Test from WODI-1230 is an example. Less than 3 miles from my QTH (2.87 to be precise) is the transmitter tower for WJNC-1240 with 1kw ND NSP. Bad WJNC. How dare they try and make money and provide a service when I'm trying to DX!! It would have been nice if WJNC hadn't been on, but it was on, I listened for the test, and I logged WODI, albeit with a great deal of QRM. Undoubtedly, IBOC will hurt our hobby in some ways, but as DXers, haven't we always found a way around problems such as this? For me, this is simply another challenge in hearing new stations, however, I'm not too worried. To digress briefly. As I understand, by December of 2006, all TV transmissions in the United States are supposed to go digital, thus rendering analog TV sets useless. Somewhere, some "genius" figured that if we build digital stations, viewers will buy digital sets. Guess what? I won't, and reportedly less than 25% of U.S. households have switched to digital. Why should I, or anyone else, throw away a perfectly good TV, or spend $$$ to have it adapted to receive digital broadcasts? My wife and I agree --- TV goes digital, and we happily go without. Sorry advertisers, but you may lose 2 consumers. Now, back to IBOC. I've had the opportunity to hear IBOC broadcasts, and I'm not overly impressed. Oh! I need to buy a new radio for the home and car so I can hear the improved quality of IBOC broadcasts? Think again. If the radios in my home and cars need to be replaced, then I don't need IBOC. In business, in which I have a degree, there seems to be the misconception that people are like cattle. Where one goes, the other follows: i.e., keeping up with the Jones Family. Trouble is, Americans may follow, but we have this inherent "problem" - don't tell us what to do. Tell us what we have to do, and we tend not to follow. The point here is to look at the product (AM Radio) and see what can be done to make it more user friendly. Adding bells and whistles won't cut it. For me, I want a local station to be just that - providing area news, weather coverage, and hometown information. Until that happens, I have plenty of CDs to occupy my time (Mike Hardester, Jacksonville, NC. (34.47 N — 77.23 W), NRC-AM via DXLD) This isn't going to happen because the law was written to allow for a soft date based on market penetration of digital TV sets, but it does reinforce a point that has been made many times on this list: it's all about the content. I am one of the minority who have the equipment to receive HD TV. I also have a ReplayTV. Prior to getting HD TV I almost never watched anything live; it was always watched when I had the time via ReplayTV. When I got the HD TV I was in awe of the picture quality. On things originally recorded for HD, it is truly stunning. I started watching many of my regular shows live because I wanted to see the much better picture and hear the Dolby Digital sound. The improved picture was fantastic. But after a few weeks I started to tire of sitting through the endless commercials. Within a month I was back to watching everything in standard definition via ReplayTV. The improved picture and sound just weren't worth wasting my time with the commercials. It was the same old stuff in a shinier package. Very quickly I tired of looking at the package. I see it as essentially the same thing with IBOC. I've heard no talk of restructuring content to provide a better product to the customer. It will be just like HD TV... same old stuff in a shinier, much more expensive package (Jay Heyl, ibid.) It's probably been a foregone conclusion with Ibiquity for a while now that they will all go that way eventually, why advertise when there is a huge conglomerate like Clear Channel behind NOISEBOCK, they probably are banking on Clear Channel being the trendsetter and all the small guys will get it to keep up with them (Bob Young, Millbury, MA, ibid.) Neither Ibiquity nor Clear Channel accuse IBOC detractors of begrudging stations increased profits. Nor have hobbyists. No, we're not bad for objecting to IBOC. Why raise the argument? 'Predatory emulation' is an elegant term describing the snake in the road who lures victims with tales of woe. A fictional example, Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. He donned a plaster cast the better to trap his quarry, as did Ted Bundy in real life. IBOC promoters have yet to use the tactic. Why accuse ourselves unjustly? Promoters do liken those questioning IBOC to Luddites who resented Mr. Ford's cars and favored a return to horse and buggy. But Ford's cars didn't consign horses to glue factories and buggies to the fires of Gehenna. Improvements didn't wreck existing arrangements. Until they were silenced in trade publications, IBOC detractors all favored profits. Profit isn't the objection, it's the subject that dare not speak its name, interference. No prior improvement caused interference as does IBOC. Most telling, the 'yeah, but, you're an idiot who doesn't get it' squelching of those favoring increased profits while maintaining technical standards. Cursory review of trade mags shows that offensive language and insulting statements are regularly employed by IBOC promoters, who are otherwise unable to factually refute objections and honestly answer questions. Forget that we're hobbyists. We listen with trained ears, an early warning system for future problems. Even the industry hasn't stooped to calling objectors 'a handful of disagreeable eccentrics with an oddball hobby', though that approach has in the past been used. Why apologize for asking that the RF spectrum be respected? Are we allowed to dump garbage in the street? Can we slop old paint in the woods? Would we justify such by claiming that it was for the good of sprucing up our properties? So why blame ourselves for being among the first to spot problems with IBOC? If we spot a fire in an office building, do we leave and not tell others, thinking it 'bad' to do so? Why apologize? Scammers first kick the intended victim off balance, keep him on the defensive. The rest is easy. It's also how monopolists do it. Enron debacle resulted from biz practices of 80's and 90's. It was unthinkable prior to 2000 to criticize them, though Californians early-on noted troubles via their electric bills. As some presciently wonder, what is the ultimate goal of those pushing IBOC? Why push at all? Doesn't an innovative product sell itself? -Z.- (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manasoviet Key, FL, 14 2312Z MAY 05 BT, ibid.) Re: why advertise IBOC when you don't have to? To me the question in the title misses the point. I think the point of this is something I've said from the start - a big part of the hype centers around the attempt to make terrestrial radio sound more current. After all, radio has been around for decades, so let's repackage it by using a 'now' term - "digital". I'm not trying to say here that this is all there is to the story by any means. I understand the potential of multiple program streams, and also of the potential of higher fidelity. And of course I understand the concept of making more money. But a large chunk of the promotion of IBOC on both AM and FM so far focuses on that magic word "Digital". How much of the general public knows what IBOC means? How much knows what "high definition" is ? But contrast that with how many people know what "digital" is, or at least have a fair idea. And to the average person, that means it's related to computers and is therefore something new and current. The reason the advertising and promotion are necessary is because most people don't know about it, and don't have a clue as to what it is or what it might mean to them. And that point remains valid whether you believe IBOC is the greatest thing to hit radio in half a century or whether you think it's mostly hype. You can't get buyers (especially at the prices of current HD receivers) to buy if they don't know what your product is. That's just Advertising 101 or Marketing 101 (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (15 mi NNW Philadelphia), ibid.) Just noted that KNX is now running IBOC, while driving to International Bird Rescue in San Pedro to pick up two loons from rehab to release today. I drove right by the KNX transmitter en route, and out to the third adjacent there's interference. I discovered it not by the sidebands, but by the whizzing sound in the background on a mono radio while checking for a traffic report. Sad, isn't it. Power lines re-phase the noise even worse. 1090 XEPRS is unlistenable in the LA area because of the 2nd adjacent screeching hash, and gets completely swamped out within a few miles of the transmitter. Even up here in Thousand Oaks, there's whizzing noise on 1090. I also found out that you can get a het with adjacent IBOC sidebands - on 1040, both KNX's and KTNQ's sidebands cause a 3 Hz fade-in-fade-out when near KNX (Darwin, Thousand Oaks, CA, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Re new KDJQ, Meridian, IDAHO testing 50 kW on 890: They are heard here with very weak audio all day with KLFF nulled; readable only when helped along by some daytime skywave. Around sunrise and sunset their signal is fairly good. All I have heard is one oldies song after another with no announcements, and just before 2100 MDT [0300 UT] they disappear abruptly in the middle of a song. So I have no ID, but the bearing, format and s/off time match KDJQ. Frequency measurement today, 05/15/05 is 889.9917 kHz; and KLFF is on 889.9977 (Albert Lehr - Livermore, CA, May 15, Allied A-2515 receiver, Homebrew external sync detector, frequency measurement system, Two 35 ft. Ewe antennas at 218 and 293 degrees, temporary 4 1/2 ft. outdoor loop, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** U S A. TIS on 1610: KOJ723, Virgin-LaVerkin, UT, 4/12 0713 [EDT], good signals with female announcer, mixing with WPSE79 (CalTrans I-40 HAR in Needles CA). There are five stations in Zion National Park, and this is the one that gets out. Listen for the phrase``13 miles north on highway 9``, which refers to the location of the next TIS along this road (which is actually 13 miles East on hwy 9). Haven`t logged this one in a while. Was checking the local radio dial after this morning`s earthquake, just a 4.0, but centered just 8-9 miles ENE of here (Tim R Hall, Chula Vista, CA, Domestic DX Digest-West, NRC DX News May 16 via DXLD) ** U S A. 1380 in Cheyenne WY is now KJUA ex-KJJL, 4/24 1901 [EDT] with Spanish oldies format, heavy splatter from KGNU-1390 (Wayne Heinen, Aurora CO, Domestic DX Digest-West, NRC DX News May 16 via DXLD) 5/3 at 1459 [EDT], now format is Spanish, ex-standards and ex- KJJL. Same format as KRND-1630, tho not in parallel. Format is a variety of Mexican msuic, emphasis on ranchera, with a canned slogan after almost every song. Slogan is either ``K-Jua`` (ka-HOO-ah), or ``La Jua`` (La HOO-ah), with ``jua`` pronounced as a word. No Live programing or ads, just songs, canned slogans, and canned legal IDs at top of hour. How do these stations survive without advertising? 1630, KRND, Fox Farm WY, 4/25 0958 [EDT], Spanish format now, ex-C&W and ex-KKWY. Listened for two hours and heard no live programing, only seguéd Mexican songs, with a canend slogan after each song, ``La Grande``, with a few variations. Legal ID, also canned at 1101 and 1200 (John Wilkins, near Longmont CO, ibid.) ** U S A. GRANT TO EXISTING FACILITIES 1160, KBIS, TX, Highland Park --- CP granted to increase daytime power to become U4 35000/1000. Station has been heard on both 1150 and 1160 on a day-to-day basis. And on a couple of occasions, on 1150 and 1160 simultaneously. And at the same time, too! (Bill Hale, AM Switch, NRC DX News May 16 via DXLD) ** U S A. KKAA, 1560, Aberdeen SD, 4/11 2229 [EDT], with Family Radio programming // KYFR 920, KKAA ID. Again next night around same time with Family Radio. This is puzzling --- KKAA`s website shows them as ``All American Talk 1560`` owned by Clear Channel. What gives? Is the FR thing just in the evenings, or has there been a fulltime format change that the station`s webmaster is completely unaware of? (Rick Dau, Omaha NE, Domestic DX Digest-West, NRC DX News May 16 via DXLD) Sold --- also KQAA 94.9. Sometimes the websites don`t get sold along with the station, which appears to be what happened here. We deal with a lot of ``dead, but not gone`` websites at 100kW.com and when they have scripting that automatically pulls down daily news headlines and such, it can sometimes be hard to figure out that the station has ceased to exist, even as the website lives on (Scott Fybush, NRC-AM via Bill Dvorak, ibid.) Guess it was http://www.kkaaaberdeen.com but too late: CC now says it`s ``off for maintenance`` (Glenn Hauser, May 16, DXLD) ** U S A. Hello, You may wish to note in your DX Digest that work has begun on the new transmitter for WFDF-AM 910. A couple of days back (I think Wednesday) I was out watching trains; as I was watching one pass, I just happened to look toward the northwest and noted a new tower that I'd never seen before. Curiosity got the best of me, so I took a little drive that way. There I noted one tower complete, and the other seven towers starting. The westernmost two towers already had the red beacons on them. The location of the new transmitter is just outside the Carleton village limits, about sixty or seventy miles south of Flint. (Nearest crossroads: Maxwell Rd. and Ash St.) From what I've heard, nighttime broadcasts are supposed to continue from Flint for the time being, but I've noted that they have Apps before the FCC to move nighttime broadcasts to this facility -- one for 19 KW nights, the other for 25 KW nights -- and a COL change to Farmington Hills (Which is only about twenty or thirty miles north of here.) So, soon the Metro Detroit area will have fifty kilowatts of Radio Disney blasting across the area --- and yet another bane to DXing (Eric Berger, May 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. MILLER TIME OVER AT CNBC By Charlie Amter Thu May 12, 7:03 PM ET Dennis Miller has something new to rant about. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/s/eo/20050512/en_tv_eo/16536 The comedian's daily CNBC talk show has been canceled due to low ratings. Dennis Miller will tape its final episode Friday in Burbank, leaving CNBC with a prime-time slot likely to be filled by a new business-themed program in the third quarter of this year. A repeat of CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Cramer will air in its place in the meantime, according to an internal CNBC memo obtained by MediaBistro.com. Dennis Miller bowed in January 2004 to lukewarm reviews and mediocre ratings, which have slipped in recent months to around 114,000, per Nielsen Media Research. Overall, the show has averaged 168,000 viewers, which, to be fair, is nowhere near as low as John McEnroe's canned CNBC yakfest, McEnroe, a show that sometimes registered an abysmal 0.0 rating. Miller's show is the second CNBC cancellation in a week, following former Talk magazine editor Tina Brown's show, Topic A with Tina Brown, furthering speculation that CNBC is getting back to its business roots amid reports that Roger Ailles and his Fox News are seeking to capitalize on CNBC's weak ratings with the launch of a new Fox all-business channel. "I wanted to let you all know that we will be expanding our signature Business Day programming up to primetime on the East Coast and will be adding an additional airing of Mad Money with Jim Cramer at 9 p.m. ET/PT," CNBC president Mark Hoffman said in an email to employees Wednesday. Hoffman acknowledged that Miller would be a casualty of CNBC's decision to shore up its business audience in the memo. "I have spoken with Dennis Miller about these plans and he has let me know that his strong preference is to leave his program immediately," Hoffman said. "Therefore, the final episode of Dennis Miller will air this Friday." "Dennis is an exceptionally talented comedian with an unmatched wit and he and his team consistently delivered a very entertaining program," Hoffman added. There was no immediate comment from Miller or CNBC. Miller's previous foray into the talk-show format, HBO's Dennis Miller Live, ran from 1994 to 2002 and snagged the premium cable network its first-ever Emmy for an original series. CNBC Cancels Dennis Miller, quick exit, imaginary(?) dialog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/2005/05/dear-aemployeesa.html (via DXLD) ** U S A. MOYERS DEFENDS PBS, TAKES AIM AT `RADICAL RIGHT' BY MICHAEL D. SORKIN St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted on Sun, May. 15, 2005 http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/nation/11655375.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp ST. LOUIS - (KRT) - Bill Moyers denounced on Sunday the right wing and top officials at the White House, saying they are trying to silence their critics by controlling the news media. He also took aim at reporters who become little more than willing government "stenographers." And he said the public increasingly is content with just enough news to confirm its own biases. Moyers spoke in St. Louis at a conference on media reform. His reports have appeared on the Public Broadcasting System since the 1970s. He was an aide to President Lyndon Johnson and is a former newspaper publisher. Moyers said those in power - government officials and their allies in the media - mean to stay there by punishing journalists "who tell the stories that make princes and priests uncomfortable." Moyers described those officials as "obsessed with control" of the media. He said they are using the government "to threaten and intimidate." Moyers answered for the first time recent charges that public television in general and he in particular have become too liberal. Those charges are from Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and, in effect, Moyers' boss at the network. Tomlinson, a Republican, paid an outside consultant $10,000 to keep track of the political leanings of guests on Moyers' show, "Now." Moyers left the show last year but is back on public television as host of the series "Wide Angle." Tomlinson, on the recommendation of administration officials, hired a senior White House aide to draw up guidelines to review the content of public radio and television broadcasts, according to a report in The New York Times on May 2. Tomlinson has denied that he was carrying out a White House mandate. Tomlinson complained that Moyers' show was consistently critical of Republicans and the Bush administration. He said there was a "tone deafness" at PBS headquarters on issues of "tone and balance." Moyers said he knew his broadcasts have created a backlash in Washington. "The more compelling our journalism, the angrier became the radical right of the Republican Party," he said. "That's because the one thing they loathe more than liberals is the truth. And the quickest way to be damned by them as liberal is to tell the truth." Moyers' speech was interrupted by standing ovations at the Conference for Media Reform here over the weekend. More than 2,500 people attended the three-day conference. Ernest Wilson III serves with Tomlinson on the board that oversees public broadcasting. He said PBS outranks the Fox News Channel, CNN and all the broadcast news networks in a survey that asked whom the public trusts. "We are, by far, the most `fair and balanced,'" he said, a reference to the motto of Fox News. Moyers complained that PBS' "liberal" label is undeserved. "In contrast to the conservative mantra that public television routinely features the voices of establishment critics," he said, alternative voices on public television are rare and usually drowned out by government and corporate views. Moyers said that's exactly what the right wing wants. "They want your reporting to validate their belief system, and when it doesn't God forbid." He said he always thought that the American eagle needed both a left wing and a right wing. "But with two right wings, or two left wings, it's no longer an eagle, and it's going to crash." Moyers said right wingers had attacked him after he closed a broadcast by placing a flag in his lapel. It was the first time that he had worn a flag. He said he put it on to remind himself that "not every patriot thinks we should do to the people of Baghdad what bin Laden did to us." "The flag has been hijacked and turned into a logo, a trademark of a monopoly on patriotism," Moyers said. Moyers had harsh words for reporters who simply recount what officials say, without scrutinizing what they say and do. He said New York Times correspondent Judith Miller, among other reporters, had relied on official but unnamed sources "when she served essentially as the government's stenographer for claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction." Moyers said he has come to understand that "news is what people want to keep hidden and everything else is publicity." He said that kind of reporting has never been tougher to do: "Without a trace of irony, the powers that be have appropriated the news speak vernacular of George Orwell's `1984,' giving us a program, no child will be left behind, while cutting funds for educating disadvantaged children. "They give us legislation calling for clear skies and healthy forests" while "turning over public lands to the energy industry." He said the public shares the blame: "An unconscious people, an indoctrinated people, a people fed only partisan information and opinion that confirm their own bias, a people made morbidly obese in mind and spirit by the junk food of propaganda is less inclined to put up a fight - ask questions and be skeptical." Moyers compared Tomlinson and other conservatives to Richard Nixon, who he said was another president who tried to take control of public television. "I always knew Nixon would be back," Moyers said. "I just didn't know that this time he would ask to be chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting." Moyers was a last-minute addition to the conference. He finished writing his hourlong speech 20 minutes before he spoke. His ending was nearly drowned out by a blaring fire alarm that went off by mistake. The conference ended Sunday, and some who attended said they were still unsure what reforming the media means. Others said they were energized to go home and give it a try. "It's true that no one laid out a battle plan," said Mercedes Lynn DeUriarte, an associate journalism professor from the University of Texas at Austin. "But everybody left understanding that we're at a critical point, where we must find a way to protect a democratic press or risk democracy." (c) 2005 KRT Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.aberdeennews.com (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. A BATTLE OVER PROGRAMMING AT NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO By STEPHEN LABATON The New York Times May 16, 2005 WASHINGTON, May 15 - Executives at National Public Radio are increasingly at odds with the Bush appointees who lead the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In one of several points of conflict in recent months, the chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which allocates federal funds for public radio and television, is considering a plan to monitor Middle East coverage on NPR news programs for evidence of bias, a corporation spokesman said on Friday. The corporation's board has told its staff that it should consider redirecting money away from national newscasts and toward music programs produced by NPR stations. Top officials at NPR and member stations are upset as well about the corporation's decision to appoint two ombudsmen to judge the content of programs for balance. And managers of public radio stations criticized the corporation in a resolution offered at their annual meeting two weeks ago urging it not to interfere in NPR editorial decisions. The corporation's chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, has also blocked NPR from broadcasting its programs on a station in Berlin owned by the United States government. . . . http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/16/business/media/16radio.html?pagewanted=print Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. The new schedule on WGBH (89.7 Boston) takes effect May 31, and it creates a bit more duplication with rival public radio outlet WBUR-FM (90.9 Boston), as WGBH adds a third hour of Morning Edition from 8-9 AM weekdays, cutting an hour off its classical music programming. The jazz on "Eric in the Evening" will start an hour later as well, as WGBH adds Christopher Lydon's new "Open Source" talk show (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch May 16 via DXLD) ** U S A. On the TV dial - or is that radio? - WNYZ-LP (Channel 6) began testing from its Long Island City transmitter site last week, with its audio carrier (at 87.76 MHz - an eagle-eyed NERW reader points out that the station has a 10 kHz plus offset on its frequency) being widely heard throughout the metro area, so far just with tones. WNYZ-LP will be leasing time to Spanish-language programmers when it begins regular operation (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch May 16 via DXLD) ** U S A. SPANISH RADIO SIZZLES --- By WILL RODGERS May 16, 2005 TAMPA - For 51 years, the sounds of Spanish life have flowed across the airwaves in the Tampa Bay area, thriving today on five Spanish- only AM radio stations. You can find almost anything on the stations, from the fast-moving sounds of Mexico to the tropical salsa and merengue of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, to talk radio. Such broadcasts have a loyal and growing following in the Bay area and the nation. . . http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGBNM5J7S8E.html (via Terry L Krueger Clearwater, Florida, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. 4939.7, Radio Amazonas, 0220-0303* May 11, man announcer with Spanish talk followed by a Latin vocal. ID, ad string and announcements in Spanish by a man at 0232 followed by a long talk. ID and sign off announcements followed by choral national anthem at 0301. Poor (Rich D'Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Fishing Buoys: Between 1710 and 1800 kHz. They seem to be data packet transmissions using a 2 second high-speed FSK burst after a three second steady carrier (repeating over and over), and each station operates continually. From my location, these buoys are not local, as they are fading in and out with the ionosphere, and I get none during the day. These are the unmodulated steady carrier frequencies between data bursts for each signal that I can receive here at night: 1711.3 kHz 1721.3 kHz 1726.3 kHz 1731.3 kHz 1733.3 kHz 1736.3 kHz 1751.3 kHz 1766.3 kHz 1776.3 kHz 1791.3 kHz The signals are best copied using a BFO and monitoring the USB or LSB. Another few signals that I have heard, but still cannot TO THIS DAY identify the origin of in the fishnet buoy band: Up until 1996, there used to be 2 sets of repeating CW-type carrier transmissions - one cluster at 1720 kHz, and the other at about 1790 kHz. There would be about 5 short (1/10 sec) carrier bursts from different locations, followed by 5 more about 1/2 second later, and then the first five would go again 1/2 second later, followed by the second group 1/2 second later, and on and on. Each carrier in each cluster would be slightly higher (about 10 Hz) than the one previous, so you could have BFO on and hear the different tones. I only got them at night here, so they must have been far out at sea somewhere. Anyone have ideas on what these were? Another mystery was something on 1670 kHz for several years in the mid 80's. At 1670 kHz, there was a set of about 6 or so steady carriers, each offset from each other by about 100 Hz, and each carrier emanated from a separate transmitter site, because at night the composite polytonic heterodyne among this group of carriers changed with skywave fades - some tone pitches dropping out momentarily, while others being enhanced. I could never figure out exactly where these came from either, but I COULD get a couple of the carriers via weak groundwave here during the daytime, but all were strong at night. How about any ideas about what THESE carriers were?? When I was a kid, I remember Loran A audible here (up until 1984) at 1950 kHz during day and night. Pt. Conception was the master station at 100 kW from a 110' tower, and I am not certain where the two slaves were. At night, all three stations were audible. Each used a set of carrier pulse rates (each carrier pulse was 40µs long) and was sent at 24 different rates in steps of 1/9 between 33 1/3 Hz and 34 1/9 Hz. When all three stations were heard, all 24 pulse rates would be simultaneously heard. It made for an interesting and distinct sound pattern (I have an mp3 of it). Anyone else remember these signals at 1850, 1900, and 1950 kHz? (DJL4LOON, location unknown, ABDX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4728, 11.5 0005, probably Bolivia with some mixed LA- music and a low voiced DJ. Saw that the DX press consider if it might be Radio Naylamp in Peru KO (Kenneth Olofsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 15, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ Yet another Bell+Howell Got a new Sportsman's Guide catalog with yet another Bell+Howell brand radio. This one isn't SW, so it is of limited interest to the SWL community, but it seems to have all sorts of unusual features. It's an AM/FM/Weather Alert model with a large LCD readout and of fairly large size (about 8X2X4") using 4 C cells. That's big enough that it just might have a large enough ferrite rod antenna to be decent on AM BCB. It says it "scans all 7 NOAA weather channels", which sounds different to me; I'm used to analog or distinct punch-up weather-channel tuning, not scanner-type action on an otherwise AM/FM set. I don't know how it tunes; the side knob appears to be volume, and there don't seem to be slewing buttons on the front, and no keypad. Maybe the knob is multi- function, depending on another button press? Sets frequency or time or volume according to what is selected? Look at the picture and see the frequency display. It has two decimal places to the right for an FM frequency; that might indicate something unusual about the tuning capability. Here's the website display: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=200237 Anyway, thought you'd like to see it. 73, (Will Martin, MO, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I used the zoom feature and could make out some of the labelling. The middle row of buttons under the display are 1 2 3 4 5 and 5+. Below those are NOAA TUN- TUN+ AM/FM. On the right side, top to bottom: POWER DISPLAY MESSAGE CNTY/CH SET. Cannot make out the labelling of the three buttons, or slides on the top. Prices range from $53.97 to $80.00 for the WX2-92577 - Bell and Howell® Weather Radio (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Veteran CW ops K7JA, Chip Margelli, and K6CTW, Ken Miller, appeared last night [Friday May 13] on the "Tonight Show" as they challenged two guys equipped with cell phones. Jay Leno gave one member from each team a message. Once Jay gave the go ahead the guy with the cell phone and Chip began sending the message. Chip sent the message so fast to Ken, who then read the message back to Jay in record time! The two cell phone guys were totally surprised. Congratulations to Chip and Ken. You can see the whole clip at http://www.ku3o.net/ Great costumes, guys! The file is available in both .rm (12.4 MB) and .wmv (9.7 MB) files (via Ori Siegel, ODXA via DXLD) Yeah, the hams wore green eyeshades, bowties and armgarters. Much was made of how ancient CW technology is (gh, DXLD) DRM +++ Issoudun DRM Re ``It seems that the RFI racket on 6175 kHz is now a daily event.`` See the message 04-05-2005 06:06 PM at http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?s=057cf1754119044feed02df4f4d815a8&threadid=1003&perpage=15&pagenumber=3 A later posting mentions that soon 3965 will be used as well. It seems that in the German DX scene a serious dispute about DRM has been triggered by a proposal to urge the DRM consortium to put ``their`` signals only into certain parts of the spectrum and not everywhere in the broadcasting bands, ruining one AM signal after another. Those who are in favour of this proposal argue that this situation meanwhile starts to drive the remaining shortwave audience away with no prospect of gaining new listeners in future. It had been also pointed out as a major problem of shortwave broadcasting that a considerable amount of the programming on shortwave is either irrelevant or even to be flatly considered as trash. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS [non] ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BROADBAND-IN-GAS TECHNOLOGY (BiG) This looks a better way to deliver broadband that BPL/PLT. It uses Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, presumably in the 3-6 GHz Region. There may be some theoretical impact in our 3 and 5 GHz bands but I'm not clear whether they'll even be enough signal radiating around the house to fulfill its primary function. I presume there must be a UWB repeater in the house actually attached to the gas pipe since precious little signal would leak out? http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/5/emw236328.htm 73 (Trevor M5AKA, Short Wave Magazine yg via DXLD) Viz., serious? --- NETHERCOMM PIONEERS BREAKTHROUGH WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY TO DELIVER TELEVISION, PHONE AND INTERNET SERVICES THROUGH NATURAL GAS PIPELINES Nethercomm has developed a new technology which sidesteps the broadband industry’s obstacles of expensive cable/fiber investments, limited wireless spectrum allocation and costly power line alternatives. Nethercomm’s solution broadcasts data wirelessly through active natural gas pipelines making use of the entire wireless spectrum conveniently isolated in the underground gas pipelines. (PRWEB) May 5, 2005 -- Nethercomm Corporation, the leading innovator of subterranean broadband communications, announces the development of Broadband-in-Gas (BiG) Technology. This technology is designed to effectively multiply the current available bandwidth of cable television and all other broadband systems with data capacities exceeding ten gigabits. Broadband-in-Gas delivers unmatched levels of connectivity by making use of Ultra Wideband technology to wirelessly broadcast information in a way that is both safe and reliable by using the private spectrum isolated within natural gas pipelines. Nethercomm’s technology requires no modification to existing natural gas distribution infrastructures and can carry enormous amounts of data by simply making use of the entire spectrum buried within the existing natural gas pipelines. The technology delivers connectivity over the last mile of broadband networks without interference or degradation of other wireless transmissions. By not consuming or sharing costly spectrum, and not requiring installation of last mile cable or fiber, Nethercomm is prepared to make broadband substantially more affordable while increasing end-user bandwidth to unprecedented levels. "Our Broadband-in-Gas technology represents a completely new era of low cost access to broadband services and a completely new alternative to cable video, phone and data services," states Ann Nunally, President and COO of the San Diego-based Nethercomm Corporation. She went on to say, "We believe we are the only company with an Intellectual Property portfolio which addresses wireless broadband communication in natural gas pipelines and have been extremely tight- lipped about this innovation until our Patent Portfolio foundation was completely in place.`` Nethercomm is currently developing natural gas, broadband and consumer electronics partnerships to validate and certify its revolutionary technology for use in existing natural gas pipelines. Simply stated, Nethercomm introduces signals into the gas lines using inexpensive equipment located at existing neighborhood network hubs and extracts data at the customer or business premises with end user-installed equipment which can operate seamlessly with most existing and deployed digital set-top boxes. ``Broadband-in-Gas has the potential to revolutionize the natural gas distribution and gas transmission industries,`` stated Joe Posewick, President of EN Engineering a key designer of natural gas infrastructures. He went on to say ``These utilities could both increase profit and decrease cost to their customers with very little investment``. Nethercomm’s Broadband-in-Gas provides an unmatched opportunity for natural gas utility operators and cable/broadband industry leaders to accommodate new technologies, such as High Definition Television, which have been extremely difficult to fulfill due to the significantly higher bandwidth requirements. Nethercomm is a private Delaware Corporation, developing innovative and proprietary communication technologies for the fast-growing broadband and wireless markets. The company’s portfolio of patents encompasses what is believed to be fundamental subterranean broadband communication and includes additional patents pending to protect its technology and architecture (via Trevor, ibid. via DXLD) How is this to work? It says in the article that no modification is necessary to the infrastructure, but most of the gas main pipes round here are the yellow plastic variety. Is metal pipe (where it exists) going to be used as a conductor or waveguide? (Or maybe they'll turn the gas to plasma and make it conduct....errrr maybe not)! The pipe to my hoes is 22mm copper, but the mains are plastic. I thought it was the getting the signal to the region which was going to cause the biggest issues with PLT, not the short distance to the customer. We could be stuck with the same issue here! 73 (Ivan (G7WLL), ibid.) Perhaps they intend to amplitude modulate the pressure. This way, a leak really would be hot news! (Eric, Warrington, Cheshire, UK, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Solar Flare --- If you have had lousy reception, here's why: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2437.htm (Joe Buch, May 16, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) QST de W1AW Propagation Forecast Bulletin 20 ARLP020 From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA May 16, 2005 To all radio amateurs SB PROP ARL ARLP020 ARLP020 Propagation de K7RA This is a special edition of the Propagation Forecast Bulletin. On Friday the Thirteenth (May 13, 2005) at 1650z a tremendous explosion near sunspot 759 blasted toward earth. The impact on the earth's magnetic field was felt at 0230z on May 15, producing an extreme geomagnetic storm. I use a service from http://www.spaceweather.com called "SpaceWeather PHONE." I can set parameters for alerts, and the service calls my cell phone when events occur, such as the planetary K index rising above a set value. The service rang me up so many times this weekend that I finally shut the phone off. I could have gone to the web and shut it off or raised the parameters, but at the time I just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. On Sunday, May 15 the planetary K index reached 9. This is huge. The middle latitude, high latitude and planetary A indexes for Sunday were 44, 77 and 105 respectively, all very high values. The planetary A index predicted for Monday, May 16 is 40. Solar flux is expected to stay around 100 for Monday through Wednesday, May 16-18. Michael Shaffer, KA3JAW is currently in Tampa, Florida. On Friday, May 13 Michael began to scan low VHF television channels because of the possibility of aurora from a coronal mass ejection on May 11. He emailed several photos he took of his television displaying KGAN, channel 2, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He received both audio and video for about 30 minutes after 5:00 PM local time. The distance was about 1,100 miles. [this was probably sporadic E triggered by aurora --- gh] Steven Smith, K6BZ of Carmichael, California wrote to ask if "in the early period of a new solar cycle, sunspot groups tended to form in the higher latitudes on the solar disk and towards the end, favored more equatorial latitudes." This is true, and the greater emergence of sunspots toward the sun's equator later in the cycle heightens the probability that the energy from those spots will be earth-directed. If you would like to comment or have a tip, email the author at, k7ra @ arrl.net For more information concerning radio propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information Service propagation page at, http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html An archive of past bulletins is found at, http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/ Sunspot numbers for May 5 through 11 were 50, 66, 55, 79, 106, 106 and 117 with a mean of 82.7. 10.7 cm flux was 109.1, 110.4, 99.9, 101.3, 110, 119.2 and 125.3, with a mean of 110.7. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 4, 10, 64, 11, 10 and 11 with a mean of 16.6. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 3, 3, 10, 38, 10, 6 and 7, with a mean of 11. NNNN /EX (K7RA, ARRL) (via Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, dxldyg via DXLD) Solar storm was predicted to interfere with cell phones, per item on KOCO-TV news at 1717 UT May 16. Why in the world would UHF groundwave be affected? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks to an alert by Robert on Sunday I was ready for an F2 enhancement which brought in the following, 0900-1000 UT May 15: 33.00 MHz data, Japan, strong 33-40 nbFM activity mostly in Chinese, strong 35.205 R. Pyongyang am bc harmonic (3 x 11.735) 42.7499 RRI Fak-Fak am bc harmonic (9 x 4.750) - 2300 miles 48.239598 ch E2 video near KL, W. Malaysia , S3 48.24989 ch E2 video Songkhla, Thailand, bfo level, qsb 48.24992 Baling, W. Malaysia, bfo level, qsb 49.75+/- ch C1 video, peaked 0940 UTC, S3/4 (Tony, Perth, Australia, R7000 & Band 1 Yagi (via Tim Bucknall, harmonics yg via DXLD) ###